Off The Grid News Better Ideas For Off The Grid Living
“The Martial Artist of Trend Forecasting”, Gerald Celente, returns and his acerbic wit is as evident as ever. As someone has said, if Nostradamus was alive today, he’d have a hard time keeping up with this man, the world’s only trend analyst covering 300 trend fields.
Off The Grid Radio
Ep 032
Released: January 28, 2011
Brian: Ladies and gentlemen, once again, welcome back to Off the Grid News – the radio version of offthegridnews.com. I’m Brian Brawdy, as always here with Mr. Bill Heid. Bill, we have a very special guest today, as I know you know.
Bill: Well, we’re always excited when Mr. Celente graces us with his time. You know, Brian, there’s so many events going on around the world that I think folks need to zero down and try to figure out what do these things mean? They’re not abstractions. You see it on the TV, you see some of these things happening around the world on television, you read about them on Drudge, whatever it might be. But listen, they have impact. They’re going to affect your life, so you need to pay attention today. We’ve got Gerald Celente.
Brian: Mr. Gerald Celente. As you all know, he is the publisher of the Trends Journal. Gerald, once again, welcome. I’ve got to tell you, I love the line “if Nostradamus were alive today, he’d have a hard time keeping up with you.” We’re always excited to have you on our show.
Gerald: Thanks so much, guys. Great being on. You really nailed it when you said you have to know what’s going on around the world, because current events form future trends. You look at some of the current trends going on now and the current events, just look what’s going on in Tunisia. It’s a trend that we had forecast before it happened. When we released our “Top Trends for 2011,” one of them was “students of the world unite.” The revolts that happened in Tunisia was student inspired. They’re the ones that got it going. They’re out of work. They have degrees that are worthless. They watch their autocratic government, which is twice as good as a democratic government – in this country we have a duocratic government – a different form of Mafia. So what happens? You look at the media and they’re looking at it as “these Arab countries – better watch out. There could be more danger ahead.” Guess what? There’s danger ahead everywhere. Look what happened in the UK a month-and-a-half ago. “Off with their heads!” They were screaming at the Royal Couple in protest of the tuition prices going up 200 percent as they put in more austerity measures, cut services, raise taxes. You’re looking at what’s going on in Italy – students taking to the streets. Watch what’s going to happen in America. You have these kids that are $100,000, $50,000, $250,000 in debt with degrees in worthlessness. You think they’re going to be angry? So the people know the story, because that’s one of the major trends of 2011 – the wakeup call. Only the people that are ideologues, the uninformed or little children believe the … anymore. How anybody could follow their leaders after looking at WikiLeaks has to have their head examined. That’s why the American government and others are so upset about WikiLeaks. They’re showing what a bunch of criminals, thieves, lightweights, losers and liars these so-called world leaders are. It’s all there, on the cables. So people are protesting. You’re going to start seeing another current event – watch what’s going on over in Europe. The European Monetary Union’s breaking down. You want to talk about an absurdity? Can you imagine … can you imagine that Japan and China are buying up bad Portuguese, Spanish, Irish and Greek bonds to keep the Ponzi scheme afloat?
Bill: It’s a remarkable thing, Gerald. I think you’ve got – and I don’t know if you remember – I certainly remember and I’m 52 – I remember a similar cycle that happened before. Do you remember when Japan came to town. Do you remember when the emperor’s palace – the real estate was worth more than the state of California? Japan was acting in a very similar manner to what China’s acting today. Do you have any comments on that whole scheme? What’s going to happen if China …?
