Suicide, European style
Reams of paper, gigabits of blogspace, hours of MSM blather, much hand-wringing, and no small measure of Schadenfreude has accompanied the in-progress suicide of European lemmings plunging over the sanctions cliff.
To watch this really truly slow motion train wreck unfold is both eye-averting and garishly spellbinding.
To be fair, there is some major protests going on, by truckers, farmers, consumers, and regular citizens who like to eat, take hot showers, and work.
But the government blow-back with it is extreme and, so far pretty effective.
The MSM is MIA. Nothing in the Western media is reporting on these large crowds marching and blocking the capitals with tractors and dung.
The narrative being formed is this minor blip of riotous deplorables is nothing to see here, move along. It doesn't even rise to the rout of the Occupy Wall St. movement.
The control of the Western media is so complete that the written word, whether newspaper, blog, or book can no longer be used as a source of truth.
Nor can the spoken word, especially the modern MSM newscasts, from any western source.
Putin got it right. The Empire of Lies.
Our only true source of reality news today is the ubiquitous smartphone with its camera, capturing in still or video images of time-stamped events that present truths that ten thousand words cannot refute.
Certainly, some manipulation can be done, but in short time is usually exposed.
Witness the Ghost of Kyiv CG Digital Combat Simulator shoot-down of a Russian fighter jet that went viral. Once exposed as a CG compilation the myth disappeared from the social mediaverse rather quickly, confirming its in-authenticity.
So what will TPTB do to gain control of this truth leaking paradigm?
They are already attacking and restricting Tic Tok.
Twitter, Google, and Facebook are self censoring digital video materials they find questionable, after decades of presenting gore, smut, and soft porn to draw viewers.
In the case of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, how will AI differentiate between a Russian missile casing and an American one buried halfway in the ground? To the naked eye the model number is right there!
The burned out hulk of a Ukrainian tank with the bright white unscathed "Z" painted on the side is totally unconvincing of a Ukrainian successful hit.
But they still try to deceive.
A decerning eye is going to become our most valuable ability.
I'm not from Missouri, but show me.
The floor is metaphorically open.
Comments
The Tipping Point
Keep waiting for the tipping point for everything to explode. Don't know what it's going to be. But cold, hungry, and desperate might just do it. Others have said to stock up whatever you can. Good advice.
I watch the news semi-regularly, mostly to see what propaganda they are trying to sell to everyone. It's become mostly lies and feel-good stories.
When the tipping point comes
it will arrive like a TSUNAMI. The longer the truth is held back, the more powerful the tsunami will be.
Those who are lying to us may live in greater fear of that moment than the rest of us do.
When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose. h/t Janis Joplin
Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes
I monitor
all the MSM daily, and like you to see what they want us to believe.
By turning their narrative around 180° you will find yourself closer to the actual truth.
In their own stupid way, they are really giving you the truth and don't realize it.
You can't predict the future, but you can feel the wind of an approaching storm.
"Something wicked this way comes".
Thanks for the post.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Ironic that
my local NBC affiliate KGW ran a piece on AI starting to be used to censor photoshopped content, noting that in the future schoolkids will use this tool like we used a calculator.
The examples they used, an astronaut on a horse, a cat jumping out of a bag, were clearly fake. But it shows they are working, diligently, on controlling what we see.
Even truth can be censored, automatically.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Good morning...
Yes it is the pervasive smell of propaganda in the air. But on a hopeful note, many are now seeing the lies. Even those who don't see it, sense there is something wrong. It will become more obvious as prices continue to increase along with donations to the losing Ukrainians.
The question remains how can we the people challenge TPTB? All I can offer is to remind you (and us all) that you vote with your money. What you buy and who you buy it from is our most powerful tool to shape future outcomes, IMO.
Speaking of which I bought some nice avocados at Trade Day from one of my favorite Hispanic traders along with a nice bag of limes. I also got a homegrown jicama from his sister.
Wow, I bought gas today in town for $3.07 cheapest in quite a while. Poor foolish EU countries have self imposed a ridiculous crisis to appease their US puppet masters. Russia is burning off millions of dollars of gas that once was shipped to the EU as they face heating and energy austerity to support Nazis...all as they call for ever more sanctions. You can't make it up.
I'm headed over to a buddy's shed to play music this afternoon. Sure is nice to get back toward some form of normal in this crazy world we currently inhabit. I'll try to sing our troubles away...
Thanks for the OT, and y'all have a good one!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Top o' the morning
to you, Lookout.
Panic is being widely and often used to described the Western worldwide actions and the sometimes hysterical narrative they try to paint..
The idea that the Russians would attack their own troops at that nuclear power plant or target Russian speaking civilians they have sworn to protect (the whole reason they are there) is ridiculous.
And that 3 billion dollars Biden wants to send to Ukraine would be of enormous help to the victims of the Pakistan floods. Not only helpful, but a decisive gesture in repairing our strained relationship with the people of Pakistan.
As it is, China will step up and in, cementing their commitment to bring the BRI and prosperity to all peoples across Eurasia.
Another missed diplomatic opportunity.
So stupid.
