The MoA Week In Review – OT 2026-044

OMG. OMFG!

b, I was just about to the end and going to post a nice attaboy about this week’s MOA WiR. Then we get another Michael Tracey article about Epstein.

I honestly can no longer stand that guy. I don’t even click through. If he’s saying something like “Trump is not and should not be the target of the Epstein files” then I would agree with him. But that hasn’t been what he’s said. He is essentially lining up and knocking down victims (known and unknown) and declaring no real crime(s) has (have) been committed – effectively.

This is just beyond the pale now, b. I do always appreciate and like to read the opposing or even uncomfortably contrarian (to my) point of view. It’s valuable as an adult and to someone who likes to keep the intellect clean. But nah, no-can-do. Not anymore. I’m not gonna make stupid threats to leave your blog or no longer contribute, but from now on I’m summarily ignoring anything you post on Epstein unless and until you are smacked upside the face with completely un-ignorable facts. What happened in Florida (taken ALONE) was surely not the end-all/be-all of the global pedo-trafficking-blackmail-influence-spy operation that JE was either the gatekeeper/records collector or master-of-one-faction. There were surely MANY like him, as there are, were and will be again in the future. But Tracy is a complete hack on this matter. His readership must be really suffering – OR – his grandmother recently passed away and left him enough money via an annuity such that he no longer needs to rely on Substack or “journalism” for income.

Please, b. Stay away from him. Something is very wrong.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 22 2026 13:34 utc | 1

It’s early Sunday morning ‘stateside’… If anyone needs a detox or blood pressure reducer after the Tracy Epstein nonsense 0r the terrible world we inhabit – as (mostly) gracefully laid out by our patron/bartender, here is my antidote, FWIW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBLYYbDuLIo

Lee Morgan and Co. – “Search for the New Land” full album. Listen to the whole thing while you read.

Cheers to ALL, including b.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 22 2026 13:43 utc | 2

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 22 2026 13:34 utc | 1

######

Did you see the Tracey interview where he took his ear piece out (on a Piers Morgan program) and claimed he was having audio difficulties when another guest asked him who was paying him?

It was funny how brazen he was avoiding the question…

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/astonishing-coincidence-piers-morgan-calls-203630074.html

I respect b, regardless of any perspective he holds. I probably don’t agree with mamy, but I respect that he hasn’t taken his metaphorical earpiece out by allowing us space for dissent.

Tracey works for the Zionist Bilderberger Thiel. His job is to produce characterizations and to shape narratives on behalf of his patron as “journalists” have done forever in the West.

I am a guilt by association guy, so I look at who has worked closely with Tracey and discount their work accordingly.

Tracey’s thesis to defend Epstein is based around discrediting Guiffre. He ignores the emails, video, dozens and dozens of other public victims.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 13:53 utc | 3

Witkoff….why is not Iran coming foward to say they will not have the bomb, why are they not capitulating because we have alk that military hardware out there?

Reminds me it took endless hours of Putin explaining the Ukaraine SMO context, clearly USA has no collective brain cells of any intelligence connected to their ears, nor eyes to read pre vious public documentation eg IAEE inspections etc etc that Iran has no bomb, nothing is being built and will not be, despite the USA signing out of the JCPOA yet Iran still adheres to the Non Proliferacation Treaty…….duh.

Posted by: Jo | Feb 22 2026 13:53 utc | 4

The shit show continues until it doesn’t and the sooner it ends the better, IMO

Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 22 2026 13:53 utc | 5

Did you see the Tracey interview where he took his ear piece out (on a Piers Morgan program) and claimed he was having audio difficulties when another guest asked him who was paying him?

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 13:53 utc | 3

—

Levin to Wexner “I will fucking kill you if you answer another question with more than five words”.

Posted by: too scents | Feb 22 2026 14:03 utc | 6

Witkoff….why is not Iran coming foward to say they will not have the bomb, why are they not capitulating because we have alk that military hardware out there?

Posted by: Jo | Feb 22 2026 13:53 utc | 4

—

Said Witkoff as he walked into a woodchipper.

Posted by: too scents | Feb 22 2026 14:06 utc | 7

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 13:53 utc | 3

LOL, no I wasn’t aware of that interview. To think…Piers Morgan being genuine and someone he’s grilling….not. What a world.

Anyway, yeah appreciate the hell out of b’s work. And again I’m not making stupid threats to stop reading b’s excellent (AND ad-free, promotion-free, honestly put forth) analysis!

But MT has chosen a hill to potentially die on, and I’m not into snuff. We have enough of that from the Ukro-Nazis and Israelis with their American enablers/censors.

Cheers to you as well.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 22 2026 14:07 utc | 8

Posted by: Jo | Feb 22 2026 13:53 utc | 4

######

They really live in a delusion where they are all powerful and invincible.

The wake-up call may end up being psychologically traumatizing.

I can’t wait. *Rubbing my hands together like Trump outside of a teenage beauty pageant dressing room*

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 14:26 utc | 9

From Strategic Culture about the

Andrew arrested to save King Charles from abdication?

The arrest by UK police of Andrew on the morning of 19th February is interesting as it throws up a number of questions which surely British journalists will not bother asking. Namely, why did it take so long? And perhaps more importantly, who actually made the decision that Andrew had to be arrested?

…
But it is also as though someone in the UK, very powerful, is directing these decisions. One obvious explanation is the Rothschild banking family, which has very close connections with the British royal family and, as they are at the heart of the Epstein so-called investigation on both sides of the Atlantic, are calling the shots. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Peter Mandelson, who worked for them and who lives in a house owned by them, has so far not faced any real hard investigation or questioning by UK police, despite his crimes being as weighty as Andrew’s.
So, if the Rothschilds have decided that Andrew would be a very good sacrificial lamb to lead to the slaughter, which can bring back some credibility to the House of Windsor and Charles as monarch, we can expect him to do jail time and to be hung out to dry. But the Rothschilds might have decided that Andrew had to be used in such a way as it also drives media attention away from Trump and other key figures who are still in power and serving their masters — but who are certainly implicated in the tawdry affair of trafficking underage girls around the world for their revolting carnality.

In another posting at SC it was also reported that Epstein was allowed to fly his private plane out of military bases and that the Royal family is further implicated.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 22 2026 14:35 utc | 10

Re Tracey

Here’s the thing. There has been so much information on Epstein coming out in recent weeks, including this last week, not just about sex trafficking but about his various other political, financial, and intelligence connections that have had ramifications all over the world. So for b to once again post Tracey, and ONLY Tracey, in the ‘Epstein’ category is nothing but a big “fuck you” to his readers — literally putting fingers in his ears and going “nah nah nah.” I see no point in repeating all the evidence – and there is a TON of it – demonstrating how dishonest Tracey is in his usual tactics (which he once again uses here against yet another “soft” target – the ‘Young Turks.’). This has been done ad nauseam by commenters here. So what I will say is this.

