7-1-25 DailyBriefs.info       PODCAST 

welcome to the lenny and Maria sanchez deep dive podcast show.

Source 1: 'ICE Raids' on Corpus Christi - LewRockwell This piece shares a personal account from a Feast of Corpus Christi procession. The author highlights how the event beautifully showcased unity within the Catholic Church, bringing together diverse communities, regardless of race, language, or liturgical preference, all focused on adoring the Blessed Sacrament. However, this sacred moment was disrupted by someone falsely shouting "ICE is coming!". The author uses this anecdote to illustrate a broader point about the pervasive nature of political obsession, suggesting that frequent, exaggerated talk about immigration policies, particularly concerning Trump's efforts to deport Hispanic immigrants, can create unfounded fears and disrupt even moments of worship.

Source 2: Burning Trash for Energy, People and Planet - LewRockwell This article advocates for the widespread adoption of waste-to-energy, or WTE, facilities. These plants are presented as a comprehensive solution for managing municipal waste, reducing reliance on landfills, and generating much-needed electricity, thereby mitigating blackout risks. The author points out the "hypocrisy and irresponsibility" of jurisdictions like New York that oppose such facilities, especially given their massive waste generation and their need to import electricity. The Fairfax County, Virginia, WTE facility is cited as a successful model where waste is incinerated at high temperatures to produce energy, recover metals, and create ash for construction materials, all while adhering to environmental standards. The article emphasizes that WTE facilities offer stable, local energy production, utilizing readily available resources like trash and natural gas, and minimize the environmental impact often associated with other energy sources or landfill expansion.

Source 3: Food, Inglorious Food - The Expose This source delves into concerns about the evolving landscape of food production. It argues that new, stricter legislation and controls are being implemented to favor large corporations over smaller ones, ultimately leading to a reduction in food variety and what the author terms "food tyranny". A key concern raised is the alleged plan by wealthy individuals to replace traditional farm-produced food with laboratory-grown artificial alternatives, which may not even be clearly labeled, and to digitalize all food as part of the "Internet of Things". The article suggests that this broader agenda includes controlling diets through legislation, advice, and taxes, and promoting genetically modified foods. Furthermore, it warns that policies making it illegal for farmers to save seeds from one year's crop would force them into dependency on large companies, potentially creating vulnerabilities to disease due to a lack of food diversity. The author asserts that global food shortages are a myth, with famines stemming from corruption, incompetence, and poor distribution, not a lack of supply.

Source 4: New report: The true covid pandemic was of policy, not pathology - The Expose This detailed report from Correlation challenges the prevailing narrative surrounding the early 2020 pandemic. Its central finding is that excess mortality during March to May 2020 in Europe and the USA was not caused by a spreading infectious virus, but rather was "of institutional and iatrogenic origin". This means that the deaths were largely attributed to the mistreatment of vulnerable individuals in hospitals and nursing homes. The study found that significant death spikes occurred simultaneously across disparate regions immediately after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, with no substantial excess deaths reported prior to this date. It highlights that aggressive medical interventions, such as the extensive and often experimental use of mechanical ventilation—which had exceptionally high mortality rates, particularly in New York City hospitals where 88% of ventilated patients died—and dangerous drug combinations, directly correlated with the highest death rates. The geographic patterns of mortality were patchy and inconsistent with typical viral transmission models, and air travel patterns did not align with death hotspots. The researchers propose that lockdown measures and associated fear campaigns induced severe biological stress, leading to immune suppression and susceptibility to conditions like bacterial pneumonia, further exacerbated by the dangerous hospital protocols put in place.

Source 5: News you may have missed, including the ongoing imprisonment of Reiner Fuellmich’s Dutch equivalent - The Expose This source compiles various recent news items, highlighting several developments. It notes the condemnation by Pope Leo XIV and the US State Department of the killings of Christians in Nigeria, stating that Nigeria accounted for 69% of Christian killings globally in 2025. The article also reports on New Zealand's government implementing a "National ID by stealth" through a Persistent Unique Identifier and an Integrated Statistical Data System that allows for real-time tracking of citizens by linking various data points. Another significant point is Bill Gates' pledge of $1.6 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which has prompted debate and criticism regarding his influence in global health and concerns about vaccine safety and transparency, especially as funding from the US and UK decreases. The piece draws attention to the imprisonment of lawyer Arno van Kessel, described as the Dutch counterpart to Reiner Fuellmich, who is the lead counsel in a legal case against Bill Gates and Mark Rutte concerning the Covid agenda and mRNA injections. The source suggests that van Kessel's detention prevents him from appearing at a scheduled court hearing, implying a potential effort to suppress the case.

Source 6: Politics in a Post-Apocalyptic World - LewRockwell This article explores the author's complex relationship with politics, expressing disdain for it while acknowledging its crucial role in maintaining societal order. The author posits that without a robust political system, societies risk descending into anarchy, dominated by warlords, where innocent citizens would suffer. The current political landscape in the United States is characterized by an unprecedented level of division, which the author fears could lead to another civil war, with widespread casualties among non-combatants. The piece refutes the romanticized notion of a post-collapse world where individuals are self-sufficient and free, warning instead of pervasive gang warfare and constant threats to anyone with resources. The proposed solution involves the urgent re-establishment of local government, starting at the neighborhood level, where individuals must step up to provide leadership and establish order, ensuring that community members contribute to the collective survival efforts.

Source 7: Practice Small, Daily Acts of Sabotage Against the Imperial Machine - LewRockwell This source encourages individuals to actively undermine public perception of what it calls "the empire" through consistent, small acts of "sabotage". These acts involve drawing attention to perceived abuses, such as those in Gaza, and exposing the absurdities and hypocrisies of the system. The article advises spreading distrust in mainstream Western media by highlighting their deceptions and manipulations, and helping people recognize how their governments exploit them for the benefit of the wealthy and powerful. The author believes that Western society has been fed a lie about itself and the world, and that a collective awakening is necessary to dismantle this "imperial machine". Specific criticisms are directed at the framing of "Death, death to the IDF" as a hate crime, arguing it's a tactic to excuse governmental criminality, and at former President Trump's foreign policy regarding Iran, particularly his decision to abandon the JCPOA and engage in military action, which the author states has made full-scale war more likely and is ultimately Trump's responsibility.

Source 8: The FDA's Disastrous War Against Sleep - LewRockwell This article asserts that there has been a significant increase in chronic illnesses over the past 150 years, largely due to modern life disrupting the body's essential natural rhythms, with sleep being a primary example. It critiques the allopathic, or Modern Medicine, approach for often struggling with chronic conditions, arguing that its focus on stabilization and altering the body rather than enhancing its innate capacity for self-repair, unlike other historical medical systems, is a fundamental flaw. The source emphasizes the profound importance of sleep for maintaining various aspects of health, including circulatory and metabolic functions, immune system strength, cancer prevention, brain restoration, hormonal balance, mental well-being, and memory consolidation. It explicitly links sleep deprivation to a weakened immune system, an increased risk of developing cancer, higher susceptibility to common infections like colds and pneumonia, and a reduced immune response to vaccines.

Source 9: The Good Intentions License for Tyranny - LewRockwell This article critically examines the concept of "good intentions" as a defense for government officials accused of abuses. It argues that this approach fosters impunity and undermines accountability, citing the Bush administration's torture scandal as a prime example where no officials faced penalties despite severe harm inflicted on victims. The author details how legal interpretations allowed for "good-faith torture," where the specific intent to inflict severe pain was necessary for a torture charge, effectively permitting brutal interrogation methods under the guise of preventing greater harm, even if these methods proved ineffective. The piece highlights how officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, used subjective standards like "shocks the conscience" to justify practices such as waterboarding and sleep deprivation, even admitting to adopting Soviet interrogation methods. The article concludes that such impunity is a threat to freedom, asserting that politicians should not be granted a "good intention license for tyranny".

Source 10: The Real Price of Convenience: Going Cashless Is Costing You More Than You Think This source argues that the increasing shift towards a cashless society, despite its perceived convenience, comes with significant hidden costs, particularly concerning personal privacy and financial autonomy. It notes that digital payments can reduce the "pain of paying," leading consumers to spend more frequently and in higher amounts than they would with physical cash. The article highlights that every digital transaction leaves a traceable footprint, forming a financial profile that governments and corporations can access and use for targeting, raising serious surveillance concerns. China's Social Credit System is presented as a stark warning of how cashless infrastructure can be leveraged for extensive state control, where individuals' transactions and behaviors influence their social standing and access to services. Additionally, the source points out the inherent fragility of digital payment systems, which are vulnerable to power outages, cyberattacks, or system failures, potentially blocking access to funds, unlike cash that remains functional without technological infrastructure. The author concludes that the transition to a cashless society is not a publicly chosen development but rather a planned "innovation" that ultimately serves to restrict individual freedom.

Source 11: The U.S. Empire’s Plan for Global Domination, by Michael Hudson - The Unz Review This interview with economist Michael Hudson argues that the US empire is actively pursuing a strategy to re-establish its unipolar global dominance and maintain dollar hegemony, primarily by controlling oil-rich regions like the Middle East and preventing other nations from achieving economic autonomy. Hudson states that the US aims to disrupt emerging alliances, such as BRICS and Eurasian integration initiatives like China's Belt and Road Initiative and Russia's International North-South Transport Corridor, seeing Iran as a crucial target due to its resistance to US influence and its efforts to de-dollarize by trading oil in non-dollar currencies. He describes the US as a "gangster state" that employs tactics like confiscating foreign reserves, destabilizing economies, and overthrowing governments to enforce its control, and suggests that these actions, such as the seizure of Russia's foreign exchange, are pushing other countries to abandon the dollar and stockpile gold. Hudson also asserts that Israel functions as America's strategic military asset in the Near East, collaborating in geopolitical objectives, and that US military contractors benefit substantially from these conflicts by providing arms through "aid" programs that essentially finance the purchase of US military equipment by allies.

Source 12: Trump Doesn’t Speak for Us, by Jared Taylor - The Unz Review In this article, Jared Taylor expresses his view that Donald Trump does not adequately represent the interests of white Americans, despite a significant portion of his voter base being white. Taylor highlights a growing "remigration" movement in Europe, where public figures and media outlets in countries like Denmark, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany openly advocate for sending immigrants back to their home countries to preserve the white majority within their respective nations. He laments the absence of similar political representation in the United States for white Americans who desire a "homeland" where they constitute the majority, noting that no elected officials in the US openly voice such sentiments. Taylor dismisses the common beliefs that the political system is beyond reform or that societal collapse will automatically lead to a resurgence of white consciousness. Instead, he urges white people to actively engage in the political process, emphasizing the necessity of hard work, running for office in strategic locations, and effectively conveying their message to bring about change. He references historical examples of white advocates, such as David Duke and Frank Borzellieri, who achieved local electoral victories, suggesting that gaining political influence is feasible despite strong opposition.

thank you for listening to another session of the lenny and Maria sanchez deep dive podcast show produced and archived at the website daily briefs dot info.

Here is a comprehensive response to your query, drawing on the provided sources:

I. 'ICE Raids' on Corpus Christi By Christopher Jimenez

• The article focuses on an incident during the Feast of Corpus Christi where political friction attempted to disrupt a religious procession.

  • "Nevertheless, the diversity of race is precisely where the political friction was trying to disrupt our prayer".

  • "In the midst of what should have been an intimate moment of experiencing Heaven on Earth, encouraged by the beautiful assembly of hundreds from different Catholic church communities, someone had to raise political frictions".

• A shout of "ICE is coming!" was heard multiple times during a solemn procession, despite ICE not being present.

  • "In the middle of adoring the Blessed Sacrament, as rose petals gently flew from the hands of the little ones and hundreds joined in praising God with Spanish songs, we heard a shout from behind us: “ICE is coming!”".

  • "The truth of the matter was ICE was not coming. ICE was nowhere in sight".

• The author characterizes the claims about frequent ICE arrests and Trump's deportation efforts as "nonsense" and "unfounded exaggerations from propagandists".

  • "An actual arrest by an ICE official in our town is practically unheard of, despite the frequent talk about Trump trying to deport every single Hispanic immigrant".

  • "Nonsense, of course, and unfounded exaggerations from propagandists".

• The Corpus Christi procession demonstrated unity within the Catholic Church despite diversity in race, language, and liturgical preference.

  • "Because of this, our Corpus Christi procession is a beautiful celebration exemplifying what true unity inside the Catholic Church should look like".

  • "Diversity of race, language, or liturgical preference have no importance when it is time to adore our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, for whom we all prepare a special place of honor in our churches".

II. Burning Trash for Energy, People and Planet By Paul Driessen

• New York Governor Kathy Hochul gave conditional support for new natural gas pipelines due to public anger over rising electricity prices.

  • "After years of opposing them, but facing constituents increasingly angry about rising electricity prices, New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently gave grudging support for two new Williams Companies natural gas pipelines".

  • "Assuming they clear new hurdles, the Constitution Pipeline will transport gas 100+ miles from northeastern Pennsylvania fracking fields toward Albany".

• New York's previous opposition to natural gas pipelines was based on "exaggerated and fabricated" environmental arguments and unrealistic expectations of renewable energy.

  • "Hochul, other state Democrats and environmental activists have long stymied the projects, using exaggerated and fabricated water quality and climate change arguments".

  • "And fanciful expectations that heavily subsidized solar panels and onshore and offshore wind turbines can provide enough affordable electricity, enough of the time, to meet steadily increasing New York City and State power demands".

• Legislation forcing high connection fees for natural gas lines is seen as a "kill switch" to impose "climate leadership".

  • "New legislation would force homes and businesses to pay $10,000 or more to connect to natural gas lines".

  • "It’s a kill switch, reflecting the state’s determination to impose “climate leadership” and “protect communities” from alleged dangers from fossil fuels".

