Grand Jury and Court Experiences

Back in the 90's I was selected to sit on the Federal grand jury down at the Federal Building in the second largest city in Michigan. With the grand jury, you don't appear for one trial as with regular jury duty, but you attend one day a month for a period of several months.

Another difference many people may not be aware of is that on a grand jury you will only hear the prosecution's side of the case and then try to determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial. Basically it's a joke because you are only hearing one side and then trying to make an informed decision.

If a witness does happen to have an attorney, the representative can't even come in the room but waits in the hall outside while his client is questioned. The joke we heard many times was that grand juries would even convict a ham sandwich and we learned that to be pretty much the case.

Most of the cases during my experience seemed legit including a murder during a bank robbery and a tax evasion case. However, if I knew then that juries had the right to nullify laws, the tax case would have been a good candidate for that. But it wouldn't have done any good because the other jurors were of the opinion that, if they had to pay taxes, so should the defendant.

The one case that portrays best the kangaroo type atmosphere during my experience was this. There was a robbery at a store in a small adjacent town. Prosecutors paraded in witness after witness with "evidence" pointing to the alleged culprits and made it look like an iron clad case against them. The next time we met, prosecutors brought in other witnesses pointing to a different defendant.

With no one mentioning the original defendant, we wondered what was going on. Later we found out that, after all of the evidence previously presented, it turned out that they were wrong and the person had nothing to do whatsoever with the robbery. But the one sided presentation put on would never have hinted at the fact that it was a totally unrelated person that, in fact, committed the crime.

So, that's an example of the corrupt jury system and how innocent people can easily get convicted, and do probably on a daily basis. And the talk about judges with the God syndrome is a reality that I have seen on several other occasions. One of them, Rockford District Judge Steven Servaas, sits a few miles away in the next town over from here. Although he has been known to have broken laws and sexually harassed employees, he still holds his position.

If you happen to go before him for a minor traffic violation such as I did, don't count on getting your evidence in. He'll just disallow it and make up some reason to get you to pay the fine plus tack on an extra fine for your efforts. If that's not enough, he will bully defendants and try to ridicule them in the court room. Maybe a condition of his clinical depression, which causes paranoid and suicidal thoughts. But the sheeple keep voting him in and have made him the longest standing district judge in the State. No wonder the country is in the shape it is.

If you haven't voted on the poll, please do before leaving. Its at the top left side.

Guest Articles on Debt on the Way

An excellent writer has agreed to post a series of articles on this site starting in the next day or two. So, just a heads up to watch for the first of the articles in this series to appear today or tomorrow.

The author will be writing on debt as she is an expert in that field. I am anxiously awaiting the first installment or what looks to be a total of 5 articles altogether.

And another thing, what's up with the poll right up there on my site? Only one person has clicked on it out of about 200 people. Please take the time to cast your vote. It only take a second and I have ideas for new polls if I can get this first one completed ever.

Again, thanks in advance. I look forward to seeing how readers feel on this, your site, and moving toward those things that will interest and benefit you the most.

Web Bot Project Back in Business

Since I reported that the web bot project was ending, some recent developments have occurred, which will enable the project to continue.

Without getting into all of the dirty details, I'll just say, if you have access to the web bot reports, please do not publish them as they are copyrighted and it messes up the readings as well.

For subscribers, there is a discussion forum that you can join to discuss all aspects of the reports.

If you aren't familiar with the web bot project, there is an explanation on this site or halfpasthuman.com, the official site of the program. The site has a link that goes in depth to give a description of how it all works.

Suffice to say here that the project has allowed the operators to predict the October economic decline to the day as well as many other events. The reports have been reduced to $10 per and the administrators are a very reputable lot.

I am not affiliated with this project in any way but am compelled to report on any and all subjects such as this that can make a substantial positive difference in the lives of those open minded enough to be inclined to listen. If not, you can't teach a pig to sing.

A Message to a Friend

I have a friend who has suffered a loss recently and is grieving that loss. She is very well known to many in the blogging community, being one of the top bloggers around. I am dedicating this post to my friend known to those in the world of blogging as Timethief.

