Debt Rattle April 21 2026
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George Bellows The Lone Tenement 1909 • Iran Pushes Too Far in Hormuz, and the U.S. Pushes Back (David Manney) • US Navy Fires At and Boards Iranian-f
[See the full post at: Debt Rattle April 21 2026]DBS: I’m not a pragmatist or even a Utilitarian at all. I’m only trying to figure out what’s going on. Running around in circles, hitting ourselves in the head with “Orange Man” is not working. It’s failed every day for 10 years, perhaps we can try another approach. This is merely Step One. Step Two would be acting on it, and Step Three, morally.
For example: Ukraine and Gaza are both Biden projects and approval. No one cares: Orange man. Obama picked up 5 wars, including Syria, and gave all he billions fueling Iran’s weaponry today. No one cares: Orange man. He got his whole cabinet from Baby Bush. No one cares: Orange Man. This has been going 100 years, is literally everywhere, and hard to stop. No one cares: Orange man.
Germany is out shooting the opposition party, setting up a de facto one-party state, with no law, process, or freedom Stalin could only dream of. No one cares: Orange Man.
England is running non-stop rape gangs and is LITERALLY run by the highest person we provably have evidence of being Epstein-run (UK main strategist, both parties, way above any PM), this is headline news daily as they refuse to deport rapists and murderers. Again, ACTUAL EPSTEIN right hand man. ABOVE the Prime Minister(s). No one cares: Orange man.
Europe as a whole has killed TWO MILLION people, while Orange man ordered them to knock it off, took their money, cut off their supplies, ring fenced their fuel, kicked them in a pants and punched their hats in the Oval Office in a desperate bid to stop it: No one cares: Orange Man.
What is this line of non-thinking and non-questioning getting us? History started in 2016 when all logic stopped. America, Presidents, had no wars, no plans before then. We did not overthrow 100 nations in the 20th century, this started when he came down the escalator. This is unique in all history. We have no need to look, prove, ask, anything because I saw Colin Powel lie to the UN once.
Can you see what this fetish is keeping our eyes off of right now?
I was thinking overnight, there’s a key difference: You think we’re just piddling around the edges in a business as usual environment. There’s essentially no risk, they’re just doing it for the lols. I think we’re midway in WWIII where they’re trying to kill everyone in the United States especially, but also the world generally. This is the ONLY battle, because if we lose this humankind will cease to exist in a Technocratic hellscape for 1,000 years. So you’re clearly going to take measures in the Ardennes, 1944 you wouldn’t take in 1936, which is where you think we are.
Since millions of Americans have ALREADY been killed, we’ve ALREADY been invaded, our children ALREADY trafficked, what level of U.S. deaths would be adequate to convince you we are in the Hot War part against the (European-based) Globalists? Should we play nicey-nice and cricket which has been working so very well since 1913, 1949, 1963, or 2010? Or should we, need we, go George Patton on them? And WHYYYY did Patton “Go Patton”? A: Because it saves the most lives. The faster the war is over, the faster we get back to our lives, and ironically, the fewer killed. That seems illogical as he’s hitting them harder up front, leveling them in public. Yes, that may be, but if you run it like Ukraine, on bullet at a time, you can slowly trickle men in until the sun burns out, and the enemy will try it. As per Iran, we ALREADY ran that plan, and failed, since 1910, 1953, 1979, take your pick.
We did all that. That’s every day since 1970, whenever. Slow, nice, just allows the Globalists to continue to move and re-position. You need to recognize we’re in a war of existence with them, grab the pace of the war by the throat and set them radically off-balance as many times daily as possible, while attacking and killing any base of operations they have. We are.
I am as sad as you are we can’t bomb them at home, and do so first even, but like going around Italy to take Normandy, sometimes realities on the ground mean you have to do A first, before blowing up your own rail lines supplying B. This is one reason, I — knowing literally nothing — would have fought Globalists here and not Iran. I’m also probably wrong, as so far (eg Covid) my outlook has been catastrophically too generous on the public and underestimating Globalist power and evil. They are not making the mistakes I would have made — and lost the human race in my optimism and generosity.
That’s agreeing with WES as to the very obviousness of who he is and what he’s after. He’s not a Globalist or they wouldn’t be shooting him weekly. He’s not LIKE a Globalist, or he would be co-opted because they have aligning interests and similar view. 10 years in a row he’s done nothing but dismantle the CIA, and try to re-establish civilian control over a sovereign America, under the “American Plan” of tariffs and production we had for 200 years. I can point almost every action done – and every battle of Congress and Globalists against him – all points to this direction. Including or especially Iran.
On the flip side, EVERY pundit, expert, media head all openly say, first sentence “I have no idea what he’s doing” then proceeds to say “Everyone in the world is stupid” who have all the intel, knowledge, background, that we do not. Then we sit up here SAY THE MEDIA IS ALWAYS LYING, controlling, misdirecting the people, AND BELIEVE THEM ANYWAY. Wha? Why???
You can believe them, in which case believe them when they say they haven’t a clue. Or not believe them, in which case we can more efficiently disregard almost everything they say, having proven to be always fabricated since 9-10-2001 or 1971, or 1961 or pick your date.
Against YOUR OWN LOGIC everyone is saying the media is lying and doesn’t know, then believes them anyway. All the same media who openly declare they hate our guts and want us to wear masks, eat bugs, and die. …And have been dead-wrong every day for 10 years. I for one am not into believing people like that, and I’m very suspicious of everything they say and do.
Which is it?
In response to the note above that “80% of Iran oil goes to China. Trump has weaponized that” – I expect that if this escalates China will finally play the gold card. Yes, gold, something that TAE rarely talks about these days. For 75 years the gold to oil ratio was almost always in a tight controlled range of about 15:1. But since Covid the historical range has broken down and the ratio is now 60:1. Since the 1987 crash it has been modeled that if the USD loses reserve currency status the ratio will go to 1000:1 or higher. When gold broke out last year Treasury acknowledged that gold would go much higher. They just wanted to slow that down. China’s countermove is to speed that up. Cut off our supply of oil and we reveal the true value of those gold reserves we have been building for 25 years. A ratio of 1000:1 gives them more than enough purchasing power to offset the loss of Iranian oil. Don’t forget that gold us still the center of gravity in the economic order. And I say that as a committed Bitcoiner!
Mobilize Forces To Intervene in a ‘Break-Out of Reason’
Marcia BakerApril 20, 2026 . 6:39 PMThe LaRouche Organization organizers calling for a stop of the Iran war. Credit: EIRNS/Joseph Jennings
As of the eighth week of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, the world is at a severe point of crisis both objectively—in worsening economic shock; and subjectively—in moral and diplomatic shock. The dynamics are underway for a global depression, with no “if and when” about it, given the chain reactions of shortages of fuel and chemicals, and price hyperinflation. For example, world food shortages are building: The International Grains Council projects a global production decline of millions of tons of “total” grains (wheat, corn and some others) for the current crop year 2026-2027. The only question is how much of a decline. (The IGC, an intergovernmental agency, has kept data since its founding in 1949.)On the eve of the two-week ceasefire declared by President Donald Trump on April 7, which he shifted today from April 21, to “to Wednesday evening Washington time” April 22, there are no definite arrangements for a second round of talks among the U.S., Iran and mediators.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said today on an X posting: “Deep historical mistrust in Iran toward the U.S. government conduct remains, while unconstructive and contradictory signals from American officials carry a bitter message; they seek Iran’s surrender; Iranians do not submit to force.”
For his part, U.S. President Trump gave a flurry of short statements to multiple media in the past 24 hours, conveying a range of comments, including denouncing any fellow Americans who seek an early end to the conflict. He otherwise declared talks are set, and he is dispatching Vice President JD Vance on April 21 to Pakistan. This frantic pattern is the type of behavior dozens of U.S. mental health professionals are warning of, as constituting a security threat, and grounds for initiating Constitutional measures to stop.
In this dangerous context, the world requires “a breakthrough of reason,” asserted Helga Zepp-LaRouche today, a leader of the Schiller Institute, who founded the International Peace Coalition (IPC) in 2022, as an open platform—meeting weekly by internet—for increasing the unified impact of those working for peace, in particular, through economic development. She called for a rush mobilization immediately “to get more adults in the room” intervening into the world crisis, to shift things away from danger, toward a new framework for security and peace. “The world is hanging by a thin silk thread,” she warned.
