Just when we thought we had the monkeypox menace whipped, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday declared an African outbreak of mpox (renamed so as not to offend monkeys, apparently), a new public health emergency.

The UN agency’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced the declaration in Geneva after accepting a recommendation from WHO’s emergency committee.

As the Epoch Times notes further, Tedros said there have already been more than 14,000 reported cases and 524 reported deaths in Africa this year, a jump from last year. He also pointed to the emergence of a new mpox strain, or clade, which he described as worrying.

“In addition to other outbreaks of other clades of mpox in other parts of Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives,” Tedros said at a briefing.

Mpox is a virus that occurs in animals and humans. Mpox can spread between people and causes an illness that typically manifests with a rash and resolves in a few weeks. But some cases can lead to death.

Mpox has predominately affected men who have sex with other men.

A public health emergency of international concern, or global health emergency, is the highest level of alarm the WHO can convey.

It’s declared for extraordinary events deemed to constitute a public health risk to countries through the international spread of disease.

COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency of international concern in 2020.

That declaration ended in 2023 after the number of cases dropped considerably.

And as Off-Guardian opines, this is the second time in two years the WHO has declared monkeypox a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” (PHEIC). It was originally labelled such in the summer of 2022…before quietly having that status rescinded in 2023.

In truth, it was a narrative that flapped its little wings as hard as it could but never got off the ground.

They tried to label it as “the same level as leprosy and the plague”, they did the trick with the PCR tests, and they changed websites to make it seem scarier.

They followed the Covid playbook step-by-step…none of it worked.

In the end it just sort of fizzled away.

But now it’s back. This time with a new name.

There’s some talk of clades and variants and whatnot, but we’re all too familiar with this dance now to let a costume change distract from the same old routine.

We know what’s going on.

The only questions worth asking are “why now?” and “what next?”

Authored by Ashley Klingensmith via RealClearPennsylvania,

President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed complete disregard for our freedom of choice earlier this year, by forcing the automotive industry to transition to electric vehicles (EVs) rather than allowing Americans to choose the cars they want to buy and drive. Our government shouldn’t be dictating who wins or loses, but rather should allow Americans to make the choice for themselves.   

The EPA finalized a rule that functions as a de facto gas car ban on light and medium duty vehicles, requiring 56% of vehicle sales in the U.S. to be electric by 2032. If people feel moved to buy EVs and do their part in quelling climate change, that’s up to them. But forcing a rushed mandate goes too far.   

The remnants of a once bustling automotive manufacturing hub can be found along Pittsburgh’s Baum Boulevard, where people could buy themselves a brand-new Ford or Chrysler. A mandate of this severity would be the nail in the coffin for gas powered vehicles. With something so personal to each individual or family – and so vital to the economy – the government should be embracing freedom and not issuing a rule that takes away our autonomy.  

At Americans for Prosperity, we advocate for sustainable legislation that increases economic prosperity for all. The “tailpipe rule” issued by the EPA is the antithesis to the mission we’ve worked to uphold. By phasing out affordable, more reliable options like gas powered vehicles, Pennsylvanians will have to make calculated decisions about where they spend their money in order to adapt to this market shift. By denying Americans choice, the federal government is ignoring the same people they committed to serve.   

Despite the EPA’s efforts, Americans aren’t running to car lots to purchase expensive EVs. In fact, Tesla continues to lay off thousands of employees after experiencing a less than thrilling start to 2024. In short, people aren’t buying EVs like some industry leaders had hoped.   

EV sales in Q1 2024 fell 15.2% in comparison to Q4 2023, demonstrating a shift in Americans’ purchasing power. The government shouldn’t force the American people to purchase vehicles they don’t want – or likely can’t afford – just to sustain Biden’s climate agenda. During a time where Americans are forced to be more money conscious due to inflation, it’s confusing why the government is issuing mandates that will only further inflict financial strain on the American people.   

Even when people do choose to purchase an EV for themselves and/or their family, national EV infrastructure lags far behind, creating challenges for EV drivers. The government is investing millions to build more comprehensive charging infrastructure, but the roll out is happening at a snail-like speed. In Pennsylvania, a majority of new charging stations are built and concentrated in major cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, leaving much of the state without reliable access to public charging stations. The pace at which critical charging stations is an ill omen, at least for Biden’s EPA; EV’s are too expensive, and the technology is not yet ready for universal adoption – let alone a government mandate. 

