Predicting what's next for the economy and how to prepare - Part I

A gentleman in my network on facebook wrote me asking me what's next and how to prepare in regards to the expected economic collapse.

I wrote him this quick reply:

In terms of what's next, it can be difficult to say. There's a script being followed but always lots of openings for impov and surprises. That's the most I can say right now until I have a better handle on the situation; I've been meditating lately on scenarios and the credibility of various sources.

There are a fair number of intellectuals who have a reputable track record for economic forecasting that I pay attention to. Peter Schiff, Nouriel Roubini, Marc Faber, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Frank Shostak, Gerald Celente, Daniel A. Arnold, et al., just to name few off the top of my head.

As for what average people should be doing to prepare, each person has to decide that for themselves. I think there's a lot of good advice out there to consider even assuming the best outcomes: developing strong CSA programs, adopting slow money principles to a self-sufficient local economic systems, and building stronger connectivity where peer-reviewed collaboration takes place.

Be free,
Ben

I'll expand upon this in the future.

Keeping perspective when studying Bohemian Grove - a tribute to Professor William Domhoff

One of my favorite sociologists, Professor G. William Domhoff at UC Santa Cruz (who maintains an excellent blog by the way titled Who Rules America?) does an excellent job of putting the Bohemian Grove in context with a listing of numerous other social elite groups that probably a lot of mainstream conspiracy fans don't ever hear about.

His article, "Social Cohesion & the Bohemian Grove: The Power Elite at Summer Camp," is worth reading over. In particular, consider his three main viewpoints:

1. The activities at Bohemian Grove [while some are bizarre] are in general harmless.

2. Public policy is not officially discussed or endorsed at Bohemian Grove. [However, the argument can still be made that when the elite get together they are bound to talk business or policy on the side, but this is no different than if they were in a Country Club, a Lodge, or any other exclusive venue.]

3. When compared to dozens of other elite social groups, the "social cohesion" score for the Bohemian Club is about average at .62 our of 1. Case in point, there are other elite clubs and associations that unify stronger bonds and solidarity that probably warrant more discussion and public exposure than Bohemian Club.

At least consider the possibility that when icons like Alex Jones sneak in to Bohemian Grove (and he wasn't the first, mind you -- other journalists like Philip Weiss of Spy Magazine have sneaked in and provided first-hand accounts of what goes on), it could do more harm than good. People have no idea what's going on and they only really understand the soundbytes; it's entertainment that while possibly has good intent to inform the masses of what's going on, actually presents a rather limited view of the complexity of how numerous elite social clubs and gathering play a limited role in politics and policy making in the US and the world.

At least recognize that the field of Sociology is the discipline in Higher Education that studies the reality of "the matrix." As you search for your own answers, which I encourage you to do, don't forget to look at a few Sociology journals while you're at it.

Start with at least being aware of his the sociologist's viewpoint that conspiracies don't exist.

What kind of values are instilled with American football?

What kind of values are instilled with American football? Noam Chomsky first raised the question for me in Manufacturing Consent:

Take, say, sports -- that's another crucial example of the indoctrination system, in my view. For one thing because it -- you know, it offers people something to pay attention to that's of no importance. [audience laughs] That keeps them from worrying about -- [applause] keeps them from worrying about things that matter to their lives that they might have some idea of doing something about. And in fact it's striking to see the intelligence that's used by ordinary people in [discussions of] sports [as opposed to political and social issues]. I mean, you listen to radio stations where people call in -- they have the most exotic information [more laughter] and understanding about all kind of arcane issues. And the press undoubtedly does a lot with this.

You know, I remember in high school, already I was pretty old. I suddenly asked myself at one point, why do I care if my high school team wins the football game? [laugbter] I mean, I don't know anybody on the team, you know? [audience roars] I mean, they have nothing to do with me, I mean, why I am cheering for my team? It doesn't mean any -- it doesn't make sense. But the point is, it does make sense: it's a way of building up irrational attitudes of submission to authority, and group cohesion behind leadership elements -- in fact, it's training in irrational jingoism. That's also a feature of competitive sports. I think if you look closely at these things, I think, typically, they do have functions, and that's why energy is devoted to supporting them and creating a basis for them and advertisers are willing to pay for them and so on.

From this, it's interesting to consider the hidden lessons that the football culture teaches whether people realize it or not. Perhaps here are a few of them:

1. Akin to our current state of our liberal democracy, you are to identify with one team and cheer for them as if your cheering had any influence over the outcome of the game. However, the reality is you will never have an impact on the outcome of the game.