Look at some of the extreme features of the immediate situation in the greater Southwest Asia/North Africa region. The United States has a massed force of three aircraft carrier groups and some 50,000 soldiers and sailors in the area. On April 19 a destroyer attached to the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group seized the Iranian cargo ship Touska. Israel is, meantime, continuing military action in Lebanon, where over a million residents have been displaced. In Gaza, the IDF has built up 48 military control sites, including 13 since the October 2025 ceasefire was announced. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the “ceasefire,” and also in the West Bank. There is not even a pretense of a Trump Board of Peace reconstruction program. Throughout the Gulf states, millions of those in the foreign work force—in the range of 24 millions total—are stranded, lacking food and necessities.
Internationally, the economic picture is worsening by the hour. Fuel shortages and rationing are underway, especially in Asia and Africa. Slovenia was the first nation in the European Union to cap daily access to gasoline at 50 liters, the limit now in place in Indonesia and many other nations. Passenger flights are being cut back from Australia to Thailand for lack of jet fuel. Fertilizer shortages, not just sky-high prices, are spreading. For example, Brazil, the agriculture powerhouse, is 85% import-dependent for fertilizer, for which there is no quick fix. India has severe shortages.
In the United States, the Agriculture Secretary told farmers to hang on, the White House will announce a fertilizer-aid program this week. Today the U.S., current chair of the Group of 20, released a “Chair’s Statement” from the Treasury Department, calling on G20 members to stay “agile and flexible” to promote “food security and support market stability,” but do nothing to stop the warfare.
Meantime, U.S. public debt is soaring. It grew by $1 trillion in only the five months through March! At the same time, the buyers for the debt are backing off to the point of Treasury debt “market” failure.
These reports are just the here-and-now updates on a fast-devolving process that, unless stopped, will mean chaos, with needless destruction. The economic degradation, and the suffering and death in Southwest Asia and all the war zones, must be stopped.
A letter from the parents of the 168 children who were killed at the Minab girls school in Iran on Feb. 28, and sent to Pope Leo XIV, goes right to the point. The handwritten text, made public April 19, thanks the Pope for his work promoting peace around the world, and urges him to, “continue to be the voice of the voiceless children.” Peace and tranquility are achieved, “not through force and weapons, but through the path of dialogue and the genuine search for a solution for all.”
There are various voices speaking out the world over, which, if amplified in number and focus of positive initiatives, can change the course of history. In the United States, there is a critical focus on the Constitution-mandated responsibility of the Congress to shape up and act to stop the war madness. On April 22 and April 29 many Americans plan to give Congress direction in person, which—joined by messages from across the country and from around the world, can be a critical intervention of reason. Most efficiently, Congress can cut the funding for war-making, as seen dramatically in 1973, when a bill passed to de-fund the U.S. war on Vietnam.
Make the International Peace Coalition meeting April 24, at 11:00 am (ET) a “break-out” gathering for the force of reason in the world.
https://eir.news/2026/04/news/mobilize-forces-to-intervene-in-a-break-out-of-reason/Must Comment…..
Step one MUST be moral, otherwise you are equal to the psychopaths. Otherwise, you give people the impression you’re just itching to join the dance of wickedness.
hint, hint..
!@#$%$#@!@#$:
you can’t run a tractor or turn a flour mill with gold. Humans is dumb with a capital “B”.
Pelosi, Cases: “If that f—–‘ bastard wins, we’re all going to hang from nooses!” Hillary Clinton to Donna Brasil.
Similar to CA, Newsom. As seen, proven in MN, THE SYSTEM RUNS ON BILLIONS IN FRAUD. Yearly. Without the Fraud, there IS no system.
Shirley goes to CA, asks obvious reporter questions, the AG tries to remove him and they start passing a law against asking questions – no joke! That’s because without billions in fraud – all from the Federal Government, Medicaid, etc — they ain’t gonna rob themselves!! — the whole political structure of these states would collapse. And while it’s mostly Blue, pretty sure Red Indiana is one of them, and Ohio is on the edge, wobbling over the line every year.
So not even any OPPOSITION guy would crash it all for 50 years and send them to jail. When MN Legislature puts out hits on their own members for voting wrong, done on their front doorstep, then EVERYBODY is gong to jail. …If even a SLIGHTLY LESS CORRUPT mafia don gets in. Like trade from the reckless, kill-everyone Medellin Cartel to the Corleones, Michael is STILL going to have to whack most of them because they can’t be trusted and are completely out of line. So they cannot allow even a slightly-less evil person in.
This is why corruption generally only runs one way: worse. It’s a ratchet. Same with the election-rigging, people thought Orange Hitler, just a little bend, this one time, only to find out if you committed a felony, you now have to run new, bigger, harder, worser felonies every day to escape the LAST felony you did. More and more and more since 2016, more cover ups, worse ones, bigger, less hidden ones, until you’re all in. And why also that? Because if YOU crack about that one box of ballots you ran through twice the NEXT guy goes to jail, so he’s going to kill you before you can talk to save himself. Now a fun lark, a little around the edges, like Pelosi’s trading becomes a life and death struggle with blackmail and certain death.
…This is the condition they are all in. And some, like Brennan, are bad at this level from the start. But most aren’t. And that’s too bad, but I also can’t help them. When a bad man asks you to participate in a felony that ends all America as we know it, say no. That’s the bar.
““It’s a pattern that Iran has long perfected: probe, push, and see how far the other side tolerates their actions. That approach worked until it didn’t after Epic Fury ..”
It’s a Persian thing. That’s okay, like haggling in the market. But it does have ups and downs, just as the Cowboy American method does. VDH was talking about how Iran got to this sorry and miserable state since everyone was always encouraging them, backing down, handing them money, puffing their egos as unassailable. This drives to the heart of the weak point of the Persian Character. Strength. Honor even. So they thought they were bigger than the whole United States. Clearly that was an insane position to have, but it really bites in something else in our system: we complain about having no policy bc we change every 4 years, but not the first time a couple Presidents do a thing, then suddenly the next one doesn’t. Other nations have a sense that “Germany” will be somewhat stable in outlook, as they’re run by bureaucracy (Globalists actually) and ours is too. But if the President wishes, as occasionally happens, he can “just reverse”. Like Nixon in China or Reagan with USSR. So a dozen Presidents tested or tried, so Iran was very confident we’d never do nothin’ and back down to ANYTHING they said.
…As every pundit is demanding we surrender to Iran, “The political cost would be too high.” …Unless it isn’t, and somebody dgaf. Who is 80 and on his 2nd term.
So that’s how they got overconfident nothing would happen, AND were clearly dicking with Russia and China constantly, or they both would have backed Iran in this. They very, very, very pointedly haven’t. And we haven’t heard a word from the Fox Experts (Always wrong, never in doubt) about it.
This is bad that it’s like this, but I don’t know how to help it. What complete overhaul of the U.S. system would happen that wouldn’t be twice as bad, letting the Globalists tie us down more than they have already?
Now OUR badness: Over and over: Iran can remain a stone age Yemen for 100 years if they wish. We can’t really stop them. So there’s no “Win” and as also said 100 times, we’re not going to invade nor regime-change there. Like Venezuela, they “Just Say S—t” then when it doesn’t happen, double down and say we invaded with a million men and toppled the entirely stable and continuing Chavista government anyway. We just lie rather than adjust our compass. Why? What does that help? Is lying a good thing, the winning plan now?
But we can’t “Beat” Iran, because we never intended to. Same as Reagan “Didn’t want to WIN the Cold War, he wanted to END the Cold War.” That he can do and did. The NeoCon crazies in his own Cabinet never saw it coming because they cannot imagine destroying the One Ring. They cannot imagine NOT invading. They cannot imagine peace were the Russians or Iranians pick their own leader.
“Never. RGC), tells the BBC in Tehran. “Iran will decide the right of passage, including permissions for vessels to pass through the Strait.”
Newsflash: the waters of the Strait are NOT IRANIAN. Look at a map. So Iran here is saying they will invade and occupy Omani waters FOREVER, and Control OMAN forever. And this is good with everyone?
Obviously in practice Canada can shell the Port of Seattle from their side, but that’s different from claiming the waters themselves are Canadian. Since they were NEVER owned by Iran, they are also declaring themselves the legal victors and stealing Oman by Law of War. Alrightee then! Don’t think that’s going to happen right now though, try another 50 years. Oman may be small but Saudi isn’t just going to let them.
