Category Archives: Uncategorized

CIA and Mossad Created ISIS and Al-Nusra

Posted on by
Reply
By Helena Glass
August 23, 2026

The story behind al-Julani, the sitting President of Syria, is filled with contradictions.

It is claimed Julani joined al-Qaeda during the Iraq War initiated by Bush. He was captured in 2006 and imprisoned at Camp Bucca until 2011, although the Camp shut down in 2009 and was handed over to the newly-installed Iraqi government. Camp Bucca was the staging ground for ISIL(ISIS) detaining 100,000 Iraqis during the war.

Situated in the middle of the desert, hundreds of detainees died, abuse was rampant, riots were the norm. It is where ISIL (ISIS) was born. It is where al-Julani was trained by US Forces to become the leader of al-Nusra with the goal of assassinating Assad and taking over Syria. Before al-Nusra was labeled a terrorist organization, it was working alongside the US.

Operation Timber Sycamore

The CIA program that ran from 2012 to 2017 to train and arm Syrian rebel groups fighting to remove President Bashar al-Assad from power was called Timber Sycamore. Al-Julani and al-Nusra were not terrorists, they were CIA assets. Foreign partners included Saudi Arabia, UK, and Jordan. Camp Bucca was the source of men, explaining why Julani was greeted warmly by President Trump and given Syria as a gift.

Israel took advantage of that gift when it took over the ‘buffer zone’ established by the UN. Things have quickly gotten muddied from the point of view of the CIA and Israel as Julani welcomes Erdogan into Syria as an ally. Israel and Turkey are abject enemies and now Turkey is aligned with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. A strategic move. Two days ago, Israel bombed the Syrian base Julani told Erdogan he could occupy. If Israel kills anyone, war is likely to shift dramatically.

Also two days ago, ICE arrested Blerim Skoro and is attempting to deport him to Kosovo. Skoro was also a CIA asset rooting out al-Qaeda members for arrest and is fighting against his deportation. In addition, his CIA anonymous cover has been broken and he stands to be assassinated.

Syria has been a CIA target since its first coup was initiated in 1949, one year after Israel’s statehood was brokered. Miles Copeland, Jr., the CIA’s Damascus Station Chief recounted the coup in Syria, as well as in Egypt and Iran in his 1989 book entitled, The Game Player; Confessions of the CIA’s Original Political Operative. Another coup was successful in 1954, another in 1963, another in 1966, and yet another in 1970 that brought the Assad family to power.

Assad had friendly relations with America until America turned into Israel. At that point, the US dropped relations, incited protests, and began bombing under the pretext that Syria supported ISIL, the same ISIL created by the CIA and Mossad at Camp Bucca. Saddam Hussein underwent the exact same alliance to enemy status. This is what Iran refers to when Rubio promises to make Iran very wealthy if they just give up their country. The same promise made to Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Haiti, etc.

Counterintelligence Chief, James Angleton, a protégé of Allen Dulles, first saw the opportunity to create a relationship with Israel’s Mossad in the 60’s. In 1973, the Yom Kippur War saw Israel losing to Egypt and Syria. Under President Nixon and CIA director, William Colby, US military assistance to Israel increased formidably. Israel with America’s assistance won the war and an allegiance was formed. But it was Henry Kissinger who negotiated diplomacy while engaged within the cabal of the Zionist Deep State.

The first Jewish Secretary of State, Kissinger, was known to forego moral and ethical ideologies in favor of regime change, coups, and assassinations. He expanded the Vietnam War, bombed Cambodia without authorization, destabilized Chile and El Salvador, helped incite Argentina’s dirty war, hated Palestinians, and advocated for kidnappings and torture. A true Zionist at heart!

For these wars, Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump took his cue.

The Middle East has undergone favor and disfavor for its entire existence post WWI. It has endured the wrath of Israel and America. When Trump came to power in 2017, his goal for securing the friendship of the Saudis was simply to secure their vast wealth for himself. “Allies are useful idiots” – this is his mantra. Trump’s CIA continues operations in Ukraine against Russia – despite Putin being his ‘good friend.’ This is the art of the deal — to defraud your enemies for money while pretending to be their friend.

Unfortunately, that would include Americans.

AIPAC was founded in 1954 as the American Zionist Committee For Public Affairs. Its founder, Isaiah Kenen, initially organized AIPAC  to counter international criticism of Israel’s Qibya Massacre of Palestinian villagers that year. Israeli PM Ariel Sharon orchestrated the massacre of mostly women and children ordering maximum collateral. It was condemned by most countries across the globe including the US. The purpose of AIPAC was to redefine history and claim Jewish victimhood. It worked. The propaganda was sold.

In the late 1980’s early 1990’s, Epstein was recruited based on his extensive ties to a slew of millionaires.

At the time, Itzak Shamir (given name Yezernitsky) was PM of Israel. Shamir was the leader of the Israeli Terrorist Group – Lehi and served ten years as a Mossad agent before becoming PM and orchestrating the Epstein Operation of blackmail. Shamir was succeeded by Yitzhak Rabin, a former leader of the Terrorist Group Haganah which was the predecessor to the IDF. He was assassinated in 1995 by an Israeli law student.

