New Management,
I am sorry to have such a mess of stories and links again, but it is the times we are in. Global finance is the control system, by which we human herds are managed by the "owners" (Carlin). This system has debt-money growing exponentially, which does not match real-economy, and is badly mismatched now, so it needs to re-set again, as it did in & after WW-2.
Somebody will be in a position to assign losses, so that position is now hotly contested. Old money families do not want to take losses.
The owners need really big wars to scare the rest of us, so that we will do what they say and not complain.
The other option is change-of-ownership, whch they will never permit, but it could happen, anyway. I prefer we try the change, but it is also dangerous.
European finance is in the worst balance-sheet trouble, and is increasingly desperate for a real WW-3 against Russia, where lots of men will die, and everybody else will take orders. This is outrageously evil, but it is the routine european management style under these circumstances.
Russia and the US are reluctant, though the US is not done bullying smaller countries with oil yet, far from it...
Larry Johnson explains "frangible" bullets, which disintegrate on impact, even more than hollowpoints, and his suspicions that all the generals and admirals meeting Tuesday was cover for a secret war planning meeting, Was Trump’s Meeting with the US Military Brass Today a Cover for Action? And a Charlie Kirk Update https://sonar21.com/was-
The show was not aimed at top military brass, but TV viewers: Welcome to the War Department. “War is Peace”. Hegseth’s “Hot War” to “Ensure Peace” https://www.globalresearch.
Yves Smith, Trump’s Imminent War(s) and Economic Damage as His Legitimacy Crumbles
Trump looks to be on the verge of launching wars against one or both of Venezuela and Iran. But he looks to have overplayed his hand with the US military with calling generals and flag officers to Quantico to give them not just a bizarre set of anti-DEI and anti-fat directives, but also to have Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and then Trump himself say that they expected the military to operate against US citizens on US soil, harping on the “enemy within”. Recall that the armed services defied Trump in his first term, when he issued lawful orders to pull out Afghanistan that were simply ignored. Admittedly these directives came at the very end of his time in office.It is also worth keeping in mind that the armed services have served as checks on trigger-happy civilian leaders. In the Biden Administration, Lloyd Austin repeatedly and often successfully opposed Biden and Secretary of State Blinken’s Ukraine escalation plans, one suspects by pointing out the limits of US weaponry and Russia’s retaliatory options... Hegeseth’s and Trump’s addresses received a very stony faced reception, and YouTuber accounts second-hand from those in the room suggest a combination of gobsmackedness at the pathetic display and horror at the demand to operate domestically against Trump-designated demons. The measured Daniel Davis, in a talk with Colonel Macgregor, pointed out it was obvious that Trump’s definition of “radical left” threats could easily include all of Team Dem. https://www.nakedcapitalism.
Moon of Alabama, Musing About Trump’s Recent Moves
U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing his country into an uncomfortable direction. What might be the reasons for him to do so?
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called on flag officers (Generals) to follow a conservative ideology. He has also announced a reduction of flag officer positions which will give him the chance to weed out those officers who have a more liberal standpoint.U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing his country into an uncomfortable direction. What might be the reasons for him to do so?
Trump wants the military to use U.S. cities as training grounds (archived):
It was at that moment that the president recounted a conversation with his defense secretary: “I told Pete, we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military.”
This seems to be, together with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) raids, a preparation for countering severe domestic unrest. But there is, so far no reason for any a big unrest to happen. The U.S. society is generally not a rebellious one. Why would Trump perceive that unrest is coming?
Trump is clearly preparing for a more global war.
Another round of war with Iran is imminent. Air-tankers have been deployed to the Middle East, Israel’s air defenses have been beefed up with more THAAD launchers and a carrier group is entering the Mediterranean.
The increase of forces near Venezuela is also continuing. It is clearly a build up towards a regime change attempt (archived).
Trump has increased intelligence sharing with Ukraine to allow for deep strikes into Russia.
At the same time the U.S. seems to have largely given up on militarily countering the rise of China.
Regime change in Iran and Venezuela could bring a huge amount of additional energy resources under Washington’s control.
When the big stock market crash that everybody is warning (archived) about (archived) will finally happen, the U.S. economy will get severely damaged.
Unrest in the U.S. could then become real.
Having control over additional resource assets would dampen the negative effects for the U.S. dollar and debt position.
Is Trump expecting something like that? https://www.moonofalabama.
Another round of war with Iran is imminent. Air-tankers have been deployed to the Middle East, Israel’s air defenses have been beefed up with more THAAD launchers and a carrier group is entering the Mediterranean.
The increase of forces near Venezuela is also continuing. It is clearly a build up towards a regime change attempt (archived).
Trump has increased intelligence sharing with Ukraine to allow for deep strikes into Russia.
At the same time the U.S. seems to have largely given up on militarily countering the rise of China.
Regime change in Iran and Venezuela could bring a huge amount of additional energy resources under Washington’s control.
