Michael Snyder, Contributor
Activist Post

If the talking heads on television don't tell us about something that happens, does it make that event any less real?  Of course the answer to that question is quite obvious, but unfortunately way too many Americans allow their realities to be defined by what they hear from the mainstream media.

Way too many people use phrases such as "if that was true I

would have heard about it on television" to deflect conversations that are starting to become uncomfortable.

Critical thinking is a skill that is in short supply in America today, and most Americans seem content to let their televisions do their thinking for them.  Sadly, the pretty people on television do not spend a lot of time talking about the things that are truly important.  Instead, they love to talk about the latest celebrity scandal and they love to divide people into groups and get them fighting with one another.

In this day and age, it is absolutely critical that we all learn to think for ourselves.  The talking heads on television are concerned with keeping their bosses happy and with keeping the ratings up.  Most of them are not really concerned about what happens to you.  They just want you to keep watching them so that they can continue to earn their inflated salaries.

Unfortunately, most Americans seem perfectly content with the "infotainment" that they are getting from the major news networks, so major changes to the mainstream media are not likely to happen any time soon.

For those wanting something different, you will have to seek out alternative sources of news (such as this website) that are willing to discuss the truly earth shattering events that are continually taking place all over the globe.

So what are some of the things that the mainstream media has been ignoring?

The following are 19 things that the talking heads on television have been strangely silent about....

#1 Strange Things Happening On The Sun
A lot of really weird things have been happening on the sun lately.  For example, recently there was a tornado on the sun that was five times larger than Earth.  The following is how this solar tornado was described by a recent Wired article....

Over the course of three hours, this behemoth reached up from the sun’s surface to a height of 125,000 miles, or roughly half the distance between the Earth and the moon. The hot gases were whipped up to nearly 186,000 miles per hour. In comparison, the wind speed of terrestrial tornadoes generally reaches a paltry 100 miles per hour.

#2 Fukushima
Fukushima has turned out to be the worst nuclear disaster in human history and it is far from over.  In fact, there is still the potential that an earthquake or an explosion could cause the crisis at Fukushima to become far more dangerous than ever.  In fact, some officials have even discussed the possibility of evacuating Tokyo if a worst case scenario plays out.

Mitsuhei Murata, a former Japanese ambassador to Switzerland, wrote the following in a March 25th letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon....

I was asked to make a statement at the public hearing of the Budgetary Committee of the House of Councilors on March 23. I raised the crucial problem of N0.4 reactor of Fukushima containing 1535 fuel rods. It could be fatally damaged by continuing aftershocks. Moreover, 50 meters away from it exists a common cooling pool for 6 reactors containing 6375 fuel rods!

It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of Japan and the whole world depends on NO.4 reactor. This is confirmed by most reliable experts like Dr. Arnie Gundersen or Dr. Fumiaki Koide.

Please allow me to inform you of an initiative being taken by a former UN official who is endeavoring to have the Nuclear Security Summit take up the crucial problem of N0.4 reactor of Fukushima. He is pursuing the establishment of an independent assessment team. I think his efforts are very significant, because it is indispensable to draw the attention of world leaders to this vital issue.

So just how serious is the threat posed by the spent fuel pool at reactor number 4?

Well, just check out the following assessment from a Japanese news source....

One of the biggest issues that we face is the possibility that the spent nuclear fuel pool of the No. 4 reactor at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant will collapse.

The storage pool in the No. 4 reactor building has a total of 1,535 fuel rods, or 460 tons of nuclear fuel, in it and the storage pools are barely intact on the building’s third and fourth floors. If the storage pool breaks and runs dry, the nuclear fuel inside will overheat and explode, causing a massive amount of radioactive substances to spread over a wide area.

The worse-case scenario drawn up by the government includes not only the collapse of the No. 4 reactor pool, but the disintegration of spent fuel rods from all the plant’s other reactors. If this were to happen, residents in the Tokyo metropolitan area would be forced to evacuate.

#3 Mount Fuji In Japan About To Erupt?
Mount Fuji in Japan had been dormant for about 300 years, but in recent months there have been a lot of signs that the volcano is waking up.  If Mount Fuji were to experience a full-blown major eruption, millions of Japanese could potentially die and the Japanese economy would immediately collapse.

The following is from an article that was recently posted on The Extinction Protocol....

Reports are appearing about unrest and signs of a possible awakening of Mt Fuji volcano in Japan. According to a report which includes an unclear photo of the area, a row of new craters, the largest 50 m in diameter, has appeared on the eastern flank of the volcano at 2200 m elevation. Steam was observed erupting from these vents. The observation joins other signs suggesting a gradual reawakening: A swarm of earthquakes including 4 of magnitude 5 have occurred northeast of Mt Fuji on and after 28 January. An earlier 6.4M quake occurred under the volcano on 15 March 2011. The report also mentions increased activity from a fumarole vent at 1500 m elevation and hot spring areas at the eastern flank observed since 2003. These locations seem to be aligned geographically, and are probably connected. Dr. Masaaki Kimura of Ryukyu University is quoted to admit that there is an increased risk of an eruption on the eastern flank and that the status of the volcano should be closely monitored.

