This week’s Ecosophian offering is the monthly (well, more or less!) open post to field questions and encourage discussion among my readers. All the standard rules apply — no profanity, no sales pitches, no trolling, no rudeness, no paid propagandizing, no long screeds proclaiming the infallible truth of fill in the blank — but since there’s no topic, nothing is off topic.
Before we proceed, a heads up to readers: Founders House Publishing has just released its first anthology of the best stories from MYTHIC Magazine, sensibly titled The Best of MYTHIC. Yes, I have a story in there, but so do D.A. D’Amico, Joanna Michal Hoyt, Sean Patrick Hazlett, Catherine McGuire, Tom Jolly, William Delman, Patrick S. Baker, and quite a few other good writers — 25 stories in all. If you need a dose of good imaginative science fiction and fantasy that doesn’t just rehash familiar tropes, this is one good way to get it. You can get a copy from Founders House here or from other retailers via Universal Book Link (UBL) here.
With that said, have at it!
Greetings ADJMG!
I was wondering if you could make a comment on remote viewing that was/is definitely used by the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and allegedly used by China, and India.
I find it remarkable that two publicly hard core materialist atheist countries, the USSR and China had psychics on hand at top level meetings to guard against RV spying.
I’ve recently re-read Mark Stavish’s “Egregore” a, I was curious as to your thoughts on the egregores in the context of how much influence they have over culture and whether or not we should be trying to detach ourselves from them entirely or can they be useful in a positive way for Spiritual advancement?
Thank you for all your writing! It’s helped me tremendously along my path
Stefan
Dear JMG,
Did you see the story of the Biden admin buying thousands (ten of thousands ? no one knows) of VP Harris’ kids book, and giving them out to migrant children at the border?
Of course our “media” ignores this story, but just imagine the s*it show if Pence did the same thing. They seem to be just shoving it in our face on a daily basis because they know there’s nothing we can do about it, and they have all the power. It leaves me wondering where this type of corrupt power and willful contempt for the people is leading to?
Hi JMG, I have two questions (only related by geography):
1)You mentioned before that in post Roman literature there is a great sense of loss but also that many are better off when a civilisation declines. How can these both be so?
Why was the Roman Empire mourned if it was a slave economy where most lived in misery and the wealth of the Mediterranean was channelled back to central Italy. It seems the city states and maritime republics that arose years after offered a better quality of life.
2) You have mentioned before on numerous occasions (mostly in the comments section) that you are grateful to be the other side of the Atlantic as you see a great armed migration bursting out of Africa and the Middle East and taking over Europe. It seems to me the north side of the Mediterranean is the most culturally interesting place in the world with the most well preserved ancient monuments, beautiful architecture and fascinating cultures. This will all be lost. It’s not hard to imagine a future isis blowing up the Colosseum etc.
My questions are does this not make you sad on a personal level? and how should we who live in Europe react constructively in the meantime knowing this is what is to come?
John–
During the Hermetix podcast, you mentioned that you perceived the development of a working class set of values over and against the current prevailing PMC (” middle class”) values that have dominated to date. Could you describe or do a quick compare/contrast of these new values as you see them currently developing?
Does anybody think that the trees/mycelium might or could get their act together and stage a fight-back against die-back? — reclaim their right to live on this planet? — that there might be some awareness of the crisis that’s emerging, and that they might refuse to go to the wall just because we are being so hopeless?
I would like to give my highest recommendation to a nonfiction book called THE MASTER AND HIS EMISSARY by Iain McGilchrist. for those who haven’t read it a summary: in the modern world, the left hemisphere (which does not exactly map on to the stereotypical image of what “left hemisphere” means in pop culture) has taken over from the right.
my idea, which McGilchrist might or might supporter (I haven’t finished the book yet): anti-intellectual movements such as conspirituality seem borne out of recognization of this on some level, largely because higher ed acts as a a kind of left hemisphere indoctrination factory.
personally, I would like a balance. I think that conspirituality goes too far in the other direction.
anyhow, like I said, must-read book!
For the past couple of weeks I’ve been meditating on the religion of Progress, and I have come to the conclusion that it is a useful framework for understanding Covid hysteria, and one that has not received much attention. I would be interested to know if others agree.
http://www.luterra.com/blog/?p=1286
Continuing on from there, I started to create a model that frames much of the upheaval, denial of facts, and general craziness of our present moment in the context of moving through the process of grieving the end of Progress, with different groups currently at various stages of the grieving process. Like any model, I suspect that it is overly simplistic and that it is far from a complete explanation, but as above I would be interested to see what folks here make of it.
http://www.luterra.com/blog/?p=1301
In previous much older instalments if I remember correctly you presented that Toynbee proposed than in the place where it was the empire remains a religion that spans in more or less the same footprint. Is it possible that there are exceptions to this rule, what religion will remain in the footprint of American Empire, if any? In the same light arguably what was the religion that remain in the footprint of the Soviet Empire?
I’ll put this up – because everybody reading here is likely aware:
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/goldman-goes-all-commodities-sees-biggest-jump-oil-demand-ever-over-next-6-months
Inflation is coming, and it is likely to be the driver for the bursting of various bubbles within the global economy. As well, with the rust problem in Africa, wheat is likely to skyrocket along with a lot of other foodstuffs if we have a cooler than normal summer, followed by a cooler winter. My family maintains food and sundries enough for a year without stretching anything, so we are ok. However, I would suggest everyone keep the coming summer weather in mind relative to the same period 5-10 years ago.
It seems the majority of us are going to be squeezed…
Sorry guys – forgot to put this link in as well:
https://www.rt.com/business/522332-russia-arctic-lng-supply-agreements/
Tightening the future already…
Thank you JMG.
a) Within the magical tradition, what is prophesy and what makes a prophet?
b) If someone’s being able to prophesy the future a fact, does that mean the absence of free will?
c) What is the most important determinant one should be aware of in developing/improving one’s clairvoyant skill?
m
My Dear Wise One,
I have received some most concerning news from my doctor. What astrological aspects should i avoid for surgery? Body part is rulled by the moon, if that is relevant.
PLK
At the end of a previous post someone asked if research had been done into combined solar PV and thermal. They’re already available and are known as solar PVT panels. Technically they work well but there’s a mismatch between the amount of electricity and hot water they produce for average household demand. If you do something that uses a great deal of hot water relative to power, such as running a hotel with a restaurant and laundry, they’re an exellent choice. The same if you’re making the much bigger investment in interseasonal heat storage and space heating. However a regular house is usually better off with one dedicated solar thermal evacuated tube collector (which is also more forgiving in the orientation it needs) and the rest covered in PV.
Solar roof tiles are a scam. They’re far more expensive and fiddly to wire up than a normal slate roof with panels mounted on top. Slate is cheap and is millions of years old, and will have no problem lasting millions more. If you see solar tiles being used it’s usually to exploit a subsidy regime that favours them. Or they didn’t know any better or thought appearance was more important than function. The only time I could see them, or any in-roof system, being worth it would be if you were also installing a ridge-mounted wind turbine. Then you want to keep the roof, and thus the airflow, as smooth as possible. Even then I’m not sure it’s necessary, and you might be able to do a better job with carefully-mounted regular panels.
2 months to go to the 4th Annual Ecosophia Potluck! Please sign up here. The heavy boot of the Virus Who Must Be Obeyed is lifting enough to allow us to meet unmolested!
I couldn’t possibly frame a question but I would like to thank you for your tireless effort to elucidate magic. It is greatly appreciated.
First off, congratulations to Shaun on the success of his recent Mythic campaign and for bringing out a Mythic “Best of” anthology.
…I’ve been hanging out in Weirdo Land and I like it. When JMG posted about Johnny Appleseed’s America, I gave a big hooray and said “Yes!”.
In any case, one of the things I’ve been working on this year is a monthly post on a Great American Weirdo, Iconoclast or Eccentric.
This months weird one is Joybubbles, also known by his birth name Joe Engressia, the godfather of phone phreaking (hacking the phone system). Among Joybubble’s many achievements include being able to whistle his way through the old phone system with the help of his perfect pitch, running phone storylines, and starting his own church, The Church of Eternal Childhood.
He was also a communications whiz (duh) and and an Amateur Extra license, a General radiotelephone operator license and a commercial radiotelegraph operator’s license, as well as a ship radar endorsement on these certificates. He even qualified for the now-obsolete aircraft radiotelegraph endorsement.
Later he changed his name legally to Joybubbles as a way of drawing a line between a painful childhood of abuse and the joyful life he wanted to create. He spent the last few decades of his life reading library books to kids, talking to people with terminal illnesses, and trying to encourage adults to get out of the rat race, play in a sandbox, and rediscover the sense of wonder in childhood.
He did all this despite the challenges he faced being blind and from the aftershock of childhood abuse.
You can read my article on him here:
http://www.sothismedias.com/home/joybubbles-and-the-church-of-eternal-childhood
In Radiophonic Laboratory news I have new articles relating to radio astronomy and the music of the spheres on:
The Unknown Pleasure of Pulsars
http://www.sothismedias.com/home/on-the-unknown-pleasure-of-pulsars
and
The Acoustic Astronomy of Dr. Fiorella Terenzi
http://www.sothismedias.com/home/the-acoustic-astronomy-of-dr-fiorella-terenzi
Thanks as always to all! This is my favorite hangout spot on the Internet! The best cyber cafe around.
Having read all of your delightful Weird of Hali books, including the Companion that was recently released, I am fascinated by an item in your timeline of the Haliverse. In the timeline, you list 8200 BCE as when the first Druids arose and that they were loremasters of a pre-Celtic people. That’s different from all of the histories of the Druids that I have read; I’m very interested in knowing your reasoning behind this date. Having read your book on Atlantis and the timing you suggest for its rise and fall, I cannot help but wonder if your timeline and Atlantis have some connection – specifically if you are suggesting that the Druids might have been descendants of Atlantean culture.
If someone else has asked the question already and you have answered it, please forgive me. I haven’t been able to read many of the comments on the Open Posts due to other commitments.
You have written a very compelling and plausible fictional account of war between the U.S. and China. It appears that in many ways the Biden administration is far more aggressive and prone to stumbling into war than Trump’s. We seem to have entered the fabled Thucydides trap, in which the precipitously declining big power is determined to keep the ascendant state from rising by any means, which almost guarantees war. The traditional media is nearly 100% behind aggression, manufacturing enemies, and severe sanctions and “regime” change as the first resort. There is a blind arrogance that we can change governments we don’t like by walking right up to the verge of all-out war, and somehow the “enemy” will capitulate because we are right and just, which is an extremely dangerous mindset. I’d like to believe this insanity is just for public consumption, and at the end of the day these cold warriors realize that there are limits, and an all-out war with China is in no one’s interest and far too costly to salve wounded egos. Do you see a way out of this public mindset, or is tripping the wire into war inevitable?
Are there cases of the Jevons Paradox happening before there was capitalism?
JMG:
When does the discussion of “The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic” start and what should we read first? (I want to come to class prepared.)
Also, what is your take on which gods are real versus which are completely fictional, or is this question starting from a faulty premise?
Ecosophian inspirations
One night about a decade ago I experienced one of the more curious moments of my life: I watched a very small and battered car packed with dark skinned men – probably illegal immigrants to slow down and stop. It was past 10pm, the road was just a track made by small tractors through meadows and fields in a small middle-European country. The driver pulled down the window and asked me two questions in English: Do you have marihuana? (I actually did not understand this one, so I politely asked for repetition.) I thought my answer (No, I don’t, sorry.) might cause trouble, but it only led to another even more surprising question: How do we get there? I tried to make clear that I cannot tell him the direction unless he specifies where he wants to go. He apparently did not know, but the question of direction troubled him greatly. So, upon reflexion, I pointed forward. The man thanked me enthusiastically, started the car and drove on. It was a wonderful night, full moon, fireflies everywhere…
We have problems, but some people know about it. The would-like-to-feel-comfortable classes have a problem. But what is it? As far as they know, they are doing everything right; they recycle, and pay taxes for the research of renewable sources and vaccinations; eat the right food, do exercise and work hard… Since the introduction of a very convenient mass responsibility, no poor individual/business can be held responsible for anything anymore; they keep on asking the same question: How do we get there? Ever more quickly, longingly or desperately… unless they think for a while and then come to the authorities explaining what they have done wrong. “We wanted marihuana/oil/money… so much that we did not sew the corn/invent and build a renewable sources-based infrastructure/spend enough time understanding how to direct the flow of money meaningfully. Now, we are willing to pay the price – go a little hungry, slow down, think some more… Give us some seeds, some energy, some means of understanding the flows.”
The thrilling experience of riding a wave up and up can make us fear the moment the wave is going down again to the point that we try to jump up further, or flap our arms desperately, exhausting ourselves in the attempt. (I have tried many times on many different occasions…not proud of it, just a bit slow on the uptake) We might even convince ourselves for a while, we are going up, shut our eyes and try to pretend we can fly. (I tried that on one or two occasions, merely to get the answer experimentally…) We will fall. Gravity will not let us fly too high; (neither land too hard). After all, we live on Earth.
An occasional long-lived seagull might wonder what the human is trying to do. Are not humans supposed to walk? Or swim, when they venture into the ocean? Hey! He tried the same tactics again! And again. Funny creatures, the occasional seagull might think. But they can laugh.
@JMG,
I recall that last fall, you did a post on “The Metaphysics of Sex” in which you confessed to having an unusual arrangement of inner-plane genders (astrally feminine and mentally masculine, as opposed to most men who are the other way around). As evidence for this you cited your preference, as a novelist, to work with forms and images already created by other authors, rather than striking out wholly on your own.
Around the same time, when I asked your recommendation of your favorite work of deindustrial fiction by someone other than yourself, you cited Edgar Pangborn’s Davy, which you also noted was your model for Star’s Reach. I read Davy, enjoyed it, and could see quite clearly how your own work was imitative of Pangborn’s – you and Pangborn each have your own strengths and weaknesses, and there are minor differences of setting and plot, but the overall structural similarity was strikingly obvious, to a degree that most modern authors would balk at.
And yet, what you did was utterly normal for pretty-much all authors working more than two or three centuries ago. Shakespeare and Virgil were remarkably unoriginal by modern standards, and even a brief introduction to a play like Romeo and Juliet or The Merchant of Venice will make sure to point out what prior work the Bard used as his model, and where the various subsidiary plot points were borrowed from. And it is hardly any different with Chaucer, Milton, Marlowe, Boccaccio, the Greek playwrights, or whoever – all the ancient and medieval authors concerned themselves mainly with reworking familiar tales.
My question, then, is how did something that was the norm in most ages of the world come to be seen by you, in yourself, as evidence (though perhaps not the only evidence) for an unusual arrangement of inner-plane genders?
I was wondering yesterday after the discussion with a friend if the insistent look for a unified theory of everything in some fields of physics is an argument for monotheism in disguise for a religion devoid of God. I don’t find this very productive because physical reality can better be explained mathematically much better if you have several models to explain the same thing. I don’t think such a theory can be created because how would it be possible for something created to understand fully the thing that created him?
Some reader on here or dreamwidth was posting good mundane astrological charts for Canada on their own (dreamwidth?) blog. I looked at it before but didn’t save the link. I’m curious to see if the prediction for mass death in the US’s June (?) chart this year will show up in one of Canada’s chart, particularly so I can gauge whether or not said mass death event has anything to do with certain novel innoculation formulas. Can anyone post the link to this blog if they know it? Thanks.
Came across this article the other day; “Is America’s Word Good?”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/climate/biden-climate-change.html
Toward the end, a couple of pull-quotes, for which I’ve provided the surrounding text as context.
Rondald J. Jumeau, a former ambassador of the Seychelles to the United Nations and a longtime climate change negotiator, said he was looking with “qualified excitement” to the Biden administration’s announcements and hoped the United States could follow through, not only on emissions cuts but also finance to small island nations and other vulnerable countries.
In addition to rolling back climate regulations, Mr. Trump stopped payments to the Green Climate Fund to help poorer countries transition to clean energy and adapt to the consequences of climate change. Mr. Biden has vowed to restore funding, starting with $1.2 billion this year, subject to Congressional approval.
“I think all of us know the American political system by now,” Mr. Jumeau said. “If we haven’t learned during the Trump years, we’ll never learn how dysfunctional it is.”
Adam S. Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said America’s inconstancy on the world stage started long before Mr. Trump. From climate change to international development to trade laws, he said, allies have learned to live with the shifting priorities of Republicans and Democratic administrations as Congress remains largely unable to pass major policy into law.
“Obviously, Trump made it worse because of incompetence and overt nationalism,” he said.
The problem for the world is that, on global issues like climate change, America holds all the diplomatic cards.
“The United States is big and rich and has a nuclear deterrent and two oceans, and there’s not that many people who can impose consequences on the United States,” Mr. Posen said. “The consequences are the problems that don’t get solved.”
We hold all the diplomatic cards, eh? Methinks the future will be quite different than Mr. Posen is anticipating…
I’ve seen you mention before that it can be dangerous to mix politics and magic. What are the rules in order to keep things from going septic? Beyond seeking blessings for my country, province, and city, I have no intention of using magic for explicitly political purposes, but even so, I figure it’ worth asking about, since I do intend to get into politics.
In terms of the magic I do, I am working my way through the CGD. I’m currently in the Ovate Grade, expect to move on to the Bardic Grade sometime around the end of the year, and at some point after that intend move on to the Druid Grade, but I’m in no hurry.
My family has done a very good job of giving me a strong sense of powerlessness, and I am working to address that. I’ve realized that one very important step will be doing something about the lockdowns, since they took away a great many things I cared about, and the governments here are doubling down on all of it. This will mean getting involved in protests and activism, and possibly anti-lockdown political parties and municipal election campaigns as well.
Are there any issues I need to be aware of with regards to working towards a political goal while practising magic?
@ Kimberly Steele
To the extent you can and/or are willing, I’d love to hear more about the proposed school you’re working on, particularly the logistics of establishing said school, the development of its curriculum, and your relationship with the educational officialdom.
P.S. Another box of books is on its way. Should reach you by the weekend, per the USPS.
Not sure why, but recently I have not been able to see comments until I post a comment. Is this just me or am I missing something?
Thank you to all who have sent books! I am amassing a great collection for the subscription library!
Here is a post I did on it: https://kimberlysteele.dreamwidth.org/30714.html
Anyone who has questions about my subscription library project is invited to email me at K Steele Studio at gmail. I am also going to give creating a K-8 school my best shot. I may end up combining the projects as the school will need a library. I’m going to call it the Appleseed School after our friend, John Chapman.
The schools in my state are forcing masks, pushing vaccinations, and limiting in-person learning. The quality of education the kids were getting from the school system was dismal to begin with and nowadays it has become a complete joke. I don’t have children myself but I want better options for children in my area. I love my students as if they were my family and it pains me to see how much they’ve suffered because of the hysteria surrounding the last year.
Hello, JMG
COVID-19 pandemic has caused a worsening in screens addiction (social networks, Zoom meetings, whassap, porn, TV, videogames…). I see it around me in my social context. There are too many screens every day, every hour.
My 1st question:
How we can “heal” these ‘technologic-addicts’? (maybe with jogging, meditation, human face-to-face contact, nature contemplation-I don’t know).
Another question: Is this trend to “techno-zombification” favoured for elite’s spureous objectives?
Last month I asked you a question about economics. You responded by saying that hyperinflation is a choice and that you see us entering a period of stagflation that will most likely be followed by national default. I think the answer has a lot going for it but it got me wondering whether there are any circumstances when market failure can force a government to keep printing regardless of whether or not it wants to. So for example, Germany in 1920 had the choice to stop printing marks, but by 1923 this was no longer a live option. If they stopped printing then people would not be able to buy food due to market failure, so it had to keep printing. The reason why I ask this is if at some point you loose the ability to stop printing if you want to keep basic necessities running then avoiding hyperinflation requires the U.S. government to figure out how bad things are getting in time… which then forces us to ask whether it has the intellectual models in place to come to that conclusion in time. I still think your point about stagflation has a lot going for it, but I am wondering if we could just blunder for too long and then find ourselves in a situation where hyperinflation is no longer a choice.
Also, I wanted to let you know that when I ordered your book for the upcoming book club via the website you linked to it said the book was backordered. I guess a whole bunch of people all decided to buy it at the same time 🙂
I wonder if someone from Britain could tell us what the new Alba Party is all about. Scottish independence, I understand that, and what is the rest of their program? What are their chances of success?
Alright…. I’ll start out with a question which (for some bizarre reason) I’ve always wanted to ask the people here. What are your workout habits like?
I’ve been trying to get into shape (probably a good idea if you’re preparing for the dark ages). I do a couple sets of pushups, pullups, and situps every week.
Unfortunately, I got pneumonia several months back so that really interrupted my plans. I can probably do about 40 pushups, 100 situps, 10 pullups at a time, and can run about a mile, which isn’t great, IMHO. I was up to 60, 200, and 15 respectively and used to run about 3 miles a day. So I’m trying to get back to where I was, starting this week.
How about you guys and gals. Do you even lift? 😀
Sorry if this is too off topic, but I’ve been doing a deep dive into Greer’s writings (which can be kind of depressing, especially since I think the world may end up WORSE than he thinks it is). So I wanted to ask something silly and light for a change.
Well…. maybe not necessarily worse in every respect. But let’s just say I disagree with Greer on a few things.
Hi,
What is your view on chaos magic? Is it an important contribution to magic?
I have been thinking about the current rapid inflation in goods and the shortages of many parts and materials.This is commonly explained as being due to production delays caused by Covid, or by increased demand due to people renovating homes and such. But this might be something else entirely. We have so divorced the actual economy from the financial economy that maybe things have finally split. We have a simulcrum economy of digital money where everything is fine thanks to the fed and stimmies. But perhaps the actual economy has become disrupted and the real returns to working and producing things have become negative so that things are freezing up, despite the rosy digital financial numbers. Maybe this nuts and bolts economy is very troubled but we have put electrical tape over the gages on the instrument panel so we can’t see what is really going on, and it only shows up in empty shelves or price hikes, much like the final days of the old Soviet Union.
Oh great – an open thread. I’ve been meaning to ask opinions from JMG and the commentariat on this one and whether my plans sound feasible.
I’ve been trying to think about building useful and sustainable skills for the Long Descent – being able to perform a service or have an ability that is valuable to the community so that it’s in everyone else’s interests to keep me (and my family) around.
I’m trying to be creative and build on skills I already have instead of trying to do something completely new (I remember JMG posting something about how the ability to make good beer is valuable to a community too – you don’t have to be an experienced doctor or something).
So I’m a lawyer in my 40s. I work in complex financial structures for hedge funds and banks on Wall Street. While I think lawyers will be around (in some form) for a long time, just as we were around 500 years ago (incidentally the Matthew Shardlake novels by CJ Sansom, about a British lawyer in London who solves mysteries in the 1500s during the reign of Henry VIII are worth reading). But I very much doubt that the kind of hyper-complex financial structuring work that I do has much of a shelf life.
I do have a fair amount of experience doing legal aid and pro bono work – McDonalds employees getting fired from their jobs, fighting evictions, that kind of thing, although it’s been a decade since I did that. I’ve no doubt there will be plenty of demand for that kind of work (and it makes a huge difference to the people I helped), but there’s no money in it now and near-impossible to make a living now and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
(I also have a fairly sizable chunk of savings in cash but I am trying to focus on valuable skills rather than cash and savings and “wealth”).
So I’m thinking of staying as close as I can to legal practice. So perhaps as a first step I could just try to be an old school family lawyer/country lawyer – the kind of person you see in old movies and books dealing with all the legal needs of a small town.. This is not currently economically viable though, for a bunch of reasons – law school debt, high regulation and insurance requirements, inability of the wage class clients to pay enough (viz the Henry Ford maxim) etc, but in the slope of decline it may become feasible again, as it was in the 1950s or even later.
Also, if I’m going to do this, not sure if it makes more sense to start going down that path now (start doing pro bono work again immediately, rebuild my skills, eventually change jobs completely) or pull in my Wall Street salary and build up my savings even more as much as I can while I can.
Another variation of this (more suited probably further down the curve of decline – maybe not needed in my lifetime) is that I don’t strictly need to practice law as such. I think there will always be a need for a literate, articulate person who can act as a kind of guide/advocate to people dealing with the government/bureaucracy/state and get things done – writing letters, dealing with bureaucracy, offering advice, perhaps a touch of the “fixer” you see in third world countries (although not in any corrupt way). Shades of the only literate man in an African village who reads and writes letters for the entire village.
What does everyone think? I’m just thinking aloud and throwing ideas out.
For that matter, what’s everyone else’s plan to stay viable in the Long Descent? Didn’t I read in some old comment thread about a doctor who is retraining as a typewriter repairman or something? That would be super cool.
Hi JMG,
It seems the regime media in both the US and UK are making a big deal of Biden’s multi-trillion dollar spending plans for infrastructure and other social programmes. Do you think these plans have any chance of making real improvements to American infrastructure and society, or do you reckon they’ll just end up like countless other spending bills and consist more of giveaways for special interests and corporate lobbies than actual concrete plans for development?
It’s being hyped up as the most ambitious spending package since the 1960s, but nowhere are the real details given about what these bills actually contain. Perhaps it isn’t public knowledge until it’s voted on in Congress, I’m not sure. When it comes to the types of people running Biden’s inner circle, I can’t help but be suspicious. Infrastructure development sounds like a good thing, and indeed it’s desperately needed in America, but I just can’t bring myself to believe that these elites, being as senile as they are, would suddenly attempt something this ambitious with nothing forcing them to do so.
Karl #3: Don’t worry, that story wasn’t real.
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/apr/27/facebook-posts/no-biden-administration-isnt-buying-kamala-harris-/
Would you say that our situation since last year has stabilized? From where I’m at it seems like industrial civilization has plateaued again.
@ Mary Bennet #33 – Alba is a party formed by former members of the Scottish National Party. One of their most vociferous members is Craig Murray, who blogs here. Their objection to the SNP seems to be that the leadership of the SNP has settled nicely into their salaries as Government ministers, MPs, etc. and really have no interest in pursuing Scottish independence anymore.
@Karl #3 – the author of the original NY Post story on the Harris books has resigned. She claims she was ordered to write the story, despite an absence of actual evidence. The one copy of the execrable Harris book at the detention center evidently came as part of a donation for toys & books for the children held there. Lügenpresse applies to both wings of the House Organs of American Empire.
I’ve heard of people doing eye exercises to improve their eyesight. Has anyone done that? What sort of results did you get and what are the different programmes to do it? I might give it a go before my next trip to the optician.
@Markéta
That is a beautiful poetic description of a society coming to terms with the end of progress. May I quote some of it in my own writings on the topic?
@Mobi
“If someone’s being able to prophesy the future a fact, does that mean the absence of free will?”
As I see it, what you’re asking is essentially “If I know what choice you will make, does that mean you aren’t responsible for your choice?” And the answer to that is “no,” as there is no connection between your decisions being predictable and being responsible for your decisions.
That one’s choices are determined does not in itself conflict with free will—after all, “self-determination” is a synonym of “free will”. Having free will means being the author of your own choices, and as such determinism only conflicts with free will insofar as the thing determining your choices is something other than yourself.
If druids and ruinmen are eating rice and beans in the outer darkness, what’s on the menu in Dion Fortune’s Society of Inner Light? Grass-fed steaks and arugula?
Inquiring gourmands would like to know…
Karl, It is now being reported that that story is not true and one reporter has quit her job over it.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ny-post-reporter-quits-says-she-was-forced-to-write-false-kamala-story?source=articles&via=rss
I guess we can believe what we want. Me, I think sending your kids across an international border without adult supervision or ID documents is on its face evidence of unfit parenting, and reason for denial of parent rights.
Jensen21; A partial answer to why was the Roman Empire mourned: it suppressed piracy and brigandage, for one thing. Women didn’t have to go afar for fresh water because the aqueduct brought water right to their town. In some places, Seville, famously, municipal authorities kept aqueducts maintained for centuries afterwards. You didn’t have neighbors who despised your customs and gods. Also see the novels of Andrei Makine for nostalgia for the Soviet Union.
@JMG
1) I was reading the novel ‘Jurassic Park’ today, and I could not help but notice that the book’s chaos theorist Ian Malcolm did pose some very hard questions about the place and the whole enterprise, and he was right, which is something that doesn’t go well with belief in Progress. My reasons for the same are:
a) Progress requires unbounded optimism. Skeptics are always the villains, and they are, in every story narrated according to Progress, the ones who are wrong. Ian Malcolm, OTOH, was the ‘pessimist’ and he turned out to be right, after all, and Hammond and Wu were the ones who were wrong.
b) Belief in Progress requires that one must never question the scientific community, and especially on how scientific knowledge is to be used. Ian Malcolm did precisely that, and yet again, he was right.
c) The statement that ‘science itself is a few hundred years old’ and hence we ought to realize that it is the new dogma that medieval Christianity was before it, and hence we should start picking that which is ultimately good for us and throwing out the rest, is something that is blasphemy for believers in Progress. After all, the religion of Progress mandates that science will bring in the golden age that’s lying in wait for us, and thus we must uncritically embrace everything science brings to us, because ‘the past was bad, the present is okay, and the future will be great’.
That said, I do think that Michael Crichton himself fell into the trap of believing that Progress could advance to the point where humans could clone dinosaurs, i.e. an example of ‘our Progress is so powerful that it could destroy us’, which, IIRC, is a doomsday variant of the myth of Progress. However, I think the book is otherwise pretty good. What interests me even more, is that the book came out when belief in Progress was very powerfully entrenched, possibly even more than it is now, and yet it turned out to be so popular. I wonder why.
Can you recommend a good recent translation of Epictetus? I’ve only seen the public domain one that makes him sound like a Victorian gentleman and one “Ancient wisdom for modern business leaders” thing.
A sign of things to come? Probably a great guy, personally. The ones that should jump, aren’t.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/value-investing-icon-jumps-manhattan-skyrscraper-his-death-days-after-liquidating-fund
I’m definitely moving forward my 50 year time line to more like 10 or even 5 years before serious turbulence. Supply chain problems are evident everywhere you look, COVID made worse of course. The COVID response convinces me that the coping mechanism for all this will be, stout denial, projection, & hiding in a “safe place”. I no longer think the system can be “fixed”, although parts of it can be salvaged. The more important task now, is, seeing what level of tech we can “lock in” in terms of replacement and salvage. With luck, maybe gaslight era? Specifically, there is a lot of info on the Internet that really needs mined and placed in multiple safe places, so as to be repositories for the rebuild. Does anyone know of anyone doing this on a deliberate scale? There are actually a ton of useful studies and techniques that would give us a lot better humane existence, provided they are repurposed and reframed in a human context. Maybe it can be the Not-so-Dark-Dark Age? JMG has mentioned soil building and intensive agriculture. The printing press is an obviously valuable technology, as is what we’ve learned about book preservation. I can imagine a lot of metal-working techniques are also valuable. And there is a lot of medical stuff that just needs re-working.
Mary Bennett says:
April 28, 2021 at 12:58 pm
I wonder if someone from Britain could tell us what the new Alba Party is all about. Scottish independence, I understand that, and what is the rest of their program? What are their chances of success?
—
Hi Mary,
I think a bit of context is important here: After the Scottish independence referendum of 2014, when Scotland voted to remain in the UK by 55.30% in favour, Alex Salmond, the then Scottish First Minister and leader of the SNP, resigned and passed on the party leadership and government to his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon. Since Sturgeon and her husband have been in power (he’s the chief executive officer of the party) the goal of independence has remained only nominal, while the interests of her government have become a series of woke policies to try to ape the worst of Scandinavian politics while, at the same time, pursuing a witch-hunt against her previous mentor at the expense of the Scottish tax-payer. Until the creation of the Alba party, those of us in Scotland who were in favour of independence had the conundrum of having to vote for either the SNP or the Scottish Greens (this last one an even more extreme woke party) or not to vote, or vote unionist. Now, the Alba party represents the pro-independence people who don’t want to swallow the woke policies of the SNP/Greens, like the Hate Speech Law or Gender recognition reform (you can google them, but they don’t make good reading). In addition Alba is trying also to take advantage of the Scottish electoral law, where a party that only stands in the regional lists (not in the constituency) has more chances of getting seats in parliament. Alba is trying to generate a supermajority of pro-independence seats, by adding their potential ones to the SNP ones (plus the Greens, but they can turn their coats on independence easily). Would they achieve that? We would see soon… My only hopes is to put enough Alba seats in Parliament to stop the atrocious woke policies of the SNP/Greens…
Their program is in their website: https://www.albaparty.org/where_we_stand
This blog is also worth watching, lots of news the woke officialdom don’t want you to see: https://wingsoverscotland.com/
@JMG
Sorry for posting this as a separate comment, I’m doing so only to avoid making a comment that’s too long.
2) As energy and material resource shortage in the not-too-distant future becomes an ever more unavoidable and uncomfortable reality, I really sometimes think about how modeling will be done. IMO, the troubles have already started, with regard to the chip industry, which is facing shortages of critical raw materials to make the chips, as well as troubles with utilities, and they will no doubt grow worse, as the Long Descent picks up. In such a scenario, due to a lack of hardware, it is likely that the widespread use of computers will fade out and they will again be seen as something that is used primarily by the military and weather prediction people, the way it happened in the 80’s, for instance. In such a scenario, forget AI and data science, the algorithms used for number crunching will be likely old-school numerical methods of the vintage type. However, since we have learned a lot due to computer simulation, I think it is likely that any future advances in modern mathematics will come from the neglected areas (as compared to, say, CFD or Deep Learning) like dynamical systems theory, topology and traditional ways of doing statistics that were used prior to computers becoming widely available, but augmented with the knowledge that we have gained from the computer age. In other words, pure mathematics and mathematical statistics will become cool again, except that this time, it’ll be done not for ‘recreation’ or ‘knowledge for its own sake’ but for the sake of making sense out of models, and developing ways of studying them without having to run computer simulations. I could be wrong about this, but it’s just my personal opinion.
Howdy JMG,
I was thinking about the arbitrary nature of the 7 weekdays (what even is a Monday) and it led me to question how the ancient mages of the past ascribed planetary rulers to the 7 days of the week. Was this divinely inspired?
Thanks for your time and all your works… 🙏
DaShui, atheism and parapsychology fit very well together. You don’t have to believe in gods to be interested in the possibility that human minds have powers as yet unexplored by scientists.
Stefan, you can no more detach yourself from all egregors than you can detach yourself from breathing! Egregors are a constant feature of our astral environment. What you can do is become conscious of them, on the one hand, and associate yourself with powerful positive egregors on the other; much of the practice of occultism is designed to do these two things.
Karl, er, that kind of thing has been going on for a very long time. The publishing industry in particular has become a favored vehicle for political graft — why do you think all these politicians are getting multimillion-dollar contracts for books that nobody actually reads? It’s one of the standard ways of laundering bribe money. If you think there’s anything new in that, please look up a gentleman known as Boss Tweed sometime, or watch that fine George and Ira Gershwin musical Of Thee I Sing, first performed in 1931, which takes it for granted that the US political system is riddled with graft and that we haven’t had an honest election since the Revolutionary War. This is normal. The notion that there’s something unusual about it is just one more lie pushed by the media.
Jensen21, (1) you’re forgetting that literature is not written by the majority. In Roman times, especially, literacy was in the 20-30% range at best and working class people didn’t read books, much less write them. The collapse of the Roman world was a tragedy for the literate, privileged classes, but it was a steep improvement in conditions for the millions of slaves and poor people who bore the brunt of the system. (2) Er, you’re stretching certain comments I made way out of proportion. It’s going to be equally difficult on this side of the pond. As for feeling sad, good heavens, why are my personal feelings relevant to anything at all?
David BTL, that’s a subject for an entire post, not a brief comment. I’ll consider one.
Lark, “right to live on this planet”??? There’s no such thing. For every species that exists today there are thousands that have gone extinct. So will all those species of trees and fungi, sooner or later, and so, of course, will we. I can think of few things more useless than trying to apply the human language of “rights” to the processes of nature.
Ria23, so noted.
Mark L, many thanks for this. You make, I think, an extremely good case.
Eduardflo, Toynbee isn’t talking about empires, he’s talking about entire civilizations, so it’s not the Soviet or the US empire that’ll eventually be replaced by a (theoretically) universal religion, but Western industrial civilization itself. As for which religion will do that, it’s way too early to tell yet.
Oilman2, thanks for this. I’m also expecting serious inflation in the near future, and other disruptions as well. Hang on, everyone!
Mobi, (1) a prophet is a person who receives information from a god. The Hebrew prophets described in the Old Testament are good examples of the species. (2) No, not at all. Gods are eternal — that is, they exist outside of time — and therefore they can see what we call “the future.” That doesn’t mean that we lack free choice; it means that, since they’re outside of time, they can see us making our free choices all through our lifespan, just as they can see in a single glance the beginning and end of the cosmos and everything in between. (3) The most important thing to keep in mind while working on clairvoyance is that there’s going to be “astral static” mixed in with whatever you see. Clairvoyants who blithely assume that everything they see is accurate tend to go messily insane.
Kid, make sure the Moon is not in Scorpio — that’s true for everyone — and that the Moon is not applying by hostile aspect (square, opposition, semisquare, or sesquisquare) to whatever planet rules your 6th natal house and/or any planet that’s in the 6th house of your natal chart.
Joann, you’re most welcome.
Justin, many thanks for this! I’d never heard of Joybubbles, so this is especially choice.
SLClaire, good! There are two things going on in that bit of business. The first is that in the Haliverse, the historical (Celtic) Druids are the heirs of the ancient megalithic priesthoods that built the barrows and stone circles. The reference in the timeline is to the megalithic priesthoods, who (again, in the Haliverse) we might as well call Druids. The second point is that it was standard teaching in early 20th century occultism that the Druids came from Atlantis, so yes, that’s part of the timeline of my stories. Specifically, the Druids left Poseidonis — the highland region of Atlantis, which remained above water long after the rest of the Atlantean land mass — when it became clear to them that the glacial melting at the end of the Ice Age wasn’t going to stop in time to save their homeland.
Brian, that’s a very good question with no certain answer. In my more hopeful moments I like to think that the yelling is partly for public consumption and partly an attempt to get other powers to back off while we carry out our retreat from empire — but we’ll see. We’re entering a very dangerous era right now, and major wars are likely, whether or not the US is involved in them.
Yorkshire, that’s an excellent question. Have you considered researching it?
Chris, as I noted in my post on Lévi, we’ll start on May 12. As for gods, it’s a faulty premise — and a very intricate issue as well.
Marketa, the seagulls are definitely laughing. Unfortunately, we can indeed land too hard.
Wesley, I’m going to let you meditate on that.
Augusto, I think rather than an argument for monotheism, it’s an attempt by human beings to claim divine status for themselves. “We know everything there is to know about the universe!”
David BTL, thanks for this. I think you’re quite right, of course.
Mollari, the crucial rule is the one that Fortune stressed in The Magical Battle of Britain: always, always, ALWAYS focus political magic on building up what you want, not tearing down what you don’t want. The Nazis and the Magical Resistance both failed, despite the considerable advantages both movements had starting out, because they pursued the destruction of their enemies rather than the accomplishment of their goals.
Clark, I have no idea. Is anyone else having that problem?
Kimberly, thanks for this. I’m doing spring cleaning and have some extra books to get rid of.
Chuaquin, you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. Focus your efforts on those who are sick of staring at glass screens, and offer them alternatives. As for your second question, of course — the establishment loves nothing more than people who spend all their time staring at screens rather than looking at what’s actually happening in the world.
Stephen, ah, but notice what happened once the German government decided to stop hyperinflating the currency: they replaced it with a temporary currency, the rentenmark, which brought the whole process under control in a short time. They could have done that whenever they wanted to. That’s why I say that hyperinflation is always a choice — not just in the beginning, but at each moment along the way. As for the book, yes, I was fascinated to see that; there should be more copies available in a few more days, if I understand correctly.
Rus, since I’m getting near sixty these days I don’t pump a lot of iron any more, but I do some core work with kettlebells when I feel the need. Long walks (without a mask!) and exercises for flexibility and balance are more my style these days.
Miguel, every few generations somebody decides to try to make a new, innovative, cutting-edge system of magic by getting rid of every detail of magical theory and practice that offends the sensibilities of the cultural mainstream. Chaos magic is the latest of these. I don’t find it interesting — it reminds me of lite beer, as compared to the rich dark brews of traditional occultism — but I know people who get good results with it.
Clay, that’s quite plausible. The thing to watch now is whether it gets better, or not.
Anon420, I think your first plan — becoming a common or garden variety country lawyer — is a very good one. It takes time for a civilization to fall, and ours won’t hit bottom until long after both of us are dead. Pro bono work also helps build a community of people who know who you are and are grateful for your help — a very important thing to have on your side as things unravel. As for me, astrologers and occultists always do well in hard times, so I’ve already got my post-peak career in place!
Mr. White, I’m sure there’ll be some actual improvements to infrastructure in there somewhere, but the vast majority of it will be graft. My guess is that it’s so huge because the beneficiaries are basically cashing out before everything falls to pieces.
Michael, not at all. Huge amounts of money are being splashed around to try to create the temporary illusion of normality while prices skyrocket and the country comes unglued.
Barefootwisdom, you’ll have to contact them and ask — I haven’t had dinner with them.
Viduraawakened, I haven’t read the book, but that’s fascinating. Thank you.
Joan, I’ve only ever read the Victorian translations; I’m used to Victorian language. Anyone else?
Caledon, I saw that. As for your question, well, what are you personally doing to safeguard knowledge? If it’s going to happen at all, it’ll be because individuals choose to invest the time and effort in saving knowledge in some field that matters to them.
Viduraawakened, that seems entirely plausible to me. Keep in mind that there are also plenty of ways to do things without data-driven models!
Marcos, it’s not arbitrary at all — it just looks that way! The people who invented the seven-day week were the same Mesopotamians who invented astronomy and astrology; I figure they gathered data until someone said, “You know, it really looks like each planet rules a day in a seven-day cycle.”
Hi John,
You know its interesting what you and the other poster have mentioned about Europe falling to Islam because I have had several dreams now about a very similar scenario taking place.
I always see that more migrants move into Western Europe and the native Europeans start to “leave”, moving into countries such as Poland and Hungary but in particular Russia. It is always Russia. I see many Italians, Germans, French, etc leaving because their own countries are simply not that safe anymore.
I always get the feeling that this is karmic and actually part of what I would say “providences revenge” on Western Europe for its past crimes and also its redemption. You see, Western Europe never truly belonged to the Europeans of today. Their ancestors, the Indo-Europeans, essentially invaded and subjugated the area of the original inhabitants thousands of years ago. Their descendants of course carried on the tradition by colonising and subjugating America, Australia, Africa, etc.
So what Europeans did, the same will be done to them. That said, I get the feeling that these future refugees are returning “back home” in the same guise as what happened to the Jews in Israel. Europeans are actually native to Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus, etc. In my dreams, I see them adopting the same notion of “never again”, just like in Israel.
In a twist of fate, Europe of today really is the same story of ancient Israel in the Bible. They took over the ancient holy land, sinned against basic moral values, warred against each other and in the end got kicked out of the land that was promised to them.
As for a new Islamic regime in Western Europe, I think that strangely enough it would eventually reform itself due to the faustian energy of the continent. We could see down the pipeline a new liberal Islam start to assert itself…
Any ideas on when you think this could start to kick off? I believe that we wont see it within our lifetimes but we will start to see the process taking shape around 2050. That is when I start to see the first Western Europeans trickling into Eastern Europe. Its never a flood but a long, drawn out process. If I was to haphazard a guess, Id say 2100 – 2150 would be when the process is completed but that is just a guess.
Which reminds me – remember that astrological chart you did when you say that due to us entering the air sign, big government was staying in power, big tech would be here to stay and not much change would take place?
Well how does the aforementioned scenario actually take place within that framework? Because from your readings, it seems things stay pretty stable but obviously we all know that changes are coming.
Thanks
Sir and Druid,
I recently skimmed through the latest issue of Sky and Telescope, and found an article detailing a recent effort to replicate Johannes Kepler’s and Tycho Brahe’s great quadrant as well as their observational efforts. The data gathered by Brahe and Kepler was of immense importance, first for developing accurate ephemerides for astrologers, as well as developing the elliptical heliocentric model, and accurate sidereal positioning. The website for this effort can be found here: http://jonvoisey.net/blog/
For those who are interested in the metrology of renaissance astrology, this is a useful avenue for practice. JMG once suggested back in the ADR days that astronomical observatories could finance their research by employing their data gathering abilities and hiring a resident astrologer to use that data to cast horoscopes for patrons of the observatory.
Joan (#49),
The translation of Epictetus in the Oxford World’s Classics series by Robin Hard (ISBN 978-0-19-959518-1, published in 2014) is out-of-this-world amazing.
For whatever it’s worth, I’ve used this version as a textbook in teaching college undergrads, to very great success. The translator manages to balance smooth readability with great accuracy, and the endnotes are helpful without being overbearing. As a scholar and teacher, I’ve looked at quite a few versions, and this is the one I always return to and recommend.
(Do note the ISBN number; the same translator was involved in revising someone else’s edition of Epictetus some years earlier, and that is not the same book.)
I found out that magic coming back into the world i.e. a re-enchantment of the world is a trope used in works of fiction. Very often it is seen as a dangerous thing or an apocalyptic event e.g. in Lovecraftian fiction.
Here’s a page with the description and examples:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheMagicComesBack
“That Hideous Strength” is listed in the “Literature” folder. Curiously they have a “Mythology and Religion” folder where we find Wiccans, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Theosophical Society and the Ordo Templi Orientis.
I think if there was more good fiction about magic coming back, it would actually come back into our world sooner.
Alright, so new post. Mr. Greer, a commentator (I believe in was Stephen) mentioned that you believe that the next stage for the economy is stagflation followed by the US defaulting on its debt.
I think this is the likely path for the US economy myself. However, I think that cryptocurrency will play a major role in what will come afterwards.
I think cryptocurrency is the biggest human invention since the printing press, and I say this as someone who as DEEPLY researched cryptocurrency for years. Many people only see the speculative side of things, but there is an incredible amount of innovation.
People are literally building an entire parallel monetary system, completed with banks, asset exchanges, lending houses, everything, from scratch, all without the need for any government, company, or central organization to back it. And it’s all accessible on a global basis.
Some implications: 1) If mass adoption of crypto happens after widespread government default on the debt, that would permanently entrench globalization into the world economy and culture. 2) Contrary to what a lot of crypto enthusiasts think, I think it would leave much of the world WORSE off rather than better. Fundamentally, the collapse of national currencies and the adoption of cryptocurrencies would put control of the monetary system outside of the hands of governments and into the hands of people who already have capital. This would make the world much more unequal.
And while I have you on record as saying you believe internet access will become much more restricted, crypto does not need the internet to be accessible to everyone to function. A global culture out of the reach of traditional governments using cryptocurrency as its monetary system would be pretty revolutionary, while everyone else languishes without internet access is quite plausible.
Anyway, Mr Greer. You definitely need to take crypto into account in your calculations. I can answer any questions if you have them.
Mark L. rather good stuff on your site, incl. the chart on 2010 US energy use, categorized by source and destination, at http://www.luterra.com/blog/?page_id=407 .
Another good chart is at https://www.daytrading.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Screen-Shot-2019-10-29-at-6.17.07-PM.png , on oil prices/ US recessions, 1862-2018 , this on oil price changes and US recessions, 1862-2018 .
The Great Derangement of these times continues to amaze me with its endurance and probable expansion. There were several astrological events in 2020 portending a profoundly new era, but lately I’ve been wondering if last summer’s comet Neowise was a malefic harbinger of some kind. The timing was certainly spot on and it was clearly, dramatically visible in much of the northern hemisphere. There were a few mentions about it last summer and I wonder if you have any further commentary on its possible significance. Thanks for the Open Post this week.
Dear JMG,
I’d like to try asking you about a comment that was made about me: About a year ago I meet an older woman, who seemed to have a certain vibe and energy about her. It was a quick encounter, but I remember she told me I seem to be “water”. Sadly I have not seen her since. I was wondering if you care to make a guess as to what she might have meant?
My mind feels called to gain at least a basic understanding of alchemy, especially as Jung understood it. It seems like individuation is the same thing as the development of the mental body – uniting the polarities inherent in concrete consciousness yielding a new understanding of self. JMG, do you understand individuation as the same thing as development of the mental body?
I stumbled on to this guy, Paul Levy, last night. He talks about viral shadow projection, which he calls weitiko virus (apparently a native american tribe discovered this way back when). Here’s one of his articles https://www.awakeninthedream.com/articles/totalitarian-psychosis-in-our-world-and-our-minds. He’s basically saying what JMG said in the long podcast he posted about projection of the Father archetype. He appears to be into Jung and other occult disciplines.
Re romances
I stumbled across an author recently by way of a local library’s New Titles shelf.
http://www.reginascott.com/books.htm
I read her latest two novels ( A Distance Too Grand and Nothing Short of Wondrous) which take place in the American West during the 1870s and 1880s, respectively. On her website, her books are categorized as “Christian Historical Romance,” which while very much in evidence, was not so heavy-handed as to be unpalatable. Her characters were interesting and motivated by something other than raw sexuality (though the physical was not omitted completely). I found it refreshing to see characters interacting under a different (more refined?) set of social codes and this seemed to me to be something like the American equivalent of the regency romance (but time-shifted by about 50 years).
I have to be careful, as getting too caught up in the idealization of yesterdays-gone-by can get me out of synch with the present, but it is enjoyable nonetheless. My life is nothing like these stories, of course!
The notion of spending some time hanging around the county historical society and its historical village this summer while writing a 19th century historical romance set in the local environs has certainly crossed my mind.
Some people were recently talking about the devouring mother archetype somewhere or other in the ecosophiaverse.
I had a hankering to listen to a song by this great Irish folk band Lankum. I chose an album I hadn’t listened to before “Between the Earth and Sky” and this fine song, The Granite Gaze, has some references to said archetype:
https://lankum.bandcamp.com/track/the-granite-gaze
Their second album The Livelong Day is top notch folk music for those who also enjoy really good folk.
@Clark #29
This might work for you:
Log in to your WordPress account.
The WordPress account menu has a “Followed Sites” link.
Click on it and look for a button labelled “Manage.”
Click on it.
Find Ecosophia in the list.
Click on the “Settings” link for this blog and toggle the “Email me new comments” button.
Joan #49
There is at least one recent translation of some of Epictetus’s works. It is from 2018 and includes the Encheiridion and selections from the Discourses. It is titled “How to be Free” and it is from Princeton University Press, copyright 2018. The translation is by an A.A. Lang. Per the dust jacket, he is a professor emeritus of classics and an affiliated professor of philosophy from UC Berkeley. The book is part of a series – “Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers”. The text is in Greek and English on facing pages. I have not read Epictetus previously and I do not read Greek, so I cannot judge the quality of the translation, but it is in modern English. Again per the dust jacket, the translator has at least one other book on Epictetus: “Epictetus, A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life”. I hope this is helpful.
Last summer, when riots were still a new thing, James Howard Kunstler posted a blog piece which has stuck with me, basically blaming the state of current black oppression on liberal welfare policies which were intended to adjust the scales for black people post Civil Rights Act, but instead (according to this narrative) gutted the black mirror economy and led to the breakup of otherwise healthy black community structures on the macro and micro levels.The implication being that well meaning big liberal social programs became the unacknowledged root of so many of today’s racially charged troubles. (The post in question is here.)
I enjoy reading JHK but I also take him with a huge grain of salt. Still, the narrative has stuck in my mind. This is probably more to the community here than to you, JMG, but I’d like to ask, does anyone here have an informed opinion on this? Perhaps that witnessed the era, or knows more about the history here?
Hello bloggers! I will be starting a blog. What platform do you like the best, and why?
@Mr White, one of the things in Biden’s infrastructure plan is free pre-school public child care facilities for 3- and 4-year-olds.
This makes me wonder if “someone” is just using the U.S. as an elaborate live-action version of The Sims. (The Sims is a computer game that’s like a virtual dollhouse, except the dolls are simulated people the player can watch live their lives, based on behavior rules and scripts, within the virtual environment the player constructs. Players can and often do set up absurd situations, such as only one house in a neighborhood having a kitchen, “just to see what will happen.”)
“Let’s combine the trends of ever-later toilet training, ever-earlier free public day care, ever-increasing moral panic about anything concerning children’s genitalia, and ever-growing confusion about gendered facilities, just to see what will happen!”
Looking for advice from anyone in a similar situation.
I’ve managed to avoid owning and driving a vehicle for my entire life. I’m 28 now and in the army, and unfortunately no longer in a walkable city. I need something to get me around, but unfortunately I have no idea where to begin to look. Taking in the factor of ever rising gas prices, etc., where what would other ecosophians do in my place? I’ve looked into getting a bicycle, and plan on it soon, but a vehicle is something that looks to be a necessity coming up on me fast to transport all the gear I need for work with me, especially as they seem keen on moving me out of the barracks soon. I’ve been looking at Toyota Tacoma’s for their purported longevity and value holding and reliability, as well as the ability to haul equipment, but as I said earlier, I don’t know where to begin. I don’t really want to buy a brand new vehicle, but I also want something that ideally would last 20 years and last through a long descent. Any advice appreciated.
@Mark L
Of course, you can – I will be glad.
JMG, Do you think England’s and then Britain’s foreign policy aims of keeping Europe divided to stop a hegemonic power arising on the continent prevented the unification of Europe therefore caused endless wars leading ultimately to the first and second world wars?
This is Magic Monday stuff, but since it´s an open post…
This is from “The Esoteric Origins of the American Renaissance” by Arthur Versluis.
Johann Georg Gichtel, a supporter of Jacob Böhme, wrote several books published under the same title, Theosophia Practica. In the edition from 1696 (also published 1779) Gichtel elaborates his doctrine of the seven planets as corresponding to bodily centers and shows in illustrations and commentary how “fallen man” is ruled by the seven planetary forces (emotional forces), as well as how in “regenerated man” these same points are transmuted into spiritually illuminated centers.
??????
OK, I am out on a limb here, or did Western occultists know about the chakras already in 1696?!
Dear JMG,
Last night I reread Eric Ambler’s _A Coffin for Dimitrios_. The night before I read Ambler’s _The Light of Day_. Both novels involve amongst other things political intrigues in Turkey. This got me thinking about the recent history of Turkey: from the Ottoman Empire to the rise of Kemal and the advent of serious changes and more than a few genocidal incidents. Of course, _A Coffin for Dimitrios_ effectively begins the tale in Izmir during the time of the military chaos there.
Having done some reading on Turkey in some encyclopedias, it seems to me that the United States is following a similar trajectory. More specifically, it seems that we are losing our oversees empire rapidly in a manner analogous to the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, and it seems very likely that once we lose a war — as per your scenario in _Twilights Last Gleaming_ we may see direct territorial reductions and radical political changes as per the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.
Furthermore, from my perspective it seems that political instability in the sphere of the disintegrating Ottoman Empire directly contributed to World War I. It seems that globally, that many regions of the world might experience something very similar should the Pax Americana go the way of the old Sultanate.
Frankly, it seems to me that the PMC have gone the way of the senile Techno-Sultanate and our equivalent of “The Young Turks” are already beginning to network. That said, there’s no guarantee that we’ll get a Kemal figure, and it’s all too east to imagine portions of the United States devolving into something of the nature of a post-colonial Myanmar. Any way one looks at it the future seems both dark and uncertain.
What I find truly astounding is that while in the midst of so much obvious discontinuity and change, hardly anyone with political power is taking effective actions to alter the course we’re going done. Furthermore, hardly anyone seems to even understand that we’re in the midst of the end of one global order which may leave in its wake serious warfare over large areas in many parts of the world as new arrangements of political power come fight to supplant the old.
In closing, I’m curious what thoughts you may wish to share are on the shape of the future, especially here in the United States. Do you have a sense of a good historical model to imagine the range of possibilities that we may face?
@JMG,
So noted. Also, now that EduardFlo mentioned Toynbee on religion, that leaves me with another question (actually, trio of questions) for you.
(1) Toynbee talks at length about “higher religions” and contrasts them with “lower religions” while also appearing to believe (contra the orthodox doctrines of the “higher religions”) that they are really all worshipping the same God. Do you think that the “higher religions” of Toynbee’s taxonomy are a valid concept, even if you, personally, would have prefered less loaded terminology?
(2) Did Toynbee’s frequent laments that third-generation civilizations like our own aren’t producing higher religions influence your own belief about how the rising spiritualities of the upcoming Age of Aquarius will be more particularist and less interested in imposing uniformity on the world – or in other words, did you agree with Toynbee about what is happening, while choosing not to see it in such a negative light?
(3) Did Toynbee’s ideas about the role of new religious movements in declining civilizations influence your portrayal of the Gaian religion in Star’s Reach?
Dear JMG,
What do you mean by “too hard”? Civilization, probably yes. But people?
I have had several quite hard landings in my life. I will not write about them here, though.
I would like to tell you about an event of hope, not among those I would count as hard landings. The passing away of the closest person I had at that time: my mum. Two months after she was diagnosed with a pancreatic cancer, she died in a hospital – and I was very fortunate and honoured to be there with her. She was beautiful and her face looked peaceful – even then.
A day before she got there we went for a short and slow walk and I asked her: “What things do you consider the most important in a life?” she laughed and replied: “You really ask me?” in a manner suggesting something like “how should I know?”. I insisted, so she answered: “to try to be in accord with oneself and with that which is beyond oneself”.
Later on that walk, she said: “A lot of my friends and colleagues keep asking me “why you?” (Presumably because she was otherwise a very balanced, friendly, sporty and beautiful woman in her fifties. Non-smoker. She was successful at work and at that time she was studying Master’s programme in pre-school education at a university.)
She stopped, looked me in the eyes, her eyes twinkling: “Well, I ask myself: Why not?” and smiled, happy.
The morning after her death was cloudy and upon waking, I could not believe the Sun rise was real at all. Surely the Universe would stop to be? At least my universe? I meant it seriously. Over time, I found a deep-rooted hope in the seemingly simple fact it did not.
Also, as waves of deep sorrow surged and went, I found this deep sorrow beautiful: it was the love I felt for her but could not manifest any more. It now appears only occasionally but it is welcome: it still remains one of the crystal clear streams of communication between me and her.
@Anon420. I’ve thought about this some of the years, and it’s good to work through possible scenarios. But reality is extraordinarily complex and hard to anticipate. Things will evolve as they will–it’s easier, perhaps, to just keep it simple. If you have any type of skill, keep it sharp (as Nonna always said, “Impara l’arte e mette da parte”). More importantly, keep those people who are worthwhile close. Honor the gods, and watch for the signs.
Axé
Lady Cutekitten, it’s my first time attempting direction-based Geomancy, so please report back where you found your gift card, if you should ever find it, so I can know whether this method was successful. According to the chart I just cast, “Where can Lady Cutekitten find her gift card in her house?”, I believe your card will be found between the North and North of Northwest, possibly in some meaningful relation to a junction, crossing, line, or pipe; or in/among something relating to communication or commerce, such as in a file where you keep correspondences. I hope it’s not in a pile of papers or something annoying like that.
For those following along with the geomancy, the Mothers were Populus, Puer, Carcer, Conjunctio. I took Lady Cutekitten in House 7, and her gift card in House 8, which is her 2nd. The Conjunctio in the 2nd passed to Houses 4 and 5 (Lady Cutekitten’s 10th and 11th). I was using the 2nd method of direction finding listed in JMG’s “Art and Practice”. As Conjunctio was also the Judge, I figured that it may hold special importance to the successful discovery of the card.
With a court of RW Albus LW Rubeus J Conjunctio, I believe there’s a chance you might find yourself becoming quite peeved with the process.
Good luck!
@ RusTheRook
Powerlifter here.
Doing a powerlifting program is an exercise in applied physiology but, perhaps more relevant for those on this forum, is a weekly routine for training the will. Not only does this happen in the day-to-day lifting but also in developing the discipline to ensure you eat and sleep enough to recover (which is almost more important than doing the work itself).
You’ll be restructuring your physiology. Growing muscles is the easy part. Your ligaments will expand and strengthen and your bone density increase. Those take time. In the process, there will be pain. You’ll have to learn to tell the difference between pain which indicates a genuine injury and pain which is just your body re-organising itself (9 times out of 10, it’s the later). Then there is the regular challenge of lifting weight that you have never lifted before. There’s a particular exhilaration to the squat where you must descend with a weight on your back not knowing whether you’ll be able to stand back up again. And then what happens?
If you’re interested, the classic text to get going is “Starting Strength” by Mark Rippetoe. It’s a really good idea to join a club or at least pay a coach online to review your lifts for the first year or two. I see people in the gym doing absolutely crazy things that lead to injury due to bad technique.
@Clark, if you’re already have the Ecosophia.net post open in your browser, you won’t see new comments until you re-load the page. The page gets re-loaded automatically when you submit a comment.
Also, you won’t see any comments (other than your own) until JMG has approved them to appear. Usually he approves a bunch of them, with or without his own responses, around the same time. So, let’s say you read a new Wednesday post at 2 PM Eastern (U.S.) time. Chances are you won’t see any comments because JMG hasn’t approved any yet, even though readers have been submitting them ever since he posted the post. Suppose at 3 PM JMG clears all the comments received up to then. You still won’t see them until you re-load the page. If you submit your own comment at 3:20 PM, that re-loads the page in your browser and makes all those comments cleared at 3 PM appear.
@Jaroslaw
As an owner of a 2002 Tacoma I’ll say it’s a good option, especially if you’re not putting on lots of miles to the point that fuel economy is paramount.
I ended up with a basic model with manual transmission, windows, locks, etc. It’s about the last generation of vehicles made without much in the way of proprietary chips and electronic gimmickry, and there is a large DIY owners community with the skills to swap engines and perform major repairs when necessary. And there are plenty of Toyota trucks from the 80s still on the road.
Why do occultists always do well in hard times?
Ksim, that’s an interesting scenario. As for the astrological chart, er, no, that’s not what I predicted; you can read the original post here. A sample: “Expect the next 199 years to be an era of turmoil, as centralized governments committed to crisis management in an era of technological regress have to contend with constant pushback and hostility from the population.”
Ighy, fascinating. Many thanks for this!
Ecosophian, oh dear gods yes. Back when I was a teenager and into trashy fantasy, I must have read dozens of trashy fantasy novels on that theme. As for magic coming back, er, did you really think it went anywhere?
Rus, that’s an interesting prediction. My guess is quite different — I think that cryptocurrency will turn out to be a very large and very overblown bubble, which will pop messily at some point — but we’ll just have to see which of us is right.
Jim W, one of the reasons I cranked back in the number of countries for which I do mundane astrology charts is that I didn’t have time to do the necessary research into Comet NeoWise. Do you happen to have access to the exact date and time when it first became visible, and its position in the zodiac at that date and time?
Deadnotsleeping, hmm! It could have meant several things; one of them, perhaps the most likely, is that of the four elements, your personality and energy are closer attuned to water than any of the others.
Youngelephant, individuation is one way of thinking about spiritual development, which has the evolution of the mental body as one of its goals. Jung has a book titled Psychology and Alchemy you might want to read, but you should tackle Symbols of Transformation first.
David BTL, there’s a lot of good writing these days in unfashionable genres like that one, and there are also a lot of readers who are desperately tired of the fashionable clichés. You could do worse than to adopt a female pseudonym — about half of romances these days are written by guys under female nom de plumes — and give it a try.
Quin, that certainly corresponds to what I’ve read. Did you know that many “urban renewal projects” during the 1960s, and a good many freeway projects as well, destroyed black-owned business districts in order to force black people to shop at white stores? (I put your link in HTML, btw, to fix Jim’s language for local use.)
Your Kittenship, if you can afford it, I’d encourage you to find an inexpensive hosting company and arrange to have your blog on that. The free blog platforms are very fond of censorship.
Devonlad, yes, I’m quite sure that Britain’s policies helped keep Europe divided against itself, but keep in mind that the likely outcome if they’d failed would have been a unified Europe under either French or German rule, hellbent on world conquest. Roughly the same number of people would have died, though fewer of them would have been European.
Tidlösa, of course they did. All it takes is functional clairvoyance to perceive energy centers in the human aura. They didn’t put the centers in exactly the same places…
…but then different sources in Tantric literature assign the chakras to different places.
Violet, glad to hear you’re reading Ambler — far and away the best author on international intrigue I’ve ever read. Yes, we could well be heading into some such scenario, and it’s absolutely par for the course that the political elite has no clue what their actions are generating — any more than the Ottoman ruling class did. As for historical parallels, we’re not far enough down the curve for me to settle on one yet.
Wesley, I consider Toynbee’s speculations about religion to be among the weakest dimensions of A Study of History — he was too busy shoving everything into the mold of his own highbrow Anglicanism to notice what the data was telling him. (1) No, (2) no, and (3) no — Spengler was my model in the latter two cases.
Marketa, when civilizations fall, millions of people die. It’s hard to think of a harder landing than that.
Jbucks, good question. The fact remains that they do.
Based on a comment last month I figured I would give the term “culturally non binary” a try on some folks that are much more on the left end of the spectrum… it did not go down well. I will leave it at that. I had great fun watching them turn their heads inside out.
@RusTheRook. Im in my mid 30s so Im still fairly in my prime. So 30 sit ups, 30 pushups and 20 chin ups every second day. At least a half hour walking a day if not just for the meditation value of it all. I consider it my moving Zen – see last weeks post for context on how that should be handled.
I enjoyed “The Blue Star” based on your recommendation. Maybe Dashui,based on his comment, would like it too.
@Ighy in regards to the astrology as a future career for astrologers. JMG goes into much more detail of this in his book After Progress. I get the feeling that is the part were most hyper rationalists would throw the book across the room.
Dear JMG, I entirely take your point about nothing on earth having “rights”. ~But is it possible that the trees and other earthlings, etc, might be experiencing the current human shenanigans as an ongoing assault on their own viability? I mean, that there might be some awareness and some intention to defend their lives? Trees are of course more sentient, connected and sociable than we have given them credit for. Will this avail them any? It is interesting that they are our breathing partners in the matter of CO2/O2 but perhaps this is of no relevance. Thank you — and thinking of dryads, here’s a lovely poem that I thought you might enjoy:
The Tree
by Andrew Young
Tree, lend me this root,
That I may sit here at your foot
And watch these hawking flies that wheel
And perch on the air’s hand
And red-thighed bees
That fan the dust with their wings’ breeze.
Do you not feel me on your heel,
My bone against your bone?
Or are you in such slumber sunk,
Woodpeckers knocking at your trunk
Find you are not at home?
To winds you are not dumb;
Then tell me, if you understand:
When your thick timber has been hewn,
Its boards in floors and fences sewn,
And you no more a tree,
Where will your dryad be?
@Augusto, JMG,
Forgive me if this is a bit long, though I would like to hear your thoughts on it; I am a grad student in physics right now, and so my opinions about a “Theory of Everything” are a bit more sophisticated than (though not really quite different from) those of our host.
Basically, I think that the “Theory of Everything” is a sort of “castle in the clouds” that appeals to certain ends of the scientific community, not so much because it’s a realistic goal, but because it satisfies these people’s image of what science ought to be.
To begin with, there is the absurdly loaded terminology. What “Theories of Everything” are usually trying to do is either (a) integrate gravitation with quantum mechanics, so that scientists can describe how gravity works at very small scales or high velocities/energies, or (b) provide some mechanism by which baryons (protons and neutrons) can be produced from simpler particles, in order to explain why there is more matter than antimatter in the universe. (According to presently-known physics, all physical processes must conserve “baryon number”, i.e. the number of baryons minus the number of antibaryons stays the same, so you can’t create a proton without also creating an anti-proton at the same time, which is kind of a problem if you believe that the universe emerged from nothing during the Big Bang).
Calling a hypothetical solution to these problems a “Theory of Everying” implies that questions like these are the only questions about the universe that really matter, so if you create a new physical theory that answers them, then you’ve explained “everything.”
Most of the great scientific discoveries of the past came about when a scientist connected apparently unrelated phenomena, and showed them to be manifestations of a single force or single set of physical laws. For instance, by proving that the same force is responsible for falling rocks and planetary orbits, or by showing that light is really a rapidly oscillating electrical field, or that the proton and the neutron are both made of quarks, but in different combinations.
The “Theory of Everything” is an attempt to do the same sort of thing again, with gravity and quantum mechanics, for instance, or with baryons and other, simpler subatomic particles. These attempts fail because, in a sense, they are leaving Nature out of the equation.
This is because, in these previous discoveries, the new laws of physics where discovered by pursuing some “lead” that Nature had given us; some clue as to what to look for, such as the fact that both the Moon in its orbit and falling rocks accelerate towards the center of the Earth, or the fact that light exhibits diffraction and other wavelike behaviors. The observation leads to a hypothesis, which leads to experiments, which leads to more observational data and, eventually, a new theory of gravity of electromagnetic waves or whatever.