When the big stock market crash that everybody is warning (archived) about (archived) will finally happen, the U.S. economy will get severely damaged.
Unrest in the U.S. could then become real.
Having control over additional resource assets would dampen the negative effects for the U.S. dollar and debt position.
Is Trump expecting something like that? https://www.moonofalabama.
Wednesday, Six (6) E-6B "Mercury" TACAMO Nuclear Command Aircraft Flying over CONUS
The Boeing E-6B Mercury is a U.S. Navy airborne communication relay and command post aircraft, primarily known as a "doomsday plane."
It supports two main functions: the Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) mission, which provides airborne command and control links to U.S. nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, and the Looking Glass mission, serving as an airborne command post for launching intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
Derived from the Boeing 707, the E-6B is equipped with a trailing wire antenna for very-low-frequency (VLF) communications, enabling it to reach submerged submarines.
Usually, only one or two such aircraft are up at any given time.
In a "crisis" situation, we have seen three or four such aircraft in the sky at once.
NEVER BEFORE have we seen SIX (6) Such planes flying at the same time. This isn't training; this is nuclear war posture. https://halturnerradioshow.
The head of the global nuclear strike force resigned Tuesday after Trump's pep talk: Thomas Bussiere’s Retirement: A Turning Point for the U.S. Air Force General Thomas Bussiere announced his retirement from the U.S. Air Force citing personal and family reasons.
Bussiere served as the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, overseeing nuclear and strategic bomber operations. https://azat.tv/en/thomas-
Bussiere served as the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, overseeing nuclear and strategic bomber operations. https://azat.tv/en/thomas-
Hegseth fires Navy chief of staff : Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has just fired Navy Chief of Staff Jon Harrison. We don’t know why and no one is talking about the ‘why’. https://therightscoop.com/breaking-hegseth-fires-navy-chief-of-staff/
The Trump administration has determined that the US is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels, according to a notification to Congress, offering further legal justification for recent strikes on alleged drug-runners from Venezuela.
The notice, sent by the Pentagon to Congress this week, says the US “has now reached a critical point where we must use force in self-defense and defense of others against the ongoing attacks” by the groups, which President Donald Trump has also designated terrorist organizations. https://halturnerradioshow.
The notice, sent by the Pentagon to Congress this week, says the US “has now reached a critical point where we must use force in self-defense and defense of others against the ongoing attacks” by the groups, which President Donald Trump has also designated terrorist organizations. https://halturnerradioshow.
Also Wednesday October 1, Iran Goes on Military Alert; Says Hostilities with Israel and U.S. "Imminent" https://halturnerradioshow.
War has changed a lot in the past 3 years: The Pentagon Should Scale Back F-35 Purchases—and Buy Drones Instead https://nationalinterest.org/
John Helmer, WHEN TOMAHAWK MEETS BEAR, THE HAZEL TREE (ORESHNIK) WINS
A week ago on September 23, President Donald Trump called President Vladimir Putin’s military power a “paper tiger”, and declared ”this is the time for Ukraine to act”.By that he said he meant “to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that!”
Five days later, the successor president, Vice President J D Vance, explained that deployment on the Ukrainian battlefield by NATO-supplied Tomahawk cruise missiles, with a 2,500-km range, is the next step he and Trump are considering.
“Russia is really stalled,” Vance claimed, “The Russian economy is in shambles. The Russians are not gaining much on the battlefield… The Russians have refused to sit down in any bilateral meetings with the Ukrainians. They have refused to sit down in any trilateral meetings with the President…The Russians have got to wake up and accept reality here… About Tomahawks, it’s something the President is going to make the final determination on. What the President is going to do is what’s in the best interest of the United States of America.”
The scheme, Vance intimated, is to allow NATO member states with Tomahawk batteries – at the moment this means the UK and Germany – to deliver them to Kiev, or for other European states to buy the missiles from the US and send them on. This means that the crews operating the Tomahawk systems in the Ukraine would be British, German, or other Europeans. “What we’re doing,” Vance said, “is asking the Europeans to buy that weaponry that shows some European skin in the game. I think that gets them really invested in both what’s happening in their own backyard, but also in the peace process that the president has been pushing for, for the last eight months,” Vance said...
