Episode 62 · Saturday, 20 December 2008

The Greatest Depression

A massive TARP bailout and the Madoff scandal collide with military domestic presence and global riots as the world enters a predicted 80-year economic reset.

By The No Agenda Show | 1h 41m listen | 33 chapters
The Greatest Depression cover
The No Agenda Show · No. 62

About this episode

The Bush administration faces intense scrutiny following the $14.6 billion TARP bailout of the automotive industry and the unfolding Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. As the Obama transition team prepares for power, the arrival of Russian warships in Cuba and the appointment of Tom Vilsack to the Department of Agriculture signal a continuation of controversial geopolitical and corporate-aligned policies. These events occur against a backdrop of global instability, including massive internet outages caused by severed undersea cables in the Mediterranean.

Civil unrest intensifies across Europe as Greek protesters clash with police and the Belgian government faces collapse over the nationalization of Fortis Bank. Domestically, reports from the Army Times suggest military police are assisting civilian authorities at DUI checkpoints, raising concerns about the Posse Comitatus Act and the role of Northern Command. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates to near zero, a move interpreted as a protective measure for banking institutions rather than a relief effort for the public. Defense Secretary Robert Gates prepares for a troop surge in Afghanistan while the International Monetary Fund issues warnings of potential social collapse in advanced nations.

Adam Curry recounts his return from the Netherlands, detailing the intrusive new naked body scanners at Schiphol Airport that require passengers to adopt a pose of surrender. The cultural landscape shifts as the RIAA abandons individual lawsuits in favor of ISP-level censorship, while the British pound reaches near-parity with the Euro. From the suspicious death of GOP IT expert Mike Connell to the scientific discovery of a breach in Earth's magnetic field, the current cycle points toward a false market boom followed by a catastrophic economic reset.


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CHAPTER 01 / 33 Discussion

Popstars Live Finale, Red Band Name Reveal

Adam Curry describes his return from the Netherlands after attending the live finale of Popstars. The competition concluded by forming a three-member group named "Red," stylized with a backward blue "E" and an exclamation point. The branding choice is criticized for being difficult to type in digital communications and for featuring a song reminiscent of High School Musical.

popstars live· netherlands· red· band name· reality television

00:01 Forming the front lines of the war against injustice and stupidity, armed with little more than a compass and a rubber knife. This is no agenda, coming to you from the United Kingdom on the left coast of Gitmo Nation East. I'm Adam Curry. And I'm John C. Dvorak here in Northern Silicon Valley, non-existent location, but it's also known as Gitmo Nation West. West or Northwest. Yo, hey John good afternoon to you a good good. What is it now? Good morning? It's actually still morning here. Yes, right. We're a little later than usual today. I was traveling back from the Netherlands with the lady Patricia

00:41 How did that go? It was good. It was the final pop stars live. They found after 10 weeks of searching and unbelievable peril and turmoil, they were able to succeed, John, and find three finalists who would form the number one pop group of the lowlands. Okay, tell us who they were. It's even better than this. You'll love this. The idea of pop stars, they find three finalists out of thousands of whatever and then they form a group and then on the final night they reveal who the group is, the name of the group and their single. Oh really? They only did a single? Yeah, well they already had recorded like 11 different versions of it.

01:31 you know because of the combinations of different groups yeah well the other combination of group members and they had different album covers and everything was pretty funny because so they did this big reveal right of the name you know like your big digital boards flashing everywhere and then boom and there's the name and and the crowd really went and the name is and everyone It was red spelled R E the blue E the E was blue and facing backwards with an exclamation point R E D red yeah exactly that's exactly what the crowd did. It's is this no one I mean can you reveal this or are you a non-disclosed? No no it was live last night so it was live yeah and I always tell the truth.

02:23 Well, that doesn't sound very exciting. No, it was, that was kind of, but you know what, it doesn't matter because it just doesn't matter. I can tell. The problem with doing something like that where you have a typographical cuteness with a backward E is that people cannot, you know, you can't type it in an email. Thank you. Very good point. The whole thing, even the song, you know, it was like, the song was very high school musical, you know, it was like... To me it was a real anti-climax, but it doesn't really matter because it's the excitement and people like it and it's a live show and millions of people are watching and they all vote and it's just like a community type thing, you know.

CHAPTER 02 / 33 Discussion

Sports Broadcasting, Losers Locker Room Tradition

A discussion regarding the evolution of sports broadcasting notes that networks have stopped filming in the losers' locker room after championship games. The practice of interviewing distraught athletes has been replaced by brief, formal questions for the losing coach. A hypothetical reality show titled "America Loves Losers" is proposed as a counter to modern "everyone is a winner" culture.

sports broadcasting· losers locker room· reality tv· letterman· hookers

03:03 uh... well as you know i hate this kind of thing yeah i know you do but it's good because we did have an annual real losers i like the loser part behind you know i was a enjoy watching sports events so they can go into the and they stopped doing this by the way about five or six years ago using a big football game the big game the final game of the season in the championship game and he baseball to yeah and then they'd used to go into the losers locker room yeah to watch You watch them cry. You know, these guys are just miserable and some of them, and then about five or six years ago they stopped doing that. Now what they do, and I find it really lame, they find the coach, the losing coach, who's usually standing outside the locker room looking, you know, forlorn and then they ask him a couple of stupid questions and that's the end of it. That's it, right. We don't get to see the fun part which was the losers locker room. It was hilarious.

03:59 So I feel as a just as an American it made you feel good to go into the losers locker room especially if you were rooting for the other team the winning team. It's important it's important. There's more to it than just winning. Thank you. It's watching the other team lose that's really part of the game. Yeah now but we're not allowed to have losers anymore. I keep telling people a great new reality show which by the way John I'm sure you would watch would be America loves losers. You'd watch that. Yeah, I would but you know what they would never make the show right that just show that you you know would be so you know that the suits as they like to be called yeah Would screw it up. So it would be a bad show so I probably wouldn't watch it I don't know if you produced it if you produce it, and I was involved in some good writers well We have something but yeah, but then it would have to be called America loves losers and hookers and

04:53 Because, you know, that's your mantra. Well, you have to drive... I've said it before and it always is a fact. Letterman does it. You can throw in the word hookers because it's a really... it's for some reason it's just a funny word and it always gets a chuckle. It's a cheap joke is what it is. Hey John, hold on one second. I think these... I think the kids turned on the download again. I swear to God, I bet you they did that. All right, go check it out. Do you think they would define me like that? I would. Hold on, don't move. Alright, you there? Yeah. Okay, well indeed. It's funny, this shows you how kids don't understand stuff when it comes to the internet. So just before we started the show, I could tell on the Skype connection that someone was really... we're still in the old house of course, with limited bandwidth, like a megabit down.

CHAPTER 03 / 33 Discussion

Education System, Lyndon Johnson, Martial Law Claims

A listener letter details a claim from a former Joint Chiefs of Staff liaison regarding the Lyndon Johnson administration. The account alleges that Johnson considered declaring martial law three times in 1967 due to campus riots but was dissuaded by military leadership. The narrative suggests a subsequent policy shift to intentionally decline the quality of American education to ensure a more controllable population.

lyndon johnson· martial law· education system· sat scores· cheyenne mountain

05:44 And I go to the kids and I say, hey, you know, are you guys downloading something? You know, yeah, we're downloading a film. Okay, that's fine. But you have to stop for the next hour and a half because we're doing the show. And of course, even then I got grief. No, stop. And then I could tell that something was going on because you started to warble. And so I go downstairs. I asked you guys not to download. No, but it's just a YouTube clip. Okay. they don't seem to understand. Just the YouTube. It's just YouTube, that's not downloading. No, it's not. You should go and turn off the machine. Yeah, they're still doing it anyway. It's okay, it'll last. So, well let's talk about that topic. I did a column for PC Magazine, people can look it up, it's called Liars, Cheaters, and Thieves. And it's about that study that showed that kids are

06:35 Liars cheaters and thieves exactly a great article how many words was it 20? So I got this note from this guy Mike Johnson, and I'm gonna read it Because it's a very interesting thing. I don't know quite what to do with this information and you know, it's got a column written all over it but I'm not sure really, but you'll see when you read it. John, I just wanted to share this with you in regard to your PC Magazine article, Liars, Cheaters, and Thieves, and I hope you find it of interest. In 1987, I worked for Technical Studies and Analysis, which was a private contractor working at the Cheyenne Mountain Project in Colorado Springs.

07:10 While working there, one colonel, whom I thought was an intelligent man, told me several times during discussions about education of incidents that took place in the White House during Lyndon Johnson's administration. The colonel's name was Bill Yeltsin, and he had been the liaison for the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Oval Office during Lyndon Johnson's administration, so he spent a lot of time at the White House in the Oval Office. Bill told me that the Joint Chiefs of Staff were called to the Oval Office three times during Lyndon Johnson's administration to be told that Johnson was going to declare martial law, suspending the Constitution because of the riots and demonstrations on college campuses in the United States. Bill also told me that it was the Joint Chiefs of Staff that talked Johnson out of it all three times.

07:58 The result of the ensuing discussion was the conclusion that an educated population cannot be controlled and the United States should get out of the business of educating the population. This brilliant decision was made in 1967 and the SAT scores for college entrance exams peaked in 1969 and have been in decline ever since. Yeah, they just changed the scale. They changed the scale, John. But to make it look good. Of course, the Nixon administration had no problem embracing this philosophy and the results are history and indirectly the George Bush administration. Anyway, you know what's really nice? It's so nice to hear that someone from my audience is also paying attention to what you're doing.

CHAPTER 04 / 33 Discussion

Global Civil Unrest, Greece Riots, Belgian Bank Scandal

Civil unrest in Greece is attributed to pent-up hostility triggered by the police shooting of a 15-year-old boy. Simultaneously, Belgium faces political turmoil and street protests following the nationalization and attempted sale of Fortis Bank. The Belgian Prime Minister and Minister of Justice are accused of obstructing justice by bypassing shareholders during a merger with BNP Paribas.

greece· belgium· fortis bank· riots· civil unrest

08:41 Yeah, because that is that is so on the money and it is so absolutely right. You know, this administration has threatened martial law to the to Congress to right when they were on the bailout bill, right? Like if you guys don't support this through there's going to be martial law. They'll be fighting in the streets. And of course they were right because it's happening now worldwide. Have you been following Greece my friend? Yeah, Greece is a mess. Yeah, Greece is all over. You know, the funny thing is, it's interesting to me this, by the way, what took place in the late 60s during the various cities that had riots, the Detroit riots were the most notable. But they happened in Oakland and other places around the country. Which, and for the people who don't know about the Detroit riots, this was about housing.

09:25 Well, you know, it was... the way these things happen, and I think the Greece situation is exactly the same, is there's a pent-up hostility. And then something happens, something happens and people snap. And there's a triggering mechanism. And the triggering mechanism, you know, people keep focusing on it when it's not really what caused it. And the triggering mechanism in Greece was, I guess, some... A 15-year-old boy got shot by police and killed. Right. Yeah. That was the trigger. but uh... but the people are you know they've got pitchforks and uh... and torches out uh... in front of uh... government and uh... belgium have you for the follow what happened in belgium oh no i'm not on that one poses a this is fantastic so they've had a a huge issue with their government now with their parliament in general for the past night they actually had no government for several months and this is uh... an inherent problem in the region between the flemish speaking

10:20 population of Belgium and the French-speaking population. And they hate each other. And I'm not kidding, they absolutely, for whatever reason, they just hate each other. The Walloniers and the Flemish. And so we had this huge nationalization of the Fortis Bank, which is half Belgian, half Dutch, and was subsequently nationalized partially by the Dutch government, partially by the Belgian government. and they tried to pull a fast one. What they wanted to do is sell Fortis, which now was owned by the people, by the governments. They wanted to sell it to the BNP bank. But they did it without consulting the shareholders, who of course were in the tank, you know, it was like, I don't know, 30 euros a share or whatever half a year ago, and now it's a euro a share.

