May 312022
 
 May 31, 2022  Posted by at 8:32 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,


James McNeill Whistler Symphony in White, No. 3 1867

 

Ukraine Bits: Russian Artillery – Counter Attacks – New Missile Systems (MoA)
Biden Administration in No Rush to Help Ukraine Negotiate End to War (Jacobin)
US Won’t Send Ukraine Rocket Systems That Strike Into Russia (JTN)
Germany Is Failing Ukraine (Hoyer)
Why “Cancel” Russians? (Milacic)
Azov Battalion Drops Neo-nazi Symbol Exploited By Russian Propagandists (Times)
Putin Ready To Facilitate Export Of Grains From Ukraine (AlJ)
Gazprom Shuts Gas Deliveries to Dutch Trader GasTerra (WSJ)
EU Leaders Agree On Partial Embargo On Russian Oil (AP)
The Age of Exterminations VIII – How to Destroy Western Europe (Ugo Bardi)
Fauci’s Recent, $10M Monkeypox Grant (NP)
Almost 500,000 UK Small Businesses ‘At Risk Of Going Bust Within Weeks’ (G.)

 

 

 

 

Lara Logan

 

 

 

 

WHO Treaty

 

 

“To prolong it by supplying more money and weapons is criminal and should be punished.”

Ukraine Bits: Russian Artillery – Counter Attacks – New Missile Systems (MoA)

Former Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Army Daniel Davis has written some realistic pieces on Ukraine. His latest though are a bit of fantasy. He describes in three parts “How Ukraine Can Drive Russia Out”.First Ukraine would have to hold onto Donbas and with the help of raids and counterattacks unbalance the Russian forces. It would then perform a delaying retreat under fire to several new defense lines created in its rear. This delay action should allow for time to build a new force of 100,000 new troops in west Ukraine who would be equipped with a huge amount of new ‘western’ systems. It would take twelve to eighteen months to build and train that counterattack force.


Davis knows of course that each of those steps is completely unrealistic. His real advice is to negotiate an end to the war as soon as possible. But the writeup of what would really be necessary for the Ukraine to have at least a chance to win against Russia is helpful as it demonstrates the futility of such an effort. There is no way for the Ukraine to turn the situation around or to win the war. The Ukrainian government has to give up. To stop the dying and the extensive amount of damage the war causes it must end now. To prolong it by supplying more money and weapons is criminal and should be punished.

Media Is Far Too Late In Admitting Ukraine’s Severe War Losses

Read more …

Not as long as there are still Ukrainians alive.

Biden Administration in No Rush to Help Ukraine Negotiate End to War (Jacobin)

“Russians believe the US calls the shots,” says Chas Freeman, longtime US diplomat under successive presidents and assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs under Bill Clinton. “Therefore, talking to those who take direction from the US is unlikely to yield anything useful.” “You’ve got the issue of whether Ukraine will join NATO, and the sanctions,” says John B. Quigley, an expert in international law who led talks on the status of the Donbas and Crimea after the Cold War. “So I think the major powers do need to be involved.” But if the diplomatic line between Kiev and Moscow has gone cold in recent weeks, the one between Moscow and Washington is buried under an ice shelf.

While the United States and Russia have engaged in a prisoner swap and seen contacts between military officials, secretary of state Tony Blinken — the top US diplomat — and his Russian counterpart haven’t spoken once since before the start of the war. US officials have justified this lack of engagement in a variety of ways, arguing that Putin isn’t serious about negotiating, and that whether or not to negotiate “are decisions for [Ukrainians] to make.” But it’s been harder to wave off as US involvement in the war has deepened. “The idea is that we don’t negotiate with him, the Ukrainians decide,” says Rajan Menon, director of the Grand Strategy program at Defense Priorities. “But we are deeply implicated in this war — we can’t pretend we aren’t.”

Washington has begun sending heavy weaponry that was considered too escalatory only weeks earlier, and has boasted of its role in helping Ukraine kill a series of Russian generals and sink the flagship of its Black Sea fleet. Multiple US officials have now openly described the conflict as a proxy war with Russia, while Steny Hoyer, the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the House, declared that “we’re at war.” The feeling is mutual over on the Russian side. The stakes of not reaching a settlement are high. For the world, there’s the hovering specter of nuclear escalation that could quickly envelop all of Europe and North America in the devastation, along with the government-toppling economic instability being fueled by the war’s resulting supply shocks. For Ukrainians, it means more death, destruction, and economic chaos, with the World Bank predicting the invasion will shrink its economy 45 percent this year.

Read more …

We only kill Ukrainians.

US Won’t Send Ukraine Rocket Systems That Strike Into Russia (JTN)

President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House on Monday that the U.S. won’t send Ukraine rocket systems that could possibly reach Russia. It was previously reported that the Biden administration was considering sending such systems to the Ukrainian government during the ongoing invasion of its country by Russia. “We are not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that strike into Russia,” Biden said on Monday. He also addressed potential gun control measures that could be put into place after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas. Biden was asked if there’s an area he sees agreement on with Republicans in terms of gun policy, such as a potential red flag bill.


“That’s hard to say because I have not been negotiating with any of the Republicans yet,” he said. In terms of a possible ban on semi-automatic weapons, Biden said, “The Constitution, the Second Amendment, was never absolute,” according to a White House press pool report. Biden also reportedly told the press that “there’s simply no rational basis for it in terms of self-protection, hunting.”

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“..the Bundeswehr currently only has 50 modern tanks..”

Germany Is Failing Ukraine (Hoyer)

A giant step for German and European security,’ is how Chancellor Olaf Scholz described his government’s €100 billion cash injection for the country’s depleted military. But while Germany’s newfound commitment to its own defence is welcome, its commitment to Ukraine’s is still questionable at best. Over the weekend, the German newspaper Die Welt reported that it had seen documents showing that Berlin had reduced military support for Ukraine to ‘a minimum’. According to inside sources, only two German weapon deliveries have reached Ukraine since the end of March. Both contained light equipment such as mines, hand grenades and spare parts for machine guns. The last delivery of anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry dates back to 25 March.

This reality is strangely at odds with Scholz’s combative rhetoric. Last week, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Chancellor condemned Putin’s ‘imperialism’. He said that the invasion had led to a fundamental change in German foreign policy: ‘For the first time ever, Germany is delivering weapons into such a war zone, including heavy gear.’ He added: ‘Putin will only seriously engage in peace negotiations when he realises that he cannot break Ukraine’s defences.’ So why has Germany been so poor at shoring up those Ukrainian defences? The reluctance to support Kyiv persists out of a misguided sense of historical legacy. As the historian Timothy Snyder argued: ‘the confusion of responsibility and guilt has become a Russian weapon’. It’s clear that Germany could have delivered more weapons earlier, even if it might have taken longer than its better-funded American and British allies.

Others have argued that Berlin has now overcome its reluctance and wants to deliver but can’t because of its depleted military supplies. Look to the deal struck with Poland, these people arguer. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed that his country had sent over 240 Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukraine and hoped, in return, that western allies might help replenish Poland’s stock. In return, Germany was asked to send a set of Leopard 2 tanks to its neighbour. Yet the Polish President Andrzej Duda claimed last week Germany had agreed to send the tanks but then broke its promise. Berlin responded with surprise and indignation at the accusations. Spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the German government was ‘baffled’ by the allegations and said no promise had been made, adding that the Bundeswehr currently only has 50 modern tanks.

Read more …

“It turned out that picturing Russia as a wild Cossack riding a bear, a ruthless Asian “enemy” at Europe’s border was more desirable than integration with Russia.”

Why “Cancel” Russians? (Milacic)

There is a persistent belief in both Europe and the United States that the “Western” economies are the most developed around, just as the “Western” culture and democracy, with its culture of abolition and total tolerance, is the only correct and advanced system. Russia, which is a bridge connecting Europe with Asia since Tsar Peter, has apparently chosen the European path. With all its exotic image and totalitarian regimes that oppressed the Russian people, deep down, the latter considered themselves Europeans. Their jokes and humor are easily understood in both North America and in Europe, and the Russians’ values in life are in many ways similar to European ones. And still, they were not accepted into the European family.

