Following the Usury,
Celia Farber opens this series with the case for Usury arising from a Babylonian cult of money and human sacrifice around 800 BC, and continuing since that time. It does not much matter who the practitioners are, if they follow the template, though the high-priests will turn out to be sadists...
The Hidden Hand: Babylonian Radhanite Banksters And The Ancient Roots Of Usury, War, And Human Sacrifice. "These Are Not Jews We're Talking About." Scapegoating Jews Is A Way To Avoid The True History Of Pagan, Moloch Baal, and Mammon Worshipping Pagan Bankers "The History Of Usury Is The History Of The Demonic World Marching Through History." https://celiafarber.substack.com/p/the-hidden-hand-babylonian-radhanite
Gaius Baltar provides a supporting essay on Psychopathy, Sociopathy, Narcissm and Sadism, and how the smallest part may be genetic, but quite a lot can be taught through child abuse to create further sadistic generations, and especially by societal "normalization" of behaviors that cause harm,
SADISM AS A SOCIAL FORCE (AND A WAY OF LIFE), THE MODERN QUEST FOR SADISTIC FREEDOM https://gaiusbaltar.substack.com/p/sadism-as-a-social-force-and-a-way Charles Hugh Smith on "normalization" of corrupt practices: To Make America Great Again, Start Here
Our status quo is so thoroughly corrupt that it's no longer even seen as corruption, it's just BAU--business as usual. Back to money, the "love of which is the root of all sorts of evil", It does not have to be the way it is: Why UK [and US] Governments Are Never Dependent on Financial Markets Posted on July 5, 2025 by Yves Smith
[Yves here. To clarify Richard Murphy’s headline, he is not referring to all levels of government in the UK, but “Government” which in US-speak would be “Administration”. His point is that the UK and US national governments will never run out of currency and do not need bond markets to fund budget deficits. Bond issuance is a political holdover from the gold standard era as opposed to an operational necessity. Looks at how Japan ran absolutely ginormous government deficits for decades.] I keep returning to this issue because it is so fundamental: the UK government is a currency creator, not a currency user. It is not like a household. It does not need to beg or borrow from the markets to spend. Financial markets are accommodated by the government, not the other way around.
Understanding this changes everything. It means that economic policy decisions — on public services, investment, climate action, and inequality — are political choices, not technical constraints imposed by bond traders. That is why misinformation on this issue matters so much, and the fact that it is so widespread shows just how strong are the forces that wish to deny that democratic choices can still be made in the UK. https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/07/why-uk-and-us-governments-are-never-dependent-on-financial-markets.html
Understanding this changes everything. It means that economic policy decisions — on public services, investment, climate action, and inequality — are political choices, not technical constraints imposed by bond traders. That is why misinformation on this issue matters so much, and the fact that it is so widespread shows just how strong are the forces that wish to deny that democratic choices can still be made in the UK. https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/07/why-uk-and-us-governments-are-never-dependent-on-financial-markets.html
So there is no need to issue debt, but we keep paying the bankers for nothing? Remuneration of Reserves: The Planned End of Government Securities ?
The debate over the remuneration of bank reserves, far from being limited to a technical or budgetary issue, reveals the true nature of our societies’ monetary choices. It highlights an observation that the history of monetary instruments and the emergence of the IOR (interest on reserves) have made undeniable: for a monetary sovereign state, public debt is not a financial need, but a political choice aimed at setting an interest rate on its liabilities and providing the private sector with safe assets. For eurozone countries, however, this function remains a cash flow necessity, a constraint enshrined in the treaties that only underscores the political nature of their monetary architecture.
By remunerating massive reserves, central banks have crossed a threshold: they now assume redistributive and quasi-fiscal choices without having an explicit democratic mandate. Their powers have expanded well beyond price stabilization, transforming their institutional role and blurring the line between monetary and fiscal policy. At a time when government securities are becoming optional for managing interest rates, the central question is no longer: « How to finance the debt? » » but: « What governance do we want for our currency and our collective choices? » The status quo prolongs a financial technocracy that operates transfers without democratic debate. Prudent reforms adjust without refounding. The more radical path, as proposed by MMT, refocuses economic sovereignty on Parliament and fiscal policy.