11:11 They didn't consult the shareholders, and of course there was a revolt among shareholders. But what happened is, it turns out the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice obstructed justice by trying to, you know, It's not quite clear what they did, but they obstructed justice to make this merger go through. And then there was essentially an intervention and it got stopped, which of course now makes the sale impossible. It screws up two banks. But the population is outraged and they're starting fires in the streets. They're like, you know, you guys don't love us. Which, big surprise, your government doesn't love you, Belgium. When will people wake up? Hey, they had one of those photo booths at the airport, at Schiphol Airport. The ones that takes the picture of you naked?

CHAPTER 05 / 33 Discussion

Schiphol Airport, Naked Body Scanners, Security Theater

New security protocols at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam involve advanced imaging booths that produce near-naked images of passengers. Travelers are required to stand in a specific pose with hands raised, which is described as a symbolic act of surrender. While the monitors are not visible to the public, the technology has sparked privacy concerns among travelers and celebrities.

schiphol airport· amsterdam· security scanners· naked body scan· easyjet

12:07 Tell me about this. Yeah, well, you know, I'm sure you've seen the pictures haven't you? I don't know anything about it. I'm completely out of the loop. Oh, come on man. And so you have these new newfangled security devices and there's two now when you go to the easyJet gate, the old-fashioned put it through the x-ray. What airport is this again? Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. Okay. A very modern, you know, of course. Right, I've been there. It's a gorgeous airport. It's one of the prettiest airports I've ever been to. Yeah, owned by the government. and so you have the old-fashioned put your shit through the x-ray and then walk through the metal detector take off your shoes of course and all everything you have stripped down and now on the left hand side you still have the x-ray for your bag but then you you go into a booth it's a clear booth you stay you turn 90 degrees facing towards a wall you put your hands up above your head in it like an X like it's it's the weirdest

13:06 Pose because you know it makes looks like you're surrendering which of course is exactly what you are It's just a very symbolic and then and they have a little monitor showing you what's happening, right? So you see you see the so there's a picture taken and then you see all these wires and there's a back office and that's where people are looking to see what you're wearing. They don't actually show the picture but if you Google it on the internet you'll see that it pretty much it looks like you're naked. That's pretty much what they're seeing there. And it sounds like a pretty interesting job to have. Well, particularly, you know, so my my wife is a celebrity and she's I'm not gonna walk through that and I said well no not today because you have a choice but but tomorrow

CHAPTER 06 / 33 Discussion

TSA Interactions, Security Personnel, Assertive Communication

A strategy for dealing with aggressive airport security personnel involves mirroring their tone and volume to reset the power dynamic. Anecdotes from Heathrow and Schiphol illustrate how barking back at rude agents can occasionally force them to adopt a more civil tone. The behavior of security staff is compared to the psychological effects of being given a badge and authority.

tsa· airport security· heathrow· security theater· communication tactics

13:47 And it was funny because I learned something else about my wife. She's starting to wake up a little bit. Because here's a trick I do and here's something I advise to you that will make you feel much better and probably not get you in jail. When you're at the airport, now typically this is what I find, it's in the States it happens a lot but it was happening at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The security personnel, so that would be TSA in the States, they bark at you. and they bark commands and it's offensive the way it comes across. I've learned that if you speak to them in exact... and it's not easy to do, because you got to practice, but if you speak back at them in exactly the same tone and volume as they're speaking to you, it really sets them back.

14:36 And so I have my little computer bag, there was no computer in it, only a netbook would fit into it, but I kind of like it, so I just put my passport and stuff in there. And I put it on the x-ray belt, and this woman who had just been barking, went like, take your laptop out, sir! And I went, there's no laptop in there! And you could see her step back three steps. And she's like, what are you talking about? And my wife actually steps in and she says, you are just rude. You're just barking at people. Why do you do that? Why do you have to bark at people? Just talk to them in a civil tone of voice. But I've started doing this and it's a lot of fun. You know the people that have the little plastic baggies, they have these at Heathrow. They have yellow shirts on and they have plastic bags and this is where you're supposed to put your liquids in there. And they're literally like,

15:30 Do you have any liquids? Do you need a plastic bag? And I can't help myself like, no I don't, I do not need a plastic bag, no liquids. And you can see that, and they're freaked out. And some of them actually realize, crap, you know, I'm talking like a fucking idiot. So anyway, that's a tip of the day. And I was very happy to see my wife just step up there for a moment and say, hey, you know, dude, chill the fuck out. People are crazy. Give someone a badge and they turn into a Nazi. Yes, the old rule and while you're in the top or that top there's a couple good books that people should read one of them is Sinclair Lewis's it can't happen here. Yeah, which actually describes this situation the badge turning people into Nazis Let me write this down Let me just write it down it'll be important for Bubba as well as Sinclair who

CHAPTER 07 / 33 Discussion

Sinclair Lewis, Life and Death in Shanghai, Literary Recommendations

Literary recommendations include Sinclair Lewis's "It Can't Happen Here," which explores the rise of fascism in America. Another recommended title is "Life and Death in Shanghai" by Nien Cheng, a memoir detailing the harrowing experiences of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The distinction between the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Nobel Peace Prize is also clarified.

sinclair lewis· it can't happen here· nien cheng· shanghai· nobel prize

16:19 Sinclair Lewis, the famous Nobel Prize winning novelist who did most of his good work in the 20s. Well, you know, since Al Gore won at the Nobel Peace Prize means shit. No, that's different. I'm talking about Nobel Prize for literature, not the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Prizes are done in Sweden. The Nobel Peace Prize is done in Norway and it's a different group. It's totally different. People don't understand that. Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here, sounds great, sounds like a throwback to Nazi Germany. Great book. And then there's a book, I can't remember the name of the author, it's Chinese. It's a very interesting book to read. In fact, it was banned, I think, in China.

16:55 and it was a bestseller in Hong Kong and most of Asia called Life and Death in Shanghai. And Life and Death in Shanghai is one of the most chilling accounts of people and how they, you know, this was during the turnover of Shanghai as it went communist and actually the whole, the era of Shanghai around World War II. uh... and before and should and after i think a little bit uh... issues but it's just a bit of the hair raising uh... excellent book to read and that's a it's so it's a funny you say that because you know i often equate to the situation the scenario that were into you know very much what happened in world war two you know we had a lot of you know the economic conditions turned out to be the same we had a lot of luxury and and society gossip and then this guy rose up and then of course you know there was

CHAPTER 08 / 33 Discussion

Obama Administration, Hitler Comparisons, Political Iconography

The conversation addresses the controversial practice of comparing President-elect Barack Obama to historical fascist figures. Concerns are raised regarding the potential for large-scale political iconography and the integration of corporations with government. The discussion references George Orwell's "1984" and the concept of "War is Peace" in relation to modern political messaging.

barack obama· fascism· iconography· political posters· propaganda

17:50 the true fascism integration of corporations and government and so when I equate what's happening with Obama to Hitler and you know Patricia will say hey man you know you shouldn't say that because he was a really bad dude. But the whole point is no one said anything then and that was the whole problem if someone had stepped up then maybe it would have stopped. Well, I'm not going to go as far as to equate Obama with Hitler until I see the signs. Big giant. And I was with somebody the other day who I believe is a uh... he'd be more says he's not but i think he's an economic hitman uh... as i'm walking on the street and we just noticed that if you go to the fifth in mission garage in san francisco you look down fifth way down there is a building with a poster you know the there because of these new inkjet printers are printing these these billboards the size of you know that unbelievable size of a building and so i saw it was a gap

18:48 ad or something, it's huge. But I pointed it out and said, you know what, two years from now it's going to be a big picture of Obama's head with our glorious leader. Yeah, war is peace. War is peace. Right. But you know where that's from, don't you? Yeah, 1984 I think. Yeah, okay, just checking. So yeah, yeah. But anyway, at least he's bringing change, voting alongside President Bush for, or not voting. How does this work? President Bush, so wait a minute, the Senate said no bailout for the car companies and then the President said, oh here's the money. How does that work? Is government no longer necessary? I don't know. I don't know how any of this works anymore. He says they still had like 15 billion left from the first tranche of the TARP

CHAPTER 09 / 33 Discussion

Auto Industry Bailout, TARP Funds, Bernie Madoff Scandal

The Bush administration's decision to use $14.6 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to bail out car companies is scrutinized for its legality. The discussion transitions to the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, which reportedly operated since the 1970s. The financial crisis is framed as a broader collapse of Wall Street practices, including deceptive oil price predictions by Goldman Sachs.

auto bailout· tarp· bernie madoff· ponzi scheme· general motors

19:32 troubled asset relief program and and so now they're taking 14.6 of that 15 billion I guess 400 million is necessary for some country estate somewhere some more banker bonuses so 14.6 billion and appropriating that towards the bailout I don't understand I mean since when is a car company how can that qualify as a bank Well, it's General Motors does because they do their or they used to do their own financing GMAC right but that would mean it would go to GMAC and not the actual production part of the company because it's two separate companies. I know I know I know as far as I can tell this is some the best example of creative bookkeeping that we've ever seen in the history of the United States and then of course we had the the other thing that we didn't talk about last week

20:21 If we did, we didn't talk much about it. The Bernie... Bernie Madden. Madden? Not Madden. Maddo. Maddo. Maddo. Maddo. Yeah, the Ponzi scheme guy. What do you mean we talked about it at great length? Did we? Yeah. Yeah, sure we did. Thanks for listening. Thanks for being part of the show. Really enjoy your presence. So... So, uh... Yeah, well, you know what? So this has been going on since 1970 with this guy. Yeah, I know. This is really amazing. You have to give the guy, uh, you know... But doesn't... don't people now understand that this is exactly how Wall Street works? I mean, it's... it's... and clearly the game is up for everybody.

21:05 And it's just all collapsing on top of itself. And this behavior, this lying like Goldman Sachs saying, oil going to 200 and then now we got to reverse it around. It's down to 38 bucks a barrel. Yeah. But they tell you red and then they bet on black. That's the way it is. And the Ponzi scheme part, Isn't that exactly what derivatives is all about? Yeah, it seems so. Hey, by the way, before we go too far in the show, I want to do a shout out to two of our listeners who gave us access to their sling boxes. Ah, yes.

CHAPTER 10 / 33 Discussion

Slingbox Community, Local News, Media Access

The hosts acknowledge listeners who have shared access to their Slingboxes, allowing for the monitoring of local news in Hawaii and Detroit. This "community" access provides a raw look at regional reporting and public access channels that differ from sanitized national broadcasts. The utility of these devices for tracking local disasters and international media is highlighted.

slingbox· local news· c-span· detroit· hawaii

21:41 One is Justin Sloan in Hawaii. And by the way, if you haven't checked in on that, on that, uh, on the Hawaii news, they, they, they, they got some of these, they got a sportscaster on one of the stations that the guy is the size of five people. You know, there's these, these Polynesian certain, you know, especially Samoans, they're just big. And I'm not talking about, you know, just not fat, big, big. They're usually the guys you see on dog, the bounty hunter. Yeah, right, Jack. Huge! This guy's so big, it's like, oh my God. Anyway, our other pal is Andrew Thompson out of Detroit, which gives us a little access to a couple Canadian channels, which now we need to get some international people and cough up a serial number for us. It's really cool though, because people just send the serial numbers, say, hey, go ahead, play around with it, and I love it.