During the 18th and 19th centuries Russia accepted and completely assimilated tens of thousands of Polish, Dutch, German settlers, but was never recognized in Europe as one of their own. It turned out that picturing Russia as a wild Cossack riding a bear, a ruthless Asian “enemy” at Europe’s border was more desirable than integration with Russia. The notion of the “Russian threat” has been exploited since the 18th century by politicians, from Louis XV to Barack Obama. After all, nothing brings small European countries closer together than the image of a common enemy. The Russians sincerely did not understand why they were not accepted into the European family. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow even asked to join NATO.

The only thing that politicians in Moscow asked their Western partners for was not to offend the Russian-speaking residents of the Baltic countries and Ukraine, who, in the wake of the Soviet collapse, had became second-class people there. Let us be honest, however. Russia was purposefully being nurtured as an enemy. The Russophobic policy of the Baltic republics led to a break with Russia and forced Moscow to urgently start building, due to logistical security concerns, new ports in the Baltic. Two color revolutions in Ukraine, orchestrated by Western “democracies” brought local nationalists to power and eventually sparking a conflict in Donbass, where 95 percent of people were not native speakers of the “state” Ukrainian language.

Even then, the Russians tried to demonstrate their friendliness to Europe. In the spring of 2021, when Italy’s medical system was paralyzed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russians sent there several planes with doctors and medicines, along with a team of military personnel from the chemical defense forces, who helped the Italians disinfect quarantine zones in hospitals. Following the November 2015 terrorist attacks in France, the Russian military, which had previously suffered from radical Islamists itself, wrote on the missiles, which they used against terrorist groups in Syria “For Paris.” Russia’s opposition-minded intellectuals sincerely believed that Russian liberals would be dear guests in Europe. It seems that until February 2022, pro-government circles in Russia sincerely believed that the West could force Kiev to start implementing the Minsk agreements on Donbass.

Read more …

Speechless. How dare you publish this?

Azov Battalion Drops Neo-nazi Symbol Exploited By Russian Propagandists (Times)

The Azov Battalion has removed a neo-Nazi symbol from its insignia that has helped perpetuate Russian propaganda about Ukraine being in the grip of far-right nationalism. At the unveiling of a new special forces unit in Kharkiv, patches handed to soldiers did not feature the wolfsangel, a medieval German symbol that was adopted by the Nazis and which has been used by the battalion since 2014. Instead, they featured a golden trident, the Ukrainian national symbol worn by other regiments. “On the same principles and ideological basis as the legendary Azov regiment, we form new divisions. Every day they become more numerous and professional,” Maksym Zhorin, an Azov commander, said at the ceremony on Sunday.

Created in 2014 as a paramilitary organisation to fight pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Donbas region, the Azov Battalion first attracted far-right volunteers harbouring anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish views. This background has been used by the Kremlin to justify its assertion that Ukraine needed “de-nazifying”. Now incorporated into the national guard, the regiment has attracted fighters from a diverse range of backgrounds. It has played a decisive role in key battles in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol as part of the nationwide resistance effort. In March, President Zelensky, who is Jewish, awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine to an Azov commander.

The Kremlin’s use of the Azov Battalion as a pretext for invasion is undermined by the presence of neo-Nazi divisions within its own ranks. Rusich, whose fighters have been photographed in Ukraine, is a mercenary group that uses in its insignia the valknut, an old Norse symbol appropriated by white supremacists.

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“..in case sanctions against Moscow are lifted..”

Putin Ready To Facilitate Export Of Grains From Ukraine (AlJ)

President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia is ready to facilitate the unhindered export of grain from Ukrainian ports in coordination with Turkey, according to a Kremlin readout of talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Russia and Ukraine together account for 29 percent of global wheat exports, mainly via the Black Sea, and for 80 percent of global exports of sunflower oil. Ukraine is also a major corn exporter. In a call with Erdogan on Monday, Putin said that global food shortages were the result of “short-sighted” Western policies, adding that Russia was ready to export significant volumes of fertilisers and food in case sanctions against Moscow are lifted, according to the Kremlin readout of the talks.


“During the discussion of the situation in Ukraine, emphasis was placed on ensuring safe navigation in the Black and Azov seas and eliminating the mine threat in their waters,” the Kremlin said. “Vladimir Putin noted the readiness of the Russian side to facilitate the unhindered sea transit of goods in coordination with Turkish partners. This also applies to the export of grain from Ukrainian ports.” It was not immediately clear which Ukrainian ports Putin was speaking of. Ukraine’s main grain export ports include Chornomorsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kherson and Yuzhny. Erdogan told Putin that peace needed to be established as soon as possible and that Turkey was ready to take on a role in an “observation mechanism” between Moscow, Kyiv and the United Nations, if an agreement is reached.

Read more …

The increase in the cost of living has only begun.

Gazprom Shuts Gas Deliveries to Dutch Trader GasTerra (WSJ)

Gazprom PJSC will stop supplying gas to Dutch wholesaler GasTerra from Tuesday due to the latter’s refusal to make payments in rubles. Gas trader GasTerra said Monday that it has decided not to comply with Gazprom’s payment requirements because doing so risks breaching European Union sanctions. The cessation means that around 2 billion cubic meters of contracted gas won’t be delivered between now and Oct. 1, when the deal was due to end, it said. “GasTerra has repeatedly urged Gazprom to respect the contractually agreed payment structure and supply obligations, but to no avail,” the trading company said.


GasTerra warned that it is impossible to predict whether the European market can absorb this loss of supply without serious consequences. In 2021 the EU imported 155 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia, around 40% of its total gas consumption, according to the International Energy Agency. GasTerra is 50%-owned by the Dutch government–partially through its gas company Energie Beheer Nederland B.V. The remaining shareholding is owned by Shell PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp., with each holding a 25% stake.

Read more …

Shoot Slo-mo Foot.

EU Leaders Agree On Partial Embargo On Russian Oil (AP)

European Union leaders reached a compromise Monday to impose a partial oil embargo on Russia at a summit focused on helping Ukraine with a long-delayed package of sanctions that was blocked by Hungary. The watered-down embargo covers only Russian oil brought in by sea, allowing a temporary exemption for imports delivered by pipeline. EU Council President Charles Michel said on Twitter the agreement covers more than two-thirds of oil imports from Russia, “cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine. Maximum pressure on Russia to end the war.” The EU had already imposed five previous rounds of sanctions on Russia over its war. It has targeted more than 1,000 people individually, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and top government officials as well as pro-Kremlin oligarchs, banks, the coal sector and more.

But the sixth package of measures announced May 4 had been held up by concerns over oil supplies. Hungarian Prime minister Viktor Orban had made clear he could support the new sanctions only if his country’s oil supply security was guaranteed. The landlocked country gets more than 60% of its oil from Russia and depends on crude that comes through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline. Ursula Von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive branch, had played down the chances of a breakthrough at the summit. But leaders reached a compromise after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged them to end “internal arguments that only prompt Russia to put more and more pressure on the whole of Europe.”

Von der Leyen said the punitive move will “effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year.” The EU gets about 40% of its natural gas and 25% of its oil from Russia, and divisions over the issue exposed the limits of the 27-nation trading bloc’s ambitions.

Read more …

“For the time being, Russian gas keeps flowing into Europe and the lights are still on in Europe, although it cannot be said for how long.”

The Age of Exterminations VIII – How to Destroy Western Europe (Ugo Bardi)

In 1944, Henry Morgenthau Jr., Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, had proposed the plan that would take his name, the “Morgenthau Plan.” The plan called for the complete destruction of Germany’s industrial infrastructure and the transformation of Germany into a purely agricultural society at a nearly medieval technology level. As a consequence, Germany wouldn’t have been able to import food from abroad and that would have resulted in the death of tens of millions of Germans. The Morgenthau Plan was initially approved by President Roosevelt, and it was even publicly diffused in the press. Fortunately for the Germans, it was then abandoned by President Truman, but it remained active as a practical set of guidelines for the allied policies in Germany until 1948.