[…]

Via https://www.globalresearch.ca/collaboration-cia-mossad-created-isil-al-nusra/5937679

Turkey Issues Arrest Warrant For Netanyahu, Seeks Interpol Red Notice

Posted on by
Reply

AFP/Getty Images

Zero Hedge

Aug 23, 2006

Turkey has escalated its anti-Israel actions, after months of denunciations connected to its Gaza, Syria, and Iran policies – and is once again taking things to new levels.

The Erdogan government has just issued an international arrest warrant for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of an investigation into Israel’s interception of an aid flotilla for Gaza, which happened in mid-May and involved over 50 vessels and nearly 500 international activists.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced Friday on X that Netanyahu and another top official are wanted for “genocide” related to military actions in Gaza.

“We categorically reject the notion that the Netanyahu administration, which is implementing a genocide policy in Gaza, is untouchable and unaccountable,” Gurlek said.

“We will not allow the crimes committed in Gaza to be covered up or the perpetrators to be shielded by impunity. We will resolutely utilize all possibilities of national and international law,” the Justice Minister added.

Gurlek vowed that Turkey will continue to support the Palestinian people and won’t halt its pursuit of justice until “those who commit crimes against humanity are held accountable before the law.”

Israeli official Afek Moskovitch has also been named as part of the anti-flotilla crackdown, which Ankara says was a severe violation of international law and maritime norms. Turkey has asked Interpol to issue red notices for the Israeli officials’ arrest.

Israeli media has picked up on the provocation from Turkey, and details the following:

Gurlek said arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Moskovitch were issued on July 14 on a genocide charge, prompting the Justice Ministry to ask the Interior Ministry to pursue the Interpol notices. The case before Istanbul’s 11th High Criminal Court names 35 defendants.

The proceedings concern the interception of activists seeking to deliver aid to Gaza and their subsequent detention. Gurlek said the charges include crimes against humanity, genocide, unlawful deprivation of liberty, torture, intentional injury, property damage, aggravated robbery and hijacking.

This is not the first time that Turkey has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. It did so in 2025 related to supporting the International Criminal Court (ICC) case targeting Israeli leaders.

Given years of ratcheting tensions between the two countries, it remains extremely unlikely that Israeli leaders would ever travel to Turkey anyway, but this will continue to also cause problems and create pressures for regular Israeli tourists.

This past week, Israel attacked a northern airbase in Syria, and reports speculate that it was really about pushing back Turkish military forces, and to ensure that no Turkish foothold could be established there. The destroyed base is in Idlib province, and is believed to have been abandoned since Assad’s overthrow.

[…]

Viahttps://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/turkey-issues-arrest-warrant-netanyahu-seeks-interpol-red-notice

Iran ‘reviewing invitation’ to join Mecca Joint Defense Agreement

Posted on by
Reply
(Photo credit: AFP)

The Cradle

AUG 23, 2026

The Mecca Agreement was signed earlier this month by Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, with all three countries vowing to defend each other

Iran is reviewing an invitation to join the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye, the head of the Iranian parliament’s official news agency said in an interview with Al Mayadeen on 23 August.

Mehdi Rahimi stated Iran had received an invitation to join the agreement and was currently considering the proposal.

Rahimi praised the “efforts of states in West Asia to create a regional security umbrella,” saying Iran has long advocated for such an initiative.

The recent war with Iran proved to everyone that Washington destabilized West Asia instead of fulfilling its promises to provide its allies in the region with security, he added.

The invitation has not yet been officially confirmed by Iran’s Foreign Ministry or by any of the three members of the Mecca Agreement.

The agreement was signed on 7 August by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

It establishes a principle of mutual defense similar to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty under which an attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all of them.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on 10 August that Tehran had “no reason for concern” over the establishment of the alliance.

In a written interview published by Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat on 12 August, Turkish President Erdogan stated the agreement was not limited to its original members and that Ankara hopes it will grow to include every country in the region.

“Our vision for it is not limited to the three countries,” Erdogan said, “rather, we aspire for it to grow, and perhaps appropriate conditions will emerge one day for all countries of the region to gather under its umbrella, which would be the optimal step toward achieving lasting stability throughout the region.”

The Turkish president said it would be a mistake to treat the agreement as a reaction to the US-Israeli war on Iran and its cascading global effects, saying the step “was not born of the moment” and that the proposal had come up multiple times between the three signatories and other regional states.

However, the push for the pact followed the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on 28 February and left Gulf states doubting the worth of Washington’s security umbrella after Iranian retaliation fell heavily on states hosting US bases.

As Erdogan opened the trilateral defense pact to new joiners, three Saudi sources told Middle East Eye (MEE) that Riyadh opposed Egypt’s inclusion, citing frustration with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s government over its regional alignments and a belief that Cairo no longer carries the strategic or military weight it once did.

[…]

Via https://thecradle.co/articles/iran-reviewing-invitation-to-join-mecca-joint-defense-agreement-report

US Republican rejects public AIPAC campaign as Israel lobby becomes liability

Posted on by
2
(Photo credit: AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

The Cradle

AUG 23, 2026

The campaign of Mike Rogers in Michigan marks the first time that support from the pro-Israel lobby may be damaging for a Republican candidate

The Republican nominee for the Michigan Senate race, Mike Rogers, has asked the Israel lobby not to publicly campaign on his behalf, fearing it will be a liability rather than an asset amid anger among US voters over Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, Axios reported on 22 August.

