Lessons from Afghanistan

Things are unraveling at a rapid pace for the US in Afghanistan. The Afghan army that was supposed to keep Taliban at bay has folded and given its weapons to the Taliban. As a consequence, things are becoming dangerous for US aligned people in Afghanistan, including US citizens. If not handled correctly, we might see a massacre on the hands of Taliban, video taped and paraded around on the internet for all to see. Hence, Biden has ordered a rescue mission to get all US citizens out of that country as soon as possible.

But how did the mighty US army and intelligence services misjudge the situation so spectacularly? How could they fail to see that this was the likely outcome after 20 years of war? The answer to this is that no-one dared say the truth, and everyone believed everybody else's lies. The rot and corruption in the ranks of US military and intelligence is total, and hence, no amount of surveillance or brute force has any value. The competent have been replaced by fools. An army of yes-men has rendered the mighty US virtually powerless.

This same mechanism is at work in Washington DC, where madness is on full display. The corruption and rot is so ubiquitous that no-one knows anything for sure. Everyone is lying to everybody else, and truth cannot be discerned from falsehood. Hence, decisions are made with no relation to reality.

Afghanistan proved too much of a challenge. That begs the question; how much control does Washington DC have on other matters? If they cannot tell friends from enemies in Afghanistan, how are they going to figure things out in other places? Can they figure out what's going on in their own back yard? The answer is probably no, they are as clueless in these matters as they were in Afghanistan. They may have all the latest and greatest in technology, but that's of no use if information cannot be relayed truthfully.

This is why we shouldn't be overly concerned with the apparent might of the state. It may be bristling with weapons and computing power, but none of that matters if it cannot be used rationally. Without the conviction to use these powers as intended, they pose next to no threat. As long as we don't make ourselves into big targets, they cannot do much of anything. The emperor is naked. There's nothing he can do.

The Emperor's New Clothes

By Vilhelm Pedersen (1820 - 1859) - English Wikipedia (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/47/Emperor_Clothes_01.jpg ), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4038625

Being Meek

If the meek shall inherit the earth, being meek is probably a good strategy.

I've already suggested that being meek likely means to be disciplined and agile. That's not as far off from today's meaning of the word as it may seem. Meek is today humble and submissive. But that's precisely how we must act in face of superior force. The appearance of conformity is central to success, and this requires us to be disciplined and agile.

Direct confrontation is suicide. No matter how strong we are, there's always someone stronger that can take us out. However, the meek escape scrutiny by keeping a low profile. That allows them to maintain sustained resistance. The network effect can be used to spread the word and build community. Little by little, the enemy wears itself out. Nature takes its toll as we each inflict a thousand cuts trough noncompliance and evasion.

This insight is not exclusive to Christianity. The Tao recommends this same strategy. We blend in. We don't make a big deal of anything. We don't start a movement. We go about our business as best we can, and we look for ways that Nature can help us. We avoid the state as much as possible. We look for sustainable ways to resist, and we lead by example. If we each win over a handful of people, we'll win, and there will be no central point of failure that can be taken out by our enemies.

The meek understand that no single person needs to do all the work or thinking. Everyone can do their part simply by following the golden rule. No further coordination is required.

This requires trust in the network. There has to be faith. There also have to be some fun. It's not like we're going to see the end of tyranny any time soon, so we better make the most of the freedom we have, and enjoy the ride for what it is.

Liberty

About those Leaky Vaccines

I don't normally read scientific papers. I find it more enjoyable to figure things out on my own. However, most people will not listen to us unless there's a scientific paper supporting our claim, so for the purpose of convincing others, I like to have some papers to point to. This worked well the other day when I felt a need to moderate my parents' enthusiasm for the vaccine. That was about Delta and how it's more dangerous for the vaccinated than the unvaccinated.

Another thing that we might have to tell people as the pressure to vaccinate heats up is that leaky vaccines are in fact counterproductive. Leaky vaccines produce new variants like Delta, which are more dangerous to the vaccinated. Hence, if we truly care for the elderly, we should not vaccinate ourselves. Vaccinating the young and healthy only serves to enhance the virus and make it more deadly for those who already took the vaccine. The moral high ground is thus captured by the unvaccinated, and cannot easily be regained by vaccine zealots.

As it happens, the dangers of leaky vaccines have been know to since 2015, when this scientific paper was published. This comes in particularly handy since it dovetails so well with the NHS report on Delta. If anyone tries to dismiss the NHS report as somehow mistaken, we can now point to the theoretical explanation for why Delta appeared in the first place, and how it became dangerous to the vaccinated.

These papers combine to prove us both right and morally just about the vaccine. It's our refusal to vaccinate that's saving granny. Those taking the vaccine are taking a risk, and there's no practical or moral reason to do so.

