This is my weekly weekend podcast which I make a little longer than my other videos in order to summarize news and events as well as review all the new Q anon drops. All of this is to illustrate the BIG PICTURE. This week’s summary is one of the most comprehensive yet. Lot’s of new Q anon drops the past few days and the “April showers” is upon us.
President Trump recently announced a ban on Venezuela’s new national cryptocurrency, the petro.
That’s right—Venezuela created its own national crypto, possibly to circumvent U.S. sanctions.
But could the petro do more than that, and actually catalyze government-controlled cryptos around the world?
This is a Reality Check you won’t get anywhere else.
President Trump signed an executive order March 21 banning all transactions involving digital currency issued by the Venezuelan government, after it began pre-selling its own cryptocurrency, the petro, in February.
The petro differs from other cryptos because, according to the Brookings Institute, “The price of one petro is pegged to the price of one barrel of Venezuelan oil…” and “the petro/bolivar exchange rate … includes a discount factor determined by the Venezuelan government.”
By making that distinction, the Venezuelan government is now responsible for managing multiple currency systems simultaneously, creating what Dash Force News Editor Joël Valenzuela described as “an accounting nightmare.”
But isn’t cryptocurrency supposed to make accounting for transactions easier?
Well, actually it’s not the cryptos but the tech they’re built on. A few episodes back, we discussed how cryptocurrency is backed by radical transparency due to the power of the blockchain.
Rather than being backed by radical transparency and being a “trustless system”, as Valenzuela called it, the petro is essentially “fiat crypto.”
“When you back it with something that doesn’t have transparency, you have to trust the party that is providing the assets that back the coin,” according to Valenzuela. “It ruins its original value proposition.”
So why would Venezuela create the petro in the first place?
Once a crypto is a national currency, it’s subject to many tariff barriers and, in some cases, sanctions. Which is why President Trump made the first major national decision by the U.S. to ban a cryptocurrency. But cryptos like Dash aren’t tied to a government and weren’t created to bypass sanctions.
Once the richest nation in Latin America, Venezuela had suffered wild inflation, plummeting the standard of living and causing uproar from poverty stricken citizens. Many Venezuelans facing economic hardship are putting pressure on the government to stop the bleeding.
Anything to ease their suffering in the short term will be a boon to the tyrants, according to Valenzuela. But because the petro is not truly backed by trustlessness, critics say the government crypto won’t last long. And that presents a challenge to other governments considering creating their own cryptos.
Russian President Vladimir Putin already announced his government will issue its own CryptoRuble, likely sometime in mid-2019, according to CoinTelegraph.
The CryptoRuble is supposed to be directly tied to the ruble, issued by the Russian government and could not be mined.
More governments are likely to investigate the benefits of state controlled blockchain technology.
But remember, the two major selling points of blockchain are radical transparency and decentralization, meaning no one can manipulate the supply or the transactions.
And it’s those two aspects of blockchain that governments aren’t fans of.
Recently Congressman Brad Sherman of California read a statement that called cryptocurrencies “harmful,” and appeared to accidentally admit that cryptocurrency reduces government control of our currency. He said, “It hurts the U.S. government in two ways. Our contr… …our ability to have the US dollar be the chief means of international finance is what has underpinned our ability to impose sanctions…”
So Sherman doesn’t like the lack of “contr…” that the government has over crypto.
But on the other hand, imagine if the U.S. decided to use blockchain to track how our tax dollars are spent. Remember when the Pentagon admitted earlier this year that it couldn’t account for hundreds of millions of dollars?
What could help prevent data loss like this? The blockchain.
Corporations are already testing out the tech to prevent major data breaches like what happened to Target, Home Depot, JP Morgan, Anthem and others.
John Oliver explained the power of the blockchain in a recent episode of his show “Last Week Tonight.” He said, “The blockchain… a database that is nearly impossible to hack or tamper with, and which could possibly improve security, efficiency and trust. That is why big companies like Wal-Mart, IBM and JP Morgan have all been experimenting with blockchain as a way to potentially share and secure data transactions in a reliable, easy to access way.”
So what you need to know is that the blockchain presents an opportunity for governments to create a more transparent financial system. But Venezuela isn’t really doing that with the petro.
The crypto market has and will continue to fluctuate. Some crypto will disappear, some will stick around.
The question is, who is going to control the crypto? If governments do… they will take away the freedom of crypto… but if crypto currencies remain decentralized, then we will be able to keep a radically transparent financial system for the people.
That’s Reality Check. Let’s talk about that, right now, on Twitter and Facebook.
The Facebook scandal involving personal data mishandled by Cambridge Analytica has raised concerns over the privacy of the information we share on our social media accounts.
Some countries have gone as far as to legislate Internet data privacy with laws granting the “right to be forgotten.”
Yet Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says we don’t need such regulations here in the states. Is he right?
This is a Reality Check you won’t get anywhere else.
It’s an unsettling thought: your personal data, being manipulated on a global scale. Where you live, what kind of car you drive, how many children you have, what food you eat, how much you money you earn, what clothes you wear, how you exercise, the list goes on and on.
While other countries are tightening laws on Internet privacy and how corporations can use your data, such as the UK’s data protection law with its “right to be forgotten,” the United States seems to be stuck in the 1980s on the issue.
In California, privacy is a right in the state constitution. “Privacy” was added to the state’s “inalienable rights” by the legislature in 1972.
And though California has been a leader in privacy, the last meaningful update to the state’s privacy laws was in the 1980s, long before today’s technology.
For context, Census data shows that in 1989, 15 percent of American households owned a computer.
Today, according to Pew Research, 77 percent of Americans have a smartphone—a computer in their pocket or purse.