After Rogers met with American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) chair Michael Tuchin in Los Angeles last week, the lobby group canceled the release of campaign ads targeting Rogers’ Democratic opponent, Abdul el-Sayed.

Sayed narrowly defeated Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary earlier this month, despite AIPAC spending $30 million on advertising for her campaign.

Sayed regularly expressed his opposition to Israel and its actions in Gaza during the primary, while pointing to Haley Stevens’ support from the Israel lobby.

Rogers’ request reportedly angered AIPAC chair Tuchin, who was prepared to spend similarly massive amounts to help his campaign, according to people familiar with the conversations.

“The extraordinary tension underscores how far AIPAC’s political standing has fallen amid voters’ anger over the war in Gaza,” Axios wrote.

Though Rogers is a strong supporter of Israel, he reportedly fears that open support from the Israel lobby would be a liability in the upcoming November election, which will determine whether Republicans will maintain control of the Senate.

Sayed was born in Michigan to parents who immigrated from Egypt. He served as a public health official in the state after graduating from medical school at Columbia University. If elected in November 2026, he will become the first Muslim senator in US history.

AIPAC made it a priority to defeat Sayed, who has called Israel a “rogue state” and described Tel Aviv’s actions as genocide and apartheid.

After winning the Democratic primary, he taunted the Israel lobby, saying “AIPAC, if you’re listening, come back and burn it again.”

According to Axios, Rogers still wants help from AIPAC, but in a way that does not put the group’s name “front and center,” such as by making donations to a pro-Rogers super PAC rather than running its own ads on Rogers’ behalf.

But AIPAC officials insisted they want a “visible role” in defeating Sayed.

Public opinion in the US has turned against Israel since 2023, when it launched its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, killing over 73,000 people, the majority women and children.

Anger towards Israeli policies is strongest among Democratic voters, leading to a string of high-profile defeats for AIPAC-backed candidates in Democratic primaries this year.

On Thursday, Aisha Wahab won a special election in northern California, allowing her to serve out the remainder of Congressman Eric Swalwell’s term.

Wahab, a progressive Democrat of Afghan heritage, won the election despite massive spending by outside groups, including AIPAC.

She says she opposes US military aid to Israel and has called Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide. AIPAC was determined to defeat Wahab even though, unlike Sayed, she has not been particularly outspoken in her opposition to Israel.

“She’s not an anti-Zionist,” Tye Gregory, chief of the Jewish Community Relations Council in San Francisco, told Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

In June, three Democratic candidates known for their opposition to Israel won primaries for Congressional seats in New York.

Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier all won Democratic primaries and are expected to defeat Republican opponents in November’s general election easily.

According to Responsible Statecraft (RS), the US relationship with Israel and funding from AIPAC “became central components in each of these races.”

[…]

Via https://thecradle.co/articles/us-republican-rejects-public-aipac-campaign-as-israel-lobby-becomes-liability

Trump, Vance and Bessent try to calm the bond market with ‘alternative facts’

Posted on by
Reply
Don’t believe the bond market. Believe me.

Don’t believe the bond market. Believe me. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

By Brett Arends

Maybe this stuff works on TV or on the stump. But it doesn’t work on Wall Street, where people can count.

It’s even worse than you think.

In response to the growing crisis surrounding the bond market and the national debt, President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are trying to talk the crisis down.

And they are doing so with their usual brand of nonsense and … er … “alternative facts.”

The most charitable explanation is that they simply think the $40 trillion Treasury bond market has somehow got it wrong and is mispricing interest rates and risk. That would be truly remarkable — and would offer the greatest one-way bet in financial history.

Presumably, if the administration honchos really think that is the case, they will rush out today and throw all of their money into these grossly undervalued bonds.

And presumably the same goes for MAGA supporters across America. If short- and long-term interest rates got back to where they were when President Donald Trump left office in January 2021, the Pimco 25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury Index ETF ZROZ -0.67%, which holds the longest-dated U.S. Treasury bonds, could be expected to rise more than 150% from current levels.

Good luck with that.

Trump’s remarks were actually the least egregious of the trio. He said on Thursday that because the U.S. economy was “strong,” interest rates “should go down.” This is not correct, but it’s just false reasoning.

Trump, as a businessman who made infamous use of excess debts during his decades reeling from one corporate bankruptcy to another, is likely confusing the interest rate on corporate debts — like the ones his company issued — with the interest rate on national debts.

When a corporation is doing well and is financially secure, then, yes, the interest rate on its bonds will decline because investors will consider them safer.

But government bonds are different. When a national economy is strong — let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that it is right now — that doesn’t mean the interest rates on those bonds should go down. On the contrary, when a national economy is strong, bond rates typically rise, partly because there are so many competing demands on the money — i.e. investment — and partly because a booming economy tends to push up inflation.

This is why Treasury interest rates collapse in a recession or depression — such as during in the global financial crisis or the pandemic lockdowns.

Vance, meanwhile, blamed the looming bond crisis on the “debt bomb” this administration supposedly “inherited” from the Biden administration. Maybe this stuff works on TV or on the stump. But it doesn’t work on Wall Street, where people can count.

