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One of the most horrifying works of art is Bruegel’s “The Triumph of Death” painted in 1562. The painting depicts the end of life on earth.

I sincerely hope that this is not what the world will literally look like in the next decade or two but metaphorically this is not an unlikely depiction of the chaos that could hit us all.

For a detailed description of the grim painting see here

The Black Death plague of the 14^th century, which killed up to half of the world’s population, clearly had a major influence on the painter.

The moral message is that when chaos hits, the destruction will affect everyone, rich and poor, young and old. No one will escape by power or devotion.

The financial, economic and moral devastation which is about to hit the world will for more than 99.5% of the people come out of the blue like a flash from a clear sky.

For most people, coming events will thus be like the definition of the word CHAOS: “A state of total confusion and disorder”.

CHAOS NUMBER 1: COVID

Talking about disorder, just like the Black Death that inspired Bruegel’s painting, the world is now facing a global pandemic. But rather than the nearer 50% of global population that perished in the mid 1300s, today we are looking at total deaths from the current pandemic of 0.06% of the world population! And even that figure might be overestimated due to the classification rules applied.

For that minuscule percentage the world has now been paralysed for the third year soon.

There are lockdowns, quarantines, compulsory vaccines with unlined boosters, covid passports, closed schools, closed offices, major industries like leisure haemorrhaging, airlines going bankrupt, shortages of labour, components, products, closed borders, and for the few people who dare to and can travel across borders, more bureaucracy, paperwork and tests than in a police state…

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

The hidden recession of 2020

December 24, 2021

The hidden recession of 2020

After 20 months of economy-wrecking lockdowns and restrictions, 2019 is fondly remembered as a period of prosperous calm. Memories though, are deceptive. And in the days before we learned what gain-of-function meant, things were not as rosy as they now seem. Although the decade 2009-2019 was officially one of the longest periods of economic growth ever recorded, the rate of growth was anaemic – the media reporting on any quarter with more than 1.0% growth as if it heralded a return to the 1960s. And what growth there was owed more to additional debt than to improvements in productivity. The reality of the post-2008 years was of the mergence of an 80:20 economy in which the majority watched their prosperity evaporate, while a shrinking metropolitan salaried class fought a rear-guard defence of their income and status.

The political dam broke in 2016, with “the revenge of the places that didn’t matter” – aka Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. But few in the salaried class understood the economic decline which had spilled over into the political arena; preferring instead to blame it all on Russian bots. Nevertheless, whether the elites and their salaried lapdogs chose to understand the economic situation or not, the process of decline continued.

In the UK, Christmas 2018 had been the worse on record… until Christmas 2019 rolled around. And whereas Christmas 2018 had seen a big decline in discretionary spending, Christmas 2019 produced the first indicators of a decline in borderline essential spending too. We might choose to regard the humble Christmas pudding as something which can be lived without – although those who lived under Cromwell’s puritanical dictatorship might beg to differ – but a decline in sales – along with those of turkey and seasonal biscuits – points to a nation which was reining in its spending long before SARS-CoV-2 embarked upon the European leg of its world tour.

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

My Brainwashing

December 21, 2021

My Brainwashing

From Pixabay/Tumisu.

People rarely recognize or admit that they have been brainwashed. Perhaps the term brainwashed is too extreme, in which case manipulated or fooled may be substituted.

An insightful quote from Mark Twain says:

It is easier to fool people than it is to convince them that they have been fooled.

What often happens, in fact, is that people on opposite sides of an issue suspect (or are convinced) that the other side has been brainwashed. Sometimes one side is more justified in the charge than the other, in which case the brainwashed victims effectively assert a sort of projected symmetry that rings false.

Bi-directional allegations of brainwashing show up in the context of COVID: masks provide a clear means of identifying either those (masked individuals) who have been fooled into controlled submission to believe that the pandemic is real and deadly vs. those (unmasked fighters for freedom) who have been sadly misled to think it’s all a hoax and in so doing endanger us all. Each side may feel anger or pity toward the other. Climate change is similar: its denial has become an article of faith for the brainwashed non-believers, who accuse the gullible believers of being brainwashed by self-serving scientists vying for funding, power, or something (cake, maybe?).

To either side, it seems inconceivable that someone could deny the truths that are so obvious to them. For me, an uptick in total deaths closely matching reports of COVID deaths is pretty convincing, and it is hard for me to make out why anyone in power would want to wreck the economy and could somehow convince countries around the world to overlook a competitive advantage and follow suit…

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

Omicron on the rise: Pandemic as a life lesson for the human species

December 20, 2021

Omicron on the rise: Pandemic as a life lesson for the human species

If we think of a disease as something that is sending us a message that we need to incorporate into our individual and collective lives, we get a much different view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. So far, our attempts at integrating COVID-19 into our existence have been met with one surprising turn after another. The rapid rise of the Omicron variant is just the latest twist in the pandemic story. And, it follows the rise of the Delta variant which led to a previous new wave of infections.