Gerald: We have a lot about it in the Trends Journal that is just going out in a couple of hours. It’s the 20th anniversary edition, 44 pages long. We began as an eight page newsletter in 1991 and now it’s with full color art and illustrations. We have a lot about China. One of the lines we have about China is that we’re hearing all this tough talk from Defense Secretary Gates saying that China shouldn’t underestimate America’s military might. Let’s get this straight, it was the Chinese backing the North Koreans that made Uncle Sam call “uncle” and sign an armistice. It was the Chinese that backed the Vietnamese that pushed America out of the Vietnam War. Nobody’s going to beat China. They have the weaponry now; and they have the money. It’s the golden rule – those who have the gold rule. The politicians sold this country out. What a joke. You know, if I was a little kid in high school and read the headlines of the Financial Times, “Obama Toughens China’s Line” – that’s the public consumption. That’s kiddy talk. Toughens what line? A BS line – how about that line? What is China holding, $3 trillion worth of reserve currencies, and most of it ours? And we sold out this country by giving them all our technology and moving our manufacturing base offshore. What tough line? Oh, and you want to hear about some hypocrisy? They’re going to get tough on those human rights violations. Oh yeah, sure. They go after Cuba because they’re not doing business with them, but China’s a totalitarian Communist country. Human rights violations? How about the United States being involved in Afghanistan and Iraq and now in Pakistan and Yemen? You want some human rights violations? As I said, this is kiddy talk.
Bill: We were talking before we went on air about this recent shooting. Brian, you had brought that video in and showed me. You talk about human rights violations going on right here – that’s all part of it, I think, Gerald. What happened – was it in Utah, Brian?
Brian: It was in Utah.
Bill: Maybe Gerald wants to comment on that?
Brian: Yeah, it was in Utah. It was a shooting in September of last year, but it’s just come to light now. It made me think of the last time we interviewed you, but you have a sergeant here that’s heading up a seven-member tactical team. They go on this big drug raid up in Utah. They holler “search warrant, search warrant …” Within the space of a second, the guy comes to the door, he’s armed with a golf club, Gerald, as I know you know. They put three bullets in him. After he’s hit the ground, the police officer says “get down.” And then the next six storm troopers file right past his body and guess what? They found a small amount of pot. Later identified that the guy was a user, not a dealer. And he’s dead now because the sergeant testified “I was in fear for my life. He had a 3 Wood so I put three in him.”
Bill: The weirdest part, Gerald, of this was that in the media the officers were talking about how effective this ammunition that they were using was. This is an amazing thing. This stuff goes on here all the time. I’m not saying there’s not human rights violations in China, I’m certain that there are. But, look around, everybody.
Gerald: Well, yeah. I mean, China’s disgusting – let’s call it what it is. It’s a Communist country, totalitarian regime. That’s what I’m saying, the hypocrisy. Pointing fingers at China – again, why are we in Iraq? Because Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and ties to al-Qaeda. Remember that one? What is it, 10 years later and they can’t find Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan? You can’t make this stuff up.
Bill: Gerald, do you think – we’ve only got a minute here and Brian’s going to take us to a break – but do you think that Osama Bin Laden exists?
Gerald: Yeah, I think he’s in Miami.
[laughter]Gerald: Again, how come Bush isn’t being brought up on war crimes? What did they know and what are they telling us? We’re still in the Iraq war for fake reasons. Who knew what, when? Why didn’t we find out? Oh, you can’t, because they’re the royal Bushes. It goes back – and I want to talk about when we come back, what those cops did, because the front page story in the Trends Journal is “Screw the People.” The police have been nothing more than enforcers for the crime bosses. Nobody on Wall Street has their head roll. They can’t touch the gangs, so they’re beating up us. That’s the only ones they can touch.
Brian: Gerald, I say this all the time, but please, I say to our listeners, stick around. Let’s get through this commercial break and come back. But I really want them to come back because I want to hear what you have to say about this. As a former police officer, and one that’s conducted those types of raids in the past, it’s so totally offensive to me that this went down. I can’t wait to get your input. Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to run to a quick commercial break. When we come back, the publisher of the Trends Journal, Mr. Gerald Celente, after this break.
