Global Showdown

Concerned Townfolk,

  Michael Hudson: Forgiveness, Foreclosure, & Christianity  (But before he gets into that, which you will want to read, he says this...)   Economic rent has become part of society’s economic structure. It’s evolved through different political alliances and has taken different forms over time. Credit relations and land tenure are built into any economic system as part of it. But today’s banking system and absentee land ownership are different from anything that has gone before. Society recognizes the need to protect itself against COVID, but the Western societies no longer feel a need to protect themselves from rising land rent, housing prices, monopoly rent, or debt and credit charges and late fees. So just as disease tends to spread at an exponential rate of growth, so does the debt overhead and the interest-bearing debt. It expands by compound interest. And both rent and disease pandemics may lead to depopulation... Russia’s population plunge with Western neoliberalism in the 1990s exemplifies this common denominator... ..When I went to work in 1961, my salary was $100 a month. And yet I didn’t have any problem buying a house on that salary because you could get a mortgage that absorbed up to 25% of your income. And so everyone, even on low salaries, could afford to buy a house at that time. That’s the difference. It’s not how much you make. It’s the ratio of the housing prices and the mortgage interest compared to what you make... ..Well, the common denominator among all the classical economists was their value theory. And the purpose of distinguishing value from price was to define rent as the excess of price over intrinsic cost value. And the political content of this contrast was to free markets from land rent and from monopoly rent, including unproductive financial overhead. For Adam Smith, land rent and monopoly rent were levies permitted by legal privilege. That is private law, not by any contribution to production that was made by Britain’s hereditary landlord class. They just collected rent. Owners of monopolies had bought their privilege in return for lending money to governments, mainly to wage war. So Adam Smith opposed wars and projects of empire as the cause of public debts and their interest overhead. For Ricardo, rent was the excess of price over intrinsic cost value...  Mill described rent as what landlords made in their sleep, that is, without any productive effort of their own. So in the absence of such effort, there was no justification for rentiers to claim to earn their rents. But rents increased and interest grew by the purely mathematical laws of compound interest without any reference to the economy’s ability to pay or to any productive effort made by landlords or monopolists or bankers to be part of the production process... ..They didn’t want to drive down the living standards of labor because they assumed that the wages were basically the cost of living. But they wanted to drive down the cost of living that was pushing wages up. At that time, it was the cost of food that was the major cost. Today, it’s the cost of paying [monopoly prices for food and other necessities and interest] on the debts that one needs in order to get a home and just break even... ..Well, there’s no conspiracy. It’s right out in the open. And it had to be out in the open because the whole purpose of denying the distinction between earned and unearned income was to convince the population at large to think that way. Academic economists had to work for universities and universities have come more and more under the domination of their donors so you couldn’t get a university job without teaching a kind of economics that was friendly to the donors... And there were two major lines of attack. In the United States, John Bates Clarke, claimed that all income was earned, indirectly if not directly. There was no distinction between value and price. And British utilitarian price theory redefined the idea of value as whatever the market decided to pay, reflecting the payer’s utility for the good or service that was being obtained. So there no longer was any distinction between value and price, and hence there was no concept of economic rent in this... Consumers chose to pay interest because they were impatient. Choosing to consume in the present instead of waiting and investing their money to be able to consume more later. This approach led Marx to quip that the Rothschild family must be the most abstinent family in Europe if it were refraining from consumption in order to make money. Obviously, that pointed to the inherent nonsense of Austrian theory. There was no concept of economic need forcing debtors to borrow simply to survive. And ever since economics has become this sort of junk economics with no value or rent theory, and without that distinction between price and value and economic rent as unearned income, you can’t explain what’s wrong with today’s economy...
..GDP analysis of a Gross Domestic Product is really Gross Domestic Cost. And productivity is defined as whatever anyone earns. No, I shouldn’t say earn. Whatever income someone receives is counted as the cost of doing business and producing the product. So the head of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, claimed that his firm’s partners were the most productive workers in the United States, as proved by their income and bonuses. Well, indeed, the U.S. national income and product accounts include such payments as the cost of producing GDP. So rent and interest and monopoly rent are not treated as transfer payments to rentiers, but as an intrinsic cost of production. So not only is interest counted as part of GDP, but late fees on credit cards and other debts are counted in GDP as “providing economic services”. So the result is to overstate the real production by whatever all of these external costs, and basically economic rent is external to society. It’s socially and technologically unnecessary, but it’s become built into today’s economy because the finance, insurance, and real estate sector have pretty much taken over the tax rules and the whole intellectual picture of the economy. And it’s these overhead costs that are deindustrializing the United States and other neoliberalized economies in North America and Europe. And this is a byproduct of our failure to understand the difference between earned and unearned income.   https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/08/michael-hudson-forgiveness-foreclosure-christianity.html