The Delta variant seemed to increase significantly so-called breakthrough infections, that is, COVID infections in people believed to be fully or partially vaccinated, something which has flummoxed the medical community and public health officials. Still, those receiving a vaccine have far lower rates of hospitalization and mortality than those catching COVID who have not been vaccinated.

We don’t yet have enough information to know just how well vaccines will fare against the Omicron variant. One early report is creating concern. Cornell University has closed its main campus in response to a rapid rise in COVID cases caused by the Omicron variant. And, this is a place where 97 percent of the people on campus are said to be “fully vaccinated.”

We do know that protection from COVID vaccines fades with time (usually within months) and hence the emerging recognition of the need for frequent boosters. And, the public now understands that vaccines neither guarantee freedom from infection nor prevent those vaccinated from spreading the virus even if they are asymptomatic. Risk of individual infection and community spread is considerably lower, but it is not zero. The easy-to-spread Omicron variant is doubling its cases every 1½ to 3 days.

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

Global supply chain crisis could last another two years, warn experts

December 19, 2021

Global supply chain crisis could last another two years, warn experts

As some bottlenecks ease others are just starting, meaning the post-pandemic economy ‘won’t return to normal any time soon’

China’s Ningbo Zhoushan port in Zhejiang province, a key shipping hub. A new Covid outbreak in the region has raised fears of further delays in the global shipping system. Photograph: China Stringer Network/Reuters

In Britain it’s alcohol, in Canada it’s maple syrup, while in Australia it’s a crucial additive for diesel trucks, and in New Zealand it’s brown sugar. These are just some of the many shortages affecting consumers and businesses around the world as industry experts warn that the supply chain crisis prompted by the coronavirus pandemic could last for many more months and even up to two years.

Although there are signs that some bottlenecks are easing, the onset of the Omicron Covid variant could lead to new shutdowns, sending another disruptive spasm through the global system.

The gravest appears to be an outbreak of Covid this week in the Chinese manufacturing hub of Zhejiang, which is home to the world’s largest cargo port, Ningbo-Zhoushan. Tens of thousands are in quarantine under China’s strict zero-Covid policy and some local authorities have urged workers not to travel home “unnecessarily” for lunar new year festival in February. “Further supply chain disruption is a significant possibility,” economic analysts at Capital Economics said in a note.

Industry experts and economists believe the problems could persist as the finely calibrated network of world trade, already weakened by months of shipping backlogs, labour shortages and geopolitical tensions, remains “discombobulated”.

Maersk, one of the big three shipping companies, said the worst delays were still on the US west coast where ships were waiting four weeks to unload due to the lack of workers on land.

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

Extreme weather and pandemic help drive global food prices to 46-year high

December 8, 2021

Extreme weather and pandemic help drive global food prices to 46-year high

Current high food prices, combined with the ongoing pandemic, will make the global food supply highly vulnerable to extreme weather shocks in 2022.

Hurricane damage — Aerial view of stranded barges along the Mississippi River in Louisiana, on August 30, 2021, in the wake of category 4 Hurricane Ida. The hurricane significantly disrupted transport of grains and fertilizer in September, contributing to high global food prices. (Image credit: Congressman Garret Graves (R-La), Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis)

Global food prices in November rose 1.2% compared to October, and were at their highest level since June 2011 (unadjusted for inflation), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its monthly report on December 2. After adjusting for inflation, 2021 food prices averaged for the 11 months of 2021 are the highest in 46 years.

The high prices come despite expectations that total global production of grains in 2021 will set an all-time record: 0.7% higher than the previous record set in 2020. But because of higher demand (in part, from an increased amount of wheat and corn used to feed animals), the 2021 harvest is not expected to meet consumption requirements in 2021/2022, resulting in a modest drawdown in global grain stocks by the end of 2022, to their lowest levels since 2015/2016.

The November increase in global food prices was largely the result of a surge in prices of grains and dairy products, with wheat prices a dominant driver. In an interview at fortune.com, Carlos Mera, head of agri commodities market research at Rabobank, blamed much of the increase in wheat prices on drought and high temperatures hitting major wheat producers including the U.S., Canada, and Russia.

