Elizabeth City, North Carolina, USA. Thanks for stopping by!
So, we rise from the rubble...
Friday, September 30, 2022
"Massive Price Increases At Walmart! This Is Ridiculous! Not Good!"
Full screen recommended.
Adventures with Danno, 9/30/22:
"Massive Price Increases At Walmart!
This Is Ridiculous! Not Good!"
"In today's vlog we are at Walmart, and are noticing massive price increases! We are here to check out skyrocketing prices, and a lot of empty shelves! It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"
Comments here:
"The Downturn Has Finally Happened"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, iAllegedly 9/30/22:
"The Downturn Has Finally Happened"
"Real Estate has finally turned. Core inflation is sky high.
Companies are feeling the supply chain impact. The world is bracing for impact."
Comments here:
Gregory Mannarino, "Mannarino Melts Down! We Are In A Full Blown Currency Crisis!"
Gregory Mannarino, AM 9/30/22:
"Mannarino Melts Down!
We Are In A Full Blown Currency Crisis!"
Comments here:
Bill Bonner and Joel Bowman, "Pulling Punches"
"Pulling Punches"
by Bill Bonner and Joel Bowman
Youghal, Ireland - "Yesterday, we opined that the Fed wouldn’t go ‘far enough’ in its fight against inflation. Today, we clue you in: the fight is rigged. The Fed will take a dive. Why? Because inflation is not a natural phenomenon. Instead, it’s federal policy. The feds wanted more money. Neither the taxpayers nor the credit markets were willing to provide it. The result was a policy – inflation. The Fed ‘printed’ up the necessary funds. It was spent. The real costs were pushed into the future. And this year, the future showed up.
Over the last 12 months, the interest on federal debt rose above $700 billion per year. As the Fed raises interest rates, the number will soon go over the cost of Social Security and Pentagon spending – combined. Meanwhile, inflation reached 40-year highs. What to do? There are only two choices. Inflate more. Or crash the economy and default on it.
Pressure Mounting: The Fed is headed towards default, with pressure to change course already mounting in the mainstream presses. The LA Times: "Painful signs emerge that Fed is moving too far, too fast with aggressive rate increases. The present danger...is not so much that current and planned moves will fail eventually to quell inflation. It is that they collectively go too far and drive the world economy into an unnecessarily harsh contraction."
And here’s MarketWatch: "‘Financial markets are throwing in the towel’: Recession fears escalate as Fed slams brakes on the economy. The likelihood of sharply higher interest rates has tilted the odds toward another recession within a year, economists say. Yet some still hold out hope the U.S. can muddle through with a period of slow growth instead of outright decline.
In a move widely expected by financial markets, the Federal Reserve orchestrated another jumbo-size hike in U.S. interest rates last week. What was unexpected was the central bank’s aggressive forecast for even higher rates in the year ahead. The surprise forecast triggered a major decline in the stock market as the realization sank in that the Fed is determined to squelch the highest U.S. inflation in 40 years - no matter the cost."
Throw in the towel? When stocks are only just tipping into bear market territory? There will be plenty of towels to throw in later. In the meantime, we’ve got a long way to go. Then, the Fed will ‘pivot’ like a ballerina. The media will celebrate the great man; another ‘Tall Paul’ Volcker, they will say. The markets will soar on the good news. But that is not for now. Not yet. That will require an emergency; Jay Powell has not caused one… yet.
A Most Remarkable Period: In this farce, our hero – Jerome Powell – must suffer… he must overcome great challenges… he must persevere against evil and overwhelming odds. Only then, he can announce his great victory over inflation… and go back to inflating the economy.
In the most remarkable period in US financial history, America’s government debt went from just $23 trillion in 2020 to nearly $31 trillion today. That additional $8 trillion of spending should have stimulated the pants off of the economy. Instead, it was squandered on wars and stimmies… and now is recalled – like a wine-stained bill from a fancy bordello – only as debt. The Fed partied hard. We measured it yesterday as about $50 trillion in asset prices above ‘normal’ and $47 trillion in excess debt (above the traditional 180% of GDP level).
An alert Dear Reader comments: "$50 trillion in surplus wealth. $47 trillion in surplus debt. That those two numbers are almost equal can’t be a coincidence. What they obviously imply: Over the past 4 decades, there’s been little REAL wealth creation in the US. It’s almost all just debt." Now, getting back to normal means erasing both of them.
The Fed’s Fake Coin: And here lies the dramatic tension at the heart of our tale. The Fed cannot launder out the stains of debt without also washing away the credit. The two are linked together – asset and liability – both sides of the Fed’s fake coin.
The Fed flooded the economy with $8 trillion in fake money, and trillions more in fake credit offered at fake interest rates. All of this ‘money’ created fake wealth… in stocks, bonds, and real estate. But it also created excess debt of almost the same amount. Now, the owners of that wealth – not by coincidence either! – just happen to be the same people who decide on federal policies. They may be desperate to rid themselves of the debt – but not the wealth. Fake or not, they like it.
Can they ditch the debt and keep the wealth? How will that work out? It is not very promising. As the Fed raises rates, asset prices come down. A house might have sold for $400,000 to a person with a 3% mortgage. Now, with mortgage rates approaching 7%, how much is it worth? $300,000? $200,000?
