Jul 012025
 


Cimabue Christ mocked c1280 (Photograph: Charles Platiau/Reuters)

 

Trump’s Trip to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Could Boost ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ (DS)
Elon Musk Pledges to Launch Third Party if Big Beautiful Bill Passes (CTH)
Musk ‘A Wonderful Guy’ – Trump (RT)
Kevin Hassett Outlines Importance of Big Beautiful Bill (CTH)
America’s New Long War (Douglas Macgregor)
NATO’s 5% Spending Demand ‘Absolutely Impossible’ – Spain (RT)
Canada Scraps Digital Service Tax On US Tech Giants To Revive Trade Talks (ZH)
Trump Says TikTok Buyer Is “Group Of Very Wealthy People” (ZH)
When It’s Too Dirty For The CIA…” Benz On USAID’s Litany Of Corruption (ZH)
Stay Sane (James Howard Kunstler)
Bessent Slams Fed For Delay On Rate Decisions (ZH)
HHS Head RFK Jr Tells Tucker Carlson all the Terrible Stuff HHS is Doing (CTH)
CNN Promotes ICE App to Help Illegal Aliens Avoid Capture (CTH)
Trump the Greatest American President in History? (Paul Craig Roberts)
Stablecoins Are Becoming ‘Default Settlement Layer’ For Internet (CT)

 

 

vanJones

Benz

Pappé

Flynn

DOGE

 

 


Steve Keen

 

 

 

 

NOTE: From what I understand, Elon Musk’s problems with Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill policies are -to a large extent- about electricity generation. Trump claims it’s subsidies for Musk’s electric cars, but in reality it’s (AI) data centers. That’s where demand -growth- will be, and China gets that.

https://twitter.com/FrankLuntz/status/1938569426200096997

 

 

 

 

Alligator Alcatraz is a keeper as a label.

Trump’s Trip to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Could Boost ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ (DS)

sPresident Donald Trump is visiting a detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” on Tuesday, which the White House contends backs up the need to pass the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” A reporter on Monday asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt why Trump would travel to the detention center about 50 miles west of Miami while the fate of the key tax and spending legislation hangs in the balance in the Senate. “His trip to this detention facility underscores the need to pass the One Big, Beautiful Bill because we need more detention facilities across the country,” Leavitt said. “The last administration let in nearly 20 million illegal people from all over the world. This administration is focused on arresting and detaining them.” If the bill, which locks in the 2017 Trump tax cuts and includes new money for border and immigration enforcement, passes the Senate, it has to return to the House for final passage after narrow approval.

“In comparison to that 20 million illegal criminal population in our country, we only have 7,000 [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents in the interior who are doing this very important work,” the press secretary continued. “So obviously, we need more personnel, we need more resources. That’s why we need to pass the One Big, Beautiful Bill.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., will also be at the detention center for the opening. “The facility is in the heart of the Everglades and will be informally known as Alligator Alcatraz,” Leavitt said. “There is only one road leading in. The only way out is a one-way flight. It is isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife and unforgiving terrain. The facility will have up to 5,000 beds to house, process and deport criminal illegal aliens. This is an efficient and low cost way to help carry out the largest deportation campaign in American history.”

The original Alcatraz was an island prison off the coast of California that was difficult to escape. The facility is shuttered, but continued to be a tourist attraction. She later stressed the facility is for criminal illegal aliens. “When you have illegal murderers and rapists and heinous criminals in a detention facility surrounded by alligators, yes I do think that’s a deterrent for them to try to escape,” Leavitt said. “We do know that some of these illegal criminals have escaped from other detention facilities like one in New Jersey. Of course we want to keep the American people safe. We want to remove these public safety threats from our streets and we want to effectively detain them as best as we can.”

Read more …

He’ll get attention alright. But how about votes?

Elon Musk Pledges to Launch Third Party if Big Beautiful Bill Passes (CTH)

For those who have spent time in the lead up to this moment, you may remember our warning that Elon Musk would eventually take a position against President Trump and actively work to undermine the MAGA agenda therein. Tonight as the Senate debates the Big Beautiful Bill, that does not include subsidies for his electric vehicles and green energy initiatives, Elon Musk promises to organize a third party. This was all predictable.

The bill is imperfect, yes. However, the BBB contains the priorities of President Trump and those priorities are the goals and objectives of the people who voted to support his vision. Elon Musk is now actively working against the interests of the Make America Great Again movement, and he is intent on dividing the MAGA coalition.

Read more …

“..but I’m the boss..”

Musk ‘A Wonderful Guy’ – Trump (RT)

Donald Trump has called Elon Musk a “wonderful guy,” despite the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s renewed criticism of the US president’s so-called “big, beautiful” budget bill which would include a $5 trillion debt ceiling increase. Musk again lashed out at the legislation on Saturday, writing on X that it was “utterly insane” and predicting that it would hurl the US into “debt slavery” and destroy millions of jobs. However, his warnings did not prevent the Senate from narrowly voting to move forward on Trump’s bill a few hours later.

A war of words erupted between the two former allies after Musk stepped down as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) a month ago. Besides criticizing the budget bill, he attacked Trump personally, including linking the US president to deceased convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The world’s richest man later deleted the post on X, acknowledging that some of his comments “went too far.” When asked by Fox News on Sunday if he still keeps in touch with Musk, Trump replied: “I think he is a wonderful guy. I have not spoken to him much, but I think Elon is a wonderful guy, and I know he is going to do well always.”

