3 corrected:
https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisHedgesChannel/videos

Posted by: John Gilberts | Aug 13 2026 13:14 utc | 4

“The future of humanity is to create a sentient sun.” Elon Musk.
 
Can a black hole create a sun? Let’s ask Musk’s kids.

Posted by: Duck n cover | Aug 13 2026 13:31 utc | 6

Posted by: Menz | Aug 13 2026 12:21 utc | 1
 
That will get the ” sound money ” bambpots excited. Just like when they got excited over BRICS thinking we were moving back to a pre 1971 world. BRICS of course turned out to be a massive disappointment for the raving gold bugs who fully support the fixed exchange rate natural economic laws of neoclassical, neocolonial economics that neoliberalism was born out of.
 
100% the ” sound money ” bambpots are mis reading the whole situation yet again  and will be very disappointed again. As they stay trapped within the US rules based order because they are a very stupid group of people drowning in their own neocolonial  GROUPTHINK.
 
Lets go over it yet again together…
 
Conservatives hark back to the gold standard as some sort of golden age when all was well with the world. They still think that prosperity is within the grasp of a society if it anchors its currency to the price of gold. It seems the US Republican party is toying with the idea again – presumably as a pitch to rope in the real conservatives (Ron Paul supporters). They couldn’t be serious though. It would be a disaster if the world attempted to go back to a system that failed when it operated and immiserised the poor before it was abandoned.
 
It meant that if the central bank wanted to issue more currency then it had to get more gold to back it. That became the role of trade. Gold was considered to be the principle method of making international payments. Accordingly, as imbalances in trade (imports and exports) arose this necessitated that gold be transferred between nations (in boats) to fund these imbalances. Trade deficit countries had to ship gold to trade surplus countries.
 
That immediately goes completely against what BRICS and China are trying to achieve. Of course why gold was completely ignored at BRICS.
 
For the trade surplus nations, the inflow of gold would allow their central banks to expand their money supplies (issue more notes) because they had more gold to back the currency. The rising money supply would push against the inflation barrier (given no increase in the real capacity of the economy) which would ultimately render exports less attractive to foreigners and the external surplus would decline.
 
Again this is the antithesis of what BRICS and China are trying to build.
 
For the trade, deficit nations, the loss of gold reserves to the surplus nations forced their governments to withdraw paper currency which was deflationary and had the consequence of increasing unemployment, and driving down output growth and the general level of prices. The latter improved the competitiveness of their economy which also helped resolve the trade imbalance. But it remains that the deficit nations were forced to bear rising unemployment and vice versa as the trade imbalances resolved. These countries had austerity imposed on them just because of their trade balance.
 
Again this is the antithesis of what BRICS and China are trying to build.
 
Under the gold standard, the government could not expand base money if the economy was in trade deficit. It was considered that the gold standard acted as a means to control the money supply and generate price levels in different trading countries which were consistent with trade balance. The domestic economy however was forced to make the adjustments to the trade imbalances.
Monetary policy became captive to the amount of gold that a country possessed (principally derived from trade). Variations in the gold production levels also influenced the price levels of countries.
In practical terms, the adjustments to trade that were necessary to resolve imbalances were slow. In the meantime, deficit nations had to endure domestic recessions and entrenched unemployment. So a gold standard introduces a recessionary bias to economies with the burden always falling on countries with weaker currencies (typically as a consequence of trade deficits).
This inflexibility prevented governments from introducing policies that generated the best outcomes for their domestic economies (high employment).
Ultimately the monetary authorities of trade deficit nations  were not able to resist the demands of the population which of course was  for higher employment.
 
Again this is the antithesis of what BRICS and China are trying to build.
 
Of course the true reason why the gold standard failed long before the Americans were forced off gold.
 
The ” sound money ” neoclassical, neocolonial and thus US rules based order groupies can’t just wish this away. As if it never happened. Trying to make up complete fantasies in order to wish it away doesn’t work.
 
The good news is BRICS and China have completely ignored them.
 
Saving what they make via trade in gold , rather than saving what they make in Treasuries. 
 
Is a million miles away from returning to a gold standard. BRICS and China are not that stupid. Their IQ’s are larger than 10. The average IQ of the ” sound money ” crowd.
 
 
 
 
 

Posted by: Andrew | Aug 13 2026 13:38 utc | 8

Jim Rickards: The Iran Bet Trump Is Losing, Case for $10K Gold, & The Trade That Could Break Markets

Jim Rickards returns for a wide-ranging macro conversation on a world where geopolitics and economics have fully merged. He lays out the US–Iran standoff as a global game of chicken — Trump betting Iran’s economy breaks first, Iran betting the midterm elections break Trump first — and explains why he thinks Tehran holds the stronger hand, why regime change was always a fantasy, and how a handful of drones a week is enough to keep the Strait of Hormuz bottled up.
 
