Monday, November 14, 2022

"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 E. Frankl, “Man’s Search for Meaning”
"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:

"We Are Entering A New Dark Ages"

"We Are Entering A New Dark Ages"
by Chris Black

"It began at the beginning of this century. Add fifty years to today and everything that happened in the 20th century will be forgotten. People living in the Dark Ages didn’t even know there was a Roman civilization far more advanced than the kingdom they inhabited under their oppressive lords. The Renaissance was just a reversion to a level already reached a thousand years before by the Romans. Children today are being taught falsehoods about things that happened twenty years ago. Pretty soon they’ll be taught that the World Wars of the 20th Century were fought to liberate transsexuals and other LGBTQWTFs from persecution. They’ll lap it up like impressionable puppies.

The only real innovation over the last twenty years is unprecedented fraud and corruption. You don’t build a lasting society on that. I’m sure that it took a few years for the Bolshevik takeover of Russia to sink in. People probably thought the Tsars would return and conquer Lenin and Stalin. The same thing played out in China. Millions of Chinese left and fled to Taiwan. They were supposed to come back and retake the mainland. Instead, Communism took hold with brutal regimes lasting entire lifetimes. China is still under Communist control.

Two years ago there was a Bolshevik coup in the United States. There will never be a true election again, and we are living in a Communist dictatorship. The proof was the Dark Biden speech. It was the crowning event of a dictator, demanding that all follow the state or be destroyed.

Did you not listen to the words? Did you not listen when they said that Republicans would win overwhelmingly on Election Day, but that it would all disappear weeks after as they find more votes?

After the installation of Biden, the Capital of the United States was militarized. The People’s House was surrounded by fences and access was blocked. Political prisoners were thrown in federal prison, without charge, legal representation, or trial. They are subjected to torture and live in conditions thought to be illegal, against international law governing the treatment of prisoners. They were then given extreme sentences, far beyond the supposed crimes, even greater than first degree murder in some states.

Freedom in America is gone. The United States of America no longer exists. The midterm elections prove this. The status quo of communist control is upheld. They needed to allow for the appearance of a functioning Republic by giving the opposition enough seats, but not enough to give them any power. In two years the regime will end that gesture and full control will be handed over.

The left cheers centralized control. They have wanted a communist nation for over 100 years. Their dreams are realized. Did you not listen when the Democrats said that election deniers will be dealt with? That conservatives are an enemy of democracy? Do you understand, or are you just naive to the situation? Do you still think the ballot box fixes this? The only answer is a bullet box."
Related:

Bill Bonner, "Nonsense and Fraud"

"Nonsense and Fraud"
Americans go to the polls... while their politicos rob them blind.
by Bill Bonner

Baltimore, Maryland - "Last week was marred by elections. Polls showed that 44% of the voters said they were worried about ‘democracy.’ About as many worried about inflation. Democrats said they thought Republicans posed a threat to democracy. For their part, Republicans were sure inflation was the fault of the Democrats – specifically of Joe Biden.

It was all nonsense…and fraud. Democrats and Republicans need each other – like a pair of professional wrestlers, they entertain the voters with a clumsy farce. When one punches, the other must get a bloody nose. When one hits below the belt, the other must cry foul. Together, they distract, mislead, and betray the American public.

The two parties may square off against each other. But both share the same core beliefs. They believe that government is a way to transfer wealth and power from ‘The People’ to the elite. They also believe in democracy; it gives voters the illusion of being in control, while allowing the two parties to take turns ripping them off.

They, The Other People: When Trump won the election of 2016, the Democrats insisted that democracy was broken. The Russians had taken a sledge hammer to it, they said. They spent the next four years trying to prove it. And even after a lengthy investigation showed what everyone knew in the beginning – that the Russians had probably not turned a single vote – Hillary Clinton and her fellow Democrats still clutched the fantasy near to their hearts…a talisman to ward off the evil MAGA spirits.

Then, when their man, Biden, won in 2020…democracy worked for the democrats again and they were keen to protect it. But not just by counting the votes more carefully. They aimed to make sure their candidates won, whether ‘The People’ wanted them or not.

Axios: "In one of the highest-profile gubernatorial battles in the country, Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams is leveraging a vast pool of out-of-state money. Why it matters: Abrams' fundraising profile - which consists of huge backing from wealthy coastal Democrats and a massive base of small-dollar support - is more typical of a leading national candidate than a gubernatorial contender.

By the end of June, Ms. Abrams had raised almost twice as much money as her Republican rival. ‘The People’ are supposed to elect their own representatives. But 85% of Ms. Abrams’ money came from meddlers who were not ‘The People’ of Georgia. Apparently, there were a lot of people who wanted to elect someone else’s governor.

Deny, Deny, Deny! And talk about election deniers! Ms. Abrams set the pace. She lost the last election in 2018 and refused to concede. National Review, August, 2019: "Stacey Abrams defended her refusal to concede last year’s Georgia gubernatorial election on Monday, arguing that adhering to the democratic norm of conceding to a victorious opponent would make her “complicit” in a “rigged” system."

