The Weekly Watch

Time to Change Instead of Changing Time

Do you find it odd that we only spend four months on Standard Time and eight months on daylight saving time? What a con. No daylight is saved. The idea behind the changing of time was to save energy, but it doesn't. In fact DST seems to use more energy. Matthew Kotchen, a Yale economist, found a 1 percent increase in electricity use after Indiana introduced daylight saving statewide in 2006, estimating a cost of $9 million per year for consumers. No, it is about shopping...more shopping hours. Extra daylight means extra time to spend money. And if you’re in the United States, you’re probably going to get in your car to go spend that money. “Americans really do leave their homes when there is more sunlight at the end of the day,” said Michael Downing. “We go to the parks, and we go to the mall, but we don’t walk there,” he said. “Daylight saving increases gasoline consumption.” No one is more aware of that than gas stations, which is why the Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing, a lobbying group for convenience stores, has pushed to start daylight saving time earlier in the year. This 1917 poster declares victory...a victory for capitalism and retailers.

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I've got a way to work around daylight saving time. I live on the time cusp - Eastern and Central....fast time or slow time. So I don't change my clocks. I live with Eastern time during the DST period, and Central time when it returns to standard. Works for me in my situation. For more on the time scam, check out the links below:
https://www.businessinsider.com/daylight-saving-time-dst-alternatives-ar...
https://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/history.html
https://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/daylight-saving-debate.html
http://time.com/4549397/daylight-saving-time-history-politics/

It's been another news filled week. The US midterm election looms. I'm unsure if it is the approaching election or just human nature causing people to come unglued...mailing impotent pipe bombs, shooting random black folk, and taking aim on a synagogue full of old people. In the America's we have the administration and wall street cheering the election of a fascist Brazilian President; Bolton declaring war on Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela; and troops sent to the border to meet caravans of central Americans seeking asylum. Over seas NATO is having the largest war games since the 50's on Russia's border. More sanctions are to be imposed on Iran this week in an effort to create a war there. Israel continues to target and shoot unarmed protesters with nary a word from the media. Yemen is beginning to make the news and there are some calls from within the administration for a cease fire (as we continue to blockade and bomb them). The global economy moves more everyday to de-dollar with more large currency swaps. So let's jump into this week's news and see what we can unpack.

First let's hear from the insightful Noam Chomsky ...(video, mp3, or text)

In the past, there was—you had this dream: You worked hard, you could get ahead, your children would be a little better. Now it stopped. It stopped for the last 40 years as a result of very specific socio and economic policies, which have been designed so that they sharply concentrate wealth, they enhance corporate power, that has immediate effects on the political system in perfectly obvious ways, even to the point where lobbyists literally write legislation.

https://www.democracynow.org/2018/11/2/noam_chomsky_on_pittsburgh_attack...

And you have this incredible charade taking place, which the world is looking at with utter astonishment: Poor, miserable people, families, mothers, children, fleeing from terror and repression, for which we are responsible, and in reaction, they’re sending thousands of troops to the border. The troops being sent to the border outnumber the children who are fleeing. And with a remarkable PR campaign, they’re frightening much of the country into believing that we’re just on the verge of an invasion by, you know, Middle Eastern terrorists funded by George Soros, so on and so forth.

https://www.democracynow.org/2018/11/2/noam_chomsky_members_of_migrant_c...

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And another insightful interview...
Unveiling a racist, anti-immigrant ad just days ahead of the midterms, Donald Trump is making unprecedented use of a decades-old “dog whistle” political strategy that demonizes people of color in the service of policies that benefit “rule by the rich,” says UC Berkeley law professor and author Ian Haney López (video, mp3, or text)
https://therealnews.com/stories/how-trumps-racist-campaigning-serves-rul...

Just days before the midterms, President Trump is threatening to send up to 15,000 troops to the US-Mexico border in response to a caravan of Central American migrants. Aaron Mate and Todd Miller discuss the situation (video, mp3, or text)
https://therealnews.com/stories/trump-threatens-15000-troops-amid-unprec...

Back to the 50's - Socialism is the enemy? Deja Vu all over again.

JOHN BOLTON: We will no longer appease dictators and despots near our shores. We will not reward firing squads, torturers and murderers. We will champion the independence and liberty of our neighbors. And this president and his entire administration will stand with the freedom fighters. The troika of tyranny in this hemisphere—Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua—has finally met its match.

Paul Jay and Francesca Fiorentini discuss the boogeyman...(video or text)

Socialism, the monster hiding under America’s bed. Our chupacabra, our Candy Man. Say it three times into a mirror and your kid goes to college for free.

https://therealnews.com/stories/trump-defines-socialism-as-key-issue-in-...

