Oct 212022
 
 October 21, 2022  Posted by at 8:05 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,


Salvador Dali Llane Beach, Cadaques 1919

 

US May End Aid To Ukraine After Midterms – Axios (RT)
Berlusconi Trashes NATO Narrative On Ukraine (RT)
Putin’s Gift To Berlusconi May Have Breached EU Sanctions (RT)
Power Costs In Italy Going Through The Roof (RT)
Zelensky Denies Kiev’s Role In Crimean Bridge Blast (RT)
Britain’s Stark Choice Ahead – Transformation or Collapse (Nafeez Ahmed)
US Slams Turkey-Russia Deal to Form a Natural Gas Hub (GR)
Xi Gets Ready For The Final Countdown (Escobar)
‘Peaceful Modernization’: China’s Offering To The Global South (Escobar)
Saudi Arabia Is Interested In Joining The BRICS (Telesur)
Biden Admin Weighs Blocking Twitter Deal On “National Security” Grounds (ZH)
PayPal Faces House Inquiry On $2,500 ‘Misinformation’ Fine Controversy (JTN)
How An Illiquid Dollar Ruins The World (Piepenburg)
It’s Been 2 Years Since 51 Intel Agents Interfered With An Election (Devine)
One in Every 500 Small Children Who Get Pfizer Vaccine are Hospitalised (DS)

 

 

Every high civilization decays by forgetting obvious things.
– G.K. Chesterton

 

 

 

 

Terhes
https://twitter.com/i/status/1583069992605876224

 

 

 

 

Gaddafi

 

 

 

 

Zakharova
https://twitter.com/i/status/1583048680512180224

 

 

 

 

Amazon books Tucker

 

 

 

 

Will the GOP turn its back on Raytheon? Maybe they reckon this cannot be taken any further, that too many impoverished Americans will turn their backs on them. November 8.

US May End Aid To Ukraine After Midterms – Axios (RT)

The extensive assistance provided by Washington to Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia may be cut if the Republican Party takes control of Congress in the midterm elections on November 8, Axios has reported. Even the harshest critics of Vladimir Putin among the Republicans now acknowledge that there’s been a “noticeable shift away from what was once a broad bipartisan consensus” on providing aid to Kiev, the outlet reported on Wednesday. It cited House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, who told Punchbowl News earlier this week: “I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine. They just won’t do it. ”Ukraine might be important, but it can’t be the only thing on the agenda of the US administration, he insisted.

Republican Congressman Don Bacon also said he’d “noticed” a decline in support for Ukraine. “You see it a little bit on social media, you see it with some of our members,” he said. Bacon’s colleague Kelly Armstrong told Axios that the mood swing was likely a result of the feedback that the lawmakers had been getting from their constituents. “When people are seeing a 13% increase in grocery prices; energy, utility bills doubling… if you’re a border community and you’re being overrun by migrants and fentanyl, Ukraine is the furthest thing from your mind,” he pointed out. The website also cited a senior House Republican, who claimed that “after the $40 billion [in aid package in May], there were a lot of Republicans saying: ‘This is the last time I’m going to support Ukraine funding.’”

In a comment to Axios, Congressman Jim Banks, who chairs the Republican Study Committee (RSC), pointed out that his party is going to focus on domestic issues after the midterms. “RSC believes you can’t lead abroad when you’re so weak at home. Our GOP agenda in the new majority needs to secure our own border and get America back on our feet by addressing energy cost and inflation,” he explained. Asked to comment on McCarthy’s remarks, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre insisted that the Biden administration would “continue to work with Congress, as we have these past several months, on these efforts and support Ukraine as long as it takes.”Jean-Pierre reminded that this was a“commitment” that Joe Biden made to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

White House aides told Politico on Wednesday that the Biden administration hadn’t warned Kiev about the possibility of US aid coming to an end in the event that Republicans take control of at least one chamber of Congress after the election. However, officials in Kiev are aware that this may happen, they said. The US has been Kiev’s biggest backer since the outbreak of its conflict with Russia in late February, providing Kiev with more than $16.8 billion in military aid, including sophisticated hardware such as HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, M777 howitzers, and combat drones. Moscow has been decrying those weapons deliveries, saying they only prolong the fighting and increase the risk of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.

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Major threat to Meloni’s new coalition. Just because he’s right.

“Giorgia Meloni, who has been tasked with forming a new Italian government, stated that people who do not share a pro-NATO stance would have no place in her coalition.”

Berlusconi Trashes NATO Narrative On Ukraine (RT)

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has reportedly claimed that Kiev triggered a conflict with Russia by reneging on a peace plan for eastern Ukraine, a tape provided to the media suggests. In an apparent response to the leak, Giorgia Meloni, who has been tasked with forming a new Italian government, stated that people who do not share a pro-NATO stance would have no place in her coalition. Speaking to members of his Forza Italia party on Tuesday, Berlusconi reportedly offered a viewpoint about the origin of the Ukraine crisis that clashed with the NATO-favored narrative of unprovoked Russian aggression against its neighbor.

Italy is an important member of the US-led alliance and anyone who disagrees with this position will be excluded from government, Meloni, the leader of the Brothers of Italy party, pledged on Wednesday evening, as quoted by the newspaper La Repubblica. In the audio clip, Berlusconi can be heard accusing Kiev of failing for years to uphold a peace deal with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. When Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky came to power in 2019, he “tripled down” on attacking the regions, the politician stated. Donetsk and Lugansk asked for Moscow’s protection, he continued. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in the hope that Zelensky would be overthrown and replaced with “good people of common sense” within a couple of weeks, Berlusconi claimed. The wording resembles what he told the Italian public broadcaster RAI after the September election. During this week’s meeting, Berlusconi allegedly suggested that the conflict in Ukraine could last for over “200 years,”after the country unexpectedly resisted Russia and received money and arms from Western nations to continue the fighting.

In another part of the recording, which was published by the LaPresse news agency, Berlusconi claimed to have received a crate of vodka and a “nice letter” from Putin for his birthday. He added that he responded by sending Lambrusco wine to the Russian leader. After the clip was released, the former prime minister’s party claimed he had been referring to historical contacts with Putin and not recent events. Berlusconi has a long record of friendly relations with Putin, which stretched beyond his tenure as prime minister. The three-time former leader of the Italian government’s participation in the right-wing coalition has resulted in claims that the country could make a foreign policy U-turn and oppose the US-led anti-Russian campaign under Meloni. She repeatedly pledged her support for the EU and NATO after winning the election.

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“I responded with 20 bottles of Lambrusco and a similarly sweet letter..”

Putin’s Gift To Berlusconi May Have Breached EU Sanctions (RT)

A case containing 20 bottles of vodka that Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly sent to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as a birthday gift may have violated EU sanctions, Der Spiegel reported on Thursday, citing an official comment from the European Commission to the DPA news agency. According to the statement, a spokeswoman for the Commission told the news agency that the April 2022 ban on goods imports from Russia to the EU includes spirits, namely vodka, and does not provide an exemption for gifts. The spokeswoman went on to explain that breaches of the sanctions can be reported to the competent national authorities of member states, or directly to Brussels. The news that Putin had sent the gift to Berlusconi was reported by Italy’s LaPresse news agency earlier this week.

The outlet released an audio recording of the former prime minister’s discussion with members of his party, Forza Italia, at a closed meeting. “I have reconnected with President Putin… He sent me 20 bottles of vodka and a really sweet letter for my birthday. I responded with 20 bottles of Lambrusco and a similarly sweet letter,” Berlusconi was heard saying in the recording. However, Forza Italia representatives later said that the former PM was not referring to his most recent birthday on September 29, 2022, but instead was telling “an old story to lawmakers about an episode that occurred years ago,” which means that EU sanctions may not apply at all. The party representatives added that “Berlusconi denies the news of alleged renewed relations with Vladimir Putin.”