But the “Theory of Everything” people aren’t starting with an observational lead, they’re just starting with the raw desire for a theory. They do not have a clue from Nature about how the universe actually works, so much as a feeling about how the universe should to work. Baryons ought to be transformable into simpler particles. Gravity ought to display quantum effects at small scales like the other forces do. Yet nobody has ever observed a baryon decaying into a non-baryon, nor has anyone observed gravity at small enough scales to register a quantum effect.
The “Theory of Everything” people keep running in these circles anyhow, producing conjectures about things like supersymmetry and axions and string theory that make no testable predictions, or that make predictions that can only be tested with very expensive experiments which, in practice, end up yielding no results that diverge from existing theory.
Now, my thoughts about the future of physics aren’t wholly pessimistic (after all, I am still working toward a Ph.D. in that field) but I think that the really exciting stuff going on right now is in fields like exoplanet astronomy, galactic evolution, and neuroimaging: places where nature has actually given us leads that we can work with and do actual, experimental science, even if the science in question does not massage our collective ego in the way that a “Theory of Everything” does.
Dear JMG,
You’ve written often about a third party forming, and I was wondering if you’ve heard of the National Justice Party? They have a platform that appels to white working class people. Of course they’re quickly labeled as Nazis, etc. by the media, but they had a secret meeting in the rust belt, and they had a large successful gathering. With the Dems and Repub abandoning this group (not to mention Trump throwing them under the bus for Jan. 6th), they may have a shot at running some local candidates and who know what else in the future. Here’s their platform.
https://nationaljusticeparty.com/platform/
@Markéta
That’s more beautiful writing, and it encapsulates an emotion that I find to be among the most powerful, and for which I am not aware of a proper word in the English language. The bittersweetness of time and change. The knowledge that we are having an experience that cannot be repeated, because someone is about to leave or about to die.
Yes, millions of people die when civilizations fall, but millions of people also die when civilizations rise. It is too easy, in an era of progress, to put off the joy of living in pursuit of retirement or some other future which may never arrive. In a world in which death itself is taboo, it is too easy to prioritize prolonging life over truly living life.
There are aspects of decline, for some people in some places, which will be miserable. But I think it may also restore some of the humanity that we have lost in our this era of imagining ourselves as gods.
Keep writing. As more people escape from the religion of Progress, we will need not just cold hard statistics and projections, but also visions of what is lost during progress and regained during decline, visions of what it means to live well in a time of contraction.
Ultimately we will do well if we can move beyond resignation to our future, and begin to embrace and even anticipate the changes ahead.
@ jaroslaw RE: vehicles
You’re in my wheelhouse buddy. I currently own a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2001 Ford F250 and a 2014 Jeep Wrangler.
My thoughts on these vehicles? Well as Jeep is now Chrysler, I can tell you that the parts they are assembled from are all from China and fail quickly; the engineering is exactly what you would imagine happens in a camel design facility. Example being that my Wrangler went a whopping 130k miles and then it needed a new engine due to piss poor cam follower bearings; the wheel studs are different sizes on the SAME vehicle; the cooling system high point is below the radiator cap, meaning you have to ‘burp’ it when you add water or coolant and the only way to get the air bubbles out is to put it up on ramps. Enuf of that – after wrestling with it, I put a new engine in it and revamped the cooling system – mainly because SWMBO loves it and wanted to get another (no way new) or fix this one.
My FJ cruiser has a 1GRFE V6, which is an awesome yota motor – same motor is in the Tacos. I have 381,000 miles on mine – so a Taco with 150-200,000 miles should work fine for you and not bust the bank.
My F250 farm truck has 265,000 on a 7.3L diesel turbo for pulling trailer – still going strong. But unless you are towing, it’s overkill but totally reliable.
As far as brands go, STAY AWAY from anything Chrysler – they are all built with the cheapest components they can locate; Ford is decent, but these new models have electric everything and cost a ton to fix as well; GMC seems to be ok, but I haven’t owned one in 20 years. And stay away from hybrids – the battery packs will set you back between $6000 and $11,000 when they finally fizzle out.
Go Toyota is my suggestion, so a Taco or a 4Runner with over 100,000 miles should serve you well.
Humans walked on the moon during The Hong Kong flu pandemic.
As of last week, I’m not permitted to travel outside of my health region (homeland) without documentation (passbook) in Canada.
@ jbucks RE: hard times…
My guess is that people are trying to find a way forward when things are shaky or crumbling around them. JMG can chime in, but from lots of reading, it seems to me that when the material world is absolute shite, there is only one other way to turn – internal, spiritual. And if you are not of a hard monotheistic bent, then the “others” will likely appeal.
In traditional religions, the same prescriptions are issued for every ailment, and after a while, inquiring minds want to know, etc. So those looking hard and digging around eventually wind up staring the occult (secret) religion in the face….
@Anon420 (#38)
I think the doctor was going to be a sewing machine repairman.
For my part, I am planning to learn carpentry, and also acquire some woodland and start coppicing/pollarding.
For what it’s worth, in the country where I live, there is a class of lawyer who specializes in helping people with the often complex paperwork required for various dealings with the government.
“Do you happen to have access to the exact date and time when it first became visible, and its position in the zodiac at that date and time?”
Apparently the comet was discovered on March 27,2020 at 5:07:28 GMT in the first degree of Leo. This is the time of its discovery via the telescope Neowise (hence the naming). The link below includes a chart cast for London. Interestingly, the comet is opposite Saturn in the first degree of Aquarius where the Grand Mutation occurred 9 months later! The comet was visible to the naked eye for most of July but I can’t find any exact time when the first sighting was recorded.
https://www.crystalwind.ca/eureka-amazing/cosmic-stargate-portal/cosmic-events-journal/comet-neowise-predictions
This site also had some interesting commentary:
https://classicalastrologer.me/2020/07/22/musings-on-comet-neowise-1/
I hope you’ll share any insights you might have, if you’re so inclined. I’ve just been sensing it a lot lately as an integral part of the signs of 2020. ‘Twas a memorable year, and likely to remain so for a while.
JMG,
I suppose I’m asking about the end goal of individuation and not the whole process. I suppose its not a 1 to 1 mapping? Here’s a follow up question that might help me understand: Is it possible to achieve individuation and not have achieved a mental body? In my rudimentary understanding right now, individuation is the end goal of alchemy (maybe that’s where I’m wrong) and the evolution of a mental body is also the end goal of alchemy, and therefore the two things are equivalent?
Just received a huge 2 box donation of books from Teresa from Hershey… Thank you!
JMG,
I would like to learn more about what occultism has to say about romantic relationships and marriage. Your post from last year on the metaphysics of sex got me curious about a lot of different topics.
As I continue to study occultism and grow as a person, I’m noticing what may have previously been blind spots in my own marriage. Finding competent guidance is not easy. Ultimately, my goal is simply to be a better husband (what exactly does that mean?) and build a stronger, more sacred marriage (also, what does that mean?)
I know that every person and romantic relationship is different. But, I would like to align with any underlying occult forces for obvious reasons. And, if there are certain principles, behaviors, or roles that are universal, well clearly I would want to align with those.
Are there any sources you would recommend on the topic? Thanks!
@Jaroslaw,
Tacomas are good, I would buy one. Figure out what year is in your price range. Bring a mechanic friend with you. If paying cash, you can look for deals directly from owners selling their vehicles, but buyer beware. You can also go through a used car dealership. For newer vehicles, try competing dealerships first (see what Tacomas are on Ford and Chevy lots). You still may find the best deal directly from a Toyota dealership, and if you do, go there on the last day of the month or the last week of the year, when they are desperate to hit sales bonuses.
To keep it running, maintenance is king. Change that oil!!!!!!!
I hope this helps, and I hope some more knowledgeable people can chime in here.
Jessi Thompson
Anotheramethyst
> I think that cryptocurrency will turn out to be a very large and very overblown bubble
Crypto has already had many three bubbles before and popped messily……. but it always comes back from them with more users and adoption and more technologically advanced features.
If you take anything away from crypto, I would take away these four points:
1) The economic functions governments and banks perform (currency, lending, asset exchange, ect.) can be performed entirely by computer programs on the internet that no one controls or directly oversees.
2) The end goal of the cryptocurrency movement is to build a parallel global economy using these computer programs, who’s fundamental dynamics are entirely out of reach of any government. Individual users might go to prison, but the system itself lives on the internet and would only go down if the entire internet would be destroyed.
3) In the event government control of the currency falters (ex: from hyperinflation), it is hoped by cryptocurrency advocates that this parallel economy will gain more legitimacy than the current economic system.
4) Finally, my personal opinion (after years of being involved in this) is that this may not necessary have good consequences. If control of the currency is entirely out of reach of governments and in the hands of the free market, that means it’s controlled by people who already have money and capital. Meanwhile, non-rich people would have much less influence because government would have less influence over the monetary system.
This isn’t necessarily the view of many crypto advocates. However, a book called The Sovereign Individual, which predicted the existence of cryptocurrencies in the 1990s, took this view as well, so it’s far from unique.
Anyway, I absolutely love learning about crypto and if you have any questions, I am always down to answer them! You can even shoot me an e-mail.
I have to say living through this vaccine propaganda makes me feel like I’m living through the flashback part of the story of the zombie apocalypse. So many cheerful people insisting its safe and effective and free!
Meanwhile no system was put in place to track people longterm (months to years) to see actually how effective any of the vaccines are. My hairdresser got Covid two months after getting the vaccine and she had a horrendous array of freaky symptoms. Nothing was reported anywhere and the doctor told her to just deal with it. My co-worker who was in the placebo group of trial testers was given the vaccine in January. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of long term studies?
Michael, funny! Thanks for this.
Phutatorius, glad to hear it.
Lark, that’s always possible. Given the way that trees interact with fungi, one thing to watch for is one or more new fungal infections of human beings that causes serious health problems or death. Thank you for the poem!
Karl, thanks for the heads up. No, I hadn’t heard of them yet. If they start winning local races, they could become a major force in a decade or two.
Jim W, thanks for this. I’ll see what I can work out.
Youngelephant, Jung isn’t clear about the endpoint, so I’m not at all sure I can answer that question.
Erickson, there isn’t much written on that subject from the occult point of view; Dion Fortune’s The Esoteric Philosophy of Love and Marriage is very nearly alone. Meditation and journaling on your own experiences is probably your best bet.
Rus, the same was true of the stock market before 1929. We’ll just have to see.
Denis, I’m frankly very worried. That’s partly an astrological worry — the upcoming lunar eclipse has indications of a serious but difficult-to-track public health crisis in the months ahead — and partly the product of repeated personal contacts with the dysfunctional side of the health care industry. That said, other than avoiding the product in question, I’m not sure there’s anything you or I can do.
@Lark you can view it from a different angle. What if this was the trees plan all along? They nursed the ancestors of humans for millions of years, and then when the forests started retreating due to climate shifts they sent us out into the plains, gifted with eyes and hands adapted to arboreal living that would allow us to manipulate the world. Eventually, we discovered the bones of the trees long dead ancestors (coal) and re released the long stored carbon into the earth system, eventually kicking the earth out of the ice age climate it has been in and back into the warm house jungle that is the trees preffered climate and granting them victory in their long war with the grasses. A silly take, but the trees could be seen as the instigators rather than the victims, and a far greater power than us who are merely their pawns.
@Lark, I think JMG does make a fair point about rights. But I can see it more as a case for the Trees fighting to secure their place in the ongoing miasma of life struggles. If they lose, it is no big loss, there will be more to come afterwards to fill the gap in next no time. Life is a hardy thing and it has seen far worse than us and will see a lot worse in future.
The funny thing is that the trees don’t need to directly fight back, they are doing just fine as they are. Nature is already using one of the most effective fighting techniques available and it is probably completely unaware of it. You might have seen this when someone is complaining about something and making a a lot of noise about their grievance, the thing that makes them even more upset is when they don’t have others stroking their ego and agreeing with them. The silent treatment is a powerful tool and it is so easy to execute.
Nature is taking the passive role and is doing just fine. An example I am thinking of is a highway over pass near me. It is 30 feet tall and made of nothing more than concrete and bitumen. It was devoid of life when it was built but in the last few years – in all the cracks there is grass and shrubs slow growing, slowly weakening this structure and eventually showing that for as much control as we think we have, the plants will have the last laugh without even cracking a sweat.
I love seeing plants living on the highways, it is a good reminder of just how little power we will ultimately have.
There is some deep seeded root, at least in me, that wants to protect nature in terms of the geology, the plants and the creatures were possible. And to grant them something akin to rights but it is not exactly that. It is more a case of, try to do less harm to those that co-inhabit the lands with us as they have a place here as well even if it is just by mere happenstance.
It is impossible to do no harm because it is the very nature of living that we consume other things that live, but there are the extreme cases where it just feels malicious in our endeavors. I’m thinking like mountain top mining, mining tailing ponds and bird blending wind turbines.
I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on spirituality in China? Having lived there for 5 years and spent time in megacities and the countryside, there are a number of factors which I find interesting.
Firstly, the religion of progress is stronger amongst the people I met there than anywhere else in the world. People tend to rationalize long working hours and bad living conditions with the phrase “working hard for a better tomorrow”, conceived of as a future where they have more money and material goods. Secondly, there is the continuation of folk religion in the countryside, including worship of idols and animal sacrifice. Thirdly, Christianity does seem to be making some inroads, despite strong discouragement from the government.
As we step travel down the Long Descent, I imagine that a theistic religion is going to take off in China, does anyone have any speculation of what form this might take?
JMG,
Have you gotten wind of the updated Deagel Forecast?
—
@Mark , nice blog posts!
@anon420
If for no other reason, hyperinflation will make practicing law unprofitable. What people during Weimar found was what you could bill did not keep up with the rate of inflation. Doctors and lawyers quickly became impoverished. Only things tied to hard resource extraction or production OR if you had a strong union backing you were you able to keep up. And I have yet to see lawyers unionize. Let me know if it happens.
Seriously, what did you like to do before you decided to become a lawyer? I’d backtrack that far. Go all the way back. Either that or leave to go to somewhere else that will have a stable currency. That might be difficult to figure out at the moment. There are no good choices left, only choices that are less bad or more bad.
Re, the Ottoman discussion: I don’t see the parallel. The Ottoman Empire’s decline was a long, protracted, humiliating affair-from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries, they essentially lost every major war they entered (or sometimes avoided losing because Britain bailed them out), and each loss came with more territories being taken away and more former subject peoples winning independence. A short, sharp decline like JMG seems to predict for the US is not really the same.
As to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the whole Izmir/Smyrna tragedy, the Ottoman Empire organized its subject peoples under what historians call the millet system. Each subject of the empire belonged to a millet (Turkish for “nation”), which were defined in exclusively religious terms-so there was a Muslim millet, a Jewish millet, an Orthodox Christian millet, an Armenian Apostolic millet, etc. The millets had a great deal of internal autonomy, and were governed by their respective religious leaders under their respective religious law codes-so for instance, a Jew who committed a crime (or wanted a divorce) would go before a rabbi, an Orthodox before an Orthodox priest, a Muslim before a Qadi (a Muslim judge trained in Sharia) and so on. Religious leaders often performed administrative functions like collecting taxes, and represented their follower’s interests before the Sultan.
The Ottoman Empire was of course Muslim though, and so the Muslim millet was very clearly privileged over the others. For instance, any legal case involving a Muslim-as either perpetrator or victim-was tried by a Muslim Qadi, and non-Muslims were subject to a variety of demeaning legal restrictions-their testimony in court was worth half as much as a non-Muslims, they were often required to wear special items of clothing so they would be instantly recognizable, non-Muslims were officially forbidden from building new churches/synagogues, or repairing existing ones, and had to get special permission from the Sultan every time they wanted to do so, and so on. While it was unequal, the millet system allowed people of different religious backgrounds to live together in relative peace-up until World War I, most large Ottoman cities had a Muslim community, a Jewish community, and various kinds of Christian communities, who usually lived in distinct neighborhoods, and were subject to their own legal systems under their own religious leaders, but whose members interacted with each other on a daily basis and often formed close friendships.
Over the course of the 19th century, as the European powers dismembered the Ottoman Empire in slow motion, the millet system imploded. Non-Muslim millets resented their subordinate positions and in many cases intrigued with the various European states for support. Often, they tried to break away from the empire entirely and form their own independent nations. By this time, as I mentioned, the millets were extremely intermixed-a city, and even a small village, might contain Muslims, Orthodox, Armenians, Jews, and other communities-so the result of all this intrigue tended to be bloody religious driven wars that pitted neighborhood against neighborhood, and often neighbor against neighbor. As Christian ethnicities broke away and formed their own territorial states, they massacred or expelled the Muslim communities in areas they controlled-and the Ottoman Empire retaliated in kind against members of that community still in its territory. Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, this culminated in a series of full on religious and ethnic genocides throughout its former territory, which historians rather bloodlessly refer to as the “Population Exchange”.
One of the only former Ottoman countries to avoid this, and maintain the previous religiously diverse status quo, was a place most people here have probably heard of-Bosnia. Tragically, in the 1990’s, Bosnia would undergo its own small-scale version of the “Population Exchange”. For anyone who remembers, or has read about, the Bosnian War…imagine the same thing, going on across the entire Balkan penninsula, Turkey, and parts of the Middle East, sweeping up tens of millions of people who were forced to flee their homes or be murdered. Imagine a whole city (or, the part of the city with the “wrong” ethnicity) being burned to the ground, and its entire population-or, at least, those who survived-escaping to a different country, never to see their old home again. Yes, this happened, in the 1920’s, and its one of the many things the American educational system probably didn’t tell you about. The city was called Smyrna by its expelled Greek population, and is today called Izmir by the Turks who replaced them. A few popular novels center on its destruction in 1922, usually without providing broader context.
So to return back to our original point, the Ottoman Empire so far isn’t a parallel to the US…or at least, I really, really hope it isn’t.
Regarding vaccines, I cannot get behind a vaccination program that does not take risk seriously. A sane vaccination program would have a designated control group, so a decade from now we can look and see how well the vaccine actually worked.
For my take on the vaccine: I am a healthy person in my early 30s, and I’d bet good money that I’ve actually had COVID-19 already. I have been eligible to vote in five federal elections in Canada. If I get my three score and ten, I can count on another ten or fifteen, assuming Canadian politics maintains at least the illusion of the same forms for the rest of my life.
The most meaningful political choice I’ve ever been offered is to refuse the vaccine – a vote of no confidence for the media, the priests in white jackets and the political class. It’s worth more than the 15 or 20 opportunities I will get to pick one establishment stooge over another in our values democracy.
>You know its interesting what you and the other poster have mentioned about Europe falling to Islam because I have had several dreams now about a very similar scenario taking place.
You don’t need psychic powers or dreams – you just need your eyes and a seat on a train and just pay attention to all. the. mosques. you. see.
I suspect by the middle of this century we could see another “iron curtain” but it won’t be to keep people in – but to keep people out. I call it the “Slavic Treaty Zone” and the “United Caliphate” but who knows what the actual names will be.
Kimberly, I knew there was a purpose for the extra book that arrived in my box last week. I will send you an email in the next few days. Just need to see if there are more to get shipped to you.
Oilman2, thanks for the links. I always appreciate your input here and on Urban. I have been posting there as Another Dreamer.
Rus The Rook #34, I tried to stay in shape because of a connective tissue disease I have (prevents dislocations) and the future. I work really hard to make sure my daily life involves lots of movement, but this involves another from gardening, 8 to 10 mile hikes, yoga, and weightlifting. Be patient with your lungs, it can take months before getting back, the key is not giving up.
Anon420 #38, I’m already in a place to stay viable. I’m an herbalist and a health coach. Having said that I continue to study and practice making medicines, candles, salves, and soap and growing the plants that I use in my own garden. There is always something new to learn. Plus the other living skills that just keep me happy like quilting and other needlework like making household items and clothing.
Darkest Yorkshire #43, About 10 years ago I started eye exercises and managed to go from quite thick glasses to only using a mild prescription when I drive at night. It wasn’t the only thing that made a difference, but it was still significant. The exercises involved were the eye rotation movements, cupping, and making sure that I had frequent rest from screens and natural light during the day.
Jarostaw, my husband is active duty, so I know full well that a lot of posts are not friendly to the vehicle free. I believe Oilman2 had some good suggestions for you. Also remember that the more complicated something is the more likely it is to break down. So simple, no bells and whistle, which will also save money. I have a friend that is currently doing long term leases on a vehicle, because he didn’t want to take the plunge on purchase. In a few days I am picking him up after he turns it in and taking him to the airport. TDY for a month, so he doesn’t need it. Keep in mind that if you are PCSing within the next year or so, temporary might not be a bad way to go. Hope this helps.
@aNanyMouse
Thanks for the oil price chart. I wrote the article you referenced back when I was still an alternative energy researcher, and when I still believed in Progress to a greater extent than at present. Looking back at it there is definitely some wishful thinking in there regarding the potential of renewables, but it is more realistic than the mainstream scientific opinion to be sure.
>vehicle is something that looks to be a necessity coming up on me fast to transport all the gear I need for work with me
Yeah, I’ll chime in – Chrysler products are not known for their quality or reliability. They have their market niche and that’s basically someone who wants a car that will barely last the six years it takes road salt to eat your car and they want to pay just as little as possible upfront for it. Notice I said upfront.
You will never go wrong with Toyota – BUT – everyone else knows that too. And the prices will reflect that. The old saw – you get what you pay for.
90s Nissan was good. Nissan past that point started going downhill fast – also see: Chrysler.
Ford is average in quality. GM is below average. The Koreans these days are the ones making the quality cars for their price points, although they do not make pickup trucks.
If what you need is just a work truck, I’ve seen people use almost anything and everything as one – I saw an SN95 Mustang with paint buckets and a ladder strapped to the roof. You might consider an older Hyundai SUV, take the seats out, put your tools in there. Those can be had for not much money and they seem to be OK.
JMG:
First of all, I want to say that I am jumping out of line here, but I just read something in Levi that made thoughts came unasked for.
In Chapter three…Eliphas speaks of the ternary. I hope that you tell me just how wrong I am, but damnme if that doesn’t sound like the thesis/antithesis/synthesis that I so loathe in Hegel
Please correct me and send me in shame to a corner. I hate Hegel.
JMG, what is the source for the diagram you shared with Tidlosa?
If I have the chart for Comet Neowise correct (1:07pm, March 27 2020) it’s amazingly malefic.
I would like to share an anecdote of decline. I may have purchased Peak Garage Door.
My family (like that of many anxious Millenials) has combined households with one of our closest friends for greater resiliency. Because of work from home, we needed additional office space, so we made our garage into an office/workshop. Our house, like every other in our region, unfortunately has an HOA which does not allow a full conversion. However, I was able to find garage doors with quite impressive R-values (and we had the walls and roof insulated) and in January we ordered one with steel layers inside and out, thick polyurethane in between, and vinyl seals over every possible moving part. For natural light I ordered it with double walled insulated glass windows.
The first manufacturer suffered a breakdown at their factory and could not fix the factory because of supply chain issues with the part they needed to replace. Our installer switched the order to another manufacturer, but the process was plagued with delays. The door was finally installed yesterday (over 4 months after the order) and I had a fascinating conversation with our installer.
He said this is perhaps the last polyurethane door to be manufactured this year. There is no more polyurethane to be had. The shipping issues and trade conflict with China had already depressed the supply and then the Texas Freeze wrecked the refineries that make the chemicals that go into polyurethane. Garage doors are way down on the priority list – auto manufacturers are having to slow production because they can’t make car seats. He said his friends in the spray foam insulation business are dead in the water, as it’s the same chemical. He said that springs for garage doors are going to run out in June and if they can’t fix the shortage before that, his business will be at a standstill too. He also can’t get insulated windows any more, for any price. The price of glass has doubled since my order was processed in January and every manufacturer he’s called has said they’re just not doing them anymore.
Given how little capacity gets restored after each crash, I’d be surprised if this kind of door became available again in the future, so I may have gotten the door after the technology fully matured but before the materials ran out. I thought it was a fascinating microcosm of our civilizational predicament.
@ Denis RE: zombie apocalypse flashback
So far, everybody has the choice to drink Coke or Pepsi, except the people working for Coke… and we can still opt for water.
As with anything else, trust yourself above anything you see on TV and related sites; never forget that the CDC is NOT part of the government (just like the Fed Reserve) and do your research.
It’s still ok to say “no” to most things – so exercise that “no” muscle.
In the world upside down as it is, sometimes just running the opposite direction of the other lemmings is a great idea. My natural response to people telling me that I MUST do something is to resist, so my heels are dug in pretty deep at this point WRT many, many things.
To all the nice people who’ve tried to solve the mystery of the missing card: first, THANK YOU! Second, we are pretty sure (by process of elimination) that I dropped it into or behind a huge old sofa that even Sonkitten can’t move by himself, and Sonkitten is a big guy.
My brother will be up in a couple of weeks to help him move it.
Car shoppers: Be aware that either the 2013 or 2014 models were the last ones that don’t spy on you.
All:
Although I am fascinated by history and read a goodly number of history books every year, the history of science hadn’t really been a particular interest of mine – until I picked up Seb Falk’s new book, “The Light Ages”, the story of medieval science. To dispel the idea that the Dark Ages were centuries of ignorance and superstition, the author offers a really well-written and absolutely engrossing history of science and exploration during a time we usually consider unenlightened – and reading the book will dispel the notion that the prevailing religion of Europe at the time, Christianity, was the enemy of thoughtful, orderly inquiry. If you’ve got an open spot in your “to read” pile, I highly recommend this book.
JMG,
In your post “The Last Years of Progress” you wrote, “Thus the concept that needs to find a place in the imagination of our time is that instead of living on the brink of Tomorrowland or the brink of apocalypse, we are living in the last years of progress, well into the opening phases of the era I’ve called the Long Descent. The future that crouches in front of us, preparing to spring, has nothing to do with the paired fantasies of progress and apocalypse and everything to do with the long, slow, uneven decline that has filled the twilight of every other civilization.” I recall you discussing this concept other places in your previous blog and this was the best quote I could find that captures the essence of the idea.
My question has to do with the speed and extent of the coming decline as compared to that of other civilizations that have collapsed. It seems to me that the current civilization is in greater overshoot, as the population has grown faster and reached higher numbers than any past civilization. So I’ll put the question this way: From the peak of the Roman Empire, the population of the City of Rome fell from about 1,000,000 to perhaps 25,000 at its nadir. Would you expect similar percentage population declines in the many mega-cities in the world, or would it be more reasonable to expect that populations in these mega-cities will fall to about the same numbers as the City of Rome did during its descent to the nadir of the Dark Ages?
CRC
@JMG
I have…the exact same question as Punky Little Kid (!), so here’s a followup to your answer: What if the Moon is applying by trine to the ruling planet of your natal 6th house–is that a good time? What if it’s separating by trine? Thanks!
Hi JMG, Nachtgurke (I remember you), and all. I’ve made it a little hobby to collect specimens of woke insanity, so that I might laugh at the world rather than be scared by it. I’m pretty sure y’all have heard how mathematics is racist, and 2+2 does not necessarily equal 4; that’s old news. Here’s the latest:
“Gravity is racist? Sheffield Uni. wants disclaimers on Isaac Newton’s theories, says he benefited from ‘colonial activity’.” Read all about it here-
https://theduran.com/sheffield-university-wants-to-cancel-isaac-newton-gravity-for-being-racist/
Enquiring minds would like to know is how all this will end. Will the Western world recover its sanity at some point and resume normal collective mentation, or are we really circling the drain? Or maybe some third outcome?
—Lunar Apprentice
The Biden/Harris administration says that they intend to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% (from 2005 levels, to be precise) by the year 2030. When their representative, John Kerry, was interviewed on the radio and asked HOW we are going to do this, his answer (IIRC) was “we’re going to spend money on American Research and Development, and they’re going to think of something! And it’ll be something no other country can think of, something that we can sell to them from our position of Leadership!!”
And then somebody speculated, in print, that one step of the program will be to keep us from eating hamburgers (except, perhaps, and Christmas and Easter). The opposition seized on this as an intolerable affront to all that’s right and holy, while the administration and its mouthpieces said “no, no, no. That’s NOT part of the plan.”
Since the Plan has no details at all, any objectionable speculation can be denied. Looking at my own household, if we had to cut our natural gas consumption in half, that would mean setting our thermostat at abut 55 F for the winter. My wife, when told of this, said “that’s impossible”. To which I said “Of course. But what else can they ACTUALLY DO?”
JMG – What do you think they’ll try, and what will they accomplish?
Quinn #69:
The notion that decades of social programs intended to give a leg up to the poor and minorities have had negative, unintended consequences is not new. Many people have observed that as the social safety net grew larger, it undermined poor, particularly black, families. Critics of such programs include black intellectuals like Thomas Sowell. Even NYT columnist Nicholas Kristoff, a man of the Left, has wondered if conservatives haven’t been right in believing that social support designed to lift people up have instead created a disincentive for personal responsibility, education, and meaningful work. Decades ago, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then secretary of labor and later a senator from New York, wrote a report on the state of the black family, believing that social programs that supported single mothers as long as no male was present in the household were adding to the destruction of stable black families with devastating repercussions for children. Here’s a discussion of that bit of history: https://www.city-journal.org/html/black-family-40-years-lies-12872.html
There are lots of articles online that discuss the issue, JHK is just one of many.
Re: Oilman2, #10 and JMG. That ZeroHedge article describes price-inflation of basic commodities. General “inflation” by definition is wage-price inflation; whereas it is “stagflation” when wages stay flat.
My apologies for the pedantry, but many are unaware that these are two very different phenomena, and I think the MSM is more than complicit in helping people NOT understand.
—Lunar Apprentice
“Mollari, the crucial rule is the one that Fortune stressed in The Magical Battle of Britain: always, always, ALWAYS focus political magic on building up what you want, not tearing down what you don’t want. The Nazis and the Magical Resistance both failed, despite the considerable advantages both movements had starting out, because they pursued the destruction of their enemies rather than the accomplishment of their goals.”
Thank you for the advice! This has made me rethink my goals, and reframe them in a more positive sense: rather than pursue the end of the lockdowns, my goal is going to be to try to preserve/restore as much of our civil liberties as possible. Even at this very early stage of mapping out my strategy, reframing like this suggests constructive options, even in purely mundane terms, which focusing on ending the lockdowns would miss.
Time for a contrary opinion on inflation:
If you believe the inflation will continue for any length of time in this environment then you must also believe that the housing market will continue to go up and that stocks will continue to go up and that crypto will continue to go up. I don’t believe any of those. I recognize that the fed printing money is driving up asset and crypto prices but that money printing is not automatically resulting in a strong economy. The economy has been dealt a severe blow by COVID and I expect it to succumb to those wounds sooner or later. We get meaningful recessions not because of one-off crises or shocks but because of underlying weakness. All major recessions/crashes at least since WWII have been preceded by a period of weakness and underperfomance.
Supply chain issues will be resolved over the next 12 months.
I expect another market crash sometime between 2021-2023 resulting in severe deflation, housing and cryptos wiped, and cash is king again. Then and only then will the stage be set for the inflation we all know is coming. Cryptos will be highly regulated on the other side.
The prevailing wisdom is that we are facing immediate major inflation. That it is the prevailing wisdom is reason enough to be skeptical, IMO.
Russell, interesting. It’s not something I know anything about, though.
TJ, nope. The name makes me wonder if it’s paired with a Smeagol Forecast. 😉
Degringolade, Hegel plagiarized quite a bit from occult philosophy, you know. Don’t worry — being Hegel, he dumbed it down and mixed it with a lot of handwaving. You’ll find that Lévi’s version actually means something.
Steve, the internet, of course. 😉 It’s from Theosophica Practica by Johann Georg Gichtel, which was first published in 1701.
Breanna, thanks for this. I’m beginning to get the sense that the wheels may be coming off the economy…
CRC, of course we’re in greater overshoot, but we also have greater technological capacities to slow the decline, so it works out to about the same. In terms of population decline, across a very wide range of technological levels from neolithic to advanced iron age, the bottom is at worst around 5% of the top, so I’m guessing it’ll be about the same this time as well.
Cary, either one of those is very favorable.
Apprentice, sanity is on its way. What’s happening is that the higher education industry is demonstrating to as many people as possible that it’s no longer worth supporting in its current form…
Lathechuck, I don’t think Biden’s handlers have any idea. To them, “50% reduction” is a warm fuzzy verbal noise, not any kind of coherent plan. There will be no plan, other than throwing a lot of money at a lot of big corporations, and it will accomplish nothing — well, other than allowing some rich people to squirrel more money away in the Cayman Islands in advance of the inevitable collapse of the current system here in the US.
Lunar, that’s a valid point. I expect prices to go up but wages to flatline and economic activity to stagnate, for what it’s worth.
Mollari, excellent. That’s exactly the point.
DT, remember that I’m predictinct stagflation, not inflation proper: rising prices for commodities and consumer goods combined with falling wages and economic activity. We had a lot of that during the 1970s and the same mistakes are being made again.
@JMG Re: Magic coming back
Well of course magic didn’t disappear, but it went into hiding in the West for a few centuries. And we are right now under a malign enchantment, as you said. So what I’m trying to say, good literature may help lift that malign enchantment and allow us to see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower.
Though I wouldn’t mind if magic came back in the West in a more dramatic fashion, with ancient gods rising from the depths of the oceans. By the way, I also recently learned that Dagon was (or is?) an ancient Semitic god, who appeared in the form of a fish. That’s when it clicked – so that’s where Lovecraft got his inspiration. And that’s more than a coincidence that Jesus was also a fish. That’s a real rabbit hole.
@ JMG Re: Lunar Eclipse
Is there any clues on how serious the public health crisis will be?
My assumptions have been that the vaccines which alter mRNA won’t make their effects obvious for a decade, that the J&J vaccine’s far more dangerous than they are letting on (100x or so), but none would account, directly, for a massive crisis, not this quickly. From what I’ve read, the crisis might result from the way the vaccine was rolled out, a possibility a Dutch (?) scientist mentioned, where the time between shots can allow a stronger variant of the virus to develop, and this seems plausible since some have taken the first shot then got cold feet on taking the second.
On a less bleak topic, while looking through the Victorian meditation theme texts, I found one called The Layman’s Breviary, a collection of poems, one for each day of the year, and am wondering if short poems are meant to be meditated on in their entirety or only a section from them?
I would like to sharehere commentariat a link to a transcription of Alexandr Solzhenitsyn’s Harvard address—one of the texts which most informed my transition away from materialist atheism and towards a more spiritual-minded existence, and one which I still revisit every couple years. In particular, there is one passage which stuck with me, which says,
“If humanism were right in declaring that man is born only to be happy, he would not be born to die. Since his body is doomed to die, his task on earth evidently must be of a more spiritual nature. It cannot be unrestrained enjoyment of everyday life. It cannot be the search for the best ways to obtain material goods and then cheerfully get the most of them. It has to be the fulfillment of a permanent, earnest duty so that one’s life journey may become an experience of moral growth, so that one may leave life a better human being than one started it.”
https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/alexandersolzhenitsynharvard.htm
Regarding Jensen21’s question about the Romans, and to honor our hosts dislike for flickering images, I present the transcript of one of my favorite Monty Python bits.
Reg: They bled us white, the bastards. They’ve taken everything we had. And not just from us! From our fathers, and from our father’s fathers.
Stan: And from our father’s father’s fathers.
Reg: Yeah.
Stan: And from our father’s father’s father’s fathers.
Reg: Yeah, all right Stan, don’t belabor the point. And what have they ever given us in return?
Revolutionary I: The aqueduct?
Reg: What?
Revolutionary I: The aqueduct.
Reg: Oh. Yeah, yeah, they did give us that, ah, that’s true, yeah.
Revolutionary II: And sanitation.
Stan: Oh, yeah, the sanitation, Reg. Remember what the city used to be like.
Reg: Yeah, all right, I’ll grant you the aqueduct and sanitation, the two things the Romans have done.
Matthias: And the roads.
Reg: Oh, yeah, obviously the roads. I mean the roads go without saying, don’t they? But apart from the sanitation, the aqueduct, and the roads…
Revolutionary III: Irrigation.
Revolutionary I: Medicine.
Revolutionary IV: Education.
Reg: Yeah, yeah, all right, fair enough.
Revolutionary V: And the wine.
All revolutionaries except Reg: Oh, yeah! Right!
Rogers: Yeah! Yeah, that’s something we’d really miss Reg, if the Romans left. Huh.
Revolutionary VI: Public bathes.
Stan: And it’s safe to walk in the streets at night now, Reg.
Rogers: Yeah, they certainly know how to keep order. Let’s face it; they’re the only ones who could in a place like this.
All revolutionaries except Reg: Hahaha…all right…
Reg: All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh-water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?
Revolutionary I: Brought peace?
Reg: Oh, peace! Shut up!
@Jaroslaw,
When I lived in Northampton, Massachusetts, my household’s trash was removed by an outfit called the Pedal People using bicycles pulling trailers that could haul 300 pounds. They also had the contract to empty the public trash bins downtown, which was very popular because the bikes and trailers didn’t block the street the way diesel-powered garbage trucks do. They have a lot of information on their website, which is at https://www.pedalpeople.coop/. If you want an example of a business and a transportation technology that has a good chance of outlasting the fossil fuel based economy, I can hardly think of a better one.
Denis #103. I also heard that the control arm of the long term covid-19 vaccine study(s?) was, in toto, just given the vaccine, destroying the study. (‘sigh’, I did not save the link to this news, sorry). IIRC, the stated rationale for this was that the vaccine was so effective, that it would be unethical to deprive people of it for study purposes. Of course with an up-front covid survival rate for the US population broken down as-
Age 0-19: 99.997%
Age 20-49: 99.98%
Age 50-69: 99.5%
Age 70+: 94.6%
(per https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scenarios.html
I think that maps out to 99.97% survivability for those under 70)
I fail to see the urgency to vaccinate the control arm. After all, long-term vaccine risks are entirely unknown, and could potentially be vastly worse than the minimal risk from the disease itself. I can’t see any justification for allowing, much less mandating, vaccinations for those at low risk from covid, e.g. college students. To me, it looks like the evidence trail is being nixed in the event there are mass vaccine complications or deaths down the line: “There’s no solid data to suggest the vaccine had anything to do with this.”
FWIW, Karl Denninger just today posted quite an impressive analysis —
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=242205
titled “Science catches up — and burns you all”, and he crucially relies on this major, peer-reviewed paper from Jan 21, 2021 Nature as key evidence in his argument:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-020-00808-x.pdf
Now, Denninger’s rhetorical style is certainly bombastic, and he has a some of his own pet positions for which he cherry picks his data (e.g. climate change denial), but with respect to covid vaccines, I think he’s put out a solid essay, unpacking pertinent implications of that paper. It’s well worth a read.
Bottom line: It is fool-hardy to take a covid shot if you are not in an at-risk population.
—Lunar Apprentice
@jaroslaw
I’ve owned 2 tacomas in the last 33 years, both were excellent vehicles and I wish I hadn’t sold them (the first because of a divorce, the second because I got some wild idea about living car-free and biking everywhere. That lasted 2 years and i finally threw in the towel). The first was a 1988 model. Easy to work on. The 2nd was a 98. Slightly more complicated, but not horrible. My boss drives a 2018. Don’t buy one. Too many bells and whistles.
I’m currently driving a 2013 Nissan juke. (Because used tacomas are expensive and hard to find) Its an odd looking little car (little enough to easily lose in a parking lot, hidden between the SUVs) not a truck, but I love it. You can haul a lot of stuff in it. My job requires me to haul around an equipment cart, 200 lbs in weights, and 3 to 5 equipment cases depending where I’m going (think harbor freight’s apache 4800). I can also (just barely) haul 8 ft 2x4s with the hatchback closed (though not at the same time as all that other stuff) To do that, i removed the back of the passenger-side back seat, so the front seat can lay down flat, and open the glove box (yes, really). All that is a long-winded way of saying it hauls a lot of stuff. And it is comfortable, for my 5’5” frame anyway. I sometimes have to drive to sites as far as 4 hours away. The guys I work with (pickup drivers all) called it a girly-car when I first bought it (my response: “well, yeah, I’m a girl”.) (a 50+ year old woman to be precise, but you get the idea). In the years since, it has earned their respect. But, being a 2013 and having everything crammed into a tiny engine compartment, maintenance is annoying enough that I pay someone else to do it on the rare occasions it needs it.
Just thought I’d offer that up as an alternative to the “you have to have a pickup to haul gear” narrative. (Oh, and in all fairness, a major downside: it demands high-octane fuel. I tried putting regular in it precisely once, and it ran so badly I’d have taken it in for work if I hadn’t known what the problem was)
@JMG. You stated above that it is best to focus political magic on what you want to build up, not what you want to tear down. Isn’t that good advice for any sort of magic?
I have lead two sessions of a rule simple RPG I authored based on the Blood of the Earth. For years I have been toying with table top gaming as a tool to exercise folks imaginations on how to apply different stories to our lived experiences, specifically the long decline. An issue I ran into with setting something in our near future is that its hard to know what assumptions to bring in, and all groups but those with the most dully homogeneous world views are apt to fall into squabbles about what the biggest problems facing our world are, what are or are not valid solutions. Too much emotional attachment to our stories about our immediate future.
So I though why not play in another world than Earth? Where the Blood of the World is more like a philosopher stone that allows for pulp fantasy style magical effects to be greatly enlarged, and make everything foreign, but keep the essential conundrum. Blood is getting scarce, the Empire is getting rubbish and senile, the protagonists are in desperate situations, etc.
I’d hoped to have a sharable draft of the rules ready to post publicly to this forum, but my current draft still depends on some material that isn’t original to myself to flesh out parts I haven’t customized yet, and I don’t want parts I am borrowing from other authors to be mixed pell mell with my own material on a public forum. If any one in interested in seeing the draft in progress you can send a request to my dreamwidth account ‘grokrathegreen’, and I’ll send a word processor document of a very early draft.
I borrowed a germ of pulpy fantasy rules from world of dungeons http://www.onesevendesign.com/dw/world_of_dungeons_1979_bw.pdf
and added an intro borrowing strongly from Greer’s ‘Blood of the Earth’ post, but slightly lamp shaded for a more cliche fantasy setting, and moved a slight notch forward in decline. Tweaked more than half the rules to really dial in a flavor I wanted, and inflicted it on five friends. At least four of them are having a blast, the other is hard to read, but he’s always hard for me to read, and he is really used to more super hero fantasy of modern D&D.
Blood of the World
Welcome to a world dominated by a vast, decayed empire sustaining itself with otherworldly powers wielded by abusing the Blood of the World. It is ruled by a decadent aristocracy holding court in soaring towers; backing the aristocracy is a caste of corrupt sorcerers whose incantations, empowered by the power of the Blood, keep the masses disorganized, deluded, and passive; but once proud provinces of the Empire are ravaged by vengeful spirits, storms, and other disasters caused by the abuse of the Blood, while ancient prophesies warn of much worse to come.
Meanwhile, far from the centers of power, the members of a scattered fellowship struggle to find and learn the forgotten lore of a neigh forgotten era, which might just hold the secret of survival…
I would appreciate any evocative imagery or notions to help keep my players campaign vivid.
So far a Trollcamp has been raided by Rangers of the Provence for conspiring to interfere with a ritual site where Blood is produced, which has provoked the wrath of the River god. One player, a former Imperial Guard laid off for defending a youth from execution had just been getting use to squatting in Trollcamp, until the attack. The other player, the aforementioned youth, discovered, during the attack, that he could negate some of the Empires magic with a cold iron awl and force of will, and now dreams of paths to Freedom this could open for him, and of a spirit that offers him other terrifying powers, for an offering of the Blood of the World. With them the River God’s enchantress daughter, a mysterous shapeshifter, and True Namer Idufik of the grove where the old ways before the Empire are remembered.
JMG: I am hoping for your blessings in exploring this tangent off of your ol’ post, if the test campaign goes well, I am thinking to create something original enough to put into an open source print out. My hopes are a tool for cleaning the rust off folks imaginations that is close enough to be applicable, but distant enough from our lived experience that emotional baggage is less hampering for the players. Suggestions would be most welcome, and if it would be welcome like I hope to have a Beta draft for the Greenwizards on this site to toy with ready for an open post soon.
People come asking for homeschooling advice sometimes, so I thought I’d share some cool materials that the group I send my kids to for summer camps put out for families to do together throughout the covid year, as well as a bit of a fun challenge the Canadian Scouts are doing that can be followed by anyone (obviously without submitting for badges ;-)).
These guys follow the 8 shields mentoring model, and so have developed activities for an 8-season wheel of the year- seemed appropriate: https://www.thrivingroots.org/get-involved/adventures-at-home/
The Great 8 Challenge with Survivorman: https://www.scouts.ca/great8-challenge/the-great-8-challenge.html
@Tolkienguy (April 28, 2021 at 8:08 pm)
Thank you for the excellent and unusually balanced account of the violence that accompanied the end of the Ottoman Empire. I would add that Tsarist Russia playing cowboys and Indians with Muslims in the Caucuses after it conquered them from the Ottomans, driving many Muslims refugees into Anatolia, was more fuel for the subsequent fire.
One can also pull back to a yet wider lens and see the end of the Hapsburg, Ottoman, and Tsarist empires and their replacement by ethno-states as one large field of conflict that includes both of Balkan Wars, WW1, WW2, the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust (which took place mostly in the zones of intersection between Poles, Belorussians, and Ukrainians), the large-scale killings of non-Jewish civilians in Eastern Europe and Yugoslavia during and after WW2, the post-Yugoslavian wars, and the wars centered on Israel.
This was on topic for last week, but here goes… Molly Rush, Co-founder of the Thomas Merton center in Pittsburgh, with a 50-year history in activism, cancelled. Why? Apparently pointing out that MLK got results without rioting is now RACIST!!!!!!!
That has prompted a new book, Cancel this Book, by Dan Kovalik. I’m sure they’ll try… https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/cancel-this-book-the-progressive-case-against-cancel-culture_dan-kovalik/27231463/item/44465912/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9dL__dii8AIVg7WzCh1oTg1cEAQYASABEgLf3fD_BwE#idiq=44465912&edition=58493778
Here’s a musical antidote to Covid “brain fog.” I was infected back in early December and experienced no symptoms except a marked reduction in my ability to smell and taste. Food either tasted salty or sweet. I recently got my second vaccination of Moderna, ran a fever of 100.4 degrees F, experienced flu-like symptoms, and pervasive “brain fog.” The cure was worse than the disease. Fortunately, I’m better now. Anyway, please take a listen, if this is of any interest, to 01:45:21 of Handel’s l’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, the duet for soprano and tenor, “As steals the morn upon the night.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1KidVglLmE&ab_channel=S.P.%27sscorevideos
There’s a wonderful modern dance by the choreographer, Mark Morris, using this music and who gives some background on Handel’s work as well as his own:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sG5rbiRADc&ab_channel=GreatPerformances%7CPBS
As he explains, Handel’s text partly derives from Milton’s masque, l”Allegro…He also explains how the costumes were inspired by the drawings of William Blake who loved Milton’s poem and illuminated it in his own, original process of producing illustrative plates for his books.
Music as magic!
@JMG – thanks, as always for hosting a corner of the internet that’s somewhat sane. Did you know the Biden administration is considering lowering the Medicare eligibility to age 60? Some sinister implications there for those of us who don’t have much faith in our health care system. Do you think this would open up the market for alternative medicine or tighten the AMA’s current stranglehold on the industry?
@anon420 – recently my brothers and I went to see a lawyer about some financial considerations concerning our 89 YO father. He did a great job in synthesizing down the current laws regarding estates, debt, taxes, etc., and what we came away with was a short action item list to address our concerns with being able to ignore a number of issues we were confused about. So, in other words, if you can keep up with the local laws and what’s really enforced, and be able to provide decent guidance for lay-people, I would guess your profession of law may be around for a while…..
@ Jarostaw – if you have avoided owning a vehicle to this point, perhaps that’s still your best option? Another suggestion would be to consider a scooter or motorcycle – depending on the climate, two-wheeled vehicles are an excellent option to get around, and a lot cheaper than four wheelers, especially when cars/trucks are used simply to transport a body from point A to point B.
@RusTheRook – my, how the crypto crowd sometimes shows they’ve drunk the Kool-Aid. No matter how many years you’ve spent looking at the “product”, it seems to me you’ve ignored the underlying realities that the store of wealth is outside of your control, that the block-chain advantages are still all dependent on government controlled (and limited) DNS environments, and that – most importantly of all – cryptos are NOT widely held by the masses. As a matter of fact, most cryptos are owned by a very small group of people. It’s really as simple as an ATM network – your “card” or key goes bad, your wealth is GONE. And now that the Chinese are rolling out digital currency with an expiration date, you’re gambling big time with any hope of maintaining profits/store of wealth. And then we can look at the energy expenditure of mining bitcoin as another major roadblock for the future. I see cryptos as a trap – and eventually, as a tool only for the elite, and not for the masses.
I just realized I posted in the older open post so hope you don’t mind if I re-ask my question here in conjunction with others I thought about.
So. Regarding your ‘Monsters’ book for investigators?:
*I’ve just been reading through one entry and wondered what are your takes on the case or story of Abhartach in Ireland or the ‘Jian Shi’ of China which appear to be portrayed as quite physical?
Wouldn’t he be an example of a ‘vampire’ who isn’t in the category of predatory ghost/’psychic vampire’ that fit the traditional definition? He was reported to have come back and basically demanded people give him their actual ‘blood’?
*How was facing the paranormal like during the Bronze Age when many people including professional soldiers didn’t use steel tools and knives but bronze or wood in everything? Was it much of a problem at that time? I haven’t heard of how Bronze responds to the ethereal.
*What metals do aluminum and brass count as? What happens if they are used in a candle lantern instead of iron? Would it pick up the ‘signs something is near’ mentioned even less effectively or more effectively?
Thanks,
L
@ aNanyMouse, Mark L. re #61. chart on U.S. energy use.
More up to date charts are at:
https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/commodities/energy
Whole U.S. for 2020 and 2019, plus per state versions from 2018 – 2010. In 2011 they did the world by nations.
With energy, it is good to keep up to date.
e.g. from 2010 – 2020, U.S. solar increased 11 times, wind 3.27 times, coal is 44% of what it was, though natural gas is only up 28%.
Energy use is down in 2020 (pandemic) from 2019, but even in 2019, the sum of coal and gas is down slightly from 2010.
Thanks for the oil price chart – I’ve bookmarked it.
BTW, the “competing illuminant” is ethanol – one of the earliest subsidies for oil (in the form of kerosene for lighting). Kerosene was taxed at $0.10/gallon, ethanol/camphene burning fluid had a $2/gallon of ethanol tax to overcome.
For a timely look at world electricity sources, see:
https://www.electricitymap.org/map
One can click on a colored region on the map to get the details.
Then scroll down in the side panel to get “Origin of electricity in last 24 hours”.
Depending on the available data and time quanta, one can get a good look at a day’s electricity.
The layer chart is live, so one can move one’s cursor to a layer and get numbers at a given time.
For example, in CAL-ISO, as I write this late at night, half the electricity comes from gas.
But earlier, up to 57% of (most of) California’s electricity was coming from solar.
Other interesting places IMO are Western Australia, New Zealand, North East Brazil, Germany, Southern Italy and Sicily.
Lunar Apprentice re #124 Sheffield U. hysteria, I mean history, uhhh, had it right the 1st time….
more detail at:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9509573/Sheffield-University-students-told-Sir-Isaac-Newton-benefited-colonialism.html
It amazes me how many alleged historians are so completely ignorant of the full details of the African slave trade, and think it was only something white guys did.
The notion that Newton needs condemnation because he got tide data from places that had slave based economies seems rather bizarre – it there were European sailors somewhere, they collected tide info, regardless of what the local economy was.
The vast majority of Africans were BOUGHT, from other Africans. The African coastal kings resisted the end of the slave trade.
The definitive history is Hugh Thomas’ The Slave Trade.
A good description in this review:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RHZA45B3NJ15H/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0684835657
I saw your prediction and it moved me into the full worry column. I’m very pro-vaccine – even got my kids the latest meningitis vaccine before they went to college and didn’t have to do that – and what they are rolling out now has me worried too.
Two weeks ago I wrote a prediction “by June 1st the vaccine rollout will be stopped completely.” I don’t know where that date came from and it was before they paused the J&J one. I felt it in my gut, so I wrote it down. When I read your astrological prediction, my date out of nowhere lined up with it.
My daughter’s college is mandating covid vaccines for fall and I asked my daughter to wait as long as possible to see what happens. Not that anyone is tracking these rigorously! The VAERS database is voluntary and there is no code put on death certificates that can be tracked. We are flying blind here.
Fwiw on Feb 10, 2020, I wrote down “they are going to shut everything down.” I didn’t know when, but I knew it would be in response to the virus. I also told no one because it sounded insane. My daughter wanted to see a broadway show in NYC for graduation so I said let’s move it up to first week of March. Thanks to the virus scaring people off we got great tickets (people can sell them back to ticketmaster if they can’t go) and saw what will probably be one of the last broadway shows ever done. We also went to The Met which was amazing and again, likely never to be the same once the woke get done with it.
@Lady Cutekitten from Lolcat
Dear Lady Cutekitten,
This might be a silly question, but…do you intend to make your blog as public as possible from the beginning? Or are you going to write it mostly for yourself and, perhaps, a couple of friends?
I have two domains registered for my own purposes: one is for my short texts and poetry, the other is, for the time being, blank; but they are not promoted in any way, which means they are currently mostly invisible for anybody who does not know where to look.
Please, let me know, if you were interested.
@jbucks
“Why do occultists always do well in hard times?”
Why? Surely because they are good at hide and seek! And it’s generally during the hard times when the good times are well hidden.
🙂
@Mark L
Thank you! I will. My mum gave me a seed of the idea of what it means to be truly human, thanks to JMG I was able to find the means to balance and heal. For me, it meant to refocus on small things…like seeing the little windows of opportunities when you can help a neighbour to carry a bag; let a nervous person who is standing in a line behind you to go first and smile; listening to another neighbour’s litany over a rubbish problem quietly, without passing judgement immediately; take a pile of still living frog’s eggs from the dry land where a careless person experimentally threw them back to the pond… Those little windows of opportunities do not open so often, but lead to a whole cascade of local healing. One kind word, or look, or deed can mean a lot to a stranger; or not – but the only thing I can be held responsible for – and will have to live right through myself, is what I meant.
The length of the life…cannot be measured by any human device. Lifetime is neither purely linear, nor purely cyclical. How long is NOW? But that question is kind of empty. How beautiful is now?
As to the worth of life, I cannot imagine. The gift is beyond the stars I can see; I am not able to appreciate it enough yet and the best thank you! to gods I can think of is just to live it as best and as fully as I can, embracing my own mistakes, pain, and hard times, learning something about myself in the process and in turn being able to participate in local healing.
Dear JMG,
I am probably too young to understand this in its full scope. I am also too young to be able to estimate the degree of inevitability of larger scale events; yet, my point remains: civilizations consist of individual people – mortals, whose individual lives are dearest to themselves and/or those who love them. All human lives, however, short, small, hard, are gifts and parts of harmonia aphanes. Those ideas you know well, and promote well, and they are my bridge towards understanding other notions of yours which I did not encounter before.
The ties to our Earth make the death of individuals inevitable, but not necessarily hard. I believe that ideas like Johnny Appleseed, encouraging open, yet polite discussions, teaching, and giving healing options make a lot of difference – thank you!
OK, John MG: I won’t be a saviour for nobody…thank you for your answers.
I have another question:
What do you think on “SHINRIN-YOKU”? Are “forest baths” really a genuine Japanese tradition? (if they aren’t watered down like mindfulness is sold in the market nowadays).
RusTheRook #34, I have joint hypermobility that makes me very vulnerable to injury. It’s a challenge picking exercises that will make me stronger instead of my osteopath richer. 🙂 I think the best results I ever got was doing heavy manual work. Digging with pickaxe and spade, breaking up concrete with a sledgehammer, carrying big rocks and tubs of soil and rubble. I developed all-round and never got injured or overtrained, and got a lot of stuff actually done.
If you do want to do focused training, first thing I’d say is go to an osteopath or chiropractor and have a full-body assessment. You don’t want any nasty suprises.
Next get books like Stretch to Win by Frederick and Frederick, Core Performance by Mark Verstegen, Super Joints and Relax Into Stretch by Pavel Tsatsouline, Flexible Steel by Jon Engun, and Sports Stretch by Michael Alter. Put together something that works for you, with mobility exercises to warm up and flexibility exercises to cool down. I got to full splits that way.
I’d say start with aerobic training. Even if you want to end up a knuckle-dragging brute, this makes a good base. The books Heavyhands by Leonard Schwartz and Phil Maffetone’s The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing and The Endurance Handbook are good starting places. Just a couple of caveats. Don’t walk on the spot as Schwartz suggests. It’s like a minor kick in the groin with every step and after a few weeks you get a mild kicked-in-the-groin feeling, that takes the same few weeks to go away. You also don’t have to be as afraid of carbohydrate or strength training as Maffetone suggests.
If you want to get into more serious strength and athletic training, look at the works of Mark Rippetoe, Pavel Tsatsouline, and Michael Yessis. At this level, do get coaching. Nearly everyone who tries this on their own gets overtrained or injured. One thing from me that may be controversial – I’ve never seen the need to shin-drag the barbell during a deadlift. It comes up fine and apparently completely safely an inch away from your leg. Look at the shins of some weightlifters and powerlifters to see why this is significant. 🙂
For diet I recommend the Precision Nutrition system. It’s freakishly effective. I went from 106kg to just over 70kg on it. I could probably do with being heavier with muscle but have had a persistent SI joint issue.
@ria23 #7:
I also love that book, although it is perhaps too nice about Hegel for our host’s tastes! An earlier book by McGilchrist, Against Criticism, was helpful in diverting me away from a career in academia, for which I am eternally grateful.
@Anon420 #38:
Your “fixer” role sounds like very much like that fine Spanish institution, the gestor.
@JMG and the entire commentariat:
Although I rarely comment, I’ve been a long-time lurker both here and on the ADR and have learned immensely from it. Heartfelt thanks to all.
The other insanity with the vaccine rollout is the wokeness of it. PA put in place a secret health equity commission to make sure that black people received the vaccine in equal numbers to white people. PA is 77% white (9.9 million) and 11% black (1.4 million), and these woke idiots worked with raw numbers, not percentages or rates per population. The result was that the vaccines – which remember in the government’s view are lifesavers – were delayed massive rollout clinics until about three weeks ago. The PA DOH cut the supply to mostly white counties while flooding black area with the vaccine. The result? Fully vaccinated black people are only 104K, or less than 10% of the total population. It looks like they are refusing to take it. About 35% of white people have taken it driving all over the state to get appointments to do so (way to spread the virus). Zero articles in the Philly Inquirer about why black people aren’t taking the vaccine which is suspicious. Lot of propaganda though.
So if these vaccines are true lifesavers, they denied them to a majority of the population for three full months because of skin color. Its now reached the point that yesterday it was reported in Philadelphia that they had 4,000 doses that were going to expire today and anyone could get one without an appointment.
tl;dr black people are refusing the vaccine, white people were denied the vaccine but ended up taking it in great numbers.
I’m praying our medical professionals get some courage and take action around these vaccines tracking their effects.
Anon420 #38, one thing I’d been wondering about is preemptive legal preperation and protection. Like there are home defence experts who can tell you how to turn your house into a fortress, what about a legal equivalent of protective barriers? Sort of like Olivia Pope from Scandal, but for more normal people. When you think of all the things that could go wrong, and becoming more likely as things go downhill, what could you advise people of ahead of time? Mitigating risks uch as someone using the law to attack another, being falsely accused of a crime, accurately accused of a crime, the government deciding they don’t like you anymore, some kind of PR disaster that turns people against you and becomes a witchhunt. Or if someone was going to reveal information about an organisation known to retaliate against whistleblowers, what would you advise them to do before going public? This would also include people protecting their finances and that is already your area too. How many structures could be set up and plans put in place before anything bad happens? Maybe you could find a legal and financial niche among survivalists and preppers.
Walt F #71, America already had universal childcare in the Second World War. It’s regarded as a massive success that’s been almost completely forgotten. It was called the Lanham Act – if you search for it make sure you get the right one because that’s also the name of a post-war real estate law. 🙂
Jaroslaw #72, depending on how much weight and bulk you have to carry, how far and how fast, have you considered cargo bikes and trikes:
https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2012/09/jobs-of-the-future-cargo-cyclist.html
https://www.larryvsharry.com/
https://www.cyclesmaximus.com/
Many thanks to everyone who chimed in re: my need to buy a vehicle. It’s hard to find good deals and I still can’t find exactly what I’m looking for (bare bones pickup truck; every one for sale here seems to have all the useless accessories as part of the package, new and used, so I may be looking for some time.)
Aubrey, Yes it’s unfortunate that most military bases are unwalkable. I’ve been told that Fort Stewart, GA, where I am currently is one of the more walkable, so that’s a bit of luck for me. But to go anywhere off post I need to ask for rides from my colleagues and I know that can get annoying after a while.
Thank you! The awareness of energetic anatomy in pre-modern (or early modern) Western thinking is one of the things I’m interested in, but it’s not something that I’ve found easy to research, so I collect datapoints where they come up. I have a feeling there is a whole half-lost Western tradition which resembles both the 7 chakra system and the Taoist system of 3 dantiens.
Regarding the latter, the Cosmografia of Bernardus Silvestris, written in the 1100s and considered orthodox enough to have been recited before the Pope, has this section in which the human body is created–
“Physis carefully divided the bodily material into three portions… The first she called the head, the second the breast, and the third the loins, according to the properties she observed in them. These three in particular of the body’s many parts, these narrow chambers out of its general extensiveness she chose to receive the brain, the heart, and the liver, the three foundations of its life. Physis knew that she would not go astray in creating the lesser universe of man if she took as her example the pattern of the greater universe. In the intricate structure of the world’s body, the firmament holds the preeminent position. The Earth is at the lowest point, the air spread between. From the firmament the godhead rules and disposes all things. The powers who have their homes in the ether and the atmosphere carry out its commands, and the affairs of the Earth below are governed by them. No less care is taken in the case of man, that the soul should govern in the head, the vital force established in the breast obey its commands, and the lower parts, the loins and those organs placed below them, submit to rule. So Physis, skilled artist as she was, prepared the brain as the future seat of the soul, the heart as the source of vitality, and the liver as the source of appetite, and took pains to prepare a divine dwelling place for divine guests.”
Some years ago I also came across a reference, in a column written by a Protestant in the journal First Things, to the head, heart, and loins as the traditional seats of the virtues of Clarity (right thinking), Charity (right feeling), and Chastity (right use of the generative forces.) It’s occurred to me more than once that a Christian system of magic might call down light into each of these centers in succession, charge them by chanting the Kyrie formula (i.e., 3 Kyrie Eleisons, 3 Christe Eleisons, 3 Kyrie Eleisons), and understand the process as conferring the virtues in question.
I had the wonderful opportunity to meet the man who translated Aesop’s proverbs. We began talking and he dropped hints that he not only had studied Greek philosophy but worshipped the Gods. We had a wonderful conversation and he was a lively wonderful man to meet. Quite an inspiration and we talked mostly about the differences between philosophy of life and ideology of life.
And funnily enough that is where the end of my journaling has come to. I realized my struggle was about purpose. I kept on trying to find a purpose. I realized I had accomplished a great many things believing they were all my purpose. Once I had finished them I felt empty inside. Between journaling, anxiety, therapy, talking to good friends and not so great ones I came to a point where I was exhausted and crying. I didn’t want a purpose anymore I just wanted to be alive.
After that is when I met that man. He lived a wild life and he told me we all have fate…circumstances of our life we cannot control. Something clicked. I was trying to control and I was buying into the productivity narrative. And I know myself I am a high achiever and quite productive. But now I can do things with grace and humor instead of white knuckling everything sucking out the meaning and PURPOSE.
Instead I can accept my fate and instead of looking for purpose look for passion. What ignites my fire in this moment…and that might change too and that’s ok I am not ruining any grand overarching narrative of purpose. Everything in my life can also fall apart (which it has before and is due to economics) and I can still enjoy being alive and feel alive. I want to be ok no matter what I do or don’t accomplish or who is in my life. I want to see life as an adventure not a series of steps or checklist. Everything falling apart is helping with that too. Everything is ok. And I am ok. And most people wont understand that and that is ok too.
@Karl re: National Justice Party.
It seems to me – or more precisely, my parents’ generation – I’ve heard this song before. It sounds no more savory to me than it did the first time. The question is, how will it be enforced? And by whom? With what results?
Just a quick correction – Jeep hasn’t actually been Chrysler since Fiat bought them in 2014. Now they’re called Stellantis, and I’ve worked with them. I can affirm the Europeans are the ones in charge. I bought a 2016 Wrangler before they try to make it front wheel drive and loaded with electronics and really ruin durability – like they’ve done to the rest of the Jeep platform nowadays.
@Michael Gray re: nature’s passive resistance: I give you a song: God Bless the Grass
Hi John,
Thanks for the response. I had another re-read through the post. This is what is confusing me about it. On the one hand, you say the era is going to be full of turmoil, which I would not expect otherwise as the Long Descent continues to move ever forward.
However it is the part about big governments remaining in power due to the fact that they own the big technology and only they have the resources to do with them.
Now this to me signifies we might not be getting any ‘revolutionary’ changes within the forseeable future. Its basically the equivalent of King Louis or George III continually remaining in power despite ever continuing population dissent. No major changes happening, no borders being redrawn so to speak.
I was wondering but could you explain maybe a bit more how this fits in with potential changes in world history, Islamic Europe, Sobornost, etc ,etc.
Thanks for this.
Also one last question that has been on my mind recently and that is smoking. Why do the Western elites hate about smoking so much? They are obsessed with stamping it out and making it even illegal to purchase by 2030 or so. Yet obviously their own policies lead to more damages to public health and safety then a guy lighting up a cigarette.
I just dont get why they really want to ban smoking yet are quite happy to legalise marijuana…which makes totally no sense ae marijuana is worse for your health then smoking.
As for Russian government, they are not bothered about it. Yes they put in place some UN anti smoking practices but in general, they do not care. Tobacco is still a huge profitable market for them.
You’ve used the saying that Marx was right about capitalism but wrong about communism. Does that mean you agree with Marx about how some things fundamentally work – like the labour theory of value, how surplus value is created, the tendency of the rate of profit to fall?
Since new music is one of the things I keep my ears attended to, (though there is way too much to hear more than only a bit) I’m happy to report on singer songwriter Billy Nomates new album which has a number of tracks lambasting the luxury elite. I haven’t heard this kind of critique of the PMC in an independent musicians lyrics in quite a long while. I won’t say it hasn’t been done -there is a lot of music out there- but this is as a clear concise enunciation of emotion from the wage class as I’ve heard. I take this as a good sign of changing attitudes, because most alternative and underground music had been recuperated by the PMC. This is the most class conscious record I’ve heard in a long time. Of course she’s British, and they talk about class across the pond from what I gather. But still, maybe some of the American musicians will follow suite.
Stylistically it’s a throbbing bass guitar driven alt rock wonderland and insightful lyricism.
The songs I specifically recommend are “Hippy Elite”, “No”, “Supermarket Sweep” and “FNP” (Forgotten Normal People)
https://invada.bandcamp.com/album/billy-nomates
P.S.: There are plenty of class critiques in punk music and folk of course. I just haven’t heard many NEW singer song writers tackling this stuff in the past two decades very often at all.
Also, Billy Nomates brings a great touch of blue eyed / northern soul to her music.
Lord Archdruid, Would you please give some space in your column to the late Nineteenth century occult revival in France and its personages, such as Josephin (Sar) Peladan, Barbey d’Aurevilly, (forename forgotten) Boullan, et aliis?
Jensen: the Roman empire may have been funneling money to the center, as ours is from Mississippi or Hondouras to D.C., but look at what happened as or when it fell: Britain had palatial, centrally-heated homes, safe markets, common, high-quality imported goods, the benefits of running water, closed sewers, technologies of bronze, iron, grain mills, books, so it was working even for the common folks. I.e. “What have the Romans ever done for us?”
Directly afterwards in the Saxon times, Britain lived in mud huts and could barely make cooking pots. That is, they went “back” 2,000 years, to 1,000BC. There was fracturization, and although it was nowhere near as dangerous as advertised – London today is probably many times more dangerous – nevertheless it was a lot lower and more dangerous with constant, low-level unrest than the high period. I can see why people, living in the ruins crumbling palaces and fording frozen streams besides a collapsed Roman bridge, would say “What happened???” and see the Roman period as better. In short, when elites make life better for everyone, no one begrudges them for being rich. The poor are always with us. It’s when they stop doing their job (protecting the people) as Nero-Caligula era did, that people reject them. They were indeed so bad that whole families, whole towns, whole nations barely survived their thefts, purges, and edicts, and people HAD to withdraw their support from Rome and transfer it to the local warlord of Antwerp or Burgundy just to not be murdered and to have any law and order persist again. But that’s like cutting off your gangrenous arm to save yourself – not a win. The conditions normal people fell to were worse than house slaves in the high era, yet allowed life to exist AT ALL, which Caligula and the high period did not.