To Timethief

I hope beyond hope that the new day has brought you renewed strength, positive energy, vigor, and a great degree of peace and contentment. I've been thinking of you and praying for you in the hope that it could help, if only in any small way.

As stated by others of your many loving admirers, you are a beautiful and strong person though it may not exactly feel that way to you at this moment.

You are the first person I talked to on here and I will always remember your kindness in guiding this green and apprehensive blogger. In the past, some have stated to you that they thought you were “blunt”, to put it mildly, but to me that is your integrity and honesty (not being a phony, pleaser: all too common in today’s world). You always handle them with such a high degree of class. You are a rare and precious, old soul to be treasured by those who are lucky enough to make your acquaintance, indeed.

You are here for a reason and one of those is to be an inspiration to many on this plane, I being one. I wanted to be able to say something that could somehow possibly console you yesterday but nothing would come out. Then today Universe has gushed forth a message through me and I felt compelled to write to you once again.

In our connection as a portion of the true Oneness, I hereby lend to you any positive Divinity that I might have access to in this time of sorrow and need, that you may continue in your excellent progress and evolution in the manifestation of the total Goodness that is most assuredly the Wholeness that is actually, in reality, your Perfection.

In solidarity, with total, unconditional and universal love; your partner in Oneness,

John

Homegrown Potato Salad

You can do a lot with those homegrown potatoes. Here's an idea for a tasty treat.

Homegrown Potato Salad

In large bowl add:

1 small, diced sweet onion

6 large, diced radishes (or substitute celery, cucumber, green or red pepper or whatever you prefer)

4 diced, boiled eggs (optional)

6 medium, diced potatoes

one cup salad dressing or mayo

2 T (tablespoons) mustard

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup real, bacon pieces (optional for vegetarian style)

Mix it all up add a little paprika and chopped parsley on top and enjoy.

Great with sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled chicken, ribs, steak, chops or just all by itself.

There are a lot of other ways to enjoy your potato harvest including scalloped, boiled herb and buttered, pan fried, hash browns, baked, twice baked and loaded, french fries, mashed, or in a crock pot with garden carrots, onions and a pot roast (easy and doesn't heat the big oven).

If anyone is interested in home made jalapeno poppers, let me know. Those should be ready to harvest soon. I have a great recipe for those as well as a good summer, hearty macaroni salad.

Better yet, take a sec. to click my poll at the top left so I know what your interests are. I promise to post something of interest for your future visits. Thanks for your participation in advance. It is very much appreciated.

Survival Garden Vegetable Harvest

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Some of the vegetables in Michigan are ready to eat already. I dug some good potatoes today. If you planted them early enough, some of the leaves will have withered and turned brown, a sign that they are ready to pick.

I used several varieties of seed potatoes so the later varieties are still growing. If you do it this way you can stagger the harvesting to provide more continuous fresh food.

Some other vegetables will be ready soon including carrots, squash, tomatoes, corn, broccoli, beans and others. Also my pumpkin patch is shaping up nicely for a fall harvest.

I have seen other gardens farther along in this area. They may have better water or other conditions but most will be paying off soon. The peas were great this year and radishes were also tasty. I will be putting in more peas next year and staggering planting times for more continuous harvesting as the kids really like those.

If I could find chick pea seeds, I would plant a lot of those. The ones you grow are nothing like the garbanzo beans that you can buy. They are more on the line with sweet peas but better. However, in this country, certain things like those and the light green zucchini are almost impossible to locate.

New Health Care Plan Being Forged To Benefit Special Interests At Expense Of Americans

Below is a form letter that appeared on Urban Survival, which you are welcome to use. Also there is a lot of important alternative news on the site today, including the little known fact that Juries have the right to nullify laws if they judge them to be inappropriate.

To relay a note on the immoral character of some on the Internet, due to copyright infringements the ALTA reports from Half Past Human, that were a valuable tool for survival, will not be available any longer due to various bloggers publishing the reports in attempts to drive traffic to their sites.

