Declining Empire In Denial
Subjects of Empire,
The Petrobuck Empire is supported by the value-extracting creation of $US, which the world trades real stuff for, because $US is how trade is carried out between nations, and also it is very bad for the health of a nation to not use the $US, though that consequence is now being seriously called into question.
The Petrobuck Empire is in an existential contest for control of flows of oil and natural gas, and the position of the $US as global reserve currency. So far, nothing has lasted forever, and 80+ years is a pretty fair run for a global reserve currency.
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-07-24 The tape broke on several fronts at once.Iran rejected a US ceasefire on day 145 while American warplanes hit Ahvaz’s oil belt and a dozen more Iranian cities overnight, Brent cleared $100, and the Mag7 logged their worst session in five years as the 10Y punched past 4.7% and the yen sank to a 40-year low. The genuinely new vector isn’t the war itself but where it landed: bond and currency markets moved hard enough that two 2026 rate hikes are now the base case, and the oil shock is being priced through the discount rate, not just the pump... ..Iran-US: ceasefire rejected on day 145, Ahvaz oil belt hit, RAF Fairford named a target - Overnight US strikes ran across southern and western Iran;Iran’s retaliation shifted to US personnel housing— MenchOsint reportsArash drones on soldier housing at Sheikh Isa (Bahrain) and Muwaffaq Salti (Jordan), afourth confirmed housing strike.
Trump is “close” to a “massive attack, bigger than ever before” per Kobeissi and zerohedge — “they haven’t received enough pain yet.”
Iran’s IRGC declared RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire a “legitimate target” after US B-1s flew Iran strikes from it— ProfessorPape, declassifiedUK, BRICSinfo. shanaka86ties the switch to bombers to depleted cruise-missile stocks at sea.
Trump says Iran’s frozen money will pay for ship/cargo damage; Brett Erickson argues the ~$2B pool is Washington’s only remaining leverage and torching it as a threat is self-defeating.
WSJ: advisers told theIranians are seeking to kill senior US officials; some told to stop using car services— lookner, BRICSinfo.
Iran is rebuilding faster than expected — missile bases, bridges, ports— worrying Israeli officials, per WSJ via dana916 and MazMHussain. Separately, theUS Army placed its first PAC-2 Patriot order in 30+ years as stockpiles run low.
Escalation risk: HormuzLetter cites two Iranian officials warning Iran would strike Tel Aviv directly and fully close Bab el-Mandeb if infrastructure strikes proceed... ..Oil: Brent past $100, both chokepoints choked, Aramco reroutes via the Med - Houthis are letting Chinese tankers of Saudi oil transit Bab el-Mandeb while hitting European/American cargoes; Aramco is offering crude from Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean to skip the strait entirely... ..Russia-Ukraine: Bilytske falls, Odessa port closed, new C-in-C’s rhetoric, St. Petersburg hit - Bilytske has fallen; Russia is closing Odessa’s port (no ships entering) and evacuations have begun in Kramatorsk and east of Konstantinovka (YourmediaAgency). New Commander in Chief Drapatyi drew fire saying Russians are “a nation that has no right to exist”andcalling Donbass residents “lazy… criminal elements” needing re-education.Protesters in multiple cities demanded sacked Fedorov’s return.
Ukraine hit St. Petersburg in a 571-UAV night, torching a Wildberries warehouse (Breaking911 footage).Lavrov-Rubio met for only 37 minuteswith no follow-on round. The human cost underneath:Ukraine’s frontline average age is now over 45. Saudi nuclear deal, then the Abraham Accords string attached
Trump added conditions a day after the 30-year deal was signed: no enrichment, and approval only if Saudi joins the Abraham Accords — a monkey wrench at the 11th hour. Riyadh’s answer: “tweets don’t overturn signed deals.”
shanaka86 notes the reported text (per Reuters/AP) may actually permit enrichment and omits the IAEA protocol — contradicting the public “no enrichment” line... ..Sulfur/sulfuric-acid crunch: ~50% of seaborne sulfur transits Hormuz, Russia/China/Kazakhstan curbing exports —feedstock for fertilizer, copper, uranium leaching. Single-source but well-argued.
European gas: TTF +49% in a month; Equinor’s CEO warnsEurope will miss its 80% storage target at 54%; Germany paying 5x pre-war gas prices.