However, later reports emerged, suggesting that the remarks were indeed made this year. The potential scandal comes just weeks after the 86-year-old politician returned to the Italian parliament, nine years after being forced out for alleged tax fraud. Previously, Putin and Berlusconi enjoyed a friendly relationship and often complimented one another. However, Berlusconi has lately been critical of Putin over Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, saying he was disappointed with the Russian leader, who he always considered “a man of democracy and peace.”

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How much longer will Italy support NATO and its Ukraine attack?

Power Costs In Italy Going Through The Roof (RT)

Electricity tariffs in Italy saw record growth last month, exceeding 136% on an annual basis, according to a National Union of Consumers report on Tuesday. The report said that in September, electricity prices came out on top in the ranking of the most expensive goods and services, which the union regularly compiles based on data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT). In the category of non-food products, electricity prices were followed by costs for air travel across Europe, which have risen 128% over the past year. Then came intercontinental flights, for which the prices almost doubled (97.4%). Gas tariffs increased by just under 64% in September.As for food products, the ranking was led by vegetable oils (with the exception of olive oil), up by almost 60%.

The prices of butter and rice rose 38% and 26.7% respectively. Other foodstuffs that saw price increases of more than 20% include pasta, canned milk, flour, and basic vegetables. “Only for food and drink, every single Italian family will pay an average of €660 more per year,” the consumer union’s president, Massimiliano Dona, said. He added that families with two children will have to pay €900 ($885) more, and those with three children, €1,075 ($1,057) more.Inflation in Italy climbed to 8.9% in September on an annualized basis, ISTAT data shows. Meanwhile, the ‘consumer basket’ saw a rise of 10.9% over the year. Such a high increase in the price of basic foodstuffs and personal goods has not been recorded in Italy since 1983.

The head of Italian energy think tank Nomisma Energia said this week that Italy, along with the rest of Europe, is experiencing an energy shock of unprecedented magnitude, as electricity prices have almost doubled. According to him, Italians should be ready for rationing during the coldest winter months. He also urged households to make use of alternative methods of heating, such as burning firewood and pellets, though he added that prices for these are also up.

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Russia knows who did it.

Zelensky Denies Kiev’s Role In Crimean Bridge Blast (RT)

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has denied “ordering” the bombing of the Crimean Bridge linking the peninsula to mainland Russia. The president made the remarks during an interview with the Canadian broadcaster CTV, aired on Wednesday. Asked to comment on the “spectacular attack” on the bridge, as the broadcaster put it, Zelensky said Kiev was not involved. “We definitely did not order that, as far as I know,” he told the reporters. The bridge was hit by a massive explosion on October 8, which severely damaged its road traffic section and killed three civilians, as well as setting a passing freight train on fire. Several top Ukrainian officials openly celebrated the attack, while the country’s postal service issued a stamp commemorating the blast, just hours after it happened.


Moscow has directly blamed Kiev for the incident, branding the explosion a “terrorist attack.” Russian law enforcement claims to have established how the bomb, which was disguised as construction materials, made it to the bridge from the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, via multiple transit countries. Russian investigators believe the plot was hatched by Ukrainian military intelligence. Moscow has identified 12 individuals as suspected accomplices in the plot and has arrested eight of them, the FSB said. The list of people in custody includes five Russians and three foreign nationals, who hold passports of Ukraine and Armenia. A spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence told the media that the FSB was a “fake structure,” and that the report was unworthy of comment.

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“..states begin to fail within 15 years of losing their main sources of energy and economic revenue..”

Britain’s Stark Choice Ahead – Transformation or Collapse (Nafeez Ahmed)

Five years ago, I warned in a study that Europe faces an increasing risk of state failure due to the escalation of interlinked environmental, energy and economic crises – and I found an intriguing pattern: states begin to fail within 15 years of losing their main sources of energy and economic revenue. Escalating crisis drives social polarisation, undermining national cohesion and resulting in outbreaks of civil unrest. Without a change of course, these outbreaks coalesce to undermine the functioning of key state institutions. At worst, they can lead to total government collapse and a state of permanent warfare. Gripped by multiple crises, Britain now appears to be following a familiar pattern of environmental, energy and economic-driven state failure.

Since the 1970s, the world has experienced a rising trend of civil unrest and societal breakdown – in correlation with three realities: rising inequality associated with the neoliberal age of globalisation; escalating economic overshoot of the Earth’s ecological systems; and intensifying decline in the quality of fossil fuel energy resources. Britain’s North Sea Oil production peaked in 1999. Fifteen years later, as its domestic oil production haemorrhaged, fringe right-wing nationalist forces had moved increasingly into the mainstream. They blamed Europe, immigrants, asylum seekers, Muslims and ethnic minorities for Britain’s intractable social and economic crises. Their success was arguably reflected in the 2016 vote to leave the European Union. During that period, the quality of the UK’s energy dropped by a third, if not more.

In 2000, a year after the UK’s North Sea Oil production peaked, Britain’s ‘energy return on investment’ (EROI) – a ratio capturing the amount of energy used to extract a single unit of energy – was around 9.6. By 2012, this had plummeted to 6.2. This is well below the minimum EROI benchmark of 11 considered necessary to sustain continued economic growth. As a study by the University of Leeds’ Sustainability Research Institute concluded, this means that “more and more energy is having to be used in the extraction of energy itself rather than by the UK’s economy or society”. What is happening to Britain now is symptomatic of a wider global phenomenon. Its dependence on oil, gas and coal is self-cannibalising. The scientific consensus shows that it is driving us towards climate catastrophe and, at worst, civilisational collapse.

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Only US LNG allowed.

US Slams Turkey-Russia Deal to Form a Natural Gas Hub (GR)

The U.S. expressed on Wednesday its opposition to the agreement announced by Turkey for the creation of a natural gas hub in cooperation with Russia. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he had agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to form a natural gas hub in Turkey. Speaking to members of his AK Party in parliament, Erdogan said Putin had said Europe can obtain its gas supply from the hub in Turkey. “Türkiye will be a hub for natural gas as well. In our last meeting, we agreed with Putin on this issue. We will create a hub here with Turkish gas coming from Russia,” Erdogan said. The U.S. State Department fired back.

“We have worked closely with our allies and partners to impose severe and unprecedented costs on Russia, including through sanctions, export controls, visa restrictions. We have urged Turkey and all of our allies and partners that no one should have become a safe haven for illicit Russian assets or transactions, and we will continue to make that case,” Vedant Patel, State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson said. “And as it relates to the energy conversation, we have continued to urge our allies to take steps to diversify their energy sources, to reduce energy reliance on Russia. And in the case of Turkey, we are working with them closely to assist in their own efforts to enhance energy security in the long term,” he added.

Last month, on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia summit in the Kazakh capital Astana, Erdogan held a closed-door meeting with Putin, who had proposed building a natural gas hub in Turkey. Putin has floated the idea of exporting more gas via the TurkStream gas pipeline running beneath the Black Sea to Turkey, touting the country as the best route for redirecting gas supplies to the European Union after the Nord Stream pipeline leaks. Erdogan previously said Russian and Turkish energy authorities would work together to designate the best location for the potential gas distribution center, adding that Turkey’s Thrace region, bordering Greece and Bulgaria, appeared to be the best spot.

Carrying natural gas from Russia to Turkey and further into Europe, the TurkStream was formally launched in January 2020. The pipeline, which allows Moscow to bypass Ukraine as a transit route to Europe, carries Russian gas to Southern Europe through the Black Sea and Turkey.

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About Xi’s speech this week.

Xi Gets Ready For The Final Countdown (Escobar)

Xi also did not mention the US by name. Everyone in the leadership – especially the new Politburo – is aware of how Washington wants to “decouple” from China in every possible way and will continue to provocatively deploy every possible strand of hybrid war. Xi did not enter into details during his speech, but it’s clear the driving force going forward will be technological innovation linked to a global vision. That’s where BRI comes in, again – as the privileged field of application for these tech breakthroughs. Only this way we can understand how Zhu Guangyao, a former vice minister of finance, may be sure that per capita GDP in China in 2035 would at least double the numbers in 2019 and reach $20,000.