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

Running Out of Spare Capacity

December 6, 2021

Running Out of Spare Capacity

Global oil markets could not have looked grimmer than back in the summer of 2020. COVID cases were increasing again and further global economic lockdowns were being threatened. Only two months before, oil prices had crashed into negative territory for the first time in history as global inventories had surged and threatened to overflow. Between the never-ending pandemic and electric vehicles, common investment wisdom believed oil demand was in secular decline, bloated inventories would remain elevated forever, and oil prices would never recover.

At Goehring & Rozencwajg, we love to undertake in-depth insightful research that identifies newly developing investment trends and often comes up with conclusions that differ vastly from consensus opinion. Our goal is to share these results with our investment clients and partners at least twelve months before they become headline news in the financial press. This is an ambitious goal and we don’t always get it right. However, the satisfaction in recognizing trends long before the general investment community not only brings large profits to our investors, but a huge amount of professional pleasure to us as well.

To that end, we titled our 2Q2020 letter “On the Verge of an Energy Crisis”. At the time, no one agreed with us. Now headline after headline talks of an “unforeseen” energy panic. It looks like the energy crisis we discussed 14 months ago is now here.

If the energy crisis has arrived, where does Goehring & Rozencwajg see things 12 months from now? By the end of 2022, we believe global oil demand will have exceeded pumping capability for the first time in history. Just as no one agreed with our assessment of an emerging energy crisis this time last year, almost no one agrees us today either. Instead, conventional wisdom strongly believes OPEC spare capacity will be returned, eventually throwing the market into huge surplus in 2022.

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

Now or Never: The Great ‘Transition’ Must Be Imposed

December 5, 2021

A new wave of restrictions, more lockdowns, and – eventually – trillions of dollars in new stimmie cheques may be in prospect.

Were you following the news this last week? Vaccine mandates are everywhere: one country, after another, is doubling-down, to try to force, or legally compel, full population vaccination. The mandates are coming because of the massive uptick in Covid – most of all in the places where the experimental mRNA gene therapies were deployed en masse. And (no coincidence), this ‘marker’ has come just as U.S. Covid deaths in 2021 have surpassed those of 2020. This has happened, despite the fact that last year, no Americans were vaccinated (and this year 59% are vaccinated). Clearly no panacea, this mRNA ‘surge’.

Of course, the Pharma-Establishment know that the vaccines are no panacea. There are ‘higher interests’ at play here. It is driven rather by fear that the window for implementing its series of ‘transitions’ in the U.S. and Europe is closing. Biden still struggles to move his ‘Go-Big’ social spending plan and green agenda transition through Congress by the midterm election in a year’s time. And the inflation spike may well sink Biden’s Build Back Better agenda (BBB) altogether.

Time is short. The midterm elections are but 12 months away, after which the legislative window shuts. The Green ‘transition’ is stuck too (by concerns that moving too fast to renewables is putting power grids at risk and elevating heating costs unduly), and the Pharma establishment will be aware that a new B.1.1.529 variant has made a big jump in evolution with 32 mutations to its spike protein. This makes it “clearly very different” from previous variants, which may drive further waves of infection evading ‘vaccine defences’.

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

The Lack of Independent Thought

December 2, 2021

The Lack of Independent Thought

I find it really disturbing that people you thought were capable of independent thought turn out to be like a drone just maneuvering through life without a clue. Geraldo Rivera actually said: “If I’m in your room with my grandchildren who are not vaccinated because they are too young and you lie about vaccine status, and you sneeze on my grandchildren, that could be a crime. That is absolutely so selfish.”

Perhaps Geraldo has failed to comprehend the news that being vaccinated does not prevent you from getting COVID, nor does it prevent you from spreading COVID. The four people who were diplomats that took Omicron to Hong Kong were vaccinated. Using Geraldo’s logic, if you are vaccinated and give COVID to his grandchildren, that’s OK, but if you are not vaccinated then the same act is criminal? You can see how Hitler was able to get people to hate the Jews.

Let me make this very clear, my family had COVID and the grandchildren, under 10, may have had a runny nose at best when their parents were sick for about 10 days. Then in the other family group, one parent had COVID and was laid up for also about 10 days, while the other didn’t get it in the same house. The same with the children under 10. I too probably had COVID, although I tested negative five times, and two doctors said I mostly had it because the tests are not valid.

Video Player

I have worked with many governments around the globe for 40 years. Once politics entered COVID, all truth vanished. No government will ever admit this was a mistake. If the vaccines sterilize people or cause heart problems, governments will NEVER admit any side-effect…

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

Protesting Permaculture: the last five weeks and the last five decades

November 29, 2021

Protesting Permaculture: the last five weeks and the last five decades

On Saturday 13th and 20th November, my partner Su Dennett and I joined others from central Victoria travelling by train to the “Kill the Bill”/anti-lockdown/anti-mandate protests in Melbourne. This essay documents the experience, and reflects on the relationship between permaculture and oppositional activism over more than 40 years.

