Jul 162025
 


Pablo Picasso Portrait de femme (Dora Maar) 1943

 

Trump’s Ukraine Reversal Represents ‘Complete Betrayal Of America First’ (Sp.)
Trump Believes Russia Will Win – Politico (RT)
Trump Under ‘Improper Pressure’ From EU and NATO – Lavrov
Ghislaine Maxwell Is ‘Ready’ to Testify (Margolis)
Trump Asked Zelensky About Striking Moscow, Making Putin ‘Feel The Pain’ (NYP)
Trump Tells Zelensky Not To Attack Moscow (RT)
EU Welcomes Trump’s Ultimatum To Russia (RT)
EU Tells US To ‘Share The Burden’ For Ukraine Weapons (RT)
Slovak PM Fico Denounces Brussels’ ‘Imbecilic’ Russia Plan (RT)
Tick Tock Co-Pilot John Solomon Says FBI Currently Investigating “Conspiracy” (CTH)
The European Surprise—Why We Misread the Continent’s Shifts (ET)
Bessent Says “Formal Process” To Find Successor To Jerome Powell Has Begun (ZH)
Marc Andreessen: ‘Universities Declared War On 70% Of The Country’ (ZH)
Trump Says He Spoke to Bongino Amid Reports of Infighting (ET)
Media Runs Interference as Biden Autopen Scandal Explodes (Margolis)

 

 

 

 

Walsh

KIRK

vote
https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/1944982103470248326

 

 

 

 

Ex-US Army staff officer David Pyne gets it.

Trump’s Ukraine Reversal Represents ‘Complete Betrayal Of America First’ (Sp.)

Donald Trump is on the brink of tearing up his ‘no foreign wars, pro-peace’ pre-election pledge on Ukraine, with plans to deliver more weapons, and threats against Russia edging him closer toward inheriting “Biden’s war.” Sputnik asked a renowned US geopolitics and military affairs expert to break it down. The president claims that his plans to ramp up arms deliveries to Ukraine and threaten Russia with secondary tariffs are designed to help end the conflict, “when in fact these steps are serving to prolong and escalate the war unnecessarily with no end in sight,” ex-US Army staff officer David Pyne says. “Trump fails to understand that it is US military assistance to Ukrainian dictator Volodymyr Zelensky that is the chief obstacle to achieving a realistic and durable peace settlement, not an unwillingness on the part of Putin to compromise,” Pyne, deputy head of the EMP Task Force, told Sputnik.

Since the policy reversal “represents a complete betrayal of Trump’s America First conservative voting base,” who elected him in part based on his pledge to end the crisis, it threatens to derail his presidency, according to Pyne. “If Trump continues in this foolish course of pursuing war instead of peace, not only will it increase the risk of a future direct military confrontation with Russia, but it will likely serve to further fracture his America First conservative base, enabling the Democrats to seize control of Congress in the November 2026 midterm elections,” the observer predicts. Pyne’s recommendation? End all US weapons and offensive intelligence support to Ukraine, pressure Zelensky to resign and hold elections, and broadly, accept Russia’s peace terms, so that Trump can get back to his “overriding grand strategic vision” of a “geostrategic partnership with Russia.”

Read more …

“The president’s view is Russia is going to win; it’s a matter of how long it takes,” the White House official told the outlet..”

Trump Believes Russia Will Win – Politico (RT)

US President Donald Trump believes that Russian victory in the Ukraine conflict is inevitable, Politico reported, citing a senior White House official. On Monday, Trump threatened to impose secondary US tariffs of up to 100% on Russia’s trading partners unless progress toward a peace agreement is made within 50 days. He also authorized new weapons deliveries to Ukraine, which are to be paid for by European NATO members. Moscow has warned that Trump’s declaration could be seen by Kiev as a signal to continue the war. According to Politico, Trump decided to up the pressure on Moscow out of frustration with continued Russian strikes on Ukraine. The source noted that the US president believes that Moscow can secure military victory against Kiev thanks to its “bigger economy” and “bigger military.”

“The president’s view is Russia is going to win; it’s a matter of how long it takes,” the White House official told the outlet, noting Moscow’s progress on the battlefield. In recent months, Russian forces have continued to gain ground, fully liberating the Lugansk People’s Republic, as well as the Kursk Region, which was invaded by Ukrainian forces last year. Russia has rejected Trump’s latest ultimatum, while condemning attempts to pressure it. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov asserted that this approach is “unacceptable” and demanded that Washington and NATO respect Russia’s interests and concerns.

Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it is open to conducting negotiations based on mutual respect with the aim of settling the Ukraine conflict diplomatically. However, Russian officials have also said they see no genuine effort on the part of Kiev or the West to pursue peace and repeatedly slammed calls by Western officials to inflict “strategic defeat” on Russia. Russia has emphasized that it remains determined to achieve the goals of its military operation in Ukraine and, while it would prefer to do so through diplomacy, it is prepared to use military means if necessary.

Read more …

“We are already dealing with an unprecedented number of sanctions, and I am certain we can handle more.” “..they are more likely to impact European economies than Russia’s.”

Trump Under ‘Improper Pressure’ From EU and NATO – Lavrov

US President Donald Trump is facing “improper pressure” from the European Union and NATO leaders to adopt a hardline stance on the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday. On Monday, Trump announced future deliveries of advanced weapons systems to Ukraine, which the US president said would be funded by European NATO members. Trump also issued an ultimatum threatening Russia and its trading partners with new economic sanctions unless the Ukraine conflict is resolved within 50 days. ”Clearly, [Trump] is under enormous – improper, I would say – pressure by the European Union and current NATO leaders,” Lavrov said during a press conference following a ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tianjin, China.

He added that the “regime” of Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky continues to request weapons donations “at the mounting expense of Western taxpayers.” Lavrov noted that Russia has previously received multiple ultimatums involving deadlines and demands for concessions on what it considers its core strategic objectives in the Ukraine conflict. He downplayed the effectiveness of new sanctions, arguing they are more likely to impact European economies than Russia’s.

”Trump clearly explained that Europe will be paying for all of that,” Lavrov said. “European economists and political experts who are objective acknowledge that this sanctions war is damaging the nations who initiated it. We are already dealing with an unprecedented number of sanctions, and I am certain we can handle more.” The minister reaffirmed Moscow’s position that NATO instigated the crisis by threatening Russia’s national security through its meddling in Ukraine. The West has pursued a containment strategy against Russia for decades and ignored repeated warnings from Moscow, Lavrov added.

Read more …

If they can bury the files, they can do the same with her.

Ghislaine Maxwell Is ‘Ready’ to Testify (Margolis)

Well, isn’t this just the plot twist America’s corrupt ruling class was hoping you’d ignore? Ghislaine Maxwell is suddenly ready to spill the beans before Congress about Jeffrey Epstein’s whole operation. But, here’s where the story gets weird. “Despite the rumors, Ghislaine was never offered any kind of plea deal. She would be more than happy to sit before Congress and tell her story,” a source told The Daily Mail. “No-one from the government has ever asked her to share what she knows. She remains the only person to be jailed in connection to Epstein and she would welcome the chance to tell the American public the truth.” So, the only person ever jailed for Epstein’s monstrous crimes, and the government can’t be bothered to ask, “Hey, who else was involved?” Give me a break. If you believe that’s an accident, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Maxwell argues she should have been protected from prosecution as part of a Non Prosecution Agreement made by Epstein – her former lover and boss – in 2007 when he agreed to plead guilty to two minor charges of prostitution in a ‘sweetheart deal’ which saw him spend little time behind bars. And now, controversy continues to rage over the Department of Justice’s statement that there is no Epstein ‘client list’ and the release of videos from inside New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center which the DOJ says proves he committed suicide in 2019 while being held in jail on sex trafficking charges. Critics have pointed to the fact that there is a crucial minute missing from the jail house video that also does not show the door or, indeed, the inside of Epstein’s jail cell.

The scandal – and alleged ‘cover up’ – has prompted a rebellion amongst President Trump’s loyal MAGA base. Some even believe Attorney General Pam Bondi should be fired after promising to release all files relating to Epstein and his high-profile male friends only to apparently renege on that promise. What’s really at stake here isn’t just the sordid details of Epstein’s operation. It’s the principle that in America, no one is above the law. Or at least, that’s what we’re supposed to believe. But every time Congress shrugs off a chance to get real answers—every time the Deep State buries evidence, every time the media gaslights the public—it becomes clearer that there’s one set of rules for the elites and another for the rest of us.

If Ghislaine Maxwell is willing to testify, how Congress handles it will speak volumes. The Epstein scandal isn’t just another controversy—it’s a litmus test for whether truth still has a place in American politics. If our elected leaders choose to look the other way, they’ve forfeited any moral claim to the power they hold. The Biden administration was happy to bury it, hoping the story would fade. But Trump made it clear on the campaign trail: he wants the truth exposed, and so does the MAGA movement. The American people deserve real answers—no matter how damning they might be for the elites pulling the strings. If we let this story die, we’re telling the swamp that they can get away with anything. And that, more than any memo or media spin, is the real threat to our republic.

https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/1945218096949604858

Read more …

If you look at the ruble or Moscow’s stock exchange, it doesn’t look like the economy is ‘cracking’.

Trump Asked Zelensky About Striking Moscow, Making Putin ‘Feel The Pain’ (NYP)

President Trump privately questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about whether Kyiv could blast Moscow and St Petersburg if needed to make Russians “feel the pain” and come to the negotiating table, according to a report. “Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? … Can you hit St Petersburg too?” Trump asked on a July 4 call with Zelensky, a day after the president had a disappointing phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the Financial Times reported, citing multiple sources. Zelensky, who has pressed Western powers for years to provide more long-range missiles, reportedly replied, “Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.”

The White House insisted in a statement to The Post that the comments should not be taken out of context, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushing back on the Financial Times’ framing of the call, which suggested Trump encouraged Zelensky to step up strikes deep into Russian territory. “The Financial Times is notorious for taking words wildly out of context to get clicks because their paper is dying,” Leavitt told The Post. “President Trump was merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing. He’s working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war.” Trump’s reported query came after he spoke with Putin and was left convinced that the Kremlin wasn’t going to halt its war machine.

The reported question marks a significant turnaround from Trump’s explosive Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting with Zelensky, in which he raged that the Ukrainian leader was “gambling with World War III” and that “you don’t have the cards right now.” On Monday, Trump announced a deal with NATO for the US to step up its supply of weapons to Ukraine, including Patriot missile systems and what he called a “full complement” of firepower to the war-torn ally. The deal could also include offensive weapons, such as long-range missiles to strike deep into Russia, Axios reported Monday. This would be critical for Ukraine as it will enable Kyiv to attack Russian machinery and weapons that have been used to bombard its cities, rather than relying on defensive measures.

