John Day
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
[A reversal of stance] Biden refuses to sanction Israeli units behind ‘gross’ war crimes
The crimes committed by these units include torture, rape, and executions
https://thecradle.co/articles/biden-refuses-to-sanction-israeli-units-behind-gross-war-crimesBen Gvir’s car flips over after running red light, minister lightly injured
Hebrew media reports claim the national security minister regularly orders his driver to commit traffic infractions; Ben Gvir hospitalized overnight for observation
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ben-gvirs-car-flips-over-after-running-red-light-minister-lightly-injured/Best Male Tennis Pro, and stood up for his principles: Novak ‘NoVaxx’ Djokovic wins the 2024 World Sportsman of the Year. https://twitter.com/DavidWolfe/status/1783297100119224547
I’m sure we will see more comments on this. CO2 is a greenhouse gas within a narrow spectrum of wavelengths, not the whole spectrum, so reflecting that narrow spectrum back to earth as heat has inherent limits. 3 Physicists Use Experimental Evidence To Show CO2’s Capacity To Absorb Radiation Has Saturated https://metatron.substack.com/p/co2-does-not-cause-global-warming
Iran will receive North Korean strategic missiles, and North Korea will receive thousands of Iranian drones
Active military cooperation between Iran and the DPRK poses a serious threat to the collective West and its satellites. These two countries, despite sanctions and pressure, continue to develop technologically and strengthen their defense systems. The exchange of technologies and experience between them can lead to serious consequences for regional and global security. https://avia-pro.net/blog/phenyan-i-tegeran-nanosyat-otvetnyy-udar-iran-poluchit-strategicheskie-rakety-kndr-kndrImportant information; Tabloid format: How WW3 could be won in space… and it’s Russia and China leading the star wars nuke race: As Moscow vetoes UN bid to prevent space-based Armageddon, the deadly weapons Putin and Xi’s scientists are preparing to unleash on the West https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13348401/How-WW3-won-space-Russia-China-leading-star-wars-nuke-race-Moscow-vetoes-bid-prevent-space-based-Armageddon-deadly-weapons-Putin-Xis-scientists-preparing-unleash-West.html
No Electricity: How long would you be ok? This Is Why Everyone Needs To Prepare For The Day When Devastating Cyberattacks Take U.S. Power Grids Down
I’m not giving up. Where would I go? America: Goodbye my Country , Paul Craig Roberts
The independence of doctors requires private practice. Private practice is being destroyed systematically by medical insurance, malpractice insurance, Medicare, Big Pharma, and the US Congress which panders to Big Pharma for campaign contributions. Medical doctors are being forced into becoming employees for HMOs where they have to follow their employer’s protocols or be fired. This means that they must abandon the Hippocratric Oath and follow the profit-enhancing practices of their employer HMOs. Big Pharma provides software for diagnosis and treatment, and doctors have to prescribe according to what Medicare and insurance companies will pay a percentage of the billing amount. Even doctors in private practice find that what they can prescribe and what operations they can perform is limited to insurance and Medicare decisions.
During the orchestrated “Covid pandemic,” the entire propaganda operation was geared toward maximizing Big Pharma’s profits from the Covid “vaccine” and to cancelling people’s control over their own health care by imposing “vaccine” mandates. This was the first exercise in the imposition of mass tyranny in the Western World. Individual countries had experienced tyranny, but never before the entire Western world simultaneously.
In order to maximize Big Pharma’s profits and impose mass tyranny, it was necessary to prohibit two safe, effective, known preventatives and cures for Covid–hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin. Doctors who successfully used these cures and preventatives to protect their patients were subject to persecution by medical authorities and governing boards. Some were fired from their HMO jobs and university medical schools, some were stripped of their licenses, some were prosecuted. In order to mass inject people with an untested “vaccine” under an emergency use order the requirement was that there were no cures. So, the fact that there were cures had to be suppressed. The utterly corrupt US medical establishment, the whore media and the Western governments suppressed the cures and ridiculed them as “horse medicine.” [This freed up my time to blog more.] https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2024/04/25/america-goodbye-my-country/A Midwestern Doctor, The Vast Pharmaceutical Conspiracy to Silence Online Dissent , Millions of dollars were spent to weaponize the public against all of us
Story at a Glance:
•There has been a coordinated campaign to attack and defame anyone who has spoken out against the COVID-19 response. This has primarily been restricted to social media (e.g., getting people deplatformed) but it has also been weaponized in real life (e.g., getting medical licenses revoked).
•This coordinated campaign was the result of a “non-profit” known as The Public Good Project (PGP), which was actually directly linked to the pharmaceutical industry. The PGP used the industry funding it received to defend industry interests.
•Vaccine safety advocates were able to get into the group where these campaigns were coordinated. There, they discovered numerous public figures working hand in hand with healthcare workers to descend like a hive of bees on anyone “promoting misinformation.” Likewise, we learned that the most belligerent doctors we keep encountering on Twitter belonged to these groups.
•Some of the influencers advancing PGP’s message through “Shots Heard” (and its sister United Nations initiative “Team Halo”) were hucksters who faked their own credentials. My overall impression from looking at everything was that this group operated in a very similar manner to many of the sleazy internet marketing operations I’ve seen in the past. Fortunately, the public appears to be seeing through what they did. https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/the-vast-pharmaceutical-conspiracy Attack on US destroyer: Houthis hit US ship with anti-ship missile
In particular, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria said that the Yemeni navy conducted a successful operation against the American ship Yorktown in the Gulf of Aden using ship-borne missiles. According to him, the missile hit was accurate. In addition, Saria added that an Israeli ship and an American destroyer were also subject to successful attacks.
The American command does not officially acknowledge the fact of the attack on its warship. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the missile likely targeted the US-flagged USS Yorktown, but no US or commercial vessels reported injuries or damage. https://avia-pro.net/blog/ataka-na-esminec-ssha-husity-udarili-po-amerikanskomu-korablyu-protivokorabelnoy-raketoy
The first 2 Ukrainian armies were destroyed. This unwillingly-conscripted Ukrainian “army” just wants to live, not to be bombed to death in trenches and ruins.
Scott Ritter: Hefty US Military Aid for Ukraine Won’t Hamper Russia’s Strategic Advantage
“This is the assessment of Ukraine’s Foreign Minister [Dmytro] Kuleba, who has said that at this late stage in the game, there’s no amount of military assistance that can stop the Russian advance. He’s correct,” the Marine Corps intelligence officer underscored. Ritter also cited “talk of magic weapons” for the Zelensky regime, which he said would be of little help.
According to him, Russia currently enjoys “military superiority, if not outright supremacy, along the entire line of contact, not just on the front lines, but extending well into the rear areas of the Ukrainian defense areas.”
He also explained that after the US weapons are delivered to Ukraine and brought up to the front line, the weaponry “will be subjected to increasing levels of interdiction.” https://sputnikglobe.com/20240425/scott-ritter-hefty-us-military-aid-for-ukraine-wont-hamper-russias-strategic-advantage-1118110905.htmlAbout those longer-range ATACMS Russia: We’ll move further west due to MGM-140B supply to Ukraine
A high-ranking U.S. official, who has opted for anonymity, has made a startling revelation: The US secretly deployed long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine a few weeks ago. Furthermore, these missiles were actually put into use just a few days ago. Notably, the deployment was part of a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine ratified by President Joe Biden on March 12. https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2024/04/25/russia-well-move-further-west-due-to-mgm-140b-supply-to-ukraine/ Zelensky’s last day as elected-president of Ukraine is May 20, 2024. No elections are scheduled. Zelensky’s top rival has gone missing: Where is General Zaluzhny?
The former Ukrainian commander-in-chief, slated to become ambassador in London, has been suspiciously absent from the public eye
Short of a convenient accident, Zelensky has no way of really stopping Zaluzhny. He’s dangerous to him in Ukraine and anywhere else as well. The president can try to sideline him but, even when he does, the ambitious, popular general remains very much in play. The more so when the war is going badly for Ukraine. Because, after all, Zelensky relieved Zaluzhny of responsibility just about when the worst was to come. https://www.rt.com/russia/596582-zaluzhny-zelensky-ukraine-rival/ US nuclear weapons in Poland would be priority military target – Moscow, Warsaw wants to host NATO arms under the bloc’s sharing scheme https://www.rt.com/russia/596553-ryabkov-nuclear-weapons-poland/
US police violence at Texas students’ Palestine camp (Cops on horses assure that there will be numerous “accidental” injuries to protesters.)
A Gaza solidarity protest camp at the University of Texas was brutally dispersed by police who violently arrested students and members of the press. The protest camp in Austin, Texas, is just one of dozens of pro-Palestine protests at campuses across the United States, which is quickly forming into a student-led movement to end the US’ political and military support for the ongoing genocide in Gaza. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240425-us-police-violence-at-texas-students-palestine-camp/ Freedom flotilla to set sail tomorrow with three scenarios in sight , A Freedom Flotilla official reveals that it will include three ships, including one cargo ship, a cruise ship, and another smaller boat. In a statement published on X, the coalition said: “We have completed all technical and crewing requirements in order to launch the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza on Friday, April 26, 2024.” https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/freedom-flotilla-to-set-sail-tomorrow-with-three-scenarios-i
Hamas Official Says Group Willing To Disarm for Two-State Solution , Netanyahu has said he’s opposed to a Palestinian state in any future scenario
A top Hamas political official has told The Associated Press that the Palestinian group would be open to a five-year truce with Israel and would disarm and become solely a political party if a Palestinian state was established along the pre-1967 borders.
Speaking in Istanbul, Khalil al-Hayya said Hamas would accept “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with the international resolutions.” He said that Hamas wants to unite with Fatah, which heads the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian Liberation Organization, to form a unified government for Gaza and the West Bank. https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/25/hamas-official-says-group-willing-to-disarm-for-two-state-solution/ Israel intensifies air strikes on Gaza’s Rafah before an expected ground operation
Israel stepped up air strikes on Rafah overnight after saying it would evacuate civilians from the southern Gazan city and launch an all-out assault despite allies’ warnings this could cause mass casualties.
Medics in the besieged Palestinian enclave reported five Israeli air strikes on Rafah early on April 25 that hit at least three houses, killing at least six people, including a local journalist.
“We are afraid of what will happen in Rafah. The level of alert is very high,” Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Ibrahim Khraishi said. “Some are leaving. They are afraid for their families, but where can they go? They are not being allowed to go to the north and so are confined to a very small area.” https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/israel-intensifies-airstrikes-on-gazas-rafah-before-ground-operationYAF attack Israeli ship in Gulf of Aden, target in Umm al-Rashrash https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/yaf-attacks-israeli-ship-in-gulf-of-aden–targets-in-umm-al
Caitlin Johnstone (because pictures of burned and starving children twist your mind and confuse you) Empire Managers Say Russia, China And Iran Are Tricking Students Into Opposing Genocide https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/empire-managers-say-russia-china
“Over $100 billion” is a lot of money. Maybe Mr. Soros could buy it. He’s buying media outlets. ‘Everything to Do With Censorship’: Congress Passes Bill to Ban TikTok
President Biden on Wednesday signed a bill that will ban TikTok in the U.S. unless its Chinese parent company sells the social media platform’s U.S. assets. Lawmakers said the sale is needed to protect national security, but critics said it’s about giving the government greater access and censorship power. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/congress-tiktok-ban-free-speech/ Loss of narrative-control: Jewish students refute claims of anti-Semitism at pro-Palestine protests
Jewish students have refuted allegations levelled by pro-Israel members of US Congress and university officials that protests calling for their institutions to cut ties with companies linked to Israel over the war in Gaza were “anti-Semitic”.