The gross U.S. national debt at the end of 2024 — in other words, at the end of the Biden administration — was $35.2 trillion, as reported by the independent Congressional Budget Office. (See Table B-3, here.)

Today it’s $40 trillion. It’s risen nearly $5 trillion in a year and a half.

In January 2025, when Trump took office for the second time, the CBO projected that the national debt would reach $39.2 trillion by the end of 2026. We have already blown past that, months ahead of schedule. In other words, the debt hasn’t just risen by almost $5 trillion so far under Trump, but it’s already risen about $1 trillion more than was forecast.

Darn that Joe Biden!

Meanwhile, Bessent was on TV claiming that there is a “very good chance” that federal deficits have “peaked.” He also claimed the U.S. economy could “grow our way out” of the debt problem.

Both these claims would come as news to anyone looking at the data. According to the last analysis by the CBO, the deficit this year is higher than last year and will continue to climb for the rest of Trump’s term in office. The 2025 federal deficit was $1.78 trillion. This year’s is forecast to be $1.85 trillion. Next year, it will be $1.89 trillion, and in 2028 it will be $20.8 trillion. If Bessent’s calculator is telling him those numbers are going down, he can borrow mine.

Actually, the picture is even worse, because this week the CBO said that the Supreme Court ruling against most of the Trump administration’s tariffs would add hundreds of billions more to these deficits. While Bessent says new tariffs will replace the old ones, that won’t affect the numbers, which already include the tariffs.

As for growth, the CBO predicts that U.S. annual GDP will grow by $14.8 trillion over the next 10 years. The national debt, meanwhile, will grow by $24.3 trillion, or nearly $10 trillion more than GDP.

The U.S. economy would have to grow 25% faster per year than forecast just to keep up, meaning a growth rate of 5% a year instead of the expected 4%.

If you really believed what Trump, Vance and Bessent are saying about the debt, you would be buying high-risk, long-term zero coupon Treasury bonds. So too would all the members of the administration’s “Hallelujah” chorus in Congress. And those members of the administration’s extended circle who are, ahem, free to trade.

The bullish case for bonds rests more on hopes that the Federal Reserve will bring back “quantitative easing” and start printing money to buy up long-term Treasury bonds. Stay tuned.

[…]

Via https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-vance-and-bessent-try-to-calm-the-bond-market-with-alternative-facts-8e424378

US Meddling In Brazilian Elections, Preparing For Possible Military Intervention

Posted on by
2
US Meddling In Brazilian Elections, Preparing For Possible Military Intervention

(MintPress News) The United States is interfering in the Brazilian presidential elections, pressuring the Brazilian electorate into voting for right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of disgraced former president, Jair Bolsonaro. If that does not work and President Lula da Silva secures a fourth term in office, the groundwork is already being laid for a potential military intervention. From sanctions and economic warfare, to coaching influencers and journalists on how best to attack the left-wing government, the Trump administration is doing everything it can to overthrow Lula.

Meanwhile, the State Department’s recent decision to designate Brazilian gangs as “foreign terrorist organizations” just as it did with Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, signals a willingness to intervene militarily.

Brazil is Trump’s next target, and builds upon recent U.S. and Israeli interference in May’s Colombian elections, where pro-Trump candidate Abelardo de la Espriella won a razor-thin victory.

MintPress examines the Trump administration’s attempts to undermine Brazilian democracy and install another Bolsonaro back into power.

A Thumb on The Scale

Brazil’s October elections are rapidly approaching, and while thirteen people are standing for president, two principal candidates have already emerged: current left-of-center president Lula da Silva, and far-right challenger, Flavio Bolsonaro. Flavio is the son of disgraced former president, Jair (sentenced to 27 years in prison for leading a January 6th-inspired coup attempt), and the brother of Eduardo (convicted in absentia for lobbying the United States to intervene in his father’s trial).

It is obvious which candidate Washington prefers. The Bolsonaro’s are politically, ideologically, and personally very close to the MAGA movement, and Flavio has already promised that, if elected, his country will become one of the U.S.’ closest allies.

Lula currently holds a double-digit lead on Bolsonaro (40% to 28%, with no other candidate holding more than 10% of the public’s voting intentions). But Brazilian politics can change very quickly; in 2018, Lula held a 20-point lead over Jair Bolsonaro when the Brazilian Supreme Court blocked him from running. He was imprisoned on bogus charges in a case orchestrated by the U.S. government, leaving the path clear for Bolsonaro’s victory.

Lula has sounded the alarm that Brazilian democracy is once again under threat from Washington. “As far as I’m concerned, [Trump] can continue liking Bolsonaro, the father, the son, the grandson… There is no problem with that. It’s his problem. There’s no accounting for taste,” he said. “Now, don’t meddle in the Brazilian elections, because the Brazilian elections are a Brazilian problem, just as American elections are their business, not mine,” he added: “All I want is the same respect for Brazil that I have for the United States. That’s it.”

Washington, however, has other ideas. On May 26, Flavio Bolsonaro traveled to Washington to meet with Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to sell them on the concept of military intervention in Brazil. Two days later, the U.S. State Department designated two Brazilian gangs, Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital, as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” and “Foreign Terrorist Organizations, a decision that Brian Mier, an American journalist who moved to Brazil in 1991 and is now Brazil correspondent for TeleSur English, described as “a preemptive move to possibly invade if Lula wins reelection.”