[0:10:35 – 0:14:50 break]Brian: Ladies and gentlemen, as the announcer says, if you want a different paradigm, stick around on Off the Grid News. We most certainly want the paradigm – the understanding today of our guest, the publisher of the Trends Journal. Gerald, I would also like you to comment that there’s one going to press here in the next couple of hours. We’re here with Mr. Gerald Celente. Gerald, going into the break you and Bill were discussing the shooting in Utah, about a police officer – a sergeant going in, killing a gentleman armed with a golf club and how you have an opinion as to how that might not be all that different from the norm in the future.
Gerald: Yeah, because again, the big guys are off limits. Look at the headline today. More than 120 busted in northeast Mafia crackdown. I mean, come on, you know? Did they go after anybody on Wall Street? The Goldman Sachs gang? The Merrill Lynch mob? The CitiGroup criminals? Have you seen one head roll from Countrywide? Not one. And by the way, when these guys are arrested, they’re not beat up. They’re not pummeled. The cops have the orders you don’t touch the big guys.
Brian: And I would say to you, Gerald, in addition to that – Bill and I were talking before the show – here’s a group of guys … again, this sergeant shoots, technically, an unarmed man –notwithstanding the fact that he was armed with a golf club. But you don’t see these brave, strike force members going down to the borders in Mexico and mixing it up with real, established narco-terrorists. These guys in Utah, running around on their big narcotics strike force, kicking in a door and killing someone over a joint.
Gerald: I know. Again, you read these headlines. It’s reality show stuff what they’re putting out. Here’s the headline today – “Holder called the arrest an important and encouraging step forward in disrupting La Cosa Nostra’s operation.” Come on, what are you kidding with this stuff? As I said, you look at what’s going on and the big guys are off limits. No one is touching them. No one. Nowhere. No how.
Brian: So what do we do, Gerald? Every time that you’re on our show we get emails and comments from people going “he gets me so worked up. I believe in what he’s saying. I believe in his ability to forecast those trends. So what do we do?” What are you and I going to do? What’s Bill going to do? Jeremy? The rest of our listeners? What do we do to start stemming the tide of that kind of thing?
Gerald: You either follow the leaders or join the renaissance. The renaissance is thinking at a higher level. Bringing back the greatness of what this country was before it was sold out to the bottom line. It’s becoming active. Standing up, speaking out. You want to see something? You go to trendsjournal.com and our media blog, November, and I’m on FOX, talking about defending WIkiLeaks. I love it that this stuff is coming out. It’s a lot of baloney. “Our operatives’ lives are in danger” – no they’re not. Nobody’s lives are in danger. What’s in danger is they’re exposing what a bunch of thieves, criminals, lightweights, losers, liars these world leaders are. I’m defending it and they’ve got the deck stacked against me. They’ve got a CIA operative – the whole group. But I speak out. Nobody’s going to shut me down. If I get threatened, you’ll never hear from me again. I’m not going to do a Kennedy, you know? But in the meantime, I speak out and I take a stand and I don’t suck up to anybody or bow down. That’s what people have to regain their dignity and self respect. Until that happens, nothing’s going to change. If people are still going to vote for the Gambinos and the Bonnanos, or other words, the republicans and the democrats, and expect anything different, then they get the future that they deserve. There’s a wonderful, wonderful saying – Hindu saying – when the people are ready, the leader appears. The people have to get ready. They have to prepare. They have to get strong – physically, emotionally and spiritually. They have to get off the grid in so many different ways. Become independent. Not look for the government to do anything for them, because there’s a real high price to pay.
Brian: Gerald, that’s a great Hindu/Hindi quote – when the people are ready, the teacher appears. But on the opposite end of the political spectrum, they’re counting on that as well. There are people that talk – the Pivens of the world that are waiting for this student unrest, that are waiting to spark these type of riots so they can swoop in and go “alright, alright, alright. We know you’re upset. We’ll take control now.”
Bill: Yeah, it’s the Rahm Emanuel thing. Don’t waste a crisis.