David with his historic permaculture banner at the November 13 rally in Melbourne. Photo from Reignite Democracy website collection.

I also want to highlight the opportunities for permaculture activism in a time of a pandemic to help those in need who have the capacity and motivation to increase their personal, household and community autonomy, resilience and connection to nature. This should be independent of their beliefs, and certainly without the judgemental othering that has accelerated with Covid. In the process, I believe we will all learn to live more lightly on the earth in consideration of fair share and the future.

I was raised in a family at the front lines of the battle to “Stop the War” (in Vietnam). Consequently, as a primary school kid, I knew what it was like to be ostracised as a “commie traitor”. Later, I found my opinions progressively adopted as a symbol of the “generation gap,” also characterised by sex, drugs and rock and roll. If the war had lasted long enough, I knew I would face the prospect of going underground or burning my draft card and doing time.

David’s first demonstration (in pram) cropped from photo of Fremantle May Day march 1956 from Venie Holmgren’s ASIO file (released to public archives in 2016)

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

Pathologized Totalitarianism 101

November 24, 2021

Pathologized Totalitarianism 101

So, GloboCap has crossed the Rubicon. The final phase of its transformation of society into a pathologized-totalitarian dystopia, where mandatory genetic-therapy injections and digital compliance papers are commonplace, is now officially underway.

On November 19, 2021, the government of New Normal Austria decreed that, as of February, experimental mRNA injections will be mandatory for the entire population. This decree comes in the midst of Austria’s official persecution of “the Unvaccinated,” i.e., political dissidents and other persons of conscience who refuse to convert to the new official ideology and submit to a series of mRNA injections, purportedly to combat a virus that causes mild-to-moderate flu-like symptoms (or no symptoms of any kind at all) in about 95% of the infected and the overall infection fatality rate of which is approximately 0.1% to 0.5%.

Austria is just the tip of the New Normal spear. Prominent New-Normal fascists in Germany, like Der Führer of Bavaria, Markus Söder, and Minister of Propaganda Karl Lauterbach, are already calling for an allgemeine Impfpflicht (i.e., “compulsory vaccination requirement”), which should not come as a surprise to anyone. The Germans are not going sit idly by and let the Austrians publicly out-fascist them, are they? They have a reputation to uphold, after all! Italy will probably be next to join in, unless Lithuania or Australia beats them to the punch.

But, seriously, this is just the beginning of the Winter Siege I wrote about recently. The plan seems to be to New-Normalize Europe first — generally speaking, Europeans are more docile, respectful of all authority, and not very well armed — and then use it as leverage to force the new pathologized totalitarianism on the USA, and the UK, and the rest of the world.

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

Australian Army Begins Transferring COVID-Positive Cases, Contacts To Quarantine Camps

November 22, 2021

Australian Army Begins Transferring COVID-Positive Cases, Contacts To Quarantine Camps

The Australian army has begun forcibly removing residents in the Northern Territories to the Howard Springs quarantine camp located in Darwin, after nine new Covid-19 cases were identified in the community of Binjari. The move comes after hard lockdowns were instituted in the communities of both Binjari and nearby Rockhole on Saturday night.

*Howard Springs Quarantine Facility has capacity for 2,000 overseas arrivals and about 1,000 domestic travellers. (AAP: Glenn Campbell)*

“Residents of Binjari and Rockhole no longer have the five reasons to leave their homes,” said Northern Territory chief minister, Michael Gunner, referring to the country’s five allowable reasons to avoid lockdown (buying food and supplies, exercising for up to two hours, care or caregiving, work or education if it can’t be done from home, and to get vaccinated at the nearest possible location).

“They can only leave for medical treatment, in an emergency, or as required by law.”

“It’s highly likely that more residents will be transferred to Howard Springs today, either as positive cases or close contacts,” he continued, adding “We have already identified 38 close contacts from Binjari but that number will go up. Those 38 are being transferred now.”

“I contacted the Prime Minister last night. We are grateful for the support of about 20 ADF personnel, as well as army trucks to assist with the transfer of positive cases and close contacts – and to support the communities.

We are doing an assessment today of what extra resources we might need from the Feds, and the Prime Minister is ready to help further – I thank him for that.”

Watch:

“We’re conscious of the fact that this can have some impacts on people’s mental health as well as their general well being,” Police Commissioner Jamie Chalkner told NT News.

