Orbs, orbits and orreries...

---

Anyone with an orrey [edit: orrery FFS!] will see the two biggest planets in our solar system as close as they have seemed in December, "Jupiter and Saturn will appear closer in Earth's night sky than they have since 1226 A.D."; only about 1 degree apart for us looking up. OK, the close alignment of these two planets happens every 20 years or so.* "But it's not always in December and it's been nearly 800 years—we're talking Middle Ages—since they got this close. 

"Technically, the two largest planets in our solar system will still be hundreds of millions of miles apart. But Dec. 21, from our vantage point, they'll look like they're nearly touching, creating a radiant point of light that's being dubbed the Christmas Star, or Star of Bethlehem, for obvious reasons."

"The lousiest year in living memory will end with an offering of heavenly wonder: a Christmas Star."

Also, it is the winter solstice so I suppose of course this alignment could be a brighter Saturnalia than usual if that's your thing (plenty of Romans about!) or shining for Juul (even more pagans!) etc...

* ...actually 19.86 years for the average frequency of a great conjunction so the last one was on 10.2.01 and today is 21.12.20...ooooh. 

Orbs, orbits and orreries...

---

Anyone with an orrey will see the two biggest planets in our solar system as close as they have seemed in Decemeber, "Jupiter and Saturn will appear closer in Earth's night sky than they have since 1226 A.D."; only about 1 degree apart for us looking up. OK, the close alignment of these two planets happens every 20 years or so.* "But it's not always in December and it's been nearly 800 years—we're talking Middle Ages—since they got this close. 

"Technically, the two largest planets in our solar system will still be hundreds of millions of miles apart. But Dec. 21, from our vantage point, they'll look like they're nearly touching, creating a radiant point of light that's being dubbed the Christmas Star, or Star of Bethlehem, for obvious reasons."

"The lousiest year in living memory will end with an offering of heavenly wonder: a Christmas Star."

Also, it is the winter solstice so I suppose of course this alignment could be a brighter Saturnalia than usual if that's your thing (plenty of Romans about!) or shining for Juul (even more pagans!) etc...

* ...actually 19.86 years for the average frequency of a great conjunction so the last one was on 10.2.01 and today is 21.12.20...ooooh. 

Optimising obscurantism opus...

---

“C. J. Hopkins is the modern Western version of a Samizdat writer, i.e. a forbidden wit who loudly says things that are obvious but Not Spoken Of in officialdom ... his columns have increasingly become required reading ..." - Matt Taibbi https://t.co/NF8iAqKa9Y pic.twitter.com/zlGl5EIQA6

— Consent Factory (@consent_factory) October 1, 2020

Today I found The Consent Factory, "a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amalgamated Content, Inc., a fictitious business name owned and operated by C. J. Hopkins" :-) 

Mainly led by the trail from the most recent entry Year Zero..."2020 was GloboCap Year Zero. The year when the global capitalist ruling classes did away with the illusion of democracy and reminded everyone who is actually in charge, and exactly what happens when anyone challenges them." You get the picture. More:

"None of which is accidental, or has anything to do with any actual virus, or any other type of public health threat. Yes, before some of you go ballistic, I do believe there is an actual virus, which a number of people have actually died from, or which at least has contributed to their deaths … but there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever of any authentic public health threat that remotely justifies the totalitarian emergency measures we are being subjected to or the damage that is being done to society. Whatever you believe about the so-called “pandemic,” it really is as simple as that. Even if one accepts the official “science,” you do not transform the entire planet into a pathologized-totalitarian nightmare in response to a health threat of this nature.

"The notion is quite literally insane."

The whole thing is well worth a read...and that will lead you other joys especially Where's the Hitler?

Optimising obscurantism opus...

