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The events of the year are unfolding rapidly, and May indicates a huge building up of pressure in the inner and outer worlds of humanity. Once again natural disasters moved to the forefront of the news reports, with Burma suffering a huge cyclone followed shortly afterward by the devastating earthquake in China.

Not only were there hundreds of thousands of lives lost in these tragedies, but all signs point to hurried moves being made by the Powers That Be to ensure a war with Iran that could spiral out of control into a global conflict that would make World War II look like a tea-party at the beach. Then we also have a crop of other interesting patterns appearing as the US economy further subsides, including a huge spike in oil prices, plus more incidents of Taser abuse and other signs of growing public hysteria. Behind the hysteria we see the shadow of the psychopath, with which the name of Josef Fritzl became synonymous for the whole world. While predators like Fritzl give a good example for the rest of us of the damage that a single psychopath can do on their own, less obvious is the extreme potential for destruction represented by the well-adapted types - many of whom currently occupy the halls of power and have well-formed, insidious networks with which to protect themselves from exposure.

Mother Nature's Fury

First reports of the death toll wrought by cyclone Nargis in Burma appeared to be similar to the 9-11 attacks. Revised reports quickly confirmed far more casualties than initially thought. While the ruling military regime has seriously downplayed the death toll, the International Red Cross estimated that up to 128,000 people may have died in Myanmar, with later British estimates going as high as 200,000. As well as the death toll, other reports indicate that millions of Burmese will be severely affected by the cyclone.

The political dimensions to this disaster became apparent all too quickly, with the Burmese junta strictly limiting the flow of international aid into the region, banning resident journalists from reporting and denying visas for reporters wishing to visit. International aid agencies, including the UN, expressed severe frustration with the regime. The United States even went so far as to declare its 'outrage' with Myanmar's response to the tragedy. As is usually the case with the US however, such hypocritical 'outrage' is carefully calculated for political benefit. Washington appears to have had Burma in its sights for some time now. In the excellent article 'Myanmar cyclone: U.S. hostility hampers relief', we read:
The day before Cyclone Nargis actually hit Myanmar, but when the approach of the monster storm had already been announced and tracked for a week, President George W. Bush signed a harsh new level of economic sanctions on Myanmar.
As the author incisively points out:
Many countries even in the midst of a disaster fear U.S. and Western assistance because it so often comes with strings attached, including onerous debt conditions and demands to reorganize their economy and privatize nationally owned resources.

Naomi Klein's book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, describes in great detail how U.S. aid, the IMF and World Bank are used to take advantage of a country in shock, even when it is faced with a devastated infrastructure from a natural calamity of a hurricane, tsunami, drought or flood. Such crises are seen as an opportunity to push through unpopular economic "shock therapy" such as selling state assets and privatizing resources. It's therapy, all right - for the international bankers, not the affected countries.
It is yet another case in which we can observe that natural disasters are made worse by the elite under the guise of providing 'help', while the poorest and most helpless victims of the tragedy suffer the most. The Burmese government even continued to export rice after the disaster, no doubt taking advantage of record food prices:
Burma is still exporting rice even as it tries to curb the influx of international donations of food bound for the starving survivors of the cyclone that killed up to 116,000 people.

Sacks of rice destined for Bangladesh were being loaded on to a ship at the Thilawa container port at the mouth of the Yangon River at the end of last week, even though Burma's 'rice bowl' region was devastated by the deadly storm a week ago.

The Burmese regime, which has a monopoly on the country's rice exports, said it planned to meet all its contractual commitments.
Considering the engineered world food 'shortage' (a result of anthropogenic global warming, or so we're supposed to believe) the impact of the cyclone on Burma's ability to export rice in the medium to long term may play right into the Global Pathocracy's agenda. You know - the one where 94% of us are targeted for extermination?

But more on the world food situation shortly. The other May natural disaster was the huge earthquake in China's Sichuan province, which one report called "the most destructive in modern history". Reports point to over 70,000 dead or missing and up to 5 million left homeless.