22:33 You know, it's like we've discovered sliced bread here. I mean, these sling boxes have been around for a while, but to have this type of little community is cool. Especially when we're the sole benefactors of it. Well, it also works for us because, for one thing, both these guys, I guess like you, by the way, your channels, you know, you gotta fix that. Or I guess when you move, never mind. When I move, I'm gonna fix it. Yeah, because you can't switch. It's always stuck on the TV Guide and I can't change the channel. uh... yeah no it's always stuck on one of my wife and have the uh... he doesn't have the uh... the the the program guide hooked up a does have the channel selectors in teaching to look it up on but you know it on yahoo tv or something and i think it was on what channel and you can just change the channel but uh... yeah i know i think it's very cool it was cool about the fact that you and i are on different time schedule so we probably don't bump into each other actually scanning one of these uh... one of these boxes now a day doesn't uh... conflict exactly

23:27 No, it's cool. And I thoroughly enjoy it because I just love, particularly public access channels. There was some, any C-SPAN type program I really like. Right in the local ones you can't mean you know somebody sent us a note saying well You know you could get a lot of these things on the internet, and you know just go directly and they have streaming It's not quite the same as going to some it's like being in Detroit Yeah, and then you know what it's like if you were in a hotel room I guess and having full access to the whole cable system and seeing the wacky stuff and watching the local news is actually quite entertaining. The local news is fantastic. That's why I think it's really good if we had a big set up a bunch of these things all over the country and England and wherever so we could get like I'd I'd there's nothing better for example there's a say there's a disaster in you know Raleigh North Carolina it would be cool to watch the local news coverage of it rather than you know what we get which is just watered down and bullshit some freelance correspondent

CHAPTER 11 / 33 Discussion

Undersea Cables, Internet Outages, Middle East Connectivity

Reports from Wired indicate that multiple undersea cables in the Mediterranean have been severed, causing massive internet and phone service disruptions. Countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and India have reported significant packet loss and service outages. The Maldives reportedly lost 100% of its connectivity due to the damage to the SEA-ME-WE 4 cable system.

undersea cables· internet outage· middle east· wired· mediterranean

24:25 by the way, speaking of that, did you hear that 4C cables were cut once again? Oh really? I didn't know I didn't. I was reading, hold on a second, let me just find it. This was, it just happened today. Hold on, I'm just getting situated. I don't know where I read that. I'm sure someone posted it onto my drop site, so I'll bring that up. Yeah, it's apparently all traffic to India was like 80% was cut off. I'll get the details, it's coming up, it's a little bit slow. Here it comes, hold on. A little bit slow. Usually, I wonder what the back story is on this one. They came up with the other one, it was just an accident. Right, here we go. Undersea cables cut, 14 countries lose access. Oh, this is from Wired, okay. Hold on. Reports from the Mediterranean indicate that two of the undersea cables severed and repaired earlier this year have been cut again.

25:21 disrupting internet access and phone service between the Middle East, Europe and parts of Asia. An additional third cable is down in the same region. Hmm... The so-called see me we for cable, whatever. Interesting. The Middle East is involved yet again. Yes. France Telecom report listed 14 countries affected, wait that's a link, 14 countries affected by the current problem. The Maldives are 100% down. Well... There you go. Here we go. Saudi Arabia, 50% out of service. Djibouti, 71%. Egypt, 52%. United Arab Emirates, 68% out of service. And I'm not quite sure how they're measuring that. India, so they're doing like, they're doing packet pings or whatever? I have no idea. 82% of packets dropped, I'll just presume. Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Qatar, Syria, Taiwan, Yemen and Zambia.

CHAPTER 12 / 33 Discussion

Russian Warships, Cuba, Missile Shield Geopolitics

Russian warships have arrived at a port in Cuba, an event drawing comparisons to the Cuban Missile Crisis of the Kennedy era. The move is interpreted as saber-rattling intended to discourage the United States from installing a missile shield in Poland. Speculation remains regarding whether the incoming Obama administration will proceed with the planned defense infrastructure.

russia· cuba· warships· missile shield· poland

26:22 At the same time Russian warships pull into harbor in Cuba. You did know that, didn't you? Do they have any news there? Do you know what day it is in America? There's a couple of things. One, we do have a lot of news. Nicole Kidman got herself her tit in the ringer for playing a didgeridoo, which apparently is not supposed to be played by women because it makes them infertile, according to legend. And then something, Britney Spears I guess was in the news for something or other. That pretty much covers what we're dealing with here. Excellent. Yeah, so, it's almost like a replay, man. That's what people in Europe are saying. It's like, wow, isn't that just kind of like Kennedy where early in his administration you got the Cuban Missile Crisis and now an actual Russian warship is now at port in Cuba. I think they're only there for one reason.

27:22 the cigars hookers I should have known it's a crazy ass world crazy world yeah I think obviously that there is doing some saber-rattling to keep to try to keep that missile shield out of Poland or whatever yeah and well that ain't gonna happen that's going that's going up now I don't know I think Obama's gonna find an excuse not to put it there oh please Oh, please. No way. It's just an expensive waste of money. Yeah. Well, I somehow I doubt that he's going to stop that. I really can't see. And if so, then it's just a small piece of the aggression towards that entire region with the troop movements we're putting in there. So, well, maybe. Well, we'll see.

CHAPTER 13 / 33 Discussion

Rick Warren, Inauguration Controversy, Civilian Army Proposal

President-elect Obama faces criticism from both political wings regarding his choice of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the inauguration. Warren's support for California's Proposition 8 has angered the left, while the right remains skeptical of Obama's broader agenda. Additionally, Obama's proposal for a "civilian national security force" of one million people is discussed with concern.

rick warren· barack obama· proposition 8· civilian army· inauguration

28:20 I'm giving the guy a pass. Benefit of the doubt? Yeah, I'm giving him a pass, a benefit of the doubt. Everybody's all over this character, from both sides of the aisle. I mean, the entire, like all the left wingers out here, including the crazy mayor we've got over here in San Francisco, came out and moaned and groaned about Obama who Obama picked for the convocation. What's the convocation? The convocation is you know when he's gonna get, there's a guy who gives a prayer. Oh you mean, oh yeah, it's a controversial guy or whatever? He's just one of these you know mega church guys or evangelists or whatever he is and you know he said he doesn't

29:00 think much he he was a guest one of the guys that was a uh... uh... that was for proposition eight in california you know they had a gay marriage and i'll tell you right and so because of that You know, he's no good. And so they're fussing at Obama for that. And I guess they're fussing at him for a bunch of other stuff he's doing. And then, of course, all the right-wing talk show guys are convinced that Obama is Hitler. And the next thing you know, we're all going to be wearing brown shirts. And of course, there is that issue with Obama wanting to have that civilian army. Of a million people. Yeah, that's pretty weird, but I think that's gonna be... I think he's gonna be too busy. I think it's every American has to do 50 hours of community service per year. That's different though. There's another one he's gonna do like a military, you know, brown shirts essentially. But it's already starting. We now have for the Christmas season we're gonna have DUI checkpoints armed by military.

CHAPTER 14 / 33 Discussion

Military DUI Checkpoints, Posse Comitatus, Northern Command

Reports from the Army Times suggest that military police may assist civilian authorities at DUI checkpoints in California for training purposes. This development is viewed as a potential violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies. The role of the Northern Command in domestic operations is identified as a precursor to potential martial law.

dui checkpoints· military police· posse comitatus· northern command· army times

29:58 For training purposes only, of course. Where's this? In California, dude! Well, I'll tell you one thing that's weird. Up in Washington, because now they've declared the border areas of the United States to be, to include one, it's like a 100 mile from the borders is called the border area. It's a start. In other words, everything in the country except for like Wyoming and North Dakota and South Dakota is a border area. Actually, North Dakota is. I'm sorry, South Dakota. So up in Port Angeles where I'm headed, so I'm going to have a white Christmas. It's snowing up there. It's going to be good for a laugh.

30:44 there are apparently they're called border patrol they got some new border agency or some bull that's actually turns out to be homeland security and they gave them a different title. Yeah and they're doing illegal search and seizure. Yeah they're stopping people left and right for no apparent reason and making them look open their trunk and they're like acting like cops but they have no police power or they do I don't know what the deal is. They're crazy. Yeah yeah but this is all coming from the Northern Command as well. which was set up by I think Clinton set up the Northern Command didn't he? Which is in case of basically the precursor to martial law. But yeah there's three or four maybe even five battalions now and in California they're going to be doing DUI checkpoints and they'll be former... Where did you get this story? From the news.

31:37 You didn't know this? What newspaper are you reading? The Independent or the Telegraph? I mean, where's the guy? I didn't see that. Actually, this came from the Army Times, I think. It's from their own fucking publication. It seems to me that this is not being played up very much. I'm living in the Berkeley area, for God's sake. There should be riots in the street. These people are rioting over gay marriage. Yeah, exactly. Thank you. That's my point, as always. They're rioting about fraud on Strictly Come Dancing. Exactly. We're doomed. I can find it for you if you want. I'm taking your side now. Oh! If I see one military guy stopping anybody for any reason during this holiday season, then I'm going to not argue with you anymore. Will you then do a daily show with me and we'll just go full force against the new world order, John?

32:29 until we're killed. Yeah, well, that's what I tell my wife. I said, here's who you call, here's all the information, and please don't let anyone tell you that it was suicide by cop. That's bullshit. That's not suicide. He was depressed. That's what they did with the guy in Guilford. They're literally calling it a suicide by cop, you know, because he was so depressed he took a fake gun and waved it at the police so he could get killed. And it wouldn't shoot, it wouldn't even make a noise. Suicide by cop. Yeah, well this is gonna happen. I'm looking up, I'm trying to find a good article for you. Well, the Army Times, this guy actually, you know, the Army Times, I should look at it more often for the blog because it's got good material in it. Well, this is where I learned about it first. Are you looking at it, Army Times? No, I'm not. Hold on, I want to find it for you. Yeah, man, this is...

CHAPTER 15 / 33 Discussion

Afghanistan Troop Surge, Robert Gates, Hamid Karzai

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who will continue his role under the Obama administration, plans to deploy three additional combat brigades to Afghanistan. The long-term military presence in the region is debated, with skepticism regarding the effectiveness of the surge. A recent interaction between President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai is described as awkward and overly familiar.

afghanistan· troop surge· robert gates· hamid karzai· defense secretary

33:21 This is completely... So, for those of you who don't live in America, and for many of you who do, there is something called the Posse Comitatus Act, which specifically forbids under... except under special circumstances... I don't think it's... I think it's part of the Constitution. It's part of the Constitution, I'm sorry, you're right, it's part of the Constitution. It forbids the army being used against American citizens, unless special circumstances voted by Congress And of course, with all the executive orders Bush put into place, it can basically now just happen. It can just take place. This is interesting. The top story in Army Times is special ops surge sparks debate. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who's going to be working for Obama, is obviously working for him now because he plans to deploy three additional combat brigades to Afghanistan.

