10-15-25 DailyBriefs.info LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com 

welcome to the LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com series

The sources describe significant claims regarding a vaccinated versus unvaccinated study and subsequent related findings in the realm of vaccine safety.

Drawing exclusively on the key takeaway points from the provided source, we can present a detailed narrative concerning specific research findings and governmental testimony.

A major study comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals was reportedly conducted by the mainstream medical community, specifically by Dr. Marcus Zervos at the Henry Ford Health Center. This study utilized a huge database encompassing 18,500 patients over decades. The ultimate finding of this research was so overwhelmingly contrary to prevailing ideas of vaccine safety that the study was subsequently pulled from publication by its own authors. Dr. Zervos allegedly stated on camera that the decision to publish the findings would have led to the end of his professional career.

The documentation related to this report has now been leaked via the film An Inconvenient Study by Del Bigtree, released on the internet, and also provided to Congress. The study revealed unequivocally that vaccinated individuals are far sicker across the board. The analysis found that the vaccinated population experienced hugely elevated risks for various chronic conditions, specifically including autism, allergies, asthma, lupus, ADD, and diabetes.

These risks were not merely slightly elevated, but increased by many times. For instance, the risk was stated to rise by something like 500%. Looking at the overall impact, after a period of five years, the risk for chronic disease was found to be approximately four times worse for those who were vaccinated.

In stark contrast, the study suggested that for the unvaccinated population, the risk of developing these chronic diseases was often zero. In specific categories, such as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), the researchers reportedly found zero outcomes among the unvaccinated cohort. This zero outcome rate prevented the calculation of a standard fraction or percentage for that group. Mathematically, using zero in the calculation results in an increased risk related to vaccination of infinity.

Focusing on specific neurodevelopmental issues detailed in the study, there were 23 instances of autism identified among the vaccinated participants. However, there was only one instance of autism found within the non-vaccinated group. Based on this specific comparison, the vaccinated individuals were calculated to be up to nine times more likely to get autism. Furthermore, the study included a distinct line for neurodevelopmental disorder, which indicated an increased risk of up to 11 times. If considered an autoimmune disorder, the study showed an increased risk of up to 25 times.

Separate from the findings of the Zervos study, a Senate hearing took place where Dr. Jake Scott, a physician from Stanford, arrived with a collection of 661 peer-reviewed studies. These studies were allegedly presented as proof of the safety of childhood vaccines. However, Scott encountered Aaron Siri, an attorney for Del Bigtree, during cross-examination. Under this questioning, it was determined that exactly none of the 661 studies were relevant to the claims of childhood vaccine safety. The studies were found to be irrelevant because they either did not focus on childhood vaccines, did not include a proper control group, or failed to utilize a placebo in the methodology. Eventually, Dr. Scott was forced to concede that he had not looked at all of the 661 studies before submitting them as evidence.

thank you for listening to another session of the LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com series produced and archived at the website LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com

This excerpt vigorously promotes the film An Inconvenient Study, which allegedly reveals the suppressed findings of a large-scale, decades-long vaccinated versus unvaccinated study from the Henry Ford Health Center. The author asserts that this leaked research, reportedly pulled from publication to protect the lead doctor's career, demonstrates hugely elevated risks of chronic diseases like autism, asthma, and diabetes among the vaccinated population. Furthermore, the text accuses the medical and vaccine industries of being a fraud and a knowing genocide motivated purely by profit, urging political leaders to outlaw all vaccines immediately and suggesting that the only appropriate response is a highly unlikely revolution and prosecution of industry leaders. Finally, the author criticizes figures like filmmaker Del Bigtree and others for their perceived lack of radical action and their willingness to simply "fix" the vaccine program rather than demand its complete and immediate cessation. 

Discuss Vaccine study findings.

The discussion of vaccine study findings in the sources centers primarily on a specific major vaccinated versus unvaccinated study that was allegedly conducted by the mainstream (Dr. Marcus Zervos, Henry Ford Health Center)1. This study, which involved a huge database of 18,500 patients over decades, was later leaked in a film called An Inconvenient Study12.

Key Findings of the Henry Ford Health Center Study (Zervos Study):

The finding of the study was allegedly so contrary to the idea of vaccine safety that it was pulled from publication by its authors1. Dr. Zervos reportedly stated on camera that his career would have been over had he published it2.

The core finding was that the vaccinated are far sicker across the board2.

• Chronic Disease Risk: The overall risk for chronic disease was found to be about 4 times worse for the vaccinated after five years3.

• Elevated Risks: The vaccinated had hugely elevated risks of many conditions, including autism, allergies, asthma, lupus, ADD, and diabetes2.

• Magnitude of Increase: These risks were elevated by many times, sometimes rising by something like 500%23.

Specific Condition Findings:

The sources detail specific comparisons between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups:

• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD): The study found zero outcomes for the unvaccinated in categories like ADD3. Since calculating a fraction or percentage requires at least one outcome, using zero outcomes in the unvaccinated group results in an increased risk in vaccination of infinity34.

• Autism Spectrum Disorder: The study allegedly found 23 instances of autism overall5. Critically, there was only 1 instance of autism among the non-vaccinated group5. This specific finding suggested the vaccinated were up to 9 times more likely to get autism5.

• Neurodevelopmental Disorder: The study had a separate line for neurodevelopmental disorder, showing an increased risk of up to 11 times for the vaccinated6.

• Autoimmune Disorder: The study found an increased risk for autoimmune disorders up to 25 times6.

Controversy and Interpretation of Findings:

The author of the source critiques the way findings of this nature are sometimes interpreted, noting that Dr. McCullough, featured in the documentary, implied that only numbers over 4 are significant7. The source argues that this is an "outright lie," and that in a properly done study, any number over about 1.5 is a gigantic red flag7.

Regarding the autism data specifically, the author expressed suspicion that the study may have been "fudged" on the autism line, possibly by using a definition that was too narrow6.

Contextual Findings on Vaccine Safety Studies:

The sources also refer to findings related to the general body of alleged vaccine safety research:

• At a recent Senate hearing, Stanford doctor Jake Scott arrived with 661 peer reviewed studies that allegedly proved the safety of childhood vaccines8.

• However, under cross-examination by Del Bigtree's attorney, Aaron Siri, it was found that exactly none of these 661 studies was relevant9.

• The irrelevance stemmed from the fact that the studies either did not have a proper control group, did not use a placebo, or were not conducted on childhood vaccines9. The author suggests these studies were rigged and paid for by Big Pharma9.

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Discuss Increased chronic disease.

Based on the source material, the discussion regarding increased chronic disease centers around the alleged findings of a study on vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations, which was leaked via the documentary An Inconvenient Study by Del Bigtree1.

Overview of Chronic Disease Findings

The study, conducted by the mainstream (Dr. Marcus Zervos, Henry Ford Health Center) using a database of 18,500 patients over decades, reportedly found that the vaccinated are far sicker across the board12. The finding was allegedly so contrary to the idea of vaccine safety that the report was pulled from publication by its authors12.

The study found unequivocally that the vaccinated have hugely elevated risks of chronic diseases and related conditions2.

Specific Increased Risks

The chronic diseases and conditions cited as having hugely elevated risks in the vaccinated population include:

• Autism2

• Allergies2

• Asthma2

• Lupus2

• ADD2

• Diabetes2

Magnitude of Risk Increase

The source emphasizes that these risks are not merely elevated by a few percentage points (such as 10% or 20%), but are elevated by many times23.

1. Overall Chronic Disease Risk: Overall, the risk for chronic disease was found to be about 4 times worse for the vaccinated after five years, which is described as a huge increase3. In some cases, the risk is described as rising by something like 500%3.

2. Unvaccinated Outcomes: The risk of these conditions for those who are unvaccinated is often noted as zero3. For categories like ADD, the study allegedly found zero outcomes for the unvaccinated3. If zero is used for the unvaccinated group in calculations, the increased risk in vaccination mathematically becomes infinity4.

3. Specific Condition Multipliers: More specific increased risks were noted for broader categories:

    ◦ Autoimmune disorder showed an increased risk of up to 25 times5.

    ◦ Neurodevelopmental disorder showed an increased risk of up to 11 times6.

    ◦ Regarding autism specifically, the source notes that while the study found 23 instances of autism, only 1 instance was among the non-vaccinated group, meaning the vaccinated were up to 9 times more likely to get autism6.

Commentary on the Implications

The source expresses concern over the future implications of these trends, suggesting that if they continue, autism could increase dramatically (from 1 in 28 to 1 in ten and then 1 in four), and that eventually every single person in the country will have diabetes, inflammation, and brain damage78.

The author notes suspicion that the data line for autism may have been fudged by Dr. Zervos and others, perhaps by using a narrow definition for the neurodevelopmental disorder5. The author argues that because autism is poorly defined and understood, it would be easy to create a false narrow definition that excluded many cases5.

One individual cited in the documentary, Dr. McCullough, implied that only numbers over 4 are significant in the study; however, the source claims this is "an outright lie," noting that a 300% increase in risk (or 4 times worse) is fantastically large for a study of this nature, and any number over about 1.5 should be considered a gigantic red flag9.

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Discuss Vaccine safety concerns.

Vaccine safety concerns, as detailed in the source, revolve primarily around the reported findings of a major study comparing vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations, claims of suppressed data, and alleged institutional fraud and corruption within the medical industry12.

The Zervos Study and Elevated Risks

The central concern stems from a study, allegedly leaked in the documentary An Inconvenient Study, conducted by Dr. Marcus Zervos at Henry Ford Health Center, which analyzed a database of 18,500 patients over decades1. The source claims that the finding of this study was so detrimental to the idea of vaccine safety that it was pulled from publication by its authors, with Dr. Zervos reportedly stating that publishing it would have ended his career13.

The study is claimed to have found "unequivocally that the vaccinated are far sicker across the board"3. Specific chronic diseases and disorders that vaccinated individuals allegedly face "hugely elevated risks" for include:

• Autism3.

• Allergies3.

• Asthma3.

• Lupus3.

• ADD3.

• Diabetes3.

These risks are purportedly elevated by many times, not just small percentage points3. The source notes that the risk could rise by something like 500%4. Overall, the risk for chronic disease was approximately 4 times worse for the vaccinated after five years4. In contrast, the risk of these chronic diseases for the unvaccinated is often reported in the study as zero4. In some categories, such as ADD, zero outcomes were allegedly found for the unvaccinated4.

Specific concerns regarding neurodevelopmental and autoimmune disorders include:

• Autism: The source notes that while the study only found 23 instances of autism, there was only 1 instance among the non-vaccinated group, suggesting the vaccinated were up to 9 times more likely to get autism5. The author suspects this number may be fudged due to narrow definition6.

• Neurodevelopmental disorder (separate line): The study reportedly showed an increased risk of up to 11 times56.

• Autoimmune disorder: The study found an increased risk up to 25 times6.

Allegations of Industry Fraud and Manipulation

The source posits that the results of the Zervos study illuminate that the vaccine industry, and the medical industry more broadly, have engaged in a "fraud and a theft of taxpayer money," and a "knowing genocide"2....

Other concerns regarding the integrity of vaccine safety research are highlighted through a Senate hearing, where 661 peer-reviewed studies supposedly proving the safety of childhood vaccines were examined9. Under cross-examination, it was allegedly shown that exactly none of these 661 studies was relevant because they either lacked a proper control group, did not use a placebo, or were not done on childhood vaccines10. The source concludes that these studies were "paid for and rigged by Big Pharma"10.

The author also critiques key figures who advocate for reforming the vaccine system, suggesting that they may be "selling the idea vaccines are effective, even if they aren't safe"11. The author contends that vaccines, citing the COVID vaccine as an example, are often not effective at all11. Furthermore, the author asserts that vaccinologists, doctors, and the government do not have good intentions, but rather are motivated to "make as much dirty money as possible, letting any amount of collateral damage slide, including a genocide and mass poisoning"1213.

The author advises the public not to trust anything called a vaccine, or even resembling one, nor to trust institutions like the CDC, the FDA, WHO, Congress, the President, or their own doctors and veterinarians2.

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Discuss Industry corruption.

The sources characterize the vaccine and medical industries as being deeply corrupt, fraudulent, and engaged in actions described as "genocide" and "mass poisoning" for profitThe sources characterize the vaccine and medical industries as being deeply corrupt, fraudulent, and engaged in actions described as "genocide" and "mass poisoning" for profit1....

Key points detailing industry corruption and misconduct include:

Suppression of Damaging Study Findings

A major instance of alleged corruption centers on the suppression of a vaccinated versus unvaccinated study conducted by the mainstream (Dr. Marcus Zervos, Henry Ford Health Center) involving 18,500 patients4.

• The study's finding, which showed the vaccinated are far sicker across the board and had hugely elevated risks for chronic diseases, was so contrary to the idea of vaccine safety that it was pulled from publication by its authors5.

• Dr. Zervos allegedly stated on camera that his career would have been over had he published it5.

• The fact that the vaccine industry—and the medical industry more broadly—has allegedly been a fraud and a theft of taxpayer money is made clear by this type of suppression16.

Intentions and Profit Motives

The clear intention of those concerned—including vaccinologists, doctors, and the government—is portrayed as being to make as much dirty money as possible, allowing any amount of collateral damage, including "genocide and mass poisoning," to slide27.

• The source argues that there are no "good intentions" in the field of vaccinology, despite what some might claim, as the real objective is financial gain7.

• The medical industry, led by the vaccine industry, is accused of murdering us for profit, and they "couldn't care less"3.

• This is described as a "knowing genocide," and people in positions of power, such as Dr. Zervos, had to know what was going on1.

Rigging and Falsifying Research

The sources detail how the industry allegedly manipulates and controls research to support vaccine safety:

• During a Senate hearing, a Stanford doctor presented 661 peer-reviewed studies allegedly proving the safety of childhood vaccines8.

• Under cross-examination, it was revealed that exactly none of these 661 studies was relevant, as they either were not done on childhood vaccines, lacked a proper control group, or did not use a placebo9.

• These studies were characterized as being paid for and rigged by Big Pharma, just as one would expect9.

