Maxwell Quest
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What do you say to that? – Ilargi
Many years ago, I had the opportunity to teach a few classes via WebEx, using only audio and PowerPoint slides. “This is what it must feel like to be a radio personality”, I thought, speaking into the void without any visual feedback, and wondering if my message was falling on deaf ears. Screw this, and give me back a classroom where I can see everyone’s face!
Based on that wonderfully written email, I think you can safely say that many of your readers are “getting it”, and I dare say they occupy the higher functioning side of the bell curve where quality supersedes quantity. This is the sort of feedback, like the spontaneous hug from a child, that makes it all worth it.
Here’s a thought… It’s looking more and more likely that Trump will secure another term, which will set back the Deep State’s war plans even further. Someone went through a lot of trouble arranging all the false flag attacks on ME oil tankers, even attempting a sacrifice of US service personnel by having them escort the surveillance drone that was shot down over Iranian airspace. Everything was arranged, yet Trump refused to pull the trigger. I’m sure this pissed off Israel and the war hawks to no end.
What to do? Arrange for Jeffrey Epstein to turn state’s evidence against Trump so they can run him out of office for raping underage girls before the 2020 election.
V. Arnold:
“Reminds me of me; woke? Mostly…I think…never sure…”Same here, V. The trick (for me) is never to be “sure”, or let the idea enter your head that “I finally have this figured out.” Don’t let the shell reform and harden.
Dr. D.:
Many times the first stop of my day, as your sarcasm, and insightful, hard hitting commentary always gets me laughing while it rattles my brain.
The Scottish nobles turned William Wallace over to the English, partly out of jealousy, but mostly to secure their lands and titles, or lives of privilege, exchanging the freedom and the self-determination of the kingdom’s clans for “the scraps from Longshanks’ table”.
After more than 700 years, it’s interesting that the little island is still hard a work in the persecution of freedom-lovers and other dissidents — endless game of whack-a-mole to ensure their domination over all vassals.
I see a modern parallel with Julian Assange, in which every second-tier state functionary (media, politicians, etc.) is willing to see Julian “drawn and quartered” in the belief that it will ensure their status and the continued good graces of their master. In essence, putting self-interest above the welfare of the people, who it is their responsibility and duty to serve. Believing that their positions of wealth and power are a right and privilege, instead of an obligation for which the gods will one day require an accounting.
They truly sell their souls for scraps, which is all that social status and possessions really are.
Thanks, Ilargi. Hearing that my comment resonated with you means a lot.
After writing it, though, referring to my fellow travelers as lunatics felt like a harsh condemnation. It’s true that one feels like a stranger after leaving the Matrix, but if done correctly, strong feelings of love and compassion keep one from falling into isolation and depression.
I’m also reminded of a dream from many years ago in which I was incarcerated in a mental institution. When my guide came to visit, I complained that I had nothing in common with the sick people around me, and asked “What am I doing here?” Her reply, shook me. “You were insane”, she said. With that I walked through the lobby toward the front doors, eager to exercise my new freedom.
• US Consults Allies On How To Protect Shipping In Wake Of Tanker Attacks (R.)
• Julian Assange Is Not On Trial, British Justice Is (Wight)
• The Hitlerization of Jeremy Corbyn – Among Others (Hopkins)
…I am reminded each day, while listening to the various coffee shop conversations, how the average person is so overwhelmed with the demands of personal life that it is nearly impossible for them to get their weary minds around the complexities and chicanery of the financial elites and their geopolitical games. This job they gratefully offload to the media, who they trust to keep them informed about the world “out there”, while they slog through life.
Now imagine you are one of the lucky few who has been able to carve out a space in which you have the means and the time to pursue your own interests. Of these lucky few, let’s say that instead of pursuing leisure and entertainment, you are drawn to the unenviable task of trying to make sense of the world.
Of those rare individuals on this trajectory, how many do you think have the discrimination, intellectual flexibility, and emotional maturity to break through the hard shell of indoctrination and completely restructure their world and life views? I think you can see where this is going… That individual who successfully pops out the other side of the Matrix into the real world will find himself a stranger in an alien world of lunatics.
