Mar 082023
 
 March 8, 2023  Posted by at 10:22 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,


Vincent van Gogh Pollard willows at sunset 1888

 

US Spies Say ‘Pro-Ukrainian Group’ Bombed Nord Stream – NYT (RT)
US Intelligence Now Says Pro-Ukraine Mystery Forces Destroyed Nord Stream (ZH)
US Media Leaks On Nord Stream Sabotage Intended Only To Confuse – Russia (TASS)
Russian Lawmaker Calls NYT Article On Nord Stream Sabotage ‘Red Herring’ (TASS)
Support For Aid To Ukraine Declines Across West (RT)
Ukrainian Loses Over 11,000 Troops In February, 40% Jump – Shoigu (TASS)
‘Black Hole’: Ukrainian Army Faces Nightmare In Bakhmut – DPR Adviser (TASS)
US Seeking To Contain China – Xi (RT)
China Staying True To Its Own Politics Amid Global Changes – Top Diplomat (TASS)
Ukraine Crisis Led By ‘Washington’s Hand’ Seeking To Continue Conflict (TASS)
Zelensky Is ‘Just Scum’ – Belarusian President (RT)
US-backed Attempts To Drag Belarus Into Ukraine War To Fail – Lukashenko (TASS)
WHO’s Unprecedented Power to Override National Sovereignty (CHD)
Oh Boy… (Denninger)
Fox News Hit With Election Complaint (RT)
US Lawmakers Call For Declassified Covid Origins Report (RT)

 

 

 

 

Macgregor

 

 

 

 

Julie Kelly

 

 

 

 

Tucker questionnaire

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first significant known lead…..

The New York Times never reported on the Sy Hersh story, How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline. Instead, they come up with a whole new story, without even mentioning Hersh. You’d think that if they found anything untrue in his story, they’d run with that. They did not.

Their anonymous sources claim a private group of “Ukrainian or Russian nationals” hired a boat and did the deed. Even if right after the September 2022 attack, everyone agreed this would have taken a sophisticated state actor. Avoiding detection would have been hard enough, drilling holes into the think concrete wall of the pipes, placing over 1,000 pounds of “military grade” explosives, etc etc. But the purpose of the NYT story is not to prove anything, it’s just to sow doubt about Hersh’s story.

Hersh was adamant that it was the US -and Norway- who conducted the attack. Now there may be Ukrainians or Russians involved. And you don’t have to go into details (as Hersh did) to plant some doubt. But you can state that no Americans were involved. You don’t have to prove that either. You can just say it. “Anonymous sources”. Obviously the NYT has no credibility as long as it ignores Hersh, but the home crowd doesn’t mind as long as they …ignore Hersh. Mum’s the word. That Hersh guy spent months just making it all up, no use addressing that.

US Spies Say ‘Pro-Ukrainian Group’ Bombed Nord Stream – NYT (RT)

Unspecified new intelligence “suggests that a pro-Ukrianian group” was behind the September 2022 attack on Nord Stream pipelines, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, quoting anonymous US officials. The Times’ entirely unnamed sources said they “believed the saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two” and that “no American or British nationals were involved.” They further said they had no evidence Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky or his “top lieutenants” were involved, or that the “any Ukrainian government officials” directed the attack. The anonymous officials could not say who directed or paid for the “operation,” and said it was possible the attack “might have been conducted off the books by a proxy force with connections to the Ukrainian government or its security services.”

The bombs that tore apart three out of four strings of the pipelines under the Baltic Sea were “most likely” planted by experienced divers, “who did not appear to be working for military or intelligence services,” but may have received “specialized government training in the past,” the anonymous officials claimed. They also said US President Joe Biden and his top aides “did not authorize” the attack on Nord Stream and that “there was no US involvement” in it. These statements directly address last month’s report by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, who accused the US of ordering the bombing and planting the explosives. While Western European officials also believe the attack was state-sponsored, “US officials have not stated publicly that they believe the operation was sponsored by a state,” the Times noted.

Some officials see “Ukraine and its allies” as having “the most logical potential motive” to destroy the pipelines. It was unclear who they meant by allies; though Poland has been the most outspoken critic of Nord Stream, the US and the entire NATO bloc have sent more than $100 billion worth of weapons and other aid to Kiev over the past year. “Any findings that put blame on Kyiv or Ukrainian proxies could prompt a backlash in Europe and make it harder for the West to maintain a united front in support of Ukraine,” the Times reporters noted. The Nord Stream explosions happened five weeks after the Moscow car bombing that killed Russian journalist Darya Dugina.

Anonymous US spies told the Times last October they believed “elements” within the Ukrainian government – but not Zelensky – were responsible, but declined to name anyone. Kiev has officially denied any responsibility whatsoever. “After the Nord Stream operation, there was hushed speculation – and worry – in Washington that parts of the Ukrainian government might have been involved in that operation as well,” the Times reported on Tuesday. The anonymous officials who spoke to the paper said there was “no evidence so far” the Ukrainian government was involved, and that President Joe Biden’s trust in Zelensky “has been steadily increasing.” The Times did acknowledge that American intelligence has “limited visibility into Ukrainian decision-making,” despite Kiev’s “deep dependence” on the US.

Read more …

“The CIA alleges that 5 random clowns in a sailboat penetrated the most highly patrolled body of water on earth, drilled through concrete at incredible depths, and planted 1,000 Kilograms of highly unstable C4 plastique, then remote detonated it with pulse sonar.”

US Intelligence Now Says Pro-Ukraine Mystery Forces Destroyed Nord Stream (ZH)

Last month, Pulitzer prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh concluded that the United States blew up the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream natural gas pipelines last September as part of a covert operation under the guise of the BALTOPS 22 NATO exercise. Now, four weeks after Hersh’s bombshell report, anonymous US intelligence officials tell the NY Times that the saboteurs are likely ‘pro-Ukraine, possibly government-trained Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two,’ but that ‘no American or British nationals were involved.’

“U.S. officials said that they had no evidence President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine or his top lieutenants were involved in the operation, or that the perpetrators were acting at the direction of any Ukrainian government officials. [..] U.S. officials said there was much they did not know about the perpetrators and their affiliations. The review of newly collected intelligence suggests they were opponents of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, but does not specify the members of the group, or who directed or paid for the operation. U.S. officials declined to disclose the nature of the intelligence, how it was obtained or any details of the strength of the evidence it contains. They have said that there are no firm conclusions about it, leaving open the possibility that the operation might have been conducted off the books by a proxy force with connections to the Ukrainian government or its security services.” -NY Times

The perpetrators were likely “experienced divers who did not appear to be working for military or intelligence services,” US officials said, adding that “it is possible that the perpetrators received specialized government training in the past.” According to one European lawmaker briefed late last year by his country’s primary foreign intelligence service, over 1,000 pounds of “military grade” explosives were used. ‘But it wasn’t us!’ the US insists. The Times also notes that the implications of Ukrainian involvement in the attack “whether direct or indirect,” which could “upset the delicate relationship between Ukraine and Germany, souring support among a German public that has swallowed high energy prices in the name of solidarity.”

“Since the explosions along the pipelines in September, there has been rampant speculation about what transpired on the sea floor near the Danish island of Bornholm. Poland and Ukraine immediately accused Russia of planting the explosives, but they offered no evidence. Russia, in turn, accused Britain of carrying out the operation — also without evidence. Russia and Britain have denied any involvement in the explosions. [..] Any findings that put blame on Kyiv or Ukrainian proxies could prompt a backlash in Europe and make it harder for the West to maintain a united front in support of Ukraine. U.S. officials and intelligence agencies acknowledge that they have limited visibility into Ukrainian decision-making.” -NYT

Read more …

“First of all, we took notice of the fact that the mentioned article instantly got a ‘green light’ in the local information field, literally being all over the media in a heartbeat.”

US Media Leaks On Nord Stream Sabotage Intended Only To Confuse – Russia (TASS)

US media leaks from anonymous sources about the sabotage attacks on Nord Stream pipelines are intended only to confuse those who are trying to find out the truth, Minister-Counselor of the Russian Embassy in the United States Andrey Ledenev said. Commenting on an article in the New York Times, the diplomat said: “First of all, we took notice of the fact that the mentioned article instantly got a ‘green light’ in the local information field, literally being all over the media in a heartbeat.” “This is especially noteworthy given the attempts of the local officials and journalists to blatantly silence the resonant material of the Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh on the same topic. As well as the administration’s opposition to launching a comprehensive and independent investigation into this act of international terrorism against critical energy infrastructure,” Ledenev was quoted as saying on the Russian embassy’s official Telegram channel.

In his words, “it looks like local authorities have something to hide given the fact they openly threatened the operation of the gas pipelines, and afterwards overtly savored their destruction,” especially since mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and Europe “has always been like a thorn in Washington’s side.” “We have no faith in the ‘impartiality’ of the conclusions of the US intelligence. We perceive anonymous ‘leaks’ as nothing more than an attempt to confuse those who are sincerely trying to get to the bottom of things in this egregious crime. Shift the blame from the statesmen who ordered and coordinated the attacks in the Baltic Sea to some abstract individuals,” the Russian diplomat continued. “We are convinced that in the end justice will prevail. We shall spare no effort for this to happen,” he added.

The New York Times reported earlier on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources, that US intelligence has so far been unable to identify the mastermind of last September’s sabotage attacks that targeted the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which transported natural gas from Russia to Europe. The anonymous officials interviewed by the newspaper said there had been no firm conclusions about those responsible, thus leaving open “the possibility that the operation might have been conducted off the books by a proxy force with connections to the Ukrainian government or its security services.” Meanwhile, Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper wrote that German investigators had allegedly identified the vessel used in the attack. The company that leased it was owned by Ukrainian citizens.

On September 27, 2022, Nord Stream AG reported unprecedented damage that occurred the day before on three strings of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 offshore gas pipelines. On September 26, 2022, Swedish seismologists registered two explosions on the pipeline routes. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office launched a criminal case based on charges of international terrorism.

Read more …

“..leaving open “the possibility that the operation might have been conducted off the books by a proxy force..”

Russian Lawmaker Calls NYT Article On Nord Stream Sabotage ‘Red Herring’ (TASS)

Leonid Slutsky, the head of the Russian State Duma (parliament’s lower chamber) Committee on Foreign Affairs, said Tuesday’s New York Times article suggesting that a pro-Ukrainian group could be behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines was a “yet another red herring.” “The NYT article is a yet another red herring, aimed at distracting the public from real perpetrators by pointing to an abstract rebel group. But who would believe that an operation of this scope, which essentially is of military nature, can be carried out by a previously unknown sabotage group?” Slutsky wrote on his Telegram channel on Tuesday. In his opinion, this article should become a wake-up call for the Kiev government and President Vladimir Zelensky, “indicating that he and his ‘rebels’ will be cast away when the heat is on in Washington.”

The New York Times reported earlier on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources, that US intelligence has so far been unable to identify the mastermind of last September’s sabotage attacks that targeted the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which transported natural gas from Russia to Europe. The anonymous officials interviewed by the newspaper said there had been no firm conclusions about those responsible, thus leaving open “the possibility that the operation might have been conducted off the books by a proxy force with connections to the Ukrainian government or its security services.”

However, Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh on February 8 published an article where he said, citing a source, that explosives under the Russian Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were planted by US Navy divers, helped by Norwegian specialists, under the guise of the Baltops exercise in June. The story stated that the CIA and Burns took part in the preparation of the operation, and US president Joe Biden personally authorized the operation after nine months of deliberations with the administration’s national security staff. On September 27, 2022, Nord Stream AG reported unprecedented damage that occurred the day before on three strings of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 offshore gas pipelines. On September 26, 2022, Swedish seismologists registered two explosions on the pipeline routes. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office launched a criminal case based on charges of international terrorism.