In Pennsylvania, as of July 2023, just over 47K residents own registered EVs. This is out of a whopping 11,800,712 registered vehicles. Just as I expressed in 2021, when discussing Biden’s massive spending package that included electric vehicle rebates for households making up to $500K a year: who does this benefit? It’s whoever you see driving a Tesla on your block.  

Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman has echoed similar sentiments. This past March, Fetterman called for further conversation surrounding Biden’s EPA tailpipe mandate. Fetterman stated, “we need to respond to what seems to be the American consumer sentiment, what seems to be a diminished kind of enthusiasm, for EVs.”   

Pennsylvania has a rich history of manufacturing, specifically in the automotive industry. It’s ingrained in our culture in ways many other states can’t understand. Through this blatant display of government overreach the EPA is choosing which sectors to uplift and which ones to take out at the knees.    

To disregard the voice of the people and our nation’s functioning free market system by implementing a rushed, ill-advised plan is not the American way. 

Mortgage lenders have endured a brutal 2.5-year period of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hiking cycle, with a high rate environment pressuring refinance applications to multi-decade lows. However, those lenders who weathered the downturn—dodging widespread layoffs, industry consolidation, and scraped by on Ramen Noodles and Zyn pouches—are now seeing a serious surge in activity as mortgage rates slide on rising recession probabilities. 

For the week ending August 9, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s refinancing index jumped a whopping 34.5% to a more than two-year high of 889.3. 

The refinancing index’s weekly change recorded the biggest weekly change since the first week of March 2020, a period in time when the Fed slammed interest rates to the zero lower bound in response to the China virus.

Even more impressive is the refinancing index’s two-week move, up 55% (though obviously off a very low ‘low’). 

MBA mortgage applications to purchase a home increased by 2.8% in the same week, the largest advance since the first week of June. 

Freddie Mac data shows the 30-year fixed mortgage rate has dropped to around 6.47%, the lowest since May 2023. While this is a far cry from the October 2023 high of 7.79%, it remains well above Covid levels of 2.68%. 

Despite the decline in mortgage rates, new costs of homeownership are dramatically higher than the average current mortgage cost. Until that gap closes (more), the housing market will remain drastically out of reach for most Americans in search of their dream.

Mortgage rates track US government bonds relatively closely, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note has fallen sub 4% on increasing recession odds amid the consumer downturn fears. 

Although weaker consumer trends remain a major near-term headwind, Goldman forecasts three 25bps Fed rate cuts this year and four in 2025. With the cut cycle imminent, the refinancing index and mortgage applications will likely have further room to run. 

Here’s the latest snapshot as of Wednesday, showing what traders expect the Fed’s move to be. Four 25bps cuts by the end of the year… 

“We’ve experienced several head fakes regarding potential rate cuts during the Fed’s hiking cycle, as reflected in interest rate swaps over the last few years. But this time, it seems more concrete as recession risks build,” said Lewis Sogge, a senior loan officer at Freedom Mortgage Corporation. 

Congratulations to all the millennial lenders who managed to weather the Fed’s interest rate hiking storm—you might have made it to the other side. What does this all mean? Simply put, your industry is highly cyclical.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,.

Former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard is taking legal action against the Biden/Harris Administration after she discovered that she has essentially been placed on a terrorist watch list.

Gabbard, a military veteran, had it brought to her attention by Federal Air Marshal whistleblowers that she has been marked under the Quiet Skies program, a TSA scheme that seeks to identify travellers who may pose a risk to aviation security.

Those on this watchlist are not banned from flying, but are subject to enhanced searches and surveillance at airports, including having armed Air Marshals accompanying them on flights.

The whistleblowers have informed Gabbard that she is being monitored by two Explosive Detection Canine Teams, one Transportation Security Specialist specializing in explosives, one plainclothes TSA Supervisor, and three Federal Air Marshals every time she flies.

