Session 23 September 2023

[Wandering Star]

Nevertheless, if indeed there's some important source of photonic energy or any other type of emanation coming from the galactic center, then presumably also, this could go a long way towards explaining the origin of the Wave and the cyclical nature of the shifting between 3D and 4D that it supposedly brings about, and it would explain why we are constantly urged to "wait and see" when we become impatient about the full manifestation of the impact of the Wave, since that would obviously depend on the topographic configuration of the whole galaxy and our specific location with relation to the galactic center. The C's have said that the Wave is a "hyperkinetic sensate", and have also clarified that this means that it will facilitate our "merging with hyperspatial energy", and it would make sense that this could be enhanced when a specific topographic configuration is reached, though mind you, this is just a theory and it would require further information to corroborate.

And furthermore, I believe that it also depends on what the consciences involved in the process need.

The lesson profile adapts the events to the needs of these consciences.

Somewhere I read something to the effect that the facts will be toned down in favor of the chosen ones (probably the C's), which I believe actually means that those who have almost completed their lessons will have the necessary opportunities to complete them (timelines and else).

It's all fascinating.

 

[mantle]

Don't forget the alien/human hybrids mentioned in previous sessions. For example:

Session 14 October 1995:

(L) I want to ask about one thing from the Matrix material. I want to know who and what are the "Esseseni?"

A: Hybrids, new.

Q: (L) They are new hybrids? And what are they a hybridization of? What are the sources of the material for the hybridization?

A: Humans and grays.

Q: (L) Are the Esseseni positively oriented beings, as has been suggested by some?

A: Split.

Q: (T): Some STS, some STO?

A: Yes.

As to how STS beings like the Lizards travel to and from their underground bases, a clue may be found here:

Session 12 July 1997:

Q: Well, this is what we are looking at! I have even discovered that Sir Francis Bacon's name is even derived from "beech," and that his Latin signature has the gematria number of 17 - and January 17 is the feast day of St. Anthony, who replaced St. Augustine in this affair somewhat... and I have connected the Rosicrucians all over the blasted planet, for crying out loud! And, who is who here? Just who are the good guys?

A: Airports are used by both.

Q: Well, what is THAT supposed to mean?

A: Transdimensional Atomic Remolecularizer.

Q: You mean there is a TDARM at the Denver Airport?

A: Not that simple... and much, much deeper meaning. Did you catch the latest report about Neanderthals and DNA and how it relates to you?

The Lizard beings have been reported by observers at Denver Airport. Perhaps they are using TDARM's (trans-materialisation technology as in Star Trek type transporters) to travel to and from their underground bases, which may explain why the C's said "much, much deeper meaning". By saying that "Airports are used by both", it could mean that STO Nordics are also using TDARM's to travel to and from their underground bases. The C's have clearly admitted in this session that there are 4D STO (Nordics) based underground:​

Q: (Approaching Infinity) In the 9/21/1996 session, you said Thor's Pantheum was both STS and STO like the quorum and the description of the Nordic covenant, which sounds like both sides are involved in influencing creative types, but they are not technically working together. But if Thor's Pantheum is located mostly underground, does that mean that some are STO?

A: Yes

Q: (Approaching Infinity) Since the projecting is only mostly done underground, are the ones who aren't underground, the STO ones?

A: Can be both. Your thinking is too black and white.

Q: (L) Is it because STS and STO can, in a sense, coexist in similar physical space without intermingling or being maybe... not even seeing each other? I mean, is it because their frequencies are different? Something like that?

A: Close.

The session dated 12 July 1997 extract should also be linked to what the C's said in the later session dated 12 September 1998:

(L) In the middle of the night the other night as I was going to sleep, I thought of something that you guys once said about the Denver Airport TDARM, that both sides can use airports and that the meaning was ‘much, much deeper than that.’ It made me think of what you had said before about planets and stars being windows or doorways. Is it possible that there are points in deep recesses or underground places of our planet where one can enter a portal and emerge through a portal on another planet or system. Are the centres of planets and stars the emergences of wormholes or something?

A: If utilized as such.

Q: (C) So it would have to be intentional. Is anyone utilizing them as such?

A: Maybe...