As the collateral comes down, so does the value of the money lent against it. Existing debt – bonds, notes, mortgage debt… even US government debt – all go down in value. Who’s going to want a 2020-vintage 10-year US T-bond bearing a 1% coupon… when he can buy a new one earning 4%? Who’s going to lend to Wall Street when he can get 3% in an FDIC-protected savings account? We don’t know. But we’re sure there’s an empty congressional seat waiting for him somewhere.
Joel’s Note: Speaking of home loans, the national average for a 30-year mortgage just topped 7% for the first time since 2000. Moreover, it was also the fastest 1% increase in history, taking place in less than one month. (It only topped 6% two weeks ago…) What does this mean for the average American “home loaner?” And what does it portend for that great ballast of American, middle class family wealth?
According to data compiled by the Atlanta Fed, the median American family now needs to spend more than half their income to service payments on the median-priced American home. That’s the highest percentage level in over 15 years and almost double what it was just 12 months ago. If that looks like the biggest mortgage rate shock in over 40 years… that’s because it is. (H/T to @NewsLambert at FortuneMagazine for this worrying chart)…
Meanwhile, yesterday’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed an “unexpected” (by “experts”) drop in home prices month-over-month. The 20-City Composite index fell 0.44% on the month, far below the expected 0.20% increase. It was the first sequential drop in home prices tracked by Case-Shiller in more than a decade.
It makes one wonder how people can afford to get by, what with rising rates, falling home prices, 40yr high inflation and plummeting stock markets…In completely unrelated news, total credit card debt is up more than 20% over the past year. Hmm…"
Greg Hunter, "Weekly News Wrap-Up 9/30/22"
"Weekly News Wrap-Up 9/30/22"
Trump Warns of Nuke War, Ian the Destroyer, Vax the Killer
by Greg Hunter
"President Trump is openly warning about the possibility of nuclear war with Russia over Ukraine. Trump has offered to negotiate a peace deal, but no one is taking him up on his offer. Instead, the U.S. Congress has approved a fresh $12 billion to keep it all going. There are zero peace talks going on now, and Biden and NATO do not want them. They want war, and it’s only a matter of time with the latest blowing up of the Nord Stream Pipelines that carry natural gas from Russia to Germany.
Hurricane Ian has landed in Southwest Florida, and it has caused severe damage. Governor Ron DeSantis said it brought a 500-year flood to some parts of the Sunshine State. Estimates are up to $40 billion in damages that were caused by the hurricane. The mayor of Fort Myers Beach says the city is 90% gone, and there is nothing to come home to.
The vax keeps killing and maiming people, and they keep injecting this bioweapon into unsuspecting people. The latest death was a one-month only baby that needed a routine blood infusion and got vaxed blood. It killed the child, according to his mother. Now, we find out the American Red Cross is not separating vaxed blood from unvaxed blood. Could this be as deadly and damaging as the injections? To the mother of the one-month old given vaxed blood, the answer is sadly, yes. The vax is still finding a way to kill even if it is not injected."
Join Greg Hunter on Rumble as he talks about these
stories and more in the Weekly News Wrap-Up for 9/30/22:
Jim Kunstler, "Slouching Toward Endgame"
Breugel’s prophetic depiction of mid 21st century daily life in Euroland.
"Slouching Toward Endgame"
by Jim Kunstler
“There is a dark craving for rot… as if decay were an escape from
the limits, the oppressive fears and the pains of an individual existence.”
- Eric Hoffer
"Since “Joe Biden” flat-out promised last February to “bring an end to the Nord Stream pipeline” - and let’s assume he meant both NS 1 and 2 - why seek further to unravel a fake mystery? Is our apparitional “president” not a man of his word? Of course, the machinery behind “Joe Biden” so far denies any credit for the consequential act, but who in this land is unaware that the US government’s default setting these days for answering anything is to lie.
The purpose of the act was likewise simple, plain, and obvious: to foreclose any possibility of Germany negotiating a separate peace with Russia around the financial and economic sanctions imposed by the USA over the Ukraine operation. Don’t you suppose it was clear to any German with half a brain that NATO’s joining of the sanctions was nothing less than a one-way ticket to Palookaville for Euroland? That it would mean goodbye to its advanced manufacturing economy and then goodbye to a comfortable, modern, standard of living?
Not many weeks ago German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock told the world that Germany would support Ukraine (and US-driven NATO policy) “no matter what German voters think.” That was all for show, you understand, to maintain the flimsy pretense that NATO had any actual stake in whatever happens in Ukraine - as the result of the dumpster fire set there by America. At the same time, that very same German foreign ministry was sneaking through back channels to feel out the Russian foreign ministry on ways Germany might get Russian natgas on the down-low, through third parties, say, Turkey, buying time until the glorious day those Nord Stream pipelines might re-open and the former normality of German economic life would resume?
“Joe Biden” slammed the door on that pretty conclusively Monday, blowing up the two pipelines, a premier act of insanity by a US government fueled at every level and in every direction by psychotic strategic thinking. For starters, consider that the Nord Stream sabotage amounts to the leading member of NATO committing an act-of-war against the rest of NATO. What else do you call depriving most of Europe the means to make a living - or merely to stay alive?