Kamala Harris is not knowledgeable or strong enough to stand up to potential adversaries, or just as importantly the unelected warmongers — i.e. the Military Industrial Complex which profits from war, and the National Security State which uses these wars as a pretext to further… pic.twitter.com/1uUS6CtGii

— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) July 23, 2024

The whistleblowers have stated that Gabbard became marked on the program on July 23, just one day after she openly criticised Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, and the ‘Deep State’ during a Fox News interview with Laura Ingraham (below).

There is no logical reason why Gabbard should be on the watchlist, unless criticising the regime is a designating factor.

Gabbard posted a video explaining why she is taking legal action, noting “My own government, my president, my commander-in-chief is targeting me as a potential domestic terrorist, the closest word that comes to mind is a complete sense of betrayal.”

“After serving over 21 years and continuing to serve in our nation’s military, my own government has labeled and is targeting me directly now as a domestic terrorist,” she added.

Gabbard further asserted “They’re using people like the air marshals as weapons and pawns to target their political opponents.”

“Of course, there’s no explanation given, which is why we are taking legal recourse,” she emphasised.

“Obviously, I’ve been very outspoken about the dangers of the Biden-Harris administration to our democracy and to our freedom and to our national security. This is what happens as a result,” she concluded.

Tulsi Gabbard will be taking legal action against the Biden/Harris admin over putting her on a terrorist watch list:

“My own government, my president, my commander-in-chief is targeting me as a potential domestic terrorist, the closest word that comes to mind is a complete sense… pic.twitter.com/2Z4gfzHFQv

— End Tribalism in Politics (@EndTribalism) August 11, 2024

Gabbard also went back onto Ingraham’s show to talk about the surveillance.

RETALIATION. A few weeks ago, I had the audacity to tell the truth: that Kamala Harris would essentially be a mouthpiece and puppet of the Military Industrial Complex and National Security State. The next day, July 23, they retaliated. Sadly this is what we can expect from the… pic.twitter.com/nxddO5TGTj

— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) August 10, 2024

I am deeply concerned about reports that @TSA has placed LTC @TulsiGabbard, a decorated military officer and former Congresswoman, on their “Quiet Skies” watch list. I’ve sent a letter to @TSA_Pekoske requesting detailed information about the process and reasoning behind this… pic.twitter.com/yO9EgIHTV1

— Rep. Doug Lamborn (@RepDLamborn) August 12, 2024

Wow. Just wow. Iraq veteran and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard targeted for TSA harassment as a terror threat. Yet another example of the weaponization of government agencies against political opponents of the administration — or should I call it “the regime”? This is not…

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) August 8, 2024

*  *  *

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Bitcoin prices fell this morning in reaction to the lackluster CPI (as rate-cut expectations dipped). That selloff broke through $60,000 and accelerated further as headlines broke that the US government moved 10,000 seized Bitcoin from the Silk Road dark web marketplace to a Coinbase wallet Wednesday.

According to the onchain analytics firm, Arkham Intelligence, the funds were seized during the Silk Road raid and are currently valued at $593.91 million.

It’s not immediately clear whether the United States plans to sell or custody the assets.

The transaction follows a previous move of approximately $2 billion worth of Silk Road Bitcoin in late July.

As a reminder, the price action (dowwward) in various cryptocurrencies is front-running expectations of the creditors getting their hands back on these assets and selling them…

…the only problem with that argument is, as we detailed here, the creditors are not selling, they’re HODLing…

“Now, seeing the continued growth and acceptance of their industry, many Mt. Gox creditors may have become even stronger believers in Bitcoin and its future potential, choosing to hodl further.”

So, its really only the algos, reacting to the headlines, that is driving any dips.

“This resilience suggests that while short-term volatility is possible, the long-term impact on Bitcoin’s market dynamics will likely be minimal.”

The US government currently holds roughly 203,000 BTC valued at approximately $12 billion at the time of this writing.

The decision by the Biden/Harris administration in the last few weeks to seemingly accelerate the dumping of their ‘seized’ Bitcoin comes right as former President Trump outlined his Bitcoin strategy (including creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve).

