- Turns to the “system” (government, corporations, media, police) for all his or her needs
- Turns to the programming (television, internet, radio, books, articles, etc) to understand the outside world
- Turns to social media, sports programming, movies, and television shows for comfort
- Has a poor knowledge of geography (particularly international geography)
- Turns to drugs (legal or illegal) and alcohol as an escape
- Is materialistic, selfish, and greedy
- Speculates in stocks, property, and other volatile assets
- Uses material possessions as a way to impress others (keeping up with the Jones)
- Lives for the moment and does not think for the future
- Has weak ties to family and community
- Does not know or does not want to know their neighbors
- Moves from place to place never establishing any roots to the land or the community
- Is superficial
- Has poor social skills and negotiating skills
- Participates in politics and organized religion
- Is a radical individualist
PMTMR is Still Alive
I received an email recently that told me that PMTMR was still alive. He provided a link to his new channel. I thought it was another one of those pranks but sure enough it was PMTMR and he was talking about COVID and BLM – issues that are fairly current. All this time me and many others thought that PMTMR (also known as Jim How) was put away for good, either dead or locked up. His new channel is “Peter Grandahl” and it is on youtube. Granted Peter has only 11 subscribers in the two years his channel has been up and the view counts are very low. This is the reason why his stuff was so hard to find.
I have only watched a few videos on Peter’s new channel and it does not appear that he discusses the JQ at all, understandably. There are things I don’t agree with. He seems to haven fallen for the “everybody hates Trump” bandwagon like so many others. (He had fallen for him on his old PMTMR channel as well). Peter does not fully understand media manipulation.
So what happened to old PMTMR? And what about “new” PMTMR going forward? I have a couple of theories of what happened to him.
First theory: Back in 2017 when PMTMR and Jim How was shut down, Peter was threatened to the point where if he ever discussed the JQ again, not only would his life be at risk but his family would be at risk as well. Peter didn’t fear death (as he stated on occasion in his old videos) but the possibility that his family would also get hurt in the process made him crack.
Second theory: After being shut down in 2017, Peter was investigated and harassed. He made a deal with authorities and agreed to never discuss the JQ ever again. In addition to having his life and his family’s life spared Peter agreed to put his real name out there as “bait.” Can’t guarantee that Peter Grandahl is his real name but he did mention his name “Peter” on his old PMTMR and Jim How channels at least once and the fact that he was of Scandinavian descent. On quite a few occasions he told us his age. Now we don’t know for sure if he was telling the truth or deliberately giving out disinfo to conceal his identity but he was consistent in telling us his age and by doing the math I have always come up with 1961 or 1962 as his year of birth. This lines up with this:
As for “bait”. Anyone who’s in the JQ and wants to reach out to Peter could be exposing their information in the process of reaching out to him. Just my theory. Who knows for sure.
10 Things You Can Do
This article is not about taking down the establishment. That is unrealistic (and those who promote it are almost assuredly working for the enemies). However there are things you can do that will make a positive difference for yourself and for the people around you. Remember that you want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
- Stay out of debt. This is perhaps the number one thing you can do to stop being enslaved. Pay off that mortgage and car loan as soon as possible.
- Don’t speculate and chase after short-term gains. Make investments that are long-term and preferably last a lifetime. Don’t flip real-estate. Your home is not an investment. It is a consumption item.
- Stay healthy. Don’t be a burden to yourself and others. By staying healthy you stay out of hospitals and doctor’s offices and you don’t further enrich the pockets of those connected to the medical and pharmaceutical industry.
- Free your mind from distractions. It is extremely important to disconnect. Stay away from almost all media sources.
- Grow your own food. You will learn more about the ecosystem, the environment, and the way your ancestors lived. You will learn how you integrate into this system. You will learn where your food comes from. You will also have healthy foods that are chemically free.
- Protect yourself and your family. If laws permit own a firearm and learn to use it properly
- Be self-employed. This is the ultimate form of independence when you are not dependent on someone else for your source of income. It is perfectly fine to work for someone for some time, especially to gain experience, but at some point you need to be on your own. Something like eighty percent of small business owners were previously employed in a trade that are currently engaged in. Try to be employed in a trade that is of benefit to society.
- Network with like-minded people – in real life. Your relationships should be with real people, not through social media or internet chat groups. With the internet you are dealing with people you don’t really know and you don’t know what they are really like. Network with real people and learn from them.
- Learn a skill or trade and learn it in depth. We are exposed to millions of different ideas and information. When you try to keep current of everything you learn nothing. You need to learn something in depth, with good practice and get good at it.
- Promote people who are making a positive difference. Never ever promote a politician, a celebrity, or anyone who gets a decent amount of exposure. Some of the most influential people are some of the most unknown people.
Remember you live only once. Stop throwing away your life going after greed and material possessions. Stop being distracted by television, social media, video games, the internet, and Hollywood. Go out there and do something. Use this life, your only one, to make the world a better place.
Syria – Bosra and Daraa
Bosra was my very last destination in Syria. It is an ancient Roman city located in the southernmost region of Syria near the Jordan border. It was only about an hour and a half from Damascus. The ancient Citadel below:
Kids playing soccer:
When I left Bosra, it was evening and getting dark. The buses were not running to Damascus at that time. I tried hitchhiking, but without luck. Fortunately a young man came out of his house nearby and offered me a night at his family’s home. He spoke some English. Though people are friendly in Syria overall, there is even more hospitality down in the country. I slept on this couch:
And had dinner:
The next morning, he offered to give me a tour of nearby Daraa. We took a taxi ride there. If this city sounds familiar, it had made international headlines just a couple weeks prior for violent uprisings. You could even say the very start of the war in Syria was in Daraa.