Read more …

Time for a false flag? BTW, where is the western coverage of these polls?

Support For Aid To Ukraine Declines Across West (RT)

A year into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, public support for military and financial assistance to Kiev is in decline in the West, a joint survey by the Economist magazine and the YouGov pollster has shown. Even the most ardent backers of Ukraine are now less enthusiastic about supporting the country, the Economist said in a report revealing the poll results on Monday. Among US Democrats, support for financial aid to Kiev fell from 82% to 75% between April 2022 and February 2023, the poll revealed. Republican support for similar measures almost halved over the same period, from 67% to 39%, it added. Sending battle tanks to Kiev still appeared to be a popular option, as their delivery to Ukraine was supported by 70% of Democrats and just under 50% of Republicans between late January and mid-February 2023.

A poll conducted by the Associated Press in mid-February showed, however, that less than a half of Americans support military aid to Kiev. Public backing for further restrictions against Moscow that could increase the cost of living in Europe has seen a sharp decline in major European nations over the past year, according to the poll. In February 2022, 45% of Britons said they would favour such sanctions, but in December 2022 the level of support for the measures dropped to 35% in the UK. In Germany, it fell from almost 40% to less than 30% over the same period, while Spain, Italy and France followed a similar trend. Another poll published by YouGov two weeks ago, on February 24, showed that people in some European nations, including France and Italy, tend to favor a negotiated solution to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, over supporting Ukraine for “as long as it takes.”

In Italy, 47% of respondents said they would like to see a negotiated end of the fighting, even if it means Kiev having to cede control over some territories it considers its own to Russia. In France, 38% of people supported this option. Only 29% of Italians and 37% of the French believed Kiev should be supported further, even if it means the conflict will last longer. Major European nations also saw a decline in support for almost all types of aid to Kiev over the second half of 2022. Most Europeans also believed that conflict had reached a stalemate, with Spanish citizens believing Russia was gaining the upper hand in it. The idea that Kiev is winning the conflict was shared by only a small minority in the European nations covered by the poll.

Read more …

“..it’s surprising how the Kiev regime doesn’t care about its people, tolerating any cost to human life to please its Western handlers..”

No problem, we’ll say the same about Russia…

Ukrainian Loses Over 11,000 Troops In February, 40% Jump – Shoigu (TASS)

The losses of Ukrainian troops jumped by 40% in February, surpassing 11,000 people, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said during a conference call with top commanders of the Russian armed forces. “There’s considerable growth of losses among the personnel of the Ukrainian armed forces. In February alone, they increased by more than 40% compared with January and totaled more than 11,000 servicemen. In connection with this, it’s surprising how the Kiev regime doesn’t care about its people, tolerating any cost to human life to please its Western handlers,” he said.


The minister said it continues to be a priority for the Russian armed forces to preserve the lives and health of its personnel and civilians. Shoigu also said Russian troops will continue to perform missions as part of the special operation. The West, as part of the US strategy to “break Russia by force of weapons,” in ramping up arms shipments to Kiev but that doesn’t result in Ukrainian achievements on the battlefield, Shoigu said.

Read more …

“Zelensky has long called it a fortress city, the loss of which, in principle, would be tantamount to the loss of the frontline. This fortress city has now turned into a black hole that sucks in enemy manpower..”

‘Black Hole’: Ukrainian Army Faces Nightmare In Bakhmut – DPR Adviser (TASS)

The city of Artyomovsk (Ukrainian name – Bakhmut), which Kiev has for some time described as the Ukrainian forces’ impregnable fortress has turned into a veritable “black hole,” Yan Gagin, an adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, said on the Rossiya-24 round-the-clock TV news channel. “He [Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky] has long called it a fortress city, the loss of which, in principle, would be tantamount to the loss of the frontline. This fortress city has now turned into a black hole that sucks in enemy manpower,” Gagin said. Artyomovsk is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the DPR. Fierce battles for the city are in progress.


According to the latest reports, the Russian forces have cut off or taken under fire control all paved roads to the city. Spring slush and mud greatly impede the delivery of supplies to Ukrainian troops in the city. On February 20, Zelensky vowed that the Ukrainian army would fight for Artyomovsk “as long as it is reasonable.” Additional units continue to be brought to the city. As retired Lieutenant-Colonel of the Lugansk People’s Republic’s militia Andrey Marochko told TASS, Kiev has even sent some under-age conscripts to the area of hostilities. On Monday, Gagin said that the Ukrainian troops in Artyomovsk were trapped just like they were in Debaltsevo in 2015.

Read more …

“He compared the US government to an athlete trying to trip their opponent instead of giving its best performance.”

US Seeking To Contain China – Xi (RT)

Chinese President Xi Jinping has publicly criticized the US and accused it of leading a Western attempt to “contain” his country. Foreign Minister Qin Gang also warned Washington to “hit the brakes” or risk “conflict and confrontation. “Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our nation’s development,” Xi said in a rare verbal attack on Monday, as quoted by state media. The Chinese leader was meeting with industry and business groups during an annual gathering of an advisory body to the Communist Party. His speech focused on the national economy, with the remark about Washington’s policy illustrating what he called “uncertain and unpredictable factors” in the international environment, which also included the Covid-19 pandemic.

Xi normally refrains from targeted criticism of the US. Michael Swaine, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told the New York Times that, to his knowledge, it was the first time the Chinese leader “has publicly come out and identified the US as taking such actions.” Meanwhile, another senior Chinese official accused Washington of using underhanded tactics on Tuesday. “The US claims that it seeks to out-compete China but does not seek conflict. Yet in reality, its so-called ‘competition’ means to contain and suppress China in all respects,” Foreign Minister Qin Gang said in a speech on the sidelines of an ongoing session of the Chinese legislature. He compared the US government to an athlete trying to trip their opponent instead of giving its best performance.

Washington wants Beijing not to push back when it is targeted by such action or slander, the minister suggested, adding that this was not possible. The US trajectory could lead to a disaster that no guardrails would be able to prevent, he warned. “If the US does not hit the brakes, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there will surely be conflict and confrontation,” said Qin, who previously served as the Chinese ambassador to the US. Washington has accused Beijing of undermining a “rules-based order” with its policies and imposed a number of economic restrictions, including last year’s ban on exporting certain semiconductors to the country. Tensions escalated further last month after Washington accused the country of flying a “spy balloon” over American soil, which China said was just a stray weather aircraft.

Mao Ning

Read more …

“Beijing will always contribute to maintaining peace on the planet and preserving the existing world order..”

China Staying True To Its Own Politics Amid Global Changes – Top Diplomat (TASS)

Authorities in China will stick to an independent policy course against the backdrop of the drastic changes underway in the international arena, China’s top diplomat Qin Gang said on Tuesday. “Major changes, unseen in the past 100 years, are taking place globally. Under the circumstances, China will pursue a peaceful and independent foreign policy and stick to mutually advantageous strategies,” Qin told a press conference during the annual plenary meetings of the country’s top advisory and legislative bodies underway in Beijing this week. Beijing will always contribute to maintaining peace on the planet and preserving the existing world order, Qin added.


The first session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s parliament) kicked off on Sunday and it will end on March 13. It coincided with the work of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top political advisor. This week, Chinese lawmakers and advisors are discussing key issues surrounding the country’s social and economic development, and coordinating domains for further reform. The sessions will result in the election of new top officials, including the Chinese vice-president and the premier of the State Council.

Read more …

No invisible hand.

Ukraine Crisis Led By ‘Washington’s Hand’ Seeking To Continue Conflict (TASS)

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov disagreed with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s opinion that the crisis in Ukraine was orchestrated by “an invisible hand.” According to the spokesman, it is the hand of the United States, which does not want the military conflict in Ukraine to end. “Here, perhaps, we can disagree with our Chinese friends,” Peskov told reporters at a briefing, commenting on the statement of the Chinese Foreign Minister. At the same time, the Kremlin spokesman made it clear right away that the disagreement was a joke.


“You know what the joke is? This is not an invisible hand, in fact, this hand is quite visible. This is the hand of the United States, the hand of Washington. Washington does not want this war to end, Washington wants and will do everything to continue this war. That is why this hand is visible,” Peskov said. Earlier on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said at the annual press conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress session that efforts to promote negotiations between Russia and Ukraine had failed. According to him, “an invisible hand is pushing the conflict towards further prolongation and escalation and is trying to use the crisis in Ukraine for its geopolitical purposes.”

Read more …

“If you think that by challenging us this way you’ll be able to drag us into the war tomorrow… then you are mistaken.”

Zelensky Is ‘Just Scum’ – Belarusian President (RT)

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has lashed out at his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky, accusing him of attempting to drag Belarus into Kiev’s conflict with Moscow. On Tuesday, Lukashenko told the media that a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft sustained minor damage in a drone attack on the Machulishchy air base in Belarus last week, adding that the assault had been carried out by a “terrorist” recruit of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). “There can be only one conclusion… President Zelensky is just scum. Just scum, as such operations are never carried out without the consent of the head of state and the commander-in-chief. I am telling you this as a president,” the Belarusian leader said.

The exact word that Lukashenko used was “gnida”, which is Russian for louse egg or nit. According to Lukashenko, Zelensky “has been making circles around Belarus” and talking about signing “a non-aggression pact” between Kiev and Minsk under the auspices of the UN, but “at the same time” doing things like this. “I know that they want to drag us into the war on the order of the Americans,” Lukashenko said. In a comment addressing Zelensky’s government, he stated: “If you think that by challenging us this way you’ll be able to drag us into the war tomorrow… then you are mistaken.”

The Belarusian leader first revealed that Ukraine had offered “a non-aggression pact” to his country in late January. Back then, Lukashenko said such an agreement would have been excessive, as Minsk had no aggressive plans against its neighbor. Belarus is a close ally of Russia, with the two countries creating a joint military grouping on Belarusian territory in the fall. According to Minsk, this was needed to address perceived threats from the West, which he said is eager to involve Belarus in the Ukrainian conflict in order to extend the frontline and stretch the resources of the Russian forces.

Read more …

“..if you think that having thrown down this challenge you will drag us into the war which is already underway across the entire Europe, you are wrong..”

US-backed Attempts To Drag Belarus Into Ukraine War To Fail – Lukashenko (TASS)

Kiev is seeking to drag Belarus into the conflict in Ukraine on instructions from Washington but will not be able to do so, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday. “If they plan to do it (and I know that they are seeking to drag us into the war on commands from the Americans), if you think that having thrown down this challenge you will drag us into the war which is already underway across the entire Europe, you are wrong,” the BelTA news agency quoted him as saying. Earlier on Tuesday, Lukashenko said that an agent of the Ukrainian special services and more than 20 of his accomplices had been detained in Belarus following an attempted act of sabotage against an A-50 long-range radar surveillance and control aircraft of the Russian aerospace forces. According to the Belarusian president, the plane did not sustain “any serious damage, but for, as they say, scratches and a hole in the hull.” Belarus has asked the Russian side to take this plane in for repairs and send another such plane instead, which was done.

Read more …

• “Empowering the WHO’s Emergency Committee “to override decisions made by sovereign nations regarding health measures.”