As a result, untold numbers of Germans died as the consequence of starvation. Some people speak of at least one million victims (or several million) of famine during the period from 1945 to 1948, but we’ll never know the exact number. As we all know, the Germans were far from being innocent in this worldwide extermination game. In addition to the Shoah and the extermination of other ethnic groups, including German citizens judged to be a burden for society, in 1942 the German government had developed the “Generalplan Ost” (General Plan for the East) that foresaw the extermination of tens of millions of Slavs in Eastern Europe. The survivors would be used as servants and laborers for the German “master race” (Herrenvolk).

It is impressive for us to remember how, less than a century ago, there were Western governments happily engaged in planning exterminations involving tens of millions of Europeans. Could these dark times return? It is said that civilization is just three hot meals away from barbarism, and we could rephrase this old saying as “society is just one defeat away from extermination.” Indeed, the events of the past few months saw Western Europe close to inflicting a terminal defeat on itself by abandoning its main source of energy: Russian oil and gas. Fortunately, it seems that, after all, Europe won’t commit economic suicide as it seemed to be intentioned to do. For the time being, Russian gas keeps flowing into Europe and the lights are still on in Europe, although it cannot be said for how long.

Read more …

Why am I not surprised?

Fauci’s Recent, $10M Monkeypox Grant (NP)

Anthony Fauci’s National Institutes of Health agency was funding research to identify treatments for monkeypox shortly before the virus began spreading in a global outbreak. Fauci’s agency, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has previously come under scrutiny for funding bat coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which many public health experts and intelligence officials believe to be the source of COVID-19. NIAID has also funded research into potential cures for monkeypox, shortly before the viral disease began spreading in a global outbreak. The curious timing of the NIAID grant comes amidst pharmaceutical giants including Pfizer and Johson & Johnson making record-level profits due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grant supports a “randomized, placebo-controlled trial of the safety and efficacy of tecovirimat for the treatment of patients with monkeypox virus disease.” “The funding supports a clinical trial to identify effective treatments for monkeypox virus disease,” explains a summary of the research, which, despite beginning in September 2020, has not generated any publicly available studies, papers, or patents. “The similarity between monkeypox and the variola virus, coupled with concerns about the potential of the variola virus as a potential bioterrorism agent, have placed monkeypox treatments at the forefront of public health and scientific research agendas in many countries,” adds the grant summary.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant database shows that $9,824,009 was sent to Leidos Biomedical Research, which partners with the NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) to operate Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, in 2021. The grant, which is set to conclude on September 27th, 2025, was distributed to Lori Dodd, who serves as a Mathematical Statistician in the Biostatistics Research Branch of the NIAID. Dodd was previously exposed for her involvement in the NIAID’s efforts to cover up the agency reportedly altering the endpoint in a trial testing the effects of remdesivir against COVID-19 to make it look more effective.

Read more …

” They don’t have any way they can tackle this problem.”

Almost 500,000 UK Small Businesses ‘At Risk Of Going Bust Within Weeks’ (G.)

Rising costs have created a “ticking timebomb” for UK small business owners, the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned, with almost half a million firms at risk of going bust within weeks without a fresh wave of government support. While the FSB chairman, Martin McTague, applauded the chancellor Rishi Sunak’s latest support for consumers through the £15bn cost of living package announced last week, he said some of those recipients could lose their jobs unless the government rolled out targeted measures for their employers. “We don’t have any problem with the way the chancellor dealt with consumer needs,” McTague told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “But there is still a massive problem with small businesses.


“They are facing something like twice the rate of inflation for their production prices, and it’s a ticking timebomb. They have got literally weeks left before they run out of cash and that will mean hundreds of thousands of businesses, and lots of people losing their jobs.” McTague pointed to figures from the Office for National Statistics, which showed that 40%, or 2m, of the UK’s small businesses had less than three months’ worth of cash left to support their operations. Of those 2m, the FSB chairman said about 10% – or 200,000 – were in “serious trouble”, and that another 300,000 “have only got weeks left”. He said: “It is a very real possibility because … they don’t have the cash reserves. They don’t have any way they can tackle this problem.”

Read more …

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julian Assange: ‘This generation is the last free generation’

 

 

 

 

 

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Home Forums Debt Rattle May 31 2022

Viewing 35 posts - 1 through 35 (of 35 total)
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  • #108784

    James McNeill Whistler Symphony in White, No. 3 1867   • Ukraine Bits: Russian Artillery – Counter Attacks – New Missile Systems (MoA) • Biden Ad
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle May 31 2022]

    #108785
    Germ
    Participant

    Get ready for a lot more of this –

    “Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS)” – would be funny if it weren’t so tragic.

    https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/woman-31-who-went-gym-27098878

    #108786
    Red
    Participant

    From the Guardian: “They don’t have any way they can tackle this problem.”

    They are tackling it right now! By they I mean TPTB. Billions were going to be returned to the earth this decade with or without “their” help and “they” know it. TPTB were afraid without their help it would be them along with the rest. They don’t realize that with their help it is more likely they will helped along too!

    #108787
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Germ

    Get ready for a lot more of this –

    The fallout from this Covid catastrophy (vaccines + big pharma + medical professions) will be with us for at least a generation (I think longer)…
    The saddist thing was the complete failure of critical thinking skills exhibited by the majority of the world’s population…
    …which is to say that the majority do not understand the term; “critical thinking” and the responsibility it entails…

    #108788
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Sad warning: this is long. It may be my longest ever. May break into parts. Sorry, stopping WWIII does that to a guy.

    “The Atlantic”: As Safe and Effective as a news source as Moderna is as a vaccine. (Banned in 7 countries).

    WHO Treaty. As long reported. No one believed it, ‘cause: reasons. Anyone who repeated what they wrote so was unhinged, and probably a domestic terrorist on an FBI watchlist. And probably are today, AS they attempt to enact it. It’s a front-page headline conspiracy theory. Front page, but still untrue. These do not conflict nor cause distress in the population in any way. Why should it? It won’t if you just “Do what you’re told.” Believe whatever you were last told, in this case.

    Mastercard CEO: SWIFT Payment System May Be Replaced by CBDCs in Five Years”

    Tracked central bank digital currencies. Don’t they know that’s an unhinged conspiracy theory? There’s one of these every day now. Like vaccine microchips being offered for sale by Pfizer this week. It’s a conspiracy theory AND a thing you can buy online now! True = False.

    This delay action should allow for time to build a new force of 100,000 new troops”

    He’s right: that is a good way to communicate to bloodthirsty NeoCons, who are inbred morons dense as a rock, that they’ve lost. If it takes 100,000 men to MAYBE keep fighting, well, we don’t have 100,000 new men. Unless you’re sending the Poles, and don’t think they haven’t thought of it.

    “President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House on Monday that the U.S. won’t send Ukraine rocket systems that could possibly reach Russia.”

    That’s a lie. He said it: it’s a lie. Speaking = Lie. If you’re standing on the border and can throw a Bandy Ball into Russia, then the rockets would reach, wouldn’t they? So they’re long-range heavy missiles that are short range. They go one mile? A bullet goes one mile, you have to be far further away from the enemy for that to work. Does the reporter ask? Hahahahaaha! Of course not! Didn’t you see them threaten to expel the Africans if they ever asked a question again?

    “In terms of a possible ban on semi-automatic weapons, Biden said, “The Constitution, the Second Amendment, was never absolute,”

    Two lies in one sentence! First, “semi-auto” would essentially be “All weapons”. Everything but muskets. Even revolvers are one pull, one bang, same as everything else. So he’s not infringing on 2A, just outlawing every weapon made in the last 100 years. Or 200: original lever-actions are from 1820, although they weren’t full production until the removable magazine of the Spencer in 1860. Guns almost as old as Biden. So “Shall not infringe” except against “Everything.” The usual.