Political and Corporate Complicity

Political leaders and influential corporate figures are implicated in the corruption:

• The author notes that Trump recently called the top mass murderer at Pfizer, Albert Bourla, a “great great man”10.

• Trump is also criticized for having invested billions of tax dollars in AstraZeneca, which the source calls "one of the most evil companies in the world"10.

• The source suggests that those pushing the vaccine program, including film producers like Bigtree, may be invested in promoting a "whole new round of novel vaccines" that are "new and improved" and potentially even more expensive611.

Lack of Trust in Institutions

Due to this systemic corruption, the sources argue that people should never trust anything related to vaccines again, nor should they trust major institutions:

• This lack of trust extends to the CDC, the FDA, WHO, Congress, the President, or their own doctors and veterinarians1.

• The recommendation is for people to "go Amish on this question and never return"1.

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Discuss Calls for action.

The sources contain several intense and explicit calls for action in response to the alleged findings of vaccine studies, the subsequent suppression of information, and perceived industry corruption. These calls range from immediate legislative and legal steps to revolutionary action.

Immediate Government and Legislative Action

The source advocates for specific steps that political leaders, such as former President Trump and current leaders like Governor Ron DeSantis, should take:

• Leaders need to follow the example of Governor Ron DeSantis and his surgeon general in Florida by no longer recommending any vaccines1.

• They must go much further and outlaw all vaccines as dangerous to the public weal1.

• The government should put all vaccine makers in receivership, seize all assets, and arrest all the top officers as the criminals they are2.

The author critiques the current political climate, noting that a revolution is highly unlikely, pointing out that Trump recently called the top mass murderer at Pfizer, Albert Bourla, a "great great man"2.

Calls for Justice and Uprising

The alleged scope and severity of the crime—described as "genocide and mass poisoning"3 and "knowing genocide"4—demand severe and immediate justice:

• The source explicitly states that this crime is so huge it calls for nothing less than an immediate uprising5.

• All the mass murderers involved should be immediately arrested and tried for high crimes against humanity, convicted, and disposed of harshly (thrown from some tall cliff into the sea)6.

• These individuals should not merely fear for their jobs, but should fear for their lives in front of some Nuremberg Court or Citizens Court6. The author notes that anything short of this is "just a slow walk"6.

Individual Action and Trust

A fundamental call for action is directed at the public to completely withdraw trust from the entire medical and governmental establishment regarding vaccines:

• People should never trust anything called a vaccine or even resembling a vaccine ever again4.

• The public should not trust the CDC, the FDA, WHO, Congress, the President, or their own doctors and veterinarians ever again4.

• People are urged to go Amish on this question and never return4.

The source begins with an admonition to viewers of the leaked study documentary: "You will NEVER take another vaccine again or allow your family or pets to be vaccinated"7.

Critique of Moderate Calls for Action

The source criticizes calls for reform or further study, viewing them as inadequate and dangerous:

• The author expresses suspicion that Del Bigtree, the documentarian who leaked the study, is only seeking to "fix the vaccine program, not end it"8. The source worries that "fixing" the issue would involve promoting a whole new slate of “new and improved” vaccines8.

• The author criticizes Bigtree and other "big heroes" in the documentary for concluding that we need more studies6. This is dismissed as a slow process that would allow "millions more children and other innocents" to be maimed or die while new "fake studies are being done by entities profiting from this genocide"9. The source insists that based on the current evidence, we don't need even one more study to prove it9.

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1 s

welcome to the LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com series.

Today, we dive into the escalating trade conflicts between global powers, specifically focusing on the recent events surrounding a Dutch-based chipmaker and the dramatic retaliatory measures taken by China regarding critical resources.

Discussion of Source 1: "China Reacts After U.S. Pushed Netherlands To Seize Chinese Owned Company - LewRockwell"

The first source details a story about a fight between titans, suggesting that Europe is the most significant casualty due to the stupidity of its leaders. This situation centers on the Dutch government’s recent seizure of control over the Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia. This action, announced late on a Sunday, is described as a highly unusual step, granting the Netherlands the power to "halt and reverse" company decisions. Consequently, Nexperia requires Dutch government approval to transfer assets or hire executives.

This move marks a significant escalation in relations between China and the Netherlands and carries the potential to inflame wider trade tensions between Beijing and the European Union, positioning Europe squarely in the middle of a tit-for-tat chips war between the U.S. and China. The source describes this government intervention as the Dutch having effectively stolen a major Chinese-owned company.

The background of the company is crucial to understanding the conflict. Wingtech Technology, a Shanghai-listed Chinese electronics and semiconductor conglomerate headquartered in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, acquired Nexperia in 2019. Wingtech began as an original design manufacturer (ODM) for smartphones and consumer devices but grew into one of China’s most prominent integrated technology companies, combining electronics assembly, chip design, and semiconductor manufacturing. Nexperia itself is a global semiconductor company based in the Netherlands, formerly part of Philips’ chip division, NXP. It has a rich European history and employs over 12,500 people across Europe, Asia, and the United States.

The company's CEO, Zhang Xuefeng (also referred to as Zhang Xuezheng), a successful businessman from China, oversaw Nexperia close the 2024 financial year with a total revenue of $2.06 billion. He had invested heavily in the company, leading to growth, the payment of significant taxes, and the establishment of research and manufacturing sites across the globe.

The current crisis was driven by U.S. sanctions. In late 2024, Wingtech was placed on the U.S. Entity List, a measure intended to block Chinese semiconductor development by cutting Wingtech off from U.S. products and technology licenses. In March 2025, facing the threat of heavy losses from these unilateral sanctions, the Apple supplier was forced to announce the spin-off of a major part of its operations. The restrictions escalated further when, in June 2024, the U.S. planned to extend the Entity List to penalize any international company that was 50% or more owned by a Chinese entity. Effective September 29, 2025, the U.S. Commerce Department expanded its export control restrictions, extending Entity List restrictions to non-U.S. entities that are 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, by listed parties. This measure effectively cut Nexperia and other partially Chinese-owned European companies off from U.S. content.

The Dutch government was forewarned and pressured by the U.S., causing them to panic. Court documents released by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal show that the United States informed Dutch officials in June 2025 about a forthcoming change in the Entity List, which would bar American companies from trading with firms on the list. U.S. officials explicitly told their Dutch counterparts that the Chinese CEO of Nexperia, Zhang Xuezheng, "will have to be replaced" for the company to be exempt from Washington’s entity list.

The Dutch authorities responded by effectively seizing control of the firm, utilizing an obscure law known as the Goods Availability Act to force a change in management. This resulted in the removal of the founding CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, a move that sparked fury in Beijing. Specifically, on October 1, 2025 (Netherlands time), Nexperia’s second-level management initiated the deposition of the CEO and owner. Ruben Lichtenberg, a Dutch national and the statutory director and Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of both Nexperia Holding and Nexperia Semiconductor, filed an urgent petition before the Enterprise Chamber. This petition was supported by two other executives, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Stefan Tilger and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Achim Kempe, both German nationals.

The Enterprise Chamber granted several emergency measures immediately on the same day, October 1, 2025, without a hearing. These measures took effect at once, including suspending Mr. Zhang Xuezheng from his positions. Furthermore, the measures suspended the operation of Article 3 of the Board Rules of Nexperia Semiconductor, which defines the CEO’s duties and authorities. Crucially, all shares held by the Wingtech subsidiary, Yuching Holding Limited (the sole shareholder of Nexperia Holding), were placed under temporary management by an independent third-party trustee. These provisional measures were scheduled to remain effective until the Enterprise Chamber’s oral hearing on October 6, 2025, and its subsequent ruling.

Wingtech’s official WeChat blog released a scathing announcement, widely distributed in China. They condemned the internal legal actions as a malicious extension of external pressure. Wingtech asserted that certain foreign executives within Nexperia attempted to use legal means to forcibly alter the company’s ownership structure. Wingtech viewed these actions as being closely aligned with the Dutch government’s administrative directives, representing an effort to usurp shareholder rights and subvert lawful corporate governance under the guise of "compliance". They strongly condemned these politically motivated attempts to seize control and vowed to resolutely defend their lawful rights.

The Chinese government reacted by banning Nexperia from exporting products made in China. This ban, imposed by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, covers products made in China, including those produced by its subcontractors. Nexperia, which is a major supplier of mature chips for the automotive and consumer electronics sectors, operates an 80,000-square-meter assembly site in Guangdong province near Hong Kong, in addition to fabrication, assembly, and testing facilities in Germany, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Britain. The company announced that it is seeking an exemption from this export ban, which has the potential to affect Dutch access to its chips.

The source argues that if the Dutch government fails to retract its decision to practically confiscate Nexperia, the company will face failure. Nexperia’s business is globalized, with parts of its products manufactured worldwide, and its sales in Europe are dependent on subcontractor products made in China. Nexperia is significant to Europe, as it produces approximately 90 billion "bread and butter components" annually, which flow into other higher-value European products. Submitting to U.S. demands and seizing Nexperia is characterized as a huge mistake for both the Netherlands and Europe.

Discussion of Source 2: "The White House Fool’s Provocations of China Finally Produces a Response - LewRockwell"

The second source discusses how the provocations directed toward China have finally yielded a significant response. This response came in the form of Ron Unz revealing the consequence of what is described as diplomacy by threat.

The key takeaway is that the Chinese have suddenly imposed an unprecedented new wave of licensing requirements. These requirements target the import and use of rare earth materials that China mines and refines, as well as the vital small magnets produced from those compounds. China’s newest restrictions on rare-earth materials constitute a nearly unprecedented export control that stands to disrupt the global economy.

The restrictions are extremely severe and apply to companies around the world whose goods contain as little as 0.1% of their value in that category of rare earth materials. This comprehensive scope encompasses an enormous range of major industries, including solar panels, cars, and chip-making equipment. The entire supply chain for phones, computers, data-centers, and AI systems would be covered, meaning that continued use requires individual permissions from the Chinese authorities on a case-by-case basis. Industry experts suggested that tech companies would likely find it extremely difficult to demonstrate that their chips, the equipment needed to manufacture them, and other components fall below the 0.1% threshold.

This rule, put forth by China’s Commerce Ministry, is viewed as an escalation in the U.S.-China trade fight because it poses a threat to the supply chain for semiconductors. Semiconductors are considered the lifeblood of the economy, powering data centers needed to train artificial-intelligence models, phones, and computers. The rule would limit the ability of other countries to support their own industries, as it also affects cars, solar panels, and chip-making equipment. The reason for China’s leverage is that it controls approximately 90% of the world’s rare-earth materials, including 90% of the refining and production of these small yet vital technological components, with no obvious substitutes available. One source quoted described this escalation as the "economic equivalent of nuclear war" and something that could 'destroy the American AI industry'.

These new Chinese economic sanctions were also extended to all technologies and equipment related to the mining, refining, and fabrication of rare earth products. These measures were clearly aimed at preventing any foreign competitors from developing alternate future supply chains that might weaken China’s current stranglehold.

Furthermore, the extraterritorial scope of China’s new restrictions is significant. Arnaud Bertrand, a longtime China observer, brought attention to the fact that the new export controls on rare earths include a provision (point 4) requiring case-by-case approval for anyone using rare earths to develop advanced semiconductors, specifically defined as 14nm-and-below. This effectively grants China de-facto veto power over the entire advanced semiconductor supply chain. This impacts key players like TSMC and ASML, which use rare earths for magnets in their lithography machines.

The export controls are also explicitly extraterritorial: foreign entities must obtain Chinese export licenses before re-exporting products manufactured abroad if those products contain Chinese rare earth materials comprising 0.1% or more of the product’s value. This shows that China is mirroring the U.S. semiconductor export controls that were previously used against them, establishing its own comprehensive extraterritorial control regime centered on rare earths. The response of President Donald Trump was described as volcanic, with him declaring that it was impossible to believe China would take such an action, but that they had, and "the rest is History".

thank you for listening to another session of the LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com series produced and archived at the website LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com.

This excerpt from a LewRockwell article details the escalating geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, illustrating how European nations like the Netherlands are caught in the middle of a "chips war." The central event is the Dutch government's seizure of control over the Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, which was formerly a part of Philips, following immense pressure from the United States. This highly unusual intervention, which involved replacing the Chinese CEO and suspending shareholder rights, was a direct response to the U.S. adding Nexperia's parent company, Wingtech, to its Entity List to restrict Chinese semiconductor development. In retaliation, China swiftly banned Nexperia from exporting products made in China, highlighting the deep, detrimental impact of this conflict on globalized companies and criticizing Europe for its "strategic stupidity" in succumbing to U.S. demands. 

Discuss US-China tensions.

The tensions between the United States and China, particularly concerning technology and trade, have escalated into what the sources describe as a "fight between titans" and a "tit-for-tat chips war"12. This conflict involves the use of trade restrictions and sanctions, often with extraterritorial scope, directly impacting global supply chains and foreign entities3.

US Actions and Extraterritorial Pressure

The recent escalation focuses heavily on restricting China's access to semiconductor technology and components45.

1. Use of the Entity List and Sanctions:

    ◦ The U.S. has targeted Chinese companies like Wingtech Technology, a conglomerate combining electronics assembly, chip design, and semiconductor manufacturing, by adding it to the U.S. Department of Commerce Entity List in December 202424. Placement on this list restricts the company's access to American components and technology, a move intended to block Chinese semiconductor development45.

    ◦ The U.S. has also expanded its export control restrictions to target Chinese ownership abroad6. A rule effective September 29, 2025, vastly expanded the number of entities subject to restrictions by extending the Entity List restrictions to non-U.S. entities 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, by listed Chinese parties6.

2. The Nexperia Incident:

    ◦ The U.S. exerted significant pressure on the Netherlands concerning Nexperia, a Dutch semiconductor firm (formerly part of Philips' chip division) acquired by Wingtech in 201947.

    ◦ U.S. officials forewarned and pressed their Dutch counterparts about the forthcoming changes to the Entity List78.

    ◦ Court documents show that the United States explicitly told Dutch officials that the Chinese CEO of Nexperia, Zhang Xuezheng, "will have to be replaced" for the company to be exempt from Washington’s entity list78.