And in 2015, those smartphone owners used about 27 smartphone apps per month, according to Statista.
Just think about all of the information you give to the apps on your smartphone. Do you read their terms of use?
You know you don’t. And yet, a California-based group called the Californians for Consumer Privacy has raised concern about how our information is collected and sold.
From that group came the California Consumer Privacy Act. The act is intended to not only hold major corporations making $50 million per year or more responsible for their consumers’ data, but also giving Californians the right to know where and to whom their data is being disclosed or sold, and if their data is being properly protected.
There’s nothing in California today that allows users see what data has been collected on them. And data is being collected everywhere you go.
From the checkout at Target, to your Facebook account, browsing the Internet or even just walking on a city street—credit cards are being swiped, messages are being shared, and cameras are recording.
So are the rules of how businesses use your data fair and respectful of your privacy?
One of the key aspects of the California Consumer Privacy Act is a right of action against companies that store data but have not taken reasonable steps to secure that data. That means consumers can sue companies that didn’t protect their data.
What exactly “reasonable steps” means needs to be fleshed out in the courts, but there are plenty of examples of companies that didn’t take “reasonable steps” until after data was compromised.
From December 19, 2013, “Target says hackers breached its system and stole 40 million credit card numbers.”
From September 18, 2014, “Almost immediately after word broke that Home Depot had been hacked, security experts were noting that the breach was likely even worse than the massive Target that had preceded it.”
From October 2, 2014, “JP Morgan just revealing that an August data breach could affect 76 million households.”
From February 5, 2015, “One of America’s largest health insurers, Anthem, this morning confirmed a massive data breach. Reports say hackers may have stolen up to 80 million records. No credit card or medical information is in danger, but Social Security numbers, birthdays and addresses may have been compromised.”
What you need to know is that when we provide information to a corporation, we establish a relationship.
We believe the corporation will use our information for the purpose of their service. Once your information is outside of the intended use, it’s nearly impossible to control it.
And third party sharing of your data allows it is be used, shared and disseminated without any control on your part. Big data is powerful force in the United States. But should big data be allowed to do whatever it wants with your information. If not, how do we, as the public, get some control back?
Let’s talk about that, right now, on social media, while someone collects our data.
Baby chicks…they’re adorable, fluffy, and incredibly delicate! Despite their fragility, they’re actually pretty simple to raise. If you have some outdoor space and live in an area where it’s allowed, fresh eggs and meat (if you’re interested in that) can easily be yours!
This week’s self-reliance strategies are all about getting started with baby chicks.
I don’t have 20 years of experience with baby chickens, but I’m now on my 4th batch of them. Each new batch has been more successful than the one before. Just like any other new skill, it works best if you simply find a reliable guide, plunge in, and learn “on the job.” Below, we’ll talk about how to get started on the most adorable hobby around. Trust me – anyone can do this! This article is long, but it contains basically everything you need to know to get started raising baby chicks.
Before you start
We’ve all read about the war on self-reliance. It seems like feeding yourself is becoming increasingly illegal. People are forced to rip out thriving front-yard vegetable gardens, raw milk is illegal in many states, and some states require an “egg handler’s license” before you can sell, give away, or otherwise distribute fresh eggs. We’ve come a long way from the days when being self-reliant was seen as your patriotic duty.
Because of this, if you live in an urban or suburban area, be sure to check the bylaws before bringing your birds home. Often, you can find information on this forum about your town’s specific chicken bylaws.
It would be irresponsible to recommend breaking the law, of course. *coughs* I’ve heard that although chickens aren’t exactly stealth animals, sometimes if you pay protection in eggs, neighbors will look the other way as long as there are no roosters crowing at 4 am or hens enjoying their rosebushes as an afternoon snack. Discretion is the better part of valor, to borrow a phrase from Shakespeare.
I really love having a source of organic meat and eggs in my own backyard. Don’t be intimidated! I started as a total newbie just about a year ago, and thanks to the internet, my personal library, some knowledgeable friends, and the motivation to try out a new skill, we’re now successfully producing protein for ourselves. If I can do this, you can do this. Don’t wait until after a disaster to get started. It took the better part of a year before I had a reliable source of food from my chickens.
Where to get your baby chicks
Baby chicks are everywhere at this time of year. You can get yours mailed to you from a reputable hatchery (that’s where my current flock of 25 Freedom Ranger babies came from) or you can pick yours out at your local feed store. (That’s where I got most of last year’s babies.) Sometimes you can even buy older chicks which are closer to laying age and out of the fragile stage. (I got 3 Barred Rock girls that way last year, too.)
Here are some articles that go into more detail about acquiring your fluffy new babies.
However you get them, it’s very likely that the baby chicks are only going to be a couple of days old when you get them home. Like any newborn, they’re exceptionally fragile. You may lose a few. It’s very sad when this happens, but most of the time, it isn’t your fault. Sometimes there is a physical issue with the chick that doesn’t allow it to survive, sometimes they get sick, and sometimes an accident occurs. (They’re prone to drowning in their water, for example, but we’ll talk about precautions.)
What supplies do you need before bringing them home?
Before you bring your babies home, you need to have a few things on hand. Here is my own list of must-haves.
A Brooder
Mine is very similar to this one, but I had someone local build it for me. We keep it in the laundry room for the first week if it’s cold outside, then on the porch, then we move it out to the coop. The good thing about using something like this as a brooder is that it can pull double duty as your infirmary if you ever need to separate a sick or injured chicken from the flock.
I plan to raise chickens for meat a couple of times per year, which makes a permanent brooder a good investment for me. Here’s my brooder out on our back deck.