Interestingly enough, previous to the earthquake China was also "in the sights" of the West over its crackdown in Tibet. The Olympic torch relay became the focus of pro-Tibet activists, with violent scuffles breaking out in various places around the world, most notably in London. There were also other stories about a migration of frogs, which many Chinese citizens took very seriously when it happened a second time. Even more curiously, strange colored clouds were filmed just minutes before the earthquake, several days after regular, line-shaped cloud formations were documented by a separate source. An article in New Scientist discussed a link between cloud formations and major earthquakes a month earlier, too. Coincidence?

But more importantly, this earthquake business has apparently turned things around for the Olympics. Got to keep the circus component of that 'bread 'n circuses' double act going...

From peak oil prices to peak hunger

In our last exercise of connecting the dots of the bigger picture of our world, we observed that the food crisis has been manufactured from above. While Mother Nature is not helping, the situation is becoming worse now that the price of oil has risen to record levels, and the other commodities along with it. Remember, we live in a world in which nothing moves without oil - and that includes food.

If you are reading this, you have access to the Internet and most likely also have something to eat, and you are lucky to not have been forced into making major sacrifices. The situation is grave for most people on this planet, however, as activist Pablo Ouziel eloquently puts it in its proper perspective:
People in Haiti are eating mud cakes because of the soaring food prices, the people in Gaza have no electricity, in Afghanistan, the only royal visit they receive, is of a British prince dressed in military gear going to kill on Afghan soil. In India, the farmers are committing suicide due to failed harvests of genetically modified Monsanto crops. Around the world, people are rioting because of lack of food or basic human necessities. Yet in the west, we can move around freely, we can cross borders and fly our budget airlines from capital to capital, observing the comforts of western existence. Organized streets, clean cars, wonderful shopping malls, great monuments, everything is civilized and could be admired, that is, if it was honest. But it isn't, it is morally wrong and deep down we all know it. We know it, but we just don't want to do anything about it, because we are comfortable.
So far, we are comfortable on the immoral 'winning' side of this unfair global equation. But everything has a limit and as pressure is put on humanity as a whole, it might be soon that a critical mass is reached and even the lucky ones will pay the consequences.

The prices of oil, food and basic commodities are rising as a result of intentional manipulation. But we are not supposed to believe in conspiracies, so the manufacturers of our conventional wisdom have offered a few explanations. Remember the Peak Oil propaganda? Is it not now 'common sense' to nod in agreement whenever suggests that fossil fuel reserves are scarce? But the truth is different. There is no shortage of gasoline or gas and many agree that it is speculation that has been inflating the price of oil. According to Michael Waldron, chief oil strategist of the Lehman Brothers investment bank, oil supply "is outpacing demand growth" and "inventories have been building since the beginning of the year", while new fields are being opened in Saudi Arabia. So what is really going on then? Mike Whitney has provided one of the best explanations in a recent article, which we recommend you read in its entirety, and of which we reproduce a couple of paragraphs here:
The Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating trading in oil futures to determine whether the surge in prices to record levels is the result of manipulation or fraud. They might want to take a look at wheat, rice and corn futures while they're at it. The whole thing is a hoax cooked up by the investment banks and hedge funds who are trying to dig their way out of the trillion dollar mortgage-backed securities (MBS) mess that they created by turning garbage loans into securities. That scam blew up in their face last August and left them scrounging for handouts from the Federal Reserve. Now the billions of dollars they're getting from the Fed is being diverted into commodities which is destabilizing the world economy; driving gas prices to the moon and triggering food riots across the planet.

For months we've been told that the soaring price of oil has been the result of Peak Oil, fighting in Iraq, attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria, labor problems in Norway, and (the all-time favorite) growth in China. It's all baloney. Just like Goldman Sachs prediction of $200 per barrel oil is baloney. If oil is about to skyrocket then why has G-Sax kept a neutral rating on some of its oil holdings like Exxon Mobile? Could it be that they know that oil is just another mega-inflated equity bubble - like housing, corporate bonds and dot.com stocks - that is about to crash to earth as soon as the big players grab a parachute?

