Second Class Citizens,
Scott Ritter has this: The United States of Israel - If Section 219/1217of the NDAA becomes law, we will have surrendered our Constitutional Republic to the Zionists. It will literally be the end of our country as we know it.
When I was travelling to Israel on a regular basis back in the mid- to late-1990’s as part of my duties with the United Nations, I was always struck by how closely many Israelis identified with the United States. On national holidays, many Israeli motorists would fly two little plastic flags from the windows of their cars—one the blue and white Star of David, and the other the Stars and Stripes. “We see ourselves as little America”, my Israeli host would explain when I pointed this out.
The reality was far different.
The Israelis conspired against their American counterparts behind their backs, and the US intelligence and security services viewed Israel as a threat to US national security.
I know—I was caught up in the middle of this power dynamic, and ended up being accused by the US government of spying on behalf of Israel. The charges were eventually dropped as unfounded and politically motivated, but the sentiment behind the accusations was real—a significant part of the US defense, intelligence and security establishment of the United States viewed Israel as a threat...
..We live in an age where the Israeli Prime Minister openly brags about having bought the US Congress.The reality was far different.
The Israelis conspired against their American counterparts behind their backs, and the US intelligence and security services viewed Israel as a threat to US national security.
I know—I was caught up in the middle of this power dynamic, and ended up being accused by the US government of spying on behalf of Israel. The charges were eventually dropped as unfounded and politically motivated, but the sentiment behind the accusations was real—a significant part of the US defense, intelligence and security establishment of the United States viewed Israel as a threat...
Where AIPAC brags about spending $100 million to accomplish just that.
Where pro-Israeli operatives spent $30 million to evict Thomas Massie from the US Congress because he dared challenge the surrender of American sovereignty to Israel.
Where the US Secretary of State has openly declared that criticism of Israel is grounds for being denied a visa into the United States.
Where Israeli politicians openly advocate for the suppression of free speech in America.
And where the Chinese Wall that separated US and Israeli interests is being torn down by a compliant Congress, all the while the mainstream media, which long ago surrendered its independence and integrity to Israeli interests, remains silent.
The surrender document that signals the capitulation of the Constitutional Republic formerly known as the United States of America to a new entity which could more accurately be called the United States of Israel is the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), in particular Section 219 of the House version, and Section 1217 of the Senate’s version.
Section 219/1217 directs the Secretary of Defense to designate an Executive Agent (EA) to expand and accelerate deeper integration of Israel into US institutions. The EA authority would take precedence over the authority of the other DoD Component heads per DOD Instruction 5101.01, meaning that the EA would be able to overrule determinations by other DOD agencies such as the Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA) on Israeli access to US technology. This new EA would end direct Congressional oversight with supervision by the Secretary of Defense. There would be no Congressional confirmation or ability for removal of an executive agent.
In short, it is the surrendering of the constitutional duties of Congress to a politically appointment agent of the Executive branch of government...
..Section 219/1217 integrates American and Israeli research and development programs in a way which makes the United States dependent on Israel’s provision of specific technologies, thereby granting Israel a significant amount of leverage over future American policy and infrastructure, entangling defense supply chains of Israel and the United States across government, private and academic sectors, blurring the lines of territorial integrity and political sovereignty.
Section 219/1217 targets defense related procurement and acquisition processes so that it will be impossible for future Administrations to separate Israeli technologies or agreements from major defense procurement programs...
..Section 2191/217 grants the EA the authority to re-allocate the funding and focus of the Defense Department by prioritizing the integration of Israel into the US’ national defense structures. It is literally subordinating the totality of the most sensitive aspects of US defense to Israel, outside the purview of Congressional oversight.
At a time when the majority of the American people are waking up to the horrific crimes committed by Israel against the people of Palestine, and the role played by Israel in getting America involved in permanent wars in the Middle East, Section 219/1217 will permanently tie the United States to Israel, making the US Department of Defense and, by extension, all of the American people, complicit in these crimes...
..Right now, we have a Congress which has considered criminalizing any criticism of Israel.
This, or course, is an affront to the very notion of free speech.
By making Israeli security and US security indistinguishable, as would happen if Section 219/1217 becomes law, the inevitability of the criminalization of speech critical of Israel is assured.
The 2027 NDAA is America’s last stand.
Remove Section 219/1217, and we have a chance at survival.
Turn Section 219/1217 into law, and we have lost the Republic. https://scottritter.substack.
This, or course, is an affront to the very notion of free speech.
By making Israeli security and US security indistinguishable, as would happen if Section 219/1217 becomes law, the inevitability of the criminalization of speech critical of Israel is assured.
The 2027 NDAA is America’s last stand.
Remove Section 219/1217, and we have a chance at survival.
Turn Section 219/1217 into law, and we have lost the Republic. https://scottritter.substack.
More: Israel-Palestine News, Understanding Section 219
In the House itself, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and six other Republicans defied their party to vote against the NDAA and Section 219, which Massie denounced as “a betrayal of our sovereignty.” (All but six Democrats also voted nay, though many appear to have done so more out of opposition to the Iran War than Section 219 specifically.)
These concerns have increased the pressure on the Senate, which has yet to pass its own version of an NDAA for 2027 (a vote to advance it earlier this month failed due to near-unified Democratic opposition). The Senate’s bill contains a provision—Section 1217—that, though worded differently, is fairly similar to the House’s Section 219.
