Note: this is archival material. You may want to skip this post.
I Wrote a blog for 8 years before I blew it up. In the latter part of this period I started a new format called ‘Bits and Pieces’. It was news aggregation with commentary. I decided to review the posts before I deleted them. I was struck by several things. Issues that I thought important at the time remain so, perhaps a little more advanced. The observations and predictions made, particularly around Trump, have come to pass. Even that of Trump’s assassination can be argued figuratively.
I’ve decided, then, to republish them. The ZeroHedge links that I used extensively are all broken as are many others on issues that web censorship have destroyed. Here is the first set.
Bits and Pieces – 20170226, Sunday
Commentary: Building on the the theme I started in Bits and Pieces – 20170224, Friday, the idea of a massive loss of service jobs, particularly in retailing, I would add this video from Gordon long today, LONGWave – 02 08 17 – FEBRUARY – A Rapidly Rupturing Retail Reality, in which he chronicles the collapse of bricks and mortar retaining in North America. Those retailing jobs are gone replaced by online retailing served by massive fulfillment centers as shown in the video Friday and in earlier clips for which I had posted links (but can’t find).
I had referenced two predictions that March 15 would usher in a period of chaos in financial markets. I realized today as I read another forecast from David Stockman that March 15th is the Ides of March. Should we pay attention to Caesar’s wife: Stockman: “After March 15 Everything Will Grind To A Halt”? Related to this is an article by Niel Howe (The Fourth Turning) in which he summarizes the generational cycle theory that he and William Strauss put forward in their book: “Welcome To The Next Awakening” – Author Of Steve Bannon’s Worldview Explains The Path Ahead. He places our current time in this framework and there is the suggestion that it is a philosophy that Steve Bannon is aware of.
Bits and Pieces – 20170224, Friday
Commentary: I had come to the point of thinking that writing and presenting factual material had little value other than to myself – which is why I continue to do so. In conversations with people I had noticed that when presented with facts contrary to their position they seemed to back off but fail to change their position. Here’s support for that observation: Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds. To note: “Once formed, impressions are remarkably perseverant.” This points to our early life as the formative stage for many of our narratives about the world. It also shows the danger the school system poses when it strays beyond the 3 Rs.
The writer notes “People believe that they know way more than they actually do. What allows us to persist in this belief is other people.” This is due to the sociability nature of our species. The application of this principle to current events (Trump) is enlightening since”as a rule, strong feelings about issues do not emerge from deep understanding,” but from what we hear from friends and read in the MSM, particularly if it reinforces what we already believe we know (confirmation bias).
On another topic, robotics, automation and artificial intelligence (RAAI) is the most important aspect of our economy in terms of social disruption and change. The assembly line robots of the twentieth century are still there, but RAAI is about to lay waste to sectors of the service industry: A warning from Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Stephen Hawking. The videos are entertaining and they reveal a need for human workers alongside the automation – just not as many. In fact add in the losses in the transportation industry (trucking, taxi) coming with autonomous vehicles, the loss in the financial services sector as AI systems replace tellers and financial advisors and you get a social catastrophe.
Social support systems like EI and welfare will collapse under the pressure of the millions of new unemployed and unemployable. The unemployment will be structural and persistent. A living wage is increasingly being proposed by the progressives who haven’t apparently considered the question of where the money will come from.
Tax revenues on income will drop drastically because incomes will drop in a similar manner. Sales tax revenues will drop – the newly unemployed will be spending most of their money on rent and food and not other consumables. Raising corporate taxes is out of the question if governments want to keep the few jobs they have. Our children are not being prepared for this new world. I see no happy outcome.
The War on Cash: Taiwan is the latest to control cash transactions: Taiwan Joins Global War On Cash: Plans To Ban Purchases Of Houses, Cars, & Jewelry. The article lists 5 negative impacts worth noting in case the issue becomes personal.
Climate: Do climate models take this into consideration? I think not: From rocks in Colorado, evidence of a ‘chaotic solar system’ Perturbations in earth’s orbit due to the gravitational pull of other planets seem to explain ice ages.
MSM: Caught with her pants down? A 30 second clip from MSNBC: MSNBC Anchor: “Our Job” Is To “Control Exactly What People Think”. CNN has been recognized as one of the prime sources of biased reporting and the creation of fake news. Now some of the behind the scenes activity is coming to light: O’Keefe Drops “Bombshell” Undercover Video Footage From Within CNN.
Russia: One of the narratives we play from is a hatred of Russia. Glenn Greenwald speaks of the use of the Russian bogeyman: The Increasingly Unhinged Russia Rhetoric Comes From a Long-Standing U.S. Playbook.
Bits and Pieces: I’m throwing this in to capture the numbers (not the costs which are estimates). My gut tells me that how this situation is managed from the employment point of view will be an indication of how we might try and handle the massive unemployment caused by RAAI over the next decade: New Study Finds That Trump’s Immigration Crack Down Could Cost $5 Trillion In GDP Over 10 Years.
One for your back pocket: How Tennessee Could Be About To Start A Constitutional Crisis.
There are two sure-fire ways to kill jobs, raise the minimum wage and raise taxes. The wage issue we have written on and follow: Socialism: Living and Minimum Wages. Philadelphia has initiated a project to demonstrate the latter: Philadelphia Soda Tax Leads To 30-50% Plunge In Sales, Mass Layoffs. City officials are about to learn of the Laffer Curve, a theory that says after some optimal tax level, increasing taxes reduces revenues from taxes.
Recall that before Greece and before Cyprus there were Ireland and Portugal that faced sovereign debt issues. Portugal was supposedly fixed. As Martin Armstrong updates us, it isn’t: EU Bailout of Portugal Has Failed. The thing that saved Ireland, its low tax on industry which brought in investment, the EU has been trying to destroy. Germany is bent on maintaining its mercantilist superiority. And Greece is back in the news with the next installment of its never ending debt crisis looming. I think Martin Armstrong is right when he says this is the year that European sovereign debt hits the fan. Oh, and I forgot Italy: Move Over Greece, Italy’s Crisis Will Be Worse.
Bits and Pieces – 20170221, Tuesday
Commentary: Realizing that my last post on PedoGate sounded a lot like a conspiracy theory, a label that people conveniently use to classify something as of a deranged mind and to be ignored. I thought it might be worth taking a little deeper look with a Google search. It turns out that there is a Twitter hashtag for the topic: #pedogate. This link will open it in your browser – you don’t need a twitter account. Here is a link to an analysis of some of John Podesta’s hacked emails: Pizzagate: The Video That Will Change Everything You Thought You Knew. Here is another: PedoGate Now Being Taken Seriously After Decades of Denial. The latter states that the pedophilia ring is global and among the global elites including politics and the church.
It is impossible to get anything published in the MSM that is not within their editorial confines and internal policies. If you doubt this, try it. Social media at this point however offers a relatively open and uncontrolled source for conveying information and views. Back in 2001, in a graduate course on distributed algorithms I had to co-author an assignment with two other students. We chose to do a survey of the new peer-to-peer (P2P) algorithms that were being developed and deployed in the earliest forms of social media applications.