Wax plant

The Meek shall Inherit the Earth

Things are decaying into chaos at such a rapid pace that people are turning to religion in order to make sense of things. I'm not the only one who've gone from agnostic to religious over the past 18 months. I see people making comments to this effect on Zerohedge. Bible quotes are popping up, and people ask if they're the only ones turning religious, to which others respond that they too feel this way.

This is not the typical hallelujah awakening. Neither I nor the others are suddenly becoming Christian zealots. Rather, we're looking for clues as to how to cope with the madness of the world, and the Bible happens to have a lot of encouraging and insightful texts on the matter. The new testament was after all written in an era of similar madness.

I find this awakening interesting because it is in itself foretold in the Bible. A non-magical interpretation of the phrase "the dead in Christ shall rise first", would be that the first to catch onto what's going on are people who have not fully embraced Christian doctrine. That would be people like myself and fellow libertarians. I have a Christian friend who's catching onto the nefarious vibe, but he's not yet as convinced that the corruption and rot in our current system is as total as I believe it to be. I'm sure he will realize this soon enough, though. Which would make the Bible verse complete. It would also make sense of the phrase "the last shall be first", because I was last and my friend was first, but now I'm first and he is last in figuring out what's going on.

Most libertarians are skeptical to magic, and we don't like collectivist ideas, especially those driven by emotions rather than intellect. We're therefore inclined to look for non-magical interpretations. We also look for interpretations that don't imply negative feelings of guilt and fear. We're looking for sensible down to earth advise. We don't want to be belittled or frightened. Hence, we argue that the word sin means to err. We also argue that the meek that will inherit the earth are not weak and submissive but disciplined and agile. Prayer is not a childish appeal, but meditation.

Seen in this light, the Bible becomes very different to what it's portrayed to be by those opposed to Christian doctrine. It becomes a helpful tool for anyone living through difficult times. It's also a book full of comforting ideas. There's an end goal very much worth our efforts to achieve, and it can be attained without direct confrontation. The meek don't rush into battle. The meek navigate carefully trough troubled waters.

The meek know the power of God, aka Nature, and use this to their advantage. The enemy is literally injecting themselves with an experimental vaccine at the moment. All we need to do to take advantage of this is to avoid making this mistake ourselves. But even if we happen to sin in this respect, there's hope. That's the meaning of original sin. We all make mistakes. No-one is perfect. It's all right. We can still bounce back. All it takes is that we repent and ask forgiveness. No matter how screwed up things get, there's always hope.

Self forgiveness

By karamveer singh - https://www.flickr.com/photos/karamveer/36329611575/in/photolist-XmjKPn-bjX29j-8b7tEy-ah7vXK-puvgD1-8iCDaR-24jfBCn-pf3BxS-mHKzaZ-UV4iUm-5o7pRM-McbMQ2-8b4cje-8YWhfx-ah7svK-9US6Zr-7H8QYX-acM5jn-8tus85-8b4dux-4ZSmk3-bnFuGa-8b7va5-22twHw-6ghqh6-8fVXUt-8YWhLa-82uv1P-8b7uH3-8b4bga-24jfvLT-8b7oZj-7sgZxV-8b48hX-8b4as4-8b7udS-8b7t8Q-amixPJ-8YWiFp-8b7sZh-8b7t1E-8b4bde-2eVHubH-8b4e16-8b7t67-8YZkUw-mmxcHS-9UQZxD-61iRui-yDaga1, CC BY 2.0, Link

A Good Week for Gold

There's a saying that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, and this saying seems appropriate for gold this week. Whoever decided to dump $4 billion in gold futures on Sunday evening didn't get much bang for their bucks. Gold has ended the week higher, not lower as the manipulators must have hoped for. Making things worse for them, they now have a bullish weekly candle to contend with in the gold chart.

The candle is green, it has a long unfilled tail pointing down, and a short filled top. Scrutinizing the gold chart for similar weekly candles, we find one at the end of March and another one mid June last year. They were followed by moves up of about 10 and 15% respectively. If we get a repeat of this, we'll break out to the upside of the wedge pattern described in my previous post on gold.

Gold looks strong from a technical perspective, and fundamentals could hardly be better. Confidence in the current world order is evaporating. The US military has been defeated by the Taliban in Afghanistan, US military personnel is being injected with an experimental vaccine, and China is closing ports that export goods to the US. There's hysteria and madness everywhere. With history as our guide, we can predict that gold is going to do well in the months and years to come.

Rococo Cup with handle

By Vincennes Porcelain (France, circa 1739–1756), Francois Binet (France, active 1750-1775, born 1731) - Image: http://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-31852871-O3.jpg Gallery: http://collections.lacma.org/node/229367 archive copy, Public Domain, Link

Signs of Disarray

Here's an interesting article related to the vaccine. Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, who is the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, came out saying that the vaccine will not prevent virus variants from spreading. What's particularly interesting about this is the fact that the Oxford Vaccine Group owns the AstraZeneca brand. So, why would the head of this group effectively tell people that the vaccine is ineffective and possibly counterproductive?

