Alan Parsons Project, “Ammonia Avenue”
So, we rise from the rubble...
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Saturday, March 21, 2026
"A Look to the Heavens"
“In one of the brightest parts of Milky Way lies a nebula where some of the oddest things occur. NGC 3372, known as the Great Nebula in Carina, is home to massive stars and changing nebulas. The Keyhole Nebula (NGC 3324), the bright structure just above the image center, houses several of these massive stars and has itself changed its appearance.
The entire Carina Nebula spans over 300 light years and lies about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation of Carina. Eta Carinae, the most energetic star in the nebula, was one of the brightest stars in the sky in the 1830s, but then faded dramatically. Eta Carinae is the brightest star near the image center, just left of the Keyhole Nebula. While Eta Carinae itself maybe on the verge of a supernova explosion, X-ray images indicate that much of the Great Carina Nebula has been a veritable supernova factory.”
Free Download: Viktor Frankl, “Man’s Search for Meaning”
“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual…
There is also purpose in life which is almost barren of both creation and enjoyment and which admits of but one possibility of high moral behavior: namely, in man’s attitude to his existence, an existence restricted by external forces. When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his task. He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place. His unique opportunity lies in the way in which he bears his burden…
What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment…
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way…
Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”
- Viktor Frankl, “Man’s Search for Meaning”
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"Man's Search for Meaning"
by Viktor Frankl
"Some details of a particular man's inner greatness may have come to one's mind, like the story of a young woman whose death I witnessed in a concentration camp. It is a simple story. There is little to tell and it may sound as if I had invented it; but to me it seems like a poem.
This young woman knew that she would die in the next few days. But when I talked to her she was cheerful in spite of this knowledge. 'I am grateful that fate has hit me so hard,' she told me. 'In my former life I was spoiled and did not take spiritual accomplishments seriously.' Pointing through the window of the hut, she said, 'This tree here is the only friend I have in my loneliness.' Through that window she could see just one branch of a chestnut tree, and on the branch were two blossoms. 'I often talk to this tree,' she said to me. I was startled and didn't quite know how to take her words. Was she delirious? Did she have occasional hallucinations? Anxiously I asked her if the tree replied. 'Yes.' What did it say to her? She answered, 'It said to me, "I am here - I am here - I am life, eternal life."
Freely download "Man's Search for Meaning", by Viktor Frankl, here:
"Decide..."
“We're all going to die. We don't get much say over how or when, but we do get to decide how we're gonna live. So, do it. Decide. Is this the life you want to live? Is this the person you want to love? Is this the best you can be? Can you be stronger? Kinder? More compassionate? Decide. Breathe in. Breathe out and decide.”
- “Richard”, “Grey’s Anatomy”
"Does A 1904 Geopolitical Theory Explain The War In Ukraine?"
"Does A 1904 Geopolitical Theory Explain The War In Ukraine?"
by John Wilder
"When I look at the war in Ukraine and other world events, I see evidence of Sir Halford John Mackinder. It would have been cool if he was the frontman for a 1910s version of Judas Priest, but no. Mackinder was a guy who thought long and hard about mountains, deserts, oceans, steppes, and wars. You could tell Mackinder was going to be good at geography, what with that latitude. The result of all this pondering was what he called the Heartland Theory, which was the founding moment for geopolitics.
What’s geopolitics? It’s the idea that one of the biggest influencers in human history (besides being human) was the geography we inhabit. Mackinder’s first version wasn’t very helpful, since he just ended up with “Indonesia” and the rest of the world, which he called “Outdonesia”.
Mackinder focused mainly on the Eurasian continent. Flat land with no obstacles meant, in Mackinder’s mind, that the land would be eventually ruled by a single power. Jungles and swamps could be a barrier, but eventually he thought that technology would solve that. Mountains? Mountains were obstacles that stopped invasions, and allowed cultures to develop independently. Even better than a mountain? An island.
There’s even a theory (not Mackinder’s) that the independent focus on freedom flourished in England because the local farmers weren’t (after the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Mormons, and Vikings were done pillaging) subject to invasion and were able to develop a culture based on a government with limited powers, along with rights invested in every man.
Mackinder went further, though. He saw the combination of Eurasia and Africa as something he called the World Island. If the World Island came under the domination of a single power, he thought, it would eventually rule the rest of the world – it would have overwhelming resources and population, and it would have the ability to outproduce (both economically and militarily) everything else. “Pivot Area” is what Mackinder first called the Heartland.
Mackinder, being English, had seen the Great Game in the 1900s, which in many cases was a fight to keep Russia landlocked. The rest of Europe feared a Russia that had access to the sea. Conversely, Russia itself was the Heartland of the Mackinder’s World Island. Russia was separated and protected on most of its borders by mountains and deserts. On the north, Russia was protected by the Arctic Ocean, which is generally more inaccessible than most of Joe Biden’s recent memories.