“Brexit Party May Get More EU Election Votes Than Tories, Labour Combined (G.)”
Uh oh, there’s that populism thing cropping up again with the unwashed masses wanting some control over their lives. Better send Obama back over to the UK to preach about the joys of the EU and globalization… that should do the trick.
“Labour Would Trial Universal Basic Income If Elected – McDonnell (G.)”
“QE Party Over, Bank of Japan Stealth-Tapers Further (WS)”It’s all part of the same problem, globalization has shipped all manufacturing overseas to reduce costs and increase profits, while enormous multi-nationals squeeze small competitors until they cry uncle and agree to the buyout or go bankrupt. And while we’re at it, let’s open the borders to flood the low-wage market with excess labor; and to keep white collar wages depressed as well, import as many engineers and other professionals using the H1-B Visa scam.
Which brings us right back to the resurgence of populism nipping at the heels of the status quo. What to do? That’s easy, just outlaw recessions by having all the central banks take over the markets. Of course, this has many nasty side effects, like casino capitalism with its fraud and many mal-investments, driving home prices and rents out of reach, stoking inflation, and exacerbating wealth inequality.
If you were living on fumes before, now you’re really screwed! Using some of their Apple stock, the Gen-Xers down the block just bought a new Porche and are having the kitchen remodeled for the second time in ten years, while you are working three McJobs, can’t afford health insurance, or replace the bald tires on your Honda Civic. This won’t end well!
“The Psychology of Russiagate (Gabor Maté)”
Thanks for the link, Ilargi. A great analysis, easy to comprehend, and based on fundamental psychological concepts that even a child could follow.
Why don’t they make this into a CBS 60 Minutes Special? Oh, I know, because it would have the effect of a giant short-circuit in the public brain; thereby erasing decades of carefully prepared indoctrination and stupidity. “Nothing to see here folks! Go back to your regularly scheduled programming! Oops, did I say programming? I meant news.”
“Chelsea Manning Declares She will Never Cooperate with Grand Jury (SM)”
“Major Mueller Report Omissions Suggest Incompetence Or A Coverup (ZH)”
“A Nuclear War? Over Venezuela? (Ron Paul)”Only the TV news junkies are still hoodwinked by the phony Russian Collusion hoax, because their minds remain plugged into the Matrix sockets that fill their heads with pro-establishment ideas and boogeyman fears. The “thinkers” are beginning to wake up, though, as “glitches” in the Matrix are becoming more numerous and pronounced. What to do?
Expedience requires the hand of tyranny to reach out from behind its camouflage in naked acts of control, coercion, criminality, deceit, censorship, and repression. But this has the nasty side-effect of jarring more TV-bots out of their decades-long slumber, requiring further acts of naked control and repression, which further strains the public’s cognitive dissonance to the breaking point. Round and round it goes as the Empire wobbles toward its self-inflicted doom.
Not everyone was thrown off the scent by the fake Mueller investigation… “If it looks like a coverup, swims like a coverup, and quacks like a coverup…”
As for the claim that the Russians interfered in our 2016 election, common sense (not to mention the total lack of evidence) argues strongly against it. The quality of Russian leadership is heads above anything we have to offer. If you disagree, spend a few hours watching YouTube videos of Putin, Sergey Lavrov, or even Maria Zakharova, and you will see the startling contrast in skill, intelligence, and grasp of history. Each of whom is smart enough to understand that you “Never interfere with an enemy while he is in the process of destroying himself.”
The Banksy mural is certainly inspiring. A healthy culture will always sacrifice and plan today so that their children will benefit tomorrow. That should tell you something about our current conditions. Symbolically, a child represents two classic ideas: innocence and the future.
“The only thing perceived as reality in America today is a bunch of fantasies designed to hide the truth. What truth there is, is left to rot in hell. What a place -and time- to live.”
