Author: admin

Authored (satirically) by CJ Hopkins via ConsentFactory.org,

It was always going to come to this… mobs of hysterical, hate-drunk brownshirts hunting down people not wearing masks and trying to get them fired from their jobs, “no mask, no service” signs outside stores, security staff stopping the mask-less from entering, paranoid pod people pointing and shrieking at the sight of mask-less shoppers in their midst, goon squads viciously attacking and arresting them …

Welcome to the Brave New Normal.

And it isn’t just the Maskenpflicht-Sturmabteilung. The new official narrative is omnipresent. The corporate media are pumping out hysteria about “Covid-19 hospitalizations” (i.e., anyone admitted to a hospital for anything who tested positive for the coronavirus) and “major incidents” (i.e., people at the beach). Police are manning makeshift social-distancing-monitoring watchtowers in London. There are propaganda posters and billboards everywhere, repeating the same neo-Goebbelsian slogans, reinforcing the manufactured mass hysteria. Dissent and nonconformity are being pathologized, “diagnosed” as psychopathy and paranoia. Mandatory vaccinations are coming.

You didn’t think they were kidding, did you, when they started introducing the Brave New Normal official narrative back in March? They told us, clearly, what was coming. They told us life was going to change … forever. They locked us down inside our homes. They ordered churches and synagogues closed. They ordered the police to abuse and arrest us if we violated their arbitrary orders. They closed the schools, parks, beaches, restaurants, cafés, theaters, clubs, anywhere that people gather. They ripped children out of their mother’s arms, beat and arrested other mothers for the crime of “wearing their masks improperly,” dragged mask-less passengers off of public buses, gratuitously beat and arrested people for not “social-distancing” on the sidewalk, shackled people with ankle monitors, and intimidated everyone with robots and drones. They outlawed protests, then hunted down people attending them and harassed them at their homes. They started tracking everyone’s contacts and movements. They drafted new “emergency” laws to allow them to forcibly quarantine people. They did this openly. They publicized it. It’s not like they were hiding anything.

No, they told us exactly what was coming, and advised us to shut up and follow orders. Tragically, most people have done just that. In the space of four months, GloboCap has successfully imposed totalitarianism — pathologized totalitarianism — on societies all across the world. It isn’t traditional totalitarianism, with a dictator and a one-party system, and so on. It is subtler and more insidious than that. But it is totalitarianism nonetheless.

GloboCap could not have achieved this without the approval (or at least the acquiescence) of the vast majority of the masses. The coronavirus mass hysteria was a masterstroke of propaganda, but propaganda isn’t everything. No one is really fooled by propaganda, or not for long, in any event. As Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari noted in the opening of Anti-Oedipus:

“The masses were not innocent dupes. At a certain point, under a certain set of conditions, they wanted fascism, and it is this perversion of the desire of the masses that needs to be accounted for.”

I am not going to try to account for the “perversion of the desire of the masses” here in this essay, but I do want to dig into the new pathologized totalitarianism a little bit.

Now, I’m going to assume that you understand that the official “apocalyptic pandemic” narrative is predicated on propaganda, wild speculation, and mass hysteria, and that by now you are aware that we are dealing with a virus that causes mild to moderate symptoms (or absolutely no symptoms at all) in 95% of those infected, and that over 99.5% survive … thus, clearly, no cause for widespread panic or justification for the totalitarian “emergency measures” that have been imposed.

I am also going to assume that you watched as GloboCap switched off the “deadly pandemic” to accommodate the BLM protests, then switched it back on as soon as they subsided, and that you noted how their propaganda shifted to “cases” when the death count finally became a little too embarrassing to continue to hype.

So, I won’t waste your time debunking the hysteria. Let’s talk pathologized totalitarianism.

The genius of pathologized totalitarianism is like that old joke about the Devil … his greatest trick was convincing us that he doesn’t exist. Pathologized totalitarianism appears to emanate from nowhere, and everywhere, simultaneously; thus, technically, it does not exist. It cannot exist, because no one is responsible for it, because everyone is. Mass hysteria is its lifeblood. It feeds on existential fear. “Science” is its rallying cry. Not actual science, not provable facts, but “Science” as a kind of deity whose Name is invoked to silence heretics, or to ease the discomfort of the cognitive dissonance that results from desperately trying to believe the absurdities of the official narrative.

The other genius of it (from a GloboCap viewpoint) is that it is inexhaustible, endlessly recyclable. Unlike other official enemies, the “deadly virus” could be any virus, any pathogen whatsoever. All they have to do from now on is “discover” some “novel” micro-organism that is highly contagious (or that mimics some other micro-organism that we already have), and wave it in front of people’s faces. Then they can crank up the Fear Machine, and start projecting hundreds of millions of deaths if everyone doesn’t do exactly as they’re told. They can run this schtick … well, pretty much forever, anytime the working classes get restless, or an unauthorized president gets elected, or just for the sheer sadistic fun of it.