However, if you are just raising a few backyard laying hens and not planning to raise new chickens every year, you don’t have to go crazy expensive. Below, you can find some really awesome DIYs.
Here’s one you can make for less than $12!
Before I got my big brooder, I made one similar to this, except I didn’t fasten the hardware cloth to the top. I cut the hardware cloth bigger than the opening of the Rubbermaid container where it would hang down over the edges, and simply snapped the lid with the hole cut out on top of it. I’m all about the shortcuts and not always the handiest soul around.
How We Brood Chicks (there’s another really cool DIY brooder in this article.)
A heat source
Baby chicks must stay warm, or they’ll die. If they were being raised by their mama, they would huddle underneath her to stay cozy. Since you are the mama, and if you sat on them it wouldn’t end well for anybody involved, you have to go with other methods. The least expensive way to keep them warm is by using a standard heat lamp and a red bulb. A red bulb is recommended instead of a white one so that the chicks sleep better. This is the method that I have used for all my chicks.
But please use extreme caution when heating this way. Many a tragedy has started with a heat lamp. I had a near fire from one out in a wooden chicken coop my first year raising chicks. Luckily, I caught it just as it began smoking, but it could have been a disaster. It can’t be touching anything flammable or meltable, nor can it be too close to the babies. Be sure to hang it in a way that the chicks can get away from the heat if they get too warm.
Another excellent heat source is the EcoGlow. This piece of awesomeness has far less risk of fire or harm to the chicks but it costs a lot more than the standard heat lamp. A friend of mine owns one and it’s a really great method of brooding chicks. You can raise it up as they grow, allowing more room underneath.
Invest in a cheap digital thermometer so you don’t have to guess about the temperature in the brooder. Here’s the rundown on the minimum temps the babies need:
Week 1: 95-100 degrees
Week 2: 90-95 degrees
Week 3: 85-90
Week 4: 80-85
Once they’re fully fledged (that means they have all their feathers instead of just fluff) they can handle lower temperatures.
Aside from a thermometer, here’s how you can tell if the temperature is right in the brooder.
If they’re all huddled together and making a lot of noise it means they’re cold and distressed.
If they’re spread far apart, lethargic, and panting, they’re too hot.
If they’re active, randomly spread out, and making happy little peeping noises, they’re just right.
My dog paid an unnerving amount of attention to the baby chicks in their brooder under the heat lamp.
Bedding
I use wood shavings for bedding, but you can also use straw. Be sure not to get something artificially scented, as this can cause respiratory problems for the delicate babies.
For the first couple of days, I put paper towels on top of the bedding so I can see their poop. See the section on health issues for the reason why.
Feeders and waterers
You’ll need some containers for feeding and watering your babies.
First, a note. Baby chicks are adorable, but they’re messy and they poop everywhere. That includes in their food and water containers. Initially I don’t like to use an open bowl for feeding for this very reason. It doesn’t seem to bother them much, but ew.
I have a couple of different feeders for the littles.
These are awesome because they are inexpensive and they simply screw on the bottom of a regular mouth quart jar. The jars can easily be sanitized in the dishwasher afterward. (They’re less than $5 at the time of publication.)
I also have one of these. I had so many chicks in my last batch that I had to set out 3 feeders for them to be certain everyone got something to eat.
For water, it’s really important to note that a lot of baby chicks die from drowning. It’s heartbreaking to see (thankfully it hasn’t happened to us!) There are two ways to avoid this.
#1. First, you can get a water container that doesn’t have enough room for them to fall in and die. I like the kind that you screw on to the bottom of a mason jar. You can also get them in plastic but it’s only a few cents less. You’ll have to fill these several times throughout the day, depending on how many chicks you have.
#2. You can use a bigger one-gallon water dispenser, but line the trough area with pebbles. this way, they can still get a drink but there isn’t room for them to fall in and be unable to get out. You will only have to do this for a week or so before they’re too big to fall in.
I like to raise the water dispenser up just a little bit to keep it from getting filled with bedding. The bedding can soak up the water like a sponge, leaving you with thirsty babies. You can use just about anything to raise it up. I have a couple of pieces of scrap wood beneath my waterers.
What to feed baby chicks
There are several different types of food on the market for baby chicks. You can get some inexpensive starter, but you probably aren’t giving your chicks the best beginning with it. It’s like feeding them fortified cereal. Instead of food with actual nutrients, the nutrients are artificially added to a stripped product. They’ll probably survive, but they won’t be as healthy as chicks fed a better quality of food.
The next debate is whether or not to give them medicated feed. Some people swear by giving them medicated feed for the first few weeks of their lives, claiming that all of the medication will be out of their systems by the time you consume the eggs (or the chickens if you’re raising them for meat.) It provides them with an immunity to coccidiosis.
Many people are raising chickens to provide them with organic eggs or meat at a better price. If that is your goal, you’ll want to go with an organic food. This starter is a high quality organic product at a reasonable price.
Another option is GMO-free feed if you aren’t worried about strictly organic. It’s a good happy medium between the low-quality “Doritoes” chicken feed and the expensive organic feed. You can usually find a good quality GMO-free crumble at your local feed store.
I always start out with crumble, which is coarsely ground, and as they get bigger, I mix the crumble with the pellets. I like pellets because there is far less waste. I also like to supplement them with fresh fruits and vegetables. However, if you are supplementing them, be sure to provide a little dish of grit to help with their digestion.
Baby chick health issues
Obviously, prevention is key. One great way to prevent illness in your chicks is to add 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to a gallon of water. (Get the good kind with the mother – the cheap stuff does absolutely nothing.) You can also get those little packets of probiotics to add to their water, but mine have been just fine with the ACV.