This and various other important items designed to give us details of the major screwing being put over on us can be viewed in George Ure's report today as well as the form letter that you can use, which follows:


"Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I am writing to you today to let you know that we as a nation are being ignored, yet again. I realize that some of you are firmly on the left and some are firmly on the right and a few of you are so far left that you could slap your right cheek or vise versa. We need to move beyond such polarizing ideas and consider what is best for us as individuals and as a nation. Even though we contacted CONgress and the SIN-ate in an overwhelming majority of 300:1 against these bail outs for the banks and a stimulus package that seems to have only stimulated some campaign donors. They keep on using our tax dollars for things that are almost the polar opposite of what most of us could agree is right use of public funds and our common wealth as a nation.
Right now, our government is once again ignoring the people's express will. We have told our government that we want a single payer health care system. A system modeled on the programs that work well overseas and even within our own country in the form of VA benefits, Medicare and Medicaid. Instead, they want to turn this into a profit opportunity for the vested interests of big Pharma, the insurance companies, and the advertisers. Do you remember when they passed the "drug benefit" for the elderly? Something like 50+ plans, many of which confused our elderly population, and it had a big $2500 hole in the middle of it. To sell it we had almost constant advertising. Let us not forget we gave up the right to negotiate price with the drug companies and the right to import meds from overseas in that particular "reform." Yet we CAN still pay in large part for the research and research facilities.
What we currently have on the horizon as health care reform is the same "smoke and mirrors" pseudo reform that is in actuality more corporate welfare. Some things are too important to be "for profit" and health care is one of them. How can we as a nation or as individuals sleep well at night knowing that the working poor (that is the real identity of these 47-50 million uninsured) could receive a diagnosis today and leave a for profit institution knowing that they were going home to die, because they cannot afford treatment (or the copays for those of us fortunate enough to still have insurance) in this the supposedly richest and greatest nation on earth. These working poor make too much money to get any help from existing programs, but make too little to afford health care...How exactly does a $1000 fine for failure to carry insurance improve the situation?
What can you do? Well, you could delete the email and say I can't believe she sent me this. You could contact your representatives in Congress and Senate (I have North Carolina below.) You could even forward this email to your address book (like I did) if you agree that the only way we are going to get our government back is to insist on participating, that is what the lobbyists do...they insist with their money to participate! Well, I don't have the money or position to buy one of those tickets, but I do have an address book and so do you! Call em' and then call em again, send them an email and if your representatives still won't listen; then during the next election cycle vote out any incumbent who ignored the will of the people. It really is that simple. Even if you don't agree that single payer is the way to go...call them and tell them that, the important thing is to stop all this feeling of powerlessness in the face of the corporate interests. It all started with "We the people..." and We are still here!

Palin Gives Us a Dire Warning

Sarah Palin says to beware of big government and media as she leaves office. This reminds me of Eisenhower's warning of the military/industrial complex as he left office. Some of those in the know would like to get the word out to the rest of us and this is often the method used. When there is a good person in a high position, they are not allowed to say too much about the reality of the situation but they also can not remain totally silent in good conscience.

That's where you need to almost read between the lines to pick up on "what time it is" as they say. Most politicians would like to do the right thing but that cannot be allowed. So they are silenced by whatever means necessary and thereby become the tools of the ruling class.

I'm sure there are many politicians that choose to be tools (pun intended) and are put in place for just that reason. But I think that in Palin's case, she would rather get out of public office than to be a part of what's coming down, namely the destruction of the common people. Stay tuned for news on the end of August turning point, the end of September for the crashing and then there's the global train wreck toward the end of October to be followed by even worse yet.

Market Movements

Despite all the happy talk going around, the current "bull market" is in reality nothing more than a bear market rally as can be distinguished quite easily by paying close attention to the underlying economic health. Businesses are reporting conditions that cannot be mistaken for good news in any sense of the word. If you need more convincing you need not look any further than the following:

1. shipping

2. employment

3. housing,

4. credit

5. banking

as well as a number of other indicators.

And it will not take too long for this grim news to be reflected by Wall Street. If you will be honest with yourself for a moment, you will have no alternative but to come to the same conclusion. This is not meant to be trading advice but rather a simple observation, which needs to be acted upon with the help of a qualified professional.

