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

I. The Untouchables: The Sexual Predators Within America’s Power Elite By John & Nisha Whitehead * The American police state is choosing to protect predators, not victims.

*   Jeffrey Epstein—the hedge fund billionaire/convicted serial pedophile and sex trafficker—may be dead, but the machinery that empowered and protected him is still very much alive.

II. The Epstein case signifies the entire edifice of power that shields the ruling class. * You see, the Epstein case was never just about Epstein—it was about the entire edifice of power that shields the ruling class, silences victims, and erases accountability.

*   The latest about-face declarations from the Trump administration—that Epstein had no client list, that he did in fact kill himself, and that there’s nothing more to discuss or investigate so we should just move on—have only reinforced what many have suspected all along: the system is rigged in order to protect the power elite because the power elite *are* the system.

III. Corruption, especially involving sexual depravity, acts as a great equalizer among the powerful. * In this age of partisan politics and a deeply polarized populace, corruption—especially when it involves sexual debauchery, depravity and predatory behavior—has become the great equalizer.

*   Politics, religion, entertainment, business, law enforcement, the military—it doesn’t matter the arena or affiliation: all are riddled with the kind of seedy, depraved behavior that gets a free pass when it involves the powerful.

IV. The Epstein case is a symbol of depravity within America's power elite. * For years, the Epstein case has stood as a grotesque emblem of the depravity within America’s power elite: billionaires, politicians, and celebrities who allegedly trafficked in sex with young girls while insulated from accountability.

*   It is believed that Epstein, who died in jail after being arrested on charges of molesting, raping and sex trafficking dozens of young girls, operated a sex trafficking ring not only for his own personal pleasure but also for that of his friends and business associates.

V. Epstein allegedly offered young women as sex partners to the rich and famous. * According to The Washington Post, “several of the young women…say they were offered to the rich and famous as sex partners at Epstein’s parties”.

*   Despite the government’s insistence there’s nothing more to see, here’s what the public record already reveals.

VI. Epstein ferried friends on his plane, nicknamed the “Lolita Express,” due to the presence of underage girls. * Epstein ferried his friends about on his private plane, nicknamed the “Lolita Express” after the Nabokov novel, due to the presence of what appeared to be underage girls on board.

*   Both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump were counted among Epstein’s friends.

VII. Both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump were passengers on the "Lolita Express" and have a history of sexual impropriety accusations. * Both Clinton and Trump were at one time passengers on the Lolita Express.

*   Both Clinton and Trump are renowned womanizers who have been accused of sexual impropriety by a significant number of women over the years.

VIII. The Trump administration’s actions are perceived as part of a cover-up related to the Epstein case. * “Now by coming in and being part of the cover-up, the Trump administration has become part of it”.

*   President Trump has flatly refused to appoint a special prosecutor.

IX. The Trump administration is quietly dismantling government agencies tasked with investigating sex trafficking. * President Trump, who has used his administration’s war on human trafficking to justify expanding the government’s police state powers, quietly dismantles the very government agencies tasked with investigating and exposing sex trafficking.

*   His allies in Congress have gone silent.

X. The message from the top is that there will be no accountability for powerful individuals. * The message from the top is clear: there will be no accountability.

*   The same politicians who demand the harshest punishments for undocumented immigrants, protesters, or whistleblowers have nothing to say about the systematic abuse of minors by men in their own orbit.

XI. The situation demonstrates a double standard in justice: one set of rules for the untouchables, another for everyone else. * This isn’t justice.

*   It’s a double standard—one set of rules for the untouchables, and another for everyone else.

XII. The government closing ranks to protect its power elite is a recurring historical pattern. * If it looks like a cover-up, smells like a cover-up, and appears to benefit all the usual suspects, is it so far-fetched to suspect that the government is once again closing ranks to protect the members of its power elite?

*   We’ve seen it before: from the CIA’s MK-Ultra experiments and the FBI’s COINTELPRO operations to the Pentagon Papers, Iran-Contra, CIA black sites, and NSA mass surveillance.

XIII. Secrecy consistently protects the powerful and betrays the people. * Each time, secrecy protected the powerful and betrayed the people.

*   And it will keep happening—again and again—unless we confront the truth hiding in plain sight: that abuse of power is not an aberration of the system—it is the system.

XIV. Abuse of power is not an aberration but inherent to the system itself. * Abuse of power is not an aberration of the system—it is the system.

*   Nowhere is that more apparent than in the shadow economy of sex trafficking, where power, profit, and predation converge.

XV. The trafficking of children and shielding of perpetrators is described as a "business model." * The trafficking of children, the shielding of perpetrators, the systematic silencing of victims—this isn’t a conspiracy theory.

*   It’s a business model.

XVI. Child sex trafficking is the fastest-growing and second most lucrative organized crime business in America. * Child sex trafficking—the buying and selling of women, young girls and boys for sex, some as young as 9 years old—has become big business in America.

*   It is the fastest growing business in organized crime and the second most-lucrative commodity traded illegally after drugs and guns.

XVII. Millions of instances of adults purchasing children for sex occur annually in the United States. * Adults purchase children for sex at least 2.5 million times a year in the United States.

*   It’s not just young girls who are vulnerable to these predators, either.

XVIII. Boys account for over a third of victims in the U.S. sex industry. * It’s not just young girls who are vulnerable to these predators, either.

*   Boys account for over a third of victims in the U.S. sex industry.

XIX. Individuals who buy children for sex include "ordinary men" from all walks of life. * Otherwise ordinary men from all walks of life.

*   “They could be your co-worker, doctor, pastor or spouse,” writes journalist Tim Swarens, who spent more than a year investigating the sex trade in America.

XX. "Extraordinary" men like Epstein operate by their own rules due to wealth, connections, and protection. * But then there are the so-called extraordinary men—like Jeffrey Epstein—with wealth, connections, and protection who are allowed to operate according to their own rules.

*   These men skate free of accountability because the criminal justice system panders to the powerful, the wealthy and the elite.

XXI. Epstein was granted an illegal secret plea deal that allowed him to evade federal charges. * Over a decade ago, when Epstein was first charged with raping and molesting young girls, he was gifted a secret plea deal with then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, President Trump’s first term Labor Secretary, that allowed him to evade federal charges and be given the equivalent of a slap on the wrist.

*   That secret plea deal has since been ruled illegal by a federal judge.

XXII. Epstein did not act alone, involving accomplices and influential friends including Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. * Yet here’s the thing: Epstein did not act alone.

*   I refer not only to Epstein’s accomplices, who recruited and groomed the young girls he is accused of raping and molesting, but his circle of influential friends and colleagues that at one time included Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.

XXIII. Questions are raised about the knowledge of Epstein's high-powered associates regarding his interactions with underage girls. * As the Associated Press points out, “The arrest of the billionaire financier on child sex trafficking charges is raising questions about how much his high-powered associates knew about the hedge fund manager’s interactions with underage girls, and whether they turned a blind eye to potentially illegal conduct”.

*   A decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals allowing a 2,000-page document linked to the Epstein case to be unsealed references allegations of sexual abuse involving “numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known Prime Minister, and other world leaders”.

XXIV. The discussed incidents are systemic betrayals, not minor or partisan missteps. * This is not a minor incident involving minor players.

*   Nor are these partisan missteps.

XXV. The core darkness of the American police state is a system designed to shield the powerful from justice. * This is the darkness at the heart of the American police state: a system built to shield the powerful from justice.

*   Sex slaves.

XXVI. Fact and fiction mirror each other in depicting secret sex societies, as seen in Eyes Wide Shut. * Twenty years ago, Stanley Kubrick’s final film Eyes Wide Shut provided viewing audiences with a sordid glimpse into a secret sex society that indulged the basest urges of its affluent members while preying on vulnerable young women.

*   It is not so different from the real world, where powerful men, insulated from accountability, indulge their base urges.

XXVII. Public denial allows corruption by the power elite to flourish, making the public complicit. * Kubrick suggested these secret societies flourish because the public chooses not to see what’s right in front of them, content to navigate life in denial about the ugly, obvious truths in our midst.

*   In so doing, we become accomplices to abusive behavior in our midst.

XXVIII. Blackmail, intelligence ties, and financial leverage shield elite sexual predators from prosecution and public scrutiny. * For years, investigative journalists and survivors have documented how blackmail, intelligence agency ties, and financial leverage helped shield elite sexual predators—not just from prosecution, but from public scrutiny.

*   For every Epstein who is—finally—called to account for his illegal sexual exploits after years of being given a free pass by those in power, there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) more in the halls of power and wealth whose predation continues unabated.

XXIX. Epstein represents a larger culture of entitlement that breeds despots and predators. * While Epstein’s alleged crimes are heinous enough on their own, he is part of a larger narrative of how a culture of entitlement becomes a cesspool and a breeding ground for despots and predators.

*   Power corrupts.

XXX. Absolute power, as Lord Acton concluded, corrupts absolutely. * Worse, as 19th-century historian Lord Acton concluded, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

*   Give any one person—or government agency—too much power and allow them to believe that they are entitled, untouchable and will not be held accountable for their actions, and those powers will be abused.

XXXI. The abuse of power is a dynamic that plays out daily across America in various forms. * We see this dynamic play out every day in communities across America.

*   A cop shoots an unarmed citizen for no credible reason and gets away with it.

XXXII. The Trump administration is defunding agencies meant to hold law enforcement accountable. * It’s no coincidence that the same administration dismantling offices tasked with fighting human trafficking is also defunding the few agencies left to hold law enforcement accountable.

*   Under President Trump, the Department of Justice has been restructured to prioritize loyalty over justice, protection over prosecution.

XXXIII. Offices dedicated to civil rights enforcement, police oversight, and public accountability have been gutted or sidelined. * Offices once dedicated to civil rights enforcement, police oversight, and public accountability have been gutted or quietly sidelined.

*   Consider the case of former Louisville officer Brett Hankison, who blindly fired ten rounds into Breonna Taylor’s apartment during a botched no-knock raid.

XXXIV. The Trump administration's view is that the powerful and their enforcers should walk free. * And yet Trump’s DOJ asked the court to sentence Hankison to one day in prison—the equivalent of time served during booking.

*   In other words, in Trump’s view, the powerful and their enforcers should walk free while the dead are buried and the public is told to move on.

XXXV. Law enforcement officers are repeatedly caught running sex trafficking rings and abusing power with little consequence. * Across the country, law enforcement officers have repeatedly been caught running sex trafficking rings, abusing women and girls in their custody, or exploiting their badge to coerce sex—with little to no consequence.

*   From Louisiana to Ohio to New York, officers have been arrested for trafficking underage girls, assaulting vulnerable women, and raping detainees—often shielded by unions, prosecutors, or a blue wall of silence.

XXXVI. Impunity for law enforcement misconduct is a systemic culture, not just isolated incidents. * This isn’t a few bad apples.

*   It’s a culture of impunity baked into the system.

XXXVII. The system protects the "untouchables" by making them immune, regardless of their innocence. * This is how the system works, protecting the untouchables—not because they’re innocent, but because the system has made them immune.

*   Abuse of power—and the ambition-fueled hypocrisy and deliberate disregard for misconduct that make those abuses possible—works the same whether you’re talking about sex crimes, government corruption, or the rule of law.

XXXVIII. A culture of compliance allows powerful individuals to abuse power and avoid accountability. * It’s the same old story all over again: man rises to power, man abuses power abominably, man intimidates and threatens anyone who challenges him with retaliation or worse, and man gets away with it because of a culture of compliance in which no one speaks up because they don’t want to lose their job or their money or their place among the elite.

*   Sexual predators aren’t the only threat.

XXXIX. Thousands of powerful individuals in the American police state get away with severe crimes, including murder, simply because they can. * For every Epstein or Clinton, every Weinstein, Ailes, Cosby, or Trump who eventually gets called out for his sexual misbehavior, there are hundreds—thousands—of others in the American police state who are getting away with murder—in many cases, literally—simply because they can.

*   Unless something changes in the way we deal with these ongoing, egregious abuses of power, the predators of the police state will continue to wreak havoc on our freedoms, our communities, and our lives.

XL. Restoring the rule of law for all people, without exception, is necessary to end ongoing abuses of power. * We need to restore the rule of law for all people, no exceptions.

*   The rule of law means no one gets a free pass—no matter their wealth, status, or political connections.

The True History of World War II

1 source

The provided text presents a revisionist historical account of World War II, arguing that the commonly accepted narrative is a product of governmental and media propaganda. It challenges the notion of an "unprovoked invasion" by Germany, suggesting that British diplomacy, influenced by financial incentives and Jewish interests, deliberately provoked the war. The author further asserts that the United States, under President Roosevelt, also sought to enter the conflict due to domestic economic failures, leading to actions designed to instigate a Japanese attack. Finally, the text introduces the "Suvorov Hypothesis," which posits that Stalin was preparing to invade Europe when Hitler launched a pre-emptive strike, and highlights a surprising Nazi-Zionist economic partnership in the 1930s.

Here are 80 key takeaway points from the sources, presented as requested:

I. The True History of World War II by Ron Unz

The Mises Institute hosted a “Revisionist History of War Conference” on May 15-17, where the author was one of sixteen speakers, with his topic being “The True History of World War II”.

The author’s written article for the conference proceedings drew from numerous previous articles on this same subject that he had published since 2018.

II. World War II's Colossal Impact

World War II was certainly the most colossal military conflict in human history and it became the shaping event of our modern world.

Its consequences and influence still extremely important nearly eighty years after the guns fell silent.

III. Distorted Historical Narrative of WWII

Major wars are naturally accompanied by a great deal of governmental media propaganda, and this was certainly the case with the Second World War.

Over time that propaganda eventually congealed into a distorted historical narrative that has become so ubiquitous across our schools, news media, and popular entertainment.

IV. Influence of "The Good War" Narrative

This powerful synthetic narrative of “the Good War” still greatly influences American politics and foreign policy down to the present day.

Trying to accurately reconstruct the reality of what actually happened long before almost any of us were born seems a useful and important project.

V. Ukraine War as an Analogous Case

In attempting to pierce the many thick layers of those government-sponsored distortions regarding World War II, it is helpful to start with a recent and analogous case.

This analogous case is one that is far better understood by large portions of the more thoughtful American public.

VI. Demonization of Vladimir Putin

Over the last decade or so, no national leader since Adolf Hitler has been so massively demonized by the Western media.

This almost unprecedented campaign of vilification went into overdrive following the outbreak of the Ukraine war in February 2022.

VII. Western Response to Ukraine War

Once Russian troops crossed the Ukraine border, the response of America and the rest of the West was closer to an outright declaration of war against Russia.

This was rather than merely a reversion to the decades of old Cold War policies directed against the Soviet Union.

VIII. Economic and Psychological Warfare Against Russia

Some $300 billion of Russia’s financial assets held in Western banks were frozen, and Russian institutions were disconnected from supposedly neutral international systems such as SWIFT.

The obvious intent of all these coordinated measures was to inflict severe economic and psychological damage upon ordinary Russian society and its ruling elites.

IX. "Unprovoked Invasion" Narrative of Ukraine War

Nearly all of our mainstream media organs began loudly promoting an extremely distorted and dishonest narrative of how the conflict began.

The Russian attack on Ukraine was so universally described as an “unprovoked invasion” that this two-word phrase almost seemed triggered by a single keystroke press.

X. Western Provocations Leading to Ukraine War

The military conflict that began in early 2022 was arguably one of the most “provoked” major wars in modern history.

The military and political provocations of the West and its Ukrainian client state had gone on for at least eight years, finally reaching a fever-pitch just before the Russians attacked.

XI. Academic Counter-Narrative on Ukraine War

In 2014, Prof. John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago explained how the recent Western-backed coup in Ukraine might eventually lead to a war with Russia.

Many other very highly-regarded academic scholars and former government officials soon explained the roots of the war in similar terms, including Prof. Jeffrey Sachs and former Ambassador Chas Freeman.

XII. Alternative Media Platforms for Dissenting Views

These knowledgeable experts and many others of similar views have become regular weekly interview guests on the YouTube channel of Judge Andrew Napolitano, the Dialogue Works channel, and various other venues.

This has allowed them to challenge the official media narrative by presenting their completely contrary analyses on all these controversial matters.