This idea of two distinct 4D groups being based underground, one STS and the other STO, may also explain what the C's once said here to Ark:

A: Well, first of all, we thought this was Ark's turn. But, since you have asked, is it not obvious by now? Magnetic power grid physics. EM utilization. Crystals, and the like. Seeking paths to the interior? The "Poles" know best!

Obviously, Ark is Polish but where the C's are telling him, and by extension us, that when referring to seeking paths to the interior (where you will find the deep underground 4D bases), could their statement that the "Poles" know best! be referring to the fact that the STS and STO underground forces occupy bases deep under the respective poles where one's FRV and propensity to STS or STO becomes relevant? If so, my guess is that the STS forces are primarily based deep under the South Pole (where the STS Antareans directed the Nazis to make contact with them late in WW2) and the STO Nordic forces are based deep under the North Pole, where supposedly American Admiral Richard Byrd made contact with the Nordics (see my earlier post on this matter Session 29 July 2023)

Maglev Trains and the Underground Tunnel System​

As to maglev trains and the underground tunnel system in the USA and the question asked by Ursus Minor in this session:

Q: (Ursus Minor) Is there a secret underground high-speed train system in the U.S. operated by either magnetic levitation or vacuum tubes? A: Yes.

Robert Salter has also attracted a lot of attention with his own Very High Speed Transit (VHST) system.
In a 1972 study for the RAND Corp. he set out a continental-scale, deep underground concept that his study succinctly described as "electromagnetically levitated and propelled cars in an evacuated tunnel."

Salter also mentioned that: "Speeds as high as 14,000 mph have been examined in studies by the RAND Corp. in an example case of a direct link between Los Angeles and New York requiring 21 minutes transit time.

The speeds required will certainly be on the order of thousands of miles per hour on the long-haul links."

the C's referred to this underground tunnel system in the session dated 12 July 1997:

Q: I also notice that Edwards Air Force Base is a little to the south of there and my guess is that these bases are connected to this underground tunnel system, these underground bases or cities. Am I going in the right direction?

A: Draw a line on the map to connect Death Valley, Edwards, and the Antelope Valley. Then connect with Mount Shasta, Mount Rainier, Back to Las Vegas, on to Sedona, over to the Archuleta Mesa, then on up to the Denver Airport (MJF: compare these locations to the map above).

And again in the session dated 7 March 2009:

Q: (DD) I noticed that there were things that struck me as numerous underground operations when I was living on the West Coast in South Orange County. The first thing that caught my eye was the possible underground component of the ziggurat pyramid federal building on Laguna {???}. Was that building connected to any other subterranean works in that region?

A: Oh indeed. And it will be surprising to see how these things factor into the future police state.

Q: (DD) When we were involved in that El Toro airport fracas, it came to light that during World War II, they built a rather large underground component at the El Toro base ostensibly for weapons storage. Did that particular base operation link down toward Palomar or that federal building, or does it now?

A: Now you are catching on. There are a lot of linkages down there.

Q: (DD) Linkages meaning tunnel systems? So are most of the military bases on the West Coast linked that way?

A: Yes.

Q: (DD) Are they linked to the federal building systems?

A: In some cases.

It is a bit worrying where the C's say above "it will be surprising to see how these things factor into the future police state", especially as we are pretty much most of the way there now. Will this tunnel system be used for the mass transportation of undesirables and NWO non-conformists to holding centres like those deep under Denver Airport, just as the Nazis used the European rail system to transport their slave workers and Jews to concentration camps, except this time it will be underground and out of sight?​

This is a very interesting question that I also ask myself and in my humble opinion my answer is yes. No point in studying history if one ignores its lessons.

 

[michaelrc]

They have a system like that in place here in the UK too, and it was tested in April this year. I forgot about the heads up that it was going to be tested, so when my phone went off with that creepy, siren-like sound I nearly bounced off the ceiling. It was probably the most disturbing, ominous, and loudest (despite my sound volume being set to a very low setting) alarm I've ever heard, they really made sure to flick that paranoia switch all the way up! Luckily, I was at home, reading a book, that darn alarm was easily an accident risk for someone who was driving when it started.

Given the C's answer, I do wonder if some kind of activating signal was sent through the alarm. Having read the C's answer, and watched the video Mrs. Peel shared, I now regret I hadn't paid more attention and hadn't hidden my phone in another room on the day it was tested. Although living in a large city I'm probably exposed to lots of nefarious broadcasting anyway.