Which would you choose? Probably neither, and prefer being a guild cobbler under a not-so-bad Lord, but you can see why they would look both forward and backward in the slow fall of empire.
Maybe the lesson there is that people working together is irreplaceable, and a path to certain wealth. That requires personal and social trust, and a belief and support in underlying rules. We have none of those, they are collapsing presently. Therefore, we can only have certain poverty and constant theft, predation of the strong on the weak and the weak on everybody who owns anything.
Are there cases of the Jevons Paradox happening before there was capitalism? “Capitalism” has always existed everywhere, it’s just people making and owning stuff, but maybe the tin mining in Britain? You didn’t used to get Jevon’s because the world was built on growing things (wheat, cows) not extracting them. Maybe we should think a bit about that and what we’re doing now.
Astrologers, what date would you even pick for Canada?
Isn’t “Chaos” the opposite of magic since magic needs a defined form and focused energy? Does that mean the people making or naming it don’t know what they’re talking about?
Wouldn’t the easiest projection of the U.S. be its own history? That is, it would “evolve” to centralism/empire, then “devolve” to a diverse state-focused confederacy?
If you like the notion, “classic” cars which are extremely simple are at the same price or less than complex, breaking used cars. If you live south or west where it won’t destroy them and don’t drive much, a 1949 Ford or a 1960 Apache pickup can be fixed for $50 bucks and a screwdriver, and look and feel great driving. Cars are so complex you could almost re-do the whole classic drivetrain for the price of one modern ABS repair ($2000+) I’m surprised people aren’t re-manufacturing them from the title VIN and two screws.
Their “Theory of Everything” has been a failure for +50 years because we live in a world of consciousness and ether, not matter. It’s a miracle their physics work at all, and only with massive contradictions. You’d think they’d notice, but that’s religion for you.
Although self-evident, I don’t know how to describe marriage magic. It’s just the overlap of two auric and/or karmic energy patterns, and all that implies. What you’d want to make of that is up to you. Being ever more aware of that energy and karmic story would be primary to making smart choices about it, and does not require much of your partner’s awareness or help.
Lawyers can always make money. More in an inflation. But they may have to request payment in chickens.
@Karl: I looked at that party’s platform, and I can very easily see how the mainstream media could confuse them for “Nazis”. They may not technically be “fascists” but they’re very blatently “white nationalist” and “white supremacist.” As a youngish white male, they can count on me to never support such a platform. The folks who complain about “white people” always being the victim or having the short end of the stick are not any better than the folks blaming them for all the world’s problems. The former may in fact be worse.
@Everyone else interested in “Enlightenment”: I’ll be interviewing one of my mentors, who had “Self-Realization” along the lines of Franklin Merrell-Wolff for my podcast next month. I thought it might be fun to ask you all if you have any questions for such a person. He’s in his late 70s now and this happened after 20+ years of working with Richard Rose abd other teachers, meditation, group work, solo retreats (up to two months at a time) and extended celibacy (just so you know his path a little.)
@ Breanna RE: garage door…
My gut is telling me that your tale, along with things I am seeing elsewhere, is the slow destruction of globalism. My own industry is experiencing these for small electronic parts.
To add to yours, we recently had to buy a steering column for our old tractor – it just wore out. This item was around $250 and easily available in 2008, as I considered it and then opted to rebuild what we had. Eventually, it just wore out, and we had to completely replace it.
This item was ordered in June of 2020, as there was no stock for it in the USA. Japan was alleged to deliver more by July. We finally received the thing in December, and the price was $475 – ouch!
In a similar vein, we were recently shut down on a project for lack of pressurized seals. We remained shut down and after speaking directly to the manufacturer, were informed they could not get the elastomer we were using at any price – it just wasn’t ‘out there’ to be purchased. To get going, we revised the tech downward on that part of the project in order to move ahead.
It’s super interesting to me that poly foam is disappeared, because that is something that huge numbers of things are reliant on. You say you were told it was due to refinery damage? I might offer that propylene oxide has been “iffy” on the supply chain side since 2019 – well before the freeze hit Texas. Ethafoam is something I have used for years, and it has nearly disappeared…
I appreciate your ‘peak garage door’ – it is another window on how global supply chains and hypercomplex items are sort of “tied at the hip”. The more geographically diverse your supply chain is, the more vulnerable you are to disruption. A few days of freezing weather in Texas and nobody can get foaming solution.
There still remain a couple of refineries that have yet to restart their gasoline operations – because shutting down a refinery is not so easily reversed.
@Ksim
The migration of western europeans to central and eastern europe isn’t going to start in 30 years. It has already begun. The trickle of farmers moving to Russia, of middle class scandinavians thinking about moving to Poland or the Baltic states. This is happening today.
Me and my wife moved from France to Sweden a few years ago, as France was obviously going to fall apart in spectacular ways, and moving from Sweden to Poland, Hungary or Russia is still something which is kept as an option in case we don’t see a swift change of course very soon.
The larger shift that is happening in Europe right now, is that the younger generations are a lot less willing to accept being colonised by foreign invaders to improve the profits of the merchant class. The fastest growing subculture, is not “woke-ism”, it is reaction. Personally don’t expect this to go down peacefully. Europe is going towards civil war, ethnic cleansing, mass graves and other fun stuff, as the nation states lose control.
@ Lathechuck, JMG
Re 50% GHG reduction
Of course, the most plausible path (and the one we will eventually take, though unwillingly) is to reduce our consumption of non-somatic energy, but you’ll hear nary a word about that.
Slower-paced lives, less electronic gadgetry, more walkable communities, more localized and regionalized economies, less mindless consumption…we of the community here know the score. It will just take time to manifest, since our civilization will have to be forced along that path by circumstances rather than purposefully and methodically pursuing it.
@Quin: if you want to dig into the welfare issue a bit you could do worse than read the book High-risers :Cabrini-Green and the fate of American public housing by Ben Austen.
Also, you might check out the great hip-hop album “Brick Body Kids Still Daydream” by Open Mike Eagle.
( https://openmikeeagle360.bandcamp.com/album/brick-body-kids-still-daydream )
“Brick Body Kids Still Daydream chronicles the life cycle of the Robert Taylor Homes, a housing project on the South side of Chicago that was demolished completely ten years ago. Families that had lived under the same roof for three generations were forced to scatter, condemned by bureaucrats and faceless cranes and public indifference.”
The above book and album pair well with J.G. Ballard’s “High Rise”.
I read Kunstler too. His blog is kind of over-the-top and I take that with a grain of salt as well for a number of reasons.
From an esoteric point of view welfare works according to the universal law of “giving and receiving”. Receiving too much without also giving doesn’t really fly all that well if you are trying to live a life in terms of the Egyptian concept of Maat: a kind of idea they had relating to truth, balance, order, harmony, and justice. Think of the scales and the maxim from Jesus “give and you shall receive”.
What if that maxim was reversed, as it would see to be based on the idea of the scales, justice, balance, Maat? Luke 6:38 would read like this then:
“Receive, and you will give. The amount you receive will determine the amount you give back.”
This is why I think a Universal Basic Income is a disastrous idea.
This is not a judgement on those who have received or do receive welfare, just a meditation on receiving and giving.
Think of the disastrous things that often happens to those who win the lottery. That windfall creates imbalance.
@ Michael Gray RE: nature
I think that many people feel as you do, but also many have no idea of how resilient nature is. As we do own a small farm, I can attest to that. Were we to cease mowing, within ten years a lot of what was formerly cleared land would be completely overrun with emerging forest – we work to maintain the savanna over the forest for our own use, while nature relentlessly beats at man-made restrictions.
By the same token – until people actually walk Nebraska and other places where monocrop farming is done, they will never know how bad the soils there are. The soils are literally dead – it is ONLY by using ammonium nitrate fertilizers that these places grow crops. It is difficult to find earthworms on most commercial ag ops, and those are a key indicator of soil health.
It’s why we keep mowing – we want the soil to become more fecund. Soil growth is slow in forests, despite leaves falling, because the trees roots are constantly intertwining and grabbing nutrients up. Once we cleared the tenacious treelets from our land, the fertile soil was only a thin 3-4mm skin, and wanted to erode away every rain.
We started wildflowers and native grasses again, seeding them and letting them go to seed rather than mowing. Right now, there are mowed paths in high grass to get to things we need. The rest has been allowed to grow high, flower, drop seeds and act like savanna. At this point, a little less than a decade in, our fertile soil is around an inch thick on top of clay or sand.
I gotta say, as with you, that were man to recede in dominance there would be a free-for-all on the nature side. The destructive capacity of creepers and climbers on man-made things is amazing, and those are just natures shock troops…
[I apologize if this is a double post, my web browser is acting funny]
Owen, re: unionized lawyers
Over my 15 year legal career, I have worked at Legal Aid organizations and about half of them have been unionized. These unions are usually under the UAW umbrella (yay! I was an auto worker!).
Unfortunately, the union where I currently work has forgotten that unions are about securing more money, protecting seniority*, and requiring just cause for termination. Our union is now concerned with being woke. A group of union members has even taken the position that seniority is racist, because the senior employees are white. Apparently a “fierce [white] antiracist” will be willing to give up their seniority to protect the positions of less senior people of color. I am not part of the union anymore, so I wonder if anyone mentioned that you can’t pay a mortgage with “fierce antiracism.”
Of course, the only black person working at my firm is a secretary, but I digress …
Bonus tip for everyone: if you want to have fun, pronounce ‘latinx’ and you would sphinx, lynx, or syrinx. If someone calls you on it, point out that every precedent (i.e. sphinx, lynx, syrinx) in English backs your pronunciation. Then ask your interlocutor if they can cite any precedent for their pronunciation.
* A lot of people think that unions protecting seniority is a bad thing. However, when MBA bean counter culture takes over your place of work, you find that management often decides to save labor costs by getting rid of the most senior people who happen to be the most well paid. Performance doesn’t enter into it because they don’t care about the drop of quality in work when your most experienced employees are terminated in favor of newer, cheaper, and less experienced workers.
About vaccines and hesitancy.
I am in the process of getting the vaccine. I realize that I am a lab rat in this great experiment. However, I did have my doctor explain to me what the vaccine is really for – to keep people out of hospitals. The system is broken beyond repair. It doesn’t prevent people from getting the disease, but not as serious as they could have.
I happen to be pro-vaccine since I grew up during the polio scares and nearly died from common childhood diseases before there were vaccines for them.
Anyway, I do take a jaundice view of the whole thing of what the Biden people are pushing at us. Somehow magic will happen if we all just take the vaccine….. I see the Covid virus as a cunning and intelligent foe who preys on humans. Much like mosquitoes, the ultimate predator of humans. We are in a predator and prey dynamic. Humans will not prevail as much as to learn to live with the disease.
I do believe that in spite of everything that the Biden people throw at us as how we are overcoming Covid, etc, that it is all smoke and mirrors. We are living in the midst of a medieval plague. No amount of human progress talk is going to change that. I do believe that what is going on with the Biden people is that they are chanting “I do believe in human progress, I do believe in human progress…) May be if they chant hard enough, Covid will vanish.
Meanwhile, I know two people who refuse to take the vaccine. period. And two others who are being forced to take it for reasons of employment and school.
About Biden’s speech. I was full of allergies when the local news replayed the highlights of the speech. I felt that I was witness to a dog and pony show. Somehow it reminded me of Fed World (Federal Reserve) where people would say and point to – look over here we do hire Black economists – there is one now. But in the great sea of economists, one could count them on the finger and thumb of one hand. (yes, that few). But hey, it was supposed to quiet the unruly forklift operators who were trying to have their skills recognized, and receive higher pay. (The forklift guys knew a con when they saw one.)
It is a con. The other thing was that Biden and friends were bombarding problems with tons of will power. Somehow if we will it so, it will be so. No basis in reality, just da…. torpedoes and full steam ahead. It seems to be a misuse of magical thinking.
@Breanna,
We just ordered 2 double-hung windows to replace some very dysfunctional casement windows in our house. We wanted some good quality windows since they are in the bedroom, and ordered triple-pane glass. At first they told us that our order would take 6-8 weeks to arrive, then when the order was finalized, they said 10-12 weeks. After reading your post, I’m nervous that it won’t arrive at all!
Last thing –
I have a neighbor who has the attention span of a flea. She is deep into conspiracy theories, and believes that the “shed” from the vaccine will cause cancer. Anyway, she asked me to watch a video put out by a holistic reproductive specialist (the term was created by said specialist, who had no medical training) about the horrors of the vaccine on reproduction.
Because I am a long time reader of this blog, I learned how to have sane discourses with people. I watched the video and relayed the url of the specialist’s website with quotes from her. I also relayed a url of the science in medicine website. And basically said, you are an adult capable of deciding what level of risk you are willing to take. The ratio of the population to covid deaths and illness is small, and the ratio of vaccine side effects to vaccinated people is also small.
I also quoted Mr. Greer to ignore the TV. It is a vast sewer since it focuses on the sensational and has a mythos to sell people.
So, I am thankful for reasoned debate between mature people. Meanwhile, neighbor decided not to get vaccinated. She asked me if I was upset. I said – you do you, and I do me. So we are fine.
A question on the next “book club.” Is the French tarot you recommend having on hand the same as the Trumps depicted in “Meditations on the Tarot”?
To JMG and All: There are so many wonderful questions this week! I feel that mine is maybe a little frivolous by contrast, but nonetheless something many of us have likely run into. And that is: How do you reply to that ubiquitous question: “Have you been vaccinated”? If the answer is “yes”, then you’re off the hook and considered a good citizen. If not, ahem, there are consequences. First of all, I think it’s very peculiar that we even think we have the right to ask anyone this. Would you ask someone the status of their bank account? Or if they took a shower that morning? And there’s the problem that any reply other than “yes” will be identified as “no”. I’d value some suggestions.
JMG,
In Star’s Reach, People of certain professions –Ruinmen, Burners, Chemists — live outside the city, presumably because their work generates harmful substances. Did you model this on the Japanese Burakumin?
Jaroslaw: if your need to haul gear is a periodic but not daily need, consider an economy car set up to pull a small utility trailer, such as the 4×8 trailers sold by Harbor Freight. I drive an old Toyota Corolla for many years with a trailer hitch. I got very good fuel economy the 95% of the time that I didn’t need the hauling capacity. Purchase and operating expenses are considerably lower for a Corolla vs a Tacoma as well. I think the question: do I need a truck, or want a truck needs to be considered. I know there are some inconveniences with pulling a trailer, parking being the largest. I’ve also met a LOT of people who are terrified of backing a trailer. I have had life long trailer-phobes backing one competently in less than a half hour, YouTube must have countless tutorials.
Our times now – look back 150 years, and…..
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/04/24/forgotten-precedent-unprecedented-politics-age-of-acrimony-484072?utm_source=pocket-newtab
Hi Lydia,
Use the technique of “Be honest but volunteer no information.” Most likely you were vaccinated for something at some time in your life, and can thus honestly say “Yes” to “Have you been vaccinated?” This works very well with most questions that are nosy.
@Jaroslaw #72:
Vehicle choice always depends on what you need and on your budget. From a combination of personal experience and research, I would lean towards a hatchback or wagon of some kind (e.g. Ford Focus, Toyota Matrix/ Pontiac Vibe). That is, if you find yourself in a city AND need to haul gear, these will fit a great deal and keep it under a roof and dry. Plus you’ll get improved MPGs. My sources include the Mr Money Mustache blog article on top ten cars for smart people.
OTOH, if a truck is what you need, then a Tacoma would work and likely hold its resale value if you should need to sell it. The others I have mentioned are older and nearly depreciated out at this point. Good luck!
JMG, did you say that you’d write a post at some point about (paraphrasing here) choosing what we each want to save and charting our courses into the future? I recall this to be true, but the memory isn’t totally clear, so I might be making it up 😀
RusTheRook – a few months back Theresa posted a link to the Royal Canadian Air Force’s XBX and 5BX conditioning programs – they’re not difficult, allow for progression toward greater difficulty, and help establish a daily routine. I’ve been doing it for about 2 months and it’s stuck more than any other program I’ve tried. The internet archive has copies of both programs
To all, I’d love to hear from readers with their ear to the ground in India – is the virus situation really as horrific there as being reported here? My husband has colleagues in India and has heard that things are dire. Are the prophylactic methods no longer working there?
Related, does anyone have reputable sources for *evidence* that the mRNA vaccines are causing problems? I cannot pass along screenshots of facebook posts claiming “my aunt died two days after her Pf***er shot” just on grounds of “well then you can’t believe anything about anything so long as someone somewhere has a counter narrative.” I’m going back through January’s big post/comment section in which this was a main topic, but I wondered if anyone had links to any sources that have released findings since then. My daughter is leaning heavily toward getting it and I fear for her (long-term) safety – and yes, obviously we don’t know long term issues, but…?
Oilman2, in 2015 I had to go to Las Vegas for work. On the flight back east, I remember flying for at least 90 minutes over desert dotted with circular irrigation fields. What little plant life existed there naturally was invisible from the sky. You couldn’t make this stuff up if you were writing science fiction about a planet full of egotistical short-sighted primates who are far too clever for their own good.
On the car issue, it my $0.02 is get the most fuel efficient thing with good market share (for parts) from a good manufacturer that can haul your stuff. Most passenger cars have an 800 pound rated payload including the driver. If your gear will fit and doesn’t weigh too much a small SUV or crossover might work, and will use a lot less fuel than an old Tacoma or something.
Anon 420, Allow me to second what Darkest Yorkshire wrote above. Many of us have no idea how to protect ourselves against those who would manipulate the law to prey on their neighbors. For just one example, during the housing crisis of 2008 there were foreclosures against folks who had actually paid cash for their homes. Not to mention peoples’ household goods being seized and never returned. I have a child in highly paid (by our standards) PMC employment; I advise her to live modestly, which she does, enjoy some of her early adulthood in travel and such, and to stash the extra, as she will need it someday. Have you considered govt. employment at any level? I don’t know, but it occurs to me that state or municipal positions might be more interesting than federal, and give you opportunity to become acquainted locally, preparatory to setting up as an old fashioned country lawyer. There is a great need for honest and diligent professionals at every level.
@ Lydia RE: vax ?/reply
The most common thing I do to avoid replying to nosey people is either go on and offend them or simply walk away. For me, it depends on the person. If I know them, and they are busybodies or have a flag they just gotta wave, I will usually pop off something to shut them down and then walk on. Those type of people will never relent anyway, and I am too old and grumpy with the stupid surrounding us these days.
If I do not know them, then I usually ignore and carry on. If they get in my face, I point at the floor and simply exclaim loudly, “Distance! Watch your distance!”…because 9/10 times they are encroaching in my personal space to even elicit conversation. That usually ends it, as it makes their cognitive dissonance claxon go full throttle.
This last year, there was only ONE conversation where a lady asked me if I had been vaxxed without an obvious agenda or visible rancor. I just said, “ivermectin” and smiled. She looked at me quizzically and I departed.
Pick your battles. No reason to preach to your choir, and no reason to preach to evil spirits either. At this point, it has become almost a cult so just be wary.
#43 Darkest Yorkshire
Jake Steiner has a process to get back to 20/20. His website is endmyopia.org He has a free version, with 7 emails where he lays out the basics, then you can listen to his podcast and read his website for more info. Then there are various paid levels. I paid for a program last year, and it wound up being cheaper than buying more contact lenses.
The foundation of his process is that your eyes aren’t broken, your vision habits have gotten you to where you are now, and you can change your habits to improve your vision. I have used the program for about a year, and have gone from a prescription of -7.5 diopters with a correction for astigmatism, to -6.25. Which doesn’t sound like much, but I am going from veeerrrry baaaadddd, to just very bad. I have a plan to get even better. I highly recommend the system.
#72 Jaroslaw
We had a Tacoma for about 8 years, and liked it, however, it is not great for hauling people. We had an extended cab with a bench seat in back, which was fine when our children were still in carseats, but once they needed any leg room at all, it was not a great vehicle for the family.
If you want to hold onto a car long term, you might consider how many people you plan to haul over the next 20 years. The Tacoma would have certainly lasted that long for us, but we needed a people hauler. We replaced it with a Subaru Impreza about 7 years ago, with a hatchback rather than a trunk. My daughter uses it now, and with the back seats folded down, she can camp in it, she can haul stuff in it, we have gotten lumber with it, and can haul kayaks, paddle boards and skis on the top rack. With the seats folded up it is reasonably comfortable for 4 adults, if those adults aren’t very tall.
Oilman2 suggests the Toyota 4runner, which I would second, because you can haul stuff and people. My nephew has a 4runner, and loves it.
All-wheel drive isn’t great for gas mileage, but in the mountain west it is important to me to get unstuck after I get stuck. I always remember a quote from Gene Amole, a long time Rocky Mountain News columnist: “4 wheel drive doesn’t keep you from getting stuck, you just get stuck in worse places.” Sometimes those “worse places” are between work and home.
JMG: Re your reply to LatheChuck
“Lunar, that’s a valid point. I expect prices to go up but wages to flatline and economic activity to stagnate, for what it’s worth.”
That’s already happening in my world, which these days is mostly agricultural. Yesterday’s trip netted fence wire: $150 for a 100′ roll, versus $99 for the same roll two years ago. T-posts: $4.25 each vs. $2.75. 8′ treated wood posts: unavailable. Stock tank heaters: $39.95 vs. $19.95 in the not-too-distant past. And lumber? Fuhgeddaboudit. Up 250% in the last year. I need to put up a building for machinery and hay storage. Right now: unaffordable. I know several people who are buying small semi-portable sawmills because the cost of the machinery plus the raw timber is less expensive than buying lumber.
I keep hearing “Oh, that’s just due to Covid. Prices will come back down.” Really? When? And what will the world look like by the time that happens. And what it they don’t? I couldn’t help but notice that Biden started talking about a $3 trillion “infrastructure” package before the checks from his $1.9 trillion “Covid relief” package had even gone out the door. What’s next? A $5 trillion package? And the Fed keeps saying that inflation is running at 2%? Preposterous. If this strategy actually worked, we would have literally hundreds of extremely wealthy societies all around the world, instead of hundreds of failed civilizations.
On the upcoming lunar eclipse.
My chart is at https://mutualreception.dreamwidth.org/1184.html.
I believe the trine between Jupiter and Mercury is just outside the usual orb for mundane astrology. As far as I can tell, most software uses natal orbs which are slightly more generous. My software is coming along nicely but I’m not yet able to host it in the cloud and in any case I’m looking for test cases.
So, I can now make an offer to all and sundry. If you would like a mundane chart for any place and time to about 4500 years each side of now, drop a line to andy dwelly at gmail. My name is all one word in that address.
I’ll need the latitude and longitude, and the time as a universal time since the conventions in different parts of the world have varied quite considerably over the years.
I can return an otherwise copyright free PDF for your own use or publication. At a pinch I can do JPEG format too if needed. I’ll need an email address or some other way to get the file back to you.
DaShui, the USSR, although officially atheist in the religious sense, has a long tradition of alternative scientific approaches, including all kinds of, well, energies. I’m not at all surprised by them using psi.
One side effect of the COVID vaccines that’s gotten some attention recently in some of the alternative media is many women reporting a change in their menstrual cycles.
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/covid-vaccines-disrupt-womens-menstrual-cycles/?itm_term=home
The trials didn’t look at menstrual cycles at all. It’s ironic that the majority of so-called feminists are now on the side that’s ignoring or even actively trying to censor women sharing their experiences.
Another candidate for a near-term public health crisis that’s difficult to measure may be effects associated with increased EMF radiation coming from the satellite internet systems that are being rolled out in a major way this year.
A couple of questions for anyone planning on doing JMG’s book club reading the French edition of Dogme et Rituel:
It seems like many of us might be brushing up rusty French to do the book study. I am fluent in Spanish, and I’m Dunning-Krueger effecting my way through the book, since I don’t have much rusty French in the first place.
Would there be interest in crowd-funding an audio book, narrated by a native French speaker who has some understanding of the content, so that we could listen and read along. Research in language learning indicates that the more repetitions we get, the more our comprehension improves, so I would plan on listening to the file in the car or on walks, as well as reading, both with and without the recording.
The audio tributary of the slimy-river bookstore does not seem to have a French version of the book, and I wouldn’t want to host it there anyway…
If you are interested in an audio version, reply to this, and I will do more research on what it takes to record and distribute the book, which would be about 6 hours of sound, I think.
If you are a native French speaker, and would be interested in a narration project, respond also, and we’ll see what we can do to pay you for your skills. From what I understand, for every hour of finished recording, it takes about 3 hours of prep/editing time.
If you have some expertise in either audiobooks or crowdfunding, please let me know also, so I can learn from you.
39 Mr. White said “do you reckon they’ll just end up like countless other spending bills and consist more of giveaways for special interests and corporate lobbies than actual concrete plans for development?”
You might not have intended the pun, but I have an example of a plan that involves lots of concrete- a dam project that has been in development in my area for about 20 years. It has jumped through all the state and federal permitting, and is one lawsuit away from being shovel-ready, as they say. So, yeah, lobbyists and lawyers will make money, but they have been making money all this time. Biden’s plan might jumpstart construction, but it is going to happen at some point anyway.
A federal infrastructure plan will affect millions of people at ground level, engineers, gravel pit operators, trucking companies, backhoe operators, owners of food trucks that park at the work sites, and so on.
I’d suggest that the elites are being “forced to” consider infrastructure as a populist move- get people working, building roads and dams. It gives them more of a reputation of actively helping the common people, it takes skilled labor to construct a dam or a highway or a bridge. From my family’s experience in the building industry, though, many of the projects under consideration have been in the works for years, and the infrastructure bill will just help with the last push.
Hi JMG,
Just woolgathering here, I’ve pondered a thought for years and I think you would be an excellent person to ask.
Any thoughts on how black holes might manifest in or interact with the astral plane? They’re such an unusual object in the reality that we know and I’ve sometimes wondered about this.
(this is why I love these open posts – asking questions that probably don’t need a whole post devoted to them but are interesting nonetheless)
Cheers!
I now have yet another reason to avoid and hate, which JMG did call a normal human emotion, Walmart.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/16/us/loveland-lawsuit-use-of-force-arrest/index.html
Well, garsh, I happen to be in my 70s, a known weirdo, and do tend to become disoriented in big box stores. Something about the chemical odors, the mazelike arrangement of shelving, and the lighting makes me feel like I can’t breath. If I have to go to wallyworld, I ask my daughter to take me, which I don’t like to do very often, kids and her own life, you know. The cops involved are being duly named and shamed, but I think the Walmart employees deserve to be named as well. If the lady were my family member, I would be posting names online. Apparently Walmart has gotten so big it thinks it can allow its’ employees to be meanies, and I think they don’t need my cash. And I am certainly not going to get into Sunday go to meetin’ clothes in order to impress their associates.
National Justice Party. What a strange mix on their platform. 2% cap on Jewish employment in “significant” areas???? Good luck with enforcing that one. Subsidies for stay at home married women with children? Yikes! I can just imagine the abuses that would encourage. How about a living wage that lets a parent support a family, combined with price controls on essential goods, such as housing and necessary utilities? Health care a right, OK, but how about a national health service, with clinics, culturally appropriate if necessary, in all towns and neighborhoods? Allegedly backwards Czarist Russia had one; one of the famous Russian writers, Gogol maybe?, was a Dr. at a public clinic.
Taking a wild guess, I think some, or maybe a lot, of their funding is coming from agribusiness interests. I think the leaders of this new party lack the courage of their convictions. They come up with some gobledegook about “outpost of Western Civilization” rather than simply saying we need a moratorium on immigration from anywhere, because, I suspect, the party’s funders and patrons want cheap labor and house servants.
#181 Lydia- you could answer rude questions about vaccination with a “not yet” which will leave them to assume that you will at some point in the future, or, try a “ugh, don’t even get me started…” which gives them permission to vent about whatever their experience was. Or, Miss Manners used to recommend replying to personal questions with a slightly shocked, “what a personal question.” then change the subject.
First of all, thank you to everyone posting exercise advice!
@drhooves
Go back and read what I wrote to Mr. Greer a bit more carefully.
>>> that the block-chain advantages are still all dependent on government controlled (and limited) DNS environments
That’s correct….. but it’s pretty tough to censor crypto. One of the biggest sources of crypto demand and mining is in China, which has the strictest internet censorship of any nation. If crypto can survive in China, it can definitely survive anything the US could throw at it legally. There are already pro-crypto Senators in the US.
We should not view governments as all powerful or immune to internal contradictions. The Soviet Union was one of the most powerful countries in history but fell in 3 generations. It’s pretty tough to totally censor the internet and the fact that government functions can be replaced by difficult to censor software make this a space to watch.
>>> cryptos are NOT widely held by the masses. As a matter of fact, most cryptos are owned by a very small group of people. I see cryptos as a trap – and eventually, as a tool only for the elite
I know crypto only favors a small group of people and the uber wealthy who have the capital to buy in. I’ve come to that conclusion independently, as I said in my posts. But I think going forward, that’s going to be a FEATURE of crypto, not a bug.
>>> And then we can look at the energy expenditure of mining bitcoin as another major roadblock for the future.
This isn’t a serious problem. Proof of stake coins uses far less energy than proof of work, and many proof of work coins are wrapped and transacted on proof of stake networks.
> >> And now that the Chinese are rolling out digital currency with an expiration date, you’re gambling big time with any hope of maintaining profits/store of wealth.
Not sure what you mean by this. If miners in China get shut down, mining just moves elsewhere. Just look at what happened when a recent blackout in China shut down crypto mining. Hashrate dumped but it recovered in literally hours.
Katsmama #192, I’ll give that a look. However I’m something like -9 in my right eye and -12 in the left, also with astigmatism. I’m further along the Scale of Bad. 🙂
What does anybody know of or think about the so-called psychedelic renaissance which is happening all over? Is it possible that if psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, peyote, etc were made legally available and taken in religious/therapeutic/respectful ways, by Westerners who have lost their rooted traditions, some sanity/connectedness might be regained? I don’t just mean the tourism that’s happening with ayuahuasca, I mean a true cultural attempt to reclaim the rites and rituals of our past and from which, certainly in Europe, we were wrenched (witch-burning, etc). We are overrun with mental illness and fairly hopeless attempts/pharma to deal with our anomie and loss of connection. Could this be a tool that might help us on the tricky path that we’re all going to be treading soon enough?
Ksim,
I can see your point about marijuana, at least so far as smoking it is worse for your lungs than smoking cigarettes. What are some of the other health impacts you had in mind, or were you including mental health issues as well?
As far as the relative dangers, I think one huge difference is the component of physical addiction. I smoked cigarettes for 20 years, not very much, about a pack a week. Even still, quitting smoking was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. One day without a cigarette left me jittery and fixated on getting a resolution to my nicotine cravings.
I still use marijuana, either by vaping or edibles. I just started a new job and decided to quit so that I could improve my memory. Quitting marijuana was utterly different, I just decided to stop and that was that. I barely even think about it now.
In short, I don’t think marijuana is as harmless as most people say, but I don’t think it’s nearly as unhealthy and habit-forming as cigarettes.
@drhooves
I’ve done a lot of thinking about how cryptocurrencies may work out, especially in the context of learning about EROI, thanks to Michael Greer’s work.
In my reading, I’ve been struck by a potential parallel with the late Roman Empire. During the reforms of Dioclecian, the Romans changed their currency denominations to the golden Solidus and the silver Denarius. The silver Denarius continued to be debased, but the gold Solidus retained its purity, with the result that a parallel monetary system emerged, with the rich transacting in the Solidus and the poor transacting in the Denarius.
I do think that, as energy becomes scarcer, the rich of the world will work to monopolize scarce resources for themselves. And I do think that a parallel monetary system that inherently can’t be debased and is, on a protocol level, outside of the reach of government, is an extremely useful tool for this.
The difference between Greer and I, is I think that this system is sustainable for many centuries. Greer is simply too optimistic.
https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/103731/1/802547729.pdf
>>> In the middle of the prolonged political, economic, financial, and monetary crisis from the
late third to the fourth century that marked the demise of the Roman empire, Constantine I
introduced the solidus, a gold coin, as a parallel currency. As Mattingly argues, there were
two main reasons for this reform: “A gold coinage was clearly necessary for the Empire, both
for the sake of prestige and for the practical necessity of dealing with the expanding trade and
rising prices.”20 Constantine abolished the fixed ratio system and made the solidus a parallel
currency. The new gold currency quickly became the dominant means of exchange for large
transactions. These monetary reforms effectively put Rome on a parallel standard. “The
banks and money-changers would quote their varying exchange rates for the solidus, day by
day.”21
>>> In an economic environment that even forced some sectors to go back to payments in kind
and barter, merchants, bankers, and businessmen were desperate for a stable currency to
facilitate trade, and therefore accepted the higher transaction costs of using two different
mediums of exchange. Most writers agree that the solidus helped to stabilise the Roman
economy to some degree. But since it was by its very nature limited to large transactions, and
its issue restricted by the Roman mint, it could not stop the inflation of silver and copper
coins, nor change the government’s destructive fiscal policies.
Dear Archdruid :
I understand that you’ll refuse the COVID-19, vaccine. Am I correct ?
All–
The usual monthly energy news from your unusual energy news reporter:
So much for conservation
https://www.euci.com/global-energy-demand-is-forecast-to-rebound-in-2021-iea-says/?x=57782q242282Sy&utm_campaign=042821_energize_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_source=energize
Vogtle lumbers forward
https://www.ajc.com/ajcjobs/crucial-test-starts-at-georgia-powers-vogtle-nuclear-unit/2Q4CFBRZ7NAR5NC6VWVMBNQB5M/
Because this is a sensible long-term solution
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/greenhouse-gas-emission-targets-boost-enthusiasm-for-small-modular-nuclear-reactors-1.5401581
(In all seriousness, the impact of widespread EV adoption in local grids is a significant issue)
https://www.onlineev.com/is-minnesotas-power-grid-ready-for-widespread-electric-cars/
And there’s a lot more a-comin’
https://dailyenergyinsider.com/news/30045-wisconsin-psc-approves-six-new-solar-generation-facilities-675-mw-from-wisconsin-power-and-light/
Someone’s talking sense, at least
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/rural-electric-co-ops-warn-congress-a-2035-100-clean-electricity-target-is/598659/
Just my opinion, but natural monopolies should be user- or publicly-owned and not operated as for-profits
https://www.mainepublic.org/business-and-economy/2021-04-19/maine-lawmakers-unveil-effort-to-purchase-cmp-versant-to-create-consumer-owned-utility
Business as usual, in other words
https://www.wbez.org/stories/study-urges-350-million-nuclear-bailout-for-exelon/6d432cb6-f7ce-4cf8-be54-cc543e1a6272
The new sexy technology
https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/041921-sdgampe-dominion-starting-hydrogen-pilot-programs-to-help-reach-net-zero-emissions
@ Anon420 – my Dad is just such a country lawyer as you describe. It can be feast or famine sometimes, but if you live in an area with a low cost of living, it’s certainly doable. He is doing quite well with real estate closings and estates these days. It’s also very conducive to the barter economy. When I was growing up we had free eye exams because my Dad did regular legal work for the eye doctor. Over the past few years he has been paid in: a motorcycle (which he resold), guns, piglets (which he raised for meat), and a 1969 Airstream (his latest renovation project).
If you are willing to relocate to a rural area, I know there are a number of country lawyers hitting retirement age or slowing down with no one to take over their practice. Likely because all the young lawyers are trying to pay off student loans; as are you! You might be able to buy out a practice or work out a deal where you step in doing the more complex stuff while the retiring attorney does simple work (like estate planning) as they gradually cut hours. The bonus is that you pick up their entire portfolio of clients while having an introduction to the community. Also, current pro bono work can help you get up to speed on issues that would be relevant to a rural population. I don’t know about the organizations where you are (NYC?), but here we have nonprofits that will train you in a particular substantive area for free in exchange for a pro bono commitment.
That post is a maybe for our last post. Should know here in a few months. Good luck. And one more tip. Leave the immediate area to buy. The dealerships around the bases jack up the prices, if that is the way you are going.
@ Helix RE: inflation
Urban Survival has the actual inflation laid out today – lagniappe for you!
https://urbansurvival.com/bidenhood-impact-rent-your-life-grows/#more-367245
I side with you on this – inflation has been hidden very effectively by adjusting the mix used to calculate cost-of-living increases. Similarly, the Fed has been hiding the velocity of their money for almost a decade now, primarily because it is approaching 0…
I see several things as drivers: Covid shutdowns, piss poor supply chains tied to just-in-time inventory levels and a steadily eroding supply of cheap commodities (note my use of the word CHEAP). Commodities will rise, because we are past the peak on most everything we mine today, except maybe salt and gypsum. Ore quality is half what it was a decade back in many mines – which means we mine more ore for less (insert material here).
When everything is made elsewhere, we always pay more for it. We are always at the mercy of weather, strikes, political policies and most everything between us and the supplier. Do people here understand that auto parts are ASSEMBLED in Mexico, not made there? They are made in India and China mostly, then transhipped for assembly in Mexico before coming to the USA. The opportunities for disruption and gouging are enormous.
Jim Stone posted food prices in Mexico – where a lot of USA vegetables are grown. If we are having food prices rise, why is it only happening in the USA and not in Mexico?
Aaaahhh…..we do the best with what we have. But doing with less is always a solid strategy. We all know what is rolling our way, so keep collapsing in place fellow humans!! Simplify, diversify and recyclify!
Brian up at #19 is tracking too closely for comfort with my own thoughts. The news media want war because war will generate clicks and therefore ad revenue. Even the Left wing press had John “We Need More War!” McCain up on a pedestal.
And as for “After all, the religion of Progress mandates that science will bring in the golden age that’s lying in wait for us, and thus we must uncritically embrace everything science brings to us, because ‘the past was bad, the present is okay, and the future will be great’.”;
I hate to break it to you, but we are in the Golden Age. Admittedly it’s not as uniformly golden as you might like, but look in the refrigerator. Safe food storage, hot running water, electricity, easy communication. Child mortality is way down compared to historical levels. How many kids did Mozart have? And how many survived to adulthood? Jane Austin’s books had an unrealistically high survival rate for children, the English were losing 1 in 4, the Germans half. And we are in a tizzy about a “plague” with a 99.2% survival rate (actual data from this county), counting only those who were actually sick enough (or worried enough) to see a doctor.
When the biggest cause of death is stuffing yourself with sugar (a luxury food until very recently) then you are doing pretty well.
@ Justin RE: irrigation circles
Here’s an exercise for you. Go look at the rivers in Arizona and then imagine where all that water was coming from – Colorado. Had friend move his water well drilling operation to AZ because so many wells were going sour with minerals or outright dry. He has been busier these last 5 years there than he ever was in Texas.
Not to say you can’t live in a desert, but look at Egypt – everyone lives on the Nile for a valid reason. Not AZ, where developers run everything in their state legislature and you just must, gotta have a golf course in your development.
Ecosophian, fiction on breaking the malign enchantment is certainly a possibility, but then I’ve written some of that. 😉
Lincoln, astrology is as always unclear on specifics — that’s the nature of the beast — but because the Moon is eclipsed in Sagittarius in the 6th house, given the rulerships of Sagittarius in medical astrology, one possibility is that there will be some kind of serious problem with motor nerves or the peripheral nervous system — say, something like MS or Parkinson’s. But we’ll have to see. As for the poems, my guess is that you read the poem for the day, pick one idea out of it, and meditate on that. When you get to the same poem a year later, a different idea will catch your fancy, and so on.
Valenzuela, thanks for this.
OEP, of course! It’s just that it’s even more crucial than usual when applied to political magic.
Ray, this sounds fun. Yes, of course you have my enthusiastic approval for this. If you’re interested in doing something other than open source, I can recommend a RPG publisher that might be interested…
Berserker, they’re really getting frantic, aren’t they?
Sniper, thanks for this.
Drhooves, yes, I’ve heard of that. My working guess is that it’s a first step toward a Medicare-for-all single payer health care system; whether that gets past the resistance of the insurance industry is quite another matter. I don’t see it as affecting the alternative-medicine wars much, but we’ll see.
Lux, (1) I haven’t researched either critter so don’t have takes on them yet. (2) Bronze doesn’t have the same effects, so the methods used had a lot more to do with ceremonial magic — ancient Egyptian magic is a good source of examples here if you’re interested. (3) Brass, like most alloys, corresponds to Mercury; aluminum corresponds to Uranus, whose magical properties are still largely unknown as yet. As for the practical question, the only way to find out is to experiment.
Denis, I’m also concerned, as every effort seems to be being made to prevent anyone from tracking potential negative effects.
Marketa, fair enough.
Chuaquin, somehow the whole “forest bath” phenomenon passed me by completely. It strikes me as a fine example of marketing and monetizing something utterly obvious. If I understand correctly, it’s a Japanese fad, having been invented a few decades ago.
Leaves, you’re most welcome.
Steve, there’s a medieval Irish text that speaks of three cauldrons inside the body — I’m sorry to say I don’t recall the source. So I think you’re definitely on to something.
Ksim, how on earth are you reading that in to what I’m saying? To say that governments in general will retain a great deal of strength because of their control of technology and their ability to respond to crises does not in any way mean that some governments won’t collapse and some borders won’t be redrawn; it means that on average governments will tend to be more resilient than they’ve been in the last couple of centuries. It means that, say, instead of half a dozen governments collapsing every decade or so, only two or three governments will collapse every decade or so. Does that clarify things a little? As for smoking, remember that western European culture has a strong Puritan streak, and so people in power always want to prohibit something so they can pretend to be virtuous.
Yorkshire, I quote that bit of edged humor from Russia now and then, but no, I don’t agree with Marx on much of anything. His labor theory of value is based on a typical 19th century mystification of the concept of value, which treats it as an objective quality rather than a reflection of human value judgments. (A brand new television has a value of $0 to me, for example.) His theory of surplus value completely ignores the impact of energy, and while he’s right that the rate of profit tends to fall over time, my take is that he’s wrong about why.
Justin, thanks for this.
Robert, lord??? Er, please don’t. As for the French occult scene, I’ve discussed the Sâr Péladan more than once in these essays, and will be giving one post a month for the next several years to Eliphas Lévi’s Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, but I’ll leave most of the others to those who know them better than I do — my main focus is traditional American magic, you know.
David BTL, well, of course!
Neptunesdolphins, fair enough. I think the current virus panic is wildly overblown — the Black Death had more than a 0.5% fatality rate, you know! — but that’s typical of the present time. As for Biden’s speech, you know, I think I’m going to start seriously quibbling when people call that sort of smoke shoveling “magical thinking,” because mages don’t think that way. Maybe we should call it “technological thinking!” Finally, “you do you and I do me” is a fine maxim and I hope it manages to catch on…
Phutatorius, I don’t know — I’m not a Valentin Tomberg fan (Catholic Anthroposophy is not my style) and so I don’t have a copy.
Lydia, my response is quite simple: “No.” If people push, I say, “I’ve already had the virus, and I’ve had colds that were worse.” But then I don’t greatly care what people think…
Brian, good. Yes, though it was also modeled on the medieval custom of having some trades based outside the city walls due to pollution issues.
Patricia, hmm! Thanks for this.
Temporaryreality, I discussed that quite a bit back in The Archdruid Report, you know. I may revisit it one of these days.
Helix, I’ve heard the same thing from people in the construction business. I think you’re quite right to be suspicious…
Kashtan, thanks for both of these.
JMG: Did you know that many “urban renewal projects” during the 1960s, and a good many freeway projects as well, destroyed black-owned business districts in order to force black people to shop at white stores?
I did not. In that case it’s not even well meaning big liberal social programs– it’s social programs cynically exploited by big liberals to literally systematically (as in, via the “system”) crush the black community. Well that should definitely be wider knowledge, but even if it became so, it would be easy for people handwave that away– this being 50 years on, now.
I’m realizing that the real issue I think I’m wrestling here is not even the validity of JHK’s claims, but the fact that in the current social environment it’s verboten for me to even publicly assess them to see if I think they are valid. Okay, that’s hardly a unique perspective right now. Thanks for listening, no further questions about this at this time. 🙂
Beekeeper in Vermont,
Thanks very much for the references and link. I’m aware that many people online talk about it, but I whenever I come across it, it’s in the context of bad faith conservative opinion pieces or comments which are sometimes even worse than the SJW stuff– comments that tip into genuinely racist talk probably just to act provocative. You probably know what I’m talking about. This link seems reasonable at least on the surface and the comments aren’t a cesspool. 🙂 I’d love to find something comparable written from an explicitly left point of view.
Justin Patrick Moore,
Thank you, I appreciate the links and I’m looking forward to listening to the album. Your philosophy on giving and taking makes much sense to me, and I agree with you on UBI. I remember listening to Andrew Yang talk about it for the first time, and the very first thought I had was, “That will work for about a month until all the prices go up.” It seems to me that a limited welfare system to help people out who are between jobs is quite reasonable– it just requires there to also be jobs around for them to be able to go to in a relatively timely fashion. No easy answers, are there.
@Lydia, on the Vax?
When asked, I always say “Not yet” and then immediately ask the questioner whether they have been vaccinated (they always have), which one they got, whether they had any discomfort, whether the rest of their family has gotten it … and before you know it, we are talking about their kids or house or something. People love talking about themselves and they really didn’t care about you in the first place. They just wanted to show off their wonderfulness. Asking them all about themselves takes care of that and everyone goes away happy. 🙂
#138 Ray: I love your campaign idea and am excited to see the beta version! Please keep up the work as this sounds like something I’d like to run in my games. I’ll watch for the link.
JMG, it seems to me that if I want to develop my skills at placing questions in the correct houses in the course of Geomancy, trial-and-error and my powers of reasoning are only getting me so far. Am I correct in thinking that the rules for choosing houses in Geomancy are exactly the same as those in Horary Astrology? Would you be aware of any old out-of-copyright English-language tomes on the subject of Horary Astrology which have a particularly good reputation?
@temporaryreality
Regarding: the coronavirus situation in India
As an Indian living in India, I can definitely say that the situation is pretty bad. The number of total cases as well as deaths due to Covid are being significantly underreported. Also, the medical infrastructure is under tremendous pressure and is proving to be absolutely inadequate. While it is not possible to build a comprehensive medical infrastructure for a country the size of India in a short while, it is still very much a fact that the government, particularly at the Centre, has failed in this regard and was caught napping.
That said, the Western media is busy publishing tragedy porn (with inputs gleefully contributed by Indian media, which has a left-leaning bias), and is busy putting out op-eds saying that ‘hyper nationalism’, ‘Hindu fundamentalism’, etc. are responsible for the second wave of coronavirus in India, particularly with reference to the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu religious festival, which is known to be attended by really, I mean REALLY, large numbers of people (and this is traditional BTW). While I personally do not agree with the government’s decision to allow the Kumbh Mela this year (due to Covid), what I find infuriating is the fact that the very same ‘intellectuals’, journalists and other examples of the self-proclaimed Good People who make up both the Indian as well as the Western MSM channels and newspapers, are attacking Hindus and the Central Government over the Kumbh Mela (fair enough), but refrain from commenting on the farmers protesting earlier this year in large numbers, for well over at least a month, violating every possible Covid restriction, as well as avoiding mentioning the fact that there have been multiple instances of Muslims gathering in large numbers flouting all Covid restrictions to protest (even violently, in some cases) in small towns earlier this year, calling for the beheading of a Hindu priest who made some controversial remarks about the Prophet of Islam.
The only possible ‘silver lining’ in this whole scenario is that the death rate is below 2% and the deaths per million are also low, much lower than even some Western countries as well (and this is after assuming that only 10% of the deaths are being officially reported in this second Covid wave in India). Interestingly, vaccines turned out to be not very effective (there have been many cases of people who got both jabs still contracting Covid in this wave and dying as a result), and Remdesivir is in short supply, but the worst part is that there is a shortage of oxygen in many cases, thus leading to patients dying a painful death. Many people could not get admitted in hospitals, as there is a shortage of beds, and there are many videos circulating on social media of Covid patients (some of them the sole breadwinner of their family) suffocating to death in the arms of their loved ones outside the hospital.
That said, there are some people on social media who have started talking about Ivermectin as a possible cure for Covid. If indeed Ivermectin is effective against this Indian variant of Covid, let’s hope that it will start being prescribed.
Sorry for this long reply.
JMG feel free to delete this if you want as it could be considered advertising, but in the interest of those here who may live in San Diego County, CA, and don’t trust the current COVID-19 vaccines, a trial is currently occurring here to find out if the polio vaccine, which has a pretty safe track record, is effective in protecting against COVID-19. I am hearing that the initial results are very promising. They are having trouble finding participants between the large crowds of people who either 1) already got a COVID-19 vaccine and are ineligible for the study and 2) don’t trust any jab at all right now. If you are in San Diego County and are interested, the number is 619-887-4347.
re temporary reality, #188
An interesting set of charts about the situation in India.
https://twitter.com/Humble_Analysis/status/1387806580201037831/photo/1
Yes, I recall. I was checking to see if something along similar lines was on your roster of upcoming posts as I have something to link to that’s more directly relevant to that topic. I thought you’d said “more on that as we go along” recently and wondered if I was understanding that correctly. Seems not. Thanks for confirming.
Mary, thanks for this. I avoid Mall*Wart like the plague anyway, but that’s another reason.
Lark, I hadn’t heard that there’s another of those now; thanks for the heads up.
Anselmo, that’s correct. I had the virus a year ago; for me, in my current state of health, it was pretty much a nothingburger; and the risks involved in getting it again are knowable. The risks of taking an inadequately tested vaccine are not.
David BTL, many thanks for this!
Quin, yes, exactly. Keep thinking unapproved thoughts! As for horary astrology, my go-to writers are still in copyright, so you may need to do some explorations on your own.
So I just ran across “Ultimate Meaning: We Don’t Have It, We Can’t Get It, and We Should Be Very, Very Sad”, published in the Journal of Controversial Ideas, which allows authors to publish pseudonymously:
https://www.journalofcontroversialideas.org/article/1/1/132
I’ll partially quote the abstract:
Life is pointless. That’s not okay. I show that. I argue that a point is a valued end and that, as agents, it makes sense for us to want our efforts and enterprises to have a point.… I further argue that ends lie separate from the acts and enterprises for which they provide a point. Since there can be no end external to one’s entire life since one’s life includes all of one’s ends, leading and living one’s life as a whole cannot have a point.
The title and abstract lead me to hope that the article was satire: this is exactly the sort of intellectual masturbation that gives philosophy a bad name. Skimming through the text, though, it seems to be serious.
Without digging into the whole text, I can already tell you what’s wrong with it. The claim “ends lie separate from the acts and enterprises for which they provide a point” is flatly wrong: the end of playing the Moonlight Sonata is not separate from the act of playing the individual notes — playing the right notes in the right order is playing the piece. Nor is the end of being a good romantic partner separate from acting like one.
The frustrating thing (and the one thing that gives me a shred of hope that the author knows better after all), is that in the text the author refers to the “constitutive ends of a good life” and living well. But that… that is the point of life. The whole thrust of Aristotle’s argument in the first chapter of the Nicomachean Ethics is that living well — eudaimonia — is the point of all action. All subordinate ends are either instrumental or constitutive of that end; life doesn’t need a further point.
I admit that I’m mostly posting about this here to gawk at it and invite others to do the same. That said, the fact that something this bad — whether it’s a troll or just amateurish — was included in the journal does not speak well for its overall quality.
Lydia #182:
Very good question. I’ve thought about how to answer that one, too. I think for now I’ll just say something along the lines of “That’s personal medical information that I don’t need to share” without sounding too snarky until I come up with something better.
On a related topic, I had to go to the local clinic last weekend and I arrived about ten minutes before it opened so I waited outside. There was one other person, an older woman, who was also waiting; she was wearing a face mask, latex gloves and a face shield. Outside. On a sunny, breezy morning. From a good 15 or so feet away, she told me she’d be “more comfortable if I’d put on my mask”. I said no, there’s never been solid evidence for the efficacy of masks outside in uncrowded places. Then she warned me not to get near her, I promised I wouldn’t. This is just absolutely nuts. The fear that the media has drummed up about this serious, but not apocalyptic, disease is creating crazy people. The medical experts, with their ever-changing, often conflicting, advice aren’t helping either.
Lady Cutekitten #186:
What a perfect reply. I knew we could count on you for a dose of common sense. 😉
Quin,
Lilly’s Christian Astrology is a horary classic, and IIRC the first book on astrology published in English, albeit archaic English at this point:
https://archive.org/details/ChristianAstrologyByWilliamLilly
There’s a late-19th-century edited version called Introduction to Astrology, though I seem to recall reading complaints about its quality:
https://sacred-texts.com/astro/aia/index.htm
Finally, Alan Leo’s Horary Astrology is out of copyright. It’s overly short IMO and there’s no free version available online to my knowledge, but it isn’t too expensive to get a printed copy.
Re vaccines
It’s a decision each of us makes in his or her own, of course. After some considerable consideration, my wife and I decided to go ahead with the vaccine. As a utility worker, I had access much earlier on, but had held off as I wanted to see “what happened” as the rollout progressed.
We have a particularly vulnerable family-member (my wife’s son, my step-son, takes a chemotherapy medication to manage his leukemia), which was a significant factor in the decision. I also did a divination on the question and the court of the shield chart came up Fortuna Major, Conjunctio, Acquisito (RW, LW, and J, respectively). I interpreted these as saying that I was strong/healthy enough to handle any side-effects (Fort Major as RW), that getting vaccinated would facilitate travel and interactions with others (Conjunctio as LW), and that I would gain from getting vaccinated (Acquisito as J). Between the family-issue and the divination results, I tipped over to “go ahead” from “let’s wait.”
Had my second dose earlier this week. No issues to-date, aside from feeling like I’d gotten punched in the arm for about a day afterward.
Hi John
This story on the warning by a collection of French generals that the country is facing the prospect of civil war is very interesting. What are your thoughts on this and do you think we may see a Caesar style de facto or de jure military style government in France in the future.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9525485/Paris-mayor-says-AGREES-military-chiefs-warned-disintegration-France.html
Marine Le Pen seems to struggle to win elections (in part because she doesn’t come across as presidential, the toxic legacy of her fascist father and what some think as her extreme views) but maybe, she, or a different leader in the future could pave the way for a de facto military junta in France.
With regard to European migration and Ksim’s dreams seeing this, the Hebrew prophets (I am not sure if they saw this in dreams or not) actually said there would come a time when the “10 tribes” (often known collectively as Joseph or Ephraim) would be reunited with at least a part of the “2 tribes” (known collectively as Judah or Jews) and would return together out of the “land of the north”. (Hosea 1) Also the 10 tribes would travel back to the land of Israel “the way they came”.
There is a lot of speculation as to where the 10 tribes ended up. But we know the original resettlements according to the Assyrian records were all to the north and east of the Euphrates. There is further evidence that they themselves migrated even further northwards after the break-up of the Assyrian Empire to the areas of the Caucasus and lower Scythia.
I think its quite interesting that we are now focused on those areas again, as a general European flight in that direction would at least logically include some of the descendants of the 10 tribes.
However, if you believe the Hebrew Bible, then America will definitely not be a safer place than Europe, There are calculated to be approximately 8 million with a right of return to Israel currently in the United States. If you only add in those of European descent who potentially may have 10 tribe ancestry, then it has to be speculated that either some really catastrophic events or some very targeted actions would need to occur in the Americas to fulfil the large-scale people migrations as foretold by the Hebrew prophets. “They will know that I am the Lord their God when I regather them to their own land after having exiled them among the nations. I will leave none of them behind.” Ezekiel 39.
One more comment for now: bucking the trend that dogmatic ideologues can’t meme, Reason recently released an actually-good rap video about Dogecoin:
https://reason.com/video/2021/04/29/remy-dogecoin-rap/
From the lyrics (feel free to clip this out if it’s too long or the formatting goes bonkers):
He’s a rational investor, dividend digester
Saves some of his paycheck just like all his ancestors
Him looking for high yields? That’s never the case
He’s seeking six percent returns, slow and steady wins the race!
But when he checks his accounts just to see what they’re fielding
It’s like driving in Maryland—ain’t nobody yielding
What is he to do? He shouldn’t be in a drought
So he visits his adviser just to sort it all out
Inflation’s higher than your bond rates
That’s what I was fearing
And so your savings account is slowly disappearing
And your CDs are pointless
That’s not very funny
What would you like me to do?
Put it all in dog money
Dog money, dog money, dog money, dog money
I’m trading it in for dog money
Dog money, dog money, dog money, dog money
I’m putting it all in dog money
@Phutatorius: Yes, the illustrations in Meditations on the Tarot are from a Marseille deck (credit is given in fine print on the back cover).
@Anon420 #38 — I suggest that you learn to judge in criminal and civil matters largely based on common law and common sense rather than statute law. My bias is that much of the common law more closely reflects the common sense of what is just. Most lawyers — you included — commonly share a command of language and if they speak in the courts, a gift of voice. There will always be a place for entertaining story tellers.
“When asked, I always say “Not yet” and then immediately ask the questioner whether they have been vaccinated (they always have), which one they got, whether they had any discomfort, whether the rest of their family has gotten it …”
Dear Jean,
Thank you so much for this! It will now be my go-to response.
Kimberly
Lunar Apprentice, would you be willing to walk a non-math person through the process by which you arrived at those numbers for mortality by age group? I looked at the CDC webpage you linked to and it didn’t look particularly clear to me (as in, it wasn’t spelled out . I admit my poor facility with statistics-ese).
Viduraawakened, thank you for that. I think the familial reaction belies the issue we (a wider-than-family “we” but I don’t know how wide) have with flipping between statistical data (numbers and percentages of people harmed) in one case (Covid morbidity and mortality) but blithely waving it away in another (vaccination adverse responses).
This whole thing is just too much to the point I don’t even know how to counteract any narratives with other unformed and uncertain-in-provenance narratives. Ugh.
KT’s link exemplifies this: The deaths are terrible, the numbers manipulable, the data staggering… when it comes to the virus. The lack of data is …. not an issue?
I am hoping that if I (with help) show how to analyze the CDC’s numbers to my daughter, she might agree that they don’t warrant accepting an experimental therapy with unknown risks. Otherwise, since there is no data on the long-term risks, I don’t know how I can suggest that it’s ok to refrain from the vaccine when the narratives and numbers on “all the death” appear so threatening.
Lydia:
Just about an hour ago, I’m reading this blog, and there comes a knock at my door. I live in an SRO run by a non-profit here in San Francisco.
It turns out that Management has secured Covid vaccines, and if I wanted one, they were happening now in the Hotel lobby.
My response was that I wasn’t going to be the guinea-pig; if others wanted to be the beta-testers for the vaccine, that was their business, but for me……. No Thanks
For me, it seems that the risk of a bad experience with the virus is exceedingly small, but the level and severity of bad experiences with the vaccines are completely unknown. That tells me that by the laws of probability, I’m better off foregoing the vaccine and taking my chances with the virus.
Antoinetta III
@ Jean #215
That is excellent advice. I will try that, provided I am not in a grumpus state…LOL
Re: neurological effects of vaccines
My godmother, age 85, had her neuropathy get suddenly and significantly worse after the Moderna shots. The owner of the company where I work described “brain fog” which I also saw mentioned earlier in this comment thread. These are not typical symptoms of an immune response, and I am wondering if there might be more going on in that regard that will become clearer with time.
Re: supply chain shortages and price hikes
I’m glad to hear insights on this, and I am experiencing parts of it in my business. What doesn’t add up for me is that freight volumes as measured by shipping companies, railroads, ports etc. are through the roof. Which means to me both that price spikes are somehow not reducing demand, and also that there is an above normal amount of “stuff” still on the move even as a lot of “stuff” is backordered or out of stock. Very strange, I would say…
JMG – here in New Zealand we’re simultaneously very isolated, yet highly dependent, on the rest of the world. Here are a few data points that you might find interesting:
1) “New” Products. In my local Countdown (a mainstream supermarket), next to the 3 and 4 razors, Schick have introduced a new product – a butterfly safety razor. Amusingly, the packaging is clearly labelled “New”.
2) Druid Altar? In a lovely op shop / cafe in Whanganui, I spotted an old wooden altar(?) with “Vice Arch Druid” in gold lettering. I’m guessing it’s from the 1930s. Let me know if you want a picture.
3) Distribution Network. “Problems with shipping” is becoming more common here. There are a few gaps on shelves and some items are dramatically increasing in price. While there’s no panic or concern, it’s getting some mention in the media.
JMG
I see the investment world coming to accept the inevitability of nuclear energy as the main source of electrical power and it being pushed as carbon neutral, as you have predicted. But you have also said nuclear energy is a subsidy dumpster, at some point could expand on why you think that is the case?
On a different topic, was re-reading some of your short stories about the rise of a totalitarian government in the US (Arch Druid’s Tales). Most had a central charismatic figure and grassroots organization to bring the figure into power. It seems we are heading into totalitarian government but an uncharismatic puppet controlled by media, big tech, pharma, military complex and wall street. Could grassroots organizing change that in the near future? Do you still think some of the scenarios you laid out could still happen?
Thanks,
Bob
Justin, I remember Joybubbles! Not for any of that phone tech stuff, but because of Bulletin Board. Back in 1990, the St. Paul Pioneer Press started BB as an interactive print column, inviting people to call/fax/mail in jokes, stories, reminiscences, old photos, recipes, quotations, whatever was on their minds…except partisan politics. It quickly developed a community, and Joybubbles was a major part of that community, rarely missing an edition. I no longer remember any of his posts specifically, but they were usually about, well, joy, and allowing yourself to be childlike. BB still exists, now as a WordPress site, but it never was quite the same without him.
I just noticed The Wealth of Nature isn’t on the Bookshop website. Is that deliberate or an oversight?
“Lord John” would be wrong, anyway, as he gave me my title; it would be “King John.” I use JMG, unless I’m trying to get away with something, such as an extra kitten, and then I use “Your Druidship” or some such.
@Lunar Apprentice – As it happens I studied physics and guess what – all the time I constantly wondered what was wrong! Now I guess that me being not quite the super hero when it came to theoretical physics possibly provides me with some kind of woke absolution? My lack of skills surely must have been the result of an inborn, unconscious aversion against all this racist stuff they taught us at university…
De-Colonization… Is Sid Myers still around writing computer games? Could become another blockbuster.
Cheers & thanks a lot for the entertainment,
Nachtgurke
Slithy Toves, I saw that. It struck me as being the sort of thing you’d expect to see from a high school sophomore: a simplistic rehash of familiar clichés heavily laced with sentimentality. If this now passes for a “controversial idea,” Spengler’s claim that Western philosophy is now moribund has, I think, been proven.
Forecastingintelligence, since I haven’t lived in France and don’t really have a clear sense of current cultural trends, I’m not sure if this counts as the prologue to a coup or as the last whimper of a dying tradition.
Naomi, fair enough. I don’t put a lot of credence in Biblical prophecy but your mileage may vary.
Slithy Toves, funny. Thanks for this!
Mark L, thanks for the data points.
Kiwijon, and thanks for this! The “altar” is part of the furnishings for a lodge of the United Ancient Order of Druids, a friendly society that used to be very popular all through the Commonwealth. The Vice Arch Druid is the #2 officer of the lodge. Here’s a picture of some Kiwi Druids from Palmerston North, back in the day:
Investingwithnature, the problem with nuclear power is economic: it’s so expensive to produce that it never pays for itself, which is why no nation on earth has ever had a nuclear power industry without gargantuan and continuing government subsidies. It’ll be pushed as carbon neutral, and doubtless we’ll see another round of raids on the government coffers to pay for more nukes, but if recent history is anything to go by, most of them will never be finished. As for totalitarianism, as I’ve pointed out over and over again, people who think that the current kleptocratic and mildly authoritarian government is a fascist tyranny have no clue what the latter amounts to. How many of your neighbors have been rounded up and shot this week by government death squads? I see Biden as the Konstantin Chernenko of the current order of things, and the regime he heads is about as durable as the Soviet Union was in Chernenko’s time…
Yorkshire, it’s out of print. I’ve tried to get the print rights back from the publisher but they insist on holding on to all rights so long as they have an ebook available, i.e., forever.
During a rambling eclectic conversation with an acquaintance the other day I was mentioning things that didn’t fit into a purely materialistic worldview and one of the bits he jumped on was the presence of prophecy/divination (I was suggesting that even if there was a super-consciousness of just-us we were all a part of it would still not know the future) … he asked me if astrologers etc were banned from entering lotto and betting on horse races etc – his logic being that if you knew the future you (or many of you) would make money via gambling on what to you would be a sure thing and the gambling companies (like those pragmatic companies you mentioned who pay for dowsing) would be practically aware of it and would ban you from participating.
I didn’t have an immediate or robust response … my thoughts were along the lines of:
– the very act of seeking riches opens you up to negative pushback (a la those seeking to be rich are pierced through with many arrows)
– things that random and cosmically unimportant are not covered (then again ‘when to plant field x is probably cosmically unimportant)
– there is a rule out there somewhere forbidding it?
– divination may not work when it is purely for your own benefit?
Anyway since you recommend casting divinations for folks as a way to pay your way in times of economic darkness rather than buying the racing guide (assuming they still existed) and just getting the winning horse from it … what elements would be included in *your* feedback for this issue?
Thanks
Hey jmg
Have you read “the city in history “ by Lewis Mumford? I’ve been reading it for awhile and it definitely shares your scepticism about “progress” as it relates to city design.
JMG @ #213, you wrote “…one possibility is that there will be some kind of serious problem with motor nerves or the peripheral nervous system”. Your example of MS in particular is thought to be auto-immune mediated, and could potentially show up as a complication of covid vaccine. A motor neuron disease that is suspected to be auto-immune is ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Guillain-Barre syndrome is an auto-immune mediated peripheral nerve disease. There are several historical examples of such/similar resulting from vaccinations: Here is one, from 1976, titled “Neurological complications of swine influenza vaccination” see
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6128862/
The abstract reads:
“The emphasis upon the remarkably large number of cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome which resulted from the 1976 National Swine Influenza immunization program in the U.S.A. has obscured the fact that other neurological complications, involving the central nervous system also occurred. The anatomical distribution of lesions is almost identical with that seen following other types of vaccination: involvement of the brain, cerebellum, optic nerve, cranial nerves and spinal cord occurred with approximately the same frequency. 5 instances of the very rare subacute or chronic, progressive, post-vaccinal encephalopathy are described, a situation which is identical to the subacute and chronic forms of polyradiculoneuropathy. In a number of cases, in particular the myelopathies, a subclinical involvement of peripheral nerves was demonstrated by means of electrodiagnostic studies, illustrating the often overlooked fact that central nervous system involvement will mask peripheral nerve lesions. The etiological significance of the swine influenza vaccination was overlooked and completely erroneous diagnoses were established in a surprisingly large number of the 26 new cases reported here.”
Guillain-Barre can result in weakness or even paralysis in the extremities, face, eye-muscles, bladder sphincter, etc… It usually resolves after months, but 10% of cases never heal.
Another example from 2009 is “Narcolepsy and Pandemic Influenza Vaccination: What We Need to Know to be Ready for the Next Pandemic”. See —
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31306400/
Abstract:
“After the initial identification of the H1N1 pandemic influenza strain in Mexico in April 2009 and its subsequent global spread, several monovalent influenza vaccines were developed as part of the pandemic response. Three of these vaccines, Pandemrix, Arepanrix and Focetria were adjuvanted. One of these, the AS03-adjuvanted Pandemrix vaccine, was primarily used in Europe. Following widespread Pandemrix vaccine administration in Scandinavia, an increased risk of narcolepsy was noted in observational studies. Subsequently, this increased risk was also reported in other European countries as well. In contrast, studies from Canada of a similar AS03-adjuvanted vaccine, Arepanrix, did not demonstrate a similar increased risk of narcolepsy. No studies have identified an increased risk of narcolepsy following the MF59-adjuvanted Focetria vaccine. For many potential pandemic influenza strains, adjuvants might be required to solicit a protective immune response. Thus, it is critical that we understand the nature of the association between adjuvanted vaccine receipt and narcolepsy. Here, we present a potential hypothesis for narcolepsy seen during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic in AS03-adjuvanted influenza vaccine recipients.”
Fortunately, narcolepsy was a rare complication, but it was permanent and disabling. Teenagers were affected.
In short JMG, your concern is more than plausible.
—Lunar Apprentice
I’m trying to craft an argument which proves that consciousness cannot be reconciled with physicalism, and does so in as airtight a manner as possible while remaining simple to understand. If anyone—philosophically-minded or not—cares to offer feedback regarding its soundness and clarity, I would be very grateful.