Russia is still essentially landlocked. The Soviet Navy had some nice submarines, but outside of that, the Russians have never been a naval power, and the times Russia attempted to make a navy have been so tragically inept that well, let me give an example: The sea Battle of Tsushima between the Japanese and Russians in 1905 was a Japanese victory. The Japanese lost 117 dead, 583 wounded, and lost 3 torpedo boats. The Russians? They lost 5,045 dead, 803 injured, 6,016 captured, 6 battleships sunk, 2 battleships captured. The Russians sank 450 ton of the Japanese Navy. The Japanese sunk 126,792 tons of the Russian fleet. Yup. This was more lopsided than a fight between a poodle and a porkchop.
Mackinder noted that the Heartland (Russia) was built on land power. The Rimlands (or, on the map “Inner Crescent”) were built on sea power. In the end, almost all of the twentieth century was built on keeping Russia away from the ocean, and fighting over Eastern Europe. Why? In Mackinder’s mind, “Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland (Russia); Who rules the Heartland commands the World Island; Who rules the World Island commands the World.” In one sense, it’s true.
Mackinder finally in 1943 came up with another idea, his first idea being lonely. I think he could see the way World War II was going to end, so he came up with the idea that if the United States were to team up with Western Europe, they could still command the Rimlands and contain the Soviet Union to the Heartland.
There are several reasons that the United States has responded with such an amazing amount of aid to Ukraine. The idea is to bleed Putin as deeply and completely as they can. Why? If they’re following Mackinder, this keeps Russia vulnerable. It keeps Eastern Europe from being under Russia’s control – if you count the number of “Battles of Kiev” or “Battles of Kharkov” you can see that it’s statistically more likely to rain artillery in Kiev than rain water.
This might be the major driver for Russia, too. A Russian-aligned (or at least neutral) Ukraine nicely plugs the Russian southern flank. And this is nearly the last year that Russia can make this attempt – the younger generation isn’t very big, and the older generation that built and can run all of the cool Soviet tech? They’re dying off. Soon all their engineers with relevant weapons manufacturing experience will be...dead. If Russia is going to attempt to secure the south, this is their only shot. Depending on how vulnerable the Russians think they are, the harder they’ll fight. NATO nations tossing in weapons isn’t helping the famous Russian paranoia.
I think that the United States, in getting cozy with China in the 1970s, was following along with Mackinder’s theory – I believe Mackinder himself said that a Chinese-Russian alliance could effectively control the Heartland and split the Rimland, given China’s access to the oceans. And that’s what China is doing now, with the Belt and Road Initiative. Remember Mackinder’s World Island? Here’s a map of the countries participating in China’s Belt and Road Initiative:
Spoiler alert: It’s the world island."
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Full screen recommended.
"Halford Mackinder, Heartland Theory and Geographical Pivot 1"
by Geopoliticus
"In this presentation we discuss the theory for Geographic Causation in Universal History proposed by Sir Halford Mackinder in his paper - "The Geographic Pivot of History" delivered as a lecture in 1904. The theoretical propositions in the paper regarding how natural geography controls the flow of history of civilizations - with nature acting as a stage for man to act upon - was the most relevant contribution of Halford Mackinder towards developing a philosophic synthesis between geography, history and statesmanship, leading to the development of modern geopolitics.
In this part we see how he proposes the beginning of a new era in the international system from the 1900s, predicts (in a way) the break out of the First World War, and builds a unified model based on Geo-history for understanding the emergence and evolution of European civilization."
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Full screen recommended.
"Halford Mackinder, Heartland Theory and Geographical Pivot 2"
by Geopoliticus
"In this presentation we view Mackinder’s historical analysts by looking at the interactions between different Geographic zones, seeing how the Mongols used land power to unify the core of the World Island and how Europeans circumvented nomadic heartland power by investing in sea power. The core idea of Halford Mackinder’s Thesis was that in the beginning of the 20th century, geographers needed to develop a philosophical synthesis of geographical conditions and historical trajectories of nations over long ranges of time.
He attempted to do this for the history of Eurasia, which he called, the World Island. According to his theoretical model, there was a link between geographical conditions and the nature of geopolitical order, for one, but for further depth in understanding historical trajectories we need to do a wider scale analysis of interactions between different geographically influenced political orders by building a model of Heartland-Rimland interactions across history."
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Freely download "The Geographical Pivot of History",
by HJ Mackinder, April 1904, here:
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Why is this important? Consider history, from which we learn nothing...