The nice thing about P2P technology is you can construct your own application relatively easily and they can be built without the requirement of centralized control (which you need if you want to make money). Even if Facebook and the other billion dollar apps are co-opted, some kid in his parent’s basement can construct a new one that will ensure that a thriving underground will be able to exist. In fact they may already be common on the dark net.
In short, PedoGate is not going away. To what extent it will be publicly exposed, i.e. by politicians, law enforcement agencies and the MSM, is to be determined.
From the Left: More on the soft coup from Paul Craig Roberts: The Stakes for Trump and All of Us — Paul Craig Roberts, as well as this article from Zerohedge: Who’s Really Behind The Soft-Coup? Obama-Founded Activist Group Offers Anti-Trump Protest “Guide”.
MSM: Trying to keep categories discrete in this blog is difficult. I did have one on the MSM but it could equally come under “civil unrest” since in reporting, they aid and abet it, or under “Deep State” for which they are the witting or unwitting mouthpiece, or either “Russia” or “Trump” since these are the topics that they obsess about. In any case, here’s an article that deconstructs a NYT op-ed piece of note while pointing to the elite’s ownership of the media: The Billionaire-Owned, Corporate Media Is As Worthless As Ever.
Since “fake news” is the new phrase use to label and marginalize anythig of a written that someone doesn’t like, here’s an (long) article disecting a number of prominent site used to check for fake news: Phony baloney: The 9 fakest fake-news checkers (warning: you really have to be into the topic to read through this).
And speaking to the latest fake news out of the MSM about Trump’s Swedish comments as well as the Swedish (German, Dutch, Austrian, …) politicians who seem to have their heads in a place where not much light shines on actual events: “It Looks Like A War Zone”: Trump Vindicated After Violent Riot Erupts In Swedish Suburb.
Bits and Pieces: It had never occurred to me that the MSM was a tool of social engineering until I viewed the new MSSM (mainstream social media) as a tool for social engineering. The key proponent that I have begun to watch is Mark Zuckerberg who controls the MSSM app, Facebook. These articles gives you some idea of the issues facebook is grappling with and the potential of how it may come to affect you: Facebook Plans to Rewire Your Life. Be Afraid. and Op-ed: Mark Zuckerberg’s manifesto is a political trainwreck.
Measuring the density of rats (Bits and Pieces – 20170217, Friday) in an environment can be done by taking a snapshot of the population, measuring the inter-rat distances and taking their mean. A better model of rat interaction might be to paint a number on the back of each rat and count over time, the number of contacts each rat has with others. Again the mean might be used as the density (of interactions). My point is that MSSM interactions increase the density of humans measured in terms of the numbers of interactions both in frequency an unique individuals. This density would presumably be much higher than in pre-MSSM times. Hence the observation:A Danish experiment in 2015, involving people weaned from Facebook for a week and a control group that kept using it, showed that people on the social network are 55 percent more likely to feel stressed;The yogis were right all along. Proper breathing – slow inhalation through the nose and exhalation through the mouth – has been a part of yoga and meditation for centuries. Research now supports this: Nasal Respiration Entrains Human Limbic Oscillations and Modulates Cognitive Function. Breathing in through the nose stimulates the olfactory center of the brain which is connected to areas of our primitive brain enhancing memory and cognition.
This has got to be worth a vote or two: “I Will Not Cover Myself Up”: Le Pen Refuses To Wear Headscarf, Cancels Meeting With Lebanese Cleric.
Bits and Pieces – 20170219, Sunday
The Deep State: I came across this article on Jim Quinn’s The Burning Platform blog: DHS INSIDER SAYS IT’S SPY VS SPY. The article discusses the split in the intelligence community – a major component of the Deep State – between those who support the president and those who want to overthrow him. A news item that I had barely taken note of and dismissed called “PizzaGate”, is discussed as “PedoGate”, a pedophilia resort run by the CIA and the Israeli Mossad to capture videos of high-ranking politicians having sex with minors to use as leverage over them. The article also sheds light on the background for US Mideast policy and war, the reasons for the antagonistic approach to Russia, and relationships with Israel and Saudi Arabia.
By the way, WJC are the initials of Bill Clinton. I had previously read an article or two referencing Bill’s taking a 13-year old girl to a resort Island, an event where the Secret Service was told to stay away from.
Out of this came a reference to an ex-CIA operative named Robert David Steele. Here he is in a 50-minute interview: Former CIA Case Officer Robert David Steele – A Message to Donald Trump on The Hagmann Report 2/7/1. He gives Trump 90 days to clean things up or be sidelined. The two sources really take the cover off the operations of the Deep State.
Steele seems to suggest that pro-Trump elements in the CIA will give him the video material to take down some notable opponents whom Steele names. Conspiracy theory or fact will be determined by time I guess.
From the Left: The idea of a soft coup we have put forward before. Today, a couple more articles on the topic: Jay Sekulow: Obama Should Be “Held Accountable” For The “Soft Coup” Against Trump and this piece from Martin Armstrong: Obama is the Source of the Coup. On the more general topic of revolution we have: The Left is Intentionally Creating a Coordinated Revolution.
Bits and Pieces: More on the rise of the MSSM and the demise of the MSM: The Mark Zuckerberg Manifesto Is a Blueprint for Destroying Journalism. How Zuckerberg will destroy the MSM as a form of collateral damage.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has broken out in the last few years with breakthroughs that will impact every industry and every field of knowledge. The Chinese are moving into the forefront: China’s Artificial-Intelligence Boom.
Until now, robotics and automation have displaced mostly manufacturing jobs (which is why Trump can’t bring that many jobs back onshore – jobs that left now don’t exist). In the next 10 years, barring a major economic reset, service jobs will also be decimated. The productive tax base of countries will shrink dramatically while the claimants for entitlement benefits will rise dramatically. There will, as a result, be revolution and wars like we have not witnessed in our lifetime.
Understanding a wild Turkey – this short article suggests that Erdoğan is trying to restore the Ottoman Empire: Greece – Cyprus – EU & Rise of the Neo-Ottoman Empire.
Bits and Pieces – 20170217, Friday
Commentary: I am still confounded by the phenomenon of Trump hatred in Canada. First of all, he is not our president, and who or what he is and what he does is really none of our business beyond what impact his policies might have on Canada. When confronted on their hatred, people shuffle their feet and mumble a few multi-syllabic words that they have learned from the CBC. I have referred to the psychic energy that they have stored up, without understanding its source. Today a piece slipped into place. But a little sideways trip first.
Pyroclastic flows are interesting because their movement is as a liquid but they are an ensemble of solid materials and gases. They happen when a dense collection of material has enough potential (gravitational) energy to overcome static friction and transform into kinetic energy through movement. Mudslides are similar. They consist of a solid mass of earth, typically clays, that has absorbed water. They are situated on hillsides where, like pyroclastic flows, they have significant stored potential energy. At some point in the system a phase change begins and the solid rapidly turns into a liquid – the ground liquefies – and the result you read about in the newspaper.
Earthquakes and forest fires also occur in systems that have similar characteristics: sufficient density of the components that will fail, built up potential energy stored in the system, and a trigger event that begins the transformation of potential energy into kinetic energy.