“He is a smart guy. And he actually went and campaigned with me and this and that. But he got a little bit upset, and that was not appropriate,” the president added about his falling-out with the entrepreneur. Trump reiterated his claim that Musk had become upset not because of the “big, beautiful bill,” but because of the president’s plans to roll back electric vehicle (EV) mandates around the country. “Look, the electric vehicle mandate, the EV mandate, is a tough thing for him. I would, you know, I do not want everybody to have to have an electric car,” Trump explained. In mid-June, the president went on to sign three resolutions barring California from mandating EV sales and setting tailpipe emissions standards that had been used as a template by other US states to speed up the transition away from combustion engines.

Read more …

Hassett is White House National Economic Council Director.

Kevin Hassett Outlines Importance of Big Beautiful Bill (CTH)

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett appears on Fox News to outline some of the background details of the Big Beautiful Bill. Interestingly, after happy Hassett outlines the specifics of the benefits within the bill, he dodges a question about possibly becoming the next Fed Chairman.

Read more …

X post.

America’s New Long War (Douglas Macgregor)

Wars frequently pick up where the last ones left off. World War II ended where World War 1 ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom (Gulf War II) began where Desert Storm (Gulf War I) concluded. Today there is every reason to expect the recent 12-day conflict between Iran on one side and Israel and the United States on the other to resume when the Israeli and U.S. Forces have replenished their stocks of missiles. No doubt, the Iranians will work hard to radically improve their integrated air defenses. For simplicity, let’s call the current conflict, the “New Long War.” As always, the New Long War continues with other means. GEN Erik Kurilla, the CENTCOM CDR is known for his close relationship with PM Bibi Netanyahu and his enthusiasm for the Greater Israel Project including seizure of Sinai and the Suez Canal.

Fully aware of the impossibility of rapidly conquering and seizing the Suez Canal without active American military support, General Kurilla may have received authority from President Trump to conduct joint planning. The presence of a newly established Russia phased array radar in Egypt suggests Moscow is aware of the possibility. The Russian phased array radar can reportedly track stealth aircraft and missile launches at long range. Further east, some 1,200 miles away in Azerbaijan, Israel’s Azeri-Turkish ally is allegedly preparing to attack Armenia and, potentially, northern Iran. GEN Kurilla also knows that Iran, like Russia, has a long history of cooperation with Orthodox Christian Armenia. Israel provided critical drone technology to Azerbaijan in its last victorious campaign against Armenia, and Azerbaijan likely provided support for Israeli operations against Iran.

GEN Kurilla is also acquainted with the MEK (Mojahedin-e-Khalq) an anti-Iranian Kurdish Force formerly aligned with Saddam Hussein’s government in Iraq. The MEK fights for regime change in Iran and is predictably now aligned with the Trump Administration. Azerbaijan’s goal is a greater Azerbaijan created by forcibly annexing Iran’s Turkic Azeri population centered on Tabriz in Northern Iran. The unspoken assumption in Washington, Jerusalem, and Baku is that the Azeri Turks in Northern Iran will welcome the opportunity to join with their Azeri neighbors. The national leaders in all three States view this operation as contributing to the breakup and destruction of Iranian national unity, as well as the desired regime changes in Tehran. These operations are in the planning stage but could be launched at any time. These may or may not wait for the U.S. and Israeli missile arsenals to be replenished.

A similar approach was employed in Ukraine against Russia. However, the operation to remove President Putin from power in Moscow, to foment unrest and violence against Moscow inside Russia, Kazakhstan and other neighboring states was botched. Washington’s gamble failed. Russia remains intact. Russia’s resources remain beyond the reach of Western financial power. The Russian State and its military power are stronger than ever. Ukraine is destroyed. The history of Washington’s military interventions is not encouraging. Washington’s interventions since 1953 failed to cultivate the emergence of any liberal democratic states. If anything, Washington’s near constant interventionism spread authoritarianism across North Africa and the Middle East. The new long war seeks to subvert and destroy Iran promising a similar outcome.

However, this time, the New Long War will invite broader participation from numerous Muslim states, Russia, and China. In contrast to past interventions, the new long war could also prove impossible to sustain inside American society. As seen during the Black Lives Matter (BLM)/Antifa riots in 2020 and, more recently, the appearance of Mexican flags during anti-ICE demonstrations in Los Angeles, American societal cohesion is low, with ominous connotations for American national power. Notwithstanding President Trump’s tariff offensive, the trade policies sponsored by both parties for at least 40 years encouraged de-industrialization. The problem is inseparable from immigration policy. Since 1965, America has admitted over 50 million legal immigrants, most from the developing world. Today, there may be as many as 50 million illegal immigrants inside the U.S., including 20 to 30 million illegals that arrived during the Biden administration.

Simultaneously, real wages for working-class Americans stagnated despite real increases in productivity and soaring corporate profits. At the same time, Washington’s financialization of the economy—a form of rent extraction, with profits earned through privileged access to new money created by the Federal Reserve—combined with the destruction of American manufacturing, supports a massive wealth transfer mechanism. Economic data collected between 1979 and 2018 shows that while productivity increased by 59.7%, hourly compensation for non-supervisory workers rose by only 17.5%. The difference went to capital owners and financial intermediaries. Wealth moved from America’s dying middle class to the top 10 percent of income earners.

The implications of these developments for Washington’s global political, military, and economic power are profound. Why? There are multiple reasons, but three are of immediate importance:
First, in the five decades since Washington disestablished the gold standard, the debt-to-GDP ratio has grown from 40 percent to more than 120 percent of GDP and it continues to climb. Consequently, the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet expanded from $80 billion to well over $8 trillion. With spending levels and deficit trajectories that are not sustainable, the notion of a trillion-dollar defense budget is absurd.

