birthday Archives - The Automatic Earth

JOE ROGAN: “As much as people hate Trump, and hate his decisions, and hate what he’s doing, and hate how he talks…”

“My experiences with him personally, have always been fun, unfortunately. Unfortunately for everybody else.”

“If he likes you and you’re on his good side, he’s… pic.twitter.com/UxH98F7kJZ
— Overton (@overton_news) June 12, 2026

Elon just created 4,400 millionaires in a single day.

400 of them are now worth over $100 million.

These aren't VCs. They're SpaceX employees, and the list includes welders, technicians, and cafeteria staff, because for two decades the company paid every level of the workforce… pic.twitter.com/tc2LuK7Gd7
— Shruti (@heyshrutimishra) June 12, 2026

https://twitter.com/playmatejaylene/status/2065419827263774941?s=20

pic.twitter.com/OC6l7harKj
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 12, 2026

Ukraine leads DIRECTLY to 9/11.

I hope the world is ready to find out What's TRULY been happening because the same disgusting rats that have been placing Biolabs in Ukraine to weaponize genetically supercharged viruses as exposed in 2018 by Dilyana Gaytandzhieva, were ALSO… https://t.co/qmlQfXCqzR pic.twitter.com/xziVr3MnPa
— Bridgett Fertig (@LightOnLiberty) June 12, 2026

I looked up and down for an article that simply congratulates Trump on his 80th.

Not that he wants to be 80.

Very hard to find. This, from the New York Post, was the only thing that came up in a Google search for “Trump”, “birthday”.

I still don’t understand why people dislike the man so much.

‘I don’t know where he gets the energy’.

• President Trump ‘Utterly’ Defies Age As He Turns 80 (Earle)

President Donald Trump on Sunday will become the second octogenarian to occupy the White House – and his admirers told The Post he still has plenty of spring in his step. “At least to date, he has seemed to utterly defy age,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), 55, who ran against Trump for president a decade ago. “I don’t know where he gets the energy that he displays, but he is up early in the morning and late at night,” he added. In a chamber where Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, 92, is the senior-most Republican and third in line to the presidency, Republicans who work closely with Trump insisted age is nothing but a number.

“He calls me at sometimes 2 o’clock in the morning,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). The 74-year-old lawmaker quickly added: “I mean, just because you’re 80 doesn’t mean you’re falling apart. For some people it does — but other people are fine.” “Age is relative,” agreed former Sen. John Breaux (D-La.), 82, who served three terms in the Senate – including two years alongside Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), who retired from the chamber at 100. “I knew people who were senile at 40, and I knew people in their 70s that were contributing members of the Congress. It depends on the individual, and you have to judge an individual not by the chronological age, but by their ability, and some are great at 80, and some are not so great at 40.”
And he’s not slowing down, said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, 82, a longtime Trump advisor who drew some life advice from the president. “President Trump, in the Kissinger tradition, has gained in stamina as he has gotten older. He is so interested in the wide range of things he is achieving that he has no time to get older,” he said. “His life invigorates him and fits what we now know about longevity. If you have a big goal, like what you are doing and have friends you live longer, healthier, and with more energy. All that fits President Trump.”
Trump keeps a vigorous schedule, regularly fielding questions from reporters during marathon press events and posting on Truth Social about war and peace during odd hours. “If there’s one thing I know about President Trump, it’s that nothing slows him down,” said Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), the former White House physician who tended to Trump after Thomas Crooks shot at him in Butler, Pennsylvania and wounded his right ear. The president plans to spend his birthday at a UFC fight organized on the South Lawn of the White House before jetting to France for the annual G7 meeting.
Eldest son Donald Trump, Jr. and his new wife Bettina, son Eric and wife Lara Trump, daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner all were set to join him for the bouts. Democrats are relishing the opportunity, for a change, to poke at the age of the other party’s standard bearer. Former White House spokesman Andrew Bates questioned Trump’s memory regarding inflation, despite Bates’ ex-boss, former President Joe Biden, delivering a 2024 debate performance so bad his wife thought he was having a stroke. “But you have to give it to him that a White House ballroom is the ultimate senior arts and crafts project,” he quipped.
Trump has been fatalistic when speaking after numerous attempts on his life. “I wasn’t worried. I understand life. We live in a crazy world,” he said after Cole Thomas Allen allegedly opened fire at the White House Correspondents Dinner in April. “It’s not a number I like, but I’m here nevertheless,” he said in a video posted Thursday by Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. But if he frets about aging, he can turn to White House Physician Dr. Sean Barbabella’s memo after his latest visit to Walter Reed Medical Center. It proclaimed him to be in “excellent health” and estimated his cardiac age as “approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age.”

That was the birthday present Trump wanted for himself.

• Trump Says Iran Peace Deal To Be Signed Sunday (ZH)

President Trump said a long-awaited deal to end the war in the Middle East is scheduled to be signed on Sunday, paving the way for the opening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. In a statement issued through Truth Social, President Trump first took a shot at President Obama: “Barack Hussein Obama’s Deal with Iran, the JCPOA, was an easy, beautiful, smooth road to a Nuclear Weapon, which Iran would have had six years ago, and would have used long before now.”

Then explained why his deal is different: “My Agreement with Iran is the exact opposite, A WALL TO NO NUCLEAR WEAPON! In fact, they no longer want a Nuclear Weapon, nor will they have one, either through purchase, development, or any other form of procurement. The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL.” Building relationships: “Our relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous Administrations have had. Unlike Obama’s Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in payments to them, including 1.7 Billion Dollars in green, cold cash, no money will exchange hands. We look forward to working with Iran, and the entire Middle East, long into the future.
About the nuclear dust: “At the appropriate time, when all is calm, we will go in and get the Nuclear Dust, buried deep under the powerful sunken granite mountains, thanks to our beautiful B-2 Bombers and their brilliant pilots, and downblend and destroy it, whether in Iran, or the United States. Hopefully, this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly.If it doesn’t, we have the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!
Trump’s statement, however, ran counter to Iran’s foreign ministry which indicated earlier in the day that the deal would not be signed Sunday, according to state media reports. We shall see …
Iran Peace Deal Signing Expected Within 24 Hours, Technical Talks To Follow, Pakistan’s Sharif Says
After Friday witnessed a rare moment of agreement between Tehran and Washington saying that indeed a peace deal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is indeed ‘very close’ – there’s been more color issued by Pakistan. The country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the United States and Iran have agreed to the final text of the agreement, but that curiously Pakistan is now preparing for an electronic signing expected within the next 24 hours. Is this going to be history’s first Docusigned peace agreement?
Sharif further indicated this signing will be followed by technical-level ` talks this upcoming week - but this is definitely where the proverbial devil will be in the details. Contained within the MoU signing will reportedly be an extension of the April 7 ceasefire by 60 days, during which the Strait of Hormuz would gradually reopen - or we should say that this is at least the very optimistic version of things, given that Tehran still insists that its military is in control of the Strait, which the Pentagon has flatly rejected is a a reality. So Iran is seeking to hold on tightly to its obvious geographic leverage, while the US is rejecting that this is the case at all.
Another interesting possibly point of contention - but which looks to be merely papered over for now - is the status of the nuclear file, which has long been a major point of fierce contention. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made clear Friday Iran’s understanding that terms dealing with the country’s nuclear program would be finalized in the 60 days after the initial agreement is signed. So in essence, this means Iran could get its wish of pushing nuclear negotiations back, only after the hot conflict has clearly ended. Iran has long sought to separate the issues of a final end to the war from consideration of its nuclear program.
Importantly Araghchi indicated the two sides could extend the 60-day period further, and a yet a lot could go wrong in such an extended interim. Still, it remains that Washington - and certainly the American public - doesn’t have the appetite for an escalation that would lead to a boots-on-the-ground scenario complete with full regime change operations (and this means almost inevitable nation-building).
We are closer to a peace deal than ever before. With finalisation likely expected in the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical level talks next week.

We would like to thank United States of…
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 13, 2026

Most Americans don’t want to live in a Rainbow Nation.

• Hillary Clinton Fears Revolution Preventing US From Being A Rainbow Nation (ZH)

The word “Democracy” is thrown around frequently within progressive circles as a call to arms; a rallying cry based on a fraudulent narrative of patriotic duty. Throughout the entirety of Joe Biden’s first and last term, the political left painted conservatives as a threat to democracy. Anyone who opposed pandemic mandates, compelled vaccination, open borders, mass immigration, gender ideology in public schools etc., was labeled a danger to society.

The inherent fallacy being that leftists (and by extension Democrats) represent the majority of the nation. However, this notion has been consistently debunked by multiple elections, polls and the fact that the vast majority of liberal movements have been exposed as astroturf funded by NGOs. If Democrats actually cared about democracy, they would listen to the actual American majority, instead of waging a propaganda war on the majority in order to manufacture a false consensus. And, the majority of Americans do not support multicultural or “intersectional” ideology. The liberal vision is on the decline and that’s a good thing.
Not surprisingly, Hillary Clinton disagrees. At the first Rainbow PUSH Coalition conference since the death of Reverend Jesse Jackson in February. Pete Buttigieg and Hillary Clinton took to the stage in front of a small audience in Chicago this week to sell their Utopian future, but mostly they slandered the Trump Administration. Their rhetoric continues to echo the message of the Biden era, that conservatives want the end of civil rights and voting rights in the US. Buttigieg asserted that the Trump Administration was “corrupt” and “corruption is bad”.

The former DOT Secretary makes no mention of the fact that he shares a stage with Clinton, widely known as one of the most corrupt politicians in recent American history. While Democrats spend endless media time trying to tie Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, it’s the Clinton Family that is well documented as being truly friendly with the globalist pedo pimp. Around 90% of Epstein’s political contributions went to the Democratic Party including multiple donations to Hillary Clinton. None of his donations went to Trump.
Buttigieg faced extensive backlash for his handling of the pandemic lockdowns, including his avid support for draconian mandates which were ultimately found to be useless in stopping the spread of covid; and all over a virus with a 99.8% average survival rate. He continues to echo the party line, calling for rigging of the Supreme Court to ensure Democrat supremacy.

Pete Buttigieg: We have to deal with a Supreme Court that is now a rogue Supreme Court. It’s time to think big. Nowhere in the constitution does it say there have to be nine justices… We could have 13.
pic.twitter.com/17epK62lyM
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) June 13, 2026

Buttigieg is expected to run in the 2028 Democrat primaries for President. Though, he lacks any mainstream popularity and, like most Democrats, he continues to campaign as if he’s running against Trump even though Trump is leaving office. Clinton, on the other hand, seems less concerned with Trump and far more concerned with the larger conservative and anti-woke movements which have left Democrats stunned and bewildered. Clinton calls these movements a “counter-revolution” which she believes is undermining the liberal order established over the last several decades. Clinton fearmongers with the usual rhetoric, claiming that civil rights and voting rights are under threat.

Hillary Clinton: "We are in a counterrevolution. It is a revolution to turn the clock back and take away the rights we have worked so hard to achieve. This counterrevolutionary crew in Washington right now doesn't want us to be a Rainbow Nation." pic.twitter.com/5sBnJuhwru
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) June 12, 2026

She is ostensibly referencing the end of redistricting using race-based gerrymandering, which exclusively worked in the favor of Democrats. But, this was enforced by the Supreme Court, not Trump or the MAGA movement. Clinton is also a vocal opponent of the Save Act, which would make proof of citizenship a requirement for voting in the US (a bill which is supported by around 80% of American voters). Her comments on the “Rainbow Nation” might be confusing for those who don’t understand what this entails. Jackson used “Rainbow” to describe a broad coalition of “marginalized groups” (Black Americans, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, LGBTQ+ people, low wage workers, etc.) uniting for political power and social justice. His organization commonly promotes Marxist “intersectionality” and multiculturalism.
Clinton has made similar anti-populist statements in recent months, arguing that the rise of American conservatism has the potential to break apart the liberal west. At the Munich Security Conference in February, she participated in panels on what they call the “West-West Divide”, warning of democratic backsliding on human rights (including women’s and LGBTQ+ rights), and authoritarian dangers. Clinton called for civil rights and grassroots networks to counter the weakening of liberal institutions. She made the same call for popular opposition in Chicago.
“We have to reconstitute the movements that moved us forward, that made it possible to claim we were trying to get to that more perfect union. They were not led by politically elected officials. They were led by clergy, they were led by business leaders, they were led by civic organizers, they were led by young people. So we don’t need to have a bunch of elected officials leading this new movement. We need to have it be from the bottom up, the grassroots, coming back to get organized and move forward again.” In other words, if they can’t win (or steal) the elections and if they can’t gain the majority approval of the voters, then they will turn to mob actions to disrupt reforms and force the public to accept woke ideology anyway. Democrats only romanticize democracy when it works in their favor. When it doesn’t, they completely abandon it.