..Then Peskov muffled a warning: “The question… is this: who can launch these missiles…? Can only Ukrainians launch them, or do American soldiers have to do that?” The answer is already obvious – Vance made it plain. The operators of the Tomahawks would be Europeans. https://johnhelmer.net/when-
'Now we need a precise Pan-European plan how to fill the capability gaps and how to move forward,' says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen https://www.aa.com.tr/en/
‘The AfD wants a completely different country’ warns German establishment politician. The problem? Germans also want a completely different country - The establishment parties warn of a "revolution," "system change," and a "completely different nation," but that is eactly what AfD supporters want, writes Welt columnist Andreas Rosenfelder https://rmx.news/article/the-afd-wants-a-completely-different-country-warns-german-establishment-politician-the-problem-germans-also-want-a-completely-different-country/
Rival warmongers want to run the show: Merz rivalry with von der Leyen heating up – BloombergThe German chancellor reportedly wants more control over decision-making within the EU, sources have told the outlet https://swentr.site/news/
Putin: 'All NATO Countries Are Fighting Us' While EU Leaders 'Whip Up Hysteria' https://www.zerohedge.com/
Putin Blasts French 'Piracy' After 'Russia-Linked' Tanker Boarded, Captain Arrested https://www.zerohedge.com/
Putin Warns US Tariffs On Russia's Partners Will Backfire: 'Oil Will Skyrocket, Exceed $100' https://www.zerohedge.com/
RUSSIAN FROZEN ASSETS SCAM
A $56 million US MQ-9 Reaper was launched from the Sigonella NATO base in Sicily,Italy. Heading to Crimea with transponder off. The Russians jammed it, by cutting off its guidance satellite feed. Crash The computer/telemetry memory chips were scooped up by the Russian Black Sea Fleet... https://x.com/ricwe123/
Portland Police Detain Journalist, Not Antifa Soldiers, Spurring White House Probe
Watch: Enraged Young Conservatives Rally In Front Of Portland ICE, Chanting "USA" After Sortor Arrest
Rival warmongers want to run the show: Merz rivalry with von der Leyen heating up – Bloomberg
Andrew Korybko (Putin doesn't want to lose Russia to global finance.) Re-Evaluating The Special Operation In Light Of The Valdai Club’s Startling Insight
They wrote on page 25 that “Russia would not risk its own socioeconomic stability for a decisive victory in a military conflict. One exception is direct full-scale aggression, but the probability of such an action against a nuclear superpower is close to zero…Perhaps the purpose of wars has changed. The contemporary objective may no longer lie in victories – wherein one party achieves all its goals – but rather in maintaining a balance necessary for a period of relative peaceful development.”
This startling insight prompts a re-evaluation of the special operation, which has been going on for over 3,5 years, in no small part due to Putin’s restraint in not waging a US-inspired “shock-and-awe” campaign at the cost of Iraqi-like civilian casualties among what he believes to be the fraternal Ukrainian people. In light of what Russia’s top policy influencers just revealed, however, a complementary reason might be his trusted policy advisors’ reluctance to risk their country’s “socioeconomic stability for a decisive victory”. https://korybko.substack.com/
This startling insight prompts a re-evaluation of the special operation, which has been going on for over 3,5 years, in no small part due to Putin’s restraint in not waging a US-inspired “shock-and-awe” campaign at the cost of Iraqi-like civilian casualties among what he believes to be the fraternal Ukrainian people. In light of what Russia’s top policy influencers just revealed, however, a complementary reason might be his trusted policy advisors’ reluctance to risk their country’s “socioeconomic stability for a decisive victory”. https://korybko.substack.com/
Larry Johnson, President Putin Signals Peace to Donald Trump at Valdai https://larrycjohnson.
China's "golden dome": China deploys planetary defense prototype that can track 1,000 incoming missiles
The PLA-tested platform integrates data from land, sea, air, and space to provide real-time threat analysis. https:// 1) The EU loans Ukraine Russia’s money of roughly $200 billion. The EU gives the money as a “reparations loan” to Ukraine, which Kyiv only repays when Moscow compensates it for war damage.
2) The EU replaces the Russian assets with an IOU note, promising to repay Russia. But due to the sanctions the EU can’t repay Russia, hence the loan will not be repaid.
3) If Russia wants the sanctions to be lifted, it has to pay Ukraine reparations. Which Ukraine can use to repay the loan, which then can be used to repay Russia.
Then the sanctions can be lifted, as the loan is repaid and Russian frozen assets are back in place. Essentially it means if Russia gives Ukraine $500 billion, $200 billion will come back.
4) But this means that all previous loans, that are taken using Russian assets as collateral, which are paid by the interest of the assets, need to be paid by Europe now.
Everything loaned before needs to be paid by Europe, since the interest of Russian assets will be gone... Key takeaway, previous loans are now paid by European taxpayer, though it was promised they will not be. Also Europe finally destroys its financial credibility https://x.com/MyLordBebo/
Sortor was charged with second-degree disorderly conduct.
"This was as big of a surprise to me as it was to everybody else. All of a sudden, you know, I'm being jumped by Antifa thugs," Sortor told Fox News' Bill Melugin following his release from jail. "I get back up, I stumble away and go back toward cops where I think, you know, at least, all right, well, maybe that'll be a safer place for me to go… never suspected that I was going to be the target of the arrest, that they were coming in to me." https://www.zerohedge.com/
"This was as big of a surprise to me as it was to everybody else. All of a sudden, you know, I'm being jumped by Antifa thugs," Sortor told Fox News' Bill Melugin following his release from jail. "I get back up, I stumble away and go back toward cops where I think, you know, at least, all right, well, maybe that'll be a safer place for me to go… never suspected that I was going to be the target of the arrest, that they were coming in to me." https://www.zerohedge.com/
Not even a day after Portland Police arrested journalist Nick Sortor outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in South Portland, the totally unexpected happened overnight ... dozens of young men muscled past Antifa, chanting "USA" and "NICK."
On Friday night, dozens of young men gathered in front of the ICE building in Portland to show their support for ICE and for journalist Nick Sortor, whose Thursday night arrest sparked a federal investigation into leftist corruption in the city. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-young-masculine-men-what-democrats-fear-rally-front-portland-ice-chanting-usa
On Friday night, dozens of young men gathered in front of the ICE building in Portland to show their support for ICE and for journalist Nick Sortor, whose Thursday night arrest sparked a federal investigation into leftist corruption in the city. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-young-masculine-men-what-democrats-fear-rally-front-portland-ice-chanting-usa
Conservative Female Reporter Violently Assaulted by Antifa Terrorist; Portland Police Refuse to Arrest Attacker (VIDEO)
The Antifa terrorist hit Katie Daviscourt in the face with a flag pole, leaving her with a nasty black eye. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/10/conservative-female-reporter-violently-assaulted-antifa-terrorist-portland/
Palestinian Subordination: Donald Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan. Binoy Kampmark
He had moments of discomfort and embarrassment – pressed into calling the Qatari Prime Minister by his host to apologise for striking Doha and made to pay lip service to the prospect of a Palestinian state – but Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu had many reasons to be pleased. On September 29, President Donald Trump advanced a peace proposal that essentially preserves Israeli pre-eminence regarding the fate of Palestinians, though it entails a cessation of hostilities, an affirmation that Gazans would not be expelled (those leaving would have the right to return), and an injunction against Israeli annexation of the Strip. But Hamas, militarily and politically, would have to surrender all claims, with the Palestinian Authority shepherded and supervised by foreign powers. https://www.globalresearch.
Tucker Carlson has revealed that during the brief Iran-Israel war earlier this year, Israeli soldiers were barging into U.S. military meetings at the Pentagon, issuing demands, and telling American officers what to do. He says Pentagon officials stood by in silence and is questioning why no one dared to act. https://x.com/ShadowofEzra/ New poll shows strong Democratic voter support for US sanctions on Israel
YouGov-IMEU poll shows 65% of Democratic primary voters back sanctions on Israel, including bans on credit, arms imports, and entry for Israeli officials https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/new-poll-shows-strong-democratic-voter-support-for-us-sanctions-on-israel/3706906
Key Middle Eastern leaders shocked by Israeli rewrite of Gaza plan but still back it
'Maximum pressure' is now being applied to Hamas to accept the deal, despite its clear shortcomings, sources tell MEE https://www.middleeasteye.
How Hamas Is Navigating Trump’s Gaza Ultimatum
In an exclusive interview, veteran Hamas official Mohammad Nazzal discusses strategy, red lines, and Israel’s attempt to assassinate Palestinian negotiators.
Israeli army kills 51 Palestinians in Gaza in past 24 hours https://en.mehrnews.com/news/237230/Israeli-army-kills-51-Palestinians-in-Gaza-in-past-24-hours
YouGov-IMEU poll shows 65% of Democratic primary voters back sanctions on Israel, including bans on credit, arms imports, and entry for Israeli officials https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/new-poll-shows-strong-democratic-voter-support-for-us-sanctions-on-israel/3706906
'Maximum pressure' is now being applied to Hamas to accept the deal, despite its clear shortcomings, sources tell MEE https://www.middleeasteye.
In an exclusive interview, veteran Hamas official Mohammad Nazzal discusses strategy, red lines, and Israel’s attempt to assassinate Palestinian negotiators.
Hamas is well aware that its only real leverage is the fact that it continues to hold Israelis in Gaza. “It is possible that this agreement will last only 72 hours, meaning they would take the Israeli captives and then not follow through with the rest of the agreement. There are no guarantees,” Nazzal said. “That’s why I believe that when we delve into the details of the plan, we must include guarantees that ensure the agreement is fully implemented and not cut short. There must be guarantees that the release of all captives in those initial hours will not allow the Americans and Israelis to walk away from fulfilling the rest of the deal.”
These concerns are well founded. Israel has repeatedly violated the terms of previous ceasefire agreements, including the January 2025 deal that was endorsed by both Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden. Israel conducted regular strikes inside Gaza during the first phase of the deal and then unilaterally abandoned the agreement entirely in March, imposed a sweeping blockade, and resumed its scorched earth bombing of Gaza. https://www.dropsitenews.com/
These concerns are well founded. Israel has repeatedly violated the terms of previous ceasefire agreements, including the January 2025 deal that was endorsed by both Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden. Israel conducted regular strikes inside Gaza during the first phase of the deal and then unilaterally abandoned the agreement entirely in March, imposed a sweeping blockade, and resumed its scorched earth bombing of Gaza. https://www.dropsitenews.com/
Colombia’s Petro Government Once Again Shows Rest of World How to Respond to Israel’s Naked Criminality
If a mid-sized country in South America can take such strong action against arguably the world’s most dangerous rogue state, why can’t others that are far more powerful? https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/10/colombias-gustavo-petro-government-once-again-shows-rest-of-world-how-to-respond-to-israels-naked-criminality.html
Streets fill in Rome, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels after Israeli forces attack Global Sumud Flotilla https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/protests-erupt-across-europe-after-israeli-attack-on-gaza-bound-aid-flotilla/3705051
Center-right government claims these approvals are exclusively ‘other military equipment’ and not ‘war weapons’ https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/germany-approves-arms-exports-to-israel-again/3703938
Israel is ‘brutally mistreating peaceful detainees from 50 countries around the world,’ says International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-forces-ram-gaza-bound-flotilla-vessel-fire-water-cannons-at-fleet/3705056
Interdicted in international waters: Israelis Make Illegal Arrests on Sumud Flotilla
Trump calls on Israel to stop bombing Gaza after Hamas agrees to parts of peace plan
Hamas agrees to terms for release of all Israeli hostages, but other issues remain unresolved https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-hamas-deadline-ceasefire-1.7650305
Hamas agrees to terms for release of all Israeli hostages, but other issues remain unresolved https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-hamas-deadline-ceasefire-1.7650305
Israel carries out 'merciless bombardment' on Gaza despite Trump's stop order
Palestinian officials in Gaza say the main city is under relentless Israeli fire while residents also report heavy Israeli shelling during evacuations. https://www.trtworld.com/article/3a24ab366e75
Israeli bombing of Gaza City has “significantly subsided” though at least five Palestinians were killed, a hospital official said Saturday, as Israel’s army said the country’s leaders had instructed it to prepare for the first phase of the U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza.
Israel has moved to a defensive-only position in Gaza and will not actively strike, said an official who was not authorized to speak to the media on the record. The official said no forces have been removed from the territory. https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-10-04-2025-b1519189e3f65ee76b468d064c0c4afa
FBI Director Kash Patel made the announcement on Wednesday after prominent conservative influencers, including Elon Musk, pounced on the ADL’s inclusion of the murdered right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in its “Glossary of Extremism and Hate”. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/2/fbi-cuts-ties-with-anti-defamation-league-amid-conservative-backlash
Palestinian officials in Gaza say the main city is under relentless Israeli fire while residents also report heavy Israeli shelling during evacuations. https://www.trtworld.com/article/3a24ab366e75
Israel has moved to a defensive-only position in Gaza and will not actively strike, said an official who was not authorized to speak to the media on the record. The official said no forces have been removed from the territory. https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-10-04-2025-b1519189e3f65ee76b468d064c0c4afa
Bend the knee or die: Erdogan threatens Syrian Kurds if 'integration' with Damascus fails
Violence has escalated in recent weeks between Syrian government forces and the US-backed SDF on the front lines in eastern Aleppo https://thecradle.co/articles/erdogan-threatens-syrian-kurds-if-integration-with-damascus-fails Why did they have "ties"? FBI cuts ties with Anti-Defamation League amid conservative backlash
FBI Director Kash Patel announces break with anti-Semitism watchdog amid outrage over description of Charlie Kirk. ADL deletes extremism glossary after backlash over Turning Point USA inclusion - "ADL sells hate," Elon Musk said
The entry ... said that since Kirk founded the group, he "moved further to the right and has promoted numerous conspiracy theories about election fraud and Covid-19 and has demonized the transgender community. Kirk also promotes Christian nationalism: the idea that Christians should dominate the government and other areas of life in the US." https://justthenews.com/nation/culture/adl-deletes-extremism-glossary-after-backlash-over-turning-point-usa-inclusion
‘Full-throated assault on the First Amendment’: Judge rips into Trump over attempts to deport pro-Palestinian academics https://israelpalestinenews.org/judge-rips-into-trump-over-attempts-to-deport-pro-palestinian-academics/
China and Brazil are bankrupting American cotton farmers. Bailouts coming. https://kdwalmsley.substack.com/p/china-and-brazil-are-bankrupting
China stopped buying US soybeans and cotton, That's over. Trump’s Destruction of US Economy, Starting with Agriculture. Prof. Michael Hudson https://www.globalresearch.ca/trump-destruction-us-economy-agriculture/5901365
Steely brinksmanship: China’s iron ore power play jolts Australia
Reported ban on BHP iron ore imports ultimately aims to turn China from price-taker to price-maker https://asiatimes.com/2025/10/steely-brinksmanship-chinas-iron-ore-power-play-jolts-australia/
Curtains for the US-Korea military alliance?
Trump seeks to reduce US entanglements and shift burdens onto allies, while Lee seeks to reclaim sovereignty and avoid overdependence. Ironically, though driven by different motivations, their policies converge in practice: a gradual loosening of the alliance masked by the rhetoric of solidarity. https://asiatimes.com/2025/10/curtains-for-the-us-korea-military-alliance/
Reported ban on BHP iron ore imports ultimately aims to turn China from price-taker to price-maker https://asiatimes.com/2025/10/steely-brinksmanship-chinas-iron-ore-power-play-jolts-australia/
Global restructuring: Trump’s big, costly, coercive trade deals falling apart in Asia
Korea says it can’t pay $350 billion ‘signing bonus’, Japan rethinks $550 billion transfer while China avoids any deal at all “Korea is going to be hurt if all of this happens,” she said in an interview in Seoul. “Other countries will be harmed, but not as much as the US will harm itself.”
Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s thoughts have arrived at a similar place. As he told Reuters, Trump’s ask — equivalent to more than 18% of Korea’s gross domestic product — will push the economy to the brink of near collapse if fulfilled.
“Without a currency swap, if we were to withdraw $350 billion in the manner that the US is demanding and to invest this all in cash in the US, South Korea would face a situation as it had in the 1997 financial crisis,” Lee said. https://asiatimes.com/2025/10/trumps-big-costly-coercive-trade-deals-falling-apart-in-asia/
Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s thoughts have arrived at a similar place. As he told Reuters, Trump’s ask — equivalent to more than 18% of Korea’s gross domestic product — will push the economy to the brink of near collapse if fulfilled.
“Without a currency swap, if we were to withdraw $350 billion in the manner that the US is demanding and to invest this all in cash in the US, South Korea would face a situation as it had in the 1997 financial crisis,” Lee said. https://asiatimes.com/2025/10/trumps-big-costly-coercive-trade-deals-falling-apart-in-asia/
Trump seeks to reduce US entanglements and shift burdens onto allies, while Lee seeks to reclaim sovereignty and avoid overdependence. Ironically, though driven by different motivations, their policies converge in practice: a gradual loosening of the alliance masked by the rhetoric of solidarity. https://asiatimes.com/2025/10/curtains-for-the-us-korea-military-alliance/
Unlikely-to-pay-off investments, or political pork? Department of Energy Cancels Another $7.6 Billion in Energy Project Funding https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Department-of-Energy-Cancels-Another-76-Billion-in-Energy-Project-Funding.html
Moon of Alabama, Is The AI Bubble Ready To Pop?
At Naked Capitalism Yves Smith published a paper by Servaas Storm: The AI Bubble and the U.S. Economy: How Long Do “Hallucinations” Last? Yves writes:
This is a devastating, must-read paper by Servaas Storm on how AI is failing to meet core, repeatedly hyped performance promises, and never can, irrespective of how much money and computing power is thrown at it. Yet AI, which Storm calls “Artificial Information” is still garnering worse-than-dot-com-frenzy valuations even as errors are if anything increasing.
Storm’s introduction:
This paper argues that (i) we have reached “peak GenAI” in terms of current Large Language Models (LLMs); scaling (building more data centers and using more chips) will not take us further to the goal of “Artificial General Intelligence” (AGI); returns are diminishing rapidly; (ii) the AI-LLM industry and the larger U.S. economy are experiencing a speculative bubble, which is about to burst.
I happen to a agree with the arguments and conclusion.
The current Large Language Models are part of the Generative Artificial Intelligence field. GenAI is one twig on the research tree of Artificial Intelligence. LLMs are based on ‘neural networks’. They store billions of tiny pieces of information and probability values of how those pieces relate to each other. The method is thought to simulate a part of human thinking.
But human thinking does much more than storing bits of information and statistical values of how they relate. It constantly builds mental models of the world we are living in. That leads to understanding of higher level concepts and of laws of nature. The brain can simulate events in those mental model worlds. We can thus recognize what is happening around us and can anticipate what might happen next.
..But the hype around LLms is real and huge amount of money is flowing into the companies that are building such models. This while none of them has found ways to create sufficient revenue to support such investments. Training and running these models at scale is very expensive. There are simply too few real use cases that would justify paying the cost for them...
..Dozens of specialized LLM data-centers are getting build to house a huge amount of expensive chips that lose their values faster than a newly bought hyper-car. All without a real use case for LLMs and without any hope for sufficient revenue to ever sustain the business. This is bad for the U.S. economy.
The money that is flowing into the LLM hype is gone. It can not be invested somewhere else even when that would make way more sense for the larger society – for example in the revival of manufacturing or in apprenticeship programs...
..The data-centers being build will need huge amounts of additional electricity which can not be generated within the foreseeable future...
All recent U.S. stock market gains were powered by the LLM hype. When the bubble will burst, the stock market will sink and most people who are, directly or indirectly, invested in the LLM hype will lose a lot of their money.
Unfortunately there is no way to foresee when that will happen or how far the damage will spread.
But we can already see damage to the real economy. Investment in factories for real products gets crowded out and electricity prices are doubling and tripling, hitting manufacturers as well as private consumers. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/10/is-the-ai-bubble-ready-to-pop/
All recent U.S. stock market gains were powered by the LLM hype. When the bubble will burst, the stock market will sink and most people who are, directly or indirectly, invested in the LLM hype will lose a lot of their money.
Unfortunately there is no way to foresee when that will happen or how far the damage will spread.
But we can already see damage to the real economy. Investment in factories for real products gets crowded out and electricity prices are doubling and tripling, hitting manufacturers as well as private consumers. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/10/is-the-ai-bubble-ready-to-pop/
Still the "cleanest dirty shirt" of fiat currencies: Status of US Dollar as Global Reserve Currency: USD Share Plunges to Lowest since 1994, as USD Exchange Rates Tank, Central Banks Diversify https://wolfstreet.com/2025/10/02/status-of-us-dollar-as-global-reserve-currency-usd-share-plunges-to-lowest-since-1994-as-usd-exchange-rates-tank-central-banks-diversify/
Replacing credit & debit cards: All currencies will be stablecoins by 2030: Tether co-founderTether’s co-founder Reeve Collins said all forms of money, including dollars and euros, will probably be represented on the blockchain within the next five years. https://cointelegraph.com/news/all-currency-will-be-stablecoin-before-2030-reeve-collins
Tether is big, very big, and holds massive amounts of all assets. America’s Crypto Future Comes Into Focus: Bitcoin, Gold, Land, and Lutnick https://www.technocracy.news/americas-crypto-future-comes-into-focus-bitcoin-gold-land-and-lutnick/
There’s a poison pill in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”, which will leave millions of Americans hungry. Changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), colloquially known as food stamps, are projected to cause 4 million people to lose benefits—with 19 million more facing benefit cuts.
On average, SNAP comprises about one-quarter of beneficiaries’ household income–with 1 in every 2 children receiving these benefits before their 18th birthday—these cuts will hit hard. And ominously, the Trump Administration just eliminated a survey of SNAP beneficiaries that would tell us the impact on these families’ access to food.
Why will so many vulnerable Americans lose their benefits? In short, both beneficiaries and states will be overwhelmed with new administrative burdens. In addition to cuts in the value of SNAP benefits, many beneficiaries will lose coverage because of added work requirements—which have been repeatedly shown to push eligible people off the program, but not improve labor force participation.
Others, however, will lose benefits because *state administrators* are facing new administrative burdens, which will push them to reduce their SNAP caseloads. The bill, by design, is forcing state governments to take the blame for millions of Americans going hungry...
On average, SNAP comprises about one-quarter of beneficiaries’ household income–with 1 in every 2 children receiving these benefits before their 18th birthday—these cuts will hit hard. And ominously, the Trump Administration just eliminated a survey of SNAP beneficiaries that would tell us the impact on these families’ access to food.
Why will so many vulnerable Americans lose their benefits? In short, both beneficiaries and states will be overwhelmed with new administrative burdens. In addition to cuts in the value of SNAP benefits, many beneficiaries will lose coverage because of added work requirements—which have been repeatedly shown to push eligible people off the program, but not improve labor force participation.
Others, however, will lose benefits because *state administrators* are facing new administrative burdens, which will push them to reduce their SNAP caseloads. The bill, by design, is forcing state governments to take the blame for millions of Americans going hungry...
..Arizona would need to pay 15% of total SNAP benefits, which is around $24 million. Oregon is facing a $500 million dollar penalty over the biennium 2029-2031, as well as $150 million in new administrative costs. Arizona is estimating that it will need around $87 million to implement both the SNAP and Medicaid eligibility changes, just for new administrative costs.
States will increase burdens for beneficiaries to manage their new financial costs
So what will states do? North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services told the New York Times that if the state did not provide the additional $14 million for new administrative costs and $420 million for benefits related to payment errors, they would “have to stop offering the SNAP program altogether.” Roughly 13% of North Carolina residents receive SNAP benefits, most of whom are either children, the disabled, or older adults with low incomes. https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-big-beautiful-bill-has-a-snap
States will increase burdens for beneficiaries to manage their new financial costs
So what will states do? North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services told the New York Times that if the state did not provide the additional $14 million for new administrative costs and $420 million for benefits related to payment errors, they would “have to stop offering the SNAP program altogether.” Roughly 13% of North Carolina residents receive SNAP benefits, most of whom are either children, the disabled, or older adults with low incomes. https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-big-beautiful-bill-has-a-snap
"Gun Safety"; only the gub'mint gets to have 'em: Canadian Govt Prepares to Disarm Civilians
Anandasangaree does not believe the Canadian government is equipped to disarm citizens, as revealed in a leaked audio clip. “I just don’t think municipal police services have the resources to do this,” the minister says. The minister claims a gun lobbyist leaked the audio in which he was speaking in jest. https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/politics/canadian-govt-prepares-to-disarm-civilians/
Everything is coming together for Larry Ellison. The billionaire co-founder of tech giant Oracle, on-and-off-again the richest man in the world and a staunch supporter of Israel, is set to take a lead role in reshaping TikTok in the United States. His son, David Ellison, is moving to take over large swaths of the media, including CBS News, CNN, Warner Brothers, and Paramount, reportedly bringing in the Free Press’s Bari Weiss to shape editorial direction.
"The Ellison family is cornering the market on attention and data the same way the Vanderbilts did railroads and the Rockefellers did oil,” as Wired recently characterized it. How they plan to operate that monopoly is on course to be tested out in what President Donald Trump is calling “New Gaza,” the techno-dystopian free trade zone that is to be administered by a Board of Peace led by Trump and Ellison’s longtime political and business vehicle, Tony Blair. Ellison has given or pledged more than $350 million to the Tony Blair Institute, which Blair has used to advance Ellison’s vision of a marriage between government, corporate power, and tech surveillance. Oracle, by providing database infrastructure and cloud-computing services to other huge enterprises like FedEx and NVIDIA, has quietly become one of the most powerful companies in the world. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/larry-ellison-vetted-marco-rubio-israel-hacked-emails-ron-prosor
"The Ellison family is cornering the market on attention and data the same way the Vanderbilts did railroads and the Rockefellers did oil,” as Wired recently characterized it. How they plan to operate that monopoly is on course to be tested out in what President Donald Trump is calling “New Gaza,” the techno-dystopian free trade zone that is to be administered by a Board of Peace led by Trump and Ellison’s longtime political and business vehicle, Tony Blair. Ellison has given or pledged more than $350 million to the Tony Blair Institute, which Blair has used to advance Ellison’s vision of a marriage between government, corporate power, and tech surveillance. Oracle, by providing database infrastructure and cloud-computing services to other huge enterprises like FedEx and NVIDIA, has quietly become one of the most powerful companies in the world. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/larry-ellison-vetted-marco-rubio-israel-hacked-emails-ron-prosor
"Advocating genocide", for instance, applies to whom?: Canada Joins UK With Up to Life in Prison for Hate Speech https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/canada/canada-joins-uk-with-up-to-life-in-prison-for-hate-speech/
..The spying operation is not an issue of FISA-702, or any FISA system or process. However, the availability of FBI access to the NSA database is what triggered the discovery of the spy operation.
That FBI access is created under the auspices of FISA, but FISA-702, or any aspect therein, was not the issue. The issue was the spying operation.
FISA, and using the NSA database to conduct the electronic surveillance, was simply the tool to exploit the electronic communication (metadata) of the targets.
The Obama administration was spying on their political opposition and telling the Clinton team the results of their surveillance...
..Hillary Clinton manufacturing a political dirty trick against Donald Trump, accusing him of a Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy, is called “Russiagate.” That FBI access is created under the auspices of FISA, but FISA-702, or any aspect therein, was not the issue. The issue was the spying operation.
FISA, and using the NSA database to conduct the electronic surveillance, was simply the tool to exploit the electronic communication (metadata) of the targets.
The Obama administration was spying on their political opposition and telling the Clinton team the results of their surveillance...
President Obama and every member of his cabinet, that was involved in the spying operations, used Clinton’s “Russiagate” to cover up Obama’s “Spygate.”
The two controversies are distinct and separate.
Within the evidence trail, that documents the Obama spying operation exists: (1) the NSA audit-trail, and, more importantly, (2) the specific document where the NSA notified the FISA Court. Those have never been seen.
While a redacted 99-page response from the court has been reviewed in granular detail, the missing piece of the puzzle; -the evidence that proves the operation beyond any reasonable doubt – is the NSA investigative outcome, the notification to the FISC given by NSA Director Mike Rogers to the FISA Court.
The NSA report to the FISA Court is a specific, actionable, discoverable document. I have been on the hunt for that notification report for 8 years. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/09/30/the-nsa-report-no-one-has-ever-seen/#more-276573
Too many shots, too early, cause brain injuries and seizures. Top FDA Vaccine Official Says US Vaccine Schedule May Be Suboptimal
In terms of vaccine type, cDNA vaccines were associated with the increased risks of thyroid, gastric, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers; mRNA vaccines were linked to the increased risks of thyroid, colorectal, lung, and breast cancers; and heterologous vaccination was related to the increased risks of thyroid and breast cancers. https://biomarkerres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40364-025-00831-w
Steve Kirsch, The Czech Republic dataset provides amazing insights into COVID vaccine safety and efficacy. Here are the key charts showing it was all risk and no benefit. In this article, I'll summarize the 5 most important points I learned over the past year https://kirschsubstack.com/p/the-czech-republic-dataset-provides
I guess we will all catch it when it "leaks": CDC Creates New Bird Flu Virus With Enhanced Immune System Evasion in Georgia Lab: Journal 'npj Viruses'
U.S. gov't makes pandemic-grade H5N1 avian influenza pathogen invisible to the immune system's defenses—in just six days. https://jonfleetwood.substack.com/p/cdc-creates-new-bird-flu-virus-withBird Flu susceptible (pictured mowing patch of grass near drip-watered garden this morning- It has been dry)