Epstein put together an army of political and legal vultures to seek out and smear, buy off, or destroy the girls who were his victims. This included the likes of Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr, among others. Here is just one little piece on their tactics by Rania Khalek; there are a million more:

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/how-alan-dershowitz-bullied-rape-victims-protect-serial-child-molester

I assume all MofA readers know what a despicable piece of shit Dershowitz is. Tracey claims he is not being paid by anyone. If true, then he must smearing these women, and covering up for all the other Epstein actions, out of his own sense of … what? For him to be joining this on his own *without* any pecuniary reward says even more about him. I’ve heard all the excuses about Tracey simply being a “contrarian.” His actions gone way beyond that. And he continues to double down. He joins the Alan Dershowitzes of the world in providing cover for some of the worst people on earth.

But the really sad thing is that in continuing to give Tracey an exclusive platform on this issue, b is doing the same thing.

Posted by: pjay | Feb 22 2026 14:37 utc | 11

How Russia Can Save Its “Shadow Fleet,” or Naval Tankers (EADaily, Mikhail Osherov, February 19, 2026 — in Russian)

In recent days and weeks, the United States and its emboldened European allies have been seizing tankers carrying Russian oil around the world. Formally, this is to enforce the sanctions they have imposed on Russia.

Russia is suffering enormous losses, and petroleum product exports—one of the main sources of income for the Russian state budget—are declining.

Since the tankers do not fly the Russian flag, Russia has no formal right to lodge any diplomatic protests. However, if a foreign state seizes or sinks a Russian-flagged vessel, this action would constitute an act of naval blockade, or a formal act of war, since, according to international law, naval blockade is a method of waging war.

Russia has been subjected to several such attacks since 2015 by Turkey, which seized Russian ships carrying military cargo destined for Syria. However, Russia did not declare Turkey at war with Russia. Following several seizures of Russian transport vessels, military cargo has begun to be transported to Syria by large landing ships.

Assigning a military escort to each “shadow fleet” tanker is impossible—Russia simply does not have that many warships capable of long-distance voyages.

The only way to save the “shadow fleet” ships is to transfer them to the Russian flag—not the merchant flag, but the naval flag—and to equip them with various types of weapons to counter foreign helicopters used to launch attack groups onto the decks of captured ships, as well as to counter foreign surface and submarine warships.

Roughly speaking, shooting down an enemy helicopter over sea that commits an act of aggression against a Russian military transport tanker flying the Russian naval flag would be a highly effective way to repel the enemy’s naval blockade. It would also be desirable, in parallel with escorting Russian naval tankers along global shipping routes, to organize their escort by Russian submarine warships, which constantly patrol these routes.

Rearming tankers with various types of weapons systems—additional communications, radar, sonar, air defense, anti-ship systems, marine and aerial unmanned aerial vehicles, and possibly combat helicopters—is a rather costly defense expenditure. However, such rearmament, as well as the slight increase in the current operating costs of these tankers, is far less expensive than their losses. Rearmament can be accomplished quickly by mounting various land-based weapons systems on the tankers’ decks, such as the Pantsir or Tor air defense systems, or the Klub container launchers as anti-ship weapons systems.

Naval tankers, no longer huge, defenseless vessels, but combat ships capable of independently defending themselves against the threat of capture by enemy states, should become the backbone of Russia’s oil export fleet.

Posted by: S | Feb 22 2026 14:42 utc | 12

Posted by: pjay | Feb 22 2026 14:37 utc | 11

######

b doesn’t need to reflect the values of anyone else.

I don’t agree with him, and that’s ok.

Ironically, his position has inspired a lot of debate (the job of any thought-community leader) by taking a stance that agitates many.

I don’t see people writing, “thanks b, I see it now. Epstein is the victim of false accusations and slander.”

On the contrary, more people know about the details surrounding Epstein than they might have if b had made the easy and expected postings of moral condemnation. Kicking Epstein (rightfully so) today is easy and everyone will agree.

I don’t know b’s heart but I can see the effect of his perspective, and that, IMO, has been positive.

For the record, I think Epstein deserves endless infamy and all involved anywhere in the world should “get the rope” just by virtue of having stood next to him once.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 14:49 utc | 13

Michael Tracey is obviously a compromised POS. My 15-year-old granddaughter has rocks for brains. She thinks she’s the smartest human on the planet but she definitely has rocks for brains. Her 12-year-old sister is a little smarter.

If some middle aged man touched either of them…and both are of age for the Epstein crew…I would hunt the mofo down, lop off his dick and balls and feed it to him for dinner, enjoying the rest of my days in a women’s prison reading.

Posted by: cc | Feb 22 2026 14:55 utc | 14

Ephebophilia is not a crime. Do not interfere in the free market. Voluntary transactions between willing parties.

Posted by: Websters | Feb 22 2026 15:06 utc | 15

Reminder;
De-dollarization brings peace someome in 2027

no moar money
no moar wars

Posted by: Exile | Feb 22 2026 15:11 utc | 16

It would be nice on the eve of a potential imperial war with Iran, with the unbearable treatment of the indigenous people of Palestine and continued bombing in Lebanon as well as the empire’s barbarism in Syria … if we had an open thread for the middle east/west asia

Posted by: dp | Feb 22 2026 15:14 utc | 17

@ 15
This is what right-wing libertarians actually believe.

Posted by: fnord | Feb 22 2026 15:26 utc | 18

fnord – not that I’m a libertarian … but … the essence of libertarianism is voluntary association and contract. The essence of contract is competent parties.

The whole point about someone underage being abused and taken advantage of is that they are not grown up enough to make competent decision … in other words, you are taking advantage of them. As a society, we have decided that the age of competence for these decisions is 18. That is why, even though people are physically sexually mature long before that, it is unethical and perverse to claim “voluntary” relations with them … they are not considered old enough to do so when faced by older adults.

Posted by: Caliman | Feb 22 2026 15:36 utc | 19

Please, b. Stay away from him. Something is very wrong.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 22 2026 13:34 utc | 1
You know, I tend to agree re: Tracey. My feeling is he’s trying to generate controversy, attention, money by getting into the legal weeds on Epstein instead of putting the whole sordid affair into political context.
That said, “The Young Turks” have to be one of the worst fake left abortions of recent memory. They are agents of Imperialism.

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Feb 22 2026 15:38 utc | 20

There’s a nice pair of Corona loppers in my garage. I use a whet stone to keep them nice and sharp. They cleanly lop off branches well over an inch thick. Gotta consider cauterization though….hmmmm….wouldn’t want that ephebo whatever dying over some “mutual” transaction conducted with someone not old enough to enter a contract.

