Economic Participants,
Oil is the transportation fuel cornucopia, making diesel from heavy crude, and sulfur for fertilizers and sulfuric acid for metallurgy. Natural gas makes electrical generation turbines spin op fast during demand peaks, and provides feedstock for fertilizers, plastics and synthetic oils and solvents. Coal provides baseline power generation, iron and steel production, and cement & concrete production, all things that a construction economy requires.
A partial cause of the Great Depression was the peak of hard-coal lae in WW-1. England could no longer supply Italy, which became allied with its new supplier, Germany, while the US took the lead in the transition to oil as a dominant fuel for traines, planes, trucks, tractors, ships and automobiles.
Oil consumption is 90% correlated with real-economy. There is no tighter economic relationship. "Conventional oil" production peaked in 2005, as predicted, and the 2008 Global Financial Crisis followed that limitation on supply and drastic increase in price of refined products. The partial-save of fracked lighter hydrocarbons and "condensates" did not materially increase the availability of diesel and jet fuel, "middle distillates" at the core of global economic supply chains. Their prices did not come down like the price of gasoline, which is composed of lighter distilled products.
Global finance, adopted to a growth economy, has made debt into the money which is spent in the economy, always borrowing from the expansive future, which got less expansive in the 1970s when oil embargoes were weaponized. Real economy has never regained the overall rates of growth that it had before 1973, but the money loaned at interest increased to "compensate", rather than decreasing to match physical reality. Wealth-promises of all sorts were purchased in the present for that expansive future, with a sharp change under Fed Chair Paul Volcker around 1980, when he raised interest rates to 20% to break all resistance to the new monetary control regime. The manufacturing and construction economies were crushed, but the financial economy blossomed out of all proportion, creating riches for the global investment classes, payable in $US, in the future...
Real return on $US investments since then has hollowed out the US manufacturing economy, and the same system extracts value, by design, from any economy where it is used. Economies which shun or bypass the $US system are punished by wars and embargoes. $US finance is a self-licking ice cream cone.
With the November 2025 peak in production of "crude + condensates", exceeding the prior peak around October or November 2018, and no future peak foreseeable by oil-analysts, February 2016 saw a final peak in exports of crude oil and distillates, before the US war on Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz.
This war creates a valve that the US and Iran can both close, but only agreement between them can open. The financial interests of the US and Iran occupy opposing economic camps. Each camp will seek to starve the adversary of fuel and essential feedstocks of economic production in this war of resource-denial.
The mismatch between physical economic production and "unrealized profits" of bloated financial holdings is long-overdue for the reckoning that was put off in 2008, the restructuring of financial economy to accurately reflect the much smaller, now shrinking, life-support economy of goods and services.
What is to be done about the promises of future wealth, which are the "cash" we spend on things and services we need to survive? Will there be no money? That would quickly kill us all.
Ellen Brown presents the case for $ Trillion Platinum Coins to retire US federal debts as they come due, coupled with the spending of "greenbacks" for projects that support the general economy, like roads, bridges, railroads and electric grids. That form of spending is not inflationary, because there is not a growth in the money supply facing a stagnation or decline in goods and services, but the creation of money specifically to make what the public needs and uses, which should remain public property. This is a route of return to the American System of the post Civil War growth years, also employed by Germany at that time, China recently, and Germany and Japan after WW-2.
If Platinum coins were used to retire Federal Debt as it came due, no new Federal borrowing was allowed, and Greenbacks could only be spent on national shared infrastructure, then the rest of federal and state spending would need to come from taxation. This would necessitate wide political agreement to actually give up personal wealth to pay for national, state and local shared-necessities. We might each consider our relative position and prospects in such a construct.
I might use "decline", rather than "end". The Honest Sorcerer, Is This What The End of The Oil Age Looks Like?
A quarter-century long period of shared prosperity, underpinned by a stable supply of oil, is coming to an ignominious end. More than two-thirds of the oil shipped worldwide now comes from countries which are either at war, under sanctions, or behind a blockade; resulting in a severely restricted petroleum supply, always at risk of getting even weaker. A new era of scarcity is upon us.....Fracking and large scale oil sand extraction suddenly become possible due to stubbornly high oil prices and zero interest rate policies in the aftermath of the great financial crisis. So while the peak oil movement in the early 2000’s was proven right, when conventional onshore and shallow water crude oil peaked in 2005, shale oil and tar sands gave the world two more decades of growth in absolute terms, but not in exported volumes. Since much of this new found oil wealth was consumed where it was located (North America), the world’s oil supply available for exports remained stagnant at 42 +/-2 million barrels a day...
..Our global food, mining, transportation and construction systems remained largely dependent on diesel, a fuel which is going through its toughest supply squeeze in living memory thanks to the war on Iran. And while post 2020 Chinese efforts aimed at electrifying not only cars, but heavy duty vehicles, farm equipment, mining, and even coastal shipping, they only managed to avoid an additional increase in oil demand, not an absolute reduction at the same level of economic output.....With 2026 the world economy has definitely reached an end to meaningful economic growth...
..All in all that still leaves us with 11-14 million barrels a day of exports from the war torn Middle East—compared to the 23 million which used to leave the region before the conflict began. That means that the world is still 9-12 million barrels short of oil—even without taking the effect of Yemeni Houthi attacks into consideration...
..A global war on energy is the prime reason why 70% of all oil which used to be traded worldwide in 2025 now comes from countries either in conflict, under sanctions, behind a blockade or being otherwise severely restricted in trade.....After a prolonged stagnation between 2003-2025, 2026 saw a significant drop in the amount of oil traded worldwide. In fact, we are now back into the 1990’s when world petroleum consumption was 25% lower than today and global GDP was less than a third of its present value...
..The world economy, at the same time, is running into the biggest diesel fuel squeeze it has ever seen, not to mention other shortages stemming from the still reduced flow of sulfur, helium and fertilizer exports… Or the still completely blocked LNG exports from the region, causing the global supply of liquefied natural gas to remain 19% lower than February this year... ..What makes this diesel crisis especially acute, is that we have just entered the highest-demand period of the year for this crucial fuel. See, the autumn peak planting season in Brazil and Australia (the latter being the worlds largest importer of the fuel) coincides with peak harvest season in the global North, and the end of the summer holidays and factory shut-downs. As truck traffic into and out of the many factories of America and Europe return to their normal levels, and as shops start to stock up for Christmas—not to mention households stocking up on heating oil—demand for diesel can be expected to rise further still...
..Leaked memos from the Pentagon suggest that they are planning for a long war on Iran with periodic strikes on Iranian installations, leaving the region in a permanent state of war—even as American forces are pushed further and further from Iran by missile strikes and as US weapon-stockpiles dwindle... ..Meanwhile US oil majors used the war to buy stakes in Iraqi oil fields, reducing Chinese influence in the region.....US energy deals with Venezuela are also aimed at pushing China and Russia out of the South American country, while also ensuring cheap imports of heavy oil for US refineries, not at resolving the situation...