    ◦ Following this pressure, the Dutch government effectively seized control of Nexperia in October 2025, using the obscure Goods Availability Act, forcing a change in management and removing the founding CEO89. This seizure is described as the Dutch having "effectively stolen a big Chinese owned company"2.

The U.S. moves cut off Nexperia and other partially Chinese-owned companies in Europe from accessing U.S. content7. This intervention has escalated relations between the Netherlands and China and inflamed wider trade tensions involving the European Union29.

China’s Response: Rare Earth Export Controls

China has responded to these U.S. restrictions, particularly the new ones extending export controls to non-U.S. entities, by implementing its own comprehensive controls, effectively mirroring the US semiconductor export controls37.

1. Rare Earth Restrictions: China's new export controls on rare earth metals and certain other technologies are a direct response to the new U.S. restrictions7.

2. Scope of New Controls: China imposed an unprecedented wave of licensing requirements on the import and use of rare earths and the vital small magnets produced from these compounds10.

    ◦ China produces roughly 90% of the world’s rare-earth materials11.

    ◦ The restrictions are extremely severe, applying to goods containing as little as 0.1% or more of their value in those rare-earth materials1012.

    ◦ This threshold encompasses an enormous range of major industries, including cars, solar panels, chip-making equipment, phones, computers, data-centers, and AI systems1011.

3. Extraterritorial Reach and Strategic Impact:

    ◦ The Chinese export controls are extra-territorial: foreign entities must obtain Chinese export licenses before re-exporting products manufactured abroad if they contain Chinese rare earth materials comprising 0.1% or more of the product’s value3.

    ◦ These rules provide China with de-facto veto power over the entire advanced semiconductor supply chain13. Specifically, anyone using rare earths to develop advanced semiconductors (defined as 14nm-and-below) will require case-by-case approval from Beijing13.

    ◦ These steps are also aimed at preventing any foreign competitors from developing alternate future supply chains that could weaken China's current dominance in rare earth production and refining14.

4. Economic Impact and Reaction:

    ◦ The total extraterritorial scope of China’s new restrictions is described as dramatic14.

    ◦ Industry experts noted that proving chips and related equipment fall below the 0.1% rare earth threshold will likely be extremely difficult for tech companies12.

    ◦ One source described China's rare earth restrictions as the “economic equivalent of nuclear war” and suggested it could “destroy the American AI industry”12.

    ◦ Following these provocations, President Donald Trump reportedly declared that China's action was "impossible to believe" and reacted "volcanic"3.

Impact on European Entities

Following the Dutch government's seizure of Nexperia under U.S. pressure, Beijing responded by banning Nexperia itself15. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce banned Nexperia from exporting products made in China, including those produced by its subcontractors15.

• This ban impacts Nexperia’s globalized business, which relies on products and sales in Europe dependent on subcontractor products made in China16.

• Nexperia is important to Europe, producing about 90 billion components annually that flow into other higher-value European products17.

• Some sources argue that Europe has become the "most significant casualty" of this fight and that it was a "huge mistake" for the Netherlands and Europe to submit to U.S. demands and seize Nexperia118.

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Discuss Dutch company seizure.

The Dutch company seizure refers to the highly unusual step taken by the Dutch government to seize control of the Chinese-owned chipmaker, Nexperia1. The move, which effectively grants the Netherlands the power to intervene in company decisions, is a significant escalation in relations between the Netherlands and China and threatens to inflame wider trade tensions between Beijing and the European Union12.

Background and Context

Nexperia is a Dutch-based semiconductor firm headquartered in the Netherlands that was formerly part of Philips' chip division, NXP3. In 2019, it was acquired by Wingtech Technology, a privately-run, Shanghai-listed Chinese electronics and semiconductor conglomerate23.

The seizure occurred amid the ongoing "tit-for-tat chips war" between the U.S. and China, with Europe described as being caught in the middle2. The impetus for the Dutch action stemmed directly from U.S. pressure and sanctions targeting Chinese semiconductor development45.

• U.S. Sanctions: In December 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Wingtech to its Entity List, restricting its access to American components and technology34.

• Expansion of Restrictions: The U.S. Commerce Department extended its export control restrictions effective September 29, 2025, to include non-U.S. entities that are 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, by listed parties6. This measure cut off Nexperia and other partially Chinese-owned companies in Europe from U.S. content5.

• Direct U.S. Demand: Newly disclosed court documents show that U.S. officials told their Dutch counterparts that the Chinese CEO of Nexperia "will have to be replaced" for the company to be exempt from Washington’s entity list57.

The Dutch government, which had been forewarned and pressed by the U.S., was described as having "panicked"5. The author states that it was a huge mistake for the Dutch to submit to U.S. demands and seize Nexperia, arguing that Europe should have remained neutral in the trade war89.

The Mechanism of Seizure and Corporate Overthrow

The Dutch government announced the move late Sunday, October 13, 20251.

1. Legal Authority: The Dutch government used an obscure law known as the Goods Availability Act to effectively seize control of the semiconductor firm710.

2. Government Powers: This action granted the Dutch government the power to “halt and reverse” company decisions, preventing Nexperia from transferring assets or hiring executives without government approval1.

3. Removal of Leadership: The Dutch authorities removed Zhang Xuezheng (founder of Wingtech and CEO of Nexperia) from his role47.

4. Internal Legal Action: Following the seizure, a filing by Wingtech with the Shanghai Stock Exchange described how Nexperia's second-level management deposed the CEO under Dutch government pressure11.

    ◦ On October 1, 2025, Ruben Lichtenberg (a Dutch national and Chief Legal Officer of Nexperia), supported by CFO Stefan Tilger and COO Achim Kempe (both German nationals), filed an urgent petition before the Enterprise Chamber11.

    ◦ The Enterprise Chamber immediately granted emergency measures, including suspending Mr. Zhang Xuezheng from his executive and non-executive director positions12.

    ◦ Crucially, the measures placed all shares held by the Wingtech subsidiary (the sole shareholder of Nexperia Holding) under temporary management by an independent third-party trustee12.

Wingtech viewed these internal legal actions as a "Malicious Extension of External Pressure," condemning them as politically motivated attempts to seize control, usurp shareholder rights, and subvert lawful corporate governance under the guise of "compliance"1013.

Chinese Reaction and Consequences

The seizure sparked fury in Beijing7. The Chinese government responded to the "Dutch raid" by cutting Nexperia off from Chinese technologies and products10.

• Export Ban: The Chinese Ministry of Commerce banned Nexperia from exporting products made in China, including those produced by its subcontractors10.

• Operational Impact: Nexperia operates a large assembly site in Guangdong province near Hong Kong, in addition to other facilities across Europe, Asia, and the United States314. Nexperia is seeking an exemption from this ban, which could affect Dutch access to its chips14.

• Potential Collapse: If the Dutch government does not retract its decision to "practically confiscate" Nexperia, the company is warned that it "will die," as its business is globalized and its sales in Europe depend on subcontractor products made in China14.

• Wider Context: The new Chinese export controls on rare earth metals and certain other technologies are noted as a direct response to the new U.S. restrictions5. China's subsequent rare earth export controls have an extraterritorial scope, mirroring the U.S. semiconductor export controls15.

Nexperia is critical to Europe, producing approximately 90 billion components per year that flow into other higher-value European products9. The author notes that other Chinese companies would be happy to replace those parts, questioning the overall strategic win for the Netherlands or Europe9.

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Discuss Nexperia ownership dispute.

The ownership dispute surrounding the chipmaker Nexperia stems from a significant escalation in the chips war between the United States and China, with the Netherlands taking action under intense U.S. pressure, effectively leading to the seizure of the Chinese-owned company1....

Background and U.S. Pressure

Nexperia is a Dutch-based semiconductor company that was formerly part of Philips’ chip division, NXP4. In 2019, Nexperia was acquired by Wingtech Technology, a privately-run, Shanghai-listed Chinese electronics and semiconductor conglomerate24. The company, headquartered in the Netherlands, is a global entity with over 12,500 employees across Europe, Asia, and the United States4. The founder of Wingtech and CEO of Nexperia was Zhang Xuefeng (or Zhang Xuezheng), who had invested heavily in the company, which grew and paid significant taxes to the Dutch government56.

The dispute escalated dramatically due to U.S. trade policy:

1. Entity List Restriction: In December 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Wingtech to its Entity List, restricting its access to American components and technology45. This threatened heavy losses and forced Wingtech to announce a spin-off of a major part of its operations in March 20254.

2. Expansion of Controls: In September 2025, the U.S. Commerce Department expanded its export restrictions to penalize any non-U.S. entity 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, by listed Chinese parties, effective September 29, 20257. This measure cut Nexperia and other partially Chinese-owned European companies off from U.S. content3.

3. Direct Pressure on Management: The Dutch government was forewarned and pressed by the U.S. regarding these changes3. Court documents disclosed that U.S. officials told their Dutch counterparts that the Chinese CEO of Nexperia "will have to be replaced" for the company to be exempt from Washington’s entity list36.

The Dutch Seizure of Control

In response to U.S. demands, the Dutch government took the highly unusual step of granting itself the power to intervene in Nexperia's company decisions38. This was seen by some as the Dutch effectively stealing or practically confiscating a large Chinese-owned company29.

The action, announced late on Sunday, October 12, 2025, used an obscure law known as the Goods Availability Act to secure Europe’s chip supply610. The move grants the Dutch government the power to “halt and reverse” company decisions, meaning Nexperia cannot transfer assets or hire executives without Dutch government approval8.

Internal Legal Actions and CEO Removal

The seizure involved both administrative action by the government and internal legal maneuvers:

• Removal of the CEO: Dutch authorities removed the founding CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, from his role, sparking fury in Beijing6.

• Corporate Petition: On October 1, 2025, an urgent petition was filed before the Enterprise Chamber by Ruben Lichtenberg, a Dutch national serving as the statutory director and Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of Nexperia11. Lichtenberg was supported by two German executives, CFO Stefan Tilger and COO Achim Kempe11.

• Emergency Measures: The Enterprise Chamber immediately granted several emergency measures without a hearing12. These measures included:

    ◦ Suspending Mr. Zhang Xuezheng from his positions as executive officer and non-executive director12.

    ◦ Suspending the article defining the CEO’s duties and authorities12.

    ◦ Placing all shares held by Wingtech subsidiary Yuching Holding Limited (the sole shareholder of Nexperia Holding) under temporary management by an independent third-party trustee12.

Wingtech described these internal legal actions as a “malicious extension of external pressure,” asserting that certain foreign executives attempted to use legal means to forcibly alter the company’s ownership structure13. Wingtech condemned these actions as politically motivated attempts to seize control, which usurped shareholder rights and subverted lawful corporate governance under the guise of “compliance”1013.

Consequences and Broader Impact

The Dutch intervention is viewed as a significant escalation that could inflame wider trade tensions between Beijing and the European Union2. The Chinese government quickly retaliated:

• Chinese Export Ban: The Chinese Ministry of Commerce banned Nexperia from exporting products made in China, including those produced by subcontractors10.

• Business Threat: Nexperia relies on its globalized business, including its large assembly site in Guangdong, China, and its European sales depend on subcontractor products made in China9. If the Dutch government does not retract the decision to confiscate the company, Nexperia is expected to fail9.

• European Importance: Nexperia is important to Europe, producing approximately 90 billion "bread and butter components" per year used in other higher-value European products14.

• Rare Earth Controls: The Dutch move and the underlying U.S. sanctions spurred China to impose new, comprehensive export controls on rare earth metals and associated technologies315. These controls mirror the U.S. semiconductor export controls but use rare earths as leverage, giving China de-facto veto power over the entire advanced semiconductor supply chain and potentially disrupting the global economy16....

The sources conclude that Europe should have remained neutral in the U.S.-China trade war and that the Dutch decision to seize Nexperia by submitting to U.S. demands was a "huge mistake" and strategically stupid1419. The sources characterize Europe as the most significant casualty in this fight between titans1.

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Discuss Semiconductor trade war.

The conflict over semiconductor technology has escalated into a comprehensive economic battle described as a "fight between titans"1 and a "tit-for-tat chips war" between the United States and China2. This semiconductor trade war involves the U.S. imposing sanctions to cut off Chinese firms from necessary technology, which has prompted China to retaliate using its dominant position in rare earth materials3.

US Export Controls and Extraterritorial Scope

The U.S. strategy focuses on restricting Chinese access to key components and technology needed for semiconductor development45.

1. Targeting Specific Companies: The U.S. Department of Commerce added the Chinese electronics and semiconductor conglomerate, Wingtech Technology, to its Entity List in December 20244. This action was taken to block Chinese semiconductor development by restricting Wingtech’s access to American components and technology45.

2. Expanding Restrictions: The scope of these restrictions was vastly expanded on September 30, 2025, when a U.S. Commerce Department interim final rule extended the Entity List restrictions to cover non-U.S. entities 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, by listed Chinese parties6.

The Nexperia Incident and European Involvement

The semiconductor trade war has directly involved European entities, particularly the Netherlands, which is described as being "caught in the middle"2.

• Acquisition and Pressure: Nexperia, a Dutch semiconductor firm with a rich European history, was acquired by Wingtech in 20194. Following Wingtech’s placement on the Entity List, the U.S. move cut off Nexperia and other partially Chinese-owned European companies from U.S. content3.

• Dutch Seizure: U.S. officials forewarned and pressured their Dutch counterparts regarding the forthcoming changes to the entity list37. U.S. officials even told the Dutch that the Chinese CEO of Nexperia "will have to be replaced" for the company to be exempt from the Entity List3.

• The Dutch government responded by seizing effective control of Nexperia in October 2025, using the Goods Availability Act to grant itself the power to "halt and reverse" company decisions78. This included suspending the founding CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, and placing the shares under temporary management79.

• Chinese Condemnation and Response: Wingtech condemned this move as a "malicious extension of external pressure" and a politically motivated attempt by certain foreign executives, aligned with Dutch directives, to usurp shareholder rights1011. In response to the seizure, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce banned Nexperia from exporting products made in China11.