“• US Navy Fires At and Boards Iranian-flagged Cargo Ship (RT)
All things not said. They are waxing triumphant that a single ship got through. SMH. Okay man, but a single ship running the Union Blockade does not win the Confederacy. It’s a zero. Here’s my point: WHAT is on the ships? The ship was going TO Iran, not from it. These are CONTAINER ships, not oil. So yes, like Ukraine they are trafficking in arms, and trying to remove the Uranium, gold, whatever to safekeeping. Like that one ship from Caracas we took in Iceland, it’s a matter of WHICH ship, and WHY this ONE ship?
Like Caracas, we followed only one ship, boarded it under Russian watch, and let 20 others go. Because that’s not the blockade we’re running. We can see right through the ships and board only the ones with contraband, not wasting our time. I think those videos were posted even here, bread trucks running around town, able to look right through walls like paper.
“The Iranian military has vowed to retaliate for the seizure of the vessel.”Yes, as comment yesterday, it’s all Iran being nice and luring us in. “Iran could sink every ship in the Navy” they said. Um. Okay. When? 2040? 2030? If there was ever a time to sink a US Navy ship, this is the ONLY time you may be able. Was shooting FOUR THOUSAND objects at the USS Lincoln “Not trying” to sink a ship? Doesn’t matter. Orange Man. Iran can sink any US Navy ship at will, but they’re just pacifists and super-swell guys like that. We’ve leveled their country and they’re not firing back because they don’t want to be mean. Same with doing ANY sleeper cell attacks in America, practically the easiest thing imaginable. I could probably knock out 20 substations without getting caught starting with a screwdriver.
C’mon. Is this REALLY your logical, dispassionate conclusion here?
In my world, the only reason you wouldn’t sink a ship and drop a bridge in Mississippi is because you can’t. That’s what war IS. We dropped all their bridges, but Iran is morally opposed to shooting back…ever. Really? How deep does the propaganda go? Blowing up bridges is losing, but NOT blowing up…anything, sinking no ships…is…winning? Please tell me none of you are soldiers or war planners here.
How many ships does Iran have to not sink for how many years before you believe them?
“• Xi Urges Immediate Opening Of Hormuz Strait For First Time (ZH)
Not ONLY this, but where was China for air defense, etc.? They weren’t supporting before, during, or now after. Why? We were promised WWIII, so it’s a shame Trump nuked Tehran as promised last week by Fox News on TACO Tuesday. IF ONLY he had restrained himself! But no. In my mind, where I “Make Stuff up” he already has. When that’s wrong “I make up more stuff” and I never said it.
“In 2025, U.S. crude oil production hit a new annual record of 13.6 million barrels per day, making the United States the world’s largest producer but also the biggest exporter..“
From The Oil Drum. Peak Oil! 2001! Can we keep this up? A: Absolutely. We’re not drilling three coasts and California is full of oil. That’s even IF ANWR is bare, which it definitely isn’t.
“For half a century, the Strait of Hormuz was Iran’s weapon. Today, it is its noose.”
Judo. Pushme-Pullu. Extremely normal. The Opposite of “Chaos” and “not knowing what he’s doing.”
“. Almost 90 per cent of Iran’s crude exports, and about 80 per cent of its total exports, depend on the transit through Hormuz.”
$400M or a billion a day, all and only the money need to buy new weapons and re-arm. Their fields are about to be irreversibly damaged. Okay then. Makes ours even more valuable. Russia won’t mind.
“the government’s budget, which allocates 51 per cent of oil revenues to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps”
I thought giving money only for war was immoral. And don’t the Iranian people need some?
The IRGC puts all that money in London. But that’s not a motive for nothin’ is it? Buying weapons and using them daily is only good when Iran does it.
“U.S. dry gas production exceeds the combined output of Russia, Iran, and China.”
So sad prices are up. Mostly because of Europe and their incredible disinterest in NordStream, Ukraine pipes, and …you know, having fertilizer to…not die n’ stuff. Who warned them before, during, and after the war, the NordStream, about fertilizer? (Many, but me as well) That’s not just the GAS, but the plant that converts it is in Germany Idle because there’s no longer gas to feed it. Even if you begged Russia for fertilizer, one mega plant is not running and it’s not a pop-up stand for Russia to just make another one. …Especially as Europe is still bombing Russian refineries daily.
Oh well. Warned them for like a zillion years. At least 2014. Every. Single. Day. And it’s not JUST the leaders, maniacs though they are: ask any average European, on the street. More immigrants, muh hate Putin? Yup and yup. Okay then, your wish is my command. 10 even 20 years to think about this and decide and act. They’re arresting farmers, paving fields, and shutting off power instead. Why no food tho? Me no understand.
“• From Leverage To Liability: Hormuz Is Now Iran’s Biggest Weakness (Lacalle)
But this is a very good and reasonable article. A rarety, I should pin it to the wall. There’s one a month not insane, maybe.
““It is one thing for the people (of Iran) to be ruled by globally feared autocrats armed to the teeth, but quite another to be governed by humiliated, now impotent incompetents and buffoons.” —VDH
I wouldn’t care, but sadly this is also part of the Persian character. Yeah, it’s a tough blow to pride. I don’t prefer it, I think they dig in their heels, but they’re also reasonable and intelligent. I can’t guess where this goes, and I guess Russia and China can’t either. Iran hasn’t been foreign-ruled since 1910, maybe no one even knows who they themselves are.
“Atlantic” They don’t care if the “Atlantic” falls or is discredited. They captured it like a pirate ship and wear it like a skin suit. It’s not theirs. And if it, another American Icon is destroyed, it destroys the nation, and memory of the nation as a whole, same as discrediting the Supreme Court, etc. It’s all Win-win. That’s just to say “Wrecking things is easy, building them is hard.”
“Joseph diGenova is 81 years old. He’s a longtime Trump legal advisor floating to the top.
• DOJ Moves In Florida Signals Major Escalation In Russiagate Criminal Probe (ZH)They can’t really threaten him with death.
“• 5 Stories Democrats Told During Trump’s 2019 Impeachment Have Crumbled (JTN)
No one cares because “Orange Man Bad” but we KNOW that he’s bad…using these same 5 lies. QED. When all data has proven to be false, go forward with the thesis anyway. All the people GIVING the false data, trust them again tomorrow too.
“• ‘Pandemic of Fascism’ Looming Over West – Moscow (RT)
Way past looming. If it wasn’t in Ukraine – we can call that an outlier – everything Germany is doing politically is way into Nazi Authoritarianism. The rest of the EU follows, and the member states themselves lagging only somewhat behind. And Canada, of course, head of Eugenics central.
“key rights that the EU has been systematically destroying in Europe ..”
Their rights come and go, since they are granted by the State. Our rights are innate, but requires we fight to enforce them.
“the dangers posed to the American republic this century by the rise of global governance systems like the EU.”
It’s a Red Herring there IS no governance structure. There is no vote, no leader, no representation, and no law. Unelected NGOs write the laws, unelected bureacracy enforce them, unelected leaders oversee it all. We have no idea what the laws are, who is doing it, or how to respond to them. This is the most diabolical in history, and even being run ONLY by Corporations would be superior, evil as that would be. Even the Soviet was a whole level superior since at least they decided and controlled IN THEORY.
““.. 28 refineries – more than 25% of the number of refineries and 16% of refining capacity – have been either shut or transformed since 2009 ..”
• Europe Faces Summer Jet Fuel Crisis As Iran War Slashes Supply (Paraskova)Just like the other year when 20 Food Processing plants all had fires – but only food: not autos, toys, malls, nothing – now this month all refineries worldwide are suddenly amazingly careless and have accidents. And of course the Russians are bombing their own refineries again.
Soooo…there’s a worldwide crush on that’s going to kill millions….and SOMEONE is going around the world MAKING SURE. Now can you tell me who has a motive for that? Don’t seem to be China, Iran, U.S., Ukraine, anyone. What the hekken? We’ve had our own fires too, but that doesn’t pitch one way or the other. Strategically: Why?
Only thing I can think is to cause a certain global collapse, famine, as a bid to cause WWIII they can’t seem to get off the ground anywhere. And “Who is ‘They’ though?”
On the other side, little-known: did you know that the U.S. promised to never have another refinery as part of the Petrodollar deal with Saudi? That appears to be true. And we then double-crossed Saudi, broke the agreement and started one, which is operational now. Now we MAY have made up with Saudi, and probably have – long story with MBS, Kashoggi and Vegas Shooting, but suffice to say if there are any deals they are new, Trump deals like “Abraham”, and neither us nor them are bound by the previous Petrodollar US$ deals. And this almost certainly goes for us taking on Iran with, and in the service of, the Gulf States. Everyone points at Israel, who was leveled. EVERY GULF STATE APPROVES. And Russia and China, apparently. The only ones who DON’T Approve are Muslim states France and England, with the Muslim Party of the DNC and Muslim-England-run Fox News via Muslim MI6 asset Murdoch. This is not rocket science.