    Second, 2A WAS absolute. John Hancock owned WARSHIPS. Congress paid big money to private owners of warships. And the cannon-mortars that could level a fort or a whole city. I remember people – veterans clubs – owning cannons and howitzers and Sherman tanks, although they obviously didn’t target practice with them. You can own a WWII warplane, bomber, etc today. Blackwater runs around with the same.

    Would we have to pass an amendment to remove nuclear arms? Probably. But Switzerland is our military model and they “own” or have access to, ALL standard military gear. Grenades, mortars, body armor. If it worked, why doesn’t Switzerland have the highest gun crime in Europe? It’s illegal to have a standing US Army. There has to be an ratified Act of War and a callout of troops. Like every other law, we ignore it and never passed any Amendments.

    In any case, can Joe point to either the Constitution and tell me “What shall be infringed”? Besides “everything”?

    Lie! implied by these two former lies, lies all the way down: The shooter DID have gun control. He DID have an FBI background check. The police WERE there – you know, the reason “we don’t need to defend OURSELVES” anymore? Since in NYC, CA, and now TX, gun control totally, completely didn’t work, what we need is MOAR. …Oh, and to stop with force, tazers and handcuffs, the parents who would have gone in with a gun as for 55 minutes new shots kept going off and new children kept phoning in.

    “there’s simply no rational basis for it in terms of self-protection, hunting.”

    LIE! So you’re planning on using a musket, a non-semi-auto, to stop gang violence into your house? 17 bullets seems really, really too few in the situations where that happens. And it does, HereLetMeGoogleThatForYou.com. That’s “Self-protection”. THERE IS NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO HUNTING. The PEOPLE are the government. Therefore, the PEOPLE are the Army. They are protecting themselves from, and hunting, Tyranny. Ask Hamilton.

    But if it’s Biden all day, it’s lying all day and I don’t have time.

    “Why “Cancel” Russians? (Milacic)”

    They were going to invade and STEAL everything and kill everybody instead, duh. And liquidate the nation, sell it to Europe. Like they did and coo about in the 1990s. Putin put a stop to it and made them an equal nation, which is why they hate him so much. It’s all about theft and murder. The odd part is, they’re such morons they continued to just assume they could do this through the whole 2000’s, 30 years to today. Cheney was red-faced screaming they needed to nuke Russia by 1999 at least, and he was right. A bloodthirsty maniac and war criminal, yes, but not wrong.

    “The Age of Exterminations VIII – How to Destroy Western Europe (Ugo Bardi)”

    We specifically killed 200,000 German men in prison camps at that time. Another of our genocides. Now there are a lot of factors when everything’s been destroyed, but “you’re supposed to be the good guys” when you don’t intentionally plan and execute this? We had just firebombed all the civilians in Dresden and nuked two cities indifferently in Japan. Then we killed 200k civilians in Germany at a go among others. So when did this change from “The Good War”? When did we change from “The Good Guys”? What is that quote about fighting the monster?

    RaboBank, following the “common knowledge”. Of idiots who don’t know any facts. Okaaaaay, starting, “Larry Freedman, “Professor Emeritus”...of somewhere, they don’t say.

    “The prudent assumption for now is that this is not a short-term emergency but, for those countries supporting Ukraine, a long-term commitment, that there is no easy diplomatic fix, and that Ukraine will keep on fighting for as long as it takes to regain its lost territory.”

    Yes, very prudent of the experts to decide that the only outcome is for Ukraine to utterly defeat Russia. …Eventually. Maybe in a thousand years. They’ll wear them out, who knows? That’s what all self-respecting “experts” say. Again, I quote them because they are the Western common knowledge and common opinion.

    Next genius? “This war is just getting started”. Funny, that’s not what Kissinger says. Do you know more than he does?

    Next genius: “Yet Andrew Michta, Dean of International and Security Studies, tweets:
    “As the brutality of Russian war against Ukraine increases, many among Western elites increasingly argue that Kyiv should agree to a cease fire in place to end the carnage. To advocate this is strategic myopia of the highest order, for such a [cease fire] would be tantamount to Russian victory… Too many Western governments seem unable (unwilling?) to recognize that we are at an inflection point in history that happens in four/five generations. This is potentially a system-transforming war.”
    Michta is not alone in geostrategic circles in arguing that a Russian Donbas win would cement violent border change as the new global normal,”

    Unlike the last 20 wars the U.S. fought, of course. We’re in Syria RIGHT NOW on top of the oil and changing the borders. Illegally, as illegal as every day the last 10 years.

    Anyway, conclusion is that we can NEVER cease fire. Ever. We can ONLY escalate war with nuclear powers who can vaporize us. You know, and keep doing it every. Single. Hour. Until they DO vaporize us. That’s Schmartz!!! It’s common knowledge vaporization is the only way!

    We MUST cause nuclear Armageddon because “Western unity may still be undermined by such Russian tactics” Tactics such as “Winning.” That’s what happens when you’re stupid and you “lose”, Europe, U.S.

    Throwaway line? “as Russia flattens most of the Donbas with artillery” No. Donbas has THEIR people. Russians. They WANT Donbas. Intact. It has like, coal and schnizzel. And steel and stuff. So they DID NOT BOMB IT. But facts? Who cares? We have as little to do with those as possible. Russia is flattening the Ukrainian ARMY, not the Russian people. Duh.

    “a Donbas ‘win’ may offer Moscow a face-saving way out: Putin might then declare a unilateral ceasefire”

    Uh-huh, sure. And then he’ll give away freeeeee gas and wheat to everyone, forever and ever. ‘Cause you called him a Nazi and will imprison him in the Hague forever. He’s going to keep giving the fortune of Russia to you so he can sit at the table with the popular girls and shop in Switzerland. “Unilateral” means “YOU LOST.” If you lost, Putin doesn’t need to save face.

    RaboBank “experts” (never trust them with your money) “Germany’s economy minister today bewails that the EU united stance is already “crumbling”, as Europe yet again fails to take any immediate action on energy that would stop Russia fighting *now*, when it counts, because Europe wants to fight this economic war painlessly.

    Painlessly”. Wow. Okay, we just shut off all oil, all gas, all commodities for all Europeans forever. Decades at least. OR start a Third World War immediately with NO d—n army, no air force, no S400s, and no hypersonic missiles. In fact, since pain is no issue here, I suggest we attack them with sticks and stones. Starting with Finland, since they’re so hot.

    We’re equal opportunity, so march every man, woman, and child in all Finland to the border and ATTACK! All 5 Million of them, half the population of Moscow. They’ll be blown up in 30 minutes and we can move on to Sweden, Right? Right? This is what everyone wants, experts, RoboBank, all banks, “Experts”. This is their well-thought out, measured, responsible advice. That’s so we want to prove “Russian tactics” don’t work, that they’re wrong and we’re RIGHT. We need to have mindless, unwavering “Unity”, so we can throw one nation, one civilization, one people after another into annihilation and extinction.

    So we can be “Right.” That’ll larn ‘em.

    “There is no bread in the shops of most Finnish cities. People say there is no gas in bakeries to make bread.” Can you hear me now? Is the clue phone breaking through this is not a game?

    Next Idiot Genius? “Moreover, Secretary of State Blinken does not want to call a Cold war a Cold War, with all the associated policy shifts.”

    Um, RaboBank? WE’RE FIGHTING WITH OUR SOLDIERS AGAINST RUSSIA IN UKRAINE RIGHT NOW. And Heavy Weaponry. That’s not a “COLD” war. Duh. Let me speak moron for you:

    IT IS WORLD WAR THREE. Now knock it off while you still can.