Second, there is an undeniable shift in the global balance of economic power. A new intercontinental commercial trading and monetary system is rising. It’s called BRICS, an intergovernmental organization consisting of ten nation-states: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Together, these nation-states constitute more than a third of global GDP. A further 50 or more nation-states that want to join BRICS will push it to nearly 50 percent of global GDP. More important, China, Russia, India, and Iran are civilizational constructs—power centers that, after centuries of trailing in development behind the West (or enduring its exploitation), are now roaring back to life. In some ways, the world of the 21st century may be on track to resurrect the constellation of powers that dominated the world in the 11th century.

Third, the proliferation of technology across national borders combined with the growth of high human capital inside BRICS is conferring military capabilities on BRICS members that were previously unavailable to any but Western Powers. Put another way, the attempt to repeat a Desert Storm scenario anywhere on the Eurasian landmass would spell disaster for American military power. Finally, Washington’s political class manifests much less regard for the long-term strategic interests of its own citizens—their security and prosperity. As a result, Washington pays an exorbitant price in reputation and treasure for policies that confront Palestinians with the choice of death or expulsion from their homelands.

There are many moving parts in the regional strategy outlined at the beginning of this post. Assumptions of tacit acceptance or rapid capitulation are implicit and dangerous. When Hitler was briefed on the expected Soviet reaction to Operation Barbarossa, Major General Ernst Koestring, a Prussian officer fluent in Russian from a family that had lived in Moscow since the reign of Catherine the Great, advised: “Initially, German forces will advance rapidly. The various peoples on the Soviet periphery will likely welcome the German forces. Resistance will be weak. But when the Germans advance into Russian territory, the resistance will be tremendous. The Russian population will fight for every square meter of territory.” Hitler politely thanked him but remained convinced that poor Soviet military performance in Finland in 1939 suggested a different outcome in 1941. Koestring, of course, was right.

Diplomacy is the art of the possible. Warfare is always a gamble. A partial success in the diplomatic sphere is preferable to gambling on success in war that may turn into catastrophic failure. Unless the American electorate demands accountability for what the White House and Congress do in their name, Americans will face a grim reckoning with financial, political, and military reality at home and abroad.

Read more …

Only Spain is honest. EuroNATO doesn’t have the weapons nor the industry capacity.

NATO’s 5% Spending Demand ‘Absolutely Impossible’ – Spain (RT)

NATO member Spain has roundly rejected demands by US President Donald Trump and military bloc chief Mark Rutte to increase its spending on militarisation to 5% of the country’s GDP. European members of the NATO are not capable of meeting the US demand, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles insisted to Spanish lawmakers on Friday, dismissing the 5% target declared by Rutte at last week’s bloc summit as “absolutely impossible” to achieve. ”Everyone is absolutely convinced that right now there is no industry capable of absorbing 5%,” she told the country’s Senate Defense Commission. “We can say whatever we want, we can dress it up or disguise it, but no industry can take it on.”

Madrid pushed back against the target ahead of the summit in the Netherlands, proposing a more modest 2.1% spending level. Last year, Spain stood out as the NATO member dedicating the least percentage of its GDP (1.28%) to the military, compared to 4.12% in the case of Poland. Robles, however, claimed the comparison is misleading. According to Robles, European defense companies lack both the skilled workforce and access to raw materials needed to scale up production – even if governments managed to provide the necessary funding. Other NATO members privately acknowledge the same concerns and are stalling for time, she claimed.

Spain is “a serious, reliable, committed, and responsible ally, who speaks less and does more,” Robles told an event at Madrid’s Higher Center for Defense Studies. The national defense industry “does not need lessons from anyone,” she declared, suggesting Trump “should have used his influence to end the war in Ukraine” instead of pressuring Spain to boost military spending. Trump claimed during his presidential campaign last year that he could end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours.” Since taking office, however, he has acknowledged the situation is more complicated than he initially believed. Moscow views NATO’s intention to grant membership to Ukraine as an existential threat and characterizes the ongoing conflict as a proxy war waged by the bloc “to the last Ukrainian.”

Read more …

Some people present this as positive for Carney. I still see the opposite.

Canada Scraps Digital Service Tax On US Tech Giants To Revive Trade Talks (ZH)

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne wrote on X overnight that Canada has withdrawn its controversial Digital Services Tax (DST) on Silicon Valley tech giants, such as Alphabet and Meta, in order to restart stalled trade negotiations with the Trump administration. It’s another win for President Trump, as his ‘Art of the Deal’ tactics continue to bring far-left progressive countries back in line with his ‘America First’ agenda. “Canada is engaged in complex negotiations on a new economic and security partnership with the U.S.,” Champagne wrote on X late Sunday. He continued, “Rescinding the DST will allow the negotiations to make vital progress and reinforce our work to create jobs and build prosperity for all Canadians.”

As a freser, Canada’s DST was a 3% tax on the revenue that big tech companies earn from Canadian users, specifically from online advertising, marketplaces, and user data. Canada’s move follows President Trump’s Friday afternoon announcement calling for all trade discussions with the country to be terminated. He also threatened to impose new tariffs within a week. Also last Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would investigate the tax to “determine the amount of harm to the U.S. companies and the U.S. economy in general.” The stakes are high for Canada, as three-quarters of its exports are shipped to the U.S.—including energy products, other commodities, and automobiles—so tariffs would be devastating to the local economy. Canada has taken the common-sense approach of returning to the negotiating table with Trump to work out a trade deal that benefits everyone.

UBS analyst Jason Cheng commented overnight on the developments: Canada has withdrawn its digital services tax on technology companies in a move to restart trade talks with the U.S. This came after the pause in talks last Friday when U.S. President Donald Trump called an end to discussions with Canada, in retaliation for the digital tax. USDCAD is trading lower post the headline. Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, told AP News that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s retreat was a “clear victory” for Trump. “President Trump forced PM Carney to do exactly what big tech wanted. U.S. tech executive will be very happy with this outcome,” Béland said. Moments ago, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick thanked Canada for removing the DST tax.

