Friday, January 6, 2023

"For The Most Part..."

"Human beings never think for themselves, they find it too uncomfortable. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told - and become upset if they are exposed to any different view. The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity, and the characteristic result is religious warfare. Other animals fight for territory or food; but, uniquely in the animal kingdom, human beings fight for their 'beliefs.' The reason is that beliefs guide behavior, which has evolutionary importance among human beings. But at a time when our behavior may well lead us to extinction, I see no reason to assume we have any awareness at all. We are stubborn, self-destructive conformists. Any other view of our species is just a self-congratulatory delusion."
- Michael Crichton, "The Lost World"

"11 Signs That The Economic 'Tipping Point' That Everyone Has Been Waiting For Has Now Arrived"

"11 Signs That The Economic 'Tipping Point'
That Everyone Has Been Waiting For Has Now Arrived"
By Michael Snyder

"How bad do things have to get before people start realizing that we are in the midst of a full-blown economic crisis? The “experts” on television are endlessly debating about whether or not we are going to have a “recession” this year, and meanwhile economic activity is imploding all around us. The number of homes being sold in this country each month has already fallen by a third. The number of job cuts in November was 417 percent higher than it was during the same month a year earlier, and at this point even Amazon is laying off thousands of workers. The Federal Reserve has declared war on inflation, but prices continue to spiral out of control. In fact, vegetables are 80 percent more expensive now than they were 12 months ago. Meanwhile, the financial markets continue to plunge. A third of the value of the Nasdaq has already been wiped out, and more than two-thirds of the value of all cryptocurrencies is already gone.

After everything that has already transpired, everyone should be able to clearly understand what is happening. So many people have been waiting for an economic nightmare to come, but the truth is that it is already here. The following are 11 signs that the economic “tipping point” that everyone has been waiting for has now arrived…

#1 U.S. manufacturing is declining at the fastest pace that we have seen since the early days of the COVID pandemic…"The S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell at the fastest rate since May 2020 in December, a continuing sign that the manufacturing sector is on the decline, S&P Global reported Tuesday.

The U.S. Manufacturing PMI posted a 46.2 in December, down from 47.7 in November and solidly below 50, which signals that the sector is contracting, according to S&P Global. Production levels contracted in back-to-back months, with new sales plummeting at the end of December at the fastest pace since 2007, as companies cited weakening demand amid “economic uncertainty” and inflation weighing on customers."

#2 U.S. services PMI has now fallen for six months in a row.

#3 We just witnessed the largest one day drop in the Baltic Dry Index since 1984…"The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index crashed on Tuesday in the worst decline on record, sinking on prospects of a global recession. Baltic Dry Good Index is a measure of global shipping and economic health. The overall index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax shipping vessels carrying dry bulk commodities, plunged 17.5% to $1,250, the most significant daily decline since 1984."

#4 Thanks to rapidly falling imports, we just witnessed the largest monthly decline in the trade deficit since the last financial crisis…"According to the BEA, the November trade deficit narrowed to $61.5b from $77.8b in prior month, coming in below the median estimate of $63.0BN (and just barely missing the top end of the range of $61.3BN to $80.5BN from 42 economists). Remarkably, the 20% one-month decline in the deficit was the single biggest drop in the US trade deficit on a percentage basis going back to the global financial crisis!"

#5 In 2022, U.S. auto sales were the lowest that we have seen for a full year in more than a decade…"Industrywide, U.S. auto sales totaled 13.7 million vehicles in 2022, the lowest figure since 2011 and an 8% decrease from the prior year, according to the research firm Wards Intelligence. Sales had topped 17 million vehicles for five straight years before the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, unleashing supply-chain problems that have bogged down deliveries ever since."

#6 The average rate on a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage is more than twice as high as it was this time last year…"Mortgage rates inched up again last week, after a slight increase the week before interrupted six straight weeks of falling rates. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.48% in the week ending January 5, up from 6.42% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. A year ago, the 30-year fixed rate was 3.22%."

#7 According to CNN, sales of apartments in Manhattan were 28.5 percent lower in the fourth quarter of 2022 than they were in the fourth quarter of 2021…"Higher rates and still-high housing prices cooled demand at the end of last year, causing sales to tumble. Sales dropped 28.5% in the fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2021."

#8 Overall, existing home sales in the United States have fallen for 10 months in a row and are now down by more than a third since January 2022.

#9 Bed Bath & Beyond is warning that the company is literally on the verge of declaring bankruptcy…"Bed Bath & Beyond warned Thursday it’s running out of cash and is considering bankruptcy. The retailer, citing worse-than-expected sales, issued a “going concern” warning that in the upcoming months it likely will not have the cash to cover expenses, such as lease agreements or payments to suppliers. Bed Bath said it is exploring financial options, such as restructuring, seeking additional capital or selling assets, in addition to a potential bankruptcy."