Coccidiosis: Remember how I said I put paper towels over the bedding for the first few days? That’s so I can check their poop.It’s important to check that on a daily basis. You’re looking for anything bloody. ( Turn off the red heat light if you’re using one because you can’t see bloody stool under a red light.) If you see anything with even a tinge of blood, you need to act immediately. This is a symptom of coccidiosis.
It’s not difficult to treat. Although this medication is labeled for use with calves, it can be used for baby chicks if you water it down sufficiently, as per my local feed store. Add 2 teaspoons of Corid to a gallon of water. They’ll generally consume enough if they aren’t too sick to drink.
Pasty butt: I lost several chicks in my first flock to pasty butt and it absolutely broke my heart. This is evident when their vent gets sealed shut with poop. If it becomes clogged, the waste backs up in the chick’s system and they can’t pass their waste. It’s essential during the first week or two after bringing them home to check everyone’s bottom on a twice daily basis. If there is a little clump of poo on the bottom, you have to act.
You will have to very gently remove the clump on their bottoms. BE CAREFUL. Just pulling on it can actually disembowel the poor baby. Also, you need to be certain it’s the vent and not the umbilical stump.
This video shows you how to clean the chick’s bottom.
So…you’ve got your babies home. They’re safely ensconced in the brooder. What now?
You need to keep them fed, watered, and warm. That’s about it!
I free feed my chicks and try to make sure there is always food available for the first month or two.
There should always be fresh water in the coop or brooder.
Keep the temperature at the right range for their ages.
Handle them briefly and gently a couple of times per day so they get used to you. It’s much easier to raise them if they aren’t terrified of the giant human.
Check their bottoms 2x a day for signs of pasty butt. (You can do this while you handle them.)
These excellent resources can help you learn more about raising your baby chicks.
Raising chicks for meat? There are a few differences
This time around, I’m raising chickens for meat instead of for eggs. Since this is a first for me, I did a bit of research. While the basics are the same, there are some breed differences of which you should be aware. These articles can help you.
Once they graduate from the brooder, it is time to introduce them to the rest of the flock. This can entail some bloodshet, so you need to be careful and supervise them well.
My most recent batch of chicks was housed in a dog kennel inside the coop with the Bigs. We had an awful storm the other night and the kennel began to flood. I had no option but to mix the flocks immediately, and fortunately it went well. That was, in part, because they were already accustomed to one another through the safe barrier of the kennel.
First, let me get on my animal-lover soapbox for a minute. The poultry and egg industries are enough to make you sick – both physically and emotionally.
More and more information is coming to light about the horrible mistreatment of the birds that provide us with meat and eggs. It’s enough to make a carnivore turn vegan. Even if you don’t care about the well-being of the animals, don’t even get me started on the food safety risks or raising animals the way that they do. If the creatures you consume for sustenance are ill then how can you expect to be healthy when you eat them? If they must be on antibiotics their entire tortured lives to survive, then is this really something you want to feed your family?
If you can’t or won’t raise your own chickens, please, please consider finding a local farmer who raises his or her animals the traditional way and buy from them. Your business means a lot to them, and voting with your dollars is the only way to make Big Agri change their horrific practices.
On to more positive reasons.
When you raise your own chickens, you learn first-hand where your food comes from. You know what your birds ate, that they are healthy, that they haven’t been given risky supplements or medications, and that they were treated humanely. Unfortunately, the labels at the grocery store are basically meaningless, with the exception of “pasture-raised.” That’s a lot closer to what folks envision when they think about ethically raised poultry.
It’s also very economical to raise your own chickens. Have you checked out the price for organic, pasture-farmed eggs recently? Ouch! My hens eat about $20 worth of food per month and spend their days controlling the bugs and weeds for me. In return, I end up with 3-4 dozen eggs per week. Now, we can’t eat all of those eggs, but they are lovely gifts for friends without farms, and our Great Pyrenees loves them as a delightful addition to his dinner.
I get a lot of joy seeing my goofy hens frolic around the backyard. Each one has a distinct personality, and because they were hand raised, they’re all pretty friendly. If I walk out into the yard, I’m instantly surrounded by happy, feathered friends. My laying hens are like pets that provide us with eggs.
Questions or comments?
If you are a veteran chick raiser, please provide your best tips below! If you are new to chickens, let me know what’s holding you back from starting your own flock! Do you have any questions that I might be able to help with? I hope this article encourages you to take the plunge!
A school shooting incident transpired on April 20 at Forest High School in Ocala Florida. The shooter was identified as Sky Bouche, 19 years old. Bouche reportedly smuggled a sawed off shotgun into the school nestled in a guitar case while passing himself off as a Forest High attendee. The shooting resulted in one injury to a 17 year old student’s ankle after Bouche fired a single round of shotgun pellets at the bottom of a classroom door. He was apprehended shortly thereafter by the school’s resource officer.
Marion County Sheriff’s Detectives John Lightle, left, and Dan Pinder, right, escort a handcuffed and shackled Sky Bouche, 19, center, to a waiting patrol car, Friday, April 20, 2018, in Ocala, Fla. Bouche is the suspect in a shooting that occurred at Forest High School Friday morning. (Doug Engle/Ocala Star-Banner via AP)
A gunman who carried a shotgun in a guitar case and opened fire at a Florida high school has been denied bond during his first court appearance. A handcuffed Sky Bouche appeared Saturday before Judge Willard Pope via video conference at the Marion County Jail. The Ocala Star-Banner reports a second court date was set for next month.
Bouche told the newspaper he felt an adrenaline rush before Friday’s shooting that quickly wore off, and he was unable to continue with his plan.