XIII. Impact of Internet on Information Dissemination

Although the mainstream media continues to stubbornly promote a very distorted view of the facts, anyone who seeks to get the other side of the Ukraine war story from highly-regarded individuals can easily do so.

Without powerful video platforms or social media distribution channels, these highly-credentialed experts' views would have remained largely unheard.

XIV. Consequences of Successful Conflict Narrative Control

If the Western conflict with Russia had ultimately been entirely successful, with military reverses or economic devastation leading to the collapse of the Russian government, the circumstances of the war's beginning might not have been much questioned.

These thoughts should be firmly kept in mind when exploring the history of the Second World War, a conflict whose standard historical narrative all of us have absorbed from every mainstream media source.

XV. A.J.P. Taylor's Revisionist History

One of the best starting points to discover the true history of World War II comes in a relatively short book published in 1961 by A.J.P. Taylor, a renowned Oxford historian.

In that book, Taylor persuasively laid out a case for how the conflict began that was radically different from what the author had always been told in all media accounts.

XVI. Danzig as the Flashpoint

As most of us know from our standard history books, the flashpoint of the conflict had been Germany’s demand for the return of Danzig.

But that border city under Polish control had a 95% German population, which overwhelmingly desired reunification with its traditional homeland.

XVII. British Diplomatic Blunder

According to Taylor, only a dreadful diplomatic blunder by the British had led the Poles to refuse that reasonable request, thereby provoking the war.

The widespread later claim that Hitler sought to conquer the world was totally absurd, and instead the German leader had actually made every effort to avoid war with Britain or France.

XVIII. Hostility to Taylor's Findings

Despite all the international sales and critical praise, the book’s findings soon aroused tremendous hostility in certain quarters.

As a direct result of the controversy, “Britain’s most prominent living historian” was summarily purged from the Oxford faculty not long afterwards.

XIX. Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof's Similar Conclusions

Decades after Taylor’s pioneering volume, an outstanding historical analysis reaching very similar conclusions was published in German by Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof, a professional military man who rose to major general.

His 700 pages described in great detail the enormous efforts that Hitler had taken to avoid war and settle that boundary dispute, even spending many months on fruitless negotiations and offering extremely reasonable terms.

XX. Hitler's Concessions to Poland

Indeed, the German dictator had made numerous concessions to Poland that none of his democratic Weimar predecessors had ever been willing to consider.

But these proposals were all rejected, while Polish provocations escalated, including violent attacks on their own country’s sizeable German minority population, until war seemed the only possible option.

XXI. Echoes of Ukraine War in WWII Origins

The historical account presented in both these major works suggested eerie echoes of the factors behind Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Then as now, politically influential elements in the West seemed quite eager to provoke the war, using Danzig as the spark to ignite the conflict.

XXII. David Irving's Career Destruction

Several decades later another great British historian suffered an even worse fate for somewhat similar reasons, seeing his career destroyed, being driven into personal bankruptcy, and eventually even almost spending the rest of his life in a foreign prison.

With many millions of his books in print, David Irving ranks as one of the most internationally-successful British historians of the last one hundred years.

XXIII. Irving's Scholarly Integrity and Lawsuit

Given Irving’s uncommonly strong scholarly integrity, it was hardly surprising that his career was eventually destroyed by some of those mediocre figures who have devoted their lives to maintaining cherished historical myths.

He became involved in a rancorous 1998 lawsuit against Deborah Lipstadt, a professor of Theology and Holocaust Studies, that culminated in a celebrated 2000 British libel trial that Irving lost.

XXIV. Financial Disparity in Irving's Trial

That legal battle was certainly a David-and-Goliath affair, with wealthy Jewish movie producers and corporate executives providing Lipstadt with a huge war-chest of $13 million.

By contrast, Irving, being an impecunious historian, was forced to defend himself without benefit of legal counsel.

XXV. Pyrrhic Victory for Irving's Tormentors

In real life unlike in fable, the Goliaths of this world are almost invariably triumphant, and this case was no exception, with Irving being driven into personal bankruptcy, resulting in the loss of his fine central London home.

Although the target of their unleashed hatred was Irving’s alleged “Holocaust denial,” that particular topic was almost entirely absent from all of Irving’s dozens of books.

XXVI. Exhaustive Scrutiny of Irving's Work

Their lavishly-funded corps of researchers and fact-checkers instead spent a year or more apparently performing a line-by-line and footnote-by-footnote review of everything Irving had ever published, seeking to locate every single historical error.

Despite such massive financial and human resources, they apparently came up almost totally empty, at least if Lipstadt’s triumphalist 2005 book History on Trial may be credited.

XXVII. Irving's Accuracy

Across four decades of Irving’s research and writing, which had produced a multitude of controversial historical claims of the most astonishing nature, they only managed to find a couple of dozen rather minor alleged errors of fact or interpretation.

Thus, they seemingly admitted that Irving’s enormous body of historical writing was perhaps 99.9% accurate.

XXVIII. Consequences of Irving's Discoveries

This silence of “the dog that didn’t bark” echoes with thunderclap volume, as the author is not aware of any other academic scholar in history whose decades of work faced such scrutiny and passed with "flying colors".

Whereas Taylor and others had demonstrated that the decisions taken by the British government had provoked the Second World War, Irving’s remarkable archival research uncovered some of the sordid reasons that those British officials had taken the actions that they did.

XXIX. Churchill's Financial Venality and Corruption

In 1987 Irving published the first volume of Churchill’s War, and his exhaustive archival research produced huge revelations regarding the character of that historic figure, demonstrating the latter’s tremendous venality and corruption.

Churchill was a huge spendthrift who lived lavishly and often far beyond his financial means, employing an army of dozens of personal servants despite frequently lacking any regular and assured sources of income.

XXX. Bribery of British MPs

To put things in plain language, during the years leading up to the Second World War, both Churchill and numerous other fellow British MPs were regularly receiving sizable financial stipends—cash bribes—from Jewish and Czech sources.

These payments were in exchange for promoting a policy of extreme hostility toward the German government and actually advocating for war.

XXXI. Scale of Payments and Churchill's Bailout

The sums involved were quite considerable, with the Czech government alone probably making payments that amounted to tens of millions of dollars in present-day money to British elected officials, publishers, and journalists.

A particularly notable instance occurred in early 1938 when Churchill suddenly lost all his accumulated wealth in a foolish gamble on the American stock-market, and was soon forced to put his beloved country estate up for sale, only to quickly be bailed out by a foreign Jewish millionaire.

XXXII. German Intelligence on British Bribery

Ironically enough, German Intelligence learned of this massive bribery of British parliamentarians, and passed the information along to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.

Chamberlain was horrified to discover the corrupt motives of his fierce political opponents, but apparently remained too much of a gentlemen to have them arrested and prosecuted.

XXXIII. Treasonous Nature of Churchill's Actions

For elected officials to do the bidding of foreigners on matters of war and peace in exchange for huge secret payments seems almost a textbook example of treason.

The author thinks that Churchill’s timely execution might surely have saved tens of millions of lives.

XXXIV. Churchill's Character Flaws

Individuals of low personal character are those most likely to sell out the interests of their own country in exchange for large sums of foreign money, and as such they usually constitute the natural targets of foreign spies and other nefarious plotters.

Churchill certainly seemed to fall into this category, with rumors of his massive personal corruption swirling around him from early in his long political career.

XXXV. Churchill's Alcoholism

Also quite serious was Churchill’s constant state of drunkenness, with his inebriation being so widespread as to constitute clinical alcoholism.

Indeed, Irving noted that in his private conversations FDR routinely referred to Churchill as “a drunken bum”.

XXXVI. Churchill's Influence on German-British Relations

During the late 1930s, Churchill and his clique of similarly bought-and-paid-for political allies had endlessly attacked and denounced Chamberlain’s government for its peace policy.

He regularly made the wildest sort of unsubstantiated accusations, claiming that the Germans were undertaking a huge military build-up aimed against Britain.

XXXVII. Chamberlain's Guarantee to Poland

Eventually, these accumulated pressures forced Chamberlain into the extremely unwise act of providing an unconditional guarantee of military backing to Poland’s irresponsible dictatorship.

As a result, the Poles then rather arrogantly refused any border negotiations with Germany, thereby lighting the fuse that eventually led to the German invasion six months later and Britain’s subsequent declaration of war.

XXXVIII. Churchill's Wartime Appointment

The British media had widely promoted Churchill as the leading pro-war political figure.

Once Chamberlain was forced to create a wartime government of national unity, his leading critic was brought into it and given the naval affairs portfolio.

XXXIX. Confirmation of Churchill's Finances

Irving’s 1987 book on Churchill had laid bare his subject’s extremely lavish lifestyle as well as his lack of any solid income, along with the terrible political consequences of that dangerous combination of factors.

This shocking historical picture was fully confirmed in 2015 by a noted financial expert whose own book focused entirely on Churchill’s tangled finances, and did so with full cooperative access to his subject’s family archives.

XL. Churchill's Financial Crisis in 1940

At the very beginning of his book, Lough explained that Churchill became prime minister on May 10, 1940, the same day that German forces began their invasion of the Low Countries and France.

But aside from those huge military and political challenges, Britain’s new wartime leader faced an entirely different crisis as well: he found himself unable to cover his personal bills, debt interest, or tax payments, forcing him to desperately obtain a huge secret payment from the same Austrian Jewish businessman who had previously rescued him financially.

XLI. John T. Flynn's Influence and Purge

The name John T. Flynn is probably unknown today to all but one American in a hundred, but he had spent the 1930s as one of America’s most influential progressive journalists.

Prof. Ralph Raico later described how Roosevelt finally began sending personal letters to leading editors demanding that Flynn be barred from any prominent American print outlet, leading to him losing his New Republic column.

XLII. Flynn's Critique of FDR's Economic Policies

In his book, Flynn noted that by the mid-1930s FDR’s various governmental schemes had failed to revive the American economy.

In 1937 a new economic collapse spiked unemployment back to the same levels as when the president had first entered office, confirming that harsh verdict of failure.

XLIII. FDR's Turn Towards War for Economic Reasons

Therefore, Flynn alleged that by late 1937, FDR had turned towards an aggressive foreign policy aimed at involving the country in a major foreign war.

He believed that this was the only route out of his desperate economic and political box, a stratagem not unknown among national leaders throughout history.

XLIV. "Military Keynesianism" Prediction

Indeed, in his January 5, 1938 New Republic column, Flynn had already alerted his disbelieving readers to the looming prospect of a large naval military build-up and warfare on the horizon.

A top Roosevelt adviser had privately boasted to him that a large bout of “military Keynesianism” and a major foreign war would cure the country’s seemingly insurmountable economic problems.

XLV. FDR's Orchestration of WWII

Flynn’s remarkable January 1938 prediction that Roosevelt planned to foment a major war for domestic political reasons seems fully confirmed by diplomatic disclosures.

Memoirs and other historical documents obtained by later researchers revealing that FDR ordered his diplomats to exert enormous pressure upon both the British and Polish governments to avoid any negotiated settlement with Germany, thereby leading to the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

XLVI. FDR's Confidential Admissions

In a 2019 article John Wear mustered the numerous contemporaneous assessments that implicated FDR as a pivotal figure in orchestrating the world war by his constant pressure upon the British political leadership.

FDR even privately admitted that this policy could mean his impeachment if revealed.

XLVII. Confirmation by Ambassadors and Chamberlain

Among other testimony, we have the statements of the Polish and British ambassadors to Washington and the American ambassador to London, who also passed along the concurring opinion of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain himself.

Indeed, the German capture and publication of secret Polish diplomatic documents in 1939 had already revealed much of this information, and journalist William Henry Chamberlin confirmed their authenticity in his 1950 book.

XLVIII. Media Purge of Anti-War Figures

Flynn was hardly the only prominent American public figure purged from the media around 1940 for his strong public opposition to FDR’s bellicose foreign policy and our growing involvement in the large European war.

Many such individuals lost their long-held standing in the media during the years around World War II, and permanently vanished from public view.

XLIX. Harry Elmer Barnes's Disappearance

Harry Elmer Barnes, an academic figure of great influence whose name today means almost nothing to the vast majority of highly-educated Americans, had become a leading critic of America’s proposed involvement in World War II by the end of the 1930s.

He was permanently “disappeared” as a consequence, barred from all mainstream media outlets, while a major national newspaper chain was heavily pressured into abruptly terminating his long-running syndicated column in May 1940.

L. Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace

Over a dozen years after his disappearance from our national media, Barnes managed to publish Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace, a lengthy 1953 collection of essays by scholars and other experts discussing the circumstances surrounding America’s entrance into World War II.

His own contribution was a 30,000 word essay entitled “Revisionism and the Historical Blackout,” discussing the tremendous obstacles faced by the dissident thinkers of that era.

LI. Charles A. Beard's Publication Struggles

Charles A. Beard, regarded as one of the towering figures of American scholarship since the early 20th century, attempted to publish a book analyzing America’s entrance into World War II.

Publishers shut their doors to him and only his personal friendship with the head of Yale University Press allowed his critical 1948 volume President Roosevelt and the Coming of the War, 1941 to even appear in print.

LII. William Henry Chamberlin's Marginalization

William Henry Chamberlin, who for decades had ranked among America’s leading foreign policy journalists, found his critical 1950 analysis of America’s entry into World War II, America’s Second Crusade, fail to find a mainstream publisher.

When it did appear, his writing vanished from the influential national magazines that had regularly featured his byline, and henceforth his work was almost entirely confined to smaller circulation newsletters and periodicals.

LIII. Father Charles Coughlin's Removal from Airwaves

There was also the important case of Father Charles Coughlin, an anti-Communist radio priest whose enormous national audience of perhaps 30 million Americans made him the most influential media figure in our own country.

Coughlin was a very strong opponent of Roosevelt’s efforts to involve America in the European war, so during late 1939 and into 1940 enormous government pressure was exerted to steadily remove him from the airwaves.

LIV. Shift in Strategic Landscape Post-1940 Media Purge

The year 1940 seemed to mark the point at which some of the most significant dissenting voices in the national media were either removed or intimidated into silence.

Once that had been accomplished, the strategic landscape obviously shifted, facilitating political maneuvers that might have been far more difficult under a climate of robust press scrutiny.

LV. Public Opposition to War in 1940

Opinion surveys showed that some 80% of the American public strongly opposed involvement in the European war.

Thus, Roosevelt’s prospects for an unprecedented third term in 1940 might have seemed very difficult.

LVI. Wendell Willkie's Nomination

In one of the most unlikely twists in all of American political history, the June 1940 Republican convention held in Chicago selected as its nominee the obscure Wendell Willkie.

Willkie was a strongly pro-interventionist individual who had never previously held any public office and until just a few months earlier had been a committed lifelong Democrat.

LVII. British Intelligence Role in Willkie's Nomination

Historian Thomas E. Mahl thoroughly documented that British intelligence agents played a crucial role in that extremely unexpected turn of events, quite possibly even employing lethal means.

The resulting Roosevelt-Willkie race thus provided voters with virtually no choice on foreign policy matters, and FDR was reelected in a huge landslide, thereby largely freeing his hands to pursue a much more aggressive foreign policy.

LVIII. Omission of Operation Pike from Histories

For eighty-five years, one of the single most crucial turning points of World War II has been omitted from nearly every Western history written about that conflict.

As a result, almost no educated Americans are today even aware of it.

LIX. Allied Plan to Attack Neutral Soviet Union

It is an undeniable, documented fact that just a few months after the war began, the Western Allies—Britain and France—decided to attack the neutral Soviet Union.

They regarded the Soviet Union as militarily weak and a crucial supplier of natural resources for Hitler’s war machine.

LX. Miscalculation of Soviet Strength

Based upon their experience in World War I, the Allied leadership believed that there was little chance of any future breakthrough on the Western front, so they felt that their best chance of overcoming Germany was by defeating Germany’s Soviet quasi-ally.

However, the reality was entirely different: the USSR was vastly stronger than they realized at the time and during the later course of the war it ultimately became responsible for destroying 80% of Germany’s military formations.

LXI. Consequences of Allied Attack on USSR

Therefore, an early 1940 Allied attack on the Soviets would have brought the latter directly into the war as Hitler’s full military ally.

The combination of Germany’s industrial strength and Russia’s natural resources would have proved invincible, almost certainly reversing the outcome of the war.