Every other Muslim nation? Indonesia? Pakistan? Also don’t care. ONLY the Democratic Party and Fox News cares. Why am I jumping into the fray to defend Iran when THE WHOLE MUSLIM WORLD won’t? Do I know something they don’t? I’m gonna tell them Brown pepo how it be.
Why should I not position myself EXACTLY as Russia and China have on it? Why is everyone else positioning themselves as if they were the Ayatollah Khomeini? Huh? I don’t make myself Tel Aviv and I’m not the Ayatollah either, man.
“Larry Ellison just asked the one question no journalist on Earth can answer.”
AI form. Is the entire Internet dead now, devoid of all human life? And yes, I appreciate someone using facts and not “Man Bad” for like ONCE every 24 hours or so. Just ONCE.
Musk successfully does stuff. To me he successfully creates Frankensteins. Those are up and wandering around killing people daily.
“50 Square mile factory”. My point exactly. These are inhuman, alien creatures destroying all life on earth and must be stopped. Did he UN-Pave somewhere and plant 50 miles of Redwoods? No? Then he’s evil.
WES
Thank you for that sharp summary yesterday. Some new things for me and everything put together into one clear picture. I knew about the CIA funding and a little about the shaw. I knew nothing about the first ayatollah and the shaws exodusCharles, a 2nd Lieutenant in Vietnam, who had some My Lai veterans in his command, included this link about My Lai yesterday, which I have read. It is instructive about the nature of American warfighting.
Michael Reid excerpted this Alastair Crook post yesterday, and this stuck out as important: https://strategic-culture.su/news/2026/04/20/markets-prematurely-may-celebrate-but-the-next-phase-likely-will-be-more-bigger-war/
U.S. Constitutional U.S. lawyer, Robert Barnes (who is a friend of Vance), reports in an interview that:
“Trump began exhibiting signs of early dementia in September 2025 … He frequently confabulates, he routinely loses his temper and unleashes screaming rants and he is incapable of doing critical thinking. And – according to Barnes, in this state – Trump genuinely believes that the U.S. has vanquished Iran and does not comprehend the massive economic damage that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is doing to the global economy”.
In short, Barnes says that Trump’s delirium that Iran is at the point of capitulation reflects his impaired mental state — an impairment of understanding ‘reality’ (a panglossian interpretation that Secretary Pete Hegseth does his best to reinforce).
Like Netanyahu, Trump likely believes too, that pressure and more pressure on Iran could yield the triumphantVictory trophy of (figuratively) waving aloft 430 Kg of enriched uranium — either compelled to be given up by economic pressure, or alternatively dramatically seized on the ground by U.S. forces.
Open your eyes.
Internationally, the economic picture is worsening by the hour. Fuel shortages and rationing are underway.
———–
Control
Diversion
Power
entertainment
lies, secrets
irrelevant
———-
Don’t decide … Read more …
There is no need to repeat TAE and RIM
————@DrD
DBS: I’m not a pragmatist or even a Utilitarian at all. I’m only trying to figure out what’s going on. Running around in circles, hitting ourselves in the head with “Orange Man” is not working. It’s failed every day for 10 years, perhaps we can try another approach. This is merely Step One. Step Two would be acting on it, and Step Three, morally.
I wholeheartedly agree with you that “…trying to figure out what’s going on” is a good first step (and should be #1 on anyone’s do-list, in my opinion), but am of the strong opinion that your proposed steps # 2 and #3 are in reversed order. One should always always always figure out what the right thing is before doing it.
As for the utter chaos that seems to fill the “information sphere” of knowing who’s lying, who’s lying more and who’s lying the most I can only sympathize and offer the advice that has always served me well.
Question everything and doubt the answers that come back. Doubt can be your friend. It leads to questioning everything (including the doubt itself!) which then produces more answers, and more doubt, and eventually reveals patterns and consistencies within what initially looked like total chaos and now is revealed as not total.
It’s a start.
There may well be no achievable ending, but at least you’ll be headed in the right direction and if there is anything in all of it that I do know for certain it is that going in the wrong direction is not going to get you to anywhere you really want to go.
P.S. :
You’re going to have to search earlier than Donald J Chump to find much useful atall. A lot earlier. And by that word I mean to say a LOT earlier. Count by centuries, not years, and at every single step ask of every alleged answer, “Oh! Is that so?”, and then question further to remove as much doubt as can be.
THE PENTAGON – The Navy wants to buy the first Trump-class battleship in next year’s budget submission, a schedule that would allow the service to make the purchase before President Donald Trump leaves office.
In the FY 2028 budget submission the Defense Department will unveil next year when it buys the first ship, the Navy projects asking for $17 billion in procurement funding. The service currently projects buying the second ship in FY 2030, when it will seek $13 billion, and the third ship in FY 2031, when it will ask Congress for $11.5 billion
Trump and Navy Secretary John Phelan announced in December that the service would pursue a new battleship, which anchors the Trump administration’s pursuit of the Golden Fleet concept.
https://news.usni.org/2026/04/21/navy-wants-to-buy-trump-class-battleship-in-fy-2028
For a guy who got almost famous writing about drug addled rock stars for Rolling Stone (and the atrocities of suburban architecture), Jimmy the Kid Killer Kunstler sure knows WAY too much (or thinks he does!) about the inner workings of the Iranian government.
And what he claims to know is just outright malarky, biased propaganda and genocidal bullshit. Hey Jimmy boy, when you say “Our country” which country are you speaking of? Sure doesn’t look like America to me.
Tell me that guy ain’t Mossad.
Whatever they’re paying him, it’s too much.
He should go back to his weed and the Rolling Stone. They’re more his kind of people, if you catch my drift.
“Brown pepo how it be”.
Such wisdom..
Have you ever considered I might be a “Brown pepo “?
But please, how it be?
Fire all your guns at once?
And then explode into space?I like smoke and lightnin’
Heavy metal thunder
Racing with the wind
And the feeling that I’m underYeah, darlin’ gonna make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into spaceThe Nuclear Codes – Whom The Gods Would Destroy https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/the-nuclear-codes-whom-the-gods-would
‘Highly Unlikely’ US Will Extend Iran Ceasefire, ‘Lots Of Bombs Will Go Off’ If No Deal: Trump
Vance intends to depart Tuesday to Pakistan, though still unclear whether Iranians will join – Pakistanis say yes, but timeline is fluid. Trump warns “nobody’s playing games” & “lots of bombs will go off” if no deal (PBS)
Xi to Saudi crown prince important phone call: “the first time the Chinese leader had called for the reopening of the strategically vital waterway.” https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-says-no-plans-talks-after-us-seizure-cargo-ship-pakistanis-contradict-oil-prices US says it will pursue ships in Pacific Ocean supporting Iran
Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the US military will also target ‘dark fleet vessels carrying Iranian oil’ https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-says-it-will-pursue-ships-pacific-ocean-supporting-iran An empty ship heading towards the Strait from the Gulf of Oman: A US destroyer on Sunday fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade, President Donald Trump and the US military said Sunday.
Trump posted on Truth Social that after the Iranian vessel, Touska, ignored warnings to stop, the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom.”
“Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel,” the US president added, “and are seeing what’s on board!” https://www.spacewar.com/afp/260419220859.63l4gkyd.html Iran’s military deliver drone strikes on US warships in response to its vessel’s seizure
According to the news agency, Iran’s military intended to continue responding to “piracy” policy and attacks on behalf of the US side https://tass.com/world/2119379 Trump Cryptically References US Intercepted Chinese ‘Gift’ To Iran
The ship had “a gift from China” which “wasn’t very nice,” Trump told CNBC. “I was a little surprised,” he said, adding that he believed he had an “understanding” with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
He had asserted: “We caught a ship yesterday that had some things on it, which wasn’t very nice, a gift from China.” https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-cryptically-references-us-intercepted-chinese-gift-iranGold & Geopolitics identifies the “gift from China” cargo: Daily digest: 2026-04-21
USS Spruance fires on and seizes Iranian vessel Touska. US Marines boarded the Iranian-flagged cargo ship after it defied 6 hours of warnings en route to Bandar Abbas. CENTCOM says 27 vessels turned back; zero evasions since April 13. Ship reportedly carried dual-use chemicals from China linked to ballistic missile manufacturing – potentially explosive for the May 14 Trump-Xi summit...
