The Exodus

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Trump’s behaviour spirals out of control, as staffers depart in droves whilst he grows ‘meaner’ and impossible to work alongside. {OK! Magazine 17 August}

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/white-house-staff-departing-as-donald-trump-is-said-to-be-meaner-and-more-unpleasant-to-work-with-according-to-sources/ar-AA2ajnNj

FTA: President Donald Trump is reportedly yelling louder, for longer periods and acting significantly "meaner" toward his inner circle, driving a wave of recent high-profile White House departures.

According to insider reports detailed on "The Daily Beast Podcast," multiple senior officials are exiting the administration due to a toxic, increasingly hostile West Wing environment.

The reporting coincides with a series of major staff exits at the White House.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced she will step down at the end of August. While she publicly cited a desire to spend time with her family, insiders indicate the intense internal pressure and Trump’s sharpening temperament heavily influenced the timing.

White House Counsel David Warrington departed his post amidst the shifting operational environment.

Deputy National Security Advisor Andy Baker, a key ally of Vice President J.D. Vance, has also exited the administration.

"It's a clear sign that people see how badly this second term is going," said David Rhode, senior executive editor on national security for MS NOW on Monday, August 17.

image generated via Grok

Do not act surprised. Everybody knew it was a bad idea to bring this cretin back into office, and went along with it anyway. Such is precisely what ‘y’all’ have earned for so profound a lapse in judgement. It reflects rather poorly upon Kamala Harris that she was unable to defeat this senescent old goat — nor ought we pretend that it was not already apparent, by 2024, that advancing age was plainly beginning to exact its toll upon him — yet it reflects still more poorly upon the country itself that it restored this man to office and continues to tolerate the whole of the drama and nonsense that invariably accompanies him. The 2024 election resolved as it did, in substantial measure, because the dominant white working class shall never consent a Black woman as commander-in-chief; yet also because the cult of personality that Trump hath built over the years holds a death grip on the nation that was unable to be broken during the four years he was in exile. 

Another elderly man was in the White House at that time, and all anybody did was whine and complain about how he — Mr Biden — was too old to be president, and then threw a collective hissy-fit when the gentleman suffered a couple of minor memory lapses during a debate. I defy anyone to recall a moment when Mr Biden — even now in his post-presidency and enduring cancer — ever appeared as decrepit as Trump does presently. Trump is eighty years of age and falling apart before our very eyes, and most of the people of this country either hold their tongues entirely or endeavour to gaslight those of us who do speak out into believing we are unhinged and unpatriotic for daring to utter or even think anything ill of the president. Altogether too many Americans are silent right now, because such a large portion of society hath cultivated an atmosphere steeped in fear and conformity.

The further Trump’s own person continues to deteriorate, the more desperate he and the #MAGA herd both are going to be to maintain their death grip upon America. Quite naturally, this shall yield greater tyranny still, and such a process is well under way. We stand upon exceedingly perilous ground, the most treacherous since this nation-killer’s rise to power a decade ago. It is all playing out in the most absurd fashion… I daresay someone, somewhere, derives entertainment from this fevered soap opera; yet we, meanwhile, are dying in earnest, and can no longer afford this man's excesses on any level.

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🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

A moment's vigilance before the weekly shop

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NOT for the faint of heart, thou hast been warned: '(M)asturbating in front of female customers at branches of Dollar Tree… fast becoming a national phenomenon'. {The Guardian 20 July}

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jul/20/dollar-tree-sexual-assault-gooner

Yes, thou read the above headline correctly. Disturbed women-hating men (‘incels’) engaging in the gamification of sexual harassment and sexual assault, then posting the video evidence online for the amusement and approval of similarly depraved individuals.

Dollar stores, with their chronically weak security, skeletal staffing, and tendency to be located in poorer or higher-crime communities, provide fertile hunting grounds for these predators (some of whom are employees). Similar incidents have occurred in other countries — I am not proclaiming that the former United States possesses a monopoly on sick people doing deranged things — but if ever there were a measure of how far this nation hath fallen, when women cannot safely shop for household necessities without becoming targets of sexual abuse, this would be it.

Do not read The Guardian article if one hath a weak stomach. It is genuinely horrible in detail. Yet women should know what is happening, and — wherever possible — exercise caution when visiting these establishments. Concealed carry whether it is legal or not to do so in one’s jurisdiction: guns, mace, whatever necessary. Best yet, just avoid dollar stores altogether — wherever possible.

And I stress wherever possible. Throughout large swathes of the former United States — in forever-neglected urban neighbourhoods, dying rural Trumpvilles alike, and increasingly everywhere in between — dollar stores have become the only practical place many people can afford to shop, or can physically access. Much hath already been written about the exploitative business model behind these chains, and I would encourage all readers to investigate it further. The very existence of so many communities dependent upon them is itself a damning indictment of America’s economic system and of the country's overall health.

America's problems are not exactly unique, though it is clearly responsible for the abomination that is the dollar store. Every nation possesses its own extremists, criminals, and cultural maladies. Yet my abiding impression is that most or all of those societies shall still possess functioning institutions and a sense of civic responsibility long after the final remnants of it have been stamped out here in Trumpistan (nearly there). We must accept decline as though it were inevitable, because y’all done made it inevitable, #Muricans. The rest of you in this world still have a chance to hang in for a bit longer, until climate change finishes the planet off, but another topic for another day.

Make no mistake, this grotesque behaviour is not merely the work of isolated deviants. It reflects a culture in which women are treated as objects to be humiliated rather than fellow human beings deserving of dignity and safety. The conduct described in The Guardian article is extreme, but it did not emerge from a vacuum. It grows in an environment where harassment is trivialised, empathy is in short supply, and cruelty increasingly masquerades as entertainment. An environment that gave rise to, and hath since been made immeasurably worse — to the point of no possible recovery — by President Donald J. Trump, his enablers, and his handlers.