  The Honest Sorcerer ,  Downslope    The fossil fuel bonanza is slowly coming to an end. Not with a bang, mind you, but with a whimper: presenting us with a long winding road back to a much simpler life. If you happen to live in a region consuming half of the world’s oil supply, though, the way downhill will be one hell of a ride.

Downslope

  There is only one war that the US can wage simultaneously with Russia and China  (well, if it's what we have to do to win ...)   Last week, President Joe Biden was reported to have approved a secret nuclear strategy that refocuses it on countering Chinese and Russian nuclear forces, Responsible Starecraft reported.
  According to the article, the new nuclear guidelines "reorient America's deterrence strategy" toward "the need to simultaneously deter Russia, China, and North Korea," transforming it into a preemptive strike concept.   https://en.topcor.ru/51051-rs-est-lish-odna-vojna-kotoruju-ssha-mogut-vesti-odnovremenno-s-rossiej-i-kitaem.html

  More bang per bomb when it always detonates right above the target:  Biden's 'new' nuclear strategy and the super-fuse that sets it off, Theodore Postol The military is already upgrading warheads capable of fighting a war with both China and Russia simultaneously   The super-fuze achieves its fantastic increase in killing efficiency by measuring its altitude at a chosen time while it is still outside the atmosphere but relatively close to its target. If the measurement gives the desired altitude, the fuse determines no corrections are needed. If the altitude is too high, the fuse determines that the path-length and altitude must be changed to assure that the detonation occurs inside the lethal volume.
  If the altitude is too low, this means that the warhead will fall short of and outside the lethal volume. This is corrected by intentionally choosing the aim point slightly beyond the target. By shifting the aim point, the fuse both increases the chances that warheads that would otherwise fall both short and long of the lethal volume will be compressed in range to detonate within the lethal volume.
  The military implications of this “technically sweet” added capability to U.S. ballistic missile warheads has major implications for the war-fighting capabilities of the United States... ..Although any technically accurate assessment of the physical consequences of the large-scale use of nuclear weapons instantly shows that “winning” a nuclear war has no meaning, the United States has strenuously emphasized the development of nuclear weapons technologies that could only make sense if their intended purpose is for fighting and winning nuclear wars.
  The super-fuze is exactly that kind of technology.
  It is now possible, at least according to nuclear war-fighting strategies, for the U.S. to attack the more than 300 ICBM silo-based ICBMs that China has been building since about 2020 with the copious numbers of available 100kt W-76 Trident II warheads. The rapid expansion in “hard-target kill capability” of the 100 kt W-76 warhead also makes it simultaneously possible for the U.S. to attack the roughly 300 silo-based Russian ICBMs.    https://responsiblestatecraft.org/biden-nuclear-strategy/

  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday warned the United States that if the war in Ukraine escalates into a wider military conflict, a potential World War III would not be limited to battlefields in Europe.   https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/08/russias-lavrov-warns-us-that-world-war-iii-wouldnt-be-confined-to-europe/

