Paul Gauguin Sheperd and sheperdess in a meadow 1888
1,000 voices decry the “terrible” impact of the Big Beautiful Bill. Economist Daniel Lacalle has a very different opinion.
The Big Beautiful Bill is much better than you may have been led to believe. Watch 👇 https://t.co/BNIfbM7ggC
— Daniel Lacalle (@dlacalle_IA) July 4, 2025
Our Founding Fathers can best be described by two words:
COURAGE &
ACCOUNTABILITYThey all stood for something greater than self and their example lives as a testimony for many more future generations.
Happy Independence Day and God bless America and all those who fought to… pic.twitter.com/X58doLh8qr
— General Mike Flynn (@GenFlynn) July 4, 2025
Tucker
Now this is an interesting point. Tucker Carlson says “They’re not really globalists”
“They're not really globalists are they? Because they're not doing this to China and Africa and the Middle East. They're not saying those nations need to invite a lot of people from different… pic.twitter.com/oZHes0vEkX
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) July 3, 2025
How did we wind up at war with Iran? Scott Horton explains.
(0:00) The History of Why Iran Is Such a Global Focal Point
(11:16) The Jimmy Carter Doctrine
(22:29) The Brutality of the Iraq/Iran War
(29:40) The First Iraq War Was a Massive Mistake
(41:32) Bill Clinton’s Fatal… pic.twitter.com/WnZ3zXBmcF— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) July 3, 2025
As per James Woods.
One of the most pleasant surprises among so many of this phenomenal administration is Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This guy is the gold standard. What a great choice he has been in one of the greatest Cabinets in modern history. pic.twitter.com/2yOF2USAa2
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) July 4, 2025
Fourth
Reminder that if you are fully vaccinated and up to date on boosters, you are allowed to celebrate the Fourth of July.
Those vaccinated are even permitted to have a backyard barbecue, so long as the number of guests is five or less.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. pic.twitter.com/LgGewZ5hJH
— MAZE (@mazemoore) July 3, 2025
Ramallah
Israeli has set fire to Taybeh — a 10,000-year-old village in Ramallah, Palestine.
A place where Jesus once walked.
Home to the world’s oldest living Christian community.
And not a peep from Western mainstream media. pic.twitter.com/NVEzWbsh44
— sarah (@sahouraxo) July 3, 2025
Hassett
“..both leaders have repeatedly stressed that such a meeting would require extensive preparations..”
Putin’s conditions are abundantly clear. They’ve grown over a decade. Paul Craig Roberts said it well this week: “What percentage of the Western population understands that the Kremlin was forced to intervene in the Russian provinces in Ukraine in order to prevent a Gaza-type destruction of Russian people?”
Trump must realize that if he wants to make a -peace- deal. I’m not sure he does.
• Putin-Trump Meeting Necessary – Kremlin (RT)
A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump is necessary but has to be well prepared, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday. His comments came after the two leaders held their sixth phone call the day before. According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, during their nearly one-hour long conversation, Trump and Putin discussed a wide range of issues, including the Ukraine conflict, the situation in the Middle East, and Russia-US cooperation. Asked to comment on plans to hold an in-person summit of the two presidents, Peskov stated that both sides acknowledge that such a meeting is “necessary” and that there is readiness on both sides to make it happen.
Peskov recalled, however, that both leaders have repeatedly stressed that such a meeting would require extensive preparations. The Kremlin had previously stated on multiple occasions that the timing of a Putin-Trump summit depends on Washington’s own initiative and has insisted that such a meeting would have to be “result-oriented.” Trump described Thursday’s phone call as “pretty long,” and stated that the two leaders talked about “a lot of things, including Iran.” However, the US president expressed frustration that he “didn’t make any progress” with Putin over the Ukraine conflict and the establishment of a ceasefire.
The Kremlin has since confirmed that the US president urged Putin to cease hostilities as soon as possible, while the latter reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to negotiate. According to Ushakov, Putin stressed that Russia intends to achieve the primary goals of its military operation, which is “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs.” Russia “will not back down from these goals,” the presidential aide said.
There will be some very unhappy faces.
• Trump To Reinstate Sweeping Tariffs (RT)
US President Donald Trump has said his administration will begin notifying trading partners of new tariffs on their exports, as he prepares to reinstate tariffs that were paused for trade talks, which are set to expire next week. Since returning to office in January, Trump has launched a tariff campaign aimed at protecting US manufacturers. The campaign culminated on April 2 with a set of measures on what he called ‘Liberation Day’, including a blanket 10% tariff on all imports and steeper rates for goods from China, Mexico, Canada, and the EU. Some of the tariffs were paused for 90 days to allow negotiations, which are now due to end on July 9. Speaking to reporters early Friday, Trump said “10 or 12” notification letters would be sent that day, with more to follow “over the next few days.”