All of this is profoundly sick. America’s modern culture is profoundly and plainly sick. What should one expect from a country that knowingly returned a man found liable for sexual abuse — among other things — to the White House? We have become a society in which people either actively despise one another or simply no longer care. In 2024 — knowingly so from past experience and in contempt for the most hated institution of any kind in white working-class America (the Democratic Party), and the (unfortunately politically untalented and personally untrustworthy) black woman who was leading the opposing ticket that year — the ruling plurality of citizens elected a government of wolves that are hostile to public safety, dismissive of civil liberties and human rights, and all too willing — eager, even — to subordinate ordinary people to powerful corporate interests. We should not be surprised when people who voted repeatedly for psychopaths begin acting like psychopaths. Nor that there be any remorse, even as their own lives deteriorate further. 

Women should not have to plan an ordinary shopping trip as though entering hostile territory. Until this country rediscovers both the will and the ability to protect ordinary citizens from predators such as these, remaining aware of one's surroundings and taking whatever precautions available is the only prudent thing. No civilised society should require its women — nay, any peaceful citizens, period — to live this way. Trumpistan is not a civilised society.

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🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Fear of the Golden Elephant

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Evangelical propagandist Todd Starnes: Christians must support the GOP in spite of ‘how bad the Republicans have betrayed you’. {Right Wing Watch 23 June}

https://www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwatch/todd-starnes-says-voters-must-support-gop-regardless-how-bad-republicans-have

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And so we see a prime example of how and why the GOP maintains such a powerful hold over large swathes of this country and its people. Regardless of one's views of the Republican Party, Todd Starnes is articulating a sentiment that hath become increasingly common among most professed Christians in the former United States: support the party no matter what, even when it disappoints thee. Loyalty to the cause, and to Donald Trump, supersedes dissatisfaction with the party. Consider Starnes’ own words, putting it all very starkly:

"I've been telling people, 'I don't care how bad the Republicans have betrayed you or have not done what [they] said they would do,' … It's not about them. It's about protecting President Trump at the end of the day. And it's about protecting the Supreme Court."

Not much nuance or room for interpretation there. It is plainly stated: loyalty to Trump and keeping hold of the high court are tantamount to any and all other considerations. It explains why the GOP is so difficult to hold electorally accountable. Voters who would otherwise punish a party for perceived and real failures instead view the alternative as the literal spawn of Satan. Rightly or wrongly, the Democratic Party is the most hated institution of any kind throughout middle America, particularly in the South, where Democrats once enjoyed overwhelming dominance. For these white, working-class types, opposition to Democrats is not merely political; it is cultural, religious, and deeply personal. 

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The Democratic Party did itself no favours in 2024 when it cast President Biden aside in favour of a candidate who proved incapable of winning the confidence of enough voters to prevent the return of a convicted felon to the White House. Indeed, the woman was unelectable from the very start; including for reasons that should not be, of course, but they are. Furthermore, she has not acquitted herself well at any point in her political career; it was not the time for a grand political experiment, not when it was so obvious and apparent how far rightward the winds were blowing in 2023, 2024, and continuing onward to the present moment. 

Fair or not, the election reinforced existing perceptions of Democratic weakness and disorganisation. And I do not see tangible moves being made to at least attempt to alter these perceptions. So long as the white working-class remains the most powerful voting bloc, the Democrats have to win at least some portion of them. And it is as though they do not even try, or the attempts they do make are clumsy and not well thought out (see nominating Tim Walz as the running mate in ‘24, or what hath become of Sen. John Fetterman).

Yet Republican strength cannot be explained solely by Democratic mistakes. Right-wing media ecosystems, partisan identity, religious affiliation, geographical sorting, nationalistic and anti-globalist sentiment, and decades of heated cultural conflict over a range of issues from abortion to zoning have all contributed to an environment in which voters increasingly define themselves by what they oppose even more so than by what they support. In this atmosphere, criticism of Republican leaders simply fails to translate into electoral consequences for the GOP. How else can we explain Trump being restored to power by the voters in 2024 after the myriad failures, embarrassments, and abuses of power previously, to say nothing of being a convicted felon?

Rightly or wrongly, the Democratic brand is toxic: if they hope to regain durable political power, they may need not merely new candidates, but a broader reconfiguration of how they present themselves to the electorate. Perhaps they retire the ‘Democratic Party’ brand name altogether, in the manner of how major corporations will rebrand when they have become toxic in the public eye (think Philip Morris becoming Altria, perhaps; or Lord Elon changing Twitter to ‘X’, though everyone still calls it ‘Twitter’, but I digress). Revivals rarely begin in Washington, though; they begin in town halls, state legislatures, school committees, and local communities. And in these places is where the Democrats have lost the most ground in recent decades.

On the current trajectory, Republicans will enjoy significant institutional advantages for years to come. Gerrymandering; favourable electoral geography; peer pressure upon individuals from family, society, and church; and the structure of American government all provide benefits that make Democratic victories more difficult than raw national vote totals suggest. It is not enough for Republicans to perform poorly in office if voters remain entirely unwilling to embrace the alternative. Especially, if only one alternative is ever allowed or considered. I suppose, going back to the 1790s, Americans have always demanded their politics be us against them, a team sport, and have never been keen on nuance. George Washington warned us about this in his farewell address, even as ‘the spirit of party’ was already overtaking the nation’s populace.

Whether a temporary realignment or the beginning of something more permanent remains an open question, though I am heavily leaning toward the latter. American history is filled with moments when observers believed one party had achieved lasting dominance, only for political circumstances to change... but that was then. Concerns about democratic erosion are never without foundation in the best of times, but today we are at red alert. To put it mildly. What ‘y’all’ voted for.