There are three things that are driving up the price of oil: the falling dollar, speculation and buying on margin.
Whitney proposes a disturbing hypothesis which underscores, again, the fact that the crisis that we all suffer has been created by the few at the top. He writes:
What if the investment banks are trading their worthless MBS and CDOs at the Fed's auction facilities and using the money ($400 billion) to drive up the price of raw materials like rice, corn, wheat, and oil?

Could it be? Could the Fed really be looking the other way so it can bail out its banking buddies while they drive prices skyward?
It could, of course. Only people without a conscience would do such a thing knowing that the increase in prices would literally kill thousands, if not millions.

Whenever we discuss oil we are tempted to look at the situation in the Middle East. We have been following the signs of war, and as we contemplate the oil and food crisis we realize that another major conflict involving a rich oil country would inevitably be felt by everyone on this planet and not only by those unfortunate enough to live in the area.

A Handshake in Israel

Israel celebrated its birthday and had Bush and other world leaders and members of the elite as guests. On the 15th of May, Bush gave his best shot at blessing the Zionist cause. Don't take our word for it; ask the members of the Knesset who commented that "Bush seems to be more Zionist than Olmert", that "it is better to have Bush as a PM instead of Olmert", and that "Bush appears to be the one person who will achieve the Zionist aspirations". In a speech worthy of the legendary SOTT sick-bag, Bush went as far as perpetuating the myth of the "chosen people":
"[When David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel's independence it] was the redemption of an ancient promise given to Abraham and Moses and David: a homeland for the chosen people Eretz Yisrael."
Isn't that curious? That the president of the most powerful nation on the planet goes to a small country in the Middle East and bows at their idols in a display worthy of the most fanatic members of the local cult? And that at the same time he compares the phantom "terrorist threat" to Hitler, implicitly giving his host a carte blanche to destroy those whom it chooses to label as terrorists?:
"Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along," Bush said at Israel's 60th anniversary celebration in Jerusalem.

"We have heard this foolish delusion before," Bush said in remarks to Israel's parliament, the Knesset. "As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is - the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."
Well, that a certain little country in the Middle East has a largely disproportionate amount of power and influence in the world, which is often used for the oppression of innocent people and for imperialistic purposes, is not a secret and nothing new, really. This is just a grotesque confirmation.

Perhaps more interesting is that we can safely infer that Bush also went to Israel to make some serious promises sealed by private handshakes, because shortly after his visit the Israelis began to leak his intentions towards Iran. The Israeli Army Radio and the Jerusalem Postrevealed that Bush intended to attack Iran within months, while Israeli officials said that Bush "means business" on Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program. A couple of weeks later it was reported that at least two "key U.S. senators" were briefed on Bush's plans to attack before August.

It appears that Olmert felt emboldened by Bush's commitment and asked the U.S. to impose naval blockade on Iran. A naval blockade, mind you, could rapidly escalate events into open hostility and war. We have already seen a couple of possible attempts to do this. Remember the U.S. military ships firing warning shots at Iranian boats?

The White House denied the leaked reports in Israel, but that should be no surprise as the U.S. does not want to appear, yet again, as the aggressor. After the fiasco of Saddam's inexistent WMD, the Bush administration seems to be waiting for a better excuse to go ahead - and if it doesn't get one, it might well create it. So there was no reason to stop the war rhetoric. Bush, Gates and Condi all had much to say, the latter blaming Iran for the crisis in Lebanon. No surprise there; we know that the neocons already have a new bogyman. Even Hillary made the headlines with the strongest statement yet by offering to "totally obliterate" Iran if it attacked Israel with nuclear weapons (a hypothetical scenario based purely in fantasy, considering that Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons and Iran does not). She is one candidate determined to win the 'More Zionist than Thou' contest...

So much for the war rhetoric. How about signs on the ground? We find at least one of importance: Shell pulled out of a gas project in Iran after coming under pressure from U.S. lawmakers. Consider that multinationals do not make any moves without a good reason, as pulling out of such a deals impacts profits and profits are all that matter.

