'Energy Descent' – 'Bleak Friday' - SBF Ponzi Implosion - WEF at G20? – Fuel +23% in 2023? – Covid Aftermath – Happiness at 80 - Letter from Great Britain - [11-26-22]
"If I don't know - I can't act" – Knowledge of The Word is Spiritual Power
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Want to fight back against our corrupt and incompetent institutions? Building a parallel economy will give people alternatives to Big Tech, government schools, corporate food producers, corrupt government agencies, failing global supply chains, and much more.
If you start a parallel economy business, you can take market share (and power) from the bad guys, help people cut their reliance on evil and incompetent institutions, and make money in the process. Have a look at 'Startups UK': https://startups.co.uk/business-ideas/cheap-small-business-ideas/
As the economy declines, into what I believe is going to be a long economic depression, because economic growth ended as early as 2000, will you take courage to seek the opportunities that always exist in local economies?
I have lived by this mantra most of my life: "The secret of success in your chosen field, is knowing how to fail". And this is the how and why our present system is failing:
"Two key, and deeply intertwined, facts emerge in light of both the Heinberg Pulse and the Michaux Monkeywrench. These are:
‘Energy descent’ and therefore economic downsizing, measured in GDP/GWP is inevitable in the near term.
We’re living in the last days of what I call “the luxury economy”.
If you click on the words “energy descent” above, you’ll be brought to a Wikipedia article on that topic. 'Energy descent' is there defined as “a process whereby a society either voluntarily or involuntarily reduces its total energy consumption.” My contention is that we’re already, inevitably, entering energy descent on the basis of both voluntary and involuntary processes; even though global net energy consumption temporarily continues to increase. That is, the increase in global net energy consumption has reached a peak, and we’re just now discovering that this is so" https://www.resilience.org/stories/2022-10-31/energy-transition-the-luxury-economy/?mc_cid=a0b5eddf6a&mc_eid=acc509c0e9
BREAKING NEWS: Yes, it's that 'Friday' again – but it's 2022 so we'll call it: 'Bleak Friday' this year, as the cost of living crisis means consumers resisted apparent 'discounts' on electronics, homeware, clothing and such like. Brits are more interested in heating, eating and keeping body & soul together this winter.
Making it worse, if that's possible, there are proposed strikes by nurses, BT & Openreach, rail and postal workers, civil servants (but they don't do much anyway) and even university lecturers (but they can stay WOKE at home and will not be missed) and are the barristers still on strike? Did anyone notice? Nobody is quite sure.
At least the BBC can't spin this one: 'Black Friday' was originally an American post-Thanksgiving scam but has morphed into almost a global event – thanks to the greed of international retailers looking to cash in on the festive rush. But don't be fooled – here are some tips: watch-out-for-these-black-friday-deals-they-could-be-duds
But these crappy deals can spread over weeks, right into the pre-Christmas offers, and then the January sales – so it all becomes meaningless – like most boondoggles from USA. The offers are generally fake and not as generous as they may look at first sight.
I recommend waiting until the New Year, when the shops are left with merchandise they can't sell, and then bargain like mad. Most people are wise to these retailer ploys, yet they carry on regardless, whistling in the wind of their Wokerism. – Viva La Internet!
The 'Centre for Economics and Business Research' predicts that discounts are unlikely to save struggling retailers as UK consumers cut back spending by an estimated £1.5bn in Q4/2022. They have said: "The cost of living crisis, combined with warnings that discounts are often more generous at other times of year and the threat of a Royal Mail strike, will mean that it is a weak year for Black Friday sales and we may see January sales start early in an attempt to shift stock." The number of shoppers was still well below pre-pandemic levels – 15% on average below 2019 and just over 30% down in central London.
BUT as long as you have 'real' money (like cash) in your pocket, at least you have a chance of a bargain, unlike the literally, poor bankrupt sap SBF, sunk by his Ponzi which came home to roost last week, with a vengeance – read on:
THE SAGA OF FTX CRYPTO COLLAPSE: Sam Bankman-Fried, (SBF) the founder of FTX, which was, until last week, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, is this week facing prison time for allegedly defrauding his customers of billions of dollars. SBF, 30, donated to many progressive causes allied with the “effective altruism movement,” including pandemic prevention and response.
He spoke at, and presumably donated to, the World Economic Forum’s Davos conference last May and the Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Global Initiative in September. Bankman-Fried is similar to Bernie Madoff in that both men used philanthropic giving, and the veneer of humility, to create a positive reputation while running pyramid schemes that should have set off red flags among investors, regulators, and journalists. But the Left swallowed it whole!