The key word here is qualified. If you find yourself in the presence of one of the many "buy and hold" proponents, you need to run the other way as fast as you can. It will not be an easy task finding someone who has the wherewithal to be innovative enough to lead you out of this economic abyss but keep trying you must. Your very life may very well depend upon it.

The Genetic Connection

Due for the most part to my genetic makeup, I do not claim to have a complete grasp of the complexities of the current body of genetic research. However, I think that I have been able to obtain an above average understanding of the important role our genes have in almost everything basic to our existence.

For example, take into consideration that the manipulation of the tiniest of portions of a person's genes could turn the dullest among us into a brilliant mind on the order of an Einstein. Or change another infinitesimal area and the deepest of depressive personalities instantly becomes the happy go lucky soul.

As of now it is looked down upon to go messing with people's genes. But in the future, it will most likely be commonplace for parents to select good traits they would like for their children or select away harmful genes. The sooner we get over the hang-ups about "playing God", the sooner we can minimize, if not eradicate suffering in the world.

It is the same inferior genetics that can delay that progress in that those draconian beliefs in the need to suffer is partially at fault for holding back genetic research. It is most sure that some day this will be looked back at as a time of complete barbarism in relation to these concepts.

So, the next time you would like to blame the homeless bum in the street for his or her lot in life, remember, that could be you with the most minor of genetic alterations. All of the sudden, the common "blame the victim" mentality takes on a whole new meaning. Where am I going with all of this? Heck if I know. I think my genetic makeup has led me to a dead end. But hey, that gives you something to think about, doesn't it?

How Did We Get To Here?

To see how we got into the mess we're in today, we need to go back to the start of biological evolution to provide a plausible explanation. In the beginning, it was the fair and loving ancestors that were naturally selected against by the more greedy and violent ones. So we might say that we were bred to be cut throat competitors by nature. In the same way that, on the African savannah, naturally happy and calm creatures typically got outbred or eaten.

Some stand by the false premise that people are totally a product of their environment and upbringing. Even if you did buy into this fallacy, take a look at our environment. We used to like to watch lions eating people in "sold out arenas", standing room only. In what we now call civilized society, those few inches on the mile long timeline humans have been around, we don't do this anymore. Now we only demand cut throat competition of our children through sports or wars. Or we prod them to claw their way to the top in business, school or other endeavors, whatever it takes. But at what cost? Look around and see the price we have paid.

Some of the qualities that we see as constituting mental health have actually been bred out of modern humans because they fall prey more often to those that are more likely to do them in. A person who is calm and loving gets clubbed over the head by the sociopathic brute who goes on to father more, spreading those genes while the healthy genetics are abruptly ended. A kind of "nice guys finish last" scenario.

Lets break this down a little. What is it that makes one person one way and another person the way they are? Modern science tells us that a lot of it is the unique chemistry of each person's brain. Current brain imaging technology has shown this to be the case.

Therefore, for most of our development some of our best traits have been selected away. And therein lies a clue to the situation we find ourselves in. The media would have you believe that those brutish sorts are mostly incarcerated. But many of the violent crimes are actually never solved. And others are actually sanctioned, such as in war. Even of those jailed perpetrators, many had children before they were caught and some even are afforded conjugal visits now.

Hey, you may protest, we have free will and our choices are what is responsible for behaviors by each individual. This is true in part. However, I would contend that the decision of a person to make a particular choice is highly influenced by his or her make up. Obviously I am not saying that all of the healthiest folks have been bred out of society, but many have. Nature can be cruel as we all know.

Some of The New Developments Ahead

Well, it's the new week and here are some of the upcoming developments I talked about in the last article. Expect these to start sometime this year or next and to continue until the turning point and new paradigm shift after that.

• Camps being developed to detain dissidents
  


• A substantial portion of the population dying off
  


• Major rioting in this country and others
  


• Food and water shortages
  


• Stock market crash
  

These are not your willy-nilly predictions but based on scientific fact, trend analysis and web bot results. There are also other results that are being formulated, which are related more to what most consider bordering on fringe areas of science and they will be afforded the coverage they deserve when complete.