It starts with the observation that the attempt to reconcile physicalism with consciousness is in essence a special case of the attempt to reconcile the idea that only objects exist with the existence of subjects. I want to reframe the issue like this because “object” and “subject” are far less slippery than terms like “physical”, “consciousness”, and “non-physical”, thus making it more difficult to pull off some verbal sleight-of-hand with them.
Roughly defined, an object is something which has “objective properties”, these being properties which belong to the object itself, independently of whether or not they’re observed. The properties we refer to by the words “mass”, “energy”, “speed” and “position” are examples of this, as is the property of being a specific object—an electron as opposed to a proton, for instance.
A subject, on the other hand, is something which has subjective experiences. Examples of subjective experiences are pain, confusion, sweetness, blueness, and happiness.
Subject and object are not contradictory categories—a thing can be both object and subject at the same time. Things which are only one of the two can be called “pure” objects and “pure” subjects.
Now, the question of whether something qualifies as a subject is one which has an objective, and binary, answer. If a thing is capable of having subjective experiences, then we know that it is a subject. If it is not capable of this, then we know it is not a subject.
This is distinct from questions like whether something qualifies as a chair, an apple, or a cat. We say that a thing is a cat, for instance, when it approaches certain ideal patterns of form and behavior which we associate with the word “cat”, such as meowing, purring, and pouncing, plus having whiskers, two eyes, four legs, and a tail. But the question of how closely a thing must approach that ideal pattern before it can be considered a cat does not have an objective answer. If we look at the evolutionary line going from the first living organism to the modern-day cat, there is nowhere on the line we could point to and say “everything before this point is objectively not a cat and everything after this point is objectively a cat”; instead, there are points on the line which are less cat-like and others which are more cat-like.
This means that, though it is possible for a thing which is not a cat to gradually become more cat-like until it becomes a cat, it is not possible for a thing which is not a subject to gradually become more subject-like until it becomes a subject. Either it is a subject or it isn’t; there is no “scale of subject-ness” which goes from “not a subject” to “partly a subject” to “fully a subject”.
In turn, this means that the status of a thing as a subject is not something which can be gradually built up from pure objects, and so, the question of where and when subject-ness arises in the world of objects has at bottom two possible answers.
The first is that the quality of subject-ness is inherent to at least some fundamental objects. This would be a sort of property dualism, such as panpsychism or neutral monism.
The other possibility is that the quality of subject-ness is emerges “magically” when objects band together in structures of greater complexity. Because subject-ness is a binary, these structures must meet objective, strictly-defined criteria in order to be endowed with subject-ness. This would be a form of emergentism, as subject-ness is something separate from the pure objects of the structure to which it is endowed, and is only added to it after the fact. It would also imply some form of substance dualism.
@Greer
> which is why no nation on earth has ever had a nuclear power industry without gargantuan and continuing government subsidies.
I’ll have to look up government subsidies to nuclear industries and nuclear industry debt levels verses comparable industries like oil and renewables. It would be a good way to verify your claims with quantifiable evidence
> if recent history is anything to go by, most of them will never be finished.
There are a lot of 4th generation reactor designs out there that are designed to be cheaper to build. Thorcon is a good example, and their reactor is designed to be competitive with coal and natural gas.
If small modular reactors can get off the ground, that would make history a recent history a misleading guide indeed.
@David by the Lake All the different vaccines seem to be causing heart attacks up to 2 months out. There is heart muscle inflammation and you’ll need the emergency room to get the right diagnosis and medicine. From what I can gather on MD twitter it looks like each hospital ER is seeing 3-8 people a day. What’s concerning doctors is its healthy people with no conditions 18-30 as they most prevalent group. It’s important not to brush off any symptoms you have and get medical attention quickly. No one is tracking any of this and its all word of mouth right now.
There’s also the people who lose all their blood platelets, the Bell’s palsy, and the shingles like rashes but those seem more obvious as “unusual” compared to heart attack symptoms.
@Slithy Toves
“Dogmatic ideologues can’t meme” — pun intended, right?
I admire Dogecoin’s approach…they’ve made crypto entertaining by not taking it seriously…or do they??
I am still working through The Cosmic Doctrine posts (up to chapter 29) and am participating in a book club on The Kybalion (up to chapter 5). I really like the metaphor described in CosDoc and my initial interpretation of The Kybalion was to equate the Solar Logos with the ALL. But there are some descriptions in The Kybalion that really don’t align with CosDoc if the Solar Logos is the ALL. One of the participants gave an example (attributing it to you) saying that two descriptions can be different and and still be accurate (such as a road map and a topography map). I like that analogy, but it still didn’t completely work if the Solar Logos is the ALL, unless I consider that the map maker for the road map and the map maker for the topography map have different perspectives (such as the road-map-maker has a birds-eye view of the area, while the topo-map-maker is on the ground). To the topo-map-maker, the ALL is infinite, because that is all he can see around him. The road-map-maker, with his birds-eye (or perhaps satellite-eye) view can see the Ring-Pass-Not and the Unmanifest and recognizes that the Solar Logos does have limits (but to those of us in the Solar Logos’ mind who are ‘on the ground’, the Solar Logos is infinite).
If I use this interpretation to extend the CosDoc metaphor to the Kybalion, will I miss things in the Kybalion?
Here’s another specimen of woke insanity for your entertainment; this from President Biden himself last night from his address to Congress: “We won’t ignore what our intelligence agencies have determined to be the most lethal terrorist threat to our homeland today: White supremacy is terrorism.”
Source— https://www.zerohedge.com/political/schiff-we-cant-ignore-some-trumps-base-are-white-nationalist-domestic-terror-threat,
and https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/28/biden-calls-white-supremacy-terrorism-speech-congress/4884034001/
and https://www.zerohedge.com/political/biden-doj-actively-considering-domestic-terrorism-law-target-white-nationalists
Holy Moly. Where might this lead?
—Lunar Apprentice
Hi JMG
I note that Michael M Hughes et al believes that the ‘Magical Resistance’ did succeed as Trump is gone, and banned from twitter. I think there are other reasons.
> see Biden as the Konstantin Chernenko of the current order of things
Yeah. We have yet to see Gorby. And you’ll know it when you see it. Your face and palm will become as one, never to separate again.
J M,
I recently began The Mysteries of Merlin. I’m going to get 8 different colors for the altar cloth. For the color blue do you suggest navy or royal? Thanks.
Love your work and your writing style. I reread your books just to enjoy the style, like listening to a favorite album or watching the same movie over and over.
re: nu-q-lar
Cynically, it costs so much because the state is so intimately involved with anything that’s even tangential to it.
I think it could be made much cheaper. I’m not a fan of it for other reasons, none of which have to do with economics or bureaucracy and everything to do with this flight from reality that we see in this era.
You wouldn’t let children run a nuclear reactor but what if that’s all you got? What if all that’s coming out of the schools have the intellectual and emotional maturity of a 5 year old? I don’t think our civilization can handle nuclear power anymore. No adults left in the room.
Dear JMG,
I didn’t watch Biden’s SOTU last night, but I did hear that he said “White Domestic Terrorism is the greatest threat facing the United States” (the world maybe?), but he couldn’t give one example to support this claim and went into talking about G. Floyd (which any equate with terrorism).
We’ve had 150 mass shootings so far this year (four or more deaths), and less then a dozen of these have been from White people (most are inner city gang violence), and none from what could be labeled as White Supremest or White Nationalist activity. Even the ADL could only find a dozen violent incidents last year they could loosely be classified as WS or WN out of 10,000s of thousands, and none were part as an actual terror plot just random guys that the ADL said were in a hate group because of a twitter post or tattoo.
What do you think is going on if “White Domestic terrorism” is supposed to be the greatest threat facing the USA in 80 years, but theres barely nothing to back-up these claims? Why are they gas lighting the entire country (world?) and making over half the country out to be domestic terrorists?
Some on the right see it as a bigger strategy of equality = equity = revenge, similar to a blood liable for supposed sins committed over the last 500 years by Europeans. If this is the case, we’re headed into a very dark time and not just economically.
>Thirdly, Christianity does seem to be making some inroads, despite strong discouragement from the government.
There’s historical reasons why Chinese governments have been less than enthusiastic about Christianity in general. Look up “Taiping Rebellion” and start reading. 30 million dead or so. Life is cheap in that part of the world. Very very cheap.
Like all things, people tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater – conditions drive history, not people. If it wasn’t him, it would’ve been someone else and some other religion.
My thanks to the posters who answered my questions about Alba. I am waiting to see how well they do in a weeks time.
John–
My copy of _Doctrine and Ritual_ arrived in the mail today. Very much looking forward to the book club!
Hey JMG,
I hope this week finds you and your loved ones well!
There’s been a recent bit of synchronicity for me regarding a fraternal organization called the Knights of Kaleva. My son, who does happen to be of some Finn heritage, has shown an interest in learning Finnish. I dug out a copy of my Kalevala just to give him some background of the culture. While I was reading it, there were some ideas that became very clear to me regarding creation myths of various cultures. On Saturday we visited a local Kaleva Hall where a rummage sale was going on. I remarked to one of the greeters that I really liked his jacket. He said I could get one if I joined the Knights of Kaleva. I thought it was said in jest and laughingly said I couldn’t because I have no Finn in my ancestry, and he replied that it doesn’t matter now, that they are interested in anyone who’d be willing to help pass on the traditions of the Knights of Kaleva.
So I must admit I am interested. I’ve been desiring a fraternal society/lodge type opportunity. One thing that makes me a little hesitant is that the requirements, which many societies have seem to be lacking other than I have to be sponsored, which this fellow is happily willing to do. While it is well understood many social organizations are having membership issues, would you consider it concerning that there are seemingly no requirements in place to join?
@Mary Bennett
Trust me the founders of the National Justice Party get zero funding from the agribiz lobby, and are certainly not part of the PMC (any funding they get is grassroots small donations). They do support stopping legal and illegal immigration, so jobs can go back to the working class.
To see what issues they’re involved in, check the site http://www.nationaljustic.com where they run a journalist site for stories the MSM won’t cover (you can also submit stories that you local press is ignoring (i.e. racism towards white people).
One commentator wrote that he was white/young and wouldn’t support the NJP because they play the victim. That might change as the wokness (anti-white hate) gets worse over the next years, and as more people see that the only group it’s ok to be racist / disciminate against is Whites.
White Gen Z and young melleniums are their biggest supporters and that will keep growing after young leaders like Nick Fuentes (America First leader, not NJP but some overlap) is put on the no-fly list, canceled (made a non-person) from all social media platforms, bank accounts closed, no uber, etc. and he’s never been committed any crime and wasn’t even in DC on Jan. 6th (and he identifies as white hispanic). NJP supports him and his struggle.
They know their platform won’t be enacted over night, and that it will take decades to get the USA back on the right track, but we have to start somewhere.
RE: Topic of exercise
For quite a few years I’ve successfully managed to keep in adequate shape, and by far develop the most strength I ever had, by following bodyweight/calisthenics exercises. They’ve especially been inspired by this guy, (he’s actually made the process seem kind of spiritual which really has impressed me) whom I came across on the Art of Manliness website, which has a lot of exercise suggestions as well. Ultimately, there is, as usual, a wide variety of exercises available to fit your wants and needs. All you have to do is put in the work to develop what you are looking for.
I just don’t see how a government that commands so little trust, and less respect, can continue to function much longer.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/covid-vaccination-card-fraud-prompts-cdc-action-rcna802
What worries me is what will replace that government. Some comments I see from Wokesters, if quoted accurately, do not fill me with confidence that they will rule wisely if they manage to hold on to power.
Well, here is the latest dose of “energy porn”:
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Could-We-Harness-The-Tremendous-Power-Of-Deep-Ocean-Volcanoes.html
Nobody mentions that these midocean ridge smokers only last a few years, then another breaks out a little farther away. Why don’t these nutjobs just look for deeper oil? At least you could make a payout….
Re: monotheism
Certainly! Rising themselves to the status of divinity is central to a religion devoid of God. I remember when I first read or heard you say that many times people go into extreme mental contortions to make fit their delusions. Well, it is definitely contorted to think that we are gods but at least they had enough sense in them to realize that something needs to occupy the status of divinity for the thing to make sense somehow!
It still makes me curious though because partisans of that specific faction of the scientific community seem to be obsessed about a unifying theory of everything in a way that seems much more dogmatic than scientific (not that much of that community remains scientific anyway). I wonder if it is possible for remnants of a time were Christianity’s power was much more overarching to manifest itself in the minds of these people. I don’t know, perhaps they are desperately looking for something that would fill the void the killing God left in the minds of the collective? But since that space needs to be filled with something they have been taught to ignore, ridicule and hate they are stuck with a need that can never be satisfied with their present cosmovision.
I am reading a book about Herman Mudgett. In the first Gilded Age Mudgett built a castle in Chicago, in the depths of which he proceeded to slaughter World’s Fair visitors as well as the occasional girlfriend who became too insistent about marriage. And I got to wondering—how many of our Gilded Age overlords might be hunting humans for sport? Can you imagine finding out, then trying to get the police to do something about it? Even if they wanted to, they might not be able to. And if you were, say, a militant about population control, you might even decide to take up hunting humans yourself, to help out the benevolent tech lord.
This is such a good thriller plot that my guess is it violates at least 146 modern taboos and that’s why it’s not already a Tom Cruise movie. 😄
Does anyone else like Harold Schechter, the author of my book? I think Harold can teach us a lot about narrative flow. He only publishes on 2 subjects, though: Edgar Allan Poe and serial killers. I don’t know if his publisher restricts him to those subjects, as they know those will sell, or if those are his only two interests.
temporaryreality @ #233. I wasn’t the one who derived or extracted that table; it’s widely reproduced by the MSM, including CNN, themselves citing that CDC link as the source. Yes, that CDC website is dense and cumbersome. Since the MSM are so supportive of the covid narrative, I presumed that if they were willing to post data that so contradicts their own narrative, it must be accurate (perhaps one of the sublinks has it). I didn’t dig deeper because those are basically the numbers I’ve heard all along.
—Lunar Apprentice
John,
Okay, my major comment on Covid-19 vaccines and their possible side effects.
First, anyone interested in the subject should get familiar with the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) which is maintained by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and not Joe’s tin-foil hat website. It has a searchable online database for the submitted data. So far, the database hasn’t gone down for “technical issues” – yet. Today, the database reports that there has been more than 2,789 reported deaths associated with Covid-19 vaccines this year. Typically, less than 250 deaths are reported per FULL year for all vaccines. It’s widely consider that the reported data is an undercount, ranging from possible 1 in 10 to as high as 1 in 100. It’s obvious that if these emergency use vaccines were anything else than the highly politicized Covid-19 vaccines, they would have already been pulled from use. Do the math on what it means if the 1 in 100 reporting ratio is correct (I suspect it isn’t nearly that high).
Of course there are alternative explanations for this – perhaps right-wing, fascist (naturally) anti-vacc’ers are submitting thousands of false reports.
There are research reports starting to show up concluding that the Covid-19 spike protein itself causes blood clots. One is SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 induces fibrin(ogen) resistant to fibrinolysis: Implications for microclot formation in COVID-19. This is non-peer reviewed pre-print, and it has not been replicated yet. Maybe it’s one of those results that can’t be replicated (e.g., wrong). If it isn’t wrong that means that all the Covid-19 vaccines in use in the Western world are dangerous. This would explain why so many the issues reported around these vaccines are related to blood clots. It’s interesting that I have heard that the Chinese vaccines are not based on the spike protein, but on the rest of virus. (Is this true?)
It’s possible that Covid-19 might be thought of as just a common cold – that possesses a battle-ax (the spike protein).
I have seen reports that “The Israeli People Committee (IPC), a civilian body made of leading Israeli health experts, has published its April report into the Pfizer vaccine’s side effects.* The findings are catastrophic on every possible level.” However, I can find this only in what appears to alternative media and they all seem to repeat the same wording. I did a quick search (Duck-Duck-Go) for the actual report and could find it. The main-stream media has a different take on what this group is saying.
All I can say is that the above suggests that we may have indeed entered starfish toxin territory. If so, how far will our leaders take us into that unpleasant terrain?
Speaking of analogies. You say that Biden is like Chernenko. Yupp, I´m old enough to remember him. Here´s another analogy: Trump is like Domitian, Biden is like Nerva…except, there´s no Trajan waiting in the wings! Ooops.
Or rather a more fun version of Domitian versus a more senile version of Nerva. Kamala Harris, whoever she might be, sure aint no Trajan (under whose leadership the Roman Empire reached its furthests extension).
@investingwithnature #239, on presidents as puppets:
The first president I can remember clearly was Harry S. Truman. He was also the last president who simply got in his own car at the end of his term, drove himself home, and resumed his life as a privte citizen.
My view is that almost every president since Truman has been pretty much a puppet, or a plaything, of forces largely beyond his control. The one clear exception seems to have been Jimmy Carter.
One other president since Truman counts as somthing of a special case, in that he was one of the puppet-masters before he became president himself. That would be George H. W. Bush (#41).
Trump seemed to me to be something of a puppet also, though his puppet masters who were an entirely different group of people from those who generally pulled the strings of the other puppet-presidents.
That’s why I don’t worry overmuch about the outcome of most presidential elections. It’s trivial to swap out one puppet for another at the end of an act. It’s the puppet-masters who matter, and they are pretty well entrenched behind the curtain. Only in 2020 was the roster of puppet masters somewhat up for grabs.
John,
I forgot to add that the vaccine side effect issue has a very personal aspect for me. A very dear, long time friend recently passed. She was in the last years of her life (You have not met her.) She started having strokes right after she was vaccinated. Her death would be consider associated in terms of VAERS reporting, although I suspect she will be part of the undercount. Did the vaccine cause her death – by accelerating what was going to happen anyway? No way to know one way or another. Only the aggregated data is meaningful, especially for something like a death from a common stroke. Rest in peace, Nann, at least for a while. You were a wonderful soul.
Correction to my last comment. I was not able to find the actual Israeli Committee report.
Warren, if astrology can be used to predict horse races, does your acquaintance really think that astrologers would talk about this publicly? It would hardly be in their interest to do so. I can tell you for a fact that getting information on the techniques used by stock market astrologers — of whom there are quite a few — is both difficult and rather expensive. (As J.P. Morgan said, “Millionaires don’t use astrology, but billionaires do.”) More generally, I wonder if your acquaintance has ever considered the possibility that anyone who can successfully predict the financial side of the future would be in no hurry to convince people like him that this can be done…
J.L.Mc12, unless you’re a good deal older than I think, I first read it back when you were still playing with toy trucks. It’s one of many works that helped shape my critique of progress.
Apprentice, thanks for this. That’s unnerving; I was simply basing my guess on what medical astrology says about an affliction in Sagittarius. Well, then, I think we know what to look for…
Valenzuela, so far, this seems pretty solid.
Rus, by all means do so. While you’re at it, notice how many state and national governments pay their bills by taxing fossil fuel industries, and then notice that no state or national government anywhere pays its bills by taxing nuclear power. As for fourth-generation nuclear designs, sure — as we’ve learned over and over again for the last three quarters of a century, every nuclear power technology is safe, cheap, and reliable until it’s built.
Randomacts, sure, but no matter what interpretation you apply to the Kybalion you’ll miss things in it. It’s a very rich text, and it required repeated rereadings and meditation in order to extract everything it has to teach.
Apprentice, for “white supremacy” read “people in the working classes getting uppity.” These days privileged intellectuals insist that people of color who don’t buy into the woke agenda are “unconscious white supremacists”! Biden is of course quite correct; if the working class majority in this country stops buying into the nonsense the establishment is peddling, it’s game over for everything Biden’s shilling for.
Bridge, one of the reasons the Magic Resistance has flopped so spectacularly, and will continue to do so, is that so many people involved in it are unable to learn from their failures. This is a great example.
Owen, it’s not impossible that Kamala Harris will be our Gorbachev.
Jack, a good clear royal blue is best. Thank you!
Owen, that’s certainly part of it, but even nations that don’t have the sort of metastatic bureaucratization we have in the US can’t make nuclear power pay for itself.
Karl, the great crisis faced by the privileged classes in America today is that there isn’t enough racism on the part of white people anymore. The whole systen depends on keeping white working class people and working class people of color divided against each other, because once they realize they have more in common than either one has in common with the privileged classes, it’s game over for the latter. So all this yelling about racism and all the discrimination against white people is an attempt to get white working class people to act racist again, so the privileged can keep driving wedges through the middle of the wage class. I don’t think they’ll fall for it, though.
David BTL, glad to hear it!
Prizm, good heavens, how marvelous! In your place I’d join in a heartbeat. Most fraternal orders have eliminated any requirement that will get in the way of interested people joining, because it’s that or go under; you can become an Odd Fellow or a Granger, for example, if you’ve got a pulse and are willing to abide by the rules of the order, and the same’s true of a lot of ethnic lodges these days. Don’t let that slow you down!
Your Kittenship, a government that suffers this kind of collapse of legitimacy rarely lasts long. I’m also concerned with what will follow it — but since believers in the woke ideology only account for 8% of Americans, I doubt it’ll be them.
Oilman2, thank you. This has just taken the prize for Stupidest Energy Article of 2021. Oh, my aching sides…
Augusto, I think you’re quite correct. They’re craving the Truth, and have made the mistake of thinking that a theory of physics will satisfy that craving.
Your Kittenship, you might consider making it your next writing project!
John, thanks for this. Yes, these are some of the things that concern me.
Tidlösa, well, we could get lucky and get a Trajan — or we could get unlucky and get a Gorbachev…
John, dear gods. Please accept my condolences! That’s got to be hard.
I think everyone should read The Art Of Manliness. One of the best how-to sites on the Internet.
Karl, at this point I welcome any and all new political parties. Let all be heard. I never thought National Justice had anything to do with PMC, and I don’t allege they get funding from agribiz lobbies. I do suspect, suspicion only, they are funded directly by companies like ADM, Monsanto, etc. I am disappointed they take no position on industrialized agriculture, nor on our chemically contaminated food supply. Consider that good food activists have been banging their heads against woke leftist disdain for at least the last decade because immigrant jobs. I would think coming out in favor of family farms and clean food would be a winning issue for a new conservative party.
Goldenhawk, of course!
Valenzuela, sadly I don’t think you’re going to get much traction with that argument, or any other. Materialists, like creationists and flat earthers, have a lot of practice ignoring the problems with their worldview. In particular the materialist response to how consciousness can exist if physicalism is almost always to change the subject (pun intended!) by redefining “consciousness” to mean something else.
Really, consciousness is so obviously not a purely-physical thing (at least in the contemporary sense of what it means for something to be physical) that if you’re willing to believe it is, you’re not likely amenable to being talked out of it.
Sadly, the best method for talking people about of physicalism seems to still be to convince them to take psychedelics. Unfortunately the success rate is still too low, and the risks too high, for me to recommend that approach in practice. (Note that I don’t speak from experience on this one, just casual observation.)
Another approach that used to work, and might again sometime in the future, after the emotion around the replication crisis calms down, is for them to read up on parapsycholgy and see that they’re not quacks and their research is top-notch. (I speak from experience here: this was a big help to me.)
@katsmama #198. I would like to have an audio version of Lévi’s French.
Tidlosa, I think it unlikely Kamala Harris will ever be elected president. Her constituency is the Hindu diaspora plus a slice of PMC upper middle class women, which is hardly a winning coalition. And, there are now beginning to be quite a few for real American Black women who are thinking Why not me?, Stacy Abrams being only one among many. I think we will have a non-Trumpist Republican in 2024, Ben Sasse perhaps, and possibly a Democratic woman in 2028.
Robert Mathiessen, there is a story told in the wilder reaches of the internet that newly elected Jimmy Carter was working on his cabinet selections, best of the best is what he wanted, when he was visited by an emissary from Wall Street who handed him a sheet of paper saying, “There is your cabinet”. The story is, he broke down and cried when he realized he wasn’t his own man after all. Internet legend? Who knows?
@ Karl and JMG RE: white domestic terrorism…
Up front – I am mixed race but nobody would ever guess it looking at me. I look white as a snowflake, but I ain’t. Having spent many years in the south, I can assure you that there are many more of mixed race than people realize at this point of time in America. I would venture to say that there are very few “wholly black” people in America, and likely a lot more “not completely white” folks than people realize. I might also suggest that this mixed race component, when you toss Latins and Asians into the mixed race salad, is HUGE, and far larger than the contingent that tries to assert “blackness” in the midst of the current antics.
From my perspective, the entire race thing has a limited lifespan without the media and the two parties pouring gasoline all over us. I mean, we have Senators claiming minority heritage with white genetics and government officials presenting themselves as black with zero black genetics. LBJ must be spinning in his grave, right alongside MLK!
When someone finally stands up and points out that ZERO humans choose their parents and we need to move on, then most people will listen to that – because it is 100% truth and will resonate. The only response to that fact is deflection or obfuscation, and hopefully Americans will smell that out after the decades of lies having finally been revealed. Then again, maybe I am just an eternal optimist about race relations, because I get both sides of this false narrative, and none fit my reality…
I know musical tastes must necessarily vary, but, see whether this performance of Liszt’s piano transcription of Bach’s organ prelude & fugue in A minor, by Russian pianist Maria Yudina, a phenomenal, heretofore almost unknown, pianist (almost never left Russia), and devout Russian Orthodox Christian, in an age when to be such was very nearly a death sentence, doesn’t deeply inspire you (as it does me): https://youtu.be/puwboQ_zNNI
In my judgement she is very nearly a modern saint.
I feel an urgent need to post a link here to the “Report of Adverse Events Related to the Corona Vaccine” Issued recently by an independent group of medical sanity activists here in Israel. I hope this is the right place for this.
Israel has been chosen by one of the vaccine manufacturers to be the example country showing the safety and efficiency of the vaccine. Most of the adult population here has been vaccinated (many of them under strong pressure from the government), and in the effort to paint this mass vaccination campaign as a success story a lot of the data regarding adverse effects of the vaccine is being supressed. This independent report is aiming both for Israeli citizens, many of whom are unaware of the worrying reality behind the bright picture painted by the media, and for the global public who will soon be targeted with stories of the Israeli Success in order to encourage mass vaccination elsewhere.
“The silencing mechanisms of the health system regarding the vaccine’s adverse events, and the denial of their severity and worrisome scope, combined with the fact that the mainstream media have ignored
adverse events and avoided reporting them, have created a situation whereby the Israeli public is almost completely unaware of the existence, nature and prevalence of the vaccine’s adverse events.
This smoke screen which exists between the Israeli public and this vaccine’s adverse events prevents citizens from receiving all the information they need to make a balanced and responsible decision about the vaccination; and moreover, raises the concern that the lack of contraindications for susceptible populations to the vaccine has unnecessarily harmed the citizens to the point of needless mortality.”
https://4a1b9d73-4c47-4f3b-bb08-e515be8958ca.filesusr.com/ugd/3db409_3c4b29f97a7b4e2fb1d8d178ab138b91.pdf
John of Red Hook
There is some more information here about an analysis that was done regarding covid deaths after vaccinations in Israel, if that is helpful?
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297051
JMG,
Deagel is reportedly some shadowy intelligence firm that’s been tracking global defense profiles for decades. They’ve predicted a 70% population reduction in most first-world nations by 2025 due to what sounds a lot like something out of Tainter’s “Collapse of Complex Societies”.
—
@jaroslaw,
I drive a 2004 Acura MDX. The first-generation MDX’s and Honda Pilots are dirt cheap, Honda-reliable, AWD, and they give you great hauling capacity in terms of people and/or things. Mileage rated 17/23, decent power, and repair costs are reasonable.
—
@apprentice,
I’m running across more scattered reports on the neurological issues as well.
JMG or anyone else who has built a radionics machine, could I ask you for advice on how to get started?
I have Harry Stone’s Mind Machines You Can Build, and PDFs of Jensen’s plans shared by Joseph Wagner from his FB group. I’ve also read Joseph’s blog on how he built his own Hieronymus machine.
I’m still confused on where to start exactly on building a device. Should I just try to order all the parts first? Which part should I start with?
Thank you
Condolences, John of Red Hook. So sorry.
John of Providence Rhode Island , I hadn’t seen the 8% figure. That’s reassuring.
I don’t think I’d want to write about our current society. Too depressing. Maybe an intrepid band of fun-loving folks seeking a place where everyone minds their own business…
JMG @258 Karl
Re the positioning of White Supremacists as the new no1 bogey people- see this from Ugo Bardi on peak bombing:
https://thesenecaeffect.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-seneca-collapse-of-bombing-what.html?m=1
Maybe the puppeteers know they can no longer follow through on sabre rattling against overseas threats?
If so a very clear sign of slipping pebbles at the edge of a cliff fall/bumpy step down on the long descent?
Wesley, RE: Theory of Everything
I am not sure whose thoughts did you ask for, but since our host potentially has tenths of comments to answer every hour this time of the month and this topic interests me greatly I’ll give my take. First of all, I want to start by saying a few things that I consider necessary because I think it takes some amount of precision as to not fall trap to the binary, oppositional and rather simple minded thinking that is so prevalent when both occultism and physics are part of the same conversation.
This that follows is no conclusive truth about anything, it is just my opinion based on my experience and what I would like to consider reasonable ponder on those same experiences. Second of all, I became rather bitter towards academia as an institution over time, for various reasons, so please do not take anything I say as a personal attack; it is not. (I am sure a physicists that lurks in here is not part of the segment of the scientific community I am referring to!) With that said…
Exactly. I think you are right in mentioning that The Theory of Everything (as it was “The God Particle”) is just a marketing stunt, a slogan to make its members feel nice. Isn’t that even how the recent biographical movie of the life of Stephen Hawking is titled? You are also right that it doesn’t make sense at all, which is part of a “good” marketing stunt because you have everyone hooked looking for something that isn’t defined well or exists at all so you can have them running in circles cluelessly. “Come to us and you’ll understand everything in a single package!”
They are not leaving Nature out of the equation as you say, they are bullying and torturing her for not submitting to our self-referential whims and delusions of a human centric grand future of monotone and unified everything.
This is true not just for that faction of the scientific community by the way, but in general for our society. That is one of the reasons why I think such a thing cannot exists, because the people that propose it loudly are people that have no contact with Nature (with a capital N, please! As Alexandre Grothendieck used to say of Science) in any meaningful way, which wasn’t the case for the people that started this great human endeavor of science out of awe, inspiration and wonder (and the needs of survival of course). That is as contradictory to me –hurting and thinking of Nature a lesser than us in the name of science– as the crusades, massacres and cultural and spiritual destruction are in the name of God. So to me science these days –with the exception of some few bastions of reasons– has been debased, murdered and replaced by some simulacrum that pretends to do the same thing by shelling out techno-gimmicks. Arriving to meaningful things outside the lead of physical side of Nature by the way is entirely possible, mathematicians do it all the time, sometimes carefully and sometimes not so much. For example, what on Earth is an infinite-grupoid or a commutative ring in our daily material lives? Nothing at all, but once you grasp its meaning you feel you brush with “something that is very real, yet very delicate”.
Following this, the main reason why I think that a Theory of Everything cannot happen is actually a bit meta. It is not based on rigorous deduction nor on fancy results but rather on the feeling that there are not many physicists anymore, but engineers; there are not many poets anymore but scribes. So I don’t think it is impossible based on itself or on some scrutiny of the mathematical models of physics that propose it but rather on the community that spawned such an attempt of unification, which by the way, is a modern one and not so grandiose as you suggest. The trend towards generalization in science is not even two centuries old! I think this is important because it was my experience that many of the people that come to study physics these days seem to assume that physics is something that is handed down directly from the hands of God into theirs alongside his resignation letter. Anyone that has sat down with any system of formal mathematics knows otherwise, mathematical systems are much less robust at representing reality than what prophets of Scientism would like to think and I have to say I am left appalled when I am told that many undergrad physicists, mathematicians, etc. never take a real proof-based mathematical course! (Or taught some other mathematical system different than Calculus.)
Now, I know how arrogant such a statement can be, because I have no proof –mathematical or otherwise– but it doesn’t make sense to me –at all– that such a theory can’t be found based on my experience with formal mathematics, physics and occultism. I say this because to me mathematics is like poetry, and anyone that takes the time to learn the mechanisms of mathematical proof will see the inherent beauty of it. Mathematics is like poetry to me because it tries to represent, though differently than literature, some truth or meaning in a way that is precise and clever, emancipated from sense perception in a way that allows to manipulate ideas themselves with a fair degree of confidence. In occult lingo, mathematics as well as poetry, try to bring down ideas that live in the mental plane –the highest plane we as humans can interact with; the realm of meaning– to the astral plane (the realm of language and symbols) so that we can make sense of it. It is because of that missing link between the results we got (theorems, theories, or what not) and how we got them that I think the source of life and creativity of Science has been plugged out and thus left to die and now is desperately looking for a way to replace that void by creating the one and only Theory of Everything to fill its place, i.e the archetype of the Christian God projected into themselves.
Lastly, regarding the odd conclusions that our models sometimes throw at us. That is expected, after all, isn’t it? Mathematics for a physicists is a tool, a model, and since the model is not the thing that it models it is just expected that as the model is pushed towards its limits its starts to do odd things just as our brain does odd things when it tries to picture a four-dimensional cube. However, through mathematics we can take different angles and perspectives to understand high dimensional geometries even though it doesn’t make much sense to our visual minds. That is why I think the physical end of the Cosmos could be better understood by several theories not one, every theory would try to simplify the Cosmos in a specific way as to understand particular aspects of it, but if we try to grasp it all with the limited means of human understanding, we will miss most of it, as we have ever since we started that pursuit in the advent of the Industrial Revolution. And now, since our vagaries have gone so out of control we have had to create proof-assistants to verify our mathematical theories because the sane end of Science has recognized that some things might be standing on too weak of a foundation. The limit of our mathematical models to represent the cosmos accurately as our capacity to model mathematically tends to infinity is to the real thing, however our capacity to approach infinity with such a degree as human beings is a different story so if we ever do find something of the sort, I think the mathematics used to explain it would look very different than ours.
I also think, by the way, though probably immensely controversial, that Science shouldn’t be taught so freely for nothing. Not because I believe in some sort of totalitarian ideal but because some of the results of Science can be quite strong to the human psyque thus creating an incredible amount of jerks with hyperinflated egos. I even know of a physicists prodigy here in Mexico that murdered and chopped his girlfriend because she didn’t believe him that he was going to study to MIT…
So I feel I should close with this quote:
@Jaroslaw:
As Darkest Yorkshire said: cargo bikes have come a long way and especially with an electric assist motor, they allow long ranges with a lot of cargo without breaking a sweat. Depending on the route, they’re often quicker than by car as you can avoid traffic jams.
I love my Xtracycle Edgerunner, it rides like a normal bike and gets me and my kids almost everywhere I want to go. My wife or a friend can also hop on for a quick ride and it’s no problem to pop into a shop and end up doing the week’s shopping without having planned to (like here: https://www.fahrradfamilie.de/einkaufen-ohne-auto/).
I’m over 40, though admittedly based in Europe, and bought my first car last year – only because the mask fanatics made train travel unbearable.
Thinking about the Culture War… it’s interesting that modern social justice ideology is a kind of synthesis of the 60’s counterculture and its antithesis in the Religious Right, which makes it oddly Hegelian. (Which suggests we may be currently in the Parenthesis, with the Aftermath to arrive sometime in the future.)
More seriously, the religious dimension of the ideology shows that, like its forebears, it’s a response to the failure of the previous (counter)culture to provide a stable system of meaning, which makes David Chapman’s analysis of those movements applicable.
Basically, the 60’s counterculture swept the intellectual and cultural life of America because the old culture was thoroughly moribund and collapsed at the first good hard shove. Then the Religious Right (which Chapman counts as a second counterculture) did the same thing to the 60’s counterculture, because it, too, was unfit. The RR proved to have more staying power, but now has crumpled in the face of what I think should be counted as the Third Counterculture.
Like the previous two, it doesn’t really attempt to rationally justify itself: its tenets are supposed to be obvious, and if they aren’t, you just need to get your heart right and they will be. But I think this one goes further and rejects coherence as well: it’s not really supposed to make sense at all, as long as it elicits the right feelings.
(As Tumblr user morlock-holmes once observed, when religious fundamentalists condemned Harry Potter, they actually expected their children not to read it; for social justice types, it’s OK to have a “problematic fave” as long as you condemn it in public.)
I think Trumpism represents a nascent Fourth Counterculture, possibly the last one for some time, since the Baby Boomers will by and large be dead by the time it plays out.
I’m going to make a prediction: sometime by mid-decade, the Right will have given up on trying to go back to the status quo ante, and will embrace and define the Fourth Counterculture into something that will run roughshod over the Third Counterculture. I don’t think it will be primarily religious in content this time, though: as you’ve noted, that era’s over. I suspect instead that it will be class-conscious and, just as importantly, anti-cosmopolitan — not the old American exceptionalism, but a renewed patriotism and oikophilia, with more than a little isolationism.
Providing a field report that none of the Amish and Old Order Mennonite communities are wearing masks in their businesses. It’s a PA rule that masks are mandated and they decided at some point before March to stop wearing them (last time I was in that direction was September).
What’s interesting about this is when the state DOH closed restaurants for any indoor dining suddenly for two weeks over Thanksgiving, there were a few in each county that defied orders and stayed open for indoor dining. The state has been taking them to court to permanently close them all winter, even though as I said the closure was only for two weeks!
These are all family-owned restaurants of course and we lost several in our county because they just couldn’t run in this environment. We are now losing a couple more because they can’t find any workers since people still make more on unemployment than they do working.
Our local newspaper (which is now part of a conglomerate since the family who owned it decided to cash out a few years ago) reported on the state going after these restaurants, but the backlash was so strong they stopped covering it all all.
Oh, and our local hospital is completely bankrupt and on the auction block. They quadrupled in size in the last decade (thanks Obamacare!) despite the county population going down and now has to be broken apart to survive.
The local public school is building a $50 million athletic facility. That should improve the quality of class instruction! The members of the school board are running in the primary for re-election listed under both parties so we can’t vote them out.
So locally I’ve seen every institution of modern life completely set its reputation and status on fire this past year – state gov, public school, newspaper, and medical care. It’s dizzying to watch. Curious to know if other areas have seen the same downward spiral.
I’ve only recently heard of peak oil – you wrote most of what I know about it. What I have been wondering is how you see China and India faring? We might be in for a rough landing, but to belabour the flight metaphor, China hasn’t reach cruise altitude yet and India is just taking off.
Neither country intends to abort any time soon. We in the west have been greedy, but China (if their fishing fleets are anything to go by) is downright rapacious. Do you think they can see the end of the road and are just trying to accumulate as much wealth and power as they can before it becomes impossible?
India is sometimes held up as an example of a large population that consumes little, but I would argue that’s simply due to poverty. If they can achieve the wealth that China is achieving and that the west collectively achieved, I doubt their consumption will be different in any real sense.
I guess what I’m wondering is this: if the hard limits of peak oil apply, surely they must apply globally. And yet, I don’t see any country acting like it’s a real thing. Is there a way to tell if a country is gearing up for a ‘different century’?
temporaryreality,
There isn’t much in the way of solid, easily-linked data that I’ve found to reject a COVID vaccine. And yet, as a woman of reproductive age, I will be rejecting one (for now), and here’s the argument which has so far convinced at least one vaccine-promoter in my life:
I want to have another child sometime in the next year. I know that as of now, I am very likely to be fertile (have a 3-year-old, no menstrual issues). My specific concern is that there is no data whatsoever about this vaccine’s effect on fertility. This isn’t because of any failure in the science per se – it’s purely based on the amount of time this vaccine has existed.
Infertility is a condition which isn’t even able to be measured, per current scientific/medical guidelines, until it is a state which has continued for a minimum of one year. Before then, the doctor will laugh you off and send you home to “keep trying.” Even counting the initial trials, these vaccines have not even existed for a year yet. How many women who were immediately trying to get pregnant would have been involved in those studies? Especially given our culture’s hyper-awareness of “safe conduct” during pregnancy? The numbers must be very, very tiny.
I remember reading at the very beginning of this COVID thing that one of the reasons mRNA vaccines had not been brought to market before, was that in some animal trials it was noted that it could interfere with placental implantation. It left an impression on me because I feel I have a spiritual responsibility to have this child as soon as feasible (they asked me, specifically, to be born) so that anecdote stuck with me. I have looked recently again to try and find that information, but it seems to have vanished. (Given the political urgency surrounding these vaccines – They Simply Must Work ™ – it is possible these reports have been suppressed, sadly.) It doesn’t particularly change the issue of the pure lack of data due to the timeframe, but it does make all the personal reports of recently-vaccinated women reporting menstrual flow issues (always gushing blood, from what I have read) an item of acute concern for me.
I have a timeframe for my concern as well. In the past few months, Israel has done a massive country-wide vaccination campaign. This would of course include women of reproductive age, and also, the culture is acutely concerned with the birth rate. By early 2022, if there is any issue, it will almost certainly not be able to be suppressed. Tearful, sterile Jewish women protesting in front of the Health Ministry would be too profitable to keep out of the papers.
For all that, I’d never say never on getting the vaccine. If there turns out to be no concern about fertility (and hopefully, by that timeframe, I will already be pregnant) and it is still a pressing concern for any reason, I will get vaccinated. I’m not anti-vax – I’ve gotten the whole suite of ’em, and my child too. But this specific vaccine, at this moment, given my concerns, is a bridge too far at the moment. If your daughter wants to have her own children someday… you might have some success with this line of logic.
There is also the reports from my stockbroker friend of elderly clients of his immediately descending into dementia in large numbers post-vaccination, and the outcome of two same-age friends of mine recently vaccinated, where during their visit one of them was too nauseous and spacey to either eat or carry on a conversation with us, and the other casually mentioned that he was taking the maximum legal dose of over-the-counter painkillers to function, given the joint pains he was recently experiencing. But of course… anecdata. My father was also recently vaccinated, and has had zero side effects. Nevertheless, despite the social consequences I’ve already experienced due to it, I find myself more and more grateful for my position daily.
I wish you the best of luck in conversations with your daughter, and also remember, she is an adult who must make her own decisions and live with the consequences. As are we all.
Best,
VW
@Prizm, thank you for introducing me to the Knights of Kaleva! My husband has Finnish ancestry and family. He’s the descendant of Finnish emigration, but in recent decades some of his family has moved back to Finland and married locals. I will tell him about this order and see whether it sparks his interest. Good luck to your son with the language!
And that’s great they don’t require ethnic Finnish heritage anymore. If my husband gets involved, I surely will too, but I’ve got nary a drop of Finn.
John–
Another take in Biden’s speech:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-message-china-russia-america-044214868.html
“America is back.”
The author ends on an interesting note, however. Perhaps there is a sensing of the end of our era after all, despite the determination not to see such things.
Hi John Michael,
Thanks for providing this open forum.
My nature is not wired to be down on life, but every now and then someone will test my boundaries and try and give me a good hard metaphysical kicking. Usually such folks are like thieves and they act so to bolster their own reserves. Unfortunately though, my energy reserves are not unlimited, and sometimes such acts can leave me feeling drained as if a vampire had been sucking my blood. Do you have any suggestions as to how to protect yourself from such random occurrences? I struggle keeping up my defensive walls all of the time as there is a cost to that defensive act.
Cheers
Chris
Thank you everyone – food for thought on the career front and it’s good to see what everyone else is doing to stay sustainable.
@Owen – I had not considered the inflation/hyperinflation angle. Low probability, but high enough (what with rising bond yields and all) to at least be worth considering.
My wife is of Indian origin and got some jewellery etc at our wedding. That might be worth quite a bit if there’s hyperinflation. She’s also a very good cook (not just Indian food) and that may well be worth more.
What else can I do apart from law? I’ve always been a bit of a computer nerd. I’m no computer scientist or programmer (a bit of coding maybe), but I was a competent computer troubleshooter and problem solver right from the age of 8 or so (I was on call for the whole street) till well into law school where I helped to manage the computer lab. Haven’t done it for years but I’ve kept up with technology so could easily pick it up again.
But I’m not sure how much that will help. If I understand you correctly, the issue with lawyers and doctors (or tech support) isn’t that there’s a lack of demand for their services – it’s that they simply can’t raise their prices fast enough to make enough money if there is hyperinflation, and that this applies to most services, except those anchored to real hard assets (I assume things like house ownership/rental, and jewellery etc) or very directly linked to survival (food/farmers etc – maybe medicines, but not doctors services? But shouldn’t medical services fall in that category too)?
PS – Lawyers do have a union – that’s basically what the American Bar Association, and the various State Bars etc are. They’re just a very *bad* union. The AMA does much better for its members. But who knows, the lawyers unions could become competent again as the wheel turns…….
@Sister Crow: Thank you for this! I saw some references to Bulletin Board -which I thought was some kind of paper thing- when I was looking stuff up for my short article, but didn’t dig into that further. I may include information on that in a revision of the piece down the road, depending on what I do these later.
Either way Bulletin Board sounds fun. I think things like that will be very useful again as the internet winds down -even if it is a slow wind down.
& Joybubbles is a real joy to know about. I’m glad you got to know him through his posts on Bulletin Board. That’s very cool.
Possibly of interest: Rod Dreher (via Paul Kingsnorth) is now plugging Spengler.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/springtime-for-spengler-benedict-option-paul-kingsnorth/
From what I can tell, he seems to have a rather eccentric reading of Spengler’s thesis – i.e. he appears to believe that the Magian high culture alternates with its rivals (Faustian, Apollinian) in a sort of periodic motion, and looks forward to seeing “a new Saint Benedict” prepare the way for a Magian revival a few centuries down the road. (Contra the prevailing view here at Ecosophia, in which each high culture exhausts its possibilities and then declines, and future cultures will be radically different from any of them).
Well, it seems that that is the sort of perspective that you get when you believe strongly enough in the orthodox form of a Magian religion!
On from Denis and Lunar Apprentice’s comments in particular, I also have a growing suspicion that this first crop of vaccines may well have been ill-advised. In particular, it’s looking likely the ‘spike protein’ they are all designed to get the body to produce could well be biologically active – almost certainly not considered or taken into account in the haste of developing the DNA and mRNA vaccines currently being rolled out. Link here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7827936/
On from heart and blood vessel thickening issues it also looks like like the clotting being noticed is also linked to these proteins (though my guess is the seriousness of this depends how much vaccine gets into the wider circulatory system from the initial injection site). I’d say overall the picture here is definitely questionable, especially for those with a healthy immune system who’d otherwise shake Sars-Cov-2 off pretty quickly before it has much chance to cause the extra damage it obviously is capable of.
@JMG @here
Eclectic paganism – a legitimate path or a cop out? Can it make sense at a limited level (e.g. stay broadly within European or Asian traditions) or is a la carte spirituality inevitably less than the sum of its parts?
On from my previous post I should add we are talking here about biologically activity in the spike protein beyond their generally understood ability to enable the virus to enter a certain cell.
All interesting stuff, here’s something a bit more positive on these tiny compatriots of ours: https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/virus-human-evolution/
🙂
Notable energy news today:
Indian Point NPP closes down after 59 years of operation, removing another gigawatt of capacity from the grid
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=47776
*biological activity, even* (Me being overly active in that last comment!)
@Lincoln Lynx
“From what I’ve read, the crisis might result from the way the vaccine was rolled out, a possibility a Dutch (?) scientist mentioned”
– It’s Geert vanden Bossche, the dutch virologist
@Warren #245
This is only a data point, so take it with a grain of salt.
I have a good friend who was born with psychic talents. He does not “see” the future, but it’s not just “supercharged intuition” either. The best I can explain, he is able to grasp context and figure information that would be unavailable to him by physical means only. The subject of gambling has surfaced several times, and the answer to your question is definitively fear of blow back.
In particular, he’s not afraid of affluence; he’s far from rich but he landed a great job very young and now has a solid salary class career, with all the benefits that entails. In his view, the source of blow back would be the misuse of a talent that he sees as a divine gift. He is careful not only of gambling, but of any frivolous, petty or greedy situation.
@Lady Cutekitten #268
There is such movie, James De Monaco’s The Purge (2013), which has generated a cult following and quite a number of sequels. The premise is that during the night of the Spring Solstice, there is a 12 hour period when every crime is permitted all through the United States. This means “the Good People” spend inordinate amounts of money in turning their homes into mini-fortresses and hunker down through the crazies. On the other hand “the Poor”, lacking the means to protect themselves, go all Lord of the Flies on each other and end up Purging themselves. At the same time, the “Deviant Rich” gear up in full combat wear and come out to play.
The plot of the original movie (which happens to occur in 2022) is that one “Good People” family ends up offering sanctuary to a homeless man. Then they have to face the rage of a band of yuppies who cannot have their plaything taken away from them; which they even off by calling their friends and putting a siege on a properly defended house.
I heard on NPR yesterday that the FDA intends to ban menthol cigarettes and the fact that many black people smoke menthols is specifically offered as a reason for the ban. The argument is that black people were targeted by advertising, and so got hooked and now suffer disproportionately from ill effects of smoking, therefore banning menthols is anti-racist. I wonder if the people who are affected by the ban will agree 😉
John–
Just some musings on the energy sector. Oil production may be in the wane, but our NG production capability appears quite strong and our LNG exports continue to grow. If those resources remain robust, I’m wondering if the post-imperial fate of the US (or its successor states) lies in the realm of being one of those secondary nations ruthlessly mined by the circle of great powers for its/their natural resources. And we will have gone from being colonies to being masters to being colonies again.
Blessed Beltane to those who celebrate it. Marked in these parts by temperatures heading into the 90s this coming weekend. Welcome summer!
Last comment from me but I couldn’t help but notice my lazy writing style was using ‘on’ as a starter for every paragraph. ‘On and on and on’ – so I put that into a search engine just in case there was a message there. First thing that came up was the Abba song with that title from 1980 – here’s the lyrics – How funny!!! :-/
Abba – On and On and On
I was at a party and this fella said to me
Something bad is happening I’m sure you do agree
People care for nothing, no respect for human rights
Evil times are coming, we are in for darker nights
I said who are you to talk about impending doom?
He got kinda wary as he looked around the room
He said I’m a minister, a big shot in the state
I said I just can’t believe it, boy I think it’s great!
Brother can you tell me what is right and what is wrong?
He said keep on rocking baby ’til the night is gone
In regard to astrology and horse races, the only true mind reader I’ve ever met (and I used to search for such people) said the same thing. “I could make a normal living being a psychic, or I could make millions to billions going into business.” His abilities gave him huge advantages in negotiations, after all. He was planning on doing business in China (this was the early 2000s) and I lost touch with him after he finished his business degree.
Here is how i am responding to the “did you get vaccinated yet?” question.
“Nope, i got my immunity the old fashion way: I got covid then got better. thanks for asking.” smile and walk away.
John,
I have been doing the SOP for a couple of months now, and i am at the point of calling the spirit below.
My question is what does the telluric current do?
One more note on Billy Nomates, Music and Class:
““I’ve never really had money, but I was the poorest I’d been a couple of years ago after working a load of minimum wage jobs,” Maries [ Billy Nomates ] explains. “I was miserable and poor and unfulfilled: I couldn’t write about fancying someone or anything nice. I thought: ‘If I’m going to write again, I have no option but to write about “ah, it’s all crap“.’”
Maries says that she considers herself to be on the edge of working class, but she does rue the absence of the full range of voices in music. “You don’t see a lot of working class people in any arts, you have to really look for it. You’ll instantly notice them, though, because there’s a tone of voice that’s allowed to come through that you haven’t heard for a long time.””
https://www.nme.com/en_au/features/music-interviews/billy-nomates-interview-tor-maries-radar-2709523
—
““I’ve got to the point where it sounds like I just hate anyone with money,” she continues. “But the truth is what p__ me off then and what p__- me off now is this class barrier for musicians. A lot of the London lot, they’ve come from really good music colleges, they’ve had leg up after leg up. It’s not a fair playing field and it never has been. You can pour your soul into stuff, but it actually just doesn’t matter.” Conversation turns to the UK government’s decision to decline the EU’s offer of visa-free work permits for musicians wishing to tour there, which will have calamitous effect on British musicians. “That’s just another example of it,” Maries says. “Kids with money, they ain’t worried about getting their visas.”
https://thequietus.com/articles/29464-billy-nomates-tor-maries-interview
Hi JMG,
1. Have come across Bronze Age Pervert(BAP), I started listening to his first few podcasts on YouTube and got his book but haven’t started reading it yet, very interesting so far to say the least.
2. On Asperger’s Syndrome, my understanding is that there is a strong genetic component to it and that it seems to pass down from the paternal side(but I also think some women can carry genes related to it, and that it manifests differently in them), but at the moment I am beginning to think that certain traumas or negatively experienced events and living conditions can really make it worse or effect people prone to Asperger’s more than neuro-typical people. In my own experience, maintaining and calibrating personal and social boundaries seems to be my biggest obstacle. The question I am trying to ask is how best do you think it is to assess whether such shortcomings are due to Asperger’s or due to “less than ideal” behaviours or environments with poor boundary regulation which one has become acclimatized to?
3. Your recent post Rice and Beans in the Outer Darkness which was very good touched on entryism. While reading it I got a sense of a parasitic spirit or compulsion that is just intent on degrading and debasing, whether consciously or sub-conscious. I was reminded of Christopher S. Hyatt from a YouTube video where he basically said that once the masses get a hold of something they just ruin it or degrade it. I mean, I include myself in the masses and just hope that I don’t contribute too much to that. I was also reminded of a quote attributed to Ezra Pound; “You can, by contrast, always get financial backing for debauchery. Any form of “entertainment” that debases perception,
that profanes the mysteries or tends to obscure discrimination, goes
hand in hand with drives toward money profit.” I don’t mean to aim that quote at anyone in particular, even though I think Pound was, but the first time i read that I completely agreed with it.
4. I was going to ask you did you see the news in France about the retired army general’s concerns, but you already answered that. The second thing I was going to mention slightly related to that was that in one of the podcasts I listen to, it was claimed that Russia will end up mopping up the mess in Europe. Does that last bit maybe tie in with some of your writings on Sobornost?
Anyway, thanks JMG, always appreciate these open posts.
Valenzuela,
Here is my attempt to reduce your argument to the bare bones syllogism:
P1. All things that exist are subjects or are not
C1. Therefore, Subjectness does not exist on a spectrum (from p1)
P2. All things arise from antecedent Physical states if and only if it exists on a spectrum (the cat example)
C2. Therefore, subjectness cannot arise from antecedent physical states (from P2, c1)
P3. Subjectness exists (self evident by our experience)
C3. Therefore, something exists which cannot arise from antecedent physical states (from c2, p3)
C4. Therefore, physicalism is false (by c3)
My apologies if I have misrepresented what you are trying to communicate.
I’m not a physicalist, so these may not be how a diehard physicalist would respond…
I think the pushback will come from the kind of physicalist you are dealing with. The Paul Churchlands and Dan Dennets of the world will deny P3, but that seems sort of silly
another route is denying c3; there’s no reason to suggest that emergentism is incompatible with physicalism. Why is it impossible for something like consciousness to emerge from physical states, and then talk about supervenience. (Though Leibnitz’s Mill is useful here…)
They could also question p1; because we can’t measure consciousness, and don’t have access to the earliest life forms, why should we think that subjectness is a strict binary? Someone might be able to imagine an evolution of mental states. Or at the very least settle with the critique that p1 is not an empirical claim, and hasn’t been demonstrated or maybe even that it’s impossible to demonstrate…
They may also try to reject p2. After all, helium atoms do not exist on a spectrum, yet they arise from antecedent physical states, namely the fusion of hydrogen atoms. (I think this may be where you want to clarify your reasoning)
Thanks for putting this out there, it was fun to put on an old hat 🙂 I think folks like Leibnitz, Dave Chalmers and Galen Strawson might be interesting for your future research, if you haven’t already.
Hope this is helpful!!
Greer,
I find solipsism both compelling and uncomfortable. That is, when I think about the nature of reality, I regularly find myself slipping into solipsism, even though I don’t like it. In a common-sense way I think solipsism is rubbish, but have a haven’t been able to satisfactorily refute it metaphysically. do you have any suggestions to overcome this?
Thanks
On contempt for the customers, and bad design because it’s trendy.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/i-wrote-the-book-on-user-friendly-design-what-i-see-today-horrifies-me?utm_source=pocket-newtab
To which I say, AMEN! His bit about canes: high-class magazines like Smithsonian have ads for very handsome walking sticks, mail-order of course (so you can’t get the feel of them) and apparently designed for men. And that’s about it. Except that the local Ace hardware does have a barrel full of locally made ones, this being a state heavy on woodworkers.
But I’ve often wondered why makers of even such things as laundry detergents want you to use them blindly! Translucent on translucent raised letters in 4-point type or less.
@Slithy Toves: #290
“I think Trumpism represents a nascent Fourth Counterculture, possibly the last one for some time, since the Baby Boomers will by and large be dead by the time it plays out.”
What about the countercultures started by Gen X? Do they fit in anywhere into these schemes? Punk rock, skateboarding, hip-hop etc. Or will whatever is left them just be subsumed by the greater Fourth Counterculture. I’m interested in the trajectory you sketched out.
Just curious if you have any thoughts on the X’ers.
I thought people on here might enjoy knowing why people in Tumbler Ridge lost internet for most of a day…
Beavers chewed through the fiber optic cable and used pieces of related materials to build their dam.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/beaver-internet-down-tumbler-ridge-1.6001594
Anon420, seems to me the answer then is to set yourself up to deal in barter almost exclusively. How many chickens is a will worth? How many eggs? Housecleaning labor? Yardwork? Music lessons? Firewood?
Barter item for item is pretty straightforward, or for ongoing services. One-off services for ongoing needs may be more complicated, but hey, attorney, you can figure out that contract.
If everything you need cash for is taxes, then you’ll probably be ok.
@ Slithy Toves
“Valenzuela, sadly I don’t think you’re going to get much traction with that argument, or any other.”
Not among staunch materialists, of course, but that’s not what I’m aiming for. I’m more interested in people who are preparing to move past their materialism but first need to be shown that alternatives to it are not baseless and illogical as materialists claim. When I was first transitioning out of materialism, I paved every step of the way by thinking things through until I arrived at the conclusion that alternative positions were every bit as reasonable as materialism, if not more so. It’s for other such people who need reassurance that they’re not being totally irrational that I want to make such an argument.
Thanks John.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9529841/Majority-French-voters-AGREE-military-chiefs-threaten.html
To me, the generals talk seems to have gone down well with many of the native population, as per the polling referenced in the Daily Mail.
Islamist jihadi attacks and wider issues of a minority Islamic population that has failed to integrate into mainstream French society are nothing new – indeed the issue has been building since the 1980’s – but a tipping point is likely to come this decade.
I very much doubt that an actual coup would happen. What is more likely is a hard-right nationalist general running for political office and winning. If the National Front and conservative political forces rallied behind a charismatic ex-general, he could sweep the board and win the presidency.
That would make interesting times!
On a slightly different point, I have read quite a few data points suggesting that the covid/lockdown policies has forced hundreds of millions of developing world “middle classes” back into poverty. My theory, and I would be interested in your thoughts, is that in line with the LTG modelling, 2020 was a peak.
But it the contraction and wiping out of the global middle classes will start from the poorest part of the world and spread into the developed core by the latter end of this decade/early 2030’s. The middle classes of the industrial core are protected, to a certain degree, by the ability of Western governments to spend money preserving their income and welfare payments.
However, the longer term cost of this skyrocketing government debts will be stagflation as you predict yourself.
@Slithy Toves (again):
Thanks for the link to meaningness.com in your comment… I think I found some very useful stuff in regard to Gen X & the wonderful subject of “subcultures” on these pages:
https://meaningness.com/subcultures
https://meaningness.com/fluidity-preview
I no nothing about David Chapman or his work yet, but these speak to me from a precursory skim.
It seems like he is writing something akin to “A Pattern Language” but about Meaningness. I’ve bookmarked the page. It will be useful reading next to the Tumtum tree.
Lady Cutekitten:
…..”seeking a place where everyone minds their own business…”
You might enjoy the following short story by Clark Ashton Smith.
http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/138/the-monster-of-the-prophesy
I’ve seen unconfirmed reports that the vaccine makers intend to continue the studies even after the control group are vaccinated. If this is the case, then that means they will be using complete garbage data, since there is no control group anymore. It would be very convenient for them, however, if there are major issues with the vaccines: they’ll have meaningless studies that they can point to to argue that there is no evidence it was their vaccines: the control group got hit just as hard as anyone else.
The cynic in me thinks this means they found something major, and are trying to make it impossible to get evidence for it.
Is emigration to a richer country a good way to deal with collapse? (Writing this from South America) or is it useless as the whole world is collapsing?
@Mary Bennett
I also heard that story about Carter and his cabinet choices, back in the day. From what I saw of Carter, he would have fought back at first, until he lost the battle. The behind-the-scenes reality was probably a lot more complicated than the story lets on.
Carter definitely was not trusted by the Intelligence community even before he was sworn in. Their objection to him, I was told by an older colleague who was fishing buddies with a very highly placed CIA official, was that Carter was a man of principle, and principles are sheer poison to their essential work.
@Oilman2:
Yes indeed. Very many Whites who claim that an ancestor of theirs was “Cherokee,” know–or their grandparents knew–that said ancestor was actually Black, not Native American.
“The Cosmic Doctrine”: fine title for a book on occult philosophy.
“The Theory of Everything”: scientific hubris revealing deep-seated unsatisfied cravings.
Hmm.
Re: himself, @ #314. I’m not JMG. But I do have Aspergers.
FWIW, I do not believe Asperger’s syndrome reflects one particular neurologic entity. I think it denotes a variety of conditions that superficially appear similar. Do note that the conditions below are not mutually exclusive, and more than one may apply. This list reflects only my personal opinions.
In no particular order, they might include
—Abnormalities in brain structure or function, which in turn may reflect inherited factors
—Complex-PTSD, i.e. a flavor of PTSD that results from chronic or regular mistreatment of pre-verbal children usually at the hands of parents. Complex PTSD is not (yet) recognized as a DSM-5 diagnosis.
—Insufficient exposure in childhood to normal interpersonal interactions and relationships.
—Family dynamics that are self-propagated.
—Intergenerational trauma that impairs child-rearing practices
—Inherited intergenerational trauma, in which the mechanism of inheritance is epigenetic; i.e the inheritance of acquired traits. This is surprisingly little known, but the science on it is substantial. For a good read for the lay public, check out the book “It Didn’t Start Start With You. How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle” by Mark Wolynn
—Lunar Apprentice
JMG,
Oh, I see! I’m so used to you recommending stuff written long ago that I sometimes forget you might occasionally recommend something from the last 100 years. 🙂 May I ask, who are go-to writers for you, for horary astrology?
Slithy Toves,
Thank you! And you’re the second person in a row who has recommended Lilly’s Christian Astrology to me. I think that may be the one.
@youngelephant #64
I’m interested in the article by Paul Levy you posted and will go back to his website to read more when I have time.
You said “he’s basically saying what JMG said in the long podcast he posted about projection of the Father archetype.”
I’d like to listen to that. Do you mean the recent Micheal Decon interview, April 25, 2 3/4 hours long? (I haven’t listened to it yet)
Or some other podcast I might not be aware of?
Many thanks!
Slithy Toves
I am not seeing an awful lot of patriotism per se I have to say amongst my American friends and acquaintances (whom I would class within the Religious Right) at the moment. I see disillusionment, and loathing and rejection of Washington and what goes with it. Somewhat akin to the Rabbi’ s answer in Fiddler on the Roof ““May God bless and keep the Czar — far away from us!”
Thanks again to the further comments – so many angles I had not thought of. Some of them seem to only be practical in a rural(ish) area, not in Manhattan where I am now – but that’s a separate discussion.
@Darkest Yorkshire – that’s a great idea to have that kind of preparedness guide. That kind of thing already exists for specific niches (for example, many civil liberties organizations already prepare guides like that on how to attend protests etc), and there’s a fantastic one about what to do if you’re ever stopped by police and even more so if you are arrested – (Youtube search for “James Duane Don’t Talk to the Police” – a law professor explaining why for 45 mins – he’s brilliant and while the details are US specific, the basic principles apply anywhere – don’t talk to the police, they are not your friends). Each of these is a different legal area though – no lawyer can be an expert in “preparedness” – but very thought provoking suggestion to get into a niche of helping preppers and survivalists (and more generally I suppose targeting the kind of clients who are likely to be thriving in the Long Descent starting right now, instead of staying with the big clients who are likely to decline significantly like big banks and financial institutions..hmm – a lot of thinking to do).
LP – yeah, I know some people like that too – they’re a dying breed for a bunch of reasons, not that dissimilar to why farmers tend to be older. I don’t know about moving to the countryside – that would be a big jump for my family, but at least worth talking to my wife about. The pro bono thing – yes, when I used to do a lot more pro bono back in the day, the relevant nonprofits did train us exactly as you describe – in exchange for a time commitment. We (the lawyers from my big firm) did make a difference in a lot of cases, but honestly, the firm would have had more of an impact if it had just kept us billing the big banks and donated the *cash* we earned to the nonprofit to hire more specialists in housing law or whatever, as opposed to getting junior financial derivatives lawyers to clumsily advise on housing law or a discrimination case against McDonalds. But there were other benefits – it was very good training for young lawyers who were typically protected by big computer screens and databases and paperwork in client handling and actual legal advice and solving problems, and the sense of ownership of a problem and solving a problem for a client was invaluable.
I am having trouble reconciling some effects of noticing some things as well a my magical practice. It has happened many times to me that reading a chapter or essay of yours has left me cold and nervous. That shouldn’t be a surprise but something that I have not figured out yet is how to take it in so that I can do something more productive with it. I feel that though noticing things has given me knowledge it will require of me much more to maintain a solid temper.
Certainly we are quite screwed in many ways but change happens both ways right? As some things start to crumble it leaves room for things to be built. How can one tune into that to balance the gloomy goggles?
Those eating popcorn while watching the Long Descent unfold may want to stock up on popcorn before the
price gets too high.
https://www.agweb.com/markets/market-analysis/3-reasons-corn-prices-shot-past-7
And those who binge on chicken wings may want to pack their freezers.
https://www.wmur.com/article/yet-another-pandemic-shortage-is-here-chicken-wing-prices-are-soaring-forcing-restaurants-to-adapt/36219808
While store shelves here in my northern New Hampshire home town are stocked, I can see a fair amount of
space so shelves are no longer groaning with goods. I haven’t been watching prices but will from now on, based on the comments I’ve read.
Now going into my late sixties, I can really relate to the article Patricia Matthews linked to. I can’t thread a needle the way I used to. I have a hand held needle threader which helps but is a little too big for the needles with tiny eyes, forcing me to use only needles with eyes large enough to get the threader through. Magnifying glasses are often near at hand now for print that’s especially miniscule and a jar opener for stubborn lids sits in a kitchen drawer. Ah, the joys of maturity.
Your Kittenship, I ain’t arguing. It’s a good site.
Oilman, and that’s why the media and the political parties are busy pouring gasoline all over it. The basis for elite power in this country, as I noted above, is keeping white working class people and working class people of color at each other’s throats, so neither group realizes just who’s benefiting from the current situation. I think you’re right, for what it’s worth, that the whole gimmick’s falling to bits, and intermarriage is of course part of that; I notice that it’s in the poor neighborhoods, not the well-to-do ones, that you most often see mixed-race couples these days. But it’s also the simple fact that people of all colors can see that there are people of all colors in the privileged classes, who somehow never get around to letting any of the benefits trickle down…
William, many thanks for this!
Omar, we were just talking about this. When the full report is published, or when the Committee gets an English language version of its website up, could you post that as well? Thank you.
TJ, okay, thanks for this. I read an account of that on Zero Hedge the other day but didn’t remember the name of the organization.
Alvin, have you built anything electronic before? If not, start by getting a kid’s crystal radio kit and build that, or pick up one of those fun “200 Electronics Projects” kits and make some things using it. You need some basic familiarity with electronics to make a Hieronymus machine. (Not much — it’s an easy build — but a little.) Once you have that, order the components and get to work on it.
Falling Tree Woman, Bardi’s definitely on to something. I suspect part of it is that at this point the US military is running on fumes — look up how many of our planes and helicopters are sidelined due to lack of spare parts, and of course many of our premier military technologies (carriers, the F-35 Penguin, etc.) still pretend to be effective only because nobody’s yet lobbed a missile at one of them. Biden’s ranting, though, has another dimension. For the last couple of decades the US government has been very obviously bracing itself to fight against a domestic insurgency — thus the mass deliveries of military gear to police departments, for example. Biden’s speech shows that the establishment is running scared.
Slithy Toves, that’s an interesting analysis. To my mind, the reason the wokesters are simply rehashing clichés from the 1960s is twofold Partly, the Baby Boomers still exercise an undue influence on our culture and a lot of them are trying to relive the failures of their youth. More importantly, though, we as a culture have run out of ideas. (Yes, Spengler talks about this.) The vocabulary of politics in today’s America is a matter of endlessly rehashed sound bites because we’ve worked through the whole set of political ideas possible within our cultural context, and those are now gradually fading out into meaninglessness as politics becomes a matter of clashing personalities rather than clashing ideas.