2. The hierarchy of winners in a football league is similar to our state of economic corporatism and this should be celebrated, not condemned. There can and should be only one winner on the top of the pyramid, just like how we now have 1% of the population in the US controlling 40% of the wealth.

3. If you're actually present in the stadium during the game, you might be paying as much as two or three times as much as what you'd normally pay for junk food or carbonated soda drinks. Nevertheless, people by habit pay whatever price is set before them without organized protest or attempts to negotiate a better price point.

4. It's a social norm to be sitting next to a complete stranger and pay more attention to the entertainment rather than focus on engaging in a meaningful conversation with them.

5. Many football stadiums are now named after corporations aiding in their public relations efforts to convince the public that they give more than they take from the community. The reality of course is that the majority of corporations don't pay income taxes.

6. Referees, like the Supreme Court for instance, can make decisions that affect the outcome of the game regardless of the consensus of the fans.

7. Peer pressure to attend football games can come from family, friends, or neighbors. To not attend a game in some suburban communities can leave people feeling excluded. The lesson here is that it's better to be like everyone else and spend an entire weekend getting emotionally invested in an outcome over which you have no control, and spend money in the process, and expect nothing tangible at the end other than a memory of the event.

There are other subtle lessons football teaches I'm sure. While I doubt most owners of football teams or NFL executives really fully understand or analyze the sociological adverse impact of promoting football, the importance of mass distraction dates back to the Colosseum around 80 A.D. in Ancient Rome.

Reexamine what really happened to the Titantic

There are many theories out there regarding what really happened to the Titanic; one of the ones I find the most plausible was made public by Robin Gardiner:

One of the most controversial[5][6] and complex theories was put forward by Robin Gardiner in his book, 'TITANIC: The Ship That Never Sank?'[7] In it, Gardiner draws on several events and coincidences that occurred in the months, days, and hours leading up to the sinking of the Titanic, and concludes that the ship that hit sank was in fact the Titanic's sister-ship RMS Olympic, disguised as the Titanic, as an insurance scam.

What's more interesting is the fact that Benjamin Guggenheim, Isa Strauss and John Jacob Astor et al. were some of the wealthiest men at the time and were opponents of the formation of a Federal Reserve Banking system.

In 1910, seven men met on Jekyll Island just off the coast of Georgia to plan the Federal Reserve Bank. The Titanic then sank on April 14, 1912. The Federal Reserve was officially established as an independent agency by the Federal Reserve Act (38 Stat. 251) on December 23, 1913.

Additionally curious is why so much effort has been put into re-telling the story to the masses through film, museums, and literature while leaving out the questions that matter.

The Hidden Curriculum in Higher Education

John Taylor Gatto is one of the prominent icons alive today who explains The Underground History of American Education and how it's designed to place limits on social mobility and self-actualization contingent on factors such as socioeconomic class. Specifically, he focuses on socialization in K-12 education.

With the homeschooling movement on the rise (+36% in the last 5 years), the word seems to be getting out that unschooling has the potential to liberate genius. What seems less well known by people are the practices used in the Hidden Curriculum of Higher Education to thwart innovation, emotional well-being, and financial independence.

University Secrets by Robert Honigman. The Hidden Curriculum of Higher Education by Eric Margolis. There are other books that delve deeper into the barriers to self-actualization in specific disciplines like Psychology. Fireflies in the Shadow of the Sun by Wyatt Ehrenfels does an excellent job exposing the corruption and intellectual oppression in the field. Even though we see slight improvements with Martin Seligman promoting the movement of Positive Psychology at TED conferences and elsewhere, Ehrenfels's voice et al. are still suppressed and need to be heard by anyone willing to listen.

The following video demonstrates these students care about analyzing their own lives in Higher Education. They know "a matrix" exists. The challenge is knowing where to start with asking the right questions that seldom get asked. These students do the best they can while not even really scratching the surface in regards to how they're being socialized.

Given that this video has received what's approaching close to 3 million views to date, we can assume safely that they aren't the only ones that are ready to start taking "the red pill." Reading the right books in this effort is the first step to getting unplugged.

ACLU-MN raises concerns over RNC Homeland Security Document

A number of agencies that are military based were revealed in an official document to have possibly been engaging in domestic intelligence gathering.

Wikileaks.com is a great source of information regarding what's currently going on. It protects to the best of its ability whistleblowers who need a safe depot to upload information that the public has a right to know about.

A timeline of population control on earth (1763-1997)

This list, published by Robert Howard, is a timeline worth looking over. It accounts for numerous examples of genocide, eugenics, and population control.