PEACE: Why did the great nations of Europe essentially commit suicide in 1914-18?

Sunday, October 19, 2025

https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/the-end-of-britain-france-and-germany?publication_id=1119676&post_id=176336559&isFreemail=true&r=3snn7d&triedRedirect=true

The End of Britain, France, and Germany
On the suicidal tendencies of the great nations of Europe.
John Leake
Oct 16, 2025

*** begin quote ***

Why did the great nations of Europe essentially commit suicide in 1914-18?

The answer, it seems to me, is the marked tendency of any society’s political class to be captured by interests and ideologies that have little to do with the interests of the people they govern. Apart from bankers and arms manufacturers, the Great War of 1914-18 served no one who lived in the warring countries. On the contrary, it sent millions of their young men—including their most educated young men—to be machine gunned and gassed in the trenches.

*** end quote ***

Gibbon said, “History is indeed little more than a catalog of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.”

And, it seems that humanity is incapable of learning from it.  And, organizing to prevent an out-of-touch class of parasites in Gooferment from becoming isolated from “the great unwashed” of “We, The Sheeple”.

Here’s some suggestions:

  • All politicians and bureaucrats don’t get greater than poverty level.
  • Select “representatives” at random.
  • Completely decentralize elections to street level.  All the neighbors on a street can vote and select a represntative.  “Streets” can be built up into “neighborhoods”.  
  • For the Federal Gooferment, repeal the Seventeenth Amendment And go back to State legislatures picking Senators.  (Just like the Dead Old White Guys wanted them to be the State’s Ambassadors.
  • No Federal laws or actions on people.  That belongs to the States.  No federal income tax; fund the Federal Gooferment by tariffs, excise taxes, and contributions from the States.
  • Strict Age and Term Limits on EVERY Gooferment politician and bureaucrat.
  • END THE FED.  And go back to using only gold and silver as money.  End fractional reserve banking.  (Hard to spend for war and welfare when you can’t print money stealing wealth by inflation!)

That should get the USA back on the correct path.

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SECURITY: Germany may dictate no end-to-end encryption

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

https://digitalchew.com/2025/10/05/chat-control-could-break-encryption-warns-signal/

Chat Control Could Break Encryption, Warns Signal
Reginald Edward
October 5, 2025

*** begin quote ***

Key Takeaways

  • Signal’s president warns Germany that Chat Control could destroy user privacy.
  • Chat Control forces apps to scan messages before encryption.
  • The plan would weaken secure chats and allow mass surveillance.
  • Signal says it will leave the EU if Chat Control becomes law.
  • Germany’s vote on Chat Control could shape global privacy rules.

*** end quote ***

And what happens when one Gooferment does it —  whatever the particular “it” is, other Gooferments think “what a great idea” and do it too.

Argh!

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HISTORICAL: Did we just find “first Christian north of the Alps”?

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

https://nypost.com/2024/12/16/science/ancient-inscription-is-new-evidence-of-early-christianity/

Ancient engraved amulet could ‘turn back history’ of Christianity, experts claim
By Asia Grace 
Published Dec. 16, 2024, 1:39 p.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

Just ahead of the holidays, archeologists have “digitally unrolled” a 1,800-year-old silver amulet to decipher an inscription that’s being hailed as the oldest known evidence of Christianity in Europe. 

Authentic evidence of pure Christianity north of the Alps has never existed before now. And the findings have the potential to change holy history forever. 

*** and ***

Researchers consider him the “first Christian north of the Alps,” and speculate that there could be more historical, untapped Christian burial sites around Europe. 

“This extraordinary find affects many areas of research and will keep science busy for a long time to come,” said Ina Hartwig, Frankfurt’s head of culture and science. 

“This affects archaeology as well as religious studies, philology¹ and anthropology,” she continued. “Such a significant find here in Frankfurt is really something extraordinary.”

*** end quote ***

I was intrigued by the concept of “digitally unrolled”.  I can’t imagine how they did this.  With something like an x ray?  I would have enjoyed a follow up on this concept. 

It impressive when technology rolls out new dikw (i.e., data, information, knowledge, wisdom) for us.

p.s., Had to look up that word  — philology!

# – # – # – # – #

philology¹ The study of language, especially in a philosophical manner and as a science; the investigation of the laws of human speech, the relation of different tongues to one another, and historical development of languages; linguistic science. 