The resolution of this technical controversy will therefore have significant consequences for the future conduct of economic policies. The answer will determine much more than the future financial architecture; it will define the future model of economic governance and resolve a fundamental question: who should have the power to regulate the economy? Technocratic central bankers, impersonal rules, or democratic debate? https://mmt-france.org/2025/07/01/remuneration-of-reserves-the-planned-end-of-government-securities/
Delving into money not defined by usury, the various forms of "Gold Standard", vaguely espoused by Bessent & Trump:
January 28, 2025 ‘Golden age starts now’: Scott Bessent becomes Donald Trump's treasury secretary, pushes universal 2.5% tariff plan Scott Bessent has been confirmed as US Treasury Secretary, advocating for universal tariffs starting at 2.5%. He aims to eliminate taxes, implement a consumption tax, and adopt a gold-backed currency, marking a new economic era under President Trump. https://www.livemint.com/news/us-news/scott-bessent-becomes-new-secretary-of-the-treasury-us-president-donald-trump-america-11738028081299.html
The $US, with a much reduced industrial economy, hollowed out by debt-service-to-support-the-$ since 1980, cannot keep servicing the vast, snowballing debt for much longer. American threats to dollar-defectors, and potential rival currencies, along with systemic inertia, sustain the increasingly unreliable US currency in the role of global-reserve-currency. Weaponization of the $US (Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Syria, etc.), weakening of the US geopolitically, and increased central bank gold holdings threaten to replace the dollar with traditional gold. $US interest rates are high, as dollar relative valuation declines: Is US dollar flirting with a ‘Liz Truss moment’ amid tariff chaos?
This week, the US Congress added the equivalent of two Russian economies to the federal deficit https://asiatimes.com/2025/07/is-us-dollar-flirting-with-a-liz-truss-moment-amid-tariff-chaos/#Some how-to considerations from the "conservative" Cato Institute Spring/Summer 2012 Making the Transition to a New Gold Standard Lawrence H. White https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/2012/7/v32n2-14.pdf
Not just the gangsters they paid to raid the aid convoys, new desperados: Israel arms new ‘anti-Hamas’ militias in Gaza: Report
The new militias are said to be linked to the Fatah party and have reportedly received salaries from the Palestinian Authority https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-arms-new-anti-hamas-militias-in-gaza-reportMostly the US group managed bait, not murders: UN records 613 killings in Gaza near humanitarian convoys or aid distribution points run by US group https://www.arabnews.com/node/2606880/middle-east
Francesca Albanese says Gaza has become laboratory for Israeli weapons, calling on states to suspend all trade, investment with Israel https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/un-rapporteur-accuses-israel-of-one-of-cruelest-genocides-in-modern-history-urges-arms-embargo-global-disengagement/3620886
The White House did not deny that president’s plan to transfer nearly 2 million Palestinians out of Gaza was still a possibility when asked by The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/israel-trump-gaza-plan-netanyahu-b2782230.html
“Gaza hostilities will conclude within two weeks.” “Four Arab nations (including Egypt and the UAE) will administer the Gaza Strip, replacing the murderous Hamas terrorist organization.” “The remaining Hamas leadership will face exile to other countries (possibly Qatar and Turkey), while the hostages gain freedom.” “Multiple nations globally will accept numerous Gaza inhabitants seeking emigration.” “Abraham Accords expansion will bring Syria, Saudi Arabia, and additional Arab and Muslim countries to recognize Israel and establish official relationships.” “Israel will declare its willingness for future Palestinian conflict resolution under the ‘two states’ concept, contingent upon the Palestinian Authority reforms.” “The United States will acknowledge limited Israeli sovereignty implementation in Judea and Samaria.” (aka "The West Bank")
Saudi Arabia was previously on the cusp of signing up to the Abraham Accords, but retreated from the agreement when the Israeli-Hamas war erupted within Gaza. It would not be surprising to see them come back to that agreement with President Trump’s guidance and request.
