Aug 042025
 


Takeuchi Seiho Bear in snow 1940

 

Trump Tells Chuck Schumer To ‘Go To Hell’ (Margolis)
EU Surrendered To Trump’s Demands Out Of ‘Fear’ – Sunday Times (RT)
Swiss President Blamed For ‘Disastrous’ Deal With Trump – FT (RT)
A Nation In Freefall Without Immediate Course Correction (ZH)
The Real Russiagate Scandal Blows Away Watergate (SCF)
Reality Rules Whether of Not It Is Acknowledged (Paul Craig Roberts)
NATO Eyes Baltic Build-Up, Extending Its Military Footprint Toward Russia (Sp.)
Ursula von der Trump (Pacini)
The Tariffs Hide The True Prize For Trump And Western Oligarchies (Dionísio)
India, Brazil Reject US Demands To Stop Buying Russian Oil – Global Times (TASS)
To Kill an Operation Mockingbird (Kevin Downey Jr)
The Media’s Russia Hoax Coverage Just Imploded Before Our Eyes (Margolis)
The Western World’s Self-Demise Continues (Paul Craig Roberts)
Why The EU Keeps Losing To China (Zemanek)
‘Unthinkable’ Catastrophe Developing In Gaza – UN Spokeswoman (RT)
The Recognition of Palestine: Western Unity Is Collapsing (Sadygzade)

 

 

 

 

Not that long ago, guys like Doug Macgregor and Scott Ritter said 8x more Ukrainians were being killed than Russians. That was an estimate, not propaganda. But it was never mentioned in the press, where numbers, if there were any, would be about 1:1. . Now, Trump is apparently being told 12x as many Russsians are killed. That is obvious propaganda. Are we to think he doesn’t know this?

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/Inevitablewest/status/1951949404060999776

 

 

cIA
https://twitter.com/TRUMP_ARMY_/status/1951952936785084724

 

 

Ritter

 

 

Orban: “Peace will come when Europeans and Ukrainians alike accept the fact that Russia will never allow NATO to establish a presence on its western border in Ukraine..”

 

 

 

 

Trump wants nominees confirmed, mostly standard procedure. But now Schumer demands a billion or so to pay for Democrat pet projects.

“..billion with a b—in unrelated funding as a ransom for a handful of consensus nominees who had already made it through bipartisan committee votes.”

Trump Tells Chuck Schumer To ‘Go To Hell’ (Margolis)

Saying that President Donald Trump wasn’t happy when Senate Democrats tried to extort his administration for a billion-dollar payout in exchange for doing their constitutionally mandated job would be an understatement. Over the weekend, what should have been a routine confirmation process for highly qualified Trump nominees turned into a hostage negotiation orchestrated by Sen. Chuck Schumer and his band of obstructionists. Make no mistake, Schumer wasn’t bargaining in good faith. He and his allies demanded over a billion dollars—yes, I meant billion with a b—in unrelated funding as a ransom for a handful of consensus nominees who had already made it through bipartisan committee votes. That’s not negotiation; that’s the Democrats shamelessly weaponizing the Senate to advance their own radical agenda.

Trump cut through the charade with a blunt, unmistakable message to Schumer on Truth Social, calling his demand nothing less than “political extortion.” Trump called the demand “egregious and unprecedented,” warning Republicans that accepting it “would be embarrassing to the Republican Party.” He urged GOP lawmakers to reject the offer, “go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are,” and told Schumer—whom he said is under pressure from the “Radical Left Lunatics”—to “GO TO HELL!” Trump’s decision wasn’t just about protecting his nominees; it was about sending a message that the days of Republican leaders folding in the face of Democrat brinkmanship are over. The president gave Senate Republicans his marching orders: Walk away. Refuse to reward such brazen extortion. Let Democrats explain to the American people why vital appointments are stalled and government remains hobbled.

https://twitter.com/MAGAVoice/status/1951772682221195613

If the GOP ever hopes to reverse the damage inflicted by years of feckless Republican capitulation, this kind of stand is long overdue. Senate Majority Leader John Thune described the failed talks as a nonstop loop of shifting demands—“lots of offers” nearly agreed to, only for Democrats to move the goalposts, which sounds about right. Schumer’s team kept pushing for more: billions in aid, protection for bloated spending, and perks for their political machine. In return, they offered only the safest nominees, like it was a mob shakedown. Senator Markwayne Mullin saw it firsthand. “We’ve had three different deals since last night, and every time it’s been…‘I want more.’” The game was rigged from the start. Democrats wanted the illusion of compromise, expecting the GOP to fold. This time, they didn’t.

Democrats cried foul, accusing the GOP of padding the nominee list with “controversial” picks—classic projection from a party that’s mastered political blackmail. But the days of Republican surrender are over. Under Trump’s leadership, the GOP shut it down. Just seven nominees were confirmed before the August recess—not ideal, but better than caving to Schumer’s demands. The White House is ready to push through the rest in September, even if it means changing the rules Democrats have long abused to obstruct. This breakdown makes two things clear: Republicans are done playing by the left’s rigged rules, and if key posts stay vacant, the blame lies with Schumer and his “resistance” gang. Let them explain the dysfunction. Trump’s bold stand should fire up Republicans. After years of retreat, the party is drawing lines, rejecting ransom politics, and putting America first. It’s the kind of fight the country’s been waiting for.

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“..the fear that Trump might use a dispute as a pretext to cut US military support for Ukraine or otherwise damage European security..”

Europeans pay for Ukraine in 100 different ways..

EU Surrendered To Trump’s Demands Out Of ‘Fear’ – Sunday Times (RT)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to a lopsided US trade deal without resistance out of fear that Washington might reduce military support for Ukraine or even withdraw American forces from Europe, the Sunday Times reported this weekend. The paper described von der Leyen’s recent visit to President Donald Trump’s golf course in Scotland – where she accepted a 15% tariff on most EU exports – as a “surrender.” According to the report, officials inside the Commission initially prepared a strong countermeasure package in response to Trump’s proposed 20% tariffs announced in April. But when Trump threatened to raise the tariffs to 30%, von der Leyen pulled back.

Behind her reversal was “the fear that Trump might use a dispute as a pretext to cut US military support for Ukraine or otherwise damage European security,” the Sunday Times wrote. Brussels was reportedly particularly concerned about the outcome of a pending American “posture review” that may result in the withdrawal of some of the roughly 80,000 US troops stationed across Europe. The trade agreement finalized last week includes not only the 15% tariff on EU goods, but also commitments by Brussels to invest $600 billion in the US economy and purchase $750 billion worth of American energy over the next three years. In contrast, the UK – negotiating independently – secured a lower 10% tariff on its exports.

Amid mounting internal backlash in Brussels, French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly criticized the outcome, saying the EU is “not feared enough.” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban remarked that Trump “ate her for breakfast,” and accused von der Leyen of exceeding her authority by allegedly pledging to purchase large quantities of US arms. Von der Leyen has also faced growing political resistance at home, as she pushes to redirect a significant portion of the EU’s next €1.8 trillion seven-year budget from agriculture and regional development toward militarization. She narrowly survived a vote of confidence in the European Parliament last month amid criticism of her leadership style and controversies over her Covid-19 vaccine procurement deals. Some MEPs now view her current term as her “last chance,” according to lawmakers quoted by the Times.

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Beware the price of cuckoo clocks.

Swiss President Blamed For ‘Disastrous’ Deal With Trump – FT (RT)

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter is facing backlash after trade talks with Washington collapsed following a “disastrous” phone call with US President Donald Trump, Financial Times has reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Trump announced a 39% levy – one of the highest globally – on Swiss goods on Friday, coinciding with Switzerland’s national day. According to the FT report published on Sunday, Swiss negotiators believed they had secured a provisional deal for a 10% tariff, similar to the UK’s arrangement. In exchange, Bern pledged nearly $150 billion in US-bound investment and remained in regular contact with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The offer was approved in early July, with Swiss officials convinced it only awaited Trump’s signature.

Keller-Sutter, who also serves as finance minister under the country’s rotating presidency, had publicly stated last month that she had gained rare “access to Trump.” However, during a 30-minute call on Thursday – described by sources as “disastrous” – the US leader reportedly rejected the offer and instead focused on Switzerland’s $39 billion trade surplus.“The call did not go well, in the sense that from the very first minute Trump made it clear 10 per cent was not enough, and all he could focus on was Switzerland stealing money from the US. There was nothing Keller-Sutter could say,” one source told FT. Trump reportedly asked what more the “very wealthy” Alpine country could offer.

Swiss media called the outcome Keller-Sutter’s “biggest fiasco,” with tabloid Blick likening it to the country’s worst defeat since 1515, when Swiss troops lost to France at the Battle of Marignano. Greer later denied that a final deal had been secured, telling Bloomberg: “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.” The tariff hike followed Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ speech announcing a global trade overhaul on April 2. After multiple delays and a series of negotiations, a revised executive order signed last week adjusted rates based on “trade imbalances,” with the tariffs now set to enter into force on August 7.

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“..The revolution didn’t die, it just changed tactics with all things woke re-emerging in the current unaffordability crisis..”

A Nation In Freefall Without Immediate Course Correction (ZH)

The foundational pillars of the American middle class have been crumbling for decades, crushed under the weight of unaffordable housing, runaway education costs, and the rising price of just about everything. This full-blown affordability crisis is hollowing out the middle class from within. Add years of mass migration of millions of illegal aliens, and the wealth and opportunities once available to the native population have eroded even further. It’s becoming impossible to ignore that many policymakers in Washington, seemingly aligned with the globalist billionaires, have deliberately waged economic war on America’s middle class. This is precisely why President Trump rose to power.

Two of the core bedrocks of the middle class include homeownership and family formation. These two pillars provide economic stability, social cohesion, and long-term investment that sustain a prosperous and resilient society. Alarm bells have been sounded, and the Trump administration had better be paying attention, because a new chart that shows the estimated percentage of 30-year-olds in the U.S. who are both married and homeowners, spanning from 1950 to a projected 2025, has completely collapsed.

The chart was first posted on X by Nathan Halberstadt of New Founding, who stated this is a “critical civilizational problem.” Halberstadt is correct: Young Americans can’t afford homes, can’t start families, and increasingly see the American Dream as just a dream. This has given rise to socialism and Marxism, spreading across the nation like cancer. It’s as if the globalist elite in Washington deliberately sabotaged the middle class over the years, hollowing it out with decades of destructive policies designed to break those key pillars. This chart was enough for Elon Musk to respond with “!!” as he, too, understands there needs to be a drastic and sharp course correction or risk losing the country to socialists and Marxists.

The reason Communism failed to take hold in the U.S. in the 1960s post-WWII is that the economic expansion had stable jobs, rising wages, access to homeownership, and upward mobility. The revolution didn’t die, it just changed tactics with all things woke re-emerging in the current unaffordability crisis that has taken decades to play out.

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“Arguably, the real Russiagate scandal is far more criminal and devastating in its political implications than Watergate.”

“..a Goebbels-like Big Lie campaign to not only deceive the U.S. public but to subvert the democratic process and poison international relations.”

The Real Russiagate Scandal Blows Away Watergate (SCF)

So the hoax is finally officially acknowledged. “Russiagate” – the mainstream narrative, that is – is now described by American intelligence chiefs as a fabrication that was concocted to overturn the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. Tulsi Gabbard, the current Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and CIA director John Ratcliffe have both accused former President Barack Obama of engaging in a “treasonous conspiracy” to subvert the constitutional process. It’s not just Obama who is implicated in this high crime. Other former senior officials in his 2013-17 administration, including former DNI James Clapper, CIA director John Brennan, and head of the FBI James Comey, are also implicated. If justice is permitted, the political repercussions are truly earth-shattering.

The potential impact is not confined solely to the violation of U.S. laws and the democratic process – bad enough that is. The Russiagate scandal that began in 2016 has had a lasting, damaging effect on U.S. and European relations with Russia. The frightfully dangerous NATO proxy war incited in Ukraine, which threatens to escalate into a full-scale world war, was fueled in large part by the hostility generated from the false claims of Russian interference in the U.S. elections. The allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw a subversion campaign against the 2016 U.S. election and colluded with Donald Trump to get him elected were always specious. The scandal was based on shoddy intel claims to purportedly explain how Trump defeated his Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton. Subsequently, the scandal was hyped into a seemingly credible narrative by U.S. intelligence chiefs at the direction of then-President Barack Obama as a way to delegitimize Trump’s incoming first-term presidency.

Years before the recent intelligence disclosures, many independent journalists, including Aaron Maté, and former intelligence analysts like Ray MacGovern and William Binney, had cogently disproven the official Russiagate claims. Not only were these claims false, they were knowingly false. That is, lies and deliberate distortions. Russia did not hack emails belonging to the Democratic National Committee to discredit Clinton. Clinton’s corruption was exposed by a DNC internal leak to Julian Assange’s Wikileaks whistleblower site. That was partly why Assange was persecuted with years-long incarceration. A large enough number of voters simply despised Clinton and her warmongering psychopathy, as well as her sell-out of working-class Americans for Wall Street largesse.