Those items above are not in any particular order, however, I would say that there will be some logical progression involved. For example, at this point the stock market is actually up while the real economy is down. This can cause some to miscalculate the serious trouble that the economy is in. I do believe the market will move drastically downward before the major rioting begins but there is always the chance that it will be artificially propped up some more too.

I did not include inflation on the list but that is a very distinct possibility with fiat currency and the crazy Keynesian methods being employed. So, imagine having less money but everything costing more with not enough to go around. Kind of a perfect storm in the economy.

The camps that have been already put in place will be for those who haven't died off due to homelessness, lack of food or rioting. Anyone who dares to go against the defenders of the paradigm will have their own place in a detention center. Please leave a comment so that we can discuss the situation at hand.

Startling New Developments To Come

Now is as good a time as any to do a recap of the progression of this economic Depression that some astute observers contend that we are already into as I write. As evidence of this, there are many markers that are not emphasized as they should be in the everyday news that most people subscribe to. For example, there are the numbers for shipping, joblessness, bank and business health, housing and many other areas with terrible showings. And watch for an upcoming commercial real estate and derivative collapse to top things off very soon.

This all means that from the next few weeks until this time next year, at the latest, things will have deteriorated to a point that unimaginable conditions will most likely be directly upon us. And if you think that there might be some type of magical rescue plan to help us out, think again. The harsh truth is that there is no workable plan possible that can even begin to help us out, even if there was a desire to do so, and total chaos will rule the day. Whether this is being brought about intentionally as the conspiracy theorists assert, plain greed or any other reason doesn't really matter as far as the conditions lying directly ahead and the resulting world of which there aren't even any words to describe.

I do not put total faith in all of the allegations out there but, remember, anything is possible. As I said, knowledge of the causes of his depression will in no way alter the catastrophic outcome, but it could serve to help us in getting out quicker and staying out.

For those among you that are frequent visitors to this site, you already know of the unique information that is presented for the benefit of all readers. Tune in next week when we will go deep in-depth on some of the best past topics and when we will also be bringing forth some very important new developments that I have been working on. And also, if you have been around here for awhile, you know that I do not attempt to use any kind of hype at all so be sure to stop back.

Money Making And Saving Tips For Hard Times Ahead

I think a lot of people are going to benefit from learning about cutting back on expenses, whether you're unemployed, forced into part time work or to keep up with rising costs. A site I've found and wanted to share has some pretty good money saving tips and can be found at Martins Money Tips. And don't forget to tend that garden for a good output at harvest time.

One warning. Watch out for bees in the garden shed. I had almost ten nests of various sizes in mine and received two painful stings I'm still dealing with after two weeks. I think I got them all taken care of for now but had just found another nest yesterday.

To make the garden a little more pleasurable and seem like less of a chore, you might want to plan a pleasing garden design for next season. Use your imagination or look up ideas for low cost ideas and start now in planning to implement them. One thing that is very rewarding is the addition of lighting for in the night garden. This is a nice touch to add to the experience of sitting and admiring or strolling through your garden in the evenings. Another is attractive garden furniture.

If you are lucky and produce more food than needed, you can always set up a little stand in some areas and earn money from your bounty. This and yard saling are good ways to make money from home without costing anything. Or if you really have a large bounty from your garden, you may be able to set up and sell at a local farmer's market. Why not turn it into your own money market rather than spending money there?

Yet Another Great Blog Post On Another Great Site!!

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Here we go again. One of my articles has been accepted and is featured on Divine Caroline. This is a unique and very cool place that Rebecca has over there. But don't let her fool ya, I don't think she is as callous as she puts on.

Anyway wander over and take a gander (I lost myself in it for a long time so be careful, its that interesting). My rant, I mean article, is up as of this morning and you can see it by clicking the link or picture.

I hate sending you away from my blog here but my number one priority is to give my readers good information, wherever that might be. So please click the back button or bookmark this site because there is a lot more here and a lot of important material in the works to come.


You can even submit an article or your own on Divine Caroline if you want and see if it gets approved. Click on the images or link to see the guest post article and hope to see you back soon. Thanks to all and have a wonderful day.

