In the first half, trends analyst Gerald Celente joined George Noory to talk about economic trends for 2014. One of the big trends for the new year is what he calls the "self sufficiency economy." The US has human and natural resources that are unparalleled, and could be far less reliant on buying goods from other countries, he remarked. The majority of Americans are not benefiting from free trade and globalization, he continued, and their standard of living has declined dramatically since NAFTA and banking deregulations. We may end up paying a little more for consumer goods but we'll earn a lot more for making them, Celente noted. "We need to keep our production and our capacity at home."
In other economic trends, he cited the US government's plan to taper down stimulus money, cutting back around $10 billion a month beginning in March. This tapering will likely lead to higher interest rates, which will hurt the economy, he said, adding that if the interest rate goes over 5%, "you're going to see a real downdraft in the housing market." Celente also suggested that China was facing economic woes with a debt problem, and a "bubble they can't deflate."
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In the second half, theologian and historian from the University of Wollongong in Australia, M.G. Michael, discussed his analysis of the Book of Revelation, and its prophecy related to the "mark of the beast." The Book of Revelation is often referred to as 'The Apocalypse,' which comes from a Greek word that means revelation-- not catastrophe, he pointed out. The material was written by John of Patmos during a time of Christian persecution, "and there was a feeling that this small community of Christians were going to be extinguished, and there had to be a redemption," he explained.
The Book of Revelation describes two beasts, one of them associated with the number 666, and during the prophesied end times, the mark of the beast will be needed to buy or sell. Michael believes that this mark could come from a convergence of various technologies such as computer networking, biometrics, RFID, or even a tattoo of something like a bar code on the body.
News segment guests: Lauren Weinstein, Linda Moulton Howe
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The first Sunday of every month, George Noory features emerging artists for some of the Bumper Music selections. Tonight, we'll hear from Mitch Chmara, Ellen Cameron, Michael Stockwell, Matt Kabus, Dollar Bill Eckel, Lowder and Manning, and Saar Liven & Eric Apoe. For more info on how to submit your original music, visit this page.