Forced-labor tariffs: 10%-12.5% on ~60 nations effective midnight per Geiger.
Pakistan threatens force against the Houthis if Pakistani or Saudi vessels are hit(GlobeEyeNews) — a new state actor entering the Red Sea equation.
EU launching a mission to board Russian shadow-fleet tankers in the Indian Ocean(zerohedge) — enforcement escalation with oil-supply tail risk.
Hal Turner, Iran Warns: Will Attack ISRAEL Directly if U.S. Hits Mount Pickax Numerous weapons experts along with military experts have publicly stated for weeks that the mountain cannot be breached, even by the U.S. Maximum Ordnance Penetrator bombs. The only way the “experts” believe a nuclear facility beneath that mountain can be destroyed would be via a U.S. tactical NUCLEAR bomb, which, they say, would create a “seismic wave” in the ground, crushing the underground facilities.
Hearing all this public chatter, Iran responded today saying that “If the U.S. attacks Mount Pickaxe, Iran will directly attack Israel.”
Much of Israel’s “layered defenses” have already been obliterated by Iran, which hit sites in Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and most recently, Jordan. Therefore, with so many layers of Israeli defense now destroyed, any direct attack by Iran would likely see very many of those Iranian missiles make it to Israel. https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/component/content/article/iran-warns-will-attack-israel-directly-if-u-s-hits-mount-pickaxe
Larry Johnson, DeBasification… A Fancy Word for Booting the US Out of the Middle East Tehran delivered to Washington via Pakistan in early April, a formalized demand for the withdrawal of US combat forcesfrom military bases across the region. It sat ina package alongside the lifting of all sanctions and UN resolutions, the release of Iranian assets held overseas, reparations, and Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment.
Instead of waiting for the US to agree to the demand, Iran has launched targeted attacks during the past two weeks on key US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Thishas produced a de facto evacuation of US forces and equipment from most of these bases. The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet Headquarters in Bahrain is in shambles; theCombined Air Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid in Qatar has been closedandmoved to Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. And Iran continues to pound bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar... ..During the first 43 days of the 2026 Iran war (Operation Epic Fury, beginning 28 February), Iran systematically targeted the sensor and communications layer of the US military’s integrated air defense architecture across the Persian Gulf. Rather than simply overwhelming interceptors with mass drone and missile barrages, Iran prioritized destroying the radars and SATCOM terminals that make the entire network function — a strategy described by analysts as “blinding US eyes in the Middle East.”... ..Now, with the MoU dead, Iran is focused on making life on the bases that are still hosting US troops and aircraft a living hell. It is no longer up to the US to decide to leave the Persian Gulf… Iran is making that decision for them. https://sonar21.com/debasification-a-fancy-word-for-booting-the-us-out-of-the-middle-east/
Non-binding... Four House Republicans Break Ranks To Help Democrats Pass Iran War Powers Resolution https://www.zerohedge.com/political/four-house-republicans-break-ranks-help-democrats-pass-iran-war-powers-resolution
Netanyahu to meet Trump at White House next week amid Iran war escalation Visit will be Netanyahu’s seventh to White House, underscoring US commitment amid war with Iran, genocide in Gaza. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White Housenext Tuesday, the PM’s office said.
It added that the meeting coincides with Netanyahu’s visit for the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham. The Republican, who was one of the staunchest supporters of Israel in Washington, died suddenly last week... ..Israel had opposed the MoU, with its ongoing military operations in Lebanon repeatedly threatening to derail diplomatic overtures. The Trump administration has been overseeing talks between Lebanon and Israel aimed at ending the war that do not include Hezbollah.