Venezuela as the 51st state?

• Trump Announces Strike on Tren de Aragua Leadership with Venezuela (CTH)

President Trump announces a deadly strike on the leadership of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang with support from the interim Venezuela government.

TRUTH SOCIAL – “At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth. Before I returned to office, Joe Biden opened our Southern Border to millions of Illegal Criminals, and allowed this foreign army to rape, maim, and murder American Citizens with total impunity. During my Campaign, I pledged to expel these monsters from our Country, and bring Justice to the families of those they slaughtered, including the precious 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, 22-year-old Laken Reilly, and countless other beautiful souls. With this action, the United States Military has brought retribution for them, their families, and their loved ones.
Early in my Administration, I delivered on my promise to designate Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, deport thousands of evil criminals, and wage war against the Cartels, who have long been waging war against our Citizens, while weak leaders left America helpless and defensive. This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well. As a result, Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will find these vicious murderers and drugs lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
~ President DONALD J. TRUMP
Venezuela’s government released a statement confirmed its participation in the operation and revealed it took place in the southeastern state of Bolivar. “During the operation, clashes occurred with members of criminal groups, resulting in the death of Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias ‘Niño Guerrero,’ the leader of one of these criminal organizations,” according to the statement.

“..Just in case you need a refresher, Nicolás Maduro claimed TdA didn’t exist, but the reality is that he was using the members as his own henchmen..”

• Trump: We Got Another One -And This One Is HUGE (Sarah Anderson)

On Friday night, Donald Trump announced that the United States, along with our “friends in Venezuela,” took out another very, very bad guy. This one is a big one. Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, aka Niño Guerrero, was the kingpin of c (TdA). He started out as a local thug, with a rap sheet full of homicides, robberies, and other crimes, but he turned a stint in prison into one of the biggest criminal organizations in the world. Here’s what I wrote about him in April 2025:

“But TdA actually dates all the way back to 2014 when a man named Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, aka Niño Guerrero, was locked up at Tocorón Prison, which is located in the Aragua state of Venezuela. According to the State Department, ‘During his time there, Guerrero expanded the influence of Tren de Aragua from extorting prison inmates and bribing prison guards to assuming the overall control of the Tocorón prison as well as the control of gold mines in Bolivar State, drug corridors on the Caribbean coast, as well as control of some of the clandestine border crossings between Venezuela and Colombia.’
The BBC reported that because of Guerrero’s growing power, the jail essentially turned into a luxury resort and included a zoo, nightclub, and swimming pool. ‘Families of inmates moved into the compound. Inmates had access to a makeshift bank, a betting shop, a restaurant, and a baseball diamond, while their children could marvel at flamingos and ostriches in the animal enclosure.’ Meanwhile, Guerrero came and went as he pleased, reportedly living ‘like a king.’ He had his own floor in the prison, complete with personal bodyguards. He also had no major rivals or opposition, which helped him grow TdA throughout Venezuela. It eventually made its way to the Colombian border. By 2018, it was spreading through other South American countries, including Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Brazil.
Leaders in these countries reportedly put pressure on Venezuela to shut it down. In 2023, the country’s government reportedly sent 11,000 soldiers and police into the prison to take control and after the fact, they claimed it went off without a hitch. However, Guerrero, who is currently 41 years old, wasn’t there — though it took Venezuela some time to make this information public — and a manhunt began across numerous South American countries. As of last summer, the State Department, in conjunction with Colombian National Police, have offered up to a $5 million reward for information leading to Guerrero’s arrest, as well as an additional $7 million for the arrest of two other TdA leaders.”
Just in case you need a refresher, Nicolás Maduro claimed TdA didn’t exist, but the reality is that he was using the members as his own henchmen, sending them to the United States and other countries to wreak havoc and even reportedly having them kill some of his enemies. Joe Biden’s open-border policies played right into the Maduro regime’s hands, while Trump and Marco Rubio designated TdA as a Foreign Terrorist Organization almost immediately when Trump began his second term.
The fact that our “friends in Venezuela” played a role in this (and let’s face it, they — and by “they” I mean “acting president” Delcy Rodríguez — really didn’t have a choice but to play ball) is an incredible turn of events from what was going on in that country just five or six months ago. Anyway, I won’t rehash the whole TdA story, but you can read more about it here: The Truth Behind Tren de Aragua. So what happened exactly? Here’s what Trump posted on Truth Social:
“At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth. Before I returned to office, Joe Biden opened our Southern Border to millions of Illegal Criminals, and allowed this foreign army to rape, maim, and murder American Citizens with total impunity. During my Campaign, I pledged to expel these monsters from our Country, and bring Justice to the families of those they slaughtered, including the precious 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, 22-year-old Laken Reilly, and countless other beautiful souls.
With this action, the United States Military has brought retribution for them, their families, and their loved ones. Early in my Administration, I delivered on my promise to designate Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, deport thousands of evil criminals, and wage war against the Cartels, who have long been waging war against our Citizens, while weak leaders left America helpless and defensive. This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well. As a result, Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will find these vicious murderers and drugs lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong. GOD BLESS AMERICA! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also confirmed the news that Guerrero was killed: As did SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan:

“We extend our gratitude to the Venezuelan security forces for their support to the successful joint operation against a Tren de Aragua compound that resulted in the death of the narco-terrorist organization’s leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias “Niño Guerrero.”… https://t.co/GT4z4FMyYq
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) June 13, 2026

Guerrero was reportedly hiding out in Bolívar state, specifically the mining area around Las Claritas at a TdA compound. I can’t express what a big blow this was to TdA, and to organized crime and drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere in general. I’m sure the lefties in the U.S. will be besides themselves over it, but if my social media and communication with my Venezuelan contacts are any indication, most of the sane people in Venezuela, in Latin America, and in the United States are celebrating this almost as much as they did the capture of Maduro in January. They just want to know if Diosdado Cabello is next. Let’s hope.
https://twitter.com/iamGermania/status/2025941192869810310?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2025941192869810310%7Ctwgr%5E59850d30c63a003e8fb18de821213ac223484379%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpjmedia.com%2Fsarah-anderson%2F2026%2F06%2F13%2Ftrump-we-got-another-one-n4953924

Should he have seen this coming? Be more suspicious? He suggested making Russia part of the west.

• Russia Is Single-Handedly Standing Against The West: Putin (ZH)

“It was they who carried out the coup d’etat in Ukraine, which forced us to take the people of Crimea under protection. When they started the war, they started bombing Donetsk using warplanes” – Putin in a fresh address to Russian service members came out swinging, giving a familiar lesson in recent history. And quite provocatively, he emphasized that Russia is now practically fighting against the entirety of the collective West in the Ukraine conflict in the Friday remarks. “Russia is standing against the so-called Collective West single-handedly,” Putin said, state media cited, and he noted that the ‘special military operation’ he ordered to stave off NATO encroachment is revealing itself to be “exceedingly high-tech.”

“The NATO nations are all, without exception, ramping up efforts to do all they can to orchestrate actions against Russia,” he added, sate media continued. He stressed that Moscow did not initiate the Ukraine conflict, but that the Western allies and their hegemonic expansion and meddling did. He perhaps for the first time acknowledged some pain inflicted on Russia due to Ukraine’s long-range drone waves, which for months have been inflicting serious damage primarily on oil and energy sites: Now, Western nations have set out to “inflict a strategic defeat on Russia,” but “this is not something that can be done,” Putin said.
“The enemy is expanding the use of [kamikaze] drones… trying to strike at our morale, trying to break up Russian society… and cause economic damage,” he noted, stressing that “they will not succeed.” These drones have grown more long-range in their targeting and increasingly effective, as Russia’s anti-air defense – which are set up primarily to intercept higher flying and faster inbound missiles or jets – seem powerless.
Or rather, if Ukraine sends 100 drones on Russia on any given night, at least dozens are bound to make it through, the recent pattern has shown. But Putin also seems to be strongly suggesting that Western intelligence is assisting Ukraine’s drone mayhem on the Russian populace. Earlier this month, the Putin-hosted St. Petersburg Economic Forum came under significant drone attack from Ukraine. Videos revealed that international dignitaries entered the venue against the backdrop of thick black smoke from drone hits on oil and other facilities.

“.. strategize with President Emmanuel Macron the best way to defeat Godzilla Trump. ”

• Carney in France 3 Days Early for Trump Strategy Session with Macron (CTH)

The media frame the early arrival of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as part of a bilateral discussion ahead of the G7 which begins on June 15. However, those who have followed the nuance of geopolitics well understand Mark Carney is in Paris early so that he can strategize with President Emmanuel Macron the best way to defeat Godzilla Trump. There is a certain irony that amid the G7 only one economy is growing, the USA. EU leaders including U.K Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron himself are all barely hanging on to power with almost no public support.

Historically, Macron always tries to reposition his domestic lack of support by focusing on international affairs. Macron and Carney have one nemesis in common, President Donald Trump. Emmanuel Macron is famous for scheming subtle ways to overcome his own inadequacy, and hosting the G7 puts him in the spotlight. Mark Carney is coming back to Europe after previously giving a speech in Davos calling for a collective alignment of middle-economy nations to stand united against the terrible Trump. There is little doubt the pontificating duo has any other topic other than Trump in their scheme and planning folder.
Factually the G7 is a joke now, with likely around 15 to 20 countries showing up. The G7 used to be the USA, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.K. Then they added the EU, which brings three more Brussels figureheads, and if the last G7 in Canada is any indication of the intention, there will likely be at least a dozen more showing up. This G7 is deemed critical due to the issues of Iran and Ukraine, in combination with President Trump’s international reset that has diminished the economic status of Europe significantly. Trump doesn’t chase the climate change agenda, and that is another policy disconnect from the rest of the group.
Macron wants to avoid the G6+1 narrative that has come to define the assembly in the era of Trump because France needs to be seen as a coequal within the group. However, in reality in addition to the USA the only other country that matters in this new geopolitical framework is Japan; all other nations are a mess of globalist chaos, domestic political trouble and economy shrinking energy problems. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron need to position themselves as the leaders of the anti-Trump movement. Thus, they get together three days in advance to figure out the best way to diminish Trump’s appearance. That’s really what this early bilateral nonsense is about.

A key that fits in many doors?

• Why Have I Spent a Decade Focusing on FISA (CTH)

My dearest friends, I have not spent a decade focusing on FISA or the ‘702’ issues because defeating the pending surveillance state has been the priority; that is an ancillary matter against powerful financial interests. No, the core of my focus has always been on what FISA (702) represents. FISA (702) et al, is a tool, a key per se’. A key that unlocks a data library. We debate control of the key, but do not spend enough time focusing on the data library itself and what it represents. I’m not even sure if President Donald Trump is fully aware of this or not, but I am generally confident that DC insiders understand the potential.

The NSA database is essentially a library of information about activity. It is a storage box of metadata and within that data there is a sub-set, a flow of information related to election activity.Behind that part of the issue, with that thought in mind, you now have an expanded perspective of why the ODNI would be involved in election type investigative activity. The DNI is above the NSA Director. The ODNI is an access point to the data library. Tulsi Gabbard as DNI has a vested interest in all the data housed within that vault. Congress stood jaw agape at the appearance of DNI Gabbard in Fulton County, Georgia, without actually recognizing what stakeholder interests are represented by the content in Fulton County election warehouses.
Essentially, the NSA data vault shows XXX activity, and the factual paperwork supporting XXX exists in physical warehouses. The data is within a digital library. The factual paperwork is on the ground. Now, pause for a moment and understand the digital library is one aspect. Access to that digital library is an entirely different kettle o’ fish. The lockbox to open the digital record is accessed using the recently discussed 702 pathways. As presented for several years, the FISA (702) key is simply a tool. The tool is needed to unlock the data. Arguably, if you cannot access the data there is no reason to capture it. As a result, without FISA (702) there is no collection, because there is no need for metadata collection. Understood?
As a consequence, FISA (702) is not about foreign stuff as it relates to the common discussion; instead, it is the baseline of the entire data capture. Understanding this takes you to a mental reset. The capture is never discussed (see Edward Snowden -vs- James Clapper), we only see debate on the access. So, if you take your thinking back to the data collection itself, then you ask what is in that massive digital vault we call the NSA library. There’s a lot of stuff in there, including all of the electronic data that surrounds elections. All of that data can be filtered permitting a granular look at election outcomes and all the background electronic communication that comes attached to it. [Hence, the DNI stakeholder interest in Fulton, County.]
FISA (702) essentially represents the authority, the key that unlocks the ability to review the data. Think very carefully. If the database contains the digital records of elections, and if those digital records show manipulation of election data, then anyone accessing that massive library would represent a risk. How many people in DC are in elected office as a result of election manipulation? Now, does the recent display of extreme concern from specific people in congress start to take on a new context?