The challenge for Xi and the new Politburo right away is to fix China’s structural economic imbalance. And pumping up debt-financed “investment” all over again won’t work. So bets can be made that Xi’s third term – to be confirmed later this week – will have to concentrate on rigorous planning and monitoring of implementation, much more than during his previous bold, ambitious, abrasive but sometimes disconnected years. The Politburo will have to pay way more attention to technical considerations. Xi will have to delegate more serious policymaking autonomy to a bunch of competent technocrats. Otherwise, we will be back to that startling observation by then Premier Wen Jiabao in 2007: China’s economy is “unstable, unbalanced, uncoordinated and ultimately unsustainable”. That’s exactly where the Hegemon wants it to be.

As it stands, things are far from gloomy. The National Development and Reform Commission states that compared to the rest of the world, China’s consumer inflation is only “marginal”; the job market is steady; and international payments are stable. Xi’s work report and pledges may also be seen as turning the usual Anglo-American geopolitical suspects – Mackinder, Mahan, Spykman, Brzezinski – upside down. The China-Russia strategic partnership has no time to lose with global hegemonic games; what drives them is that sooner rather than later they will be ruling the Heartland – the world island – and beyond, with allies from the Rimland, and from Africa to Latin America, all participating in a new form of globalization. Certainly with Chinese characteristics; but most of all, pan-Eurasian characteristics. The final countdown is already on.

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The Ukraine conflict hinders China’s BRI. They want it to flow into Europe unimpeded.

‘Peaceful Modernization’: China’s Offering To The Global South (Escobar)

All over the extremely incandescent global chessboard, international relations are being completely reframed. China – and key Eurasian players at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS+, and Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) – are all proposing peaceful development. In contrast, the Hegemon imposes an avalanche of sanctions – not by accident the top three recipients are Eurasian powers Russia, Iran and China; lethal proxy wars (Ukraine); and every possible strand of hybrid war to prevent the end of its supremacy, which lasted barely seven and a half decades, a blip in historical terms.

The current dysfunction – physical, political, financial, cognitive – is reaching a climax. As Europe plunges into the abyss of largely self-inflicted devastation and darkness – a neo-medievalism in woke register – an internally ravaged Empire resorts to plundering even its wealthy “allies”. It’s as if we are all witnessing a Mackinder-on-crack scenario. Halford Mackinder, of course, was the British geographer who developed the ‘Heartland Theory’ of geopolitics, heavily influencing US foreign policy during the Cold War: “Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; Who rules the Heartland commands the World Island; Who rules the World Island commands the World.”

Russia spans 11 time zones and sits atop as much as one third of the world’s natural resources. A natural symbiosis between Europe and Russia is like a fact of life. But the EU oligarchy blew it. It’s no wonder the Chinese leadership views the process with horror, because one of BRI’s essential planks is to facilitate seamless trade between China and Europe. As Russia’s connectivity corridor has been blocked by sanctions, China will be privileging corridors via West Asia. Meanwhile, Russia is completing its pivot to the east. Russia’s enormous resources, combined with the manufacturing capability of China and East Asia as a whole, project a trade/connectivity sphere that goes even beyond BRI. That’s at the heart of the Russian concept of Greater Eurasia Partnership.

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Critical mass.

Saudi Arabia Is Interested In Joining The BRICS (Telesur)

At an interview on the South African Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday, President Cyril Ramposa announced that Saudi Arabia is interested in joining BRICS, an economic cooperation organization made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. “Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed the kingdom’s desire to join the BRICS,” the South African president said, adding that other countries are also interested in joining this organization. “In 2023, the BRICS summit will be held under the South African presidency and this request will be studied. Several countries are in contact with the BRICS and we have assured them that the accession issue will be discussed and a decision will be made,” Ramposa explained.

Among the nations that have already applied to join this international forum is Argentina, whose President Alberto Fernandez asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to join the BRICS. Sabino Vaca, Argentina’s ambassador to China, stated that the BRICS constitute an excellent cooperation alternative for developing countries given that the current world order has shown that it only works for the benefit of a few nations. At their 14th summit in July, the BRICS countries discussed economic cooperation options related to the creation of a new development bank, the formation of a contingent reserve arrangement, an intercountry payment system, and a BRICS basket reserve currency. Seen from the perspective of the global financial system, the consequence of those actions would be the gradual weakening of the U.S. dollar as an international reserve currency.

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ZeroHedge: “Just as Musk wanted”, “And the thing is Musk will still end up owning it… just 80% cheaper under the next admin.”

Biden Admin Weighs Blocking Twitter Deal On “National Security” Grounds (ZH)

One month ago we joked that should the Delaware judge force Musk to buy Twitter, then none other than the US government would step in and prevent the South African from gaining control over the blue-checkmark echo chamber of record, the one social media network which congressional testimony after congressional testimony has argued it can manipulate the outcome of elections. Well, that prediction is about to come true, because according to Bloomberg, the Biden administration is discussing whether the US should subject some of Elon Musk’s ventures to national security reviews, including the deal for Twitter and SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, citing people familiar with the matter.

In short, not only is the deep state government preparing to block Musk’s acquisition of TWTR on national security grounds (unlcear what that would achieve as the stock would crater to single digits, especially after today’s SNAP earnings, and so many of its employees have already quit), but it may “expropriate” Musk’s satellite pet project too, all for daring to ask a question about the US involvement in Ukraine, and what exactly the endgame there is. As Bloomberg adds, “US officials have grown uncomfortable over Musk’s recent threat to stop supplying the Starlink satellite service to Ukraine — he said it had cost him $80 million so far — and what they see as his increasingly Russia-friendly stance following a series of tweets that outlined peace proposals favorable to President Vladimir Putin. They are also concerned by his plans to buy Twitter with a group of foreign investors.”

The discussions are still at an early stage, the people familiar said on condition of anonymity. Officials in the US government and intelligence community are weighing what tools, if any, are available that would allow the federal government to review Musk’s ventures. One possible legal pathway is through the law governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review Musk’s deals and operations for national security risks. The CFIUS was used extensively in the Trump admin to block and undo numerous Chinese deals, arguing they could pose a national threat to the US. Now, it’s none other than Musk who has emerged as the deep state’s biggest nemesis.

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“..the company still maintains a $2,500 “liquidation” policy against accounts accused of “discrimination” and “hatred” as well as “intolerance”..”

PayPal Faces House Inquiry On $2,500 ‘Misinformation’ Fine Controversy (JTN)

House Republicans are launching an inquiry into PayPal after the payment processing company sparked major controversy for a policy that would fine customers for “misinformation.” The controversy began when news broke earlier this month that PayPal would fine customers $2,500 for spreading misinformation. PayPal quickly retracted the policy, saying it was a mistake that “went out in error” but not before “cancelPayPal” was trending and Twitter users boasted of deleting their accounts. The company’s stocks tumbled as the news unfolded. Now, House Republicans want answers. They sent a letter to PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman asking how the policy originated, who approved it, whether the Biden administration was involved, and more.

“As a leading financial technology company, it is concerning that a user agreement that contemplates the restriction of free speech was uploaded and disseminated to PayPal users – even if in error,” the letter said. “We understand your company is currently investigating this matter. Upon the conclusion of your investigation, we request that you provide a briefing for the Committees as soon as practicable.” [..] The letter requests answers by the end of the month to a range of questions, including whether any entities were affected by the policy change, when the internal investigation will be over, and who was responsible for the policy in question.

Critics also point out that while PayPal rescinded its misinformation policy, the company still maintains a $2,500 “liquidation” policy against accounts accused of “discrimination” and “hatred” as well as “intolerance” as the company chooses to define it. “The ability to transact without fear of retribution and political censorship is the foundation on which a free economy is built,” Emmer said. “We cannot afford to sacrifice these freedoms, and we must keep a close eye on any actions that erode them. The now-rescinded penalties outlined in PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy were deeply concerning, and the American people deserve answers about how these decisions are made and whether their speech will be protected on this kind of platform.”

