A role call in shadow

image generated via ChatGPT

‘More American service members have died in the Middle East during the ongoing Iran war than the Pentagon has disclosed publicly’. {Washington Post 18 September}

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ar-AA2cwmIj

Pete Hegseth must be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanours and removed from office. His stewardship of the United States Armed Forces hath proved an utter disgrace, and even thus do I speak mildly. The plight of the USS Abraham Lincoln alone ought, in mine own judgement, to furnish sufficient grounds for impeachment. 

In truth, this punk finds himself fortunate indeed that the American people have not presently their wits fully about them; for, were it otherwise, they should be marching upon Washington and Arlington, bearing pitchforks and torches, and demanding that the ‘Secretary of War’ be called to account. —

FTA: According to a document reviewed by The Washington Post, U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, has estimated that the Iran war has cost about $43.6 billion through early September. The total includes $28 billion in munitions expended during the conflict but does not account for the damage to U.S. bases.

As The Post reported last month, several top U.S. military officials have warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonging large-scale operations against Iran is unsustainable and risks weakening their ability to confront threats elsewhere, including the U.S. homeland.

According to a September Reuters-Ipsos poll, 28 percent of Americans support Trump’s approach to Iran, whereas 62 percent disapprove.

On Tuesday, a record seven GOP lawmakers joined Democrats and helped pass a largely symbolic measure intended to halt the war — the latest of several war powers resolutions to advance in Congress.

All war deaths and injuries are supposed to be publicly reported on the Pentagon’s public DCAS system, where the military accounts for personnel lost or injured in its conflicts.

Over the summer, when the four combat deaths were temporarily excluded from the casualty database, the Trump administration reclassified renewed hostilities with Iran as Overseas Operations instead of being tied to Operation Epic Fury.

The change, which occurred as U.S. negotiators struggled to broker a permanent peace deal with Tehran, coincided with efforts by the administration to portray the war as a success even as Iran continued to fire on American forces and continued to target shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Senate Democrats have pledged to investigate the Pentagon’s handling of casualty notifications if they retake the majority after the midterms.

Rep. Jason Crow (Colorado) and 11 other House Democrats, all of them military veterans, on Friday said they were introducing a bill that would prevent the Pentagon from manipulating government data on troop casualties.

One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie (Kentucky), moved this week to force a House vote on impeaching Hegseth over the war, alleging the defense secretary violated provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 by pursuing hostilities without congressional authorization.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Treasure into the furnace

image generated via Qwen

CBO: Iran war costs top $38 billion as of 1 Aug, excluding expenses related to US personnel killed or injured, repair costs, etc. {AP 15 September}

https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-cbo-estimate-b99089b11749f04bbc8ddb1b3c64a373

FTA: The U.S. war against Iran has cost the Department of Defense more than $38 billion through Aug. 1, and will continue costing up to $3 billion a month or more depending on the intensity of the conflict, according to an assessment released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

CBO said the war is expected to contribute to inflation into the first quarter of 2027, making inflation roughly 0.5 percentage points higher than they had previously estimated. That’s driven largely by the reduction of oil and natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and disruptions to shipping through the Red Sea.

The estimate, prepared in response to a request for information from the top Democrat on the House Budget committee, Rep. Brendan Boyle, largely aligns with a previous estimate from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who pinned the costs at $37.5 billion, according to his Senate testimony.

The estimates come largely from replacing munitions and equipment lost in battle, the CBO said, and do not include costs related to U.S. military personnel killed or injured in the conflict or longer term veterans’ healthcare and disability compensation.

Boyle said that beyond with the war’s human toll, “this nonpartisan CBO report makes clear that the war has also cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and counting, while continuing to drive up costs.”

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Wired for obedience

image generated via ChatGPT

No trust whatsoever in Hegseth’s severely compromised Pentagon: in an unprecedented move, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are subjected to polygraph tests over press leaks. {NYT 4 September}

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/us/politics/pentagon-staff-polygraph-tests.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-1A.T2lb.yfe3zweF0P0V&smid=url-share

FTA: U.S. government investigators have taken the extraordinary step of subjecting roughly 50 members of the U.S. military’s Joint Staff to polygraph tests over leaks to journalists, including about how the Iran war has created a shortage of crucial munitions, according to officials briefed on the move.

The investigators asked military officers and civilian employees on the Joint Staff if they disclosed classified information to members of the press, and about whether they provided information about diminished U.S. munitions stocks.