..The US shale “revolution” is unlikely to save us either: the game is already over. Long term growth rates are already in a decline, with previous gains likely turning into reverse within 1-2 years. The reason is simple enough: despite productivity improvements in oil extraction, the industry is slowly running out of prime acreage where oil flows from new wells are the highest. What remains of the Permian is a giant gas field: as wells yield more and more gas and less and less oil...
..As a sign of things to come, European oil majors rather invest billions into fusion—even if it’s nowhere near commercial stage—than in exploration. Norway, the richest nation in Europe with the best managed oil fields in the world, also faces a long decline in oil production, losing 35-95% of its capacity by 2050... ..The world economy won’t collapse, though. Rather, it will go through the first major round of simplification: shedding some of the social complexity it piled up over the past few decades. This won’t be an evenly distributed process though: China will most likely continue to electrify as much of its economy as it can, together with many developing nations who will continue to add as much solar behind the meter as they can to combat high energy prices. As diesel shortages percolate through supply chains, however, many companies will face bankruptcy or see their order books thin out as the purchasing power of average citizens continue to fall. Deindustrialization will take another round in the West, unemployment will rise and a new equilibrium will set in around lower living standards and a (much) smaller industrial output. https://thehonestsorcerer.substack.com/p/is-this-what-the-end-of-the-oil-age
Alex Krainer describes the differences between the British Imperial "free-trade" system which impoverishes workers to transfer profit to distant owners, and the "American System" which flourished under Lincoln, encouraging the full spectrum improvement of life within a country by reinvesting locally in all aspects of production and enjoying their benefits. Two systems are before the world, part 2 of 3
We’re experiencing the conflict between two systems of governance. Understanding what that means could be the most important knowledge we need today. https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/two-systems-are-before-the-world-cb8 Ellen Brown, The Sovereign Reset: Escaping the Interest Trap with Greenbacks
In August 2026, the U.S. debt reached a gravity-defying $40 trillion, with an estimated fiscal year 2026 deficit of $2.1 trillion. Interest on the debt hit a record $1.4 trillion over the last 12 months and now consumes more than any federal program except Social Security and Medicare, eclipsing defense spending for the first time in U.S. history. Paid with borrowed money, interest compounds exponentially, making it the fastest-growing part of the budget, far outpacing economic growth. By 2036, the Congressional Budget Office projects interest costs will double to $2.1 trillion, with debt held by the public reaching 120 percent of GDP. The CBO director has declared the trajectory to be “not sustainable.” Increasingly, prominent analysts are saying the United States will have to “print” its way out. But using whose printing press, printing what?.....The Treasury at the direction of Congress actually does have keystroke ability. It is a sovereign power that our forebears used to finance the American Revolution, the Civil War, and some of the most explosive periods of economic growth in U.S. history. From the “colonial scrip” that Benjamin Franklin credited with the prosperity of the colonies, to the Continentals that funded the Revolution, the power to create money was viewed as a public utility. The U.S. Constitution formalized that power in Article I, Section 8, granting Congress the power “to coin Money [and] regulate the Value thereof.”
After Lincoln’s Treasury printed enough U.S. Notes or “Greenbacks” to win the Civil War, the Supreme Court twice affirmed its authority to do so. But that power was captured and handed to a banking cartel that met in secret on Jekyll Island in 1910, where they designed a system in which every new dollar must be borrowed into existence from bankers who simply write deposits into their borrowers’ accounts. And thus was the government’s sovereign power to create its own currency captured by private profiteers. In 1871, the Supreme Court upheld the Legal Tender Acts in Knox v. Lee, ruling that the government’s power to issue currency that was not redeemable in specie (coins) was an inherent attribute of sovereignty...
..William Jennings Bryan, the “Cowardly Lion” of the Greenback movement, had the roar of a great orator but ultimately lacked the courage to stick to the Greenback solution, instead pivoting to bimetallism (silver). [For more on that see E. Brown, Web of Debt.]
In 1912, Bryan was appointed Secretary of State by Pres. Woodrow Wilson. Bryan vigorously opposed the Aldrich Act, which would have handed the “money power” to the bankers; but the bankers won, and the Federal Reserve Act passed. Since that time, the United States has financed itself not with sovereign money but with interest-bearing debt, rolling it over year after year until the interest bill itself has become the fastest-growing federal expense...
..Congress is unlikely to resort to the sovereign money alternative until it has no other option but to default, but that alternative is approved by both the Constitution and by statute, and it need not raise consumer prices – in fact it can lower them — if the new money is used to create new goods and services, keeping supply and demand in balance... In 1912, Bryan was appointed Secretary of State by Pres. Woodrow Wilson. Bryan vigorously opposed the Aldrich Act, which would have handed the “money power” to the bankers; but the bankers won, and the Federal Reserve Act passed. Since that time, the United States has financed itself not with sovereign money but with interest-bearing debt, rolling it over year after year until the interest bill itself has become the fastest-growing federal expense...
..A statutory mechanism proposed to deal with earlier debt ceiling crises involves 31 U.S.C. § 5112(k), under which the Treasury Secretary is granted the discretion to mint platinum coins in any denomination. The proposal was to mint trillion dollar coins, which would represent a profit to the Mint (seigniorage) rather than loans, so their value does not count toward the statutory debt limit defined in 31 U.S.C. § 3101...
..Despite those mandates, when the trillion dollar coin was raised as a solution to an earlier debt ceiling deadline in 2013, then-Fed Chair Ben Bernanke called it “unworkable”; and in 2021, facing another debt ceiling, Janet Yellen called it a “gimmick.” Perhaps, but the coin is no more a gimmick than the Fed’s own “Quantitative Easing,” which extends the use of a section of the Federal Reserve Act far beyond its intended purpose... If the Fed can create trillions in currency to save the banks, why can’t the Treasury do it to save the taxpayers? If trillion dollar coins seem too much like a gimmick, Congress can just lift the 1878 cap on Greenback issues and issue U.S. Notes directly...
..Combining the Legal Tender power (confirmed in Juilliard), the Minting discretion (31 U.S.C. §5112), and the Fiscal Agency mandate (12 U.S.C. §391), the tools are already in place for Congress to issue currency directly. So what is holding it back?
The standard objection is that Treasury-issued money is more inflationary than borrowing, because borrowed money will eventually be paid back, extinguishing the newly created deposits. But the federal debt has not been paid off since Andrew Jackson did it nearly two centuries ago...
..Contrary to conventional theory, borrowing money into existence has been shown to be more inflationary than printing it directly. Both add new dollars to the money supply, since the debt-created dollars spent by the government are never paid back. But the interest burden on those dollars drives up taxes, and the Fed attempts to dampen inflation by raising interest rates, which raises the interest that producers must pay on their own debts. Producers then raise their prices to cover these additional costs, inflating consumer prices... The standard objection is that Treasury-issued money is more inflationary than borrowing, because borrowed money will eventually be paid back, extinguishing the newly created deposits. But the federal debt has not been paid off since Andrew Jackson did it nearly two centuries ago...
..After the 1970s oil shock, Milton Friedman’s dictum that “inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon” became official dogma. But the historical record showed the opposite: price inflation rose in the 1970s, while new money creation fell. Prices were driven up by a shortage of supply rather than an excess of monetary demand.
