end times Archives - The Automatic Earth

The real reason for the recent CDC resignations is that the ACIP Subcommittee on COVID 19 vaccines got approval to investigate the safety and efficacy of COVID vaccines, and they knew the gig was up, the truth was about to come out, and they would have to account for their…

— Robert W Malone, MD (@RWMaloneMD) August 31, 2025

Gates

A major purge is underway at the White House, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. firing dozens of Bill Gates-connected officials from CDC, HHS, and NIH to dismantle a corrupt biomedical regime influenced by Gates. CDC Director Susan Monarez was dismissed for insubordination after… pic.twitter.com/qxmuTsezcL

— ꪻꫝể ꪻꫝể (@TheThe1776) August 30, 2025

Ladapo

Dr. Ladapo is brilliantly articulate – as usual. https://t.co/6UN7d3wXuh

— Robert W Malone, MD (@RWMaloneMD) August 30, 2025

A bit over the top, perhaps?

• Are the End Times Upon Us? (Paul Craig Robets)

A 23 year old transgender freak fired into a church killing two children and wounding many. The concern expressed by Jacob Frey, mayor of Minneapolis? “The shooting should not be an excuse for people to direct hate at our trans community.” The unexamined question is why did random shootings of strangers appear for the first time in 1966? There was no such thing in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. At Georgia Tech students had guns in their dorm rooms and fraternity houses. At UVa students had guns and whiskey in their dorm rooms. No one was shot. Today guns are prohibited on campuses, and there are constant shootings that have spread to work places, shopping malls, and churches.

Clearly, something has changed to cause behavior, which my generation never would have considered, to become increasingly common. What is the cause? Is it the endless number of vaccinations? The antidepressants needed? My generation did not have the vaccinations and antidepressants and did not need them. Is it the distancing from God caused by endless liberal attacks on Christianity? Is it the milieu of hatred created by endless denunciations? Is it the lack of restraint and self-control that modern child raising produces? It doesn’t help to understand what has happened to blame guns. Karl Marx would scoff at the reification of inanimate objects by liberals. As long as causes, such as gun control, use the shootings for their agenda, we will not obtain insight into what has produced a 23 year old person who can fire away at children in a church.

The replacement of moral and responsible behavior with irrational murder for no visible purpose desperately needs explanation. Has Satan taken over, thereby removing morality as a constraint on imperfect humans? This is an interesting question. Is it a question of pills, vaccinations, broken homes, the 2nd Amendment, or any other stock explanation, or are we, weakened as we are by the decline in religious belief, faced with the triumph of evil over good? Watching the world’s indifference to the Israeli extermination of the Palestinian people, has Satan decided that now is his time? Has Satan made a good decision? Is there any moral strength anywhere in the world capable of resisting Evil? Where is the effort to abolish nuclear weapons which can abolish Earth? Is the traditional alliance of Israel with Satan taking us into The End Times?

“The replacement fertility rate is generally set at 2.1 children per woman [..] ..this level may be insufficient, pointing to a long-term survival threshold closer to 2.7 children per woman.

• Europe Could ‘Die Out’ – Musk (RT)

Europe could “die out” unless it fixes its demographic problems by boosting birth rates, tech billionaire Elon Musk has warned. In a post on X on Saturday, Musk was responding to statistics from Scotland showing 34% more deaths than births in the first half of 2025. “Unless the birth rate at least gets back to replacement rate, Europe will die out,” he wrote, referring to the average number of children needed per couple for a population to replace itself. The replacement fertility rate is generally set at 2.1 children per woman, accounting for child mortality and near-equal gender ratios at birth. Recent studies, however, suggest that this level may be insufficient, pointing to a long-term survival threshold closer to 2.7 children per woman.

Unless the birth rate at least gets back to replacement rate, Europe will die out https://t.co/0COU5Zj9QM

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 30, 2025

According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, the fertility rate in England and Wales fell to 1.4 in 2024, while Scotland’s stood at 1.3 – both far below replacement levels. In the EU, fertility has been declining for years, reaching a record low of 1.4 live births per woman in 2023. Musk, a vocal advocate for higher birth rates who has fathered at least 14 children and donated millions to fertility research, has often raised the alarm over the demographic decline in Europe. His warnings, however, extend beyond Europe. Musk has cited global demographic data, claiming that civilization “is going to crumble” unless birth rates rise. He previously argued that population collapse due to low fertility “is a much bigger risk to civilization” than climate change.

Either Europe starts having large families or it will keep dying https://t.co/UNX72ZRn98

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 14, 2025

Worldwide, fertility has been falling for over 50 years. UN data shows it stood at around 2.2 births per woman in 2024, down from 5 in the 1970s and 3.3 in the 1990s. Only 45% of countries and areas – home to roughly a third of the global population – reported fertility levels at or above 2.1 last year. Just 13% had fertility rates of 4.0 or higher, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Yemen. Falling birth rates and population decline have also become a pressing issue for Russia, with Rosstat recording just 1.2 million births in 2024 – the lowest since 1999 – reflecting a fertility rate of 1.4.

“Ukraine has long turned into a testing ground for Western weapons. There are more than enough examples.”

• Zelensky Threatens ‘New Deep Strikes’ Into Russia (RT)

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has threatened new strikes into Russia, days after claiming that Kiev possessed a brand-new long-range missile capable of reaching Moscow. Zelensky wrote on Telegram that he had been briefed by Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Aleksandr Syrsky, on the current battlefield situation. “We will continue our active actions exactly as needed to protect Ukraine. Forces and means are prepared. New deep strikes have also been planned,” he said on Sunday, without providing further details. Earlier this month, Zelensky claimed Ukraine had developed the long-range Flamingo missile with a reported range of 3,000 kilometers – which would be enough to reach not only Moscow but also Russian cities beyond the Ural mountains. The Ukrainian leader, however, said that mass production is not expected for the next several months.

British media outlets cast doubts on whether the Flamingo was developed in Ukraine, noting similarities with the FP-5 cruise missile produced by the UK-based Milanion Group and unveiled at an arms expo in Abu Dhabi this year. The UK has also been supportive of Kiev’s long-range strikes, having provided it with Storm Shadow missiles in the past. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that there is “nothing surprising” in the similarities, adding that “Ukraine has long turned into a testing ground for Western weapons. There are more than enough examples.” On Friday, the Kyiv Independent also reported that Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau has launched an investigation into Fire Point, the defense firm linked to the development of the Flamingo missile, after reports it misled the government on pricing and deliveries.

Earlier this month the Wall Street Journal reported that the US had blocked Ukraine from carrying out strikes deep inside Russian territory. Throughout the conflict, some of Kiev’s Western backers have been wary of authorizing unrestricted strikes into Russia using Western-supplied weapons, citing concerns over escalation with Moscow. Ukraine has regularly carried out long-range attacks inside Russia, which Moscow says frequently hit civilian areas and critical infrastructure. Russia has retaliated with strikes on Ukrainian military-related facilities and defense enterprises but maintains that it never targets civilians.

“..in stark contrast to the approach pursued” by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

• European ‘War Party’ Hindering Ukraine Peace Process – Kremlin (RT)

The European “war party” is trying to sabotage the diplomatic process launched by the US and Russia to end the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. He added that this approach contradicts the efforts of US President Donald Trump. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have for months floated the idea of sending a joint military contingent to Ukraine in a so-called peacekeeping capacity if Kiev and Moscow reach a truce or peace deal. Moscow has strongly opposed the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine in any role. On Sunday, Peskov said the stance of the “European war party” is “in stark contrast to the approach pursued” by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The Europeans are hindering the [peace] efforts,” as part of their strategy to “contain” Russia, the Kremlin spokesperson told journalists. He added that certain NATO member states have been encouraging Ukraine to refuse to negotiate with Russia in good faith – a strategy that “will do no good to the Kiev regime.” “Russia is still ready to settle the [conflict] by political-diplomatic means,” Peskov said, but Kiev has to show reciprocity for the hostilities to end. Last weekend, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued that European nations “don’t want peace” in Ukraine, citing their reaction to the Putin-Trump summit in Alaska earlier this month.

Last week, speaking to reporters after a follow-up meeting between the US president and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, as well as several European leaders at the White House, Macron insisted that Europe “will need to help Ukraine with boots on the ground.” Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Romania, and Croatia have ruled out taking part in the mission. On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that a significant proportion of the EU population is “opposed to any deployment that places troops in harm’s way.”

“..Trump’s stance put a halt to Berlin’s discussions about deployment “until further notice.”

• Germany Gives Up On Idea Of Sending Troops To Ukraine – Bild (RT)

Berlin has shelved plans to possibly deploy German soldiers to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, Bild reported on Sunday, citing government sources. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had earlier signaled openness to Berlin joining a possible peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. The idea had been floated by the so-called “coalition of the willing” – a group of Western states pushing for continued aid to Kiev. The group has proposed deploying NATO troops to monitor a potential future ceasefire with Russia as part of security guarantees for Ukraine, despite Moscow’s consistent rejection of any Western military presence in Ukraine under any guise. Trump, however, said last week that American troops would not be deployed to Ukraine, insisting that the EU should “front load” security guarantees for Kiev, not the US, including with regard to peacekeepers.

According to Bild, Trump’s stance put a halt to Berlin’s discussions about deployment “until further notice.” Sources told the outlet the idea could return “should Trump take action” or once Moscow and Kiev reach a settlement. In an interview with ZDF on Sunday, Merz confirmed the U-turn, saying “nobody is talking about ground troops at this point” and indicating discussions could resume once a ceasefire is in place. Instead, Germany reportedly plans to provide financial security guarantees to Ukraine. Sources claimed Berlin intends for the Bundeswehr to continue training Ukrainian soldiers, expand weapons production in Ukraine with German arms firms, and potentially cover part of Ukrainian soldiers’ salaries after a ceasefire to ensure Kiev maintains sufficient forces.

Kiev has demanded security guarantees from Western backers as a precondition for a peace deal. Moscow has not ruled out such guarantees in principle but rejects efforts made without its participation. It has also opposed any Western troop presence in Ukraine, stressing that NATO’s expansion toward its borders was one of the key causes of the conflict. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday that guarantees must be the result of a settlement, not a precondition, and must take into account Russia’s security. She added that any deal should ensure Ukraine’s demilitarization, denazification, neutral and non-nuclear status, and recognition of territorial realities.

“He knew the true sponsors and curators. He knew which political figures, which structures, which financial backers prepared and paid for the bloody upheaval.”

• The Assassination of One of The Founders Of Zelensky’s Ukraine (Romanenko)

All of Ukraine’s political elite will loudly point to Moscow as the hand behind the murder of former parliamentary speaker Andrey Parubiy. They will cry out in public that Russia is to blame, repeating the same narrative of the “Russian trace.” But in private, they all know the truth: it was his own people that came for him.

The idea that Parubiy was eliminated by the authorities themselves, while sounding outrageous to some, is a version that carries weight, even if many prefer not to believe it. Why? Because Parubiy was one of the few men in Ukraine who truly knew how to build a Maidan. He had organized the barricades in 2014, commanded the Maidan “self-defense,” and knew every method of bringing people into the streets and holding them there against state power. His reputation came from exactly this talent. And in today’s Ukraine, the possibility of another Maidan is very real. For those in power, such a possibility is dangerous, and removing the man who could light the match makes a grim kind of sense.