Both Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a plan meant to turn over Israeli-occupied areas to the Lebanese military, although the facts on the ground have remained largely unchanged since March. In a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun earlier this week, Trump did not offer a timeline for Israel’s withdrawal. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/24/netanyahu-to-meet-trump-at-white-house-next-week-amid-iran-war-escalation
John Leake (and George Orwell) look at America’s many post WW-2 wars: The War is Not Meant to Be Won - Reflections on America’s “Forever Wars”
The Honest Sorcerer, No Oil, No Transition, No Economy - How the pursuit of ‘energy dominance’ put the final nail in the coffin of electrification Only 27% of what we call ‘oil’ can be turned into diesel—the most vital fuel of all—on a global average1, and that diesel engines burn fuel at an average 35% efficiency, only a tiny fraction of the energy stored in a barrel of oil can be used to drill more wells, mine minerals, harvest fish/wood/crops, build infrastructure, power militaries or to transport goods across large distances. That roughly 10% of energy derived from a barrel of crude is what keeps billions of people and a globalized world economy alive. The rest remains embedded in products (plastics, solvents, lubricants, asphalt, wax etc.) or simply get burned for our convenience in cars and jets... ..When a study on Energy Return on Energy Invested (Delannoy et al., 2021) concluded that we use up a little more than 15% of energy stored in a barrel of oil to explore, drill, lift and deliver the next barrel of oil, they pointed out something profound.We need more energy to extract oil than what we could obtain by burning it in tractors, trailers, trucks and all kinds of heavy machinery to maintain civilization... ..‘Then why don’t we shift to other fuels or electrify transportation?’—the question poses itself. You see, batteries and hydrogen, the most often touted “alternatives” to oil, are a way of storing energy at a loss, and not a source of energy. Thus, in order to replace oil we would not only need to dig up all the raw materials required to build these technologies—by using diesel fuel, what else?—but we would also need to multiply the electric grid’s capacity in order to cater for battery charging and hydrogen production demands. Even when considering engine inefficiencies, and calculating with the net energy portion of diesel, jet fuel and gasoline only we would still need to produce at least 395 kilowatt-hours of power for each barrel of oil replaced. For the 103 million barrels humans burned every single day in 2025—that energy amounts to 40.7 Terawatt hours per day, or 14,850 TWh for an entire year… And we haven’t even taken electric engine and AC/DC conversion losses (10%) or battery recharge cycle inefficiencies (another 10%) into account—let alone the enormous energy cost of generating hydrogen… Not to speak of transmission losses over the grid which could be as high as 60% in the case of America or 40-50% everywhere else. All in all, as this back of an envelope calculation shows, we would need to generate around 36,600 TWhs of electricity on top of the existing 32,600 TWhs produced annually—just to electrify every machine which currently burns oil products globally. And then we haven’t even mentioned electrifying the industry which would take a similar amount of electricity. Triple that grid Mr. President, please.
Jim Quinn Warns “We’ve Already Entered This Fourth Turning’s Global War...” I’m always aware of Strauss and Howe’s warning about what could befall the world during this crisis.
“The risk of catastrophe will be very high. The nation could erupt into insurrection or civil violence, crack up geographically, or succumb to authoritarian rule. If there is a war, it is likely to be one of maximum risk and effort – in other words, a total war. Every Fourth Turning has registered an upward ratchet in the technology of destruction, and in mankind’s willingness to use it.” – The Fourth Turning – Strauss & Howe ... ..Everything about this war on Iran is based on lies, mistruths, and propaganda, as the true motive is to further Netanyahu’s Greater Israel project of taking Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, while defanging Iran and Turkey.Netanyahu convinced Trump it would be a cakewalk, or more likely, threatened Trump with revelations from the Epstein files. The assassination of Charlie Kirk for beginning to reveal the truth about Israeli control of the U.S. government and genocide in Gaza was also a warning shot across Trump’s bow. Now Bibi is declaring Turkey a threat to Israel’s grand plan...