WHO’s Unprecedented Power to Override National Sovereignty (CHD)

Two World Health Organization (WHO) committees recently convened to discuss proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) and the “zero draft” of a new global “pandemic treaty.” Media have focused primarily on the pandemic treaty, with the Biden administration recently reaffirming its commitment to finalizing it, and with The Associated Press (AP) reporting the treaty would not threaten national sovereignty. However, some experts warn the public should be more concerned about the proposed IHR amendments — which are more likely to be adopted — as they would give the WHO unprecedented power over national governments and override national sovereignty. Experts also say there are clear differences between the proposed IHR amendments and the pandemic treaty, even though the two are often conflated in public discourse.

Previous versions of the IHR have been in place since 1969. The current version was first enacted in 2005, in the aftermath of SARS-CoV-1. IHR amendments a ‘clear and present danger’ According to author and researcher James Roguski, “It seems nearly everyone is having difficulty maintaining clarity between the proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations and the proposed ‘Pandemic Treaty.’” Roguski, who has extensively researched both proposals, recently wrote on his blog that the “Zero Draft” of the Pandemic Treaty “is a real thing” but is also “a skillfully crafted decoy” designed to draw attention away from the proposed IHR amendments. He called these amendments — which the WHO’s Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) discussed on Feb. 20-24 — “a clear and present danger.”

According to Reclaim the Net, the WHO, through the proposed IHR amendments, is “pushing to greatly expand its surveillance powers,” including requiring states to build “collaborative surveillance networks.” “The unelected health agency also wants increased influence over the targeting of ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’” via the proposed amendments. According to the Brownstone Institute, the proposed amendments would “expand the definitions of pandemics [and] health emergencies, including the introduction of ‘potential’ for harm rather than actual harm” and would change the recommendations of the IHR for states “from ‘non-binding’ to mandatory.” The WHO’s director general would be empowered to “independently declare emergencies, and would grant the WHO “control over certain country resources.”

A total of 307 IHR amendments have been proposed. On his blog, Roguski compiled a list of the top 10 reasons to oppose the amendments. These include:
• Changing the WHO “from an advisory organization … to a governing body whose proclamations would be legally binding.” (Articles 1 and 42)
• Removing language preserving “respect for dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of people.” (Article 3)
• Giving the WHO “authority to require medical examinations, proof of prophylaxis, proof of vaccine and to implement contact tracing, quarantine and treatment.” (Article 18)
• Instituting “a system of global health certificates in digital or paper format.” (multiple articles and annexes)
• Empowering the WHO’s Emergency Committee “to override decisions made by sovereign nations regarding health measures.” (Article 43)

Read more …

“The Brady decision by the USSC makes clear that the prosecution must turn over all evidence they have which exculpates a defendant. It’s not optional and it dates to 1963.”

Oh Boy… (Denninger)

Well now there’s a problem. Tucker has released video that pretty-much blows a hole in the entire January 6th narrative. In fact, it blows it up, sets it alight and watches it burn to ash. This is a serious problem for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the number of people sitting in prison — or convicted on connived, false claims with no ability for their defense to access the evidence proving that in many cases they were escorted. At worst most of these people are guilty of trespass, but even there you likely can’t make it stick as trespass is voided if you’re invited or chaperoned, and its quite clear that at least in some cases — they are. There’s another problem too: The Brady decision by the USSC makes clear that the prosecution must turn over all evidence they have which exculpates a defendant. It’s not optional and it dates to 1963.


The violations here are severe and in fact it appears basically universal. Indeed the definition of malicious prosecution is to bring a case before the court where you know the exculpatory evidence is so strong you’d never win a conviction and you intentionally withhold it from the defense. That opens up the DOJ and even the individuals involved to personal liability. I have no idea how the DOJ thought they’d get away with this indefinitely, but apparently they did think they would. Well, not any more. Now the question becomes if the government will not live to its own laws, what remains? It’s not a pleasant question to ponder, but ponder it we must, and the implications do not just extend to January 6th. Unfortunately.

Read more …

They had the counter-attack ready on the shelf. Took just one day.

“MMFA has gone after Carlson numerous times, accusing him of everything from “election denial” to racism…”

Fox News Hit With Election Complaint (RT)

Media Matters for America has filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against Fox News, claiming the cable network has provided an illegal contribution to the Republican Party in the 2020 US election. MMFA’s head talked up the complaint on Monday, as Fox aired previously unavailable footage of the January 6 Capitol riot. Fox operates “more like a partisan operation than a news network,” Angelo Carusone told Democracy Now! on Monday evening, adding he anticipated “a lot more” FEC complaints going forward. The MMFA is basing its complaint on one of the documents produced in the ongoing defamation lawsuit against the cable network by Dominion Voting Systems, which is seeking $1.6 billion in damages. According to the discovery in that trial, Fox owner Rupert Murdoch gave then-President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, “confidential information” about a campaign ad for Democrat Joe Biden.

MMFA is arguing that the FEC “press exemption” would not apply in this case, and that Murdoch’s act amounts to “an illegal corporate in-kind contribution.” “If you try to get around that disclosure law… by giving something that is the equivalent of money, that you would need to spend money on, or that could be considered something of value for a political campaign, you’re either not supposed to do it or it’s supposed to be disclosed,” Carusone told Democracy Now! Carusone’s interview coincided with Fox News showing video from the 2021 riot at the US Capitol, which the new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy – a California Republican – provided to Tucker Carlson, the most-watched evening news host in the US. The footage Carlson aired directly contradicted the narratives about the Capitol “insurrection” put forth by Biden and the Democrats.

MMFA has gone after Carlson numerous times, accusing him of everything from “election denial” to racism. The Republican National Committee has previously complained to the FEC that Twitter had given an in-kind contribution to the Democrats in the 2020 election, by censoring the New York Post’s factually true story about Hunter Biden’s laptop. Biden, the Democrats and MMFA denounced the report – falsely, as it turned out – as “Russian disinformation.” The RNC filed their claim in October 2020, just weeks before the election. The FEC rejected it, without explanation, in September 2021.

Tucker 2
https://twitter.com/i/status/1633276073155674114

Read more …

“..urging for an international probe into the matter within the United States following similar investigations in the People’s Republic.”

US Lawmakers Call For Declassified Covid Origins Report (RT)

The US House Intelligence Committee has adopted its own version of a bill seeking to force the government to declassify all that it knows about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, namely information that relates to a major virology lab in China, from which US officials have claimed the virus originally escaped. A Senate-approved bill moving through Congress was given a rubber stamp by the Republican-controlled intel committee on Tuesday, aiming to require Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to “make available to the public as much information as possible” about the beginnings of the virus, as well as “any and all information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology” and Covid-19.

“The American public deserves answers to every aspect of the Covid-19 pandemic, including how this virus was graded and specifically, whether it was a natural occurrence or was the result of a lab-related event,” committee chairman Mike Turner said. “The intelligence community does have more information about Covid-19 than the public has seen.” The legislation was approved unanimously by the committee and will now head for a floor vote in the House, after which it would be destined for President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature. The GOP-led push to declassify information follows an updated assessment by the Department of Energy, which recently concluded the virus likely leaked from the Wuhan lab, though the department only endorsed that theory with “low confidence.”

Days later, FBI Director Christopher Wray appeared on Fox News to declare that Covid-19 “most likely” emerged from the virology facility, citing a bureau report that has not been made public. Republican Senators Josh Hawley and Mike Braun initially proposed similar legislation in 2021, and though the bill was passed in the upper chamber, it was never enacted into law. It was reintroduced and passed again overwhelmingly last week. “The Senate already passed my bill with [Hawley] to make every bit of evidence we know about the Covid lab leak declassified for the American people to see the facts without corporate or government censors. President Biden needs to declassify everything we know today,” Braun wrote in a tweet in late February, soon after the Wall Street Journal was first to report the Energy Department’s revised conclusion.

Though the original bill never received the president’s signature, so far the White House has not given any indication it will veto the measure. Beijing, for its part, has vocally denied suggestions the pathogen escaped from the Wuhan virology lab, rejecting the theory as a way to smear China’s image abroad. On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Washington of “spreading myths” about the origins of the pandemic, urging for an international probe into the matter within the United States following similar investigations in the People’s Republic.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Bamboozle

 

 

Chirodectes maculatus

 

 

Young

 

 


Crocodile with perfect camouflage – Jens Cullmann

 

 

Trolling

 

 

Arnie

 

 

 

 

Support the Automatic Earth in virustime with Paypal, Bitcoin and Patreon.

 

 

 

 

 

Home Forums Debt Rattle March 8 2023

  • This topic has 63 replies, 25 voices, and was last updated 1 year ago by Germ.
Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 62 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #130757

    Vincent van Gogh Pollard willows at sunset 1888   • US Spies Say ‘Pro-Ukrainian Group’ Bombed Nord Stream – NYT (RT) • US Intelligence Now Says P
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle March 8 2023]

    #130758
    Germ
    Participant
    #130759
    Formerly T-Bear
    Participant

    @ John Day 7 March 2023 #130740

    Not going through the filtration of zerohedge.com, doubtlessly another Alphabet connivance, the referred RT stated:

    Unspecified new intelligence “suggests that a pro-Ukrianian group” was behind the September 2022 attack on Nord Stream pipelines, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, quoting anonymous US officials.

    The Times’ unnamed sources said they “believed the saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two” and that “no American or British nationals were involved.” They further said they had no evidence Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky or his “top lieutenants” were involved, or that the “any Ukrainian government officials” directed the attack.

    The anonymous officials could not say who directed or paid for the “operation,” and said it was possible the attack “might have been conducted off the books by a proxy force with connections to the Ukrainian government or its security services.”

    (…)

    This reads unidentified spies (known to lie), inform unknown group (a lie) was responsible for the destruction of NS and NSII (fact) being supporters of Ukrain (fact). Diverting attention from Seymour Hersh to imagined perpetrators (a lie) attempts to whitewash the Whitehouse (executive branch) (still a lie). The German, Swede and Danish investigators have provided ‘No evidence of any Russian involvement’ (fact).

    That space, the wasteland, between Mexico and Canada is nothing but lies, top to bottom, beginning with the godhead of reference (self-serving lie), through governance (populated by professional liars) down to the local dog-catcher, if elected, Rare indeed is an employer that employs lies in their business dealings, and the management they use (sugar coated lies). Social intercourse employs crafted networks of lies as do familial finely woven weavings down to the lies one tells the mirror and the lies the mirror reflects. So often one tells themselves things other than facts most of the time. It is not elephants all the way down making up the universe, it is lies – all the way. YMMV

    That is my understanding, sir. Identifiers were appended to unknown ‘Pro-Ukrainian’ group. The shoe fits – perfectly (fact). How any can anything prosper, so fertilised by lies everywhere, all the time? Reality has no chance in a world where it is not intact and facts can be trusted; even the language has been contaminated with fungible meanings. Your world, not mine; that is what I understand.
    The complete link to RT should be read and whatever is not a fact should be considered a lie:
    https://www.rt.com/russia/572605-nord-stream-nyt-ukraine-link/

    #130760
    oxymoron
    Participant

    I’ve seen enough people throw away their futures for hateful beliefs Arnie
    Well Big guy – I’ve seen alot of hateful beliefs fire right up again during 2020-2021 and I am seeing people’s futures thrown away too buddy so we have a ways to go yet.

    #130761
    Oroboros
    Participant

    It turns out robbers and thieves have historically used masks during holdups

    Who coulda guessed?

    I guess the ‘savannah monkeys’ ;>) of NYC finally connected the dots!

    .

