Tower of Lies

Seems like everything that comes out of the Donald's mouth is a lie these days. Add to that his cabinet lying time after time... whether it is Bessent saying he doesn't understand why fuel prices are rising, to Hogsbreath saying Ukraine has Russia on the run, to Lutnick saying he doesn't remember his trip to Epstein Island. It isn't just the administration. Seems most of the beltway class is addicted to lying. The media compliance facilitating the falsehoods point to the Zionist control of the MSM. None the less it seems most folks understand they are being lied to, but it is so common it has become accepted. Eventually the tower of lies will collapse under it own weight like a house of cards.

We've been fed lies for as long as I can remember. We've been lied into every war. We're lied to about how great our economy, military, and nation is. We've been lied to when we vilify other countries because they won't submit to our resource extraction. It goes on and on. Someone this week said the greatest myth machine and propaganda apparatus ever created is Hollywood. They certainly done their part and work with the CIA/deep state.

Well what about this week? Robert Pape lays out three main events, the second of which revolves around Ratcliffe..

Many of today's conversations feature the Theatrical Performance:
Mr. Ratcliffe Goes to Moscow
A mystery story that baffles the analysts. Hear the many hypotheses and draw your own conclusion.
Larry Johnson points out there must have been some reason to fly there in a cargo transport that required refueling.
Pape below says the big plane was needed for security, but the two Larry's disagreed.
Chas has a theory of diplomacy offering up 'elensky and Ukraine.
Almost every analyst has their own idea.
Funny Media Speculations About CIA Ratcliffe’s Russia Visit

In addition to Ratcliffe, Pape suggests the other big stories are the fact that all the other countries (even our vassal states) are saying no to the Iranian sanctions, and lastly he covers the Canada story. THE WEEK THE WORLD SAID "NO"

(25 min) There were three major global actions this week with the politics of force.
First, of course, was Secretary of the Treasury Scott Besson's D-Day call to action on Monday with his major press conference where he tried to rally the global community to economically isolate Iran.
Next was the surprise trip by CIA Director John Ratcliffe when he flew to Moscow to issue a warning, a warning to the Russians, don't attack NATO, abandon Iran.
And then yet another surprise this week when a trade deal between the United States and Canada that had been in the works for some time essentially blew up. And it blew up over issues last-minute demands by the United States to restrict Canada's trade independence and shift manufacturing to the United States.
In each and every one of these instances, the world rejected the U.S. demands.

Another story broke this weekend ...
Trump announces U.S.-Venezuela oil agreement covering 65 billion barrels
But who gets the money?
The U.S. Took Over Venezuela’s Oil Industry. Where Has All the Money Gone?
The American and Venezuelan people remain in the dark about how the Trump administration is controlling billions of dollars of Venezuelan oil revenue. Without accountability mechanisms or a clear democratic roadmap, the United States risks entrenching a corrupt successor regime.

Feedstock Is Not Fuel: Why Venezuelan Crude Cannot Fix the Diesel and Jet Shortage
Venezuelan crude is the wrong substance to fix the shortage Americans feel at the pump. It is not a magical fix. In the near term it is not a fix at all. ...
Venezuela is a long-duration heavy-crude redevelopment option, not an emergency supply source — and specifically not a fuel solution.

What good will other nations had for the US has evaporated. What do you expect when they see in Venezuela that we bribe the army, kidnap the President, and steal their oil? The world isn't blind.

Yesterday, OTC featured the excellent conversation with Larry Johnson and Larry Wilkerson. If you missed it here it is again.

(56 min) Larry Wilkerson & Larry Johnson: The Trap is Closing on Iran and the US
The focus of the discussion is energy, and the need for a new energy architecture.

Chas had a wonderful interview with Nima telling stories of his trip to China with the Reagan's telling jokes along the way. Chas had a good joke about Trump renaming Lake Ontario. He suggest the reflecting pool in DC should be named Lake Trump, and then he would have his own strait of Warm Ooze.

(53 min) Chas Freeman: Crumbling on All Sides: The Staggering Reality of Israel's Multi-Front War
Excellent!

Lavrov, like most of the world, realizes the US government is full of liars, and is agreement incapable

Russia Rejects Vatican and CIA Ceasefire Demands

(22 min)
00:00:00 Diplomacy on Ukraine: Vatican, Ratcliffe and Lavrov statements
00:01:23 Lavrov says Western diplomacy is built on deception, goodwill exhausted
00:03:36 Vatican envoy offered no pushback, just asked for a ceasefire
00:03:56 Lula of Brazil pressures Russia to agree to a ceasefire
00:07:21 New York Times changes the narrative on Ratcliffe's Moscow trip
00:09:38 New York Times headline: Ratcliffe pushing Kremlin toward a peace deal
00:12:17 Trump reportedly misled by his own officials on the war
00:13:34 Reuters: Zelensky sending Azov fighters to the Donbass front
00:16:10 Fortified towns in Donbas face encirclement as Russia advances
00:19:49 Ukraine chooses to defend Donbas, risking a decisive encirclement battle

Iran HITS Tankers in US Navy's FACE, Trump's Venezuela Oil Grab BLOWS UP | KJ Noh

(66 min) Iran's Navy is hitting ships left and right in the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation to Trump's assertion that all mines have been cleared and the waterway is completely open. KJ Noh discusses breaking news that Trump has entered full desperation mode via a major oil grab on Venezuela meant to offset failures in the war on Iran.

Seyed M. Marandi in Tehran

(54 min) Iran Activates War Economy & Military Surge as All-Out Conflict Becomes Inevitable. He talks about the US bond sell off, and how the GCC countries are trapped with their US investments.

Israel is up to it's usual murdering Palestinians.