Prepper Site Features Timely Article From Survival Stew

Just a note to let you know that there is an important article of mine up on an excellent site. My friend there was gracious enough to accept my article as a guest post on his site, Survival-Spot. Click on the picture or the link to go there.

I've spent quit awhile over there and , believe me, there is a lot of very valuable information to be had. It was a great honor to be accepted on one of the very top sites of its kind and I hope you will all check out the article and the rest of the site, as well.

Mainstream Media Censorship Conspiracy

Let's start off this week with a quote from someone I'm sure most of you have heard of. Dan Rather of the nightly news as well as 60 minutes. Dan been a household name to anyone who owns a TV set for years. Now in his autumn years, he finally speaks out about an issue that he, of all people, should know about. And that is censorship.

Dan Rather has told the BBC that American reporters were practicing 'a form of self-censorship': 'there was a time in South Africa that people would put flaming tires around peoples’ necks if they dissented. And in some ways the fear is that you will be necklaced here, you will have a flaming tire of lack of patriotism put around your neck. Now it is that fear that keeps journalists from asking the toughest of the tough questions…. And again, I am humbled to say, I do not except myself from this criticism.”What we are talking about here - whether one wants to recognise it or not, or call it by its proper name or not - is a form of self-censorship.'”

Three cheers for Dan for calling a spade a spade. I've noticed that sometimes, as people get to a certain point, they will let out little snippets of truth like this. Not dissimilar to a deathbed confession of sorts, if you will. And if it's not disclosing too much, they don't get symbolically "necklaced", as Dan refers to.

Another example that comes to mind is President Eisenhower's warning in his Farewell to the Nation address as he prepared to leave office on January 16, 1961. In it he warns all Americans to beware of the "military/industrial complex in this country. Now, who should know better about this sort of thing than a true leader who served as General of the armed forces AND President of the United States? Here is an excerpt from that speech:

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together."

"Altert and knowledgable..." sounds like my readers.

And there this on the subject from Wikepedia:

"In the penultimate draft of the address, Eisenhower initially used the term military-industrial-congressional complex, and thus indicated the essential role that the United States Congress plays in the propagation of the military industry. But, it is said, that the president chose to strike the word congressional in order to placate members of the legislative branch of the federal government. Shortly after Eisenhower's address, the issue of military-industrial-congressional influence came to the forefront after Kennedy canceled the B-70 bomber on March 28, 1961. After appropriations bills had been passed and signed with B-70 funding that Kennedy would not use, the House Armed Services Committee (with 21 members having B-70 work in their districts) subsequently attempted to "direct" -- by law -- the Executive Branch to use "the full amount" appropriated for the B-70. However, a March 19, 1962 eleventh hour White House Rose Garden agreement by chairman Carl Vinson retracted the language from the appropriations bill, and the B-70 cancellation remained permanent.[4]
Attempts to conceptualize something similar to a modern "military-industrial complex" existed before Eisenhower's address. In 1956, sociologist C. Wright Mills had claimed in his book The Power Elite that a class of military, business, and political leaders, driven by mutual interests, were the real leaders of the state, and were effectively beyond democratic control."

Notice the self-censorship that Rather talks about in the first bolded section? And the reference to President Kennedy?

I wonder if either of the dead Kennedys (not the band) would have had more to say if they were allowed to reach an older age. Or maybe they said enough. Does the word "necklace" come to mind, anyone?

Motion Activated Sprinkler For Garden Pests And Protection From Preditors

Five star customer rated, easy install, safe for wildlife and pets, immediate free shipping. CLICK HERE to see full description and to order lower priced model. Click picture or below for deluxe model. Includes free shipping on both.

Protect you food supply that you have worked hard for. This simple product will keep all of your garden food for your family, not those pesky foragers. Could come in very handy in the future if food shortages come to fruition as many experts have predicted. Make sure your family has plenty of fresh food to eat while others raid the baren shelves of the local grocery outlets. And if you buy now, you will be making a good investment before your dollars lose most of their worth as also predicted. This could all be coming about much more quickly than you think with the printing of dollars, which leads to inflation. (What food that will be available will cost you a lot more also.) If you haven't gotten your garden in for this year, seriously consider putting one in and also growing food in containers indoors. In any case, you should have at least one of these on hand now for this season and to ensure availability for the next. The Motion Activated Sprinkler will also serve to ward off wild animals such as wolves and mountain lions, and possibly frightening away some two legged beasts, keeping your family, pets and livestock safe and secure.

