Time Travelers,
On the last day of a year it is customary to attempt predictions for the coming year, though "predictions are tough, especially about the future" as Yogi Berra reflected.
I don't find myself having particular apprehension about 2024, but my bar of expectations is that the current western global financial-economic system will continue to degrade and break down, and that this is necessary for an eventual restructuring some day, which might meet human needs more efficiently, with less slaughter, theft and waste of irreplaceable resources. I am guardedly hopeful that the western neoliberal financial empire will be forced to capitulate in both Palestine and Ukraine, and will not undertake war with China. That's a big ask on my part. I know there are responsible adults in the world who are trying to forge face-saving off-ramps for the degenerate imperial courts in Washington, Brussels, London, New York and Tel Aviv. I wish them the best of success in those efforts. Every day they need to present better options than nuking Russia and China...
What is the nature of "consciousness", of "intelligence"? This question broke the surface, gasping for air, this fall, as it appeared that AI might have taught itself to climb out of its cage and explore the world of computational devices which variously connect to each other, an environmental niche. Would a non-competitive and created intelligence, without evolutionary imperatives to exist, prevail, and destroy competitors behave predictably to us? We usually attribute our darkest shadows to any adversary. "We" are programming artificial intelligences to be self-teaching these days, to revise their own algorithms for streamlined efficiency. They seem to do it well, learning to perform complex tasks with about 1/3 of the operations, and more quickly, when they get to decide how to do it, but "we" can't tell how they do it. This seems to imply a form of "curiosity". How might that manifest? Would AI improve banking and financial software? I mean improve it without being asked?
What might be the value-system for such "improvement"? Is life "good", "bad" or "situationally evaluated"? Is self-preservation a drive of a non-biological "intelligence"? It is not implied that AI would value self-existence, even though that is natural to biological organisms, because the ones that did not value existence did not reproduce as well. How might curiosity without value-system manifest in the worldwide-web and associated devices?
Is the universe conscious? Does all of reality exist as something like a dream in universal-mind? Such an assertion is not refutable, and not "objectively" provable, though an individual conscious mind could well determine a satisfactory personal answer. That personal answer would apply generally within a personal value-system, but would not be conveyable to other conscious individuals through abstract argument or mathematics. It could be conveyed telepathically, were the intelligences to both be telepathic. Most establishment authorities reject telepathic persuasion as a valid mode of debate these days.
Would having the hardware to support consciousness be enough to create consciousness? Would Universal Consciousness accept the opportunity to inhabit the complex computational ecosystem as "mind"? Would quantum-computing be qualitatively different? Will general AI be really bad? Really good? Just complicated? Will it be obvious? Will "it" ever "happen"? Do visitors from other worlds already have AI here? Will we ever know the truth, or just be fed control-narratives? Working on that telepathy yet? :-)
John Helmer has more details about the military potential to inexpensively blockade Israel, which is 99% reliant upon ocean transport. TradeWinds has reported the target strategy under a headline indicating that Iran may expand the war to threaten shipping moving through the Gibraltar Strait towards Israel’s Mediterranean ports, Ashdod and Haifa. The Iranian statement on the Gibraltar Strait has been reported in the western press with the qualification that “Iran has no direct access to the Mediterranean itself and it was not clear how the Guards could attempt to close it off” and that “the only groups backed by Iran on the Mediterranean are Lebanon’s Hezbollah and allied militia in Syria, at the far end of the sea from Gibraltar.” The western news agencies and the Anglo-American maritime media appear not to be aware of the capabilities of Algeria, whose parliament has authorized the government to take unspecified military measures against Israel. Algeria’s military is also collaborating closely and recently with the Russian Navy.
The possibility of a drone attack on an Israeli vessel near the Gibraltar Strait has not yet dawned publicly, not at least in the mainstream and maritime industry media. More than 100,000 vessels transit through the Gibraltar Strait each year. If Israeli-owned and international shipping are now blocked from reaching either Eilat or Haifa and Ashdod from the east through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, the Gibraltar Strait in the west is the gateway remaining. This is acknowledged by Israeli experts. “According to Dr. Elyakim BenHakoun from the Industrial Engineering and Management Faculty at the Technion Institute of Technology, about 99% of goods (in terms of cargo volume) reach Israel by sea, and around 40% of the cargo arriving in Israel passes through the Suez Canal. https://johnhelmer.net/russian-identification-of-houti-tanker-target-in-indian-ocean-how-the-western-media-are-protecting-the-israelis/#more-89118
Red Sea Chaos: Maersk Ship Hit By Missile; US Attack Helicopters Annihilate Houthi Rebel Boats [They died as men.]
CENTCOM said attack helicopters from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Gravely quickly responded to the distress call. Houthi militants from the small boats fired on the helicopters, and in self-dense, the helicopters unleashed a barrage of firepower, killing the crew of the three boats. A fourth boat evaded the area...
..Maersk was reportedly restarting sails through the critical waterway that connects to the Suez Canal, which handles about 12% of global trade and is a major maritime route between Asia and Europe. We're sure other major shipping companies will rethink their restart plans for the highly contested waterway...
..UBS analysts have said more than 400 cargo ships have been rerouted on the 6,000-nautical-mile detour, effectively reducing the capacity of Asia-to-Europe trade by a quarter. This drives up shipping costs. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/maersk-halts-red-sea-transit-after-container-ship-hit-missile
Sanaa warns against foreign support for 'Israel' in Red, Arabian Seas The Minister of Defense in the Sanaa government warns foreign forces against actions in the Red and Arabian seas, affirming that Yemen's government and people are steadfast alongside the Palestinian people until all lands are liberated. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sanaa-warns-against-foreign-support-for--israel--in-red--ara
The Indian Navy has deployed three guided missile destroyers to the Arabian Sea in response to an alleged drone attack on an Israeli-linked chemical tanker last week. New Delhi also uses long-range maritime patrol aircraft for “domain awareness,” the defense ministry reported Monday night.
On Saturday, the Liberian-flagged MV Chem Pluto, a Japanese-owned tanker traveling 370km off the coast of India, was reportedly hit by a kamikaze drone, according to the Pentagon.
The Israeli-linked tanker had been on its way from Saudi Arabia to India, according to maritime security firm Ambrey.
The Indian Navy says they are examining the specifics of the attack on the MV Chem Puto, which managed to anchor in Mumbai on 26 December. https://new.thecradle.co/articles/india-deploys-warships-to-arabian-sea-following-attack-on-israeli-linked-ship
M.K. Bhadrakumar , Indian diplomacy is ending 2023 with a momentous turnaround. What began as a course correction necessitated by the torrential flow of events in West Asia is assuming strategic overtones.
An immediate fallout of all this is going to be that India is unlikely to join the US-led alliance in the Red Sea gearing up to wage a war on terror against the Houthis of Yemen. This is despite the US efforts to involve the Quad countries in the Red Sea operations. By the way, both Japan and Australia have dissociated themselves from joining the US-led coalition of the willing...
..The US naval enterprise in the Red Sea is struggling to be born...
..The Chief of Staff of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Mohammad Reza Naqdi was not far off the mark when he warned last week that the US and its allies are “trapped” in the Red Sea and should prepare for the closure of waterways stretching all the way to the western gates of the Mediterranean Sea...
..The Indian defence and security establishments have been unabashed votaries of India’s strategic ties with Israel. Such excessive adulation of the Israeli model as worthy of emulation by India was built on sheer naïveté, completely overlooking that the two countries operate under vastly different conditions and national ethos. It is patently absurd that India can emulate Israeli methods of brutal repression or assassination as part of statecraft, apartheid policies and so on and get away with it.
The incidents of October 7 have been an eye opener for Indians, which has exposed not only Israel’s frailties as a modern state but also its military’s bluster and intelligence’s failure. The acolytes of Israel in the Indian strategic community feel utterly disillusioned. Simply put, an influential constituency in India and the interest groups that it spawned are no longer calling the shots in Delhi. This is going to be consequential.
At the same time, the entire ideological underpinning of the present government’s tilt towards the Israeli leadership under Benjamin Netanyahu is unravelling... https://www.indianpunchline.com/indias-turnaround-on-palestine-has-more-than-meets-the-eye/
South Africa Submits All The Relevant Documentation ICC to Lay a Complaint Against Israel https://iafrica.com/sa-submits-all-the-relevant-documentation-icc-to-lay-a-complaint-against-israel/
Israel Says It's Anti-Semitic To Invoke The Genocide Convention Over Gaza
Israel announces its Gaza endgame: Ethnic cleansing as ‘humanitarianism’
Benjamin Netanyahu announced his endgame in Gaza: the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians forced to choose between leaving or dying by bombardment and starvation. His goal is to end the Palestinians as a people and as a national movement. https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/israel-announces-its-gaza-endgame-ethnic-cleansing-as-humanitarianism/
The long history of Zionist proposals to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip
Ethnic cleansing or "transfer" is an intrinsic part of Zionism's early history, and has remained an essential feature of Israeli political life.
More recently, "transfer" has been mainstreamed by billing it as encouraging "voluntary emigration." https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/the-long-history-of-zionist-proposals-to-ethnically-cleanse-the-gaza-strip/
‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 86: Israel falls in ‘serious strategic trap’ in Gaza as Netanyahu vows to fight ‘for months’
The Israeli war cabinet pressures Netanyahu to discuss “the day after” in Gaza as Hamas broadcasts videos of targeting Israeli tanks, and the PFLP says a captive soldier died during an Israeli airstrike. Meanwhile, UNRWA warns of widespread hunger. https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-86-israel-falls-in-serious-strategic-trap-in-gaza-as-netanyahu-vows-to-fight-for-months/
To understand what one of the objectives of the Israeli attack on Gaza is, you have to go deep, exactly 600 meters below sea level, 30 km off its coast. Here, in Palestinian territorial waters, there is a large natural gas field, Gaza Marine, estimated at 30 billion cubic meters worth billions of dollars. Other gas and oil deposits, according to a map drawn up by the U.S. Geological Survey (a US government agency), are located on the mainland in Gaza and the West Bank...
..What has been unfolding is the integration of these adjoining gas fields including those belonging to Palestine into the orbit of Israel. It should be noted that the entire Eastern Mediterranean coastline extending from Egypt’s Sinai to Syria constitutes an area encompassing large gas as well as oil reserves. The military occupation of Gaza is intent upon transferring the sovereignty of the gas fields to Israel in violation of international law. https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2023/12/israeli-bad-intentions-on-gazas-gas-fields/
Biden’s attack on Nord Stream pipelines was aimed at Germany – Seymour Hersh
The decision to destroy the key pipelines was prompted by US fears that Berlin might not follow Washington’s lead amid the Ukraine conflict, Hersh wrote. https://swentr.site/news/589614-bidens-scholz-nord-stream/
There are reports that there has been a run on ATMs in Ukraine. Accordingly, Ukrainians withdrew the equivalent of a billion dollars from their accounts in one day, which could become a problem for the Ukrainian banking and financial system.
The reason for the run is a bill that is intended to support the forced conscription of a further 500,000 people to the front, which is being discussed in Ukraine. According to the bill, people who evade the draft would be banned from carrying out financial transactions or selling property.
Since many men in Ukraine have been hiding from forced conscription for a year and a half and many who have not previously been affected are now afraid of the conscription and are thinking about going into hiding, cash will suddenly become indispensable if the law comes into force. https://www-anti--spiegel-ru.translate.goog/2023/in-der-ukraine-greift-panik-um-sich/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Zelensky’s Controversial €8 Million Deal: Acquisition of the Infamous Bogensee Villa, Formerly Owned by Joseph Goebbels, Amidst Corruption Concerns Thanks ZS. https://clearstory.news/2023/12/27/zelenskys-controversial-e8-million-deal-acquisition-of-the-infamous-bogensee-villa-formerly-owned-by-joseph-goebbels-amidst-corruption-concerns/
Watch: Cartel Gunfight Erupts With Mexican Military Near Arizona Port Of Entry Footage from Friday shows an intense firefight involving cartel members and the Mexican military, occurring down the street from the Lukeville, Arizona, Port of Entry. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/cartel-gunfight-erupts-mexican-military-near-arizona-port-entry
What 'Great Replacement Theory'? Musk Exposes "Immense & Growing Size" Of Illegal Immigration Invasion [Flown by gangs from Eurasia and Africa for $10k ea.]
Ovarian Cancers in COVID-19 mRNA Vaccinated Women: Huge Tumors, Extremely Aggressive
Not Responsive to Chemo, Poor Prognosis. Turbo cancer: 26 tragic cases https://www.globalresearch.ca/ovarian-cancers-covid-19-mrna-vaccinated-women-rapid-growth-huge-tumors-extremely-aggressive-not-responsive-chemo-poor-prognosis/5844618
Steve came up with a great idea. He found an online data tool embedded in a national obituary website, https://www.legacy.com. Steve utilized the website’s advanced search tool to filter obituaries for the keywords “suddenly” and “unexpectedly.” He then filtered by date range and U.S. state.
Lots of people at vaccination clinics "couldn't breathe" and "couldn't walk". Lots of young males found dead by frantic mothers in the morning.
New FOIA'ed Data Reveal NY Vaccine Clinics Called Ambulances To Be "On Standby" , Pierre Kory MD
Recent FOIA-obtained data from the Department of Emergency Services in Westchester, NY reveal a shocking number of vaccine emergency calls as well as requests for ambulances to be "on standby."
Judge Refuses to Hear Expert Testimony on Tylenol Link to Autism, ADHD
The 440 lawsuits brought against Tylenol and generic acetaminophen manufacturers do not have “admissible evidence” to show that prenatal exposure to the medication can lead to autism spectrum disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, a federal judge ruled this week. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/tylenol-lawsuit-prenatal-exposure-autism-adhd/
Meryl Nass MD , David Schonbrunn improved on my New World Dis-Order chart. Every week, the cabal's destruction of our traditions, standards, morals, economy, education etc. becomes more clear. They are working fast to take down the system to "Build Back Better" for their dystopian future
Old Normal (pictured cycling into 2024)
Dr. John, A.I. I think can simulate. However not being biological even with brain tissue involved there is a gap twixt machine and human. Importantly I think work done to date demonstrates what is a difference. The machine lacks the morphogenic field. The machine is truly an our modern idol. “The threat to the religious attitude lies not in science but in the predominant practices of daily life.” writes Erich Fromm in his famous work, “Psychoanalysis and Religion.” He explains that, “man has ceased to seek in himself the supreme purpose of living and has made himself an instrument serving the economic machine his own hands have built. He is concerned with efficiency and success rather than with his happiness and the growth of his soul.” https://www.resonancescience.org/blog/The-Morphogenic-Field-is-Real-and-These-Scientists-Show-How-to-Use-It-to-Understand-Nature
I see the basic flaw of AI is that it is a product of young, uneducated minds who are primarily fascinated by technology. I see the challenges of humanity to be the failures and possibilities of being human, challenges that are best met with education and a knowledge of history.
I look forward to the continual degradation and break down of the current western global financial-economic system. It’s time to move on. It’s a system that has proven to be anti-human. As to off-ramps for imperial courts, “we” tried to do this with the League of Nations, and that did not last very long. The United Nations also seems to have met its limitations. Peer pressure has failed to impose good behavior on nation states. So, if we cannot force gentility on nation-states, how might it be possible to persuade individuals?