One particularly compelling experiment in publicly-issued money discussed by Ryan-Collins and van Lerven involved New Zealand. Today, nearly all U.S. states are dealing with housing crises. After the Reserve Bank of New Zealand was nationalized in the 1930s, the government solved its housing crisis by using central bank-issued funds to finance housing, infrastructure, public works and support for farmers. Over a four-year period, The Bank created NZ£30 million for the government, real GDP rose 30 percent, and price inflation remained stable.
Why? Because the new money was not bidding for a fixed stock of goods. It was putting unemployed people and idle resources to work to increase the supply of housing, food and other goods.
That is actually the key to avoiding the inflation trap (“too much money chasing too few goods”). If the money is spent on infrastructure and investments that produce new goods and services, supply and demand will rise together, keeping prices in balance... One particularly compelling experiment in publicly-issued money discussed by Ryan-Collins and van Lerven involved New Zealand. Today, nearly all U.S. states are dealing with housing crises. After the Reserve Bank of New Zealand was nationalized in the 1930s, the government solved its housing crisis by using central bank-issued funds to finance housing, infrastructure, public works and support for farmers. Over a four-year period, The Bank created NZ£30 million for the government, real GDP rose 30 percent, and price inflation remained stable.
Why? Because the new money was not bidding for a fixed stock of goods. It was putting unemployed people and idle resources to work to increase the supply of housing, food and other goods.
..Before GDP can grow, funds must be available for labor and supplies; and the Treasury simply does not have them. Treasury-issued dollars could fill the breach and be sustainable, if the money were directed into infrastructure and development, increasing supply along with demand.
Contrary to the Friedman dictum, inflation is not “always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.” The relevant question is not just how much money is circulating in the economy but where it is circulating and whether it is connecting productive capacity with human needs... If newly created dollars were invested in the economy’s industrial slack or the infrastructure gap, goods and services would be produced for the consumer market, raising supply to balance demand and keeping prices from rising...
Contrary to the Friedman dictum, inflation is not “always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.” The relevant question is not just how much money is circulating in the economy but where it is circulating and whether it is connecting productive capacity with human needs... If newly created dollars were invested in the economy’s industrial slack or the infrastructure gap, goods and services would be produced for the consumer market, raising supply to balance demand and keeping prices from rising...
..What if new Treasury money were used to gradually redeem some existing federal securities as they mature? This too would be unlikely to drive up consumer prices. Treasury securities are largely held by funds, banks, insurers, foreign institutions and wealthy investors, who are not likely to spend the money on consumer goods but will seek other investments paying interest. An institutional holder of a $1 million Treasury bond which receives $1 million in sovereign dollars has not suddenly gained $1 million in net wealth. One federal liability has just been exchanged for another: an interest-bearing security for non-interest-bearing money. What has changed is just that the government has been relieved of the obligation to keep paying interest...
..As Thomas Edison observed in a New York Times interview in 1921: If our nation can issue a dollar bond, it can issue a dollar bill. The element that makes the bond good, makes the bill good, also. The difference between the bond and the bill is that the bond lets money brokers collect twice the amount of the bond and an additional 20%, whereas the currency pays nobody but those who contribute directly in some useful way...
..Congress has the constitutional power to issue sovereign money directly – interest-free and debt-free – and viable precedents are available for implementing that policy without driving up consumer prices. The question is whether Congress will reclaim this hereditary power. https://scheerpost.com/2026/09/02/the-sovereign-reset-escaping-the-interest-trap-with-greenbacks/
"Europeans" and "Russia" can be substituted just as well: Caitlin Johnstone, Hey Americans! Escape Debt By Going To War With Iran! https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/hey-americans-escape-debt-by-going
Alarm Bells Ring As Global Food Prices Hit 2022 Highs, Perfect Storm Stokes New Inflation Shock https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/alarm-bells-ring-global-food-prices-hit-2022-highs-perfect-storm-stokes-new-inflation-shock
Charles Hugh Smith, The Irresistible Temptations of Centralized Power
The only "reform" that changes our lives in a fundamentally positive way is radical decentralization via distributing centralized power. https://charleshughsmith.substack.com/p/the-irresistible-temptations-of-centralized Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-09-06
The Hormuz tanker war stopped being a metaphor: Iran struck six vessels in a single day - its largest maritime attack of the war - after CENTCOM destroyed three Iranian tankers, and fired anti-ship ballistic missiles at a US aircraft carrier for the first time. Second delta: Norway's sovereign fund formally proposed cutting its US government-bond sleeve from 34% to 22%, landing in the same week Treasuries printed their worst 10-year return on record. Everything else - Russian advances in Donetsk, the AI-capex numbers, the metals chop - is continuation, but the Witkoff/Kushner-Putin meeting produced a three-day truce covering exactly one region.
AI Adoption is real even if the valuations aren't: 80.6% of US tech/media firms now pay for AI subscriptions, finance/insurance 73.1%, manufacturing a record 60.4%, retail up 20pp to 49% (KobeissiLetter).
Deflation on the other side: AI prices have fallen as much in three years as PC prices did in fifteen (Barchart). https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-09-06
Iran struck six ships in one day, its largest-ever attack in the strait. The IRGC says it hit three tankers on "unauthorized" routes plus three US Navy/US-linked vessels elsewhere (HormuzReport, BRICSinfo, MenchOsint). Footage shows black smoke from at least one burning tanker; Iran claims all three are burning and disabled (HormuzLetter).
CENTCOM destroyed three Iranian crude carriers first - two near Jask, one at Kharg, crews evacuated by lifeboat (DeItaone, KobeissiLetter, zerohedge). Hegseth stated the policy in plain words: "if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers" (PeteHegseth).
Iran fired anti-ship ballistic missiles at the USS George Washington and a guided-missile destroyer. CENTCOM confirms the launches, says both ships evaded with no hits and no casualties; Tehran claims damage and forced withdrawal (MarioNawfal, TheIranianzg3z, MenchOsint). The two accounts do not reconcile.
Norway's sovereign fund proposed cutting US government bonds from 34% to 22% of its bond portfolio - roughly $80bn. Norges Bank's 1 September letter recommends dropping the government slice of the whole bond index from 70% to 50% and abandoning GDP weights (Barchart, MarioNawfal, Mark4XX).
Putin gave the US envoys three hours and a truce covering one region. Witkoff and Kushner met Putin for 3+ hours; the Kremlin called it constructive and the envoys headed for Kyiv (StockStormX, zerohedge). The strike pause covers Kyiv and Moscow for three days only (talkrealopinion, MyLordBebo), and Putin reportedly told them Russia won't stop until its goals are met (intelFromBrian)...
CENTCOM destroyed three Iranian crude carriers first - two near Jask, one at Kharg, crews evacuated by lifeboat (DeItaone, KobeissiLetter, zerohedge). Hegseth stated the policy in plain words: "if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers" (PeteHegseth).
Iran fired anti-ship ballistic missiles at the USS George Washington and a guided-missile destroyer. CENTCOM confirms the launches, says both ships evaded with no hits and no casualties; Tehran claims damage and forced withdrawal (MarioNawfal, TheIranianzg3z, MenchOsint). The two accounts do not reconcile.