As it happens, Germany is in no position to answer this casus belli by going to war against the USA. Germany has a Potemkin military - America has made sure of that since 1945, the last time these Teutons of northern forests went batshit crazy against Western Civ. Seems to me that either Chancellor Olaf Scholz acknowledges this deadly affront to Germany and negates further participation in the NATO Ukraine idiocy, OR, within a few months he will face violent political uprising from his own people and his government will fall - and not necessarily within the framework of any orderly parliamentary procedure. More like mobs in the streets… chaos… government buildings torched… officials strung-up - real insurrection, not the fake kind we hear about endlessly from the American Party of Chaos.
How, exactly, do any of the major NATO countries continue to regard the USA as any kind of ally? They won’t and they can’t. Anyway, and despite the recent panicked expansion of NATO, member countries of the adjoining scaffold known as the European Union are peeling off one-by-one. Georgia Meloni, soon to be Prime Minister of Italy, couldn’t have put it more plainly when her coalition won last week’s election: she and they oppose in the strongest terms all the Woke nonsense that the World Economic Forum has programmed into the EU. She and they are against the cancellation of individual liberties and tyrannical affronts to due process of law; are against the degenerate campaign to undermine family, church, and national sovereignty; and are unwilling to act as a dumping ground for anymore Third World hordes the EU stupidly induces to come to Europe’s shores.
Don’t worry, before much longer something similar will happen in France, too. Perhaps the mobs of nationalists in Paris will be inflamed enough to roll out the old “national razor,” to make their seriousness emphatic. Adieu Fifth Republic. The Sixth is on its way to the maternity ward and it will not recognize the EU as its maman. There’s a whole lotta shakin’going on across Europe. Holland’s farmers were already furious over Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s disgraceful obeisance to der Schwabenklaus’s malevolent program aimed at shutting down Dutch agriculture. Rutte will be gone before spring planting time, 2023. Sweden, like Italy, had repudiated its Woked-up Leftist rulers just weeks ago in an orderly national election. Crowds of protestors lit up Prague this week. It’ll still be good marching weather all over Euroland for some weeks ahead.
The Euro currency fell below par with the US dollar. Its days are numbered and when, perforce, it must be replaced by the old national currencies - francs, marks, guilders, lira - then submission to the EU will reach a logical end and it’s back to national sovereignty, too. The UK, America’s wing-man, has become an entirely feckless, sinking operation. The country is functionally bankrupt, the pound is dying, and, by resorting again to the old QE bond-buying racket, the Bank of England has just doomed the country to even more ruinous inflation. Liz Truss will be a three-month wonder. Things might get so wild in Old Blighty that Nigel Farage will wind up in 10 Downing Street.
As for Russia’s doings in Ukraine, the Donbas oblast elections are a done deal. Mr. Putin has not yet responded to the extreme provocation of the Nord Stream vandalism. I doubt he will make some histrionic tit-for-tat act of retaliation against any critical infrastructure of NATO or America itself. Rather, he will now methodically proceed to wipe up the floor with Mr. Zelenskyy’s army, eliminate whatever American missiles and other ordnance are stockpiled around the place, complete the occupation of the Black Sea coastal territory from Kherson to Odesa, and put that troublesome backwater of Western Civ in order. The hallmark of the operation will be a measured and businesslike approach. Russia will just get it done, put out the dumpster fire, and refuse to allow the USA to start World War Three.
“Joe Biden” and his regime of Satanic degenerates will just have to lump it. They will have lost Europe’s loyalty by the foolish Nord Stream caper. They will have enough trouble on their hands at home with America’s collapsing economy and all the ill-feeling they have generated with the Woke insults, persecutions, and punishments inflicted on half the population - not to mention the coming dire repercussions of the wicked Covid “vaccine” scam. In the meantime, “Joe Biden’s” Party of Chaos faces the wrath of American voters in the midterm election. And if, perchance, they take the majestically stupid step of cancelling, postponing or somehow messing with that election, they will face the wrath of the voters from the ground beneath the hanging tree."
Thursday, September 29, 2022
"As Hoarding Intensifies, Food Prices Will Shoot Up In The Months Ahead"
Full screen recommended.
"As Hoarding Intensifies,
Food Prices Will Shoot Up In The Months Ahead"
by Epic Economist
"Food prices are about to shoot up even higher in the next 60 days, according to industry executives who run the nation’s food supply chain. Of course, food prices always fluctuate, but what Americans are about to see at the stores in the next couple of months is going to be quite shocking, they say. Thanks to endless supply chain issues, an ongoing bird flu outbreak, transportation delays, and a growing consumer demand, aggressive price increases are being announced as our grocery stores continue to have a tough time staying stocked. Meanwhile, shoppers continue to worry about shortages, and they seem more motivated to stock up on essentials before the situation worsens. Even after two years into the pandemic, stockpiling food is a trend that has never disappeared, but there are accusations that some people are actually “hoarding”. However, analysts say grocers haven’t seen the worst of this wave just yet.
In its latest update to its Food Price Outlook Report, the USDA found that all food categories are expected to go up in price next month. And yes, those increases will come that's on top of the price hike consumers have already been forced to endure over the past 12 months. "All food prices are now predicted to increase between 4.5 and 5.5%," the USDA's Economic Research Service explained in its forecast report for October.
