Notice how Islam’s Holy book gets desecrated whenever the West is undergoing a crisis and is desperate to either ignite an anti-Muslim public frenzy or distract from its own failures, writes Ramzy Baroud.

Desecrating, then burning the Holy Quran in Sweden has, once again, raised a political storm of condemnation but also of justification, if not outright approval [after a protester, with police permission, burned Islam’s holy book outside a Stockholm mosque last month.]

SYCOPHANTS

When I watch these Lords, with authority

Seeing themselves commanding at their rank,

With a daring brow, walk flank by flank,

It seem I see a small pinch of divinity.

But seeing them turn pale when His Holiness

Spit in a basin, and from their white face

Carefully spy if there's blood,

Then with a little laugh they feign that all’s safe.

O how I say then, the greatness I see

Is made miserable by the cost of a king’s greatness!

Unhappy is who spends cash to buy the largess!

Truly the murderous sword and the heavy rock fear

Hang above the head of these Lords here,

Since on an old spew depends all their happiness.

MONKEYS

Lord, I can't look favourably in good faith

The last time Hollywood actors and screenwriters went on strike at the same time, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor were among its biggest stars.

Their films were temporarily halted, while the actors' union – led by Ronald Reagan, two decades before he became the US president – hammered out an agreement with studios.

Back then, performers were fighting for what are known as "residuals" — payments made to actors when their films were later broadcast on television.

Residuals became commonplace over the more than 60 years that followed, but streaming services have now up-ended the way they're paid.

Actors and writers are also grappling with a very modern challenge, warning they face an "existential threat" from artificial intelligence (AI).

THE ARTICLE BELOW BY Parnell Palme McGuinness AT THE SMH (16/07/2023) IS A BIT GLIB... ACTUALLY THE ARTICLE IS WRONG BY BEING NAIVE... IT IS WRONG AS SOON AS THIS SHEILA MENTIONS NOSTALGIC VLAD (THE NASTY)... "WE" HAVE BEEN THE GUARDIAN OF DEMOCRATIC IDEALS SINCE 2005 (NOT THE ONLY ONES MIND YOU) ON THIS LITTLE SITE — AND WE KNOW THAT DEMOCRACY IS ALWAYS HIGHJACKED BY GOVERNMENTS — ESPECIALLY BY THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT — TO MAKE THE RICH RICHER AND KEEP THE WORKING CLASS IN ITS HIDDEN SLAVERY... THE METHODS OF HIGHJACKING ARE SIMPLE: CONTROL AND DISINFORMATION, PLUS PLUNDER OF OTHER NATIONS AND TAX FIDDLES THAT FAVOUR THE RICH PLUNDERERS OF US AND OF OTHERS.... HERE WE GO INTO DISINFORMING BS:

SAVING UKRAINIANS FROM THEMSELVES
The NATO Ultimatum to Ukraine – Win by Winter or Die

Ed. Note: According to Andrew Vajra – “in Ukraine, 32% believe that Kiev needs six months or a year to win, 30% – more than a year, and 17% believe that several months or less are needed to achieve it. Only 1% of Ukrainian citizens do not believe in the victory of Ukraine. If we proceed from what is in the minds of most of my acquaintances in Ukraine, then the results of the survey as a whole reflect psychic reality. They really believe in their inevitable victory. Sincerely.”

But here is the reality of the upcoming Ukrainian defeat.

By John Helmer, Moscow
@bears_with

 WHAT FOLLOWS IS OLD CRAP FROM NEWSWEEK.... WELL NOT ENTIRELY CRAP: NEWSWEEK MENTIONS THE BAN OF VIDEOS, TELLING THE RUSSIAN POINT OF VIEW ABOUT UKRAINE, BEING FLAUNTED BY REPUBLISHERS OF THE RT AND SPUTNIK BANNED INFORMATION. THIS IS TRUE. WHAT NEWSWEEK DOES NOT TELL YOU IS THAT THE RUSSIAN INFORMATION IS TRUE.....

HERE WE GO, NOTE HOW NEWSGUARD FEATURES PROMINENTLY IN THE HEADING:

One Year, Fifty Films: Russian Propaganda Documentaries Spread on YouTube, Despite Ban

Kamala Harris roasted over explanation of AI: 'Intellect of a 3-year-old'

'Fox Across America' host Jimmy Failla weighs in after Vice President Kamala Harris struggled to define artificial intelligence Wednesday and discusses President Biden's fitness for office. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za7z6XBLHEI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UHMX8nxZFY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71C-inf1xr0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Rl9HIkb9A

Recent years have given rise to a great deal of evidence that the current governments of some Western nations have stopped taking into account the fundamental rules of international law and are breaking previously made agreements. Their practices include outright lies and deceit; they do not shy away from passing off black as white and proceed to open acts of plunder and theft.

