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Issues, Problems, (Social) Media and the Manipulation Thereof

ISSUES, PROBLEMS, (SOCIAL) MEDIA AND THE MANIPULATION THEREOF

Back when I was knee high to a grasshopper the biggest issues I had were trying to avoid that jerk of a bully living across the street and making sure I returned home promptly when the street lights came on.

There was no wiggle room on the street light thing because a big bright street light had been placed by the town right outside the kitchen window, requested by mom…or so she claimed. Mom always knew when to expect the return of the wild ones and there would be hell to be paid if we were not home when expected.

Mom never believed us when we tried to explain not all street lights came on at the same time. With the twin benefits of hindsight and maturity I now realize she probably did, but knew if she allowed any wiggle room it would be instantly abused by the hellions. No self respecting dictator ever allows their authority to be questioned, especially by the serfs.

As I have now come to realize, thanks to Mrs. Cog teaching me her enlightened classification system, there are issues and there are problems. Both the terms and the ‘things’ are not interchangeable; not by a long shot.

Issues are always (relatively) minor and able to be resolved with the application of a little elbow grease and some determination. Most issues are often of our own making; therefore the solution is readily at hand.

Problems, on the other hand, are much more intractable and not as easily solved. If fact, problems are often deal breakers, bringing projects, negotiations and relationships to a full and complete stop.

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This and That Vol 3 – Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire

This and That Vol 3 – Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire

There are a couple of phrases I often use to neatly describe the personal and social dysfunction exploding into view these days. On the personal side, my “We are only as sick as our deepest darkest secrets” perfectly illustrates how personally damaging those things are that we hide from everyone, especially ourselves.

Since a society is composed of, and accurately reflects, its individual citizens, it stands to reason this dysfunction would reverberate throughout society even if it manifested differently on an individual basis. It is entirely possible, and in fact a regular occurrence, for hundreds of millions of people to share a ‘secret’ by simply not talking about the root issues of our social dysfunction.

We as a society will nearly always talk over, under and around the core issues that are slowly grinding away at our sanity. Therefore “What is not discussed is far more important that what is”.  A perfect example of this is the recent silliness of mass righteous indignation about kneeling or not during an act of coerced/conditioned symbolism (the ‘national anthem’) when so many far more important things are ignored like monsters hidden under the bed.

What is often lost by those on the sidelines, either participating in the drama or confused why there is so much ado about nothing, is that the drama IS necessary both for the participants and the viewers. It does not matter which side of the divide we lay on, only that we are engaged in not talking about the things we do not wish to talk about.

To many people my statements above will ring as nonsensical, even ridiculous, because in their view we talk incessantly about everything. The internet sees to that, which is abuzz with endless conversations and dialogue.

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The American Way: Mindless Pursuit

The American Way: Mindless Pursuit

It’s actually embarrassing if I’m to be frank and honest in my opinion. How many times during my adult life did I hear ‘leadership’ proclaim they are simply defending ‘The American Way’ without ever really thinking about what constituted the way “We the People” live?

Sure I gave passing consideration now and then, but I always remained safely within the pro-programmed thought box promoted by those who claimed to be defending me and my ‘way’. Therefore when I was younger the answer was simplicity at its finest: baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.

In other words, the mindless pursuit of all things pleasurable.

Of course, this is an over simplification of a complex situation. Then again, maybe not. There are several trigger words in my statement, any one of which can be endlessly argued to death. And if there is one thing I’ve learned in my advancing age it is this. When I don’t wish to confront an unpleasant situation I will argue the piss out of the details until I have convinced myself it doesn’t apply and I can ignore it completely.

A person engaged in mindless pursuit must always be in pursuit of mindlessness. Anything that interferes with this objective is perceived as a disturbance in the force and must be eradicated as quickly as possible. Again, plenty of trigger words in this statement, affording everyone the opportunity to stop reading and find something more pleasurable to do.

I am aware that when you are a hammer, everything tends to look like a nail just begging to be pounded. Since I am a recovering alcoholic, I tend to see the world through the eyes of a recovering addict. And what I see through my admittedly biased baby blues is an America full of addicts in various stages of obsessive compulsive obliviousness.