"The earliest evidence of prehistoric warfare is a Mesolithic cemetery in Jebel Sahaba, which has been determined to be approximately 14,000 years old. About forty-five percent of the skeletons there displayed signs of violent death. Since the rise of the state some 5,000 years ago, military activity has occurred over much of the globe. The advent of gunpowder and the acceleration of technological advances led to modern warfare. According to Conway W. Henderson, "One source claims that 14,500 wars have taken place between 3500 BC and the late 20th century, costing 3.5 billion lives, leaving only 300 years of peace." An unfavorable review of this estimate mentions the following regarding one of the proponents of this estimate: "In addition, perhaps feeling that the war casualties figure was improbably high, he changed 'approximately 3,640,000,000 human beings have been killed by war or the diseases produced by war' to 'approximately 1,240,000,000 human beings.'"
The lower figure is more plausible, but could still be on the high side considering that the 100 deadliest acts of mass violence between 480 BC and 2002 AD (wars and other man-made disasters with at least 300,000 and up to 66 million victims) claimed about 455 million human lives in total. Primitive warfare is estimated to have accounted for 15.1% of deaths and claimed 400 million victims. Added to the aforementioned figure of 1,240 million between 3500 BC and the late 20th century, this would mean a total of 1,640,000,000 people killed by war (including deaths from famine and disease caused by war) throughout the history and pre-history of mankind. For comparison, an estimated 1,680,000,000 people died from infectious diseases in the 20th century."
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"It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human
race proved to be nothing more than the story of an
ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump."
- David Ormsby-Gore
The Poet: Joy Harjo, "Remember "
"Remember "
"Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the stars stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is. I met her
in a bar once in Iowa City.
Remember the suns birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother's, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe. I heard her singing Kiowa war
dance songs at the corner of Fourth and Central once.
Remember that you are all people and that all people are you.
Remember that you are this universe and that this universe is you.
Remember that all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember that language comes from this.
Remember the dance that language is, that life is.
Remember. "
- Joy Harjo
"16 Harsh Truths That Make Us Stronger "
"16 Harsh Truths That Make Us Stronger "
by Marc Chernoff
"1. Life is not easy. Hard work makes people lucky, it's the stuff that brings dreams to reality. So start every morning ready to run farther than you did yesterday and fight harder than you ever have before.
2. You will fail sometimes. The faster you accept this, the faster you can get on with being brilliant. You'll never be 100% sure it will work, but you can always be 100% sure doing nothing won't work. So get out there and do something! Either you succeed or you learn a vital lesson. Win, Win.
3. Right now, there's a lot you don't know. The day you stop learning is the day you stop living. Embrace new information, think about it and use it to advance yourself.
4. There may not be a tomorrow. Not for everyone. Right now, someone on Earth is planning something for tomorrow without realizing they're going to die today. This is sad but true. So spend your time wisely today and pause long enough to appreciate it.
5. There's a lot you can't control. Wasting your time, talent and emotional energy on things that are beyond your control is a recipe for frustration, misery and stagnation. Invest your energy in the things you can control.
6. Information is not true knowledge. Knowledge comes from experience. You can discuss a task a hundred times, but these discussions will only give you a philosophical understanding. You must experience a task firsthand to truly know it.
7. You can't be successful without providing value. Don't waste your time trying to be successful, spend your time creating value. When you're valuable to the world around you, you will be successful.
8. Someone else will always have more than you. Whether it's money, friends or magic beans that you're collecting, there will always be someone who has more than you. But remember, it's not how many you have, it's how passionate you are about collecting them. It's all about the journey.
9. You can't change the past. As Maria Robinson once said, "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. " You can't change what happened, but you can change how you react to it.
10. The only person who can make you happy is you. The root of your happiness comes from your relationship with yourself. Sure external entities can have fleeting effects on your mood, but in the long run nothing matters more than how you feel about who you are on the inside.
11. There will always be people who don't like you. You can't be everything to everyone. No matter what you do, there will always be someone who thinks differently. So concentrate on doing what you know in your heart is right. What others think and say about you isn't all that important. What is important is how you feel about yourself.
12. You won't always get what you want. As Mick Jagger once said, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find you get what you need. " Look around. Appreciate the things you have right now. Many people aren't so lucky.
13. In life, you get what you put in. If you want love, give love. If you want friends, be friendly. If you want money, provide value. It really is this simple.
14. Good friends will come and go. Most of your high school friends won't be a part of your college life. Most of your college friends won't be a part of your 20-something professional life. Most of your 20-something friends won't be there when your spouse and you bring your second child into the world. But some friends will stick. And it's these friends, the ones who transcend time with you, who matter.
15. Doing the same exact thing every day hinders self growth. If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting. Growth happens when you change things, when you try new things, when you stretch beyond your comfort zone.
16. You will never feel 100% ready for something new. Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means you won't feel totally comfortable or ready for it.
And remember, trying to be someone else is a waste of the person you are. Strength comes from being comfortable in your own skin. "
"Do You Believe..."