• Waste-to-energy (WTE) plants are presented as a solution for New York's garbage and electricity challenges, reducing landfilling and providing reliable power.

  • "New York City generates nearly eight million tons of waste annually".

  • "The city and state could address both garbage and electricity challenges by using natural gas to power waste-to-energy (WTE) generating plants that burn trash, thereby reducing the need to landfill or export garbage, while increasing recycling, producing reliable, affordable, much-needed electricity, and reducing blackout risks that are climbing every year".

• The Fairfax County, Virginia WTE facility processes garbage that would otherwise be landfilled, generating enough electricity for approximately 52,000 homes.

  • "In Fairfax County, Virginia, a WTE or resource recovery facility operated by Reworld Waste burns home, business, industrial and other garbage that doesn’t go straight into recycling programs and would typically be landfilled, including myriad extraneous plastics".

  • "The heat converts water to steam, which is super-heated in tubes to drive turbines that generate electricity: 80 megawatts 24/7, enough for about 52,000 homes".

• WTE facilities recover metals from ash and use the remaining ash as a substitute for construction materials, significantly reducing the volume and weight of original trash.

  • "Glass from lightbulbs and other nonrecyclable sources becomes part of the ash stream, from which ferrous and nonferrous metals are recovered".

  • "Most of the remaining ash is used as a substitute for sand and aggregates in road and building construction, cement and cinder block production, and manufacturing other building materials".

• Air emissions from WTE plants are kept below EPA standards through neutralization of acids, control of heavy metals, and particulate removal.

  • "Lime neutralizes acids in the airstream, activated carbon controls heavy metals, and fabric filter bags remove particulates, keeping air emissions below EPA standards".

  • "The scrubber waste (fly ash) is then dewatered and chemically stabilized, before being landfilled or used in construction materials".

• More WTE plants are advocated for solving garbage, energy, landfill, and pollution problems in metropolitan areas nationwide and worldwide.

  • "Two other trash-to-energy facilities serve the Washington, DC area; 75 across the USA generate over 2,500 MW of electricity".

  • "However, more WTE plants could help solve garbage, energy, landfill and pollution problems in metropolitan areas across the country (and worldwide)".

• WTE facilities provide secure, affordable electricity close to where it's needed, reducing reliance on expensive backup power and long transmission lines from intermittent wind and solar sources.

  • "These facilities ensure secure, affordable electricity generation close by, without the need for expensive backup power and multi-hundred-mile transmission lines to part-time wind and solar power".

  • "They utilize fuels that America still has in abundance: gas and trash".

III. Food, Inglorious Food By Rhoda Wilson

• Stricter legislation and controls on food production are being used to favor large companies over smaller ones, ultimately leading to reduced food choices and "food tyranny".

  • "The introduction of stricter legislation and controls on food production is being used to favour large companies over smaller ones, ultimately leading to a reduction in food choices and an increase in “food tyranny,” Dr. Vernon Coleman writes".

  • "Large companies, whatever area they are working in, will always lobby for more legislation, more controls and bigger punishments because they know that they can afford to set up huge departments to deal with the legislative requirements, whereas small companies, and newcomers, will be unable to do so".

• There is a plan to replace farm-produced food with artificial, laboratory-grown food, which may not be labeled as such.

  • "The greedy billionaires want to get rid of farms (particularly small ones) and replace the food they produce with artificial food made in their laboratories".

  • "They are already selling laboratory-grown meat as beef. There will be no label to show that the meat was grown in a laboratory".

• The agenda includes digitalizing every piece of food to be part of the "Internet of Things" and controlling diets through legislation, advice, and taxes on certain foods.

  • "The plan is that every piece of food will be digitalised and identified and part of the “Internet of Things.”".

  • "They are planning to introduce medically tailored meals and to extend genetically modified foods".

• Genetically modified (GM) foods, including those containing drugs, are part of the plan, with concerns about reduced variety and increased susceptibility to disease.

  • "Some genetically modified foods (such as tomatoes and tobacco) will be grown containing drugs".

  • "Having one type of crop or animal has always been dangerous – but that’s where we are heading".

• Monsanto's policy in India, requiring farmers to buy seeds annually and making it illegal to save seeds, is cited as an example of control.

  • "The policy carried out with great success in India by Monsanto, for example, will mean that farmers will have to buy all their seeds from the big companies and it will be illegal to keep seeds from one year’s crop for the following year".

  • "There will be very few different varieties of foods and this will, I think, create unnatural susceptibility to disease".

• Bill Gates is reportedly involved in developing genetically modified cows that produce more milk and a special coating for fruit to extend shelf life, with questions raised about long-term safety trials.

  • "Bill Gates is said to have developed a genetically modified cow which produces four times as much milk as an unmodified cow".

  • "I very much doubt if these modifications will be subjected to long-term clinical trials to see if they are safe".

• KFC is mentioned as having developed a laboratory to make chicken nuggets with a 3D printer, while "Agenda 21 enthusiasts" are said to want to sell GMO beef without labeling it as fake.

  • "Oh, and KFC is said to have developed a laboratory which can make chicken nuggets with the aid of a 3D printer".

  • "The Agenda 21 enthusiasts want to sell us genetically modified organism (“GMO”) beef but don’t want us to know that the stuff is fake".

• The author states that there has been a surplus of food every year since 1980, and famines are caused by corruption, incompetence, and poor food distribution, not a shortage of food or overpopulation.

  • "It is true that we need to re-evaluate the way our food is produced and used".

  • "The bottom line is that it is a myth that the world is short of food. The corollary is that it is a myth that the world is overpopulated. The problem with food is that most of the stuff is in the wrong place".

IV. New report: The true covid pandemic was one of policy, not pathology By Rhoda Wilson

• A new report by Correlation concludes that excess mortality during March-May 2020 was of "institutional and iatrogenic origin" rather than person-to-person spread of a novel infectious virus.

  • "Mortality patterns during March to May 2020 in Europe and the USA are incompatible with having been caused by person-to-person spread of a novel infectious virus".

  • "Instead, “that first-peak period excess mortality [March-May 2020], where it occurs, was of institutional and iatrogenic origin, caused by mistreatment of frail and vulnerable people in hospitals and nursing homes,” a new report by Correlation concludes".

• Synchronized death spikes across Europe and North America occurred immediately after the WHO's 11 March 2020 pandemic declaration, with no significant excess deaths prior.

  • "Synchronised death spikes across Europe and North America, defying geographic logic, erupted immediately post-declaration, with no significant excess deaths prior".

  • "Death spikes across Europe and North America occurred with remarkable synchronisation – all within three weeks of each other and notably after the WHO’s 11 March 2020 pandemic declaration. No significant excess mortality occurred anywhere before this date, despite claims that the virus had been circulating for weeks".

• Hospital interventions, such as mechanical ventilation and high-dose drug regimens, correlated tightly with excess mortality, suggesting they drove the crisis.

  • "Their analysis, summarised here in 27 questions and answers, reveals a startling pattern: excess mortality did not align with the expected dynamics of viral spread but instead correlated tightly with aggressive medical interventions".

  • "Rancourt’s work, lauded in ‘ Beyond Contagion ’ for challenging virological dogma, underscores a grim irony: “88% of patients put on ventilators in New York died,” not from a virus but from protocols like mechanical ventilation and high-dose drug regimens".

• Cities with high international air traffic often saw minimal mortality, while areas with less international connectivity suffered catastrophic death rates, contradicting viral spread assumptions.

  • "Cities like Rome, with heavy air traffic from Asia, saw minimal mortality, while New York’s Bronx, served by expanded hospital systems, suffered catastrophic losses".

  • "Rome received more flights from China than Milan, yet had death rates 18 times lower. Los Angeles and San Francisco had more Asian connectivity than New York City but avoided the mortality catastrophe that devastated New York".

• Mechanical ventilation proved exceptionally deadly, with mortality rates reaching 88% in New York City hospitals and 97% for elderly patients.

  • "Hospitals placed unprecedented numbers of patients on mechanical ventilators, often using experimental techniques due to equipment shortages".

  • "Mortality rates for ventilated patients reached 88% in New York City hospitals and 97% for elderly patients".

• Dangerous drug combinations, such as hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin, were used at doses far exceeding safe levels, contributing to fatal complications.

  • "Hospitals extensively used hydroxychloroquine combined with azithromycin, often at doses far exceeding safe levels – sometimes 10 times normal amounts".

  • "These combinations carried significant risks of fatal heart complications, and Spain’s azithromycin consumption increased by over 400% during March 2020".

• Socioeconomic vulnerability, like poverty and minority status, predicted high death rates specifically when combined with access to large hospital systems implementing aggressive treatments.

  • "While socioeconomic vulnerability strongly predicted death rates in areas like New York City and London, many other regions with similar or worse poverty levels experienced minimal excess mortality".

  • "This suggests that being poor and a minority became dangerous specifically when combined with access to certain types of medical care, rather than being general risk factors for the supposed disease".

• Deaths shifted from homes to institutions (hospitals and nursing homes) in high-mortality areas, suggesting institutional care became dangerous.

  • "High-mortality areas saw dramatic increases in the percentage of deaths occurring in hospitals and nursing homes rather than at home".

  • "This reversal of normal death location patterns suggests that institutional care became dangerous rather than protective".

• Lockdown measures and fear campaigns caused biological stress that could suppress immune function, leading to stress-induced bacterial pneumonia, which may explain many respiratory deaths.

  • "Lockdown measures, social isolation and fear campaigns created unprecedented biological stress that could suppress immune function and make people vulnerable to bacterial pneumonia from their own respiratory bacteria".

  • "This stress-induced pneumonia model explains why deaths were respiratory in nature but followed policy announcements rather than disease transmission patterns".

• Computer models predicting pandemic spread failed spectacularly, as many internationally connected cities were unaffected while deaths concentrated in specific hotspots unrelated to predicted patterns.

  • "Scientific models predicted that virtually all major cities with international airports would experience significant outbreaks by February 2020, with relatively even distribution across connected populations".

  • "Instead, many internationally connected cities remained largely unaffected while deaths concentrated in specific hotspots that didn’t correlate with the predicted spread patterns".

• The timing of national lockdowns correlated precisely with mortality spikes, indicating that policy responses triggered, rather than responded to, health crises.

  • "The timing of national lockdowns correlates precisely with mortality spikes rather than preceding them, suggesting that policy responses triggered rather than responded to health crises".

  • "Italy’s lockdown began on 9 March with deaths spiking that week; Spain’s 15 March lockdown preceded immediate mortality increases, and the UK’s 23 March lockdown coincided with their death spike beginning".

• The entire pandemic response, including aggressive medical interventions and institutional panic, may have generated the excess mortality attributed to COVID-19.

  • "The evidence suggests that aggressive medical interventions, experimental treatments, institutional panic, lockdown-induced stress and systematic testing programmes that funnelled vulnerable people into dangerous treatment protocols created the excess mortality attributed to covid-19".

  • "Rather than responding to a naturally occurring pandemic, the data indicates that the declared pandemic response itself generated the mortality catastrophe through iatrogenic (treatment-caused) deaths and stress-induced illness".

• The study used P-scores to measure excess death rates, which account for population differences and reveal the true intensity of unusual deaths.

  • "A P-score measures how much higher (or lower) the death rate was compared to what would normally be expected based on previous years".

  • "This measurement automatically accounts for differences in population age and health between different areas, making it fair to compare a young, healthy population with an older, sicker one".

• The Bronx had the highest death rate in America due to a combination of poverty, minority population, and aggressive treatment protocols at large "safety-net" hospitals.

  • "The Bronx combines several factors that created a perfect storm for high mortality: it’s the poorest borough in New York City with high rates of underlying health conditions like asthma, it has a large minority population with language barriers and it’s served by SBH Health System, a large “safety-net” hospital that dramatically expanded its capacity and aggressively treated patients".

  • "This represents a tragic example of how well-intentioned medical expansion in disadvantaged communities may have inadvertently caused more harm than good during the crisis".

• The spring (March-May) and summer (June-September) death patterns differed dramatically in geography and characteristics, suggesting different causes were operating in each period.

  • "The spring (March-May) and summer (June-September) death patterns were dramatically different in both geography and characteristics".

  • "This dramatic shift in patterns suggests that different causes were operating in each period rather than the same virus affecting different populations".

• The research implies that current pandemic models and responses may be fundamentally flawed and potentially more dangerous than the diseases they aim to address.

  • "These findings suggest that current pandemic models and responses may be fundamentally flawed and potentially more dangerous than the diseases they purport to address".

  • "It suggests that factors like healthcare system capacity, treatment protocols, socioeconomic stress and policy responses may be more important determinants of mortality outcomes than infectious disease characteristics".

• The study reveals a paradox where the highest death rates occurred in poor communities near wealthy areas with well-funded, large-capacity hospital systems that employed aggressive, experimental treatments.

  • "The research reveals a disturbing paradox: the highest death rates occurred in poor communities that were located near wealthy areas with well-funded, large-capacity hospital systems".

  • "The data indicate that during this period, having access to aggressive medical intervention was more dangerous than beneficial, meaning that the usual assumption that more medical access equals better health outcomes was reversed".

V. News you may have missed, including the ongoing imprisonment of Reiner Fuellmich’s Dutch equivalent By Rhoda Wilson

• Lawyer Arno van Kessel, described as the "Dutch equivalent of Reiner Fuellmich," is imprisoned and unable to present at a court hearing against Bill Gates and Mark Rutte.

  • "And, lawyer Arno van Kessel, the Dutch equivalent of Reiner Fuellmich, being detained in prison and so will not be able to present at a court hearing in the Netherlands against Bill Gates and Mark Rutte on 9 July".

