Tips for Surviving and Recovering from a Flood

For many parts of the country, the spring snow melt raises the specter of a potential flood in your community. For others, it’s hurricane season. And yet, floods can truly happen at any time, in any place, with the right conditions.

On August 17, 2021, parts of Haywood County located in the mountains of North Carolina, received record-breaking amounts of rain in a short time. In our nearby area, we got about 17 inches in 24 hours. As a result, the rivers and creeks swelled quickly.

Catastrophic flash floods occurred leaving seven people dead, and at least 500 homes  destroyed or damaged so severely it will take a long time to repair them. That is quite a few families with nowhere to go. Plenty of people have tried to stay in flood-ravaged homes as a result.

My husband and I were lucky in that we live on the side of a mountain and not near any rivers or creeks. The second property lower on the road where my dad lives made it through ok, but the neighbors that are not more than a few hundred feet from him had a lot of their outbuildings, fences, and animals swept away.

The worst-hit area was Cruso, NC. That is where the majority of the wrecked homes and all the deaths occurred. It is just over the mountain from us.

I have been through a lot of floods. When I was a child in western Washington, the Skagit River regularly flooded. I went through some 100-year level floods. The entire town of Hamilton, WA, was wrecked regularly.

Typically, the Federal Emergency Management Association responded quickly to help. In the case of the people of western North Carolina, that has not been the case. It took a long time.

The town of Canton, NC after remnants of Tropical Storm Fred dropped 15 inches or more of rain within six hours. The weather forecasts predicted six inches total over a 24-hour period. People were not prepared.

In this article, I am going to talk about risk factors, how to be prepared for floods, what to do during them, and how to clean up and start to rebuild after.

Who is at risk for flooding?

• People in areas that are prone to hurricanes.
• Anyone that lives or works near a river or stream.
• Areas where there is a snowpack.

Flash Flood Risks

A flash flood happens when there is extreme precipitation in a short period. Heavy rain upstream from where you are located can result in catastrophic flooding even if you receive no rain at all in your area.

The water flow at 300 ft. in elevation below where our house sits. This was taken more than an hour after rains had stopped. During the rain, the road was a raging river.

Evacuate when advised

Staying through a flood is dangerous. Unless your house is built for it, then you should not even consider it. Even homes that are well off the ground are not immune to large amounts of debris slamming into them.

If you know the warning signs that a flood is going to happen, try to evacuate early so you can avoid getting trapped in traffic or running water.

Never drive through moving water, keep a glass breaker in your car

A lot of people have been swept away or had their cars totally flooded because they tried to drive through moving water. Water has a lot of force behind it, and there can be debris in it as well. You also need to consider that it can be difficult to determine the depth of moving water. That depth can also change very fast.

At the same time, if you get stuck somewhere or if waters rise rapidly, you may find yourself in water that is moving. If you cannot get out via your door, you will need to break the glass. A glass breaker is an inexpensive tool to keep in your car. A seat belt cutter is often built into glass cutters. Make sure that you have both a glass breaker and a seat belt cutter so you can get out of your car as quickly as possible.

Have a 72-hour kit ready to go

At the bare minimum, you need to have 72 hours of supplies ready to go in case there is an emergency. 72-hour kits are different than bug-out bags because they are intended to get you to a location where you can be better supplied. A hotel room, for example. During the floods I experienced, we always rode it out in an inexpensive hotel. There were always some people we knew in adjoining rooms because basically, our entire town had to evacuate for as long as five days at a time. Of course, school was canceled, or those that were in flooded areas were excused.

Here is what a 72-hour Kit should include:

• Food
• Clothing
• Water and water filter
• Small medical kit
• Hygiene Items
• Rain Suit
• Battery bank for cell phone
• Flashlight
• Multi-Tool

A kit for babies would include the following:

• Formula (A whole container is not a bad idea)
• Diapers
• Clothing
• Blankets
• Medical Kit

Remember that some supplies can be challenging to find during a flooding event. If you really need something, then you need to make sure to pack extra.

Packing the Car

When you are evacuating from a flood, it can be easy to find yourself throwing everything you can into your vehicle. This can lead to delays in evacuation. You need to prioritize what you pack. Here are some basic guidelines.

People and Pets
Leaving enough room for the whole family, including cats and dogs, is the priority.

Essential Supplies
You need items to get through the next week or so while the flooding occurs and the aftermath.

Valuables and important documents

Guns, gold, silver, and jewelry are all examples of items that you can throw in your vehicle—looting after a flood is all too common. If you have the time, either take valuables with you when you evacuate. At the same time, remember that your life and the life of anyone in your family are precious. Don’t risk your life for and the lives of those you love for treasures.

Make copies of important documents and keep them in a waterproof folder or scan them to create a digital archive.

You need a folder of important documents that you can take with you, or you need to make sure you have a digital copy on USB or similar that you can retrieve. Some documents can be very hard to get after a disaster. And sometimes, local law enforcement will not let you return home without proof of residence.

Entertainment

Waiting out a flood at a hotel or shelter can be boring. Back in the early to mid-90s, when I went through the 100-year floods, all we had was an old-school TV. The one advantage was that staying in the “city” meant we got to watch MTV. That was a big deal because we did not have a television in our home while growing up.

Nowadays, things are different. Pack your tablet, e-reader, and laptop. Make sure there are things for kids to do as well.