But there is another explanation, one far darker and one in which almost everyone believes, even if few Ukrainians will say so out loud. Parubiy carried too many secrets – and in Ukraine, secrets can be fatal. He knew far too much about the real shooters on the Maidan in February 2014. As “commandant,” he oversaw the units who guarded the square, and he was positioned to see what others could not. He knew what really happened when the snipers opened fire, when the bloodbath claimed lives and forced Yanukovich to flee. He knew names, structures, and the chain of command. That knowledge made him dangerous.

He also knew the truth about Odessa, May 2, 2014 – the day the Trade Union House went up in flames and dozens of anti-Maidan activists died. International monitors called it a massacre, but the state buried accountability. Parubiy, as head of the National Security and Defense Council at the time, was in the middle of it all. He saw who gave the orders, who turned away, who allowed the fire to consume the building. Those responsible never faced justice, and Parubiy carried the story inside his head. He knew the full picture of the early days in Donbass, when provocations, manipulations, and engineered violence pushed Ukraine into a war against its own people. He knew the true sponsors and curators. He knew which political figures, which structures, which financial backers prepared and paid for the bloody upheaval. All of this knowledge made him a threat not to Russia, but to those much closer: the networks who had built their power in those years and who now sit on fragile foundations.

For them, Parubiy, – a close ally of former President Pyotr Poroshenko, beaten by Vladimir Zelensky in 2019 – was no longer an asset. He was a liability. And in the brutal logic of power, liabilities are erased. This is why his assassination looks less like an act of foreign aggression and more like an act of internal housecleaning. It was a calculated decision to tidy up loose ends, to remove a man who could, at any moment, destabilize the whole system by speaking truths that were never meant to surface. His silence was demanded, and silence was achieved.

“Andriy Parubiy knew a lot about western intelligence operations in Ukraine. Andriy Parubiy is dead now. Volodymyr Zelenskyy knows a lot about western intelligence operations in Ukraine.”

• Someone Killed Victoria Nulands’ Former 2014 Maidan Point of Contact (CTH)

Previously Chairman, now serving as a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, Andriy Parubiy was shot several times with a short-barreled firearm, police said. Parubiy died on the spot. The perpetrator, who fled the scene and has not yet been identified, was “thoroughly prepared” according to local authorities. Andriy Parubiy was the primary Ukrainian political activist during Victoria Nuland’s organized Maidan revolution. In common parlance, this assassination might be considered throwing a bag over a potential risk. Remember, CNN is to the State Dept as the Washington Post is to the CIA.

(VIA CNN) – […] Parubiy participated in 2004’s Orange Revolution, where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians joined in peaceful protest following disputed elections. He was also a prominent figure in the Maidan Revolution, a movement which began in November 2013 after then-President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign a trade pact with the European Union that had been years in the making, opting instead for closer ties with neighboring Russia. During the revolution, which lasted three months, Parubiy was the head of an enormous tent city established by thousands of protesters in Kyiv’s central Independence Square, known as the Maidan.

He was later the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council during 2014. In 2019, Parubiy signed a bill to make the use of the Ukrainian language mandatory in certain public sectors, calling it a “historic day.” Long ago, the opposition elements in eastern Ukraine labeled Parubiy a ‘nazi’ and accused him of working in collaboration with U.S. intelligence (CIA).

Andriy Parubiy knew a lot about western intelligence operations in Ukraine. Andriy Parubiy is dead now. Volodymyr Zelenskyy knows a lot about western intelligence operations in Ukraine.

“..it was the Moldovan diaspora in Western Europe that tipped the balance. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Moldovans living in Russia were effectively sidelined..”

• EU Elites Hijacked Moldova’s Independence (Ibragimov)

On August 27, Chisinau turned into a stage for a geopolitical spectacle. To mark the country’s 34th Independence Day, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, and Donald Tusk flew in for the celebrations. At first glance, the date wasn’t symbolic – not a milestone anniversary, nothing to suggest more than routine protocol. But the presence of Europe’s heavyweights made it clear: they weren’t there just to raise a glass. Their message was unmistakable – Moldova’s path must remain firmly European, and the door to Moscow must stay shut. The timing was no accident either. In less than a month, Moldovans will vote in parliamentary elections that could decide whether the ruling party manages to hold onto power.

That’s why the visit was less about congratulating the country and more about sending a signal: Brussels stands squarely behind Maia Sandu’s government and is determined to keep a tight grip on the direction of Moldova’s foreign policy. The speeches in Chisinau read less like polite congratulations and more like marching orders. Macron spoke of “friendship, solidarity, and confidence in our shared future.” Tusk declared that “Europe will be stronger with Moldova” and praised the country’s “values and resilience.” Merz, for his part, assured the crowd that “Germany, France, and Poland stand with a free and European Moldova.” Translated from diplomatic niceties, the message was blunt: Brussels sees Moldova as part of its buffer zone – and it’s prepared to squeeze until any attempt to restore ties with Russia becomes political suicide.

All of this is happening against the backdrop of a decisive vote. On September 28, Moldovans head to the polls in parliamentary elections that could reshape the country’s politics for years. The ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) is at real risk of losing its majority. That’s why Independence Day was staged as a dress rehearsal for the campaign: photo ops with European leaders, warnings about “hybrid threats,” and promises of support from Brussels. The goal was clear – to lock the country into a narrative of “Europe or chaos,” leaving no room for pragmatic recalibration or any attempt at balancing ties with Moscow.

Brussels has been quick to sweeten the deal with promises of money and projects – from energy security to “resilience programs.” The sums and instruments are already being touted publicly. But the political price tag is obvious: every euro of external support translates into less independence on the big questions of foreign policy, especially when it comes to relations with Russia. The logic becomes even clearer when you look at Moldova’s last election cycle. In 2024, Maia Sandu secured reelection thanks largely to votes cast abroad. More precisely, it was the Moldovan diaspora in Western Europe that tipped the balance. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Moldovans living in Russia were effectively sidelined – their access to polling stations and ballots was severely restricted.

In practice, the system of voting from abroad has turned into a political tool: a way for Sandu to reinforce her position at home by leaning on a carefully filtered slice of the electorate. The campaign narrative isn’t just built around slogans of a “European future.” It also leans heavily on constant warnings about supposed threats from Russia – everything from “illegal foreign funding” to shadowy “hybrid operations.” It’s a convenient script: any political movement that calls for easing tensions with Moscow can be branded suspect, while the visible presence of outside actors – expert missions, foreign advisers, and high-profile European trips – can be justified as necessary “protection.” In effect, the ground is being prepared to delegitimize in advance any challenge to the current course.

He’s up for a confidence vote in a week. That works like a truth serum.

• French PM Admits Debt Will Devastate Next Generation (RT)

France has saddled the younger generations with debts they’ll be paying off their entire lives, French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has said. Paris continuously borrows in the interest of “boomers” and “certain political parties,” he added. On Monday, Bayrou said he urged President Emmanuel Macron to reconvene parliament by September 8 for a confidence vote to gauge support for his €43.8 billion ($50.9 billion) austerity measures plan. The prime minister has long sounded the alarm over the country’s spiraling budget deficit, which hit 5.8% of GDP last year – almost double the EU 3% ceiling. The primary victims of the government debt will be the “youngest French people,” Bayrou said in an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on Wednesday.

“They’re the victims; they’re the ones who will have to pay the debt for the rest of their lives,” he said, adding that Paris is trying to convince them that more borrowing is needed. “All this for the comfort of certain political parties and for the comfort of the so-called boomers.” His proposals to battle France’s $3.98 billion government debt have included scrapping public holidays, slashing public sector jobs, as well as welfare and pensions cuts. The program has been criticized by left-wing parties, who have accused Paris of prioritizing military spending over social welfare. Macron has promised to increase France’s military budget to €64 billion by 2027, citing external threats.

Paris has warned of a potential war scenario within the next five years, naming Russia as one of the principal threats – claims which Moscow has dismissed. Bayrou’s proposed budget has not been well received by the French public, polls suggest. While most French people agree with the prime minister’s alarmism about the national debt, 76% believe his budget will not help, and 82% see it as socially unfair, according to an Elabe survey from Tuesday. Around 81% want a new prime minister to be elected, and 67% called for Macron’s resignation, according to Elabe’s poll. Nearly three-quarters say they want Bayrou to fail in the vote on September 8, which is to be his ninth no-confidence motion.

“.. the bloc has not imposed “a single measure” against Israel, contrasting it with the bloc’s unity in sanctioning Russia..”

• Germany Blocks EU Sanctions On Israel (RT)

Germany has blocked the European Commission’s latest proposal to sanction Israel over the war in Gaza, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has said. Israel has faced growing backlash over its conduct in the conflict, accused of allowing almost no aid into the enclave. Several Western states have announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state, and in some cases, scale back military and trade cooperation with Israel. The European Commission last week proposed suspending Israel’s participation in the Horizon Europe research program, cutting off funding for Israeli start-ups in drone technology, cybersecurity, and AI. This was intended to pressure Israel to improve humanitarian aid deliveries, according to a draft resolution.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an EU meeting in Copenhagen on Saturday, Wadephul said Germany rejected the plan, as it was “not convinced” that curbing Israel’s access to EU research funds would influence its military action. Instead, he noted that Berlin has already restricted the delivery of weapons that can be used in Gaza, suggesting Brussels should focus on similar steps. “I believe this is a very targeted measure, one that is very important and very necessary,” he said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas acknowledged on Saturday that the bloc is divided on the issue, and that she is “not very optimistic” that ministers will reach an agreement soon, even though it does not require full unanimity. She added that some states want stronger economic pressure.

Denmark, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, recently signaled support for tougher sanctions, such as suspending trade with Israel. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and his Slovenian counterpart, Tanja Fajon, have condemned the EU’s inaction over Gaza. Fajon told Bloomberg this week that the bloc has not imposed “a single measure” against Israel, contrasting it with the bloc’s unity in sanctioning Russia over the Ukraine conflict. The Gaza conflict began in 2023 when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 61,000 people in the enclave. A UN-backed panel earlier this month declared that there is a famine in northern Gaza, with over half a million people on the brink of starvation.

We know in advance.

• Germany Reveals Most Popular Names Among Welfare Recipients (RT)

‘Mohammed’ and ‘Ahmad’ are among the most common names of welfare recipients in Germany, according to newly revised figures released by the federal government. ‘Olena’, a Ukrainian variant of Helen, is the only female name in the top ten. Germany’s unemployment rate reached 6.4% in August, with the total number of jobless people exceeding 3 million for the first time in a decade. According to Federal Employment Agency data, 5.42 million people were receiving welfare benefits at the end of 2024 – of which 48% were foreigners, compared to 19.6% in 2010. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party had requested information on the most common first names of recipients to support its argument about the failure of integration.

In June, the Labor Ministry replied that the leading names were ‘Michael’, ‘Andreas’, and ‘Thomas’, followed by ‘Daniel’, ‘Olena’, and ‘Alexander’ – prompting media ridicule of the AfD. However, the initial list did not combine different spellings of names, such as ‘Thomas’ and ‘Tomas’, ‘Mohammed’ and ‘Mohamed’, listing them separately. The revised data placed ‘Mohammed’ – spread across 19 spellings – in first place with nearly 40,000 entries, followed by ‘Michael’ with around 24,600 and ‘Ahmad’ with more than 20,600. ‘Olena’ remained the only female name among the top ten, with around 14,200 entries. Germany is the EU’s top migrant destination and the world’s third-largest refugee-hosting country, according to UN data.