#4 Stunning Rise In Volcanic Activity Around The World
All over the world major volcanoes are showing signs of awakening.  We are especially seeing a rise in volcanic activity along the "Ring of Fire" that encircles the Pacific Ocean.

#5 Global Food Prices Rising Again
According to Reuters, global food prices have risen for three months in a row and are rapidly approaching record levels.  The food riots that we have seen in the developing world during past summers could be even worse this year.

#6 U.S. Government Debt Downgraded Again
Credit rating agency Egan Jones downgraded the credit rating of the United States from AA+ to AA last week.  There was barely a peep about this on the major news networks.

#7 500 Million Dollars To Help The IRS Implement Obamacare
The Obama administration is giving the IRS 500 million extra dollars "outside the normal appropriations process" to help them implement the provisions of Obamacare that they are in charge of overseeing.

#8 Go To Jail If You Offend Someone On The Internet In Arizona?
A proposed law in Arizona will actually make it a very serious crime to annoy or offend someone on the Internet.  So if you live in Arizona, you might want to be very careful about what you say if you leave a comment at the end of this article.

#9 Passport Suspended For Not Paying Taxes?
A bill currently going through the U.S. Congress would allow the federal government to suspend your passport if you have unpaid taxes.  If you are not able to pay the taxes that you owe, you could end up stuck in the United States indefinitely.

#10 Preparations For War In The Persian Gulf
A second U.S. aircraft carrier is on the way to the Persian Gulf.  Tensions with Iran continue to increase, and over the past several months there have been all kinds of signs that military preparations are being made for an eventual conflict.

#11 Mysterious Mass Deaths
Large numbers of birds, fish, dolphins and whales continue to die all over the globe and scientists do not have any explanation for why this is happening.

#12 The Federal Reserve Monetizing U.S. Debt
During 2011, the U.S. Federal Reserve bought approximately 61 percent of all U.S. debt that was issued according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke promised that he would never monetize the debt, but that is exactly what he is attempting to do.

#13 Giant Sinkholes
Enormous sinkholes continue to open up all over the planet.  For example, a mammoth 200 foot wide sinkhole recently opened up near a town in Sweden.

#14 Increase In Global Earthquakes
As I have written about previously, we have seen a substantial increase in the number of major earthquakes around the globe in recent years.  So far in 2012, we have seen four earthquakes of greater than magnitude 7.0, and all four of them have been along the "Ring of Fire".

#15 Increase In U.S. Earthquakes
Scientists are acknowledging that there has been a huge increase in the number of earthquakes in the center of the United States, but they are blaming this increase on fracking.

#16 Evacuation Drills At U.S. Public Schools
All over the United States, public schools are conducting "evacuation drills" which involve putting children on buses and taking them to alternate locations.  Sometimes the alternate locations are "undisclosed" and parents are only told what the undisclosed locations were after the drills are over.

#17 Strange Sounds In The Sky
All over the planet, people are hearing strange noises in the sky.  People have come up with all sorts of theories and explanations for why they are happening, but so far the mystery has not been solved and reports of these strange sounds continue to pour in from all over the globe.

#18 Crazy Tornado Outbreaks
So far in 2012 the United States has had a very unusual number of tornadoes.  In fact, so far we have seen about twice as many tornadoes as usual. The 2011 tornado season was one of the worst ever, and the 2012 tornado season could end up being even more traumatic.

#19 Obama Signs Disturbing Executive Order
A few weeks ago, Barack Obama signed an executive order that would allow him to take control of all food, all energy, all health resources and all transportation resources.  This was an update to an old executive order, but the Obama administration made a change that would allow Barack Obama to do this even in "non-emergency" situations.  Sadly, the talking heads on television were strangely silent about this.

The world that we live in is becoming increasingly unstable.

The political order is being shaken, the financial world is being shaken, the social fabric of our society is being shaken and even the ground under our feet is being shaken.

Previous generations never had to deal with a world that was changing at blinding speed.  The rate at which things are moving is almost unimaginable, and it just seems to keep accelerating with each passing year.

We are privileged to live during one of the most exciting times in human history, but it is also likely to be one of the most dangerous times in human history.

The talking heads on television are going to keep telling us that everything is going to be okay and that everything will "return to normal" very soon, but that simply is not going to happen.

Our world has reached a critical juncture, and a time of great shaking is at hand.

So what do you think is going to happen next?

Feel free to share what you think by leaving a comment below....  

This article first appeared here at the American Dream.  Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs The American Dream and Economic Collapse Blog. Follow him on Twitter here.
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/04/19-things-that-talking-heads-on...