“There’s just one problem with that claim. Paxton’s investigation into ActBlue started in Dec. 2023. Talarico didn’t enter the Senate race until Sept. 2025…”

• Leftist Judge Blocks ActBlue Lawsuit to Protect Democrat Candidates (Margolis)

A federal judge handed ActBlue a get-out-of-jail-free card on Thursday, blocking Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from pursuing a lawsuit against the Democrat fundraising platform. District Judge Richard Stearns decided the lawsuit was political. Specifically, Stearns concluded Paxton filed it to retaliate against ActBlue for raising money for his U.S. Senate opponent, James Talarico. Stearns wrote in his decision, “The lawsuit in Texas is undoubtedly an adverse action. And having previously found bad faith, the court agrees with ActBlue that the evidence in the record compels the conclusion that, far from protecting Texas consumers, the action was filed in retaliation for ActBlue’s fundraising on behalf of Talarico, Paxton’s current political rival for the Senate seat.”

There’s just one problem with that claim. Paxton’s investigation into ActBlue started in Dec. 2023. Talarico didn’t enter the Senate race until Sept. 2025. That’s nearly two years before the “political rival” Stearns claims Paxton was targeting even announced a candidacy. And the judge knows this, because his own ruling says so. The factual background section of that same ruling tells a different story. Stearns wrote:
ActBlue is a prominent fundraising platform for Democratic candidates for public office, amassing as much as $19 billion in donations, mostly from small contributors, since its founding in 2004. In December of 2023, Paxton began investigating ActBlue with the stated purpose of determining “whether ActBlue’s operations are compliant with all applicable laws.” The next month, he served ActBlue with a Request to Examine (RTE) to be conducted at ActBlue’s headquarters in Somerville, Massachusetts. Think about that for a second. Stearns literally acknowledged in his own ruling that the investigation began in late 2023, well before Talarico was a candidate. But he still “concluded” it was retaliatory? What a joke.
Here’s the real problem. The lawsuit itself has real substance. Paxton alleges ActBlue violated Texas law by misleading consumers about its fundraising practices. The platform told Congress in 2024 that it had stopped accepting donations via gift cards and foreign prepaid debit cards, only to quietly resume accepting gift card donations afterward. That’s a serious allegation, with nothing to do with Talarico. None. Nada. Zilch. It’s about whether ActBlue lied to Congress and, in the process, broke state consumer protection laws.
Paxton had already been pushing on this at the federal level. In 2024 (again, before Talarico was even a candidate), he filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the Federal Election Commission, to close the fundraising loopholes ActBlue exploits. This was a sustained, multi-front legal effort that predated Talarico’s Senate announcement by nearly two years. Reuters left all of that context out of its report on the injunction. Convenient. Paxton will obviously appeal the ruling. “Texas has every right to enforce its own laws to protect our citizens, and we will continue to fight to hold ActBlue accountable,” he said on X.
Good. Because what Stearns did here goes well beyond bad legal reasoning. ActBlue has funneled billions into Democrat campaigns, and now gets judicial protection the moment a state attorney general tries to examine whether its practices are even legal. The platform told Congress one thing, did another, and a federal judge decided the Republican who noticed was the real problem. Stearns isn’t applying the law. He’s running interference for a fundraising machine the entire Democrat Party depends on to stay competitive. If ActBlue’s practices hold up under scrutiny, it has nothing to fear from Paxton’s lawsuit. A judge swooping in to kill that scrutiny tells you exactly what this ruling is actually about: helping Democrats.

He needs money.

• “It’s Just Me”: The New Hunter Biden Seems Strikingly Like the Old (Turley)

Hunter Biden is once again reinventing himself with the help of an ever-enabling media and the Democratic establishment. The media is full of reports that people are rediscovering Hunter and finding him strikingly honest and refreshing. In his pitch, he assures viewers that now “it’s just me” and not some team of advisers. The problem is that, for some of us who have been critics of the Bidens for decades, there is nothing new about the new Hunter other than a podcast audience.

For the record, I have been a critic of the Biden family for decades as one of the most corrupt political families in U.S. history. Joe Biden and his family have been influence peddlers and self-dealers since his time in the Senate — enriching themselves with positions and shady dealings. Hunter Biden was the ultimate personification of that corruption — both financial and moral. He spent his life attacking those who tried to investigate his dealings, including filing ruinous lawsuits against individuals who would not yield.
At the same time, he spent lavishly with money that he acquired by leveraging the access and influence of his father. Some of this conduct continued during periods of sobriety as well as addiction. That includes his disgraceful record with regard to his daughter Navy Joan, whom he fought not to recognize or support. Hunter has repeatedly sought to reinvent himself with the help of an army of advisers. His current pitch is that everything that he did for literally decades was because he was an addict and that he is now proud and unafraid. The problem is that the facts do not fit the pitch. Hunter was cashing in on the family business from the moment that he emerged from law school. He was entitled and eager to use his father to enrich himself.
For a party that often seems on a recurring loop of mantras condemning white privilege and entitlements, Hunter Biden would seem the last person that the left would embrace. However, the use of his identity as a recovering addict is drawing crowds and accolades. He presents himself as a virtual sage as a result of the struggle. I have previously expressed sympathy for Hunter’s recovery and credited him for writing about it. However, his honesty about addiction is notably missing in his account of his influence peddling and corruption. He prefers to focus on how he spent the money and not how he got it.
We’re missing accounts of his strong-arming of foreign figures, such as BHR Partners CEO Jonathan Li. In the summer of 2019, Li wired $250,000 to Hunter Biden from Beijing, with Joe Biden’s Delaware home listed as the beneficiary address. There were diamonds as gifts, lavish expense accounts, and a sports car, in addition to massive payments that Hunter claimed were “loans.” There are messages like the one to a Chinese businessman , openly threatening Joe Biden’s displeasure if money is not sent to them immediately. In the WhatsApp message, Hunter stated:
“I am sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight. And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the Chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.” Hunter puts all of these dealings and his attacks on critics into a deep memory hole while thrilling liberal audiences as the liberated voice of reason.
Hunter continues to twist history to fit his needs. In an interview with Gov. Gavin Newsom, Biden explained how his infamous pardon was simply proof of “how much you know my dad loves me.” He said that his father “chose me over his legacy.” That last point may be the only unassailable point from his interviews. However, Hunter notably stuck to the same carefully crafted narrative put out by his family in interviews on the pardon — insisting that it was made necessary by Trump’s election to protect him from retaliation.
Hunter told Newsom: “My dad said that he wouldn’t give me a pardon and he was absolutely 100% genuine about it…he said it at a moment in time where he thought that he was going to be the next president of the United States and there would be a Justice Department that would treat me fairly…It would have been like having a gun to my family’s head for the next four years at least, so that’s why he pardoned me. It’s a really incredibly rational decision and a really difficult decision.”

The fraud in the US is staggering.

• 400 Businesses, $6 Billion in Fed Contracts, No Physical Addresses (Salgado)

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson exposed yet more horrifying details of the mass taxpayer funding fraud network in the U.S.

Ferguson said on Fox News that there are many tools and laws at hand for the federal government to use in identifying, investigating, and eliminating fraud, but the previous administration wasn’t interested in using them. In fact, the Biden-Harris administration deliberately removed fraud guardrails. Now, the FTC, the General Services Administration (GSA), and other federal entities have found that “400 businesses, with contracts worth $6 billion, originally allocated by the Biden administration, didn’t even file physical addresses at their businesses. That’s a statutory requirement.”
Ferguson emphasized, “You’re not supposed to be able to get any money from the United States government unless you put down a physical mailing address, and they just didn’t do it. And so [we], with the GSA, in conjunction with the [White House] task force, issued letters to these businesses, it says you have 30 days or we’re cutting you off. There’s still $3 billion unpaid on these contracts as of today.” That would be a fair amount of money we would save. “And that’s just a drop in the bucket over at the Justice Department,” Ferguson added.
The DOJ has “gotten indictments and convictions just in the last week worth almost half a billion dollars. We started turning off Medicaid and Medicare dollars to providers that [it has] become clear are fraudulently charging the government with our partners at HHS.”
For too many years, Ferguson declared, “dishonest citizens, and tons and tons of foreigners and foreign governments, have been putting their hands into the pockets of ordinary and honest Americans and taking that money from them, and President Trump is the first president to take this problem seriously, and that’s why the task force is being successful.”
Fox’s Kayleigh McEnany asked Ferguson if a single Democrat governor had shown any initiative in helping to identify fraud. Ferguson answered, “No, in fact, all I’ve heard from Democrat governors until early this week was, ‘The fraud isn’t a problem. This is all a hoax. This is all a distraction.’ Now, of course, it’s clear that they understand the political pain that the empire of fraud, that [Gov.] Gavin Newsom has constructed in California, is gonna cause California Democrats, because this week, he had the attorney general of California and the governor touting all the work they’re doing on fraud, total bull crap.”
In reality, Ferguson stated, “They have been sitting on top of tens of billions of dollars in known fraud for decades, and doing nothing about it, and not just doing nothing about it, they have been facilitating it. Let me give you an example of this. The government sends tens of millions of dollars to the states every year to fund their Medicaid and Medicare fraud fighting units. Hawaii, just since 2021, has gotten millions and millions of dollars from the federal government to fight Medicaid fraud. Do you know how many convictions they’ve gotten since 2020? Zero.”
That’s why the federal government temporarily decertified Hawaii for Medicaid funding. We need to make these fraud-loving Dems feel the financial pain.

Piketty.

• A Villainous Blueprint For Managed Poverty (Veronique de Rugy)

Writer and philosopher Ayn Rand was often accused of inventing cartoonish villains.Rogues like Ellsworth Toohey in “The Fountainhead” would scheme to seize the global economy’s commanding heights in pursuit of a distorted sense of justice.But the people who hold such ideas don’t just appear in cartoons or in Rand’s novels. Enter Thomas Piketty and company. In early June, Piketty – the French economist whose work on inequality has made him something of a rock star even while being serially challenged for methodological errors, data imputations and cherry-picked baselines – and his large team unveiled what can only be described as a villainous plan.