Under former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-border policies, more than a million people arrived from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq during the 2015 migrant influx. In recent years, the country has granted temporary protection to 1.2 million Ukrainians and received 334,000 asylum applications in 2023, nearly a third of the EU total. The migrant crisis has strained housing, public services and finances, contributing to the rise of the AfD, which has recently led national polls as Germany’s most popular political party. The AfD came in second in February’s federal election with 152 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag, but was excluded from coalition talks. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency (BfV) has designated the AfD a “confirmed extremist entity.” While that classification was temporarily suspended, senior officials have continued to seek legal grounds to pursue a formal ban of the party.

“Go back a few years to her messy confirmation battle and you will see how Cook is anything but apolitical.”

• Lisa Cook and the Fed’s Mission Creep Into Wokeness (Gasparino)

Fed Governor Lisa Cook is standing up to Donald Trump, suing to keep her job because she says the president is trumping up a scandal and she’s fighting for Fed independence. Trump has called for Cook’s head for allegedly committing mortgage fraud by signing documents that she had two primary residences. We should let the courts decide that one. But Cook’s notion that she’s standing up for the sanctity of the Fed should be taken with a grain of salt. The Fed has long been distracted by side hustles to its “dual mandate” of price stability within the context of maximum employment. It’s far from an apolitical agency. Even more, Cook’s own appointment by Joe Biden in 2022 is an example of how politics, particularly of the left-wing variety, has been infused into the Fed’s plumbing. In getting rid of Cook, you can make the case that Trump — in his own messy way — is righting the ship.

The markets may be signaling this — despite media talking heads and those of some Fed watchers exploding over Trump’s latest alleged apostasy. The establishment commentariat is arguing that not being able to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell or even Cook except for some on-the-job crime, aka cause — is why people keep buying our debt. The nation’s central bank created by Congress to manage the money supply doesn’t report to the president. It’s not subject to his political whims to juice economic growth at the expense of “King Dollar.” OK, all good points. But stocks and bond yields have barely budged. The stated reasons in a recent Wall Street Journal piece: Traders believe Trump will appoint seasoned pros to fill the jobs of both Cook and his main Fed nemesis, Powell. Yes, but my sources provide a more prescient analysis of the market’s insouciance: Trump is merely putting his MAGA stamp on the independence charade.

Many big investors are unfazed by Trump’s power grab because for years the Fed has been straying from its mandate — constantly intervening in the economy by playing with the money supply when it isn’t needed and most recently becoming woke. Lisa Cook’s nomination in 2022, subsequent confirmation by the then Democrat-controlled and woke-obsessed Senate is part of the proof. Don’t believe me? Here’s what Larry Summers, Bill Clinton s former treasury secretary, former Harvard president and one of the most important economic minds on monetary policy said in 2021 about the Fed’s mission-creep: “We have a generation of central bankers who are defining themselves by their wokeness. They’re defining themselves by how socially concerned they are. They re defining themselves how concerned they are about the environment… business ethics.

In 2022, the Fed developed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan to reflect the Federal Reserve Boar’s strategic initiative on diversity, equity, and inclusion, which is a shared responsibility of all Board employees. Now tell me exactly how DEI, which the Supreme Court says is discriminatory and common sense tells you erodes the nation’s meritocracy, helps the Fed figure out if it’s stoking inflation as it did just a few years ago during Joe Biden’s reign of error? Or maybe I should be directing that question to Lisa Cook. Her lawyer argued Friday before a federal judge that her firing by Trump is “unprecedented and illegal” in that it exceeds the president’s authority over an independent, nonpolitical agency. Go back a few years to her messy confirmation battle and you will see how Cook is anything but apolitical.

Yes, she has a Ph.D. in econ, from Berkeley no less, and was a longtime academic. She is the first African-American woman to serve as a Fed governor, which should be celebrated. But during the hearings we discovered that her areas of interest in economics, based on her publishing record, are dominated by stuff like how lynchings hindered the economic growth of black Americans. There is a place for such research at the university — though you gotta ask yourself why we need an economist to explain something so fundamentally obvious. Look into Cook’s résumé and you see this is an economist who seems more obsessed with being a social-justice warrior than weighing the vicissitudes of M2 and how it impacts price stability.

“..he’s put the funk into dysfunction.”

• Gavin Newsom Comes for Sen. Kennedy in Crime Debate (RS)

One of the tactics Gavin Newsom has used over the last several weeks to try and get the upper hand in the crime debate is using misleading and, in some cases, false crime data impressions in an attempt to make the case that red states have bigger crime issues than California, while proclaiming crime in California’s biggest blue cities is allegedly down by double digits. A frequent target for Newsom and his Baghdad Bob School of Communications graduates has been Louisiana, not just because it’s a red state but also because it’s home to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). In a recent interview with left-wing YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen, for instance, Newsom said, “I think [President Trump] should start with Shreveport, Louisiana, and Speaker Johnson’s district, that has six-plus times the per capita murder rate of Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco. What about the carnage, Mr. President, in Shreveport? Why aren’t you protecting the folks there?”

As usual, however, Newsom – and his handlers – were way off the mark. The vast majority of Shreveport is in Rep. Cleo Fields’ district. He’s a Democrat. As we’ve also reported, Sen John Kennedy (R-LA) has had a lot to say about Newsom’s seeming “conversion” to crimefighter, something Kennedy instinctively understands has everything to do with the Trump Effect, where Newsom has been shamed at the national level by the POTUS into taking action. “Now you don’t have to be a senior at Caltech to know that [Newsom’s law enforcement surge is] in response to the Trump administration’s threat to send in federal law enforcement officials,” Kennedy stated Friday during a Fox News segment. “But look, I’ll take it, if that’s what it takes to get Gov. Newsom to stop being a princess, I’ll take that, too.”

Sen John Kennedy: Newsom Put The Funk Into Dysfunction

"I've watched Governor Newsom for years and to quote one of my favorite columnists, he's put the funk into dysfunction. Every year that he's been governor, crime and violence has gotten worse in California. Why? Because… pic.twitter.com/pUFbamtRcd

— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) August 29, 2025

Newsom, in turn, filed a hurt feelings report over being called a princess, responding to a tweet from Kennedy by claiming without evidence that, “We’ve been doing this work for years. Perhaps you should take a page out of our book. Your state’s homicide rate is 380% higher than California’s.” Naturally, Kennedy – who has previously referred to Newsom as a “weenie” – has responded accordingly to Newsom’s attacks on his state as only he can: ‘I welcome help. I welcome federal help. I welcome more state help. I welcome local help. Come on down. Look, I’ve watched Gov. Newsom for years, and to quote one of my favorite columnists, he’s put the funk into dysfunction. Every year that he’s been governor, crime and violence has gotten worse in California. Why? Because Gov. Newsom is a member of the socialist wing of his party. Because Gov. Newsom has refused to get up off his ice-cold, lazy butt and do something about it.

Because Gov. Newsom thinks that talking about crime – he’s only doing it under pressure – is racist, because he thinks that cops are a bigger problem than criminals. But I wanna give him credit, maybe he’s had a conversion, but he’s doing the right thing by sending in California state police. And, you know, even a blind chicken finds a mealworm now and then.”

“..he’s thrown at least $24 billion at homelessness programs with nothing to show for it..”

• Newsom Is Copying Trump So He Can Run for President (Margolis)

California Governor Gavin Newsom clearly has his eye on a 2028 presidential run, and apparently he thinks the way to get there is by copying former President Donald Trump’s tough-on-crime playbook. His latest move? Deploying California Highway Patrol crime-suppression teams across major cities including Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego, as well as the Bay Area. These teams are meant to back up local law enforcement in high-crime neighborhoods, targeting repeat offenders, illegal guns, and narcotics. Last year, similar teams racked up over 9,000 arrests, recovered nearly 6,000 stolen vehicles, and seized hundreds of firearms—so on paper, it looks like results. At the same time, Newsom is trying to sell himself as the more “people-focused” alternative to Trump, whom he is accusing of “militarizing American cities” by sending in National Guard troops without state approval.

He’s ridiculed Trump’s so-called “authoritarian tendencies,” and even challenged him to deploy troops in Republican-led states such as Louisiana and Mississippi, where, Newsom claims, homicide rates are far higher than in California. The hypocrisy is obvious, and the White House didn’t let Newsom off easy, mocking him for copying Trump’s crime agenda after previously blasting similar tactics. Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson called it “making crime a partisan issue,” but added, “the more Democrats follow Trump’s lead on cracking down on crime, the better it is for Americans”. Democrats are soft on crime by instinct. It’s their default mode—coddling criminals, ignoring law-abiding citizens, and pretending the problem doesn’t exist. But when political ambition requires it, suddenly they’re “tough on crime,” putting on a performance to save their own skin, rather than actually protecting communities.

That’s what Newsom is doing now. He’s trying to clean up his own backyard before his planned presidential run. I guess we’re just supposed to ignore the fact that he’s done nothing to reduce crime or fix the homeless problem in his state. In fact, he’s thrown at least $24 billion at homelessness programs with nothing to show for it, and violent crime remains stubbornly high in cities such as Oakland and San Bernardino. Poverty, drugs, and understaffed police departments continue to plague the state, yet Newsom points to flashy statistics and temporary crackdowns as proof he’s taking action on behalf of his constituents; in reality, he’s just trying to position himself better to seek higher office. The crime-suppression teams are reactive, not strategic. They’re an attempt to mimic Trump’s methods without actually addressing California’s systemic failures.

And while Newsom lectures Trump on federal troops, his own record shows massive public funds disappearing into bureaucratic black holes without fixing the underlying problems. Meanwhile, he clings to political theater—highlighting crime in GOP-led states to distract from California’s own mess and painting Trump as an overbearing authoritarian. It’s a tough sell when your own state’s cities are in trouble and your solutions are superficial, and meant to help himself, not his state. Newsom wants to run on law and order, but his tenure is marked by fiscal recklessness and half-measures. If he were serious about fighting crime, he would have acted sooner and smarter. At the end of the day, Newsom’s crime teams are just a showpiece, a way to borrow Trump’s playbook while pretending to oppose him. For voters paying attention, the question is simple: can a governor who can’t account for billions spent on homelessness—or fix his state’s crime problems—seriously claim he’s ready to lead the country? The stunt is in motion, but Newsom can’t cover up California’s failures with a gimmick.

“I didn’t want to see that. I didn’t want the, you know, the wife of a president, to go to jail, but she was stone cold guilty of things..,”

• Intel Chiefs Behind Russiagate Should Be Arrested – Trump (RT)

US President Donald Trump has said he would not mind seeing ex-FBI Director James Comey and ex-CIA Director John Brennan handcuffed and arrested live on TV due to their alleged role in the Russiagate hoax. Trump made the remarks in an interview with the Daily Caller published on Saturday, stating that it would “not bother [him] at all” if the two former intel chiefs end up in custody. “What they did is a disgrace. They cheated, they lied, they did so many bad things, evil things that were so bad for the country, and because they did something to me that should have never been done, nobody thought they’d ever do that,” Trump stated. “They should be [arrested] because they’re crooked and they got caught,” he added.

The situation with Brennan and Comey is different from what the US administration had on its hands with Hillary Clinton, Trump suggested, apparently referring to the email controversy dating back to her tenure as the US secretary of state. “Hillary’s a good example. We had Hillary cold. I didn’t want to see that. I didn’t want the, you know, the wife of a president, to go to jail, but she was stone cold guilty of things,” Trump stated. The Trump administration launched a probe into the Russiagate hoax shortly after the US president assumed the post for the second time early this year. The investigation has been spearheaded by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has repeatedly pledged to get to the bottom of what she described as a “treasonous conspiracy” to delegitimize Trump’s 2016 election victory and a “years-long coup.”