“By the ninth they’ll be fully covered,” he said, referring to the deadline for countries to reach deals and avoid higher import tariffs. “They’ll range in value from maybe 60% or 70% tariffs to 10% and 20% tariffs.” Trump said smaller countries would be notified later, with tariffs taking effect from August 1. “It’s a lot of money for the country, but we’re giving them a bargain,” he added, without naming specific countries or sectors. Earlier this week, he ruled out extending talks. The US has so far reached agreements with the UK and Vietnam, and declared a truce with China after previous tariffs sparked a trade war that shook global markets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that Washington was close to a high-level framework deal with the EU that could avert 50% tariffs on the bloc’s exports next week.
Trump has long accused the EU of unfair trade practices, arguing that the bloc’s regulatory framework fuels the transatlantic trade imbalance. EU trade ministers have criticized the UK-US deal – which keeps a 10% baseline tariff on British exports while easing tariffs on steel and cars – and warned of possible retaliation unless the bloc secures better terms. Bessent said around 100 countries could face a minimum 10% rate, though further deals are likely. “I think we’re going to see a lot of action over the coming days,” he told Bloomberg. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned this week that the tariffs could disrupt global supply chains and drag growth down to 2.9% through 2026.
He’s not sitting still much, is he? Interesting dynamics here.
• Trump Has Quiet Meeting with Saudi Defense Minister, MbS Younger Brother (CTH)
It was reported last night that President Trump held a quiet meeting with Saudi Arabia Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman in the White House Thursday. This meeting is reported to cover discussions around de-escalation with Iran, the conflict in Gaza and what comes next. The meeting also comes on the heels of President Trump having a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and work throughout the middle-east region by President Trump Emissary Steve Witkoff and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. (Via Fox News) “Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman secretly met with President Donald Trump and other key officials in the White House on Thursday to discuss de-escalation efforts with Iran, multiple sources confirmed with Fox News. Khalid, also known as KBS, is the younger brother of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
[…] The talks were also reportedly about ending the war in Gaza and negotiating the release of the remaining hostages – whether dead or alive – and about working toward peace in the Middle East. (more) Previously it was reported by Israeli media that President Trump was working on a comprehensive solution to Gaza that would encompass peace in the middle-east by normalizing ties with Israel, isolating Iran and giving them fewer options for regional instability. Expanding the Abraham Accords provides the diplomatic vehicle for this approach.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House on Monday, July 7th. It is strongly rumored that Syria and Lebanon would soon join the Abraham Accords, with the possibility of Saudi Arabia joining thereafter. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) is a key figure hoping to bring a new era to the middle east absent of conflict and focused on prosperity. According to Israel Hayom, there was a 4-way call (Trump, Netanyahu, Rubio, Dermer) after the Iran strikes. President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to “fundamental principles in general terms” including:
• “Gaza hostilities will conclude within two weeks.” • Four Arab nations (including Egypt and the UAE) will administer the Gaza Strip, replacing the murderous Hamas terrorist organization.” • “The remaining Hamas leadership will face exile to other countries (possibly Qatar and Turkey), while the hostages gain freedom.” • “Multiple nations globally will accept numerous Gaza inhabitants seeking emigration.” • “Abraham Accords expansion will bring Syria, Saudi Arabia, and additional Arab and Muslim countries to recognize Israel and establish official relationships.” • “Israel will declare its willingness for future Palestinian conflict resolution under the ‘two states’ concept, contingent upon the Palestinian Authority reforms.” • “The United States will acknowledge limited Israeli sovereignty implementation in Judea and Samaria.”
Saudi Arabia was previously on the cusp of signing up to the Abraham Accords, but retreated from the agreement when the Israeli-Hamas war erupted within Gaza. It would not be surprising to see them come back to that agreement with President Trump’s guidance and request. If we think about the status of Syria, we can clearly see how President Trump has enticed the new Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa to the peace table based on economic benefits (sanctions removed). In fact there are large billboards all over Tel Aviv thanking President Trump for his efforts in the embattled nation. It is rather remarkable. Put all that together, and yes there are significant indications well beyond the report by Israel Hayom that something rather remarkable is possible within the middle-east and specifically as they relate to Israel.