Rigged? Of course, it’s rigged up real good. ‘The People’ are supposed to choose their own representatives. But the two parties put up the dumbest, most undesirable and scurrilous candidates…and then insist that it’s the voters’ duty to elect one of them.

Want proof? The New York Post: "Democrats have spent more than $53 million to boost far-right Republican primary candidates in nine key states as part of a controversial election strategy - despite publicly screaming about the threat posed to the US by such would-be officeholders. In some races, Democrats have spent more than 30 times what the GOP candidates were able to scrape together themselves, according to a Washington Post analysis."

What kind of democracy is this? The political elite go into the primaries with millions of dollars to support candidates nobody really wants.

Democracy for Sale: Buying votes – especially with the taxpayers’ money – is another venerable way to get your man in office. After the votes were counted last Wednesday, for example, Mr. Biden was quick to thank young people. James Bovard explains: "Biden deluged them with federal dollars to bail out his Democratic allies. His $500 billion+ student-loan forgiveness scheme was widely condemned — even The Washington Post editorial page slammed it as a “regressive, expensive mistake.”

But the handouts helped buy Democrats their biggest boost among voters — a 28% advantage over Republicans in voters age 18 to 29, improving on Dems’ 2020 performance. It won’t matter if federal courts strike down the loan forgiveness as illegal: The votes have already been delivered."

While the Democrats’ idea that Republicans are uniquely a menace to democracy is absurd, so is the Republicans’ idea that Biden is uniquely to blame for inflation. We remind readers that Donald Trump increased federal spending three times faster than Barack Obama and ten times faster than Bill Clinton. He added to the national debt twice as fast as Obama and 12 times faster than Bill Clinton. And Trump’s runaway spending and borrowing required the Fed to ‘print’ money at twice the rate of the Obama years…and almost infinitely faster than during the Clinton years. It is Trump, not Biden, who bears most of the responsibility for today’s inflation. Biden just made it worse.

But on the key issues – war and spending – the two parties collude seamlessly. Like heavyweight professionals, they put on a good show – pretending to maul and mangle each other. And with so much gouging and thumping on stage, the fans hardly notice when their wallets are stolen."

"This is Just the Opening Act - Plus 250K Party Footage"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, iAllegedly 11/14/22:
"This is Just the Opening Act -
 Plus 250K Party Footage"
"The economy is broken and you haven’t seen anything yet. This is just the opening act. The global economy is worsening and people need to get real about this. Plus, we have more footage from the party on Saturday."
Comments here:

"How It Really Is"

 

Jim Kunstler, "The Aftermath and After That"

"The Aftermath and After That"
by Jim Kunstler

“Normally it would be considered a tell when one political party loses its mind any time someone suggests we should have basic election security procedures common in every other civilized country.”
- MartyrMade on Twitter

"Let’s get something straight: the Woked-up Jacobin Party of Chaos is not really worried about “mis-and-disinformation,” it’s just afraid of information. Only a tyrannical regime would work so hard and complain so loudly about opposing ideas entering the public arena as to brand them inadmissible. Apparently, that formula also applies to election results, an elemental kind of information bound to determine whether censorship will continue to be the order-of-the-day or not.

The stalling of election results also allows for wholesale correction of results that don’t come in as desired. At a certain threshold, the Marc Elias Lawfare-sponsored ballot-harvesting machinery kicks in and, voila, ten thousand or so mail-in ballots appear courtesy of, say, the Culinary Workers Union in Nevada, and… problem solved! The correct candidates win! My guess is that this happened in other select districts all over the USA. Will it be detected and looked into? Probably not. That would be election denial, a toxic reservoir of “disinformation.”

Which is why the Arizona governor’s race, where the dynamic Kari Lake (R) ran against the inert and corrupt Katie Hobbs (D), is so interesting. Maricopa County, the second-largest election district in the USA, has dribbled out the results all week to make sure it looked like Ms. Lake was losing, while Democratic Party activists scrambled to generate more early mail-in ballots to make sure that Ms. Lake does lose, if at all possible. Either way, it may not go down so easily. If she wins, Ms. Lake will do everything possible to reform the sketchy Arizona election laws; if she loses, she is prepared to sue the living sh*t out of Maricopa County election officials and Katie Hobbs - whose position as AZ Secretary of State left her in charge of an election she ran in, and all the machinery behind it.

The post-election mood across America is labile and incendiary. So-called Red America, the opposition to Woke Jacobin tyranny, smolders in fury facing two more years of censorship, war-mongering, FBI-DOJ-IRS persecution, “vaccine” f**kery, economic breakdown, and the WEF-inspired killing-off of Western Civilization. Blue America, personified by the smugly sclerotic “Joe Biden,” ghoulishly salivates over the dying carcass of the country it intends to devour. Between the two factions there is no space for the normal operation of politics - the contest of ideas about running human affairs - especially with the public arena of ideas in Woke lockdown.