#10 It is being reported that Amazon has decided to lay off approximately 18,000 employees…"Amazon.com Inc. is laying off more than 18,000 employees — the biggest reduction in its history — in the latest sign that a tech-industry slump is deepening."

#11 Overall, the tech industry has already laid off more than 150,000 workers over the last year.

Many more American workers will lose their jobs as economic activity slows down even more throughout 2023. So if you currently have a good job that you value, try to cling to it as hard as you can.

The times that we are moving into are going to look completely different from the times that we have enjoyed over the past decade. Our leaders were able to keep the party going for a long time by absolutely flooding the system with money, but now they have lost control. We are literally careening toward disaster, but most Americans still don’t understand what is taking place.

Most Americans just assume that those in authority know exactly what they are doing and that a “return to normal” is inevitable. I wish that was true, because the ride into the economic abyss that we are facing is not going to be fun."
o
Related:

"Something Like Reverence..."

"When I see the blind and wretched state of men, when I survey the whole universe in its deadness, and man left to himself with no light, as though lost in this corner of the universe without knowing who put him there, what he has to do, or what will become of him when he dies, incapable of knowing anything, I am moved to terror, like a man transported in his sleep to some terrifying desert island, who wakes up quite lost, with no means of escape. Then I marvel that so wretched a state does not drive people to despair." 
- Blaise Pascal

Ahh, but it does...
“When the pain of leaving behind what we know outweighs the pain of embracing it, or when the power we face is overwhelming and neither flight nor fight will save us, there may be salvation in sitting still. And if salvation is impossible, then at least before perishing we may gain a clearer vision of where we are. By sitting still I do not mean the paralysis of dread, like that of a rabbit frozen beneath the dive of a hawk. I mean something like reverence, a respectful waiting, a deep attentiveness to forces much greater than our own.”
- Scott Russell Sanders

Folks, I fear our time for such reverence has arrived.
God help us, God help us all...

"Time and Stuff"

"Time and Stuff"
Limiting factors to the promised cornucopia.
By Bill Bonner and Joel Bowman

"Had we but world enough and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime."
~ Andrew Marvell

Normandy, France - "An epiphany! We are in a farmhouse…looking out at the ‘cour,’ which is an area in grass and apple trees, boxed in by barns and other farm buildings. The buildings are not in bad shape. None are falling down. But all need work. Physical work. Work done by people in work clothes.

One has a roof in need of repair. Another needs a new roof altogether. New doors for one of the storage sheds are on order. And there is a little abandoned cottage, which has been recycled from a bakery…with its classic dome-shaped oven…into a pigsty…and then into living quarters. Today, it is a wreck…in need of total renovation.
All of these things require materials…skills…and time – the kind of things you find in the ‘old economy.’ They are things that produce more GDP…and make us wealthier. When the work is done, we will have better facilities…a better view from the farmhouse…and maybe even get more production (GDP) from a more efficient farm.

Had we world enough and time, we could spend all day on the internet…and squander as much wealth as we want – in ‘wars of choice,’ in bailouts of bankers, investors or students…invested in companies that can never earn enough to justify the capital…or given away, either to the rich (contracts, jobs, grants, boosting stock prices, low interest rates ) or to the poor (food stamps, unemployment comp, ‘disability,’ rent support). But in the world we live in, time and stuff are limited. And when they are wasted…they are gone forever.

Choke Chains: By contrast, we open up our laptop. We are immediately in a different world, without apparent limits. We can go as deep as we want. We can find out about the entertainer “Boo” and how she died last week. Or, we can learn how to decline a Latin noun. Or, we can dig into the debate over selling scrap iron to Japan before WWII (it was used to make ships, planes and bullets).

And yet…even on the internet, the dogs race out with loud barks and growls. But they eventually reach the end of the chain. Earlier this week, Dan told us about five companies that got choked: "…eight stocks that lost a combined $5 trillion in market value – Tesla (down 65%), Meta (down 64%), Netflix (down 51%), Nvidia (down 50%), Amazon (down 49%), Google (down 38%), Microsoft (down 28.9%), and Apple (down 27%)."

And let’s not forget Salesforce. The stock was at $300 in November 2021. Now, it’s $130. Salesforce is located in a sleek San Francisco business tower. It provides software to other tech companies to help them handle customers. But when the customers went away, so did Salesforce’s sales…net income fell from over $4 billion in 2021 to less than $1.5 billion in the most recent 12 months.

Salesforce is a special case – combining the illusions of the dot.com era with the conceits of Jack Welch-style roll-up madness. CEO and founder, Marc Benioff, followed much the same playbook as Welch at GE…buying companies left and right in order to increase his own sales.