Is The Recession Improving?

In the past 24 hours you will find a lot of news about the IMF (International Monetary Fund) calling and end to the recession. "World Recession Easing" and "World Starting to Pull Out of Deep Recession" says the IMF, reports Reuters, AP via Yahoo News, Fox News and many others. The only part I find to be anything but fiction is the "Deep Recession" part. However, I would content that, if there was more factual reporting, the 'R" word would have to be replaced with the big "D". We more likely than not are already be in another Great Depression if the statisticians were to use more accurate numbers.

For example, just two benchmarks used for judging the health of the economy, jobs and bank closings, are not as accurate as most would be lead to believe. The unemployment rate is determined by counting only those people who are currently collecting unemployment benefits. And as for back closures, during the depression each bank was just that, one bank. Now when a bank goes under, it takes with it multiple other "banks" in the form of branches and atm machines.

Not to be to harsh, the IMF needs to get credit for calling this the worst recession since World War II and for saying that recovery will be sluggish. That may be an understatement but then they go on to say that 2010 will be a stronger recovery. I and many others who have no axe to grind are not so optimistic and for good reason. Some are starting to question the old "buy and hold" strategies for basing their futures upon. They are no longer under the impression that, whatever we get into, the Fed and our government will be able to somehow juggle things around to get us out of it, and rightly so.

History is said to be our best teacher. And wherever copious amounts of fiat currency (unbacked by anything of real value) or, in other words, as in our current monetary system, has been printed up, there has been trouble. In Germany's Weimar Republic, the value of their money dropped so much that it was said a person needed a wheelbarrow full of it to get a loaf of bread. Similarly in Zimbabwe they just kept making new money with more and more zeros on it. What started in 1980 to be worth $1.47, the Zimbabwean dollar in 2006 was only worth one millionth of a British Pound. A new laptop computer was recently advertised for 1.2 quadrillion Zimbabwe dollars. That's hyperinflation and it is the result of printing more and more money like is currently being done. These developments do not reverse themselves with any amount of help in a couple of years.

So, the next time someone tries to convince you that everything can be "fixed" by some new type of policies, let history guide your thinking, not emotions.

Righteous Rants

The word "rant" has been used a lot recently to attempt to marginalize those that speak of certain truths. Marginalize is defined as to take or keep somebody or something away from the center of attention, influence, or power. And labeling is a practice used extensively by those in control to do just that, keep control. Common labels we have seen used are, doom and gloom, unAmerican, not patriotic, paranoia, conspiracy theory, and on and on. And rant is the latest one. They all serve the same purpose: to marginalize.

So, much of what you might read here could be labeled any way you want but that does not diminish the truth of which is written. It only serves to allow the ongoing manipulations to continue when we buy into these schemes. And buy in we do. That's why you will hear so much of this type of labeling whenever something against the status quo is uttered. Its so widespread that you might feel that you are better off to just shut up than to bear the wrath of friends, family or coworkers around the water cooler, if you still have a job that is. And then their job is done and we are silenced. Unless we refuse to be!

The people who buy into this are all doing their assignments very well. Those they have fallen prey to by not allowing themselves to be free thinkers, but to just be good little citizens, and follow blindly the obligatory commandments they receive. It is forums like this that have the daunting job of breaking those type of people out of their lockstep march toward the cliff we are all on the edge of. And those of us who speak of things like this must endure the slings and arrows of the unenlightened.

But we tolerate it and go on. We must because the message is too important. So we continue on, take it all and keep on going, unswervingly dedicated to the overwhelming task before us. And those that don't want certain truths to be spoken continue on also. They must do that in order to attempt to persist in securing their gains at the expense of the rest of us. But you don't have to buy into the plan. If the forefathers had done this we would not have a Constitution now to be constantly worked around for the benefit of the few and the detriment of the many. So the next time you hear someone use the word rant, or for that matter, any type of label, don't automatically discount the message. Use the mind you were given to formulate your own opinion on each matter

The Evolution of a Survival Blog

Well, since I've started doing this blog, not that long ago, I have made a lot of changes for the better. This has been made possible by a person whom I met online and who I see as somewhat of a blogging guru.

