'Perhaps the biggest elephant in the room of American politics is the existence of a pedophilic blackmail network that involves some of the most powerful people in the country and the world. Despite efforts to get to the bottom of the Jeffrey Epstein case, which saw the trafficking and sexual exploitation of thousands of children, justice continues to be evaded and the cabal associated with Epstein — President Donald Trump notwithstanding — continues its conspiracy'

open.substack.com/pub/chrished…

This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)

A Catastrophic New Normal Has Arrived
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/a-…

"A new study published in Earth’s Future by researchers from Uppsala University with Belgian, French, and German universities have shown that climate change is morphing into a full blown ogre of destruction as several regions of the world are no longer affected by isolated events, instead, several different events occur concurrently or in quick succession. More
The post A

Venezuela Increases Oil Production in June, OPEC Monthly Report (+PDVSA) orinocotribune.com/venezuela-i…

Worldline x Eurobank: Οι βρόμικες πληρωμές ενός γίγαντα των συναλλαγών και η μυστικοπάθεια του Έλληνα συνεταίρου του
reportersunited.gr/16776/world…

Yesterday morning: a computer system emailed me saying "You have two unread notifications". I went to its website, read them, and did something about them.

Today: same computer system emails me again, saying I still have those two unread notifications. Apparently, _reading_ them didn't make it stop thinking they were unread. Fine, ok, here's the "Mark As Read" button.

… the "Mark As Read" button brings up a dialog box with a table re-summarising the actions to be taken (namely, these two messages are going to be marked as read), and I have to click "Submit" to make it happen.

And then when I click Submit, it thinks for several seconds _per message_, marking first one of them as read and then the other.

And _then_ I have to click OK to dismiss the dialog box, which is still sitting there reporting on the actions that have been taken.

If it's possible to make dismissing a notification more cumbersome than this, I don't _want_ to know how!

Becoming the Monster: Imperial Anxieties and the Birth of the Racialized Vampire
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/be…

"Both Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) and its German cinematic adaptation Nosferatu (1922) project the vampire as a racialized and cultural Other, a figure onto which the anxieties of imperial decline, xenophobic paranoia, and racial-political fantasies are mapped. In these texts, the vampire is

Netanyahu, Trump Plot Next ATTACK Against Iran: War Just Beginning –Patrick Henningsen odysee.com/trump-netanyahu-isr…

How to Kill a Dragon: Late Petro-State Politics in Trinidad, the US, and Venezuela
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/ho…

"As Trinidad and Tobago prepared for national elections in April 2025, politicians, economists, and analysts eyed the fate of a dragon that slept just off the country’s shores, in Venezuelan waters. The future of the massive gas field, known as “Dragon Gas,” had recently been dealt a heavy

The concept of class is a fallacy. Marx, perhaps intentionally, confuses castes and classes. "Capitalists" are not members of the capitalist caste. Each capitalist has his own interest, distinct from that of other capitalists. Nor are workers members of the proletariat caste. Each worker is a competitor for work among other workers. A capitalist can become a worker: a worker can become a capitalist.
#capitalism #unions #workers
in reply to Catweazle

@Catweazle People have different abilities. I think you will agree that you and I cannot compete with a professional boxer (for example, Tyson) or a basketball player (for example, Jordan). They earn their millions by using their abilities and skills. Why do you think that, for example, Buffett or Gates are bad men when they use their abilities and skills to earn more than you and I? The rich do not plunder anyone. All contracts in the market are voluntary. It is not the rich who force people to work, but human nature itself that forces them to cooperate with others to earn a living.
in reply to prau

@prau, I never said that the rich always plunder, it isn't also about to be envious of someone which is richer as I am (most are anyway), it's about how he made his money, it's certainly not the same an artist, deportist or someone with a lot of money because of an good product made by him, but about those which become rich with slavery and child work, like eg. Arnancio Ortega with Inditex or those which become rich, promoting wars to sell more weapons.

It's not the question how much money you have, how yoy gained it and what you do with it.
It's a question of ethics, not of money, there will always exist people which are richer than others, this isn't the problem.
Capitalism in its basic is a system for the fair exchange of goods and services, but because of selfish assholes that has misrepresented it in neo-liberalism and therefore in fascism as a maximum expression. Feudalism v.2.0, substituting Kings with Banks and Lobbies which pay politicians and goverments.