Brian: It’s a Rahm Emanuel thing. Don’t waste a good crisis. That’s a two-sided coin there, isn’t it?
Gerald: Yes, it is. Yes, its. Nothing ever comes off perfectly. Look at our country after the revolution. It didn’t happen the way everybody wanted it to happen. But it’s better than what we have. And if we continue to move forward in the direction that we’re taking, the leadership is leading us to doom and ruin. There’s no question about it. So we’re telling people prepare for the worst. By the way, there is a positive, and that’s in alternative energy. You’re starting to see it happen. Again, that’s one of the top trends we’re going to be releasing just in a few hours. There are real breakthroughs that could be the big game changer and divert us from going into the greatest depression. It can be as big as the discovery of the wheel and fire. It’s of that magnitude. They just did an experiment in Italy several days ago. These are the kind of game changers. Necessity is the mother of invention. But for us to move ahead, people have to regain their dignity and self respect. They have to find out who they are and they have to move forward from there.
Brian: And what would be the first thing that you would say, Gerald, to someone? When someone says “great, I want to regain my dignity. I want to regain my self-respect.” Almost as if it’s an amnesia. It’s in them, they just don’t recognize it. What would be a step that our listeners could take, if they go “yeah, I want to regain that.” What would be the first thing you’d tell them to do?
Gerald: Break the chains. Break the chains. You’re never going to be free until you break the chains. Buy local. Bank local. Do everything you can to support your community. In buying local, you buy quality. Don’t eat corporate food. Get into shape. If you’re overweight, you’re sedentary, you’re not very happy with yourself at a number of levels. Get in shape emotionally. Get in shape spiritually. I begin every day meditating, trying to quiet my mind and cleans it from all the poison that I read every day and study. You have to be balanced. And you have to do the work. Work is not easy to do. It takes time and dedication. You don’t learn how to play the piano in six easy lessons. It becomes a life-long dedication.
Brian: Gerald, we’re going to run to a commercial break real quick, but Bill was just saying to me, day before yesterday, about the need for community. When you were saying buy local, establish relationships locally, that type of thing – I think when we get back I’d like you and Bill to kick around that sense of community and how we can use that to help remind us who we all are. Ladies and gentlemen, as always, it is our honor to have with us today the publisher of the Trends Journal, Mr. Gerald Celente. He will be back with us right after this short commercial break. Stick around.
[0:23:19 – 0:27:36 break] [0:27:36 – 0:36:05 repeat] [0:36:05 – 0:40:20 break]Brian: Ladies and gentlemen, as the announcer says, getting you ready to prepare for the worst. That’s our goal here at Off the Grid News, all the time. Today we have the martial artist of trend forecasting – a gentlemen who, every time we have him on the show, Bill, I have to pace. I can feel my face is getting red. My blood’s starting to pump a little bit.
Bill: You know Gerald’s going to be worked up. You know he’s going to get everybody excited …
Brian: But he’s not worked up just to be worked up. It’s not like a – just running around – because he’s got something to say. But it works. You listen to him and it’s congruent. You can feel it. And we left on this break – and I know you’re going to take it from us, talking about a personal renaissance – how you have to stand up for yourself. You have to be prepared. No one’s going to ride in on a white horse and save you.
Bill: I would say in this situation, unlike maybe the historic renaissance that many people refer to. So much of that was financed by the Medicis and big money. I think this renaissance, or reformation maybe, is going to be the little guy’s renaissance – the bottom-up renaissance. We were talking before we went to break about how every family, every individual, has to start this themselves. It starts by taking personal responsibility for yourself. You’re not a government drone. You’re not a ward of the slave state. You’re made in God’s image and what’s that mean? It means you’ve got certain responsibilities. I wanted to tee that off for you, Gerald, because I think this is a different kind of renaissance because we’re in a different world. It’s going to be the middle class that starts this one off.
