bits of truth leak out

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176369/tomgram%3A_engelhardt%2C_seeing_our_wars_for_the_first_time/#more

Shattered Skies

It's pretty clear now that the world is headed straight down the toilet. No real surprise there. Humanity can't grapple with the major issues facing it. In the past, technological or agricultural innovation may have saved the day, but I don't see that happening this time around. For one, we are getting less intelligent. Evolution is playing the darker side of its hand and rewarding those who reproduce more. Our education systems, designed to produce factory workers and not free thinkers, is working all too well. All of our innovators are flocking to design the next big useless app, while our society decays into a molten mess of cell phone addiction and advertising. In three generations we have lost our ability to be good stewards of the earth, forgetting how to grow our own food, forgetting self-reliance, wasting so much that it is truly mind-boggling. The current system is so wildly unsustainable that its reign-bearers were forced to create whole media industries to misinform the public and turn them into little more than cattle.

People are starting to wake up to this, but there's not much they can do about it. They're too invested in the system to wish for its end. With the fall of every empire comes an excruciating reckoning, a dark age, that lasts a very long time. People talk about corrections, well, this "correction" will be quite devastating and its intensity will only intensify the longer it takes to occur. If we wait long enough, humanity may not even survive.

That's why I wholly endorse Trump 2020. No other single factor is going to speed the complete collapse of global capitalism than another Trump administration. At the very least, the number of people waking up to reality is higher when he is around.

I'm not saying, in any way, that I like Trump. I detest the man. I think he is the pure embodiment of the worst qualities of man. Furthermore, it's obvious that his "populist" message is a fraud. He never has and never will care about the little guy. He's using this as a podium to line his pockets, and he'll probably move to China once all is said and done. They'll open their arms to him, because he is basically their best advocate.

I suppose that's the hypocrisy in it all. I know the system needs to fall, but honestly I've been spoiled by the system. If it holds out, I could retire at 50 and be done! But I think we all need to start asking ourselves what the true cost of our comfort is. Certainly it's destroying the rest of the world, and has been for a very long time. It's also destroying our children's future. Seriously, what is going to be left for them? Will there even be an economy once the Earth is stripped bare of its resources?

There's not going to be much left for my kids. Much less their kids. It's probably time to teach them the things that we have all forgotten, like growing your own food. Hunting. Living off the land. Better yet, it's time we all started doing these things and stop spending all of our time earning money that won't be worth anything after the impending collapse.

How much electricity do you really need? And I mean need in the sense of survival? Very little. Perhaps enough to run one fridge and a hot plate. You don't need lighting. You don't need a cell phone, a TV, washing machine, dryer, hot water heater, etc....etc.....etc. What you really need is to take back control of your life instead of outsourcing it.

You could build a small home with everything you need for $15-$20k. Some land in West Virginia, <$10k per acre. You only need a couple of acres to grow everything you need on a vegetarian diet. Grow as much of your own food as you can, like our grandparents did. Consider it your own victory garden. Buy or hunt the meat you want. Better yet, raise some goats or trade veggie harvest for meat. Would it be an easy life? Hell no. But you would be free from a lot of unnecessary garbage that is killing both you and the planet.

My meager early retirement would more than cover it. As would part time work. Wish I could get to it now. The best I can do right now is go as off-grid as possible and use as few resources as possible. Insulate the house. Install solar panels. Electric car. At least for another 10 years until I'm early retirement eligible. I wonder if there'll be a world left to retire in by then......

the truth ain't pretty, friend....

https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/

I think their estimates are low.

The truth is out there

UFOs over Ireland, east coast, west coast, scientists saying that extra-solar system objects are alien probes.  

All these stories made me go back and watch the Anasazi X-files trilogy of episodes.  In the blessing way episode, there is a great intro replicated in this graphic.

Have we started the fire?

Yes......the FIRE rises!

BBC - Capital - FIRE: The movement to live frugally and retire decades early
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20181101-fire-the-movement-to-live-frugally-and-retire-decades-early