One of the three major general elections taking place in western European countries this year occurred last week: in an apparent respite for liberal elites still reeling from Trump's success, Geert Wilders' party did not win a majority of seats, and so is unlikely to go into government. This week on Behind the Headlines, we're discussing these results, as well as the ongoing all-out war of words between the Dutch and Turkish leaderships.

With the next major European election taking place in France next month, things are heating up there too, with a school shooting and an apparent foiled terror attack occurring on the anniversary of the 2012 Toulouse shootings (which preceded the last French general election). From crisis in Europe to crisis in Trumpland, we're also checking in on developments stateside.

Running Time: 01:55:03

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Daylight Saving Time gained worldwide acceptance -- or was forced onto people, depending on your view of things -- around WWII. It was initially proposed as an energy saving measure and a way to boost the economy. Turns out it did neither and it ended up causing some serious health repercussions to the citizens of nations that engaged in this idiotic practice. Accidents, heart attacks and increased rates of depression and suicide along with sleep disturbances and general confusion all follow 'springing forward and falling back'.

On this episode of the Health and Wellness Show we'll explore the topic of Daylight Saving Time and how it effects the human body.

Running Time: 00:40:36

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With the upcoming Turkish constitutional referendum on April 16th 2017 - which would enable more Presidential power for Erdogan and his successors if a majority of 'yes' votes is reached - Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, Turkish Minister of Family and Social Policies, and Mevlüt Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, planned to visit the Netherlands to gain support for the referendum among Dutch citizens with Turkish or dual nationality.

Far-right and anti-Islam Dutch politician Geert Wilders was one of the first to immediately ask for a political debate on the coming visits, in an effort to reach consensus to prevent them from taking place. Soon after, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte - with full support from the House of Representatives - decided to bar both Sayan Kaya and Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu from visiting, supposedly because of "a danger to public order and for security reasons". Interestingly, this decision actually triggered mayhem in the streets.

Also, a week earlier, Rutte wrote on his Facebook page that "the Dutch public space is not the place to conduct another country's political campaign". However, when Dutch politicians (including Han ten Broeke, a member of Rutte's own political party), 'conduct their country's political campaign' in the UK, it is apparently considered perfectly normal.

Regardless of the lack of Dutch hospitality, Sayan Kaya still decided to go to the Netherlands, and arrived in the city of Rotterdam in the evening on Saturday March 11th, but was 'escorted' by police officers to Germany, where she took a plane back to Turkey. Cavusoglu, on the other hand reached the French city of Metz, where he will give his talk, after his initial plan to speak in Rotterdam was thwarted due to his landing rights being revoked.

The Netherlands has now joined three other nations who have banned similar meetings by Turkish officials: Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. These actions clearly further the agenda to alienate Erdogan from EU nations, as a response to his efforts to strengthen Turkey's relationship with - the US Deep State's, and therefore EU's, worst enemy - Russia.

Over the last decade the nuclear EMP (NEMP) threat associated with a high-altitude nuclear detonation has gained momentum, fueling the prepper community with visions of a sudden end to our high-tech infrastructure, and returning us to brutal survival conditions in a world of escalating chaos and violence. This threat is talked up by politicians, corporate lobbyists, and those that hope to gain - either monetarily (via government contract) or through the spread of fear (for perception management). Recent novels such as Ray Gorham's 77 Days in September and William Forstchen's One Second After have fanned the flames of this threat with gritty stories of mass death and horrendous struggles to survive. But is this threat really viable in the context of so many other threats that are visible on our horizon?

WikiLeaks has released a major trove of CIA docs revealing their hacking methods and capacities. Shocking to some, no big surprise to others. Among the highlights: the CIA has the ability to hack a range of household devices without you knowing, and evading even encrypted communications. Your phone, your TV, your car, your toaster. (Well, maybe not your toaster.) But not to worry. The docs reveal a hyper focus on spying on other elites (with the aim of gaining an edge over them) - countering terrorism, not so much. Infection and surveillance of the masses is merely collateral damage on the way to acquiring, monitoring and defeating targeted competitors.

Of more immediate concern for users than whether or not Big Brother is watching is that scammers are taking advantage of the 'cyber Mad Max' reality the CIA et al have created to profit from it. Through incompetence and the open-source nature of information, the CIA apparently lost control over their entire arsenal of cyberweapons. Now they're out there for who knows who to exploit.