In 2025, the State Department did the same with Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. Just months later, the U.S. carried out an operation to kidnap President Nicolás Maduro, decapitating the Venezuelan government.

Free Speech or Hate Speech?

Mier noted that the United States government is also actively coaching Brazilian influencers in methods and techniques to best attack Lula and the government. Earlier this year, it was revealed that the U.S. Consulate in São Paulo held a series of workshops with selected prominent right-wing figures.

One of these is influencer Maria Fernanda Schmidt, who confirmed the validity of the reporting by posting a set of pictures of the event on her Instagram. “It was an excellent opportunity to share with diplomats the challenges faced by influencers, journalists, and content producers in the digital environment, in an enriching dialogue about the direction of freedom of expression in Brazil,” she wrote.

The U.S. Consulate has also arranged for visas and trips to the United States for local journalists. The objective was to entice them into attacking Lula and promoting Bolsonaro’s candidacy by promoting the U.S.-backed line that freedom of speech and freedom of expression is under attack in Brazil, thanks to Lula’s government.

This idea is based largely on a 2024 spat between Brazilian authorities and U.S. billionaire Elon Musk. Musk refused to comply with a Brazilian court order to delete far-right accounts on Twitter (now officially called X) that broke the country’s hate speech and misinformation laws. Musk, a champion of far-right politics himself, and someone who has openly used his platforms to promote regime change around the world, refused to do so, leading to X’s temporary shutdown across Brazil.

“Powerful actors in the Trump administration and Republican Party as well as Silicon Valley tech allies and pundits who make up part of the integral U.S. state (Steve Bannon, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Michael Shellenberger, etc.) have been working closely with the Bolsonaro family since Jair Bolsonaro first ran for President in 2018,” Mier told MintPress.

Its no secret that the Brazilian right-wing are deeply influenced by the MAGA movement. Indeed, Brazil even had its own January 6 moment – on January 8, 2023. After he lost the 2022 presidential election to Lula, Flavio’s father, Jair Bolsonaro took to the airwaves denouncing the result, claiming irregularities, and calling for an insurrection. Thousands of people marched on the streets in Brasília, rioting and calling for the military to intervene.

Like the United States’ January 6, the rioters were unsuccessful. But unlike in America, Bolsonaro was held to account for his coup attempt, and was sentenced in 2025 to 27 years in prison.

There is little doubt of his guilt. During his trial, Bolsonaro admitted that he met with top Brazilian generals to discus how to hold onto power, even after losing the election.

Trump, however, was incensed by the decision. “The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace,” he said, demanding the immediate end of the trial. Trump placed punishing economic sanctions on Brazil, and against the country’s Supreme Court Justice, Alexandre de Moraes.

This decision was likely influenced by Jair’s son and Flavio’s brother, Eduardo, who heavily lobbied the Trump administration on his father’s behalf, demanding his country be sanctioned. Brazil considered this an attempt to pervert the course of justice, and sentenced Eduardo to four years in prison in absentia. He currently lives in a mansion in Texas and cannot return to his homeland. There, he plays a similar role to what Maria Corina Machado did in Venezuela, lobbying the U.S. to militarily intervene in his country to put his family back in power. In October, he publicly called for the U.S. military to bomb Rio de Janeiro under the guise of fighting drug trafficking.

Trump also commented on Eduardo’s trial, although he appeared to believe Eduardo is his sibling, Flavio.“ I hear they arrested somebody that’s running for office today,” Trump said in June. “ I heard that they arrested the Bolsonaro junior, who was doing well in the polls.” In fact, it is Flavio Bolsonaro who is running for president.

Economic and Diplomatic Warfare

If elected, Flavio has promised the United States considerable influence inside the country, offering the Trump administration control over his transition team. This would mean, according to some, that U.S. officials would take considerable power over of Brazil’s economy and society, in a not too dissimilar way in which they controlled Iraq.

The upcoming elections between Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro are also taking place in a context in which the United States is actively trying to crash the Brazilian economy, in order to sink Lula’s chances. The United States has placed sweeping 40-50% tariffs on Brazilian goods, with more in the pipeline. These measures were quite different to the generalized tariffs placed on much of the world last year. For one, the U.S. actually maintains a healthy trade surplus with Brazil, unlike most other countries. Secondly, in his executive order, Trump explicitly stated that (emphasis added):

“Should the government of Brazil take significant steps to address the national emergency declared in this order and align sufficiently with the United States on national security, economic and foreign policy matters described in this order, I may further modify this order.”

The clear implication of this statement is that Brazil is being punished for being insufficiently loyal to Washington.

Diplomatic ties worsened earlier this month, after the United States revoked the visa of Brazilian Ambassador, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, forcing her to return home. That same day, Brazil had instructed the Argentinian ambassador to leave the country.

“The Trump administration has been closely working with [Argentinian president] Javier Milei to delegitimize left parties, leaders, and administrations across Latin America,” Mier said, noting that Milei had traveled to São Paulo in July to attend the far-right Liberal Party’s national convention, where Flavio Bolsonaro was officially chosen as the party’s presidential candidate. Milei has been extremely vocal about his wish to see Lula’s demise, attending Bolsonaro rallies and calling Lula “corrupt,” a “thief” and a “convict.”