But according to the food industry executive and billionaire supermarket owner, John Catsimatidis, the outlook for the next 60 days is even more disturbing. During a recent interview, the expert said that overall food prices are going to hit the double-digit mark. “I see over 10 percent price increase in the next 60 days,” he told Fox Business, adding that the trend will not drop “anytime soon.” Catsimatidis cited rising inflation and supply chain bottlenecks that are currently plaguing supermarkets and other retailers across the nation.
A 10 percent increase in a span of just 60 days would put the U.S. food inflation rate at an overwhelming 60 percent on an annual basis. Although Catsimatidis’s projection seems pretty extreme, he is one of the top executives of the nation’s food supply chain and he is in a position to know the trends, that’s why we should all take his ominous warning very seriously.
Meanwhile, another industry executive that was interviewed by Bloomberg said that right now he’s seeing people rush to stockpile everything from canned goods to boxed items and even making a run on milk when it’s available in grocery stores. “People are hoarding,” said CEO and founder of Saffron Road Adnan Durrani. “What I think you’ll see over the next six months, all prices will go higher.”
The change in consumer behavior has also been registered by the U.S. Census Department, which recently reported that the combined spending on food supplies reached an all-time high of $139.2 billion this month, a sizable 25.7% increase compared to a year prior. At the moment, several parts of the US are still battling food shortages while worried Americans continue to empty supermarket shelves. The CEO of Albertsons, Vivek Sankara, revealed that customers should expect they are going to have “something missing in our stores” on “any given day.” “I never imagined that we’d be here still talking about supply-chain problems, but it’s a reality,” Sankaran said.
The near-term forecasts seem too crazy to believe, but it would be even crazier to ignore them. The truth is that people are finally waking up to the fact that our systems are falling in thousands of different ways all around us. As the winter approaches, store shelves are just going to continue to get barer. Even the federal is admitting that things will get worse before they get better. But will they get better? Ever?"
"A Look to the Heavens"
"This popular group leaps into the early evening sky around the March equinox and the northern hemisphere spring. Famous as the Leo Triplet, the three magnificent galaxies found in the prominent constellation Leo gather here in one astronomical field of view. Crowd pleasers when imaged with even modest telescopes, they can be introduced individually as NGC 3628 (right), M66 (upper left), and M65 (bottom). All three are large spiral galaxies but tend to look dissimilar, because their galactic disks are tilted at different angles to our line of sight.
NGC 3628, also known as the Hamburger Galaxy, is temptingly seen edge-on, with obscuring dust lanes cutting across its puffy galactic plane. The disks of M66 and M65 are both inclined enough to show off their spiral structure. Gravitational interactions between galaxies in the group have left telltale signs, including the tidal tails and warped, inflated disk of NGC 3628 and the drawn out spiral arms of M66. This gorgeous view of the region spans over 1 degree (two full moons) on the sky in a frame that covers over half a million light-years at the trio's estimated distance of 30 million light-years. Of course the spiky foreground stars lie well within our own Milky Way."
"The Free and the Brave"
"The Free and the Brave"
by Todd Hayen
"Whatever happened to that (the free and the brave)? Whatever happened to the attitude that had Patrick Henry at the Virginia convention in 1775 say “give me liberty, or give me death”?
Whatever happened to the patriotic fervor and the uncanny commitment to face suffering and death that resulted in over two million young men volunteering for service in World War I, and five times that number volunteering to serve in World War II?
Whatever happened to the ability to conquer fear and ride on the excitement for adventure and potential for immeasurable success that drove hundreds of thousands of men and women into the wild, and dangerous, frontiers of the American West?
Whatever happened to the spirit that filled the souls of those that faced stark adversity, danger to life and limb, that lead over 50,000 hapless men and women (mostly men) into the jungles of Central America to build the Panama Canal? - ultimately killing over 5,000 of them as a result of accidents, all manner of diseases including malaria and dysentery?
What happened?
Yeah, this is about us, guys (me included!) Sure, women can be brave - any biological sexual orientation can activate the warrior archetype - but more commonly it is the gendered male that falls into this archetypal constellation. Bravery - a compulsion to protect those he loves, have a critical and logical assessment of a difficult situation, and the force and power, at the very least a potential force and power, ready to inflict whatever necessary to protect partner and family, community and nation. We, us men, have seemed to have lost much of that. Have we become a bunch of puss-balls?
Dr Mark McDonald, a prominent medical doctor with a speciality in psychiatry, doesn’t mince words when he says while describing the psychological state of men and women during this crises: "We essentially have men with no balls, and then we have histrionics, women who have no emotional containment, because there are no men to contain them anymore.”
Sexist? Maybe some will think so, but McDonald is not putting all the blame on one sex, or exclusively on the masculine or feminine archetypes, the responsibility here is rather well balanced.
What does this mean? Very basically it means we have created a culture that has done a pretty good job of emasculating men - the radical feminist movement, as well as a general lack of situations where men can express their “man-ness” in a healthy way, has been a big part of the problem.