..The linear thinking dupes, who choose to not understand the cyclical nature of history, were lulled into think the MOU signed by Iran and Trump on June 17 would deescalate the war and lead to peace in our time. That is not how Fourth Turnings are resolved. They intensify until all-out war, with millions of deaths, decides the true winners and losers. There are no compromise solutions during a Fourth Turning... Trump has trapped himself in an unwinnable war of attrition, with no accessible escape hatch... ..TheGreat Reset Epstein class see World War III as an opportunity, just as they saw the Covid Plandemic as an opportunity to further their new world order plan of depopulation, CBDCs, 15-minute gulags, 24-hour surveillance, and social credit scoringto keep the peasants controlled, subservient, and neutered. Freedom, liberty, and living without restrictions are not in their master plan. Thus far, Putin has acted the most statesmanlike among the Prophet generation world leaders, but with the EU/NATO/Trump increasingly deadly provocations in waging a proxy war on behalf of Zelensky, have pushed him to his limit. Make no mistake, this proxy war would not be ongoing without U.S. munitions and satellite targeting. Putin is also being pressured by hawks within his country to take more drastic measures against the EU psychopaths in suits trying to destroy Russia. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/jim-quinn-warns-weve-already-enter-fourth-turnings-global-war
John Helmer’s take on the Rubio - Lavrov 37 minute meeting at ASEAN in Manilla: RUBIO WARNED LAVROV TO STOP HITTING CIA AGENTS, US TROOPS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, OR ELSE – THIS IS HOW PUTIN ORDERED LAVROV TO REPLY The question everyone in their warfighting chairs has been asking President Vladimir Putin, with a follow-up that no one is reporting:
What is Putin going to do to answer the escalation of drone war on the Russian mainland and deter the US and its allies from their war to destroy the Russian economy?... ..Why did the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio call Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to a meeting and then spend little more than thirty minutes telling Lavrov what he had come to say?
Answer: we cannot say for sure.
Best guess: Rubio gave Lavrov a warning. He told Lavrov he had been instructed by President Donald Trump to say that the US holds Russia responsible for providing precise location intelligence and targeting details to enable Iran’s drone forces to penetrate US air defences and strike at CIA and US troop bases in the Arab territories, killing Americans.
Lavrov replied that Putin had instructed him to say that Russia holds the US responsible for providing precise location intelligence and targeting details to enable Ukrainian drones to strike at Russian civilian targets, oil refineries, oil ports, shipping on the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, and consumer product warehouses from Moscow to Kazan, and deep into the Russian hinterland, killing Russians.
In short, this is Putin’s mirror. It is telling Trump and the warfighters in the White House that if they continue, with their European allies and the Kiev regime, to strike outside the Ukraine battlefield, killing Russian civilians, the response will be tit-for-tat against Americans. Furthermore, Putin had warned: “He already feels it, I hope, and he will feel it several times more powerfully.”... ..Public reporting of the Iran drone strikes on CIA targets isn’t new. That began with US officials leaking to the Washington Post on March 6... ..Reuters of New York, has subsequently reported: “at this point there is no evidence. But we do have sources who are telling us that Russia did contribute technological upgrades to the drones that were used against the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (March 3, 2026] , and that helped with the precision strike…”... ..“The suspected Russian component under scrutiny is the Kometa-M satellite navigation module, a jam-resistant Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna array that dramatically improves a drone’s resistance to electronic warfare and sharpens its terminal-phase targeting accuracy against hardened, defended installations. Debris recovered from a Shahed drone that struck RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus in March 2026 reportedly contained Kometa-M components identical to those pulled from Russian Geran-series drones deployed against Ukrainian targets, strengthening the technology-transfer hypothesis under active review.”...
..Because he was the inviter and formal host of the meeting with Lavrov, Rubio had spoken first.
What he said to draw Lavrov’s reply was a warning that US intelligence had confirmed that Russian satellite and other intelligence and military technology was enabling Iran’s drone strikes to break through US air defences at CIA and troop bases in the Middle East, killing and wounding US agents and troops. Rubio warned Lavrov to stop or there would be US consequences.
That, Lavrov understood to mean, a threat of US escalation against Russian civilian and troop targets inside Russia... ..In the Kremlin’s public editorializer, Vzglyad, published soon after the Manila meeting, the line was: “the talks between Lavrov and Rubio in Manila lasted only about half an hour. During this time, as a rule, the parties manage to voice several theses and, if necessary, clarify some questions. That is, these are not deep substantive negotiations…the demand of the Russian Foreign Minister for Washington [was] to stop pumping Ukraine with weapons. In fact, the Russian minister once again pointed out the real way to end the conflict.” The day before, Vzglyad had published a more explicit statement by Lavrov: “The Americans through the supply of weapons at the expense of the European Union and through the provision of intelligence – the Starlink system and much more – not just help, but directly participate in the guidance of Ukrainian weapons for targets, including civilian purposes, on Russian territory.”