With Iran now effectively removed from their ability to antagonize the region, and with President Trump as the enforcer to stop their extremist tendencies, the path toward regional peace seems much more likely. This opens the door for a new era in mid-east politics. (VIA WSJ) – […] Ms. House compares MBS to the 17th-century Russian czar Peter the Great, and the comparison is apt. Both men are best understood as modernizing autocrats, driven to shake up traditional societies and so enable them to withstand the competition and stress of a rapidly changing geopolitical scene. Like Peter, who built St. Petersburg to serve as Russia’s bridge to the West, MBS hopes that his new city—known as Neom—will make Saudi Arabia a dominant force in technological innovation. And like Peter, who asserted political control over the Russian Orthodox church and personally shaved the beards of aristocrats resisting modernization, MBS has ruthlessly imposed his vision on both religious and tribal leaders skeptical of change.
[…] While earlier rulers took small steps to wean the economy from oil, MBS believes the time for half-measures has passed. Saudi Arabia, as MBS grasped years ago, cannot live by oil alone. But to lessen its dependence on oil, the social contract between Saudi citizens and their government has to change. New sources of revenue, like tourism, will have to supplement oil wealth. New industries, like data centers, will need to be welcomed into the kingdom, and new cities to house them will either have to grow from existing ones or, like Neom, be invented.(more) If you think about the geopolitics behind much of the global conflict you may identify the U.S, U.K and EU as the historic source of influential instability. In the big picture BRICS was created as an economic hedge against this troubling influence, an alternative alignment of partners.
With U.S. President Donald J Trump challenging and changing the objectives of the ‘western alliance’, and indeed fracturing the western trade markets and the underlying economics therein, a new picture begins to emerge. A strategic USA political and economic realignment based on peace, growth and independent stability, can unite America, Russia, Saudi Arabia and many emerging economies. However, the old financial guards within the UK, EU, Japan, Canada, Australia will likely fight this geopolitical shakeup. All of that said, the ‘old guards’ biggest weapon to fight back against a global economic and peace realignment would be their control over the western-developed intelligence networks. Is that the dynamic we have been seeing? When contrast against visible recent events, that is a very interesting question to ponder.
“We were just fine running on Russian oil and gas until you snatched it away like a juice box from a toddler. Now you’re scolding us for not pulling new energy out of thin air? Fine. We’re going nuclear. With Russia.”
• Trump Eases Russia Sanctions – But EU Is Too Eager To Strangle Itself (Marsden)
Looks like Washington is about to steal the EU’s lunch. Again. The Trump administration just lifted sanctions on a Russian-led nuclear project in Hungary, specifically one run by Moscow’s atomic energy titan, Rosatom. “The administration of President Trump has lifted this sanction. This made it possible to guarantee the safety of Hungary’s energy supply in the long term. Finally, there is a kind of presidential administration in the United States which respects the reality of the map, takes it into account,” said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. “We are not a country with a large number of oil and natural gas factories surrounded by dry land. Thus, our sustainable, cheap and safe electricity supply can only be provided by nuclear energy.”
Translation: “Listen up, you overcaffeinated Brussels bureaucrats running this group project from hell. We were just fine running on Russian oil and gas until you snatched it away like a juice box from a toddler. Now you’re scolding us for not pulling new energy out of thin air? Fine. We’re going nuclear. With Russia.” Enter Paks 2, Hungary’s next-gen nuclear project, pronounced “Paksh” as in “Paksh me another reactor, Vladimir.” This Rosatom-led deal was frozen under Biden-era sanctions. Now with Trump back, Hungary’s firing it up again. Hungary’s original Paks plant already supplies half the country’s electricity. Paks 2 will boost that to 70% by the 2030s and replace 3.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually – or enough to power Brussels’ virtue-signaling and moral-outrage generators for a week. It would also slash Hungary’s carbon emissions by 17 million tons, which theoretically should earn Budapest a climate gold star from Brussels.
But a few weeks back, Hungary smelled another bad idea brewing in Brussels. This time, it was sanctions on nuclear fuel. Because when you’re already dealing with a self-imposed gas crisis, the next logical step is obviously to kneecap your nuclear options, too. “If the European Commission and Brussels banned Central European countries, including Hungary, from purchasing fuel from Russia, this would have tragic consequences not only for Hungary, but for the entire European energy market,” Szijjarto warned back in May of the nuclear fuel side-eye. Meanwhile, in Brussels, EU leaders have been busy crafting their 18th round of Russia sanctions. That’s right – 18. The sanctions now have more sequels than the Fast & Furious movie franchise. At this rate, someone should build a sanctions-themed roller coaster and amusement park. Then it could just stay closed under the pretext that it’s too expensive to power.