“Toxic Masculinity” is a phrase and concept that has taken the world by storm, and contributes quite a bit to the confusion that men are experiencing while trying to ascertain what a “real man” is in today’s “anti male” culture. “Oh boo hoo” some of you may be saying. “Men, through their powerful patriarchal history of abusing women and treating them as inferior partners in relationships deserve a little pull back!” There certainly is truth to that, but two wrongs don’t make a right. You can’t carve out an essential part of being a “man” without some collateral damage, all the way around.
So what does being a “real man” have to do with bravery? A lot, actually. Facing adversity and danger, primarily in order to protect the physically weaker, is a very important attribute of the masculine archetype of warrior, or even king if you want to get more detailed about it. Historically and traditionally the man has been the protector, the physical, and sometimes intellectual (intelligence that is present in logic reasoning and critical thinking) found in masculine archetypes (again, archetypes both men and women have access to).
These attributes are primarily directed toward protection and outwardly projected as strength and resolve. This often stabilizes the more emotional feminine archetypal factors that again, typically, are activated by the female, or woman, in a relationship.
As a psychotherapist, and an archetypal psychologist at that, I see these archetypal powers and influences playing out in my clients every day. Most of the problems I find in a couple’s therapy stems from an imbalance, or a dysfunction, in these energies of masculine and feminine. Again, the “man” in a couple can be activating both masculine and feminine archetypes, as well as the “woman.” The problem comes in if the archetypes activated are inappropriate, out of balance, and create a result that is unexpected, undesired, or not beneficial. Most of these influences run in the unconscious, so very seldom are they consciously manipulated.
It wasn’t until I met Dr McDonald that I connected some very important dots. McDonald recently wrote and released a book titled "United States of Fear." The subtitle of the book, “How America Fell Victim to a Mass Delusional Psychosis” is the primary focus.
McDonald holds nothing back when he addresses what he believes to be a fundamental cause of this mass psychosis. He believes that women (feminine archetypes driving the woman’s behavior) need a strong, and masculine man, to contain her emotionality (due to the unfettered expression of her feminine archetypes.) McDonald, in an interview given on Jerm Warfare, said:
"Do you think men with masks on make women feel safe? It only shows they have no balls. I’ve spoken with female police officers who see men in camouflage, tattooed, driving around in trucks with gun racks - wearing masks. They tell me, ‘this does not make me feel safe. This makes me afraid. If they are this scared of a virus, how will they react to a real threat - what’s going to happen when the bear comes out of the woods? What’s going to happen when a rapist tries to attack me? What’s going to happen when my children are going to be kidnapped by the man in the park, what are they going to do? With their mask on are they going to say, “Please stop. Please. Please.” They’re not going to put their lives on the line. They won’t even put their mouth on the line.’”
Harsh words, my brothers. Harsh words, but I think quite on the money. Is this the only thing that is driving the collapse we are seeing in those that cannot stand up to this current tyranny, and say “Enough is enough, step back!” No, of course not, but, in my opinion, it is a large part of the problem.
Our culture, at least in the West, has been set up for this to happen. We have become more and more dependent on government taking care of us, thus losing our own personal drive to develop character and strength. We depend on government and authority to think for us, and tell us what is best for us to, in a word, parent us. We comply, we stay children, and we ultimately suffer.
The brave hold onto what makes them free and are willing to fight for it. Freedom is a God given right, not one bestowed upon us by any other authority. The healthy masculine archetypes of warrior and king have at their side the symbolic sword representing their power over adversity and danger.
There is a time for the warrior to pull the sword from its scabbard just a few inches to allow the sun to glint off of its polished surface, flashing in the eyes of a potential enemy, letting them know who they are dealing with. And then there is the time to pull the sword completely free from its confines and slash what is seriously threatening the warrior and those he loves. Now is the time to fight."
○
“You cannot kill me here. Bring your soldiers, your death, your disease, your collapsed economy because it doesn’t matter, I have nothing left to lose and you cannot kill me here. Bring the tears of orphans and the wails of a mother’s loss, bring your God damn air force and Jesus on a cross, bring your hate and bitterness and long working hours, bring your empty wallets and love long since gone but you cannot kill me here. Bring your sneers, your snide remarks and friendships never felt, your letters never sent, your kisses never kissed, cigarettes smoked to the bone and cancer killing fears but you cannot kill me here. For I may fall and I may fail but I will stand again each time and you will find no satisfaction. Because you cannot kill me here.”
- Iain S. Thomas
"Pandora’s Box, Opened?"
"Pandora’s Box, Opened?"
by Brian Maher
“No doubt the U.S. government is behind it; if not, the English on behalf of the U.S.”
“It doesn’t make sense for Russia to sabotage their pipeline. Follow the money and the conspicuous timing with the other Poland-Norway pipeline… Coordinating such an adventure is difficult and expensive. It would need submarines and logistics. Who has the money and the motive? NATO and their billionaire banking friends. Act of war for sure.”
“My first thought was that either Ukraine or the U.S. was responsible. Their motivation would be to ensure that, when winter hits, the Europeans don't succumb to the pressure of energy shortages and lift sanctions on Russia to save them from backlash from their constituents. I think either of these parties would be capable enough and devious enough to undertake this sabotage - even more likely, the U.S. and Ukraine coordinated this sabotage. And the CIA warning to Germany could easily have been a false flag to belay suspicion.”
