As an introduction to the current installment of Connecting the Dots, we would like to share something private with you.

It isn't easy to spend several hours in front of the computer every day researching, posting, writing and editing. While it may come as a surprise to some, all Sott editors have lives and other interests that we would gladly attend to if it were not for the time and effort that we choose to dedicate to Sott.net. Certainly it is an often thankless task but we are not looking for praise or adulation. The really heart breaking part of getting up close and personal on a daily basis with the reality of life on planet earth is the realization that, despite our efforts, in the end it will not be enough. At least, it will not be enough until more people choose to make an effort to see the truth of our current world situation (a web of pernicious lies) and make true conscience their guiding light. As one great man said: Humanity neither progresses nor evolves by Nature. One can evolve; humanity cannot, for evolution proceeds only consciously.

And today, as you will see as you read on, we are in desperate need of more people to stand up and make a conscious choice. Because our world is on fire literally and figuratively, and while the fire has burned for many centuries, it is very likely that we will soon reach, and surpass, 'boiling point'. To be brutally honest, there are precious few 'fire exits' left, and if radical action is not taken, and soon, there will be nothing left but ashes and perhaps a few bones for future archeologists to dig up.

We know that, as regular readers, you are aware of how dire the situation is. The problem is that the rest of the population is still sound asleep and largely oblivious of the threat that confronts them. Despite the angst and understanding that we may never reach a wider audience, we still choose to try, because the alternative - to watch the unfolding chaos and do nothing - is too horrifying to contemplate for any person with even half a conscience.

There is a saying that, in order to help others, one must first learn to help oneself. Working on SOTT has had and continues to have profound effects on us, the editors, on many levels. We can only hope that the fruits of our effort are helpful to you the reader also and may assist you to reach a deeper understanding of our reality and the problems we face, and perhaps make a conscious choice to do something to safeguard your own future and that of your children.

For our part, we promise that we will do everything in our power to continue to be the lighthouse.

And so, without further ado;

Imagine that you are standing in a large room full of people. You are not part of the assembled crowd but are merely observing the activities and the people.

A large and grandiose party is in full swing. People continue to arrive all the time, swelling the already voluminous mass of humanity. A band plays in the corner, some of the people are talking and drinking while others dance to the music. As you wander around you notice that the people gathered in the room seem to have organised themselves into groups. As you listen in on the conversations that are taking place you learn that these groups seem to be organised by social status, racial type or simply those with a similar world view. Very clear however is the fact that there are those that are well dressed and seem to be well fed and there are those that appear to be rather more disheveled and materially poor.

Author and historian Laura Knight-Jadczyk discusses her book High Strangeness: Hyperdimensions and the Process of Alien Abduction on 'UFO Undercover' with radio show host Joe Montaldo.

Transcript below.

Eight years ago, in May 2009 MSNBC published a series of articles predicting what the world would look like in 2017. Their subheading was "Rapid pace of technology will mean wrenching changes in just a decade". 'Wrenching' changes have indeed occurred but the reality now is that the major changes our world has witnessed have been less due to technological change than to the Wars over diminishing food and water resources, the virus pandemic, cosmic bombardment and the global centralisation of economic conditions to solve the greater Depression.

In 2009 what seemed like relatively insignificant political and technological developments turned out to be the green shoots of today's Biological Environmental and Technological Convergence (BETC) Revolution. The development of Quantum nanotechnology storage systems enabled Governments to store massive amount of data on every type of communication between individuals. Every VMS (Voice Message System), call, video link, search, browse, in fact every single data transfer is stored, mined, assigned, matched and under the BETC Government control.

This author is one of many who managed to continue writing as the blogosphere removed the anonymity that citizens (now referred to as dissidents, militants, insurgents and terrorists) used to spread their warnings on the negative potential of the new revolution. Through biometric advances, having a unique CP (Citizen Protocol) address assigned to every individual regardless of the device they are interacting with, took time to get used to. I myself am one warning away from having my editing rights removed completely. Rather like the French 3 strikes law that saw the formation of initially a "new State agency [and later Global agency] that sent illegal file-sharers a warning e-mail, then a letter, and finally cut off their connection for a year if they were caught a third time."

How did we let it happen?

Batten down the hatches, grab your flimsy face mask!