..Ceasefire expires Wednesday evening Washington time. Trump says “highly unlikely” he extends it and “lots of bombs will start going off” without a deal. Iran initially refused second round of talks; signals later emerged that Iran’s delegation received a “green light” from Mojtaba Khamenei to proceed to Islamabad per Axios…
..Pakistan’s army chief told Trump the Hormuz blockade is a hurdle; Pakistan asked both sides to extend ceasefire two weeks
Trump won’t take off blockade until deal signed; Iran won’t negotiate while blockade continues
Ghalibaf warns Iran has prepared new “cards” on the battlefield…
..UAE warns it will shift to Chinese yuan for oil sales if US doesn’t provide dollar swap lines – per WSJ, citing Emirati officials. White House downplayed: Hassett says swap “probably won’t be necessary”...
..NYMEX systems crashed on Sunday open. JustDario documented the exchange failing to broadcast official quotes for 6+ hours after Globex trading resumed. HFT flood at open suspected as cause. May 26 oil futures open interest crashed below 20k – unprecedented – suggesting sellers refuse to deliver physical at paper prices, mirroring the silver squeeze in March…
..ECB’s Lagarde warns of possible food rationing due to fertilizer disruptions through Hormuz…
..Tariff Refunds & Lutnick Scandal – US government began refunding up to $166B in tariffs ruled unlawful by SCOTUS
Cantor Fitzgerald (run by Commerce Secretary Lutnick’s sons) was buying refund rights at 20-30 cents on the dollar while Lutnick publicly championed the tariffs – per Aaron Day citing Wired, Wyden-Warren letters, Raskin investigation.
Companies expected to pocket refunds without passing savings to consumers…
*..Trump reportedly tried to “use the nuclear codes” https://x.com/i/status/2046224644479524939 on Iran during emergency Saturday meeting per retired CIA analyst Larry Johnson, stopped by General Caine. Extraordinary claim, single source. Confidence: LOW https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-04-21 * Trump tells Iran to sign deal with US or ‘the whole country is going to get blown up’
‘We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!’ the president wrote on Truth Social https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-iran-negotiations-infrastructure-bridges-b2960588.html* Alastair Crooke included a gold-nugget in this article, Markets prematurely may celebrate, but the next phase likely will be more, bigger war
U.S. Constitutional U.S. lawyer, Robert Barnes (who is a friend of Vance), reports in an interview that:
*“Trump began exhibiting signs of early dementia in September 2025 … He frequently confabulates, he routinely loses his temper and unleashes screaming rants and he is incapable of doing critical thinking. And – according to Barnes, in this state – Trump genuinely believes that the U.S. has vanquished Iran and does not comprehend the massive economic damage that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is doing to the global economy”.
In short, Barnes says that Trump’s delirium that Iran is at the point of capitulation reflects his impaired mental state — an impairment of understanding ‘reality’ (a panglossian interpretation that Secretary Pete Hegseth does his best to reinforce).
Like Netanyahu, Trump likely believes too, that pressure and more pressure on Iran could yield the triumphant Victory trophy of (figuratively) waving aloft 430 Kg of enriched uranium — either compelled to be given up by economic pressure, or alternatively dramatically seized on the ground by U.S. forces. https://strategic-culture.su/news/2026/04/20/markets-prematurely-may-celebrate-but-the-next-phase-likely-will-be-more-bigger-war/Iran demands US lift maritime blockade for talks https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/iran-demands-us-lift-maritime-blockade-for-talks/ar-AA21fkwe
Trump Demands Iran ‘Release These Women’ As World Tensely Awaits 2nd Pakistan Talks, US Navy Boards Another Vessel
Neither side wants to appear ‘weak’ by flying to Pakistan first without the other side having already clearly committed.
Trump warns: ‘Expect…bombs’ & urges Tehran “release women” said to be on death row.
Iran has informed Pakistan it is sending a delegation, but still no sign or confirmation that the delegation is en route.
Overnight, US forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the stateless sanctioned M/T Tifani in Indo-Pac region: CENTCOM
As just 12 ships have gone through Hormuz Strait in last 24 hours, Iran claims one of its own made it past the US naval blockade. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/pakistan-tensely-awaits-next-round-talks-ceasefire-deadline-looms-us-navy-boards Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-04-20
USS Spruance fires on and seizes Iranian cargo ship Touska. After a 6-hour standoff, the destroyer disabled the vessel’s propulsion with 5-inch gun rounds, Marines boarded and took custody. Iran’s military command promised retaliation and subsequently launched drones at US warships…
..Iran rejects second round of negotiations. Iran’s Foreign Ministry declared “no plans for further talks” and accused the US of “unfaithfulness and violations”…The ceasefire expires approximately April 22…
..Drop Site News obtained detailed interview with senior Iranian official: if war resumes, Iran will cut all diplomatic channels and impose “significantly greater costs”…
.Strait of Hormuz fully shut again — zero tankers transiting Sunday…
..IDF soldier destroys Jesus statue in Lebanon — international backlash
Footage surfaced of an Israeli soldier smashing a Jesus Christ statue with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon
IDF confirmed the photo is real and called it “wholly inconsistent with values”
Spain’s PM Sanchez called for EU to break association agreement with Israel
37 Israeli soldiers killed and wounded in Lebanon in 24 hours per Elijah Magnier; Hezbollah reported first attack since ceasefire…
..Insider trading pattern around Trump announcements … Kobeissi documented $760 million in oil shorts placed exactly 21 minutes before Iran’s April 17 Hormuz “reopening” announcement, plus $325M in simultaneous S&P longs at the same timestamp
Anas Alhajji confirms suspicions: “unusual spikes in oil futures, stocks, and prediction markets occurred minutes before key statements”…
..Hormuz: Paper vs Physical — the gap is a chasm…Saudi Finance Minister Al Jadaan reportedly stated physical oil is trading at $120-160 while screens show $90 … Art Berman bluntly states “Prices already are at or near $200 on the cash market”…
..Europe’s energy crisis deepening…
..Bulgaria election — Radev wins potential outright majority
Former president Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party projected at 44% with 60% counted — potentially 134+ seats in 240-seat parliament
Radev opposes Ukraine aid and calls for improved relations with Moscow. https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-04-20Not just drones: Exclusive: IRGC Locked 16 Cruise Missiles on US Warships in Strait of Hormuz Before They Retreated https://www.globalresearch.ca/irgc-locked-16-cruise-missiles-us-warships-strait-hormuz/5922878
Maybe, maybe not, but he makes some points: From Leverage To Liability: The Hormuz Strait Is Now Iran’s Biggest Weakness https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/leverage-liability-hormuz-strait-now-irans-biggest-weakness
Not resupplied yet: U.S. Navy’s Sole Supercarrier Near Iran Endures Severe Food Shortages as Logistics Disrupted https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-navy-supercarrier-food-shortages
USS Ford Carrier Returns To Mideast After Extensive Fire Repairs
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group has belatedly redeployed to the Middle East after a month in port for repairs following a fire aboard the ship.
The world’s largest aircraft carrier returned to operations after what’s been officially described as a blaze in its laundry area, which headlines have presented as accidental. The incident injured sailors and forced significant maintenance work, and ever since it happened on March 12, there’s been an avalanche of public speculation that Iranian forces my have hit it in a missile or drone attack...
..The carrier is rejoining an expanding US military buildup in the region – with the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group already deployed, and the USS George H.W. Bush expected to soon join, which would bring the number of US carriers in the Middle East to three.
By comparison, the 2003 US invasion of Iraq was supported by a total of five US Navy aircraft carriers, with some in the Persian Gulf and some in the Mediterranean. https://www.zerohedge.com/military/uss-ford-carrier-returns-mideast-after-extensive-fire-damage-repairsThanks Jan: GORDON DUFF Comes Back on VT: “The Brothel that Bombs Tehran: How CHILD SACRIFICE Became American Foreign Policy”
Gordon: “I have worked at the pinnacle of America’s security apparatus for decades. At times, directly for presidents. We always knew about Epstein. https://vtforeignpolicy.com/2026/04/gordon-duff-comes-back-on-vt-the-brothel-that-bombs-tehran-how-child-sacrifice-became-american-foreign-policy/An Israeli soldier smashing the head of a Jesus Christ statue during operations in southern Lebanon. https://x.com/i/status/2045851392527458672
“My Daughter Went Out to Learn, Not to Fight”: Gaza Grieves More Children Killed by Israel
Three-year-old Yahya Al-Malahi lay on a metal table in the morgue of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Family members wept as they caressed his small body and stroked his cheek. A large hole, the size of an orange, was missing from the back of his head.
