A SOGGY MORNING

It has drizzled off and on for the last few days; but no rain in the rain gauge. This morning we had 1/2 inch in the rain gauge. I was aware of it raining gently during the night, but I was surprised at the amount. We need it. It has been dry for a couple of weeks and digging those potatoes won't be much fun if it is too dry. Tomorrow, we are planning on butchering ten more chickens; it will be nice to get that chore over.

Jamie has been working like a fiend. She feels she is chained to kitchen. She canned 24 quarts of spaghetti sauce yesterday and has about 25 to do today. This time of year the canning seems endless. Jamie does the work; I kibbutz with helpful advice. Sometimes she accuses me of being less than helpful. How could that be?

I don't feel like talking about world affairs today. Maybe, a little; I have been observing the collapse of the American Empire. Most Americans don't realize we have one, as unlike the Roman and British Empires, we don't "own" vast lands which fly our flag. Our Empire is controlled through multinational corporations backed up the Banking System.

We have controlled countries by controlling trade, natural resources and especially the monetary system. We have ruled the world because we have the Reserve Currency and in order for any other country to buy oil they had to have dollars. In order to maintain their dollar supply they had to invest in our treasury notes. This little scam has started to unravel. Oil rich countries have begun{or threaten} to sell oil for other currencies, in defiance of U.S. wishes. Our only strong alliance left is NATO and they are giving us only tentative support. They went along with us in Libya only because they thirsted for Libya's oil. Despite the media coverage there are signs that this bit of fakery is not going to work. Libya will not kowtow to NATO.

Of course, we still have numerous Army and Air Force bases all over the world to reinforce our banking and corporate decisions; but even the ruled need to give some acquiescence in the process. Even the conquered cannot be controlled without some willingness; witness Afghanistan. The world is no longer going along. Many countries are considering dumping the dollar as their reserve currency. They are aligning themselves anew, against the dictates of American policy. We are greatly weakened by our diminished status, as the greatest financial powerhouse, partly because of our huge debt to China and Japan. The rest of the world is waking up to the fact that they don't need to be afraid of us. This is a big, big change and a welcomed one.

Perhaps that is enough for today. I need to wash the dishes and hopefully get some things done outside. I will probably not blog tomorrow as I will be up to my neck in chickens but who knows?

Love and Peace,  Gregg