It’s a comprehensive program for global managed decline dressed up in the language of climate justice and equality. The plan is far too ambitious for most nations to accept. But given the influence of Piketty and his circle of economists on U.S. wealth taxes and prominent global policy proposals, we should take its underlying ideas seriously. Piketty’s plan would cap GDP per capita in wealthy countries at roughly $69,000, far less than America’s current $94,430.The plan would also limit annual global economic growth to between 0 percent and 0.5 percent. Monsieur Piketty would allot only 0.115 percent annual growth to the U.S, whose GDP has expanded by more than 3 percent on average since 1930. This would hurt not just the billionaires but every American.
The plan would mandate an international three-day work week and reduce construction activity by 70 percent, manufacturing by 87 percent and even leisure-sector activity by 58 percent. There would be massive and punishing trade actions against noncompliant countries. It envisions a “Global Justice Fund” financed not by taxing carbon but by global wealth and income taxes. This fund would be 20 times the size of current development aid and would be administered by a new international bureaucracy answerable to heaven knows who.
Don’t be fooled by Piketty’s training as an economist. This is not economic thinking. Consider the utter inconsistency of relying on a vast stock of wealth (mostly from the U.S.) for redistribution while suffocating long-term growth to near zero. Much of the value of the assets needed to finance this scheme would be destroyed. It is also disqualifying to claim that sub-Saharan Africa will grow at 4 percent if we crush the economies that provide the capital for its investments and buy its exports. Let’s ask the uncomfortable question: What would it require to enforce Piketty’s plan? About this matter, he is conveniently vague.
Confiscating something on the order of 10 percent of world GDP and redirecting it through a newly created supranational body does not happen by asking nicely. You cannot restructure the global economy at that scale without a coercive apparatus that dwarfs anything in human history. The mechanism must be authoritarian. It would require a world government with the power to tell billions of people which jobs they may and may not hold, what they may build, what they may eat and how many hours they are permitted to work. And to what end?
“Climate change” is an insufficient answer when Piketty’s entire edifice is built on a discredited foundation. The report relies on a baseline from the “RCP8.5” climate scenario that projects Earth warming by as much as 4.8 degrees Celsius by 2100. But last month, the UN’s own climate panel officially retired RCP8.5 (always a high-end estimate) as “implausible.” A more central projection is around 2.7 degrees Celsius. Replies to Piketty’s X feed pointed this out immediately. His response, as far as anyone can tell, has been silence.
That leaves the inequality argument. Worldwide income inequality is nearing a 150-year low, but Piketty insists that radical redistribution of wealth is essential for the Global South. And where have billionaires and wealth been popping up fastest in recent decades? Embarrassingly, data from Piketty’s World Inequality Database confirms that it’s in South and Southeast Asia and East Asia. These are the exact Global South regions that have spent recent decades rescuing hundreds of millions of people from poverty through market-directed economic growth.
A core confusion of the degrowth ideology is its conflation of inequality and poverty, in fact two very different things. Reducing inequality by making everyone poorer is not a victory for the poor. The billions of people still lagging in the global income distribution have one realistic path out: growth. Dynamic, market-driven, property-rights-protected growth is the only proven path to prosperity. It’s also the path to environmental improvement, which costs money.
Degrowth is the ultimate luxury belief. It’s dreamed up by tenured professors in Paris and progressive think-tank pundits in Brussels. These are people who already have high incomes, comfortable apartments, generous health care and pensions and whose ideas would pull up the ladder on billions of poor people. Rand’s villains always insisted they were acting for the greater good. They always had elaborate plans. They always needed just a little more power to make it work. And they thought little about the terrible burdens their plans would impose on ordinary people.

They have condemned their children to bitter fights.,

• The Suicide Of Europe: Historic EU Migration Pact Goes Into Force Today (RMX)

Six years ago, in 2020, French political leader Marine Le Pen described the Migrant Pact, which was then in the planning stages, as the “suicide of Europe.” She said it would bring 60 to 70 million new migrants to Europe, as Remix News reported at the time. Europe is about to find out just how prophetic its critics have been. On June 12, the highly contested EU Migration Pact officially came into force, instantly triggering a sharp political divide across the continent. Brussels is already signaling a hardline approach toward resistance; the bloc’s own EU Migration Commissioner recently admitted that the Union is preparing a “crackdown” on member states that refuse to comply with the new relocation directives.

At the heart of the controversy is the pact’s mandatory migrant quotas, framed by Brussels as “burden-sharing.” In practice, critics argue this distribution system allows nations like Germany and France a convenient mechanism to offload asylum seekers onto Central and Eastern European nations – such as Poland and Hungary – which have historically maintained strict anti-refugee stances.Europe’s anti-immigration politicians are already responding to what they say is a law that will bring disaster to Europe. Le Pen, six years later, is calling for a “constitutional referendum on immigration.”
“Tomorrow, the Migration Pact will enter into force. It will require the States of the European Union to welcome migrants, under penalty of fines. When we come to power, we will propose to the French a constitutional referendum on immigration, the only means to regain control of our migration policy,” she wrote on X. The financial penalties for defiance are severe. Non-compliant governments face fines as high as €21,000 per migrant, potentially costing dissenting nations hundreds of millions of euros. Furthermore, the pact allows for these financial penalties to be adjusted upward in the coming years, which could quickly escalate the cost of non-compliance into billions of euros.
Meanwhile, other establishment European politicians are celebrating the move. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz tried to frame the migration pact as a positive for controlling immigration. “The migration turnaround has been initiated—nationally and at the European level. As of today, the Common European Asylum System applies: better control and order, faster procedures, and a fair distribution of responsibility. The reform must be implemented effectively. This is how our country will benefit,” wrote Merz. Of course, the EU is also trying to sell the pact on social media as well.
The end goal of the EU Migration Pact
Linguistically, the EU’s emphasis on sharing a migration “burden” represents a stark rhetorical departure from the peak of the 2016 refugee crisis. A decade ago, newcomers were widely championed by Brussels as Europe’s future workforce—the doctors, lawyers, and engineers destined to salvage the continent’s aging pension systems. Today, that idealistic language has been replaced by the utilitarian vocabulary of managing a “burden.” Strategically, the pact acts as a political pressure valve. By reducing the immediate concentration of migrants in Western Europe, Brussels hopes to blunt the rapid electoral rise of populist right-wing parties.
Simultaneously, the framework seeks to introduce demographic diversity into Eastern European nations, which EU leadership has long criticized as being overly homogenous and politically conservative. Over the long term, the naturalization and family reunification of these migrants could fundamentally alter the electoral dynamics in these traditionally conservative regions in favor or left-wing and pro-migration parties. However, Central and Eastern European populations remain overwhelmingly opposed to forced relocation. Decades of polling show a deep societal preference for maintaining current demographic structures, setting the stage for protracted constitutional and political gridlock between national capitals and Brussels.
Hungary under new leadership
The EU’s political chess board has also shifted significantly with Hungary’s recent transition of power. Former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, long the most fierce opponent of Brussels’ migration quotas, has been succeeded by Prime Minister Péter Magyar. A report in Euractiv’s newsletter questions “whether some national governments are ready” for the EU Migration Pact, which has “raised questions over whether Brussels will need to crack down on non-compliant capitals.” In an interview, Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said they are ready to use “sticks” to make countries like Hungary fall into line.
“There are sticks and carrots in the pact. So, you get funding, you get money, only if you apply the pact,” he said. In fact, Euractiv is quite open that Magyar may be more than willing to sell out the public on the issue of migrant quotas. “Péter Magyar, Hungary’s prime minister, once firmly opposed to the EU migration pact, is now keeping his options open. Pressed by the opposition Fidesz to rule out implementation, he sidestepped the question, saying only that ‘there will be no illegal migrants in Hungary’ under a Tisza government,” wrote Euractiv.
This carefully worded distinction leaves the door wide open for the arrival of migrants who are processed “legally” under the parameters of the new EU framework. Unsurprisingly, Commissioner Brunner has lauded the new Hungarian administration’s shift, calling the government “very constructive” and adding, “Our job is to explain the advantages for Hungary and make them visible on a political level.” Certainly, Brunner was smart enough to not frame the new migration pact as the “suicide of Europe” while trying threaten the new Hungarian government. He can be given that much credit.

Elon responded to Warren calling him a “freeloader" in 2021:

“I'm actually paying the most tax that any individual in history has ever paid this year. Ever."

"And she doesn't pay taxes basically at all. Her salary is paid for by the taxpayer, like me. If you could die by irony,… https://t.co/FOY6sZi7Bm pic.twitter.com/OnycwBJblo
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) June 12, 2026

Congratulations @ElonMusk.

Thanks to SpaceX's IPO, he's the first Trillionaire.

He didn't TAKE money from anyone. He CREATED wealth.

He launched satellites that connect even the poorest, most remote parts of the world.

Our world needs more MAKERS like Musk; fewer TAKERS like: pic.twitter.com/wXlTBXPWUV
— John Stossel (@JohnStossel) June 12, 2026

https://twitter.com/GreereMedeea/status/2065467174605513183?s=20

The Turin shroud, brought to life by AI pic.twitter.com/2yPz1xK8zG
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) June 12, 2026

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

Debt Rattle June 16 2025

Jun 162025

June 16, 2025 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 10:30 am Finance Tagged with: birthday, California, Iran, Netanyahu, oil, Persia, Trump, war machine, Zelensky 63 Responses »

Ivan Shishkin The wilds 1881

• America First means AMERICA FIRST (Douglas Macgregor)

• From Peace President to Warmonger (Hanseler)

• Trump Presides Over Army’s 250th Birthday Event (JTN)

• Trump ‘Open’ To Putin As Iran-Israel Mediator (RT)

• Israel Asked US To Join Iran Attack – Axios (RT)

• Iraq Warns of $300 Per Barrel Oil (RT)

• Iran Preparing To ‘Shut Down Israel’s War Machine’ – Source (RT)

• Zelensky Says The US Is Being ‘Too Warm’ Towards Russia (NYP)

• Zelensky Says Iran Poses ‘Serious Threat’ To Ukraine, Amid Israel War

• Putin Congratulates Xi On His Birthday (RT)

• Putin Wished Me A Happy Birthday – Trump (RT)

• Europe’s Populist Parties Keep Gaining Ground, but Cannot Get Into Power (ET)

• Republicans Investigating California Governor and LA Mayor Over Riots (RT)

I was skeptical at first, but the No Kings rally worked.

I woke up this morning and my country still has no king.

Good job, everyone!

— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) June 15, 2025

https://twitter.com/imetatronink/status/1934081168208433568

https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1934254532600517061

https://twitter.com/hippyygoat/status/1933943791779451176

https://twitter.com/The_Real_ITDUDE/status/1933978549230145722

For those in the back, Japan imports 100% of their oil. It’s priced in $USD. When it spikes massively in price it unwinds the yen carry trade in a hurry. The last major unwind was in the summer of 2008 when oil spiked to $147. The S&P immediately fell 30% after. The war itself…

— John (@market_sleuth) June 15, 2025

https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1934291867971006740

“..Israel’s Iron Dome failed. Israeli intelligence failed. Now Netanyahu is pleading with Washington to intervene with American Military Power to rescue Israel from certain defeat..”

• America First means AMERICA FIRST (Douglas Macgregor)

In the last 72 hours, Israel launched a preemptive strike against Iran when negotiations between Washington and Tehran were still ongoing. Iran was caught off-guard. But Iran recovered more quickly from its Pearl Harbor moment than Israel expected. In less than 18 hours after Israel’s surprise attack, Iran responded firing hundreds of ballistic missiles including hypersonic missiles into central Tel Aviv and across Israel. Meanwhile, Israel’s Iron Dome failed. Israeli intelligence failed. Now Netanyahu is pleading with Washington to intervene with American Military Power to rescue Israel from certain defeat; a defeat Netanyahu crafted with encouragement from Washington. At the same time, Russia, China, Pakistan and most of the Muslim World are rallying to Iran’s defense.

Supplies, equipment and technical assistance are pouring into Iran. It’s time for a reality check: Washington burned through $12 trillion in the Middle East since 2003. Result? 7,000 dead Americans. 50,000 wounded, open borders and 100,000 Americans dying yearly from Fentanyl poisoning. Today, the United States is $37 trillion in debt, a sum that does not include so-called “agency debt.” 77 million Americans voted for President Trump because he promised to end the overseas conflicts and halt the march to WW3. Trump’s mandate is unchanged: Secure America’s borders, ports and coastal waters. Deport illegal aliens, crush the criminals r-ping and murdering Americans. Restore the rule of law. But not one more drop of American blood for foreign wars.

One Israeli strike on Kharg Island—where 90% of Iran’s oil exports flow—or Bandar Abbas terminals, and Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz. That’s 20% of global oil supply. That means disrupted supply chains and runaway inflation. Gas hits $7/gallon overnight. Every working family crushed. Truckers can’t deliver food. Economy crashes. For what? So Israel that started this insane war can drag Americans into a wider regional conflict with the potential for nuclear war? We have 40,000 troops in UAE, Qatar, across the Persian Gulf. They are sitting ducks. Iranian Shahed-136 Drones cost $20,000 each. American Patriot Missiles cost $4 million per interceptor. Do the math. We will run through our inventory of missiles and go broke while Americans come home in boxes.

The Middle East is on the brink. Here’s what Washington must do to defuse conflict:
1. Ask for an Emergency UN Security Council meeting. Ask for an Immediate ceasefire making it clear that Washington opposes the destruction of Iran, Israel and any other state in the Middle East.
2. Demand that Israel stop the killing of Palestinians in Gaza and withdraw its forces from Gaza and the West Bank.
3. Suspend all military aid to Israel until Israel agrees to remove its troops from Gaza and permit humanitarian assistance to reach the people of Gaza.
4. Propose the commitment of Armed Forces from non-aligned nations to police Gaza and the West Bank. 5. Propose that the United States, Russia, China, India and Brazil convene a peace conference to arbitrate the dispute between Israel, Iran and Israel’s neighbors. I led American Soldiers under fire into action. I’ve seen plenty of flag-draped coffins. I don’t want to see any more. Washington’s warmongers had 22 years. They failed. They lied.