Denis, thanks for this! I’ve seen some of the same things here in Rhode Island, for what it’s worth.
Piglet, the great flaw in the old peak oil movement was its failure to grasp time scales. We’re not facing a sudden gurgle as the wells all run out; we’re facing ragged declines in net energy from fossil fuels spread out over a time frame of a century or more. In that context, what India and China are doing is wholly rational — they’re trying to get control of as much fossil-fueled wealth as possible while it’s still available.
David BTL, oh, my aching sides. “America is back” was Ronald Reagan’s slogan. And of course the obvious rejoinder is “yes, and slipping further back all the time…”
Chris, I wish I had useful advice to offer. My approach has always been to manage my interactions so that if a situation like that gets started I can cut it off and walk away before it goes further. I don’t know if that will do you any good, however.
Wesley, because of course he does. Since he believes in the eternal truth of his own Magian pseudomorphosis, he has to look forward to a new Magian revival. The good thing about this is that it’s quite common for entirely new cultural ventures to pretend to be revivals of something old — the Mormon church is a great example, a radically innovative American religious movement that sees itself as the restoration of the original Christian revelation — Rod may well be helping to pave the way for some equally innovative venture.
Brian, I suspect it varies from person to person. I know eclectic Neopagans who seem to be going somewhere with their spiritual lives, but I know a lot more for whom it’s a fashion statement over the top of generic middle class American materialism.
David BTL, thanks for this.
Alex, thus demonstrating that at this point the word “racist” no longer means anything at all.
David BTL, we’re certainly on our way to becoming a secondary nation. If we manage things with any degree of skill, we can be a not-really-aligned nation with whom the various power blocs are on decent terms — but that’s by no means guaranteed.
Patricia M, and a happy Calan Mai to you as well!
Jay, seriously funny. Thanks for this.
Dennis, exactly. One of the reasons I’ve settled on mundane astrology as my field of astrological work is that financial astrology is a high-paid, high-stakes, cutthroat field. I prefer a calmer life.
Skyrider, try it and find out! 😉 My book The Druid Magic Handbook talks about it quite a bit. The telluric current is the earth current; you can think of it as the current of life, in the full biological sense of the word, while the solar current is the current of mind and consciousness. It strengthens and vivifies the astral, etheric, and material bodies.
Himself, (1) I’ve glanced at him but haven’t really followed him. (2) That’s a very difficult question, because most of us Aspies end up with a lot of traumatic experiences involving social interactions; thus it’s almost always a mix. (3) Remember that human beings fill a spectrum that extends from those in their first human incarnation, who are still pretty much working with animal consciousness, to those in their last human incarnation, who have worked their way to a much deeper and richer mode of consciousness. Yes, those things relevant to the latter category can only be debased when they’re adapted to the use of the former category — but that debasement is also part of the way that spiritual influences percolate down the evolutionary scale, and so it’s necessary and even helpful. (4) That wouldn’t surprise me at all.
Alexander, solipsism shows the hard limits of human reason. Strictly speaking, it can’t be disproved by rational means, even though you can use the same arguments to disprove your own existence! The best response to it is a belly laugh, a good dinner, and a tumble in the sack with someone you care about.
Patricia M, fascinating. Thanks for this!
Pygmycory, good for the beavers.
Forecastingintelligence, as I recall, we’re two years out for the next French election. If there’s going to be a burst of Bonapartism in French politics again, we’ll doubtless see it soon — and the talk by the generals may well be a trial balloon for that. As for the collapse of the middle class into poverty, of course — we’ve already seen some of that here, and it’s accelerating.
Quinshi, nope. Your best bet is to stay where you have connections and cultural ties, which can offer you some hope of coming through the impending crisis intact.
Walt, I didn’t choose Fortune’s title, you know. She was riffing off Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine, but it still wasn’t a good idea.
Quin, Simplified Horary Astrology by Ivy M. Goldstein-Jacobson was the book that taught me how to make sense of horary readings. I’d tried using Renaissance techniques for years, with poor results; this book changed that.
Augusto, of course change always happens both ways. An old and dysfunctional order is coming apart, and new things will rise in its place. One of the reasons I’ve put so much time into writing and encouraging deindustrial fiction is precisely to help people recognize the upside of the changes ahead. Reflecting on that might help.
Jeanne, thanks for the data points! Conditions are similar here in Rhode Island.
Docshibby (offlist), you’re right that I’m not a free speech purist, but I don’t moderate posts for content. I moderate my forums for basic courtesy and, where appropriate, relevance. I also delete comments from people who want to tell me how to run my forums, or who insist that they’re entitled to play censor.
Free discussion requires openness to all points of view, provided that the people presenting each viewpoint maintain the basic rules of courtesy that are essential to maintain a conversational commons. If you want to disagree with what somebody has said, that’s fine. so long as you do it in a courteous manner, If you want to insist that you get to tell me who gets to speak and who doesn’t, on the other hand, well, life is just full of disappointments, isn’t it?
@ Helix – re “8′ treated wood posts” – it may, may not be of interest, but the local “old way” of treating fence posts around here (against rot from being sunken into soggy ground) was to beg your local car servicing garage for a couple of containers of used oil (what gets taken out of a car’s sump when the oil is changed), and then leave the bottom ends of the fenceposts soaking in the used oil for a couple of weeks at least, then use as normal.
Jared
Many thanks for this.
“another route is denying c3; there’s no reason to suggest that emergentism is incompatible with physicalism. Why is it impossible for something like consciousness to emerge from physical states, and then talk about supervenience. (Though Leibnitz’s Mill is useful here…)”
I’m aware that many people believe emergentism wouldn’t contradict physicalism, but I disagree. I believe that any sort of strong emergentism implies some sort of substance dualism (weak emergence, if subject-ness is indeed a binary, would imply some sort of property dualism). Still, I haven’t formulated that part of the argument well enough yet.
“They could also question p1; because we can’t measure consciousness, and don’t have access to the earliest life forms, why should we think that subjectness is a strict binary? Someone might be able to imagine an evolution of mental states. Or at the very least settle with the critique that p1 is not an empirical claim, and hasn’t been demonstrated or maybe even that it’s impossible to demonstrate…”
While we might be able to imagine a subject, becoming capable of perceiving more things, I don’t think it’s possible to imagine something that’s partway between being able to have subjective experiences and not being able to have them. The point of it not being empirical is true, but not particularly relevant, I think, and the sort of people who would raise that objection are likely too committed to physicalism to ever be convinced through argument so I’m not too concerned with them.
“They may also try to reject p2. After all, helium atoms do not exist on a spectrum, yet they arise from antecedent physical states, namely the fusion of hydrogen atoms. (I think this may be where you want to clarify your reasoning)”
This is very interesting. There are properties which define a helium atom through which we can say that other atoms are more helium-like than others, but you’re right in pointing out that helium-ness is a much more binary quality than cat-ness—either an atom has two protons or it doesn’t. This, I think, is likely due to helium being very near to the fundamental physical objects, consisting of a fairly low amount of fundamental particles and relying on only a few types of interactions to hold itself together, and so changes in its structure tend to be very discrete. A cat, on the other hand, is a much more complex phenomenon, being made up of countless atoms of many different types and in many different relations with each other, all of which are constantly in flux. It is very far from the fundamental level, and so must be defined using an approximate pattern rather than strict references to its fundamental constituent elements.
It’s hard to pinpoint where exactly we stop distinguishing objects based on their constituent fundamental objects, but I think it definitely starts to become noticeable when we start dealing with macromolecules, such as polysaccharides, which can differ a great deal in terms of length and mass while still being classified as the same type of molecule.
I’ll definitely have to give this some thought, but if I’m correct in saying that subject-ness is a binary, and that “binary-ness” is a property that appears as we approach the fundamental, then this would suggest that subject-ness is at least very close to a fundamental thing.
Then again, it might also be because helum-ness is described through reference to natural numbers (as an atom having exactly 2 protons in its nucleus), which are by their nature discrete concepts. Much to think on!
The big problem I see with mass cryptocurrency acceptance is that it presupposes ready access to high-speed data transfers and data-crunching machines.
I know that many of the new cryptocurrencies are less power-hungry than Bitcoin. I also know that our current electronic money system requires a great deal of computing power and access to high-speed data transfers. I also agree with many crypto bulls that our current fiat money system is unsustainable and headed for a messy collapse.
Where I diverge with the crypto bulls is that I don’t believe those reliable data networks are going to last long after the collapse. And without them we have simply traded an unsustainable big system for an unsustainable smaller system. (And if the recent cost of bitcoin transfers is any indication, for a smaller system that scales up poorly).
One thing I’ve learned from years of reading JMG: when thinking of the future, always ask where the resources and energy are coming from. I’ve heard the arguments that you can run a crypto node on a Raspberry Pi and connect it through a wireless network. But those arguments presume that Raspberry Pis will remain cheap and that those networks will remain available. (It also presumes that many people will master the technical skills required to build nodes, but that’s another story altogether).
RE: The message on Rightwing Extremists is out!
I heard a revealing comment on NPR while driving today. On the Boston based program Here & Now, the host was interviewing Colin Clarke of the Soufan Group, a “global intelligence & security consultancy”. Clarke was opining about the death of Bin Laden, and the future of Al Quaeda and ISIS. He mentioned that Bin Laden has surpassed his status as the leader of Al Quaeda, and has become an icon to all sorts of anti government groups worldwide, including ”rightwing white terrorists”. It was only a matter of days from Biden’s speech warning us about rightwing white terrorists to the usual suspects spouting the new official story. I guess I can get rid of those Che T-shirts now…
@JMG:
“Karl, the great crisis faced by the privileged classes in America today is that there isn’t enough racism on the part of white people anymore. The whole systen depends on keeping white working class people and working class people of color divided against each other, because once they realize they have more in common than either one has in common with the privileged classes, it’s game over for the latter. So all this yelling about racism and all the discrimination against white people is an attempt to get white working class people to act racist again, so the privileged can keep driving wedges through the middle of the wage class. I don’t think they’ll fall for it, though.”
I have been saying this for several years. I find it telling that the images of “White Supremacy” are typically toothless gun-toting meth addicts with Confederate flag bumper stickers on their Bondo-colored pickup trucks. Putting the classism aside for a bit — which, as an old-school Progressive, I staunchly refuse to do — I would note that these dispossessed working-class White folks are hardly a threat to the system, nor do they in any way enforce or even benefit from “White Supremacy.”
It’s not at all a coincidence that the “Woke Revolution” took off immediately after Occupy Wall Street. Wall Street felt threatened by a coalition of people talking about income inequality. It’s happily to throw billions at causes which get people talking about everything BUT income inequality, or who explain it away as “White Supremacy.”
This is something I wrote last June in response to yet another round of rumors about my “White Supremacist” leanings. It sums up my actual feelings on race relations in America.
https://europaschildren.com/2020/06/14/confessio-de-peccatis-nostris/
John,
Thanks for the explanation! It has helped to clear up the confusion I had. To be honest, what you say actually fits in with the overall theme of the Long Descent and my own dreams too. That is there will be changes but they wont be as rapid as the 20th century.
Also I thought I would share a discussion that I had with my wife recently. We were discussing how Paganism has made a huge come back in Europe and is starting to slowly replace Christianity.
What fascinated us both though was how most of the intellectual discourse these days is actually in the Pagan scene. You are pretty much proof of this as well.
For example, the big questions of spirituality and how life actually works used to be the subject of debate by Catholic theologians. Like Augustine of Hippo, Origen, etc. Nowadays Christianity has been relegated to “we’re nice guys doing charity and waiting for Jesus to return” rather then discussing the big issues.
It is like Christianity has “retired”.
If I was to take a guess, I would say that this is a phenomenon of the Age of Aquarius. It seems interesting that at the turn of Aquarius, it was Pagan heavy hitters such as Crowley, Gardner, Yeats and others that started to take the role of the new theologians.
So my question is this – if Paganism and its ideas are starting to change the idea of how we approach life, where does that leave Christianity in the long run? It does seem to be pretty devoid of ideas and continually has no desire for change anymore…
@Naomi
You know its funny you should mention Israelism but in my dreams I always see the words “New Israel” flash when I see Russia and this new European migration taking place.
What we have to understand about Europe is that the Bible sort of has it right when it comes to European descent and their destiny. It fits in with the science too actually.
The Europeans are the descendants of three of the major characters in the Bible which is Japheth (The large Indo-European tribes that subjugated Europe circa 4000 BC) Esau (It is noted that Zephano who was descended from Esau helped found the Roman people by asserting lordship over them) and of course Jacob (through the vanished 10 tribes that simply interbred with the Scythians and lost their identity in Europe)
If you read the prophecies relating Japheth and his descendants, it fits the bill on the fate of the Europeans. They would enlarge themselves (Europeans conquered all four corners of the Earth, rivalling Genghis Khan!) but they would also be subject to Shem, who is father of the Middle Eastern peoples.
Japheth was to inherit both the blessings and curses of Shem. He would dwell in Shems tents, take on his religion and customs. But he would also interbreed with Shem, taking over the roles assigned to both Esau and Jacob. That of instigator and hero.
Europe is basically one schizophrenic mess and always has been. But the Bible and its prophecies relates to Europe quite nicely. Not sure if what Im saying is accurate but to put it into one big nutshell: Europe came, they saw, they conquered, they kept conquering, eventually they too will be conquered but also redeemed down the pipeline.
As for millions of Europeans joining the Jews in Israel – that wont happen because Israel is simply too small for the Europeans to migrate to en masse. I would still place my bets on Russia due to the emerging Sobornost culture but we shall see.
Sorry for the big post!
@JMG re “…. those in their first human incarnation, who are still pretty much working with animal consciousness…” which so explains some of the behavior that lands people in the criminal justice system … and that of some members of law enforcement as well. (Though I still believe that any system which has people in charge of a captive population attracts bullies the way money attracts thieves.) A book – a novel, granted, and a murder mystery at that – starred a social psychologist who could map all sorts of human behavior onto that of the common chimp, and claimed it was the default for those who had never been socialized. Bullying the weak was one such behavior.
Hmmm… what do you think about the theory that when we revert to the animal, or haven’t risen above it, the template is Pan troglodytes? Rather, than, say, stag or bear or wolf or cow.
Justin Patrick Moore,
Yeah, Chapman calls the Gen X movements “subcultures” because they never attempted to be for everyone: most engaged in gatekeeping to keep the normies out.
Valenzuela,
That sounds like a good plan.
If I may make a more object-level critique, your switch from “consciousness” to “subjective experience” struck me is more a change of terminology than a clarification; perhaps you could say more about what distinguishes them?
Quin,
You’re welcome! You may or may not get good results from it, but it did lay the foundation for much of what followed.
Naomi,
I think there may be more a lack of patriotic feeling than patriotic commitment: from the perspective of the Trumpists, America is either dead or at death’s door. Think of the crisis of faith the Apostles went through when Jesus was being tried and crucified. If Uncle Sam rises again on the third day (if the Christians in the audience will excuse the blasphemy), it may bring a resurgence of patriotic feeling.
JMG, Nachtgurke, and all, here is something impossibly amazing to gratify your inner nerd:
“Scientists Have Unlocked the Secrets of the Ancient ‘Antikythera Mechanism’”
For the lay article:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkd57k/scientists-have-unlocked-the-secrets-of-the-ancient-antikythera-mechanism?fbclid=IwAR1oQcNz1U3N0HVPRRHcFehX8HeOzNh9rpyoAYg4KqIzyJ0HsjCtcIrixVY
But the original paper is straight out of Nature (!):
“A Model of the Cosmos in the ancient Greek Antikythera Mechanism” —
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84310-w
This stuff is so cool I can’t stand it!
—Lunar Apprentice
Thank you vw and others who’ve chimed in on the vaccine issue. Turns out it’s more of a mixed-bag moment than I’d originally understood. All along my daughter has been very skeptical and reluctant to even consider the vaccine but when she said earlier this week “Well, I guess C. and I are going to make an vaccine appointment sometime soon.” (C. being a coworker), I hardly had a reply. So I brought it up last night and she said, “well, you can say anything you want about it, but CSU/UC is requiring it if we want to go to class in the fall.”
I see…
So I dug around a bit and the Cal State and UC systems have said they *intend* to require vaccinations but a spokesperson admitted that they have to await FDA approval. So, I am hoping that she comprehends and has the sense to drag her feet until the last possible moment – which might actually be after school starts in the fall.
So yes, while I recognize she’s an adult and must make her own decisions, I still fervent hope that she (and others) don’t act preemptively and whatever there is that can be revealed about the vaccine comes out sooner rather than later.
katsmama, Will Oberton: I think https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPs9Wd2VtjQTrTyKTcXjHtQ/videos has at least 1 thing you want; putting “download youtube as audio” on a search engine seems to give useful results.
JMG,
To my mind, the reason the wokesters are simply rehashing clichés from the 1960s is twofold Partly, the Baby Boomers still exercise an undue influence on our culture and a lot of them are trying to relive the failures of their youth. More importantly, though, we as a culture have run out of ideas.
I think this is compatible with my analysis: the Third Counterculture is a rehash of the previous two precisely because their techniques worked in the past, at least short-term. Like the senile elites of any society, they literally can’t imagine its past solutions not working indefinitely in the future.
There’s also the fact that the Religious Right was designed to take on a movement at took tolerance, equality, and commitment to principle at least somewhat seriously; it didn’t know what to do when faced with an opponent that was just as ruthless as it was — moreso, since the while the RR would lie with impunity, they by and large expected their followers to actually believe them and be dogmatically convinced of their correctness. My sense is that the new counterculture finesses language until the words coming out of their mouths don’t mean anything, and they expect their followers not to care.
those are now gradually fading out into meaninglessness as politics becomes a matter of clashing personalities rather than clashing ideas.
Interesting; I see your point. The past two elections were not what the Democrats believed vs what the Republicans believed, it was about Hillary, then Biden, vs Trump as personalities. AOC and MTG and two more examples. I’ll have to think on that.
Lunar Apprentice,
I feel like I’ve seen an article every 2 to 3 years about how scientists have “finally discovered the purpose of the Antikythera Mechanism,” and every time the purpose turns out to be… an astrological clock.
(Except they never come out and say that it was obviously for astrology: they just talk around the subject. I wonder if it’s the dissonance between an obviously advanced piece of machinery being made for “woo” purposes, or just because even mentioning astrology feels dirty for them, or would upset their audience.)
My point wasn’t to criticize Dion Fortune’s title (and I had forgotten that you have indeed expressed reservations about it before), but to point out that such titles and names shouldn’t be taken too literally or seriously. Otherwise one might go through life constantly disappointed about “unlimited” data plans, “lifetime” warranties, “universal” connectors, “endless” breadsticks…
There’s nothing unusual about physicists seeking, or even believing they possess, a “theory of everything.” It doesn’t mean as much as it sounds like it might. Newtonian mechanics was a theory of everything. It didn’t acknowledge any exceptions. Nothing in Newton’s Laws says anything like “…except for birds” or “…except for very hot things.”
By virtue of not containing exceptions, Newton’s laws were a “theory of everything,” even though it was well known that the mathematics for actually applying Newton’s laws to any given situation could easily become intractable (e.g. the three-body problem). The likelihood of hitting intractable mathematics for any given application would be just as true (it not far more so) if some modern “theory of everything” were to be formulated and accepted. Such a theory would therefore probably make no difference at all for any technology. Not that people wouldn’t say things like, “if there’s a theory of everything, why can’t we make coat hangers that don’t get tangled?” the same way they used to say, “if we can put a man on the moon…” but that’s not a serious expectation.
In the case of Newtonian physics, it so happens that exceptions were discovered (e.g. “…except for very high velocities” and “…except for very tiny particles”), and the new theories derived to account for those exceptions (e.g. General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics) were no longer “theories of everything” because as currently formulated they disagree with one another in certain extreme scenarios. Wanting to return (after a little over a century) to a more typical single theory of physics is understandable, even if it doesn’t turn out to be achievable.
Slithy Toves
Yes, one of the points I mean to clear up is how I justify reframing the question as “the attempt to reconcile the idea that only objects exist with the existence of subjects”.
As to what the difference it: When physicalists talk about “consciousness”, they only sometimes use the word to refer to the capacity of having subjective experiences. Just as often, if not more so, they use it to refer to those physical phenomena which correlate to the subjective dimensions of consciousness, namely the processes occurring in our brains. I use “subject-ness” in place of “consciousness” to make it clear that I’m speaking of the phenomenal dimensions of consciousness, and not its physical dimensions, as only the former pose a challenge to physicalism.
John of Red Hook, JMG re: #272 covid spike protein.
JRH – thanks for the paper. Looks like good clean work, very detailed methods section, and nice simple experiment/investigation design.
John & John – it seems to be forgotten in the hysteria about vaccines that the virus has the spike protein too.
The import is that anything (except an immediate anaphylactic reaction) that a vaccine causes,
the SARS-CoV-2 virus will cause – and more! (due to the other proteins it has, and the fact that when new virions burst the cell they were growing in, large quantities of bare spike protein are released.
In the study J of RH referenced, it appears that clotting from covid-19 itself is more severe than just the spike protein.
The researchers took blood from healthy people and those with Covid-19, centrifuged out the platelets to get Platelet Poor Plasma (PPP), then ran the blood through a micro-channel flow apparatus. There were 3 test cases: healthy PPP, healthy PPP with (artificial) spike protein, and covid-19 PPP.
As shown in Figure 7, healthy PPP gives tiny or no clots, healthy PPP with spike protein gives medium clots, covid-19 PPP gives large clots. Furthermore, the clots in the first 2 cases can be washed away at higher flow rates, but the covid-19 clots couldn’t.
I was at first puzzled by their use of mass spectrometry, but now think it pretty crafty that they can show structure changes to various clotting components of blood when exposed to spike.
While anti-vax hysterics disparage other’s fear as unreasonable, they ignore their own.
The hard reality is that this pandemic is a damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don’t sort of thing,
one runs the risk of clotting and death from the virus or the vaccine, no 3rd choice available.
(well, unless you’re the rich type who will pay $1000+, plus whatever it takes to get your “concierge” doctor to prescribe an infusion of a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies every 3 months “forever”.)
And the longer things drag on, the more opportunities for new variants and risk of worse outcomes there are.
Since these clotting issues weren’t seen in the phase 3 trials, the risk is 1 in 5,000 or less,
versus 1 in 100 to 200 risk of death from covid-19 itself. (I give a little to account for asymptomatic cases)
https://ourworldindata.org/mortality-risk-covid
Latest from the CDC is 0.0017% (1 in 60,000) risk of death from vaccination, and those are raw reports without proven causation.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html
And no – I cannot believe VAERS undercounts by a factor of 100, that would mean .17% of the 95 million fully vaccinated people in the U.S. died – that means 161,500 people – nope, not hiding that, so it didn’t happen.
For comparison, some one year odds of death in the US, data from 2018:
accidental poisoning 1 in 5,243
all motor vehicle accidents 1 in 8,303
https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-mortality-risk
Lifetime risks, data from 2019:
suicide 1 in 88
choking on food 1 in 2,535
sunstroke 1 in 8,248.
Death from hornet, wasp and bee stings 1 in 59,507.
https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/all-injuries/preventable-death-overview/odds-of-dying/
Re: @Denis about noticing spirals downward, yes.
Re: fertility and the Covid shots, that’s a huge concern. I’m just about past childbearing years and in the perimenopause, but my son and daughter (college and high-school age) are both being pressured to take the shots, and it’s difficult for my husband and I to persuade them that the risk-benefit profile for them of Covid v. experimental shot is more complex, and more age- and health-status-dependent, than the mainstream narratives are making it out to be. Also, I think we’ve had and recovered from Covid back in Feb. 2020, but have no testing data to prove that. They may well find a place to get the shots secretly, given how hard the gov/media/medical-industrial complex is pushing and there’s very little we can do about it if they do. Most of my information on this specific topic (fertility, menstruation, etc) is coming through Naomi Wolf’s Twitter feed, because the suppression of negative news about the shots is so powerful. And she was recently banned from Twitter for a week for trying to link to a patent held by Anthony Fauci, so her days on Twitter are probably numbered; she will be permanently banned next time she crosses the line.
Re: Gen X subcultures, as a member of that group, I’m also curious. Would like to think there’s a useful role for us somehow, generationally speaking and specific to myself as well. With things as up-ended as they are right now – especially the political left-right paradigm shifting to authority-liberty axes, finding a personal path is very tricky, as many commenters (me included) continue to wrestle with. I now have far more in common with my civil liberties conservative sister who lives in the South, than with my liberal brother in New England, even though I have mostly fallen in the civil liberties-left category (with people like Glenn Greenwald) for many decades.
Mark Changizi has a good framing of the issues:
https://www.freex.group/left-right-to-up-down-20200310.html
Lunar Apprentice @ 349, if the mechanism can be dated to the third century BC, it might have been designed by Archimedes. Are their any ancient sources which mention this mechanism?
Back in the dim dark past of my Pentecostal days we used to pray/be prayed for including laying on of hands and folks often falling over in various directions (in my case almost always forward which was sometimes non-relaxing for the one doing the praying 😉 )
When I used to pray for folks I envisaged myself as a channel of the divine power and imagined that power entering through the top of my head, travelling through my body and down my right arm into my hand and then flowing into the person I was praying for and I could feel the energy doing the transit into and out of my body. (technically I did it in stages .. into the head then once there from the head to the chest etc) One day I remember looking around for the next person to pray for and there was no one there and I still had a handful, shrugged, put in on my own forehead and fell into the chair (much to the amusement of some observing ptbs!).
Now obviously from my end the awareness of that energy flow could have been due to my expectation that it would happen and effectively just my imagination but I was wondering if that process rings any bells from your range of explanatory options?
Thanks
@Lunar Apprentice #349
Speaking of the Antikythera Mechanism here is another recent (December 2020) paper on it
https://bhi.co.uk/antikytheramechanism/
It comes from work one of the authors is doing build of an copy. If you enjoy YouTube you can watch machining and building on his ClickSpring channel. Start with the announcement of the paper: https://youtu.be/MkKgdq57uOo
JMG,
One of the major patrons of the ClickSpring channel is Christopher Warnock. I’ve wondered if it might be the same Christopher Warnock that you worked with on ‘The Picatrix’ translation.
John – Coop Janitor
John–
Re “America is back”
I’ve come to realize that the Democratic party establishment has been channelling Ronald Reagan for quite a while now.
I promised a few weeks ago to talk about the BRAG Project, an international effort to measure levels of radiofrequency radiation in urban centers worldwide. It coaches concerned citizens in taking a scientific approach to analyzing the impacts of rampant RFR expansion by first getting a body of decent data together. Participants need to purchase or borrow a “Safe and Sound Pro” RF meter, which runs about $300 with a discount for the project’s volunteers. It’s a sturdy, reliable piece of equipment. (One got run over at a loading dock and still worked.) Another popular brand of RF meter is currently being tested as an alternative. There are regular Zoom meetings to share information. There are established forms to fill in, both on a clipboard and on-line. For anyone wanting more information, see https://globalemf.net/
There is a class of people who were really not surprised to hear of people dropping dead on the street in a city that had just activated a widespread, intense 5G network, or to hear that certain famous cruise ships had just installed 5G antennas, or to learn that Vietnam had had no trouble with COVID until they activated their 5G network. But it is easy to cherry-pick the data. Lombardy had 5G, Iran didn’t, nor did Sweden. Very high levels of radiofrequency radiation were nonetheless being measured in Stockholm.
Overall, there seemed to be a correlation with 5G (as per Paul Doyon’s studies) or intensity of wireless transmissions (as a team studying the situation in Europe found). What was needed (beyond ending the suppression of bad news on RFR effects) was a solid body of coordinated, unified data from as many communities as possible. There should have been a government agency in charge of that, and there may have been initially, but in the pivotal year of 1996 (which gave the US its Telecommunications Act of 1996, concentrating the broadcast media into mega-corporate hands), at the UN level (and I still lack solid references for this, just the word from one of the scientists) the decision was made to suppress concerns about RFR so that key projects could go forward. At that time in both the US and Japan and probably elsewhere, jurisdiction over RFR environmental and health matters was removed from competent authorities and placed under the FCC in the US and an analogous ministry in Japan, who subsequently stonewalled about the possibility of any effects.
The BRAG Project is a bit belated, but it takes a crisis to get people to act. If we need solid data even to begin to approach officials, the concerned citizens will have to do it themselves.
I keep hearing the thought-stopper “correlation is not causation” preemptively even from people who do not have a financial stake in the business and I think we are up against a lot more than a mere agenda. Nonetheless, it bears noting that Magda Havas, who is spearheading this initiative coauthored a study released two weeks ago that found a more solid correlation between 5G and COVID cases and severity than with population density, air quality and latitude (vitamin D deficiency in winter). Magda writes: “Our paper (Tsiang and Havas 2021) entitled COVID-19 Attributed Cases and Deaths are Statistically Higher in States and Counties with 5th Generation Millimeter Wave Wireless Telecommunications in the United States is now published. Here is the link. Feel free to share.”
https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/2371/193545802
John Michael,
Is there an online forum for users of The Mysteries of Merlin? I have other questions but don’t want to bother you with them.
Thanks.
@RusTheRook
Great posts. I thought I was the only one here who was interested (obsessed more like) in cryptocurrency.
I am the guy who was posting a couple of open threads ago about NFTs and how people were complaining about the energy consumption of crypto currencies without realising that all the Play Station 5s (only PS5 not even other consoles) consumed more power than every crypto combined – the power consumption point is meaningless unless you look at what you get for it – you have to look at cost and benefit both, and these analyses never do.
Anyway the only thing I would add is that the core technological and computer science innovation is that they have found a way to transfer value and build technological systems without middlemen – think the peer to peer file sharing systems of 20 years ago, but expanded to entire financial systems and more. I don’t think it is a panacea to all problems in the way some advocates do, but it is a very important innovation which will have a big impact. It is of course in a bubble, but like the 19th century railways bubble or last century’s dot com bubble, it will leave behind enduring technology and innovation when it pops.
As for the exercise question – you guys are all incredibly fit! The guy I train with in the gym is only about 30 and an exercise professional and in his college days was a national level track and field athlete (he attended the US National Olympic trials but didn’t actually make it to the Olympics) and even he can only do about a dozen pull-ups with perfect form (start with a dead hang, no momentum or kipping, chin fully above the bar etc). I can barely do one (as of last week) and that was an occasion for celebration. And I’m more fit than most men I see walking round on the street.
Anyway, I’m in my early 40s and given that I basically didn’t exercise at all for 20 years, and only started from scratch about a year ago, I’m actually in the best shape of my life despite being past my prime. 3 sessions of strength training a week (mix of strength and hyper trophy – 8 lbs of muscle added in the last 8 months albeit from a very low base) and 3-5 boxing sessions a week. I have no illusions about being a serious competitor (and I value my brain too much to risk the kind of brain damage most boxers get eventually) but I really want to have at least a couple of amateur competitive fights before my body gets too decrepit for it in the next couple of years.
“Man’s primal loyalty is to the One–Unity…. in It we live and move and have our being. It is, however, very necessary to understand that the One–the Logos–is actually the becoming manifest of the Unmanifest.”
I finished (my first reading of) Part II of CosDoc and found the answer to the question I posted (and you answered) yesterday.
Thank you very much for your generosity and patience in answering questions.
Lunar Apprentice at 255:
“Where will this lead?”
We have a recent US Presidential decree-law (I prefer the frank Spanish phrase to “Presidential executive order” or the modest “administrative regulation”), which grants a government power to arrest people for being “Russian agents,” which I predict will soon be expanded to include “white supremacists.” To the woke, they are terrorists too!
The exciting feature of this new power is that the charge is completely self-proving. It’s a legal self-licking ice cream cone. There will be no public hearing or trial; no evidence is required. The guilty terrorist will not be permitted to enter any defense, or be confronted with his accusers. He will have all his assets confiscated, including legally privileged pension plans like Social Security. If he survives his prison term and emerges to try to build a new life, he will have to hope that the government has undergone major changes, or new charges against him will be made up, just as there was a team of Justice Department lawyers and FBI agents in the courtroom to arrest Officer Chauvin on Federal civil rights charges if the jury returned the wrong verdict.
I’m sure many entities employed by the (estimated, nobody really knows) 41 Federal agencies whose field agents routinely carry guns on duty are very pleased and excited by this shiny new toy, and looking forward to trying it out. People who have established a significant degree of self-sufficiency, and have some surplus, might want to bear in mind the possibility that one of these terrorists might elude his captors, perhaps because they were much more interested in dividing up the seized assets than in giving him the Haul of Justice. Then he might appeal to you for help, and he might be an old friend, a relative, or a person of some other affinity. Remember that anybody who gets caught helping a terrorist is a terrorist too, so you would have to have no nosy close neighbors, and it would be good to have some preparations to build a minimal new identity for the quiet and unhappy Cousin Jack you had never mentioned before he came to stay with you. It would be nice if we could organize some kind of Underground Railroad for the victims of this kind of executive action, but that would require a free country, and those seem scarce on this planet.
The people making these arrangements probably think they look triumphal, but from my seat in the grandstand, “desperate” looks like a better word. They aren’t very schmart, either; walking examples of Dunning-Krueger Syndrome. When some libertarian and conservative bloggers used musical metaphors about the likelihood of major political violence, like “When will that old rough music start?” or “When will the band strike up the boogaloo?”, they discovered a major right-wing terrorist conspiracy (but don’t you dare call this a conspiracy theory!): the Boogaloos!
@ Forecasting Intelligence and JMG:
It’s telling in the extreme that the mayor of one of Paris’s major districts, who is a Muslim woman and the daughter of North African immigrants, has come out and said that the generals were right. Bonapartism has long been a force in French politics, even though it has been temporarily eclipsed, and there have been several major political crises in France since the Revolution of 1789 that were precipitated by discontent in the French Army.
The fact that the current French government has refused to heed the very legitimate concerns of the generals and people like Rachida Dati in favor of denial, repression and shooting the messenger speaks volumes. Emmanuel Macron is already widely hated and if he and the other establishmentarians try to continue BAU, I could very easily see things coming to a head in a very ugly fashion.
Interesting article on EV “un-adoption”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/1-5-electric-vehicle-owners-164149467.html
High-power charging infrastructure, on the other hand, means building local grids for brief, high demands, which means a lot of idle transmission capacity–the opposite of efficiency. The holy grail in the utility world is 100% load factor: level usage all 8760 hours a year (8784 in a leap-year). “Spikey” demand, on the other hand, short but strong surges, is what drives low-load factors and ineffecient usage generally.
Mathematically, an annual load factor is the ratio of the annual energy usage to the product of the annual peak hourly demand and 8760.
@Naomi @Slithy Toves
Your comments are validating my theory that the American right is largely in the depression phase of grieving the end of Progress, having experienced the failure of the “Make America Great Again” bargaining phase.
Meanwhile the left is still in denial, anger, and approaching their own bargaining, i.e. “The Great Reset/Green New Deal/etc.”
Link in my first comment on this thread if you’re interested.
Ksim – Those particular prophecies have been interpreted a variety of different ways over the centuries by different faith groups (and nationalities for that matter). The interpretation I put forward is the traditional Orthodox Jewish one which believes in the literal ingathering of the exiles to Israel.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ingathering-of-the-exiles.
Unfortunately, yes the traditional interpretation does open up a bit of a hornet’s nest too, as it leads into the whole “Greater Israel” bogeyman, where the borders of Israel are necessarily enlarged to include a greater population. There is another Jewish opinion though that the definition of the land of ‘Israel” could include areas not traditionally thought of as being “Eretz Israel”. There has always been a Jewish (and Christian) conversation over Israel, the people, and Israel, the land, and what those terms mean. And maybe they do indeed have multiple interpretations on different levels?
Slithy Toves – I think that is probably correct, thinking about it.
Lunar Apprentice:
Thank you for the Antikythera link! I enjoyed the spellbinding animated renderings of the device as envisioned by the researchers, even though the astronomical data was way over my head.
I am working my way through Plato’s Timaeus, which describes the creation of the cosmos and planetary relationships as understood by the ancient Greeks. I can hardly imagine what else they figured out that got lost over the centuries. This artifact offers a tantalizing glimpse of the genius they must have possessed.
John – and all those interested in things parapsychological / psychical research
I went looking one day for a taste of TASTE, but my link faileth me, yet mine search engine faileth not, for it found the new home of TASTE.
* TASTE – The Archives of Scientists’ Transcendental Experiences
has a new website/host organization.
https://www.aapsglobal.com/taste/
It is what the title infers:
“Is an online journal devoted to transcendent 1 experiences that scientists have reported. It lets scientists express these experiences in a psychologically and professionally safe space. The primary aim of TASTE is to gather data on transcendent experiences.
Over the years Dr. Charles Tart had hundreds of fellow scientists from different disciplines quietly reach out to him to tell him about their unusual experiences. These were experiences that intrigued them and/or were emotionally important to them, but which they felt could not share with their colleagues or friends for fear of rejection or ridicule.”
* AAPS – Academy for the Advancement of Post-materialist Science
https://www.aapsglobal.com/
Glad to see this founded and taking over TASTE from Charlie, who’s getting on in years.
Looks like they’ve published their first book (available to members as a pdf):
Is Consciousness Primary?
https://www.amazon.com/Consciousness-Primary-Perspectives-Advancement-Postmaterialist-ebook/dp/B07SLJFLBY
It looks like they spun out of here:
* https://www.opensciences.org/
lots of good info here, recommended books on various subjects, etc.
* I recently learned of a new book from a member of the University of Virginia group that was founded by Dr. Ian Stephenson (of reincarnation fame).
https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/
n.b. there are opportunities to participate as a research subject in Near-Death experiences, psi, and cases of the reincarnation type.
https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/participate/participate-in-research/
And these guys can always use some financial support it you have the means.
anyway, the new book:
After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal About Life and Beyond
Bruce Greyson M.D.
https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/book/after-a-doctor-explores-what-near-death-experiences-reveal-about-life-and-beyond/
see also for more books by the division’s members:
https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/publications/books/
While I’m here, some more resources:
* classic books by Charles Tart
from 1972
Altered States of Consciousness
https://www.amazon.com/Altered-States-Consciousness-Charles-Tart/dp/0385067283
from 2009
The End of Materialism: How Evidence of the Paranormal Is Bringing Science and Spirit Together
https://www.amazon.com/The-End-Materialism-Evidence-Paranormal/dp/1572246456
* Institute of Noetic Sciences
https://noetic.org/
Performs and sponsors research in odd-ball phenomena, offers transformational experiences and workshops, and sponsors community groups.
* The Society for Psychical Research
https://www.spr.ac.uk/
Founded in 1882 in London, the first scientific organisation ever to examine claims of psychic and paranormal phenomena.
Lots of info here, of interest is their Psi Encyclopedia.
https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/
* the Society for Scientific Exploration
https://www.scientificexploration.org/
Founded 100 years after the SPR, based in North America, but some participation from elsewhere.
Offers a peer-reviewed journal, conferences, etc.
Their free quarterly journal is EdgeScience
https://www.scientificexploration.org/edgescience
Dec. 2020 issue was about sentient plants.
I have bronchitis. They gave me some pills and told me to rest for a couple of days (well, if you insist…). So if you have any Karens who need scared away, I’ll be happy to cough at them for you!
@ Patricia Mathews #163 – Thank you for post that! I have found my new anthem. 🙂
@ Oilman2 #175 – Something that amazes me is every time a building is knocked down it only take a matter of weeks before the entire space is filled with shrubs and grass, even in the predominantly clay based soil here. Like you I never really saw the point in having a lawn. I just let it run wild. It is just so much easier for everyone involved.
@Peter Van Erp #344 – It doesn’t surprise me to see that happening. If you have ever read some of the things that where translated of Bin Laden, you kind of end up sympathizing with the situation he was pushing back against. The problem was the solution he took. It is very easy to see folks transposing their grievances onto what he was fighting against. It is the same way I think about Ted Kaszynski, he had some reasonable points if you pick and choose parts but the solution was absolute insanity.
@Darkest Yorkshire
I just saw your exercise post about exercise books and I am a big fan of Pavel Tsatsouline and have read all his stuff, so I am ordering that Flexible Steel book you recommended.
May I also recommended a couple (from opposite ends of the spectrum but both excellent):
-The Tactical Barbell series (1-3): Despite the name, not restricted to barbell work at all. Written by a pseudonymous former Special Forces soldier and now police officer, it’s an exercise guide aimed at people in “tactical” roles (police, armed forces, firefighters etc – basically anyone who needs good physical fitness for their jobs, and needs to exercise but can’t get so tired that they are unable to meet the shift patterns or physical requirements of the job itself – can’t exhaust yourself and rest at a desk). But not limited to them. Book 1 (see 3rd edition) is about strength, Book 2 is about aerobic and anaerobic conditioning (ie “cardio”) and lifestyle, nutrition etc and they are the main ones. Book 3 is about bulking up and there are other accessories. Highly recommended and very sensible.
-“Lost Secret To A Great Body” by David Bolton – Despite the cheesy name, excellent modern case study (using himself as the subject) of the strength training methods of the late 19th century and early 20th strongmen and physical culturists (some of whom JMG has also written about as having occult connections) and their strength training methods and how they managed to achieve astonishing levels of strength and amazing physiques without modern drugs, training methods or the heavy weights used in gyms today (indeed with virtually no weights or those light enough to be used by a child today). The author does a great job of explaining the methods in modern terms and has achieved a great physique based on the old methods – people like Sandow and Maxalding etc (Maxalding’s own books are also easily available such as Muscle Control and worth reading but the language is harder to follow after a century and medical knowledge has changed etc- the Bolton book is a better starting point).
To anyone interested on it, Stephen Skinner’s compilation of the Ars Notoria: The Method is out next week. Here is an interview with Skinner about the book from The Glitch Bottle.
@JMG #54: re “Stephen, ah, but notice what happened once the German government decided to stop hyperinflating the currency…They could have done that whenever they wanted to. That’s why I say that hyperinflation is always a choice — not just in the beginning, but at each moment along the way.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_dollar
But I really recommend Bresciani-Turroni’s _The Economics of Inflation A Study of Currency Depreciation in Post-War Germany_ (free pdf here: https://mises.org/library/economics-inflation-study-currency-depreciation-post-war-germany).
I don’t think your premise uses only one datapoint — and a majorly flawed one at that. The Weimar Papiermark, as with the Confederate dollar — as with the current US dollar — are all examples of “pure” fiat currencies…backed by nothing but “faith” in the religion of government … which always and ultimately means backed by fraud and disappointment. The original Mark was GOLD mark; and it was THAT which was demanded as war reparations. The scheme they came up with was to buy gold and other currencies with Papiermarks….
When Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny get falsified, there ain’t no going back.
From the Wikipedia article: “Agriculture Minister Hans Luther proposed a plan that substituted gold for rye and led to the issuance of the Rentenmark (“mortgage mark”), backed by bonds indexed to the market price of gold.[17] ”
So — they didn’t “STOP inflation of the Papiermark at all! THEY ABANDONED IT. THE Papiermark CONTINUED HYPERINFLATING!
So, if you are arguing that the US dollar printing is going to eventually stop. Sure. They don’t print Papiermarks or Confederate Dollars anymore, either. But even as collector’s items they aren’t worth that much.
But we’ve got an even bigger problem, as I am sure you are aware: it is generally held that 2/3 of the US dollars in circulation are held outside of the United States, and the US economy, for international trade purposes. In reality, counting dark pools of dollars, it is probably more like 90%+. Regardless, the dollar holds value only because better options are limited and the US is still considered King of the Hill…sort of like Germany going into WWI…until it isn’t.
Fiat currencies, and especially fiat currencies based on “debt” compounding, CAN’T stop inflating. It isn’t mathematically possible: When X dollars are borrowed into existence it is accompanied by a contract to repay X + X*% interest. So there are never enough dollars in existence to repay principle plus interest in the system as a whole. Mathematically impossible — without naked printing. And they amount of naked (unbacked) printing that would be required to keep the existing Ponzi going, or even allow it to slow down for long, might as well be infinite; it is surely much more than all the Papiermarks that were ever floated.
PS. I’m a little embarrassed to be posting this as it isn’t as well proofed as I would like. Also, although I’ve thought about this topic for decades, I wish I was more secure that would help me enough in a world-wide paper contagion and the warring and other strife that will doubtless bring on. What Bresciani-Turroni’s book makes more clear is how hard for even the most well-aware and well-positioned to escape the hyperinflation. The hyperinflation moved in fits and starts, jumping from one are of the economy to another. That is, it wasn’t the smooth curve we see when we look at an exponential graph of Weimar hyperinflation or laugh at Zimbabwe.
Currency collapse is coming. And the whole world is nothing but paper and digits in computers now. Faith in a new currency takes a lot of time. What are we to use to buy food in between? And you really think it will fix anything for the US government to just default on Ponzi dollars?
PPS. If I sound a little snarky, please forgive me. This is a tricky and deep subject, and we won’t really know how it ends until it completely ends. I expect it will surprise all of us, one way or another.
@JMG,
For me, looking at Mormonism through the lens of the Spenglerian High Cultures has born two fruits: (1) A new appreciation for the creativity with which Mormon culture mixes and cross-fertilizes Magian and Faustian ideas, and (2) an impossibility to be a good Mormon anymore.
Ever since emerging from childhood, I’ve had reasons to doubt the Mormon church’s claim that its doctrines were handed down in the present form from the beginning of time (which, for Joseph Smith, meant the time when Adam and Eve lived in Jackson County, Missouri, c. 4000 BC). At first, I dealt with this problem the way that a lot of faithful Catholic intellectuals deal with the ahistoriity of Genesis or the contradictions between the Gospels: by saying that, yeah, our history isn’t infallible (no one’s is) but as a church, we still have enough of the supernatural mark, as manifested in our spiritual gifts, etc., to prove to the world that everyone needs to accept our authority.
The same argument works, mutatis mutandis, for the Mormons: essentially, there are too many clearly supernatural elements to Joseph Smith’s life story to overlook, and I didn’t have any other intellectual framework with which to analyze these other than the one I was raised with – i.e. if you can heal that sick and prophesy the future, that means that you are God’s man and the church you lead is God’s church. Even after I discovered your blog and the concept of the “Magian worldview” I kept trying to make this work, intellectually.
At around the same time, I had become aware of some of the serious changes which have been made to Mormon doctrine since Joseph Smith’s death, which led me to start investigating the smaller sects of Mormonism (the religion broke into lots of pieces after the Prophet was killed; it just so happens that about 98% of Mormons belong to the one based in Salt Lake City). After all, within the Magian worldview (and a fish doesn’t notice the water it’s in) if one church is apostate, there must be a true church from which it apostatized.
I recall a line from one of your previous articles about when “the supreme absurdities of an era finally become impossible to ignore;” for me this happened when I was reading an autobiography of one of the early missionaries of the Prairie Saints, i.e. the Mormons who followed the Prophet’s son, Joseph Smith III, instead of Brigham Young. After Joseph was killed, there were a lot of Mormons who scattered across the plains states instead of going to Utah; they all rejected Brigham Young’s leadership, especially after he announced that he was a polygamist, and now Young Joseph’s missionaries were trying to gather them into a single church under his leadership.
One of the problems these missionaries dealt with was that a lot of the congregations of the Prairie Saints thought that the first Joseph Smith was a “fallen prophet” who had started teaching false doctrines before his death. Most of these congregations were fairly vague about just when Joseph had “fallen,” but one was quite precise: It had happened, they said, while he was while dictating a specific revelation on a specific day in 1833 – the first half of the revelation was from God, and the second half was from the Devil.
And after reading that anecdote, I finally admitted to myself that I could no longer believe in the Magian worldview!
Hi JMG,
Not long ago, I browsed through Mark Stavish’s course offerings via his Teachables website, and at the bottom of the syllabus for one of them, dealing with astral projection, saw a line referring to the late Jean Dubuis and biological warfare beginning in 2020.
Given the virus/vaccine discussion here, thought I’d ask if you know the story, and might share it.
Thanks,
OtterGirl
Interesting percentages for COVID, 99.997% under 70 survive. Looks like a sure thing until you do the math (and remember, these percentages are hindsight, which is always 20/20). I looked up current US population: 332 million. I took 99.997% of 332 million, which is 331,004,000, subtracted, and got 996,000 US residents vulnerable to COVID and thus liable to show up in our nation’s ICUs. .
Given 50 states, 996,000 US residents, the 00.003% if you will, show up in ICUs with COVID: are our ICUs equipped to handle 996,000 patients during 1 year? I think not. Divide 996,000 by 50 states and you get 19,920 potential patients showing up with COVID, again, what state’s ICUs can accommodate 19,920 ICU patients during 1 year? Probably none.
@ Augusto #337
You said:
“It has happened many times to me that reading a chapter or essay of yours has left me cold and nervous…. I feel that though noticing things has given me knowledge it will require of me much more to maintain a solid temper.”
I have some suggestions that might be useful.
1) Only take in as much as you can absorb for this while. When I first started reading JMG, back in 2009, I had to discipline myself to read in small chunks because it was so upsetting/depressing/different from most people. I had to be able to go to sleep at night and get up and function.
2) Pick two or three areas and spend some time in fantasies about what you personally could do to improve the world in those areas over the next 20 or 30 years. You don’t have to be realistic about this. “To balance the gloomy goggles” you could visualize yourself as someone who masters the art of making and using herbal tinctures, or learns how to repair electronic gear, or preserve seeds for 10 years, or how to generate electricity from an old car engine in a nearby stream. (There are infinite useful things to learn and do; daydream about the ones that fit your interests/skills/predispositions/situation.) Fantasies!! Eventually some of them might become practical realities.
3) My dharma teacher used to say, ‘don’t treat problems as if they are solid.’ Everything is impermanent, including all the things we’re worrying about right now. This Open Post thread has quite a few things to worry about!! Let’s pray that good things happen, for ourselves and for others. Also let’s pray that whatever negative circumstances may arise, we and those we love will have the strength, patience and equanimity to cope with them.
4) JMG has a genius for synthesizing tons of information about a period in history or a scientific field or …. just about anything. He makes big-picture generalizations, and I often accept them as a useful first draft because he knows more than I do about those subjects. But no batter bats hundred percent. Nobody who makes big generalizations is right all of the time. (If financial predictors are right 80% of the time they feel they’re doing very well.) So, with many of these big-picture, long-term predictions, I think what JMG says is a useful map, and we just wait and watch and sometimes adjust the map as we observe the unfolding reality.
Take good care of yourself!!
@JMG-
” For the last couple of decades the US government has been very obviously bracing itself to fight against a domestic insurgency — thus the mass deliveries of military gear to police departments, for example.” JMG #339
Does the establishment seriously think, that after all of that talk about defunding the police, and all the portrayals of police officers as racist murderers, that law enforcement will come to their aid in the event of an insurgency?
@JMG and others — the UFO beat is relentlessly going on. Seems to be going into overdrive. I am seeing it pop up all over. The latest is the USS Omaha. I am skeptical, but the drumbeat is making me scratch my head…
@Patricia Mathews #347
You said “A book – a novel, granted, and a murder mystery at that – starred a social psychologist who could map all sorts of human behavior onto that of the common chimp.”
What is the name/author of the book please?
I want to invite everyone here to http://www.greenwizards.com/.
We’re not that active a group — we need more members! — but we’ve got plenty of information in our forums and posts.
If anyone here wants to discuss their gardens, their thrifty ways every Thursday, their techniques for altered couture (cutting up thrift shop clothing into new, finer duds), their issues with teaching the neighbors how not to plant trees, etc. we’re your group.
We’d love to chat more with all of you.
Dear Mr. Greer, et all: Oh, boy. Now Midcentury Modern furniture is racist. Probably, sexist, too.
https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/04/midcentury-modernism-history-race-furniture-style.html
I skim a couple of websites,daily, on the classics and archaeology. There’s also been a creep of race and gender outrage, in those areas. Jane Austen may also be on the chopping block.
I suppose this madness won’t end, until the Descent becomes bad enough, that more pressing things become important. Like keeping warm, a roof over your head, and food on the table. Lew
@ilona Yep, the Michael Deacon podcast. I should have been more specific.
Kenaz, that’s also a crucial point! My guess, though, is that the whole thing is going to turn out to be yet another speculative bubble dressed up in somewhat original drag.
Peter, indeed you can. Che is passé; these days he’d be a highly paid consultant for Pepsi.
Kenaz, exactly.
Ksim, if Christianity follows the usual historical arc, it’ll stage a comeback in the next century or so as the Second Religiosity takes hold, but it’ll be a lifeless simulacrum, embraced for reasons of cultural nostalgia and a longing for shared public values rather than as a route to the white-hot experience of spiritual realities. Its fate thereafter will depend on the fate of European/Faustian civilization, of which it will be just part of the baggage. Meanwhile a new religious movement or series of movements rooted elsewhere, which is currently a tiny and despised foreign cult, will become the religious framework of the European future.
Patricia, that seems reasonable to me, since we’re very close relatives of chimps.
Apprentice, thanks for this. It’s seriously cool stuff.
Slithy Toves, the transition from ideologies to personalities is one of Spengler’s points, and it seems to be working our rather well just now.
Walt, fair enough. I’ve simply seen enough intellectual hubris in certain ends of the scientific community that I assumed they meant it literally.
Sunnnv, in the laboratory, sure. If the virus was causing a great rush of blood clot problems in actual patients, I’d expect that to be splashed all over the mass media. By the way, it’s quite possible to have questions about coronavirus vaccines without being an “anti-vaxxer” — I consider vaccines to be a fine idea, so long as they’re adequately tested, which the current set have not been.
Warren, interesting. That’s standard magical practice, though we don’t usually fall over. The energy you were using is a very familiar thing — in the upcoming discussion of Lévi’s Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic on the blog, we’ll be talking about that at great length.
J-CJ, I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if it was the same Chris Warnock.
David BTL, that makes sense, as Reagan was channeling New Deal Democrats in his time.
Patricia O, many thanks for this!
Jack, no, but you can always ask questions during my Magic Monday open posts here; I don’t consider it bothersome. The next one will be starting in a little over 48 hours…
Randomacts, delighted to hear it.
Galen, I’m going to be watching all this very closely.
David BTL, no surprises there. Thanks for the brush with reality!
Sunnnv, fascinating. I somehow managed to miss this earlier.
Your Kittenship, oof. It’s been a long time — I’m better with my preferred forms of crackpot medicine than I used to be — but I used to get bronchitis now and then, and it was no joke. Please take care of yourself.
Augusto, thanks for the heads up!
Gnat, yes, I know. The German government deliberately spun the presses to pay reparations indirectly, and then abandoned the papiermark once it served its purpose and switched to the Rentenmark to bring in a stable currency. That was my point: hyperinflation was a deliberate choice. What I’m saying is that if the dollar goes into hyperinflation, it’ll be a deliberate decision on the part of the Fed, and the dollar can then be replaced by a new, more stable currency at will. (How long did it take Germans to start using the Rentenmark? Days, because what else were they going to do?) As for the dollars held overseas, that’s why I expect the US to default on its foreign debts (a lot of the dollars overseas are held in the form of T-bills) and impose “temporary” “emergency” currency controls to prevent the repatriation of unwanted dollars in other forms. You’re right, though, that it’s going to be a wild ride.
Wesley, thanks for this. For my part, I consider the Mormon faith to be symbolically true — “anything that is possible to be believed is an image of truth,” as William Blake said — although its historic claims are literally false; I would say the same thing of most other religions; and I consider it to be a sad example of misplaced effort when people get bent out of shape trying to turn the vivid symbolic narratives of religion into pages in a history book. Of course that attitude is anathema to the Magian worldview, but then I never got that particular pseudomorphosis…
Ottergirl, I’m sorry to say I don’t know it.
Jenxyz, okay; so?
Waffles, I have no idea what they think. The US political class at this point is behaving in ways that make no sense at all.
Jerry, the Navy’s very clearly testing something. In about 15 years we’ll find out what it is.
Lew, I think we’re approaching jump-the-shark territory…
I’d like to make a somewhat outlandish prediction: the date for the end of Progress as a major belief system will be June 2, 2022. There will be an Ontario election that day (since the government has said no early elections, I can feel fairly sure of the date), which will feature a new and apparently rapidly growing party (New Blue Party) without a whole lot of political power that’s aggressively opposed to the status quo, and openly questioning quite a few of the core narratives of our society. This is mixed with a dynamic of a significant underground of civil resistance; de facto martial law; and a strong movement from marginalized Christians opposed to the current governments in Ontario, featuring an eclectic mix of denominations working together. Since I see no evidence the lockodwns in Canada will end any time soon, and abundant evidence the government will seek to strengthen the measures going forward, I expect this will hold until election day.
Given the widespread similarities between today’s western world and the 1980s Warsaw Pact, I’ve taken to calling Canada America’s Poland; the situation in Ontario eerily resembles the conditions in Poland in the 1980s; the parallels are not exact, but they are close enough to suggest that it’s possible that we’ll have the same dynamic: a surprise landslide victory for a supposed fringe party in elections held in a major political centre outside of the imperial core causes the entire ideology holding everything together to suddenly give to pressures which have been building for decades and come unglued in a matter of months.
@CryptoEnthusiast
Since you mentioned NFTs, I want to leave you with some food for thought on NFTs.
A lot of people say NFTs are totally useless, and, going by current examples (ex: NFT art) they would be right. But NFT’s are actually a huge deal because they allow real world assets to be put on the blockchain and plugged into smart contracts.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the term “the internet of things”. Eventually tons of devices and systems are going to be connected to the internet. NTFs give you a way of putting all those items on the blockchain and into smart contracts.
This means that cryptocurrency transactions will one day have direct force in the real world.
Someone violated the terms of a smart contract? I guess that means XYZ functionality is shut off. Have the terms of a smart contract (say, a will left behind by a deceased family member) been fufilled? That meas ABC functionality is activated. And so on.
For example, you could make an NTF representing your car and, with the appropriate hardware, program your car so that it only responds to the key encoded in the NFT. Then you could put your car into a smart contract and securely loan it out.
Now…. just imagine what else you could make NTFs for. Why not an NTF of your house, with electricity, heating, telephone, and internet all keyed to the NTF? What about making an NTF of a businuess? The more things the internet touches, the more interesting the possibilities become.
On the subject of vaccines
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-04-sars-cov-spike-protein-lung.html
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.05.21252960v1.full
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7827936/
According to these 3 different articles the Sars-Cov-2 spike protein on it’s own is toxic for three different reasons. All the vaccines currently available in the west are based on hijacking the bodies own cells and getting them to mass produce this same Toxic Spike Protein and flood your body with it, in order to produce an immune response. One would assume that this level of spike protein is probably a lot larger than the amounts experienced by the majority of actual covid infections, which are usually mild.
Which leads to the point. Their is only one Vaccine I know about which purports to be a standard, inactivated virus vaccine, which does not rely on flooding your body with only this specific protein. Which will also expose your immune system to the entirety of the virus. That is the Sinovac vaccine. What does it say about the decline of the west, that not one of our institutions was able to develop a vaccine in the standard, time tested way? Instead everyone of them went for some newfangled tech, which over and above the risks associated with hijacking cells, floods your body with a toxic substance?
Lew, can you suggest non-trivial sites about classics and archeology? I don’t care about PC, but I do like to avoid the superficial.
Jane Austen’s novels need a rest. They have been relentlessly trivialized by movies and amateurish sequels which should never have been published and converted into fashionable accessories for comfortable class women. I doubt said women even know what they are reading if they do venture into the novels. Mansfield Park, for example, is NOT a comedy of manners, it is a study in corruption and belongs on your shelf next to Dangerous Liaisons and Balzac’s The Splendor and Misery of Courtesans. It was unfortunately marred by a tacked on happy ending, a requirement for any novel by “A Lady”, which I doubt anyone has ever believed. If only the story had been allowed to proceed to the inevitable tragic conclusion, it would be a very great novel indeed; what we have is a flawed masterpiece.
@ sunnnv # 356
Thank you so much for this post.
I can understand some but not all of the technicalities. Boy, do I appreciate your summaries! And the data links. I hope you will do more of this as the facts/thoughts/reports/debates constantly change.
Here’s the english website of the Israeli People’s Committee: https://www.the-people-committee.com/english.
The April report was only translated in summary form so far. When there’s a full translation I’ll post a link to it here.
Slithy Toves @353: They didn’t claim to have unlocked the “purpose” of the Antikythera mechanism, they claim to have unlocked the “secrets” of it: That’s no exaggeration, as it’s comprehensive, detailed design was reverse-engineered down to the last gear and pin, including the missing front face with it’s display system, and the mechanical network to drive it. It is now possible to reproduce the device in toto. It is a mechanical planetarium (or “Astrological Clock” as you say) that graphically reproduces the motions of the sun, moon (including its phases and nodes!), Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The design supports accuracy over epochs on the order of centuries. Remember, only about 1/3 of the mechanism was recovered, so the remaining 2/3’s was deduced, inferred (from inscriptions and structures revealed by 3D CT scans), or creatively re-engineered, extrapolating from the obvious design techniques, specifications inferred from the inscriptions (esp. regarding the display), using the principles of Ptolemaic mechanics. The research team that achieved this relied in part on research done by others, which clearly you have heard of. Maybe there is more to discover, but what’s revealed in those links is a major milestone and is mind-blowing. There is a breathtaking 30 minute video link in the vice.com link.
So what if they didn’t discuss its purpose? The design is what’s amazing.
I’ve never met a happy scoffer or wet-blanket tosser.
—Lunar Apprentice
What’s all this about?
“Majority Of US Companies Will Require Workers To Provide Proof Of Vaccination”.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/majority-us-companies-will-require-workers-provide-proof-vaccination
Colleges are doing this too.
My understanding is that, legally, one may not be compelled by an employer to undergo an experimental procedure, or take an experimental drug or vaccine. The covid vaccines are experimental; that’s why they were granted the EUA (Emergency Use Authorization). This is a flagrant violation of the Nuremberg Code, i.e.
“The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved as to enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision…”
I understand the Nuremburg Code is implemented in US law, so this is a flagrant violation of US law. So why isn’t the ACLU, to say nothing of the Justice Department, fighting in court for those placed under duress? Why isn’t Hell being raised? JMG? Anyone?
—Lunar Apprentice
I’m thanking everyone who has posted information on the situation in Israel. I have one family member who has spent the last 14 months in a terrified funk over the disease in question, jumped at the chance to get Pfizer’s vax and has been using the Israeli “success” to try to bully everyone in my family to do the same, convinced that the hesitant will be responsible for mutations that will cause his and everyone else’s efforts to be in vain and that only the mRNA vaccines are guaranteed to be reasonably safe.
I’d heard other stories about what was going in Israel in actuality, but did not have hard data. I’ve put the subject off topic with him in further correspondence. Sharing this with him would just be cruel (his wife had a notably severe reaction to the second shot), but I’m sharing it with other family members who’ve managed to resist thus far.
JMG, Mary The Alba Party is, in its totality, a vanity / power project for Alex Salmond, the previous leader of the SNP (Scottish National Party), who is now not in that party. He is allegedly guilty of serial sexual harassment of women, but has not been found guilty of any criminal offences. He, along with Nicola Sturgeon (the current leader of the SNP), was the key figure in bringing Scottish nationalism from the fringes to a powerful mainstream position (helped along by an utterly useless and self serving Labour Party in Scotland).
The Alba party will almost certainly disappear after the coming Scottish Parliament election. His pitch is that two Scottish pro-independence parties will result in more independence MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament), due to the bizarre, two-part, sort-of proportional voting system. This is a spurious argument as the Green Party is already pro independence, has support, and will win many seats. The new Scottish Parliament WILL have a majority of MSPs that support Scottish independence (as it has since, I think, 2008), and will probably have a MAJORITY of SNP MSPs (for the second time) even though the parliament is designed to STOP there being any one party with a majority of MSPs!
Why Scottish independence (please note the following is NOT about “good” people and “bad” people)? Scottish culture has a strong cooperative, community strand, and supports “social democratic” policies. English culture has a strong individualistic, family-oriented strand and supports “right wing conservative” policies. Or, to put it another way, Scotland is more like France and England is more like the USA. The English electorate is ten times bigger than the Scottish electorate, so Scottish wishes are never represented in the UK parliament, hence the journey towards independence. (Note: The UK (The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) consists of three countries: Scotland, England, and Wales; and one region, Northern Ireland.)
Full disclosure: I was an active member of the Labour Party in the 80s, am a current member of the SNP, and now live in France, for lots of reasons, including the continued destruction of ordinary people’s lives by the Thatcherite, neoliberal policies of the UK Government (consistently voted for by the English electorate), and Brexit.
Earlier this morning I wrote this down after waking into that in-between sleep and waking astral state (the dreamlike kind where visions are vivid, and scenes can instantly change from one place to another, but your waking awareness is switched on).
Quote
Waking from a fading dream I was saying “those systems are a labyrinth.” * So, I said, “I’ve no thread, I had better wait out here”… at which point the scene became a beach** with me surrounded by flasks of tea, sandwiches, a first aid kit, and a sign above my head saying “Labyrinth Debriefing Centre”.
UnQuote
I am apparently now ready and prepared to provide refreshments, a listening ear, and attention to any hurts suffered to anyone who emerges from said “systems labyrinth”. 😉
* I’m not certain what “systems” I had dreamed of, but had a feeling they were broad social, cultural things. As to the “labyrinth”, I was definitely not picturing carefully cultivated patterns of hedges, but a complicated cave with a minotaur in the middle of it.
** I worked out afterwards that, according to dream logic, if I was sitting at the mouth of a cave with a minotaur inside, I must be in Crete, hence the sunny beach setting, I reckon.
Thanks for the good wishes, JMG. I have to be careful when I get bronchitis because I’ve had pneumonia a couple of times. (The rest of you, bronchitis can turn into pneumonia, so don’t try to tough it out if you can possibly help it.) I get bronchitis every spring, probably because our weather is so erratic. It’s a tradition, like Easter eggs. Grumble.
**Emergency Healing Prayer Request**
(@JMG Back in October 2020 you requested I place this appeal in that month’s Open Post. I hope it’s ok if I post it now instead. If not I totally understand.)
Hello Ecosophia community. I’m a long term reader (10 years) but only occasional poster. In my time reading JMG’s blogs I have noticed occasional requests for healing prayer from those who practice that. My apologies for asking making such a serious request out of the blue. But if anyone were able or willing to include my partner’s sister (details below) in healing prayers that they do, I’d be eternally grateful.
Permission was sought previously for prayers and healing.
My partner’s sister Emma, a mum of 3 young kids, had a serious cancer diagnosis last year that seemed to respond well to initial treatment. However there has now been a flare-up of symptoms that suggest things could be taking a very bad turn. Nothing is confirmed yet, but time would be of the essence for any healing or remission that could be achieved (I fully understand there are no guarantees of any positive results, but see no harm in asking).
I don’t know what more information to give for this practice, sorry! My name is Jack: Emma lives in France. What else should I mention if anything?
I myself will try using the SOP as a distance healing technique.
Thank you to all for their contributions to this awesome site,
(Jack H)
While Europe becoming Islamic is certainly a possibility some time down the road (much of it was before), it seems unlikely in any near time scenario, particularly as many Muslim refugees are fleeing severe Islamic regimes!
And this idea:
“native Europeans start to “leave”, moving into countries such as Poland and Hungary but in particular Russia. It is always Russia. I see many Italians, Germans, French, etc leaving because their own countries are simply not that safe anymore.”
as a trend, has no basis in fact. The idea that Italy, Germany, or France are not safe is ridiculous. Certainly, one group of people that are in danger, and are almost certainly moving, or planning to move, countries are lesbian and gay people, but that will not be in the direction suggested! Fortunately, because of the European Union, people in Hungary and Poland have the right to move to other, safer, European countries.
Almost as ridiculous as other ideas perpetrated by some in the US that there are “no go” areas in London, and Birmingham (England) is run under Sharia law!
https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/VC.IHR.PSRC.P5/rankings
@sunnunv said “I cannot believe VAERS undercounts by a factor of 100, that would mean .17% of the 95 million fully vaccinated people in the U.S. died – that means 161,500 people – nope, not hiding that, so it didn’t happen.”
There’s no ICD code for any vaccine caused death. It’s all correlation and we don’t have a system to track it. Well not just the US, any country. 3.3 million people die in the US each year so it would be easy to hide 165,000 deaths labeled as heart attacks, strokes, etc. It’s only the unusual that get noticed.
Since we know from blood studies that Covid was here as early as August 2019 (stored blood of people who do had their blood tested for routine tests), how many people do think died from it before the government/CDC finally admitted there was a problem in March 2020?
Some proper music!
