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So, we rise from the rubble...
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Wednesday, July 23, 2025
"It Strikes Me..."
“It goes against the American storytelling grain to have someone in a situation he can’t get out of, but I think this is very usual in life. There are people, particularly dumb people, who are in terrible trouble and never get out of it, because they’re not intelligent enough. It strikes me as gruesome and comical that in our culture we have an expectation that man can always solve his problems. This is so untrue that it makes me want to cry - or laugh.”
- Kurt Vonnegut
"You're Not Allowed To Say Genocide,' Says Gerald Celente"
George Galloway, 7/23/25
"You're Not Allowed To Say Genocide,'
Says Gerald Celente"
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"10 Economic Facts That Nobody Can Deny"
"10 Economic Facts That Nobody Can Deny"
by Michael Snyder
"If you ask 1,000 different Americans about the state of the U.S. economy, you will get 1,000 different opinions. But what is the truth? In this article, I am going to share information with you that is indisputable. I like to examine things from an analytical point of view, and so I always want to know what the cold, hard numbers are telling me. And what the cold, hard numbers are telling me is very troubling. The following are 10 economic facts that nobody can deny…
#1 The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators fell more than expected last month, and during the entire first half of 2025 it declined at an even faster rate than it did during the second half of 2024…"The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the US declined by 0.3% in June 2025 to 98.8 (2016=100), after no change in May (revised upward from –0.1% originally reported). As a result, the LEI fell by 2.8% over the first half of 2025, a substantially faster rate of decline than the –1.3% contraction over the second half of 2024.
“The US LEI fell further in June,” said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, Senior Manager, Business Cycle Indicators, at The Conference Board. “For a second month in a row, the stock price rally was the main support of the LEI. But this was not enough to offset still very low consumer expectations, weak new orders in manufacturing, and a third consecutive month of rising initial claims for unemployment insurance."
#2 We just learned that sales of previously-owned homes have fallen to their lowest level in nine months…"Sales of previously-owned homes in the United States hit their lowest rate in nine months, according to industry data released Wednesday, as high home prices and mortgage rates weighed on the market. Existing home sales dropped by 2.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.9 million, said the National Association of Realtors (NAR)."
#3 It is being reported that millions of Americans that are on existing health insurance plans will be hit with “double-digit rate hikes” next year…"Consumers who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace will likely face double-digit rate hikes next year. Insurers plan a median premium increase of 15% for 2026 plans, which would be the largest ACA insurance price hike since 2018, according to a Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker analysis published on July 18.
And many working-age consumers who get their health insurance through the workplace won’t be spared, either. Benefits consultant Mercer said more than half of big employers expect to shift a larger share of insurance costs to employees and their families next year by raising deductibles, copays, or out-of-pocket requirements."
#4 The price of beef in the United States has risen 9 percent since January…"First it was eggs, now it’s beef. The last time Americans likely noticed spiking prices at the grocery store was when eggs reached record-highs. Since then, egg prices have fallen after the deadly avian flu outbreak was contained and producers built back supply. Now, beef prices are hitting records, rising almost 9% since January, according to the Department of Agriculture, and retailing for $9.26 a pound. June’s consumer price index showed steak and ground beef prices are up 12.4% and 10.3%, respectively, over the last year."
#5 More Americans than ever are using “buy now, pay later” loans to pay for groceries…"25% of BNPL users say they’ve used the loans to buy groceries. That’s up from 14% just a year ago, amid rising prices at the supermarket. One-third of Gen Z BNPL users say they’ve done so, making it the fourth-most common BNPL purchase for that age group, trailing clothing, technology and home decor."
#6 The official rate of inflation just increased at the fastest pace that we have seen in 5 months…"Consumer prices in June posted the biggest increase since the beginning of the year and are likely to keep the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates later this month, but there were only scattered signs of tariff-related inflation. The consumer-price index rose 0.3% last month, the government said Tuesday, and matched Wall Street’s forecast. It was the biggest rise since January."
#7 A recent survey found that 23 percent of Americans have decided to delay retirement. That figure is up from 14 percent last year…"Older Americans are kicking the can down the road on retirement over concerns about the economy and their own financial readiness to step back from work.
That’s according to a new survey from F&G Annuities & Life, which polled 2,000 U.S. adults over 50 years old. The life insurance and annuities company found that 23% of those polled have already decided to delay their retirement as they grapple with questions about their financial readiness, up from 14% in 2024. The findings come at a time when the median savings of 55-year-olds is just $50,000, far from enough to fund a secure old age, according to another recent study by Prudential Financial."