 
From there he turns to gold: how he used Jim Rogers’ 50% drawdown rule and fractal scale invariance to call the bottom, why central bank buying puts a floor under the market, why gold works as a deflation hedge as well as an inflation hedge, and why he stands by his $10,000 target. He also dismantles the popular “debasement trade” narrative, explains what Kevin Warsh’s less transparent, market-following Fed means for investors conditioned to expect a rescue, and walks through the unwinding of the Japanese yen carry trade — which he calls the most important story in the world right now, and the one most likely to make 2027 messy. The episode closes on the darker side of AI: increasingly sophisticated voice-cloned scams aimed at older Americans.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 13 2026 14:10 utc | 10

not sure where to put this.. from 3 hours ago… 52 minute video with glenn diesen… covers iran, russia, and european union dynamics..
 
the commentary towards the end on the european union is interesting… the whole raison d’etre for the european union at this point seems to center around ukraine.. or, the whole raison d’etre for nato is much the same thing..  i do find this particular topic fascinating… if war is the sole basis for keeping europe going, something is wrong here.. 
 
Alastair Crooke: Iran & Russia Give Up on Diplomacy & Go on the Offensive

Posted by: james | Aug 13 2026 15:20 utc | 12

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2026/08/jayant-bhandari/why-china-works-and-india-does-not/
Great article explaining why the future is Chinese … 

Posted by: Caliman | Aug 13 2026 16:18 utc | 14

word to the wise – if you need more than 5 sentances to explain your concept, then you don’t understand the Concept yourself, 
Posted by: Exile | Aug 13 2026 15:59 utc | 13

 
 
word to the wise?
Exile, if you’re talking to Derek Henry, Echo Chamber, Sun of Alabama, Clouds if Alabama, Andrew or any of the other various names this clown has been using, you are not talking to the wise. You are talking to a disrespectful p.o.s.
 
And 5 sentences???
This sock-puppet jerk has been spamming us for more than 5 YEARS!
He simply mocks b’s warning about sticking to a single user name.

Posted by: waynorinorway | Aug 13 2026 16:58 utc | 16

https://nitter.net/IbrahimMajed/status/2087566204676292629
https://nitter.net/IbrahimMajed/status/2087924887557935293
 
I don’t know what Hezbollah is waiting for. The writing is on wall. If they don’t start capping traitors and take over government, they’re going to be eliminated next.

Posted by: Simoen | Aug 13 2026 16:59 utc | 18

I don’t understand why – even here – people point to Trump, as the cause of US perfidy.
 
Am I mistaken in believing he’s just a guy paid to put a face on US perfidy, and actually distract from the real deciders ?  Or is Trump really the decider ?
 
Why do even the informed often complain about Trump, Trump, Trump ?

Posted by: Featherless | Aug 13 2026 17:53 utc | 20

Everyone use qubes os recommended by Edward snowden buy with it preinstalled on certified hardware… hardware includes coreboot and heads 
https://doc.qubes-os.org/en/latest/user/hardware/certified-hardware/certified-hardware.html
Qubes OS is a security-focused operating system that allows you to organize your digital life into compartments called “qubes.” If one qube is compromised, the others remain safe, so a single cyberattack can no longer take down your entire digital life in one fell swoop. You can think of using Qubes OS as having many different computers on your desk for different activities but with the convenience of a single physical machine, a single unified desktop environment, and a set of tools for using qubes together securely as parts of a unified system.
(Certified) Another important requirement is that Qubes-certified hardware should run only open-source boot firmware (aka “the BIOS”), such as coreboot.
Also use a dumb phone or grapheneOS for mobile most secure and private. Only available for google pixel so buy one.

Posted by: Bob Bob Bob Bob | Aug 13 2026 18:08 utc | 22

Re: Living Car Free
 
Over the last 12 months, according to the pedometer on my phone,  I averaged 5 1/2 miles/day walking  – just doing everyday errands and such.  (9 km) This is in a low density mountain village landscape BTW. 

Posted by: Exile | Aug 13 2026 18:33 utc | 24

The friendship paradox: why pro-Russian activists are being imprisoned in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan (EADaily, Alan Pukhayev, August 13, 2026 — in Russian; emphasis mine)

As previously reported, blogger Aziz Khakimov was sentenced to four years and two months in prison in Uzbekistan. He is known for speaking out against nationalism, against the glorification of the Basmachi, for respecting the memory of the Great Patriotic War and for a close friendship with Russia. However, he was charged with precisely what he fought against: inciting ethnic hatred and national, racial, ethnic or religious hostility.
 
Asymmetry of Justice
 
Imagine: someone loudly speaks of friendship with a neighbor and is punished for it. Sounds absurd? Yet this is exactly what is happening in Central Asia. Bloggers who advocate for an alliance with Russia are imprisoned on charges of inciting hatred—for the very thing they fight against. What’s up with that?
 
In Uzbekistan, a court sentenced blogger Aziz Khakimov (known as Comrade Aziz) to four years and two months in prison. He was found guilty of slander, insult and inciting ethnic hatred.
 