A grassroots protest is being organised to take place outside Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Rosebud office as tensions escalate over a controversial proposal that could allow unelected staff to block the display of the Australian flag on official materials.

rebelne.ws/46O14A0

Socialism is the Path to Liberty
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/so…

"The purpose of this essay is to create a broader political dialogue in order to get the US, and with it the world, out of the policy messes that the US is creating. When I speak with my Republican friends, there is widespread agreement regarding what the problems that the US faces are. Differences enter More
The post Socialism is the Path to Liberty appeared first on

Gaza, Volume 01 (384 GB)

An archive of early war crimes evidence compiled by Israel Exposed from the Evidence Task telegram channel, the Eye on Palestine instragram account, data from TikTokGenocide.com, and an archive of the Tracking Genocide Twitter/X account. According to Israel Exposed, a copy of the data was provided to the International Criminal Court.

ddosecrets.com/article/gaza-vo…

Help us keep publishing: donorbox.org/supporting-ddosec…

reshared this

>>Das BAMF entscheidet wieder über Asylanträge von Menschen aus dem Gazastreifen. Der entsprechende Entscheidungsstopp sei aufgehoben worden<<

>>Zur Begründung heißt es, dass das BAMF die Lage im Gazastreifen kontinuierlich beobachtet habe & zu dem Ergebnis gekommen sei, dass dort "nicht mehr von einer nur vorübergehend ungewissen Lage" auszugehen sei. Grund seien d. Dauer & Ausweitung der Kampfhandlungen auf das gesamte Gebiet sowie das Scheitern mehrerer Vereinbarungen zu einer Waffenruhe<<

What Has Become of Britain?
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/wh…

"Britain is in pieces—politically, economically, socially, and in terms of national identity. The country’s existential mess has deep roots, dating back to the Thatcher years (UK Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990). Under her catastrophic reign, market fundamentalism and privatisation took hold, society was dismantled, and the foundations of the welfare state were eroded. This More
The post What

A nuanced discussion of the pros and cons (both from a Palestinian perspective) of recognition of a Palestinian state under the current de facto circumstances.

foreignaffairs.com/palestinian…

@palestine

Earth from Space: Circles in the desert


image

This image from Copernicus Sentinel-1 shows circular agricultural structures near Tabarjal, in the barren desert of northern Saudi Arabia. Image: This image from Copernicus Sentinel-1 shows circular agricultural structures near Tabarjal, in the barren desert of northern Saudi Arabia.

#news #space #science #esa #europeanspaceagency
posted by pod_feeder_v2

Fragmenting a Nation: Israel’s Enduring Pursuit of Palestinian Disunity
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/fr…

"Israel is aggressively implementing plans to shape Palestine’s future and the broader region, sculpting its vision for the ‘day after’ its genocide in Gaza. The latest, bizarre iteration of this strategy proposes fragmenting the occupied West Bank into so-called ’emirates,’ starting with the ’emirate of

The City We Can Call Ours
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/th…

"The deafening racket we’re getting here in Spain from US politics or, more like it, from Donald Trump’s chaotic and volatile presidency, tends to drown out other signals we’re getting. In this situation of the Trump administration’s blind developmentalism and explicit refusal to accept any limits or to engage in mature consideration of the policies More
The post The City We Can Call Ours appeared"

Ukrainian "expert" calculated that 50-70 Patriot batteries, not 17, would be needed to fully protect the country en.topwar.ru/268133-ukrainskij…

A young girl walking through flames in a collapsing building, as a result of Israeli bombing.

🕯️ Shame on those who did this.

🕯️ Shame on those who enabled it.

🕯️ Shame on those who defended it.

🕯️ Shame on those who silenced those who spoke out against it.