Posted by: cc | Feb 22 2026 15:43 utc | 21

Posted by: Shadow Facts | Feb 22 2026 15:21 utc | 18

######

The thing is that while it is labelled “TRAP” in bright neon lettering, Trump doesn’t perceive it as such.

That’s what happens when ideology supercedes rationality. Dangerous, as few ideologies are particularly rational in the first place.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 15:47 utc | 22

Looking at the news headlines here, I think it is obvious that the State of the US Union (ummm…Onion?) stinks. And it is getting worse. Iran, Ukraine, the US itself. But that is good. Keep up the good work, Donald. Maybe in a while, the US will have to return to its revolutionary roots and become a constitutional democracy (not republic). https://julianmacfarlane.substack.com/p/never-interrupt-a-fool

Posted by: julianmacfarlane | Feb 22 2026 15:52 utc | 23

Thank you Caliman. You expressed it way better than me.

Posted by: cc | Feb 22 2026 15:52 utc | 24

In 2026, a massive amount of US government debt is maturing : 9600 billion. The most ever.

This is 33% of all outstanding debt. The most ever.

Precious metals price (in USD) going to the roof. Paper printing…

Posted by: Asian Frog | Feb 22 2026 15:54 utc | 25

“ Today, I am planning to engage in an extreme act of protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people… Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid?

What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.”

–Aaron Bushnell, February 25 2024

Posted by: Exile | Feb 22 2026 16:03 utc | 26

I believe Trump could win a peace prize if he were to turn the Iran talks into a middle east wide nuclear treaty; include in the talks, all nations in the middle east.

Get everyone to subscribe to exactly the same conditions, obligations and limitations concerning any and all fissionable, fussionable, neutron or energy related material and technology, no matter its size or energetic potential. All uses, development, weaponization, storage, information sharing, inspection obligations and disposal related issues subject to the same rules and transparent to everyone.

Posted by: snake | Feb 22 2026 16:13 utc | 27

@pjay | Feb 22 2026 14:37 utc | 11

Exactly!

Michael Tracey is such a scumbag p.o.s. For b to only quote him is just a raised middle finger to the bar.

And again: The sexual abuse is not even the worst part of the Epstein episode, the powermongering and warmongering behind the scenes is. Michael Tracey denies all of this, as the scumbag he is. And since b exclusively quote Tracey, we have to assume that the host of this site does as well.
Sad.

Posted by: Roland | Feb 22 2026 16:14 utc | 28

I mean: Look at this:
https://nitter.net/mtracey/status/2024442407073333431

And if eX-Twitter removes the community note, here’s a link to AP:
https://apnews.com/article/britain-epstein-andrew-former-prince-arrested-fb0b9e738bf7ede10651914ee3f3583d

Even Mainstream articles explicitly state, that ‘Prince Andrew’ is being arrested _separately_ from the Guiffre accusations.
But Tracey just cannot stop himself from lying all the time. Such a piece of shit. Sometimes he gets caught and issues a lukewarm ‘oh my bad’ pseudo apology. Strangely enough he only gets caught spreading lies into one specific imperialistic direction. Have I said what a piece of shit he is?

Posted by: Roland | Feb 22 2026 16:20 utc | 29

All good humour contains a kernel of truth…

https://babylonbee.com/news/prince-andrew-joins-uk-muslim-rape-gang-so-he-can-keep-abusing-young-girls

Posted by: Fool Me Twice | Feb 22 2026 16:24 utc | 30

@Tom_Q_Collins – “What happened in Florida (taken ALONE) was surely not the end-all/be-all of the global pedo-trafficking-blackmail-influence-spy operation that JE was either the gatekeeper/records collector or master-of-one-faction. There were surely MANY like him, as there are, were and will be again in the future. ”

Evidence?

Is there any evidence of “pedo”, “trafficking”, “blackmale”? (I’ll grant you the “influence” peddling because that’s what everyone does.) “Spy” – talking to secret service people about what one knows is not “spying”.

Again: Evidence? I haven’t seen any. Just rumors, assertions, and implausible claims by some crazy people.

Just because it “makes sense” to you does not mean it has happened.

Posted by: b | Feb 22 2026 16:44 utc | 31

Posted by: Exile | Feb 22 2026 16:03 utc | 27

######

Overheard on Twitter

There is a special kind of cruelty in a population that watches its government starve entire nations then complains about gas prices.

You point to sanctions that kill hospitals.

They answer with stock indices.

You point to children losing limbs.

They answer with “national interest.”

You start to think:

The empire is not just in the Pentagon.

It is in the living room.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 16:44 utc | 32

Posted by: b | Feb 22 2026 16:44 utc | 32 do you think they will allow the public to see evidence? don’t put your head in the sand

Posted by: dp | Feb 22 2026 16:48 utc | 33

Posted by: b | Feb 22 2026 16:44 utc | 32

#####

b, many of us have seen the correspondence between Epstein and others. The photos, the videos. It’s enough to make a person puke.

One can protest that there is no fire (you and MT), but the amount of smoke is suffocating and unavoidable.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 16:48 utc | 34

thanks b…. and for your response to tom @ 33…

i see the tracey posts as provocative and stimulating more conversation…

@ Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 22 2026 13:43 utc | 2

thanks tom.. i wasn’t familiar with this album and i am digging it!

Posted by: james | Feb 22 2026 16:49 utc | 35

The barman covers a lot of ground. The amount of links he puts up on his weekly week in review.

Drilled my finger one time. I was bloody pissed off as there was no switch on the drill. My mate comes in and sees blood all around his shed and says bloody hell, you’re making a mess off my shed so I a put a bit of rag on it and wrapped it in electrical tape.
I was unable to read right through the barmans piece on Epstein, but you lot bleeding about it, grab a tampon and put a plug in it.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 22 2026 16:50 utc | 36

b – Your standard for “evidence” re Epstein’s crimes seems very different than that for any other issue … you seem to be looking for convictions in court as the only acceptable evidence. Well, looks like we’re going to get some of that too, finally, and then this episode will really stink even more.

There are millions of files and more importantly tens of women bravely openly testifying about their abuse by the rich and powerful. That latter by itself should be enough f’ing evidence for anyone who considers himself a truth teller. Remember: “afflict the powerful and comfort the powerless?”

Posted by: Caliman | Feb 22 2026 16:57 utc | 37

In 2026, a massive amount of US government debt is maturing : 9600 billion. The most ever.