Set aside some cash

I know it can be hard to set aside money during times where things are increasing in cost at a rapid rate. At the same time, if you live in an area prone to flooding or other disasters, it is wise to set aside some money to pay for lodging, meals, and some entertainment during a disaster such as a flood. While FEMA is known to reimburse the cost of staying in a reasonably priced hotel during a disaster, you still have to pay for it yourself first and then get reimbursed later. This may be a time when using a credit card is what you need to do, although having some money in the bank is always better.

Do not return until it is declared safe

It is always tempting to return to your home as soon as possible. The reality is that you may think that it is safe when it really isn’t. Standing water can take some time to recede. There can be downed power lines, trees in the way, and other hazards. This is one time when you should listen to officials for sure.

Water is very powerful. This is an example of just a moderate rut that was gouged out during the storm.

Be careful when returning to a flooded area

Just because you are allowed to return doesn’t mean you don’t have to be careful. Depending on how much of an impact the flood had on your area, you could face the following hazards.

A flooded interior

A flood can take all your stuff and move it wherever it wants. If you have a two-story home, then maybe the top story is ok, but the bottom may be wrecked and uninhabitable.

Damaged structural integrity

A flood can cause structural damage that makes your home unstable and not safe to sleep in. You need to be careful and check for damage when you return. If a lot of debris has hit your home and is pressing against it, then it may not be safe to occupy.

Wildlife in your home

There was a story on Citizen Free Press after Hurricane Ida that showed a video of a man being killed by an alligator that was in his home. These things can happen. While an alligator is an extreme case, you might find that your home has either dead or alive wildlife in it. Even small animals can be dangerous when caught by surprise, especially when they are hungry, scared, or possibly injured. Adults should inventory the home before allowing kids to enter after any flood. Personally, I would not enter without a firearm or at least something that could be used to hit at something. Chances are animals will want to put distance between you and them, but that is not always the case.

Looting

A lot of law enforcement agencies take a lot of precautions to help prevent looting, but that doesn’t mean it cannot happen.

Even in small communities where everyone seems to know everyone, looting can happen. Outsiders will even make an effort to go to an area to rob from suffering people.

The hardest-hit area in Haywood County during the flood instated a curfew and checkpoints to prevent looting after there were numerous reports of theft and gunshots from those defending their homes. A curfew from 10 pm to 6 am went into effect, and that helped some, but I really think the checkpoints at the main roads prevented a lot of the trouble. This is one case where I think checkpoints were necessary to avoid trouble and to make sure that the only people going in or out were those that lived in Cruso or that were going in to help with clean up and recovery. Everyone is thankful that no one was seriously hurt or killed due to looting.

Mold and Mildew

Those with allergies need to be very careful when returning to flooded homes. Any items that you want to save that got wet need to be dried out as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Mold and mildew can cause severe respiratory problems. When things dry out, there is the problem of fine particulates. River silt can be really nasty. During clean-up, it is important to wear a particulate respirator if you are dealing with dried silt.

Washed-out roads are treacherous or impassable

The main damage we experienced was a washed-out road. Basically, the flood took our roadbed back to what it was 20 years ago. The old original rough bed was exposed, and huge ruts appeared. All the gravel that we spent money on over the years is gone. The video below shows the lower road from the perspective of my cousin’s house. My husband has been working on getting some of the road smoothed out, and we are putting in a large culvert on part of it. The road was never great to start with, but now it is almost impassable in some of the upper sections.

Flooding can cause sinkholes to appear and take out huge sections of pavement. In Haywood County, we have dozens of bridges that were either destroyed or that are now in need of drastic repairs. The bridge that people in our community use was damaged. Some repairs were made, but nothing was done to combat the significant cracks in the main supports. Just for the record, our bridge, like so many, was supposed to be replaced years ago, but the state keeps putting it off.

In Cruso, temporary bridges have been put into place to help people get supplies delivered when needed and provide access to the main road so they can get to town to jobs.

During a flood and the aftermath, you may have to take detours that add a substantial amount of time to your commute.

One of the few flatter sections of road still looked more like a washed-out creek bed than a road.

Flood water is very nasty

Floodwater often contains very high levels of bacteria. If you are near an area with many farms, the water may be particularly filthy. Wading in floodwaters can result in infections. Every little cut or scrape you have on your skin is likely to get infected. Getting floodwater in your mouth can result in severe gastrointestinal illnesses such as e Coli or Salmonella. If you ingest or come into contact with floodwaters, you should get treated. Even just taking a long shower and applying antibiotic ointment to any cuts, scrapes, or scabs is highly advisable.

Do not walk in it or wade unless you absolutely have to.

Document any damage

If you have to make an insurance or FEMA claim, you need to take a lot of pictures and take notes of any damages. Be very thorough. Insurance adjusters or FEMA reps may want to visit your property and make an assessment themselves. The president took a long time to sign the declaration to make it a federal disaster zone. This could happen to you as well. Of course, you do not want to wait to clean things up; thus, documenting the damage is essential.

from Peak Prosperity https://ift.tt/EIZjyga

Can you be phished when logged in via Google/Facebook?

Let’s say you went to a website that allowed you to log in using your Google account:

When you pressed the “Log in with Google” button, you saw this:

You had checked that the pop-up web-browser window is really at Google’s domain (“google.com”) . So, you entered your Google account name (i.e. your Google email), password and 2-step-verification code.

You should be safe and secure right?

Wrong!!!

It is still possible that you were phished. In this hypothetical example, even using 2-step verification could not save you. As I wrote before in “You can be phished even when you see “facebook.com” in address bar.”