New York State, its municipality and members of the US Congress claimed in recent statements that the pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia University campus in New York “demonstrated anti-Semitic behaviour”.
Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia and other US universities “anti-Semitic mobs” that are taking over “leading universities”.
While US House Speaker Mike Johnson visited Columbia University and called those protesting “anti-Semitic … lawless agitators”.
Some 26 members of Congress sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling on him to “restore order at universities that have been effectively closed by anti-Semitic gangs targeting Jewish students.”
New York Mayor Eric Adams also said in a statement that he was “horrified and disgusted by the anti-Semitism” demonstrated at Columbia University protests.
However, Jewish students participating in the protests, which have been largely organised by pro-Palestine Jewish groups, categorically refuted the anti-Semitism allegations.
Jewish students wore t-shirts reading, “We are Jews who say stop shooting” in Gaza and even held Jewish Passover rituals to affirm their identity as Jews who oppose Israel’s policy towards the Palestinians.
In Bell University, hundreds of students gathered in the university’s main square and sat around a drawn paper symbolising the traditional “Seder banquet.”
Students raised banners reading “Empty Seder Plates, Stop Starving Gaza” and “Another Jew for a Free Palestine”.Jewish students refute claims of anti-Semitism at pro-Palestine protests
Emory’s Caroline Fohlin is knocked down by the police while shouting: “I’m a professor!!” Hear the disbelief in her voice. (And pinned face down and zip-tied.)
Emory's Caroline Fohlin is knocked down by the police while shouting: “I’m a professor!!” Hear the disbelief in her voice. She never expected to be treated like this by her own university for protesting Israel's slaughter.
But remember, democracy is on the ballot in Nov… pic.twitter.com/rDiWDlCH9e
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) April 26, 2024
Agents-Provocateurs always work against the interests of the sincere protesters by discrediting them and justifying police violence against the cause.
George Soros Paying Student Agitators To Whip Up Anti-Israel Protests https://www.zerohedge.com/political/george-soros-paying-student-agitators-whip-anti-israel-protestsFact Checking https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/fact-checking
I’m continuing to chase the possibility that Israel DID strike harder at Iran last week than Iran let on, which holds open the possibility that the part-2 of that punch, a nuclear EMP strike via F-35, WAS actually shot down by Russia over Syrian airspace, as reported by Pepe Escobar. Here: https://twitter.com/RealPepeEscobar/status/1781652011173253524 And Here: https://www.geopolitika.ru/en/news/nuclear-f-35-mystery-final-update-1-its-now-fully-established-information-was-confirmed?utm_referrer=https%3a%2f%2fwww.google.com%2f
These 2 short videos, based upon Israeli news sources, (somewhat fawningly) make the claim that Israel hit the air defense radar near the Natanz nuclear complex last week.:
Israel used a half-ton supersonic Rampage missile to strike Iran
Direct Hit: Israel DESTROYED Iran’s most expensive defense system with a magnificent missile strike!
@Phoenixvoice and Doc Robinson: It is nice to see you back at the playground again lately.
🙂Thanks TBOC: “I’m a Professor!” pinned on the ground by 2 big, rough cops and zip-tied behind her back.
Emory's Caroline Fohlin is knocked down by the police while shouting: “I’m a professor!!” Hear the disbelief in her voice. She never expected to be treated like this by her own university for protesting Israel's slaughter.
But remember, democracy is on the ballot in Nov… pic.twitter.com/rDiWDlCH9e
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) April 26, 2024
@Oroboros: The Amish may well have normal vitamin-D levels without taking supplements, too.
Meryl Nass MD, The backlash against the WHO is gaining momentum. Just one example, from the head of the Georgia GOP.
I encourage readers to bring this issue to every organization, church group, club you belong to. Ask your group to support a letter to the President, governor, attorney general, or whoever is appropriate explaining why your country should vote NO for the pandemic treaty and amendments to the IHR. Send a copy to your local newspaper and send a copy to me, and we will post them at Door to Freedom. https://merylnass.substack.com/p/the-backlash-against-the-who-is-gaining “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Biden Administration Announces New ‘Global Health Security Strategy’
The Biden administration announced Tuesday a new Global Health Security Strategy that purports to better prepare the country for future pandemics by “partnering with other countries.”
In introductory remarks to his Global Health Security Strategy document, Joe Biden touted his administration has “championed the creation of the Pandemic Fund, a new international body that has already catalyzed $2 billion in financing from 27 contributors, including countries, foundations, and philanthropies, to build stronger global health security capabilities,” with a particular focus on the rapid availability of “life-saving medicines and vaccines.” https://lumennews14.substack.com/p/biden-administration-announces-new H5N1 Avian Flu NIGHTMARE: Samples in the US Consumer Milk. May be Disease X after Fauci-Gates Dangerous Experiments… [So no more milk?]
Particles of bird flu have been found in samples of consumer milk in the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday, revealing the extent of an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).
The virus has previously been detected in raw milk, the agency wrote, adding that while “pasteurization is likely to inactivate the virus,” the process is not expected to fully remove the presence of viral particles. https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/04/h5n1-avian-flu-nightmare-samples-in-the-us-consumer-milk-may-be-disease-x-after-fauci-dangerous-experiments/ FCC Knew Phones Exceeded Radiation Limits, Hid Info From Public and Courts
FCC testing showed popular cellphone brands exceeded the agency’s safety limits for human exposure to wireless radiation, but the agency hid the information from the public and the courts, according to data obtained by the Environmental Health Trust. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/fcc-cellphones-exceeded-wireless-radiation-limits-hidden-public-courts/Musk Warns Australia Against ‘Controlling Entire Internet’ Amid Stabbing Video Censorship Row
The X chief executive earlier denounced that a video of a stabbing attack on an orthodox bishop had been censored in Australia, with Canberra threatening X with a daily fine of $510,000 over the company’s reluctance to completely remove the footage.
Elon Musk has made it clear he will not comply with Australia’s order to remove a video of a terror attack against a Sydney cleric from X (formerly Twitter).
“Our concern is that if any country is allowed to censor content for all countries, which is what the Australian ‘eSafety Commissar’ is demanding, then what is to stop any country from controlling the entire Internet?” the tech billionaire tweeted.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO added that X has “already censored the content in question for Australia, pending legal appeal, and it is stored only on servers” in the US. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240424/musk-warns-australia-against-controlling-entire-internet-amid-stabbing-video-censhorship-row-1118093038.htmlKey Bridge collapse: Massive claw to clear remaining debris; deeper channel to open Thursday
The grab comes as a 35-foot channel is expected to open, allowing larger vessels to travel into the Baltimore harbor and salvage operations start to pivot toward clearing debris from the harbor’s 50-foot main channel. The new alternate channel will be the deepest of the temporary routes into the harbor and the Port of Baltimore, which has been blocked to most vessel traffic since the cargo ship Dali struck a bridge support column March 26, causing the 1.6-mile bridge to collapse and killing six construction workers. https://americanmilitarynews.com/2024/04/key-bridge-collapse-massive-claw-to-clear-remaining-debris-deeper-channel-to-open-thursday/In China, Blinken urges fair treatment of American companies
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called on China to provide a level playing field for American businesses as he began a visit aimed at resolving a raft of contentious issues that could jeopardise the newly repaired relationship…
..Blinken also “stressed that the United States seeks a healthy economic competition with the PRC and a level playing field for U.S. workers and firms operating in China.” The PRC, or People’s Republic of China, is the country’s official name.
Responding to the comments later in the day, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin, told a regular media conference that “China has always been carrying out economic and trade cooperation in accordance with the principles of the market.”
“We hope that the U.S. side will respect the principle of fair competition, abide by WTO rules and work with China to create favourable conditions for the sound and steady development of China-US economic and trade relations,” said Wang…
..Just as Blinken landed in Shanghai, President Joe Biden signed a rare bipartisan bill that included $8 billion to counter China’s military might, as well as billions in defence aid for Taiwan and $61 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Biden also signed a separate bill tied to the aid legislation that bans TikTok in the U.S. if its owner, the Chinese tech firm ByteDance, fails to divest the popular short video app over the next nine months to a year.
Blinken will press China to stop its firms from retooling and resupplying Russia’s defence industrial base. Moscow invaded Ukraine days after agreeing a “no limits” partnership with Beijing, and while China has steered clear of providing arms, U.S. officials warn Chinese companies are sending dual-use technology that helps Russia’s war effort.
Without providing details, a senior State Department official told reporters that Washington was prepared to “take steps” against Chinese firms it believes are damaging U.S. and European security.
State-run China Daily said in an editorial that there was “a huge question mark over what the discussions between Blinken and his hosts can yield” and that both sides “have been largely talking past each other.” “On the conflict in Ukraine, the world can see it clearly that the Ukraine issue is not an issue between China and the U.S., and the U.S. side should not turn it into one,” it said. https://www.reuters.com/world/blinken-meet-businesses-shanghai-he-kicks-off-tough-china-trip-2024-04-25/Stealing Russian Assets Spells End of US as ‘Bastion for Rule of Law’
US lawmakers’ efforts to confiscate frozen Russia’s financial assets abroad and hand them over to Ukraine does not bode well for the United States in the long run, said financial and geopolitical analyst Tom Luongo.
“Congress is literally throwing the entire concept of foreign exchange into the trash can and lighting it on fire by giving President Biden this power, which no one should have,” he told Sputnik. “This isn’t about Russia or anyone’s opinion about what they are doing in Ukraine. This is about the US as a bastion for the rule of law as it pertains to business and banking.”
According to Luongo, the US moving to brazenly appropriate Russian assets “will signal to the rest of the world that their money is no longer safe from confiscation if it is held in US banks,” that anyone’s assets could be seized as easily if they earn the ire of “someone in Congress.”
“Every country looking to do business with the US in the future now lives with that. This one act is what signals the end of the modern era of finance and trade. From here the world will fracture and the US will lose trillions in future trade,” the analyst remarked. “This confirms my argument that US leadership [figures] are vandals intent on the collapse of the US rather than having any allegiance whatsoever to the people or what’s left of the ideals on which the country was founded.”…
..“Capital flows to where it is treated best. This was the US’ real superpower for all of these years. We treated capital well. It’s what drove our banking dominance. That dominance will fade and the world, in the short term, will turn to gold until a new system emerges,” he added. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240424/stealing-russian-assets-spells-end-of-us-as-bastion-for-rule-of-law-1118098163.htmlRussia Vetoes US-Authored UN Resolution Banning Nuclear Weapons In Space
China was the only abstention while the US was among the 13 UNSC members that voted in favor. It had been drafted and brought forward by the US and Japan.