. . . On the thinking of activation of those that have the graphene oxide in their bioweapon jab?. . . And now the US government sending out a signal, if this video has any merit we could all be participating.

Edward Snowden

💥BQQQQQQQM💥 BANNED VIDEO - GRAPHENE OXIDE - SPRAYED ON BEACHES - THOUGHTS? 🍿 Subscribe 👉 Edward Snowden

t.me

 

[Approaching Infinity]

So is some of footage in this video I came across in YT about "another plane disappearing the way MH370 was supposed to have?" That is, is this supposed to be footage of another plane that "disappeared over Lake Michigan" in the same way?

Yeah, those are the videos in question. More details are available in the MH370 thread starting here. To sum up those last pages of the thread, here is why people think it was MH370:

-the plane shown is a 777 (or one that has a near-identical shape)
-one redditor argued that the FLIR video heat patterns on the plane might match Malaysian Air paint patterns, since different color paints give off different heat signatures (this one was suggestive but more speculative, IMO)
-the coordinates shown on the satellite video refer to the area where MH370 disappeared
-the clouds seem to match very closely the clouds seen in a weather satellite video from the day of the disappearance at those coordinates
-the turn the plane makes at those coordinates matches a turn MH370 is believed to have made based on radar data, again, at those coordinates

However, at some point one of the redditors discovered that the "portal" effects are identical to a stock VFX animation from the late 90s. Both the videos use different frames from this animation. So, knowing with reasonable certainty that that's probably too much of a coincidence, the conclusion is that the video is 'faked' at least in part. Someone added the portal effects, at the very least.

For reference, here are the questions Ryan came up with as a result of the discussion on the MH370 thread, a few of which got asked at the session:

Who created the two videos, allegedly of MH370, showing a plane being encircled by flying metallic orbs and 'hijacked'?

Are any elements of the video footage genuine?

For what reason were the videos created?

What exactly are the metallic orbs that have been observed on numerous occasions, even by group members?

Has there been an increase in the prevalence of these objects?

The first and third questions were formulated the way they were based on the conclusion that at least some of the videos were digitally altered. Maybe we can come back to them at some point.

If the plane in the video was over Lake Michigan, then whoever made the videos also added coordinates to make the connection to MH370. The clouds still seem like a big coincidence to me, but we'd have to look into that more.

As for the plane disappearing over the Lake, so far I haven't found any reports that might match. No permanent disappearances, for example. Maybe it was a temporary glitch in and out of this dimension?

Someone on Reddit modeled the video in 3D, and curiously, the pilots wouldn't have been able to see much at all of the orbs. They would only have been able to see one of the orbs very briefly through one of their windows. But if passenger windows were open, passengers would have seen them. I don't remember any reports like that, so it'll require more searching to see if there's a trace anywhere.

 

[gottathink]

Th

Sorry, don't mean to be pedantic, but the post referred to stated:

"(...) in an ordinary “souled” person’s life, that person will encounter half as many organic portals as souled individuals."

To me, that means that for every three people you encounter, 1 is bound to be an OP and 2 are bound to be souled individuals. So, indeed, 33.3% of the population OPs and 66.7% souled beings.

That only holds if there are only three people in the world. Two souled and one OP. And is only true for the souled individuals.
When the numbers increase you can see how the approximate 50/50 ratio of OP to souled individuals that one encounters is actually correct.
For example if there are nine people in the world then if five are souled and four are OPs, this means you start moving towards the 50/50 ratio for everyone. Then if there are 21 people in the world, for everyone the ratio moves closer again to 50/50.

 

[Mark7]

I found this site; 3G / 4G / 5G coverage in United States - nPerf.com which reports 5G + 4,3,2G coverage globally. I don't know how accurate it is or how up to date. Since Oct 4 is a precautionary question mark, it may be useful to lessen the exposure to these energetic frequencies. Especially if you are near an area of strong transmitters of these various waves. You can use the site to check if you are on top of some of these areas. You have to manually switch between local carriers to get a more complete idea. It would be hard to completely eliminate exposure it seems, (unless you go underground or build a human-sized Faraday cage).

