Desmet’s column hits the nail on the head. Polls are manipulated. Mainstream media is manipulated. And, naturally, the Democratic and Republican parties are grossly manipulated.
So who do we believe? We need to begin to think for ourselves - do our own research right down to the source of the information and its ties to social elements that are either impartial or biased and to expose those sources with something to gain from slanting the truth.
Jack, that was so well-written that I had to go back to check where your writing ended and Desmet ‘s began!!! And you are both spot on about the current situation (as far as I can tell from down here in Brazil).
I’ve been a big fan of Desmet since I saw one of his first interview’s in English. I’ll look for it on YouTube. I didn’t know he had a substack. Thanks for that.
I’ve been overwhelmed by all the great writing I’m reading on this platform. I usually start with you and check out people who read you — so far, everyone checks out!!!
The interview on YouTube with Desmet is long and I may get distracted, so I’ll summarize the main points now as they have greatly influenced my behavior. This interview must have taken place a few years ago: He was describing how different groups of people reacted to the Covid “pandemic.” On one side are the true believers, people who swallow the mainstream lies whole. Desmet said they make up about 30% of the population and that it’s not worth the time trying to convince them they are wrong. On the other side are people like you and me, people who spend some time analyzing things and reading/watching alternative media. Desmet said we also make up about 30% of the population. But what about the other 40%? Desmet says these people are on the fence but often don’t even know their position. They are too busy with work and family and other obligations to take the time to think these things over. Then comes the most important part. He says it is the obligation of the 30% who know the difference between propaganda and reality to inform the 40% with no time (or desire?) to think that the “vaccinations” are harmful and why they shouldn’t trust the Global Elite. (This is how I remember what he said. Sorry, Dr Desmet of I distorted your message.) Of course, he said a lot more but I only summarized the part that influenced the way I interact with the world. Nowadays, it looks as if much of the world has opened their eyes or had them pried open by too many people they’ve loved dying suddenly. But for most Brazilians, the world ends at Brazil’s border. Brazil is larger than the USA minus Alaska. It’s so huge and diverse that most Brazilians are not even curious about the other half of South America. So I watch and wait for more Brazilians to open their eyes. I hate to be the messenger of bad news. I remember when I first arrived here in 1993. I admired the way Brazilians understood that death is a part of life as opposed to the way Americans shied away from the topic. But now I realize that so many Brazilians die for so many reasons all of the time that all the sudden deaths aren’t very noticeable. Still, I tell everyone I meet that I’m not vaccinated. Brazilians (and the people of many cultures) make a distinction between private and public that hardly exists anymore in the USA (or maybe Europe, but I dunno). Talk of religion or politics are usually confined to the family home. Differences of opinion do not hurt the strength and unity of the family. (Amazing, isnt it?) In public people tend to be civil to each other. The worst reaction to my bad news about the “vaccinations” was when I followed Desmet’s advice and informed a woman seated at the table next to me in a coffee shop: she wordlessly got up and took her tray to the other side.
This is a reply to your main idea about telling everyone. I read something there that reminded me of the “eyeball economy” or how long it takes you to turn a page or something. Maybe I mean the “economy” of how much free time you have vs. how much to care about some social issue. Or much you care of course. After all day … they be running around doing the company’s or bosses bidding. Or clinging by your nails to your employment chances in your “specialty” elsewhere, if you are doing something really lame and probably won’t catch that same breadk next time. How much time they give us to think!!!!# Social engagement requires a certain committment out of the individual, wouldn’t you think? In that case I opine that some people just want to be left alone, so one takes them as a sort of baseline: never to interfere with others’ right, including their right not to care. This is how others should be treated.
Oh Jack, I had a great phone chat with a young woman who lives in New Jersey. It’s related to the “eyeball economy.” I’ve always figured that the huge increase in kids and adults with autism probably or partially is caused by the increase in vaccinations. But I think the increase in ADHD diagnoses seems to have more to do with the fact that humans did not evolve while working in some little cubicle. Then my young friend said that social media has probably influenced both. People pick up so many useful bits of information along with all the BS. Makes sense to me cause I wasn’t dx’ed until I was about 35. I didn’t understand why I had to work so much harder than other people who taught the same course load as me. And I was lucky. Some people my age are only discovering now that ADHD explains a lot about their life. Of course, social media can lead to false diagnoses too. OK, gonna send you that email. Tchau. (That’s how Brazilians spell “ciao” and I suppose many don’t know it is an Italian word. Like I said, for most Brazilians, the world ends at Brazil’s borders. And maybe I’ve never met any Mexicans here because they are not welcome to speak Spanish here. It took a lot of work to make Portuguese the only official language in Brazil. I don’t understand the language people speak in Portugal. But they are kicking out Brazilians because their kids are beginning to use Brazilian expressions and accents. We call our language Portuguese to show respect for Portugal because Brazil was not like other colonies. The Portuguese nobility fled Napoleon by moving to Rio - only time any European royalty lived in this hemisphere. And when Brazil wanted independence the Portuguese King or whoever was boss at the time, chose to leave rather than make war. And he left very reluctantly. Later he wrote that he has been all over the world but there’s nothing as great as sipping a cup of Brazilian coffee on a beautiful beach in Rio.