Other events related to Israel which are worthy of commenting in here:

- The members of the elite that were invited to the birthday party included co-founder of Google Sergey Brin, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Yahoo president Susan Decker. They were invited by president Shimon Peres to form the technology panel in a convention in Jerusalem, where they were meant to discuss "issues facing technology in today's age and the future, in particular in regard to how it will affect Israel and the Jewish world." We wonder if the real purpose was not to obtain a commitment from the Internet giants to support Israel now that the next phase of Middle Eastern expansionism is at hand. After all, those three people on their own can turn the tide of news and information globally.

Other guests to the convention included former UK prime minister Tony Blair, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former prime minister of the Czech Republic Vaclev Havel, Nobel Prize Laureate Eli Wiesel, and Georgia President Michael Saakashvili. An interesting gathering indeed.

Speaking of Tony Blair, a few days ago he was in a jet en route to Israel from a World Economic Forum meeting at Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt, which he attended as the envoy for the Quartet comprised of the U.S., the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, when two Israeli warplanes intercepted the aircraft and adopted an attack position, prompting them to return to base. The official reason: the crew failed to identify themselves and Israel's defense system just happens to be very strict.

But lets think about it: how likely is it that a jet carrying Tony Blair, who is on a mission as the representative of the world powers, fails to properly identify itself? Not very. So here is an alternative hypothesis: Israel is sending a not very polite message to the world powers that they better stick to the plan or 'unfortunate accidents' might happen. Can you guess where Blair was heading? To a conference in Bethlehem aimed to attract up to ยฃ1billion to boost the Palestinian economy, a conference which some welcomed as a first step towards creating a viable Palestinian state.

Another curious coincidence is that one day after the above incident a white young man entered a cafe in Exeter and had his face hurt by a small explosion in the toilet. According to British police, he was planning a suicide attack (with two explosive devices) because he had converted to Islam and had been "targeted for radicalization", being a "vulnerable" person with a history of mental illness and a hobby to spend a great deal of time surfing the Internet. The official story sounds like an attempt to fabricate an explanation for an event of which we may never know the details. Someone attempted to plant a bomb in a cafe and something went wrong - but who was this someone and on behalf of whom was he working? Is there a connection with the 'nasty message' that Israel sent to Blair and the world powers?

- Ehud Olmert engaged in indirect "peace" talks with Syria. This item should not be on the headlines for its potential to bring peace to the Middle East, as it has none. No peace can come where the real will for peace is lacking. Rather, the event should be read as an attempt by Olmert to create a side show from the charges of corruption he happens to be facing - and which may land Netanyahu in power sooner than expected.

While Olmert is spending energy on this smokescreen, he appears to be trying to isolate Iran by putting pressure on Syria and asking it to distance itself from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas. It doesn't seem likely that Syria will comply.

Monsters Inc.

Having reviewed some of the actions of pathological characters on a grand scale, we now focus on certain cases on the micro scale that have attracted the attention of the media. These too have much to say about the state of humanity as a whole. As when light gets brighter the shadows become darker, so too in the following stories. Though the Monsters were brought to trial and will be convicted, the information of their lives and actions gives us a peak into the horrifying dark corners of the psychopath's world.

The story of Monster Josef Fritzl from Austria has traveled across the globe and shocked every feeling person to the core who read/heard of it. One person alone, the Monster himself, for the duration of his lifetime managed to bring destruction and immerse suffering to the lives of at least 11 people of which we are aware: his daughter, the daughter's seven children, his wife, two women who the Monster raped. And that's without counting the woman in whose unsolved murder years ago the Monster might be involved, or anyone else who might have yet - if ever - to talk.

Unfortunately, Fritzl is not alone, and a woman from France who was held captive for 28 years by her adoptive father and had 6 children by him, spoke up after the Austrian story was uncovered, though that Monster is dead by now, having lived his psychopathic life without deprecations. In an equally shocking story, a Monster in Argentina is finally jailed for keeping his daughter as sexual prisoner for 11 years and who had two children with her.

Interesting that we see these stories of women being released from captivity, not long after the raid on the Mormon sect compound in Texas when all those women and children were "set free". These stories speak to the oppression, social contempt and suffering of females in our pathocratic/sociopathic societies for millenia now.

There are unfortunately also women in the Monster's league, as the story of the Argentinian captive's mother reveals, but also the story of US native Sheila LaBarre, whose cold bloodedness and monstrous instincts led her to murder an unspecified yet number of her snake-charmed lovers.

