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Debt Rattle October 28 2024

Oct 282024
 
 October 28, 2024  Posted by at 9:40 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,  71 Responses »


Vincent van Gogh On the Outskirts of Paris 1887

 

• CNN Data Analyst: Trump On Course To Win Popular Vote (MN)
• Desperate Deep State Wants War & Martial Law – Martin Armstrong (USAW)
• Musk Accuses Biden Of Lying About His ‘Illegal’ Work (RT)
• Musk Hopes To Cut US Budget By ‘At Least $2 Trillion’ (RT)
• Trump Promises Not To Fight Foreign Wars (RT)
• Former Vatican Ambassador: Kamala “An Infernal Monster Who Obeys Satan” (MN)
• Trump and Harris Are Fighting Over The ‘McDonald’s Vote’ (Marsden)
• US Unable to Operate Modified B-52s Before 2033 (Sp.)
• BRICS Summit Will Eventually Be Seen As A Milestone (Lukyanov)
• Americans Are More Dependent Than Ever on Government Handouts (ET)
• Gun and Torts Liability to Collide in Mexican Case Before the SCOTUS (Turley)
• UK Refuses To Discuss Slave Trade Compensation (RT)
• Serbian President Calls Russian Central Bank Chief ‘A Genius’ (RT)
• Zelensky Allows Foreign Mercenaries To Serve As Ukrainian Army Officers (RT)
• US Envoy’s Diplomatic Cover For Israeli Expansion (Raiss)
• A Stunning De-Capitation? The Netanyahu “Madness” (Alastair Crooke)
• Entire Northern Gaza Population At Risk Of Dying – UN (RT)

 

 

 

 

Maga

Trump ad

Jordan Peterson on Trump X-men team


https://twitter.com/i/status/1850290385597182100

Rogan after Trump

Trump ad

JD

Elon

Macgregor

Virginia

Big Mike

O’Leary

 

 

 

 

Not at Polymarket. There, Trump is at 42% vs Kamala’s 58%. But the popular vote doesn’t decide the election.

• CNN Data Analyst: Trump On Course To Win Popular Vote (MN)

CNN’s data analyst Harry Enten suggested Friday that Donald Trump could be on course to win the popular vote on November 5th. That hasn’t happened for a Republican candidate for 20 years. If it happens, Trump will almost certainly win the electoral college and the election. Enten noted that a New York Times/Siena College poll was released last week showing Trump tied with Kamala Harris at 48% in the national popular vote. “Everyone has been talking about this idea that Trump may win in the Electoral College, but Kamala Harris may win the popular vote, but Trump may finally get his great white whale,” Enten stated. He added that Wall Street Journal and CNBC polls also have Trump ahead of Harris in the popular vote.

“Part of my job is to warn our viewers, on either side of the aisle, of an event that may occur, that they don’t necessarily like, and Donald Trump winning the popular vote could ABSOLUTELY happen,” Enten urged. He added “You might as well wrap your minds around it now folks if you don’t like Donald Trump,” noting that Democrat supporters heads are currently “exploding.” The RCP average has Trump in the lead for the popular vote for the first time in his political career by two points. If he did it, Trump would only be the second Republican in 36 years to win the popular vote.

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”This is why they want war . . . so they can default on everything. . . They take us to war, and there goes Social Security and everything else.“

• Desperate Deep State Wants War & Martial Law – Martin Armstrong (USAW)

Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong says we are getting down to the wire with the 2024 Election, and the Deep State Dems are in panic mode. Could we have a false flag, martial law, debt crisis, default, war or all of the above? Armstrong says, “They want war. There is no question about that. . . . Lindsey Graham was on Face the Nation a couple of months ago, and he slipped and told the truth for once. He said there was a $10 trillion to $12 trillion natural gas asset under Crimea, and we can’t allow Russia and China to get that. . . . This is like Iraq. We are going after the oil.”

On martial law, Armstrong says, “I am very concerned about martial law. . . . They (Supreme Court) have kind of hinted that martial law is a common law type thing. When the courts are closed, then you have martial law. It is justified under ‘necessity.’ This is what the Supreme Court has said. So, I am very concerned that these neocons are so desperate that they are definitely going to try to create some sort of a false flag or anything they can do perhaps the last week in October going into the election.” On the war front, we just had Israel bomb Iran, and NATO is still poking Russia. Armstrong says, “NATO is a retirement home for neocons. It should have been shut down. They are trying to take the world into World War III. They are now raising a $100 billion so they can continue the war against Russia in case Trump is elected.”

Armstrong is still seeing Trump winning in 2024 in a “landslide.” Kamala Harris is going the other way. A few months back, Armstrong said Kamala’s real approval rating was 10.5%. Armstrong says he just ran new Kamala Harris approval ratings with his Socrates computer program. Armstrong says, “It’s actually down to 6.5% to 7.5%. It’s really appalling.” Armstrong says Kamala has “negative coattails,” which will spell big losses for Democrats down ballot in November. On the economy, Armstrong says, “We are in this debt Ponzi scheme where they issue new debt every year to pay off the old debt. People say the debt is $34 trillion, but the level of the debt does not matter.