Fantasy Worlds: It’s hard enough to figure out one business. Trying to understand and digest dozens of other businesses is hopeless. And last year, all of these ‘tech’ companies ran into the brick wall that separates the real world of time and stuff…from the fantasy world of Zuckerberg, crypto and federal finances.

Meta, and Google, for example, are advertising-driven media. Their revenues grew as they took ad spending away from traditional media. But ad budgets are always limited by sales…and sales are always limited by incomes…and incomes are always limited by time. Shoppers earn their money by selling their time, by the hour. They can’t get more hours. So, their incomes are limited by the amount of stuff they produce/hour. And that, too – productivity – is going down at the fastest rate in 40 years. CNBC:

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff recently made waves when he told employees in a Slack message that the company’s newest hires aren’t being productive enough, and he wanted help figuring out why. The tech giant’s employee productivity issue is not an isolated one.

The most powerful organization on the planet, the US government, ‘prints’ our money. But even it is on a chain. It can print all it wants, but ultimately, all wealth comes from taxpayers…and taxpayers live in the real world of time and stuff. The feds can try to by-pass the taxpayers; they can just ‘print’ money to pay their bills. But then, people just get less stuff for their money.

Coy Mistresses: We were suspicious of the ‘information revolution’ right from the beginning. It was said, in the 1990s, that ‘information will replace capital.’ Investors thought they had discovered a new source of wealth. They could buy a dogecoin…an NFT…or something ‘on the blockchain.’ And somehow this new, unchained economy would make them rich. That is, people thought time and stuff no longer mattered; our mistress could be coy as long as she wanted. The infinite-ness of the electronic media would make it vastly easier and faster for us to get what we wanted.

Theoretically, the peasant in Borneo, laboring with a steel-tipped hoe, was more or less confined to his lot. But now, with the worldwide web at his fingertips, he would see that he could till the land better with a four-wheel-drive John Deere tractor. He would then greatly improve his productivity…food prices would fall…and we’d all be better off.

But wait. Where was the tractor? Didn’t it still have to be made – with capital, steel, skill and time? And didn’t the manufacturers still have to wonder how much purchasing power the Borneo peasant actually had? And wasn’t it just as likely that the Borneo peasant – knowing he couldn’t afford a John Deere tractor – spent his time on the internet gambling on meme stocks, reading dumb opinions, or looking at dirty pictures of white women in Dusseldorf?

On the evidence, America’s new technology – led by Amazon, Facebook, Google and countless others – has actually slowed the output of stuff. GDP growth rates were in the 3% range in the 1990s. Now, they’re close to zero, after falling gradually and suddenly for the whole 21st century.

What to make of this? We don’t know yet. Stay tuned…"
o
Joel’s Note: "Back in the real world, meanwhile, more signs of the times. Our friend Chris Mayer sent over this chart, from Bloomberg, this morning…
"As of this morning (5 January '23),” reads the accompanying article, “Bloomberg data now shows no negative yielding debt globally for the first time since 2014. 2 years ago we had $18.4tn globally and over 4000 bonds with a negative yield."

What does that mean, exactly? Up, up… and away? “Central banks are not letting interest rates rise because they want to,” as Bill pointed out earlier this week, “but because they have to.”

In other words, the market is forcing the Fed’s hand. As you’ve no doubt seen for yourself, inflation remains stubbornly “non-transitory” across much of the developed world. Central banks have to be seen to be “doing something” to ease the pain for consumers, workers and voters. Ergo, rising rates…which may remain “higher for longer” than people expect.

The Fed reiterated its own position during its meeting in December. A couple of key quotes from the minutes, brought to our attention by BPR macro analyst and the man who assiduously combs through such docs, Dan Denning...

“No participants anticipated that it would be appropriate to begin reducing the federal funds rate target in 2023. In view of the persistent and unacceptably high level of inflation, several participants commented that historical experience cautioned against prematurely loosening monetary policy.”
~ From FOMC’s December meeting, 2022.

Reckoned Dan in Friday’s research note to BPR members…"Inflation would have to come down a lot—and stay down–for the Fed to cut rates or print money again in 2023. Unless there’s a major ‘credit event’ (a sovereign default, a major and unexpected corporate bankruptcy, or a crisis at a systematically important bank), the Fed’s target rate may go even higher (closer to 5.5%). Which means stocks not yet priced for higher rates (and with lower earnings on the horizon from a 2023 recession) have further to fall.

To recap…Rates: higher for longer. Stocks: further to fall."

"How It, And We, Have Completely Lost Our Minds And Really Are!"

Full screen recommended!
Hi-Rez, "2+2=5"

"The whole world goin' mad, bruh..."
"Going?" Oh, we're there, bruh, we're there...

"Strange Prices At Kroger! Stock Up On These Deals! What's Coming!?"

Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 1/6/23:
"Strange Prices At Kroger!
 Stock Up On These Deals! What's Coming!?"
"In today's vlog we are at Kroger, and are noticing very strange price increases on groceries!  We are here to check out skyrocketing prices, and the empty shelves situation!  It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"
Comments here:

"They Are Going To Control You"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, iAllegedly 1/6/23:
"They Are Going To Control You"
"We’re at the consumer-electronics shelf for the first day. Take a look at all the autonomous vehicles and the innovation with the EV batteries."
Comments here:

Gregory Mannarino, "Fact: Major Banks Are In Serious Trouble. And This Is What You Are Not Supposed To Know"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 1/6/23:
"Fact: Major Banks Are In Serious Trouble. 
And This Is What You Are Not Supposed To Know"
Comments here:

Thursday, January 5, 2023

"Ukraine – The Big Push To End The War" (Excerpt)

"Ukraine – 
The Big Push To End The War" (Excerpt)
by Moon of Alabama

Excerpt: "Over Christmas I had a short talk with a relative about the war in Ukraine. He asked me who would win and was astonished when I said: “Ukraine has zero chance to win.” That person reads some German mainstream news sites and watches the public TV networks. With those sources of ‘information’ he was made to believe that Ukraine was winning the war.

One may excuse that with him never having been in a military and not being politically engaged. But still there are some basic numbers that let one conclude from the beginning that Russia, the much bigger, richer and more industrialized country, had clearly all advantages. My relative obviously never had had that thought.

The ‘western’ propaganda is still quite strong. However, as I pointed out in March last year propaganda does not change a war and lies do not win it. It's believability is shrinking.

Former Lt.Col. Alex Vershinin, who in June pointed out that industrial warfare is back and the ‘West’ was not ready to wage it, has a new recommendable piece out which analyses the tactics on both sides, looks ahead and concludes that Russia will almost certainly win the war:

Wars of attrition are won through careful husbandry of one’s own resources while destroying the enemy’s. Russia entered the war with vast materiel superiority and a greater industrial base to sustain and replace losses. They have carefully preserved their resources, withdrawing every time the tactical situation turned against them. Ukraine started the war with a smaller resource pool and relied on the Western coalition to sustain its war effort. This dependency pressured Ukraine into a series of tactically successful offensives, which consumed strategic resources that Ukraine will struggle to replace in full, in my view. The real question isn’t whether Ukraine can regain all its territory, but whether it can inflict sufficient losses on Russian mobilized reservists to undermine Russia’s domestic unity, forcing it to the negotiation table on Ukrainian terms, or will Russian’ attrition strategy work to annex an even larger portion of Ukraine.

Russian domestic unity has only grown over the war. As Gilbert Doctorow points out wars make nations. The war does not only unite certain nationalistic parts of Ukraine who still dream of retaking Crimea. It also unites all of Russia. Unlike Ukraine Russia will be strengthened by it."
Full, highly recommended, article here:

"Country's Dire Warning: 'Stockpile 20 Months Worth of Food'"

Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper 1/5/23:
"Country's Dire Warning:
 'Stockpile 20 Months Worth of Food'"
"Countries are hoarding supplies for 2 years of hell,
 'white lung and wild variant is spreading'"
Comments here:

"The Pain Is Getting Worse; Inflationary Depression Unavoidable; Markets In For A Rude Awakening

Jeremiah Babe, 1/5/23:
"The Pain Is Getting Worse; Inflationary Depression Unavoidable; 
Markets In For A Rude Awakening
Comments here:

"20 Food Products Getting More Expensive In The Months Ahead"

Full screen recommended.
"20 Food Products Getting More 
Expensive In The Months Ahead"
By Epic Economist

"We've just gone through a year of record food inflation, and now we're being told to brace for further price increases at the grocery stores as retailers and manufacturers cope with a series of challenges that go from reduced supplies to higher transportation costs to explosive commodity costs. In fact, the latest Food Price Report released on Monday estimates that food prices will see a 7% increase on top of the 10.4% growth seen over the past twelve months. That will add hundreds or even thousands of dollars to the average family’s annual expenses, says Samantha Taylor, one of the researchers behind the report.

“Living is expensive, and we are not bringing good news,” Taylor stresses. The report projects that price hikes will occur across all food categories. Researchers noted that the typical American family of four is oing to be forced to shell out an average of $16,288 on food over the course of 2023 - an increase of $1,065 from this year. A two-adult household will spend $7,711, a jump of more than $500 from 2022.