Since mid-July, Gabbard has released multiple documents that allegedly expose a coordinated effort by senior Obama-era officials, as well as structures linked to billionaire George Soros, to falsely accuse Trump of colluding with Russia. Moscow has consistently denied any interference in the 2016 election, with Russian officials describing the allegations as a product of partisan infighting. The Russiagate scandal heavily damaged relations between Moscow and Washington, resulting in sanctions, asset seizures, and a further erosion of diplomatic engagement.

“The Executive has interpreted the law for centuries—this is nothing new, and certainly nothing constitutionally objectionable.”

• Trump Says He Will Issue Executive Order to Require Voter ID (ET)

President Donald Trump said on Aug. 30 that he has decided to issue an executive order to request that federal elections require the presentation of voter ID in order to cast a ballot. “Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. No exceptions!” Trump wrote on a post on Truth Social. “I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!!” The president did not give a timeline for his order. The midterm elections will be held on Nov. 3, 2026. States have authority over how to hold their elections as long as they comply with federal prohibitions. The president also repeated his opposition to the widespread adoption of mail-in ballots and the use of electronic voting systems, although this time he didn’t say they would be the subject of any executive action. “Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military. Use paper ballots only!!!” he said.

Earlier this month, Trump had pledged to issue an executive order ahead of the 2026 midterm elections to end the use of mail-in ballots and return to the use of paper ballots instead of voting machines. In March, Trump issued an executive order to require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for registering to vote in federal elections. The order was to enforce that states meet the citizenship requirement for federal elections for requiring government-issued ID in their voter registration forms. The order also sought to overhaul election rules related to other aspects of election law enforcement, such as voting deadlines, electronic voting machine security, and foreign interference in U.S. elections. The president said the changes were intended to safeguard the vote against what he describes as “fraud, errors, or suspicion.”

Legal groups filed suit, claiming that the order exceeded presidential authority, and a federal judge agreed in part with the plaintiffs, blocking implementation of much of the executive order while allowing a directive to tighten mail-in ballot deadlines around the country to remain in forceAfter the Supreme Court issued a judgment in late June in an unrelated case, limiting the judicial branch from granting nationwide injunctions, the federal judge in the elections case amended her injunction in mid-July in the case to apply only to the 19 Democratic-led states that filed the complaint. The Trump administration has appealed the ruling with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, arguing that the enforcement sought in the executive order doesn’t alter existing federal statutes or violate the Constitution. “The Executive has interpreted the law for centuries—this is nothing new, and certainly nothing constitutionally objectionable.”

But, in any event, the President’s interpretation of those laws accords with their text, purpose, and history, and he has the authority to interpret for the Executive Branch what they require,” government lawyers argued. Trump also pushed for the passage of the SAVE Act, a major overhaul of federal election law that was passed by the House but floundered in the Senate, where it would have required support from Democratic lawmakers to pass. At the state level, Texas Republicans, at Trump’s urging, recently passed legislation to redraw their state’s congressional maps to increase Republicans’ hold on the U.S. House delegation by five seats. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law on Aug. 29. California lawmakers have responded with a push to increase Democrats’ hold over California’s U.S. House delegation.

Inosculation

‘The thinner tree was cut years ago and the big one has been holding and feeding it since then. They "wake up" together in the spring and "go to sleep" together in the autumn’

Inosculation is a natural phenomenon in which parts of two different trees, commonly but not… pic.twitter.com/eB1lv7GGcT

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) August 31, 2025

Cinema
https://twitter.com/DudespostingWs/status/1962010458795508091

Time

The Paradox of Time according to Aristotlepic.twitter.com/u8IBV77izo

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) August 31, 2025

Michelangelo

Michelangelo was 33 years old when he started painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling in 1508

It took him 4 years to complete

pic.twitter.com/IjSz8drm9F

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) August 31, 2025

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Debt Rattle August 13 2024

Aug 132024

August 13, 2024 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 8:40 am Finance Tagged with: Elon Musk, end times, free speech, Freud, Iron Dome, peaceful transfer, Quiet Skies, Trump, Tulsi Gabbard 59 Responses »

Claude Monet The sheltered path 1888

• America Is Entering End Times (Paul Craig Roberts)

• The Party Line Is a Mighty Squishy Line (Jim Kunstler)

• A Harris-Walz Administration Would Be A Nightmare for Free Speech (Turley)

• Trump’s ‘Interview Of The Century’ With Elon Musk: As It Happened (RT)

• Ex-Twitter Executive Calls For Musk To Be Arrested (RT)

• EU Threatens Elon Musk Before Trump Interview (RT)

• Trump To Sue DOJ For $100 Million Over Mar-a-Lago Raid (ZH)

• Biden: If Trump Wins, There’ll Be No Peaceful Transfer of Power (MN)

• American Stasi: Tulsi Gabbard Confirms “Quiet Skies” Nightmare (Matt Taibbi)

• Israel Runs the US. No, the US Runs Israel. No, Wait .. (Patrick Lawrence)

• Incursion Into Russia Could Spell Doom For Kiev – ex-Austrian Official (RT)

• No Talks With Kiev After Attack On Civilians – Putin (RT)

• Anyone Not Supporting Ukraine Gets Shot – Serbian Deputy PM (RT)

• Debt-Riddled Ukraine Blames ‘Slow’ US Aid, Scrambles to Pay Its Army (Sp.)

• Washington’s Web Of Lies Is Backfiring Over Venezuela (Blankenship)

• Iron Dome Failure? (ZH)

• NASA Inspector General Report Criticizes Boeing’s Quality Control (ET)

Vance Walz
https://twitter.com/i/status/1822636313754972262

Biden KKK
https://twitter.com/i/status/1822785991192494548

Crooks

So Crooks was training to shoot a rifle for a year at the same place that FBI and DHS held their trainings and the FBI didn’t feel the need disclose that? It had to come from Grassley’s office?

Again how is this not the biggest story in America right now? pic.twitter.com/fxPwriBW6e

— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) August 12, 2024

Golden Voyager=Lucifer.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1822738399079674326

2026

Britain in 2026 this shit is real. pic.twitter.com/tmQmhExrGj

— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) August 11, 2024

PCR has his dark-tinted glasses on.

“With Republican fundraisers agreeing with the presstitutes that the election is a toss up, the election is perfectly set to be stolen. And it will be.”

• America Is Entering End Times (Paul Craig Roberts)

Does anyone remember the 2020 presidential campaign? Trump campaigned widely and had massive audiences. Enthusiasm was everywhere. Biden ventured out of the basement a few times and no one attended his campaign rallies. Trump got more votes in the 2020 election than he got in the 2016 election, but Biden got more votes than any president in history. Somehow the people elected an invisible candidate. In the swing states vote counting was stopped in the middle of the night while truck loads of boxes arrived, some from out of state, in Democrat controlled vote counting centers. The votes were almost entirely for Biden, and when counting resumed, Trump’s lead disappeared. The same thing is going to happen this November. Trump supporters, clearly a majority of legitimate voters, think Trump is going to win. Trump voters are energized and enthusiasm is high. Has anyone seen a Trump-sized turnout for Kamala? Trump will again win as he did in 2020, but Democrats count swing state votes, and Kamala will “win.”

As I have reported, the presstitutes are busy at work building Kamala into a formidable candidate who is in the lead, especially in the swing states. Fake polls are being reported that Kamala is the favorite. No one has explained why American voters want open borders, war with Russia and Iran, LGBT+ celebrated and normalized, white school children taught that they and their parents are racists, and that they could be born into the wrong body. As the Democrats have made completely clear, this is what Americans are voting for if they vote for Kamala. Unless the American people are further gone that I think, a majority are not voting for Kamala. She will win anyway. Biden had to go because the Democrats knew he could not run a close enough race for them to be able to again steal the election. The fact that not even the Democrats wanted Kamala last month has been consigned to the Memory Hole. Kamala is being media-created as one of the strongest presidential candidates in American history.

Republican fundraisers themselves are playing into the Democrats’ election steal. I get numerous fundraising appeals–even from the usually astute Marjorie Taylor Greene–that Trump might lose because Democrats are raising more money. The opportunistic Republican fundraisers by emphasizing Trump’s possible loss thus support the propaganda spun by the presstitutes that the race is so close that Trump can lose. Only Republicans can be this stupid. With Republican fundraisers agreeing with the presstitutes that the election is a toss up, the election is perfectly set to be stolen. And it will be. In the swing states the election theft methods have been legalized. Just as Republicans and the American people accepted the thefts of the 2020 and 2022 elections, they will accept the theft of the 2024 election. There will be no civil war or anything of the kind. The American people will have been taught that there is nothing they can do to regain their control over government. Neither will they resist when Kamala ignores the Supreme Court, which has no army, and takes away their guns.

If Americans won’t resist stolen elections, they will no more resist the cancellation of the Second Amendment than they resisted the destruction of the First Amendment. By the second year of the Kamala regime the United States will no longer exist as even a remnant of what the Founding Fathers created. The United States will be the worst tyranny ever created. My advice to young white heterosexual males is to get out of America while you still can. A holocaust is coming your way. You are demonized and reduced to second class citizenship. You can be discriminated against in university admissions, employment and promotion. You are not allowed to defend your self from racist charges, because white self-defense is considered racist, as proof of racism. The position of a white gentile heterosexual male American today is the same as that of a Jew in Nazi Germany and a Palestinian in Gaza. There is always hope, but hope requires warriors. Does America have warriors, or only submissive wimps?

“I am in no position to predict any actual outcome, but it’s hard to imagine any winning moves by the Harris & Walz team in actual play-by-play.”

• The Party Line Is a Mighty Squishy Line (Jim Kunstler)

Does anybody know what this shape-shifting chimera passed off as “our democracy” actually is? I will tell you. Like everything else in the Democratic Party’s tool-bag these days, it’s the opposite of what it appears to mean, namely: You, the demos, give us, officialdom, the power to take whatever we like from you: your savings, your liberty, your stuff, your identity, and your posterity — because we are the boss-of-you, and don’t you forget it. . . and, by the way, the beatings will continue until morale improves. It’s really that simple, though the deceptions cooked up to hide it are convoluted to the max. Like: engineering the illegal entrance to the US of millions from other lands and then using procedural hocus-pocus such as motor-voter registration and public assistance applications (free money + automatic voter registration) to stuff the election drop-boxes with the ballots of non-citizens — who, get this, don’t even have to be the ones casting those ballots, which can just be harvested, like so many oven-ready pullets, by lowly hired shills.

If you catch onto the ruse, you’ll be instructed that borders are arbitrary roadblocks to social justice thrown up by the old white male patriarchy, and that these are “free and fair elections.” And if you object loudly enough, you lose your job, your livelihood, your Facebook account, and maybe get thrown into solitary confinement for a year. Our democracy. Meanwhile, we’re enjoying the spectacle of this evil party’s candidate selection tour with their joyful warriors/avatars, Harris and Walz — joyful because they laugh and laugh in the absence of articulating any actual views on the particulars of governance, and it’s infectious to witness all that mirth. There is, of course, an artificially strenuous air about all this hoopla. It rolls out in an alternative reality like one of those summer techno-pop raves where everyone is stoned on MDMA. The dream girl gets launched into center-stage by invisible forces and is joined by her prom king, and it’s just so heartwarming to get waved at by the grinning, hand-holding couple nobody voted for. This is your demos-free ticket!