Posted by: Asian Frog | Feb 22 2026 15:54 utc | 25

#####

‘Tis but a scratch.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 17:05 utc | 38

All other things being equal and bearing any extraordinary event, China will not only pass the US by in nearly every advanced technology, they will humiliate the US without intending to do so, across coming years.
It is said that “the US is run by lawyers but China is run by engineers”. OK, that’s a generalization but it contains a threatening truth. The US freely allows lying – apart from legally defined fraud- in every field you can imagine. What standard of objective truth do you think a society of lawyers would generate for a culture?
By contrast, ask the same question about a society run by engineers ? I would strongly hypothesize that they would obssess over details and being accurate. Think StarTrek with not much individual human rights. What is your experience with lawyers vs engineers?
The best engineering universities globally are in China. That will have a big effect. Also, note how pathetic Muslim/Arab nations have been in fighting Israel……..except for Iran, which has scientists and engineers.

Posted by: Eighthman | Feb 22 2026 17:05 utc | 39

Up there for non-elitist displays of western exceptionalism has to be cos-playing muslim victimhood on an internet forum while calling for a bloody sectarian war in a country you have never been to, with a people you know nothing about, and the consequences of which will never affect you directly.

(Still no one has contacted me for the address/number in Istanbul to sort out invitation and visa to go fight the good fight! The material embrace of the ‘enemy’ is far too sweet to give up, it seems.) ))

Posted by: Artem | Feb 22 2026 17:06 utc | 40

Posted by: Eighthman | Feb 22 2026 17:05 utc | 39

####

And Yemen, which has/had Soviet-trained engineers from legacy international educational programs from the 70s.

An uneducated people cannot be sovereign. Not just materially, but philosophically and spiritually as well.

Knowledge is power and identity.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 17:10 utc | 41

This is what happens when honest people stick to definitions. Pedophilia, rape, blackmail, (as well as vaccine and woman)- the definitions have all changed in the public mind, thanks to relentless propaganda, so people who insist on using correct language get trashed by those who have happily adopted the new definitions.
There was a judge in California who was attacked because he went easy on a Stanford student who was caught trying to get the pants off a drunken woman, who had agreed to have sex with him before she passed out. She was no longer able to consent, see?
Yes, by the standards of today, any sort of sexual fumbling is called “rape”, but by the law of California, which required penile penetration, it was not.
No matter, the press whipped up the population into a frenzy. I heard about it all the way in Illinois, which caught my attention. Why was the press here talking about a case in California? Oh, they wanted to get rid of the judge. The outrage was quickly followed by a recall campaign.
I warned my sister not to vote for the recall, but she said, with great indignation “He let a rapist go free!!!” Which, of course, showed me once again that my sister believes any bs she reads in the paper.
And that is how they manipulate people. Apparently, liberals are mad that the trumped-up charges against Trump (prosecuted past the statute of limitation, but why go by old, old-dated laws?) didn’t convict him of rape, because New York had the same law as California. That law has to go!
If men can be fired for flirting at work, then surely they can be thrown in prison for sexual advances.

It is ironic to see liberals suddenly screaming about age of consent laws, because the same liberals insist that 9 year olds can be put on puberty blockers to stop their normal growth and development, if they so decide. How can a 9 y.o. make such a decision? Shut up, bigot!

Posted by: wagelaborer | Feb 22 2026 17:19 utc | 42

Posted by: wagelaborer | Feb 22 2026 17:19 utc | 42

#####

Shades of Bill Clinton arguing under oath that,

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky”

Apparently blowjobs were not sexual relations by Clinton’s definition.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 17:25 utc | 43

LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 17:25 utc | 43

Wage laborer nailed it.
The Epstein class tells us men and women are equality.Testosterone and estrogen. Like mixing oil and water in this bullshit western political world. Should be a partnership of two different strengths.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 22 2026 17:35 utc | 44

Posted by: wagelaborer | Feb 22 2026 17:19 utc | 42
All true. I remember that judge. He retired and started coaching his daughters tennis team. Guess what? More anti male outrage and he was forced to resign as coach of the tennis team! California is basically a reverse Taliban for working class men.
But you, wage laborer, must always remember the class question. Epstein and friends are the ruling class and they are so smugly above any petty law imposed on the slaves. Yes, the Imperialist genocidal Democratic Party wants to curtail heterosexual male sexuality by vilifying the slightest manifestation of sexual interest. Yes, they want to undermine the development of little children to create new profit sources for hedge fund run hospitals. But, that’s only for the slave population, not them, of course. Hence some small times judge is hounded for simply applying the law, while nobody in the US will be held to account for trading money, government secrets and compromising the state just to enjoy Epstein’s bespoke prostitutes.
My attitude to this issue is also class based. They should try every person with any proven connection to Epstein. They should drop all laws that would in anyway punish heterosexual male sexuality in all cases short of actual forced penetration for the working class. They should also bring back an accused’s right to attack the character of the accuser. (Currently in California you must ask the Democratic Party judge for permission to do so. You can probably imagine how they answer that request in virtually every situation.).
Oh and domestic violence! In California, you are guilty of this heinous sounding crime if you simply touch someone without their consent. Just a touch. Absolutely no injury required at all.
Honestly, the legal situation facing the working class male is much worse than most even realize.

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Feb 22 2026 17:39 utc | 45

@LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 17:10 utc | 41
Which areas of engineering specifically?

Posted by: Artem | Feb 22 2026 17:42 utc | 46

Should be a partnership of two different strengths.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 22 2026 17:35 utc | 44
Yes, but that natural and healthy state of affairs cannot be until the Zio Imperialist power in the West is extinguished. Poisoning male/female cooperation amongst the working class is a critical element of their rule. The race game is even more important to them.
They aren’t idiots. If all the slaves cooperate and get along, they are immeasurably more dangerous to their masters.

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Feb 22 2026 17:43 utc | 47

do you think they will allow the public to see evidence? don’t put your head in the sand
Posted by: dp | Feb 22 2026 16:48 utc | 33
—
There will be a great reckoning if ‘white hat’ computer hackers find images and release them to the public.

Posted by: freedom fritos | Feb 22 2026 17:48 utc | 48

Posted by: b | Feb 22 2026 16:44 utc | 31
“Evidence? I haven’t seen any. Just rumors, assertions, and implausible claims by some crazy people.”

All you would have to do is read the Miami Herald stories about the Florida case alone, which have been posted here more than once. The Palm Beach police chief who headed the original investigation identified at least 50 girls who independently told the same story. The later Herald investigation uncovered over 80. The original 60 count indictment drawn up on the basis of this and other evidence, and which also dealt with major money laundering, was repressed and replaced by Epstein’s sweetheart deal, but it was recently revealed in a files release. This story is discussed in detail in the Herald series. And this is just about Palm Beach, from one source. There are literally hundreds of witnesses; not just victims, but members of law enforcement, employees of Epstein in Florida, New Mexico, and New York, etc. So are they all liars or crazy people? And that’s just one aspect of this complex case. Maxwell, by the way, was convicted of … SEX TRAFFICKING! I assume there was some “evidence” for that conviction – or was she just another “me too” victim? I won’t dignify your use of the Tracey argument about the definition of “pedo” with a response (though there seems to be a lot in the recent file releases to suggest that even this tactic might not work). But that you would join him in smearing literally hundreds of victims with this sort of despicable misdirection while ignoring everything beyond the sex trafficking involving political, financial, and intelligence operations that are of great interest to MofA readers is beyond my comprehension.