They profited while America bled. Time’s up. America First means AMERICA FIRST. Not Israel first. Not Ukraine first. Not NATO first. AMERICA FIRST.

War with Iran is likely to walk The United States directly into WW III.

Let's avoid this!pic.twitter.com/K7Sv5NkwhA

— Douglas Macgregor (@DougAMacgregor) June 15, 2025

“It seems that the Iranians would in principle be able to inflict huge damage on the US and Israel, as they – unlike Israel and the US – have hypersonic missiles..”

• From Peace President to Warmonger (Hanseler)

One day before the second round of negotiations in Istanbul, Ukraine attacked aircraft from Russia’s strategic bomber fleet with drones hidden in trucks that were smuggled into Russia. We reported on this in “Operation Spiderweb: Ukraine and NATO attack on Russia: a new Pearl Harbor? Full escalation? Are the fanatics back? Facts and analysis.” The military damage was minor; what remained was a propaganda victory for the West – nothing more. On June 11, the Financial Times went to great lengths to prove that these attacks were carried out with AI without Western help. The FT should probably confine itself to business news – pure propaganda without a shred of evidence. A feeble attempt to keep the Americans out of it, without whose help this attack would not have been possible.

This was followed shortly afterwards by a major attack by Israel on Iran. TheTimes of Israel boasted that the US, together with the Israelis, had carried out a multi-layered disinformation campaign to make the Iranians believe that an attack was not imminent. This report is credible, as Trump made no attempt to hide US complicity in the Israeli attack on Iran at the end of the week. That’s not all, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied US involvement, saying: “Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region.”- Marco Rubio – 13. Juni 2025. This proves that the Americans certainly had a hand in this deadly game and that the Trump administration cannot even manage to coordinate coherently within its own team. Not a sign of professionalism. A few hours ago, a 180 from Trump:

“The U.S. had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight. If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and… pic.twitter.com/9F10xj1xU8

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 15, 2025

It’s clear that there’s no hope of finding out anymore what the President of the US believes and does. What a joy to negotiate with such a person. We can confirm with depressing certainty that it is very possible that the final chapter of the series of wars launched by the US has begun in the Middle East. Please refer to our article “Bloodbaths change the world – Part 2 – 9/11”, where General Clark provided information about the US’s real intentions and plans in 2007:

The target countries were: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan – and finally Iran. Instead of five years in which the US wanted to “pacify” these countries, almost 25 years have now passed. But it seems that the Americans have fulfilled Netanyahu’s wish, who had wanted to attack Iran for 25 years, after all. A few weeks ago, in the article “Anything is possible – unfortunately”, I categorized the Iran smouldering fire as non-critical. In my analysis, I assumed that the Americans were not naive enough to allow themselves to be drawn into such a catastrophic war based on a delusion and Netanyahu’s fantasies of empire. Perhaps the naive person was myself.

It is not yet clear how many levels of escalation will be exceeded in the coming days. After this attack, however, Iran will have to respond militarily in a way that will give the Americans and Israelis existential fears. The Americans about their presence in the Middle East and the Israelis about their existence as a state. It seems that the Iranians would in principle be able to inflict huge damage on the US and Israel, as they – unlike Israel and the US – have hypersonic missiles. We will soon see whether they decide to do so and actually have this strike power.

“..our soldiers never give up, never surrender and never ever quit. They fight, fight, fight and they win, win, win.”

• Trump Presides Over Army’s 250th Birthday Event (JTN)

President Trump on Saturday presided over the Army’s 250th birthday celebration and a military parade undeterred by the rainy and cloudy skies that seemed to cast their shadow beyond the nation’s capital. “Every other country celebrates their victories,” Trump, on whose 79th birthday the event was held, said as the parade of about 6,000 soldiers, 50 military aircraft and 150 vehicles came to an end near the White House. “It’s about time America did, too. That’s what we’re doing tonight. “Time and again, America’s enemies have learned that if you threaten the American people, our soldiers are coming for you. Your defeat will be certain. Your demise will be final. … our soldiers never give up, never surrender and never ever quit. They fight, fight, fight and they win, win, win.”

The crowd sang “Happy Birthday” after Trump’s remarks from the viewing stage, according to NBC News. Earlier in the day, a gunman, still at large Saturday night, fatally shot Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and husband Mark after shooting state Sen. John Hoffman and wife Yvette, at the couples’ respective homes, in what authorities called “targeted” attacks. The Army parade began about 30 minutes before its scheduled 6:30 p.m. start because of the weather, a Secret Service official said. Still, Army tanks rolled slowly down Constitution Avenue under the drizzle as large crowds walked among the monuments, some carrying U.S. flags and wearing “Make America Great Again” hats. Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also attended the parade.

Meanwhile, anti-Trump “No Kings” protesters came out across the country. The liberal group MoveOn.org, which organized the protests, estimated that about 5 million people attended the demonstrations, which took place in cities large and small – including Houston; Los Angeles; Philadelphia; Jacksonville, Florida; Arlington, Virginia, Charlotte, North Carolina and Washington, D.C. Organizers described the “No Kings coalition” as non-violent, emphasizing that they canceled the Minnesota protests after news of the shootings. “The No Kings coalition is and remains a nonviolent movement. We are heartbroken by the shooting in Minnesota,” the organization said in a statement when the protests ended. “Our prayers are with their families, their communities, and all those grieving.”

The No Kings protests were planned before violent protests earlier this week in Los Angeles in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s illegal-migrant raids. The protests, including some that were violent, resulted in Trump deploying Marines and the California National Guard. The protests and the Army parade were also held one day after Israel launched missile attacks on Iran, which in turn launched air attacks on Israel. Protesters at a demonstration Saturday in Philadelphia were photographed holding signs that read, “TREASON, Punishable by Death,” “Your silence is consent” and “NO ONE IS ILLEGAL ON STOLEN LAND.” Protesters in other cities held signs that read, “America Has No King” while others called for Trump’s removal from office.

Arrests were made at some of the demonstrations. A man was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee at a “No Kings” protest for allegedly shoving people in the crowd. A man was arrested in Culpeper, Va. for driving his vehicle into a “No Kings” protest. No injuries were reported. Police arrested eight protesters at an anti-Trump demonstration on Saturday in DeKalb County, Georgia focused on immigration. Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman defended the parade as the protests began to wind down. “This parade is comprised of our sons, daughters, mothers and fathers—the very best of us,” he wrote on X. “Regardless of your politics, it’s appropriate to celebrate the 250 years of sacrifice, dedication and service.”

Putin won’t do it. Not while the bombing continues.

• Trump ‘Open’ To Putin As Iran-Israel Mediator (RT)

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he is open to Russian President Vladimir Putin serving as a mediator in the Israel-Iran conflict. In an hour-long phone call the previous day, the two leaders focused on the Middle East crisis. “Yeah, I would be open to it. He is ready. He called me about it,” Trump responded to ABC News’ Rachel Scott, when asked about Putin’s potential role in brokering peace. “We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved,” Trump added.

After the phone call the Kremlin later said that Putin had condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran and expressed concern over further escalation, while reiterating Russia’s willingness to facilitate negotiations. Putin recalled that Moscow had previously proposed concrete measures to facilitate “mutually acceptable agreements” in US-Iran nuclear negotiations before the current escalation, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov revealed. “Russia’s principled position and commitment to resolving this issue remain unchanged,” Ushakov stated. “As President Putin emphasized, we will continue to act accordingly.”

Despite the cancellation of Oman-mediated nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington following Israel’s strikes, Trump maintained that discussions continued. “They’d like to make a deal. They’re talking,” he said, suggesting the escalation might actually accelerate diplomacy.When asked about possible American engagement in the conflict, Trump stated: “We’re not involved in it. It’s possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved.” The conflict in the Middle East escalated on June 12 when Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites, killing senior military officials and prompting retaliatory missile barrages from Tehran. Both sides have exchanged fire for a third straight day.

Not openly.

• Israel Asked US To Join Iran Attack – Axios (RT)

West Jerusalem has asked the White House to take part in its military campaign against Iran in order to eliminate Tehran’s nuclear program, according to two Israeli officials cited by Axios. Several above-ground facilities in Iran, including sites in Natanz and Esfahan, were destroyed in recent Israeli strikes, according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi. Israel described the operation as a preemptive move to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon – Iran has consistently denied that it has any intention to do so. Grossi said the Iranian government had also informed him that the Fordow enrichment plant near the city of Qom, a heavily fortified site built deep inside a mountain, was targeted, but there are no indications that the site sustained significant damage.

According to Axios, Israel lacks the bunker-busting bombs and long-range bomber aircraft required to destroy Fordow. The US, however, possesses both and operates forces within range of Iran. Israeli officials reportedly believe that if Fordow remains operational after the operation ends, West Jerusalem’s mission to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program will have failed. An Israeli official told Axios the US might participate in the campaign and said President Donald Trump had indicated during a recent call with Netanyahu that he would consider it “if necessary.” The White House has denied this claim. A second American official confirmed that Israel had requested US involvement but said the Trump administration is not considering it.

Washington has reportedly distanced itself from the operation, while warning that even a limited strike could draw the US into the war. White House officials have argued that it would be illegitimate for Iran to retaliate against American forces. A senior US official told the outlet that while the Israeli attacks could not be prevented, a peaceful resolution remains possible. “We have the ability to negotiate a successful, peaceful resolution to this conflict if Iran is willing,” the source said. “The fastest way for Iran to accomplish peace is to give up its nuclear weapons program.”

Nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington began in April, with Trump warning of military consequences if diplomacy failed.On Saturday, Tehran cancelled a sixth round of negotiations scheduled in Oman. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said talks would not resume until Israeli strikes come to an end. Earlier on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart held a 50-minute phone call to discuss the situation in the Middle East. The two leaders reportedly agreed on the possibility of restarting negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

Havoc ahead.

• Iraq Warns of $300 Per Barrel Oil (RT)

Escalating tensions in the Middle East and a potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz could drive oil prices up to $300 per barrel, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein warned during a phone conversation with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. On Friday morning, Israeli jets bombed military and nuclear sites across Iran, kicking off an ongoing exchange of hostilities between the two countries. According to Hussein, oil prices could surge to between $200 and $300 per barrel “if military operations were to break out, which would significantly increase inflation rates in European countries and complicate oil exports for producing states such as Iraq.”

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key transport route, could “result in the loss of approximately five million barrels per day from Gulf and Iraqi oil supplies in the global market,” the Iraqi foreign minister was quoted as saying. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical maritime passage through which about 20% of the world’s oil supply flows. On Saturday, Iranian MP and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Esmail Kousari stated that Tehran is seriously considering closing the strait to shipping. Analysts have highlighted the potential impact of such a closure on global oil prices. JPMorgan analysts estimate that in a severe scenario, oil could surge to $130 per barrel. Other experts suggest that a complete blockade could push prices even higher, with some forecasts reaching $300 per barrel.

Brent crude prices rose 7% on Friday to $74.23 per barrel in response to the first attacks. While Israel has not targeted Iran’s main oil export facilities, analysts warn that future strikes could severely impact oil supplies. Conversely, the Islamic Republic could retaliate by disrupting oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, in Russia, the head of the Federation Council’s information policy commission, Aleksey Pushkov, has said that the conflict between Israel and Iran could lead to a significant increase in oil prices due to Tehran’s possible blocking of the Persian Gulf.

“The official outlined Iran’s extensive list of potential targets within “occupied territories,” which include covert residences of Israeli government leaders, energy facilities, factories supplying military aircraft, and critical command-and-control infrastructure.”

• Iran Preparing To ‘Shut Down Israel’s War Machine’ – Source (RT)

Tehran is gearing up to decisively counter Israel’s military operations, and intends to “shut down the regime’s war machine,” a senior Iranian security official told RT exclusively on Sunday. Israel and Iran have been engaged in a fierce exchange of fire for three consecutive days. According to Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom, Iranian strikes have killed at least ten people, bringing the total death toll to 13. In Iran, Israeli strikes have caused at least 406 deaths and 654 injuries, according to the group Human Rights Activists. The Iranian government has not released official casualty figures yet.