Studies have shown that as rat populations increase in density, behavior becomes increasingly dysfunctional (dredged up from the far past so I can’t cite a source). My argument is then that as our populations compresses into cities (again numbers I’ve seen more recently but can’t recall exactly), stress (that was what got the rats) increases and we accumulate negative psychic energy in forms such as anger. Trump is a small forest fire. He is a release point for a small part of this energy. Riots are larger forest fires. The big ones occur on a multi-decadal scale in the form of revolutions and wars.
The generational cycle theory of Howe and Strauss may provide a historical description of this kind of energy accumulation and release. The issue is not that Trump may have grabbed some woman’s crotch but what’s it to you?
Having written this yesterday, I came across this article today: The Road To Hell Was Paved With College Safe Spaces. It rambles but it gave me this, a thread to follow up on with reference to what I had written above: The Unwisest Idea on Campus. In particular, in reference to microaggressions, this quote: “these negative emotions and the conflicts they engender are likely to radiate outward through the students’ social networks (Christakis & Fowler, 2009).” This I would translate into my psychic energy term.
The world’s 8 largest cities are all in the developing or third world, and range in size from 14 to 24 million. The worlds 50 most dangerous cities (murders per 100,000) are all in Central and South America with the exception of 3 in South Africa and 4 in the US. More specifically, the southern countries are a small group, Brazil, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela and Columbia. None of the 50 appear in the 50 largest list.
So if murders are a manifestation of the psychic energy stored in a city, it’s not necessarily the city’s size that is the primary causal factor.
I was wondering if the degree of regulation in Western society has an effect in either controlling or creating psychic stress. Certainly the larger our cities become the more bylaws we create to limit what might be considered to be antisocial behavior.
Civil Unrest: Brexit exit through revolution: Tony Blair Says Brits Should Now Rise Up and Revolt. The following article is more than a criticism of MSM bias, it looks at the rising call for a revolution by the left to overthrow Trump and presumably end the republic: Should Independents Boycott Disney for Supporting ABC News that is just Leftist?
A soft coup must be treated more seriously in light of the actions of the intelligence community backed by the Democrats: The Deep State Targets Trump.
Climate: Here’s an interesting paper, Nature Unbound II: The Dansgaard- Oeschger Cycle, on what are called Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles. These are primarily northern henisphere temperature cycles of about 8 degrtees C with a very regular period of 1470 years: Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) events. A second type of large temperature event is the 6,000 year period, Heinrich event. Of the D-O event, the author notes that “CO2 has no role during D-O cycle, and its levels are neither cause nor consequence of the most frequent and most abrupt climate changes of the past.” Since both of these events span temperature ranges much greater than the 2 degrees the climate alarmists are worried about, we may be throwing money at the wrong problem. Maybe we should be worried about the next ice age.
Bits and Pieces: Never to be seen in the MSM, the inner working of the Palestinian Authority, champion of the Palestinian peoples oppressed by Israel: Palestinian Assault on Freedoms.
The Canadian medical system , a short comment: Yikes: Canada’s Healthcare System Has Some Of The Longest Wait Times In The World.
For those so upset about alleged Russian meddling in the US election, a moderating fact: Wikileaks Exposes CIA Involvement In French 2012 Presidential Election.
This article outlines the shift from MSM to social media for conveying information: Visualizing The Fake News Problem. Maybe we should be asking who controls the social media world. The control emerged many tome during the election when bias was exposed by the social media companies used to cotrol the media. And who are the new MSSM (mainstream social media) oligarchs? People like globalist Mark Zukerberg: Mark Zuckerberg Rejects “America First”, Calls For Global Community. And this feeds back into my opening commentary: social media is the feedback mechanism for transmitting negative energy. Question to ponder: is technology speeding up the generational cycle’s “Forth Turning?”.
Bits and Pieces – 20160115, Wednesday
Commentary: It’s always been a matter of timing. We have a fairly good ability to predict where the next “big one” will hit but few ever get the timing right. The collapse of the housing bubble in the US in 2007 was forecast by many. A habdul of people actually got the timing right and were paid handsomely for their effort. Many say that we are in a stock market bubble in the US, in a bond market bubble, that we have a credit market bubble. The EU is fraught with financial fault lines.
Today I came across a short essay by Howard Kunstler: Made For Each Other. In it, he argues that our financial system is the least well-grounded to survive the coming debt ceiling debate in the US and the geopolitical turmoil from elections in the EU this year. Victor Sperandeo forecast 10 days ago in a KWN interview: ALERT: Former Soros Associate Just Warned We Are About To Witness ‘Absolute F*cking Chaos’ Across The Globe, that the EU elections would cause a major crisis in late March or April.
I like capturing forecasts like this because they have very specific timelines that you can measure their outcome against. I must check back in a month and a half. Beyond this, however, Kunstler outlines some of the systems that may fail leading to an economic nuclear winter.
Very few people are aware that global trade functions on the back of letters of credit and that during the financial crisis of 2007–2008, the distrust in the banking sector had halted inter-bank transactions. No bank had any idea if their counter-party was solvent or not. Trade and the global financial system are understood to have been literally hours away from a total lockup and collapse. Only intervention of the US Federal Reserve forestalled the crisis by providing massive credit guarantees, sacrificing Leyman Brothers in the process.
The Fed will be at the center of any new rescue attempt, but it is a very different Fed with a bloated balance sheet. It may prove ineffectual. The fallback will be the IMF with Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), but SDRs are simply a basket of global currencies and the upcoming financial crisis will be global. There are no currencies these days that look at all healthy when the books of their central banks are examined. And who will accept an SDR as an IOU to back up a credit transaction? Better buy lots of popcorn – it will be one nail-biting show.
I have been toying with the idea of narratives. These are stories, systems of belief, that are closely tied into our psyche and as such draw upon the energy of our emotions. One such narrative is that of the Russian bogeyman. It involves the belief that Russians are our enemies, Russia wants to take over world, and that Russia is actively working to subvert our society. Part of the narrative refers to so-called Russian aggression in Eastern Europe and the Mideast.
A more reasonable and persuasive argument can be made that Russia has actually been defensively responding to aggression by NATO and the American Empire.
A different argument can be made that Russia is not bent on conquering the world: namely that it is in acute economic and internal stress and simply doesn’t have the resources to do much more than act defensively. Here is George Friedman’s analysis: Something Rotten in the State of Russia?
A sudden thought: at the personal level, do we need to believe in a bogeyman?
Civil Unrest: Here’s one take on a question I have asked: Apocalypse Now: What’s Behind the Volatile Mood of Today’s American — and European — Voters. The author of this book review refers to “the psychic and emotional forces propelling illiberalism’s spread across the globe” attributing it to liberalism emerging in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. Unfortunately, it didn’t give me any insight into the nature of the energy buiding in this system and how it is propagated.
Trump: Knowing trump’s apparent disdain for global organizations and: “Biggest Case In WTO History”: Europe Prepares Legal Challenge Against Trump Border Tax, the questionh is “so what?”