Sadly - and alarmingly - every country, town and village hides a psychopath, as similarly monstrous stories from around the world pile up, but more frightening is the thought of the innumerable stories that remain untold. It is vitally important that we learn as much as possible about the psychopaths' traits and behaviours, in order to be able to move upstairs when we spot one next door. Living in his world blind to the everyday undisguised predators among us, puts our lives and mental/emotional health in danger; akin to taking a walk in the jungle in our business suit, unequipped for the lurking dangers.

Mystery viruses and bugs

In the world where mass violent deaths dominate the everyday news, it is very easy not to pay attention to deaths from diseases or viruses, and to attribute it to the fragile nature of human body. And it seems that those who don't have our best interests at heart deliberately downplay any possibility that beside the already covered tactics of diluting the population through wars and manufactured food shortage, there are a number of viruses and pathogens waiting for their turn in the extermination game - perhaps in the meantime even being used to cause controlled and calculated damage.

On the other hand, when an epidemic can serve the purpose of inducing hysteria and installing greater means of control, we must learn to pay attention and start posing some questions.

During the past month, there were many cases of disease or virus outbreaks all over the world.

Death Toll from Child Virus Hits 34 in China
Scotland hit by scarlet fever epidemic
Death toll in Chinese hand, foot and mouth outbreak reaches 39
Measles epidemic breaks out in Austria
Hepatitis Virus kills 29 in Kitgum, Uganda
Singapore fears its worst-ever dengue fever epidemic
Vietnam warning on EV71 virus after at least 10 children die
Thousands hit by Brazil outbreak of dengue

Some of those outbreaks may be seasonal, but many were labeled as 'mysterious' and their causes 'unknown' or 'under investigation'.

There is one particular case of EV71 virus outbreak in China that drew our attention due to the casual Chinese government reaction that tried to calm down the fears over the outbreak. This reaction stands as a striking contrast to the usual extreme reaction that is mandated by the WHO to instances of Bird Flu.

Bird Flu kills few people relative to Tuberculosis, road deaths or earthquakes, while the measures taken in slaughtering whole flocks of birds are extreme. And it is clear that the potential severity of an EV71 outbreak would merit much stronger measures than seem to be implemented. So what can be the meaning of these two different approaches? Why are specific pathogens allowed free rein, while others like Bird Flu are used as scare tactics?

The possible answer is no less horrid in its implications.

Might it be that Bird Flu and consequential slaughter of tens of thousands of birds, is another mean of depriving people of another food source, while playing on the imprinted scares associated with the livestock culls in the UK during the BSE and foot and mouth outbreaks in recent years?

It looks like a good possibility - one that goes hand in hand with the engineered food shortage already in full swing.

Wild card, or: Alice through the looking glass sees Kaboom! Splat!

A year ago we posted the following thread on SOTT forum about events involving planes or other means of transportation that usually preceded some significant event, or happened at a time and in such a way that they could be interpreted as something signaling the world to wake up. Last year's symbolic patterns signaled the beginning of an economic "nose dive", while this year it seems that "nose dive" doesn't cut it anymore and we are seeing derailment/skidding off runway, resulting in crash or total collapse.

If the Universe is sending us a message then it isn't a pretty one, considering the emerging picture of the patterns described above.

Starting from mid April, we've also noticed a significant increase in airplane and helicopter crashes due to technical glitches, human errors or unknown causes. Airplanes were skidding off runways or even splitting in two, and bridges, cranes and roofs were collapsing.

The following list is just an example.