“I do not believe Russia would damage the golden goose that's paying for its war in Ukraine, nor would it damage its leverage against Europe. China, however, has nothing to lose by the sabotage of Nord Stream. It gains more Russian dependence on China's purchase of Russian energy resources. Also, it strikes a blow against Europe and the West at an opportune time, with winter coming. Lastly, China has new submarines that can deliver an explosive package in the deep. I believe China did it.”
“Shouldn't rule out the eco-terrorists! They got the Democrats to kill the XL pipeline, why not the Nord Stream pipelines?”
“In a word: Israel.”
Yesterday we solicited your opinion on who dynamited the Nord Stream pipelines. Here you have but a sample of the answers we received. The United States, Russia, Great Britain, Ukraine, China, Israel, eco-terrorists… readers have placed each under suspicion’s cloud for one reason or other. While we cannot publish or acknowledge the entire run of responses, be assured that we looked each one over. The bulking majority were thoughtful and insightful. We thank you for your participation.
Whoever has the true answer is keeping it dark. In the meantime we expect rumors will swirl and swirl and swirl yet more. Yesterday we expressed nagging doubts about Russia’s supposed guilt. Revenues from pipelined natural gas exports keep Russia in funds. These exports likewise cede Russia fantastic leverage over energy-needy Europe.
Why would Russia shoot a bullet through its perfectly good foot? We concede the possibility of Russian guilt. The foot-shooting may serve some high statecraft of which we are ignorant. Yet we incline away from the Russian theory - and for the reasons just listed. The pipelines represent a grand strategic asset.
Let us assume for the moment that Russia is free of guilt. Another party… or parties… dynamited the pipes. Is it not a war act against Russia, as one reader claims? If a foreign actor blasted holes in an American-run pipeline, how would the United States take it? As a war act in all likelihood.
Let us assume, further, that the Russian intelligence agencies pinpoint the culprit. They acquire the red-handed evidence, the recently fired handgun oozing smoke from the barrel. Will Russia simply let the war act go? Or will it seek its fracture for fracture, its eye for lost eye, its tooth for lost tooth? We bet high it would pursue the path of vengeance.
Let us assume, lastly, that the responsible party is a Western power. Perhaps that power conspired and leagued with others to wreck the Nord Stream pipelines. What would prevent Russia from playing the devil with Western energy pipelines? The Russian Navy boasts substantial submarine capabilities and the frogmen for the job.
Another possibility to consider: The global internet depends upon undersea communications cables to very high degrees - some 380 in all. Here are those joining the United States to Europe:
What if Russia chooses to scissor many of them in a coordinated caper… and knock down the internet in selected locations? British lawmaker Rishi Sunak: "Funneled through exposed choke points (often with minimal protection) and their isolated deep-sea locations entirely public, the arteries upon which the internet and our modern world depends have been left highly vulnerable. The threat of these vulnerabilities being exploited is growing. A successful attack would deal a crippling blow to Britain’s [and America’s] security and prosperity."
Meantime, Russia knows how to play with computers. What if yesterday’s pipeline assault unleashes their hacking talents against critical U.S. and European infrastructure? Here we merely speculate. Nothing at all may come to pass from yesterday’s aggressions. And we concede - again - the possibility of Russian self-sabotage, however unlikely in our estimate. Yet perhaps… just perhaps… Tuesday's pipeline explosions blasted the lid clear off Pandora’s box…"
Judge Napolitano, "Col. Doug Macgregor: Ukraine Russia War Latest"
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 9/29/22:
"Col. Doug Macgregor: Ukraine Russia War Latest"
Comments here:
Gregory Mannarino, "They Are Breeding Us Like Rats To Consume, Only To Kill Us Off"
Gregory Mannarino, PM 9/29/22:
"They Are Breeding Us Like Rats To Consume,
Only To Kill Us Off"
Comments here:
"Economic Market Snapshot 9/29/22"
"Economic Market Snapshot 9/29/22"
Market Data Center, Live Updates:
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Down the rabbit hole of psychopathic greed and insanity...
Only the consequences are real - to you!
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Latest Market Analysis, Updated 9/29/22
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A comprehensive, essential daily read.
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Financial Stress Index
"The OFR Financial Stress Index (OFR FSI) is a daily market-based snapshot of stress in global financial markets. It is constructed from 33 financial market variables, such as yield spreads, valuation measures, and interest rates. The OFR FSI is positive when stress levels are above average, and negative when stress levels are below average. The OFR FSI incorporates five categories of indicators: credit, equity valuation, funding, safe assets and volatility. The FSI shows stress contributions by three regions: United States, other advanced economies, and emerging markets."
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Job cuts and much more.
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Commentary, highly recommended:
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"The more I see of the monied classes,
the better I understand the guillotine."
- George Bernard Shaw
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Oh yeah... beyond words. Any I know anyway...
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And now... The End Game...
"Market Hope Crushed Today; Carmax Collapse; Real Estate Crash Trending"
Jeremiah Babe, 9/29/22:
"Market Hope Crushed Today; Carmax Collapse;
Real Estate Crash Trending"
Comments here:
Gerald Celente, "Trends in The News"
VERY strong language alert!
Gerald Celente, 9/29/29:
"Trends in The News"
"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present Facts and Truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for What’s Next in these increasingly turbulent times."
