Landmark Ruling Strikes Down Warrantless Device Searches of US Citizens at Borders
By Didi Rankovic | Reclaim The Net | August 1, 2024
The District Court for the Eastern District of New York has ruled that the US government must reverse course on its policy of warrantless searches of US (and foreign) nationals’ electronic devices as they enter the country.
We obtained a copy of the ruling for you here.
This is not the only court decision on this issue, while this particular outcome, requiring that border agents obtain court-issued orders before performing such searches, concerns the district that is the court’s seat – therefore also a major port of entry, JFK International Airport.
It was precisely at this airport that an event unfolded which set in motion a legal case. In 2022, US citizen Kurbonali Sultanov was coerced (he was told he “had no choice”) into surrendering his phone’s passport to border officers.
Sultanov later became a defendant in a criminal case but argued that evidence from the phone should not be admitted because the device was accessed in violation of the Fourth Amendment (which protects Americans against unreasonable and warrantless searches).
Of course, all these envisaged protections refer to US citizens, and even there prove to be sketchy in many instances. Foreign travelers (even though entering the country legally) are effectively left without any protections regarding their privacy.
Sultanov’s argument was supported in an amicus brief filed the following year by the Knight First Amendment Institute and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, who said that the First Amendment is violated as well when law enforcement gains access to phones without a warrant since it invalidates constitutional protections of speech, freedom of the press, religion, and association.
The New York Eastern District Court’s decision is by and large based precisely on that amicus brief. One of the arguments from it is that journalists entering the US are often forced to hand over their devices.
The court agreed that “letting border agents freely rifle through journalists’ work product and communications whenever they cross the border would pose an intolerable risk to press freedom,” said Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press attorney Grayson Clary in a press statement.
Meanwhile, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said they were reviewing this ruling – and would not comment on what the agency said are “pending criminal cases.”
Major Latin American Powers, Hungary Block US-EU Push to Isolate Venezuela’s Maduro
By Ilya Tsukanov – Sputnik – 04.08.2024
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was reelected to a third term in office in a showdown with united opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez last Sunday, taking 52% of the vote to Gonzalez’ 43%. The US and its allies decried the results, recognized the opposition leader and demanded negotiations for a “peaceful transition of power.”
Efforts by Washington and Brussels to diplomatically isolate President Nicolas Maduro have failed spectacularly after important members of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union rejected efforts to condemn the Venezuelan election results.
In the OAS, major Latin American countries Brazil, Mexico and Colombia abstained from a resolution tabled Wednesday demanding that Caracas release detailed vote tallies and take other steps, including measures to ensure the security of the opposition. The three nations were joined in abstaining from the resolution or being absent from the vote by Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Grenada, Honduras, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. With 11 OAS members abstaining and five members absent, the resolution failed to attain the required majority to pass.
Permanent Council chairman Ronald Sanders said a consensus could not be reached over a “controversial phrase,” without elaborating.
Across the Atlantic, Hungary blocked a similar proposed joint statement on behalf of the EU’s 27 member countries on purported “numerous flaws and irregularities” in Venezuela’s elections, forcing EU foreign policy czar Josep Borrell to independently issue a statement in the EU’s name.
Hungary’s intransigence is expected to complicate efforts by Brussels to use unanimity among the bloc to justify the leveling of potential new sanctions against Venezuela. Budapest did not explain its motivation for vetoing the EU resolution.
US Secretary of State congratulated Gonzalez for “winning” last Sunday’s vote, with Russia, China, Belarus, Serbia, Iran, Turkiye, Syria, Azerbaijan, North Korea, Vietnam, Madagascar, Namibia, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua and others recognizing the results and congratulating President Maduro for his victory.
CENTCOM chief in Israel for ‘preparations’ against Iran, Hezbolla
The Cradle | August 4, 2024
The US CENTCOM chief arrived in Israel on 3 August to help Tel Aviv prepare for an Iranian retaliation to the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh on its soil last week, as well as Hezbollah’s response to the strike on Beirut hours before.