Yet, events look like they are out-pacing whatever the mood is on any side. So many crises are already underway threatening to upend everyday life that neither Red or Blue Americans will escape hardship and damage.

The on-the-ground economy has imploded. Inflation is for-real and crushes the country’s standard-of-living. Before long, it may shift into deflation, which means instead of having a lot of money losing value, you’ll have no money at all. Rising interest rates killed off the real estate part of the Everything Bubble, and the building, selling, and remodeling of houses has been locus of the few remaining good-paying jobs. The car industry is dying under several forms of stress: steeply rising unit prices, a strapped middle-class, growing scarcity of capital for lending, broken supply lines for vehicle inventory and parts, and the insane “green” crusade to make all motoring electric. Even fixing things of value - existing houses, cars, machinery in general - becomes increasingly impossible when nobody can get the replacement parts to work with.

For a hundred years we’ve been an economy running on fossil fuels, especially oil. In America, it made for an orgy of suburban expansion and “consumerism” (buying lots and lots of stuff). The business model for getting oil out of the ground, refining it, and distributing it, is broken and unlikely to get fixed. The global relations that balanced supply between the oil-rich nations and the oil-poor ones was smashed with our stupid sanctions against Russia and the unnecessary antagonism of Saudi Arabia by “Joe Biden” & Company. America has a lot of shale oil in the ground, but it’s at best marginally economical to get at. “Joe Biden” has promised to destroy all the fossil fuel industries, and if you take him at his word, that means the natgas sector too. Half of America thinks it’s going “green.” No, it’s going broke. It also happens that America has about a three-week reserve of diesel fuel. Trucks and all other heavy vehicles have to run on diesel. Without them, nothing moves from Point A to Point B, including food, and America goes hungry.

In the background, the Covid-19 mRNA “vaccination” program goes on remorselessly, some of it still mandated, while injuries and deaths from it keep going up and fertility rates fall, and all of it goes unreported by news media bought-off by Pharma and ideologically hostage to the Woke Jacobins working tirelessly to destroy Western Civ. Excess mortality in all age groups is rising in Europe, North America, and Australia. That piece of the big picture veers into an epic global health crisis. Among the “vaccine” injuries are millions of compromised immune systems. Wait and see how that works out.

How’s “Joe Biden’s” campaign going to pit Ukraine (and NATO) against Russia? Don’t be fooled by tactical Russian moves on-the-ground that are being labeled as “retreats.” Russia is aiming to put an end to this US-provoked nonsense before the plum trees blossom over there. It will look as bad for “Joe Biden” as the dénouement in Afghanistan looked, but it will be good for the peace of the world for the struggle to end. The thing is: America might not even notice it’s happening, with everything else going on here as we careen around the year’s hard corner into winter."

Gregory Mannarino, "IMF Warns 'Global Economy Worsening'"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 11/14/22:
"IMF Warns 'Global Economy Worsening,' 
Expect Central Banks To IncreaseTheir Efforts To Destroy It"
"Middle class being eliminated, exterminated..."
Comments here:

"Massive Price Increases At Big Lots! Not Good! This Is Ridiculous!

Full screen recommended.
Adventures with Danno, 11/14/22:
"Massive Price Increases At Big Lots! 
Not Good! This Is Ridiculous!
"In today's vlog we are at Big Lots, and are noticing massive price increases! This is not good as we are also seeing empty shelves everywhere! It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"
Comments here:

Greg Hunter, "We Are in End Times – Michael Snyder"

"We Are in End Times – Michael Snyder"
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Journalist and popular author Michael Snyder says in his new book we are in “End Times.” Few Christians would disagree. So, where are we and what are we facing? Snyder explains, “I believe we are living at the very end of a timeline. I believe Jesus is coming back soon. The Bible describes the End Times, the time just before Jesus comes back, as the most chaotic in all of human history. In fact, Jesus told us there has never been a time like this before, and there will never be a time like this again. Things are eventually going to get so bad that it is going to be the worst times in all of human history. I also believe it will be the best time for the people of God. There is no other time in human history that I would have rather lived than right now. God put you here, if you are watching, here for a reason. God put you here with a purpose and a destiny and a job for your to do. If you understand that, you will be really excited about the future, even though things will be chaotic and wild. Jesus said the time just before his return there would be wars and rumors of wars. A couple of years ago, I came on your program and wrote a book and said there is going to be a war with Russia. At the time, nobody was thinking about a war with Russia. People told me, Michael you are crazy. Of course, now we have a war with Russia. We are getting dangerously close to a nuclear conflict.”

Snyder also mentions war with China, war between North and South Korea and war between Iran and Israel that are all boiling up right now, all at the same time.