And while EU politicians perform their best moral-grandstanding monologues on the world stage, European companies are sneaking around backstage making nuclear deals with Russia anyway. Leading the pack is France’s Framatome, which is co-partnering with Rosatom on the very same Paks 2 project. Framatome’s role has actually expanded thanks to Germany kneecapping itself, as has become routine. The Greens in the previous coalition government blocked Siemens Energy’s involvement. Just what German industry needed – another self-inflicted wound. And Framatome isn’t just supplying the process control systems for Rosatom. The two have also signed a broader deal to produce nuclear fuel – in Germany. Don’t mess this up, Berlin! Spoiler alert: Odds are pretty good that it probably will.
Or what? You’re going to kill the children?
• Trump Expects Hamas Answer In 24 Hours On ‘Final’ Peace Proposal (ZH)
President Donald Trump announced Friday that it would likely become clear within 24 hours whether Hamas would accept what he described as a “final proposal” for a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza. He also mentioned in the fresh statement that he had discussions with Saudi Arabia about broadening the Abraham Accords, in reference to the normalization agreements between Israel and certain Gulf nations established during his first term in office. On Tuesday Trump said that Israel had agreed to the terms required for a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which both sides would aim to work toward ending the lengthy war which has been raging in the wake of the Oct.7, 2023 terror attacks. A Hamas official on Thursday told the BBC that the Palestinian militant group is now “ready and serious” to reach a deal if it ended the war.
That was in reaction to President Trump having said that Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize the proposed 60-day ceasefire in Gaza. Trump said the US would “work with all parties to end the War” – in a post on Truth Social. However, no details have been given on this particular ceasefire plan. Israel has not confirmed it agreed to any specific conditions as of yet. “I hope… that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better – IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” Trump wrote. But what will the consequences be if Hamas refuses – more bombing of the Gaza Strip? Some details revealed in Israeli media have been presented as follows: According to an unsourced Channel 12 report Thursday, Trump has offered a direct guarantee to Hamas that if it agrees to the so-called Witkoff framework — which includes the release of 10 living hostages in two phases and 18 bodies in three phases over the course of a 60-day ceasefire — the US will ensure efforts continue to reach a lasting end to the conflict.
Israel is also believed to be under heavy US pressure to clinch a ceasefire deal ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Washington for talks with Trump next week. The prime minister is set to visit the White House on Monday. Trump also said Friday that Gazans have “been through hell” and that “I want the people of Gaza to be safe.” But he didn’t directly answer when a reporter asked if the US is still considering taking any security responsibility over the Gaza Strip as part of the proposed truce plan. The plan that the Trump administration floated in February included the permanent relocation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and turning the land into a Mediterranean resort destination. No Arab or neighboring nation has stepped forward to say they would accept more Palestinian refugees. Almost all regional states have historically absorbed at least tens or hundreds of thousands. American security contractors are currently present in the Gaza Strip, controversially as part of a US and Israeli-backed humanitarian aid distribution program.
“Who will liberate us from Israel?”
• July 4, 2025 Finds Americans More Enslaved than Ever (Paul Craig Roberts)
Today we will be treated to fireworks and speeches celebrating our liberation from the British in the latter part of the 18th century. It is a false celebration, because many of our cherished freedoms described in the Constitution have been taken away, and in place of the British we have a new master–Israel–a master whose grip tightens on us by the year. In the 21st century we have destroyed a number of countries for Israel, financed and provided the weapons and diplomatic over for Israel’s genocide of Palestine, and celebrated Israel’s indicted mass murderer leader with standing ovations in the US Congress. President Trump speaks of the mass murderer as if he is the greatest person on earth. The US might yet be forced by Israel into war with Iran.
Red states such as Florida and Texas have passed laws against US citizens speaking or acting disapprovingly of Israel. No such laws exist protecting US gentiles from politically incorrect words and protests. US universities have lost to the Israel Lobby the ability to govern themselves. The Israel Lobby was able to reach inside a Catholic university and block the tenure of Norman Finkelstein, himself a Jew, and to reach inside the University of Illinois to cancel the tenure granted to Steven Salaita.
Presidents of Ivy League universities were hauled before the US Congress and upbraided for not preventing students from protesting Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians. Some were forced to resign. A rule was imposed on the universities that students who protest Israel must be suspended or expelled. If they are foreign students, they are picked up and deported. Christian Zionists worship Israel, not Christ, and are indoctrinated with the conviction that God’s purpose for America is to serve as Israel’s protector. The British never had such control over their American colony. Far from being a free and independent people, Americans are the two-bit punk puppet of their Israeli master. Who will liberate us from Israel?