In February the US government alleged that Russia was preparing to deploy a ‘space weapon’ which might be nuclear, which subsequently set off a frenzy of media speculation.
Reuters had reported at the time, “The space-based weapon U.S. intelligence believes Russia may be developing is more likely a nuclear-powered device to blind, jam or fry the electronics inside satellites than an explosive nuclear warhead to shoot them down, analysts said.”
The Kremlin has blasted what it characterized as a “malicious fabrication”. It claimed US officials were seeking to distract the public and ram through more foreign aid and defense spending in Congress. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-vetoes-us-authored-un-resolution-banning-nuclear-weapons-spaceJim Rickards (among others) points out that Stagflation is Back: This “Emperor” Has No Clothes [SPR is at the lowest level since 1983, so tap it again for some votes?]
The Fed will not cut rates at its May or June meetings. Wall Street’s been predicting rate cuts for almost two years and they’ve been wrong every time. They’re predicting a June rate cut, and they’ll be wrong again.
A rate cut at the July 31 meeting is possible but is in jeopardy now due to inflation going up again in the latest report. We’ll have three more months of inflation, unemployment and GDP data between now and then.
If the Fed does cut rates in late July, it won’t be for good reasons. It’ll be because the economy has fallen into a recession. But given the boost to U.S. growth from out-of-control government spending in an election year, the recession may be postponed. So don’t count on a July rate cut either.
There’s no Fed meeting in August. The next meeting after that is Sept. 18. The Fed may be ready for a rate cut by then but here’s the problem: The Sept. 18 date is just seven weeks before the election on Nov. 5. The Fed pretends it’s non-political but in fact, it is highly political.
A rate cut in September will be viewed as helping Biden by boosting the economy and hurting Trump. At the same time, Trump is the likely winner based on currently available polling data and trends.
The Fed won’t want to be in the position of appearing to boost Biden and hurt Trump if Trump is going to win. Trump will make the Fed Public Enemy No. 1 and that’s the last thing they want. So the Fed will take a pass in September.
There’s no Fed meeting in October. The next two Fed meetings after that are on Nov. 7 and Dec. 18, both safely after the election. The Fed could cut rates at both meetings. But the Fed has painted itself into a corner on that…
..The problem is that inflation isn’t done. From the 3.0% in June 2023, inflation rose to 3.7% in August, and 3.7% again in September 2023. Inflation fluctuated between 3.1% and 3.4% until recently. March inflation came in at 3.5%, a full 0.3 percentage points higher than in February.
That’s not all that’s going up. The price of oil was $68.50 per barrel last Dec. 12 and is over $83.00 per barrel today. That’s about a 21% increase in just four months.
That oil price shock hasn’t worked its way through the supply chain yet. It has resulted in some price increases, but more are in the pipeline. This oil price spike will keep inflation at current levels or higher in the months ahead. The Fed is looking for signs that inflation is coming down but they’re not going to get them, as shown in the latest inflation report…
..Higher oil prices mean higher transportation costs whether by truck, train, plane or ship since all goods have to be transported to market. That means the price of everything is going up.
Other factors driving inflation from the supply side include the Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, the closing of the Red Sea/Suez Canal shipping route and continued fallout from Ukraine war sanctions. Some of these supply side constraints may be deflationary in the long run, but they are definitely inflationary in the short run… Anyone under the age of 60 probably has no acquaintance with stagflation. The U.S. last experienced this in 1977–1981. I remember that period well. It was great for leveraged holders of hard assets such as gold and real estate. It was a nightmare for holders of stocks. https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/emperor-has-no-clothesTesla’s sees 55% drop in net income in 1st quarter , American electric car manufacturer’s revenue down 9% to $21.3B https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/teslas-sees-55-drop-in-net-income-in-1st-quarter/3200534
US Secretly Armed Ukraine With Long-Range ATACMS Last Month
A Biden administration official said that Ukraine has already used the missiles in an attack on a Russian base in Crimea https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/24/us-secretly-armed-ukraine-with-long-range-atacms-last-month/Simplicius, SITREP 4/24/24: Comedown After Post-Aid ‘High’ Brings West Back to Reality
The outlook for the near future is for Ukraine to make a bunch of big demonstrative and showy attacks with their new armaments, i.e. HIMARs and ATACMS ammo, to give the impression of some kind of battlefield initiative. They’ll likely make a few more large-scale drone attacks on Russia, Crimea, etc., in concert with ATACMS and will hope to put on a morale-boosting display, but on the real battlefield they will continue being wiped away by Russia’s nibbling advances.
Will they seek to attack the Kerch bridge soon? No, I believe they will save that as a final damage control trump card when the Russian assault is peaking at its highest intensity. If Russia launches the large-scale offensives around June, and if there is a big collapse in the AFU, they will save their last gimmick for precisely that moment to try and turn perceptions around and make it look like they’ve dealt some kind of crippling blow to the Russian armed forces by striking the bridge. This is why they’ve already telegraphed the literal schedule of the Kerch attack to be precisely “before summertime” which is when they expect the Russian offensive to be launched. So look for an unprecedented Kerch attack around June. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/sitrep-42424-comedown-after-postUS sided with evil and fascism – Russian envoy
Biden said the US would start sending weapons and military equipment to Ukraine “in the next few hours.”
Following the announcement Ambassador Antonov told reporters that Washington is balancing on the brink of a direct clash between nuclear powers. The development has struck a severe blow to prospects for a hypothetical revival of Russian-American relations in the future, the ambassador stated.
“For the sake of its greedy and insatiable defense industry, the [Biden] administration sacrifices the lives of ordinary people. With their decision, local politicians actually put an end to the fate of the entire state [of Ukraine], which is used as a ‘battering ram’ against Russia,” he stated. https://swentr.site/news/596523-us-ukraine-aid-russia/Russian Defense Minister Shoigu announces that the new S-500 air defense missile systems, “The Shield of Moscow” are to be put into place this year, and have already managed to shoot down a hypersonic missile in testing. https://warnews247-gr.translate.goog/diethnh/rwsia/pleonekthma-prwtou-plhgmatos-sth-rwsia-o-promhtheas-anaxaitise-uperhxhtikous-avangard-mpazei-h-dunamh-kroushs-kai-h-antiballistikh-aspida-twn-hpa/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Garbage-in : Garbage-out , Wrong a lot and failed to predict big attacks… Project Maven: How US AI System Failed to Change Ukrainian Conflict
While the United States has been using its Maven machine learning tool to help Ukrainian forces process intelligence data, it apparently turned out to be yet another creation of Washington’s military-industrial complex that did not afford the Kiev regime forces any edge on the battlefield. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240424/project-maven-how-us-ai-system-failed-to-change-ukrainian-conflict-1118094144.htmlNancy Pelosi is a strategic player, making definitive statements to blame Bibi and get a 2-state-solution without him. Sounds like a good start…
Netanyahu should resign – ex-US House speaker
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an obstacle to peace in Gaza and “should resign” from his position, former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said.
She made the remarks on Monday in an interview with Irish public broadcaster Raidio Teilifis Eireann (RTE) during her visit to the country.
Pelosi criticized the Israeli leader’s response to the October 7 Hamas attack which saw Palestinian militants kill over 1,100 people on Israeli territory and take around 250 hostages.
The former House speaker cited the recent resignation of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intelligence chief Major General Aharon Haliva over the failure to prevent the attack, before pointing the finger at Netanyahu.
“We recognize Israel’s right to protect itself. We reject the policy and the practice of Netanyahu – terrible. What could be worse than what he has done in response?” Pelosi told the outlet. “He should resign. He’s ultimately responsible,” she added.
When asked if Netanyahu is a “block” to peace, Pelosi replied that “he has been for years,” adding that she doesn’t know whether the Israeli leader is “afraid of peace, incapable of peace, or just doesn’t want peace.”
She went on to argue that Netanyahu been an “obstacle to the two-state solution, I emphasize the word, ‘solution.’” https://www.rt.com/news/596514-nancy-pelosi-netanyahu-resign/UN Report Demolishes Israeli Propaganda Campaign Against UNRWA , Israel has waged a multi-year campaign against the UN aid group for Palestinian refugees in hopes of eradicating the right of return. [2-state solution WITH Right of Return to stolen properties is key.]
Israel has failed to provide any evidence of its claims that employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) are members of “terrorist organizations,” according to an independent review led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna.
In January, Israel claimed without evidence that some UNRWA staff – until then the primary conduit of humanitarian aid into the besieged and bombed Gaza Strip – were members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and had participated in the Hamas-led attack on Israeli military bases and settlements on 7 October, known as Operation Al-Aqsa Flood…
..The Guardian added that most donor nations have resumed their funding in recent weeks. However, UK ministers had said they would wait for the Colonna report to decide whether to resume funding. The US Congress has since banned any future financial support of UNRWA. https://thecradle.co/articles/un-report-demolishes-israeli-propaganda-campaign-against-unrwaIsrael suffers major blow as Germany resumes funding to UNRWA https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240424-israel-suffers-major-blow-as-germany-resumes-funding-to-unrwa/
Here’s why Iran decided not to attack Israel again 4/24/24 RT: [Did Israel hit Iran’s air defense radar, then have the Russians thwart the actual attack?]
The threat of a major war in the Middle East has passed because Tehran has decided to bide its time , Mikhail Gurevich
Iran has again threatened Israel with a harsh response to aggression by the Jewish state. Tehran’s army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will ensure those who cross red lines regret it, Deputy Chief of the Army for Coordination, Habibollah Sayyari has warned.
Israel, meanwhile, has refrained from speaking out against Tehran, instead focusing its political rhetoric on Hamas…
..Tehran has chosen not to react vociferously to the Israeli air force’s retaliatory strike, dismissing all reports of the destruction of the radar protecting the Natanz nuclear centre as ‘Zionist intrigue’. [I never saw those “reports” until this mention.] …
..The Iranians had options. The Ayatollahs could have said that Israel had again crossed all the red lines. This would have led to further escalation, but might have protected Hamas. But Iran, for its own reasons, ignored the Palestinians and reported through the press that nothing serious had happened.
The reason for this peacefulness is probably that they envisaged a working alliance between Israel, Jordan and the Sunni monarchies of the Persian Gulf. This is precisely the nightmare that the Iranians have done their utmost to prevent. They even restored diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia in 2023. But apparently confrontation with the Shiites is more important to moderate Sunnis than dislike of the Jews.
According to military analysts, if the Israeli Air Force did attack Iranian air defences, it means that they probably flew over Jordan or the Arabian Peninsula, and it is unlikely that this was done without the consent of the Hashemite Kingdom or the Saudis. As a result, the military alliance is not only defensive, which means that virtually all of Iran’s proxies in the region, including Hezbollah, the Houthis and the Shia militias in Iraq and Syria, are at risk. https://www.rt.com/news/596504-good-news-middle-east/IDF hits 40 Hezbollah sites; Gallant says group’s south Lebanon command decimated , Times of Israel
Fighter jets, artillery target weapon depots, assets in Ayta ash-Shab amid incessant attacks, including missile fire on Avivim https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-hits-40-hezbollah-sites-gallant-says-groups-south-lebanon-command-decimated/But what about “Jewish Voice For Peace” protesters? Netanyahu Calls for Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Protesters in the US
Echoing President Biden, Netanyahu labeled the demonstrations ‘antisemitic’
“What’s happening in America’s college campuses is horrific. Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities,” Netanyahu said. His comments echoed President Biden, who labeled the demonstrations “antisemitic protests.”