It could be a quadrillion dollars. . . China holds 10% of America’s debt. They sold $53 billion at the beginning of the year. This is where the danger comes. If you don’t have someone to take up what China is not buying, guess what? You can’t pay, and when you can’t pay, that’s when a default comes. This is why they want war . . . so they can default on everything. . . They take us to war, and there goes Social Security and everything else.” On the 2024 Election, Armstrong says, “The 2024 Election will be the last election. . . The US will break up into three or four sections. . . We are committing suicide. . . This is how governments die. . . Gold goes up when people lose confidence in government. This is why central banks want gold. They are afraid of governments defaulting on their debt in war. . . In the war, we lose it next time. They want terrorism so they can lock us down. This is the future we face.”

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Talk about desperate. They trot out the alleged “US President” with complete lies… There’ll be more of this the next 10 days. Biden has nothing to lose, they can make him say anything.

• Musk Accuses Biden Of Lying About His ‘Illegal’ Work (RT)

Elon Musk has denounced Joe Biden for saying the businessman had been an “illegal worker” before he became the wealthiest man in the world. The incumbent US president was accusing the billionaire of being hypocritical regarding immigration. In response to the claims, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO made posts accusing the incumbent president outright lying and saying “losing the election was making the Democrats desperate.” “I was in fact allowed to work in the US. The Biden puppet is lying,” Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “They know this, as they have all my records.” “So NOW he cares about illegals,” he quipped in conclusion. Biden’s remarks, made on Saturday, followed a Washington Post report that alleged, citing Musk’s former business associates, court records and documents, that the businessman obtained a work visa in 1996 after he had already been working in the country without one.

At the time, the billionaire was launching his startup Zip2, an IT-company that provided and licensed online city guide software for newspapers. “That wealthiest man in the world turned out to be an illegal worker here when he was here,” Biden said at a campaign event in support of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “He was supposed to be in a school, when he came on a student visa. He was working. He was violating the law and he’s talking about all these illegals.” The tech entrepreneur, who is currently backing Republican candidate Donald Trump, had previously accused the Democrats of bringing a large number of illegal immigrants to swing states. Each of the two major US political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, dominates dozens of states in the country.

However, voters are more evenly divided in the remaining ‘swing’ or ‘battleground’ states, making them key to winning the election. “Triple digit increases over the past 4 years! Their STATED plan is to give them citizenship as soon as possible, turning all swing states Dem,” Musk stated earlier this week in a post on X. Musk, who had previously positioned himself as politically neutral, publicly endorsed the Republican nominee shortly after the failed assassination attempt on Trump on July 13. The former president has promised to create a new government post called ‘secretary of cost-cutting’ tailored specifically for Musk if he wins.

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“..the only thing we’ll be able to pay is interest.”

• Musk Hopes To Cut US Budget By ‘At Least $2 Trillion’ (RT)

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made an appearance at a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, promising to save American taxpayers trillions of dollars under his hypothetical second administration. Despite previously proclaiming his political neutrality, Musk has leaned towards Trump in recent months, publicly endorsing him after the first assassination attempt. Following this, Trump promised that if he wins the November election, he will establish a “government efficiency” commission headed by the billionaire entrepreneur. As he walked on stage in New York on Sunday, Musk was asked, “How much do you think we can cut from this wasted $6.5 trillion Harris-Biden budget?” “I think we can do at least $2 trillion,” Musk replied, eliciting loud cheers from the crowd.

“At the end of the day, all government spending is taxation. Whether it’s direct taxation or government spending, it either leads to inflation or becomes direct taxation.” Your money is being wasted, and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that! We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook! When the former US president proposed creating DOGE, he stated it would be an independent force “tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for the drastic reforms we need.” Neither Trump nor Musk specified how exactly the panel would operate or which specific policies it would eliminate or implement.

The tech billionaire has repeatedly sounded the alarm over U.S. debt, warning just last week that the country is spiraling toward bankruptcy and will quickly go bust if Washington doesn’t curb its spending. In September, he wrote that every trillion dollars of debt added is money that “our kids and grandkids are going to have to pay somehow.” If debt continues to grow at this pace, Musk warned, the US will be trapped in a vicious cycle where “the only thing we’ll be able to pay is interest.” Earlier this month, Musk told American journalist Tucker Carlson that he has bet “all in” on Donald Trump winning the US presidential election in November; if Trump loses, he is “f**ked” and will probably end up in jail.

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“You don’t have to send your kids out to war, have your kid blown up for a country that you’ve never heard of, and that doesn’t want anything to do with you anyway.”

• Trump Promises Not To Fight Foreign Wars (RT)

Former US President Donald Trump promised not to send Americans to fight and die in countries they have never heard of while addressing a crowd in the battleground state of Pennsylvania this weekend. Speaking at a campaign rally on Saturday, Trump once again claimed he is the only one capable of preventing an all-out global conflict, arguing that his Democratic rival Kamala Harris “would get us into World War III, guaranteed, because she is too grossly incompetent to do the job.” “To make her president would be to gamble with the lives of millions of people. Sons and daughters will end up getting drafted to fight in a war in a country you’ve never heard of,” he said. In his nomination acceptance speech earlier this year, Trump vowed to “end every single international crisis that the current administration has created,” particularly the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts.