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Dumping Treasuries.

How An Illiquid Dollar Ruins The World (Piepenburg)

All of this scheming, leverage and swapping boils down to not enough available (i.e., liquid) USDs in a global financial system in which nearly everything—from debt, to oil to derivatives—still has to be paid in increasingly scarce and hence increasingly expensive Dollars. In addition to this twisted, illiquid and over-levered swamp, the USD rises even higher on Powell rate hikes, all of which combine to force the world’s other currencies to fall. Why? Because other countries and central banks have no choice but to swallow/import USD inflation, monetary policy and American political self-interest. Indeed, with financial allies like the U.S., who needs enemies?

Whenever the Fed, for example, prints more of the world reserve currency or raises its interest rate, the rest of the world, which is tied to that currency, is forced to react—i.e., debase, hike and suffer. We remind that nearly $14T in USD-denominated debt is owed by both emerging market and developed market economies. As the USD rises in strength on the back of Powell’s impossible Volcker-revival and tangled derivatives, other Dollar-desperate nations from Argentina to Japan find themselves with not enough Greenbacks to pay their debts or settle trades, wires and oil purchases, which thus forces them to print (i.e., debase) more of their local currencies to make USD-denominated payments.

But Japan takes the cake for debasing its own currency all on its own, as no nation has ever loved a money printer and currency-debaser more. This might explain why Japan is leading the charge in dumping its USTs into the FOREX markets, which only adds more pressure to rising yields and hence rising rates. Thanks Kuroda—just one more central banker with a mouse-clicker gone mad… Perhaps he’ll be next in line for a Nobel Prize? But Japan is not alone, as other nations dump the once sacred UST just to keep their currencies afloat…In short: The strong USD is crippling the word, and that world, as we’ve written numerous times, will be de-dollarizing at a steady and irreversible pace.No shocker there. At some point, Dollar-indebted nations crack and this twisted global game ends in a credit crisis for the history books.

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“..they still won’t apologize..”

It’s Been 2 Years Since 51 Intel Agents Interfered With An Election (Devine)

Exactly two years ago, on October 19, 2020, one of the dirtiest tricks in electoral history was played on the American people by 51 former intelligence officials, who used the false alarm of “Russian interference” to stop Donald Trump winning a second term as president. Using the institutional weight of their former esteemed roles, they signed a dishonest letter to mislead voters 15 days before the election, claiming that material from Hunter Biden’s laptop published by the New York Post “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” In their expert opinion, “the Russians are involved in the Hunter Biden email issue.” Russia was “trying to influence how Americans vote in this election … Moscow [will] pull out the stops to do anything possible to help Trump win and/or to weaken Biden should he win.

“A ‘laptop op’ fits the bill, as the publication of the emails are [sic] clearly designed to discredit Biden … It is high time that Russia stops interfering in our democracy.” It was all a lie. Their letter was the culprit “interfering with democracy” in broad daylight. Not one of the 51 had seen any material from the laptop or bothered asking for it, but their letter, instigated by, signed and delivered to Politico by Democratic operative and former John Brennan aide Nick Shapiro, killed the story stone dead. It got candidate Joe Biden off the hook for the corrupt influence-peddling scheme his family had been running through the eight years of his vice presidency. The shameful letter was used by Joe Biden three days later, on October 22, to deflect Trump’s attack in their last debate.

“There are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plan … Four, five former heads of the CIA, both parties, say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage … You know his character. You know my character. You know my reputation is for honor and telling the truth … The character of the country is on the ballot.” Biden dismissed as a Kremlin smear all the evidence that was on his son’s laptop of dirty money from China and Russia, of all his meetings with Hunter’s overseas business partners, and all the lies he had told about his involvement in Hunter’s business deals The letter, like the Steele dossier and Russia collusion hoax peddled by many of the signatories, has helped fuel a moral panic about Russia in recent years that now has heightened the risk of nuclear war.

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A three month study will not reveal the real damage done. That takes years. But already 1 in 500 is insanely high. And still the CDC is pushing it.

One in Every 500 Small Children Who Get Pfizer Vaccine are Hospitalised (DS)

One in every 500 children under five years who received the Pfizer mRNA Covid vaccine were hospitalised with a vaccine injury, and one in 200 had symptoms ongoing for weeks or months afterwards, a study has found. The study published in JAMA included 7,806 children aged five or younger who were followed up of for an average of 91.4 days following their first Pfizer vaccination. It was a retrospective cohort study done as an authenticated online survey (response rate 41.1%) in spring 2022 which included parents or caregivers who registered children for SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in outpatient care facilities in Germany. It compared the adverse events to those of the same children with other vaccinations in order to control for over-reporting.

7 year old boy

It concluded that the symptoms reported after Pfizer vaccination were “comparable overall” to those for other vaccines. Let’s see. • Any symptoms: 62% higher • Musculoskeletal (muscles and bones) symptoms: 155% higher • Dermatologic (skin) symptoms: 118% higher • Otolaryngologic (ears, nose and throat) symptoms: 537% higher • Cardiovascular (heart etc.): 36% higher • Gastrointestinal (stomach etc.): 54% higher. It calls these “modestly elevated”. In 0.5% of the children (40 of 7,806) symptoms were “currently ongoing and thus of unknown significance”. This is in a study with a 2-4 month follow-up period. That means 0.5% of children had an adverse effect that lasted for weeks or months. In two cases (0.03%), symptoms were confirmed to have lasted longer than 90 days.


Ten children were hospitalised with reported serious adverse events (SAEs), compared to zero with the other vaccines. This reported as 0.1%, as it is out of 7,806. However, the study also states that no hospitalisations were reported for children administered the low dosage of 3 μg. Since it also tells us that 6,033 children received at least one dose of over 3 μg. (or unknown dosage), the rate in the relevant cohort is closer to 0.2%, or around one in 500. Four of the hospitalisations were for cardiovascular injury; one child was hospitalised after both doses for this reason. Four were pulmonary (lung) related. Symptoms of the hospitalised children lasted an average of 12.2 days and a maximum of 60 days. None reported a myocarditis diagnosis. Mercifully, no deaths were reported in this relatively small sample.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

 

Knots

 

 

 

 

Denzel

 

 

 

 

Blue wave+

 

 

City over the river

 

 

Pillars of Creation, known from Hubble, now captured by Webb telescope. Each pillar is about 3 light-years (over 27 trillion km) in width.

 

 

 

 

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Home Forums Debt Rattle October 21 2022

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 81 total)
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  • #118965

    Salvador Dali Llane Beach, Cadaques 1919   • US May End Aid To Ukraine After Midterms – Axios (RT) • Berlusconi Trashes NATO Narrative On Ukraine
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle October 21 2022]

    #118966
    Germ
    Participant

    Listen and weep.

    “Suzanna Newell went from triathlons, long distance biking, a full time job in Corporate America to needing a walker or a wheelchair to go more than 2 blocks after her second Pfizer shot. Since then she has been advocating for research of reactions and support for the vaccine injured with Minnesota Team Humanity and React19.”

    #118968
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    NZ has announced the terms of reference for an ‘energy strategy’, with aspirations for 2030 and 2050.

    https://www.interest.co.nz/sites/default/files/2022-10/terms-of-reference-nz-energy-strategy.pdf

    It’s all total bollocks, of course, promoted by disconnected-from-reality-economists, bureaucrats, lawyers and public relations consultants. The aspirations are completely detached from reality and the laws of physics and chemistry.

    I doubt anyone involved in the planning process has any idea what energy is. And the whole ‘planning’ process will undoubtedly be carefully managed to ensure that no one with any knowledge of energy gets anywhere near the ‘planning’ process.

    Perhaps the most amusing aspect is that the global economic-financial system will have completely collapsed long before any strategy gets implemented; indeed, I suspect collapse will occur long before the ‘consultation process’ is completed.

    Everything I am seeing indicates major economic/financial jolts before Christmas [2022], with many coming before the end of October.