Climate: Back in 2012 I was looking at the data from the Vostock ice core (read here: What Is Your Carbon Foolprint?). Now this temperature record is remarkable for what it reveals (see the chart in the article). Any grade school math student would immediately recognize the periodicity of the temperature and CO2 readings. We are at the point of coming off an inter-glacial peak. I haven’t seen any mosdern computer model that has modeled this temperature record. The other observable feature (it is more cler if the data is minutely examined) is that CO2 lags temperature. Causation cannot be inferred from the graph but if one were to do so one would infer that temperature drives natural CO2 levels and not the other way around that our AGW community is using to press the panic button of economic redistribution. One notable anomaly is the way CO2 has recently shot up but temperature has not followed. In another post I looked at the more recent Law Dome data that shows a similar disconnect.
All this is leading up to two articles by Martin Armstrong: NOAA Continues to Try to Justify Its Criminal Activity and Is Europe the new Destination for the North Pole?. The NOAA stuff I have recently informed you of. I haven’t sent you links on recent polar movement, however. Armstrong uses ice core data that I have not seen however I assume he has done due diligence on it.
Here’s a new one: Violence From Left Wing Rioters Is “Caused By Global Warming… According to Climate Scientist”. I didn’t read the temperature discussion closely as the topic is somewhat complex and the science is still “open”.
Bits and Pieces: I wonder what the poll results would be in Canada: Chatham House Poll Shows Only 20% of Europeans Disagree to Statement “All Further Migration from Mainly Muslim Countries Should Be Stopped”?
An interesting data set: Bill Clinton & Abraham Lincoln Were Elected with Less of the Popular Vote than Trump
Bits and Pieces – 20170211, Saturday
Commentary: I had a discussion today with my friend Paul Merkley, continuing the theme of anarchism that he explores in his most recent essay, published here yesterday and linked below.
I have recently considered the trite allegory of the straw that broke the camel’s back. It is used by linear deterministic thinkers to argue that a specific act is “the last straw”, the causal factor of some ensuing major event. It entirely misses the point that in natural systems, it is the state of the system and not the singular act that is important.
In some states of a forest I can drop a lighted match and nothing happens other than that the match burns itself out. When the forest is in another state, however, that match causes a forest fire. It is interesting to know that the frequency of forest fires of a particular size follows a mathematical relationship known as a power law. All natural systems follow their own power laws. Anarchy, the expression of a segment of our society – a natural system – would be expected to obey its own power law.
It is the buildup of fuel on the forest floor that determines the size and severity of a forest fire. We have been witnessing a buildup of violent, intolerant dissent coming from the progressive left of our society. The frequency of mini-fires of this nature: French Protesters Set Car On Fire During Ongoing Anti-Police Protests: Live Feed, seems to be increasing. Unlike small forest fires that reduce the overall fuel load in a forest and reduce the likelihood of a major blaze, these protests and expressions of anarchy actually may be increasing the underlying rebelliousness, increasing the likelihood of a major conflict.
We can’t know when or even how it will occur but the risk is increasing and one might begin to think of preparation to survive a major event.
Civil Unrest: I have recently provide a link to Steve Bannon’s comment that war both with China and in the Mideast (Iran) would likely occur in the next 5-10 years because China and Islam are expansionist. A friend sent me this link that extends such speculation to include Russia in Eastern Europe: Revolution is not only inevitable, it’s necessary: How Steve Bannon’s dark vision could shape the world. The article references the work of Howe and Strauss in “The Fourth Turning” as well as the generational cycle theory work of David Kaiser. What I didn’t say in the commentary above is that it is the build up of energy (in whatever form) in a system that leads to instability I am just now beginning to think about the question “in what form is the energy that is building in the revolutionary progressive constituency?”The War on Cash: I recently said I was going to begin coverage of this topic. It has been under discussion in the blogosphere for a couple of years or more. The objective is total state control over your money and spending: Cash No Longer King: Europe Accelerates Move To Begin Elimination Of Paper Money.WWIII: Note to Premier Xi. Here’s the carrot, Trump commits to “One China” policy in phone call to Chinese Premier Xi, and here’s the big stick: Air-Force Test-Launches Minuteman ICBM From California. Are the Marshall Islands anywhere near you? And are you watching Iran: Iran Launches Another Ballistic Missile? Also on this topic today: Unprecedented Moves Towards War With China Would “Upend Supply Routes, Trigger Global Recession”.
A chaotic US foreign policy emerging under Trump is discussed here: From New World Order To Hazy Global Disorder. Given the contradictions and inconsistencies in foreign policy statements and Trump’s constant shifting of gears, Russia, China, and Iran must prepare for war. Reading the tea leaves isn’t much help when the tea is brewed with muddy water.
Climate: Martin Armstrong has been reporting regularly on extreme cold this winter in parts of the northern hemisphere. He maintains we are heading into a periodic mini-iceage: Extreme Cold Hitting Europe Creating Food Shortages & Rationing. He also reports on the controversial paper from NOAA that Obama used to support the US adoption of the Paris treaty: Trump Should Launch a Criminal Investigation of the NOAA – NOW! (read under Climate in Bits and Pieces – 20170207, Tuesday and Bits and Pieces – 20170204, Saturday.).
Bits and Pieces: Our friend, Paul Merkley, has just published a new essay: ANARCHISM IS THE NEW PROGRESSIVISM.
Finally, here’s an interview with Jim Rogers: Jim Rogers: “We’re About To Have The Worst Economic Problems Of A Lifetime, A Lot Of People Will Disappear”. Apart from Kyle Bass, he’s the only person that i will always listen to what he has to say.
Bits and Pieces – 20170207, Tuesday
Trump: Commentary on the dissention within the ranks of the Deep State: Trump’s Enemies Within. And then there are the enemies without: Is Soros The Source Of Funds Behind The “Muslim Ban” Lawsuits? A small historic event: DeVos Confirmed As Education Secretary After Pence Casts First Ever VP Tiebreaking Vote.
WWIII: A good observation comes from Steve Bannon quoted in: Steve Bannon: ‘We’re going to war in the South China Sea … no doubt’. He pegs Islam and China as the two geopolitical antagonists because they are expansionist in ambition.“You have an expansionist Islam and you have an expansionist China. Right? They are motivated. They’re arrogant. They’re on the march. And they think the Judeo-Christian west is on the retreat,”
Here’s an insightful review of events in Eastern Europe from the 20th century to date. The dangers of WWIII emerging from the breakup of the EU are real: Eastern Europe & World War III.
Climate: In 2015, a paper came out of NOAA that allegedly debunked the “hiatus” observation in global temperature increse. Here are two references that show that the paper was deeply flawed scientifically and politically motivated to support the Obama administrations support for the Paris agreement: ClimateGate 2 – NOAA Whistleblower Claims World Leaders Fooled By Fake Global Warming Data and Climate scientists versus climate data.
Bits and Pieces: More MSM bias if you’re interested: Why Is the New York Times Lying about Trump? And then this piece from a Fox News interviewer: “But he’s a killer though. Putin’s a killer.” (read Trump Defends “Killer” Putin On National TV: “We’ve Got A Lot Of Killers – You Think Our Country’s So Innocent?”). Well let’s start with Bush and Obama with their foreign wars and particularly their drone policies.
The collapse of Catholicism in Quebec parallels the collapse of the traditional social structure in Canada: Quebec: The Crisis Of The West.