Look, I don’t mean to be depressing, but seriously, spend an hour on the Internet, or talk to one of your hysterical friends that wants to make mask-wearing mandatory, permanently. This is the mentality of the Brave New Normal … irrationally paranoid and authoritarian. So, no, the future isn’t looking very bright for anyone not prepared to behave as if the world were one big infectious disease ward.

I’ve interacted with a number of extremely paranoid corona-totalitarians recently (just as a kind of social experiment). They behave exactly like members of a cult. When challenged with facts and basic logic, first, they flood you with media propaganda and hysterical speculation from “medical experts.” Then, after you debunk that nonsense, they attempt to emotionally manipulate you by sharing their heartbreaking personal accounts of the people their therapists’ brother-in-laws’ doctors had to helplessly watch as they “died in agony” when their lungs and hearts mysteriously exploded. Then, after you don’t bite down on that, they start hysterically shrieking paranoia at you (“JUST WAIT UNTIL THEY INTUBATE YOU!” … “KEEP YOUR SPITTLE AWAY FROM ME!”) and barking orders and slogans at you (“JUST WEAR THE GODDAMN MASK, YOU BABY!” … “NO SHOES, NO SHIRT, NO MASK, NO SERVICE!”)

Which … OK, that would be kind of funny (or terribly sad), if these paranoid people were not just mouthpieces echoing the voice of the official power (i.e., GloboCap) that is transforming what is left of society into a paranoid, pathologized, totalitarian nightmare right before our eyes. They’re kind of like the “woman in red” in The Matrix. When you are talking to them, you’re not talking to them. You’re talking to the agents. You’re talking to the machines. Try it sometime. You’ll see what I mean. It’s like talking to a single algorithm that is running in millions of people’s brains.

I can’t lie to you. I’m not very hopeful. No one who understands the attraction (i.e., the seduction) of totalitarianism is. Much as we may not like to admit it, it is exhilarating, and liberating, being part of the mob, surrendering the burden of personal autonomy and individual responsibility, fusing with a fanatical “movement” that is ushering in a new “reality” backed by the sheer brute force of the state … or the transnational global capitalist empire.

It is irresistible, that attraction, to most of us. The chance to be a part of something like that, and to unleash one’s hatred on those who refuse to go along with the new religion … to publicly ridicule them, to humiliate them, to segregate them from normal society, to hunt them down and get them fired from their jobs, to cheer as police abuse and arrest them, to diagnose them as “abnormal” and “inferior,” these social deviants, these subhuman “others,” who dare to challenge the authority of the Party, or the Church, or the State, or the Reich, or Science.

Plus, in the eyes of GloboCap (and its millions of fanatical, slogan-chanting followers), such non-mask-wearing deviants are dangerous. They are like a disease … an infestation. A sickness in the social body. If they refuse to conform, they will have to be dealt with, quarantined, or something like that.

Or they can just surrender to the Brave New Normal, and stop acting like babies, and wear a goddamn mask.

After all, it’s just a harmless piece of cloth…

51 years on from the Stonewall Riots, global celebrations to remember the event that kickstarted the gay rights revolution have been curtailed due to the coronavirus. The first pride parade occurred a year later and on the 50th anniversary of that occasion, it is thought that the only such march will occur in Taiwan where Covid-19 has largely been contained.

Globally, a lot has been achieved in the fight for gay rights in recent years but as Statista’s Niall McCarthy shows in the following map, there is a lot more work to do.

According to ILGA, an international federation campaigning for LGBT rights, homosexuality is punishable by up to eight years in prison in 31 countries and 10 years to life in prison in another 10 countries.

The following infograpic was made with EQUALDEX data and it shows where homosexuality remains illegal.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Gabon is the latest country to decriminalize homosexuality after introducing laws against gay sex last year. On June 23, lawmakers in the country’s lower house of parliament voted to revise that law which stipulated that having homosexual relations was considered “an offence against morality”, punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine of five million CFA francs or $8,600.

In 2020, homosexuality is still punishable by death in several countries and it remains illegal in at least 71 others.

The following infographic shows the countries where the death penalty is used against homosexual activity and it also uses another group, Equaldex, as a source. It is important to note that it is used on a regional basis in parts of Nigeria and Somalia where sharia law has been adopted. Notably, it is also used in Qatar (only applying to Muslims) which will host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Last year, Brunei recently provoked international outrage when it introduced strict Islamic laws that made homosexual activitly punishable by stoning to death.

Authored by Samantha Biggers via BackdoorSurvival.com,

No matter what you have to say about the current situation, the one phrase that I think a lot of us can agree on is that we are living in interesting times. Our computers and phones live stream these interesting times to us 24/7. This post is going to concentrate on tips for the average person that wants to avoid taking part in civil unrest or protests. It seems pretty clear that most people would rather not participate regardless of how the news portrays it.