    Once one realises that NATOstan governments are simply gangs of criminals and clowns, everything they do falls into perspective, including the Johnson-Truss circus that has yet to come to its natural conclusion of collapse of the UK.

    Let’s face it, the days are long gone when Britian and its partners in crime could steal anything they liked from almost anywhere they liked. The current attempt to do so from Russia will surely be their final undoing.

    I’ve said it before and will say it again; if sane energy policies had been adopted in the late-60s to early-70s, there may have been some chance of avoiding meltdown we are now witnessing. But greedy psychopaths and sociopaths are not known for their sanity.

    #118970
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Pillars of Creation, known from Hubble, now captured by Webb telescope. Each pillar is about 3 light-years (over 27 trillion km) in width.

    How does one comprehend that?
    I think we don’t; not really, comprehend that imensity of distance…
    …but it’s a great conundrum presented to our intellect; to forever confound and tease us for possibilities…

    #118971
    aspnaz
    Participant

    Italy is an important member of the US-led alliance and anyone who disagrees with this position will be excluded from government, Meloni, the leader of the Brothers of Italy party, pledged on Wednesday evening, as quoted by the newspaper La Repubblica.

    Many of us voiced our doubts that Meloni was going to be something new. We talked about giving her the benefit of the doubt, to wait and see what she does. Our suspicions were justified, she is yet another empire supporter, although apparently representing people who are not empire supporters. Western politics is dead, the people will have to assert their own wishes through violence as even the alternative politicians are corrupted deep state. Sure, many will say that she is doing this because otherwise she will be removed, I don’t buy that, anybody in her position knows that she has a strong hand.

    #118972
    Germ
    Participant
    #118973
    aspnaz
    Participant

    Being an American is tough

    Statement by my Chinese wife after seeing the CDC decision to kill more kids and the adoption of those vaccination rules by most states and hence most government schools. Let’s hope that Florida can lead the way.

    #118975
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Liz Truss is going to do wonders to British confidence and authority, especially for the young. Perception is: she exists merely to get in and insider trade, made a million for her and her cadre, clocked the time to steal another million in her pension, then left DGAF. And Britain, Parliament, House of Lords, let her and approve of it, don’t bother to hide a thing since they all do the same.

    And they’re not going to quiet quit and stand back to let the system fall when they’re called upon? Why: bless me, they are going to do just what Miss Truss has done! Show up, do nothing, and quietly quit.

    “Biden still refuses to help”

    Help? He and his handlers are the cause. Besides, although he can “help”, his policies, or 30 years of like policies have put us in the same situation. Only our constant, tireless rebellion and agitation forestalled it. …That resistance you in Europe ridiculed us for every minute of every day of every year for 30 years. So yeah, we can send 2-3 food ships and a bag of fertilizer, but what do you think we can do when you’re committing voluntary national…international…suicide? YOU did this: help your own darn selves. Russia has the gas a-waitin’.

    “[GOP] May End Aid to Ukraine after Midterms – Axios (RT)”

    Yes, but strangely this is just a Democratic election slogan: that the GOP won’t want world war and won’t give as much money to war billionaires and kill enough foreigners. No joke. And the part that’s disturbing is, it works. They – Old time Hippie Liberals and Fresh new college rebels – really will vote in the Democrats in order to support eternal war. Or whatever latest thing.

    It’s the Left version of this: “Man Becomes Missionary to Remote African Village So He Doesn’t Have to Share Gospel with Coworker Brad” –BBee

    Why fix near-endless problems at home when you can think you’re winning by (making other people) blowing up people by race overseas? Clearly that’s a no-brainer. When it all goes badly, it’s their fault!

    “people who do not share a pro-NATO stance would have no place in her coalition.”

    Italian version of the same thing: “…so long as Italy never has to pay NATO % of GDP or send soldiers.”

    “birthday gift may have violated EU sanctions, Der Spiegel reported”

    Wow. Okay then. Maybe we should compare to this:

    “Some poser hands me cake at a birthday party
    What you want me to do with this? Eat it?
    So I threw it on the GROUND!!!
    Happy Birthday to the GROUND!
    I threw the rest of the cake too!!!
    Welcome to the real world, jack-ss.” –SNL

    Yeah, they’re about that level. Un-parodyable, like Soviet was before they fell. South Park doesn’t bother. There’s nothing they can say more stupid than our actual leaders and apparatchiks.

    “How much longer will Italy support NATO and its Ukraine attack?”

    Forever, or until the fake Meloni falls like the fake Truss did. When do pensions vest in the Italian system?

    Zelensky Denies Kiev’s Role in Crimean Bridge Blast (RT)”

    Russia blew up their OWN bridge, just like they shell all their own bases. No…he’s probably right. As an actor, he’s not in charge of, nor decides anything. He’s too busy doing coke with the photographers from Vogue. MI6 worked with Kolomoisky to do it. …But using Ukrainian manpower.

    “Britain’s Stark Choice Ahead – Transformation or Collapse (Nafeez Ahmed)”

    Transformation? But nobody’s ever thought of such a thing! Whatever shall we do?

    Multipolar World Order – Part 3

    “From central bankers to prominent members of various think tanks to political leaders, it seems that the vanguard of the Western unipolar model accept the inevitability of that system’s replacement. Curiously, many of the same people, in responding to the war in Ukraine, have made decisions and advocated polices that are hastening the transition from unipolarity to multipolarity. Again, probably mere coincidence.
    A central tenet of the suggested multipolar world order is to strengthen adherence to the Charter of the UN, thereby establishing genuine global governance. Globalist oligarchs have long advocated exactly the same approach and so do the claimed leaders of the multipolar world order.

    “[The] WEF’s Great Reset and the ambition of the Club of Rome and the ambition of the Council on Foreign Relations and the ambition of the BRICS, is, and always has been, global governance. Mere coincidence, yes?

    That is, “The One True Solution” as presented by Klaus, the WEF, and all “Right thinking people”, is exactly what they all wanted already: world government. No democracy. Run by the exact same people who oversee or even created all the problems and failures we have right now.

    Total coincidence! They’ve all completely changed, and now to go Green live in bark huts, wear loincloths, and eat termites for dinner. Oh wait, they live in 5,000ft mansions, fly to Davos, and eat imported wagu steak and Norwegian lobster?

    “Same thing we do every night Binky: Try to Take Over the World!”

    So Britain’s transformation? Reverse Brexit at a higher level and erase the UK altogether. Trample the British people and remove their sovereignty to… well, anywhere else actually. UN, WEF, Sachs’ carbon Credits, to Kiev, to Beijing, I don’t care, anywhere at all so long as the British people have no options and no self-determination. Or anybody else either.

    Jamie Dimon does not seem on board with this. Nor Powell. I wonder why. Somehow the Americans don’t really support being slaves to pinheads from Europe who treat them like coolies.

    “Xi Gets Ready for the Final Countdown (Escobar)”

    We have essentially declared war on China, and skillfully opened a second front in a war we were already losing. But that’s the GOAL: the U.S. needs to be brought to 3rd world status and lose the war so they can erase the annoying Constitution. Americans need to be so desperate they’ll tolerate anything. As does the German middle class, so starving they’ll sign up to any stupid passport or currency chip you sell them. Unless they are destroyed, you can’t “Build Back Better”.

    We’ll see if Xi plays along. I can’t see Xi either trusting WEF, nor for the uber-racists in Davos to even PRETEND to let Xi run their little clown circus. So now that they’ve created a One Ring to grasp, they are all stabbing each other over it. Morons.

    “the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS+, and Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) – are all proposing peaceful development.”

    No wonder they’ve run smack into the West. Peace is the only thing you can get banned and arrested for here, too.

    “Biden Admin Weighs Blocking Twitter Deal on “National Security” Grounds (ZH)”

    Yes, because Twitter is run by the letter agencies, it’s literally impossible for them to allow. The funding, the plan, the purpose for existing, is to have “government” control of the people by destroying or more accurately corrupting free speech. Without that and CIA money, they have no profit, no funding, no business plan, and no purpose.