Just as Sott.net editors were putting the finishing touches to the April's edition of 'Connecting the Dots' (a fairly standard month as months go here on the BBM), within the last five days the world has been brought to the brink (of what we are not quite sure) by something called "Swine Flu". At least, that's the impression you get when reading recent headlines. But as Sott.net readers know, there is always more to these episodes of mass hysteria than meets the eye!

Look further back into the month and you will see enough clues to figure out the nature of what we may safely call a World Government. Pay attention to details in the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and you may distinguish manufactured social and political conflicts. Consider it all within the context of Mother Nature's mysteries. Indeed, there is much to comment about this month. But, in the spirit of traditional journalism, let's start with the major headlines...

Influenza - "a human respiratory infection of undetermined cause" according to Webster's dictionary. Most people have at some stage in their lives felt its effects, and while the normal human virus is not lethal to humans there exists the possibility that lethal "mutated" strains can develop.

Each winter the flu virus makes its expected appearance, commonly known as the "Flu season". The standard government response is to commission the large pharmaceutical companies to manufacture vast amounts of a vaccine.

The vaccine is essentially a dose containing several, either dead, or alive but weakened, flu virus strains (among other things as we shall see). When introduced into the body these supposedly immunise us against those particular strains. However the vaccine does not cover all the possible Flu virus strains and if the predominant flu virus in any given season is not contained in the vaccine then naturally no protection will be afforded by the vaccine. Interestingly, this was the case this 2003/4 season, yet it did not stop the government from urging the public to "get immunised!"

While initially being recommended for the elderly and young, now it is advised that everyone who wants to avoid the flu should receive the shot. The question is, how much do you trust your government, and how much of that trust is warranted. As we shall see, there is cause to be highly suspicious of government advice. In regards to this years flu virus the Government Center for Disease Control has said:

Think about it, he has to be. Anger, Jealousy, covetousness, vengeance, extreme bias towards his 'chosen people' in the Israel-Palestine conflict and against literally everyone else in creation; all these are hallmarks of the politics of a die hard Republican. Well, we should probably say were hallmarks of a die-hard Republican. Nowadays they are also the hallmarks of die-hard Democrats, the two-party system having long since given way to the unifying power of "Christo-Judaism" and the influence of their representatives on earth - the Washington Neocons and their Zionist friends.

My name is Guinn. Penn Guinn. Upon leaving my familiar environment of ice-cold Antarctica, I was determined to travel around the Earth in search of clues of the miraculous: that, as yet unidentifiable but eternally present spirit of the creative universe that resides above and below, within and without, permeates and penetrates all, but alas! is invisible to the untrained eye. But such a task is not difficult for one of Aptenodytes Forsteri genus such as I, who in the aforementioned inhospitable surroundings learned to distinguish, from an early age, the thousand different shades of white.

And so my seeking has led me to awareness enhancing journeys through the coastal Tel Aviv, the Italian Apennines, the French Riviera and Hendaye, the English Countryside. It was while spending some time with elderly British folks in my last travels that I heard about the island of Cyprus: a small troubled place shrouded in mystery, intimately connected with the birth of the Greek Goddess of Love and the birth of the Christian Orthodox church. Following some preliminary research, it dawned on me that both Aphrodite and graceful Mary would need to be dressed à la mode in order to fit in in modern day Cyprus. Not that I care too much for appearances you see. But wishing to blend in with the crowds, I spent the winter at my chilly home awaiting the unappealing molting of my pelage to take its course before setting off for the sunny island. Come springtime, all dapper in my new velvety plumage, I was ready for my next adventure!

Harrison Koehli is interviewed by Kevin Barrett from Truth Jihad Radio. The discussion is on Political Ponerology, the nature of evil, and psychopaths.

A recent article on Sott.net about Alex Jones' possible negative influence on a man who shot three policemen in the US last week has generated some interesting commentary from readers and brought into sharp focus a question that goes right to the heart of the problems facing humanity today.

The article in question by Max Blumenthal of Alternet states that the 22-year-old gunman Richard Poplawski "was a neo-Nazi wannabe who railed against blacks, Jews, Zionists and gun control" and also seemed to find common ideological ground with Alex Jones. Poplawski appears to have been particularly incensed by Jones' reports that Obama was planning to institute a socialist dictatorship wherein all guns would be outlawed. While grouping Jones with White Supremacist Neo-Nazis may be doing the thing too brown, it is true that Jones has repeatedly stated that "the first step in establishing a dictatorship is to disarm the citizens."