China's Retaliation via Rare Earth Export Controls

The new Chinese export controls on rare earth metals and certain other technologies are a direct response to the new U.S. restrictions3.

• China’s Leverage: China produces roughly 90% of the world’s rare-earth materials12. These materials and the magnets produced from them are vital small components for technological products1314.

• Severe Restrictions: The rule, viewed as an escalation in the U.S.-China trade fight, requires global companies to obtain individual permissions from Beijing if their products contain rare-earth materials sourced from China accounting for 0.1% or more of the product’s value12.... This affects supply chains for semiconductors, phones, computers, data centers, AI systems, cars, and solar panels1213.

• Impact on Advanced Semiconductors: The Chinese controls are specifically targeted at the semiconductor sector, requiring case-by-case approval for anyone using rare earths to develop advanced semiconductors (defined as 14nm-and-below)15. This effectively grants China de-facto veto power over the entire advanced semiconductor supply chain, impacting key equipment manufacturers like ASML and foundries like TSMC15.

• "Economic Equivalent of Nuclear War": The severity of these restrictions, combined with China's control over refining and production, was described by one source as the “economic equivalent of nuclear war” that could potentially 'destroy the American AI industry'14.

• Mirroring US Policy: Like the U.S. restrictions, China's new export controls are extra-territorial, requiring foreign entities to obtain Chinese export licenses before re-exporting products manufactured abroad if they contain Chinese rare earth materials comprising 0.1% or more of the product’s value16. This action is seen as China effectively mirroring the U.S. semiconductor export controls used against them16.

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Discuss Wingtech entity list.

The placement of Wingtech Technology on the U.S. Department of Commerce Entity List was a key action taken by the United States as part of theThe placement of Wingtech Technology on the U.S. Department of Commerce Entity List was a key action taken by the United States as part of the escalating "tit-for-tat chips war" with China1.

Here is a discussion of the Wingtech Entity List designation and its consequences:

The Designation of Wingtech

• Date and Purpose: Wingtech Technology was added to the U.S. Department of Commerce Entity List in December 20242. This move was intended to block Chinese semiconductor development by restricting the company's access to American components and technology23.

• Company Profile: Wingtech Technology is a Shanghai-listed Chinese conglomerate that is privately run and headquartered in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province1. It began as an original design manufacturer (ODM) for consumer devices and smartphones and has grown into a prominent integrated technology company involved in electronics assembly, chip design, and semiconductor manufacturing1.

• Immediate Impact: The U.S. unilateral sanctions stemming from the Entity List designation threatened heavy losses for Wingtech, which is also an Apple supplier2. In response, Wingtech was forced to announce the spin-off of a major part of its operations in March 20252.

Impact on Nexperia and Extraterritorial Expansion

The most dramatic consequence of Wingtech’s listing concerned its subsidiary, Nexperia, a Dutch semiconductor firm that Wingtech acquired in 20192.

1. Pressure on Nexperia: Being on the Entity List restricted Wingtech's access to U.S. content and technology3. Furthermore, the U.S. planned in June 2024 to extend the scope of the Entity List to penalize any international company that was 50% or more owned by a Chinese entity4.

2. Extraterritorial Pressure on the Netherlands: The U.S. used Wingtech's listing and forthcoming changes to the Entity List (which took effect September 29, 2025) to pressure the Dutch government concerning Nexperia4.... The United States informed Dutch officials about the forthcoming change to the Entity List in June6.

3. Demand for Management Change: Court documents reveal that U.S. officials specifically told their Dutch counterparts that the Chinese CEO of Nexperia, Zhang Xuezheng, "will have to be replaced" for the company to be exempt from Washington’s Entity List restrictions5.

4. Dutch Seizure and CEO Removal: Following this pressure, the Dutch government effectively seized control of Nexperia in October 2025 using the Goods Availability Act67. This action forced a change in management, removing Zhang Xuezheng, the founding CEO and a successful Chinese businessman who had bought the company36. The Dutch seizure is described as having "effectively stolen a big Chinese owned company"1.

China's Response

The U.S. move against Wingtech and Nexperia cut the Chinese-owned company and other partially Chinese-owned companies in Europe off from U.S. content5.

In retaliation for the Dutch government's seizure of the Chinese-owned company under U.S. pressure, Beijing imposed an export ban on Nexperia8.

• The Chinese Ministry of Commerce banned Nexperia from exporting products made in China, including those produced by its subcontractors8.

• This ban could affect Dutch access to Nexperia's chips9.

• Nexperia's business is globalized, and its sales in Europe depend on subcontractor products made in China9. If the Dutch government does not retract its decision to "practically confiscate Nexperia," the company will likely "die"9.

In a wider sense, the U.S. extension of export restrictions (which was foreshadowed by the action against Wingtech/Nexperia) prompted China to implement its own comprehensive, extra-territorial export controls on rare earth metals, effectively mirroring the US semiconductor export controls510.

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This opinion piece from LewRockwell.com, authored by Paul Craig Roberts, asserts that the Trump administration's aggressive trade diplomacy led to a significant retaliatory move by China. The core of China’s response is the imposition of unprecedented, severe new licensing requirements on the export of rare-earth materials and related magnet products, which they overwhelmingly control. This drastic measure creates an extraterritorial control regime mirroring U.S. sanctions, threatening to disrupt global supply chains—especially for advanced semiconductors, AI systems, cars, and solar panels—because even products containing a minimal amount (0.1%) of these Chinese-sourced rare earths are affected, granting Beijing de-facto veto power over critical global industries. The article suggests this economic action is a powerful escalation, with one expert comparing the potential disruption to the "economic equivalent of nuclear war." 

Discuss Rare earth restrictions.

The restrictions imposed by China on rare earth materials represent a significant escalation in the U.S.-China trade fight, serving as a direct response to new U.S. export controls and restrictions12. China is effectively mirroring the extraterritorial nature of the U.S. semiconductor export control regime with its own comprehensive control system focused on rare earths3.

Scope and Nature of Chinese Rare Earth Restrictions

China has implemented an unprecedented new wave of licensing requirements concerning the import and use of the rare earths they mine and refine, as well as the vital small magnets derived from these compounds4.

1. Global Control and Leverage: China produces roughly 90% of the world’s rare-earth materials2 and controls 90% of the refining and production of these components5. This leverage is significant because there are no obvious substitutes available for these small, yet vital, technological components5.

2. Threshold and Affected Industries: The new restrictions target global companies that sell goods containing certain rare-earth materials sourced from China if those materials account for 0.1% or more of the product’s value45. Companies meeting this threshold must obtain permission from Beijing5.

    ◦ These rules stand to disrupt the global economy and threaten the supply chain for semiconductors2.

    ◦ The restrictions encompass a vast range of major industries, including cars, solar panels, and chip-making equipment24.

    ◦ The entire supply chain for phones, computers, data-centers, and AI systems would be covered, requiring case-by-case permissions from Chinese authorities for continued use4. Industry experts anticipate that tech companies will find it extremely difficult to demonstrate that their products fall below the 0.1% threshold5.

3. Extraterritorial Reach: The export controls are extra-territorial3. Foreign entities are required to obtain Chinese export licenses before re-exporting products manufactured abroad if those products contain Chinese rare earth materials comprising 0.1% or more of the product’s value3.

4. Advanced Semiconductor Veto Power: China's new export controls include a specific provision (point 4, per one observer) requiring case-by-case approval for anyone using rare earths to develop advanced semiconductors defined as 14nm-and-below6. This effectively grants China de-facto veto power over the entire advanced semiconductor supply chain6, potentially impacting manufacturers like TSMC and equipment suppliers like ASML (which uses rare earths for magnets in its lithography machines)6.

5. Supply Chain Protection: The new Chinese economic sanctions also extended to all the technologies and equipment related to the mining, refining, and fabrication of rare earth products7. These measures are clearly aimed at preventing any foreign competitors from developing alternate future supply chains that could potentially weaken China’s current control7.

The severity of China's restrictions led one quoted source to describe the action as the "economic equivalent of nuclear war," suggesting it could potentially "destroy the American AI industry"5.

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Discuss China export controls.

China has implemented significant export controls in response to external pressures, particularly those stemming from the trade and technology tensions with the United States and subsequent actions taken by the Netherlands12. These controls include comprehensive restrictions on rare earth materials and targeted bans against specific companies.

Rare Earth Materials and Technology Export Controls

China’s newest restrictions, issued by the Ministry of Commerce, are described as a "nearly unprecedented export control that stands to disrupt the global economy" and an escalation in the U.S.-China trade fight2. These controls are a direct response to new U.S. restrictions and sanctions13.

Key aspects of China's rare earth export controls:

• Global Disruption and Leverage: The restrictions threaten global supply chains for crucial products like semiconductors, cars, solar panels, phones, computers, data centers, and equipment used for making chips and training artificial intelligence (AI) models24. Since China produces approximately 90% of the world’s rare-earth materials, these restrictions grant Beijing substantial leverage in trade negotiations2.

• Licensing Requirements and Threshold: China imposed new, severe licensing requirements on the import and use of mined and refined rare earths, as well as the vital small magnets produced from them4. Under the new rule, global companies selling goods that contain certain rare-earth materials sourced from China, accounting for 0.1% or more of the product’s value, require permission from Beijing35. Industry experts believe tech companies will find it extremely difficult to demonstrate that their products fall below this 0.1% threshold5.

• Veto Power over Semiconductors: The export controls include a provision requiring case-by-case approval for anyone using rare earths to develop advanced semiconductors (defined as 14nm-and-below)6. This provision grants China de-facto veto power over the entire advanced semiconductor supply chain, impacting entities like ASML (which uses rare earths for magnets in lithography machines) and TSMC6.

• Extraterritorial Scope: The export controls are extra-territorial, meaning foreign entities must obtain Chinese export licenses before re-exporting products manufactured abroad if those products contain Chinese rare earth materials comprising 0.1% or more of the product’s value3. This mirrors the extraterritorial scope of U.S. semiconductor export controls3.

• Preventing Competition: These restrictions also extend to all technologies and equipment related to the mining, refining, and fabrication of rare earth products, a step seemingly aimed at preventing foreign competitors from developing alternate future supply chains that could weaken China’s current dominance7. The economic impact has been described as the "economic equivalent of nuclear war" that could "destroy the American AI industry"5.

Targeted Export Ban against Nexperia

The Chinese government implemented a specific export ban targeting Nexperia, a Dutch-based, Chinese-owned chipmaker, after the Dutch government effectively seized control of the company using the Goods Availability Act89.

• Trigger for the Ban: The action was a reaction to the Dutch government taking over the company and removing its founding CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, who is also the founder of Wingtech, Nexperia’s Chinese parent company89. Wingtech condemned the internal legal actions that led to the CEO's suspension, calling them a "malicious extension of external pressure" and politically motivated attempts to usurp shareholder rights910.

• Scope of the Ban: The Chinese Ministry of Commerce banned Nexperia from exporting products made in China, including those produced by its subcontractors9.

• Impact: This ban affects Dutch access to Nexperia’s chips11. Nexperia operates an 80,000-square-meter assembly site in Guangdong province near Hong Kong11. As Nexperia’s business is highly globalized, its products and sales in Europe depend on subcontractor products made in China11. Nexperia, a major supplier of mature chips for the automotive and consumer electronics sectors, is seeking an exemption from the export ban9. It is suggested that if the Dutch government does not retract its decision to "practically confiscate Nexperia," the company will fail11.

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Discuss US-China trade.

The discussion of US-China trade, according to the sources, centers on an escalating trade conflict, often characterized as a "tit-for-tat chips war"1, involving severe export restrictions and retaliatory economic sanctions23.

US Imposition of Export Controls (The "Chips War")

The United States has actively sought to block Chinese semiconductor development by cutting off Chinese entities from U.S. products and technology licenses4.

1. Entity List and Sanctions: In December 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Wingtech Technology (a Shanghai-listed Chinese electronics and semiconductor conglomerate) to its Entity List45. This action restricted Wingtech's access to American components and technology, threatening heavy losses and forcing the Apple supplier to announce a spin-off of major operations in March 20255.

2. Expansion of Scope (Extraterritoriality): The U.S. planned to extend the Entity List in June 20246. Effective September 29, 2025, the U.S. Commerce Department vastly expanded its export control restrictions via an interim final rule6. This expansion extended the Entity List and MEU List restrictions to non-U.S. entities that are 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, by listed Chinese parties6.

3. Pressure on Allies: The U.S. leveraged these controls to pressure allies regarding companies with Chinese ownership. U.S. officials told their Dutch counterparts that the Chinese CEO of Nexperia (a Wingtech subsidiary) "will have to be replaced" for the company to be exempt from Washington’s Entity List78. This pressure ultimately led the Dutch government to seize control of Nexperia8.

China's Retaliation (Rare Earth Export Controls)

China’s new export controls on rare earth metals and associated technologies are a direct response to the new U.S. restrictions37. These new rules, issued by China’s Commerce Ministry, are viewed as an escalation in the U.S.-China trade fight2.

1. Control over Rare Earths: China produces roughly 90% of the world’s rare-earth materials and controls 90% of their refining and production, with no obvious substitutes readily available29.

2. Severe Licensing Requirements: China has imposed an unprecedented wave of new licensing requirements on the import and use of rare earths and the vital small magnets produced from them10.

3. Extraterritorial Scope: The new Chinese restrictions are extraterritorial, effectively mirroring the U.S. semiconductor export controls3. Foreign entities must obtain Chinese export licenses before re-exporting products manufactured abroad if those products contain Chinese rare earth materials comprising 0.1% or more of the product’s value39.

4. Impact on Global Industries: This 0.1% threshold applies to an enormous range of major industries, potentially encompassing the entire supply chain for phones, computers, data centers, and AI systems210. It also affects cars, solar panels, and chip-making equipment210.

5. Veto Power over Semiconductors: Specifically concerning advanced semiconductors (defined as 14nm-and-below), anyone using rare earths to develop them will require case-by-case approval from Beijing11. Since rare earths are used at critical steps, this effectively gives China de-facto veto power over the entire advanced semiconductor supply chain (including major companies like ASML and TSMC)11.