Here’s a historical summary of US currency manipulation: Trump Tower Accord to Replace Plaza Accord?. Note the observation that when the euro destructs, the dollar will soar. Normally gold moves inversely w.r.t. the dollar. In this case it move with the dollar as a safe haven for euro funds.
I save links to articles on robotics and automation (I’m well over 100 and this is passive collecting). To give you an idea where things are at and where they are headed fast, read Amazon Plans Robotic Supermarket Staffed by 3; Chinese Factory Eliminate 90% of Humans, Defects Drop 80%. The world has too many people. The amount of human labour that we have is excessive by far and becoming increasingly more so. This is the argument for stopping all immigration and not accepting more refugees. They are a already a net liability. The article also tells you who Loblaws’ biggest competitor will be in the near future (5-10 years) – Amazon. I don’t see any serious competitor for Amazon – a well-named company.
Facts on US immigration for the anti-Trump crowd: As The Political Spin Continues, Here Are Some Key Facts About Refugees And The U.S.
Bits and Pieces – 20170204, Saturday
Commentary: I am amazed at the extent and the virulence of the hatred for Trump globally. This is an unprecedented phenomenon, at least in my memory. We had it locally (in Canada) with the hatred of Stephen Harper. That same hatred and coming from the same people, has joined a global lynch mob. Which brings me to my third prediction that I made last spring (that Trump will be assassinated. The first was that he would gain the Republican nomination and my second was that he would be elected): Secret Service Is Dealing With Over 12,000 Tweets Calling For Trump’s Assassination. The Deep State may only need to sit back and wait. When have calls for the assassination of a sitting president ever been so widespread: Village Magazine Sparks Furor Asking “Why Not” Assassinate Donald Trump, Will Donald Trump be assassinated, ousted in a coup or just impeached, etc.?
This weekend, a 13-year old friend of my grandson was comparing Trump to Hitler. This kid has no historical knowledge to generate such a belief so it’scoming from adults around him. You may know such people. Here is a short article that explains why such a comparison is not justified in any degree: Putting An End To This Hitler Nonsense….
Cycles: Gordon T. Long and Charles Hugh-Smith discuss cycles and “the great rotation” the point where all the cycles in all aspects of our society reach a peak on an addative basis and head downwards: MACRO ANALYTICS – 01 27 17 – The Great Rotation – w/Charles Hugh. These guys understand our economic and social reality.
Climate: I have just become aware of an admission from the UN as to what the real agenda is behind climate change politics: Global Warming is About Destroying Capitalism?. It is about creating a new world economic order and not “saving” the environment. Many of us have understood this for a long time but it is the first time it has been admitted in public. Here’s a direct reference form the UN: Figueres: First time the world economy is transformed intentionally. Note that this occurred two years ago today (let’s have an anniversary celebration of global Marxism). Another review of the remarks of which there were many at the time: UN’s Top Climate Official: Goal Is To ‘Intentionally Transform the Economic Development Model’.
Bits and Pieces – 20170202, Thursday
Commentary: I am looking for key themes that will have a major impact on our lives. I’m adding one this morning: central banks. Central banks have been controlling our economy since their conception only now they are losing control as all their tools are broken and they are in the process of blowing up the (economic) world.
I have discussed how we are linear thinkers, so to go non-linear, central bank policy and action has to be considered with interest rates, the bond market, currencies, the international flow of funds and trade. They are all part of the same elephant. How I’m going to structure my coverage I’m not sure but here’s a good short article to start with: The Coming Crisis in Central Banking.
To give an idea of the interconnection, read Mike Shedlock’s Is Germany a Currency Manipulator? China? Arguably Yes, Under Bill Obama Signed: Full Blown Currency War on Deck. He outlines a basis for how a currency war and trade war might start with Germany and China.
Civil Unrest: I have previously commented on a soft coup being perpetrated by the left. Martin Armstrong identifies the Democrats and the media as the primary culprits in a current and ongoing attempt to topple the Trump administration: The New American Coup – Media Leading Charge to Topple Government.
Trump: Underlying the point I made last post: When Clinton Made Same Argument as Trump Against Immigrants They Cheered. Today’s salvo: White House Blackballs CNN; Refuses To Send Surrogates On “Fake News” Network.
And one to watch: Firestorm Coming: Draft Of Trump Executive Order May Deny Services To Gay, Transgender People.
Russia: An interesting observation by Paul Craig Roberts: Trump Is Being Sabotaged by the Pentagon — Paul Craig Roberts.
The American Empire (AE): Here are references to sports in the Roman Empire: The Sports Cycle and Western Society. Of course you might be asking what a decline (if it happens and there is an interesting short-term benchmark here – Superbowl viewership below 111,000,000) has to do with US society and the AE. The problem is that what we observe about the Superbowl is an emergent phenomenon generated by the state of the population and the actions of individuals and can’t be easily predicted if at all.
Bits and Pieces: I have recently written several references to Amazon as taking over the retail world. In particular, it has entered the ocean freight business: Bits and Pieces – 20170128, Saturday. I also provided links to videos showing what one of its mammoth “fulfillment” centers looks like: Bits and Pieces – 20170106, Friday. Now it has entered the air freight business going head to head with FedEx and UPS: Amazon Signs 50-Year Lease On 900-Acre Air Cargo Hub To House 40 “Prime Air” Jets. If it is well managed financially, this company is where to place your cash.
Bits and Pieces – 20170131, Tuesday
Commentary: I’m pondering how to make my news reading and reporting more effective for myself – it’s currently taking up too much time and retrieving information from my site is not as effective as I had hoped. So look for changes.
In trying to understand the thoughtless position of the left, I came up with the notion of a ‘narrative’. A narrative is a belief system by which we operate. I’m sure this is a concept well explored academically and I may be using a term that I read somewhere. It’s more than an ideology, something which it subsumes. It manifests in behavior such as passive or aggressive. Religion would be a narrative. I’m comfortable with this one because it arguably goes back to the early days of humankind. It is responsible for Stonehenge, burial practices going back at least several thousand years, and more.
Today, Scott Adams discusses two “filters” in his blog post The Persuasion Filter and Immigration. Apart from being a brilliant analysis of Trump’s behavior and operating strategy, it provides a perspective for the recent “Muslim ban”. What is really interesting is that events are moving so fast that we will likely be able to test Adans’ hypothesis in real time over the next couple of weeks. As a bonus, it gives me things to ponder fro my narative thesis.
Civil Unrest: Obama has already said he is going to hang around Washington. As to what he is doing, Martin Armstrong has an interesting take: Obama Setting up Shadow Government – Civil Unrest will Lead to Civil War. Commentary on the theme: The United States Is On The Precipice Of Widespread Civil Unrest.
Trump: Context: Flashback 2006: Senators Clinton & Obama Vote For Secure Fence Act, Bush Signs Bill. Apparently the issue of screening individuals sits differently depending on whether it comes from the right or the left. A short, interesting observation on Trump vs the EU: Trump Drives a Wedge in the EU.
Next executive order. This one will cause a huge outcry and protest from the leftand the Democratic camp. By providing the historical antecedent to this order should it be published, namely Bill Clinton’s efforts, when the MSM dumps on Trump you will have the full background: Leaked Executive Order Reveals Trump Crackdown On Immigrant Welfare.