Read more …

“I was No. 1 on TikTok in its history. Can you believe that? … So I guess I like TikTok.”

Trump Says TikTok Buyer Is “Group Of Very Wealthy People” (ZH)

President Donald Trump, in a pre-taped interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, revealed that “a group of very wealthy people” is prepared to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations. While he did not disclose the identities of the investors, Trump hinted that the names could be made public in the coming weeks. “We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way. I think I’ll probably need China approval, and I think President Xi will probably do it,” Trump told Bartiromo, noting, “It’s a group of very wealthy people.” TikTok’s future in the U.S. has been uncertain since the passage of the 2024 bipartisan law, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), which requires the platform’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest its ownership or face a nationwide ban.

The legislation was fueled by growing concerns over various national security threats, including foreign interference in elections and potential misuse of sensitive user data. Just weeks ago, Trump once again delayed enforcement of PAFACA through an executive order, pushing the deadline back to mid-September. The original implementation date had been set for his inauguration in January. Trump has been a supporter of TikTok, recently touting his popularity on the app: “I was No. 1 on TikTok in its history. Can you believe that? … So I guess I like TikTok.” Trump has tasked Vice President JD Vance with overseeing efforts to find a potential buyer, which could include Oracle’s Larry Ellison and firms like Perplexity AI and AppLovin.

Read more …

“I see a lot of bathwater and very little baby.”

When It’s Too Dirty For The CIA…” Benz On USAID’s Litany Of Corruption (ZH)

For those who turned into the live debate last night, we apologize for the ”demonstration of Wirecast” mantra that played repeatedly. This was not a mass MK Ultra sleeper cell activation but a glitch with our streaming software. And, yes, we have an active Wirecast subscription. So… please direct your hate mail to support@telestream.net. That aside — Keith Knight, Mike Benz, and Cenk Uygur — respectively the abolitionist, reformist, and proponent — had a great debate. Here were the highlights for those who missed it: Responding to Cenk’s defense of USAID’s HIV programs with the phrase, “Keep the baby with the bathwater,” Benz retorted sharply: “I see a lot of bathwater and very little baby,” citing forced sterilizations in Peru and aggressive abortion campaigns in Latin America and Africa as evidence that USAID is sometimes involved in “the opposite of saving babies… USAID is taking the lives of babies.”

Benz further detailed covert operations masked as health aid, referencing a CIA-backed, USAID-funded fake vaccine program in Pakistan that collected blood and DNA under the guise of counterterrorism. “Nobody would think [HIV prevention] would be where they would establish a recruiting office for regime change,” he noted on a similar program in Cuba. Even massive charity efforts like Band Aid and Live Aid come under fire, with Benz alleging that “of the 100 million raised, 95 million went to purchase weapons for rebels in Somalia.” In sum, Benz urges scrutiny: “We have to look at what USAID is doing vs. what they say they are doing.”

https://twitter.com/JohnMcCloy/status/1939119325866000788

“When it’s too dirty for the CIA…” Benz’s view boiled down: USAID is a cover arm of U.S. foreign policy. “USAID at its heart is a CIA function.” Even seemingly benign programs—whether about “food security, public health, independent media, [or] rule of law”—are, according to Benz, “secretly accomplishing some goal the State Department wants to achieve.” These programs can also channel funds back home to prop up the “political apparatus” through kickbacks. Benz underscored the lack of oversight, warning that “USAID has only ONE METHOD OF ACCOUNTABILITY… The Inspector General,” and that it can “block Congress,” effectively bypassing legislative checks. Pointing to the Zunzuneo scandal—USAID’s secret attempt to incite an Arab Spring-style uprising in Cuba—Benz noted that when the operation was exposed, “Obama denied knowledge because he didn’t give a presidential finding & the Congress & Senate said we didn’t know this was happening.”

“Foreign aid has gone way too rogue,” he concluded, noting that USAID has now been expelled from eight countries. His prescription is one of reform: “USAID has to go into the shop for repairs before it is driven back out onto the road again.” For the abolitionist perspective — i.e. no foreign aid whatsoever — tune into the full debate below for remarks by Keith Knight, editor at Scott Horton’s Libertarian Institute. Knight is one of the brightest young thinkers among modern libertarians:

Read more …

“Betting against Donald Trump is usually a bad idea.” —Insurrection Barbie on “X”

Stay Sane (James Howard Kunstler)

What apparently riles the credentialed political Left — the “gay / race communists” in the apt new phrase — more than anything, is that most of the country has opted to not be insane. This follows a decade-long attempt to drive the country insane, of course, to believe in things that are patently untrue and absurd, and to utilize falsehood and absurdity to garishly destroy the nation.

So, it fits that Donald Trump, the uber-realist of political game-playing, pushes what remains of the Democratic Party into a rapture of impotent rage. They’ve got nothing left but the empty acting-out of lunatics in an asylum of their own making. The wrathful grass-widows choking on their chardonnay in Martha’s Vineyard, the furious nose-rings steaming under their keffiyehs in the summer heat, the “Transtifas” storming police lines with their ridiculous umbrellas, the doddering Boomer-hippies reenacting the festive protest marches of 1968, minus a single coherent principle, the wigged-out congresspersons storming the ICE detention centers, the Covid vaccine victims duped into multiple organ failure (their hearts and brains especially), the “allies” of every loser group from Bangor to Brentwood in a frenzy of baffled grievance — these poor, lost wretches so far gone that even the likes of David Axelrod, James Carville, and Frank Luntz can’t stand to be associated with them anymore, is all the Democrats have left in their manure-stuffed donkey stable.