Comments here:
"This Cycle Of Retaliation Between The U.S. And Russia Will Ultimately Lead To Nuclear War"
"This Cycle Of Retaliation Between The U.S.
And Russia Will Ultimately Lead To Nuclear War"
by Michael Snyder
"For the good of humanity, this has got to stop. The United States and Russia both keep raising the stakes, and if we keep repeating this cycle it will end with a nuclear war that could ultimately result in billions of deaths. Unfortunately, leaders on both sides do not seem interested in peace at this point. The votes that Russia just conducted in four disputed territories were inevitably going to raise tensions even higher. Of course the western powers have been greatly escalating matters themselves. Over the past couple of months, NATO has gotten far more deeply involved in the conflict in Ukraine, and now the war is starting to spread beyond Ukrainian borders.
Everyone agrees that the damage caused to the Nord Stream pipeline system was an act of sabotage. As I discussed yesterday, an explosion that registered 1.9 on the Richter scale was followed by a second explosion that registered 2.3 on the Richter scale. These explosions were absolutely huge, and that suggests that this was a military operation.
Many in the western world are blaming Russia for the sabotage, but why would they blow up pipelines that they spent so much time and energy constructing and that have enabled them to make giant mountains of money selling natural gas to Europe? The Russians have already been punishing the Europeans by restricting the flow of gas through those pipelines. There was certainly no need to blow them up. If it is ultimately proven that the Russians did this, it would be one of the stupidest geopolitical moves that I have ever seen.
Of course there is someone else that could have done it. On Friday, September 23rd the following statement was posted on the official White House website…"The United States will never recognize Ukrainian territory as anything other than part of Ukraine. Russia’s referenda are a sham – a false pretext to try to annex parts of Ukraine by force in flagrant violation of international law, including the United Nations Charter. We will work with our allies and partners to impose additional swift and severe economic costs on Russia. The United States stands with our partners around the world – and with every nation that respects the core tenets of the UN charter – in rejecting whatever fabricated outcomes Russia will announce. We will continue to support the Ukrainian people and provide them with security assistance to help them defend themselves as they courageously resist Russia’s invasion."
So Joe Biden promised to impose “swift and severe economic costs on Russia” on Friday, and then on Monday both Nord Stream pipelines were blown up. And by now you have probably already heard that Joe Biden threatened to attack the Nord Stream pipeline system before the war in Ukraine even started…
Pres. Biden: “If Russia invades…then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.”
Reporter: “But how will you do that, exactly, since…the project is in Germany’s control?”
Biden: “I promise you, we will be able to do that.”
Biden had obviously been discussing this option with his advisers, and one of those advisers named Victoria Nuland also made a similar threat prior to the outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict… “If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.”
Some enterprising reporter needs to ask the Biden administration if they were responsible for the sabotage. Of course they will probably deny it even if they ordered the attack. But it is interesting to note that the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group entered the Baltic Sea in early September…"The Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) with the embarked 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) concluded two successful training events with the Swedish Armed Forces and Standing NATO Maritime Group (SNMG) 1 while operating in the Baltic Sea, Sept. 4, 2022."
Unfortunately, the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group didn’t leave the Baltic Sea area right away. In fact, it is being reported that this task force didn’t actually leave the Baltic Sea until a few days ago…"The Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) have departed the Baltic Sea and are in the English Channel. The ARG includes USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), USS Arlington (LPD-24) and USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44). Kearsarge and Gunston Hall completed port calls in Gdynia and Gdansk, respectively, last week."
This would have given them plenty of time to plant explosives on the Nord Stream pipeline system if they were inclined to do so. In addition, we have learned that the U.S. Navy was testing “the latest advancements in unmanned underwater vehicle mine hunting technology” in the Baltic Sea during the month of June…"A significant focus of BALTOPS every year is the demonstration of NATO mine hunting capabilities, and this year the U.S. Navy continues to use the exercise as an opportunity to test emerging technology, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa Public Affairs said June 14.
In support of BALTOPS, U.S. Navy 6th Fleet partnered with U.S. Navy research and warfare centers to bring the latest advancements in unmanned underwater vehicle mine hunting technology to the Baltic Sea to demonstrate the vehicle’s effectiveness in operational scenarios. Experimentation was conducted off the coast of Bornholm, Denmark, with participants from Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport, and Mine Warfare Readiness and Effectiveness Measuring all under the direction of U.S. 6th Fleet Task Force 68."
Our Navy seems to have spent a lot of time in the Baltic Sea lately, eh? Needless to say, the Russians are very angry about what has happened, and they have called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council…“Russia has requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council in connection with sabotage against two lines of the Nord Stream. We expect it to be held tomorrow,” Dmitry Polyanskiy, one of Russia’s top representatives at the U.N., wrote on his Telegram channel, according to a translation."
Shortly after issuing the statement early Wednesday, the French delegation to the U.N. confirmed to him that a meeting would indeed take place on Friday – a tacit acknowledgement of the panic that the explosions and subsequent leaks have caused. It will be very interesting to see what transpires at that meeting.
Let us hope that the truth about all of this eventually comes out. But even more, let us hope that cooler heads start to prevail and that leaders on both sides start to push for peace. Because if both sides continue to hammer one another, at some point someone is going to cross a line that can never be uncrossed. We are steamrolling toward nuclear war, and once the missiles start flying our world will never be the same again.
