In the News III

Hunter Biden's Plea deal falls apart...as it should. However two tiered legal system still remains. Imagine if Hunter were an ordinary person. The IRS case alone would sink him.Even Wesley Snipes couldn't dodge it,.

It is about time that we learn't nore about the mass killing in the Nashville attack. The identity of the killer is inconvenient to the Establishment narrative.

I don't agree with RFK Jrs anti-vaccine stance but he is doing a stellar job of exposing the establishment and their disdain of free speech. Good for him. For the record he is not an anti-semite. 

Climate change (really Anthropgenic Global Warming) is a tremendous get out of jail free card. You can use it to explain anything. You can also confuse weather and climate with one another if it suits you and if you are on the 'correct' side of the aisle you may even be praised.

Trudeau shuffles his cabinet. He is worried about the election but its difficult to fix a rotten administration. This is likely more showboating.

My new website

 I am setting up a website to market my book - Navigating the Chaos. The website is located at www.gavinkanowitz.com.

Snappy Answers to History Questions VII

Why didn't the crusaders invade Egypt?

They actually did. The Fifth, Baron’s and Seventh Crusades each had a significant Egyptian component to them. The Baron’s Crusade in fact was defeated by the Ayyubid Egyptians at the Battle of Gaza in 1239. The Earlier Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) proved to be a failure and the Seventh (the first of Louis IX’s two Crusades) saw the Crusaders routed by the Egyptians at Mansurah and Fariskur (both in 1250).

Why was John Hus convicted of heresy?

The Czech Jan Hus was one of the early church theologians who was associated with the Bohemian Reformation and the Hussite Movement (named after him). He lived between 1372 and 1415 and was the predecessor to later Protestant reformers - Luther, Calvin and Zwingli.

His main heresy from the perspective of Rome was that he spoke out against Pope Alexander V and the Antipope John XXIII over the selling of indulgences. For his troubles he was excommunicated, exiled, then asked to recant (which he refused), imprisoned and then burnt at the stake. His famous line was "I would not for a chapel of gold retreat from the truth!".

After his death pro and anti-Hussite factions (largely championed by the Catholic Church) would clash in what became known as the Hussite Wars (1420–1431) with the followers of Huss eventually growing to become a majority in Bohemia and Moravia.

Hus was also critical of other aspects of the Catholic church including ecclesiology and the Eucharist.

Snappy Answers to History Questions VI

What were some of the mistakes made by Mao and Stalin?

There were a multiplicity of mistakes that were made by both. Most of which centered around their inability to appreciate their limitations, the innate belief that they were somehow on the correct side of history (like most Hegelians) and the most tragic of all the ransacking of their own countries (read about the Great Leap Forward and the Various collectivization programs in the USSR). Whether this was intentional or not the outcomes were deleterious. Each was a slave to their own hubris with millions of human beings paying with their lives for such such single minded evil.

Did Stalin start the winter war?

Yes he did. He took advantage of his non-Aggression Pact with the Germans and the fact that Britain and France were still engaged in the so-called Phoney War (having done very little to aid the Poles against the twin invasions from both Germany and later the USSR in September 1939) to push for territorial concessions from the Finns. When the Finns failed to comply he authorized military action, that with hindsight would prove to be very costly for the invaders

Why did Mao Zedong kill his people?

Mao espoused an ideology that placed the broader collective and the will of the people before everything else. By necessity this reduces individual beings to material widgets that can be discarded to fit the march toward the respective singularity. Once you strip human beings of the essence that makes them humans genocide is easily rationalized.

Who was the strongest of the Three Leaders; Churchill, Roosevelt or Stalin?

In my opinion Churchill was the strongest in terms of character but he was the leader of the weakest of the three powers. He therefore brought less cards to the table. Roosevelt had the powerful backing of the American economy and military fire power behind him but struggled with deteriorating health as the war ebbed to a close (impacting his judgement). He underestimated Stalin, who was by far the most calculating of the three. However Stalin erred consistently in many of his war decisions and was often baled out by the brave action of his generals (Zhukov, Rokossovsky etc). His propaganda exalted his real status but in reality the people of the Soviet Union paid in great number for many of his poor choices and indecision.

How do dictators misinform their citizens?

1. Selectively report the facts through a state controlled or corporate directed filter machine. Air only approved stories.
2. Decontextualize events to fit a specific narrative
3. Marginalize Dissenting voices. Invite personal and public attacks against said people so that they become persona non-gratis. Declare them enemies of the state. Censor and deplatform.
4. Indoctrinate the youth using the education system
5. Politicize all institutions including the sciences (so that it is no longer a bastion of objectivity).
6. Inundate the citizens with state directed propaganda that promotes cycles of fear. Elevate the state authority as the sole antidote for the fear. Weaponize the surveillance system in the name of protecting people.

If you begin seeing any of this in a free society be very concerned. All of these aspects if not resisted head on will pick up momentum.

In the News II

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) Collapses

High inflation (government overspending) necessitated  a sharp increase in interest rates. This hits the bond market negatively. Unfortunately for SVB their Risk Assessment group was asleep at the wheel. Joe Biden can often as many reassurances as he wants but  there is no substitute for poor management. Expect the taxpayer to eventually pay the price.

China brokers agreement with Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The US is left watching as the parade passes. Does the nation eve have a foreign policy under the current Administration? Where is Anthony Blinken? Score one for BRICS.

Top Gun Maverick robbed of more Oscars.

Frankly I couldn't care less about the Academy Awards but the fact that 2022's most popular movie was reduced to a single Oscar (for sound) illustrates how out of touch the Academy is with the rest of the country.

Is wealth inequality getting worse in the west?

Yes. Wealth inequality in an environment that protects competition is vital to the economy. However a tipping point is reached if competitiveness decreases and the system moves to a type of oligopoly. This often occurs when excessive regulation and crony corruption stymies barriers towards entry into a field.

In much of the West today we are unfortunately either at this point or heading in that direction. Too much power exists with national governments and their corporate allies. This is made worse by the free hand given to central bankers. Fiat currency has had the net effect of wiping out a great deal of real savings and income. The high inflation that we see today is a function of policies that have radically increased the money supply at a time when production rates were deliberately pulled back (Covid, nonsense regulation etc).

What we have is a top heavy Ponzi system that serves the state elite and their hangers on - who can access the artificial money easier - while effectively increasing good prices for the rest of the public. In a sense this is a sinister way of taxing the middle class while pretending not to.

Bottom line….Never underestimate the power of the state to botch things up.