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🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

OBAMA DECLARES THE FORMER UNITED STATES IS ‘DANGEROUSLY CLOSE’ TO AUTOCRACY — NO, WE’RE ALREADY THERE

National Portrait Gallery

{The Hill 18 June} Obama: US ‘dangerously close’ to moving toward autocracy

And what is Obama’s legacy, anyway? Pushing moderates toward Trump, turning conservatives into nationalist populists, and costing the Democratic Party countless congressional and state legislative seats nationwide — thereby helping spawn today’s extremist movements — that is  his legacy. More recently, his grievous betrayal of President Biden, in backing the most hopelessly inept candidate imaginable — someone who, by circumstances of her birth, could not have won in America even had she been competent, and had not placed personal ambition above her boss and her country — confirms it: Barack Obama is a power-hungry autocrat with messianic fantasies, fortunate only that Trump has set the bar so low he appears downright humble by comparison.

Had someone told me in 2008 that the idol worship surrounding Obama — which repulsed me to a virulent degree at that time — would one day seem positively mild, I would have either laughed or shuddered. Furthermore, that it would be the Republican Party — the party of John McCain — enabling the next, even more insidious demagogue? Unthinkable. And yet here we are.

The country is now a lost cause, but still I pray we never face a tyrant who makes Donald Trump look modest by contrast. It seems almost impossible to imagine — but never doubt, things can always get worse. They usually do.

Copyright 2025, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 on X-TWITTER, and at the same handle on FACEBOOK. BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. REDDIT - https://www.reddit.com/r/StopTheIdiocracy/new/. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Doomsday Eve: paying a lamentable tribute to President Joe Biden

I had hoped that President Biden might make a bold, decisive move in his final hours in office, but such an action does not appear forthcoming—at least not as far as I can discern, though I admit to being in something of a stupor on this lamentable day. To the utterly fatuous Democrats so enamoured with Kamala that you gleefully led the entire nation off a cliff, and to the bloody #MAGA fanatics, heed this: I shall never be persuaded that President Biden would have lost the 2024 election. At the very least, Pennsylvania would not have slipped from his grasp. No number of armies nor a million wild horses could force me to believe otherwise.

I am convinced that the media, the Democratic Party, and assorted malcontents convinced themselves he was unelectable and, in so doing, created a self-fulfilling prophecy by denying him the opportunity to prove otherwise. While I deeply regret that Mr Biden permitted this to transpire, he is, after all, a very old and weary man who likely longs for rest.

Thank you, Joe Biden, for your service to a nation both ungrateful and undeserving. And may those who discard you today soon find themselves wishing you back—and they undoubtedly shall.

Copyright 2025, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

America's final week of democracy: as GOP and Musk prepare fascist takeover, a lament for missed chances to prevent this dark fate

Well, this is it then—the final week of what is left of the United States. About to trade what passes for democracy these days for some proper fascist nonsense. Last gasp of the Democrats holding any sway in Washington, I expect. Won’t see them back in power in my lifetime.

Prepare thyselves for grave overreach by the incoming regime and its Republican confederates in Congress and state legislatures; the GOP shall run absolutely bloody riot in the coming months. Steel thy hearts for widespread calamity: civil unrest, food shortages, economic collapse; on top of ever-worsening and more frequent natural disasters. Anticipate that the unelected dictator, Elon Musk, along with his figurehead president—believed by the witless masses of this wilfully ignorant land to wield true authority—to deepen every crisis, without fail; as Trump did in the chaos of his first disastrous reign, and as this unholy pair hath done again and again, leading up to their accursed coronation.

The final week, indeed. If only justice had held firm, and this felon, Trump, had been cast into chains. If only regulators had interceded to thwart Elon Musk from spending $44 billion on Twitter. If only a Vice-President had prioritised the welfare of the nation above self-serving ambition, had not betrayed the President, and had refrained from embarking on a farcical and hopeless campaign in a land that reviles those who share her visage and believe her to be a Marxist. If only the Pollyannas among us had not ensnared us with false hope and led us astray. If only President Biden were not so long in the tooth and still possessed the vigour to fight.

We had a good run, I suppose. - Arthur Newhook, 12 January 2025.

Copyright 2025, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

On the eve of destruction

If there is ever to be a sober and true ‘conservative’ mindset and political faction in the United States again, the cartoonish patriotism, the childish grievances, the unreasoning populism, and the allegiance to Putin and other foreign despots must all be cast aside. Alas, this is far from where 95% of self-professed ‘conservatives’ in the United States currently stand. They are intoxicated by grievance-mongering and the allure of authoritarianism, having descended into a loathsome personality cult, striving to be as vile as any recorded in the annals of history. When they fall, they will drag all of us down with them, for they have already held the United States hostage for eight long years and tomorrow, I believe, shall be granted full dominion by a citizenry cowed, wearied, disheartened, and wilfully blind. 

As for mine own soul, these past few days have been ones of mourning and reflection, and of pondering what my next steps—if any—I may yet take in the immediate future, say before 20 January. I pray that as many of you reading this as possible are at least somewhat prepared, for I doubt even the most ardent ‘preppers’ are truly ready to face the reckonings and dire consequences that the people of the United States have, by their own hands, invited upon themselves. ‘Liberalism’ and ‘conservatism’ lose all meaning when survival is at stake, and when those who surround us are dedicated to being irrational and malevolent spirits.

Recent headlines:

Chess champion and Russian dissident-in-exile Garry Kasparov: ‘I never thought I would need to warn Americans about the dangers of dictatorship.’ {The Dispatch 4 November}

Recordings from a 2017 interview with author Michael Wolff reveal Jeffrey Epstein claimed ‘I was Donald Trump’s closest friend.' {Daily Beach 2 November}

Trump: ‘I’m the opposite of a Nazi.’ - They are undoubtedly fascists and the alarm needs to be sounded, but the latest GOP talking point—that calling them ‘fascists’ is hyperbole and incites violence—is resonating strongly with the American people. Gaslighting works. {AFP 29 October}

‘Former generals who have worked for Trump say that the sole military virtue he prizes is obedience.’ - Americans who vote for this cretin are betraying our men and women in uniform, while also endorsing myriad other evils. {Jeffrey Goldberg 22 October}