34:17 That's not gonna work by the way. What's not gonna work? Anything. But they're only in Afghanistan as a base. I mean, they gotta get out of there. They're not. They're gonna stay there forever. They love it. Did you see the picture of Bush hugging Karzai? No. Were they kissing? Almost. Almost. But he had his hand on his neck and the back of his neck, you know, like... really like pushing his face against his, it was kind of creepy. Of course it's just a snapshot, so you know, it's taken out of context. Well you know I have a photo, I gotta put this on the blog, I'm gonna have to dig it up because I, you know, unfortunately I take so many pictures at these, I have a lot of material that just starts disappearing into the ether, you know, something like, I think I'm up to

CHAPTER 16 / 33 Discussion

Joe Biden, Family Interactions, Military Domestic Presence

A discussion regarding political photography focuses on an image of Joe Biden kissing his daughter on the lips, which is characterized as unusual. The conversation returns to the deployment of 5,000 to 20,000 troops within the United States. One host pledges to stop arguing against the "New World Order" narrative if he personally witnesses military personnel conducting domestic roadblocks.

joe biden· political photography· military deployment· domestic security

35:03 Some outrageous of numbers like say three four hundred gigabytes of photos. It's horrible anyway I have this picture during the during the convention there was when Obama was giving us During the convention when he's got his numbers or whatever And Biden came out on the stage with his wife and Obama gave Biden's wife a big kiss and on the lips I believe. I'm surprised somebody didn't make a fuss about that but they didn't. But what they should have made a fuss about was later, I think Biden gave a speech or something and his daughters came out and he grabbed one of his daughters by... I have the picture because I took it off the thing, off the screen. He grabbed his daughter's head like in a... grabbed her head and then gave her a big wet one on the lips.

35:46 That's kind of wrong. I looked at this, I tell you when you see the picture you go, what is wrong with this picture? It was like a passionate kiss. Oh my God. And I don't know why I didn't blog it right away, but I think it's one of those busy You know, some of the stuff falls by the way. So I'm gonna try to dig that up because it's still, I'm still shaking my head about it. So I don't see anything here on Army Times about the... Okay, I'm looking up DUI, Army, Post. So I like to call them the sergeant shopper. That's great. Okay, here we go. What is this from? This is from... What I'm looking for is I'm looking for like a serious

36:33 like a mainstream publication so I don't get one of those, oh, it's just a conspiracy theory nutters. And of course, military police assisting civilian police DUI checkpoints. I'm just trying to find a good one. I'll find it for you. It's out there. I mean with a little bit of research. I'll send it to you, link, when you find one. So anyway, it'll be nice to have you over on our side, John. I cannot wait. Very exciting. I wonder if one of my bloggers may have blogged that. Oh, I'm sure they have. The conversation about this has been going on for weeks now. Ever since it was first announced in the Army Times that they were now positioning these 5,000 to 20,000 troops, battalions in the States. And these are guys and gals who just came out of Iraq. They've done some serious time.

37:30 But I'm happy to... Yeah, we don't need that. Those guys floating around trigger happy. Right, so I just want to repeat, you said that if the army is involved in DUI checkpoints... No, I said if I see... Oh, if you see, yeah, keep going. A military guy At a roadblock somewhere checking for DUI then I'll come on your side for I may not know then what I said exactly was then out I'm not gonna argue with you anymore. Yeah, no, but I think you make this show really interesting by the way, but I Can I worried about it hearts are breaking nationwide? I can hear it

CHAPTER 17 / 33 Discussion

Earth's Magnetic Field, NASA Themis, 2012 Doomsday Theories

NASA's Themis spacecraft have discovered a massive breach in Earth's magnetic field, allowing solar wind to enter the magnetosphere. This scientific discovery has been adopted by "2012" doomsday theorists who predict a pole shift or global catastrophe. The hosts express skepticism toward these apocalyptic predictions, comparing them to the failed Y2K end-of-the-world scenarios.

magnetic field· nasa· themis· 2012· solar wind

38:08 Anyway, so that's uh... Nobody picked it up. Of course not. It might be Bubba may have had it over on the cage match. They have a lot of other stuff over there. The thing is if I start surfing websites then it starts to crush the connection. Never mind, yeah, we'll do some other time. I don't want to do that. But uh... Something else that you may or may not have heard about, um... There's this thing going on with uh... with Earth's magnetic field and the distance of space to the Earth. Have you been following any of that? Yeah, well that's been... Actually I think there was even a NOVA that was talking about the Earth's magnetic field. It's expected this, you know, it's apparently in the mode of about to change poles. I mean, it may take a thousand years to do it, but in the process of changing and recharging itself, because we need that magnetic field, that's what keeps us from becoming Mars. Because the cosmic rays are buffered, you know, it's like a buffer, and anyway, it's a

39:05 It's like a machine that keeps us from getting killed. But it seems to be having all kinds of weirdness going on right now with little hot spots of magnetism in areas where there's no magnetism and it's, you know, I guess something's going on. NASA's five Themis spacecraft have discovered a breach in Earth's magnetic field ten times larger than anything previously thought to exist. Solar wind can flow in through the opening to load up the magnetosphere Yeah, love that for powerful geomagnetic storms Which by the way we had one in I want to say 90s 97 98 you remember that when it knocked out all the satellites and pagers stopped working and cell phones Crapped out and there was no more satellite television. Hmm. Don't you remember that? No

39:58 I remember the discussion about it, but my remembrance of it was not that much happened, at least around here. Well, in New York it was a big deal because pagers were pretty important at the time. And cell phones were not really prolific for some reason. They were too expensive. That would probably have been a part of it. So I don't know what that means, but a lot of 2012 people are jumping on the story saying... Oh, those 2012 people. See, see, see. Those are the worst. Be careful now. What happens in 2013? This is the thing that's going to, you know, it's just around the corner. So I'm actually looking forward to it. What happens in 2013? I'll tell you exactly what happens. All these 2012 people are going to go on with this. I think the calculation, there's something in the math. They're going to come up with another date. That wasn't quite right.

40:55 I mean this is all these doomsday people always they always have their fixed date they always make it too close to when they're still alive so the people they can grib them about it And so they always, you know, it's always just around the corner. So then it comes and goes. I mean, we're supposed to have the end of the world in 2000, if anybody remembers that. And then, you know, and then it comes and goes, and then they're contrite about it, or they come up with some other bogus reason. But they usually lose about 70% of their followers because it's like bogus. And then the 30% that stick around build a new group with some other phony baloney doomsday date. I don't know. Well, a lot of that two thousand, I mean... It's a club for getting laid, let's face it.

41:38 Let me just see if I can find some of those members. Well, you know, the basis of the 2012 conversation, of course, is that the Mayan calendar actually ends then and we usher in the age of Aquarius. And, you know, so there's a little more to it than just people picking a date. Yeah, right. I just picked up the calendar today from the mechanics bank. Hey, guess what? It ends at the end of 2009. Yeah. Well, does that mean it's the end of the world? No! It means a calendar. I gotta get a new calendar. Yeah, but the Mayans had all kinds of magic powers, dude. Yeah. They had mathematical rules. That's why they got killed off by a bunch of dumb Spaniards. We're making friends left and right. I do like the office of the president-elect announcing Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture.

CHAPTER 18 / 33 Discussion

Tom Vilsack, Monsanto, GMO Agriculture

The appointment of Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture is highlighted due to his historical ties to Monsanto and support for genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The discussion explains the process of creating "Frankenfood" and the legal issues surrounding seed patenting. Concerns are raised about the health effects of GMO corn and Monsanto's aggressive litigation against independent farmers.

tom vilsack· monsanto· gmo· agriculture· frankenfood

42:36 This guy is a... well, he basically campaigned using the Monsanto private jet. Oh, is that right? Yeah, he's a major GMO guy. He's all about... You're kidding! No! Tom Vilsack, look it up. And there was something else I found about Vilsack which is related to Hillary Clinton, which is interesting. An article from March 2007 Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton has agreed to help the one-time candidate who endorsed her on Monday as he seeks to retire a campaign debt of more than $400,000. And all of a sudden you're thinking, hmm, could that be related to his appointment? Hmm. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So Monsanto's in the White House already. Is that what you're telling me? Monsanto's, of course they are. Yeah, I've been doing a lot of reading about GMO and it's kind of freaking me out.

43:36 It's a genetically modified organism, I guess is what it's for. But so what they do, yeah, frankenfood, so what they do is particularly with corn, which corn isn't just about everything we eat directly or indirectly. We're a corn culture. We are a corn culture. They take a 22 caliber either shotgun, but a 22 caliber bullet and and they jam in there the pro... like the... I'm gonna say it wrong, either the actual gene or the protein, the part of the DNA of a pesticide and they shoot it into the grain or into the seed

44:15 and then through some magical explosive process a protein develops so that this corn can be sprayed with pesticide, they call it herbicide to make it sound more friendly, so that the corn will then grow without... I think it is an herbicide. It is an herbicide because it kills weeds, you're right, it is an herbicide. So it's killing other plants, but it's genetically modified so that it won't die. The corn is, right. But they feed this corn to laboratory rats and 50% of them die. Probably not healthy corn. No, but it's in pretty much everything these days and of course as we've identified, you turned me on to this story months ago with the seed, you know, the seed actually spreads to other, to the farmers next door. Contaminates everything. Contaminates and it's not just the problem that is then contaminated and it's genetically modified, but then Monsanto comes up and says, hey, excuse me, we own the patent on that, that's our seed, either you pay us for it or we're going to destroy your crop.

45:19 Because they own it. They've patented it. They own food and that is now indeed in the White House. Yeah, well, that's good news. Thanks for that. Sure. I got many more. No, that's okay. Now that and that whole thing. Let me go back to the Nicole Kidman story. That Australia movie is just wonderful. And by the way, isn't she barren? I thought that I thought that was the whole reason that Tom Cruise got rid of her because she was blowing that didgeridoo and she couldn't have kids. It's possible. I think so. It's a horrible way to... Is that the correct term? Yeah, no, that's the way it's said. I mean, nobody uses that word anymore. I'm surprised you did it. But it's because it's got to be the worst thing for a woman to, you know, it's like, you know, a chicken that can't lay an egg kind of thing. But it's like...

CHAPTER 19 / 33 Discussion

Nicole Kidman, Didgeridoo Controversy, Infertility Myths

Actress Nicole Kidman faced criticism for playing a didgeridoo during the promotion of the film "Australia," as some Aboriginal legends claim the instrument makes women infertile. The hosts discuss the sound and cultural significance of the instrument, ultimately labeling it obnoxious. The segment includes a brief audio clip of didgeridoo music to illustrate the point.

nicole kidman· didgeridoo· australia· infertility· aboriginal culture

46:10 I mean, it can't be a pleasant situation to be barren. It's like being sterile. You know, guys who don't have enough, their sperm count's not what it should be. They shoot with blanks, they used to always call it. Now barren is, I think that's probably old English even. I remember it from the Oneida Line, which was a fantastic series I'm sure you've never seen. But it was 17, 1800s England, and they would talk about, she is barren. And that was shameful. If you were barren, you were no good. So, anyway, yeah, maybe she's been blowing that thing too long. I mean, maybe there's something to it. Who knows? Because the funny thing about the didgeridoo is that it may, which I think is, everyone, you see these things, I don't know if anybody knows, but this is a long pipe that's got a, I don't know what's even inside the thing, it's like a string or something, and you make a sound into it and it makes a, bwa-wa-wa-wa-wa, crappy noise.

47:11 and it's more like wow yeah it's pretty close and it's you run into these guys with these things because if somebody goes to Australia they're in the subways of New York and I think I've seen one in London playing the thing with the you know with the with the hat out for donations like you should give them money for this and I just find it to be an obnoxious instrument, but it gives off such a weird sound that I could see where it could have some... There you go. That's actually the kangaroo hop is what that one's called.