Although historically Senate Republicans have been strongly pro-Israel, the controversy over this provision has already led at least one GOP Senator to oppose defense industrial integration. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) told Drop Site News last Thursday, “I don’t think we should integrate our military with anybody, not even the Bahamas.”
But Democratic leadership has not come out against this provision, nor have they attacked the broader expansion of U.S.-Israel defense industrial ties. Both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have preferred to frame their opposition to the NDAA around the Iran War and avoided talking about Israel in this context, even as their voters increasingly question the U.S. relationship with Israel. https://israelpalestinenews.
These concerns have increased the pressure on the Senate, which has yet to pass its own version of an NDAA for 2027 (a vote to advance it earlier this month failed due to near-unified Democratic opposition). The Senate’s bill contains a provision—Section 1217—that, though worded differently, is fairly similar to the House’s Section 219.
Although historically Senate Republicans have been strongly pro-Israel, the controversy over this provision has already led at least one GOP Senator to oppose defense industrial integration. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) told Drop Site News last Thursday, “I don’t think we should integrate our military with anybody, not even the Bahamas.”
But Democratic leadership has not come out against this provision, nor have they attacked the broader expansion of U.S.-Israel defense industrial ties. Both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have preferred to frame their opposition to the NDAA around the Iran War and avoided talking about Israel in this context, even as their voters increasingly question the U.S. relationship with Israel. https://israelpalestinenews.
The latest CBS News hire shows that the way to get ahead in journalism is to act as a tool for the powerful. https://theintercept.com/2026/08/04/60-minutes-bari-weiss-cbs-news-israel-gaza/
Brian Berletic, US/IRAN -Regarding Reports of Empty US Stockpiles
Yes, stockpiles are likely low, including of ATACMS and PrSM missiles (the newer, longer-range replacement for ATACMS) - as well as anti-missile munitions; However all of these munitions are under production, PrSM missile are made 10 per month with an eventual peak production rate of 30+ per month sometime next year; This is why the US strikes Iran, plays "diplomacy" games, then strikes again - to refill stockpiles enough for the next round of operations. https://x.com/BrianJBerletic/
Yes, stockpiles are likely low, including of ATACMS and PrSM missiles (the newer, longer-range replacement for ATACMS) - as well as anti-missile munitions; However all of these munitions are under production, PrSM missile are made 10 per month with an eventual peak production rate of 30+ per month sometime next year; This is why the US strikes Iran, plays "diplomacy" games, then strikes again - to refill stockpiles enough for the next round of operations. https://x.com/BrianJBerletic/
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-08-06
The Hormuz "deal" inverted: Tehran publicly postponed the Oman agreement, denied Washington is even a party to it, and the US quietly pulled Iran sanctions off the Treasury site anyway - while gold ripped roughly $300 in a week and silver reclaimed $62. The other big delta is the arsenal reveal: a WaPo account has Trump erupting at Hegseth over "virtually all" long-range missiles being spent on Iran, landing the same week Kyiv absorbed two dozen ballistics at a 0% interception rate.
Continuation underneath: Russia grinds forward on the Donbas and Sumy fronts, the Red Sea "siege" tightens, and the AI complex keeps wobbling into SpaceX's lockup. https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-08-06
Iran state TV: strait reopening "depends on change in US behavior," and the Oman talks are unrelated to any immediate reopening (zerohedge)
Yet the US is aiming for a Wednesday announcement of an interim Oman-brokered deal (Axios via zerohedge, KobeissiLetter)...
Ukraine's Air Force confirmed not a single missile was shot down — out of Patriot interceptors...
The economic war widened: a Zelensky adviser says Russia is now hitting retail/food/logistics warehouses, with Ukraine's own strike on Wildberries having opened a "Pandora's box" (dana916); Odesa's blockade has halted iron-ore exports, with Ferrexpo and Metinvest plants suspending (RALee85)
Zelensky's self-declared 40-day campaign to force Putin to the table expired today with nothing to show (talkrealopinion); critics argue the Azov shipping strikes invited a far costlier response...
..Under it all, Goldman warns the market is oblivious to Chinese LLMs now dominating token usage as token prices go into "historic freefall"...
..US wages fell to 43% of gross domestic income — near the lowest share since records began in 1929 (PolymarketMoney). https://
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-08-04
Second Foreign Vessel Attacked Off Yemen Within Hours, Amid Houthi 'Siege For Siege' Blockade https://www.zerohedge.com/
Iran says Hormuz route is agreed: Tehran says it has finalized a shipping route with Oman, blaming U.S. actions for delaying a final agreement.
Tehran claims victory: Iranian officials say the deal would lock in Iran's wartime gains and strategic leverage over Hormuz.
Mixed messages: Trump says a deal could come within days, while Iran insists the talks are only with Oman.
Draft outline emerges: Reports outline Iranian oversight of inbound traffic and Omani management of outbound shipping.
High stakes as pressure eased on markets, but geopolitical tensions high: A deal could ease energy market fears while leaving Iran with more influence over Hormuz than before the war. https://www.zerohedge.com/
Iran’s regular army moved three T-72-series main battle tanks south toward Abadan, positioning armor near the Iraqi and Kuwaiti borders. The limited convoy points to a localized defensive adjustment as Tehran weighs the risk of an expanded U.S. or Israeli campaign. https://www.armyrecognition.