I was reminded again this morning at coffee of how thoroughly the American public has been brainwashed by the media’s endless repetition of baseless lies. It is very disheartening to witness. And please do not attempt to awaken them from their dreamworld of Trump and Russian hatred, because tout suite you’ll be the recipient of the most vicious emotional blowback. No counter-argument, no facts, no “that’s an interesting perspective”, just pure, irrational, blustering, emotional temper tantrums.
Concerning Wikipedia… In today’s world one must choose their sources of information wisely, and with a healthy dose of skepticism. There once was a time when Wikipedia could be used as a jumping off point while exploring a particular topic. Those days are gone!!
I discovered a few years ago that the online encyclopedia has already been “compromised”, one of the many casualties in the establishment’s war over narrative control. In subjects I already had extensive knowledge in, I found entries with outright false and misleading information. Don’t trust it!
MoFlora, all good points.
I would be surprised for find anyone here to be a Trump supporter. He has always been an ADHD, narcissistic con-man, and I’m afraid that political power has only brought out some of his more troubling latent qualities. Criticism of state and media corruption does not automatically infer support for Trump and his policies.
The only thing his election has really accomplished so far is that it has provided the circumstances which required the DNC, media, and Deep State to come out from the shadows in order to fix a presidential election that got away from them, and failing that, an attempted coup via the Mueller investigation. All because Trump wanted to throttle back on the war machine. This has been an eye-opening experience for many, awakening them to the true nature of our supposed democracy.
Putting things in perspective one must ask themselves, what is worse, Trump and his family profiting from his newfound political influence like every other tinpot dictator (I won’t mention the rewards the Clintons raked in during her stint as SOS), or World War III? There seem to be many who would prefer nuclear annihilation rather than Trump in the White House.
“May Hopes To Hold Fourth Vote On Brexit Deal (Ind.)”
A nice reference to the movie Groundhog Day, which, BTW, did have a happy ending with lessons learned and personal growth accomplished. Brexit should be turned over to Hollywood for some script editing.
“It’s also very likely that Robert Mueller learned that the Steele Dossier was a fraud in the summer of 2017, if not shortly after his appointment in May of that year..”
Mueller must have been briefed from the get-go about the goals of his mission… er, I mean investigation: “Find some way to get rid of this turkey and do it quick!”, but it took 2 ½ years to finally admit that there was no stained blue dress to be found. Mueller is no boy scout, but a crooked DC insider who will never go to jail for his fake collusion investigation.
I may have said it before, but feel the need to say it again, that I always find Dr. D.’s contributions to this blog thought provoking and often educational. If he were to ever grow weary of sharing his ideas with us it would be a great loss.
Concerning AOC, her poll numbers are dropping for one reason: negative press all around. Even though I avoid network news, paid pundits, talk shows, and the like, I see many articles and political cartoons, all of which have been negative and painting her as a crazed lunatic. AOC is an enemy to both parties, each of which represent big money interests instead of the common good. Therefore, an all-out effort is in effect to crush or control her.
Her stance on policies aside, that is my take on it. The word has gone out to make an example of these upstart populist candidates. We can’t have the commoners making demands from their owners.
Ah yes, the “Clinton Pay-for-Play Money-Laundering Uranium-One-Kickbacks Saudi-Arms-Deal-Bribes Foundation”. Corruption totally out in the open, but up until now off limits investigative-wise because Hillary was anointed to be the next president.
Thank you for your analysis Dr. D., I always enjoy reading your comments on TAE.
I’ve always thought that the coming lifestyle adjustments will not be voluntary, but will be forced upon us (painfully) by circumstances beyond our control, for the very reasons you outlined.
Way to go, Ilargi! It’s a little eerie how in sync we are with our worldviews.
Like you, it can be a bit disheartening when I find that others cannot see what I see, and I’m not claiming to have x-ray vision or infallibility. In fact, it’s insane at how well the establishment has been able to prop things up while concealing the underlying rot.
Even for those that have the desire and the time to try and make sense out of current world events, they may not have the necessary mental equipment and training for the job – abilities like system thinking and synthesis. This was made clear to me while serving on a jury many years ago. Because a large settlement was at stake, each legal team brought in hired guns, who overwhelmed the jury with large amounts of conflicting data and testimony. Afterward, I was startled to find that almost every member of the jury was confused and unable to make heads or tails of the case – they didn’t know who or what to believe. That was when I realized that the average person out there is completely helpless before the media propaganda machine, which as we know, both misinforms and leaves out most of the pertinent information needed to draw valid conclusions.