Ukraine had carried out a daring military strike deep in Russian territory last month, known as Operation Spiderweb, in which it snuck a fleet of suicide drones into Russia and destroyed about a dozen bombers. In addition to the plan to send weapons to Ukraine, Trump also gave Putin a 50-day ultimatum to achieve some sort of peace agreement or else face 100% secondary tariffs, meaning countries that do business with Moscow will face the stiff levies. That economic threat comes as Russia’s economy minister warned last month that his country is “on the brink of recession.” Over the past three years, Russia has tapped into its National Wealth Fund, printed money and worked to evade the crippling sanctions imposed against it over its bloody onslaught against neighboring Ukraine.

But there are signs that its economic resilience is beginning to crack as the US and Europe look to further tighten the screws and close off workarounds. Late last month, Putin publicly announced plans to cut Russia’s military budget for next year, but didn’t specify how much. Throughout his second term, Trump had aggressively sought to broker a peace deal between the two warring countries. In recent weeks, however, the US president vented that he felt Putin was tapping him along. “I speak to him [Putin] a lot about getting this thing done. And I always hang up and say, ‘Well, that was a nice phone call,’” Trump said of his calls with the Russian leader over the past six months. “And then missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city. And I said, ‘Strange.’ And after that happens three or four times, you say the talk doesn’t mean anything.”

https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1945071924792451473

Read more …

“Leavitt insisted that Trump was “merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing..”

How does that rhyme with sending more weapons, like long range missiles?

Trump Tells Zelensky Not To Attack Moscow (RT)

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he told Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky not to target Moscow with military strikes. The statement comes in response to media speculation that he had encouraged Kiev to carry out long-range missile attacks deep into Russia. The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Trump had privately asked Zelensky whether he could hit Moscow and St. Petersburg if Washington supplied long-range weapons. Zelensky reportedly replied that he could. Asked by reporters whether Zelensky ought to fire missiles at Russia’s capital, Trump replied “No, he shouldn’t target Moscow.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the FT of twisting the president’s words, saying it is “notorious for taking words wildly out of context to get clicks because their paper is dying.”

Leavitt insisted that Trump was “merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing,” stressing that the president was “working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also weighed in on the report, noting that “as a rule, all of this usually turns out to be fake.” He added, however, that “sometimes there are indeed serious leaks, even in publications we once considered quite respectable.” The FT report followed on Trump’s ultimatum to Moscow, in which he threatened to impose “severe” secondary tariffs on Russia’s trade partners if no progress towards peace is made within 50 days. Trump also announced future deliveries of advanced weapons systems to Ukraine, which are to be funded by European NATO members.

Since taking office in January, Trump has maintained that he wants the neighboring countries to make peace and has had several phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin that were focused on settling the conflict s
Moscow says it remains open to negotiating with Kiev but has yet to receive a response on when new peace talks will take place. The two sides have held two rounds of direct negotiations in Istanbul so far this year, but no breakthroughs were achieved, other than agreements to carry out large-scale prisoner exchanges. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Tuesday that EU and NATO leaders have put Trump under “improper pressure” to adopt a hardline stance on the conflict.

Read more …

Russia wants peace badly, but not on western terms.

EU Welcomes Trump’s Ultimatum To Russia (RT)

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Russia’s trading partners unless a deal with Ukraine is reached within 50 days, calling it a “positive” step. Moscow, however, has warned that Trump’s declaration could be seen by Kiev as a signal to continue the war. Trump said on Monday that he was “very, very unhappy” with the protracted negotiation process, warning Moscow of “severe” secondary tariffs of up to 100% unless the sides move towards a settlement. “It is very positive that President Trump is taking a strong stance on Russia,” Kallas, known for her hawkish stance on Moscow, said at a press briefing. She suggested, however, that Trump’s deadline may not be enough to “pressure” Russia.

”50 days is a very long time… It is clear that we all need to put more pressure on Russia so that they would also want peace,” she stated, calling for Washington to continue supporting Kiev militarily.Russia has repeatedly denounced Western arms supplies to Ukraine, saying they prolong the conflict without changing its course. Moscow has also condemned sanctions as illegal under international law. Russia and Ukraine have held two rounds of direct talks in Istanbul over the past two months. Both sides agreed to major prisoner swaps and exchanged proposals on potential ways towards a settlement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Moscow remains open to negotiations but has not received a response on the timing of the next round from Kiev.Peskov described Trump’s ultimatum as “quite serious,” but noted that Russia needs time to analyze it. He also warned that the shift in Washington’s tone could be seen in Kiev “not as a signal toward peace, but as a signal to continue the war.”

https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1945164213019623661

Read more …

That took less than one day. Trump’s entire domestic sales pitch out the window.

EU Tells US To ‘Share The Burden’ For Ukraine Weapons (RT)

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s promise to send more weapons to Kiev, but said he can’t describe it as American aid if European NATO states are fully bankrolling the initiative. Trump announced on Monday that he will allow other NATO members to buy American-made Patriot missile defense systems and other weapons for Ukraine – but indicated that US taxpayers will no longer finance Kiev’s war effort. “The United States will not be having any payment made. We’re not buying it, but we will manufacture it, and they’re going to be paying for it,” the US leader said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, adding “this will be a business for us.”

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kallas welcomed Trump’s announcement but noted that Brussels “would like to see the US share the burden.” “If we pay for these weapons – it’s our support, it’s European support,” Kallas explained when asked to clarify what she meant by sharing the burden. “We are doing as much as we can to help Ukraine, and therefore the call is that everybody would do the same. It’s, you know, if you promise to give the weapons but say that somebody else is going to pay – it’s not really given by you, is it?” Moscow has repeatedly denounced Western arms supplies to Ukraine, saying they only serve to prolong the bloodshed and escalate the conflict without altering its course.

Russia remains open to negotiations but has not received a response from Kiev on the timing of the next round. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Tuesday that EU and NATO leaders have put Trump under “improper pressure” to adopt a hardline stance. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stressed that “any attempts to make demands, let alone issue ultimatums, are unacceptable.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also criticized Trump’s threat to impose “severe” secondary tariffs of up to 100% in 50 days, noting that such ultimatums are “perceived by the Ukrainian side not as a signal toward peace, but as a signal to continue the war.”

Read more …

“..Slovakia, but also Hungary, Austria, and reportedly Italy..”

“The [European] Commission’s proposal is, excuse my language, imbecilic. Demagogically, it is the result of a limitless obsession with Russia..”

Slovak PM Fico Denounces Brussels’ ‘Imbecilic’ Russia Plan (RT)

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has slammed the EU’s plan to phase out Russian energy imports as “imbecilic,” warning that the move would undermine his country’s energy security, as well as the rest of the bloc. The RePowerEU plan envisages cutting all Russian oil and gas imports into the EU by 2027. The scheme has met with opposition not only from Slovakia, but also Hungary, Austria, and reportedly Italy.In a video posted on Facebook on Monday, Fico said the “battle for Slovakia’s energy security is nearing its end,” acknowledging that Bratislava cannot veto Brussels’ plan. He accused the EU leadership of deliberately presenting the proposal as trade legislation to pre-empt opposition. Unlike sanctions, the plan only requires a qualified majority to pass.

“The [European] Commission’s proposal is, excuse my language, imbecilic. Demagogically, it is the result of a limitless obsession with Russia,” the prime minister said. He added that phasing out Russian energy will “damage the Slovak economy and undermine the competitiveness of the entire EU.” Responding to a letter from Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, who urged Fico to support the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia, the Slovak leader stated on Monday that he would not relent until “relevant stakeholders provide [Bratislava] with the necessary guarantees that after January 1, 2028, Slovakia will have sufficient gas supplies at reasonable prices.”

Slovakia blocked the sanctions package for the second time last Friday, demanding that its concerns over the separate RePowerEU plan be addressed first. While Russian gas has not been subject to a direct EU ban, most member states have voluntarily cut imports. However, several landlocked countries – including Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic – still rely on limited volumes through exemptions. Bratislava and Budapest also receive much of their oil from Russia. Russia has warned that targeting its energy exports will continue to cause energy prices to surge across the EU, weakening the bloc’s economy. Since 2022, growth across the EU has stagnated.

Read more …

Sundance is not buying.

“Who believes this nonsense? We are years beyond believing the FBI is structurally doing anything to return fire against the Obama administration; yet here is Fox News selling bulk hopium to their viewers. Ridiculous. All of it.”

Tick Tock Co-Pilot John Solomon Says FBI Currently Investigating “Conspiracy” (CTH)

Sean Hannity and John Solomon have apparently ejected Sara Carter for “Tick Tock Term-2”, seemingly replacing her with James (‘sounds like Gopher from Winnie the Pooh‘) Comer. In the latest iteration of the tick-tock walls closing in, at least according to Solomon, the FBI is currently doing a “grand conspiracy” investigation of Barack Obama, James Comey, John Brennan and James Clapper. Solomon says below, “This is a criminal conspiracy. And by treating it as a conspiracy, you eliminate the five-year statutes on individual crimes. So if something happened in 2016, but it was part of an ongoing conspiracy that continued with Jack Smith raiding Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago, it can be charged in the larger conspiracy. Even though, if you tried to charge it as an individual case, you wouldn’t get it.”

According to Solomon, even Lee Zeldin is a potential candidate to lead a special prosecution team against the former conspirators, and the evidence is so overwhelming … “a special prosecutor would have a jumpstart. This could be wrapped up in a couple of years.”… I can’t even begin to wrap my head around how ridiculous this claim by Hannity, Solomon and Representative ‘Gopher‘ Comer actually is. Who believes this nonsense? We are years beyond believing the FBI is structurally doing anything to return fire against the Obama administration; yet here is Fox News selling bulk hopium to their viewers. Ridiculous. All of it.

Read more …

“English-speaking audiences relying on European media’s English editions get an incomplete picture, skewed toward liberal narratives and missing the conservative currents driving political shifts..”

The European Surprise—Why We Misread the Continent’s Shifts (ET)

Europe’s political landscape continues to defy expectations, leaving analysts and policymakers scrambling to explain outcomes that, in hindsight, seem foreseeable. From the UK’s Brexit vote to Giorgia Meloni’s rise in Italy, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) surge in Germany, Dutch farmers’ revolts, and Marine Le Pen’s ascent in France, each development triggers a chorus of shocked “No one saw this coming.” Yet millions of Europeans did. The persistent surprise may stem from a flawed lens—dominated by English-language media filters, historical overcorrections, and shrinking on-the-ground reporting—that distorts our understanding. As these shifts ripple globally, misreading Europe poses strategic risks we can no longer afford to ignore.