Yahya was among five Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a police vehicle on Al-Nafaq street, a crowded civilian area in the middle of Gaza City on Tuesday.
“I wish it had been me instead of you,” Yahya’s father Mukhlis Al-Malahi said as he sobbed over his son’s body. His sweater was soaked with his son’s blood.…
..Among the Israeli attacks that rippled through northern Gaza last week was the killing of Ritaj Rihan, a 9-year-old girl who was shot dead while attending class in a school tent in Beit Lahia. The Abu Ubaida Ibn Al-Jarrah School, a series of tents held up by wooden frames and lined with simple benches and desks, is located two kilometers from the yellow line, according to multiple witnesses, where Israeli troops are stationed.
“The girl was in a classroom, among her classmates. We were suddenly shocked by gunfire from the Zionist enemy. She was wounded with a bullet through her mouth, and she was martyred instantly,” Ayman Rihan, 45, a teacher at the school, told Drop Site as he stood beside Ritaj’s body in the morgue of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Thursday. Her body was covered with a piece of blue cloth and her bloodied jacket and sweater placed on her torso. Her long auburn hair draped out from under the cloth over the edge of the table and her bare arms stretched out to the side. The bullet that struck her had been placed on the table beside her head. Ayman, who is the cousin of Ritaj’s father’s, carried Ritaj to Al-Shifa and called her parents to tell them she was dead. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/gaza-children-killed-israel-genocidePalestinian Prisoners’ Day marked by surge in detentions, torture, and deaths in custody https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/04/17/361479/
‘All changed with the genocide’: Palestinian women and girls face brutal abuse in Israeli jails
More than 700 have been arrested since the Gaza genocide began, enduring brutal conditions of starvation, isolation and humiliation https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/we-failed-prisoners-palestinian-women-suffer-israeli-jails Tucker Carlson, America Enables Israel’s Crimes
Israel portrays itself as a beacon of morality; the only source of light in the otherwise dark and barbaric Middle East. But is the country really that righteous?
A new report from Middle East Eye, titled “‘I Wished for Death’: Sexual Violence in Israel’s Prisons Is an ‘Organized State Policy’,” suggests the answer is an emphatic no. The piece highlights testimonies alleging that Israel’s highest “political, military, and judicial authorities” approve sexual torture, including rape using objects and trained military dogs, against non-Jewish inmates. The details, pasted below directly from the article, will make you gasp. Emphasis is ours.
“One former detainee, a 42-year-old woman from north Gaza… said she was bound naked to a metal table and repeatedly raped by two masked soldiers… She recalled that she was left shackled, naked and bleeding throughout the night before the soldiers returned the next day to continue raping her… Throughout her ordeal, she was filmed.”…
..“Another former prisoner… recounted being shackled to a metal bed and repeatedly raped by soldiers and a trained dog… ‘Every time I screamed, I was beaten. This continued for several minutes, while soldiers filmed and mocked me,’ [he] said… Later, another soldier forced his penis into the victim’s mouth and urinated on him.” https://israelpalestinenews.org/tcn-america-enables-israels-crimes/ “I Felt Like a Monster”: Israeli Soldiers Break Silence on Gaza—and the System Behind It
The official narrative isn’t just cracking—it’s being dismantled by the very people who carried it out.
In a devastating investigation, Israeli soldiers are now speaking in their own words about what they did, what they witnessed, and what their commanders allowed in Gaza. These are not secondhand accusations or political attacks. They are confessions—raw, detailed, and impossible to dismiss.
They describe opening fire on unarmed civilians identified only as “targets” on a drone feed. They describe prisoners humiliated, abused, and discarded. They describe executions—men surrendering with hands raised, only to be shot and later labeled “terrorists.” And they describe something just as revealing as the violence itself: a system where none of this leads to accountability.
What emerges is not chaos. It is structure. https://scheerpost.com/2026/04/18/i-felt-like-a-monster-israeli-soldiers-break-silence-on-gaza-and-the-system-behind-it/Number of Palestinian Prisoners Rises By 83% Since October 2023 https://israelpalestinenews.org/number-of-palestinian-prisoners-rises-by-83-since-october-2023/
Over 23,000 Palestinians detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank since outbreak of war on Gaza https://english-wafa-ps.translate.goog/Pages/Details/169569?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
UN: Average of 47 Women and Girls Killed Daily During Gaza War https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5263578-un-average-47-women-and-girls-killed-daily-during-gaza-war
GAZA CITY: The UN children’s agency UNICEF said it was “outraged” after two truck drivers it contracted to deliver clean water to families in the Gaza Strip were killed by Israeli fire.
The UN agency said in a statement the incident occurred during routine water trucking on Friday morning at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza, which supplies Gaza City.
Two others were injured in the attack.
Number of Palestinian fatalities since the ceasefire on Oct. 11 surges to 773 as Israeli violations continue https://www.arabnews.com/node/2640314/middle-eastFields Turn to Kill Zones: How Israeli Fire Crushes Gaza Farming – Report https://www.palestinechronicle.com/fields-turn-to-kill-zones-how-israeli-fire-crushes-gaza-farming-report/
Under IOF protection, settlers burn vehicle and attack West Bank villages https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/04/18/361499/
Israeli gunfire and artillery shelling rock east Gaza https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/04/18/361539/
JERICHO, April 17, 2026 (WAFA) – Israeli colonists on Friday attacked the displaced Arab Al-Mleihat Bedouin community in the Al-Balqaa area, north of Jericho, according to a watchdog organization.
Al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights said that colonists broke into the dwellings of the community and chased livestock herders. It added that colonists systematically assaulted and terrorized the civilian community. https://english-wafa-ps.translate.goog/Pages/Details/169522?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wappColonists steal 150 sheep in attack on Al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah https://english-wafa-ps.translate.goog/Pages/Details/169561?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
RAMALLAH, April 18, 2026 (WAFA) – Colonists set fire on Friday night to an agricultural room in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, according to local sources.
Sources said that several colonists stormed the village from its northern entrance and set fire to an agricultural room belonging to a local Palestinian citizen.
In a later development, the occupation forces stormed the area and opened fire on citizens who rushed to extinguish the fire and confront the colonists’ attack.
The site targeted by the colonists is adjacent to an illegal colonial outpost that was re-established on Thursday. https://english-wafa-ps.translate.goog/Pages/Details/169535?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wappIsraeli army reports striking Lebanon as it accuses `terrorists’ of violating ceasefire – The IDF did not specify their affiliation https://tass.com/world/2119127
Colonists steal 150 sheep in attack on Al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah https://english-wafa-ps.translate.goog/Pages/Details/169561?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Lebanon: Israel relegates another population to life in tents https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-relegates-another-population-to-life-in-tents-daily-update/
Israeli forces on Saturday carried out demolitions in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, the scene of intense fighting with Hezbollah prior to the recently agreed 10-day truce, Lebanese state media reported.
“The Israeli enemy is repeating its house detonating operations in the town of Bint Jbeil,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said, also reporting demolitions in other border towns where Israeli troops are present.
Bint Jbeil, located around five kilometres north of the Israeli border, had been the scene of heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah for days before the truce went into force at midnight on Thursday. https://www.spacewar.com/afp/260418200136.f3qvgods.html Returning to your home in a kill-zone: Israel army says established ‘Yellow Line’ in Lebanon, as in Gaza
Israel’s military said Saturday it had established a “Yellow Line” demarcation in southern Lebanon, similar to one separating its forces from Hamas-held areas in Gaza, adding it had hit a “terrorist cell” operating near its troops along the line.
“Over the past 24 hours, IDF forces operating south of the Yellow Line in southern Lebanon identified terrorists who violated the ceasefire understandings and approached the forces from north of the Yellow Line in a manner that posed an immediate threat,” it said, referring to such a line for the first time since a ceasefire came into effect.
“In order to eliminate the threat… forces attacked the terrorists in several areas,” it said, noting that the military was authorised to act against threats.