  • "Dutch outlet De Andere Krant reported on Friday that van Kessel is being kept in prison for longer and will not present at a lawsuit against Bill Gates and Mark Rutte".

• Many suspect that Arno van Kessel's imprisonment is due to him getting "too close to the truth in the corona file".

  • "“Many suspect that lawyer Van Kessel has come too close to the truth in the corona file".

  • "The case thus evokes associations with the prosecution of the German lawyer Reiner Fuellmich.”".

• Pope Leo XIV and the US State Department condemned the killing of approximately 200 Christians by Islamist militants in Nigeria.

  • "Pope Leo XIV condemned the killing of approximately 200 people in Nigeria’s Benue state, where Islamist militants attacked a mostly Christian village, burning homes and killing residents".

  • "The US State Department also condemned the attack, stating that it strongly condemns the increasing attacks on Christian farming villages in Nigeria".

• New Zealand's official data agency, Stats NZ, is creating a "Persistent Unique Identifier (PUI)" for each citizen to track them over time in an Integrated Statistical Data System (ISDS), which is seen as a "National ID by stealth".

  • "Statistics New Zealand (“Stats NZ”) is New Zealand’s official data agency, responsible for collecting and providing statistical information about the country’s economy, population, and society".

  • "“Persistent Unique Identifier = National Identity Number by the back door.”".

• The Data and Statistics Act 2022 and the Privacy Act 2020 enable the increased use of administrative data for the creation of a PUI that can track people in real-time.

  • "The Data and Statistics Act 2022 and the Privacy Act 2020 have been used to enable the increased use of administrative data, allowing for the creation of a PUI that can track people in real-time, Bonnie Flaws said".

  • "The new system will link business, location and population registers, giving a nearly complete picture of a person’s life over time".

• The unrest in America is attributed to moral and spiritual decay cultivated in classrooms, where ideology and subjective feeling have replaced character formation and timeless values.

  • "The unrest in America is a result of moral and spiritual decay, which was cultivated in the nation’s classrooms over decades".

  • "The education system has abandoned its mission to form character and instil timeless values, instead promoting ideology and subjective feeling".

• Chris Bateman discusses the importance of free speech and cases where people have been punished for offensive tweets, highlighting the need to protect freedom of expression.

  • "In this article, Chris Bateman discusses the importance of free speech, citing cases where people have been punished for offensive tweets, such as Lucy Connolly in the UK".

  • "And highlighting the need to protect freedom of expression for all, including those with unpopular opinions".

• The Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Germany is attempting to ban the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, accusing them of extremism and undermining democratic principles.

  • "The Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Germany has initiated a push to ban the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, citing their alleged extremism and violation of democratic principles".

  • "Critics, including Elon Musk and newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz, have condemned the ban proposal, asserting that it undermines democratic principles and overlooks the concerns of the AfD’s voter base".

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as the US health secretary, removed all 17 members of the ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices) to restore public trust in vaccines due to concerns over conflicts of interest.

  • "Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the US health secretary, has removed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (“ACIP”), which advises the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) on vaccine recommendations".

  • "He argued that the committee had become a “rubber stamp” for vaccines and that its members had received substantial funding from pharmaceutical companies".

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called on Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to justify the $8 billion in funding America has provided, criticizing Gavi for neglecting vaccine safety and treating it as a public relations problem.

  • "US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Calls on GAVI to Justify the $8 Billion in Funding America Has Provided".

  • "When vaccine safety issues have come before GAVI, it has treated them not as a patient health problem, but as a public relations problem".

• Bill Gates is pledging $1.6 billion to Gavi as US and UK funding decreases, raising debate about his influence and the safety/transparency of Gavi's vaccine distribution.

  • "Bill Gates is pledging $1.6 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as the US and UK reduce their funding, sparking debate over Gates’ influence in global health".

  • "Critics, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Meryl Nass, question the safety and transparency of Gavi’s vaccine distribution, alleging that Gates’ funding reinforces his control over the programme".

• Weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are linked to pancreatitis, with 181 reports for tirzepatide and 113 for semaglutide.

  • "Weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy Linked to Pancreatitis".

  • "There were 181 reports of acute or chronic pancreatitis in patients taking tirzepatide, the ingredient in Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound, and 113 cases in patients taking semaglutide, sold under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic, according to data from the UK regulator’s Yellow Card medical safeguard programme".

• A wind turbine blade crashed onto Interstate 70 in Maryland, injuring one person and causing traffic closures.

  • "A wind turbine blade broke loose from a truck on Interstate 70 in Maryland’s Washington County, crashing into traffic and injuring one person".

  • "The incident occurred early Monday morning and resulted in the closure of multiple lanes in both directions, with all lanes reopening by 8:28 am".

VI. Politics in a Post-Apocalyptic World By Clark Barnes

• The author dislikes politics but acknowledges its necessity for societal order, despite the current deep political divide.

  • "I hate politics".

  • "Nonetheless, even though I hate politics, I see the need for it".

• The current political divide is deeper and wider than ever, leading the author to believe the country is headed towards another civil war.

  • "We find ourselves living in a time where the political divide (which has always existed) is deeper and wider than ever before".

  • "We are probably headed towards another civil war and it will be just as ugly as the last one was".

• Societal collapse, characterized by anarchy and the rise of warlords, would lead to innocent people suffering and the nation's demise.

  • "Almost universally, the lack of a solid political system has led to anarchy, with warlords rising up to take control".

  • "But the biggest casualty will be our nation itself".

• The author warns against the false image of self-sufficient survival after collapse, as it would likely involve constant gang warfare and attacks for supplies.

  • "Sadly, that’s a false image".

  • "If any of the warring factions even suspected that we had a stockpile of supplies, they would attack us, over and over again, until they killed us".

• The restoration of local government is proposed as a key part of a survival strategy to live in peace after a collapse.

  • "The more I’ve studied this out, the more I’ve realized that part of our survival strategy has to be the restoration of local government; the quicker, the better".

  • "But if we want to live in any semblance of peace, we’re going to have to do something at the local level".

• Leadership must emerge at the neighborhood level to bring order and ensure survival, by making people realize help comes with a price—they must work for the group's betterment.

  • "Being the one who brings order to your neighborhood and ensures your neighbors’ survival will naturally put you in a position of leadership within your neighborhood".

  • "Your challenge in this case will be to make people realize that any help you offer comes with a price tag. That is, they’re going to have to work for the betterment of the survival group, doing their part to help make sure that everyone survives, even if that work is something that they consider to be beneath them".

VII. Practice Small, Daily Acts of Sabotage Against the Imperial Machine By Caitlin Johnstone

• The article encourages daily acts of sabotage against the "imperial machine" to undermine public perception and shift collective consciousness towards dismantling it.

  • "You cannot defeat the machine by yourself, but you can do something every day to help tilt our society’s collective consciousness toward tearing it down together".

  • "Cultivate a habit of daily acts of sabotage against the imperial machine".

• This sabotage includes drawing attention to abuses (like in Gaza), mocking absurdities and hypocrisies, and spreading distrust in western media's propaganda.

  • "Draw attention to its abuses in places like Gaza".

  • "Spread distrust in the imperial propaganda services known as the western press by spotlighting their deceptions and manipulations".

• The author claims that the public is being asked to ignore atrocities committed by the IDF, such as massacring starving civilians at aid sites, while condemning phrases like "Death, death to the IDF".

  • "I still can’t get over how we’re being asked to pretend “Death, death to the IDF” is some kind of hate crime at the exact same time IDF soldiers are telling the Israeli press they’re being ordered to massacre starving civilians at aid sites".

  • "Deliberately starving a civilian population and then setting up aid sites as a death trap to massacre starving people trying to get food is too evil to wrap your mind around".

• The author uses an analogy of a man beating a child to death in public, while onlookers rationalize it, to describe the public's reaction to the "man's depravity".

  • "It’s like everyone’s standing around watching a man beat a small child to death at a restaurant".

  • "So now everyone’s watching a grown man beat a child to death and pretending they’re watching a fight, when they all know deep down what they’re really watching is a cold-blooded murder by a cold-hearted man, who should have been stopped and locked away a long time ago".

• Trump's actions, including shredding the JCPOA and bombing Iran, are blamed for setting the US on a trajectory toward full-scale war with Iran.

  • "The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency is saying that Iran could probably start enriching uranium again within a few months, which Iran has said it plans to do, and which Trump has said will result in another US bombing assault".

  • "The JCPOA was working fine, but Trump shredded it in 2018 to set us on this path that is only getting darker and darker at a faster and faster pace".

VIII. The FDA's Disastrous War Against Sleep By A Midwestern Doctor

• Chronic illness has vastly increased over the last 150 years, with modern life disrupting the body's natural rhythms, including sleep, as a primary cause.

  • "One of the key themes I’ve tried to illustrate throughout this publication is that chronic illness has vastly increased over the last 150 years".

  • "I proposed another primary cause of chronic illness was modern life being highly disruptive to the natural rhythms the body depends upon for self-regulation and self-repair".

• Allopathic medicine, unlike most other historical medical systems, does not recognize the concept of an innate "health" of the body, focusing instead on stabilization or alteration rather than augmenting natural recovery.

  • "I believe this concept is relatively under appreciated within Modern Medicine (Allopathy) because, unlike almost any other medical system in history, our scientific approach to understanding the body does not recognize the concept of an innate “health” of the body".

  • "Many Allopathic treatments are based around doing what they can to stabilize (e.g., in the ICU) or alter the body (e.g., through a surgery) and then hoping the body eventually works things out from there".

• The Allopathic model is favored due to its lucrativeness through perpetual treatments and diagnostic services, a cultural need for control and certainty, and research bias towards observable, short-term changes like those from pharmaceutical drugs.

  • "The Allopathic model lends itself to creating a large number of perpetual treatments and diagnostic services for each person. Because this is so lucrative, it inevitably incentivizes its proponents to monopolize the entire medical market and healthcare practitioners to prioritize creating and utilizing its therapies".

  • "Knowing if a therapy actually “works” is quite challenging, especially if the change can only be observed over a long time. Because of this, most medical research is based on whether an overt change can be consistently observed within a patient (e.g., lowering their blood pressure) and hoping that change will yield a long-term benefit rather than evaluating the long-term prognosis of people who receive a medical intervention".

• The "health" of the body depends on normal functioning of self-regulating cycles like breathing, sunlight exposure, physical activity, rest/activity alternation, and fasting/eating, which are often disrupted in modern society.

  • "The “health” of the body is highly dependent on the normal functioning of a variety of repeating cycles that occur within it".

  • "In short, many of the natural rhythms our bodies rely upon for self-regulation are heavily disrupted in modern society, which in turn results in a variety of consistent derangements to normal physiology that are now seen throughout the population".

• Sleep is a foundational process for restoring health, crucial for maintaining circulatory and metabolic health, immune function, preventing cancer, and supporting brain and mental health.

  • "Throughout my career, I’ve met countless integrative practitioners who believed that one of the most important things to do when treating a chronic illness is to normalize their patient’s sleep, as this cyclical process is one of the foundational methods the body uses to restore its health".

  • "Matthew Walker is one of the world’s most vocal sleep researchers. In his book Why We Sleep, he argues that some of the most important functions of sleep include: Maintaining circulatory health and preventing heart attacks. Ensuring proper metabolic health (e.g., sleep deprivation causes hunger, diabetes, and weight gain). Ensuring proper immune function (e.g., you are more likely to get the flu if you are sleep deprived). Preventing cancer. Preventing fatigue and brain fog (which are typically the most overt symptoms we notice from sleep deprivation). Remaining awake and alert. Healing and restoring the brain (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease is strongly linked to poor sleep). Regulating hormonal function and maintaining fertility (e.g., sleep deprivation lowers testosterone levels). Processing emotional trauma (e.g., sleep is typically disrupted in PTSD, and PTSD often significantly improves once a drug is given which prevents PTSD from disrupting sleep). Integrating one’s sense of reality and accurately interpreting emotional signals from one’s environment. Sleep allows the rational mind (the prefrontal cortex) to control counterproductive impulses (e.g., emotional outbursts, or binge eating). Maintaining one’s mental health (e.g., it’s well known that a variety of psychiatric conditions, such as bipolar episodes are triggered by periods of sleep deprivation). Maintaining one’s sense of reality (e.g., prolonged sleep deprivation can trigger psychosis, and sleep is known to be disturbed in schizophrenic patients). Facilitating creativity (e.g., many paradigm-shifting discoveries came from dreams, Thomas Edison was well-known for using dreams to concoct his inventions, and when people are woken up from REM sleep, they often demonstrate a radically improved abstract problem solving capacity). Reducing one’s sensitivity to pain (whereas sleep deprivation increases it). Facilitating the long-term retention of memories".

• Chronic sleep disruption in individuals of any age leads to physical ailments, mental health instability, reduced alertness, and impaired memory.

  • "Any individual, no matter what age, will exhibit physical ailments, mental health instability, reduced alertness, and impaired memory if their sleep is chronically disrupted".

  • "Even when controlling for factors such as body mass index, gender, race, history of smoking, frequency of exercise, and medications, the lower an older individual’s sleep efficiency score, the higher their mortality risk, the worse their physical health, the more likely they are to suffer from depression, the less energy they report, and the lower their cognitive function, typified by forgetfulness".

• Sleep deprivation significantly decreases immune system function, increasing the risk of cancer and infections.

  • "During periods of sleep deprivation, immune system function significantly decreases".

  • "Numerous studies have found an association between sleep deprivation and cancer (while conversely, others have not—which I believe is due to the difficulty of properly studying this topic)".

• Studies show a clear link between poor sleep, shift work, sleep apnea, and the use of sleeping pills with increased cancer risk and higher susceptibility to infections like pneumonia and the common cold.

