The Lesser Rewriters of a Great Author

How Dare They? [Morning Reckoning] February 23, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [Ed. note: Important housekeeping note: Your emails are now coming from a new email address: dr@mb.paradigmpressgroup.com. Ensure delivery of every email in your subscription by following [these simple whitelisting instructions.]( The Lesser Rewriters of Greater Authors - Roald Dahl’s books are being rewritten to remove “offensive language.” - The changes are “small and carefully considered.” - I’m amazed there are those who feel fine changing a great author’s words. Asti, Northern Italy February 23, 2023 [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Hello Reader, Good morning on this fine Thursday. I bring news from my other adopted country, the United Kingdom. You may know I lived in London for nearly ten years and consider myself a cultural Anglophile. (But not a political one; the British polity lost the plot ages ago.) The UK is the home of European Woke, especially London. If you think Prince Harry (that ginger idiot) is a one-off, you’d be wrong. He was just easy pickings for a C-list actress with ambition. England suffers from what I call “Empire Regret.” It obnoxiously bends the knee to any group, whether they’re rightly offended or not. In short, it presents solutions to problems that don’t exist. So this insane happening fits right in with the demolition of once great British values. Let me explain… [Former white house advisor exposes diabolical plot]( [Click here to learn more]( He predicted the 2008 financial crisis, the war in Ukraine, and the 2022 market meltdown. He even notified the world of America’s involvement in the Nordstream Pipeline attack, 26 days BEFORE the whistleblower report was released. But now, former White House advisor Jim Rickards just EXPOSED a secret war being waged against U.S. investors. Everthing Jim knows is [right here](. [Watch Jim's video now before it's too late to act](. [LEARN MORE]( “Put it back on the wall.” Old London Business School classmates Aussie Trav, English Will, and The Yank (that’s me) decided to take a weekend trip to Oslo in 2004, two years after we graduated. We had flown from London, hopping the North Sea, and landing in Oslo on a Friday night. It was late August. Oslo is gorgeous, pleasant, and temperate at that time of year. We loved it. We couldn't believe how expensive beer was, though. It was 10 – that’s British pounds, not dollars – for a drink that was smaller than a pint. But I must say… we didn't care! We decided to live it up a little bit and enjoyed wonderful nights out on the town. To excess, per usual. So Sunday, before we were due to leave, we decided to walk around the museums to get rid of our hangovers – looking at pretty paintings at least lessens the thumping in your head. There I was, staring at The Scream by Edvard Munch. Honestly, I wasn’t all that impressed… just a couple of swirls of paint. But then I received a fateful text message. In those days, texts came in on my trusty Nokia. My buddy, Malcolm, wrote from London: "Put it back on the wall." I thought nothing of it as I was wandering around aimlessly in the museum, trying to get rid of my headache. We left Oslo that night. The following day, I had to get up early to go to work. On the Tube, I read that morning’s newspaper. And as I was thumbing through it, one headline read “The Scream Stolen in Oslo.” I was shocked. I was standing right in front of it! Suddenly, Malcolm's text made sense. At the time, I didn’t know there were four Screams in existence; Munch had painted two and did two of them in pastel. That Sunday, armed robbers stole the version in the Munch Museum as I stared at another one in the National Museum! I often think of what I’d have done if the pilferers tried to take the one I was looking at. If I close my eyes, I can still feel that hangover. I’d like to think I was in such a bad mood, I would’ve beaten the stuffing out of them. But who knows? The real question I’ve always had for these people is, “Who the f*ck do you think you are?” Before I expand on that, let me give you some advice on collecting that some smart old men gave me. Umberto Eco’s Antilibrary, by Nassim Taleb There’s nothing I love more than strolling around old bookshops. In Europe, there are some that’ve been around for hundreds of years. Whether it’s Shakespeare and Company in Paris, Hatchard’s in London, or Libreria Luxembourg in Turin, there’s nothing that connects me with the past better than they do. I always try to buy something whenever I go. I feel it’s partly my responsibility to spend the money to best make sure those book stores remain open. Of course, that’s led me to accumulate quite a library, most of which is still in Cebu waiting for us to ship to Italy. I haven’t read all the books. But luckily, the