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DISCOURAGING:Here’s a crime that I hope doesnt come to the USA

Thursday, November 7, 2024

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/27/europe/criminals-atm-robberies-europe-intl/index.html

Criminals are looting millions from ATMs in Europe. Here’s why Germany is a prime target
By Sophie Tanno, CNN
Updated 5:58 AM EDT, Sun October 27, 2024

*** begin quote ***

In Germany – Europe’s largest economy – thieves have been blowing up ATMs at a rate of more than one per day in recent years. In a country where cash is still a prevalent payment method, the thefts can prove incredibly lucrative, with criminals pocketing hundreds of thousands of euros in one attack.

Europol has been cracking down on the robberies, carrying out large cross-border operations aimed at taking down the highly-organized criminal gangs behind them.

Earlier this month, authorities from Germany, France and the Netherlands arrested three members of a criminal network who have been carrying out attacks on cash machines using explosives, Europol said in a statement. 

*** and ***

A decline in ATM machines in the Netherlands and the introduction of enhanced security measures to crack down on the crime – including the installation of glue protection systems that can render bank notes worthless – has also led Dutch criminals to look further afield, according to Reuters, citing Dutch police. 

*** end quote ***

Never underestimate the inginuity of rats — either the four legged or two legged kind.  Like that meme about “making stuff idiot proof and the Universe makes smarter idiots”.  I guess we always had “highwaymen” robbing trains and stagecoaches.  At least now with ₿itcoin, there is nothing physical to steal.

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INTERESTING: Where is Africa, Europe, South America, and the USA actually?

Friday, November 4, 2022

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/1e7f582d478a4b99bd0c70fffeac4c8b?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

Misconceptions
Some common geographic mental misplacements
John Nelson

*** begin quote ***

So what are some tantalizing locational mistakes that seemingly come pre-installed in American students’ minds that geography teachers wrestle to overcome?

So glad you asked! Here is a cherry-picked handful of examples that we’ll dive into…

  • The northiness of Africa
  • The northiness of Europe
  • The eastiness of South America

*** end quote ***

I think I knew these but it was good to get a feel for EXACTLY where these places are.

How does your mental map square with reality?

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ECONOMICS: Energy is critical to life as we know it and it’s not “free”

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2022/10/03/joe_bidens_energy_crisis_856943.html

Joe Biden’s Energy Crisis
By Rupert Darwall
October 03, 2022

*** begin quote ***

The West is experiencing its third energy crisis.

*** and ***

This time is different. The third energy crisis was not sparked by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies or by Iranian ayatollahs. It was self-inflicted, a foreseeable outcome of policy choices made by the West: Germany’s disastrous Energiewende that empowered Vladimir Putin to launch an energy war against Europe; Britain’s self-regarding and self-destructive policy of “powering past coal” and its decision to ban fracking; and, as Joseph Toomey shows in his powerful essay, President Biden’s war on the American oil and gas industry.

*** end quote ***

The USA went from a net exporter to a net importer all to be “green”.  Like “climate change” is a real thing!  And, if it was, that it’s not driven by China and India.

We have not built a gasoline refinery in the USA since the 70’s (or so I’m told).

This “electric car” stupidity is just beyond comprehension.

Hopefully the voters can start taking back control.

31T$ of debt should be a huge wake up call.

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MONEY: “Inside Money” standard and the “Outside Money” reality

Monday, March 14, 2022

https://tomluongo.me/2022/03/13/ins-outs-whose-money-is-it-anyway/

MONEY, POLITICS
The Ins and Outs of Whose Money is it Anyway?
Date: March 13, 2022Author: Tom Luongo

*** begin quote ***

Today’s “Inside Money” standard, known colloquially as the Dollar Reserve standard, is actually what I like to call “Milton Friedman’s Nightmare.” It is nothing more than a system of competitively devalued and inflated debt-based scrips running around drinking each other’s milkshakes until everyone’s glass is empty.

FYI, there are a lot of empty glasses around the world right now and more are being created everyday as the financial system turned predatory after the Lehman Bros. collapse in 2008.

It was then that the Central Banks and governments turned fully against the people sucking up more and more outside money by inflating inside money egregiously to control more and more of the real wealth of the world.

There is only one problem with that, however. Eventually, you run out of property to squeeze out of people’s hands. The more you take, the less people are restrained by little things like laws.

Eventually two things happen. The first is what we’ve been seeing from Russia and China for the past twelve years — steady accumulation of gold and other hard assets, outside money, including the building of real manufacturing infrastructure as well as the financial infrastructure to house it.

The second is just over the horizon — the moment where all the legal claims to controlling outside money mean nothing when enforcement of those legal claims gets exposed as a bluff because there aren’t enough enforcers capable of keeping the looters from taking it.