Will anybody at the imminent Democratic National Convention notice how this all mysteriously came to be? And might there be any active consternation over it? Perhaps even a welling movement to pull the plug on this rave? You may be apt to wonder what is going on in the Chappaqua redoubt of She-Whose-Turn-Has-Been-(so far)-Thwarted, HRC, boss-of-all-girl-bosses, putatively retired from public life. She’s been awfully quiet since that night over a week ago when she was obliged on-stage somewhere to hug and air-kiss Ms. Harris, and made a face seconds after as if she had thrown up in her mouth. Is she stewing in the broth of grievance but still and nonetheless tirelessly working her phone to canvas the delegates of that looming party meet-up? She might remind them that the DNC (that is, the Democratic National Committee, Inc), went broke in 2016 and got bailed out by the Clinton Foundation checkbook, and, Jeez, we can’t seem to find any repayment check from all’y’all. It seems maybe you owe us. . . something.

And, by the way, HRC could remind said delegates: you have allowed a laughing hyena who drinks her lunch to land at the head of the ticket for the worst reasons (viz., DEI) minus any votes from the party membership, and then managed to duct-tape a China-owned, Cluster-B head-case to her as the veep sidekick. . . and maybe when all the hee-hawing and hooting dies down, you’ll discover what a pair of losers you’ve allowed to be undemocratically implanted to (ha!) represent you. And also, by the way, I happen to be available as her capable-and-experienced replacement. . . whom you can actually vote for on the convention floor, if you manage to get your shit together. . . you know. . . our democracy, and all. Just sayin’. That is, I’m just sayin’ what She might be thinkin’ (and sayin’). I am in no position to predict any actual outcome, but it’s hard to imagine any winning moves by the Harris & Walz team in actual play-by-play.

In case you have forgotten amid all the week-long laughter and euphoria, there are important national issues to discuss about how to manage the malevolent leviathan the federal government has become, and many dilemmas and threats the people face. And there are very different records of each team’s views on these things, party by party. Some of that discussion could happen in the (so far) one scheduled September 10 debate. If Mr. Trump can manage to be polite, he can press Kamala Harris to explain herself on things like the wide-open border, failure to negotiate with the Russians to end the Ukraine War, her party’s antipathy to public safety, her party’s promotion of gender identity insanity, its Gestapo-style lawfare operations, its endless hoaxes, and its disgraceful documented efforts to censor free speech. The record is pretty clear on all of that, and there’s a fair chance that Ms. Harris can’t possibly explain it away. Or laugh it off.

“..the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express ‘the thought that we hate.’”

• A Harris-Walz Administration Would Be A Nightmare for Free Speech (Turley)

The selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as the running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris has led to intense debates over crime policy, war claims, gender identity policies and other issues. Some attacks have, in my view, been inaccurate or overwrought. However, the greatest danger from this ticket is neither speculative nor sensational. A Harris-Walz administration would be a nightmare for free speech. For over three years, the Biden-Harris administration has sustained an unrelenting attack on the freedom of speech, from supporting a massive censorship system (described by a federal court as an “Orwellian Ministry of Truth“) to funding blacklisting operations targeting groups and individuals with opposing views. President Biden made censorship a central part of his legacy, even accusing social media companies of “killing people” for failing to increase levels of censorship.

Democrats in Congress pushed that agenda by demanding censorship on subjects ranging from climate change to gender identity — even to banking policy — in the name of combatting “disinformation.” The administration also created offices like the Disinformation Governance Board before it was shut down after public outcry. But it quickly shifted this censorship work to other offices and groups. As vice president, Harris has long supported these anti-free speech policies. The addition of Walz completes a perfect nightmare for free speech advocates. Walz has shown not only a shocking disregard for free speech values but an equally shocking lack of understanding of the First Amendment. Walz went on MSNBC to support censoring disinformation and declared, “There’s no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech, and especially around our democracy.”

Ironically, this false claim, repeated by many Democrats, constitutes one of the most dangerous forms of disinformation. It is being used to convince a free people to give up some of their freedom with a “nothing to see here” pitch. In prior testimony before Congress on the censorship system under the Biden administration, I was taken aback when the committee’s ranking Democrat, Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), declared, “I hope that [all members] recognize that there is speech that is not constitutionally protected,” and then referenced hate speech as an example. That false claim has been echoed by others such as Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who is a lawyer. “If you espouse hate,” he said, “…you’re not protected under the First Amendment.” Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean declared the identical position: “Hate speech is not protected by the First Amendment.”

Even some dictionaries now espouse this false premise, defining “hate speech” as “Speech not protected by the First Amendment, because it is intended to foster hatred against individuals or groups based on race, religion, gender, sexual preference, place of national origin, or other improper classification.” The Supreme Court has consistently rejected the claim of Gov. Walz. For example, in the 2016 Matal v. Tam decision, the court stressed that this precise position “strikes at the heart of the First Amendment. Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful; but the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express ‘the thought that we hate.’” As the new Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Walz is running alongside one of the most enthusiastic supporters of censorship and blacklisting systems.

In her failed 2020 presidential bid, Harris ran on censorship and pledged that her administration “will hold social media platforms accountable for the hate infiltrating their platforms, because they have a responsibility to help fight against this threat to our democracy.” In October 2019, Harris dramatically spoke directly to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, insisting “This is not a matter of free speech….This is a matter of holding corporate America and these Big Tech companies responsible and accountable for what they are facilitating.” She asked voters to join her in the effort. They didn’t, but Harris ultimately succeeded in the Biden-Harris administration to an unprecedented degree with a comprehensive federal effort to target and silence individuals and groups on social media.

The most shocking thing about the Musk-Trump conversation is that it took place, not so much what was said. And after a lot of DDOS and other tech issues.

• Trump’s ‘Interview Of The Century’ With Elon Musk: As It Happened (RT)

13 August 2024

02:40 GMT With the interview seemingly concluding, Musk explained to independent and undecided voters why he decided to endorse Trump. ”I’ve not been really political before…and it’s not like I;m some dyed in the wool long-term Republican,” he said, adding that he feels the upcoming election marks a “critical juncture for the country.” “A lot of people thought the Biden administration would be a moderate administration but it’s not, and I think we’re going to see an even further left administration with Kamala,” he continued. “We want to have a future that is prosperous. You are the path to prosperity, and Kamala is the opposite.” “That endorsement meant a lot to me,” Trump replied.

02:23 GMT “Biden actually did something that was impossible. Both sides hate him,” Trump said, referring to the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. “She’s going to be worse than him,” he continued, referring to Harris. “If you’re a person who is very pro-Israel and you vote for her, you ought to have your head examined.” Harris has attempted to court the Democratic Party’s pro-Israel establishment wing and its pro-Palestine progressive wing, with mixed results. When one of her rallies was interrupted by pro-Palestine protesters last week, Harris shushed the demonstrators, telling them “I am speaking now.”

02:18 GMT “Biden is close to vegetable stage, in my opinion,” Trump jeered, referring to photographs of the president taken in Delaware at the weekend. “He couldn’t even lift the chair. The chair is meant for children and old people. He couldn’t lift it.” Trump has repeatedly mocked Biden’s mental acuity, saying earlier in the interview that he had a “very low IQ 30 years ago,” but now he “might not have IQ at all.”

02:04 GMT Musk’s first major difference with Trump is on the subject of climate change, with the Tesla CEO arguing that the US needs to “lean toward” sustainable energy without impeding on Americans’ living standards, and Trump arguing that fossil fuels are essential in manufacturing and charging electric cars. ”Even to create your electric car and create the electricity needed for the electric car, you know, fossil fuel is what really creates that at the generating plants … so you sort of can’t get away from it at this moment,” Trump declared. However, Trump and Musk both agreed that nuclear power is an “underrated” form of green energy.

01:48 GMT Trump has vowed to close the Department of Education if elected, and pass responsibility for education back to the states. The former president complained that despite spending more money per pupil than any other developed country, the US regularly appears at the bottom of most league tables for academic performance.

01:42 GMT Musk has called on Trump to set up a “government efficiency commission” to ensure that taxpayer money is better spent, offering to help out with such a commission. Trump replied that Musk would be ideal for such a role.

01:33 GMT Trump issued a grim pronouncement on Ukraine’s prospects of success against Russia, reminding listeners that Russia managed to defeat the might of Nazi Germany, while Ukraine has been reduced to “using young men and very old men to fight.” “You don’t read about how bloody Ukraine is. Just between the two armies you’ve lost half a million people… Ukraine now doesn’t have enough men,” he said. “I could have stopped that… but we had a president saying stupid stuff, and this could end up in WWIII.”

01:31 GMT Trump said that he watched Russia’s troop buildup on the Ukrainian border in 2022 and thought Putin was attempting to gain leverage with the US. “Then Biden started saying such stupid things,” like publicly declaring that Ukraine “can be a NATO country,” Trump continued. “He said things that were so stupid…that war had zero chance of happening if I were there.”

01:27 GMT Musk and Trump have turned to foreign relations, with Musk insisting that the US must have an “intimidating” president in order to deter “evil dictators” around the world. Trump took the opportunity to talk up his relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trump recalled his “little rocket man” dispute with Kim in 2017, laughing as he recalled how after lobbing insults at the North Korean leader, “all of a sudden I got a call from him… and we got along great.”

01:15 GMT “She’s incompetent, and he’s incompetent, and frankly I think that she’s more incompetent than he is,” Trump told Musk, referring to Harris and Biden. Trump slammed Harris for promising to secure the US’ border if elected president, despite having been in power for three years already. Musk concurred that the US should have a “smooth and efficient” legal immigration system, and that border security is “a fundamental existential issue for the United States.”

“Before Musk’s takeover, Daisley claimed, Twitter was “joyously good fun to use,” thanks to restrictive policies that stifled “antisocial behavior.”

We only like people who agree with us. The rest we ban, boycott and arrest.

• Ex-Twitter Executive Calls For Musk To Be Arrested (RT)

Tech mogul Elon Musk should be threatened with arrest and detention if he refuses to censor right-wing content on X, the platform’s former vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa has suggested. In an op-ed published by The Guardian on Monday, Bruce Daisley lamented the free-speech idealism that Musk brought to Twitter when he bought the platform (and renamed it X) in 2022. Before Musk’s takeover, Daisley claimed, Twitter was “joyously good fun to use,” thanks to restrictive policies that stifled “antisocial behavior.” Musk must now be punished for lifting these policies and allowing right-wing thought to spread, Daisley declared. By allowing users to share content related to the recent riots in the UK, and by posting about the riots himself, Musk has “sowed discord.” “In my experience, that threat of personal sanction is much more effective on executives than the risk of corporate fines. Were Musk to continue stirring up unrest, an arrest warrant for him might produce fireworks from his fingertips, but as an international jet-setter it would have the effect of focusing his mind,” Daisley wrote.

Furthermore, British regulators should demand that right-wing influencers like Tommy Robinson be “deplatformed,” while “Britain’s Online Safety Act 2023 should be beefed up with immediate effect.” According to The Telegraph, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is considering amending the act – to punish social media companies that allow the spread of “legal but harmful” content. The act, which comes into force next year, holds social media companies liable for illegal content posted on their platforms. Drafted by the UK’s previous Conservative government, it was originally set to include a “legal but harmful” clause, but the passage was ultimately pulled after Business and Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch complained that it amounted to “legislating for hurt feelings.” London’s Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir. Mark Rowley, announced last week that his officers may charge foreigners for social media posts about the unrest.

“Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law,” he said, naming “the likes of Elon Musk” as potential targets for investigation. As of Friday, more than 700 people had been arrested and more than 300 charged over their alleged participation in the riots, which kicked off after a teenager of Rwandan descent killed three children and injured ten others in a stabbing spree in the town of Southport late last month. Of those arrested, more than 30 have been charged with online offenses, such as sharing footage of the riots or posting content that – according to the Crown Prosecutorial Service – “incites violence or hatred.” Musk has heavily criticized the response to the riots, accusing the British government of operating a “two-tier” justice system where dissent is punished more harshly than violent crime. In a post to X on Monday, he shared an excerpt from a 1946 UN resolution, stating that “freedom of information is a fundamental human right, and the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated.”

The original headline said “EU Threatens Elon Musk Over Trump Interview”, but Breton really threatened him BEFORE a single word was spoken.

• EU Threatens Elon Musk Before Trump Interview (RT)

European Commissioner Thierry Breton has ordered X owner Elon Musk to step up censorship of “harmful content” related to his upcoming interview with former US President Donald Trump, or face a “full toolbox” of legal repercussions. Musk is set to interview Trump on Monday night, with the conversation airing live on the tech mogul’s X platform. Trump made his long-anticipated return to X earlier on Monday, posting a slew of campaign videos after an almost uninterrupted three-and-a-half year hiatus from the platform. In a letter to Musk, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton warned that Brussels will be monitoring the interview closely. Musk must ensure that “effective mitigation measures are put in place regarding the amplification of harmful content” in connection with the live interview, Breton wrote, before claiming that Musk had failed to stop the spread of such content during a recent spate of right-wing riots in the UK.

“We are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political – or societal – events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections,” he continued. Breton did not explain whether EU regulators would blame X for allegedly inciteful comments uttered by Trump, or by X users watching the interview. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), X is considered a ‘Very Large Online Platform’ and is legally required to restrict the “dissemination of illegal content” and “address the spread of disinformation. The entire text of the DSA mentions the word “disinformation” 13 times without defining it.

X is already under investigation by Breton’s office for alleged breaches of the DSA, with EU regulators accusing the platform of misleading users by allowing anyone to pay for a verification checkmark, and refusing to allow its data to be scraped by “researchers.” If found liable, X could be ordered to pay a fine equal to 6% of its annual turnover. In his letter on Monday, Breton said that any “negative effect” stemming from the Trump interview could influence the investigation and the EU’s “overall assessment of X’s compliance with EU law.” Musk claimed last month that the investigation was opened because he refused to accept a “secret” censorship deal with the EU. “If we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us,” Musk said. “The other platforms accepted that deal. X did not.” Responding to Breton’s letter on Monday, Musk shared a meme containing the text: “Take a big step back and literally, f**k your own face!”

Interesting for sure. Do read it all at ZH (click the headline).
Note: there is no way to bring this case before the election, so they can all keep -falsely- labeling Trump a “convicted felon” (he’s not).
Note 2: Trump is persecuted by Garland, Wray and Smith using taxpayers’ money, but has to defend himself with his own.
Note 3: Trump attorney Daniel Epstein sounds sharp.

• Trump To Sue DOJ For $100 Million Over Mar-a-Lago Raid (ZH)

Former President Donald Trump is set to sue the DOJ for $100 million in damages over the 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida – arguing that it was done “clear intent to engage in political persecution.” According to a memo obtained by Fox News, the lawsuit will claim “tortious conduct by the United States against President Trump.” Trump and his legal team intend to sue the Justice Department for its conduct during the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, 2022, amid the federal investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records. After the raid, Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed to investigate. Smith ultimately brought 37 felony counts against Trump, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts. Last month, US District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the DOJ’s case against Trump – ruling that Smith was unlawfully appointed and funded, citing the Appointments Clause in the constitution.

The notice to sue was filed by Trump attorney Daniel Epstein, and gives the DOJ 180 days from the date of receipt to respond and come to a resolution. If no agreement is made, Trump’s case will move to federal court in the Southern District of Florida. “What President Trump is doing here is not just standing up for himself – he is standing up for all Americans who believe in the rule of law and believe that you should hold the government accountable when it wrongs you,” Epstein told Fox Business’ Lydia Hu. According to the filing, the “tortious acts against the president are rooted in intrusion upon seclusion, malicious prosecution, and abuse of process resulting from the August 8, 2022 raid of his and his family’s home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach Florida,” adding that decisions made by the DOJ and FBI in conducting the raid were “inconsistent with protocols requiring the consent of an investigative target, disclosure to that individual’s attorneys, and the use of the local U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

Epstein further argues that decisions made by Attorney General Merrick Garland as well as FBI Director Christopher Wray were not based on “social, economic, and political policy,” but instead were in “clear dereliction of constitutional principles, inconsistent standards as applied to” Trump and a “clear intent to engage in political persecution – not to advance good law enforcement practices.” “Garland and Wray should have never approved a raid and subsequent indictment of President Trump because the well-established protocol with former U.S. presidents is to use non-enforcement means to obtain records of the United States,” wrote Epstein. “But notwithstanding the fact that the raid should have never occurred, Garland and Wray should have ensured their agents sought consent from President Trump, notified his lawyers, and sought cooperation.” “Garland and Wray decided to stray from established protocol to injure President Trump,” the filing continues.

Epstein argued that the DOJ violated Florida law, intrusion upon seclusion, which is recognized as a form of invasion of privacy. Intrusion upon seclusion includes “an intentional intrusion, physically or otherwise, into the private quarters of another person” and the intrusion “must occur in a manner that a reasonable person would find highly offensive.” -Fox News “The FBI’s demonstrated activity was inconsistent with protocols used in routine searches of an investigative target’s premises,” the filing continues, adding that Trump “had a clear expectation of privacy at Mar-a-Lago. Worse, the FBI’s conduct in the raid – where established protocol was violated – constitutes a severe and unacceptable intrusion that is highly offensive to a reasonable person.”

The filing also argues that the DOJ and special counsel’s office “brought a lawless criminal indictment,” which constitutes “malicious prosecution.” “As such, given the Supreme Court’s immunity decision and Judge Cannon’s dismissal of the prosecution on grounds that the Special Counsel’s appointment violated the appointments clause and his office was funded through an improper appropriation, there was no constitutional basis for the search or the subsequent indictment.” Trump is also planning to sue for punitive damages. “For these harms to President Trump, the respondents must pay punitive damages of $100 million,” Epstein wrote, adding that there was an “abuse of process,” and that the methods used against Trump were “unconstitutional and aimed at politically persecuting the former President, which led to extensive legal costs and negative consequences for him.”

Joseph Robinette Biden and Sigismund Schlomo Freud.

• Biden: If Trump Wins, There’ll Be No Peaceful Transfer of Power (MN)

President Joe Biden uttered an interesting Freudian slip when he said that “if Trump wins” the election he’s not confident there’ll be a peaceful transfer of power. Biden made the remarks during an interview with CBS News. “Are you confident that there will be a peaceful transfer of power in January 2025,” Biden was asked. “If Trump wins, no, I’m not confident at all,” he responded. There then appeared to be a cut in the interview before Biden corrected himself, “I mean, if Trump loses, I’m not confident at all.”

When you put together what Joe Biden accidentally said, and what Jamie Raskin deliberately said, you have a pretty clear plan. pic.twitter.com/8boVOPvrDF

— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) August 12, 2024

While Biden is infamous for his verbal gaffes, many respondents on X actually believed this to be a revealing Freudian slip. As we highlighted earlier, during the same interview, Biden confirmed that high ranking Democrats pushed him out of the race, essentially corroborating the accusations of a coup. “A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races,” Biden said. The president was reportedly told by Nancy Pelosi that he would be removed either by means of “the easy way” or “the hard way,” after he desperately tried to cling onto the nomination despite being humiliated during a presidential debate with Donald Trump.

Lawfare. Against an Iraq war veteran and current Army reservist. “..it’s bringing to the forefront… how brazen the political retaliation and abuse of power continues to be under the Biden-Harris administration.”

• American Stasi: Tulsi Gabbard Confirms “Quiet Skies” Nightmare (Matt Taibbi)

Tuesday night, while self-styled Democratic nominee Kamala Harris pledged to defend “freedom, compassion, and the rule of law” to cheers in Philadelphia, Hawaii’s Tulsi Gabbard described being tracked by teams of government agents in a surveillance regime more reminiscent of East Germany than a free country. Whistleblowing Air Marshals told Uncover DC Gabbard was singled out as a terror threat under the so-called “Quiet Skies” program, and the former presidential candidate says she noticed. “The whistleblowers’ account matches my experience,” says Gabbard. “Everything lines up to the day.” This story began two weeks ago, when the former Hawaii congresswoman returned home after a short trip abroad. In airport after airport, she and her husband Abraham Williams encountered obstacles.

First on a flight from Rome to Dallas, then a connecting flight to Austin, and later on different flights for both to cities like Nashville, Orlando, and Atlanta, their boarding passes were marked with the “SSSS” designation, which stands for “Secondary Security Screening Selection.” The “Quad-S” marker is often a sign the traveler has been put on a threat list, and Gabbard and Williams were forced into extensive “random” searches lasting as long as 45 minutes. “It happened every time I boarded,” says Gabbard. The Iraq war veteran and current Army reservist tends to pack light, but no matter. “I’ve got a couple of blazers in there, and they’re squeezing every inch of the entire collar, every inch of the sleeves, every inch of the edging of the blazers,” she says. “They’re squeezing or padding down underwear, bras, workout clothes, every inch of every piece of clothing.”

Agents unzipped the lining inside the roller board of her suitcase, patting down every inch inside the liner. Gabbard was asked to take every piece of electronics out and turn each on, including her military phone and computer. That was the other strange thing. “I use my military ID to get through security sometimes,” says Gabbard, who among other things traveled to her reservist base in Oklahoma during this period. Once, she was unable to get through security with military ID. A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent saw the “SSSS” marker. “The TSA agent said, ‘Why are you Quad-S? You’re in the military,’” explains Gabbard. “And I said, ‘That’s exactly what I’m wondering.’ Gabbard goes on: “Then I said, ‘The only thing I can think of is, I work in politics.’ And he said, oh.”

The agent told her he’d encountered supporters of a certain former president who’d had no issues traveling before, but were now “marked quad-S every time they traveled.” Gabbard shrugged and slogged through, still encountering extra security. At one flight, she says, there were “at least six TSA agents doing additional screening,” along with canine support. “There were dogs in Dallas when we got there, dogs at a couple of the gates.” She called a colleague, who told her: these things happen, don’t worry. “So I thought, ‘Maybe I’m just being paranoid,’” Gabbard says. Then she saw this past Sunday’s report in Uncover DC, a site edited by the well-known Twitter writer Tracy Beanz. Uncover interviewed Sonya LaBosco, the Executive Director of the Air Marshal National Council (AMNC), an advocacy association for Federal Air Marshals. Disclosing Gabbard had been placed on a domestic terror watch list, the former Marshal LaBosco told a disturbing story:

According to LaBosco… Gabbard is unaware she has two Explosive Detection Canine Teams, one Transportation Security Specialist (explosives), one plainclothes TSA Supervisor, and three Federal Air Marshals on every flight she boards. Uncover DC said Gabbard was initially placed on the list on July 23rd, and that trios of Air Marshals first began following her on flights on July 25th. As Racket would learn, surveillance was conducted on at least eight flights, with different three-Marshal teams for each flight, part of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) “Quiet Skies” regimen that can literally surround people with human watchers. There are “potentially 15 or more TSA uniformed and plain clothes” at a gate for such assignments, LaBosco told Racket. The story about Gabbard was surfaced by two TSA whistleblowers, including one detailed to follow her. When Gabbard read this, she felt a shock of recognition.