Gerald: You’re 100 percent right. When the first renaissance began, remember it followed the Black Death – between 40 to 60 percent of Europe was decimated. People died. Everybody. So renaissance followed that because there was an awakening as well with doing something wrong. You’re going to see a thinning out of this herd as well. But when they had all that excess money, as you pointed out, they asked Medicis “what do we do with all this wealth?” And he said “invest it in beauty.” And now we don’t have that luxury of, like you said, that patriarchal money coming in from the higher ups. We have to create it ourselves. So you create the beauty within your lives. You can create quality within your lives. Can everyone out there listening say “I have harvested and reaped the rewards of being an individual.” Can everyone say that? That they’re living their dream rather than somebody else’s? Until they can say those things and answer them honestly, they’re not going to prosper. They’re going to be the ones that go down with the Black Death, because we’re heading into an economic winter. This Ponzi scheme is going to end. You can’t keep printing digital money and calling it white shoe boy names like QE2. You cannot, as the Europeans are doing, bailing out every bondholder and waging a war against the people with these austerity measures and salvage failing countries. It’s going to collapse. You’re going to lose your jobs. You have to create your own. The more people that start doing business with each other, in an honorable way, then we can have that renaissance. I believe it can happen, because what’s the alternative? It’s either renaissance or stay on the path we are and it’s leading us to ruin.
Bill: Here’s a headline I’m reading today, Gerald, “world needs 100 trillion more credit,” says world economic forum. So just print it up. Do they really think we live in this world that you can just – it’s alchemy. This is before the renaissance, right? It’s alchemy. You can’t do this. Headlines like that are absurd, Gerald.
Gerald: It is. And it’s the biggest bank robbery in world history. And the banks are doing the robbing.
Brian: Gerald, let me ask you a question about raising the debt ceiling then. The banks are doing the robbing. There’s just no way that we can afford to let the debt ceiling rise. Someone’s got to stand up …
Gerald: How about this one guys – we just had a mid-term election. How much talk did you hear about ending the wars overseas? About closing all the bases? How much do you hear? Nothing. Not a peep. Nada. Zero. A trillion dollars in a bogus defense that’s a racket for Blackwater. When did we have mercenaries fighting our wars? When did we have mercenaries protecting our troops in foreign countries? It’s what Eisenhower warned – the military industrial complex is taking over the country. It’s what General Major Smedley – what was his first name? Homer Smedley? Something Smedley … Smedley Butler, that’s it. Smedley Butler. He said war’s a racket. He was the most decorated marine until he died. It’s a racket. We have the money, but the money’s going to their friends. You want to build a factory in Wisconsin? Don’t worry about it – you’ll get tax breaks, loan guarantees; you’ll get infrastructure repairs. You create a thousand jobs and we’ll give you $100 million. It’s a racket for the bigs. It’s a takeover. The country’s been taken over by the political mafia. It’s not communism or Marxism or socialism, it’s called fascism. The merger of state and corporate powers.
Bill: What do you say to so many folks – even some of our listeners – their minds are back, Gerald, into when America was great, and they see that flag waving, it transports them back – I think emotionally – to maybe World War II or Korea. Then fast forward and we’ve got some of the craziness that exists now, so there’s folks that equate what’s going on today with some of the past things that happened, where maybe they had a loved one fighting in the war, whatever, and if you say so much as “bring home the troops,” or anything about the troops – it’s almost as if the troops are beyond criticism. And I’ll just say as a side note, watching football last week, one of my vices, I noticed that they were bragging – it’s going out to all of the networks that our troops in foreign lands can see the game, so that everyone can see the game. They were bragging about this – it went out to 178 nations, where we have troops watching the Bears play the Seahawks, in 178 nations. And folks, whether you think it’s good or bad, it’s not cheap. At a minimum, it’s not cheap having folks in 178 nations.