Jack, thanks for replying. I’ve been really busy and didn’t check SubStack since you wrote it. You made an excellent point and I agree with you. I only tell people I am not vaccinated. The woman probably moved away because unlike many other places, including USA, many or most Brazilians still line up for their bio-weapon injection — not because I was bothering her. It’s a place where a woman can go alone and feel comfortable and I often chat with people there. And it’s true that many people are just so hassled in life that they just want to be left alone. I’ve noticed that most people who are involved or even obsessed with the Evil Globalists are retired or not consumed by job and family. These people don’t have time for coffee-shops either. I replied to your liking of the image I posted that came out as a post. I’ve been watching some great YouTube videos today. This one I haven’t finished watching yet, cause I became enchanted by another economist, Jeffrey Sachs, and his disdain for the way the USA government behaves as if it’s the most powerful nation in the world along with his claim that we’re already living in a multi-polar world. Go BRICS++++. Sachs is a dynamo. I wonder if he knows this guy who says that things were more sophisticated during the Bronze Age than we imagine. He says that he discovered that the leaders of ancient Babylon and other Bronze Age civilizations used to forgive debts when there was a drought or just as a better alternative than allowing an oligarchy to form because debts accrue interest much faster than people can earn money and they understood that in order for people to be available to fight in wars or repair walled cities or have a dignified life, they needed a king or a government with the power to proclaim debt forgiveness. (And I just checked, as I thought, the Jewish Torah contains a law that says debts are forgiven every seven years.) This guy goes on to explain that the need to forgive debts - cause people paid their bills only once a year after the harvest but once in a while there is a lousy harvest — is the reason nation/states were invented. He says no university teaches this and that it looks like modern civilization will collapse like the Roman civilization did because the Romans did not occasionally forgive debts. Blew my little mind. I’ll plop the link here: https://youtu.be/SO-qHypWlgE?si=4sja7U-B33rXr8cW
I meant it came out as a Note. I gotta learn how things work hereabouts. I’m gonna send you an email cause if I send you a message it might get turned into a post. (Still not as bad as META, they grabbed two of my FB posts and turned them into “threads” - which seems to be a new platform. I thought it was part of IG. Thankfully, Elon Musk has liberated Twitter - where I follow some Brazilians. But so far, I only see Substacks written in English.)
Desmet’s column hits the nail on the head. Polls are manipulated. Mainstream media is manipulated. And, naturally, the Democratic and Republican parties are grossly manipulated.
So who do we believe? We need to begin to think for ourselves - do our own research right down to the source of the information and its ties to social elements that are either impartial or biased and to expose those sources with something to gain from slanting the truth.
Jack, that was so well-written that I had to go back to check where your writing ended and Desmet ‘s began!!! And you are both spot on about the current situation (as far as I can tell from down here in Brazil).
I’ve been a big fan of Desmet since I saw one of his first interview’s in English. I’ll look for it on YouTube. I didn’t know he had a substack. Thanks for that.
I’ve been overwhelmed by all the great writing I’m reading on this platform. I usually start with you and check out people who read you — so far, everyone checks out!!!
The interview on YouTube with Desmet is long and I may get distracted, so I’ll summarize the main points now as they have greatly influenced my behavior. This interview must have taken place a few years ago: He was describing how different groups of people reacted to the Covid “pandemic.” On one side are the true believers, people who swallow the mainstream lies whole. Desmet said they make up about 30% of the population and that it’s not worth the time trying to convince them they are wrong. On the other side are people like you and me, people who spend some time analyzing things and reading/watching alternative media. Desmet said we also make up about 30% of the population. But what about the other 40%? Desmet says these people are on the fence but often don’t even know their position. They are too busy with work and family and other obligations to take the time to think these things over. Then comes the most important part. He says it is the obligation of the 30% who know the difference between propaganda and reality to inform the 40% with no time (or desire?) to think that the “vaccinations” are harmful and why they shouldn’t trust the Global Elite. (This is how I remember what he said. Sorry, Dr Desmet of I distorted your message.) Of course, he said a lot more but I only summarized the part that influenced the way I interact with the world. Nowadays, it looks as if much of the world has opened their eyes or had them pried open by too many people they’ve loved dying suddenly. But for most Brazilians, the world ends at Brazil’s border. Brazil is larger than the USA minus Alaska. It’s so huge and diverse that most Brazilians are not even curious about the other half of South America. So I watch and wait for more Brazilians to open their eyes. I hate to be the messenger of bad news. I remember when I first arrived here in 1993. I admired the way Brazilians understood that death is a part of life as opposed to the way Americans shied away from the topic. But now I realize that so many Brazilians die for so many reasons all of the time that all the sudden deaths aren’t very noticeable. Still, I tell everyone I meet that I’m not vaccinated. Brazilians (and the people of many cultures) make a distinction between private and public that hardly exists anymore in the USA (or maybe Europe, but I dunno). Talk of religion or politics are usually confined to the family home. Differences of opinion do not hurt the strength and unity of the family. (Amazing, isnt it?) In public people tend to be civil to each other. The worst reaction to my bad news about the “vaccinations” was when I followed Desmet’s advice and informed a woman seated at the table next to me in a coffee shop: she wordlessly got up and took her tray to the other side.