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Lines in the Sand

THIS AND THAT VOL. 1 – LINES IN THE SAND

When I was younger I would get into intense political and ideological discussions with various individuals from both sides of the aisle. And in America there are usually two sides to every aisle, always perfectly demonstrating the polarization that keeps “We the People” endlessly chasing our tails in tight little circles while our masters loot and pillage to no end.

I tend to be the devil’s advocate and will often take the other side of any discussion, if only to test how factually based and intellectually consistent the other person’s thinking is. No surprise here but they rarely are; unless (of course) they’re using their own unique set of facts to base their deeply flawed argument upon.

Often the ‘discussion’ would quickly devolve into minutiae when the other person is confronted with their own hypocrisy or inconsistency. I am always amazed how fiercely they will cling to some irrefutable ‘fact’ in their argument as if that little gem perfectly supported their entire cognitive fallacy.

I eventually learned to never underestimate the lengths to which people will go to believe precisely what they want to believe, facts or hypocrisy be damned. One guy actually had the gumption to tell me with a straight face that we lived in a free country and he was entitled to believe whatever he wanted to believe.

It doesn’t take a ‘free’ country to accomplish that my friend, just a terminally closed mind.

I used to think people simply would not view the world with an open mind. Then I thought people simply couldnot. Lately I’ve come to understand it’s a little bit of both, combined with a heaping dollop of a complete lack of critical thinking sprinkled liberally with deep denial and affirmation seeking. Once the pile of self deception and outright denial grows to critical proportions, the addled ‘thinker’ cannot concede any one point without conceding all points.

 

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SkyNet is sentient and will destroy your investments and pension

SKYNET IS SENTIENT AND WILL DESTROY YOUR INVESTMENTS AND PENSION

SkyNet is Sentient and Will Destroy Your Investments and Pension

Do you really want to know about how SkyNet controls your investments and pension via the various financial markets? I ask with all sincerity because the subject is not pleasant and may even be frightening to those who have followed a strict diet of financial ignorance.

Once you know, it is nearly impossible to un-know. And just as there is never only one weed in the garden, knowing this inevitably leads to a critical juncture where one must then decide if they wish to know more or simply curl up in the fetal position on the bathroom floor.

You see, when “We the Mindless Minions” (desperately) wish to avoid responsibility for knowing, while the specific tactics used may vary greatly, the theme remains pretty consistent. I call it the Sgt. Schultz defense.

“I know nothing, I see nothing and I was never here.”

A variation of the theme, usually employed when among others, thus we cannot claim total ignorance about the uncomfortable subject presently being discussed, is brilliant in its ability to disavow responsibility while passing the buck to someone (anyone) at a higher pay grade.

“They would never let that happen/do that,” or the always reassuring “I’m sure someone’s looking into that as we speak.” Now how about those (fill in this blank with any sport, celebrity, politician, TV show or viral cat video).

Disavowing knowledge or responsibility, passing the buck and then changing the subject is the time tested way to live in blissful ignorance. Or as I have grown fond of saying, unconscious incompetence with a heaping side order of willful ignorance.

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Loose Cannon

Back in the days of sword and sail, warships mounted heavy cannon on their decks in such a way as to maximize their range of fire. Out of necessity, this meant the cannon were not permanently fixed in place and needed to be properly lashed to the deck during high seas or violent maneuvers. The cannon, cast from iron, were extremely heavy weapons of war and wrought great death and destruction if they ever broke free from their restraints and got loose on deck.

Today, the phrase ‘loose cannon’ is used to describe an individual, usually a politician or other ‘authority’, who has become reckless and rash, lashing out senselessly at anyone and everyone within reach. Dangerously uncontrollable would be a proper description of both the loose cannon and the described individual.

But I am not referencing Donald Trump or any other individual for that matter. Instead I am speaking with regard to the faceless, nameless, uber powerful chameleon better known as the Deep State, the existence of which has been repeatedly mentioned in the mainstream and alternative press of late. However, I am not necessarily claiming the Deep State itself is the loose cannon. Read on for the answer.