General Michael Kurilla arrived in Israel on Saturday “as preparations continue for a possible attack against Israel from Iran [and Hezbollah] in retaliation for the assassinations of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders,” two US officials told Axios on 4 August.
Kurilla had already been planning a trip to Israel prior to the serious escalation, which saw Tel Aviv attack Beirut and Tehran within hours of each other.
“He is expected to use the trip to try to mobilize the same international and regional coalition that defended Israel against an attack from Iran on Apr. 13,” an official told Axios. At the time, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel in response to the destruction of its consulate in Damascus and the killing of several Iranian officials.
Three US officials told the outlet they expect an Iranian retaliation to Haniyeh’s killing “as early as Monday.”
According to the report, Washington is concerned it will be difficult to garner the same amount of regional support in defense of Israel as it did in April, given that Haniyeh’s assassination comes within the context of the Gaza war – for which Israel has drawn major criticism from the Arab world and internationally.
Kurilla is set to visit several Gulf nations, as well as the kingdom of Jordan – which played a major role in intercepting Iranian projectiles during the April attack. Amman has already vowed to confront any violation of its airspace.
Jordan also opened up its airspace to US and Israeli jets during Iran’s April operation. “The U.S. hopes the same will happen again if needed,” another US official told Axios.
US and Israeli officials also “don’t know if Iran and Hezbollah will conduct a coordinated attack or operate separately … they think both Iran and Hezbollah are still working on finalizing their military plans and approving them at the political level.”
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said Washington has been beefing up its presence in the region in anticipation of the Resistance Axis’s responses, which could potentially include Iraq’s resistance factions and Yemen’s Ansarallah movement.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US will maintain the presence of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, and has ordered more ballistic missile and defense-capable cruisers and warships to the region.
An additional squadron of fighter jets has also been deployed, in line with US President Joe Biden’s vow to send new deployments in defense of Israel during his phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed last week a “harsh punishment” for Israel. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah also warned Tel Aviv: “You do not know which red lines you have crossed.”
Orban’s Insight Into The Global Systemic Transition & Hungarian Grand Strategy Is Worth Reading
By Andrew Korybko | August 2, 2024
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban elaborated on the global systemic transition and his country’s grand strategy within it during a lengthy speech at the Balvanyos Free Summer University and Student Camp over the weekend. The over 11,000-word English transcript was published on Monday, which the present piece will summarize for the reader’s convenience. It began with him reaffirming that it’s his Christian duty to promote peace and mocking the EU for its Orwellian “war is peace” mantra.
He then said that the Ukrainian Conflict was a “red pill” for him and proceeded to elaborate on the ten ways in which it opened his eyes to reality. First, there have been enormous casualties on both sides, but each will continue fighting unless external stakeholders diplomatically intervene since they’re convinced that they’ll win. Second, the US went from containing China to waging a proxy war on Russia, which pushed those two together and prompted questions about why the US would do this.
Third, Ukraine’s resilience in spite of its objective economic and demographic weaknesses can be explained by its sense of mission that fills it with a higher purpose, which is to become the West’s eastern military frontier. Fourth, Russia has also proven itself to be impressively resilient, and it’s nowhere near collapsing like Western leaders hubristically predicted. Fifth, the EU has undergone fundamental changes since the latest phase of the Ukrainian Conflict began two and half years ago.
It now follows the US Democrats’ lead instead of retaining its strategic autonomy, and the traditional Franco-German axis is now challenged like never before by Poland, which has allied with the UK, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and Scandinavia to create a new center of power in Europe. This is actually an old Polish plan (Pilsudski’s “Intermarium” from the interwar period) adapted to contemporary conditions brought about by the Ukrainian Conflict and fully assisted by the US.
Sixth, the West’s standards are no longer universal and it’s experiencing “spiritual solitude” after the entire non-West refused to follow its lead in isolating Russia. Seventh, the biggest problem in the world is the weakness and disintegration of the West caused by its lack of leadership and seemingly irrational policies, which is accelerating China’s rise as its global systemic challenger. Eighth, Western Europe’s worldview is now post-national while Central Europe still believes in the sanctity of the nation-state.