Here's a shot near where I live, I know cell reception certainly exits outside the lines showing coverage, but perhaps still gives one an idea of whether a particular place is bound to be beamed fairly hard or not. Any other ideas anybody?



A good EE session before the start may be beneficial.

 

[observer]

Thank you for the session!

 

[Wandering Star]

Th

That only holds if there are only three people in the world. Two souled and one OP. And is only true for the souled individuals.
When the numbers increase you can see how the approximate 50/50 ratio of OP to souled individuals that one encounters is actually correct.
For example if there are nine people in the world then if five are souled and four are OPs, this means you start moving towards the 50/50 ratio for everyone. Then if there are 21 people in the world, for everyone the ratio moves closer again to 50/50.

And I believe that although the material given here will bring people with a soul that resonates with it, it will also attract organic portals.

Why?

For the prize in the form of gaining access to the fourth density.

If you do certain things and study hard you could be one of the chosen ones (That's what many may think).

Of course I could be wrong and everyone involved here is a person who necessarily follows what their soul needs, not because they want to achieve something.

 

[iamthatis]

Sorry, don't mean to be pedantic, but the post referred to stated:

"(...) in an ordinary “souled” person’s life, that person will encounter half as many organic portals as souled individuals."

To me, that means that for every three people you encounter, 1 is bound to be an OP and 2 are bound to be souled individuals. So, indeed, 33.3% of the population OPs and 66.7% souled beings.

This seems to be very close to the snippet about Medusa 11. Maybe? I don't know.

Q: First of all, this session on 11/11/95, the question was asked - you were talking about matrixing Gemini and Aquarius, the 11th and 3rd houses of the zodiac - and I made the remark that 33 could represent…giving my idea… and you answered ‘Medusa 11.’ I’m assuming loosely that your answer, Medusa 11’ was to the question of what 33 represented. So, Medusa 11 was the answer?

A: 1/3 of 33.

Q: Medusa was 11 of the 33. So that means that there was 22 of the 33 that was represented by something else, is that it?

A: If you wish to perceive it as such.

Q: Okay, well then, is my perception erroneous?

A: The pathway chosen is fruitful, but do not suppose the terminus to have been reached.

Q: Well, Medusa 11 is one third of 33, what are the other two thirds.

(A) I believe, that in general, they will try to take you out of this idea of 33. They never, by themselves - I am not sure that the 33 is right…

A: 33 is right, but what it means is complex and fluid in nature.

Q: This Medusa idea, as I have recently learned, is part of a triad of female figures. And in this triad, the other two female figures are Cassiopaea and Andromeda, or Cassiopaean and Danae. I don’t know which set to select.

A: Select that which fits.

So 33 is the result of Gemini (the physical man) and Aquarius (the spiritual man). This is a sort of symbol of the human race using astrology, represented by a number - 33. Here we are, caught between the flesh and the spirit.

The triple goddess is made up of three figures, the mother, the maiden and the crone.

1/3 of the triple goddess is the crone, Medusa, giving us Medusa 11? This may suggest that the triple goddess is another symbol represented by the same number, 33.

Medusa 11 is basically 1/3, or 33%, of the triple goddess. The 66.7% remainder is the mother and the maiden, Cassiopaea and Andromeda.

Perhaps it's no fluke that the number of OPs is said to be 33%, drawing a numeric relation between OPs and the Medusa? As compared to souled humans related to the mother and the maiden, the remainder of normal people?

Reminds me of this poster that featured prominently amongst radical lefty types - a celebration of 'what is' - implying that being Medusa is beautiful. Oh, and of course objective standards of beauty are the enemy. There's another one I saw a few years ago, which was a feminist sculpture of Medusa having cut of Perseus' head. Blech.

 

[JEEP]

Maybe it was a temporary glitch in and out of this dimension?

My memory is really fuzzy on this, but wasn't there several incidents of planes disappearing/reappearing on radar a few years back - I'm thinking over Europe and before the MH370 disappearance or about the same time?

 

[JEEP]

wasn't there several incidents of planes disappearing/reappearing on radar a few years back - I'm thinking over Europe and before the MH370 disappearance or about the same time?