Ryanair Plane Skids Off Runway In Poland
Plane crashes at German air show, kills one
Technical problems plague Polish low-cost airline
Plane's nose gear collapse causes flight delays
5 Hurt When Plane Skids in Indonesia
Plane Crashes Into Virginia House; 2 Dead, 1 Hurt
Ukrainian helicopter crash kills 19 people
Authorities Investigating Compton, California Plane Crash
Transport plane crash in Moldova kills eight
Suriname Plane Crash Kills at Least 19
Vietnam: Military plane crash kills five
Plane crashes at German air show, kills one
India: 17 killed in Gurgaon building collapse
UK: Commuters face chaos after bridge scaffolding collapse
Several injured in Alabama factory roof collapse
Student pilot, instructor killed in Philly small plane crash
Police say railway bridge collapse in northern Sweden kills 2, injures 3
Australia: Runaway truck embedded in house
3 dead, 3 injured in Southern California chopper crash
Four dead after small plane crashes in Northern California
Russia: Two dead in light plane crash outside Moscow
Near-catastrophe as DR Congo plane makes emergency landing
Plane splits in Brussels airport crash
Restored Messerschmidt crash-lands at Berlin Air Show

And just to increase the "High Strangeness" factor, there were several cases of multiple events on the same day or in the same region. Consider the following:

End of April. Three crashes on the same weekend in Germany:

Plane crashes at German air show, kills one
At least 25 people injured after German train hits sheep
Train crashes into cow herd in Germany

1 of May, 2008. 3 accidents with high number of fatalities.

Five die in Sydney harbour crash
Seventeen dead in Hong Kong bus crash
Nine Tourists die in Egypt bus crash

8 of May, 2008. Two crashes with high number of fatalities.

At least 29 dead as bus plunges into river in Peru
Over 40 feared dead as Indian bus plunges into river

28 of May, 2008. Two cases of train derailment in US.

24 Injuries Reported In Chicago Train Derailment
BREAKING: Green Line Trains Crash in Newton, MA

Crane accidents: Three crane collapses in US within 10 days.

1 dead as crane topples onto railroad in Iowa
Kansas: Crane collapse kills 1 at power plant
Crane Collapses in Manhattan, 1 Dead, 3 Injured

Another two train accidents earlier this month in US.

Train derailment, acid leak forces Louisiana evacuation
Amtrak train, truck collide in Mississippi; 7 hurt

Additional examples of accidents with high number of fatalities, which add to May's already long list of death.

Israeli and Japanese tourists killed in a traffic accident in Bolivia
Seven dead, 4 badly injured in bus crash near Moscow Death toll from train accident in Bangladesh rises to 10
Nigeria: 46 soldiers killed in road accident
Death toll in Nepal bus accident rises to 35
Bus accident in Mexico kills 28
Bus crashes into truck in Ukraine, 11 dead

And if the mentioned coincidences weren't curious enough, there is another symbolic meaning worth noticing, which hints to the nature or the causes of the collapse: An unusual number of crashes or skidding off runways involving politicians or authority figures.

Florida governor's plane makes emergency landing after three flight systems failures
Plane accompanying Putin to Italy skids off runway
Plane crashes off Equatorial Guinea with politicians aboard: airport
Sudan plane crashes, S.Sudan minister on board-SPLM
Zimbabwean tycoon escapes burning plane
Lightning strikes Irish PM's plane

Wrapping it up: A matter of hope and personal responsibility

We have been dealt a tricky hand. The cards are on the table and all the trends have the potential to end up in a crash or collapse of one sort of another, whether an economic crash, a collapse of civilization as we know it, a crash of countries in a major war, or even a cometary bombardment - a possibility which is always in our mind. Nature reflects the experiences of humanity and the harder the psychopaths push, the harder is the response from the Universe.

We do not know yet the specifics of the hows and whens, but we can certainly tell that the picture looks grim. While it is easy to feel panic or impotence, it is not our intention to promote fatalism. On the contrary: ultimately, the reason that we dare to see the gathering darkness and track it on a daily basis is that we care and we believe that something can and should be done. Even if what each one of us can do may be of a very limited nature, we still carry personal responsibility for the fate of our species and planet, and the first step is to see and understand as much as we can, and share that understanding in the hope that a number of us, pulling together, can figure out what can be done. in fact, sharing the Truth might be exactly what needs to be done. In a world of lies, a bit of truth can have the most unexpected non-linear results.

It is hope, after all, which moves us to carry on with SOTT. Those who prefer to live asleep, fully in the comfort of their lives while it lasts, are the ones who have really given in to despair and chosen to evade their responsibility. But not us.

What are YOU going to do?