The pattern is unmistakable. Europe has been portrayed as a stable, liberal bastion—centrist coalitions driving climate action and European Union unity, embodying a progressive ideal. Yet reality diverges: The UK exited the EU in 2016, Meloni became Italy’s prime minister in 2022, Germany’s AfD polled second nationally in 2025, Dutch farmers blocked roads over nitrogen policies, and France’s center collapsed in 2024, elevating Le Pen. Each time, English-language coverage reacts with shock, missing signals visible to local populations. This disconnect begins with a critical media filter. English-language European outlets, such as state-funded France 24, Deutsche Welle, Politico Europe, and center-left publications like Le Monde, cater to an urban, university-educated, globally minded audience. These sources are mostly credible and professional but reflect a narrow slice of society, underrepresenting conservative and rural perspectives.

A key disparity amplifies this bias: While mainstream liberal media regularly publish English editions, conservative and right-wing outlets across Europe—such as Germany’s Junge Freiheit or Italy’s Il Giornale—rarely do. This choice stems from several factors: a lack of perceived demand in English-speaking markets, suspicion of hostile Anglo-American coverage, and a strategic focus on local bases. As a result, English-speaking audiences relying on European media’s English editions get an incomplete picture, skewed toward liberal narratives and missing the conservative currents driving political shifts. Country-specific examples reveal the depth of this gap. In Italy, Meloni’s 2022 victory, often labeled “neo-fascist” because of her party’s post-fascist roots, was misread by English outlets.

Yet her platform—lower taxes, stronger borders, and national pride—reflected frustration with unelected technocrats and Brussels’ fiscal rules. She formed a coalition with Matteo Salvini’s League and Forza Italia, securing a parliamentary majority with 44 percent of the vote, appealing to millions disillusioned by years of instability, not extremism. Her government’s three-year record (2022 to 2025) has focused on economic recovery. In Germany, AfD’s rise to more than 20 percent in state elections and a mayoral win in 2025 reflect discontent with soaring energy prices post-nuclear shutdown and immigration strains. Yet it’s framed as a dangerous anomaly, ignoring its roots in rural and eastern voter bases.

In the Netherlands, the government’s 2019 nitrogen reduction plan, mandating farm buyouts, sparked tractor blockades by farmers facing existential threats to generational livelihoods. The Farmer-Citizen Movement, formed in response, became the largest party in the Dutch Senate by 2023, a democratic revolt misread as a sideshow. In France, President Emmanuel Macron’s 2024 dissolution of the National Assembly followed his party’s European election defeat, paving the way for Le Pen’s National Rally. Her movement, drawing working-class and youth voters from disaffected leftist unions, has softened its rhetoric—shifting from anti-immigrant hardline to economic populism—normalizing her appeal amid the center’s collapse.

This blind spot is structural, rooted in postwar Europe’s “firewall” logic. After World War II, institutions like Germany’s Basic Law and France’s laïcité were designed to prevent fascism and nationalism, embedding a cultural consensus against these ideologies. The EU, as a moral project to dissolve rivalries, reinforced this stance. Over time, this overcorrection stigmatized moderate conservatism—national flags or religious appeals were red flags, dissent from EU norms labeled “anti-democratic.” Repressing these voices buried resentment, fueling unexpected populism. The UK grooming gang scandals illustrate a similar pattern: institutional real fear of fomenting racism delayed action on abuse, worsening the crisis. In Europe, suppressing feedback has similarly driven political surprises.

The Anglosphere’s media compounds this. Decades ago, outlets like The New York Times or CBS maintained lively European bureaus, offering nuance and real understanding of reality on the ground. Budget cuts and shifting priorities have shuttered many, replacing correspondents with wire services and freelancers. Walter Duranty’s downplaying of Joseph Stalin’s Holodomor, despite his Moscow base, shows proximity isn’t a cure-all, but its absence distorts coverage, even by the mere addition of intermediaries. Today’s reports—relying on embassy briefings, nongovernmental organization releases, the European media’s English language editions, or echo-chamber articles—many times lack critical context. For example, there was the framing of Dutch tractor protests as climate backlash rather than a livelihood crisis. For policymakers and investors, this distance misjudges risks, from policy legitimacy to market stability.

The stakes are high. Misreading Europe leads to ill-fated policies, regulatory backlash, and eroding trust in journalism, fueling polarization. Each “shock result” signals analytical failure with global repercussions—markets shift, alliances waver, and migration patterns change. The postwar consensus, while essential, has ossified into dogma, blinding elites to new threats. To see Europe clearly, we ought to think and act like historians. We stop waiting for “The Truth” to arrive in a statement and start building our own mosaic. This means reading across ideological spectra, using artificial intelligence to translate non-English conservative sources like Junge Freiheit (even if one vehemently disagrees with its editorial line), tracking polling trends, and listening beyond capitals.

This is not about endorsing right-wing or conservative parties over liberal and progressive ideologies; rather, it underscores that navigating with a flawed map—lacking the full true picture—hurts everyone’s performance. Understanding Europe’s diverse political currents, progressive gains and conservative surges alike, reduces the risk of costly surprises.

Read more …

He himself is a leading candidate.

Bessent Says “Formal Process” To Find Successor To Jerome Powell Has Begun (ZH)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on Tuesday that a “formal process” is underway to find a potential successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. In an interview with Bloomberg Surveillance, Bessent remarked, “There are a lot of great candidates, and we’ll see how rapidly it progresses.” He also noted that it would be confusing for Powell to stay on at the Federal Reserve after his term as chair concludes. Since last month President Donald Trump has intensified his criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, repeatedly accusing him of mismanaging monetary policy and calling for aggressive interest rate cuts. Trump has argued that Powell is acting too slowly to respond to economic conditions and said, “Maybe I should go to the Fed… Am I allowed to appoint myself at the Fed? I’d do a much better job than these people.”

He has labeled Powell with a series of insults, calling him “stupid,” “too late,” “a numbskull,” and demanding the Fed slash rates by a full percentage point to stimulate the economy. Trump’s attacks continued into July, growing even sharper. On July 8, he declared that Powell “should resign immediately.” A few days later, he criticized Powell over cost overruns tied to a $2.5 billion renovation project at the Federal Reserve, referring to him as a “knucklehead” and “stupid guy.” Last week, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought also criticized Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for a renovation project he called “too lavish,” referring to it as “Versailles on the National Mall.”

On CNBC, Vought cited “fundamental mismanagement” at the Fed. Meanwhile, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, a potential successor to Powell, added, “If there is cause to fire Powell, Trump has the authority to do so.” The criticism appeared coordinated, with other figures like Fed candidate Kevin Warsh and Vice President J.D. Vance joining in. Trump also reiterated his demand for rates to be cut to around 1%. Members of his team suggested they might review the renovation project as a possible justification to remove Powell “for cause.”

Read more …

It’s not just Harvard.

“..Stanford University and MIT are operating as “mainly political lobbying operations fighting American innovation.”

Marc Andreessen: ‘Universities Declared War On 70% Of The Country’ (ZH)

Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen warned that universities engaging in discriminatory practices against students and faculty will face significant consequences, according to leaked screenshots obtained by the Washington Post. In the private group chat with AI scientists and Trump administration officials, Andreessen stated that universities “declared war on 70% of the country and now they’re going to pay the price.” He criticized DEI and immigration policies, describing them as “two forms of discrimination” that are “politically lethal.”

Andreessen further claimed that Stanford University and MIT are operating as “mainly political lobbying operations fighting American innovation.” The billionaire tech investor also addressed Stanford’s decision to remove his wife, Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, as chair of its Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, noting it was done “without a second thought, a decision that will cost them something like $5 billion in future donations.”

This isn’t the first time Andreessen has called out what he perceives as a broken university system. In a recent interview with billionaire venture capitalist and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, Andreessen raised concerns about access to elite education. “If you’re the parents of a smart kid where I grew up [rural Wisconsin] and you think you’re going to get them into a top university in this country, you’re fooling yourself,” Andreessen said. “What level of untapped talent exists in this country that a combination of DEI and immigration have basically cut out of the loop for the last 50 years?”

Andreessen argued that the intersection of DEI policies and high-skilled immigration has “warped” perceptions of who gets access to elite education. “Nobody wants to talk about, but I’ve started to talk about the intersection of DEI and immigration that has really warped our perceptions on high-skilled immigration over the last 50 years,” he said.

Andreessen also pointed to the sharp rise in foreign enrollment at top universities, noting, “You look at the foreign enrollment rates at the top universities, which went from 2 or 3 or 4 percent 50 years ago or whatever to 27% or 30% or 50%.” “There’s been this massive transformation of who gets admitted through affirmative action, as we now know it, DEI,” the tech billionaire continued. “This goes straight to the political divide in the country. If you’re parents of a kid where I grew up [rural Wisconsin] and you’ve got a smart kid and you think you’re going to get them into, you know, a top university in this country, like you’re fooling yourself.”

Andreessen drove the point home, adding, “There is this really fundamental question which is, what level of untapped talent exists in this country that a combination of DEI and immigration have basically cut out of the loop for the last 50 years? And how long can we have this story to everybody in the Midwest and in the South that says, sorry, because of historical oppression, your kids are shit out of luck.” Andreessen made headlines last year when he and his business partner, Ben Horowitz, endorsed President Donald Trump’s third campaign for the White House.

Read more …

“Trump suggested that nothing in the Epstein files “could have hurt the MAGA Movement.”

Trump Says He Spoke to Bongino Amid Reports of Infighting (ET)

President Donald Trump said he spoke to FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino on July 13, indicating that the two remain close despite reported friction over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein documents. “I spoke to him today. Dan Bongino is a very good guy. I’ve known him a long time,” Trump told reporters outside Air Force 1. “He’s in good shape.” The comments come after Axios reported on July 11 that Bongino—previously a conservative commentator who had long pressed for answers about Epstein’s 2019 death and operation—skipped work on Friday due to disagreements with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the matter. Laura Loomer, a political commentator close to the president, also reported on Bongino’s absence from work last week, similarly referencing disagreements between Bongino and Bondi.

Trump on July 12 told his supporters not to continue looking into the circumstances surrounding the billionaire’s death. “What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’” Trump said in a July 12 post on social media platform Truth Social. “They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening. “We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein.” He added, “One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it’s the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”

Epstein’s case has been intensely scrutinized online for years following his 2019 death in federal custody while awaiting prosecution on charges of engaging in a multiyear conspiracy to sex traffic minors. The billionaire was reported to have hung himself in his cell, but given his connections with many high-ranking officials and celebrities, many have speculated whether Epstein was murdered. The nature of Epstein’s operation, involving sexual exploitation of over one thousand victims, many of whom were minors, has also been scrutinized. At a July 8 Cabinet meeting, a reporter asked Bondi to address a claim that Epstein had been some form of intelligence community asset. “I have no knowledge about that,” she said. “We can get back to you on that.”