    Continuing experts elsewhere, this time Bill Blain: “There is no doubt the Russians have taken a pasting in Ukraine as a result of flawed intelligence, the corruption of the FSB” Really? No doubt? I HEAR this all the time, but with no supporting facts ever given of any kind. That makes a guy sort of sus. I learned the repeated casualty numbers on all Western media were just “estimates” entirely fabricated by the “17 Intelligence Agencies” that have been wrong about everything since Vietnam but certainly RussiaRussia. So: no casualty reports, or at least not compared to what they expected. Does anyone know what they DID expect? What did the FSB expect? If they’re corrupt why were they only corrupt for 4 weeks last month and not now or before? Bueller?

    “The pendulum is swinging to Moscow. After their initial surprise, befuddlement and lack of a war-plan, the Russians now see a way to win.” -Blain

    Uh-huh. Because they attacked without a war plan and without expecting to win.

    “If they can keep Ukrainian defending forces pinned in place on the Donbas lines, then there is the possibility of encircling them to win a massive propaganda victory.” -Blain

    IF? This was day one. The massing of these forces to commit genocide is what started the war. The “possibility”? They’ve been encircled for 3 months. Russia is so “encircled” them that they’re nearly in Odessa on the Romanian border. A “Propaganda” victory? By erasing almost the entirety of the Ukrainian army? …But not an actual victory, only bragging rights.

    That’s three lies per sentence. 29 words. And he’s not a disinformation propagandist, but just a guy. Common knowledge. Intelligence of the West.

    “The Russians don’t care whether Ukraine retreats or suffers a battlefield defeat. It’s all about the optics and the narrative.”

    Great! Then Ukraine should just PRETEND Russia defeated them, let them gain the win, and pop up tomorrow with the full army totally intact in Russia’s rear! Because Russia doesn’t care about REAL armies, right?

    JHC on a pogo stick, how do these statements come out of the mouths of breathing adults?!? Is it only the Anglos who have a core reality composed of pure fantasy, fiction, and falsehood? God save us.

    Back to reality: “Without Russian and Ukraine food exports, famine is pretty much nailed on, triggering political upheaval, and critically for Europe (Greece, Hungary and Italy) a renewed refugee crisis.”

    Yeah, one THEY CREATED. RUSSIA IS SELLING THE FOOD. We won’t take it. The West is Embargoing them and PREVENTING the food. That and Ukraine is so idiotic and irresponsible (cue the stupid Ukrainian jokes) that they LOST ALL THE MINES IN THE BLACK SEA. Which are floating everywhere, landing in civilian towns in Turkey, waiting for ships. So yeah, no break from Lies. With every sentence, every word, every person. Even when they don’t mean to.

    I have this weird fantasy it didn’t used to be this way. That yeah, people lied, but not EVERY WORD. Otherwise, we wouldn’t bother to speak, bother to listen. And we did used to do that. Listen. Communicate, I mean.

    “Six Million Britons Could Face Power Rationing If Russia Cuts Supplies”

    We’re going to keep killing poor Britons until Russia surrenders! The true psycho ex-girlfriend method.

    Continuing WWIII: “Iranian Military Base Attacked With Drones ‘Launched From Inside Iran’” Golly, whomever could that be?

    A rundown of the NY Times OpEds and the West surrenders: https://consortiumnews.com/2022/05/27/the-new-york-times-shift-on-victory-in-ukraine/ “Russia remains too strong.” ““The United States and NATO are already deeply involved, militarily and economically. Unrealistic expectations could draw them ever deeper into a costly, drawn-out war…” Russia is bankrupting a broke NATO, EU, and US. “Closing the Collapse Gap”. “if Russia is “too strong” to be defeated in Ukraine, it is too strong to be brought down as a superpower.”

    “will the neocons in charge give up and move in a reasonable and peaceful direction as the Times editorial demands? This is a fantasy of the first order. …hawks such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan have no reverse gear; they always double down.”

    Good, then we’ll remove them for being failing failures who failed. Again. And protected from the consequences of their actions. By privilege. Again. Injustice. Again. Illegal actions. Again.

    Biden Administration in No Rush to Help Ukraine Negotiate End to War (Jacobin)”

    Sure! There are still some Ukrainians Biden hasn’t killed yet. More work to do. Busy busy busy! Note “Jacobin”, however. As every word is a lie, “we are deeply implicated in this war — we can’t pretend we aren’t.” Sure we can: we ARE! So a better headline is “What the heck is the US doing lying about being involved when literally everyone on earth knows we are, and are completely discrediting themselves with such stupid, obvious lies? We on the far-left expose them because we’re anti-war.” You see, THAT gets to the bottom of it.

    the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the House, declared that “we’re at war.”

    You see why you look so, so stupid if you “Pretend we aren’t”? And so, so stupid if as a journalist you report this as a possibility, an option we still have? Again, they think lies = Reality. Say it: it becomes real. “Name it and Claim it” the Olsteen church says. God is your Sugar Daddy. He obeys on command.

    “Azov Battalion Drops Neo-Nazi Symbol Exploited by Russian Propagandists (UK Times)”

    As above, the Anglos don’t care about reality. If they are ACTUAL Nazis, or ACTUALLY winning. Only about “Signaling”, Propaganda. Belief. They’re a religion. P.S., it’s not “Neo-Nazi” it’s literal, original Nazi, because the Avozs are not “Propaganda” Nazis but literal, actual Nazis. And the UK Times are literal, actual Liars.

    “Putin Ready to Facilitate Export of Grains from Ukraine (AlJ)”

    All the have to do is pay. But they won’t. They will kill 100M, including every poor Briton first. The Economist promised.

    ““GasTerra has repeatedly urged Gazprom to respect the contractually agreed payment structure”

    Contractually agreed? Keeping your word? After 30 years? After stealing $300 Billion dollars? Hahahahaha!

    Moving on to the rest of the world:
    “How to Cut Crime in the Murder-Capital of America” Jackson, MS.

    Reverse everything you did to get here. Oh wait: anything but that. I want drugs, immorality, and selfishness, total lack of family, abandon all lessons of history and no reversion to self-defense AND low murders. We’ll hire police! Who are ALSO immoral, corrupt, and won’t do anything. Sorry: doesn’t work that way.

    Did you see the jaw-dropping article by of all people Naomi Wolf? https://naomiwolf.substack.com/p/dear-friends-sorry-to-announce-a?s=r Yeah, now that she can see raw evil, coming, on purpose, she turns to God. Capital “G”. THAT is when these things start to be taken seriously. THAT is when it can change. Hey, maybe it’s not God. I think it is, but why not? IT DOESN’T MATTER. This is what history says you have to do to right the ship. By righting the only thing you have power over: YOURSELF.

    Greece Alerts Its Tankers in Gulf after Iran Threatens More ‘Retaliation’ Seizures”

    The rest of the world alerts their tankers every day since the Americans exist and are now thieving pirates. “From the Halls of Montezuma/to the Shores of Tripoli…”

    Why? They’re broke. Powell’s rates are now tightening dollars worldwide. The world reserve currency. You see why we shouldn’t have one of these? If you have a world system, it needs to be neutral and objective, otherwise actions to take for your domestic economy conflict with actions needed for the world’s economy. Banks in China have frozen, we’ll see what happens with that. House mortgage originations plummeted day 1, which will take out home values. Credit cards are falling fast. If more money isn’t being borrowed, that’s deflation or at a minimum, dis-inflation. Prices will lag money supply, but it does.

    Global Financial Crisis 2.0. Surprised it took this long but they know what they’re doing: these things always happen in the Fall.

    #108789
    Dr. D
    Participant

    What month did the ’08 Crisis start? “Subprime is contained” “The Greenspan Put”?

    Subprime is contained” January, 2008.

    June 20, 2007: After receiving margin calls, Bear Stearns bailed out two of its hedge funds
    August 6, 2007: American Home Mortgage filed bankruptcy.[91]
    August 9, 2007: BNP Paribas blocked withdrawals from three of its hedge funds with a total of $2.2 billion in assets under management, due to “a complete evaporation of liquidity”, making valuation of the funds impossible – a clear sign that banks were refusing to do business with each other.[92][94][95]
    September 14, 2007: Northern Rock, a medium-sized and highly leveraged British bank, received support from the Bank of England.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932008

    Looks like May or June to have a nice on-time collapse in Sept/October.