He never offered specific plans to bring about world peace, but repeatedly warned that by supporting and financing “other people’s wars” under the leadership of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the US is increasing the likelihood of sliding into WWIII. Last week, Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform that “if Kamala gets four more years, the Middle East will spend the next four decades going up in flames, and your kids will be going off to war.” “But I will not send you to fight and die in a foolish, never-ending foreign war,” he told the crowd on Saturday. You don’t have to send your kids out to war, have your kid blown up for a country that you’ve never heard of, and that doesn’t want anything to do with you anyway.

The Republican has repeatedly promised to end the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours of being elected, before even being sworn into office, by forcing both sides into negotiations. Harris, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, has criticized Trump’s approach, claiming he would essentially force Kiev to surrender. The Kremlin has cast doubt on Trump’s promises of peace, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggesting that he does not “think there is a magic wand” that can stop the fighting overnight. Trump also claimed that he could have prevented last year’s October 7 Hamas incursion into Israel, telling podcaster Joe Rogan that when he was president, he made sure Tehran had no money to fund its proxies.

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“The choice is between a conservative President, who is paying with his very life for his fight against the deep state, and an infernal monster who obeys Satan.”

• Former Vatican Ambassador: Kamala “An Infernal Monster Who Obeys Satan” (MN)

Former Vatican Roman Catholic Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò endorsed Donald Trump for president this week, urging that Kamala Harris represents “an anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, and anti-human vision of society.” Viganò, who was the Vatican’s ambassador to the US from 2011 to 2016, writes in a letter to Catholics “The choice is between a conservative President, who is paying with his very life for his fight against the deep state, and an infernal monster who obeys Satan.” “For a Catholic, there can be no question: voting for Kamala Harris is morally inadmissible and constitutes a very grave sin. Nor is it morally possible to abstain, because in this war declaring oneself neutral means allying oneself with the enemy,” he further asserts.

https://twitter.com/CarloMVigano/status/1848670426924302813

A vote for Trump “means firmly distancing ourselves from an anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, and anti-human vision of society,” Viganò continues, adding “It means stopping those who want to create a hellish dystopia that is even worse than the one announced by George Orwell.” Viganò urges that Trump is “the only possible choice to counter the globalist coup that the woke Left is about to implement definitively, irreparably, and with incalculable damage for future generations.” The former archbishop further describes Harris as a George Soros “puppet,” who is controlled directly by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Viganò was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in July after repeatedly voicing opposition to the current Pope and modern changes made to the Roman Catholic Church. He was extremely outspoken in opposing COVID vaccines, charging that public health authorities were conducting “experimentation on the entire world population,” and slamming the Catholic church for going along with it.

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“McDonald’s is acting like the country of Switzerland in a war – or a girl being fought over for a prom date.”

• Trump and Harris Are Fighting Over The ‘McDonald’s Vote’ (Marsden)

Times sure have changed. It used to be that US presidential candidates argued about who best served in the military. Now, it’s about who best served up fries. The “McDonald’s vote” has arguably never mattered more than it does in this election. Republican former (and potential future) President Donald Trump showed up at a McDonald’s franchise in Feasterville, Pennsylvania recently, tied on an apron and worked the drive-thru window serving up french fries. He joked that after 15 minutes, he had worked longer at McDonald’s than his Democratic opponent, Vice-President Kamala Harris, who had said that she worked at the world-renowned fast-food chain in her youth. An online army subsequently took to the review site Yelp in an all-out online assault against the restaurant that hosted the campaign stunt. “The atmosphere was creepy with a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist behind the counter. Yuk,” wrote one reviewer, referencing Trump’s legal woes.

“Customer service was a joke. Senile old man got bronzer on my fries, didn’t wear gloves. Repeated himself several times,” said another. “Usually I hold high praise for a company that employs the mentally impaired but this one seemed more off than usual,” added yet another. And it went on and on for pages…until Yelp disabled user submissions. It was Harris who first made the restaurant a campaign war zone. “I worked at @McDonalds when I was a student, doing french fries and ice cream. There wasn’t a family relying on me to pay the bills – but that’s the reality for too many workers today. Proud to stand with @SEIU today for livable wages and a safe working environment,” she tweeted in June 2024, addressing the two million nationwide employees of the Service Employees International Union. McDonald’s is acting like the country of Switzerland in a war – or a girl being fought over for a prom date.

“McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next President. We are not red or blue – we are golden,” the company said in a statement. So, what’s the big deal about McDonald’s? It’s about more than just economic policy in an election where that’s the number one issue. “I think part of the difference between me and my opponent includes our perspective on the needs of the American people and what our responsibility, then, is to meet those needs,” Harris said, trying to explain in an MSNBC interview why she even brought up McDonald’s in the first place. But that doesn’t explain why McDonald’s strikes such a cultural nerve, or why that’s particularly the case right now.