The answer to this may be found in the fact that AstraZeneca is a money losing venture. The Oxford Vaccine Group loses nothing by throwing a spanner into the vaccine rollout and the associated push for vaccine passports. On the contrary, they save themselves money, and protect themselves against future blowbacks in the process.

Andrew Pollard's statement may also be a personal attack on Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfeizer.

AstraZeneca got a lot of bad press from the very start, and it's not impossible that Albert Bourla had a thing or two to do with that. Even the suspicion of foul play may have encouraged Andrew Pollard to get back at him. The move may also have been motivated by envy. Neither of the two men are of the upright and honest type, so intrigues of this kind cannot be ruled out.

Here again, we see signs of disarray within the state and its affiliated corporations. As always, evil leads to chaos. It's becoming increasingly clear that the vaccine is a failed experiment. The rats are leaving the ship, and the ones with the least to lose and most to gain are leading the pack.

Smallpox vaccine

By Photo Credit: James Gathany Content Providers(s): CDC - This media comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Image Library (PHIL), with identification number #2674. Note: Not all PHIL images are public domain; be sure to check copyright status and credit authors and content providers. Deutsch | English | македонски | slovenščina | +/−, Public Domain, Link

The many Ways that they Deceive us

Propaganda is not merely the application of constant repetition. There's more involved than that, all designed to break our will to resist, and accept the official narrative either willingly or reluctantly.

The techniques have been refined over time by those who want to control us. Research into this has been done for well over a century, and the Guantanamo Bay detention camp is but one place where this type of research has been going on.

The second world war saw massive use of propaganda, as did the first world war, and it wasn't used exclusively by the Germans. The allies were just as active, but the allies won, and their propaganda was more overt, so the extent of allied propaganda is less talked about in history books.

However, we don't have to read their research papers to see what's going on. Paying attention to details and our own reaction to them is all that we need to list the many ways that our rulers deceive us. Here's a list of techniques, compiled from posts on this blog:

• Humiliation - Wearing a mask in public is a symbol of submission. The same is true for the experimental vaccine that we are required to take in order to participate in society. Both the mask and the vaccine are there to make us submit to their will.
• Peer pressure - Those who submit to propaganda are unwittingly aiding the enemy by pressuring peers into making the same mistake. They do this in the false belief that their submission becomes safer and better, provided we all join in the madness.
• Censorship - Truth is the enemy of propaganda, and must be managed. The trick is to do this in such a way that desired fake news is allowed to propagate, while even the slightest error or lack of context is slammed as irresponsible if not in line with the narrative. Undeniable truths are simply not mentioned by state controlled media.
• Hubris - In the face of opposition, the political and corporate elite doubles down, thereby signaling that they know better, and that the opposition is merely uneducated troublemakers who don't know what's best for them and who deserve no mention or serious coverage.
• Defeatism - This is the idea that all resistance is futile, and ultimately counterproductive. Life itself is meaningless. Better to give in and accept whatever the elite has decided for us.
• Science - Generous use of science as a religion reduces our inclination to figure things out on our own. Who are we to question the experts? Science can't be denied. Scientists who don't tow the line are heretics.
• Intellectualism - This appeals to our intellect. A story is spun in which we are told that our skepticism is excessive. There's a middle ground. We have to be reasonable. There's nothing sinister going on. Our fears are irrational.

All of this is constantly thrown about, mixed and recombined to produce a never ending narrative that appears in all places and through all channels. Peer pressure and defeatism make their way into all forums, including those that push against the propaganda. It's overwhelming and tiring. However, there's a remedy.

Love, faith and hope is the tried and tested cure. Every time we feel like giving up, we can simply look towards the horizon, and we will see the day of reckoning. The harder they push, the more impactful will be their defeat. When the Nazis doubled down after their defeat at Stalingrad, they made the war total, including their ultimate defeat. The same will happen to politicians and journalists who double down on the narrative.

All we need to do to win this war is to stay positive, and to say no to anyone trying to convince us otherwise. The best way to do this is to enjoy life in the moment. No matter how difficult they make our lives, we can always find ways around the hurdles. My family and I have experienced no real problems related to our vaccine status. The problems are mostly in our minds, planted there by those who aim to deceive us. All it takes to make the problems go away is to set our sight at the horizon, and take comfort in the certainty that tyranny always fails. Total tyranny never existed, and it never will.

Guantanamo Bay detention camp

By Shane T. McCoy, U.S. Navy - (copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Camp_x-ray_detainees.jpg so that the image can be used on Wikinews.), Public Domain, Link