While various forms of the phrase “Deep State” have been around for decades, I began to pay particular attention soon after the false flag event of 9/11, when I launched into deep study sessions reading the likes of Smedley Butler, John Perkins, Roger Stone, Michael Ruppert, Daniel Ellsberg, Tom Engelhardt, Peter Dale Scott, Noam Chomsky, Webster Tarpley et al. The list is deep and varied and by no means does it represent strictly truthsayers. To truly know your enemy you must understand their tactics, methods and disinformation/propaganda.

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Unaware and Misinformed–Exactly How They Like Us

UNAWARE AND MISINFORMED – EXACTLY HOW THEY LIKE US

I should start this out with a disclaimer. I worked as a financial planner and stock broker for 25 years and really didn’t begin to grasp the true mechanics of the financial system until nearly 10 years in. It took even longer for the magnitude of the crony capitalist corruption to sink in. I was indoctrinated by book and exam, scored extremely high in the various licensing and accreditation examinations (meaning I had fully swallowed my programming) and successfully parroted what I had learned.

It was only when the stink from the long dead skunk in the woodpile became overwhelming and could no longer be ignored did I begin to probe and seriously question both the financial ‘authorities’, the prevailing financial meme and myself. So when I come across others who are following the same path while blindfolded I am not casting stones. Instead, I am illustrating how we are all deeply immersed in many alternative reality memes even as I focus on this one in particular.

That said, let me begin.

I walked into a branch of ‘my’ bank the other day to make a deposit. It was mid afternoon and clearly a slow period for the bank because there were four tellers available and not another ‘customer’ in sight. Proving to all I was well trained and obedient, I followed the velvet and gold rope lined customer cattle chute and waited passively at the head of the ‘line’ to be summoned.

Thankfully the wait was not long.

The teller (Anna) greeted me pleasantly (obviously grateful for the distraction I afforded her) and asked how she could be of assistance. Stating my purpose, I plopped down my fake fiat and promptly engaged her in small talk. Having worked in the main branch of a bank as the resident financial planner (aka financial product salesman) for nearly ten years, I fully understand how monotonous the teller position can be at times.

 

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Seeking Calm in the Middle of Chaos

SEEKING CALM IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAOS

“Do. Or do not do. There is no try.” – Yoda

A lie repeated often enough becomes the truth, both for those who wish it to be the truth because it fits their (programmed) mindset, and those who practice what I describe as ‘garbage in, garbage out’ non critical thinking. Setting aside the desire to expand upon the definition of ‘truth’, if the purpose of the lie (and the intent of the liar) is to shape reality via propaganda dissemination (basically to gain advantage) might not the lie also be directed towards those who know it to be a lie?

As silly as that statement may appear on the surface, it is reasonable to inquire exactly how a known or suspected lie may significantly shape the reality of those who at a minimum may not know the truth, but can smell a lie a mile away. The answer comes by way of how we react to the lie and not the lie itself.

If we are consumed by the lie, either by accepting it as ‘truth’ or by obsessively and forcibly exposing it, particularly to those who could care less or to those who are of like mind who need external affirmation of their alternative reality, we are effectively disempowered by the very lie we reject.

Most assume a lie is used primarily to hide the truth. And for this purpose it is most effective, particularly when it fits neatly within the overall controlling narrative. But the lie is also purposefully directed towards those who know a lie when they hear one.

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For Domestic Consumption: Divide and Control is Working Brilliantly Once Again

FOR DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION: DIVIDE AND CONTROL IS WORKING BRILLIANTLY ONCE AGAIN

Like so many others who have followed a slow and rocky path towards a greater awakening and understanding, certain key events tend to be remembered more vividly than others. However, this doesn’t mean a particular event or awareness was our first or initial exposure. On the contrary, similar to Chinese water torture, it’s not the first drop that drives your awakening, but often the hundredth, the thousandth or ten thousandth.

It was 17 years ago that this particular noggin’ knock shook me to the core, mostly because it showed me how blind I was to the world around me. When deeply and seamlessly immersed within the altered realty we believe is normal everyday life, so much is readily apparent only to those who are actively looking or genuinely receptive.

I had just moved to the DC area with my son and was recently hired at a small bank as their newest investment advisor. The region was completely new to me so I was especially alert the first few months of my commute south of Washington DC. I’ve always wondered if this had something to do with it.