Bouche faces charges including terrorism, aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm on school property.
The shooting at Forest High School in Ocala happened on a day planned for a national classroom walkout to protest gun violence and left one person injured. The school went on lockdown after the 19-year-old suspect, who was not a student, shot and injured a 17-year-old male student. His injury is not life threatening.
Reporters who were given unusual access to the shooter after his arrest for an interview where Bouche told them he was often alone and experienced moods of “depression” and “rage.” He obtained a 1930 shotgun “‘so there’s no papers on it,’” the suspect said. The purchase was made “in a private sale arranged through an online service about a week after the Parkland shooting so he could get it before [the law moved the age to] 21,” the Ocala Star Bannerreports. The gunman says he got ideas on purchasing the gun by watching a segment of ViceNews.
Bouche stated that at age 14 he was examined because of mental health concerns under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows for a three day involuntary psychiatric observation in the event authorities deem an individual a threat to themselves or others. He further tells reporters he has “a lot of bipolar [and] schizophrenic people in my family,” and that he has “always been around mental illness my whole life.”
Police obtained a “Temporary Risk Protection Order” to confiscate Bouche’s firearm. The Risk Protection Orders have been provided to Florida law enforcement under the new Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. The order prevents the subject from possessing or purchasing firearms for the duration of the court order.
There’s something very strange taking place in the aftermath of this event. This specifically involves apparent violations of the suspect’s right to due process. According to reports Bouche faces numerous charges, including terrorism, aggravated assault, carrying a concealed firearm, firearm possession, armed trespassing on school property and possession of a short-barrelled shotgun.
Given this array of such serious potential offenses, how is it that reporters have been given such unlimited access to the suspect wherein he repeatedly incriminates himself before any arraignment or trial?Where is his defense counsel, and why are they not objecting to such questioning and testimony? We are reminded of the odd access given to reporters following the San Bernardino and Pulse Nightclub shootings.
I remember sitting in the car driving into downtown Toronto with this really odd feeling in my gut — a mix of excitement and curiosity. We were heading to an interview that I had been looking forward to for a long time. Of course, finding parking in Toronto is always an interesting challenge. Row after row, street after street, trying to find a spot that isn’t a one week walk away from your destination (and that also doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg) to leave your car for a few hours is, to put it mildly, pretty difficult.
After an exhaustive search, we found that elusive not-too-far and not-too-costly spot. We got out of the car and began walking under the grey, cool sky towards the hotel where we were going to be interviewing Dr. Masaru Emoto — the man who claims that water contains memory and that our consciousness can impact it. He was in town for a speaking event and we had the chance to privately interview him for a couple hours, offering us the amazing opportunity to hear about his work firsthand. At this time, his research was finally being recognized in a big way by the mainstream and he was going to be having some very interesting high level conversations about it to move it forward. He was right on the verge of taking his work to a whole new level.
Just a few short weeks later, he passed away, on the cusp of his success.
Having sat with him in what very well may have been his last interview, I later thought to myself how disheartening it was that he died just before seeing his work truly flower. I really wanted to see his work fully explored at an openminded level which would allow for wonder and intrigue to exist in a study that could transform the way we view our reality.
You see, the scientific world has a culture which, inherently, has a difficult time accepting work like this. Why? Because things like this are hard to measure, and when we can’t fully measure and understand something in our modern scientific world, we are often afraid to study it and put our names on it. The unfortunate reason for this is that materialistic science has simply become the new religion of today, in a number of ways. While that has provided a plethora of amazing insights and wisdom, it also limits our understanding of our world by disregarding things that may exist that we simply don’t understand yet or can’t access physically.
Emoto shared his thoughts on all of this as we interviewed him. Although he had received much ridicule from mainstream science for his work, the deeper spiritual understanding that came from his research helped him to stay humble and open to the transformation in the way people viewed his work as an inevitable part of the future. And he was right there… it was ready to take off for him.
Thankfully, people have been inspired by his work and have expanded upon it to find some amazing things about the data and information water carries.
New research from the Aerospace Institute of the University of Stuttgart in Germany supports the theory that water has a memory. This idea was first coined by French immunologist Dr. Jacques Benveniste in a controversial article published in 1988 in the journal Nature as a way of explaining how homeopathy works. Later, others, including Dr. Emoto, took their hands and theories to this idea, all of which also proved controversial.
But recently another breakthrough has been brought forth and it comes with very interesting, reproducible results. The video clip below, from the Oasis HD Channel, shows some fascinating recent experiments involving water and memory. It comes from the Aerospace Institute of the University of Stuttgart in Germany. Although all aspects of the research you are about to see are intriguing, one thing that really struck me is the bit about different types of flowers being immersed in water and how the water keeps memory of that. Would this perhaps lend credence to the homeopathy theory?
“The experiment I’m using in this article was conducted by Dean Radin, Ph.D., who is the Chief Scientist at IONS and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology at Sonoma State University.(1) The experiment was done to measure how intention alone affects water crystal formation. Co-Investigators were Masaru Emoto, a Japanese energy scholar and author, along with a few other researchers and scientists.
The experiment tested the hypothesis that water exposed to distant intentions affects the aesthetic rating of ice crystals formed from that water. Basically, it tested whether intentions could influence the physical structure of water (as mentioned earlier). Over a period of three days, approximately 2000 people in Austria and Germany focused their intentions towards water samples that were placed inside an electromagnetically shielded room in California. Other samples were located outside of the shielded room so that they could act as a distant control. Ice drops formed from multiple samples of water in different treatment conditions were photographed by a technician. Each image was assessed for aesthetic beauty by over 2,500 independent judges and the results of the data were analyzed by individuals who were blind with respect to the treatment conditions.