#8 According to another recent survey, nearly 70 percent of Americans are feeling “anxiety and depression” because of the state of their finances…"Americans are feeling increasingly uneasy about their financial future. Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) say financial uncertainty has led them to feelings of anxiety and depression, according to a recent survey from Northwest Mutual - an 8-percentage-point increase from 2023.
#9 The percentage of the U.S. population that is dealing with food insecurity has almost doubled over the past four years…"In May, 15.6% of adults were food insecure, almost double the rate in 2021. At that time Congress had beefed up SNAP benefits and expanded the Child Tax Credit driving down poverty rates, and giving people more money for food."
#10 Freight-related companies all over the country are conducting mass layoffs…"Another wave of closures and layoffs has hit workers and companies tied to commercial transportation, manufacturing, lumber production, distribution and logistics across the U.S. Over the past several weeks, there have been 4,137 job cuts announced, according to media reports and Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices.
The companies facing layoffs include: Republic National Distributing Co. (1,756), Canfor Corp. (290), Bluestem Brands (160), DeRoyal Industries (153), Weaber Lumber (145), Howard Miller Co. (133), Ohio Eagle Distributing (124), Pocino Foods Co. (124), Western Forest Products (112), Americold Logistics (110), Lightspeed Logistics Miami LLC (110), Cartparts.com (104), MacMillan-Piper (92), GSC Enterprises Inc. (80), SalonCentric (79), Auto Warehousing Co. (75), BRP Marine US Inc. (72), Marshall Excelsior Co. (71), Backyard PlayNation (66), Spectrum Plastic Group (34) and CHS Inc. (25)."
This would not be happening if the U.S. economy was in good shape. When the economy is strong, lots of stuff is being shipped all over the place. Sadly, a lot more layoffs are on the horizon. In addition to facing another major economic downturn, we have also entered the “AI revolution”.
According to author Robert Kiyosaki, AI is going to “cause massive unemployment”…"Rich Dad Poor Dad" author Robert Kiyosaki has a sobering take on one of today’s hottest trends: artificial intelligence (AI). “Biggest Change in Modern History” he declared in an X post on July 1. “AI will cause many ‘smart students’ to lose their jobs. AI will cause massive unemployment. Many still have student loan debt.”
Kiyosaki isn’t alone in sounding the alarm. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic - the AI company behind the large language model Claude - recently warned that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and push the unemployment rate as high as 20%.
Thanks to AI and other technological advancements, our society is now in a period of exponential transformation. Many would argue that many of the changes that we are witnessing are not for the better. It is going to be very challenging to make good decisions in this environment, because many of the old rules no longer apply."
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"UPS Fires Everyone, 20,000 Workers"
"In 2025, the job market remains harsh and unforgiving for millions of people. Companies continue to lay off workers while hiring freezes leave job seekers with few opportunities to pursue. Even those with strong resumes and years of experience are struggling to land interviews, let alone secure stable positions. The jobs that are available often offer lower wages, fewer hours, and little to no benefits. Many people are being forced into multiple part-time roles just to get by. The constant uncertainty and financial stress are wearing workers down, making the dream of a steady, secure career feel further away than ever."
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"I Tried Russian McDonald's (Sanctioned) Hello Kitty Meal"
Full screen recommended.
Travelling with Russell 7/23/25
"I Tried Russian McDonald's (Sanctioned) Hello Kitty Meal"
"Russian Mcdonalds (Vkusna|Tochka) has just released a brand new meal deal featuring Hello Kitty. Come along with me to try the latest meal deal from the Russian replaces for McDoanlds. How does the Hello Kitty Meal taste at Vkusna|Tochka? "
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Dan, I Allegedly, "It’s Worse Than You Think - The Economic Numbers Don't Lie"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly 7/23/25
"It’s Worse Than You Think -
The Economic Numbers Don't Lie"
"The economy is unraveling, and it’s worse than anyone imagined. Major companies are reeling, the automotive industry is in chaos, and shocking new data reveals the cracks in our system. In today’s video, I break down the latest news that’s impacting everyone – from Tesla’s struggles to Ford and General Motors facing massive losses. Plus, the housing market is shifting, big-name billionaires are losing fortunes, and even Warren Buffett’s empire is feeling the heat. Is this the breaking point? We’ll also dive into the future (or lack thereof) of electric vehicles, what’s really happening with AI investments, and California’s controversial new cryptocurrency law. Oh, and let’s not forget the $7.5 billion government boondoggle on charging stations – where did the money go? I’m telling you, things are crazier than ever."