Furthermore, Moscow consistently denied any involvement in trying to influence the 2016 U.S. election or attempts to favor Trump. Putin has said more than once that Russia has no preference about who becomes U.S. president, implying that they’re all the same and controlled by deeper state forces. Laughably, too, while Washington accused Moscow of election interference, the actual record shows that the United States has habitually interfered in scores of foreign elections over many decades, including those of Russia. No other nation comes close to the U.S. – the self-declared “leader of the free world” – in sabotaging foreign elections.

In any case, it is instructive to compare the Russiagate farce with the Watergate scandal. Watergate involved spying by the White House of President Richard Nixon against a Democrat rival in the 1972 election. The political crisis that ensued led to Nixon’s resignation in disgrace in 1974. The U.S. nation was shocked by the dirty tricks. Several senior White House officials were later convicted and served time in jail for crimes related to the affair. Nixon was later pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, and avoided prosecution. Nevertheless, Watergate indelibly disgraced U.S. politics and, at the time, was described as “the worst political scandal of the 20th century.” Subsequent cases of corruption and malfeasance are often dubbed with the suffix “gate” in a nod to Watergate as a momentous political downfall. Hence, “Russiagate.”

There are hugely important differences, however. While Watergate was a scandal based on factual crimes and wrongdoing, Russiagate was always a contrived propaganda deception. The real scandal behind Russiagate was not Trump’s alleged misdeeds or those of Russia, but the criminal conspiracy by Obama and his administration to sabotage the 2016 election and subsequently to overthrow the Trump presidency and the democratic will of the American people. Tulsi Gabbard, the nation’s most senior intelligence chief, has said that this amounts to “treason,” and she has called for the prosecution of Obama and other former senior aides.

Arguably, the real Russiagate scandal is far more criminal and devastating in its political implications than Watergate. The latter involved illegal spying and dirty tricks. Whereas, Russiagate involved a president and his intelligence chiefs trying to subvert the entire democratic process. Not only that, but the U.S. mainstream media are also now exposed for perpetrating a propaganda heist on the American public. All of the major U.S. media outlets amplified the politicised intelligence orchestrated by the Obama administration, claiming that Russia interfered in the election and that Trump was a “Kremlin stooge.” The hoax became an obsession in the U.S. media for years and piled up severe damage in international relations, a nefarious legacy that we are living with today.

The New York Times and Washington Post, reputedly two of the finest exponents of American journalism, jointly won the Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for their reporting on Russiagate, the official version, that is, which lent credibility to the hoax. In light of what we know now, these newspapers should be hanging their heads in shame for running a Goebbels-like Big Lie campaign to not only deceive the U.S. public but to subvert the democratic process and poison international relations. Their reputations are shredded, as well as those of other major media outlets, including ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC.

Ironically, The Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for its reporting on the Watergate scandal. The story was made into a best-selling book, All The President’s Men, and a hit Hollywood movie starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, playing the roles of intrepid reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Woodward and Bernstein and The Washington Post were acclaimed as the finest in U.S. journalism for exposing Watergate and bringing a crooked president to book. How shameful and absurd that an even greater assault on American democracy and international relations in the form of Russiagate is ignored and buried by “America’s finest”. That the scandal is ignored and buried should be of no surprise because to properly reveal it would shatter the foundations of the U.S. political establishment and the sinister role of the deep state and its mainstream media propaganda system.

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“Trump is building Greater Israel, not America. When MAGA-Americans elected Trump, they elected Netanyahu.”

Reality Rules Whether or Not It Is Acknowledged (Paul Craig Roberts)

In the past few days I have listen to John Helmer say on Nima’s show that President Trump’s latest irresponsible outburst signals Putin that Russia is facing war. Scott Ritter also on Nima’s show said the same. I share the concern. My position since the “Maidan Revolution” in Kiev in 2014, that is, since Washington’s overthrow of the democratically elected Ukrainian government and installed a Russiaphobic puppet, has been that Putin’s unwillingness to deal decisively with the situation, first by permitting the overthrow, second by refusing the Donbas Russians’ 2014 request to be reincorporated into Russia like Crimea, and third by foolishly trusting to the Minsk Agreement and giving Washington and NATO eight years to build a Ukrainian army, guaranteed a conflict that would widen into a catastrophic event.

Helmer and Ritter say that is what we now face with Trump’s latest recklessness being the icing on the cake that Putin’s toleration of endless provocations has baked. Scott Ritter is worth listening to. Ritter was the chief arms inspector sent to Iraq to confirm that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction justifying Washington’s invasion. But Ritter was too honest for the job and reported back that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The Zionist George W. Bush Regime simply ignored the report, sent US Secretary of State Colin Powell to the UN to lie through his teeth, and invaded and destroyed an Arab country for Israel. George W., the son of a former US president and CIA Director, sent American soldiers to die for Israel and asserted he was fighting a “war on terror.” He was fighting with American lives and money a war for Greater Israel.

Fighting wars for Israel has been US policy for the entirety of the 21st century. American parents, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, uncles, cousins, and friends have been fighting and dying for Israel and paying for their own deaths by financing the war with their own pocket books for three presidencies during which Washington has sacrificed Americans for Israel. All of this has to be kept hidden from Americans and is by lies, censorship, charges of anti-semitism, and criminalization of criticism of Israel. If truth be known, Israel rules the West. There are only two members in the US house of Representatives with the courage to stand up to Israel. In the US Senate I think there is only one. The bully Trump is afraid of the Israel Lobby and illegally bombed Iran–an act of war–on orders from Netanyahu. Trump is building Greater Israel, not America. When MAGA-Americans elected Trump, they elected Netanyahu.

To move on to the wider point. Everywhere we look no government can face reality, not the Trump and predecessor regimes, not Putin and Lavrov, not the UK, France, Germany, China, Iran. Not even those threatened can face the reality. I am currently rereading A.J.P. Taylor’s The Origins of the Second World War. World War II happened because everyone refused to recognize reality, except Hitler who recognized it about half the time. The rest created the conditions for war that Hitler did not need or want. Hitler did not conquer Austria. The dumbshit Austrian government handed the country to him. Hitler did not invade Czechoslovakia, the dumbshit Czech President Benes handed it to him. The British and French, like Putin today, wanted peace and thus created the conditions for war.

The British government’s intense determination to avoid war caused it. The foolish British government issued a military guarantee to the Polish military dictatorship just as it was about to sign an agreement for Germany to reincorporate German territory assigned to Poland by the Treaty of Versailles. Consequently, the Poles walked away from settling the issue of Germans ruled by Poland. The result was the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact portioning Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union. It was the British and French, neither capable of fighting, who recklessly declared war on Germany. France was instantly conquered, and the British escaped at Dunkirk with Hitler’s permission. Hitler misread Churchill. Hitler thought that if he let the defeated British army escape, it wouldn’t wound the British pride, and they would accept his extraordinarily peace terms that committed Germany to the defense of the British Empire.

In his day A.J.P. Taylor was hated because he told the truth, whereas the court historians insured their success by regurgitating war propaganda. Most historians you read are court historians insuring their own success.Tell the truth and the universities dismiss you from your position, as happened to A.J.P. Taylor. The inability or unwillingness to recognize reality today is worst than in the late 1930s. Today every country’s myths blind it to reality and compel it toward war. When leaders, if that is what they are, are incapable of acknowledging reality, only luck can save us.

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“NATO is expanding its initiatives and calling it “containing Russian aggression.”

What aggression? It’s all just fiction.

NATO Eyes Baltic Build-Up, Extending Its Military Footprint Toward Russia (Sp.)

NATO is mulling deploying a German-Dutch corps in the Estonian city of Parnu, the ERR broadcaster reported on Sunday, citing Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur. “This specific plan is tied to a broader NATO initiative, which involves the German-Dutch corps responsible for our area of operations and their forward command post. It would involve both our allies who fulfill leadership roles at the corps level and, of course, our own defense forces — including conscripts. From the perspective of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF), it’s a fairly significant development,” Pevkur was quoted as saying by the broadcaster. However, the final decision is going to be taken later this year, the broadcaster said.

The deployment will require creation of the infrastructure for 100-200 people, including administrative buildings, technical buildings and other facilities. The Estonian Defense Ministry is reportedly planning to allocate 17 million euros ($19.7 million) for that. In recent years, Russia has been flagging up NATO’s unprecedented activity near its western borders. NATO is expanding its initiatives and calling it “containing Russian aggression.” Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern about the buildup of NATO forces in Europe. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has also said that the Baltic states’ governments were destroying the remnants of security and stability in the region.

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“And they will have to bear most of the costs of the war in Ukraine wanted by the United States. In short, a disaster. The equivalent of losing a war. Again.”

Ursula von der Trump (Pacini)

Sometimes the scales lose their balance, and so someone or something is needed to restore that balance. Something similar happened during the visit of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Donald Trump. It must be acknowledged that, despite his extreme contradictions in his statements and actions, he is very consistent in one thing. Trump strongly pushes his country’s economic interests. As Dmitry Medvedev noted: “The current ‘agreement’ with the European Union: 1) is completely humiliating for Europeans, as it is only beneficial to the US – it eliminates European market protection, eliminating tariffs on American products; 2) creates huge additional costs for industry and agriculture in many EU countries for the payment of expensive American energy fuels; 3) redirects a powerful flow of investment from Europe to the US.”

We have witnessed yet another ridiculous spectacle. Nothing more than what has already happened in the past, nothing less than what could be expected. Ursula said she agreed with all of Trump’s proposals: 15% tariffs, purchasing $750 billion worth of oil and LNG, and investing $600 billion in the US economy. In other words, it will be the citizens of the European Union who will lose out once again: we repeat, the citizens of the European Union will have to give many billions of dollars to the United States because of tariffs; they will have to give many billions of dollars to the United States for the purchase of gas; they will have to give many billions of dollars to the United States for the purchase of weapons; they will have to give many billions of dollars to the United States in the form of investments on American territory.

And they will have to bear most of the costs of the war in Ukraine wanted by the United States. In short, a disaster. The equivalent of losing a war. Again. Ursula is complicit in the destruction of Europe, with the aggravating circumstance of holding the highest institutional office. In ancient usage, the use of “von” in surnames is a noble preposition that literally means ‘of’ or “from,” and indicates geographical origin or dependence on a lord. Nothing could be more apt: Ursula belongs more to the American lord than to Europe. The European people have not been consulted on this devastating prospect, while it is becoming increasingly clear that European politicians, raised, educated, and elected, do not respond in the slightest to the needs of the population.

The political significance of events such as this must be taken seriously, because they are clear signs of a shift in the order of things, in favor of another, and they have a short-, medium-, and long-term impact, in this case on the entire European continent and the collective West. Until a few days ago, the EU was pushing for war and funding and adopting a partially anti-American rhetoric in order to fulfill its obedience to NATO; today, it finds itself having to kiss the shoes of the occupant of Washington. The US president called the agreement “the greatest ever.” Von der Leyen said the agreement would bring stability and predictability. Trump ate Ursula for breakfast, but it is Europe that will suffer from indigestion.

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“Now you must pay for the right to be our vassals”; “A tribute for the right to pay tribute.”

The Tariffs Hide The True Prize For Trump And Western Oligarchies (Dionísio)

If there is one thing we can take away from this U.S. tariff attack, it is the confirmation that being an “ally” or “friend” of this nation is, in fact, extremely dangerous. Beyond the utterly self-destructive commitments its allies are bound to—which can range from declaring war on powers like the Russian Federation, to accepting and normalizing genocide, or imposing suicidal sanctions and tariffs against economic blocs like China, not to mention “sharing” the best business deals and most advanced technologies—even in customs relations, the dynamic is lethally perilous. It’s as if the U.S. is telling its vassals: “Vassalage is no longer enough”; “All the commercial, military, economic, and political advantages that vassalage grants us are no longer sufficient”; “Now you must pay for the right to be our vassals”; “A tribute for the right to pay tribute.”

The price of the “right to vassalage,” the “right” to witness one’s own economic decline, the transformation of advanced economies into mere economic substitutes, is paid through asymmetric tariffs. “To sell here, you must pay high tariffs, and beyond the tariffs that cripple your economy, you must also transfer the economic results of that trade and all its indirect economic potential to us”—in other words, “It’s all ours.” To this predatory pact, this act of economic bombardment and sabotage, the European Commission referred to it as a “balanced agreement.” And everyone watched, some more stoically, others less calmly, but they accepted it like docile cattle in a compliant herd. Is this how it is? Despite everything I’ve said, I still have doubts about whether we can interpret Ursula von der Leyen’s submissive attitude toward Trump as an effective capitulation of the European economy to the White House’s will.