There was a discussion around these parts some time ago about the poor state of music, probably around about the time I mentioned a lifelong interest in Dr. Who. [I know…I’ve heard all the jokes]. One of the features of the revival from 2005 was the rather lovely music that accompanied the stories. This morning I encountered a cover of Vale Decem with a choir of 300 at:
https://youtu.be/t6JAKUBZrwM
Vale Lockdown. Unfortunately there is some video along with the sound, but is worth listening to, and it’s in Latin too. The composer is Murray Gold who left the series along with many other talents in 2018. I’m very fond of his Gallifrey theme and the Long Song as well.
In completely unrelated news The cabbages that I planted out a month or so ago are thriving and I’ve concluded that in the not too distant future I’m going to have to deal with more cabbage than I generally eat in a decade. I’ve obtained some sauerkraut pots and a wooden cabbage slicer. The kit came with a cabbage bonker that’s probably going up on the wall when not in use like a decorative tribal weapon.
@CryptoEnthusiast Fwiw I began doing Muay Thai at age 47 and continued for 5 years. I was in OK shape before that, but never an athlete. It definitely got me in the best shape of my life in only 2-3 trainings a week. I had to have abdominal surgery at age 50 and literally transferred myself from the operating table to the hospital bed.The nurses said they never saw anything like it. We would spar in the gym sometimes, so very amateur fighting which I recommend because you quickly realize most people don’t follow the rules when there is no referee.
@KW both my kids colleges are requiring the vaccine for fall. I’ve asked they both wait as long as possible so they have as much data to make a choice. I also told them that I believe the roll out would get cancelled because the stories of harm and death just can’t get repressed forever. The pressure to take this one vaccine is unbelievable especially from the administrations and professors. I expect it from peer groups.
I used to be in the Facebook parent groups for each of their schools to try to get any information last summer about opening for fall (they both said they were opening then last minute went all online). When the discussion started toward anything productive, such as demanding the university open in some form, there would be some rando “parent” who shared some horrific story of losing family to Covid. These “parents” would never contribute in any meaningful way to any other discussion. I came to the conclusion that everything online is infiltrated and monitored and people with agendas are trying to make things go in a specific direction.
@KW Just to clarify my infiltration comment – I suspect the FB group had staff or professors of the colleges pretending to be parents and directing the conversation in the way they wanted. I’m not a total tin foil person thinking its some three letter agency.
If I was in college admin I would certainly at least have some of my people in any online group about my school to monitor people were talking about.
Thanks for the link btw. The VAERS database was just updated with a 15 year old and 16 year old who died after the vaccine of heart failure, one in two days, the other in a week. One was end of March, the other mid April. There are doctors reporting still missing reports from January not in the system yet.
I’m reminded of the saying that communism doesn’t care how many people it kills to reach it’s goals. The goal is a better society. This looks like communism.
About the ongoing discussion about vaccine side effects and astrological indications of a health crisis in the lunar eclipse chart: I suppose that, to keep open the range of possibilities, that the potential health crisis could also come in the form of a new, more dangerous mutation of the Covid virus.
@Oilman2: That makes sense to me. I realized later after posting my question that, occultism being occultism, there’s not one way for occultists to ‘do well in hard times’. Maybe for some, they can make a living through astrology and divination, maybe for others, occult techniques and philosophies form the backbone of their lives and help them with their chosen careers, etc and there are probably other ways I haven’t thought of.
@Markéta: Ha! Indeed. 🙂
@Teresa: Thanks for the reminder about greenwizards.com. I lurk there occasionally and have posted a couple of times, but it has been a useful forum in the past and I should post there more often.
I ignored the text of the article, but the data is fascinating – where people moved in the last year based on USPS address changes. You can hover over an area and see where people went by the thousands.
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-citylab-how-americans-moved/?srnd=citylab
@Jean,
That is really a sensible approach to people wanting to know if you’ve been vaccinated, and it is also in keeping with our host’s maxim to “back slowly away from the crazy person.” I’ll pass your idea along.
@Kashtan,
Arthur Firstenberg keeps in touch with a network of people internationally who are sensitive to EMFs, and says many everywhere have been reporting feeling much worse since around March 8. I think there are a lot of people who are sensitive but don’t realize it because information on this has been suppressed for so long. It could be part of what is driving case rates in some places, and the reported symptoms of long-COVID are nearly identical to those of electromagnetic illness. In a discussion among scientists concerned with this, it was brought up that a significant number of people with long-COVID have never actually been diagnosed with COVID. Here is Firstenberg’s newsletter page: https://www.cellphonetaskforce.org/newsletters/ and the survey results article at the top goes into detail on the possible effects of the satellites.
Indeed JMG, I just hope it works better than the F35 (but I think it won’t and will probably cost more) 🙂
>Che is passé; these days he’d be a highly paid consultant for Pepsi.
Well, he was a medical doctor. I think you meant to say consultant for Big Pharma.
>Owen, it’s not impossible that Kamala Harris will be our Gorbachev.
Someone is going to have to – take responsibility – for all the bad decisions that have been made over the past few decades. It’s clear nobody wants to do that (hence Trump exiting stage right). One of them is going to win the Gorby Prize.
>That’s why I say that hyperinflation is always a choice — not just in the beginning, but at each moment along the way.
Although you can say the same about heroin addiction too. Technically, it’s a choice, although in practice one particular choice becomes much easier to make in the short run. I’d say the drivers of the choices are primarily psychological and that the money printing is more of the tail than the dog of the phenomenon.
I dunno. When you pile up so much bad debt, it has to be gotten rid of somehow. It’s just a question of how you do it and what’s most palatable when you do. As an ant, you aren’t so much concerned about what music they’re dancing to or why they’re dancing so much as where they plan on setting each foot down, although if you can hear the music and listen to the beat maybe you too can um, dance with the stars…
The article Oilman2 posted about deep-sea volcanoes being used as an energy source honestly reminds me of the competition you held a while back, where participants had to make a fake press release for a fantastically impractical new energy source that was being heralded as the wave of the future. Considering that we’ve been seeing the first shocks of another energy crisis, the frenzied search for “alternatives” will likely begin shortly, so another one of those competitions may be in order soon…
For my part, I’d like to share an anecdote about the seafood industry. I’ve noticed recently that, shortly after eating fish, I become sick to my stomach for a short time, when I used to have no problem with it. A friend of my mother’s apparently had the same reaction; he used to love fish, to the point of eating frozen fish sticks without even heating them up first, but now he doesn’t eat them for the same reason as me. The two of us guessed that it might be related to the toxic chemicals present in seafood; mercury is the most present one, so very low-level mercury poisoning was our most prominent suspicion, but others couldn’t be ruled out. Do you think this idea holds water? The human mistreatment of the oceans is a terrible thing that has not received much media attention recently, but I don’t know if the consequences of that are starting to become barely visible to the consumer.
@ STS at 351
Thank you that will work
Hi John Michael,
Thanks for the reply, as I had genuinely no idea, but you’ve given me something to think about. Some people are just a pain. Oh well.
Otherwise, in news from down under (sorry no wombat news this time, although I did spot a mum and bubs wombat the other day, the bubs was following along behind mum). Oh, hang on there was a brush tailed possum in the orchard the other night chowing down upon the leaves of one of the yet to go deciduous apple trees. And earlier tonight I heard the distinct call of a Powerful Owl. These owls are of course not light weights, but the biggest of the big, and apple tree fed possums should well be nervous! Just another night out in the orchard. It is bizarrely warm here tonight.
The projects here are progressing along at my usual slow and steady pace. Moved heaps of large rocks today, but alas Peak Rocks is real and I’m now at the stage where I’m having to invest personal energy in order to split larger rocks into smaller (yet still large) but more importantly, easily moved rocks. Rocks are useful for all sorts of projects – as Scott and Helen Nearing were also acutely aware. Who knew that they were onto something with that rock gear?
The growing season which is rapidly finishing was without doubt the strangest that I can recall due to the lack of hot weather. I wouldn’t wish such a season upon anybody, but we sort of did OK in the end – just. Bottled another dozen bottles of passata (Italian tomato sauce used for pasta) today, and will try for some more tomorrow if there is enough sunlight to power the machine. Oh well, I never expected it to be easy. 🙂
Cheers
Chris
@ John
Thanks for this clarification also. I do agree with you. It is rather interesting to see that Christianity is in the same place as Judaism was in the 19th century. I recall reading at how many Jews were assimilating into the European way of life and their culture was being eroded with each generation.
Funnily enough it was Theodor Herzl who actually was in favour of this process, believing it to be the right way for the Jews to go. However after witnessing anti semitic attacks in France, he changed his mind and decided to rally the call for a Jewish homeland.
Today in Israel, Judaism is booming but you can see it is just hollow. It isnt a religious boom per say but more of a nationalistic boom related to the events of the 20th century. There are those believers who do of course stick truly to the Torah but I tend to find the vast majority of Israelis to be secular at best with no real difference in values compared to their European counterparts, with the exception of “Never Again” and keeping themselves as a group alive.
If I was to make a comparison, Europeans and Christianity today are the Jews of the 19th century and will become the Israelis of the 22nd/23rd centuries.
As for the future religion, if I was to make a guess, I would say that it will be a split between Paganism and Christianity. I have no idea what it will be but I think it be more freerer and allowing people to truly engage with nature and spiritiuality but at the same time balancing out the concept of “Do what thoult wilt” as per Mr. Aleister Crowley, focusing on family values and other conservative aspects.
But that is just my guess.
@ Naomi
What you have to understand is that the Jews are really not Israel but actually Judah. All of the Jews today descend from the tribe of Judah and when they were exiled, they kept the identity strong and alive.
But here is the caveat. The Jews are simply too small to be all of Israel and it is quite a misnomer they called themselves the State of Israel when in reality they should be the State of Judah. However they did this because they wanted the whole Israel business finished with.
I agree, my idea of Israel is something more than the current state in the Middle East. I dont believe it will be the Arab areas too as they belong to the Muslims. More than likely it will include Europe but that area is still developing and will take time before the full picture truly develops.
What I will say though is that as crazy enough as it seems, the only way for Christianity to survive in the interim is adopting some form of Israelism to survive.
@RusTheRook
Be careful with the sit ups. You don’t want to end up with diastasis recti or worse — a hernia.
That said, in addition to walking, I swim laps and have a limited set of dumbbells for strength training.
@ Not a Catholic Anthroposophist (but not unfavorably disposed) #232: Thanks for that info. I see that it is true of the recent Tarcher/Penguin edition, but not of the older Amity House edition, for what it’s worth. Christian anthroposophy aside, I remain impressed with what is inside that book.
About neopaganism being a fashion statement. That finally clicked for me as to why I was fighting with various people who called themselves Neopagans but insisted that Polytheists include Atheists and people who see Gods as Archetypes and that religion had to be political. I have since removed myself from all those people.
It makes the Magic Resistance understandable. They were not really magical nor resisting but doing a fashion statement. I pondered what magical thinking actually is and what they were doing. Assumption thinking, bombarding problems with will power, selfish thinking? I am not sure of the terms but to have magic happen means a belief in the unseen and allowing the unseen to have agency. I couldn’t detect either in their thinking.
I am curious about the Goddess people such as Carol Christ and the Feminism and Religion blog folks. Most discuss religion in terms of politics, Patriarchy, and Christianity. I always thought the Goddess was a separate holy being or power that was not rooted in modern sensibility. I guess from what I read, the Goddess is more of a feminist construct to put a finger in the eye of Christianity. Or am I am only sampling a small group who use the Goddess as a fashion, class statement. It would seem that people who post at the blog are upper class professional middle aged white women. Is what that particular group is about?
About vaccines. I noticed that with the slow down of people wanting it, the TV people have ramped up horror stories of what happens when you don’t get it. You or someone you love dies. Sort of cherry picking.
I have stated why I am getting it. That is me.
I do know from my neighbors getting Covid – two elderly infirmed, their two adult children and one grandchild, that it is not fatal. Out of the group, the adult male is having problems with stamina. The others are no worse off. However, the elderly male was made to take the vaccine after he had the disease. He is now worse off. So, for me, the news reports are over the top in the whole thing.
Then again I do believe that the news people firmly believe that the vaccine is magic. They say it will be wonderful…. Sigh.
Re: Lunar Apprentice, @ #332
thanks for the input. Each of those points made sense to me and I think are really relevant to why someone might have difficulties with personal boundaries and social interaction.I’ve bookmarked your book recommendation and saw that the suggested related authors include Gabor Mate and Peter Levine(Levine I’m fairly familiar with and also recommend).
Regarding Asperger’s not being it’s own neurologic entity, my take is that it is(more or less) it’s own condition. I know that there is some cross-over in some symptoms with autism and that it is sometimes called high functioning autism or even classified as PDD-NOS(pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified), but I think trying to broaden it’s definition may take away from being able to grapple with some of the difficulties that come with Asperger’s.
When I was 26(30 now), I was referred to a psychiatrist by my GP after an incident at a job in which I was being bullied by a coworker; long story short, I reacted violently and the authorities were called. It went to court and after all was heard out, I got a suspended sentence, which was quite good considering my reaction. The behaviour of my coworker and the managements response coupled with the psychiatrist report kept me out of prison. The psychiatrist I met deals with people with autism,ADD, eating disorders etc. The assessment he made of me was that I had mild Asperger’s AND ADD, which he himself thought was a fairly rare combination. He also said that in times past, I would have been diagnosed with hebephrenic schizophrenia(I unfortunately do have some paranoid tendencies under times of stress, and a sibling with paranoid schizophrenia which I attribute to a combination of genetics and “less than ideal experiences”) and even today with PDD-NOS.
Some of the questions he asked me included who I hung around with in school, my academic performance, my interests/hobbies and even more personal questions. After he listened to my answers and ramblings, he basically gave me a summary of the type of person he believed me to be, and it was kind of surreal how accurate he was.in some things. I then went home and looked up Asperger’s and felt like I’d discovered a new formula, so many things started to make sense and it was positive discovery.
I had also been in talking therapy on and off for a few years, and within 6 months I stopped going. The therapy was a help at certain times, but I think my therapist may have been bleeding me and was slightly hesitant when I told him about my recent diagnoses. Such is life.
Anyway, the point of all that was just some of my own experiences on the topic of Asperger’s and I do try not to write off other difficulties in my life down to Asperger’s, some people are just septic ar** holes. For me, I think that saying “OK, this may be what I have, I’ll see how I can work with it and see what results come about.”, was of benefit to me.
For JMG,
“…spiritual influences percolate down the evolutionary scale,”. That’s a good way to look at it. I’m certainly no enlightened being dishing out the latest hot takes on spiritual progression and healthy discernment!
Jerry, JMG and all re: USS Omaha, and what the Navy might be testing —
Whose Navy?
I don’t think we’ll have to wait 15 years to find out.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/40054/adversary-drones-are-spying-on-the-u-s-and-the-pentagon-acts-like-theyre-ufos
Rereading “Not the Future You Ordered,” you predicted a psychotic break.
@Ilona – the novel was “Blue” by Abigail Padgett. It’s a standalone – she’s best known for her series about Bo Bradley, an Irish, psychic, manic-depressive Child Protective Services worker in San Diego who gets her cases solved by being who she is and listening to her heightened intuition. I find her a very likeable character; the heroine of Blue is a lot more snarky, but also likeable.
I settled on Dreamwidth since they don’t seem to be censoring anyone. What a little old lady in the sticks could say that’s all that controversial anyway, I don’t know, but there it is. Cutekitten.dreamwidth.org. There’s nothing there yet. I’ll put up a Hello later when I’m awake (those darn yellow cough pills put me to sleep!). See you later…💤
Next question: Substack or Patreon? What’s your experience with either or both?
Can anyone recommend an old-fashioned arithmetic textbook? I’m looking for something to develop my mental math skills, which have atrophied shamefully. Something that I could use to learn a slide rule at the same time would be great.
JMG: If I were going to bet on the new religious movement which offers a “white-hot experience of spiritual realities,” I would go with Pentecostalism.
In 2015 over 17% of Africans identified as Pentecostal and those numbers have only grown since then. Pentecostalism is also booming in South and Central America. These flavors of Pentecostalism often vary widely from what is called Pentecostalism in the US, and many incorporate folk traditions and practices.
https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-120
Right now Pentecostalism is rather declassé in the West. But I would argue the rise of Wokeness shows that the PMC is desperate for an emotionally stimulating religious movement with clearly defined Good Guys and Bad Guys. So I could see Pentecostalism — a movement which I would distinguish from mainstream Christianity even though it uses many Christian images and ideas the way early Christians used many Mithraic, Neoplatonic and other ideas — becoming the Next Big Religion, or at the very least playing John the Baptist for the New Messianic Figure.
@Himself #424 I’m on the spectrum myself, and have noticed that there is indeed something to the self-deprecating jokes about “4chan autists.” Your average Dissident Right group has as many Aspies and Autists as a computer science class.
One theory of mine is that people on the spectrum are notoriously bad at picking up on social cues. (I know I certainly am, though I’ve learned to think before speaking and use my intellect rather than my social instincts). This is a hindrance in most situations. But when you have a steady stream of socially manipulative propaganda beamed at you, it may be a feature. If you don’t readily pick up on social cues, you may also have a certain degree of resistance to messages telling you how you are supposed to behave and what you are supposed to say and think.
Re. the vaccine – I got a Pfizer jab at 8pm and at 6am the next morning went unconscious while breastfeeding my son. (He’s okay, not hurt). My partner says I was unconscious for maybe 30 seconds and was “breathing weird.” When I woke up there were a few seconds where I could make out visual stimulus , but not make sense of them. I heard an impending sound, like a jar lid that’s been spun deciding where to fall, while my brain desperately tried to make sense of what I was seeing. I searched back into memory and felt an only immense, shimmering darkness – no memory of who I was at all. When I was able to make sense of what I was seeing as my husband’s face, it still took a few more seconds to remember who he was. Then, lying on the floor while we waited for paramedics, my heart felt weird in a way it never has before. (I have weathered many life storms when I was younger and am no stranger to anxiety or panic attacks). My heart felt like it had “lost it’s rhythm” – completely forgotten how to beat – and was just flopping about… Finally a large, strange tingling encircled my left arm and travelled slowly down it over a period of minutes. Since this event I have been unable to sleep lying flat or with my heart side down. I wake up as my heart starts to feel funny again.
The paramedics and every doctor I have spoken to since have immediately and without question diagnosed this as Reflex Sycope. I am still wearing a heart monitor in the coming week to have a better look at things myself.
Before feinting my arm did hurt where the vaccine was given – to the point of nausea. Maybe it was just Reflex Sycope. But my heart has never felt like that before, and I will not be getting the second dose of Pfizer.
@ Dagnarus,
I believe the choice to focus on the spike protein was deliberate, an attempt to substantially reduce the risk of antibody dependent enhancement (of disease), ADE, the bete noir of all previous attempts at a coronavirus vaccine which resulted in very high to 100% death rates in animal trials. It does appear they have been successful at that or else people would have been falling over en masse in areas of high infection during the vaccination campaigns. Whether that success will continue as vaccinated people’s neutralising antibody levels decline over the next 3-12 months or so is obviously untested. Hopefully T-cells will take over etc.
Unfortunately, since ADE presents the same as severe covid (cytokine storm, organ failure etc), if it is an issue I am pessimistic that it will just be dismissed as a more severe variant which has immune escaped the vaccine.
@ Ethan L re: seafood industry and fish quality
I used to love haddock and sole but haven’t bought any for years because the quality of the fish due to overfishing has hit the absolute bottom of the barrel. It just doesn’t taste good anymore. I still eat tuna once in a while and wild salmon (won’t touch the farmed stuff) but that’s it. If you and family members get ill from eating fish, toxic chemicals are certainly a factor but there’s another issue as well.
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_plastics/#:~:text=Fish%20in%20the%20North%20Pacific,mammals%20and%20human%20seafood%20eaters.
Our love affair with plastic is coming back to bite us on the rear end big time. It’s bad enough we’re eating ourselves out of house and home, we are befouling what few ocean edibles remain. I can’t recall if it was JMG or whether I read it somewhere else but fish will likely be gone from the market by the end of the decade if not sooner.
@Patricia Mathews
Two books ordered, many thanks!!!
To ALL…
This is an excerpt from a newsletter I get weekly aimed at the US drilling rig count. If oil remains at $60/BBL, then the rig count should remain steady – in other words we have hit bottom cycle in drilling activity.
“According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), for the week ending 4/16/21 U.S. gasoline demand was 9.1 million barrels per day (BPD). That is 71% higher than demand in the same week last year, and only about 3% lower than average mid-April demand from 2017 to 2019. The weekly average for total petroleum demand has exceeded 20 million BPD four times since February. That’s within 5% of pre-pandemic demand.”
Demand for jet fuel has also bounced back. In the most recent issue of This Week in Petroleum, the EIA reported on the return of air travel:
“In February 2020, just before responses to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in substantial reductions in air travel, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) processed an average of 2.2 million air passengers per day. In April 2020, however, when the impact on air travel was at its highest, TSA passenger throughput fell to 0.1 million passengers per day.
TSA passenger throughput increased gradually from April through July 2020, but from August 2020 through February 2021, passenger throughput was relatively flat, remaining between 0.7 million passengers per day and 0.9 million passengers per day. In March 2021, average daily TSA passenger throughput reached 1.2 million, the highest monthly average throughput since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Passenger throughput in April 2021 has continued to increase, rising to an average of 1.4 million passengers per day as of April 20.”
The EIA showed steady growth in jet fuel demand following last year’s plunge, and they projected demand will return to normal by the second half of next year.
The guy that writes this newsletter is currently trying to get responses to personnel levels at the service companies, but my sources say that personnel levels at the Schlumbergers, Halliburtons, etc. are at historical lows. Rig crews are now composed of the solid people, and I expect any growth to have significant “green hand” components – zero experience; warm body that passed drug testing, worms. This will be problematic in future.
Mark L,
I have to say, your analysis is compelling! In hindsight, my prediction that Republicans will stop trying to go back to the status quo ante may very well be a matter of them reaching the Acceptance phase. Certainly it’ll be acceptance that their old ideas of progress aren’t going to work.
Lunar Apprentice,
I didn’t mean to scoff. I just have seen that story every few years for the past decade. Perhaps each time corresponded to an increasingly detailed understanding of the mechanism, in which case I think that’s wonderful. But there have been working models made of it for years now, including one made with Lego ten years ago. So I’m confused every time it’s presented as a “we finally understand this thing and what it does now.”
neptunesdolphin,
I realized when they first announced the vaccines that it’d be nearly impossible to get reliable information about their safety/effective: the incentives to exaggerate either their safety or their danger (depending on the audience you’re pandering to) are just too strong.
Kenaz Filan,
I think Pentacostalism is a good guess for Europe. Another might be the Hare Krishnas; I’m not sure how they’re perceived in Europe, but in America we still have a residual folk memory of them as the annoying people who pestered you at airports, and their theology and values are both too liberal for the conservatives (e.g. vegetarianism) and too conservatives for the liberals (e.g. no sex before marriage).
I also wouldn’t count out the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses just yet.
@himself: “mild Asperger’s AND ADD, which he himself thought was a fairly rare combination….”
Was he looking at us girls? Because, just looking around a bit, I’d say that a fair number of times, some sort of ADD seems to come with the package.
Anonymous, I hope it happens that quickly. The religion of progress has become a major cause of collective stupidity in our time, and it’s the single biggest obstacle in the way of any number of sane responses to our predicament.
Dagnarus, thanks for this.
Omar, thanks for this. I’ll look forward to the full report.
Apprentice, gotta keep those profits flowing to Pfizer et al.!
Michael, yes, I’m aware of this. (Greer is a Clan MacGregor name, as you may know, and I keep up to some extent on Scots politics; I’m very much in favor of independence, btw.) I’m not so sure that the Alba Party is purely a vanity project, though I know the SNP is trying to portray it that way; a fair number of people in Scotland are dismayed by the extent to which Sturgeon has been backpedaling on independence and pushing a far-left ideology instead. But we’ll see.
Scotlyn, hmm! Fascinating.
Your Kittenship, ouch. Well, get better promptly!
Morfran, so noted. Positive energy en route!
Michael, you know, ridiculing people who disagree with you doesn’t make them more likely to believe you. Jihadi violence has become a serious problem in several European countries, France among them, and pretending that this isn’t happening won’t make it go away. It simply comes across as blustering on your part.
Jbucks, yes, that’s also a possibility. It’s also possible that it may be a different health crisis unrelated to the current virus panic.
Denis, interesting. I note that from Providence almost all the moves were either to nearby parts of New England, or to Florida — those latter will be retirees.
Jerry, I’d put money on it.
Owen, and yet there are plenty of examples of countries shutting down hyperinflation promptly once they decided it was in their interests to do so. Aside from the Rentenmark, check out the demise of the “Continental” after the Revolutionary War, and its replacement thereafter with a gold-backed currency. Here’s a $20 Continental bill, worth around 50 cents in 1779…
Ethan, life trumps satire! As for fish, that’s interesting. I haven’t had that problem yet but I’ll keep an eye out for it.
Chris, I had to look up Powerful Owl. It sounds like the name of a superhero! That’s interesting about the weather…
Ksim, I could very easily see Christianity becoming a minority faith like Judaism; that was how I portrayed it in my novel Star’s Reach, where the Old Believers follow an odd minority faith that everyone else thinks is just plain weird. I suspect that the next religious wave will be something different, though — the Neopagan movement is rapidly fading out, and Christianity is settling into the usual rigor mortis of an old faith. Keep an eye out for something else.
Neptunesdolphins, it does explain a few things, doesn’t it?
Goldenhawk, that’s also a possibility.
Patricia M, I did indeed…
Your Kittenship, consider SubscribeStar — I’ve had very good experiences with it.
Naylor, try some of these for arithmetic, and some of these for slide rule technique.
Kenaz, that’s an interesting hypothesis. I expect Pentecostalism to become the starting point for a cascade of important new religious movements in the global South — it’s already in place, and just needs a few more generations of cultural drift — and if something from one of those sources comes back to Europe or the United States, yes, I could see it.
Aliza, thanks for the data points! I hope you don’t have any further problems.
Oilman2, many thanks for the heads up. I expect things to get very rocky in the not too distant future…
@JMG said “For my part, I consider the Mormon faith to be symbolically true — “anything that is possible to be believed is an image of truth,” as William Blake said — although its historic claims are literally false; I would say the same thing of most other religions; and I consider it to be a sad example of misplaced effort when people get bent out of shape trying to turn the vivid symbolic narratives of religion into pages in a history book…”
That makes a sort of sense. Even so, when the founder of your religion claims pretty unambiguously that what he dug up on the hill behind his farm was a history book, that is a tough attitude to shake. Mormonism, IMHO, has this problem worse than most strands of Christianity: a Catholic or Orthodox Christian can claim that the fact that half the Old Testament is iron-age folklore does not impugn the integrity of Peter and the other Apostles; a Mormon cannot say the same thing about the Mormon scriptures and Joseph Smith!
But really, all the Magian religions are subject to it, in varying degrees. Perhaps you remember that famous Fundementalist cartoon from the 1920s, “Descent of the Modernists,” that shows a bunch of “Modernist” clergymen walking down a staircase with steps labelled: BIBLE NOT INFALLIBLE –> MAN NOT MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE –> NO MIRACLES –> NO VIRGIN BIRTH –> NO DEITY…
So when you say you consider the Mormon faith to be symbolically true but historically false, I think you are correct, in a way, but I also don’t think you really appreciate how slippery that sort of thinking is to a Mormon. Does it mean, for instance, that the events in the Book of Mormon didn’t actually happen, but that you still have to follow the Mormon prophets to have a good relationship with God? Or does it mean that you don’t have to follow the Mormon prophets to have a good relationship with God, but that there still is a loving God who will provide for the spiritual needs of people who serve him? Or does it mean that there is no God and no afterlife, but that we’ll be happier if we act like there were?
Now, the ironic thing is that it appears that occult philosophy (about which I knew zilch prior to discovering Ecosophia) actually provides an answer! Basically, when Joseph Smith scried with the stone in the hat, he was seeing things in the astral plane. What he saw only occasionally matched things in the material plane (i.e. the real world, for a materialist). Nonetheless, he was perfectly able to sit across from a man whose house he had never been to and demonstrate his talents as a seer by telling the man the arrangement of the furniture in his living room – since that information is present in the man’s mind, i.e. in the astral plane.
But when he went treasure-hunting with the other upstate New York farm boys, and told them where to dig for the chests of gold and silver they all thought were buried somewhere nearby in the woods, the gold and silver never turned up, because it had only ever existed in the over-active imaginations of thousands of upstate New York farm boys.
Then Joseph tries to use the same seer stone to write scripture. According to his scriptures, the ancient inhabitants of the Americans were descended from refugees from Jerusalem, because, to most religious Americans at the time, that was naturally the best place for them to have come from. The leaders of these Jewish-Indians gave detailed and brilliantly-written sermons settling all the great religious controversies of 19th century New York, because of course they did. And all of the Book of Mormon prophets wrote in the biblical style, exactly as a contemporary American would have expected them to, even to the point of using Hebrew poetical phrases that aren’t visible until you actually translate the text into Hebrew (a language about which Joseph, at the time, knew nothing – take that, materialists!).
Now, the downside to viewing the origins of Mormonism in this way is that it makes my views on the subject practically impossible to explain to other people. Usually, when someone abandons belief in the literal truth claims of Mormonism, it means they think Joseph Smith was a dishonest huckster with no supernatural abilities at all, and I certainly don’t believe that. But what alternatives are there when talking to someone who doesn’t already understand terminology like “Magian Worldview” and “Astral Plane!” Explaining those things is not the work of a few sentences!
Usually, I just say something along the lines of “I can’t be a good Mormon anymore because I no longer believe there’s such a thing as a One True Faith,” and then explain that I still believe in the gifts of prophesy and healing and the existence and benevolence of God and the efficacy of prayer, and that I’ve kept on living a religious life: i.e. I pray each day facing Jerusalem, and I don’t work on the Sabbath, and I’m still a cherryboy. Usually, this works well enough, but it’s a poor substitute for being able to explain what I’m actually thinking!
Interesting piece relating the ideological rift among USA’s republicans to their ethnic roots, by the other Greer:
https://scholars-stage.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-problem-of-new-right.html
@ Jaroslaw #72 Bill and I are vendors at craft shows. We sell our books.
We use our 4 door Ford Focus sedan (2011) with a small trunk to haul everything. It is a small car.
With careful packing, we can haul several card tables, a 10 by 10 foot canopy, lawn chairs, large Rubbermaid storage tote containing show needs, cartons of books, signage, bags of cloth grocery bags (free with purchase!), and glass bowl of Kisses.
If you want to see an interesting collection of vehicles, go behind the scenes at a craft show where the vendors park. You’ll see everything from mammoth RV’s to little sedans like us.
How big a vehicle do you need?
If you get a trailer hitch or one of those flat platforms that can be mounted under the body of the car or one of those rooftop racks, you can haul a lot of stuff when you need to and then when you don’t, you leave the extra back home.
No, I can’t haul a full sheet of plywood. But I can haul half a sheet of plywood or 8 foot-long pieces of PVC piping (fold down backseat and they fit between the closed trunk and the dashboard.
Look at what you actually need.
I have to disagree with Anonymous’ analysis of the New Blue Party. I think that while it has many virtues over the current established parties, the idea of progress is still fairly firmly rooted in the party as it stands now, and that it’s going to be a while yet before more than a small minority of Canadians start to accept that progress is over.
Ethan, JMG,
I had fish last night and had a similar reaction. Just as a data point. I wasn’t sure what caused it, but if it was the fish I may have a problem: my body doesn’t function well without seafood.
@ John and Kenaz,
Pentecostalism I think will become an American phenomenon. I agree with you both that it will become the next religion of choice in the Americas.
But not Europe. Definitely not Europe. Europe is too anti-religious and pro-science as a continent to experience any major religious revival. All Great Awakenings in recent history took place in America, not Europe.
America for example has “In God we Trust” on its bills and a very strong Christian culture there. As Alistair Campbell once remarked to Tony Blair, “Tony, the British dont do God. This is not America.”
So yeah, the evangelical movement wont become big in Britain or Europe.
I think the future faith of Western Europe will be Islam if im honest. Europe is following the same trajectory as the late Roman Empire. Nothing can really be done to stop the flow but this in itself is not a bad thing.
Western Europe is ultimately faustian. That means it is an energy of constant change and progress. Islam will become eventually the dominant faith as Christianity did in about 100 – 200 years I reckon and as a result, will eventually experience its own religious reformation.
Europe did this ultimately with Christianity, with Judaism (look at all those Reform Judaist movements) and ultimately the same will be done with Islam. The Magian Middle East can produce the faith but ultimately it must go through the faustian grinder to liberalise.
Simply put, Islam cannot reform itself in the Middle East or Iran due to the energy of this places. But it can in Europe.
As for Russia – Russia has a very Conservative energy that is resistant to change. Russia hates change. You feel the energy here and it is one of an old Babushka – she wants to be left alone.
Problem is Faustian Europe keeps interfering with Russia and this forces change upon her. Yet with each turn of change, things always remain in same. If Russia is the old Babushka, Europe is the young woman that actively wants change.
Take Orthodox Christianity. Russians were never serious Christians like the Westerners. It always feels like Paganism never truly died out in Russia and Christianity just became a new face with which to practice it. Everyone is superstitious and believes in some form of magic.
As for a future faith – All I can say is that it depends on who can answer the new big questions in life. Whoever produces the next generation of philosphers and theologians will ultimately win out.
A couple of items from earlier discussions:
1) While the general understanding of the First Noble Truth is “Life Is Suffering,” the actual definition of Dukka (the word from where we get Suffering in Pali) actually comes closer to “unsatisfactoriness” than “suffering.” A rather lame definition, so we get Suffering for a more dramatic First Noble Truth.
2) Combining the discussion we had on the supplicants losing touch with their Gods and the topic of Entryism, I wonder if one of the signs of a God/The Gods abandoning their people is the success of entryist groups. After all, if God/The Gods are with the group, they will be able to help protect their believers through vigilance, ritual and other protective means (The “long, dark night of the soul” is one such protection, in that you prepare the person for times when the God/Gods are taking care of other concerns) and a general force-field around the believers. Once the God/Gods have abandoned certain groups of believers, the entryists are able to enter, take over and change the groups.
And as for the Covid Vaccine, I’ve had both my Astra-Zeneca shots. It seems that the Moderna shots are more problematic of the double doses, and I haven’t had any issues. I got them at the insistence of my boss…who just closed down his company as of May 1st, so the reason of my getting the shot is now nonexistent (Taxi driver, focusing on people will health problems in part). At least I’ll have that much less to worry about this summer….
– Godozo
One reason to be sceptical about an Islamist takeover of Europe, is that Islamic fundamentalism is in large part a reaction against modernism in the first instance, and American military adventures in the Middle East in the second. If the Long Descent results in those things it is a reaction against waning, then it would fade away somewhat as the fuel behind it diminishes.
Ahoy, me lads and lasses! Pirate recipes – and the fickle finger of fame.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-pirate-who-penned-the-first-english-language-guacamole-recipe?utm_source=pocket-newtab
P.S. @ Lady Cutekitten – blessed be, and best wishes for getting over your bronchitis. I’ve had it; it’s nasty. May some of Bast’s fosterlings keep you warm and loving company in your illness.
@Patricia Mathews
That might be my mistake, I think he meant ADHD. The fact that I played a lot sport in and out of school and was constantly in trouble for messing might be the ADHD diagnoses.
I do think though that ADHD has become a label that’s too often slapped on young hormonal teens, males and females who won’t sit still.
Hi JMG
Morfran, so noted. Positive energy en route!”
Thank you!!!
@ Lady Cutekitten #373: I usually come down with bronchitis in January, and cough until about now. This year, I added zinc to my daily routine, and only came down with the bronchitis a few weeks ago. I’m usually able to keep it under control with OTC meds. We can cough at Karens in Stereo!
@Michael Gray #374: I’m not sure that rightwing groups are actually looking to Bin Laden as an icon. I think Clarke was trying to tar them with “terrorism” brush, by showing that they’ve gone so far as to worship the root of all terrorism.
Hi JMG
Re; vaccines
As someone has pointed out, there is a very interesting article from january 2021 that analize the natural inmunity of people in front of SARS Cov-2 infection, and the results are very interesting:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-020-00808-x.pdf
In the summary they say very intersting assertions:
“Cross-reactive SARS-CoV-2 peptides revealed pre-existing T cell responses in 81% of unexposed
individuals and validated similarity with common cold coronaviruses, providing a functional basis for heterologous immunity in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Diversity of SARS-CoV-2 T cell responses was associated with mild symptoms of COVID-19, providing evidence that immunity requires recognition of multiple epitopes. Together, the proposed SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes enable identification of heterologous and post-infectious T cell immunity and facilitate development of diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic measures for COVID-19”
So, as dr. Mike Yeadong said many months ago, cross-inmunization plays a big role to explain why more than 80% of people that have Covid-19 have only mild or none effect, because they are immuzided by previous contact with others coronavirus, and the T cells can make a good enough immune response to deal with the SARS Cov. 2 infection.
Another very interesting assertion is that long term cross-immunity is against nucleocapside (many) epitopes. Compare this with the existing vaccines, that are based, all of them, in the Spike protein, much more subject to evolutive changes because is the base of the infection/replication/survival of the virus, and this is a more narrow approach based on the more changing part of the virus; and also the vaccines approach is based on the antibody titres, or in the neutralizing antibody titres that we can easily measure, and we have not exact idea of the medium-longterm of the T cells response that is seems to be the main natural approach, based on a high range of epitopes (resilient).
On the other hand there are more and more clues that the Spike protein is a dangerous toxin that produce many nasty effects:
a) Ir cross the blood – nervous system barrier and cause inflammatios in the brain and nervous system:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33053430/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33360731/
“Evidence provided suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins trigger a pro-inflammatory response on brain endothelial cells that may contribute to an altered state of BBB function. Together, these results are the first to show the direct impact that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein could have on brain endothelial cells; thereby offering a plausible explanation for the neurological consequences seen in COVID-19 patients”
b) Induce signalling in the cells and potentially could produce thickness of the lung capillaries and induce PAH (Pulmonary Hipertension):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7827936/
c) Induce platelets problems and fibrinogen, that can leads to internal hemorrhages and clots:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.05.21252960v1.full
Now in VAERS there are 1845 reports of clots problems that could be associated with the vaccines (655 reports of Pfizer, 577 reports of Moderna and 608 of J&J), in EUDRA is even higher and more alarming reports.
In fact some researchers in Oxford, I supposed tired of describing the AstraZeneca vaccine as a “disaster” compare with the m-RNA vaccine published a study comparing the clots problems in the case of m-RNA vaccine and the AZ vaccine:
https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1005
Talking only abou the CVT (Cerebral Venous Thrombosis) the recorded incidence is 5 per million for the AZ vaccine and 4,3 per million for the m-RNA vaccines, not far both types, but if we talk about clots in general m-RNA vaccines are the worst in the range of 23 per million and Covid-19 produce in the range of 140 per million.
The problem is in the case of the young people (lets say below 40), when it seems that their immune system stop the replication of the virus and you cannot really see the effect of the Spike protein because the number of them is comparatively low, but when you inject the m-RNA vaccines and the body of the young produce many trillions of copies of Spike protein from inside (like a trojan horse) the effect is much more pronounced than in the normal Covid infection. So both situations, IMO, are not comparable.
I think is beyond reckless to vaccinate young people given the level of risk they have with the Covid-19 and knowing the vaccines do not stop transmission.
After some deaths of youg people, now Israel is investigating 62 cases of myocarditis in people under 30:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-said-probing-link-between-pfizer-shot-and-heart-problem-in-men-under-30/
Also the Pentagon is investigating 14 cases of mycarditis (I guess you will hear more of vaccine related myocarditis and pericarditis soon):
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/04/26/pentagon-tracking-14-cases-of-heart-inflammation-troops-after-covid-19-shots.html
All of this is not really a surprise, dr. Patrick Whelan arise many of this problems in a request to the FDA prior to the emergency use approval of the experimental vaccines:
https://www.regulations.gov/document/FDA-2020-N-1898-0246
You have to be very very careful to inject young healthy people with unknown experimental substances “just in the case” they suffer for a disease that kill 0,04% below 70 years (Ioannidis) and 0,0001% (or something similar) under 30, and with vaccines that do not stop transmission
But the things proceed in the wrong direction, they are starting the trial of Pfizer vaccine (of course) for children between 6 months and 11 years, what could be worng?
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/25/covid-vaccine-pfizer-begins-trial-on-infants-and-young-kids.html
Cheers and good luck
David
If Europe was the last/current great civilization, and we expect Russia to produce the next great civilization, then shouldn’t we be watching around the edges of their area for the new religions? After all, it was a Roman province that produced Christianity.
In regards to the whole 5G thing, I’ve been watching with mild interest. Now, on a trip with a kid, I have lost my car four times in two days. I do NOT get lost. Not ever. Certainly not within four city blocks! Suddenly this 5G thing is personal. Because I really am not seeing another likely cause.
JMG,
” but since believers in the woke ideology only account for 8% of Americans, …”
That is very good news! I have been wondering for months how large that group is. Where did you find that statistic?
I know the received wisdom here is that Covid is an overblown nothingburger. I’m curious – what’s everyone’s take on what we’re seeing in India?
https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/world/india-covid-hospitals-srinivas-volunteers-b1840258.html
Thanks, I forgot about Subscribestar!
Dear Slithy Toves,
If I may:
In the past few weeks I’ve done some research on the Hare Krishnas. While it’s conceivable that they might become a major religious institution in the west, at this point it looks seriously unlikely to me: after their founder died 95% of the membership evaporated. Furthermore, the demographics of the movement have shifted in the years since the founder’s death, at least in the United States: from what I’ve read, it seems that now most of the people who attend the ISKCON temples in the US are Desi. ISKCON also has a modest presence in India, with about one million adherents there. It seems to me from my very limited perspective that the movement has, more or less, become folded into or at least synthesized to a great extent with the larger Vaishnava mainstream of Hinduism. That said, I find it interesting the explosive rise of Krishna Consciousness in Russia and Central Eastern Europe. Apparently, if you go to India and hang out at ISKCON temples, a huge fraction of the European converts are from Czechoslovakia and points east. Here I think there actually may be the possibility of something profound in the future: it’s conceivable — although it seems improbable at this point — that the Sobornost Great Culture might arise employing techniques and symbols from ISKCON.
Part of the reason I’m a bit skeptical of the rise of ISKCON in the US is the times I’ve interacted with Hare Krishnas, they’ve been very leery of saying anything to me or any of my friends, and rather simply hung out together in a way that reminds me of cliques in the punk rock scene. They no longer seem to do much proselytizing or even outreach in the United States from what I gather. As noted, it seems after their founder’s death, the character of the movement shifted radically, at least here in the United States.
Lydia @ #182:
How do you reply to that ubiquitous question: “Have you been vaccinated”?
If it’s a casual acquaintance, and they ask this exact open-ended, non-specific question, I simply answer, “Yes,” without elaboration. Because I have been vaccinated, even if it was way back in my infancy and childhood, and for illnesses other than Covid-19.
If anyone specifically asks, “Have you been vaccinated against Covid-19?” my response is, “I’m still trying to find out if my insurance provider will cover me if I have an adverse reaction. I already know they won’t cover me if I’m injured by taking part in a clinical trial of unapproved drugs, and since the Covid-19 vaccines only have energency authorization and not full FDA approval, this is a concern. And so far, nobody is willing to give me a clear answer.”
People expect me to say either “Yes,” at which point they will praise me, or “No,” at which point they will scold me for not “doing my part.” Giving a response they never thought of, never anticipated, and that they don’t have a reaction ready in the can for completely throws them off the rails. The best response most can manage is either stunned surprise, or a look of sublime horror.
I did forget to mention to folks here.
A documentary based on the book ‘Bright Green Lies’ was released on April 22nd. In a similar vein as ‘Planet of the Humans’ it is a look at how destructive a lot of “green” technology is. It is getting a surprising amount of positive reception and has yet to have the same ‘cancel culture’ push back that others films/books of this nature have received. However I assume that is because few people know about it.
Without the name of Michael Moore attached to it as a target, I suspect it will be mostly ignored. Check it out, it is done fairly well on what I assume was a very tight budget.
Lady Cutekitten,
I really enjoy the AoM website. I think you’re a fan of Clausewitz, if I remember correctly. Here is a recent post if you haven’t seen it.
Clausewitz on Overcoming the Annoying Slog of Life
https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/clausewitz-on-overcoming-the-annoying-slog-of-life/
RE: #390
@RusTheRook
@CryptoEnthusiast
RE: #390
You guys are talking about crypto currency, NFTs, “the Internet of things” and various ways they could be used and interconnected.
I see that you describe interesting possibilities BUT in my view sometime pretty soon the Internet and similar high tech will become unsustainable. By “pretty soon” I mean “within 20 to 40 years.” I picture some remnants of the Internet kept going by governments or powerful/wealthy families or corporations. But I expect the Internet we all use now to be a short-lived phenomenon. When I read about AI, and robotic machines replacing human beings in factories – I just think to myself “those folks are betting on the wrong horse.”
Please share your views on this. Do you expect cryptocurrencies and the Internet to be widely available to the general public 20 years from now? 40 years from now?
Many thanks!
John Michael, Lady Cutekitten and any others,
Thank you for your kind thoughts regarding the loss of my friend.
Naomi and Omar(?),
Thanks for the information on the Israeli situation!
John Michael,
In your previous blog you speculated that the Bloomer generation might go in for one last mediagenic fad – mass suicide parties. In my darker moments, I have wondered if this vaccine mania might have aspects of that – a mass game of Russian roulette instead of the certainty of knowing the gun is fully loaded. And course my generation wants to share the fun with everybody else, since we have eaten our cake down to the ceramic. Sad.
JMG re “If the virus was causing a great rush of blood clot problems in actual patients, I’d expect that to be splashed all over the mass media. ”
Your confidence in the mass media’s technical competence and curiosity seems to greatly exceed mine,
I make it a point to search for primary sources when I see any kind of technical news in the mass media.
What I read in the technical media about cause of death in covid-19 essentially always mentions clots/thrombotic embolisms/etc.
from May 2020
Pulmonary and cardiac pathology in African American patients with COVID-19: an autopsy series from New Orleans
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30243-5/fulltext
10 autopsies of African Americans
The Discussion section starts:
“The dominant pathological process in all lungs examined was diffuse alveolar damage, accompanied by thrombosed small vessels with significant associated haemorrhage. An important additional mechanism that contributed to death in this initial series of autopsies was a thrombotic microangiopathy involving the lungs. ”
translation – widely distributed lung damage with lots of tiny clots and bleeding.
Also from May 2020
High risk of thrombosis in patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection: a multicenter prospective cohort study
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00134-020-06062-x
150 COVID-19 patients in 4 French ICUs between March 3 and 31st 2020 were studied.
“Sixty-four clinically relevant thrombotic complications were diagnosed in 150 patients, mainly pulmonary embolisms”
In addition, they note that kidney dialysis and ECMO machines had issues of clot formation, even though the patients were given anti-coagulants.
“Comparison with non-COVID-19 ARDS patients (n = 145) confirmed that COVID-19 ARDS patients (n = 77) developed significantly more thrombotic complications, mainly pulmonary embolisms (11.7 vs. 2.1%, p < 0.008)."
From April 2020
Incidence of thrombotic complications in critically ill ICU patients with COVID-19
https://www.thrombosisresearch.com/article/S0049-3848(20)30120-1/fulltext
184 ICU patients in 3 Dutch ICUs.
from the results:
"All patients received at least standard doses thromboprophylaxis." (i.e. they got anticoagulants).
Conclusion
"The 31% incidence of thrombotic complications in ICU patients with COVID-19 infections is remarkably high."
from Feb 2021
Causes of death and comorbidities in hospitalized patients with COVID-19
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-82862-5
Autopsies of 26 decedents in Germany
They found a (bare) majority died of sepsis with co-infection, which (helped) cause "diffuse alveolar damage".
About thrombosis:
"pulmonary thromboembolism was diagnosed in almost every fourth of our patients during the clinical course of the disease. However, we found that pulmonary thromboembolism was an immediate cause of death or a condition leading to cause of death in two cases only, which suggests that in other cases hypercoagulability may have been effectively controlled by anti-coagulant treatment. Nevertheless, hypercoagulability appears to be an important, severe and potentially fatal aspect of COVID-1917,18. Furthermore, peripheral microthrombosis in multiple organ systems has been reported19, which may cause severe organ damage also in patients that survive COVID-19. "
Note that by the middle of 2020, anti-coagulant therapy was considered standard of care.
There are still issues and questions – and the need for careful management due to the possibility of bleeding and/or clots.
https://www.hematology.org/covid-19/covid-19-and-vte-anticoagulation
It is important to understand that most deaths from covid-19 occur after the high levels of virus are already receding.
This paper has some good charts down in it, even if one doesn't want to read all the details.
The Importance of Understanding the Stages of COVID-19 in Treatment and Trials
https://www.aidsreviews.com/resumen.php?id=1567
Just the main picture is at:
https://twitter.com/danielgriffinmd/status/1323418530780532738
I understand there is genuine and honest concern about vaccines – I have some too, and I'm 2nd dose of Pfizer + 1 week, feeling ok.
What would you consider adequate testing of a vaccine?
Inflation is here, only it is by stealth. Found this courtesy Zerohedge.
https://forums.redflagdeals.com/costco-paper-towels-now-20-fewer-sheets-per-roll-2461125/
It’s a stirring sight, Peter Khan leading his hacking horde in a charge through the Human Resources meeting…
@sunnnv,
I agree with you that thrombosis defines the peculiar danger of the COVID-19 viral infection. What has not been focused on, which deserves special focus, is why this occurs in some people, mostly older or with comorbidities, whereas in others, the infection is mild. It would make better sense to define who is at risk and find ways to reduce that risk rather than subject everyone to extra risk with a one-size-fits-all medication campaign.
I will respect anyone’s wishes to be vaccinated if they believe that to be the best option, although I fear they are not being given enough information for true informed consent, and despite reports coming in now of people around the vaccinated being harmed. That will be for the companies and governments involved to answer for later on. Meanwhile, I’m hearing that prophylactic measures shown to work against COVID-19 are also helpful against exposure to the spike proteins. I’m sure more information will become available with time, making it possible for the non-consenting to protect themselves to some degree.
@Goldenhawk — thx! something to think about 😉 (and fwiw — this never showed up whilst googling for me)
Wesley, exactly. Joseph Smith had a substantial background in occultism — you’ll doubtless have heard of the Jupiter talisman found on his body after his murder — and he made the mistake, very common in his time and for the next century, of mistaking his visions for material-plane realities. That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t in touch with something real, just that he confounded the planes. (Rudolf Steiner did the same thing, with equally gaudy results.) As for what you can tell ordinary believers, you can’t. This is something that occultists have been dealing with for centuries; there’s nothing you can say to the ordinary unreflective believer that they can understand, so don’t worry about it. Tell them that you have a testimony of the essential truth of the Mormon faith, even though you disagree with the official theology on some of the details, and save further explanations to those who can handle them. (“To know, to dare, to will, and…”)
A. Karkuhainen, interesting. Thanks for this.
Mollari, thanks for the data point. What kind of fish?
Ksim, I could definitely see Islam taking over in Europe at least for a time, though that might be enough to rekindle an interest in Christianity. Still, we’ll see.
Godozo, thanks for this.
Mawkernewek, which is why I would expect Islam to flourish in Europe, where it still has modernism to contend with.
Patricia M, arrrrrhh! Many thanks, me lovely!
DFC, many thanks for this. I’m feeling even better now about having caught it and come through it in fine shape.
BoysMom, that’s certainly a likely option for new religions. As for 5G, good heavens. I’ll have to pay attention to that.
Onething, it was a poll I read over the winter. I’ll see if I can find it again.
John, oog. That’s uncomfortably plausible.
Sunnnv, none of that addresses my point, but it’s a nice smoke screen, I’ve got to admit. As for adequate testing, the phrase “long term safety” is the one that should have been on everyone’s mind. Eight weeks of testing tell you nothing about that.
Brian, that’s been going on for decades. Hershey bars used to be more than twice their current size…
Michael,
It all depends on what you mean by a “no go” zone.
I can, however, remember a friend in the UK (this was before I left the UK in 2012) who lived on a council house estate in Croydon in South London specifically saying to me he would not go into certain neighbourhoods for his own safety. Certainly, in South London, based on reports I am hearing that situation has not improved. His experience and maybe yours might be very different – but I think that, as he was getting buses and walking to train stations and doing shopping in Croydon, he was probably in a better position to judge than maybe you or me.
My own sister in law. currently living in Farnborough in South Hampshire, has her own stories of discomfort from the time she lived in Basingstoke. I also remember reading an article in the last few years by a Christian pastor (he may have been a vicar, but I forget), who lived in an inner city area, talking about the abuse his wife suffered just walking down the street.
I do wonder how many white working class Brits who are actually living in these areas you have talked to? I am sure the experience differs from area to area, depending on the demographics and poverty level – but I am hearing and reading a pretty consistent message myself from those who can’t afford to live in more affluent areas.
This is an article I have just dug up myself on a very quick search on the internet. Even if you disagree with the politics, surely it presents a picture of a demographic change happening too fast?
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5177/no-go-zones-britain
Onething, how are you feeling?
godozo,
One of the things I’ve learned recently is there is some doubt among scholars whether the Four Noble Truths were an original teaching of Buddhism or something that cropped up later, and that they’re much less important outside of Theravada, which is a highly conservative and somewhat rationalistic branch of Buddhism.
It seems plausible to me that the 4NT are summaries of what early Buddhism taught, just as the form of them that are familiar to Westerners — e.g. “Life is suffering/unsatisfactory” — are summaries of longer passages from the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (link is to a fairly recent translation by Bhikku Sujato, a Theravadin monk). The original form was something like:
Now this is the noble truth of suffering. Rebirth is suffering; old age is suffering; illness is suffering; death is suffering; association with the disliked is suffering; separation from the liked is suffering; not getting what you wish for is suffering. In brief, the five grasping aggregates are suffering.
To my mind, the logic of the First Noble Truth is similar to that of the existentialists, and can be summarized a different way: Life is pointless. Unfortunately, because of rebirth, you’re trapped here. Fortunately, if you stop wanting to be here — stop wanting anything life has to offer, including the chance to suffer and performatively act out against life, like the other ascetics — you can leave.
Personally, I think this is all about on a level with the paper I linked in my comment this week: a sign of shallow thinking and a certain kind of temperament — one that sees bad as pretty much always outweighing and negating any good; a temperament I’ve struggled with myself — rather than profound insight.
Which makes my recently-acquired fondness for Shin Buddhism (aka Jodo Shinshu) somewhat awkward: it’s a beautiful religion, but the parts that make it so beautiful are precisely the parts that contradict the teachings of traditional Buddhism.
Violet,
Thank you for this. I was aware that there was a significant presence of Hare Krishnas in Russia, but not that they had collapsed so thoroughly in American after their founders’ death. It’ll be interesting to see how this develops; Russia has recently cracked down on what it deems “cults,” including the JW’s, and from what I understand, occultism and polytheistic religions are looked on suspiciously there; it wouldn’t surprise me if ISKCON were suppressed before too long.
JMG,
You can still get the larger size, they’re just called “XL” now; the smaller size seems to me to have been tailored to fit in which other candy bars at checkout aisles.
My go to example of declining portion sizes is the Burger King Whopper: decades ago, they had an ad campaign about how Wilt Chamberlain needed two hands to hold one, even with his massive hands. Now pretty much anyone can eat one one-handed.
Big Macs I think suffered a similar reduction, especially in patty thickness: a few years ago, they ran a limited edition “Grand Mac” that was larger and had thicker patties, and my mother said she remembers when they were all that big. It tasted significantly better than the regular thing, though that’s a low bar to clear.
@ #392 -Mary Bennett
Rogue Classicist
https://twitter.com/rogueclassicist?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Archaeologica
http://www.archaeologica.org/news
Heritage Daily
http://www.heritagedaily.com
Archaeology Magazine
http://www.archaeology.org/news
Some of these sites don’t post over the week-ends or holidays. Some of the English newspapers articles aren’t worth reading. You’ll figure out which one’s they are. Click bait, usually re-hashing something that happenedlast year. The tip off? Over the top adjectives 🙂 Lew
JMG,
Thanks for giving us an open forum to discuss vaccine side effects and our experiences with vaccines. It’s increasingly hard to do so on the internet, as anything critical gets scrubbed or shadow banned from social media and most mainstream websites. I’m getting my second shot of Pfizer soon for travel related reasons, but am concerned for my wife as I have heard, firsthand, of many women having menstruation problems (heavy bleeding and unusual bleeding) following vaccination.
I would have much preferred waiting until 2022 to see how things pan out.
@sunnnv. Yes. With regards to the spike protein, the actual virus can do all that damage and more. Can. When you take the vaccine you will definitely get your body flooded with this spike protein. Whereas you only might catch covid19, and you only might have a severe infection.
Looking at this paper https://osf.io/a9jdq/
It puts the relative risk of experiencing a Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (CVT) or a Portal Vein Thrombosis (PVT) at 6.67 and 7.4 respectively. That is a covid infection is 6.67 times more likely to give you a CVT as the Vaccine is. Looking at the covid cases in the US vs total population. Over the last year 10% of the US population was infected. So if we were to inject everyone in the US with an mRNA vaccine we would expect roughly 50% more incidences of CVT than with no vaccines. Worse, there appears to be evidence that the blood clotting is caused more frequently in the young https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/oxford-astrazeneca-vaccine-coronavirus-rare-blood-clots-young-people-b932526.html. This is in contrast to the virus, which overwhelmingly affects older people worse https://www.statista.com/statistics/1191568/reported-deaths-from-covid-by-age-us/. Perhaps there should be at least some kind of control study following vaccinated vs non-vaccinated people for risk of heart attack/stroke. Perhaps we should be doing some analysis of relative risk of vaccine vs covid taking into account age/morbidity.
I can believe that if we look at possible futures, the one in which everyone was vaccinated we have a lot less health complications than if we didn’t vaccinate (Assuming a mutant, vaccine resistant strain of the virus doesn’t become dominant). It might lead to a lot of younger people getting debilitating diseases that they wouldn’t have otherwise had. Especially seeing as how the plan isn’t a one time vaccination. It is to be vaccinated every year.
Dagnarus re: #391 vaccines
If I may … correct a few errors.
== “All the vaccines currently available in the west are based on hijacking the bodies own cells …”
Only the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna).
The AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccines are based on adenoviruses.
A fairly comprehensive list:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/health/how-covid-19-vaccines-work.html
== “One would assume that this level of spike protein is probably a lot larger than the amounts experienced by the majority of actual covid infections, which are usually mild.”
Why would one assume this?
a. it’s a waste of vaccine (e.g. money) to produce more than the required response.
b. in the earliest phases of testing, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna ran dose/response trials.
Pfizer’s paper, received at Nature 29 June 2020:
Phase I/II study of COVID-19 RNA vaccine BNT162b1 in adults
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2639-4
“45 healthy adults (18–55 years of age), who were randomized to receive 2 doses—separated by 21 days—of 10 μg, 30 μg or 100 μg of BNT162b1.” … “A second vaccination with 100 μg was not administered because of the increased reactogenicity and a lack of meaningfully increased immunogenicity after a single dose compared with the 30-μg dose.”
They measured the immune response – levels of antibodies that could neutralize SARS-CoV-2,
and found no need to use the higher dose.
n.b. this is the “b1” version, further testing led them to go forward only with the “b2” version.
== “flooding”
The mRNAs have a limited length “poly-A” tail of adenine nucleotides, so after (about) that many cycles through a ribosome to make spike proteins (each cycle causes loss of an adenine), the mRNA is marked for disposal. Thus vaccine spike is limited.
https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/reverse-engineering-source-code-of-the-biontech-pfizer-vaccine/
Note that the covid infection is by a living thing, and it’s turning out spike and more of itself with wild abandon, limited only by host immune response or host death.
Note again: once past a few days of possible anaphylaxis, anything that the mRNA vaccine could do to you, the “natural” covid-19 can also do to you – and more.
== “Their is only one Vaccine I know about which purports to be a standard, inactivated virus vaccine, which does not rely on flooding your body with only this specific protein.”
There are 4 inactivated virus vaccines (3 Chinese, 1 Indian) under “Leading vaccines” in the above vaccine tracker.
== “Which will also expose your immune system to the entirety of the virus.”
Why do you care or want that?
* The virus envelope is an ordinary cell membrane, with no antigenic properties. The 2 proteins in the membrane besides spike (E envelope and M membrane) are small and hidden among the forest of spikes. If the spike protein is blocked by antibodies, the virus can’t infect cells and is marked for destruction by the next macrophage that comes along and finds a bound antibody attached to something.
* E deletion will only (possibly) attenuate the virus, not kill it – leaving the nasty spike to do its evil deeds.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41594-020-00536-8
Thus it’s a waste of time to make an antibody to block it.
* the M protein is small and slippery, and took until Sept 2020 to get its structure. Note above phase I/II trial paper was already done by June 2020 (hence study was done before that).
* extra antibodies might lead to “original antigenic sin”. So if one is immunized to E and/or M, and they gratuitously change without the virus loosing function, one’s immunity is impaired, and might be limited in adapting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_antigenic_sin
== “What does it say about the decline of the west, that not one of our institutions was able to develop a vaccine in the standard, time tested way?”
“not able” isn’t true – was conscious deliberate choices. There are tradeoffs in the different types of vaccines.
As to the advantages of mRNA vaccines:
* speed
42 days from the release of the genome of SARS-CoV-2 to 1st vaccine by Moderna, they were able to start (animal) testing Feb 24, 2020.
https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/10/the-story-of-mrna-how-a-once-dismissed-idea-became-a-leading-technology-in-the-covid-vaccine-race/
mRNA does NOT require figuring out how to repeatably grow viruses in living cell culture and cleanly separate them from the host cells and all the debris of dead/dying cells without damaging the viruses. Nor does it involve fiddling with adjuvant doses.
* purity/focus
If the spike protein is the nasty part, having it as the sole target means not dealing with potential side effects of all the other junk from inactivated sars-cov-2 or replication incompetent adenoviruses.
That was my point with the 2nd article you linked (and what John of Red Hook linked at #272): just the spike makes clots, natural covid-19 makes worse clots – seems reasonable to conclude something else besides spike that is found in natural infections is adding to the problems.
Further, our germinal centers evolve antibody production. If they’re busy making relatively useless antibodies to E and M and even internal proteins of the coronavirus, they’re not so busy generating a broad response to spike. All those extra antibodies concern me in terms of possibly inducing auto-antibodies.
* ability to tweak the target
The spike in the Pfizer (at least) is slightly modified to make it more stable. The “b1” version was just the binding domain – if that would have worked well enough, it would be preferable – less junk hanging around. Hard to do with viral vectors.
It will be interesting to see how the Novavax and Vector Institute protein vaccines work out.
They use purified spike proteins assembled into a fake virus-like particle.
If I was younger, I’d have waited a while to see what the phase 3 results would be.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/novavax-covid-19-vaccine.html
At least we’re not having the issues with production that the Sputnik-V vaccine is:
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2021/04/28/brazil-rejects-the-gamaleya-vaccine
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2021/04/28/russian-vaccine-behavior
And it happens from time to time that inactivated virus vaccines either didn’t get enough inactivation (and so cause infections) or got too much rough treatment and produce faulty/no immunity.
@ilona
The problem that the internet faces – as has been argued many times here, is that it uses enormous amounts of energy. I‘ve heard that in the US alone 70 billion kWh in 2020 alone. That’s a lot of energy for something that many regard as a luxury, although I do quite like pictures of cute kittens.
The problem that western civilisation faces, is that for some countries – it isn’t a luxury, but an integral part of government and corporate infrastructure. When it becomes unreliable because of vital data centres suffering power cuts, it’s going to be very difficult.
There are two possible adaptions that could retain some aspects of what we have at the moment in the face of crumbling network infrastructure. The first is simply to slow down. The faster we try and push bits through a network, the more energy it takes. Slowing down could at least improve matters. That would be an internet without YouTube, Netflix goes back to DVDs in the post, and Amazon Prime video becomes expensive, then unavailable in your region (and mine). Then we will lose audio, so it’s back to your local radio stations playing rock, or polkas, according to local taste.
The other adaption is that we switch from ‘click on a link to see the text/gifs/whatever’ to a store and forward mechanism where you request some info by clicking on a link, but it turns up minutes, hours, or days later. This copes rather handily with parts of your network vanishing at random but reappearing later. In essence, email. Email was one of the very first internet services to appear way back in the 1980s, it will probably be one of the last to vanish although when that actually happens is certainly beyond my powers to predict.
You might be interested to hear that although there’s not much sign of energy cost and reliability having much of an impact at the moment, our networks are actually quite volatile right now. It’s no accident that both cloud based companies and cloud providers employ large numbers of people dedicated to keep things running. They are mostly there to cope with accidents. These can range from inexplicable bugs that bring down systems apparently at random to ‘someone has put a pickaxe though our cable’ type problems.
Dear JMG and commentariat,
Something that I’ve noticed in these dark times is that there has been a real loss of humor and levity.
For this reason I’ve felt inspired to write an absurdist piece on my blog in which I argue the mystical metaphysics of macaroni and cheese. While it’s not particularly gracious to laugh too loudly at one’s jokes, certainly I found this humorous essay produced some hearty laughs in me and does so each time I read it. In the hopes that others may find it the right sort of absurdity, here is a link to said essay: https://violetcabra.dreamwidth.org/123214.html
JMG Ethan
See celebs below. The UK food agency reduced the recommendation for the number of times to eat oily fish a few years ago.
The other problem with animal products (and I think with fish it’s worse) is ingesting microplastics… which can get into your bloodstream, and into other organs. No known problems yet, but young people have been ingesting plastics their whole lives, and the amount is increasing. There will presumably come a point when having thousands of pieces plastic floating about your body will have serious health effects. Also in fruit and vegetables, apparently.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/robbie-williams-almost-died-mercury-poisoning-seafood-habit-084510853.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJoP0fbULhoji7TeJEzdATQM-7wsRfFQtX0FCqVv9qexsbYq9S2gMhVUvz8BO5XITOExGxc0BZbI9zv4L-nPk4Cfbbx9D7_GdxWmWlMCjO4Z9R5_slJ2wgavDpAaWXxOxNlUgh5gQoeS88KFCib6yVkJsXtSBHXDO8TP6HfpoyiU
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/victoria-beckham-mercury-poisoning-fish-diet-robbie-williams-101943599.html
http://www.fao.org/in-action/globefish/fishery-information/resource-detail/en/c/1046435/
Himself
To cut a long story short I read this book (having had forty years of mental health problems):
https://www.amazon.com/Delivered-Distraction-Getting-Attention-Disorder/dp/0345442318/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
and was gobsmacked… it explained everything I’d ever done, thought, and not done, since I was six!
One book doesn’t solve all problems, particularly with comorbidities, possible caused by undiagnosed ADHD(!), but it might be worth a look.
I don’t really consider it a disorder, the world is not binary, and dividing people into those with “normal” brains and those with “disordered” brains is not really a very useful construct. Cf. gender, sexuality, height, strength, intellectual ability, skin colour… the list goes on!
@ Neptunesdolphins – “the news people firmly believe that the vaccine is magic” – actually you are onto something that I have gradually tuned into over the past year or so, as well.
I had been trying to figure out why there are pharmaceutical products which are set apart from the normal scrutiny and normal procedures for testing and licencing, and the normal regulations for liability, etc. These “set apart” pharmaceutical products are of course “vaccines” including anything that can somehow be shoehorned into that descriptor.
And the reason is that there IS a faith mantra that has become standard catechism for all believers in the religion of progress. The mantra is “vaccines save lives”. Which is uttered everywhere.
A few weeks ago I did a (I admit cursory) search for the phrase. And I found it steadily repeated, like a drumbeat, in the first or second paragraph of almost any article or scientific journal that covers any aspect of the subject of pharmaceutical products that come under the rubric “vaccine”. People who are advocating for universal vaccination utter it. But so do people advocating for safer, or better tested, vaccines (commonly presented in the media as “anti-vax”). And so do large numbers of scientific papers published in scientific and medical research journals. Their pre-ambles quite often make reference to the concept that “vaccines save lives”.
I ruminated for quite a while on that one, because, if you think about it, this is an unfalsifiable statement – one cannot satisfactorily demonstrate something that failed to occur, nor attribute anything that failed to occur to a specific cause. Therefore, the phrase “vaccines save lives” is more of a mantra, or a statement of belief/faith. And in scientific publications, it takes on the appearance of a catechism, a statement assenting to orthodoxy, which is increasingly the key to being permitted (by equally orthodox “peers”) to publish.