The polygraph tests were conducted in August after a flurry of news reports detailed diminished stocks of crucial munitions, including of long-range missiles and Patriot interceptors. The show of force appeared aimed at not just ferreting out anyone who may have shared information, but intimidating others who might do so in the future, according to people with knowledge of the effort.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 officers and officials work for the Joint Staff, which coordinates operations, policy and war plans with combatant commanders around the world.

In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that the department “does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly.”

“Securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and of our troops deployed around the world,” he added.

The scope of the investigation is without parallel. Mass polygraph tests have never been administered to the top ranks of the U.S. military in modern history.

“I’ve never seen polygraphs employed this broadly or at this seniority level,” said Rear Adm. Donald J. Guter, a retired top judge advocate general for the Navy from 2000 to 2002. “In my experience, it’s unprecedented.”

The move comes as multiple news organizations have revealed details about how the war with Iran has drained munition stockpiles and reported on concerns inside the administration about the strategic direction of the conflict.

President Trump has pressured administration officials to aggressively hunt for those leaking information. But the president has gone further than merely trying to stop the flow of unauthorized information; he has labeled “treasonous” the media coverage that is critical of the U.S. handling of the war in Iran and the shortages of munitions.

The leaks have intensified an atmosphere of deep distrust and paranoia inside the Pentagon, one that current and former officials say has been fostered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Surrounded by a tight inner circle of loyalists, Mr. Hegseth has pushed out or blocked the promotions of at least 80 generals, admirals and other officials during his tenure. Since early last year, the Pentagon has been conducting a number of leak investigations in response to news coverage about his leadership, even as he faced criticism for sharing sensitive details about strikes in Yemen in a Signal group last year.

Mr. Hegseth has not given a briefing to the Pentagon press corps about the U.S. war in Iran since May 5 and has sought to limit the access of journalists at the Pentagon, a policy that The New York Times has challenged in court.

Last month, the Defense Department fired the publisher and the editor in chief of Stars and Stripes, a government-funded news outlet that reports on the U.S. military, a move the journalists said was retribution for their coverage of the worsening conditions on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.

Mr. Trump has stood by Mr. Hegseth, saying he is doing a “fantastic job,” despite growing concerns about the leadership turmoil inside the Pentagon.

Recently, some Republicans on Capitol Hill have begun publicly voicing criticism of the Pentagon secretary, saying he is mistreating top officials.

“I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,” Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in a social media post this week, calling on Mr. Trump to replace Mr. Hegseth.

“He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force,” Mr. Tillis said.

Mr. Tillis was among the senators who voted to confirm Mr. Hegseth for the role in early 2025, despite having voiced concerns about his nomination.’

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The reckoning in the Pentagon

image generated via Grok

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis urges Trump to fire Pete Hegseth, says ‘I have never witnessed more inept management’ at the Pentagon. {Mediate 2 September}

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/republican-senator-urges-trump-to-fire-hegseth-i-have-never-witnessed-more-inept-management/

FTA: Republican Senator Thom Tillis is pushing President Donald Trump to show Pete Hegseth the door.

In a long-winded X post on Wednesday, Tillis thanked outgoing Army Secretary Dan Driscoll for his leadership, calling him “the right man at the right moment to lead our Soldiers and Army civilians.”

The Wall Street Journal reported late last week that Driscoll would step down before the end of the year amid “months of tension” with Hegseth.

Tillis then turned his attention — and some venom — to Hegseth.

“If we had a [Defense secretary] who maintained the same priorities and forward-thinking, he would be fighting to retain talented leaders like Dan and the many flag officers he has forced into retirement,” Tillis wrote. “Instead, he is creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks.”

He added:

I served on Senate Armed Services for 8 years and as chair or ranking member of the Personnel and Readiness subcommittee. I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country. He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force.

Concluding, Tillis delivered a final knockout blow, saying, “I urge the President to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it.”

With his demand, Tillis has joined numerous other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who have called for Hegseth’s firing.

