Welcome to The Now

 

 Am I talking about a recession? A depression? Mass unemployment? Rise in cost-of-living? More bank bailouts? I'm talking about all of it. Or some of it. Or a combination. Something is coming, and Americans are not being properly prepped. This isn't about stoking fear; it's about being informed enough so that when something does happen, your actions are being governed by fear. Let's start with this news from Business Insider, " The dollar falls behind the yuan for the first time in Chinese cross-border transactions ": For the first time ever, the yuan has eclipsed the US dollar as the most used currency for Chinese cross-border transactions. The yuan's use in cross-border payments and receipts rose to 48.4% at the end of March while the dollar's share slid to 46.7%, according to a Reuters calculation of data from China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange. In 2010, the yuan's share was nearly 0% while the dollar's was 83%, according t...

 Watching Kshama Sawant try to explain to Briahna Joy Gray that Marianne Williamson and RFK Jr., are non-starters is kinda sad, especially when Gray should know better:

 It's not as mundane as it sounds : Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday spoke out against antisemitism and hate, pointing to his family history in the hope it would stand as an example for others. “My father was, and so many other millions of men were, sucked into a hate system through lies and deceit. And so, we have seen where that leads,” Schwarzenegger told CNN’s Dana Bash in an exclusive interview, after earlier telling her at a forum at the University of Southern California that he had been “born with a father that was a Nazi.” “I’ve seen it firsthand how broken this man’s – this man were,” he continued. “The kinds of atrocities that happened. How many millions of people had to die and then they ended up losers … in the Confederacy, losers, as they all have, this just doesn’t work. I mean, let’s just go and get along. And love is more powerful than hate.” The actor, who was born in Austria in 1947 and moved to the US in 1968, has been outspoken about his...

 

 No platform will risk going out of business to keep your information private from the government:

 Keep this in mind when hearing/reading stories about Taiwan (which is basically just going to be Ukraine Part 2): Meanwhile, China is making peace in the Middle East .

 Via ScheerPost, Taibbi himself goes over this latest development from the "Twitter Files." It would be one thing if I really made the mistake. In that case, Plaskett’s letter would merely be an outrageous attempt to intimidate a witness by threatening a charge of intentional lying over a miscue. But that’s not the case. I did of course make an error, but what Plaskett is referencing is actually a mistake by Hasan, one she’s now repeating. I’m not sure what to do but explain and show this as clearly as possible. Which he does. One thing to note: it's not just Democrats; both parties have problems with people questioning or challenging the status quo. By the way, Rep. Stacey Plaskett was a Republican (who worked in the Bush Administration) before switching parties in 2008. 

 Now replace "lemons" with "bricks" and replace "lemonade" with "walls":

 Consider this yet another reality-check: Bernie Sanders has endorsed Joe Biden and will not run in 2024 . One of the pillars of the "Vote Marianne" Left is that she's only a few degrees off from Sanders and therefore is deserving to be his heir apparent. Sanders backing Biden pretty much demolishes that pillar. A number of those pushing for Williamson -like Kyle Kulinski- were Bernie supporters in 2016 and 2020. Kulinski is most likely aware of Bernie's endorsement because he was on top of Biden's announcement . And not for nothing, he made some quick videos about Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon being fired, so "breaking stories" aren't a foreign concept to him.  Then again, we know he's ignored such "in-your-face" stories before when they were inconvenient ; what's to say that he won't do it again? Of course, then these guys would have to explain why their political prophet Bernie Sanders is wrong and go through mental hoops t...

 The reality is this: "for any non-status quo candidate to have a chance, they should run outside the Democratic and Republican parties. Anyone running inside hoping to 'change the party from within' will either be absorbed or ousted."  Most of the American left learned this after two attempts by Bernie Sanders to run for president (some of us suspected even before the 2016 and 2020 Democratic primaries, but the elections confirmed it).  There is, however, a group that (for various reasons) can't let go. They simultaneously boost the insider strategy while turn away in disgust when offered third party solutions. They have declared Marianne Williamson the heir to Bernie Sanders (even when he has embraced Joe Biden). Now, some of them have put out videos saying that Williamson is being ignored . On the contrary, whatever the media's doing isn't making people ignore a person who ran for office in 2020; in fact, people know and they don't prefer her to B...