This is a reply to your main idea about telling everyone. I read something there that reminded me of the “eyeball economy” or how long it takes you to turn a page or something. Maybe I mean the “economy” of how much free time you have vs. how much to care about some social issue. Or much you care of course. After all day … they be running around doing the company’s or bosses bidding. Or clinging by your nails to your employment chances in your “specialty” elsewhere, if you are doing something really lame and probably won’t catch that same breadk next time. How much time they give us to think!!!!# Social engagement requires a certain committment out of the individual, wouldn’t you think? In that case I opine that some people just want to be left alone, so one takes them as a sort of baseline: never to interfere with others’ right, including their right not to care. This is how others should be treated.
Oh Jack, I had a great phone chat with a young woman who lives in New Jersey. It’s related to the “eyeball economy.” I’ve always figured that the huge increase in kids and adults with autism probably or partially is caused by the increase in vaccinations. But I think the increase in ADHD diagnoses seems to have more to do with the fact that humans did not evolve while working in some little cubicle. Then my young friend said that social media has probably influenced both. People pick up so many useful bits of information along with all the BS. Makes sense to me cause I wasn’t dx’ed until I was about 35. I didn’t understand why I had to work so much harder than other people who taught the same course load as me. And I was lucky. Some people my age are only discovering now that ADHD explains a lot about their life. Of course, social media can lead to false diagnoses too. OK, gonna send you that email. Tchau. (That’s how Brazilians spell “ciao” and I suppose many don’t know it is an Italian word. Like I said, for most Brazilians, the world ends at Brazil’s borders. And maybe I’ve never met any Mexicans here because they are not welcome to speak Spanish here. It took a lot of work to make Portuguese the only official language in Brazil. I don’t understand the language people speak in Portugal. But they are kicking out Brazilians because their kids are beginning to use Brazilian expressions and accents. We call our language Portuguese to show respect for Portugal because Brazil was not like other colonies. The Portuguese nobility fled Napoleon by moving to Rio - only time any European royalty lived in this hemisphere. And when Brazil wanted independence the Portuguese King or whoever was boss at the time, chose to leave rather than make war. And he left very reluctantly. Later he wrote that he has been all over the world but there’s nothing as great as sipping a cup of Brazilian coffee on a beautiful beach in Rio.
Jack, thanks for replying. I’ve been really busy and didn’t check SubStack since you wrote it. You made an excellent point and I agree with you. I only tell people I am not vaccinated. The woman probably moved away because unlike many other places, including USA, many or most Brazilians still line up for their bio-weapon injection — not because I was bothering her. It’s a place where a woman can go alone and feel comfortable and I often chat with people there. And it’s true that many people are just so hassled in life that they just want to be left alone. I’ve noticed that most people who are involved or even obsessed with the Evil Globalists are retired or not consumed by job and family. These people don’t have time for coffee-shops either. I replied to your liking of the image I posted that came out as a post. I’ve been watching some great YouTube videos today. This one I haven’t finished watching yet, cause I became enchanted by another economist, Jeffrey Sachs, and his disdain for the way the USA government behaves as if it’s the most powerful nation in the world along with his claim that we’re already living in a multi-polar world. Go BRICS++++. Sachs is a dynamo. I wonder if he knows this guy who says that things were more sophisticated during the Bronze Age than we imagine. He says that he discovered that the leaders of ancient Babylon and other Bronze Age civilizations used to forgive debts when there was a drought or just as a better alternative than allowing an oligarchy to form because debts accrue interest much faster than people can earn money and they understood that in order for people to be available to fight in wars or repair walled cities or have a dignified life, they needed a king or a government with the power to proclaim debt forgiveness. (And I just checked, as I thought, the Jewish Torah contains a law that says debts are forgiven every seven years.) This guy goes on to explain that the need to forgive debts - cause people paid their bills only once a year after the harvest but once in a while there is a lousy harvest — is the reason nation/states were invented. He says no university teaches this and that it looks like modern civilization will collapse like the Roman civilization did because the Romans did not occasionally forgive debts. Blew my little mind. I’ll plop the link here: https://youtu.be/SO-qHypWlgE?si=4sja7U-B33rXr8cW
I meant it came out as a Note. I gotta learn how things work hereabouts. I’m gonna send you an email cause if I send you a message it might get turned into a post. (Still not as bad as META, they grabbed two of my FB posts and turned them into “threads” - which seems to be a new platform. I thought it was part of IG. Thankfully, Elon Musk has liberated Twitter - where I follow some Brazilians. But so far, I only see Substacks written in English.)
https://youtu.be/SO-qHypWlgE?si=4sja7U-B33rXr8cW
https://youtu.be/CRo-ieBEw-8?si=zY3bxD50nv6MOz-y