Not that this isn’t her intention, or that it isn’t precisely for such behavior that the ex-Minister of Defense under Merkel and Stanford graduate holds the position of President of the European Commission. However, it seems to me that this “comprehensive agreement,” given the track record of this European Commission and its lack of the necessary competencies to negotiate everything that was announced, serves other purposes. There should be no doubt about the role this European Commission plays in the capture of the European economy by the U.S., reducing it to little more than a mercantile extension dependent on the strategies of the metropolis. There are countless instances where von der Leyen’s actions as a broker for U.S. interests and a promoter of American agendas in Europe—particularly those involving direct competition with the Russian Federation, aiming at its economic weakening and eventual destruction—have been evident. This is nothing we haven’t discussed before.

In response to the dominance of Russian energy in the European Union and the critical role that easy, quick, and cheap access to vast amounts of gas played in economies like Germany’s, von der Leyen offered the apologetic silence of Nord Stream’s destruction, the sanctioning of payment mechanisms to hinder the purchase of Russian energy, and the effusive promotion of U.S. LNG and oil—as she recently did again, falsely referring to “better and cheaper” U.S. energy. To wound the Russian Federation’s economy, von der Leyen didn’t hesitate to annihilate the European economy—a fact that, given her husband Heiko von der Leyen’s family history and the von der Leyen family’s ties to the Third Reich and Galicia, should unsettle us greatly, no matter how much they try to mask these ancestral connections with supposed confusion between different branches of the family.

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“Trump’s tariffs have inflicted heavy blows on various nations; rather than awaiting doom passively, it is better to stand firm to mitigate losses..”

India, Brazil Reject US Demands To Stop Buying Russian Oil – Global Times (TASS)

India and Brazil are interested in Russian energy imports and will not give in to US President Donald Trump’s threats, the Global Times newspaper writes, citing Chinese experts. “Trump’s tariffs have inflicted heavy blows on various nations; rather than awaiting doom passively, it is better to stand firm to mitigate losses,” Lu Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Science, told the paper. According to him, every country has the right to safeguard its legitimate interests, and Brazil and India are acting on this principle, which reflects their pursuit of an independent foreign policy. Lu believes that the Trump administration treats tariffs as a ‘panacea’ for all the difficulties it confronts, yet reality tells a different story.

Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, said that India would not abandon Russian oil purchases despite US pressure. He pointed out that India was an oil-deficient nation, and Russian oil offered New Delhi the advantages of being cost-effective and high-quality, and safeguards for its economic development. Qian added that Washington’s attempts to put pressure on New Delhi might prompt India to further revert to a policy of balancing among major powers. Trump earlier announced plans to take measures against the countries importing Russian oil, including India and Brazil.

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“Operation Mockingbird was created in the late 1940s to spread anti-Soviet propaganda through news outlets.”

To Kill an Operation Mockingbird (Kevin Downey Jr)

Former Democratic Party presidential hopeful and current Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is giving the CIA an enema, and she’s putting the hose where it is most needed: in the sketchy, unofficial offices of Operation Mockingbird, the CIA’s not-so-secret department dedicated to propaganda. FACT-O-RAMA! Operation Mockingbird was created in the late 1940s to spread anti-Soviet propaganda through news outlets. It was later weaponized for use against Americans. Operation Mockingbird is the grandfather of “fake news.” The CIA has been bribing/threatening/installing journalists to do their bidding since the beginning of the Cold War. It is believed they had/have roughly 400 journalists, news reporters, and publishers throughout the world, writing what the CIA tells them to write.

In the mid-1970s, Operation Mockingbird was exposed by the Church Committee, led by Senator Frank Church (D-Idaho). The committee found that the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, and various other alphabet agencies were illegally bugging, wiretapping, and harassing people, even Americans, the most notable of whom was Martin Luther King, Jr. The Church Committee slapped the CIA on the wrist and told them to end Operation Mockingbird, but, exasperatingly, the committee didn’t provide any oversight to make sure that Mockingbird was dead. According to the Church Committee Report on Foreign and Military Intelligence of 1976 (page 455), Mockingbird thrives to this day. COINCIDENCE-O-RAMA! Operation Mockingbird was first exposed by journalist Carl Bernstein in Rolling Stone. Today, RFK, Jr. believes the CIA has control over the very same apocryphal rag mag.

So that leads us to where we are now. Tulsi Gabbard believes Operation Mockingbird isn’t merely still alive and kicking, but that it’s being used to slander President Trump. 9In my opinion, it is also being used to spread globalist codswallop.) Even better, Gabbard is dedicated to tearing it down. Operation Mockingbird has also taken over various television shows, like the soon-to-be kaput Late Show with Stephen Colbert. What you’re about to see is not comedy. It’s tragically cringeworthy propaganda being progenerated by a globalist shill who needs to be drummed out of the comedy community forever. Welcome to late-night brainwashing, courtesy of, I believe, Operation Mockingbird:

DNI Gabbard claims she is dedicated to ending the unofficial “Operation Mockingbird.” I can’t be more giddy. I suspect there are no hallway signs at the Pentagon stating “Operation Mockingbird Offices This Way,” and thus stabbing the problem in its heart may prove difficult. Operation Mockingbird is likely why your hirsute thing-in-law believes Trump said to take “horse pills” to beat COVID, which came from a bat salad, and so many other lies we’ve seen pushed by the media. I believe the darker threat isn’t fake news, but the seemingly unquenchable thirst for more of the same. Killing Operation Mockingbird is integral, but teaching leftoids they’ve been lied to for decades is the true challenge.

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“Get this: according to Rolling Stone, the evidence showing the Russian collusion scandal was itself a hoax is actually… wait for it… Russian disinformation!”

The Media’s Russia Hoax Coverage Just Imploded Before Our Eyes (Margolis)

There comes a point where even the most seasoned observers of media bias have to pause and marvel at just how far the mainstream press will go to insulate Democrats from their own deceptions. This latest saga, surrounding the Russian collusion hoax, hasn’t merely reached a new level of absurdity—it’s obliterated every pretense of honest reporting in spectacular fashion. We’re now witnessing a full-scale meltdown in the legacy media, triggered by the slow release of bombshell documents tied to the infamous Russian collusion narrative. DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s calculated drip of these disclosures has left the press dazed; before they can spin their way out of one revelation, another lands with even greater force, blowing apart their talking points. The impact? Panic, denial, and a frenetic scramble to rewrite reality.

At the center of it all is the “Durham Annex”—a trove of evidence so deeply troubling that the mainstream media can’t afford to look at it objectively. Instead of confronting the contents, Rolling Stone—never shy about running cover for the left—truly jumped the shark with a theory so far-fetched it would make a conspiracy theorist blush. Get this: according to Rolling Stone, the evidence showing the Russian collusion scandal was itself a hoax is actually… wait for it… Russian disinformation! It’s almost poetic, in a perverse and cynical way. According to the magazine, “the previously classified documents seem to suggest that some of the supposed ‘evidence’ Patel and others are touting as proof of their conspiracies was actually fabricated by Russian intelligence.” This plot twist isn’t arriving in a vacuum.

The left’s playbook here is obvious: muddy inconvenient waters with frantic claims and hope the facts get lost in the haze. We’ve seen it before, and you can bet we’ll see it again. This is desperation. Let’s break down their thesis. According to Rolling Stone, two emails (dated July 25 and 27, 2016) linking a top Soros operative to a Clinton campaign advisor—found in the Durham Annex—should be dismissed as likely Russian disinformation. Where’s the proof this is Russian disinformation? And how exactly could the Kremlin have predicted—months before the Steele dossier went public—that Democrats would need cover for a bogus collusion narrative? The timeline alone shatters the narrative.

These emails surfaced before the Russia hoax fully took shape and even hinted at the FBI preparing to legitimize the Steele dossier—perfectly aligning with other suppressed evidence of Obama-era interference. But instead of confronting any of it, the media memory-holes the facts to keep the story alive. Rolling Stone and its allies won’t touch the glaring contradictions because doing so would blow up their entire premise. To buy their version, you’d have to believe Russia infiltrated the Obama administration and U.S. intelligence agencies in advance—planting evidence for a scandal that didn’t even exist yet. It’s a plot so far-fetched, even Hollywood would pass.

For years, Democrats and their media allies leaned on “Russia, Russia, Russia” as the catch-all justification for their attacks on Trump. Now that the narrative is collapsing, they can’t stop. Instead, they double down—layering new conspiracies onto old ones, hoping confusion and fatigue will do what the facts won’t. But no matter how much gaslighting they deploy, the truth is still the truth—and it’s catching up to them. The American people deserve better than this endless charade, and the reckoning for years of media-driven deception is only just beginning.

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“..an education system that creates a population that cannot think and solve problems is not as serious as the feminist attack on women and on marriage..”

“Instead of liberating women, feminism has destroyed them. The concept of female has radically changed.”

The Western World’s Self-Demise Continues (Paul Craig Roberts)

Americans and the Western World face many threats that receive little, if any, attention because they are long term and slow acting. They are not immediate in our face like Trump increasing tensions with Russia with his ultimatums and placement of nuclear armed submarines, or like the Democrats’ weaponization of law and media, or the West’s moral insouciance to Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians. There are even worst things underway that are slowly destroying the West’s ability to continue its existence even if nuclear war can be avoided. The West is being undermined by the destruction of its belief system. The destruction of belief cuts across vast areas of life. At this time I will mention two of our losses that are sufficient in themselves to destroy us without Russia unleashing its arsenal of hypersonic nuclear weapons.

One is the replacement of an educated population by the emergence of an indoctrinated and uneducated generation that has not been imbued with an appreciation of their culture, which leaves the United States, Canada, and Europe without a population supportive of the “racist, exploitative countries” in which they have been taught they live. The journalist Rachel Marsden explains that merit-based personal achievement is non-inclusive and its abandonment has resulted in the destruction of education in the Western World. As bad as it is, an education system that creates a population that cannot think and solve problems is not as serious as the feminist attack on women and on marriage and its commitments such as “for better or worse.”

Kay Hymowitz, writing in the City Journal, Summer 2025, reports on how divorce has become the thing to do for middle aged women to achieve self-realization in loving themselves rather than their husbands. In the new books, magazine articles, and movies divorce is the way middle-aged women achieve self-realization in self-love. Women have joined men in philandering. Women want liberation from husbands and children. They want sex. Lots of it. Being a middle aged harlot is liberating. It is called “self-exploration” and “radical self-love.” The women love themselves more than they love their husbands and children.

The feminist destruction of marriage is pushed by those who control Hollywood and TV movies, publishing houses, magazines and media, and is part of the ongoing attack on dispossessing Western gentiles of family, the basis of social cohesion. Hymowitz describes our time as one of female joy produced by proud female self-sovereignty. Men no longer have the option of a loving mutually supportive life-long relationship with a wife. Instead of liberating women, feminism has destroyed them. The concept of female has radically changed.

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“..the head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas – also present in Beijing – has accused China of fueling the war in Ukraine and waging hybrid operations against Europe.”

Why The EU Keeps Losing To China (Zemanek)

The China-EU summit held in Beijing late last month could have been a celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between two of the world’s largest economic powers. Instead, it served as a sobering reminder of the EU’s growing strategic confusion, and its inability to capitalize on the immense opportunities offered by cooperation with China. The summit came at a sensitive moment in global politics. What was once hailed as a mutually beneficial partnership has now become entangled in geopolitics, internal divisions within the EU, and the enduring shadow of Washington’s influence. The global turbulence of recent years – the pandemic, and the war in Ukraine – has not only strained relations but also reinforced the EU’s dependence on the United States.

Rather than renewing a partnership that once stood as a pillar of global economic integration, the EU leaders arrived in Beijing with a familiar agenda: accusations over trade practices, warnings about “security threats,” and renewed calls for China to “rein in” Russia. Predictably, no breakthrough was achieved. The deterioration of China-EU relations cannot be understood without revisiting the European Commission’s strategic shift in 2019. Under Ursula von der Leyen, Brussels officially categorized China as not just a partner but also a “systemic rival” – a move that introduced suspicion into virtually every area of engagement. Since then, an ideological lens has increasingly shaped EU policy, replacing the pragmatism that once underpinned economic cooperation.

The consequences have been stark. Brussels has launched measures to restrict Chinese investment, imposed high tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, and – most recently – barred Chinese firms from public tenders worth over €5 million. Further escalation came when the EU included two Chinese banks in its latest sanctions package against Russia, signaling that Europe is willing to weaponize economic tools for political purposes. These steps are justified by the EU as “de-risking.” By pushing for reduced interdependence in strategic sectors – raw materials, high-tech supply chains, and digital infrastructure – Brussels has aligned itself with Washington’s containment playbook, even as European leaders publicly insist on independence. In Beijing, von der Leyen struck a conciliatory tone, declaring the EU’s openness to Chinese investment and cooperation.