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Bill Bonner, "Reward Friends, Punish Enemies"
"Reward Friends, Punish Enemies"
by Bill Bonner
Poitou, France - "We were probably wrong about tariffs. Yes, of course, they were always a bad idea...and still are. Anything that interferes with our ability to freely trade with each other will make us poorer, with less choice and lower quality goods and services. After the administration’s ‘reciprocal’ tariff bomb blew up in its face, in April, we thought tariffs would quietly go away, like a man who just made a fool of himself at a party. That’s about what happened with Canada during The Donald’s first term. His team squawked about ‘unfair’ trade with Canada and tore up the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA. Then, after protracted negotiations, it ended up with something very close to NAFTA...and trade went on much as before.
We thought the negotiations with other countries would go the same way. But no. Even before the August 1 hikes, tariffs are at a 70-year high. And going higher. USA Today: "Trump said the U.S. will impose a 15% tariff on Japanese imports under the agreement, which he hailed as "a massive deal" in a July 22 post on Truth Social. Trump previously threatened a 24% tariff on Japan beginning Aug. 1, when higher tariffs for countries across the world are set to go into effect."
Bloomberg: "GM Profit Falls as Trump Tariffs Add $1.1 Billion in Costs"
Bloomberg again: "US Companies, Consumers Are Paying for Trump's Tariffs, Not Foreign Firms"
Money Talks News: "Study Projects Trump Tariffs Will Cost Families $2,400 Annually." "Yale University researchers project Trump's comprehensive tariff strategy will increase costs for American families by $2,400 this year. The analysis examines price impacts across sectors from clothing to electronics as new trade policies take effect."
In other tariffic news, Trump just threatened to raise the rate against Canada to 35% and to raise the ‘universal’ baseline rate from 10% to 15% or 20%. We saw last week how tariffs could be used in a variety of vain and foolish ways - to promote foreign policy goals, to influence other countries’ internal politics, to raise drug cartels’ profits, to pay off big political donors...and generally to make a mess of the economy.
They can also be used to enrich those who impose them. Money Talks News: "ProPublica Investigation Reveals Dozen Officials Traded Before Tariff-Driven Decline." "ProPublica's investigation reveals federal officials across multiple agencies sold stocks before Trump's tariff announcements caused major market declines. The well-timed trades raise questions about government ethics and market transparency."
In theory, sales taxes are not especially bad. They penalize consumption, leaving capital free to accumulate. To the extent that they generate revenue and reduce the need for government borrowing - they also constrain federal debt. But they are still a particularly sinister tax.
Taxes are supposed to be ‘fair,’ which is to say, you’re not supposed to tax a Republican more than a Democrat or a plumber more than a carpenter. But tax loopholes and credits have been used for decades to reward friends, punish enemies...and drive the money where the feds want it to go. Want people to buy electric cars? Give them a tax subsidy. Want them to stop smoking? Impose a tax on cigarettes.
At least Congress - the peoples’ parliament - has a say in who is taxed and how. Not so with tariffs. POTUS can tariff individual countries - giving different rates to different nations. He can also target individual industries...regions...and like the bills of attainder that the US constitution tried to avoid...he can single out specific products and individual companies.
NakedCapitalism: "Washington just imposed a 17% tariff on US imports of tomatoes, almost all of which come from Mexico. As Bloomberg notes, the move comes just days after Trump unveiled plans to impose a 30% tariff, beginning Aug. 1, on many Mexican products that don’t fall under the USMCA agreement he negotiated in his first term."
Neither Democrats nor Republicans will want to give up this kind of arbitrary power. So, tariffs may become a more-or-less permanent part of America’s end-of-empire finances - a sneaky consumption tax, which gives the feds more money to spend...more opportunities for corruption...and another cudgel with which to beat anyone who stands in their way.
Europeans pay sales taxes of up to 27% (in Hungary). Life goes on. And if the Trump team ends up with an average 10% tariff/sales tax...it won’t be the end of the world. But whatever fiscal benefit the feds get from higher tariff taxes - $300 billion is expected this year - is likely to be offset by lower GDP growth and lower tax receipts elsewhere. And over time, shackled with tariffs, the US economy will become less competitive."
"Alert! 'Leave Russia Now' - Polish PM; 'NATO Planning Massive Attack'"
Prepper News, 7/22/25
"Alert! 'Leave Russia Now' - Polish PM;
'NATO Planning Massive Attack'"
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Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Gerald Celente, "Outrage Over Trump Not Releasing Epstein Files, No Outrage He Facilitates Israeli Genocide"
Strong language alert!
Gerald Celente, 7/22/25
"Outrage Over Trump Not Releasing Epstein Files,
No Outrage He Facilitates Israeli Genocide"
"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present facts and truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for what’s next in these increasingly turbulent times."