Earlier Wednesday, The Atlantic reported that Trump “expressed concern” when Driscoll went to the commander in chief directly to tell him how many generals and other top officers had been fired, pushed out, or passed over for promotion under Hegseth.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The papers still fly

image generated via ChatGPT

Federal judge rules the Trump regime cannot deport foreign-born students for being critical of Israel. {AP 29 August}

https://apnews.com/article/israel-protests-deportations-ideological-d3694ba08ab714eb9441ca51a83fa57f

FTA: Judge Noël Wise, in a ruling Friday, delivered a victory for The Stanford Daily, the student newspaper at Stanford University, which has said some international students were afraid to speak out because of the deportation threat.

“Freedom of speech is illusory if we are only ‘free’ to express complementary views about the government and its leaders,” the judge wrote.

The decision largely piggybacks on findings from nearly a year ago by a U.S. district judge in Boston, who ruled that the Trump administration violated the Constitution when it targeted people who are not citizens for deportation solely for supporting Palestinians and criticizing Israel.

Wise wrote that the freedoms of speech and the press are “foundational to America’s enduring democracy.” The judge cited free-speech and vagueness flaws that violate the First Amendment and Fifth Amendment as she struck down portions of the provisions that the federal government follows regarding deportations.

Wise cited retaliation in March 2025 by U.S. immigration authorities against people who engaged in speech supporting the Palestinians and against Israel’s actions — which a growing number of experts, including those commissioned by a U.N. body, have said amount to genocide. The judge also cited retaliation against people who were critical of Charlie Kirk after the Turning Point USA co-founder was assassinated last September.

“Tomorrow, or perhaps even today, targets may include anyone in the United States who exercises their freedom of speech to simply express opinions the government does not like,” the judge in San Jose said.

“This downward spiral is antithetical to our Constitution that recognizes our right to speak freely,” she added. “Here you can simultaneously hate the content of a person’s speech and love the country that cherishes the freedom to allow it. Zealous protection of our Constitutional right to free speech is a provocative demonstration of our country’s powerful lack of fear.”

The Justice Department did not respond Saturday to a message seeking comment on the decision.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Shattered interdependence

image generated via ChatGPT

Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatens to cut critical minerals and electricity to the former US over Trump's forthcoming tariffs. {AP 24 August}

https://apnews.com/article/canada-trade-trump-ontario-53c4f83c8365c14b372b314396ae8179

FTA: In the AP interview, Ford said Trump had “declared war, economic war against his closest friend and ally” before invoking Reagan, whose opposition to tariffs Ford previously featured in a television advertising campaign aimed at Americans.

Ford noted that Trump keeps a portrait of Reagan near his desk.

“He’d be throwing up on him from the picture if he knew what was going on, spinning around in his grave right now,” Ford said. “He should maybe take that picture off the wall and move it somewhere else. Because right now, Ronald Reagan would be disgusted with President Trump.”

Ford’s comments came after Prime Minister Mark Carney walked away from trade negotiations with the Trump administration late Friday, saying Washington demanded too much in exchange for tariff relief. The United States imposed 50% tariffs Saturday on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, while Carney announced dollar-for-dollar retaliation beginning Sept. 8.

Ford said “everything is on the table” if the dispute worsens, including cutting off electricity and critical minerals from Ontario. He also called for Canada to consider using oil and potash as leverage.

“I’ll cut them off,” Ford said of critical minerals. “You won’t get a grain of sand out of Ontario.”

Critical minerals are increasingly important to U.S. national security and manufacturing. The Pentagon has sought more secure supplies of minerals used in military aircraft, missiles, munitions and electronics as Washington tries to reduce reliance on China, which dominates the mining or processing of several strategically important minerals.

Ford specifically cited high-grade nickel shipped to the United States and uranium refined in Ontario.

“What would they do without the high-grade nickel that we ship down to the U.S.?” Ford said.

Ford said Canada should consider increasingly severe retaliation if Trump continues targeting Canadian industries, including oil and potash, while Ontario could raise electricity prices or stop sending power south.

“We power 1.5 million homes and businesses,” Ford said. “Everything’s on the table. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Three seconds to obedience: when mercy gives way to voltage

image generated via Grok

ICE to invest up to $20 million in special gloves that deliver electric shocks ‘bringing individuals into compliance in less than three seconds and leaves no burns, marks or scars’. {The Guardian 11 August}

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/11/ice-electric-shock-gloves

A number of possible scenarios involving such devices — in the wrong hands — immediately spring to mind, and none of them is pleasant.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

At the mercy of Hormuz

image generated via ChatGPT

The little boy who cried ‘wolf’ one time too many: Trump claims the US Navy hath secured ‘100% control’ of the Strait of Hormuz. {CNBC 10 August}