This is how Trump goes to the brink of direct war with Russia; this is how Putin replies. https://johnhelmer.net/rubio-warned-lavrov-to-stop-hitting-cia-agents-us-troops-in-the-middle-east-or-else-this-is-how-putin-ordered-lavrov-to-reply/#more-94714
Iran’s IRGC has announced it will target U.S. and Israeli commanders directly in their private residences, in retaliation for American strikes on the homes of Iranian commanders and their families, per an IRGC statement. “Because you targeted the private residences of our commanders and their families, all your commanders in the region will now be targeted in their private residences as well,” the IRGC spokesman said. Financial Times reported that Iran has already proven it can find U.S. personnel anywhere.
Iran’s IRGC says it launched a new wave of missile and drone strikes on U.S. bases in Jordanearly Wednesday morning, claiming an F-15 hangar was hit, eight new MQ-9 Reaper drones were destroyedbefore assembly, two more MQ-9s were heavily damaged, and two U.S. heavy-lift helicopters sustained major damage. The IRGC also claimed U.S. personnel were killed and wounded in a strike on troop housing. It said the attacks were retaliation for renewed U.S. strikes on Iranian military and civilian sites, warning that if Washington continues, Iran is preparing an operation that would lead to a national day of public mourning in the United States.
Iran has not yet used its Russian S-400 air-defense missiles: Trump “Close” To Ordering “Massive Attack Greater Than Anything Before” On Iran https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-will-hold-iran-accountable-future-houthi-shipping-attacks-rubio-says-us-not
Iran warns nuclear safety at risk after US strike In a letter to Antonio Guterres and the Security Council president, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the attack occurred at approximately 3:39 a.m. local time on Sunday, when U.S. forces fired multiple missiles at the Karun (Darkhovin) nuclear power plant site under construction in Khuzestan province. The facility is fully covered by IAEA safeguards under Iran’s comprehensive safeguards agreement, and all activities there are “exclusively peaceful, fully transparent and in complete conformity” with Iran’s NPT obligations, Iravani wrote.
He said the attack was the 18th wave of strikes on Iran’s peaceful nuclear sites and facilities under IAEA safeguards since joint U.S.-Israeli aggression began in June 2025. It had been carried out, he said, “due to the inaction and double standards of the Security Council.” https://en.mehrnews.com/news/246388/Iran-warns-nuclear-safety-at-risk-after-US-strike
Iran calls on IAEA action after US attack on Karun Nuclear PP https://en.mehrnews.com/news/246401/Iran-calls-on-IAEA-action-after-US-attack-on-Karun-NPP
Dozens of US troops wounded in secret Iran strikes the Pentagon kept quiet https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15990999/Staggering-number-US-troops-wounded-secret-Iran-strikes-Pentagon-kept-quiet.html
US Identifies Soldier Killed in Iraq as 30-Year-Old Father From North Carolina
The president appeared to downplay US deaths in the war by sharing statistics from US wars with higher casualty rates https://news.antiwar.com/2026/07/21/us-identifies-soldier-killed-in-iraq-as-30-year-old-father-from-north-carolina/
House Narrowly Passes $1.15 Trillion Defense Bill That Integrates US Military Tech & Supply Chains With Israel https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/today-congress-votes-integrate-us-military-tech-supply-chains-israel
Houthis say 6 ships turned back after navigation ban on Saudi Arabia as Yemen’s government seeks global action
Yemen’s presidential council urges international community to treat Houthis as part of wider regional threat network https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/houthis-say-6-ships-turned-back-after-navigation-ban-on-saudi-arabia-as-yemen-s-government-seeks-global-action/4005233
Trump Suggests He Could Restart Yemen Bombing Campaign in Response to Red Sea Blockade
At least two ships made U-turns in the Red Sea after Ansar Allah warned shipping companies not to use Saudi ports https://news.antiwar.com/2026/07/21/trump-suggests-he-could-restart-yemen-bombing-campaign-in-response-to-red-sea-blockade/
Israeli Airstrike in Gaza Kills Family of Six as They Sleep - At least 12 Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks across Gaza on Tuesday https://news.antiwar.com/2026/07/21/israeli-airstrike-in-gaza-kills-family-of-six-as-they-sleep/