(she survived, her family did not)

#genocide #palestine #gaza #history

This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)

Panamanian Unionists Reject US Claim on Canal, Government Wavers
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/pa…

"President Trump mentioned Panama in his inaugural address on January 20. He indicated the Canal “has foolishly been given to the country of Panama.” And “China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China.” He added that, “the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely

« CONDITIONS DE DÉTENTIONS INHUMAINES » À LA PRISON DE TOULOUSE-SEYSSES : LE JUGE DES RÉFÉRÉS SAISI
antidotmedia.noblogs.org/post/…

"franceinfo: Article de presse gratuit disponible Extrait La branche française de l’Observatoire international des prisons (OIP) annonce mercredi 16 juillet avoir saisi le juge des référés du tribunal administratif de…"

Inside Story #10 1973
libcom.org/article/inside-stor…

Trump’s Anti-Education Agenda
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/tr…

"The Supreme Court’s green light to the Trump administration to destroy the federal Department of Education via mass firings is an anti-working-class agenda. To be clear, I define the working class as the majority of U.S. society, born in America or abroad, the 99 percent that the Occupy Movement popularized. See the current political economy of More
The post Trump’s Anti-Education Agenda

in reply to murchadhfinn

Alt text:

Gideon Levy
Save us!
One eye is closed, the other open. One hand grips the wall
that has fallen on her. She is trapped in the ruins, her head and body held tightly.
She has been like that all night. A light bulb is thrown next to her, and she tries to grab it; maybe it will save her. She loses her grip on it.
Then she raises here hand. in a sign that she is alive.
She fights to say her words,
"Save me, I'm tired. I cannot [go on]." With her last strength, she says, "Please, please,
save me." These
are her last words. "Speak, Hala, speak," her brother-in-law, Anas, tries to coax her, but in vain. Her eyes close.
It's not clear how long she lived after that picture. On Tuesday, Nir Hasson wrote on X. "This woman is called Hala Arafat. She is 35. Since
2 A.M., she and 14 other members of her family, mostly children, have been beneath the rubble of their Zarqa Street house in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood. I spoke with her brother-in-law, who said that anyone who tried to approach her was attacked by drones. If anyone has an idea how to help, this is the time." The IDF Spokesperson's Office didn't bother to respond to Hasson for 12 hours.
What's the hurry? Later, the spokesperson mumbled something about
"lack of
coordinates." Hala died in unimaginable agony
with
her husband and four chil-dren. Fourteen members of their family, seven of them children, were killed in the bombing of their home.
They're not the only family that was slaughtered on Tuesday. The Azzam family
- Amir, Rateb, Karim and four babies - was also de-stroyed. The images of the four infants' death, lying on their backs in white shrouds with their faces exposed, are among the most difficult.
One of the infant's face is lacerated.
There are social media accounts that have become slaughterhouse diaries. Every Israeli must now look straight at them. Let feelings be hurt, let soft and sensitive souls be shocked: no image from the Gaza Strip should be censored. This is no snuff film; it's the reality that must be seen.
Hala's last words and the helplessness to save her are unforgiving. A woman trapped in the rubble of her home should rouse a strong wish to save her. But the situation prompted the IDF's launch of killer UAVs to liquidate the rescuers, as happened Wednesday on Zarqa Street in Gaza City.
According to reports, the IDF shot anyone who ap-proached. Daring women
soldiers
were at the joy-
stick, or were they soldiers playing their game of death against anyone who tried to attempt a rescue. These are the same IDF soldiers whom Israel continues to embrace as if they are victims of this war and its heroes. They are neither victims nor heroes when they shoot with UAVs at the helpless. They are like the shooters at the humanitarian aid hubs. Twenty people were crushed to death on Wednesday, after soldiers sprayed them with gas.
The IDF no longer rescues anyone.
Now it shoots anyone who
tries to rescue a woman trapped in her home.
This is the same IDF that, in 1999, rescued a Turkish girl, Shiran Franco, from the rubble. She was nine years old when the earthquake hit her country, and IDF soldiers not only rescued her, but also brought her to Israel for treatment.
Her picture by an Israeli colonel became iconic. How nice we were.
The IDF no longer rescues anyone. Now it shoots anyone who tries to rescue a woman trapped between the walls of her home. Is there anything more monstrous than that?
Again words fail. In the next earthquake - in Turkey or any other country in the world - one should hope that the IDF rescue units that dare show their faces in a feigned effort to look good and save people will be expelled in disgrace.
This army has lost its right to be hypocritical. An army that shoots rescuers and the starving has lost its moral right to offer help
No thanks, the world will say. We won't accept help from your hands drenched in the blood of the helpless.