Trump: ‘I shouldn’t have left’ after the 2020 election – WTF is he going on about now? He had no other option but to leave. Did he think he was going to handcuff himself to a railing or post in the White House, staying there and pouting until he wore everyone down and they gave in? He does have a talent for overstaying his welcome and exhausting everyone around him, but this is delusional. {The Guardian 3 November}

Two days before the election, Trump says he ‘wouldn’t mind’ seeing reporters shot - If one thinks American journalism is in a poor state now, just wait a few months, when journalists have either fled the country or otherwise been silenced. {AP 3 November}

JD Vance calls Harris supporters ‘dips**ts’ - For those paying attention, it is clear we—not just partisan Democrats, but anyone outside #Cult45—will face rougher treatment in the bigger, badder #Murica that’s on the horizon. {NBC News 28 October}

Vance tells those offended by #Cult45 comedian’s Puerto Rico joke to ‘chill’—as if they have no right to be offended - Anyone who uses phrases like ‘chill’ or ‘take a chill pill’ deserves a slap across the face. Such obnoxious, dismissive language is typical of most Americans (source: I’ve had to live among them for nearly five decades), including some reading this—especially if they’re reading it on Facebook. We are, without question, the world capital of insufferable douchebags. Meanwhile, said d-bags are throwing a tantrum because President Biden had the audacity to (not actually) call them ‘garbage’. I, for one, am not letting these extreme insults to the intelligence and dignity of the few remaining decent folks in the United States stand, but those lining up behind these nation destroyers and Putin appeasers shall receive what they deserve. {IBT 30 October}

Is ‘rather risk-averse decision-making’ by cautious pollsters overestimating Trump’s support? – Don’t hold one’s breath. {The Guardian 3 November}

Astronomical numbers of wealthy Americans are taking serious steps to flee the country - The rest of us have nowhere else to go. I hold no animus toward these folks, for if I had the means I would have been long gone by now. {NBC News 1 November}

Despite the absurd difficulty and burden of doing so, record numbers of Americans are renouncing US citizenship. {Fortune 1 November}

In anticipation of banana republic-style violence, residents who can afford it are fleeing Washington D.C. {Politico 25 October}

An FCC commissioner has warned that Kamala’s ‘SNL’ stunt may have violated the Equal Time rule - Albeit, this particular commissioner, Brendan Carr, was appointed by Trump and would likely have remained silent if it had been Trump pulling said stunt (and, as I recall, he did host that f**king goofball show in 2015, shortly after declaring his candidacy). Regardless of legality, appearing on a ‘too-cool-for-the-room’ hipster snarkfest does little more than alienate ordinary Americans and may be the final nail in Kamala Harris’ electoral coffin. {The Hill 3 November}

Utterly disgraceful: the Harris/Walz campaign has told President Biden he is not wanted on the campaign trail - When the post-mortem is written on why this campaign failed so catastrophically against a senile, corrupt fascist and traitor, the disrespect and betrayal of President Joe Biden by his own party and administration will be high among the litany of reasons. Kamala Harris, the Obamas, and others in the Democratic establishment insisted on prioritising diversity at a time when the threat of fascism is staring us in the face, loud and clear, with nothing mattering more urgent than stopping it cold. They threw an old, white man away largely because he is an old, white man. Thinking they could get away with it and the people would go along because the alternative is another old, white man who has the added liability of being crazy and evil. Wrong!

Kamala Harris will be remembered—if at all—as one of the most ineffective and self-serving US Vice Presidents in history. Part of the problem here is that people see right through her: she is as insincere and phony as any. Another example of why we desperately need more than two viable parties in this country; but that’s never going to happen, as most of us are forever stuck in an ‘us versus them’, left versus right mentality. Having more than two options is just too confusing for the average #Murican to comprehend. The entire paradigm is so off, but few will ever notice and fewer still will have practical ideas as to how it can be fixed. Maybe we are forever doomed to be a nation of malevolent fools.

As for President Joe Biden, I hope he can live the rest of his life in peace and without regret, for he did not fail his country: the country and its people failed him, and those around him proved to be the most vile snakes of all. {Mediaite 1 November}

A vote for Trump is a vote for Musk. Dr. Nafeez Ahmed - American Carnage: The Musk-Trump plan for total collapse. {Bytime Times 1 November}

Lord Elon assures fellow Trump supporters that America will face ‘necessary’ economic hardship in the next administration - Dismantling Social Security and Medicare. The American people are indeed prepared to vote for their own planned destruction, while their oppressors barely bother to conceal their intentions. Relentless gaslighting and scapegoating of disfavoured groups has destroyed collective reasoning and humanity; sheep being led to slaughter. {MTN 29 October}

‘World’s richest man’, Trump enabler, and Putin confidant Elon Musk was once an illegal alien who abused his student visa - Legally he should have been legally barred from the United States for life. {Daily Beast 26 October}

Rabid natalist Musk is reported to own a secret compound in Texas for his eleven (or more) children and their mothers - Sounds an awful lot like polygamy, minus the marriage part. Perhaps he’ll embrace Mormonism in the near future? {Dnyuz 29 October}

Trump vows to protect women, ‘whether they like it or not.’ - How I wish the nationalist populist ideology would simply fade away in the United States, that all populist demagogues and their circus acts could vanish into thin air. Life in this country—and the world—would be so much easier without all the needless noise and disruption. How I wish we didn’t live in a world overrun by malevolent fools and governed by snakes. {The Guardian 31 October}

Arizona AG is investigating whether Trump’s comments about putting guns in Liz Cheney’s face constitute a death threat - He has the pretence of speaking about Liz Cheney as a ‘radical war hawk’, but such language reveals genuine intent. Trump is signalling his desires for his enemies, and a large portion of the country wants blood. {12news 1 November}

A segment of #Cult45 has embraced online fan fiction—literal 'fake news'—which at times even deceives professional far-right agitators desperate for any morsel to weaponise against their political adversaries. {The Bulwark 30 October}

President Biden clarifies his comments on the garbage MSG rally. {BBC 30 October}

US House Speaker Mike Johnson promises ‘massive’ changes to healthcare and an ‘aggressive’ agenda in Trump’s first 100 days - The problem for Speaker Johnson is that, if current projections are correct, his party will no longer be in control of the House. {The Guardian 30 October}

Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are naturally anxious and upset as they face looming betrayal by the American people. {BBC 31 October}

The Russians openly state, on their national television programmes and on a nightly basis, that they want Trump in power specifically to weaken the United States from within and diminish its role in global affairs. They are laughing at us.

