"Their tongues are devious weapons, bent like a drawn bow. With falsehoods rather than truth they have gained power in the land. They commit one crime after another. They do not know me."
Jeremiah 9:3
"For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. But the one who restrains it will continue to do so until he steps away. And then the lawless one will be revealed, the one whom the Lord will slay by the breath of his mouth and bring to an end with the splendor of his coming.
The coming of the lawless one will be the work of Satan made manifest in power, signs and wonders of falsehood, and in every wicked deception designed for those who are perishing because they did not accept the love of truth, and be saved.
For this reason, God permits them [the exceptional] a powerful delusion to believe their lies, that all may be condemned who deny the truth and instead take pleasure in lawlessness."
2 Thessalonians 2:7-12
"If at the start this cancerous growth in the nation was not particularly noticeable, it was only because there were still enough forces at work that operated for the good, so that it was kept under control. As it grew larger, however, and finally in an ultimate spurt of growth attained ruling power, the tumor broke open, as it were, and infected the whole body."
The White Rose, Second Leaflet, Munich 1942
"When humanity, subjugated by the terror of crime, has been driven mad by fear and horror, and when chaos has become the supreme law, then the time for the empire of lawlessness will have come."
Fritz Lang, Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, 1933
An explanation of today's market decline is unnecessary, unless one is a spokesmodel for one of the financial or ideologically inclined organizations which are always trying to find clever ways to distract and mislead the narrative.
The mispricing of risks has corrected a bit, but I fear it has some way to go.
Perhaps a substantial way to go, all things considered, including the real economy.
Gold popped but was held in check.
Silver ended the week mostly unchanged, but this was on top of a prior stellar performance the week before.
Despite what people say, silver is just not as 'monetary' as gold.
And Bitcoin is a risk asset in drag.
VIX ticked up. But it did not yet spike.
I would imagine they will be exchanging 'presents' with messages attached back and forth this weekend over there.
The targets and the heft (throw weight) of the packages will be pivotal.
Even moreso if anyone else selects to cast off pretense and most openly engage.
And then there is the Ukraine, the neglected.
It's always something new and shinier with the Empire.
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
Have a pleasant, and hopefully uneventful, weekend.