The abiding mystery remains: what exactly set in motion this fantastic cascade of political madness, especially among the highly educated demographic. The seemingly obvious answer is higher education itself, infested since the 1960s with Marxist zealots, sexual malcontents, and resentment-filled diversity hires. And while that has surely played its part, it doesn’t sufficiently explain the ugly dynamic.

Another explanation runs toward a plot by international “oligarchical” corruptniks to corner all the goodies of the world and either turn the rest of us into their slaves, or just kill us off — and to do it in such a way as to rub it in our faces, so as to provide the corruptniks with some mirthful entertainment as they go about their dastardly business. For instance, the recent weekend wedding of Huma Abedin and Alex Soros on the very day that the moiling minions whom they sponsor held their nationwide “No Kings” rallies inn the streets.

Huma, the bride, you recall, was Hillary Clinton’s sidekick back in Hillary’s glory days, especially the time of her glorious and inevitable rise (her regal “turn”) to occupy the White House, thwarted inconceivably by the preposterous showman, Mr. Trump. Hillary, you also might recall, left the White House broke-ass-broke in 2001 only to agglomerate a stupendous multi-hundred-million-dollar fortune working as a US Senator and then Secretary of State (salaries $170,000 and $260,600 respectively). That is, Hillary acquired her great fortune in about the same way that the royalty-of-old acquired theirs — by grift and theft.

And Huma, former wife of disgraced congressman and convicted Internet pervert Anthony Weiner, is now wed to decade-younger financial royalist Alex Soros, son of George, who made the bulk of his fortune (estimated $7.2-billion) shorting the British pound sterling in 1992 and went on to found a vast array of NGOs and so-called philanthropies (the Open Society Foundations) that specialize in influencing elections worldwide, conducting regime-change campaigns, and lately financing seditious movements within the United States. Heir-apparent Alex is reported to have taken over the day-to-day operations of that network — but, we must have no kings, you understand.

Read more …

The next Fed chief?

Bessent Slams Fed For Delay On Rate Decisions (ZH)

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday criticized Federal Reserve policymakers for what he described as their hesitant posture on interest rates, while signaling that the U.S. Treasury is unlikely to alter its current strategy on debt issuance by increasing long-term bond sales. In a wide-ranging interview, Bessent said that recent yields on long-duration Treasurys make it a poor time to lengthen the government’s debt profile. “Why would we do that?” Bessent said on Bloomberg Television. “The time to have done that would have been in 2021, 2022.” Ten-year Treasury yields currently stand at about 4.26%, well above the levels of shorter-term instruments such as the two-year note (3.73%) and 12-month bills (3.81%). Bessent suggested issuing more long-term bonds at these rates would be counterproductive, especially given his expectation that inflation will continue to moderate and pull interest rates lower across the maturity spectrum.

“As we see inflation come down, I think the whole curve in parallel can shift down,” he said, referencing the Treasury yield curve, a key barometer for economic sentiment. Bessent, who succeeded Janet Yellen as Treasury chief, has retained much of his predecessor’s issuance strategy, despite having previously criticized her for over-reliance on short-term borrowing. At the time, he argued the policy was politically motivated to suppress long-term borrowing costs ahead of the 2024 election. But Bessent emphasized that now is not the moment to pivot. “Why would we do it at these rates, if we are more than one standard deviation above the long-term rate?” he asked rhetorically.

While expressing confidence in the direction of fiscal policy and trade strategy, Bessent leveled pointed criticism at the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting stance. They “seem a little frozen at the wheel,” he said of Fed officials. “My worry here is that, having fallen down on the American people in 2022, the Fed’s now looking at their feet,” rather than looking ahead. The Treasury Secretary cited the Fed’s delayed response to rising prices in 2022 as a pivotal misstep and warned that similar inertia could hinder the central bank’s ability to respond to changing economic conditions. “The Fed made a gigantic mistake in 2022,” he added.

Bessent also pushed back against the idea that recent tariffs have stoked inflation. “We have seen no inflation from tariffs,” he said, calling such effects “transitory” and suggesting they result in only a one-time price adjustment. He hinted at more trade activity on the horizon, saying he expects a “flurry of trade deals” in the days leading up to the July 9 negotiating deadline. The U.S. has already reached agreements with the United Kingdom and China, with ongoing talks still underway.

Meanwhile, as speculation mounts over who might succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell when his term ends in May 2026, Bessent acknowledged that discussions are already underway. “Obviously there are people who are currently at the Fed who are under consideration,” he said, adding that the administration is eyeing the January 2026 seat opening as a potential stepping stone for the next chair. Observers have noted Governor Christopher Waller – a Trump-era appointee who has recently called for possible rate cut – as a likely contender. Bessent also mentioned that current Governor Adriana Kugler’s term concludes in January, providing another possible opening for strategic appointments. He downplayed speculation about his own interest in the job. “I’ll do whatever the president wants,” he said, but added that he already has the “best job in DC”

Looking forward, Bessent expressed optimism about the direction of U.S. fiscal strategy. He voiced support for the Republican budget bill currently advancing in Congress, describing it as a “start” in the effort to bring U.S. debt under control while promoting economic growth. Bessent also suggested that we could see a lowering of rates, as inflation is “very tame,” adding that he is confident the fiscal policy bill will progress in the coming hours.

Read more …

“..terrible vaccines, dangerous food additives, horrible health effects from toxic food chemicals, along with corruption, bribery and pay-to-play schemes..”

“..someone ought to tell him he’s the Health and Human Services Secretary now..”

HHS Head RFK Jr Tells Tucker Carlson all the Terrible Stuff HHS is Doing (CTH)

As Robert F Kennedy Jr outlines all the bad things the Health and Human Services agency is doing, terrible vaccines, dangerous food additives, horrible health effects from toxic food chemicals, along with corruption, bribery and pay-to-play schemes within the medical advisory system, someone ought to tell him he’s the Health and Human Services Secretary now. Secretary RFK JR sits down with Tucker Carlson to outline all the deleterious impacts from the processes that flow out of the healthcare system he now controls.