The Tehran regime is planning a major assault on Israel through pro-Iranian militias based in Iraq. {Jerusalem Post 31 October}

The White House has issued a stark warning to Iran: do not attack Israel, as we will be unable to restrain their response. {Jerusalem Post 2 November}

The UK Tories have shot themselves in the foot by choosing a far-right nationalist populist as leader—a disastrous move. Do they honestly believe that emulating the bloody GOP will fix Britain? That appointing a black immigrant woman as their spokesperson will restore their electoral fortunes? {AP 2 November}

Heathrow Airport: Two women removed from a British Airways flight to Texas after a physical altercation over a MAGA hat - Soon, we’ll be forced to wear the damn things, and refusing to do so will be a criminal offence. You messed around, #Murica—now you’ll soon find out. {Mirror 29 October}

The search continues for victims of catastrophic flooding in Valencia, Spain. {BBC 1 November}

Quincy Jones, 1933–2024 – Thank you for your life, good sir. An icon, a businessman, a visionary, a trailblazer, and a true genius. None of these words are hyperbolic; ‘Q’ was, and always will be, the real deal. May he rest in peace. {AP 4 November}

Recent study finds teenagers are growing weary of Hollywood’s relentless focus on lust and gold -  What on earth is wrong with kids these days? It seems the average teenager today doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, and doesn’t have sex. How boring can these dull and joyless souls possibly be? Back when I was in school (early 1990s), social dynamics were such that if one didn’t have a girlfriend or boyfriend and wasn’t engaging in carnal pleasures, one was a pariah. How awful it must be to go through this miserable life and live on this dreadful planet as such a vanilla person, with no vices at all. How can any of them bear it, these poor, pallid souls? On the other hand, given the fact that the majority of my fellow wayward Gen Xers, and the selfish ‘Boomers’ before us, turned out to be complete arseholes, and considering it took me until my 40s and much betrayal and personal pain to finally realise I want nothing more to do with relationships, maybe these kids know a truth we were blind to in our youth. {dnyuz 24 October} 

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

ALL AMERICANS NEED TO READ THIS: NEW REVELATIONS FROM BOB WOODWARD UNEQUIVOCALLY SHOW TRUMP IS PUTIN’S PUPPET: HE ARRANGED TO HAVE COVID TESTS SENT TO RUSSIA FOR PUTIN’S PERSONAL USE, AND HAS CONTACTED THE RUSSIAN TYRANT AFTER LEAVING OFFICE

Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Trump secretly sent COVID tests to Putin during 2020 shortage, new book says. {WP 8 October}

The orange motherf**ker stole from the American people at the height of a deadly pandemic to keep a foreign dictator—an adversary of the United States—healthy. Yet most Americans will simply shrug or cry ‘fake news’ when they should be demanding that Trump be sent to the gallows. It is no wonder #Murica is in such a sorry state. But I digress, for the story gets even more interesting.

Bob Woodward reveals that President Biden regrets choosing Merrick Garland as Attorney General (though why he hasn’t simply fired Garland remains a mystery). Kamala Harris is portrayed as having limited influence on the administration’s foreign policy, although she did reach out to both French President Macron and President Zelensky in the lead-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Another interesting anecdote: George W. Bush expressed sympathy for President Biden’s ordeal in withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan, telling him, ‘I can understand what you’re going through. I got [expletive] by my intel people, too.’ As for Barrack Obama, Mr Biden is quoted as saying, ‘Barack never took Putin seriously’—which is true. Remember how Obama mocked Mitt Romney for warning about Putin during the 2012 election? Not so funny now, is it, Barry? Bob Woodward is one of the last true journalists, and I am grateful he remains at the top of his game, even at this late stage in his life.

Recent headlines:

Trump takes 8.6% lead in Polymarket betting odds - Not an absolute indicator, but there are more signs out there Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are fading fast. I keep trying to tell everyone, this nation is hellbent on national suicide. If Trump was ever going to be rejected by the not-so silent majority in #Murica, it would have happened long before now. Trump is going to win in a relative landslide. We are in deep s**t.

Don’t shoot the messenger: Kamala's lead over Trump in the Reuters/Ipsos poll narrows to three points, with a plurality believing Trump is stronger on economy and immigration - When pointing out facts is met with hostility, name-calling, and baseless accusations of being a ‘traitor’, it becomes clear that far too many of Kamala’s supporters are now simply the flip side of the same coin as the Trumpers. A political cult. It also further confirms why I have never, and will never, find a home in the Democratic Party. American politics are broken beyond repair, because the American people are, by and large, broken individuals. I despise myself for not having fully foreseen all of this twenty-five or thirty years ago, as I would have done everything differently and prepared myself to leave this s**thole. (I did have some vague inkling, but I was still young and quite damaged from a not-so-happy childhood, and made a million bad decisions in spite of what my gut would tell me, but no matter). No chance of being able to settle anywhere else now; I am forced to wallow in the blood and mud with all the other pigs (to paraphrase a great song from better times).

Elon Musk tells Tucker Carlson that he believes Kamala will put him in prison: ‘I’m f**ked’ (if Trump loses) – This is called projection, as the fascist cabal Musk sold his soul to plans to imprison millions of political enemies. {Daily Mail 7 October}

At a Trump rally, Elon Musk, jumping around like a toddler, declares that Trump will ‘save’ (read: destroy) American democracy. {AP 6 October}

FWIW: in contrast to 2016 and 2020, leftist filmmaker Michael Moore predicts that Trump is ‘toast’ in 2024 - To be fair, this is the man who predicted Trump’s win in 2016 when everyone thought he was crazy. However, four years ago, he predicted another Trump win and was wrong. I strongly suspect he is wrong again and underestimates just how hateful and self-destructive the people of this dying nation are. (If anyone disagrees, prove me wrong on 5th November!)