At some American universities, police have arrested and dispersed protesters, but Netanyahu said more should be done. “Now, fortunately, state, local, federal officials, many of them have responded differently but there has to be more. More has to be done,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid also called for a crackdown on the protests. “What’s happening on American college campuses is unforgivable,” he wrote on X. “It is antisemitism, it is support for terrorism, it is support for Hamas which murders LGBT people and oppresses women. The administration cannot stand by, it has to intervene.” https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/24/netanyahu-calls-for-crackdown-on-pro-palestine-protesters-in-the-us/Caitlin Johnstone, Quashing University Protests And Banning TikTok To Make The Kids Love Israel
It’s just a tough situation, with victims on both sides. On one side you’ve got people being slaughtered in droves by genocidal massacres and siege warfare, while on the other you’ve got people whose feelings get hurt when these atrocities are opposed. https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/quashing-university-protests-and‘It felt like pulling my heart out of the earth:’ testimonies from the mass grave at Nasser Hospital
As Civil Defense teams continue to unearth hundreds of bodies from the mass graves discovered at Nasser Hospital, Palestinians are flocking to the medical complex in search of their missing loved ones. https://mondoweiss.net/2024/04/i-felt-like-pulling-my-heart-out-of-the-earth-testimonies-from-the-mass-grave-at-nasser-hospital/Experts Disagree https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/experts-disagree
Pepe Escobar’s disputed “scoop”: THE NUCLEAR F-35 MYSTERY – FINAL UPDATE
1. It’s now fully established that The Information was confirmed independently by the intel of a Big Power.
2. The Information was NOT relayed by Russia.
3. It then reached a third nation – and from that to me.
4. The players involved are not backing down an inch from The Information.
5. I was privately provided with two examples of the accuracy of recent intel by the Big Power on two separate big developments in West Asia .
6. The source that contacted me notes that “sometimes, after news has entered the media space, there is no choice but not to provide clarification.”
Additionally, a senior Russian diplomat who does not know The Information, said to me the following:
1. “That is entirely possible.”
2. It shouldn’t have been revealed to the public.
3. “If this is true, then all sides will be determined to cover it up.”
One unanswered question for me is: Why did the Big Power source relay The Information to an intel agency from another nation? I tend to believe this was to erase its tracks in the chain. Particularly because my initial source has now revealed that the Big Power gained their intelligence firsthand – and that it was not transmitted to them by the Russians, Iranians or other direct parties to the hot war in West Asia.
To sum it all up, via the source who originally received The Information: “If anyone should be accused of fabrication it is the ’source’; but in this case the ’source’ remains confident of the accuracy.
I rest my case. I published raw intel the way I received it. https://www.geopolitika.ru/en/news/nuclear-f-35-mystery-final-update-1-its-now-fully-established-information-was-confirmed?utm_referrer=https%3a%2f%2fwww.google.com%2fPepe’s Initial scoop: THE REAL STORY OF THE ISRAELI COUNTER RESPONSE , From a very high level intel source.
Israel initially chose to respond with extreme force. An F-35 loaded with a nuclear bomb was sent east over Jordan. The mission: cause a high-altitude detonation over Iran that would provoke a surge in the high-capacity power lines, crippling Iran’s electric grid, as well as disabling all electronic devices. An EMP attack. However… … As the Israeli F-35 was leaving Jordanian airspace it was shot down by the Russian Air Force. https://twitter.com/RealPepeEscobar/status/1781652011173253524Pepe explains to Larry Johnson for 19 minutes yesterday: PEPE ESCOBAR and LARRY JOHNSON on the F-35/NUCLEAR BOMB/EMP OVER IRAN MYSTERY.
PEPE ESCOBAR and LARRY JOHNSON on the F-35/NUCLEAR BOMB/EMP OVER IRAN MYSTERY.
Scott Ritter at 19:30, discusses Pepe Escobar’s scoop that Israel had a nuclear armed F-35 in the air last week after Iran’s missile attack, which was shot down by Russia as it exited Jordanian airspace over Syria. He basically says that Escobar is reliable, but that sources play journalists for various reasons (which Larry Johnson also said, relating how the Clinton campaign played him against the Obama campaign in 2007 by feeding him and his reliable-sources the same fake story, so that it was corroborated when he called them). Scott Ritter Sends Warning: HUGE ESCALATION Is About To Happen In Ukraine And Middle East https://youtu.be/5q_g4iaADok?t=1170
@Phoenixvoice: Yes, precisely. ;-(
US To Convert Pacific Oil Rigs Into Military Bases as Part of Anti-China Buildup
The US Navy will convert surplus oil rigs in the western Pacific into mobile military bases as part of the US military buildup aimed at China, The Defense Post reported on Tuesday. The naval engineering firm Gibbs & Cox developed the concept, known as the Mobile Defense/Depot Platform (MODEP), and presented it earlier this month at the Sea Air Space Expo. The idea is to convert oil rigs into mobile missile defense and resupply bases.
“Our target here is to find a solution to help the challenging problem of having capacity issues in the Western Pacific. For not enough cells, not enough missiles, not enough of being able to keep those ships in the forward station,” Dave Zook, an architect at Gibbs & Cox, told Naval News.
Gibbs & Cox claims that the floating bases would be able to hold 512 vertical launch system cells or 100 large missile launchers, which is five times the capacity of a US Navy destroyer. The idea is to counter China’s ballistic missiles that could take out US warships and bases in the region in the event of an open war. https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/23/us-to-convert-pacific-oil-rigs-into-military-bases-as-part-of-anti-china-buildup/ Wind Overtakes Fossil Fuels as the UK’s Largest Power Generation Source
The UK saw two consecutive quarters of wind power overtaking fossil fuels as the single-largest source of electricity generation for the first time, per data from think tank Ember quoted by Reuters columnist Gavin Maguire.
In the first quarter of 2024, wind-generated a total of 25.3 terawatt hours (TWh) of Britain’s electricity, higher than the 23.6 TWh generated from fossil fuel sources, Ember data showed. As a result, wind power generated an average of 39.4% of the UK’s electricity between January and March 2024, versus a 36.2% share of fossil fuel generation.
Wind power generation, however, could begin to dip with warmer and still weather in the summer months. https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Wind-Overtakes-Fossil-Fuels-as-the-UKs-Largest-Power-Generation-Source.html Charles Hugh Smith, Cities’ “Doom Loops” Are Even Worse Than You Imagined
This is why those who understand these dynamics are getting out, even though the city was their home. https://charleshughsmith.substack.com/p/cities-doom-loops-are-even-worse. What Lindsey Graham Isn’t Telling You About US ‘Loan’ to Ukraine
“This aid package has a loan component to it,” Graham said Sunday. “President Trump has created a loan component to this package that gives us leverage down the road.” But does it? What Graham fails to mention is the fine print.
Of the $61 billion in the foreign aid package, only $9.5 billion comes in the form of a “forgivable loan” for the Ukrainian government, according to Heritage Action. (Heritage Action is the grassroots arm of The Heritage Foundation, which founded The Daily Signal in 2014).
There’s another catch for the so-called loan: President Joe Biden has the power to cancel 50% of the total after this coming Nov. 15. And the remaining 50% may be canceled by the president after Jan. 1, 2026. https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/04/23/what-lindsey-graham-isnt-telling-you-about-us-loan-to-ukraine/ A former Nigerien diplomat tells Al Mayadeen his country is determined to expel US forces from Niger and establish stronger ties with the east.
Niger is determined to expel US forces from its territory, Nigerien diplomat Ali Tassa told Al Mayadeen on Tuesday.
“Washington initially wanted to negotiate the continuation of an air base, but the Nigerian government refused,” Tassa underlined.
He stressed that Niger was open to Russia, China, Iran, and any country that respects its sovereignty, adding that his country is strengthening its relations with Moscow.
Niger is “interested in strengthening its army to confront terrorism,” Tassa said.
US Defense Department spokesperson Patrick Ryder said today that the US and Niger have started discussions for the orderly withdrawal of US servicemen from Niger. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/niger-determined-to-expel-us-forces–diplomat-says—exclusi Chad Signals It Wants US Troops To Leave , The news comes after the US said it agreed to leave Niger
Chad’s government sent a letter to the US earlier this month that said it could end the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The letter didn’t directly order the US military to leave, but US officials said that if the agreement were canceled, US forces would have to leave a French military base where they were stationed.
Reuters also reported on the letter and said Chad ordered the US to halt activity at the Adji Kossei Air Base because the US had failed to provide documents justifying their presence there. https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/23/chad-signals-it-wants-us-troops-to-leave/ Iran Claims New Version of Bavar-373 Can Take Out US-Made Stealth Jets
Displayed during a recent military parade in Tehran, the new weapon is said to have enhanced target detection and tracking abilities, enabling the interception of radar-evading fifth-generation fighter jets such as the F-35.
It can also identify up to 100 aerial targets simultaneously and engage them with Sayyad-4B missiles, according to Iranian officials. The update listed the range of the new Bavar-373 as 300 kilometers (186 miles), but this has not been independently verified. https://www.thedefensepost.com/2024/04/23/iran-bavar-us-jets/?expand_article=1Simplicius gives the rundown on this hypersonic missile system. 3M22 Zircon: Debunking Misconceptions https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/3m22-zircon-debunking-misconceptions
Silenced Screams: Untold Stories of the Brutal Israeli Invasion of Nur Shams
Sana’ Yassin would never have imagined that the day would come when she would see bodies at the entrance to her home, and no one would be allowed to retrieve them.
This was the scene at the Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank, during a three-day violent Israeli military invasion, which left at least 14 Palestinians dead and dozens injured, in addition to massive destruction of the area.
The storming began last Thursday, with scores of Israeli armored military vehicles and hundreds of soldiers surrounding the camp and sealing its entrances.
Yassin told the Palestine Chronicle that Israeli bulldozers immediately began destroying the streets, cutting off water and electricity while uprooting the sewage network. Israeli bulldozers demolished the facades of dozens of shops and balconies of houses overlooking the streets, causing new massive destruction in addition to previous rounds of deliberate sabotage.
“I had visited my sick mother and returned to my home when the raid began. I heard the sound of bulldozers and military vehicles, so I quickly entered my house because I knew that this sound was a prelude to a disaster,” Yassin said.
As the invasion continued, Israeli snipers began shooting at anyone who moved, wounding many. Because ambulance crews were prevented from entering, the conditions of the injured rapidly worsened...
..For that entire time, Yassin was trying to calm her four children, who were crying and screaming due to the power outage and the deafening sounds of shelling and bullets. “While I was trying to help them sleep, there was a very loud shooting sound near the house,” Yassin said.
“I heard screaming and looked out the window to find two young men lying on the ground, bleeding due to their wounds and burns,” she explained. “I thought the ambulance would come to save them, but everyone was prevented from approaching.”