Today on Behind the Headlines we'll see what all the fuss is about.

Running Time: 02:00:05

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Millennials are people born between the years 1980 and 1994. They have a reputation for being narcissistic and entitled, shallow, obsessed with technology and social media and unable to cope with reality. Social scientists have remarked that this generation is more likely to live with their parents, lack basic living skills, have an incapacity for meaningful relationships and suffer from a high rate of mood and personality disorders. Older generations talking smack about younger generations is a grand tradition but one must ask: How did millennials develop this reputation? Are these youngsters uniquely flawed or are they merely a product of the times?

Join us as we explore these questions and more.

And stay tuned, as always, for Zoya's Pet Health segment where the topic will be suicide among veterinarians.

Running Time: 01:29:45

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Februrary 2017 continued on as January started. Massive flooding in California due to "atmospheric rivers" dumping large amounts of rain on coastal areas and snow on the Sierra Nevada. The snow melt from this caused further flooding in Nevada. Eastern Canada also experienced record snowfall, as did Iran, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Japan.

Wildfires broke out in Eastern Australia and New Zealand while record rainfall inundated Western Australia. Major flooding also hit several South American nations including Chile, Peru and Colombia.

There are at least 30 active volcanoes around the world right now, including a really impressive one in Guatemala. Massive earth cracks opened in Pakistan and Italy.

These are just some of the chaotic events we present in this month's Sott 'Earth Changes' video compilation.

Today on the Truth Perspective we'll be continuing our discussion from last week on the fourth turning, drawing on Harrison's three-part series published on SOTT.

The Fourth Turning and Steve Bannon Pt. 1: Why He's Wrong, Even Though He's Right
The Fourth Turning and Steve Bannon Pt. 2: Happiness, Hedonism, Horror - Repeat
The Fourth Turning and Steve Bannon Pt. 3: Implications for Hysterica-America

We'll be talking about social hysteria, the FakeNews media, the anti-Russian psychosis, Political Ponerology, and the general sense of craziness going around. One recent example of note: Bush Jr.'s newfound popularity among people that used to hate him. All because he doesn't like Trump. Tune in.

Running Time: 02:02:27

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On this episode of The Health and Wellness Show we explore the topic of lies, liars and lying. Some people are compulsive liars. Others are pathological liars. But everyone lies and has done so since childhood. We lie to grease the social wheels, to protect others feelings, to make ourselves feel good, to obtain some personal benefit, and sometimes even for the heck of it.

Given that lying is part of human makeup and the social landscape, there have been numerous books written and talks given on detecting lies. However, it turns out that humans aren't so good at detecting them. History is rife with tales of people being bamboozled. On a societal level we are swimming in an ocean of lies. What are the effects of such falsity? Does lying and believing in lies affect our brains? Are there ever times when lying is necessary?

Join us for a dose of the truth about lies and stay tuned, as always, for Zoya's Pet Health segment where the topic will be lies about the dosage of the mandatory rabies vaccine.

Running Time: 01:19:50

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Continued from Part 2: Happiness, Hedonism, Horror - Repeat

Lobaczewski was exiled to America in the late 70s by the Polish Communist authorities after being denounced by a correspondent for Radio Free Europe. Based on his observations of American culture in New York, he thought the U.S. reached a peak of hysteria in the 80s. Maybe he was right about that, but if he were still alive I would be curious to know his thoughts on American society in the past few years. It seems the hysteria has only gotten worse. Here's what he had to say about the U.S. in 1984:

America is stifling progress in all areas of life, from culture to technology and economics, not excluding political incompetence. When linked to other deficiencies, an egotist's incapability of understanding other people and nations leads to political error and the scapegoating of outsiders. Slamming the brakes on the evolution of political structures and social institutions increases both administrative inertia and discontent on the part of its victims. (Political Ponerology, p. 64)

Sounds like he could've been writing about today.

He also wrote that the U.S. seems to lag around 80 years behind the European cycle. The last European crisis was a bloody nightmare that saw one world war and the emergence of two major totalitarian pathocracies: the Soviets in 1922, and the Nazis in 1933 - then another world war. If Lobaczewski is right, that suggests that it can take at least two full 80-year cycles before a country risks falling into totalitarian barbarism that consumes its own people, which means Europe might get off relatively easy this time around. But maybe not.