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/11/us-iran-war-trump-hormuz-control-reparation-talks-.html

Also is demanding reparations from the Islamic Republic. Good luck with that.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The architecture of ruin

image generated via Meta

Trump throws a fit after the courts block his proposed WH ballroom, again insisting it is indispensable to national security. {The Mirror 7 August}

https://www.themirror.com/news/politics/breaking-furious-trump-posts-500-1973368

Upwards of ninety-nine per cent of Americans would never be allowed entry — should it ever be built — and yet this jackass hath the temerity to describe his proposed ballroom as ‘a Gift from President Trump and Great Patriots of the United States of America’ (sic) and to portray it as a matter of national security. Also note that he continues to lie about the ballroom being privately financed, notwithstanding reporting by the Washington Post and other outlets confirming that taxpayers are footing at least part of the bill. FTA: 

The project is estimated to use around $350 million in taxpayer funds, though construction at the site has been temporarily halted due to another ruling prior to the one announced by Trump on Friday.

“This is taxpayer-free," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office back in March. "We have no taxpayer putting up 10 cents."

In fact, summaries provided by Virginia-based company Clark Construction to the White House show that the work was projected to rely heavily on taxpayer money from the moment it was announced, the Washington Post reported.

The Trump administration has repeatedly sidestepped litigation by arguing that the ballroom is vital to "national security" and instead, presenting it as a Military Center rather than a recreational space.

Trump reiterated the claim in his frantic post, detailing the security measures, writing, "The single, integrated project includes Bomb Shelters, State of the Art Hospital and Medical Facilities, Protective Partitioning, Top Secret Military Facilities, Structures and Equipment, Protective Missile Resistant Steel, Columns, Roofs, and Beams, Drone Proof Ceilings and Roofs, Military Grade Venting, and Bullet, Ballistic, and Blast Proof Glass."

Trump is not even really denying that the bloody ballroom is just a cover to build himself a secure bunker; he is extremely devoted to the false maxim ‘L'État, c'est moi’ (‘the state, it is me’, famously attributed to Louis XIV). In his sick head, he is the father figure of the nation and its very embodiment made flesh; any threat directed against his person are construed as a threat to America itself, and this delusion he embraces with something approaching religious conviction. Somehow, he persuaded a vast swathe of the country to believe likewise, and that is precisely why we find ourselves mired in this horrible mess.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The declassified shadow

image generated via ChatGPT

White House declassifies 2016 FBI probe into whether Trump was a Russian asset. {The Dingo Daily 5 August}

https://thedingodaily.com/news/article/2026-08-05-trump-declassifies-oxford-comma-fbi-russia-asset-probe

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The Persian reckoning

image generated via ChatGPT

View from aboard — ‘America has suffered a strategic defeat against Iran’. {Jake Wallis Simons, The Telegraph 3 August}

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/1ed6179039fa6012

How grand for Donald Trump to have committed one of the most egregious foreign policy blunders in American history, and as with everything else he will not be held accountable by the American people or any other entity in this dying, gaslit empire of cowards, fools, and malevolent brutes. FTA: 

The final nail in the coffin of America’s hopes came on Sunday, when Trump called off “the biggest attack since World War Two” (yeah, right!) amid talks that could hand Tehran at least partial control of the Strait of Hormuz.

He also expressed his hopes that the latest “deal” – how many deals have there supposedly been now? – would lead to “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”.

How exactly? This is a foe that has always been bent on apocalypse and the downfall of the West. It is hardly going to roll over and let Trump tickle its tummy, especially when it has its jaws clamped around his groin.

Full details are yet to emerge, but it is likely that we will see a new entry-exit system for the strait that could hand some control of the waterway to the worst regime on Earth.

So the principle of mare liberum, or freedom of the seas, a core tenet of international law, commences its slow death on Trump’s watch.

What option had the president left himself? Inexorably, the White House is coming face-to-face with the consequence of taking military action without a proper plan.