Why, then, do frauds like Madoff and Bankman-Fried get away with it? And why do we continue to trust people like the Clintons and Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum? Because many people, particularly liberal-minded investors, but also journalists and members of the voting public, want to trust them. Wishful thinking is powerful.
We saw a similar dynamic with the fraud carried out by Theranos' founder Elizabeth Holmes. Rich and powerful people wanted to believe in her for the same reason people wanted to believe in Bankman-Fried and liberals especially wanted to believe Bankman-Fried. That’s because they tend to feel guiltier than conservatives & libertarians about their greed.
Thus they need 'Wokerism', an alternative religion, to justify it. Wokerism is the new 'Greed Is Good' as was said by the hostile takeover investor played by Michael Douglas in the 1987 classic, 'Wall Street.' Douglas proceeded to give the standard justification of capitalism provided by Adam Smith in 1776. “Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge — has marked the upward surge of mankind,” said the Douglas character.
Such a justification doesn’t work for liberals. They need to feel that their greed is good because their greed is altruistic. What Ponzi fraudsters like Bankman-Fried, the Clintons, and Klaus Schwab provide is a 'Woke' justification for their greed. Read the whole sad saga thus far:
This excellent analysis of the 'Crypto Universe' by Dexter K. White is priceless: A lot of people think crypto is worth something:
· A lot of people think bitcoin is worth something.
· Most people in each community think fiat currency has major problems.
· And they all believe in the cross fungibility of cryptocurrency and fiat.
· So this is why they are missing a huge point about FTX.
The broad crypto community can’t even imagine the perspective of someone who thinks all of crypto (and BTC) is a bunch of BS. And it is from this perspective where our story is told; first some background:
https://tomluongo.me/2022/11/17/cryptofanfic-thoughts-on-ftx However what is at stake here is the fraud that is altruism. After FTX ran aground, the leaders of Scottish philosopher William MacAskill, one of the world’s foremost advocates of 'Effective Altruism' (EA), went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to spread the word. But then the movement started to melt away from their star donor, SBF. Earlier this month MacAskill himself tweeted that the precept of earning to give “in no way justifies fraud”.
Philanthropic works and institutions, including the Ford and Rockefeller foundations, as well as the 1,800 Carnegie libraries across the US, have long been the “products of their creators’ desire to wipe their slates clean for posterity,” said Hiltzik. EA and long-termism are no different.
Derek Thompson in The Atlantic (the enemy) said that “effective altruists helping to distribute SBF’s wealth built a big, powerful system whose central actor didn’t do what they wanted and didn’t seem to ultimately care what they wanted.” And unfortunately for them, Thompson added, “good intentions are worthless in the face of bad outcomes”. QED.
And now a reflection on 'GREED' as the futile pursuit of 'happiness' from the Master of earthly wisdom: Nations can succumb to pride and a wrong view of wealth—and so can individuals. Jesus gave a parable that showed how subtle this snare can be. He spoke of a rich man whose fields produced very well. Delighted, the man planned to build larger storehouses for his produce and happily looked forward to a long life of comfort. But this did not happen. God said to him: “Unreasonable one, this night they are demanding your soul from you. Who, then, is to have the things you stored up?” Yes, the man died, and his wealth availed him nothing. - (Luke 12:16-20) - you can’t take it with you!
Lesson: realising my mortality - (my much-loved youngest son survived a heart attack at age 45 last week – thank God) - it focused my attention on the realities of this world – which is to be in service to your fellow man & woman, asking nothing in return, and perhaps following the guidelines of the Desiderata: https://www.desiderata.com/desiderata.html - I pray that 'Sam-the Scam' has time to reflect.
SO HOW IS THIS PLAYING OUT ON THE WORLD STAGE? Here is Herr Klaus Schwab giving his instructions to world leaders at the recent G20 meeting in Bali – a short one minute video uncompromisingly clarifying the future of their toxic CBDCs:
BUT - why are Schwab and Gates attending the G20? Good question: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/world-will-look-differently-gone-transition-wefs-klaus-schwab-great-reset-world-leaders-g20-summit-video/
However here is the reality with Herr Klaus singing the praises of the Chinese model of social construction and organisation: Herr Schwab praises China's economic model - as we warn at sea: "Look out below".
INFLATION WATCH: London, UK: There are calls for the Chancellor to commit to a further freeze of fuel duty after a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said 12p/Ltr would be added to pump prices if the government did not act.