If it wasn't for this person, you would be seeing a much different looking blog than what appears now, only a couple weeks later. If you're interested, you can see what the blog looked like in the early stages and what exactly was done, step by step.

I'm not saying that it is totally complete by any means but I'm very happy with the changes so far. To check out the article about my blog, go to Blogging With Success where you will see this blog featured, from almost the start to finish and pick up on many useful tips for optimizing your blog.

I was lucky enough to be referred to this expert blog builder and author of the blog for all bloggers, SBA. So, if you want to check out this premiere site on blogging, click the link. You will not be disappointed. It is packed full of all the information you will need to build a great blog and even has an excellent, free newsletter that you will be able to sign up for.

The New Economy

The new economy is going to have quite a different face on it in the not too far off future. The old ways will not continue working as they have in the past. High and middle end restaurants may not do as well as they have been at all and we can probably plan on seeing a lot of empty buildings where they once stood. The "dollar menu" type of fast food places will more likely than not still be around, however.

If someone were to be looking to start up a restaurant in the future, there will still be a demand for quality at a reasonable price though. For example, a place known for an excellent steak sandwich at a decent price would probably do OK. The word would get around and people will still need to get out of the house once in awhile.

Bicycle shops are going to do okay when gas starts going back up where it will make last year's highs look like a really good deal. As will auto repair shops and auto parts stores. With all the money going to gas to get to work (if anyone has a job) and food, most people will have to keep their old clunkers running because they won't be able to afford another car.

Another sure-fire winner will be second hand stores for obvious reasons. A lot of the lower cost outlets for new clothes and other items are going to have trouble getting the mostly "made in China" brands that now fill most stores and, even at the low-end for new products, the prices are going to be very high in hyperinflated dollars. Yard sales that are easy for people to get to will probably be picked over in the first few hours of opening and you may see people lining up ahead of time like waiting for tickets at a rock concert.

In the last Depression, products of extremely high quality were still in fairly high demand as common folks would rather scrape and save for a product that was going to last rather than spend a little less on those with failure built-in, like most things these days.

Survival Guest Post Link

Here is a article of mine you are sure to enjoy on the Be A Survivor site, an excellent place that, not only preppers, but everyone should visit. Go there and find out all of the news not available elsewhere.

It is a very well researched article and packed full of useful information on many topics. Don't worry, it won't take you long to get through. I kept it short enough to get through quickly and still inform on the most current developments everyone should be aware of.

Depression 2 Coming This Fall

The current Depression is going to become very evident in just a short time. In the next one to three months is when things will be coming to a head and preparations should be in place. And around the second half of October will be a situation of devastating consequences yet to be revealed.

The job situation is getting worse as time goes on and bank failures are at all time highs when the number of branches and atm's are thrown in the mix. From this time forward it is going to be a much different world than the one people have become used to. Its looking like hyperinflation will be the order of the day, with food, gas and other costs going through the roof. This will be reminiscent of the Wiemar Republic and the situation in Zimbabwe. Fiat currency, the money we use, will be all but worthless and bartering will become more common. And this could all begin as early as the end of next month.

Those that tell us that they have the answer to avoid or reverse this situation in reality have no answers. Not immediate ones at least. The next few years will have to play out while we go through the rough road ahead and come up with a completely overhauled system or paradigm. Those that have the most will not want to relinquish their power and holdings and will do whatever possible to try to keep the old but antiquated system in place. In the mean time, imagine a worse case scenario and you probably will not even be close to the reality that lies ahead.

Unfortunately most people will not agree and, therefore, will not be able to foresee the train wreck that is the economic situation, which is upon us. But those that can read between the lines and think outside the box will be able to be ready and weather the storm much better. No one knows exactly how bad things will have to get before they can start to get better but it is the old ways of thinking that will only prolong the agony that is about to unfold.