What happened was that the pop-up window was actually not a web-browser window. It was a realistic render of a web-browser window within the web page.

Take a look at this video to see how realistic the rendering of the fake web-browser window can be:

 

Recently, someone had released a programming toolkit to create renderings of fake web-browser window for the purpose of phishing. This toolkit makes it extremely easy for miscreants to carry out such phishing attacks.

How can I protect myself?

As I wrote before, a password manager can protect you from such phishing attack. Many password managers (e.g. LastPass, 1Password, iCloud Keychain, and even your web-browser’s built-in password manager) can fill in the password field for you. They will only fill in the correct password when you are at the correct website domain. They cannot be fooled by phishing tricks designed to deceive the human eye.

from Peak Prosperity https://ift.tt/6UPtFbH

Divided We Fall, How Roe v. Wade Will be Used Against Us on Tonight’s “Informed Consent”, May 5, 7 p.m.

It’s Summer 2020 all over again. Instead of race, it’s abortion. The powers that be are spinning up their protest and riot infrastructure once more, while police and everyday citizens must prepare for violence and rage.

Covid. George Floyd. Vaccines. Ukraine. Hyperinflation. And now, abortion.

We’re being played. But, you can survive.

Tonight, Chris focuses on another approaching storm, what it means in the big picture and how we thrive in the turbulence.

Tune in live tonight, May 5, 7 p.m., EST. Here at Peak Prosperity.

from Peak Prosperity https://ift.tt/ZsjIckX

The Great Real Estate Crash of 2022/23

I know it seems quite unlikely to people who have been struggling to buy a home that a real estate crash is possible, but I assure you that one is not only possible but has already started.

How do I arrive at this conclusion? It’s partly from data, part deductive and part inductive.

Also, this isn’t my first rodeo. I was front and center in the 2007/08 real estate crash and was one of the earliest analysts calling for a housing bust. It was just too obvious. NINJA loans, Vegas hairdressers with 19 homes bought with extreme leverage, and the pervasive attitude that real estate could never go down again were all factors.

This time it’s price-to-income ratios that are more extreme than 2007/08, slowing sales, and sudden price corrections that have already begun from “the outside in.” Canada, New Zealand, Australia and multiple small city locations in the U.S. have already experienced steep price corrections very quickly.

Certainly, a part of this is the quick rise in mortgage rates which, truthfully, have a long way to go yet before they will be done rising.

So, my advice is to build cash and wait for better prices if you are in the hunt. They will come.

However, the crash will not be contained to real estate alone. The Federal Reserve is now very publicly committed to reducing its balance sheet by an astonishing $95 billion per month. The data says they have already stopped growing the balance sheet.

Sounds boring and arcane but I assure you this is the single biggest financial event of recent times.
It’s all fun and games on the way up, but devastating on the way down. Particularly for the unprepared.

Stocks and bonds are going to get slaughtered as they owe much of tehri currently lofty prices to all that magical money printing which is now set to go in reverse.

As they say, prices take the escalator up but the elevator down.

Can the Fed manage to run off its balance sheet to this the tune of $95 billion per month without causing the biggest financial asset crash in all of history? Possibly one that ruins economies and tosses us all back into the dark ages? All while food and fuel shortages mount?

It’s doubtful.

It’s equally doubtful that they’d let things run that far before they toss in the towel and resume money printing. Which means the final phase of currency destruction and hyper inflation is what lies in our collective future.

My best guess? This all plays out this calendar year.

The Fed – and all of us by extension – are caught in a box canyon of their own making. There is no path forward, it is blocked. To the left, we have a hard place (crashed financial markets and a resulting Great Depression), and to the right we have a rock (hyperinflation, destruction of the currency system).

The policy errors that brought us here aren’t a couple of years in the making, but several decades. They won’t be easily fixed. It’s a right proper mess, it is.

from Peak Prosperity https://ift.tt/VB1zpbC

Will You Starve to Death This Year?

The economy does not produce energy. It uses energy. It depends on energy. No energy = no economy. It’s a very simple equation really, and one that is easily intuited.

But somehow, we have unserious people making unserious decisions that will have entirely serious consequences and I’d like you to avoid them as much as possible.

Currently, diesel prices in the U.S. and Europe are signaling that serious shortages are now upon the western world. What does this mean?

Well, it simply means that less diesel will be used than before. High prices and actual shortages tend to have that effect. Which products or services will be diminished as a result? That I cannot say. Nobody can because our economy is actually a complex system which means it is inherently unpredictable.

Millions of independent decisions made by producers, consumer and transportation companies will combine into some sort of new behaviors. All we can do is know they are coming and watch them as they emerge.

For example, who could have predicted the sequence of events that caused natural gas to skyrocket in price leading key fertilizer companies all over the world to limit their production, if not shut it down entirely? How was it possible that various governments merely shrugged at this outcome and let it happen without using some of their free-spending habits to shore up this critical, vital component of farm productivity?

It would all be comically bad theater if it weren’t so deadly serious.

This fertilizer shortage – again, expressed as skyrocketing prices because supply, demand and price all balance out – has now translated into critical spring farming applications not being carried out, which in turn will result in massive food shortages and starvation later this year.

How bad will it be? We don’t know yet, but the early estimates place the yield declines at anywhere from 10% (for rice) to as much as 40% for Peru’s output.