    US officials have grown uncomfortable over Musk’s recent threat to stop supplying the Starlink satellite service to Ukraine”

    Threat? To stop donating $2M/month for free? Into an aggressive ethnic war? They have strange ideas about what threats are. And also strange ideas about ownership and property. It’s almost as if they think THEY own everything, and you’re just managing it on behalf of government. What political system is it where the Government owns the means of production? And audits, arrests, and imprisons anyone who disagrees with them?

    But what can I say? They hate African Americans.

    “PayPal Faces House Inquiry on $2,500 ‘Misinformation’ Fine Controversy (JTN)”

    I’m fine either way. Either it was 1) True in which case it’s illegal and their company will cease to exist because of customer repudiation, or 2) It was a mistake in which case the billions in losses both by the stock AND by the business disruption leaves them open to bankrupting lawsuits. So which is it? A mistake? Or not?

    A: Actually the RE-posting of that policy was the same as the “mistake”; they just added some more weasel words to confuse it.

    Next question: WHY do they feel the need to steal $2k/pop? With zero parameters and rules as to WHO. It’s because business for PayPal is collapsing and they’re actually bankrupt, isn’t it? Because the “rules” will expand and contract with how much money you need to steal that month to stay solvent, a “Rules-based order.” So 3) they cease to exist because of organic bankruptcy outside of their “mistake”.

    “The strong USD is crippling the word, and that world, as we’ve written numerous times, will be de-dollarizing at a steady and irreversible pace.”

    Dollar-short theory. Great for us! …Just before the dollar collapses and ceases to exist, or at least merely returns to domestic-currency status. End of Empire. End of Pentagon therefore. Support!

    “7 year old boy”

    Doctors now see this regularly and support it. Participate in it. And cover it up. States don’t have to participate in the mass-murder, nor do schools, nor do parents who are removing their kid and collapsing the schools. So. Fine. The CDC and FDA have now ceased to exist and cannot be resurrected.

    #118976
    aspnaz
    Participant

    They blamed Europe, immigrants, asylum seekers, Muslims and ethnic minorities for Britain’s intractable social and economic crises.

    Have a look at British government and count the white faces. London mayor is a moslem … do we even know what an Englishman looks like any more? Is English a racial group or are we anglo-saxons or maybe white man bad? The UK has hate speech laws, anti-semitism laws etc all aimed at protecting immigrants. Then there are the various western countries that will jail you for denying the holocaust scam. Whether this is cause or correlation, the fact is that the UK is now made up of a different set of people, a shit load of immigrants have been injected into government by wealthy backers. They may now be the cause but they are definitely a symptom of the destruction being wrought in the west.

    That said, I left the west (UK/NZ) a long time ago, the reason being that I could no longer bear the English and, to a lesser extent, the New Zealanders (many of whom started off as English). I knew I could not change anything so I left them to their decline, while I found a better world.

    #118977
    EoinW
    Participant

    Was that record timing for Meloni selling out? Why would anyone think we can fix this by voting when it was our “democratic” system which gave us this corrupt political class in the first place?

    #118978
    EoinW
    Participant

    I hope the government succeeds in blocking the Twitter deal. If governments lose the propaganda of Twittter, FaceBook etc… then the internet will cease to be of value to them. Guess what then gets shut down?

    I like the current situation. They actually believe all their own lies, so they think Big Tech still influences how people think. The fact is, only the most useless citizens believe any of the lies now. Those people have already been poisoned and will have zero long term impact on society.

    We need to follow the Russia lead: stand back and allow our political class to destroy itself. Tweet away boys! Each lie is more ridiculous than the previous one.

    #118979
    Oroboros
    Participant

    Tucker Carlson

    Why is Amazon banning books from prominent authors they don’t like? We investigate.

    or

    #118980
    Germ
    Participant

    “Britain’s Stark Choice Ahead – Transformation or Collapse”
    by Nafeez Ahmed

    Britain’s Stark Choice Ahead: Transformation or Collapse

    I live in the UK.
    Shit is falling apart real fast now.

    “At a time when one in five civil servants are using food banks and 35% have skipped meals because they have no food, …”
    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/21/liz-truss-entitlement-ex-prime-ministers-yearly-grant-sparks-fury

    Shit life England! 🤣🤣🤣

    My wife and I are soon off to Mexico for a few years.
    Getting out of the blast zone,

    This is a far cry from the UK:
    https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mazunte+mexico&iax=images&ia=images

    #118981
    John Day
    Participant

    Zelensky: ““We definitely did not order that, as far as I know,”

    Why would he have to know if it’s easier for him to deny if he was out of the loop?

    “Redneck” seems to mean different things to different people.
    I have observed that isolated rural peoples in the world get videos first, before plumbing.
    There are lots of reasons for that.
    Polemos waxed poetic in a tasty and vast philosophical word-salad last night.
    Not everybody liked it. May I suggest the dinner rolls?
    I see different personalities and viewpoints recently, but not trolls.

    #118982
    John Day
    Participant

    I saw Liz Truss’ job as “breaking it”, and she “got ‘er done” in record time.
    She was the right man for that job. Whoever comes next is also disposable.
    Some people in rural Wales are known to grow vegetables…
    How about “collapse” AND “transformation”?
    The UK won’t be alone in that.

    #118983
    Germ
    Participant
    #118984
    Oroboros
    Participant

    .

    #118985
    Germ
    Participant

    Thank God there are people like Mick Wallace.
    https://t.me/robinmg/24161

    #118986
    Germ
    Participant

    Another voice of reason.
    Sachs has suddenly seen the light:

    #118987
    #118989
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    There is a very simple and easily understood reason that more people don’t think logically, rationally and critically.

    The reason is that it hurts.

    #118990
    Michael Reid
    Participant


    The Azerbaijan pipeline runs from Russia’s largest natural gas supplier Lukoil and feeds energy to southern Europe through Italy. And Italy is to have a new Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who is not a fan nor a friend of the Davos crowd.

    Nord Stream Pipelines Blown Off… Who Did It and What’s Next?

    #118991
    Red
    Participant

    “[The] WEF’s Great Reset and the ambition of the Club of Rome and the ambition of the Council on Foreign Relations and the ambition of the BRICS, is, and always has been, global governance. Mere coincidence, yes?

    Unlikely as you say Dr.D they all want to take over the world. Putin spent more than a little time with the Davos crowd. Mere coincidence? I think not.

    #118992
    willem
    Participant

    Iran is now getting sanctioned for selling drones to Russia, an act that is being denied by both Russia and Iran. More to the point is that even if it is true, it is laughable for the West to be sanctioning Iran for the same behavior they are themselves indulging in by supplying the other party to this military action (i.e., Ukraine). And the West isn’t even charging for most of what they are supplying.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/eu-sanctions-iran-over-drone-deliveries-russia-us-presses-un-action

    #118994
    phoenixvoice
    Participant

    From germ’s offering “ Pfizer expects to hike U.S. COVID vaccine price to $110-$130 per dose”

    due to weak demand for COVID vaccines, which meant vaccine makers would need to hike prices to meet revenue forecasts for 2023 and beyond.

    Um…I only ever took one formal class in economics, and that was the required one in high school. But the last time I checked, weak demand usually leads to a *lowering* — not raising — of the price of a commodity. It seems that Pfizer has basic economics backwards, because they are forecasting their revenue and then setting prices based on achieving that forecast…and this is only possible *because* of the way that the convoluted medical insurance system interacts with the government’s (so-called) public health protocols regarding vaccines.

    #118995
    John Day
    Participant

    @Phoenixvoice: Pfizer is not selling vaccines into a market, but into a government-arrangement of “cost plus” payment, right?