But such statements ring hollow when juxtaposed with her recent warnings at the G7 summit about a looming “China shock” and accusations of Beijing “weaponizing trade.” Similarly, the head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas – also present in Beijing – has accused China of fueling the war in Ukraine and waging hybrid operations against Europe. These mixed signals undermine credibility and reinforce perceptions in Beijing that the EU lacks a coherent, autonomous China strategy. More fundamentally, Brussels’ approach is internally contradictory. The EU dreams of “strategic autonomy,” yet ties its foreign policy to transatlantic priorities. It seeks economic resilience, yet undermines its own competitiveness by disrupting supply chains and limiting market access. It aspires to global leadership, yet isolates itself from the rest of the world by clinging to zero-sum geopolitics.

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“One convoy takes 18 hours to run from Deir al-Balah to Kerem Shalom – a distance of just 24 kilometer..,”

‘Unthinkable’ Catastrophe Developing In Gaza – UN Spokeswoman (RT)

A major catastrophe has developed in Gaza as UN aid convoys face systematic delays and worsening restrictions, UN spokeswoman Olga Cherevko has told RT. Israeli forces are obstructing food deliveries while malnutrition and starvation intensify across the Palestinian enclave, she explained in an interview which aired on Saturday. Cherevko, who represents the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), described how aid convoys are being held up for hours at Israeli checkpoints. “One convoy takes 18 hours to run from Deir al-Balah to Kerem Shalom – a distance of just 24 kilometers,” she said. “We are given routes that are dangerous, routes we cannot pass, routes that are congested.”

She explained that, during the last ceasefire, the UN had “unfettered access” and was able to deliver aid rapidly. “We could run multiple convoys a day. There were no holding points, no green lights, no waiting for authorizations to move,” Cherevko told RT. “Now all of this is in place and it constrains us severely.” She also claimed that over 1,300 people have been reported killed either at militarized distribution sites or while waiting along convoy routes. The spokeswoman warned that Gaza is experiencing a full-blown starvation crisis and that “the lives of over 2 million people are at stake.” “A catastrophe of unthinkable proportions has developed and is developing even further,” Cherevko cautioned.

The UN has confirmed that two out of three famine thresholds have been met in Gaza. Since April, 20,000 children have been treated for acute malnutrition, and 16 have died from hunger-related causes. The war in Gaza began in October 2023 when Hamas led an attack on Israel, killing approximately 1,250 people and taking 250 hostages. The IDF has since killed more than 60,000 people in the besieged enclave, according to recent UN estimates. Israeli media reported earlier this week, citing US special envoy Steve Witkoff, that Hamas had allegedly expressed a willingness to disarm. However, on Saturday, the militant group denied the claims, insisting on its right to resist Israeli occupation.

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“..compelling them to reassess their stance and respond to the demands of their citizens.”

The Recognition of Palestine: Western Unity Is Collapsing (Sadygzade)

The ongoing armed conflict in Gaza, along with the intensification of Israeli military operations against Palestinians – including in the West Bank – has provoked growing concern and condemnation from the international community. The deepening humanitarian catastrophe, marked by destroyed infrastructure, acute shortages of food, water, and medical aid, has pushed millions to the brink of survival. The increasing scale of destruction, the mass displacement of civilians, and violations of fundamental norms of international humanitarian law are increasingly being interpreted as elements of ethnic cleansing against Palestinians. Numerous international organizations, human rights groups, and independent observers have expressed alarm over the disproportionate use of force and the systematic pressure exerted on the civilian population.

In the face of inaction by leading international institutions – which continue to call for an immediate ceasefire and unfettered humanitarian access – criticism of double standards has intensified, and public trust in the global community’s ability to stop the violence and uphold the rights of conflict victims is rapidly eroding. Even among Israel’s Western allies, discontent with the actions of the Israeli authorities is becoming more pronounced. Large-scale military operations resulting in widespread destruction and civilian casualties have triggered sharp reactions not only from international organizations but also within Western societies themselves. Regular mass protests in major cities across Europe and North America are increasing pressure on political leaders, compelling them to reassess their stance and respond to the demands of their citizens.

Under the influence of mounting public pressure, some countries have already taken concrete diplomatic steps. On May 28, 2024, Norway, Spain, and Ireland formally recognized Palestine as an independent state – an act that resonated widely and set a precedent for other nations in the region. At this juncture, calls are growing louder for similar steps to be taken by two key European powers: France and the United Kingdom. Both countries are facing escalating domestic and international pressure, which may hasten the process of Palestinian recognition and shift the balance on the diplomatic front of the Middle East conflict.

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RFK
https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1951703810700886223

 

 

https://twitter.com/BGatesIsaPyscho/status/1951540901823611113
https://twitter.com/Inevitablewest/status/1951665033663942730

 

 

Grok4

UN
https://twitter.com/newstart_2024/status/1951915475262181551

Lazy

sound


smile
https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1951939138250231835

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jul 282025
 


L.S. Lowry The mill, Pendlebury 1943

 

Trump, EU Reach Tariff Deal To Avoid Trade War (ZH)
‘I’ll Never Be the Same’: Dan Bongino on FBI Secrets That Shook Him (Margolis)
Trump Urges Prosecution of Kamala Harris (Catherine Salgado)
The John Bolton Connection to the Steele Dossier (Margolis)
More Russia Hoax Evidence Set To Drop, Implicating Hillary Clinton (Margolis)
Intel Board Chairman Wants Security Clearances Revoked, Spies Fired (JTN)
Trump Says Supreme Court’s Immunity Ruling Likely Helps Obama (ET)
Declassified Russian Probe Material Shows a Familiar Rogue’s Gallery (Turley)
What Is It With Russia? (Paul Craig Roberts)
‘Corrupt’ Ukraine Cannot Be Trusted – Former Trump Advisor (RT)
EU Slashes $1.7bn In Aid To Ukraine Over Corruption Concerns (ZH)
The Epstein Saga: What It Is Really About (Paul Craig Roberts)
German Police Raid AfD MEP’s Property For The 22nd Time (RMX)

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/KingBobIIV/status/1949360213288690157

Ratcliffe
https://twitter.com/GuntherEagleman/status/1949476942962377025

Kirk

Flynn

DOGE
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1949267658068660537

Shell

 

 

 

 

Looking through the deal, I think the negotiators, Ursula first of all, were afraid to be stuck with 35% tariffs on Aug 1. So they agreed to trillions in spending. Good for Europe? Doubtful. Trump now takes it all.

The EU has agreed:
• To purchase $750 billion in energy
• Invest $600 billion in the US on top of existing investments
• Open up countries’ markets to trade with US at zero tariffs
• Purchase “vast amounts” of military equipment

Trump, EU Reach Tariff Deal To Avoid Trade War (ZH)

President Trump said he reached a trade deal with the European Union late on Sunday, avoiding a trade war with the US’s largest trading partner and marking his biggest deal so far in his attempt to remake the global trading system through higher tariffs for U.S. trading partners. The pact comes less than a week before a Friday deadline for President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs to take effect on August 1. The president in May threatened to impose a 50% duty on nearly all EU goods, adding pressure that accelerated negotiations, before lowering that to 30%. Trump made the announcement at Trump Turnberry, his seaside golf resort in western Scotland, after meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who leads the EU’s executive body.

Trump said the U.S. would set a baseline tariff of 15% for European goods, including automobiles. He said steel and aluminum tariffs, which are currently at 50%, would remain unchanged. He added that the EU had agreed as part of the deal to buy $750 billion worth of energy products from the US, and the EU would agree to invest $600 billion more than previously in the US, although similar to the $550BN “investment” promised by Japan, this is unlikely to every materialize. Adding to the list of ludicrously big numbers disclosed (or as the case may be undisclosed) today, Trump also said that the EU would buy “a vast amount” of military equipment, and while he explained that “we don’t know what number is” but added that the US makes “the best military equipment in the world so you have to do that.”

To summarize, the US EU has agreed:
• To purchase $750 billion in energy
• Invest $600 billion in the US on top of existing investments
• Open up countries’ markets to trade with US at zero tariffs
• Purchase “vast amounts” of military equipment

“I think it’s going to be great for both parties, I think your various countries are very happy about this,” Trump said, sitting alongside von der Leyen. The two met for about an hour with their top representatives. “We made it,” von der Leyen said. She said the two sides wanted to rebalance their trade relationship, “and we wanted to do it in a way that trade goes on between the two of us across the Atlantic.” Currently, the EU faces a 10% baseline tariff on most of its goods exports to the U.S., as well as a 25% tariff on its auto industry and a 50% tariff for steel and aluminum. “I think that basically concludes the deal,” Trump told reporters at his golf club in Turnberry, Scotland. “It’s the biggest of all the deals.” The terms disclosed on Sunday suggest that 15% is likely a new minimum tariff level for most American trading partners. Economists and trade analysts say that tariffs at that level will have an impact on companies’ decisions and are expected to contribute to higher prices for Americans, but won’t stop global trade flows.

“They are not at the level where the global economy burns down,” said Dmitry Grozoubinski, senior trade adviser at Aurora Macro Strategies. The deal comes after a flurry of recent trade announcements. Trump said this past week that he had reached a deal with Japan, another top U.S. trading partner, which put baseline tariffs at 15%. Separate agreements set Vietnam’s baseline tariff level at 20% and established a 19% rate for the Philippines and Indonesia, Trump has said. The U.K. has the lowest tariffs Trump has so far agreed to as part of a deal, at 10%. Trump also was expected to iron out final details of the U.K. agreement in meetings with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday and Monday.

The EU pact removes a major risk for markets and the global economy, a trade war involving $1.7 trillion worth of cross-border commerce, even though it means European shipments to the US are getting hit with a higher tax at the border. The goals, Trump said, were more production in the US and wider access for American exporters to the European market. Von der Leyen acknowledged that part of the drive behind the talks was a rebalancing of trade, but cast it as beneficial for both sides. “The starting point was an imbalance,” von der Leyen said. “We wanted to rebalance the trade we made, and we wanted to do it in a way that trade goes on between the two of us across the Atlantic, because the two biggest economies should have a good trade flow.”

As Bloomberg notes, US and European negotiators had been zeroing in on an agreement this past week. Officials have discussed terms for a quota system for steel and aluminum imports, which would face a lower import tax below a certain threshold and would be charged the regular 50% rate above it. The EU had also been seeking quotas and a ceiling on future industry-specific tariffs, but it’s unclear if the initial agreement will shield the bloc from potential levies that have yet to be implemented. The announcement capped off months of often tense shuttle diplomacy between Brussels and Washington. The EU had prepared to put levies on about €100 billion ($117 billion), about a third of American exports to the bloc, if a deal wasn’t reached and Trump followed through on his warning.

For weeks, the EU has indicated a willingness to accept an unbalanced pact involving a reduced rate of around 15%, while seeking relief on sectoral tariffs critical to the European economy. The US president has also imposed 25% levies on cars and double that rate on steel and aluminum, as well as copper. The deal comes just days after we learned that in June the US collected a new record in tariff revenue, some $26.6 billion: a number which annualizes to an impressive $320 billion. Several exporters in Asia, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan, have negotiated reciprocal rates between 15% to 20%, and the EU saw Japan’s deal for 15% on autos as a breakthrough worth seeking as well. Washington’s talks also continue with Switzerland, South Korea and Taiwan.

Read more …

Dan Bongino is a real man.

‘I’ll Never Be the Same’: Dan Bongino on FBI Secrets That Shook Him (Margolis)

In a political era addicted to facades and orchestrated outrage, some moments cut through the noise with a force that startles even seasoned observers. Enter Dan Bongino. The former radio firebrand turned deputy director of the FBI has become a lightning rod within Donald Trump’s second-term administration. In recent weeks, there were rumors he was going to quit the administration over frustration with Pam Bondi over how she’s handled the Epstein files. A source close to the matter said Bongino felt betrayed by what he saw as Bondi’s backpedaling and stonewalling—especially after she downplayed the existence of Epstein’s “client list” and dismissed speculation about blackmail or foul play. Bongino, who took the job hoping to help restore public trust, came to believe that mission was dead in the water unless Bondi stepped aside. “He’s done if she stays,” the source said at the time.

And then nothing happened. But Bongino’s recent statement on X is raising eyebrows. In a powerful and emotional message, Dan Bongino pulled back the curtain on what he described as deeply troubling revelations during his time at the FBI, vowing accountability and transparency in the face of corruption. “During my tenure here as the Deputy Director of the FBI,” Bongino began, “I have repeatedly relayed to you that things are happening that might not be immediately visible, but they are happening.” He emphasized a top-down commitment to justice, writing, “The Director and I are committed to stamping out public corruption and the political weaponization of both law enforcement and intelligence operations. It is a priority for us.”