Snyder also brings up starvation and famines talked about in the Bible that also point to “End Times.” Snyder explains, “There have been droughts in different areas in the past. We are seeing tremendous droughts affecting agricultural production all over the northern hemisphere. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the bread basket of the world, we have seen agricultural products restricted because of war with Russia. We have this perfect storm for agricultural production. Meanwhile, we have an energy crisis that is worse than any of us have ever seen. It continues to get worse. The price of natural gas has gone haywire because of this war between Russia and NATO. Now, two thirds of all fertilizer production have already been shut down in Europe because the price of natural gas, and that is going to affect agricultural production next year. People need to realize that if we could not use fertilizer at all, we could not feed about half the world. Half the world would instantly starve if there was no fertilizer used. So, what we are facing is big-time global food shortages in 2023. It’s going to be even worse even beyond that. These things are going to intensify.”

On the economy, Snyder thinks the Fed will keep raising rates, and the real estate market will tank even further along with the economy. Snyder predicts, “I don’t think the so-called pivot is close. I think they are going to keep raising rates for now, and that is really bad news for real estate and for the economy because the economy is already being crushed right now. We are already seeing a massive slowdown all over the economy. I think the Federal Reserve is determined to get inflation down, but eventually they will be forced to pivot sometime in 2023.”

Snyder also says, “Basically, we are facing the collapse of everything. We are already seeing mass extinctions all over the globe. One study showed 32,000 species has declined by 69% over the last 50 years. So, we are already seeing mass extinctions, and they are going to accelerate in the years ahead. Natural disasters, wars and rumors of wars, pestilences and all the things we have been talking about are going to combine and create this perfect storm. People will see their lives crumble. Their lives, careers, what they planned for their future, their lives are going to crumble. People are going to plunge into depression and despair, and they are going to see no hope. Society will melt down all around them, and they won’t see any hope for the future. If you want hope for the future, you need God. You need the Lord Jesus Christ, not just to get you through what we are facing but what we have in the end. I read the book, and we win in the end. We get to be with Jesus for all of eternity, and that is a really long time. That is the most important thing beyond physical preparation.”

In closing, Snyder says, “Jesus warned us about all these things in advance so we wouldn’t be afraid. We can look forward with courage. Yes, bad things will happen, but it is when times are the darkest the greatest heroes are needed. In the years that are coming, you have the chance to be a light and make a difference. If you wanted to live in Biblical times, you are going to have that opportunity. You are going to have a chance to do a tremendous amount of good in this world if you understand what is happening and be prepared in advance if you take advantage of this, that you rise up and be the people God created you to be.” There is much more in the 43-minute interview.

Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with 
Michael Snyder, author of the new book “End Times.”

"Economic Market Snapshot 11/14/22"

"Economic Market Snapshot 11/14/22"
Market Data Center, Live Updates:
Down the rabbit hole of psychopathic greed and insanity...
Only the consequences are real - to you!
Latest Market Analysis, Updated 11/14/22
A comprehensive, essential daily read.
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: creditequity valuationfunding, safe assets and volatility. The FSI shows stress contributions by three regions: United Statesother advanced economies, and emerging markets."
Job cuts and much more.
Commentary, highly recommended:
"The more I see of the monied classes,
the better I understand the guillotine."
- George Bernard Shaw
Oh yeah... beyond words. Any I know anyway...
And now... The End Game...

Sunday, November 13, 2022

Musical Interlude: Deuter, "Sound of Invisible Waters"

Deuter, "Sound of Invisible Waters"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“While drifting through the cosmos, a magnificent interstellar dust cloud became sculpted by stellar winds and radiation to assume a recognizable shape. Fittingly named the Horsehead Nebula, it is embedded in the vast and complex Orion Nebula (M42). A potentially rewarding but difficult object to view personally with a small telescope, the below gorgeously detailed image was taken in infrared light by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. 
The dark molecular cloud, roughly 1,500 light years distant, is cataloged as Barnard 33 and is seen above primarily because it is backlit by the nearby massive star Sigma Orionis. The Horsehead Nebula will slowly shift its apparent shape over the next few million years and will eventually be destroyed by the high energy starlight.”

"The Retirement Crisis Is About To Spark The Most Dramatic Shift In The Standard Of Living Ever Seen"

Full screen recommended.
"The Retirement Crisis Is About To Spark The Most 
Dramatic Shift In The Standard Of Living Ever Seen"
by Epic Economist

"Retirement today is very different from what it was just a few decades ago. Previous generations could actually count on a solid pension, healthcare benefits for themselves and their families, a much lower cost of living, and stronger purchasing power. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of Americans, that’s no longer the case. Employers are cutting back on retirement plans, individual healthcare costs are at the highest levels they’ve ever been, economists fear the return of hyperinflation, and the stock market just wiped out $3 trillion from U.S. retirement accounts. To make things worse, while the rate of Americans that are, or will be, able to retire in the future keeps going down, the rate of people that expect to work their entire lives is growing at an alarming pace.