47:54 Yeah, so anyway that is the didgeridoo. I know where you got that clip, but good good one from the didgeridoo sound clips archive of course It's an obnoxious instrument You should be cursed by barrenness if you say that so the the only thing that sounds worse than that is a bagpipe and Oh boy, don't make me do that. I am not, I repeat, not going to play bagpipes on the show. Not a good idea. Yeah. Did you get a flu shot this year? Yeah, I always get a flu shot. Oh good, then besides all the mercury that now is in your body, it is interesting to note

CHAPTER 20 / 33 Discussion

Flu Vaccines, Tamiflu Effectiveness, Antiviral Drugs

A Reuters report suggests that the current flu strain is resistant to Tamiflu, though the hosts debate the authenticity of the claim. One host advocates for the use of Tamiflu and Relenza based on personal experience, explaining how the drugs halt viral reproduction. The segment also touches on the CDC's push for vaccinations despite potential stockpiles of ineffective medicine.

flu shot· tamiflu· relenza· cdc· antiviral

48:43 that, and this is from Reuters, of the 50 samples they tested the current flu on, 49 failed. The virus. Yeah, that's why I always carry, I always carry and I tell people this and I might as well discuss it right now. Because one of my friends had the flu the other day and she didn't do this because she didn't know. I've actually sent a memo around last year to the Mevio staff discussing it and I always travel. Wait, you're actually promoting flu shots? No, I always travel with Tamiflu. Right, so Tamiflu is the stuff that's not working. That's exactly what the article says. Tamiflu is not working against this. Tamiflu? It says Tamiflu is not working? Yes it does. It says Tamiflu is not working.

49:30 Alright, then I can take it one step further. First let me describe what Tamiflu does. It was expected by the way, because there used to be a thing called Flumidine or something like that, that was a precursor to Tamiflu and it stopped working about five years ago just out of the blue. You can't even, you've got a prescription, it doesn't do anything, just for no known reason. And so everyone's expecting that's what happened to Tamiflu. There's a fallback. called relenza. No, it's listed here as well as not working. Here. No. Yes. It doesn't work either? Yes. Here it's a... You gotta send me this link. Okay, here it comes. That's not good. Dude, the Guerin... So in China now, of course, there's another outbreak of the bird flu and they've got billions of dollars already spent on some BS thing they're gonna want to inject you with. There's the link.

50:20 Tamiflu, blah blah blah blah blah. A similar drug is Relenza. Or there's an Amivir made by GlaxoSmithKline. They never tried it against Relenza. They just say a similar drug and they're trying to pass it off. No, no, no, no. Read the article. I'm reading. Read the article. Tamiflu alternatives. Yeah, it's Rimatidine is the one that that doesn't work at all. You shouldn't be taking these shots at all, John. These are not shots, these are pills you take. Oh, the Tamiflu are pills, yeah. Don't take that either, don't take any of that. Oh, you just get sick and die, give me a break. I used Tamiflu when I had the flu one time a couple years ago. In fact, I've used both of these, and they work great. And let me explain what they do, it's kind of interesting. I've used Tamiflu for a urinary tract infection. You did? That was, I was prescribed with it. That's weird.

51:17 So, anyway, I have a blog post on Relenza. Go to the devorek.org slash blog and type in Relenza, R-E-L-E-N-Z-A, instead of boring you stiff with it because you're just going to moan and groan about it. Don't take anything. Do not let the government... Anyway, Tamiflu works like a champ. Well, but not according to this article on the current strain of flu. I think this is a bogus article. From Reuters. Okay, good. No, I think it's like they're trying to get you to get this as CDC says there's still time for America to get a flu shot as the season usually peaks in February. This is what that was the punchline to the story, the last paragraph. So what they're trying to do is get everyone to get the huge stockpile of flu vaccine. They're giving shots at Costco. And, you know, after that fiasco from a few years ago, now they make too much of this stuff. And so they're trying to get rid of it. So that's what this is about.

52:11 Okay, so my advice still holds and you'll back me up. Don't let you don't get injected by anything because it's not gonna work Anyway, just get some Tamiflu. Is that what you're saying? No, I always get a flu shot. You're the first one to go man. No, you'll see Okay, I haven't had the flu ever since I started getting flu shots I mean except that one time where I had to use Tamiflu what happened was the flu that was predicting you because these are predictive vaccines there was something called the California flu that showed up and in around the Bay Area and I ended up getting it and I used Tamiflu and Tamiflu works great. Just basically, essentially the way Tamiflu and Relenza work is that this stops the reproductive process of the flu that's in you and keep whatever amount of symptoms you have when you start taking these drugs, they stops but you can maintain those symptoms so for five days.

53:06 but you don't get really sick and you can still go to work and you're not contagious and all the rest of it. But anyway, after five days, it gives your body enough time to actually produce its own flu shot. because it builds up the antibodies against this little batch of flu that's still in you. And then when you get off the drug, you actually have a spike. It's really actually kind of an interesting experience. You have a spike of flu, it's just like, oh, the drug didn't work is the first thing you think of, because you start getting really sick. And then within, it's almost like within hours, it just disappears. It's like your body says, oh, well this is no good and it just goes after this and it just knocks it out instantly. It's actually the weirdest experience you'll ever have in terms of disease. So I always travel with Tamiflu and my family has it all the time. We always have a batch with us.

CHAPTER 21 / 33 Discussion

IMF Warnings, Civil Unrest, Media Distractions

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that advanced nations could face civil unrest if the economic crisis is not managed properly. The hosts observe a lack of serious coverage of these warnings in mainstream U.S. news, which instead focuses on retail crowds and celebrity gossip. A brief mention is made of a proposed internet tax in New York.

imf· civil unrest· economic crisis· reuters· internet tax

53:57 Just in case. For a while there it was said that that was going to be important for others. Couldn't it also shield you against radiation or something? It could help with that? I never heard any of this other stuff. I don't know about that then. I thought it was pretty well, you know, targeted. I don't know, maybe it does other things against other viruses. I mean, it's antiviral, but I know it doesn't do anything against the cold. And, you know, this article is kind of, this article is kind of sketchy. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has warned that advanced nations could face civil unrest during distressful economic times. Social unrest may happen in many countries, including advanced economies, if the economic crises are not properly dealt with. Basically what we're seeing happening now. Yeah, it's pretty funny. How come that doesn't happen in America? How come people aren't just so pissed off and angry?

55:04 Well, there's one main reason. We don't know anything. We've been dumbed down, like my article, and we don't have any news. I mean, all I'd like to do is, what is the top of news? If I went and looked at the top news stories here, let's see, News U.S. Well, often it's listed, but it's only one story. Here I'm looking at the Reuters site. They had the phony Tamiflu story. Retailers hope for crowds and final holiday push. Top story. Pike-Pakower Foundation closes due to Madoff investment. A lot of charities are going broke. Yeah, we're going to see a lot of that. Then we have some blogs and the Greek police, clashed with protesters.

55:43 And then there's a puff piece on Obama, what a good guy he is. And I'm looking, looking, looking, looking, nothing. Phenomenal, isn't it? Oh, there's one. Wait, here's one. There's a... No, that's a Google ad. Actually, the more interesting news is in the Google ad. Poll. China and India have had made big strides in space in recent months, fueling talk of another race to land a man on the moon. Should the United States return to the moon? Yes. No. So let's put no and see what happens. Look at this, there's 42% yes and 58% no. See, now we don't even want to go to the moon. There's nothing here, there's no way, wait, wait, wait, let me go to the better news, lifestyle.

56:32 What are you looking at? This is Google? What are you looking at, man? This is the Reuters news site with all the, you know, top stories. Do they have anything about the internet tax that New York is going to charge now? Nothing about that, right? No, there's nothing like that. Well, maybe under politics. Let's see what politics reveals. By the way, one of their pages fell apart from bad CSS. Bush auto plan, only way to stave off collapse. Of the world. Obama picks climate specialist as science advisor. Oh, that's... oh, don't even get me started on that one. Yeah.

CHAPTER 22 / 33 Discussion

Global Warming, Erratic Weather, Historical Perspectives

The rebranding of "global warming" to "climate change" is discussed in the context of recent record-cold temperatures and snow in Las Vegas. Historical accounts from the 19th century are cited to argue that erratic weather, including "rains of frogs" and locust plagues, has always existed. The hosts suggest that modern weather events are being sensationalized to support environmental agendas.

global warming· climate change· erratic weather· history· snow

57:09 I think so. I haven't been able to find the link, but somewhere I heard someone or I read someone that said Al Gore said these colder periods are entirely indicative of global warming. I'm like, no way. I know I get it every time we bring this up on the show quite a bit. I love doing it. I always get an email. from somebody saying it's natural to be colder during global warming you know it's of course it is makes nothing but sense it's natural for it to be colder during global warming yes I understand I totally get it

57:49 So that is quite interesting. And the guy who was sending me the note also says, he says global warming, climate change, they're trying to change the term themselves, is going to result in really weird erratic weather. And I'm thinking, because I don't know, I mean, if you start reading, because I did this as a project once, I read all the New York Times newspapers from about 1858 to about 1868. How long did that take you? It took a long time, it took a number of months. And I was collecting stories, that may not have been the period, it might have been from 1868 to 1878, but it was during around the Civil War.

58:29 And I'm not sure, I think, yeah, I think the Times was in business then. I think it was the time I was reading. Anyways, I was looking at all these little articles. You read the originals of course when they came out in 1886. Of course. But my mom threw them away. So anyway. So I'm reading this and they talk about erratic weather. I mean, if you start reading the history of weather in the United States, it's been erratic since day one. You know, storms of frogs, you know, there'd be something happening in North Dakota. And it's just like rained frogs, you know, all over the place. And, you know, I guess there were frogs, you know, people who had this, you know, you couldn't get outside without stepping on a bunch of frogs that were raining down for some unknown reason. Nobody even knew where the frogs came from.

59:14 I remember that one distinctly, going, this is a real head shaker. And there's all kinds of weird, look what happened to Mormon legend about those locusts. If you've ever seen one of those bugs, the big ones, the monster. They're scary. The size of a rat. Yeah, they're scary. And apparently they came in, in some weather situation, and they just gobbled up the state of Utah, which is still a desert. And I mean, this is nothing new, this erratic weather we've had. And the biggest hurricanes we've had in the past. And there's that hurricane that hit Connecticut some, you know, around the turn of the century or sometime in the, you know, I think it was like, I can't remember the date, but it was 100 years ago. And so this is bull. I mean, you know, right now it's snowing up in Port Angeles. In Vegas it's snowing. It's snowing in Vegas. Yeah, it's snowing in Vegas.

1:00:06 It's just bad weather. It's what we have. I've seen Vegas once when it was snowing. It snows in Texas a lot, which really is weird, since it never snows in the San Francisco Bay Area. Last time I think it was 1972, 1973, and it snowed a little bit. And that was it. That's what we've seen of it. I remember being in Vegas when it snowed in the 90s, in December. A CES. Not CES. What was the... Comdex. Yeah, it may have snowed on a Comdex. It was a couple years ago it snowed. I was at the airport. As the snow started falling, and it was I think in January, it was the first, you know, during CES. It was cold. It never stuck though. It's thick. Let's just move off this topic for a second.

CHAPTER 23 / 33 Discussion

Currency Parity, British Pound, London Eye

The British pound has reached near-parity with the Euro, significantly impacting travel costs for UK citizens. An anecdote from an EasyJet flight illustrates the confusion caused by the shifting exchange rates. The discussion also touches on the London Eye, comparing the slow-moving Ferris wheel to a low-tier Disney attraction.

british pound· euro· currency parity· london eye· easyjet

1:00:50 Heard from the EasyJet flight attendant today. You'll love this. So you know that the big talk now in Europe and the UK is the parity because the pound is now almost, it's like two cents difference equal to a euro. Wow. Yes, wow indeed. And so on EasyJet you can pay in sterling, as we say, or euros. And I had lots of Euros, so I want to give her some Euros and she has to do the calculation and I can see smoke come out of her ears and it's not that hard, it's almost the same. A Euro is a pound. She says, isn't that amazing? I mean, why even bother going anywhere? Why travel anymore?