Since I know you are familiar with sources like the Grayzone, Bloomberg News, Drop Site News, the NY Times, the Wall St Journal, etc., etc., etc. – let alone alternative sources like Whitney Webb who have been documenting this stuff for years (Tracey’s “debunking” of Webb was one of the most transparently dishonest pieces of his that I’ve seen – and I’ve seen most of them) — I have to assume there is some powerful motive, psychological or otherwise, for you to keep repeating the “no evidence” mantra. Please know, if you don’t already, that for many if not most of us this is “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength” territory. We come to Moon of Alabama for relief from this kind of crap. To be sure there is a lot of salacious junk on Epstein out there, as there always is. What Tracey does is select this stuff to “debunk” while ignoring the actually relevant information then, aggravatingly, denying it exists! By continuing to push the Tracey line you are doing the same.

Many of your readers, including long time readers like me, have posted links to a variety of sources providing the “evidence” you say does not exist. If you continue to repeat this without even acknowledging them, let alone (apparently) reading them, then I can only assume the worst.

Posted by: pjay | Feb 22 2026 17:50 utc | 49

Artem,

what do you think should be done with US citizens that fought in the IDF during the recent Genocide ?
How should the IDF commanders be held accountable who ordered the killing of hundreds of Israelis in the Hannibal Massacre of 7.Oct ?

do you condem the Gaza Genocide ?

Posted by: Exile | Feb 22 2026 17:56 utc | 50

Posted by: b | Feb 22 2026 16:44 utc | 31
Posting the Tracey line of articles does not bother/interest me in the least. If people don’t agree with Tracey (and actually thinks he raises important questions), just make your argument.
Take a deep breath and recall please why we all ended up at the bar in the first place: mass Imperialist censorship of any perspective it finds inconvenient. The answer is never more censorship, but rather more open discussion. Make your argument or STFU.

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Feb 22 2026 18:11 utc | 51

Posted by: Exile | Feb 22 2026 15:11 utc

“no moar money
no moar wars”

Is that moar as in more, or moar as in boar 🐗?

Or even bore?

Although I wouldn’t ascribe that characteristic to the codified utterances of a cypher distilling the liquor of four into the spirit of one and presenting it in plain text here and now:

“Wun Moar Rude Person storee #too.”

I see, I hear #too lol🤣.

And here in the UK:

UK 10-year gilt yield is approximately 4.36% as of February 20, 2026.

Funny that, it’s almost a mirror image of those rates set in Wall Street:

https://images.skyscrapercenter.com/building/ny034.jpg

But, of course, London is a replica of Wall Street:

https://www.willpearson.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/canary-wharf-pier1.jpg

Or maybe Wall Street is a subsidiary of London is a subsidiary of Wall Street recurring… who knows? It’s making me frikin dizzy 😩 .

And as to the Royal Princes:

Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 22 2026 14:35 utc

It wouldn’t surprise me at all to discover they had been using Royal airfields or aircraft for their own personal use.

I had a friend who lived near Bucklebury, Berkshire, who kept horses and cattle and she and her neighbours were particularly pi$$ed of with Chinnocks and Apache helicopters landing in fields near by and spooking their animals.

Ok, it is on the very edge of a training area, but you can imagine the disturbance of a Chinnock landing in a field next to your animals, unannounced. as you settle down for your evening meal.

Turned a lot of dog walkers and stallholders against Prince William:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7356963.stm

Me? I wasn’t so disturbed by it. For me, the sight of a Chinnock approach low in the darkness and landing in a field right in front of me in was quite an experience.

Unfortunately my girlfriend, a dog lover, was less than impressed as she tried to calm her dog as he went absolutely panic striken.

She still gives me grief about that now lol🤣.

Posted by: lachaussette | Feb 22 2026 18:16 utc | 52

Exile | Feb 22 2026 17:56 utc | 50
To be honest I don’t have an opinion because I simply don’t know enough about it.I could of course tell you the TRT/Al Jazeera line, or I could tell you the Jerusalem Post line, but …
What I do wonder is why Turkey and Qatar did nothing but scream loudly while working in the background with Israel. And I do wonder how we got to the stage in the West that Hamas and Palestine seem so important to some that other conflicts are rendered irrelevant.
And no, I am not asking you to answer those points.
But why did you ask?I ave not written anything on the subject for the very reason I state above.

Posted by: Artem | Feb 22 2026 18:21 utc | 53

Which areas of engineering specifically?

Posted by: Artem | Feb 22 2026 17:42 utc | 46

#####

The areas of engineering that send thousands of Israelis to bomb shelters at 5 AM day after day, and chase 2 US carrier groups out of the region.

The sort of engineering that cannot be defeated by B2 bombers flown from Diego Garcia.

The sort of engineering that allowed them to take out several Reaper drones in six weeks last year, and 15+ drones since 2023.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/25/houthi-fighters-down-200m-worth-of-us-drones-in-under-six-weeks

One of the poorest countries in the world.

Soviet engineering. The same school of engineering that managed to land a probe on Venus (which is very difficult to do).

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 18:23 utc | 54

Hey I posted a rundown on some Iran War Scenarios on Substack! And then my post here got deleted! Do you think some Scenarios upset the Deep State? Too controversial?
I’ll try again! Sorry if I rattled someone’s cage!!!!

https://open.substack.com/pub/shadowfacts/p/shadow-facts-iran-war-scenarios/

Posted by: Shadow Facts | Feb 22 2026 18:26 utc | 55

Then we get another Michael Tracey article about Epstein. I honestly can no longer stand that guy. I don’t even click through. ######
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins

Madness. Whole world is going mad over Epstein nonsense and you attack the sanest of the lot of us.

Did you see the Tracey interview where he took his ear piece out (on a Piers Morgan program) and claimed he was having audio difficulties when another guest asked him who was paying him? It was funny how brazen he was avoiding the question…

Oh FFS – then he put his earpiece straight back in and answered the questions straight.Only idiots push that kind of propaganda to non-idiots. Find a better forum for your lies.

Posted by: Michael Droy | Feb 22 2026 18:26 utc | 56

I ave not written anything on the subject for the very reason I state above.