There are some that say that if someone doesn’t take a stand then that means things are not going to improve. While that may be true I ask you to consider how dedicated you are to a cause before you take action. As we will discuss later in this post, it can be hard to stop violence if you find yourself in an escalating situation.

While you may have strong opinions one way or another, there is a difference between that and being “all in”. Unless you are very dedicated then the consequences and risks are probably not worth going towards potential trouble.

Curiosity is natural but it can also be dangerous.

Restrictions that were put in place due to COVID-19 are being eased or ignored. Obviously there is some risk of contracting any number of illnesses from being in crowds of people, especially those that are shouting and touching one another a lot.

While it may be tempting to try to go observe peacefully the events that are occurring in your area, you need to consider just how worth it is really to you. Sure there is nothing like seeing something with your own two eyes but the cost of that could be great.

Those of you that have kids and teens that are old enough to be going places on their own or hanging out at friends, or that are being left home alone need to talk seriously about the dangers of going towards potential trouble or ongoing trouble and unrest.

Avoid peer pressure. I am talking about adults and younger people too.

Getting caught up in the energy and group of a crowd is easy to do. I have heard of these types of incidents in my own area. Somebody gets an idea and suddenly 10 people or more are getting themselves into a situation that is not at all what they anticipated. Emotions are high and it is easy for people on both sides of any issue or argument to see too far into something and make some assumptions that can lead to a major escalation in little time at all.

Just because everyone else seems to be doing something doesn’t mean it is a great idea. Even if you really like a group of people, it is important to think for yourself and consider your well being and that of your family.

That being said…..

Watch out for family trying to talk you into things. Carefully consider any ideas, favors, or anything that they may ask of you during these trying times.

Family is important but a lot of people have an up and down type of relationship with more than one member. While it is important to band together and try to help one another at times, one must think carefully about these actions. Who doesn’t have someone in their family that loves drama? I bet most of us can name quite a few. You also need to think about if it is worth it to ask for help from someone or invite them to be a part of your life. Sometimes people expect far more in return than is fair or that you can give even if you want to.

Plenty of families have people in them that are suffering from addiction and substance abuse. Even during good times, it can be challenging to help someone in this position even if they want to be helped. Do you have the resources and determination to deal with the potential trouble of substance abuse and addiction? Has the person made any indication that they are going to meet you halfway? Can they contribute at all to the household?

Families can be very divided when it comes to politics and moral opinions. It can be very hard to overcome these barriers and help each other out. If you couldn’t hang out or talk before all the unrest and the pandemic, I am not going to say that there is a good chance you can now. I wish it were different but as stressed as the average person is, dealing with long standing issues may be too hard or even impossible without causing both parties a lot of grief and trouble.

Avoid talking about potentially volatile subjects. I have found that plenty of people find it refreshing to not “go there”.

A lot of people are simply tired of constantly talking about the state of the world and would love to have a conversation about other things. We all know that some subjects get people really worked up and that it can vary by the person. Don’t bring up subjects you know are going to be upsetting and not do anyone involved any good. This is generally a good habit to be in nowadays because what you say can and will be used against you if you run your mouth in front of the right person. It happens all the time regardless of your personal beliefs and opinions.

It is just the times we live in.

I wish I had a magical way to make it different but I am afraid there are a lot of very deeply rooted issues that are going to have to be dealt with before we get back to having a society where people can talk freely and change their opinion later without it getting thrown in their face a month or a decade later. People change and grow and unfortunately, even when they change for the better, even minor or moderate comments that are offensive can be brought up and used for their ruination socially and at work.

At 37, I am thankful that every dumb or ill informed thing I said as a kid and teen was not recorded in some way.

Do not give out too much information online or in person.

I write for a living. It is my job to talk about preparedness and survival skills and try to give advice that can apply to a whole spectrum of situations and people. Part of that job means giving up some of my privacy. I get paid to write though and I don’t dish out everything even though I get that paycheck for talking about some things.

The people I see on social media or Youtube channels that take pics and tell everyone basically every firearm or prep they have as well as their various opinions on a ton of volatile subjects baffle me, especially since only a tiny percentage are making any kind of money off of these revelations. Stop acting like you want to impress others and get attention. This is far different than trying to impress the popular kids. You could be putting yourself and your family in grave danger.

We live in a world where too many people want to be famous or a celebrity. People sometimes think it is weird when you don’t. Wanting to be famous or go viral can lead to dumb decisions that endanger you and those you love.

One thing I have noticed about a lot of the events that have happened is how many people are trying to film or get that shot or video that will go viral. Instagram “Influencers” are going out to events that hold a lot of potential for violence just to get a little boost in their popularity. Since so many have gotten called out for this behavior, they are at even more risk for ridicule and targeting even by those that they have the same opinions of.

I have to say that trying to get videos when people are pushing and shoving you seems like a terrible idea. Once it comes to that, having a phone in your hand rather than getting out of harm’s way or defending yourself, seems like a big risk to get that shot that chances are you are not going to get much for in terms of fame or monetary value, especially with so many others shooting the same scene.