In obvious violation of the well-known Vienna rules on international relations, the Americans are seizing buildings that belong to our diplomatic mission, and the Poles have now followed suit.

BY Veniamin Popov

The president is to blame for the 'disinclination of quality people' in his administration, according to Andrew McCarthy in the National Review. The panel discusses this notion.

OKAY. THIS LINE BELONGS TO 2017.... 

MORNING JOE

Trump to blame for WH staff quality, says writer

https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/trump-to-blame-for-wh-staff-quality-says-writer-1007426115558

NOW, THE SHOE AT MSNBC IS STILL AN OLD SLIPPER NOT TO BE USED AGAINST THE BIDEN ADMIN.

The Secret Service investigation into who was responsible for bringing cocaine into the White House concluded with no usable forensic or video evidence identifying the person. NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell reports.

We’re all being targeted now.

We’re all guilty until proven innocent now.

And thanks to the 24/7 surveillance being carried out by the government’s spy network of fusion centers, we are all now sitting ducks, just waiting to be tagged, flagged, targeted, monitored, manipulated, investigated, interrogated, heckled and generally harassed by agents of the American police state.

Although these precrime programs are popping up all across the country, in small towns and big cities, they are not making us any safer but they are endangering individual freedoms.

WHILE THE US BIDEN CROOKED GOVERNMENT SENDS WEAPONS OF CLIMATE DESTRUCTION TO UKRAINE AND BLOWS UP METHANE PIPELINES, IT DOES A LITTLE BIT TO "SAVE THE CLIMATE" AT HOME, WITH CASH THAT SEEMS TO GO AGAINST ITS POLITICAL FUTURE.... Gus Leonisky.

IN 2020, AS the coronavirus pandemic raged unchecked across America, President Donald Trump offered Democratic state governors an exceedingly cruel ultimatum: If you want help from the federal government, you “have to treat us well.” That exchange — lifesaving medical equipment for blue-state political support — reflects the inverse logic of the Biden administration as it seeks to revamp domestic manufacturing by directing billions of dollars into deep-red states, money that will be used to subsidize lower-paying jobs that will ultimately be able to replace union work in states that voted for Joe Biden.

The dominance of the US dollar in the global economy continues to wane quietly but relentlessly as many countries actively seek other currencies. First and foremost, they are the BRICS nations of Russia, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa. Although it appeared to be only a few countries, the total population is over 3.23 billion, accounting for more than 40% of the world’s population.  Between 2000 and 2026, the BRICS population is expected to grow by 625 million people, most of them in India and China.  By 2020, the BRICS countries’ total GDP was 25% of the global (21 trillion dollars), and their share in international trade was about 20% (6.7 trillion dollars).

BY Viktor Mikhin

enough is enough — bring him home......

THE PICTURE ABOVE IS THE PICTURE OF THE MOMENT... IT COULD HAVE BEEN BUT AN INSTANT BUT IT SEEMS TO SUM UP A DIRE SITUATION.

ZELENSKY DOES NOT UNDERSTAND ENGLISH... HIS ENGLISH WOULD BE WORTHLESS THAN MY ITALIAN. I CAN READ IT IT BUT AS TO BEG FOR WEAPONS, I WOULD NEED A TRANSLATOR AND A REAL ESTATE AGENT BLABBING SKILL.

IN REGARD TO NATO MEMBERS, IT HAS TO BE SAID THAT THEY CANNOT DO MUCH:

— FEED UKRAINE WITH MORE WEAPONS UNTIL THE LAST UKRAINIAN COMBATTANT.

— TELL ZELENSKY THAT HE HAS TO HOLD ON AS LONG AS HE CAN SO THAT:

       A) NATO CAN FIND ANOTHER WAY TO DETROY RUSSIA (FALSE FLAGS, WHATEVER...)

— GO FOR PEACE (!)...

MAKE A PEACE DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT HITS THE FAN:

A U.S. think tank leader who has repeatedly accused President Biden and his family of corruption has been charged with acting as an unregistered agent of China, Manhattan prosecutors announced Monday evening.

Gal Luft, co-director of the Maryland-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, is accused of recruiting and paying an unnamed former high-ranking U.S. government official on behalf of principals based in China in 2016, without registering as a foreign agent, which is legally required.

It's become one of the most desirable clubs in Europe — the NATO Club.

This week's NATO summit in Lithuania has highlighted how in a troubled world it's a heavily sought-after membership. This has been one of the strongest themes of the second and final day of the NATO meeting.

The summit also highlighted the power of "the Zelenskyy Factor". The hosts proved how strong their support is for NATO – a support which can be understood, in part, by an extraordinary museum in Vilnius – the KGB Museum.

And what was the outcome of the summit? Here are the highlights of the final day of the NATO summit.