Posted by: Artem | Feb 22 2026 18:21 utc | 53

####

As I am fond of citing, “Keine Antwort ist auch eine Antwort”

How someone can have loud geopolitical opinions in 2026 and post on MoA about various West and Central Asian countries, while claiming to not understand enough about Gaza to have an opinion one way or the other is unbelievable.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 18:28 utc | 57

@LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 18:23 utc | 54
Venus as I understand it would destroy such a drone that lands unless it can withstand over 460 C. But baloons hovering high up in its athmosphere may have comfortable temperatures even for a human

Posted by: petergrfstrm | Feb 22 2026 18:28 utc | 58

Posted by: Michael Droy | Feb 22 2026 18:26 utc | 56
#####
What lie? I posted an article with the video embedded.

You’re protesting too much to be dispassionate and objective about Peter Thiel’s pet journalist, Michael Tracey.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 18:30 utc | 59

Posted by: petergrfstrm | Feb 22 2026 18:28 utc | 58

#####
And yet, the Soviets captured audio and photographs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_space_program#Venusian_missions

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 18:33 utc | 60

One of the many problems with Michael Tracey’s point of view is its inconsistency.
Mr. Tracey basically decides which testimonies are credible and which are not; which witnesses are credible and which are not, all according to his own bias, and then he says “look, I am right: all the credible (credible to him) evidence says so”. So, since he believes that Jeffrey Epstein, among other things, did not traffic minors, he deems as false or exaggerated every testimony which alleges that mr. Epstein was a trafficker and he paints as completely unreliable every witness that alleges such traffics happened. At the same time, he reputes as fully reliable every witness belittling those allegations. So all the teenagers claiming they were solicited to offer sexual services are totally unreliable, but the one testimony that says that Epstein was unaware that dozens of his girls were minors is totally reliable and a good justification for his actions. The claim that he ousted all the girls who lied about their true age is credible; the claim that he did not have sex with girls, but just touched them and masturbated is credible; the fact that he perfectly knew that the girl he had sex with in 2008 was a minor is, according to Tracey, totally consistent with all the evidence deemed as credible by him, because that was just an isolated case.
That is Tracey point of view and it is possible in theory, but very unlikely in practice.
The Epstein files did not reveal hard evidence, that is true, but there is enough evidence to start some real investigations and inquiries into the matter, with an open mind and without bias of any kind. The biggest peril right now is a rehearsal of the 2008 investigation, which was shut down before it could reach conclusions. The Epstein affair is just collective hysteria? If that is the case, let’s have a real investigation to prove it: after all, if there is nothing to discover, none will be damaged by an investigation. What is all this damage control about?

Posted by: SG | Feb 22 2026 18:42 utc | 61

LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 18:28 utc | 57
I don’t have “loud geopolitical opinions”.
You will notice I write about very specific countries only, those with which I have close relations because in that way I have sufficient knoweldge to feel able to sift through the staggering amounts of propaganda that flood our media from all sides nowadays.
I do not feel the need to have an opinion on everything that is going on in the world.

Posted by: Artem | Feb 22 2026 18:43 utc | 62

Posted by: Caliman | Feb 22 2026 15:36 utc | 19

Yes and that’s the point. b didn’t simply excuse Epstein. He claimed that there was nothing wrong with the reported treatment of girls by Epstein and seems incapable of understanding why everything is wrong about that treatment. When you take advantage of another’s lack of social power for your own gain or desire, you’re a predator, whether scamming elderly people with fake computer alerts, or grooming children for topless massages. I only check MoA for the weekly round up, which is still helpful, but the host’s moral hypocrisy is hard to take seriously any more. It’s like discovering that MoA was run by Jimmy Savile all along.

Posted by: Patroklos | Feb 22 2026 18:44 utc | 63

Sex with a minor is always rape, because they are below the age at which they can give consent.

Posted by: Dave G | Feb 22 2026 18:45 utc | 64

Chaos in Mexico. Cartel members storm airport and torch busses and buildings after the military killed their leader.

https://x.com/runews/status/2025641812501602576
https://x.com/DanDicksPFT/status/2025620868227817559
https://x.com/BRICSinfo/status/2025633653418590491

Posted by: unimperator | Feb 22 2026 18:49 utc | 65

Sex with a minor is always rape, because they are below the age at which they can give consent.
Posted by: Dave G | Feb 22 2026 18:45 utc | 64

mixing up “no legal consent” and “rape” is a very US miss attribution / munging of details.
rape implies force and opposition.

Posted by: MAKK | Feb 22 2026 18:50 utc | 66

petergrfstrm,

As I was saying, superior engineering skill.

The Venutian missions are a very interesting read. They iterated and iterated until they could land and acquire data.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 18:51 utc | 67

LD,
We certainly confirmed today that Artem is a pro-genocide dissembler.

Posted by: Exile | Feb 22 2026 18:53 utc | 68

Statutory Rape aka 16 will get you 20

Posted by: Exile | Feb 22 2026 18:56 utc | 69

@LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 18:33 utc | 60
But it didnt last long. 23 minutes to 2 hours, A baloon would have been possible for human visitors

Posted by: petergrfstrm | Feb 22 2026 19:01 utc | 70

Woo Hoo ! Break out the champagne !
Mike Huckabee has made a remark about Israel having a right to invade and control the Middle East ! It’s wonderful to see vicious Neo Cons make such stupid remarks that might ……derail aggression towards Iran. Fantastic. I love it.

Posted by: Eighthman | Feb 22 2026 19:01 utc | 71

Patroklos | Feb 22 2026 18:44 utc | 63

This world. Its odd. So many die,. My mate that came around and st me back on my chair he feared death so I told him to fuck off. My other mate cones around each weak to make sure I’m still alive.

I tend to think life is not a Greek classic. Like the cat and rabbit guts strewn across my bed.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 22 2026 19:03 utc | 72

Exile | Feb 22 2026 18:53 utc | 68
You are as transparent as urochrome-free piss.But at least you tried. ))

Posted by: Artem | Feb 22 2026 19:04 utc | 73

@Exile | Feb 22 2026 18:53 utc | 68
That is interesting if you are right and may could give reason to think Artem prefers the Khomeini type of backward revolutions compared with the shahs nuclear power projects.

Posted by: petergrfstrm | Feb 22 2026 19:05 utc | 74

But it didnt last long. 23 minutes to 2 hours, A baloon would have been possible for human visitors
Posted by: petergrfstrm | Feb 22 2026 19:01 utc | 70

You should consider typing whatever you have to say into a search engine before posting.

Russia did send balloons.

A baloon would have been possible for human visitors.
Not even sure what you are trying to say here.

Posted by: ftp | Feb 22 2026 19:11 utc | 75

But it didnt last long.

Posted by: petergrfstrm | Feb 22 2026 19:01 utc | 70

#####

Are you speaking from experience?