11 tons of Russian humanitarian aid delivered to Iran https://en.mehrnews.com/news/
Huge Uptick In Israeli Airstrikes On Gaza Since Trump Hailed 'Historic' Hamas Deal https://www.zerohedge.com/
Board of Peace says no Israeli withdrawal from Gaza before Hamas disarms - Netanyahu and board director Maldenov meet amid tensions over Gaza disarmament roadmap and recent Israeli attacks. https://www.aljazeera.com/
In July, Israel killed 152 Gazans, more than any other “ceasefire” month https://israelpalestinenews.
This looks like a .30 caliber armor piercing round that shed its copper jacket: Israeli fire wounds Palestinian student inside Gaza classroom https://english.palinfo.com/
Israel wipes genocide evidence in Gaza, carting off rubble and human remains in 100 trucks daily https://english.palinfo.com/
Israel’s Smotrich Repeats Call for Netanyahu To Approve Establishment of Three Jewish Settlements in Gaza https://news.antiwar.com/
("Netanyahu" may be a figure of speech since early March.) Türkiye says Israel's latest attacks on Gaza prove Netanyahu has no intention of peace
Foreign Ministry says Israeli strikes undermine mediation efforts, urges global community to uphold international law https://www.aa.com.tr/en/
A female suicide-bomber died trying to enter: Kiev’s ‘terrorist plague’ spreading across Europe – Russian embassy
Investigators have yet to name any suspects behind the bombing of an Italian restaurant in central Moscow https://web.archive.org/web/
I watched the opening minutes of Vesti news last night and saw Putin’s smiling face, his basking in the ecstatic greetings extended to him by youths in a vast auditorium for participants in a youth program intended to encourage and support their development into leading professionals of the next generation.
The broadcaster made no concession to the shocking tragedy that was reported later in the news bulletin about the 7 killed, 15 sent to hospital, some with very serious injuries and still more wounded from a Ukrainian drone attack on a popular family holiday resort on the Black Sea in the Krasnodar region. Normal guidance for heads of state in such situations is for them to fly down to the scene of the tragedy, to declare several days of mourning and to address the broad public on what has occurred and what will be done about it. Not to have done so was a self-damaging act by Vladimir Putin that his compatriots will not forgive or forget. https://gilbertdoctorow.
The carefully-constructed facade of success that was meant to drive the orchestrated PR campaign has been violently torn away to reveal a frail Ukraine trembling on its last hind legs. Russia’s recent attack on Kiev revealed a catastrophic situation as Ukraine no longer has any Patriots to stop Russian ballistic missile attacks...
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-08-05
The Hormuz "deal tomorrow" became "deal Wednesday" (i.e. today) per Axios, and stocks ripped to the first S&P record since June while crude crashed below $76 — except Iran rejected the Omani framework outright and added four new demands, so the thing markets priced doesn't exist. The genuinely new deltas: hard numbers on US missile depletion (ATACMS/PrSM "virtually all" gone, 80% of THAAD interceptors used), Kyiv's worst strike in weeks with Ukraine admitting a 0% interception rate, and platinum breaking out +6% as gold reclaimed its $4,000 floor.
Iran rejected the Hormuz framework it "agreed" to — while Trump/Bessent sold an imminent deal - Iran abandoned the US-backed Omani proposal (inbound lane under Iran, outbound under Oman) and added four conditions: transit-fee collection, a permanent guarantee against attacks, an end to the naval blockade, and lifting of oil sanctions (HormuzReport, HormuzLetter, WSJ via FirstSquawk)Iran state TV: strait reopening "depends on change in US behavior," and the Oman talks are unrelated to any immediate reopening (zerohedge)
Yet the US is aiming for a Wednesday announcement of an interim Oman-brokered deal (Axios via zerohedge, KobeissiLetter)...
..US precision-missile and interceptor stockpiles are running dry - The US has expended "virtually all" long-range precision missiles in the Iran war; ATACMS and PrSM near-depleted, roughly half of Tomahawks gone (Reuters, Erin Banco)
CNN: ~80% of key interceptors used, Pentagon stockpile "dangerously low" (spectatorindex); 80% of THAAD and ~50% of Patriot interceptors...
..Kyiv hit by its heaviest strike in weeks; Ukraine admits zero interceptions - At least 15 killed, ~47–50 injured across Kyiv city and oblast; barrage of Iskander-M/Zircon plus 115+ Shahed drones on logistics/warehouse targets (MyLordBebo, AMK Mapping)CNN: ~80% of key interceptors used, Pentagon stockpile "dangerously low" (spectatorindex); 80% of THAAD and ~50% of Patriot interceptors...
Ukraine's Air Force confirmed not a single missile was shot down — out of Patriot interceptors...
..Oil: paper price crashes, physical stress doesn't — Aramco warns, Yemen escalates on tankers
Diamondback says the war structurally raised the floor: ~5M b/d drained from reserves during the Gulf shutdown will need restocking (chigrl); the stress shows in the curve and cracks, not front-month (chigrl)
Aramco's CEO warns a Hormuz closure removes ~100M barrels/week and that global refining runs near max utilization with little buffer (zerohedge, Amena Bakr); majors posted best quarters in years (Hedgeye)
Yemen's forces say they hit an 8th Saudi tanker (NCC WAFA) and have forced 29 Saudi tankers to reroute, now targeting the northern Red Sea to "close all access points" (MenchOsint); Bab-el-Mandeb transits down ~22%...