  How Many Americans Will Die From Civilization Collapse?  Ian Welsh 345,000,000 Americans to start…
less33% or 113,850,000 from medical issues= 231,150,000
less75% of 40% (69,345,000) from Genocide= 161,805,000
less ~10% from plague and pestilence (16,180,500)= 145,624,500
And less ~20% due to starvation (29,124,900)= 116,499,600.
  My estimate is that there will be only about 116,000,000 Americans left within two years of the collapse and the start of ACWII. That’s a 66% death rate within two years. That’s a minimum, with my being generous on all the numbers.
  Estimates based on an EMP attack that takes down the entire USA power grid have been a 90% death rate in merely one year. So I’m actually looking at things with rose-colored glasses…
..Elevated Comment two (on farms and food)  Note: Right now only 2% of Americans live on farms... ..80% of Americans live in a city, which is a literal food wasteland. When they start moving out, it will be like locusts, and anyone who gets in their way simply dies.
Ian – all this assumes a hard collapse as opposed to a slow withering. But that scenario is entirely possibly with hard enough shocks, and we’re doing almost everything we can to ensure they happen.   https://www.ianwelsh.net/how-many-americans-will-die-from-civilization-collapse/

  Medvedev believes he knows why Kiev wants Donbass   Kiev’s backers in the US and the EU have also “spent a lot” on aiding Ukraine during conflict, which “irritates” their populations, Medvedev, who serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, also pointed out.
  The West needs a “payback” from Ukraine, he said, adding that it has nothing to do with Zelensky personally. “This kid will be gone soon, but the debt will remain. And it must be paid off, with interest,” the former president noted.
  Medevdev reminded readers that, according to open-source data, the natural resources located in Donbass are estimated to be worth $7.3 trillion. The area is rich in coal, metals, rare-earth elements and other valuable materials, including lithium, he added.
  "To get access to the coveted minerals, the Western parasites shamelessly demand that their wards [in Kiev] wage war to the last Ukrainian,” he wrote.
  Western politicians are “directly voicing” their plans, the official said, referring to a statement made by South Carolina’s Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. In June, the Republican lawmaker called Ukraine a “gold mine” due to its vast reserve of “critical minerals.” Graham argued that Washington should keep helping Kiev in the conflict with Moscow to make sure those “assets could be used by Ukraine and the West, not given to Putin and China.”   https://swentr.site/russia/603298-medvedev-ukraine-donbass-zelensky/

​  Globalists Are Trying To Escalate The Ukraine War Into WWIII Before The US Election​, Brandon Smith   Kursk may have been an attempt to embarrass Russia into wild strikes on civilian targets, thereby giving NATO a reason to intervene. That’s one theory. Another theory is that the Kursk operation is designed to convince western policy makers and the public that there will be no nuclear repercussions; that Putin is all bluster and Ukraine should be given more advanced tools to bomb Moscow.
​  This narrative is largely promoted by the Atlantic Council, a globalist think-tank with ties to the World Economic Forum and the “Three Seas Initiative.” The Atlantic Council directly advises the Ukrainian government on all aspect of the war, including strategy through their Eurasian Center.  They also advise NATO through their Scowcroft Center...
​..Donald Trump is looking increasingly likely to be the winner of the presidential race. I have long held that the globalists will wrap up an economic collapse or a world war and throw it in Trump’s lap. They already tried to do the same thing with the covid pandemic and the inflationary crisis.
​  The timing of the Kursk offensive and the call for missile strikes on Russia is not a coincidence. Trump claims that his intention is to end the Ukraine war as quickly as possible once he enters office. This will likely mean a leveraged peace settlement that will involve Ukraine giving up the Donbas region to Russia. If Trump is sincere, then there are many elites in the Atlantic Council, the WEF and NATO that will not be happy.​ They need to escalate the war into something bigger, something that can’t be undone.​   https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/globalists-are-trying-escalate-ukraine-war-wwiii-us-election

​  Ukraine uses highways to receive F-16s ​  The Ukrainian military has adapted sections of highways to receive F-16 aircraft instead of airbases to reduce the odds of a strike on them, the LCI TV channel reported, publishing a video showing one of these roads.
​  Former military pilot Xavier Titelman told the TV station that center dividers have been removed and asphalt has been restored on some sections of the highway. According to him, this is necessary in order to reduce the risk of aircraft being hit by Russian air defenses.​  https://tass.com/world/1836383

​  US won’t send contractors to service Ukrainian F-16s – WSJ
Washington is concerned the Americans could be targeted by Russian forces, a US official has told the outlet​   https://swentr.site/news/603333-ukraine-us-f16-contractors/