Meanwhile, it is quite easy to see (once you look for it), that in your average discussion that would be labelled a “pro-vax” vs “anti-vax” discussion, all of the evidence being brought to the discussion is on the “anti-vax” side, while the “pro-vax” side tends to bring “experts say”, “scientific consensus” “you gotta trust what all the doctors are saying (even though doctors are as divided as everyone else on the issue), don’t you”, and other such appeals to authority, none of which would, or should, be given a free pass if the discussion was actually a science-based one.
Obviously, pharmaceutical products sometimes do work for some people more or less as advertised, but in most cases, regarding most types of products, people do not resort to making belief/faith based statements to persuade those who are either reluctant to take any specific one, or who have already had bad experiences with a specific one, to push them into taking it anyway, against their doubt.
But with anything that can be named a “vaccine” all this goes out the window. We are now talking about “Vaccines [immaculately fabricated vials containing nothing but Miracles of Progress] which Save Lives”, which must turn every discussion into one of religious belief, faith, apostasy, heresy, and other such vital matters. But such discussions, in that context, can never ALSO be reasoned discussions of policy, or of budgetting decisions, or of appropriate laws and regulations, or of personal medical decisions, because… religion.
The personal medical decisions, as far as I’m concerned, need to remain exactly that – personal. However, the public policy, budgeting, law and regulatory matters are of concern to us all, and this religious context, is making this way more difficult that it should be, and I, for one, am stumped as to what to do about that. I really am.
I favour health services (however funded) that dedicate themselves to the care of the sick, and this crisis has opened up a vision in which health services are actually running away from the very idea of treating and caring for sick people, and it fills my heart with sad.
JMG Glad you are in favour of Scottish Independence (I put in lots of detail for those that don’t know). You are right about the concerns of Sturgeon’s caution, but another vote that fails would probably end the project (cf Quebec). I disagree with your assessment of the SNP being far left. Sturgeon’s policies are seen in Scotland as moderate / centrist. The weird problem for Scotland is, because it’s small compared to England in the UK, it ends up being effectively a one-party state, never a good thing. It used to be Labour, and now is the SNP. My concern is we have to get independence over the line before power corrupts the SNP, and it loses power. After independence the Scottish electorate would elect a government where the rump of the current SNP would be right of centre and a significant party. There would be substantial Green party, a small radical socialist party, who would gain representation, and a significant conservative party (old style, Burkean, not the lunacy that exists in England or the GOP). I suspect you would disagree with the politics, but approve of the Scots ability to make their own choices, successes, and mistakes 🙂 .
One more journal article on Covid recently published – the tl;dr the spike protein the vaccines mimic to try to cause immunity aren’t effective in developing the T cell response needed for immunity.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-021-00923-3
Other conclusions – Natural infection gives 100% immunity for at least 6 months and its robust so they suspect it fairly permanent. Also some of the cold viruses people usually pass around have given some immunity to this virus. I heard this last spring as a theory and in this paper the writers bring it
I keep going back to some of you major ideas – we humans are social primates and not ruled by logic and rationality, and our main religion these days is progress. The response to the virus really does show how we are social primates fixated on the religion of progress.
I see so much media coverage blaming individuals and groups on what is or isn’t happening with Covid rates and that is all social primate behavior. Rational people would be working from first principles, looking at the systems we have in place, and doing things like saying – “covid lives in human fecal waste (scientists have been measuring infection rates by looking at sewage treatment plants) – they are spraying human fecal waste on agricultural fields during March – fecal particles with Covid are in the air and people are breathing it in (because the masks we are wearing don’t do anything to stop it) – Covid rates are going to spike quickly”. Instead we get – “everything must shut down” or worse what is happening in India right now.
The other social primate display is masks. The fact that anything is acceptable across one’s face when out and about with what we are told is a deadly virus is laughable. And the people wearing them insist they are “taking Covid seriously” and push it on other people. Now I think the weak masks have been helping build people’s natural immune systems for the past year with low viral doses, but that’s not what is means in 99% of the population.
One more example is the push of the vaccine onto pregnant women and nursing mothers. It used to be that no medicine was deemed safe for that category. Now these experimental vaccines are deemed safer than getting the virus? Hundreds of women have miscarried or had still births and now nursing infants are dying of that weird platelet disease. But the social primates jump around and demand more compliance from these women shrieking “anti-vaxxer” at all who want to just follow the standard rule of decades.
The last example is all the DOH and CDC guidance which is all theater. When I said my hairdresser got Covid, she was at work for the previous days before she was diagnosed. They didn’t shut down the salon at all. Her co-workers probably got Covid tested, but all the text written is just useless in stopping the spread of this infection. Oh, and my hairdresser went to an urgent care thinking she had something else because she was vaccinated and sat in the regular waiting room, next to other people, and used the regular exam room. How much Covid did she spread there? There’s zero containment anywhere because people’s brains can’t deal with invisible viruses.
This is one of the few places I can talk about this and not be taken as a Covid denier or worse, Republican. Again, more social primate behavior.
Two last things – Biden not sending any meaningful aid to India is going to come back and bite us in the backside. We have those two giant hospital ships completely redone and we could have sent them a week ago. We could be setting up mobile hospitals. We used to have a country that did gestures like that. Yes it didn’t solve the problem, but wow did it look good in the media, and we had a presence. Now its just words and weak ones.
I’ve only been doing magical practice 8 months and I’m guessing this sudden ability to see the social primate behavior comes from that practice. I knew it logically before and would nod along when you mentioned it, but now I really see it. Now I can use that information to see where it shows up in my life.
It’s only taken 10 years or so of you saying it that I finally got it! Thank you for patiently and consistently writing and sharing for so long so this social primate could become a little more self-aware.
About “…..Induce signalling in the cells and potentially could produce thickness of the lung capillaries and induce PAH (Pulmonary Hipertension):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7827936/ ”
Oh, !@#$%^&*!!!!!
Because I *have* Pulmonary Hypertension, and my daughter and I have both noticed that my energy and endurance have taken a drop this spring. No way I’ll convince her this was a post-vaccine (2nd shot, Pfizer) reaction, but you’ve convinced me at least 80%.
JMG Safety in Europe. You are right, I was a little over the top, I’m sorry about that. I was shocked as a gay man someone suggesting that moving to the countries mentioned was a safe thing to do! You’re also right that there is a problem with islamic extremists in Europe, it is currently not a widespread problem, but could potentially become extremely serious, but I do not think there is any evidence (and none has been offered) to suggest that there is any kind of significant movement to Russia, Hungary and Poland due to this issue. I’ve never heard, from any source, of anyone taking, or thinking of taking, that route. The other problem in Germany, France, and other European countries, including the ones mentioned above, is right-wing anti-semitic violence, and I have seen evidence to suggest that at least some Jewish people are moving, or are planning to move elsewhere. And, of course, the state supported violence and attacks on lesbian and gay people in Russian, Hungary, and Poland are well documented.
Ida Auken on speed.
The post is already getting old, but I can’t think of any better place to promote this gem for your and your readers entertainment:
Will Hutton, columnist for the Guardian and “non-executive director” of “Satellite Applications Catapult” writes about how “fifty years after Apollo, space is about to transform life on earth beyond recognition”.
Well, well, all I can say is, the article keeps up with what the title promises. My personal favourite: “Worried about the impact of nearly 10 billion people in 2050 burning fossil fuels that would lift the Earth’s temperature insupportably? Relax. Space is on hand. By then, power-station spaceships in fixed orbit with vast solar mirrors will capture the sun’s rays 24/7, turn them into microwaves and beam them to solar panels on Earth.”
Here’s the link, enjoy:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/02/nearing-giant-leap-for-mankind-space-possibilities-are-transformational
Cheers,
Nachtgurke
Hey JMG! I’ve recently started working through your book Learning Ritual Magic. Great book. I also have paths of Wisdom and Circles of Power. I believe it’s at the end of chapter 3 of Learning Ritual Magic where you mention not trying out any other different types of magic while working through this system (the one in Learning Ritual Magic) but I’ve encountered a few things recently and feel the need to do the Rose Cross Ritual for a few days. Would you advise against that while working through the Learning Ritual Magic curriculum or since it’s of a similar path/tradition would it be alright to do?
@ Onething and JMG – the original polling that produced the 8% figure for “woke” Americans (as well as the 80% figure of Americans who disagree with “political correctness”) was carried out by “More in Common” – whose website is at http://www.moreincommon.com. They have produced a number of reports which can be linked on their website.
Their report on the different political/cultural strands of American thinking (including the ones that seldom get into the papers) is a pdf file that can be accessed here: https://www.moreincommon.com/media/s5jhgpx5/moreincommon_americanfabricreport.pdf
Media coverage of the report’s findings can be found by searching the term “hidden tribes.”
It is fascinating stuff.
Ksim wrote:
“Take Orthodox Christianity. Russians were never serious Christians like the Westerners. It always feels like Paganism never truly died out in Russia and Christianity just became a new face with which to practice it. Everyone is superstitious and believes in some form of magic.”
From the Russian point of view, it is the Westerners–even the most tradition-minded of the Roman Catholics–who never were serious Christians, but just aggressive barbarians who watered down the rich traditions of the earliest Church enormously, and turned them into a tool for consolidating secular power. Eastern Christianity in all its many varieties (Orthodox, Armenian, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, “Nestorian,” etc. never drew the same hard line between religion and superstition/magic as Western Christianity.
For one telling example, the authorized ritual book of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Trebnik, has rituals in it that looks like outright magic to Western Christian eyes: to keep pests out of fields, to cleanse wells in which some animal has died, etc., etc. And these rituals are still used.
(To the average Russian, the Western view of “superstition” just shows how ignorant Western Christians are of what “real” Christianity is. Madame Blavatsky directed her vehement scorn for Christianity specifically at Roman Catholic and Protestant Christianity; as her letters to her fellow Russians show. To the end of her days she continued deeply to admire her own and their Russian Orthodox heritage.)
Orthodox Christianity, unlike Western forms of that Religion, is by no means a spent force yet. As for the more distant future, time will tell … but as an outsider to that tradition, I am still betting on its future role in post-Faustian world history.
Ilona
I basically agree with you. Most crypto enthusiasts would not, but I have been reading JMG for many years and I think the Long Descent is a reality. The Internet won’t go down all at once of course, it will decline over many years and many places will continue to have it for a long time (if they have hydropower etc). But roughly speaking I would say, my lifetime will have it but my kids will probably not have the Internet for all of their lives (and it will probably lose the ability to have instant high definition video on wireless networks and universal coverage etc even within my lifetime – but a 1990s type internet – which is more than enough to enable cryptocurrency by the way – could survive and benefit people for quite a long time).
@Scotlyn #341
I’m old enough to remember the days when spent crankcase oil was used to treat posts! It was nasty stuff, but it did the trick! Barring that, you could usually find creosote at the farm stores.
I was fortunate to grow up in an area where Locust and Cedar trees grew wild. Both are rot-resistant, so that was our usual recourse. Trees of about the right size for fenceposts could be found along old fence lines or in fallow fields. Such fields were unfortunately quite common in our area, as many farms had gone under during the great depression and were still struggling when I came onto the scene.
Interesting that there are others here who remember those days!
@Mary Bennet: Pardon me for being late to the party. I live in the rural west of Scotland, just for reference. While I think the founding of the Alba party is interesting, and I’m happy to have any grist added to the Scottish independence mill, I’m concerned about the company the party is attracting (like Tommy Sheridan) and the rows over issues which have been proven to be totally false (Margaret Lynch saying that the SNP wanted to lower the age of consent to 10, eg). For balance to Wings over Scotland (which I formerly read and financially supported but now feel that the author has lost his way), please also have a look at the back posts of the blog called “Wee Ginger Dug”.
@hwistle: My own view is that independence is inevitable, despite Scotland being the only country I can think of in modern times which said “no thanks” when offered a chance in 2014 for a peaceful transition to make it so. I would like to avoid both the Ulsterisation of Scotland and/or (nightmare scenario) outright UK civil war, so I do fear the “SNP MPs have betrayed independence” cadences being beaten on the Alba and Wings drums.
@JMG, if I may be so bold as to suggest you have a look at the books (and perhaps the website) of Alastair McIntosh (if you aren’t familiar with him already, of course)? A Hebridean, for whom the spiritual connection between community and their land is foundational, I find him a sane voice in an increasingly crazy world. A daydream of mine would be to have you both sitting in my home with a dram after dinner, batting ideas around.
re: shrinkflation
That always happens during the initial phase of hyperinflation. And it has been going on for a while now. Everyone reacts to the rising prices by conserving. At some point like an avalanche a critical point is reached and behavior flips and all that matters is getting rid of whatever currency people have lost faith in.
And shrinkflation has been going on for years down at the lower levels of society. What perks my ears up is even the vaunted bastion of the upper middle and upper class – Costco – is finally starting to engage in it too. Costco would always sell you a full half gallon of ice cream when everyone else was selling these 3/8ths or 7/16ths gallons. Now they too are trying to have it both ways.
We’re getting closer to that critical point. I would also point out that Costco won’t be able to get away with it – the crowd that shops there tends to be savvier with their money than elsewhere and they won’t put up with it too much. Plus their whole business model is based on selling those membership fees – if they annoy enough of their customers, they’ll start getting canceled memberships. After all, if Costco is doing the same thing everyone else is, why bother shopping there?
#469 @Naomi,
As a Brit living not too far away from such a ‘no-go zone’, I can also confirm that they are most definitely real and most definitely dangerous. I suppose it’s not so bad if you’re a man walking around in broad daylight (even then there’s the risk of mugging/assault), but if you’re a woman walking alone in the dark – well, let’s just say that no white woman even thinks of doing that in these areas. From Islamic schools to Sharia courts, these areas have a whole framework of parallel institutions where they can evade the law of the land. The police will only occasionally choose to enforce it there because much of the time, it’s more trouble than they think it’s worth. These areas are de facto separate countries.
Lew @ 472, Thank you for the links. I haven’t much use for twitter, but the other three look interesting, even if they do all repeat the same stories.
Naomi @ 469, I am astonished that this sort of thing is being tolerated at all.
Thank you to all who answered my questions about Alba. The party interests me because it has announced a specific plan, we will immediately introduce a bill to begin negotiations for independence. Not “work for” or “have a commission look into”, but get it done now. From recent news items, I gather that Sturgeon is a bit worried. Craig Murray all but accused her of selling out to Whitehall, I don’t know if that is true. I gather that Scotland would like to rejoin the EU, a revival of the Auld Alliance? Do you think it likely that Scotland might become in effect an English speaking part of Scandinavia?
Tentacles! 🦑. With a genuinely scary picture of Cthulhu!
https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2021/05/the-bizarre-tale-of-a-cthulhu-like-beast-in-the-triassic-era-making-a-self-portrait-of-bones/
I’m going back to bed now. 💤😴
Naomi
I can’t speak for France and other European countries but all the talk of “no go areas” in the UK is complete nonsense.
I haven’t read the particular link you provided, but I have read several other pieces by the Gatestone Institute and am quite familiar with the nonsense they put out (ironically, when I last posted about this subject on this blog a year or two ago).
I am a police officer in London, in one of the most deprived East London boroughs (“majority minority” with lots and lots of Muslims etc) that is usually cited as a “no go area” and I live in another part of East London – suffice it to say I am intimately familiar both personally and professionally with the parts of London that this kind of article is usually talking about. I don’t know other cities as well, but I have visited/driven through the alleged no-go areas in other cities too.
Yes, there are areas that are high crime, and where I would not want my wife walking around alone, and where I am pretty careful myself when I am alone and off duty. But that’s a function of poverty and social alienation and all the other causes of crime. It’s not some kind of Islamic jihadi parallel society nonsense that a certain section of the media likes to spout. There are indeed some specific housing estates etc which have a bad reputation with police and where we really have to watch our backs, but that tends to be in connection with gang violence, not religious/cultural stuff.
In short: high crime, high poverty, low police resource to deal with it, yes, but religion/Islam based parallel societies, parallel justice systems, areas left alone by the police to run themselves with no police presence – categorically no. Complete nonsense.
Sunnnv (#475),
Having been on the receiving end of it too many times, I find it particularly irritating when the people who take it upon themselves to fact check others get their facts wrong, as you have in several important ways here. I’d thus like to take the time to respond.
“== “All the vaccines currently available in the west are based on hijacking the bodies own cells …”
Only the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna).
The AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccines are based on adenoviruses.”
The adenoviruses are in fact based on hijacking human cells in order to create the spike protein, as the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia discusses (see the section on Mechanism of Action). This raises a number of serious concerns.
https://www.chop.edu/news/news-views-getting-familiar-covid-19-adenovirus-replication-deficient-vaccines
Second,
“== “One would assume that this level of spike protein is probably a lot larger than the amounts experienced by the majority of actual covid infections, which are usually mild.”
Why would one assume this?
a. it’s a waste of vaccine (e.g. money) to produce more than the required response.
b. in the earliest phases of testing, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna ran dose/response trials.
Pfizer’s paper, received at Nature 29 June 2020:
Phase I/II study of COVID-19 RNA vaccine BNT162b1 in adults
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2639-4”
Okay, so obviously the vaccine makers are not going to use a higher dose if a lower one works. I’ll happily agree to that, but I notice you did not answer the actual concern. You have shown nothing to indicate how these compare to an actual Covid-19 infection. As for why we’d assume this, there are a few reasons. The one which comes to my mind immediately is that the immune response will tend to develop a response to many different factors, so it would make sense that it would need a much higher level in order to trigger a response to a single factor.
Third,
“== “flooding”
The mRNAs have a limited length “poly-A” tail of adenine nucleotides, so after (about) that many cycles through a ribosome to make spike proteins (each cycle causes loss of an adenine), the mRNA is marked for disposal. Thus vaccine spike is limited.
https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/reverse-engineering-source-code-of-the-biontech-pfizer-vaccine/
Note that the covid infection is by a living thing, and it’s turning out spike and more of itself with wild abandon, limited only by host immune response or host death.
Note again: once past a few days of possible anaphylaxis, anything that the mRNA vaccine could do to you, the “natural” covid-19 can also do to you – and more.”
In the absence of safety testing, we cannot possibly know that. Swine Flu never caused narcolepsy, but a vaccine against it did. Without adequate safety data, we don’t know what long term effects inducing healthy cells to make the spike protein might have. I’d also like to see the data that shows that the protein synthesis is limited, because in far too many cases people think they know how things work much better than they do.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/history/narcolepsy-flu.html
Then there’s also this, from further down:
“* ability to tweak the target
The spike in the Pfizer (at least) is slightly modified to make it more stable. The “b1” version was just the binding domain – if that would have worked well enough, it would be preferable – less junk hanging around. Hard to do with viral vectors.”
Considering how close estrogen and testosterone are, it seems quite plausible that the novel spike proteins would be different in important ways from the one Covid-19 uses; once more, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, this remains a major concern. There is a plausible reason, if the claim the spike proteins used in the vaccines differ from the one Covid-19 uses is true, to think that the novel spike proteins will have different, potentially very different, biological effects.
Hey JMG,
Thanks for the reply about ethnic lodges accepting anyone that has a pulse! That was my feeling about it as well. Something about the symbolism of a knight protecting, and saving, the ethnic and cultural heritage really appeals to me. Perhaps sharing my journey could encourage others to consider doing something similar..
On another topic, my wife and I are expecting soon. We’re putting together a small list of names for the baby, and will decide which fits best once he is born. I was wondering if you JMG, and any of our commentariat here had any boy name suggestions? I prefer something a little unique, but not outlandishly so.
@CS2
I’m happy my sharing of experiences was interesting and useful for someone else! Hopefully your husband will be interested in the Knights of Kaleva. There really aren’t many lodges from what I can tell. Mostly around the Great Lakes area. There does seem to be many more Ladies of Kaleva Tupa.
I did notice there is an option to be a member-at-large for those that are too far away from a Maja or Tupa, but still would like to join. If I can help anyway, my e-mail is clintshafto at hotmail.
@sunnnv
++The AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccines are based on adenoviruses.
Yes. Adenoviruses which inject instructions into your cells, to make spike protein.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/oxford-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine.html
Yes.
++== “One would assume that this level of spike protein is probably a lot larger than the amounts experienced by the majority of actual covid infections, which are usually mild.
++Why would one assume this?
Firstly. Because most covid-19 cases are mild. Secondly because the vaccine appears to cause cvt/pvt clotting at roughly one 7th the rate of confirmed covid infections. This rate of serious clots appears to be higher amongst younger people. The reverse appears to be true for those infected with covid. Those who manage to fight off the infection before it goes deeper into the lungs likely experience less of the viruses effects. Regardless it would still merit investigation of long term effects of a treatment which causes serious blood clots, are the non-serious blood clots, which are likely going unnoticed causing permanent damage for example? Regardless, it is not enough to show that a prophylactic vaccine is safer than actually being infected with the virus. If someone does not take the vaccine, that does not mean that they will be infected with the virus according to official US data 90% of the US population didn’t last year. If I take the vaccine, I am guaranteed to be exposed to the vaccine however (I am also not 100% guaranteed to not get infected by the virus if vaccinated). For this reason it is necessary to show that the vaccine is significantly safer than the infection.
++extra antibodies might lead to “original antigenic sin”. So if one is immunized to E and/or M, and they gratuitously change without the virus loosing function, one’s immunity is impaired, and might be limited in adapting.
I had heard about this as a reason for focusing on the spike protein. Sinovac doesn’t appear to be causing this yet, and they were the first vaccine to be mass rolled out. Should we be worried that a new strain of covid-19 will develop which causes ADE against those injected with the Sinovac vaccine? If so, should we definitely not be concerned that such a strain could develop against spike protein only vaccines? Do we have a wealth of experimental data showing that coranaviruses (which I understand have historically been hard to vaccinate against due to ADE reactions) absolutely cannot cause ADE when you only use the spike protein? I imagine that this would have been an example of useful gain of function research if it had been carried out.
@scotlyn 480:
Just focusing on one aspect of your larger comment: it is true that a counterfactual (“he/she would have died if they had not taken…”) cannot be proven nor falsified on an individual level. But on a population level, that is what a randomized trial is supposed to do: in the treated population, X% less people died than in the control population, so the life of each person in the treated population was saved with a X% probability.
Now of course in order to infer life-saving in the general population, a host of conditions must be true: the randomized trial must have chosen people at random from the general population with regard to age, comorbidities etc, people must have dropped out of both study arms with equal probability and so on. These conditions are never perfectly met, and the number of lives that a proposed treatment would save tends to be (not coincidentally) overestimated.
Another way is to look at natural experiments, where among several similar counties or states or nations some choose do adopt a treatment and other don’t, or do so later. Again, you count how many more people died in one condition than in the other, and again there are many possible pitfalls. Nevertheless, it is not in principle impossible to infer that something saves lives.
I’ve been thinking about free will recently. Generally speaking I don’t think I either belief or disbelief the concept. I’m generally don’t think that it is particularly well defined. I think part of this may be related to cognitive dissonance around it. For example I really like the idea that my wife stays with me due to her own freewill, I don’t necessarily like the Idea that my wife can decide to leave me, because she has freewill. Further because she has freewill she can choose to stay/leave for whatever reason she wants, I have no control over this, simply that I can act in a way that I hope keeps her in the stay category. Similarly if we consider one of the common areas where the concept of free will shows up in discussions, criminality. A lot of the argumentation appears to come down to, this person had freewill, therefore they could have chosen to not commit the crime (They could have chosen to act in the way I wanted them to). Or this person committed the crime because they don’t have freewill (The reason they didn’t act the way I wanted is because they didn’t have freewill/agency). If the measure of freewill is based around people doing exactly what society wants them to do, that doesn’t seem like a good metric.
JMG,
The fish I had was cod. I had salmon today and found no reaction, so I’m planning to keep track and see whether it was a fluke, or if certain kinds of fish are no longer safe to eat.
Slithy Toves, that’s another standard trick. “Heavy duty” is another weasel word for “as strong as we used to make the regular version.” If you keep track of product quantities and the like, it’s quite interesting to watch the product shrink as the price creeps up…
Dennis, you’re most welcome. The thing that irritates me about all sides is that so many people come to the question of the safety of the coronavirus vaccines with an opinion already in place, where the crux of the problem is that we don’t know how safe the vaccines are, because the necessary long term testing has not been done and the data available to the public is so visibly skewed.
Violet, thanks for this. Robert Anton Wilson used “Keep the lasagna flying!” as his catchphrase, so the idea of pasta and cheese as a key to the mysteries is quite traditional…
Michael, thanks for the fish data. Of course terms like “far left” are in the eye of the beholder, but Sturgeon’s policies would certainly count as way over to the left on this side of the pond.
Denis, many thanks for this. One of the huge advantages of regular magical practice is precisely that it puts you just a little bit outside the collective trance of your society, which in turn makes it possible to see just how dumb people are being…
Michael, thanks for this. I appreciate your perspective as a gay man, but remember that many other people don’t share your specific take on things. I know Americans who are seriously considering moving to Poland because they feel that Polish society shares their values and American society does not. Of course they’re not gay; most of them are fairly conservative Christians. I wonder if you spend much time around people on the conservative Christian end of things; if not, and you were to do so, you might be startled to find just how widely their views diverge from yours.
Nachtgurke, talk about nostalgia! The same serenely clueless claims were being made by the same sort of vacuous corporate shills when I was a teenager.
Jason, you’re fine. Learning Ritual Magic is straight Golden Dawn practice from beginning to end, and so are the other two books, so it’s not merely a similar tradition — it’s the same tradition. You can certainly practice the R+C ritual at need while working through the lessons; I certainly did, when I was field testing the course, and so did both of my coauthors.
Scotlyn, many thanks for this!
Endrickwater, many thanks for this. I’m not familiar with McIntosh, and will change that as time permits.
Owen, for quite some time now I’ve noticed, in products aimed at the middle classes, not “shrinkflation” but straightforward product debasement. The product is the same size but poorer quality. I don’t do Costco, so can’t speak to that, but the crapification of everyday life is an accelerating reality all around us these days.
Your Kittenship, fun! What they haven’t realized yet is that the spawn of Cthulhu were using icthyosaur vertebrae in eldritch rites to banish squamous horrors from other dimensions — and now that they’ve moved the vertebrae, the squamous horrors are among us. It would certainly explain Nancy Pelosi…
LondonCop (if I may), you and Mr. White (#493) should compare notes. You’re clearly seeing very different things in the same landscape.
Prizm, congratulations! Just remember that the poor kid has to live with whatever name you give him…
Dagnarus, a valid point. Another source of confusion is the notion that free will is an all-or-nothing thing — you have it, according to the pop-culture idea, or you don’t. Not so; most of us are in the middle, with wills that are partly constrained and partly free, and it’s quite possible to increase the amount of wiggle room for your will by practice.
Mollari, thanks for this. I’ll see if cod starts giving me any trouble.
Naomi
I wasn’t saying that potentially dangerous, unpleasantly feeling areas don’t exist, although it’s striking how these areas always seem to be extremely poor. That is certainly true. I was talking about stories where areas are allegedly no go areas at all times of the day and night for all sections of the community, including the police (see LondonCop’s comments). This simply isn’t the case in the UK.
I’m a Scottish, white, middle class, gay, privately educated, son of a stockbroker, and I lived in Brixton, in London, some years after the riots, and long before it gentrified. And while I sometimes felt uncomfortable (in a poor area, with a completely different class and ethnic makeup to my own), was never threatened or had any problems, at any time of the day or night. London is a very mixed, cosmopolitan city which is one of the things that makes it such a great city.
I also lived in Ealing, the “Queen of the Suburbs”, where ordinary houses now go for millions, and in any direction I left my house, I passed a site where a gay man had been murdered… during the time I lived there! And, of course, shockingly, women are at risk wherever they travel, particularly when alone.
For me the problems of Briston, and areas like it, come from the transfer of wealth (from the poor to the rich) “happening too quickly”, and have nothing to do with demographics. The vast, overwhelming, majority of people, with secure jobs and homes, reasonable income, and access to affordable healthcare and education for their kids simply don’t routinely engage in violent crime, rioting, and aggression.
@Mary Bennett (and forgive me for spelling your name incorrectly in my other post): It seems to me that the SNP are serious about the issue and they certainly have a programme. In March 2021, the SNP govt published a draft independence referendum bill in the Scottish Parliament. They are also interpreting the outcome of the current election as a country-wide mandate for independence (either as a majority party, or the senior partner in a group of parties supporting independence). Everyone who votes SNP (or Green or Alba) is saying that they support independence. Because Alba isn’t fielding constituency candidates, it has no hope of forming even a minority government, so the best they can achieve is that their electoral success will provide a bit of stiffening to the sinews, I guess. They can make outsized promises, because they will never be obliged to fulfil them. The winners of this election have a devolved administration to run in the middle of a pandemic, as well as realising huge constitutional change. All the talk of “selling out” has been meat and drink to the MSM, of course!
Wonderful discussion here this week – there are many things that resonate with me or that I would like to respond to.
@Scotlyn re: vaccines as holy saints of the religion of Progress, standing strong against the evil infectious past. I’ve been exploring that theme in my own writings (linked above) and I 100% agree with you.
@DFC That’s an extremely helpful summary of research.
@sunnnv Thanks for the vaccine details. I do have a few quibbles. The viral vector vaccines do in fact also hijack our own cells to produce the spike proteins, exactly like the mRNA vaccines. They are both “genetic vaccines” in this way. This is in contrast to inert particle vaccines (inactivated virus or protein subunit, e.g. the soon-to-be-released NovaVax) in which the antigenic spike proteins are injected but without genetic instructions to build them.
There are substantial differences between spike expression from genetic vaccines vs. natural infection. For one, in natural infection the spike is primarily expressed on viral particles (and assembled into new viral particles in infected cells). Following vaccination the spike is expressed solely on the surface of human cells. Furthermore, the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects cells via the ACE-2 receptor, which means that it preferentially infects certain types of cells in certain parts of the body. The mRNA, by contrast, can enter any cell and lead to spike protein expression there. Likely the amount and distribution of spike expression following vaccination varies widely based on the proportion of the vaccine that remains locally in the muscle and the proportion that enters the bloodstream. The adenovirus vectors presumably have their own cell-infection methods that lead to preferential infection of certain cell types.
Also there is the possibility (thanks @Dagnarus) that vaccination will introduce more spike protein into the body than natural infection for people who would have otherwise experienced a mild or asymptomatic infection. If the spike itself causes clotting/other problems this would be a strong contra-indication to vaccination of low-risk groups.
All of which is to say that there are any number of ways in which vaccination differs from natural infection, and which *could* conceivably cause vaccination to be worse than natural infection for at least some people. But of course only time and experience will tell.
Re: the need for humor (@violet)
In a rather amazing synchronicity/connection, I received a comment on my blog from a reader of this one, based in LA, suggesting that I look up Jason Bradford of the Post Carbon Institute. As it turns out he lives in my town and I was actually at his house last week on business, but I had no idea that he was involved in promoting end-of-progress ideas. So thanks Don for forging a hometown connection from a thousand miles away!
I would encourage anyone here to check out Jason’s podcast, Crazy Town, which grapples with the end of progress, climate change, and the Long Descent with accessible themes and plenty of good-natured witty humor: https://www.postcarbon.org/crazytown/
I also find it oddly synchronous that their latest episode (April 28) explores the myth of Progress/limits to growth while my own independently conceived writings (April 27) follow the same path. It’s almost like there’s something brewing in the collective consciousness finding its way out in this moment 🙂
@JMG, LondonCop and Naomi
My comment in #493 might sound more extreme than I intend it to be, so I’ll clarify before there are misunderstandings.
Parallel institutions in the form of Sharia courts (even if the powers of these courts are limited right now) and Islamic schools with questionable governance are real and they do exist so that the Muslim community can live by more of their own rules, and naturally these institutions will be used to push those boundaries. I don’t blame them for that – I’d support all this if I were a conservative Muslim living in Britain – but it’s still a reality in our country.
Police may be under-resourced in many of these inner city areas, but there’s an institutional reluctance on top of that to do anything but the bare minimum of law enforcement in these areas. Perhaps it’s not like that literally everywhere, but near where I live and in many other diverse inner city areas, the top brass are so afraid of race relations scandals that they will pressure their rank-and-file to turn a blind eye to certain types of criminal behaviour. I have a friend in the police in another city, and the top brass over there behave exactly the same way to the frustration of all the honest officers underneath them. What I’m told is that higher levels of promotion are subject to a not-insignificant dependence on political loyalties, which only makes matters worse. And I’m sure you’re aware of the grooming gang scandals. It even turned out that in Greater Manchester, police officers were told to find other ethnicities to investigate. This still goes on today in towns and cities across Britain, because even after these scandals were unearthed in the 2000s, no action was taken to combat this type of corruption. This is what I mean when I say the police only occasionally choose to enforce the law in some of these areas.
Perhaps it’s not strictly accurate to call these areas ‘no-go zones’, because sure enough, you can go there – it’s just not the wisest idea to do so.
JMG said # 503
“LondonCop (if I may), you and Mr. White (#493) should compare notes. You’re clearly seeing very different things in the same landscape.”
I was just thinking that throughout this current Open Post there are several subjects where well-intentioned honest people look at a subject and perceive very different realities.
Astrologers: is there anything in the current astrological patterns that might explain this? Is this likely to be our six-month experience or perhaps much longer? (I know nothing about astrology. Until six months ago, I planted my garden by moon signs but that was all I knew. I am starting to learn a bit more.)
JMG & community—
Forwarded for your consideration/entertainment without additional comment:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-democrat-facing-calls-resign-163130909.html?guccounter=1
Popcorn futures!
JMG I’m a Christian, and used to describe myself as an evangelical, although not now, much more mystical… or something. Evangelicism seems to define itself entirely within the limitations of language and modern thought processes, similar to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who I also was briefly involved with. My belief is complete, but to imagine that 21st century english and philosophy can fully understand and describe the essence of something that exists outside space and time seems a little presumptuous, so I’m a little agnostic about the detail.
At university, in the early 80s, I was a member of the evangelical, conservative, Christian Union and GaySoc, the university lesbian and gay society… the gays were just about as freaked as the Christians. And while people disagreed with my choices, I’m pleased to say I never got any grief from anyone.
So I’m fairly familiar with evangelicalism in the US, where it seems to me that “threats” and “persecution” are, in fact, merely being denied the means to forcibly enforce their views, and ways of being, on everybody else. Not a practice that will lead to any good.
My favourite US evangelicals were a family and community that took part in an early reality TV series featuring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. As a metropolitan gay man, at home in a vast gay club in London, or at a David Wojnarowicz retrospective at the Whitney Museum, it might be assumed I would click with Paris and Nicole. While I would disagree with almost everything the family believed in regarding politics and religion, one couldn’t meet a more charming, welcoming, lovely family. The less said about Paris and Nicole the better!
While we’re on the topic of vaccines, I also wanted to share this study:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33266457/
The main finding, which from an observational study like this is really a hypothesis that deserves to be tested further, is as follows:
Childhood vaccinations have minimal effects on health outcomes up to a point, that point being 30-50% of the standard CDC vaccine schedule. Beyond that point, however, further vaccination is associated with dramatic increases in asthma, allergies, sinusitis, febrile illness, behavioral issues, ADHD, eye and ear infections, dermatitis, eczema, etc.
Given that the overall incidence of these problems has increased in recent years, this study offers a hypothesis for potential implication of vaccines, and moreover through a mode of action (cumulative exposure) that would not show up during vaccine safety trials which are always looking at treatment vs. placebo for one specific vaccine.
@Dagnarus
As I see it, “free will” is a very troublesome term nowadays, carrying all sorts of preconceptions and ambiguities, and so I usually avoid it altogether. Instead of speaking about whether or not we have “free will”, I usually prefer to speak of the will itself and the specific ways in which it is free, can be free, or is not free, as that avoids a lot of confusion.
That said, I’ve come to believe that, at its core, having “free will” means being the originator of the intent behind your actions. The other sorts of freedom people associate with the term, such as the freedom from determinism, are things that various people believe to be prerequisites for free will in the sense given above.
@ JMG
More new studies about the side effects of the Spike protein are releasing every day.
This one is very interesting because it demonstrates, beyond any doubt, why the SPIKE PROTEIN cause the damage in the endotelial vascular cells that explain why the Covid-19 is more a vacular than a respiratory disease (the mechanism):
https://www.salk.edu/news-release/the-novel-coronavirus-spike-protein-plays-additional-key-role-in-illness/
So it seems that the Spike protein is THE toxin, probably the most damaging part of the SARS Cov-2 and we are injecting healthy people to produce trillions of copies of them inside the body with the consequences, in some of them, we are seeing in the short term and unknown future consecuences (potential alergic, inflammation, auto-immune and neuro-degenarive consequences).
On the other hand there is also a recent study about how the body build the natural longterm immunity to the SARS Cov-2:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-021-00923-3
So they say:
“That the majority of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were activated by non-S viral epitopes has implications for vaccination in populations that have experienced prior SARS-CoV-2 infections.”
What?, are they saying that the body build the immune medium/longterm response based on non-S viral proteins. So the S protein is not involved in the medium/lonfterm protection against Covid-19?, and then: what kind of strategy are following the brand new vaccines? to vaccinate every six months to increase the bonus of the Big Pharma CEO’s?
And they say in the same article:
“To engage these non-S-reactive T cells that were established during infections, proteins besides S could be incorporated into vaccines; this could boost neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibody responses by eliciting a more robust CD4+ T cell response and would engage a greater CD8+ T cell response that had been primed during a prior infection. Eliciting more robust antibody and CD8+ T cell responses against non-S epitopes during vaccination could be important, as there are probably non-S targets of immunity that promote the resolution of infections and that can mediate broad immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants.”
So what?!!!, is this a fracking joke?!!!, do you want NOW to “incorporate non-S proteins into vaccines”, and then vaccinate the whole humanity AGAIN because they forgot to see where the longterm immunity reside? and with some vaccines that make the body to produce a strong dangerous toxin which short term effect increasing exponentially after each dose and which longterm effects are unknown?
Why don’t they just experiment with themselves and their children and leave the rest of us alone?
No doubt we are in the hand of delirant people in white coats that really think we are lab rats.
Cheers
David
@ Matthias Gralle “a randomized trial is supposed to do: in the treated population, X% less people died than in the control population, so the life of each person in the treated population was saved with a X% probability.”
Yes, this is quite true, but again, there is something strange about the specific type of pharmaceutical product known as a “vaccine [saves lives]” which is that it is perishingly difficult to find a genuinely inert-placebo-controlled trial comparing vaccinated vs non-vaccinated individuals. This reluctance to carry out such a trial is often phrased in ethical terms – “vaccines are so life-saving that it would be unethical to deny them to the control arm” which is a fine case of begging-the-question.
There are two cases in which I know FOR CERTAIN that a trial of vaccination vs non-vaccination were genuinely carried out. One of them is found in the work of Peter Aaby, a Danish researcher and medical worker, who for several years ran (IIRC) a public health clinic in Guinnea Bissau, which (among other activities) regularly weighed and vaccinated infants and children. Upon reviewing the clinic’s records, he realised that the basis for comparing vaccinated vs non-vaccinated children of the age cohort 3-5 months was well preserved in the records. (Search for Peter Aaby to get more information on the data and the analysis method applied). He (and his co-workers) found the results startling, to say the least. While on the one hand there was a vaccine (a specific type of measles-only vaccine) which reduced the rate of infant mortality from all causes, there was also a vaccine (the DPT, which, while no longer used in “[over]developed” countries, is still one of the most-administered vaccines worldwide, mostly in “developing” countries), which clearly doubled the rate of infant mortality from all causes across the board, and may increase the rate of infant mortality from all causes for girls fivefold. (Peter Goetzshe has written a white paper on this subject, in which he goes over the evidence, the rebuttals to the evidence, and why they are unsound, and which highlights the fact that the WHO has yet to properly consider the evidence in its licencing decisions regarding the DPT vaccine.)
The other case that I know of is a preliminary study (ie – it is one that indicates possible trends, which definitely call out for further study with larger samples). This is the epidemiological study carried out among homeschooled children comparing all cause illnesses, acute and chronic, and hospitalisations from all causes, among three groups characterised as “fully vaccinated per schedule” “partly vaccinated (missing some part of the schedule)” and “not vaccinated”. This study showed a much higher rate of hospitalisations, allergies, and chronic disease burden (that was dose-dependent) among the vaccinated and partly vaccinated children, compared to the non-vaccinated children.
Apart from these studies, there are very few true placebo comparisons. Also, the endpoints studied mostly restrict themselves to efficacy in relation to the specific disease studied. In the case of the DPT vaccine outlined above, it may be the case that the children in Guinnea Bissau who died at a greater rate after receiving that vaccine did NOT die of Diptheria, Pertussis or Tetanus. But only if the endpoint actually studied is “all cause mortality” is it possible to determine that a life has been saved by a vaccine.
I challenge you to find a vaccination efficacy study that:
1) uses a true inert placebo (ie saline) AND
2) uses an “all cause mortality” endpoint
Then we can talk about how much scientific merit there can be in the phrase “vaccines save lives”.
@ Errata #455: Regarding reported Covid deaths in India. The BBC was hyperventilating about the 3,689 deaths reported on Sunday. The US reported an average of 3,300 deaths per day in early January, on a population ¼ of India’s. It’s not a nothingburger, but the media don’t give us all the numbers, in case we might draw the wrong conclusions.
On the next growth of future religions: The dominant religions of the world evolved during the period which historians of religion call The Axial Age, the period from the 8th century BCE to the 3rd century BCE. Among many other changes, this saw the growth of religions which claimed universal jurisdiction for their G*d(s). The oldest parts of the Bible refer to G*ds who are attached to specific lands: in 2 Kings 5, Naaman goes to the extent of taking soil from the land of Israel back to the land of Aram so he could properly worship YHWH. The understanding of YHWH evolved over the centuries, until he became a universal G*d, and from that root sprang Christianity and Islam.
I think we may be entering a new Axial Age, where our belief in a universal G*d is abandoned, as we abandon our myth of Progress to one universal global society. So I search for the G*ds of the land where I live, and leave YHWH to reprimand the Israelis for their errors.
Regarding vaccination risk assessment, what hardly anyone seems able to keep in mind when discussing the topic is that the nature of the pathogen and the pandemic means one of the following three things must eventually happen.
1. Nearly everyone gets the infection.
2. Nearly everyone gets the vaccine.
3. Some (less than nearly everyone) get the vaccine, and most of the rest get the infection.
4. Nearly everyone continues with masks, distancing, restrictions, and lockdowns indefinitely.
I haven’t heard much enthusiasm for option 4 from any quarter, so focusing on the first three, it means nearly everyone shall end up with the spike protein in their bloodstream sooner or later, either through vaccination (with the possibility, as many have pointed out, that additional vaccines will be required in the future), or to the viral infection (in whatever mutated form it arrives in by the time you encounter it, and also possibly more than once if it mutates enough).
Those are the three (or, if you prefer, four) scenarios whose risks and consequences you have to compare. Anyone is free to choose which scenario to work toward, and to be somewhat self-interested about their choices, but to say the vaccine is more risky than the infection because only a small percentage get the infection is somewhat less-than-whole-systems thinking. If you count on being one of the exceptions to “nearly everyone” in scenario 2, and too many others pursue the same strategy, you’ll end up part of “the rest” in scenario 3 instead. Of course we don’t know the exact numerical value of “nearly.” So, place your bets…
@Dagnarus (and JMG) on the problem of free will:
My own take on that problem is a quip, “In principle, humans have free will. In practice, they never (or rarely) use it.”
Many of the logical or epistemic problems raised by the idea of free will start from a foolish assumption, namely, that choice and change can only happen in a realm where there are such things as time and space.
However, this assumption is an enormous oversimplification of reality: the realm outside of time and space also exhibits phenomena somewhat analogous to choice and change, but these phenomena do need time and/or space to occur. In that vast and strange realm even the opposition between existence and non-existence metaphorically “vanishes into wind-blown smoke … ”
This is why Iamblichus, in his On the Mysteries, criticized even Porphyry’s initial assumption, which was that “The Gods exist.” Iamblichus replied that neither do The Gods exist nor do The Gods not exist: they are beyond such mundane and trivial constraints as existence vs. non-existence.
@Prizm, I’ve lived with the name “Walter,” which for most of my life has been one of the more un-stylish given names out there. (Okay, it’s not “Aloysius” or “Poindexter,” but still.) When I was a teenager, any comedy skit where a fat lazy guy on a couch in his underwear was being henpecked by his wife had a better than even chance of the guy being named “Walter.” That’s probably because it was one of the most popular boys names in the 1920s but had become much less common by the time I got it. That image of the name seems to have gone away, just in the past two decades. The point is, if a name was much more common 40 years ago than today, it might be associated with embarrassing old people just about the time the kid is growing up.
(Maybe it’s time for Walter to re-appear out of nowhere as a trendy name, the way Wyatt did around the turn of the millennium. But, maybe not.)
Here’s an easy way to investigate given names popular in the U.S. in the past: SSA’s top 200 names by decade.
Walt F,
I mean, (3) is obviously the scenario we’re going to get; we’ve already vaccinated enough people to avoid (1), and there are enough dedicated holdouts to keep us from reaching (2) without extreme measures that aren’t likely to go over well, or work, in the US.
So I think it doesn’t make sense to think about this at the level you’re thinking about it. Rather, all the interesting possibilities are inside the space of (3): Which groups are most at risk, and what measures should be taken to protect them? What is the threshold for deciding which groups those are? What if a large number of the people in those groups refuse to comply with the measures?
Those, to my mind, are the live questions.
LondonCop,
I was quite guarded in the way I expressed myself and in particular over the term of “no go” areas. Even the conservative article link I provided was very clear that there are no legal “no go” areas into which the police cannot officially go. I would urge everybody looking at this conversation to actually go and study the numerous links posted on that article to which I put the link, as they make it very clear what is actually being said here.
Your point of view and your experience as a police officer, as a uniformed agent of the British State, does not cancel out the experiences and points of view of those people who actually live, or have lived, in areas with cross cultural divides.
The alternative view is that a vicar’s wife and a vicar is lying when he says his wife received abuse on a regular basis because she wasn’t wearing a hijab, when walking down the street in a Muslim area. My own sister in law is lying when she said she felt uncomfortable living in a certain area due to comments from Muslim men, which made her feel physically unsafe? That white working class British people, living in inner city areas with mixed demographics who are saying both privately and publicly they don’t feel safe and they have been threatened, because they are not Muslim, in certain areas – and as a result they now feel those areas are “no go areas” for them – are also liars.
Instead, I would say, with some degree of certainty, that those conservative articles on the media are correctly reflecting their experiences – not yours, which was my same point to Michael. And that there are indeed unofficial “no go areas” Muslim majority areas, due to intimidation on the part of the Muslim community, even if this is due to criminal individuals rather than official Muslim bodies. That those articles reflect demographic changes happening too fast – and which will result in continued white flight, in the end, even from Britain itself.
I would also argue that those articles in the Conservative press are the only public voice for the white working class communities affected at this point in time, because the British State and media and police are suppressing any narrative to the contrary and harassing and defaming those who speak an inconvenient truth, no doubt for the sake of a perceived “public greater good” – or perhaps the greater good of a ruling class?
In fact, The Tommy Robinson protests, which merged into the whole Brexit deal, were born out of those same demographic tensions, which, the left would like to argue, are torrid myths formed by the conservative press propagated by right wing racists based on.. nothing.. nothing at all. Move along everybody.
Mr. White, thanks for this.
Ilona, that’s normal human behavior. We all experience the world through the filters of our own memories, beliefs, and desires, and then wonder why our experience doesn’t match that of anyone else’s! One of the things that makes literature important is precisely that it gives us a glimpse into how someone else sees the world, leaping across the whole gamut of human differences.
David BTL, too funny.
Michael, that makes perfect sense to me, but I know from ample experience that there are plenty of people for whom it doesn’t make sense at all — and some of those, again, are seriously discussing moving to Poland.
Mark and DFC, many thanks for all this.
Walt, since quite a few people already had the infection before the vaccines came out, and the vaccines did come out, #3 is the only option. The question is purely which side of the divide you want to be on. Since I had the virus and got over it relatively easily, it makes no sense for me to get the vaccine, which has not been tested for long-term health consequences and comes from a family of experimental vaccines with a very bad track record for those. If I was older and in worse health, I might well make the other choice — and for that reason, I support people making whichever choice works for them. It’s the attempt to force people to one side or the other that I find repellent.
Robert, a fine point! Could one say that will is also beyond such mundane and trivial constraints! 😉
Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Prizm! I suggest that if you keep in mind the idea that you don’t want to sentence the kid to a lifetime of answering the question “How do you spell that?” you can’t go far wrong.
Also, make sure the initials don’t spell out anything. The kids on the playground WILL figure it out and use it against your kid if they possibly can. And look closely at the first name to make sure it can’t be twisted into anything derogatory—if it can be, it will be.
If I were having a baby today (and thank God I’m not), I might consider giving the new arrival a name used for both sexes, in case the rapid-onset-gender-disorder fad is still going in 13 years. Young teenagers like to play around with their identities. Being named something like Chase, Jordan, or Taylor might pre-empt some of the fun drama of building a new trans identity. It would be worth a try.
Get a good name dictionary to widen your options. Lareina Rule’s classic Name Your Baby had been in print for a while when I read it 50 years ago, and is still in print. If you can find them, in the early 20th century Elsdon C. Smith wrote several interesting books about what he’d found in his hobby of collecting unusual names. I keep hoping those will come back into print, but it’d probably be too much trouble to sanitize the language for the modern mind, e.g. he referred to “persons of color of African descent” as “Negroes,” which was the polite way to refer to such persons at the time, and when writing his books he was too lazy to take into account what might be taboo a hundred years hence. I can’t even.
It is time for my cough pill and my nap. 💤😴
@TamHub #433
Now that’s interesting. Is there a mechanistic reason to believe that the spike protein is less likely to provoke ADE? I have been a little shocked at how this very legitimate concern has been pretty much entirely swept aside in the insistent rush to inject every person on the planet — when you see pathogenic priming/ADE mentioned at all it’s usually an insouciant “hmmm yeah, that’s something to keep an eye on.” But I’d love to hear more discussion about the nuts and bolts (my background is not in medicine, but I do have advanced credentials in biology; fairly technical is fine).
@Peter Van Erp #515 and Errata #455, there’s evidence that India’s death rate from Covid is being underreported manyfold. For instance, journalists have reported seeing many times the number of crematory fires than deaths reported, in specific areas. Those examples might have been cherry-picked, so estimates of the overall magnitude of the underreporting (typically tenfold) can’t be trusted, but it very likely outweighs the 4x factor of India’s larger population compared with the U.S.
The other factor to consider is that reported deaths lag a week or two behind reported new case counts, which given the recent rapid increase in the latter means the death rate in India is still far from its peak.
Third, the narrative (popular throughout 2020) of the victims being mostly people who were already dying of something else anyhow doesn’t appear to apply in India.
I hope you’re right, and that the situation in India is not and never becomes more serious or consequential than the December-January wave in the U.S. But based on what’s been reported so far, that seems likely to be wishful thinking.
@JMG (#521)
I certainly think so, and not just to will, but to know and to dare are rooted in the realm beyond such constraints. After all, that’s where most of what makes any sentient, conscious being on Earth lives–in the realm beyond those constraints.
And when it comes to keeping silent, no human language is at all adequate to talk about that realm: it is ineffable. Keeping silent is the only option where something ineffable is concerned.
PS In my previous comment (#517) a “not” fell out as I was typing. The clause in question should read “but these phenomena do not need time and/or space to occur.” Sorry for the significant typo!
Why the disdain for Gorbachev? I believe that historians of the future will see him as the most significant political figure of the late 20th century. He broke up the threat to world peace that was the USSR. Having read his book Perestroika, I believe it was accidental on his part, but nevertheless he followed through with his policy of openness. It’s a pity that there are few leaders of his caliber today.
Michael, Naomi, Mr White
I basically agree with Michael. I think in most cases (excluding groups obviously pushing a political agenda) people feel a very real fear of crime and feeling unsafe, combined with a genuine sense of alienation where they should feel at home (walk down some streets in East London – or Bradford, wherever – and you won’t hear much English and see very few white faces and those that you see will likely be Eastern European) and build that up into some kind of culture war/race war/no go area type narrative of the type the Gatestone Institute pushes.
Yes, places like that exist, but they are like any other poor, high crime area, not the sites of some kind of burgeoning Islamic state. Not that different to, for example, Toxteth (a poor, high crime area of Liverpool which has very few Muslims and Asian immigrants and is mostly black and working class white).
Mr White – I actually agree with much of your second post. The whole of the British state apparatus (police included) has a bad case of political correctness and a horror of being called racist, and that resulted in the various grooming scandals among other things for sure. But I want to emphasise that in my experience that kind of thing does not happen (or happens far, far far less) on the ground level where us grunts answer emergency calls and walk the beat. It’s more an issue for the senior officers on 9-5 shifts who no longer fit into their body armour if they even know where it is anymore, and the detectives who turn up on the scene after we’ve arrested someone. Those of us on the sharp end don’t have the luxury of ignoring reality – we’re smacked by it on the face every day and I’ve pretty much never seen soft pedalling on someone because of their race or ethnicity – it happens, but not as much as people think and not really what we call “fast time” environments like answering an emergency call or pub fight – more in “slow time” situations where Chief Superintendents set priorities at the borough level or detectives investigating very politicised cases etc. What I *have* seen though, on several occasions is letting women who made blatantly false rape allegations off because we could not afford the bad publicity of arresting women who report sexual assault, even when it was deliberately calculated to destroy an innocent man’s life.
But my broader point remains – certainly there are racial tensions and flaws in the police approach and political correctness, but there are no no-go areas where the rule of the British state is absent and which are basically left to fend for themselves like the favelas of Rio ruled by drug gangs (which is the implication of most of the Gatestone type posts). Note incidentally that the things like the “sharia courts” etc are perfectly legal and an outgrowth of the legal arbitration process which allows any dispute to be brought before a private arbitrator (including a religion based one) – to be clear, there is no sharia court or law for *criminal* matters. There are also Jewish religious based arbitration based on the same legal provisions and I have heard of both of them being abused in the same way (rare but it happens) to suppress matters within the community and prevent it being reported to secular authorities. On that subject incidentally, the only private “security force” I have heard about it in London (other than corporate security of course) is a *Jewish* community force in London which is essentially a volunteer community patrol force who do a fantastic job and are on excellent terms with the police – can you imagine if there was an equivalent Muslim community patrol service – the Gatestone Institute, and Daily Mail etc would have a field day.
Naomi – firstly, I wasn’t always a police officer and that’s not my only insight into the situation. I live here too (and when I was younger, I lived in the United States – in the Mission District in San Francisco before it gentrified and the worst part of Philadelphia – I’m not a stranger to dangerous urban areas) and have family here and – for example – my wife was a teacher in some very rough East London schools, including the one where a couple of the 7 July 2005 bombers went (although she didn’t teach them). I’m obviously not omniscient but I’m here on the ground and dealing with this stuff is my job day in and day out, and I figure my opinion on the subject carries considerable weight. That said, I am not denying the experiences of the people who have experienced Muslim hate incidents from Muslims or other forms of crime – I don’t think they are lying or making it up, I just think they are reading WAY too much into their experiences. To give a stereotypical analogy – it’s like a couple from rural Nebraska visiting big city New York and getting mugged and going back home convinced that New Yorkers are killing each other left and right and bullets are flying every night and wondering how anyone manages to live there for all the crime. The mugging was real of course but perhaps the Nebraska couple are not seeing the full picture. Closer to home I have another example. After the 2016 Brexit vote, there was a sudden rush of media reports chronicling an increase in hate crimes against Europeans and people being told to go home to France (or wherever) who had lived here decades etc. I have no doubt that most or all of the reported incidents happened. I *do* have doubts – big doubts – about whether there was a statistically significant increase or whether it was the media picking up an amplifying a story with a pro-Remain slant that it was desperate to push.
Hey jmg
Have by any chance heard that the Australian government has temporarily made it illegal for Australians abroad in India to come back home due to the Covid situation there?
@Walt F,
Good point! But my impression from what I’ve been reading recently–and I could be wrong, there is still a lot we don’t know yet–is that the people whose immune systems are robust enough to deal with COVID-19 effectively kill off the virus before it has a chance to produce a large enough amount of spike proteins to cause the problems we see in severe cases. You can see where that leads. The spike proteins were assumed to be basically inert, and by having the body produce them, we could train it produce antibodies.
Another point I’ve seen raised is that some evidence exists that flu vaccinations actually reduce immune capacity in subsequent years. For people who really feel that they need the help to avoid serious outcomes from influenza, it would be terrible to deny them this, but I disagree strongly with forcing people into dependency on huge corporations whose image gets more tarnished year-by-year.
These are just two of the sorts of effects, both long and short term, people are concerned about. Regarding the mRNA vaccines, they are so novel we have no idea what the long-term effects may be. They are truly a “shot in the dark,” pun intended.
@Kenaz, re religion in Africa,
I have briefly lived in Ghana, where I went to church with the locals, so my thoughts might be of some import. To begin with, worship in that country is very much about energy and excitement and “making a joyful noise unto the Lord.” Sunday church services (at least, at the protestant church I went to) are three hours of mostly singing very loud and dancing, with the guy on the drums and cymbals at the front, and the women playing tambourines as they dance. It is actually quite similar to early Israelite worship as described in the Bible. Sermons are brief, emotional, and fiery, not at all cerebral. And you regularly hear people getting up and sharing testimony of having been miraculously healed of some or another illness.
Religious displays are everywhere; for instance on the backs of most taxis or busses you will see phrases like “Thank You Jesus,” “Innocent Blood,” “Repent Now,” “Psalm 23,” “Psalm 39,” “Alpha and Omega,” and “Allah Bless.” As you can tell from that last one, Islam is common as well as Christianity; the northern half of the country is Muslim and the southern half is Christian with a lot of mixing in the central regions. And the two religions get along with essentially no conflict.
Most Ghanaians seemed to have no worries that people who followed the other religion (or the wrong denomination of their own religion) were headed for hell, and they often expressed belief that Christians, Muslims, and the older, traditional Ghanaian religions were all worshiping the same God in different ways.
Thus follows my prediction about what will happen to the religious situation in the future, when the Long Descent cuts in and literacy collapses. Dogmatic, institutional Christianity along the lines of what dominated in Europe from c. 400 to 1800 will essentially vanish, and Bible study will end up playing a negligible role in religious devotion, though people will probably keep calling on the name of Jesus, and talking about how he shed his blood for us. Christianity, Islam, and the native beliefs will become even more syncretized than they are now. The spiritual influence of the land will reassert itself. The end result will probably be monotheistic, or polytheistic with a strong focus on a Head God, since if I recall right, most of the indigenous religions over here revolve around a supreme being. The Pentecostal influence, though, will definitely still be present.
@Scotlyn: I did not mean to contest your hypothesis that vaccines are being treated differently from other pharmaceutic agents. I only wanted to contextualize your very general affirmation that “one cannot satisfactorily demonstrate something that failed to occur, nor attribute anything that failed to occur to a specific cause”. I respect your knowledge about vaccine research! Nevertheless, I have taken up the gauntlet to find placebo-controlled studies using this search:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=vaccin*+%5Bti%5D+AND+%28placebo+OR+saline%29+AND+%28mortality+%5Bti%5D+OR+deaths+%5Bti%5D%29&sort=date
For example, look at this meta-analysis on influenza vaccination: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32683040/
There are indeed studies by Aaby in Guinea Bissau in that list.
Re: Product debasement.
I’ve been noticing the debasement since we first made a serious push to offshore everything to China. The problem, as I see it, is that we don’t even get a choice. We should be able to pay more for quality products form the US/Japan/Germany or “save” money getting the Chinese product. But for the store there’s no incentive – the profit margin is higher on the Chinese products. Made in China is all they stock. To top it off American “assembled” products, if you can find them, might be assembled with Chinese parts so one pays more for no gain in quality.. I don’t mind paying twice as much for Japanese goods because they’ll hold up, and actually be cheaper in the long run, but it’s rare to have the option anymore.
@JMG, I’m worried *they* will shut you down because we are talking freely about *you know what*, presenting all sorts of *disinformation* that Facebook in its *wisdom* has determined might confuse people. I am guilty too. It appears a long PR campaign has gone into making the controversy a matter of choice versus no choice, with proponents of the former facing an acute crisis. Pres. Biden is considering making *you know what* mandatory for US troops, who exhibit uncharacteristic *hesitancy*.
Lovely timing, I may add, with China apparently itching for action, Iran a willing and able participant and Russia ready to be dragged more or less willingly into the fray.
It’s up to you, but I wouldn’t blame you for telling us to cool it on *you know what.* The important points at this time have been well and fully made.
@JMG said “As for what you can tell ordinary believers, you can’t. This is something that occultists have been dealing with for centuries; there’s nothing you can say to the ordinary unreflective believer that they can understand, so don’t worry about it. Tell them that you have a testimony of the essential truth of the Mormon faith, even though you disagree with the official theology on some of the details, and save further explanations to those who can handle them. (“To know, to dare, to will, and…”)”
Yes, that is basically the conclusion I have been moving toward myself. And nearly all of these people, family included, are quite mellow about it, when I make it clear that I don’t believe in the concept of a “One True Faith” but still worship God and adhere to the same moral standards as before. (There was a time, at the height of the 20th century, when Mormons were encouraged to be very worried about a family member leaving the church because they didn’t want their eternal family to have an empty seat at the dinner table in heaven. Thankfully, that attitude is pretty-much done for, even among the most active, orthodox Mormons).
What’s actually a bigger problem for me is how to talk to ordinary unreflective unbelievers, who realize that a lot of what Joseph Smith said was obvious malarkey, and then – since most of what they ever learned about God came through Joseph Smith and the church he founded – conclude that there is no God and that all religion is categorically false. Without occult philosophy, I can’t defend the proposition that Joseph Smith’s life’s work was supernatural, and neither can I point to some rival religious system and say, “Joseph Smith and the Mormons got it wrong, but look who didn’t!”
Or in other words, once someone comes to believe that the miracle stories he was raised with were all fraudulent, it’s very hard to convince him anything outside the material worldview, at all. The sad thing is that a lot of Mormons who end up turning atheist this way are quite miserable in their new belief system, and I’m pretty sure that they wouldn’t have ended up there if they had the intellectual tools to respond to their birth religion with something other than “It’s all a delusion!”
So the question is: What are your experiences like of trying to explain your own belief system to somebody who’s been left burned-out by the failure of the Magian religions to live up to the Magian idea of what a religion should be? Short of winning them over to the worldview of Dion Fortune, is there any constructive response that can be made to these people?
On electric cars, for David, by the lake #368 and the interested persons.
The current mandate is to to size new building service gear for 20% electric cars, based on apartment count. Five percent have to be installed, but because it makes no sense to to build to build out the gear and not install the chargers, we are putting in all 20%. They are the 240V Level 2 chargers referred to in the article that David BTL linked. The result is car chargers with an apartment building attached, from a load perspective.
Seriously now, the car chargers get their own panel board, and the main service gear, main supply conductors, transformer and upstream distribution all have to be sized to handle the load. Everything is bigger and costs more. I joke that the bus bars in the main service gear have enough copper to supply a small country with coinage, because they are monstrous, eight inches high, a quarter inch thick and and nine feet long.
If 20% of the apartment dwellers want to drive electric cars, 100% must pay for the larger service gear and the non-trivial sum that Puget Sound Energy charges to upgrade the distribution and provide a larger transformer.
Raphanus
@Slithy Toves, option #3 is really a fractal patchwork of #1 and #2 among localities and groups. In my state the reluctance rate for the vaccines is reportedly under 10% (we’ll see whether that translates into actual shots in arms or not, but I think it likely). So Massachusetts will have scenario #1. If we all drop dead as a result, I hereby (by the power vested in me by the Agawam River) authorize Rhode Island to come in and take our stuff before New York grabs it all.
The problem with your questions is what it’s always been, that most of the people who would have to take measures to protect those at risk are not the ones at risk themselves. That’s where the impetus to pressure and even force others to cooperate in risk reduction (i.e. wear masks, limit gatherings, get vaccinated) comes from.
In that situation, resentment can set in. (Surgeons once fought against being asked to wash their hands, because they had nothing to fear and how dare you blame them if their patients died of infection.) But nowadays, risk (aka liability) is also contagious. How dare a nursing home admin forbid Joe from hugging his beloved Grampa, just because Joe is unvaccinated? Well, if Joe’s brother June can successfully sue the nursing home for negligence if Grampa catches Covid from Joe and dies, then the admin might have no other choice, regardless of what Grampa thinks about it all. And the same might apply to nursing home staff caring for Joe, which leads to the dreaded vaccination required as a condition for employment situation. Which in general is not unusual in health care. Thirty-five years ago I had to be tested to verify measles immunity just to program computers in an office at a research lab affiliated with a hospital.
Massachusetts did a bad thing to the pooch, at the very start of this. We kind of tried to protect our vulnerable people but disregarded the low-risk people around them, who merely had minor or asymptomatic cases. “No fever today? And you’re wearing a six-times-reused single-use disposable mask? Okay, that’s good enough. Time to give Joe’s grampa his bath.” That’s how we lost our vulnerable people by the thousands, a fatality rate only exceeded by two other U.S. states and three Balkan countries. (India doesn’t come close, not yet, even if you multiply all their reported deaths by ten.) Other states did better, in part from those lessons.
If the vaccines work well a lot of this will be a moot point. Except for those with compromised immune systems or who can’t receive the vaccine for other medical reasons, anyone who feels at risk can simply choose to get vaccinated, and then not have to worry even in crowds of unvaccinated people. It’ll only be an issue for those providing care for the remaining involuntarily vulnerable people, and those vulnerable people themselves who will still have to use the many options now available to avoid shops, restaurants, crowded workplaces, etc. If the overall case rate goes way down, they might not even have to do that.
But if breakthrough infections become common (because of a lot of unvaccinated people around, or simply because the vaccines are not very effective), then the need for precautions extends back out another layer. As in, I’m vaccinated, but if I want to have face to face contact with my relatives who are over 90 or on immunosuppressive therapy, and there are breakthrough cases happening, I’ll still have to avoid some risks myself, for their sake. In that case, movie theaters, restaurants, bars, concert halls, railroads, museums, and convention centers still won’t be getting my money. (I can do without them just fine anyhow, it turns out.) If others decide the same, might that put pressure on the owners of those businesses, to put pressure on people to get vaccinated? If so, there’s nothing I can do about it.
@ Walter: I think you’re forgetting “Clarence” aka “Lumpy.” Or am I just showing my age?
Naylor – My favorite math book just now is “The VNR Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics”, published in 1975, by Van Nostrand Reinhold, editors Gellert, Kustner, Hellwich, and Kastner. It includes arithmetic, plane geometry, solid geometry, through analytic geometry of the plane, in about 300 pages. Then the next 300 pages cover set theory, logic, groups & fields, calculus, probability & statistics, etc. The the last 200 or so pages is “brief reports on selected topics” : algebraic geometry, topology, Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry, and finally “Foundations of mathematics”. There are four pages on the design and use of slide rules.
It appears to be available for $12 from Abe Books. One review notes that it is organized such that it can be read from front to back, not just alphabetical by topic, and I agree. It starts with the basics, and ends with the fundamentals!
Along with the study that Mark L (# 511) posted, there are three other studies that have come out in the last few years showing correlation of vaccination with chronic disease. All were pre-COVID vaccine, this one hasn’t been around long enough to have that sort of study done on it.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2050312120925344
https://archive.is/PwUrN
https://informedconsentdefense.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/garner-full-report-updated.pdf
Whether the difference is primarily from the vaccines or if there are other important confounding variables, differences in the environment that the children who got fewer or no vaccines tended to grow up in, the fact that these people on the fringes of society are largely avoiding the epidemic of chronic disease that’s affecting so many should be reason to not be so dismissive or hostile to them.
Robert, excellent! Lévi’s four virtues meet Iamblichean mysticism, where they’re ultimately rooted anyway.
Martin, I disagree. He’s a familiar figure in history; his name was spelled Kerensky the last time around, Abolhassan Bani-Sadr in Iran, and so on through the long litany of would-be reformers in revolutionary times whose actions were the quintessence of too little, too late.
J.L.Mc12, yes.
Christopher, product debasement is one of the ways that inflation is being swept under the rug; it’s an important part of what’s propping up the current dysfunctional system. That’s why there’s no choice in the matter: if you could choose, the extent to which products are being deliberately cheapened would be impossible to hide.
Patricia O, I’m not greatly concerned. This blog is so far out on the fringes, and has so little direct influence on the collective conversation, that the various defenders of the conventional nonsense have much more important things to worry about.
Wesley, that’s been a massive issue since the Magian religions peaked and began to decline, and it’s one of the worst consequences of the Magian pseudomorphosis. I don’t have any simple solutions. When I’m asked by an ex-Magian — that’s usually what “atheists” amount to — to explain my religion, I usually start by distancing it as far as possible from the Magian mode: it’s about practice rather than doctrine, the goal of the practices is to help you achieve personal experience of spiritual realities rather than taking someone else’s word for them, and so on. That usually makes them back away in a state of total confusion. If we can get past that stage, I build on it by talking about experiential religion, always using Magian examples as an indication of what not to do, and tolerably often they end up trying the Sphere of Protection or what have you, discovering that TSW, and going on to find their own experiential religion.