Pat Buchanan discusses the battle shaping up between Trump and the Washington establishment: The First Firestorm. Initial skirmishes: Democrats Boycott Confirmation Of Trump Nominees, Blocking Mnuchin, Price Votes and Senate Democrats Stall Another Vote, This Time For Attorney General. There is another force alligned against Trump, the CEOs of the big high tech firms: Google’s Eric Schmidt: Trump Admin Will Do “Evil Things”, Thousands Of Google Employees Protest Trump Order; Top Tech Companies To Join Legal Action, Why The Cold War Between Tech CEOs and Trump Is About To Go Nuclear, etc. These people have deep pockets: Apple Sells A Record Number Of iPhones, Beating Expectations As Cash Hits A Quarter Trillion Dollars, and they’re using it against Trump as noted in the links above.
WWIII: Do you remember what happened thalast time germany placed troops and tanks on Russia’s border: Germany Deploys Tanks, Troops To Lithuania To “Bolster Confidence In Face Of Russian Aggression”? Oh, but they’re the good guys right? Better tell the Russians though.
War on Cash: This is a topic I follow because it threatens to affect all of us negatively. I’ll start reporting on it with this article: Europe’s Latest Steps to Eliminate Cash Post-Davos.Bits and Pieces: Math that I like: Trump Signs Executive Order On Regulation: “For Every New Regulation, Two Regulations Must Be Revoked”.A dying dinosaur is not a creature you want to be close to: EU Declares USA is new Enemy. Of note from the communist pope: “Islam Is Strengthening In Europe… With The Blessing Of The Church”.A break for Marine Le Pen in French upcoming elections: French Presidential Election Crisis: Party Leaders Consider “Plan B” After Police Search Fillon Office?
Bits and Pieces – 20170128, Saturday
Commentary: Forget the left. Their view of Trump is so warped and limited that it is useful for nothing. If you want some real insight into Trump, listen to this 5 minute interview with Newt Gingrich: Newt Gingrich: Trumpism explained,
Civil Unrest: In Bits and Pieces – 20170117, Tuesday I wrote “The really interesting thought I found is that the next civil war has already begun.” Adding further support to this notion on a tip from a friend is: America’s Second Civil War.
Trump: Trump appears to be setting up a weekly address to the people. Here is the first: President Trump’s First Address To The Nation. Note that he said that he met with the leaders of some of the country’s top manufacturing companies and labour unions. No mention of the world’s top leaders. He is consistent with his priorities.
Bits and Pieces: Here’s an opinion piece analyzing Obama’s term in office: Obama Bequeaths a More Dangerous World. It is partially sympathetic while identifying the forces working around him and against him.
Apparently legislation exists that would undo many of Obama’s executive orders. This is an interesting read: CRA: The “Regulatory Game Changer” That Could Wipe Out 8 Years Of Obama Regs In An Hour.
The leading university in snowflake protection has more to offer: Ohio State Offers Class On How To Detect Microaggressions And Be “Self-Aware Of White Privilege”. Can you imagine what the next generation will be like?
My wife and I were discussing the irony how shopping malls on the outskirts of small town North America hollowed out the downtown cores of the towns. As we walked around our neighbourhood mall today and noted new store closures (month end is approaching and likely the end of leases) adding to a number that have closed months ago. On-line retailing is hollowing out the cores of malls. The big store brands like Sears Holding, Macy’s, J.C. Penny and others are in deep trouble. Several are already in chapter 11 and history. The question to ponder is will Amazon take over the retail world? And while you’re thinking about it, consider this: Amazon Enters Trillion Dollar Ocean Freight Business: How Many Jobs Will Vanish?
Without comment because I can’t think of anything civil: Trudeau, Sturgeon Respond To Refugee Ban: “Welcome To Those Fleeing Persecution, Terror And War”.
Bits and Pieces – 20170126, Thursday
Commentary: The next time someone you know complains that Hillary won the popular vote and should be president, show them this map (red is a Republican majority and blue is Democrat):
Trump “lie” of note: Peter Mansbridge on The National on January 24 said of Trump (10:02 mark of the video) that “he repeated his false claim that voter fraud kept him from winning the popular vote”. It is typical CBC to make statements for which no proof is given and may indeed be false such as the claim that Trump’s claim is false. Certainly there was voter fraud in Michigan where a recount in heavily Democratic precincts (Wayne County) couldn’t be conducted because of irregularities in poll documentation. There were other cases of fraud reported from Texas and other states. Maybe we will yet find the truth though: Trump To Launch “Major Investigation Into Voter Fraud”. In the meantime, Mansbridge owes us a retraction.
Trump: This may have far-reaching effects (of course what Trump actions don’t) on the globalist agenda: Trump’s Next Executive Orders: “Drastically Reducing” US Role In International Organizations, Ending Treaties.
On the immigration front: Trump Signs Executive Orders To “Begin Immediate Construction Of Border Wall”, Immigration Enforcement.
The Deep State just lost some depth: Wave Of State Department Personnel Resign, Are Fired As Tillerson Takes Control.
From the Left: Two articles came to my attention today, one from a friend: Glavin: The global order shifts while the president acts like a crazy person and one from Pocket.com: Is American Democracy Strong Enough for Trump?What is notable from the media and the left in general, something that characterized the entire election campaign is the failure to extend an even-handed critique of Hillary, Obama and the Democrats in general. This extends through these articles. In the end such articles simply don’t matter. They are preaching to a constituency that has a closed narrative. In the meantime, Trump is doing exactly what he said he would do and what the American people (outside of California) voted him to do.
Climate: The Trump impact on the orientation towards policy affecting climate research: The Trump shift.
WWIII: Trump may be on speaking terms with Putin but the following doesn’t contribute to a deescalation of tensions: Trump Proposal For Syria “Safe Zones” To Escalate US Military Involvement In The Region. I think these boys are a little unbalanced but blame Trump anyway: x“Doomsday Clock” Advances To Two And A Half Minutes To Midnight, Trump Blamed.
Bits and Pieces: A note of interest on Obama: Obama Sets Record For Lowest SupremCourt Win Rate Since Zachary Taylor In 1850.
The view from the global elites gathered in Davos: Consensus”—More Welfare and Warfare
More extraordinary stuff out of the Whitehouse. Putting the MSM in its place: Bannon Declares War On The “Elite” Media: “Keep Your Mouth Shut”.
This is a must listen TED Talk on cybercrime: Caleb Barlow: Where is cybercrime really coming from? This one is good too: Everyday cybercrime — and what you can do about it.
Bits and Pieces – 20170124, Tuesday
Commentary: If Trump achieves half or maybe a quarter of what he wants to he will go down as a “great” American president. I suspect a significant piece of what he would want is impossible, not because of political obstacles but because some things will not be possible.
A lot of jobs that went offshore don’t exist anymore and can’t come back. Companies on-shoring will build new plants populated with robots and highly automated assembly lines. They would have done so anyway for economic reasons and this trend had started before Trump.