”Iran has been preparing for a long war,” the official told RT, emphasizing the country’s resolve to confront Israel. According to the source, millions of Iranians rallied in the streets on Saturday, defying West Jerusalem’s attacks, and demanding retribution. “This is an important support for Iran to continue its actions with force,” the official added. The official outlined Iran’s extensive list of potential targets within “occupied territories,” which include covert residences of Israeli government leaders, energy facilities, factories supplying military aircraft, and critical command-and-control infrastructure.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said that the country’s missiles had targeted fuel production facilities for Israeli fighter jets, a claim not acknowledged by Israel. World leaders urgently called for de-escalation in order to prevent an all-out war. Russian President Vladimir Putin had condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran and expressed concern over further escalation. In a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Saturday, Putin reiterated Moscow’s willingness to facilitate negotiations. Oman-mediated nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington were scheduled for Sunday; however, they were canceled following Israel’s strikes. Trump did not rule out the possibility of continuing the negotiations, saying, “They’d like to make a deal. They’re talking.”

Hey! I need attention!

• Zelensky Says The US Is Being ‘Too Warm’ Towards Russia (NYP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chided the tone of U.S. and Russia relations as “too warm” Saturday, while re-upping his push for Washington to ratchet up sanctions on Moscow. The Ukrainian leader stressed that “no one has been able to stop” Russian strongman Vladimir Putin so far, but surmised that President Trump could if he takes a tougher stand. “Right now, the tone of the U.S.–Russia dialogue feels too warm. Let’s be honest: that won’t stop Putin. What’s needed is a shift in tone,” Zelensky wrote on X. “Putin must understand clearly: America will stand with Ukraine, including by imposing sanctions and supporting our army. Any signals of reduced aid, or of treating Ukraine and Russia as equals, are deeply unfair. Russia is the aggressor. They started this war. They do not want to end it.

“That’s why the world must send a clear message: if Putin refuses to end the war, the strongest possible sanctions will follow.” Zelensky’s remarks appear to take aim at some of Trump’s recent comments, where he likened the warring nations to “two young children fighting like crazy.” He’s also repeatedly implied that Kyiv bears — as does Russia — responsibility for the bloody war. “You should have never started it,” Trump pubically said of Zelensky back in February. Russia began the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are currently mulling a sanctions package introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) last month.That sweeping package further tightens the existing sanctions on Russia and slaps 500% tariffs on countries that do business with the Kremlin.

Trump has sent mixed signals about the sanctions package, concerned that it could derail negotiations with Russia while also indicating that he is losing patience with Putin. Zelensky appears to be angling to pressure Trump on further tightening the screws on Russia ahead of the Group of 7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, beginning on Sunday. Zelensky had been working to meet Trump at the G7, which would be their first face-to-face since their meeting at the Vatican in April. “No one has been able to stop Putin. Only Trump remains, he might be able to. But to stop Putin, one thing is essential: he must lose money. Only then will he be unable to expand his army and military sector,” Zelensky said.

“Moscow is not expected to come to Iran’s aid in this current emerging war.”

• Zelensky Says Iran Poses ‘Serious Threat’ To Ukraine, Amid Israel War

Once again another major Middle East conflict is taking much of the West’s attention away from the long war in Ukraine, but President Volodymyr Zelensky is speaking up (or rather inserting himself), suggesting that events in Iran have a direct impact on Ukraine. He has told Newsmax the Islamic Republic poses a “serious threat” to Ukraine, given that it has for years supplied military arms and technology to Russian forces, which are then used against Iranian cities. There have been more recent reports that Tehran might be supplying short-range ballistic missiles. It is the Iranian-produced Shahed Kamikaze drone which has wreaked havoc on Ukraine from since the war’s start. Zelensky claimed in the comments that Iran is “actively working” against his country.

“Iran is, in fact, actively working against us by supplying weapons and technology to Russia. That makes them a serious threat. Even so, we do not seek escalation,” Zelenskyy said. “We understand all too well the devastating consequences such a conflict can bring. The human cost, the losses, the potential outcomes of a full-scale war. But Iran continues to support Russia.” “This regime is enabling Russia’s aggression by providing arms and technological support. Iran uses its oil revenues to fund war efforts. That is the harsh reality we are dealing with,” he added. The last 48 hours have seen open war explode between Iran and Israel after the Israeli Air Force began attacking Iranian nuclear sites, as well as ballistic missile batteries. Nuclear scientists and military leaders have also been killed in Iran.

Iran has responded by launching unprecedented numbers of ballistic missiles and drones against Israel, in a serious tit-for-tat which is now ongoing. “Let me be frank. We don’t want escalation in any part of the world. But if this continues, if there is another wave of conflict, more missile strikes, more collaboration between Russia and Iran, then the situation could grow even more dangerous,” Zelensky said. Washington is the biggest funder of both the Ukrainian and Israeli militaries… While Russia and Iran have indeed stepped up their defense relationship over the last several years, Moscow is not expected to come to Iran’s aid in this current emerging war.

Spring chicken at 72.

• Putin Congratulates Xi On His Birthday (RT)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended birthday greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping, 72, according to a statement from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. “The president wished his Chinese counterpart and friend all the very best,” Peskov said. The message comes on the heels of a visit by Xi in May, when he traveled to Moscow to participate in celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Soviet victory in World War II. Xi and Putin held a formal meeting at the Kremlin on May 8, joined by senior delegations from both sides. The talks lasted over three and a half hours and concluded with the signing of a number of joint agreements. The Chinese Foreign Ministry described Xi’s visit to Moscow as “a complete success.”

Putin described the meeting with Xi as “highly positive” and emphasized the value of face-to-face dialogue. He also thanked the Chinese leader for attending the commemorative event and confirmed his own plans to visit China for ceremonies marking the defeat of militarist Japan. Beijing has advocated a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict since it escalated in 2022. It has also been critical of the West’s unilateral sanctions against Russia and blamed NATO expansion for provoking the crisis. In 2023, China released a 12-point proposal, received favorably by Moscow, on how to resolve the conflict through a political settlement which respects the realities on the ground.

“..He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end,” Trump wrote.

• Putin Wished Me A Happy Birthday – Trump (RT)

US President Donald Trump has revealed that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, wished him a happy birthday during a phone conversation on Saturday. Shortly after the phone call, the US president took to his Truth Social to provide details. “President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran, a country he knows very well. We talked at length,” Trump, who turned 79 on Saturday, wrote. The two presidents spent “much less time” discussing the Ukraine conflict, he noted, adding that the topic “will be for next week.” “The call lasted approximately one hour. He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end,” Trump wrote.

According to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the conversation between Putin and Trump was “meaningful, frank, and most importantly, very useful.” Putin condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, noting that they occurred just before the sixth round of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington, originally scheduled for June 15, would have begun. “Despite such a complicated situation, the Russian and American presidents didn’t rule out a return to the negotiating track on the Iranian nuclear program,” Ushakov added. The presidential aide also confirmed that Putin had extended his birthday wishes to Trump, noting that both leaders have “expressed their satisfaction with the personal relationships that allow [them] to communicate in a businesslike manner,” as well as to “seek solutions to pressing issues on the bilateral and international agenda, no matter how complex these issues may be.”

“cordon sanitaire” or “firewall”

• Europe’s Populist Parties Keep Gaining Ground, but Cannot Get Into Power (ET)

Across the European continent, despite gaining considerable proportions of the vote, populist parties are increasingly being frozen out of governing in coalitions by political opponents who regard them as extremist. Proponents of the tactic known as a “cordon sanitaire” or “firewall” say it’s not an attack on democracy but a defense of it. But one war expert said the tactic will only arouse anger in voters and that “there is no potential for peaceful political change.” Coalitions are part and parcel of political life in many European countries. But the cordon sanitaire, a measure normally directed at keeping out fringe outliers, is now being used to keep out parties that are gaining majority-level support. Such parties include the Alternative for Germany, France’s National Rally, Austria’s Freedom Party, Spain’s Vox, and the Netherlands’ Party for Freedom.

They all deny being “far-right” as they are often dubbed by media, opponents, or academics, but their political opponents regard them as beyond the pale and have formed coalitions on the promise of shutting them out of governance. The AfD, an anti-mass immigration party, which came second in Germany’s national parliamentary elections, earning nearly 21 percent of the vote, was recently denied allotted committee chairmanships and vice-chairmanships. The party is locked in a legal battle with the state to avoid being branded an “extremist” right-wing movement by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.

AfD’s policies include strong support for traditional marriage between a man and woman and the nuclear family, the preservation of national independence in the face of the European Union’s increasing power, the preservation of German culture amid “European integration” and Islamization, and border security, including the expulsion of illegal immigrants. But this doesn’t seem to have dented the party’s popularity in the polls. According to a recent INSA survey, the AfD is at 24.5 percent, hot on the heels of the CDU at 26 percent. nA similar pattern is being seen in other countries.

Early in June, the Dutch government collapsed after Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders said his party would pull out of the governing coalition. Wilders asked coalition partners to sign up to a plan to cut illegal immigration, which included using the army to protect Dutch borders, rejecting all illegal immigrants, sending Syrian refugees back to their country, and closing asylum shelters. At the time, he said that if the country’s immigration policy was not strengthened, the PVV would be “out of the Cabinet.” He followed through on the threat.

In Austria, conservatives, Social Democrats, and liberals formed a coalition in March to block the anti-immigration and euro-skeptic Freedom Party from taking power, even after it won an electoral victory with 29 percent of the vote last September. The party was founded in 1956 by Anton Reinthaller, a former SS officer and member of the Reichstag.Last year, French President Emmanuel Macron called a surprise snap election on June 9, following his centrist Renaissance party’s poor performance in European Parliament elections when the populist and nationalist party National Rally (RN) performed very strongly.

But RN has increased its voter share ahead of the French presidential elections, which are scheduled to be held in or around April 2027, and is currently polling at 35 percent. In 2023, Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap national election after his party was beaten in local government polls by the conservative People’s Party (PP) and the nationalist Vox.Sanchez managed to retain power but only after months of wrangling with regional parties and a controversial power deal with Catalan separatists. Vox, founded in 2013, is now the third-largest force in the Spanish Parliament.

Transparent? Who?

• Republicans Investigating California Governor and LA Mayor Over Riots (RT)

The US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has begun an investigation into riots in California that have followed a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on illegal migrants. Committee members are accusing Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass of inaction and obstructing federal attempts to manage the unrest. The protests that erupted last week quickly devolved into riots, with participants torching police cars and US flags, blocking highways, and clashing with law enforcement officers. The latter have responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, with hundreds of arrests, as well as multiple injuries on both sides reported. The start of the probe was announced in a press release by the US House Oversight Committee on Friday.

Chairman James Comer and Clay Higgins, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, both Republicans, sent letters to Newsom and Bass, requesting that they hand over “documents and communications” dated June 1, 2025 and later, relevant to the ongoing riots and the state authorities’ response to them. The letters also accused the two Democrats of falsely claiming that “state and local law enforcement had protests under control” and of “falsely blaming” President Donald Trump “for the actions of violent rioters.” Newsom previously sued the Trump administration over its decision to deploy the National Guard to California. On Thursday, a US district judge ruled the move illegal, only for a Court of Appeals to issue a temporary injunction against that ruling hours later. For now, the National Guard remains under Trump’s control, and not that of the state authorities, until a hearing on Tuesday.

Responding to the committee’s request, Governor Newsom’s press office said in a post on X on Saturday that the records requested “will include some highly unusual communications from the White House.” “We’re good with transparency. Will the White House say the same?” the message added. In an acrimonious exchange throughout the week, Newsom described Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard as a “step toward authoritarianism” and a “serious breach of state sovereignty.” Trump, in turn, urged the “grossly incompetent” California governor to “get his act together” and to “apologize… for the absolutely horrible job” he has allegedly done. The US president also suggested he would back a proposal by White House border czar Tom Homan to have Newsom arrested for allegedly obstructing federal immigration enforcement efforts.