Results showed that the test was consistent with a number of previous studies suggesting that intention may be able to influence the structure of water.”
Everyone is talking about World War III right now, and I hate to be the one to say this, but…all I can wonder is whether we’re being manipulated into a fight we can’t win. This is probably going to make some folks mad, but there are some facts, statistics, and unanswered questions that support my premise.
Picture this.
A clean-cut athlete from a wealthy family sees a skinny, underprivileged kid. The athlete wants to blow off some steam and look cool to his prep school friends, so he punches the skinny kid right in the face.
Later, when the athlete is questioned by the school, he says that the skinny kid did something horrible, and thus, deserved the punch in the face. Because the athlete is rich, well-connected, and the star of the football team, the administration and the cops opt to believe him because it makes it a whole lot more acceptable that he punched the skinny kid.
But when the skinny kid gets home, he talks to his big brother. His brother may not be from an elite background like the athlete, but he is just as big and just as athletic. He has grown up hard, so he is way, way more aggressive. And he has friends. Big, aggressive friends who are willing to fight viciously and who have the skills to back it up.
The big brother contacts the athlete and his prep school friends. He warns them that his skinny little brother has had enough. He is angry that they lied about his brother and that everyone pretended to believe them. He tells them that if they ever pick on his brother again, they’ll be answering to him and his badass friends.
If the athlete has any common sense, he’s going to see that he and his friends are outnumbered, outgunned, and outmatched. No matter how “special” they think they are, how can they possibly win a fight against more numerous opponents that have the same skills and the same weapons, but more – many more – people to wield them?
If you were the athlete, what would you do in this situation?
If you’ve been following the Syria situation, you probably understand who is represented in the cast of characters above.
I don’t have a background in military strategies. I’m not a politician with special clearance. This may make me seem like the wrong person to assess the looming World War III we’re about to get ourselves into. But humor me while I share some of my research and tell me your thoughts in the comments below.
You CANNOT just show up in another country and start calling the shots because you don’t like the way they do things.
I have questions.
Is this just saber-rattling or does Obama really think he has the right to invade a foreign country, shoot down the aircraft of that country, and also shoot down the aircraft of an invited guest in that country?
Does he really think he would get away with it?
Is he deliberately trying to provoke other world leaders?
Does Obama actually want a war? Because this is how you get a war.
Is he totally insane?
Does he really think Vladimir Putin will sit back and say okay, fair enough, Barack, no biggie?
And getting into a p*ssing contest with Russia? What is he thinking?
Provoking Putin takes things to a whole new level. It puts millions more lives at risk because what is currently a civil war could easily escalate into an international conflict with two superpowers on different sides. (source)
And that was two years ago. What’s going on now is no different, except that China has Russia’s back who has Syria’s back.
Trump is doing the same stuff as Obama.
Remember how we all thought that Hillary Clinton would immediately get us into a war with Russia if she had been elected? Remember how we thought that Trump would actually be able to get along with Vladimir Putin?
I think any of us who thought that Trump might be more anti-interventionist than the presidents who preceded him or the opponent against whom he ran have to admit that we’ve all been duped. Trump is just like every warmongering president before him.
And for those who are still defending him: don’t you realize that your bias is just as bad as the one you blamed the Democrats of having when they supported Obama droning the crap out of the Middle East? Stop it. President Trump isn’t playing “4-D Chess.” He doesn’t have some wise plan to which the rest of us are not privy. He is just like the rest of them. Maybe someone else is pulling the strings, but the end result is the same.
By making these ridiculous statements and trying to find the positive in a situation that has clearly gone straight to heck, perhaps you’re really trying to justify having voted for him. My friends, a lot of people voted for him and they all feel this way, but there comes a time when you have to see that wrong is wrong and call it out.
There was no hard evidence that Assad gassed his people in 2017.
Last time the media said that President Assad gassed his own people, there was no evidence. Just heart-wrenching, horrifying videos of little children foaming at the mouth and writhing in agony. I was sickened by those videos just as much as anyone else who watched them.
But it was never proven that President Assad made the call to do this. I don’t know President Assad, but it sure doesn’t make sense that he’d gas a bunch of little kids to death, does it? I mean, what would he gain from that?
Those who weren’t convinced were called conspiracy theorists and cast into a bucket with a bunch of unsavory Alt-Right types. But even in this critical article, I ask you, where is the proof? Senator Ron Paul produced this video at the time.
As Dr. Paul said in the video, things were getting peaceful and someone didn’t like that.
So, despite this lack of proof, Trump bombed them anyway.
April 9: Sen. John McCain blames Trump and says Assad was “emboldened” by his call to pull the troops. (But wait – wouldn’t Assad mind his manners until the US got out of his country? Why would he give them an excuse to stay?) In a series of tweets, Trump said:
Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria,” Trump tweeted. “Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!”
April 11: Russia warns the US against striking Syria. Moscow’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzia warned Washington that it will “bear responsibility” for any “illegal military adventure” it carries out. (source)
April 12:Sec. of Defense Mattis said there was “still no evidence” to confirm the gas attack but he believed there was one anyhow.
April 13: So, without evidence, the US military bombed Syria in retaliation for the alleged gas attack. They struck 3 different sites.
April 14: Russia was ticked and warned, “Such actions will not be without consequences.”
April 16: Russia presented “proof” that the UK actually carried out the gas attacks. But we didn’t hear much about that, did we?
Just so we’re clear, there was NO EVIDENCE that Assad gassed his own people but we bombed them anyway. In fact, we bombed them right before the investigators arrived to confirm or deny the claims that they had these chemical weapons. That’s not suspicious at all.