 Watching this Lee Camp video on RFK Jr.'s presidential announcement, you learn a bit about the family history with the agency: 

 Both Tucker Carlson (of FoxNews) and Don Lemon (of CNN) have been let go.  I'm sure it's for different, more cultural and/or political reasons and not because neither were particularly good journalists.  They both have money (Carlson is married to an heiress) so they'll be fine. The real winners is the American viewing audience; maybe now some of them will find better-informed outlets.  P.S.: not sure if this means anything, but look how CNN decided to report both stories:

 Their crime? Not agreeing with the status quo:

 The guy is an opportunist who copied & pasted articles and passed it as his own:  

 

 There's more than meets the eye:

 As the media discusses American politician's rather unhealthy focus on TikTok , now is a good time to let people know that the social media site young people (currently) love is chock full of state department officials : Amid a national hysteria claiming the popular video-sharing app is a Chinese Trojan Horse, a MintPress News investigation has found dozens of ex-U.S. State Department officials working in key positions at TikTok. Many more individuals with backgrounds in the FBI, CIA and other departments of the national security state also hold influential posts at the social media giant, affecting the content that over one billion users see. While American politicians demand the app be banned on national security grounds, try to force through an internet surveillance act that would turn the country into an Orwellian state, make clueless statements about how TikTok is dangerous because it connects to your Wi-Fi, it is possible that TikTok is already much closer to Washington than...

  CNN reports : A manhunt is underway near Charlotte, North Carolina, after a 6-year-old and her dad were seriously wounded when a neighbor reportedly began shooting after a basketball rolled into his yard – at least the fourth time this week an apparently ordinary blunder led to gun violence. Suspect Robert Louis Singletary, 24, should be considered armed and dangerous, Gaston County Police said. He’s 6-foot-2 and about 223 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. Kids had been “playing basketball, and a ball had rolled down that way and had rolled into their yard and they went to go get it,” neighbor Jonathan Robertson told CNN affiliate WBTV. “We never expected anybody would break a gun out amongst all those kids,” he said. “I mean that was insane.” Police would not confirm what started the Tuesday night shooting in Gastonia, citing the investigation. It was another case this week alone in which young people were shot after seemingly ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time...

 ...can't put my finger on it, but it doesn't seem like most of the others:

 It's more about the legal perspectives of their respective cases than any personal connection:

 

  Possibly : A group of researchers have made a shocking discovery about one of the most fundamental forces in our universe. According to a new paper, which is set to publish in Physics of the Dark Universe next month, gravity may have created light in the earliest days of the universe. According to the new paper, early gravitational waves may have been so strong that they created radiation because they shook space-time so hard. It’s an intriguing discovery that rethinks what we know about gravity as a whole, despite it being one of the most fundamental forces in existence. The basic theory behind the belief that gravity could create light rests heavily on the forcefulness and strength of gravitational waves found in the early universe, back when the early universe formed and experienced an event that scientists call inflation. According to this proposed event, the universe expanded greatly in a very short time, creating a sloshing mess of gravitational waves that would have collid...

  Like so, so many . Sooooooooo many :  And those bases have proven to be very useful :

 Second Thought dives in America's transition to a service economy:

 I will say this: the Pentagon seems more worried about the leak than any of their failed audits.

 Why else would CNN have this article: From Dallas and Minneapolis to New York and Los Angeles, offices sit vacant or underused, showing the staying power of the work-from-home era. But clear desks and quiet break rooms aren’t just a headache for bosses eager to gather teams in person. Investors and regulators, on high alert for signs of trouble in the financial system following recent bank failures, are now homing in on the downturn in the $20 trillion US commercial real estate market. Just as lenders to the sector grapple with turmoil triggered by rapidly rising interest rates, the value of buildings such as offices is crashing. That could add to pain for banks and raises concerns about damaging ripple effects. “Although this is not yet a systemic problem for the banking sector, there are legitimate concerns about contagion,” said Eswar Prasad, an economics professor at Cornell University. In the worst-case scenario, anxiety about bank lending to commercial real estate could spir...

 Sabby Sabbs covers this scary/odd story:

 So Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to fill what he thought was a pothole . In reality it wasn't , but instead of focusing on that, CNN chose to mock him using his famous movies roles, while omitting the fact that they guy was also the Governor of California at one point. 

  And apparently there's nothing you can do about it : The new devices, which also include a GPS tracker for stolen cars and a cone-shaped security robot, will be rolled out in a manner that is “transparent, consistent and always done in close collaboration with the people we serve,” said police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, who joined Mayor Eric Adams and other officials at a Times Square press conference where the security robot and the mechanical canine nicknamed Digidog were displayed. “Digidog is out of the pound,” said Adams, a Democrat and former police officer. “Digidog is now part of the toolkit that we are using.” The city’s first robot police dog was leased in 2020 by Adams’ predecessor, former Mayor Bill de Blasio, but the city’s contract for the device was cut short after critics derided it as creepy and dystopian. Adams said he won’t bow to anti-robot dog pressure. "A few loud people were opposed to it and we took a step back,” the mayor said. “That is not how ...