---

“C. J. Hopkins is the modern Western version of a Samizdat writer, i.e. a forbidden wit who loudly says things that are obvious but Not Spoken Of in officialdom ... his columns have increasingly become required reading ..." - Matt Taibbi https://t.co/NF8iAqKa9Y pic.twitter.com/zlGl5EIQA6

— Consent Factory (@consent_factory) October 1, 2020

Today I found The Consent Factory, "a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amalgamated Content, Inc., a fictitious business name owned and operated by C. J. Hopkins" :-) 

Mainly led by the trail from the most recent entry Year Zero..."2020 was GloboCap Year Zero. The year when the global capitalist ruling classes did away with the illusion of democracy and reminded everyone who is actually in charge, and exactly what happens when anyone challenges them." You get the picture. More:

"None of which is accidental, or has anything to do with any actual virus, or any other type of public health threat. Yes, before some of you go ballistic, I do believe there is an actual virus, which a number of people have actually died from, or which at least has contributed to their deaths … but there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever of any authentic public health threat that remotely justifies the totalitarian emergency measures we are being subjected to or the damage that is being done to society. Whatever you believe about the so-called “pandemic,” it really is as simple as that. Even if one accepts the official “science,” you do not transform the entire planet into a pathologized-totalitarian nightmare in response to a health threat of this nature.

"The notion is quite literally insane."

The whole thing is well worth a read...and that will lead you other joys especially Where's the Hitler?

Oppidan or outback...

---

...urban or rural, the increasingly 'right' rural lands versus the increasingly 'left' cities.  I thought the interactive graphic HERE from Pew Research on the increasing partisan divide in political values in the USA was very interesting [full article here]. The images below show the effect over recent decades; an effect we can all see and notice in everyday life; remember that in the USA by 'liberal' they mean lefty twat, mostly. See how the 'mixed' middle is being squeezed and flattened while the extremes grow in both size and distance from the centre.








I was led there* by this great article called The Separation by Rebecca on The American Mind website and presented as a "pseudonymous essay as an example of what thoughtful people of good will are increasingly thinking and saying in private about the future of America. The author is not a young radical or part of some strange new online intellectual sub-group. On the contrary, the following was written by someone who served as an officer in the United States military, worked in Congress and on presidential campaigns, is founder and principal of a private partnership, and holds multiple Ivy League degrees."

"But we are in a post-truth era.... ...According to Pew, 72% of Democrats and 77% of Republicans agree that the sides 'cannot agree on basic facts.' We now speak 'my truth.' This is not cognitive dissonance: it is cognitive division."

There, the separation isn't a joke nor a conspiracy theory; here in the UK we see similar signs, not so much on national election level but certainly on many other things: climate change, Brexit, Trump (Ok, OK!), COVID etc are now house dividers, family dividers, friendship splitters, and the extremes grow. You may think then that the (presumed) election of Sleepy Joe to POTUS46 is a step to correct the outward pull and bring things back to the happy centre...but if you think that you haven't been paying attention. 

 * and I was in turn led there from the links in the comments on this post on Samizdata: "It was an astonishing thing to see."

Oppidan or outback...

---

...urban or rural, the increasingly 'right' rural lands versus the increasingly 'left' cities.  I thought the interactive graphic HERE from Pew Research on the increasing partisan divide in political values in the USA was very interesting [full article here]. The images below show the effect over recent decades; an effect we can all see and notice in everyday life; remember that in the USA by 'liberal' they mean lefty twat, mostly. See how the 'mixed' middle is being squeezed and flattened while the extremes grow in both size and distance from the centre.
I was led there* by this great article called The Separation by Rebecca on The American Mind website and presented as a "pseudonymous essay as an example of what thoughtful people of good will are increasingly thinking and saying in private about the future of America. The author is not a young radical or part of some strange new online intellectual sub-group. On the contrary, the following was written by someone who served as an officer in the United States military, worked in Congress and on presidential campaigns, is founder and principal of a private partnership, and holds multiple Ivy League degrees."

"But we are in a post-truth era.... ...According to Pew, 72% of Democrats and 77% of Republicans agree that the sides 'cannot agree on basic facts.' We now speak 'my truth.' This is not cognitive dissonance: it is cognitive division."

There, the separation isn't a joke nor a conspiracy theory; here in the UK we see similar signs, not so much on national election level but certainly on many other things: climate change, Brexit, Trump (Ok, OK!), COVID etc are now house dividers, family dividers, friendship splitters, and the extremes grow. You may think then that the (presumed) election of Sleepy Joe to POTUS46 is a step to correct the outward pull and bring things back to the happy centre...but if you think that you haven't been paying attention. 

 * and I was in turn led there from the links in the comments on this post on Samizdata: "It was an astonishing thing to see."