What y’all voted for, #Murica. Even if none are forthcoming, reasonable and moral people must continue to demand answers from all of those — from Republicans, to the grifters in the realms of media and entertainment, to the churches, and especially to those in our personal lives and everywhere in between — who have enabled this putrid state of affairs. Quite simply, it is the greatest mass lapse in judgement that any of us alive today shall ever witness first-hand. Things can — and typically do — always get worse. Yet when this nightmare finally ends, I fear there may be very little left either to rebuild or to destroy. Good going, folks.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Where the Silk Road begins again

image generated via ChatGPT

Though denied by China’s Foreign Ministry, Iran is expected to be supplied with Chinese shoulder-launched missile systems. {Reuters 29 July}

https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/exclusive-iran-chinese-shoulder-launched-030628359.html

FTA: July 29 (Reuters) - Iran is expected to receive within weeks a first shipment out of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defence missile launchers, three sources familiar with the deal told Reuters, as it rebuilds its defences amid war with the United States.

The purchase, valued at $60-70 million, ‌is one of Tehran's largest-known efforts to strengthen its short-range air defences since the outbreak of its war with the U.S. and Israel, which exposed gaps in ‌Iran's ability to protect military sites and strategic infrastructure.

The contract covers the purchase of between 300 and 400 man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS), including Chinese-made QW-12 and FN-16 missiles, the sources said.

The deal was signed with Zhongqing Baoshang International ​Investment, a Hong Kong-based company that the sources said was acting as an intermediary between the Iranian side and the Chinese supplier.

IRAN NEEDS TO REARM AFTER MONTHS OF WAR

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Iran's foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

China's Foreign Ministry said: "The relevant reports are completely groundless. China has consistently played a role in promoting peace and ending the conflict."

Beijing-based Zhong Qing Bao Shang Group, the parent company of Zhongqing Baoshang International Investment, did not immediately respond to an email request for comment ‌on Tuesday.

Iran needs to rearm after months of fighting in which ⁠the U.S. and Israel have struck facilities linked to its missile, drone and air-defence programmes, and Tehran responded with barrages of ballistic missiles and drones.

The conflict has highlighted the challenge of defending fixed military and strategic sites against advanced aircraft and precision-guided weapons.

Washington abruptly suspended two weeks of ⁠bombardment on Saturday, but President Donald Trump said strikes would resume if negotiations failed to end the five-month-old conflict, which has in theory been in a state of ceasefire since April.

The delivery of hundreds of MANPADS would significantly expand Iran's inventory of short-range air-defence weapons and underscore how military ties with China are deepening.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

A nation cannot live on denial

image generated via ChatGPT

Andrew Neil reports Trump’s physical and mental health is deteriorating rapidly, and he is poised to go off the rails over Iran. {Alternet 25 July}

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/general/sources-warn-they-don-t-know-what-to-do-as-trump-s-mind-withers/ar-AA28Deyd

Read: ground war and/or the use of tactical nuclear weapons. FTA: 

Trump is said to be in “revenge mode” according to aides. And the President sounds ever more bellicose, saying on Thursday that he was close to deciding on a ‘massive attack’.

“Even senior aides in the White House don’t know what this would mean,” said Neil “The number of influential voices in Washington who think even ramped-up airstrikes – as I write, we’ve just had the 14th consecutive night of renewed US attacks on Iran – will cow Iran into submission are now passing few. In truth, nobody around Trump really knows what to do next – or what he will do.”

“… I listened to several influential figures close to Trump mull over the options. The assumption was that some sort of ground incursion was inevitable. That is certainly the new vibe coming out of Washington,” said Neil. “They talked of seizing Iranian territory on the northern shores of the Gulf to wrest control of the Strait of Hormuz from Tehran. They raised the prospect, again, of invading Kharg Island, from which Iran dispatches most of its oil exports.”

But there was, much more worryingly, talk of using tactical nuclear weapons to ‘send a message’ to Tehran and ‘concentrate its mind’ on peace, warned Neil.

“This took me aback. ‘Do that,’ I snapped ‘and you destroy America’s reputation and standing for the rest of the century. You’ve also paved the way for President Putin to do the same in Ukraine.’

“I was met with silence,” said Neil.

What y’all voted for, #Murica.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Hunting the architects of chaos

generated via ChatGPT

‘Europol shuts down thousands of websites linked to global nihilist network’. {Brussels Times 24 July}

https://www.brusselstimes.com/brussels-2/2244268/europol-shuts-down-thousands-of-websites-linked-to-global-nihilist-network

Whilst the government of the former United States is preoccupied with military adventurism abroad and the glorification of President Trump at home, Europe is addressing genuine threats and taking meaningful action. FTA:

Europol has taken down around 4,340 websites containing violent and extremist material linked to the online network known as 'The Com', in a joint operation involving several EU member states, including Belgium.