*** end quote ***

I’m am waiting for the “Great Reset” to drop on “We, The Sheeple” of which I am part of in someways.  I know this is going to hurt the poor, the seniors, those on fixed incomes, as well as the non-super rich.

Wonder what the price of gold will go to … … (the fellow’s guess)  about 45k$.  By other guesstimates, that’ll translate to 80$/gallon for gas.  Now I’m not predicting this but even if gas goes from 4 to 8$/gallon, the economy is totally screwed.

The U$D would be near worthless.

Argh!

The future is murky and there could be a cliff in the fog.

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Gooferment diktats can not match the performance of a free market

Monday, January 10, 2022

https://www.newsmax.com/finance/streettalk/europe-meaningless-flights/2022/01/06/id/1051279/

Thursday, 06 January 2022 10:10 AM

*** begin quote *** 
 
Europe’s sky is filling up with near-empty polluting planes that serve little other purpose than safeguarding airlines’ valuable time slots at some of the world’s most important airports.

The highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19 has put many off flying, and because of it, getting people and goods from point A to point B has become an afterthought for thousands of flights. It has created strange bedfellows, with environmentalists and major airlines united to cut down on empty or near-empty flights by pressuring the European Union — a pledged global leader in combating climate change — to tweak the rules on airport slots.

“The EU surely is in a climate emergency mode,” activist Greta Thunberg tweeted sarcastically this week, linking to a story about Brussels Airlines making unnecessary flights.

The company has said that if the EU doesn’t take action, it would have to fly some 3,000 journeys this winter primarily to safeguard its network rights.

German giant Lufthansa said it would have to fly an additional 18,000 “unnecessary” flights through the winter to hold on to landing slots. Even if the holidays brought a big increase in passengers — marked by thousands of flight cancellations that left travelers stranded — the rest of the winter period could be slow as omicron surges worldwide.

*** end quote ***

William Rusher, the editor of the conservative National Review, quoted economist Milton Friedman as saying that “if the government were to take over the Sahara Desert, there would be a shortage of sand in five years.”

Ditto, landing slots?

If the airlines could “rent” landing slots from a private entrepreneur, then surely an effective and efficient solution could be found that the didn’t entail flying empty place around at a staggering cost?   But once the Gooferment politicians and bureaucrats get involved everyone suffers.

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SURVIVAL: Insulate, seek alternatives, and plan before the cost of energy goes up?

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Germany’s Reaction To The Energy Crisis Could Be Catastrophic
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/germanys-reaction-energy-crisis-could-be-catastrophic

 — via my feedly newsfeed

​*** begin quote ***

These rising power prices in Europe are fueling inflation, and Trafigura has warned that Europe could experience rolling blackouts if this winter turns out to be a cold one. Meanwhile, natural gas flows from Russia are a big question mark, with tensions over Nord Stream 2 and Russia’s possible invasion of Ukraine exacerbating Europe’s power situation. 

*** end quote ***

The article cites German switch from nuclear and gas to renewable electric with all new construction being required to use electric heat pumps.

Since every bad idea in Europe seems to flow to the USA, it would behoove folks to examine how they are going to stay warm in the​ coming DECADE.  Even in non-SHTF planning, higher “energy” costs may mean that alternatives might be critical  — in terms of budget, availability, or outages. 

At the very least, some insulation and other energy saving investments might cost less now before “everyone wants them” and give a great ROI. 

IMHO

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POLITICAL: “We, The Sheeple” should not be paying for other’s “defense”

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

http://www.cato.org/blog/europeans-not-americans-should-spend-more-europes-defense

FEBRUARY 8, 2016 9:08AM
Europeans, not Americans, Should Spend More on Europe’s Defense
By DOUG BANDOW 

*** begin quote ***

The U.S. plans on filling Eastern Europe with thousands of troops along with vehicles and weapons to equip an armored combat brigade. That will require a special budget request of $3.4 billion for next year.

An unnamed administration official told the New York Times, that the step “fulfills promises we’ve made to NATO” and “also shows our commitment and resolve.” Moreover, said another anonymous aide: “This reflects a new situation, where Russia has become a more difficult actor.”

However, the basic question remains unanswered: Why is the U.S. defending Europe? The need for America to play an overwhelming role disappeared as the continent recovered and the Cold War ended.

*** end quote ***

Clearly, this should be a top priority of any new President. “We, The Sheeple” should not be paying for Europe’s, Japan’s, South Korea’s, or anyone else’s!

Don’t forget “We, The Sheeple” “have” the current 18T+ national debt and the guesstimated 200T+ in unfunded liabilities that our posterity will have to deal with!

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