“A Gift From the CIA”

Milei’s use of the word convict refers to Operation Car Wash, a U.S.-backed scheme that saw Lula imprisoned on corruption charges. Lula had been leading Jair Bolsonaro by over 20 points in the polls for the 2018 general election, but was incarcerated and forbidden from running for office, even from his prison cell.

The prosecution worked closely with Washington to ensure Lula remained behind bars and unable to contest the election, paving the way for Bolsonaro’s rise. Bolsonaro later appointed Sergio Moro, the judge that sent Lula to prison, as his justice minister.

[…]

Via https://thefreethoughtproject.com/government-corruption/us-meddling-in-brazilian-elections-preparing-for-possible-military-intervention

Two New Studies Raise Alarm Over Potential COVID-19 “Vaccine” Contamination of the Blood Supply

Posted on by
Reply

Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

We report nine unvaccinated blood transfusion recipients who experienced serious complications including blood clots, heart damage, multi-organ failure, and death.

A newly published two-part scientific study raises major alarms about an issue that has received remarkably little scrutiny: What happens when blood from COVID-19-vaccinated donors is transfused into another person?

Blood banks routinely screen donations for recognized infectious threats. Yet the current blood supply is not routinely screened for vaccine-derived mRNA, spike protein, plasmid DNA, amyloid, fibrin-microclot complexes, or other relevant vaccine-associated constituents.

Our newly published two-part series investigates this blind spot from two complementary directions. The two studies were authored by James A. Thorp, MD; Claire Rogers, MSPAS, PA-C; R. Clinton Ohlers, PhD; M. Nathaniel Mead, PhD; Nicolas Hulscher, MPH (myself); Kirstin Cosgrove, CCRA; Sierra Hamm, RN; David Speicher, PhD; and Steven Hatfill, MD, M Med.

Part I: Serious Post-Transfusion Complications in Nine Unvaccinated Patients

Potential Implications of COVID-19 Vaccination for Blood Donation: A Retrospective Case Series and Literature Review—Part I of II

Part I presents a retrospective, hypothesis-generating case series of nine individuals who had not received a COVID-19 vaccine and subsequently experienced serious medical events after receiving blood transfusions.

Reported complications included thromboembolic disease, progressive clotting disorders, myocarditis, pericardial disease, disseminated intravascular coagulation, multi-organ system failure, and death.

We concluded that these cases, together with the existing literature, raise sufficient concern to warrant direct investigation of whether biologically active vaccine-derived constituents may be present in donated blood:

This study suggests that blood donated by COVID-19-vaccinated individuals may contain biologically active vaccine-derived constituents that could cause adverse clinical outcomes. The case reports and cited studies identify questions that warrant further investigation. All the pathogenic components of the COVID-19 vaccine or byproducts from it, have been found in several studies to be circulating in the blood of vaccinated donors. Healthcare providers must honor the ethical principles of patient autonomy and non-maleficence and support patients’ requests for autologous and directed designated donor blood. Screening blood donations for the presence of spike protein, amyloid, fibrin-microclot complexes, vaccine-derived mRNA, and plasmid DNA using quantitative assays and PCR-based methods should be considered for further evaluation by relevant public health and regulatory authorities, including the CDC and FDA.

Part II: Extraordinary Blood, Clotting, and Neurological Safety Signals

Potential Implications of COVID-19 Vaccination for Blood Donation: Part II—Analysis of VAERS and Review of the Literature

Part II expands the investigation to the CDC/FDA Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, analyzing reports from January 1, 1990 through June 26, 2026 and comparing COVID-19 vaccines with influenza vaccines, DPT-containing vaccines, and all non-COVID vaccines combined.

The analysis identified statistically significant safety signals across every investigated endpoint, including reported rate ratios reaching:

Hemorrhage: up to 101-fold
Hemorrhage in pregnancy: up to 108-fold
Blood transfusion: up to 62-fold
Post-transfusion complications: up to 30-fold
Hypercoagulable biomarkers: up to 452-fold
Thrombotic events: up to 1,221-fold
Parkinson’s disease: up to 282-fold
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: up to 1,333-fold
Prion disease: 60-fold

These signals are particularly important because they overlap with many of the same clinical patterns observed in Part I, including thrombosis, hemorrhage, DIC, and multi-organ dysfunction.

Part I identifies a series of serious post-transfusion events that demand investigation. Part II identifies striking pharmacovigilance signals involving many of the same biological systems, particularly clotting, hemorrhage, transfusion complications, and multi-organ dysfunction.

To preserve global blood-supply integrity, regulatory frameworks should move rapidly to implement direct quantitative spike-protein screening and high-sensitivity digital PCR testing for vaccine-derived genetic material across donor networks, while also investigating whether these constituents remain biologically active after donation, storage, processing, and transfusion.

[…]

Via https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-two-new-studies-raise-alarm

Israel’s New War in Syria: Why Türkiye Is Now in the Crosshairs

Posted on by
Reply

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photos: via Wikimedia)

By Robert Inlakesh

What has been happening in Syria should come as a wake-up call for the Turkish leadership: as long as Israel is a major player in the region, you cannot simply compete with them without engaging in violent conflict.