LXII. Soviet Agents in Roosevelt Administration

Although they were certainly aware of the powerful Communist movements present in their own countries, only many years later did it become clear that the top leadership of the Roosevelt Administration was honeycombed by numerous agents fully loyal to Stalin.

If the Allied forces had suddenly gone to war against the Soviets, the fierce opposition of those influential individuals would have greatly reduced any future prospects of substantial American military assistance.

LXIII. Operation Pike's Target and Assumptions

The Allied plans to attack the USSR continued, now shifting to Operation Pike, the idea of using their bomber squadrons based in Syria and Iraq to destroy the Baku oilfields in the Soviet Caucasus.

Allied strategists believed that the successful destruction of the Soviet oilfields would eliminate much of that country’s fuel supply, thereby possibly producing a famine that might bring down the despised Communist regime.

LXIV. Mistaken Allied Assumptions about Pike

Yet virtually all of these Allied assumptions were completely mistaken.

Only a small fraction of Germany’s oil came from the Soviets, so its elimination would have little impact upon the German war effort, and the USSR was enormously strong in military terms rather than weak.

LXV. Abandonment of Operation Pike

The planned Allied attack against the USSR would have represented the largest strategic bombing offensive in world history to that date, and it had been scheduled and rescheduled during the early months of 1940.

It was only finally abandoned after Germany’s armies crossed the French border, surrounded and defeated the Allied ground forces, and knocked France out of the war.

LXVI. Stalin's Distrust of Churchill

The victorious Germans were fortunate enough to capture all the secret documents regarding Operation Pike, and they achieved a major propaganda coup by publishing these in facsimile and translation.

This crucial fact, omitted from nearly all subsequent Western histories, helps to explain why Stalin remained so distrustful the following year of Churchill’s diplomatic efforts prior to Hitler’s Barbarossa invasion.

LXVII. Historical Exclusion of Important Facts

Once we recognize that for eighty-five years virtually all our World War II history books have totally excluded a fully-documented story of such enormous importance as the massive 1940 attack the Allies had planned against the USSR, we realize that their silence on other important matters can hardly be trusted.

Sean McMeekin’s 800-page volume on the Soviet side of the Second World War confirmed the reality of Operation Pike and another very important aspect of that conflict almost totally ignored for decades by nearly all mainstream English-language historians.

LXVIII. Eastern Front's Decisive Role

It is widely understood that the Eastern Front of World War II was the decisive theater of operations.

The crucial turning point of the global conflict was Hitler’s June 1941 attack on the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa, the largest military invasion in human history.

LXIX. The Suvorov Hypothesis - Icebreaker

In 1990, the Times of London devoted nearly the whole of its books section to a highly-favorable discussion of Icebreaker, a newly published book by Viktor Suvorov that sought to completely overturn our long-settled understanding of Operation Barbarossa.

His “Suvorov Hypothesis” claimed that during the summer of 1941 Stalin was on the very verge of mounting a massive invasion and conquest of Europe when Hitler’s sudden attack anticipated that looming blow.

LXX. International Controversy, English-Language Blacklisting

Since 1990, Suvorov’s works have been translated into at least 18 languages and an international storm of scholarly controversy has swirled around the Suvorov Hypothesis in Russia, Germany, Israel, and elsewhere.

But for decades our own English-language media has almost entirely blacklisted and ignored this major ongoing international debate, hiding those facts to such an extent that the name of the most widely-read military historian who ever lived had remained totally unknown.

LXXI. Naval Academy Press Publication and Media Boycott

Finally in 2008, the prestigious Naval Academy Press of Annapolis decided to break this eighteen year intellectual embargo and published an updated English edition of Suvorov’s work.

But once again, our media outlets almost entirely averted their eyes, and only a single review appeared in an obscure ideological publication, demonstrating that a united front of English-language publishers and media organs could easily maintain a boycott of any important topic.

LXXII. Traditional Narrative of Barbarossa

The standard narrative has always emphasized the ineptitude and weakness of the Soviets, with Hitler's surprise attack on June 22, 1941, catching the Red Army completely unaware.

Stalin has been regularly ridiculed for his total lack of preparedness, and defending Soviet forces were described as poorly led with obsolete equipment.

LXXIII. Suvorov's Contrary Findings on Soviet Military Strength

According to Suvorov’s remarkable research, the widespread belief in the superiority of Germany’s military technology, including its tanks and its planes, was almost entirely mythological.

In actual fact, Soviet tanks were far superior in main armament, armor, and maneuverability to their German counterparts.

LXXIV. Soviet Numerical and Production Superiority

The Soviet superiority in numbers was even more extreme, with Stalin deploying many times more tanks than the combined total of those held by Germany and every other nation in the world, around 27,000 against just 4,000 in Hitler’s forces.

Even during peacetime, a single Soviet factory in Kharkov produced more tanks in every six month period than the entire Third Reich had built prior to 1940.

LXXV. Soviet Blitzkrieg and German Logistics

History’s first successful example of a “blitzkrieg” in modern warfare had been the crushing August 1939 defeat that Stalin inflicted upon the Japanese 6th Army in Outer Mongolia.

Perhaps the most surprising detail about the technology of the invading Wehrmacht in 1941 was that its transportation system was still almost entirely pre-modern, relying upon wagons and carts drawn by 750,000 horses.

LXXVI. Soviet Offensive Weapons for European Conquest

During Spring 1941 the Soviets had assembled a gigantic armored force on Germany’s border, one that even contained enormous numbers of specialized tanks whose unusual characteristics clearly demonstrated Stalin’s purely offensive aims.

For example, the Soviet juggernaut included 6,500 high-speed autobahn tanks, ideally suited for deployment on Germany’s network of highways, as well as 4,000 amphibious tanks, able to navigate the English Channel and conquer Britain.

LXXVII. Soviet Heavy Tank Superiority

The Soviets also fielded many thousands of heavy tanks, intended to engage and defeat enemy armor, while the Germans had none at all.

In direct combat, a Soviet KV-1 or KV-2 could easily destroy four or five of the best German tanks, while remaining almost invulnerable to enemy shells.

LXXVIII. Mirror-Image Preparations for Attack

Suvorov’s reconstruction of the weeks immediately preceding the outbreak of combat in 1941 is a fascinating one, emphasizing the mirror-image actions taken by both the Soviet and German armies.

Each side moved its best striking units, airfields, and ammunition dumps close to the border, ideal for an attack but very vulnerable in defense, and did its best to camouflage such preparations.

LXXIX. Stalin's Offensive Intent

All of the above examples of Soviet weapons systems and strategic decisions seem very difficult to explain under the conventional defensive narrative, but make perfect sense if Stalin’s orientation from 1939 onward had always been an offensive one.

He had decided that summer 1941 was the time to strike and enlarge his Soviet Union to incorporate all the European states, just as Lenin had originally intended.

LXXX. Hitler's Preemptive Strike

The most powerful offensive military force in the history of the world was quietly assembled in secret along the German-Russian border, preparing for the order that would unleash its surprise attack.

Then at almost the last moment, Hitler suddenly launched his own attack, ordering his heavily outnumbered and outgunned troops into a surprise assault of their own on the assembling Soviets, catching them at their most vulnerable.

Briefing: Revisionist History of World War II - Key Themes and Contentions from "The True History of World War II, by Ron Unz"

This briefing summarizes the main themes and most important ideas presented in Ron Unz's "The True History of World War II," which argues for a significantly revised understanding of the conflict's origins and key events, often challenging mainstream historical narratives. The author emphasizes that much of what is commonly believed about WWII is "government-sponsored distortions" and "propaganda."

I. Re-evaluating the Origins of World War II: Provocation and Diplomatic Blunders

Unz heavily draws on revisionist historians to argue that World War II was not an "unprovoked" act of German aggression but rather the result of deliberate provocations and diplomatic failures, particularly from Britain and the United States.

• A.J.P. Taylor's Argument on British Diplomatic Blunder: Unz highlights A.J.P. Taylor's 1961 book, The Origins of the Second World War, which contends that the conflict stemmed from a "dreadful diplomatic blunder by the British" regarding Danzig. Taylor argues that Germany's request for the return of Danzig (a city with a 95% German population) was reasonable, and Hitler "had actually made every effort to avoid war with Britain or France." The Polish refusal, reportedly influenced by British policy, escalated the situation. This perspective suggests that the widespread notion of Hitler's world conquest ambition was "totally absurd."

• Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof's Reinforcement: The author notes that Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof's 1939 – The War That Had Many Fathers (2011) corroborates Taylor's analysis, detailing "enormous efforts that Hitler had taken to avoid war and settle that boundary dispute, even spending many months on fruitless negotiations and offering extremely reasonable terms." Polish "provocations escalated, including violent attacks on their own country’s sizeable German minority population, until war seemed the only possible option."

• Analogy to the Russia-Ukraine War: Unz explicitly draws a parallel between the origins of WWII and the Russia-Ukraine War, stating: "Then as now, politically influential elements in the West seemed quite eager to provoke the war, using Danzig as the spark to ignite the conflict much like the simmering bloodshed in the Donbass had been used to force Putin’s hand." He cites Professor John Mearsheimer, Jeffrey Sachs, and former Ambassador Chas Freeman as experts who challenged the "unprovoked invasion" narrative regarding Ukraine.

II. Hidden Influences and Corruption in British Politics

Unz presents David Irving's controversial research to claim that financial corruption and foreign influence heavily swayed British policy towards war with Germany.

• Churchill's Financial Venality and Foreign Bribes: Unz emphasizes David Irving's findings, particularly from Churchill’s War (1987), which portray Winston Churchill as "a huge spendthrift who lived lavishly and often far beyond his financial means." Irving's research allegedly revealed that Churchill and other British MPs "were regularly receiving sizable financial stipends—cash bribes—from Jewish and Czech sources in exchange for promoting a policy of extreme hostility toward the German government and actually advocating for war." The Czech government alone is alleged to have paid "tens of millions of dollars in present-day money to British elected officials, publishers, and journalists." A specific instance cited is Churchill's financial bailout by a "foreign Jewish millionaire intent upon promoting a war against Germany" after he lost his wealth in the stock market. Unz controversially suggests that Churchill's actions constituted "treason" and that "Churchill’s timely execution might surely have saved tens of millions of lives."

• FDR's Perceived Leverage over Churchill: Unz mentions that President Roosevelt "routinely referred to Churchill as 'a drunken bum'" and "Churchill’s constant state of drunkenness, with his inebriation being so widespread as to constitute clinical alcoholism." Furthermore, Roosevelt allegedly discovered Churchill's "widespread art-forgery," which "probably used as a point of personal leverage against him."

III. Franklin Roosevelt's Alleged Intent to Provoke War

The briefing highlights the assertion that President Franklin D. Roosevelt deliberately sought to involve the U.S. in a major foreign war to address domestic economic and political challenges, exerting pressure on European powers and provoking Japan.

• Economic Motivation for War: Drawing on John T. Flynn's The Roosevelt Myth (1948), Unz argues that FDR's New Deal policies failed to revive the American economy, leading him to believe a "major foreign war would cure the country’s seemingly insurmountable economic problems." Flynn's January 1938 column in The New Republic is cited as an early prediction of this strategy, initially aimed at Japan, but later shifting to Germany.

• Pressure on Britain and Poland: Unz claims that "FDR ordered his diplomats to exert enormous pressure upon both the British and Polish governments to avoid any negotiated settlement with Germany, thereby leading to the outbreak of World War II in 1939." This assertion is supported by "numerous contemporaneous assessments that implicated FDR as a pivotal figure in orchestrating the world war by his constant pressure upon the British political leadership."

• Suppression of Dissent and Media Control: Unz asserts that critics of FDR's interventionist foreign policy, such as John T. Flynn, Harry Elmer Barnes, Charles A. Beard, and William Henry Chamberlin, were "purged" or "disappeared" from mainstream media around 1940. Father Charles Coughlin, a prominent anti-Communist radio priest, was also allegedly "forced to completely end his radio broadcasts" due to "enormous government pressure." This "media purge" facilitated "political maneuvers that might have been far more difficult under a climate of robust press scrutiny."

• Pearl Harbor as a "Back Door to War": Unz argues that FDR deliberately provoked Japan to enter the war, a strategy termed a "back door to war." Actions included "a complete freeze on Japanese assets, an embargo on the oil absolutely vital to the Japanese military, and the summary rejection of the Japanese Prime Minister’s personal plea." He cites scholars who suggest the U.S. government was "fully aware of the impending attack on our fleet at Pearl Harbor and allowed it to proceed" to generate "sufficiently heavy American casualties [to] produce a vengeful nation united for war." The immediate military seizure of Disney Studios the day after Pearl Harbor is presented as a suspicious event, implying foreknowledge.

IV. Reimagining the Eastern Front: The Suvorov Hypothesis

Unz champions the "Suvorov Hypothesis," which dramatically reinterprets the beginning of the Eastern Front, suggesting Stalin was preparing to invade Europe when Hitler preemptively attacked.

• The "Unprovoked" Soviet Invasion Plan: Unz introduces Viktor Suvorov's Icebreaker (1990), which posits that in summer 1941, "Stalin was on the very verge of mounting a massive invasion and conquest of Europe when Hitler’s sudden attack on June 22nd of that year anticipated that looming blow." This contrasts sharply with the traditional narrative of a surprised and unprepared Soviet Union.

• Soviet Military Superiority and Offensive Posture: Suvorov's research, according to Unz, argues that Soviet military technology, particularly tanks, was "far superior" to Germany's, with Stalin possessing "many times more tanks than the combined total of those held by Germany and every other nation in the world, around 27,000 against just 4,000 in Hitler’s forces." Specific examples include 6,500 "high-speed autobahn tanks" and 4,000 "amphibious tanks," which Unz states "clearly demonstrated Stalin’s purely offensive aims." The Soviets also had "thousands of heavy tanks" like the KV-1 or KV-2, capable of destroying multiple German tanks.

• Preemptive German Strike: Unz asserts that both German and Soviet armies engaged in "mirror-image actions" by moving offensive units, airfields, and ammunition dumps close to the border, deactivating minefields, and removing barbed wire. He concludes that Stalin's "military juggernaut would surely have seized all of Europe" had Hitler not "suddenly launched his own attack, ordering his heavily outnumbered and outgunned troops into a surprise assault of their own on the assembling Soviets."

• Mainstream Acknowledgment: Unz notes that Sean McMeekin's 2021 book Stalin’s War provided "the first mainstream affirmation of major elements of the Suvorov Hypothesis."

V. The Controversial Role of Jewish Influence and "Holocaust Denial"

Unz's most contentious theme is the alleged central role of Jewish individuals and organizations in orchestrating the war and the subsequent suppression of dissenting historical narratives, including what he describes as "Holocaust denial."

• Jewish Influence in War Advocacy: Unz asserts that "the overwhelming Jewish hostility to Nazi Germany" pointed Roosevelt towards war, citing a confidential 1939 Polish ambassador's report stating: "Propaganda is mostly in the hands of the Jews who control almost 100% [of the] radio, film, daily and periodical press." He quotes an entry from the Forrestal Diaries where Ambassador Joseph Kennedy reported British Prime Minister Chamberlain stating that "America and the Jews had forced England into the war." Unz links this to Hitler's aim to dislodge Jewish influence in Germany and the "economic war" declared against Germany by "Jews of the world" in 1933.

• Suppression of Jewish Role in Historical Narratives: Unz claims that "the huge Jewish role in orchestrating World War II against Nazi Germany was carefully airbrushed out of nearly all subsequent historical narratives." He points out the absence of "Jews" in the indexes of works by Taylor, Chamberlin, and Barnes, suggesting that even revisionists "still sought to carefully avoid touching upon certain extremely dangerous unmentionables."

• John Beaty and "The Iron Curtain Over America": Unz champions John Beaty's 1951 book The Iron Curtain Over America, written by a former Military Intelligence officer. Beaty's work is described as blaming "Jewish interests for the totally unnecessary war with Hitler’s Germany" and alleging a "growing Jewish stranglehold over publishing and the media" leading to censorship. Unz asserts that Beaty's account was "probably by far the most honest and realistic one." The book's widespread endorsement by "numerous other top American generals and admirals" and senators is highlighted.