To put this in context, note that each year supply and demand are very tightly balanced, and usually match each other with only a very low single-digit percentage variance.

A 10% decline in yields would be devastating. A 40% decline would be apocalyptic. Anything in between and you can pick your own adjective.

Just as bad, and another piece of the puzzle few consider, is that while the weight of the harvest may only be down 10%, the decline in food quality may be as troublesome. Failing to fertilize spring wheat will result in a decline in its protein content leading to a much poorer food stuff.

Add it all up and what do we have? You need to plant a garden. Please. I’ve been saying this for a couple of years now, and I think the fact that global publications are all now mentioning food shortages should be sufficiently motivating to all.

Please. Plant a garden. Even a few planter boxes on a balcony. You can “go in” with someone nearby or join a local Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) group or strike a deal with a local farmer. You won’t regret it.

It’s quite urgent that you do one or several of these things as soon as you can.

In Part II –for members only – I will talk about how the real estate market is poised for the biggest crash of our lifetimes. Far worse than 2008. The central banker’s bubbles are all crashing down and the signs all point to real estate having started its implosion. There are ways for you to protect yourself, but the timing might prove tricky, so we’ll engage the Peak Prosperity hive mind to prospect for the best angles and strategi

from Peak Prosperity https://ift.tt/LSAvOeb

Unpacking the West’s Role and Response to the Russian Invasion

Goodbye COVID, hello Russia. We sure hop from one crisis to the next in a Fourth Turning.

That’s by design. There is little chance they’d get to do (i.e., control) all the things they want to do without a giant Boogieman (thank you, Vladimir Putin).

The Prospect of Global Nuclear War

I hope you are prepared to live in a constant state of fear, that is, until disillusionment sets in. For many of us, that’s already happened. You have three options:

• Become an emotional puppet, your anxiety ratcheted up, down, then channeled into hatred of the scapegoat du jour. How much easier it is to blame innocent Russians, even here in America, now that we’ve had practice on neighbors, friends and family that opted out of mRNA?
• Withdraw from the narrative, immersing yourself in distractions of the:
  1. Mindful variety (children, work, academics, sports, spirituality, creativity, hobbies)
  2. Mindlessness (reality TV, the metaverse, video games, drugs, alcohol, and porn…)
• Respond with purpose: Unpacking the narrative, building, and preparing for what lies ahead!

I took a call from Chris last month and was (surprisingly) embarrassed to say my kids and I had spent weeks working on an elaborate treehouse. There’s no bunker, no well, no solar, no fruit trees, no real protection from the elements. Just a good old-fashioned treehouse, second story still in progress.

Meanwhile, we have no garden. No food grows from the work of our hands on this three-acre property, despite nagging anxiety, and much in the way of other preparations.

The time commitment, quality hours spent with the kids outside, and cost involved would likely match that of a productive garden. The long-term benefit, resilience, food security, the skill-building and know-how of a garden would smash the treehouse to smithereens, no contest.

As I heard myself say it aloud, the illogic was suddenly stark. Then it hit me: I needed the distraction, to spend time truly “carefree”, unplugged from the madness, turning the clock back to a simpler time.

The shifting narrative

About three weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine (publication on January 29th), we postulated that the biggest lesson taught to world leaders by the 20th century on the continents of Europe and Asia was to avoid World War III. Plotting sociopaths do not aspire to world peace, but-

“They do understand (a) the uncertainty of outcome (i.e., should there be a conflict, can they maintain power throughout?) and (b) regardless of who wins, wars that need roman numerals have an uncanny ability to destroy capital. What good, to dominate scorched earth through nuclear winter?”

A recent simulation of nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia by Princeton University shows 90M deaths in just the first few hours:

That says nothing of involvement by (nuclear armed) China, France, the UK, Pakistan, India, Israel, or North Korea. The map in the video looks more like annihilation of the Northern Hemisphere.

That’s a lot of capital destroyed, and an indiscriminate loss of population – including elites, God forbid – among the very powers leaning into the engagement. Who benefits from that?

The deterrent that’s worked so far is “mutually assured destruction”.

But in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Wests’ response – crippling economic sanctions – the world now finds itself in a precarious position: Defcon 2. So, was our summation amiss?

Perhaps.

The events of the last two months (even going back nearly 10 years when the USA staged a coup of Russian-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych) seem engineered by rabid dogs drooling over the possibility of war with Russia, nuclear holocaust and strategic alliances be damned.

How can we explain it? Two possibilities come to mind.

Explanation #1

The Deep State – including the center of mass for both political parties, the Military Industrial Complex, all the TLAs and NGOs, the captured Neocons and their puppets in Europe – are so full of hubris that they believe world wars only happen on other continents. Certainly, that was true before. America (USA! USA!!) can win another decisive victory akin to World War II, right?

That says they know only the playbook of the last ~75 years, a combination of clandestine operations, sport wars, regime changes, the arming of local resistance, and sending taxpayer money through the pockets of lobbyists and into defense contractors that stuff congressional brokerage accounts.

Certainly, this possibility can’t be ruled out.

While Hillary Clinton, perfect spokesmodel, describes the invasion as “totally unprovoked”, the push for Ukraine to join NATO – led by the West – reached a fevered pitch leading up to it.