  • "In 2010, using all the available evidence, the WHO classified shift work (one of the most reliable ways to heavily disrupt natural sleep cycles and something many workers in the healthcare field experience) as a probable human carcinogen".

  • "A study of 56,953 nurses found women who slept 5 hours or less were 1.7 times as likely to develop pneumonia over a 4-year period compared to those who slept 8 hours a night".

• Sleep-deprived individuals produce fewer vaccine antibodies, as shown in a study where a sleep-deprived group produced less than half the flu vaccine antibodies compared to a control group.

  • "A 2002 study compared 14 healthy young men who slept for 7.5-8.5 hours a day to 11 others who restricted their sleep to 4 hours a night for 6 days, after which all 25 received a flu shot".

  • "The sleep-deprived group was observed to produce less than half the vaccine antibodies seen in the control group, and this loss continued after normal sleep had been restored".

IX. The Good Intentions License for Tyranny By James Bovard

• The legal system is skewed against holding officials liable for abuses, with "presumed good intentions" often exonerating even severe crimes like torture.

  • "But Americans should be aware of how the entire judicial process is skewed against holding officialdom liable for its crimes".

  • "Today’s legal system allows presumed good intentions to almost always exonerate the worst abuses by government officials".

• The Bush administration's torture regime, which included methods like sleep deprivation and freezing, resulted in deaths, yet no policymakers or CIA torturers faced penalties.

  • "President George W. Bush unleashed a worldwide torture regime that left victims dead and maimed around the globe".

  • "Rather than face prosecution for killing Rahman, the primary CIA interrogator was recommended for a $2,500 cash award for his “consistently superior work,” according to a 2014 Senate report".

• Justice Department memos argued that specific intent to inflict severe pain was required for torture conviction, meaning officials could know pain would result but still be absolved if causing harm wasn't their "precise objective".

  • "Because Section 2340 [of the federal Anti-Torture Act] requires that a defendant act with the specific intent to inflict severe pain, the infliction of such pain must be the defendant’s precise objective".

  • "Thus, even if the defendant knows that severe pain will result from his actions, if causing such harm is not his objective, he lacks the requisite specific intent even though the defendant did not act in good faith".

• The legal reasoning led to a "world-wide epidemic of 'good-faith torture'," which a Senate report later concluded failed to produce information that prevented terror attacks or saved lives.

  • "Such legal reasoning spawned a world-wide epidemic of “good-faith torture.”".

  • "But a 6,000-page Senate Intelligence Committee report finally released in 2014 concluded that the torture failed to produce any information that prevented terror attacks or saved American lives".

• The Justice Department asserted that intentionally killing people during interrogation might be acceptable under a "necessity defense" if the harm avoided (e.g., preventing more deaths) was greater.

  • "The necessity defense may prove especially relevant in the current circumstances. First, the defense is not limited to certain types of harms. Therefore, the harm inflicted by necessity may include intentional homicide, so long as the harm avoided is greater (i.e., preventing more deaths)".

  • "Clearly, any harm that might occur during an interrogation would pale to insignificance compared to the harm avoided by preventing such an attack, which could take hundreds or thousands of lives".

• After the Detainee Treatment Act prohibited "cruel, inhumane, or degrading" methods, top Justice Department officials secretly declared that existing methods like waterboarding and sleep deprivation did not meet this standard.

  • "After the Abu Ghraib photos became public, Bush continually stressed America’s good intentions as proof that the U.S. government did not torture".

  • "Top Justice Department officials responded to the new law with a secret internal memo declaring that all the interrogation methods currently being used — head slapping, waterboarding, frigid temperatures, and blasting with loud music to assure sleep deprivation — were not “cruel, inhumane or degrading.”".

• Vice President Dick Cheney invoked the "shocks the conscience" standard, stating that what shocks the conscience is "in the eye of the beholder," allowing officials to decide whether their use of power is acceptable.

  • "Vice President Dick Cheney, who largely dictated the Bush policy, was asked in a television interview, “What’s the president’s prerogative in the cruel treatment of prisoners?”".

  • "This standard leaves it up to government officials to decide whether they are personally offended about how they are using their power".

• The US government, which previously condemned Soviet, Egyptian, and Saudi torture, consulted these same intelligence officials and copied their interrogation methods after 9/11.

  • "In 2007, the New York Times detailed how, after 9/11, the CIA constructed an interrogation program by “consulting Egyptian and Saudi intelligence officials and copying Soviet interrogation methods long used in training American servicemen to withstand capture.”".

  • "But interrogation systems designed to compel victims to sign false confessions supposedly provided the model for protecting America in the new millennium".

• The legal framework meant that deaths during interrogations were considered "accidents," and even destroyed CIA tapes of interrogations were absolved by Justice Department certifications.

  • "Thanks to this legal framework, none of the deaths that occurred during interrogations by U.S. government agents were homicides. Instead, they were simply accidents, regardless of how much force was used or how many bones were broken".

  • "Attorney General Michael Mukasey refused to appoint a special counsel to investigate possible crimes because “certifications were given” by the Justice Department which absolved the CIA agents “who permissibly relied on it.”".

• The author argues that freedom cannot survive such impunity and that politicians should not be given a "good intention license for tyranny".

  • "Freedom cannot survive such impunity".

  • "Nothing has happened in the subsequent centuries to justify giving any politician a good intention license for tyranny".

X. The Real Price of Convenience: Going Cashless Is Costing You More Than You Think By g.calderon

• The increasing reliance on digital payments comes with hidden costs, including a psychological tendency to spend more and a loss of financial privacy and control.

  • "Spending money is now more seamless than ever. But with digital payments becoming the norm, what exactly are we trading for convenience?".

  • "Essentially, using modern ways of paying bypasses our hardwired financial senses, meaning we’re all silently becoming more comfortable with invisible spending".

• Digital payments lead to higher transaction values and increased payment frequency compared to cash, which causes "pain of paying".

  • "Paying with cash reportedly causes psychological discomfort, as we’re constantly aware of what we’re spending, known as the “pain of paying” by some researchers".

  • "Their studies show that when we pay digitally, we pay much more freely and feel less friction. In real terms, research has shown that mobile payments lead to 9% higher transaction values and 11% higher payment frequency when compared to cash".

• Every digital transaction leaves a traceable footprint, contributing to a financial profile that governments, corporations, and financial institutions can track and monetize.

  • "We must remember that every scan, swipe, and tap is tracked, logged, and now even monetised".

  • "Governments have access to your transactions – whether directly or upon request – and all of this connects you to traceable spending habits".

• China's Social Credit System is presented as a cautionary tale of a cashless society leading to state control, where transactions can affect an individual's social standing and access to services.

  • "China, being ahead of the West in terms of cashless implementations, offers warning signs of where this path could lead us".

  • "Combining financial and social statistics with additional state control means spending too much or too little on certain things can affect a person’s standing".

• The infrastructure for social credit systems, such as reduced ATM availability, real-time payment analytics, digital IDs, and increased public surveillance, is already being put in place in the West.

  • "In the West, we may not see these systems in action yet, but the infrastructure that enables such an environment is falling into place".

  • "Think about the reduction of ATM availability, real-time payment analytics, digital IDs, and the ever-increasing capabilities of public surveillance. The tools are already here".

• A cashless world risks excluding vulnerable citizens, such as the elderly, disabled, and low-income individuals, who rely more on cash payments and may lack access to digital technology.

  • "Not everybody finds a cashless world convenient".

  • "Not everybody has equal access to a digital world, potentially leading to an offline underclass in our society".

• Digital payment systems are fragile and vulnerable to power outages, cyberattacks, or system failures, which can block access to money, unlike cash.

  • "Cash works without electricity, signal, or permission".

  • "Power outages, cyber attacks, or system failures can block people from their money completely".

• The shift to a cashless society was not voted for by the public but gradually embedded itself as "innovation" and "efficiency," yet it is perceived as restricting rather than liberating.

  • "None of us voted for a cashless society. It gradually embedded itself as a certainty of the future, framed as innovation, and focused on efficiency".

  • "But, despite being sold as freedom, it may in fact be on its way to restricting us".

XI. The U.S. Empire’s Plan for Global Domination By Michael Hudson

• Economist Michael Hudson argues that the US empire is attempting to re-impose its unipolar dominance on the global political and financial system, with the war on Iran being a part of this strategy.

  • "War on Iran is part of the US empire’s larger attempt to re-impose its unipolar dominance on the global political and financial system, argues economist Michael Hudson".

  • "Hudson explained this in the following interview with Geopolitical Economy Report editor Ben Norton".

• Washington aims to preserve dollar hegemony and the petrodollar, while disrupting BRICS and Eurasian integration with China and Russia.

  • "Washington wants to preserve dollar hegemony and the petrodollar, while disrupting BRICS and Eurasian integration with China and Russia".

  • "Iran is pushing for a more multipolar world, in opposition to the US empire’s unipolarity, as the economist Michael Hudson describes in this essay".

• The US has a long-standing strategy to control Near Eastern oil lands and make them proxies, going back to the 1953 coup in Iran that overthrew its democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.

  • "What we have seen in the last month — or I should say the last two years actually — is the culmination of the long strategy that America has had ever since World War II, to take complete control of the Near Eastern oil lands and make them proxies of the United States, under client rulers, such as Saudi Arabia and the king of Jordan".

  • "Well, the war on Iran started in 1953, when the United States and MI6 overthrew the elected Prime Minister [Mohammad Mosaddegh], and the reason he was overthrown was because he wanted to nationalize the oil reserves of Iran".

• The US strategy to maintain control involves weaponizing foreign trade using two commodities: food grains and oil, to sanction countries that oppose US policy.

  • "American foreign policy, in terms of weaponizing its foreign trade, has always been based on two commodities: food grains — the ability to stop exporting food to countries that oppose US policy, as the United States stopped exporting grain to China under Mao — and oil".

  • "And of its ability to sanction the rest of the world, by turning off the oil supply, and thereby turning off the electricity, turning off the gas, turning off the home heating, of countries that break away from US policy".

• Iran is seen as the "capstone" to controlling the Near East due to its size and economic strength, and there were discussions in the 1970s about breaking Iran into ethnic groups if it pursued independent policies.

  • "Iran has always been the strongest power in the entire Near East, and the capstone to controlling the Near East".

  • "Herman Kahn, the model for Dr. Strangelove, discussed how to break up Iran into its various ethnicities, five or six ethnicities, in the case that it should, take a policy independent from the United States".

• The US decided to use proxies for international power projection after the Vietnam War, with Israel agreeing to act as "America’s landed aircraft carrier in the Near East".

  • "How was the United States to exert its international power without military power? It had military bases all over the world; it spent more on military than any other country".

  • "America decided to create the largest military base in the Near East, and that was Israel".

• Iran plays a critical role in Eurasian integration, specifically China's Belt and Road Initiative (connecting East Asia to Europe) and Russia's International North-South Transport Corridor to India, which the US seeks to disrupt.

  • "Iran is at the heart of China’s New Silk Road. This was originally launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, and then it expanded into the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)".

  • "Iran also plays an important role in a Russian-led economic corridor that connects from St. Petersburg, through Moscow, down through the Caspian Sea, through Iran, and to India. This is known as the International North-South Transport Corridor, the INSTC".

• The US strategy of isolating countries not part of its financial and trade system is backfiring, as Eurasia (Russia, China, Iran, etc.) is large enough not to need trade and investment with the US.

  • "If you can isolate countries that do not want to be part of the American international financial and trade system, then the belief is that they cannot exist by themselves; they are too small".

  • "So America’s strategic attempt to isolate Russia, China, and any of their allies in BRICS or the Shanghai Cooperation Organization ends up isolating itself".

• Trump's tariff policy and threats to countries creating alternatives to the dollar are forcing other nations to make a choice, as the US's only offer is to refrain from destroying their economies.

  • "This was made very clear immediately upon Trump taking the presidency and announcing his tariff policy, saying, “In three months, I’m going to impose such devastatingly high tariffs that you, the Global South countries, the Global Majority countries, your economies will be in chaos without having access to the American market”".

  • "The only thing that America has to offer the world is to refrain from destroying their economy and causing economic chaos, such as Trump has threatened to do with his tariffs, and what he has threatened to do to any country trying to create an alternative to the dollar".

• The US confiscated $300 billion of Russia's foreign exchange holdings, leading other countries, including European nations, to reconsider holding dollars and move towards gold.

  • "China is trying to avoid using dollars, just as Russia no longer is able to use dollars, because the United States has simply confiscated $300 billion of Russia’s foreign exchange holdings in the West".

  • "So you’re having the rest of the world pull back from the dollar. This reflects the effect of everything that the United States is trying to do to isolate the other parts of the world from contact with the United States, if they try to have an alternative economic system to neoliberal finance capitalism".

• The petrodollar system, established in 1974 with Saudi Arabia agreeing to sell oil in dollars in exchange for US protection, became the basis for the dollar's global demand after Nixon took the dollar off gold.

  • "Richard Nixon in 1971 took the dollar off of gold".

  • "He was sent to Jeddah in 1974, where they brokered a deal saying that the US would protect the Saudi monarchy, and, in return, Saudi Arabia would sell all of its oil in dollars, maintaining global demand for the US dollar".

• Iran directly challenges the petrodollar system by selling its oil in Chinese yuan to China and in Iranian rial to India (in exchange for agricultural goods).

  • "Now Iran is directly challenging that petrodollar system. Iran is selling its oil to China in Chinese yuan, the renminbi".

  • "Iran is also trading with India, selling its oil, and it is using its currency, the rial. India is also using its currency, the rupee, and India is essentially trading its agricultural goods for Iranian oil".

• OPEC countries' oil revenues, held primarily in US Treasury securities, enabled the US to fund its overseas military spending and domestic budget deficit.