ISRAEL’S DARK PLAN: UN Official DROPS BOMBSHELL on Gaza’s Future | Francesca Albanese

(20 min) UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese joins Double Down NewsWatch to deliver an urgent critique of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. As conditions continue to deteriorate under severe blockades, aid restrictions, and targeted strikes, Albanese breaks down how diplomatic distractions and systemic international paralysis enable a humanitarian crisis on the ground.
In this unsparing interview, Albanese scrutinises Western media complicity, the deliberate targeting of Palestinian journalists, and the systematic erosion of international legal frameworks. She highlights the stark contrast between everyday life in Western capitals and the destruction in Gaza, drawing historical parallels to demand immediate, concrete civil action to break the blockade and protect human lives.

Many Palestinian parents have had to stop their children from playing with one of the few toys they have left.
...even these simple kites have now been banned by Israel, which declared kite-flying a potential act of war after four kites were found near the Gaza-border communities of Nahal Oz and Be’eri.

Max Blumenthal

(26 min) Netanyahu: The Islamic Republic of Britain?

Larry Johnson

(50 min) US to Cut ALL Military Aid to Kurdish Peshmerga

Jeffrey Sachs: The War on Russia & Iran Is Breaking the West

(41 min) Prof. Jeffrey Sachs discusses how the economy and mentality of the West are impacted by the wars against Russia and Iran.

It's the Economy, stupid

Martin Armstrong

(58 min) Economic Collapse Has Started & the EU Will Break Up
Martin Armstrong is the former chairman of Princeton Economics International Ltd. a former leading multinational corporate advisor with offices in Paris, London, Sydney, Hong Kong and Tokyo. He was hailed as Economist of the Decade and was named Hedge Fund Manager of the year in 1998 after correctly forecasting the collapse of Russia.

Japan’s ZOMBIE Economy Is About To Crash! – James Corbett

Reportage author James Corbett joins Jimmy to note that Japan's economy has been in a "zombie" state since its 1990s asset bubble burst, with prices barely moving for decades until recently, and now faces a falling yen and rising inflation driven in part by the Middle East conflict and import costs. Asked about how Japan handled COVID, he explains that the country was never under a formal lockdown or mask mandate, but widespread social pressure—what he calls "horizontal tyranny"—led most people to comply with measures like masking anyway.
Corbett points out that Japan's population is shrinking, with deaths exceeding births amid a persistent low fertility rate, though he notes he doesn't have the latest data on excess deaths. He traces Japan's stagnation to structural issues, including a fragile banking system and "zombie companies" that survived on ultra-low interest rates, while also suggesting Japan's technological progress stalled relative to China's rise.

Investor Jim Rickards on the Jackson Hole Fed presentation this week. (@ 11 min mark)

(20 min)
00:00 Midterm Meltdown
03:47 Could Gold Reach $10,000 by Year-End?
05:33 How Much Gold Does Jim Own?
06:13 Gold’s Political Risk Premium
10:30 Should You Sell Gold to Pay Off Debt?
11:15 Jim’s Take on Warsh’s Speech
15:14 Why Own Gold When Interest Rates Are Higher?
16:32 Quantitative Easing Has Begun
18:29 Jim’s AI Investments

How will the Economy effect the Midterm Elections

ROBERT BARNES : Bessent's BullSh*T Will Destroy the Dollar - Midterm Election Analysis

(54 min) “Leave the dollar system” is the kind of tough talk that sounds powerful right up until you ask what it breaks and who it benefits. We dig into the idea of an “economic D-Day” aimed at Iran and why weaponizing secondary sanctions can undermine the very advantage the US thinks it’s using. The key distinction we keep coming back to is simple: the US dollar is one thing, but access to the US-led financial system is another, and threatening the “tracks” can push the world to lay new ones.
We walk through SWIFT, OFAC, and the growing ecosystem of SWIFT alternatives and parallel payment rails, including China’s CIPS and broader BRICS-style efforts. We also get blunt about why sanctions regimes repeatedly fail to achieve political goals when targeted states are food self-sufficient, fuel self-sufficient, and able to sustain national security production. Add in China’s leverage through rare earth supply chains and refining capacity, and the downside risks start to look less theoretical and more like self-inflicted damage.
Then we bring it home to US politics. We connect foreign policy escalation to midterm election dynamics, voter realignment, and the “kitchen table” effects that show up fast in consumer confidence, prices, and trust. We also argue that resilience is not just bombs and bases, it’s incentives: fixing corruption-driven procurement, reducing monopoly bottlenecks, and defending food freedom so people can buy directly from farmers and ranchers without needless barriers.
If you’re worried about de-dollarization, sanctions backfire, and what all of this means for 2026 and beyond, this conversation is for you. What’s the bigger risk right now: overusing sanctions or underestimating the political blowback?
0:00 Tech Trouble And The Big Warning
1:26 Economic D-Day And Dollar Threats
4:35 SWIFT Alternatives And De-Dollarization
6:02 Weaponizing Financial Rails Backfires
10:28 Why Iran Sanctions Won’t Work
19:35 New Middle East Power Alignments
25:40 Midterm Map And Voter Realignment
30:35 Corruption Incentives And Food Freedom
47:50 Odds Of Course Correction And Removal
51:00 Third-Party Pressure And Closing CTAs

The first victim of war is the truth. It appears they are also wrapped in lies in order to keep the money flowing (whether in Ukraine or Israel) into the coffers of US elected officials. The grifting washing machine is in spin cycle, and all is well. However, in the next three to four weeks when diesel fuel levels reach critical levels we will all feel the ramifications of our stupidity.

Well, we'll weather this storm but it might be a rough ride. Hang on my friends!

The thread is open so please chime in with anything of interest to you.