“I can negotiate with a man who wants to make money. I can’t negotiate with a communist who wants to kill me.” — Josh Lippincott on “X”
• The Fourth of July (James Howard Kunstler)
O, Norman Rockwell, where are you when we really need you? Forgive us, Emma Lazarus, our second thoughts about those huddled masses yearning to breathe free. . . the wretched refuse of your teeming shore(s). That was then and this is now. O, beautiful for spacious skies (but, why so many contrails criss-crossing overhead from the New York Island to the gulf stream waters?). O, land of tattooed grandmas, hostages of the tiny screens, the sexually confounded, the illiterate and innumerate, the lawless and the feckless, brainwashed youth marinated in Marx, the deranged, befuddled, the bought-off, the bug-eyed and bewildered, the lame, the halt, the addicts, grifters, hustlers, porn-stars, drugstore cowboys, alpha dogs, beta boys, shrieking Karens, and sundry victims of future-shock — wither, this hallowed experiment in nationhood?
Wouldn’t you like to know? In the meantime, husk that corn and flip them burgers! Turn them wieners! Mash your guacamole, pop another frostie, pass the Jack, lock-and-load, and mind those hovering drones! It is the 249th birthday of what remains of our country! Respect and thanks, ye ancestors! At least, there is Mr. Trump in command now, not Norman Bates’s mother (or whatever decrepitating thing pretended to rule from the White House those previous four years of anarchy and agony). Daddy’s in da house — finally! — and things are being put in order against all odds. Yeah, you’re gonna clean up your damn room, or else! For many, this is a yuge relief. The rest of you, with your “No Kings” fake revolution, your Antifa monkey business, your mean girl psychodramas, your trans psychosis, your childless despair, your occult Gramscian schemes of destruction — please report back to the margins, where you belong.
The struggle to get normal again is epic and harsh. And, of course, many will deny that there ever was such a state of being, of minding your business in the purest sense of the phrase, acting like responsible, self-respecting, autonomous adults. In the immortal words of Aimee Mann, better wise-up. Childhood ends; something else begins. Take yourself seriously for a change, but keep your heart light, ready for the jokes that travail always presents. After all, nothing is funnier than unhappiness.
To get back to normal, to shed the burden of absurdities we’ve been heaped with, requires an accounting. You know this. Matter of fact, the absence of such an accounting has been bugging you no end. A whole lot of pain and suffering was inflicted across this land in recent years and barely a soul has had to do any ‘splainin’. It rankles badly. When, if ever, will these vicious, seditionist goons who turned the nation inside-out and upside-down be compelled to sit at the defendant’s table in a court of law?
I have a theory. The right dawgs, you well-know, have been in position for months. They understand the conspiracy hatched ten years ago through-and-through. Mr. Patel, remember, ran Chairman Devon Nunes investigation of the nascent RussiaRussiaRussia hoax in 2017 as senior counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and helped draft the “Nunes Letter,” much abused by the perfidious news media, that laid out the plot by Brennan, Clapper, Comey, Obama & Company to smother Donald Trump’s newborn presidency in its crib.
Through some alchemy of mass political psychosis, that conspiracy has rolled on for a whole decade, one malice-driven prank after another. It continues to this day, an evermore rearguard action conducted by Deep state rogues and their public mouthpiece, Norm Eisen of Lawfare, Inc. Dan Bongino, now at Mr. Patel’s right-hand, chronicled that long march of treason in several books while he conducted daily podcast discourses on the workings of it all. “Remember the names,” he always said. Danny Boombatz remembers the names.
“Low trust, highly fractured, and highly politically factionalised which is leading us increasingly inevitably into civil conflict.”
• UK Gov’t Preparing For Civil War, Using Russian Invasion Threat As Cover (MN)
A prominent academic in London has warned that the UK government is actively preparing for the break out of a civil war, but is using the “logically absurd” cover of a Russian invasion to put contingencies in place. Pointing to remarks made in the 2025 National Security Strategy paper last month, Professor David Betz of King’s College London has suggested that the British government is using the phantom threat of a foreign attack in order to harden critical national infrastructure against sabotage. “For the first time in many years, we have to actively prepare for the possibility of the UK homeland coming under direct threat,” the Whitehall paper noted, adding that “critical national infrastructure – including undersea cables, energy pipelines, transportation and logistics hubs” are a major target.