• "Holocaust Denial" as Suppressed Truth: Unz states that Beaty "casually dismissed what we today call the Holocaust as long-discredited wartime atrocity-propaganda that almost no one still believed to be true." He notes that Beaty's explicit "Holocaust denial" was seemingly "unchallenged or even noticed" by his critics at the time. He extends this to Classics Professor Revilo Oliver and suggests that Joseph Bendersky's archival research implies that "not a single one of those individuals [Military Intelligence officers and top commanding generals] who expressed his belief in the reality of the Holocaust," indicating they "probably shared the views that their former colleagues Beaty and Oliver had explicitly declared." Unz further points out the absence of "Nazi 'gas chambers,' a 'genocide' of the Jews, or of 'six million' Jewish victims" in the memoirs of Eisenhower, Churchill, and De Gaulle, as well as the diaries of Forrestal, Patton, and Lindbergh. He cites JFK's alleged "rather favorable fascination with Hitler" in his 1945 diary and his Pulitzer-winning praise for Senator Robert Taft's condemnation of the Nuremberg Tribunals.

VI. Nazi-Zionist Cooperation and Yitzhak Shamir's Pro-Axis Past

Unz details a "documented but long-suppressed history" of economic and even political cooperation between certain Zionist factions and Nazi Germany.

• The Ha'avara (Transfer) Agreement: Unz cites Lenni Brenner's Zionism in the Age of the Dictators (1983) to describe the "important Nazi-Zionist economic partnership" in the 1930s. This "Ha’avara or 'Transfer Agreement'" allowed for the export of German goods to Palestine along with German Jews, effectively helping Germany bypass the Jewish-led economic boycott. Unz emphasizes that "over 60% of all the investment in Jewish Palestine came from Nazi Germany" between 1933 and 1939, suggesting that "without Hitler’s financial backing, the nascent Jewish colony... might easily have shriveled up and died."

• Zionist Legal Status in Nazi Germany: Unz notes that while other political organizations were outlawed, the "German Zionist Party was accorded complete legal status, with Zionist marches, Zionist uniforms, and Zionist flags all fully permitted." A 1934 Nazi media series, "A Nazi Goes to Palestine," and a commemorative medal with a Star-of-David and a Swastika are cited as evidence of this cooperation.

• Adolf Eichmann's Involvement: Unz highlights the "ironic" role of Adolf Eichmann, who became "a central Nazi figure in the Zionist alliance, even studying Hebrew and apparently becoming something of a philo-Semite during the years of his close collaboration with top Zionist leaders."

• Yitzhak Shamir's Attempted Alliance with Axis Powers: Most strikingly, Unz claims that Yitzhak Shamir, a future Israeli Prime Minister and leader of a right-wing Zionist faction, "made repeated attempts during 1940 and 1941 to enlist in the Axis Powers as their Palestine affiliate," offering "sabotage attacks and espionage against the local British forces." He notes that Shamir's pro-Axis past had "only a relatively minor impact upon his political standing within Israeli society," suggesting Israelis viewed Nazi Germany "quite differently than did most Americans, let alone most American Jews."

• Shamir's Hatred for America: Unz concludes by asserting that according to Israeli intelligence sources, Shamir "held a seething hatred for America" even after the war because he "had still never forgiven America for failing to support Adolf Hitler in World War II."

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Democrats: Doubling Down on Chaos

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The provided text from LewRockwell.com, titled "Batman vs The Joker: Democrats Will Double Down On Chaos To Save Their Party" by Brandon Smith, presents a highly critical analysis of the Democratic Party and the political left. The author likens the political left to The Joker, symbolizing chaos and a desire for destructive power, contrasting them with Batman, who represents law and order. Smith argues that Democrats operate under two main rules: never admitting they are wrong and always escalating their tactics, particularly when they perceive a loss of public influence. The article contends that the left is increasingly embracing radical socialist and Marxist ideologies to counter conservative and capitalist principles, even when these policies have historically failed. Ultimately, Smith predicts increased political conflict and instability as Democrats embrace extreme leadership to avoid self-reflection and change.

Here are 20 key takeaway points from the sources, formatted as requested:

I. Batman vs The Joker: Democrats Will Double Down On Chaos To Save Their Party By Brandon Smith The Democratic Party and the political left in general are consistently compared to the philosophy of Batman’s nefarious arch-nemesis, The Joker.

The Joker represents pure chaos and the unhinged, unadulterated desire for power, not traditional control, but the archaic power to corrupt and destroy.

II. Batman as a Symbol of Law and Order. Batman, of course, represents unflinching law, order and justice.

He is described as a vigilante who possesses more respect for the law than most police and politicians in his fictional realm of Gotham City.

III. The Joker's Core Philosophy of Evil. The Joker is a pure psychopath that believes his evil is a universal truth.

He thinks that normal people hide behind “social constructs” to avoid admitting they want to burn down the world just like he does.

IV. The Concept of Escalation in Political Dynamics. The author draws parallels to Christopher Nolan’s film ‘Batman Begins’ where Commissioner Gordon warns Batman about “escalation”.

This concept suggests that if one side starts carrying semi-automatics, the opposing side will buy automatics, leading to an increasing cycle of intensity.

V. Leftist Rule #1: Inability to Admit Error. Rule #1 regarding the political left's habits is that Leftists never admit they are wrong.

They could admit their ideals do not appeal to the public and that their efforts to “deconstruct” American social norms are rooted in malice, but this would violate their first rule.

VI. Leftist Rule #2: The Tendency to Double Down. Rule #2 for leftists is that they ALWAYS double down.

This means when they think they are losing the ability to disrupt public order and upend societal norms, they will escalate their actions.

VII. Donald Trump's Appeal Against Democratic Chaos. The Republican Party, conservatives, moderates, and even some liberals turned to Donald Trump because of his uncompromising stance on the chaos embraced by Democrats.

Trump gained massive favor because he promised to bring the hammer down on these arsonists without remorse.

VIII. Perceived Negative Outcomes of Democratic "Madness." The "madness" embraced by Democrats is linked to a "dark path of medical tyranny" and "woke indoctrination in public schools".

It also led to "race riots in American streets, trannies in the military, a stagflationary crisis and a president with a brain like cabbage".

IX. The Progressive Goal to "Burn It All Down." When confronted on their ethics, progressive activists invariably state that logic does not matter.

Their ultimate goal is simply to “burn it all down,” reflecting a lack of ethics or other rationale.

X. Impact of Trump's Administration on Leftist Funding and Operations. During Trump's time, federal funding was cut off and NGOs were throttled, diminishing their historic financial support.

Leftists who once operated nationally with impunity were relegated to petty mob actions in deep blue cities where they still found support.

XI. Democrats' Open Embrace of Socialist/Communist Platforms. Instead of attempting to sterilize their image, the Democrats are now doubling down and openly embracing the socialist/communist platform.

They are "going full bore hammer and sickle with no shame," no longer compromising by trying to hide their true intent.

XII. Leftist Extremism Driving Political Polarization. Leftist insanity pushes moderates further to the right.

The further people go to the right, the more extreme leftists will become, suggesting a continuous escalation of political positions.

XIII. Zohran Mamdani as an Example of Democratic Escalation. The rising success of New York Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is interpreted not as desperation, but as escalation by Democrats.

Despite initial criticism from Democrat leaders, Mamdani’s appeal among New York’s progressive population is undeniable, representing a "new path" for the party.

XIV. Predicted Negative Consequences of Mamdani's Policies. Mamdani's policies, described as a "mish-mash of socialist and Marxist mechanics," are predicted to drive out most major businesses and wealthy taxpayers.

Government interference in housing, including rent freezes, will force property owners to sell instead of lease, causing the housing supply to implode.

XV. Rationale Behind Doubling Down on Failed Theories. Mamdani’s theories on society are built on the "same woke nonsense" that led to the Democrats' "complete obliteration" in 2024, yet they are doubling down.

Socialism/Marxism/communism serve as archetypal counterpoints to things leftists hate most, such as conservatives, capitalism, Christian morality, and law and order.

XVI. The Left's Search for Their "Joker." The author suggests that the left is looking for a Joker to counter our Batman and believes they have found him "in the costume of hardcore socialism".

Leftists will rally around uncompromising socialists like Mamdani because they are "tired of pretending that they care about 'democracy,' free markets, property rights, moral codes or freedom in general".

XVII. Democrats' Avoidance of Self-Reflection and Change. Democrats could apologize and promise to stop forcing their degenerate views on the masses.

However, doing so would require them to violate Rule #1, which prevents them from self-reflecting and changing their ways.

XVIII. Shift Towards a Monstrous and Dystopian Vision. Leftists are depicted as tired of pretending to care about traditional democratic values and instead need an "all encompassing vision, even if it’s a monstrous and dystopian one".

This marks a shift from playing the role of humanitarians to openly embracing a more extreme political path.

XIX. Desire for Unapologetic, Psychopathic Leadership. The left desires leadership that is transparent and unapologetic in its psychopathic intent.

They "don’t want to play the role of humanitarians anymore – They want to take the mask off and taste the flavors of blood and power".

XX. Predicted Future of Increased Conflict and Chaos. The author predicts that for the foreseeable future, there will be "many more clashes, more mob actions, more violence and very little peace".

The stated goal is to “burn everything down” so that the left and globalists can rebuild the nation with their own agenda in mind.

Financial Colonialism: The Global Majority's Path to Freedom

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The provided text from Michael Hudson's article, "How the Global Majority Can Free Itself From US Financial Colonialism," critiques the modern global economic system, arguing it perpetuates financial colonialism reminiscent of historical European practices. Hudson contends that Western nations, particularly the U.S., maintain dominance by dictating international trade and financial rules that favor their rentier class—those who profit from land, monopolies, and financial speculation—at the expense of developing countries. The article highlights China's economic model as a successful alternative that prioritizes public control over finance and resources, challenging the neoliberal orthodoxy. It emphasizes that for the Global Majority to achieve true economic sovereignty, they must collectively address foreign debt and implement policies that tax economic rents, mirroring the reforms that initially fostered industrial growth in Western nations.

Here are 40 key takeaway points from the sources, presented in the requested Jotform manner:

I. How the Global Majority Can Free Itself from US Financial Colonialism, by Michael Hudson The success of China’s model poses a threat to the neoliberal order.

When U.S. political leaders single out China as an existential enemy of the West, it is not as a military threat but for offering a successful economic alternative to today’s U.S.-sponsored neoliberal world order.

The success of China’s model poses a threat to the neoliberal order.

II. The classical aim of clearing away economic rents was rolled back in 20th-century Western countries.

The 20th century saw the classical aim of clearing away these economic rents rolled back in Europe, the United States, and other Western countries.

However, today, land and natural-resource rents in private hands are still rising and even receiving special tax advantages.

III. Britain implemented free trade to serve its industrial interests and deter less industrialized countries.

Britain implemented free trade after a 30-year fight on behalf of its industry against the landed aristocracy, aimed at ending the protectionist agricultural tariffs, the Corn Laws, which had been enacted in 1815 to prevent opening the home market to low-priced food imports, which would have reduced farming rents.

The aim was to deter less industrialized countries from working up their own raw materials.

IV. A stark contrast emerged between rent-avoidance in industrial nations and rent-seeking in their colonies and host countries.

This created a diametric contrast between rent-avoidance in the industrial nations and rent-seeking in their colonies and other host countries, while European bankers used debt leverage to gain fiscal control of former colonies who had won independence in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Under pressure to pay the foreign debts that were run up to finance their trade deficits, development attempts, and deepening debt dependency, debtor countries were obliged to relinquish fiscal control of their economies to bondholders, banks, and creditor-nation governments, which pressed them to privatize their basic infrastructure monopolies.

V. Foreign debt and free trade have historically blocked the balanced development of Global Majority countries.

But the combination of foreign debt and free trade has blocked them from developing along the balanced public/private lines that Western Europe and the United States followed.

Just as Britain, France, and Germany aimed to free their economies from feudalism’s legacy of the vested interests with rent extraction privileges, most of today’s Global Majority countries need to free themselves from the rent and debt overhead inherited from European colonialism and creditor control.

VI. U.S. and European pressure shapes the tax and investment rules of Global Majority countries, perpetuating Western domination.

The tax policy and other legislation of these countries has been shaped by U.S. and European pressure to observe international trade and investment rules that perpetuate geopolitical domination by Western bankers and rent-extracting investors to control their national patrimony.

Seeking to maintain this relationship, the U.S. and European governments are blocking attempts by these countries to follow the path that Europe’s industrial nations and the United States took for their own economies with their 19th-century political and fiscal reforms that empowered their own takeoff.

VII. Achieving sovereignty and growth for Global Majority countries requires fiscal and political reforms.

Without these countries adopting fiscal and political reforms aimed at developing their own sovereignty and prospects for growth on the basis of their own national patrimony of land, natural resources and basic infrastructure, the world economy will remain bifurcated between Western rentier nations and their Global Majority hosts and held subject to neoliberal orthodoxy.

The euphemism “host economy” is appropriate for these countries, because the Western economic penetration of them resembles a biological parasite feeding off its host.

VIII. China's "socialism with Chinese characteristics" achieved success by minimizing rentier income, similar to classical industrial capitalism.

Western neoliberal observers have closed their eyes to recognizing the ways in which China’s “socialism with Chinese characteristics” has achieved its success by a logic similar to that of the industrial capitalism advocated by classical economists to minimize rentier income.

Most late 19th-century economic writers expected industrial capitalism to evolve into socialism of one form or another, as the role of public investment and regulation increased.

IX. China's government control over money and credit creation poses a threat to Western finance-capitalist ideology.

Where China has gone further than earlier socialist mixed-economy reforms has been in keeping money and credit creation in the hands of government, along with basic infrastructure and natural resources.

Fear that other governments might follow China’s lead has led U.S. and other Western finance-capitalist ideologues to view China as a threat by providing a model for economic reforms that are precisely the opposite of what the 20th century’s pro-rentier, anti-government ideology fought against.

X. Taxing economic rent is a precondition for Global South countries to gain economic autonomy and fund development.

A precondition for Global South countries to gain economic autonomy is to follow the advice of the classical economists and tax the largest sources of rental income – land rent, monopoly rent, and financial returns – instead of letting them be sent abroad.

Taxing these rents would help stabilize their balance of payments, while providing their governments with revenue to finance their infrastructure needs and the related social spending needed to subsidize their economic modernization.

XI. Neoliberal ideology inverts the classical definition of a free market, defending rentier income.

The classical economists defined a free market as one free from economic rent, not as one free for the extraction of economic rent, let alone as freedom for creditor-nation governments to create a “rules-based order” to facilitate foreign rent extraction and stifle the development of financially and trade-dependent host countries.

But neoliberal ideology calls such taxation of rent, and the regulation of monopolies or other market phenomena, an intrusive interference into the “free market”.

XII. Freeing countries from foreign debt overhead is a difficult international struggle against a creditor-nation alliance.

The fight by countries to free themselves from their foreign debt overhead is much harder than Europe’s 19th-century fight to end the privileges of its landed aristocracy (and less successfully, of its bankers), because it is international in scope, and is now confronted by a creditor-nation alliance to maintain the system of financial colonization created two centuries ago, as former colonies sought to finance their independence by borrowing from foreign bankers.

Financial dependency on bankers and bondholders replaced colonial dependency, obliging debtor countries to give fiscal priority to foreign creditors.

XIII. The post-WWII order, designed by the U.S., drained Global South savings and forced debt accumulation.

But the post-war order designed by U.S. diplomats, based on free trade and free capital movements, drained these savings, and obliged the Global South and other countries to borrow to cover their trade deficits.

The resulting foreign debts soon came to exceed the ability of these countries to pay – that is, to pay without surrendering to the destructive IMF demands for austerity that blocked the investment needed to raise their productivity and living standards.

XIV. Debtor countries face a choice between paying foreign debts at the cost of development or writing them off as odious.

Their choice today, therefore, is between paying their foreign debts – at the cost of blocking their own development – or claiming that these debts are odious and insisting that they be written off.

At issue is whether debtor countries will gain the sovereignty that is supposed to characterize an international economy of equals, free of foreign post-colonial control over their tax and trade policies, as well as their national patrimony.

XV. Collective action is essential for Global Majority countries to achieve self-determination.

Their self-determination can only be achieved by joining together in a collective front.

Donald Trump’s tariff aggression has catalyzed this process by drastically reducing the U.S. market for exports from debtor countries, preventing them from obtaining the dollars to pay their bonds and bank debts, so these won’t be paid in any event.