The EU's law enforcement agency said the operation aims to dismantle the propaganda network and reduce the reach of its harmful online content.

According to Europol, 'The Com' is a loose network of online groups that promote a nihilistic and misanthropic worldview.

The groups recruit members through social media platforms and online gaming communities before encouraging them to commit acts including animal torture, violent assaults, self-harm and the production of child sexual abuse material.

Europol warned that the network primarily targets young people and operates not only on the dark web but also across mainstream social media platforms.

"Social media algorithms expose young people to extremist content, whether they actively seek it out or not. What initially appears harmless can quickly escalate into extreme violence and deeply traumatic material," the agency said.

Victims are often blackmailed into remaining in the groups, with perpetrators threatening to share intimate images or videos with family and friends.

Some of the groups also use far-right symbols and terminology to promote their ideology or provoke public outrage.

Over the past two years, Europol said 'The Com' has evolved into a major global threat, with minors increasingly becoming both victims and perpetrators of crime.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Liberty in the hands of her executioners

generated via ChatGPT

Making America great again by draining the coffers of the world’s most powerful military? The Pentagon is rapidly going broke. {WP 21 July}

https://wapo.st/4wYclry

Another fine example of what y’all voted for, #Muricans. 

Just watch how quickly the federal government begins looking for savings elsewhere whilst ever more resources are devoted to sustaining the military machine. What shall be left? Social Security is already under ever greater strain, with insolvency projected for 2032; now that reckoning may arrive sooner still; Medicare and Medicaid are already effectively on the chopping block, so say ‘goodbye’ to healthcare for millions; infrastructure is already neglected, and will deteriorate further; and our military no longer capable of sustaining the commitments expected of it; and with it, any semblance of national security lost. Just look to Russia to see where Trumpistan is heading.

I wish I had the means to flee this country, for the gradual decline we have been living through hath been painful enough to witness. The pace of that decline is about to accelerate considerably. Americans voted for their own destruction, and they are about to get it.

Empires rarely collapse because they lack enemies — more often, they exhaust themselves — and history is not kind to governments and peoples that confuse spectacle with statecraft. Nor to leaders, such as Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin, who mistake recklessness for strength. I pray that those responsible for squandering the resources, institutions, and international standing that were painstakingly built over generations face their reckoning.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The price of black gold

generated via ChatGPT

Average gas prices in the former United States back above $4.00 per gallon as Iran conflict reignites. {AP 20 July}

https://abcnews.com/Business/wireStory/us-gas-prices-hit-average-4-gallon-us-134908471?cid=social_twitter_abcn

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The wrath of the red moon

generated via ChatGPT

Khamenei Jr. vows to avenge his father’s death, crude oil prices soar again, while the White House seeks an agreement to free up the Strait of Hormuz that is never going to be adhered to. What a bloody mess. {Reuters 11 July}

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/us-seeks-iranian-pledge-to-free-up-strait-of-hormuz/

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Pennsylvania Avenue prisoner

generated via ChatGPT

The actions of one fancying never leaving office: Trump regime considering permanent fencing near White House and Lafayette Square. {CBS News 10 July}

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-considering-plan-to-add-fencing-nearby-to-bolster-security/

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Mistresses of the chokepoint

generated via ChatGPT

Crude oil prices begin to rise once more with the renewal of combat in the Strait of Hormuz. {MarketWatch 7 July}

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rise-as-the-u-s-cancels-irans-license-to-sell-oil-030635fc

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The long night of Hormuz

generated via ChatGPT

Trumpistan and Iran fire at each other again in the Strait of Hormuz: another failed ceasefire (and how many is this now?) {AP 7 July}

https://whdh.com/news/us-launches-new-strikes-against-iran-after-three-ships-were-hit-in-strait-of-hormuz/

When is anyone ever going to get it? The Iranians are never going to abide by the terms of a peace deal. America hath two options, and neither is good: either withdraw completely from the region, thereby leaving Israel and the Gulf states vulnerable while further emboldening powers such as Russia and China; or commit to a full-scale war aimed at the all-out, genuine (meaning not half-assed) destruction of the Islamic Republic, risking World War III. The global economy hath already taken a major hit, and gas prices are not going down, are they? What a bloody mess — one that is going to take decades to recover from, assuming recovery is even possible.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.