    #130762
    Dr. D
    Participant

    “”Worst Violent Crime Surge In Three Centuries”: Op-Ed Says Philly Dem Voters Owe The City “An Apology”

    However can that happen? Don’t they vote for the most intelligent, caring people ever? The most enlightened generation since Christ himself? (That hateful bigot). Well I’ve got a solution: MORE! Harder! It didn’t work the last 50 years because it wasn’t “Real” Progressivism! Poverty, Racism, Crime, shattered families, ruined lives, it’s all because we didn’t do ENOUGH! We need more the same of what got us here! Much more! That’ll fix’er. One thing we must NOT do, it never, ever look at any of the times and places — including today — where things DO work. Never. That wouldn’t be Progressive. You might choose a path I didn’t already decide for you.

    “’As Easy as Ordering Pizza’: How Fentanyl-Laced Pills Are Killing America’s Youth”

    More! Open borders have been going GREAT! No problems at all!!! Doing all social support via the government hasn’t cause social problems, suicide, drug addition, overdoses to rise 100-fold! Not one bit! It’s a huge coincidence that it all started at the same time and tracks exactly.

    “GOP To Use “Power Of The Purse” Against FBI: Rep. Jim Jordan
    …a spokesperson from the FBI said the agency does not “conduct investigations based on a person’s views.”

    “Chicago Dad Who Spoke Out Against Porn In Schools Faces Extra Security Screening En Route To CPAC”

    Huh. Funny that’s not what he said. Or the School Boards. Or anyone else I know. It’s almost like the government is lying or something.

    The New York Times never reported on the Sy Hersh story,”

    Yes obviously, so much, much worse than that. They’re essentially denying Sy Hersh and his story exist altogether. But it IS the NY Times, “So you Know It’s False™” Just have to figure out how.

    “but the home crowd doesn’t mind as long as they …ignore Hersh.”

    Any way to support the lies; we’re on it. 100% support.

    As everyone has said: Yes it IS a “Pro-Ukraininan group.” And that group is the United States out of the Navy training in Panama.

    ““The CIA alleges that 5 random clowns in a sailboat penetrated the most highly patrolled body of water on earth, drilled through concrete at incredible depths, and planted 1,000 Kilograms of highly unstable C4 plastique, then remote detonated it with pulse sonar.”

    Yup. And even so that is SO much more plausible than most of their stories. The Skripals, for instance. Or Covid. As above, the only thing that matters is that people WANT to believe. You can’t con someone who doesn’t want to be conned. If they WANT to be conned, lied to, you barely have to do anything. Isn’t that really a victimless crime? I mean, when I take all their money, aren’t I just doing what THEY really wanted?

    “Since the explosions along the pipelines in September, there has been rampant speculation about what transpired on the sea floor”

    That’s odd: I remember Sweden got down there, looked at the whole thing, then pulled the pipes up to shore. And they don’t know what happened? They have no release, so I assume they have literally no idea at all. Must have been the Bolivians. Or maybe aliens.

    “literally being all over the media in a heartbeat.”

    Yeah, this is how you figure things now. Ohio was NOT all over the news. Ever almost. That suggests it wasn’t planned. J6 was all over in minutes — Twitter censored it, the President, IN REAL TIME — and remained for 2 years – even as nothing happened and no one was killed except one protester by police. That’s how you know it was planned.

    Heck, pretty regularly we see them print the articles BEFORE the event. Pre-written. That’s how these lazy sods can release them all in 24 hours, since otherwise their crayons wear out and they can’t have their mommies check their work.

    I for one appreciate their stunning transparency. I’m just disappointed others don’t see the meta-story as the real story and decipher it accurately 1,000 miles away, hiding under a bridge the way I do.

    “In Italy, 47% of respondents said they would like to see a negotiated end of the fighting, even if it means Kiev having to cede control over some territories it considers its own”

    Yeah, that was an option in January 2022. Maybe even March. That’s not an option for almost a year now, but they’re so divorced from reality, they neither realize, nor care. …Nor ask, actually. Remember the whole UN delegation of 100 countries that got up and ran away when Russia arrived? Yeah, that’ll larn ‘em. They won 200 miles of front line and saved 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers with that one.

    …OMG, the stupid, make it stop. We win wars by not letting Brittany sit with us at lunch period.

    “This fortress city has now turned into a black hole that sucks in enemy manpower..”

    They chose it, not me. The Russians are merely accommodating their wishes. They can stop any time.

    He compared the US government to an athlete trying to trip their opponent instead of giving its best performance.”

    Well they COULD bring back manufacturing, employ black people, restore the United States and make it great again, but that was the OTHER guy’s platform. We can’t have that. So therefore, we need to fight and destroy China…with a U.S. that’s already weakened and destroyed. Because that’s how you win wars! With a weak nation, weak culture, weak army!

    And before you attack, you call them on the phone. Isn’t that right, Milley?

    “a global leader in high-tech industries but the competition must be fair.”

    Hahahaha! As if China’s competition has ever been fair! But like Cheeto said: “I don’t fault them for taking advantage of us! If we, Joe, Obama, lets them!” Why shouldn’t’ they? When has any nation played truly fair? Trust, but verify. Set up structures that enforce and assure actual fairness. We don’t, and China doesn’t either. We should probably go back to that. Why? Just because it works? Like law, we don’t do that anymore, “It Works” is our sworn enemy.

    “China will pursue a peaceful and independent foreign policy and stick to mutually advantageous strategies,”

    Suuuuuure they will. …Until they don’t. Once they have the upper hand, they will abuse it like every other nation in world history. So how about we don’t seat anybody in that position, okay?

    Belarus says Zelensky is “Lousy”? That seems pretty mild.

    “Media Matters for America has filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against Fox News, claiming the cable network has provided an illegal contribution to the Republican Party in the 2020 US election.”

    That can’t be right. When we said the 99% pro-DNC coverage from MSNBC, Twitter, and others were like-kind campaign contribution, they said that was cray-cray. Again, we appear to have one side that has ZERO interest in or respect for hypocrisy, in this case Justice and Rule of Law. That is: Laws are applied equally. It’s POWER, and the purpose of power is POWER. I don’t care what I have to say if you give me POWER. It seems the other side more often falls to principle, equal application of “the rules.”

    What can I say? This is why calling out more or less non-stop hypocrisy has no effect. Because they don’t care. The end justifies the means, you see. I am perfectly good, therefore all my actions are likewise perfectly good. I have good intent, so therefore my bad actions are justified. Clothed in the blood of the lamb, so to speak. Or lamb’s clothing, same thing.

    US Lawmakers Call for Declassified Covid Origins Report (RT) “

    Um, why was it classified to begin with? Why would it be National Security to know that a bat kissed a pangolin and killed everybody? Wait: unless…it WASN’T???

    Why would it be National Security to find out that China has crappy labs that accidentally released a virus? That’s not OUR National Security, we would have every reason to admit that. …Unless it WASN’T?

    Come to think of it, under what narrow condition would it EVER be National Security to classify and hide it? 1) We made it. 2) We paid for it. 3) We released it.

    Huh, that’s funny because we have Fauci and Dazask check stubs that say they did EXACTLY this? What’re the odds?!? And Fauci, in the CDC has high-level national classification powers? Wait, that can’t be right! So the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, the Pentagon, State Department, THEY hid Fauci’s check stubs for him,because they’re innocent and had nothing to do with it? …Unless they weren’t???

    Use your head, people. That’s what it’s there for. WHO classified? How? Why? Wray seems to have just UN-classified. Why? Why now? Cause he only JUST found out this week? …Unless he didn’t.

    Elephants: Yeah I see how kind and gentle nature is. They never just destroy things, knock down and kill trees for no reason or nothin’. Only baddie-bad humans – post ‘civilization’ of course – do that.

    Arnold: Gee, sounds like Covid. Which you approved. Sounds like political correctness. Which you enforced. Sounds like a strong central state trampling human rights. Which you support. Yawn, yeah. “It can’t happen here.” “If we don’t look out, somethin’ might happen!” We might start aggressive foreign wars and lock up journalists n’ stuff! We might start free eugenics and euthanasia in Canada! Support sterilizing children!

    Yeah, whatever. I can’t stand the words because it only tells me how un-credibly, how not-possibly blind he is. …And I just can’t believe that. Since I can’t believe that, my only conclusion is: he knows. And he approves. Of the Auschwitz he speaks of, and has done everything in his power in California to make it so.

    …And isn’t he a Republican?

    #130763
    Dr. D
    Participant

    PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — The National Alliance of Mental Illness says that teen suicide rates are higher than the national average in Arizona, where 17% of high school students say they’ve seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. “Kids are absorbing everything around them. They are learning.”

    What are they learning? Oh, people like Zinn. On purpose. Not Cato. Not Cincinnatus. Not Lao Tzu. Only Zinn and other S… well, you know what I’m saying. People who are of the same affiliation as journalists and professors. Why?

    “Thinking” is like your software system, on, let’s say a ship traveling through space. Although the hardware is down there, almost all the functions are operated through the software, the code, the language that was written. The essential premises that a door is a door and an airlock goes outside, and oxygen is important.

    What somebody has done is to inject false premises into the code. Small ones, big ones. Theoretical ones, real ones like those that run the water treatment or whether oxygen is good. When they do this, although the hardware remains sound at first – until the bad commands tell it to melt down the food and heat units, tell it crazy glue is oil and should be rubbed on doors – the software slowly makes the whole ship not work. A little at first, then more later on.

    Of course they know this, living on the ship as well. That the bad ‘thinking” with bad premises, definitions, will kill the whole crew if let go long enough. And it doesn’t attack all equally: obviously people closest to the software — in our case smart people — are closer to the risk and are more likely to be killed. People with jobs far away from the software, doing manual work, are less likely to be attacked and misled by the bad software.

    And so it is in school, in Phoenix Public school, where you not have 17% of the kids considering suicide. Why? We never had this problem before we injected the bad software. Because the world now makes no sense. Because, as they say “Kids are absorbing everything around them.” And because it makes no sense, our attempted efforts in life all come to ruin. Our dreams fail, even the simple ones. Work is punished, crime is rewarded. One day you’re punished for using the word ‘man’, next day, punished for not using it. Blindly following “the Software”, the “authorities” become the very source of your punishments, yet appeals go no where, no judge listens or makes it all up just as senselessly, and the world is unfair, senseless. Pointless in fact. People are so screwed up they can actually don’t know up from down, left from right, right from wrong, a man from a woman. Everyone is miserable. Their lives, destroyed.

    All I have to do is corrupt the “code”, the definitions, the premises, the words.

    Why would I do this? Besides being hilarious and always pleasurable to watch, no one is going to scrap the code on a working space ship mid-flight unless the existing code is so bad, causes so many problems that they have to reject and abandon it altogether. Then, because I’m the cause, they will use MY code. I preplanned it, and have it all ready to go. And when I’m the king I’ll make them pay. They’ll all be very sorry. I’ll add the “cheat codes” with more rations for myself, more power over life and death, and heck, I’ll treat myself to your daughters from Band Camp too.

    Now who is the most damaged by this particular attack? As we know the age of most people here, you tell me if this sounds familiar: The brightest people, the most talented and capable, start doing drugs in school to deal with the pure insanity and relentless injustice. The most sensitive are the most hurt by words, most wrapped up by a bad label put on them. They drop acid and skip class, go out seeking something else. Take up bad, irrational habits, chase love and relief. One by one “the kids are not alright”, and succumb to depression, suicide, overdose, despair. Sound like anything any of us have seen in school since 1970? Although not prospering, the human plough horses do less badly as being wrapped up in the mental world isn’t their life and they prefer more practical things. However, like Idiocracy, they can’t help but fail when Brawndo shuts off the food and water system in Ohio.