XVI. The current Western debt crisis and weaponization of finance create an urgent need for collective economic sovereignty.

Today’s Western debt crisis, de-industrialization, and coercive weaponization of foreign trade and financial sanctions under the dollarized international financial system, capped by the “America First” tariff policy, have created an urgent need for countries to collectively seek economic sovereignty, to become independent from U.S. and European control of the international economy.

The collective BRICS+, with Russia and China taking the lead, have just begun talking about making such an attempt.

XVII. China's state-owned banks prevent financial and rentier interests from controlling its economy, unlike in the West.

Keeping money and credit creation in government hands, via China’s state-owned banks, prevents financial and other rentier interests from taking over the economy and subjecting it to the financial overhead that has characterized Western economies.

China’s successful alternative for allocating credit avoids making purely financial gains at the expense of tangible capital formation and living standards.

XVIII. Western central banks operate independently to create interest-bearing debt for financial gains, not productive capital formation.

Western financial systems are overseen by central banks that have been made independent from the Treasury and government regulatory “interference”.

Their role is to provide the commercial banking system’s liquidity as it creates interest-bearing debt, mainly for the purpose of making wealth financially by debt leveraging (asset-price inflation), not for productive capital formation.

XIX. Western industrial corporations have become financialized, leading to deindustrialization.

Instead of the financial system being industrialized, Western industrial corporations have become financialized, and that has occurred along lines that have deindustrialized the U.S. and European economies.

Financialized wealth can be made without being part of the production process.

XX. Rising debt overhead results in transfer payments to the finance sector, shrinking income for productive spending and leading to deindustrialization.

Carrying charges on the rising debt overhead are transfer payments to the finance sector, by labor and businesses, out of wages and profits earned by actual production.

That shrinks the income available for spending on the products produced by labor and capital, leaving economies debt-ridden and deindustrialized.

XXI. An ideological campaign depicts government as oppressive to prevent countries from avoiding the rentier burden.

The broadest strategy to block countries from avoiding the rentier burden has been to wage an ideological campaign from the educational system to mass media.

The aim is to control the narrative in a way that depicts government as an oppressive Leviathan, an inherently bureaucratic autocracy.

XXII. Western "democracy" is economically defined as an unregulated free market controlled by the financial sector.

Western “democracy” is defined not so much politically as economically, as a free market whose resources are allocated by a banking and financial sector independent of regulatory oversight.

Governments strong enough to limit financial and other rentier wealth in the public interest are demonized as autocracies or “planned economics”.

XXIII. Global Majority officials are indoctrinated with a pro-rentier ideology that excludes crucial economic concepts.

Global Majority officials and administrators who have studied economics at U.S. and European universities have been indoctrinated with a value-free (that is, rent-free) pro-rentier ideology to frame the way they think about how economies work.

This narrative excludes consideration of how debt polarizes economies by growing exponentially at compound interest.

XXIV. Neoliberal diplomacy uses force and control of international bodies to prevent countries from enacting pro-people reforms.

Beyond this ideological campaign, neoliberal diplomacy uses military force, regime change, and control of the main international bureaucracies associated with the United Nations, the IMF, and World Bank — and a more covert network of non-government organizations (NGOs) — to prevent countries from withdrawing from today’s pro-rentier fiscal rules and pro-creditor laws.

The United States has taken the lead in using force and regime change against governments that would tax away or otherwise limit rent extraction.

XXV. Violence in economic reforms is often initiated by vested interests defending their privileges, not by early socialists.

It should be noted that few early socialists (except anarchists) advocated violence in pursuit of their reforms.

It has been the vested interests, unwilling to accept loss of the privileges that are the basis of their fortunes, who have not hesitated to use violence to defend their wealth and power against attempts at reform to check their privileges.

XXVI. American diplomacy views attempts by other nations to achieve economic sovereignty as an existential threat to U.S. control.

But American diplomacy views any attempt to enact the necessary political and tax reforms and strong government regulatory authority as posing an existential threat to U.S. control over international finance and trade.

To be sovereign, nations must create an alternative that enables them to be in charge of their own economic, monetary, and political development.

XXVII. Joining alliances for mutual support is the only way for individual countries to protect their economic sovereignty against military threats.

The only way to protect economic sovereignty against military threats is to join an alliance for mutual support, since individual countries can be isolated in the way that Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran have been — or destroyed, like Libya.

As Benjamin Franklin put matters, “If we don’t hang together, we will hang separately”.

XXVIII. American writers frame other countries' pursuit of economic sovereignty as a "civilizational war," despite U.S. aggression.

American writers characterize the attempt of other countries to join together to achieve economic sovereignty as a civilizational war.

While this is indeed a civilizational contest, it is the United States and its allies that are waging aggression, against countries trying to withdraw from a system that has provided the United States and Europe with a huge inflow of economic rents and debt service from host countries subject to U.S.-backed diplomacy.

XXIX. After World War II, settler-state colonialism was replaced by U.S.-led financial colonialism and dollarization.

After World War II, the era of settler-state colonialism gave way to financial colonialism, with the international economy dollarized under U.S. leadership.

The Bretton Woods rules established by 1945 enabled multinational corporations to keep economic rents for land, natural resources and public infrastructure out of domestic fiscal reach.

XXX. Post-WWII, governments were reduced to collecting foreign debts and protecting foreign investors.

Governments were reduced to the role of acting as collection agents for foreign creditors and as protectors of foreign investors from democratic attempts to tax rentier wealth.

The Bretton Woods rules established by 1945 enabled multinational corporations to keep economic rents for land, natural resources and public infrastructure out of domestic fiscal reach.

XXXI. The U.S. weaponized world trade through oil monopolies and agricultural policies that hindered food self-sufficiency in other nations.

The United States was able to weaponize world trade by monopolizing oil exports through U.S. and allied oil companies (the Seven Sisters), while U.S. and European agricultural protectionism and World Bank “aid” policy steered food-deficit countries to focus on tropical plantation crops instead of grain to feed themselves.

President Bill Clinton’s 1994 NAFTA free-trade agreement swamped Mexico’s market with low-priced U.S. farm exports (highly subsidized by strong government support).

XXXII. Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) courts block national sovereignty by forcing governments to compensate foreign investors for tax increases or regulations.

To block governments from taxing or even fining foreign investors to recover compensation for damages to their countries, today’s rentier powers have created Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) courts requiring governments to compensate foreign investors for increasing taxes or imposing regulations that reduce foreign-owned income.

This system blocks national sovereignty, including by preventing host countries from taxing the economic rent of their land and natural resources owned by foreigners.

XXXIII. America's current post-industrial power relies primarily on its ability to cause chaos if countries do not adhere to its "rules-based order."

That has left America’s post-industrial power based mainly on its ability to harm other countries with chaos if they do not accept the U.S. “rules-based order” designed to extract tribute from them.

Other nations permitted the United States to dictate the post-World War II order, with it promising generous aid to support free trade, peace, and post-colonial national sovereignty, as spelled out in the United Nations Charter.

XXXIV. The U.S. applies a double standard, using protectionist measures itself while forbidding them for other countries.

The U.S. imposes protectionist tariffs and import quotas at will, and subsidizes agriculture and key technologies as potential global high-tech monopolies, while forbidding other countries from implementing such “socialist” or “autocratic” policies to become more competitive.

The result is a double standard in which the U.S. “rules-based order” (its own rules) replaces adherence to international law.

XXXV. Russia has taken the lead in protesting the unipolar U.S. order, advocating for a multipolar alternative.

It is not surprising that, inasmuch as Russia has long been the United States’ main military adversary, it has taken the lead in protesting against the unipolar U.S. order.

Advocating a multipolar alternative to the U.S. neoliberal order in June 2025, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the post-colonial economic subjugation of the countries that achieved political independence from colonialist rule in the 19th and 20th centuries but which are now facing the next task needed to complete their liberation.

XXXVI. The West uses illegal unilateral sanctions and unfair competition, effectively burying its own globalization model.

The West is using illegal unilateral sanctions, which increasingly become the harbinger of a military attack, as this has happened in Yugoslavia, Iraq and Libya and is now happening in Iran, as well as the instruments of unfair competition, initiating tariff wars, seizing other countries’ sovereign assets and taking advantage of the role of their currencies and payment systems.

The West itself has actually buried the globalization model, which it developed after the Cold War to promote its interests.

XXXVII. The United States aims to impose unique monopoly rights and rentier privileges globally through its "America First" diplomacy.

The United States aims to impose monopoly rights and related rentier privileges uniquely favorable to itself on the entire world’s trade and investment.

Trump’s “America First” diplomacy demands that other countries conduct their trade, payments and debt relationships in U.S. dollars, instead of their own currencies.

XXXVIII. The confiscation of Russian assets and chronic U.S. deficits have damaged America's reputation for financial safety and threatened its global power.

The U.S. and European confiscation of $300 billion of Russia’s monetary deposits has darkened America’s reputation for financial safety.

While its chronic trade and balance-of-payments deficits threaten to disrupt the international monetary system and free trade that made it the major beneficiary of the 1945-2025 world order.

XXXIX. The U.S. uses its veto power and influence to obstruct international organizations from acting independently.

The United States has been able to block foreign opposition to its nationalist policies by having veto power in the United Nations, IMF, and World Bank.

Even without such power, U.S. diplomats have been able to block United Nations organizations from acting independently of U.S. wishes by refusing to appoint leaders or judges not primarily loyal to U.S. foreign policy.

XL. The United States has become a rentier oligarchy where fortunes are made by acquiring rent-yielding assets and paying interest to bankers.

The reality is that the United States has become a rentier oligarchy, one that is increasingly hereditary.

Its members’ fortunes are made mainly by acquiring rent-yielding assets (land, natural resources, and monopolies) on which they make capital gains, while paying most of their rent as interest to their bankers, who end up with much of these rents and have become the new oligarchy’s leading managerial class.

Digital Frontiers and Political Reckonings

1 source

This news summary from "Coffee & Covid 2025" outlines key political and technological developments from July 24, 2025. It highlights President Trump's executive orders fostering the AI industry by addressing perceived ideological biases and fast-tracking development, alongside his new trade deals imposing tariffs. The summary also covers new regulations for stablecoins in the cryptocurrency market, sparking debate among libertarians. Additionally, it notes victories for figures like Mike Lindell and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the latter leading to the removal of mercury from flu vaccines, and details Tulsi Gabbard's declassification of RussiaGate documents revealing alleged intelligence misconduct.

Here are 30 key takeaway points from the sources provided, formatted as requested:

I. ☕️ Coffee & Covid 2025 🦠 by Jeff Childers * Trump has fueled an AI boom with bold executive orders, signalling a significant reorientation of federal AI policy.

*   This shift moves from risk-aversion and ethics-first bureaucracy to a growth-maximizing, America-first, ideology-purging high-tech sales deal.

II. Crypto Bill Ignites Libertarian Anger * Crypto enthusiasts are madder than scalded cats this week due to new stablecoin regulations.

*   Digital-minded readers had been pleading for coverage of this story, which the author had previously avoided due to its complexity.

III. Rapid Passage of the GENIUS Act * The GENIUS Act passed in a hurry, roughly 30 days from drafting to signing.

*   Reportedly, **Trump** clinched the deal with 2 AM "whipping calls" with holdout lawmakers.

IV. The GENIUS Act Regulates Stablecoins * The GENIUS Act regulates a specific type of digital currency called a “stablecoin,” which are invisible “coins” pegged to the U.S. dollar.

*   This Act sets up a regulatory framework that requires private issuers to maintain one-to-one cash reserves or Treasuries.

V. Critics' Concerns Regarding GENIUS Act Eligibility * Critics' first complaint about the GENIUS Act was that only well-heeled issuers can play now, such as Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, Goldman, and Amazon.

*   This suggests a concern that the Act might concentrate power in the hands of large financial institutions.

VI. The GENIUS Act's Scope and Limitations * The GENIUS Act regulates a specific type of digital currency called a “stablecoin”.

*   However, the Act does *not* regulate Bitcoin or the vast majority of digital currencies that are *not* dollar-pegged.

VII. Conflicting Views on Consumer Protection vs. Government Control * Those favoring the GENIUS Act argue that the regulations will protect consumers, such as "grandma from getting wiped out if she buys some Romanian stablecoin".

*   In contrast, critics like Catherine Austin Fitts worry about the **heavy hand of government**, preferring digital currencies that are untraceable and cannot be cut off.

VIII. Desire for a Truly Untraceable Digital Currency * Libertarians want digital currencies that can be traded like cash: untraceable, and which can’t be cut off whenever citizens protest.

*   The author personally expresses a desire for a "decentralized, untraceable, unmanipulable digital currency".

IX. Necessity of Regulation for Mainstream Adoption * Absent regulatory protection, digital currencies will never be adopted by banks and large retailers.

*   Banks and retailers are certain they would "instantly become co-defendants whenever someone gets ripped off by high-tech Nigerian digital scam artists" without regulation.

X. Digital Payments Are Traceable * Before the GENIUS Act, stablecoin or Bitcoin were not truly untraceable without advanced hacking and operational security skills.

*   Digital payments are "totally traceable, recorded in a public database called “the blockchain,” where they can be tracked, analyzed, pattern-matched, folded, and spindled".

XI. Cash as the Sole Untraceable Currency * Only cash is truly untraceable.

*   The author emphasizes, "We must defend cash at all costs".

XII. Inevitable Stablecoin Regulation * Stablecoin regulation was inevitable.

*   The author has always believed that digital currencies were "one law away from utter uselessness," implying the necessity of regulation.

XIII. Trump's First AI Order Targets Ideological Bias * President Trump's first AI-oriented executive order banned the federal government from using any AI that exhibits ideological bias, such as inability to draw a white George Washington or a male Pope.

*   The order also cited "DEI-infused chatbots who opine that nuclear war is morally preferable to misgendering a single confused teenager".

XIV. Corporate Media Acknowledges Trump's Trade War Success * Corporate media has finally admitted that Trump’s trade wars are achieving results.

*   This was evidenced by "astonishing headlines" from CNN, such as "Trump Trade Wars: Unexpectedly Working".

XV. Trump's Second AI Order Fast-Tracks Data Centers * Trump’s second executive order fast-tracked federal permitting of AI data centers by waiving certain environmental and all DEI-focused regulations.

*   This order also encouraged agencies to loosen other rules around coal and natural gas, making it partly an energy order.

XVI. Trump's Third AI Order Launches Export Program * Trump’s third executive order launched an "American AI Export Program" under the Commerce and State Departments.

*   This initiative aims to "put rocket fuel in the American AI industry" by encouraging global adoption of American AI systems.

XVII. Reversal of Biden's AI Export Policies * Trump’s new AI export policy reversed years of Biden’s policies, which mainly restricted AI exports to hamper adversaries like China.

*   Trump’s plan is "growth first," prioritizing global sales over hypothetical concerns about misuse.

XVIII. Trump's Ambition to Dominate the AI Market * Trump explicitly wants America to "own the AI market".

*   He intends for the U.S. to "win the AI race" by treating the technology as a championship racehorse rather than a liability.

XIX. Mike Lindell Wins Lawsuit * Pillow-guy and key Trump ally Mike Lindell won his appeal and his lawsuit against tough odds.

*   This was highlighted as a piece of "good news" in the roundup.

XX. Columbia University Settles DEI Dispute * Columbia University agreed to pay $225 million to settle its "DEI war" with the Trump Administration.

*   This settlement was a result of Columbia committing to ending their DEI policies and admitting students based "ONLY on MERIT".

XXI. Columbia to End DEI Policies and Prioritize Merit * President Trump stated that Columbia had "committed to ending their ridiculous DEI policies".

*   The university also agreed to admit students based "ONLY on MERIT, and protecting the Civil Liberties of their students on campus".

XXII. Fox News Reports Obama's Presence During Chef Drowning * Fox News (and only Fox) reported that former President Obama was on site when his personal chef, Tafari Campbell, drowned at his Martha’s Vineyard compound.

*   This detail was part of a larger news roundup.

XXIII. Secret Service Video of Drowned Chef * Fox News also reported that the Secret Service has surveillance video of the doomed chef "moments before he entered the water".

*   The Secret Service will be trying to obtain that footage as well.