..Russia-Ukraine: Konstantinovka and Gulyaipole advances; Odesa steel sector halts; the 40-day plan expires - Russian gains logged ~1km north of Konstantinovka into Alekseevo-Druzhkovka and ~2km at Novoselovka near Gulyaipole (GeromanAT, GeromanAT); Baksheevka and Vasyutynske reported captured (MilitarySummary, Kalibrated Maps)Diamondback says the war structurally raised the floor: ~5M b/d drained from reserves during the Gulf shutdown will need restocking (chigrl); the stress shows in the curve and cracks, not front-month (chigrl)
Aramco's CEO warns a Hormuz closure removes ~100M barrels/week and that global refining runs near max utilization with little buffer (zerohedge, Amena Bakr); majors posted best quarters in years (Hedgeye)
Yemen's forces say they hit an 8th Saudi tanker (NCC WAFA) and have forced 29 Saudi tankers to reroute, now targeting the northern Red Sea to "close all access points" (MenchOsint); Bab-el-Mandeb transits down ~22%...
The economic war widened: a Zelensky adviser says Russia is now hitting retail/food/logistics warehouses, with Ukraine's own strike on Wildberries having opened a "Pandora's box" (dana916); Odesa's blockade has halted iron-ore exports, with Ferrexpo and Metinvest plants suspending (RALee85)
Zelensky's self-declared 40-day campaign to force Putin to the table expired today with nothing to show (talkrealopinion); critics argue the Azov shipping strikes invited a far costlier response...
..Japan: the yen defense runs through a 2020-vintage Fed repo facility, not open-market sales
The play, unpacked: the US Treasury bought yen and paid in euros (to avoid signalling weak-dollar), then pointed Tokyo at the Fed's FIMA repo facility — which lends dollars against Treasuries so Japan needn't sell them (shanaka86); Bessent confirmed the euro sale was "reserves re-allocation" and floated upsizing FIMA (zerohedge)
First US-Japan joint yen-buying operation since 1998; Washington's fear is Japan dumping Treasuries to self-fund...
..AI: capex "falls" on accounting, real commitments balloon; AMD and SpaceX punished on prints...The play, unpacked: the US Treasury bought yen and paid in euros (to avoid signalling weak-dollar), then pointed Tokyo at the Fed's FIMA repo facility — which lends dollars against Treasuries so Japan needn't sell them (shanaka86); Bessent confirmed the euro sale was "reserves re-allocation" and floated upsizing FIMA (zerohedge)
First US-Japan joint yen-buying operation since 1998; Washington's fear is Japan dumping Treasuries to self-fund...
..Under it all, Goldman warns the market is oblivious to Chinese LLMs now dominating token usage as token prices go into "historic freefall"...
..US wages fell to 43% of gross domestic income — near the lowest share since records began in 1929 (PolymarketMoney). https://
The Iran talks theatre hit peak farce: Trump announced Monday negotiations, and both Tehran and his own officials denied any were happening — while another tanker burned near Oman and the Dow still closed at a record.
The two hard deltas since yesterday: Zelensky's 40-day "force Russia to negotiate" campaign quietly expired in failure as Bely Kolodez and Ustinovka fell and Russian forces closed to 4.7km of Kramatorsk; and Friday's record yen intervention was already "wired back" within a day, pushing Fed dollar swap lines from theory to the open question. Everything else — memory shortage, gold premiums, Coldcard hack — is continuation with fresh numbers. https://no1sdailydigest.
Don't use voodoo; It'll consume your own soul: Pentagon Crowdsources 'Creative, Unconventional' Ideas To Pressure Iran https://www.zerohedge.com/
Stopwatch has started again: Iran-Oman Hormuz Route 'Agreed To' As Iran Warns Against US 'Interference'
Tehran claims victory: Iranian officials say the deal would lock in Iran's wartime gains and strategic leverage over Hormuz.
Mixed messages: Trump says a deal could come within days, while Iran insists the talks are only with Oman.
Draft outline emerges: Reports outline Iranian oversight of inbound traffic and Omani management of outbound shipping.
High stakes as pressure eased on markets, but geopolitical tensions high: A deal could ease energy market fears while leaving Iran with more influence over Hormuz than before the war. https://www.zerohedge.com/
I'd call it "southwestern": Iran Moves T-72 Tanks Toward Southern Border Amid Reports of US Ground Contingency Plans.
As we had all surmised: Russia Supplied Upgraded Shahed Kamikaze Drones to Iran for Attacks on U.S. Forces. https://www.armyrecognition.
At least 13 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza after Hamas agrees disarmament deal
Israel struck Gaza City, Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah, killing at least 13 people, hours after Hamas agreed to a disarmament deal. Israel said the strikes targeted militant operatives, underscoring that violence has continued despite diplomatic progress. https://www.vespernews.com/
Israel keeps breaking their phase-1 peace-plan obligations: Israel To Scale Back Gaza Strikes To Give Trump's Hamas Disarmament Plan A Chance https://www.zerohedge.com/
Israeli settlers shoot Palestinian child during farm raid
Israeli settlers shot a nine-year-old Palestinian boy in the back during a raid on a farm in the West Bank. The incident was captured on CCTV footage. https://www.