Chapters:
0:00 The Organized Opposition to RFK’s Mission
6:46 Uncovering the Reason for Skyrocketing Rates of Autism
13:41 How Big Pharma Enslaves Doctors and Profits off Sickness
24:22 Is It Possible to End the Corrupt Relationship Between Big Pharma and Corporate Media?
33:35 Will RFK End Vaccine Company’s Lawsuits Immunity?
38:37 The Most Damaging Vaccine in History
47:49 Will There Be Compensation for the Vaccine-Injured?
53:47 Did the Covid Vaccine Kill More People Than It Saved?
57:50 RFK’s Firing of So-Called “Experts”
1:01:58 How Big Pharma Makes Billions off the Vaccine Schedule
1:05:08 The Real Reason Fauci Got a Pardon
1:10:42 When Will We See the Declassification of the JFK, RFK, and MLK Files?
1:20:51 How Trump Is Transforming Washington

Read more …

“Apparently the Apple and Google stores have authorized the ICE Block app to be downloaded from their services.”

CNN Promotes ICE App to Help Illegal Aliens Avoid Capture (CTH)

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about this earlier today during her press briefing. CNN is promoting an early warning system for cell phone users that alerts them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity. In response, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said, “This sure looks like obstruction of justice. Our brave ICE law enforcement face a 500% increase in assaults against them. If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Apparently the Apple and Google stores have authorized the ICE Block app to be downloaded from their services. There are a lot of vested financial interests in the human trafficking and illegal alien business. This ICE Block app, is part of the system that perpetuates the exploitation and criminal illegal activity. Given the nature of the national security interests involved, one has to wonder how this type of technology does not run afoul of the law. UPDATE: As noted, there could be positives. Download the App., and if you encounter a long checkout line at WalMart, Home Depot, DMV or Post Office etc., activate the ICE alert and watch what happens.

Read more …

“Trump seems to be saying that instead of war let’s go into business together.”

Trump the Greatest American President in History? (Paul Craig Roberts)

The violence that has been the primary characteristic of the 21st century has reached a level of recklessness that threatens life on our planet. It was only the other day that some unidentified person or agency green-lighted an attack on Russia’s strategic triad. According to Russian war doctrine, this attack, of which President Trump says he was unaware, requires a Russian strategic response. Putin, being a humane and reasonable person averse to war , side-stepped the issue by declaring the attack to be an act of terrorism and not of war. It is extraordinary that no one is interested in identifying who so irresponsibly green-lighted an attack that could have initiated nuclear war. How can Washington and the Kremlin be so insouciant and uninterested in a provocation that could have resulted in nuclear war? Whoever green-lighted the attack did not know that Putin would simply not acknowledge that such an attack took place. Whoever green-lighted the attack was OK with launching a nuclear war. What is to prevent such a thing again happening?

We must be thankful that Putin side-stepped the issue. But we must also consider the effect of Putin’s side-stepping the attack. The person or agency that authorized the attack must be confident that Russia will never respond to any provocation, and, therefore, the provocations will increase in their intensity. At some point, it won’t be possible for Putin to side-step the provocation. Thus, Putin might be bringing on the war he hopes to avoid by side-stepping provocations. In addition to the conflict with Russia, there is the conflict with Iran. Netanyahu, using the powerful influence of the Israel Lobby over Washington, pressured President Trump to bomb Iran’s uranium enrichment sites, claiming without evidence that Iran was producing a nuclear weapon.

Trump in what might be an act of brilliance dropped the bombs on the Iranian sites and declared them obliterated whether they were or not, thereby removing Netanyahu’s only argument for war with Iran. With the nuclear facilities destroyed, there can be no bomb. Thus, Trump removed Netanyahu’s case for preemptive war against Iran, thereby removing the reason for wider conflict in the Middle East. Let’s hope Iran understands what has really happened, and cooperates with President Trump in removing the conflict from the agenda. There still remains anger caused by Israel’s merciless destruction of Gaza and its people. How a people who claim to be victims of a holocaust can submit Palestinians to one is difficult to comprehend. But the Arab states that could protest have all been destroyed by American presidents for Israel.

Washington’s bombs have turned Iraq, Libya, and Syria into non-functioning states, and Hezbollah has been decapitated and cut off from supplies. The only remaining Arab country is Saudi Arabia, the military ability of which is marginal. Washington sicced the Saudis on Yemen, and it was unsuccessful. The Houthis are the only remaining Arabs, other than the remains of Hamas, who continue to oppose Israel. They are dependent on Iran, who are Persians, not Arabs, and if Trump has succeeded in removing Netanyahu’s justification for war with Iran, it seems likely that Iran will call off the Houthis. This opens a chance for peace in the Middle East after a quarter century of America’s wars against Arabs for Israel, wars disguised as a “war on terror” and “bringing democracy” in order to deceive the American people about the expenditure of trillions of American taxpayers’ dollars for the exclusive benefit of Israel, while American veterans who were deceived into fighting the wars for Greater Israel are left to live on the streets.

Previously, in a joint news conference with Netanyahu, Trump declared Gaza as a US possession that would be the anchor of an American reconstructed Middle East. In place of Greater Israel–an aspiration, not a reality–which with its recent Israeli additions now extends from the Nile to include Pakistan and half of Saudi Arabia, Trump indicated that there would be a profit-sharing American colony, unlike the colonial extractive colonies of prior times. Trump has talked it up with the Saudis, and there are indications that he wants to add Iran to the deal. Trump seems to be saying that instead of war let’s go into business together. This plan requires the Zionists to give up their agenda for Israeli hegemony over the Middle East. Can the Zionists help to save the world from war?