North Americans, notably Generation X and older, relate to McDonald’s on a visceral level because of its cameo appearances in so many core memories. The birthday parties in the McDonald’s play park or caboose. Walking in the door under the Golden Arches at the crack of dawn after all-night high school graduation celebrations, passing friends dozing off with their heads on tables en route to buying some hotcakes and syrup. The community sports events featuring McD’s famously bright “orange drink.” Hitting the drive-thru after gymnastics practice to wolf down Big Macs to give hard working parents an affordable reprieve from cooking after a long day. Dates that consisted of a trip through the drive-thru for a picnic in a local park. Counting the minutes until Saint Patrick’s Day, because it meant mint green Shamrock Shakes. Looking forward to a first job experience working with friends from the neighborhood.

Those were the golden years of the Golden Arches, and of America, which are virtually synonymous with each other – as much in their former greatness as in their perceived decline. If things were still so great, then why is there so much nostalgia for those days? Now, people complain en masse about the ice cream machines being broken. The prices skyrocketed, with menu items costing on average 40% more just since 2019 alone, according to the company’s president himself. The cabooses vanished. McDonalds tried to be more sober and serious with its color scheme, making it seem less inviting and more like a Judgy McJudgerson, towards people going in for a quick sundae while dressed in a wet swimsuit and flip flops, with just a towel wrapped around your waist after swim practice (not that I would know anything about that).

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“..disruption of global supply chains, which forced US authorities to cannibalize parts from B-52s to keep others airworthy. Such cannibalization rates have grown 200% since 2019..”

• US Unable to Operate Modified B-52s Before 2033 (Sp.)

The newest B-52J variant of the US B-52 Stratofortress strategic aircraft won’t be complete until 2033, The National Interest reports. The modernization plan that would involve installing new Rolls-Royce F130 engines, enhanced Raytheon navigation systems and several other improvements was heavily criticized by the Government Accountability Office, which stated that the program failed to develop “formal cost or schedule estimates”, the National Security Journal reported earlier. Another issue the whole B-52 series faced, is the disruption of global supply chains, which forced US authorities to cannibalize parts from B-52s to keep others airworthy. Such cannibalization rates have grown 200% since 2019, the DefenseNews portal wrote. The B-52 bombers – one of three pillars of US nuclear triad – were first deployed 60 years ago, but the number of operable units has since dropped to less than 80.

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“..the main function of BRICS is its status as an anti-monopoly group, ensuring competition by restricting the monopolist, in this case on a global scale.”

• BRICS Summit Will Eventually Be Seen As A Milestone (Lukyanov)

This week’s BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, caused a stir, which is understandable. It was a major event in terms of both representation and concept. Everyone is free to evaluate it in their own way, but it cannot be dismissed an unimportant. If we turn away from the ceremonial and social part of the event, we should distinguish two aspects of the international assembly, which are related but don’t coincide. The first is meaningful measures agreed, or shall we say: concrete results, in the here and now. Here, a discerning commentator will notice that there are more declarations than practical plans. Ambitious areas of action have been declared, but only as tasks. There is a basic consensus on the issues discussed (an achievement in itself, given the very diversity of participants and guests), but in some places it’s very streamlined.

Finally, contrary to talk of BRICS ushering in a fundamentally new world order, the final declaration devotes considerable space to supporting the more effective functioning of existing institutions, from the UN Security Council to the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization. The second is long-term. In this respect, the Kazan forum may be seen as a milestone. BRICS has reached a new level, where a prestigious but rather amorphous club has now become a significant meeting place. It is necessary to be at the table because, firstly, important things are being discussed there and, secondly, a key global trend is taking shape. Namely, an alternative space to the one organized around the institutions (and interests) of the West. In a sense, the main function of BRICS is its status as an anti-monopoly group, ensuring competition by restricting the monopolist, in this case on a global scale.

The fight against cartels is never easy, in any context. It’s a long process, but it has begun and it’s actually developing faster than might have been expected. The conditions have been in place for some time. So, the main thing about BRICS, no matter how many problems and oddities arise in and around this community, is that it corresponds to the rationale of the development of the global system. The importance of progress along all these lines varies for different members of the association; for some it is a priority, for others it’s more like “why not?” But this difference of opinion does not change the direction of travel.

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“..interest payments on U.S. government debt increased from $31 billion in 1970 to more than $1 trillion today.”

• Americans Are More Dependent Than Ever on Government Handouts (ET)

Payments from the government have become the fastest-growing source of income for Americans, according to a new study. A report by the Economic Innovation Group (EIG), a public policy research organization, titled “The Great Transfer-mation,” states that Americans have become substantially more dependent on government support, with the share of national income coming from transfer payments more than doubling over the past 50 years. Transfer payment programs include Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, unemployment and disability, food stamps, and veterans’ benefits. Transfer payments increased from 8 percent of U.S. total income in 1970 to 18 percent today, the report states, crowding out private income from wages and investments.

“There is a large range of experiences driving transfer reliance across communities,” Benjamin Glasner, EIG economist and one of the report’s authors, told The Epoch Times. “But it’s unavoidable to look at the fact that transfer reliance has grown rapidly across the country, and it’s something we need to deal with.” According to Federal Reserve data, government transfer payments increased from about $70 billion in 1970 to more than $6 trillion in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, before falling back to the current level of $4.3 trillion. According to the EIG report, if government transfer payments were spread evenly among all Americans, they would have amounted to an annual payment of $11,500 per person in 2022. One factor driving much of the shift from private income to government dependence is that the U.S. population is, on average, getting older.

According to demographic data from USAfacts, the percentage of Americans 65 years and older increased from 13.1 percent of the population in 2010 to 17.3 percent in 2022. During the same period, the percentage of Americans under the age of 20 fell from 26.9 percent to 24.4 percent. “The primary driver that we found in our report is demographic related, specifically the fact that the country has aged so rapidly,” Glasner said. “And the transfer programs that target that aging population also have grown significantly more expensive over time.” Of all government assistance payments in 2022, 56 percent went to the elderly, mostly for Medicare, the EIG report stated. Health care costs were a major factor, both because more Americans qualified for Medicare and Medicaid, and because the cost of medical treatment rose significantly. According to data compiled by Peterson-KFF, a health care policy analytics organization, total health spending in the United States was $74.1 billion in 1970.

By 2022 total health spending was $4.5 trillion, indicating an exponential increase in medical costs per capita. The growth in transfer payments have taken their toll on state and federal budgets. The 2024 Pension Solvency and Performance Report, authored by Ryan Frost and Mariana Trujillo for Reason Foundation’s Pension Integrity Project, stated that public pensions are increasingly falling behind on their ability to pay. As of 2023, the authors state, total unfunded public pension liabilities across the United States hit $1.59 trillion, and the median funded ratio was 76 percent. The U.S. federal deficit is currently $1.8 trillion, and interest payments on U.S. government debt increased from $31 billion in 1970 to more than $1 trillion today.

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Gun manufacturers.

• Gun and Torts Liability to Collide in Mexican Case Before the SCOTUS (Turley)

This month, there is a new case on the docket after the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos. The First Circuit reversed a trial court that dismissed the case, alleging that the American firearms industry is legally responsible for violence in Mexico. I believe the First Circuit is dead wrong and will be reversed. However, as a torts professor, there is a question of whether the tort element of proximate cause could be materially changed in the case. Torts professors are already lining up to argue that there is a proximate cause under existing doctrines to hold the firearms industry. I respectfully disagree. In the petition, Smith and Wesson and other gun manufacturers challenge the claim, including the argument that their sale of lawful firearms in the United States is the proximate or legal cause for the carnage in Mexico. They note that Mexico has long been riddled with violence and corruption connected to the extensive drug industry in that country.

In my view, the trial court dismissed the case correctly under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). That was passed to bar suits against firearms companies based on criminals using these products for criminal or intentionally tortious acts. However, the First Circuit reversed on the ground that Mexico has made a legally cognizable case that gun manufacturers aided and abetted firearms trafficking that has harmed the Mexican government. The First Circuit is an outlier in this case and ignores both the purpose of the law and basic tort principles of proximate causation. The Court has accepted the review on two questions:

1. Whether the production and sale of firearms in the United States is the “proximate cause” of alleged injuries to the Mexican government stemming from violence committed by drug cartels in Mexico.

2. Whether the production and sale of firearms in the United States amounts to “aiding and abetting” illegal firearms trafficking because firearms companies allegedly know that some of their products are unlawfully trafficked.

PLCAA was enacted to require dismissal at the inception of lawsuits like this, and other courts have recognized that. The First Circuit’s decision creates a circuit split. Mexico’s complaint is wildly off base both factually and legally. It suggests that these companies are effectively funneling guns to criminal gangs in Mexico by producing products that they have used in criminal conduct. The First Circuit adopted an analogy that destroyed the credibility of its decision: Imagine that a U.S. company sent a mercenary unit of combat troops to attack people in Mexico City. Such an attack would directly cause Mexico itself the expense of paying soldiers to defend the city. Proximate cause would be quite clear. So, too, here, where the defendants are alleged to have armed the attackers for their continuing assaults.

Is that the best these federal judges could come up with? There is a vast difference between the United States sending a combat unit across the border and manufacturers who supply distributors who serve dealers who sell lawful products to consumers. That sounds more like The Merchandisers than The Expendables. PLCAA specifically bars any “qualified civil liability action” against gun manufacturers and licensees. Any action filed against a federal firearms licensee for damages or other relief resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a firearm is expressly addressed in the statute under § 7902 of PLCAA: “A qualified civil liability action … shall be immediately dismissed by the court in which the action was brought or is currently pending.”

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$24 trillion.

• UK Refuses To Discuss Slave Trade Compensation (RT)

The Commonwealth of Nations has submitted a formal request for “discussions” with the UK on compensation for the transatlantic slave trade. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer tried but failed to keep the subject off the agenda of a major gathering in the Pacific island of Samoa. The Commonwealth is made up of over 50 countries, most of which are former territories of the British Empire. The UK has ruled out any money payment and so far refused to make a formal apology. Last year, the Brattle Group, an economic consulting firm, concluded that the UK owed more than £18 trillion ($24 trillion) in reparations for its involvement in slavery in 14 Caribbean countries. Starmer had previously rejected compensation talks, saying that the UK would neither be “offering an apology” nor paying reparations for the atrocities spanning three centuries.

However 56 member states signed a communique branding slavery a “crime against humanity.” It also calls for “discussions on reparatory justice with regard to the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and chattel enslavement.” “The time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity,” the document states, adding that the leaders will continue to play “an active role in bringing about such inclusive conversations addressing these harms.” Earlier this month, British tabloid The Daily Mail claimed that a group of Caribbean countries were seeking “an astonishing £200 billion” ($261 billion) in compensation for slavery at the meeting in Samoa.

During a press conference after the summit, Starmer admitted that slavery was “abhorrent,” but refused to address the idea of a payout. “I should be really clear here, in the two days we’ve been here, none of the discussions have been about money. Our position is very, very clear in relation to that,” he said, maintaining that the summit’s agenda was mainly focused on “resilience and climate.” In August, UN judge Patrick Robinson said that the UK cannot ignore calls for slavery reparations, highlighting that the amount calculated by the Brattle Group was an “underestimation” of the damage caused by the discarded institution.

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“Vucic admitted that the tenacity of the “fantastic” Russian economy has been surprising.”

• Serbian President Calls Russian Central Bank Chief ‘A Genius’ (RT)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has lauded the work of Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina, noting that her country’s economy has remained buoyant despite the challenges it has faced over the past several years. The comment was made a day after the regulator raised its key interest rate by 200 basis points to a record high of 21%, citing persistent inflation that “considerably” exceeded its July forecast of 6.5-7.0% for this year. Commenting on the hike, Nabiullina said that inflation is projected to be double the regulator’s target of 4% annually, emphasizing that the bank remains committed to bringing it down to the target level. In a televised interview with TV Prva, Vucic admitted that the tenacity of the “fantastic” Russian economy has been surprising.

“I have to admit that I am surprised by the resilience of the Russian economy. Nabiullina is a genius,” the president said, while stressing that it is very difficult for the wartime economy to function under the current conditions. The head of state also said that he skipped last week’s BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan because of the “consequences” that could arise if other meetings were cancelled. Serbia’s delegation to the summit was led by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin, as well as Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic, Economy Minister Adrijana Mesarovic and Nenad Popovic, the minister who oversees international economic cooperation. Vucic expressed hope that he “retained the respect of both sides,” adding that Serbia’s policy will not change overnight.

Earlier this week, the president suggested that Serbia could have a referendum on joining BRICS in light of the economic bloc’s growing popularity in the country. According to research cited by Vucic, 42% of Serbs are in favor of integration with the EU, while another 42% are supportive of the idea of joining BRICS. The Balkan country applied to join the EU in 2009 and has been a candidate since 2012. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin has accused Brussels of moving the goalposts for accession, most recently by linking Belgrade’s membership to severing relations with Moscow. Despite mounting pressure from Brussels, Belgrade has opted to reject the sanctions imposed on Moscow by Kiev’s Western allies, officially pledging neutrality in the Ukraine conflict and maintaining trade relations with both Russia and the West.

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“The new law is aimed at tackling a shortage of commanding staff in Kiev’s armed forces..”

“A Ukrainian [officer] might feel sorry for another Ukrainian and not send him to a certain death. But this is not what Zelensky is being paid for..”

• Zelensky Allows Foreign Mercenaries To Serve As Ukrainian Army Officers (RT)

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has signed a law allowing foreign mercenaries to serve as officers in the country’s military during the conflict with Russia. The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed the relevant legislation on October 10. On Friday, it was signed into law by Zelensky, according to the website of the Ukrainian government. The move means that foreigners who have a contract with the Ukrainian military can now become not only privates or sergeants, but also have positions of authority in the army, regardless of their citizenship. When the law was being discussed in September, the deputy head of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, Egor Chernev, explained that it was needed to address the lack of commanding staff in the armed forces.

“We all understand the current situation with the officer corps. There are problems. Indeed, we have a shortage,” Chernev told the broadcaster Rada at the time. There is interest among former officers from foreign countries in joining the Ukrainian forces, he insisted. Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested in a post on Telegram on Saturday that Zelensky signed the law “so that foreign commanders could finish off the Ukrainians more actively, by throwing them into ‘meat assaults.’” “A Ukrainian [officer] might feel sorry for another Ukrainian and not send him to a certain death. But this is not what Zelensky is being paid for,” she wrote. In March, the Russian Defense Ministry said that at least 13,387 mercenaries from foreign countries had arrived in Ukraine since the escalation between Moscow and Kiev began in February 2022.

Most of them were from Poland (2,960), Georgia (1,042), the US (1,113), Canada (1,005) and UK (822). According to the ministry, at least 5,962 of those soldiers of fortune have been killed in the fighting with the Russian forces. This spring, faced with manpower shortages, mounting losses and military setbacks in the conflict with Russia, Ukraine lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 and significantly tightened mobilization rules, obliging potential recruits to report to conscription offices for “data validation,” which often means a trip straight to the front. Multiple videos have popped up on social media in recent months, showing conscription officers trying to snatch people in the streets, gyms and shopping malls.

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“..once an Israeli tank crewman, returned to Lebanon as a US envoy, not to protect peace but to redefine it on Tel Aviv’s terms..”

• US Envoy’s Diplomatic Cover For Israeli Expansion (Raiss)

On 21 October, Amos Hochstein, born in Israel in 1973 and once an Israeli tank crewman, returned to Lebanon as a US envoy, not to protect peace but to redefine it on Tel Aviv’s terms. The irony is undeniable: Israel, having lost 28 tanks in almost as many days during its latest invasion attempt, now sends one of its former tank crew members, not in battle, but in diplomacy – to achieve through words what military force could not secure: control over Lebanon through revisions to UN Resolution 1701. Hochstein’s mission may appear to be an act of diplomacy, but is it really about fostering peace? Or is he aligning with Israeli policy to reframe control while eroding Lebanon’s sovereignty? The diplomatic veneer only thinly conceals the underlying agenda of control.

The Israeli playbook of manipulating peace processes is nothing new. In a 2001 leaked video, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted about his manipulation of the Oslo Accords, using vague phrases like “military facilities” to tighten Israeli control over contested areas. Netanyahu openly stated, “America is something that you can easily maneuver,” hinting at the ease with which Israeli influence shapes US diplomacy – a dynamic that is evident today in Hochstein’s actions. The Israeli army veteran’s push for amendments to Resolution 1701 is a clear continuation of this strategy: advancing the occupation state’s interests under the guise of diplomacy from Washington. Just as Netanyahu reinterpreted the Oslo Accords to solidify Israeli control, Hochstein’s proposed changes to 1701 seek to turn it into a tool for extending Tel Aviv’s influence. This is not diplomacy for peace; it is diplomacy for power.

Resolution 1701, passed by the UN Security Council on 11 August 2006, marked a critical point for Israel, which found itself unable to defeat Hezbollah during the July War despite its advanced military capabilities. Brokered by then-US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the ceasefire allowed Israel a face-saving exit under the guise of diplomacy rather than face a prolonged, unwinnable battle. But the resolution has since been a point of ongoing contention – one Israel has repeatedly violated. One notable violation is Israel’s continued occupation of Shebaa Farms, which contravenes both Resolution 1701 and the earlier Resolution 425. Hezbollah’s decision to remain armed, often criticized internationally and in some quarters domestically, becomes a logical and legally justified response under international law, given Israel’s occupation of Lebanese land. The ongoing presence of Israeli forces undermines the very peace that Resolution 1701 aimed to establish.

Tel Aviv’s disregard for the resolution extends beyond territorial occupation. Since 2013, Israel has repeatedly violated Lebanese airspace to conduct strikes on Syria, treating Lebanon’s skies like an unguarded backdoor for foreign interventions. This belligerent behavior is akin to a trespasser using a neighbor’s yard to attack another – an act that undermines Lebanon’s sovereignty entirely. In August 2019, a significant escalation occurred when Israel launched a drone strike in Beirut, which then-president Michel Aoun condemned as a “declaration of war.” Moreover, Israel’s occupation of the northern part of Ghajar village further violates both the Blue Line and Resolution 1701. Despite UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces deploying south of the Litani River, Israel’s persistent refusal to withdraw ensures that peace remains elusive, leaving Lebanon under the constant threat of Israeli aggression.

The amendments proposed by Hochstein to Resolution 1701 reveal Israel’s broader strategy of using international mechanisms to further its objectives. These changes would extend UNIFIL’s jurisdiction two kilometers north of the Litani River, allowing international forces to conduct searches, patrols, and inspections without requiring approval from Lebanese authorities. These inspections can include searching vehicles, private properties, and suspected weapons sites. Effectively, this is a demand for Lebanon to cede control over its own territory – a clear infringement on its sovereignty. Under the guise of peacekeeping, this would grant Israel indirect control over Lebanon’s internal security dynamics, especially since intelligence for these operations may be influenced by, or even originate from, Israeli sources.

Brzezinski

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“Iran winning – the Resistance winning therefore – is very much a Russian interest..”

• A Stunning De-Capitation? The Netanyahu “Madness” (Alastair Crooke)

A major war between Israel and Iran is soon likely to erupt – so says Israel’s Defence Minister Gallant. It will be initiated when Israel launches its long mooted strike on Iran. Gallant has promised that Israel’s strike on Iran will be “lethal, precise and especially surprising”, adding that Iran “won’t understand what happened to it, or how”. ‘How’ so – an interesting choice of words. As of this morning, there is no sign of the lethal response promised by Gallant. It would appear that Israel which initially attached importance to responding swiftly and directly, is awaiting the THAAD anti-ballistic missile batteries to be set up – and for the U.S. troops that will operate them to arrive in Israel. THAAD likely is no ‘game-changer’. Iran proved on 1 October its ability to saturate and overwhelm Israeli Air Defence capabilities through two successive volleys of incoming ballistic missiles.