    #118996
    Polemos
    Participant

    John Day, what stands out to me is that Redneck isn’t thinking and processing and writing like the rednecks I work alongside and listen to and have lived among as a Georgia boy and young man. I’m the son of a genuine redneck who farmed and struggled and keeps to his garden still, while my mom, his wife, also tells me stories of her life on a rice patty, sitting on dirt floors waiting on adult men to eat their meals first, though today she’s more suburban and classist in narcissistic denial of the poverty and humiliaiton that shaped her traumatic life. They threw me into the public schools, so I retreated into the libraries while climbing trees and leaving my body to travel amongst the clouds and the caves and the rambling, incoherent adventures of stuffed bears with their friendly piglets.

    #118997
    phoenixvoice
    Participant

    @ John Day

    *sigh*
    The health insurance system was the first system that I started thinking about and analyzing over 20 years ago. I was too old to be on my parents’ medical insurance and — just out of college — uncomfortable with spending too much money each month on health insurance, while at the same time understanding the concepts of risk and insurance against the risk, as well as feeling young and healthy.
    There are benefits to pooled-cost systems such as insurance —> large, rare costs are borne more easily by the group, rather than by the individual, and socializing the costs of preventive care helps reduce the large, rare costs, by framing preventive care as a “benefit” of group membership rather than a cost whose value may or may not pan out to the individual. The problem arises when unscrupulous (immoral) actors realize that the pooled resources can be manipulated for their personal (or small group) aggrandizement and subsequently corrupt the system for personal gain. Yin and yang, I suppose.

    Humans being what they are, there is no “perfect system” — whether the system is focused on the group, the individual, or a hybrid there are always means for corruption and always a small subset of the population lacking in empathy that will corrupt the system for their own gain. It seems the best we can hope for is transparency in the system, open lines of communication, and a citizenry that is alert enough to what is going on to serve as “watch dogs” over the details. Well, that, and we need a culture that respects ethics and morality and open debates on what “ethics and morality” are or should be — when a culture becomes too jaded, rejecting ethics and morality as “unrealistic,” or “out of touch,” or “old fashioned,” or “impractical,” and/or reject open debate about ethics and morality — this is a sign that corruption is eating away at the pillars of our society’s institutions and difficult days are already here or will be here soon.

    #118998

    I read that minimum wage in Holland will rise by 10.15% on Jan 1 2023, to €12.40 per hour. That’s €446.40 per week, about €1,800 per month.

    Greece: For general workers, from €29.62 to €31.85 per day and €663.00 to €713.00 per month.

    I wonder what the situation is where all of you live.

    #118999

    It’s insane, because supermarket prices are not very different between the two. I know from experience. Anyway, shoot. Minimum wages where you are.

    #119000
    Polemos
    Participant

    https://dol.georgia.gov/minimum-wage

    The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

    Incremental changes were as follows:

    Effective July 24, 2007, the federal minimum wage increased to $5.85 per hour.
    Effective July 24, 2008, the federal minimum wage increased to $6.55 per hour.
    Effective July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage increased to $7.25 per hour.
    Georgia’s minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, however, with some limited exceptions, the federal minimum wage rate applies.

    Georgia’s minimum wage law can be found in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) at Title 34-Chapter 4-Section 3 (O.C.G.A. 34-4-3) and the Fair Labor Standards Act, generally and at 29 U.S.C. 203, 206, 213, and 214.

    Jobs in the area are hiring for around a minimum $12/hr (office work, light manual labor) and the majority expressing an “up to” $19–22/hr (landscaping, driving trucks, factory line work). I don’t visit franchise burger joints, but in this area, a local decent diner hamburger is about $6.00 and a local great diner hamburger is $10 and a restaurant burger $9–15 with sides. (I don’t eat red meat anymore, though.) An organic honeycrisp apple is now $2.50/lb, and organic Hass avocados are $2.50/each. Inorganic, about $1.50/lb and $1/lb respectively. A 5oz tin of storebrand tuna is $.70/each on sale and regularly $1/each, but I get the “safe catch” brand and it’s wildly, embarrasingly more expensive. A medium pizza and a large Greek salad (no drinks) from the local pizzeria is about $40, including a 15% tip.

    I checked on xe.com and it’s saying the exchange rate is $1 ↔ €1.0166.

    #119001
    Germ
    Participant

    I walked the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zurmat in Switzerland this summer.

    Couldn’t understand why things seemed soooo expensive.

    Then I found out that the minimum wage there was 23CHF an hour = $23 !!

    You’d be shocked what 18-20 year olds earn in the UK.
    https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates

    “Shit Life England”

    #119002
    Germ
    Participant
    #119003

    Minnesota minimum wage is $10 and change per hour- about $21,000/yr. It differs some by size of company, age, and location. US poverty level (2022) is $13,590 for one; $27,750 for a family of 4.
    US minimum wage is $7.25/hr.

    #119004
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    Some bold claims are being made about 8th November being the end of the Biden gang’s reign of terror.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/steve-bannon

    #119005
    John Day
    Participant

    @Polemos: I want to clarify that I like and value your writing. I held my tongue, because people present pictures as “rednecks”, which are not that hard-working-in-the-sun-farmer’s-tan image that it evokes in my consciousness. As a military brat during Vietnam, I lived in a variety of urban and rural settings across the US, including North Carolina 1968-1971.
    Some of the images presented appear to be “PWT”, which is somewhat explained by this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaZr2Vq825E

    #119006
    John Day
    Participant

    @Phoenixvoice: Hi, It’s nice to see more of your writing again. I think you had a busy spell for a while.
    I think the corrupted western financial system will have to reset when the dollar-regime has to negotiate peace with the rest of the world. Lotsa injustice until then, I presume.
    Sorry…

    #119007
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    The NZ minimum wage is $21.20 per hour. Multiply by 0.57 for notional US equivalent. Euro and pound conversions are not significantly different.

    NZ is a relatively high-cost society, particularly with respect to housing, compliance with idiotic government regulations, dental care etc. and relatively low cost with respect to energy, firewood, water, fresh fruits and vegetables etc.

    People shift to Oz for higher wages, and then find the cost of living is much higher.

    International comparisons are fraught with danger because no one freezes to death in winter most locations in NZ, whereas they -especially inactive elderly people- are likely to in midwinter many other parts of the world.

    The high levels of waste indicate people in NZ are not suffering enough to revolt yet.

    Give it another few months of squandering of resources and general misleading by the self-serving liars and sociopaths at the top of the financial-political pyramid, and then things will begin to change politically.

    Rupturing of the financial system -already underway- over the next few weeks would bring forward the timeframe for revolt, of course.

    #119008
    John Day
    Participant

    “Our Very Lives” post is up, with one last glamorous view of the glossy oak floor I installed.
    https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/our-very-lives

    My inbox just asked me, “What scares you more, COVID-19 or nuclear war?” My mind quickly responded that it’s not either-or, but it’s both.
    We can be afraid of both the chimeric Boston COVID with the 80% kill rate that attacks the brain AND a nuclear false-flag attack to blame Russia (then goes horribly-wrong despite all the best planning). https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/what-scares-you-more