  • "The deal was that Saudi Arabia and other countries would export their oil for dollars; they would not remove these dollars from the United States".

  • "Well, that inflow of dollars is what enabled the United States to do two things. One, as a balance of payments inflow, it enabled the United States to continue spending its military overseas spending abroad, in order to have the military fist behind its economic empire. But it also funded the domestic budget deficit".

• The US has been termed a "gangster state" for confiscating, destabilizing, and overthrowing economies that try to create international trade and investment systems outside US control.

  • "It’s a gangster. It has been called a gangster state, for just such reasons".

  • "America has basically declared war against any attempt to create an international trade and investment system that the United States does not control, in its own self-interest, wanting all of the earnings from it, all of the revenue from it, not just part of it. It’s a greedy empire".

• US sanctions, described as unilateral and illegal, have targeted one-third of all countries on Earth, with Iran being one of the first test cases after its 1979 revolution.

  • "Today, one-third of all countries on Earth are under US sanctions, which are unilateral; they are illegal under international law".

  • "But of course, Iran was one of the first countries to be sanctioned, after its revolution in 1979".

• US military contractors profit significantly from wars, as "aid" to other countries often takes the form of contracts for US military arms, which are criticized for not working effectively.

  • "You pointed out that Iran was mostly using its older missiles. It was emptying its stockpile of old missiles to hit Israel, and trying to overwhelm Israel’s air defense system".

  • "But as you point out, this is actually something that the military-industrial complex in the US benefits from, because what the US calls the “aid” that it gives to many countries is actually not really aid; it’s actually contracts given to US private contractors, and then they give that military equipment to Israel, or to Egypt, or to Japan, South Korea, and other countries".

• The Iron Dome and American military defense systems are claimed to be easily penetrated by Russian and Iranian missiles, despite massive spending, leading to calls for increased budgets for ineffective systems.

  • "We’ve seen in Israel that the Iron Dome is very easily penetrated by Iran".

  • "Well, President Trump has just come out and said, “We’re going to vastly increase the US budget deficit by creating an Iron Dome in the United States for $1 trillion”".

XII. Trump Doesn’t Speak for Us By Jared Taylor

• The author asserts that Donald Trump, despite getting 80% of his votes from white people, does not speak for white Americans because he avoids mentioning them and panders to minority groups.

  • "Mr. Trump got 80 percent of his 77 million votes from white people, but he didn’t mention us once".

  • "I no longer think he has it in him".

• The author highlights the growing "remigration" movement in Europe, where papers and activists openly advocate for sending foreigners home to preserve national majorities.

  • "Just a few days ago, the major Danish paper B.T. wrote an editorial about immigrants: “They should not be integrated. They should go home.”".

  • "The remigration movement is growing. Here are Spaniards marching for remigration".

• The author laments the lack of political representation for white people in the United States, despite growing awareness among millions of what is "necessary for our survival".

  • "I don’t know of a single one who says what that Danish newspaper said about Danes: That we need a place where we are the majority".

  • "And yet, every year, millions more people come to understand what’s necessary for our survival".

• David Duke's election to the Louisiana state house in 1989 and Frank Borzellieri's multiple elections to a Queens school board are cited as examples of white advocates achieving political success despite "awkward baggage" or tough opposition.

  • "In 1989, before a lot of you were even born, David Duke won a seat in the Louisiana state house".

  • "In the 1990s, white advocate Frank Borzellieri was elected several times to the school board in Queens, New York, of all places".

• The author rejects the ideas that electoral politics cannot change anything or that complete societal collapse is necessary for white consciousness to grow.

  • "I think there are two reasons. One is the idea that the system is so rotten that electoral politics can change nothing".

  • "Wrong on both counts".

• Historical examples like Greece's debt crisis and Argentina's economic struggles show that collapse does not guarantee a "miraculous blossoming of white consciousness".

  • "As for collapse, it might never come, and even if it did, there’s no guarantee it would do any good".

  • "There was no miraculous blossoming of white consciousness in either country".

• The author urges white people to work hard, organize politically, and run for office in "the right places" with "the right message" to gain power and initiate change.

  • "But for anything to change, white people will have to work very, very hard".

  • "It takes power to change things, and power comes from politics".

• A commenter suggests that the underlying problem of white decline is due to "Jews," who control politics, money, and initiated the destruction of white demographics.

  • "What both Europeans and Americans are finding out is they won’t be able to fix their problem with politics".

  • "Politics in these countries is controlled by people who oppose them, people who have all the money and power, people who initiated the destruction of White demographics".

• Another commenter claims that Trump "didn’t end shit" regarding DEI and affirmative action, stating that companies still have "diversity and Inclusive" pages with non-white cartoon characters.

  • "He didn’t end shit, when I go on Indeed.com it’s still DEI infested".

  • "Just go to Walmarts job webpage and get to the “diversity” part of the site. They have these cartoon characters there, and the characters are all black or either brown. None of them are white".

• A commenter expresses frustration with various issues including "nigs," "zionist khazar “j3ws”," "middle east trash," "woke ass stupid mthrfckrs," politicians, capitalism, propaganda, poisons in food/water/air, corporate welfare, and "jew banks".

  • "I’m sick of the nigs".

  • "I’m sick of the jew banks & their hidden agendas and control".

Coffee & Covid: The July 1st Dispatch

1 source

This news compilation from "Coffee & Covid 2025" outlines several significant developments. One major topic is a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals case where the Trump administration is using an 18th-century law to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, redefining gang activity as a modern-day invasion. Another article highlights California Democrats' unexpected decision to weaken the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a landmark environmental law, to address housing shortages, signalling a potential shift in progressive policy. The compilation also discusses the mysterious death of a hiker, raising questions about the role of vaccines, although no direct evidence is presented. Finally, the relationship between former President Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is explored, with Trump pushing for lower interest rates and challenging the Fed's independence through public pressure.

Here are 40 key takeaway points from the sources, formatted as requested:

1. Key Takeaway Point: ☕️ JEROME BOND ☙ Tuesday, July 1, 2025 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠 by Jeff Childers covers essential news including legal challenges to presidential war powers, California's environmental law rollback, a mysterious death, and Trump's tactics against the Federal Reserve.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Today’s essential roundup includes: bad news for ganged-up illegal immigrants as Fifth Circuit Appellate panel disembowels ACLU lawyers; Democrats show signs of life as California’s blue legislature steamrolls over snail darters; mysterious, sudden, and unexpected hiker death poses uncomfortable questions; and Trump makes 3D chess moves over incomprehensible Fed policy, hinting at bigger things to come."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Share this post" (This is an introductory element in the source, and while brief, it marks the beginning of the content discussed in the summary).

2. Key Takeaway Point: The Fifth Circuit Appellate panel is currently evaluating whether the President can use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA) to summarily deport alleged members of a Venezuelan street gang.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Appeals Court Weighs Trump’s Use of Alien Enemies Act for Deportations.”

• Supporting Sentence 2: "In a case that could redefine the reach of presidential war powers, the Fifth Circuit is the first to weigh whether the President can invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA) —a dusty relic of the John Adams era— to summarily deport alleged members of a Venezuelan street gang."

3. Key Takeaway Point: The Alien Enemies Act (AEA) is an old law, a "dusty relic" from the John Adams era, which has been used sparingly in U.S. history, primarily during declared wars.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "The law, originally designed to empower the president to detain or expel nationals of hostile nations during wartime or invasion, has been used only sparingly in U.S. history— mostly during declared wars."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "The Fifth Circuit is the first to weigh whether the President can invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA) —a dusty relic of the John Adams era— to summarily deport alleged members of a Venezuelan street gang."

4. Key Takeaway Point: Trump's Justice Department contends that the Tren de Aragua gang, which has infiltrated 40 states and is linked to Venezuela's Maduro regime, constitutes a "modern-day invasion."

• Supporting Sentence 1: "But Trump’s Justice Department argued that the gang Tren de Aragua, which it claims has infiltrated 40 states and is tied to Venezuela’s Maduro regime, constitutes a modern-day invasion."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Whether or not Tren de Aragua is a “real” invasion in the classical sense, Trump’s legal team is arguing that the modern warfare lens —cyber, irregular, decentralized, deniable— has already been legitimized elsewhere."

5. Key Takeaway Point: The ACLU, representing detained Venezuelan gangsters, argued that redefining gang violence as "war" is a dangerous overreach that could allow future presidents to bypass normal due process protections in immigration cases.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "The ACLU, representing a group of detained Venezuelan gangsters, called it a dangerous stretch —warning that redefining gang violence as war could hand future presidents a blank check to bypass normal due process protections in immigration cases."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "At one point—and this is where the appellate magic happened— Judge Andrew Oldham (a Trump appointee) asked the ACLU lawyer, “Are we allowed to conduct a federal trial to countermand the president of the United States when he says this is an armed invasion?”

6. Key Takeaway Point: During oral arguments, Judge Andrew Oldham, a Trump appointee, posed a strategic question to the ACLU lawyer about a federal trial overriding a presidential declaration of an "armed invasion."

• Supporting Sentence 1: "At one point—and this is where the appellate magic happened— Judge Andrew Oldham (a Trump appointee) asked the ACLU lawyer, “Are we allowed to conduct a federal trial to countermand the president of the United States when he says this is an armed invasion?”

• Supporting Sentence 2: "That question was a trap, and the ACLU lawyer, Lee Gelernt, walked right into it."

7. Key Takeaway Point: ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt conceded that judges could indeed conduct a federal trial to countermand a presidential determination of "armed invasion" but failed to cite any supporting case law.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "“Mr. Gelernt,” the Times reported, “said that indeed the judges could.”

• Supporting Sentence 2: "But when Judge Oldham asked Mr. Gelernt to cite a single case that supported his assertion, Gelernt admitted he couldn’t."

8. Key Takeaway Point: Judge Oldham's questioning reframed the legal dispute from statutory interpretation or immigration process to a fundamental issue of "separation of powers."

• Supporting Sentence 1: "By asking whether a federal trial could override a presidential determination of “armed invasion,” Judge Oldham reframed the dispute as about separation of powers, rather than statutory interpretation or immigration process."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "“Thank you for your candor,” Judge Oldham said with satisfaction."

9. Key Takeaway Point: Appellate judges ask questions during arguments primarily to simplify their decision-making process and do not necessarily need information from the lawyers themselves.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Appellate judges —appointed for life— do not need to know what the lawyers think."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "They ask questions for one reason only: to make their jobs easier."

10. Key Takeaway Point: The ACLU's concession of no supporting case law provided the court with a "one-sentence shortcut" to its potential ruling.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Instead, the ACLU handed the court a one-sentence shortcut: no case law, no authority, no judicial override."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Boom. The decision writes itself."

11. Key Takeaway Point: The author, a litigator, emphasizes that lawyers should be extremely cautious and avoid conceding any points during appellate oral arguments, as even seemingly harmless concessions can become dispositive.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Lawyers should tread very carefully before conceding anything in oral argument and stepping on their own garden hose."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Don’t ever concede anything."

12. Key Takeaway Point: The source suggests that while gangs like Tren de Aragua may not be "classic" invading armies, modern warfare now includes "soft power" and "deniable destabilization" tactics.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "There’s no question that gangs like Tren aren’t classic invading armies."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "But times change, and soft power and deniable destabilization are now the preferred military styles."

13. Key Takeaway Point: The author observes that progressives are adept at "linguistic gymnastics" to define threats like "insurrection" or "misinformation" but object when conservatives apply similar redefinitions to cartel-linked gangs.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "And, of course, progressives themselves are masters at linguistic gymnastics."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "When the right flips the script and says, “Okay, well then a cartel-linked gang occupying apartment complexes and assassinating dissidents across 40 states constitutes a nontraditional invasion,” suddenly it’s, Whoa there, cowboy."

14. Key Takeaway Point: The author anticipates that the Fifth Circuit will likely uphold Trump’s powers under the Alien Enemies Act, potentially leading to a resumption of deportations.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "My guess is the Fifth Circuit will uphold Trump’s AEA powers."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "So the deportation express may be back in business soon."

15. Key Takeaway Point: California Democrats, led by Governor Gavin Newsom, have made a significant move by gutting core elements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Yesterday, in a move that would’ve been political heresy just five years ago, California Democrats —led by oleaginous presidential hopeful Gavin Newsom— torched a golden calf of the environmental left: the California Environmental Quality Act."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Now, in a stunning display of policy realism (or electoral panic), the Golden State’s lawmakers gutted core elements of CEQA in the name of housing and homelessness."

16. Key Takeaway Point: CEQA, initially passed by Governor Ronald Reagan in 1970 for government construction projects, was expanded by a court two years later to include all construction in the state, making building "painfully expensive and time-consuming."

• Supporting Sentence 1: "In 1970, then-governor Ronald Reagan passed a bill requiring government construction projects to undergo painfully extensive environmental review."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "But two years later, a California court expanded the law’s scope to include all construction in the state, and then it became painfully expensive and time-consuming for anyone to build anything."

17. Key Takeaway Point: Over the decades, CEQA transformed from an environmental protection "gold standard" into a "NIMBY cudgel," used by various groups to halt diverse construction projects.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Often hailed as the gold standard of environmental protection, CEQA has morphed over the decades into a NIMBY cudgel— wielded by everyone from environmentalists to unions to cranky neighbors to stop everything from housing projects to nature paths."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Unintended consequences."

18. Key Takeaway Point: The rollback of CEQA represents a "tectonic shift" where the "party of regulation" (Democrats) is effectively acknowledging that "regulation is the problem," as Ronald Reagan famously stated.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "It’s a tectonic shift: the party of regulation is de facto admitting that, as Reagan famously said, sometimes regulation is the problem."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Whether this is a course correction or just a well-dressed concession of failure remains to be seen— but the political implications are national."