Lethal Precision Without Accountability: Israeli Government “Quadcopter” Use in Gaza Medical imaging and forensic analysis of deaths and injuries treated by co-author Dr. Syed and her colleagues in Gaza between August and September 2024 suggest a pattern of highly precise and troubling applications of lethal force utilizing small tactical “sniper” drones against children. Ninety percent of the 18 cases of child death or injury by gunshots documented by Dr. Syed were reported to be fired by quadcopters, per witnesses who brought the injured or killed children into the hospital. Most of the wounds were caused by single small caliber rounds to the head, neck, chest, or abdomen. Given this pattern of single-shot precision, these types of wounds strongly suggest targeting... ..This report’s in-depth analysisof small tactical drone technology, employment and targeting methodologies, medical, ballistic, and forensic analysis, and legal implications of their use in Gaza sheds new light on this pressing international issue of civilian harm in armed conflict. It also includesrecommendations to the U.S. as a global leader in drone technologies and the largest supplier of arms to Israel. https://israelpalestinenews.org/lethal-precision-without-accountability-israeli-government-quadcopter-use-in-gaza/
‘Gaza Is One Giant Graveyard’ https://scheerpost.com/2026/07/21/gaza-is-one-giant-graveyard/
Israel is building a miles-long earthen barrier inside Gaza, entrenching its division https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-yellow-line-barrier-ceasefire-941ed80f6d4398ce88916f6b08753dd8
Israel turns Gaza into death camp denser than Srebrenica, forces displacement under guise of voluntary emigration https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-turns-gaza-into-death-camp-denser-than-srebrenica-forces-displacement-under-guise-of-voluntary-emigration/
In Southern Lebanon, a Gloss of Diplomacy Can’t Hide the Reality of Occupation
Occupied by Israeli forces and depopulated, Majdal Zoun overlooks the nearby village of Al-Mansouri, where the few remaining residents come under Israeli attack on a near daily basis.
‘Israel is not giving anything up’: Residents head to US-backed pilot zones in south Lebanon
Lebanese security sources and citizens say the US pilot zone plan is ‘evidence’ that Israel intends to continue occupying the south https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-is-not-giving-anything-up-residents-head-to-us-backed-pilot-zones-in-south-lebanon
Lebanese Troops Deploy to Pilot Zone, Immediately Come Under Fire From Israelis - Israeli military claims Lebanese forces had ‘crossed a line’ https://news.antiwar.com/2026/07/21/lebanese-troops-deploy-to-pilot-zone-immediately-come-under-fire-from-israelis/
Israel is building a Genocide Wall in Gaza – Daily Update https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-is-building-a-genocide-wall-in-gaza-daily-update/
Palestinians have generally been much better educsted than Israelis. The War on Palestinian Schools While Israel has long targeted Palestinian education, the confluence of attacks on the system over the past three years has weakened it to an unprecedented degree. Since October 7th, the vast majority of public schools in the West Bank have operated just three days a week, often for just four or five hours a day.
Because the Palestinian Authority (PA) cannot pay the full salaries of teachers—or any public sector employees, including doctors, who went on strike in May—hundreds of thousands of children have had their education cut in half, leading many, like the former students selling goods in the street, to drop out altogether. https://israelpalestinenews.org/the-war-on-palestinian-schools/
Israeli settlers set fire to olive trees in the occupied town of Beit Ilyan, northwest of occupied Jerusalem, as part of a series of attacks on Palestinians on Monday.
Israeli army drills spark large fires across Jordan Valley pastures https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/07/21/367049/
‘Sip your coffee while watching the sunrise’: How Israel is colonizing the West Bank by selling Palestinian land to Jewish Americans https://israelpalestinenews.org/sip-your-coffee-while-watching-the-sunrise-how-israel-is-colonizing-the-west-bank-by-selling-palestinian-land-to-jewish-americans/
Moon of Alabama, Ukraine: – Syrsky Fired – Zelenski’s Throne Is Shaking
The (acting) President of Ukraine has made a mistake.
After he had fired the PR-hungry (and wannabe president) Mykhailo Fedorov as Minister of Defense a well paid crowd of ‘card board’ protesters were sent out to protest against him.
Fedorov had preferred to buy drones from his (western) friends instead of artillery shells from those who were more friend with Zelinski. After he was fired those who had their hands in the drone business, this includes western politicians, tried their best to reinstall him. It did not work.
The discussion soon moved elsewhere.