The Harris campaign continues to desperately try and placate the crypto community – despite almost four years of nothing but hate for the sovereign currency and its heretical holders. Let’s see how Crypto-Kamala’s aides explain the ongoing dumping of assets.

Authored by James Rickards via DailyReckoning.com,

When a relatively unknown individual steps on the political stage as a candidate for high office, both sides race to “define” the candidate and stamp his image in the public mind.

Since the Democrats knew they would pick Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota for their VP candidate, they had time to pre-produce the public image.

He’s not particularly fit or good-looking. No problem! They pushed him as a folksy, down-to-earth Midwestern type who could relate to everyday Americans and understand their problems.

Maybe he’s a bit on the heavy side but that’s OK, so are millions of Americans, and it just shows he likes to chow down on popular meals like burgers, hot dogs, chili and whatever else you might find at a barbecue.

Well, it took the Republicans a few days to catch up, do the needed research and tell us about the real Tim Walz. It turns out he is one of the most far-left radical politicians in the history of America.

Some “Moderate”

During COVID, he enforced mask mandates, vaccine mandates and lockdown rules in more draconian ways and for far longer than any other governor. He even set up a “snitch” hotline so citizens could rat out their neighbors for not wearing masks or for going outside for a walk.

This is what we came to expect in communist countries during the Cold War; and under Walz, Minnesota was no different.

He also discarded the traditional Minnesota state flag and replaced it with a new star-on-blue motif that closely resembles the national flag of Somalia (Somalis are a large part of the population of Minnesota, thanks to Obama’s policy of concentrating immigrant nationalities in targeted areas to gain political power. This is how we ended up with politicians like the Mogadishu-born Ilhan Omar.)

That’s just the beginning of how radical Walz is. He favors “abortion” up to and beyond a live birth (that’s infanticide). He lied about his military record (something called “stolen valor,” which is condemned by all who have served honorably).

He made Minnesota a “trans sanctuary” state (to permit genital mutilation of out-of-state minors without parental notification) and spent his honeymoon in Communist China.

During the George Floyd riots in 2020, Walz did nothing to stop the burning and looting and his wife even opened the windows in their home so she could enjoy the smell of burning tires.

The Democrats and the mainstream media can give you a false narrative about Walz being the “Midwest Dad.” The facts say otherwise.

Why Walz?

Why did Kamala pick Walz?

Many expected that she’d select Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. After all, Pennsylvania is a key swing state that could help deliver the election to the Democrats. Walz is from Minnesota, which is already a blue state (it’s possible Trump could win Minnesota, but not likely).

But Shapiro is Jewish and has publicly supported Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. That would have been deeply unpopular with much of the Democratic Party’s young base, which is for the most part fervently anti-Israel.

By going with Walz, it seems the strategy was to shore up the base, while hoping the “Midwest Dad” narrative would pick off enough uncommitted voters in swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan who would otherwise vote for Trump.

Democrats would try to frame him as a moderate alternative to voters who didn’t really like Trump, but would hold their noses and vote for him anyway.

The narrative about Walz being a moderate is collapsing, as I described above, but that seems to have been the strategy. Nice job, Kamala.

North Korea-Level Propaganda

Meanwhile, the mainstream has fallen predictably into line to support her. She’s opposing Trump, so that’s to be expected. They’d literally support a corpse if the alternative was Trump. The same people who announced in 2021 that Harris was being appointed the “border czar” are now trying to tell you that she was never the border czar.

It’s North Korea-level propaganda.

All Harris did was go to Guatemala and babble about “root causes” of immigration before washing her hands of the whole thing. The catastrophic results are all around us.

Of course, if you were Kamala Harris you wouldn’t want it known that you were the border czar. She failed miserably at her supposed mission to control illegal immigration. The level of illegal immigration we’ve had under this administration is nothing short of staggering.

In that sense you can say that she actually succeeded as border czar because much of the Democratic Party wants open borders and unfettered immigration (future voters — and in many cases probably current voters!).

But you won’t hear that in the mainstream media.

The Ditz Candidate

They also like to cite questionable polls claiming that Harris is now leading Trump in certain battleground states, attempting to give the impression that she really is a strong candidate and actually popular with voters.