USAID

Hungarian Government releasing a documentary on how Democrats funneled money through USAID to George Soros “to promote Democrat agendas such as illegal migration, transgenders and war stances”

“The Hungarian government has announced that they will be releasing a documentary… pic.twitter.com/27yqdTKggj

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) June 14, 2025

Dragon

– Just one dragonfly can consume over one hundred mosquitos in a day
– Dragonflies can fly backwards
– They have nearly 360-degree vision
– Their wings inhibit bacterial growth due to their natural structures
– They're actually beautiful

This is not stained glass, it's a wing. pic.twitter.com/0BfB3ljjuE

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) June 15, 2025

Ostrich
https://twitter.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status/1934169597328121989

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Debt Rattle July 3 2021

Jul 032021

July 3, 2021 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 8:57 am Finance Tagged with: Assange, Bali, birthday, blood clots, Hunter Biden, immune system, net zero, T cells, YouTube 44 Responses »

Julian Assange turns 50 today, in isolation

• Polymerase-specific T Cells Expand In Seronegative SARS-CoV-2 Infection (Mxiv)

• Clot Death Risk To 18-39s From AZ Vaccine Is 2x Covid Death Risk (IE)

• French Senate Considers Mandatory Covid Vaccines For Adults Aged 24-59 (RT)

• Bali Swept Up In Indonesia’s Harsh Lockdown Despite 71% Vaccination Rate (RT)

• Tech Giants Still Not Coming Clean About Covid-19 Disinformation, Says EU (TC)

• Vatican In Push Against Vaccine Scepticism (RT)

• “Intellectual Capture?” On YouTube’s Demonetization of Bret Weinstein (Taibbi)

• Stumbling Toward Reality (Kunstler)

• Natural Resource Drain Created By “Net Zero Emission” Targets (ZH)

• Biden Aide Charges “Sabotage” Of Harris (Axios)

• New Emails Raise New Allegations of Influence Peddling By Hunter Biden (Turley)

• Key Assange Witness Recants – With Zero Corporate Media Coverage (Fair)

Delta Case Fatality Rate in UK appears 8 times higher among the fully vaccinated than the unvaccinated

Early intervention

Dr. Richard Bartlett, MD about ignoring early treatment for Covid pic.twitter.com/cVm9OVHmPK

— Husserl (@husserl79) July 2, 2021

In the strongest immune systems, T cells kill the virus so fast the body has no time (or reason) to create antibodies. So an antibody test will raise an alarm: there are none! A PCR test will likely show the virus though, even though it’s dead. You can’t win. Both test results will lead to a call for a vaccine.

• Polymerase-specific T Cells Expand In Seronegative SARS-CoV-2 Infection (Mxiv)

Individuals with likely exposure to the highly infectious SARS-CoV-2 do not necessarily develop PCR or antibody positivity, suggesting some may clear sub-clinical infection before seroconversion. T cells can contribute to the rapid clearance of SARS-CoV-2 and other coronavirus infections1–5 . We hypothesised that pre-existing memory T cell responses, with cross-protective potential against SARS-CoV-26–12, would expand in vivo to mediate rapid viral control, potentially aborting infection. We studied T cells against the replication transcription complex (RTC) of SARS-CoV-2 since this is transcribed first in the viral life cycle13–15 and should be highly conserved. We measured SARS-CoV-2-reactive T cells in a cohort of intensively

monitored healthcare workers (HCW) who remained repeatedly negative by PCR, antibody binding, and neutralisation for SARS-CoV-2 (exposed seronegative, ES). 16-weeks postrecruitment, ES had memory T cells that were stronger and more multispecific than an unexposed pre-pandemic cohort, and more frequently directed against the RTC than the structural protein-dominated responses seen post-detectable infection (matched concurrent cohort). The postulate that HCW with the strongest RTC-specific T cells had an abortive infection was supported by a low-level increase in IFI27 transcript, a robust early innate signature of SARS-CoV-2 infection16.

We showed that the RNA-polymerase within RTC was the largest region of high sequence conservation across human seasonal coronaviruses (HCoV) and was preferentially targeted by T cells from UK and Singapore pre-pandemic cohorts and from ES. RTC epitope-specific T cells capable of cross-recognising HCoV variants were identified in ES. Longitudinal samples from ES and an additional validation cohort, showed pre-existing RNA-polymerase-specific T cells expanded in vivo following SARS-CoV-2 exposure, becoming enriched in the memory response of those with abortive compared to overt infection. In summary, we provide evidence of abortive seronegative SARS-CoV-2 infection with expansion of cross-reactive RTC-specific T cells, highlighting these highly conserved proteins as targets for future vaccines against endemic and emerging Coronaviridae.

But the benefits still outweigh the risks, says the Irish health body. Who are these people?

• Clot Death Risk To 18-39s From AZ Vaccine Is 2x Covid Death Risk (IE)

The HSE has admitted a greater risk of blood clotting in younger people still exists for the AstraZeneca vaccine, but that risk is now outweighed by a need to speed up public vaccination. A new modelling study published in the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s (ECDC) medical journal has concluded that the dangers presented to younger people by the AstraZeneca vaccine are greater than the benefits. The study, published in the weekly edition of the Eurosurveillance journal, models four months of a vaccine distribution strategy in France involving Vaxzevria (commonly called AstraZeneca) from May 2021, and concludes that using the vaccine on the entire adult population there would avert 10 deaths from Covid among 18-39-year-olds, but would be associated with 21 deaths from blood clotting in the same age grouping over the same time period.

“Our results highlight the clear benefit of the distribution of Vaxzevria towards the population aged 55 years and older and provide valuable insight for public health decision making,” the study concludes. Last April, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee’s (Niac) recommended that AstraZeneca should only be given to people over the age of 60 in Ireland due to the risk of very rare blood clots and the fact older people are more susceptible to severe Covid infection than their younger counterparts. The move followed a wave of similar decisions across other European health bodies as details of the clotting risk solidified. However, in light of dire projections earlier in the week from Nphet concerning the potential spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19, the HSE announced that from Monday, July 5, all 18-34-year-olds will be able to avail of Janssen vaccines, administered by 750 pharmacies.

Illegal. Simple.

• French Senate Considers Mandatory Covid Vaccines For Adults Aged 24-59 (RT)

The French Senate is considering implementing obligatory vaccinations for those aged 24-59 to help the country weather the anticipated next spike of coronavirus infections in what would be a fourth wave of cases. The body published a report from its Common Mission of Information on Thursday, advocating for mandatory vaccinations of young to middle-aged adults on the grounds it could significantly lower hospitalization rates and deaths. The report issued a stern warning: “act now to limit impact”. The report follows Prime Minister Jean Castex’s announcement on Wednesday that he will consult elected officials and chairmen of parliament on the compulsory vaccination of caregivers, with senators pushing for this to also include 24-59 year olds.

The age group was chosen as over 90% of people infected with Covid are under 60 in France, the Pasteur Institute said. To prevent hospitalization rates rising like last year, the Institute found that among 12-17 year-olds, a 30% vaccination rate was needed, and 70% among 18-59s. A vaccine uptake of 90% for those over 60 was deemed necessary. However, France’s vaccination campaign – which has prioritized those most susceptible to catching Covid, such as healthcare workers and people over 65 – is lagging behind these targets. Among 18-29 year-olds, 15.36% are fully vaccinated. Just under a quarter of those aged 30-49 have been inoculated, while the figure rises to half among 50-64 year olds.

260 million people stretched out over countless islands. Give them IVM.

• Bali Swept Up In Indonesia’s Harsh Lockdown Despite 71% Vaccination Rate (RT)

Hundreds of roadblocks and checkpoints have been erected across Indonesia as authorities attempt to enforce a harsh lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19, which has surged in the country in recent weeks. “We are setting up [patrols] in 21 locations where typically there are crowds,” Istiono, the head of Indonesia’s national traffic police, who goes by only one name, told reporters on Friday night. “Where there are street stalls and cafes, we will close those streets, maybe from around 6pm until 4am.” The beefed-up patrols and roadblocks will focus on the islands of Java – the country’s most populous, where the national capital of Jakarta is located – as well as Bali, a common tourist destination.

Some 21,000 police officers and soldiers will enforce the new restrictions, according to a police spokesman cited by Reuters. They will also administer random coronavirus tests at checkpoints. The move comes soon after President Joko Widodo declared a new lockdown earlier on Friday, set to last into late July, though it could be extended. The order requires all “non-essential” businesses to shut their doors, while Java- and Bali-based students will have to learn from home if possible. Parks, malls, indoor restaurants and places of worship, among other public spaces, have also been closed.= Some exceptions were made for those who are both vaccinated and test negative for the virus, as they were permitted to travel long-distance in the affected areas.

Indonesia is currently facing one of Asia’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, tallying more than 20,000 cases each day in recent weeks – many believed linked to the Delta variant first observed in India – and that only accounts for those verified by testing. The country has smashed its own daily infection record for the last 12 days, according to Reuters, reporting 25,830 cases on Friday, as well as a high of 539 fatalities. While a national vaccination drive is underway, largely relying on a shot developed by China’s SinoVac, only about 5% of Indonesia’s 260 million-strong population has been fully immunized against the virus, according to figures compiled by Our World in Data. That amounts to about 13.7 million people.

“They simply cannot police themselves alone.” Orwell.

• Tech Giants Still Not Coming Clean About Covid-19 Disinformation, Says EU (TC)

European Union lawmakers have asked tech giants to continue reporting on efforts to combat the spread of vaccine disinformation on their platforms for a further six months. “The continuation of the monitoring programme is necessary as the vaccination campaigns throughout the EU is proceeding with a steady and increasing pace, and the upcoming months will be decisive to reach a high level of vaccination in Member States. It is key that in this important period vaccine hesitancy is not fuelled by harmful disinformation,” the Commission writes today. Facebook, Google, Microsoft, TikTok and Twitter are signed up to make monthly reports as a result of being participants in the bloc’s (non-legally binding) Code of Practice on Disinformation — although, going forward, they’ll be switching to bi-monthly reporting.

Publishing the latest batch of platform reports for April, the Commission said the tech giants have shown they’re unable to police “dangerous lies” by themselves — while continuing to express dissatisfaction at the quality and granularity of the data that is being (voluntarily) provided by platforms vis-à-via how they’re combating online disinformation generally. “These reports show how important it is to be able to effectively monitor the measures put in place by the platforms to reduce disinformation,” said Vera Jourova, the EU’s VP for values and transparency, in a statement. “We decided to extend this programme, because the amount of dangerous lies continues to flood our information space and because it will inform the creation of the new generation Code against disinformation. We need a robust monitoring programme, and clearer indicators to measure impact of actions taken by platforms. They simply cannot police themselves alone.”

You would think the pope has better thinngs to do?!

• Vatican In Push Against Vaccine Scepticism (RT)

The official bioethics academy of the Catholic Church has come forward alongside a host of global medical associations to demand an end to the “myths and disinformation” interfering with the fight against Covid-19. The Pontifical Council of Life (VPCL) and several international physicians’ groups spoke with reporters on Friday in what was described as an “all-out effort” to set straight the disinformation surrounding the vaccine’s place in religious doctrine, insisting the pharmaceutical mixture was not only safe and effective but also ethical under the Catholic faith. While acknowledging that some reluctance to take the jab in “disadvantaged communities” was linked to previous “breaches of trust in medical research” and overall “suspicion” of pharma firms, Friday’s joint statement said a “more pernicious form” of vaccine hesitancy was fueled by “unfounded and misleading claims and myths” and amplified on social media.

“Considered one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine, vaccines play a vital role in the prevention of infectious diseases,” they said. The groups noted the problem becomes even more complex given the vaccine skepticism within many religious groups, and even the medical community, calling for a united front against disinformation among spiritual leaders and healthcare professionals. All relevant stakeholders must exhaust all efforts to confront vaccine hesitancy by sending a clear message about the safety and necessity of vaccines and counteracting vaccine myths and disinformation The statement followed a day-long online seminar sponsored by the VPCL, along with the World Medical Association of France and the German Medical Association.

Fitting on Assange’s Bday.

• “Intellectual Capture?” On YouTube’s Demonetization of Bret Weinstein (Taibbi)

YouTube’s decision with regard to Weinstein and Heying seems part of an overall butterfly effect, as numerous other figures either connected to the topic or to DarkHorse have been censured by various platforms. Weinstein guest Dr. Robert Malone, a former Salk Institute researcher often credited with helping develop mRNA vaccine technology, has been suspended from LinkedIn, and Weinstein guest Dr. Pierre Kory of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) has had his appearances removed by YouTube. Even Satoshi Omura, who won the Nobel Prize in 2015 for his work on ivermectin, reportedly had a video removed by YouTube this week. There are several factors that make the DarkHorse incident different from other major Silicon Valley moderation decisions, including the fact that the content in question doesn’t involve electoral politics, foreign intervention, or incitement.