During that Cabinet meeting, Bondi also said a missing minute from a jail surveillance tape on the night Epstein died was a normal circumstance due to a routine technical artifact in the camera system, as the video is reset every night at 12 a.m. Trump suggested that nothing in the Epstein files “could have hurt the MAGA Movement.” On July 7, the Department of Justice and FBI released a memo stating that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide and had no “client list,” and that the agencies would not release any further material related to the Epstein case. “As part of our commitment to transparency, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted an exhaustive review of investigative holdings relating to Jeffrey Epstein,” the agencies stated in the memo.

The review found that Epstein committed suicide in his cell as he was awaiting trial in August 2019. This concurs with an autopsy conducted at the time. “The conclusion that Epstein died by suicide is further supported by video footage from the common area of the Special Housing Unit (SHU) where Epstein was housed at the time of his death,” the memo reads. The review found that Epstein did not keep a list of clients as part of his sex trafficking activities. Additionally, there is no evidence that Epstein blackmailed individuals, according to the memo. Nonetheless, according to the review, Epstein “harmed over one thousand victims” as “each suffered unique trauma.”

Read more …

This screams Supreme Court. Expedited.

Media Runs Interference as Biden Autopen Scandal Explodes (Margolis)

The legacy media never misses a beat when it comes to parroting Democratic talking points, screaming “threat to democracy” and “constitutional crisis” anytime Donald Trump sneezes in the wrong direction. But when the left tramples on constitutional norms? Crickets — or worse, full-blown excuses. Case in point: Joe Biden’s autopen scandal. The same press corps that waited until after he left office to admit what we all saw with our own eyes — that Biden was mentally unfit — is now running interference again. This time, they’re pretending the autopen scandal is much ado about nothing. This week, the New York Times published an exposé that revealed that, despite claims to the contrary, Joe Biden didn’t individually approve every pardon or act of clemency done in his name. It was a damning report that raises even major questions about what was signed via autopen without his knowledge.

So what did ABC News do? They tweeted out that Joe Biden personally made every clemency and pardon decision during the last weeks of his failed presidency, including the ones handled by autopen. To call that misleading is an understatement. The New York Times admits, and so do Biden’s own aides, that many of those pardons were processed in “large batches.” The decisions? Not made after careful review of individuals, but based on broad, pre-approved categories. Biden didn’t know the names. He didn’t scrutinize the cases. He rubber-stamped entire classes of people for a free pass, while the staffers and bureaucrats filled in the blanks. Despite pushing the Biden talking point on social media, the actual article ABC linked to directly refutes Biden’s own statement.

“Former President Joe Biden, in an interview with the New York Times published on Sunday, said that he personally made every clemency and pardon decision during the last few weeks of his presidency — including those made with an autopen. However, he and aides told the Times that some decisions for large batches of pardons were based on broad categories that various people fell into, not based on reviewing individuals on a case-by-case basis. Biden said he approved the categories and standards for choosing who to pardon. “I made every single one of those. And — including the categories, when we set this up to begin with,” Biden said of the clemency and pardon decisions.”

This is the same media that now pretends to have had a “come to Jesus” moment over the cover-up of Biden’s cognitive decline — while still actively covering it up. They’re pushing Biden’s denials as truth right in their headlines, hoping the public fixates on the spin instead of the facts. But those facts are damning: Biden and his own aides have admitted he didn’t personally make every decision. The media’s job used to be holding power accountable. Now, they’re still running PR for Joe Biden.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

lungs
https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1945255216078843920

https://twitter.com/ChildrensHD/status/1945226072057905629

Xishi

Monarch

Chico
https://twitter.com/Igottafigh64510/status/1945098230611513374

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Home Forums Debt Rattle July 16 2025

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 74 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #192123

    Pablo Picasso Portrait de femme (Dora Maar) 1943   • Trump’s Ukraine Reversal Represents ‘Complete Betrayal Of America First’ (Sp.) • Trump Belie
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle July 16 2025]

    #192124
    Dr D Rich
    Participant
      “I spoke to him today. Dan Bongino is a very good guy. I’ve known him a long time,” Trump told reporters
      Translation:

    Kiss of Death….Mafia style.
    Dan Bongino……dead man walking

    #192125
    those darned kids
    Participant

    • Trump’s Ukraine Reversal Represents ‘Complete Betrayal Of America First’ (Sp.)
    •• wait till he appoint mr epstein as the new uke president!

    • Trump Believes Russia Will Win – Politico (RT)
    •• chrump believes mr epstein is innocent.

    • Trump Under ‘Improper Pressure’ From EU and NATO – Lavrov
    •• chrump under indecent pressure from epstein’s non-guilty ghost.

    • Ghislaine Maxwell Is ‘Ready’ to Testify (Margolis)
    •• mr chrump is ready to nothing.

    • Trump Asked Zelensky About Striking Moscow, Making Putin ‘Feel The Pain’ (NYP)
    •• chrump asked mr ms maxwell if striking jeffrey was ok, she said, “no”.

    • Trump Tells Zelensky Not To Attack Moscow (RT)
    •• ghislaine tells chrump not to attack jeffrey

    • EU Welcomes Trump’s Ultimatum To Russia (RT)
    •• eu welcomes chrump’s protection of rapists.

    • EU Tells US To ‘Share The Burden’ For Ukraine Weapons (RT)
    •• eu tell chrump, “thanks for jeffrey”!

    • Slovak PM Fico Denounces Brussels’ ‘Imbecilic’ Russia Plan (RT)
    •• slovak pm fico wonders, “WTF?!?”

    • Tick Tock Co-Pilot John Solomon Says FBI Currently Investigating “Conspiracy” (CTH)
    •• rape victims wait.

    • The European Surprise—Why We Misread the Continent’s Shifts (ET)
    •• mr chrump pardons child rapists.

    • Bessent Says “Formal Process” To Find Successor To Jerome Powell Has Begun (ZH)
    •• i hear jeffrey epstein is available.

    • Marc Andreessen: ‘Universities Declared War On 70% Of The Country’ (ZH)
    •• mr chrump pardons child rapists.

    • Trump Says He Spoke to Bongino Amid Reports of Infighting (ET)
    •• “SHUT UP AND MAKE NEW DISTRACTIONS! NOW!!!

    • Media Runs Interference as Biden Autopen Scandal Explodes (Margolis)
    •• jeffrey who?

    #192126
    those darned kids
    Participant

    every day, more and more stories of the operation warp speed victims,

    yet,

    never a word

    about

    mr

    chrump’s

    role in their demise.

    #192127
    those darned kids
    Participant

    #192128
    those darned kids
    Participant

    look!

    we’re number one in

    fake

    pcr

    tests.

    ¿¡how can you trust these people!?

    #192129
    EoinW
    Participant

    Time to publicly appear to be going after the Russiagate criminals. Got to deflect attention away from Epstein. Guess what, it isn’t going to work. Besides, will they actually charge anyone for anything?

    #192130
    Topcat
    Participant

    HOLEE SHIZZLES

    A five year long “investigation”, like the Durham Report, of Comey and Brennan that leads to no arrests so as to distract the Sheeple from no Epstein files!

    Look! Squirrels!!!!!

    The Public Then & Now

    #192131
    Topcat
    Participant

    #192132
    Topcat
    Participant

    #192133
    Topcat
    Participant

    #192134
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Tick Tock…since Jan 2017. Show me.

    “If this gets declassified, it could finally blow the whole thing wide open.”

    Yes, except as these things go “We all know now”. You know, we know, what we know, before we know, that we didn’t know – a psychopath special. So because we “know” but cut off from emotion and action, no punishment is had, which criminals like a lot.

    “NEW: Matt Walsh sends a message to the Trump administration over the Epstein case. “We want those people to be dragged in front of us, weeping and begging for mercy…”

    I thought he had flip-flopped with Shapiro, did he get back on the train? I mean, any ally is fine.

    “I CALL ON AG PAM BONDI TO CHARGE FAUCI FOR LYING TO CONGRESS!”

    At a minimum. This is transparently proven, etc, and he’s getting off easy for a million deaths, half of which are gay guys in the 90s.

    “Remember how we were told Jeffrey Epstein made his money in finance, wealth management and trading Charlie Kirk exposes Jeffrey Epstein HAD NO TRADES EVER made under his name”

    Barnes of Viva Barnes was all over this. …BECAUSE IT’S SO OBVIOUS. Maxwell is literally Mossad, eg he had a state funeral, with Presidents and Prime Ministers, IN ISRAEL, where he wasn’t born, wasn’t a citizen, and never worked for. Pretty odd! So when you pick up the Epstein story, it’s just a continuation of the Maxwell story: blackmail, money laundering…

    They’re all money people, it’s impossible not to know. That’s like saying you’re a sports star, and another NFL player says, “Which team?” and you don’t know. They ask what insider trades are hot now, and you’re like “Trades?” Same as Madoff, Corzine (except he did trade) and others. Hillary, maybe.

    “HOUSE REPUBLICANS BLOCK EPSTEIN FILE VOTE: 7-5”

    Which one? The first one was the “Release all kiddie porn and contaminate all cases” bill. But since there is no evidence at all, anywhere, according to Bondi, should be easy to release it, right? There are no crimes so no cases, so no evidence to trial-tamper. Oh wait, Congress voted to queer all Epstein cases with this release and the people demanded it? Huh. But there ARE no cases, so it doesn’t matter anyway…

    Anyway, back to “We have to make the Democrats Demand it” which Trump has done 4-5 times. Markets crash, governments fall, alliances destroyed…has to be Democrat’s fault. Remember, didn’t care since the mid-90s, when it was all already known, all crimes already committed, FBI already informed and covering it up. But NOW Democrats care. Okey-dokey! Be mad at Republicans, definitely who screamed about this since 1999, risking and ruining all their careers, elections, posts on media, newscaster seats, etc. How naughty of them. They should just have waited, right?

    …Or is that a “Shoot all allies” position?

    “• Trump’s Ukraine Reversal Represents ‘Complete Betrayal Of America First’ (Sp.)

    Yes, but as the Duran says, “Nothing actually happened.” This is the weirdest case in weirdest cases. “NATO” cannot BUY weapons. They are not a thing. That’s like the FDA selling drugs. They are an overseeing bureaucracy, which has no army and no ‘budget’: they direct the army and budget of ACTUAL countries. …So looks like an end-run around every European Parliament, which means all of Europe – the people – are dead set against Ukraine, regardless of what is reported. Even so, they can’t yet figure out a way to “Budget pencils for NATO” and then magic-out Patriot Missiles from the other side. That’s why Trump is saying “Great, let them” bc it will never happen, it’s like your supply chain quartermaster, added a Rube Goldberg in the middle.