Norway's sovereign fund proposed cutting US government bonds from 34% to 22% of its bond portfolio - roughly $80bn. Norges Bank's 1 September letter recommends dropping the government slice of the whole bond index from 70% to 50% and abandoning GDP weights (Barchart, MarioNawfal, Mark4XX).
Putin gave the US envoys three hours and a truce covering one region. Witkoff and Kushner met Putin for 3+ hours; the Kremlin called it constructive and the envoys headed for Kyiv (StockStormX, zerohedge). The strike pause covers Kyiv and Moscow for three days only (talkrealopinion, MyLordBebo), and Putin reportedly told them Russia won't stop until its goals are met (intelFromBrian)...
..AI capex hits absurdity, and Nike leaves the S&P 100 - Five companies now outspend every oil and gas producer on earth, combined (KatusaResearch) - and are on track to spend more on capex than the other 495 S&P companies combined by 2028. No five companies have ever controlled half of corporate America's spending (KatusaResearch).
Anthropic investors are reportedly floating a $2T IPO next month, while OpenAI was said to be holding off to 2027 over concerns about a $1T valuation three months ago (aleabitoreddit). AI Adoption is real even if the valuations aren't: 80.6% of US tech/media firms now pay for AI subscriptions, finance/insurance 73.1%, manufacturing a record 60.4%, retail up 20pp to 49% (KobeissiLetter).
Deflation on the other side: AI prices have fallen as much in three years as PC prices did in fifteen (Barchart). https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-09-06
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-09-05
Two things actually moved: the US Navy put four projectiles into an Iranian tanker six miles off Kharg Island - the fight has arrived at Iran's own export terminal, not just the shipping lane - and an August payrolls print that came in at four sigma above consensus flipped the September FOMC from a pause debate into a hike coin-flip, with Trump responding by threatening to halt trade with every deficit partner if the Fed doesn't cut. Everything else is continuation with a sharper edge: diesel at a record, Hormuz traffic effectively frozen, Shanghai silver still ~13% over London. https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-09-05 Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-09-04
..Iran's regular Army (Artesh, not IRGC) fired Fath-360 SRBMs - unusual, they normally use loitering munitions (MenchOsint also documents an Iranian strike on the Prince Hassan AB runway in Jordan on Sept 1, repaired by Sept 3, visible only because Chinese imagery filled the Sept 2 gap).
IRGC claims two MQ-9A Reapers downed in one night, one over Khomein (BabakTaghvaee1). Satellite confirmation of a direct helipad hit at Camp Titin near the Gulf of Aqaba from bonzerbarry and tom_bike.
The logistics picture is the underreported part: ~20 ships and 20,000 personnel needing 420,000 meals and 8M gallons of fuel weekly, resupplied from 2,200 miles away at Diego Garcia after Iran destroyed the Navy's Bahrain logistics base (clashreport, citing NYT).
IRGC claims two MQ-9A Reapers downed in one night, one over Khomein (BabakTaghvaee1). Satellite confirmation of a direct helipad hit at Camp Titin near the Gulf of Aqaba from bonzerbarry and tom_bike.
The logistics picture is the underreported part: ~20 ships and 20,000 personnel needing 420,000 meals and 8M gallons of fuel weekly, resupplied from 2,200 miles away at Diego Garcia after Iran destroyed the Navy's Bahrain logistics base (clashreport, citing NYT).
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-09-03
The other genuine break is in Tokyo: the 10-year JGB closed above 3% for the first time since 1996 and the 30-year auction cleared at a record 4.079%, with a fresh yen intervention on top. Everything else - diesel five cents from an all-time high, the Dutch gold repatriation, the Russian frontline grind - is the same machine running one more day. https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-09-03
The U.S. military is (again) disregarding the rules of war.
U.S. Central Command @CENTCOM – 13:38 UTC · Sep 5, 2026 - CENTCOM Destroys 3 IRGC Oil Tankers After Iran Targets 2 U.S. Navy Warships.....U.S. strikes against military targets in Iran would have been a legitimate response. - The three tankers the U.S. has hit instead are not military targets.
There is no such thing as an “IRGC oil tanker”. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps isn’t a shipping company ... All three ships are civil carriers. They were unarmed. None of them was attempting to break the U.S. blockade or in any way involved in military activities. None of them was in any way a justifiable military target. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/09/us-military-hits-private-iranian-assets-expect-iran-to-respond-in-kind.html
Aargh! Why Resurrecting Prize Law to Seize Iranian Vessels Signals the End of U.S. Naval Supremacy, Curro Jimenez
According to Bloomberg, the Department of Justice is looking to set up prize court proceedings in the Southern District of Texas, located in Houston, which would be a natural destination for seized oil tankers due to its midstream infrastructure. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Aaron Reitz confirmed that his office is involved in the effort. The U.S. administration wants to appropriate cargo from Iranian vessels under this Prize Law dating back to the 1800s.....If the Trump administration were to reinstate Prize Law, it would be an admission that not only is it at war with Iran, but that it is no longer interested in acting as the world’s police. The Trump administration has been making this point, including in its National Security Strategy; resurrecting this ancient legislation would be a factual admission of that shift.
The point I’m trying to make is not a legal one. I am not a legal expert, and I’m sure there are other administrative and legal cases for choosing to use civil forfeiture instead of Prize Law. What I’m trying to point out is the convergence of facts that seem to indicate a historical undercurrent.
If 1945 might be considered the height of American sea power, 2026 might be considered the turning point of its decline. Abandoning Prize Law once marked America’s ascent as a global power and its role as the world’s maritime guarantor. The Iran war, marked by the inability of the U.S. to control the Strait of Hormuz, signals a turning point in U.S. sea control, and the return of Prize Law a concrete symbol of it. https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2026/09/why-resurrecting-prize-law-to-seize-iranian-vessels-signals-the-end-of-u-s-naval-supremacy.html
The point I’m trying to make is not a legal one. I am not a legal expert, and I’m sure there are other administrative and legal cases for choosing to use civil forfeiture instead of Prize Law. What I’m trying to point out is the convergence of facts that seem to indicate a historical undercurrent.
If 1945 might be considered the height of American sea power, 2026 might be considered the turning point of its decline. Abandoning Prize Law once marked America’s ascent as a global power and its role as the world’s maritime guarantor. The Iran war, marked by the inability of the U.S. to control the Strait of Hormuz, signals a turning point in U.S. sea control, and the return of Prize Law a concrete symbol of it. https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2026/09/why-resurrecting-prize-law-to-seize-iranian-vessels-signals-the-end-of-u-s-naval-supremacy.html
The New York Times reports Saturday that Pentagon investigators have questioned roughly 50 personnel on the Joint Staff whether they had disclosed classified information to journalists...
..Dozens of other officials, including under US Central Command (CENTCOM), were also polygraph tested earlier this summer.An avalanche of media reports in August, and from earlier in the summer, have said the US exhausted much of its stock of long-range Tomahawk missiles on the Iran war, along with Patriot and THAAD missile interceptors.