So I am not ashamed to say that I am pro-peace. Nuclear war is a fate that is too horrible for words, but with each passing day our leaders are dragging us ever closer to such a conflict."
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Related:
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Do we really want to do this?
"It Just Happened Again at the Bank"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, iAllegedly 9/29/22:
"It Just Happened Again at the Bank"
"It just keeps happening again and again. Banks are limiting the amount of money that you can take out. Now we’re told the bank just doesn’t even have cash."
Comments here:
Gregory Mannarino, "Alert! It's Already Unraveling!"
Gregory Mannarino, AM 9/29/22:
"Alert! It's Already Unraveling!"
Comments here:
"Stocking Up At Kroger! Checking Prices, And Showing Ways To Save Money!"
Full screen recommended.
Adventures with Danno, 9/29/22:
"Stocking Up At Kroger! Checking Prices,
And Showing Ways To Save Money!"
"In today's vlog we are at Kroger, and are stocking up on some deals as prices seem to be constantly on the rise! This is not good as we are seeing massive price increases, and a lot of empty shelves! It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"
Comments here:
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Canadian Prepper, "Buckle Up! 'Only One Way This War Ends', With D. Pyne"
Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 9/28/22:
"Buckle Up! 'Only One Way This War Ends',
With D. Pyne"
"I talk to a real nuclear weapons expert about the state of things."
Comments here:
"Many Retailers Facing Collapse As Hard Times Are Coming"
Full screen recommended.
"Many Retailers Facing Collapse As Hard Times Are Coming"
by Epic Economist
"The situation doesn’t look good at all for a large number of U.S. retailers. New research found that over a quarter of retailers in America could be a few months away from going bankrupt, and many are already facing collapse due to severe supply chain disruptions that are causing shortages of consumer favorites, massive inventory gluts of products that aren’t selling, and price imbalances that have been threatening their profits. According to industry insiders, we are set to see a wave of retail bankruptcies before year’s end as problems continue to pile up and consumer spending keeps going down.!
A new survey found that more than 25% of U.S. retailers are at risk of going broke in the next three months due to worsening supply chain issues. Even as the busiest shopping season of the year for retailers is right at the corner, a sharp drop in consumer spending and changing consumer habits are taking a heavy toll on their profit margins. Demand planning software, Bright, conducted a survey in August that found 85% of U.S. retailers have been hit by supply chain disruptions in the last year. At the same time, almost half of e-commerce retailers, including Amazon, have experienced stockouts, resulting in sales losses.
The crisis is getting so critical that 26% of respondents said they were in danger of running out of cash if conditions do not improve soon – a major threat to their survival. The survey also found that shortages of highly demanded goods, including groceries, electronics, and clothes were the biggest problem, experienced by 68% of respondents. Other challenges included soaring shipping prices, suffered by 64% of firms, extended delivery times for essential products, mentioned by 54% of them; suppliers facing selling out of stock, noted by 46%, and higher costs of raw materials, affecting 40% of companies.
Very recently, several big-box retailers, including the world’s largest retail chain, Walmart, announced the cancellation of billions of dollars in orders, plans to hike prices of consumer favorites and hinted that lay-offs are on the horizon. A few weeks ago, customers could see signs placed on Walmart shelves asking for comprehension about stockouts of meat and fresh produce caused by “supply chain problems beyond our control”, the company said.
According to CNBC, the entire U.S. retail industry is set to face a massive wave of bankruptcies this year following a monthslong slowdown in restructuring activity. Industry insiders are warning about an increase in the number of distressed retailers, “as ballooning prices dent demand for certain goods, stores contend with bloated inventory levels and a recession looms,” it reported.
At this point, restructuring experts say they’re preparing for more trouble across the industry as the all-important holiday season approaches. “We have potentially a perfect storm brewing,” stressed Sally Henry, a professor of law at Texas Tech Law School and former partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see an uptick in retail bankruptcies.”
As other retailers follow similar measures, profits are set to take a deep dive in the near term, warned Joseph Malfitano, founder of turnaround and restructuring firm Malfitano Partners. “And when a retailer’s profit margins shrink as its inventories are reappraised - a routine practice in the industry - those inventories won’t be worth as much. A company’s borrowing base could fall as a result,” he explained.
All of this means that the upcoming holiday season may not be an opportunity for retailers to break even on profits, but actually mark a make-or-break moment for companies that are already struggling to survive. Another chapter of the retail apocalypse is unfolding right as we speak, and all evidence shows that disaster is on the horizon."
"We Are In Deep Trouble; Markets Soar As Central Bank Bails Out Home Owners And Pension"
Jeremiah Babe, 9/28/22:
"We Are In Deep Trouble; Markets Soar As
Central Bank Bails Out Home Owners And Pension"
Comments here:
Canadian Prepper, "USA Issues Major Warning to Get Out Now"
Canadian Prepper, 9/28/22:
"USA Issues Major Warning to Get Out Now"
"New info about the pipeline incident and USA has warned its citizens to get out now. The Canadian government has also warned hockey players to leave Russia immediately. Was the pipeline incident a cyber related incident? It has happened before. Gas Prices Are Rising Again!"
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