Consumers are starting to notice that even cheaper meat options are facing some disturbing price increases lately. Tyson Foods, Conagra, and other meat processors have actually notified their retail customers in recent weeks that they will hike prices in January for frozen and refrigerated meats. Some of the products that will see increases include Ball Park hot dogs and burgers, State Fair corn dogs, Jimmy Dean frozen breakfast, Hillshire Farm sausage, and lunch meat, and Hebrew National and Oscar Mayer hot dogs, according to supplier letters to wholesale customers viewed by CNN Business. "All the packaged meat suppliers are coming to the price increase party," said one industry insider who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their company's relationship with suppliers. The price increases will range from 10.9% to 12.6%, CNN reports.

Soaring chicken prices are also making consumers turn to cheaper options, and chicken nuggets have become a staple in many households. Sales have grown by 50% in the third quarter of 2022. But, unfortunately, a shrinking chicken flock and competition with restaurants and fast-food chains are making the price of this consumer favorite jump by 10.9%, and further increases are expected later this year as supplies continue to contract. Even major chains like Burger King are suffering from those price swings. A few months back, the chain announced that it was going to reduce the number of nuggets in meals from ten pieces to 8, and also that consumers would have to pay more to get them. Similarly, Yogurt king Danone just revealed plans of hiking prices over the next couple of months, and other food makers are likely to follow suit. A smaller national cow herd is driving milk production to the lowest levels in almost a decade. Consequently, manufacturers competing over the available supply and that competition is also contributing to a spike in prices. After rising by nearly 14% over the past 12 months, yogurt prices can see another 9% to 11% increase in the first half of 2023.

We hope you have prepared for the grocery shortages and “price readjustments,” companies and retailers have been warning about. But if you didn’t, it’s not too late if you start now. With all that said, we decided to list some of the items that will be seeing price spikes in the next few weeks and months."

Gerald Celente, "Middle East Meltdown; Office Building Bust; Be Prepared"

Full screen recommended.
Strong language alert!
Gerald Celente, Trends Journal 1/5/23:
"Middle East Meltdown; Office Building Bust; Be Prepared"
Comments here:

Gregory Mannarino, "The Potential For A Massive Stock Market Drop Is Rising. Keep Your Eyes On This!"

Your guide...
Gregory Mannarino, PM 1/5/23:
"The Potential For A Massive Stock Market Drop
 Is Rising. Keep Your Eyes On This!"
Comments here:

Musical Interlude: Runrig, "Running to the Light"

Full screen recommended.
Runrig, "Running to the Light"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“About 70 million light-years distant, gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 289 is larger than our own Milky Way. Seen nearly face-on, its bright core and colorful central disk give way to remarkably faint, bluish spiral arms. The extensive arms sweep well over 100 thousand light-years from the galaxy's center. 
At the lower right in this sharp, telescopic galaxy portrait the main spiral arm seems to encounter a small, fuzzy elliptical companion galaxy interacting with enormous NGC 289. Of course spiky stars are in the foreground of the scene. They lie within the Milky Way toward the southern constellation Sculptor.”

Chet Raymo, “Take My Arm”

“Take My Arm”
by Chet Raymo

“I’m sure I have referenced here before the poems of Grace Schulman, she who inhabits that sweet melancholy place between “the necessity and impossibility of belief.” Between, too, the necessity and impossibility of love.

Belief and love. They have so much in common, yet are as distinct as self and other. How strange that two people can hitch their lives together, on a whim, say, or wild intuition, knowing little if nothing about the other’s hiddenness, about things that even the other does not fully understand and couldn’t articulate even if he did. Blind, deaf, dumb, they leap into the future, hoping to fly, and, for a moment, soaring, like Icarus, sunward. The necessity of wax. The impossibility of wax. We “fall” in love, they say. Schulman: “We slog. We tramp the road of possibility. Give me your arm.”

The Poet: Wendell Berry, “Leavings”

“Leavings”

“In time a man disappears
from his lifelong fields, from
the streams he has walked beside,
from the woods where he sat and waited.
Thinking of this, he seems to
miss himself in those places
as if always he has been there.
But first he must disappear,
and this he foresees with hope,
with thanks. Let others come.”

- Wendell Berry
“Perhaps as he was lying awake then, his life may have passed before him – his early hopeful struggles, his manly successes and prosperity, his downfall in his declining years, and his present helpless condition – no chance of revenge against Fortune, which had had the better of him -neither name nor money to bequeath – a spent-out, bootless life of defeat and disappointment, and the end here! Which, I wonder, brother reader, is the better lot, to die prosperous and famous, or poor and disappointed? To have, and to be forced to yield; or to sink out of life, having played and lost the game? That must be a strange feeling, when a day of our life comes and we say, “Tomorrow, success or failure won’t matter much, and the sun will rise, and all the myriads of mankind go to their work or their pleasure as usual, but I shall be out of the turmoil.”
- William Makepeace Thackeray, “Vanity Fair”

"A Great Madness Sweeps The Land"

"A Great Madness Sweeps The Land"
by Charles Hugh Smith

‘In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, 
parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.’
- Friedrich Nietzsche 

"A great madness sweeps the land. There are no limits on extremes in greed, credulity, convictions, inequality, bombast, recklessness, fraud, corruption, arrogance, hubris, pride, over-reach, self-righteousness and confidence in the rightness of one's opinions. Extremes only become more extreme even as the folly of previous extremes wearies rationality.