XXIV. Kennedy Secures Removal of Mercury from Flu Vaccines * Secretary Kennedy won his "long war" against the mercury-based preservative Thimerosal.

*   As a result, Thimerosal will be removed from all U.S. flu vaccines.

XXV. Impact of Thimerosal Removal on Flu Vaccines * The removal of Thimerosal means flu vaccines must now be packaged in single-use formats.

*   This move might also slow flu jab uptake across the board, as Thimerosal was previously needed for multi-use vials.

XXVI. Kennedy Fires Top HHS Staffers * Kennedy fired two top HHS staffers this week.

*   The rumor is that they helped rush through the recent approval of the Moderna vaccine while Kennedy was on vacation, leading to his displeasure.

XXVII. HHS Ignored Minors' Calls for Help * Biden’s HHS ignored "desperate pleas from tens of thousands of misplaced minors".

*   A government witness testified that 65,000 calls from unaccompanied minors reporting problems with their placements went unanswered.

XXVIII. DNI Tulsi Gabbard Declassifies RussiaGate Report * DNI Tulsi Gabbard declassified a "blockbuster" double-top-secret House intelligence report on the RussiaGate scandal.

*   This report was so classified that most lawmakers weren’t allowed to read it, and those who did weren't allowed to discuss it.

XXIX. RussiaGate Report Accuses Obama and National Security Team * Gabbard stated the declassified documents contain "irrefutable evidence that details how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false".

*   The report explained that Russia *expected* Hillary to win and was *withholding* damaging information about her to leak *after* her assumed election.

XXX. Russia Did Not Help Trump in 2016 Election * The RussiaGate report indicates that Russia "could have helped Trump during the final days of the campaign when polls were narrowing, but didn’t".

*   This contradicts the narrative of Russia and Trump working together.

I. How the Global Majority Can Free Itself from US Financial Colonialism, by Michael Hudson Industrial capitalism was revolutionary in its fight to free Europe’s economies and parliaments from the hereditary privileges and vested interests that survived from feudalism.

To make their manufactures competitive in world markets, industrialists needed to end the land rent paid to Europe’s landed aristocracies, the economic rents extracted by trade monopolies, and interest paid to bankers who played no role in financing industry.

II. Rollback of Classical Anti-Rentier Aims The 20th century saw the classical aim of clearing away these economic rents rolled back in Europe, the United States, and other Western countries.

However, today, land and natural-resource rents in private hands are still rising and even receiving special tax advantages.

III. Free Trade's Role in British Industrialization What has survived from the policies by which Europe’s industrial powers and the United States built up their own manufacturing is free trade.

Britain implemented free trade after a 30-year fight on behalf of its industry against the landed aristocracy, aimed at ending the protectionist agricultural tariffs, the Corn Laws, which had been enacted in 1815 to prevent opening the home market to low-priced food imports, which would have reduced farming rents.

IV. Rent-Seeking in Colonies vs. Rent-Avoidance in Industrial Nations In such countries, Europe’s foreign investors sought to buy rent-yielding natural resources headed by mineral and land rights, and basic infrastructure headed by railroads and canals.

This created a diametric contrast between rent-avoidance in the industrial nations and rent-seeking in their colonies and other host countries, while European bankers used debt leverage to gain fiscal control of former colonies who had won independence in the 19th and 20th centuries.

V. Global Majority's Challenge: Overcoming Colonial Rent and Debt Just as Britain, France, and Germany aimed to free their economies from feudalism’s legacy of the vested interests with rent extraction privileges, most of today’s Global Majority countries need to free themselves from the rent and debt overhead inherited from European colonialism and creditor control.

But the combination of foreign debt and free trade has blocked them from developing along the balanced public/private lines that Western Europe and the United States followed.

VI. Western Pressure Perpetuating Geopolitical Domination The tax policy and other legislation of these countries has been shaped by U.S. and European pressure to observe international trade and investment rules that perpetuate geopolitical domination by Western bankers and rent-extracting investors to control their national patrimony.

Seeking to maintain this relationship, the U.S. and European governments are blocking attempts by these countries to follow the path that Europe’s industrial nations and the United States took for their own economies with their 19th-century political and fiscal reforms that empowered their own takeoff.

VII. Bifurcation of the World Economy Without these countries adopting fiscal and political reforms aimed at developing their own sovereignty and prospects for growth on the basis of their own national patrimony of land, natural resources and basic infrastructure, the world economy will remain bifurcated between Western rentier nations and their Global Majority hosts and held subject to neoliberal orthodoxy.

When U.S. political leaders single out China as an existential enemy of the West, it is not as a military threat but for offering a successful economic alternative to today’s U.S.-sponsored neoliberal world order.

VIII. China's Economic Model as a Threat to Neoliberal Order The success of China’s model poses a threat to the neoliberal order.

That order was supposed to represent the End of History, succeeding through its logic of free trade, government deregulation, and international investment free of capital controls, while detouring away from industrial capitalism’s anti-rentier policies.

IX. Western Deindustrialization and Rejection of Classical Economics We can now see the absurdity in this self-satisfying evangelical view that had emerged just as Western economies were deindustrializing, as a result of the dynamics of their neoliberal finance capitalism.

The vested financial and other rentier interests are rejecting not only China but the logic of industrial capitalism as described by its own 19th-century classical economists.

X. China's "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" Aligns with Classical Economics Western neoliberal observers have closed their eyes to recognizing the ways in which China’s “socialism with Chinese characteristics” has achieved its success by a logic similar to that of the industrial capitalism advocated by classical economists to minimize rentier income.

Most late 19th-century economic writers expected industrial capitalism to evolve into socialism of one form or another, as the role of public investment and regulation increased.

XI. China's Government Control of Money and Infrastructure Where China has gone further than earlier socialist mixed-economy reforms has been in keeping money and credit creation in the hands of government, along with basic infrastructure and natural resources.

Fear that other governments might follow China’s lead has led U.S. and other Western finance-capitalist ideologues to view China as a threat by providing a model for economic reforms that are precisely the opposite of what the 20th century’s pro-rentier, anti-government ideology fought against.

XII. Global South's Need to Recover Economic Sovereignty The foreign debt overhead owed to U.S. and other Western creditors, and enabled by the 1945-2025 international geopolitical rules designed by U.S. diplomats at Bretton Woods in 1944, obliges the Global South and other countries to recover their economic sovereignty by freeing themselves from their foreign (mainly dollarized) banking and financial burden.

These countries have the same land-rent problem that Europe’s industrial capitalism faced, but their land and resource rents are mainly owned by multinational companies and other foreign appropriators of their oil and mineral rights, forests, and latifundia plantations, who extract resource rents by emptying out the world’s oil and mineral resources and cutting down its forests.

XIII. Taxing Economic Rent as a Precondition for Sovereignty A precondition for Global South countries to gain economic autonomy is to follow the advice of the classical economists and tax the largest sources of rental income – land rent, monopoly rent, and financial returns – instead of letting them be sent abroad.

Taxing these rents would help stabilize their balance of payments, while providing their governments with revenue to finance their infrastructure needs and the related social spending needed to subsidize their economic modernization.

XIV. Historical Precedent for Taxing Rent in Industrial Nations That is how Britain, France, Germany and the United States established their own industrial, agricultural, and financial supremacy.

This is not a radical socialist policy; it always has been a **central element of industrial capitalist development**.

XV. Neoliberal Inversion of "Free Market" Definition But neoliberal ideology calls such taxation of rent, and the regulation of monopolies or other market phenomena, an intrusive interference into the “free market”.

The classical economists defined a free market as one free *from* economic rent, not as one free *for* the extraction of economic rent, let alone as freedom for creditor-nation governments to create a “rules-based order” to facilitate foreign rent extraction and stifle the development of financially and trade-dependent host countries.

XVI. Debt Remission as a Precondition for Economic Sovereignty The fight by countries to free themselves from their foreign debt overhead is much harder than Europe’s 19th-century fight to end the privileges of its landed aristocracy (and less successfully, of its bankers), because it is international in scope, and is now confronted by a creditor-nation alliance to maintain the system of financial colonization created two centuries ago, as former colonies sought to finance their independence by borrowing from foreign bankers.

Financial dependency on bankers and bondholders replaced colonial dependency, obliging debtor countries to give fiscal priority to foreign creditors.

XVII. Post-WWII Order Drained Global South Reserves World War II enabled many of these countries to accumulate substantial foreign monetary reserves as a result of supplying raw materials to the belligerents.

But the post-war order designed by U.S. diplomats, based on free trade and free capital movements, **drained these savings**, and obliged the Global South and other countries to borrow to cover their trade deficits.

XVIII. Foreign Debts Exceed Payment Ability, Leading to Austerity The resulting foreign debts soon came to exceed the ability of these countries to pay – that is, to pay without surrendering to the destructive IMF demands for austerity that blocked the investment needed to raise their productivity and living standards.

Their choice today, therefore, is between paying their foreign debts – at the cost of blocking their own development – or claiming that these debts are odious and insisting that they be written off.

XIX. Achieving Self-Determination Through Collective Action Their self-determination can only be achieved by joining together in a collective front.

Donald Trump’s tariff aggression has catalyzed this process by drastically reducing the U.S. market for exports from debtor countries, preventing them from obtaining the dollars to pay their bonds and bank debts, so these won’t be paid in any event.

XX. Urgent Need for Collective Economic Sovereignty Today’s Western debt crisis, de-industrialization, and coercive weaponization of foreign trade and financial sanctions under the dollarized international financial system, capped by the “America First” tariff policy, have created an urgent need for countries to collectively seek economic sovereignty, to become independent from U.S. and European control of the international economy.

The collective BRICS+, with Russia and China taking the lead, have just begun talking about making such an attempt.

XXI. China's Success as a Catalyst for National Development The great catalyst for countries to take control of their national development has been China.

As indicated above, its industrial socialism has largely achieved the classical aim of industrial capitalism of minimizing rentier overhead, above all by publicly creating money to finance tangible growth.

XXII. China's State Control of Money and Credit Keeping money and credit creation in government hands, via China’s state-owned banks, prevents financial and other rentier interests from taking over the economy and subjecting it to the financial overhead that has characterized Western economies.

China’s successful alternative for allocating credit avoids making purely financial gains at the expense of tangible capital formation and living standards.

XXIII. Western Financial Systems Prioritize Financial Gains Over Productive Capital Western financial systems are overseen by central banks that have been made independent from the Treasury and government regulatory “interference”.

Their role is to provide the commercial banking system’s liquidity as it creates interest-bearing debt, mainly for the purpose of making wealth financially by debt leveraging (asset-price inflation), not for productive capital formation.

XXIV. Financialization and Deindustrialization in Western Economies Capital gains – rising prices for housing and other real estate, stocks, and bonds – are much larger than GDP growth.

Instead of the financial system being industrialized, **Western industrial corporations have become financialized**, and that has occurred along lines that have deindustrialized the U.S. and European economies.

XXV. Debt Overhead as Transfer Payments Carrying charges on the rising debt overhead are transfer payments to the finance sector, by labor and businesses, out of wages and profits earned by actual production.

That shrinks the income available for spending on the products produced by labor and capital, leaving economies debt-ridden and deindustrialized.

XXVI. Ideological Campaign Against Government Intervention The broadest strategy to block countries from avoiding the rentier burden has been to wage an ideological campaign from the educational system to mass media.

The aim is to control the narrative in a way that depicts government as an oppressive Leviathan, an inherently bureaucratic autocracy.

XXVII. Western "Democracy" Defined Economically by Unregulated Finance Western “democracy” is defined not so much politically as economically, as a free market whose resources are allocated by a banking and financial sector independent of regulatory oversight.

Governments strong enough to limit financial and other rentier wealth in the public interest are demonized as autocracies or “planned economics”.

XXVIII. Indoctrination of Global Majority Officials Global Majority officials and administrators who have studied economics at U.S. and European universities have been indoctrinated with a value-free (that is, rent-free) pro-rentier ideology to frame the way they think about how economies work.

This narrative excludes consideration of how debt polarizes economies by growing exponentially at compound interest.

XXIX. Neoliberal Diplomacy's Use of Force and Bureaucratic Control Beyond this ideological campaign, neoliberal diplomacy uses military force, regime change, and control of the main international bureaucracies associated with the United Nations, the IMF, and World Bank — and a more covert network of non-government organizations (NGOs) — to prevent countries from withdrawing from today’s pro-rentier fiscal rules and pro-creditor laws.

The United States has taken the lead in using force and regime change against governments that would tax away or otherwise limit rent extraction.

XXX. Vested Interests Using Violence to Defend Wealth It should be noted that few early socialists (except anarchists) advocated violence in pursuit of their reforms.

It has been the vested interests, unwilling to accept loss of the privileges that are the basis of their fortunes, who have not hesitated to **use violence to defend their wealth and power** against attempts at reform to check their privileges.

XXXI. U.S. Opposition to Sovereign Economic Development American diplomacy views any attempt to enact the necessary political and tax reforms and strong government regulatory authority as posing an existential threat to U.S. control over international finance and trade.

This raises the question of whether it is possible to achieve reforms and a strong public economy without war.

XXXII. Need for Alliance to Protect Economic Sovereignty The only way to protect economic sovereignty against military threats is to join an alliance for mutual support, since individual countries can be isolated in the way that Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran have been — or destroyed, like Libya.

American writers characterize the attempt of other countries to join together to achieve economic sovereignty as a civilizational war.

XXXIII. U.S.-Centered Financial Colonialism Post-WWII After World War II, the era of settler-state colonialism gave way to financial colonialism, with the international economy dollarized under U.S. leadership.

The Bretton Woods rules established by 1945 enabled multinational corporations to keep economic rents for land, natural resources and public infrastructure out of domestic fiscal reach.

XXXIV. Weaponization of World Trade by the U.S. The United States was able to weaponize world trade by monopolizing oil exports through U.S. and allied oil companies (the Seven Sisters), while U.S. and European agricultural protectionism and World Bank “aid” policy steered food-deficit countries to focus on tropical plantation crops instead of grain to feed themselves.

President Bill Clinton’s 1994 NAFTA free-trade agreement swamped Mexico’s market with low-priced U.S. farm exports (highly subsidized by strong government support), leaving it food-dependent.

XXXV. Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Courts Undermine Sovereignty To block governments from taxing or even fining foreign investors to recover compensation for damages to their countries, today’s rentier powers have created Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) courts requiring governments to compensate foreign investors for increasing taxes or imposing regulations that reduce foreign-owned income.

This system blocks national sovereignty, including by preventing host countries from taxing the economic rent of their land and natural resources owned by foreigners.

XXXVI. U.S. Power Based on Causing Chaos That has left America’s post-industrial power based mainly on its ability to harm other countries with chaos if they do not accept the U.S. “rules-based order” designed to extract tribute from them.

The U.S. imposes protectionist tariffs and import quotas at will, and subsidizes agriculture and key technologies as potential global high-tech monopolies, while forbidding other countries from implementing such “socialist” or “autocratic” policies to become more competitive.

XXXVII. U.S. Double Standards in Trade and Aid However, U.S. diplomacy opposes the attempts of other countries, especially Global South countries, to impose their own protectionist subsidies and import quotas aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in basic food production.

U.S. policy has consistently **opposed family-owned farming and land reform** throughout Latin America and other Global South countries, often with violence.

XXXVIII. Russia Leading Protest Against Unipolar U.S. Order It is not surprising that, inasmuch as Russia has long been the United States’ main military adversary, it has taken the lead in protesting against the unipolar U.S. order.

Advocating a multipolar alternative to the U.S. neoliberal order in June 2025, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the post-colonial economic subjugation of the countries that achieved political independence from colonialist rule in the 19th and 20th centuries but which are now facing the next task needed to complete their liberation.

XXXIX. Western Use of Sanctions and Currency to Maintain Control The West is using illegal unilateral sanctions, which increasingly become the harbinger of a military attack, as this has happened in Yugoslavia, Iraq and Libya and is now happening in Iran, as well as the instruments of unfair competition, initiating tariff wars, seizing other countries’ sovereign assets and taking advantage of the role of their currencies and payment systems.

The West itself has actually buried the globalization model, which it developed after the Cold War to promote its interests.

XL. Erosion of U.S. Financial Reputation and Leverage The U.S. and European confiscation of $300 billion of Russia’s monetary deposits has darkened America’s reputation for financial safety.

While its chronic trade and balance-of-payments deficits threaten to disrupt the international monetary system and free trade that made it the major beneficiary of the 1945-2025 world order.

I. Batman vs The Joker: Democrats Will Double Down On Chaos To Save Their Party - By Brandon Smith

• The Democratic Party's behavior is compared to The Joker's philosophy of pure chaos and a desire to corrupt and destroy.
  
  

  • The author suggests that understanding leftists merely requires reading comic books, specifically referencing Batman's arch-nemesis, The Joker.

  • The Joker represents pure chaos and an "unhinged, unadulterated desire for power," aiming to corrupt and destroy rather than control, believing his evil is a universal truth.

• Leftists follow two main rules: they never admit they are wrong, and they always double down.
  
  

  • When they perceive they are losing their ability to disrupt public order and upend societal norms, they will escalate their actions instead of engaging in diplomacy.

  • Admitting they are wrong about their ideals or intentions would violate their first rule, preventing them from self-reflection and change.

• Donald Trump gained significant favor by promising to aggressively counter the chaos embraced by Democrats.
  
  

  • Many people turned to Trump due to his uncompromising stance against the "madness" that led to medical tyranny, woke indoctrination, race riots, and economic crises.

  • Trump's administration began cutting federal funding to NGOs and throttling historic financial support sources for the political left, causing corporations to withdraw their backing.

• Democrats are increasingly abandoning moderation and openly embracing socialist/communist platforms.
  
  

  • Previously, Democrats were careful to conceal their socialist intentions, accusing conservatives of being "conspiracy theorists" when socialist agendas were suggested.

  • This tactic no longer works, and instead of sanitizing their image, Democrats are now "doubling down and openly embracing the socialist/communist platform" without shame.

• The author predicts that electing candidates like Zohran Mamdani in New York would lead to severe economic consequences.
  
  

  • Mamdani's policies, described as a "mish-mash of socialist and Marxist mechanics," are expected to drive out major businesses and wealthy taxpayers, causing jobs to disappear.

  • Government interference in housing, such as rent freezes, would force property owners to sell, leading to an implosion of the housing supply and lower-income workers leaving the city.

• Leftists are seeking a "Joker" figure to counter "populism" and embrace a more extreme vision.
  
  

  • They are looking for a figure to oppose conservatives, capitalism, Christian morality, law and order, and Western culture, seeing hardcore socialism as their "Joker".

  • They are "tired of pretending that they care about 'democracy,' free markets, property rights, moral codes or freedom in general" and desire leadership that is transparent and unapologetic in its "psychopathic intent".

• The doubling down of Democrats will lead to more clashes, mob actions, and violence, as their ultimate goal is to "burn everything down" to rebuild with their own agenda.
  
  

  • This escalating behavior means a future with "many more clashes, more mob actions, more violence and very little peace".

  • Democrats are willing to welcome the most extreme leaders to avoid "self-reflect[ing] and change[ing] their ways".

II. Blame Covid: America's Economy Hits a Wall - By Justin Hart

• The current economic crisis is primarily attributed to the financial decisions made during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  

  • The author states that "the seeds of this economic crisis were sown the moment we let COVID panic override common sense".

  • Injecting trillions into the system for "relief" inflated asset bubbles, distorted labor incentives, and led both Wall Street and Main Street to expect perpetual "free money".

• The American consumer has reached a critical point, and the economy is on the verge of significant decline.
  
  

  • "The cracks are no longer theoretical—they’re everywhere you look," indicating a fundamental shift with deep implications for the coming months.

  • The author states that the American consumer, once the engine of growth, "has remembered how to hit the wall," pointing to tangible weakness across the labor market and consumer spending.

• Average weekly paychecks have declined, a rare occurrence historically linked to severe economic contractions.
  
  

  • For the first time since August 2020, average weekly paychecks decreased on a three-month basis through June 2025.

  • This "highly unusual weakness" has only coincided with major economic downturns such as the dot-com recession or the 2008-2009 financial crisis in the last three decades.

• Consumer spending, including retail sales and personal consumption expenditures, has been consistently negative in 2025.
  
  

  • Real personal consumption expenditures were negative on a five-month basis for the entire first five months of 2025, a situation not seen since 2020.

  • Retail sales fell in January 2025, and overall Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) have followed suit through the first half of the year, up to May.

• Consumers are actively reducing their credit card debt and refraining from taking on new credit.
  
  

  • Revolving consumer credit, primarily credit card debt, saw a significant decline of $3.5 billion in May 2025.

  • This behavior signifies that consumers are consciously "refraining from adding to credit lines, applying for fewer cards, and in more extreme circumstances, even paying down existing debt" due to job and income insecurity.

• The labor market, despite official narratives, shows signs of significant weakness, including a shrinking labor force.
  
  

  • The hours index, a critical measure of labor input, experienced its worst monthly decline in a year, sliding by 0.3% in June.

  • Employment collapsed by a combined 600,000 in May and June, and the labor force itself shrunk by three-quarters of a million, primarily because "there is no work".

• Businesses are struggling with weak sales and rising costs, leading to employee cutbacks, which creates a negative feedback loop.
  
  

  • Many online merchants cannot offer discounts because their margins are already too low.

  • This pressure forces employers to reduce expenses, including employees, which in turn causes consumers to pull back on spending due to income jeopardy, perpetuating the cycle.

• The Federal Reserve is quietly acknowledging the "distinct nonzero possibility" of returning to Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP).
  
  

  • The New York Fed published a post titled "The zero lower bound remains a medium-term risk," a significant concession that marks a profound shift from past dismissals of market signals.

  • Economists are grudgingly admitting their models failed to incorporate the financial system, meaning that even starting from higher rates, the chance of hitting zero remains "uncomfortably high".

III. Get Ready for a Big Foreign Crisis - By Jacob G. Hornberger

• A major foreign crisis is anticipated to divert public attention from President Trump's refusal to release all records related to the Jeffrey Epstein pedophilia investigation.
  
  

  • The author suggests that such a crisis would serve as a "time-honored way to get people to set aside their rebellion and instead 'rally ’round the flag'".

  • This strategy is presented as a means to distract from President Trump's MAGA supporters' rebellion over the unreleased Epstein files.

• Historically, rulers have instigated wars to quell domestic unrest and refocus public fear and patriotism.
  
  

  • James Madison's words are cited, stating that "The means of defense against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home".

  • The Roman Empire is given as an example, where emperors would "excite a war" whenever a revolt was apprehended, causing people to forget their rebellion in fear.

• The 9/11 attacks are presented as an example of a foreign crisis that ended demands for a "peace dividend".
  
  

  • After the Cold War, Americans demanded a "peace dividend," advocating for massive reductions in national-security-state spending and taxes.

  • However, following 9/11, these demands disappeared as people called for federal government action to ensure safety amidst a climate of fear and patriotism, leading to continued taxpayer funding of the national-security establishment.

• The author suggests various existing international conflicts could be escalated to serve as a distraction.
  
  

  • Furnishing Ukraine with long-range missiles to attack Russian cities could provoke Russia to strike NATO countries, potentially leading to "all-out nuclear war".

  • Ginning up a crisis with nuclear-armed China over Taiwan, or with North Korea, are also presented as "excellent way[s] to cause people to stop thinking about Epstein".

• Iran is identified as a perennial option for creating a "scary official enemy" and a foreign-policy crisis.
  
  

  • Claiming Iran is producing nuclear weapons to use against Israel or the United States is presented as an easy way to generate a crisis.

  • This would serve as another effective diversion to make "all those MAGA people to forget Jeffrey Epstein".

• Given the powerful connections of Epstein's clients and potential intelligence ties, the release of all investigative files is deemed unlikely.
  
  

  • The author states that "there is no reasonable possibility that Trump is going to order the release of all the federal investigative files in the Epstein case".

  • If Trump's MAGA supporters do not accept this and continue their rebellion, a significant foreign crisis is predicted in the near future.

IV. Historic First: Brussels Court Judge Orders Halt to Arms Transit to Israel - By Marc Vandepitte

• A Brussels court has issued a landmark ruling, ordering the Flemish government to halt arms transit to Israel and imposing penalties for non-compliance.
  
  

  • The Brussels Court of First Instance specifically commanded the Flemish government to block a container of military equipment bound for Israel and ban any future transit of military material to the country.

  • To enforce the ban, the court imposed a penalty of 50,000 euros for each shipment that still departs for Israel, requiring written proof of civilian use for any goods shipped.

• The ruling asserts that Flanders systematically failed to meet its obligations under arms legislation and international treaties.
  
  

  • The judge determined that the Flemish government was in violation of its duties concerning arms legislation and international treaties.

  • The case centered on tapered roller bearings produced by Timken via a French branch, destined for Ashot Ashkelon Industries, an Israeli defense company supplying components for Merkava tanks.

• The court's decision is highly significant as it confirms the illegality of facilitating weapons delivery to a state committing war crimes or potential genocide.
  
  

  • This ruling marks an end to impunity, meaning governments can no longer disregard their role when their weapons are used for atrocities.

  • It sets a legal precedent, compelling European and other governments to assume responsibility, and similar lawsuits are anticipated in other countries.

• Further legal actions are underway in Belgium against the federal government and at the European level against EU institutions.
  
  

  • A group of Palestinian claimants and Belgian organizations have sent a formal notice to the Belgian federal government, accusing it of passive complicity in the Gaza genocide.

  • The legal NGO JURDI is suing both the European Commission and the Council of the European Union at the Court of Justice for their "negligence" regarding the violence in Gaza, citing Article 265 of the EU Treaty.

• These legal challenges raise the question of a third party's legal obligation to prevent genocide, affirming that such an obligation exists under the Genocide Convention.
  
  

  • The Genocide Convention obliges every country "not only to punish genocide but also to actively prevent it".

  • Eighteen top Belgian jurists concur, warning that Belgium itself risks being brought before the International Court of Justice if it remains silent, as passivity can be interpreted as complicity.

• The legal actions demand concrete measures, including the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and sanctions against Israeli officials.
  
  

  • Claimants against the Belgian federal government demand halting military deliveries, confiscating imports from occupied Palestinian territories, blocking investments, and suspending the EU-Israel association agreement.

  • JURDI specifically demands the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, termination of subsidies, and sanctions against Israeli officials, arguing the EU is legally and morally obligated to act.

• Despite court victories, the fight against genocide is ongoing and requires continued pressure and global mobilization.
  
  

  • "Genocide does not pause," and while politicians delay, people in Gaza continue to suffer and die.

  • The Palestinian resistance movements in Gaza have called for a global mobilization starting July 20, 2025, urging countries and citizens to protest and act to halt the genocide.

V. How Survive in a Gang-controlled Neighborhood - By Clark Barnes

• Gang violence is a pervasive problem in major US cities with rising membership, which escalates significantly during emergencies when the rule of law breaks down.
  
  

  • "Gang violence is a problem in every major city in the United States and membership is on the rise".

  • During "chaos and disorder of emergencies," gang membership skyrockets, making them a bigger problem when anarchy replaces the rule of law, as people seek group affiliation for protection.

• Maintaining situational awareness is crucial, including learning about local gangs and their methods of operation.
  
  

  • It is advised to "Maintain situational awareness. Scan waists and hands for weapons".

  • One should "Learn what gangs are active in your area, how to identify members," and understand their "SOP" (Standard Operating Procedure) and "IFF" (Identification Friend or Foe).

• To reduce risk during encounters, avoid looking like a victim but also check your ego and show respect.
  
  

  • Individuals should "Be confident and make brief eye contact. Don’t look like a victim but check your ego and show respect".

  • Disrespecting a gang member can lead to immediate confrontation, as they may feel compelled to act to maintain "street cred".

• Employ specific tactics to mitigate losses during robberies, such as carrying decoy items and splitting up cash.
  
  

  • Understanding the criminal SOP greatly improves one's chances of survival and limits exposure to loss.

  • Techniques include using a "Drop Wallet" with expired credit cards and a believable amount of cash, and carrying a "Decoy Cell Phone" while keeping the new one concealed.

• Avoid asking "What?" if confronted by a criminal, and simply hand over what is demanded.
  
  

  • Even if there's a language barrier or slang is used, it's safer to avoid confusion and hand over items immediately.

  • A personal anecdote is shared where an American was shot in the head for not understanding a gang member's demand, highlighting the danger of asking for clarification.

• Concealed carry can be a survival option in some situations, but the decision to fight should be based on regular training and assessment of the situation.
  
  

  • The author states that "If things do go sideways, sometimes your chances of survival are better if you fight".

  • However, it's crucial to "Train regularly and learn when it’s better to fight and when it’s better not to," acknowledging that concealed carry might not be legal in all environments.

• Showing a curt nod and verbally stating non-disrespectful intent can help de-escalate interactions with gang members.
  
  

  • When encountering someone who might be a gang member, do not avoid eye contact but "Walk confidently, make brief eye contact and give one of them a curt nod to acknowledge their presence".

  • If challenged, verbally convey the message, "I’m not disrespecting you," to address their concern about losing face.

VI. Maybe AI Isn't Going to Replace You at Work After All - By Charles Hugh Smith

• AI currently fails at tasks requiring absolute accuracy, which is essential for creating real value in high-level work.
  
  

  • The author notes a "severe lack of real-world examples" in discussions about AI replacing people, suggesting AI fails where "accuracy must be absolute to create value".

  • He argues that nobody pays real money for AI output that has "zero scarcity value," such as copycat essays or videos, contrasting it with the need for perfect accuracy in "real work".

• AI hype is pervasive, but it often overlooks the practical failures and limitations of these tools in complex scenarios.
  
  

  • The author critiques the "feeding-frenzy of AI hype," stating that people don't share videos of robots failing or AI tools making errors that lead to significant consequences, such as forfeiting a lawsuit.

  • True understanding of AI's limits comes from deploying them in high-level, high-value work where they are expected to perform with "ease, speed and accuracy".

• An investigative reporter's experience with AI tools (NotebookLM, Gemini, ChatGPT) revealed noticeable errors and "hallucinations" in detail-oriented tasks.
  
  

  • Ian Lind, an investigative reporter working on a complex federal prosecution case, experimented with AI tools for months.

  • He found that while high-level requests yielded interesting results, attempts to find and pull together specific details "almost always had noticeable errors or hallucinations".

• AI does not "read" an entire collection of texts; it stops processing once it can generate a "credible" but not necessarily accurate response.
  
  

  • One of AI's fundamental weaknesses is that it "doesn’t actually 'read' the entire collection of texts," effectively getting "bored".

  • It generates responses that are "good enough" or "shoot from the hip," meaning they are not 100% accurate but have a superficial appearance of being comprehensive.

• AI suffers from "digital dementia," meaning it does not consistently remember past queries or its own previous responses.
  
  

  • The author identifies "digital dementia" as another fundamental weakness of AI.

  • This means AI "doesn’t necessarily remember what you asked for in the past nor does it necessarily remember its previous responses to the same queries".

• AI is fundamentally untrustworthy because it cannot detect its own errors and cannot differentiate between consequential and inconsequential mistakes.
  
  

  • It "makes errors that it doesn’t detect" because it hasn't fully processed the text, leading to untrustworthy output.

  • These programs are "text / content prediction engines" that lack understanding, so they "can’t tell the difference between a consequential error and a 'who cares' error".

• The Chinese Room thought experiment illustrates that AI, like a person shuffling symbols, does not truly "know" or "understand" what it processes.
  
  

  • The Chinese Room analogy describes a person in a sealed room translating English to Chinese without understanding either language, only manipulating symbols.

  • This concept, the author states, "describes AI agents in a nutshell," highlighting that they have no awareness of languages, meanings, or knowledge.

VII. Not Knowing The 'Enemy' - By Moon of Alabama

• Western governments often lack fundamental knowledge of their adversaries' capabilities and economic or sociological realities.
  
  

  • The author expresses amazement at "how little western governments are aware of their own (lack of) capabilities as well as of the nature and capabilities of their ‘enemies’".

  • US politicians, regardless of administration, are described as being "too full of themselves to doubt their own level of knowledge about their opponents," leading to inevitable disasters in foreign policy battles.

• Sanctions imposed on Russia failed to trouble it and instead primarily harmed those who implemented them.
  
  

  • US officials were reportedly "assured by some of the dumbest people on the planet" that Russia was merely "a gas station with nuclear weapons".