This dichotomy explains the West’s seemingly irrational policies since each half of Europe is operating according to a completely different philosophy. The US is also experiencing a similar division between those like Trump who want it to remain a nation-state and his opponents who want it to become a post-national state. According to Orban, this division owes its origins to the sexual revolution and student rebellions from over half a century ago, which sought to free people from any form of collective identity.
Ninth, the West’s post-national trends are convulsing democracy and leading to friction between the elite/elitism and the people/populism. And finally, the tenth red pill is that Western soft power/values aren’t universal but are actually counterproductive since Russia’s strongest international attraction nowadays is its resistance to LGBTQ. Orban then said that these trends are leading to the rise of the non-West, which he believes first began with China’s admission to the WTO in 2001 and might be irreversible.
Trump’s priority is to rebuild and strengthen North America, to which end he’ll squeeze the US’ European and Asian allies while negotiating better deals with China. His end game is to make the US self-sufficient in energy and raw materials so that it can stand a better chance at retaining its declining position in global affairs. The EU has two options: it can either become an “open-air museum” (passive international actor) absorbed by the US or pursue strategic autonomy in order improve its standing in the world.
What’s needed is more connectivity, a European military alliance with its own defense industry (albeit without federalization), energy self-sufficiency, reconciliation with Russia, and admitting that Ukraine won’t join the EU or NATO. It’ll return to its prior role as a buffer zone and will be lucky if it gets security guarantees in a US-Russian agreement. Poland’s power play will fail because it lacks the resources to replace Germany so Orban expects that his “Polish brothers and sisters” will return to Central Europe.
He also considers all of these changes to be an opportunity. Developments in the US favor Hungary, but it must be careful about any deals it might offer due to the Polish precedent. Warsaw bet everything on Washington and received support for its strategic goals, but now it’s “subject to the imposition of a policy of democracy export, LGBTQ, migration and internal social transformation.” Orban ominously notes that this combination risks of the loss of Polish national identity if these trends continue unabated.
Hungary will remain in the EU, but the bloc’s East-West divisions between those that correspondingly respect the nation-state and those that are moving beyond it will widen. The EU must also accept that it’s the loser in the Ukrainian Conflict, the US will abandon this proxy war, and the EU can’t realistically pick up the tab. All the while, Hungary will rely on China for modernizing its economy and boosting its exports, which will lead to mutually beneficial outcomes.
A Hungarian grand strategy is required in order to maximally take advantage of the opportunities brought about by the ten previously described red pills and their abovementioned consequences. What’s already been decided upon since his government began work on this after the 2022 elections isn’t yet digestible and widely comprehensible by the public, and he said that it’ll take around six months for everything to become clearer for them, but he still shared the gist of what this grand strategy entails.
The first part is what he describes as connectivity, which he explained as being plugged in to both the Eastern and Western halves of the global economy. The second is sovereignty, with a focus on the economic dimension by promoting national companies on the world market, reducing debt, becoming a regional creditor, and boosting domestic production. The final part is bolstering his society’s resilience by halting demographic decline, preserving villages, and maintaining Hungary’s distinct culture.
Orban ended by explaining that all Hungarians across the world must help advance this grand strategy. The global systemic transition is expected to last another 20-25 years so the next generation will be tasked with completing its implementation. Their liberal opponents will try to offset this, but such efforts can be counteracted by recruiting young nationalists to the cause. The impression that one gets after reading through his speech in full is that Orban is this generation’s most visionary European leader.
Russia Ranks Among G20’s Lowest in National Debt Per Capita
Sputnik – August 3, 2024
This year, Russia has entered the top three largest economies in the world with the lowest level of national debt per capita, according to an analysis by Sputnik of the latest data from G20 countries. On average, government debt among those countries is $23,600 per citizen. Only six countries exceed that mark.
New data shows Russia has one of the lowest per-capita debt levels of the G20 group of nations.
India has the most modest sovereign debt, with the latest data from the G20 showing $1,316 per person. Indonesia follows with $1,747 and Russia is third with $2,076 per capita at the end of the first half of this year.