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"We Are On A Collision Course To An Economic Disaster; Endgame For The US Dollar; Ozzy Met God Today"
Jeremiah Babe, 7/22/25
"We Are On A Collision Course To An Economic Disaster;
Endgame For The US Dollar; Ozzy Met God Today"
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Musical Interlude: Rudi and Corlea, "Hoor Jy My Stem"
Rudi and Corlea, "Hoor Jy My Stem"
Haunting song by South Africans Rudi Claase and Corlea Botha,
sung in Afrikaans with subtitles in English .
Losing someone we love, as we all have and will, made me think of this...
Musical Interlude: Josh Groban, "Remember When It Rained"
Josh Groban, "Remember When It Rained"
Full screen recommended.
"A Look to the Heavens"
“A now famous picture from the Hubble Space Telescope featured Pillars of Creation, star forming columns of cold gas and dust light-years long inside M16, the Eagle Nebula. This false-color composite image views the nearby stellar nursery using data from the Herschel Space Observatory's panoramic exploration of interstellar clouds along the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. Herschel's far infrared detectors record the emission from the region's cold dust directly.
The famous pillars are included near the center of the scene. While the central group of hot young stars is not apparent at these infrared wavelengths, the stars' radiation and winds carve the shapes within the interstellar clouds. Scattered white spots are denser knots of gas and dust, clumps of material collapsing to form new stars. The Eagle Nebula is some 6,500 light-years distant, an easy target for binoculars or small telescopes in a nebula rich part of the sky toward the split constellation Serpens Cauda (the tail of the snake).”
"The Difference..."
"One of life's best coping mechanisms is to know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem. If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire – then you’ve got a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump. One needs to learn the difference."
- Robert Fulghum
"Don't Imagine..."
"We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men. Do remember that dishonesty and cowardice always have to be paid for. Don't imagine that for years on end you can make yourself the boot-licking propagandist of any régime, and then suddenly return to mental decency."
- George Orwell
"The Untouchables: The Sexual Predators Within America’s Power Elite"
"The Untouchables:
The Sexual Predators Within America’s Power Elite"
by John & Nisha Whitehead
has become part of it. I mean, it’s just you cannot see it any other way.”
- Alex Jones, InfoWars
"Once again, the American police state is choosing to protect predators, not victims. Jeffrey Epstein - the hedge fund billionaire/convicted serial pedophile and sex trafficker - may be dead, but the machinery that empowered and protected him is still very much alive. You see, the Epstein case was never just about Epstein - it was about the entire edifice of power that shields the ruling class, silences victims, and erases accountability.
Thus, the latest about-face declarations from the Trump administration - that Epstein had no client list, that he did in fact kill himself, and that there’s nothing more to discuss or investigate so we should just move on—have only reinforced what many have suspected all along: the system is rigged in order to protect the power elite because the power elite are the system.
In this age of partisan politics and a deeply polarized populace, corruption - especially when it involves sexual debauchery, depravity and predatory behavior - has become the great equalizer. With the reemergence of Jeffrey Epstein’s ghost in the public discourse, we are once again reminded of just how deep the rot goes.
Politics, religion, entertainment, business, law enforcement, the military - it doesn’t matter the arena or affiliation: all are riddled with the kind of seedy, depraved behavior that gets a free pass when it involves the powerful. For years, the Epstein case has stood as a grotesque emblem of the depravity within America’s power elite: billionaires, politicians, and celebrities who allegedly trafficked in sex with young girls while insulated from accountability.
It is believed that Epstein, who died in jail after being arrested on charges of molesting, raping and sex trafficking dozens of young girls, operated a sex trafficking ring not only for his own personal pleasure but also for that of his friends and business associates.
According to The Washington Post, “several of the young women…say they were offered to the rich and famous as sex partners at Epstein’s parties.” Despite the government’s insistence there’s nothing more to see, here’s what the public record already reveals:
• Epstein ferried his friends about on his private plane, nicknamed the “Lolita Express” after the Nabokov novel, due to the presence of what appeared to be underage girls on board.
• Both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump were counted among Epstein’s friends.
• Both Clinton and Trump were at one time passengers on the Lolita Express.
• Both Clinton and Trump are renowned womanizers who have been accused of sexual impropriety by a significant number of women over the years. In fact, The Rutherford Institute represented Paula Jones in her landmark sexual harassment lawsuit against then-President Clinton - a case that helped expose how far the political establishment will go to shield its own.
So you have to wonder… when President Trump, who has used his administration’s war on human trafficking to justify expanding the government’s police state powers, quietly dismantles the very government agencies tasked with investigating and exposing sex trafficking… what exactly is going on? The message from the top is clear: there will be no accountability.