Imaginary sins are conjured out of thin air to convict the innocent while those guilty of the most egregious fraud and corruption are lauded as saviors.

The national mood is aggrieved and bitter. The luxuries of self-righteousness, indignation, entitlement and resentment have impoverished the national spirit. Bankrupted by these excesses, what little treasure remains is squandered on plots of petty revenge.

Blindness to the late hour is cheered as optimism, confidence in the false gods of technology is sanctified while doubters of the technocratic theocracy are crucified as irredeemable infidels.

Witch-hunts and show trials are the order of the day as those who cannot stomach the party line are obsessively purged, as healthy skepticism is condemned as a mortal sin by brittle true believers who secretly fear the failure of their cult.

Mired in a putrid sewer of suspected subversion and disloyalty to The One True Cause, heretics are everywhere to those caught up in the mass hysteria. In this choking atmosphere of toxic hubris, self-righteousness, indignation, entitlement and resentment, humility is for losers, prudence is for losers, caution is for losers, skeptical inquiry is for losers.

Completely untethered from cause and effect, those confident in the inevitability of a glorious future of unlimited expansion cling to past glory as proof of future glory, even as their hubris leads only to a treacherous path of decay and decline. As they stumble into the abyss, their final cries are of surprise that confidence alone is not enough.

Those who see the madness for what it is have only one escape: go to ground, fade from public view, become self-reliant and weather the coming storm in the nooks and crannies where cause and effect, skeptical inquiry, humility, prudence and thrift can still be nurtured."
o

"The Fabric Of Our Society Is Coming Apart At The Seams Right In Front Of Our Eyes"

"The Fabric Of Our Society Is Coming Apart 
At The Seams Right In Front Of Our Eyes"
By Michael Snyder

"One rule that I have always lived by is that crazy people should be avoided. But what good is that rule now that our entire society has started to go completely nuts? Everywhere you look, the fabric of our society is being completely shredded. The thin veneer of civilization that we all used to be able to take for granted is rapidly disappearing, and violence often erupts for seemingly no reason at all. You simply cannot have a “civilization” without civilized people, and the truth is that we are becoming less civilized with each passing year. Sadly, this is particularly true for our young people. Most of them have been brought through our completely amoral system of public education, and most of them have had their minds severely warped by thousands upon thousands of hours of mental garbage that masquerades as entertainment. As a result, many of them behave like lunatics, and the streets of our cities are no longer safe.

One of the reasons why so many people like to interact with others through phones and video screens is because the real world has become just so hazardous. A video that was trending on social media during the holiday season is a perfect example of this. An absolutely massive brawl recently erupted at a Waffle House in Austin, Texas, and it got so much attention that Fox News even took notice“Waffle House” is trending on Twitter in reaction to a video of an employee deflecting and slapping down a chair that was thrown at her during a fight at one of the chain’s restaurants in Austin, Texas."

The original video, which is more than two minutes long, shows the lead-up and fight between multiple Waffle House customers and employees. The employee who was struck with two chairs has gone viral for her quick reflexes and impressive deflection. This brawl has been watched millions upon millions of times, and the reason why it became so popular is because many viewers found it to be extremely entertaining. In particular, many were absolutely fascinated by the Waffle House employee that was seemingly able to deflect chairs that were thrown at her with a flick of her armShe is being called “Waffle House Girl”, and people are joking that she is a new superhero.

But where are all the people that are crying out in anguish for what has happened to this generation of young people? An entire generation of young adults seems to have no moral foundation whatsoever, and that has dire implications for the future of our society. Every day, there are more brawl videos featuring our young people on social media. They are brawling in restaurants, they are brawling at Walmart, they are brawling at sporting events, they are brawling on the subway and they are brawling in the streets. And we just act like all of this is perfectly normal.

These days, if you choose to use public transportation you are literally putting your life on the line. One 78-year-old man that lives in Oregon recently found this out the hard way. He was brutally attacked by a crazed 25-year-old lunatic that tried to chew his face off for apparently no reason at all. When authorities finally arrived, they could “see the victim’s skull”

"A suspect is in custody after a grisly attack on an elderly man on a MAX platform in Gresham early Tuesday morning, according to police. At about 2:17 a.m., officers responded to the Cleveland Station at 1200 Northeast 8th Street where witnesses reported an attack and a lot of blood. Officers found the attacker still on top of the victim, a 78-year-old man from Hillsboro, and pulled him off. According to police, the suspect “had chewed off the victim’s ear and part of his face. The injury was so severe that responders could see the victim’s skull.”

