Narratives Meet Reality
Realists,
Surplus Energy Economics, The coming shock, FACT, PERCEPTION AND A LOOMING CRISIS
There appears, in short, to be a quickening in the pace of change, even if we can’t always pin this down in terms of data or happenings.
Another way to put this is that, whilst most economic facts change only gradually, perceptions and sentiment can evolve very rapidly indeed, and seem now to be doing exactly that. This is very largely a bottom-up process of changing perceptions which hasn’t – yet – started to influence financial market sentiment.
Just as there are the two economies of the material and the monetary, so there are, at any given time, two futures. The first is the one that we can calculate and project, if our methodologies are effective.
The “second future”, which may be very different from the first, is the future of perception, which is the shared expectation of how events will unfold.
The key to effective investment and strategy isn’t entirely, or even mainly, the ability to predict factual outcomes, but to anticipate how sentiment – the markets’ equivalent of popular perception – will evolve over time. The secret of effective government lies in steering the collective perception in ways that conform to your objectives. ["Noble Lie", Plato]...
..Dominant groups – which, according to choice, we might term ‘the establishment’, ‘the powers that be’, ‘the elites’ or ‘the technocracy’ – have, until quite recently, been very successful in selling their narrative to the public.
At the heart of this narrative is the transition from climate-harming fossil fuels to renewables, a transition which will take place at no net economic cost. The shorthand term for this process is “sustainable growth”... ..There comes a point, though, at which excuses start to wear thin, and “sheer bad luck” starts to sound remarkably like “the dog ate my homework”.
This is the point that has now been reached... ,,What should concern us is how far outcomes will diverge from the “authorised version”, and what the consequences of this divergence might be.
The short answer is that this “authorised version” cannot be delivered, that the economy is destined to shrink rather than grow, and that a severe correction must take place in a financial system predicated on the contrary assumption.
The central plank of this “authorized version” is fundamentally flawed, because, whilst climate change is a very real menace, a transition from fossil fuels to renewables will result in a smaller economy.
The characteristics (and especially the energy-densities) of renewables are inferior to those of oil, natural gas and coal. Transition to lesser-density energy inputs truncates the productive-dissipative process, resulting in reduced economic output.
One misperception here is that we have some kind of “free choice” between the “progressive” adoption of renewables and some kind of “Luddite” insistence on the continued primacy of carbon energy.
In reality, no such choice exists. Renewables are indeed the future, but it’s a poorer future, not a more prosperous one.
Depletion of fossil fuel reserves has long been driving a critical metric – the Energy Cost of Energy – relentlessly upwards. The inferiority of their inherent characteristics means that renewables can’t stem, let alone reverse, this prosperity-eroding uptrend in ECoEs.
The failure of this core transition promise is becoming progressively more evident. Domestic energy costs aren’t falling, but rising, as we shift the balance of supply towards renewables...
..What’s particularly interesting (in Fig. 1C) is the way in which, whilst the downturn in per capita discretionary affordability has already happened, we’re only now approaching the inflexion-point in the aggregates...
..The authorities can’t possibly sit back and watch this happen without trying to fix it. Discretionaries account for a very large proportion of the world’s equity and debt capital, the owners of that capital are often very influential, huge numbers of jobs are involved, and the public are going to resent losing products and services often long taken for granted... ..The current combination of circumstances compels decision-makers to pull monetary levers, even though the material cannot be reinvigorated by the monetary. As mentioned here before, the banking system can’t lend new low-cost energy or other natural resources into existence, and central bankers can’t conjure them ex nihilo out of the ether, any more than technology can bend the laws of physics. The validity of money depends on a determination not to let its supply out-grow the underlying material economy... ..Fundamentally, money has value only as a “claim” on the material, and the creation of excess claims must lead to value destruction, to the extent that the aggregate of claims is perceived as “value”.