One of the injured tried to crawl to a nearby house, but he was unable to do so due to a barrage of Israeli gunfire.
He remained on the ground for several hours until he and the other injured person passed away. Their bodies remained there for more than 60 hours.
Yassin told us that a strong smell began to fill the neighborhood.
She prevented her children from looking through the window so that they would not be shocked by the scene.
“Every time I looked out the window, I wished I wouldn’t see the two bodies, but they remained there the whole time,” Yassin said.
“No one was able to save them when they were injured and no one was able to retrieve them after their death. It was a horrific sight that I didn’t ever expect to see in my lifetime.” …
..Salim Ghannam, 29, was sniped with a bullet to the head at the entrance to his home in the Nur Shams camp.
No one was allowed to approach him, but his family managed to drag his lifeless body into the house.
Salim remained there – a dead body – for 48 hours, with his family crying around him, the entire time. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/silenced-screams-untold-stories-of-the-brutal-israeli-invasion-of-nur-shams-photos/ Red Cross Says Rafah Evacuation Not ‘Possible’ as Israel Prepares for Invasion , Israeli media reports that Israel will invade Rafah ‘very soon’
“When we see the level of destruction in the middle area (of Gaza) and in the north, it’s not clear to us where people will be moved to… where they can have decent shelter and essential services,” Fabrizio Carboni, Middle East director for the Red Cross, told AFP. “So today, with the information we have and from where we stand, we don’t see this (massive evacuation) as possible.” https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/23/red-cross-says-rafah-evacuation-not-possible-as-israel-prepares-for-invasion/Jewish Voice For Peace, Passover Edition, Why is this year different from all other years?
This week, Palestinians uncovered a second mass grave in Gaza, at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. More than 300 bodies were buried there, many with their hands and feet tied, killed and discarded by the Israeli military.
The Israeli government has enjoyed impunity to commit genocide for the past six months, aided and abetted by the U.S. Congress. On Tuesday night the Senate approved over $14 billion in military funding for Israel — which President Biden is expected to sign off on.
As this genocide continues, our movement isn’t backing down. Across the country, Jews are holding Seders in the Streets for Passover, and campuses across the country are being filled by student encampments in solidarity with Gaza. A new anti-war movement is being forged, demanding an end to U.S. support for Israel…
https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2024/04/24/seder-campus/ Australian Senator Says Elon Musk Should “Be In Jail And The Key Be Thrown Away” (The Senator for Tasmania also declared she would be boycotting X, proclaiming “I’ll be switching off X today, I’ll be doing that before I get to the airport this afternoon, and I suggest that the other 226, there’s 227 members of Parliament, do the same thing. Show him that you mean business.”) [Sounds like she’s just speaking thoughtlessly, doesn’t it?]
An Australian Senator has called for X owner Elon Musk to be jailed for life for refusing to adhere to the Australian government’s demands to remove a video of the brutal attack on a Christian Bishop in Sydney last week by an apparent Muslim extremist. After Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was attacked at his church in Sydney, the video taken from a live stream quickly went viral on X.
Australian officials, and politicians from both sides of the spectrum immediately called for the footage to be removed, yet Elon Musk has refused to do so, saying that X is a platform for freedom of expression and it will not censor content that is not illegal.
Australia’s so called ‘eSafety Commissioner’ Julie Inman-Grant, an unelected official, has ordered both X and Meta to remove footage of the stabbing under the Online Safety Act, passed in 2021, which empowers the eSafety department to demand the removal of so-called ‘class 1 material’.
X was ordered by the Australian Federal Court on Monday to block all users from viewing the footage.
The platform temporarily complied with the order in Australia while taking out a two-day injunction, but asserted that a global takedown order violates freedom of speech.“We have already censored the content in question for Australia, pending legal appeal, and it is stored only on servers in the USA,” Musk noted in an X post, warning that complying with government demands to ban content is a slippery slope.
In comments to Sky News, Independent Australian Senator Jacqui Lambie charged that Musk is “creating hatred” by ignoring requests to remove “harmful content.”
“I think he’s a social media nob with no social conscience, he has absolutely no social conscience,” she said. “Someone like that should be in jail and the key be thrown away. That bloke should not have a right to be out there on his own ideology platform and creating hatred, showing all this stuff out there to our kids and doing all the rest,” Lambie added. https://modernity.news/2024/04/24/australian-senator-says-elon-musk-should-be-in-jail-and-the-key-be-thrown-away/ “Whatever it takes” to maintain debt-ownership-rights? PM Orbán’s warning to Europe: ‘World wars are never called world wars in the beginning’
PM Orbán’s warning to Europe: ‘World wars are never called world wars in the beginning’
Meryl Nass MD: Door to Freedom team shines a light on how little has really changed in the new version of the April 2024 amended IHR
The current language has been watered down, and is a bit trickier to disentangle, but the plan is exactly the same [Must-Maintain-Control!] https://merylnass.substack.com/p/door-to-freedom-team-shines-a-light UN Plans Tyrannical Future for You – Alex Newman [The same plan the WHO has, in case that flops? At least financial elites should retain their ownership rights.]
Newman explains, “The bigger story here that people are not paying attention to is the UN is coming together in September . . . and they are having ‘The Summit of the Future.’ They are telling us they are going to bring out radical drastic reforms in the structure of the UN . . . and the power of the UN. Think of it as the biggest power grab ever at the global level. The Secretary General of the UN (António Guterres) has put out briefs where he is calling for the UN to be the one world global dictatorship with him at the helm. In emergencies, the UN would have all power in emergencies and have all power to oversee emergency response. . . . They say the crisis could be a climate crisis, an economic crisis, environmental crisis, pandemic crisis, black swan crisis or maybe something from outer space. So, basically, anything could be a crisis, and when the Secretary General declares a crisis, all power and authority would go to the UN… This is really a summit for a tyrannical future. . . . They want control of every aspect of your life.”
If you think the “depopulation” or murder program by the Deep State is some sort of conspiracy theory or myth, think again. Newman says, “One of the interesting things about going to the UN conferences is they are totally open and totally transparent about the fact that they think there are way too many of us on this planet. We are taking up their space and consuming their resources. They say this openly. They say there are way too many people having way too many babies, and we have to drastically cut back on the number of people on the planet. They have a whole agency dedicated to this called the UN Population Fund.” One sure fire way to kill a lot of people in a short amount of time is war. Newman says, “They have understood, the globalists, the Deep State, the evil doers and the sick cabal, have understood for a very long time that war was the best mechanism for bringing about their totalitarian one world government. This is not speculation on my part. This is what they say. Their game plan is war, famine, energy crisis and economic crisis. These are all tools and catalysts for accelerating this agenda. If millions of people die in a third world war, and it does not matter if it is Iran and Israel, or China and Tiawan, or Ukraine and Russia, it really does not matter, they want millions and millions of people dead so people will give up their attachment to the nation state, self-government and individual liberty and give up anything, money or freedom, anything to make it stop.” https://usawatchdog.com/un-plans-tyrannical-future-for-you-alex-newman/ Palestine This Week: The bodies Israel doesn’t want you to see
The bodies of more than 280 Palestinians have been found in a mass grave in the grounds of Nasser Hospital in Gaza, most too decomposed to be identified. With proof of Israel’s war crimes once again coming to light, will the US use its powers to protect the occupation state at the ICC? https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240423-palestine-this-week-the-bodies-israel-doesnt-want-you-to-see/..When a country’s currency is the reserve currency, a role the US seized from Great Britain as its World War II victory prize, it means that there is unlimited demand for your debt. The reason is that your debt is the reserves of the world’s central banks. An increase in US debt is an increase in the reserves of the world banking system. As central banks desire more reserves, there was always a demand for US Treasury debt. There was zero financing problem…
..Being the world currency, a role Roosevelt stole from England, means the US can pay its international bills by printing money or issuing debt.
What has put this American privilege in danger is Washington’s stupid, indeed mindless, imposition of economic sanctions that then are evaded by ceasing to use the US dollar as world money. When countries cease settling their international balance of payments accounts in dollars, as Russia, China, Iran and other countries are doing, demand for Treasury debt drops. This means as the sanctioned central banks move to gold and non-Western currencies as reserves, that the demand for US Treasury debt drops, and for the first time in recent history, financing America’s tremendous public debt becomes a problem…
..The problem is not that the debt can’t be paid. The problem is whereas the Fed can print dollars to meet any debt payments, it cannot print foreign currencies with which to buy dollars in foreign exchange markets...
..The minute the dollar goes, American power goes with it. Most of the world can hardly wait for it to happen. https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2024/04/23/the-real-debt-problem/ Where do the primary interests of Donald Trump lie? Trump Sold-Out His Base to Shovel $95 Billion to Ukraine and Israel , Mike Whitney
“America last. America last. That’s all this is. America last, every single day.” – Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene
The man who is most responsible for the $95 billion giveaway to Ukraine and Israel, is the same guy who pretends to oppose America’s “wasteful” foreign wars. Donald Trump. It was Trump who consulted with Speaker Mike Johnson about the contents of the Ukraine aid package, just as it was Trump who concocted the idea of issuing loans instead of dispersing the standard welfare handout. It was also Trump who said:
“I stand with the Speaker, (Mike Johnson)” after which he added that Johnson is doing “a very good job.”
A “good job”?
So, secretly collaborating with the Democrat leadership to push through a bill that “reauthorizes FISA to spy on the American people without a warrant, (bans Tik Tok) fully funds Joe Biden’s DOJ that has indicted President Trump 91 times, and giving Biden’s political gestapo a brand new FBI building bigger than the Pentagon,” while not providing a dime to protect the southern border from the swarms of people entering the country illegally, is doing a “good job”?
The question we should all be asking ourselves is why has Trump decided to participate in this scam? He keeps saying that if he was president, he’d end the war in Ukraine in a day. If he’s sincere about that, then why did he collaborate on a bill that will drag the war out for another year or two? This is from a Twitter post by political analyst Michael Tracey:
Mission Accomplished. It is done: Donald Trump and the House GOP just completed one of the most epic swindles in political history, with Trump personally effectuating the largest-ever disbursement of Ukraine funding through his emissary, “MAGA Mike Johnson” (as Trump lovingly calls him). https://www.globalresearch.ca/trump-sold-base-95-billion-ukraine-israel/5855470 Final Nail in America’s Coffin? By Ron Paul, MD
When future historians go searching for the final nail in the US coffin, they may well settle on the date April 20, 2024.
On that day Congress passed legislation to fund two and a half wars, hand what’s left of our privacy over to the CIA and NSA, and give the US president the power to shut down whatever part of the Internet he disagrees with.
The nearly $100 billion grossly misnamed “National Security Supplemental” guarantees that Ukrainians will continue to die in that country’s unwinnable war with Russia, that Palestinian civilians will continue to be slaughtered in Gaza with US weapons, and that the neocons will continue to push us toward a war with China.
It was a total victory for the war party. https://www.lewrockwell.com/2024/04/ron-paul/final-nail-in-americas-coffin/ The White House enthusiastically backed surveillance reauthorization that despite a fresh record of routine abuses expands security agencies’ spying power.