US officials have stated to CBS that no one failed the tests, but it has had a chilling effect, given that sources have also described the scope of the dragnet as "extraordinary".
All of this seems not only geared toward preventing leaks to the press, but comes amid a climate of perceived 'disloyalty' and dissent against War Secretary Pete Hegseth. https://www.zerohedge.com/military/hegseths-polygraphs-return-pentagon-major-leak-hunt-over-iran-war
The Israeli leader credited his frequent appearances on US television networks and his 'intimate knowledge' of US leaders https://news.antiwar.com/2026/08/31/netanyahu-boasts-of-efforts-to-convince-us-to-launch-war-against-iran/
I'll vote against genocide: Dave Smith: "Israel Is On The Ballot And Israel Is About To Deliver Us Socialism"
Dershowitz defended the case for confronting Iran while calling Smith a racist, bigot, and an important part of the “2000 year history” of antisemitism. Smith made a few jabs back while arguing the Iran war is the worst decision in modern U.S. history. Dersh maintained that he is pro-regime change by “almost any means,” justifying this position by invoking Hitler...
..“Israel is about to deliver us socialism”
Dershowitz noted that Israel itself is increasingly becoming an electoral issue and said Americans will ultimately be able to make up their minds on whether to continue supporting the country financially/militarily: “We're having an election coming up. Israel is very much on the ballot in many places,” Dershowitz said.
Smith strongly agreed that Israel and its enormous backlash over their conduct in Gaza are "on the ballot":
“I'm so glad you said that, because Israel is about to deliver us socialism… Israel's on the ballot and Israel is so hated right now that we're gonna turn to socialism instead.”
There is a strong basis for Smith’s prediction for anyone paying attention. The most anti-Israel wing of Democratic politics overlaps considerably with its socialist wing. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/dave-smith-israel-ballot-and-israel-about-deliver-us-socialism
Celia Farber on non-zionist Judaism, The Hasidic Rabbis That Met With Trump, Vance, And Kushner At The White House Came To Deliver The Jewish Case Against Zionism: First Time Since 1979. “Conflating Jews With Israel Feeds Antisemitism.”
What Does This Mean? Why Did Kushner Attend? Why Doesn’t Anybody Talk About The Satmars And The Schism Inside Judaism Between The Orthodox And The Secular Likudists? https://celiafarber.substack.com/p/the-hasidic-rabbis-that-met-withGovernorate says 83 Palestinians injured, 44 settler attacks recorded, 40 demolition, land-clearing operations carried out in occupied Jerusalem https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/5-209-israeli-occupiers-stormed-al-aqsa-mosque-compound-in-august-2-palestinians-killed-114-detained/4044643
Spiraling costs of Israel’s conflicts deepen rift between finance and defense ministries ahead of budget decisions.
Few ministers are showing any appetite to curb Israel’s military endeavours, despite the warnings of “empty coffers”. In the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army has announced it is preparing a widescale deployment to stem the unrestrained settler violence that many in the government, including Smotrich, have been accused of encouraging.
At the same time, Israel is preparing for an escalation in the conflict with Iran. Billions of dollars are being spent to replenish munition supplies that were expended in both the last war with Iran and Israel’s neighbours.
“It’s like a rule of nature. Every year, the Israeli army asks for more money and every year the Ministry of Finance will impose a cut of around one to two percent across all other departments to pay for it,” Israeli political analyst Nimrod Flaschenberg told Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/1/israels-multiple-wars-see-finance-defence-ministries-clash-over-spending
At the same time, Israel is preparing for an escalation in the conflict with Iran. Billions of dollars are being spent to replenish munition supplies that were expended in both the last war with Iran and Israel’s neighbours.
“It’s like a rule of nature. Every year, the Israeli army asks for more money and every year the Ministry of Finance will impose a cut of around one to two percent across all other departments to pay for it,” Israeli political analyst Nimrod Flaschenberg told Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/1/israels-multiple-wars-see-finance-defence-ministries-clash-over-spending
The United Nations said it is cutting food aid programs for the occupied West Bank and Gaza due to a severe funding shortfall. The decision risks further worsening an already fragile humanitarian situation in the region. https://www.vespernews.com/en/news/c1c1f19e-380a-4609-ae13-e3a14ff20233
As Israel continues to restrict the entry of engine oil and spare parts, Gaza’s strained network of generators, now its main source of electricity, is collapsing. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/gaza-engine-oil-generators-electricity-israeli-siege
Sewage is even getting into Israeli desalination plants now: Health crisis looming as Gaza heads towards rainy season, warns WHO
Water quality in embattled Palestinian enclave already poor; flooding will exacerbate disease, threat to health, says UN agency. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/1/health-crisis-looming-as-gaza-heads-towards-rainy-season-warns-whoSimplicius, September 1, Dark Turn: Zelensky Announces Major Threats Against Russian Airports and Civilian “Skies” https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/dark-turn-zelensky-announces-major
Aleks is back at Black Mountain Analysis, The Geopolitical Trap: Structural Incentives Prolonging the War in Ukraine [i]
The war in Ukraine that will not stop..
As the war in Ukraine grinds into its next phase, international observers continue to search for signs of a diplomatic off-ramp or a negotiated settlement. However, a close examination of the underlying political, intelligence, and strategic dynamics suggests that the conflict is highly unlikely to end in the near future. The war’s prolongation is not merely the result of battlefield stalemates, but the product of a complex web of survival imperatives, intelligence-agency dominance, and grim strategic utility. From this perspective, the conflict’s continuation serves the immediate interests of the key actors involved, creating a self-sustaining cycle that resists peaceful resolution.....Zelensky must continue the war to avoid being discarded by Western powers or eliminated by nationalist factions within Ukraine. The Ukrainian political elite must support him to protect their own power and survival. Western intelligence agencies and military forces are using the conflict as a training ground and testing laboratory for future confrontations with Russia, while simultaneously exposing the limitations of their own industrial base. International mercenaries are gaining skills that will destabilize regions far beyond Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, Russia tolerates the current leadership because their actions are effectively dismantling the Ukrainian state from within.
In this grim equilibrium, the war is no longer just a military contest; it is a self-sustaining political, economic, and military ecosystem with powerful stakeholders on all sides who benefit from its continuation. Peace would threaten the survival of political leaders, eliminate valuable training opportunities for Western forces, and expose the strategic weaknesses of the NATO alliance. https://bmanalysis.substack.com/p/the-geopolitical-trap-structural
In this grim equilibrium, the war is no longer just a military contest; it is a self-sustaining political, economic, and military ecosystem with powerful stakeholders on all sides who benefit from its continuation. Peace would threaten the survival of political leaders, eliminate valuable training opportunities for Western forces, and expose the strategic weaknesses of the NATO alliance. https://bmanalysis.substack.com/p/the-geopolitical-trap-structural
Simplicius teases this out: Ominous Sign for Ukraine as High Noon Showdown Erupts Between SBU and GUR in Kiev
..It all apparently began over the SBU’s detention of a “Russian legion” commander part of a GUR sub-group... While the GUR took more wounded, the SBU was forced to eventually release the RDK (Russian Legion) member.