This is not an isolated case. Previously, bloggers Aslan Tolegenov (sentenced to three years and nine months) and Yermek Taychibekov (two terms, the latter to seven years in prison) were convicted in Kazakhstan on similar charges. All were known for their pro-Russian stances: they opposed nationalism, supported friendship with Russia and criticized the rewriting of history.
 
Thus, they were all accused of what they fought against. Khakimov criticized the glorification of the Basmachi, while Tolegenov criticized the Nazis and Nazi collaborators from the Wehrmacht’s Turkestan Legion. Both were sentenced for inciting hatred. Taychibekov spoke out against Russophobia and was accused of separatism. So, in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, publicly fighting nationalism is nationalism?
 
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that cases against pro-Russian activists are being brought based on complaints from open Russophobes. For example, a case was opened against Khakimov following a complaint from pro-Ukrainian blogger Nikita Makarenko, whom Aziz called a “Bandera henchman.” Meanwhile, Makarenko himself, who published calls for the extermination of “remnants of rusnya [new ethnic slur for Russians, invented by Ukrainians — S]” in Uzbekistan, was not punished.
 
Observers note a systemic imbalance: nationalists and Russophobes enjoy impunity, while their opponents receive real prison sentences. In Uzbekistan, the prominent Russophobe Makarenko was even awarded a state medal, while the person who called him a “Bandera henchman” (which, for Makarenko, is essentially a compliment, since he glorifies Bandera) ended up in prison.
 
A similar situation exists in Kazakhstan: “language patrol” activists like Dias Kuzayirov, Adilzhan Abdugaliyev and Kuat Akhmetov, who insulted Russians and called for violence against them, receive light fines or even avoid punishment altogether, receiving, at worst, only restriction of freedom, while their opponents are sentenced to prison colonies for substantial terms.
 
With friends like these, you don’t need enemies
 
The authorities of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan officially declare a strategic partnership and eternal friendship with Russia. However, in practice, they consistently push pro-Russian activists out of the media. Why is this happening?
 
Why do authorities, who have been busy building nation-states for over 30 years and failing to achieve them, perceive any positive memories of the USSR or calls for integration with Russia as a threat? Why are they trying to please the West by suppressing any pro-Russian voices? Why are they seeking to fundamentally revise the history of the Soviet period (even though they still live by the Soviet legacy), seeking to rehabilitate the Basmachi (the prototypes of today’s ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other terrorists) and the traitors of the Wehrmacht’s Turkestan Legion—de facto fascists?
 
We’ve already discussed this at length, and we’ll say it again: there’s a clear similarity here with Ukraine. After all, everything there began with the same thing—the persecution of pro-Russian activists under articles of separatism and incitement of hatred. The consequences are clear today. And the path Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are taking is equally clear.
 
Therefore, if public support for friendship with Russia becomes a criminal offense, this could mean that the Central Asian countries, hiding behind false official statements, are in fact gradually reorienting their political course, as Ukraine did and as Armenia and Azerbaijan are doing today. Under these circumstances, those who advocate for preserving cultural and historical ties with Russia are forced to remain silent. The media is filled with nationalist narratives, fueling the rise of Russophobia.
 
If two neighbours are fighting today, it means an Englishman visited one of them yesterday (Irish proverb)
 
This is a classic case of discrepancies between words and actions. The authorities of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan talk about friendship with Russia, but in practice, they are creating a system where this friendship is punishable. Those who try to defend this friendship end up in prison, and those who destroy it are rewarded.
 
The brilliant results of Western NGOs’ work in these republics are obvious. It’s also clear that the authorities aren’t hindering this work in any way; in fact, they’re even encouraging it.
 
It’s a shame they don’t understand that ultimately, this won’t lead to anything good. The most Astana and Tashkent can hope for by pursuing this course is the situation Kiev finds itself in today. Do they need this? Let them decide for themselves. As for who will be rubbing their hands in glee if this happens? As the saying goes, let’s not point fingers.

Posted by: S | Aug 13 2026 19:15 utc | 26

Posted by: Soviético | Aug 13 2026 17:02 utc | 19
 
Will “Baby” Bolsonaro run against Lula? Brazil is last man standing at the mo.

Posted by: Don Firineach | Aug 13 2026 19:46 utc | 28

Chris Hedges: Whitney Webb: ‘Why Data Centers’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qbs91vQmg 
Pulled down already.

Posted by: e-dog | Aug 13 2026 20:12 utc | 30

Brazil is last man standing at the mo.
 
Posted by: Don Firineach | Aug 13 2026 19:46 utc | 28

 
FWIW you’re forgetting Uruguay and, if you go north far enough, Mexico.

Posted by: malenkov | Aug 13 2026 20:18 utc | 32

Posted by: Don Firineach | Aug 13 2026 19:46 utc | 28
All three of them are less to be desired for. (Jair) 
I will add Doria. 
And Dilma.

Posted by: lex talionis | Aug 13 2026 20:19 utc | 34

canucks don’t even know this is happening..
 