polymath and philosopher Nassim Taleb gave me some fantastic confirmation bias in his classic, The Black Swan: The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encyclopedic, insightful, and nondull. He is the owner of a large personal library (containing thirty thousand books), and separates visitors into two categories: those who react with “Wow! Signore professore dottore Eco, what a library you have! How many of these books have you read?” and the others — a very small minority — who get the point that a private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Here's the important part: Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. The library should contain as much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage rates, and the currently tight real-estate market allows you to put there. You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly. Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an antilibrary. Oh, I was never going to stop buying books. But from the time I read that, I’ve never felt guilty for leaving them on the shelf. Roaming Around Ayala Cebu Alas, the Philippines doesn’t have as many old bookshops. So when I was roaming the National Bookstore as a new father, I was thrilled to find a complete set of Roald Dahl books. I bought the lot of them, though I knew it’d be years until Micah could read them. I’d simply add them to our antilibrary, waiting for the right moment to get Micah to pick them up and read. Unbeknownst to me, there was a far more important reason to stock up on Old Dahl. [Has World War III Just Begun?]( NATO sends tanks to Ukraine… Russia prepares for a winter offensive… [Is the beginning of World War III?]( [Click here to learn more]( I’ve just released an urgent message with my thoughts. But more importantly, I’m offering to send you an [exact playbook]( on what I see playing out in the world and what you need to do to prepare. [Simply click here now to watch my short message and to see how to claim a copy completely free of charge.]( [LEARN MORE]( How Dare You? The Daily Telegraph broke the story with the headline “The Rewriting of Roald Dahl.” I thought it was a joke. But according to [The New York Post]( “Words matter,” begins the notice at the bottom of the copyright page of Puffin’s latest editions of Roald Dahl’s books. “The wonderful words of Roald Dahl can transport you to different worlds and introduce you to the most marvelous characters. This book was written many years ago, and so we regularly review the language to ensure that it can continue to be enjoyed by all today.” Perhaps because I write, I find it more offensive. Or maybe because I live within spitting distance of objet d’art, which I wouldn’t even touch with gloves on. It’s not theirs to change, regardless of intellectual property laws. And I can’t imagine Dahl, were he alive, would have agreed with this. [The Telegraph]( followed up with an article today where Puffin, a publisher with whom I will never deal, stated they have a “significant responsibility” to protect young readers. No, you don’t. You have a responsibility to get your merchandise out, unspoiled. I’d prefer they be honest and say, “Well, we think we’ll lose business keeping the old language, so we’re trying this out.” Loathsome though it is, it’s still better than dressing this absurd censorship up as a caring activity. As HL Mencken once said, “The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false face for the urge to rule it. Power is what all messiahs really seek: not the chance to serve. This is true even of the pious brethren who carry the gospel to foreign parts.” Here are some of the changes, courtesy of the [National Review]( In the original James and the Giant Peach, a character rhymes, “Aunt Sponge was terrifically fat / And tremendously flabby at that,” and, “Aunt Spiker was thin as a wire / And dry as a bone, only drier.” With the new changes, the old verses now read: “Aunt Sponge was a nasty old brute / And deserved to be squashed by the fruit,” and, “Aunt Spiker was much of the same / And deserves half of the blame.” The famous glutton Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is no longer introduced as “fat” but rather as “enormous.” In The Twits, Mrs. Twit used to be described as “ugly and beastly” but is now only “beastly.” Gendered references have also been weakened so as not to be deemed offensive to women or the transgender community. In The Witches, a section musing that witches are bald beneath their wigs has the new disclaimer: “There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.” Matilda‘s Miss Trunchbull, the ferocious fictional headmistress of a school, formerly a “most formidable female” is now a “most formidable woman.” In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Oompa Loompas, once called “small men,” are now “small people”. The