This sort of an attack on a 78-year-old man doesn’t make any sense at all. But this is the society that we live in now. In fact, senseless violence is even happening right outside of the White House…"A man allegedly beat another man to death with a metal pipe Wednesday in Washington, D.C., near the White House. A jogger found the man at the Ellipse park in downtown Washington, D.C., and then found a nearby Secret Service agent, according to Fox 5. Police were able to obtain video footage that shows an altercation in the same area at around 6:30 a.m."

If they can’t even keep the area around the White House safe, do you really think that they are able to protect you? Hordes of ruthless predators are roaming our streets, and they just keep getting younger and younger.

In Milwaukee, a 10-year-old boy is being accused of murdering his own mother because she wouldn’t buy him a virtual reality headset…"A 10-year-old boy who is charged with fatally shooting his mother for refusing to buy him a VR headset seems more preoccupied with his gadgets than the murder as he faces trial, family members say. The Milwaukee boy is charged as an adult with first-degree reckless homicide in the November 21 killing of Quiana Mann, 44, who was shot in the face in their home.

The boy’s aunt Rhonda Reid told WTMJ-TV on Tuesday that when she talks to him in custody, he claims not to remember the shooting and quickly shifts the conversation to his favorite topic." 10-year-old kids aren’t supposed to know how to kill people. What in the world has happened to us?

At this point, homicide and suicide are two of the most common causes of death for young children in this country…"Homicide as well as suicide are common causes of death for young age groups in the United States, second only to accidents for those between the ages of 15 and 34. After that age, cancer, heart disease and more recently Covid-19 become bigger killers. Even for children aged 5-9, homicide is a big danger and was the fourth most common cause of death for the age group in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For those 10 to 14 years old, both homicide and suicide are among the top 4 killers."

Are you starting to get my point? Yes, the fabric of our society really is coming apart at the seams all around us. And the biggest criminals of all are those that are supposed to be running the entire show. The most heinous crimes are being committed by those that roam the halls of power, but our society has become so corrupt that most people simply do not care.

Just like so many great civilizations before us, we will surely fall if our current decline cannot be reversed. My hope is that my articles will shock people into realizing that we desperately need change. Because time is running out, and at this point most of the population is still in a deep state of sleep."

The Daily "Near You?"

Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"The Overall Theme For 2023 Will Be 'Here We Go!'”

Full screen recommended.
"The Overall Theme For 2023 Will Be 'Here We Go!'”
by Michael Snyder

"A lot of people tend to use the phrase “here we go” when they think that something really good is about to happen, and others tend to use it when they think that something really bad is about to happen. Needless to say, in this case I am using the phrase “here we go” as my overall theme for 2023 because I believe that we are going to be facing a really rough year. I expect that so many of the trends that have been percolating throughout 2022 will greatly accelerate over the next 12 months. So if you were not pleased with 2022, it is likely that you are really not going to enjoy what is ahead of us in 2023.

I certainly don’t need to tell any of you that 2022 was a very tough year for the economy. It truly was a year when “everything started to fall apart”, and lots of prominent voices on Wall Street are now warning that things will get even worse in 2023. But if the Federal Reserve were to suddenly reverse course and begin lowering interest rates, that would help the short-term economic outlook a great deal.

Unfortunately, that isn’t going to happen. In fact, Fed officials are openly telling us that they expect interest rates to remain elevated for “some time” to come…"Federal Reserve officials reaffirmed their commitment to combating inflation at their December meeting and indicated that interest rates could remain elevated for “some time” until there is clear evidence that consumer prices are falling.

Minutes from the U.S. central bank’s Dec. 13-14 meeting released on Wednesday showed that policymakers worried that investors and financial markets could misinterpret their decision to raise interest rates more slowly as a sign they were ending their campaign to bring prices under control. Officials stressed that the smaller rate hike – 50 basis points, compared to the previous fourth 75-basis point-increases – “was not an indication of any weakening” and warned of continued risks on the inflation front."

So there is no hope on the horizon, and higher rates will continue to crush economic activity for the foreseeable future. And with each passing day, what is happening to the economy is becoming clearer and clearer. For example, we just learned that Salesforce will be laying off approximately 8,000 workers…"Salesforce plans to lay off about 10% of its workforce, or nearly 8,000 employees, and reduce its office space as tech companies cut costs amid concerns about the economy. In a note to employees Wednesday, Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff said the move comes as customers take a more cautious approach to spending as the economic “environment remains challenging.”

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There will be many more layoffs during the weeks and months to come. Another trend that I will be watching very closely in 2023 is the deterioration of faith in our politicians and in our governmental institutions.