The main issue is the possible blurring of lines between public and private censorship. When I contacted YouTube about Weinstein two weeks ago, I was told, “In general, we rely on guidance from local and global health authorities (FDA, CDC, WHO, NHS, etc) in developing our COVID-19 misinformation policies.” The question is, how active is that “guidance”? Is YouTube acting in consultation with those bodies in developing those moderation policies? As Weinstein notes, an answer in the affirmative would likely make theirs a true First Amendment problem, with an agency like the CDC not only setting public health policy but also effectively setting guidelines for private discussion about those policies. “If it is in consultation with the government,” he says, “it’s an entirely different issue.”

Asked specifically after Weinstein’s demonetization if the “guidance” included consultation with authorities, YouTube essentially said yes, pointing to previous announcements that they consult other authorities, and adding, “When we develop our policies we consult outside experts and YouTube creators. In the case of our COVID-19 misinformation policies, it would be guidance from local and global health authorities.”

“Dr. Fauci’s role looks like a species of generic egomania with a top hat of greed (considering his financial interests in vaccines).”

• Stumbling Toward Reality (Kunstler)

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who answers to the title “The Science” in certain circles, said this week that there are going to be two Americas, the vaxed and the unvaxed. Earth to Dr. Fauci: we are already two Americas: the reality-onboard and the reality-optional. One reality is that vaccines developed at “warp speed” appear to have gnarly side-effects that can outweigh the risk of the disease they’re engineered to protect against. Another reality is that the Delta variant of SARS-Covid-19 is more contagious, but also weaker, less likely to result in hospitalization among the unvaxed. Yet another reality is that the Delta variant also infects the fully-vaccinated. Oh, what to do?

Consider not allowing yourself to be jerked around by US health officials who have trouble keeping their story straight, for instance, Dr. Anthony Fauci (a.k.a. The Science) who, records show, apparently assisted the bio-warfare division of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at the Wuhan lab in the development of a world-beating, gain-of-function bat virus — which, halfway through year-two of its run, seems to be following the usual trajectory of viral epidemics by growing weaker before it disappears altogether. And then we’ll see what happens longer-term among the vaxed, who were subjected to flurries of toxic spike proteins.

It’s the opinion of some — though not myself — that the Covid-19 episode was unleashed upon the world to allow “the elite” to execute a “controlled demolition of the global economy” so as to quash climate change (by reducing carbon emissions), and therefore ensure a brighter future for said elite, while cruelly throwing the rest of the world’s population overboard. Oh, I dunno…. Klaus Schwab and his minions of The Great Reset seem more like hapless control freaks than persons actually able to control anything, least of all the whole world. Dr. Fauci’s role looks like a species of generic egomania with a top hat of greed (considering his financial interests in vaccines). The reality is that the global economy, such as it’s a high-tech industrial economy, is shooting its own wad very nicely without a whole lot of assistance from alleged nefarious parties.

Green turns sour.

• Natural Resource Drain Created By “Net Zero Emission” Targets (ZH)

While the idea of implementing net zero emissions by certain deadlines has sounded great for the companies, countries and states that have set targets, the reality of making it happen is slightly more difficult. That’s what the U.K. is finding out after Natural History Museum Head of Earth Sciences Prof Richard Herrington penned a letter to the Committee on Climate Change on the vast amount of natural resources that will be necessary to make the conversion. The letter was delivered to Baroness Brown, who chairs the Adaption Sub-Committee of the Committee on Climate Change. In addition to noting that the U.K. would need a 20% increase in UK-generated electricity, the release also notes that “to meet UK electric car targets for 2050 we would need to produce just under two times the current total annual world cobalt production, nearly the entire world production of neodymium, three quarters the world’s lithium production and at least half of the world’s copper production.”

The letter reads: “The urgent need to cut CO2 emissions to secure the future of our planet is clear, but there are huge implications for our natural resources not only to produce green technologies like electric cars but keep them charged. “Over the next few decades, global supply of raw materials must drastically change to accommodate not just the UK’s transformation to a low carbon economy, but the whole world’s. Our role as scientists is to provide the evidence for how best to move towards a zero-carbon economy – society needs to understand that there is a raw material cost of going green and that both new research and investment is urgently needed for us to evaluate new ways to source these. This may include potentially considering sources much closer to where the metals are to be used.”

It then points out obvious challenges in meeting the needs of converting all cars and vans to electric vehicles, especially as it relates to cobalt: To replace all UK-based vehicles today with electric vehicles (not including the LGV and HGV fleets), assuming they use the most resource-frugal next-generation NMC 811 batteries, would take 207,900 tonnes cobalt, 264,600 tonnes of lithium carbonate (LCE), at least 7,200 tonnes of neodymium and dysprosium, in addition to 2,362,500 tonnes copper. This represents, just under two times the total annual world cobalt production, nearly the entire world production of neodymium, three quarters the world’s lithium production and at least half of the world’s copper production during 2018. Even ensuring the annual supply of electric vehicles only, from 2035 as pledged, will require the UK to annually import the equivalent of the entire annual cobalt needs of European industry.

Strange battle going on.

• Biden Aide Charges “Sabotage” Of Harris (Axios)

Top White House officials are mobilizing to defend Vice President Kamala Harris amid a gusher of leaks about dysfunction and infighting in her office. Driving the news: White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain told Axios in a statement: “The President’s trust and confidence in her is obvious when you see them in the Oval Office together.” Biden senior adviser Cedric Richmond said in an interview late Thursday night: “It’s a whisper campaign designed to sabotage her.” Their responses came after Axios approached the White House with new reporting about growing tensions between West Wing officials and the Harris team, including chief of staff Tina Flournoy.

Some White House officials have been frustrated by a series of missteps from Harris and increasingly public bickering in her orbit, which spilled out in a Politico story on Wednesday. Flournoy’s old boss, former President Bill Clinton, came to her defense with a statement calling her “an extraordinary person. 2024 is the elephant in the room. While Biden aides overwhelmingly believe he’ll be the Democratic nominee, they also know he’d be 81 when seeking re-election. An operation sometimes visibly out of sync with Biden’s — and missteps during a recent trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, following a scrutinized interview with NBC’s Lester Holt — have reignited questions from Harris’ 2020 primary bid.

Harris would be the presumptive nominee if Biden didn’t run. Administration sources believe it would be nearly impossible to unseat the first Black woman vice president. Yet many Democrats, including some current senior administration officials, are concerned she could not defeat whomever the Republican Party puts up — even if it were Donald Trump. One Democratic operative tells Axios’ Alayna Treene that most Democrats aren’t saying, “‘Oh, no, our heir apparent is f***ing up, what are we gonna do?’ It’s more that people think, ‘Oh, she’s f***ing up, maybe she shouldn’t be the heir apparent.'” Some Democrats close to the White House are increasingly concerned about Harris’s handling of high-profile issues and political tone deafness, and question her ability to maintain the coalition that Biden rode to the White House, sources tell Axios’ Hans Nichols.

Relations between the West Wing and the Vice President’s office are tense. Several administration officials used “shitshow” when describing Harris’ office, and contrast her operation with disciplined, virtually leakproof Biden aides. Some Biden officials view the Harris operation as poorly-managed and staffed with people who don’t have long-term relationships with her. They feel she’s gotten bad advice from her press and communications shop and think it’s telling that she’s already lost two advance aides and a digital director.

“It is clear that Hunter Biden was selling access and influence. It appears that Joe Biden was aware of that effort. That is very serious.”

• New Emails Raise New Allegations of Influence Peddling By Hunter Biden (Turley)

The new emails include references to the use of Air Force II by Hunter Biden to pursue the deals — a similar pattern revealed with regard to the China dealings. The emails detail a number of visits to Mexico, including a February 2016 flight on Air Force II with his father. On the plane was his business partner Jeff Cooper, who ran Illinois-based SimmonsCooper. That is one of the largest asbestos litigation firms in the country and Hunter was given 3 percent of Cooper’s venture capital firm Eudora Global, according to emails. President Biden’s brother (who featured in past controversial deals) was also reportedly involved in some of these efforts. These dealings continued into 2018 as Hunter pushed for deals with Slim. One text message from July 24, 2018 reads “Spoke to my dad about ‘Slim ask” and Cooper responds “Oh that sounds SO F’ING GOOD.”

It obviously does not sound quite so good if you are a reporter who has been repeatedly assured by President Biden that he had no knowledge or involvement in any dealings with Hunter. That was previously refuted by various sources. Hunter himself contradicted his father’s repeated denial. Then there are the emails referring to the “Big Guy”, which witnesses say was Joe Biden. Then there is Tony Bobulinski who stated that he personally met with Joe Biden to discuss Hunter’s business dealings. Bobulinski is repeatedly praised by Hunter Biden in the emails and identified as the person in control of transactions for “the family.” He has directly contradicted Joe Biden’s denial of any knowledge or involvement in his son’s dubious dealings.

The new emails contain additional information directly contradicting President Biden. In addition to earlier pictures from golf trips and references to his involvement or knowledge, new material refers to a notable dinner arranged in Washington, D.C. Hunter arranged for then Vice President Biden to have dinner on April 16, 2015 with his Ukrainian, Russian and Kazakhstani business associates. They appropriately chose a private room at Café Milano, a Georgetown restaurant that brags that it is “Where the world’s most powerful people go.” After the dinner, Hunter received an email from Vadym Pozharskyi, an executive with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, to thank him for introducing him to his father: “Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent [sic] some time together. It’s realty [sic] an honor and pleasure.”

It is clear that Hunter Biden was selling access and influence. It appears that Joe Biden was aware of that effort. That is very serious. If these emails are false, this is a major story. If they are true, this is a major scandal. Presumably, however, this story will result in another run to the nearest ice cream shop for breathless coverage on the current frozen delights of the President.

Lots of similarities between Assange coverage and that of vaccines.

• Key Assange Witness Recants – With Zero Corporate Media Coverage (Fair)

A key witness in the Department of Justice’s case against Julian Assange has admitted that his entire testimony is false, a revelation that could be the death knell for US attempts to prosecute the Wikileaks founder. Sigurdur Ingi Thordarson, often known as “Siggi the Hacker,” made the confession to Icelandic outlet Stundin (6/26/21) last weekend. The article details how Thordarson, a convicted felon, pedophile and diagnosed sociopath, used his position to steal money from Wikileaks, and received immunity from prosecution from the FBI in a quid pro quo. Such a blatant and juicy piece of important news should have made worldwide headlines. But, instead, as of Friday, July 2, there has been literally zero coverage of it in corporate media; not one word in the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, NBC News, Fox News or NPR.

A search online for either “Assange” or “Thordarson” will elicit zero relevant articles from establishment sources, either US or elsewhere in the Anglosphere, even in tech-focused platforms like the Verge, Wired or Gizmodo. The other major development in the case, according to the Canary (6/30/21), is Jeremy Corbyn delivering a letter from 20 MPs to the prison where Assange is held, demanding the right to visit him and treating him as a political prisoner. The news is not some sort of esoteric knowledge known only to those carefully watching Icelandic affairs. The story trended worldwide on Twitter on the weekend, with a number of prominent accounts or figures like Wikileaks itself, Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald tweeting about it.

Not only that, Thordarson’s confession was well covered by alternative news sites with a tiny fraction of the resources establishment media have (e.g., Consortium News, 6/27/21; World Socialist Web Site, 6/27/21; Canary, 6/30/21). The story led Democracy Now!’s Monday show (6/28/21), which featured an in-depth interview with Assange’s legal advisor, Jennifer Robinson. This distinction once again highlights the gaping chasm between corporate and alternative media, suggesting that certain subjects are simply no-go zones for the former. It is not that the corporate press are completely uninterested in Assange. A number of outlets have covered the news this week that he and his partner Stella Morris are planning to get married (e.g., SBS, 6/27/21; Daily Mail, 6/28/21; Evening Standard, 6/28/21; London Times, 6/29/21). Yet none of these articles mentioned the far more consequential news about Thordarson and how it undermines the entire prosecution of Assange.

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