On April 20, Edward Snowden declared, “America lost something important today, and hardly anyone heard. The headlines of state-aligned media screech and crow about the nefarious designs of your fellow citizens and the necessity of foreign wars without end, but find few words for a crime against the Constitution.”
The NSA whistleblower was referring to the United States Senate reauthorizing and expanding surveillance under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
President Joe Biden circulated a memo that cast the Fourth Amendment right to privacy as a “threat to national security.” Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Attorney General Merrick Garland called members of Congress to ensure that they voted to give spy agencies renewed power.
Specifically, “Patriot Act 2.0,” as Representative Zoe Lofgren called it, broadened the definition of service providers and exponentially increased the power that the government has to force numerous business and industries to aid warrantless surveillance. https://thedissenter.org/biden-expands-ranks-government-spies/ Assuring the continuity of “ownership”? The World Economic Forum (WEF) is pushing for the “24-hour monitoring” of the general public using “biometric sensors—on, or even inside their bodies.” Details of the plan were revealed by Yuval Noah Harari, a senior advisor to the WEF and its founder Klaus Schwab.
According to Harari, a self-described “transhumanist” who is credited as the architect behind the WEF’s anti-human agenda, tracking the public 24/7 will help globalists provide them with “much better healthcare.” Harari claims that the technology will give Big Tech companies, including Facebook and Google, access to the 24-hour flow of data. Alarmingly, Harari also suggested that the Chinese Communist Party would “constantly monitor what’s happening” inside the bodies of the general public. https://slaynews.com/news/wef-calls-24-hour-monitoring-public/The Owners Of Debt https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/the-owners-of-debt
There is a tension among the highest class of owners of global financial assets, as the current over-leveraged iteration of $US based global finance is based upon continued exponential growth of real-economy, which seems to have ended with 2018 and the peak of “oil and natural gas liquids” production.
The first interest of these owners is the maintenance of their primacy of control of the economies and peoples of the world, which they enjoy through “ownership” of the farms, factories, mines, oil wells and forests of the world. That “ownership” has mostly arisen through manipulations of financial-capital, the debts of the world, which they have accrued to themselves in recent centuries, through family financial trusts, global financial holding trusts, and ownership of stocks in productive industries and financial corporations.
Their interests of increasing ownership through increasing profitable-extraction of fungible value from productive enterprises is seen to often weaken and hollow out those productive factories, farms and forests, to the detriment of the society served by those industries. That extracted profit is generally invested in further extraction of putative value from any productive enterprise.
As a result of this arrangement the interests of society, which are the efficient and low cost output of industry over the long term, may sometimes be at odds with the interests of the productive industries to improve profits by raising the costs to society. The next layer of interests, those of purely financial capital, very rarely chance to align with the interests of society, except when the collapse of a society threatens the ability of financial capitalists to spend their monetary gains within a productive economy. Even in that extreme condition, it is very difficult for financial-capital interests to act in support of the real economy, and involves extensive government negotiation.
What we are currently seeing, in my opinion, is the preparation for the financial owners to maintain ownership of all of the productive assets and means of trade in the world, as we enter an epoch which requires vast restructuring of the real economy to meet the needs of human societies and natural ecosystems in the world. The extractive interests of the current class of globalist financial “owners” of the debts of the world are directly opposed to the physical needs of the peoples of the world to restructure the real economy, our life support system.
Will the primacy of debt be maintained, as has been the case since the Roman Empire and Roman Law, or will the prior tradition of periodic elimination of debts to allow societies to remain healthy and productive take precedence?Paul Craig Roberts discusses The Real Debt Problem
As I have made crystal clear in my 4-Part series “The Great Dispossession,” you have already lost ownership of your banking, pension, and investment accounts. Your “ownership” has been reduced to permission to use your assets until the financial intermediary holding them gets into financial trouble. At that moment, they cease to be your property and become the property of the creditors of the intermediary that holds your accounts, whether it be Merrill Lynch, Schwab, Wells Fargo, TIAA, or whoever. Your dispossession was done quietly over many years by regulatory agencies. This is what Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum means when he tells you that “you will own nothing.” You already don’t.
The US dollar is in trouble, but it is trouble of Washington’s making. Republicans and the financial press, to the extent that one still exists, blame the dollar’s trouble on rising public and private debt. The US runs massive trade and budget deficits. These deficits for decades have been alleged to mean the death of the dollar…From Last Friday 4/19/24 37-year-old Max Azzarello has been identified as the man who set himself on fire near the NYC courthouse where Donald Trump’s ‘hush money’ trial is taking place. He is in critical condition in a burn unit, police said Friday. Before setting himself on fire, Azzarello dropped a stack of pamphlets that led people to the “Ponzi Papers” substack – in which he writes: “My name is Max Azzarello, and I am an investigative researcher who has set himself on fire outside of the Trump trial in Manhattan.” Azzarello claims that a totalitarian conspiracy is in play, orchestrated by the U.S. government and its allies, aiming to impose a fascist world order.
This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to an urgent and important discovery: We are victims of a totalitarian con, and our own government (along with many of their allies) is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/shocking-video-shows-man-engulfed-flames-outside-trump-trial-nycRest in Peace, Max: Trump Trial Self-Immolator Donated Both His Kidneys, Saving Two People’s Lives
Max’s Manifesto, The Ponzi Papers
My name is Max Azzarello, and I am an investigative researcher who has set himself on fire outside of the Trump trial in Manhattan.
This extreme act of protest is to draw attention to an urgent and important discovery:
We are victims of a totalitarian con, and our own government (along with many of their allies) is about to hit us with an apocalyptic fascist world coup.
These claims sound like fantastical conspiracy theory, but they are not. They are proof of conspiracy. If you investigate this mountain of research, you will prove them too. If you learn a great deal about Ponzi schemes, you will discover that our life is a lie. If you follow this story and the links below, you will discover the rotten truth of ‘post-truth America’. You will learn the scariest and stupidest story in world history. And you will realize that we are all in a desperate state of emergency that requires your action.
To my friends and family, witnesses and first responders, I deeply apologize for inflicting this pain upon you. But I assure you it is a drop in the bucket compared to what our government intends to inflict.
Because these words are true, this is an act of revolution...
..Ponzi schemes are vicious beasts, and cryptocurrency is history’s largest Ponzi by orders of magnitude. It could best be described as an economic doomsday device, intentionally made to shatter the world economy. https://theponzipapers.substack.com/p/i-have-set-myself-on-fire-outside Ellen Brown, “The Great Taking”: How They Can Own It All
“’You’ll own nothing and be happy’? David Webb has gone through the 50-year history of all the legal constructs that have been put in place to technically enable that to happen.” [Oct 2 interview titled “The Great Taking: Who Really Owns Your Assets?”]
The derivatives bubble has been estimated to exceed one quadrillion dollars (a quadrillion is 1,000 trillion). The entire GDP of the world is estimated at $105 trillion, or 10% of one quadrillion; and the collective wealth of the world is an estimated $360 trillion. Clearly, there is not enough collateral anywhere to satisfy all the derivative claims. The majority of derivatives now involve interest rate swaps, and interest rates have shot up. The bubble looks ready to pop...
..Meanwhile, we need to design an alternative financial system that is equitable and sustainable. Promising components might include publicly-owned banks, product-backed community cryptocurrencies, a land value tax, and a financial transaction tax.
A neoliberal, financialized economy of the sort we have today produces little and leaves the workers in debt. Goods and services are produced by the “real” economy; finance is just superstructure. Derivatives do not now produce even the security for which they were originally intended. A healthy, enduring economy must produce real things and exchange them fairly for the wages earned by labor. https://ellenbrown.com/2023/10/03/the-great-taking-how-they-plan-to-own-it-all/ Charles Hugh Smith, Is the ‘Housing Shortage’ the Result of Housing-Hoarding by the Wealthy?
Those seeking to buy a house as shelter for their household can’t compete with the wealthy seeking assets to snap up and hoard for appreciation. Those seeking to rent a dwelling are up against corporate hoarders of homes such as Blackrock, which owns 7% of all rentals in the US, and wealthy households pulling dwellings out of the year-round rental market to feast on the profits generated by revenge-spending vacationers. https://charleshughsmith.substack.com/p/is-the-housing-shortage-the-result Israel army unit ‘kills Palestinians for no real reason,’ party leader says (and she seems to be against it, too)
Israeli Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli yesterday called for the dismantling of an army unit with a history of abuses, saying it is killing Palestinians “for no real reason”, Anadolu agency reported.
Her call came amid reports that the US was preparing to impose sanctions on the Netzah Yehuda battalion over human rights violations committed by the combat unit against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. “The sanctions are an acknowledgment of the reality and an understanding that Israel’s conduct in the territories cannot continue,” Michaeli said on X.
“The violent and corrupt conduct of the Netzah Yehuda battalion and those around it has been known for years, and nothing has been done to stop it.” The Israeli party leader said that Washington established a team two years ago to investigate the conduct of the army unit. “The political and military echelons cannot pretend they did not know about it,” she added. “Instead of wising up and dealing with the situation, we get yet another dose of denial and foot-dragging, lies and covering up the bitter reality.” https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240422-israel-army-unit-kills-palestinians-for-no-real-reason-party-leader-says/ Igor Chudov has this story of a scientific experiment with mis-informed-consent: Religious Faith Can Be “Turned Off” by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Scientists Find Your tinfoil hats will not help you this time We can ask a question: can the invisible link between the faithful and God be severed by a third party armed with the tools provided by the latest scientific advances?
Disturbingly, the answer may be yes. Scientists led by Dr. Colin Holbrook at UCLA undertook a multi-year endeavor to discover ways to stop “religious beliefs and right-wing prejudice.” They attempted to apply direct electromagnetic stimulation to the brain to alter human beliefs, specifically turning off belief in God. https://www.igor-chudov.com/p/religious-faith-can-be-turned-off Military Summary has the ongoing saga of Ukrainian forces being abandoned in positions without supplies, left to fight the Russians until the last man, and abandoning their positions, instead. Fewer and fewer are willing to die. More and more of the surviving Ukrainian soldiers have seen how cynically this has been played on them.
Hundreds Of Bradley Fighting Vehicles On The Border | The Defeat Of 47th Brigade | MS For 2024.04.23 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44_RL3F3BEM Israel prepares Rafah evacuation with US, Arab assistance: Report
Arab states, including the UAE and Egypt, are involved in plans to push Rafah’s civilian population into tent compounds near Khan Yunis The Israeli army is closing in on completing its plans for an assault on the Gaza Strip’s southern city of Rafah, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on 23 April. WSJ cites Egyptian officials as saying that Israel’s plan to evacuate civilians from the city will take two to three weeks and will be carried out in cooperation with Washington, Cairo, and other Arab states, including the UAE.