Other countries with national debts less than $5,000 per person include Turkiye ($2,800), China ($3,000) and South Africa ($4,500).
Countries with debts ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 include Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Argentina.
South Korea’s national debt is almost twice that of Argentina, at $16,000 per capita, Germany’s is $20,900 and Australia’s is $21,200 per capita.
The six countries with above-average national debts are all members of the Group of Seven (G7).
Of those, Canada has the lowest debt at $25,300 per capita. France’s debt stands at $40,300 per citizen, while the UK and Italy have accumulated debts twice as large as Canada’s at $51,600 and $51,900 per person. Japan has the second-largest national debt at $70,400 per capita.
The United States continues to have the highest sovereign debt, at $104,500 per capita — 80 times higher than India’s and 50 times higher than Russia’s. Among all countries in the world, only Singapore has a higher debt figure at $149,300 per person.
Bill Gates, U.S. Military Among Investors in GMO Insect Protein for Humans
By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. | The Defender | August 2, 2024
While regulators in non-U.S. countries, including Singapore, have issued approvals for specific insect-based foods, in the U.S., the regulatory landscape is murkier — there is no legal approval process or clear-cut prohibition of insects for human consumption.
As a result, insect-containing foods have reached U.S. consumers, even though one of the few existing U.S. laws that address insects in the food supply refers to them as “filth” and a form of “adulteration.”
Crickets and grasshoppers reach U.S. consumers in a variety of forms, from protein bars to protein shakes. They’re also found on restaurant menus and are promoted as pet food and animal feed ingredients.
With few U.S. regulatory barriers to contend with, investors like Bill Gates and Big Food giants such as Tyson Foods have also begun investing in “alternative protein” startups — despite mainstream media “fact-checks” claiming Gates doesn’t support the consumption of insects.
Internist Dr. Meryl Nass, founder of Door to Freedom, told The Defender lax U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations — under which many insect-containing foods can be classified as “Generally Regarded as Safe” (GRAS) — “means they don’t require testing” and enable the FDA to “look the other way.”
“How long will it take before we learn whether these foods are safe? It could take generations,” Nass said.
Gates, U.S. military among backers of ‘alternative protein’ startups
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges Explorations program in 2012 funded All Things Bugs, a project to “develop a novel food product made from insects to treat malnutrition in children from famine stricken areas of the world,” according to Eurasia Review.
All Things Bugs has since expanded into the development of genetically modified insects. With funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), “we are using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and other methodologies to develop base technologies for creating insects as a new bioresource,” the company states.
DARPA is a research and development agency that operates under the U.S. Department of Defense.
All Things Bugs said that while insects are “a very sustainable source of protein,” it “is innovating to make them a feasible commodity for the food industry.”
Claire Robinson, managing editor of GMWatch, told The Defender, “With all GMOs [genetically modified organisms], including insects, it’s vital that they are subjected to a pre-marketing risk assessment for health and the environment.”
Robinson said, “This includes testing them for the presence of pathogens, possible allergens and substances that may be toxic to humans. Then they must be clearly labeled for the consumer.”
Gates’ investments in insect-based foods appear to be part of a broader strategy to invest in alternatives to animal-based foods for consumers.
In a February blog post, Gates said he invested in Savor, a startup producing butter made from air (carbon dioxide) and water (hydrogen). And in 2022, the Gates Foundation awarded a $4.76 million grant to Nature’s Fynd, a startup producing foods containing fungi-based protein. In 2020, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, founded by Gates, invested in Nature’s Fynd.
The U.S. government’s National Science Foundation (NSF) also is involved in the insects-as-food space, through its funding of the Center for Environmental Sustainability through Insect Farming (CEIF). Established in 2021, CEIF seeks “to develop novel methods for using insects as feed for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture.”
Institutions participating in CEIF include Texas A&M University, Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis and Mississippi State University — along with Tyson Foods, Protix and Innovafeed, backed by food processing giant ADM, formerly the Archer-Daniels-Midland Company.
Insect protein start-ups raised ‘over $1 billion in venture capital since 2020’
The production of insects for human food is expanding in the U.S. and globally, with support from the United Nations and the World Economic Forum (WEF).