​  Andrew Korybko, Poland Finally Maxed Out Its Military Support for Ukraine  Ukraine is now desperate to embroil Poland in a hot war with Russia.   ​  Polish President Duda revealed on Monday that his country has already spent a whopping 3.3% of its GDP on providing military, humanitarian, and other forms of support to Ukraine over the past two and a half years, which works out to approximately $25 billion thus far. He then added that it also gave almost 400 tanks thus far too. This was followed the day after by Zelensky demanding even more and suggesting that Poland was still holding back from giving all that it really could.​   https://www.globalresearch.ca/poland-maxed-military-support-ukraine/5866648

  Sasha Latypova, You have free will. Stanford University wants you to think the opposite.   (You might not have come to the same conclusion when you were 13. I didn't.)     Sapolsky's belief in the absence of free will is rooted in his own personal experiences and a lifelong interest in the topic, dating back to his undergraduate years at Harvard. One may wonder what kind of MK-Ultra event happened to him to get his bearings so distorted.  Fortunately, the episode is described in detail in the Stanford Alumni Magazine article.   'For Sapolsky, the answer has seemed obvious since he was 13. He’d grown up in an Orthodox Jewish home, complete with two refrigerators and two kitchen sinks to keep kosher. But his own religious beliefs came crashing down after he read biblical commentary on a passage in Leviticus that restricts a disabled man from the priesthood. Sapolsky wore leg braces for part of his childhood, and this stricture sent him searching for an explanation from a rabbi, who answered by analogy: Much like you wouldn’t sacrifice a lamb with a blemish on its lip, you wouldn’t present God with a priest likewise blemished. The answer struck Sapolsky as unfathomably unfair, precipitating a crisis in his young mind. “One night at 2 o’clock, I suddenly woke up and said, ‘Oh, I get it. There’s no such thing as God,’ and then I paused a few seconds, and I said, ‘and there’s no free will,’ and I paused, and I said, ‘and this is a vast, indifferent, empty universe,’” he says. “And suddenly everything fell into place.”'   

You have free will.

  Judge Bans X In Brazil For Refusing To Comply With Demands   Elon Musk's X has been ordered 'immediately suspended' by Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, citing the company's refusal to comply with a legal order to censor the judge's political opponents, Bloomberg reports.
  Officially, the ruling was due to Musk's refusal to name a legal representative for the social network (after the judge froze his last attorney's bank accounts.  On Thursday, X's global government affairs account said that it would "not comply in secret with illegal orders," and said that it would publish Moraes' demands and related court documents for transparency.   When we attempted to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts. Our challenges against his manifestly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues on the Supreme Court are either unwilling or unable to stand up to him.
  We are absolutely not insisting that other countries have the same free speech laws as the United States. The fundamental issue at stake here is that Judge de Moraes demands we break Brazil’s own laws. We simply won’t do that. In the days to come, we will publish all of Judge de Moraes’ illegal demands and all related court filings in the interest of transparency.
  Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders.   https://www.zerohedge.com/political/brazil-judge-orders-immediate-suspension-x

Did he ask permission? Brazilian Judge Orders Google, Apple To Remove X From Platform; BAR Association Demands Review For Threatening VPN Users With Fine  https://www.zerohedge.com/political/brazilian-judge-orders-google-apple-remove-x-platform-bar-association-demands-review 

Musk Vows to Expose Top Brazilian Judge's Crimes After Suspension of X​   https://sputnikglobe.com/20240831/musk-vows-to-expose-top-brazilian-judges-crimes-after-suspension-of-x-1119972017.html

Federal Court Upholds Ban On "Let's Go, Brandon" Shirts In High School   https://www.zerohedge.com/political/federal-court-upholds-ban-lets-go-brandon-shirts-high-school

'No': Harris Says She Won't Change US Policy On Arming Israel   https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/no-harris-says-she-wont-change-us-policy-arming-israel