    Lives ruined, merely by LIES. Hacking the code. Replacing definitions and logic until they are like jelly. A jelly in MY hands, the word-programmer. All for a PLAN, and the Plan is to make me rich and powerful, ruling over you mere mortals with my superior intellect. An Ubermensch, in fact. And you don’t suspect a thing.

    Overlerd

    So, knowing everything has gotten worse every day, we still keep trying the same thing, going the same direction instead of gong back to what worked and was at least “less bad”. Any ideas why? Why if the suicide rate goes up 10-fold nobody cares, parents are all good, no one in society has the least impulse to reverse course and try something different?

    No? Well, I’ll let you all die then, I guess. Your kids will be found a few days later dead and blue. You won’t listen to me, so just keep going where you’re going. Just know this: you can stop any time you like. Just remove the bad premises, correct the faulty definitions, tell the truth for a change and your children stop dying, stop killing themselves because of you, and the whole world can be prosperous and make sense again. Any time you like.

    “Arizona’s teen suicide rate has increased by 25% in the past three years, according to a new report.”

    “The latest numbers show the U.S. is losing 20 teens a day to suicide. “

    A mass shooting a day? And Nothing? Well, carry on then, maybe it’ll sink in for you later.

    What is it? Bad software. A Civil war of the Mind. The consequence of LIES. …You know, like the ones Zinn tells, and told to kill me. Unlike the bright classmates all shot up or dead, unlike the 30,000 a year who fall to him by opioids alone, I survived. And I’m not feeling all that especially forgiving about it.

    The teen suicide rate for Arizona has increased every year from 2009 to 2015, a staggering 81%.”

    Like “Death by coincidence” starting on an exact day in December 2021, whatever could it possibly be whose “staggering” appearance occurred in 2009?

    The first-generation iPhone was announced by then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007.”

    That is, ideas. Software. Information. LIES. Yet we do MORE of it, not less. We pay more for it on purpose, instead of denying in limiting it. Any idea why? I paid $1,000, took out a payment plan, to make SURE my kids had a 20% increase in suicide. Thanks Zinn. And Gore, and Greta, and Ze. You’re a real friend to all humanity.

    #130764
    Tree Frog
    Participant

    Is it not possible to thread comments at TAE?

    #130765
    zerosum
    Participant

    Evidence is what I say
    What anyone else says, that is contradictory, is misinformation/wrong/a lie.

    • US Media Leaks On Nord Stream Sabotage Intended Only To Confuse – Russia (TASS)

    ———–
    the Kiev regime doesn’t care about its people
    Economy, infrastructures, housing, services, jobs, income, have been reduced/destroyed, so much, by war, that only the leadership can continue their standard of living by begging money from NATO and the Monetary Fund.

    ———-
    Since 2014, Artyomovsk/Bakhmut, has been built as an impregnable fortress to kill the Russians
    On Monday, Gagin said that the Ukrainian troops in Artyomovsk were trapped.
    ———–
    China …. election ….. must be a lie …. its a dictatorship
    • China Staying True To Its Own Politics Amid Global Changes – Top Diplomat (TASS)

    The first session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s parliament) kicked off on Sunday and it will end on March 13. It coincided with the work of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top political advisor. This week, Chinese lawmakers and advisors are discussing key issues surrounding the country’s social and economic development, and coordinating domains for further reform. The sessions will result in the election of new top officials, including the Chinese vice-president and the premier of the State Council.
    ——–

    USA is the land of the free and of justice
    https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=248271
    Well now there’s a problem.

    Tucker has released video that pretty-much blows a hole in the entire January 6th narrative. In fact, it blows it up, sets it alight and watches it burn to ash.

    At worst most of these people are guilty of trespass, but even there you likely can’t make it stick as trespass is voided if you’re invited or chaperoned, and its quite clear that at least in some cases — they are.

    There’s another problem too: The Brady decision by the USSC makes clear that the prosecution must turn over all evidence they have which exculpates a defendant. It’s not optional and it dates to 1963. The violations here are severe and in fact it appears basically universal.

    Now the question becomes if the government will not live to its own laws, what remains?
    —————-

    #130766
    Doc Robinson
    Participant

    “…Arizona, where 17% of high school students say they’ve seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year.”

    As far as book recommendations could go, I highly recommend “The Teenage Liberation Handbook” by Grace Llewellyn.

    the power & magic of adolescence vs. the insufferable tedium of school

    “Youth is the time to go flashing from one end of the world to the other both in mind and body; to try the manners of different nations; to hear the chimes at midnight; to see sunrise in town and country; to be converted at a revival; to circumnavigate the metaphysics, write halting verses, run a mile to see a fire, and wait all day long in the theatre to applaud ‘Hernani.’ — Robert Louis Stevenson

    If you ever read any anthropology, one of the first things you notice is that primal cultures simmer up all their mystery and magic and ask their teenagers to drink deeply.

    A sixteen-year-old Dakota boy fasts until an empowering vision overtakes him. A newly-menstruating Apache girl becomes the goddess White Painted Woman in an intense, joyful ceremony which lasts four days. All over the planet, traditional cultures provide ritual experiences to adolescents, bringing them into contact with the deepest parts of themselves and their heritage.

    There is danger and pain, as well as beauty and exultation, in some of these traditional ways of initiating people into adulthood. I don’t want to make a shallow statement that we’ve got it all wrong because we don’t ask pubescent boys to endure three days of biting wasps. But I’d like to reflect for a minute on the contrast between the way our society initiates its young and these more traditional undertakings.

    What do you get instead of vision? You get school — and all the blind passivity and grey monotone it trains into you.

    For an institution to ask you, during some of your most magical years, to sit still and be good and read quietly for six or more hours each day is barely even thinkable, let alone tolerable. How do you feel when the sun comes out in March and makes the most golden Saturday imaginable, but you have to stay in and clean your room?

    In case you’ve lost touch with your burgeoning beauty, let me remind you that that’s exactly what’s going on. Adolescence is a time of dreaming, adventure, risk, sweet wildness, and intensity. It’s time for you to find yourself, or at least go looking. The sun is rising on your life. Your body is breaking out of its cocoon and ready to try wings. But you have to stay in — for such a long time — and keep your pencils sharpened. School is bad for your spirit, except the pep club kind.

    It’s no accident, I’m sure. The way our society is set up now, something’s got to prevent visionary experience. People who are fully and permanently awakened to the wildness and beauty in and around them make lousy wage-slaves. People who are not distracted by a wellspring of yearnings can briskly assemble automobiles, or focus their intellects on monthly sales charts.

    And unawakened people are less likely to question the things in our society which are horrifically dull, ridiculous, or wrong. The point of visionary experience is to see. When vision comes, eternity is its black velvet backdrop. Everything else comes out on the stage to sing and dance. Some of it fits in with the grandeur of that backdrop, and some of it only clashes, looking ugly and cheap. You end up wanting to adjust your life so that it’s full of stuff that fits in with eternity, and not crammed with things that don’t matter.

    Perhaps one reason some cultures confidently guide their young toward vision is that they’re not worried. They don’t expect anybody’s vision to reveal anything horrible about the society itself. If there is something going wrong with the cultural state of affairs, maybe they want to know, so they can fix it.

    But when you have a dirty house, you don’t offer a magnifying glass to your guests. You probably don’t even open the curtains and let in the light. If we did teenaged visions, democracy would get a boost — but consumerism, injustice, and other ignobilities would take a dive. We would see that far too much of what we accept as “reality” is a blasphemy against true reality. Maybe we don’t invite our young to seek visions because those visions would disrupt the status quo and force an uncomfortable change.

    No force of dullness and ignorance is strong enough, however, to stop you from seeking. Eternity, the Mystery, Truth, God, Goddess, whatever you call it — is too powerful. It will get in, though it has to battle school and other strongholds of society. Writers and artists bring us inklings, though when school introduces us to them, it nearly destroys their potency. And the mystery creeps in around the edges of life: in early morning bird voices, in late night drum beats, through your fascinations with anything strange and unknown…

    https://www.self-directed.org/tp/teenage-liberation-handbook/

    #130767
    Red
    Participant

    ‘It was hurting my soul more to stay silent, than to speak out’
    Canadian Neo-natal ICU nurse, Kristen Nagle, speaks about the silencing of Canadian nurses early in the Covid event. In response to large protests she organized outside hospitals, the Canadian government made it illegal to protest in front of hospitals. Kristen was described as a ‘domestic terrorist’ and subjected to an intense, nationwide media smearing-campaign. She was fired and is being investigated by the College of Nurses, who use her as a case study. The silver lining is that she co-founded Canadian Frontline Nurses, who offer a creative solution to Canadian patients and nurses.

    “My name is a really fun Google search these days” – Kristen Nagle

    Deafening Silencing is a series documenting the widespread and indiscreet use of direct censorship, de-platforming, smearing, coercing and other attempts to silence individuals questioning the official narrative on the pandemic event and the associated public health measures. The crude censorship methods employed by the mainstream press and large tech corporations enable and support the equally crude propaganda our societies are flooded with.

    Replace the (.) between rumble and com
    https://rumblecom/v29104s-the-deafening-silencing-of-kristen-nagle-canadian-frontline-nurses.html

    #130768
    kultsommer
    Participant

    https://www.shorpy.com/node/27010
    Today Shorpy site batch offered this. People on the photo (or that era) would hardly have a need, or at least not in the capacity that we do, to visit the TAE. We, I think, congregate on this site and similar others, because there is a profound sense that “things are not right” out there. There is a hope that through the host’s offering(s) and even more so visitor’s comments that some kind of consensus about the predicament and possible solutions that may be reached.
    Our opinions are expressed in various writing skill levels,although I would like ti point out that that hi or low skill level comes at the expense of something else that the person is good at.
    One thing is for sure, we are all capable of posting a simple question to someone of opposing view. If that question does not get answered directly, given the limits of writing debate, than, I think, the discussion goes nowhere.
    My 2c.

    #130769

    A map from APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) shows how brightly lit our world is today- even tiny islands in the middle of the Pacific are lit up.
    Just thought someone might be interested. Not seeing the Milky Way is a real soul-crusher.
    Once Gates has his way, we won’t even see the Sun.

    On a different note: Hey, Musk! Where are the Covid Twitter files?

    #130770
    Polemos
    Participant

    Tree Frog, it appears that an option is to use the comment’s link and highlight as a link. You could do this with a blockquote of the comment you are responding to, citing the source as a hyperlink. The comment’s link is the number at the top right of the comment, just right click it and copy the link, then paste it into the pop up box for ‘LINK’ as one of the the options above the commenting box. (In case you didn’t know this already ; apologies if you do know).

    #130771
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Let’s get an item cleared up and out of the way from the start, we ARE talking about the same Ugo Bardi, right?

    Professor of physical chemistry at the U of Florence, former Peaky Oiler, author of The Limits of Growth, member of the Club of Rome? [and occasional lurker on TAE, I might add] ? We are talking about THAT Ugo Bardi, are we not?

    Well in that case he’s fair game. If he chooses to wallow with us swine down here in the pigsty then he can damned well root hog or die like the rest of us. I’m not going to talk nicey nice to an irresponsible minion to criminals just because he’s a sweet and personable guy, long time pal of our host Raul, and some kind of alleged authority on a number of topics . . . . about which he happens to be totally, catastrophically, tragically, and fatally WRONG.

    You guys don’t seem to get just HOW wrong Mr Bardi and his co-morons actually are. They’re not wrong in a small way. They are as wrong as can be in very very big way. The biggest, actually, and that’s not a misprint. Nevertheless, you treat this supreme factuality as such a trifling inconsequential that one might think you considered it as the naive fantasy of a child. A juvenile error in thinking to be tolerated with gentle amusement until the child grows up and learns better.