But what he’s uncovered, Bongino said, has changed him forever. “What I have learned in the course of our properly predicated and necessary investigations into these aforementioned matters, has shocked me down to my core. We cannot run a Republic like this. I’ll never be the same after learning what I’ve learned.” He promised that the investigations will be carried out “by the book and in accordance with the law,” adding, “We are going to get the answers WE ALL DESERVE.” “As with any investigation, I cannot predict where it will land,” Bongino admitted, “but I can promise you an honest and dignified effort at truth. Not ‘my truth,’ or ‘your truth,’ but THE TRUTH.”

If that doesn’t sound like a battle cry from inside the halls of federal law enforcement, what does? For years, Americans have watched as justice and intelligence agencies faced allegations of bias, political leaks, and “weaponization” against dissenters from the prevailing establishment narrative. Critics—many of whom once dismissed such talk as conspiracy theory—have realized that these warnings carry real weight. Bongino, who once sat behind a conservative microphone dissecting exactly these threats, now finds himself not only confronting them but, by his own account, being rocked by what he’s uncovered. The message is unmistakable: accountability isn’t optional. Bongino’s cryptic post bears the signature of a man who has glimpsed truths that will shake the nation’s confidence in its governing institutions.

The question is not whether heads will roll, but how deep the rot goes and whether the rot can be cut out before it destroys what those institutions are supposed to protect. Forget the media’s hope for another administration scandal. The real scandal is what Bongino is finding—and what he warns America must soon confront. No matter how much the press wishes otherwise, Bongino’s mission to purge corruption is underway. His refusal to sugarcoat the stakes, and his insistence that “we cannot run a Republic like this,” target the very heart of what’s ailing the country. Whether Bongino ultimately prevails isn’t a footnote; it’s a battle for the soul of the Republic. One thing is certain: Washington can’t ignore Bongino’s warning shot. Nor should anyone else.

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“Eleven Million Dollars to singer Beyoncé for an ENDORSEMENT (she never sang, not one note, and left the stage to a booing and angry audience!)..”

Trump Urges Prosecution of Kamala Harris (Catherine Salgado)

The Founding Fathers intended that, in America, no one would have a title and no one would be above the law. Too often in modern times, that no longer seems true of our country. But Donald Trump is starting to call for a change to the double standard of justice. Reviewing potentially illegal payouts from the Democratic Party and apparent bookkeeping errors, Donald Trump understandably wants to get to the bottom of the allegations and wants to see the former vice president in court over them. If you or I committed a federal immigration felony, received massive amounts of money from foreign hostile governments, engaged in money-laundering, committed classified documents felonies, fabricated evidence against a rival, or committed other serious crimes, we would almost certainly be going to jail.

But if you have a title like vice president or congressman or governor now, it seems as if you have the “get out of jail free” card. That is terribly dangerous. We quite simply cannot have a Republic if there is one set of laws for ordinary citizens and a totally different set of standards for rich and powerful people. Trump is at least right to recognize the underlying problem here. Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday, “I’m looking at the large amount of money owed by the Democrats, after the Presidential Election, and the fact that they admit to paying, probably illegally, Eleven Million Dollars to singer Beyoncé for an ENDORSEMENT (she never sang, not one note, and left the stage to a booing and angry audience!), Three Million Dollars for ‘expenses,’ to Oprah, Six Hundred Thousand Dollars to very low rated TV ‘anchor,’ Al Sharpton (a total lightweight!), and others to be named for doing, absolutely NOTHING! These ridiculous fees were incorrectly stated in the books and records.”

It is unclear whether paying large sums to a celebrity for an endorsement definitively violates Federal Election Commission guidelines. However, failing to properly report high-cost endorsement payments is a violation. These allegations would be worth investigating legally and in accordance with election laws and standards.

Trump, though he did not clarify that the violation depends on the amount of the payment for endorsement and the level of coordination with a candidate/campaign, referred to this in his usual emphatic style: “YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PAY FOR AN ENDORSEMENT. IT IS TOTALLY ILLEGAL TO DO SO. Can you imagine what would happen if politicians started paying for people to endorse them. All hell would break out! Kamala, and all of those that received Endorsement money, BROKE THE LAW. They should all be prosecuted! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

The Federal Election Commission states: Disbursements for endorsements made to the general public are not contributions or expenditures as long as the endorsement is not coordinated with any candidate, candidate committee or its agents. If celebrities were paid huge amounts of money by the Democrat party and Harris’s campaign to endorse Kamala, this would indeed seem to be a violation of the FEC rules.

Read more …

This John Bolton connection is straight out of the Baskervilles. The dog that didn’t bark. He had a file on Brennan and sat on it for years.

The John Bolton Connection to the Steele Dossier (Margolis)

The Steele Dossier saga isn’t over—not even close. If anything, its rot is more obvious than ever, with each new revelation pointing directly to the highest levels of the Obama administration and even reaching into the early days of the Trump White House. What we now know is already damning: the phony Steele Dossier wasn’t just opposition research—it was weaponized disinformation, deliberately shoved into the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment under orders from Barack Obama himself. Senior analysts warned it was unverified and unreliable, but those concerns were bulldozed in the name of politics.

Obama ordered the revised ICA not because Russia flipped the election, but because the original findings made it clear they hadn’t. That truth was politically inconvenient. So instead of accepting it, they rewrote reality, stuffing baseless allegations into an official intelligence report and turning it into a blunt instrument to kneecap a duly elected president. At the very least, John Brennan, the Obama-era CIA director, may soon find himself in legal jeopardy over his role in this scandal. But this story just took another turn—as it ensnared John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Trump.

In 2018, Bolton received a classified memorandum directly connected to Brennan’s actions. Astonishingly, he chose to bury it, locking it away in a National Security Council safe instead of bringing it to Trump’s attention. His trust in Brennan’s fabricated intelligence prevailed over his duty to the president he served. According to investigative reporter Paul Sperry, in 2018, Bolton received that classified summary, detailing how Brennan manufactured the Putin-Trump intelligence out of thin air—but Bolton left it untouched, sealed from sight and scrutiny.

The list of bad actors goes on. Oleg Smolenkov and Igor Danchenko, once hyped as top-tier Russian sources, turned out to be opportunists with no real intel. But John Brennan needed a show, so Smolenkov was sold as Moscow’s James Bond, just like Comey inflated Steele’s fiction as “Crown material.” It was never about truth—just building a weapon.

Now, thanks to declassified intelligence, reality is catching up with fiction. While Vladimir Putin never possessed any compromising material to blackmail Trump, he did have an extensive dossier on Hillary Clinton. Had she won the presidency, she would have entered the White House compromised, vulnerable to blackmail by Moscow, her decisions always shadowed by the possibility of Russian extortion.

In short, a cabal of partisans weaponized compromised intelligence, invented a Russian conspiracy out of nothing, and employed it to kneecap an incoming president. The deception ran so deep that even those entrusted to defend the presidency—like Bolton—became complicit by omission, not intervention.

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“CIA Director John Ratcliffe revealed Sunday that explosive new evidence tied to the Russia collusion hoax is about to be declassified..”

More Russia Hoax Evidence Set To Drop, Implicating Hillary Clinton (Margolis)

CIA Director John Ratcliffe revealed Sunday that explosive new evidence tied to the Russia collusion hoax is about to be declassified—and it points directly at Hillary Clinton and key Obama-era intelligence officials. During an appearance on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News, Ratcliffe confirmed that the classified annex to Special Counsel John Durham’s report will soon be made public, and what it contains could dramatically shift the narrative on the origins of Crossfire Hurricane. “And what that intelligence shows, Maria, is that part of this was a Hillary Clinton plan, but part of it was an FBI plan to, uh, be an accelerant to that fake Steele dossier, to those fake Russia collusion claims by pouring oil on the fire, by amplifying the lie and burying the truth of … what Hillary Clinton was up to,” Ratcliffe said.

This comes on the heels of fresh scrutiny over former CIA Director John Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and FBI Director James Comey, all of whom, according to Ratcliffe, knowingly pushed a false narrative into official intelligence assessments. “What hasn’t come out yet—and what’s going to come out—is the underlying intelligence that I have spent the last few months making recommendations about for final declassification,” Ratcliffe explained. “That will come out in the John Durham report classified annex.” If accurate, this revelation would confirm what conservatives have long suspected: that the Clinton campaign not only fabricated the Russian collusion story but had help from deep-state operatives inside the federal government.

“And much of that testimony is frankly completely inconsistent with what our underlying intelligence… reflects,” he added, referring to sworn statements given by Brennan, Clinton, and Comey between 2020 and 2022. Ratcliffe emphasized that this was not just a political hit job against Trump—it was a coordinated effort to manipulate both the intelligence community and the public. “You know, Pam Bondi does have a strike force. It is a different Department of Justice, a different FBI, and an opportunity to look at how these people really did conspire to run a hoax, a fraud on the American people, and against Donald Trump’s presidency. ”Despite predictable pushback from Democrats and legacy media dismissing renewed investigations as “revenge” or “retribution,” Ratcliffe said it’s clear why the public supports these efforts.

“They said to everyone, ‘We know what you did to Donald Trump, and we reelected him because we know this was all fake. We know it was a hoax. Now we want to understand how you did it so that it can’t happen again.’” “This declassification process… is so important,” Ratcliffe continued. “There can be accountability and preventability to prevent the same people that did it in 2016 with the Steele dossier, with the Hunter Biden laptop in 2020, from doing it again in the future.” In short, the hoax that consumed years of Trump’s first presidency may finally be fully exposed—and Hillary Clinton’s role in launching it, with FBI help, will no longer be shielded by redactions or media deflection. Investigative reporter Paul Sperry revealed similar news on X Sunday morning:

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“I just continue to be fascinated by the people who are still carrying a security clearance. It’s amazing who are still in these agencies,” Nunes said..”

Intel Board Chairman Wants Security Clearances Revoked, Spies Fired (JTN)

The chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board says he believes crimes were committed by intelligence and law enforcement officials who relentlessly pursued President Donald Trump over the last decade, and he also wants to make sure that spies who abused their powers are stripped of their security clearances and their jobs. “Look, it’s really simple. There’s lots of criminals here, and it was a grand conspiracy,” former House Intelligence Committee Chairman and current PIAB chief Devin Nunes told Just the News. “Remember, we made, I don’t know, a dozen criminal referrals when I was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee,” he added during an exclusive interview on the Just the News, No Noise television show Thursday night.

Nunes said whether people are prosecuted now will depend on whether the statute of limitations for crimes have expired, or whether those deadlines get extended by the pursuit of a conspiracy case. He said he’s comfortable leaving those decisions to FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi. The former Republican lawmaker from California said he’s focused in his role as the head of the civilian oversight board for U.S. intelligence on making sure that intelligence officers face discipline and consequences, regardless of whether they are prosecuted eventually.

“I just continue to be fascinated by the people who are still carrying a security clearance. It’s amazing who are still in these agencies,” Nunes said. “And I’m just shaking my head like every time I turn around, like, wait, wait, wait, wasn’t that person in that position a Russia hoax person. “All of those people need to get their security clearances pulled, and they should not be working anywhere near law enforcement or intelligence for that matter,” he added. “So it’s one of the things that our board is tasked with.”

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There are plenty of them without immunity. Start there.

Trump Says Supreme Court’s Immunity Ruling Likely Helps Obama (ET)

President Donald Trump on Friday said that former President Barack Obama likely has immunity following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in light of a report that was declassified by Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard earlier this month. Gabbard said the documents showed that Obama and his then-Cabinet members “manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump,” which Obama denied in a statement earlier this week. Gabbard said in a Sunday interview that she referred some Obama-era officials for criminal prosecution to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI. Trump on Friday was asked by a reporter during a press gaggle at the White House, “How do you think that the Supreme Court’s ruling that benefited you on presidential immunity would apply to former President Barack Obama and what you’re accusing him of doing?”

The question for Trump was referring to the Supreme Court’s 6–3 ruling in 2024 that stated presidents have prosecutorial immunity for official acts within the executive presidential authority that Congress has no jurisdiction over.
“It probably helps him a lot,” Trump said in response, adding that the ruling “doesn’t help the people around him at all. But it probably helps him a lot.” The president said he believed Obama had committed “criminal acts,” but that “he has Immunity,” which he said “probably helps him a lot.” “Obama owes me big” for the Supreme Court ruling, Trump said. Earlier this week, the president said that Obama officials “tried to rig the election, and they got caught, and there should be very severe consequences for that.” Responding to accusations from Gabbard, a spokesperson for Obama reiterated the assertion that Russia attempted to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.

“Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,” the spokesperson said on July 22.
Obama’s spokesperson also pointed to a 2020 Senate Intelligence Committee report, saying the committee affirmed that Russia worked to influence the election. Earlier this week, Gabbard said, “There is irrefutable evidence that details how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false.” Among the documents declassified by the DNI is a House Intelligence report dated Sept. 18, 2020, which found that several intelligence reports that suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin aspired to help then-presidential candidate Trump in the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election were “substandard.”

Specifically, three reports published internally by the CIA after the election contained information that was potentially biased, implausible, unclear, or of uncertain origin, the House Intelligence Committee said in the report that was released by Gabbard on Wednesday. “One scant, unclear, and unverifiable fragment of a sentence from one of the substandard reports constitutes the only classified information to suggest Putin ‘aspired’ to help Trump win,” the panel stated. The reports were used as foundational sources for an intelligence community assessment made public in January 2017.

The intelligence community “ignored or selectively quoted reliable intelligence reports that challenged—and in some cases undermined—judgments that Putin sought to elect Trump” and failed to consider plausible alternative explanations, the House report stated. The DOJ on July 23 announced that it was forming a task force following the declassification of the documents. In a statement posted to X, the DOJ said that the task force would “assess the evidence publicized by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and investigate potential next legal steps which might stem from DNI Gabbard’s disclosures.”

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View from the law professor.

Declassified Russian Probe Material Shows a Familiar Rogue’s Gallery (Turley)

The release of declassified material has shed new light on the creation of the Russian collusion investigation and many of the names are crushingly familiar. Indeed, Congress is moving to “round up the usual suspects” in light of the new revelations. It is the story of the real Russian conspiracy: how high-ranking officials in the Obama Administration seeded this false claim with the help of an eager, unquestioning press corps. Not surprisingly, the media (which spent years repeating the false Russian collusion claims) is doing a full-court press to kill the story. Yet, many of these key figures are retaining counsel in anticipation of the unfolding investigation. Many previously secured contracts with MSNBC or CNN, or book deals, where they doubled down on the false claims detailed in these new documents. Here are just a few of the usual suspects:

John Brennan, Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency Brennan is arguably the most at risk in the new disclosures, which allegedly contradict his prior testimony before Congress. On May 23, 2017, Brennan testified that the infamous Steele dossier “wasn’t part of the corpus of intelligence information that we had. It was not in any way used as a basis for the Intelligence Community Assessment that was done.” However, the new material shows that Brennan was the key figure insisting on the inclusion of the Steele dossier in an intelligence assessment, suggesting that the Russians did influence the election in favor of Trump.

Brennan not only intervened to include the dossier but overruled the CIA’s two most senior Russia experts, who said it “did not meet even the most basic tradecraft standards.” One analyst recounted how “[Brennan] refused to remove it, and when confronted with the dossier’s main flaws, [Brennan] responded, ‘Yes, but doesn’t it ring true?’” Notably, it was Brennan who briefed Obama in 2016 about Hillary Clinton’s plan to create a Russian conspiracy “to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.” Months later, it would be Brennan who would actively incorporate the dossier secretly funded by Clinton’s campaign.

James Clapper, Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former DNI under Obama, is expecting the worst and said that he has “lawyered up.” Clapper was in the briefing in July 2016 when Obama was told that Clinton was planning to create a Russian conspiracy narrative. In November 2016, Clapper received an assessment from the intelligence community that Russia was “probably not trying … to influence the election by using cyber means.” He also received talking points from staff on December 7, 2016, “Foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the US Presidential election outcome.”

On December 9, 2016, another report stated that “Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent US election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure.” That Presidential Daily Brief was scheduled to be published on December 9, 2016, but CDNI Clapper’s office stopped its publication “based on some new guidance.” Clapper later joined Obama with John Brennan, Susan Rice, John Kerry, Loretta Lynch, Andrew McCabe and others, in a meeting where a new assessment was ordered that would detail the “tools Moscow used and actions it took to influence the 2016 election.” Brennan then reportedly handpicked the analysts who seemed to flip the earlier assessments without any credible intelligence.

In a 2018 interview with the Harvard Gazette, Clapper continued to spread the false narrative, referring to the high-confidence judgment that “Putin directly ordered the hacking and election interference.” He added, “I think they [Russians] actually influenced the outcome.” Clapper later added to his tarnished legacy by signing the letter with more than 50 former intelligence officials dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story before the 2020 presidential election as likely “Russian disinformation.”

James Comey, Former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James Comey would use this contrived intelligence to green-light the investigations that overwhelmed the first Trump term. The FBI was aware early that the Steele dossier was an unreliable political hit job funded by the Clinton campaign. Moreover, the CIA told the FBI that Trump associate Carter Page was a U.S. intelligence asset, not a Russian spy. The FBI ignored such countervailing intelligence, violated protocols, and lied to a federal court to maintain the Russian investigation. In an interview with Fox’s Bret Baier, Comey was asked about the lack of evidence of “Russian collusion.” Comey dismissed the question by saying “collusion’s not a word that I’m familiar with.”

Putting aside the lunacy of that statement, Comey then says the question is whether Americans were “in cahoots with the foreign intelligence activities.” It appears “cahoots” is a word he is familiar with. He then denied knowing, in April 2018, that the Clinton campaign had funded the report. Comey often appears unfamiliar with terms or facts that contradicted his investigation of Trump, even years later. Comey repeatedly testified to a lack of memory on key decisions made in the Russian investigation. However, documents show that it was Comey who pushed back on a planned statement by Clapper, stating that they had not determined the dossier to be reliable.

Andrew McCabe, Former Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, now a CNN contributor, was fired after career Justice Department officials found that the former acting FBI director not only lied to investigators but deserved to be fired. That recommendation was reportedly embraced by the career officials in the inspector general’s office. He was accused of lying four times, including twice under oath. Not surprisingly, McCabe makes appearances in the new disclosures. He is not only present at critical meetings, but it also appears that McCabe was allegedly responsible for blocking congressional investigators from interviewing the FBI analysts who supported Brennan and the drafters of the controversial ICA.

Congress alleged that McCabe walled off at least 30 FBI employees associated with the dossier. These and other names are not new. As the media was spreading the false narrative of Russian collusion, many of these figures knew that there was no evidence of such collusion. They said nothing. Instead, after Obama ordered a new assessment, effectively flipping the conclusions of the earlier assessment, anonymous sources leaked the false narrative to the media, which eagerly ran with the story. While leaks of the false narrative were rampant, none of the actual facts were leaked to the media.

In the meantime, figures like Schiff continued to claim, even after the Special Counsel rejected evidence of collusion, that he had secret evidence to the contrary in the House Intelligence Committee. Schiff never revealed that evidence, and the public now knows that the intelligence community rejected the collusion claims from the outset. The public is now learning about the real Russian conspiracy and its key players. It was the most infamous — and successful — political hit job in history. The same media that pushed the false claims are now, again, imposing a news blackout as they did with the Hunter Biden laptop. The problem is that the truth, like water, tends to find a way out. That trickle just turned into a flood for the architects of the Russian collusion hoax.

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“..only Trump and Putin can resolve the conflict. Trump has made no attempt to resolve it. He has passed it off to Zelensky..”

What Is It With Russia? (Paul Craig Roberts)

The unreality that prevails in Russia is puzzling. It is not just Putin’s inability to comprehend that by refusing to win the conflict after 3.5 years, he has allowed the conflict to widen out of control. Now Putin is faced with all of Europe organizing to support the West’s proxy war against Russia by purchasing US weapons and supplying the weapons to Ukraine. Trump and Germany have signaled that the next widening is to attack Moscow with missiles. Apparently Russians still haven’t learned anything. Ivan Timofeev, the program director of the Valdai Club, says that “We’re close to the war nobody wants but everyone’s preparing for.” He is wrong. Israel wants America at war with Iran. Zelensky wants Europe at war with Russia. The Zionist neoconservatives want more color revolutions to set at war with Russia. The CIA wants to weaken BRICS by setting India and China against one another.

Putin himself has done more to guarantee future conflict by refusing to use sufficient force to end the conflict in Ukraine before it widens out of control. Timofeev actually believes, God help him, that Trump has pushed for peace in Ukraine. How can Trump push for peace when the military/security complex needs the Russian enemy, without which its budget and power are reduced? Trump has not repudiated the Wolfowitz Doctrine of US hegemony. Trump has not met with Putin. As the Ukraine conflict is Washington’s proxy war with Russia, only Trump and Putin can resolve the conflict. Trump has made no attempt to resolve it. He has passed it off to Zelensky, who cannot resolve it, because it is Washington’s war.

The Western world has not heard a word that Putin has said. Putin said, repeatedly, that the war cannot be resolved unless it deals with the root cause, which is the absence of a mutual security agreement. The West has made it perfectly clear that it does not want a mutual security agreement with Russia. What else explains Washington’s use of the conflict to expand NATO into Finland and Sweden, to militarize Moldavia, to stir up trouble in Soviet Central Asia against Russia? It is extraordinary that one never sees, with the exception of Sputnik journalist Ekaterina Blinova, any intelligent analysis from a Russian commentator available in English. No doubt there is Russian discussion that is kept from us.

Another example of Kremlin insouciance is the announcement last Friday by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov: “The only way to resolve the Middle East conflict is through the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.” Here we have again the “two-state solution” that has been the cover since 1947 for Israel’s theft of Palestine. Every year Israel steals a little more of Palestine, and the complicit West says “the two-state solution.” The Kremlin is still saying it when there is not a building standing in Gaza and an Israeli government minister has declared the Israeli parliament has in effect annexed the tiny remnants of the West Bank. Trump has already claimed Gaza, so where is Palestine? It is a county that no longer exists. America and Israel have wiped it off the planet.

The Israeli government declaration reads: “the creation of a Palestinian state poses a Mortal danger to Israel’s existence. The Knesset declares that the State of Israel has the natural, historical, and legal right to all parts of the Land of Israel.” In other words, Palestine doesn’t exist. In the face of this unequivocal statement by the Israeli government the Kremlin says the solution is a two-state solution. What more do you need to see that Russia is disconnected from reality, has no comprehension of what is happening, and by failing to exercise a leadership role has committed the world to Third War Three.

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“This raid reeks – and it smells like gangsterism, not democracy.”

‘Corrupt’ Ukraine Cannot Be Trusted – Former Trump Advisor (RT)

Kiev’s recent crackdown on anti-corruption agencies is yet more proof that Ukrainian leaders are leaning towards authoritarianism and “cannot be trusted,” Steve Cortes, a former advisor to US President Donald Trump, has said. Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky moved to place the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) under executive oversight – which would essentially strip them of any independence – while claiming the agencies were under Russian influence. The move, however, prompted mass protests at home and Western criticism, with EU officials warning that they could reconsider further aid to Kiev. In an op-ed for Newsweek on Friday, Cortes, who is now the president of the League of American Workers advocacy group, described the crackdown as “an extra-judicial attack on decency.”

“This raid reeks – and it smells like gangsterism, not democracy.” The move by Zelensky, reportedly backed by his chief of staff, Andrey Yermak – whom Cortes described as “co-president” – shows that they “act in very authoritarian ways themselves – and increasingly reveal to the world that they are not transparent, reliable partners for the United States.” Cortes went on to accuse Kiev of entrenched high-level corruption and argued that continued US aid is unjustified. “It is no wonder that Americans increasingly realize that sending $175 billion of borrowed money to corrupt leaders in Ukraine is just not sound policy,” he wrote. “Sending mountains of borrowed funds to kleptocrats actually harms America’s national security, all while making our country poorer,” he said while urging Americans to stop lionizing Zelensky and comprehend the reality of Ukraine’s corruption.

The American people have been unbelievably generous, but our patience is wearing thin… In this case, given the latest tactics and optics of the Zelensky/Yermak regime, it becomes ever clearer that these counterparts cannot be trusted. Following domestic and international backlash, Zelensky backpedaled on the crackdown, proposing that the independence of Ukraine’s anti-graft institutions be restored. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that neither NABU nor SAPO is really fighting corruption but rather are used by Kiev’s backers as tools “to control the flow of money coming to Ukraine from the West.”

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That seems to be a hopeful first. Then again, if the total is $100 billion…

EU Slashes $1.7bn In Aid To Ukraine Over Corruption Concerns (ZH)

Have we reached the beginning of the end for Zelensky? Does this spell game-over and victory for Putin and Russia? The following is a very rare admission from the hard news pages of The New York Times: “James Wasserstrom, an American anticorruption expert, said in an interview that “the luster is definitely coming off” Mr. Zelensky’s wartime leadership among governments providing financial assistance. He added, “There is exasperation at Zelensky in the donor community.” Early last week, there were unexpected images coming from Kiev of the largest demonstrations against the Ukrainian government since Russia invaded more than three years ago, as more than 2,000 people gathered near the president’s office, shouting “shame” and “veto the law,” after President Zelensky signed a law gutting the country’s anti-corruption agency.