You know how many times I have turned down prepper reality shows, interviews, offers to host prepper shows on TV, etc? More times than I can count on my fingers. Some of these same places keep hassling me even after I turn them down. I sometimes even forget to tell my husband when I get another one. They don’t seem to get it that I don’t want the trouble because there is no doubt in my mind that with that type of fame often comes hassle and trouble that is not worth the amount of money one might get in return. Very few people become high paying stars in their field.

Remember that no matter who you are or your opinions, it is easy to justify terrible acts if one feels they are morally superior or if someone convinces themselves that an act is for the greater good.

Moral justification is a powerful thing and incredibly dangerous. When you get right down to it, basically anything from treating someone poorly to outright atrocity and brutal violence can feel justified by someone if they feel it benefits the majority or that they are morally superior in some way. Remember that no matter who you are and where you live, there is someone out there that feels “above you” or better in some way. Most of the time it doesn’t really matter and everyone can just ignore each other for the most part but when emotions are high and things are in turmoil, this is a fact that you need to be very aware of.

Violence is easy to start and hard or even impossible to stop until it simply cannot go on any longer.

Going into an area purposefully where there is civil unrest increases your chances of experiencing violence. It only takes a small catalyst for an otherwise peaceful protest to turn into something awful that results in a lot of people injured or worse. Remember when a car backfiring caused a stampede of people in Times Square? A single fistfight at an event is sometimes all it takes to turn the tide and cause a snowball of violence.

You may not be able to talk someone out of committing violence.

I have been watching some videos online. Who hasn’t? One thing I have noticed is that there are plenty of people that have made efforts to talk others out of escalating situations and committing violence. Sometimes they are successful and sometimes they are not. These same people are actually putting themselves between others to try to prevent violence as well.

When it comes to friends and family, you may not be able to talk them out of going towards trouble and committing violent acts. They may not be planning violence outright but deep down they might be thinking about what they are going to do if things go a certain way. Emotions are high and a lot of people consider what is going on not just unrest but a revolution.

No matter where you stand on any major issue there are people that will try to trigger you and use your reaction against you.

One must be very careful about triggering. Plenty of people have been publicly shamed and humiliated after being manipulated into some type of reaction. Agitators can be extremely persistent. I also think it is worth mentioning that video is easy to edit. The right snippet can portray a very different scenario than what actually happened. Cutting and splicing audio is well within the skill set of most people if they want to do it.

Will an outburst do any good? You need to ask yourself this and think before you react. I have seen way too many videos here lately showing people taunting and trying to get someone to hit them on film. This is not good behavior no matter how strongly you feel. I completely support someone defending themselves from harm but trying to get someone to hit you merely because you disagree on something doesn’t solve anything at all.

Do not openly brandish firearms in public places unless your life is truly in danger and you must defend it.

There is a difference between a gun strapped to your belt and having one in hand that you wave about in an unsafe manner. Pointing a gun at someone will get you arrested. Even if there are open carry laws in your state, you can’t go waving them around at protests. Even if technically the protest is not sanctioned and the legalities get hazy, chances are you are going to bring a lot of trouble on yourself. Also just because you have a firearm doesn’t mean that a crowd can’t harm you.

I love having guns but one has to be careful about the amount of confidence they give some people to act in a more brash way. A gun is a defense tool and a darn good one but don’t make the mistake that it makes you untouchable in a crowd.

I think the advice I have been given since a child is good. Don’t point a gun at someone unless you are really serious about using it. Otherwise, keep it down and your finger not right on the trigger.

Other Tips and Bits of Advice

• Plan your shopping and work commutes around areas of potential unrest.

• Have a get home bag in your vehicle.

• Consider what you can use for a weapon. A lot of everyday objects can be utilized if necessary. For some options check out my article on improvised weapons.

• You should carry a weapon or something for self-defense on you at all times. There are many options including pepper spray, tasers, and keychain weapons. A knife is an excellent choice, especially if you cannot carry a gun.

• Keep a decent medical kit in your car or get home bag.

• Try to keep the kids and the elderly at home. Sorry, but times like these may mean that you have to move fast. Also keep in mind that if you are worried about kids and elderly family members during civil unrest, it can lead to different decisions that don’t turn out good for anyone. Would you leave someone old behind to get trampled to save yourself? Of course not.

• Avoid being out in the evening or at night. Consider what you can do to make it easier and not so boring for teens that are having to stay at home more. For more in-depth advice on moving around during times of unrest, check out my previous article.

• Talk honestly with your family about safety measures and avoiding trouble. Explain the risks and consequences.

• Be prepared to answer some tough questions and offer a lot of advice to kids and teens. This is a very trying time to grow up in and a lot of them don’t know how to deal with all the emotions and propaganda that is being thrown at them.