Lee Camp and Bob Scheer discuss the new McCarthyism (audio or text)
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/were-in-a-new-age-of-mccarthyism/

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Beating the WAR drum

Peter Kuznick, Michael O'Hanlon, and Daniele Ganser discuss the likelihood of war...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iKzI42W5n8 (25 min)

Trump, Pompeo, and Bolton want to confront Iran. It appears that they, along with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are preparing for war, using the same tactics that launched the war on Iraq. Trita Parsi explains. (video, mp3, or text)
https://therealnews.com/stories/trumps-drumbeat-for-an-iranian-confronta...

The Trump administration on Friday announced the reimposition of all U.S. sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, ramping up economic pressure on the Islamic Republic https://www.truthdig.com/articles/trump-administration-reimposes-iran-sa...

Why the sanctions against Iran will fail
https://therealnews.com/commentary-five-reasons-why-trumps-iran-sanction...

RT explores the background, then Max Blumenthal discusses the Yemen situation (10 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_idbttEauQQ

Lee Camp reviews the corporations assisting in the assassination of Palestinian protestors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12pM7QMPgdE (3 min)

Sadly the US is a war economy...
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-pentagons-cunning-plot-to-militari...

Economic news

Richard Walker and Chris Hedges discuss Silicon Valley and the new economy (26 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWoNDwT96x0

Nice explanation of the petro-dollar and it's background
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb85TtHJaMs (10 min)
...and how other countries are working around the US dollar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrLrmalthC0 (9 min)

LA residents to vote on a public bank Tuesday...
Mike Prysner speaks to organizers and experts calling for Los Angeles residents to vote ‘yes’ on ballot measure B, which would establish a public bank that could set nationwide precedent for municipalities to divest from Wall Street (13 min video only)
https://therealnews.com/stories/will-public-banking-free-la-from-wall-st...

Some American workers are organizing - Mariott workers have gone out on strike.
https://onejob.org/unite-here-launches-national-campaign-with-actions-at...
US steel workers may be next...
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/10/30/uswa-o30.html

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Elections here and abroad...
Chris Hedges suggests Donald Trump has transformed the decayed carcass of the Republican Party into a cult. https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-cult-of-trump-2/

Education is playing a role in the US midterms
https://therealnews.com/stories/2018-midterms-what-about-public-schools
Much of the grassroots momentum for Democrats coming from the teachers’ walkouts
http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/the-education-wave-that-began-in-...

Jimmy interviews Jill Stein this week and reviews the Green candidates in Calofornia and around the country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHR5a_1XtUM (15 min)
...and a more general discussion about the Green party
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgYEFxjJaUg (27 min)

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The Brazilian election...

Economically, Bolsonaro proposes a course of shock therapy, appointing a University of Chicago-trained economist, Paulo Guedes, to oversee a fire sale of state assets and an opening up of the country’s vast natural resources for foreign exploitation.
https://fair.org/home/financial-press-cheers-election-of-fascist-in-brazil/

Excellent discussion about Brazil with Mark Blyth and Jim Green, Professor of History and Director of the Brazil Initiative
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikOABrTRCFY (13 min audio only)

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Environment

Climate scientist Alan Robock outlines the most recent research in the area of nuclear winter and how Trump’s withdrawal from the INF treaty dramatically increases the risk of a devastating nuclear winter that could wipe out practically all life on earth. (video, mp3, or text)
https://therealnews.com/stories/arms-races-increase-atomic-arsenals-rais...

Bill McKibben is out stumping for Ben Jealous in Maryland (video, mp3, or text)
https://therealnews.com/stories/bill-mckibben-environmental-justice-must...

African farmers organize. Sounds like a good model.
https://www.smallplanet.org/single-post/2018/10/30/Seeds-of-Resistance-H...


Jimmy Fallon updates this Dylan classic...

It would be nice if we would change more than the hour of the day, but the culture of our day... and develop new system that helps people and planet instead of the corporate elite. It is said we can effect change if we get out and vote. Yet look at what happens with elections. Consider Brazil and the candidate that would have won the Presidency - Lula...who sits in prison on false charges. Consider how we were denied the ability to vote for Bernie as president here in the US (in part his failure for not moving to the Green party). Consider the outright rigging of results in Honduras (condoned by the US). None the less I'll vote on Tuesday and hope for the best...and wish you all the best today. I'll look forward to your stories and comments below.

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Raggedy Ann's picture

You have planned out my day brilliantly. While I am cooking for the week, I will listen to/watch those many videos that inform and further educate me about my world. Many thanks, as always, for your efforts.