Israel struck Gaza City, Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah, killing at least 13 people, hours after Hamas agreed to a disarmament deal. Israel said the strikes targeted militant operatives, underscoring that violence has continued despite diplomatic progress. https://www.vespernews.com/
Israeli settlers shot a nine-year-old Palestinian boy in the back during a raid on a farm in the West Bank. The incident was captured on CCTV footage. https://www.
Rights center: Israel arrests 600 Palestinians in West Bank, Old Jerusalem in July https://english.palinfo.com/
JERUSALEM, August 2, 2026 (WAFA) – Terrorist Israeli colonists assaulted a Palestinian bus driver in occupied Jerusalem on Sunday, leaving him injured and requiring hospitalization.
According to local sources, a group of colonists attacked the driver while he was on duty in the city, severely beating him and inflicting multiple injuries and bruises. The driver was identified as Mu'tasim al-Qaq.
The assault comes amid an escalation in racist attacks by Israeli colonists against Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, including those working in the public transportation sector. https://english-wafa-ps.
Israeli colonists cut power poles, damage electricity network south of Nablus https://english-wafa-ps.
According to local sources, a group of colonists attacked the driver while he was on duty in the city, severely beating him and inflicting multiple injuries and bruises. The driver was identified as Mu'tasim al-Qaq.
The assault comes amid an escalation in racist attacks by Israeli colonists against Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, including those working in the public transportation sector. https://english-wafa-ps.
Foreign Ministry says Israeli strikes undermine mediation efforts, urges global community to uphold international law https://www.aa.com.tr/en/
Investigators have yet to name any suspects behind the bombing of an Italian restaurant in central Moscow https://web.archive.org/web/
Putin has still made no statement. Gilbert Doctorow, Putin commits political suicide on the evening of the attack on a Black Sea beach in the Krasnodar region that killed seven, including children
The broadcaster made no concession to the shocking tragedy that was reported later in the news bulletin about the 7 killed, 15 sent to hospital, some with very serious injuries and still more wounded from a Ukrainian drone attack on a popular family holiday resort on the Black Sea in the Krasnodar region. Normal guidance for heads of state in such situations is for them to fly down to the scene of the tragedy, to declare several days of mourning and to address the broad public on what has occurred and what will be done about it. Not to have done so was a self-damaging act by Vladimir Putin that his compatriots will not forgive or forget. https://gilbertdoctorow.
August 3, Simplicius, Disastrous End to Zelensky's 40-Day Operation Exposes a Dwindling Ukraine
..Zelensky strategically chose to use all his reserves of man and materiel for the 40-day PR operation to simulate some kind of initiative for a ‘victorious’ Ukraine so that allies could pressure Putin into ceasefire and negotiations. But now that this has failed, Ukraine is experiencing a precipitous front-line collapse where Russian troops have begun advancing faster than any recent time...
..At the same time, the situation for Odessa has become worse than ever, with Russia having entirely landlocked Ukraine. https://simplicius76.EU To Use $1.62 Billion In Interest From Frozen Russian Assets To Support Ukraine https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/eu-use-162-billion-interest-frozen-russian-assets-support-ukraine
This looks false-flaggy. Russia has hypersonic missiles: One-Way Attack Drone Found At Major German Airport: The Threat Has Arrived https://www.zerohedge.com/military/one-way-attack-drone-found-major-german-airport-threat-has-arrived
Can Green-deal flip to WW-3 deal? BMW Job Cuts And The Emerging German-French Industrial Strategy https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/bmw-job-cuts-and-emerging-german-french-industrial-strategy
Professor Ugo Bardi's blogs were down for 2 weeks due to hacking which ate his virtual existence and parasitized his finances. The Seneca Cliff of the Internet - Seneca Returns!
Now, something similar is happening to the Internet. It has been growing rapidly during the past decades, and it is not surprising that it is generating an internal form of pollution. It takes the main form of “hacking,” people, or maybe bots, trying hard to take control of other people’s accounts. Defense takes the shape of more and more sophisticated systems of passwords, passkeys, authenticators, and more.
These technologies work, but they are a cost: it is the mechanism identified by Forrester. Attack and defense grow together, and with hackers becoming more and more sophisticated, it is not impossible that the whole internet might become inaccessible to people who can’t afford the most sophisticated defense technologies.
Personally, I already have the feeling of being under continuous siege, and I can see plenty of horrible things that successful hackers could do if they could take control of my accounts — as I am sure they can do, despite all the precautions I am now taking...
..It took less than a week for a good part of my digital life to come apart. My Substack account was suspended, my subscriber list deleted. LinkedIn and Amazon accounts were canceled, and every one of my paying subscribers on Substack had been refunded without my knowledge. At the same time, somebody was cheerfully spending my money to generate movie clips on an AI image site.....The presence of the Trojan virus fits with what I found when I checked my email address on haveyoubeenpwned. It turned out to be one of 183 million unique email addresses, aggregated during 2025 from Telegram channels, dark web forums, and Tor. Each one of these records contains the email address, the password, and the specific website where the credentials were entered. The typical result of the work of Trojan viruses. The trojan in my PC may have been there long before the attack. It was neutralized by the Windows antivirus system, but it had the time to send my data to whoever was controlling it...