At the time, the city was calm. I didn’t notice much in the way of damage. It looked like things were back to normal.
Inside a cafe in Daraa:
Train depot:
The young man took me to a community pool next. He showed me a photo of his cousin, who died in the Daraa fighting just recently:
In the afternoon, I thanked the young man and left for Damascus. I stayed in Damascus for a couple nights and then took a train ride to Aleppo the next afternoon. It was night when I arrived and fairly late. I then took a taxi to the Turkish border and another taxi from the border back to same hotel in Antakya that I stayed a couple months before. It was about 4:00 in the morning. Syria ended up being a memorable trip, but I had little idea how significant this trip would be in light of the events the country has seen since.
Coming up next: Lebanon
Syria – Mar Musa Monastery
Mar Musa was among the last place I went during my Syrian trip. This was back in June 2011. Mar Musa is an ancient Christian monastery located about an hour north of Damascus. It is one of the few surviving monasteries in the Middle East and dates from the 11th century. The monastery is perched on top of a cliff in a very remote area. Me and a group of three others went together from the hotel in Damascus to the monastery. They gave us free meals and accommodation for the night we were there. We attended service in the afternoon. It was an interesting experience.
Syrian Catholic Priest
This German man has stayed at the monastery on and off for months. He wants to become a priest.
Lunch. The lady at rear is from Ontario and to her left is from Oregon. they traveled together.
Dinner 
We slept here for the night.
Syria – Damascus
Damascus is the heart of Syria. It is a city of almost two million. I spent a considerable amount of time here. Like many big cities in developing countries, a good bit of it is noisy, crowded, and polluted. I’m not a big fan of large cities in the poorer parts of the world, but like many cities you can uncover quite a bit of gems. Damascus is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world and there is a tremendous amount of history. These photos were back in May and June of 2011, before the war. Images below are clickable.
Historic Damascus
Ummayad Mosque
Markets:
At the Hotel. A Dutch, French, and two Brits. We didn’t know each other before and became friends.
Same hotel. I came back to Damascus in June after a four week stint in Lebanon. Below are a group of Chinese backpackers:
Just outside the hotel, a fairly liberal youth scene. Many are college students:
Pro-Assad Rally in June
Christian Quarters
Children’s Clothing Shop
Old Detroit iron
Syria – Castles and Ancient Ruins
Me and a guy from the hotel decided to head towards the Krak des Chevaliers castle and other ancients ruins just east of Hama. We arranged a driver to take us to these places. He couldn’t speak good English so it was difficult to know what we were looking at.
The Krak des Chevaliers castle is considered among the best preserved in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Each of the photos are expandable.
Syria – Hama
(Continued from “My Journey Through Syria in 2011 – Aleppo“)
I spent a few nights in Hama, arriving from Damascus by bus. Again the time period was May of 2011. I intended to stop here to take a day trip to the well-known Crac des Chevaliers castle just west of Hama. At the hotel there was just one other tourist, a young man from Japan. The hotel owner spoke fluent English and was really helpful in pointing out places of interest in the area. There were curfews after about 9 PM due to rising tensions. This was around the beginning of the disaster that would soon unfold over Syria. There were no violence, protests, or rallies in Hama at the time – just an atmosphere of concern. There had been skirmishes in Daraa, which is in the southwestern portion of the country, that had killed scores of people. The owner was more cautious about the events going on unlike the owner of the hotel in Aleppo where I stayed previously. The Aleppo hotel owner had little concern about rising tensions and just brushed it off as something temporary.
The town of Hama had a sad history. Back in 1982 the elder Assad, Hafez, ordered the army to come into Hama and take on the Muslim Brotherhood which was opposed to the government. It was a bloody battle that killed thousands of citizens and destroyed much of the historic city center. Some remnants still remain however:
Palmyra Syria in 2011
Palmyra has (had) among the world’s greatest ruins of the Roman Empire. I stayed in Palmyra for three nights. This was in mid-May of 2011. I arrived from Hama. During my entire stay, I saw just one other foreign tourist, who was from Germany. I basically had Palmyra for myself. There was a lot of hiking as Palmyra was a large site. Most shots below were taken with a Nikon D300. I used a Bogen tripod for a lot of evening shots.
I stayed in this hotel while visiting Palmyra. It was right next to the sights. The town was small and seemed to be built specifically for the tourist industry, which had suffered since 9/11. Sadly, much of Palmyra now lies in ruins.
May 14th, 2011 (images are clickable)
Syria – The Dead Cities
I took a day trip to the “Dead Cities” just outside of Aleppo. I had wanted to go to the Dead Cities, but it would have been expensive for me to go alone with a tour guide. In Aleppo I met a couple from Seattle when I was at the Citadel. We chatted and got to know each other a bit. We decided to go together on the tour and split the fare. The Dead Cities are ancient abandoned villages west of Aleppo that was inhabited from the 1st to 7th Centuries. They are mainly from the Byzantine Period.
(each of the photos are clickable)
Church of Saint Simeon built in the 5th Century
Ruins of Ain Dara Temple dating between 8th – 10th century BC
Farm just outside the temple
Afterwards our guide invited us to his home. He lived between the Dead Cities and Aleppo
(Coming Up: Hama, Palmyra, and Damascus)