“Actions taken in self-defence and to remove immediate threats are not restricted by the ceasefire,” it said. https://www.spacewar.com/afp/260418162104.2hthkuer.html Concerns Grow That Israel Plans New Military Base in Syria as Troops Bring Prefab Units With Them
Growing number of checkpoints, detentions in Quneitra Governorate https://news.antiwar.com/2026/04/19/concerns-grow-that-israel-plans-new-military-base-in-syria-as-troops-bring-prefab-units-with-them/Ireland, Germany and France look at repatriating Ukrainian men to be sent to the meat grinder. ‘Generous’ package to encourage Ukrainians to go home
Colm Brophy, the migration minister, said the government would move to terminate the remaining contracts under which about 16,000 people were accommodated https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/ukraine-refugees-immigration-package-ireland-qk5ns56wjRada deputy: Mobilization in Ukraine will continue for a long time https://en.topwar.ru/281207-deputat-rady-mobilizacija-na-ukraine-budet-prodolzhatsja-esche-dolgo.html
A Ukrainian militant shot his commander to death in order to surrender to the Russian Armed Forces.
In the Sumy region, a forcibly conscripted Ukrainian shot and killed his group’s commander so he could surrender to Russian forces without hindrance. This was reported by servicemen of the “North” group. They noted that the shooter and his commander were the only survivors after the group was routed by Russian armed forces. https://en.topcor.ru/70470-boevik-vsu-zastrelil-komandira-chtoby-sdatsja-v-plen-vs-rf.html The EU disqualified his prior election: Populism Is Not Dead Yet: Bulgaria’s Pro-Russia Ex-President Radev Wins In Landslide Victory
Despite Orban’s loss in Hungary earlier this month, Europe’s populist right is not dead by a longshot. Official results released Monday show former President Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria coalition capturing roughly 44.6-44.7% of the vote in Sunday’s snap parliamentary elections, delivering an absolute majority of approximately 130-135 seats in the 240-seat parliament. It marks the first time since 1997 that a single political force in Bulgaria will be able to govern without coalition horse-trading. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bulgarias-former-pro-russian-president-set-landsllde-election-win Simplicius, Power Again Rebalanced in Europe Amidst Political Shake-Ups
Firstly, Victor Orban was defeated in the Hungarian elections to great fanfare from the anti-Russian axis. Unfortunately for them, it turns out that the new PM of Hungary Peter Magyar is hardly any “better” than his predecessor.
Upon winning, he has stated that he would talk to Putin and appears to also be quite “un-supportive” of Ukrainian initiatives relative to expectations. He’s demanded for Ukraine to reopen the Druzhba pipeline, now according to reports even making threats towards Zelensky.
Magyar threatened to arrest Netanyahu if he comes to Hungary (unlike Orban, who openly welcomed Netanyahu and considered him an “ally”). Also, Magyar appeared to support a new policy blocking non-EU guest workers which some believe is targeted at Ukrainians, in order to keep them from coming to Hungary as refugees.
On the topic of the €90B loan to Ukraine, Magyar was only slightly more agreeable than Orban, stating he will not directly block the loan as Orban was doing, but that he will maintain Hungary’s “opting out” of contributing financially to the loan...
..In fact, Magyar even oddly floated Orban as replacement for Ursula as head of the EU in a new interview, indicating that Magyar considers himself closer ideologically to Orban than he does to the corrupt and tyrannical EU politburo…
..While the sun was setting on Orban, a “pro-Russian” Rumen Radev won Bulgaria’s election… In reality, he’s not so much “pro-Russian” as he is “anti-globalist”. But either way much of his views on the Ukraine war do not align with the EU, as he does not want to fund Ukraine and seeks to establish better relations with Russia, so his victory can be considered a major boon for the Russian side...
..At the same time, the top naval-tracking account on X has spotted Russian warships again “regaining a foothold” in Tartus, Syria this week. This only a day after American forces were reportedly seen handing over their last Syrian base and leaving the country after 11 long years. Weeks ago US handed over the notorious al-Tanf base, and now the US appears to be out of Syria for good—only a small security detail remaining for the Damascus embassy...
..Buzz came today from a UAE expert who even suggested that the UAE no longer needs the US after the Iran war debacle, and that the US should leave the country…
..WSJ reports that Germany is “rewiring” its manufacturing base purely into weapons production, as every other industry blows out…
..Across Germany’s industrial belt, factory lines that once powered the country’s export miracle are being rewired into the machinery of Europe’s rearmament.
The government is on board. Berlin’s approach isn’t to revive the old economy, but to replace it. Idle factory floors and a growing pool of laid-off skilled workers are being redirected into the only sector still expanding at scale...
..Brussels has nothing left but war to keep its stagnant ideological vision chugging along, and its faithful servants are doing their part.
Now WSJ reports that the US is doing the same thing, with the Pentagon seeking to turn civilian automakers into weapons manufacturers…
..As the previous system of “international law” and global architectures of security complete their collapse, the world’s nations are seeking ways to hedge the risk and prepare themselves for all out conflict. Of course, this is not in reference to the US, which itself is the driver of all this risk and conflict, and is seeking to maximize its gains from the chaos it has created by dominating everyone else...
..It’s clear from the recent statements we’ve seen out of the Russian MOD, Medvedev, and Security Council via Shoigu, Russian elites are increasingly discussing the possibility of real action against Baltic states. Of course, Putin has the ultimate say and most would agree that it’s unlikely for him to cross the Rubicon in such a way…
..Russia has good reason to seek vengeance: a recent “never before seen” video of Palantir’s infamous Project Maven has been released, which shed an interesting light on the West’s involvement in Ukraine…
..Viewers reportedly caught the following screen-grabs from the longer version… It appears to show the tracking of Russian assets in Ukraine from the very get-go of 2-24-2022. It confirms that the US and the West have been pouring all their resources, particularly of the AI-variety, into destroying Russia from the opening moments of the Ukrainian conflict. As such, Russia’s weariness of the West’s provocations, seen boiling over now with the latest Baltics-related incidents, becomes clearly justified. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/power-again-rebalanced-in-europeDidn’t the “Saudis” get investigated for 9/11, too? ‘Financial Pawn of the Saudi Monarchy’: House Judiciary Opens Probe Into Jared Kushner https://scheerpost.com/2026/04/17/financial-pawn-of-the-saudi-monarchy-house-judiciary-opens-probe-into-jared-kushner/
Gold & Geopolitics, Loss of privacy could be loss of life – Physically AND metaphorically…
WhatsApp promises end-to-end encryption. Signal promises it. iMessage promises it. And you know what?
They’re telling the truth.
What you say is private. The actual content of your messages – scrambled into mathematical gibberish that only you and your recipient can decode. Military-grade encryption. Unbreakable. No one can read your words. Not Meta. Not Signal. Not Apple. Not the government. Not hackers. The technology works exactly as advertised.
Except.
There’s this thing attached to every message. It’s called “metadata”.
It’s who you messaged. When you messaged them. How often. How long the conversation lasted. Your location when you sent it. Their location when they received it. The device you used. Your IP address. Which WiFi network you were on. What groups you belong to. Who else is in those groups. The patterns of your communications – do you message more in the morning or evening? Do you talk to this person daily or weekly? Did your messaging pattern change recently?…
..All that metadata gets transmitted to the company. Meta gets every WhatsApp breadcrumb. Apple gets iMessage trails. Google gets everything that touches Gmail or Android. They store it. They analyze it. And of course, they monetize it.
Sometimes they share it with governments. Sometimes they sell it to data brokers. Sometimes it gets subpoenaed. And sometimes it just leaks.
→ And sometimes it gets you killed…
..Israel developed an AI system called Lavender. It processed 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, assigning each one a score based on their likelihood of being affiliated with Hamas or Islamic Jihad. One of the key inputs feeding this targeting algorithm? WhatsApp metadata.
More specifically, which WhatsApp groups you’re in.
If you’re in a group with someone that Israel considers a militant, Lavender flags you. That’s it. That’s the algorithm. https://no01.substack.com/p/loss-of-privacy-could-be-loss-ofWell, that’s odd… U.S. and Mexican Police Officials Killed in Highway Crash in Mexico After Meth Lab Raids https://www.breitbart.com/border/2026/04/19/u-s-and-mexican-police-officials-killed-in-highway-crash-after-lab-raids/
Professor Ugo Bardi has a rhetorical question: Population: Can Collapse be Predicted? A New Paper by Ugo Bardi on the Validity of Demographic Models https://senecaeffect.substack.com/p/population-can-collapse-be-predicted
70% Of US Farmers Say That They Won’t Be Able To Buy All The Fertilizer They Need In 2026 https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/70-us-farmers-say-they-wont-be-able-buy-all-fertilizer-they-need-2026
Wheat Spread Blows Out As Drought Chaos Plagues America’s Breadbasket
Hard red winter wheat (HRW) futures widened to their largest premium over soft red wheat (SRW) in more than two years as severe drought intensified across key breadbasket regions in the Great Plains and Midwest. This means traders are pricing in weather impacts and tightening expectations for higher-protein wheat supplies.