..So the attackers did not need me to have reused any password. They received the entire set of my passwords at once, in one file, together with the autofill data and the addresses of the accounts they were used to access.....In my case, once the hackers had my passwords and account coordinates, they used all of them, more or less at the same time and in the same way...
..Some weeks earlier — before any of the account attacks began — I had noticed anomalies on my credit card. Strange messages I saw on an ATM screen. I did not connect them to anything, because there was nothing yet to connect them to. I simply thought: this looks wrong. I blocked the card.That was luck, pure and simple. I was not being farsighted; I was reacting to a symptom whose cause I did not understand. But it is the reason this article is a story about inconvenience rather than about losing several thousand euros. It didn’t completely protect me; some of my money was siphoned off directly from my bank account. But it greatly reduced the damage...
..Meanwhile the sharks kept circling. Hundreds of spam messages — probably thousands — asking me to click this, confirm that, warning me that a subscription was expiring, threatening dark and dire consequences if I did not pay someone something. And one telephone call from a polite gentleman who claimed to work for my bank and provided as proof of his good faith that he knew my credit card number. I cut the conversation short, so I never learned what he wanted...
..What this episode gave me, more than anything, was a physical sense of how fragile the Internet is. https://senecaeffect.
..What this episode gave me, more than anything, was a physical sense of how fragile the Internet is. https://senecaeffect.
Four people — two pilots, two medical crew — died when a Trans Aero MedEvac Beechcraft King Air 90 struck the Capitan Mountains near Ruidoso, New Mexico, in the early hours of May 14, 2026. The NTSB's preliminary report, released June 18, confirmed what aviation watchers feared: military GPS jamming from White Sands Missile Range was active at the flight's altitude and location. The crew had been briefed on the jamming through their ForeFlight pre-flight package. Knowing a threat exists and being equipped to survive it are two very different things.
Six Minutes In, Everything Compounded
The crew lost GPS navigation almost immediately — and ATC was already overwhelmed.
Six minutes after departing Roswell Air Center, the crew told Albuquerque Center their GPS was gone. RNAV approaches were useless. They requested radar vectors for an ILS approach, a non-GPS backup. But ATC was juggling multiple aircraft also blinded by jamming, and delayed vectors by several minutes. The King Air overshot its landing pattern by roughly 10 miles while waiting — a solvable problem compounding fast.
The NTSB preliminary report confirms:
GPS jamming originated from White Sands Missile Range's routine NAVFEST exercises, coordinated with the FAA and published via NOTAMs
ADS-B surveillance degraded alongside GPS
ATC paused jamming temporarily; the crew reported Ruidoso in sight and requested a visual approach
Jamming resumed during descent; the aircraft struck terrain approximately 230 feet below a summit https://www.yahoo.com/news/
Six Minutes In, Everything Compounded
The crew lost GPS navigation almost immediately — and ATC was already overwhelmed.
Six minutes after departing Roswell Air Center, the crew told Albuquerque Center their GPS was gone. RNAV approaches were useless. They requested radar vectors for an ILS approach, a non-GPS backup. But ATC was juggling multiple aircraft also blinded by jamming, and delayed vectors by several minutes. The King Air overshot its landing pattern by roughly 10 miles while waiting — a solvable problem compounding fast.
The NTSB preliminary report confirms:
GPS jamming originated from White Sands Missile Range's routine NAVFEST exercises, coordinated with the FAA and published via NOTAMs
ADS-B surveillance degraded alongside GPS
ATC paused jamming temporarily; the crew reported Ruidoso in sight and requested a visual approach
Jamming resumed during descent; the aircraft struck terrain approximately 230 feet below a summit https://www.yahoo.com/news/
Steve Kirsch on training AI models with or without respect to political narratives: Is AlterAI the only objective AI chatbot?
I have a simple "objectivity test" that all the AI chatbots fail. The secret? It's in the training. Is there another honest AI? Let me know in the comments. https://kirschsubstack.com/p/ Moon of Alabama with key insights: It’s The Math – How China Is Avoiding The AI Bubble
The Artificial Intelligence bubble in the United States is still growing. It is consuming a large share of the available financial resources. But its output, in form of real products, is so far rather meager.
There are some code generation tools which are, at times, helpful, but, unless subsidized, very expensive. There is ChatGTP and other squawk boxes which in the end are just new forms of inherently unreliable web search tools.
What is missing are useful mass applications billions of people are willing to pay for...
..What’s less clear is when the profits are going to start rolling in and how big they are going to be. “To me, it’s a math problem,” says Asad Ramzanali, the director of A.I. at a policy center at Vanderbilt University. “We are making trillions of dollars in investments on the back of tens of billions of dollars in revenues.” The Artificial Intelligence bubble in the United States is still growing. It is consuming a large share of the available financial resources. But its output, in form of real products, is so far rather meager.
There are some code generation tools which are, at times, helpful, but, unless subsidized, very expensive. There is ChatGTP and other squawk boxes which in the end are just new forms of inherently unreliable web search tools.
What is missing are useful mass applications billions of people are willing to pay for...
That is why Ed Zitron and others will rightly tell you that the huge investments spent on AI are making no sense at all. Where are the products and the customers that will allow to recuperate the hundreds of billions of shady dollars spent on data centers for AI? ...