19. Key Takeaway Point: The source highlights that California, as a solid-blue, one-party Democrat stronghold, has now embraced "deregulation," striking at the heart of one of its most self-satisfied green statutes.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Take a moment to consider the implications: the Nation’s most solid-blue, one-party Democrat stronghold state just embraced deregulation."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "And not just on the margins, but striking at the beating heart of one of its most smugly self-satisfied green statutes."

20. Key Takeaway Point: The New York Times reported the CEQA story with "nuance," presenting "both sides" without apparent strong criticism or negative language, which the author interprets as a significant signal.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Astonishingly, the Times reported the CEQA story with nuance, presenting both sides of the argument (for once), and without putting the editorial thumb on the scale with sneering, negative linguistics."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "There was no evident strong criticism, just sober, balanced journalism."

21. Key Takeaway Point: The Times' nuanced coverage suggests that the progressive editorial establishment senses a shift in political tides, implying that "deregulation" is now acceptable if it's framed with "progressive virtues" like "equity" and "affordable housing."

• Supporting Sentence 1: "If the Times considered this rollback as a betrayal if liberal virtues, they’d have said so."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "It suggests that the progressive editorial establishment senses the political tides have washed out to sea, and even they know this is a necessary recalibration."

22. Key Takeaway Point: The author notes that "deregulation," when presented with progressive virtues, is no longer considered a "dirty word," marking a surprising development.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Apparently, deregulation, dressed up in progressive virtues like “equity” and “affordable housing,” is no longer a dirty word."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Who thought we’d see the day?"

23. Key Takeaway Point: The Times' optimistic suggestion that California's move "could inspire other Democratic-led states" to weaken environmental regulations points to potential national implications for housing shortages.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "“California’s moves,” the Times optimistically suggested, “could inspire other Democratic-led states to weaken their environmental regulations to address their housing shortages."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Massachusetts, New York, Minnesota and several other left-leaning states have laws much like CEQA.”

24. Key Takeaway Point: Hiking influencer Hannah Moody, 31, was found dead on an Arizona trail, and her cause of death was officially revealed as "heat exposure" after a puzzling delay, despite her being an experienced hiker.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "The New York Post ran a troubling story last week, headlined “Hiking influencer Hannah Moody’s cause of death revealed after being found dead on Arizona trail.”

• Supporting Sentence 2: "After a puzzling delay, the coroner concluded the experienced hiker died suddenly from heat exposure."

25. Key Takeaway Point: The author expresses "incredulity" and a lack of official curiosity over the sudden and incomprehensible death of a healthy young woman, given the banal explanation.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Apart from expressions of grief and sympathy, a vein of incredulity ran through the comments:"

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Neither the coroner nor any of the many news reports suggested even a hint of curiosity over the healthy young lady’s incomprehensible death and the banal explanation."

26. Key Takeaway Point: The author states that whenever healthy young people die suddenly and unexpectedly, the "first question" that should be asked is their "jab status."

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Whenever healthy young people die suddenly and unexpectedly in everyday circumstances where normal people don’t die, the first question they should ask is: did she get the jabs?"

• Supporting Sentence 2: "The officials didn’t say. They probably didn’t even ask. But I’m asking."

27. Key Takeaway Point: The author makes a personal vow to relentlessly pursue "The Reckoning" regarding such deaths and will "never, ever, stop" until it becomes a distant memory.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "They’re not going to get away with it, not if I can help it."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "I will never, ever, stop until The Reckoning becomes a distant memory."

28. Key Takeaway Point: President Trump is intensifying his "pressure campaign" on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, signaling that he is "getting ready to do something" concerning monetary policy.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "The Times, on some kind of a roll, continued yesterday’s news feast with an article headlined, “Trump Steps Up Pressure Campaign on Powell With Handwritten Note.”

• Supporting Sentence 2: "He’s getting ready to do something."

29. Key Takeaway Point: The author describes "interest rates on bonds" as a "mind-numbingly horrifying" subject that most blog authors and readers avoid due to its complexity.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "If ever there were a subject that blog authors avoid like the plague, a subject so mind-numbingly horrifying it sends readers fleeing for the cognitive safety of Dilbert cartoons and TikTok cat videos, that subject is interest rates on bonds."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "My fingers twitched nervelessly even as I typed those words in sheer authorial terror."

30. Key Takeaway Point: The U.S. government (Uncle Sam) borrows significant amounts of money from foreigners by selling bonds, for which it pays "a lot of interest."

• Supporting Sentence 1: "We, meaning Uncle Sam (with only our very best interests at heart), borrow money from foreigners by selling them “bonds,” which are like carnival coupons for future Florida Everglades oil revenues."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "We sell a lot of bonds, by paying investors interest."

31. Key Takeaway Point: After reportedly bringing the "Biden recession" under control, President Trump wants the Federal Reserve to "lower the price —the interest rate— that the country pays investors who buy our bonds."

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Now that President Trump has heroically wrestled the Biden recession under control, he wants the Federal Reserve to lower the price —the interest rate— that the country pays investors who buy our bonds."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "You should lower the rate — by a lot.”

32. Key Takeaway Point: Fed Chair Jerome Powell, conversely, is keeping rates high, asserting that the country is not yet financially stable and that he is "just playing it safe."

• Supporting Sentence 1: "But Fed Chair Jerome “Snidely Whiplash” Powell says nyet."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Powell claims we aren’t yet out of the financial woods, so he’s just playing it safe."

33. Key Takeaway Point: The author criticizes financial experts at the Fed for using deliberately obscure and incomprehensible "gobbledegoook" and "word salad" to describe their policies, intentionally making the public feel like "morons."

• Supporting Sentence 1: "Delving into the details requires entering a Lovecraftian world of ten-syllable financial buzzwords and word salad so deliberately obscure that even international chessmasters quake when they see the vocabulary list."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Every commonsense objection to lowering or raising rates is met by an equal and opposite response of incomprehensible gobbledegoook, meant to make us feel like morons and simply sit down and let the experts do their work."

34. Key Takeaway Point: During Biden’s term, Powell maintained "near zero" rates despite record inflation and spending, claiming "inflation expectations remained well anchored" and denying inflation was happening.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "During Biden’s entire term, Powell kept rates pinned to near zero, through record inflation, multi-trillion-dollar Biden spending sprees, and a labor market tighter than a native drum because, we were told, “inflation expectations remained well anchored.”

• Supporting Sentence 2: "They literally denied inflation was even happening."

35. Key Takeaway Point: The author observes that after Trump's "historic win" in November 2024, the Fed "suddenly rediscovered the lost country of inflation" and began raising interest rates, becoming a "prudish paragon of restraint."

• Supporting Sentence 1: "But then — poof! — with a new incantation, right after voters handed Trump a historic win in November 2024, the Fed suddenly rediscovered the lost country of inflation, and suddenly became a prudish paragon of restraint."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "All the high interest rates the Fed has so carefully and primly calculated as absolutely necessary came after the November 7th election."

36. Key Takeaway Point: The author suggests that Powell's actions were politically motivated, keeping rates low for Biden but becoming fiscally strict under Trump's presidency.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "It’s almost like Powell kept a framed photo of Biden on his desk labeled “In Case of Progressive Agenda Threat, Break Glass Ceiling.”

• Supporting Sentence 2: "But under Trump’s deregulation, growth, and tax reform, suddenly the Fed transformed into the ghost of Andrew Mellon, sternly warning that the economy must be disciplined, lest it enjoy itself too much."

37. Key Takeaway Point: Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt publicly displayed a handwritten note from Trump to Powell, which highlighted a list of global bond rates showing the U.S. paying more interest than many other countries.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "The pièce de résistance of this monetary opera was unveiled yesterday when Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, barely suppressing a smirk, held up a piece of paper like it was the Zapruder film."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "On it appeared a printed list of global bond rates, ranked from lowest to highest —Switzerland, Japan, China, even Russia— which are all paying less on their national debt than the United States."

38. Key Takeaway Point: Trump's note directly told Powell, "Jerome — you are, as usual, too late. You have cost the USA a fortune. You should lower the rate — by a lot," effectively questioning why the strongest economy pays more to borrow.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "And in the corner, like a note passed in study hall, Trump’s unmistakable handwriting: “Jerome — you are, as usual, too late. You have cost the USA a fortune. You should lower the rate — by a lot.”

• Supporting Sentence 2: "The underlying point was brutally effective: Why is the strongest economy in the world paying more to borrow than countries with capital controls, censorship, and exchange rates backed by slave labor and violence?"

39. Key Takeaway Point: The author interprets Trump's note as a strategic "chess move" to create the political conditions for potentially removing the Fed Chair, an action no president has successfully attempted before.

• Supporting Sentence 1: "I read Trump’s note as a classic Trumpian chess move, to pave the way for political possibility: removing the Fed Chair, something no president has ever tried, though many have pined for the opportunity."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "Powell is standing on thin political ice."

40. Key Takeaway Point: The source suggests that the era of "unabashed deferral to unelected experts" and the Fed acting as a "shadow government" is over, with courts shifting towards "democratic accountability" over "sacred institutional independence."

• Supporting Sentence 1: "The era of unabashed deferral to unelected experts is over."

• Supporting Sentence 2: "The courts, now stocked with Trump-era judges who understand the assignment, have started to shift away from the old gospel of sacred institutional independence toward something more grounded— like democratic accountability."

Whey Protein and Hypertension: A Persian Medicine Study

6 sources

This article from Joachim Bartoll Official investigates whether whey protein can help lower blood pressure in adults diagnosed with hypertension. The author reviews a randomized controlled trial that explored the effects of Ma’aljobon, a traditional Persian whey protein preparation, on systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The piece highlights the significant reduction in blood pressure observed in the group consuming Ma’aljobon compared to a placebo. Bartoll speculates that the bioavailable amino acids and other biological compounds in whey, similar to those found in red meat and animal fats, contribute to cardiovascular healing and improved hormone profiles. The article concludes by emphasizing the potential healing benefits of whey and providing insights into the author's personal and professional background in health and nutrition.

Here are 30 key takeaways from the sources, presented in a jotform manner:

1. Can Whey Protein Help Lowering Blood Pressure In Adults With Hypertension? By Joachim Bartoll
   
   

   • Whey protein, specifically Ma’aljobon, was investigated in a 6-week randomized controlled trial to determine if it could reduce both diastolic and systolic blood pressure in adults with uncontrolled grade 1 primary hypertension.

   • The trial involved 97 men and women and was reviewed based on information from Examine.com.

2. Ma’aljobon is a traditional Persian medicine preparation derived from cow milk.
   
   

   • The preparation involves heating milk and adding vinegar to coagulate it, with the remaining liquid portion then collected and processed.

   • It contains major biological whey proteins like lactoferrin, beta-lactoglobulin, alpha-lactalbumin, glycomacropeptide, and immunoglobulins.

3. Ma’aljobon showed a remarkable reduction in blood pressure during the trial.
   
   

   • Diastolic blood pressure decreased from 93 to 80 mmHg, while systolic blood pressure decreased from 150 to 131 mmHg.

   • These reductions were more significant than those observed in the placebo group, which saw smaller changes.

4. The specific nutritional content and amino acid profile of Ma’aljobon can vary based on its preparation method.
   
   

   • Despite potential variations, Ma’aljobon is very similar to a whey concentrate protein powder.

   • It can be processed into a powder form through techniques like spray drying.

5. Several biochemical factors significantly influence blood pressure.
   
   

   • These include cardiac output (elevated heart rate or stroke volume), volume of blood, and viscosity of blood.

   • Peripheral vascular resistance, rigidity of vessel walls, and elasticity of vessel walls also play crucial roles.

6. Hormones and potassium levels are important factors affecting blood pressure.
   
   

   • Stress hormones increase blood pressure.

   • Low potassium levels can increase blood pressure.

7. Elevated blood pressure factors often stem from damage to the cardiovascular system and calcification of blood vessels.
   
   

   • Such damage can include issues with the heart itself and calcification of the blood vessels.

   • The author suggests that the study participants might have had insufficient bioavailable protein in their diets for cardiovascular healing.

8. The body possesses the ability to heal and repair cardiovascular damage when supplied with the correct nutrients.
   
   

   • Animal fats and essential amino acids are identified as the necessary nutrients for this healing process.

   • This healing includes the breakdown and repair of calcification in blood vessels.

9. Highly biological components found in whey may contribute to better stress management and improved hormone profiles.
   
   

   • The text suggests milk’s biological components, particularly from whey, can help in these areas.

   • This can lead to a beneficial impact on the body’s overall health and healing processes.

10. Whey is an excellent source of potassium, a mineral important for balancing sodium levels.
    
    

    • Milk and whey powder provide approximately 470 mg of potassium per 100 grams.

    • A 50-gram serving of Ma’aljobon would likely supply about 235 mg of potassium or more, which can help address an imbalance between potassium and sodium often seen in people.

11. Introducing highly bioavailable amino acids and other biological compounds from whey can have beneficial and healing effects on the body.
    
    

    • This is presented as a general conclusion regarding the positive impact of whey’s components on overall health.

12. Consuming red meat and animal fat can also provide similar healing effects for cardiovascular issues.
    
    

    • These include saturated fats, cholesterol, and omega-3.

    • This suggests that a species-appropriate diet rich in animal products can naturally support cardiovascular health.

13. Adding whey or raw milk to the diet might accelerate certain healing processes.
    
    

    • This is a consideration for individuals with existing health problems.

    • The highly bioavailable potassium and other minerals within whey are also highlighted as beneficial.

14. Examine.com’s review provided preliminary evidence that Ma’aljobon can lower blood pressure.
    
    

    • They noted a "surprisingly large effect size" from the trial.

    • However, they also mentioned the "notable improvement in the placebo group".