During a discussion with Professor Lewis Halsey, Professor Betz, a modern war expert recently stated “there is growing apprehension about the security of Britain, the security of its infrastructure specifically, and about the potential for active conflict at home in a very direct manner, effecting people in a very direct manner.” “But that’s not external in origin, that’s internal, and that has to do with the way our society is now configured, it is highly fractured,” Betz continued, adding “Low trust, highly fractured, and highly politically factionalised which is leading us increasingly inevitably into civil conflict.” Betz further outlined how the Russian threat is being amplified as a cover story. “The fact of the matter is there is a great distance between us and Russia… we are not militarily threatened in a direct way on the ground by any obvious external enemy, even Russia,” Betz outlined.
“Which isn’t to say there aren’t things which Russia could do to attack the UK should they wish to, but one of those is not occupying the village green with Russian soldiers, that simply, frankly, is a rather bizarre assertion,” he contended. “What they’re concerned about is domestic conflict, and they perfectly understand this, but that’s completely politically toxic for them to say so publicly, hence the convenience of saying ‘we need to develop… a citizen’s militia for the protection of critical infrastructure’,” Betz further noted.
“To say that we’re doing this against the potential of Russian attack, which is frankly a logically absurd proposition, but it is convenient as a pretext,” he emphasised. Betz also recently posited that many European countries are on the verge of civil war and may already be past the point of no return. He says his research shows there is a statistically significant chance of a civil war breaking out within five years in a major European country, with a distinct possibility that the conflict could spill over to neighbouring Nations.
“.. the average unit cost for these interceptors is around $3.871 million.”
• Trump’s Golden Dome Plans Fuel Fourfold Jump in Patriot Missile Buying (Sp.)
The US Army plans to dramatically boost its procurement of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptors target by four times, from 3,376 to 13,773 missiles, as US President Donald Trump pushes forward ambitious Golden Dome for America initiative amid suspension of military aid to Ukraine. The MSE missile, a critical component of Trump’s defense concept, is a “hit-to-kill” interceptor missile designed to destroy incoming ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and aircraft through direct impact. According to the US Army’s budget report, the average unit cost for these interceptors is around $3.871 million.
“The Army Requirements Oversight Council Memorandum (AROCM) approved a PAC-3 MSE AAO/APO increase from 3,376 to 13,773 on 16 April 2025,” a Sputnik correspondent’s analysis of the Pentagon’s FY 2026 budget report revealed. This significant leap in the Army’s acquisition objective for these critical interceptors appears to be a direct consequence of the strategic emphasis placed on missile defense by the Golden Dome initiative, indicating a concerted effort to rapidly build up the necessary arsenal. According to the US Army’s budget report, its Fiscal Year 2026 request for PAC-3 MSE missiles totals over $1.31 billion. This amount comprises $945.9 million in discretionary funds and an additional $366 million in mandatory (reconciliation) funds, which specifically procure 96 extra MSE missiles for FY 2026.
The $945.9 million in discretionary funding for FY 2026 includes $549.57 million earmarked for 130 base procurement MSE Missiles. An additional $396.335 million, supporting the procurement of 103 missiles, comes from Overseas Operations Cost (OOC) funding specifically for Operation Atlantic Resolve (OAR), a US government initiative providing military assistance to Ukraine. On Monday, US media reported that the Pentagon paused deliveries of certain air defense missiles and precision munitions to Ukraine over concerns that the US’s own stock was running critically low. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly confirmed the halt in supplies to NBC News, stating that the decision prioritized US interests.
Trump formally unveiled his ambitious “Golden Dome” missile defense concept on May 20, envisioning an “impenetrable shield” over the US against advanced missile threats. This expansive program is set for a major legislative boost, with Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which allocates $25 billion for integrated air and missile defense, expected to be signed into law this week.
Strangely, but fitting.
• Trump Announces White House UFC Fight (RT)
US President Donald Trump has announced plans to host a UFC title fight at the White House as part of next year’s America250 celebrations. He added that up to 25,000 people could attend. Speaking at a rally in Iowa on Thursday, Trump outlined a number of activities planned for the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, saying it will be “a birthday party the likes of which you have never seen before.” The celebrations will include both professional and amateur events at national parks, battlefields, and historic sites, as well as a sports tournament called the Patriot Games featuring high school athletes from all 50 states.
Trump surprised the audience by saying: “We’re going to have a UFC fight – think of this – on the grounds of the White House.” He added that there is “a lot of land there” and that the event would be “a championship fight, full fight, like 20,000 to 25,000 people,” with UFC CEO Dana White organizing the event. Details about the exact location on the White House grounds and the timeline for the UFC event have yet to be disclosed. The announcement has already drawn attention for its unconventional nature and has sparked debate among critics and supporters. Many Trump fans have praised the idea on social media, calling it bold and uniquely American.
