Lee Ardis

GDP Report Reveals Ominous Great Depression Warning Sign Not Seen Since 1932

The latest numbers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis show that the U.S. economy grew by 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, and 2.1 percent for 2022. While the White House was quick to take credit for the state of the nation’s economy, they might want to think twice. This latest report should have alarm bells ringing, not trumpets sounding.

That’s because economic growth is slowing down. Even the areas which contributed positively to gross domestic product (GDP) are not necessarily signs of prosperity. For example, business investment grew at only 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter, but that was almost entirely inventory growth. Nonresidential investment, a key driver of future economic growth, was up just 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, residential investment fell off a cliff, dropping 26.7 percent as consumers were unable to afford the combination of high home prices, high interest rates and falling real incomes. No wonder homeownership affordability has fallen to the lowest level in that metric’s history.

But the growth in inventories, which accounted for half the GDP growth in the fourth quarter, is not a good sign, either. It is the result of businesses being unable to sell off existing inventories at current prices. Liquidating that inventory at discounts will mean lower profits, a further drag on future growth.

Psychedelic churches in US pushing boundaries of religion

The tea tasted bitter and earthy, but Lorenzo Gonzales drank it anyway. On that frigid night in remote Utah, he was hoping for a life-changing experience, which is how he found himself inside a tent with two dozen others waiting for the psychedelic brew known as ayahuasca to kick in.

Soon, the gentle sounds of a guitar were drowned out by people vomiting — a common downside of the drug. Some gagged; several threw up in buckets next to them.

Gonzales started howling, sobbing, laughing and repeatedly babbling “wah, wah” like a child. Facilitators from Hummingbird Church placed him face down on the grass, calming him momentarily before he started laughing and crawling on all fours.

“I seen these dark veins come up in this big red light, and then I seen this image of the devil,” Gonzales said later. He had quieted only when his wife, Flor, put her hand on his shoulder and prayed.

His journey to this small town along the Arizona-Utah border is part of a growing global trend of people turning to ayahuasca in search of spiritual enlightenment and an experience they say brings them closer to God than traditional religious services. Many hope the psychedelic tea will heal physical and mental afflictions after conventional medications and therapy failed. Their problems include eating disorders, depression, substance use disorders and PTSD.

These scientists used CRISPR to put an alligator gene into catfish

The resulting fish appear to be more resistant to disease and could improve commercial production—should they ever be approved.

Millions of fish are farmed in the US every year, but many of them die from infections. In theory, genetically engineering fish with genes that protect them from disease could reduce waste and help limit the environmental impact of fish farming. A team of scientists have attempted to do just that—by inserting an alligator gene into the genomes of catfish.

Americans go through a lot of catfish. In 2021, catfish farms in the US produced 307 million pounds (139 million kilogram) of the fish. “On a per-pound basis, anywhere from 60 to 70% of US aquaculture is … catfish production,” says Rex Dunham, who works on the genetic improvement of catfish at Auburn University in Alabama.

But catfish farming is also a great breeding ground for infections. From the time farmed fish are newly hatched to the time they are harvested, around 40% of the animals worldwide die from various diseases, says Dunham.

Germany In Talks For $18 Billion National Missile Defense Shield After Escalations With Russia

Germany has recently come to the forefront of European countries causing escalations with Russia when it began pressuring Washington and NATO allies to send tanks to Ukraine last month. Being well aware of its precarious position with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Germany is now in a race to drastically increase its defense spending and arm itself against possible Russian attacks, including spending $18 billion on a nationwide missile defense shied.

It should be noted that less than a year ago, Germany’s military was struggling to meet its commitment to NATO and had an entire battalion of Puma tanks fail drills and be deemed unfit for action in the NATO Rapid Reaction Force (NRF). The German military is also known to be underfunded and lacking resources. Now, it’s giving away the handful of operational tanks it does have to Ukraine. The German military should be helping itself before it helps Kyiv.

As part of Germany’s recent about-face regarding its defense spending, the country is now in talks with multiple defense manufacturers to have a multi-layered, anti-missile shield built that could cost as much as €17 billion ($18.5 billion).

Specifically, the government is negotiating a contract with Bavarian-based manufacturer Diehl Defence to purchase up to 8 IRS-T anti-missile systems for a cost of €2 billion to €3 billion. The 8 IRS-T anti-missile systems are expected to be just the first layer of a more complex multi-layered system. One IRS-T battery is capable of intercepting fighter jets, inbound cruise missiles, and drones and can fire missiles that travel over 40 km.

Read more at: creativedestructionmedia.com

North Korea threatens ‘overwhelming nuclear force’ amid U.S. military action in South Korea

The North Korean government on Thursday hinted that it might resort to nuclear options if U.S. military forces in South Korea continue conducting martial exercises there.

“The military and political situation in the Korean peninsula and the region has reached an extremely dangerous phase due to the reckless military confrontations and hostile acts of the U.S. and its vassal forces,” the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Thursday statement.

“The U.S. is now working hard to ‘demonize’ the DPRK, spreading again all sorts of rumors,” the ministry claimed. “Meanwhile, it, together with its vassal forces, is intensifying the full-scale offensive for putting pressure on the DPRK in all aspects including ‘human rights’, sanctions and military affairs.”

San Diego restaurant sees natural gas bill soar $6k in one month: They’re ‘running us out of here’

SDG&E announced February natural gas prices would decline 68% after the 400% surge in January

San Diego restaurant owners are demanding action over the city’s soaring energy prices after their natural gas bill spiked $6,000 – equivalent to a 400% surge – in just one month.

Rudford’s Restaurant owners Jeff and Nick Kacha joined “Fox & Friends First” Thursday to discuss how politicians have betrayed the city’s small business owners as they struggle to stay afloat amid rampant inflation.

“They’re not exactly representing the people here in San Diego, I can tell you that,” Nick told Ashley Strohmier. “It just seems like they’re throwing businesses under the bus… we bring in so much tax revenue and everything for the city of San Diego. And they’re here like stabbing us in the back almost with all these costs and allowing all these companies to do whatever they like… It’s sad to see… the people are suffering.”

Saudi Arabia Just Killed The Petrodollar Right In Front Of Our Eyes

Saudi Arabia has just issued a death knell to the exclusivity of the petrodollar as we once knew it – the first of several dominoes that needs to fall before the U.S. is exposed financially as an emperor with no clothes.

“Saudi Arabia is open to discussions about trade in currencies other than the US dollar, according to the kingdom’s finance minister,” Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, echoing comments by Mohammed Al-Jadaan.

Put simply, I believe there is a historic divide in the making between the BRICS nations, led by Russia and China, and the West, led by the United States.

I was one of the few outlets last summer to even report on the fact that Russia and China openly announced a “new global reserve currency” (announced in July 2022, predicted by me in February 2022). And of course, Russia and China can’t do it on their own: they are working with nations like Saudi Arabia and India to help put their plans into practice.

Outrageous: In Profanity-Laced Tirade, Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum Berates and Kicks Out Students for Wearing Hats With Pro-Life and Christian Messages

A federal institution, the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, just kicked out an entire group of pro-life students and their chaperones simply for having a pro-life religious message on their hats. It’s absolutely outrageous, it’s unconstitutional discrimination, and the ACLJ is fighting back.

Last Friday, students from a Catholic school in Greenville, South Carolina, traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the National March for Life. After the event, they went over to explore the nearby Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. Once in the museum, they were accosted several times and told they would be forced to leave unless they removed their pro-life hats. The group all wore the same blue hat that simply said, “Rosary PRO-LIFE.” Other individuals in the museum were wearing hats of all kinds without issue.

The museum staff mocked the students, called them expletives, and made comments that the museum was a “neutral zone” where they could not express such statements. The employee who ultimately forced the students to leave the museum was rubbing his hands together in glee as they exited the building. We here at the ACLJ are absolutely appalled at this blatant discrimination and won’t let this behavior stand.

Disturbing: Scientists Reset World ‘Doomsday Clock’

Early Tuesday morning, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists — a nonprofit media organization — announced just how close it considers the world to be to “Doomsday” from man-made catastrophes such as nuclear war, “climate change,” or a deadly pandemic. For the past 75 years, the Bulletin has used a depiction of an analog clock to indicate how much time remains until midnight — the theoretical Doomsday.

According to its website, the Bulletin “equips the public, policymakers, and scientists with the information needed to reduce man-made threats to our existence,” but the Doomsday Clock itself has become so much more than just a clock.

The Doomsday Clock is many things all at once: It’s a metaphor, it’s a logo, it’s a brand, and it’s one of the most recognizable symbols in the past 100 years. It has permeated not only the media landscape but also culture itself. The Doomsday Clock appears in novels by Stephen King and Piers Anthony, songs by The Who and the Clash, and comics like Watchmen and Stormwatch.

Since 2020, the Doomsday Clock has been set at 100 seconds before midnight — the closest to midnight it had ever been since 1947. Tuesday’s announcement changed that record.

It is now 90 seconds before midnight — the closest the world has ever been to disaster, according to the Bulletin scientists.

The Rise of Witchcraft in the Last Days

Witchcraft can be alluring on the surface, but its consequences can be devastating as can be gleaned from personal accounts of people who dabbled in the practice.

The practice of witchcraft is on the rise. Amidst economic uncertainty, political turmoil, and environmental concerns, astrology and the occult have gained widespread acceptance. And as people seek control over the chaos and instability around them, occultism is expected to gain further interest worldwide.

Hence, it is such an alarming trend to witness the practice of witchcraft spreading even more rapidly via social media, sweeping across the globe like wildfire.