His trade policies may backfire. Raising tax barriers and tariff walls will start trade wars – may already have done so – so the imports will be cut but so will the exports. How this will affect the balance of trade is a question. In fact the trade deficits were the only way the US dollar could become the world reserve currency. Trump cannot control the currency – at least not for long. Any attempt to declare China a currency manipulator will lead to the depreciation of the yuan and strengthen the dollar, affecting exports and negating the effect of tariffs on imports.
He has a deeply divided country and he can’t fix this because the divide is to a large part caused by people who hate him and this he can’t change. Read: Trump: America for the Americans! He has inherited trillion dollar deficits and a 20 trillion dollar debt that goes as high as 200 trillion with unfunded liabilities included. The only fix for this is to press the reset button and the reset will be global.
This is going to be a wild ride.
Civil Unrest: The demonstration by women against Trump globally has me mystified. Martin Armstrong suggests that there are deeper forces at work trying to divide America and this is one such action: Women Rally but for What? One of the principle actors is George Soros: Ex-WSJ Reporter Finds George Soros Has Ties To More Than 50 “Partners” Of The Women’s March. This is an excellent overview of many of the march-supporting organizations.
Another player is the revolutionary left associated with feminism. The following article reads like a revolutionary manifesto: Without a path from protest to power, the Women’s March will end up like Occupy. The notable point for me was the repeated communist idea of seeking power for “the people”. The “people” are mentioned several times but not once in a way that includes men.
Trump: This is really bad news for Canada and the socialists running the federal government and certain provinces: Trump Warns “We Are Going To Be Imposing A Very Major Border Tax”, Will “Cut Regulations By 75%”. Trump is a successful business executive. A CEO gets things done in days with decisions made in a matter of minutes or hours. Politicians take months. Wynne and Trudeau won’t know what hit them.
The actions they will need to take are counter to their ideologies.
Here is an essay on the relationship between Trump and the Deep State; worth a read: Pepe Escobar: Here’s How The Trump Presidency Will Play Out. And while on the topic of the Deep State, here’s a comment from Martin Armstong: Deep State Told Obama to Prevent Trump from Ending Cold War with Russia.
John Mauldin, a highly connected financial writer with a subscriber base of over i million shares what he learned about the way the new administration is taking shape and the direction it is going: What I Learned in Washington DCWhat I Learned in Washington DC.
Who woulda thunk this: Trump Wins The Unions: Teamsters Praise TPP Withdrawal, Labor Chiefs Describe “Incredible” Meeting With Trump?
Trudeau has already approved 2 pipeline projects, angering his constituency. Can he do one more: Trump Signs Executive Orders Renegotiating Keystone XL, Dakota Access Pipelines. And what is the implication of this for Canada: Trump Set To Meet With Big 3 Auto CEOs: “I Want New Plants To Be Built Here For Cars Sold Here!”?
Climate: Watch what Trump does to the EPA: Trump Orders Media Blackout At EPA: Bans Use Of Social Media, Bars New Contract
Bits and Pieces: I have not been tracking the idea of globalism closely although I think it is fundamental to much of the current progressive ideology. And Soros is a globalist. More for my future reference is this article: How To Predict The Behavior Of Globalists
Everything is now on the table: Congressman Introduces Bill To Withdraw The U.S. From The United Nations.
To end, here’s a nice little piece of linguistic history: Fight Club Author Slams ‘Modern Left’: “I Coined ‘Snowflake’ And I Stand By It”. How is Canada’s own little snowflake from 24 Sussex going to handle the Trump revolution?
Bits and Pieces – 20170117, Tuesday
Commentary: From one of my favourite writers, an interesting piece on what the reactionary forces might do leading up to and into the inauguration: The Cheeto Cometh. The really interesting thought I found is that the next civil war has already begun.
We tend to think of major events as having clear start and stop points such as Pearl Harbor marking the start of WWII for the US. In actual fact, the US at that time had already enacted an oil embargo on Japan which might be said to have required Pearl Harbor as a defensive measure by Japan to the embargo which in turn may be understood as an act of war by the US.
Having said this, I just read a piece by George Friedman and Jacob Shapiro in which they state that their horizon for geopolitical analysis is independent of calendars and as such, specific events: Europe: The Process of Change Continues.
We are linear deterministic thinkers in a world where all action is individually determined and collectively emergent. So there is a continuum in any conflict among the protagonists in which specific points are purely arbitrary. We create such points to enable our (linear) thinking and discourse but in so choosing them, we lose the perspective of the true nature of the conflict. It also ensures our responses will not be optimal and may be very bad.
The conflict among the various political constituencies (I’m not talking Republican/Democrat) has become so polarized that an argument may be made that a civil war is in progress, has been for several generations, but has not yet entered a hot or kinetic phase. This is something to be feared.
I have been including links to speculation on a Trump assassination. It could, however be larger as: Putin Warns Of “Maidan-Style” Attempt To Delegitimize Trump; Doesn’t Believe Trump Used Hookers In Moscow. For those of you not recognizing the reference, “Maidan” refers to the events in the 2014 Ukrainian revolution during which it is alleged that right-wing extremist groups, supported by the State Department and the CIA, violently overthrew the elected government in a coup – classic CIA playbook activity.
Trump: The Trump effect in the auto industry motors on: Hyundai To Boost Investment In The US To $3.1 Billion Over 5 Years, Trump Touts “People Are Seeing Big Stuff” After GM Unveils 7,000 New U.S. Jobs, and General Motors says to invest additional $1 billion in U.S..
Fake News and Propaganda: Given the results of polling by the media during the election, one might be led to a contrarian application to new polls by the principal Trump antagonists (WaPo, CNN and ABC): New ABC / WaPo Poll Shows Drop In Trump Favorabilty Through Aggressive “Oversamples”. They used the same skewed sampling in per-election polls and we know those results.
Russia: Worth a read: Putin Warns Of “Maidan-Style” Attempt To Delegitimize Trump; Doesn’t Believe Trump Used Hookers In Moscow.
This article by George Friedman provides 4 maps that his company created to explain geopolitical situations. The first is used to explain the economic weakness of Russia. For those who think Putin wants to conquer the world, this map and an attendant discussion explain why he can’t do it – he can’t afford to. I think he is smart enough, unlike our Western socialist leaders, to understand this: The Geopolitics of 2017 in 4 Maps. On a separate note the second map of China is interesting. Our view is always from offshore looking in. This map is from the inside looking out – a much different perspective
The American Empire (AE): I have wondered how empire can exist when the political helm changes every two or four years. I had speculated that the continuity of policy required for the persistence of empire lay within the State Department and to a certain extent, the military. On a separate note I was aware of the concept of the ‘deep state’ but had relegated it to the rather long list of topics to be explored. This has all come together in a beautifully woven tapestry from Zero Hedge in which the threads of many current topics are seamlessly woven together. In the process, the deep state is defined with links to more material. This article explains some of the difficulties Trump faces in implementing his policy objectives. It is a good read: Trump Takes On The Deep State.
Bits and Pieces: Expect the Liberal/progressive constituency to attack Trump’s change to Obamacare which has come to be known as the (un-)Affordable Care Act. For balance in this gam read: Why Obamacare’s ‘20 Million’ Number Is Fake. For the full perspective, one needs to have been following the slow disintegration of the program over the last couple of years as insurer after insurer and doctor after doctor withdrew while premiums rose n the double digits and as much as 60%.