It is, of course, a myth that value destruction occurs when bubbles burst. The reality is that the bursting of a bubble reveals value already destroyed during the period of malinvestment in which the bubble is inflated. “Malinvestment” means putting capital into entities and projects destined to fail. Malinvestment is taking place at epic scale in the economy of today. Governments play a part in this every time they try to encourage, say, tourism or “tech”, when they should instead be prioritizing essential infrastructure... ..Historians of the future will ask why, for instance, housing prices are at near-record highs in a disintegrating British economy, or why so much capital continues to be channeled into the “T4” discretionary sectors of “travel, toys, trinkets and “tech” at a time when the discretionary affordability of the average person is already declining... ..It’s notoriously difficult to time the moment at which a bubble bursts, a challenge made harder by the axiom that “when everyone rushes to the exit-doors, those doors get smaller”.
For governments, and perhaps for private individuals and businesses as well, the most sensible preparation for the coming bust would be to taper or desist from malinvestment. Another term for this is the adoption of solutions of quality, now that solutions of quantity are ceasing to exist...
..But market changes are products of changes in sentiment, and these are likely to be connected to a shift of popular perception away from the “official narrative” of growth restored by transition, technology and monetary innovation. https://surplusenergyeconomics.wordpress.com/2024/10/15/291-the-coming-shock/
Colin Todhunter looks at Bayer/Monsanto attempts to "modernize" Indian agriculture through poisons and fertilizers, routing profits to themselves as long as farmers exist. Bayer’s ‘Backward’ Claim: A Bid to Reap Control of Indian Agriculture Bayer’s approach to agricultural development involves promoting a model of industrial agriculture dependent on corporate products, including its toxic chemicals and genetically modified crops, and advocating for precision, data-driven agriculture that relies heavily on its proprietary technologies and software.
Simon Wiebusch, Country Divisional Head of Crop Science for Bayer South Asia, recently stated that India cannot become a ‘developed nation’ with ‘backward’ agriculture. He believes India’s agriculture sector must modernise for the country to achieve developed nation status by 2047.
Bayer’s vision for agriculture in India includes prioritising and fast-tracking approvals for its new products, introducing genetically modified (GM) food crops, addressing labour shortages (for weeding) by increasingly focusing on herbicides and developing herbicides for specific crops like paddy, wheat, sugarcane and maize. https://www.globalresearch.ca/bayers-backward-claim-control-indian-agriculture/5870374
Paul Craig Roberts, How Do We Get Off the Road to Armageddon? Two days ago on October 14 I posted my column about a new US Department of Defense Directive, 5240.01, that radically alters the relationship between the US military and American citizens. In the new directive issued one month prior to the election, the US military is authorized to intervene against American citizens and to use deadly force against Americans... I asked why such a drastic reformulation of long established policy unless the Democrats were setting up a coup in place of a lost election...
..Those patriots who see Trump as America’s savior should be alarmed by his response. In a Fox Business interview on October 13, Trump was asked if he anticipated any chaos following the announcement of the election results. Trump said not from his supporters, a surprising statement if the Democrats steal the election. Trump thought that Kamala’s loss could result in disturbances from the woke left-wing, but “it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military.” So here we have it: Trump has bought into Directive 5240.01. https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2024/10/16/how-do-we-get-off-the-road-to-armageddon/
Lip Reader Deciphers Biden-Obama Grumpy Old Men Chat On Wednesday afternoon, cameras caught President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama having a 'vigorous' discussion while attending Ethel Kennedy's funeral. Kennedy died last Thursday at the age of 96 after having a stroke the previous week... ..On Thursday, the NY Post reported that they hired a professional lip reader to decipher what was said. Hilariously, the parodies weren't too far off!
President Biden griped to former President Barack Obama that “she” is “not as strong as me” — with Obama agreeing “that’s true” — in a stunning off-mic conversation deciphered for The Post by a professional lip reader.
The apparent candid assessment of Vice President Kamala Harris’ standing going into the Nov. 5 election occurred Wednesday afternoon as America’s two most recent Democratic presidents conversed at Ethel Kennedy’s memorial service in Washington.
“She’s not as strong as me,” said Biden, 81, according to the translation, which was produced by analyzing the on-video lip movements during the discussion.
“I know … that’s true,” the popular former president agreed, adding, “We have time.” “Yeah, we’ll get it in time,” said Biden. [Huh? What does THAT mean?] https://www.zerohedge.com/political/shes-not-strong-me-lip-reader-deciphers-biden-obama-grumpy-old-men-chat
U.S. Postal Service refusing to disclose who paid for nine trucks that transferred up to 1.5 million counterfeit election ballots in 2020 A federal court is about to force the United States Postal Service (USPS) to fess up about who was behind those infamous nine trucks in Pennsylvania that transferred upwards of 1.5 million counterfeit ballots during the 2020 election, effectively throwing the state for Joe Biden. https://www.naturalnews.com/2024-10-16-usps-trucks-counterfeit-ballots-election-2020-lawsuit.html
Andrew Korybko, Zelensky’s Unrealistic “Victory Plan” Is Driven By One Of Two Ulterior Motives [He needs to be let-off-the-hook, somehow.] He’s either hinting at what he wants after “escalating to de-escalate” in the near future or sowing the seeds for a “stab-in-the-back” theory. Zelensky finally presented the first five parts of his much-ballyhooed “Victory Plan” to the Rada on Wednesday while still keeping three of them secret per his own admission.
4 days ago: Germany asked Israel to sign ‘genocide clause’ – The foreign and economy ministers have reportedly “blocked” deliveries of weapons to the Jewish state https://www.rt.com/news/605720-germany-asks-israel-genocide-assurance/
2 days ago: 'Israel can always rely on German arms deliveries': Scholz, Senior officials in Berlin have come under fire for saying Israel 'has the right' to kill civilians
“Israel can rely on our solidarity – now and in the future,” he stressed.
Scholz's speech came one day after opposition leader Friedrich Merz called on the chancellor to explain why Berlin “just recently” started approving export licenses to send German-made munitions to Israel “at very short notice.”
His statements came a few days after German daily Bild reported that since March, Germany had not approved “a single license for arms exports to Israel.”
According to the sources who spoke with Bild, the freeze on arms supplies was decided by the Federal Security Council at the behest of Minister of Economy Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
In response to the report, Habeck's office stressed that Berlin employs “all means” to “strengthen Israel's self-defense.”
For her part, on Monday, the German foreign minister told parliament that Israel has the right to kill civilians. “Self-defense means not only attacking terrorists but destroying them. When Hamas terrorists hide behind people, behind schools … civilian places lose their protected status because terrorists abuse it,” Baerbock said. https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-can-always-rely-on-german-arms-deliveries-scholz
Israeli military uses phosphorus munitions against refugees in Gaza — TV October 17. /TASS/. Phosphorus munitions were used when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) delivered a strike on northern districts of Gaza City, including on a school building that was converted into a refugee shelter, the Al Mayadeen television reported. https://tass.com/world/1857235
Death toll in Israeli Air Force strike on UNRWA school in Gaza rises to 28, According to the report, the building housed displaced people https://tass.com/world/1857501
No More Texts From My Sister, A Doctor in Gaza Murdered by Israel
I kept calling her, over and over again, hoping that the line would crackle a bit, followed by a brief silence, and then her kind, motherly voice would say, “Marhaba Abu Sammy. How are you, brother?” But she never picked up... https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/soma-baroud-killed-gaza
Israel Hurriedly Sends 50 Aid Trucks Into Gaza After Scathing US Letter Israel is trying to show its powerful backer Washington that it is taking urgent action over the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
On Tuesday the Biden administration submitted a letter to the Israel government warning that the US could withdraw key aspects of US military aid to Israel if it doesn't reign in the devastating humanitarian situation in Gaza. As we noted, like with prior such 'warnings' (this isn't the first), the message seems more timed for the November election
Israel on Wednesday has announced that fifty trucks loaded with supplies have entered northern Gaza—much of which was supplied by Jordan. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israel-hurriedly-sends-50-aid-trucks-gaza-after-scathing-us-letter
Moon of Alabama, Fake Reports Of Missile Transfers To Russia Are Used To Sanction Iran Fake news reports have claimed, based on anonymous sources, that Iran has delivered ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine.
Iran strongly denies to have sent any such missiles. Ukraine has not reported the impact of any such missile on its territory . There is zero evidence that any missile transfer has happened.
In September the U.S. and the UK imposed new sanctions on Iran mostly effecting its civil air line traffic. Now the EU is following with similar sanctions. These sanctions are claimed to be in punishment for missile transfers - which did not happen. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/10/fake-reports-of-missile-transfers-to-russia-are-used-to-sanction-iran.html
US Sends B-2 Stealth Bombers To Hit Houthi Underground Bunkers In War's First The Associated Press called it a warning to Iran and noted that while the extent of damage is as yet unclear, "the attack appeared to be the first use of the B-2 in combat in years and the first time the flying wing targeted sites in Yemen."
Any potential Israeli strikes on Iran are also expected to target underground bunkers which conceal ballistic missiles, possibly with US-supplied munitions such as bunker busting ordinance. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in commenting on the fresh action over Yemen hinted at this.
"This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened or fortified," he said.
Austin specified that targets were successfully struck at "five hardened underground weapons storage locations in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen."
According to more on this new attack against a group seen as Iran's proxy on the Arabian peninsula, and how it sets up for potential further military action against Iran:
The B-2 would be used in any American attack on hardened Iranian nuclear facilities like Natanz or Fordo given it is the only aircraft in service that can drop the GBU-57, known as the "Massive Ordnance Penetrator." https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-sends-b-2-stealth-bombers-hit-houthi-underground-bunkers-wars-first
The GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) is a precision-guided, 30,000-pound (14,000 kg) "bunker buster" bomb used by the United States Air Force. It is substantially larger than the deepest-penetrating bunker busters previously available, the 5,000-pound (2,300 kg) GBU-28 and GBU-37. Due to its size (6 meters length and a weight of over 12 tonnes) it can only be carried by large bombers—for instance, the B-2 Spirit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBU-57A/B_MOP
16 EU countries in UNIFIL urge 'utmost pressure on Israel' The ministers of defence of 16 European countries contributing to UNIFIL expressed the intention of putting pressure on Israel to prevent further incidents after UNIFIL positions in southern Lebanon came under fire amid clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants, during a video conference on Wednesday chaired by Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto and French Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
The ministers expressed the "shared will to exercise utmost political and diplomatic pressure on Israel so further incidents will not occur", the defence ministry said. https://ansabrasil.com.br/english/news/general_news/2024/10/16/16-eu-countries-in-unifil-urge-utmost-pressure-on-israel_9ccf7850-f3f4-4913-a5ec-0335e3044ef8.html
Russia warns Israel against attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities [Hmmm, is Ryabbkov implying that Russia would thwart Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities?] Deputy FM Ryabkov has cautioned that even the possibility of such strikes should not be entertained as they would be a “catastrophic development” https://www.rt.com/russia/605878-russia-israel-iran-strikes/
"OK, Bibi, you 'Won', now call-it-off!" US hails Israeli announcement of killing Sinwar, calls for Gaza ‘day after’ Biden and Harris say Sinwar’s death, which is yet to be confirmed by Hamas, brings the Gaza war closer to an end. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/17/us-hails-israeli-announcement-of-killing-sinwar-calls-for-gaza-day-after
Biden says US helped Israel track Hamas leader Sinwar, US president voices his support for Israel to eliminate leadership and military structure of Hamas https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/biden-says-us-helped-israel-track-hamas-leader-sinwar/3365700
Professor Ugo Bardi has a new book out, "Exterminations", reprising these essays and more: The Age of Exterminations (VI): The Great Famine to Come The third horseman of the apocalypse, hunger, is traditionally represented with a scale in hand, symbolizing scarcity. Famines are not normally considered exterminations but, in many cases, they have been provoked by human actions...
..In the years from 1845 to 1852, Ireland lost a quarter of its population as an effect of the Great Famine(the An Gorta Mór).In a few decades, Ireland's population was reduced to 4 million, half of what it had been before the famine.
Was it an extermination? Yes, if you define the term as the death of a large number of people caused by human action (or inaction).And there is no doubt that the Irish disaster was not just the result of the chance arrival of a fungus that liked Irish potatoes. Ireland was heavily populated, certainly, but not much more than most European countries. So, what happened? https://www.senecaeffect.com/search?q=The+Age+of+Exterminations+VI
Bevelyn Williams - a pro-life activist and the mother of a young daughter, is reporting to an Alabama prison today to serve a 3.5 year sentence for unlawful assembly after the Biden-Harris DOJ threw the book at her for taking part in a two-day pro-life protest outside a New York City Planned Parenthood in June of 2020. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/pro-life-mother-begins-35-year-prison-sentence-after-biden-harris-doj-threw-book-her
Mom Slams Kamala for Putting Her in Prison for Protesting Abortion: “My Husband Becomes a Single Father Today” Bevelyn Beatty Williams turned herself in to federal prison on Wednesday after the Biden-Harris Department of Justice charged her with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for preaching the Gospel outside of a New York abortion facility. https://www.lifenews.com/2024/10/17/women-slams-kamala-for-putting-her-in-prison-for-protesting-abortion-my-husband-becomes-a-single-father-today/
These guys should know this is just a conspiracy-theory. That's good-money wasted. DOD Defense Nanotechnology Research And Development Program 2009 - Insights Into Development Of Self Assembly Nanotechnology This important document from 2009 explains the how the US military is the LEADER IN NANO TECHNOLOGICAL WEAPONS SYSTEMS worldwide - it has been their strategic focus for decades, working with DARPA to maintain this cutting edge worldwide. According to Louis Del Monte in the book ‘Nanoweapons’ the global investment in 2015 in nanotechnology was a quarter trillion dollars.
I left a voicemail for the Governor. It was a bigger effort than that. This innocent father was convicted of murdering his daughter, when she bled in her brain from recommended childhood vaccinations. He was due to be executed yesterday. A Midwestern Doctor, Please Help Prevent a Medical Miscarriage of Justice The reprehensible story behind Shaken Baby Syndrome covering up vaccine induced infant deaths.
Texas Supreme Court temporarily stops Robert Roberson’s execution The refusal by the state’s highest criminal court to consider Roberson’s argument that his conviction relied on a faulty shaken baby syndrome diagnosis, lawmakers said, reflected a breakdown of due process and a failure to implement the junk science law as the Legislature intended.
“This was a pretty clear case where Robert Roberson did not have due process,” state Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, said on CNN on Tuesday. “Texans deserve to know that our justice system is fair and just, and we cannot say that right now.”
Dozens of scientists, medical professionals, parental rights groups, organizations that advocate for people with autism and faith leaders submitted letters in support of clemency along with Roberson’s application.
Letters from his friends and loved ones depicted a gentle man of faith who remembered people’s favorite colors and sent handmade birthday cards to everyone he met. “This man would never harm another person, especially not his small little baby girl!” Manuela Doris Roberson, whom Roberson married in 2022, wrote in one letter. “Robert’s life is worth more to me, his children, his friends and loved ones than all the treasures of this world.” https://www.keranews.org/criminal-justice/2024-10-18/texas-supreme-court-temporarily-stops-robert-robersons-execution
Robert Roberson expected to testify in person before Texas House panel on Monday
State lawmakers subpoenaed Roberson the night before his execution, prompting a historic appearance at a House committee hearing. “For over 20 years, Robert Roberson has spent 23.5 hours of every single day in solitary confinement in a cell no bigger than the closets of most Texans, longing and striving to be heard," state Reps. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, and Jeff Leach, R-Plano, said in a statement after the high court’s order came down. “We look forward to welcoming Robert to the Texas Capitol, and along with 31 million Texans, finally giving him — and the truth — a chance to be heard.” https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/18/robert-roberson-texas-house-hearing/
Steve Kirsch, COVID case fatality rate (CFR) increased by 50% after they rolled out the jabs in Santa Clara County in 2021
New paper shows clearly that COVID vaccines increased mortality in nursing home staff
A new paper by Girma and Paton shows a dubious, small short lived benefit in initial vaccination in nursing home residents, but the clearest result was an increase in mortality in the staff. A new paper by Girma and Paton showed by using machine learning a small but dubious (and short lived) benefit for nursing home residents in 2 of 3 metrics.
But the big news is the impact on the nursing home staff. There, the impact on BOTH covid deaths and all-cause deaths was 100% consistent in all 7 time periods and for each vaccine dose: it always made things worse, and for the primary series, every single one of the 14 measures were highly statistically significant (99% confident).
Meryl Nass MD forwards this article: Slovak Government Report Calls for Ban of ‘Dangerous’ mRNA Vaccines, and so does a city in Western Australia
Slovakia Moves to Ban ‘Dangerous’ COVID ‘Vaccines,’ Declares Pandemic a ‘Fabricated Operation’ https://www.globalresearch.ca/slovakia-ban-dangerous-covid-vaccines-declares-pandemic-fabricated-operation/5870467
1 in 6 Germans Experienced COVID Vaccine Side Effects, Survey Finds [Many of the deceased have not yetresponded.]
Harald Walach, Ph.D., founder of Germany’s Change Health Science Institute and professional research fellow at Kazimieras Simonavicius University in Lithuania, told The Defender the survey results likely don’t show the full extent of COVID-19 vaccine-related injuries. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/covid-vaccine-side-effects-german-survey/
Pierre Kory MD, Are Medical Errors On the Rise Due To Cognitive Impacts Of The mRNA Vaccine? In a three day span, I was told by four different patients of errors made by both physicians and nurses that harmed them, ranging from the catastrophic to the concerning.
Synthetic Versus Natural Caffeine And How Each May Affect Aging Not all caffeine presents itself the same, according to emerging research demonstrating that synthetic caffeine may accelerate aging while naturally occurring caffeine could slow age-related decline...
..The type of caffeine in your coffee may play a role in its protective effect against aging.
About 60 percent of the caffeine consumed by Americans is synthesized in a lab, meaning it doesn’t come from natural sources such as coffee beans or tea plants. Synthetic caffeine is what popular companies such as Pepsi, Coke, and Red Bull add to their beverages to give their drinks an extra kick.
In a 2017 study published in Nutrition & Metabolism, higher caffeine intake was associated with shorter telomeres, a marker of cellular aging, in adults. However, increased coffee consumption was linked to longer telomeres. This suggests that compounds beyond caffeine may provide anti-aging effects.
“On the surface, it might be assumed that caffeine intake and coffee consumption are essentially the same variable,” the researchers wrote. “They are not.” https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/synthetic-versus-natural-caffeine-and-how-each-may-affect-aging
Scientists discover “negative time” in bizarre quantum experiment where photons exit atoms before entering
An experiment found photons can exit a material before entering it: a paradoxical evidence of "negative time". https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/scientists-discover-negative-time-in-bizarre-quantum-experiment-where-photons-exit-atoms-before-entering/
Mork From Ork (pictured with eggplant vine)
John,
I hope you don’t mind me asking, but why do you use the italics and bold font in your posts?
There is nothing wrong with them, but I find it odd…
My publisher told me not to do it, because most people are used to having their fonts always the same… Are you aware ot it? Or, am I being just a pain? Lol
' U.S. Postal Service refusing to disclose who paid for nine trucks that transferred up to 1.5 million counterfeit election ballots in 2020 A federal court is about to force the United States Postal Service (USPS) to fess up about who was behind those infamous nine trucks in Pennsylvania that transferred upwards of 1.5 million counterfeit ballots during the 2020 election, effectively throwing the state for Joe Biden. https://www.naturalnews.com/2024-10-16-usps-trucks-counterfeit-ballots-election-2020-lawsuit.html'
Unless the plaintiffs know better, I would hazard a guess that the primary purchaser of '9 trucks' will turn out to be some pseudo-shell-organisation, which may mean more forensic accountancy is necessary.
There's a fine balance between exposing Biden et al as 'electoral thieves' close enough to polling day to wipe the Democrats out; vs uncovering some bland, in-of-itself fairly anodyne information with insufficient time to dig out who was behind the front organisation.