If we think about the status of Syria, we can clearly see how President Trump has enticed the new Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa to the peace table based on economic benefits (sanctions removed). https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/07/04/transformational-president-trump-holds-quiet-meeting-with-saudi-defense-minister-prince-khalid-bin-salman-mbs-younger-brother/#more-273760
"Ceasefire where we kill people": Secret Trump letter would let Israel resume war despite ceasefire: Report
Israel pushes for backdoor deal with Trump to restart on Gaza war on its terms https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-trump-would-let-israel-resume-war-despite-ceasefire-report You can usually tell which side won a war by simply observing ‘what happens’ after the hostilities end. Following the announcement of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, millions of Iranians poured onto the streets of Tehran, chanting patriotic songs and waving flags in a spontaneous display of jubilation. In contrast, there were no festivities or celebrations in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem where the mood was noticeably more somber and gloomy. What this indicates is that most people believe that Iran won the war.
We are not ignoring the fact that Iran’s threshold for success in the conflict was much lower than Israel’s. As the aggressor, Israel needed to achieve its strategic goals to claim victory, while Iran only needed to withstand the assault, which it managed to accomplish with great ease. Regardless of whether this benchmark is equitable, the result is evident: for 12 days, Iran held its own, matching Israel’s aggression blow-for-blow, eventually forcing Israel to seek a ceasefire. In short, Iran won.
Israel made a number of miscalculations in its approach to Iran which severely undermined its chances of success. It’s two biggest mistakes, were its overconfidence in its own multilayered air defense systems (Note– Arrow 2, Arrow 3, David’s Sling, Iron Dome and THAAD) which proved to be woefully inadequate in defending the country’s strategic assets. Israeli war planners also grossly undervalued Iran’s impressive ballistic missile capability which exceeds Israel’s dated arsenal and ranks among the best in the world. In last week’s article, we provided a long list of the key military, intelligence, industrial and energy facilities that were obliterated by Iran’s precision guided ballistic missiles and which Israel’s ineffective air defense system failed to intercept. We now believe that Israel’s military experts must have realized –no more than a week into the fighting– that they were gravely over-matched and needed to find a diplomatic off-ramp pronto. But –for whatever reason– they stubbornly persisted with their anemic offensive for nearly a week hoping for a miracle. When the miracle failed to arrive, Netanyahu goaded Trump into bombing Iran’s nuclear sites in order to establish a pretext for ending the conflict. In short, Israel had been looking for a way to end the hostilities long before the fighting formally ended, which means they knew their strategic aims would not be achieved.
The outcome of the conflict has been particularly instructive for Israeli leaders who now realize that they are incapable of winning a conventional war with Iran. Unfortunately, that lesson has ominous implications for the rest of the world as no one seriously thinks that Netanyahu is going to ditch his life-long dream of a Greater Israel extending across the region. If a conventional war against Iran cannot be won, then Israel must escalate to the next level of military confrontation. That is the rationale behind Netanyahu’s unexpected trip to Washington next week. He wants Trump to lead the next round of fighting with a nuclear bomb. https://www.globalresearch.ca/bibi-ask-trump-nuke-iran-ritter-says-yes/5893791
We are not ignoring the fact that Iran’s threshold for success in the conflict was much lower than Israel’s. As the aggressor, Israel needed to achieve its strategic goals to claim victory, while Iran only needed to withstand the assault, which it managed to accomplish with great ease. Regardless of whether this benchmark is equitable, the result is evident: for 12 days, Iran held its own, matching Israel’s aggression blow-for-blow, eventually forcing Israel to seek a ceasefire. In short, Iran won.