This was enough to get the attention of Kiev’s biggest donors, and days later on Friday the European Union announced it would suspend part of a €4.5 billion fund tied to good governance standards, with the NY Times reporting that the bloc has frozen €1.5 billion (about $1.7 billion) in financial aid to Ukraine over concerns about corruption and delays in key reforms. The decision is said to not be ‘final’ yet, and on Sunday President Zelensky held a crucial call with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. His office confirmed they discussed Ukraine’s anti-corruption system (…or we should say lack thereof). What is tantamount to EU sanctions being on the table would impact access to the funding, dependent on Ukraine meeting specific reform requirements known as “progress benchmarks.”

One critical unmet benchmark is the appointment of judges to the High Anti-Corruption Court, which is supposed to be an independent judiciary apparatus given the power to spotlight and battle elite corruption. The EU has also raised concerns about a lack of transparency and slow progress in the area of judicial reforms. This rare backlash from close allies with the deepest pocketbooks marks a huge blow to Zelensky – who has also kept himself in power way past his term mandate (citing the war with Russia) – after he pushed legislation through the Verkhovna Rada seen as greatly underminng the independence of two key anti-corruption bodies: the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).

Critics have increasingly highlighted that these actions have come in unison with other martial law policies during the war, including the silencing of journalists, civil society activists, the suppression of the Russian language, the persecution of the Orthodox Church, as well as the wholesale banning of opposition parties. The New York Times comments as follows: “The two agencies — the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office — had been investigating top ministers in the Zelensky government. The president’s decision to kneecap them, though reversed, prompted accusations of cronyism that jeopardized backing from civil society groups at home and Western nations bankrolling the war.

The European Union established this aid mechanism, the Ukraine Facility, last year and promised 50 billion euros over three years for repairing war damage and preparing the country for E.U. accession. The European Commission spokesman, Guillaume Mercier, told journalists in Brussels on Friday that Ukraine had requested a disbursement in June despite falling short on three of 16 benchmarks, including failing to make appointments to a specialized anticorruption court.”

Further, the report noted “That court tries cases brought by the two agencies whose independence Mr. Zelensky threatened this week.” Even British prime minister Kier Starmer has reportedly phoned Zelensky’s office this past week to discuss his latest moves regarding corruption investigations. And when you’ve potentially lost the Brits and Europeans, your wartime star power has most definitely faded. President Putin and Kremlin officials are sure to seize on the anti-Zelensky momentum diplomatically, as they engage Trump officials behind the scenes as part of ongoing bilateral talks. Trump has of course never been a close friend of “the world’s greatest salesman” Zelensky – and could be ready to dump him especially if the mood turns drastically in Europe.

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Yes, you can make it confusing. Yes, in some places 8 is the age of consent.

The Epstein Saga: What It Is Really About (Paul Craig Roberts)

We have to decide whether the Epstein story is child rape or Mossad blackmail. If “child” is defined as under the statutory age of female sexual consent, in the US depending on the state, a child is a female under 16 years of age, under 17 years of age, or under 18 years of age. In New York the age of female consent is 17. In Hawaii it is 16. Hawaii has a “close-in-age” exception that allows 14 year olds to consent with those up to 21 years in age. In Hawaii the goal seems to be not to prevent underaged females from sexual intercourse but to prevent overaged males (over 21) from sex with females declared underaged for them but not for younger men. There is an element here of age discrimination. In the Philippines the age of female consent is 12. In Germany the requirement is for a female to be 14 years old in order for a sexual relationship with a male over 18 to be legal.

In Mexico the age of consent is 15. In Russia it is 16. It Japan it is 13 but is being raised to 16. In England it is 16. In Italy and China the age of consent is 14. In Denmark and Poland it is 15. In Saudi Arabia sex is only legal within marriage. The legal age for marriage for males is 18, for females 16. In the 1950s the age of consent in the state of Georgia was 14. In Delaware in the late 19th century it was 7, yes 7, not a typo. During the 1880s the age of consent in many US states varied between 10 and 12. Whatever the varying legislated age, if the information provided me is correct that some mothers have 12 year old daughters on birth control pills, the de facto age of female sexual consent in the US is 12.

Was Virginia Giuffre a child? If she is American it depends on her state of residence. If she is British, Australian or a New York resident, she is not a child. There was no child rape of Virginia Giuffre for which she collected three million pounds according to reports. Normally we think of a child as before puberty. I don’t know if Epstein had such young kids as sex bait for his entrapment scheme. If so, it would seem to involve kidnapping in addition to illegal underage sex. Would the prominent Jewish billionaires, who Ryan Dawson says was Mossad’s way of directing funds to Epstein, put themselves at risk by being complicit in kidnapping and underage sex? Why would they when there are volunteers attracted to influential men just as groupies are attracted to rock stars.

Young women are not what they formerly were. It is a fact that many young women have porn sites on which they proudly demonstrate themselves in sexual activity that not long ago would have been regarded as depraved. Some of them compete in having the largest number of sexual partners in a 24 hour time period. One has a goal of 1,000 sexual partners in 24 hours, which with no breaks for food, water, or toilet, comes to about 80 seconds per partner. It has become a matter of pride to achieve sexual penetration by 1,000 strangers in 24 hours. According to reports, young women in Internet chat brag about having had 150 sexual partners. True or false, it shows they are not shamed by their behavior whether claimed or real. What I have reported are facts, not a brief for pedophilia. Use the facts to decide whether the Epstein Saga is one of child sex-trafficking or one of a Mossad honey-trap for blackmail purposes to ensure US policy in the Middle East conforms to Israel’s.

Sex-trafficking of children in the US is far more extensive than Epstein’s operation. Principally, the sex-trafficking of illegal alien children. Many were separated from their parents, and if reports are correct tens of thousands, or is it hundreds of thousands, of them have been “lost.” US authorities don’t know where they are. Another source was the seizure of children by Child Protective Services, many of whom allegedly ended up in child prostitution. As far as I know, nothing has been done to find and to rescue these children. As a final suggestion, consider whether the purpose of the hullabaloo over Epstein’s sex-trafficking is to focus attention off the Israeli spy operation that has succeeded in destroying an independent American Middle East policy and five Muslim countries regarded as obstacles to Greater Israel.

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“Anyone who expresses critical views on war preparations must apparently expect house searches…”

” In the latest Yougov poll, the [..] CDU lost 3.5 percent of the vote, while the AfD has jumped 4.2 points.”

German Police Raid AfD MEP’s Property For The 22nd Time (RMX)

German police have raided Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP Petr Bystron’s property for the 22nd time, using the pretext of his connection to the defunct Voice of Europe website, which was run by a man exiled from Ukraine. The house raid came while Bystron was in Washington D.C., meeting with Trump officials, including congressmen and allies of President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. On early Tuesday morning, German police searched an older warehouse where Bystron conducted business a decade ago. “This is targeted terror against the opposition,” Bystron said in a press release. “There is no other way to classify the absurd behavior of the authorities.” Bystron was the target of Czech intelligence services last year, who decided to release a variety of allegations surrounding their investigation at a rather opportune time—right before EU parliamentary elections.

The raid against Voice of Europe (VoE) and the accusations against Bystron, which Remix News covered, was widely seen as damaging the AfD’s reputation before voters headed to the polls. Notably, Czech intelligence claimed to have voice recordings that revealed Bystron was involved with a scheme to provide politicians with money in exchange for conducting interviews with the outlet VoE. The Czech authorities have never made the recording of Bystron public despite demands from the AfD to release it. Nobody has ever been charged to date in connection with the allegations, including Bystron himself. Bystron, however, was the only name that was released in connection with the case, although authorities claimed six European politicians received money from VoE.

The raid against Bystron may be seen as especially provocative as it was conducted at a time when Bystron was out of the country and meeting with Trump officials and congressmen. He is seen as the AfD party’s key bridge to American policymakers and is known for his connections to the Republican Party. Bystron himself said that despite his properties being raided 21 times, the police have not turned up any incriminating information against him. He also said that the police have even raided his elderly mother’s room in her retirement home and took testimony from her, despite her having been officially declared by the court as a dementia patient. “Every single one of these 22 searches was illegal. Each one marks a step away from a democratic constitutional state and toward an authoritarian regime that seeks to silence dissent by any means necessary,” Bystron told the Gateway Pundit.

Notably, the house raid of Bystron also occurred on the same day that a top German court in Leipzig rejected a significant AfD’s appeal. The party was working to overturn its current designation as a “suspected extremist” party by the powerful domestic spy agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). With all appeals now exhausted, this means the BfV can conduct extraordinary surveillance on the AfD, including targeting members with wiretaps, reading their chats and emails, and using informants to infiltrate the party. A number of prominent commentators on the German right have already highlighted the case on X, with Naomi Seibt stating: “They are spitting in the face of J.D. Vance.”

Other news outlets have also met the news of the incredible number of house searches targeting the AfD MEP with concern about Germany’s quickly evolving totalitarian methods for dealing with dissent. “Anyone who expresses critical views on war preparations must apparently expect house searches,” said a reporter from AUF1 in a video post shared by Bystron himself. Pressure has grown on the German government over the incredible growth of the AfD. In the latest Yougov poll, the party is tied for first place with the CDU, with 25 percent of the vote. The CDU lost 3.5 percent of the vote, while the AfD has jumped 4.2 points.

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Arno

Piers

Bleach

Blue

Baby owls

 

 

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Aug 192019
 


Edouard Vuillard The window 1894

 

Kudlow: ‘There’s No Recession On The Horizon’ (Hill)
White House Offers Reassurances Amid Recession Fears (Hill)
Trump: Purchasing Greenland ‘Strategically’ Interesting (Hill)
Hong Kong Readies For More Mass Protests After Huge, Peaceful Rally (R.)
China State Council Calls For Shenzhen Integration With Hong Kong, Macau (R.)
China Works To Turn Shenzhen Into The New Hong Kong (Nikkei)
‘Operation Yellowhammer’ Documents Reveal Brexit ‘Worst Case Scenario’ (NW)
UK Elderly In Severe Poverty Up Fivefold Since 1986 (G.)
Russia Hoax Coup and Epstein Interlocked – Kevin Shipp (USAW)
Palace In Damage Control Over Video Of Prince Andrew In Epstein Mansion (RT)
Where Did All The Cod Go? Fishing Crisis In The North Sea (G.)

 

 

Larry Kudlow in Dec. 2007: “Despite all the doom and gloom from the economic pessimistas, the resilient U.S. economy continues moving ahead.”

Kudlow: ‘There’s No Recession On The Horizon’ (Hill)

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Sunday sought to allay fears of an economic downturn, saying, “I don’t see a recession at all.” The White House adviser demurred when asked by “Fox News Sunday” guest host Dana Perino whether the Trump administration is considering concrete steps to stave off a potential recession after short-term U.S. Treasury bonds last week fell below yields for longer-term bonds. The development, which can signal a forthcoming recession, sparked the worst single-day losses for stocks of 2019. “The Trump pro-growth program, which I believe has been succeeding, we’re going to stay with that,” Kudlow told Perino.


“There’s no recession on the horizon,” he added. “What’s wrong with a little optimism?” Kudlow echoed the comments in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Host Chuck Todd noted, however, that Kudlow made similar remarks in 2007, shortly before the Great Recession began, and wrote, “There’s no recession coming. … The pessimistas were wrong.” “I plead guilty to that,” Kudlow responded on NBC. Fox’s Perino also asked Kudlow about President Trump’s frequent references ahead of the 2018 midterm elections to a 10 percent tax cut for middle-income earners that never materialized. Kudlow responded that the administration is “looking at it” and also touted a proposal by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to offset tariffs with additional tax cuts.

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The Democrats think it’s a viable tactic to scare people on the economy?

White House Offers Reassurances Amid Recession Fears (Hill)

Chief White House trade advisor Peter Navarro echoed the optimism, saying on ABC’s “This Week,” “Before I came to the White House, I spent the better part of 20 years forecasting business cycle and stock market trends and what I can tell you with certainty is that we’re going to have a strong economy through 2020 and beyond.” Navarro made a similar claim Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” telling host Margaret Brennan, “What I’m seeing when I look at all the macro tea leaves is a very strong Trump economy.” Democratic presidential candidates, meanwhile, sounded the alarm on the economy Sunday morning, pointing to the effects it has had on Americans’ lives. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that a recession is “probably” forthcoming.


However, Buttigieg said, the bigger issue was that even in a period of economic expansion, “most Americans can’t get ahead… and the president has made it abundantly clear he doesn’t care.” “[W]e’ve got an economy not working for most Americans,” he added. Buttigieg’s fellow presidential contender, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) also refuted the rosy outlook Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” following Navarro’s segment. “I don’t think [Navarro’s] world view is reflected in the everyday, kitchen-table issues that families are facing,” Gillibrand said, telling the program that in a meeting with out-of-work Ohio voters, she learned “[t]hey’re worried about their jobs, they’re worried about access to health care… they’re worried about providing for their kids.”