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 19:13 utc | 76

Posted by: Exile | Feb 22 2026 18:53 utc | 68

####

As with Huckabee, given enough airtime, most will tell (by speaking or not speaking) everyone what they think and are about. Being able to sit in silence is a skill, increasingly rare in modern times.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 19:16 utc | 77

LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 19:16 utc | 77 “Being able to sit in silence is a skill, “

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 22 2026 19:20 utc | 78

Congratulation to b on his record-breaking historic article of February 10th, which now has over A THOUSAND COMMENTS (1,148 to be exact)! WOW!The most recent comment was posted just yesterday, and mentions Prince Andrew, G Maxwell, and raping a 6 year old girl.

Moon of Alabama commenters have spoken! Judging by their vociferous response, what they really Really REALLY want is pure filth, smut, and titillating tabloid trash that leaves them screaming for more More MORE!Will b give them the excitement they crave? Or will he return to his boring old tripe about geopolitics, war, and the everyday yawn-inducing lies of the ruling class?

To b, or not to b? THAT is the question.

Posted by: Mark Mosby | Feb 22 2026 19:22 utc | 79

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 18:51 utc

No one seriously involved in space exploration would dissmis the engineering achievements of the Soviet/Russian space program.

Let’s just take rover technology for example:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunokhod_programme

And, years later, compare to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sojourner_(rover)

I think this has to be the reason NASA still collaborates with Roscomos, exchanging astronauts to an from the International Space Station using the Soyuz vehicle, probably the most successful spacecraft to date.

Posted by: lachaussette | Feb 22 2026 19:22 utc | 80

My contribution to b’s listing are two critical historical documents from four years ago that beg being read again and saved to people’s own archives: Into the Time Tunnel: 21 February 2022 Russian Security Council Meeting and Back to the Future Continued: Putin’s 21 February 2022 Speech.

These two events proceeded back-to-back–the unprecedented nationally televised meeting of Russia’s Security Council followed by Putin’s speech to the nation and world based upon its results. Both are unique history lessons and were documented by me at my VK site as I explain in the intros to both. The third and fourth in the series will be the 4 February 2022 Joint Statement of Russia and China on International Relations Entering a New Era and Global Sustainable Development, which was issued on the eve of the 2022 Beijing Olympics and anticipates what will transpire in three weeks’ time. The last document will be Putin’s 24 February 2022 speech announcing the start of the promised technical military operation we know as the SMO that was blacked out completely in the West via a very intense cyber-attack that took almost a week to circumvent. I presume few have read any of them which is why I’m republishing them. Yes, all are very long documents substack warns are too long for many email recipients, so they’ll need to be read via browser. My advice for those serious readers is to copy/paste them into a blank document, edit my emphasis so you can add your own annotation.

Posted by: karlof1 | Feb 22 2026 19:23 utc | 81

@ Peter AU1 | Feb 22 2026 19:20 utc | 78

lol.. apparently devote muslims like ld don’t do that! nice try though!!

Posted by: james | Feb 22 2026 19:28 utc | 82

Recall after the destruction of Unit 8200 HQ last June the Hasbarat quality hit rock bottom ? Likely still trying to Train and rebuild the Hasbarat cadre. Not so easy among a demoralized population with average IQ of 92.

Posted by: Exile | Feb 22 2026 19:30 utc | 83

@ Mark Mosby | Feb 22 2026 19:22 utc | 79

great quote at the end mark… that was very apropos!

Posted by: james | Feb 22 2026 19:30 utc | 84

LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 19:16 utc | 77
Not sure he was talking about intermittent posts on a social media platform over a matter of a few weeks, which is probably why you called me a Russophobe despite my not having written anything about Russia on here! ))

Posted by: Artem | Feb 22 2026 19:42 utc | 85

A story about age of consent and social norms. Some twenty years ago I was suddenly single and 52 years of age. A young woman of 28 came at me like a ton of bricks. I never took the initiative at all. While the lady could act girlish and possibly even looked a bit young for her age she was sharp as a tack and able to make decisions. Also a closet full of skeletons such that an older man was not only plausible but likely. When we were out in public the social disapproval was extreme. We were disinvited a few times. It just was not considered socially acceptable by most.

The big exception was Europeans. They did not disapprove. They did not even notice. So we got new friends. This back when there were still a whole lot more Europeans resident in and visiting Chicago.

So b is European. All I can say is anyone who knows the first thing about child abuse knows that what is being called ephebophilia on this thread is not what pedophilia is about. And any who have read even a handful of the emails knows that it was about small children. And anyone with any experience of the world knew it was small children years ago when this story broke.

Posted by: oldhippie | Feb 22 2026 19:43 utc | 86

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 18:23 utc | 54

Soviet engineering. The same school of engineering that managed to land a probe on Venus (which is very difficult to do).

No frills approach, that was the secret, plus the boss gets his hands dirty, that was my impression of the soviets at work. The million or so bucks spent by the US researching for a ballpoint pen that would work in space is anecdotal, the soviet took pencils with them.
Keep the good work going, no frills.

Posted by: Paco | Feb 22 2026 19:44 utc | 87

Just in time, the Jew York Times, the cultural propaganda wing of Pax Judaica, is pimping this Iranian-American comedian.

“For the warm-up, I will make you laugh so you drop your defenses, then for the finale, I will make you want to bomb Iran.”

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Feb 22 2026 19:46 utc | 88

Posted by: james | Feb 22 2026 19:28 utc | 82
#####

Do you even know what a Muslim is?

Your bigotry gets to be a bit much.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 19:47 utc | 89

@ LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 19:47 utc | 89

remember ld… i know nothing and you know everything, lol… lets keep it that way okay??

Posted by: james | Feb 22 2026 19:50 utc | 90

“Do you even know what a Muslim is?”

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 19:47 utc | 89

Not really. There is what I imagine a Muslim to be.
How would you answer that? Rhetorically?

Posted by: David G Horsman | Feb 22 2026 20:01 utc | 91

LoveDonbass | Feb 22 2026 19:47 utc | 89

Bigotry. The attitude, state of mind, or behavior characteristic of a bigot; intolerance.

Earlier this week, I was reading about Muslims in the UK complaining about people eating during Ramadan daylight hours. Because it makes them hungry…Maybe it’s god testing them?

Or how about those young lads walking the streets of London a few years ago, telling others to throw away their alcohol as Sharia law now applies?

But that’s the problem with reality. We all have our own perception of it, and it’s never the same as the next person.

I don’t care about your sky fairies (what ever your belief), but you’d be doing all of us (including yourself) a solid if you shut the fuck up for five minutes (maybe 300?).