From Yandex search:

‘Unprecedented’: 13 aircraft mysteriously disappear from...​

abovetopsecret.com›forum/thread1017174/pg1
Меню
A total of 13 aircraft suddenly vanished off radars for about 25 minutes on two occasions over Austria and neighboring countries, Austria's flight safety monitor said, calling for an EU probe into the “unprecedented” incidents.

18th June 2014 - source: en.sott.net

13 planes disappeared from radar screens for 25 minutes… in the heart of Europe​

This simultaneous “disappearance” of the 13 planes is certainly not due to chance, given the politico-military context which currently prevails in Europe.

Recently, in two exceptional incidents in Austrian airspace, a total of 13 aircraft disappeared completely from radar screens for about 25 minutes. That's what made it known Austrian Air Authority Austro Control.

Each time, the position, altitude and identity of the planes concerned have disappeared from the screens of the sky controllers. In neighboring countries, Germany and the Czech Republic, similar problems have also been reported. The cause of the problem could not be found. Austro Control has asked the European Union to open an investigation into this phenomenon.

Austro Control spokesman Marcus Pohanka says never before faced with this phenomenon. Austro Control has provided additional information on the identity of the planes and companies involved in these incidents. It is not excluded that planes carrying passengers, which fly at high altitude, have also been affected by these problems.

Pohanka pointed out that in no case were the planes in danger. He reports that immediately additional controllers were employed to accompany the planes and that emergency measures were taken such as verbal communication with the pilots and the widening of the air corridors.

Air traffic controllers in Munich, Karlsruhe and Prague have also noticed the phenomenon. The incidents were investigated by Eurocontrol and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). According to some experts, the phenomenon may be explained by interference between aircraft transponders and ground infrastructure.

Aircraft transponders emit signals that help determine the identity and location of the aircraft. In the first incident, a possible link was not ruled out. with a NATO exercise in Hungary, but that could not provide an explanation for the second malfunction.

From The Guardian but page no longer exists:

13 Aircraft Mysteriously Disappear from Radar: 2 separate blackouts of identical length - Military blamed after planes vanish from Europe air-traffic control screens. Slovak authorities claim electronic warfare exercise caused dozens of planes to briefly disappear from air-traffic control radar​

Excerpt for gizadeathstar.com:

"The flights vanished from air traffic controllers’ screens in Austria on June 5 and June 10 for 25 minutes each time, Marcus Pohanka of Austro Control – Austria’s flight safety organization – said Thursday.
[...]
Now note the main points:

1. 13 aircraft over Austria disappeared from radar;
2. A similar problem was reported in Germany and the Czech republic, implying that the actual number of airplanes affected may be higher than 13;
3. Emergency measures were initiated; and,
4. An unknown source implied that the problem was due to interference between aircraft transponders and ground air traffic control.

It's the last point that is the crux of the issue, for interference with transponders implies an "interferer", and that implies someone with the motivation and technology to do so. Additionally, there are the usual internet rumors - one or two that crossed my email desk - that allege that all of this occurred during a NATO exercise. But exercise or not, the interference implies an interferer, with the technology and motivation to do so.

In the post-Malaysia Air flight 370 world, this incident gives one pause. I cannot exorcise the nagging intuition that somehow, the two incidents are related; indeed, I cannot get rid of the nagging intuition that perhaps the USS Donald Cook incident might be related, for Russia clearly demonstrated a capability during that incident. If the "unknown source's" allegations are true, then someone reached into the air traffic control system of central Europe, and created a disruption.

The question is, who?

From RT:

Electronic war games blamed for jets vanishing off radars in Europe​

Electronic military exercises were to blame for the mysterious disappearance of dozens of planes from air-traffic control screens in the heart of Europe, Slovak authorities have said.

About 50 planes temporarily disappeared from radars in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia between June 5 and June 10, Austria's flight safety monitor said.

German and Czech air traffic control also reported brief disappearances.

Slovakia blamed the outages on planned military exercises.

"The disappearance of objects on radar screens was connected with a planned military exercise which took place in various parts of Europe...whose goal was the interruption of radio communication frequencies," the Slovak air traffic services said in a statement.

"This activity also caused the temporary disappearance of several targets on the radar display, while in the meantime the planes were in radio contact with air traffic controllers and continued in their flight normally.”