..The NY Times presume that everything the U.S. does is copied throughout the world. If the bubble burst in the U.S. it will, in consequence, also burst in other places – especially in China.This is a misunderstanding of what the Chinese AI models are, and what Chinese AI companies are doing.
Throughout the last year several Chinese companies have surprised the public by offering AI models that are nearly as capable as the best ones U.S. companies produce, but are offered at a price that just a tenth of the cost of the (heavily subsidized) U.S. models...
..The real discriminator between U.S. and Chinese AI companies is the math they use.
U.S. models run on algorithms that are computationally wasteful, while Chinese models use smarter methods, which need less compute, to achieve a similar quality.
Language models, which, given some text input, produce a related text output, are nothing new. Most are based on so called neural network algorithms which are a simulation of a rudimentary function of the human brain. Neural networks can be trained to recognize an input to then produce a related output...
..U.S. companies jumped onto the Transformer model. It was seen as a chance to create ever bigger and better models with the hope that a huge sized model would eventually reach or exceed the capabilities of a human brain.
The advantage of the Transformer model is that the math necessary to train it can be parallelized. Computer chips built to produce graphics have special hardware to process pixels. Instead of one pixel at a time they compute complete pictures by computing the (color) value of thousands of pixels at the same time. The use of Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) allows for parallelized (matrix) operations on thousands of parameters. (A video by Grant Sanderson, Large Language Models explained briefly (vid), gives a good introduction to this.)
The disadvantage of the Transformer model is the exponential behavior of its attention mechanism. To digest one sentence of input the model has to process each element therein against all other elements held in the same context. That is an exponential operation. For a context of 500,000 input words (i.e to summarize a book of that length) the model will require 250 billion operations. OpenAI, Anthropic and others use a lot of tricks to optimize their computing but they can not escape the basic exponential constraints of the algorithm they use...
..For lack of compute capacity the Chinese model developers had to take different routes. They use recurrent neural networks and the so called Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) algorithms. These have been known since the late 1990s and are the basis for most machine language translations. Apple’s SIRI is using a LSTM model.U.S. models run on algorithms that are computationally wasteful, while Chinese models use smarter methods, which need less compute, to achieve a similar quality.
Language models, which, given some text input, produce a related text output, are nothing new. Most are based on so called neural network algorithms which are a simulation of a rudimentary function of the human brain. Neural networks can be trained to recognize an input to then produce a related output...
..U.S. companies jumped onto the Transformer model. It was seen as a chance to create ever bigger and better models with the hope that a huge sized model would eventually reach or exceed the capabilities of a human brain.
The advantage of the Transformer model is that the math necessary to train it can be parallelized. Computer chips built to produce graphics have special hardware to process pixels. Instead of one pixel at a time they compute complete pictures by computing the (color) value of thousands of pixels at the same time. The use of Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) allows for parallelized (matrix) operations on thousands of parameters. (A video by Grant Sanderson, Large Language Models explained briefly (vid), gives a good introduction to this.)
The disadvantage of the Transformer model is the exponential behavior of its attention mechanism. To digest one sentence of input the model has to process each element therein against all other elements held in the same context. That is an exponential operation. For a context of 500,000 input words (i.e to summarize a book of that length) the model will require 250 billion operations. OpenAI, Anthropic and others use a lot of tricks to optimize their computing but they can not escape the basic exponential constraints of the algorithm they use...
The LSTM algorithm has disadvantages. In its original form its training can not be parallelized. But it is able to ‘forget’ unnecessary context and its compute of an answer is (mostly) linear, not exponential.
The more recent extended LSTM algorithms allow for parallelizing the training of such models while keeping the advantage of a (nearly) linear response algorithm.
The recently revealed Kimi model of the Chinese company Moonshot.ai is based on a (modified) xLSTM algorithm, called Kimi Delta Attention. It also splits the model into a network of 800 ‘experts’ only a few of which are activated to answer a users specific question...
..The U.S. AI model providers, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta and SpaceX, are all stuck with the Transformer model algorithms they use to build their models. It is what they have been building on for years and it is what their engineers are experts in. They have promised to build or buy a huge amount of computing capacity because that is what their models need.
It is this choice of an algorithm that has created the U.S. AI bubble.
The Chinese modelers, for lack of unlimited venture capital, have had to find better ways to solve the problems. Their use of different algorithms allows them to deliver nearly similar results for much less money.
There is also a difference in attitude. Where U.S. financiers like Larry Ellison are striving for some god-like general artificial intelligence, the Chinese (and some European) developers and financiers are much more interested in solving real world (industry) problems...
..Instead of reaching for the stars, like U.S. companies do, the Chinese are out to solve down-to-earth problems. Restricted resources have forced the Chinese developers to find better algorithms. Their primary orientation is on useful applications that will generate appropriate returns for their costs.It is this choice of an algorithm that has created the U.S. AI bubble.
The Chinese modelers, for lack of unlimited venture capital, have had to find better ways to solve the problems. Their use of different algorithms allows them to deliver nearly similar results for much less money.
There is also a difference in attitude. Where U.S. financiers like Larry Ellison are striving for some god-like general artificial intelligence, the Chinese (and some European) developers and financiers are much more interested in solving real world (industry) problems...
At some point the AI bubble in the U.S. will blow up. There will be a lot of collateral damage. Many people will lose their money. There will be a number of useless empty data centers up for rent. https://www.moonofalabama.