The protesting crowd was advised to demand the firing of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian forces, General (the butcher) Syrsky. The Russian trained general preferred to attack the Russians. He needed human cannon fodder and artillery munitions for his assault regiments but the Ministry of Defense under Fedorov was unable or unwilling to deliver either. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/07/ukraine-syrsky-fired-zelenskis-throne-is-shaking.html
Making it feel more like war for Russians? Wildberries - Russia’s Amazon - Has Seen Four Major Hubs Attacked In Quick Succession https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/wildberries-russias-amazon-has-seen-four-major-hubs-attacked-quick-succession
Simplicius on Reussia land-locking Ukraine, Europe’s “breadbasket”: Ukraine Bafflingly Battles Warehouse Chain as Russia Pulls Plug on Port Odessa
Charles Hugh Smith, Who Will Solve Our Real Problem--The US is a Neofeudal Autocracy So who will solve our real problem: the centralization of wealth and power in a Neofeudal Autocracy?
Ed Dowd, Wall Street’s AI Capex Party…It’s 2 AM & The Bar Is About to Close! Private Credit Stalled, Enterprise Demand Cracking, Power Constraints Looming & Open-source Pricing Pressure We’ve seen this movie before. Credit questions profitability first. Physical limits and cheaper open-source alternatives (hello Kimi) force the timeline and pricing reckoning. Circular deals, negative free cash flow, sky-high chip prices, and now power realities all point in the same direction.
The party isn’t over tomorrow but closing time signals are everywhere: semis at peak gross margins, enterprises pausing, private credit tightening, power wall rising, open-source commoditization accelerating. Stock market AI concentration at extremes.
Skepticism isn’t denial of eventual AI value. It’s calling the current valuation and frenzy for what it is…priced for perfection that customers, credit markets, the electrical grid, and open-source competition aren’t delivering.
ICE agents murderinga man and lying? Passengers in Houston ICE shooting say agents rammed their van before firing Two passengers in a van when an immigration agent fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo earlier this month said that two unmarked vehicles struck them from behind and the side before they stopped, according to their written statements filed in a Houston federal court.
“At no moment were the agents in front of the vehicle,” Daniel Tirado Pantoja, a rear passenger in the van, said in his hand-written statement in Spanish. “Lorenzo (Salgado Araujo) had come to a full stop while the agents fired.” https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/houston-ice-shooting-witnesses-22355301.php
Court Overturns Gretchen Whitmer Kidnapping Plot Convictions
The US has collected about $13bn of Venezuela’s oil money. Where is it?
Washington has given diverging accounts of where the earthquake-shattered country’s funds are going https://archive.md/guCz9#selection-1491.0-1497.99
Judge says Trump must hand over financial records to BBC - Trump’s defamation suit against the network could put him in an uncomfortable spot. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/21/trum-bbc-lawsuit-finances
“USA Isn’t A PiggyBank For Europe”: Trump Launches Section 301 Probe Into EU Over Big Tech Fines After having fined Apple, for no reason at all, 15 Billion Dollars, Meta, 3 Billion Dollars, Amazon 2.5 Billion Dollars, and many others, we have just been informed that Google, a truly advanced and amazing group, has been fined yet another 1 Billion Dollars, without explanation. This brings the Google total to over 18 Billion Dollars!
Trump continued: This illegal and highly discriminatory practice started at these high levels during the first year of the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, but it’s not going to continue during the Trump Administration.