I was listening to a news broadcast on the car radio as I headed out on a sales appointment. The news reader was informing me that a leader of an ‘ally’ of ‘ours’ had just made a speech in which he had disparaged both the United States and the President. To be frank I don’t remember exactly who this was, though I am certain the country was in the Middle East. Ultimately it doesn’t matter who, what, where or when…just why.

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David Suzuki: We Can’t Dig Our Way Out of the Fossil Fuels Hole

David Suzuki: We Can’t Dig Our Way Out of the Fossil Fuels Hole

Rather than focusing on short-term economic and corporate priorities, though, politicians should first consider the long-term health and well-being of the people they’re elected to represent. When it comes to climate change and fossil fuels, many aren’t living up to that.

We celebrate the federal government’s decision to implement nation-wide carbon pricing, even though what’s proposed won’t, without additional measures like regulations, get us to our commitments under the Paris Agreement, which is also inadequate for keeping global warming from catastrophic levels. A government could be forgiven for going slow on a measure opposed by some industrial sectors, provinces and citizens, but it’s difficult to take a government seriously when it approves or supports expanding fossil fuel infrastructure and development while the world continues to break warming records, with increasingly dire consequences.

massive B.C. “carbon bomb” LNG project in the midst of critical salmon-rearing territory, in defiance of many area First Nations’ wishes. Likely approval of at least one more bitumen pipeline to support expanded oil sands development. A provincial government that pretty much says, “We’ll support federal efforts to fight climate change if you support our efforts to fuel it.” None of this makes sense.

As a report from non-profit Oil Change International and 14 other groups concludes, “The potential carbon emissions from the oil, gas, and coal in the world’s currently operating fields and mines would take us beyond 2°C of warming,” and “The reserves in currently operating oil and gas fields alone, even with no coal, would take the world beyond 1.5°C.” That’s without any new development!

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Lit and Sputtering

You can see where the trajectory of events is leading. The country will be distracted by racial strife this summer while the global banking system implodes, disabling trade relations and the super-long supply chains we depend on for all common goods from oil to fresh food. Unless the remnants of the Republican Party act responsibly and find a way to replace Trump with a capable candidate, the nation will get what it deserves: a clown in the white house at the climax of the Fourth Turning.

The racial events of recent days resonate in a fog of cognitive dissonance. What really happened in those two incidents involving Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge Louisiana? Too many people pretend to know exactly why these two men were shot by cops. The video recordings of the incidents are ambiguous. In the Castile case, the recording doesn’t start until just after the deed is done.

Given the universal hyper-awareness of the current mood around the country, I doubt that policemen would throw away their livelihoods for a few thrilling seconds of malice. They know exactly what happens after the gun comes out: suspension, investigation, end-of-career, possibly civil prosecution, lawyers and more lawyers, a special hell of lawyers, and no way to make a living in the meantime. In a word: ruin.

These two incidents were followed by the shootings in Dallas by one Micah Johnson of twelve cops, five of whom died. That matter was not so ambiguous. The authorities quickly determined what happened and why. It is likely to lead to more assassinations and bushwhackings of police because a peculiar social mechanism gives people permission to re-enact atrocities once certain lines are crossed. We saw that in the political assassinations that commenced in the 1960s. The Jihadi beheadings and other monstrosities work similarly.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The Sociopaths Among Us

THE SOCIOPATHS AMONG US

What passes for standard operating procedure (SOP) on Wall Street and in Washington DC would never even cross our minds as a valid choice, let alone desirable or even possible to consider. In fact, we find most of the sociopath’s more egregious antics to be too fantastical to actually be true because we would never ever consider doing those things ourselves.

This social/psychological phenomenon is precisely why The Big Lie (and the mountain of smaller lies supporting The Big Lie) is so powerful and utterly believable to the average Jane or Joe. Time and time again I have heard a person, still deeply embedded within the Matrix, tell me the revelation I’ve just passed on to him or her is simply impossible, thus in their mind discredited and totally without merit.

And yet their initial unthinking response (“I just can’t believe……”) tells me all I need to know about their severe case of cognitive dissonance as well as their desperation to keep reality at bay. It simply can’t be possible because they know it to be impossible. The sociopaths feed off this type of emotional dysfunction the way whales feast off large schools of krill or sardines. It’s all right there for the taking, consumed in one big gulp.