    October 9, 2007: The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) hit its peak closing price of 14,164.53.

    Oh we’re Waaaaaay above that.

    March 17, 2008: Bear Stearns, with $46 billion of mortgage assets that had not been written down and $10 trillion in total assets, faced bankruptcy; … acquisition by JPMorgan Chase for $2/share.

    “BuyBuyBuy!!!” –Jim Kramer.

    Late June 2008: Despite the U.S. stock market falling to a 20% drop off its highs, commodity-related stocks soared as oil traded above $140/barrel for the first time and steel prices rose above $1,000 per ton. Worries about inflation combined…”

    July 11, 2008: IndyMac failed.[117]
    July 30, 2008: The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was enacted.[118]
    September 7, 2008: The Federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was implemented.[119]
    September 15, 2008: After the Federal Reserve declined to guarantee its loans as it did for Bear Stearns, the Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers led to a 504-point drop in the DJIA, its worst decline in seven years. To avoid bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch was acquired by Bank of America for $50 billion in a transaction facilitated by the government.[120] Lehman had been in talks to be sold to either Bank of America or Barclays but neither bank wanted to acquire the entire company.[121]
    September 16, 2008: The Federal Reserve took over American International Group with $85 billion…”

    …Exclusively to save Goldman-Sachs, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson’s company.

    Boom, right on time in September.

    September 16, 2008: The Money-Market Reserve Primary Fund “broke the buck” as a result its exposure to Lehman Brothers …
    September 17, 2008: Investors withdrew $144 billion from U.S. money market funds, the equivalent of a bank run …
    Bernanke requested a $700 billion fund to acquire toxic mortgages and reportedly told them: “If we don’t do this, we may not have an economy on Monday.”

    …Quoting “We were hours away from the collapse of the financial system” said a Congressman on TV.

    “September 29, 2008: By a vote of 225–208, with most Democrats in support and Republicans against, the House of Representatives rejected the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which included the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. In response, the DJIA dropped 777.68 points, or 7%, its largest point drop in history. The S&P 500 Index fell 8.8% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 9.1%.

    Hahahahaaha! “$700 Billion? Chicken feed. Here, hold my beer.” –Powell

    October 6–10, 2008: From October 6–10, 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed lower in all five sessions. Volume levels were record-breaking. The DJIA fell over 1,874 points, or 18%, in its worst weekly decline ever on both a points and percentage basis. The S&P 500 fell more than 20%.
    October 16, 2008: A rescue plan was unveiled for Swiss banks UBS AG and Credit Suisse.

    We’re goin’ worldwide!

    December 6, 2008: The 2008 Greek riots began, sparked in part by economic conditions in the country.
    December 16, 2008: The federal funds rate was lowered to zero percent.

    Europe went negative. ….Aaaaaand still is, 14 years later. Just like the Great Depression, the government “helped”! The New Deal ended the Depression, but for some reason not until 1945 when we had nuked the whole rest of the planet’s industrial base. Oh well!

    March 6, 2009: The Dow Jones hit its lowest level of 6,443.27, a drop of 54% from its peak of 14,164 on October 9, 2007, over a span of 17 months, before beginning to recover.

    May 20, 2009: President Obama signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009.

    …Immediately, no one was arrested. And no one has been since. Banks got the biggest bonuses in world history following the taxpayer bailout. Assets were transferred from the people to the insider corporations. Record black homes were foreclosed.

    May 2010: The U.S. Senate passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

    Aaaaaand was immediately ignored. Nothing changed and no one was arrested.

    This was all so successful that:
    November 3, 2010: To improve economic growth, the Federal Reserve announced another round of quantitative easing, dubbed QE2, which included the purchase of $600 billion in long-term Treasuries over the following eight months.

    See? $700B here, $600B there, pretty soon you’re in Powell territory.

    May 2012: The Manhattan District Attorney indicted Abacus Federal Savings Bank and 19 employees for selling fraudulent mortgages to Fannie Mae. The bank was exonerated in 2015. Abacus was the only bank prosecuted for misbehavior that precipitated the crisis.
    July 26, 2012: During the European debt crisis, President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi announced that “The ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro.”[198]
    August 2012: In the United States, many homeowners still faced foreclosure and could not refinance or modify their mortgages. Foreclosure rates remained high.

    Note, we are now FOUR YEARS after the crisis. Everything they’ve done is still failing. …Or working, all those foreclosures transfer wealth FROM the people TO the insider corporations.

    September 13, 2012: To improve lower interest rates, support mortgage markets, and make financial conditions more accommodative, the Federal Reserve announced another round of quantitative easing, dubbed QE3, which included the purchase of $40 billion in long-term Treasuries each month.

    That’s now a long-term, un-ending bailout of the exclusively wealthy at $480B/year PLUS the base bailouts of $600B/year.

    And here we are today. Tens of Trillions every year, transferred the the rich forever.

    #108790
    EoinW
    Participant

    What’s the point of posting photos of empty grocery shelves? 20% of the population know – or suspect – we are in a slow moving economic collapse. The other 80% don’t want to know. So why try to change the minds of people who wallow in their ignorance? They don’t deserve your help. Why try to help people who have shown by their past behavior that they will not change their minds no matter what? I ask once again: what’s the point of posting photos of empty shelves?

    Based on the replies coming from Finland, it appears it’s fake news! Yes the other side lies all the time. We do have truth on our side. That doesn’t mean our people will tell the truth all the time. Human being lie and manipulate. it’d be neat to belong to a club – 20% of the population! – in which everyone is a noble soul who never lies or exaggerates. Fact is(including those at this site) 99.9% of these people are total strangers.

    I work in a grocery store. Except for that toilet paper nonsense 2 years ago, we have not had empty shelves. Yes there’s products we can’t get at times. Whiskas cat food was unavailable for 6 months last year. My favourite porridge has been unavailable for a couple of months now. Those are empty spots, not empty shelves.

    I’m not saying this isn’t happening elsewhere. I have no first hand knowledge that it’s happening. I must go by that or what trusted friends tell me. I’m not sure how many of those I have left. if I did the math I suspect over 80% of my friends got vaxxed. A number of them still choose to wear masks. Trust is breaking down fast. That doesn’t mean I’m going to blindly accept what total strangers say, even when what they say fits my future expectation. Makes more sense to believe my own government(which can make me an offer I can’t refuse) than some guy supposedly in a store in Finland.

    Yet the toilet paper thing is revealing. It displays how quickly store shelves can empty. I assume 20% of us are aware of this. The other 80% will find out the hard way.

    #108791
    Mr. House
    Participant

    @ Dr. D

    It can’t be GFC 2.0 because 1.0 never ended and started causing trouble again in Aug – Sept of 2019. Perhaps 1.0 never existed because it was just a continuation of the dotcom bust?

    #108792
    oxymoron
    Participant

    Dr D, not too long. I treated it like a glass of Shiraz and took my time and savoured the complex overtones.

    Between now and the end of this year a whole lot of reality (EROEI) is going to wash over many aspects of peoples lives.

    Me, I feel like I’m back after 2.5 years of stunning amounts of reading I am finally ready to dig, build, smile, eat, fuck, laugh and Build Back Better.

    Before the bikies come and take my shit. Unless I turn Mad Max first. 🙂

    Love. Peace. Mung Beans (or bugs)

    #108793
    oxymoron
    Participant

    I guess on a practical level I should mention my prepping is centred around firewood and infrastructure (think moving water around and building). Wood stove = heat, hot water, food, ash, fertilizer, bottling, drying, charcoal, etc. Fun

    I’m glad Nicole and Raul’s work on trust horizon is getting attention – it always struck me as really important and came as no surprise to find Holmgren’s writing on walkable streets is themed similarly.

    #108794
    Oroboros
    Participant

    The Greens are a Potemkin tool employed by the secret nationless blood drinking Ancient Oligarchs of Eurotardistan®.