 

The richest liberal arts university in the country, Williams College, has slashed tuition by 15% “in recognition of the extraordinary circumstances and of this academic year and the uncertainty we face in the year ahead,” according to Bloomberg.

Williams, which has a $2.9 billion endowment (as of June, 2019) will also be canceling sports competitions and travel for the season according to a Monday statement.

For the 2020-2021 academic year, Tuition, room and board will set back rich parents and lending institutions $63,200. Of note, four years at the university will set one back more than the average mortgage balance carried by millennials.

“This reduction recognizes the fact that the pandemic and associated challenges are requiring us to cancel winter study as well as fall athletics competition and many student activities, among other opportunities that we usually encourage families to expect as part of their student’s education,” said school President Maud Mandel.

Schools across the U.S. are coping with uncertainty for the year that begins in August or September as it’s largely unclear whether in-person courses will be offered given the rise in Covid-19 cases. Students at dozens of schools have already balked at the full price for last semester’s tuition with months of online classes, suing for billions of dollars in refunds. –Bloomberg

“In higher education, we’re trained to believe that expensive is good,” says Seton Hall University associate professor Robert Kelchen. “Now, in this economic crisis, families are more price-sensitive than they have been.”

Other colleges have made similar moves – including Davidson College in North Carolina, which announced in April that families would be allowed to postpone payments until August of 2021, and the College of William & Mary, which announced last month that incoming in-state undergraduates would no longer be subject to a tuition increase.

Authored by Tom Luongo via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

There are few men in modern American history more venal than Former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Calling Bolton a relic of the Cold War in his outlook on foreign policy is a kindness.

Bolton is a dangerous and pathetic creature whose entire life is an example of how incomplete men with a talent for violence can rise in a late-stage cesspit of political corruption.

He is simply someone who has never been in a fight in his life who lusts for the power to kill, main and destroy anyone who dares challenge him. A pathology he’s had the dubious distinction of being able to act out in the real world on more than one occasion.

This will, hopefully, be the last article I write about his cretin because once his last fifteen minutes of fame are used up attacking President Trump in slavish interview after interview supporting his book, Bolton will be finished in Washington D.C.

This book is his gold watch for being a lifelong soldier in the service of the American empire and the neoconservative/neoliberal dream of global conquest. $2 million, a handful of residuals and a final victory lap for a life spent in pursuit of the subjugation of those he considers sub-human.

President Trump’s recent tweet about Bolton is a masterful bit of brevity being the soul of wit.

I gave John Bolton, who was incapable of being Senate confirmed because he was considered a wacko, and was not liked, a chance. I always like hearing differing points of view. He turned out to be grossly incompetent, and a liar. See judge’s opinion. CLASSIFIED INFORMATION!!!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2020

And while Bolton spent the balance of his career in D.C. working nominally for Republicans, his lust for war served both parties equally well. That war lust was in service of the empire itself when Bolton was fired, and he turned against President Trump.

He was welcomed as a Hero of the Resistance by Democrats intent on impeaching the President after he was fired last year, one of the few good moments in Trump’s nearly four years at the helm of U.S. foreign policy. Given his involvement with Fiona Hill and Eric Chiaramella, the whistleblower whose testimony created the impeachment charges, Bolton really could be thought of as the architect of that process.

So, it’s no surprise that his book is welcomed as the gossip event of the summer by the media. But remember, this is a guy who refused to testify against Trump for Jerry Nadler and Adam Schiff and that’s because he would have never stood up to cross-examination.

This is because, ultimately, John Bolton is a coward. And he’s the worst kind of coward. He’s the kind of man who deals underhandedly while hiding behind rhetoric in controlled environments to pursue his fever dreams of suppressing the Untermensch.

What we know now, thanks to Bolton’s unwillingness to keep his trap shut, is that things were as we suspected while he was in the White House. Every event that occurred was an excuse for Bolton to tell Trump to go to war. And every time Trump was led up to that trough to drink, he backed away causing Bolton’s mustache the worst case of sexual frustration.

Worse than that, Bolton sabotaged any hope of détente with Russia, North Korea and improving the situation in the Middle East. While he was right to hate Jared Kushner’s Deal of the Century for Israel/Palestine, he was instrumental in getting Trump to stay in Syria rather than turn over what’s left of its suppression to the people who actually want it to continue – Israel and Saudi Arabia.

In the end Bolton is really the best example I can come up with for the monolithic thinking that permeates D.C. Despite his best instincts, Trump took Bolton on because the potential talent pool is so thin.

Anyone with original ideas, such as Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, are more valuable in their current position rather than coming into an administration that is hamstrung by a permanent bureaucracy unwilling to change, or in open revolt.

There’s no profit for them to make the jump even if they wanted to.

This point has been in effect since before Trump took office when he wouldn’t stand behind his first National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, who is still embroiled in the worst The Swamp can throw at a person.