Meryl Nass MD on the right advertising slogan: Chinese-owned Smithfield is the largest pork producer in the US. They want the ability to keep pigs miserable in tiny cages or crates for their lifetimes. And they call this "Save Our Bacon." Give Pigs a Chance (to have a life before being eaten). https://merylnass.substack.
The 50-state legal campaign cites murder, terrorism, racketeering, human trafficking, elder abuse, and other serious offenses tied to COVID-era hospital protocols and financial incentives. https://www.thefocalpoints.
John Leake, "Lyme Disease Almost Certainly Came from These [Gain-of Function] Experiments" - Reviewing the evidence that Lyme disease emerged from US biodefense Lab 257 on Plum Island
On July 28, 2026, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a government-wide policy of ending federal funding for dangerous gain-of-function (DGOF) research.A few readers—including a couple of angry readers—have asked me to explain why Kennedy just stated on Fox News that Lyme disease “almost certainty came from these [Gain-of-Function] experiments.”
Some readers may recall that, last November, in a conversation on the PBD Podcast, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary stated that “with a high degree of probability,” Lyme disease came from the U.S. biodefense “Lab 257 on Plum Island just outside of Connecticut.”
Makary elaborated that the pathogenic agent was developed primarily by the German veterinarian and animal virus specialist, Dr. Erich Traub, who previously conducted biological warfare research for Nazi Germany and was brought to the United States after the war as part of Operation Paperclip to acquire German scientific research while denying it to the Soviets.
As evidence, Makary cited the published literature on the U.S. bioweapons program to develop insects and arachnids as disease vectors. He specifically mentioned the book, Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons, by Kris Newby.Makary elaborated that the pathogenic agent was developed primarily by the German veterinarian and animal virus specialist, Dr. Erich Traub, who previously conducted biological warfare research for Nazi Germany and was brought to the United States after the war as part of Operation Paperclip to acquire German scientific research while denying it to the Soviets.
I was already familiar with the theory that the causative agent of Lyme disease—a spiral-shaped bacteria (spirochetes) from the Borrelia genus, primarily Borrelia burgdorferi—came out of Lab 257 on Plum Island. The bacteria was first isolated and described in 1982 by Wilhelm Burgdorfer, a Swiss-American medical entomologist who worked at NIAID.
The first cluster of Lyme disease cases in humans was identified in 1975 in Old Lyme, Connecticut, after two mothers noticed their children's unusual arthritis symptoms.
I hadn’t given this theory much thought until I saw the reflexive, widespread, and lockstep proclamations that Dr. Makary’s statement is a “debunked conspiracy theory.” https://www.thefocalpoints.
Rare virus with no cure detected in New York - There is no vaccine or medicine to prevent or treat the Bourbon virus, which is transmitted by the lone star tick https://www.rt.com/news/
Steve Kirsch, Official German KiGGS study found unvaccinated kids are much healthier, but they publicly claimed there was no difference
The had only 94 kids on the unvaccinated group so the results were not statistically significant. But in 13/14 comparisons looked at in the study, the unvaccinated kids were much healthier. https://kirschsubstack.com/p/ Steve Kirsch got a compliment from AI: "This is the most honest medical data I have ever seen on this topic [autism]" --AlterAI
I showed AlterAI the data collected from my latest survey of parents of kids who regressed rapidly. Check out all the things they have in common and see if you can determine the underlying cause. https://kirschsubstack.com/p/ Steve Kirsch, The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) plan avoids the elephant in the room
I read through their entire 336-page strategic plan and the word "vaccine" was never mentioned. Not even once. They are avoiding the elephant in the room. That is not how science should work. https://kirschsubstack.com/p/ Jessica Rose Ph.D. reviews more emails: Robert Gallo warned Francis Collins/Anthony Fauci of the dangers of using glycosylated spike proteins in vaccine context in May 2020 - His warning was ignored... the mRNA ship had to sail
"On a final digression Francis I have had 36 years of on/off experiences with glycosylated spike proteins-their analyses immunologically and especially regarding use in vaccines and developing neutralizing Abs. I believe it will be a mistake to put most eggs in that basket. The risks: shortened antibody half life; 2) protection NOT correlating with neutralizing Abs; 3) sometimes hazards from them. Admittedly, they might work, but I trust and hope that not everything is going in this bag. If you wish to discuss this again I will be available."...
..He warned of three foreseeable issues:
shortened antibody half-life
protection NOT correlating with neutralizing Abs (antibodies)
sometimes hazards from them
This. Blew. My. Mind. Why? Because peer-reviewed data on the mRNA COVID-19 injectable products show all three. https://jessicar.substack.
shortened antibody half-life
protection NOT correlating with neutralizing Abs (antibodies)
sometimes hazards from them
This. Blew. My. Mind. Why? Because peer-reviewed data on the mRNA COVID-19 injectable products show all three. https://jessicar.substack.
Meryl Nass MD, Evidence emerges that a placebo or less toxic COVID vaccine may have been used in some states or for some politicians https://merylnass.substack.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome was named decades before the metabolic/prediabetic causes were discovered. PCOS Has a New Name; Doctors Hope It Will Improve Care for Millions https://www.globalresearch.
Supporting Health (pictured with a thriving 4 year old acorn)
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