The current economic downturn is preventing millions of Americans nearing retirement ages to save money for their future, with many of them having to tap into their retirement accounts to be able to make ends meet. Soon, our society will have an overabundance of people reaching their senior years without the ability to fully provide for themselves. Social Security benefits may not be around anymore, and all of these people won’t have a backup plan to count on, making them vulnerable to experiencing a dramatic decline in their living standards. This crisis is getting worse over time, and the latest stock market losses are here to show us that even if you play by the rules and do everything right, you are still at risk of losing everything and see your golden years being turned into your darkest years.

According to the Center for Disease Control, the average life expectancy at birth in 2020 was 77.3 years. Most of us would like to retire as early as possible. For example, if you’d like to retire at 62 years of age, you would need to have at least 15 years' worth of funding saved up. However, the latest data from the Center For Retirement Research at Boston College reveals that only 46% of Americans will have enough to maintain their planned standard of living when they retire, meaning that 54% of Americans don’t have enough savings to support themselves during retirement.

That’s why many people will have no choice but to continue working to survive. Today, 41% of those who do have a retirement, contribute to a 401(k) plan, which is the main channel through which most Americans are exposed to the ups and downs of the stock market. Nearly three-quarters of all 401(k) money is held in stocks, according to a Vanguard report from 2021.

We have seen what all of this exposure did to millions of retirement accounts in 2008. Over half of American families saw their net worth plummet along with the stock market. Many of these accounts were completely wiped out. Now, we’re witnessing a repeat of that same disaster. And the fact that more people aren’t talking about this is truly stunning. In the first half of 2020, the stock market selloff literally erased over $3 trillion from U.S. retirement accounts!

And now that the housing market is in free-fall, this crisis is set to get exponentially worse as homeowners watch the value of their properties - oftentimes, their main financial asset - taking a massive hit. Americans old and young will all be impacted by this. The future of our entire nation is on the line – and when things start crumbling down all around us, no will have doubts that the so-called “doomsayers” were actually right: we are indeed in the middle of an epic economic collapse."
Comments here:

"Frozen Bank Merger - Who is in Trouble?"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, iAllegedly 11/13/22:
"Frozen Bank Merger - Who is in Trouble?"
"There is a bank merger that is in trouble. It is frozen by the regulators right now. The rumor is that it’s Union Bank and US Bank. Is one of them in dire straits?"
Comments here:

The Daily "Near You?"

Los Angeles, California, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"17 Words that Changed My Life Forever"

"17 Words that Changed My Life Forever"
by Jerry Clark

“I remember several years back I heard something that changed my life forever. Up until that point I had been struggling through life – doing everything the hard way. I couldn’t figure out why my life wasn’t going the way I felt it should be. I saw some people going through life effortlessly and seemingly with less tension and frustration while I was wondering if I could ever straighten out the mess my life had turned out to be. I was behind on my dreams, my promises, and my bills. Then one day I was listening to a tape and the lady was talking about the power of having dreams and goals and all of the other stuff that those motivational speakers talk about. By that point I had listened to hundreds of such tapes, but it seemed as if nothing worked for me.

Probably the only reason I was listening to that one was because I had developed a habit of listening to cassette tapes while driving my car. The statement the lady said was simple and I think I had even heard it somewhere before but this time a light bulb went on in my head. I remember stopping the tape and rewinding it over and over again to hear the 17 words she said. I couldn’t believe it was so basic and simple. I was looking for something sophisticated and complicated. I thought I had to attend a $10,000 seminar. I didn’t know I could find it on a $10 tape program.

I’m taking the time to tell you all of this preliminary information because when I tell you the 17 words, I really want you to get it and get it NOW! Because if you get it NOW, your life will never be the same. You will be using the same principle that all who have became wealthy before you have used. Even those who became wealthy and can’t tell you how they did use this same principle without even being aware of what they are doing. Well, are you ready for the 17 words that made a powerful and positive impact on my life and on the life of tens of thousands of individuals who have achieved unimaginable success? Of course you are… Well, here they are…
For things to change, you must get a
picture of what you want them to change to.

Yes, it’s as simple as it sounds and as easy as it seems… Don’t try to make it any complicated than this because it will only frustrate you.

You must know exactly what you want and the more specific and clear you can get, the better. This is important because Human Beings are Teleological in nature… In other words, we move towards the pictures we constantly hold in our minds. Let me give you an example… Suppose you went to the store and bought a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle but it didn’t have a picture on the box of what the end result should look like.

Would you have a much harder time putting the picture together? Of course. You may eventually figure it out; however, the person who has a clear picture of what the end result should look like will be more than 100 times ahead of you. The question is are they 100 times ahead of you because their IQ is 100 times greater? Is it because they are 100 times better looking than you? Maybe it’s because they live 100 times closer to the person who created the puzzle? Ohh, I know – they were one of the first students to take the Evelyn Woods mind-expanding speed-reading and comprehension course right? If none of this is true then what is?