The officials say Israel is planning on gradual deployments of troops to Rafah. The troops will concentrate on specific areas where Tel Aviv believes Hamas leaders are holed up. The entire operation – including the evacuations – is expected to take at least six weeks, according to WSJ. https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-prepares-rafah-evacuation-with-us-arab-assistance-report Some 2,000 Palestinians have been found to be missing following the Israeli occupation army’s withdrawal from several areas across Gaza, spokesman for the Civil Defence in the Strip, Major Mahmoud Basal, has said. Speaking to the media yesterday, Basal said over 150 bodies were found and around 500 people were reported missing in the aftermath of the Khan Yunis massacre following the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces. He expressed deep concern regarding the fate of those missing, as their whereabouts are unknown, some of whom have been buried in unmarked graves. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240422-official-2000-palestinians-missing-after-israel-army-withdrew-from-gaza/NYU, Columbia, Yale Crack Down On Demonstrators As Anti-Israel Protests Intensify The protests, which have been growing in size and intensity over the last week, were met with aggressive crackdowns from school administrators and police, as a wave of arrests, suspensions and canceled classes. Last week, officials at Columbia University called the cops to remove demonstrators who want the school to exit all investments that benefit the government of Israel amid the rising death toll in Gaza, which now stands at more than 34,000 according to local health officials. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/nyu-columbia-yale-crack-down-demonstrators-anti-israel-protests-intensify
President Biden Smears Pro-Palestinian Protesters as ‘Antisemitic’ (Is the term “self-hating-Jews” going to make a comeback? Go “Biden”!)
Some members of Congress are calling for the National Guard to be sent in to break up a protest at Columbia University Critics of the protests have accused the demonstrators of harassing Jewish students, which has been a common claim about recent college protests in general. Peter Beinart, editor-at-large of Jewish Currents, made the point on X that Jews are usually “overrepresented” among pro-Palestinian protesters at colleges. “Sometimes they’re the largest identity group. Maybe folks calling for cracking down on protesters in the name of Jewish safety should consider their safety too,” he said. https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/22/president-biden-smears-pro-palestinian-protesters-as-antisemitic/My Congressman, Lloyd Doggett voted against the war funding, and I called his office this morning to extend my heartfelt thanks to him; I spoke to a nice staffer.
Sanders Pushes Amendment to ‘Cut Billions in Offensive Military Funding to Israel’
“Enough is enough,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders. “We cannot continue to fund this horrific war.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/sanders-military-funding-israelEarth Day Late https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/earth-day-late
I remember the first “Earth Day”, April 22, 1970. I was in 6th grade. Our teacher, who had been a student teacher the year before, was very enthusiastic about this new thing. It seemed like we might be taking a new and better direction, and in many ways, the US was. We spent a decade and a whole lot of money reducing pollution and starting some Superfund cleanups. We got smog controls, and the Hudson River eventually got fish again, and the unleaded gasoline led to an unexpected reduction in violent crime…
Maybe it should be called “Universe Day” , Josh Mitteldorf
I learned from physics that the universe is alive. I learned from biology that evolution crafts ecosystems.
A child of the Space Age, I was drawn to study physics because I believed that the world could be understood from the bottom up. The world is made of particles that follow mechanical laws, and everything could be understood if I plumbed the broad implications of those laws...
..Many physicists are deeply committed to the principle that there is no “creator”, so they reject the idea that the laws of physics could have been created by consciousness as a way to make a physical home for itself. The only way they can do this is to assume the existence of a “multiverse” an unimaginably large number of universes, each with its own physical laws. Almost all of these are incapable of supporting life, so there is no one in them to look back and ask questions about physics. This is supposed to explain the fact that we find ourselves in a universe built on such hospitable physics.
Life is not an opportunistic phenomenon that took the particles and laws that it found and happened on a way to create self-reproducing systems that could evolve. No, life is built into the fabric of the universe. Life is the reason that this universe is what it is. The universe is a response to life’s longing for a home.
At age 46, I was drawn to study biology. It was not the above reasoning that prompted my move out of physics. I became intrigued by the evolutionary paradox of programmed death.
Anyone who looks without theoretical preconception at the many ways that aging manifests in nature realizes that aging is a biological function. It is not a bug but a feature of the software. Aging is an epigenetic program.
But if we believe that all biological functions are products of evolution, we face a paradox: Fitness is about producing lots of babies. Fitness is about surviving robustly in challenging circumstances. Aging is the opposite of fitness. How could aging have evolved through a process of natural selection?
I was obsessed with this question from 1996 to 2001. I pursued dozens of hypotheses to dead end conclusions. My “eureka” moment came with a radical message, for which I have been a passionate advocate in the community of aging science and also in the field of evolutionary biology. In one sentence,
Evolution has worked to craft robust ecosystems.
Starting in 1966, mathematical theorists dominated the field of evolutionary biology with a concept of the “selfish gene”. Natural selection works at the lowest possible level. A gene is “fit” to the extent that it produces more copies of itself in the next generation. There is no such thing as a “fit individual” — only a collection of fit genes. There is no such thing as a “fit community” or a “fit species”. Natural selection might, in theory, operate on higher levels than the gene, but in reality, those higher level processes are too slow to matter.
This was the dogma introduced by R. A. Fisher, evangelized by George Williams, explicated theoretically by John Maynard Smith, presented to the public by Richard Dawkins.
…and opposed by one man, David Sloan Wilson. During the era 1966 – 2005 when the “selfish gene” ruled evolutionary biology, Wilson was meticulously laying a mathematical foundation for what he called “multilevel selection”, MLS. Wilson interpreted the mathematics of the selfish gene through a lens invented by George Price. He detailed circumstances under which group selection might be able to override individual selection, leading to altruistic behaviors...
..Wilson became my mentor, and introduced me into the evolutionary community as co-author of my first evolution paper. But even for Wilson, “fitness of an ecosystem” was beyond the pale. The dynamics of George Price as realized in MLS theory could not support a mechanism as radical as selection among ecosystems. It was mathematically implausible...
..I was able to break out of selfish gene theory and MLS theory to understand aging when I realized that both those bodies of theory were built within an assumption of a stable ecosystem. But selfish genes are not compatible with a stable ecosystem. I was able to demonstrate this with mathematical models, and I consider this to be my principal contribution to science. Selfish genes very rapidly destroy the ecosystem in which they appear. This is how natural selection has so ruthlessly eliminated the selfish gene.
The fact that individual animals share a prey population ties their destinies tightly and inextricably together in a way that changes the fundamentals of evolutionary dynamics. All animals are forced to cooperate to preserve the pool of plants or animals on which their future depends. Selfish genes inevitably lead to overconsumption. No one can afford to be ruled by selfish genes.
The requirement of ecosystem stability changes everything about evolution, which is ultimately everything we understand about biology... For four billion years, natural selection has been in the business of creating robust, homeostatic ecosystems. The scope of the “selfish gene” in this picture is limited indeed...
..Earth Day
So we come, at last, to the theme of the day. Sharks and lions and killer whales and polar bears may look ruthless to us, but no predator is evolved to be as efficient as physically possible. All predators are smart enough to protect the prey upon which they depend. (“Smart” may be in their genes rather than their brains.) …
..Human brains have taken over from our genes and, just in the last few thousand years, have conceived the idea of turning nature into a “resource”. We have lost the knowledge that we are part of nature, and we have convinced ourselves that nature is something we can use.
Many indigenous peoples did not go astray in this way, but our dominant culture of the West used the temporary advantage that it gained via our exploitative mindset to subdue them…
..In the 21st century, the study of molecular biology has vastly outpaced ecology. We have the illusion that life might be understood from the bottom up. We have the related and very dangerous illusion that if Gaia dies, that will be very sad, but humans will still be able to support our species using hydroponics and lab-grown food.
No. If Gaia dies, then we all die with her. Every species depends on an ecosystem, and no individual can live without robust ecosystem “services”. If we are really “selfish” then we will organize to restore nature as if our lives depended on it — because they do.
You don’t have to march in the streets. You don’t have to write to your Congressperson. You don’t even have to plant a garden. But please celebrate a living Universe and give yourself space to feel a part of Life. https://mitteldorf.substack.com/p/maybe-it-should-be-called-universe Michael Brenner: The Moral Depravity of Western Imperialism
Brenner details how this depravity manifests not only in the form of mass slaughter and total disregard for human life, but also through mass psychosis of government leaders who consistently make global decisions through a distorted lens completely detached from reality. Only this can explain their escalations in Ukraine at every turn, their “acknowledgement” of Palestinian life yet total complicity in its destruction and the mass censorship being imposed upon dissidents by the ruling class, most recently at the University of Southern California…
..I think we’re at a moment of truth for both Washington, the Biden administration and the Israeli government. It’s both a moment of truth, it’s a moment of truth because they’re in a quandary, they’re in a dilemma…
..Hypersonic missiles is the kind that Russia has developed and which the United States does not possess. And trying to catch up. They come at such a speed as to make it impossible for even the most sophisticated defenses to intercept them. The other feature was something that I believe they call maneuverable
What it means is that the warhead, the missile and warhead, has built into it such intelligence that it can see an anti missile coming at it and change its course to evade it. And apparently it has been shown, there is one video which depicts what happened. When the Iranians attacked this sort of air base in the Negev with the Americans, which is both where the American sophisticated equipment was located and the base from which the Israelis had launched their F 35s, which struck the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
And you can see the missile is headed towards the base. You see the anti ballistic missile trying to intercept it on a line and the incoming missile does a sort of jog in dogleg. The anti ballistic missile flies harmlessly past it. The incoming missile resumes its previous trajectory and hits the base.
Now, so what we know, just to sum it up, is that seven of those sophisticated ballistic missiles did hit that base. Four hit another Israeli air base in the Negev. One destroyed a Mossad sophisticated communications in the Golan Heights. And one actually hit the building in which was located the unit of the IDF, Israeli Defense Forces, that they believe organized the attack in Damascus…
..And we should remind ourselves, something which has been overlooked. It was the position of the United States government to support and to encourage the expelling of the Gazans into the Sinai Desert. Secretary (Blinken) , and this is a matter of public record, it’s not opinion, it’s not speculation. Secretary of State went some weeks after October 7th, but still in the month of October, paid a visit to Cairo.
In Egypt and to King Abdullah in Jordan and press them in effect to open the gates and allow hundreds of thousands, if not a million, of Palestinians to vacate Gaza. And in fact, in Egypt, he held out a number of enticements to President Sisi, including writing off tens of billions. Of debt, which Egypt owes the United States, and a readiness to lobby on their behalf for the IMF to write off other billions, which Egypt owes the fund.
And Sisi told him, ”nothing doing”, the thought of having a million refugees, that would be a breeding ground for jihadi terrorists, which his government’s already trying to suppress, In Sinai, it was intolerable, in addition to which he knew that if he were to accept that, he’d be overthrown. Because opinion, popular opinion in Egypt is so intense, in a way, that no government that would accept a proposition like that, no matter how autocratic, how ruthless, could stand...
..There is good reason to doubt that this Israeli leadership is capable at this point of making rational decisions. They’re so caught up in their own emotion, in their own biblically, supposedly foreseen turning point, in achieving all the great sort of prophecies, and that they seem to be unable to sit down and do a cool calculus, say, what are the possible costs? What are the possible benefits? What are the probabilities, what are the probabilities that we would get this response from Iran, that response from Hezbollah, and a key, what is the chance the Americans would indeed join us, which would give us a chance to reach our goals, or won’t, in which case Israel as we know it, will cease to exist... And since they’re probably incapable of accepting a new reality in which they’ve been thwarted in all of their aims and purposes, they are most likely to launch a rather large attack on Iran. How large, we don’t know.