One user on X called it “one for the history books.” Another said the fight will make the US Semiquincentennial “legendary.” Several users have said the proposed fight is “nothing new,” noting that former US President Theodore Roosevelt set up a dojo in the White House to practice martial arts and even held a jiu-jitsu demonstration in the East Room. Others responded with ridicule. “This is straight out of Idiocracy,” one critic wrote, referring to the 2006 dystopian comedy film that depicts a future America overwhelmed by anti-intellectualism and spectacle. Another user suggested that the White House might next host “midget wrestling in the East Room.”
“..the principle that “wherever the foot of the Russian soldier steps is ours..”
• Kiev Can’t Turn Tide On Battlefield – Spy Chief (RT)
Kiev lacks the ability to push Russian forces back, Kirill Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency HUR, has acknowledged, asserting that only negotiations can meaningfully alter the course of the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently remarked that military logic often requires occupying territories while not formally claiming them. He added that historically Russia operated on the principle that “wherever the foot of the Russian soldier steps is ours,” in the sense of defending national interests. Asked to respond to Putin’s comments in an interview this week, Budanov said the Russian president was militarily accurate.
“Wherever they reach will be under their control. Do you think there is anyone who does not realize that? I hope everyone does,” Budanov said, while still urging Ukrainians to comply with conscription and fulfill their duty by fighting Russia. He said he did not anticipate major changes on the battlefield, where Russian forces continue to make incremental advances. Significant developments, he added, would likely not occur “at least until peace talks are concluded.” Since the 2014 Western-backed uprising in Kiev, five Ukrainian regions have voted to secede and join Russia, four of them after the escalation in 2022. Moscow has cited Kiev’s use of military force in Donbass and its sabotage of a negotiated roadmap for reintegrating the Donbass regions as key triggers for the ongoing hostilities.
Vladimir Zelensky rejected a proposed peace deal in 2022 that would have curtailed Ukraine’s NATO aspirations. Instead, he opted to pursue a military solution backed by Western arms donors. Zelensky has maintained that only the full restoration of all territories claimed by Kiev would be acceptable to his government. Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine resumed earlier this year in Istanbul under pressure from the US. The administration of President Donald Trump has indicated that Kiev will need to agree to some form of territorial compromise to reach a resolution. Zelensky has conceded that Ukraine cannot achieve a military victory and is urging the West to intensify sanctions on Moscow in hopes of forcing it to yield diplomatically.
Secretely? Why?
• Germany Looking To Secretly Buy US Arms For Ukraine – Bild (RT)
Germany wants to agree a “secret deal” with the US to buy two Patriot air defense systems in order to hand them over to Ukraine, Bild has reported, citing government sources.vSeveral US media outlets claimed earlier this week that Washington had paused deliveries of various critical munitions to Kiev, including Patriot and Hellfire missiles, GMLRS rockets, and thousands of 155mm artillery shells. The White House later confirmed that supplies of some weapons have been halted, saying the “decision was made to put America’s interests first.”vThe freeze in deliveries is “causing alarm” in Berlin, Bild reported on Thursday. According to the newspaper, the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz fears that the policy shift could also result in Washington rejecting a request to sell Germany two Patriot systems and interceptors.
According to Bild’s sources, Berlin quietly approached US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the matter two weeks ago after being asked to do so by Ukraine, which previously failed to acquire the systems on its own. The German authorities are now waiting for a response from Hegseth, they added.vBild described the lack of air defenses as an “urgent problem” for Ukraine, and that it currently has only four Patriot systems left in service and insufficient missiles for them. If Kiev runs out of interceptors, Russian airstrikes are likely to become even more “dangerous,” it added.vOn Friday, German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius acknowledged that “intensive discussions” are taking place between Berlin and Washington regarding the possibility of providing air defense systems and munitions for them to Ukraine.
However, he noted that there are “different ways” to address Kiev’s needs in the area. Politico reported on Wednesday that the Kiev authorities were “blindsided” by the halt in American military aid supplies, and have asked Washington “to let Europe purchase US weapons for Ukraine.” Several European countries are reviewing potential purchases on behalf of Ukraine, according to the outlet.vKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested that the US paused deliveries of key munitions to Ukraine because they “simply cannot produce missiles in the necessary quantities,” noting that many supplies were likely redirected to Israel amid its conflict with Iran last month.