Right after the problem with the radars was detected, the organizing party was made aware and the exercises were stopped, Slovakia's air traffic services added.

Slovakia did not mention a military force involved in the exercises, but Austrian media pointed towards NATO.

Austrian daily Kurier reported on June 7 that the first disappearance problems coincided with NATO conducting electronic warfare exercises in Hungary.

A forum thread:

Aircraft disappearing from radar - Cassiopaea Forum​

The Slovak state Air Traffic Services company said on Friday that the brief disappearance of planes from radar screens on June 5 and 10 was connected to a military exercise whose goal was "the interruption of radio communication frequencies."

Going on recent C's transcripts, it was EM disturbance / bleedthrough?

Session 21 June 2014

Session Date: June 21st 2014 Laura and Andromeda at the board Pierre, Perceval, Possibility of Being, Chu, Kniall, Data, Mr. Scott, Alana, Timótheos Joining via Skype [with very bad, pixilated/blocky video]: no-man's-land, Gawan, Aiming, Altair, Pashalis, Mikel Q: (L) This is June the 21st...

cassiopaea.org

(no-man’s-land) Is there any connection between the radar glitch {reported in the news} and the recent plane crashes - I think there was one in Munich, and then there was one near [indecipherable]...?

(L) Any connections between the plane crashes and what?

(no-man’s-land) And the radar problems in Europe.

(Perceval) Which were kind of bleedthrough...

A: Not as phrased. There are many crashes in history that are due to EM anomalies. The radar glitches were also due to EM anomalies. But the same cause in some cases is not the same cause in all cases. [Strange noises emanate from German side of Skype connection] Plus the one does not necessarily lead to the other.

 

[Sirius]

Thanks for the new session!

Q: (Ze Germans) Who owns BlackRock?

It's owned by its shareholders; 57% free float, rest other financial institutions.

 

[lilies]

Q: (Joe) Can I ask a question in relation to that? When a person sees them, is it always related to the person? Is there some kind of a connection between the person seeing them or being there, or could it just be that the person just happens to observe the moments in the relation to them?

A: Usually a relationship.

There is a triangle star formation south of Cassiopea. I was looking at it the other night and it had a fourth star, which was the brightest. Making a nice, almost perfect rectangle! As I have minimal knowledge of star constellations, I didn't notice that it was an extra.. It was a clear night sky. No clouds. No big cloud masses moving around in the dark that could have obstructed the stars. The sky was clear.

As I was looking exactly at this brightest [now] fourth star in this constellation, it suddenly blinked out.

WOW! I thought then:
- It was just like Star Wars, but without the lasers.. Like a result of combat up there..
Then later I thought:
- Was that thing observing me? Noticed that I noticed and decided to skedaddle?

 

[gottathink]

It seems concepts are getting mixed up around the figures of Organic portals in the world and other aspects of the soul composition.

 

[JEEP]

(Ysus) Is there still procreation in 4th density?

A: For STO.

This was noted in the transcript from my previous post:

A: He was attentive to earth issues for quite some time, but now has gone to full contemplation preparatory to rebirth in 4D.

Q: (L) So, you're saying that people get born in 4D?

A: Yes. When did we say otherwise?

Q: (L) Well, you didn't. I was just not sure.

(Chu) Well, with changes in physicality, you'd think people could avoid the normal human birth, with the pain...

A: It's just a bit more intense in some ways.

Q: (Ze Germans) Who owns BlackRock?

Here's a recent Sott article by James Corbett that includes the link, How BlackRock Conquered the World

How Vanguard conquered the World​

So, you've watched How BlackRock Conquered the World and you're now aware of how this financial behemoth with trillions of dollars of assets under management has taken over vast swaths of the economy. You know how BlackRock is one of the top institutional investors in seemingly every major Fortune 500 company, and you understand how Fink and the gang are leveraging this incredible wealth to wield political and social power, directing industry and ultimately steering the course of civilization.

And since you did watch that podcastumentary to the very end, you'll also remember how I pointed out that the top institutional investor in most of these companies is not BlackRock, but The Vanguard Group.