Posted by: Some Random Passerby | Feb 22 2026 20:03 utc | 92

Seems like CIA is behind attacking Mexico.

https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/2025662094583202093

Posted by: unimperator | Feb 22 2026 20:04 utc | 93

@ftp | Feb 22 2026 19:11 utc | 75
I was referring to landers that could withstand high temperature but ceased to function soon. Why is that not worth bringing up? Such vehicles cost a fortune to bring so losing it so fast seems like a waste.
When they later sent baloons they also send landers and they lasted 56 and 20 minutes. The baloons were of course small and the winds were strong and so they moved very much. I find it interesting that humans may live at above 50kms where temperatures are comfortable but perhaps the weather and the toxic athmosphere prevents any human visits

Posted by: petergrfstrm | Feb 22 2026 20:04 utc | 94

Posted by: james | Feb 22 2026 19:30 utc | 84

Very depressing to read such a comment from you. As I’ve said before, I very rarely comment, but I have followed MofA daily for many years. I also read a lot of the comments, so I am familiar with the regulars. There are many good commenters, in my opinion, and many not so good — a result of b’s liberal moderation policy which can be both good and bad. I have always placed you in the former category.

The comment by Mark Mosby is bullshit. If he, or you, think all those comments were by readers who are after more “titillating tabloid trash” then you either didn’t read them or simply choose to lie about them. It is precisely because b was NOT being b in the way in which we are familiar that it elicited so much reaction. When b echoes Tracey that there is “no evidence” about this stuff, he is either ignorant or lying. Those are the choices. When Tracey makes some “good points” he is doing it against straw men targets, not the real issues. When Mark Mosby, pretends that we all are just interested in the “smut” and that there are not significant political implications in the Epstein story, this is pure gaslighting. Could this be true of much of the mainstream media and many Youtube posters out there who are after clicks (including Young Turks, at least in part)? Of course. Is this the reason for the 1,148 comments on b’s Feb 10 post? Absolutely not. And I know you know this James. I’m not sure what Mark Mosby’s motives might be.

Posted by: pjay | Feb 22 2026 20:17 utc | 95

I am reading that Hezbollah is saying the latest attacks by Occupied Palestine have pushed them into making a response…..no details but I am encouraged that this ME dust up may start away from Iran but with Lebanon, Yemen or Iraq axis of resistance fighters pushing back on Occupied Palestine.

There is no reason this conflict has to start in Iran and it may evolve quite differently if that is the case.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 22 2026 20:19 utc | 96

Oh and domestic violence! In California, you are guilty of this heinous sounding crime if you simply touch someone without their consent. Just a touch.

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Feb 22 2026 17:39 utc | 45

That’s interesting. As was also written here above, there is a motive to divide the (working class or other) men and women by the usual suspects. I agree it looks like a campaign. This information has allowed me to make some more sense of a few incidents I experienced myself; the details are illuminating. Another lengthy persiflo anecdote follows – skip here if uninterested.

Where I live, in Hamburg St. Pauli, is a traditionally very leftist place with a history of violent riots over squatted housing and other things. (Interestingly, the various confrontations during the G20 meeting in 2017 here which dominated headlines were all provoced by police.) The football stadium just across is famous as a stomping ground for antifa radicals and anarcho-punks, with the club itself publicly taking political position frequently. A nearby ensemble of old and rundown buildings got squatted and was then saved by an effort from the citizenry at large. They ended up free to run a micro-district, while city and EU money was poured in to renovate some of the houses (effectively buying them out in the process).

The scene has a uniquely convivial style, and I’ve had countless good nights out at their parties and bars over two decades. But in recent years something has changed – not just the virulent woke stuff which is quite prominent around here now (though not as bad as in Berlin), but also in the way these places function. The anarchic, self-stabilizing style of yore was replaced by vigilante security teams with zero training but lots of ideological zeal, who are effectively acting as a moral police. I keep getting in trouble with them over women who complain that I have touched them. Three cases were completely made up but ended with me getting thrown out anyway; a fourth was resolved by an empathic barkeeper who drank a beer with me afterwards. Incidentally, this guy was black. All of these cases were brought forth by jealous females who wanted the attention of their friend for themselves, but only in one case I was confronted with the accuser in person. After hearing our contradicting statements, the antifa bouncers asked me to “swallow my privilege” and leave.

Even more disturbing were three more cases where I had indeed touched a girl. One was the singer in a punk band whom I gave an excited hug after a furious concert. I’d talked to her and her boyfriend before the gig; he was standing right next to her when I carried out my “assault” – in no time an aggressive mob of random people formed and escorted me out under threats. In another case I flirted a bit with the barkeep, who also had a boyfriend with her, then later was approached by another (exceptionally attractive) girl, whom I touched gently in passing with my shoulder to gesture goodby — while on my way to pick up the broom and help clean the floor in good communitarian spirit. Three swipes in, a dude took it out of my hands and said “someone has complained, thanks and goodbye”. In all of these cases I had assumed the overeager vigilance was a consequence of the horribly unhelpful “rapefugee” debate which had caught up with the open spirit of these venues for actual reasons in the preceding years. I grew up in a society where sometimes people just would touch each other during conversation, strangers included. This might have changed, so I thought, and some of my deeply subconscious behaviour had become unacceptable without me realizing it. That seems partly true, and it’s frankly an unsettling experience, but I now suspect that something even larger might be going on – perhaps another massive PsyOp taking shape.

Posted by: persiflo | Feb 22 2026 20:20 utc | 97

@ftp | Feb 22 2026 19:11 utc | 75I was referring to landers that could withstand high temperature but ceased to function soon. Why is that not worth bringing up?Posted by: petergrfstrm | Feb 22 2026 20:04 utc | 94

I was referring to landers that could withstand high temperature but ceased to function soon.
OK. Not sure why, but it seemed implied that it could not be done. Maybe I read too much into it. My mistake if so.

Why is that not worth bringing up?
Don’t think I suggested that. But you seem to be talking without ANY effort at learning some background knowledge. That leads to saying things that seem ignorant. A slight effort at familiarizing yourself with what you are talking about, before talking, would avoid having people point out that the thing you say is already done or well explored.

Guessing English is not your first language. Can cause confusion in phrasing.

Posted by: ftp | Feb 22 2026 20:21 utc | 98

Jusdt looked at picture of Trump’s house.
(was on Guatdian website front page)
What a horrible tacky dump!
Hadn’t realised before quite how awful….
It does suit him, though.

Posted by: Cynic | Feb 22 2026 20:23 utc | 99

@petergrfstrm | Feb 22 2026 20:04 utc | 94

I was referring to landers that could withstand high temperature but ceased to function soon. Why is that not worth bringing up? Such vehicles cost a fortune to bring so losing it so fast seems like a waste.

The surface pressure on Venus is about 92 atmospheres, equivalent to ~900 meters underwater on Earth. Add to that the temperature is 467C (Lead melts at 327C). To land, take detailed pictures and be able to return them so we can see them is a massive scientific contribution.

Posted by: Norwegian | Feb 22 2026 20:25 utc | 100

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