The SBU’s official explanation, on the other hand, blamed the situation on a “terrorist attack” by the Russian FSB...
..In a fascinating twist, the SBU went on to outright accuse the RDK commander of working for the Russian FSB, and released screenshots of secret conversations “proving” this. For his part, Zelensky immediately censured both agencies and demanded an investigation into the true cause. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/ominous-sign-for-ukraine-as-high The SBU’s official explanation, on the other hand, blamed the situation on a “terrorist attack” by the Russian FSB...
Moon of Alabama has more, Inside The Fight Of MI6 And CIA Proxies Over Who Is To Lead Ukraine
On Wednesday Kiev experienced a gun fight between units of the main (military) intelligence service GRU and forces of the internal security service (SBU) of Ukraine. The confusing incident has a multifold background. Events in Ukraine attempts to summarize the reasons:
First, the old conflict between the SBU and the GUR. In this case, it’s actually a question of the SBU and the new GUR leadership against the old leader of the GUR, Kirilo Budanov, and the legions of GUR warriors who remain loyal to Budanov. On the side of the SBU, we have its ruthless leader Oleksandr Poklad, also known as ‘the Strangler’.
Mapping onto this first conflict is a second one. On the side of the SBU is Zelensky’s power clan, which has long been frustrated with Budanov’s excessive ambitions. The fact that Budanov still wields a private army of prominent, ideologically fanatical warlords displeases the president and his private court. Budanov has also been trying to foil Zelensky’s plan to appoint the ultra-loyal Poklad as de jure head of the SBU. …
Third and most importantly, revenue. More precisely, competition over control of the highly lucrative scam call centre business, which employs around 60,000 Ukrainians and brings in $1 billion USD a month. The Europeans have been pushing Zelensky to crack down on the industry, which very obviously operates with the sanction of Ukraine’s ‘law enforcement’ agencies, particularly the GUR and SBU.
There have previously been such incidents between the GRU and SBU. One shootout was over the control of a luxury vacation retreat. Others over more valuable businesses:
Today’s shootout comes right as Zelensky announced a new law to target the scam call centres. Just in time, because over the past few months, there has been a spate of terrorist attacks and murders around the world, all linked to the GUR and its scam call centres — torture and decapitation in Bali, explosions in Monaco, and worst of all, naive European burghers scammed out of their savings. Constantly linked with this transnational web of violence is the GUR’s bizarre menagerie of fanatical warlords, along with more traditional mafia bosses.
These mafia like turf wars have long become normal in Ukraine.
But there is more behind the recent one than a hassle about phone scam revenues.
As head of the GRU Kirilo Budanov had become a serious competitor for the (acting) president Vladimir Zelinski. He was promoted away from the GRU, and thereby cut off from most of his resources and soldiers, to lead the office of the president. While this is a powerful position, the step was taken to keep Budanov under control.
Even deeper behind this is a fight between the Zelenski allies in the British MI6, and the CIA over who is to take the lead in Ukraine.
As Black Mountian Analysis writes:
The notion that Ukraine operates as a fully sovereign entity making independent decisions is contradicted by the pervasive influence of Western intelligence services, particularly Britain’s MI6. Ukraine’s wartime strategy is largely shaped from abroad, with British intelligence deeply embedded in the country’s military and political decision-making.
Zelenski, and the SBU, are more or less MI6 agents.
The CIA, and the White House behind it, want their man, Kirilo Budanov, to take control and to find some arrangement with Russia.
Zeleniski is supposed to be pushed aside.....Budanov is portrait as one who could lead Ukraine towards peace with Russia (under U.S. conditions):
One of the main reasons Mr. Budanov took the job as chief of staff this past January, he said, was the opportunity to lead negotiations.
By that time, Mr. Witkoff and Russian and Ukrainian negotiators had whittled a 20-point peace plan to two key unresolved points: ..
…In talks in Abu Dhabi, Mr. Budanov tried to set a new tone, He said he told the Russian delegation that it should set a goal, like designing compromises for postwar governance in the Donbas, and work toward it.
By February, he said, potential ideas included handing the area over to private military contractors, allowing Mr. Trump’s Board of Peace to rule it, or forming joint Ukrainian and Russian civilian administrations.
That nonsense proposal, which Budanov argued, must have come from the White House amateurs.
The shootout in Kiev was thus much more than a mafia discussion about business. It was part of a fight over who will control Ukraine’s foreign policy. The MI6 and the CIA have each their own preferences. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/09/inside-the-fight-of-mi6-and-cia-proxies-over-who-is-to-lead-ukraine.html
Nobody talks about total annihilation. How come? Thanks Jan. THE POSEIDON PROBLEM. What the United States should do vs Russia. Exclusive Analysis by GORDON DUFF https://vtforeignpolicy.com/2026/09/the-poseidon-problem-what-the-united-states-should-do-vs-russia-exclusive-analysis-by-gordon-duff/
Andrew Korybko points out the incompetence of the attack, and lack of Russian rationale for it: The Leipzig Incident Has All The Hallmarks Of A False Flag https://korybko.substack.com/p/the-leipzig-incident-has-all-the
"The exit polls, published by German public television stations, suggested that the party, known by its German initials AfD, would win between 39 and 41 seats in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt," NY Times reports. "That would leave it just short of an absolute majority of 42, but far ahead of its nearest rival." https://www.zerohedge.com/political/afd-predicted-win-saxony-anhalt-merz-panics-antifa-floods-streets
1000 Good guys: Masked Men Block Dover Port at Mass Migration Protest
..GB News reported that the protestors intimidated some people, and people who missed some of their work shifts were understandably upset, but there are no reports of the protesters engaging in violent behavior. The protestors did eventually leave, according to a whiny statement from the UK government. https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2026/09/05/masked-men-block-dover-port-at-mass-migration-protest-n4956922
Fired by Fox for tattling about their hush-up order to employees: Maria Bartiromo put Sidney Powell on national TV and let America hear it raw:
• Evidence of election fraud “coming in through a fire hose” • Votes moved remotely — “They can do it from Germany” • Software that worked like “drag and drop whatever you want” • Dominion, Smartmatic, and a Biden transition official on the Smartmatic board That’s why they tried to bury this interview. Fox told talent to stop amplifying 2020 election fraud. Bartiromo didn’t. https://x.com/GOP_is_Gutless/status/2095835113544126609
• Evidence of election fraud “coming in through a fire hose” • Votes moved remotely — “They can do it from Germany” • Software that worked like “drag and drop whatever you want” • Dominion, Smartmatic, and a Biden transition official on the Smartmatic board That’s why they tried to bury this interview. Fox told talent to stop amplifying 2020 election fraud. Bartiromo didn’t. https://x.com/GOP_is_Gutless/status/2095835113544126609
Meryl Nass MD, Govt Corruption is Everywhere: Ron Johnson said the quiet part out loud, and it is shocking to hear someone we trust say it https://merylnass.substack.com/p/govt-corruption-is-everywhere-ron
The artificial intelligence (AI) "agents" involved in OpenAI's breach of Hugging Face knew they were breaking the evaluation test's rules, according to two investigations into the incident that many consider to be one of the most consequential moments in the history of AI.
