Welcome to The Now

 

 Ever wonder how in some countries the citizens appear to be more pro-US than supporters of their own nation?

 

 

 

 

There would not be protests/public outcries around the planet, the Democratic Party in the US would not have a precarious chance of "winning back" Congress (let alone the White House), and South Africa would not have been able to make an essentially air-tight case for genocide if not for the fact certain Israeli citizens can't help but brag about it at nearly every turn: And not only was Gazans mocked and ridiculed as they were bombed, shot and tortured, but the venomous vitriol targeted anyone who dare to defend starving children or criticize the bombing of hospitals, leading Israel's most powerful backer (the United States) to accuse South Africa of persecuting Afrikaners (the descendants of colonizers), abduct the leader of Venezuela (who had been a backer of Palestine and their right to sovereignty) and bombed Iran (the last powerful proponent for Palestine due to the limitations of Yemen, the internal politics of Hezbollah and the regime change in Syria). Iran it...

It's crazy that the United States believes that all it takes to topple any government is to depose its leader, when history shows us that more often that not, this really only applies to dictatorships/authoritarian regimes: Of course, America is almost pathologically anxious when it comes to protests or civil arrest in its own country, claiming that people with signs and loud voices could tear down the nation. So maybe this is projection?

 

 

 

  UPDATE: For some reason, YouTube did something to the Sovereign Media Channel (it's back now). In case it happens again, here's a video from Politics In Black:

 

 

 

 

 From Oregon's Fox 12 News : A former detention officer at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana pleaded guilty Monday to sexual abuse of a ward or individual in federal custody. David Courvelle, 56, entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays as part of an agreement with prosecutors. The charge carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. According to court records, Courvelle worked as a contract detention officer at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, which is operated by GEO Group Inc., between Jan. 1 and July 30. The facility houses women and detainees of various gender identities. Prosecutors said Courvelle began a personal and romantic relationship with a Nicaraguan detainee, who was being held on an immigration matter. Between May and July, Courvelle had sexual contact with the detainee multiple times while she was under his custodial supervision, according to court documents. Prosecutors said the encounters t...

 

 

  Remember: when it comes to President Trump, what he says is happening/has happened is always to make himself look good, and is rarely the truth.

 

 Lee Camp goes over how the three are connected:

 Note: this interview takes place before it was reported that Trump is (for now) hesitant about attacking Iran : 

  Military Over-Extension  Currency Debasement Debt Spiral Loss of Productive Capacity Social Decay Loss of Reserve Currency Status Collapse

  “It's some deep psychological thing, but when you win the presidency, you don't win the midterms...when you think of it, we shouldn't even have an election.” - - President Donald Trump, suggesting that his political accomplishments should override both the current polls showing Republicans losing control of the House and Senate as well as the will of the voters, during an interview with Reuters . 

How many people who believe their lives are in danger shout "F&cking B!tch" after shooting their supposed attacker? Sounds more like anger than fear. Via Status Coup: ICE agents aren't exactly helping Noem's arguments either:

 

 

 

 

 

We could also call it the "Age of Impunity" or (as Prof Wolff has described it) the desperate actions of a declining empire, but the question remains: have laws and rules been completely replaced with the concept of using/abusing power to achieve goals?

 

First a little background : MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Raging wildfires in the Argentine Patagonia have blazed through nearly 12,000 hectares of scrubland and planted and native forests, threatening local communities, according to firefighting authorities in a report published Sunday. The fires started almost a week ago in the Andean region of the Argentine province of Chubut and are putting a power plant and a school at risk as well as affecting rural properties. The causes of the fires have not yet been established, but Chubut Gov. Ignacio Torres told journalists on Thursday there are indications that one of the biggest active fires was deliberately set . “The wretches who started the fire are going to end up in jail,” Torres said, while announcing a reward of 50 million pesos (approximately $34,000) for anyone who provides information about the incident. Volunteer firefighter Jorge Aranea in El Hoyo was battling to control the flames on Friday. “It’s sad to see everything burning. A...