February 14, 2022 – Deutsche Welle (10 days before invasion)

Ukraine reaffirms desire to join NATO after envoy comments
“NATO membership remains an absolute priority for Ukraine, a spokesman for Volodymyr Zelenskyy said as Ukraine’s UK ambassador backtracked on comments that Kyiv was “flexible” on the issue. Ukraine’s pro-NATO course is a key issue for Moscow. Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO and the European Union remain an absolute priority, a spokesman for Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday. The country’s Foreign Ministry took it a step further, saying its security would be guaranteed by Ukraine’s immediate admission to the US-dominated alliance.”

February 20, 2022 – CNN Newsroom (four days before invasion)

VP Kamala Harris endorses this view:
QUESTION: Madam Vice President, a question about something else that President Zelensky said yesterday relating to NATO: he seemed to question the sincerity of allies, including the U.S., in terms of desire to admit Ukraine to NATO. Is there any reaction to those pretty pointed comments from the President? And was that something discussed with Chancellor Scholz and other leaders? …. Was it surprising to you, though, that he planted that flag so firmly on that issue — given that that’s obviously Putin’s main demand, is that he gets some sort of guarantee, swearing that Ukraine won’t be admitted — that Zelensky wants to make it clear that they do want to enter the organization?

HARRIS: Let me start by saying I appreciate and admire President Zelensky’s desire to join NATO. And one of, again, the founding principles of NATO is that each country must have the ability — unimpaired, unimpeded — to determine their own future, both in terms of their form of government and, in this case, whether they desire to be a member of NATO. And I’ll put that in context, because the obvious is also the point; which is that and therefore no other country can tell anyone whether they should or should not join NATO. That should be their independent choice. That is the point of sovereignty. So, I respect President Zelensky’s desire to be a member of NATO. NATO is a membership. It is about nations coming together as a group, making decisions collectively around, again, principles and what will be, then, the conditions and the standards of membership. And so that is the process. It doesn’t happen overnight. No one country can say, “I want to be and therefore I will be.” And no one country can say, “You can’t be.” And isn’t that at the heart of the very issue we’re presented with in terms of Russia’s aggression or stated aggression, toward Ukraine? …I’m not going to second guess President Zelensky’s desires for his own country. But I will say this, let us recognize the position he is in right now. His country is virtually surrounded by Russian troops. I believe he came here — this is my belief, based on just my own assessment and speculation — he came here to make a very clear point that he does not stand alone. In fact, I told him in our meeting, “The United States stands with you,” because we do, as do this community of allies and partners.

Unprovoked, Hillary, is a bit of a stretch. Look at your own campaign defeat, which you blamed on Russian tampering. Meanwhile, the West has been provoking Russa for decades with the expansion of NATO, despite promises by Secretary of State James Baker’ in 1990 “not one inch Eastward”

Clinton, not missing an opportunity gorge on sociopathic hubris, likened this opportunity to the Soviet’s 1980 invasion of Afghanistan. By funneling arms, training, and funds to local freedom fighters, we can bleed them out slowly, weakening their military and economy with a lengthy, losing campaign.

Despite cackling her way through a reference to “unintended consequences”, the Deep State (as represented by Hillary) seems to be advocating a repeat of the strategy that ultimately gave us Al Qaeda, 9/11, and the War on Terror. Ah, the once-noble Osama Bin Laden.

It’s as if they cannot see past their own egos.

The U.S. Government no longer tries to learn from either our own experience, or that of others, repeating the Soviet experience in Afghanistan 20 years later with a 2001 invasion that lasted twice as long at about 17 times the cost (approximately US $115 billion versus $2 trillion in 2019 dollars).

Now they’re ready to wind it up all over again.

If we can avoid nuclear holocaust, does that mean the Azov Battalion may someday fly planes into buildings, and then we’ll send the children of today to invade, occupy, and nation-build in Ukraine until we bail in a hurry after bleeding out $52 trillion in treasure ($2T, 40 years later, at 8.5% inflation)?

Whether it’s war they want, Biden seems to think so.

He’s the most rabid of dogs, senile and drooling, calling Putin a “war criminal”, demanding he be removed from power (as if the Russian power vacuum would quickly be filled by Mr. Rogers…), telling US soldiers they will soon be in Ukraine facing down tanks with Ukrainian housewives.

March 25, 2022 – New York Post

Biden Says U.S. Troops will be in Ukraine in Apparent Gaffe
President Biden told US troops in Poland that they will witness the bravery of Ukrainians fighting off Russia’s invasion “when you’re there” — making a significant gaffe after he previously said the US must stay out of the European conflict to avoid triggering “WWIII.” Biden made the remark while addressing members of the Army’s 82nd Airborne after lunching on pizza and posing for selfies with dozens of paratroopers at a mess hall in Rzeszow, Poland. “You’re going to see when you’re there, and some of you have been there, you’re gonna see — you’re gonna see women, young people standing in the middle in front of a damned tank just saying, ‘I’m not leaving, I’m holding my ground,’” Biden said.

These are the statements of a man – senile or not – who expects to lead America into war with Russia.

In summary, the first possibility is that the powers-that-be are using the Ukrainian invasion to try to bleed Russia dry and advocate regime change to remove Putin, the risks of nuclear annihilation be damned. They see this is as a realistic goal which has benefits outweighing the costs.

That’s the story as recently as last Monday from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken after their recent visit to Kyiv.