But not too long ago, Harris had a favorability rating of only 29% in a CNN poll. That was lower than Joe Biden himself before he announced that he won’t seek reelection! Even Joe got 39% in favorability ratings.

Harris cannot speak extemporaneously, a key skill for debaters and candidates. She resorts to third-grade baby talk about “big yellow school buses” and “the big moon up in the sky.” She laughs in a high-pitched tone at inappropriate times, no doubt a nervous tick to cover for the fact that she can’t think on her feet.

Biden may be demented, but Harris is a dunce. The Democrats will have as much difficulty covering up her low IQ as they did covering up Biden’s dementia.

That’s why they’re carefully crafting her public appearances in order to limit opportunities for her to say something embarrassing.

Will Joe Step Down?

All Harris has done since being handed the baton from Biden is to read pre-prepared remarks off a teleprompter. She’s not taking questions from reporters or doing any interviews, even from a friendly host who’d ask her softball questions.

It’s clear that she’s being coached on how to act. Her handlers know how bad the cackling makes her sound, so they’ve probably been coaching her to dial it down.

One strategy to increase Harris’ popularity going into the election would be for Biden to resign the presidency in the days ahead (for “health” reasons maybe), make Kamala the president and let her reap the benefits of running as an incumbent president instead of an anointed elite outsider.

It would also be a way for Biden to get presidential pardons for the Biden Crime Family without having to pardon himself. That’s a smart strategy. For that reason, you can count on Biden not to do it.

I’m still predicting that Trump will win in November, but you can expect the media to do everything it can to get Kamala Harris elected.

Ukrainian officials have touted that part of the success of its troop incursion into Russia’s southern Kursk region is that Moscow has been forced to divert some of its soldiers from front line fighting in the Donbass to Russia’s southern border oblasts.

“(The Russians) are now trying to stop our advance; they have pulled in reserves, which has benefited our defense forces in other areas, because it has become easier to work there,” a Ukrainian military commander identified as Dymtro Kholod told CNN Wednesday. 

But there are conflicting claims and counterclaims, with the Russian defense ministry (MoD) announcing it the latest statement that its forces continue to “repel an attempt by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to invade the territory of the Russian Federation” – now just after a week after the cross-border offensive began.

The ministry further explained that its ground troops, supported by air and drone strikes, had successfully prevented Ukrainian troops from making further advances “deep into Russian territory.” It mentioned that it defended the small settlements of Skrylevka and Levshinka, which lie about 20km from the border. “The attempts by enemy mobile units using armored equipment to break through deeper into Russian territory have been repelled,” the MoD said.

President Zelensky, however, has continued to maintain that his troops are “moving further” into Russia, which also involved major overnight drone attacks targeting four Russian airfields in the “largest attack” of its kind since the war began. 

“In the Kursk region, we are moving further. From one to two kilometers (0.6-1.2 miles) in different areas since the beginning of the day,” Zelensky announced on social media. He claimed that “more than 100 Russian servicemen” have been captured in recent days of fighting and that this will “speed up the return home of our boys and girls.”

Amid a lot of ongoing speculation over Zelensky’s ultimate aim and motives for this cross-border operation which started on Aug.6, the Ukrainian leader unveiled on Wednesday that Ukraine is seeking to establish a “buffer zone” inside Russia to prevent attacks on Ukrainian citizens.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko has outlined on Telegram “The creation of a buffer zone in the Kursk region is a step to protect our border communities from daily enemy attacks.” He said that Sumy along has seen 20,000 Ukrainians evacuated through the course of the war.

Ukraine releases more footage of captured Russian soldiers in Kursk region. pic.twitter.com/gaynBt5GSF

— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 11, 2024

Surprisingly, Klymenko suggested the indefinite occupation of Kursk territory that Ukraine has captured over the past week. He asserted that Russian citizens in Kursk “were abandoned by Russia without the most necessary things” and that the Ukrainian military is looking to supply “the needs of the locals for drinking water, food, medicines and hygiene kits so that we can organize humanitarian aid as soon as possible…”

Similarly, Ukrainian Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk spoke the same day about establishing a “security zone” in areas which have been taken:

“There are Russian civilians within this zone. They are protected by international humanitarian law, which Ukraine fully complies with,” she said, so the Ukrainian military would “conduct humanitarian operations to support civilians within the mentioned zone” as well as open corridors for civilians to evacuate, either into Ukraine or within Russia.