6. Economic Impact: The restrictions extended to all technologies and equipment related to the mining, refining, and fabrication of rare earth products, aiming to prevent foreign competitors from developing alternate future supply chains12. This economic move was described by one quoted source as the "economic equivalent of nuclear war" and something that could "destroy the American AI industry"9.

Europe Caught in the Middle

The ongoing trade fight has significantly impacted Europe, which is described as being "caught in the middle"1.

The Netherlands, under U.S. pressure, seized control of the Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia7.... This move is a significant escalation that could "inflame wider trade tensions between Beijing and the European Union"113. In retaliation for the seizure, the Chinese government banned Nexperia from exporting products made in China14.

The sources suggest that Europe should have maintained neutrality in the US-China trade war, arguing that submitting to U.S. demands and seizing Nexperia was a "huge mistake"1516. The perspective offered is that Europe, due to its leaders' actions, is the most significant casualty in this fight between titans17.

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Discuss Semiconductor supply chain.

The semiconductor supply chain has become the focal point of a significant international trade conflict, characterized by a "tit-for-tat chips war" between the United States and China, leaving Europe caught in the middle1. The sources highlight how both sides are using extraterritorial controls and strategic resource leverage to disrupt the production and flow of vital technological components23.

U.S. Export Controls and the Nexperia Conflict

The U.S. initiated restrictive actions aimed at blocking Chinese semiconductor development4. A key action was the addition of Chinese electronics and semiconductor conglomerate Wingtech Technology to the U.S. Entity List in December 202445. This restricted Wingtech’s access to American components and technology5.

The U.S. extended these export restrictions in September 2025 by vastly expanding the number of entities subject to control, including non-U.S. entities 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, by listed parties6. This move cut off partially Chinese-owned European companies, such as Wingtech's subsidiary Nexperia, from U.S. content2.

The Seizure of Nexperia

Nexperia, a Dutch semiconductor firm with a rich European history, was acquired by Wingtech in 20195. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Nexperia is crucial to Europe, producing approximately 90 billion "bread and butter components" per year that flow into higher-value European products57.

Under pressure from U.S. officials, who had forewarned their Dutch counterparts about the forthcoming changes to the Entity List, the Dutch government took drastic action28. U.S. officials suggested that the Chinese CEO of Nexperia "will have to be replaced" for the company to be exempt from the Entity List28.

In October 2025, the Dutch government effectively seized control of the firm, granting itself the power to “halt and reverse” company decisions89. This involved removing the founding CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, from his role using an obscure law known as the Goods Availability Act810. This act of seizing a Chinese-owned company caused fury in Beijing811.

Chinese Retaliation and Supply Chain Impact

In response to the Dutch seizure, the Chinese government reacted by cutting off the company from Chinese technologies and products11. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce banned Nexperia from exporting products made in China, including those produced by its subcontractors11.

Nexperia’s business is highly globalized, with parts of its products made around the world, including an 80,000-square-meter assembly site in Guangdong, China, as well as facilities in Germany, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Britain12. This export ban could affect Dutch access to the chips12.

Rare Earth Restrictions and Advanced Semiconductors

China has implemented an unprecedented new wave of licensing requirements on rare earth materials and the vital small magnets derived from them13. This action is described as a direct response to the new U.S. export controls and restrictions23.

These controls are designed to mirror the extraterritorial nature of the U.S. semiconductor export control regime3. Since China produces roughly 90% of the world’s rare-earth materials and controls 90% of the refining and production, this represents significant leverage1415.

Veto Power over Advanced Semiconductors

The new Chinese export controls on rare earths specifically target the semiconductor supply chain by including a provision that requires case-by-case approval for anyone using rare earths to develop advanced semiconductors defined as 14nm-and-below16.

This rule effectively grants China de-facto veto power over the entire advanced semiconductor supply chain16. Rare earths are used at critical steps throughout the supply chain, impacting manufacturers like TSMC and equipment suppliers like ASML (which uses rare earths for magnets in its lithography machines)16.

These new restrictions threaten the supply chain for semiconductors, which are the "lifeblood of the economy", powering phones, computers, data centers, and systems needed to train artificial intelligence models14. The entire supply chain for phones, computers, data-centers, and AI systems would be covered, potentially requiring individual permissions from Chinese authorities for continued use if the rare earth content exceeds a minimal threshold13.

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Discuss Economic sanctions.

Economic sanctions, export controls, and related governmental interventions discussed in the sources have dramatically escalated the ongoing trade and technology tensions, primarily between the United States and China, with Europe caught in the middle1. These measures include targeted restrictions, corporate seizures, and broad, extraterritorial export control regimes23.

U.S. Sanctions and Restrictions

The United States has utilized specific economic tools, notably the Entity List, to restrict Chinese technological development:

• Targeting Wingtech: In December 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce added the Chinese electronics and semiconductor conglomerate Wingtech Technology to its Entity List2. This action restricted Wingtech's access to American components and technology24. These unilateral sanctions threatened heavy losses for the company2.

• Extending the Entity List: The U.S. later expanded its export restrictions. Effective September 29, 2025, the U.S. Commerce Department extended the Entity List restrictions to non-U.S. entities that are 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, by listed parties5. This measure penalized partially Chinese-owned international companies, cutting them off from U.S. content56.

• Applying Pressure: The U.S. informed Dutch officials in June (2025) about the forthcoming change in the Entity List and explicitly told them that the Chinese CEO of Nexperia (a Wingtech subsidiary) "will have to be replaced" for the company to be exempt from the sanctions67.

Dutch Intervention and Corporate Seizure

In response to U.S. pressure and warnings about the extended Entity List6, the Dutch government took a highly unusual step, effectively seizing control of the Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia78.

• Seizure Mechanism: The Netherlands used an obscure law known as the Goods Availability Act to grant itself the power to intervene in Nexperia’s company decisions78. This power allows the government to "halt and reverse" company decisions, preventing the transfer of assets or the hiring of executives without Dutch approval8.

• Removal of Management: As part of this action, the Dutch authorities removed the founding CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, from his role, which sparked strong condemnation from Beijing79.

• Accusations of Confiscation: The Dutch action is described as having "effectively stolen a big Chinese owned company" and submitting to U.S. demands110. Wingtech criticized the internal legal actions used to facilitate this removal as a "malicious extension of external pressure" and politically motivated attempts to usurp shareholder rights1112.

Chinese Counter-Sanctions (Retaliation)

China implemented severe economic sanctions as a direct response to the new U.S. restrictions and the Dutch seizure of Nexperia3....

1. Rare Earth Export Controls:

China, which produces roughly 90% of the world’s rare-earth materials13, imposed an "unprecedented new wave of licensing requirements" on the export and use of rare earths and the small magnets derived from them14.

• Threshold and Scope: The new restrictions require global companies to obtain permission from Beijing if the Chinese-sourced rare-earth materials in their final products account for 0.1% or more of the product’s value1415.

• Affected Industries: This threshold covers a vast range of major industries, including cars, solar panels, chip-making equipment, and the entire supply chain for phones, computers, data-centers, and AI systems1314. Industry experts anticipate that proving products fall below the 0.1% threshold will be extremely difficult for tech companies15.

• Extraterritorial Nature: China is "effectively mirroring the US semiconductor export controls"3. The controls are extra-territorial, requiring foreign entities to obtain Chinese export licenses before re-exporting products manufactured abroad if they contain Chinese rare earth materials comprising 0.1% or more of the product’s value3.

• Veto Power: The controls include a provision requiring case-by-case approval for the use of rare earths to develop advanced semiconductors defined as 14nm-and-below16. This grants China de-facto veto power over the entire advanced semiconductor supply chain, impacting companies like TSMC and ASML16.

• Supply Chain Protection: These new economic sanctions also extended to all the technologies and equipment related to the mining, refining, and fabrication of rare earth products, aimed at preventing foreign competitors from developing alternate future supply chains17.

• Economic Impact: These rare earth restrictions are described as a "nearly unprecedented export control that stands to disrupt the global economy"13 and the "economic equivalent of nuclear war," potentially able to "destroy the American AI industry"15.

2. Targeted Ban on Nexperia:

Following the Dutch seizure, the Chinese government immediately reacted by cutting off Nexperia from Chinese technologies and products12.

• The Chinese Ministry of Commerce banned Nexperia from exporting products made in China, including those produced by its subcontractors12.

• Since Nexperia’s global business and European sales depend on subcontractor products made in China, the ban could potentially lead to the company’s collapse unless the Dutch government retracts its decision18.

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welcome to the LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com series.

Discussion of Source 1: Collectivism is threatening our freedom and creating modern slavery - The Expose

We begin today with an examination of the concept of collectivism and its asserted dangers to modern society. Collectivism is fundamentally a cultural, psychological, and political worldview that mandates the prioritization of the needs of the group over the needs of the individual. This prioritization is said to lead directly to a form of modern slavery where large groups of people are controlled and oppressed. Collectivist ideology is not merely philosophical; it is employed by influential organizations such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) and secretive groups like the Bilderbergers, who leverage it to give total power to the elite.

Dr. Vernon Coleman writes that collectivism is actively destroying our world and our humanity. It is stated that collectivism is driving the destruction of various essential components of society, including education, healthcare, democracy, politics, government, civic pride, the economy, justice, the police, and religion.

The proponents of collectivism have been successful in creating a new, modern form of slavery where the masses are used, controlled, and oppressed in a manner no different from historical slavery. The core tenet of collectivism is summarized by Dr. Coleman as: "everything that is mine is mine and everything that was yours is also mine". Furthermore, the basic principle dictates that the individual must be sacrificed for the needs of the greatest number. This means that the rights of the individual must be suppressed in order to protect and promote the rights of "the people" and the State.

Collectivism is regarded as thoroughly elitist and oppressive, supported by lobby groups like the World Economic Forum, whose members supposedly view themselves as superior and entitled to rule the "masses". The ideology is closely related to communism and statism, to the point where there is no discernible difference between them. While Karl Marx mistakenly believed collectivism would provide citizens with freedom from oppression, it has instead been adapted specifically to grant total power to the elite. Ayn Rand recognized that the elite would achieve complete control over people’s lives by utilizing compliance and blind obedience as weapons, which is asserted to be exactly what has occurred. Collectivism actively encourages people to stop thinking independently and simply follow instructions.

The conspiratorial elite zealously promote collectivism. This destructive ideology has been used to authorize the pseudoscience driving depopulation programs, specifically citing the dangerous myth of global warming and its associated policy, “net zero”. Collectivism has also empowered undemocratic organizations and institutions, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Union (EU), which claim superior knowledge of what is best for the rest of society. These institutions presume to offer themselves as the world’s leaders and ruthlessly promote the notion that the individual must be sacrificed for the greater number. They are willing and able to use wealth, status, and force to ensure their ideals are met, having seized control of the world's elected governments and corporate media to make decisions for everyone and take away individual freedoms.

Within the healthcare system, hospitals and general practice are run according to collectivist principles, which eliminates the individualism enshrined in documents like the Magna Carta or the US Constitution. Health care professionals are taught that collectivism and teamwork must override individualism, meaning the rights of the individual must always be subjugated to the rights of the greater community. The NHS in the UK is presented as a perfect example of how collectivism results in harm and destruction. Collectivism is specifically responsible for the ruthless promotion of vaccination programs. In this view, individual deaths and injuries caused by vaccines are deemed an acceptable price if they are shown to protect a section of the community from infection. The collectivists’ belief is that people are merely human resources to be utilized to serve the public good, and they believe these resources should be killed when they are no longer useful. It is essential to remember that collectivism is always backed up by the threat of violence, exemplified by the notion that refusal to comply leads to arrest by armed agents.

Furthermore, collectivism has taken away the idea of individual responsibility, replacing it with a world in which no one accepts accountability for anything. It has resulted in the rejection of basic human values and the widespread disregard for human dignity and equality. While selective slavery has been largely and rightly abolished, collectivism is alleged to have replaced it with mass slavery, mass exploitation, and a system of social credit designed fundamentally to abolish individualism. This contrasts directly with individualism, which highlights personal autonomy and personal responsibility.

Discussion of Source 2: Israeli War Propaganda on Social Media - LewRockwell

Next, we turn to the subject of Israeli war propaganda, referred to as hasbara (הַסְבָּרָה), especially concerning its operations on social media. The current coalition government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, has reportedly taken control of TikTok and has announced plans to control the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, as well.

Historically, before the founding of Israel, hasbara referred to the act of explaining a position within the Diaspora; however, over time, the term has become synonymous with "propaganda". Israeli propaganda has seldom been solely a function of the government; instead, it has operated primarily through associations that receive partial government funding. These associations, operating with their own ideologies, are not accountable to the Israeli population for their actions, but exclusively report to their sponsors, including the government in Tel Aviv. This system allows the state to fund profoundly anti-democratic operations without the knowledge of its own citizens.

The chronic instability in Israel since its founding, combined with the practice of appointing central directors of ministries based on political criteria rather than competence, has resulted in a blurred and competing message from various powers. An authority for "public diplomacy," or propaganda, was eventually created, which has become particularly secretive. State resources designated for propaganda have reportedly been seized exclusively by "revisionist Zionists," despite this group being an ultra-minority.

In recent years, approximately $200 million annually, representing four-fifths of the budget of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy, has been allocated to the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP). ISGAP is presided over by Natan Sharansky, a Ukrainian revisionist Zionist, who now oversees almost all of the hasbara efforts.

Despite the extensive resources devoted to hasbara, the international campaigns against anti-Semitism have been surprisingly ineffective. This ineffectiveness raises the consideration that anti-Semitism is used by the Israeli authorities as a means of pressure on their own population. Notably, revisionist Zionists previously employed anti-Semitism to advance their cause in the diaspora.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed during a conference that his country intends to control people under the age of thirty-five via social networks. This aim is being executed through "Project 545," a campaign launched to influence people under 25. This operation is funded to the tune of NIS 545 million, or $145 million, by 2025. The main idea behind "Project 545" is to influence the responses of artificial intelligence by creating a multitude of social media accounts that will provide the specific narrative upon which ChatGPT and its rivals will feed.