    “• Trump Under ‘Improper Pressure’ From EU and NATO – Lavrov

    There you go. And blackmail, certainly. …But not for him or they’d use it. But if they can lever 20 Congressmen and a few generals, Cheeto needs those pieces on the board and has to play.

    “NEARLY 3 MINUTES MISSING FROM “RAW” EPSTEIN PRISON VIDEO, METADATA REVEALS”

    Again, like Bondi in that restaurant, too stupid to be stupid. It’s child’s play not to release this, like Bongino could say “Yeah, case is huge, we’re looking into it” and shut up, fine. 2 years go by. Instead he says “What case???” which we all know is a lie, getting everyone going, headline news for weeks. That’s the god-d—ned #OPPOSITE of settling it down. Obviously. So it’s on purpose. Obviously.

    “Financial Times reports that Donald Trump privately urged Ukraine to strike deep inside Russian territory — even asking Zelensky if Kiev could target Moscow and St. Petersburg if the U.S. supplied long-range weapons.”

    YGTBFKM.

    OR, He is feeling out what kind of guy Ze is, encouraging him to speak freely. Ze then says he’d nuke all Russia to powder in two seconds if given a chance, and it’s like “Huh, thanks for telling us!”

    “EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Russia’s trading partners unless a deal with Ukraine is reached within 50 days
    ,”

    Again, Duran, WTF. WHAT, Specifically, is Russia supposed to do to prove this? Nothing. What, specifically, are the trading partners supposed to do to prove this? Nothing. What, specifically, is the 50 days? Nothing. No idea. Uh-huh. Yeah, just keeping the Idiot press hoppin’.

    “• EU Tells US To ‘Share The Burden’ For Ukraine Weapons (RT)

    Every day, in Every way, America is supposed to fight the entire Ukraine war FOR FREEEEEEEEEEE.

    And no wonder I checked out and not listening. Every Duran, Nixon, Jamal, etc. “We don’t have the weapons” “We can’t make them” “We don’t have the industrial capacity”.
    CoughBullshitCough. We could have those online in 9 months, maybe 6. We could have since 2014. Everyone knew we were doing a war with Russia, Hillary promised it in 2016. Others before then, like 1979. WE DIDN’T. On purpose. WHY? America “Can’t” make weapons, what are you, retarded? We could out-industry Russia in no time, a few years or so. They don’t WANT to make weapons, and it’s for a reason. Even while they claim all this, they do, etc, and you idiots are playing along!

    Jamal is also TDS – retarded. His every argument is “Trump wants war, ackshully, because he’s a pathological liar,” then Krainer points out he scammed the war to avoid both Iran and Ukriane and Jamal is like “Trump does NOT want war, ackshully, and that’s still a dumb, weak failure, TACO…” WTF and JHC? IT CAN’T BE BOTH! Pick One! Whatever sentence I construct is a “Trump is stupid” sentence. That the argument is self-opposite never even occurs. All logic, reason, principle, tossed out the window.

    Duran does this but are smarter so their blind spots are a lot more subtle. But Alex will say “Why he would do this is incomprehensible to me…” well he IS doing it, and your JOB is to hypothesize why it’s comprehensible, like Luongo and Krainer do. He doesn’t. So it’s a “Trump is dumb, ackshully” argument, when he’s punk’d you for a decade straight. No Trump has PROBLEMS. He’s SURROUNDED. Not a single agency or ally will take orders and obey him. Yet he has to move forward on it despite 99 99% opposition.

    “• Tick Tock Co-Pilot John Solomon Says FBI Currently Investigating “Conspiracy” (CTH)

    How about this: if they were doing anything, you could hear the screaming on Pluto and there’d be a new Butler every week. That’s what’s setting us off, being sus.

    Like I say all the time, when they can release smallpox you have to win accidentally, while looking like you’re losing. Like Russia is doing. Pressure exactly right to keep dumping money in, collapsing, like we over-extended the USSR. Art of War, “Be strong looking weak” etc Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.

    “Over time, this overcorrection stigmatized moderate conservatism—national flags or religious appeals were red flags, dissent from EU norms labeled “anti-democratic.”

    While the historical reality was the #Opposite. So this was all carefully engineered, and not by Conservatives, etc, which leaves who? Yes, the Left, Socialists. Navigating with a flawed map, but they’ve corrupted the very word the map is marked with. Anything short of mass-murder is Hitler winning, Treason, end of all life on earth with CO2.

    “Trump suggested that nothing in the Epstein files “could have hurt the MAGA Movement.”

    True, but would hurt the f— out of the GOP. To which we would all laugh.

    “Polly Tommey’s passion for the vaccine-injured is UNDENIABLE.”

    Yet nothing happens anywhere. So firings? Arrests? Massive change in medical policy? Mild embarrassment? Surely, you jest.

    #192135
    Topcat
    Participant

    Ok, let’s hear from those who believe that Trump is playing six-dimensional underwater backgammon and we should just “let him cook.”

    Trump is Inscrutable!

    Voilà!

    Shazam!

    #192136
    Topcat
    Participant

    Kash, my Man!

    #192137
    Topcat
    Participant

    #192138
    John Day
    Participant

    @TDK: More or less, YEAH!

    #192139
    John Day
    Participant

    @Topcat: I’ll take “Avocado Grenade” for $32,000, please.
    😉

    #192140
    Kerry Wilson
    Participant

    HOUSE REPUBLICANS BLOCK EPSTEIN FILE VOTE: 7-5

    Well, at least now we know 7 more names who are on Epstein’s list…

    #192141
    Noirette
    Participant

    Biden as Prez was a red-light signal of the US Empire in Decline. A geriatric dodderer with no decisionary powers run by a committee, controlled by one half of the Uniparty.

    — The two parties, Dem – Rep, are in economic competition and united in keeping the ‘folks’ (Obama), the ‘deplorables’ (Clinton) in false divisions and uninformed of what is going on. —

    Andropov, back in the USSR, clue in the music, was rigid One Party, it was accepted ‘seniors’ could be ‘figureheads.’ The commitee takes on running everything.

    Gorbatchev, viewed as a traitor by many, was next. He attempted sweeping reforms, in sharp contrast to Andropov enforcing the old order, why Idk, all in favor of ‘western’, ‘neo-lib’ ‘modern’ etc. policies, mind-sets, agreements, laws, leading to the plunder of the USSR and its breakup. (Jeffrey Sachs was an advisor.)

    Trump is in a similar spot to Gorby. To maintain the US domination over large parts of the world, aka ‘US hegemony’, plus ensure some kind of status quo at home that prevents civil war / extreme violence, radical reform MUST be implemented.

    His path seems to be a confused and partial approach to a returning to ‘old times’ when the USA was an industrial, commercial power, unrivalled, after WW2. Combined with ‘new alliances’, dire threats re. commerce (note, not military) to Russia and others… (well maybe old story by now.) But that is being charitable… More could be said, this post is too long…

    #192142
    kultsommer
    Participant

    Well, at least we can all agree how it is much, much easier to discuss some distant and irrelevant country like Venezuela, its Maduro, and even more so the “real socialism that has never been tried” ….and so on….

    #192143
    Kerry Wilson
    Participant

    … or are protecting someone who is…

    #192144
    John Day
    Participant

    @Noirette, from my 11/10/19 post https://www.johndayblog.com/2019/11/relating-ideas.html
    ​America’s Gorbachev?
    ​International Man: Last year, President Trump took the unusual step of bypassing his advisors to announce his intention to withdraw all US troops from Syria quickly. The decision rattled Washington and the mainstream media. It caused former Defense Secretary Mattis to resign. Almost a year later, the US has withdrawn only a token number of soldiers. It still has thousands of troops occupying the part of the country where oil fields are located. What is going on here?
    David Stockman: Well, that’s the Deep State at work.
    Donald Trump is all by his lonesome. He’s home alone in the Oval Office. Now, half of it, he can blame himself. If he hires someone, a known idiot like John Bolton, what does he expect is going to happen except that everything he wanted to do is going to be undermined…
    ​ ​When you have a regime change policy—and this was the one real positive thing Trump brought to the table. He said regime change has failed; we’re not going to do it under my policy.
    ​ ​Why do you think the North Koreans are quasi-starving? And I know the Communist elite and Kim’s family and so forth live a pretty fat life, but nevertheless they’re in dire straits economically.
    ​ ​Why do they invest all this money in developing nuclear capability and missile capability? Because they don’t want to be regime changed. Kim is a young man, he’s in his mid-30s, and he doesn’t want to be another Muammar Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein.​..
    …I think the stock market is in its last days of bubble excess. I think the economy is slouching toward recession within a matter of a few quarters or months. If that happens, Trump is toast. Elizabeth Warren becomes president, and then that’ll be a whole new ball game that is hard to figure.​..
    …Foreign policy has been totally taken over by the Democratic paranoia about Russia and Putin and meddling in our elections.
    ​ ​Now it’s extended to the whole impeachment inquiry and Ukraine-gate. That’s what the whole debate is going to be about. The debate is going to be about a sideshow.​..
    ​ …​It’s not even mentioned because, as I say, the Warfare State machinery essentially squelches any kind of debate, suffocates any kind of thought that at all deviates from the status quo.
    ​ ​The big issue in the world today is war and peace, and we’re facing a campaign in 2020 where it won’t even be mentioned.

    David Stockman on How the Deep State Really Works

    #192145
    zerosum
    Participant

    Are files required?

    Ask Ghislaine Maxwell.

    • Ghislaine Maxwell Is ‘Ready’ to Testify (Margolis)

    Ghislaine Maxwell was former lover of Epstein.

    Ghislaine boss was Epstein.

    Ask the employees.
    ————–

    “Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow?… Can you hit St Petersburg too?” Trump asked on a July 4 call with Zelensky, a day after the president had a disappointing phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the Financial Times reported, citing multiple sources. Zelensky, who has pressed Western powers for years to provide more long-range missiles, reportedly replied, “Absolutely. We can, if you give us the weapons.”

    ————
    If European NATO states are fully bankrolling the initiative. Trump announced on Monday that he will allow other NATO members to buy American-made Patriot missile defense systems and other weapons for Ukraine.

    —————-

    • Media Runs Interference as Biden Autopen Scandal Explodes (Margolis)
    ———–
    https://x.com/BGatesIsaPyscho/status/1944804400318292151?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1944804400318292151%7Ctwgr%5E00fbd615fa928831c41b907e58d5f811dca97f63%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theautomaticearth.com%2F2025%2F07%2Fdebt-rattle-july-16-2025%2F

    The PREP Repeal Act (H.R. 4388) would END liability protections for experimental pandemic countermeasures like mRNA injections — and restore the right to sue for injury.
    ————
    Putin Rejects Trump’s Ultimatum Ukraine Under Massive Attack Again Military Summary For 2025.07.16

    ————

    #192146
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    It makes me feel Gas Lit just by tolerating the question.