Israel made a number of miscalculations in its approach to Iran which severely undermined its chances of success. It’s two biggest mistakes, were its overconfidence in its own multilayered air defense systems (Note– Arrow 2, Arrow 3, David’s Sling, Iron Dome and THAAD) which proved to be woefully inadequate in defending the country’s strategic assets. Israeli war planners also grossly undervalued Iran’s impressive ballistic missile capability which exceeds Israel’s dated arsenal and ranks among the best in the world. In last week’s article, we provided a long list of the key military, intelligence, industrial and energy facilities that were obliterated by Iran’s precision guided ballistic missiles and which Israel’s ineffective air defense system failed to intercept. We now believe that Israel’s military experts must have realized –no more than a week into the fighting– that they were gravely over-matched and needed to find a diplomatic off-ramp pronto. But –for whatever reason– they stubbornly persisted with their anemic offensive for nearly a week hoping for a miracle. When the miracle failed to arrive, Netanyahu goaded Trump into bombing Iran’s nuclear sites in order to establish a pretext for ending the conflict. In short, Israel had been looking for a way to end the hostilities long before the fighting formally ended, which means they knew their strategic aims would not be achieved.
The outcome of the conflict has been particularly instructive for Israeli leaders who now realize that they are incapable of winning a conventional war with Iran. Unfortunately, that lesson has ominous implications for the rest of the world as no one seriously thinks that Netanyahu is going to ditch his life-long dream of a Greater Israel extending across the region. If a conventional war against Iran cannot be won, then Israel must escalate to the next level of military confrontation. That is the rationale behind Netanyahu’s unexpected trip to Washington next week. He wants Trump to lead the next round of fighting with a nuclear bomb. https://www.globalresearch.ca/bibi-ask-trump-nuke-iran-ritter-says-yes/5893791
A notorious British MI6 agent infiltrated the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on London’s behalf, according to leaked documents reviewed by The Grayzone. The agent, Nicholas Langman, is a veteran intelligence operative who claims credit for helping engineer the West’s economic war on Iran.
Iran says it remains committed to nuclear non-proliferation treaty
‘...sparked by the unlawful attacks against our nuclear facilities by Israel and the US, our cooperation with IAEA will be channeled through Iran's Supreme National Security Council,’ Iran’s foreign minister says https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/iran-says-it-remains-committed-to-nuclear-non-proliferation-treaty/3620938
‘...sparked by the unlawful attacks against our nuclear facilities by Israel and the US, our cooperation with IAEA will be channeled through Iran's Supreme National Security Council,’ Iran’s foreign minister says https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/iran-says-it-remains-committed-to-nuclear-non-proliferation-treaty/3620938
July 3, 2025 - President Xi Jinping of China just got on television in Beijing and, among other things, announced "Our strategic interests in the Middle East will no longer be threatened. We will stand with Iran." https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/news-selections/world-news/china-announces-we-stand-with-iran
Moon of Alabama, CIA: Our Trump-Russiagate Claims Were Corrupt, Our Claims On Iran Are ...
That the CIA, under Director John Ratcliffe, is now condemning the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment as shady does not mean that he is willing to apply the lessons learned from its faulty creation to today's intelligence products. He will, just like then CIA Director John Brennan, fake anything that is needed to support his and his presidents policies. Just look at this from the day before Trump ordered bombing Iran:
CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly told the White House that Iran is nearing the technical threshold for a weapon. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt echoed this, saying Iran needs only a political decision to begin building a bomb, which could take as little as two weeks.
Some US officials cite “Israeli” intelligence, particularly Mossad’s estimate that Iran is just 15 days away from producing a bomb.
However, others within the American intelligence community challenge that timeline, maintaining that Iran would likely need several months to a year to complete a functional weapon.
Ratcliffe was clearly bullshitting when he repeated the Mossad claims in the White House. Just like he was bullshitting when he later asserted that Iran's program has been set back for years.