Trump and co. swindling gullible #Cult45 followers out of their life savings on TruthSocial with various nefarious schemes. {Rolling Stone 6 October}

Kim Jong Un sends a love note to Putin on the Russian dictator’s 72nd birthday, calling him his ‘closest comrade’. {BBC 8 October}

Project 2025 shall ‘unequivocally’ lead to more deaths from hurricanes and other natural disasters - Red State #Murica is voting for their own demise. {The Guardian 8 October}

The non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Budget estimates that Trump’s economic plans ‘would increase budget deficits’ by twice as much as Harris’s plans – a shame that Americans are convinced we are still in an economic recession and have, for decades, been brainwashed to believe that Republicans are better for the economy. {WSJ 7 October}

US Civil War (1861-65) reenactors reveal they are worried a new civil war in America is imminent. {TNR 6 October} 

Continuing her longstanding fascination with (‘Jewish space’) lasers, Marjorie Taylor Greene refuses to back down on Hurricane Helene conspiracy theories, even after officials plead with the tin-foil hat crowd to stop spreading lies. {Daily Beast, 7 October}

Who wants to live forever, anyway? ‘Humanity is reaching the upper limit of life expectancy, according to a new study’. - The US doesn’t rank among the top forty nations with the highest life expectancies. {AP 7 October}

A most urgent headline that #Murica will ignore: the largest supplier of US drinking water falls victim to a cyberattack. {Fast Company 7 October}

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Post-debate Reuters/IPSOS poll: Harris fails to surpass fifty percent, with eleven percent still undecided, even after Trump’s notably poor performance

A political cartoon lampooning Donald Trump supporters. Illustration: Monte Wolverton

While I do not place too much weight on polls, here is proof this election is going down to the wire, regardless of how low Donald Trump will sink. It is crucial to always acknowledge that Trump commands the largest and most loyal political cult in American history, and Kamala Harris, as a mixed-race woman, faces the additional challenge of running in a country that harbours deep and violent prejudices against women of colour.

This may not be the optimistic spin most reading this want to hear, nor am I at all happy about having to say it, but it serves as a reminder that in a more rational, just, and moral society, this race would not be close, and a vile and criminal figure like Donald Trump would never have risen to power in the first place. 

I have said it before, and I shall say it again: we have not yet witnessed the full extent to which White America will go to avoid being governed by a coloured woman. Trump’s most devoted supporters will stand by him, no matter what he says or does or how frail he becomes. Prepare accordingly, to whatever extent possible, for mass bloodshed is on the horizon.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Trump voters care more about hurting you than they do about their own welfare

It is deeply terrifying that millions of seniors and disabled individuals who rely on Social Security shall vote to return the cretin to the White House. Every last Trump voter knows full well that he and the GOP is hellbent on ending Social Security and Medicare, despite any claims they make to the contrary. Trump voters are willfully voting against their own economic interests, knowingly hurting themselves in order to ‘own the libs’. That is how much #Cult45 hates the rest of us living in their #Murica. We are witness to a sickness that defies all logic and common sense, and are standing on the precipice of civil war.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Is Kamala Harris within striking distance in Texas and Florida?

NEW POLL SHOWS FLORIDA, TEXAS WITHIN MARGIN OF ERROR IN HARRIS-TRUMP RACE {The Hill 6 September}

Polls are garbage, and I trust what my instincts continue to tell me: this is a nation beset with malevolence, anger, and ugliness. Trump embodies what America has become, which is why so many millions identify with him and remain so steadfastly loyal. This is also an undeniably racist and misogynistic country. Had one asked me before Trump’s rise to power, I would have dismissed that notion, but it turns out that half the country decided it would be an excellent idea to conform to every negative stereotype and perception of this nation and its people. Nevertheless, my instincts have been wrong on rare occasions, and it is vital that the American people prove me wrong this time. Otherwise, it will be national suicide.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Extreme natalist JD Vance denigrated Kamala Harris for being childless

Photo: Julia Nikhinson/AP

{Newsweek 23/7} JD Vance's 'childless cat lady' attack on Kamala Harris sparks 'disgust'

Scorn towards ‘childless cat ladies’ and calls for forcing women to give birth are major tenets of the Christian nationalists at the moment. A cursory scan of X (formerly Twitter) will quickly reveal thousands upon thousands of accounts of people screaming ‘we need more babies’, in spite of the fact the world has over eight billion people at present and cannot handle the load. I would like the next Vice President to tell us what he and his Christian soldiers intend to do to those of us deemed unfit for their theocratic, reality-defying utopia? He, of course, would not be completely forthcoming about what they intend to do about it, but we shall soon find out (think Auschwitz).

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Kamala Harris v Donald Trump: An initial prediction of the electoral map

My gut feeling on how this election turns out. Time will show that Democrats have made the most colossal blunder in American political history. It is ‘progressive’ Democrats, and not so much #Cult45, that will put Donald Trump back in the White House. Damn fools.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Only halfway decent POTUS of my lifetime is bullied out of continuing his reelection bid, Democrats with blood on their hands

Photo: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg/Getty Images

{BBC 21/7} President Joe Biden announces he will no longer seek re-election and endorses Kamala Harris to run in his stead.

I would say that I am forever done with posting about US politics, yet I know that is unlikely to endure. No matter, I shall never be enamoured of this foul age. President Joe Biden is of a different era, and for that reason, I favour him. Yet, there is no restoring sanity; the nation and its people are too far gone. It is all but a clown show now. None of you Democrats reading this shall beat me over the head, for I shall likely cast my vote for Kamala Harris, despite not being overly fond of her—though, remember, I dwell in a solid blue state, so technically I need not do aught—but we are about to learn the lengths to which the American people will go to avoid being governed by a black woman. To say it shall be ugly is putting it mildly. Shoot not the messenger.

Beyond any doubt, in these past eight years, Americans have proven they value being entertained and having their prejudices validated above all else. They will go to great lengths—even to their own detriment—to preserve this wretched state of affairs. Not a serious country, not a serious people. Joe Biden is too good for this wicked nation, and we shall reap what we have sown, which is another Donald Trump presidency and all the horrors that shall ensue.

Recent Headlines:

President Biden outraises Trump in June, but is also compelled to outspend him, for Trump’s advertising is freely provided by the MSM. {Reuters 20/7}

Crypto CEO resigns after tweeting ‘anyone that votes against Trump at this point can die in a f**king fire’. {Fortune 19/7}

JD Vance, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and others: Beware the ‘tech broligarchs’ courting favour with Trump (and Putin). {Carole Cadwalladr 20/7}

‘(N)o reason to actually engage the merits of Vance’s Saul to Mar-a-Lago parable’: JD Vance wants to take America to a ‘dark place’. {Tim Miller 15/7}

JD Vance in 2016: ‘I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole ... or that he's America's Hitler’. Trump’s Christian nationalist, traitorous running mate was an avid NeverTrumper in 2016. {BBC 15/7}

Bill Kristol: ‘The selection of JD Vance confirms that the Trump movement now is a full-on authoritarian movement’. {The Bulwark 16/7}

Questions swirl as to why no medical reports have been released by Trump, or reported on by the MSM, since shooting. {Raw Story 17/7}

MUST-WATCH: Witness at Trump rally tells BBC reporter he saw man in a tan suit on the rooftop minutes before the shots, Secret Service did nothing. {BBC 13/7}

‘Top officials of the European Union will boycott informal meetings hosted by Hungary while the country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, after Hungary’s pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held a series of rogue meetings with foreign leaders about Ukraine that angered his European partners’. {AP 15/7}

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Why ultra-right-wing populist J.D. Vance is on the shortlist of Trump running mates

Getty Images

Rumour has it that J.D. Vance, the 39 y.o. Christian nationalist senator from Ohio, will be Donald Trump’s running mate. It would be a curious choice that probably would not bring one single vote to the table that Trump has not already secured. Vance is absolutely a dystopian extremist decidedly out of touch with the social and cultural views of the majority of Americans. Nominating a woman to combat Kamala Harris would seem more logical than another white male in a more sane political environment, and this is not the 1950s. 

J.D. Vance really only makes any sense if one considers who is actually doing the picking (hint, that individual sits in the Kremlin). To quote a commenter on Reddit: ‘maybe Trump should worry about why Daddy might want a pliable 39 year old a heartbeat away. He was a useful idiot, but the big orange dildo is probably way more trouble than he's worth to Putin now’.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

For the sake of securing President Biden’s victory in November and maintaining continuity afterwards, Kamala Harris must be replaced immediately

US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris at a campaign event. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.

If anyone in this administration needs to be replaced, it is the Vice-President. Hard truth: if re-elected, President Biden shall almost certainly be compelled to step down shortly afterwards, and shall not be able to serve another four years (neither shall his orange goblin adversary, and may we proclaim this fact to the hilt). Yet, we absolutely cannot afford to abandon President Biden at this crucial moment. The calls from within the Democratic Party and among their allies in the mainstream media for the President to step aside are verging on treasonous. Having said that, we cannot ignore that Mr Biden is growing too old to do this for much longer.

There is a reason Kamala Harris is not often seen or heard: the VP’s demeanour is such that she is not a particularly likeable or relatable person. She lacks charisma and sorely lacks public speaking ability (and the United States desperately needs a well-spoken leader once more, with none in immediate sight). She is the sort who makes for an excellent district attorney but is not a capable politician. Her ascension would only invite further radicalisation of the Christian nationalist, white supremacist right (#Cult45 for short), who are already on the verge of declaring all-out civil war. To be blunt, Kamala Harris would be vanquished in an election against Donald Trump, and the consequences would be devastating. America simply does not like her, for both proper and improper reasons, yet many of these reasons are valid.

I suggest President Biden replace VP Harris with a lady of moderate politics and disposition, white in complexion. America is - then, now, and forever - a racial basket case, but now is not the hour to fret about such matters: we have a dictatorial menace to vanquish, and utmost practicality and caution must prevail. As the Christian nationalist Heritage Foundation points out - and herein they are correct - it is too late to place another candidate on the ballot in many states. We ride with President Biden until he completes the job - the task of defeating Donald Trump and the GOP in this election - but thereafter we need someone who is capable of tempering the fervour and governing with prudence. That fair lady from Minnesota, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, may be whom I have in mind, but not necessarily her. Someone of that moderate, centrist ilk. #JustSaying #Biden2024

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

President Biden declares he is convinced Putin and Russia are about to invade their neighbors, as Russian separatists allege shelling and sabotage in eastern Ukraine

A shame that a large percentage of nationalist populist Americans - their brains destroyed by cult worship of Donald Trump, and egged on by numerous other far-right provocateurs and propagandists - will be chanting 'Let's Go Brandon' and rooting for the Russian aggressors; all the while cynically waving the American flag and crowing about what greater 'patriots' they are than the rest of the American populace. Prayers for Ukraine, and for sanity and morality to somehow overcome the great odds and prevail. Via the Los Angeles Times -

President Biden said Friday that he is convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine, capping a day full of ominous turns toward war between Russia and the former Soviet Republic.

“We believe that they will target Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, a city of 2.8 million innocent people,” Biden said in a somber White House address. “We’re calling out Russia’s plans loudly and repeatedly, not because we want a conflict, but because we’re doing everything in our power to remove any reasons that Russia may give to justify invading Ukraine.”