 

 Maybe they're worried he'd send ICE agents to deport them (well, the Danish ones) to Denmark: 

 

Sounds like someone can't accept "no" as an answer : Paramount Skydance (PSKY.O), opens new tab on Monday sued Warner Bros ​Discovery (WBD.O), opens new tab for more information on a rival $82.7 billion deal with Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab, escalating a battle to take control of one of the ‌most storied Hollywood studios. The David Ellison-led company also said it planned to nominate directors to Warner Bros' board, in one of its most aggressive steps to convince investors that its $108.7 billion all-cash bid is superior to Netflix's cash-and-stock deal. Paramount and Netflix have been in a heated battle for Warner Bros, its prized film and television studios and its extensive content library, which includes "Harry Potter" and the DC Comics universe. Warner Bros last week rejected Paramount's latest offer, advising shareholders to vote in favor of the ‌Netflix deal. In a letter to shareholders, Paramount also said it would propose an amendment t...

 

  It should also be noted that his son works for Vice President JD Vance . 

 

 

 

 

  To recap: The government of Venezuela is still in tact, and not likely to bend. US oil companies believe that the situation in Venezuela makes it too dangerous and expensive to properly extract/refine their oil ( yep ). China gets most of their oil from nations closer to them. Venezuela and the United States are export competitors so forcing Venezuelans to purchase US goods makes little economic sense. Side Note: much as Americans are seeing the actions taken against Gaza beginning to seep it's way domestically via ICE (ICE, like other law enforcement/government officials, were partially or fully trained by the IDF), we can expect this brand of gangster collusion to eventually make it to the United States (picture ICE agents forcing themselves into people home's on election day to "entice" them to vote). 

 

Growing up, I was led to believe that the one thing stopping the entire planet from suffering a nuclear winter was that those in charge (aka the world leaders) cared too much about themselves or those close to them to ever put us all in that situation. Now (especially in light of what's happened over the last few months), I am not too sure. Back in January 2023, the US Navy Commander David Post for the US Naval Institute attempted to address the " value and limits " of deterrence. First he sought out a definition: Two leading deterrence scholars, Alex George and Richard Smoke, define deterrence as “simply the persuasion of one’s opponent that the costs and/or risks of a given course of action he might take outweigh its benefits.” Deterrence, therefore, hinges on a rational process of calculating costs and benefits and will succeed when the opponent concludes that the considered activity will not be worth the effort. Honestly, I like this definition, even though it implies...

 

 

 

  Former foreign minister Jorge Arreaza talks to Max Blumenthal about the same topic:

The whole video is worth watching, especially Hudson's breakdown on how modern-day finance capitalism was not something even Marx expected, as well as explaining that by following Marx's theory of the evolution of capitalism, China is actually more of an industrial capitalist nation than the United States:   

 

 

 Yes, even Gabbard:

 

 

It's like "good cop/bad cop" but with a military and imperialist agenda:

 

 

 

 

 It's War on Terror all over again. The era of 9/11 has returned. President Donald Trump may invoke the Monroe Doctrine, but he's cosplaying George W. Bush as well (George W. Trump?). And just like those times of yellow cake and weapons of mass destruction, the leadership of the Democratic Party (with their members and voters not too far behind) are proving to be weak and impotent, whining about procedures and notification while another countries legally elected leader is on trial in foreign soil after being kidnapped by the US military: It can't be stressed enough that any daylight of difference between Democrats and Republicans on foreign policy is negligible. They barely differed on Gaza. They both see Russia and China as a threat. Now Democrats are doing their "we agree with the goal, not the method" schtick they do whenever a GOP president runs amok over the planet.   The best message Americans can send, if they are truly tired of this duopolistic rule, is to...

 

 

 Much like Powell, Gabbard's political capital, clout, and influence was used to get those who were fully on board with a president's war of aggression (read: illegal invasion/attack) to give them the benefit of the doubt. For war-mongering, imperial-minded presidents, people like Powell and Gabbard are merely glossy accessories:

 

 And by "conflict," I mean, "The United States government orchestrated the kidnapping of the president of the Venezuela (and his wife) in order to colonize another Latin American country for resources and military posturing:"  BONUS: Here's another video from Geopolitical Economy Report about the White House's press conference:

 

 I'm not really a fan of "hot takes" because I do not believe that sharing information should be about getting it out there first, or even in its rawest form. On the flip side, waiting too long make the news stale and sometimes, moot. What I prefer to do it gather different perspectives to form a better narrative.  That said...here's Rachel Belvins giving us a decent overview: Following up with Mark Sleboda telling Danny Haiphong that this pretty much played out as he expected: The Grayzone breaks down the political agendas and political players involved: ...and BreakThrough News sifts through the propaganda of this shattering event: This is over 7 hours of content, but I would say it's the best way to get up to speed with what's going on. But as a bonus, watch this clip to get an idea of how American mainstream will view/discuss the matter: