Its a love story as old as the ages: mindless regulations that inhibit business and squandering your tax dollars.

We all know that if there’s anything Democrats are good at, its both tearing down monuments that have been in place for decades while at the same time using taxpayer cash to designate additional, useless – and in this case counterintuitive – monuments of their liking. 

In the case of President Biden’s latest proposed monument at the greater Grand Canyon, it’ll inhibit crucial uranium mining in the area.

Biden is expected to announce plans to preserve 1,562 square miles outside of Grand Canyon national park, a new report from Fortune says. It marks his fifth monument designation, the report says as thought that is some way of keeping score of the effectiveness of a Presidency. 

National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi confirmed the designation, the report says. 

The monument is going to be called “Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni” meaning “where tribes roam” and “our footprints” in two different native languages. Republican lawmakers and the mining industry have both pushed back on the idea of the monument. 

Ranchers have also argued that the monument strips them of private land. 

Havasupai Tribal Councilwoman Dianna Sue White Dove Uqualla has made it clear she wants to stand in the way of such mining, stating: “It’s really the uranium we don’t want coming out of the ground because it’s going to affect everything around us — the trees, the land, the animals, the people. It’s not going to stop.”

But a U.S. Geological Survey from 2021 showed that most springs and wells in areas of Northern Arizona known for its uranium mining meet federal drinking water standards despite decades of mining. 

Currently there are no uranium mines operating in Arizona, though one just south of Grand Canyon National Park has been in development for years, the report says. 

Buster Johnson, a Mohave County supervisor, told Fortune that the monument feels like its politically driven and that mining uranium could make the country less dependent on Russia. 

He concluded: “We need uranium for the security of our country. We’re out of the game.”

Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

“The idea that our Justice Department can indict someone, especially the sitting president’s main political rival, over speech that’s protected by the First Amendment is simply insane … Simply put, this indictment is nothing more than a declaration of war against American voters and their constitutional right to free speech.” – Alistair Crooke

In August, the head-shrinkers notoriously abandon their posh clientele among the managerial elites, who are left to flounder in the flotsam of their disordered lives while their shrinks go off to body-surf and drink mojitos. And so, a month that ought to be a pleasant break from routine business leaves the managers of all that routine business awash in a rising tide of their own personal misery — the job-haters, the sexually tortured, the self-subverters, the hopeless obsessive-compulsives, the cringing masochists, the unloved and unlovable, the projectionists of animus, rancor, and loathing….

Among these are The People of the Blob, the folks infesting the high ranks of our government’s permanent bureaucracy, which has turned so viciously against the governed.

Do you doubt any longer that this demographic in the USA is mentally ill?

This malady of self-destructive bad faith and enmity afflicting especially the Democratic Party shoves us inch-by-inch and day-by-day toward something that looks like national suicide.

Must we all follow?

Could this sick polity be better personified than by the tragi-comic figure at the head of it: “Joe Biden” along with the Biden family? The scope of this clan’s derangements is almost Shakespearean, lacking only that decorum of personal presentation on view in all the Bard’s plays. King Lear, tormented as he was, would never face-plant after a speech. His daughters had a lot to worry about, but as far as we know, they were not subjected to showering with the big guy. And, there were no known recordings of the Earl of Gloucester smoking crack with naked, under-age girls.

Yet, in the real-life of our nation, “JB’s” troubles mount as each day peels off the calendar. Only the most pathologically credulous might fail to notice the slime trail of bribery lately uncovered by congressional sleuths. “JB” obviously put himself in the service of interests outside the United States, and how is that working out now, notably in Ukraine, where he has levered us into the most perilously half-assed war imaginable — the losing of which will dash what’s left of America’s standing in the world?

One thing that has become clear in this cabbage soup of perfidy, is just how blobbed-up Volodymyr Zelensky was when President Donald Trump made that fateful phone call to him in August of 2019 inquiring about “JB’s” curious doings in Kiev over the years. Did Z follow-up that call immediately with one to Alexander Vindman in the National Security Counsel… who then called Eric Ciaramella of the NSC and CIA?  Because, voilà, there was something supernatural about how fast we were off to Impeachment Number One!

And now the not-insane cohort of Americans is prompted to ask whether this war in Ukraine was provoked in any part to cover-up all the nefarious blobbery that preceded it — and not just Hunter and “Joe Biden’s” capers, but the machinations, too, of State Department blobette Victoria Nuland and her retinue in the Kiev embassy, Marie Yovanovitch, George Kent, and many others of the Blob persuasion. A review of all this suggests that “Joe Biden” is what has driven the Democratic Party insane. And now, of course, they can’t seem to get rid of him, like a demon riding them through an endless nightmare.

Instead, they have bent every last effort to get rid of “JB’s” supposed rival, Donald Trump, who has been inducted into a Lawfare-engineered chamber of horrors designed to slice-and-dice him into a million pieces and strew the shreds into the Potomac for the blue crabs to feed on. One can’t imagine a lamer case than the charges Special Counsel Jack Smith has cooked up against Mr. Trump for verbally expressing doubt about the probity of election 2020. Will Mr. Smith be able to prove any of this, assuming that it is now against the law in America to believe something and say so?

Logically, Mr. Trump’s defense might present reasons why he believed the election was rife with fraud, by introducing evidence of said fraud, of which there is actually an impressive amount now, despite whatever mendacious bullshit you see in The New York Times and on MSNBC. Do you suppose Judge Tanya Chutkan would do anything but allow that evidence to be introduced? And if she disallows it, is that not instantly grounds for a mistrial, since it would prove beyond a reasonable doubt there were good reasons, after all,  for Mr. Trump to express what he believed?

Things are getting durned interesting. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FLA) offered a charming plan this week to counter this deceitful DOJ crusade. Here’s how it would work. First, the House Judiciary Committee calls Special Counsel Jack Smith to give transcribed testimony in the next fifteen days regarding the weaponization of the First Amendment. If he refuses, subpoena him. If he ignores the subpoena, the Committee holds him in criminal contempt of Congress, and issues a formal referral to Attorney General Merrick Garland. If Mr. Garland ignores the referral, impeach the SOB forthwith. At the same time, invite Mr. Trump to give testimony to the Committee as a whistleblower, conferring congressional immunity to him among the usual whistleblower protections as stated in law (under 18 U.S. Code 6002 and 6005).

Impeaching Mr. Garland would surely have a salutary influence on America’s current troubled mental state. And it would be a grand prelude to the more consequential impeachment of “Joe Biden” for selling out his country, a kind of political electroshock therapy for the Democratic Party, leaving them finally clear-headed enough to nominate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in the coming election of 2024.

*  *  *

Support his blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page

Ukraine has launched another attack on the vital Crimean bridge which links Russia to the Crimean peninsula, according to Moscow officials. 

The defense ministry and Crimean officials say a pair of S-200 missiles had been inbound but Russian anti-air defenses engaged and shot them down. Unconfirmed video footage shows large plumes of smoke rising near or on the Crimean bridge, also known as the Kerch bridge, as of Saturday afternoon.

This would mark the third Ukrainian operation targeting the bridge in just the last few months. Traffic has been temporarily halted in this newest instance, but authorities say it is quickly resuming.

Governor of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov said on Telegram that the bridge was not damaged. “Two enemy missiles were shot down by the air defense system in the area of the Kerch Strait. The Crimean bridge was not affected,” he wrote.

And Reuters noted additional drone attacks deeper inside Crimea, writing “Ukrainian forces targeted the Crimean Bridge and a number of other unspecified targets on the Crimean peninsula on Saturday in a flurry of rocket and drone attacks, but there were no casualties or damage,” based on Russian military statements.

S-200 missiles, while typically surface-to-air weapons, can be outfitted for ground attack use, as was apparently the case with these particular Ukrainian missiles. Kiev has yet to acknowledge or take responsibility for the attack.

The Russian foreign ministry issued a statement in the wake of this newest incident, vowing that “such barbaric actions… will not go unanswered”.

Another major Saturday development was the crash of a Russian Su-30 fighter jet in the Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave. It was said to be on a training flight, and the two pilots on board were killed. 

“The Su-30 aircraft crashed in a deserted area. The flight was being carried out without ammunition. The crew of the aircraft died,” the ministry said as cited in RIA news agency. The statement cited a likely technical malfunction.