Kashtan, many thanks for these.
http://greenwizards.com/node/1452
I posted the rough draft of Blood of the World to Greenwizards, along with a commentary on some of the lessons of play testing, and design goals for 2nd draft.
I would be deeply grateful for thoughts or comments on the general direction that I have this ship pointed in.
JMG: Do you happen to recall how many pages your weird of hali rpg totaled out to? I am aiming to make an ultra light rpg, I am currently limiting myself to 12 pages, not counting art if I can score some. Aiming to be inttentionally vague and evocative with the setting and some of the rules, to make the players exercise their own imaginations and negotiation skills to make it work. Modern D&D has so much already imagined, and so many rulings already settled by enough jurisprudence to certainly be suitable material for training for the bar; I intend to over correct for that imbalance by the smallest amount that can be fairly called and over correction.
Ray, I just looked it up. It’s 188 big crowded pages. It’s emphatically not a minimalist RPG — Mythras, the rule system on which it’s based, is toward the detailed and complex end, and of course I had to add a lot of data on the Great Old Ones, the Radiance, assorted monsters, rules for mad scientists, etc., etc.
@ 484 – Mary Bennett – Up until about a year ago, “Rogue Classicism” was a standard blog. Then they switched to Twitter. I wasn’t pleased, as I don’t “do” Twitter, either. But I discovered I can scroll through the posts, and read them, and I don’t have to sign up, or anything like that. And a lot of the photos are fantastic.
As an aside, I’ve been a bit disturbed, of late, by a tendency of some news reporting outfits to consider a string of Tweets, as reporting. I see that as kind of … lazy.
I meant to respond to your thoughts on Austen. I’ve tried, I’ve really tried. 🙂 . Reading, even listening to some of the Books on Tape. I think I just can’t deal with the archaic language. Maybe. But I find the time period interesting, and have watched and read several Austen biographies. My local library will soon acquire one of the “Great Courses,” “The World of Jane Austen.” I’ve got it on my hold list.
The film “Pride, Prejudice and Zombies” was fun. 🙂 .
The ups and downs of “Lady” authors in the 1800’s, was pretty stifling. Alcott is a good example. She had to write her “pot-boilers,” under men’s names. (And the hunt for her pseudonyms is an interesting story, in itself.) And, she didn’t want Jo in “Little Women”, to marry, but was pretty much forced into it by her publisher. And, her fans.
The poor Bronte sisters began their writing careers writing under men’s names. It was, at the start, all done by mail. Boy, was their publisher shocked when they showed up in his office!
But, never mind the 1800s. Up into the 1950s and early 60s, women science fiction writers often wrote under men’s pen names. Just to get published. And a recently found out that an early comic book artist, Toni Blum, had to write under several men’s names. Lew
Owen #257 – right on! Thanks for the chuckle.
@JMG, So noted. Frankly, it’s no surprise that there isn’t an easy solution to the problem of ex-Magians. My situation, of course, differs from yours in that I don’t presently have a lifetime of experience in practicing a non-Magian religion, but that is just something that I need to work on!
JMG Mr White LondonCop Naomi
I’m not for one moment trying to deny or belittle people’s experiences but these issues raise several questions. Who is responsible for this situation? Who decided to ensure that working class immigrant areas have less policing than affluent white areas? Who is responsible for choosing to spend less money on policing, health, and education in these areas? Who created these policies and who is responsible for implementing these policies. Why are people in working class neighbourhoods afraid of their neighbours?
Is it immigrants, with little knowledge of social, political and administrative structures, little money or capital, and limited networks in the wider community? Is it working class white people who have seen no change to improve their lives for decades, in spite of being involved in the political process?
Or is it particular groups of politicians who wield enormous power with strong networks that include powerful media organisations, and can ensure, to some extent, that the message they want gets out? Is it career police who have to choose between following the lead of their political masters or risking their career by taking a different path with limited resources?
There is an instructive incident that LondonCop mentions. After the Brexit referendum the reporting of racist crimes rocketed… in England. The figures barely moved in Scotland. Why would that be? Perhaps it had something to do with the continual race baiting by Westminster (UK Parliament) politicians, backed up by the fear-mongering of the Daily Mail for decades, in contrast to Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP’s steadfast and vocal approach of valuing the contribution of immigrants to Scotland. Those in positions of power do make a difference. If people in power characterise certain groups as “vermin” they soon begin to get treated like that. It’s a powerful tactic, with a long history.
I’ve lived in a tenement (Victorian block of flats four levels high) flat (apartment) for over thirty years (still do, it’s complicated) in an area of Glasgow (large, post industrial, city with large amounts of poverty and deprivation) that had a substantial, possibly majority, population of people of Indian and Pakistani origin at one point. Less so now, it’s become attractive, it was due to be knocked down in the seventies because no one wanted to live there, but was basically saved by the incoming Indian/ Pakistani community. My block consists of myself, a Sikh family, and two Muslim families, and the newcomers, two white brothers. Of course people of colour have to deal with the wearying, tiresome, everyday racism, but in spite of the poverty of the city, there is remarkably little problem with serious, violent, racist crime, or conflict between different racial groups. And it pales in comparison to the problems between the Catholics and Protestants! An IRA bomb factory blew up in a flat along the road from me in my previous flat, in the late 80s. Leadership, political will, amongst other things, make a difference to the culture that exists in a community, city, country.
Again, who creates the situation, is it the people who have a history of political power, with money, influence, and networks, or newcomers with no power, no money, no contacts, and no history in an area?
But JMG, this time it’s really different!
“Factories? The only way to manufacture flawless fibreoptic cable, print exact copies of body parts such as hearts and lungs, create ultra-light metal alloys from materials such as magnesium that can be used in our bodies, and – more fancifully – reproduce an exact simulacrum of meat is to do it where there is no gravity. Within a generation, there could be space factories manufacturing all of this and more. Back on Earth, we will be transported in satellite-guided autonomous vehicles powered by satellite-generated electricity, eating meat manufactured in space.”
You’ll see once you have tasted your first meat simulacrum space burger! 😉
@ Lunar Apprentice: I seem to have missed your post yesterday. But the mechanism is really cool, indeed. I posted here about this a few weeks ago because I was as stunned as you seem to be. Funny thing is, they usually don’t write about why the ancients could possibly have built this device which predicted planetary positions relative to earth, lunar and solar eclipses AND shows signs of heavy use…
Cheers,
Nachtgurke
@ Matthias Gralle – I appreciate your gauntlet taking, and I will definitely take time to peruse your links!
@ Walt F – to your list of “nearly everyone’s”… I’d like to add that it is widely recognised that “nearly everyone” known to have been infected with the virus was able to brush it off with little difficulty, either suffering no symptoms at all, or suffering a short, self-limiting infectious “fight” which they themselves won in short order.
However, there has been exceedingly little attention paid to the matter of resourcing and providing the attentive and effective care that is actually needed by those few whose infection turned into serious disease, as well as those few whose vaccination has turned into serious disease, both of whom would benefit enormously from such care and attention. Also, those doctors and scientists who have made contributions to the knowledge base for treating the sick (as opposed to preventing the sick from coming into contact with the well), have, in far too many cases, been sidelined and maligned as “misinformation spreaders”. (Fortunately, most of them are not deterred, and continue to care for the sick and/or to research and share information on effective treatments for the care of the sick).
Instead, with proposals for “vaccination passports” getting serious discussion and attention, the larger societies seem to be in danger of developing a segregation mentality that would actually relegate the sick (both virus-sick and vaccine-sick) into the realm of “dangerous, do not approach” – a very different category from “suffering, please help with appropriate, attentive, care and treatment.”
I listened to your podcast with Kunstler talking about elite virtue-signalling, and then watched a little bit of the Oscars.
“We are mourning the loss of so many, and I have to be honest, if things had gone differently this past week in Minneapolis I may have traded in my heels for marching boots.”
– said Regina King while wearing a dress by Louis Vuitton with 62,000 Sequins and 3,900 Crystals. The speech was given from Union Station, LA, after the homeless living in the area were forced to relocate by the police who then erected a wall around it.
Ahem.
I find the discussion regarding a symbolic interpretation of Abrahamic texts fascinating.
I have a few thoughts and questions along this theme.
Neville Goddard, a new thought author I’ve mentioned previously, who was friends with Israel Regardie interpreted the God of the Bible to symbolically represent one’s own unconditioned awareness. I find it strikingly reminiscent of some Buddhist schools’ presentation of consciousness.
Would anyone know if there were similar interpretations of the Bible historically?
Neville claims to have studied Cabala with an Ethiopian Rabbi, I’m reading through Levi and hope to study along with the monthly reading group; he goes into similar themes but as far as I know stops short of saying the same thing.
I practise Buddhism and for me, experience is also what convinced me of the validity of the path rather than memorising doctrines and philosophy. Of course I did end up reading up on the doctrine, but it was predicated on experience.
For me personally, it really doesn’t matter if Vajrayana and Mahayana were taught by the historical Buddha Shakyamuni or not, it only matters if Buddhahood is a possibility and the paths they teach are valid.
I believe that Vajrayana (and perhaps Mahayana) scriptures were “astral plane” teachings as well, where adepts received them in visions.
I’ve actually read a lot of academic research about intertextuality, how visionary scriptures in Tibetan Buddhism draw on historical texts and so on, in the context of textual criticism and philology. I find it intriguing and it honestly only makes me marvel more at how the teachings can be renewed for different ages and audiences rather than feeling threatened as perhaps some more literally minded interpreters might be.
I’m curious if members of the Magian faiths could come to a similar synthesis in the long run?
Perhaps with figures like Neville who popularize more symbolic interpretations after learning them directly from more esoteric sources?
I suspect that Mahayana Buddhism actually has some Magian roots from the Indo-Iranian peoples of Gandhara and Central Asia, it shares this sense of historical-feeling that other Magian faiths do but it seems to be more porous and amenable to symbolism and non-material plane explanations I think.
@ Mark L – thank you, and yes, I have found your blog and begun reading some of your thinking on this. Very interesting! And yes, I think that (to pick up on another thread bouncing around in these comments) the specific religious complex currently under study by each of us, in our own ways, may be a last-fling Magian one – that is to say, one that is unable to tolerate differences of opinion, which are, by definition, both “wrong” and “evil”. The biggest sin for this religion is “spreading misinformation” and sinners who do so are invariably filled with evil intentions.
>The problem, as I see it, is that we don’t even get a choice. We should be able to pay more for quality products
Perhaps markets are not as free as you were led to believe?
The real problem as I see it, is the thinking that you can have it all. Which ultimately ends up in having nothing. Or, as Hemingway put it:
The age demanded that we sing
And cut away our tongue.
The age demanded that we flow
And hammered in the bung.
The age demanded that we dance
And jammed us into iron pants.
And in the end the age was handed
The sort of [REDACTED] that it demanded.
>Why the disdain for Gorbachev?
I kinda feel sorry for the guy, but I wouldn’t say I disrespect him. He was asked to take responsibility for the consequences of bad decisions that were made long before he showed up. But he wasn’t really up to the challenge either, let’s face it. He did his best and it blew up in his face more or less. You could make the argument though that nobody was up to the challenges at that point in time.
At least he’ll be remembered by the historians, as opposed to Chernenko or Andropov. Then again, they will never be blamed for things they never did either.
>If I were having a baby today (and thank God I’m not)
I wonder, which country on the planet would you think would let you raise a healthy sane child? I don’t think that’s possible here in Murica anymore. No way.
Dear Archdruid,
I would like to request some advice with a strange pattern of thinking that I can’t figure out exactly. Namely in recent times, I have thought of practicing various spiritual and religious traditions but my mind always gets stuck in one particular mental rut that prevents me from doing so . I don’t know what it is actually called but my term for it would be “lottery fallacy”. What it is that when I consider practicing any kind of spirituality, I find myself thinking about whether this religion/spirituality will be the next big thing, in the sense of, for instance, being the precursor to the religion that will characterise the second religiosity of western civilization. Otherwise some side of me gets the sense of “not being worth it” because I would be “on the losing side”. I call it the “lottery fallacy” because it treats spirituality as a matter of “picking the right number” at a lottery.
What do you make of this thinking? I get the sense that it’s flawed but I don’t know what the flaw is. Also, knowing that this thinking is flawed doesn’t prevent it from having a dominating influence in my mind.
Also for reference, I am in my late 20s, grew up on the internet and am mentally very much tilted towards doubt and scepticism of everything, which is why I have essentially no direct experience with any religion or spirituality.
J.L.Mc12
I’m not an Australian but what an Australian friend (who is desperately trying to get back into the country to see family) told me is that their rules are not specifically related to India.
The borders are basically completely closed and even if you’re an Australian citizen (where you are doesn’t matter), they are only allowing up to 500 per week to come back into the country, and those who do have to do “hotel quarantine” essentially under armed guard for two weeks (you can’t even leave your hotel room even if you have kids etc), but once you are out, life is pretty close to normal there (although they have a tendency to shut down entire towns and states every time 1-2 people test positive). Vaccine rollout is very slow and not going to be complete for a long time. Oh, and of course more than 500 Australians a week want to go back home, so the only way to improve your chances is to pay for a business class or first class ticket because those people get in first. So several thousand dollars *per person*.
In the other direction, leaving Australia is essentially banned, even for Australian citizens. The only exception (you need to get permission in advance) is if you can prove there’s been a sudden death of an immediate family member.
Strangely, these rules don’t apply if you’re sufficiently rich (not just “successful professional” but actually wealthy) and have contacts at the various government offices that hand out exemptions. Lots of celebrities and Instagram influencers etc are flying in and out and I believe Australia has become a very popular place for film crews to move to and shoot because it’s one of the few places in the world where life is basically normal day to day. No problems for them……
So the FDA had a vaccine safety monitoring system but they dismantled it and didn’t replace it. Feels like they are starting the spin that its all Trump’s fault they didn’t have a system in place when the vaccines rolled out in December. Because obviously it’s never the bureaucrats fault that the systems they run don’t actually help everyday people.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-vaccine-safety-system-has-gaps-may-miss-unexpected-side-n1265986
@ Raphanus
Re EV charging infrastructure
That makes total sense. To understand the push from the electric industry for such things, it is important to note that investor-owned utilities do not make their profits from the generation of power per se (fuel expenses and the like are essentially pass-through costs), but rather on the state (or federally) authorized rate of return on installed plant–the physical equipment, wires, transformers, generators. The more “steel in the ground,” the larger their rate-base and the more dollars earned through their authorized RoE (return on equity).
Historically, load growth has meant more and more generators and more transmission infrastructure gets built, leading to a steady growth of returns. However, this last decade or so has seen largely flat load growth (even load decline, in some places) and the “growth” in demand and infrastructure has to come from somewhere else. Even good socialist municipal utilities like mine, which effectively operate on a not-for-profit basis as we have no shareholders, get caught up in the game. (Load growth–in this case, poaching customers from oil & gas–enables rates to be kept low by spreading fixed costs like transmission over increased volumes of sales.)
@ Everyone
Re more energy tidbits
Two recent posts from the EIA. The first, re nuclear spent fuel statistics:
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=47796
The second, re 2020 disposition of fossil fuel by source and end usage sector:
https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/flow/fossil_fuel_spaghetti_2020.pdf
About product debasement and shrinking – the decline in quality is everywhere, but I have absolutely no complaints about the loss of the hamburgers so big, you’d dislocate your jaw in eating them. Nor the return of the 12-ounce or even 8-ounce soda pop can, nor of any of these oversized portions being dumped on our plates, which is still going on.
This is simply a return to an older norm, which I’m old enough to have considered the norm. I even remember the old commercial “P****-Cola hits the spot, *12 full ounces, that’s a lot.* Twice as much, and a nickel, too…..” Home-baked cookies, too, were generally about one-ounce.
About the brief question about ADD & Aspergers, which defaulted to ADHD, of course – once again, it’s different for girls. Also, ADD – without-the-H is seriously under-reported, because we’re not being disruptive; we’re simply off elsewhere while the teacher is droning on and on. Also, “ditzy” is one of the things girls can be, in the popular mind. You’ll hear of a guy being called a space cadet if he’s seriously empty-headed, but “ditzy?” Never. Let alone it being considered sort of cute! So… rare? Or just not noticed? My vote’s for the latter.
About the vaccine – whatever the hidden rulers of society (whom I doubt could organize a sailors’ field trip to the nearest bar!) are up to, I assure you, everybody I know on my side of the political fence takes it dead seriously as a massive menace to everybody’s health, and at the same time, are as glad to be mask-free whenever possible as any spring-break party-goer.
Finally, for sheer oxymoronic pontificating, I give you yesterday’s NPR hot-air marathon , which I was subject to on a family drive back from a state park, on the Climate Change Summit. And its low point, “…cut emissions and grow the economy….”
I made a noise and held up my hand, my son-in-law turned off the radio long enough for my daughter to ask “Yes, Mom?” I said “cut emissions and grow the economy? That’s a contradiction in terms!” Polite silence and back to the pontificating.
People, there’s no arguing with either side. They know what they know and anyone who disagrees is either venal or ignorant, end of story.
Pat, from the sidelines, scarfing down trail mix in lieu of popcorn.
Lady C., to wash the taste of that out of our mouths, any view of innocent furry felinity?
It appears that the Wokesters are now going after Stephen Harrod Buhner, who is probably familiar to a lot people here:
https://www.stephenharrodbuhner.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/THE-DAY-THE-WOKE-MOB-CAME-FOR-THE-HERBALISTSStephen-Harrod-BuhnerIt-1.pdf
Buhner is one of the most important living American herbalists. I strongly recommend supporting him– if you don’t have any of his books, go out and get one, they’re really very good. I also strongly recommend cutting any ties that you might have to the American Herbalists Guild. It appears that they’ve been taken over by entryrists after the usual fashion.
Buhner’s book Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers is a particularly good one– it’s like JMG’s Encyclopedia of Natural Magic gat a child on The Complete Joy of Home Brewing. I won’t be able to make it to the Ecosophia barbecue this summer, but maybe those that are going might consider buying Buhner’s book and brewing up an elder flower champagne for magical protection or or a mugwort or dandelion visionary beer? I can only imagine any of those would be a hit with this crowd…
About vaccines and “magical thinking”. I put it scare quotes since it really isn’t how magicians think, but how people think they think. (No I can’t say that three times.)
I accept that I am a lab rat in taking the vaccine. I take it because I lived in a time before vaccines. I nearly died of several childhood diseases such as measles and welcomed the idea of vaccines. I was sick for most of my early childhood with disease after disease. So my point of view is I am a volunteer in this experiment.
I believe that is different from what is presented in social media and mainstream media. They are pumping out the idea that vaccine = return to what was. We can live again if everyone gets the magic vaccine. Not only that, but we can have the life we lost. I personally think that is a lot of piddletwat thinking.
Because it seems that no one is taking a cautious view or a considered view of the vaccines, we are getting the binary of take it or else vrs. not over my dead body. (sorry for that.) I dislike that binary since it is not science but dogma. Dogma over thinking.
I don’t think the vaccine is the end all or be all. I do believe that it will help some, harm others, and leave the middle muddled. I, for one, would defend my reluctant neighbors for their hesitancy since they did not sign up to be lab rats.
@Loren,
There is a fairly good article here explaining some aspects of the design choices in the vaccines: https://davidson.weizmann.ac.il/en/online/reasonabledoubt/ade-and-corona-vaccines , at least from an official perspective.
It is part of an article seeking to debunk claims of ADE risk and comes with a strong whiff of propaganda so quite possibly the whole thing is a tissue of lies. However, I thought that it was interesting, in a sort of intellectual way, there is no way I’m taking any of the vaccines.
@ilona
I talk more about your points in post 207.
First of all, I think cryptocurrencies are a lot more resilient than a lot of people give them credit for and may even prove more resilient that government backed state currencies. Remember, the average lifespan for fiat currencies is about 35 years, and the average lifespan for reserve currencies is about a century.
https://monetarygold.com/global-reserve-fiat-currencies/
Crypto, on the other hand, is INFINITELY MORE RESILLIANT! This is because all you need for a crypto to function is just two computers talking to each other. Bitcoin will literally NEVER go out of existence as long as one person is verifying the transactions. The same is true with litecoin, ethereum, whatever.
So if fiat currencies collapse and crypto is seen as a viable alternative, I think we would could end up with a parallel economic system analogus to the late Roman economy. The late Roman economy had two separate systems of money with floating exchange rates. There was the silver Denarius, which was used by the poor and constantly debased, and the gold Solidus, which was not debased, and used by the rich to store wealth, as well as for large transactions.
So it’s possible crypto ends up being the Solidus, used by a rich minority, and everyone else ends up with the Denarius, ie, depreciating fiat currency. The deflationary nature of cryptocurrencies facilitates its capture by a small financial elite, which would make this a natural outcome.
That last part is not something most people who own crypto will tell you but is a conclusion I’ve come to independently. The book The Sovereign Individual (which I read, like, last month), predicted the existence of cryptocurrencies in the 1990s and came to a similar conclusion as I did.
A friend of mine whom I went to college with in India is now living in the USA. I was talking to him recently, and he said he has a root canal issue he has not gotten fixed in two years, because it will cost Two Thousand Dollars out of his pocket, even though he has insurance. (I don’t know the specifics of his plan and the deductibles. And he is in a West coast city.). Anyway, it got me into thinking about how dental problems are a lot more prevalent in America than over here in India, despite all the brushing-twice-daily and flossing habits (so much that dentists make mini-fortunes). Is there something uniquely American (food habits etc) that makes teeth rot much faster? Has the commentariat got any tips to share on maintaining good dental health in a deindustrial world?
Here is what I do: After brushing the teeth, use your finger to gently rub the teeth from side to side (any of the three big fingers works best) until you hear a mild squeaky noise from finger rubbing on the teeth. This not only clears up the plaques that build up on the teeth, but the gentle pressure applied continuously for months also brings the teeth into a decent shape withiut needing any braces. This is especially helpful when started at age 8-10, when teeth start to get out of shape. I also pop a clove bud after eating, and chew on it for 10-15 minutes. This gets rid of all the food that gets stuck in the cavities. You can avoid tooth decay. I have no idea how it works, but it works. So I thought I would share it here. Which brought me into my next idea, does anyone know of a good place online where low cost home remedies are shared and discussed?
“Reasonable expectations” considered “grim.” (!) Finns and Nordic Happiness
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/04/finland-happiness-lagom-hygge.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab
And common sense from Outside online. In fact, that’s the only place I’ve found good sound common sense about matters of health and fitness. I need to pay for a subscription.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/we-ve-reached-peak-wellness-most-of-it-is-nonsense?utm_source=pocket-newtab
Note: the article overlooks the reason for all the nonsense: selling it brings in the big bucks, while following their advice costs very little, except in exertion, and in fact, helps people see through the nonsense. Eek! Urk!
@ilona
> Do you expect cryptocurrencies and the Internet to be widely available to the general public 20 years from now? 40 years from now?
I didn’t really answer this directly, so I guess I should.
I do expect the internet to be available to the average person in 2060 (40 years from now), if nothing else through internet cafes.
That being said, I think crypto can still end up becoming the dominant economic system even if the internet is not available to the general public. So widespread internet access isn’t really relevant to whether crypto as a whole succeeds or fails.
Re: cryptocurrency
This is one of those things that have a strange cult following believing that it is going to change the world for the better – perhaps as place to stash one’s belief in Progress so that wider trends can be ignored? A few years back I met some folks who assigned that vaunted role to biochar (unlimited fertility, carbon sequestration, pollution mitigation, yay!), and then later to the hemp plant (world’s best medicine, world’s best fiber, superfood seeds, yay!). I’ll call them the “charries” and the “hempies.” 🙂
For some reason cryptocurrency has its own group of enthusiasts, and sure there are some neat things about it. That said, financial instruments are only fundamentally useful as a means of transactional exchange, or as a store of value. For the former, they must be readily interchangeable between tangible (coins, cash) and intangible (bank account or credit card balance) forms, and they must be relatively stable in value. A baker is not going to price cinnamon rolls in a currency that fluctuates in value by the day and that doesn’t work when the connection goes down. For the latter, a store of value should ideally also have some sort of underlying use value, as in the productive or buildable capacity of land, or the metallurgical value of gold or silver. Lacking that, all value is speculative, and thereby volatile and fundamentally insecure.
If fiat currencies collapse, they will be replaced by local barter and ultimately by new local/national currencies. Unless cryptocurrencies can somehow stabilize in value and transcend the digital realm to encompass coins and bills that can be locally exchanged in the absence of an internet connection, I don’t see much chance of them filling that role.
@Ramaraj #563 – The answer to the tooth decay issue in the US comes down to the same answer as obesity in the US – sugar and processed carbohydrates. Actually, they’re pretty close to the same thing, as processed carbs are converted almost immediately into sugars in the digestive tract. Both sugar (in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, maltodextrose, etc.) and the source feedstocks for processed carbohydrates — particularly corn, wheat, soybeans, and rice — are heavily subsidized in the US. In 2020, subsidies accounted for a staggering 39% of all farm income!
And as Charlie Munger says, “show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.” The outcome in the US is grocery store aisles packed with products that are essentially a thousand variations of carbohydrate and sugar, heavily salted and with a modicum of low-end protein thrown in. And calorie-for-calorie they’re dirt-cheap compared to the foods you find on the perimeter of the store — you know, fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, eggs, dairy products, and other unprocessed foods. (Before the nit-pickers chime in, yes, I know that the aisles also contain frozen and canned vegetables, nuts, etc., but you get my drift, right?)
And this then leads to the larger outcome: obesity, diabetes, tooth decay, and myriad other health issues that result from the agricultural practices now being used in the US to produce those grain feedstocks.
Hi JMG and All
There are two dangerous “legends” or “tales” that are being disseminated among the populace by the governments and health authorities:
a) The natural immunity only gives a “poor” protection, nothing comparable with the wonderful protection of the experimental vaccines tested during two months and with the placebo group destroyed some months ago. There is no scientific study that support the assertion that you need to be vaccinated if you had Covid-19 more than 6 months ago because your “deficient” natural immunity will not protect you, so you have to take the risks of serious adverse events for really nothing, and some people suspect the people that had the disease have more risks after vaccination (due to priming)
b) The vaccines stop transmissions, and this is the way to protect grandpa & grandma. There is no scientific study, no results from phases 1, 2 or 3 of the vaccines trials that shows this is the case. They decided not to test if the vaccines stop of the transmission in all the trials because I think they fully know the answer. Even the CDC says in his web:
“Vaccinated people could potentially still get COVID-19 and spread it to others”
I start to think that the only reason of why they want to vaccinate everyone alive is to avoid having a big “control group” not vaccinated in the future to compare the vaccines effects, and the potential huge blowback this could bring.
I will not be vaccinated, nor my family under any circumstances before they are legally liable and the vaccines are fully approved. . I will have confidence when THEY have confidence.
“From My Cold, Dead Hands”
Cheers
David
@Michael
Come to Catholicism, we have crackers and wine that turn into flesh and blood (and we also have the truth).
>plenty of examples of countries shutting down hyperinflation promptly once they decided it was in their interests to do so
Weell – sometimes a government will try to reintroduce sound money – only for the new money to immediately fail. That happened several times in Zimbabwe and in the end they just gave up and let the people decide what to use. It was interesting to see how people got punished by not having faith in sound money there at the end and it’s pretty much that, that stops hyperinflation in its tracks.
How it gets going and how it ends I would claim are a bit more complicated than “money printer go brr” and frankly the economists who are supposed to know these things – absolutely do not. In some ways they are the very last people you should listen to, IMHO.
Dagnarus – apologies for giving that bit of wrong info about the adenovirus vaccines – should have read more of my own reference.
also Mollari #497 – thanks for pointing this out – I mis-assumed “replication incompetent” meant doesn’t enter cell.
I stand corrected on this point.
re: long term effects – yes, something like the swine flu vaccine narcolepsy could turn up, but it wouldn’t show much if any at all in the 20,000 vaccinated people in a given vaccine phase 3 trial.
The risk was in only one vaccine, the Pandemrix swine flu vaccine, at a rate of 1 in 18,400, so even seeing one case in 20,000 is (naively) 50:50 odds.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28847694/
That’s the drag with vaccines and many other drugs or innovations, no real way to find these things without essentially a roll-out. One can’t reliably find things like 1:500,000 clot issues without millions of recipients.
Waiting longer with the same 20,000 test subjects isn’t going to work.
And that is why it wasn’t until 7.98 million doses were given that the clotting issues showed unequivocally with the Janssen vaccine. 15 cases over 7.98 million is 1 in 532,000, but 13 of those were women 18-49.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7017e4.htm
Summary of the risk-benefit modeling of the Janssen vaccine in the above.
“For every 1 million doses of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine administered to women aged 18–49 years, 297 hospitalizations, 56 ICU admissions, and six deaths related to COVID-19 could be prevented, compared with seven expected TTS cases. Among women aged ≥50 years, 2,454 hospitalizations, 661 ICU admissions, and 394 deaths could be prevented, compared with one expected TTS case.”
Thus the warning for women < 50 years.
Of course, since many are uncomfortable with numbers/charts/odds ratios… indeed uncertainty itself, and there is no certain answer for any particular individual, then that uncertainty and anxiety may build into judgemental and/or conspiratorial thinking, overeating, etc.
Apropos the epidemic of anxiety from the uncertainty of things in our time, I'd like to share this:
How To Unwind Our Pandemic Of Anxiety (w/Dr. Jud Brewer)
https://zdoggmd.com/jud-brewer-3/
for video avoiders/faster readers – there's a transcript in there.
Hi Patricia,
One cutie, coming right up!
https://goodmorningkitten.com/kitten/4770/
http://energyskeptic.com/2021/the-end-of-fracked-shale-oil/
Conventional crude oil production may have already peaked in 2008 at 69.5 million barrels per day (mb/d) according to Europe’s International Energy Agency (IEA 2018 p45). The U.S. Energy Information Agency shows global peak crude oil production at a later date in 2018 at 82.9 mb/d (EIA 2020) because they included tight oil, oil sands, and deep-sea oil. Though it will take several years of lower oil production to be sure the peak occurred. Regardless, world production has been on a plateau since 2005.
What’s saved the world from oil decline was unconventional tight “fracked” oil, which accounted for 63% of total U.S. crude oil production in 2019 and 83% of global oil growth from 2009 to 2019. So it’s a big deal if we’ve reached the peak of fracked oil, because that is also the peak of both conventional and unconventional oil and the decline of all oil in the future.
JMG and Lathechuck,
Thanks for the math and slide rule recommendations! I will be checking those out.
JMG,
Thank you for the last month of particularly interesting and thought-provoking articles. I wanted to join the discussions on several, but I’ve struggled to assemble my thoughts in a timely manner.
On a not-really-related note, here are two bits of news that you might find interesting:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56798308 – Given the choice between electronic gewgaws or food, the managerial classes will always choose gewgaws. Shades of the Atlantic Republic?
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/amp35938986/f-35-shoots-itself/ – Lardbucket gonna lardbucket! To be fair, this might have been due to faulty ammunition, and therefore not the plane’s fault. That doesn’t make the headline any less funny.
@TamHob
Thanks! I agree, and not only does it have that whiff to it, it’s disingenuous. We were worried about ADE but we didn’t see it in the brief period we tested these so it’s been proven safe? Really? If memory serves, the other would-be coronavirus vaccines also saw their test subjects tolerate it well at first; it was only some time later, during subsequent reinfection, that they had extreme reactions (and died). No acknowledgement of the total lack of long-term safety studies, or how these mRNA concoctions differ from previous vaccines? No comparisons?
I won’t be receiving one either, and hope I can dissuade my wife, who is on the fence. I’d be averse even if I hadn’t seen the rabid insistence that everyone in the world MUST receive it, or the apparent destruction of the control group.
PS to the vaccine all-cause mortality thread:
People have posted links to studies about vaccinated vs. non-vaccinated children. These studies certainly need to be taken serious. On the other hand, if the studies are just observational, there may be tons of things that the parents who don’t vaccinate their children do differently from the mean of the population: nutrition, contact with other children (home-schooling?) etc. Scotlyn is right that the way to solve this issue is with randomized studies or natural experiments, difficult as they may be to conduct. I think this is why such a large fraction of the papers on my original search are from Africa, where lack of a certain vaccine is more common. Another search for “natural experiment” also turned up mostly studies from Guinea-Bissau (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=vaccin*+%5Bti%5D+AND+%28mortality+%5Bti%5D+OR+deaths+%5Bti%5D%29+AND+%28%22instrumental+variable%22+OR+%22natural+experiment%22%29&sort=date).
In the meta-analysis at the top of the search list (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32683040/) there are only a few randomized trials, and only one designed to measure total deaths, an Argentinian one that shows 2 vs 6 deaths over two years (vaccinated vs. unvaccinated). In the specific case of influenza, it doesn’t make sense to wait much more than one year if one is interested in the benefits, since they are known to wear off quickly. On the other hand, a 25 year follow-up like in this study (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31120943/) is good to see if there are unexpected positive of negative long-term effects: there weren’t, and in the end the vaccinated group had a small benefit that wasn’t significant anymore, since it had been diluted by 24 additional years. It seems to me that in the specific case of influenza, the best way is to join the results from multiple smaller scale randomized trials, since each trial(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC387429/, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7966893/, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15542184/) will only contribute a few cases of death over a year. This is more or less what the meta-analysis I cited at the top did, but is should be restricted to randomized trials with saline or no injection as control.
@patriciaormsby, that sounds quite possible. But there are many more unknowns. How lasting is the immunity from an exposure so low that not much spike protein is ever produced? And do the newer variants still cause the same spectrum of mostly-mild cases? A nephew of mine, slim and healthy and in his mid 20s, was exposed extensively during the first wave last spring (his girlfriend and her entire family tested positive, one of the family’s eldest died, and he was living with them at the time) but never tested positive or had symptoms. (Was he extremely lucky and it never got into his body, or did his immune system just fight it off with little effort?) Then just a few weeks ago he got infected for real, and had a case that though not close to life-threatening, was more typical of the cases experienced by people in their 50s in earlier waves, including two weeks of fever and fatigue, and loss of sense of taste that lingered on for longer. (One of the newer variants showing its fitness?) Whatever odds people think they’re playing, the virus can change them however and whenever it wants to.
@Scotlyn, I agree regarding misplaced priorities in research and care. I experienced a version of this myself; last summer (as I mentioned in some ecosophia comments then) I had a recurring fever and other symptoms that fit the Covid-19 profile pretty closely. But the moment my Covid-19 test came back negative, as far as my doctors were concerned I wasn’t sick any more. After several more weeks of continued symptoms, I finally reported one (fluctuating blood pressure) that they considered worth their attention, and they ordered tests that discovered the non-Covid infection I actually had. People suffering long Covid cases have far more reason for frustration. More generally, the research on therapeutics has been poorly conducted, and going all the way back to hydroxychloroquine, both the premature championing and the premature rejection of various proposed therapies have caused problems and added misery. And other promising possibilities were never seriously tested at all, such as resveratrol, which years ago showed promise in vitro against one of the earlier SARS coronaviruses, and which appears to have effects that would counter the kinds of inflammatory and thrombolytic damage Covid-19 causes.
JMG: Well, I’m late to the party, and struggling to keep up with reading all the comments. Thank goodness I took some days off this week; maybe I’ll be able to get through the comments before they hit 600.
I found this map of the most and least Woke states. https://www.zippia.com/advice/most-woke-states/
I don’t know about all the criteria they used; I wouldn’t think organic farms and kombucha consumption instantly marks you as woke. But JMG, you made a good choice! If you have to live in New England, make it Rhode Island!
Also, I’m interested in hearing an answer to Errata’s question (#200): “Any thoughts on how black holes might manifest in or interact with the astral plane? They’re such an unusual object in the reality that we know and I’ve sometimes wondered about this.” You seemed to have overlooked it, or maybe I missed the answer somewhere.
Joy Marie
Well this is unsettling. And in a mainstream source, no less:
https://weather.com/en-IN/india/coronavirus/news/2021-05-03-spike-protein-of-novel-coronavirus-play-a-key-role-in-illness
From the article, emphasis added:
“In the study, the team created a ‘pseudovirus’ that was surrounded by SARS-CoV-2 classic crown of spike proteins but did not contain any actual virus. Exposure to this pseudovirus resulted in damage to the lungs and arteries of an animal model—proving that the spike protein alone was enough to cause disease. Tissue samples showed inflammation in endothelial cells lining the pulmonary artery walls.
“The team then replicated this process in the lab, exposing healthy endothelial cells (which line arteries) to the spike protein. They showed that the spike protein damaged the cells by binding ACE2. […]
“Previous studies have shown a similar effect when cells were exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but this is the first study to show that the damage occurs when cells are exposed to the spike protein on its own.”
And they’re deliberating giving injections that teach people’s own bodies to produce this spike protein. No thank you!
Morfan/Jack,
I remembered to add your partner’s sister Emma in France to my prayers tonight. I have a sister in law Tracy who also has cancer so it will a “Tracy and Emma” prayer going onwards..May the peace of God be yours at this trying time also
Not for publication message, for JMG offlist — although JMG, it’s fine to publish this comment if you feel it’s helpful to resolve the issue — on the topic of swearing by commenters, I think perhaps it’s not common knowledge in USA English that t-w-a-t is an extremely rude word in British English. There is a different word t-w-i-t which is a mild insult, like ‘idiot’, and I wonder if your commenter neptunesdolphins has got confused between the two as s/he keeps using ‘piddletw*t’. Thought I would drop a line, as it has occurred a few times, I realized it is probably not an extremely rude word in USA English. All the best, anyway.
@JMG, I am comforted that you feel able to allow discussion of vaccine concerns. If anyone among our commenters here is injured, they will be comforted by this resource you offer for sharing.
This just came to my attention now. Dr. Mercola and his clinic (17 years ago) helped me and my husband get our health back. Now he is under serious threat. https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/05/04/removing-articles-related-to-vitamin-d-c-and-zinc.aspx
If by any chance this article is down, I know where else to find it.
@Ramaraj,
Thank you for the information on tooth cleaning! I’ll give it a try starting today.
@Lady Cutekitten,
Thank you for posting the kitty photos! Those are refreshing. So much joy in this world.
@ Ramaraj (and to anyone else with an interest in dental health). I have benefitted from a few of the tips supplied here. It seems to be a big site (old fashioned look and feel), containing a great deal of information, some of it supplied with caveats (ie – someone tried this, don’t know if it will be of general interest) as well as quite a bit of sound physiology. Best of all it is not trying to sell you anything.
https://www.healingteethnaturally.com/
@JMG – and you don’t have to publish this – This is not a troll, but a very serious observation on something that’s puzzled me for well over a year, that I wish you would sit down and ponder about for a while.
First, I am now rereading The Long Descent, and reached the section on “Slow-Motion Disaster,” about the decline of public health. In particular, “even infectious disease control rarely achieves the level of intensity chronicled in “And The Band Played On.” Well, this year when we had a pandemic, the reaction did reach that level of intensity, and you find it intolerable. I do understand why: the reaction, which could have been better thought out by a long shot, did privilege a class you despise and detest, while coming down very hard on the people who actually do the work on the world. In fact, the reaction probably took the form it did simply because those who made the decisions could not see any interests beyond those of their own class. Even so, it was a serious concerted effort to end a menace to public health.
Then, before that, I was rereading Not The Future We Ordered, and now call to mind the reaction of the medical profession in slavery days and in the days of The Feminine Mystique to the widespread systematic problems of their day: that is, these people are all individually insane. And they scratched their heads, puzzling over ways to cure that insanity. And this is exactly what you are doing now with those who have taken the pandemic seriously, trying furiously to understand why they’ve all gone stark, raving bonkers, each and every one of them.
And – since we are all human, I’ve reacted to statements like this with, first, denial, then anger, and have regretted anything I said under either impulse, I would like you to just sit on it a while, reread what you’ve said in these books, and do exactly what I’ve been doing with what I’ve been reading here on the subject, trying to figure out why this massive cognitive dissonance and what the truth actually is.
And I promise to say no more on the subject, no matter what you decide.
Can I just add that we have the technical capability to track each individual who was vaccinated and have each of those individuals log their physical response to the vaccine, and have that individual note if they later were infected with Covid. Physicians could sign off on report to verify them.
But no one at the FDA, the CDC, the pharmaceutical companies, or the insurance companies set anything like that up. There is absolutely nothing other than random evidence and a bunch of scientists making assertions based on studies of subsets of people.
We have no proof that these vaccine work as intended and have little to no side effects. Every piece of information distributed by corporate media fits the narrative that they work. There is no one willing to actually do the work of setting up system to track and measure what is happening with the vaccine.
It’s almost as if they don’t really care what happens to everyday people.
Greetings John and fellow Ecosophians,
Lately I’ve been having this resurging interest in (don’t be surprised) the Michael Jackson phenomenon. I’m sure many of you who are far from the pop and mainstream culture would find this stuff silly, but along the fact he remind me of a very dear person to me (who was a fan); his whole life was something worth studying and looking into from different cultural, social and artistic aspects. He’s a peculiar and constant presence in my consciousness that I’m gradually unfolding.
So, what do you think of him? I’ve never known any celebrity who had these tabloid crusades and witch hunts against them on the same scale that happened to this man, even before the famous allegations around ’93, it’s almost mind wrecking what he went through all his life. Of course, his sudden rising and the floods of money that went into his pockets (which lots of it went to charity) made other business figures and corporations in constant envious battles with him, he actually tried to buy Sony.
But what interest me the most about him is his empathy for children, I do believe he’s one of the rarest if not the only public figure who embodied (or at least tried) to be close to the “divine child” archetype, and he took that very seriously through his career, he tried to heal children all over the world because of what he personally went through as a child too. And the fact this caused a current of the complete opposite in the public makes me think he was serious and did achieve something, I won’t hesitate to say he was a magician too. It’s also important to me on a symbolic level, because I do believe we are at the age of the ‘Crowned and Conquering Child’ of Thelema.
Just thought of sharing this if anyone has anything to add.
Cheers,
Aziz
I hope it doesn’t get quite this bad, but…
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2021-05-03/oil-market-200-5-years
The issue here is depletion and lack of exploration due to low oil prices. It’s hard to spend money looking for oil when you can’t recoup your investment – which is where we have been with low oil prices globally for several years.
Please note that we have NEVER been anywhere near what these guys are predicting, but they are right when you factor in how the Covid shutdown has effectively hidden the problem by stopping growth globally. Only now are we beginning to see countries throw off the Covid restrictions and try to get to the “old normal”.
That ‘old normal’ is history – it is unlikely to come back regardless of money thrown at it trying to make it so. Once we start to increase demand, there is not going to be enough to support the old constant growth paradigm. The folks who have oil in abundance (Russia, Africa) are going to have quite the club in their hands. Personally, I think sometime soon that the KSA is going to be forced to pump, and will be unable to deliver – then the clothes fall around the Sultans ankles. This is possibly the club Russia will use to bash the USA neocons over the head as well, hopefully driving them into the maw of history.
Also, I look for the Antarctic treaty to be revised to allow exploration there, led by Russia and China.
I am looking for a thrifty sipper type car, a junker I can patch up, because it is going to get ugly for all us Jeep owners…
Sorry for repeated posting!
I have broadened the search for randomized trials on vaccines that measured total mortality and found some additional interesting papers, e.g. this one on childhood BCG vaccination in the US in the 1930s. After 60 years, total mortality was very similar, but slightly lower among vaccinated than among placebo-treated participants.
@ TJandTheBear RE: saved by fracking…
Fracking isn’t going away – the tech is not suitable for all shales. It IS suitable for the Devonian shales in the Donbass area of Ukraine though…what an amazing coincidence!
There are other places to utilize fracking as well across the globe. What made it happen here was the lack of other prospects (outside of deepwater drilling) and the abundance of both capital and drilling rigs here in our backyard. Fracking is now mature technology, with predictable yields – so it will migrate to places where the shales are amenable.
Yea – we squandered the last big glop of oil we had. The result is a linear prediction…just as those countries that ban fracking are likely to change their minds when oil prices break $120/BBL. For some countries (Belize, Seychelles, and other tiny places) it will mean lights out due to prices alone.
It’s going to get interestinger and interestinger…
@sunnnv
Firstly to clarify, I do not necessarily believe that mass vaccination won’t turn out to be the best idea in retrospect. Further I have noticed many on the antivax side demonstrate are stupid, and have unhealthy fantasies about how all those covidiots taking the vaccine will be struck down by chronic diseases.
With that covered, the cdc study you cited lists TTS, and only TTS as a harm of the vaccine.TTS is the occurrence of a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, accompanied with thrombocytopenia. That is you have a blood clot preventing blood from draining from your brain, whlie paradoxically having a dangerously low blood platelet count. This means that the doctor can’t safely use anti-coagulants in order to attempt to treat the blood clot. This is indeed a harmful condition. It is not the only harmful condition however. For example you could have a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis without thrombocytopenia. Most people would also consider this to be harmful. https://osf.io/a9jdq/ suggests that mRNA based vaccines cause such a condition at a rate of roughly 6.41 per million for the strict definition, 25.2 per million for their looser definition. The mean age of vaccine recipients in their study was 55.0. CVST are much more common occurrences in younger people, more common in young adults than the elderly, more common in children than young adults. it would be safe to assume that their occurrence in younger cohorts who receive the vaccine will be greater than for those in this study. I would advise anyone who gets a migraine after receiving a vaccination seeks medical attention, permanent injury is least common if treated early. The study also identifies portal vein thrombosis as occurring at a rate of 53.0 per million. From https://www.curetoday.com/view/silent-portal-vein-thrombosis-a-dangerous-side-effect-from-cancer, “In general, Ramrup said, the presentation of PVT ranges from no symptoms at all to rapidly progressive symptoms leading to death.” Hopefully the study caught all the incidences of this. If you total both of those categories up you get 80.2 serious adverse events per million. I would be interested in how often Deep Vein Thrombosis occurs after vaccination. This would likely increase to 802 events per million over 10 years assuming a yearly booster shot. If the occurrence of adverse events is truly limited only to those listed above (and CVST isn’t significantly higher for younger cohorts) it is quite likely correct that getting vaccinated is safer than not. After all covid causes all of these things and more. But I also think that the current zeitgeist is more interested in finding the correct message to ensure that the maximum number of people get vaccinated rather than finding out all the negative side effects.
As to your point about long term studies and side effects. You are assuming that any long term side effects that could exist will occur in less than 1 in 20000. That is probably a safe bet, it isn’t guaranteed however. Consider that for the mRNA vaccines that up until now, synthetic mRNA has not passed third stage clinical trials for any medicine whatsoever. As far as I know it hasn’t even been deployed in animal medicines. We don’t have a lot of data here on possible side effects. A lot less than what we have for more traditional vaccines.
@Mark L
On cryptocurrencies:
1. They (at least Bitcoin and Ethereum) are not really intended to be used as currencies anymore. So the volatility doesn’t matter as much as you think (although as a practical matter, they *are* used as currency in various contexts, but we’ll ignore that for now).
2. Bitcoin is essentially a digital version of gold. It’s competing for the gold market, as a store of value and hedge against inflation that is much more divisible and transportable than gold. So the price volatility is not relevant. Yes, I know that gold has some other uses as well, but the vast majority of gold in the world is in central banks being used as a store of value – only a very tiny amount (from memory something like 15%) is actually used for industrial purposes etc, so I don’t think that’s relevant.
3. Ethereum is a different use case (it’s closer to being digital oil – it’s the fuel that makes the Ethereum computing platform possible), so again the price volatility is not that relevant (although it is also used as a currency within its own network).
4. There are in fact cryptocurrencies (called “stablecoins”) whose value is pegged to the US dollar (or other world currencies), which are usually built on top of the Ethereum network and when stable value currency is required, they are used as they don’t have the price volatility problem.
A Dishwasher –
Thanks for the reminder. I will remember to use the i instead of the a for tw*t.
@Matthias Gralle
Thanks for your search for long-term vaccination studies.
I think it has been well established that vaccination, in and of itself, is largely safe and does not have undue longterm effects. Within that context there are two questions that need to be answered:
1. What are the short- and long-term risk-benefit profiles of the current crop of covid vaccines? Clearly this requires a long term in order to have a full answer, and the concerns largely surround the inadequacy of experimental design/data collection to provide these answers as well as policy decisions to advocate for mass vaccination of low-risk groups and especially children in the absence of this knowledge.
2. Is over-vaccination a health concern, particularly in infancy/early childhood? The observational study that I linked above addresses this, by examining health outcomes along an axis of increasing childhood vaccination. Clearly we need better data, but to me there are serious red flags, as well as a plausible biological mechanism in that repeated activation of the developing immune system could well lead to immune overreaction (i.e. autoimmunity, allergies) or reduced immune function. There is also a temporal correlation (which does not equal causation!) between the dramatic increase in the total number of vaccines in the childhood immunization schedule (https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/history-immunization-schedule) and a rapid rise in childhood asthma, allergies, ADHD, ASD, etc. Unfortunately, studies which examine cohorts that have and have not been inoculated with one particular vaccine, or even a small subset of vaccines, do not provide meaningful information in this regard.
Dear JMG,
On you comment to me on Magic Monday you asked me a question and I only got to read it today.
“Did you keep the various paper items in silk or linen, or otherwise sheltered from etheric disruption?”
I didn’t. The Liber Spiritus was placed on my Altar, and the material for the talismans is on a drawer next to it.
The Sword Sutra while was being done was kept on a bread bag I don’t know it that is common in the USA) made of linen., but removed from it after being completed.
@Patricia Ormsby #362: regarding 5G. I worked in telecom until 1998. I also have been a radar tech, so microwave is nothing new for me. I’ve experienced a microwave beam that warmed my skin like direct sunlight, but that was more than 50 years ago. At “the phone company” our upper level managers wanted all of us lower level managers (in the “Dilbert Class” so to speak) to support the Telecom Act you mention. We had a PAC for that purpose as well. I used to think that telecom was “right livelihood” in the Buddhist sense. Now I’m not so sure. What we enabled with our efforts included call centers, robo-calls, voicemail labyrinths, myriads of scammer calls and 5G. The one good thing, was fiber optic technology, but that’s getting replaced by wireless. I really don’t want to voice an opinion on any 5G-COVID relationship; your mention is the first I’ve heard of it. I do find it entertaining that there is concern in DC and elsewhere about directed energy weapons. Maybe they’re just getting 5G up and running. 🙂 but — not — really.
Steve T., the MIC is a major source for working class employment, especially in immigrant and minority communities, so of course any sort of DIY health care is going to be seen as a threat. I remain convinced that what is that the heart of the “woke” agitation, besides foundation money, is the fact that large and increasing numbers of Americans, first working class, then lower middle and now lower ranks of the PMC are broke and not spending anymore because they/we have no more money to spend on anything inessential.
I read Mr. Buhner’s article about the revival and growth of herbalism with great interest, I thank you for the link. I do wonder if he perhaps exaggerated the extent to which herbal lore had been hidden; I think most gardeners have been dimly aware of it. And, there was a time when 20thC medicine seemed truly miraculous. Using my own family for an example, my mother had whooping cough as a child in the 1930s. During that same decade, her younger sister died of a staph infection and her own mother nearly died from the same infection. My uncle, her brother, suffered a crippling injury which would have been fatal without blood transfusion, so, I am saying, the so-called “greatest generation” had reason for their belief in the miracles of modern medicine. Almost everyone who was alive in the 1950s, including us boomers, has known or personally known of at least one person who suffered from polio; I have known two. After the revival of herbal knowledge which Mr. Buhner so well described, I am afraid that herbalism became a kind of fashionable accessory in some upscale circles. I rather think that herbalists have not yet learned the art of hiding in plain sight. We organic gardeners have learned it; one doesn’t talk about gardening methods; my winter sowing containers are out of sight in the back yard; when I politely ask new neighbors not to spray roundup into my yard it is with the excuse that my roses can’t tolerate herbicide, they really can’t.
Organic gardening continues to thrive because the produce tastes much better than what is available at grocery stores, and increasing numbers of gardeners can’t afford to buy agricultural chemicals or fancy equipment that runs up your electric bill. I suspect herbalism will also survive the woke attack for similar reasons.
@Oilman2,
It’s going to get interestinger and interestinger…
Agree on all points.
One thing worth mentioning though is that even increased CAPEX wouldn’t expand production since all of the “easy oil” has already been exploited. The rest just isn’t economic at present, and even when prices rise the ROI won’t necessarily be compelling — shale, deepwater, arctic, etc. all have exceedingly high investment & maintenance costs and long lead times… just like mining.
Personally I expect a long slow decline in global production from this point forward, and for a world built for infinite growth that’s akin to a slow-motion heart attack.
@CryptoEnthusiast,
2. Bitcoin is essentially a digital version of gold.
That’s what everyone keeps trying to tell themselves. Gold has no dependencies nor counterparty risk, which cannot be said for BTC or any other crypto. These truths will reveal themselves in due time.
@Naomi
Thank you. That is so good of you, and is much much appreciated. May Tracy be well and recover also. Blessings,
Jack
The latest from Tverberg:
https://ourfiniteworld.com/2021/05/04/how-the-worlds-energy-problem-has-been-hidden/
JMG,
I know I am late with this but I was curious what do you think about this article. It spells out much better than I could why I think you became mainstream.
https://off-guardian.org/2021/03/21/media-pseudo-debates-and-the-silence-of-leftist-critics/
I know you are not controlled opposition but like most of us you are part of this system and for all of us is hard to see the system from outside.
That being said, if you were not close to mainstream I would have never started reading you so I can see the point in “picking your battles” and not alienate people by disagreeing with every mainstream narrative all at once.
Thanks!
Wesley, you gotta start somewhere. 😉
Michael, nobody was talking about who was or wasn’t to blame until you brought it up just now. It’s kind of an odd rhetorical habit, you know, to veer suddenly from “the problem doesn’t exist” to “the problem is the fault of the Tories…”
Nachtgurke, too funny. If it really is different this time, why is this guy shoveling exactly the same promises I recall reading in cheap sci-fi novels in the 1970s?
Hackenschmidt, yeah, that sounds about right. I keep on being reminded of Marie Antoinette and her courtiers playing at being shepherds and milkmaids.
Alvin, symbolic and metaphoric interpretations of the Christian scriptures are as old as those scriptures themselves; the Gnostics interpreted the Bible in a symbolic sense, and so have nearly all of the various schools of Christian occultism. Of course the Jewish Cabalists had equally symbolic takes on their scriptures. So it’s definitely an option.
Sam, the lower levels of the mind are very clever at finding gimmicks like this to distract you from taking up spiritual practice. Why should it matter to you in the least whether the path you choose happens to be popular? My advice is to choose a spiritual path, any spiritual path, by any means you like, including flipping a coin. Do the practices for one year, and then decide what you want to do next.
Denis, that’s really fascinating.
Steve, thanks for this.
Neptunesdolphins, and I support your willingness to be a lab rat, of course. Keep us posted!
Ramaraj, thanks for this.
Patricia M, thanks for both of these!
DFC, I know. It’s really rather odd to watch.
Owen, I certainly agree that economists are the last people on earth to ask for economic advice. (“What do you call an economist who makes a prediction? Wrong.”) But the Zimbabwean example is not a contradiction to my thesis, because the Zimbabwean government wanted to be able to keep paying its bills via the printing press with its new currencies, too. If you want to stop hyperinflation you have to stop increasing the amount of currency relative to the goods and services for sale!
TJ, crunch time cometh.
Naylor, you’re most welcome.
Anthony, I saw both of those. I was fascinated to see that even the Pentagon has stopped claiming that the F-35 Penguin is anything but a total flop.
Joy Marie, thanks for the map. As for Errata’s question, yes, I overlooked it, but I have absolutely no idea what the answer might be.
Unsettled, ouch. Thanks for this.
Patricia O, I figure someone has to do it, and as I’ll be discussing tomorrow, moderating conduct rather than content strikes me as a very sensible thing to do.
Patricia M, if the current virus panic was in fact “a serious concerted effort to end a menace to public health” I’d have no objection to it. Historian Niall Ferguson has made a useful comparison between the serious concerted effort the US made to overcome the Asian Flu in 1957, and the frankly weird and ineffective response to the coronavirus today. What we’re seeing now has much more in common with what Naomi Klein has called “disaster capitalism” than with the kind of public health measures that can actually deal with an epidemic. Similarly, if you think that I’m opposed to reasonable caution, or reasonable steps to protect vulnerable people from the current virus, you haven’t been paying attention. I was on a podcast this afternoon, and the host talked about friends of his who told him point blank “I’m not ready for the pandemic to be over.” That’s the sort of attitude that leads me to suggest that there’s something very strange going on in the collective psyche around the current virus panic.
Denis, yes, I noticed that also.
Aziz, interesting. I have to admit that I know almost precisely nothing about Jackson, but if others have ideas, by all means.
Oilman2, I could very easily see the price of oil spiking that high before it drops again. Given that it’s not much less than $70 today, I won’t be surprised if it spikes well above that at some point in the next five years. Here we go…
Matthias, thanks for this.
Whispers, interesting. Then it’s got to be the consecration and the regular use.
NomadicBeer, so noted. I don’t disagree with its basic attitude, but I’m not sure why you think it defines me as mainstream.
@JMG – yes. I read the article, and I do see the difference. The low tolerance for risk showed up when I mentioned to my younger daughter that I had a lot more freedom than she allowed her children, and she said “The world is a lot more dangerous now.” This was well before the incessant digitization and working-from-home of today. Since it’s the Xers who are running things now except at the very top levels, their experiences in youth may have contributed very strongly to today’s overprotectiveness-on-steroids. Which, being in a high-risk population and essentially an institutional setting, has clearly contributed heavily to my own viewpoint. Thanks for clearing that up.
As for whoever said “I’m not ready for this pandemic to be over,” if we accept that statement as true, it’s hard to imagine what it could possibly be true OF, except feeling an unreadiness to face the challenges of living in the real world as it is today. Which means those challenges may be weighing more heavily on whoever said that, or it may mean they had a taste of real living outside of the rat race, and are reluctant to return.
Much food for thought there.
One aspect of the vaccination program that I think has been overlooked is the government’s interest in preserving and encouraging the medical-industrial base to maintain its capability to produce vaccines. It’s always going to be a financially risky business, to develop, produce, distribute, and use a new vaccine before herd immunity develops. This development of herd immunity may involve massive loss of life, by the way; I’m not arguing for it as policy.
In the fable of the boy who cried wolf, he’s described as laughing at the would-be rescuers who respond to his false alarms. But in this case, the alarm goes off, the vaccine-producers come out “with guns blazing”, and it’s up to the shepherd to at least maintain a plausible fiction that the wolf WAS there, or is just over the hill, or behind the bushes, and he’s very grateful for the responders. Because he knows that there might really be a wolf next time. And so the vaccine makers need to get paid for their work, and the governments need to assure their populations that it was a good investment of tax/debt.
So, maybe this isn’t the crushing pandemic for which we were on alert. But maybe this is a dress-rehearsal for the next one. And maybe there is another wave waiting for us (in the north) in the fall of 2021, because the population density is still high enough and well-mixed enough to support a sustained chain reaction. Viruses get more dangerous when they can spread quickly through a dense population, and less dangerous when they need to let the host up and around to spread in a thinned population.
I was reluctant to get vaccinated, personally, until my wife was diagnosed with cancer and I wanted to accompany her through treatment… and didn’t want to be fighting off covid at the same time. But I don’t trust any vaccine to actually protect me from the next bug to slip out of a lab, cave, wet market, or nursing home. I’m glad that I’ve learned to sew masks.
Patricia Matthews,
One thing to keep in mind is that the US experienced a multi-decade-long violent crime wave starting in the 60’s, peaking in the 80’s, and only ending in the 90’s. (As an early Millennial, it’s interesting just how many pieces of media, including video games, from my youth are about police and vigilantes fighting a horde of violent criminals.)
Various explanations have been proposed for why this happened and why it ended. One blames it on poverty and lack of opportunity among inner-city youth leading them to join gangs and credits the increased use of abortion with preventing the disgruntled youth from being born in the first place. But the one I find most plausible ties it to leaded gasoline: some data suggests the crime wave shows up just as cars start being widely used, and starts to recede away not too long after leaded gasoline is banned on a state-by-state basis. Lead is a neurotoxin, and might have pushed some people who were near to border of criminality over the line.
Unfortunately, restrictions on children’s freedom that made some sense given the crime wave have now become normal — just what you do — and it may take quite a bit of time for them to be relaxed again. I hear there are some countries whose diets were permanently changed by World War II rationing, and have yet to change back, and this seems along those lines.
@ TJandTheBear
Tell me what counterparty risk Bitcoin has? You can’t double spend or fake transactions. That’s the entire point of the proof of work.
JM,
Can I participate in the Eliphas Lévi if I am currently doing the Mysteries of Merlin?
@Phutatorius,
You worked in the telecommunications industry because to the best of your knowledge it was right livelihood. You are one ahead of me in that regard. I rationalized my way into the military just because I wanted to fly. There has been a concerted effort at least since WWII to downplay and conceal what has been known for a century about the effects of microwave and other non-ionizing radiation on the body. Most of all, I think it was due to national security concerns. They didn’t want public opposition to radar facilities. But it was also due to fears that cherished dreams of technological development would be hindered, and I’ve heard the industries utilizing the spectrum collectively exceed the size of the medical-pharmaceutical complex, and that has probably been true since before WWII.
It fascinates me that this is the first time you’ve heard of purported connections between 5G and the COVID-19 pandemic. There was quite a fuss last summer about it, and they declared it disinformation and a conspiracy theory and quite openly decided to censor it. But the degree to which even that fuss was kept quiet is simply mind-boggling to me and demonstrates how much power the military-industrial complex can exert.
Even in the 1960s, Alan Frey, who documented microwave auditory effects among other effects from pulsed radiowaves, said he was astonished at how little of this information was reaching the public. In 1973, Cap. Zorach Glaser was commissioned by the Navy to look into all of the available literature on the biological effects of non-ionizing radiation, most of which had been compiled in the Soviet Union. He catalogued several thousands of studies, and the Navy said thank you and suppressed it all.
But all along, I would hear rumors of carcinogenicity of radiowaves or of harm from sitting too near the TV, stuff on that level. People were simply not interested in this. The literature was there, they could have looked into it, concerned about their kids, but they didn’t. Zory Glaser couldn’t find a library willing to take possession of all the papers he had, so he hired a storage unit. The telecom industry expressed an interest in acquiring them, but he realized they were mostly interested in seeing them disappear. Currently Dr. Havas has the collection and has been archiving it on-line.
While interest in bioeffects of non-ionizing radiation has increasing, that increase seems to be limited mostly to people who discover that their cellphone is causing them enough physical pain to be a problem, and a few of their loved ones who witness what they go through. It may be the addiction to devices is too strong (and no one back in 1996 could have predicted that, IMHO) and a major catastrophe cannot be avoided, but I will keep on raising the alarm wherever that is permitted. (A big thanx to JMG!)
Also pertinent to this is that new cases of electrosensitivity are now clearly being diagnosed as “long-COVID” (i.e., the symptoms are nearly identical, and many of the afflicted have never tested positive for antibodies) and while this has the advantage of the afflicted being taken seriously for once (and would demonstrate that “COVID” has been with us for several decades now if anyone really looked into it), the problem is it will merely be used to drum up greater fear of COVID-19 and more strident demands that everyone be vaccinated. I also note that while I had had minor symptoms for decades prior to 1997, they became problematic after a prolonged flu-like illness with a post-viral syndrome. Knowing about a possible microwave connection then, I first treated it with magnesium supplements. but when it happened again later on, that was no longer sufficient and I had to start shielding and avoidance.
Here’s another dart on the board:
https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/economy/argentinas-shale-industry-rattled-by-social-unrest-in-patagonia.phtml
“If it really is different this time, why is this guy shoveling exactly the same promises I recall reading in cheap sci-fi novels in the 1970s?”
The Shadow knows!
I went through an old post by you on Mouni Sadhu’s clock watching exercise, and have started reading Concentration.
I tried the exercise but wasn’t sure if I was doing it right. I had thoughts while watching the second hand although I kept watching it. Thoughts like “Keep going”, “Go”, “Doing good” etc. I did it up to 2 minutes repeatedly but didn’t go further because I wasn’t sure if he meant that one should completely zero verbalization during the exercise.
Afterwards, coming to my computer desk I felt sharper and keener of mind than usual.
I find it interesting how he synthesized Western and Eastern meditative traditions and it made me think of the Centering Prayer discussion in last week’s comments. Why does Sadhu’s synthesis seem more useful than Keating’s? Because he trained deeply in both Hermetics and Ramana Maharshi’s system?
TJandthebear – Bitcoin does not have counterparty risk. That is one of its core technological innovations. Not sure where you got the idea that it did. However it is dependent on the existence of the Internet sure – see the discussion with Ilona above. On the other hand it is far more divisible and easily portable than gold, so there’s a trade off there.
>That’s the sort of attitude that leads me to suggest that there’s something very strange going on in the collective psyche around the current virus panic.
More and more, I’m becoming convinced there are no more adults left in the room. Childish responses to everything.
Hey hey JMG,
Just a thought about the strange and interesting aspects of the world’s response to covid, specifically the overreaction, shutdown, and not wanting it to be over. It looks to me like provisional living. This is what we are doing until the real world comes back, until the good future arrives.
It’s emphatically not that the US is losing its empire, the coral reefs are already dying from global warming, the energy is running out, the populace is losing faith in the narrative, or anything of the sort. This is just a temporary inconvenience on our march to the future and the temporary measures we are taking are causing temporary problems that are temporarily interrupting that inevitable progress to the glorious golden future.
This is probably the bargaining phase (although possible the denial phase, or some combination of the two) of the Kubler-Ross where we subconsciously know that progress is over but we are trying to bargain away the reality with a temporary shutdown that hides the problem.
Thanks,
Tim
Dear Ilona, thank you very much for your kind comments and suggestions, I really liked them. I will do that, and also, per JMG’s comments, I’ve been writing a short story of a deindustrial future of a guy that enters into an operating room, far from now, and mistakes it for a torture room. That is not exactly positive thinking is it? The things he does next when he finds out it was a hospital sets him into more interesting things in a more positive direction.
I hope everything is well and may you be filled with positive things, now and always.
Augusto
Hello JMG,
I wanted to ask if you are doing online interviews. I would like to reach out to you for one if you do.
I was fascinated to hear your thoughts from the videos below on the state of the environmental movement, electric cars, and human psychology and perhaps we can expand on those topics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMBYJa6ribg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRL7VStgKhk
Thank you,
Mike
@augusto #620
I am so glad to see your message! I didn’t realize the open post would stay open this long. I hope it could stay open for another day or two because there are a couple of things I want to respond to.
It’s very interesting that you’re thinking about that story. During the past couple of weeks I’ve been asking myself, what are the aspects of our current health system that we want to preserve for the future? Clearly some of the very technical computerized methods will not survive the Long Descent. Clearly herbal tinctures and physical body manipulations are likely to survive the Long Descent. What else? What are the modern methods of healing that are worth preserving for the next thousand years?
To be continued.
@patriciaormsby: maybe we can continue this microwave discussion next open post.
@RusTheRook
RE: #60 #162 #207 and especially #563
Two weeks ago I thought that cryptocurrencies were one of the many new inventions that I probably won’t learn.
Your posts in this thread convinced me that I want to learn enough to invest a small amount in cryptocurrency, in a way that my family could inherit down the road.
This change in viewpoint opens a whole new batch of questions! I hope to check in with you during the next Open Post and get your advice about good places to find additional information. Many thanks!!
(I hope this doesn’t come too late to this thread…)
I finished Gustav Meyrink’s Golem a few days ago. Although it is called “horror fantasy”, I see more in it. Have you read it?, and if so, what did you think of its more esoteric/spiritual chapters, like “Awake”, “Light”, “Fear” and “Moon” and whether they have any message apart from the surface-plot of the novel? Also, when considering Meyrink’s own “training”.
Hi Greer, I would like to ask what your opinion is on the phenomena that people call ‘subsistence of information to maintain or continuously strengthen their identity of life’ that a few occultists have described?
Not sure if you will understand what that terms means but if you do. It may be something which can make meditating hard or seemingly near-impossible in some cases for those who experience it, because it means they would have to break off what they are doing and cut off that form of ‘subsistence’, which might be very unpleasant to them in some cases
Is this something likely psychological or relating to something like the ethereal, mental, astral l if you do understand what some occultists who discuss it are talking about? What would be your advice to people who experience it if its the latter examples and what are the explanations of the western hermetic traditions on this phenomena? Like what is the situation with these people?
Even if its a mental condition its something that modern medicine has not found much proven solutions to unfortunately, and the treatments are still being tested.