Cloud-Men in James and the Giant Peach are now Cloud-People. Prose that might be tangentially misconstrued as being culturally insensitive also appears to have been removed. In The BFG, the main character giant no longer wears a “black” coat and characters don’t turn “white with fear” anymore. I’m turning red with rage! You Can’t Even Blame the Government The worst part is that His Majesty’s Government slammed the changes. I can’t even blame the State! Puffin and the Roald Dahl Story Company worked with some company called Inclusive Minds, which is dedicated to “inclusion and accessibility in children’s literature.” How about we get the kids to actually read first? There’s nothing more regrettable than private censorship. Theseus’ Ship Am I being paranoid? I don’t think so. Let’s talk about Theseus' Ship. From The Life of Theseus by Plutarch, via [Britannica]( The ship wherein Theseus…returned [from Crete] had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus [died c. 280 BCE], for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their place, insomuch that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers, for the logical question as to things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same. If you replace enough of Dahl’s words, when do the works cease to be Dahl’s? That’s why I am so thrilled the reaction to this incredible breach of trust has been nothing short of nuclear. It seems both the left and the right are outraged. And that’s an excellent thing. As for me, I’m so glad I bought Micah’s copies before they violated Dahl’s works. He’ll get the farm-fresh, free range, organic Dahl… as all children should. Oh, and the stolen version of The Scream found its way back home in 2009. For all to see, for the price of a ticket to Oslo. If you have any feedback or topics you want covered, be sure to click [here](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com) and drop me a line. Until next week! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Contributing Editor, The Morning Reckoning feedback@dailyreckoning.com [Warning: Will “Bidenflation” Destroy Your Retirement?]( [Click here to learn more]( If you’re like most Americans, you’ve worked hard for decades to build your financial legacy. And now, as a result of Biden’s disastrous money printing policies, that’s all at risk. According to one top retirement expert, “Bidenflation” threatens to destroy your retirement and make your hard-earned savings worthless. That’s why you must take action right away to protect yourself… [Click here now to get the simple, step-by-step actions to survive “Bidenflation.”]( [LEARN MORE]( In Case You Missed It… Greg Guenthner, Editor Crypto’s “Meat Grinder” Breakout [Greg Guenthner] GREG GUENTHNER Good Morning Reader, “Tech is the dog,” reads a note I tucked away a couple weeks ago. “Crypto is the tail.” In our quest to demystify this year’s maddening market action, we’ve been thinking at length about what’s behind some of these erratic stock moves. I explored the idea a few weeks ago that crypto and tech-growth are two sides of the same coin – a Covid Bubble phenomenon that topped out in spectacular fashion in early 2021. Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) and Bitcoin broke out (and broke down) together. They held hands during last year’s summer relief rally. When traders flip the “risk on” switch, both crypto and tech trades are activated. Ultimately, I concluded that we don't know which one’s the dog and which one’s the tail. Not yet, anyway. But several readers – like our friend above – offered their own theories. Now, this meat grinder market is in an interesting spot. [BOMBSHELL: Ex-CIA Advisor Releases New Biden Evidence]( [Click here to learn more]( [This crazy new Biden story]( is 1,000 times worse than the media will let on. If you think Biden is a life-long corrupt politician who will do anything for money and power, you’re right. And now, former advisor to CIA and Pentagon Jim Rickards has just uncovered [this new Congressional evidence that will send shockwaves through Washington](. [LEARN MORE]( The downtrodden tech-growth trade sprinted higher to kick off 2023, helping to spark a powerful crypto rally. But the big bounce got a little long in the tooth once the calendar flipped to February, and stocks have since chopped along in a messy range… Meanwhile, Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto-verse decided to play some mind games. Yes, crypto topped out in unison with stocks heading into January. Then, things got weird. Bitcoin and Ethereum started to slip as stocks chopped along. At one point earlier this month, it looked as if both were about to completely fall apart. But Bitcoin’s quick 10% drop was nothing but a headfake. A powerful rally appeared out of the blue last week and Bitcoin tagged the key $25K pivot I highlighted