President Trump has flatly refused to appoint a special prosecutor. His allies in Congress have gone silent. And the same politicians who demand the harshest punishments for undocumented immigrants, protesters, or whistleblowers have nothing to say about the systematic abuse of minors by men in their own orbit.
This isn’t justice. It’s a double standard - one set of rules for the untouchables, and another for everyone else. If it looks like a cover-up, smells like a cover-up, and appears to benefit all the usual suspects, is it so far-fetched to suspect that the government is once again closing ranks to protect the members of its power elite? We’ve seen it before: from the CIA’s MK-Ultra experiments and the FBI’s COINTELPRO operations to the Pentagon Papers, Iran-Contra, CIA black sites, and NSA mass surveillance. Each time, secrecy protected the powerful and betrayed the people.
And it will keep happening - again and again - unless we confront the truth hiding in plain sight: that abuse of power is not an aberration of the system - it is the system. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the shadow economy of sex trafficking, where power, profit, and predation converge. The trafficking of children, the shielding of perpetrators, the systematic silencing of victims - this isn’t a conspiracy theory. It’s a business model. This is America’s seedy underbelly.
Child sex trafficking - the buying and selling of women, young girls and boys for sex, some as young as 9 years old - has become big business in America. It is the fastest growing business in organized crime and the second most-lucrative commodity traded illegally after drugs and guns. Adults purchase children for sex at least 2.5 million times a year in the United States. It’s not just young girls who are vulnerable to these predators, either. Boys account for over a third of victims in the U.S. sex industry.
Who buys a child for sex? Otherwise ordinary men from all walks of life. “They could be your co-worker, doctor, pastor or spouse,” writes journalist Tim Swarens, who spent more than a year investigating the sex trade in America. Ordinary men, yes. But then there are the so-called extraordinary men - like Jeffrey Epstein - with wealth, connections, and protection who are allowed to operate according to their own rules. These men skate free of accountability because the criminal justice system panders to the powerful, the wealthy and the elite.
Over a decade ago, when Epstein was first charged with raping and molesting young girls, he was gifted a secret plea deal with then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, President Trump’s first term Labor Secretary, that allowed him to evade federal charges and be given the equivalent of a slap on the wrist: allowed to “work” at home six days a week before returning to jail to sleep. That secret plea deal has since been ruled illegal by a federal judge.
Yet here’s the thing: Epstein did not act alone. I refer not only to Epstein’s accomplices, who recruited and groomed the young girls he is accused of raping and molesting, but his circle of influential friends and colleagues that at one time included Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.
As the Associated Press points out, “The arrest of the billionaire financier on child sex trafficking charges is raising questions about how much his high-powered associates knew about the hedge fund manager’s interactions with underage girls, and whether they turned a blind eye to potentially illegal conduct.”
In fact, a decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals allowing a 2,000-page document linked to the Epstein case to be unsealed references allegations of sexual abuse involving “numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known Prime Minister, and other world leaders.”
This is not a minor incident involving minor players. Nor are these partisan missteps. They are systemic betrayals. The predators wear red and blue alike, and the silence spans both aisles of power. This is the darkness at the heart of the American police state: a system built to shield the powerful from justice. Sex slaves. Sex trafficking. Secret societies. Powerful elites. Government corruption. Judicial cover-ups. Once again, fact and fiction mirror each other.
Twenty years ago, Stanley Kubrick’s final film "Eyes Wide Shut" provided viewing audiences with a sordid glimpse into a secret sex society that indulged the basest urges of its affluent members while preying on vulnerable young women. It is not so different from the real world, where powerful men, insulated from accountability, indulge their base urges.
Kubrick suggested these secret societies flourish because the public chooses not to see what’s right in front of them, content to navigate life in denial about the ugly, obvious truths in our midst. In so doing, we become accomplices to abusive behavior in our midst. This is how corruption by the power elite flourishes.
For years, investigative journalists and survivors have documented how blackmail, intelligence agency ties, and financial leverage helped shield elite sexual predators - not just from prosecution, but from public scrutiny. For every Epstein who is - finally - called to account for his illegal sexual exploits after years of being given a free pass by those in power, there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) more in the halls of power and wealth whose predation continues unabated. While Epstein’s alleged crimes are heinous enough on their own, he is part of a larger narrative of how a culture of entitlement becomes a cesspool and a breeding ground for despots and predators.
Power corrupts. Worse, as 19th-century historian Lord Acton concluded, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Give any one person - or government agency - too much power and allow them to believe that they are entitled, untouchable and will not be held accountable for their actions, and those powers will be abused.
History proves it. The present moment confirms it. We see this dynamic play out every day in communities across America. A cop shoots an unarmed citizen for no credible reason and gets away with it. A president employs executive orders to sidestep the Constitution and gets away with it. A government agency spies on its citizens’ communications and gets away with it. An entertainment mogul sexually harasses aspiring actresses and gets away with it. The U.S. military bombs a civilian hospital and gets away with it.
It’s no coincidence that the same administration dismantling offices tasked with fighting human trafficking is also defunding the few agencies left to hold law enforcement accountable. Under President Trump, the Department of Justice has been restructured to prioritize loyalty over justice, protection over prosecution. Offices once dedicated to civil rights enforcement, police oversight, and public accountability have been gutted or quietly sidelined.
Consider the case of former Louisville officer Brett Hankison, who blindly fired ten rounds into Breonna Taylor’s apartment during a botched no-knock raid. Hankison was ultimately convicted - not for killing Taylor, but for depriving others of their civil rights. And yet Trump’s DOJ asked the court to sentence Hankison to one day in prison - the equivalent of time served during booking. In other words, in Trump’s view, the powerful and their enforcers should walk free while the dead are buried and the public is told to move on.
And it’s not just trigger-happy policing that goes unpunished. Across the country, law enforcement officers have repeatedly been caught running sex trafficking rings, abusing women and girls in their custody, or exploiting their badge to coerce sex - with little to no consequence.
From Louisiana to Ohio to New York, officers have been arrested for trafficking underage girls, assaulting vulnerable women, and raping detainees - often shielded by unions, prosecutors, or a blue wall of silence. This isn’t a few bad apples. It’s a culture of impunity baked into the system. This is how the system works, protecting the untouchables - not because they’re innocent, but because the system has made them immune.
Abuse of power - and the ambition-fueled hypocrisy and deliberate disregard for misconduct that make those abuses possible - works the same whether you’re talking about sex crimes, government corruption, or the rule of law.
It’s the same old story all over again: man rises to power, man abuses power abominably, man intimidates and threatens anyone who challenges him with retaliation or worse, and man gets away with it because of a culture of compliance in which no one speaks up because they don’t want to lose their job or their money or their place among the elite.
Sexual predators aren’t the only threat. For every Epstein or Clinton, every Weinstein, Ailes, Cosby, or Trump who eventually gets called out for his sexual misbehavior, there are hundreds - thousands - of others in the American police state who are getting away with murder - in many cases, literally - simply because they can.
Unless something changes in the way we deal with these ongoing, egregious abuses of power, the predators of the police state will continue to wreak havoc on our freedoms, our communities, and our lives. For too long now, Americans have tolerated an oligarchy in which a powerful, elite group of wealthy donors is calling the shots. We need to restore the rule of law for all people, no exceptions. The rule of law means no one gets a free pass - no matter their wealth, status, or political connections.
As I make clear in my book "Battlefield America: The War on the American People" and in its fictional counterpart "The Erik Blair Diaries," the empowerment of petty tyrants and political gods must end."
"Iran & Turkey 'Declare War' On Arabs After Hamas, Houthis Threaten USA's Mid-East Allies?"
Full screen recommended.
Hindustan Times, 7/22/25
"Iran & Turkey 'Declare War' On Arabs After Hamas,
Houthis Threaten USA's Mid-East Allies?"
"Iran and Turkey escalated regional pressure on Arab nations to take a firmer stand against Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan condemned Israel’s military actions in Gaza as genocide. This comes just days after Hamas and the Houthis accused Arab leaders of betrayal for their “silence” while Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree condemned the Arab world as “weak” and accused it of collusion with Israel."
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"World On Fire: While Americans Sleep, Here Are 15 Ways That World War III Has Progressed During The Past 7 Days"
"World On Fire: While Americans Sleep, Here Are
15 Ways That World War III Has Progressed During The Past 7 Days"
by Michael Snyder
"By the time we got to this stage, I always thought that far more people would be awake. Perhaps the reason why so many Americans are still sleeping is because the major wars that are currently raging are happening on the other side of the planet. It is easy to relax when nobody that you know personally is in the line of fire. But the truth is that if World War III continues to escalate, it is just a matter of time before the whole world will experience a tremendous amount of pain.
It has now been about a week since President Trump issued an ominous ultimatum to the Russians, but instead of backing down the Russians have only intensified their efforts in Ukraine. Meanwhile, fighting in the Middle East has flared up on several fronts. The following are 15 ways that World War III has progressed during the past 7 days…
#1 Israel is warning more local residents to evacuate as the IDF pushes even deeper into Gaza… On Sunday, the Israeli military (IDF) issued new evacuation orders for parts of central Gaza, which even after years of war with Hamas is an area where Israeli ground forces have rarely operated, further restricting access between Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.
This strongly suggests that indirect efforts to achieve another ceasefire are far from producing anything effective, and it points to Prime Minister Netanyahu pursuing his ultra-controversial plan for mass resettlement of Gaza’s Palestinian population. Netanyahu has continued to assert that intensifying military pressure in Gaza could compel Hamas to negotiate on terms favorable to Israel and for the return of remaining hostages.
#2 A series of IDF airstrikes just caused a tremendous amount of damage to the port of Hodeida in Yemen…Israel pounded Yemen’s Huthi-held port of Hodeida with air strikes on Monday for the second time in a month, stoking fears of escalation as it warned Yemen could face the same fate as Iran. Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen have come under repeated Israeli strikes since the Iran-backed rebels began launching missile and drone attacks on Israel, declaring they act in solidarity with Palestinians over the Gaza war. In its latest raids, Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel struck “targets of the Huthi terror regime at the port of Hodeida” and aimed to prevent any attempt to restore infrastructure previously hit.
#3 In the middle of last week, Israel conducted hundreds of airstrikes inside Syrian territory… Over the past day, the IDF has struck and continues to strike tanks, rocket launchers, weapons and pickup trucks loaded with heavy machine guns on their way to the As Suwayda area in southern Syria,” the IDF said in a statement Wednesday, using another common spelling for Sweida. The IDF said it has “decided to reinforce its forces in the area of the Syrian border” and “will continue to operate, both in defense and offense, to ensure the security of Israeli civilians.”
The IDF’s two main goals are to prevent a buildup of a threat on border in southern Syria and to prevent the massacre of the Druze in Syria, according to an Israeli military official. The official said Israel is sending more troops to the occupied Golan Heights and the border, with at least one brigade shifting from Gaza to the north.
#4 Avigdor Liberman is warning that Iran is making plans for a “war of revenge” against Israel…Meanwhile, on Saturday evening, MK Avigdor Liberman, a former defense minister and head of the right-wing opposition party Yisrael Beitenu, said that Iran is preparing for a war of revenge against Israel. Asked about his opinion on the damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities, Liberman said he trusts the statements of the Israeli intelligence and security officials, saying that what disturbs him is the Iranian regime’s plans for a “war of revenge.” “But something is more disturbing, Iran is currently breathing, talking, acting solely for a government of revenge, for a war of revenge, that’s the only thing they’re interested in, revenge,” Liberman said during an interview with Channel 12 News on Saturday evening.
#5 According to NBC News, a new intelligence assessment has determined that two of Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites were not badly damaged by U.S. airstrikes…One of the three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran struck by the United States last month was mostly destroyed, setting work there back significantly. But the two others were not as badly damaged and may have been degraded only to a point where nuclear enrichment could resume in the next several months if Iran wants it to, according to a recent U.S. assessment of the destruction caused by the military operation, five current and former U.S. officials familiar with the assessment told NBC News. The assessment, part of the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to determine the status of Iran’s nuclear program since the facilities were struck, was briefed to some U.S. lawmakers, Defense Department officials and allied countries in recent days, four of those people said.
#6 It is being reported that Israel is preparing to conduct more airstrikes in Iran “if necessary”…In a recent meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Trump, while preferring a diplomatic solution, did not object to Israel’s readiness to launch further strikes. This stance comes as Israeli intelligence believes Iran could still recover a significant amount of near-bomb-grade uranium from the damaged Isfahan site. The situation has created a high-stakes standoff, with Washington leveraging the threat of future attacks to push Tehran toward a deal, while an unconvinced Israel prepares to act alone if necessary.
#7 A top Iranian military official is claiming that his country is “fully prepared to resume combat from exactly where it stopped”…Major General Mohammad Pakpour, commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said his forces are “fully prepared to resume combat from exactly where it stopped.” Speaking during a meeting with Iran’s Army chief, Major General Amir Hatami, Pakpour stressed that “the aggressors will not be spared” and praised the unity and determination of the Iranian people. He added that Iran will respond with full force only if war becomes necessary.
#8 Last night, the Russians conducted a massive aerial bombardment of key targets deep inside Ukrainian territory…Russian forces have carried out a coordinated overnight strike on Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and airfield infrastructure, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said. In a statement on Monday, the ministry reported that a group strike used long-range air-, sea-, and surface-launched precision weapons. It also included Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles and attack drones, officials added. “The goal of the strike has been achieved. All designated targets have been hit,” the ministry stated.
#9 NATO responded to the Russian bombardment by scrambling fighter jets for the 13th time in recent weeks…Vladimir Putin unleashed yet another round of bombardments on Ukraine – close to the borders of four Western nations – forcing Nato to scramble its warplanes. It is the 13th time in a few weeks that the alliance has publicly admitted to deploying jets in response to a widespread Russian attack, but the number could be much higher. Missiles and drones pounded the Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk – one of the heaviest attacks in the war – reaching between 60 and 105 miles from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
#10 Controversial U.S. General Peter Donahue just threatened the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad… Donahue said that Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave surrounded by Poland and Lithuania, is surrounded by NATO and that the alliance could “take that down from the ground in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster than we’ve ever been able to do,” Defense News reported. Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, responded to those comments in remarks reported by Russian state media TASS. “An attack on the Kaliningrad Region will mean an attack on Russia, with all due retaliatory measures, stipulated, among other things, by its nuclear doctrine. The US general should take this into account before making such statements,” Slutsky said.
#11 In just a few days, NATO forces will conduct military exercises on Georgian soil very close to the Russian border… Multinational military exercises under the name Agile Spirit 2025 will be held from July 25 to August 6 across locations in Georgia and Türkiye, Georgia’s Ministry of Defence has announced. Now in its twelfth iteration on Georgian soil, the exercise aims to enhance combat readiness, improve operational interoperability, and strengthen defence cooperation among participating nations, Caliber.Az reports. The drills will include a wide range of components such as command and staff exercises, a Georgian-American tactical convoy along the Senaki–Vaziani route, joint live-fire operations, a special operations forces mission, and the certification of Georgia’s Defence Forces Combat Training Centre.
#12 Dmitry Medvedev says that he is entirely convinced that western leaders literally want to destroy Russia…To Western elites, an independent and strong Russia has always seemed a historical anomaly and a very effective rebuff to the idea of their `civilizational superiority’, Medvedev maintained. “Today’s developments – a proxy war, or actually a full-out war involving the launch of Western-made missiles and satellite reconnaissance, sanctions packages, and loud statements on militarization in Europe – are yet another attempt to destroy the `historical anomaly’ that the West hates so much, to destroy our country,” he noted.
#13 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has announced that Germany will soon be providing Ukraine with long-range missiles…Germany will provide Ukraine with new long-range missiles “very shortly, very soon,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on July 17, without mentioning the name of the weapons being supplied. “Ukraine will be much better positioned and use these systems and get the support of us with regard to those systems in the weeks and months to come,” Merz said.
#14 Russian television host Vladimir Solovyov is suggesting that Russia should nuke the United Kingdom…The UK and its European allies appear to have been the latest victim of Russia’s threats for World War 3 during last night’s (July 20) Russian state TV show “Sunday Evening With Vladimir Solovyov”, which featured host Vladimir Solovyov and head of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT Margarita Simonyan. In a curated clip, translated by Russian Media Monitor and published on YouTube, Mr Solovyov, a propaganda puppet of Vladimir Putin’s, began by referring to the events in the West as “delirium”.
“Therefore, anyone in Russia who is thinking that everything is fine, we’ll make up soon and so on, come to your senses […] The West has embarked upon a war with us. The West is convinced that this is the only option”. He then described the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, as a “German lowlife” and played a clip in which the politician discussed Germany’s plans to defend itself against Russia in a world that has been “largely changed by Russia”. Mr Solovyov also suggested using the RS-28 Sarmat, Russia’s most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), or the Poseidon, an unmanned underwater nuclear-powered drone capable of travelling up to 100 mph and with a warhead of up to a 100-megaton nuclear bomb. “If there is no Britain, Germany will be left alone,” Mr Solovyov threatened.
#15 Dmitry Medvedev has publicly stated that Russia is now essentially in “a full-fledged war” with NATO and that launching “preventative strikes” should be on the table…The escalating support for Kiev has led some in the Kremlin to argue for Moscow to take a more aggressive position against Ukraine’s Western backers. Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian President and current deputy head of the National Security Council, suggested launching preemptive attacks. “What is happening today is a proxy war, but in essence it is a full-fledged war,” Medvedev, who is now a senior Russian national security official, told the Tass news agency. “We need to act accordingly. Respond in full. And if necessary, launch preventative strikes.”
When global leaders are openly talking about the possibility of using nuclear weapons, that is definitely a sign that we are dangerously close to a point of no return. We need to reverse course while it is still possible to do so. But that isn’t going to happen, is it? All over the globe, leaders have come down with a very bad case of “war fever”, and that should deeply alarm all of us. Sadly, for now the warnings from those of us that are concerned about where all of this is heading are falling on deaf ears, and that is extremely unfortunate."
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Daniel Davis/Deep Dive, 7/22/25
"Col. Doug Macgregor:
We're Pushing Russia Over the Edge"
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"1.8 million Ukrainian troops dead..."
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