In 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations released a seminal report, “Edible insects: future prospects for food and feed security,” which promotes the environmental and nutritional benefits of insect consumption.”
A 2022 WEF paper, “5 reasons why eating insects can reduce climate change,” suggests people are “conditioned to think of animals and plants as our primary sources of proteins … but there’s an unsung category of sustainable and nutritious protein that has yet to widely catch on: insects.”
According to a November 2023 Washington Post report, “Insect start-ups have raised over $1 billion in venture capital since 2020.”
A 2021 report by Netherlands-based Rabobank claimed the demand for insect protein, “mainly as an animal feed and pet food ingredient, could reach half a million metric tons by 2030, up from today’s market of approximately 10,000 metric tons.”
A report by Grand View Research forecasted the global insect protein market will expand by an annual compound growth rate of 16.9% by 2030, while European projections estimate “the number of Europeans consuming insect-based food will [reach] a total of 390 million by 2030,” according to EuroNews.
Ynsect, for instance, has built factories in France and the Netherlands, and is erecting factories in the U.S. and Mexico, according to Feed Navigator. The company claims its insect-producing farms are “climate positive,” “benefit biodiversity” and are aligned with the Paris Agreement and the European Union’s “Fit for 55” goal.
In March 2022, Ynsect acquired Nebraska-based Jord Producers — a mealworm farm. And in December 2022, Ynsect signed an agreement with U.S. flour milling company Ardent Mills to build a factory in the Midwestern U.S. Ardent Mills is a joint venture between ConAgra Foods, Cargill and CHS, a global agribusiness cooperative.
Investors in Ynsect include actor Robert Downey Jr.’s FootPrint Coalition and France’s Crédit Agricole bank — along with support from the FAO and the European Commission. The company has raised over $600 million.
Celebrity chefs also are embracing insect food. In November 2023, the Financial Times featured Joseph Yoon, founder of Brooklyn Bugs, whose “goal is to popularise edible insects and build up this food source to help support global food security.”
Your dog can eat insects, too
In addition to a lack of FDA regulations governing the use of insects in foods for humans, the FDA also does not regulate the use of insects for pet food ingredients.
According to Animal Frontiers, “pet food is under the nongovernment Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO)” in the U.S. In January, French firm Ynsect became the first company to receive AAFCO authorization for commercial production of mealworm protein for dog food in the U.S.
In October 2023, Big Food giant Tyson Foods announced the acquisition of an ownership stake in the Dutch insect ingredient producer Protix. Tyson said the new joint venture would construct “the first at-scale facility of its kind to upcycle food manufacturing byproducts into high-quality insect proteins and lipids which will primarily be used in the pet food, aquaculture, and livestock industries.”
Although the announcement did not definitively exclude the production of insect-containing foods for humans, a Reuters “fact check” published in May stated, “Tyson Foods does not put insects into products for human consumption.”
Tyson has invested in Upside Foods, which in June 2023 won approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to produce lab-grown chicken. Upside garnered more than $600 million in research and development investments, including from Gates, Richard Branson, Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal Musk and Cargill.
Vanguard and BlackRock, the world’s two largest institutional investment firms, are also the two top institutional holders of Tyson Foods shares. BlackRock, and its CEO, Larry Fink, have promoted “sustainable” corporate practices.
This article was originally published by The Defender — Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please consider subscribing to The Defender or donating to Children’s Health Defense.
US Sen Graham Introduces Bill Authorizing Military Force in Iran
By Ian DeMartino – Sputnik – 02.08.2024
After the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Tuesday, Iran promised a “harsh punishment” for Israel. On Wednesday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin declared that the United States was ready to defend Israel in the event of an attack by Iran.
US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced legislation right before the Congress recess in August that would authorize President Joe Biden to use military force against Iran if he determines that Iran has capabilities that threaten the national security interests of the United States.