Russian media publish a video of explosions on the Kerch Bridge. pic.twitter.com/NZ1KQNFx4G

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 12, 2023

As for this latest Kerch bridge attack, Kiev appears intent on putting it out of commission – likely with NATO backing – in order to slow or disrupt the Russian logistical supply chain to military units in Ukraine’s south, as the bridge remains the most vital link. 

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

Critics of the Biden regime on Friday blasted Attorney General Merrick Garland’s appointment of Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss to serve as special counsel investigating the Biden family’s shady business schemes. Republicans said Weiss is the wrong person for the job after offering Hunter Biden a sweetheart plea deal that fell apart under a judge’s scrutiny.

During a press conference Friday, Garland said Weiss requested the appointment earlier this week.

“On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Weiss advised me that in his judgment, his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel, and he asked to be appointed,” Garland said.

“This move by AG Garland is part of the Justice Department’s efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup in light of @GOPoversight’s mounting evidence of President Biden’s role in his family’s schemes selling ‘the brand’ for millions of dollars to foreign nationals,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said in a written statement.

“The most immediate impact of this appointment will be to insulate the Department itself,” explained George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley on Fox News Friday evening.

“Weiss was supposed to testify in Congress. That’s highly unlikely. If he does, it’s unlikely that he’s going to give any real information,” he added.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said: “David Weiss can’t be trusted, and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family’s corruption. Weiss has already signed off on a sweetheart plea deal that was so awful and unfair that a federal judge rejected it.”

House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.)also  called the appointment “an attempt to whitewash the Biden family corruption.”

Fox News host Jesse Watters put it even more bluntly.

“This isn’t an investigation, it’s a cover-up,” he said on “Watters’ World” Friday night.

“Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland handpicked the same Delaware prosecutor who has been covering for the Bidens for the last 25 years.”

He added: “David Weiss, who just spent the past five years squelching this investigation is still in charge!”

New York Post reporter Miranda Devine told Watters that appointing Weiss special prosecutor in the Biden corruption case is “like putting the fox in charge of the hen house.”

.@mirandadevine: “David Weiss is the attorney that approved that sweetheart deal for Hunter Biden and who oversaw an investigation that, as the IRS whistleblowers showed us was a travesty of slow walking, obstruction, and basically protecting Joe Biden…

This is like putting… pic.twitter.com/DFCaVc4RDj

— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) August 12, 2023

Even CNN’s Jake Tapper questioned the move.

“I think there are some legitimate questions about this whole situation,” Tapper said on “CNN News Central.”

“First of all, I do think it’s fair to question why would U.S. Attorney Weiss be appointed to special counsel. Usually, a special counsel is an outside attorney. Now, it has happened before. Durham came from inside, and the attorney general has the right to do that, but it is odd.”

Tapper acknowledged that it was problematic that Garland had stuck with the very person who was responsible for the “colossal failure” of the Hunter plea deal and that the original deal did not appear to be “strong enough.”

The CNN anchor also argued that Garland’s messaging now appears inconsistent regarding Weiss’ jurisdiction and whether he previously had the power to charge outside of Delaware.

“The Justice Department and Weiss denied what the whistleblowers were saying, but this move makes it seem as though, well, maybe the whistleblowers were right. Maybe what they were alleging is true, and he didn’t have the ability to charge whatever he wanted to charge, and now he does. So I do have a lot of questions about that, and I do think some of the political questions being raised by Republicans have merit,” Tapper said.

While most fair observers derided the appointment, a lawyer for Hunter Biden expressed confidence that Weiss will administer justice fairly.

“Whether in Delaware, Washington, D.C., or anywhere else, we expect a fair resolution not infected by politics,” Biden lawyer Christopher Clark said.

Weiss is the federal prosecutor who brought charges against President Biden’s son in Delaware. Last month, he announced a probation-only plea agreement for Hunter Biden, which was rejected by a judge.

In June, Hunter Biden struck a deal with federal prosecutors to avoid prison by pleading guilty to two tax crimes and admitting to a gun charge that could be dismissed. Weiss’ team on Friday asked the judge to disregard that deal because the two sides were at an “impasse.”

Garland did not take questions after the press conference.

*  *  *

[ZH: Babylon Bee headlines are getting closer and closer to reality every day… Garland Appoints Special Counsel To Cover Up Biden’s Crimes

In a press conference today, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced he will be appointing a new special counsel, David C. Weiss, to investigate the Bidens and then cover up all their crimes.

“I have given Mr. Weiss full power and authority to investigate Hunter Biden and the Biden family. We must conduct a thorough investigation so we can know which crimes to sweep under the rug,” said Garland.

“After a thorough inquiry, Mr. Weiss will be in charge of destroying all evidence, bringing no serious charges, and granting Hunter Biden immunity forever. He is a man of the utmost integrity and I trust him to do this job to the best of his ability.”

The new Special Counsel will be given access to all damning evidence of corruption and bribery against the President, which he will retain and then destroy. All remaining witnesses will then be invited to a surprise paddle-boarding party at the President’s beach estate.

Former President Trump, who nominated David Weiss to his DA position in Delaware, reacted on Truth Social, saying:

“MILKTOAST GARLAND HAS APPOINTED DAVID WEISS AS ‘SPECIAL COUNCIL’ TO INVESTIGATE LITTLE HUNTER’S CRIMES AND TRUST ME — WEISS IS NOT EVEN THAT SPECIAL. HE’S A PHONY PROSECUTOR WHO’S BEEN HIRED TO TOTALLY LET THE BIDENS GO FREE! SAD!”

At publishing time, President Biden had thanked the Special Counsel for his outstanding service to the nation and wired him some bribe money.

Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

Tax receipts are falling, which has historically preceded economic recessions. In a recent #MacroView post, we discussed the issue of rising debt levels on economic growth and increasing debt levels. To wit:

“While Washington continues a seemingly unbridled spending spree under the assumption ‘more spending’ is better, debts and deficits matter. To better understand the impact of debt and deficits on economic growth, we must know where we came from. The chart shows the 10-year annualized growth rate of the economy over time.

What should immediately jump out at you is that the 10-year average economic growth rate was around 8%, except for the Great Depression era, from 1900 through 1990. However, there has been a marked decline in economic growth since then.”

As noted in that post, the problem of rising debt and deficits is two-fold.

“First, ‘deficit spending’ was only supposed to be used during a recessionary period and reversed to a surplus during the subsequent expansion. However, beginning in the early ’80s, those in power only adhered to the ‘deficit spending part.’ After all, ‘if a little deficit spending is good, a lot should be better,’ right?

Secondly, deficit spending shifted away from productive investments, which create jobs (infrastructure and development), to primarily social welfare and debt service. Money used in this manner has a negative rate of return.”

Adding to the deficit problem is the aging demographic, which is increasingly dependent on Government welfare programs for more than 50% of their incomes. According to the Center On Budget & Policy Priorities, roughly 88% of every tax dollar goes to non-productive spending. 

Here is the real kicker. In 2022, the Federal Government spent $6 Trillion, equivalent to almost 20% of the nation’s entire nominal GDP (19.74% to be exact.) Of that total spending, ONLY $5 Trillion was financed by Federal revenues, and $1 Trillion was funded through debt. In other words, if 88% of all expenditures is social welfare and interest on the debt, those payments require $5.3 Trillion of the $5 Trillion (or 105%) of revenue. 

However, that was as of the end of 2022. Since the turn of the calendar, the combination of higher interest rates and inflation on the consumer is leading to increasingly slower economic activity. As the economy slows, revenues and incomes decline. Given that Federal taxes are collected on individual and corporate incomes, Federal tax receipts can tell us much about the actual strength of the economy.

Tax Receipts As A Recessionary Indicator

One of the conundrums in 2023 remains the avoidance of a recessionary impact from the Fed’s aggressive rate hiking campaign. Numerous indicators, from the leading economic index to the yield curve, suggest a high probability of an economic recession, but one has yet to occur. One explanation for this has been the surge in Federal expenditures since the end of 2022 stemming from the Inflation Reduction Act. The second reason is that GDP was so grossly elevated from the $5 Trillion in previous fiscal policies that the lag effect is taking longer than historical norms to resolve.

However, that red line in the chart above is the most interesting. Notice that while Federal expenditures are rising, Federal tax receipts are falling. Such is why the national deficit is increasing.

The change in Federal receipts is important as the Government’s revenue is from the taxes on both corporate and individual incomes. Unsurprisingly, if revenues and incomes decline, such would reflect economic activity. As shown below, there is a very high correlation between the annual change in Federal receipts and economic growth. Historically, when the yearly change in Federal receipts falls below 2% annual growth, such has preceded economic recessions. Federal receipts’ yearly rate of change is currently a negative four percent (-4%).

We see the exact correlation by smoothing the data and using inflation-adjusted tax receipts on a 24-month rate of change. Again, a recession follows when tax receipts fall below 2% annual growth rates. I like this measure better as it accounts for the “lag effect” in the economy. The 2-year yearly change in receipts has fallen to the 2% warning line. Such explains why the recession has not occurred yet.

Note: California’s tax payments are delayed due to the emergency declaration. However, that doesn’t account for the magnitude of the decline in filings. Secondly, given the shuttering of the entire economy in 2020, which also delayed filings nationwide, the extent of the current decrease seems more than just a single event.

Nonetheless, for investors, the implications should be evident.

Stocks Tend To Follow The Deficit

If tax receipts are falling, such suggests that economic activity is slowing, ultimately impacting earnings growth. As noted recently, investors have become quite exuberant that the economy will avoid a recession and earnings growth will return. To wit:

“Analysts have raised future earnings estimates, but the underlying data does not necessarily support such. More importantly, there is a limit to how much companies can ‘massage’ the bottom-line earnings if top-line sales growth slows. As higher rates continue to weigh on consumption, particularly in a highly indebted economy, the risk of a slowdown in sales remains elevated. If that statement is valid, the earnings must decline to align with organic economic activity. Such is why, historically, a reversion eventually occurs when earnings are well deviated above the long-term growth trend.

While anything is certainly possible, the surge in analysts’ estimates since the end of 2022 seems based more on ‘hope’ than economic realities.”

Analysts will likely be disappointed over the next year because the stock market tends to correlate to the deficit. As the deficit grows, such will translate into slower earnings growth and a repricing of risk. With the deficit-increasing, such will also push the Federal Reserve to pressure rates lower to cut the Governments interest expense.

While many indicators suggest a recession is coming, pay close attention to tax receipts. The rising debt levels and increased servicing costs will act as a brake on economic growth. A point recently made by Dr. Lacy Hunt:

“Excessive indebtedness acts as a tax on future growth. It is also consistent with Hyman Minsky’s concept of ‘Ponzi finance.‘ Such means the size and type of debt being added cannot generate a cash flow to repay principal and interest. While the debt has not resulted in the sustained instability in financial markets envisioned by Minsky, the slow reduction in economic growth and the standard of living is more insidious.“ 

This is simply something the stock market will likely not be able to avoid.

The death toll from the wildfires that ravaged the resort town of Lahaina on the island of Maui jumped to 80, Maui county officials wrote in an overnight update. Firefighters are still working to contain fires in Lahaina, Pulehu/Kihei, and Upcountry Maui.

At least 80 perished in the inferno, and 1,700 buildings were burnt to a crisp in what is already being described as the deadliest natural disaster to strike Hawaii since a deadly tsunami in 1960 that killed 61 people. 

On Friday afternoon, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that it could take weeks to sift through Lahaina’s “rubble and ashes” to get a final death toll. 

“Over the course of the next week, we’ll get as close to a complete assessment as possible.

“Starting tomorrow, we will see a lot more certainty about how many individuals perished,” Green said.

The governor continued:

“Sometimes in natural disasters, or essentially wartime disasters, and it does look like a war zone where Lahaina is concerned, you will sometimes discover later that someone has perished, because it was burned to the ground.”

So far, the Maui fire is the second-deadliest in the US in the last 100 years, but it could soon be the deadliest if the death toll surpasses the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California that killed 85 people. 

 Fire Map: Island of Maui 

Here’s the latest update from Maui local officials: 

• Firefighters continue working to extinguish flare-ups and contain fires in Lahaina, Pulehu/Kihei and Upcountry Maui. 

• The number of fatalities is at 80.

• A Ka’anapali fire reported above Puukolii at 6:10 p.m. Friday was reported to be 100 percent contained before 8:30 p.m. The fire is in the area where a county fueling station was positioned Friday to distribute an estimated 3,000 gallons of gas and 500 gallons of diesel for an estimated 400 vehicles that were lined up before the operation began. No fuel will be distributed Saturday.

• Police are restricting access into West Maui through both Ma’alaea and Waihe’e. Honoapiilani Highway is open for vehicles leaving Lahaina. The burned historic Lahaina town area remains barricaded, with people warned to stay out of the area due to hazards including toxic particles from smoldering areas. Wearing a mask and gloves is advised.

• Volunteers are distributing food, water and other supplies at Napili Plaza.

• Food, water, toiletries, canned goods, diapers, baby formula, clothing and pet food will be distributed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Lahaina Gateway Center.

• Donations of non-perishable food, bottled water and hygiene items will be accepted from 8 a.m. to 6 pm. Saturday at the War Memorial Complex field in Wailuku. No clothing is being accepted.

• A Family Assistance Center for family members who are looking for information about loved ones who are unaccounted for will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Kahului Community Center.

• The county Department of Transportation is coordinating buses to transport people staying at emergency shelters to the county Department of Motor Vehicles and Licensing, which will be open for special hours from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday so shelter occupants can have their driver’s licenses and state identification cards reissued. Fees will be waived. County are volunteering to work to open the department.

• On Friday, a total of 1,418 people were at emergency evacuation shelters at War Memorial Gymnasium, Hannibal Tavares Community Center, Maui High School, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Maui Lani, Kings Cathedral Church and Grace Bible Church.

• Additional cellphone service was becoming available in West Maui. Cellphone users are reminded to text not talk so everyone can share the limited resources.

Local officials have described Lahaina as “like a bomb went off.” 

#BREAKING: The after apocalypse drone footage of the Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii wildfires, where the death toll has now risen to 80 and the entire island has been burned. #wildfire #MauiFires #Hawaiifire #Hawaiiwildfires #hawaiifires #MauiWildfires #mauifire #LahainaFires pic.twitter.com/u1rCAyHN9D

— EvoCentral (@evocentralnews) August 12, 2023

Lahaina – Hawaii #FIRE #Hawaiifire #Lahaina pic.twitter.com/vAmYpvwUlL

— IsrAraz (@israraz) August 12, 2023

Die verheerenden Wald- und Buschbrände auf der Hawaii-Insel Maui haben inzwischen mindestens 80 Menschen das Leben gekostet. Der Urlaubsort Lahaina liegt in Schutt und Asche. https://t.co/nHqoXOKJem pic.twitter.com/TTKK85KP8b

— WDR aktuell (@WDRaktuell) August 12, 2023

Satellite images show the destruction caused by the wildfires in Lahaina #Hawaii https://t.co/AK4QMgWZd8 pic.twitter.com/nzvFQ0gS1R

— Olivier🚀Dassonville (@TheDarkPixel) August 12, 2023

Fires continue…

ALERT 🚨 *Another fire* Kaanapali, a town north of Lahaina in West Maui, is evacuating people due to a growing fire.

pic.twitter.com/OKMQnnARUg

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 12, 2023

The fires began earlier this week (read: here). The source of the fire remains unknown but was fueled by hurricane winds and dry weather. 

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

The forefather of punk slammed liberals for advocating mass immigration and destroying working-class values in favor of “fashionable elitism”…

The world has moved too far to the left and the liberal politics endorsed by many mainstream politicians only work to serve the elite and undermine working-class values, John Lydon, the former lead vocalist of the English punk band Sex Pistols, has claimed.

In a damning indictment of the current political landscape across Europe, Lydon, who fronted the band that many consider to have been the forefathers of punk, took aim at the “condescending” symbolic politics employed by self-proclaimed progressives.

Speaking to the German newspaper Die Welt, Lydon, also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, accused liberal elites of equating regulated migration with racism, explaining that people are afraid to speak out over fears of being called racist.

“They invite black people to dinner because they are black and because it is trendy, but it’s mostly condescending,” Lydon said.

“They advocate massive immigration for which there should no longer be any rules because such rules are equated with racism. They quarter the refugees in working-class neighborhoods where the people are already very poor, which in turn leads to more unemployment and more crime.

