Is Russian PM’s Office Behind a New Form of Religious Inquisition?

via RT

Ed. Note: Are 200 Hundred years of enlightenment and humanity’s consciousness’ emancipation about to be rolled back to the so-called Medieval Man?

Are we now faced with the choice between religion, as the lowest common denominator mind of the masses vs scientific pursuit of knowledge by the enlightened minds of humanity? Is this return to “traditional values” promoted by Russia a backdoor imposition of obscurantism, ignorance, shamanism, bigotry and the dictatorship of the masses on the society at large? Is the same goal being pursued in the West through the generational dumbing-down of our education and culture?

Are we seeing the new trend that imposes limitations on free-thinking, freedom of speach, mostly of freedom to think? Are we prepared for a new Dark Age when Thought Police tells us what to think, what to believe, what to do, how to live? Is this a sign of the new slave-based society in different shades of color?

If you notice, many soldiers hold prayer meetings, state openly their faith during operations, and a special military cathedral has been built. Putin specified that no one can serve in the Siloviki unless they are fully confessed and sincere Orthodox.

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution should be excluded from the standard school curriculum in Russia because it conflicts with religious education, former prime minister of the Muslim-majority Chechen Republic, Muslim Khuchiev, has said.

Khuchiev, who now serves as an aide to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, railed against one of the most influential scientific concepts in human history while speaking on Thursday at a meeting of the All-Russia Committee of Parents.

“Everyone knows that this is a false theory, it goes against religion,” Khuchiev argued, describing it as “the first step in the spiritual decay of children.”

Khuchiev suggested “simply removing it” from the curriculum. Darwin’s theory “is not true, it goes against religious education, all religions have recognized that,” he stated, claiming that this essentially settles the debate on whether or not it should be removed from textbooks.

Optional study of various theories, including evolution, could continue, he said, but stressed that he was opposed to such ideas being taught to children as “the ultimate truth.” Khuchiev noted that this was his personal view and not the official position of the Russian government.

While Russian government officials have yet to respond to the proposal, the initiative was met with a backlash from Russian MP Anatoly Wasserman, a member of the parliamentary educational committee. Wasserman is widely viewed as something of an eccentric intellectual after winning numerous TV quiz shows.

He argued that efforts to understand religion are hampered by the fact that interpretations in the holy scriptures do not always reflect reality and align with science. “A person demanding some contemporary ideas to be abolished simply because they do not conform to religion, proves that his own understanding of religion is quite limited,” Wasserman claimed.

The MP also noted that while Darwin’s theory in its original form is generally considered outdated, his errors stemmed from being a pioneer in his field.

First presented in 1859, Darwin’s theory of evolution states that biological evolution occurs through the process of natural selection over thousands of generations. The British naturalist also proposed that humans and modern apes shared a common ancestor, earning Darwin fierce criticism from the clergy for contradicting biblical interpretations of divine human origins.

The current scientific consensus is that Darwin’s work, while groundbreaking, contained misconceptions and limitations that were corrected by later researchers, notably Gregor Mendel, who explained how traits are inherited through genes.

An Unprecedented Monetary Destruction Is Coming

By Daniel Lacalle, Mises Institute

Global money supply has soared by $20.6 trillion since 2019, according to Bloomberg.

Additionally, global debt surged by over $15 trillion in 2023, reaching a new record high of $313 trillion. Around 55% of this rise came from developed economies, mainly the U.S., France, and Germany. Unfunded liabilities in the United States amount to $72 trillion, almost 300% of GDP. This may seem high until you look at Spain with 500% of GDP, France with close to 400%, or Germany with close to 350% of GDP.

There is no escape from debt. Paying for the government’s fictitious promises in paper money will result in a constantly depreciating currency, thereby impoverishing those who earn a wage or have savings. Inflation is the hidden tax, and it is very convenient for governments because they always blame shops or businesses and present themselves as the solution by printing even more currency.

Governments want more inflation to reduce the impact of the enormous debt and unfunded liabilities in real terms. They know they can’t tax you more, so they will tax you indirectly by destroying the purchasing power of the currency they issue.

High taxes are not a tool to reduce high debt, but rather to perpetuate the expropriation of national wealth. Countries with high taxes and big governments also have enormous public debt levels.

If you thought the monetary destruction we have witnessed in recent years was excessive, just wait for the suffering we will endure in the future.

In 2024, the world has seen more than seventy elections where none of the parties with access to power even bothered to present a realistic plan to cut debt. Governments and politicians understand that they can make any promises using someone else’s money, and many voters will readily accept the fallacy of taxing the wealthy. Naturally, currency debasement leads to widespread impoverishment.

Kamala Harris promises tax deductions for start-ups and first-time homebuyers, as well as families with children. It is hilarious. Inflation, a hidden tax, consumes their earnings and savings, while high direct and indirect taxes absorb the remaining funds. Despite this, she promises a tax deduction that most small businesses will never take advantage of, as they will shut down before generating any profit.

The Treasury expects a $16 trillion increase in public debt between 2024 and 2034, without taking into account any recession risk. The enormous government debt of $35 trillion, along with its subsequent additions, has the potential to destroy the currency. Citizens will face higher debt, reduced access to goods and services, and the ultimate dissolution of the middle class in the absence of a pro-growth plan and serious support for the currency’s purchasing power.

Governments and politicians need the votes of the middle class to reach power, and they also need to erode the savings and wages of that same middle class to reduce the weight of public debt in real terms. When the government says they can print and issue more debt, you pay for it.

The trillions of dollars accumulated in debt will lead to an unprecedented wave of central bank easing, which will continue to include negative real rates and even direct debt monetization. However, they need an excuse to present themselves as the solution to the problem they created. A recession or a significant slowdown will be the trigger to implement the plan to destroy the purchasing power of currencies. However, this time inflation is already evident and persistent.

Remember why governments are pleased to destroy the purchasing power of the currency they issue? It is a form of nationalization of the country’s wealth.

How can governments implement currency destruction when citizens are already upset about high prices? First, they need to silence you. Second, eliminate your options to run away from the currency. Thirdly, enforce the expropriation with the motto, “You may have nothing, but you will find happiness.” Yes, you won’t have anything, but you won’t be content either. Only this time you will be unable to complain. Eliminating free speech and independent media is a key part of this plan.

You think I am exaggerating? If the government really believed you would be better off and more prosperous with their policies, they would encourage free speech because everyone would value their welfare improvements. They need to limit free speech because they know they will make you poorer. Therefore, it’s crucial for you to safeguard yourself against the promises made by the government and comprehend the reasons behind the destruction of money.

Fiat money is just a promise, and the issuer knows they cannot pay it in today’s value. Making you dependent and rendering the currency worthless is the best way to control you. Protect yourself investing.

World Population, Changing the World We Know

via ZeroHedge

Populous countries and strong population growth are most often associated with Asia today. But as Statista’s Anna Fleck details below, according to data by the United Nations, come the turn of the century, the balance will be less clear cut.

You will find more infographics at Statista

In 2020, five out of the ten most populous countries in the world were located in Asia – China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh – while two were in Latin America, one was in Africa and one in North America.

Come 2100, four African nations will place in the world’s top ten: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

While some Asian countries will continue to grow, they will do so at a lower rate and will be surpassed in population by African countries exhibiting faster growth. Others, like China and Bangladesh are actually expected to shrink until 2100, mainly a result of higher standard of living and education that has already begun to lower birth rates.

In 1950, four European countries were still among the world’s largest. That number will have decreased to one in 2020 and none in 2100.

The number of children born worldwide is already decreasing, but at 2.3 children born per woman, the world’s population is still growing.

UN population researchers found that if the global fertility rate kept dropping at the rate it currently is, it would reach 1.9 children per woman in 2100, at which point the world population would actually be decreasing.

Microsoft And BlackRock Join Forces On $30 Billion AI Infrastructure Fund

via ZeroHedge

As we have been writing for the better part of the last year, the next AI trade continues to look like it’s going to be energy. And now, both BlackRock and Microsoft are making it known that they understand this, too.

Yesterday it was reported that the two industry giants are prepping the launch of a $30 billion AI investment fund that’ll see Microsoft build data centers and energy projects to meet the demands of AI, according to the Financial Times.

BlackRock’s new infrastructure investment unit, Global Infrastructure Partners, is launching a major investment fund with Microsoft and Abu Dhabi’s MGX as general partners. Nvidia will provide advisory on factory design and integration.

The FT wrote that the partnership aims to tackle the massive power and infrastructure needs of AI development, which is expected to strain current energy systems. AI’s computing demands far exceed past technologies.

The partnership seeks to raise up to $30bn in equity, with plans to leverage an additional $70bn in debt.

In a statement, Larry Fink said: “Mobilizing private capital to build AI infrastructure like data centers and power will unlock a multitrillion-dollar long-term investment opportunity.”

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, added: “The country and the world are going to need more capital investment to accelerate the development of the AI infrastructure needed. This kind of effort is an important step.”

Jensen Huang of Nvidia added: “Accelerated computing and generative AI are driving a growing need for AI infrastructure for the next industrial revolution.”

The upcoming fund is the latest by a major asset manager to address the rising energy needs of generative AI and cloud computing. Earlier this year, Microsoft committed $10bn to renewable energy projects with Brookfield Asset Management and aims for 100% zero-carbon energy by 2030, the Financial Times concluded.

The International Energy Agency predicts global electricity consumption by data centers could exceed 1,000 terawatt-hours by 2026, more than double the 2022 level.

In the U.S., which houses a third of the world’s data centers, electricity demand is surging for the first time in 20 years. A report from Grid Strategies shows five-year electricity demand projections in the U.S. have nearly doubled, from 2.6% to 4.7%.

For those who missed it, in our note “The Next AI Trade” from April of this year, we outlined various investment opportunities for powering up America, most of which have dramatically outperformed the market.

A favorite name of ours has been the Sam Altman-backed Oklo, which we have highlighted as the potential solution to the extreme forthcoming demands in energy as a result of artificial intelligence. It makes nuclear power plants, ranging from 15 MWe to 50 MWe, utilizing liquid metal reactor technology, in soon-to-be everywhere small modular reactors.

Israel’s Pager Attack – A Sophisticated One-Time Shot With Little Effect

via Moon of Alabama

Yesterday’s terrorist attack by Israel against Hizbullah in Lebanon was quite sophisticated.

Back in February Hizbullah had urged its affiliates to avoid smart-phones, which can be controlled by foreign intelligence services, and to instead use pagers to receive text messages and alarms when necessary.

Israel must have recognized that suggestion as a chance to infiltrate the supply chain for these communication tools.

It somehow managed to manipulate pager shipments to Lebanon some of which would be acquired by Hizbullah and its affiliates. Yesterday specific encoded messages were sent to the manipulated pagers. Some moments later they started to blow up. Eleven people were killed and some 4,000 were wounded.

Not all people killed or wounded were members of Hizbullah. Pagers are also used by emergency and volunteer services. Western media avoid to call this attack a terrorist operation. But just ask yourself how they would describe the attack if this had happened to the other side of the conflict.

Pagers are not an exclusive means of Hizbullah. The attack was indiscriminate. The explosions happened in many situations of daily life – during visits in shops (vid), in driving cars in the middle of traffic, near to bystanders including children.

The pagers were sold under the brand name of Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company specialized in such devices. But, according to the company, the devices sold in Lebanon were manufactured under license by the Hungarian company BAC Consulting KFT.

Lowkey writes:

The CEO and founder of BAC is Cristiana Arcidiacono-Barsony, who describes herself as a strategic adviser in internal affairs with international experience in the Middle East.According to her academic profile she studied at SOAS and LSE universities in London.

The above points to an MI-6 involvement in the affair.

Elijah Magnier reports (vid) that the delivery of the pagers had been held up for several months by customs in a Middle Eastern country. The time was allegedly used by Israeli services to dismantle the devices and to replace their original Lithium-Ion batteries with ones which included explosives and birdshot to create a maximum of damage. The electronics of the devices were manipulated to trigger delayed explosions after the pager received a certain coded message.

This very sophisticated operations must have cost millions and must have involved a quite large number of specialists.

It would have been ideal for Israel to trigger such a mayhem as part of a general attack on Hizbullah. It would have increased Hizbullah’s time to implement its defense plans.

To trigger the attack outside of a large scale war context is a rather limp maneuver. Most of the wounded will soon recuperate and return to their duties.

Israeli officials claim that they triggered the operation because some Hizbullah members had found out about the explosives and would soon alarm their leadership. It was thus a ‘use it or lose it’ situation.

That though does not sound plausible to me. How would Israel know that Hizbullah members found out about it? If they had so why would they not immediately inform their command of the imminent danger?

It is more plausible that the Netanyahoo government used the attack as a means to silence it critics which demand an all out attack on Hizbullah. The Israeli military and Netanyahoo know that a war with Hizbullah would be theirs to lose.

Now they can say: “See, we are already doing something very very serious …”

But that wad has been blown for little effect. It was a one time shot. They chances to repeat such an operation are close to nil.

Tomorrow Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah will publicly offer more information about the incident and its possible consequences.

Hungary Behind the Explosive Pagers by Israel


The Taiwanese company Gold Apollo is now saying that the pagers ended up in Lebanon not because of their cooperation, but because of the Hungarian company BAC Consulting KFT.

BAC has a license to use the brand of the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo to manufacture the models of pagers used in the explosions in Lebanon yesterday.

People Aren’t Seeing The Real De-Dollarization

Authored by Mike Maharrey via MoneyMetals.com,

It’s not a “black swan” event. In fact, it’s playing out right before our eyes and was entirely predictable. The world is slowly but surely spurning the dollar.

But most people haven’t noticed.

De-dollarization might seem like a wild conspiracy theory, but it is happening. Countries worldwide are trying to limit their exposure to the greenback, and the dollar’s clout is slowly ebbing.

No, the dollar isn’t on the verge of collapse due to a major trauma. It’s more like death by a million papercuts.

Nassim Taleb, best known for his book The Black Swan, said in a post on X thatpeople are not seeing the real de-dollarization in progress.

He pointed out that global transactions are still generally labeled in dollars “as an anchor currency.”

“But central banks (particularly BRICS) have been storing, that is putting their reserves, in Gold.”

In other words, the dollar still serves as the primary medium of exchange, but more and more countries are turning to gold as a store of value. As author Richard Turrin put it, “The US will tout the USD’s high percentage use in trade all the way to the bottom.”

Turrin pointed out that the “dollar’s high percentage in trade settlements is increasingly meaningless” for two reasons.

  1. Gold holdings show reserve storage
  2. Migration of trade to alternate currencies isn’t captured on SWIFT statistics.

This trend toward storing wealth in gold instead of dollars makes sense given the U.S. government’s persistent evaluation of its currency that seems to be accelerating.

Luke Gormen, founder and president of Forest for the Trees confirmed Taleb’s point with a graph, noting that this de-dollarization trend has been in play for more than a decade and “got much louder post-2022 sanctioning of Russian FX reserves.”

In fact, dollar reserves globally have dropped by 14 percent since 2002. And as the graph shows, de-dollarization accelerated after the U.S. and her Western allies aggressively sanctioned Russia and froze the country’s assets after it invaded Ukraine.

Geopolitical and financial analyst Angelo Giuliano posted the same graph asserting, “De-dollarization is happening.

“The US dollar Ponzi scheme is collapsing…the US exorbitant privilege to print endless amount of paper toilet currency is over.”

He noted that gold hit yet another all-time high on Sept. 12, saying, “This is only the beginning.

Dollar Weaponization Undermining the Dollar

All of these experts confirm that the United States’s weaponization of the dollar is undermining its strength and role as a reserve currency.

A recent Atlantic Council report on the falling percentage of dollar reserves pointed out dollar weaponization was a factor behind this trend.

“In recent years, and especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Group of Seven (G7)’s subsequent escalation in the use of financial sanctions, some countries have been signaling their intention to diversify away from dollars.”

The U.S. and its allies not only froze Russian assets, but they also locked the country out of the SWIFT financial system.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system serves as the global economy’s superhighway. In effect, it operates as a global financial messaging service, facilitating cross-border payments. Since the dollar serves as the world reserve currency, SWIFT effectively facilitates an international dollar system.

This gives the U.S. a great deal of leverage, as the Russians discovered.

This wasn’t the first time the U.S. used SWIFT and the dollar as a stick to advance its foreign policy goals. In 2014, the Obama administration locked several Russian financial institutions out of SWIFT as relations between the two countries deteriorated over Ukraine and Crimea.

A few years later, the Trump administration threatened China in an attempt to force that country to join in sanctioning North Korea.

Whether you think the sanctions were justified or not, it’s important to remember that other countries are watching. They realize that dependence on dollars makes them vulnerable too.

U.S. manipulation and this is one of the reasons many countries are trying to diversify away from the USD.

Think about it — if you are concerned that the U.S. could pull the “dollar rug” out from under you, why not pull out from the dollar system first?

This appears to be what is slowly happening. Again, it is death by 1 million paper cuts.

According to a 2023 Invesco survey, a “substantial percentage” of central banks expressed concern about how the U.S. and its allies froze nearly half of Russia’s $650 billion gold and forex reserves.

Central Banks Turning to Gold

We see this shift toward gold in persistent central bank gold buying.

According to the most recent World Gold Council survey released in June, 29 percent of central banks plan to add more gold to their reserves in the next 12 months. The WGC said it was the highest level since the survey began in 2018.

Only 3 percent said they had plans to decrease gold reserves.

Earlier this year, the World Gold Council said the continuation of gold buying supports its expectation that “2024 will be another solid year of central bank gold demand.”

“Last year central banks placed great emphasis on gold’s value in crisis response, diversification attributes, and store-of-value credentials. A few months into 2024 the world seems no less uncertain meaning those reasons for owning gold are as relevant as ever.”

Last year, central bank gold buying fell just 45 tons short of 2022’s multi-decade record.

According to the World Gold Council, central banks net gold purchases totaled 1,037 tons in 2023. It was the second straight year central banks added more than 1,000 tons to their total reserves.

Central bank gold buying in 2023 built on the prior record year. Total central bank gold buying in 2022 came in at 1,136 tons. It was the highest level of net purchases on record dating back to 1950, including since the suspension of dollar convertibility into gold in 1971.

The skyrocketing price of gold confirms the wisdom of these central bankers. And it is a tangible sign that the dollar is losing value – and status.

The Theater of Trump’s Assassination Soap Opera

So now we’ve had a second fake attempt at the assassination of Trump. It doesn’t matter if you’re pro-Democrats or pro-Republicans. Just look at the facts.

 

The presumed first assassin shows up on top of the adjacent building within eyesight of the podium. And nobody notices him. OK, the security personnel were corrupt, working for the democrats, for Biden. So, our poor Trump is out there by himself, nobody cared about his safety. Not even Netanyahu, his friend, and his Mossad apparatus. It was just Trump by himself heroically taking his stand against the Establishment as a people’s candidate. 

Now the “assassin” pulls the trigger and just as he does that, Trump turns his head… Wait a minute – he turned to his left, exposing his head in full view of the crosshairs, in other words perpendicular to the direction from which the assassin was shooting.

No matter. He, Trump, ducks right after the shooting, apparently in full control of himself, and spends a few long seconds under the rostrum, out of everybody’s view, surrounded by his aides… And then he emerges with his face smeared by a red-colored substance on his cheek and ear. No flowing blood. No shredded ear. Nothing. We could barely see some kind of darker point in the middle of his ear. Smaller than a BB-gun pellet. But most importantly, his ear was fully intact.

Now let’s compare the size of the smallest BB to a sharp-shooter’s bullet. I admit I am not an arms expert, it just that I’ve seen a real gun bullet and it is one of these

image0.jpeg

By comparison, here are some BB gun bullets:

But what we’ve seen in the video following Trump’s reappearance was a dark spot half the size of a BB gun pellet.

Imagine what a real gunshot would have done to his ear. Completely blown it away. Yes, completely blown it away.

So, the most likely explanation of the attempted assassination is that the guy, the “assassin”, was set up with the full knowledge of Trump’s security personnel and had some blanks in his gun. He pulled the trigger, it made a ‘pop,’ Trump ducked and he had some red substance smeared on his face.

… As for the second shooter, don’t waste your time. It’s even more a fabrication.

 

“Ukrainian Missile Crisis”? Look at the polls

When will the US approve long-range missile strikes on targets deep inside Russia? This does not depend at all on Zelensky’s visits and requests. And not even on the situation at the front – everything is stable there.
The main priority of the US presidential administration is Kamala Harris’s victory in the presidential election. Therefore, everything is subordinated to this victory. And decisions on strikes on Russia will also be made taking into account Harris’s campaign. How exactly?
1. If Harris wins in election surveys, then the decision on escalation of the conflict in Ukraine will be announced by Washington after the elections. For a simple reason – so as not to present Harris as a “candidate for nuclear war”. And 83% of Americans are afraid of the hybrid war in Ukraine escalating into a nuclear war. That is, the White House will try not to create acute crises so as not to disrupt the successful campaign.
2. If Harris is clearly losing, then the decision on escalation will be announced in October – in order to disrupt the course of the election campaign. An acute crisis will be created to try to unite voters around Harris on the principle of “around the flag”.
3. Therefore, it is already necessary to look at election surveys in the USA, taking into account the corrections, and on this basis confidently predict the moment of the “Ukrainian missile crisis”.

Serghey Markov

Kamala Harris’ Winning Strategy

The topic of Israel became the most important in the discussion of foreign policy in the debates between Harris and Trump. There are several important points.
1. Trump is firmly for Israel.
2. Trump directly accuses Harris of handing Israel over to the Islamists if she becomes president.
3. Harris has a Jewish husband and adopted children.
4. But being Jews, they have always been for the Palestinians. They actively participated in rallies.
5. Harris, also being on the left side of the Democratic Party, was generally pro-Palestinian.
6. But having become part of the White House, Harris became for Israel.
7. But many believe that this is very insincere. And that she is really against the right-wing government of Israel. That is why Trump accuses her. And if the Americans think that she is against Israel, then she may lose the election.
8. But if Harris is tough on Israel, the left-wing activists of the Democratic Party, who are strongly on the side of the Palestinians, will turn away from her. And she could lose because of that.
9. That’s why Harris is spinning around on the topic of Israel like an eel in a frying pan.
10. And Trump is still trying to catch Harris on this “Israeli frying pan” and pin her to some edge. And “fry her”.
11. And the MSM is trying to help Harris wriggle out of it and leave her sitting on two chairs on the Israeli topic.

via Sergey Markov