1:01:33 People are so used to everything being cheap when they leave their country because the pound being so much more expensive or more valuable than any other monetary unit. Literally, that's coming out of a typical British person. Why bother traveling when the pound is equal to a euro? We can't get a bargain. That's funny. Can't get a bargain. It never used to, it always used to be traditionally a buck and a half to a dollar for a pound and it has fluctuated. It goes up, I've never seen it as high as it did this last time. But that combined with inflation over there made it impossible to go to England. I mean, I won't go there. There's really nothing to do or to see anyway. Once you've done the tower thing, that's kind of it.

1:02:22 and and i've been to the have you been to the a haven't been on the on the big uh... the london i'd yeah the i'd one that i think spinning thing here is called the i the london i already go around and some takes an hour right now and i was not an hour it's a it's like it's a good twenty twenty five minutes it's very slow uh... it's a big ferris wheel yeah ferris wheel yeah now i have been on that that that would be a a c ticket ride at disney Oh really? Whatever the ticket is equal to the Mad Hatter's teacup. In fact, I think the Mad Hatter teacup is more exciting than the London Eye. So I probably don't want to bother with it. I think for taking pictures it would be great. We can see the London Eye from our new place which is kind of cool.

CHAPTER 24 / 33 Discussion

Malcolm Gladwell, Talent Myth, 10,000 Hour Rule

Malcolm Gladwell's new book, "Outliers," and its promotion of the "10,000-hour rule" for expertise are analyzed. The hosts challenge the idea that talent does not exist, citing examples of child prodigies and rapid skill acquisition. They suggest that the promotion of this theory is part of a "self-esteem movement" designed to downplay natural intelligence and high IQ.

malcolm gladwell· tipping point· 10000 hours· talent· iq

1:03:14 At night, because they light it up really nice. Is it a big plastic ball? It must be all scratched up. I'm sure you can't get a decent shot through that miserable plastic. It's interesting. I don't know. I thought it was... I wasn't taking serious pictures when I was on it, so I don't really remember. But no, I think it's doable. It's like capsules. So there was a Charlie Rose show last night that had Malcolm Gladwell. He's the guy who wrote Tipping Point and some other book, and now he's got a new book out. And it's just these little bitty books that are, you know, where he does a little research and comes to some crazy conclusions about one thing or another. Anyway, this last one he's done, and he's a real weird looking character. I guess he's got some Jamaican in him, so he decides

1:04:10 He looks like just a regular, you know, kind of a big, you know, a kind of a male model-ish jaw, you know, heavy on the jawbone facial features with an afro that is from the 1970s. Just ridiculous. I mean, it looks like, you know, that picture that I use on my Skype, you know. Right, with the big, the colored afro, yeah. Yeah, so anyway, he did, so he came out with a book on, on some research that actually my son had told me about about a year ago. And then Rose had another guy out with a similar book discussing the same research, which indicates there's no such thing as talent. And so I'm, you know, first my son tells me about it, then I see back-to-back stories

1:05:02 about these two books saying that there's no such thing as talent. And I'm starting to immediately, it wouldn't have been bad if they had one. I would have kind of listened and gone to some other topic. But no, we have two in a row. And so I'm now thinking this is bull. There has to be some alternative reason for these two storylines to be, you know, why are we telling the public that there's no such thing as talent? What you have to do is work 10,000 hours to become an expert at anything or approximately 10 years. That's what the research says. Ah, okay. Yeah. You can follow where this might be heading. Yeah, I'm listening. Keep it coming. So I'm thinking, you know,

1:05:41 When I first heard about this, I said, yeah, fine. My son boiled it down by saying, if you wanted to be a pianist or if you wanted to be a trumpet player, if you wanted to spend 10 years practicing a lot, you will be as good as you can be. You can't be any better because you got your time in and this is how far it's gonna go. And so I just immediately, because of this back-to-back propaganda show, I'm thinking, all right, so there's obviously bull. There's obviously something else going on. I thought about a couple different things. Now if it takes 10 years to get any level of expertise on anything where you're actually super good, how does that explain Gore Vidal's best-selling novel that he wrote when he was 19? Was he practicing novel writing since the age of nine? I don't think so. You remember this group, these two guitar players that came out of South America called Los Indios Tabajaras?

1:06:31 These were two guys who found a guitar in the Amazon jungle. And within a year, we're like on the tour around the world playing this amazing guitar. Where's the 10 years? Where's the 10,000 hours? It's not there. So I'm thinking there's something, and I'm tracing this back to the argument about we don't want an educated public. We're gonna, let's set these goals, these 10,000 hour goals if you want to do a lot of work. Gladwell had an anecdote saying that people with really high IQs never normally made much of themselves, which is bull by the way also. But he,

1:07:12 You there? Yeah, I'm listening. I'm just listening to you. I'm sorry because I just got a beep from you. No, no, no, I just sent you a link to the army checkpoint. Anyway, so, so Gladwell mentioned that the geniuses probably, he said all these geniuses, people with really high IQs, he made the claim that once you have an IQ, this is unbelievable, once you made it, had an IQ of 120, you're good to go. In other words, anything else is meaningless. It's no good. It's lame. You're just a loser. Just a loser. And he says he looked at people who had these really high IQs, like 160, 180, whatever. You know, you know these people. And... Why yes.

1:07:52 And you may be one of them. Anyway, he said then they never made much of their lives and he said, and he could only conclude that this was because they were smart enough to realize that the 10,000 hours was just too damn much work. This is the logic. So I'm thinking now that we're looking at a new twist, an absolutely new twist to the self-esteem movement. Alright, you know it you can be whatever you can want to be if you want to try out you can be at anything you want to be as long as you're urgent So you put the work in you'll get there blah blah blah and this is bull. Well, that's very interesting So there's two stories that are relate to that one is and this is a YouTube video which left to dig up for you, which? Some kids did it but I'm not quite sure. I'm not too sure of the authenticity, but apparently they're showing a history book a grade school

CHAPTER 25 / 33 Discussion

New World Order, History Textbooks, George H.W. Bush

A YouTube video purportedly showing a modern American history textbook with a chapter on the "New World Order" is discussed. The hosts trace the term back to George H.W. Bush and earlier internationalist movements. They debate whether these concepts are being normalized in the education system to prepare students for global governance.

new world order· history books· george h.w. bush· internationalists· youtube

1:08:50 history book in used in United States schools. This went around this is I I'm not sure about this either. The New World Order chapter? Oh no I didn't know no this is different than what I'm thinking. Oh no. I was thinking okay. Well I'll tell mine first. So the kid shows his history book and then there's a chapter about the New World Order. and how we have to get ready for it as we're going to have world government. And it's in the history book, he shows the page! It says, get ready for the new world order. I'll have to dig that one up. What was yours in the history book?

1:09:27 Hold on a second, I'm just trying to think of somebody's name. There was a lot of utopianism that took place during the 30s and there was a writer in particular who I read every time I can find one of his books. He's actually very interesting, named Stuart Chase. And people out there want to track down somebody who was kind of a utopianist. and Stuart Chase, and also there's a book by the way, one of the classic books, if you can find this, you can find it at used bookstores. It was the number one bestseller almost worldwide, sold millions and millions of copies, and it was called Looking Backward by Bellamy. It was a bestseller, and I'm talking about millions and millions of copies in 1890.

1:10:09 And Looking Backward is a book written from the perspective of someone in the year 2000 looking backward on what changed since 1890. And this is an eye-opener, and again, I think you probably will get to this New World Order stuff from any of these types of books that were produced probably anywhere from 1880 to about, uh, to World War II. Uh, and now, of course, it's been reintroduced. Um, I don't know. My story was that it was, I always thought you were going to refer to the, what kids had to read as a history book and what they had to know back in, there's this thing in 1920 or something, and there's this thing that went around a couple years ago on the internet about all these things you had to

1:10:53 read and know about and it was like completely it was so far removed from what you get today you know with the self-esteem and you know everybody's a winner and there's no such thing as a loser and that kind of thing. Back to the losers locker room. Yes uh-huh uh-huh that's right that's right oh here's this kid hold on. I'm trying to see if I can find it and I'll just yeah American American Nation is the title of the book. It's highly produced, though. I don't trust it. Yeah, it could be a hoax. We can find out one way or the other. Here it is. Is this an old book? Is it an old book or a new book? A current book. It says America in the New World Order 1970 to present. I'm just reading off the YouTube video.

1:11:52 So what were you saying? Okay, well, we just we'll just track it down. Yeah. Yeah, I'll send you the link right now. You can we can take a look at it later. It's not unusual for this kind of thinking to have come in and out of vogue. It's a very common in the United States history. What the does you want to be a New World Order one world government? Well, that was George George Bush senior. He said it he said it's a it's a it's a big idea that New World Order. Yeah, well these internationalists are all around you. I mean, these are the ones that we have to be leery of. It's not a new group and they're all very powerful people. There's a whole slew of them. And they're not communists. They're vaguely identifiable here and there.

CHAPTER 26 / 33 Discussion

War Economics, Robert Gates, Zbigniew Brzezinski

The economic motivations for war are debated, with one host arguing that conflicts are engineered to generate profit for weapon manufacturers and reduce population. The connection between Robert Gates and Zbigniew Brzezinski is highlighted, suggesting that the Obama administration represents a return to Carter-era foreign policy rather than "change."

robert gates· zbigniew brzezinski· war economics· illuminati· jimmy carter

1:12:37 commonly referred to as internationalists and they... Project for a new American century. Yeah, that's typical. But the reason for this of course stems from World War I when it was decided by your, what you would Call your Illuminati or whoever this insiders that we can't keep having these damn wars World War two is the real clincher We can't keep having these damn wars because they ruin economies people get killed. I just oh Okay, this is where we fundamentally disagree No, no, I believe that they actually want the wars for two reasons one They make money by selling weapons to both sides so they make out like bandits and

1:13:22 Two, it reduces the population. I think they want the wars. I disagree with you there. Okay, I mean I understand that perspective and as my you might be right now that you mentioned that though it reminded me of something else I saw in Charlie Rose He I don't know I'm watching Charlie Rose so much, but I guess there's nothing else on it's so pathetic I'm yeah, you know I don't not a big fan of Charlie Rose because he always ends up talking about himself and But he had William Gates on Doug or would know who's what's his name's Gatorade Richard Gates is it Richard Gates the Secretary of Defense Yes, Richard Gates. It's Richard? I thought it was. I don't think it is. Hold on. Yeah, it is. Hold on. Gates. Richard Gates. Oh, great. Now you've got Firefox installing your updates and it'll start in a few moments. Great. Maybe it's... Now what the hell is his name? Come on. Well, just type in Gates, Secretary of Defense in Google. I can't do it because my browser won't open. Hold on. Secretary... It's ridiculous. We don't have these things. We know... Ladies and gentlemen, this is why we have no agenda. We have no brains.

1:14:26 It's a... Gates... Robert Gates, I'm sorry. Robert Gates! Of course. I can just hear people yelling at their iPods. You schmucks! You freaking idiots! You can't pronounce Blagojevich, you don't know who's the Secretary of Defense, Canada is not being overtaken by the Queen, and it's getting hot in here, people. Good night! So, he had Robert Gates on. Oh, you mean the Secretary of Defense? Sure. Yeah, and he's chatting with him about how he's going to be the Obama guy, you know, which is... And then, out of the blue, for some reason, because Charlie Rose does this, in fact, he did it with Gladwell. Gladwell mentioned Bill Joy, and immediately, I mean, this is like the armband thing, you know, between McCain and Obama.

1:15:14 Immediately, Rose jumps in and says, oh, I know Bill Joy. He's a good friend of mine. He's been on the show a thousand times. Which seems unlikely. So, anyway, he pulls another one of these self-referential moments with Robert Gates and he says, well, you and I, we're both good friends with Brzezinski. Uh-huh, bada-bing, there's the man. As soon as he said that I was saying, oh, Gates is with Brzezinski. Uh-huh. Wait a minute, so Brzezinski... But Gates was with Carter. Gates was with Brzezinski, Gates was with Carter. He's been in the defense for, you know, since the 70s. The guy is no change, okay? No change. I don't care what you say. It's not only no change, it's like back to Carter. It's no change, people. Welcome back, Carter.

1:16:05 We should have the music, welcome back. I bet you I have it somewhere. That's probably something I have on my computer, you know what I mean? The theme song. So anyway, so I thought that was a little, I didn't, I don't know, I'm just, you know, I was still looking at the Nicole Kidman material and so I wasn't... I only ran into the Charlie Rose show because I was looking for TMZ, you know, to watch. Extra, extra, extra, I'm looking for that. You're killing me. I get the real good news there. So I do this daily thing on MeVeo. It's called MeVeo Today.

CHAPTER 27 / 33 Discussion

RIAA Policy Change, Oil Prices, Infrastructure Spending

The RIAA has reportedly abandoned its policy of suing individual music sharers in favor of working with ISPs to cut off access. Meanwhile, oil prices have dropped to $38 a barrel, leading to lower gas prices despite OPEC's attempts to cut production. Obama's economic stimulus plan is criticized for focusing on privatized infrastructure projects that may not improve actual learning or productivity.

riaa· oil prices· opec· infrastructure· barack obama

1:16:44 Right, you can find it by going to MeVeo.com. Yeah, and I'm doing all these little things. I had a good one that someone posted on the drop and I did it at the opening. I said, MeVeo sports news update. White Sox fans go to the White House. Cubs fans go to the Big House. And, you know, with the right pictures and everything. It's just perfect. I love it. So now we're getting away with a little bit of... A little political commentary. It won't last. Yeah, they like it. Everyone likes it. The board likes it. They like it to a point. I'm surprised that we... By the way, we have to get more people listening to our little podcast here because if everyone would just tell a friend or give a copy, burn a CD... Yeah, we double our numbers overnight. And they can put it in their car and listen to us ramble on and not know who Robert Gates is. Let's do something non-political from... Well, it's from AP.

1:17:37 The group representing the US recording industry, that would be the RIAA, Friday said it has abandoned its policy of suing people for sharing songs protected by copyright and will now work with internet service providers to cut abusers access if they ignore repeated warnings. Apparently it was costing too much money. Oh, they were losing money on these lawsuits. Yeah, of course. Of course they were. The lawyers were loving it. Oh, I'm sure they were. The lawyers are going to be loving this Bernie thing too. Can you imagine? No, oh yeah, absolutely under under house arrest and I'm sure he's limo. He's in his limo. He's in a mansion Let's back up a second Martha Stewart went to the big house went to jail for $7,000 maybe maybe she may or 70 who gives a shit what it was Maybe maybe she did something that was a little out of the ordinary and these guys a homemaker

1:18:39 A rich one, but she's but still yeah, no exactly you're so right and and OJ's were still walking around or is he now finally incarcerated I think he's done. He's in jail. He's done. He's through finally, but yeah, that's that's pretty crazy isn't it where was the SCC I Don't they are the what I was talking about the SEC as well. I mean there's so much information They seem to do this when just when there's more really interested in Nicole Kidman They seem to do all kinds of crazy shit. Yeah, well they seem to be doing it on a daily basis That's what's weird. Yeah, it really is true. So the price of oils at 38 anyway, so headed to 30

1:19:28 I think that's where it's gonna bottom out. Which will bring our gas prices down to a buck fifty, which is pretty much, for a premium, which is about what it should be. Well yeah, but now of course OPEC is doing the largest production cut in history trying to jack the prices up. I mean, it just makes me laugh. I mean, we just sit there and go OPEC, OPEC, OPEC, whatever, you know, we're all hypnotized. you know, getting a hard-on over Nicole Kidman and and meanwhile OPEC is just out there saying, hey we're gonna try and jack your prices up. No one's saying anything. That's exactly what they're saying. In fact, it's even worse. We're gonna jack it up and here's how we're gonna do it. Yeah, this is like a football team that tells you the plays in advance. And no one cares. Yeah.

1:20:08 I know, it's unbelievable. But again, it comes back to the dumbing down of the public. Nobody wants, you know, nobody's educated anymore. There's no need... Well, no, Obama has made it very clear he wants to change that. Not by improving education, but by putting internet into schools. Right, no, make him even dumber. I mean, if you listen to Obama, he never once talks about anything that has to do with learning stuff. It's always infrastructure. Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure. So basically we're going to have a bunch of mostly Mexicans building out infrastructure, and people will still be as dumb as ever, and they're going to be looking at the internet, the inner tubes, and they're going to look into what I do. They're going to look at the Nicole Kidman story. Wake up, sheeple.

CHAPTER 28 / 33 Discussion

Mike Connell, Plane Crash, Election Fraud Witness

Mike Connell, a high-level IT guru for the GOP and a key witness in an Ohio election fraud lawsuit, was killed in a private plane crash. The crash occurred shortly after Connell gave a deposition regarding the 2004 presidential election. The circumstances of the crash, including reports that the plane ran out of fuel, are met with deep suspicion.

mike connell· plane crash· karl rove· ohio election· fraud

1:20:58 That's too late. No, it's never too late. It's never too late. It's over. What is this? IT guru for Karl Rove died in plane crash. Oh, oh, this is crash. Oh, this is the the guy who had the emails for the Ohio election fraud. He ran out of gas in his plane. Oh, really? Where'd you get this story? And it's gonna be a link. It's breaking. Breaking story. Breaking news. Yeah. Updated. Hold on, I'll send you the link. Oh my gosh, there's so much happening. It is their favorite way, isn't it? He ran out of gas. You know, if you run out of gas in a plane, no reason for you to crash and die, okay? There's no reason. You can land the plane. Well, maybe he was in a helicopter. No, in a helicopter. You can auto-rotate. Of course, they don't have any information on what the crash actually was, but it was probably suicide by petrol.

1:21:59 Yeah, I'm always dubious about it. Once in a while, actually around the Bay Area, I think once every couple of years, it's always weird to me when somebody famous gets killed in a plane, unless there's something like a storm. They shouldn't be flying. That's what happened to Bill Graham. But once in a while, some bonehead doesn't, you know, doesn't talk. I don't know what happens, but he runs out of fuel and they always land, you know, in a neighborhood on a highway, on the freeway. They always land. Very rarely does this guy get killed because he ran out of gas unless he's, you know, over the ocean. There was a guy who had a slight aneurysm in the UK a couple weeks ago.

1:22:36 and uh... i think was the u k and so he temporarily went blind he could not see and they talked him down as they had a an army pilot got in like some you know by plane trainer some crap like that it was alongside him talked him down to the runway and he landed perfectly wow yeah because you know and uh... yeah it's just it's we hear the akron beacon journal reporting the private plane of GOP's highly placed IT guru Mike Connell went down in Lake Township, Ohio on Friday evening. He was killed in the crash report, being the only person on board of course. No reports of anyone on the ground being hurt. Key witness in the King Lincoln v. Blackwell lawsuit regarding fraud in the 2004 presidential election in Ohio that recently revived long-standing lawsuit led to Connell's recent deposition November 3rd. Alright, so that stinks. That really stinks.

CHAPTER 29 / 33 Discussion

Federal Employee Commercials, They Work For Us

A series of radio commercials promoting federal employees under the slogan "They Work For Us" is reviewed. The ads highlight the roles of government workers in banking integrity, food safety, and counter-terrorism. The hosts suggest that as the private economy shrinks, the federal government is positioning itself as the primary employer in the nation.

federal employees· radio ads· government jobs· theyworkforus.org· propaganda

1:23:34 Oh, they gotta clean some shit up before they get out of there, I guess. Yeah. Well, I mean, whose side is he on? I mean, who's cleaning him up? I mean, is it the... There's no side, okay? Oh, okay, never mind. Why am I even bringing that concept up? Why are you even asking that? There's no side. So someone tried to register theyworkforus.org? Yeah. You should go to theyworkforus.org. What is it? It's registered by the government, of course. It is? Yes. You're kidding me. No, it's funny. It's actually the federal employees. They work for us. They got little radio commercials. Here, I'll play you the radio commercial. It's hilarious. This is really funny. Here, listen to this. Hold on.

1:24:25 We protect the integrity of the national banking system. We protect American democracy and let the public know who contributes to federal candidates. We ensure the safety of America's food, drug, medical device and cosmetic products. We protect the air you breathe and the water you drink. We work to improve the energy security of the United States and to safeguard our nuclear weapons. We are on the front lines guarding against terrorism. Federal employees keep our nation vital and strong. employees. They work for us. That's great. Isn't that awesome? I'm going to get a job with the federal government, I'm guessing pretty soon. They got really cool. There won't be any other work available for anyone. That's correct. You are correct. Yeah. If you take a look at the, I mean, this is essentially we're going to see what Roosevelt did, you know, just basically. The New Deal.

CHAPTER 30 / 33 Discussion

Interest Rates, Inflation, Banking Protection

The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates to near zero, a move explained as a mechanism to protect banks rather than consumers. The discussion covers how inflation allows debtors to pay back loans with "cheap" money, which ultimately devalues the assets of lenders. The hosts warn that significant inflation is inevitable given the massive amount of money being printed for bailouts.

interest rates· inflation· federal reserve· banks· zimbabwe

1:25:16 Yeah, this is basically... Well, so this is what they're angry about in Greece because in Greece they've already started the New Deal because of course it is a world government and they're privatizing everything. So you'll see now there's a lot of movement in infrastructure companies. uh... the huge conglomerates are now shifting all of their money into buying up companies that build roads tunnels etc it's all being privatized all that money that was flowing to other crap is now flowing into that and is going to be a trillion dollars that obama is gonna uh... approve as a as a stimulus and that trillion dollars gonna go right to the same people and we're gonna make some bs roads and of course the question is

1:25:57 That's another trillion we'll tack on to the 8 trillion already expended in the bailout. The Chinese are now saying, hey, we're not going to lend forever. So that means we'll have to print it. It goes on the balance sheet, which means we're going to get inflation. I just don't see it happening any other way. Well, you have to have inflation. Yeah, but it's going to be pretty significant. Well, you have to have inflation for this economy to work the way they want it to work. And yeah, it probably will be significant. They can't control it very well. But right now they put the interest rate down to zero. So that's our beginning point. Yeah, it is zero, right? It's nil-nil. Yeah, it's zero. Explain what that means. John, what does that mean for people who just gloss over that and take no heed of the fact that there are people controlling the cost of our homes, the cost of our groceries, the cost of our cars. They're doing this by controlling the interest rates. John C. Dvorak, please, in under one minute and 30 seconds, explain what this is about.

1:27:01 Well, the idea is, of course, to curb inflation by changing the interest rates as the only supposedly the only lever we have that... But why is that necessary? Why is it necessary to curb inflation? Because inflation, if you have really bad inflation, it causes, which could devolve into hyperinflation. It hurts the banks more than anyone. Okay, so it's to protect the banks. So here's the deal. So I borrow a hundred bucks from you and a hundred bucks is worth, like say, a hundred bucks worth of gold.