We had fog this morning. I never know what might bring it in to this desert valley, but I’m grateful for the moisture.

Have a beautiful Sunday, folks! Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Lookout's picture

@Raggedy Ann

wrote a lyric a few years back with the line...sun as it rises burns the fog off, and there's the mountain wearing her season's cloth.

It is a coat of many colors today as fall comes into it's own.

I like to cook, clean, and busy around while I listen to interviews and news. I sometimes use my mp3 player and listen while on the tractor or working outside. The real news just started their mp3 downloads. Democracy Now has had them...and really any youtube is able to be converted...
https://online-audio-converter.com/

When I quit listening to NPR it left a hole in my news cycle which the mp3 player has helped to fill. Lots of folks use their phone, but I'm a cell-less Luddite.

Thanks for reading and listening. Have a good one!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout I was wondering if mp3's were still a thing. I want to use my job radio, but radio Sucks now and I Don't want someone(looking at You,apple) being able to reach into my device to remove music I like that is no longer acceptable to the psychopaths that be.
So thanks for that And the roundup, lo.

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Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

Lookout's picture

@Tall Bald and Ugly

My truck radio has a plug for a mp3 player. On longer trips I often load audio books, long interviews, and so on to occupy the drive. I got my mp3 player a year or so ago, so I'm late to the game.

Good luck with it!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

thanatokephaloides's picture

@Tall Bald and Ugly

Just two days ago I was wondering if mp3's were still a thing. I want to use my job radio, but radio Sucks now and I Don't want someone(looking at You,apple) being able to reach into my device to remove music I like that is no longer acceptable to the psychopaths that be.e

Offline media players are still very much "a thing".

If I were you, I'd look into a player which plays multiple formats. Mp3s are great, but they are still a "lossy" format, with limited dynamic range and non-zero distortion. Get a player which can play OGG, Vorbis, FLAC and SHN lossless formats. I like my player to be able to play MP4 and other video formats, too. And you're right: do not use crApple hardware here. You want to get to decide sourcing and conversion, not crApple's beancounters. Non-Apple hardwares usually appear on your computer as standard USB drives, and deposition of media files for use on the device is usually straightforward, something Apple deliberately made impossible so one would be forced to use their software and paid services.

Lifewire article on media players

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Lookout's picture

@thanatokephaloides

but I have the AGPTEK M20 which was recommended. The learning curve was fairly low, but it seems I had to ask the tech staff a question or two when I got it. Now it is easy.

I think most people do that stuff with their phone?

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

thanatokephaloides's picture

@Lookout

I think most people do that stuff with their phone?

Yeppers! Smile

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Wink's picture

when iTunes became more
@thanatokephaloides
and more less user-friendly (and price went from 99¢ to $1.29 or more).
And pushed mp3's from your very accessible HD to their "Cloud."
How convenient! For them.

I use Clementine these days on my "desktop."
But, yeah, if you're buying a hardware Player, do Not buy an Apple product.
And make sure it's multi-format, able to play "OGG, Vorbis, FLAC and SHN lossless formats." (@thanatokephaloides), or at least some of those.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

thanatokephaloides's picture

@Lookout

I like to cook, clean, and busy around while I listen to interviews and news. I sometimes use my mp3 player and listen while on the tractor or working outside. The real news just started their mp3 downloads. Democracy Now has had them...and really any youtube is able to be converted...
https://online-audio-converter.com/

When I quit listening to NPR it left a hole in my news cycle which the mp3 player has helped to fill.

There are also several great freeware programs for Windows for audio/video format conversion and Firefox has several add-on extensions to enable capture of YouTube streams.

The Free Open Source (FOSS) world (Linux/BSD) has had these for years; the payware OS world is catching up. I especially note with some delight that Handbrake and FFMPEG, long staples in the FOSS universe, are now available for Windows users as well!

Smile

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Lookout's picture

@thanatokephaloides

I've been wanting to ask you what mail client software you recommend for a Linux system. Also would like to know what photo management system you recommend as well. Another trick I want to learn is how the post a clip of a youtube video rather than an entire show. Thanks.

I've appreciated your advice and am learning to scoot around in the new OS pretty well.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

thanatokephaloides's picture

@Lookout

I've been wanting to ask you what mail client software you recommend for a Linux system.

Mozilla Thunderbird. Easy setup and solid reliability.

Also would like to know what photo management system you recommend as well.

I don't do a lot of photo management, but Ubuntu Studio (my Linux distribution of choice) comes with several such utilities. I'll poke around and tell you what I think!