back in January. To review: Tech stocks sparked crypto’s January rally. Now, Crypto is on the cusp of breaking out while the Nasdaq is nursing its second straight losing week. Leadership hasn’t exactly remained consistent so far this year. But the big crypto lift last week isn’t something we should ignore just because we can’t pin down a precise cause-and-effect relationship between Bitcoin and tech stocks. Remember, we’ve discussed how Bitcoin bottomed out just below $16,000 in November, then went on to gain 40% on the back of a strong January rally. Now that the market has digested the initial rally off the lows, I can’t stress enough the importance of a legit breakout at these levels. Why? Because $25K marks the swing highs from last summer’s relief rally that began to fall apart in mid-August. If we witness an actual extension above $25K, Bitcoin will be at new 8-month highs. More importantly, it will officially end the ugly 2021-22 crypto downtrend, providing additional proof that the January rally wasn’t just some fluke. [Biden’s “Hush-Hush” Plot Uncovered]( [Click here to learn more]( Right now, Joe Biden – along with 9 of the world’s largest banks – have initiated [a disturbing new experiment with YOUR cash](. It’s called “Project Cedar” – and up to now it’s been kept fairly “hush-hush”… But in [this urgent new exposé]( you’ll discover critical details behind Project Cedar and what Biden’s master plan really is. [Click here to learn the critical details before it impacts your money](. [LEARN MORE]( Breaking the Bitcoin Bear Can Bitcoin extend above $25K? [chart] As of this writing, Bitcoin is still grinding away just below $25K. The price action is coiled tight following the Feb.15 surge back above $24K – that’s bullish! It’s starting to feel like this breakout could lead to a quick move toward $30K if and when we do get that initial surge higher. A few other important thoughts to keep in mind as the move plays out: First, I’m obviously focusing primarily on Bitcoin in this analysis. But Ethereum and other names are also on the move, as well. Since Bitcoin is the flagship, I’m using it as my crypto bellwether. Plus, Ethereum needs to rally another 15%-plus to sniff its August highs. We’ll see if it can make a run and play a little catch-up if this Bitcoin blitz materializes. Next, it’s important to note how quickly this rally is playing out so far. I speculated in January that Bitcoin might need more time to churn in a wide range between $20K - $25K before making an honest attempt at a breakout. That still might be the case! But the sheer speed of the move since Jan. 1 shows conviction from these early buyers. We’ll see if it lasts… Finally, we should keep our eyes peeled for any big, bad divergences between crypto and tech. The stock market limped into the long weekend, with notable weakness in semiconductors and other tech subsectors. The rally’s not in trouble yet. But investors are clearly on edge and the stocks have stayed choppy while crypto rallied into the weekend. Crypto-adjacent stocks are also worth watching this week as Bitcoin inches closer to breakout levels. MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR), Riot Blockchain Inc. (RIOT) and Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) are handy crypto trading vehicles on the equity side. The usual caveats apply. These stocks can move big – higher and lower! They’re probably not great long-term investments. Instead, use them as directional bets once this Bitcoin rally begins to heat up. Let me know what you thought of today’s article… and if you want any more topics covered by emailing me [here](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com). Best, [Greg Guenthner] Greg Guenthner Contributing Editor, Morning Reckoning feedback@dailyreckoning.com Thank you for reading The Daily Reckoning! We greatly value your questions and comments. Please send all feedback to [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:dr@dailyreckoning.com) [Sean Ring] [Sean Ring, CAIA, FRM and CMT]( is a former banker and financial educator and is the editor of the Rude Awakening. Sean has trained interns and graduates from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Bank of America, Standard Chartered Bank, DBS (Singapore), the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Bank Indonesia (the central bank), HSBC, Barclays, RBS, and BlackRock. He knows the global economy is being corrupted by forces that most people can't understand and has used his unique and worldly experiences to help people navigate the markets. [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your The Daily Reckoning e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from The Daily Reckoning, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@dailyreckoning.com. 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