Progressives, liberals and anti-imperalists I implore you to stop allying with this creature of The Swamp in his quest to do damage to a president you hate. Because by doing so you are strengthening the very people who are the architects of the empire you believe you are fighting against.

Because that’s who John Bolton wrote this book for.

He didn’t write it for you.

Bolton will ultimately be a foot note in the history books. A man whose only claim to fame was failing to allow a president to make some peace with North Korea and set the U.S. on a path to complete alienation with the rest of the world.

Because of the neoconservatives’ intense war lust, as embodied by Bolton, it pushed Trump, already an arch-mercantilist, even farther along the path of using economic pressure to force change on the world stage.

But, as I’ve been saying for years now, that is a strategy just as ruinous in the long run for the U.S. as Bolton’s cowardice urging use of a military — which he refused to serve in — to do his dirty work for him.

These are both expressions of an empire which refuses to accept that it is in decline. And it has invited the chaos now evident in cities all across the U.S. as our wealth has been squandered on endless wars for regime change overseas while building a regulatory police state at home.

That helped pushed the militarization of our local police, further putting them in conflict with a domestic population growing more desperate and reactionary on both sides of the political aisle.

Bolton’s projection of all the U.S.’s ills onto countries with no real ability to harm us physically ultimately was not only his undoing with Trump but the U.S.’s undoing as a leader of the post-WWII order.

The India-China row in the disputed Ladakh border region isn’t over, despite military leaders on both sides last week announcing a cooling and deescalation after the June 15 Galwan Valley clash which left 20 Indian troops dead and an untold number of PLA casualties. 

Both sides continue military build-up in the area, despite delegations planning to meet for a third time on Tuesday to attempt a diplomatic way forward and reestablish escalation avoidance mechanisms. 

China reportedly has tank and heavy artillery units there, based on satellite images which grabbed headlines days ago, while by the weekend India reportedly deployed quick reaction surface-to-air missile defense systems known as the Akash anti-air system into the northern Himalayan region. 

“As part of the ongoing build-up in the sector, the air defense systems of both Indian Army and the Indian Air Force have been deployed in the sector to prevent any misadventure by the Chinese Air Force fighter jets or the People’s Liberation Army choppers there,” a government official told Indian media.

This also after Beijing was enraged at the Indian military a week ago authorizing its troops to not only use fire arms along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), but to exercise “freedom of action” in responding to any engagement by PLA soldiers. 

India’s military has been saying the “extraordinary circumstances” warrant it. “There is no change in the rules as such. Our side will only react to provocations and in case of extraordinary circumstances,” former Indian director-general of military operations, Lt. Gen. Vinod Bhatia, said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese military’s media mouthpiece, state-run Global Times, has continued with its posturing and threats:

If #India wants to take advantage of US support in border dispute with #China, it is terribly mistaken, as the Chinese PLA is fully prepared & capable of defending on multiple fronts including China-India border, South China Sea and Taiwan Straits:analysts.https://t.co/CFm8g4ceqg pic.twitter.com/nTBJ22jgQM

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) June 28, 2020

The English-language daily described “a prolonged standoff” while warning the PLA was prepared for any provocation, including with tanks and fighter jets. 

“As senior Indian military officers are expecting a prolonged standoff in the China-India border region with the US reportedly voicing support for India, the Chinese military is demonstrating high military readiness on all fronts, as the intensive, simultaneous military exercises in the South China Sea, near Taiwan island and near the China-India border show India’s wishful thinking of taking advantage of US support is merely an illusion, Chinese analysts said Sunday,” GT reported. 

Authored by Derrick Broze via The Last American Vagabond,

People around the world are already being judged and denied access to financial services because of their social media data – and they don’t even realize it.

By now many of our readers are aware of the ongoing rollout of a nationwide social credit system in China. Starting in 2009, the Chinese government began testing a national reputation system based on a citizen’s economic and social reputation, or “social credit.” This social credit score can be used to reward or punish certain behaviors. The idea is that the state can give or takeaway points from a social credit score in order to engineer good behavior from the people.

By late 2019, Chinese citizens were losing points on their score for dishonest and fraudulent financial behavior, playing loud music, eating on public transportation, jaywalking, running red lights, failing to appear at doctor appointments, missing job interviews or hotel reservations without canceling, and incorrectly sorting waste. To raise one’s social credit score a Chinese citizen can donate blood, donate to an approved charity, volunteer for community service, and other activities approved by the government. The Chinese government has begun to deny millions of people the ability to purchase plane and high-speed rail tickets due to low social credit scores and being labeled “untrustworthy.”

While most people are likely familiar with this concept because of the popular show Black Mirror, the truth is this practice is much more reality than fiction. According to a new report from cybersecurity experts Kaspersky, 32 percent of adults between 25 to 34 have had issues getting a mortgage or loan due to their social media activity. The denial of loans comes as part of “social scoring systems” which are being used at an alarming rate by government and businesses to determine customers or citizens “trustworthiness.”