If you don’t understand the the electoral college and the nature of the US political system, this short read may help: Lewis & Media Do Not Even Understand Why there is the Electoral College.
Finally, a legacy that Obama has earned and should be recognized for: ‘Golfer-In-Chief’ Obama Plays More Rounds Than Any President Since Eisenhower. You may be surprised to know that Woodrow Wilson holds the record at over 1000 games (and his wife was better than him).
Bits and Pieces – 20170116, Monday
Commentary: I’ve always said that two statements determine if a speaker is a Canadian. These are: “It’s my right …” and “It’s not fair …”. Scott Adams today adds his genius:
Trump: I predicted months ago that Trump will be assassinated. It is a topic of some current discussion. In a conversation today with a friend I outlined two probable sources, the CIA and some radical left organization. The CIA is in open rebellion against Trump, dragging parts of the broader intelligence community with it. The left has traditionally been very violent and enjoys widespread support to day from its traditional base, the unions, as well as academia and Hollywood. There is also a possibility of a lone wolf hit like the attempts on Bush and Regan. I place my money on the CIA, however: Will The CIA Assassinate Trump? Ron Paul Warns Of “More Powerful, Shadow Government”. Unlike with Kennedy, everyone is watching. The problem is that there is a large cheering section. I see the potential for a civil war arising from this scenario. Here’s another possible source: Trump’s Murder by Pharma Comment Should Be Taken Seriously.
Trump being Trump: In Stunning Pair Of Interviews, Trump Slams NATO And EU, Threatens BMW With Tax; Prepared To “Cut Ties” With Merkel. Bonus question: what other president has entered office with so many forces arrayed against him?
And this is just weird: D.C. National Guard Chief Fired Days Before Trump Inauguration: “The Timing Is Extremely Unusual”. The removal occurs at 12:01 on Jan. 20! Does this mean the National Guard will be leaderless as the inauguration begins?
Fake News and Propaganda: The 35-page dossier on Trump emerged while I was largely out of contact with my sources. I did catch this one when I came back: 4Chan Claims To Have Fabricated Anti-Trump Report As A Hoax, and opted not to pursue it. Today however, Zero Hedge appears to have unraveled the sources of this whole ‘get Trump’ project: Confirmed: “Unknown” Republican, Democrat Paid For Anti-Trump Report.
Russia: Further NATO aggression: Why Is Obama Moving Troops Into Poland, Provoking Russia Right Before The Inauguration?.
Climate: To use extreme weather events like these to counter advocates of global warming: Europe Plunges into Deep Freeze, Japan in Deep Freeze and Worse Ice Storm in 10 Years Hits USA – Deep Freeze of 2017, is as legitimate as using extreme weather events to justify carbon taxes.
I have also finished my annual analysis of storm activity for 2016: The Weather in 2016: An Average Year for Storms.
Bits and Pieces: With the churches’ embrace of gay marriage opening Pandora’s box, look what’s ready to pop out at any time: The first robot-human marriage will take place before 2050, as droids become more attractive than humans. Expect it by 2030.
Bits and Pieces – 20170106, Friday
Commentary: I’ll be taking a break for a week after today while I travel.
Trump: A short read: Threats to Assassinate Trump. The left in all countries, has been traditionally violent. We have been witnessing the violence for months now, in the US. The threat to the presidency and to the Republic is greater from the left than from terrorist activity.
Cyber Warfare: If this doesn’t fly, what will they modify next in their unsupported claim: The “Russian Hacking” Story Changes Again?
WWIII: Escalation: The US Has Begun Amassing Troops On Russian Border.
Russia: When the West criticizes Russia for its imputed actions, what is never observed are the cases where the West has acted in a similar and often more egregious fashion. Pat Buchanan levels the playing field: Can Trump and Putin Avert Cold War II?
Climate: Something to be watched: Global Warming – Opps – Ice Age – Hits Europe. The problem is with the extreme political bias in climate science, we may be well into a mini-ice age before politicians will remove carbon taxes.
Cycle theory: As you know, I am a fan of the theories of cycles. I started posting Bits and Pieces to facilitate capturing the references in a searchable format for later discovery. One of the prominent cycle theorists or modelers is Martin Armstrong. With that, here’s a later article: Bonds & Climate Change.
Bits and Pieces: Online retailing in perspective:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y-lBvI6u_hw
Trump will be successful in re-shoring companies. There will be few jobs to return, however. The old factories are leveled or converted to other uses. The new factories will be highly automated with the latest generation of robots and artificial intelligence systems. A primary driver of re-shoring is the ability of companies to maintain a higher standard of quality control over product inputs.
In contrast are the traditional ‘bricks-and-mortar’ retailers: Macy’s, Kohl’s Crash After Reporting Abysmal Holiday Sales; Cut Guidance; Announce Mass Layoffs, Store Closures and Sears Holdings Posts Another Ugly Loss: Bankruptcy Looms Ahead.
Looking at the global economy, what can possibly go wrong: Global Debt Hits 325% Of World GDP, Rises To Record $217 Trillion?
A warning for Canadians: The Canada Experiment: Is This the World’s First ‘Postnational’ Country? Garbage from The Guardian.
Bits and Pieces – 20170102, Monday
Commentary: Martin Armstrong whom I am still assessing has changed his perspective on 2017 to one that is more positive: 2017 is Looking More Optimistic Than Ever. If you read it you might wonder “this is optimism”. His model shows things really come apart in 2018 so enjoy this new year. He touches on 2018 in this post: Everything is Connected – Connecting the Dots, and identifies a key element of the disruption as the failure of socialism in the world (that includes Canada).
Civil Unrest: Civil unrest comes not only from the reemergence of the violent left but of the breakdown of social order on a broad scale. Here’s the latest from the cradle of Democratic municipal government (not Detroit): Chicago Violence Worst In 20 Years: “Not Seen This Level Of Disrespect For Police Ever”.
Trump: Here is a provocative view of the election and of trump’s relationship with the elite: Trump Is Exactly Where The Elites Want Him.
Obama: An assessment of Obama’s record: Obama’s Failed Presidency.
Fake News and Propaganda: More from a reliable source contributing fake news: Washington Post Caught Spreading More Fake News About “Russian Hackers”.
Cyber Warfare: Call it paramoia or call it propaganda by the admnistration to create trouble for Trump, the following claim was quickly discredited: Russian Hackers Said To “Penetrate US Electricity Grid” Using Outdated Ukrainian Malware. If anyone can reliably comment the feasance of Russian hacking it would be John McAfee, the founder of the company of that name that provides anti-virus and anti-malware protection software. Whether the primary source lies at Obama’s feet or whether the CIA is operating in the US in its traditional covert role: “Something Stinks” – Like Iraq WMD Fiasco, Russia Story Doesn’t Add Up.
Bits and Pieces: Here is an interesting essay on rthe real hack of the US 2016 election: How George Soros Destroyed the Democratic Party. Here’s an interesting perspective on Turkey from a site that I’m as of today, paying more attention to: Turkey’s “Long Arm” in Europe.
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