    Well, if that is the way that regard the awareness of God as the Creator and boss of all that is then you could not possibly be more wrong, and Bardi foremost among you.

    So you think there are too many people, do you, and that direct interference with that survival rate would be a good thing to experiment with? Does that also mean that you believe yourself qualified to improve upon the masterwork of the Creator of the Universe? Maybe you’re so smart that you think you can save the planet by curtailing the survival of that creature man (though how you’re going to do the work with no humans in the task force eludes me.)

    In any case, there is no doubt that you consider your OWN bright ideas to be far more important and meaningful than the more or less direct instructions from that God. But, oh, excuse me! People who are aware of those rules as actual RULES are naive simpletons, aren’t they, and not to be taken seriously? Primitives. Savanna monkeys, if you will.

    Such ego and ignorance have contributed mightily to the operations of a psychotic criminal Cabal that has become, and still is, a DIRECT threat not only to my life and happiness, but to the lives and welfare of literally everyone else, millions upon millions of whom are now fucking DEAD because a bunch of IDIOTS like Bardi think that they know better than the guy who built the place.

    It’s guys like that who look to each for confirmation and support for designing and enforcing the “rules” of the rules-based-order. Well, they’re looking to the wrong people in the wrong place, so it comes as no surprise that they come up with the wrong solutions. Foods that starve, medicines that kill, banks that steal, schools that stupidify, governments that enslave, and cults that literally worship evil.

    When would-be victims protest these desecrations they are ignored as delusional, and the elite “masterminds of modernity” point sagely and authoritatively to impressive tomes of “smart think” like The Limits To Growth and countless other sacred scripture of godless materialism and literally institutionalized psychosis.

    Maybe the most stunning stupidity is that jerks like that have gaslight marks like you to believe that souls like me are the crazy ones. Go figure. NO! WAIT! Please DON’T go figure. You’ll probably just get it bass ackwards again.

    You have been conned, gaslit, tricked, lied to, coerced, humiliated, and FORCED by crazy atheists into believing that YOU are the one who’s crazy for acknowledging and communicating to the God who made you, and are yet actually ashamed (not proud, mind you, but literally ASHAMED) to publicly profess spiritual value above material valued. Now, how crazy is that?

    Do you understand my question? I’ll restate it more clearly. How crazy is it to empower crazy people to make you feel crazy for doing the ONE thing that is NOT crazy? Pretty damn crazy.

    So, getting back to my apparently unpopular position on Ugo’s article on hydrogen farts: in my deeply considered opinion his article is a just another in an unbroken series of same, a thinly veiled derogatory hit-job on humanity by a condescending high IQ useful idiot OBLIVIOUSLY on the payroll of the Cabal that’s building a case and executing a procedure for the extermination of all humankind. . . which of course includes himself, full stop.

    Do I respect him as an expert of any kind? Well, he’s a brilliant writer, but If a “brilliant expert” bases the authoritative legitimacy of his expertise on a premise that is 180 degrees backwards from the truth (i.e. as wrong as it is possible to get) is their authority legitimate? In other words, Would it be better to agree with the conclusions this alleged expert draws from their maximally false premise, or better to disagree? That’s my answer.

    But that’s just my opinion, and I’m just another monkey running around on the savanna like God told me to.

    #130772
    Polemos
    Participant

    Theoretically a test.

    #130774
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    Fine words from Arne but here’s the predicament:

    If you stand up for what is right and speak the truth, the totalitarian fascists that comprise the governments of Oceania (managers of the businesses) will set their thugs on you and have their thugs bash you over the head or ride a horse over you or gather in a group and pin you to the ground and enjoy abusing you while they haul you off to a prison cell. Indeed, at one stage during the fake pandemic, security forces of Airstrip Four would gleefully attack you simply for not wearing a mask that did nothing to protect you from viruses.

    Following arrest, the totalitarian-fascist-controlled ‘legal system’ will continue the abuse you and may even impose a severe penalty on you for daring to speak ‘unspeakable truths’ about the criminal activities of the governments of Oceania -being Airstrip One (UK), Airstrip Two (USA), Airstrip Three (Canada), Airstrip Four (Australia) and Airstrip Five (Aotearoa/NZ) and various conquered and occupied territories such as Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Garcia Diego, Ukraine etc. that make up Airstrips Six to Thirty Five.

    On the other hand, if you do not vigorously oppose the totalitarian fascists that comprise the governments (managers of the businesses) of Oceania, they will continue to take away all your rights, attempt to take away your possessions, devalue everything you have, continue to murder and generally abuse the general populace, and continue with their insane agendas that will eventually render the Earth largely (or completely) uninhabitable for humans and most other extant species.

    I know. It happened to me when I stood up for what is right. And I personally know others who were abused more than I was.

    So what’s the answer? I don’t know!

    But I do know that The System -founded on fraud, lies and violence and maintained [in the short-term] via fraud and lies and violence is on its last legs and is going to collapse in the near future, so that is what I devote most of my energy to preparing for.

    By the way, as far as I know, Julian Assange is still being tortured by totalitarian fascists and the bulk of the populace of the various Airstrips don’t know and don’t care.

    #130775
    Noirette
    Participant

    Looking up some stuff about energy…

    The site, NEW COLD WAR – KNOW BETTER

    HOME

    Our Mission

    NewColdWar is managed by the Geopolitical Economy Research Group with the aid of a small volunteer editorial group.

    ABOUT

    GERG, looking it up, is the European Gas Resarch Group

    Homepage

    At GERG, we work together to ensure the energy transition keeps Europe competitive and energy secure, while providing the lowest-cost pathway to a sustainable future.

    (scroll down to ‘our members’)

    I can’t unwind all the ramifications of such examples. Maybe some groups should try? Corps rule the roost, say. Gvmts. figures are patsies, Pols are front figures posturing on stage to get their pay. Zelensky is an extreme example. OK, that is just one angle … there are others.

    #130776
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    For me, Ugo Bardi’s greatest contribution was the article he wrote around 15 years ago in which he pointed out that if it were possible to go back in time and discuss the policies that led to the Fall of the Roman Empire with an emperor or a general of the time, that person would have taken no notice whatsoever of anything you said and would have carried on doing exactly what caused the Fall of the Roman Empire.

    #130777
    Noirette
    Participant

    apologies, none of my text showed up, only the links were posted.

    #130778
    jb-hb
    Participant

    D Benton Smith – “crazy atheists”?

    You could be atheist and be putting forth Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus. Which the “crazy atheists” certainly are not.

    Is Mr Spock in Star Trek not honest, upright, decent, valiant? And if you watch what they – you know, “They,” whoever they are – did to the Star Trek ethos, particularly Vulcans’ ethos, and particularly to Spock in particular NuTrek™/Star Trek Discovery/STD, you can reflect that if “they” are pouring that much time, effort, and money into a petty desecration of a geek culture touchstone, what does it mean?

    Anywhere “they” rabidly apply inversion, look for where they arrive at negativity and find true value.

    And of course the most annoying thing – as you’ve pointed out repeatedly in the past few days – is that they like to throw up a word-cloud of chaff, and then hand you a conclusion.

    Word-cloud of intellectual stuff — savannah monkeys. YOU DISPUTE THE INTELLECTUAL STUFF EH?

    Like in my discussion with AFKTT, in which it took over a month just for him to admit where he was going with everything (while alternately denying it and championing it) – total devaluation and demoralization of every person within civilization, hopefully death of 7-8 billion, humans reduced to being chimps and ought to be chimps. Nihilism, into the abyss at ludicrous speed.

    What’d he do? Endless screed of non-enageing talking points. Lecture me and post videos on what, basic compound interest and hockystick graphs? Like, I have to place myself as opposition to nice, helpful, informative, smart people like Al Bartlett and Chris Martenson and be scum OR abjectly surrender to his cult of negation?

    Like, they are OFFENDED if, when they talk about a, b, and c things, you won’t adopt thing X which they never argued for, never connected the dots to, refuse to engage on, and are endlessly evasive, not honestly forthcoming, or weasely about. Like, apparently legitimately outraged that you won’t automatically lay down and surrender.

    Crazy Atheists — the presumption being IF you are atheist, then you MUST adopt our weird postmodernist deconstructionist invert-all-things weirdly satanist always just coincidentally eventually Frankfurt School cultist dogma.

    Almost as if making people Atheists is just a matter of rebranding Critical Theory into the religious/philosophical realm. Getting people to be Atheist being a matter of Tearing Down All The Structures/All The Constructs and then Building Back Better — demolish for the purpose of “urban renewal”

    But having gotten to a, b, and c things that get someone to become Atheist, they then want X thing adopted automatically, with total unquestioning obeisant faith, having never said “here’s the thing I want to sell to you today and why,” without connecting the dots, without proving or justifying anything.

    Current Religion > Atheism > New Religion

    In no sense to so called atheists – crazy atheists – think of atheism as the end of the road. They think of atheism as a wrecking ball. A ah… “reset” that enables new programming, if you will. They absolutely loathe, hate Mr Spock, man of reason and science, atheist, man of total integrity, hero. Threw away half a billion dollars to invert his character. (Threw away about the same to invert captain Picard, threw away billions to invert Han Solo and Luke Skywalker – THEY don’t think it doesn’t matter, THEY don’t think it is petty at all.)

    Add atheists that convert you to a superstitious death cult to your list of food that poisons, medicine that makes you ill, investigators that block investigation, education that stupefies, banks that steal.

    #130779
    jb-hb
    Participant

    For me, Ugo Bardi’s greatest contribution was the article he wrote around 15 years ago in which he pointed out that if it were possible to go back in time and discuss the policies that led to the Fall of the Roman Empire with an emperor or a general of the time, that person would have taken no notice whatsoever of anything you said and would have carried on doing exactly what caused the Fall of the Roman Empire.

    That’s why Rome lasted from 509BC to 1453AD. Because everybody insisted on continuing to cause problems.

    Your ignorance of Roman history is truly vast. Nobody suggested solutions that were then adopted? I guess 2000+ years is a pretty good run for insisting on doing only Bad Things.

    (there would be an endless litany of examples of apprehending and addressing problems that anyone could give you if it were worth the time, but your blanket assertion is absurd enough on the face of it)

    #130780
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    Energy:

    Without fossil fuel energy, billions of people die rather quickly due to lack of food grown and distributed using fossil fuels.

    With fossil fuel energy, billions of people die more slowly via degradation of the global environment and overheating.

    The Progress Trap.

    For what it’s worth, this mainstream article is reasonably accurate in pointing out that fossil fuel dependence ranges from 50% to 100% (though in practice, all ‘advanced’ societies are 100% dependent on fossil fuels).

    https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/new-zealand-s-fossil-fuel-usage-and-how-it-compares-to-other-countries/ss-AA18keQh?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=0ac8d1a3ab2d4fc59830541efabf59bd&ei=21#image=31

    ‘Decarbonisation’, ‘net zero’, ‘carbon trading’, -all lies and scams, of course.

    #130781
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    jb-hb

    Your ignorance of Roman history is truly vast

    Also, your ignorance of fundamental chemistry and physics is truly vast!

    Just another trolling arsehole, like aspnaz.

    #130782
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    jb-hb

    You could try learning something useful instead of trolling through comment to find something to make a stupid remark about.

    But I guess becoming informed would be against your principles, just as showing respect to other participants far better informed that you are is against your principles.