The drama that is playing out in Washington right now is a perfect example of what I am talking about. Kevin McCarthy is a prototypical “swamp creature”, and that is why the establishment loves him. As Speaker of the House, McCarthy would be in charge of keeping the wheels of corruption in motion. There is so much campaign money that needs to be funneled in the right direction, so many important favors that need to get done, and so many critical deals that need to be orchestrated.

The Washington establishment can’t afford to have someone with principles as Speaker of the House, and so they are going to keep pushing for McCarthy. Of course McCarthy is deeply unpopular outside of Washington, but so was Nancy Pelosi. Sadly, that doesn’t really matter, because we we are not supposed to have a say in these battles. But the American people are getting fed up. They can see the endless corruption that is going on, and the popularity of both parties is sinking. And the truth is that politicians from both parties have been lying to our faces over and over again.

For many of our politicians, lying is as natural as breathing is. Unfortunately, we have gotten to a point where most of our politicians have lost all of their credibility, and a population that no longer has faith in the system is going to be exceedingly difficult to govern.

I also expect 2023 to be a year of great natural disasters. Throughout 2022, there was just one historic disaster after another. It seemed like I was constantly writing about droughts, famines, wildfires, hurricanes, giant storms, earthquakes, volcanoes and tornadoes. Unfortunately, I believe that the 12 months that are ahead of us will be even worse. If you doubt this, just consider what has been happening over the past few weeks.

In late December, a colossal “bomb cyclone” brought a “once in a generation storm” to the Midwest. In fact, the blizzard that we witnessed in Buffalo was the worst storm in the entire recorded history of the city. Just as we were recovering from that, a mammoth “atmospheric river” slammed into the west coast. Some parts of California received more than four feet of snow, and there was catastrophic flooding in other areas.

Now here we are just a few days later, and another “bomb cyclone” is about to hammer California. According to the National Weather Service, this is going to be a “truly brutal” storm…"Another powerful storm, known as a bomb cyclone, is hitting the California coast and the National Weather Service in the Bay Area is warning residents that the “truly brutal” system needs to be taken seriously. The system could trigger “immediate disruption to commerce, and the worst of all, likely loss of human life,” forecasters say. It comes on the heels of a round of record-breaking rainfall that slammed the same area over the weekend."

I have never seen two immensely powerful storms hit California so close together. There will be “widespread flooding”, and conditions in some parts of the state will be so dangerous that authorities are actually encouraging people to have “go bags” prepared in advance…"A dangerous storm system is slamming California, with meteorologists at the National Weather Service warning of imminent “widespread flooding, impassible roads, mudslides/landslides [and] rapid rises in rivers/creeks.” The system, which prompted the Weather Service to take the unusual step of urging residents to have “go bags” at the ready and prepare insurance documentation in advance, is set to unleash its harshest conditions Wednesday night into early Thursday.

Virtually the entirety of Northern and Central California is under flood watches and high-wind warnings, with damaging gusts to 60 mph possible. Strong to severe thunderstorms could be in the offing as well, in addition to 2 to 4 inches of rain in the lowlands and more in the mountains. In the highest terrain, the heavy rain will transition to up to 2 to 4 feet of heavy snow. Along the coast, beaches will be battered by large waves and areas of coastal flooding."

I also believe that 2023 will be a year when multiple pestilences run wild all over the planet. These days, it seems like a different disease is making global headlines each week. A few weeks ago everyone was talking about RSV, and then it was Strep A, and now this week a new “super variant” of COVID is deeply alarming authorities…"Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and chief of the COVID Risk Task Force at the New England Complex Systems Institute, has called XBB1.5 a “super variant.” XBB.1.5, which is mutated from the original Omicron strain, appears to be spreading faster than others because it is better at attaching itself to human cells. “A mutation in the virus is located at the site where it binds to the human cells,” said Wine. “To effectively infect humans, the virus needs to bind to cells, and XBB.1.5 seems to do this very tightly.” 

Next week it might be something else. At this point, there are billions of people that have compromised immune systems, and that means that the global population has been perfectly primed for whatever plagues we see in 2023.

I certainly can’t end this article without talking about war. I expect that both sides will continue to escalate the conflict in Ukraine in 2023, and it appears that the Russians may be preparing a massive new offensive campaign from the north. Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East continue to rise, and I believe that a war between Israel and Iran has become inevitable. On the other side of the planet, the Chinese could soon pull the trigger on an invasion of Taiwan, and if that happens we could also see North Korea invade South Korea while the U.S. is distracted with China.

I have been warning that these wars were coming for a long time, and once they erupt our world will never be the same again. In fact, our world is already radically different from what it was like just a few short years ago. So much changed throughout 2020, 2021 and 2022. But the pace of change is only going to accelerate even more as we get deeper into 2023. So buckle up and hold on tight, because here we go…"
o