    I mean about Epstein and PizzaGate, and P Diddy, and all the rest of the so-called scandals where utimately no one did nuffin and nobody got punished for it, and in fact “it” was never really openly spoken of, much less investigated. And the idea of prosecuting? Forget about it. Never going to happen. You can’t prosecute a crime which no one will even say.

    Look, we ALL know what’s going on. We just don’t want to talk about it, or think about it or even furtuvely glance in “it’s” direction because if we did that for more than a nanosecond we would soon have to admit what “it” is, and seemingly NOBODY is willing to do that.

    Well, almost nobody. I’m about as close to a “nobody” as it’s possible to get and still have a name and mailing address. So, I guess that leaves it to me to say what it is.

    It is the stone fact that we are led, and knowingly allow ourselves to be led, by the most profoundly evil and despicably perverse psychopathic criminals that our species is able to produce. And we do literally nothing about it. Because we’re afraid for ourselves and so selfishly intent upon preserving our own pathetic little fraction of life that we go along to get along. We could speak or act but we don’t, because it’s safer and easier to let the victim suffer or die than it is to put ourselves at risk in any meaningful way whatsoever.

    Trump, for example, (and I could easily provide you with a list of literally thousands of others) is 100% certain that the government he’s at the top of is run on a day to day basis almost exclusively upon theft, lies, murder, rape, blackmail (about grotesque perversions) and genocide. I’m understating the seriousness of the criminality, in the interests of saving space by not telling you what you already know (if you have the grit to face facts).

    Dealing with any other issue is a distraction and far far worse than a waste of time. It’s suicide.

    #192147
    jb-hb
    Participant

    When I started hearing “Trump’s Patriot Pledge,” I thought oh, what wonderful things are being promised, what’s he going to do for the USA? aww.

    …and this next bit ties in with universities declaring war on 70% of the US

    Subway picture from yesterday – what bugs me isn’t the funeral ad but the screenshot to the right from someone’s DAW in Piano Roll. Displaying, apparently, the world’s most repetitive song. I’d have given the NO I CANNOT SHOW YOU, IT IS NOT READY YET, but there it is on the wall for millions to see.

    Automatic assumption these days – DEI probably involved in some way. Because the Privilege of Whiteness is to feel genuine shame at incompetence. And in the arts – provided one is not An Ally – the Privilege of Whiteness is that you have to do something interesting.

    Compare Ironheart, The Acolyte, The Rings of Prime, and the last 3 multi hundred million budget Marvel films to Deadpool. Billions in production budget, no requirement to be interesting. Deadpool, helmed by 4 or 5 white dudes that are buddies – had to be interesting.

    I’m not saying white dudes are superior, I’m saying there are different requirements coming from DEI. Non-AnAlly™ White People are required to be interesting. Don’t blame me. I don’t make these rules.

    #192148
    zerosum
    Participant

    Peaceful approach/attempt.
    Eliminate the enemies.
    Israel strikes Syrian capital Damascus.

    #192149
    jb-hb
    Participant

    Just to make clear, to a composer/musician, that subway mural was the equivalent of putting a huge 50-foot long mural of a turd where everyone has to see it coming and going. Saying look! This is music! And I bet they put it at multiple stops. A huge daily fuck you to any remotely competent person just trying to take a train.

    #192150
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @DrDRich

    “I spoke to him today. Dan Bongino is a very good guy. I’ve known him a long time,” Trump told reporters
    Translation:
    Kiss of Death….Mafia style.
    Dan Bongino……dead man walking”

    You nailed it!

    Trump talks like a gangster. Because he simply is a gangster. Old school. Nothing too creative about it. Like you would see in a movie.

    It’s so damned CORNY that it operates like Herr Goebbels “Big Lie”. No one believes that he’s apulp fiction style gangster because we think no one would POSSIBLY be that brazen (or stupid.)

    THAT’S who Donald Trumps speech patterns remind me of! Don Corleone.

    You get a big Gold Star on this one, Doc. Thank you.

    #192151
    Noirette
    Participant

    John Day, thx for the response, what you wrote is pretty much in the same line, maybe from some different angles. Imho ‘Empires’ better called in our modern days international control of some regions / countries / etc. will always be diminished, reduced, ‘foreign influence’ kicked out, etc. in similar ways.

    Plus ca change, plus c’est la même chose…

    #192152
    those darned kids
    Participant

    “Deadpool” is human barbarism and stupidity neatly rolled up into 108 minutes of absolute filth.

    #192153
    those darned kids
    Participant

    watching “deadpool” is like giving your soul a “covid” “vaccine”..

    #192154
    jb-hb
    Participant

    The immediate deaths and injuries from the notavax were awful.

    The consequences from injuries and disablements, the cancers and so on, are awful.

    These are NOT the worst things to come from the notavax. I haven’t seen anyone yet discussing the worst thing. We KNOW the mRNA reverse-transcribes into the DNA. We’ve discussed some of the problems from this – it made people into genetic chimeras and that’s bad when some of the sequences in the mRNA are specifically those of cancer.

    But for adults AND children taking the shots, you’re looking at a human being who has developed based on the blueprint of their original DNA. And the changes come to specific cells in the body, not ALL cells in the body. (my understanding is, the cells it affects produce spike protein, not more mRNA)

    If quite a lot of males are being made infertile or nearly so (interesting that fertility came up as an issue in the latest election campaign, my reaction being WTF why is this being made such a big deal…) then the mRNA is probably reaching the testes. Is it reaching the eggs? Maybe not so much? The eggs are already there and have a more than usually protective outer wall, but sperm are produced new, continually.

    What will a child look like who develops from the original fertilized egg on the blueprint of the reverse-transcribed RNA? EVERY cell containing the reverse-transcribed DNA and development progressing completely along its blueprint?

    Moreover, if the genetics are recessive and existing eggs can be expected to be mostly unmodified, then are we waiting two generations to see what the notavax REALLY did? 35 or so years before any significant number of babies in that generation start arriving and another what, 4-16 years before anyone starts to say hey, these kids are real different?

    There’s a variety of possibilities
    –it’s just a fuckup – awful congenital diseases, mutations, stillbirths etc
    –our lizard overlords wanted to be genghis khan – their Y chromosomes will be in all the children
    –modifications to make humans, what? Better? Worse? Obedient? Gifted? Subservient troglydytes? Art Bell stuff like alien dna? Immortal? Live only 20 years max? Who knows.

    Did they NOT study their own thing before releasing it? They threw it out there and forced millions and millions to take it because they DIDN’T know what it does?? REALLY? Incompetent shysters would release a super high tech drug that reverse transcribes new DNA into your cells instead of selling you fucking vials of distilled water?

    I understand “all the studies” that WE know are studies that look incompetent and incomplete or got hidden, but you don’t think that hiding the results or preventing proper study would be something people who KNOW what the results would be would do???

    And maybe they wanted to do just 1 thing to humanity. Or maybe they wanted to do 10 things. Or maybe there was 1 thing they really wanted and it is hidden amongst 9 other recipes with 18 different results to statistically cloud matters and in 45-50 years or so, even if a lightbulb goes off and someone says “Hey, weren’t you modifying everyone’s DNA?!?!?!” they’ll be looking through masses of data that suggest it generally fucked everyone up as opposed to 1 or more specific intended things hidden in a cloud of ostensible fuckups.

    #192155
    jb-hb
    Participant

    haha I agree, Deadpool is genuinely deplorable. But it managed to be interesting!

    There was no way a bunch of straight white dudes were going to be allowed to do anything interesting and successful without it being degenerate.

    But beneath the degeneracy, they gave it a heart of gold. A big part of what made it interesting.

    It’s like they got away with a gigantic bank heist WHILE the guards and a bunch of HR ladies were watching them like hawks.

    #192156
    John Day
    Participant

    Think Globally Kill Locally https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/think-globally-kill-locally

    What Does the US’ Increasing Emulation of Israel Augur for the Country’s Future? Conor Gallagher
    The wars always come home. The early days of the never-ending ‘War on Terror’ under Bush the Younger built the foundation of the police state and institutionalized torture and illegal aggression. The Obama years gave bipartisan blessing to this monstrous architecture. And the Trump and Biden years are doing the interior decorating with heavy input from neo-Nazis and Zionists.
    On the issues of support for genocide and aggression abroad and the police state at home there is near-universal support across the two-party system despite the heavy public opposition. And should Israel restart its war with Iran tomorrow and Tehran be successful in fulfilling Bob Vylan’s viral Glastonbury chant, Zionism would still be with us as Israel is only the tip of fascist spear.
    And unwavering US support for Israeli policies across the board have helped usher in an America of heirarchalism and eugenics. The Trump administration, in its many desperate attempts to rebuild American supremacy, has first and foremost overseen the wedding of Silicon Valley and Zionism.
    Israel helped show the techno-fascists and other US oligarchs a world of possibilities—one they are eager to duplicate everywhere. It’s what Bibi calls “authoritarian capitalism”, i.e., fascism. In both Israel and the US there are obvious religious, racial, and I.Q. branding to this ideology that is above all about the embrace of economic plunder and the idea that those who are more ruthless, with the bigger guns and better tech should simply take what they want by any means necessary…
    ..Israel tests out surveillance, population control, and military technology on the captive population. It has been reported that the Israeli Defense Forces’ use of artificial intelligence has aided in the current brutal war against Palestinians. Israel testing out new technologies to surveil and kill Palestinians is unfortunately nothing new, as described by Antony Loewenstein in his book, “The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World.”
    Israel benefits from having a captive population on whom to constantly test its weapons and surveillance technology. We see this burgeoning system in the US as Americans are increasingly surveilled using the very same technologies that Israel uses on Palestinians and Silicon Valley tech billionaires dream of a world where democracy is stamped out. There’s also the embrace of AI and algorithmic decision-making at all levels of government, and items like Anduril taking over autonomous border surveillance, social media policing, Waymo cars spying on protestors, rounding up people based on algorithms and throwing them in illegal hellholes. https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/07/u-s-emulation-of-israel-deepens.html

    Trump Wants Gaza Deal ‘Straightened Out’ Within The Next Week
    President Trump on Sunday said he hopes a ceasefire deal in Gaza can be finalized within this week, in comments made to reporters before boarding a flight to attend yesterday’s FIFA Club World Cup Final.
    When asked about the ongoing crisis in Gaza, he responded, “We’re talking, and hopefully we’ll get that straightened out over the next week. Let’s see what happens.”
    While there had been anticipation in Israel for a deal announcement during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to Washington DC last week, recent days have seen the typical non-committal, ambiguous statements out of both Washington and Tel Aviv. The war looks to have no solutions, given the stated goals of Israel and the United States. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-wants-gaza-deal-take-shape-within-next-week