“Do you believe,’ said Candide, ‘that men have always massacred each other as they do today, that they have always been liars, cheats, traitors, ingrates, brigands, idiots, thieves, scoundrels, gluttons, drunkards, misers, envious, ambitious, bloody-minded, calumniators, debauchees, fanatics, hypocrites, and fools?”
“Do you believe,” said Martin, “that hawks have always eaten pigeons when they have found them?”
- Voltaire
"You're Not Ready For What's Coming"
Full screen recommended.
Money Simplified, 3/21/26
"You're Not Ready For What's Coming"
"You're watching the price at the pump climb and telling yourself it's temporary. Meanwhile, five waves of price increases are already rolling toward your groceries, your flights, your mortgage rate, and your retirement account - and most of them haven't even hit yet. This isn't just an oil shock. It's the moment where everything you've been barely holding together gets more expensive all at once, and the people who adjusted early will be the ones still standing when it's over."
Comments here:
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Full screen recommended.
Money Simplified, 3/21/26
"Your Money Is Disappearing
And You Don't Even Know It"
"You've been watching the Fed, watching inflation, watching politicians fight over the deficit, and wondering why nothing actually gets better. That's because the real threat to your money isn't coming from Washington. It's coming from Tokyo. For 30 years, Japan has been quietly propping up your mortgage rate, your retirement account, and the entire American financial system, and now they're pulling back. The cheap money era is ending, and the people who should be warning you are too busy chasing clicks on AI stocks and earnings calls. By the time most people figure out what happened, they'll have already lost years of buying power they're never getting back."
Comments here:
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Full screen recommended.
Money Simplified, 3/21/26
"How The US - Iran War Will
Brutally Drain Your Savings Account"
"Geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran don't just affect oil prices - they silently erode your purchasing power through a chain reaction most people never see coming. When conflict disrupts Middle Eastern oil supply or even just creates the expectation of disruption, the resulting price spikes cascade through every expense category within weeks, from groceries to rent to utilities. This behavioral economics breakdown reveals how your savings account balance can stay exactly the same while losing 12-15% of its real value during geopolitical shocks, and why defensive pessimism - building larger emergency fund buffers than conventional wisdom suggests - is the only rational response to an economic system where distant wars drain local bank accounts faster than most financial advice acknowledges."
Comments here:
"Harry Dent: 'Crash Worse Than 1929'"
Full screen recommended.
LifeWorthLiving, 3/18/26
"Harry Dent: 'Crash Worse Than 1929'"
"Harry Dent, Founder of HS Dent, warns a historic market crash worse than 1929 is coming as the 17-year stimulus-fueled bubble bursts, with stocks falling 90% and Treasury bonds the only safe investment."
Comments here:
"Americans Warned: These Foods Could Disappear First"
Full screen recommended.
Snyder Reports, 3/21/26
"Americans Warned:
These Foods Could Disappear First"
Comments here:
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Full screen recommended.
The Unfolded States, 3/21/26
"The Food Crisis in America
Is Starting To Get Out Of Control"
"Food prices in the United States are rising again, but this time it feels different. Even as inflation slows on paper, grocery bills are still hitting harder than expected. From everyday items to fast food, the cost of eating has quietly reset to a new normal that many people are still trying to understand. In this video, we break down what is really driving grocery prices in the USA, why food inflation in 2026 still feels out of control, and how hidden factors like pricing systems, supply chains, and market structure are shaping what you pay every week. This is not just about inflation. It is about how the system behind food pricing is changing. If you have noticed your grocery bill going up or your shopping habits changing, you are not alone. This breakdown connects the data with what people are actually experiencing right now."
Comments here:
"The Strait of Hormuz – A Very Strange Tug-of-War"
"The Strait of Hormuz –
A Very Strange Tug-of-War"
by Kit Knightly
"Since the US/Israel began their war – sorry, their “targeted, limited, combat operation” – hard facts have been hard to come by. In a more than usually cloudy combat narrative, we’ve been told that Iran is winning AND losing, depending who you ask. It’s a regime change war, but also it isn’t. Various Iranian officials have been killed, and some came back. Netanyahu was briefly dead, too. There was talk of a tactical nuke.
Nowhere is this fog of war thicker than in the Strait of Hormuz, about which it is seemingly impossible to get a *ahem* strait answer. The coverage is so fast-paced and contradictory it conjures up images of an elaborate game of “yes, and…” being played by members of an improv group who have totally different goals for the story, and secretly hate each other.
Within hours of the initial bombing raids of “Epic Fury”, Western news sources were reporting that Iran had closed the strait of Hormuz. Then Iran said they hadn’t, but they were threatening to. Then Western insurers stepped in, forcing a closure in effect by refusing to cover ships passing through the strait. Then Donald Trump said the US military would insure the ships, and offered them military escorts as well. Then we were told that Iran couldn’t close the Strait, even if they wanted to, because their navy had been totally destroyed. Then the press reported that Iran had mined the Strait with “about a dozen mines”, despite Iranian officials denying this entirely. More strangely, even US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, refuted the presence of mines, telling a Press Briefing, “We have no evidence of that.”