He added: The United States of America is not a “PIGGYBANK” for Europe, nor will we allow it to be! https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/trumps-tariff-wall-returns-forced-labor-duties-60-countries
“He Was Very Close To Being Arrested”: Epstein’s Paris Model Scout Found Dead At Home, Weeks After CNN Appearance https://www.zerohedge.com/political/he-was-very-close-being-arrested-epsteins-paris-model-scout-found-dead-home-weeks-after
Bill Gates foundation met with Jeffrey Epstein about 30 times, external review finds
Staff ‘raised on multiple occasions’ risks of tech mogul’s philanthropic body associating with disgraced financier https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/21/bill-gates-foundation-jeffrey-epstein-review
‘Apocalypse Early Warning System’ goes online to track billionaire jets fleeing before disaster strikes https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/article-15980149/apocalypse-warning-tracks-billionaire-jets.html
Famine is baked-in for next year: Agriculture’s Deteriorating Economics and the Rising Cost of Nutrition in India https://www.asia-pacificresearch.com/agriculture-deteriorating-economics-rising-cost-nutrition-india/5633582
I detox all summer: Peter McCullough MD, Sweat With Purpose: Exercise in the Heat to Unlock Your Body’s Deepest Detox How strategic hydration and summer swelter combine to purge toxins, fortify your heart, and sharpen your mind—without burning out
Not just in salmon, but milk, cheese & butter from grassfed cows. Paul Marik MD, Omega-3 Fatty Acids - The Good Fat
Jessica Rose Ph.D. Chairman Rand Paul’s document releases Ongoing investigation into the origins of SARS-2 and “risky” taxpayer-funded life sciences research Chairman Rand Paul has been collecting and releasing documents as part of the ongoing (what is it now, 6 bloody years?) investigation into SARS-2 origins... ..The Major writes:
“SARS-CoV-2, hereafter referred to as SARSr-CoV-WIV, is a synthetic spike protein chimera engineered to attach to human ACE2 receptors and inserted into a recombinant bat SARSr-CoV backbone. It is likely a live vaccine not yet engineered to a more attenuated statethat the program sought to create with its final version. It leaked and spread rapidly because it was aerosolized so it could efficiently infect bats in caves, but it was not ready to infect bats yet, which is whyit does not appear to infect bats. The reason the disease is so confusing is because it is less a virus than it is engineered spike proteins hitch-hiking a ride on a SARSr-CoV quasispecies swarm. The closer it is to the final live attenuated vaccine form, the more likely that it has been deattentuating since initial escape in August 2019.”
He writes about the idea of a “live vaccine” which is a very interesting idea, but that would require existence of a secret attenuated vaccine program that somehow produced the most transmissible coronavirus we’ve ever seen and lost control of. But is that so unbelievable? Maybe that’s why all of the governments panicked and reacted so insanely?
Jessica Rose Ph.D. Chairman Rand Paul’s document releases - Part Deux - Scientists privately debating the evidence central to their public conclusions
Robert Malone MD, Ralph Baric Just Blew Up the Official COVID Origins Narrative - and other true stories The newly released documents in Senator Rand Paul’s COVID-19 Reading Room tell a very different story.
Congressional testimony from Dr. Ralph Baric and thousands of pages of private Slack messages reveal that the scientists closest to the evidence privately debated laboratory scenarios, acknowledged uncertainty, discussed gain-of-function research, and questioned many of the very assumptions that were presented to the public as settled science.
Baric himself confirms that DARPA’s proposed coronavirus experiments were gain-of-function research,acknowledges conducting gain-of-function unpublished experimentsthat undermined a central argument of Proximal Origin, and describes years of coronavirus work involving many of the same investigators and institutions that later became central to the origins debate.
Meryl Nass MD, MULTIPLE NIH officials at the top acted to shut down NIH research on COVID vaccine injuries/ Epoch Times
Lying under oath again would be a new offense, for which he’s not pardoned: Senator Rand Paul to Oversee Anthony Fauci Testimony on July 29
Sen. Rand Paul tells MAHA Media Hub that Anthony Fauci, once known as ‘America’s Doctor,’ will testify July 29. He’ll be questioned about his role funding gain-of-function research in Wuhan - and more
Josh Mitteldorf, Human History recaps Evolution - Game theory yields to white magic Evolution is a 4 billion year saga about the struggle between cooperation and selfishness. The upshot?Selfishness never died, but cooperation has grown from the scale of molecules to cells to organisms to communities to species to ecosystems. Yes, ecosystems are organized to stabilize and preserve the whole.
Multicellular Ecosystem (pictured with Mrs. Multicellular Ecosystem)
The Petrobuck Empire is not just a geopolitical system. It is an architecture of extraction, built on the illusion of permanence. The denial of decline is not a political failure. It is a structural one. The system cannot see its own limits because it is not designed to.
What lingers with me is the observation that every empire eventually reaches the point where it cannot distinguish between its own survival and the survival of the world. The Fourth Turning is not a metaphor. It is a cycle. And cycles do not negotiate. They complete.
The question is not whether the decline will happen. It is how we will meet it. Whether we will cling to the fading structure or begin to build something new in the space it leaves behind.