Gerald: I don’t tell anybody what to believe. The motto of the Trends Research Institute is think for yourself. I don’t need anybody to tell me what to believe. If somebody gets all jacked out of shape when I say bring home the troops – take it easy, junior – that’s the way you see it, that’s not the way I see it. Here’s my line for everybody that wants these wars to continue – send your money, spend more, I don’t want my money to go there. Send yourself – you’re a tough guy? Go fight. Oh, and by the way, send your wife and send your kids. You need somebody to do the laundry and clean up – we’re hiring these private military contractors. If you’re a president and a commander-in-chief, get out of the White House and on your white horse and go lead the charge. If you’re a politician, go there and show us how it’s done, junior. Or else keep your mouth shut. I’m tired of hearing it.
Brian: Gerald, I’m with you. When you talk about the people, even the police officers we talked about in Utah – I go great, you want to get into a gun battle? Don’t go after someone with a golf club. Go and fight a real drug dealer. Go and fight a real war. If you’re such a BA, then get out there and act like one. You’re such a tough guy, then show me you’re a tough guy.
Bill: If you’re for the troops, let’s spend them in a way that makes sense for them and us. Let’s be strategic about how you use the troops that you love. Right? We’re not saying this because we don’t like them, we’re saying this because we do have affection for our troops. So let’s use them in an intelligent way.
Brian: And Gerald, I would say to you, I’m not the football guy – the aficionado that Bill is – but I would say when it comes time at the end of the game and you think the other team’s going to throw a Hail Mary pass, you bring all your guys back to the goal line. Say “throw your pass all you want, we’re not going to get our defense involved until you get into the red zone.” What would be wrong with bringing our troops home and instead of – Bill said 178 countries – however many there were, then do it like a football game. Bring our troops home. You attack our border, we’re going to swab the deck with you. But we’re not going to be the ones helping you pick fights around the world. Protect your borders. Bring the troops home – and that doesn’t mean I’m slamming the troops, it just means I’m good on defense.
Gerald: That’s right. It’s not about the troops, it’s about these so-called generals and the rest of these button pushers over there, that punch their buttons to the top to get to be the Defense Secretary and the General “this” and the General “that.” No, it’s not the troops, they’re just the cannon fodder for these losers. Because all the government, all the military is, is another branch of a government that – they can’t plow the snow! They have Katrina-quality rescue skills. Look how tough they’ve become? They put all these losers out there called the TSA and they humiliate us. The troops have nothing to do with this. They’re just being spent for the sickness of these other guys.
Brian: Gerald, I hate to do this to you because, as I said, every time we have you with us, the hour just flies by. We’re already up in the hour. But I want to make mention to our listeners – if they don’t already, Bill, I’m sure they do – but trendsresearch.com – and as I’ve said before, the martial artist of trend research. You’ll get a chance to learn from one of the best, if not the best in the business, Mr. Gerald Celente.
Bill: It’s priceless information, Brian and everybody. I get it, Brian gets it – it’s priceless. Subscribe to it. We’re not trying to do Gerald any big favors. We have Gerald on because we respect and trust what he says. Listen, what’s most important today is what’s missing is trust. So we have to find, folks, listeners, pockets of trust – people that we believe in – and then form an alliance, an allegiance with them. And Gerald Celente’s one of the folks you should trust.
Brian: And he’s a former New Yorker so I’m always a big fan. No, he’s not a former … I’m a former New Yorker, so we’re co-New Yorkers together. Gerald, thank you so very much, as always, for your time.
Gerald: Thank you, guys, very much appreciate it.
Brian: As always, thank you so much for listening to Off the Grid Radio. Be sure to email us with your questions, your comments, your critiques. We look at them all at [email protected]. Of course you can find us on Facebook – Facebook.com/offthegridnews and as always, follow us on Twitter @offgridnews. For Mr. Bill Heid, on behalf of everyone here at Off the Grid News, a very special thank you to Mr. Gerald Celente, and also a thank you for listening and giving us one of your precious hours.
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