The point here about the THAAD arrival is that, on the one hand, Israel is running short of intercept missiles, and secondly, that drawing the U.S. into a war between the U.S. and Iran – is hugely more important for Netanyahu than keeping to timetable. The THAAD batteries paradoxically might do just that (draw the U.S. into the war). With U.S. forces now deployed on the ground in support of Israel’s military kinetic action against Iran, Israel effectively inserts an American ‘tripwire’ into the war drama: Should American soldiers be killed, then the U.S. is at war with Iran; It would feel bound to react forcefully to the deaths of American soldiers. Netanyahu has been wanting this war for 25 years. He can now see it taking solid shape – directly in front of his eyes. It comes too, from his perspective, at an benign juncture – just before the U.S. elections in which almost every candidate vies to pronounce his or her fealty to Israel.

To be clear, this is no ‘small beer’. It may evolve into a major conflict with Russia, should Tehran be threatened. Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its inhuman – beyond all Rules of War – bombing of civilians in Lebanon to force a terrorised submission, has turned Russia into a full partner with Iran. Russia therefore, has worked hard to supplement Iranian defences with their own top-of-the-line defence systems. Russia’s role however likely will be confined to providing Iran with this defence assistance: Russian ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance); its latest electronic warfare system; certain missiles; and possibly S-400 Air Defence missiles (though their arrival in Iran has not been confirmed). Russia will have a prime interest in observing how these weapons perform against an Israeli strike. Should they function well, it will provide a major boost to Russian general deterrence.

And here lies the key point: For Israeli Zionists and American neocons, the path to a de-fanged Moscow is viewed as passing through a de-capitated and defeated Tehran. Iran winning – the Resistance winning therefore – is very much a Russian interest. Excited by Israel’s de-capitation of much of the Hizbullah senior leadership, and heartened perhaps by unauthorised (and wrong) signalling from Iran that it might respond perfunctorily to an Israeli strike, Team Biden might well perceive a new Zionist-led Middle East about to be born. Will the Joint Chiefs at the Pentagon intervene to stop the march to conflict – as they did over Blinken’s escalation plans in Ukraine? It seems unlikely. They have unreservedly supported Israel up to now. And they have agreed to send the THAAD batteries.

The Joint Chiefs certainly will have experienced the strong pro-Israeli sentiment in Congress, in marked contrast to the growing disenchantment with Ukraine. Yet, taking on Iran – supported by Russia and China – is no small thing: Is it truly ‘winnable’? What if it isn’t? What if Israel loses – and therefore America loses? It would be an earthquake; a humiliation that would shake the western world.

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“Shelters have been emptied and burned down…families have been separated, and men and boys taken away by the truckload..”

• Entire Northern Gaza Population At Risk Of Dying – UN (RT)

What Israeli forces are doing in besieged Gaza during their ongoing war against Hamas cannot be allowed to continue, the United Nation’s top humanitarian official has said. “The entire population of north Gaza is at risk of dying,” Joyce Msuya, acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, warned on Saturday, in a post on X (formerly Twitter). According to the official, hospitals in the region have been hit, health workers detained and first responders prevented from rescuing people trapped under the rubble amid ongoing Israeli military operations. “Shelters have been emptied and burned down…families have been separated, and men and boys taken away by the truckload,” she said, adding that “such blatant disregard for basic humanity and for the laws of war must stop.”

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, echoed the warning, having voiced deep concerns over the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza. He also highlighted the severe impact of the ongoing hostilities on healthcare in the region. “Intensive military operations unfolding around and within healthcare facilities and a critical shortage of medical supplies, compounded by severely limited access, are depriving people of life saving care,” Ghebreyesus wrote on X on Saturday. The WHO Director-General added that Kamal Adwan Hospital in the city of Jabalia, one of the few functioning medical facilities in northern Gaza, has been severely impacted, with only a limited number of staff remaining to care for nearly 200 patients after the detention of 44 male personnel. Earlier this week, the Health Ministry in the Palestinian enclave claimed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stormed the hospital, detaining hundreds of staff, patients and displaced people.

The IDF insisted it was operating in and around the facility based on “intelligence information regarding the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure in the area”. “In the weeks preceding the operation, the IDF facilitated the evacuation of patients from the area while maintaining emergency services,” it added in a post on social media on Friday. West Jerusalem has been repeatedly accused of indiscriminately targeting civilians in Gaza. According to the enclave’s health officials, over 42,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 97,000 wounded since the fighting between Hamas and Israel erupted in October 2023. The IDF has dismissed allegations of committing war crimes, arguing that Hamas is using Palestinian civilians as human shields. More than a year into the conflict, around 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has been displaced, most of them multiple times, according to UN estimates.

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