Yes, the person who had the clear and specific picture of what the outcome was supposed to be was simply operating in accordance to how our brain works. It moves towards the pictures we hold in our mind. It’s interesting because once you know exactly what it is you are moving towards, you seem to automatically know the steps to take or the necessary steps will soon become noticeable.

Your brain's subconscious mind, operating similar to a magnet, will start to attract in your direction the conditions, people, and circumstances that will help you move closer to the mental picture you maintain in your mind and it will repel all of those things that do not correlate to the picture you have in your mind. Therefore, the people who are clear and specific about what they want are using the powers of the Universe to assist them. This is, indeed, an awesome power. A person who knows how and uses this awesome power of the Universe to his or her advantage is a person who is working smart. A person who struggles every day trying to move closer to the success that they have no idea how it’s supposed to look is a person who is working hard.

Based on your observations over the years, do you think that most people are working hard or working smart? People who just work hard day in and day out without a clear picture of what they are moving towards are about as exciting as a tulip. Even though they may seem to be willing to work hard and put in the hours, they don’t seem to have much life in them. And people want to follow people who seem to have some life in them. If they want to find people who don’t seem to have much life in them, all they have to do is go to their job. People will follow people who look like they know where they are going and look like they are excited about the journey.

You must understand that your strength comes from knowing what you want. This will ignite the fire inside of you and enable you to borrow from the promise of the future so you can engage in the activities today that will move you closer and closer to what you want. It will enable you to go through the trials and tribulations that may be necessary so you can arrive at your destination. But remember the journey will be more important than the destination because in the journey you will become the person you require to become to finally arrive at your destination. So when you reach your destination, look at the person you have become and set a new destination so you can continue to grow and develop.

Whatever you do, just always remember that for things to change, you must get a picture of what you want them to change to. These are the "17 Words that Changed My Life Forever"… why not allow them to change yours too?”

"This Is The Motive..."

"All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves."
- Blaise Pascal

"We Never See..."

“You know, we never see the world exactly as it is. We see it as we hope it will be or we fear it might be. And we spend our lives going through a sort of modified stages of grief about that realization. And we deny it, and then we argue with it, and we despair over it. But eventually - and this is my belief - that we come to see it, not as despairing, but as vitalizing. We never see the world exactly as it is because we are how the world is.”
- Maria Popova

"Terrible Hunger In Russia Will Not Happen. Here Is The Core Reason Why"

Full screen recommended.
St.Petersburg - me, 11/13/22:
"Terrible Hunger In Russia Will Not Happen. 
Here Is The Core Reason Why"
"It's almost 9 months of sanctions against Russia. Many people are still hoping that soon terrible hunger breaks out in the country. Many bloggers are bragging with the abundance of produce in Russian stores. Maybe they don't understand the core reason why the shelves are full in stores. So today I'm going to explain it to you."
Comments here:

"Prepare For Massive Financial Losses, Layoffs"

Jeremiah Babe, 11/13/22:
"Prepare For Massive Financial Losses, Layoffs"
Comments here:

"Straight Calls - Ukraine Capitulation Is On The Horizon"

"Straight Calls - Ukraine Capitulation Is On The Horizon"
"Straight Calls with Douglas Macgregor: Your home for analysis of breaking news and in-depth discussion of current geopolitical events in the United states and the world. Geopolitics. No ego descriptions. No small talk. Straight to the point. Calls with the relevant analysis only. On the other side of the line is Aaron Maté and Katie Halper."
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"How It Really Is"

 

"The Illusion of Choice"

The Penrose Triangle
"The Illusion of Choice"
by Joel Bowman

Buenos Aires, Argentina - "Welcome to another Sunday Session, dear reader, that time of the week when we stand back and take stock of the bigger picture... and remind ourselves just how infinitesimal our humble plot is within it.

It must have been a tough week for the true believers, the civic soldiers and the badge collectors, that is... individuals who believed the destiny of the United States of America, and perhaps even the fate of the Free World, hinged on their (or anyone’s) single vote. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t. (And what a good thing, too!)

Aside from the fact that the two parties are more alike than different, in that they cheerfully converge on matters of deficit spending...foreign policy misadventures, money printing, cronyism, central banking, panem et circenses...

Aside from the fact that both parties operate within the confines of a wholly corrupted system, a “swamp,” full of vile critters which answer not to the “will of the people,” whatever that is supposed to be, but to an unseen army of lobbyists, special interest groups and deep state goons lining their pockets and pressing their greasy palms...

Aside from the fact that both parties work to undermine the “legitimacy” of the very process in which they are participating, accusing the other side of all manner of fraud and chicanery, sowing seeds of doubt, then denying any results that don’t go their way...