Desperately blaming Russia for their very own collapse. The British do it, Germany does it…
• Germany Plans Six-Month Military Service – Reuters (RT)
Germany is planning to introduce a voluntary six-month military service in order to double the number of reservists, Reuters has reported, citing informed sources. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Berlin has been trying to boost its armed forces, citing a “threat” posed by Russia. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed as “nonsense” claims it intends to attack NATO countries, saying that the Western politicians are deliberately scaring their populations to justify increased military spending. Earlier this year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed to make the Bundeswehr the “strongest army” on the continent, with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius eyeing a “drastic increase” to Germany’s military budget of up to €90 billion ($102 billion) by 2028.
The German government expects that attracting volunteers would allow the country to increase the number of reservists from around 100,000 to 200,000, Reuters reported in an article on Friday. Berlin could consider returning to conscription, abolished in Germany since 2011, if the scheme fails to deliver, according to the sources. During six-month service, volunteers would learn “simple tasks” such as guard duty while being offered the chance to eventually obtain tank or truck driver’s licenses, it added. Berlin hopes that some of the volunteers would go on to have a career in the military, the sources said.
According to Reuters, Pistorius wants to have the legislation passed by the end of August so that the first volunteers to start their training in May next year. The defense minister said in June that the Bundeswehr would be required to increase the number of its active duty troops from around 180,000 to 260,000 to meet its NATO targets. The statement was made ahead of the recent NATO summit, during which the bloc’s members agreed to boost their defense spending to 5% GDP by 2035. Russian officials have condemned the militarization drive in Germany and other Western European nations, urging them to support US-led peace initiatives for the Ukraine conflict, instead of gearing up for war with Moscow.
Wars have started over much less.
• Ethiopia Declares Completion Of Dam Debated With Egypt and Sudan (RT)
Ethiopia has announced the completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a multibillion-dollar hydropower project on the Blue Nile that has been the focus of a decade-long dispute with Egypt and Sudan. The dam will be formally inaugurated in September, the Office of the Prime Minister said in a statement. Under construction since 2011, the GERD is designed to generate up to 5.15 gigawatts of electricity, making it the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa. While Ethiopia presents the project as a transformative energy source for the region, Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly raised concerns over its impact on downstream water flows.
In a message shared on X, the Ethiopian government described the GERD as “a symbol of regional cooperation and mutual benefit,” insisting that the project “is not a threat, but a shared opportunity.” Officials in Addis Ababa argue that the dam’s power generation will benefit not just Ethiopia but neighboring states as well. The dam is built on the Blue Nile – the Nile’s main tributary. The Nile provides about 97% of Egypt’s freshwater supply, according to various sources. Both Cairo and Khartoum fear that upstream water retention could severely affect agriculture and water security in their countries.
In September, the Egyptian government filed a complaint with the UN Security Council, accusing Ethiopia of violating international law and threatening regional stability with its alleged unilateral actions regarding the GERD project. The move came after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the fifth phase of filling the dam. Amid ongoing disagreement over water rights, Ethiopia has pushed forward with a regional water governance framework. In October, Prime Minister Abiy confirmed the implementation of the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), a treaty designed to establish a permanent Nile River Basin Commission (NRBC) among upstream nations. The treaty has been signed by upstream countries including Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Burundi, with South Sudan joining in 2012.
While the treaty moved closer to activation after South Sudan’s parliament ratified it in July, Egypt and Sudan have rejected the accord. Both governments called it an “incomplete” document that is not “representative of the Nile Basin as a whole.” Egypt has warned that even a modest reduction of just 2% in its Nile water supply could lead to the loss of around 200,000 acres of farmland, posing a serious threat to national food security. Sudan has voiced similar fears, citing the river’s vital role in its agriculture sector.
Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson's handwritten draft of the Declaration of Independence (with revisions by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin), 1776. pic.twitter.com/NcXdeDRTJS
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 4, 2025
Covid
A bombshell analysis published by the Canadian research group Correlation reveals that the 2020 mortality surge across Europe and the U.S. didn’t follow the pattern of a viral outbreak.
Instead, the evidence points to something far more chilling: the mass mistreatment of… pic.twitter.com/f12BQRmi0Q
— Camus (@newstart_2024) July 5, 2025
Flynn+
GEN. FLYNN CALLS OUT OBAMA & EVERYONE INVOLVED IN RUSSIA HOAX TO BE CHARGED WITH TREASON. America is at a crucial point in it's history as Gen. Flynn stresses the importance of getting Trump to organize and execute an immediate plan to start arresting these traitors for treason.… pic.twitter.com/PF33i3pcXv
— The SCIF (@TheIntelSCIF) July 4, 2025
Parking
https://twitter.com/HowThingsWork_/status/1940901653550715254
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