Voting with our money is a good idea. But I am amazed how many people, even in my own circle of family, friends, and acquaintances that still use banks instead of credit unions. Some even use the very same big banks we bailed out in 2008.
I'm so disappointed in the American people.
Can you and your buddy do a cover of "Mr. Blue Sky" by ELO?
That would make me feel good.
Thanks for posting.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
You really hit on the salient points here.
.
In my observations, what has crippled American's ability to reason is the intellectual dead zone concerning the past ten years of shocking provocations and betrayal between Russia and Ukraine (subverted by the State Department and the NATO Neocons). Thus, the People are blind to a decade of provocation that preceded this war, and they are thoroughly unaware of Ukraine's most shocking corruptions that affect them. For example, Ukraine's overt election meddling in the 2016 US Presidential election. (The Russian election-meddling hoax was a deliberate distraction.) Or, Ukraine's money-laundering transactions with top Democratic Party officials and their select DC hedge funds.
As a further example, the American People never thought to connect the dots to the primary witnesses at Trump's first impeachment, most of whom were directly connected to the US Embassy in Ukraine (where the whistleblower listened in on the telephone call between Presidents from the Ukraine side of the conversation, and not from inside the West Wing. The call was not only a legal nothingburger, it was a sting operation. Now connect the topic of advanced missiles in Trump's call to the reality of today — with the massive US dumping of weapons and Pentagon black money inside Ukraine. From Trump's expressed point-of-view, the weapons Ukraine's NAZI-controlled leader wanted could only be used to exterminate Ukrainian citizens, or to directly attack Russia, which was not in US interests.
However, what the US narrative has bamboozled Americans into believing is this: Putin woke up in February 2022 and abruptly decided to conquer all of Europe, starting with Ukraine. This decision came out of nowhere, but it was inspired by Putin's intense desire to become an Emperor of the European continent. His real goal is rule over the entire world. Once Europe is conquered, Putin is coming for America, with China's advanced weaponry.
That is the unspoken essence of what Americans truly believe. This is why they love the NAZIs. This is why they want to use nuclear weapons right now. Starting with "tiny" Nuclear weapons that only kill Russians. Americans are desperate to stop Russia before Russia comes for America. This is the fever dream planted inside of their tiny pea-sized brains.
I know. I've tried to talk to them. They don't what any extra information about what it really going on. They don't believe it. Everything you say is TL/DR. Not all Americans, of course, but a sufficient number to support our Neocon Coup Government in the evil they are unleashing upon the planet.
That's my take, in any event.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
I've had the same experience, Pluto
You try to tell someone about the 14k Ukrainian citizens killed in the run up to the Russian intervention and their eyes start to glaze over and they get this far-away look that tells you they've gone on to some happy place.
It's as though they've been programmed. Like some kind of zombie.
Extreme snark jolts them back. You tell them English is to be outlawed in California and that triggers them to respond with indignation and incredulity.
"Damndest thing I ever seed!" as my Pa used to say.
Thanks for stopping by.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Your penultimate sentences (hmmm, plural, is possible?)
bring to mind an old favorite quote
- Bertrand Russell -
be well and have a good one
edit, made block quote for uncle bert.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I used to write
perfect English, but Hecate ruined me.
Sure miss him.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I heard that!
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Just who are EU leaders like Scholz trying to fool here?
https://www.thelocal.de/20220830/germany-in-better-position-to-counter-r...
Manwhile in the real world. ( including a bit of bonus snark)
That bill has a smell
Note there was no previous bill or charges. And there is no kwh usage shown.
It looks like a new service installing that may have been expensive. Perhaps an upgraded 440 volt system from a 220 volt?
The narrative seems a little off.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I have no idea if it is legit. But....
It is makings the rounds on the internet. There are plenty of other examples to dramatic increases to be found elsewhere.
The billing period
is peculiar.
hmmm
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Used to think seeing a news piece
that didn't pass the sniff test was of questionable veracity.
Then along came conflicting reports to sow confusion.
Now view almost everything as being either made-up,
partially reported, cherry picked factoids or just lies.
One must wonder to who's advantage this story telling
is for. We are being protected from the truth.
Thanks for the open thread. Many good points.
I should have thanked humphrey
for providing a great example to illustrate the "meat" of my OT.
Just examining the photo shows it is not a typical bill that one would get monthly.
The power of observation is not a gift.
It is a requirement in today's world.
Oh, and thanks humphrey, belatedly.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Are the IAEA getting their marching orders before the inspection
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/aug/30/russia-ukraine-war-uk...
Of course they will issue a completely unbiased report. /S
The Russians
should demand the IAEA team sign a waiver releasing them from liability from injury or death while inspecting the npp.
That should set the mood going in.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
There was a comic or such in which one party
asked another what we would do if there was no news; no papers, radio, tv, internet, etc.
The reply was that we would just have to lie to each other.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I thought they lie to each other with the papers and news
and radio and internet. So does it really make a difference? It's a hide and mask society.
Exactly! Thanks mimi.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
And another exactly! Mimi for...
perhaps the best description of our current culture I've heard:
In all of the definitions, and linked expectations, of those words.