 Jimmy Dore has more on this hilariously upsetting story:

 It appears that the working relationship between Matt Taibbi and Elon Musk has reached an end:

  Well there goes any leverage this so-called progressive had on the national scene : CHICAGO — Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson this week pitched President Joe Biden on holding the Democratic National Convention here in 2024, a person close to Johnson told NBC News on Friday. The topic came up in a private call Wednesday after Biden congratulated Johnson on winning the Chicago mayor's race in a contest that captured national attention. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday night. The person close to Johnson said the mayor-elect also repeatedly discussed his intent on bringing the convention to the city in both calls and meetings with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, countering concerns that interest in Chicago might be diminished amid the transition from outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot to Johnson. “He brings a real excitement to the job ... to the people of Chicago and I think that’s being felt in Washington, D.C,” Pritzker said at a joint news conferenc...

 

 Stealing water and re-selling it is the new corporate pastime:

 Second Thought covers the impact capitalism had on the East Palestine , while Lee Camp reveals what happened to CDC investigators when they went there. 

 The thing is, race and racism is a part of American history and by not talking about it the country will remain tribal. Roy Wood Jr., of the Daily Show highlights this:

 As usual, what mainstream media is saying doesn't reflect reality, and the government is being inconsistent when it comes to what constitutes journalism:

 Basically, if you do anything via/with the internet that upsets people with political power, you can be punished: The real danger is that people who don't really understand technology (let alone the Internet) are making these types of rules. So if you plan on being a dissenter or challenger to the status quo, stick to paper. 

  Seymour Hersh is noticing that the CIA (among others) have gone into "cover story" mode: America’s Central Intelligence Agency is constantly running covert operations around the world, and all must have a cover story in case things go badly, as they often do. It is just as important to have an explanation when things go well, as they did in the Baltic Sea last fall. Within weeks of my report that Joe Biden ordered the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines, the agency produced a cover story and found willing takers in the New York Times and two major German publications. By creating a story of deep sea divers and a crew who did not exist, the agency was following protocol, and the story would have been part of the first days of secret planning to destroy the pipelines. The essential element was a mythical yacht ironically named the Andromeda—after the beautiful daughter of a mythical king who was chained to a rock, naked. The cover story was shared with and supported by t...

 Richard Medhurst goes over the tip-toeing and cherry-picking of this story:

  BTW, Wikipedia describes " service academies " as " federal academies for the undergraduate education and training of commissioned officers for the United States Armed Forces ."  Out of 19 federal academies, only five (5) are non-military: The Foreign Service Institute The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center United States Mine Health and Safety Academy The FBI Academy The National Fire Academy There's three main ways someone in "undergraduate education" gets connected to the military: On their own; Via a friend/relative who is already connected; Through recruitment. If they're doing the first two, there was no need to go to the event. 

  Keep in mind: a Police Union Leader said " blood in the streets " -the phrase that was potentially used against Tom Hayden in the movie The Trial of the Chicago 7   ( no, really )- to describe the election of a "progressive" candidate who said that he wants “ a city that’s safer for everyone by investing in what actually works to prevent crime. And that means youth employment, mental health centers, ensuring that law enforcement has the resources to solve and prevent crimes .” In other words: if mayors and governors don't allow police to do as they want, they will just allow crime to happen and people to suffer. 

 Because this whole thing is a theatrical spectacle , the best way to talk about it is through the eyes/words of a comedian:

 Then Biden got elected, Bernie abandoned the issue (in addition to others) and the media told us to be happy because Donald Trump was no longer in the White House or the spotlight. Fast forward to now: the media still can't disconnect from Trump , and American infrastructure is getting worse state -by-state:

 Um, wow: Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s one-time chief of staff Roy McGrath has died after a nationwide, three-week manhunt for him ended Monday in a confrontation with the FBI in Knoxville, Tennessee, according to McGrath’s attorney. McGrath, who served as the top aide to Hogan, a Republican, for a few months during the summer of 2020, faced charges related to an alleged scheme to bilk Maryland out of more than $276,000. McGrath pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was released on bond, the US Marshals Service has said. An arrest warrant had been issued for him in mid-March after he failed to appear for his scheduled trial in Baltimore. McGrath’s death was confirmed on Monday by his attorneys. The FBI confirmed an “agent-involved shooting” early Monday afternoon and said McGrath “sustained injury and was transported to the hospital” but did not provide additional details . “The FBI has confirmed that Roy succumbed to the injuries inflicted earlier in the evening. It is a...

 Sabby's clip highlights this: It also shows that when she's challenged, Williamson gets hostile; not a trait we need in a president. 

 Lest we forget: