“Our Slow Death” is a haunting exploration of the themes of conspiracy theories and corruption. The lyrics touch upon the darker aspects of society, with driving percussion, a pulsating bassline, and distorted vocals, the song creates an otherworldly soundscape that is both dynamic and ethereal.  The vocals are emotive and powerful, conveying a sense of frustration and anger towards the powers that be. The instrumentation is sparse yet impactful, with a relentless beat and ominous guitar textures adding to the feeling of impending doom. This song is a thought-provoking and intense examination of the darker side of human nature and the world we live in.

Our Slow Death

Mike Robinson and Vanessa Beeley discuss the events of the past week in Syria, including Vanessa's escape from the terrorists who moved into Damascus and surrounding areas on Sunday morning.

Syria Podcast Episode 2

Charles Hugh Smith discusses civilization's crumbling status quo and the hydrocarbon industrial age or current world system which some view as superabundant due to technology while others question whether we've used up the easy energy and are facing resource constraints. He comments on cycles, empire, financialization, consumption, true wealth, how the future will go to those who can get the most out of the resources they extract, and why a new mythology and revolution in social and cultural values is needed. We're faced with a Kafkaesque digital neofeudalism or digital gulag, one solution is reducing our dependency on their systems as much as possible.

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Websites
Blog https://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html
Substack https://charleshughsmith.substack.com
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Books https://www.oftwominds.com/CHS-books.html

About Charles Hugh Smith
Charles Hugh Smith is the author of the oftwominds.com blog, #7 in CNBC's top alternative financial sites, and 18 books on our economy and society, including "A Radically Beneficial World: Automation, Technology and Creating Jobs for All," "Global Crisis, National Renewal: A (Revolutionary) Grand Strategy for the United States," "Burnout: Reckoning and Renewal" and "Self-Reliance in the 21st Century." His work is published on a number of popular financial websites including Zero Hedge, Financial Sense and Seeking Alpha and has been featured on numerous podcasts.

Smith has also written nine novels, including "The Adventures of the Consulting Philosopher" and "The Asian Heroine Who Seduced Me." Sample chapters of his books are available on his sites www.oftwominds.com/blog.html and https://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com

*Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Charles Hugh Smith: Anti-Progress, Resource Constraints, & Digital Neofeudalism #511

This conversation covers a systematic public rebuttal by Peter Duke, titled "With Friends Like These...," addressing a previous critique launched by a former colleague, Matthew Ehret, regarding Duke’s analysis of geopolitical topics. Duke’s central argument is that Ehret severely mischaracterized his methodology, which involves using Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) and structural analysis to rapidly assess the veracity and architecture of any given argument. The document specifically dismantles Ehret's assertion that Duke operates with "Four Epistemological Blindspots," meticulously correcting misrepresentations of his views on the use of LLMs/AI, the interpretation of the Phrygian Cap symbol, and sweeping claims about global power structures. Duke applies his own neurolinguistic rigor to Ehret's critique, exposing what he identifies as widespread linguistic distortions, including universal quantifiers and complex equivalence, that undermine the validity of the argument. Ultimately, Duke concludes that Ehret’s criticism functions as a strategic "shot at the messenger," designed to divert attention from Duke’s original challenge to narratives sustaining confidence in the Russia, China, and BRICS alliance. Link: https://thedukereport.substack.com/p/with-friends-like-these

Link

With Friends Like These

Dr. Francis Boyle discusses the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China and the Biosafety Level 4 laboratory (BSL-4) from which he believes the infectious disease escaped. He believes the virus is potentially lethal and an offensive biological warfare weapon or dual-use biowarfare weapons agent genetically modified with gain of function properties, which is why the Chinese government originally tried to cover it up and is now taking drastic measures to contain it. The Wuhan BSL-4 lab is also a specially designated World Health Organization (WHO) research lab and Dr. Boyle contends that the WHO knows full well what is occurring.

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Show Notes
Interview with Francis Boyle on Biowarfare: U.S. Germ Warfare Program a "Criminal Enterprise" https://worldbeyondwar.org/boyle-charges-u-s-germ-warfare-program-is-criminal-enterprise
Anthrax War (documentary): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PquqlX8wnT0
Weaponizing Biotech – China’s War for Biological Dominance https://greatgameindia.com/weaponizing-biotech-chinas-war-for-biological-dominance
China Wants Wuhan Activists to Stay Out of Its War on Pollution https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2020-china-wuhan-pollution
2019: Gates Foundation, Others, Simulate, Outbreak of Novel Coronavirus http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/about
2017: Inside Chinese lab poised to study world's most dangerous pathogens https://www.nature.com/news/inside-the-chinese-lab-poised-to-study-world-s-most-dangerous-pathogens-1.21487
2015: Lab-Made Coronavirus Triggers Debate https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/lab-made-coronavirus-triggers-debate-34502

Website
https://law.illinois.edu/faculty-research/faculty-profiles/francis-boyle

Books
https://law.illinois.edu/faculty-research/faculty-profiles/francis-boyle/#publications

About Francis Boyle
Francis Boyle is a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law. He received an AB (1971) in Political Science from the University of Chicago, then a JD degree magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, and AM and PhD degrees in Political Science from Harvard University. He practiced tax and international tax with Bingham, Dana & Gould.

Professor Boyle serves as counsel to Bosnia and Herzegovina and to the Provisional Government of the Palestinian Authority. He also represents two associations of citizens within Bosnia and was involved in developing the indictment against Slobodan Milosević for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Over his career, he has represented national and international bodies including the Blackfoot Nation (Canada), the Nation of Hawaii, and the Lakota Nation, as well as numerous individual death penalty and human rights cases. He has advised numerous international bodies in the areas of human rights, war crimes and genocide, nuclear policy, and bio-warfare. From 1991-92, he served as Legal Advisor to the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East Peace Negotiations.

Professor Boyle served on the Board of Directors of Amnesty International, as a consultant to the American Friends Service Committee, and on the Advisory Board for the Council for Responsible Genetics. He drafted the U.S. domestic implementing legislation for the Biological Weapons Convention, known as the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, that was approved unanimously by both Houses of the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.

*Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Francis Boyle: Wuhan Coronavirus is an Offensive Biological Warfare Weapon #131

To subscribe on Apple podcasts please visit apple.co/2r40QPA or on Andriod subscribeonandroid.com/www.lse.ac.uk…unesStore.xml or search for 'LSE IQ' in your favourite podcast app or visit lse.ac.uk/iq

Welcome to LSE's award-winning podcast, LSE IQ, where we ask leading social scientists - and other experts - to answer an intelligent question about economics, politics or society.

This episode is dedicated to David Graeber, LSE professor of Anthropology, who died unexpectedly in September this year. David was a public intellectual, a best-selling author, an influential activist and anarchist. 
He took aim at the pointless bureaucracy of modern life, memorably coining the term ‘bullshit jobs’. And his book ‘Debt: The First 5000 years’ was turned into a radio series by the BBC. 
But David started his academic career studying Madagascar. Anthropology interested him, he said, because he was interested in human possibilities - including the potential of societies to organise themselves without the need for a state - as he had seen in his own research. 
He was also a well-known anti-globalisation activist and a leading figure in the Occupy Wall Street Movement.  
David was generous enough to do an interview for us in 2016 when LSE iQ was in its infancy. That episode asked, ‘What’s the future of work?’  and in his interview he reflected on the disappointments of technology, pointless jobs and caring labour. 
David was such an interesting speaker that we would have liked to use more of it at the time, but we didn’t have the space. Now, it feels right to bring you a lightly edited version of the interview. 

Contributors
David Graeber

Research 

The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy, published by Melville House.  
 
‘On the Phenomenon of Bullshit jobs: A work rant’, STRIKE! Magazine 

Bullshit Jobs: A theory, published by Allen Lane

LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science.

LSE IQ podcast

Bullshit jobs, technology, capitalism

The Geopolitics & Empire Podcast conducts interviews with prominent international experts on a wide-range of topics.

Past guests have included diplomats, government officials, whistleblowers, soldiers, spies, economists, academics, scientists, wealthy investors, dissidents, journalists, and musicians.

The broadcast seeks to gain insight from guests who come from the left, right, and beyond. It should go without saying that the host does not always agree with beliefs espoused by podcast invitees, but maintains an open mind, and believes it important to respectfully listen to a multitude of voices and let listeners come to their own conclusions.

*Music used in podcast intro is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Charles Hugh Smith: Anti-Progress, Resource Constraints, & Digital Neofeudalism #511

Geopolitics & Empire

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