All claims made by 'Intelligence Agencies', independent of having been made in 2016, 2025 or in the future, have be taken with huge loads of salts. Intelligence claims are made to support policies, not because they are truthful. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/07/cia-our-trump-russiagate-claims-were-corrupt-our-claims-on-iran-are-.html
‘Whoever accepts surrender must bear the consequences of that decision, but we will never accept it,’ says Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/hezbollah-rejects-calls-to-disarm-before-end-of-israeli-aggression-against-lebanon/3622375
Israel’s alleged backchannel diplomacy with Russia reportedly comes amid efforts to define new regional arrangements after halting its strikes on Iran https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/israel-holding-secret-talks-with-russia-on-iran-syria-during-ceasefire-report/3620311
The Golan Heights is Syrian territory, militarily occupied by Israel: 'No such thing as peace for free' – Syria demands 1/3 of Golan for peace with Israel https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/levant-turkey/artc-no-such-thing-as-peace-for-free-syria-demands-1-3rd-of-golan-for-peace
Surveillance Used by a Drug Cartel; Once you build a surveillance system, you can’t control who will use it:
A hacker working for the Sinaloa drug cartel was able to obtain an FBI official’s phone records and use Mexico City’s surveillance cameras to help track and kill the agency’s informants in 2018, according to a new US justice department report.
The incident was disclosed in a justice department inspector general’s audit of the FBI’s efforts to mitigate the effects of “ubiquitous technical surveillance,” a term used to describe the global proliferation of cameras and the thriving trade in vast stores of communications, travel, and location data. https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/07/surveillance-used-by-a-drug-cartel.html
The incident was disclosed in a justice department inspector general’s audit of the FBI’s efforts to mitigate the effects of “ubiquitous technical surveillance,” a term used to describe the global proliferation of cameras and the thriving trade in vast stores of communications, travel, and location data. https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/07/surveillance-used-by-a-drug-cartel.html
Not a hardened criminal with gang tattoos: After 47 years in the US, Ice took this Iranian mother from her yard. Her family just wants her home
Donna Kashanian, 64 and a community service volunteer, arrived in 1978 on a student visa and has no criminal record https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/ice-iran-donna-kashanianIf you know your place and stay there: Trump Announces He's Working on Mass Amnesty Plan for Illegal Aliens After Passing 'Big Beautiful Bill' https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64976
According to a report on the website of Japan's Nikkei Asia on July 3, a person familiar with the matter revealed that due to the difficulty of finding customers, South Korean chip giant Samsung Electronics had to postpone the completion of its semiconductor factory in Taylor, Texas, USA, and is delaying the purchase of factory equipment...
..As of April 22, the construction progress of Samsung's Taylor factory had reached 99.6%, which is basically equivalent to completion. It is reported that according to the normal process, the installation of equipment should have begun at this stage, but Samsung is still hesitant to place an order for the purchase of lithography machines.
This could lead to a further increase in the cost of putting the plant into production. A person familiar with Samsung Electronics said that devices are usually introduced within three to six months of the completion of the factory, but Samsung has so far continued to delay the installation of equipment, which means that if a decision is made to introduce equipment, it may have to bear high tariffs. The person added that since it is difficult to deploy enough manpower to the United States, the human resource cost required for on-site recruitment will also be not small. https://karlof1.substack.com/p/no-customers-after-receiving-a-47
Germany’s War On Free Speech: Woman FINED For Using Thumbs-Up Emoji
A German woman was fined €1,800 ($2,127) for using thumbs-up emojis under a post about a Swedish girl killing her migrant rapist. Prosecutors claimed she violated laws against “publicly approving an intentional killing” and mocked the victim’s migrant status. This could lead to a further increase in the cost of putting the plant into production. A person familiar with Samsung Electronics said that devices are usually introduced within three to six months of the completion of the factory, but Samsung has so far continued to delay the installation of equipment, which means that if a decision is made to introduce equipment, it may have to bear high tariffs. The person added that since it is difficult to deploy enough manpower to the United States, the human resource cost required for on-site recruitment will also be not small. https://karlof1.substack.com/p/no-customers-after-receiving-a-47
Nonverbal digital gestures are being criminalized, as authorities argued her reaction (three thumbs-up) expressed “particular pleasure” in the killing https://conservativefiringline.com/germanys-war-on-free-speech-woman-fined-for-using-thumbs-up-emoji/
Avoiding Risk Factors (less me; more garden)