Posted by: james | Aug 13 2026 20:47 utc | 35

Well, it looks like in this particular case Canadian governments were trying to do the right thing: Helmut Oberlander (Wikipedia).

Posted by: S | Aug 13 2026 21:07 utc | 36

@ S | Aug 13 2026 21:07 utc | 36
 
it looks like they had to do it based on Simon Wiesenthal Center‘s list of most wanted Nazi war criminals. if they didn’t have that pressure, they probably would have ignored it..  this is the problem in canada… we have an ex  minister of foreign affairs – crystia freeland – seen getting her picture taken in front of an oun flag, supporting her ukrainian canuck friends.. there is no objectivity within canada with regards this ongoing war of nato on russia.. in fact, there is very little awareness of much of anything, other then what the cbc wants to propagate…  canucks need a wake up call.. i am with you in this..

Posted by: james | Aug 13 2026 21:13 utc | 38

How sanctions are avoided, Russian sanctions fail again: a new, faster financial system outside USD and SWIFT in 11-minutes. This lends greater credence to what BRICS is discussing as the focus is on payment systems, not currencies per se. I suspect dollar velocity has slowed by several orders of magnitude from what it was merely 6 months ago and is stressing out Bessant, and there’s nothing he or his Gang can do. Plus, there’s the ongoing revenue slowdown thanks to the recession Trump caused with his Tariff War and tax cuts.  

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 13 2026 22:10 utc | 40

🙂 Oh Tannenhouser, arcade noises brings back happy memories of the wilder mimicked bird calls of yesteryear…
 
/cheep cheep “Wise fwom yur Gwave”
/cheep cheep kicking sounds “Hi-yah — ahhaaahaah!” fades
/pew pew pew “Aaaargh!” “Get Ready!” tweet whistle cheep
 
😉 I miss that sound bank. I wonder if you still go into caves together and make strange bird calls to each other still. 🙂 Nowadays I just see people at home stare at computer screens and on their headsets cursing to themselves for not getting team support. Strange.

Posted by: titmouse | Aug 13 2026 23:16 utc | 42

A story I told my daughter at an appropriate age.
 
A key that opens a 100 locks is called a master key.
 
A lock that can be opened by a 100 keys is a bad lock.
 
 

Posted by: Suresh | Aug 14 2026 0:02 utc | 44

I’m sure some Barflies will be interested in this, Exclusive: Scholars trace Imperial Japanese Army’s germ-warfare outrage across Asia, calling for preventing atrocities from recurring – Global Times

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 14 2026 0:56 utc | 46

“It was only during the conversation, based on the algorithm’s responses, that the relevance of sharing them became apparent.”
The algorithm offers an introduction to alignment theory and the concept of loss of control, and, among other things, recognizes and elaborates on the risk it poses.
Quiet more interesting than an OpenAI press release
The text is in French, but if you do not have automatic translation in your browser, use the translation widget available at the top of the left-hand column of the linked page.
 
 
Conversation with ChatGPT following recent incidents involving OpenAI

Posted by: Tak-Tik | Aug 14 2026 1:04 utc | 48

Posted by: Fool Me Twice | Aug 13 2026 18:29 utc | 23
 
Did you create the account under a pseudonym? Elon is hemorrhaging money and they are trying to force people to sign in and use the app (which requires login) to view or listen to content.
 
Even if you used your real information could be an attempt to datamine you or punish someone you follow for disagreement with whatever whim Elon is projecting or attempting to sell.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Aug 14 2026 1:18 utc | 50

‘The authorities of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan talk about friendship with Russia, but in practice, they are creating a system where this friendship is punishable.’ – S 26

On the shores of the Caspian Sea, American giants like Chevron and ExxonMobil run massive, ultra-modern industrial compounds.

These are practically corporate cities unto themselves, built with Western technology to extract oil from some of the deepest known fields in the world.

Western logistics firms and banks are funding the physical widening of ports, rail lines, and dry docks along Kazakhstan’s western coast – Port of Kuryk for example – to build an ‘escape hatch’ for shipping goods directly to Europe while avoiding Russian territory.

At the same time, Khazakkstan is entirely under Russia’s military umbrella and plugs into its electrical grid.

They host CSTO military combat exercises and Rosatom works hand in glove Kazatomprom.

China maintains the Shymkent refinery and the Khorgos Gateway.

China is selling Kazakhstan military equipment that is ‘dual-use’ but is its own stack entirely – completely different engineering standards, software systems, and data protocols.

It can be used ‘alongside’ existing Russian tech or it can completely bypass Russian systems.

—

JANUARY 2025

Chevron Launches $48 Billion Tengiz Oilfield Expansion, Sets to Boost Global Oil Supply

https://archive.ph/dtaat

SEPTEMBER 2025

Kazakhstan’s Emerging Civilian Nuclear Energy Industry: Implications for U.S. Strategic Interests

JUNE 2026

Astana meeting aims to spark deals for critical minerals

Astana offering favorable terms to attract investors

‘The Trump administration is helping promote foreign investment in Central Asia’s mining sector, mobilizing government agencies, especially the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the US Development Finance Corp. (DFC), to help de-risk dealmaking.

The US delegation at the Astana meeting will include the heads of the Ex-Im Bank and the DFC, along with top mining-sector executives including the founder of Ivanhoe Mines, Robert Friedland, and former Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is taking steps to facilitate investment by allowing investors to retain a majority share in projects.

Kazakh officials point to a recently finalized tungsten deal as a role model, in which an American consortium known as Kaz Resources Inc. will develop major deposits in Kazakhstan, with the American entity retaining 70 percent of the shares in the project, while the Kazakh government retains the remaining 30 percent.’

https://archive.ph/IW1e6

Posted by: Dan Kelly | Aug 14 2026 1:28 utc | 52

This lends greater credence to what BRICS is discussing as the focus is on payment systems, not currencies per se. I suspect dollar velocity has slowed by several orders of magnitude from what it was merely 6 months ago and is stressing out Bessant, and there’s nothing he or his Gang can do. 
Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 13 2026 22:10 utc | 40
 
I was scanning through different stuff some days ago and ran onto something about the Persian Gulf and the petro-dollar. Acording to that, shutting the Gulf finishes the US petro-dollar.
 
There’s a lot of different opinions on the US economy but from what I can see, the US does still rely on the petro-dollar to some degree. With US booted out of the Gulf, the petro-dollar is ended. It was shortly after reading that, that I read South Korea has started buying gold.
 
With Iran, it seems possible that US has got itself into the position where it cannot leave as its economy will quickly collapse, yet it cannot attack as it has no weapons.
With deindustrialization as happened in the west over the last four decades or so, technology and skilled workforce is also lost.
Iran may well have the Epstein economy by its throat.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 14 2026 1:58 utc | 54

Today, on the August 13th, 1961 – the Berlin Wall began to exist.
People ‘voted with their feet’ – the mirage of presumable freedom of expression and the allure of a better life was the reason for the mass exodus from the “EAST” to the “WEST”.
in 1960s, barely 20 years later, the social democrat Willy Brandt warned about the NORTH – SOUTH divide. This is now happening, with different expectations on the migrants and of the recipients of them.
A lot to ponder about the socio-political reasons, the ‘etiology’ of the disease in each situation.
 

Posted by: fanto | Aug 14 2026 2:48 utc | 56

@ fanto | Aug 14 2026 2:48 utc | 56
 
here’s a controversial idea for you fanto.. i read it in a book the past few years… essentially with the end of the ussr, the south capitalized on the north and was able to either buy up or have a significant economic domination over the folks in the north and the folks in the north still resent it to this day.. it might have been in one of the wolfgang streeck books i read, or it might have been in or maybe the ian johnson book i read ‘a mosque in munich’.. i can’t remember… 

Posted by: james | Aug 14 2026 3:04 utc | 58

James @58
Thanks for your suggestion – but I think if “the North was resentful’ – than it would be able to ‘punish’ the South and not take the punishment. 
 
I tend more towards the thinking of the ‘radicals’ in the MoA bar – guys like karl1 – I hope he is not offended by my characterization,( tongue in cheek of course.) – that the socioeconomic problems were hugely augmented by the political machinations of the ruling classes, with wars instigated by you know who and why.

Posted by: fanto | Aug 14 2026 3:21 utc | 60

@ fanto | Aug 14 2026 3:21 utc | 60
 
thanks.. yes, i agree with your last paragraph too! i am only going on memory from what i read, but i sensed this underlying mood that was adopted due this financial and political dominance after the fall of the ussr…
 
 
———————————————-
and now for something completely different –  i have followed putins speech on the russian ships and etc – the shadow fleet, as described by the west – and how putin views this as essentially piracy on the high seas ( to which i agree with ) and just finished reading the bbc’s propaganda spin on this which you can read here if you are interested…
 
UK defends seizing shadow fleet tanker after Putin threat
 
key quote from the article – “In response to Putin’s comments, the UK government said Britain’s armed forces and law-enforcement officers had boarded the Smyrtos “in full accordance with international law”.
 
this happened on june 14th this year.. the ship is still being ”detained’.. – quote from article here – “The Smyrtos continues to be detained by the Department of Transport at a port near Weymouth in southern England, where is it being monitored by British authorities.”
 
what is the international law basis for still retaining the ship 2 months later??  i call bullshit.. bbc  bullshit, lol… there is a lot of it at the bbc.. 
 
 
 

Posted by: james | Aug 14 2026 3:32 utc | 62

@ Peter AU1 | Aug 14 2026 4:05 utc | 63
 
that is pretty much how i see it peter.. they make this shit up as they go..only a fool would believe it..

Posted by: james | Aug 14 2026 4:31 utc | 64

Since you raise the topic:
 
R2R: Vijay Prashad: ‘What Happened to Venezuela?’
 
https://www.youtube.com/@reason2resist/videos
 
“Has Delcy Rodriguez betrayed the Bolivarian Revolution?”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Aug 14 2026 5:14 utc | 66

48 days remaining in Fiscal Year. Status as of 12.August
 
Projected 
$7.8 T. Spend
$5.9 T Revenues
$1.9 T Deficit
 
 
Year to Date
$6.7 T Spend
$5.1 T Revenues
$1.6 T Deficit 
 
 
https://usfiscalclock.com/federal-budget
 
Comment – my guess estimate is revenues will be around $300 billion short, spend will be right on target netting a deficit of $2.2T  or 39% of revenues .  Note these are rough numbers. TBD

Posted by: exile | Aug 14 2026 5:29 utc | 68

Trump’s Ex-Wife Reveals President Kept Kabbalistic Text Close To His Heart For “Protection And Healing”
 
Marla Maples interview with Israeli media highlights the reverence Trump has for Kabbalah.

 
 
(excerpt)……Marla Maples, Trump’s second wife, told Israeli Channel 12 news that the president keeps an Aramaic copy of the Book of Pinchas under his clothing close to his heart for “healing and protection.” The portion of the Book of Numbers (specifically, Numbers 25:10-30:1) is distributed among Kabbalistic sects in the Aramaic text Maples referred to Trump’s copy being as an apotropaic talisman. Centered on the biblical figure Pinchas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of the High Priest Aaron, the book is a highly revered section from the Zohar, the foundational text of the preeminent branch of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah.
 
In her interview with Channel 12, Maples described her own deep affinity for Judaism, its mystical elements such as Kabbalah, and the State of Israel, despite maintaining the outward appearance of a Christian identity. The experiences and practices that Maples detailed from her own life drew stark parallels with that of Trump and his family’s, including maintaining a kosher diet, reciting the Shema as a declaration of the Jewish faith, visiting the graves of exalted Jewish religious figures, observing the Sabbath, and frequently visiting Israel……….

 
https://ashesofacacia.substack.com/p/trumps-ex-wife-reveals-president

Posted by: exile | Aug 14 2026 5:37 utc | 70

Soviético | Aug 14 2026 5:26 utc | 68
 
I see the Americans and Jews got their man elected in Columbia. Brazil has oil and is second to China in rare earths and rare earth refining. Its a year since I looked into it but Brazil was in the process of greatly increasing its production of refined rare earths.
Some years ago, in relation to one of the three Lithium producing countries in south America – Musk – “We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.”

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 14 2026 6:34 utc | 72

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 14 2026 0:56 utc | 46
Thank you for that. 
Yup.  Unit 731
A Higher Form of Killing.
Unpleasant story.  I am glad that it is sort of coming into the light.   I guess we shall see how much.
Respect to you and all you do. As well as all the other MoA folks.  Respect.

Posted by: lex talionis | Aug 14 2026 7:11 utc | 74

Posted by: S | Aug 13 2026 19:15 utc | 26
 
Depressing article.  So basically once Ukraine has fought to the last Ukrainian and Ukraine has nothing else to give, the US will start a new front for Russia in Kazakhstan.  First the US will create the conditions for Russia to annex all of Ukraine, a work in progress, then Kazakhstan, then Uzbekistan and Georgia – with luck the US will be able to get Russia to control all of the lands previously controlled by the USSR.
 
This hugely supports the worldwide demilitarization efforts that Russia is accomplishing in Ukraine.  It has occurred to me that Russia specifically requested that Turkey sell its US military assets to Ukraine so that they could be disposed of about as cheaply as possible.  One problem that the US will have in providing military support to Central Asian nations is – the US and Europe are going all in with the Ukrainian effort.  NATO won’t have much, if anything, to give to Kazakhstan or other nations.

Posted by: Woke American | Aug 14 2026 9:22 utc | 76

I know CIA/NGOs are hard at work but I see very few reports of their activities. […] Anything you can add to that will be appreciated.
 
Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 13 2026 21:15 utc | 39

Well, Alan Pukhayev seems to be on top of it when it comes to Western meddling in Central Asia (that includes Turkish meddling, as many believe the UK to be behind, or at least assisting, the pan-Turkic project). You can see all articles by him on this page: https://eadaily.com/ru/author/alan-puhaev .
 
It is possible that at some point you won’t be able to access EADaily because Western CAs (Certificate Authorities) no longer issue certificates for them and other Russian media under Western sanctions. To fix this, you need to either install Russian government’s root certificates (available at https://www.gosuslugi.ru/crt , use a browser with translation function to follow the installation instructions) or use Yandex Browser, which has Russian government’s root certificates built-in.

Posted by: S | Aug 14 2026 10:34 utc | 78

Sebgo | Aug 14 2026 10:41 utc | 79
 
Only a very small number of countries have tools to replace swift. China and Russia have. I am not sure if India has anything yet.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 14 2026 11:14 utc | 80

Death to WasNeverReal that will attempt to live as the USrael state that has just been given a doctor frankeinsten monster birth by the US legislatures. 
 
anyone who doesn’t call for that. And a one state solution – Palestine. Is a HasbaRat Waster. 
 
Then again, it would serve the purpose of bringing to an end their constant machinations of new wars, new proxies, blood money from all sides – if they go were served the same fates as the leaders and peoples they destroy from afar with their mostly useless weapons.
 
A decimation to start with of the Old Bastards who have directed so many millions of deaths and many more millions of clearances leading to forced migrations. I’d say about 40-50 of them. In their palaces and estates – as a starting point. They are guilty;  a dead or alive capture is justified.
 
Followed by proscription of the remainder dynastic family members and sequestration of all their wealth.
 
That’ll be somewhere between 400 to 5,000 guilty by being born into, raised and perpetuating these dynasties.
 
Then there are the willing minions.
The politicians and military and money men and women.
The soldiers of fortune.
 
Then happy clappy eschatology snake oil sellers of fake god and heaven.
 
Then there is everyone else. You, me, and our mostly deluded masses living in that fog of lies and deceit.
 
Imbibing daily the soma of being left/right collective wasters that are better than all the rest of humanity!
 
Boy with such hubris, do we need smiting, good and proper.
 
in the U.K. the uniparties enabled the re-election of our very own fascist ‘saviour’ FartRage by not fielding any candidates in the by election he brought about!
 
No single Tory, Labour, liberal or Green! Candidate was stood against him just an insane long list of independents and joke candidates. 
to ensure he would easily win. This is being sold to the general public as some clever trick by the parliamentarians to make sure he renters parliament so he can be pursued for illegally getting into parliament!
 
As I say we the general public deserve the cold vomit we are being served. 

Posted by: DunGroanin | Aug 14 2026 11:42 utc | 82

DunGroanin | Aug 14 2026 11:42 utc | 82
 
I saw this headline in Reuters before.
“Nigel Farage regains UK parliamentary seat, fights off Count Binface challenge”
 
I doubt Monty Python could better that.
 
 

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 14 2026 11:52 utc | 84

And why on earth would we need a Russian tool for trade with China?
 
Posted by: Sebgo | Aug 14 2026 10:41 utc | 79
 
I think that the Russians want Africans to use the Russian tool for trade with Russia.  The articles I referred to were dealing with Russia trading with other nations.  I do not think it was meant for African-Chinese trading.
 
My expectation is that each African nation would take the tools they have and use the ones that suit their needs the best.  I have not heard of any African tools that would accomplish African-Russian trade, though apparently there are African tools that enable trade between different African nations, including an African bank that has already been established and monetized.
 
Good information is scarce on how good these systems are or are not.  Judging by how long it has taken China and Russia to create their own systems, I would assume that Africans building their own systems will be an ongoing process.  Over time they will be used probably for trade between African nations, and then expand to nations outside of Africa.  I would argue that trade between African nations is far more important to Africans than trade with nations outside of Africa anyways.  Progress goes on.  Like Russian progress in Ukraine – at a slow and measured rate.

Posted by: Woke American | Aug 14 2026 12:07 utc | 86

Posted by: S | Aug 14 2026 11:57 utc | 85
 
Thank you for your reply.
 
Ido not know enough about the situation in Kazakhstan to pass judgment or speak on it. I therefore trust the explanations and examples you have provided.
 
As you gathered, I reacted based on the behavior I’ve observed among pro-Russian activists who seem to want to treat all their allies as extensions of Russian territory. That is simply unacceptable.
 
However, there are similarities, which are evident in the tone of the article you cited.
 
Regarding Russia’s immediate neighbors, I get the impression that Russia’s sympathizers simply refuse to acknowledge that these countries might have their own distinct nationalism, or that they might not feel “Russian” enough to condemn things like “Russophobic rhetoric.”
 
The author fails to realize that demanding such things from another country is abnormal.
Just as it is abnormal to ask a country to make an exclusive choice between Russia and other nations.
 
This is all the more irrational given that Russia itself sets the example by maintaining diplomatic and trade relations with everyone, including those who attack it.
 
By constantly imposing constraints on your friends, you drive them away. By repeatedly demanding proofs of friendship, you destroy the friendship itself.

Posted by: Sebgo | Aug 14 2026 12:17 utc | 88

Most African countries naturally continue to use all Western platforms, because in some cases they have no choice. What has changed is that it is no longer exclusive. 
Posted by: Sebgo | Aug 14 2026 11:48 utc | 83
 
—
 
This raises questions.
 

The project, set to be implemented by December 2025, is being carried out in partnership with the American firm Cybastion Institute of Technology. This infrastructure will play a key role in digitizing administrative processes and offering citizens greater security when accessing online public services. Additionally, the PKI will allow businesses to secure their online transactions and provide reliable authentication of their partners. Banks will also benefit from this tool to enhance the security of electronic transactions while complying with regulatory requirements.
 
https://www.wearetech.africa/en/fils-uk/news/tech/burkina-faso-to-adopt-national-pki-for-secure-online-services

Posted by: too scents | Aug 14 2026 12:32 utc | 90

re:  e-dog | Aug 13 2026 20:12 utc | 30  “Chris Hedges: Whitney Webb: ‘Why Data Centers’”
This link works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB6aIqDyLms

Posted by: Perimetr | Aug 14 2026 13:00 utc | 92

Yes, I’ve been there too.
 
I struggled to admit that there were people in Russia and China who also dreamed of controlling markets, capital, and other countries.
 
I found it hard to realize that Russia and China also had capitalists whose greed rivaled that of the worst Western scoundrels.
 
It took being personally targeted for me to understand and accept that there were just as many – if not more -crypto-based scammers in China as anywhere else.
 
My country employs revolutionary rhetoric, yet the capitalist logic remains, evident in the use of a private military company charging exorbitant rates, and in deals struck with the US and Israel.
 
Yet, the activists who staunchly defend anything remotely pro-russian on MoA want to forbid us from criticizing our own leaders.
 
It is a general issue of realism and truthfulness rather than blind propaganda.
If we want to build a better future, we need to see the world as it really is, not through rose-colored glasses.

Posted by: Sebgo | Aug 14 2026 13:02 utc | 94

A damning analysis on the Greenland oil play.
 
42m59s
 

Greenland Oil Play: 50 Years, Zero Barrels, And They’re Doing It Anyway
 
For 50 years, no one has ever pulled a commercial barrel of crude oil out of Greenland. This fall, a small U.S.-listed vehicle is going to try, under a grandfathered 2014 license that survives the country’s 2021 exploration ban. What’s actually being sold to investors is not the geology. It’s the story that the political ground has shifted enough to finally make it pay. This is FutureWise Energy, and this is a special report.
 
In this briefing:
 
Why 25 dry wells across 50 years and a less than 1-in-10 accumulation probability set the honest floor on any Jameson Land number
 
How the corporate stack behind Greenland Energy (NASDAQ: GLND) and 80 Mile PLC is engineered for a story more than for operations
 
What actually happened at Nerlerit Inaat over the last two weeks, and why Nuuk’s public “no” is the closest thing to a sovereign veto in the polite language of a ministry
 
The Venezuelan heavy-oil lesson: a frontier oil investment is priced on whether someone with a bigger political position than yours will defend it long enough for the capital to come home
 
 
Chapters:
0:00 Cold Open
1:30 The 50-Year Zero
11:35 The Grandfather Clause
16:14 The Corporate Stack
20:04 The Investors in the Room
23:41 From the Room
29:30 This Week’s Flashpoint
34:44 The Sovereignty Overlay
41:07 The Close
 
Sources and references:
 
U.S. Geological Survey 2007-2008 East Greenland Rift and Jameson Land assessments; 2023 West Greenland-East Canada Province update
Sproule ERCE independent resource evaluation
Greenland Energy Company (NASDAQ: GLND) SEC filings and Aug 5 shareholder letter
80 Mile PLC (AIM) disclosures
Naalakkersuisut Department of Industry and Minerals statements, July 30 and Aug 8
Guardian, Arctic Today, Reuters, Bloomberg reporting on the Jameson Land campaign
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVQD4_kOY94
 

— repost without youtube timestamp links.
 

Posted by: too scents | Aug 14 2026 13:10 utc | 96

The European athletic championships are currently being held in Birmingham.
Russia is excluded, whereas the Genocidal Entity is participating.
‘That is all ye know on Earth and all ye need to know.’

Posted by: RealPeter | Aug 14 2026 13:29 utc | 98

Posted by: exile | Aug 14 2026 5:37 utc | 70Trump loves his kosher Big Macs.Trump also reads Mein Kampf. Per some. Is there any evidence that Trump ever learned how to read? Unless the Kabbalah is in the form of “baby’s 1st pop-up book”. “From A “Adam Qadmon” to “Z is for Zohar”, baby’s first kabbalah is 26 pages of alphabetic adventure, sure to somnolize any Wharton Grad.” Or “from A is for Adolf to Z is for Zyclon…”Trump reads! Nice try.
Posted by: Duck n cover | Aug 14 2026 13:06 utc | 95

 
😉 Funny, but Big Macs are not kosher. 🙂 Cheeseburgers cannot be. Something about cruelty about mother’s milk being used to boil its child’s flesh. I was at a tree at some religious school campus where I was picking up poppy seeds when I learned that.
 
🙂 He probably doesn’t read but keeps that book like a talisman, like Dumbo the flying elephant kept that crow feather so he could fly. It’s very common. People do that with Bibles, or political bulk publishing books like Clinton or Fauci biographies.
 
🙂 Or maybe it’s like an identity flag. You see people in USA do that with newspapers like WSJ, NYT, WaPo, or magazines like The New Yorker or Rolling Stones. It signifies their class aspirations while warding off discussions that challenge their world view.

Posted by: titmouse | Aug 14 2026 13:36 utc | 100