Fuel duty has been frozen at 52.95p a litre since 2011 and it was cut by 5p a litre in the spring statement this year. HMG Treasury said: “The 23% figure came from the OBR, not the Treasury. It is based on forecasts that are subject to change. We have not announced anything on fuel duty today – the existing 5p cut will remain in place until March 2023 (a tax cut which is worth £2.4bn), and final decisions on fuel duty rates will be made at the spring budget.”
So what do the OBR know? They are really terrible economic forecasters. Much of my criticism of their budgeting is their reliance placed on wildly optimistic economic forecasts. It is worth looking at the track record of the OBR as a forecaster. They did it themselves in 2017 - just look at the first chart – it tells all: https://obr.uk/overview-of-the-november-2022-economic-and-fiscal-outlook/ But this is bad enough but only if you believe the veracity of GDP figures as a measure of prosperity – which I don't.
The simple fact is that the OBR is not what it claims. It is not independent. It is not even an office; it is a unit in the Treasury. And it is not objective; it supplies the forecasts a Chancellor wants. Last week the Chancellor wanted growth to make his claims work. That is what the OBR delivered. But their spreadsheet is not reality - only Sunak & Hunt think it is – when are they going to realise that GROWTH HAS ENDED:
All Chancellors do is make it up as they go along until the next election that reminds them how unwise they were to believe the promises made by the geeks with a supposed forecasting tool that actually delivers the numbers required on demand. But then, we all make mistakes:
SURVIVAL MONITOR: I promised not to focus on the Covid scam, but I must draw your attention to the ongoing aftermath. There are many tentacles entangled in this nest of interconnected vipers tracing a path to the very top of our ruling elites. Gradually the truth is being exposed and the perpetrators are beginning to fear for their lives as mass anger begins to rise, not least with the hopelessly corrupt EU governed as it is by unelected and insider-appointed leaders whose only qualification is to be a member of a legacy family's ill-gotten gains not entirely unconnected with the period 1933-1945 in Germany.
The EU Parliament is a sop to the Europeans so they can believe that 'democracy' rules in the Union. These people must be so hypnotised by the hubris of their elites that they can't see the wood for the trees. But at least some MEPs (albeit a small group) have come to their senses and are pressuring von Leyen et al to account for the purchase of 4.5bn doses of genetically engineered Covid jabs at an estimated $20/shot. Humm – that is $90bn spread amongst the insiders - so you EU saps don't need to ask why you are suffering a collapse in your living standards.
Here's a 2 min video of an MEP addressing appropriate questions to the head of the EU Commission:
The first step to survival is to avoid, not only the Covid jabs, but ALL jabs as every last one now appears to be contaminated with the mRNA death shot – but you will never know – they tell lies.
"In fact, mRNA vaccines have been studied before for flu, Zika, rabies, and cytomegalovirus (CMV). Beyond vaccines, cancer research has also used mRNA to trigger the immune system to target specific cancer cells. The mRNA technology has been in development since the 1960s, but it was proven responsive when SARS-CoV-2 hit the world. Here's what THEY say: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220420/Revolutionary-mRNA-vaccine-technology-History-facts-and-the-future.aspx
HAPPY INTERLUDE: Words of Wisdom from a reader: "I credit this to my Mom's 'Rules for Ageing' which have been ingrained in my head ever since I can remember:"
· Your 20s are mostly practice — they almost don’t count.
· Your 30s are when you figure out who you’re going to be.
· You don’t pick up speed until your 40s.
· You don’t gain real momentum until your 50s.
· You likely won’t have made most significant progress until your 60s.
· In your 70s, you’re reinventing yourself.
"You cannot possibly be old until you’re well into your 80s. And even then, it’s iffy. Internalising these guidelines can help you feel a lot better about getting older. This can make you healthier and help you lead a more successful life." But the question remains – 'what is success in life' – answers on a postcard.
UNTIL NEXT WEEK: For more, read: “The Financial Jigsaw”: Scroll: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358117070_THE_FINANCIAL_JIGSAW_-_PART_1_-_4th_Edition_2020 including regular updates. For a free PDF copy e-Books, Parts 1 & 2, email; peter@underco.co.uk
AUSTRIAN'S NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE: https://www.theburningplatform.com/author/austrian-peter/
COVID & FINANCE LINKS: [I will not be commenting specifically on Covid in future because my colleague covers daily updates at his websites]: YOUR DAILY COVID NEWS (cmnnews.org) and BOOM Finance & Economics (boomfinanceandeconomics.com) plus BOOM Finance and Economics | Designed for Critical Thinkers — UPDATED WEEKLY (wordpress.com)
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An excellent read! Thank you!
Interesting. I might read another one.