Another trick I want to learn is how the post a clip of a youtube video rather than an entire show. Thanks.

Still working on that one for myself. While YT itself has a means available to post from a given starting point, I'm still trying to figure out how to post a clip from a starting point to an endpoint within the YT show. If I breakthrough, I'll share!

I've appreciated your advice and am learning to scoot around in the new OS pretty well.

Thank you! And another 99%er liberated from WinDoze! Smile

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Lookout's picture

@thanatokephaloides

and a photo utility that came with ubuntu - thanks again.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

thanatokephaloides's picture

@Lookout

I am using Thunderbird and a photo utility that came with ubuntu - thanks again.

Which utility?

And are you running Ubuntu or Ubuntu Studio? (The latter comes with more audiovisual goodies, enough to make it its own distro. That and the low latency custom Kernel which vanilla Ubuntu doesn't have by default.)

Anyhoo, I checked Shotwell out from Studio. Wow! Lots easier than GIMP for photo management!

So thank you for the nudge -- learned good stuff today!

Smile

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Lookout's picture

@thanatokephaloides

on my machine. Just wondering if that was your option too. Thanks.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

magiamma's picture

yes, thank you, indeed it would be nice...

It would be nice if we would change more than the hour of the day

Like capitalism, as it stands now, would be a good place to start. Seriously. Resource extraction. Seems like that's the order of the day. Needs to stop now.

I told people that - I was an aging hippy and I was angry - for Halloween.

Angry, mourning, sad, and yet, embracing the beauty that is here, waiting quietly to be embraced. Another beautiful day in paradise today. Worried that we many have another el niño coming, though.

Thanks for the climate links. Have a very good one... Smile

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

Lookout's picture

@magiamma

from a walk. Picking up limbs and lopping small stuff. A pretty day for it.

Came across a couple of things that made me think of you.

First a summary of the UN climate report
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sVwlYsxNx3GYEYXikkCF5x22WRQ6OUbME5SW...
and the NRDC's take on the report
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/roland-hwang/ipcc-report-isnt-death-knell-i...

and finally a 3 min piece on the boreal forest
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3OU--05AdQ]

Enjoy the day!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

divineorder's picture

Really looking forward to watching jdores interview with Jill Stein. Voted for her twice for Prez and though she is not perfect, she is hands down one of the most courageous women in the world imo.

Living one day at a time, and are having a wonderful fall with fabulous colors here in Santa Fe, NM.

The drought monitor shows the Navajo Nation in extreme drought that extends on down to almost our area. Their lands cross borders of four states. Fracking interests are really screwing up the area around Chaco but Wildearth Guardians, New Energy Economy and others are fighting along side the local first peoples.

Interesting voting news:

jb and I have been riding our pedal assist ebikes a great deal, not using our car much at all. We got paniers that will hold lots of groceries etc. As a consequence we are moving slow enough to focus on all the colorful trees.

Okay, I have to quit avoiding and go do some plumbing repairs. We have saved so much money over the years by diy. Have to thank both our fathers for modeling that.

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

Lookout's picture

@divineorder

I've got a plumbing project tomorrow. The ebikes sound great.

Beautiful part of the world around four corners. Lots of uranium mines as well as fracking around the 1st nations people there.

I enjoyed your Afghan piece up today too. Have a good one!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

And the extra hour this morning to have time to read all the thought provoking articles you posted! Never thought about the waste of energy from Daylight Savings. We have a friend whose father wrote a letter to Congress every year opposing Daylight Savings time but mainly on religious grounds.

Always love reading about what happens when groups like the teachers organize and make gains for the benefit of education. The teachers in Texas are fired up as well. Texans for Public Education has researched all candidates running for the Texas legislature, both Republican and Democrat and has indicated which are truly dedicated to public education and public schools. The biggest target is the Lt. Governor Dan Patrick who promises to support teachers and public schools but is a big supporter of the voucher system and charter schools. Hopefully he will be voted out because his policies have underfunded the schools and put more of the burden on local school districts and cut state funding for the schools.

Have a great rest of the day!

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

Lookout's picture

@jakkalbessie

I look forward to seeing results Wednesday...wave, trickle, or stalemate. The talking heads have predicted all three scenarios. I'm waiting to see. No greens running in AL. Nick Branna is making progress with his People's party. Tim Canova has a shot.

Next week we'll have data to work with anyway. Thanks for reading. Enjoy those ebikes today!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Wink's picture

I, for one, want that extry hour of daylight in summer.
For what little summer we get, that extry hour extends it somewhat.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Lookout's picture

@Wink

is to leave it one way or the other. Your vote is in.