Habe mich mit einem #Short zu einem Artikel der „Preußischen Allgemeinen“ & zum #Fossilismus aus #Preußen in die oft rechtsdrehenden #YouTube - Blasen gewagt. Wünscht mir bitte Glück! 🤭

#Deutschland #Geschichte #Geografie #Politikwissenschaft #Energiepolitik #Regionalpolitik m.youtube.com/shorts/ENT-vfsqU…

Comments on the recuperation of The Dialectical Butterflies web on prime time TV - David & Stuart Wise
libcom.org/article/comments-re…

The Workers' Dreadnought (Vol. 09 No. 16 - 1 July 1922)
libcom.org/article/workers-dre…

The Atomic Nightmare, Then and Now
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/th…

"In recent months, nuclear weapons have reemerged in global headlines. Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan approached the brink of a full-scale war, a confrontation that could have become an extinction-level event, with the potential to claim up to two billion lives worldwide. The instability of a global order structured on nuclear apartheid has also come into sharp More
The

“Humiliation and Helplessness”: Sectarian Violence Continues Unabated in Syria as Israel Strikes Damascus dropsitenews.com/p/israel-stri…

Undocumented Farm Workers Pose a Conundrum for Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/un…

"The nation’s 2.6 million-plus farm workers – an estimated 1 million of them foreign-born– are a natural target of Donald Trump’s ever-escalating mass deportation campaign. About 45% of the total workforce is estimated to be in the country illegally, and their presence laboring openly in fruit

Despite their confident exterior, narcissists intensely avoid anonymous feedback. Why? Because direct, face-to-face criticism offers them a strategic edge: they can manipulate your reaction, derail the conversation, or twist things into a personal attack — sparking empathy and shifting the dialogue in their favor. 🎭 Understanding this can help you stay grounded and protect your emotional boundaries in tough encounters. #NarcissisticPersonalityDisorder #HealthyBoundaries #PsychologyInsights

MR Browser is the Package Manager Classic Macs Never Had - Homebrew bills itself as the package manager MacOS never had (conveniently ignorin... - hackaday.com/2025/07/18/mr-bro… #softwarerepositories #retrocomputing #classicmac #machacks #m68k #ppc

NATO Invades the Classroom: The Militarization and Weaponization of Media Literacy
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/na…

"During President Donald Trump’s second term, education has remained a central battleground in American politics. Republicans claim that classrooms have become hotbeds of “woke” indoctrination, accusing educators of promoting progressive agendas and tolerating antisemitism. In contrast,

High Noon for the Mexican Wolf?
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/hi…

"A Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) of undetermined sex was captured on camera roaming the back country of the Sierra Madre Occidental in northern Mexico, very precariously. The snapshot was recorded earlier this year on a trap camera in the Campo Verde region of the Chihuahua-Sonora borderlands but not publicized until this month. According to Mexico's National Commission of

Valves Wide Open: Eyes Wide Shut
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/va…

"An open letter to the people of Wyoming Natrium is a New Kid on the Nuclear Block and plans its first reactor in Wyoming. Natrium has never designed, constructed, or operated any operating nuclear power plant. Its claim to fame is that it has some financial backing from Bill Gates, the former founder of Microsoft. More
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THIS IS MASSIVE - Russian Gold Breaks Free from London‼️

Russia is about to launch its own gold trading platform, completely independent of the London Stock Exchange and the LBMA — effectively severing its gold pricing from the Western financial cartel. This is a direct shot at the heart of the global financial order!

London isn’t just a city, it’s the epicenter of a centuries-old empire of control: the City of London Corporation, a private square mile immune to UK law, run by a cabal of unelected financiers, bankers, and globalist institutions. For over 300 years, the Rothschild banking dynasty and their successors have pulled levers from the shadows, using gold, credit, and war as tools of subjugation.

What Russia is doing is not simply economic. It’s symbolic and strategic; a declaration that the game is changing. That the era of pricing the world’s wealth through manipulated Western exchanges is over. That the old gods, the ones who turned debt into dominion, no longer have the final word.

If successful, this new exchange could:
• Expose the paper gold fraud propping up London and Wall Street
• Spark a shift toward physical gold-based trade between Eastern nations
• Undermine the petrodollar-finance complex and its illusion of value
• Strip the City of London of one of its deepest tools of control

This isn’t just about Russia, this is a fracture in the architecture of globalist power, and when gold breaks free… other nations will follow.