    The ‘Green Narrative” combined with a ban on Russian fossil fuel, gas and soon, very soon, wheat, is a modern day Death Cult in the barely beating heart of Eurotardistan®.

    The Greens are being played like a cheap cardboard child’s fiddle by the Real Owners®.

    The Greens are the new Brown Shirts

    Same fanaticism, different color coordinated outfit.

    “We’re Saving the World” from fossil fuel and we’ll do it even if it kills y’all!

    .

    #108795
    boilingfrog
    Participant

    Agreed, not too long… and nice timeline on the never actually resolved financial crisis. I’ve read we’re just now seeing the impact of Covid stuff… the war spending, embargoes, etc hasn’t flowed downstream. Yet.
    Bill Blain, ha! He has his moral NIMBY outrage when someone tries to smear cream on his “Norman Rockwell, quaint village”… waiting for him to short wheat futures and lead a demining flotilla in the Black Sea.
    Currently visiting in the DC area and blue & yellow flags flying all over, especially at churches. Food prices rising, but all seems peaceful in the suburbs. Washington Times contrasts mightily with The Washington Post.
    Passed along the Naomi Klein piece, with no comment, to a young family member having menstrual and fertility issues. No reply, but even considering mRNA as a contributor would be a huge mental shift…

    #108796
    zerosum
    Participant

    Words of wisdom
    1. No need to say them since you already know them
    2. Change is in the air
    3. Action speak louder than words
    ————-
    USA has a school mass killing, Canada makes new Restrictive gun laws
    ——-

    #108797

    When I lived in Indiana, the local town had a cannon, which they used during the July 4th celebrations to add authenticity to the 1812 Overture. (I suppose they won’t this year? Tchaikovsky didn’t have the foresight to be not-russian.) A lot of little children bawled at the ear-busting booms.

    When we bought our house in Illinois, we planted a lilac bush in the past owner’s dog’s favorite spot to pee. It grew from one foot to ten feet in three years.
    I don’t mean to be gross here, but we each produce a goodly amount of nitrogen fertilizer every day. All you need is a bucket.

    A beacon in a beacon;
    The iris in the eye-
    To focus every mindful mind:
    Most everything’s a lie.

    #108798
    Oroboros
    Participant

    EU circular firing squad, approves Russia oil embargo w/Gonzalo Lira

    https://rumble.com/v16t2ev-eu-circular-firing-squad-approves-russia-oil-embargo-wgonzalo-lira-live.html

    #108799
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    I’ve decided to put a positive spin on everything, so instead of calling the coming global food situation famine or starvation from now on I’m not going to call it Culturally Mandated Fasting.

    #108800
    Susmarie108
    Participant

    @Dr D: yes painful, yet essential timeline. Thanks for the detailed look back. Since nothing was fixed and the looters not held accountable, it was set up to be continued. All the same players raping the other classes at a pace and to a degree rarely if at all comprehended/understood by the victims. The current level of USA Inc. desperation (failure), seen across all issues – is ramping up. Nothing can/will stop or hide the greatest transfer of wealth ever seen from imploding! A sad warning Hobbes.

    I did see the jaw-dropping article by of all people Naomi Wolf. The conclusions are mind-blowing, and there are more to come. Let the internal revolution and subsequent dedication to life/TRUTH reign in the Hearts of All.

    Worth repeating:
    “Yeah, now that she can see raw evil, coming, on purpose, she turns to God. Capital “G”. THAT is when these things start to be taken seriously. THAT is when it can change. Hey, maybe it’s not God. I think it is, but why not? IT DOESN’T MATTER. This is what history says you have to do to right the ship. By righting the only thing you have power over: YOURSELF.”

    I give blood every 8 weeks. The service provider recently re-started antibody testing. Finally got my antibody test result: REACTIVE. Meaning I have antibodies but apparently not in a significant quantity for my plasma to be used as COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma. They used the Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics VITROS Immunodiagnostic Products Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Quantitative Reagent Pack test. NOTE: I had covid in August of 2021 (Delta was the dominant variant at the time).

    @phoenix: your comments in recent days are inspiring. Integrity. You are a courageous Soul.

    LOVE to All.

    Was gonna post this yesterday (Memorial Day) but after reading the Naomi Wolf piece, I was done….

    #108801
    Polder Dweller
    Participant

    VP (from yesterday):

    “What’s different?

    Go ask the Jan. 6 protesters, or the Canuck truckers…”

    No, that’s not what I’m talking about at all, they’ll barely make a footnote in a future history book. I’m talking about a

      real

    protest.

    Imagine those truckers couldn’t pay their mortgages, couldn’t afford diesel for their trucks and couldn’t feed themselves or their kids. Imagine that they blamed their plight fully on government policies. Do you think they’d have sat around singing the kumbaya till the police towed them away?

    How a couple of million hangry protesters descending on the capitol and being let into the corridors of power by equally hangry police officers, do you think they would then just walk carefully between the ropes and take selfies from Nancy’s office?

    That’s what I mean.

    #108802
    Noirette
    Participant

    30 May. Russian TV (mainstream) states the Special Operation (Ukr.) is now over, so, maybe it is all of NATO that has to be de-militarized. chooch posted on this in the previous thread, with more detail.) a reminder:

    https://bit.ly/3NPuUrj

    Newsweek publishes (30 May): No Restrictions: NATO to Take More Aggressive Stance Against Russia.

    https://www.newsweek.com/no-restrictions-nato-take-more-aggressive-stance-against-russia-1711407

    ….ominous…

    Other news Ukr:

    Small biz. to receive war compensation in Ukr., for job loss, loss of a business,

    a digitial ID and FULL COV vaccination is required.

    > vid, voice overlay in eng. The identity that is spoken about is Bio-numeric.

    https://bit.ly/3NIF8cT (french blogger)

    A blast from the recent past, 2021, from Donbass Insider.

    Shale genocide in Donbass – the real reason for NATO war in Ukraine

    (not commenting on that now, just to say there are many presumed ‘roots.’)

    Dr. D’s posts are great but I did not read the last 2, heh, I guess I need a concentration booster…

    #108803
    phoenixvoice
    Participant

    I performed last night at a local open mic with a musician friend, age 79. In conversation he disclosed that he and his wife (double-boosted, Pfizer,) had come down with Covid around a month ago, but it was no big deal, no fever, they isolated/masked per the current guidelines. He was confident that the mildness was due to his vaccines…I pointed out the many that I knew (myself, others in my household) who had it worse, suggested he and his wife might have cross-immunity, and that most likely it was the mild omicron that had infected them. He also mentioned that a son of a friend, age 40, had “died suddenly” — I pointed out that the latter half of last year there was a 40% increase in deaths among people aged 25-40, and it wasn’t Covid. He blamed it on stress. Since when do people’s hearts routinely stop because of stress? I asked if he was aware that Biden had warned the nation about impending food shortages? No, he was not aware. But he blamed Russia. He brought up how appalled he was with Putin and how wrong it was for Russia to have invaded Ukraine. I asked if he was aware that the ethnic Russians in the Donbas region had been oppressed and then shelled by the Ukrainian military for 8 years, 14,000 dead, and that while Russia was building up troops along the border of Ukraine, that Ukraine was building up troops on the edge of the Donbas region, apparently planning to obliterate the people there? This was news to him.

    Bringing up these things seems pointless. At the end of the evening he remarked that he just wanted to spend the rest of his days making music. (Fair enough!). I wonder why I bother. And yet…I listened to day 7 of the People’s Grand Jury in the past week, to Matthias Desmet. He assures us that although we aren’t going to easily convince our hypnotized peers that they are misguided, that assertions contrary to the hypnotizing narrative are what will eventually tear the narrative to shreds. I hope that he is correct. I hope that by bringing up these things that I am helping to destroy this dangerous narrative.

    My second song was What’s Up by Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes. Eight times the song asks: What’s going on?
    (Wanna watch? Go here: https://www.facebook.com/azlivemusiccoop/videos/az-live-music-cooperative-open-mic/603435097370670 most recent video at approximately time stamp 3:11:00 — yeah, over 3 hours in.)
    Afterwards, several folks came up to talk to me — it seems my plea of “what’s going on?” touched some deep places, with an elderly guy in a wheelchair telling me about his Pennsylvania Dutch friend in elementary school telling him a German phrase that translates to “what the devil is going on?”

    #108804
    willem
    Participant

    James Corbett had an hour-long interview with Mattias Desmet the other day:

    https://www.corbettreport.com/desmet-massformation/

    #108805
    Oroboros
    Participant

    Jim Jones was Mass Formation Psychosis writ large but applied to a small group.

    Now Mass Formation Psychosis is writ invisible but applied to vast swaths of the so called, ‘intellectually enlightened’ Western World.

    No signs of wide spread recognition of the phenomenon among the Sheeple, they’re lapping it up like gravy on the biscuit.

    #108806
    chooch
    Participant

    Phoenix,

    Nice! Could definitely see you belting out some Cranberries. Zombie, Dreams..

    #108807
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    phoenixvoice,

    Nice to see you. Your strength reminds me of my grandmother and I hope you live a full life has long has she did.

    #108808
    chooch
    Participant

    Can’t stop itching.

    A new global Monkeypox tracker shows that there are currently 590 suspected and confirmed cases of Monkeypox worldwide in the latest outbreak. The highly contagious disease has already spread to every continent except Antarctica.

    The global dashboard can be accessed at https://monkeypox.healthmap.org/

    Since stress affects the immune system, many researchers believe that stress could be a trigger for shingles. Researchers in multiple studies have linked chronic, daily stress, and highly stressful life events as risk factors for shingles.

    Deja vu, we just need more testing.

    #108809
    Veracious Poet
    Participant

    @Polder-Dweller

    80% of the current crop of “citizens” in North America are so brain-washed & acclimated to the status quo, ie “The System”, that they will blindly follow the mind-fuckery of “The Anointed” right into cages & death…

    Hell, approximately 40% are hardcore CULTists that support every diktat of the Party of Chaos carnival barkers, no matter how Machiavellian or culturally insane 😕

    The other 40% are full of false pride & fantastical self-image, seeking celebrity and/or other egocentric leaders of their CULT, whose only actions of derring-do involve lying, cheating, stealing & occasional mayhem…

    The last 20% or so have at least partial spiritual awareness, with a few seeking to restore the social contract (ie The Infinite’s rule of Natural Law), but all of the judicious minded are TRAPPED in a fascist nightmare, which has grown beyond quashing due to CULTural Mass Psychosis, which is reinforced & expanded daily by broadcast of totalitarian mind-fuckery from “The Owners”, that seek to control “We the People” on the level of farm animals and/or slaves to protect “The System”.

    You see “The System” is a death cult that was setup, strengthened & exploited over the last 70+ years to rape, pillage & plunder “enemies” of “democracy”, a fascist maelstrom birthed from the ashes of the Great Depression + WWII, empowered by usurpation/cancellation of the Natural Law Democratic Republic created by the sacrifices of “The Sons of Liberty”, the existence of which today nothing more than a elementary skool myth…

    But again, I repeat myself 🙄

    There are no saviors coming, no heroes of the “innocent”, at least in any numbers that count, all that is coming is “The Reckoning”, which is already underway due to the CULTists belief they can restore the former “glory” of The System (ie “Change You Can Believe In”, “Make America Great Again”, “Build Back Better”), by starting another World War.

    Because the last one was such a glowing success & so much fun for all! 👿

    So, in fact, the maltreatment/incarnation Jan. 6 protesters + the repulsion of the Cunuck Trucker Strike IS Prima Facie evidence that the masses will go along quietly to any diktat, the silent majority have spoken!

    Have you NOT noticed “We the People” granting nascent approval to “The System”, even in the face of DAILY infanticide, democide & blatant kleptocracy?

    Sorry, but these are NOT the “protesters” you’re looking for, it is a despondent fiction created within your mind…

    #108810

    In a couple of days I will be able to say I “have” monkeypox, too! It will actually be poison ivy (from mushrooming), and I kinda like a small bit of it at the end of the season- out of nostalgia, I think.
    Great song, PV- well done.
    It’ll be awhile before I get rid of all the FB cookies- they’re like a tissue I forgot in my pocket before I put my jeans in the washing machine.

    #108811
    zerosum
    Participant

    You won’t see the following on CNN

    Battle For Severodonetsk: Russian-Led Forces Control Half Of The City (Videos)


    BATTLE FOR SEVERODONETSK: RUSSIAN-LED FORCES CONTROL HALF OF THE CITY (VIDEOS)
    On May 30, the retreating AFU units blew up a container presumably with nitrogen at the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk. A large column of smoke was seen over the industrial zone of the city
    ———–
    MORE ON THE TOPIC:
    Military Situation In Severodonetsk-Lisichansk Region On May 31, 2022 (Map Update)
    In Video: First Interview Of ‘Volyna’, Leader Of Mariupol Garrison In Azovstal
    War In Ukraine Day 94: Bloody Strategy Of Retreating Ukrainian Military Kills Civilians (Videos 18+)
    ———
    https://southfront.org/category/all-articles/products/maps/
    Category: #MAPS
    ———

    #108812
    John Day
    Participant

    @Phoenixvoice: You have good pipes and good vocal chords, especially when they loosened up a bit. Loud and Clear, sister! i have been appreciating your thoughtful analysis. I’m sure I never spent an hour accidentally wiping any device. My defense mechanism is to always know that everything I say on any electronic format is monitored by NSA AI. (I always felt in my heart that my every thought and scheme was perceived by God, so this is actually a much lower bar.)


    @Susmarie108
    : I was never speaking figuratively of the owners culling the herd. This is the beginning of the cull we are seeing. Owners culling herds is “history”. They have some new instruments now. Naomi Wolf groks it. I’m glad she does.

    @Dr.D: Good recall. My recognition is so much better than my recall. You have a mind like a steel trap. Sorry, Bro…


    @Oxymoron
    : I’m glad you have your libido (life force) back.

    @D Benton Smith: I’ll be watching. Make sure you don’t stumble out of newspeak!

    #108813
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    #
    Vietnam veteran, author, and investor Bob Moriarty discusses the war in Ukraine, how the U.S. has been supporting Nazis since WWII, and that Russia is acting in self-defense. Zelensky is being run by the U.S. and Ukraine will end up being split into three pieces. Everything we’re seeing in regards to the collapsing economy and food and energy shortages is a result of The Great Reset. Bob believes Putin is not going along with the Davos project and that we’re witnessing the ultimate battle between good and evil. America is at the end of empire and we’re experiencing a worldwide revolution as the economy deteriorates which will last for years.

    Bob Moriarty: Ukraine Will Surrender & the Great Reset Will Fail

    #108814
    Veracious Poet
    Participant

    @Naomi-Wolf (If you read TAE):

    #108815
    Dr D Rich
    Participant

    Sussman acquitted….jury nullification par excellence.

    January 6th Non-insurrectionists rot in jail.

    I don’t see how the most vicious of civil wars doesn’t come to America….

    Elites vs Deplorables

    7 million vs 340 million

    #108816
    Veracious Poet
    Participant

    Elites vs Deplorables

    7 million vs 340 million

    Elites + Sheeple vs Deplorables

    340 million vs 7 million

    FIFY 😎

    #108817
    Dr D Rich
    Participant

    @Veracious Poet

    Your calculus is probably the greater likelihood.

    Marci Wheeler has a diametrically opposed view to the Sussman acquittal over at her monumental Tower of Babel, er ah, I meant her celebrated blog The Emptywheel.
    These days I’m certain we reside in completely different Universes. The dissonance and discord are breathtaking to behold.

    #108818
    Veracious Poet
    Participant

    Yeah, just this evening I had a deja vu moment where it felt like I’m from an alternate reality, where people are honest, forthright & good-hearted 😉

    Could be one explanation…

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