Here’s Ben Swann with a full rundown of the gas attack.
The US is drawing us into a massive conflict without any evidence. In fact, it seems like they may be hiding the evidence that would keep us OUT of a war.
And this is what COULD happen next.
Now, I haven’t got a crystal ball, but I have a few thoughts on what kind of Gordian knot the US government is pulling us into.
And that is World War III – a WWIII it would be very difficult for the United States to win.
I’m not being unpatriotic by saying that. We do have a very strong military, advanced technology, and billions of dollars to spend in the military-industrial complex. Heck, a lot of rich people would get a whole lot richer if a war happened.
But here’s the problem: I’m being realistic and reality isn’t always pretty.
These numbers don’t include people who could be drafted – just the people who are already trained and in the military.
In Global Firepower’s military strength index, which takes into account technology, watercraft, aircraft, and weapons, the United States is in first place. We have the strongest military in the world.
However, 2nd place is held by Russia and 3rd is held by China. If they combined their resources, they’re far and away ahead of the United States. Our allies, France and the UK, are a distant 5th and 6th. Israel is way down the line at #16.
I think you can see where this is going. It’s entirely possible that our government is picking a fight they can’t win. And of course, they won’t be the people sent to the front lines to defend the country, nor will their children. That will be what happens to the rest of us, who had nothing to do with bombing Syria in the first place.
Maybe losing an ill-advised war is the SHTF we need to worry about.
Maybe the real SHTF we need to worry about is getting involved in a World War III that we can’t win. That’s not on most people’s list of TEOTWAWKI possibilities. It’s pretty much unfathomable that we would lose a war – it’s never “officially” happened in our history, although there are some hushed conversations about certain conflicts in which we certainly didn’t win.
There aren’t very many scenarios we think about in which we wouldn’t eventually be the victor, and if we end up in this war, we may still “win” due to advanced technology and strategies. But the losses would be great as far as human life is concerned and things would always be different in the future.
Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail. Hopefully, the fact that more of the public is beginning to see through the machinations of those who will profit from war will slow down the wheels that are already in motion. Hopefully, we can live in peace and let others do so as well. Hopefully, we can stop intervening in other country’s civil disputes and work on cleaning up our own house.
But, historically, that seems unlikely.
The information in these articles will help you to get prepared for World War III, however it ends up happening.
All we can do to try and prevent this nightmare is to be vocal about the fact that we DO NOT want war with Syria. Because Syria has a big brother and that big brother has big friends.
What do you think?
I would be very interested in your take on the Syria-Russia-China mess. Do you think we’re headed toward WWIII? Do you disagree or agree with the analysis here? Don’t go all Dunning-Kruger. Think critically, even if it goes against your deeply held convictions. Please keep it civil and FACTUAL as we discuss this in the comments section.
Cannabis oil is gathering an unstoppable momentum as a world class healer, and there is little or nothing Western Governments are going to be able to do stop it. Cases are popping up all over the world showing that cannabis oil has healed some very serious diseases, including anxiety disorders, epilepsy, MS (Multiple Sclerosis), cerebral palsy and cancer. This young man healed his stage IV throat, stomach and pancreatic cancerwith cannabis oil. This Australian women healed her terminal stage IV lung cancer with it. Wallace Rose in the video clip above explains how cannabis oil cured his stage IV pancreatic cancer. It is a fundamental human right, no matter where you live on the planet, to be able to access and use whatever medicine you want to heal yourself. And, thankfully, we are beginning to see that Governments worldwide will not have the power to stand in the way of this natural right any longer.
What’s the Difference among Cannabis, Hemp and Marijuana?
First of all, let’s clear up some definitions. Cannabis sativa is the plant and species; hemp and marijuana are both varieties or subspecies of it. Marijuana is actually a Spanish slang term meaning “Mary-Jane”. Marijuana is simply considered to have a higher THC content than hemp. THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) is one of the unique phytonutrients or plant chemicals of cannabis. However, both hemp and marijuana contain various cannabinoids, a class of chemicals that activate cell membrane receptors.
A Brief History of the Suppression of Cannabis
To those unfamiliar with the beginning of the United States, it may come as a shock to learn that hemp was a big part of the inception. Not only was hemp (in all of its forms) completely legal, but also it was actually required to be planted by the early colonists! The Founding Fathers made references to it in their writings and grew it themselves. It was widely know that hemp was an incredible plant with a wide variety of uses: textiles, rope, clothing, paper, fuel, nutrition, medicine and recreation. So how did hemp fall from such exalted status to become an illegal “controlled substance”, for which you could be imprisoned due to mere possession of it?
The answer, as with many of aspects of the global conspiracy, comes back to the mega rich and powerful ruling elite families, in this case the Rockefellers. I have written other articles exposing how the Rockefellers invented modern (Western) medicine and created the Big Pharma cartel as a way to sell their petroleum-based drugs. John D. Rockefeller had the reputation as a ruthless businessman who once said, “Competition is sin.” The prohibition movement of the 1920s to ban alcohol was not really about making America more pure or morally upright. It was about the bottom line; Rockefeller wanted to eliminate competition to oil for fuel for motor-based vehicles. Similarly, the movement to ban hemp was also an attempt to destroy competition to oil-based products. Hemp is a powerful competitor to crude oil in many ways. Thus, the propaganda campaign was launched to demonized hemp and marijuana by inventing the fake phenomenon of “reefer madness”. The brainwashing worked and Congress outlawed the plant in various stages, eventually declaring it a controlled substance in 1970.
What is Cannabis Oil?