Trump’s About Face on Ukraine
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/tr…

"He promised to end the war in 24 hours. He made nice with Russian President Vladimir Putin and parroted Kremlin talking points. He humiliated Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in front of the cameras in the Oval Office. He refused to send more weapons to Ukraine. But that was the old Donald Trump. The new Donald More
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Key Properties of Silicon Carbide Ceramics


Silicon carbide ceramics are advanced materials known for their exceptional hardness, thermal conductivity, and chemical stability. These properties make them highly valuable in a variety of demanding industrial applications. Silicon carbide, often abbreviated as SiC, is a compound composed of silicon and carbon atoms bonded in a crystal lattice, which gives it remarkable strength and durability.

Key Properties of Silicon Carbide Ceramics
Silicon carbide ceramics exhibit a unique combination of characteristics that set them apart from many other engineering materials:

High Hardness and Wear Resistance: SiC is one of the hardest known materials, making it ideal for abrasive environments and wear-resistant components.
Excellent Thermal Conductivity: Unlike many ceramics, silicon carbide conducts heat efficiently, allowing it to perform well in high-temperature applications.
Chemical Inertness: SiC resists corrosion from acids, alkalis, and molten metals, making it suitable for harsh chemical environments.
High Thermal Shock Resistance: It can withstand rapid temperature changes without cracking, important for applications involving extreme heat cycles.
Low Density: Despite its toughness, silicon carbide is relatively lightweight compared to metals, beneficial for weight-sensitive designs.
Industrial Uses of Silicon Carbide Ceramics
Thanks to its impressive properties, silicon carbide ceramics are used in a wide range of industries:

Abrasive and Cutting Tools: SiC is widely used in grinding wheels, cutting discs, and sandpapers due to its hardness.
High-Temperature Components: Components such as kiln furniture, heat exchangers, and furnace linings benefit from SiC's thermal conductivity and stability.
Semiconductor Industry: Silicon carbide substrates serve as a base for high-power, high-frequency electronic devices.
Aerospace and Automotive: SiC parts are used for wear-resistant engine components, brake discs, and heat shields.
Chemical Processing Equipment: Valves, pumps, and seals made from SiC resist corrosion and wear in aggressive environments.
Advantages Over Other Materials
Compared to metals and other ceramics, silicon carbide offers a combination of toughness, lightweight, and resistance to harsh conditions that few materials can match. Its ability to maintain performance at temperatures where metals soften or oxidize makes it particularly valuable for advanced engineering applications.

Conclusion
Silicon carbide ceramics continue to play a crucial role in modern industry due to their outstanding mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties. Their versatility and durability make them a preferred choice for applications where strength, reliability, and resistance to extreme conditions are essential.

I Went to See Superman As an Escape from Reality – Reality Was Still There
counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/i-…

"I am not going to pretend I know exactly what Director James Gunn’s intentions were with his recent adaptation of Superman, which was released in theaters last week. But I didn’t need the 72 feet wide and 50 feet tall IMAX screen to see clear connections to the hate directed towards immigrants here in the

We get "motherhood" all wrong. It isn't really a thing.

Human history...pre-history: As best we can tell, as it is all a guessing game, humans are about 200k yrs old. And the vast, vast majority of that time was spent living in smallish hunter gatherer tribes. Civilization began about 10k yrs ago, probably, but that varied by place. Of course some people's still live in those small tribes. So we can look to what happens there to form ideas about our instincts. In those tribes "motherhood" isn't a thing like it is in our world. I've read a number of studies on this one, it's fascinating! One study showed that a new born baby is held on average by 14 different people a day. Mothers take a few weeks to recover, and they stay very close to their baby nursing, etc, but they really don't do much "mothering". Small children are cared for communally and once they are old enough to run around, they join their local kids play group. The mothers stay physically close to their kids, but are engaged in their own crafts for most of the day while conversing with other adults. This is what our instincts are build for.

Having been through this myself, I can't tell you wave of relief that hit me when I learned this, it was an "O, that's why it was so hard. I was never meant to do it that way!" The way we do "motherhood" now, with one woman alone in a house with multiple kids all day playing patty cake is unnatural to the point of being really destructive.