Further influence operations include the Esther Project, which reportedly involved 14 to 18 influencers publishing 75 to 90 posts at a cost of $900,000, with fees paid by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Netanyahu has also acknowledged the importance of specific social media platforms, mentioning TikTok and X (Twitter) as substantial purchases needed for the ongoing fight. Safra Catz, executive vice president of Oracle (which acquired 45% of TikTok), has explicitly stated, “We need to integrate love and respect for Israel into American culture”.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has also established the company Show Faith by Work, registering it as a foreign agent of influence in the United States. This new company is specifically tasked with disseminating the official version of the October 7 attack and messages opposing the existence of a Palestinian state to American Christian Zionists.

Discussion of Source 3: On Trump's Knesset Speech - LewRockwell

We now turn to the analysis of Donald Trump's speech at the Knesset, which was delivered upon the ratification of a ceasefire that temporarily halted fighting in Gaza. The author grants that Trump possesses an unerring instinct for the vulgar moment. The occasion was viewed less as a solemn or historic event, and more as a "victory lap for the Israeli right" where Trump sought the adulation he believed he was contractually owed.

To listen to the address was described as a form of auditory waterboarding, characterized by a torrent of self-congratulation, peculiar digressions, and a level of sycophantic praise for Benjamin Netanyahu that was extreme. The underlying claim of the performance was one of "world-historic triumph," announcing the end of the "age of terror and death" and the dawning of a "new Middle East".

However, the analysis asserts that this "peace" was not achieved through conventional diplomacy. Instead, it was secured through the "application of overwhelming and indiscriminate force," financed and supplied with arms by the United States. The Gaza Strip has been reduced to a "leveled, toxic ruin," with its population traumatized, starved, and displaced. To label this outcome a victory for peace is comparable to calling the bombing of Dresden a triumph of urban renewal, resulting instead in a "peace of the cemetery" or "a successful pest extermination".

The ceasefire itself is described not as a negotiation, but as a decree. This decree was imposed because one side possesses a modern military arsenal and the unconditional support of a global superpower, while the other side possesses "little more than desperation and primitive rockets". Calling Trump a peacemaker for overseeing this process is likened to crediting a bulldozer with architectural innovation.

The reception of Trump was called a "nauseating spectacle" because a nation that presents itself as the Middle East’s only democracy celebrated a man who has openly admired global strongmen and shown visceral contempt for the norms of liberal democracy. Netanyahu, who was described as desperately clinging to power, lauded Trump as a “colossus” who would be “enshrined in the pantheon of history”.

Trump was thanked for actions that the author views as cynical provocations and geopolitical blunders. Specifically, he was thanked for moving the embassy to Jerusalem, an action said to solidify "apartheid-like realities". He was also thanked for recognizing the stolen Golan Heights. Additionally, he was praised for withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, an act considered profoundly stupid because it gave the mullahs the perfect reason to accelerate their nuclear program, thereby necessitating the very bombing campaign Trump subsequently boasted about. The article suggests that Trump is being thanked as an arsonist who arrives with a single bucket of water after spending years dousing the house in gasoline.

The speech exhibited a staggering lack of self-awareness when Trump extended a hand to the Iranian regime he had just bombed, cooing, “We are ready when you are,” as if addressing a spurned lover. This moment was presented as pure performance, entirely detached from statecraft, history, or logic, with the clear underlying message that the conflict is solely about his narrative and his deal-making prowess.

Ultimately, the entire affair—the groveling, the grotesque self-praise, and the willful blindness to the casualties—was deemed a perfect epitaph for the current era. It was characterized as the celebration of a "successful mob hit". The prediction is that history will remember this moment not as the dawn of a new age, but as a "gaudy, ill-mannered party thrown atop a mass grave". While the guns may be silent temporarily, the hatred, injustice, and utter humiliation have been poured into the foundation of this "new Middle East," a foundation that is asserted cannot hold.

Discussion of Source 4: The Most Incredible Story Never Told: LBJ’s Order to Destroy the USS Liberty - LewRockwell

Next, we delve into the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) and the attack on the USS Liberty. LBJ is presented as a president who has escaped scrutiny despite significant documentation that should make him a prime candidate for historical review. Some researchers even believe LBJ was the mastermind behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The author suggests LBJ may be one of the most evil presidents in US history.

One of the most critically important yet unknown chapters of LBJ’s tenure is the allegation that he personally ordered Israel to bomb and completely destroy the USS Liberty and its entire crew of 294 Americans. When the mission failed and Sixth Fleet Commanders ordered rescue operations for the besieged USS Liberty crew, LBJ reportedly ordered the rescue operations to be called back at least twice. Against immense odds, the USS Liberty survived, but 34 Americans were killed in the attack. The USS Liberty was unarmed and defenseless against the superior Israeli naval and air force armada that attacked it, possessing only four worthless .50 caliber machine guns.

The official story maintained by the government and mainstream media is that the Israelis accidentally bombed the Liberty off the coast of Egypt on June 8, 1967. The real story, documented in investigative books, is that LBJ requested the bombing to create a casus belli (a cause for war) and secure a Gulf-of-Tonkin-style resolution. LBJ was suffering in the polls due to the Vietnam War and faced a potential general election loss, believing that the American public would support an outraged president who used military force following a perceived provocation, even a planned false flag attack.

The incident involved far greater danger than just the destruction of the USS Liberty. In addition to ordering the ship’s total destruction and the potential death of 294 Americans, LBJ also ordered the nuclear bombing of Cairo. This action was specifically designed to initiate a nuclear war by blaming the entire USS Liberty affair on Russia or Egypt. US planes were on emergency standby orders, with pilots waiting on runways in their aircraft armed with nuclear weapons. The nuclear bombing of Cairo was called off just three minutes before the bombs were due to drop, granting the world a reprieve from a US-induced nuclear holocaust. The pilot who was involved in the H-bomb attack force confirmed that they were carrying thermonuclear weapons (H-bombs). Furthermore, klaxons woke the pilots between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. on the day of the attack, hours before the USS Liberty was actually struck, implying that the American military anticipated the attack.

It is stated that the Israelis were fully aware that the USS Liberty was a clearly marked US spy ship. The official cover-up, claiming the ship was mistaken for an Egyptian vessel hauling horses, is dismissed as flimsy and fictitious. Israeli reconnaissance aircraft had already identified the ship as "GTR-5," an NSA intelligence vessel, hours before the attack on June 8, 1967.

The attack unfolded with two goals: first, to destroy all communication capabilities, and second, to sink the ship and ensure no survivors. The attack began at 2:00 p.m. Israel time. Israeli fighter aircraft initiated the assault with rockets and cannons, targeting the command bridge, communication antennas, and the .50 caliber machine guns. After the air attack, three Israeli torpedo boats arrived, launching a total of five torpedoes. One torpedo struck the starboard side into the NSA area, causing 25 of the 34 total fatalities. The torpedo boats continued to rake the ship with armor-piercing cannon and machine gun fire, resulting in 861 holes the size of a man’s hand or larger, along with thousands of .50 caliber machine gun holes. The decks were ablaze from napalm fires.

The attackers also used sophisticated high-tech jamming equipment. One radioman concluded that the attackers had carefully prepared to prevent the ship from communicating, having prior knowledge of the five frequencies the ship was using. The international distress frequency, used for Mayday messages, was also jammed.

However, the crew made the crucial discovery that there was a respite from jamming lasting a few seconds when the attacking planes fired their missiles. A courageous crew member managed to fix a non-functioning communication transformer by stringing long wires across a burning deck, enabling the transmission of a Mayday message during these brief windows. The message was eventually acknowledged and authenticated 10 minutes after the attack began by the USS Saratoga.

Despite the acknowledgment, help never arrived as expected. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, a close associate of LBJ, twice ordered the recall of the rescue missions. During one conversation, LBJ reportedly joined the phone call, roaring, “We will not embarrass an ally,” reinforcing the command not to rescue the USS Liberty. The Israelis ultimately stopped the attack despite having enough firepower to sink the ship, possibly panicking because the message had been sent and the Russians, who were nearby in disguised spy ships, were aware of the attack.

The documented involvement of LBJ and McNamara in the tragedy and the subsequent cover-up points to a scheme to ignite nuclear warfare. LBJ was widely feared by those who knew him to be mentally ill, unstable, or a psychopath. He was obsessed solely with reelection and maintaining his power. Denis Healey, the British Secretary of Defense, so distrusted LBJ that he called him a monster, noting LBJ's brutal lust for power. LBJ’s actions were highly consistent with a man who would manipulate geopolitics to gain American public approval during the unpopular Vietnam War.

Discussion of Source 5: The Year When Everything Happens in No Particular Order - LewRockwell

Focusing now on global economics, 2025 is anticipated to be known as The Year When Everything Happened in No Particular Order. The sources suggest that those anticipating inflation, deflation, stock rallies, or crashes will all find their expectations momentarily confirmed.

The foundation of reliable trends has either weakened or reversed. These tectonic shifts include the end of the 40-year decline in interest rates which had lowered the cost of credit and capital to near-zero. Other reversing forces include the deflationary effects of globalization, the expansion of workforces that increased consumption, wealth creation based on credit/asset bubbles rather than productivity, sustained energy supply keeping pace with consumption, and the long-term ignorance or failure to price in the external costs of the “waste is growth” Landfill Economy (like pollution and depletion). Despite these reversals, most people expect the remainder of the 2020s to be a continuation of the 40+ year "Bull Market in Everything," based on "recency bias".

Those who benefit from the status quo are aggressively trying to maintain their position by fighting the erosion of these enabling forces. Their methods include using "feedback," meaning doing more of what has already failed, and applying "buffers," such as printing more money, in an effort to sustain "status quo sand castles" against a rising tide.

Because the global economy is a complex self-organizing adaptive system, the blunt-force policies intended to ensure stability end up generating significant unintended consequences, or "second-order effects". Those attempting to control the system find their control to be imperfect.

Long cycles are now dominating the economic landscape. After a 40-year run of falling interest rates—the longest recent run—rates are expected to rise for some period. This rising rate environment is predicted to culminate in a financial crisis that will lack an easy solution because the traditional fix of the past four decades, printing money, will itself be the core problem.

Demographics also play a significant role, as workforces are shrinking while the population of retirees living off those workforces is soaring. Finally, the world's desire for ever greater energy and consumption faces limits; the cheap, easy-to-exploit materials have already been utilized, meaning that everything will become more expensive, regardless of advancements in technology. Physical, chemical, and cost constraints will now matter significantly.

Discussion of Source 6: Trump Tweet Tanks Markets AGAIN: Trillions Lost & Insiders Profit

Continuing our economic discussion, we examine the profound market volatility triggered by former President Donald Trump's use of social media. Trump is reported to have caused trillions of dollars to be lost and gained over a single weekend in October 2025, in what felt like a replay of him previously tanking markets before quickly executing a U-turn.

On Friday, October 10th, Trump threatened to reignite the trade war by posting about a potential 100% tariff on China and hinted there was “no reason” to meet with President Xi. This threat caused major indexes to record their sharpest single-day drop since April. The announcement specifically threatened an additional 100% tariff on all Chinese imports starting November 1st, alongside new export controls on “critical” US software. The S&P 500 dropped 3%, Nasdaq dropped nearly 4%, and the Dow dropped approximately 2%. In total, $2 trillion in US market value dropped, with $800 billion attributed to a handful of tech mega caps alone. The turmoil extended beyond China-affected stocks; even fintech companies with no import-export exposure, such as PayPal and SoFi, slumped up to 10% intraday, indicating broader market fears rather than rational responses to the specific news.

The markets, however, rebounded on Monday. This was preceded by Trump completely reversing his sentiment on Sunday while markets were closed, writing: “don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment… The USA wants to help China, not hurt it!!!”. The subsequent relief rally saw the S&P gain nearly 2%, its best day since May, with the Nasdaq up 2.2% and the Dow up 1.3%.

Between these two posts, $2 trillion in US market value was erased and then reinstated. This volatility created turmoil for the everyday investor who panic sold, but was ultimately convenient for those who had been positioned in advance. This event was described as a repetition of a pattern seen before, including a drop in April that erased nearly $2.5 trillion from the S&P alone.

The crypto market also took a major hit, experiencing its greatest liquidation event in history, losing $17 billion in value. Bitcoin and Ethereum slid 10-15% intraday, leading to forced selling that saw many smaller cap altcoins drop up to 80% in value in minutes.

Crucially, a suspiciously timed short position resulted in one unidentified trader, accused of being an "insider whale" close to Trump, making over $160 million in a single day. This alleged insider opened short positions against Bitcoin and Ethereum minutes before the tariff announcement.

This familiar pattern—a dramatic, unexpected market-shifting rule followed by a sharp recovery due to a total reversal in sentiment—is becoming a common playbook in 2025. The fact that the world’s most powerful individuals can instantaneously change global economics by posting snap decisions online presents a clear risk of market manipulation, potentially giving insiders tip-offs while catching retail investors off-guard. The sheer speed of loss is dangerous, as the S&P 500 lost $1.2 trillion in market value in just 40 minutes from its all-time high. Retail investors who panic sold on Friday did not reap the benefits of the Monday bounce, meaning that insiders and institutions acquired the shares dropped by retail investors, thereby increasing the inequality in asset ownership.

Discussion of Source 7: Why the “Palestinian cause” will never be satisfied with a ceasefire - The Expose

Finally, we address the political movement surrounding the "Palestinian cause" following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. This ceasefire was brokered by President Trump and, at minimum, brought temporary peace to the region.

Despite the cessation of conflict, people on the political left in the West continued to demonstrate globally for “Palestine,” pivoting to claim they would maintain their movement and would never disappear. The author notes that the foundational doctrine for communist, Marxist, and some socialist activists in the West is to cause sufficient strife to instigate a “revolution” and subsequently install a communist dictatorship. Left-wing activists are observed to pivot their focus through various causes, including Black Lives Matter, gender and LGBT issues, climate alarmism, and then the “pro-Palestinian cause”.