“The President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against the Islamic Republic of Iran if the President determines that the Islamic Republic of Iran–
1) Is in the process of possessing a nuclear weapon that threatens the national security interests of the United States; or
2) Possesses uranium enriched to weapons-grade level, possesses a nuclear warhead, or possesses a delivery vehicle capable of carrying a nuclear warhead that threatens the national security interests of the United States.”
While the bill specifies that it is limited to Iran’s nuclear program, it is broad enough to potentially authorize Biden to strike Iran as soon as the bill passes. While Iran is not believed to possess a nuclear warhead, it already has an arsenal of missiles that would be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead if Iran were to obtain one. Biden seemingly would be authorized by the bill to strike Iran if he determines that to be a threat.
The same day, Graham also introduced a bill that would affirm any “escalation by Hezbollah” will be seen as an escalation by Iran and urges Congress and the President “to use all diplomatic tools and power projection capabilities to hold both parties accountable for their actions,” but stop short of specifically authorizing military force.
On Thursday, Graham posted on X that “it is long past time to start talking about offense when it comes to Iranian threats against Israel, the United States, and the world.”
Both bills come as tensions are rising between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel and Iran and Israel. Earlier this week, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran and Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukur was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut.
Iran and Hezbollah have promised retaliation.
The Senate will go into recess on August 3rd. Unless an emergency session is called, both chambers of Congress will return to Washington on September 9.
Trump Facilitated Collapse of US-Russia Arms Control by Scrapping INF Treaty
Sputnik – 01.08.2024
WASHINGTON – Then-President Donald Trump made a “stupid mistake” by deciding to scrap the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, as the consequences of that fateful decision have been the collapse of strategic arms control policies between the United States and Russia, analysts told Sputnik.
The INF treaty, signed between the Soviet Union and the US in 1987, banned the countries from developing and possessing ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges from 500-5,500 kilometers.
In 2019, Trump withdrew the US from the treaty, which prompted Russia to suspend its participation in the Cold War-era accord in response.
August 2 marks the fifth anniversary of the US’ formal withdrawal from the INF Treaty.
Restraint Abandoned
“The consequences have been that strategic arms control policies between Russia and the US/NATO have largely been abandoned and both sides have developed nuclear capable intermediate range missiles that raise the likelihood that they will be resorted to in a potential escalating conflict like in Ukraine,” former CIA analyst, founder and chair of the Council for the National Interest Philip Giraldi said.
There were sharp differences of opinion in the Trump administration on whether to retain the treaty, in spite of both sides’ claims that there was “cheating,” Giraldi recalled. “The neocons predictably won the argument.”
Back in the 1980s, despite hawkish governments in London and Bonn, popular sentiment across Europe, especially in Germany overwhelmingly favored creating the treaty, Giraldi emphasized.
“Interestingly enough, I was in the CIA German station in Hamburg 1982-5 when the whole issue of intermediate range missiles, which theoretically allowed for no warning devastating nuclear capable attack, was being debated,” he said.
“There were huge demonstrations in all German cities against the deployment and in favor of an agreement,” Giraldi reported. “The US Consulate General was located near Hamburg’s central lake, the Alster and thousands of demonstrators would gather along the lakefront and storm the front of the building by crossing the access road that surrounded the lake.”
Attempt to Show He’s ‘Tough’ on Russia
American University in Moscow President Edward Lozansky, a former Soviet nuclear physicist, noted that Trump had heeded his two most influential advisers at the time, CIA chief and then secretary of state Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, both of whom were determined to kill the treaty.
“One has to look at Trump’s two critical foreign policy and security advisers at the time, Pompeo and Bolton. Trump foolishly appointed them to prove he is tough on Russia. He made many other stupid mistakes for the same reason,” Lozansky said.
One can excuse Trump for being a “political novice who miraculously won in 2016 and found himself in an ocean of sharks,” he added.
The recent events show that “the Deep State learned the 2016 lessons” and the chances of Trump repeating the miracle of that year are quickly decreasing, at least for now, according to Lozansky.
“Almost each of the next 100 days till November 5 elections might bring unexpected events, not all of them bright for America and mankind,” the expert concluded.