    #130783
    jb-hb
    Participant

    You’re the one who openly, publicly humiliated and discredited yourself by making a blanket statement that Romans not only didn’t but wouldn’t ever solve problems – the same Rome that lasted over 2,000 years.

    Maybe if you make less of these categorical blanket devaluation-statements, you’ll humiliate yourself less and be compelled to cry “trolling!” and “ad hominem!” less.

    Considering what you are ACTUALLY promoting – in weaselly fashion, by evasive rote repetition of talking points – devaluation, demoralization, nihilism, negation – I don’t feel bad ANYTIME you call me names. How could I?

    Look man, I see your burden. It is a horrible burden. I have carried much the same burden. Simply lay your burden down, man. Lay it down.

    Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light

    X does not follow from a, b, and c, man. X is purely there to demoralize you and waste the time you have in your life.

    Interrogate it – what exactly are you doing for me? For anyone I care about? For anyone I know? For anyone at all? What do YOU bring to the table, X? (“I AM the table”? you’re fired then) You may as well have gone to church as joined this cult. Read that quote – isn’t it INFINITELY better, more wholesome, than what you are selling here daily? And this coming from an atheist. Surely at least by making the comparison, it becomes evident?

    As far as the Progress Trap goes, didn’t Malthus prove, mathematically, that we were doomed 100 years ago? What did he do wrong? Failed to predict things that he couldn’t know about, that didn’t exist yet?

    Does ANY creature in nature gather up every last morsel of resources their offspring will need and only then reproduce? Has any creature in nature EVER behaved in this manner?

    Would you SHAME all the wood ducks, platupi, harbor seals, orangutans, pangolins, etc for not having provided resources for their babies preemtively? DOOMED. And you SHOULD be doomed, you damn insufferably cute harbor seals, doomed!

    The problem isn’t that there are evident problems. YES there are problems. YES Chris Martenson and all that.

    The problem is that people aren’t being allowed to SOLVE problems. Solving problems is forbidden. Holy cow there are problems! Therefore everyone everywhere STOP. Directive 10-289 from Atlas Shrugged.

    Sleep, Dreaming, and National Suicide
    https://www.oftwominds.com/blogjun10/Eric-Andrews06-10.html

    It’s people that cause all the problems. They’re all bad. Everyone should all just stop. And what constitutes stopping more than dying? All 8 billion, right? Just stop.

    This is an incredibly heavy burden to be carrying. Lay it down.

    #130784
    jb-hb
    Participant

    Afewknowthetruth – isn’t it hilarious that you reply to my post specifically citing Al Bartlett and compound interest by going into a fugue state in which you posture as educating me on him and his concepts?

    PRETENDING that I don’t know about him, pretending I am opposed to him — IN RESPONSE TO my post in which I complained about you pretending exactly that? As if doing the very thing I complained about refutes me?

    LOOK at yourself man. Look at the false posturing you have to go through for this cult belief. You can stop this. Lay this burden down. It is only bad for you.

    #130785
    Autonomous Unit
    Participant

    Several concepts expressed on this site I feel need to be addressed. In no particular order:

    “People that believe in a god are good, those atheists are evil, and can not be moral.”
    Many people of faith act immorally, and many atheists live ethical, moral lives.

    “If you think that the human population is too large, you also think billions should be murdered”
    some WEF types may, but really? Folks like Jane Goodall want to off me? non sequitur

    “there is no problem with resource depletion, and if there was, technology will solve those problems”
    infinite growth on a finite planet. sure thing.

    “people are not animals, they are special, and God wants them to do what ever it takes to go forth and multiply.”
    I prefer “fire apes”, rather than “savanna monkeys”. Apes have no tails. Why did God tell Noah to collect animals if God doesn’t want them to survive?

    “Rome lasted for 2000 years”
    Do Constantinople-ians count as Romans?

    “Malthus was wrong”
    No, his timing was just off. The green revolution requires huge energy and mineral inputs. Guess what-
    nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium extraction will be reaching their limits soon, due to geological reality.
    the question is ‘will the Earth’s population go down because humanity makes that choice, or will natural forces do it regardless of any human will to the contrary”?

    “Humanity means civilization”
    Post-neolithic life is a tiny fraction of humanity’s history. hunter-gathers lived 60-75 years if they survived childhood illness , accidents , and war. They worked less than moderns, and recited, from memory epics.

    #130786
    Tree Frog
    Participant

    Test of Reply link.

    #130787
    jb-hb
    Participant

    “If you think that the human population is too large, you also think billions should be murdered”
    some WEF types may, but really? Folks like Jane Goodall want to off me? non sequitur

    AFKKT has SPECIFICALLY stated that 7 billion dead would be good, has specifically labeled civilization and everything after agriculture as a horrible mistake (would retroactively wipe out everyone from that start point) has called people living in civilization literally “mindless zombies” and not even real people. He published a Jensen manifesto here for god’s sake that codifies this stuff.

    This is the ol a, b, c things!!!! therefoore you have to accept X! What, you DON”T BELIEVE in A????

    EVERYONE AFKTT is going rounds with on Jensenitism is concerned about overpopulation. I need to lay down and surrender to his death cult because he is concerned about overpopulation? Why pretend I am swinging at empty air then?

    “there is no problem with resource depletion, and if there was, technology will solve those problems”
    infinite growth on a finite planet. sure thing.

    “Malthus was wrong”
    No, his timing was just off.

    Cause we are all dead now, just like AOC after 1/6.

    According to Malthus, we’d hit overshoot 100 years ago. We’re apparently having this conversation, not from beyond the grave, but some hypothetical future-grave place, since our grandparents and/or great grandparents died of overshoot.

    Malthus said “I don’t see where humanity goes from here, therefore humanity is doomed”

    So you’ve got new WORDS to say the same thing, therefore this time it is definitely right?

    “Humanity means civilization”
    Post-neolithic life is a tiny fraction of humanity’s history. hunter-gathers lived 60-75 years if they survived childhood illness , accidents , and war. They worked less than moderns, and recited, from memory epics

    The Noble Savage writ large. Gotcha. When people who COULD keep records showed up, what did they find those Noble Savages doing? And of course the Mongols STILL hold the trophy for single-cause genocide and they had NO agriculture and NO civilization.

    I’m not saying Neolithic peoples are bad – they’re great. It’s just that they are people. it is attractive to imagine a golden age, when things were better, and certainly the absence of civilization, therefore an absence of RECORD KEEPING lends itself well to assuming things were better then.

    This is the same logic as, because it happened so long ago, that since we therefore cannot disprove them, all those bible stories are literally true. SAME reasoning.

    As an atheist, I say if you’re just going to transfer the same “Reasoning” to a new faith, you might as well have just gone to church.

    #130788
    Dr D Rich
    Participant

    All this accurate, deserved condemnation of judges would not be complete without mentioning the most corrupt species, which like illegal/unjust/aggressive war, permit all lesser crimes….

    FISA Court Judges

    …..and their supervisor as assigned by The Chief Justice Himself, John “ETOH seizure” Roberts.

    Btw, when will xenophobic criticism of China/Chinese be declared off limits on this blog like the aspersions cast on Jews/Israelis/Israel?
    It’s the same foundation, right?

    #130789
    jb-hb
    Participant

    Humanity means civilization

    Jensinitism just being Critical Theory retrofitted for Environmentalists and people such as ourselves in the Doom-o-sphere, it has the same presumptions.

    People who live in Capitalism live in a lie. Communism is the Truth. If your only inputs are LIES, then your a priori consciousness is itself a lie – you have a false consciousness. Consciousness = Soul. You are not a real person living in Capitalism as your only input, like a Matrix pod.

    Thus, the working class are the enemy, since Capitalism brings the goods (which is bad, it’s bad to get the workers what they want when it is a lie, we should take all that away from them and make them have Communism) and they would actively defend the system that brings them the goods.

    And as AFKTT has spelled out bit by bit himself as well as Jensen, which he fully endorsed as well, it’s just retrofitted Marxism for us here:

    Civilization is a lie. People living in Civilization are therefore not real people (see above) Since Civilization brings the goods, we can regard those living in civilization as the enemy – they would defend the system bringing them the goods.

    Yet somehow, when I argue AGAINST a cultist belief system that says all the people in Civilization aren’t real people AGAINST a worldview saying it would be better if they were all dead or better yet never been born….

    Somehow I am postured as someone who says people living OUTSIDE civilization are not real people and people WITHIN civilization equals people?

    Projection isn’t just a river in Egypt.

    #130790
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @AutonomousUnit

    I don’t want to put too fine of a point on this, but the fact is that you placed quotation marks around alleged statements made by others which were NOT actually made by those others.

    Indeed, the quotations you alleged were statements by YOU, and consisted of what I can only surmise were your interpretations of what you think other people said. In point of fact these supposed interpretations are quite erroneous and misinterpretation of what others actually wrote. Your subsequent critiques of those mis-quotes are therefore pretty much a wash and a waste of your time in writing them, and our time in reading them.

    I know it involves a lot of extra work, but to be useful your comment and/or praise or criticism of what other writers have written should first quote them verbatim and THEN dismantle their actual words for the foolishness you think them to be.

    #130791
    Leon Blanc-Sec
    Participant

    It’s good to be skeptical of western state propaganda. But to just regurgitate Tass and RT news is better… how?

    #130792
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Not only has the nation of Germany not had any particular complaint against the United States for the US rather transparently and blatantly blowing up Germany’s primary source of all-purpose (public and private) source of energy, but no one else in Germany seems to be making much noise either. Even the hot heads and opposition are silent, so far as anyone on this side of the Atlantic ocean can tell.

    Really?

    Yes, really.

    Isn’t that rather , I dunno, ODD?

    #130793
    citizenx
    Participant

    Arnold “Screw your Freedom” Schwarzenegger ?

    Arnie, hypocritical Scum playing the J card while supporting, spreading and preaching Hate? Screw your freedom, forced lockdowns, forced Vax, forced masks? Arnold- another scum for the Empire of Hate and Lies.

    Arnold Schwarzenegger says fuck your freedom-

    Covid-19: Screw your freedom – Schwarzenegger slams anti-maskers-

    ‘Screw your freedom’: Schwarzenegger calls out anti-vaxxers-
    https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2021/08/13/arnold-schwarzenegger-screw-your-freedom-anti-vax-mask-orig-kj.cnn

    Covid Cult Scum time for your ‘play swing’

    #130795
    Mr. House
    Participant

    Its funny, we’ve been told the past 3 years that we’re all racists because too many white people in positions of power. Azpanaz points out that a portion of the population that makes up about 5% is over represented within the halls of power and is called a racist. Not to mention within the private sector. So are they really that much smarter? Is their culture that much better?

    No strong feelings on it, but i do find it strange that it is actually over represented and you get called racist for pointing it out.

    #130796
    John Day
    Participant

    @DBS: I keep being frustrated in my attempts to post this about Ugo Bardi, who seems to be a decent and thinking man, an academic , a Club of Rome member, brn in 1952, so not a contributor to Limits To Growth, which was a good, non-economc model, performing well to this day. He posted a controversial series of articles in October 2021, The Age of Extermination. I lifted this from a blog post of mine. I really think Ugo is ok.

    The Age of Extermination (I) : Who Are The Typical Victims? Professor Ugo Bardi
    If you think of the story of the witch hunts of the 16th-17th century in Europe, you may be under the impression that the typical witch was an old hag living in a hut at the margins of the village, alone with a black cat.
    But no, that wasn’t the case. Maybe this kind of marginal people were occasionally killed for being witches, but they were not the usual victims. In reality, witch hunting had a strong monetary component and it was often carried out with a view on making a profit on the confiscation of the assets of the victims. They were not poor and destitute women but, rather, members of the growing mercantile class in Europe.
    The profit-making facet of witch hunting has been often ignored by historians, but it is being reappraised and highlighted in recent times, for instance by Johannes Dillinger (2021) and by Shmakov and Petrov (2018). Both articles are highly suggested and provide a remarkable wealth of data about the financial mechanism that led to witch hunts: in short, there was no (or very little) witch hunting where the government didn’t allow the assets of the victims to be confiscated. Killing witches, then, was just one of the many forms of legalized robbery in history,..
    Without going into the details, we can say that all these exterminations have several points in common.
    1. A relatively wealthy subgroup of society that can be identified by physical, linguistic, or cultural traits, sufficiently large to give a good revenue if defeated and spoiled of its assets.
    2. A strained economic, social, or military situation that leads the dominant groups to look for new resources.
    3. The lack of effective military defense capabilities on the part of the subgroup…
    ​ ​It has happened so many times that it is unthinkable that it won’t happen again. There is no doubt that we are in a difficult moment, both economically and militarily. So, the temptation is strong for the elites to identify one or more subgroups to exterminate and rob of their assets.
    Who could be the next victims?
    https://thesenecaeffect.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-age-of-exterminations-who-will-be.html

    #130797
    John Day
    Participant

    There, finally went through.
    @ Formerly T Bear (in Arnold Schwartzenegger voice): “I was only being playful.”

    #130798
    John Day
    Participant

    Lies, truth, justice and the American way might be a category today. I give you “Poetic Justice” https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/poetic-justice

    I will present an elegant thought which the Universe just gave to me.

    The mandatory-voluntary-COVID-gene-therapy-vaccine-product-scheme appears to be a war crime of mass genocide. These bioweapons and “countermeasure-prototypes” cause immunodeficiency. Immunodeficiency leads to slow death from unusual causes, as we will recall from the AIDS pandemic.

    This genocidal war crime appears to have been actively facilitated at the highest levels of global governance, finance and military, as well as facilitated at all operational levels below that. There was information-sharing on a “need-to-know-basis”, and multiple false-explanations, shared in various operational-silos. Some knew most of it. It looks like Tony Fauci was that high-level of an operative, and had been for decades. Bill Gates was there, too.

    Many knew less, or could entertain some comfortable fiction or another, while their bread got buttered on this side, and risks of butter-shortage in the future got “externalized” onto billions of mere mortals. The “risks” in this case are the certainty that notional wealth exceeds physical wealth in our world by a factor of at least 10X, even without “derivatives”. The “risk” is the certainty that some time soon, losses will need to be “assigned”. They can most easily be assigned to the dead. They can also be assigned to those who are terrified into willing-compliance, such as might be the case for those getting e-money when they suddenly find they have no way to pay rent or bills, nor fill their gas tank.

    Other categories of mortal-human would be more troublesome in pressing their claims to Social Security, their 401k packages, and so on.

    Assigning losses, which constitute 90% of notional wealth will be a very hard political needle to thread. Those who now control the levers of wealth and power need to have already established a mechanism of firm control before the next western global financial crisis, in order to minimize their own losses.

    What if financial losses were assigned first to all those who had been instrumental or complicit in the bioweapon-war-crimes “solution” to serve current power elites and help sustain them in their positions of power?

    “You conspired to kill billions of people without leaving fingerprints. You are given the choice of your-money-or-your-life. If you choose to live, you will receive your Social Security and Medicare benefits, but will relinquish all other claims on wealth. What do you choose, Mr. Gates, Dr. Fauci?”

    As you see, even family fortunes would be subject to this particular test, and corporate fortunes.

    It has a poetic-justice element, as well. Hell, SOMEBODY has to accept massive losses, why not those “most-deserving” first?

    Is this an idea whose time has almost-come?

    Sasha Latypova reveals the details of the Pfizer/Moderna contracts with the US DoD, which appear to absolve them of all responsibility for any outcomes related to the bioweapon-countermeasure-prototypes they were contracting to provide 100-million prototype-copies of in multi-dose, preservative-free vials for injection.
    This was clearly a work-around to circumvent established contract laws. It is internally inconsistent, and there are intriguing redactions, which are also analyzed for potential meaning and implications.
    Part 2 of “Contracts for Crimes” – Pfizer’s ATI-MCDC Technical Direction Letter
    https://sashalatypova.substack.com/p/part-2-of-contracts-for-crimes-pfizers

    Tom Luongo: The War For the Dollar Is Already Over, Part-1 (No Eurodollars for You!) [This is staged to impose international financial losses in Europe first, sacrificing a global $US, to preserve the national currency of the United States of America.]
    And the Fed has won. In the words of Ambassador Kosh from the classic television series Babylon 5, “The avalanche has started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.”
    For nearly the past two years I’ve been a nearly lone voice in the wilderness questioning the financial orthodoxy over the behavior of the Federal Reserve. It started with an innocent, if not openly naïve question back in June of 2021, “Could the Fed actually be getting off the globalist train?” ….
    ​..​I argued strenuously that in order for FOMC Chair Jerome Powell to make this new sovereign US monetary policy stick, he would have to ‘pull a Volcker’ and raise rates aggressively. This would expose the lies of the “Biden” administration about deflation and the need for trillions more in COVID-19 relief funds — the Build Back Better bill.
    ​ ​It would uncover who on Capitol Hill was aligned with the Fed and the New York Banks it represents, or, at least, who had their backing…

    ​..​Even as I was making these arguments I never thought Powell would actually do it.​ ​Then he did it.​..
    ​..​The Fed, through aggressive rate hikes and fundamental changes to its transmission of monetary policy, has placed the biggest burden on on US dollar markets overseas, not domestically…Go back to what I’ve been saying for over a year, the Fed is not raising rates to combat inflation. The Fed is raising rates to drain offshore dollar markets and force the offshore dollar trade to take its cues from the domestic cost of dollars as priced by ​(US-based) ​SOFR​-Secured Overnight Financing Rate​, not (​L​ondon based) ​LIBOR​-London Interbank Offered Rate​…

    ​..​SOFR knocked out the Eurodollar because that was the Fed’s and New York’s ultimate goal; to replace the global rate for dollars with a domestic one where the capital would have to trade here. The globe takes its cues, not from what Europe or Hong Kong wants, but what America needs.
    ​ ​This stabilizes our banking system, taking back power the Fed had ceded under Greenspan, Bernanke and Yellen and reminding everyone else just who runs Bartertown.
    ​ ​Most importantly, it pulls liquidity from around the world back into US markets, providing a foundation for a future where Davos doesn’t control DC.

    The War for the Dollar is Already Over Part I

    Gail Tverberg: When the Economy Gets Squeezed by Too Little Energy
    ​ ​Most people have a simple, but wrong, idea about how the world economy will respond to “not enough energy to go around.” They expect that oil prices will rise. With these higher prices, producers will be able to extract more fossil fuels so the system can go on as before. They also believe that wind turbines, solar panels and other so-called renewables can be made with these fossil fuels, perhaps extending the life of the system further.
    ​ ​The insight people tend to miss is the fact that the world’s economy is a physics-based, self-organizing system. Such economies grow for many years, but ultimately, they collapse. The underlying problem is that the population tends to grow too rapidly relative to the energy supplies necessary to support that population. History shows that such collapses take place over a period of years. The question becomes: What happens to an economy beginning its path toward full collapse?
    ​ ​One of the major uses for fossil fuel energy is to add complexity to the system. For example, roads, electricity transmission lines, and long-distance trade are forms of complexity that can be added to the economy using fossil fuels.
    ​ ​When energy per capita falls, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the complexity that has been put in place. It becomes too expensive to properly maintain roads, electrical services become increasingly intermittent, and trade is reduced. Long waits for replacement parts become common. These little problems build on one another to become bigger problems. Eventually, major parts of the world’s economy start failing completely.
    ​ ​When people forecast ever-rising energy prices, they miss the fact that market fossil fuel prices consider both oil producers and consumers. From the producer’s point of view, the price for oil needs to be high enough that new oil fields can be profitably developed. From the consumer’s point of view, the price of oil needs to be sufficiently low that food and other goods manufactured using oil products are affordable. In practice, oil prices tend to rise and fall, and rise again. On average, they don’t satisfy either the oil producers or the consumers. This dynamic tends to push the economy downward.
    ​ ​There are many other changes, as well, as fossil fuel energy per capita falls. Without enough energy products to go around, conflict tends to rise. Economic growth slows and turns to economic contraction, creating huge strains for the financial system. In this post, I will try to explain a few of the issues involved.​…

    ​..​The US Department of Energy states that it will be necessary to double or triple the size of the US electric grid to accommodate the proposed level of clean energy, including EVs, by 2050. This is, of course, a kind of complexity. If we are already having difficulty with maintaining complexity, how do we expect to double or triple the size of the US electric grid? The rest of the world would likely need such an upgrade, as well. A huge increase in fossil fuel energy, as well as complexity, would be required.
    ​ ​[3] The world’s economy is a physics-based system, called a dissipative structure.​..
    ​..To a significant extent, how these changes happen is related to the maximum power principle, postulated by ecologist Howard T. Odum. Even when some inputs are inadequate, self-organizing ecosystems try to maintain themselves, as best possible, with the reduced supplies. Odum said, “During self-organization, system designs develop and prevail that maximize power intake, energy transformation, and those uses that reinforce production and efficiency.”​….
    ​..​We often hear that the US is the largest economy, but this is only true if GDP is measured in current US dollars. If differences in actual purchasing power are reflected, China is significantly ahead. China is also far ahead in total electricity production and in many types of industrial output, including cement, steel, and rare earth minerals.
    ​ ​The conflict in Ukraine is now leading countries to take sides, with Russia and China on the same side, and the United States together with the EU on Ukraine’s side. While the US has many military bases around the world, its military capabilities have increasingly been stretched thin. The US is a major oil producer, but the mix of oil it produces is of lower and lower average quality, especially if obtaining diesel and jet fuel from it are top priorities.​..

    ​..Huge pressure is building now for China and Russia to trade in their own currencies, rather than the US dollar, putting pressure on the US financial sm and its status as the reserve cuysterrency. It is also not clear whether the US would be able to fight on more than one front in a conventional war. A conflict with Iran has been mentioned as a possibility, as has a conflict with China over Taiwan. It is not at all clear that a conflict between NATO and China-Russia is winnable by the NATO forces, including the US.
    ​ ​It appears to me that, to save fuel, more regionalization of trade is necessary with the Asian countries being primary trading partners of each other, rather than the rest of the world. If such a regionalization takes place, the US will be at a disadvantage.​..
    ​..Every politician would like a “happily ever after” story to tell citizens. Fortunately, from the point of view of politicians, there are lots of economists and scientists who put together what I call “overly simple” models of the economy. With these overly simple models of the economy, there is no problem ahead. They believe the standard narrative about oil and other energy prices rising indefinitely, so there is no energy problem. Instead, our only problem is climate change and the need to transition to green energy.
    ​ ​The catch is that our ability to scale up green energy is just an illusion, built on the belief that complexity can scale up indefinitely without the use of fossil fuels.
    ​ ​We are left with a major problem: Our current complex economy is in danger of degrading remarkably in the next few years, but we have no replacement available.​ [So what will the new-emergency story be? There is a lot which needs to be ignored. It will have to be a ​truly ​compelling emergency.​ Nuclear War?​]​​https://ourfiniteworld.com/2023/03/05/when-the-economy-gets-squeezed-by-too-little-energy/

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 62 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.