Which raises an interesting question: If both the governments involved in this war say there aren’t any mines, who is saying there ARE mines? And why? Who is overruling both the Pentagon and the Iranian Foreign Ministry? And why are the vast majority of the press accepting their word?
Unfortunately, if there ARE mines, the US Navy is in no position to do anything about them, since they decommissioned their four minesweeper ships in September, and then sailed them out of the area in January. Given that Iran mining the Strait is a very obvious potential outcome of any conflict, one the US has likely wargamed dozens of times in the last fifty years, this is “incompetence” so incredible it’s virtually self-sabotage.
Some politicians recently suggested they could use mine-sweeping drones to keep the trade line open, but the press shut that down immediately, reporting that “Mine-Sweeping Drones Don’t Eliminate The Risks For Clearing Hormuz” So the press and politicians are engaged in a debate about the best way to remove mines that are not confirmed to be there, and that both sides officially state do not exist.
Meanwhile, Iran is offering safe passage through the Strait to ships from China, or ships trading in Yuan, or just anyone who asks nicely. Which seems to suggest they are telling the truth about the absence of mines.
Which again raises the question of why the press seem so keen for those mines to be there. All of these contradictions generate a list of pressing questions:Is the Strait of Hormuz open or closed? If closed, who closed it and how? Why can’t the US Navy keep the Strait open? Does Iran have any Naval ships left? Or have they been sunk? Are there mines deployed? How many?If there are mines deployed, could Iran offer safe passage as it is allegedly doing?…All of which have either no answers at all, or multiple contradictory answers.
It seems clear that large sections of the establishment want the Strait of Hormuz closed, or at least to make everyone believe it’s closed. The broader strokes of “why” are obvious: Drive up prices, cultivate shortages and panics. Chaos. Even better, expensive chaos. The best kind. But it also seems like Donald Trump and those close to him don’t want the Strait closed and are trying to insist it is open and can be kept open. Hence, we can only suppose, the back-and-forth claims – “it’s closed!” “No, it’s open” “Definitely closed actually – and mined!” “Nope, open, open, open, open” “Closed, closed, closed closed – mines everywhere…”
Two drivers fighting over a steering wheel, while the car manically veers and swerves back and forth. This struggle over the direction of the story appears to be ongoing; just yesterday, Trump was pleading with NATO allies to help keep the Strait open. It doesn’t look like they’re going to help.
The press is even planning ahead by positioning for the economic impact of the Hormuz closure to persist past the end of the war. The Financial Times headlines…"Why Hormuz will haunt us long after this war ends," And goes on to say…"It is not in Trump’s power to reopen this vital sea passage by declaring victory and walking away. Instead his war with Iran - and the particular issue of the Strait of Hormuz - will define the rest of his presidency and may haunt his successors.
That is because the strait’s closure creates both an immediate crisis and a long-term strategic quandary. The current problem is that the longer it is closed, the greater the threat of a global recession. The future dilemma is that Iran now knows that control of the Strait of Hormuz gives it a stranglehold over the world economy. Even if it relaxes its grip in the short term, it can tighten it again in future."
Do you see? In a move straight out of "Wag the Dog," they have insured the narrative against anyone, be it Pezeshkian/Trump/Hegseth/Netanyahu/ or anyone suddenly claiming the war is over and ruining the plan. They’re telling us even if that happens, even if the sides were to come to terms and end hostilities, we’ll still be “haunted” by Hormuz and “feel the effects of the closure” long after any fighting is finished.
That makes it very clear, doesn’t it? It is vitally important to the greater narrative that the Strait of Hormuz is closed. Possibly indefinitely The question is what comes next."
"How It Really Is"
“We'll know our disinformation program is complete
when everything the American public believes is false.”
- William Casey, former director of the CIA
"Just Look At Us..."
"Just look at us. Everything is backwards; everything is upside down. Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the major media destroy information and religions destroy spirituality"
- Michael Ellner
"As Robert Oppenheimer said a short while before he died, 'It is perfectly obvious that the whole world is going to hell. The only possible chance that it might not is that we do not attempt to prevent it from doing so.' You see, many of the troubles going on in the world right now are being supervised by people with very good intentions whose attempts are to keep things in order, to clean things up, to forbid this, and to prevent that. The more we try to put everything to rights, the more we make fantastic messes. Maybe that is the way it has got to be. Maybe I should not say anything at all about the folly of trying to put things to right but simply, on the principle of Blake, let the fool persist in his folly so that he will become wise."
- Alan Watts
"Warning: America’s Housing Market Is Changing Fast"
Full screen recommended.