It is important to note that HRW is a more valuable protein and is primarily used in bread, rolls, and all-purpose flour. It is grown in the U.S. Plains (Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas), while SRW is used in cakes, cookies, crackers, and pastries, and is grown in the Eastern U.S. (Ohio Valley, Midwest, Southeast). https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/wheat-spread-blows-out-drought-chaos-plagues-americas-breadbasket [Philosophy? History? Music? Anthropology? English?] Trump Admin To Stop Taxpayer Funding Of Worthless College Degrees
Under new proposed rulemaking from the Education Department, if schools want to offer degrees that bury students in debt while giving them poor job prospects, the institutions will have to fund those programs themselves. https://thefederalist.com/2026/04/17/trump-admin-to-stop-taxpayer-funding-of-worthless-college-degrees/ Brazil Quietly Shifts Away from the Dollar to Gold
The Banco Central do Brasil has raised gold’s share of reserves from 3.55% to 7.19% in just one year, effectively doubling its exposure and making gold the second-largest reserve asset after the US dollar, while total reserves stand at approximately $358.23 billion and the dollar’s share has declined to about 72%, marking a record low. This is not a marginal adjustment or routine diversification, it is a structural repositioning that reflects a growing unease with sovereign debt markets.
When a central bank reduces dollar exposure while increasing gold holdings, it is not acting randomly but responding to a shift in confidence. https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/markets-by-sector/precious-metals/gold/brazil-quietly-shifts-away-from-the-dollar-to-gold/ Paul Marik MD presents life-wisdom: Diabetes, Insulin Resistance and the Metabolic Syndrome – A Unifying Framework for Modern Chronic Disease and Its Reversal
I used to be a type II diabetic. My HbA1C hovered around 8%, even while taking metformin and Jardiance. Every doctor told me the same thing: type II diabetes is progressive, lifelong, and inevitably leads to complications. I accepted it — I exercised, took my medications, and tried to make peace with that prognosis.
Then came COVID, and it completely changed how I saw my health. I began questioning what I had been told and discovered that much of it simply wasn’t true. With surprisingly simple lifestyle changes — eating real, unprocessed food, incorporating intermittent fasting, and losing weight — I reversed my diabetes. Today, my HbA1C is 4.9%.
My name is Paul, and this is my story. It could just as easily be yours. https://substack.com/home/post/p-192452330 More from Dr. Marik, Why Diet Is the Foundation of The Metabolic Approach to Cancer – Why diet is critical—not optional
The dietary foundation is not an “adjunct” to the metabolic protocol—it is the central pillar that determines whether the rest of the strategy works or fails. https://substack.com/home/post/p-194114287 (It’s VACCINES) Sasha Latypova, How to Reliably Cause Cancer in Mice, or What Really Drives the Chronic Disease Epidemic?
Recording of my talk from the Health and Wellness Summit in Rochester, NY, 2026. https://sashalatypova.substack.com/p/how-to-reliably-cause-cancer-in-mice Vaccine Skepticism in U.S. Is Widespread, Politico Poll Reveals
Nearly half of U.S. adults think the science on vaccines remains up for debate and that vaccine mandates are damaging, while only 39% think that the science on vaccines is clear and it is damaging to challenge it, according to a Politico poll conducted last month. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/vaccine-skepticism-in-us-is-widespread-politico-poll-reveals/ (“Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices”) RFK Jr. Overhauls ACIP Rules to Focus More on Vaccine Injuries
Federal health officials have renewed and revised the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee charter, broadening membership criteria and increasing focus on vaccine safety and injury. The changes come amid ongoing legal disputes and scrutiny over the committee’s structure and direction. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/rfk-jr-overhauls-acip-rules-focus-vaccine-injuries/Addiction, depression & PTSD: President Trump Signs Executive Order Authorizing FDA to Fast-Track Psychedelics to Treat Mental Illness https://www.themahareport.com/p/breaking-news-president-trump-signs
Modern shamanism might be a good thing: 2022, The Emerging Field of Psychedelic Psychotherapy https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9553847/
Kyle Young on fostering life in soil and growing your food respectfully: Mycelium – Farming Earths Neural Network https://secularheretic.substack.com/p/mycelium-farming-earths-neural-network
Biotic-Pump Theory co-originator, Physicist Anastassia Makarieva, China at an Ecohydrological Crossroads. Part I
What We Do and Do Not Know About Re-Greening Impacts on the Water Cycle
What happens to the water cycle when vegetation is added or removed? Are different components of the cycle affected in different ways? And how do these effects scale up? These are complex questions to which no universal answers exist, yet we depend on them critically. We need both water and vegetation to survive.
China, which has added vegetation to its land on a massive scale in recent decades, provides a unique setting in which to study these questions.
https://bioticregulation.substack.com/p/china-at-an-ecohydrological-crossroads Leading scientists openly discuss injecting 10-20 million tons of aluminum nanoparticles into the stratosphere every single year to reflect sunlight and supposedly “cool” the planet.
They admit no long-term safety testing on humans, animals, soil, or ecosystems. Zero. Nada.
Some farmers found a 5% increases of Aluminum in their soil in just a span of a few months!
Aluminum nanoparticles are ultra-fine, easily inhaled, and can cross the blood-brain barrier. Links to rising rates of Alzheimer’s, dementia, osteoporosis, respiratory issues, and neurological damage. Persistent “trails” in the sky that don’t dissipate like normal contrails, spreading across the atmosphere and raining down on us all.
Questions about who’s really behind it, why it’s happening without public consent, and what the cumulative effects will be on our food, water, and future generations are NOT being answered.
We know DARPA and Bill Gates are involved, but there are many more, and agendas go beyond global fabricated concerns.
Whether you’ve been noticing those long, lingering white lines crisscrossing the sky for years or you’re just waking up to the geoengineering debate. It’s not just theory, it’s a wake-up call about playing God with our atmosphere without a single independent study on the health fallout and it’s heavily effecting everything and needs to be stopped at all costs. https://x.com/TheSCIF/status/2045194837838962881Like after Iran, but before Cuba? Trump Says First Releases Of UFO Documents Will Begin ‘Very, Very Soon’ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-says-first-releases-ufo-documents-will-begin-very-very-soon
I will confess that about 90% of the time while reading Dr D I’m either nodding my head up and down or laughing. I like the way he thinks and enjoy his writing style. I’m a pretty good analytical thinker myself, but was born a hopeless empath which dominated my younger years. I never had that killer instinct that other boys seemed to have, who took pleasure in crushing their opponent in sports. I would naturally identify with my opponent, start feeling bad for him if he started losing, and ease up. Coaches love that trait. And a military career was out of the question. Even now in my 70’s, when I look around at others, I see myself in them. One can see how this has influenced my posts here at TAE.
With that intro, I’m not convinced at this point that Trump is really playing 4D chess, and that taking out Iran had anything to do with weakening the City of London banking cartel or the globalists. From my perspective he attacked Iran as a sop to the Zionists, with the added bonus of screwing China and Brics.
Sure, he is fighting a war on multiple fronts, and throws out a great deal of verbal chaff to confuse both his foreign and domestic enemies. For this I’ve always given him a pass. Lately, however, it appears he’s gone off his rocker, giving credence to all those that have sounded the alarm all these years. Time will tell.I’m also suspicious of all the legal announcements that are currently pouring forth out of the administration. That someone is actually going to be prosecuted for all the treasonous schemes since 2016. Cases are being built as we speak. Just a little more time is needed. Even the UFO files are on someone’s desk waiting to be released. Any. Moment. Now.
My gut tells me that he’s worried about his poll numbers and is throwing out a bunch of goodie promises to his wavering base. Turns out they didn’t like his handling of the Epstein files, nor the bombing of Iran for Greater Israel, nor his maniacal threat to nuke Iran in a pique of frustration.
Again, time will tell. Call me when the perp walks start for Hillary, Obama, and the rest of the Epstein Syndicate.
Just read this during lunch and thought it did a pretty good job of characterizing the Epstein Syndicate:
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