Earlier this week, Israel began bombing Syrian military positions for the first time in around four months, specifically targeting an air base where Turkish military personnel are known to be present – this is not random violence; it is instead part of a concerted pressure campaign that is pushing boundaries that even the United States is not fully prepared to go along with.

Israeli air raids targeted and destroyed air strips and hangars at the Abu al-Duhur Air Base in the Idlib province of Syria, inflicting significant damage and intentionally attempting to curb efforts by Turkiye to revive the largest destroyed Syrian air force and air defense systems.

While Tehran and Moscow were the chief supporters of the former Syrian military, the country now depends on both Washington and Ankara. NATO member Turkiye has therefore taken it upon itself to try and get a military foothold inside Syrian territory, attempting to extract the maximum it can from its relationship with its neighbor.

Like Iran, Turkiye has different interests from its other major partner inside the country, but unlike the Iranians, the Turkish State is not backing resistance to Israel and instead has maintained strong economic ties with the occupying regime. However, the Israeli government does not care that Turkiye presents no military threat to it, nor are there any signs it will; it is only fixated on regional dominance and views Syria as competition.

Turkiye and Israel are both US allies, meaning that the American government will not throw its weight fully behind either side and instead play a balancing game. Yet, the Israelis evidently have much more sway over Washington and seek to crush Turkish regional influence, as they endeavor to achieve their dreams of a “Greater Israel”.

Israeli bombing attacks against military positions – with the exception of a few occasional strikes – largely halted after March, when a series of strikes were carried out. The reason behind most of the attacks carried out against positions affiliated with Damascus-aligned forces has been to send a message. This is precisely why the old Ministry of Defense was even blown to pieces and why Israel launched strikes in the vicinity of the Presidential Palace – they are demonstrating who the boss is and warning the Syrian leadership of the consequences should it step out of line.

The Syrian leadership, under the command of Ahmed al-Shara’a, or Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has largely capitulated to Israeli demands, such as attempting to disarm Syrians in the south of the country, working to intercept arms shipments to Hezbollah, and even signing a “Joint Fusion Mechanism” with the Israelis. As part of this mechanism, it was clearly written that Syria would even pursue economic projects with the Zionist regime that continues to expand its occupation of southern Syrian lands.

The relationship between Syria, Turkiye, and Israel today is one of a tug of war. The Turkish State is attempting to help Syria revive its air force and hopes to introduce a functioning air defense system to the country, but the Israelis want Syria weak.

It is also clear why Tel Aviv is so paranoid. They know that the future of the Syrian State is not certain and they see the sentiments expressed by the fighters who have formed the new Syrian Army. They are also aware that everyone in Syria is armed and that with a different leadership, or an escalation that spins out of control, they could be in serious trouble.

During the era of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) possessed a large arsenal of strategic weapons, much of which was incinerated during the overthrow of the previous leadership in an enormous Israeli air campaign. However, what Tel Aviv feared just as much was the strength of Syria’s air defense network – regarded as one of the most sophisticated in the region.

Not only did Israel destroy the air defenses of Syria during the regime change transition in December of 2024, but what impacted the nation’s ability to defend its skies even more was the disappearance of the old air defense teams. When it comes to these sophisticated weapons, the humans operating them are just as important as the systems themselves, and it takes a long time to properly train new operators. Under the new Syrian Army, there are no experienced operators who are on hand, meaning that it will take help from their Turkish allies if they are ever going to have a functioning air defense option.

Israel is competing with Turkiye as of now, with the situation not deteriorating into direct confrontation. Although we are far from the point of anything that could resemble war between the two, the Israelis will kill Turkish soldiers and may even explore options using intelligence operatives inside Turkish territory in the future.

Ankara is clearly not willing to respond to Tel Aviv with the use of force, or even using armed factions to carry out operations in the south, despite Turkish soldiers having been killed by Israeli airstrikes in the past. At some point, Turkiye will likely be forced to make a decision to defend its interests that will involve confronting Israel.

Bear in mind that despite the rhetoric of its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish State never even severed ties or cut off Israel’s flow of cheap gas from Azerbaijan throughout the Gaza genocide. The Israelis have interpreted the behavior of the Turkish leadership as weakness, meaning that they are going to push things to the limit, testing just how far they can go before the regional power decides to finally take concrete measures against it.

Ankara is seeking to become an international trade hub, sitting at the crossroads between Asia and Europe, benefiting immensely from the expansion of the Middle Corridor. Yet, Tel Aviv has been busy forming alliances to ensure it is a thorn in Turkiye’s side, including expanding tripartite relations with Greece and Cyprus.

What has been happening in Syria should come as a wake-up call for the Turkish leadership: as long as Israel is a major player in the region, you cannot simply compete with them without engaging in violent conflict. If Ankara seeks to truly assert its power, it must pursue confrontation and make the Israelis suffer in Syria; if it backs down and refuses to do this, it will end up feeling the consequences of its strategic mistake.

[…]

Via https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israels-new-war-in-syria-why-turkiye-is-now-in-the-crosshairs/

Canada-US trade talks collapse as Ottawa walks away, pledges ‘dollar for dollar’ tariffs

Posted on by
2
(Photo credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

 

The Cradle

AUG 22, 2026

The US has imposed a 50 percent tariff on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, after last-minute trade talks between Washington and Ottawa fell apart late on 21 August.