[...]
More to the point, AAP then brings in Rob Nicholls — an associate professor of regulation and governance at the UNSW Business School — to lend gravitas to its main thesis: Vanguard and BlackRock don't "own" Pepsi and Coke and Amazon and Apple and all the other companies cited by the conspiracy theorists. Instead, their holdings in these companies are largely passive investments — either ETFs, in which shares are purchased in proportion to market capitalizations, or index funds, in which shares are purchased in proportion to the index on which they are traded. Thus the purchase and selling of shares in these companies is largely automatic: when a company's market cap falls or when its stock gains in relation to the overall index, the associated ETF or index fund would be obligated to offload or purchase shares in order to maintain the fund's mandate.

Thus, to the extent that Vanguard and BlackRock holdings represent passive investment, these holdings do not have any sway over the companies or their actions. The argument here is that Vanguard can't threaten to sell Apple shares if Apple doesn't conform to the woke agenda, because Vanguard can't really sell those shares on a whim. Instead, Vanguard is obligated to hold Apple shares in proportion to Apple's position in the S&P 500 index (at least when it comes to their S&P 500 index fund). And, where there is no credible carrot to reward "good behaviour" (buying shares when Apple does what Vanguard wants) or stick to punish "bad behaviour" (selling shares when Apple doesn't do what Vanguard wants), then there is no way for Vanguard to directly influence Apple's behaviour.

Besides, as Lorenzo Casavecchia, a senior lecturer at UTS Business School, told AAP FactCheck, "an investor can only control a company if they have more than half of the votes cast at a general meeting." But even when you combine the shares of the so-called Big Three investors (BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street), their holdings in these major companies do not even approach a majority. Often, they each hold a single-digit percentage point of overall shares.

What's more, as Reuters points out in its fact check on the topic (citing a BlackRock spokesperson, of course): "BlackRock itself is not a shareholder" in these companies. Instead, "the owners of these securities are our clients, through their investments made on their behalf via the funds managed by Blackrock."

The same goes for Vanguard, which likes to brag in its corporate PR that Vanguard "is owned by its funds, which in turn are owned by their shareholders — including you, if you're a Vanguard investor." So, the way Vanguard frames it, when you inevitably end up at the question of "who owns Vanguard?" (or "who owns BlackRock?" for that matter), the answer will be: "The investors do!"

So, you see? Vanguard and BlackRock (and let's not forget State Street) don't "own" the major corporations. They don't manage those companies or have any influence over them. And, besides, their shares are held on behalf of their investors, so it's the investors who are really the biggest holders of Apple and Exxon and Walmart and all the rest.

Well, I guess that sums it up, folks. Nothing more to see here, right?

Um, no, as Corbett continues -

But here's the more serious point: Larry Fink at BlackRock and Mortimer "Tim" Buckley (the current chairman of The Vanguard Group) do exert power over the economy and, ultimately, over society. As long as their companies remain the top institutional investors in the majority of the stock market, the only question is: how much havoc will they wreak by imposing their will on the world?

Regardless of how much of this is just corporate blather designed to protect Vanguard from the growing ESG backlash (and subsequent withdrawal of investment funds) that has afflicted BlackRock in recent years, the underlying problem persists. Even if Buckley were an angel descended from heaven to protect us from the green woke mobs, who is to say his successor would be an angel, too? The very fact that people like Fink and Buckley are in a position to sway corporate decisions is itself the problem — not the particular ways they wield (or refrain from wielding) that power.

So what was Bogle's take on the astonishing growth of Vanguard and BlackRock in the years before his death?

Most observers expect that the share of corporate ownership by index funds will continue to grow over the next decade. It seems only a matter of time until index mutual funds cross the 50% mark. If that were to happen, the "Big Three" might own 30% or more of the U.S. stock market — effective control. I do not believe that such concentration would serve the national interest.

He's not wrong there, at least.

As always, I will note that the incredible power that the Finks and the Buckleys of the world wield is in fact our power, derived from our money through our investments of our time, our energy, our labour and our productive power in the service of their corporate agenda. Thus, the fundamental solution to the problem of Vanguard and BlackRock will not come from some outside force. It will come when we withdraw our wealth from their system.

For those who are interested in the solution to the Vanguards and the BlackRocks of the world, they are directed to my recent #SolutionsWatch episode on the subject, How To Defeat BlackRock.

Worth reading the entire article and accessing the links.