1:27:37 And now we have inflation and a hundred bucks is now worth, you know, ten cents worth of gold. And they're basically making millions of dollars a day or have a ten billion dollar note like, you know, the Zimbabwe notes. And now I can pay your hundred bucks back with this cheap money and you're screwed. So thank you. Actually, you did it in under 30 seconds. It is to protect the banks. It's to protect them, not for us. It's to protect the banks. Okay. Thank you. Now, but if the banks are all out of business and we're all the only banker we have is in China, eh, let's go for it. Let's have inflation here. Well, but you mean if you need to borrow from the bank? I got an idea. It's called a mattress. Stick your shit underneath that, save it in the sock, save your money, and then go buy it. I'm waiting for the interest rates to go negative because what that means is that when I give the Treasury

CHAPTER 31 / 33 Discussion

The Greatest Depression, Economic Cycles, Market Predictions

A prediction is made for a "false boom" followed by "The Greatest Depression." The scenario involves a rapid stock market run-up to 25,000 on the Dow Jones, followed by a catastrophic crash in late 2009. Historical cycles from 1929 and 1893 are used to suggest that the absolute bottom of the current economic crisis will occur in 2013.

greatest depression· dow jones· economic cycles· market crash· 2013

1:28:29 $100, they give me back $95. Fantastic. Is this a great country or what? Is this a great country or what? So anyway, so we start, so we get it down to a zero because that's where you want, that's your beginning point. Now we got lots of room to operate because we're at zero. So when things start to crank up, we got lots of headroom here. Now we can move the interest rates up. to 5 and it's still gonna be low and it's gonna create a really hot economy. And I think we're gonna have a boom that is like just gonna shock everybody. But the problem is it's gonna be a false boom, it's gonna fool everybody, because here's what's gonna happen, this is my scenario of course. Okay, and by the way, I think I'm agreeing with you already. Go ahead. So what we've got here, we have this horrible situation that we're experiencing right now.

1:29:18 And so it looks like an absolute bottom, the depression is the worst thing you can have. We're gonna build from this. We bring in our new president, he's gonna do infrastructure stuff, he's got a little Rooseveltian thing going on, he's got Brzezinski, you know, we get a little Cold War action starting again, which keeps the military happy. We got troops on the streets. We got troops in the streets, it's perfect. So now we start to crank, we're throwing money into the system and it's starting to crank up the economy. And we all know that the depression is over because it only lasts a little while. This is it we're experiencing today and now it's time to get back to work. So we're gonna start cranking this thing up. Obama's gonna be behind the whole thing and everyone is gonna go into, all the pent-up demand is gonna hit the market at the same time which is gonna give you that hockey stick look.

1:30:08 and everybody's gonna catch up, they're gonna have panic buying on Wall Street, because people are gonna say, oh god, I'm gonna miss it, look at the stock, the price of US steel is down to nothing, it's going up, it's doubled already, it's gonna double again and again and again. And then they pull the rug, then they pull the rug. Then they pull the rug. And they do that by doing what? Oh, you don't have to do anything, we're bankrupt. It's just gonna do it by itself, it's an automatic system. And that's when we enter, here's a new phrase for you, the greatest depression. Ooh, I like it. Let me write that down before I, because it's something I might forget. The greatest depression. Oh, that's a good one. Damn it, that's a good one. That's gonna catch on. That should be a t-shirt. The greatest depression. Yeah, we should do that for the next limited edition t-shirt. People should go to noagenda.angryshirts.com and buy a t-shirt for us. Greatest depression. Yeah, we have to plug the t-shirt at the beginning of the show, not the end.

1:31:08 But this is a make people listen all the way through I mean if you're satisfied if you are still listening to the show by damn t-shirt Okay, if you're listening all through this what is it now an hour and a half? We're getting up there on an hour and a half. Yeah, it's about time to greatest depression See if you can get greatest depression calm before we post this. Yeah, okay. Hold on a second Is it should be the greatest depression? I think you have to get both the greatest depression and greatest depression I'm sure nobody's got it Christian. Oh I gotta go to GoDaddy. GoDaddy, GoDaddy. That'll be a great, that'll be the, what we'll term the situation. I mean, it's gonna be a mess. I'm not looking forward to it. People are moaning now. They're just beyond moaning. You have to remember during the Roosevelt era, I mean, there was common thinking that we were gonna overthrow the government.

1:32:08 That's how bad it was. Yeah, hold on. I of course don't remit that. Okay, hold on. Here it is. Already taken. Thegreatestdepression.com is already taken. Let me try greatest depression, which that's gone too. Oh well. That's okay. GoDaddy has not confirmed that yet. It's coming through, it's coming through and the answer is already taken. So is there a website? Probably not. It's probably a Parker.

CHAPTER 32 / 33 Discussion

Commercial Real Estate, Historical Parallels, 80-Year Cycle

The collapse of the commercial real estate market is identified as the next major economic hurdle, with empty malls and office buildings signaling a deep systemic failure. Historical parallels are drawn between the current era and the presidencies of Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. The "80-year cycle" theory is applied to explain why major economic resets occur with predictable frequency.

commercial real estate· economic cycles· herbert hoover· calvin coolidge· 1893

1:32:47 Or some guy talking about his wife being depressed. What? Oh yeah, parking. It's in parking. Yeah. Bummer. Bummer. Yeah, well it was a good shot. But we can still use it. We can still use it. The term is valid. Yeah, we can use it. Absolutely. Right, so that for you is 2011, right? That's kind of your... No, no, 2013. I mean, there's two or three scenarios that we can look at that are based on historical scenarios. And there's the two that I like the best. One of them entails a crash at the end of next year, and then we begin. And that's the real classic 80-year cycle, which took place in 1929. That makes sense, John, because what we have coming, obviously the credit card

1:33:29 House of Cards is about to about to cave in and then we have commercial real estate Because every single huge chain is out of business commercial real estate I think is overextended far and beyond the private. I just look at San Francisco. There's buildings all over the place Who's gonna work in these things? We have empty malls and people are not we're gonna end up gonna feel uncomfortable and I want the strip malls are gonna have big gaps in it with places that are just chopped out It's just gone and there's no one to replace it. There's no new businesses. Right. Well, anyway, so let me give you the two scenarios for people, even though I've probably said these scenarios too many times for some people. But the classic classic would be the following. You have Obama comes in, everybody's all jacked up and we have a real hockey stick run up in the stock market goes to twenty five thousand, by the way, is the key number. And when when the market hits

1:34:22 People say, that's bull, it's never gonna happen. 25,000. Yeah, when there's Dow Jones, it's 25,000. Sell everything you own. Okay, and you could hit 30 and you're, oh, I could have made more money. Get out. Right. Okay, so the market skyrockets. By the way, you have to remember that in 1929 alone, the Dow Jones tripled within the year. So it's not uncommon for something like this to happen. It's happened before. And before that, historically, there was never a Dow Jones, so we couldn't really trace things. But there are other evidences of this really fast climb. And if you look at the way that the pound collapsed, I mean, that's ridiculously fast. So things are moving. Anyway, so the market takes off and then you have a crash, traditionally, in October of 2009. The market should crash on some Monday or Friday.

1:35:15 And then it recovers, kind of, and never quite makes it back to the 25,000. But then it starts to go into a slow slide, which bottoms out in 2013. No matter what scenario I pick, 2013 is still the operative year for the bottom of the depression, technically. But it's so horrible at that point that you don't have a real even recovery. you have kind of a sketchy recovery. It takes about seven years, so you don't really have anything, you know, the happy days do not return except the model always shows, and by the way, this will happen too, that in 2017, you have a kind of a mini boom and then it crashes back down. It's just a short-term thing. It happened in 1857 and it happened almost every 40 years.

1:36:08 Anyway, so that's the one possibility, which is the worst case scenario. Yeah, that sounds pretty good. Yeah, you're going to have this one opportunity at the end of 2009, just before the crash, to maybe make some money and put it away. But other than that, you don't have enough time to get the millions of dollars you're going to need to get through the big one. Okay, the other possibility happened in 1890. You had a very interesting situation where there should have been a crash in 1889. There wasn't. a bull market and a boom that took place until about 1892, 1893. And then they had a massive crash and what was called a depression in 1893, which matches the, that cycle which would match 2013 if you add, you know,

1:36:54 40 40 40 40 years to it over again. How does the the French Revolution play into that was that is that also in one of those 40 to 80 years revolution that I have a bunch of there's a bunch of international stuff is my 1789 to 1799 yeah there was a Yeah, there's actually some things that happened during that period. I have a chronology that I'm going to publish. But the French Revolution happened for the same reasons. You had this guy who was printing up the money and he was basically he had shares in the bank that was printing the money and that's the way that would look like superficially but if since I'm a cycle guy it was part of a cycle more than it was that as far as I'm concerned. Right, okay, well so I'm down with that because it doesn't really matter because people are doing stupid stuff all the time it's just every 80 years the stupid stuff the guy at the time is doing he gets blamed for it.

CHAPTER 33 / 33 Discussion

Political Leadership, Wikipedia in Schools, Outro

The hosts conclude by discussing the limitations of political leadership during crises and the declining standards of education, specifically the use of Wikipedia for school research. They encourage listeners to share the show and support it through merchandise. The episode ends with the standard sign-off from "Gitmo Nation East" and "Gitmo Nation West."

barack obama· wikipedia· education· no agenda· gitmo nation

1:37:50 Right. I'll accept that. I'll accept that. Well, you know, it was the same thing with Hoover. And that's why I was kind of hoping McCain was going to get in because it would have reset the political system a little more logically and I think Obama would have been a better president in 2012. But he got in. So what happened with Hoover, you had this, you know, Calvin Coolidge was the George Bush of his era, just a do-nothing bonehead, and who spent all his time fishing, which was exactly the same as Bush in that regard. I think he was out fishing during some natural disaster. And, um, which is hilarious. And he, like, yeah, and basically screwed up the economy in such a way that the guy who had to take over the place, which was Hoover, uh, who was another clueless Republican who didn't really know what to do if things were bad. He was like one of those, you know, if things, you know, some people can run a company when things are good.

1:38:43 And some people can turn around a company that is a specialist. And some people can run a company when things are bad. I mean, you don't have all three skills usually. And the same thing with being a chief executive. If things are going great, this guy does the job. But if things turn around, he doesn't know what to do. And that's what happened. So he got stuck holding the bag and got kicked out and Roosevelt came in. This could happen to Obama. Yeah, but this time it's... Obama promised that I was gonna get laid and it ain't gonna happen. All right That's that's just the that's just the long and the short of it. Well, that's because of your neighbor The moral of the story, ladies and gentlemen, is it doesn't hurt to check out a little bit of history. And by the way, Wikipedia does not count. You should look at the pharmaceutical websites, pharmaceutical pages on Wikipedia. Hilarious. Oh, they're all just commercials. Yeah, it's great for you. And no one ever bitches and moans about that.

1:39:41 Yeah, that's right. No, it's really pathetic. Some of the Wikipedia pages are nothing more than... The one for Noam Chomsky is a joke. You should check that one out. It's like, this thing is like a million... This is like a terabyte. Do you know that schools now let kids use Wikipedia for their research? For their papers? That's wrong. Yes, it's completely wrong. Schools are allowing it. And Obama, of course, will be putting more internet in so that we can get more Wikipedia. Yeah, that's about it. Well, that's depressing. No, no, no, not at all. I see it as another battle that will be fought uphill and in the rain. Yeah, well you won't be liking it when I move into your house with my family. John, you'll be more than welcome. Bring some sausage meats. Alright, well hey listen, that was long. It was a good time. Yeah, don't forget there's a hole in the middle you can pull out.

1:40:36 I stopped the recording when I went downstairs. You mean that? Oh, okay. I never cut anything out, ever. Too good to show. Too good. All right, tell a friend, read Bubba Martin's show notes, buy a t-shirt. Coming to you from Gitmo Nation East in the UK, my name's Adam Curry. And I'm John C. DeVorek in Gitmo Nation West, also known as Northern Silicon Valley, a place that doesn't exist but we think it does. And we'll talk to you again next week, right here on No Agenda.