The two sides had been close to a deal earlier this week, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney congratulating negotiators on making “significant progress” in the trade talks.

According to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the US was offering Canada the “best treatment” of any major US trading partner.

However, the talks fell apart Friday evening when Carney sent a last-minute email rejecting the deal.

Carney blamed last-minute changes by the US side, which he called “unfair” and “uneconomic,” and vowed to impose dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on US goods.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the collapse of the negotiations risks “escalation into an all-out trade war.”

The 50 percent tariffs, which apply to about 5 percent of Canada’s exports to the US, took effect just after midnight Saturday morning.

US President Donald Trump first threatened to impose tariffs last month in an effort to persuade Canada to reverse bans on imports of US-produced alcoholic beverages, lift restrictions on imports of US dairy products, and reduce tariffs and quotas on certain US-made automobiles.

Many of those restrictions and tariffs were first imposed by Canada in response to US tariffs of up to 50 percent on Canadian automobiles, steel, aluminum, and forest products.

The US-Canada relationship has deteriorated since Trump was elected to a second term in 2024. Trump has publicly mocked Canadian leaders and suggested making Canada the “51st state.”

Last month, Trump blamed Carney for smoke from Canadian wildfires that “invaded” the US.

“[The] ‌cost of this pollution ​must of necessity be added ⁠to the TARIFFS Canada ​is currently ​paying,” ​the US president wrote on Truth Social.

Trump has also criticized Canada’s growing trade relationship with China.

The new 50 percent tariff on Canadian goods is likely to be challenged in US courts because it relies on a “novel interpretation” of a federal emergency law that no previous president has used, according to the WSJ.

Earlier tariffs imposed by Trump on other nations were struck down in the US courts, forcing the federal government to issue refunds to US importers.

The tariff refunds sparked controversy after reports emerged that the family of Trump’s Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, stood to make millions following the court’s decision to issue refunds.

While Lutnick was publicly advocating for new US tariffs, Cantor Fitzgerald, a Wall Street investment firm formerly run by Lutnick and now run by his two sons, reportedly spent $10 million to buy importers’ rights to future tariff refunds, paying roughly 20 to 30 cents for every $1 of potential refund.

Documents seen by Wired suggested that Cantor Fitzgerald had the “capacity to buy the rights to hundreds of millions of dollars in potential refunds from companies who have paid Trump’s tariffs.”

[,,,]

Via https://thecradle.co/articles/canada-us-trade-talks-collapse-as-ottawa-walks-away-pledges-dollar-for-dollar-tariffs

US judge strikes down Trump’s immigrant visa ban on 75 countries

Posted on by
Reply

President Donald Trump, alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left), speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland, on July 31, 2026. (AFP)

Press TV

A US judge has struck down a Trump administration policy suspending immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries, ruling that the ban was “contrary to law.”

In a ruling issued Friday in the Southern District of New York, Judge Jeannette Vargas said the policy was “patently unlawful” and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had exceeded his statutory authority in ordering the suspension.

Vargas said the policy conflicted with federal immigration law, which limits the secretary of state’s authority over consular officers’ decisions on immigrant visa applications.

“The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme,” she wrote.

The policy, which took effect in January, suspended the processing of immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Thailand and Yemen.

The suspension halted permanent-residence visas for people joining family members or taking jobs in the US, but did not apply to nonimmigrant visas such as tourist or student visas.

The State Department had defended the measure, arguing that applicants from the designated countries were at high risk of becoming a “public charge” and of relying on US federal, state, or local government resources.

Vargas, however, ruled that consular officers had been improperly ordered to refuse immigrant visas solely based on an applicant’s nationality, even when the applicant otherwise qualified for a visa.

The ruling vacates visa denials issued solely under the policy.

Vargas issued the ruling in a lawsuit brought by immigrant rights groups, including the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, as well as immigrant visa applicants and US citizens sponsoring family members from the affected countries.

The decision represents another legal setback for President Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown, which the administration has defended as necessary to strengthen national security and tighten controls over immigration.

According to the Center for Constitutional Rights, the visa freeze was among a series of immigration restrictions introduced by the administration in rapid succession, following a broader travel ban covering 39 countries and a pause on diversity visa issuance.

Trump campaigned on a pledge to carry out mass deportations and has since returned to the White House with a series of measures aimed at accelerating deportations and reducing immigration into the United States.

The Trump administration’s immigration policies have also affected the families of US military personnel. An Associated Press investigation found earlier this month that more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty US service members have been detained since Trump returned to office, with at least six deported.

At least eight immediate family members of US service members remain in federal immigration custody, according to the investigation, which noted that the government has not systematically tracked such cases.

For decades, military families had generally benefited from protections shielding the parents and spouses of service members from deportation.

The reversal has raised concerns among experts that the detentions could undermine military readiness by leaving service members without emotional support or childcare and, in some cases, delaying deployments or forcing them to take leave.

The issue has also drawn public backlash, with several cases involving detained spouses prompting intervention by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to secure their release.

Rights groups have meanwhile criticized the administration’s broader immigration measures, raising concerns over due process, discrimination and racial profiling.

[…]

Via https://www.presstv.co.uk/Detail/2026/08/22/774865/Federal-judge-rules-against-Trump-immigrant-visa-ban-75-countries