  • Despite these assurances, sanctions "failed to trouble" Russia and "hurt those who imposed them the most".

• The Trump administration's tariffs on Brazil backfired, politically benefiting the Brazilian president, Lula.
  
  

  • A 50% tariff was placed on Brazilian goods to punish its government and judiciary for charges against former president Jair Bolsonaro.

  • This action, meant as a show of strength, became a "political gift for Lula," who could credibly present himself as a symbol of national resistance, while harming the business elites who typically support his opposition.

• The US trade war with China, particularly regarding rare earths, demonstrated a severe lack of knowledge about China's economic leverage.
  
  

  • When Trump raised tariffs, some officials expected China to quickly yield due to economic weakness, but instead, Beijing restricted rare earths, vital for US industries like cars and military equipment.

  • Trump and his advisors were "surprised by the threat that Beijing’s countermove posed," indicating their lack of awareness about China's monopoly on making rare earths into magnets essential for US high-tech products.

• China effectively used the US "national security" pretext to justify its own retaliatory measures in trade disputes.
  
  

  • The US had previously used export controls on Chinese tech giant Huawei and Nvidia chips, insisting these were "national security matters and not up for debate".

  • In a meeting in Geneva, China countered by insisting its minerals and magnets were "dual-use" technology, demanding reciprocity: if the US wanted rare earths, it should "lessen its technology controls".

• China has gained access to Nvidia chips, and the US has conceded in trade negotiations, demonstrating China's victory in this battle.
  
  

  • Following China's counterarguments, China "has regained access to Nvidia chips and Trump is seeking a meeting with China’s president Xi".

  • The author concludes that "Evidently, China has won this battle".

• The author observes a pattern of the US losing foreign policy battles over 25 years due to unrealistic assumptions by politicians.
  
  

  • He has "observed the U.S. losing one foreign policy battle after the other over the last 25 years".

  • The author no longer expects sanity to set in or realistic assumptions to be made before launching new adventures.

VIII. The Untouchables: The Sexual Predators Within America’s Power Elite - By John & Nisha Whitehead

• The Jeffrey Epstein case exemplifies a systemic issue where America's power elite is shielded from accountability for predatory behavior.
  
  

  • The author states that the "machinery that empowered and protected him is still very much alive," despite Epstein's death.

  • The Epstein case "was about the entire edifice of power that shields the ruling class, silences victims, and erases accountability".

• The Trump administration's actions regarding Epstein reinforced suspicions of a system rigged to protect the powerful.
  
  

  • Alex Jones from InfoWars is quoted saying the Trump administration became "part of the cover-up" by its declarations regarding Epstein.

  • Trump's declarations that Epstein had no client list, killed himself, and that no further investigation was needed only "reinforced what many have suspected all along: the system is rigged in order to protect the power elite".

• Corruption, particularly involving sexual debauchery and predatory behavior, is presented as a "great equalizer" across various sectors of power.
  
  

  • "Politics, religion, entertainment, business, law enforcement, the military" are all described as being "riddled with the kind of seedy, depraved behavior that gets a free pass when it involves the powerful".

  • The Epstein case is called a "grotesque emblem of the depravity within America’s power elite," involving billionaires, politicians, and celebrities.

• Prominent figures like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are linked to Epstein and have faced accusations of sexual impropriety themselves.
  
  

  • Both Clinton and Trump were counted among Epstein's friends and were passengers on his private plane, nicknamed the "Lolita Express".

  • The authors highlight that both are "renowned womanizers who have been accused of sexual impropriety by a significant number of women over the years".

• The government exhibits a double standard, where severe punishments are sought for some, while the powerful are exempted from accountability.
  
  

  • President Trump refused to appoint a special prosecutor, and politicians demanding harsh penalties for immigrants or protesters remained silent on systematic abuse by powerful men.

  • The author states, "This isn’t justice. It’s a double standard—one set of rules for the untouchables, and another for everyone else".

• Child sex trafficking is identified as a rapidly growing and lucrative business in organized crime within America.
  
  

  • The "shadow economy of sex trafficking" is where "power, profit, and predation converge".

  • It is described as "the fastest growing business in organized crime and the second most-lucrative commodity traded illegally after drugs and guns," with adults purchasing children for sex millions of times annually.

• Epstein's secret plea deal and the non-prosecution of his influential associates illustrate how the criminal justice system favors the wealthy and elite.
  
  

  • Epstein was "gifted a secret plea deal" that allowed him to evade federal charges and serve a lenient sentence, which was later ruled illegal.

  • Allegations in an unsealed document linked to the Epstein case reference sexual abuse involving "numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known Prime Minister, and other world leaders".

• The problem of abuse of power is presented as systemic, not an aberration, and is perpetuated by a culture of impunity and compliance.
  
  

  • "Abuse of power is not an aberration of the system—it is the system," characterized by "ambition-fueled hypocrisy and deliberate disregard for misconduct".

  • This culture allows powerful individuals to "get away with murder—in many cases, literally—simply because they can," due to a lack of accountability.

IX. Vaccination: A crime against health and liberties spanning 100 years - By Rhoda Wilson

• US Senator Ron Johnson recently hosted a Committee hearing to highlight the voices of individuals who have been injured by vaccines.
  
  

  • The hearing, titled 'Voices of the Vaccine Injured,' provided a platform for testimonies from vaccine-injured individuals and their families.

  • Witnesses included parents of vaccine-injured children, a vaccine-injured anesthesiologist, and mothers of children who died following vaccinations.

• Senator Johnson noted that questioning vaccines and vaccination policy is met with "religious-like zeal" and strong vilification.
  
  

  • He stated that "The faith in vaccines and vaccination policy is protected with religious-like zeal".

  • Those who question them are viewed as "apostates, dangerous apostates, more than deserving of the scorn, vilification and retribution heaped upon them".

• Resistance to vaccination and concerns about state incursions into civil liberties date back over a century in both the UK and the US.
  
  

  • The British Vaccination Act of 1840 marked the state's first intrusion into civil liberties in the name of public health, followed by compulsory vaccination acts in 1853 and 1867.

  • In the US, the first vaccine mandate law for smallpox was enacted in 1809, and the Supreme Court upheld compulsory smallpox vaccination in 1905 in Jacobson v. Massachusetts.

• Dr. Benedict Lust, the father of American naturopathy, criticized vaccination as a "crime" and a violation of personal liberty in 1926.
  
  

  • Lust published his booklet 'The Crime of Vaccination: a Foul Plot on America’s Liberty (Volume I)' in 1926, arguing against the practice of vaccination.

  • He was arrested more than a dozen times for promoting natural remedies and was not a proponent of vaccinations.

• The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 granted "blanket immunity" to vaccine manufacturers, leading to a significant increase in recommended childhood vaccine doses.
  
  

  • This act was passed to address concerns about the availability of vaccines after investigative journalists and lawsuits began highlighting vaccine harms, leading to pharmaceutical companies withdrawing from manufacturing.

  • Prior to 1986, there were 3 routine vaccines totaling 7 injections, but today the CDC schedules include 19 vaccines requiring 76 injections with 94 total doses of antigen.

• A hundred years later, people attempting to warn about vaccine harms are still ignored and vilified, and the vaccine-injured are largely overlooked by mainstream institutions.
  
  

  • The author notes that "100 years on, people attempting to warn about the harms of vaccines are still trying to get their voices heard".

  • "Anti-vaxxers" are still vilified, and "the vaccine-injured are still being overwhelmingly ignored by politicians, corporate science and corporate media".

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

Let's begin by exploring the first source, "Batman vs The Joker: Democrats Will Double Down On Chaos To Save Their Party" by Brandon Smith. This article draws a compelling parallel between the Democratic Party and the political left and The Joker, Batman's arch-nemesis. Batman, in this analogy, embodies unflinching law, order, and justice, even as a vigilante. Conversely, The Joker represents pure chaos, an unhinged desire to corrupt and destroy, and a belief that his evil is a universal truth, suggesting that normal people hide from their own desire for destruction. The source identifies two core rules guiding the political left's behavior: they never admit they are wrong (Rule #1) and they always double down (Rule #2). When they perceive themselves losing the ability to disrupt public order, they will escalate rather than engage in diplomacy. This escalation is not a sign of desperation, but a deliberate tactic. The article posits that when confronted about violating their own ethics, progressive activists declare that logic doesn't matter and their sole goal is to "burn it all down". This is seen as the "Joker philosophy incarnate". The source highlights a perceived shift where Democrats are no longer attempting to hide their socialist or communist intentions, but are now openly embracing these platforms with "no shame". This strategy, illustrated by the rise of New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, is depicted as an attempt to find a "Joker to counter our Batman". The author predicts that Mamdani's proposed socialist and Marxist policies, such as rent freezes and government-funded housing, would lead to major businesses and wealthy taxpayers leaving New York City, job losses, and an implosion of the housing supply. Ultimately, the article suggests that as "populism" gains favor and Americans focus more on national interests, Democrats will drift further into the "frenzy of the socialist storm," seeking an unapologetic, monstrous, and dystopian vision to avoid self-reflection and change.

Next, we turn to the source titled "Blame Covid: America's Economy Hits a Wall" by Justin Hart. This article asserts that the current economic crisis originated from the moment "COVID panic" superseded common sense. It claims that injecting trillions of dollars into the system under the guise of "relief" led to inflated asset bubbles, distorted labor incentives, and fostered an expectation of "free money forever". The decision to "turn off the economy" and compensate individuals for not working is presented as the cause of subsequent inflation spikes, supply chain disruptions, and a significant drop in productivity. When these issues became apparent, the Federal Reserve reacted by "cranking rates higher and faster than any time in modern history," which is seen as harming the very consumers it intended to protect. The article emphasizes that "the cracks are no longer theoretical—they’re everywhere you look," indicating a fundamental economic shift. Specific economic signals cited include a decline in average weekly paychecks on a three-month basis through June 2025, a "highly unusual weakness" previously seen only during severe economic contractions like the dot-com recession or the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Real personal consumption expenditures have been negative for the first five months of 2025, a situation not witnessed since 2020. Consumers are also actively reducing their credit usage, with revolving consumer credit declining significantly in May 2025, suggesting widespread concern about job prospects and incomes. Despite official narratives, the labor market also shows significant vulnerabilities: the hours index declined in June, employment collapsed by a combined 600,000 in May and June, and the labor force shrunk by three-quarters of a million due to a lack of available work. This has pushed the adjusted unemployment rate towards 5% and rising. Businesses, particularly online merchants, are facing squeezed margins and weak sales, leading them to cut expenses, including employees, which creates a negative feedback loop where consumers reduce spending due to income uncertainty. Even the Federal Reserve's New York branch has quietly acknowledged the "distinct nonzero possibility" of a return to Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP), which the source interprets as a significant concession regarding the dire economic circumstances. The article concludes that the American consumer, once the primary driver of growth, has "hit the wall," signaling a deep and established weakness across both the labor market and consumer spending.

Moving on, let's consider the source titled "Get Ready for a Big Foreign Crisis" by Jacob G. Hornberger. The central premise of this article is that a significant foreign crisis is imminent, orchestrated to divert public attention from the Jeffrey Epstein pedophilia investigation, especially given the "rebellion" among President Trump’s supporters over his refusal to release all related records. The author argues that this is a "time-honored way" for rulers to suppress domestic unrest and encourage a "rally 'round the flag" mentality, citing James Madison's observations about the Roman Empire instigating wars to counter revolts. The 9/11 attacks are presented as a modern example, where public demands for a "peace dividend" and reduced national-security spending evaporated amidst fear and patriotism, leading to a permanent increase in taxpayer funding for the national-security establishment. The article suggests that the non-release of Epstein files is highly probable because Epstein allegedly had very wealthy and powerful clients, possibly with connections to U.S. or Israeli intelligence. The source outlines several potential scenarios for this engineered foreign crisis: escalating the Ukraine-Russia war by providing Ukraine with long-range missiles to attack Russian cities, which could provoke Russia to strike NATO countries and risk all-out nuclear war. Another possibility is manufacturing a crisis with nuclear-armed China over Taiwan, capitalizing on existing animosity towards China. Stirring up tensions with nuclear-armed North Korea is also presented as an easy way to distract the public, even if their missiles primarily threaten South Korea and Japan. Finally, Iran is identified as a perennial option, where proclaiming its pursuit of nuclear weapons against Israel or the U.S. could create a "scary official enemy" and a major foreign crisis. The article concludes with the assertion that if Trump's MAGA supporters do not accept the inevitable non-release of Epstein files, then everyone should prepare for a "big foreign crisis in the near future".

Our fourth source is "Historic First: Brussels Court Judge Orders Halt to Arms Transit to Israel" by Marc Vandepitte. This article highlights a "landmark ruling" by the Brussels Court of First Instance, which has commanded the Flemish government to not only block a specific container of military equipment bound for Israel but also to prohibit any further transit of military material to the country. The judge's decision was based on Flanders' systematic failure to uphold its obligations under arms legislation and international treaties, imposing a penalty of 50,000 euros for each shipment that defies the ruling. The specific container at the center of the case holds tapered roller bearings, produced by Timken, and intended for Ashot Ashkelon Industries, an Israeli defense company that manufactures components for Merkava tanks and Namer armored vehicles, which are claimed to be used in the Gaza genocide. The ruling also mandates that the Flemish government must have written proof that goods are for civilian use before authorizing any new arms transit to Israel, implying active verification of the final destination. The source emphasizes the high significance of this ruling, as it legally confirms that facilitating weapon deliveries to a state committing war crimes or potential genocide is illegal, thereby ending governmental impunity. This decision is seen as setting a legal precedent that is expected to encourage similar lawsuits in other countries. The article also details broader legal actions in Belgium, including a formal notice sent to the Belgian federal government by Palestinian and Belgian organizations, accusing Belgium of passive complicity in the Gaza genocide and demanding a halt to military deliveries, confiscation of imports from occupied territories, blocking investments, and suspending the EU-Israel association agreement. Furthermore, the legal NGO JURDI is suing the European Commission and the Council of the European Union at the Court of Justice for "negligence" regarding the violence in Gaza, marking a historic first for these institutions. These legal challenges argue that the Genocide Convention obligates countries to actively prevent genocide, and that passivity can be legally interpreted as complicity. Top Belgian jurists have warned that Belgium itself risks being brought before the International Court of Justice if it remains silent, demanding sanctions against Israel and the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement as a minimum. The article concludes by stressing that while these legal actions are important, they are not sufficient to stop the killings in Gaza, and calls for intensified pressure through mass protests and solidarity worldwide.

Finally, let's delve into "How Survive in a Gang-controlled Neighborhood" by Clark Barnes. This source addresses the pervasive issue of gang violence in major U.S. cities, noting that membership is on the rise and escalates significantly during emergencies when the rule of law diminishes. The author explains that during such chaotic times, people tend to form groups for security, drawing a comparison to prison gangs. The article provides practical advice for navigating gang-controlled areas, emphasizing situational awareness as crucial. This involves learning about active gangs in the area, their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) indicators such as colors or tattoos. It suggests researching gang units of police departments and correctional facilities for online resources like gang tattoo catalogs. A key recommendation is to scan for weapons, specifically looking at waists and hands. While avoidance is ideal, the source advises against abruptly turning away if seen by gang members, as this can make one appear as "prey" and trigger a predatory response. To reduce risk and exposure during robberies or muggings, several techniques are suggested: avoid saying "What?" and instead quickly comply with demands, as misunderstanding slang can provoke violence. It recommends using report binder money clips to carry smaller, broken-up amounts of cash, and notes that these clips can also open handcuffs. Carrying a "drop wallet" with expired credit cards and a believable small sum of cash is advised. For cell phones, carrying an old, decoy phone visibly while keeping a new one hidden is a common local tactic. The article also strongly advises against wearing expensive jewelry to avoid becoming a target. For those legally able and trained, carrying concealed is presented as an option for self-defense when situations escalate. Finally, the source highlights the importance of showing respect to gang members. This involves walking confidently, making brief eye contact, and offering a curt nod to acknowledge their presence without scowling or smiling. If challenged, one should verbally state, "I’m not disrespecting you," as disrespect can lead to violence due to the need for gang members to maintain "street cred". Having caches is also mentioned as a way to restart if forced to flee.

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.