As a morning person, it is weird having it dark at 7:30 AM, so I prefer standard time...but either or is better than back and forth from my view.

All the best...

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Wink's picture

up much before 9:30
@Lookout
or 10:00, so morning light is not a factor for me.
I almost always worked 2nd shift becuz I don't function well before 9am.
I always said that if school started at 10am I would have gotten Bs instead of Cs. Maybe even an occasional A. Alas... was lucky to catch the school bus.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Lookout's picture

@Wink

we need to start school later in the day because study after study shows kids don't learn well early.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

I especially enjoyed the Daylight Savings Time report. Damn. I have hated that perverted construct for my entire life. In the background, of course. By the time I was in my twenties, I gave it up for good.

So, depending on where I lived, I mentally translated the artificially-imposed government distortion of time to tidal time (which is set to "objective reality" on my personal devices). It's an effort to constantly translate natural time into alien time, but I think it sharpens my overall game. It also lets me live in the virtual future for most of the year. Or is it the past? Heh! It's good to meet a fellow renegade.

For my part, I balk because I know it is "wrong" to impose a distortion on the natural rhythms of life. It's psychologically disturbing. Perhaps it helps with pushing more effective propaganda. Also, I resist because I'm a bit of a bad sport. I won't play games that I can't win, which I think sends the wrong message to my world. That probably explains my attitude toward voting in a US Federal election. I'm convinced that my participation further degrades our civilization — such as it is.

[Early edit for clarity]

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Lookout's picture

@Pluto's Republic

...as we unravel time and our biosphere.

Walk in your own time at your own pace. Always good to "see" you.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Thanks for The Weekly Watch. Happy Sunday.
https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_7,_Permanent_Daylight_Saving_Time_Measure_(2018)
Too sick of donors setting boring priorities and taking up space on my ballot to dilute the real serious issues, I voted NO. French head slicing devices for pols that keep wasting public time with trivia, YES but there was no box in sight with that option. I guess it's still in the barn with the pitchforks and torches, waiting... tick tock, tick tock. heh

The UniParty ballot information is there in a 50mb PDF, in case anyone wants to see the Alex Clinton Padilla Gish Gallop guide. "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit". Whee!

pie

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Lookout's picture

@eyo

I thought you might have been caught in fires or urban decay, and was about to pm you when I saw you around - a comment about hospitals.

It reminded me of my old neighbors who told us when we first moved here in the backwoods of Alabama..."They got a good hospital down in Centre, but they ain't got no doctors."

The doctors are all in Rome GA (which is closer to me than Centre). People go to find healthcare in Atlanta, Birmingham, and Chattanooga (all 1-2 hours away) for serious ailments. I'm lucky to have cruised through without dealing with many doctors (so far anyway). Best of luck with your care. Wishing you well. Nice to "see" you.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Consider socialism in a kind, clear light. It's not so scary when the philosophy is divorced from the red bear or the yellow dragon or central / south american boogie men. It makes humane sense.

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Lookout's picture

@QMS

Socialism...an idea whose time has come. That's the time change we need!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

WheninRome's picture

For the love of Flying Spaghetti monster, there is no such thing as a petrodollar.

We went off the Gold Standard in the 30's because of the Depression, and it wasn't necessary anyway. After WW2, the dollar was pegged to gold to give the rest of the world a chance to rebuild. In 71, Nixon decided to scrap as it wasn't necessary in the first place and never was. We are a monetarily sovereign currency issuing superpower. Finis.

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Lookout's picture

@WheninRome

because of the debt accrued during the Vietnam war...and we simply didn't have the gold to cover the money we printed.

There is very much a petrodollar when other countries want to purchase oil. They must buy it in USD. That system is beginning to crumble. Newsworthy IMO.

Understanding the rigged game of the fed is needed to understand today's dollar....
What is the Federal Reserve system? How did it come into existence? Is it part of the federal government? How does it create money? Why is the public kept in the dark about these important matters? feature-length documentary film.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IJeemTQ7Vk&pbjreload=10]

or if you prefer text...
https://www.corbettreport.com/federalreserve/

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WheninRome's picture

@Lookout Bullshit.

Learn MMT. Stop the conspiracy mongering.The Fed can only do monetary policy, which is, either raising or lowering interest rates or taking reserves from savings to checking, or the reverse.

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Lookout's picture

@WheninRome

That's okay. The private banks that print our money (ie the Fed) is a 1%er scam designed by the oligarchs. I understand the nature of fiat currency (MMT), and it is my opinion that it will lose value over time.

The idea of the petrodollar isn't bs either, but you are entitled to your opinion.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”