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Nothing to say? We’ll invent something.

Trump: Purchasing Greenland ‘Strategically’ Interesting (Hill)

President Trump on Sunday said buying Greenland is “strategically” interesting amid reported interest from the administration last week. Speaking to reporters as he left his Bedminster, N.J., golf club, Trump acknowledged that purchasing the landmass owned by Denmark has been discussed. “Denmark essentially owns it. We’re very good allies with Denmark. We protect Denmark like we protect large portions of the world,” he said. Trump added, “Strategically, it’s interesting, and we’d be interested, but we’ll talk to them a little bit. It’s not number one on the burner.”


Trump has reportedly mulled attempting to buy the largest island in the world that is home to more than 50,000 people from Denmark, though no official inquiries have been made yet. Trump compared buying the territory from Denmark to a “large real estate deal.” “A lot of things could be done. It’s hurting Denmark very badly because they’re losing almost $700 million a year carrying it. So they carry it at a great loss. And strategically for the United States, it would be nice. And we’re a big ally of Denmark, and we help Denmark, and we protect Denmark,” he said.

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Yesterday the press was talking about thousands of protesters. There were 1.7 million.

Hong Kong Readies For More Mass Protests After Huge, Peaceful Rally (R.)

Hong Kong is gearing up for more protests this week after hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators braved heavy rain to rally peacefully on Sunday, marking a change to what have often been violent clashes. Sunday’s turnout of an estimated 1.7 million people, according to the rally’s organizers, showed that the movement still has widespread support despite chaotic scenes last week when protesters occupied the Chinese-ruled city’s airport. Some activists have apologized for events at the airport. The protests began more than 11 weeks ago as opposition to a now-suspended bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts and have since swelled into wider calls for democracy.


[..] The protests have presented one of the biggest challenges for Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012. Further demonstrations are planned in coming weeks, including another strike in districts across the city. Police said on Monday that, while Sunday’s demonstration was mostly peaceful, acts of breaching public peace happened later when some protesters damaged government offices and aimed laser beams at police officers. Protesters spilled out from Victoria Park, the designated rally area on Hong Kong island, on Sunday and streamed onto major thoroughfares toward the city’s financial center, chanting for Beijing-backed leader Carrie Lam to step down.

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Two stories: Reuters says China wants to integrate Shenzhen with Hong Kong and Macau….

China State Council Calls For Shenzhen Integration With Hong Kong, Macau (R.)

China’s State Council has called for greater development of the southern city of Shenzhen and the integration of its culture and economy with neighboring Hong Kong and Macau. The directive comes as anti-government protests in Hong Kong threaten the status of the Asian financial hub. Hong Kong, one of the world’s busiest ports, is on the verge of its first recession in a decade as violent anti-government protests scare off tourists and bite into retail sales and investment. The State Council 19-point directive, published in state-media outlet People’s Daily, calls for Shenzhen’s “economic strength and development” to rank among the best in the world by 2025, and a “global benchmark” by the middle of the century.


In the 1990s, market-oriented reforms and government support transformed Shenzhen from an ordinary Chinese village to a major hub for China’s manufacturing and technology sectors. The city now houses the global headquarters for Tencent, China’s social media giant, and Huawei, the networking equipment maker that U.S. President Donald Trump effectively barred U.S. companies from supplying. The directive called for the “modernization of social governance” in Shenzhen via the “comprehensive application of big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other technologies.” It called for the integration of the culture and economy of Shenzhen with Hong Kong and Macao via funding for hospitals, joint disaster relief efforts and cultural exchanges, and to further develop the Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and “enrich the new practice of the ‘one country, two systems’ policy.”

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…while Nikkei says Beijing wants to create a new Hong Kong on the mainland.

China Works To Turn Shenzhen Into The New Hong Kong (Nikkei)

The Chinese government aims to transform Shenzhen into a global business center, in an apparent gambit to position the southern city as a model of stable prosperity compared with neighboring Hong Kong. Shenzhen will receive business regulations that conform to international standards, as well as more favorable rules to spur investments and acquisitions, according to a document released Sunday by the State Council, China’s cabinet. China looks to draw multinationals worldwide to the tech hub, a move that essentially would rob Hong Kong of its forte as a magnet for investment. The guidelines come as Chinese paramilitary officers train in Shenzhen amid the weeks-old protests in Hong Kong, suggesting that Beijing may apply both economic pressure and armed force to the restive territory.


Shenzhen will serve as a “demonstration area” for Chinese socialism, the document reads. This will include upgraded health-care infrastructure, coupled with a world-class education system that includes job training. The city will accelerate the development of a fifth-generation wireless network. Talent from outside the mainland will find it easier to cross the border and reside in Shenzhen. Shenzhen will turn into “one of the leading cities in the world in terms of economic strength and quality of development” by 2025, the guidelines say. The city will become a “national model of high-quality development” by 2035 and a “top cosmopolis” worldwide by the middle of the 21st century.

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It was my understanding that it was not a worst case, but a middle one.

‘Operation Yellowhammer’ Documents Reveal Brexit ‘Worst Case Scenario’ (NW)

The United Kingdom could face food, medicine, and fuel shortages when it splits from the European Union on October 31, according to a government report leaked to British newspaper The Sunday Times. The report, entitled “Operation Yellowhammer,” outlines a laundry list of ways life on the British Isles could be disrupted if politicians can’t reach a trade deal with the EU in the next 11 weeks. The yellowhammer is a small bird that is on track for extinction. According to one BBC report, the document was leaked to the press by a former government minister hoping to influence negotiations with the EU. Starting on November 1, trade with Britain’s neighbors could slow to a trickle as Britain’s main route into Europe gets blocked.

“On Day 1 of No Deal, 50%-85% of [trucks] travelling via the short straits may not be ready for French customs,” according to the report, which would cause them to be turned back at the French border. It goes on to add that: “The worst disruption to the short Channel crossings might last 3 months before flow rates rise to about 50%-70%.” Currently, 56 percent of U.K. exports land in Europe. Such a major, prolonged reduction in those numbers could have a catastrophic impact on Britain’s economy. Inversely, the flow of important goods into Britain could also be cut off.


Three quarters of the medicines used in the U.K. come from Europe, according to the report. With no trade or customs agreements in place, imports “could be as low as 40% on Day 1 of No Deal…with significant disruption lasting up to six months.” Perhaps most alarmingly, “Certain types of fresh food supply will decrease. Critical elements of the food supply chain (such as ingredients, chemicals and packaging) may be in short supply.” If that weren’t bad enough, the Yellowhammer report goes on to foretell gas shortages in London and other areas, and the loss of 2,000 jobs at oil refineries that will be forced to close. Rule of law is also under threat, as “job losses are likely to result in protests and direct action with road blockades” and price increases “are likely to lead to the growth of the illegitimate economy.”

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State pensions are much lower than in for instance Germany, something like 75% lower.

UK Elderly In Severe Poverty Up Fivefold Since 1986 (G.)

The proportion of elderly people living in severe poverty in the UK is five times what it was in 1986, the largest increase among western European countries, according to a new study. The rise, from 0.9% of the elderly population to around 5%, is attributable to Britain’s state pension system and its “low basic payments and means-tested supplements”, says the author of the report, Pension Reforms and Old Age Inequalities in Europe. Professor Bernhard Ebbinghaus, of the University of Oxford, will tell a European Sociological Association conference this week that the UK is one of five countries out of 16 that he has studied where there has been an increase in people aged 65 and over who are living in “severe poverty”, which is defined as having an income of 40% or less of the median average.


“The United Kingdom is a good example of the Beveridge-lite systems that have historically failed to combat old-age poverty,” Ebbinghaus said. “These have rather ungenerous basic pensions with means-tested supplements, and this reproduces relatively high severe poverty rates among the elderly. British basic pensions are particularly low, 16% of average earnings, and require a long contribution period. Income-tested or means-tested targeted benefits are needed to supplement basic pensions and to lift them out of severe poverty – every sixth British pensioner receives such additional benefits.”

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Greg Hunter has videos of the interview. Click the link.

Russia Hoax Coup and Epstein Interlocked – Kevin Shipp (USAW)

Former CIA Officer and whistleblower Kevin Shipp says the Russian hoax and attempted coup of President Trump and the sex trafficking case against Jeffery Epstein are linked together by the same Deep State players. Shipp explains, “The FBI has completely raided his vault, and they have some pretty damning material. I don’t know why it took so long, but they have raided Epstein’s island . . . So, there is a lot of damning information the FBI has now on certain people. At the top of the list, and the one who flew the most, was Bill Clinton. Then he lied about it. They are intertwined in that regard and with the Clinton Foundation that we know is a fraud. It is known around the world, and you’ve got these two intersections with Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Of course, Hillary Clinton is tied to the dossier in an attempt to get rid of Donald Trump. So, these webs interlocked with each other, and these people interlock with each other. Welcome to the global elite. Welcome to human trafficking. These things are connected, and with Epstein dead, there are a lot of prominent people breathing a sigh of relief—for now. Is Barr aggressive enough? He says he is going to pursue this case anyway. Is he going to call in the people seen on the CD’s, videos and photographs? That remains to be seen.”

On Epstein’s officially ruled suicide while in prison, Shipp says, “Epstein tries to commit ‘suicide,’ and his cellmate, a four-time convicted murderer, said he didn’t see (or hear) it because he had his headphones on. Attorney General William Barr was in charge of the safety of Jeffery Epstein. There should have been an entire contingent of U.S. Marshals to protect this huge witness, but there were none. Why is that? . . . . It is just unbelievable how they left this huge witness to die in prison. The prison guards were off, as we know. The cameras were not functioning. He was taken off of suicide watch and on and on we go.


There are so many things that add up to this not being a suicide that it is remarkable. . . . We are all still hoping that Attorney General Barr will do his job and people are charged, but this is starting to bother me a little bit. A major witness that was connected to high level people in government and finance was left alone to die in prison, and I think he was murdered. This was all left to happen by William Barr. The pieces to this just don’t add up. . . .We’ve got so many strange things going on here that do not add up, and Attorney General Barr is ultimately responsible for this happening.”

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The original bumbling fool. Epstein kept him around for shady reasons.

Palace In Damage Control Over Video Of Prince Andrew In Epstein Mansion (RT)

A video showing the Duke of York waving off a young woman from inside financier Jeffery Epstein’s New York mansion has reignited speculation online, sending Buckingham Palace into full-on damage-control mode. A short, blurry video released by the Mail on Sunday shows a man, who the tabloid newspaper identifies as Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth, saying goodbye to a young, dark-haired woman at the doorstep of Epstein’s New York mansion – a notorious sex lair where the financier used to prey on young girls. After exchanging courtesies with the brunette, the prince gives her a nod, and then takes a quick look around the door as if to make sure that no paparazzi were in sight.


Moments before Prince Andrew appears in the doorway, Epstein himself can be seen leaving the house accompanied by a blonde girl. The video dates back to December 2010, two years after Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution and was sentenced to 18 months in an open-door prison after striking a sweetheart plea deal. But Buckingham Palace claims the prince was unaware of any wrongdoing going on at the mansion, saying he “has been appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes.”

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I see jellyfish and chips in your future.

Where Did All The Cod Go? Fishing Crisis In The North Sea (G.)

By 7.30am all the cod at Peterhead fish market had been sold, snapped up by competing buyers wearing thick fleeces, woolly hats and rubber boots against the chill of the vast indoor warehouse. A gaggle of middle-aged men clutching books of brightly coloured “tallies” followed the auctioneer alongside crates of glassy-eyed fish nestling in ice. With a curt nod or a swift hand gesture, the price was settled, tallies thrown down to indicate the fish’s new owner, and the group moved on. It took less than 10 minutes to dispose of the night’s catch. Most of the fish would be heading south, to England or mainland Europe. The Scots are not big cod eaters, preferring haddock with their chips. This dates, apparently, from pre-refrigeration days: haddock is a fish best eaten really fresh, whereas cod is tastiest a couple of days after being caught.


The Peterhead buyers were cagey about naming their customers, but the fish they purchased was destined for supermarkets, fishmongers, restaurants, and a few of the classic takeaway chippies that are a national institution. But all this could now be under threat: a report published last month by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices) revealed that North Sea cod stocks had fallen to critical levels. Warning that cod was being harvested unsustainably, it recommended a 63% cut in the catch – and that’s on top of a 47% reduction last year. Independent auditors are reviewing the Ices report, and by late September they will announce whether the fisheries can retain their Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certificates of sustainability – issued only two years ago – or whether those certificates will be suspended. Depending on the decision, North Sea cod could soon be off the menu.

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