“When I saw that, I thought, ‘Wow, okay. So everything I was experiencing was exactly what I feared was going on,’” she says. Though clearly outraged, Gabbard stresses the important part of her story isn’t any inconvenience or insult she’s gone through. “This is not a woe-is-me situation,” she explains. Instead, “it’s bringing to the forefront… how brazen the political retaliation and abuse of power continues to be under the Biden-Harris administration.”

“Who controlled whom that day? The immediate answer, perhaps obvious, is the terrorist at the podium..”

• Israel Runs the US. No, the US Runs Israel. No, Wait .. (Patrick Lawrence)

That deranged speech Bibi Netanyahu delivered to a joint session of Congress last month: I cannot get it entirely out of my mind. It did not change anything — neither the Israeli prime minister nor his hosts seem to desire or intend to change anything in U.S.–Israeli relations. And in this way, there is not much to say about that weird hour the world’s No. 1 terrorist — yes, think about it and tell me I’m wrong — spent at the podium under the Capitol’s rotunda. But the speech did clarify certain things, and then it raised an important question. Let us see about these matters. There is, to begin with, the question of Netanyahu’s mental stability. If we consider his many outlandish assertions — Israel has minimized civilian casualties in Gaza, Israeli soldiers are to be commended for their moral conduct, those protesting in behalf of Palestinians are probably in Iran’s pay, and so on — we must conclude that the man given to such preposterous misrepresentations is, let’s say, perpendicular to reality.

I am sure Netanyahu spoke in large measure for effect. This must be so. But I am equally sure — note the demeanor in the videos, for instance — he was certain of the truth of what he had to say. Dr. Lawrence’s diagnosis: A man consumed with resentment and hatred, who has led Israel to the brink of a cataclysmic war at the irretrievable cost of its international standing, while dragging the U.S. into it (at similar cost), suffers from severe psychosis with symptoms of paranoia and obsessive-compulsive megalomania. I do not say this to indulge some cheap denigration of one of the many contemptible political figures now walking around the Western world and its appendages. After Netanyahu’s notably strange performance in Congress July 24 — at times he seemed pure id — I say this diagnosis would hold in a clinical setting. We should all take note of this and brace ourselves accordingly. Never mind who’s driving the bus: It would be better in this case if no one were driving it.

There is also the reception Netanyahu enjoyed on Capitol Hill. Seventy-two ovations by my count, 60–odd of them standing, for a war criminal, a flouter of international law, a man who commits to waging “a seven-front war” across the Middle East? Bibi’s big theme, running all through his remarks, was congruence, the perfect alignment of Israeli and American interests. Remember? “Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and”—here the left fist pounded—“our victory is your victory.” The response among those in attendance tells you all you need to know about what America’s lawmakers think of this idea. Netanyahu was looking merely for reaffirmation of standing arrangements at a moment when when terrorist Israel’s conduct had begun to turn more stomachs than he had bargained for. And he got what he wanted, needless to say.

This brings us to the question Netanyahu’s speech forces upon us. Does the U.S. control Israel or does Israel control the U.S.? Is the apartheid state another of Washington’s client regimes, albeit — let’s borrow a little from the Chinese — a client with Zionist characteristics? Or is Israel a case — rare, if not unique — of a distant outpost that dictates to the imperial center? The periphery exercises power over the metropole, this to say: This would have to be something new under the sun, surely. This is not a new question. A lot of people have pondered it for months, if not longer — over dining tables or on barstools or in published material on the internet. Who’s in charge, anyway? It has sometimes struck me as an absolutely classic Gordian Knot: Untie this and you will understand all. And at other times it reminds me of a Zen koan, insoluble short of a sudden satori. I haven’t, accordingly, spent much time thinking this through. To date I have concluded it is an angels-on-a-pin question and the answer does not much matter. When others bring it up, my mind drifts.

But after that shocking spectacle in Congress a few weeks ago, I don’t think I can get away with this dodge any longer. The occasion of Netanyahu’s address, his fourth before a joint session, puts all the complexities before us. Who was, in that hour, in charge — the insane man from the periphery, driven by rage, or his audience of adoring lawmakers at the imperial center, driven by… driven by what? I would say driven by greed, ideology and the work of running an imperium that is failing but has not failed yet. Who controlled whom that day? The immediate answer, perhaps obvious, is the terrorist at the podium. It cannot be lost on anyone paying attention that more or less every member of Congress in attendance — and good on the 100 or so members who boycotted — has in the past taken and continues to take money from the Israel lobby, notably but not only the profoundly antidemocratic American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the infamous AIPAC.

They set their own trap. And walked right into it.

• Incursion Into Russia Could Spell Doom For Kiev – ex-Austrian Official (RT)

Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk Region across the border in Russia is a risky gamble that could backfire and lead to a major defeat and a loss of Western support, Gustav Gressel, a former Austrian Defense Ministry official, has told Der Spiegel. Kiev’s forces launched a major cross-border operation in Kursk Region earlier this week. Clashes in the border areas have been ongoing since last Tuesday. The Kremlin called Kiev’s move a large-scale provocation and accused Ukrainian troops of indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. The Russian Defense Ministry has stated on multiple occasions that Ukrainian attempts to penetrate deeper into the region have been thwarted. Nevertheless, Kiev’s troops are still present in some border settlements in Kursk Region where heavy fighting continues, according to the ministry. Gressel, who is currently a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, described Kiev’s actions as a “risky strategy.”

“If Ukraine wants to hold the area for several months, this will result in military costs that are hardly sustainable,” the expert, who previously served in the Austrian military, explained. Extending the front line “benefits Russia first and foremost,” he said an interview published on Saturday. The incursion failed to force Russia to divert forces away from its ongoing major offensive in Donbass, where Moscow’s troops continue to gain ground. Ukraine’s units in the area are “pretty worn out” and are in dire need of reinforcements, according to the expert. Moscow “has more weapons, ammunition and personnel that it can deploy to a longer frontline. Ukraine’s advantage of surprise could quickly turn into a disadvantage,” said Gressel, who also held a post in the Bureau for Security Policy of the Austrian Defense Ministry.

The worst-case scenario for Kiev would be a defeat both in Kursk Region and Donbass, the expert warned. According to Gressel, Ukraine is hoping its operation on Russian soil will lift the morale both of its soldiers and the Ukrainian population, and, he believes, it will not give up on it even in the face of Russia’s military superiority. Russia would then “first hold Ukraine back and then wear it down” as Kiev would pour its limited resources into the operation. “Ukraine could be seen as an unreliable daredevil,” Gressel said, adding that Kiev’s forces in Donbass “would run out of strength” as well. “There would be major territorial losses there.” Kiev’s Western backers such as Germany and the US would also likely reduce their support under these circumstances or even withdraw it completely, the expert warned. “The Kursk maneuver could herald the end of Ukraine militarily,” Gressel stated.

“The enemy will receive a worthy response. All of our goals will undoubtedly be achieved.”

• No Talks With Kiev After Attack On Civilians – Putin (RT)

Any peace talks with Ukraine are impossible as long as it conducts strikes on civilian populations and threatens nuclear power plants, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. Speaking at a meeting with senior officials on Monday, Putin addressed Ukraine’s recent incursion into the border region of Kursk, as well as a drone strike that damaged Russia’s Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. He suggested that Ukraine’s most recent actions show why it has refused to revisit plans to settle the conflict based on either on a Russian proposal, or roadmaps presented by neutral parties. Apparently, the enemy, relying on the help of its Western masters… is striving to improve its negotiating positions in the future. But how can we talk about negotiations with those who conduct indiscriminate strikes on civilians, civilian infrastructure, or try to threaten nuclear energy facilities?

Putin went on to say that one of Kiev’s main goals in Kursk is to divert attention from Donbass, where Russian forces have been steadily gaining ground in recent months. “But what are the results? The pace of offensive operations… not only have not slowed down, but on the contrary increased by one and a half times.” By striking into Kursk Region, Ukraine also sought to undermine the morale of the Russian population, but also achieved contrary results, Putin said, noting an increased stream of volunteers to join the military and defend the border.

Moscow’s main goal at this stage is to drive back the Ukrainian forces from Russian territory. “The enemy will receive a worthy response. All of our goals will undoubtedly be achieved.” Ukraine launched an attack on Kursk Region last week, the largest cross-border assault since the outbreak of the conflict, with media reports suggesting that the offensive involved some of Kiev’s best-equipped brigades. While Ukrainian forces made some gains, the Russian Defense Ministry said the advance had been halted. The Russian military has estimated Kiev’s losses at around 1,600 troops and 200 armored vehicles. On Sunday, Moscow accused Kiev of launching a drone attack on Russia’s Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which damaged one of its cooling towers.

“..something happens to everyone calling for a peaceful resolution on Ukraine, they get shot at.”

• Anyone Not Supporting Ukraine Gets Shot – Serbian Deputy PM (RT)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is risking his life by refusing to back Western nations on the Ukraine conflict, a senior member of his government has claimed. Serbia, a traditional Russian ally, has declined to impose sanctions on Russia or support the policies of the US and Kiev’s other backers. Brussels in-turn has insisted that Belgrade’s aspiration to join the EU will not be realized unless it changes course. In an interview with Russia’s RIA Novosti published on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin said that Serbian authorities are concerned about the president’s safety, following attempts on the lives of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and former US President Donald Trump. “After the attempt on Mr. Fico, and later Trump, I told Vucic to be on guard,” Vulin said, “that’s because something happens to everyone calling for a peaceful resolution on Ukraine, they get shot at.”

In May, Fico, a vocal critic of the Western Ukraine policy, survived a shooting by a 71-year-old man. His government blamed incendiary rhetoric by opposition politicians for motivating the shooter. Trump, who claims he could end the Ukraine conflict in 24 hours if reelected, was grazed by a bullet during a presidential campaign rally in July. The shooter was killed by a counter-sniper. US investigators have not disclosed any suspected motive for the attempted assassination. Vulin also criticized organizers of a mass protest which took place in Belgrade last Saturday, claiming that its ultimate goal may be to topple the Serbian government. “As we know, [sometimes] ouster [of the national leader] means not only the change of power, but also physical elimination of the person imbued with the power,” the minister said.

The demonstration, which attracted some 27,000 protesters, according to government estimates, was staged in opposition to a project to develop lithium mining, which critics claim will cause massive environmental damage. Belgrade granted a license to extract the valuable metal to the British-Australian company Rio Tinto in 2022, but later revoked it following public pressure. The project resumed last month, however, after a Serbian court overruled the government’s decision. President Vucic intends to put the issue to a referendum. Vucic also said last week that the Russian government had warned Serbian authorities that the rally may be a cover for a ‘color revolution’ – a hostile foreign operation that uses anti-government demonstrations and spiraling public disorder to force regime change.

“To fill the gaping hole of military expenses, the official claimed, Ukraine will have to fall back on unpopular measures such as cutting spending, selling state assets, and hiking up taxes..”

• Debt-Riddled Ukraine Blames ‘Slow’ US Aid, Scrambles to Pay Its Army (Sp.)