    Well, I guess “we” will be “helping” with that, too… Israeli plan for Gaza ‘concentration camp’ to cost billions: Report
    The Israeli military and defense establishment have expressed opposition to the plan over fears it would drain the army’s resources https://thecradle.co/articles-id/31934

    Israeli airstrike kills at least 10, including six children, at Gaza water station, say health officials
    Nine killed in separate bombing of a home on Sunday and 31 others shot dead near aid distribution site on Saturday https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/13/dozens-of-palestinians-killed-in-latest-israeli-attacks-near-food-aid-distribution-sites-medics-and-witnesses-say

    #192157
    John Day
    Participant

    Israel is using thermobaric (vacuum) bombs in Beit Hanoun. These are shock waves that spread in a circular and low pattern near the ground surface, preceding the appearance of the dust cloud by far, indicating a speed faster than the speed of sound. This is genocide. [video-clip] https://x.com/OmarHamadD/status/1944513320935096795

    Amid Attacks on Israel-Linked Shipping, Ansarallah Says It Remains Committed to Truce with U.S.
    “Our military operations remain directed exclusively at Israel,” Muhammad al-Bukhaiti told Drop Site. “Should the United States reengage in the conflict, any escalation will be met in kind.” https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/ansarallah-houthi-attacks-israel-red-sea-ships

    Freedom Flotilla’s Gaza-bound ‘Handala’ sets sail from Italy
    ‘We continue — with global solidarity — to challenge Israel’s illegal and deadly siege,’ coalition says https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/freedom-flotillas-gaza-bound-handala-sets-sail-from-italy/3629937

    Iranian president lightly wounded while escaping Israeli attack
    More details emerge on June assassination attempt on President Masoud Pezeshkian and other officials by Israel. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/13/iranian-president-lightly-wounded-while-escaping-israeli-attack

    Dry presentation: Syria, Azerbaijan renew ties amid secret talks with Israel
    Talks between Syrian and Israeli officials reportedly do not involve any Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights
    Sharaa, a former ISIS commander whose forces toppled Assad’s government, thanked Aliyev for Azerbaijan’s “brotherly support” and said that the previous Syrian administration had damaged Damascus’s relationships with several countries, including Azerbaijan.
    “The visit of the Syrian president to Azerbaijan will significantly contribute to the development of bilateral relations,” Aliyev stated, according to the Azerbaijani presidency.
    Central to the talks was a shared commitment to address Syria’s ongoing energy crisis. The Azerbaijani government announced plans to begin exporting natural gas to Syria via Turkiye in the near future.
    “This project will contribute to ensuring the energy security of Syria,” the Azerbaijani presidency said in a statement, noting that the two countries would also explore Azerbaijani involvement in rebuilding Syria’s devastated energy infrastructure.
    Syria’s major oil fields are occupied by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US military in the northeast of the country, forcing Damascus to pay to purchase its own oil from the SDF leadership.
    Syria’s current leadership maintains strong ties with Turkiye, a key regional player and close ally of Baku. Azerbaijan has recently emerged as an intermediary between Turkiye and Israel, whose military occupation and bombing of Syria remain a point of contention. https://thecradle.co/articles/syria-azerbaijan-renew-ties-amid-secret-talks-with-israel

    #192158
    John Day
    Participant

    Syria signs $800m Tartous Port deal with DP World
    The deal follows a wave of western-backed reintegration moves, with the UAE as a key broker in Syria’s return to global markets
    Syria has signed an $800-million agreement with Dubai-based DP World to redevelop the Tartous Port, state media reported on 13 July.
    The deal was signed in Damascus in the presence of self-appointed Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. https://thecradle.co/articles/syria-signs-800m-tartous-port-deal-with-dp-world

    Dmitry Trenin: World War III has already begun, In the West’s eyes, Russia must be destroyed. That leaves us no choice.
    The new world war is already underway – it’s just that not everyone has recognized it yet.
    For Russia, the pre-war period ended in 2014. For China, it was 2017. For Iran, 2023. Since then, war – in its modern, diffuse form – has intensified. This is not a new Cold War. Since 2022, the West’s campaign against Russia has grown more decisive. The risk of direct nuclear confrontation with NATO over the Ukraine conflict is rising. Donald Trump’s return to the White House created a temporary window in which such a clash could be avoided, but by mid-2025, hawks in the US and Western Europe had pushed us dangerously close again.
    This war involves the world’s leading powers: the United States and its allies on one side, China and Russia on the other. It is global, not because of its scale, but because of the stakes: the future balance of power. The West sees the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia as existential threats. Its counteroffensive, economic and ideological, is meant to put a halt to that shift.
    It is a war of survival for the West, not just geopolitically but ideologically. Western globalism – whether economic, political, or cultural – cannot tolerate alternative civilizational models. Post-national elites in the US and Western Europe are committed to preserving their dominance. A diversity of worldviews, civilizational autonomy, and national sovereignty are seen not as options, but as threats. https://swentr.site/news/621486-dmitry-trenin-world-war-iii/

    Gilbert Doctorow, ‘Judging Freedom’: New Pressures on Putin
    I am aligned with Macgregor in looking for logic in Trump’s actions, though I go several steps further than Macgregor has done. To be specific, I stress the timeline for imposition of the 100% secondary tariffs. Fifty days! That just happens to cover what remains of summer 2025 while a major Russian offensive is underway. And, like so many of Trump’s deadlines we may assume that it will be extended if necessary.
    In the meantime, Trump has bought off the most dangerous critic within his own party, Senator Lindsey Graham, who is obliged to say that his pressure for sanctions on Russia has paid off even if he may be disgruntled that it is not going into effect tomorrow. Moreover, critics of Trump within Europe also are left speechless, now that officially Washington is resuming arms shipments to Ukraine and is cooperating on their plans to supply advanced weapons systems to Kiev including the Patriot from their own arsenals while scheduling replacements produced for them in the USA against payment.
    My read-out is that in effect Trump is saying to Vladimir Putin: ‘just get on with it. Finish up this war in the coming 50 days and we will be friends!” This is, I suggest, a repetition of what Trump told Netanyahu about his Gaza war on Hamas: “Do what you like but be fast about it!” …
    ..It bears mention that the moneyed classes in Moscow were very satisfied with Trump’s ‘surprise’ message. The BBC yesterday reported that the Moscow stock exchange rose 4% on the news.
    Since Macgregor reports from information provided to him by friends in Washington that the latest behind closed doors talks between U.S. and Russian officials remain cordial, we may assume that Trump remains on track to pursue détente with Russia and hopes that the Kremlin will do what has to be done expeditiously and effectively. https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2025/07/15/judging-freedom-new-pressures-on-putin/

    Simplicius, Trump’s Weapons Magic Show is Smoke & Mirrors Masterclass
    Let’s dig in to see whether there is actually more meat on the bone of Trump’s scary threats than people give credit for.
    Firstly, the timing: Axios now reports that Putin allegedly told Trump he plans to ‘intensify’ the Russian summer offensive in the next 60 days, with the goal—according to some sources—purportedly being to capture the remainder of nominal Russian territory, i.e. Donetsk, Lugansk, and Zaporozhye oblasts…
    ..The basic interpretation of that could be that Trump is giving Russia two months to capture whatever territory it claims belongs to it, then “the hammer” will come down…
    ..On the weapons side, as always, is where the biggest cloud of ambiguity lies. No one seems to know precisely what weapons and from what package will be sent, but according to CNN, it all sounds like more of the same, but just ‘repackaged’ with a new price tag…
    ..Now NATO countries will foot the bill. Prior to that, under Biden’s PDA, the US was sending weapons directly to Ukraine from its own stockpiles, and then replenishing those stockpiles with new orders to the MIC, from taxpayer funds. Now, it will come from European taxpayer funds—a win for the US…
    ..The biggest focal point were the Patriot ‘systems’. Again, the cloud of confusion—no one quite knows what the numbers represent: Patriot launchers, batteries, battalions, etc. Trump once mentioned the word ‘batteries’, but the numbers being discussed do not appear to realistically jibe. For instance, he mentioned sending “17” to Ukraine, but the US itself only has something like a total 50-70 active batteries, and obviously sending a third of its entire Patriot stock is unlikely.
    When you really read between the lines, what Trump appeared to intimate was that the eventual goal is to scrounge up a larger amount of ‘systems’ for Ukraine, but “initially” only a tiny fraction will be sent…
    ..In a new FT article German Defense Minister Pistorius admitted that Germany will not be sending any Patriots nor Taurus missiles… He goes on to say that Germany could purchase two systems from the US for Ukraine, instead. This is a kind of puerile shell game which is really meant to bolster the PR narrative that Ukraine is being ‘supported’ in order to keep hopes alive…
    ..The sanctions threat was likewise fraught with double-meaning. Trump called them ‘tariffs on Russia’, but in reality they are merely tariffs on US’ own allies…
    ..Russia exports virtually nothing to the US which can be ‘tariffed’. The threat here is meaningless as these other heavyweights will not put up with Trump’s threat, forcing him to back away at the last moment as usual, then claiming “victory” after securing some other secondary fig leaf ‘deal’.
    In conclusion: the entire charade appears to be a sneaky but brilliant act of jugglery by Trump, wherein he once again gives the appearance of major ‘action’ against Russia to silence critics and placate neocons, while in actuality doing little to further Ukraine’s war efforts, apart from plugging the previous status quo back onto life support…
    ..When asked what would happen after the 50 day mark if Putin refuses to back down, Trump told a reporter: “Don’t ask me that question.”
    The bigger debate is whether Trump has now officially taken ownership of the war, despite his feeble attempts to impute his continued failings to Biden; many think so. But I still suspect Trump is trying his hardest to playact the stern and impatient taskmaster to signal ‘toughness’ against Putin for his deep state audience, all while actually trying to mitigate damage to US-Russian relations. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/trumps-weapons-magic-show-is-smoke

    ​ This is just remarks at a podium. EU tells US to ‘share the burden’ for Ukraine weapons
    ​ “If we pay for these weapons – it’s our support, it’s European support,” Kallas explained when asked to clarify what she meant by sharing the burden. “We are doing as much as we can to help Ukraine, and therefore the call is that everybody would do the same. It’s, you know, if you promise to give the weapons but say that somebody else is going to pay – it’s not really given by you, is it?”​ https://swentr.site/news/621543-eu-us-pay-ukraine-weapons/

    #192159
    John Day
    Participant

    German president calls for universal military conscription
    Frank-Walter Steinmeier has argued that volunteer enlistment may not be sufficient to meet the country’s military demands https://swentr.site/news/621434-german-president-calls-for-universal/

    (Insert snyde remark here) France’s Macron calls for major hike in defence spending: ‘To be free, we must be feared’ https://www.france24.com/en/france/20250713-watch-live-french-president-macron-army-new-defence-targets-russia-nato-military