Snyder Reports, 3/21/26
"Warning: America’s Housing Market Is Changing Fast"
Comments here:
"Something Is Happening in America… The Cost of Living Is Pushing People to the Edge"
Full screen recommended.
The Unfolded States, 3/21/26
"Something Is Happening in America…
The Cost of Living Is Pushing People to the Edge"
"Across the United States, many people are working harder than ever, yet it still doesn’t feel like enough. Rising costs for housing, food, insurance, and everyday essentials are putting steady pressure on households, even as inflation appears to slow in official reports. This video breaks down what’s actually happening behind the numbers. From wage growth that can’t keep up, to fixed expenses that continue to rise, to the growing sense of financial burnout, we look at the real reasons why daily life feels more expensive than ever. If you’ve noticed these changes in your own life, you’re not alone. This is a closer look at the cost of living crisis in America and why Americans are struggling financially, using real data and real patterns that are shaping how people live today."
Comments here:
“Fertilizer Shock”: The Closure Of The Strait Of Hormuz Could Cause Widespread Global Food Shortages"
by Michael Snyder
"If commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains paralyzed for months, we will witness a global food crisis on a scale that many experts would have once considered to be unthinkable. Over the past couple of weeks, there has been much written about how the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused the price of oil to rise, has caused the price of natural gas to soar to insane levels and has caused the average price of diesel in the United States to jump above five dollars a gallon. But I think that the bigger story is what the closure of the Strait of Hormuz could mean for global food supplies.
Normally, approximately one-third of all globally-traded nitrogen fertilizer and approximately one-half of all globally-traded sulfur passes through the Strait of Hormuz… "Another world crisis sparked by the war in Iran may also be in the offing. That’s because the region’s oil and gas production has made it one of the world’s leading exporters of nitrogen fertilizers, which are indispensable to the global food system. To produce the chemicals used to grow much of the planet’s crops, natural gas is broken down to extract hydrogen, which is combined with nitrogen to make ammonia, and then mixed with carbon dioxide to make urea. All told, nearly a third of the global trade for nitrogen fertilizer passes through the Strait of Hormuz, while almost half of the world’s sulfur, essential in producing phosphate fertilizers, also travels through the corridor."
Reading that should chill you to the core. But that is just part of the story. Fertilizer producers in other countries will also be forced to shut down if they are not able to get the liquified natural gas that normally comes to them through the Strait of Hormuz…Already, fertilizer plants in India and Pakistan are facing production declines given the disruption to natural gas supplies from the Middle East. Gulf countries targeted in the war supply nearly all of Pakistan’s LNG imports, 72% of Bangladesh’s and 53% of India’s.
Even if deescalation occurs, the conflict has likely locked in a food price hike in the coming months. The longer the war continues, the greater the shock to food security as energy and fertiliser prices remain elevated. What we are facing is truly a global problem.
A farmer in Virginia named John Boyd recently admitted to NBC News that local dealers are telling him that “we can’t get the fertilizer” that he needs…"John Boyd Jr., a fourth-generation farmer in Virginia who grows soybeans, corn and wheat, said his fertilizer supplier recently warned him that shipments may not arrive as expected. “The dealers are telling me we can’t get the fertilizer,” Boyd told NBC News in an interview this week. “Due to the war and the bombing through that area, the fertilizer isn’t moving.” Fertilizer is essential to food production, he said, and it must be applied before crops are planted. “If I don’t apply fertilizer, that means I won’t have the yields to make my crop,” Boyd explained."
If one U.S. farmer can’t grow enough, that isn’t a big deal. But if hundreds of thousands of U.S. farmers can’t grow enough, that will be a full-blown national crisis. Stacy Simunek, the president of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, is warning that we really are facing a worst-case scenario… The war in Iran has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route not only for oil and gas, but also for fertilizers needed to produce the world’s food. “We cannot grow without it. There is absolutely no way you get around it,” said Stacy Simunek, president, Oklahoma Farm Bureau."
If farmers do not grow our food, we do not eat. The U.S. is actually in better shape than much of the rest of the world, because we produce much of the fertilizer that we use. But as Simunek has very aptly observed, if this crisis in the Middle East results in a major global fertilizer shortage, there is no way that we are going to be able to feed the entire world… “Who’s going to feed us? Where are we going to get the food to eat? Where are we going to feed the world? This is critical,” said Simunek. Already, hundreds of millions of people around the world go to bed hungry every night. So a very large disruption to global food production would push us very deep into nightmare territory.
Today, approximately half of the population of the world eats food that is grown using nitrogen fertilizer…"About 4 billion people on the planet eat food grown with synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. Roughly half of the global population, in other words, is alive because of these chemicals converted into nutrients for plants, said Lorenzo Rosa, who researches sustainable energy, water, and food systems at the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford University."