If Trump can pull this off, assuming that he is thinking along this line–he is so changeable that it is hard to know–Trump would go down as the greatest president in American history. Instead of Muslims and Israelis exhausting themselves in wars, they would be making money together. There is no better outcome. Can we get there?

Read more …

“Tether holds more US Treasurys than Germany.”

Don’t know enough about this yet.

Stablecoins Are Becoming ‘Default Settlement Layer’ For Internet (CT)

Stablecoins have become the backbone of internet payments, with adoption now outpacing major traditional card networks in onchain volume, according to Noam Hurwitz, head of engineering at Alchemy.
Hurwitz told Cointelegraph that stablecoins have seen “explosive” adoption, adding that they are “becoming the default settlement layer for the internet.” Companies like PayPal and Stripe are integrating stablecoins to leverage onchain infrastructure, enabling faster and cheaper transactions. “They’ve already surpassed Visa and Mastercard in onchain volume by 7%,” Hurwitz noted, signaling a decisive shift in how money moves online. Alchemy, which provides infrastructure to some of the largest stablecoin ecosystems, is at the center of this transformation. Hurwitz said Alchemy is “the onchain provider for Robinhood Wallet” and powers stablecoin flows for fintech giants like Visa, Stripe, Circle, and PayPal.

Hurwitz said that stablecoins make money “cheap, fast, global, and secure to transfer.” These features have made them popular for various purposes, with broad adoption emerging across cross-border payments and prediction markets like Polymarket. He added that stablecoins have become massive buyers of US Treasurys, with Tether alone generating $13 billion in profits last year while holding around $113 billion in US debt. “Tokenized money is the base of the tokenized financial system,” Hurwitz said, calling recent financial innovation built on this foundation “exciting.” Hurwitz said stablecoins are already functioning as the “default rails” for internet payments in many respects but flagged challenges stemming from the fragmented blockchain landscape.

Institutions, he explained, want to move quickly but must assess provider reliability and counterparty risks, especially in a nascent industry. “Can a small startup really support enterprise-grade operations while building and scaling the services they need?” he asked. Hurwitz pointed to Kinexys, a tokenized bank deposit launched by JP Morgan, as a major milestone. The permissioned deposit token enables institutional clients to access yield-bearing deposits on a public blockchain with “24/7 settlement, near real-time liquidity and the potential ability to pay interest to holders.” Last week, the US Senate passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, a landmark bill establishing federal guardrails for stablecoins.

“With the recent passage of the Genius Act, the regulatory landscape is becoming clearer and more structured, which benefits established financial players while also encouraging innovation,” Hurwitz said. Meanwhile, Hurwitz pointed out key technical bottlenecks in improving developer and end-user experience despite strong growth. “Companies benefit immensely from settling on crypto rails, but want to decouple the user experience from the underlying technology — and doing so takes deep technical expertise,” he explained. Looking ahead, Hurwitz expects most financial services to deploy their own blockchains, especially layer 2 networks, to better scale and monetize their ecosystems.

He predicted that infrastructure improvements would drive “seamless crosschain interoperability” between these networks, enabling a more connected and efficient financial system built on stablecoins. Despite Hurwitz’s optimistic view of stablecoins, a new Bank for International Settlements (BIS) report challenges the notion that they can serve as money in a modern financial system. The BIS Annual Economic Report 2025 claims stablecoins fail critical singleness, elasticity, and integrity tests. The organization described stablecoins as “digital bearer instruments” that resemble financial assets more than actual money.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Marik

Pfizer

RFK
https://twitter.com/DiedSuddenly_/status/1939468926708298061
Scott
https://twitter.com/AutismCapital/status/1939363439971021280

 

 

Support the Automatic Earth in wartime with Paypal, Bitcoin and Patreon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Forums Debt Rattle July 1 2025

Viewing 12 posts - 41 through 52 (of 52 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #191271
    jb-hb
    Participant

    straight sided Mason Jars

    https://i.imgflip.com/4pw07x.jpg

    #191272
    poppie
    Participant

    A thought that might appear random. But it gets tagged by lots of articles. Tenure is intended to protect people from political repercussions. Doesnt that make staying out of politics a condition of tenure? Political activity should void tenure. Do you have any right to both political activism and tenure?

    #191273
    those darned kids
    Participant

    germ, you should find those kids and tell them their recently deceased father was a cunt.

    #191274
    WES
    Participant

    CitizenX:

    “Soap” Operas do not contain ”soap” but detergent!

    #191275
    those darned kids
    Participant

    true hexadec,

    but

    the united states uses all that juice for air conditioning and cat videos

    while

    china uses it to make “pressure-cookers, instapots, microwaves, ovens, stoves, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, bread machines, refrigeration. water from the faucet, flush toilets”.

    #191276
    jb-hb
    Participant

    china uses it to make “pressure-cookers, instapots, microwaves, ovens, stoves, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, bread machines, refrigeration. water from the faucet, flush toilets”.

    working that problem…

    https://i.imgflip.com/9pj0lc.jpg

    #191277
    those darned kids
    Participant

    i’d rather listen to a trudeau/trump rap battle than tom petty,

    but those are simple, beautiful lyrics.

    You better listen my brother
    ‘Cause if you do you can hear
    There are voices still callin’ from across the years
    And they’re cryin’ across the ocean
    And they’re cryin’ across the land
    And they will until we all come to understand

    That none of us are free
    None of us are free
    None of us are free if one of us is chained
    None of us are free

    #191278

    John Day- I date myself. : )
    Keep on truckin’!

    jb-hb: thanks for the update on your well-worded letter. Hickenlooper may not have read it, but it sounds like somebody did.