An increasingly debt-riddled and ingrate Ukraine is starting to turn on its Western sponsors, blaming them for lagging weapons deliveries to bolster the ongoing proxy war. Kiev is particularly faulting the US for its huge budget deficit, which has brought Ukraine to the brink of default. A US loan payout worth $50 billion needs to be accelerated, the Zelensky regime’s Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko told the Financial Times. According to him, it’s the slow delivery of NATO weapons, especially from Washington, that is to blame for the $12 billion rise in military spending. While the US Congress approved $27 billion in direct US military aid in April this year, Marchenko bemoaned the fact that its disbursement was too “slow.” With the Western cash infusion delayed, the regime was forced to dip into its own coffers to buy weapons and ammunition, he was quoted as saying, using up money set aside “to cover salaries for our troops.”

To fill the gaping hole of military expenses, the official claimed, Ukraine will have to fall back on unpopular measures such as cutting spending, selling state assets, and hiking up taxes. The Ukrainian government has proposed a rise in its tax charged on people’s salaries from 1.5% to 5%. Ukraine’s national debt has almost doubled under Zelensky. According to the country’s Finance Ministry, its state debt amounted to $152.2 billion by July, a record 88.4% of GDP. The main growth is due to Ukraine’s external debt, which increased by $59.5 billion to reach $103.7. The domestic debt increased by $14.4 billion to $40.5 billion. The $50 billion that Ukraine is clamoring for is to be finalized by the Group of Seven this year.

In June, the G7 countries agreed during their summit in Italy to provide the funds by utilizing revenues generated from the interest on Russia’s $325 billion in assets illegally frozen in countries of the collective West. Most of these assets are held at Belgium’s Euroclear. However, talks between the US and EU on finalizing the $50 billion loan have stalled. Furthermore, there has been a lack of unanimity within the European bloc, as Hungary has repeatedly objected to the use of Russian frozen assets for funding NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine. Time is of the essence for the neo-Nazis lodged in Kiev as they suffer combat failures on the front line and manpower shortages. They are also hounded by fears that a potential triumph by Republican candidate Donald Trump in the US presidential election in November could throw a wrench in the works. Trump has repeatedly threatened to cut off US aid to Ukraine.

“The days preceding the election showed a monumental advantage that Nicolas Maduro and the PSUV had over the opposition in terms of manpower and the sheer strength of its electoral mobilization.”

• Washington’s Web Of Lies Is Backfiring Over Venezuela (Blankenship)

The 2024 presidential election in Venezuela, held on July 28, has stirred international concern – much like the preceding elections in the Caribbean state. A clear divide has emerged, with the United States and its allies supporting the opposition, while countries in the emerging multipolar world order are backing President Nicolas Maduro. In much the same way that the US and its allies have disputed the legitimacy of Maduro’s presidency since the 2018 election, spurring an artificial “presidential crisis” with former opposition leader Juan Guaido recognized by Washington as the “legitimate” president, the West is doing this again with former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez.The opposition has released copies of official tally sheets collected by poll watchers from most of the nation’s polling centers. The sheets show an apparent landslide victory of 80% for Gonzalez, a claim that is now being widely circulated and amplified by the Western press.

Meanwhile, the results released by the National Electoral Council showed a narrow victory for Maduro with 52%, resulting in opposition protests. The Venezuelan government has criminalized such demonstrations and moved to stamp down opposition leaders. Given the state of the Venezuelan economy and widespread poverty, it is not outside the realm of basic reason that Maduro could have actually lost. Researchers, including Steve Levitsky, an expert on democracy at Harvard University, have also noted how improbable the official results are. He told the New York Times that this recent vote is “one of the most egregious electoral frauds in modern Latin American history.” But others disagree. Denis Rogatyuk, a reporter with El Ciudadano who covered the election for the independent media platform, told RT: “The days preceding the election showed a monumental advantage that Nicolas Maduro and the PSUV had over the opposition in terms of manpower and the sheer strength of its electoral mobilization.”

“The closing rallies for President Maduro drew in crowds six to seven times larger than those of Gonzalez and Machado. And the second bulletin released by the CNE on August 2nd, showing 6,408,844 votes for Maduro, aligns perfectly with this notion, and the fact that the combined membership of the PSUV and its allied parties is just over 6 million as well,” he concluded. However, the more interesting dynamic with regard to the situation in Venezuela is the fact that the US is failing to garner the requisite support needed to apply the pressure it wants on Caracas. It shows a dwindling of American soft power in what was once considered the empire’s backyard. For example, the situation in Bolivia in 2019, in which former President Evo Morales was forced to resign in the wake of widespread pressure from the police and military after international interference, has clearly left a sour taste in Latin Americans’ collective mouths.

The three most prominent countries in the region – Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia – have not condemned Maduro. In fact, the Organization of American States (OAS), which had previously passed a resolution against Morales in 2019, failed to pass a resolution over the situation in Venezuela. While 17 members voted to condemn Maduro, 11 abstained – including Brazil and Colombia – and five delegations, including Mexico, skipped the session altogether. The OAS needed 18 votes to pass it. Even the European Union has failed to muster support after Hungary blocked a joint statement by the bloc that would have cited “flaws and irregularities” in the election, forcing EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to publish it in a personal capacity.

What we see here is a classic case of the boy who cried wolf. The US has continually cried wolf over alleged breakdowns of democracy in Latin America, using its soft power to thwart independent governments through international forums and mafia diplomacy. It has spawned coup after coup, leaving nothing but destruction and destitution in its wake. People in the hemisphere – and indeed the world – are sick of injustice and maltreatment. This time, Washington may have actually been right. It could be the case that Maduro lost in this election. It could also not be the case, and that is well-established by the fact that the US and its henchmen are pathological liars. In any case, wherever objective truth may lie, no one believes Uncle Sam’s claims anymore, evidently because he has abused his power for too long in his cynical pursuit of domination.

“..it is clear from widely circulating videos (though unverified) that many of them got through Israel’s sophisticated anti-air systems.”

• Iron Dome Failure? (ZH)

Hezbollah has fired dozens of rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel, calling it retaliation for Israeli attacks last week. Israel’s military says its Iron Dome defence system intercepted some, but not all, of the projectiles. In the overnight and early morning hours Hezbollah pounded northern Israel and the Western Galilee with at least 30 rockets. While Israel’s military says intercepted some of the rockets, it is clear from widely circulating videos (though unverified) that many of them got through Israel’s sophisticated anti-air systems.

IRON DOME FAILURE!!! pic.twitter.com/6tgd8CFTW5

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) August 12, 2024

A number of regional analysts are remarking on the utter failure of Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system during the salvo; however, Ynet says many rockets struck open fields and uninhabited areas, causing fires. Lebanese Hezbollah said the target was an IDF military installation near Kibbutz Ga’aton. The Israeli side reported no casualties in the wake of the overnight assault. A regional source indicates that “One of Israel’s interceptors hit the Hydro Therapy Centre located in the Mount Hermon region, damaging a building.” The Iran-backed Lebanese paramilitary group has been vowing revenge for the assassination strike by Israel of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut on July 30.

The next day, an Israeli operation in Tehran killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Israel says it is busy strengthening defenses ahead of the still anticipated Iranian response, which is expected to include stepped-up Hezbollah action. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told a meeting of defense leader, “We are in the days of vigilance and readiness, the threats from Tehran and Beirut may materialize and it is important to explain to everyone that readiness, preparedness, and vigilance are not synonyms for fear and panic.” As for the claims of the Iron Dome utterly failing in the latest attack, others pointed to the following video, which like the above remains unverified…

The Irone Dome at work last night, shooting down Hezbollah rockets over northern Israel pic.twitter.com/2JdYjXsncP

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 12, 2024

Israeli officials are meanwhile monitoring Lebanese media reports which say Hezbollah has entirely evacuated its Beirut headquarters in anticipation of a significant flareup. Some Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese politicians have also issued new threats: Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon and a staunch Hezbollah ally, says of a tensely anticipated joint Iranian and Hezbollah attack on Israel that “revenge is a dish best served cold.” He warns that the “response is inevitable” after the recent killings of top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

It’s not just the civil aviation sector, the rot is everywhere at Boeing.

• NASA Inspector General Report Criticizes Boeing’s Quality Control (ET)

NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has raised concerns over quality control and standards at plane maker Boeing and its efforts to help the space agency return astronauts to the Moon. A report from NASA’s OIG released on Aug. 8 focuses on the Space Launch System (SLS) version 1B—the powerful heavy-lift rocket system that NASA plans to use to send the crewed Orion spacecraft and large cargo to the Moon in 2028 as part of the Artemis IV mission. According to NASA’s report, a “critical component” of this upgrade is Boeing’s development of the SLS’s new upper stage, the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), which will aid in sending the Orion on its mission. Once it is complete, EUS will give the SLS a 40 percent upgrade in carrying capability, going from 27 metric tons under Block 1—the SLS rocket’s first iteration—to 38 metric tons with Block 1B, according to the report.

However, progress on the SLS, which has been under development since 2014, has been plagued with issues, including Boeing’s “ineffective quality management and inexperienced workforce,” along with continued cost increases and schedule delays, the report said. As part of its report, NASA’s OIG interviewed officials at NASA Headquarters, Marshall Space Flight Center, Boeing, and DCMA between August 2023 through May 2024. It also visited the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, to observe the SLS core stage and EUS production. The OIG found that Boeing’s quality management system at Michoud “does not adhere” to international standards established under the global association SAE International. The report pointed to 71 “Corrective Action Requests”(CARs) issued by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) at Michoud between 2021 and 2023 to address “deficiencies in quality.”

NASA’s OIG said this is a “high number of CARs for a space flight system at this stage in development and reflects a recurring and degraded state of product quality control.” “Boeing’s process to address deficiencies to date has been ineffective, and the company has generally been nonresponsive in taking corrective actions when the same quality control issues reoccur,” the report said. The report highlights other issues, including “foreign object debris ” identified inside the SLS Core Stage 2 liquid hydrogen fuel tank.The debris included “metal shavings, Teflon, and other debris on and underneath the entry platform and ladder assembly on the forward dome panels inside of the tank.” “Foreign object debris can damage hardware and potentially injure flight crew when entrapped within crewed flight articles,” the report stated. The liquid hydrogen fuel tank was subsequently cleaned, reinspected, and found to meet standards, according to the report.

In another incident during its visit to Michoud in April 2023, the OIG said it observed substandard welding on a liquid oxygen fuel tank dome, a critical component of the SLS Core Stage 3. The report said that on another occasion, Boeing officials “incorrectly approved hardware processing under unacceptable environmental conditions.” Boeing’s EUS contract has soared from the initially agreed-upon cost of $962 million in 2017 to over $2 billion through 2025, and the company’s delivery of the EUS to NASA has been postponed six years from an initial February 2021 date established in 2016 to April 2027, the report stated. “Given Boeing’s quality management and its related workforce challenges, we are concerned these factors could potentially impact the safety of the SLS and Orion spacecraft including its crew and cargo,” it concluded.

Right after 9/11, there was a clip in which Larry Silverstein said: “We decided to pull the building” (WTC7). To do that, you need to first have it fitted out with explosives. Takes days. But why were there explosives there? And if WTC7, what about the others? I stopped following 9/11 “news” right there and then.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1822601565577883747

Dog kisses

How their dogs react to kisses
pic.twitter.com/bWQEzzuAKA

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) August 12, 2024

Elephant

A professional Elephant guide demonstrates what to do if an Elephant charges at you. pic.twitter.com/tbQWEzSmuC

— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) August 12, 2024

Lots a frens
https://twitter.com/i/status/1822668304856785284

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