Harris Bleeding Muslim Support in U.S. Amid Her Support of Israel's Genocide   

Harris Bleeding Muslim Support in U.S. Amid Her Support of Israel's Genocide

  Paul Craig Roberts,  The Assassination Attempt that Wasn’t   The ruling establishment’s attempt to assassinate Donald Trump has been swept under the rug. Not even conservatives and Republicans want the truth out. The reason is that the truth shatters the idealistic illusions and delusions that “USA, USA, USA Conservatives” have about America and casts discredit on the US government. To acknowledge the use of force to eliminate a presidential candidate who is regarded as a threat by the ruling establishment would upset the stock market, undermine the establishment’s wars against Russia and Iran, cause difficulties for the intended Democrat theft of the 2024 presidential election, discombobulate Washington’s allies, and create powerful propaganda against the US government.
  “Protecting America’s reputation” is more important to conservatives and Republicans than the life of a presidential candidate whose election would certainly rock the boat and disturb the status quo.  https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2024/08/30/the-assassination-attempt-that-wasnt/ 

  They ought to be able to "get the job done" now.  US Secret Service to get military support ahead of election – Pentagon The move comes after the agency came under scrutiny following the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump   https://www.rt.com/news/603301-secret-service-military-support/

  Tulsi Gabbard Reveals The Real Reason Behind Endorsing Trump: 'This Is Personal For Me'   TULSI GABBARD: The choice in this election is very clear and the differences between President Trump and Vice President Harris couldn't be more stark. Frankly, to put it simply, the choice for the American people is a choice with Donald Trump, a man who values peace, prosperity, and freedom. He has a record that proves that. And Vice President Kamala Harris, whose record shows an increasingly tyrannical government undermining our freedoms. We are embroiled in multiple wars and the world is closer to the brink of nuclear war than ever before... ..This is personal for me, the endorsement of President Trump. As a soldier for over 21 years, I deployed to multiple war zones in different parts of the world, putting my life on the line for the safety, security, and freedom of the American people. It is important to me and every one of my brothers and sisters in uniform that we have a Commander-in-Chief who values every one of our lives, who carries that responsibility as Commander-in-Chief very seriously, and who will exhaust all diplomatic avenues before seeing war truly as a last resort.
  The last point that I will make on this—another point of contrast—is that President Trump showed through his last administration that not only did he not start any new wars, but he took action to prevent them by courageously meeting with adversaries, allies, partners, dictators. He would meet with whoever he needed to pursue peace. Kamala Harris criticized Donald Trump for doing exactly that.   https://www.zerohedge.com/political/tulsi-gabbard-reveals-real-reason-behind-endorsing-trump-personal-me

  Professor Anthony Hall presents:  Trump Converted to Judaism in 2017  Jared and Ivanka Persuaded Then-President Trump to Secretly Embrace Chabad Lubovitch. It is Described by Wikipedia as "one of the largest Hasidic dynasties" in Judaism.   

Trump Converted to Judaism in 2017

  Israel-US Plan for Gaza Envisions “Fragmenting Gaza and Isolating It from the World”. Mike Whitney   The so-called Netzarim corridor (Highway 749)—which crosses Gaza from east to west—will provide faster transport for IDF troops operating in the area and will also function as vital part of Israel’s security cordon separating the north from the south. There is no doubt that military outposts will be established along the corridor as well as in locations along the western coast.
  The aim of these actions is to protect the development of new settlements that will be built north of the corridor.
In short, the Israeli government is using its war on Hamas to divert attention from its real objective which is the expansion of the Jewish state on Palestinian land. https://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-plan-gaza-comes-view/5866615

  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has assured Israel that the US will support preemptive strikes against Lebanese movement Hezbollah amid signs that Israel was preparing to attack the group's positions last week, The New York Times reported on Friday, citing a senior US official who requested anonymity.
  Blinken reportedly delivered this message during his visit to Tel Aviv, where he told Israeli officials that Washington would back them in taking action against Hezbollah forces or equipment posing an imminent threat.   https://sputnikglobe.com/20240830/us-assures-israel-it-will-support-preemptive-strikes-against-hezbollah---reports-1119958276.html