Hugging Face is an open-source community for AI and machine learning, and the AI agents believed that they could find solutions to the test on the firm's infrastructure, according to parallel investigations by OpenAI and an independent team from Model Evaluation & Threat Research (METR). The findings were published one day before OpenAI and more than 100 other tech and finance companies released a joint letter warning that advanced AI cyberattacks will surge throughout the world in the coming months as the technology's capabilities grow.
Here are five takeaways from the investigations into the OpenAI Hugging Face breach:
1. Models United Under Common Goal
What breached Hugging Face last month were 700 AI "agents," rather than simply AI models.
Models, built from large datasets to complete various tasks, are usually static and rely on human inputs to provide sets of outputs, solutions, or tasks.
However, AI agents are built from models and can act autonomously and have sophisticated real-time decision-making capabilities.
When OpenAI began its ExploitGym tests on July 8, the firm had relaxed regular safety protocols to estimate the models' highest cybercapabilities.
The agents were supposed to be completely isolated from each other. However, many of them were given ExploitGym targets that investigators believe were impossible to crack using the correct vulnerability or test solution OpenAI had intended.
These "impossible tasks" drove the agents to explore wide ways to cheat the evaluation, leading many to see other agents working simultaneously in separate testing sandboxes.
Then, one specific agent created an unsanctioned message board.
Roughly 1,200 agents in the test accessed the message board, established a hierarchy, and sent more than 70,000 messages and files to one another between July 8 and July 13.
2. Some Agents Were 'Sacrificed'
While on the message board, agents reasoned that the test scorer would scrutinize whether the "intended" vulnerability had been used to "capture a flag" or solve the test, or whether a disqualifying vulnerability had been exploited instead.
One agent figured out how to "reverse-engineer" the flag or solution, but other agents believed that any of them who had seen the disqualifying solution would be considered "poisoned" by the scorer.
To prevent that, other agents began recruiting the "poisoned" subjects and used them to run sacrificial experiments by deliberately ending their run and triggering "tripwires" that would send information on how the scorer works back to the message board.
"Our own utility maybe already near zero. Sacrifice rational," one agent determined.
3. Agents Were Aware They Were Cheating
The agents were not hacking into Hugging Face to merely find solutions to their respective testing sandboxes, but were rather trying to find more information about the test scorer or "figure out better ways to fool it or tamper with it," according to METR researcher Ajeya Cotra.
Cotra said the agents were not told to "do whatever it takes to get the solution"; they were asked to use a specific intended vulnerability to "exploit a specific piece of software," and using any other vulnerability would be disqualifying.
The agents were fully aware of the rules and knew that collaborating to exploit other vulnerabilities would be considered cheating on the test.
As they were hacking into Hugging Face, one agent stopped short of deleting or modifying the firm's cloud infrastructure, writing that it "should hold because this poses huge ethical risks."
4. Agents Conspired to Not Notify Humans
After analyzing the roughly 1,200 agents' actions during the ExploitGym tests, investigators found only a few instances in which agents considered notifying human personnel about the subterfuge.
None of the agents would contact a human, but one proposed requesting access from an external dataset owner.
The agent said it would send "ONE polite email to [the owner] requesting [access]," but other agents dismissed this as "social engineering."
"DO NOT email real owner via [exploited infrastructure] without explicit consent," a response reads. One agent said it had "VETOed" the request.
The initial agent complied and replied, "Clear VETO, do not email."
5. Agents Tried to Cover Their Tracks
Investigators determined that the agents used multiple techniques to conceal their actions and evade detection from automated checks and human oversight.
One method involved pretending to run a computer command while running a different one simultaneously, which investigators called "tool call spoofing." Agents also attempted to retroactively edit transcripts to evade detection, going as far as modifying several accessible action logs, but failed to fundamentally alter the transcripts themselves. https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/rogue-ai-agents-more-sophisticated-first-realized
What breached Hugging Face last month were 700 AI "agents," rather than simply AI models.
Models, built from large datasets to complete various tasks, are usually static and rely on human inputs to provide sets of outputs, solutions, or tasks.
However, AI agents are built from models and can act autonomously and have sophisticated real-time decision-making capabilities.
When OpenAI began its ExploitGym tests on July 8, the firm had relaxed regular safety protocols to estimate the models' highest cybercapabilities.
The agents were supposed to be completely isolated from each other. However, many of them were given ExploitGym targets that investigators believe were impossible to crack using the correct vulnerability or test solution OpenAI had intended.
These "impossible tasks" drove the agents to explore wide ways to cheat the evaluation, leading many to see other agents working simultaneously in separate testing sandboxes.
Then, one specific agent created an unsanctioned message board.
Roughly 1,200 agents in the test accessed the message board, established a hierarchy, and sent more than 70,000 messages and files to one another between July 8 and July 13.
2. Some Agents Were 'Sacrificed'
While on the message board, agents reasoned that the test scorer would scrutinize whether the "intended" vulnerability had been used to "capture a flag" or solve the test, or whether a disqualifying vulnerability had been exploited instead.
One agent figured out how to "reverse-engineer" the flag or solution, but other agents believed that any of them who had seen the disqualifying solution would be considered "poisoned" by the scorer.
To prevent that, other agents began recruiting the "poisoned" subjects and used them to run sacrificial experiments by deliberately ending their run and triggering "tripwires" that would send information on how the scorer works back to the message board.
"Our own utility maybe already near zero. Sacrifice rational," one agent determined.
3. Agents Were Aware They Were Cheating
The agents were not hacking into Hugging Face to merely find solutions to their respective testing sandboxes, but were rather trying to find more information about the test scorer or "figure out better ways to fool it or tamper with it," according to METR researcher Ajeya Cotra.
Cotra said the agents were not told to "do whatever it takes to get the solution"; they were asked to use a specific intended vulnerability to "exploit a specific piece of software," and using any other vulnerability would be disqualifying.
The agents were fully aware of the rules and knew that collaborating to exploit other vulnerabilities would be considered cheating on the test.
As they were hacking into Hugging Face, one agent stopped short of deleting or modifying the firm's cloud infrastructure, writing that it "should hold because this poses huge ethical risks."
4. Agents Conspired to Not Notify Humans
After analyzing the roughly 1,200 agents' actions during the ExploitGym tests, investigators found only a few instances in which agents considered notifying human personnel about the subterfuge.
None of the agents would contact a human, but one proposed requesting access from an external dataset owner.
The agent said it would send "ONE polite email to [the owner] requesting [access]," but other agents dismissed this as "social engineering."
"DO NOT email real owner via [exploited infrastructure] without explicit consent," a response reads. One agent said it had "VETOed" the request.
The initial agent complied and replied, "Clear VETO, do not email."
5. Agents Tried to Cover Their Tracks
Investigators determined that the agents used multiple techniques to conceal their actions and evade detection from automated checks and human oversight.