15. Examine.com suggested that other factors, such as regression to the mean or study participation effects, might have contributed to the results, especially in the placebo group.
    
    

    • "Regression to the mean" is cited as a possible factor.

    • "Study participation effects" are also mentioned as contributing to perceived improvements.

16. The author contends that people enrolled in studies often make better choices and take better care of themselves.
    
    

    • This improved behavior can influence the progress of both the treatment and placebo groups.

    • Their improved behavior may contribute to perceived improvements in their condition.

17. What truly matters in a study is the significant difference between the control (placebo) group and the treatment group.
    
    

    • Researchers should focus on "the difference between the control group (placebo) and the treatment group (the compound being tested)".

    • The author states that "What matters is if there is a significant difference between the groups".

18. The ideal study scenario involves controlled settings where both groups perform the exact same daily activities, except for the tested element.
    
    

    • However, such controlled settings are described as "expensive and cumbersome".

    • Furthermore, "not that many people would like to be locked up and observed, monitored and governed for 6 weeks or more".

19. Joachim Bartoll offers coaching and consultation services for health problems.
    
    

    • He helps individuals transition to a natural species-appropriate, species-specific way of eating.

    • His services include animal-based (carnivore) educational coaching and fat loss coaching.

20. Joachim Bartoll is a highly experienced writer and author in the health and fitness industry.
    
    

    • He has been a writer and author for over 29 years.

    • His publications include more than 600 officially published articles, over 1600 self-published articles, and 8 books.

21. He is also a seasoned elite-level trainer/coach, nutritionist, and body transformation specialist.
    
    

    • He boasts over 32 years of experience in these fields.

    • He has worked with more than 1100 clients.

22. Joachim Bartoll is the founder of several significant online communities and publications.
    
    

    • He founded the first Health & Fitness internet community, Ironmag, in 1996.

    • He also founded Sweden’s largest discussion board, Kolozzeum, and is the founder of the uncensored online-community Ungovernable.se.

23. His views and insights are presented as his thoughts, views, and speculations, based on his experiences and knowledge.
    
    

    • He emphasizes that what is read on his website are "nothing more than possibilities for you to consider".

    • The reader is encouraged to "ponder the ideas and make your own conclusions".

24. Joachim Bartoll notes "17 years of wasted studies in Western ‘Modern’ Medicine and Pharmacology".
    
    

    • This indicates a critical stance towards conventional medical education.

25. He transitioned to an animal-based nutritionist in 2018.
    
    

    • His studies include over 5 years of Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, The Terrain Theory, and 3.5 years of German New Medicine.

26. These alternative studies and dietary changes helped him heal his own severe health issues.
    
    

    • He claims to have healed his cancer and failing organs in 2018.

    • He also healed his "life-long asthma and allergies" and has "not been sick one single day since".

27. Joachim Bartoll describes himself as a "truth-seeker at heart" and an "observer of the occult".
    
    

    • He has a "contact network all over our world".

28. He is still recovering from over-sensitivity and mental-fatigue from a healed brain tumor.
    
    

    • This limits his ability to respond, allowing him to "only answer a few messages and e-mails a day" as his time is very limited.

29. The website provides daily free information and relies on donations for support.
    
    

    • Readers are encouraged to "consider donating to help pay the webhosting bills and keep the site running".

30. The author invites interested individuals to join his uncensored community at Ungovernable.se.
    
    

    • This community is for "discussing and sharing information with likeminded people".

Here are 40 key takeaway points from the sources, formatted as requested:

1. A Compendium of Fakes by Coyote Weeds: The author's work is a compilation paper discussing various events deemed "fakes" based on internet research.

   • "I’ve been piling up a lot of events to write about."

   • "Sometmes there isn’t much to say or dive into with these fakes, so I thought I’d try a compilaton paper."

2. The author was drawn to the Paul Getty III kidnapping story by the film "All the Money in the World," which was found to be boring and visually dull.

   • "Let’s start with the Paul Gety III kidnapping in 1973."

   • "It was an excruciatngly boring flm with a gray tone added in post processing or something."

3. Paul Getty III reportedly suffered a stroke in 1981 due to a drug overdose, leading to severe disability, including becoming quadriplegic, partially blind, and unable to speak.

   • "Apparently, Paul sufered a stroke in 1981 due to an overdose on a cocktail of valium, methadone, and alcohol."

   • "This caused him to become quadriplegic, partally blind, and unable to speak."

4. A significant clue indicating the kidnapping story might be fake is the girlfriend's statement about Getty having toyed with the idea of being kidnapped by petty criminals.

   • "We’re immediately clued in on a fake when the next sentence states:"

   • "According to his girlfriend Gisela Schmidt, he had toyed with the idea of having himself 'kidnapped' by pety criminals when the couple were struggling to make ends meet, but changed his mind when both began working as models for photographers."

5. The alleged location of Getty's imprisonment, a cave in Calabria, is deemed implausible and "Strictly Hollywood" by the author.

   • "Gety was blindfolded and imprisoned in a cave in Calabria."

   • "A cave! Right. Strictly Hollywood."

6. J. Paul Getty, the grandfather, initially refused to pay the $17 million ransom, fearing it would encourage more kidnappings or that his grandson was attempting to swindle him.

   • "The Gety family asks for the grandfather (oil tycoon) pay for his return, but he refuses, scared that paying could lead to either more kidnappings or that young Paul here is trying to swindle him out of money."

   • "By November, afer demands were not met, the captors cut of Paul’s right ear and sent it to his family."

7. The grandfather eventually agreed to pay a limited amount ($2.2 million), specifically the maximum tax-deductible amount, and lent it to his son with four percent interest.

   • "Finally, the grandfather agreed to pay no more than $2.2 million, the maximum amount that was tax deductble, and this money lent to his son would be repaid at four percent interest."

   • "What a guy!"

8. Photographs purportedly showing Paul Getty III after his ear was cut off are considered unconvincing and tampered with, with one appearing "laughable".

   • "The frst photo is prety laughable."

   • "The sweater looks 2-dimensional."

9. One photo of Paul Getty III with bandages is criticized for obscuring his head and making his hand appear to "dissolve".

   • "How many bandages did they put on him?! He looks more like the Elephant Man."

   • "You can't even tell what is going on with that head."

10. A photo of "bewildered" Paul with Italian police shows him with hands in his pockets, not appearing emaciated or bewildered despite supposedly having an ear infection for months.

    • "Other than the dumb look on his face, he doesn’t seem all that bewildered or emaciated to me, supposedly having an ear infecton for months."

    • "You have to laugh at the hands in his pockets as he strolls down the stairs."

11. The quick apprehension of nine kidnappers and the fact that only two were convicted for lack of evidence raises suspicion for the author.

    • "Soon afer his release, nine kidnappers were apprehended."

    • "Only two kidnappers were convicted and sent to prison while the others were acquited for lack of evidence."

12. Two convicted kidnappers were high-ranking members of the 'Ndrangheta crime organization, with one also being a Freemason, leading the author to guess they are a subsidiary of Italian Intelligence.

    • "Two of the kidnappers were Girolamo Piromalli and Saverio Mammolit, high-ranking members of the Ndrangheta crime organizaton in Calabria."

    • "I’m guessing the Ndrangheta are a subsidiary of Italian Intelligence and is a make-work project, much like the Mafa in the US."

13. Profile pictures of Paul Getty III with the "missing" ear appear tampered with, showing brighter, washed-out areas around the alleged injury.

    • "There are a couple profle pictures of Paul with the missing ear that I could fnd (shown below) and they both look tampered with."

    • "You’ll notce how much brighter and washed out the area around his injured ear is."

14. Paul Getty III was often photographed with long hair covering his ear, and later underwent plastic surgery to rebuild it, which the author sees as a convenient way to cover that he never lost his ear.

    • "Afer the recovery of Paul, he contnued to live a rich kid hippy/bohemian lifestyle, always photographed with long hair, which covers his injured ear."

    • "In 1977, Paul had plastc surgery to rebuild his ear, which is a convenient way to cover that he never lost his ear."

15. Despite severe disability from a stroke, Paul Getty III was reportedly able to ski by 1987 when strapped to a metal frame, which the author finds another "hilarious factoid".

    • "By 1987, he had regained some degree of autonomy and was able to ski when strapped to a metal frame."

    • "I remind you that was caused by the overdose, not the kidnaping."

16. The helicopter prison escape of Michel Vaujour in 1986 is presented as an unbelievable and staged event that the public is expected to believe.

    • "Next up is a helicopter prison escape in France on May 28 th , 1986."

    • "Clearly this whole thing is staged with the cameras ready to roll."

17. Michel Vaujour's wife, Nadine, allegedly learned to fly a helicopter to break him out, which the author finds overly simplistic for a maximum-security prison roof.

    • "The pilot is his wife, Nadine Vaujour, who had learned to fy a helicopter in order to break him out."

    • "Didn’t know it was that simple to get on the roof of a maximum-security prison."

18. The claim that Michel Vaujour persuaded guards for "exercise" to get to the rooftop armed with a fake gun is viewed as implausible given his prior escape attempts and prison procedures.

    • "He had persuaded his guards to let him out for ‘exercise’, a ruse that would allow him to be in the right place at the right tme."

    • "Prisoners have specifc tmes outside and don’t get requests like this, plus he had already tried to escape."

19. The author questions the timing and photographic evidence of the helicopter escape, suggesting it was clearly staged with cameras ready to roll due to insane precision required.

    • "Even if any of that were true, the tming of a helicopter fying in just has he gets on the roof would have to be insanely precise."

    • "Clearly this whole thing is staged with the cameras ready to roll."

20. A photograph of the escape is criticized for showing Michel Vaujour seemingly "floating" and not holding on for dear life, with inconsistent lighting and prisoners wearing street clothes.

    • "It’s probably a paste since it doesn’t look like he’s holding on for dear life; almost foatng in the shot."

    • "Why are the prisoners wearing street clothes?"

21. Inconsistent details across different photos of the escape, such as a missing chimney and different lighting, further support the claim of staging.

    • "Another photo I found here doesn’t even come close to matching the photos above."

    • "The chimney is missing and the lightng is completely diferent."

22. Michel Vaujour's biography, where he credits yoga for helping him deal with isolation, is met with skepticism and an exclamation of "Oi Vay!".

    • "He wrote a biography ttled, “Love Saved Me from Sinking”, where he shares how the power of yoga helped him deal with being held in isolaton for the remainder of his years in prison."

    • "Oi Vay!"

23. Kim Dotcom's public persona as an "Internet-Playboy-Badboy" and his photographs are considered completely fake by the author, exacerbated by strange images.

    • "His whole persona “Internet-Playboy-Badboy” looks completely fake to me; exacerbated by all the strange photographs I’ve found of him."

    • "Kim claims that during his teen years, he hacked into NASA, the Pentagon, Citbank and corporate PBX systems in US."

24. Kim Dotcom's legal history, including a two-year suspended sentence for computer fraud and a five-month jail stay awaiting trial, is questioned for its leniency given his claimed wealth.

    • "He was convicted on eleven charges of computer fraud, ten charges of data espionage, and various other charges in 1998 for which he served a two-year suspended sentence."

    • "Five months in jail awaitng trial? Really? He couldn’t make bail with all the money they claim he made?."

25. The author believes Kim Dotcom's "rags to riches" story, including securing a security contract with Lufthansa, is likely complete fiction for a privileged individual.

    • "Kim landed a security contract for Data Protect with the airline Lufhansa by demonstratng an apparent security vulnerability."

    • "There’s a secton in the artcle detailing Kim’s “rags to riches”, which I’m sure is complete fcton; as usual for these privileged brats."

26. Kim Dotcom's investment scheme with LetsBuyIt.com, where he made a profit after stock prices surged following his announcement, subsequently led to insider trading charges.

    • "In 2001, we are told Schmitz bought 375,000 euros worth of shares in the LetsBuyIt.com, a company said to be close to bankruptcy."

    • "Afer stock prices surged, Kim cashed out, making a proft of 1.5 million Euros."

27. Kim Dotcom's financial dealings, including receiving a €280,000 unsecured loan and his claim of $100 million net worth by September 2001, are seen as nonsensical by the author.

    • "Somewhere in the confusion, Schmitz got €280,000 in the form of an unsecured loan to Kimvestor."

    • "Somehow afer all this, Kim claimed that in September of 2001 his net worth was $100 million."

28. Kim Dotcom's formation of "Young Intelligent Hackers Against Terrorism (YIHAT)" and claims of hacking Osama Bin Laden's bank accounts after 9/11 are ridiculed by the author.

    • "In the wake of the September 11, atacks, Kim created a group called Young Intelligent Hackers Against Terrorism (YIHAT), and to have hacked Sudanese bank accounts belonging to Osama Bin Laden."

    • "He also ofered a $10 million reward for informaton leading to Osama’s capture from his kimble.org site."

29. The author finds a photograph of Kim Dotcom with his first wife, Mona Verga, and their children, to be obviously fake and a "pitiful paste-up".

    • "Wow does that look fake or what?"

    • "Just a pitful paste-up."

30. The claim that all four of Kim Dotcom and Mona Verga's children were conceived via IVF leads the author to suggest Kim might be gay.

    • "They had four children together, all using IVF."

    • "Because getng it up for prety Pilipino model is difcult right? Or maybe she couldn't fnd his cock in all the rolls of fat."

31. Kim Dotcom's extreme wealth was used to lease mansions and helicopters, and he allegedly invested $10 million in New Zealand in order to receive permanent residency.

    • "His Megaupload site and other ventures led to extreme wealth."

    • "He allegedly invested $10 million in New Zealand in order to receive permanent residency."

32. The 2012 armed raid on Kim Dotcom's house in New Zealand involved 76 officers and two helicopters, leading to the seizure of significant assets, including eighteen luxury cars and US$175 million in cash.