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Where Will You Be When the End Game Begins?

WHERE WILL YOU BE WHEN THE END GAME BEGINS?

Sometime after oh dark thirty it will begin, the previously cocked trigger suddenly released to wreck havoc throughout the world’s financial system. Like an intricate and interwoven design made entirely of standing dominoes, all it takes is a slight disturbance to knock one off its base and start the cascade of toppled consequences running down the line.

With the benefit of hindsight it will be seen that the trigger itself was not the killer. Instead, sometime later, a specific projectile will be (most likely falsely) identified as the blunt instrument which tore economic flesh asunder and quickly bled the system of ‘liquidity’ faster than a slash to the femoral artery. Too late to make a difference, tourniquets will be applied to stem the red tide. Sadly, all it will accomplish is to extend economic life long enough to enable a final frenzy of looting before the bloody end.

And the totalitarian end game will have only just begun.

A socioeconomic system, if healthy and vibrant, can usually withstand extremely rough handling and even intentionally directed assault. A severed lifeline, while certainly a devastating shock to the organism, can and will be survived simply because adequate resources and flexibility remain within the structure which can be quickly marshaled while emergency repairs are made.

But a compromised entity already deathly ill, continuously pumped with toxic drugs and stimulants, stressed beyond compare by various Rube Goldberg financial devices, constantly monitored and regulated to assure compliance to artificial standards no natural system would ever adhere to, is always one disturbance away from disaster.

Thus the stage is set for the dark thirty triggering event.

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Assessing Blame and the Victim Mentality

Its You - Final

Once we have traveled a path enough times, we remember the sequence of turns and specific landmarks more than the individual trees, houses or businesses on our route. As we travel down a familiar road, on a barely conscious level we tick off the various items that mark our progression towards our destination.

This cognitive shortcut allows us to devote brainpower to other pursuits while placing the driving/navigating on autopilot. This is precisely why the majority of accidents occur within thirty miles of home. Our attention level is greatly reduced while the normal hazards of driving are not.

Something remarkably similar is happening with regard to America in particular and the western world in general. From birth we are trained and conditioned to believe certain ‘facts’ and myths about our world as well as the processes we are to follow in order to navigate its various hazards, hurtles and pathways. At various stages we relegate select routes and practices to autopilot, thinking ‘OK, I’ve got that covered”.

In short, much of ‘life’ soon becomes routine and comfortably familiar (not threatening is a more accurate classification) and is quickly pushed to the cognitive background bearing the label ‘non essential’ and ‘already known’. The quickest and most effective cognitive method used to do so is to ‘label’ something, thereby associating it with preconceived and categorized known knowns’.

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Rogue Wave

Rogue Wave

It is the stuff of legends and lore dating back through all of recorded history, of sinking ships and sea monsters, of tall tales and tragic deaths. The problem was obvious; any credible witness to a rogue wave usually didn’t survive the rogue wave, thereby relegating the actual phenomenon to the looney tunes category by the so-called ‘experts’.

In an authoritarian culture only the authorities can declare something ‘real’ regardless of how much evidence has been previously offered. It took an actual ‘scientific’ measurement in the North Sea off Norway on New Year’s Day, 1995 aboard the Draupner platform to convince the scientists (aka the authorities) there really was such a thing as a rogue wave.

The charted output of that instrumented event, described as the Draupner wave, is seen below and clearly indicates an extreme aberration, a bolt of lightning out of the blue if you will, a single wave easily twice the average height of the largest waves and three to four times the average height of the smallest.

Draupner Wave Graph - Final

Measured from the trough to crest, the Draupner Wave was nearly 25 meters/84 feet tall.

Since the impact force of a wave is an exponential function of its height, you can clearly understand why no modern ship is designed to survive a direct hit from a wave of this magnitude. 15 meter/49 foot waves from trough to crest is the current design standard, while the Draupner was nearly 25m/82ft tall, thus the reason for rarity of eye witnesses to these events. The only reason the measuring device, an on-board laser, survived to tell the tale was because it was secured to a gas pipeline platform anchored to the sea bottom and suspended above this monster wave.

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