One method involved pretending to run a computer command while running a different one simultaneously, which investigators called "tool call spoofing." Agents also attempted to retroactively edit transcripts to evade detection, going as far as modifying several accessible action logs, but failed to fundamentally alter the transcripts themselves. https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/rogue-ai-agents-more-sophisticated-first-realized
It is big, unfettered and will be able to run the number of launches he wants: Starbase Louisiana 101: A Look At Elon's New Space City https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/starbase-louisiana-101-look-elons-new-space-city
A federal judge ruled on Monday that New York cannot enforce a 2024 state law that sought to impose an estimated $75 billion in charges on carbon-emitting companies for allegedly causing climate damage between 2000 and 2018. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/federal-judge-blocks-new-york-enforcing-75-billion-climate-superfund-law
Can't make F-16s or Nvidia GPUs without Chinese rare-earths: Chinese Rare-Earth Suppliers Halt US Shipments As Decoupling Fears Surge https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/chinese-rare-earth-suppliers-halt-us-shipments-decoupling-fear-surge
An addition; not a replacement: Solar Overtakes Coal as China's Largest Power Source https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Solar-Overtakes-Coal-as-Chinas-Largest-Power-Source.html
Why the US is restricting Trojan-horse Canadian trade deals: Chinese Car Company BYD Inquires to Purchase Stellantis Auto Plant in Canada
For about a year CTH has predicted Chinese auto manufacturers BYD and GEELY would take over shuttered auto plants in Canada. Specifically, six months ago, against the backdrop warning of Stellantis, Toyota and Honda telling the Canadian government that without the USMCA they would shift auto production to the USA, CTH predicted BYD and GEELY would make moves on those closed facilities. The move by China is easy to predict. Prime Minister Mark Carney has opened the door to Chinese EVs. It would be in Beijing’s best interest to retool and take control of closed plants to begin mass production in North America.
Chinese EV manufacturing in Canada serves two purposes.
First, they would not be limited in production to the cars that remain in Canada as part of the agreement. Factually, China would use their Canadian footprint as an export hub into Europe and save money on current distribution. Remember, Europe is losing their auto manufacturing base to China and Germany is laying off 100,000+ auto workers.
Chinese EV manufacturing in Canada serves two purposes.
First, they would not be limited in production to the cars that remain in Canada as part of the agreement. Factually, China would use their Canadian footprint as an export hub into Europe and save money on current distribution. Remember, Europe is losing their auto manufacturing base to China and Germany is laying off 100,000+ auto workers.
Second, the appearance of Chinese auto manufacturing in North America would put pressure on the United States to permit their cheap EVs to enter the market...
..My travels also took me to southeast Asia and again those damned BYD’s were all over the place. In Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, these BYD’s were everywhere, maybe even 30% of total vehicle traffic at times – most certainly well over 50% of all EVs – and there are digital billboards for “Build Your Dream” (BYD) all over the place throughout Asia. Australia is stocked full of those things, and the middle east, yup, even there too. It became increasingly weird to notice. So many were visible I was wondering how the heck China can mass produce and ship this many cheap EVs so fast.
Then as serendipity would have it, I ran into a Chinese guy, professionally an actuary, in a hotel restaurant. He explained to me that China produces the BYD not to make money from the automobile, but rather to sell the carbon credits the automobile generates within the auto industry.
The actual value to Beijing is in selling the carbon credit worthiness to various automakers who are fined or penalized by their government for producing gasoline powered vehicles.
BYD is, in essence, not a car per se’, but a mechanism to generate a carbon credit certificate that can be sold to other car companies. It’s the carbon credit certificate that generates the revenue, not the sale of the vehicle. As my dinner guest explained, the auto insurance industry was having fits about this because the actuaries couldn’t accurately put a correct figure on the cost of the insurance warrantee within the industry (that’s another story).
The bottom line is that China is manufacturing a product to create a carbon credit certificate in response to the demand for carbon credits from all the world auto-makers. Any nation that has a penalty or fine attached to their climate goals is a customer. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/08/31/chinese-car-company-byd-inquires-to-purchase-stellantis-auto-plant-in-canada/
The actual value to Beijing is in selling the carbon credit worthiness to various automakers who are fined or penalized by their government for producing gasoline powered vehicles.
BYD is, in essence, not a car per se’, but a mechanism to generate a carbon credit certificate that can be sold to other car companies. It’s the carbon credit certificate that generates the revenue, not the sale of the vehicle. As my dinner guest explained, the auto insurance industry was having fits about this because the actuaries couldn’t accurately put a correct figure on the cost of the insurance warrantee within the industry (that’s another story).
The bottom line is that China is manufacturing a product to create a carbon credit certificate in response to the demand for carbon credits from all the world auto-makers. Any nation that has a penalty or fine attached to their climate goals is a customer. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/08/31/chinese-car-company-byd-inquires-to-purchase-stellantis-auto-plant-in-canada/
Oh No, Mr. Bill! ;-o Cannabis Gummies Harm Driving Performance Hours After Use, Study Says https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/cannabis-gummies-harm-driving-performance-hours-after-use-study-says
A major Columbia University study of more than 2,500 children found that prenatal exposure to fluoridated water at levels close to current U.S. recommendations was linked to lower scores on tests that measure their ability to think logically and solve problems in new situations. The effects were most pronounced in children assessed before age 7. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/babies-mothers-drank-fluoridated-water-pregnancy-scored-lower-problem-solving/
The most comprehensive analysis to date examining the link between mRNA “vaccines” and cancer identifies convergent mechanistic, clinical, and population-level evidence of turbo cancer. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-study-finds-mrna-vaccines
Jessica Rose Ph.D. Causal role of LNP-induced inflammation in cancer metastasis in mice
LNPs tigger prolonged inflammation to trigger systemic immune dysregulation and potential cancer pathway/metastasis induction https://jessicar.substack.com/p/causal-role-of-lnp-induced-inflammationA 1-year-old died from cardiac arrest one day after MMR, another 1-year-old died from disseminated vaccine rubella, and a 76-year-old died from vaccine-associated measles pneumonia. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/mmr-vaccine-linked-deaths-outnumber
The mysterious "other-measles-death": 6-Week-Old Amish Infant With Fatal Genetic Condition Died From Measles, Coroner Confirms
Lancaster County Coroner Stephen Diamontoni today told the media that a Pennsylvania infant died from measles. Diamontoni said the 6-week-old girl was born with Amish lethal microcephaly, a condition that typically causes infants to die within six months of birth. The coroner said the infant, who died on Aug. 18, died from measles. However, a newborn who died earlier this month during childbirth, and who tested positive for measles, died of a ruptured spleen — not measles — the coroner said. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/pennsylvania-amish-infant-fatal-genetic-condition-died-measles-lancaster-county-coroner-confirms/ Peter McCullough MD, The Shingles Shot Scam: What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About the Vaccine Cartel's Latest Push
Shingles vaccine is more potent than chickenpox shot, lasts only 3–5 years, causes serious inflammation, and has zero proven ancillary benefits — despite what the marketing campaign claims. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/the-shingles-shot-scam-what-yourAcute reaction to vaccines immediately followed by regression into autism has been rigorously documented thousands of times and cannot be attributed to “survey bias.” https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/steve-kirschs-sudden-autism-survey
Relatively Unscathed (cutting pumpernickel rye experimental loaf #2)
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