The key to understanding the orchestrators of the “pro-Palestinian movement” is the hypothesis that the word “Palestine” functions as a political agenda, not solely a geographical location. The ultimate goals are identified as Marxist conquest and Islamic conquest, both of which utilize the “Palestinian cause” as a shared weapon to target and destroy Western civilization. Everyone who says “Free Palestine” is asserted to mean “Enslave the West”. The movement is a Marxist invention solidifying the shared desire for total conquest and shared hatred of the West between leftist and Islamic ideologies.

The recent peace deal, despite bringing temporary peace, is described as being tremendously advantageous to the "Palestinians". The deal involved a disproportionate 100-to-1 ratio, where Israel released nearly 2,000 "murderous terrorists" in exchange for 20 tortured, kidnapped civilians. The captured Israeli civilians were innocent, while those released by the Palestinians were people who had masterminded mass murders, committed terrorist atrocities, and participated in violence against civilians.

The assertion that Israel is committing genocide is challenged by the fact that the alleged victims—Hamas—resisted the measure (the ceasefire) guaranteed to end the supposed genocide. Conversely, the alleged perpetrators (Israel) celebrated the end of the war. Historically, those who commit actual genocide do not joyously greet a ceasefire. Even based on figures supplied by Hamas, 67,000 “Palestinians” died in two years, a figure that includes armed terrorists counted as civilian casualties. The resulting civilian casualty rate is described as the lowest ever recorded for dense urban warfare using modern arms. The civilian death rate would have needed to be around 840,000 to match the rate of Israeli civilian deaths from October 7, 2023, which initiated the war.

Western middle-class leftists are stated to believe delusional concepts, such as that Israel was the aggressor or committed genocide, assuming vast casualty rates that did not happen. They ignore key realities, such as Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. Furthermore, Gaza is refuted as a "concentration camp," citing that the Palestinian population is one of the world's fastest-growing, and that they are the recipients of more foreign financial assistance per head than any other population globally.

A significant claim is that the senior leadership of the Palestinian Authority, Fatah, and Hamas are all billionaires. The daughter of Yasser Arafat, for instance, is stated to be worth US$8 billion. This status is highly contradictory for people described as prisoners of a concentration camp, victims of genocide, and representatives of a refugee population whose land has been "stolen," suggesting they are the richest “dispossessed” people in all of human history. The author states that only captured Israelis genuinely looked abused and tortured, resembling concentration camp victims.

The conflict is argued to be about religion and land in a broader sense. It is centered on Islam’s intolerance for any land that was once even nominally Islamic escaping its authority, contradicting Islam's promise of world conquest. Israel is identified as the only example of land once within Islamic authority that has ever escaped it in the Middle East heartland. Its existence humiliates Islam. Therefore, the "Palestinian cause" is not just about wiping out Jews, but about Islamic conquest and the permanence of Muslim conquest, targeting the whole non-Muslim world and Western civilization.

Most Arab states reportedly despise and fear the "Palestinians," knowing the cause is "fake" and that the conflict could have been abandoned 80 years ago. This understanding results in a dance of dishonest framing, where Muslim nations officially condemn Israel and support the “Palestinians” while secretly working with Israel or ensuring that Palestinians cannot settle in neighboring Islamic states.

For the activists in the West, the protests will not end with a ceasefire because their true aim is the erasure of Israel and the subsequent global Islamic Conquest. If Israel were erased, the protests would continue because the activists still have Western nations to conquer and destroy. For these forces, "justice" means total war until total victory, and peace is merely an aberration or an impediment. Terror is their real delight, conquest is their true aim, and death advances their causes. The demand for justice is, in actuality, a thirst for conquest that cannot be satisfied by any concession or peace.

thank you for listening to another session of the LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com series produced and archived at the website LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com.

I.

CHINA REACTS AFTER U.S. PUSHED NETHERLANDS TO SEIZE CHINESE OWNED COMPANY / MOON OF ALABAMA

1. The seizure of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia by the Dutch government is viewed as an act of theft and a significant escalation of trade tensions.

The Dutch have effectively stolen a big Chinese owned company.

The highly unusual step, announced late Sunday, grants the country the power to “halt and reverse” company decisions.

2. The Dutch government’s actions were reportedly influenced by pressure and forewarning from the United States.

The Dutch government, which had been forewarned and pressed by the U.S., panicked.

US officials told their Dutch counterparts that the Chinese CEO of Nexperia “will have to be replaced” for the company to be exempt from Washington’s entity list, newly disclosed court documents show.

3. Wingtech Technology, the Chinese parent company, acquired Nexperia in 2019, and Nexperia has a rich European history.

Wingtech in 2019 acquired Nexperia, a Dutch semiconductor firm that was formerly part of Philips’ chip division, NXP.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Nexperia is a global semiconductor company with a rich European history and over 12,500 employees across Europe, Asia, and the United States.

4. Internal legal actions within Nexperia, supported by certain foreign executives, were used to depose the CEO and owner, sparking condemnation from Wingtech.

On Sunday October 12, after the company was seized, Wingtech dropped a bombshell filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Internal Legal Actions Are a Malicious Extension of External Pressure.

5. The U.S. implemented expanded export restrictions targeting Chinese-owned entities, which precipitated the Dutch action.

A U.S. Commerce Department interim final rule vastly expands the number of entities subject to export control restrictions by extending the Entity List and MEU List restrictions to non-U.S. entities 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, by listed parties effective as of September 29, 2025.

The U.S. move cut of Nexperia and other partially Chinese owned companies in Europe from U.S. content.

6. China retaliated against the Dutch seizure by banning Nexperia from exporting products made in China, threatening the company’s global operations.

Today the Chinese government reacted to the Dutch raid of the Chinese owned company by cutting it off from Chinese technologies and products.

If the Dutch government does not retract its decision to practically confiscate Nexperia the company will die.

II.

COLLECTIVISM IS THREATENING OUR FREEDOM AND CREATING MODERN SLAVERY / RHODA WILSON ON DR. VERNON COLEMAN

1. Collectivism is defined as a worldview that prioritizes the group over the individual, which the author links to modern slavery and oppression.

COLLECTIVISM IS THREATENING OUR FREEDOM AND CREATING MODERN SLAVERY / RHODA WILSON ON DR. VERNON COLEMAN Collectivism is a cultural, psychological and political worldview that prioritises the needs of the group over the individual, leading to a form of modern slavery where people are controlled and oppressed.

The unprincipled proponents of collectivism have successfully created a new, modern form of slavery whereby the mass of people are used, controlled and oppressed in a way which is no different to slavery.

2. Collectivist ideology is promoted by elite organizations like the World Economic Forum and secretive groups such as the Bilderbergers, aiming to consolidate power.

Collectivist ideology is used by organisations such as the World Economic Forum and secretive groups like the Bilderbergers, who aim to give total power to the elite.

Collectivism is thoroughly elitist and oppressive and supported by commercial organisations and lobby groups such as the intellectually and emotionally barren World Economic Forum.

3. Collectivism operates on the principle that the individual must be sacrificed for the needs of the greater number or the State.

The basic principle is that the individual must be sacrificed to the needs of the greatest number.

The rights of the individual must be suppressed to protect and promote the rights of “the people” and the State.

4. The philosophy of collectivism is blamed for the destruction of various societal aspects, including education, democracy, healthcare, and promoting depopulation programs.

It is collectivism which has, during the decades since the 1950s, been driving the destruction of education, civic pride, the economy, politics, government, justice, the police, religion, democracy and, perhaps most notably and certainly most relevantly, health care in all its forms.

And it is, of course, collectivism which has been used to give authority to the pseudoscience driving depopulation programmes: the dangerous myth of global warming and its close relation, “net zero”.

5. Collectivism promotes compliance, discourages individual thinking, and is always backed by the threat of violence and force.

Collectivism encourages people to stop thinking for themselves and to do as they are told.

Collectivism, it should be remembered, is always backed up by the threat of violence.

6. Collectivist principles are accused of having ruined institutions like the UK's National Health Service (NHS) and led to the subjugation of individual rights for health professionals.

Hospitals and general practice are, like schools, run according to collectivist principles and there is no room for the sort of individualism which was contained in the Magna Carta or enshrined in the US Constitution.

The NHS in the UK is a perfect example of how collectivism harms and destroys.

III.

ISRAELI WAR PROPAGANDA ON SOCIAL MEDIA / THIERRY MEYSSAN

1. The Israeli government under Netanyahu has gained control over social media platforms like TikTok and aims to control X (Twitter) for propaganda purposes.

ISRAELI WAR PROPAGANDA ON SOCIAL MEDIA / THIERRY MEYSSAN Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government has taken control of TikTok and plans to control the social network X as well.

During his conference at the Israeli Consulate General in New York, Israeli Prime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that his country aims to control people under thirty-five via social networks.

2. Israeli propaganda, referred to as hasbara, is often conducted by associations, partially funded by the government, which are not accountable to the Israeli people.

Israeli propaganda (הַסְבָּרָה – hasbara ) has rarely been a function of Israeli governments, but rather an operation of associations partially funded by them.

These associations, which have their own ideologies, are not accountable for their actions to the Israeli people, but exclusively to their sponsors, including the governments in Tel Aviv.

3. A specific large-scale project, "Project 545," was launched to influence responses from artificial intelligence and social media narratives.

The Israeli government’s main idea is to influence the responses of artificial intelligence by creating a multitude of social media accounts that will provide the narrative that ChatGPT and its rivals will feed on.

“Project 545” is the code name for this operation, funded to the tune of NIS 545 million, or $145 million, by 2025.

4. The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), led by revisionist Zionist Natan Sharansky, oversees almost all of the hasbara operations.

In recent years, approximately $200 million a year, or four-fifths of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy’s budget, has been given to the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP).

He now heads ISGAP and, in this capacity, oversees almost all of the hasbara.

5. The effectiveness of hasbara campaigns against anti-Semitism is questioned, suggesting anti-Semitism may be used as a means of pressure by Israeli authorities on their own population.

However, one cannot help but be surprised by the ineffectiveness of their international campaigns against anti-Semitism.

It must be considered that anti-Semitism is a means of pressure by the Israeli authorities on their own population.

6. The Israeli Foreign Ministry has created a company named Show Faith by Work to disseminate the official version of the October 7 attack and anti-Palestinian state messages to Christian Zionists in the U.S.

At the same time, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has just created the company Show Faith by Work, which it has registered as a foreign agent of influence in the United States.

This time, the aim is to disseminate the official version of the October 7 attack and messages against the existence of a Palestinian state to all American Christian Zionists.

IV.

ON TRUMP'S KNESSET SPEECH / CHRISTOPHER GOINS

1. Donald Trump delivered a speech at the Knesset to preside over a "victory lap" for the Israeli right following a ceasefire that halted the conflict in Gaza.

ON TRUMP'S KNESSET SPEECH / CHRISTOPHER GOINS The occasion was ostensibly historic—the ratification of a ceasefire that has, for the moment, halted the slaughter in Gaza.

He came not to mourn the Palestinian dead, whose numbers are so vast they have become a macabre abstraction, but to preside over a victory lap for the Israeli right.

2. The article characterizes the peace deal as a "decree" imposed by Israel, achieved through overwhelming, indiscriminate force supported by the U.S., rather than genuine diplomacy.

This “peace” was achieved not through diplomacy in the sense that grown-ups understand it, but through the application of overwhelming and indiscriminate force, bankrolled and armed by the United States.

The terms are not discussed; they are imposed.

3. The author views the event as a "gaudy, ill-mannered party thrown atop a mass grave," reflecting the humiliation and injustice felt by Palestinians.

The whole tawdry affair—the groveling, the grotesque self-praise, the willful blindness to the mountains of corpses upon which this “peace” is built—was a perfect epitaph for our era.

It will be remembered not as the dawn of a new age, but as a gaudy, ill-mannered party thrown atop a mass grave.

4. Netanyahu praised Trump as a "colossus" for his actions, despite Trump's contempt for liberal democracy, which the author found nauseating.

The most nauseating spectacle, however, was the sight of a nation that styles itself the Middle East’s only democracy feting a man who has expressed open admiration for the world’s strongmen and a visceral contempt for the norms of liberal democracy.

Netanyahu, a man clinging to power like a limpet to a rusting hull, lauded Trump as a “colossus” who will be “enshrined in the pantheon of history”.

5. Trump was thanked for previous actions, including moving the embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing the Golan Heights, and withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.

They thanked him for moving the embassy to Jerusalem, a cynical provocation that solidified apartheid-like realities.

They thanked him for withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, an act of such profound geopolitical stupidity that it gifted the mullahs a perfect pretext to accelerate their nuclear program.

6. Trump made a contradictory offer of friendship to the Iranian regime immediately after having bombed their facilities.

And then, with a staggering lack of self-awareness, Trump extended a hand to the Iranian regime he had just finished bombing.

“We are ready when you are,” he cooed, as if addressing a spurned lover rather than a nation whose facilities he had just obliterated.

V.

THE HIDDEN COSTS OF VACCINATION / MILES MATHIS

1. A major vaccinated versus unvaccinated study conducted by Dr. Marcus Zervos at Henry Ford Health Center, despite being pulled, allegedly showed that vaccinated individuals were far sicker across the board.

THE HIDDEN COSTS OF VACCINATION / MILES MATHIS In brief, what it tells you is that, after more than a century, a major vaccinated v. unvaccinated study was done by the mainstream (Dr. Marcus Zervos, Henry Ford Health Center) with a huge database of 18,500 patients over decades, and its finding was so contrary to the idea of vaccine safety it was pulled.

This is because the study found unequivocally that the vaccinated are far sicker across the board, having hugely elevated risks of autism, allergies, asthma, lupus, ADD, diabetes, and almost everything else.

2. The study indicated risks for chronic disease were about four times worse for the vaccinated after five years, with some risks, like ADD, showing zero outcomes for the unvaccinated group.

Overall, after five years, the risk was about 4 times worse for the vaccinated for chronic disease, which is a huge increase.

In many categories like ADD, they found zero outcomes for the unvaccinated, which didn't even allow them to do the math.