I’m right there with you, Ilargi. It’s been bubblenomics ever since Paul Volcker was fired by Reagan. I won’t bother to go into the long history of how the Fed (price stability my ass) has turned the dollar into a nickel. The phrase “store of value” just popped into my head and I could feel the blood pressure start to rise… legalized theft is all it is.
Anyway, I sense that the Fed is past the point of no return policy-wise. With social unrest nipping at the elite’s heels (Yellow Vests, anyone?), and the carrot of total US hegemony dangled before them, they have no choice but to goad the empire forward with their money-pumping policies.
If they would’ve only restructured the banks in 2008, prosecuted the fraud, and reinstated Glass-Steagall, the financial system (and social contract) would be much healthier today, but no, greed is self-destructive.
At this point, either deflation or inflation will lead to social unrest, only deflation will get you there sooner. Therefore, the Fed will choose the path of hyper-inflation, just as every other fiat currency regime has done before them. The pattern seems clear: more wars, more QE, more debt, more wealth consolidation (inequality), and much more inflation… then collapse.
I just posted this on Consortium News, but it is just as applicable here. It concerns the immense power that the media still has to shape the narrative and mislead the public. This monopolistic power is eroding, however, with each false story that is exposed via internet journalism. That is why, I believe, we can expect to see more heavy-handed internet censorship in the coming months.
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Your article brought to mind recent statements made by an independent Ecuadorian journalist who joined the #Unity4J Vigil of 12/21/2018 under the name José Riveria because he needed to remain anonymous. When the moderator and other panelists were inquiring as to how certain Julian Assange related stories and events were playing in Ecuador, and whether these were “penetrating down to Ecuadorian citizens as a whole”, José replied:“Here nothing, zero report on that. As usual, you know, no reports on all the unconstitutional things that Lenín Morena has been doing. No, nothing. I’m the only one who knows that, and I made a translation and I tweeted about it today. But there were no responses.”
And José’s response to a Ray McGovern question:
“Yes, that would be a good idea, but you see the problem is that the media here, all the media is blocking all our issues. Nothing of our issues is presented in the media, whether TV or newsprint. It’s a complete blockade.”
Then a bit later José goes right to the heart of the problem:
“The whole media belongs to the elite, because a poor person cannot have a newspaper, or a TV channel. Only a millionaire can have that. So all these millionaires, the elites, they are all close to the United States, because they have businesses there and investments in the US. So they follow the line of the United States. So it is not in their interests to have democracy the way it is supposed to be. But, you know, they keep the people of Ecuador misinformed in order to keep their interests on top of everybody else.”
Sound familiar?
Nice rant, Ilargi!
Many others, some on an instinctual level, sense it also, that we are quickly approaching a transition “from chaos to mayhem”. There are certainly more frequent ‘glitches’ in the Matrix as the establishment tries to control events with increasingly ham-fisted means and absurd explanations – attributing the Yellow Vest Movement to Russian influence being only the latest example.
At this point in the drama, I believe there are too many perverse incentives in the system for an orderly course correction to take place. Just as CEO’s will risk the entire organization with stock buyback schemes in order to score one more bonus, the globalists crave the next war that will bring them one step closer to their One World Government dream. These forces appear to be unstoppable and immune to reason or sentiment. Like climate change, I see them taking their natural course while we hang on for the ride. I’d love to be wrong about this.
An excellent overview of our predicament!
The moneyed interests are pretty much running the entire show now, and even though they have implemented a policy of full spectrum propaganda dominance and surveillance, annoying citizens are still waking up here and there and creating opposition. What to do? Expect the screws of control to be tightened even further, since that is all they know. This, as it did in the later stages of the USSR, will lead to open warfare and revolt between the oppressors and the oppressed.