Cannabis oil is not to be confused with hempseed oil, which is the nutritional oil made from pressing hemp seeds, and is used as a food not a medicine. Medicinal cannabis oil is made by gathering large quantities of cannabis leaves from female plants, using a solvent to strip off some or all of the THC, and boiling off the excess water to produce a rich, gold or brown-colored concentrate. Depending on who is making it, the final product may have little or no THC, the chemical responsible for getting people “high”. For more information on one way to prepare cannabis oil, see Rick Simpson’s Run From The Cure.
Science has not yet discovered all of the hundreds or thousands of cannabis phytonutrients which are responsible for the healing effects of cannabis oil, but one of the main ones is CBD (Cannabidiol). Excitingly, CBD is being studied all over the world as people are beginning to realize its phenomenal healing benefits. Many clinical studies have shown that CBD is a very effective painkiller – especially for peripheral neuropathy associated with diabetes, arthritis, MS, cancer and other neurodegenerative conditions. CBD is especially brilliant because it prevents and suppresses inflammation. This means it is both a preventative and curative natural medicine. Chronic low level inflammation, as you may know, is the hidden cause of much pain and many diseases, so the potential for cannabis oil to help a lot of people is huge.
How Does Cannabis Oil Beat Cancer?
All of the cells in our body have cannabinoid receptor sites, including cells which have gone rogue and become cancerous. The brilliant thing about cannabis oil is that its THC and CBD connect to these cannabinoid receptor sites, causing the cell to increase ceramide, which then causes apoptosis or cell death. However, normal cells are unaffected by this, so cannabis oil is a targeted killer of cancer cells, leaving healthy cells intact. It reminds my very much of laetrile (or amygdalin or Vitamin B17) which functions in exactly the same way with cyanide as a targeted killer of cancer. As Dennis Hill writes, “Nature has designed the perfect medicine that fits exactly with our own immune system of receptors and signaling metabolites to provide rapid and complete immune response for systemic integrity and metabolic homeostasis.”
The Unstoppable Momentum of Cannabis Oil in the US
Due to recent changes in State legislation in 2014, marijuana is now legal in 20 of the 50 states in the USA. In 2 of these states (Colorado and Washington), it is fully legalized for recreational use, with Oregon and Alaska to come, while the other states or territories require a medical marijuana license (you can see the state-by-state details here). So it has already come a long way, and will continue to go much further. I predict at one point it will be legal in all 50 states in the US, and eventually throughout the world. There is already legislation pending in other American states, and the US Federal Government just decided in its 2015 spending measure that it would no longer allocate funds to the DOJ (Department of Justice) to enforce marijuana laws. That’s the beginning of the end of Federal cannabis prohibition!
The Unstoppable Momentum of Cannabis Oil Throughout the World
Many countries around the world are leaning towards legalization, including the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Argentina and India, according to this article. Uruguay became the first country in 2013 to fully legalize cannabis. It is also legal in North Korea, believe it or not!
The Case of Cannabis Oil Shows the People Have the Power
Cannabis can have healing effects not just as cannabis oil; check out this video showing the power of raw cannabis leaves too. Truth be told, the healing power of cannabis has just barely been tapped. And, for those who don’t need to use cannabis medicinally, why not add it to your diet? The nutritional profile of hemp is unparalleled. Its protein profile is similar to that of human blood. It contains all 8 essential amino acids, as well as 2 key globulins, albumin and edestin (the latter of which is found only in hemp seeds). Edestin is so similar to protein found in the human body that it can actually repair your DNA! Additionally, hemp seeds contain the essential fatty acids linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linoleic acid (omega-3) – in the ideal ratio for optimal health (3:1). These healthy fats reduce inflammation, boost the immune system and are responsible for strong and shiny skin, hair and nails. Hemp seeds have high quantities of iron, magnesium and zinc, and so combat many ailments resulting from a deficiency in these minerals. Other benefits of hemp seeds include reducing craving for junk foods and boosting memory.
The case of cannabis is a further positive indication to me that the NWO elite, the global conspirators, are not as powerful as they would like to think. We the people ultimately have the power, and the truth will ultimately triumph over lies, just as the powerful medicinal value of cannabis has outrun and outstripped the propaganda of “reefer madness”. Sometimes, though, it does take a long time for truth to prevail …
Peace on earth: a statement heard around the world and an ideal that most of seem to want to yet have no idea how to attain. It seems like conflicts and wars are a reality in every part of the world, every single day. From religious battles to political quarrels, we seem to find a way to make our differences and thirst for power and control lead us to battle time and time again. And while everything I’m saying is true, there’s probably something you haven’t considered that may shock you. It may even get you seeing that we are actually quite close to having peace on earth as we speak.
The video below tells a tale of WW II fatalities that puts into perspective the true cost of war today. It was written, directed, coded, and narrated by Neil Halloran over at fallen.io/ww2/.
“The Fallen of World War II is an interactive documentary that examines the human cost of the second World War and the decline in battle deaths in the years since the war. The 15-minute data visualization uses cinematic storytelling techniques to provide viewers with a fresh and dramatic perspective of a pivotal moment in history.”
When we think of war or a lack of peace in our world we think something is wrong with the world. One perspective I’d love to challenge is our reluctance to accept that there is nothing ‘wrong’ with the world. I’m not saying we need to lie down and accept things we don’t wish to see, but simply that we need to recognize that everything in our world, in a deeper sense, is showing us something. War and conflict included! It’s teaching us what we can create, or have created, and what is a result of our human consciousness as it is today. I feel that only when we can come to that understanding and see that we don’t have to hate or fight violently that which we don’t like, will we find an evolution of the way we are living and treating each other on this earth. A collective evolution.