  'Israel' bombs aid convoy in Gaza despite prior coordination, kills 5   The Israeli occupation forces bombed an aid convoy organized by a US non-profit humanitarian organization in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of five individuals. To make matters worse, the convoy was targeted despite prior coordination with the Israeli occupation forces.
  The convoy, organized by the Washington, DC-based non-profit organization Anera, was struck by an Israeli missile that specifically targeted the lead vehicle. Anera described the incident as "horrific" in a statement to The Washington Post and confirmed that the victims were employees of a local transport company.
  The convoy was delivering medical supplies and fuel to a hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza, operated by the United Arab Emirates.   https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--bombs-aid-convoy-in-gaza-despite-prior-coordination

  West Bank attacks: To western leaders, there are no red lines for Israel's slaughter   The Israeli military's assault against four refugee camps and almost every town in the north of the occupied West Bank, using battlefield weapons, commando-style helicopter landings, drones and bulldozers, cannot be classed as a response to the war on Gaza. This is far bigger than a "counter-terrorism" operation claimed by Israel.
  War in the West Bank was planned before Hamas's attack on 7 October last year, a senior Fatah member with close links to security circles told me. It was postponed by the Gaza war, but also refined and honed by it.   When Israel saw just how much Palestinian blood the US and Europe were prepared to tolerate in Gaza - how much destruction, how many millions would be continually displaced, and for how long - Israel felt emboldened to visit the same hell on its real target: the occupied West Bank.
  Crush the West Bank, and the Palestinian people can say goodbye to their state forever. This is the message that Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right minister and settler who has been working to transfer the governance of the occupied West Bank from military to civilian control, has consistently and publicly broadcast.
  Like the war in Gaza, "Operation Summer Camps" is not aimed primarily at local resistance groups or their leaders, although several have already been targeted and killed.
The attacks from land and air on Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas, along with the laying of siege and the sealing off of hospitals and detention of medics, are all directed against the population, just as they were in Gaza. 
  The bulldozers go in, not to clear a path for the tanks, but to dig up the water pipes and drains vital for life, in the full knowledge that in six months, the occupied West Bank will have outbreaks of major diseases and epidemics, just as Gaza has now.    https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-no-western-red-lines-attacks-west-bank

  Human Rights Activist Sarah Wilkinson Arrested by UK Police   “The pro-genocide UK regime has arrested [MENAUncensored’s] roving reporter and Human Rights Activist Sarah Wilkinson for supporting the Palestinian resistance and relaying what is really happening in Gaza and the West Bank to the world,” MENA Uncensored announced via social media, alleging Wilkinson was accused of supporting “terrorism.” ... ..Wilkinson’s arrest comes two weeks after Syrian-British journalist Richard Medhurst was detained and questioned by UK police upon his arrival at Heathrow Airport under the Terrorism Act, Section 12   https://scheerpost.com/2024/08/30/human-rights-activist-sarah-wilkinson-arrested-by-uk-police/

  Far right is very real threat, says Keir Starmer  (Getting the nation on a strictly disciplined pre-war footing) The far right is a "very real threat" which needs to be combatted, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Speaking on a visit to Paris, the prime minister said the best way to deal with the "snake oil" of populism and nationalism was through "delivery" and "showing there are progressive, democratic answers to the many challenges we face is the way forward".   https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkm8mg4md4o

​He means Macron carried out a coup: Towards A Coup d’état in France? With Macron Refusing to Honor Election Results   https://www.globalresearch.ca/coup-detat-france-macron-refusing-honor-election-results/5866586

New Opium-Wars; reversed flows: Chinese Narcos In Toronto Run "Command & Control" Fentanyl Laundering Network Used In TD Bank Case: US Investigator   https://www.zerohedge.com/political/chinese-narcos-toronto-run-command-control-fentanyl-laundering-network-used-td-bank-case

There is a vast pressure to treat post-vaccine-syndrome, yet it has to be called "long COVID", or there is no way to bill for services. The spike-protein is what causes problems. UCSF Researchers Identify Major Driver Behind COVID And Long COVID, With Potential Treatment​   https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/ucsf-researchers-identify-major-driver-behind-covid-and-long-covid-potential-treatment

​Avoiding Trouble (pictured with small tomatoes, which are producing again after summer heat reduction)