The hypocrisy in these elaborate establishment “circle jerk” commemorations stinks like a soiled diaper. Macron is, as you said, a globalist banker. We know where his loyalties lie. It is not with the French state or culture, which despite it colonial misadventures has a rich history. It is with the EU and their globalist dream of a one-world, banking-dominated government.
Go ahead a flood your French villages and cities with foreigners who refuse to assimilate, and see if the resulting chaos will produce yet another Voltaire, Pascal, Rousseau or Descartes.
I’m in complete agreement with your analysis, Ilargi. Unless some new energy technology is miraculously discovered to replace carbon-based fuels, this process will continue toward its logical conclusion. Why? Because man is predominantly competitive and not cooperative, and his feelings of sentiment and sacrifice rarely extend beyond his own family.
Let’s assume some miracle technology arrives just in time, enabling us to red-line our economies with a clear fossil-fuel conscience. Next in line of unsolvable problems is resource depletion and overpopulation. And what sort of scientific marvel is going to solve those conundrums?
No, what I see is a replay of the reindeer population overshoot that occurred on St. Matthew Island in 1963. Man, being a little smarter than the reindeer, is still unable to live in harmony with his natural environment. Whoever survives the cataclysm that lies ahead will have to learn from our failure, and looking at history we both know how well that works.
“Until all you’re left with is the illusion that your opinion is actually your own.”
This has always been an illusion for the vast majority, habitual, emotion-driven creatures that we are. Maybe one in a thousand is an independent thinker, and that may be a generous assessment.
Two thousand years ago the opinions needed to control the low-born ‘deplorables’ were dispensed by the local lord or parish priest. After Johannes Gutenberg came along, literacy became a requirement and the torch was handed to print journalism. Then along came the hypnotic inventions of radio and television, with broadcast media indoctrination piped directly into each and every home. Today we have the internet; unconstrained by time and space we are able to carry what seems to be the whole world in our pocket.
It was fun for a while, like an informational Wild West, but our masters underestimated its power to shape opinion, especially unapproved opinion. Hello internet censorship! That should do the trick… maybe. Although the technology has changed, man is still as he was two thousand years ago, an emotion-driven creature waiting for someone in authority to give him an opinion.
Excellent post, zerosum, contrasting the largest white-collar heist of all time with the petty thievery after Hurricane Florence, with the perpetrators of the former rewarded and honored, while the latter are prosecuted and reviled.
Those who have not been fooled by the wall of propaganda surrounding the financial crisis, look forward to the day of justice, when the Hank Paulsons and Jamie Dimons are hunted down and stripped of their stolen wealth. The poor are only acting out what the bankers have so skillfully modeled for them – “steal as much as you can get away with.” Hark! The day of justice approaches.
“Come to think of it: it’s when that petition started taking off that Jones’ ‘real trouble’ started. Given how closely interwoven Silicon Valley and the FBI and CIA have already become, I’m not going to feign any surprise at that.”
As in the childhood game, “Hide the Thimble”, I wanted to yell out “Warmer! Warmer!” after late in the article you finally zeroed in on the symbiotic relationship between the Intel Community and Silicon Valley: https://surveillancevalley.com/
How many articles written on the subject skirt around this fact? How many falsely believe that these internet giants are censoring on their own initiative? These directives do not originate in the marketing department, as in typical high-tech firms, but from DC and Langley. They are surveillance partners, and have been since the internet’s inception.
It’s only recently, after losing control of the 2016 election, that they’ve come out from behind the curtain politically. Funneling the herd toward the oligarchy’s selected candidate had always been the job of print and broadcast journalism, which failed to do its job in 2016. The full weight of the establishment propaganda machine was employed to put HRC in the White House, but the people elected a populist real-estate tycoon instead, totally ignoring the wisdom of their masters. Internet-based social media was to blame, and therefore it must brought under the umbrella of the other managed propaganda outlets.
No worries, Ilargi, in spite of your discomfort it was nice to hear you speak on camera for a change. I visit The Automatic Earth regularly, not for polish and style, but for quality content. Those who are impressed by the former can tune into their favorite news anchor. Thank you for all that you do.