Aside from the fact that the corporate-captured media plays to the extremes of both sides, fanning the flames at the thin tails to drum up ratings, when most decent folk just want to get on with their own backyard barbecues, little league games and family feuds...

And aside from the fact that the age of true statesmen, of noble leaders, of angels among men is long gone and largely mythological anyway...Homo Credulous still goes “all in” on elections that he can’t possibly (statistically, mathematically, demonstrably) have any discernible impact on.

Indeed, as we’ve observed in this space before, the very phrase “making the world safe for democracy” was, itself, a marketing slogan, specifically designed to drag America into a war (the “war to end all wars”) that nobody at home wanted and which would have been better left un-fought anyway. Nevertheless, “Democracy itself is on the ballot,” cry hysterical pundits on both sides of the aisle, as if majority rule boasts an unimpeachable historical track record. (If you are not already thinking of a half dozen tyrants who were duly elected to public office, think harder...). Germany held no fewer than five “free and fair” democratic elections in 1932...at the conclusion of which the Nazi Party was (by far) the strongest in the land, and thus was able to form a ruling coalition, supported by the majority of allegedly open-eyed voters. And this from a nation that had given us Gutenberg...Luther...Schopenhauer...Bach... Goethe...Beethoven...Nietzsche...Einstein...

Of course, the efficacy (not to mention accuracy) of one’s political actions dissipates in direct proportion to the distance one ventures from one’s own garden. Leo Tolstoy made the point in the second epilogue to his epic tome, "War & Peace." History, said he, was like a giant ship steaming across the open ocean. When we look back over her journey, at turns calm and tempest tossed, we imagine great leaders, fierce generals and noble statesmen – such as Napoleon, in his example – as having consciously chartered her course. In reality, the generals of the ages are not at the helm, but rather in the dingy, thrashed about in the tumultuous wake behind.

In our Age of Democracy, many good men have gone to an early grave vowing to “vote the bums out.” And yet, look around you...Are there less bums in the nation’s capitol now than there were during the days of Adams or Jefferson or Washington? Can it really be a matter of “voting harder” next time? Perhaps the more important distinction is not between Left vs. Right, Elephant vs. Donkey, Red vs. Blue...but Federal vs Local, Collective vs. Individual, Public vs. Private. More in today’s essay, below...
"The Illusion of Choice"
by Joel Bowman

"If you've got a business, you didn't build that. 
Somebody else made that happen."
~ U.S. President Barack Obama, 2012

"Whence does [the State] draw those resources that it is urged to dispense by way of benefits to individuals? Is it not from the individuals themselves? How, then, can these resources be increased by passing through the hands of a parasitic and voracious intermediary?"
~ Frédéric Bastiat, "The Law"

"Tell me, sir, "yes" or "no," have you stopped beating your wife?"

"Of the myriad rhetorical tools employed in public discourse today, there are dangerous few more insidious than the false dilemma. Little surprise then that, whenever the election circus rolls into towns across the country, this Weapon of Dialectic Destruction (WDD) finds itself a favorite of slick politicians working to curry favor with an increasingly ovine voter mass.

Simply put, the false dilemma is a sly trick of exclusion whereby a speaker (always generously) offers his or her audience the apparently favorable choice between two unfortunately poor options. "With which horn do you wish to be gored, sir?"

The recently Nobel-decorated Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, furnished an infamous case study back in 2008, when he told a hastily convened meeting in the conference room of the House Speaker, the permanently startled Nancy Pelosi: "If we don't do this [enact TARP legislation], we might not have an economy on Monday."

News of the backroom political panic soon hit the streets. One could almost hear the trillions of excited neurons misfiring in earnest around vacant braincases from sea to shining sea... "Sure, creating a giant, taxpayer-sponsored slush fund from which Bernanke and his minions could (and would) dole out hundreds of billions of dollars to their bankster cronies is not exactly optimal... but not having an economy on Monday? Surely that's worse, right?"

But were these the only two options? Your money... or your economy? What about letting profligate institutions go broke? What about adhering to the market principle of Too Stupid to Succeed rather than capitulating to the State's self-serving version: Too Big to Fail?

Where might the economy be now, fourteen years on, if the weak hands had been eliminated from the market then, ceding what remaining value they had on the books to institutions that had exercised prudence and good judgment, while future bailout recipients busily indulged in excessive risk-taking and reckless profligacy? We'll never know, of course... because Bernanke, Paulson, Pelosi & Co.'s false dilemma scared enough people into thinking there was "no other option."

Classic False Dilemmas: Known variously as the either-or fallacy, the fallacy of exhaustive hypotheses or, more colloquially, plain ol' black and white thinking, the false dilemma is both deceptive and destructive. First, because it lures unsuspecting listeners into a misguided belief that their choices are limited to those offered by the speaker and, second, because it attacks the creative process by which new ideas "come to market" by slamming the door closed on alternative possibilities.