Photo source: Time

April 25th, 2022 – Time

Blinken Austin Visit Kyiv

American Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday after a secrecy-shrouded visit to Kyiv that Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy is committed to winning his country’s fight against Russia and that the United States will help him achieve that goal. “He has the mindset that they want to win, and we have the mindset that we want to help them win,” Austin told reporters in Poland, the day after the three-hour face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy in Ukraine… “The first step in winning is believing that you can win,” Austin said. “We believe that they can win if they have the right equipment, the right support, and we’re going to do everything we can … to ensure that gets to them.” The trip by Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was the highest-level American visit to the capital since Russia invaded in late February. They told Zelenskyy and his advisers that the U.S. would provide more than $300 million in foreign military financing and had approved a $165 million sale of ammunition. “We had an opportunity to demonstrate directly our strong ongoing support for the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people,” Blinken said. “This was, in our judgment, an important moment to be there, to have face-to-face conversations in detail.” Blinken said their meeting with the Ukrainians lasted for three hours for wide ranging talks, including what help the country needs in the weeks ahead. “The strategy that we’ve put in place, massive support for Ukraine, massive pressure against Russia, solidarity with more than 30 countries engaged in these efforts is having real results,” Blinken said. “When it comes to Russia’s war aims, Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding. Russia has sought as its principal aim to totally subjugate Ukraine, to take away its sovereignty, to take away its independence. That has failed.” Asked about what the U.S. sees as success, Austin said that “we want to see Ukraine remain a sovereign country, a democratic country able to protect its sovereign territory, we want to see Russia weakened to the point where it can’t do things like invade Ukraine.”

Coming from these two, and echoing the Hillary Clinton narrative, perhaps I shouldn’t look for an alternative explanation. But is there another possibility? Join us for Explanation #2, also known as Part II…

from Peak Prosperity https://ift.tt/fdNMZYX

Revisiting the Subversion of America, in Light of Ukraine.

That Biden wants regime change in Russia – or thinks he is supposed to want it – likely tells us very little. We can say only one thing with near certainty: Biden is in control of nothing.

The apparatus of State – the string pullers that got the Democratic party to fall in line behind him to prevent a Sanders-Trump election – they would not let Biden make meaningful decisions.

Who among you would let this man make important decisions? If Biden was your father or grandfather, would you trust him to live independently? Of course not. They cannot even let him speak candidly to the press or public without sending in the Easter Bunny to run interference.

Joseph Biden is quite obviously not in charge of the Executive Branch of government. Whomever, or whatever hierarchy is running the show, that much is kept hidden from “we the people”.

A secret, shadow government… how far have they strayed from the Constitution, democracy, and the rule of law? The U.S. Government is no longer “of the people, by the people, and for the people”.

Further, should they want to keep their plans quiet, they can’t reveal anything of significance to the President, for risk he’d spill the beans.

When they need a signature, they send in the Easter Bunny with ink and paper.

All this is not to disparage Joe Biden – the man is in the throes of dementia. He is being played as a mere stooge. Surely, he would prefer spending his golden years playing bingo in a home somewhere.

We call attention to the absurdity only to reinforce that the whole thing is a charade, a con, a hustle, the big flimflam, and we, dear friends, are (intended to be) the marks.

In both our last piece and our first for PeakProsperity.com, we explained – as readers here likely know – that the global monetary system needs a controlled demolition. There is too much unpayable debt and derivatives, phantom wealth teetering on an unanchored mess of fiat.

In addition, unlike resets – or debt jubilees – of times’ past, we cannot wipe out the bad debts and continue growing exponentially from the same or similar GDP base.

Resource scarcity – peak everything, from oil, to chemicals, topsoil, metals, and minerals – prevents that, either now or in the future.

Knocking up on limits to growth, we need to reset the very system itself, away from a debt-based Ponzi that requires constant growth, or reduce populations and/or consumption by force or by choice.

We suggested The World Economic Forum seems behind a subversion of America, to downsize consumption for the unwashed masses – that’s us – without unleashing mass destruction of capital by way of WWIII. We either got that last part wrong (because we’re headed for WWIII), or this is a dog and pony show (with very real costs – human and economic) to bring about their stated aims.

The West’s response to the invasion

As outlined in Part I, it seems fairly obvious the West provoked Putin into invading Ukraine.

But Putin’s response to Western sanctions was entirely predictable. Anyone watching (or listening to) him over the last dozen years knows he’s been de-dollarizing in preparation for this very moment.

July 19, 2018 – Business Insider

Russia is dumping US debt and buying gold instead
Russian ownership of US Treasury bonds dropped from $96.1 billion in March (2018) to an 11-year low of $14.9 billion in May, the latest Treasury figures show. Elvira Nabiullina, the head of the Central Bank of Russia, reportedly said cutting the stake was the result of an assessment of financial, economic, and geopolitical risks. Russia has been buying gold as it sells off US bonds, recently overtaking China in ownership of the commodity, now at a value of $80.5 billion. Russia has sharply reduced its holdings of United States Treasury bonds, with Russian ownership recently moving to an 11-year low. Russia’s ownership of US bonds declined from $96.1 billion in March to $48.7 billion in April and then to just $14.9 billion in May, according to the most recent data available, the Russian news website RT and the finance blog Wolf Street reported this week. On Tuesday, the US Treasury released a list of the top 33 investors in US debt. Russia was among the top 10 in 2010 with ownership of $176.3 billion but in May ranked below Chile. The country began unloading its US debt as President Barack Obama raised sanctions against Russia in 2011 and has since intensified its sales.

The US and European subsequent freezing of Russian central bank reserves telegraphed to the world “U.S. Treasury obligations, Dollars, and Euros, these are not safe. Begin trading them now for other things that you can hold in your own custody.” Like gold (or Bitcoin, consequently).

Predictably, Putin – the world’s leader in natural resources – is requiring only Rubles, Gold, or Bitcoin from unfriendly nations in exchange for those resources.

April 2, 2022 – MarketWatch

Russia Just Made a Case for Owning Gold and Nobody Noticed
Here’s a strong argument for adding some gold bullion to your retirement portfolio right now, alongside those stocks and bonds. And it comes courtesy of Pavel Zavalny, the head of the Russian parliament. Zavalny spoke last week on the subject of all the economic and financial sanctions being levied against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Most of the coverage of his remarks implied that Russia might respond to the sanctions by switching from U.S. dollars to “bitcoin” for international trade. But a look at the transcript being reported shows something quite different. Zavalny added bitcoin only at the end of a long list of other currency and trading options, almost as an afterthought. Much more interesting was Zavalny’s main point, even though it has been mostly overlooked. If other countries want to buy oil, gas, other resources or anything else from Russia, he said, “let them pay either in hard currency, and this is gold for us, or pay as it is convenient for us, this is the national currency.” In other words, Russia is happy to accept your national currency — yuan, lira, ringgits or whatever — or rubles, or “hard currency,” and for them that no longer means U.S. dollars, it means gold. “The dollar ceases to be a means of payment for us, it has lost all interest for us,” Zavalny added, calling the greenback no better than “candy wrappers.” What will this mean? Maybe nothing. Or maybe a lot. Especially if Russia’s lead is followed by countries such as China, India and others — countries that may not welcome Washington’s ability to control the global financial system through its monopoly power over the global reserve currency.

And what else would Putin do if his U.S. Dollars and Euros are no longer money good? These are a lot of resources that will no longer trade in dollars. From Grant Williams recent piece, “Putin on the Ritz”.

Adjusted for population, the per capita numbers are even more favorable to Russia, $525,200 of natural resources per Russian versus $136,300 per American citizen.

InternationalMan.com

Here’s the Biggest Geopolitical Factor the Markets Haven’t Priced in…Yet

Russia is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas, lumber, wheat, fertilizer, and palladium (a crucial component in cars). It is the second-largest exporter of oil and aluminum and the third-largest exporter of nickel and coal. Russia is a major producer and processor of uranium for nuclear power plants. Enriched uranium from Russia and its allies provides electricity to 20% of the homes in the US. Aside from China, Russia produces more gold than any other country, accounting for more than 10% of global production. These are just a handful of examples. There are many strategic commodities that Russia dominates. In short, Russia is not just an oil and gas powerhouse but a commodity powerhouse. Europe cannot survive without Russian commodities. Taking Russian commodities off of global markets would cause an across-the-board price shock that would decimate financial markets, banks, and practically every industry.

Either the West was so incompetent not to have seen this coming (which seems unlikely, given the rest of us did), or it’s a coordinated, intentional attack on the U.S. dollar. And that’s exactly what they – led by the WEF – need to knock down American consumption, and our ability to wage war.

As we stated previously:

People often say the might of the U.S. Military backs the USD, and to an extent, that’s true. When tinpot dictators like Saddam Hussein or Muammar Gaddafi begin transacting oil exports in Euros rather than U.S. Dollars, the reaction is swift, painful, and definitive. In that sense, there’s truth to the statement. At a higher order, the only thing backing any form of money – USD, Yuan, Euros, even Bitcoin or gold – is confidence. Confidence is the demand side of the only chart that matters: Supply and Demand. When confidence is lost, demand for dollars versus other goods drops like a stone, velocity skyrockets, and all those trillions of dollars flood home like a tsunami, overwhelming prices. When the US Military can’t buy a barrel of oil on the open market with U.S. Dollars and is instead forced to transact in gold, Bitcoin, Yuan, (Rubles) or Swiss Francs, suddenly our ability to move beans, marines, bullets, fighter jets, warships, and tanks all over the globe becomes just a bit more hampered.

Putin’s motivation… Does it matter?

Some are no doubt enraged that I might suggest our leadership is captured, acting in the interest of a global consortium to reduce the standard of living for every American (except the ones at the top – Bill Gates, Larry Fink, Mark Zuckerberg, Marc Bennioff, and the WEF’s merry gang of world-improvers).

They argue that Putin is the madman, Putin invaded Ukraine, and there is no justification for his actions. However, please understand I am not defending or justifying the actions of Vladimir Putin.

On Putin’s motivation, the expansion of NATO to Russia’s borders is problematic for him, but if you believe the US Dollar will eventually implode on itself anyway (as I, and likely Putin, did), what’s the rush? Like all wars, it’s likely a resource grab, and Putin was opportunistic in his timing.

Hat-tip to Doomberg for sharing Dr. Pippa’s wonderful Substack:

The High North
When Russia built troops and material up around Ukraine, people thought it was a bluff. I argued that it wasn’t. Now there is a build-up around the Baltics, the Scandis, and the Arctic. In my view, this is similarly not a bluff. For those who think Russia can’t afford to keep the war up, try to remember that Putin views the Arctic as a pile of cash. Commodity prices are high and the Arctic represents an almost unlimited treasure trove of commodities, especially black gold. The US Geological Survey estimates of Arctic Resources here: 90b barrels of oil, 1.670 trillion cubic feet of gas, and vastly more.