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

Weekly Commentary: Trouble on the Horizon

November 22, 2021

Weekly Commentary: Trouble on the Horizon

November 19 – Reuters (Francois Murphy and Paul Carrel): “Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full COVID-19 lockdown, it said on Friday as neighbouring Germany warned it may follow suit, sending shivers through financial markets worried about the economic fallout. Europe has again become the epicentre of the pandemic, accounting for half of global cases and deaths. A fourth wave of infections has plunged Germany, Europe’s largest economy, into a national emergency, Health Minister Jens Spahn said, warning that vaccinations alone will not cut case numbers.”

As desperately as we want to put Covid behind us, the irrepressible virus refuses to succumb. Germany reported a record 65,000 new infections Thursday. And, according to Bloomberg (Chris Reiter and Tim Loh), infections are now doubling every 12 days – a trajectory that if continued will overwhelm hospitals within weeks. “In Berlin, there were 79 intensive-care beds available for the city’s 3.8 million people on Friday, while in the northern port city of Bremen, there were just five beds for its 680,000 residents.”

Here at home, infections are on the rise again, as we head into colder weather and the holiday season. Friday from CNBC: “The U.S. reported a seven-day average of nearly 95,000 new Covid infections Thursday, up 31% over the past two weeks…” Outbreaks were up about 50% in two weeks in the Midwest and Northeast. My concern is elevated by fear of somewhat waning vaccine efficacy associated with the early vaccination push. I also suspect there will be less enthusiasm for booster shots. Reasons for optimism include natural immunities, Pfizer’s new antiviral pill, and a list of other encouraging treatments.

Meanwhile, I am not optimistic about the impact Europe’s Covid outbreak will have on the unfolding global financial crisis. Once again, Covid brandishes nefarious timing…

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

“We’ll Never Give Up” – Protests Erupt Across World Over Gov’t COVID Tyranny

November 21, 2021

“We’ll Never Give Up” – Protests Erupt Across World Over Gov’t COVID Tyranny

AP News calls them “far-right,” but tens of thousands of freedom-loving people marched against new tyrannical public health measures, such as partial and full lockdowns and health passports and mandatory vaccinations, across Europe.

Demonstrations against new virus restrictions were observed in Austria, Croatia, Italy, Northern Ireland, the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Outside of Europe, protesters were seen in several cities across Canada, Australia, Japan, and even the US. Some marked Saturday as part of a “Worldwide Freedom” rally to protest COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.

Some of the most intense rallies, which turned into riots, were in the port city of Rotterdam. Clashes between protesters and police began Friday and continued through Saturday night.

About 30 minutes away, protests transformed into riots in Hague.

Protesters across many European cities shared commonalities as they marched to preserve their lives and liberty. Governments are attempting to plunder that via increased COVID restrictions, mandatory health passports, and forced vaccinations.

The worst of restrictions, or rather the government’s plundering of liberties, was in Austria, where full lockdowns begin Monday. Nationwide lockdowns are expected for at least ten days but can be extended to more than two weeks. Then by Feb. 1, the government will make vaccinations mandatory (only 66% of Austria’s 8.9 million people are fully vaccinated). Good luck with that one.

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

Worldwide COVID Protests Some Turning Violent As Police Support Tyranny

November 21, 2021

Worldwide COVID Protests Some Turning Violent As Police Support Tyranny

In the Netherlands, COVID-19 cases have surged despite more than 70% of the country being fully vaccinated. Protest have turned violent in the Netherlands and massive protests are taking place around the world including Australia over to Croatia, Italy, and Austria. In France, Macron has declared protesters terrorists and sent his military terrorist units against his own people. Anyone who still thinks this is about health, you have no idea what you are endorsing. When in 6,000 years of recorded history has even the most ruthless government ever locked down the entire society for any disease? NEVER!

The CDC has admitted they have no evidence that a nonvaccinated person who has recovered from COVID can spread COVID. The majority of new cases are among the vaccinated and governments are desperate to cover this up. The majority of people in the hospital with COVID have been vaccinated.

Just like the Black Death that killed 50% of the people, there is a natural immunity to all diseases that is genetic. Forcing these vaccines is actually lowering the natural immunity and if you did actually vaccinate the entire world, you could unleash a collapse in the population of 50% or more as was the case with the Black Death of the 14th century. Just like the over-use of antibiotics is leading to superbugs, these vaccines will strip our natural immunity and increase our risk to new mutations that will inevitably unfold.

Governments are using these vaccines to control the population in preparation for Schwab’s Great Reset where they are trying to accelerate the 4th Industrial Revolution where they presume that robots will replace workers so they need Guaranteed Basic Income but pray for a drastic reduction in population by at the very least, reducing the birth rate.

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