“Based on these scores, systems make decisions for us or about us, from travel destinations and the associated costs, to whether we are allowed to access the service itself,” the report states.

Kaspersky surveyed more than 10,000 people from 21 countries and found that 18 percent of those polled had issues accessing financial services because of assessments of their social media data. The report notes that more than 4.5 billion people use the internet around the world, and 3.8 billion have social media accounts. These accounts provide governments and companies with thousands of data points to score people. Less than half of those surveyed said they have heard of social scoring or social credit. As few as 13 percent of those polled in Austria and Germany said they were familiar with the concepts, while 71 percent in China were familiar.

Unfortunately, the survey also found that 67 percent of people are willing to share their profiles to secure online shopping discounts and 52 percent are willing if it means skipping lines at airports and other means of travel. Finally, 51 percent of people said they are fine with government monitoring their social media behavior if it means keeping the public safe. The post-9/11 indoctrination appears to have worked to an astounding degree.

Kaspersky warned that the public has little protections when it comes to their social media data, stating, “there is no framework we are publicly aware of when it comes to other systems used by organizations and governments to collect our data.” Further, the report states that consumers “can find it impossible to find out what their scores are, how these scores are being calculated and how they can be corrected if there are inaccuracies.”

Chengyi Lin, a professor of strategy at the INSEAD business school, told EuroNews she believes, “you’re gonna have a holistic view of your behaviours, both financial and digital, and even physical, to give you a single credit score.”

Lin’s comments point to an ever-increasing centralization of data and the push towards a single score by which governments will rate their populations. When combined with facial recognition, biometrics at the airports, CCTV cameras, drones and surveillance planes flying above major cities — it is clear that the Technocratic State is coming into full view.

Clearly, the majority of people are completely in the dark about these programs and their dangerous implications. Therefore, the goal for those “in the know” should be to spread the word and warn as many people as possible. We must also take personal responsibility for the amount of data we voluntarily share with social media sites, apps, and the internet in general. The only defense against the complete erosion of privacy — and thus liberty — is an educated public who stands up for their own rights.

For more information on removing your data from these data collection and aggregation sites, see this.

In a sign that China’s massive stimulus injections as the nation reopens are working, tonight’s PMIs both rose from May and beat expectations.

• The government’s official Manufacturing PMI rose from 50.6 to 50.9 (beating expectations of 50.5)

• The government’s official Services PMI rose from 53.6 to 54.4 (beating expectations of 53.6)

However, as Bloomberg report, while parts of the economy have recovered from the virus shutdowns, there’s an apparent divergence between demand and supply – factories and companies have returned and output is growing again, but exports and domestic retail sales are shrinking (and manufacturing employment fell back into contraction at 49.1).

“While work restart levels are high, the recovery of demand has been slow, weighing on the pace of improvement in industrial production,” Lu Zhengwei, chief economist at Industrial Bank Co in Shanghai, wrote in a report this week.

Additionally, a separate PMI indicator that gauges China’s high-tech industries slowed significantly this month. The Emerging Industries Purchasing Managers’ index fell to 51.4 this month from 55.9 in May, according to the bank, citing a research firm connected to the Federation of Logistics & Purchasing that compiled the data.

“The new export orders sub-index remained low at 32.6 in June, unchanged from May and April, suggesting sustained headwinds from overseas markets,” Nomura economists led by Lu Ting wrote in a report.

The surge in exports of coronavirus-related medical supplies is largely due to price rises, which is “likely unsustainable,” they wrote.

“We expect a bumpy recovery path filled with uncertainty, as China is caught between domestic policy stimulus, remaining social distancing rules and slumping external demand,” according to the report.

One possible caveat for the lack of momentum is that severe flooding in southern China may also have slowed the pace of production in some areas, and a recent flare-up of the coronavirus has also hit confidence.

Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky said the global travel and tourism industry might never fully recover from the virus-induced economic downturn, though he tells Axios in a Zoom interview, there’s a glimmer of hope as travel trends will shift more domestically, and to smaller communities in a post-corona world. 

“I will go on the record to say that travel will never, ever go back to the way it was pre-COVID; it just won’t,” Chesky said. “There are sometimes months when decades of transformation happen.”

He said, “people are getting on airplanes, they’re not crossing borders, they’re not meaningfully traveling to cities, they’re not traveling for business.”  

Instead, “they’re getting in cars. They’re traveling to communities that are 200 miles away or less. These are usually very small communities. They’re staying in homes and they’re staying longer.”

Readers may recall, we noted in late March how city dwellers in Southern California were fleeing metro areas for rentals on the outskirts of Joshua Tree National Park, which was a move to isolate oneself from the virus pandemic. 

“As the pandemic sweeps across California’s largest cities, residents are fleeing their urban settings to isolated communities in the Mojave Desert or the rugged Sierra Nevada. The hope is that a remote area can reduce their transmission risk.”