The position of the United States, has been much discussed and is in the news and as publicly stated is to convince the Israelis not to overreact by which they mean don’t react so massively that Iran will then respond with an equally massive and destructive attack on you. And they’ve also said ”we’re not going to participate”, we’re not going to foreclose the latter by participating in the initial, any initial attack, that you have in mind. And then they’re trying to dissuade the Iranians, with the implicit assistance of Russia and China, not, in a sense, to overreact if the expected Israeli strike is relatively limited. Now, that’s a very delicate game to play. https://scheerpost.com/2024/04/22/michael-brenner-the-moral-depravity-of-western-imperialism/US forced Israel to abandon larger attack on Iran – NYT , Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to destroy military sites near Tehran until Washington intervened, the newspaper has claimed https://www.rt.com/news/596414-israel-iran-larger-attack/
Gaza War At 200 Days: IDF Pivots From Iran Threat Back To Hamas Operations “Israel bombarded northern Gaza overnight in some of the heaviest shelling in weeks, panicking residents and flattening neighborhoods in an area where the Israeli army had previously drawn down its troops, residents said on Tuesday,” Reuters reports.… As for Rafah in the south, so far it seems the IDF’s planned offensive appears to be on pause. An estimated 1.5 million civilians are sheltering in the city, and the White House has urged the Netanyahu government not to attack it. Humanitarian aid groups currently say they don’t know what to expect. The US has urged that Israel evacuate civilians first, but these plans are anything but clear at this point. “I have no idea what the plan with the procurement of tents by the Israelis is,” the head of the UN humanitarian office in Gaza, Andrea de Domenico, told Al Jazeera. Recent days have seen dozens of casualties due to shelling of some areas, but a full assault is expected to be a humanitarian nightmare for the refugees there. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/gaza-war-200-days-idf-pivots-iran-threat-back-hamas-operations
Seattle Cops Arrest Christian Who Was Assaulted, Threatened For Reading Bible Aloud On Public Property
Now appeals court delivers body blow to city’s ‘heckler’s veto’The ruling said, “The prototypical heckler’s veto case is one in which the government silences particular speech or a particular speaker ‘due to an anticipated disorderly or violent reaction of the audience. As such, it ‘is a form of content discrimination, generally forbidden in a traditional or designated public forum.’ The Supreme Court has emphasized as ‘firmly settled’ that ‘the public expression of ideas may not be prohibited merely because the ideas are themselves offensive to some of their hearers, or simply because bystanders object to peaceful and orderly demonstrations.’ … ‘Listeners’ reaction to speech is not a content-neutral basis for regulation.’ …. It is apparent from the facts, including the video available from police body cameras, that the Seattle police directed Meinecke to leave the area because of the reaction his Bible-reading provoked at the Dobbs and PrideFest protests….”
Migrant Child Rapist Won’t Be Deported Because It Would ‘Harm His Mental Health’
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/migrant-child-rapist-wont-be-deported-because-it-would-harm-his-mental-health
The migrant has been in prison for TEN YEARS after attacking a teenage girl in 2014.GB News reports that an appeal claiming that the migrant wouldn’t be able to access care for PTSD or depression in the East African country has been successful.
“Let Me Go Home, Okay?”: Mistrial Declared For Arizona Rancher Accused Of Killing Illegal Immigrant On His Property https://www.zerohedge.com/political/let-me-go-home-okay-mistrial-declared-arizona-rancher-accused-killing-illegal-immigrant
“Based upon the jury’s inability to reach a verdict on any count,” said Arizona Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink, adding “This case is in mistrial.”According to one of Kelly’s defense attorneys, Kathy Lowthorp, just one juror was voting ‘guilty,’ which is why their legal team pushed for deliberations to continue.
“There was one hold out for guilt, the rest were not guilty. So seven not guilty, one guilty,” said Lowthorp. “We believe in our gut that there was no way the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Thanks for the Korybko piece about Pepe Escobar, Dimitri https://korybko.substack.com/p/was-pepe-escobar-duped-by-a-foreign
Pepe puts out a lot of thoughts, impressions and insights, and I like his work, but usually edit it pretty heavily. He likes to use a lot of words. He seems to like himself a lot. That’s ok. He does a lot of work.
Nuke-armed Israeli F-35 shot down by Russia over Jordan seems like a Loooong stretch, though.Jonathan Turley can’t deal with self-immolation as a form of political speech. It freaks him out too much. He “can’t go there”. A “pantywaist”, he is… It is healthier than genocide, isn’t it?
This guy Max is a criminal for throwing a glass of wine on a picture of Bill Clinton, a “conspiracy theorist”, who seems to have torched himself in protest of “The Great Taking”, followed by “The Great Reset” new-fascism-for-surviving-submissives. https://ellenbrown.com/2023/10/03/the-great-taking-how-they-plan-to-own-it-all/
That seems like it might have some validity, but Turley declares it to “not matter” what he did it for.
Maybe Turley is in denial, still thinks that he “owns stocks and bonds”…
How quaint.
Put on your Big Girl Panties, Mr. Turley!@Dr. D: Thanks for the fever-dream efforts again this morning. Good work again.
I think I mostly agree again.Last night WES expounded on his boyhood pyrotechnic “character-building”:
“We used to put Lady fingers in empty .22 cartridges and aim them with a small pipe.
We also used to put 2 inchers in empty 30-30 cartridges and shotgun cartridges and shoot them straight up via a pipe and then try and catch them.
We even put little paper parachutes with strings on top of the cartidges too.
If aimed correctly we could place an empty 30-30 cartridge onto the roof of a house!
Then hiding in the tall grass, we would watch the bewildered home owner step outside to investigate the loud thud hitting their roof!
Then the time delayed firecrackers on the road for the local police patrol!”
Doc Robinson ran some parallel experiments, as did I. Making bottle rockets out of an aluminum-foil cap over a matchhead and heating it externally works. Dad was a Marine. I stole .45 bullets and stuck them to train tracks instead of pennies a couple of times, but I did not wait long enough for a train to eventually come, so I am not sure what happened. The bullets were never there when I went back.
I played with fire in piles of leaves, too.
What KIND of character was I “building”?
😮@WES: Yes, bottle-rocket-wars out in the country were good sport when I was in high school.
@Phonixvoice (“We’re only making plans for Nigel”)
Phys Ed classes are great in college. Take 2 per semester. He’ll probably never get to learn some of those things again…Nothing new: Get sun, not sunscreen, but avoid getting sunburns. Melanoma is not from sun exposure, more likely a little bit the opposite. Get hard things on your skin checked, and removed or frozen if cancer or pre-cancer. Dermatology’s Disastrous War Against The Sun , The forgotten side of skin health and the necessity of sunlight https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/dermatologys-disastrous-war-against
Thanks Charles (Lots of stock nationwide), Pawn shops know something about the US economy that Biden doesn’t: Times are still tough https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/03/24/pawnshops-tell-different-economic-story-than-biden/72881561007/
Charles also sent this about walking to the grocery store with your kids, letting them play in the creek, reading books, living without a smartphone and being a human.
Sowing Anachronism: How to be Weird in Public, and Private , Flip phones, dip ink, Vespers, and other time machines
Several years ago, when we lived in the thick of the suburban jungle, we would load up the jogging stroller with a toddler, strap the youngest in a carrier, while our eldest sauntered alongside, and embark on an urban pilgrimage to the grocery store. I (Ruth) carried along the same backpack I had used while hiking the Camino1, except now it was filled to the brim with milk, pasta, fruit and vegetables, and had baguettes strapped on the sides. Although we did not manage to do all our shopping this way, we made it a regular habit to walk2 rather than drive, trading convenience for a less tangible reward. It was one of the small anachronisms that resisted the unbearably fast pace of life, and prompted many a driver who zoomed past to take note and wonder: Why would anyone choose to do something so slow and effortful?
Now that we live on the edge of Mennonite country, we frequently encounter horse-drawn carriages conveying families to the grocery store or church, young ruddy-cheeked men and women cycling long distances to school or work, or gaggles of children walking alongside the fields toward home. https://schooloftheunconformed.substack.com/p/sowing-anachronism-how-to-be-weirdCosmic Thunderbolt Will Strike The Earth – Thunderbolt of the Gods https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_skOWzN5ziE
Significant Increases in Cancer Mortality After COVID mRNA Vaccination, Japanese Researchers Find A Japanese peer-reviewed study found statistically significant increases in cancer mortality, especially after the third COVID-19 mRNA vaccine dose. John Campbell, Ph.D., analyzed the study on his podcast. During a separate episode, Campbell discussed the study with Angus Dalgleish, a professor of oncology at St. George’s, University of London https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/john-campbell-japan-data-covid-mrna-vaccine-cancer/
Purely evil. Please don’t let them inject your baby. Researchers Pitch ‘One-and-Done’ COVID-Flu Vaccine for Babies
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, proposed a new RNA-based vaccine they said could provide durable protection for infants against COVID-19 and flu with just one dose. Experts warn the untested technology could lead to breakthrough infections, higher mortality rates and potential brain toxicity in babies. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/small-interfering-rna-covid-flu-vaccine-infants/Peter McCullough MD still wonders what will be designated “Disease X”:
WHO Press Conference Warns of Global Avian Influenza H5N1 Outbreak, Wellness Company Extends Contagion Kit to Cover Bird Flu
Over the past few weeks we have reported this fact pattern about highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 otherwise known as bird flu:
Infection has been around for decades among poultry flocks and has been made much worse by the Chinese and others mass vaccinating poultry for > 20 years. The US is on the verge of making this colossal public health error contaminating chicken meat with novel genetic vaccines on the horizon.
Gain-of-function research is being done to likely make the virus become more infectious, more lethal, and jump to man with human-to-human spread
Government subsidies encourage farmers to destroy large number of birds when bird flu is detected by PCR testing in poultry. Cattle restrictions have started.
The CSL Seqirus human avian influenza vaccine has already been FDA approved.
Multiple public health agencies have indicated that bird flu may be the Disease X; we have been forewarned and should get ready just ahead of WHO Pandemic Agreement meetings in May, 2024 https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/who-press-conference-warns-of-globalA Midwestern Doctor presents research about the pandemic of gender dysphoria, largely among vaccine-injured children and teens.
How Vaccines Alter Intimate Relationships and Gender Identity , Exploring the links between vaccination, human connection, autism, and sexual orientation https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/how-vaccines-alter-intimate-relationships(Maybe they will “choose” assisted-suicide?) Who Will Care for Adults With Autism When Their Parents No Longer Can?
Polly Tommey, program director of CHD.TV, joined “The Defender In-Depth” to discuss the exploding number of children with autism, how society will care for the children as they reach adulthood and their parents can no longer care for them, and what she and other parents are doing to provide for their autistic children’s futures.
In some cases, the media focus on the need to treat the exploding numbers — 1 in 36 — of children with autism as a “market opportunity.” https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/defender-in-depth-polly-tommey-autism-childhood-adulthood/