Spring planting season in the northern hemisphere is rapidly approaching. The fertilizer that would normally be traveling through the Strait of Hormuz now would get into the hands of farmers around the middle of April. But that isn’t going to happen, and that means that a lot of farmers around the world are simply not going to have the fertilizer that they need in 2026.
China produces more fertilizer than anyone else, and there was hope that they could help ease the potential global supply shock that we are facing, but instead they have chosen to implement very strict restrictions on fertilizer exports…"China is tightening controls on fertilizer exports as disruptions linked to the conflict in Iran ripple through global crop-nutrient markets and push prices higher. Authorities have asked exporters to halt outbound shipments of nitrogen-potassium fertilizer blends while reiterating existing restrictions on urea exports, according to people familiar with the matter. The steps appear aimed at protecting domestic supply and stabilizing prices as farmers prepare for the spring planting season, a period when demand typically peaks in the country’s vast agricultural sector.
People familiar with the situation said the latest directives have effectively paused overseas shipments of most fertilizer types, including compound varieties that had still been moving abroad after China loosened some urea limits last year. One key exception is ammonium sulfate, which accounted for about half of the country’s fertilizer shipments last year and remains unaffected for now."
The Chinese want to make sure that they have enough fertilizer for themselves. A global scramble for what is available has begun, and nobody can blame the Chinese for putting themselves first. But what is the rest of the world supposed to do? White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is telling us that the Trump administration is “all over the fertilizer problem”…"The Trump administration is seeking alternative fertilizer supplies for U.S. farmers as the war in Iran disrupts a key global trade route just weeks before the spring planting season. “We’ve been all over the fertilizer problem,” White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on CNBC Tuesday. “I’m not saying that we can eliminate what disruption there is so far, but we can minimize it for sure.”
Hopefully he is right. But words alone can’t magically get fertilizer into the hands of the farmers that need it. What we really need is for traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to return to normal. Unfortunately, the Iranians are telling us that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz “cannot be the same as before and return to its previous conditions”… "In a televised interview Tuesday, Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the Strait of Hormuz remained under threat because of the American and Israeli presence in the Gulf region. “The Strait of Hormuz cannot be the same as before and return to its previous conditions,” Qalibaf said, adding that “there is no longer any security.” He also cautioned that US bombs and jets could not destroy Iran’s weapons facilities."
Since the Iranians are not willing to allow commercial traffic to flow through the Strait, it will be up to the United States and Israel to reopen it, because everyone else has decided that they do not want to be involved. This is something that President Trump just posted about on his Truth Social account…
"The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon. I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street - We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need. Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military - Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again! Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer “need,” or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance - WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea. In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP
The Europeans are being hurt by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but they have announced that they are simply not willing “to put their people in harm’s way”… “Nobody is ready to put their people in harm’s way in the Strait of Hormuz,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday. “We have to find diplomatic ways to keep this open so that we don’t have a food crisis, fertilizers crisis, energy crisis as well.”
I see three ways that the Strait of Hormuz could potentially be reopened soon. The first option would be for the U.S. and Israel to give the Iranians everything that they are demanding and the war would end. But that is certainly not going to happen. The second option would be for the U.S. and Israel to put boots on the ground and secure the Iranian side of the Strait of Hormuz. But that is not going to happen any time soon. The third option would be for the U.S. and Israel to completely destroy the Iranian regime using nuclear weapons, but that would be absolutely unthinkable. The use of nuclear weapons is completely off the table, and I don’t know anyone that would argue with that.
So it appears that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed for an extended period of time. In the western world, that will mean that food prices will likely be going up quite substantially. But in impoverished nations all over the globe, the consequences will be much more serious. We are potentially facing widespread global food shortages, and most of us don’t even want to think about what that could look like."
Dan, I Allegedly, "Millions of Bank Accounts Could Be Shut Down Overnight"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 3/21/26
"Millions of Bank Accounts
Could Be Shut Down Overnight"
"Millions of bank accounts in the United States could soon face new verification requirements as regulators and financial institutions crack down on fraud, identity abuse, and незакон banking activity. In this video, I break down the growing push for stricter “Know Your Customer” (KYC) rules, new restrictions tied to SBA loans, and how these changes could impact everyday Americans, business owners, and even legal account holders. With billions lost to fraud in recent years, banks and the federal government are under pressure to act - but at what cost? We also dive into the real-world consequences of these policies, including account closures, frozen funds, and increased scrutiny of financial transactions. Could this be the beginning of broader financial surveillance or even a shift toward a digital currency system? Whether you’re concerned about your bank account, small business funding, or financial privacy, this is a story you need to understand right now."
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Michael Bordenaro, "26 'Normal' Things That Used To Be Affordable, Now Outrageously Expensive"
Full screen recommended.
Michael Bordenaro, 3/21/26
"26 'Normal' Things That Used To Be Affordable,
Now Outrageously Expensive"
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Adventures With Danno, "Outrageous Prices At Publix!"
Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 3/21/26
"Outrageous Prices At Publix!"
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Friday, March 20, 2026
"Alert! Now Pentagon Plans Iran Invasion! China WW3 Prediction"
Canadian Prepper, 3/20/26
"Alert! Now Pentagon Plans Iran Invasion!
China WW3 Prediction"
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"Bond Markets Scream; Hybrid Economic Depression Has Begun; Small Businesses Getting Destroyed"
Jeremiah Babe, 3/20/26
"Bond Markets Scream; Hybrid Economic Depression Has Begun;
Small Businesses Getting Destroyed"
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"People Aren't Prepared For What's Coming To America: A Once In A Lifetime Crash Is Already Unfolding"
"People Aren't Prepared For What's Coming To America:
A Once In A Lifetime Crash Is Already Unfolding"
"Something is shifting in America, and more people are starting to feel it every single day. The cost of living keeps climbing, good-paying jobs are disappearing, and the financial foundation that generations built their lives on is starting to look a lot less stable than it used to. In this video, we react to some of the most eye-opening clips circulating right now about where the U.S. economy is truly headed, and what it might mean for everyday Americans. People across the country are waking up to the fact that the economy is not going through more than just a rough patch. The signals coming in from financial markets, from global investors, from historians, and from regular Americans living paycheck to paycheck all seem to be pointing in the same direction. And that direction is not reassuring.
From the weakening of the U.S. dollar to the growing threat of nations pulling out of dollar-based systems, the cracks in the foundation are becoming harder to ignore. The national debt is approaching numbers that would have seemed unthinkable not long ago. Fifty billion dollars borrowed every single week. Interest payments alone threatening to consume entire future budgets. Wall Street lenders sitting on shaky loans tied to an AI expansion that has yet to prove it can deliver on its promises. These abstract problems have real consequences for real people trying to build a life in this country. And then there are the layoffs. Over a hundred thousand jobs lost in January 2026 alone. Major tech companies cutting tens of thousands of workers while funneling billions into data centers and AI infrastructure. Entry-level jobs down 35 percent since 2023. More people out of work for six months or longer than at almost any point in recent memory.
The job market is not just slow right now. For a lot of people, it feels completely broken. What makes all of this so heavy is that the people being hit hardest are doing everything right. They are applying, networking, interviewing, and still coming up empty. And on top of that, they are watching the purchasing power of every dollar they earn quietly erode year after year. The retirement math for younger generations has become almost impossible. The homeownership dream keeps drifting further out of reach. And for the first time since the Great Depression, more people are leaving the United States than are moving into it. We hope this gives you something to think about, something to talk about with the people around you, and maybe some motivation to rethink what stability and security actually look like for you and your family right now."
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Judge Napolitano, "INTEL Roundtable w/Johnson & McGovern - Week of 20 March"
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 3/20/26
"INTEL Roundtable w/Johnson & McGovern - Week of 20 March"
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o
Full screen recommended.
War Current, 3/20/26
"Iran Just Hit 3 Gulf States in One Night -
$80 Billion Gas Infrastructure Destroyed"
"Last night changed everything. Iran launched coordinated strikes hitting Qatar's massive Ras Laffan LNG facility, UAE's critical Habshan gas hub, and Saudi Arabia's SAMREF refinery in Yanbu - three Gulf states, one night, $80 billion in energy infrastructure targeted. Europe's gas supply just entered survival mode as the world's largest LNG exporter goes offline and global markets panic. This isn't regional conflict anymore - this is the opening move of an energy war that will hit every economy on Earth."
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Danny Haiphong, 3/20/26
"Larry Johnson & Col. Lawrence Wilkerson:
Iran Takes Down F-35, Rains Missile Hell on Israel"
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Musical Interlude: Ludovico Einaudi, "Lady Labyrinth & Nightbook"; "Una Mattina"
Full screen recommended.
Ludovico Einaudi,
"Lady Labyrinth & Nightbook"
o
Full screen recommended.
Ludovico Einaudi, "Una Mattina"
"A Look to the Heavens"
“The Flame Nebula is a stand out in optical images of the dusty, crowded star forming regions toward Orion's belt and the easternmost belt star Alnitak, a mere 1,400 light-years away. Alnitak is the bright star at the right edge of this infrared image from the Spitzer Space Telescope. About 15 light-years across, the infrared view takes you inside the nebula's glowing gas and obscuring dust clouds though. It reveals many stars of the recently formed, embedded cluster NGC 2024 concentrated near the center.
The stars of NGC 2024 range in age from 200,000 years to 1.5 million years young. In fact, data indicate that the youngest stars are concentrated near the middle of the Flame Nebula cluster. That's the opposite of the simplest models of star formation for a stellar nursery that predict star formation begins in the denser center of a molecular cloud core. The result requires a more complex model for star formation inside the Flame Nebula.”
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