    Our owners-and-masters are searching hard for the right fear-narrative or narratives to optimally control all of us as we proceed into the further breakage of the global-economic life-support system, which allows so very many of us to live today.
    We should be paying attention to the very real mortal threats. They don’t mind killing a few billion of us for a good cause. However, the only route out of this in any elite plans for any of us, is as a slave, preferably a completely controlled slave with electronic brain implants and fully electronic money so that we make all the best choices, or no choices at all.
    We should also do what humans have always done, which is to grow some food and save what harvest we can for winter, most literally, and also allegorically.
    Vegetable gardens, “victory gardens”( Liberty Garden https://www.johndayblog.com/2016/07/liberty-garden-central-texas-climate.html ) have always helped people survive privation in times of war and economic depression. None of us can truly be “self-sufficient”. We are not lone-wolves, but social, communal, cooperative creatures, which is our big advantage, what got us so far on this planet.
    Human societies have collapsed or died-back many times in history. This is controversial, and picking fault in this theme is a psychological defense mechanism against mental anguish, “cognitive dissonance”. The Black Death, Bubonic Plague, spread by fleas on rats, in human cities and agricultural communities, was one of those die-backs. The concentration of humans, and the abundance of rats and fleas, opened an environmental niche for the bacterium, Yersinia Pestis, to spread along trade routes from China to Europe in the 1300s. It was promptly used as a weapon of war, catapulting infected corpses into the besieged city of Kaffa, by an army which was dying of it. Populations were concentrated and weakened by poor nutrition and hygiene. Die off were fractions of each city or town and came in wave after wave.
    The Maya collapsed from bad weather hitting their optimized agriculture for an extended period of time. There was a lot of raiding of nearby villages and sacrificing of prisoners to the angry sun god. It went on for a really long time. I have come to think that hungry people go along with killing other hungry people if they are given an excuse that most people can agree with.
    It worked again for Hitler, and it almost just worked against “the unvaccinated”, but not quite. Not yet.
    I also think that the Mayan priests who were cutting out those beating hearts were running the scam to keep themselves in control of the degrading situation, to wait out the return of better harvests, and to take credit for them. They could well have believed the scam. It would make it even easier to run.
    Our owners these days have so much more knowledge of history, science, technology, and expert consultants to help them manage billions of people, and their perceptions of “reality”. Smart-phones, personalized AI-shaping of data-streams and Google-ads help. The main thing that the owners need is to stay in possession of property and “long term interests”, which means arrangements which keep paying them unearned tributary income.
    The owners, elites, nobles-and-royalty of old, serve the societal role of killing a lot of people and making it seem perfectly normal and unavoidable. Hitler and the Mayan priests both did it, and their unified societies rallied around them. The characteristics which define the elites are the drive to power and a sort of smiling ruthlessness when it comes to the practicalities of throat cutting and back stabbing without remorse.
    In good times, these qualities are little-needed in our world, and are discouraged by affluent societies, but in bad times, times of poor crops and declining resources, there is some intuitive wave which runs through a nation, calling their hearts to follow a leader who will give them the rich lands and harvests of those decadent neighbors, who stole it from their grandparents, anyway.
    Not everybody is subject to that call of the Pied-Piper. I’ve never liked the exhilaration of thousands of sports fans in a stadium. (Creepy to me. Lemme outta here!) You might or might not be prone to getting that lynch-mob feeling, yourself. What we taught our children in Dachau and Tuol Sleng is that you have to be on the lookout for the creation of sub-humans, because that is the first and essential step. Fight it if you can, or get away before it marks you as a target.
    I fought the “unvaccinated-sub-human” meme from even before it was identifiable as a trend this time. I got fired, but I’m not dead. Enough of us accepted firing in enough places to halt its advance. It may be withering. It is sure withering in Texas and Florida. A holding-action was helpful this time, since vaccine-deaths and “negative efficacy” did not get swept under the rug. More and more people are more and more aware. Omicron took the mortal threat out of COVID, also, which magnified the relative threat of the gene-therapy vaccine products, put those harms in a spotlight.
    It looks like “Nuclear-War” is the control-narrative which is waiting next in line. Those of us who have never personally known war, never survived through war, still have an abstract concept that we should all avoid nuclear war. It stands perfectly to reason for all people, everywhere.
    The universality of apprehension regarding nuclear war is a desirable quality in a control narrative. It works everywhere, for everybody. The culling-elites will have secured their bunkers and underground holdouts, but they also know that only helps with immediate survival, not the next 30 years of living in a wasteland, nor of the risks of betrayal by other elite survivors.
    The uncertainty with the threat of nuclear war is the uncertainty of not truly knowing how rational the opponent is, nor exactly how desperate, nor exactly how well secured the perceived interests of the opponent are, against the threat. Does the opponent really have a whole modern world under the Denver airport?
    All of that analysis is superficial and unprincipled. It does not take into account the deep and sustaining convictions of a rare group of leaders, including Charles deGaulle, John Kennedy, and probably Nikita Khrushchev when he was sober. Khrushchev was pretty sober during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

    I’m a surface-dweller. I have no way around that, nor would I choose to have a bunker in the Rocky Mountains. Our homestead in Yoakum is either in a green or a red zone for nuclear fallout, depending on the winds that day. It’s the best we can do. I sure hope the 5 military bases in San Antonio don’t get nuked, but that just means that I hope there is no nuclear war.
    We can’t expect our sociopathic owners to change. They are what they are. They are not going to develop compassion and humanistic insight, though they may often see the value in pretending to. The one thing they excel at is the normalization of killing a lot of people, and getting large groups of people on-board with that. Timing seems to be everything.
    The owners seem to have jumped-the-gun with COVID, which might have just leaked out a little too soon, but was an opportunity which they could not ignore.
    Are we now “immunized” against the next round of creation of sub-human scapegoats? Who might they be?
    Could be anybody, right? I never expected to be in one of those target-groups, but here I am.

    #119009
    John Day
    Participant

    Jessica Rose Ph.D. looks at the clear and explicit evidence of the laboratory creation of SARS-CoV-2, which was already explained in early 2020 by Luc Montagnier MD, who got a Nobel Prize for describing the AIDS virus. It is still as clear and convincing. The “fingerprints” of lab manipulation are unmistakable.
    Dr. Rose goes on to discuss some of the parts-swapping that viruses can do. There are some functional HIV parts in the spike-protein of the original Wuhan virus, for instance. the new, chimeric Boston lab COVID has the Omicron spike protein and the rest of it is Wuhan-COVID. It kills 80% of humanized lab mice, often by attacking their brains, a new viral super-power. She goes into a lot of detail about parts swapping between AIDS and COVID in human hosts, like AIDS-patients with COVID. She notes that there was a big and ongoing push for AIDS testing concurrent with the COVID pandemic and ongoing. Is it to track another viral super-power? The mRNA COVID c=vaccine products profoundly suppress interleukin-based immunity to viruses, which increases COVID infection rates for 2 weeks after injection as a known baseline. There is a lot more to explore about immune suppression. She explores some.
    https://jessicar.substack.com/p/phenotypic-mixing-tropism-enhancement

    Nafeez Ahmed, Britain’s Stark Choice Ahead, Transformation or Collapse (Again, why not both? Ahmed thinks wind and solar are able to replace fossil fuels with some adjustments. I think not, but we individuals still need to make personal adjustments while we can. People in rural Wales grow vegetables, I hear.)
    ​ F​ive years ago, I warned in a study that Europe faces an increasing risk of state failure due to the escalation of interlinked environmental, energy and economic crises – and I found an intriguing pattern: states begin to fail within 15 years of losing their main sources of energy and economic revenue.
    ​ ​Escalating crisis drives social polarisation, undermining national cohesion and resulting in outbreaks of civil unrest. Without a change of course, these outbreaks coalesce to undermine the functioning of key state institutions. At worst, they can lead to total government collapse and a state of permanent warfare.
    ​ ​Gripped by multiple crises, Britain now appears to be following a familiar pattern of environmental, energy and economic-driven state failure.

    Britain’s Stark Choice Ahead: Transformation or Collapse

    ​ Pepe Escobar presents a further analysis of what China is offering the neo-colonized “developing world”, which is self-determination (Woodrow wilson’s big hit) and the ability to nationally re-invest, rather than being strip-mined by globalist neoliberal finance. It’s a good deal.they will dive-in when the sharks appear to have left the beach. ​(As we know from history. deals change over time.) ‘Peaceful modernization’: China’s offering to the Global South

    ‘Peaceful modernization’: China’s offering to the Global South

    Saudi Arabia and Argentina want to join the BRICS, which will be addressed at the 2023 BRICS summit, hosted by South Africa, some time next summer.
    Saudi oil has been a foundation of the American petrodollar since Nixon/Kissinger, and somewhat so since FDR. Argentina keeps defaulting on debt, and could make a fresh start, but mechanisms to avoid another default would need to be in place.
    https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Saudi-Arabia-is-Interested-in-Joining-the-BRICS-20221019-0006.html

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