    I’m not interested in Lula, but there is more information: Financial Architecture of the BRICS “New Development Bank”: Lula Slams IMF and World Bank.
    The Bretton Woods financial system, established after World War II, is unreformable due to the hegemonic role of the United States. However, the New Development Bank and de-dollarization indicate that a process of replacing the financial architecture is already underway, and with great success so far…
    ..“The structures of the World Bank and the IMF support a reverse Marshall Plan, in which emerging and developing economies finance the more developed world,” the Brazilian president stated…
    ..Attempts to reform the system have been unsuccessful, from its collapse in the 1970s to the financial crisis of 2008. The Bretton Woods system is basically unreformable because it depends on US financing…
    ..The IMF and the World Bank are the only institutions over which the US has veto power. Additionally, the US has delegated operational guidelines to its political apparatus. This means that the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions is the body that defines US policy at the IMF and the World Bank. If the US does not approve the reform initiative, no reform will occur.
    At the same time, no US congressman is going to approve a reform that would lose Washington’s influence in an international organization. In effect, the Bretton Woods system cannot be reformed because it is made in the image and likeness of the dollar monopoly…
    ..There are currently various elements that reflect a similar process of replacing the global financial architecture, such as the swaps —which allow payments to be made without depending on the dollar—used by the Central Bank of China and other central banks. This swap mechanism between the world’s central banks replaces the role previously played by the IMF.
    The IMF is already being displaced, and a new financial architecture is emerging where payments are made in national currency and the payment channel is the CIPS [Cross-Border Interbank Payment System], replacing SWIFT, which is the Western one that Russia became barred from following the launch of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine in February 2022.
    Then there is the BRICS-established New Development Bank, which is based on what was the Bank of the South. The New Development Bank reflects an existing alternative architecture.
    Furthermore, this scenario will worsen as Washington imposes unilateral sanctions and tariffs on countries it considers its enemies. https://www.globalresearch.ca/lula-slams-imf-world-bank/5895049

    Gail Tverberg looks at the decline in diesel and copper per capita. Worrying indications in recently updated world energy data
    Prices don’t rise high enough, for long enough, to maintain adequate per capita supply of mineral resources
    The Energy Institute recently published its updated energy report, the 2025 Statistical Review of World Energy, showing data through the year 2024…
    ..A major hidden issue is that prices never seem to rise high enough, for long enough, to prevent production of fossil fuels and other mineral resources from declining relative to what is needed for the world’s rising population. Reserve numbers appear plenty adequate but, because of affordability issues, we cannot actually extract the resources that seem to be available. We should expect declining production because low prices drive more and more fossil fuel and other mineral producers out of business…
    ..The world’s per capita affordable supply of diesel has been declining, especially since 2014…
    ..If there isn’t enough diesel, cutbacks in some applications will be needed. One new workaround for the inadequate supply of diesel seems to be a reduction of international trade through tariffs. If goods can be produced closer to where they are purchased, then perhaps the economic system can accommodate the declining availability of the diesel supply a little longer.
    It should be noted that jet fuel consumption is also constrained. The type of oil used is quite similar to diesel…
    ..Copper supply seems to be constrained.
    There has been much discussion of transitioning to the use of more electricity and less fossil fuels. This would require both a greater build out of electricity transmission systems and more use of electric cars. Each of these uses would require more use of copper. Electric cars are reported to each require 40kg to 80kg of copper, while cars with internal combustion engines use only 20kg of copper. Building charging stations for all these cars would further add to copper needs, as would adding new transmission lines to carry the higher total electricity supply…
    ..Worldwide, the average time to new production is 17.9 years. For this reason, a temporary increase in price cannot be expected to drive up production very quickly… The new tariffs on copper, announced by President Donald Trump, seem to be intended to drive industries that use copper to look for substitute minerals. With a very long lag, the tariffs might also lead to an increase in copper production…
    ..Platinum extraction also seems to be constrained…
    ..The sad state of nuclear generation deserves a discussion of its own. There seem to be many factors underlying the substantial decline in nuclear electricity, as a share of total energy supply, between 2001 and 2013…
    ..Lack of profitability has been a major issue in the recent decline of nuclear generation.
    There doesn’t seem to be enough uranium produced to support much more nuclear generation than is used today. The US has been using down-cycled nuclear bomb material, but that is now becoming exhausted. See my earlier post.
    Uranium prices never bounce very high for very long. If prices were a lot higher over the long term, more uranium mines might be opened, and more uranium extracted.
    Opening a new mine often involves lag times of 10 to 15 years, making any ramping of uranium production a slow process…
    ..The recent annual rising trend of 0.2% in per capita consumption of energy looks vulnerable to disruption by any economic problem that arises…
    ..China plays a huge role in the world’s energy consumption. As resource limits are hit, China has the potential to pull the world economy down with it…..China’s energy consumption is heavily dominated by coal…
    ..One area where China is running into limits is with respect to oil supply. China imports most of its oil. Comparing 2024 to 2023, China’s total oil consumption decreased by 1.4%. Its diesel consumption decreased even more, by 2.8%.
    As the leading manufacturer of the world, China has been consuming huge amounts of minerals such as copper. This Copper Council report seems to indicate that China uses about 56% of the world’s copper supply. If there is a shortage of copper, China will be affected.
    We can look at energy consumption growth on a per capita basis. Not surprisingly, China’s rapid growth has pulled down per capita energy consumption growth elsewhere…
    ..Outside of China, energy consumption per capita has been falling for a long time. The rest of the world, to a significant extent, has lost its ability to manufacture the goods needed for its own people…
    ..Over the long term, affordability seems to play a larger role than rising demand in the prices of commodities, holding prices down. As a result, it is low prices that seem to lead to the falling production of commodities…
    ..I believe that the shortage of diesel, and perhaps of oil in general, underlies the push toward more tariffs. One effect of tariffs may be to reduce the amount of long-distance shipping. https://gailtverberg.substack.com/p/worrying-indications-in-recently

    ​ Robert ​Fico took ​5-6 bullets last year.​ ​This could break up the “EU”. EU country’s leader denounces Brussels’ ‘imbecilic’ Russia plan
    Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said the bloc’s push to phase out Russian energy imports jeopardizes his country’s economy​
    ​ The RePowerEU plan envisages cutting all Russian oil and gas imports into the EU by 2027. The scheme has met with opposition not only from Slovakia, but also Hungary, Austria, and reportedly Italy.
    ​ In a video posted on Facebook on Monday, Fico said the “battle for Slovakia’s energy security is nearing its end,” acknowledging that Bratislava cannot veto Brussels’ plan. He accused the EU leadership of deliberately presenting the proposal as trade legislation to pre-empt opposition. Unlike sanctions, the plan only requires a qualified majority to pass.​ https://swentr.site/news/621522-slovakia-fico-eu-russian-energy/

    #192160
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Anybody catch how Sen Lindsey Graham just threatened Moscow like some crude mafia goon in a “B” grade gangster flic threatens the owners of a small shop that needs their “protection”?

    “Hey, nice little national capital yooze got here. Be a real shame if something happened to it. It happens. Just ask the Ayatollah what happened to him when he didn’t do what we told him to do.”

    Trump, Graham, Netanyahu, the whole gang of them. They talk and act just like crass cheap hoodlums out of a graphic novel. Because that’s exactly what they are.

    #192161
    John Day
    Participant

    @DBS: I think global-crime-syndicates is “The Name Of The Game”, as it were.

    #192162
    those darned kids
    Participant

    we really, really need to bring back government funded arts.

    you know like these cats:

    ### **Musicians & Composers**

    1. **Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)**
    – **Patron:** Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar; Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen
    – **Role:** Court organist and Kapellmeister
    – **Output:** Composed the *Brandenburg Concertos* and sacred cantatas under princely salaries .

    2. **Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757)**
    – **Patron:** Portuguese and Spanish royal courts (Queen Maria Barbara)
    – **Role:** Royal harpsichordist
    – **Output:** Created 555 keyboard sonatas for the queen’s private study .

    3. **Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687)**
    – **Patron:** Louis XIV of France
    – **Role:** Surintendant de la Musique de la Chambre du Roi
    – **Output:** Pioneered French opera (*tragédies en musique*) like *Armide*, aligning with royal propaganda .

    ### **Painters**

    4. **Titian (c. 1488–1576)**
    – **Patron:** Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor), Philip II of Spain
    – **Role:** Court portraitist
    – **Output:** *Equestrian Portrait of Charles V* (1548); mythologies for Philip II like *Diana and Actaeon* .

    5. **Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640)**
    – **Patron:** Duke of Mantua; Marie de’ Medici (Queen of France); Charles I of England
    – **Role:** Diplomat-artist
    – **Output:** *Marie de’ Medici Cycle* (21 canvases glorifying the queen); *Allegory of Peace* for Charles I .

    6. **Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825)**
    – **Patron:** Napoleon Bonaparte
    – **Role:** Premier Peintre de l’Empereur
    – **Output:** Propaganda works like *The Coronation of Napoleon* (1807) .

    7. **Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641)**
    – **Patron:** Charles I of England
    – **Role:** Principal court painter
    – **Output:** *Charles I in Three Positions* (1635–1636), defining the king’s image .

    ### **Architects**

    8. **Christopher Wren (1632–1723)**
    – **Patron:** Charles II of England
    – **Role:** Surveyor-General of the King’s Works
    – **Output:** Rebuilt St. Paul’s Cathedral and 52 London churches post-Great Fire, funded by state coal taxes .

    9. **Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680)**
    – **Patron:** Pope Urban VIII; Louis XIV of France
    – **Role:** Papal architect; invited to Versailles
    – **Output:** Colonnade of St. Peter’s Square (Vatican); unrealized Louvre redesign for Louis XIV .

    10. **John Vanbrugh (1664–1726)**
    – **Patron:** Queen Anne; 1st Duke of Marlborough
    – **Role:** Playwright-architect
    – **Output:** Blenheim Palace (1705–1722), a Baroque monument to the Duke’s military victories .

    ### **Writers & Poets**

    11. **Pierre Corneille (1606–1684)**
    – **Patron:** Cardinal Richelieu (under Louis XIII)
    – **Role:** State-subsidized playwright
    – **Output:** Tragedies like *Le Cid* (1637), aligning with French absolutist ideals .

    12. **Jean Racine (1639–1699)**
    – **Patron:** Louis XIV
    – **Role:** Court historiographer
    – **Output:** *Phèdre* (1677); official histories of the king’s wars .

    13. **Torquato Tasso (1544–1595)**
    – **Patron:** Alfonso II d’Este (Duke of Ferrara)
    – **Role:** Court poet
    – **Output:** Epic poem *Jerusalem Delivered* (1581), celebrating Crusader heroism .

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 74 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.