Until Russia attacks, Biden said, “diplomacy is always a possibility,” holding out slight hope that Western powers might avert a bloody, disruptive and economically damaging war.

The comments followed similar admonitions from Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken that Russia’s plan to create a pretext for invading Ukraine “is already in play,” with Russian-backed separatists claiming they were the victims of artillery shelling and sabotage.

The Biden administration has said it will not send troops to defend Ukraine. Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh, however, vowed on Friday that Russia would become a “pariah to the international community” and “isolated from global financial markets,” with punishing sanctions, if it attacks its western neighbor.

American and European leaders, meanwhile, continued a show of unity as Russia, which has 150,000 troops amassed around Ukraine, announced weekend drills that would test the “reliability” of its nuclear weapons, yet another stark reminder of the stakes in the standoff between the Kremlin and NATO. (Read more)

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The only good Islamist is a dead Islamist: ISIS leader killed by U.S. special operations forces in Syria

AP/Ghaith Alsayed

A hearty congratulations to the U.S. special operations forces involved, and to President Biden for authorizing the attack. America needed ‘a win’ of some sorts at this moment, not that I expect the ingrates that populate this country are going to give any credit where due. Nor is it likely that the vicious MSM – who twisted reality and turned the public against the president following the (successful, and necessary) withdrawal from Afghanistan – are going to give the president and the military any credit for anything. No matter, good prevailed for once in Syria. Via AP -  

ATMEH, Syria (AP) — The leader of the violent Islamic State group was killed Thursday, blowing himself up along with members of his family during an overnight raid carried out by U.S. special operations forces in northwestern Syria, President Joe Biden said. 

The raid targeted Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who took over as head of the militant group on Oct. 31, 2019, just days after leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died during a U.S. raid in the same area. Biden said al-Qurayshi died as al-Baghdadi did, by exploding a bomb that killed himself and members of his family, including women and children, as U.S. forces approached. 

The operation came as IS has been trying for a resurgence, with a series of attacks in the region, including an assault late last month to seize a prison in northeast Syria holding at least 3,000 IS detainees, its boldest operation in years. 

“Thanks to the bravery of our troops this horrible terrorist leader is no more,” Biden said. He said al-Qurayshi had been responsible for the prison strike, as well as genocide against the Yazidi people in Iraq in 2014. 

About 50 U.S. special operations forces landed in helicopters and attacked a house in a rebel-held corner of Syria, clashing for two hours with gunmen, witnesses said. Residents described continuous gunfire and explosions that jolted the town of Atmeh near the Turkish border, an area dotted with camps for internally displaced people from Syria’s civil war. 

Biden said he ordered U.S. forces to “take every precaution available to minimize civilian casualties,” the reason they did not conduct an airstrike on the home. 

First responders reported that 13 people had been killed, including six children and four women. 

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said U.S. forces were able to evacuate 10 people from the building: a man, a woman and four children from the first floor and four children from the second floor. He said when al-Qurayshi detonated the bomb, he also killed his wife and two children. Kirby said that U.S. officials were conducting an assessment to determine whether American action resulted in any civilian deaths. 

U.S. forces took fingerprints and DNA, which confirmed al-Qurayshi’s death, officials said. 

Biden, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and senior national security aides monitored a live-feed of the operation from the White House Situation Room according to an official. The president was kept abreast of the commandos’ long flight out of Syria by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan overnight. 

The operation marked a military success for the United States at an important time after setbacks elsewhere — including the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal — had led allies and opponents to conclude U.S. power globally was weakening. (Read more)

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Are American diplomats and intelligence officials being targeted with a mysterious illness by a foreign adversary?

Bianca Bagnarelli

Falls under the category of conspiracy theory, as nothing has been proven outright; but it’s also entirely plausible and the bio-terrorist threat must be taken seriously. The Russians, in particular, are not above this sort of thing. And that is putting it kindly. Jerusalem Post -  

A suspected case of "Havana syndrome" was detected in Colombia last week, the most recent in a series of suspicious attacks that appear to target US diplomatic and intelligence personnel. This latest incident appeared to happen just days before the visit of the US secretary of state. What this means is that these attacks may be targeted and timed – that they are not random and that a powerful adversary of the US is using them systematically.   

“US embassy staff in Bogota may have been injured by the mysterious illness, which causes a painful sound in the ears, fatigue and dizziness,” the BBC reports. “First reported in Cuba in 2016, US diplomats around the world have since reported cases of the syndrome. Its origins are unknown, with some speculating it is a type of weapon.”  

The Wall Street Journal reported the most recent attack, which included “unexplained health incidents,” according to an email sent by US Ambassador to Colombia Philip Goldberg. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was supposed to visit this month.   

In August, US officials said “the Vietnam leg of US Vice President Kamala Harris' South Asia trip had to be delayed by a few hours due to reports of two US diplomatic personnel coming down with the mysterious combination of ailments that have come to be known as Havana Syndrome.” 

The embassy said that there had been a "possible anomalous health incident in Hanoi," a phrase Washington has used to describe the syndrome. The incidents began in Cuba in 2016 but have also been identified in Germany, Austria, Russia and China, according to reports. 

EARLIER THIS year it was reported that the US State Department would gather more information on the health of diplomats after complaints they were not taking this seriously. According to The Independent, “US diplomats who have suffered from the mysterious “Havana Syndrome” tore into Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a recent meeting, arguing that the government hasn’t done enough to help victims and has brushed off their concerns as vague unexplained health incidents (UHIs).”  

There is some dispute within the US government and between recent administrations about what is happening. Some 200 diplomats and intelligence members have been affected. Although details are classified, there is a question over whether these are random "incidents" or targeted attacks. According to a New York Times report, more than half the victims of the syndrome are CIA officers. That report on October 1 said there are 100 CIA officer victims. According to another Times report, the CIA even recalled its Vienna station chief over the handling of the incidents. US lawmakers have backed changes to address the syndrome's victims, and the CIA is trying to increase attempts to confront the incidents. (Read more)

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