Take the above quote, from none other than President Barack Obama. Speaking to supporters in Roanoke, Virginia, back in 2012, Mr. Obama channeled the insufferable Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren in declaring that: "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business - you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."

Implied here is the false notion that, without roads built by the State... there would be no roads. Without schools constructed by the State... there would be no education. Without the "unbelievable American system"... creative individuals wouldn't be allowed to thrive. In other words...

Choose the State or choose illiteracy. Choose the State or choose dirt tracks on which to haul your goods. Choose the State or nobody will help you... nobody will cooperate with you... and you will be alone, unable even to survive, much less thrive.

Textbook false dilemmas, each and every one of them.

Circular Logic: Nowhere here is a free-market alternative presented. And it's little wonder why. At the precise point the free market ends, the tyranny of the State begins. Nowhere do the two overlap. (Crony capitalism, corporatism, mixed market economies and the rest are NOT free markets.) Clearly, therefore, it is in the State's best interest to see that free market activity is marginalized as far as possible in order that the State itself might occupy ever more space in people's minds and, by extension, in the economies they are "allowed" to build.

So profoundly have certain false dilemmas bored their way into people's "thinking" that supposedly able-minded individuals have stricken the very possibility of free-market cooperation from their mental maps. Indeed, some confused people even contend that, were we to ignore the iron-fisted directives of the State, we would promptly descend into a Mad Max-style dystopia, in which a collection of unchecked territorial monopolies would roam the planet, stealing and damaging property at whim and torturing, imprisoning and killing whomever they so wished.

Strange then that these same people would "remedy" this apocalyptic nightmare by supporting the State... itself a collection of unchecked territorial monopolies that roam the planet, stealing and damaging property at whim and torturing, imprisoning and killing whomever they so wish.

These individuals are sorely misled... victims of the classic false dilemma. They are so misled, in fact, that they find themselves circling back to a position that sees them fervently supporting an entity that tirelessly labors to turn their worst fears into harsh reality. Worse still, they continue to mislead others by repeating such vapid nonsense.

Spontaneous Order: Unlike the State's obedient apologists, advocates of the free market don't pretend to know the best solution to each and every problem - something F.A. Hayek called the "pretense of knowledge." Rather, they humbly cede the discovery process to free individuals acting in their own self-interest.

When confronted with a problem deserved of our very best solution, it is helpful to first ask, "Is there a peaceful, market-based solution here? Might, for example, freely associating individuals work together to meet the obvious demand for schools, roads and bridges? Might free competition stand guard against coercive monopolies? Might the market process of creative destruction weed out inept and/or corrupt businesses, rather than reward them with stolen property?"

Like the election process itself, in which well-intentioned voters saddle themselves with the misguided obligation to choose the "lesser of two evils," the false dilemma lulls individuals into thinking there is no alternative, no preferable option, no choice that does not, at least to some degree, rely on compromising their values and morals. No choice that does not involve the hired gun of the State. No choice, in other words, that does not render them party to evil.

Surely we can think a little harder than that, dear reader, beyond the iniquities perpetrated by the political left and the right. Instead of a system based on violence and coercion, peaceful, cooperative individuals learn in time to welcome and celebrate a system such as here described by Hayek: "Spontaneous order is a system which has developed not through the central direction or patronage of one or a few individuals but through the unintended consequences of the decisions of myriad individuals each pursuing their own interests through voluntary exchange, cooperation and trial and error."

When it comes to false dilemmas, we need not slavishly impale ourselves on one of the State's two horns, but only to open our eyes to what is in our direct control. We advocate not fatalistic inaction, but rather private action. (Hint: It’s why we write for a private research publication and not a public policy platform.) We are invited by minds like Voltaire to tend our own garden and Goethe to sweep our own doorstep. Perhaps if we invested more time becoming better men ourselves, better fathers and husbands and neighbors, we would not depend so meekly on others to lead our better lives for us."

"Do You Want..."

 

"Do you want to live life, or do you want to escape life?"
- Macklemore

"Stock Up Now At Costco! Massive Holiday Sale! Don't Miss This!"

Full screen recommended.
Adventures with Danno, 11/13/22:
"Stock Up Now At Costco! 
Massive Holiday Sale! Don't Miss This!"
"In today's vlog we are at Costco, and are noticing that they are having a huge sale on holiday baking items this month! We are stocking up, and showing the best deals as we take you shopping with us. It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"
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Gregory Mannarino, "Markets, A Look Ahead"

Gregory Mannarino, 11/13/22:
"Markets, A Look Ahead: 
Expect The Global Money Supply To Balloon!"
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Saturday, November 12, 2022

Douglas Macgregor, "Lies"

Douglas Macgregor, "Lies"

"Crypto To Take It All Down"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, iAllegedly 11/12/22:
"Crypto To Take It All Down"
"The FTX exchange is going to affect banking like we never dreamed that it would. You start to see credit cards be frozen and you’re seeing that so many smart business people and athletes lost millions of dollars."
Comments here: