Waiting Outside,
Like everybody, I have been looking out for clues as to what the DNC will do for a Presidential Candidate and VP candidate, who will need to be able to raise funds (now suddenly cut-off) and to gather crowd support. Their best candidate would be already-earned-it-twice Bernie Sanders, but he's too honest (a relative term) for them, especially about Israel.
After Thursday's debate, many voices, including Democratic bigwigs, called for Joe to resign or be removed. Obama paid Joe and Jill a visit, along with some other "trusted advisors" and suddenly the DNC was officially "standing behind Biden". That casts them in a "faithful" light, which is better for public relations, but Biden has lost voter support.
The Biden family huddled over the weekend and is "backing Joe and considering firing top advisors". That seems to me to be a bargaining position. They want a better offer for Joe to bow out quickly and gracefully, well before the Democratic Convention, August 19-22, and in time to upstage the Republican Convention in just 2 weeks.
The DNC needs better information about who can garner donations and votes, and they need to appear virtuous, a tall order. If they pay off the Bidens with pardons, cash and assurances of future immunity, Joe can depart gracefully during the Republican Convention, and Kamala will be the first female President for some months. That will pay her off. Gavin-the-Vampire Newsome can become VP and the POTUS candidate, and potential Democratic voters and doners can respond to that, as he looks more presidential. (There is a rumor that something big and bad will happen to capture the news cycle in the next few days. Perhaps Donald Trump will murder Joe Biden in a knife attack.)
Hersh Makes This Column Available With No Paywall https://celiafarber.substack.com/p/seymour-hersh-asks-the-question-on
The 81-year-old president’s condition puts the country in a “very dangerous situation,” Mike Johnson has argued https://swentr.site/news/600187-biden-us-president-johnson/
Simplicius, Biden's Unraveling Sets New Course for Ukraine Suddenly Zelensky is preparing a real negotiating position to deal with Russia by the end of the year. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/sitrep-62924-bidens-unraveling-sets
In presenting himself as the more effectively violent of the two, Trump reversed the Gaza genocide and used a racist slur against Biden. “Israel is the one. And you [Biden] should them go and let them finish the job. He doesn’t want to do it. He’s become like a Palestinian. But they don’t like him, because he’s a very bad Palestinian. He’s a weak one.”
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, claimed that Putin slept through the live broadcast of the debate. He did not say Putin has not watched a replay. “I don’t think that you can expect the Russian president to set his alarm, wake up early morning and watch the debate. This isn’t a main event for us.”
A summary of the mainstream Russian media concluded that Russian officials and analysts saw what they already thought they knew. “There are several reasons Moscow would prefer a Trump presidency — the Republican candidate has threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO and is skeptical of American aid to Ukraine — and Russian coverage generally maintained a neutral tone toward him [Trump], while being less generous with his opponent [Biden].”
Vzglyad, the semi-official security platform in Moscow, editorialized with a commentary on Biden’s medical condition, headlined “Biden confirms Alzheimer’s victory”, with a lengthy analysis of the medical treatments and the conclusion: “this does not mean that he cannot be elected president. Dementia is, again, a long–term disease. The question is when its progress will become impossible to hide or interpret as the malicious machinations of enemies.” https://johnhelmer.net/what-russians-didnt-miss-biden-beat-trump-in-the-spinach-debate/
And so, while the party is still virtue circling the wagons, they clearly want Biden out - and are 'giving him space' to "determine next steps. They believe only the president, in consultation with his family, can decide whether to move forward or to end his campaign early — and that he won’t respond well to being pushed."
So that's on the table.
"The decision-makers are two people — it’s the president and his wife," said one of the sources familiar with the discussions, adding "Anyone who doesn’t understand how deeply personal and familial this decision will be isn’t knowledgeable about the situation." (Ahem; don't forget Barack Obama.)
According to another person 'familiar with his mood,' Biden is "humiliated, devoid of confidence and painfully aware that the physical images of him at the debate — eyes staring into the distance, mouth agape — will live beyond his presidency, along with a performance that at times was meandering, incoherent and difficult to hear." "It's a mess," the person said. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/there-it-biden-family-now-expected-discuss-future-campaign-after-disaster-dementia-debate
So that's on the table.
"The decision-makers are two people — it’s the president and his wife," said one of the sources familiar with the discussions, adding "Anyone who doesn’t understand how deeply personal and familial this decision will be isn’t knowledgeable about the situation." (Ahem; don't forget Barack Obama.)
According to another person 'familiar with his mood,' Biden is "humiliated, devoid of confidence and painfully aware that the physical images of him at the debate — eyes staring into the distance, mouth agape — will live beyond his presidency, along with a performance that at times was meandering, incoherent and difficult to hear." "It's a mess," the person said. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/there-it-biden-family-now-expected-discuss-future-campaign-after-disaster-dementia-debate
Amid the Democrats’ chaotic meltdown over President Biden’s Thursday night debate performance, one image stood out: A shrewd observer on X.com posted a video of a baseball pitcher just off the field dramatically engaged in big, arm-circle warm-ups. “Gavin stretching in the bullpen,” the observer commented.
The pithy remark itself wasn’t too much of a stretch. Gavin Newsom, in fact, was already on deck, albeit figuratively. Before the debate, the photogenic 56-year-old California governor with the slick hair and silver tongue worked the pre-debate spin room as Biden’s top surrogate. https://realclearwire.com/articles/2024/06/28/can_democrats_replace_biden_its_complicated_151181.html
The pithy remark itself wasn’t too much of a stretch. Gavin Newsom, in fact, was already on deck, albeit figuratively. Before the debate, the photogenic 56-year-old California governor with the slick hair and silver tongue worked the pre-debate spin room as Biden’s top surrogate. https://realclearwire.com/articles/2024/06/28/can_democrats_replace_biden_its_complicated_151181.html
Convention rules are not legal requirements, they are simply rules dictated by the DNC and by tradition. Delegates that already voted for Biden are supposed to continue their support, but there are avenues by which they can change their minds and trigger an open nomination process on the convention floor. It's telling that far-left media outlets like Time Magazine and Politico are already war-gaming the possibility of Biden stepping down; that's how poorly received his debate performance was...
..A March Rasmussen Reports survey of 912 likely voters found that former President Trump would lead by 17 points (51 percent to 34) if Newsom were the 2024 Democratic nominee. In February 2024, an Emerson College Polling survey of 1,225 showed that Trump would win in a hypothetical White House race against Newsom by 10 points (46 percent to 36).
A November 2023 Fox News poll of 1,001 registered voters found that Trump would win an election against Newsom by four points (49 percent to 45).
Other candidates fare even worse. Trump crushes Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (also a potential alternative to Biden) by 12 points in Emerson polls.
Kamala Harris loses by 6.6 points in Real Clear Politics polling. Meanwhile, former first lady Michelle Obama also trailed behind Trump in a hypothetical matchup (50 to 43 percent) according to Rasmussen. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/replace-biden-newsom-polls-show-democrats-would-still-lose
All Eyes on Kamala (Make her a really good offer.)
On Friday, Harris' team dismissed the notion that the Democratic ticket won't include Biden."Vice President Harris looks forward to serving a second term with President Joe Biden," said Harris spokesman Ernie Apreza in a statement.
Harris, who launched her career as former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown's side-piece, ran for President in 2019 - dropping out before the Iowa caucuses due to polling in the single digits and reports that she treats her staff like shit.
"This is my third presidential campaign and I have never seen an organization treat its staff so poorly," said former staffer Kelly Mehlenbacher in a blistering resignation letter.
Should Biden step aside, Democratic strategists have downplayed the notion of an open convention - arguing that Harris would be the logical choice, and warning of the risks of passing over a black woman already on the ticket for another candidate such as California Governor Gavin Newsom - who would be viewed as a 'white male savior' inserted into the race.
As Vice President, Harris has been an abject disaster - failing miserably as Biden's 'border czar' who presided over the influx of tens of millions of illegal migrants flooding into the United States. She's also failed at criminal justice reform, voting rights legislation, and administration's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Harris also met with Central American leaders to address the root causes of migration, which did not result in any significant policy changes or improvements in the situation.
And again, she's polling worse than Biden vs. Trump. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/all-eyes-kamala
According to its most recent annual financial statements, the Fed has just $51 billion in equity, versus a whopping $948 billion in mark-to-market losses. This means the Fed is insolvent by roughly $900 billion.
This is a big problem. Remember that the Fed is still a bank, i.e. it has financial obligations, liabilities, and depositors that it needs to pay.
For example, commercial banks like JP Morgan and Bank of America have deposited a total of $3.4 trillion of their customers’ money, i.e. YOUR money, with the Fed. And the Treasury Department holds another $700 billion deposit at the Fed.
The Fed owes money to foreign governments. They owe trillions of dollars from repurchase agreements to banks and businesses across the global financial system.
So, yeah, the insolvency of the Federal Reserve is a pretty big deal. Yet, at least for now, no one is saying a word about it.
But just like the Bank of England in 1992, sooner or later, someone is finally going to say something… and do something… about the Fed’s insolvency.
There’s a good chance that means betting against the dollar… just like speculators bet against the pound three decades ago. And that would ultimately reduce the value of the dollar, increase inflation, and trigger a new ‘Bretton Woods’ agreement in which the US dollar is no longer the world’s reserve currency.
George Soros became known as “The Man Who Broke the Bank of England”. https://dailynewsfromaolf.substack.com/p/the-fed-is-already-insolvent-heres
Long, slow erosion of the US dollar’s dominance. China’s renminbi keeps losing ground, many other currencies gain, as does gold. https://wolfstreet.com/2024/06/29/status-of-us-dollar-as-global-reserve-currency-central-banks-diversify-from-usd-assets-to-other-currencies-and-to-gold/
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is slowing down the European countries’ economies and some will not be as prosperous as they used to be, renowned US investor Jim Rogers told Sputnik.
" It [the Ukraine conflict] causes economies to slow down and some countries will not be as prosperous as they have been," Rogers said. "Whenever people have economic problems they blame somebody and that always leads to change."
Rogers said the issues facing the global economy will affect not only Europe but also other parts of the world in the next couple of years.
"There are many countries in Europe that will try to get around the European problems. So there may be more countries that will leave the European Union," Rogers said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240701/ukraine-conflict-slowing-down-eu-economies-some-will-not-be-as-prosperous---us-investor-1119199702.html
" It [the Ukraine conflict] causes economies to slow down and some countries will not be as prosperous as they have been," Rogers said. "Whenever people have economic problems they blame somebody and that always leads to change."
Rogers said the issues facing the global economy will affect not only Europe but also other parts of the world in the next couple of years.
"There are many countries in Europe that will try to get around the European problems. So there may be more countries that will leave the European Union," Rogers said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240701/ukraine-conflict-slowing-down-eu-economies-some-will-not-be-as-prosperous---us-investor-1119199702.html
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced the creation of a new EU Parliament alliance, in cooperation with right-wing parties from Austria and the Czech Republic. The announcement comes a day before Budapest takes on the rotating six-month EU presidency. (He's in this morning.)
The new group, presented as “Patriots for Europe” comprises Fidesz, the party led by Orban; the Czech Republic’s largest opposition bloc, ANO, chaired by the country’s former prime minister, Andrej Babis; and the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO), headed by Herbert Kickl.
“Today we are creating a political formation that I believe will very quickly become the largest faction of the European right-wing,” Orban said...
..According to the current rules, 23 members are needed to form a political group in the European Parliament, and at least one-quarter of the member states must be represented within the alliance. The new group, presented as “Patriots for Europe” comprises Fidesz, the party led by Orban; the Czech Republic’s largest opposition bloc, ANO, chaired by the country’s former prime minister, Andrej Babis; and the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO), headed by Herbert Kickl.
“Today we are creating a political formation that I believe will very quickly become the largest faction of the European right-wing,” Orban said...
In a statement to the media, the leaders of the three parties expressed hope that the new group would be joined by many other European parties in the coming days. (France?)
Hungary is set to take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1 and will remain in charge until the end of the year. https://swentr.site/news/600219-hungary-austria-czech-parliament-group/
Andrew Korybko, Keep An Eye On Ukraine’s Military Buildup Along The Belarusian Border
..In brief, Russia has already won the “race of logistics”/“war of attrition” with NATO, being so far ahead that it’s now producing three times as many shells as that bloc at a quarter of the cost. Russia is therefore poised to achieve a military breakthrough across the front lines, which its fresh push into Ukraine’s Kharkov Region is expected to facilitate by stretching the defender’s forces even further. In that event, however, NATO might conventionally intervene in order to asymmetrically partition Ukraine.
The reason why this escalation sequence is so dangerous is because Russia might fear that any large-scale NATO invasion force that potentially crosses the Dnieper could be preparing to attack its new regions. The NATO-Russian security dilemma is so serious right now as a result of the previously enumerated escalations that such intentions couldn’t confidently be ruled out if that happens. Russia might therefore resort to tactical nukes as a last resort out of self-defense, ergo its recent drills.
President Putin would prefer for that dark scenario not to unfold, which his why he recently shared a generous ceasefire proposal in an attempt to avert it. https://korybko.substack.com/p/keep-an-eye-on-ukraines-military
Just $5 million per disposable air-defense missile. Hurry, supplies are Running Out! US signs new $4.5bn Patriot Missile contract
Lockheed Martin will produce over 800 missiles and associated hardware under the deal https://www.rt.com/business/600186-us-patriot-lockheed-martin-ukraine/ UN Special Rapporteur Tlaleng Mofokeng says the situation in Gaza exhibits characteristics of an apartheid regime and a prolonged occupation, meeting the definition of genocide under international law. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/extermination--destruction-in-gaza-can-only-be--genocide---u
American Friends Service Committee: Companies Profiting from the Gaza Genocide https://afsc.org/gaza-genocide-companies
The situation in Gaza has become tragic, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan emphasized on Saturday, warning of imminent casualties due to food shortages, which are pushing the Strip toward famine.
During a press conference touching on the developments of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, Hamdan said UN estimates indicate that 70% of Gaza's population is at risk of famine, adding that "Israel's" policy of siege, through the blocking of crossings, has led to a liquidity (cash) crisis exacerbating the famine crisis in Gaza.
He highlighted that Israeli occupation forces are systematically destroying roads, water networks, and sewage systems, denying the people of Gaza access to drinking water.
The Palestinian official pointed out that the Israeli government ignores notifications from humanitarian organizations, which makes relief work extremely dangerous, emphasizing that the Israeli occupation's measures resemble an advanced form of "Nazi detention and extermination camps, even worse."
Hamdan considered "Israel's" policy of starvation in Gaza as one of the brutal methods of warfare targeting innocent civilians, making it tantamount to genocide, adding that "Israel's" policies in cutting electricity and water constitute acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-responsible-for-continued-israeli-starvation-policy-in-ga
During a press conference touching on the developments of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, Hamdan said UN estimates indicate that 70% of Gaza's population is at risk of famine, adding that "Israel's" policy of siege, through the blocking of crossings, has led to a liquidity (cash) crisis exacerbating the famine crisis in Gaza.
He highlighted that Israeli occupation forces are systematically destroying roads, water networks, and sewage systems, denying the people of Gaza access to drinking water.
The Palestinian official pointed out that the Israeli government ignores notifications from humanitarian organizations, which makes relief work extremely dangerous, emphasizing that the Israeli occupation's measures resemble an advanced form of "Nazi detention and extermination camps, even worse."
Hamdan considered "Israel's" policy of starvation in Gaza as one of the brutal methods of warfare targeting innocent civilians, making it tantamount to genocide, adding that "Israel's" policies in cutting electricity and water constitute acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-responsible-for-continued-israeli-starvation-policy-in-ga
More war will kill more Jewish Israelis, also. State comptroller warns there’s no evacuation plan for North in case of war
Englman tells Netanyahu to settle an ongoing squabble between Defense Minister Gallant and Interior Minister Arbel over responsibility for evacuees. https://www.timesofisrael.com/state-comptroller-warns-theres-no-evacuation-plan-for-north-in-case-of-war/ While touring the southern region, Mikati said, “We consistently advocate for peace, and our preference is to pursue peace and implement UN Resolution 1701,” according to the Lebanese National News Agency.
On Aug. 11, 2006, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1701, which demanded a full cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel.
“Israel should cease its ongoing attacks on Lebanon, halt the war on Gaza, and all parties should adhere to Resolution No. 2735,” Mikati said.
Resolution No. 2735 advocates for achieving a comprehensive cease-fire agreement and facilitating a hostage exchange deal, ensuring the provision of sufficient and sustainable humanitarian aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip.
“This visit expresses our solidarity with the southern region and its residents. We stand in full solidarity with them and closely monitor their situation,” said Mikati. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240629-lebanese-premier-calls-on-israel-to-stop-repeated-attacks-on-lebanon/
Peter McCullough MD, BREAKING Publication--Are COVID-19 Vaccines in Pregnancy as Safe and Effective as the U.S. Government, Medical Organizations, and Pharmaceutical Industry Claim? Thorp and Colleagues in First of Three Manuscripts
A systematic review of autopsy-related literature following COVID-19 vaccination finding that 73.9% of the 325 deaths were linked to the shots was published on June 21 in the peer-reviewed journal Forensic Science International. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/autopsy-covid-vaccine-deaths-lancet-censored/
Meryl Nass MD, Fed-State tussling over raw milk, which will hopefully end once the fallout over Chevron lands directly on FDA's Rockville office with a bang. https://merylnass.substack.com/p/fed-state-tussling-over-raw-milk
Neotame, an artificial sweetener that’s chemically similar to aspartame, may seriously damage the human intestine and overall gut health. Not only does it cause cell death in intestinal cells but it also damages bacteria commonly found in the gut. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/neotame-artificial-sweetener-damaging-human-health-aspartame-cola/
Avoiding Fakes (presenting this recent picture of a spotted Fawn taken from our front yard)