Perhaps Putin got the nod from his friends at the WEF, conspiring with Xi Jinping in China that now is the time for a coordinated takedown; the US is struggling with inflation, a leadership vacuum, a puppet government, underinvestment in energy, war fatigue, and a massive asset bubble in search of a pin.

What better time? Ron DeSantis might be President in a few short years, which at the very least would be a different set of circumstances where the USA is more nationalist than globalist.

China Lockdowns: Shortages! Inflation!!

China, meanwhile, is salivating.

As America stumbles, China sees itself as lead dog. Playing the long game, they have to appear neutral, but stand at ready to suck down all those ‘unwanted’ resources from Russia.

At the same time, perhaps Xi wonders, how can we appear neutral while contributing to the subversion of America? How can we accelerate the collapse? COVID lockdowns, of course!

COVID lockdowns on both continents are the biggest cause of our supply chain disruptions, and coupled with our own expansion of the money supply, they are a recipe for massive, exploding price inflation like nitroglycerin, one even the moneychangers at the Fed cannot fully control with interest rates.

When shelves go empty, prices shoot the moon, no matter the supply or price of money. Shanghai, the world’s largest port, has been on lockdown for four weeks.

April 17, 2022 – L.A. Times

China’s Economic Juggernaut Hits a Roadblock
WASHINGTON — The stories from Shanghai, a city of 25 million entering its fourth week of COVID-19 lockdown, have been harrowing. Millions have been confined to their homes, their movements monitored by pandemic police in white hazmat suits. Almost 300,000 people who’ve tested positive or had contact with someone positive have been forcibly moved to spartan quarantine centers. Videos on social media have shown people fighting over food or screaming for help from their apartment windows: “Save us! We don’t have enough to eat!”… Still, the government’s response has been total lockdown… In Greater Shanghai, China’s economic capital, workers cannot reach their jobs. Construction projects have halted. Assembly lines for Tesla, Volkswagen, Apple and other major brands have suspended operations. Supply chains are in chaos. Truck and train traffic have plunged. And according to unofficial reports, hundreds of container ships are stuck unloaded in the region’s ports. The problems aren’t confined to Shanghai. Japan’s Nomura Bank reported last week that 45 Chinese cities, with almost 400 million inhabitants total, were in some form of lockdown.

The COVID story – especially the Omicron variant – warrants reaction nothing like this. If America is to be brought to its knees at the will of globalists, they almost certainly must be in bed with China.

Conclusion

The string-pullers are either (a) driving us into WWIII, or (b) this is a coordinated, global takedown of the dollar, a controlled demolition of the US-centric financial system (that could lead to global famine).

If those running the Biden administration really want war, I would expect they’d be doing a better job preparing for it. Why else would they empty the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

April 21, 2022 – The White House

Statement from Jen Psaki
President Biden is using all the tools at his disposal to address Putin’s Price Hike at the pump. Today, the Department of Energy announced that it has awarded contracts for all of the initial thirty million barrels it put up for sale as part of the emergency release of 1 million barrels per day in oil for the next 6 months. This is an important step to addressing the supply shortage and the Putin Price Hike Americans are facing. These sales will continue. And because of round-the-clock diplomatic efforts, our partners and Allies have committed to releasing an additional 60 million barrels.

At 556 million barrels, the release of 182 million over six months will drain 1/3 of the current capacity. The Biden team is either not planning for war with Russia, or setting America up to lose.

Famine, too, how convenient?

What better a way to bring world populations down than to take 30% of the world’s wheat offline, and send food, energy, and fertilizer prices soaring through shortages?

Everyone understands by now that Russia is a large energy producer, but what many don’t know is that when they sit down at the dinner table at night, the entire supply chain that gets them that dinner involves Russia and Ukraine to a frightening degree. Our current globally integrated food supply system and mass food production cannot exist without, among other things, fertilizer. This includes three main categories: nitrogen, potash, and phosphorus fertilizers. Potash is a potassium-rich salt fertilizer that enhances plant quality and is responsible for 20% of global fertilizer demand. Together with Belarus, Russia has a 40% market share in global production and export of potash fertilizer. What OPEC+ is to the oil market, Belarus and Russia are to the potash market. The two monopolies in this space are Uralkali and Belaruskali, with the Belarusian Potash Company being the latter’s export arm. With 16.5% of the nitrogen fertilizer market, Russia may not appear to be that dominant until we look at the key ingredient (ammonium nitrate) and then we realize… oh, yes it is. Why? Russia holds a whopping 66% of the global market share in the production of this chemical, and without it there’s no nitrogen fertilizer. All this matters a great deal for those of us who like to eat, because last month the Russkies imposed an export ban on the ammonium nitrate.

April 27, 2022 – Doomberg’s “Diesel for Dinner”

Serious question: Would you do anything differently if your aim was to send the global economy into a tailspin, reduce populations, downsize America in power, influence, liberty, property rights, consumption, and our ability to wage war, then usher in a Great Reset, to “build back better”?

It’s either by design, or incompetence of a magnitude truly unfathomable. The simplest of alternatives is design. How else do we get to a future like they’ve predicted for 2030 in just eight years, where you (we) own nothing, Western values are broken, and America no longer leads the world?

But who in their right mind would take credit for this debacle? No one, of course! This is why they need a Boogieman (Putin) and a Stooge (Biden). The time is now, and the crisis upon us.

The WEF telegraphed cyber pandemics are likely next on the menu…

from Peak Prosperity https://ift.tt/Y38QTEy