One of the ironies in all of this is that previously in the war President Putin himself spoke about establishing a ‘buffer zone’ on the other side of the Ukraine border, to prevent southern Russian settlements from coming under attack.

It seems Ukraine’s offensive is coming at a very high cost, per Russian sources:

The Ukrainian armed forces lose up to 270 soldiers and 16 armored vehicles, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on Wednesday.

“In the past day, the losses of the armed forces of Ukraine amounted to 270 military personnel and 16 armored vehicles, including two tanks, an armored personnel carrier Stryker, 13 armored combat vehicles, as well as 10 vehicles and a 122-mm D-30 howitzer,” the ministry said, adding that Russian troops repelled six Ukrainian attacks around five settlements in the region.

Ukrainian troops lost up to 2,300 servicemen and 37 tanks during their offensive in the Kursk Region, the ministry added.

A high-risk, ultra provocative PR-driven decision of Zelensky…

As I said, Kursk attack is PR-driven decision of Zelensky: “Zelenskyy: The Kursk disaster was a symbolic beginning of Putin’s rule, and now it’s end for him. “We see how Russia really moves [under Putin’s rule]: 24 years ago, there was the Kursk disaster – the symbolic beginning… pic.twitter.com/fsxHLwRjBG

— Ivan Katchanovski (@I_Katchanovski) August 12, 2024

But now, adding insult to injury, Zelensky is even reportedly talking about the imposition of martial law in Kursk areas under control of the Ukrainian army. He said later in the day Wednesday that there’s still a “good pace” of advance into Russia.

After already having given over $3 billion in annual foreign aid to America’s number one ally in the Middle East stretching back years, the State Department has approved a series of potential weapons sales to Israel worth over $20 billion. This is the military-industrial complex’s bread and butter: give allies huge amounts of foreign aid, and those dollars eventually return to line the pockets of the big US defense firms.

The sales are expected to include some 50 F-15 fighter jets and tank munitions, advanced air-to-air missiles, tactical vehicles, and on top of all this 50,000 high-explosive 120mm mortar rounds.

Some of this might be purchased with the $3.5 billion in military assistance recently released to Israel in the form of Foreign Military Financing.

While it will take years before 50 F-15s and many of the heavier, more sophisticated weapons would be delivered to Israel, it comes at a moment of deep global divide related to Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza.

Hamas sources have said that nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began last October, or about 2% of the total population. Much of this killing is being done by US-supplied weaponry courtesy of the US taxpayer.

The State Department in announcing the huge package said it is ‘vital’ to American interests:

“The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives.”

Currently, there’s a growing divide within Israeli leadership over a path forward in the war, particularly after yesterday Fitch downgraded Israel’s rating from A+ to A.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid on Wednesday warned Israel is heading for an economic disaster under the policies Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

“The finance minister and prime minister both issued statements yesterday in which they said that the lowering of Israel’s credit rating is a result of the war,” Lapid said. “That is a lie. Both of them are lying to the public.”

Some US allies are starting to grow increasingly vocal in criticism against Israel on human rights in Gaza…

Wow, even South Korea – who normally always align with the US – is now publicly denouncing Israel at the UN:

“This was Israel’s 8th bombing of a school sheltering civilians so far in August alone. We are all aware that civilian infrastructure should not be targeted, this is all… https://t.co/6X3h33G69l

— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) August 14, 2024

“Already by last July, months before the war, rating companies issued a negative forecast for the Israeli economy, and said that if the reckless mismanagement of the economy continued, the rating would be lowered,” Lapid continued. He further warned that without “a responsible government that will pass a responsible budget” the rating will continue to drop.

Via American Greatness,

Vice President Kamala Harris’s recent transformation from second fiddle to president Biden into a competent “joyful warrior” for the Democratic Party is a classic example of big media and big tech creating reality.

But how much of the glowing headlines, inclusive puff pieces and fawning coverage is rooted in reality and how much of it is simply talking points downloaded from the Democratic National Committee?

While it’s no secret that mainstream media have been openly aligned against Donald Trump since before he was elected president in 2016, the pro-Harris narrative-building is becoming too obvious to ignore.

There’s this effort to make Kamala Harris appear likable.

The media is creating “support” around Kamala.

Even Fox News is in on it.

They’re running polls from bias outlets like NPR & PBS as if this is a creditable source.

Kamala Harris hasn’t done a single… pic.twitter.com/T1ymziYnKp

— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) August 7, 2024

The same media sources that insisted that Joe Biden was strong, forceful and competent, prior to his June 27 debate with Donald Trump, have turned on a dime and put their full-throated support behind Harris, even though she refuses to take meet with or take questions from the press.

Here are nine minutes of Harris without a teleprompter to keep her on script. It’s not surprising that Kamala is keeping her distance from unscripted interviews.

9+ minutes of Kamala Harris off teleprompter. 😬pic.twitter.com/27mKQJYTAF

— Clyp Keeper (@DGrayTexas45) August 10, 2024

Poll after poll is reported to show Harris gaining support in key battleground states, they claim that she is now favored on “key issues” yet she has published no positions or plans of her own on her campaign website.

Meanwhile, Harris is gracing the cover of Time Magazine while legacy media big tech continue to downplay and throttle information regarding the July 13 assassination attempt against former president Trump in Butler, Ohio.

We know almost nothing about the shooter’s motives, his politics and whether he was truly acting on his own.

The narrative that mainstream media is running with is all about selling us a candidate who is likely to be installed as the Democratic nominee without having won any of her party’s primaries prior to the upcoming convention.

That’s a neat trick for a group that’s allegedly so concerned about “saving our democracy.”

Here’s one more example of how open the narrative management is becoming.

Media bias.

Are you paying attention yet? pic.twitter.com/1AFT4CgLDZ

— Chuck Harris (@chuckh3) August 12, 2024

If big media will spin the exact same idea favorably for Harris but put a negative slant on it for Trump, can they be trusted to tell the truth about those who would rig elections?

The opposition and Saudi-affiliated Iran International is reporting that the Central Bank of Iran has been hit with a large-scale cyber attack which is caused major disruption to the banking system across the Islamic Republic.

The outlet says the impact of the attack if far-reaching, suggesting it could be one of the largest cyberattacks on Iran’s state infrastructure to date, coming amid soaring regional tensions with Israel.

Earlier Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned the country about threats of irregular warfare, stating, “The exaggeration of our enemies’ capabilities is intended to spread fear among our people by the US, Britain, and the Zionists. The enemies’ hand is not as strong as it is publicized. We must rely on ourselves.”

He continued, “The enemy’s goal is to spread psychological warfare to push us into political and economic retreat and achieve its objectives.”

Could this reported major cyber attack be the work of Israeli intelligence? Likely many in Iran believe so.

Ironically it comes on the heels of claims by US officials and in Western media that Iranian state hackers are actively working to influence and interfere in the upcoming US elections.

However, there has been no proof of these allegations, but only references to poorly made spoof websites which seek to influence either conservative or liberal voters.

As for these Wednesday reports of a major cyber attack targeting Iranian banking, a story picked up in Israeli media as well, Iranian officials have not given official confirmation and state media sources remain silent thus far.

Last December, a major cyber attack took out a significant part of the country’s gas stations, as it targeted widely used payment software, and Tehran attributed the disruption to Israel and the US.

#BREAKING A major cyberattack has targeted the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and several other banks, leading to widespread disruptions in the country’s banking system, @IranIntl has learned. Initial assessments indicate this could be one of the largest cyberattacks ever against… pic.twitter.com/6TiuNrxosL

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) August 14, 2024

Israel has long been known to target Iran’s nuclear program with cyber attacks, some of which have reportedly been successful in crippling the operations of key sites in the past.

Two weeks have passed since Haniyeh’s killing and Israeli leaders are still bracing for some kind of potential big retaliation from Iran. If it is accurate that Iran’s central bank has been crippled in the attack, and if Israel is behind it, this could convince Tehran to finally pull the trigger on its long awaited retaliation.