    • "Two weeks later on 20 January, Dotcom, Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk were arrested in Coatesville, New Zealand by the New Zealand Police, in an armed raid on Dotcom's house involving 76 ofcers and two helicopters."

    • "Seized assets included eighteen luxury cars, large TVs, works of art and US$175 million in cash."

33. Kim Dotcom's bank accounts worldwide were frozen, denying him access to 64 bank accounts, government bonds, and PayPal funds.

    • "Dotcom's bank accounts were frozen, denying him access to 64 bank accounts world-wide, including BNZ and Kiwibank accounts in New Zealand, government bonds and money from numerous PayPal accounts."

    • "Dotcom was remanded to Mt Eden Prison and alleged poor treatment by the authorites."

34. Despite ongoing legal battles and extradition proceedings, Kim Dotcom entered New Zealand politics by founding the Internet Party in 2014, which failed to win any seats.

    • "Despite all these crazy legal problems Kim is facing, one year earlier (2013), Kim would aspire to enter New Zealand politcs by startng the Internet Party in 2014, which prety much landed dead on arrival, winning zero seats."

    • "Kim would provide NZ$3.5 million in funding the party, the largest personal contributon to a politcal party on record in New Zealand."

35. Kim Dotcom's extradition proceedings spanned nine years of legal battles, culminating in 2023 with his co-executives accepting plea bargains while he remained the only party defending his innocence.

    • "This secton covers 9 years of legal batles, fnally ending in 2023 with:"

    • "The two executves charged for operatng Megaupload along with Dotcom, namely Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, agreed to a plea bargain with New Zealand and US prosecutors that June, and were sentenced to two years seven months and two years six months in a New Zealand prison respectvely on 15 June 2023, leaving Dotcom as the only party stll defending his innocence in the case."

36. Kim Dotcom married Elizabeth Donnelly, approximately 20 years his junior, on the same date as his infamous arrest raid, and they also had a child via IVF, leading the author to conclude he is gay.

    • "In 2018, Kim would marry a woman, Elizabeth Donnelly, on the same date as the infamous raid where he was arrested."

    • "He eventually had a child with her in 2022, also via IVF."

37. Kim Dotcom's online presence, including a photo on X celebrating his stroke recovery, is seen as further evidence of fraud due to apparent photo manipulation, with Elizabeth clearly pasted in.

    • "The last entry from Wikipedia reports Kim sufered a stroke in 2024."

    • "Elizabeth is clearly pasted in there."

38. The author criticizes the YouTube channel "EWU (Explore With US)" for its "fear-mongering" and likely staged content despite its mission statement claiming factual, unbiased news.

    • "The frst algorithm suggested to me is a fear-mongering police bodycam channel EWU (Explore With US); probably not AI generated, but likely funded and acted out by the usual suspects."

    • "We're a news agency commited to delivering factual informaton about police procedures and local news events."

39. A specific EWU video titled "Man Walks In On Killer Sawing His Roommate's Neck" is analyzed as a staged "crime" with poor acting, inconsistent details, and a lack of realistic blood.

    • "This “crime” footage was recorded on March 10th, 2020 in Idaho Falls, ID."

    • "Even though Hans is blurred here, there is nothing that looks like blood anywhere."

40. The author observes that other AI generated thumbnails with similar "1 MINUTE AGO: (breaking news)" titles appeared on YouTube around June 1st, 2025, suggesting a growing problem of bot-generated content and "CHAOS" on the internet.

    • "Around June 1st, there were three videos with AI generated thumbnails from three diferent channels."

    • "Honestly I don’t know, but it seems like the Google and all the major media distributors have no problems unleashing this new version of CHAOS onto the Internet."

Here are forty key takeaway points from the sources, presented in a JotForm manner:

1. Mind and Matter Podcast, Host
   
   

   • The Mind and Matter podcast aims for listeners to "learn together from the best scientists and thinkers alive today about how your mind body reacts to what you feed it".

   • The host uses their "scientific background to help parse and translate the information that guests share on the podcast".

2. Host's Extensive Scientific Background
   
   

   • Before starting Mind and Matter, the host "spent 10 years in academia doing scientific research".

   • They "got a PhD in neuroscience where I focused on neuroendocrinology and the neurobiology of behavior".

3. Podcast Content and Support Opportunities
   
   

   • The podcast offers a "free weekly newsletter where I provide you with upcoming guests, share links, and provide commentary on scientific studies and research that I'm reading and more".

   • Becoming a paid subscriber "is a way to directly support my efforts, allowing me to make more episodes and higher quality episodes and also helping to free up my time so that I can spend more of it on doing research and synthesizing results from the podcast and from the literature".

4. Lumen Device: Metabolic Health Monitoring
   
   

   • Lumen is a "handheld pocket-size device with a sleek design" that "measures CO2 levels in your breath".

   • This technology "allows their technology to determine the extent to which your body is burning fats versus carbohydrates".

5. Lumen Device: Benefits for Metabolic Flexibility
   
   

   • Lumen helps improve "your metabolic flexibility, your body's efficiency in shifting between using fats and carbs for energy".

   • Being able to track whether your body is burning fat versus carbs "will help you figure out how your body responds to your lifestyle and whether or not your weight loss and fitness strategies are actually working".

6. Bill Mment: Cell Biology Professor and Guest
   
   

   • Bill Mment is a "cell biology professor at the University of Wisconsin where I went to college and I took his course many many years ago".

   • He has been a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison "for a little more than 30 years now".

7. Bill Mment's Lab Focus: Cell Cortex Patterning
   
   

   • Bill Mment's lab has been studying "patterning of the cell cortex" for over 30 years.

   • They specifically study two processes: "cell division and the other is cell repair".

8. Definition of Cell Cortex
   
   

   • The cell cortex is defined as "the outermost part of the cell which would include the plasma membrane and the uh stuff immediately beneath it".

   • In general, when hearing the term cortex, one should "think outer part".

9. Cell Cortex as an Information Processing Hub
   
   

   • The cell cortex is a "remarkable structure in so far as it it um it receives information from both the outside of the cell and the inside of the cell".

   • It "can transmit information from the inside to the outside of the cell. It can interpret information. It can actually transmit um information um from one part of itself to another part".

10. Composition and Dynamic Nature of Cell Cortex
    
    

    • The cell cortex comprises "the membrane plus the protein that span the membrane and then the proteins that are just beneath the membrane".

    • Its "makeup is is constantly changing" as proteins come from the interior of the cell to the plasma membrane reversibly.

11. Cytoskeleton's Role in Cell Shape Change
    
    

    • The cortex includes "a lot of cytokeleletal proteins like actin filaments".

    • These are "things that power cell shape change".

12. Cytoskeleton's Complexity Beyond Basic Understanding
    
    

    • People often simplify the cytoskeleton as "some little fibers in cells that maybe give them their shape" and are "involved in cell division".

    • However, "there's a lot more to it than that".

13. Actin Filaments: Force Generation by Growth
    
    

    • Actin is a "protein polymer um it forms long filaments".

    • These filaments "can exert force in a a couple of ways. One is by growing they can push on things".

14. Actin and Myosin 2 Collaboration for Contraction
    
    

    • Actin filaments can produce force "in collaboration with a a motor protein called measin".

    • Myosin 2 is "in many ways similar to the the protein that powers contraction of our muscle".

15. Myosin as a Motor Protein Utilizing ATP
    
    

    • Myosin is "considered a motor".

    • The process of myosin binding to actin and ATP "is actually driving physical changes that in this case are shaping actin filaments and you know moving cells around or changing their shape".

16. Diverse Cell Shape Changes Powered by Actin and Myosin
    
    

    • Actin and myosin "power cell shape change," encompassing "a lot of different kinds of shape change".

    • This includes a white blood cell moving toward a bacterium, splitting a cell in half at the end of mitosis, and tissues being reshaped during development.

17. Dynamic Turnover of Actin Filaments
    
    

    • Depending on the cell type and conditions, "the actin filaments can be pretty stable or astonishingly dynamic".

    • In a white blood cell, the "actin is turning over very very quickly".

18. Actin Filament Growth and Regulation
    
    

    • Actin filaments are "helical um and grows by the addition of the subunits also known as actin monomers to a specific end usually".

    • This process is regulated by ATP hydrolysis and "there are also proteins that can bind to the slower growing end to protect it from disassembly" or sever the filaments.

19. Actin Filament Structure and Flexibility
    
    

    • Actin filaments are "relatively thin" and helical.

    • Compared to some polymers, actin is "not very stiff. So it it does have the potential to bend relatively sharply".

20. Microtubule Structure and Size
    
    

    • Microtubules are "hollow tubes" that are "roughly three times the diameter um of an actin filament".

    • They are assembled from "DRS of the protein called tubulin".

21. Microtubule Structural and Regulatory Functions
    
    

    • Microtubules "can serve as as structural elements," for example, in red blood cells to maintain their disc shape.

    • They "also have this mysterious impact on the actin and meosin. So they they serve a regulatory purpose".

22. Microtubules in Cell Division
    
    

    • Microtubules are "possibly best known for separating the chromosomes and mitosis".

    • During cell division, the mitotic spindle, made of microtubules, "sends signals that essentially tell the actin and the meosin where to go um so that the actin and the meosin can split the cell in half".

23. Self-Assembly: Spontaneous Formation Without Energy
    
    

    • Self-assembly "does not strictly speaking require energy input".

    • Examples include "actin and tubulin going to actin filaments microtubules".

24. Spontaneous Assembly of Actin and Tubulin
    
    

    • If actin monomer bound to ATP is "above some threshold concentration, it will spontaneously um self assemble into a filament".

    • The same is true for tubulin, as they "do not actually have to hydrayze the nucleotides to assemble".

25. Cellular Regulation of Polymer Assembly
    
    

    • Assembly processes "tend to be very heavily regulated in the cell because the cell doesn't want them to them the polymers to be forming except really where they're supposed to be forming".

    • The cell "has mechanisms to prevent them from forming where they're not supposed to and then other mechanisms to promote their formation where they are supposed to be".

26. Role of Protein Conformations and Charge in Assembly
    
    

    • During self-assembly, "the conformations of the proteins are important as are the yeah the charge distributions".

    • These factors "go in hand in hand with each other" to allow subunits to fit together.

27. Hydrolysis: Breaking Chemical Bonds for Energy
    
    

    • Hydrolysis involves a bond being broken, typically "between the second and the third" phosphate in ATP, which "releases energy".

    • "Water is essential to break the bond".

28. Self-Organization: Energy-Dependent Emergent Behavior
    
    

    • Self-organization "is a little more complicated. It does require energy by definition".

    • It typically refers to "higher level processes" characterized by "emergent behaviors" where the output is "not predictable um based on the individual component components".

29. Mitotic Spindle Formation: A Self-Organization Example
    
    

    • The mitotic spindle is an example of self-organization, characterized by a "spindle shaped array of microtubules" with chromosomes lined in the middle.

    • Experiments show that putting "DNA coded beads" into a cell extract can lead to something that "looks exactly like a spindle" forming.

30. Self-Organization Reveals Simplicity in Complexity
    
    

    • Self-organization makes one "realize that um maybe a lot of the things we assume are quite complicated are actually the outcome of of a bunch of simple rules".

    • The more is learned about the pieces, "the more common this this theme seems to be".

31. Rho GTPases and Cortical Patterning
    
    

    • The "control proteins for actin and meosin which are generically referred to as the ro gtpases they characteristically form um really interesting and striking patterns".

    • An accumulation of these proteins "will follow the accumulation of actin and meosin um and then that's where you're going to get the the needed cell shape change".

32. Patterning in Cell Division by Rho GTPases
    
    

    • During cell division, a "stripike pattern of waves of a particular protein called row um that wraps around the cell the cortex around the equator" is observed.

    • This is followed by "the um accumulation of actin and meosin in waves and then they can do their thing. They can drive contraction um around the equator thereby splitting the the cell in half".

33. Wound Healing Patterns and Rho GTPases
    
    

    • If a cell is wounded, "you'll get rings of again ro gtpases".

    • Once these rings are established, "the um cortex closes over the wound site".

34. Speed of Cellular Wound Healing
    
    

    • The healing of a sizable cell wound "can be very, very fast indeed".

    • A typical movie showing this process is "about 3 minutes long".

35. Natural Occurrence of Cell Damage and Repair
    
    

    • Cell damage is "kind of a constant of our life," occurring in tissues like muscle due to exercise.

    • The lining of the gut is also constantly exposed to damage from "a lot of foods".

36. Cellular-Level Wound Healing
    
    

    • It is often forgotten that "not all of those cells need to be replaced. Some of them just get damaged somewhat, but they can be fixed without like a whole new cell needing to come in here".

    • "Wound healing happens like at the cellular level itself. Individual cells can become hurt and then and then better again".

37. Evolutionary Conservation of Wound Healing
    
    

    • The mechanisms involved in cellular wound healing "are fairly ancient".

    • "Some of the same players like row for example shown here that participate in the damage response in um say frog or human or mouse or or fly tissues sorry fly cells also participate in the healing response of say yeast um yeah worms".

38. Cellular Patterning Driven by Intracellular Circuits
    
    

    • Behaviors like protein accumulation during cell division are believed to be "underlaying by a circuit".

    • This circuit "hinges on um row a protein that activates row a protein that inactivates row um and then actin itself".

39. Self-Organization and Emergent Patterns
    
    

    • If "you can couple positive and negative feedback in the right way um you can drive wavelike behavior".

    • This principle allows for "pattern formation" in individual cells.

40. Understanding Cell Behaviors for Therapeutic Strategies
    
    

    • Researchers aim to "learn enough about these behaviors to be able to manipulate them".

    • The ultimate goal is to "help people develop strategies for um for overcoming deficits in cell repair".