3. The author views the vaccine industry and the broader medical industry as a knowing fraud, theft of taxpayer money, and genocide.

But it is difficult to believe that vaccines could ever survive this publicity, in any form, since it makes clear that the vaccine industry—and medical industry more broadly—has not only been a fraud and a theft of taxpayer money, it has been a knowing genocide.

the medical industry, led by the vaccine industry, is murdering us for profit, and they couldn't care less.

4. The author expresses extreme skepticism regarding figures like Dr. McCullough and Del Bigtree, suggesting they are too soft or complicit by calling for fixing the vaccine program rather than ending it.

Dr. McCullough, supposedly on our side here, says (min.1:00:29) that “despite the good intentions of the field of vaccinology, that it's backfiring on us”.

In fact, near the end of this documentary, he says exactly that: he wants to fix the vaccine program, not end it.

5. The author argues that the study data on autism was likely fudged, even though it showed the vaccinated were up to 9 times more likely to get the disorder.

He takes that to mean there may not be a strong connection, but what he fails to circle is that there was only 1 instance of autism among the non-vaccinated group, which means the vaccinated were up to 9 times more likely to get autism (min. 1:01:43).

Which tells me this study has still been fudged on the autism line, by too narrowly defining it or something.

6. A Senate hearing involving Dr. Jake Scott and attorney Aaron Siri reportedly revealed that 661 peer-reviewed studies supporting vaccine safety were irrelevant because they lacked proper control groups or placebos.

Under cross-examination, it turned out that exactly none of these 661 studies was relevant, since they either weren't done on childhood vaccines, didn't have a proper control group, or didn't use a placebo.

By the end it had gotten so ugly Scott was forced to admit he hadn't even looked at all the studies before including them.

VI.

THE MOST INCREDIBLE STORY NEVER TOLD: LBJ’S ORDER TO DESTROY THE USS LIBERTY / JUDY MORRIS

1. President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) is accused of personally ordering Israel to bomb and destroy the USS Liberty in 1967 to create a casus belli and secure a Gulf-of-Tonkin-style resolution.

THE MOST INCREDIBLE STORY NEVER TOLD: LBJ’S ORDER TO DESTROY THE USS LIBERTY / JUDY MORRIS However, one of the greatest unknown chapters in LBJ’s presidency is that he personally gave the order to Israel to bomb and utterly destroy the USS Liberty and its entire crew of 294 Americans.

The real story is that President Johnson, who was being battered in the polls over the Vietnam War and facing a general election loss and even losing the Democrat primary, asked the Israelis to bomb the Liberty to create a casus belli and to secure a Gulf-of-Tonkin-style resolution to explode the world into war.

2. In addition to the attack order, LBJ allegedly ordered the nuclear bombing of Cairo, planning to blame the USS Liberty affair on Russia or Egypt.

In addition to ordering the total destruction of the USS Liberty and potentially sending 294 Americans to a watery grave in the Mediterranean Sea, LBJ also ordered the nuclear bombing of Cairo, an event specifically designed to create a nuclear war by blaming the entire USS Liberty affair on Russia or Egypt.

The nuclear bombing of Cairo was called off only three minutes before the nuclear bomb drops.

3. The Israelis were allegedly well aware that the USS Liberty was a clearly marked U.S. spy ship before the attack, contradicting the official story that it was mistaken for an Egyptian vessel.

The above information is critically important because it proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the Israelis were well aware that the USS Liberty was a well-marked US spy ship.

The cover-up of of the USS Liberty incident was so flimsy and fictitious that both the US and Israeli governments officially stated that the USS Liberty was mistook for an Egyptian vessel that hauls horses.

4. Despite rescue missions being ordered by fleet commanders, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, acting under LBJ’s direct command, ordered them called back twice.

Although fleet commanders quickly ordered rescue operations, twice the rescue missions were ordered called back by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, a close friend and trusted associate of LBJ.

LBJ got on the phone and roared, “We will not embarrass an ally,” to reinforce McNamara’s direct command from LBJ to not rescue the ailing USS Liberty and her crew.

5. The USS Liberty crew managed a heroic feat of communication by exploiting a several-second respite from jamming when Israeli planes fired missiles, enabling them to send out a distress signal.

The astute crew however made a startling discovery.

Then someone spotted that there was a respite from the jamming, lasting just a few seconds, when the attacking planes fired their missiles.

6. The attack was allegedly called off because the distress message got out and was acknowledged, including by the Russians, causing the Israelis to panic.

The agony was prolonged by the fact that help from the Sixth Fleet never arrived as expected.

But with the message out and everybody knowing about it, including the Russians who knew what was going because they were close by in their own disguised spy ships as they intercepted the message or possibly even observed the USS Liberty being attacked, the Israelis panicked, called off the attack and never finished the job.

VII.

THE WHITE HOUSE FOOL’S PROVOCATIONS OF CHINA FINALLY PRODUCES A RESPONSE / PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

1. China has imposed unprecedented new export controls and licensing requirements on rare earths and small magnets.

THE WHITE HOUSE FOOL’S PROVOCATIONS OF CHINA FINALLY PRODUCES A RESPONSE / PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS The Chinese have “suddenly imposed an unprecedented new wave of licensing requirements on the import and use of the rare earths that they mine and refine, as well as the vital small magnets produced from those compounds.

These extremely severe restrictions would now apply to any companies around the world whose goods contained as little as 0.1% of their value in that category, apparently encompassing an enormous range of major industries including cars, solar panels, and chip-making equipment.

2. The new Chinese restrictions are viewed as a direct escalation in the U.S.-China trade fight and threaten the global semiconductor supply chain.

The rule, put out Thursday by China’s Commerce Ministry, is viewed as an escalation in the U.S.-China trade fight because it threatens the supply chain for semiconductors.

Chips are the lifeblood of the economy, powering phones, computers and data centers needed to train artificial-intelligence models.

3. Since China controls roughly 90% of the world’s rare-earth materials, these restrictions are compared to the "economic equivalent of nuclear war."

China produces roughly 90% of the world’s rare-earth materials.

One quoted source described it as the “economic equivalent of nuclear war” and something that could ‘destroy the American AI industry’.

4. The export controls are extra-territorial, requiring foreign entities to obtain Chinese licenses for re-exporting products containing Chinese rare earth materials above a 0.1% value threshold.

The export controls are also extra-territorial.

foreign entities must obtain Chinese export licenses before re-exporting products manufactured abroad if they contain Chinese rare earth materials comprising 0.1% or more of the product’s value.

5. China is using these controls to mirror and retaliate against the U.S. semiconductor export controls previously used against them.

So China is effectively mirroring the US semiconductor export controls that were used against them, with its own comprehensive extraterritorial control regime, except with rare earths.

These new Chinese economic sanctions even extended to all the technologies and equipment related to the mining, refining, and fabrication of rare earth products.

6. The new Chinese rule requires case-by-case approval for using rare earths to develop advanced semiconductors (14nm-and-below), giving China de-facto veto power over this crucial supply chain.

China’s new rare earth export controls include a provision (point 4 here) whereby anyone using rare earths to develop advanced semiconductors (defined as 14nm-and-below) will require case-by-case approval.

[This] effectively gives China de-facto veto power over the entire advanced semi-conductor supply chain as rare earths are used at critical steps throughout – from ASML (who use rare earths for magnets in their lithography machines) to TSMC.

VIII.

THE YEAR WHEN EVERYTHING HAPPENS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER / CHARLES HUGH SMITH

1. The year 2025 is characterized as a period of extreme flux where contradictory economic outcomes (inflation/deflation, rally/crash) coexist.

THE YEAR WHEN EVERYTHING HAPPENS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER / CHARLES HUGH SMITH 2025 may go down as The Year When Everything Happened in No Particular Order , tracking William Gibson’s famous line that “The future is already here, it’s just not very evenly distributed”.

Those expecting inflation will find it, those expecting deflation will find it, those expecting a stock rally will get a rally, those expecting a crash will get a crash, and so on.

2. The reliable forces that drove economic trends for over 40 years, such as low interest rates and globalization, have weakened or reversed.

The forces that drove reliable trends have all weakened or reversed.

ever-lower interest rates lowered the cost of credit/capital to near-zero.

3. The decades-long Bull Market in Everything created an expectation (recency bias) among most people that the 2020s will continue this trend.

These titanic forces still have the momentum of recency bias.

most people expect the rest of the 2020s to be an extension of the 40+year Bull Market in Everything.

4. Attempts to maintain the status quo by those who benefit (using "feedback" and "buffers" like printing money) are destabilizing the complex global economic system.

Feedback (doing more of what’s failed) and buffers (print more money and everything will be fixed) are working to maintain the status quo sand castles as the tide rises.

Those trying to control the system find their control is imperfect.

5. Long cycles are reversing, meaning interest rates, after falling for 40 years, will now rise, likely leading to a financial crisis without the easy resolution of printing money.

Long cycles are now in play.

Now interest rates will rise for some period of time, likely culminating in a financial crisis with no easy resolution, because printing money–the solution for the past 40 years–will be the problem, not the solution.

6. Changing demographics (shrinking workforces, soaring retirees) and depletion of cheap, easily exploited resources mean that everything, despite technological improvements, will become more expensive.

Workforces are shrinking, retirees living off the earnings of the workforce are soaring.

The world desires ever greater quantities of energy and consumption, but the cheap, easy to exploit materials have already been exploited.

IX.

TRUMP TWEET TANKS MARKETS AGAIN: TRILLIONS LOST & INSIDERS PROFIT / G. CALDERON

1. President Trump's tweets regarding trade war threats and subsequent reversals caused massive market volatility, erasing and reinstating trillions of dollars in value over a weekend.

TRUMP TWEET TANKS MARKETS AGAIN: TRILLIONS LOST & INSIDERS PROFIT / G. CALDERON On Friday 10 October, he posted about reigniting the trade war with “ a tariff of 100% on China ” and hinted there was “ no reason ” to meet Xi anymore.

Between those two posts, $2 trillion in US market value was erased and reinstated.

2. The market drop following the tariff threat was the sharpest single-day drop since April, indicating greater market fears beyond rational responses to trade news.

With the market fearing the worst, stocks experienced their sharpest single day drop since April.

Sell-offs in stocks unrelated to tariffs indicate greater market fears rather than rational responses to relevant news.

3. The pattern of dramatic, unexpected market-shifting announcements followed by a reversal and sharp recovery is becoming familiar in 2025.

The playbook – dramatic, unexpected introduction of a market-shifting rule or narrative leading to huge selloffs, followed by a total reversal in sentiment and a sharp recovery – is becoming a familiar pattern in 2025.

On Sunday 12 October, while the markets were still closed, Trump swung a typical U-turn: “d on’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment… The USA wants to help China, not hurt it!!!”.

4. The volatility led to the greatest liquidation event in crypto history, losing $17 billion in value, with Bitcoin and Ethereum sliding significantly.

Leveraged plays in crypto marked its greatest liquidation event in history, losing $17 billion in value.

Bitcoin and Ethereum slid 10-15% intraday, and smaller cap altcoins fell even harder.

5. The volatility raises concerns about market manipulation, as an unidentified "insider whale," accused of being close to Trump, made over $160 million by opening short positions minutes before the announcement.

A suspiciously timed short position made one unidentified trader over $160 million in a single day.

There’s a clear risk of market manipulation by giving insiders tip-offs ahead of the announcements, while catching retail investors off-guard.

6. The quick market changes detrimentally affect retail investors who panic sell, allowing insiders and institutions to profit and increasing asset ownership inequality.

If anyone sold in panic on Friday before the market rebound on Monday, they did not get the benefit of the bounce.

Instead, insiders and institutions would’ve picked up the shares dropped by retail, and so the inequality in asset ownership grows.

X.

WHY THE “PALESTINIAN CAUSE” WILL NEVER BE SATISFIED WITH A CEASEFIRE / RHODA WILSON ON JUPPLANDIA

1. The ceasefire brokered by President Trump has brought temporary peace, but leftist activists supporting the "Palestinian cause" insist they will continue their global movement.

WHY THE “PALESTINIAN CAUSE” WILL NEVER BE SATISFIED WITH A CEASEFIRE / RHODA WILSON ON JUPPLANDIA The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by President Trump, has, at the very least, brought temporary peace to the region.

If leftists and “Palestinian” supporters wanted peace, they have it.

2. The article claims the protests were never truly about ending the war or civilian casualties but are driven by a desire for the erasure of Israel and the global Islamic conquest.

But why? There have been 32 major marches in the UK in 2 years about the “genocide” in Gaza – and they continue AFTER the war ends.

They want the erasure of Israel.

3. It is argued that the "Palestinian cause" is a Marxist invention used to cement the shared desire for conquest between Islamic and Marxist forces who hate the West.

It’s about the Conquest of the West.

The “Palestinian cause” is a Marxist invention cementing the leftist and the Islamic shared desire for total conquest and shared hatred of the West.

4. The premise of Palestinians being oppressed, starving victims of genocide is challenged by claims that their leaders are billionaires and that the casualty rate is low for urban warfare.

The leaders of the “Palestinians” are all billionaires.

The civilian casualty rate compared to the overall populace, despite these civilians being used as human shields and terrorists being counted as civilians, is the lowest rate ever recorded for densely populated urban warfare with modern artillery and arms.

5. The conflict is argued to be fundamentally about religion and Islamic conquest, as Islam cannot tolerate any land once nominally Islamic escaping its authority, with Israel being the only exception in the heartland of Islamic dominance.

Islam cannot tolerate any land that has ever been even nominally Islamic, at any point, becoming non-Islamic.

Its existence humiliates Islam, and support for the terrorist-permanent refugee population of “the Palestinians” is automatic for hundreds of millions of Muslims based on the need to erase a humiliating contradiction of Islam’s right to world conquest.

6. The author and commentators debate the identity of Palestinians, suggesting they are immigrants, while others assert they are indigenous Levantine people.

During the British Mandate, a large number of Arabs migrated from neighboring countries such as Egypt, Syria and Lebanon to Gaza and the West Bank.

Most Palestinians’ ancestry is local Levantine , including descendants of people who lived in the area for centuries.