“People will, one day, get back on planes,” Chesky said. “But one of the things that I do think is a fairly permanent shift is … a redistribution of where travelers go.”

“You know, everyone goes to Rome, Paris, London, they stay in the hotel district, they get on the double-decker bus. They wait in line to get a selfie in front of a landmark,” he said. 

“I think that’s going to get smaller as a percentage of travel in the future, and I think it’s going to get somewhat displaced, or at least balanced, by people visiting smaller communities,” he added. 

The redistribution Chesky describes is a reversal of international trips to more domestic ones, but instead of travelers going to big cities and famous landmarks – they will vacation in rural communities. The days of vacationing in New York, London, Paris, Rome, and Hong Kong are limited. 

So who are the winners and losers in this emerging travel trend Chesky sees playing out? 

Winners: 

• Airbnb hosts or super hosts with properties in rural communities, near state parks, or scenic views. 

Losers: 

• Airbnb hosts or super hosts with properties in major cities.
• Commercial real estate in metro areas, such as hotels, resorts, and shopping malls. 

As for all those overleveraged super hosts, we warned about during the pandemic, who saw rental income collapse – they could very well see depressing bookings for a considerable period while properties in rural communities see boom times.

Authored by Daisy Luther via The Organic Prepper blog,

Lots of folks have mentioned that their grocery stores never fully restocked after the rush on food and supplies back at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown. And with the current news stories about spiking COVID numbers, it may not be long until we’re locked down again.

Work on what’s within your control

It’s important to note that even if you are unconcerned about the virus, there are a lot of things that could be out of your control in the event of another governmental series of actions:

• Workplaces may close back down

• Supply chains may be further damaged

• The economy will take another hit

• You may not be able to go where you want

Real, or not real; dangerous or not, the end result for us is the same.

It’s just like the debate over whether a terror attack in the news is a false flag or an actual terror attack. Every time I write about surviving one of these attacks, people flock to the comments to tell everyone that it was all crisis actors, the whole thing is a hoax, or our own government did it to take away our guns.

But we’re talking about survival. If you’re there when the bullets are flying or the bombs are going off or the planes are crashing, it doesn’t matter who’s behind it. Your only goal at that point is to survive it.

With COVID, does it even matter if the numbers are accurate or not? Because the government is using it as an excuse to exercise rigid control over all of us – telling us when we can go to work, when we can visit with loved ones, keeping us away from hospitals and leaving our ailing relatives to die alone, and enforcing laws about masks and appropriate distances.

Whether or not there’s another lockdown isn’t within our control. There are those who believe the entire thing is baloney and that we locked down for no reason. There are others who believe the lockdown saved countless lives. As it’s impossible to prove a negative, we really have no way of knowing if our lockdown worked or not.

If stores aren’t open or supplies aren’t available, the end result is the same whether the virus is as deadly as it’s portrayed or not. You may not be able to get what you need.

This article is about what you CAN do – you can be prepared. With that, at least, we have some control.

Things to buy every time you go to the store

We can reasonably predict that some of the things which were out of stock during the last run on the store will be low again. People will remember the things they couldn’t find and they’ll be determined to get them this time. Most stores still have limits on certain products, so I suggest that every time you go to the store, you add the following items to your stockpile:

• Toilet paper (or you may be stuck with one of these TP alternatives)

• Bleach

• Hand sanitizer

• Canned goods

• Yeast

• Baking supplies

• Powdered milk

• Rice

• Beans

• Meat

And if you have a baby in the house, don’t forget to grab:

• Infant supplies like diapers, wipes, formula, etc., if applicable

You may not need to get these items every time but definitely pick up a few extras:

• Paper towels

• Disposable plates and cutlery

• Disinfecting wipes

• Disinfecting sprays and cleaning products

These were some of the most common things that people ran out of or couldn’t purchase the last time around. Allocate some of your budget to purchasing some of these items to put back every time you see them. This will help to replenish your stockpile, which isn’t necessarily an easy task in these days of purchase limits.

Other things you may want to do

A lot depends on whether or not you are considered an “essential worker.” If you are, your life may feel somewhat normal. If you’re not, being home all the time could feel like a pretty big change.

• Save some money – another stimulus check and another round of unemployment + $600 are not guaranteed.

• Gather the supplies needed for projects to stay productive – organizational containers, paint, hardware, fabric, etc.

• Get what you need to work comfortably from home – laptop, office chair, headset, etc.

• Take a look at different homeschool programs for your kids – here are some suggestions for places to start.

Check out this article – it’s a thorough guide to preparing for the second lockdown.

Now is the time to prepare

If you prepare little by little, it’s a lot easier on your budget than buying your entire lockdown inventory all at once. And keep in mind, everyone is thinking the same thing – “I’m not going to run out of toilet paper this time.” You may not even be able to find what you need if you wait until another series of lockdowns are announced.

By adding an extra $20 or so of supplies each time you visit the store, you’ll be better prepared next time around.