Lydon points out that “if you say something against it, you will be labeled as a racist. But I’m not a racist and never will be.”

“Politics is destroying working-class values ​​based on empathy, love, and respect, not stealing from each other and helping each other when you need it. These are all values ​​that are now being pushed aside in favor of fashionable elitism,” he added.

The man who co-wrote Sex Pistols hit, ‘God Save The Queen,’ also reserved some criticism for the British monarchy, and in particular King Charles III who he described as “not the brightest on this planet”.

“I’m afraid he’ll wreak havoc once he gets involved in world politics,” Lydon told the German newspaper, accusing the monarch of “desperately trying to curry favor with the Woken”.

Lydon’s political views are diverse and difficult to classify. He has previously expressed his loathing of dogmas, insisting that human beings should think more for themselves and not be led by authority or social trends.

Having backed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election against Donald Trump, he switched his allegiance to the former Republican president in 2020, telling journalists:

“I’d be daft as a brush not to. He’s the only sensible choice now that Biden is up – he’s incapable of being the man at the helm.”

The former punk frontman also supported the anti-establishment Brexit movement in his homeland, insisting that the working class had spoken in the turbulent years following the vote when politicians were actively campaigning for a second referendum.

“They’re not going to be dictated to by unknown continentals,” he said at the time.

Poland has been very vocal in denouncing Russia’s Wagner group setting up bases in neighboring Belarus, following the mutiny events of June 23-24 inside Russia. In the last several weeks, Warsaw has been bolstering its border defense force, also amid ultra-provocative Belarusian training exercises in the region. 

Initially Poland early in the week said it would be deploying 2,000 additional troops to the border, but Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has newly announced a much bigger increase of 10,000 troops.

“About 10,000 soldiers will be on the border, of which 4,000 will directly support the Border Guard and 6,000 will be in the reserve,” Blaszczak said.

“We move the army closer to the border with Belarus to scare away the aggressor so that it does not dare to attack us,” he added as a warning.

Last week Poland’s prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said NATO’s eastern flank faces the likelihood of “provocations” and “sabotage actions” from Belarus given the Wagner presence. Wagner had relocated many of this fighters to Belarus since June.

Poland at the same time alleged that two Belarusian helicopters violated Poland’s airspace, during what Minsk described as training exercises. The exercises appear to be sporadic and ongoing.

PM Morawiecki has gone so far as to claim PMC Wagner fighters “may try infiltrating Poland”—though there has as yet been no evidence of any hostile action by Wagner or border breaches.

Latvia and Lithuania have also made moves to strengthen border defense…

Latvian troops moving close to the border with Belarus.

Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are all on high alert due to the arrival of the Wagner Group in Belarus. pic.twitter.com/hA6y3RI7Fr

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 4, 2023

Belarus hasn’t immediately react to the force build-up on the Polish side. Warsaw has been among Ukraine’s most ardent foreign backers; however, President Andrzej Duda has in fresh comments to The Washington Post expressed doubts over whether the counteroffensive can succeed. “Does Ukraine have enough weapons to change the balance of the war and get the upper hand?” And he answered his own rhetorical with – “Probably, no.”

Via Remix News,

Ukraine has classified the spirits company Bacardi as an “international war sponsor” because it continues to operate in Russia.

Data from the Russian Federal Tax Service recently showed that the company’s profits more than tripled in the country last year.

The data showed that in 2022, Bacardi’s Russian subsidiary Bacardi Rus LLC increased its profits to 4.7 billion rubles (€43.7 million), up from 1.5 billion rubles a year earlier.

The company has even strengthened its position in the country as several of its major competitors have withdrawn from Russia, the Ukrainian authorities said.

“Thus, Bacardi Limited continues to pay significant taxes to Russia’s budget, support its economy, and sponsor aggression against Ukraine,” the Kyiv anti-corruption agency said.

Some of Bacardi’s most famous brands include its eponymous rum, Bombay gin, Cazadores tequila, Grey Goose vodka, William Lawson’s and Angel’s Envy, Martini, and Noilly Prat vermouths.

Another western spirits company, the French Pernod Ricard Group, distributors of Absolut Vodka announced in April that it is returning to the Russian market.