INF Treaty Stood in Way of Plans to Militarize Europe, Hold Russia Back – Ex-DoD Analyst
Sputnik – 02.08.2024
WASHINGTON – The United States scrapped the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty five years ago with the aim of expanding NATO further eastward, pressing Russia economically and militarily, and cementing America’s global hegemony, veteran Pentagon analyst and retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik.
August 2 marks the fifth anniversary of the US’s formal withdrawal from the INF Treaty.
“This [the pullout from the treaty] was due to the US desire (led by neoconservatives in the State Department and elsewhere in the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations) to expand NATO eastward, as well to engage militarily on Russia’s European border with both conventional and nuclear arms, specifically via Ukraine,” Kwiatkowski said.
The military and economic rise of China, a neoconservative theme for the past 30 years, required in the eyes of hawkish US military planners a nuclear offensive line in Eastern Europe to hold Russia “captive,” Kwiatkowski explained.
“The INF Treaty always stood in the way of this,” she said.
Russia had formally complained of continual US violations of the INF Treaty since 2014, but this was information most Americans and Europeans never saw, and most were not even interested in, Kwiatkowski noted.
“The consequences have been straightforward and dangerous. First, both the United States and Russia are now actively engaged in an expensive competition in the INF field and other new missile technology arenas,” she said.
Unlike in 1987, Russian technological and economic capabilities in this space now exceed those of the United States, Kwiatkowski assessed.
“Instead of US-Russia treaties that could engage and limit war preparation, we have NATO expansion, including an attempt to NATO-ize former INF signatory Ukraine,” she said.
After two post-Cold War batch accessions to the NATO alliance in 1999 and 2004, the accessions of six new member countries since 2009 have created a larger “border” between Russia and NATO, Kwiatkowski cautioned.
“Peace and diplomacy were now not only verboten, or forbidden but for five years have been institutionally impossible in Europe, thanks in part to the elimination of the INF Treaty and abnormally weak and intellectually impoverished US and NATO leadership over the same time frame,” she concluded.
The INF treaty, signed between the Soviet Union and the US in 1987, banned the countries from developing and possessing ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges from 500-5,500 kilometers. In 2019, then-President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the treaty, accusing Russia of non-compliance. In response to the US decision, Russia suspended its participation in the Cold War-era accord.
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The Crusades – colliding narratives
Ashes of Pompeii | June 13, 2026
They say history is written by the victors, but the Crusades offer an interesting historical contrast: a two-century collision that produced not one history, but two parallel, irreconcilable realities. The dates and the battles are identical in both accounts, but the moral axis is entirely flipped.
In the traditional Western narrative, the Crusades are framed as a heroic, if tragic, epic. The First Crusade is a pious pilgrimage; the knights are romanticized figures of chivalry in shining armor, bravely holding the line in a hostile, exotic land. The eventual loss of the Holy Land is mourned as the “fall of Outremer,” a tragic retreat of European civilization. In this telling, the East is often reduced to a passive backdrop, its inhabitants viewed through a lens of mystique or backwardness, mere obstacles to a divine mandate.
But cross the Mediterranean, and the exact same timeline reads like a chronicle of foreign invasion and eventual, hard-won restoration against the barbarous northerners. The dates do not change, but the adjectives do. Here is the history as it is remembered in the Levant… continue
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- Women Climate Scientists Being Harassed, Insulted By Skeptics, Claims Berkeley Earth Researcher
- Germany’s Longterm Spring Climate Data Show “No Climate Trend”
- New Study: Solar Photovoltaic, Wind Power Fail To Meet Annual Energy Demands 62% Of The Time
- Germany’s Die Welt: “Too Much Is Too Much” … Green Energies Are Cannabalizing Each Other!
- Germany’s Ecological Holocaust… Once Fairy Tale Forests Getting Cleared For Wind Turbines
- A Grand Solar Minimum Has Arrived…Global Cooling Of At Least 1°C Is Expected By The 2030s, 2040s
- European “Expert Commission” Urges COVID-19-Like Global Climate State Of Energency!
- Real-World Observations Do Not Support The Position That Climate Change Is Human-Caused
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