    #191279
    Topcat
    Participant

    #191280
    Topcat
    Participant

    We don’t need people anymore.

    Didn’t you get the memo meme?

    Don’t need people, they just need Consumers, they’re not the same thing apparently.

    Takeover Begins: Robots Set To Outnumber Humans At Amazon Warehouses

    “Amazon hasn’t set a public date for fully replacing warehouse workers with robots, but all indicators suggest a gradual transition is well underway, with significant workforce reductions likely, alongside productivity gains driven by automation and AI through the 2030s.

    The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon, the nation’s second-largest private employer in the U.S., is quickly approaching a new milestone in warehouse automation:

    “There will soon be as many robots as humans.” This equates to over a million robots.”

    AI generated and proof read this message”

    #191281
    Dr D Rich
    Participant

    @tdk

    No one should hold kids responsible and accountable for their father’s bad choices. As I understood it from one off Obama’s jackasses both of Anwar al-Awlaki’s two beautiful children Nawar and Abdulrahman were held accountable for “choosing the wrong father”. No one in the military should have carried out those orders and those perpetrators should at least be tried for Child Abuse and murder/manslaughter with an open warrant for their immediate arrest from now until eternity.
    It takes backbone and fortitude to stand against the crowd especially when your brave employer mixes cowardly and anonymously within that same crowd.
    Few have it….probably like 1 out of 75 million

    #191282
    those darned kids
    Participant

    these lowlifes need to chose the Right Father.

    one of them, please.

    For whom the LORD loves, He rebukes,
    As a father the son whom he favors.
    אַשְׁרֵ֣י אָ֭דָם מָצָ֣א חׇכְמָ֑ה וְ֝אָדָ֗ם יָפִ֥יק תְּבוּנָֽה׃
    Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
    The man who attains understanding.
    כִּ֤י ט֣וֹב סַ֭חְרָהּ מִסְּחַר־כָּ֑סֶף וּ֝מֵחָר֗וּץ תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃
    Her value in trade is better than silver,
    Her yield, greater than gold.
    יְקָ֣רָה הִ֭יא (מפניים) [מִפְּנִינִ֑ים] וְכׇל־חֲ֝פָצֶ֗יךָ לֹ֣א יִֽשְׁווּ־בָֽהּ׃
    She is more precious than rubies;
    All of your goods cannot equal her.
    אֹ֣רֶךְ יָ֭מִים בִּֽימִינָ֑הּ בִּ֝שְׂמֹאולָ֗הּ עֹ֣שֶׁר וְכָבֽוֹד׃
    In her right hand is length of days,
    In her left, riches and honor.
    דְּרָכֶ֥יהָ דַרְכֵי־נֹ֑עַם וְֽכׇל־נְתִ֖יבוֹתֶ֣יהָ שָׁלֽוֹם׃
    Her ways are pleasant ways,
    And all her paths, peaceful.
    עֵץ־חַיִּ֣ים הִ֭יא לַמַּחֲזִיקִ֣ים בָּ֑הּ וְֽתֹמְכֶ֥יהָ מְאֻשָּֽׁר׃ {פ}
    She is a tree of life to those who grasp her,
    And whoever holds on to her is happy.
    יְֽהֹוָ֗ה בְּחׇכְמָ֥ה יָסַד־אָ֑רֶץ כּוֹנֵ֥ן שָׁ֝מַ֗יִם בִּתְבוּנָֽה׃
    The LORD founded the earth by wisdom;
    He established the heavens by understanding;
    בְּ֭דַעְתּוֹ תְּהוֹמ֣וֹת נִבְקָ֑עוּ וּ֝שְׁחָקִ֗ים יִרְעֲפוּ־טָֽל׃
    By His knowledge the depths burst apart,
    And the skies distilled dew.
    בְּ֭נִי אַל־יָלֻ֣זוּ מֵעֵינֶ֑יךָ נְצֹ֥ר תֻּ֝שִׁיָּ֗ה וּמְזִמָּֽה׃
    My son, do not lose sight of them;
    Hold on to resourcefulness and foresight.
    וְיִֽהְי֣וּ חַיִּ֣ים לְנַפְשֶׁ֑ךָ וְ֝חֵ֗ן לְגַרְגְּרֹתֶֽיךָ׃
    They will give life to your spirit
    And grace to your throat.
    אָ֤ז תֵּלֵ֣ךְ לָבֶ֣טַח דַּרְכֶּ֑ךָ וְ֝רַגְלְךָ֗ לֹ֣א תִגּֽוֹף׃
    Then you will go your way safely
    And not injure your feet.
    אִם־תִּשְׁכַּ֥ב לֹֽא־תִפְחָ֑ד וְ֝שָׁכַבְתָּ֗ וְֽעָרְבָ֥ה שְׁנָתֶֽךָ׃
    When you lie down you will be unafraid;
    You will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
    אַל־תִּ֭ירָא מִפַּ֣חַד פִּתְאֹ֑ם וּמִשֹּׁאַ֥ת רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים כִּ֣י תָבֹֽא׃
    You will not fear sudden terror
    Or the disaster that comes upon the wicked,
    כִּֽי־יְ֭הֹוָה יִֽהְיֶ֣ה בְכִסְלֶ֑ךָ וְשָׁמַ֖ר רַגְלְךָ֣ מִלָּֽכֶד׃
    For the LORD will be your trust;
    He will keep your feet from being caught.
    אַל־תִּמְנַע־ט֥וֹב מִבְּעָלָ֑יו בִּֽהְי֨וֹת לְאֵ֖ל (ידיך)

Viewing 12 posts - 41 through 52 (of 52 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.