Author: Zero Hedge

Authored by Pepe Escobar via The Asia Times,

China and Russia will be key to solving an ancient geopolitical riddle: how to pacify the ‘graveyard of empires’…

So this is the way the Forever War in Afghanistan ends – if one could call it an ending. Rather, it’s an American repositioning.

Regardless, after two decades of death and destruction and untold trillions of dollars, we’re faced not with a bang – and not with a whimper, either – but rather with a pic of the Taliban in Tianjin, a nine-man delegation led by top

Authored by Kit Knightly via Off-Guardian.org,

Becoming a “Nation of Renters” is clearly a big part of the New Normal…

The incipient “Great Reset” is a multi-faceted beast. We talk a lot about vaccine passports and lockdowns and the Covid-realated aspects – and we should – but there’s more to it than that.

Remember, they want you to “own nothing and be happy”. And right at the top of the list of things you definitely shouldn’t own, is your own home.

The headlines about this have been steady for the

Authored by Grant Newsham via The Epoch Times,

Foreigners have been buying—or at least renting—America’s ruling class since the republic was founded. Almost exactly 225 years ago, in his 1796 Farewell Address, George Washington warned against “the insidious wiles of foreign influence,” adding that “foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.”

In modern times, Saudis, Japanese, South Koreans, and Israelis—to name a few—have all managed to purchase influence. But the usual goal is to gain advantages for their own nations. What we are seeing now is something much more dangerous—using influence

In a move that is likely going to prompt litigation for centuries to come, M. Richard “Dick” Robinson Jr., the late owner of Scholastic Corp., the book company responsible for publishing books like “Harry Potter”, has snubbed his family and left his entire fortune – worth $1.2 billion – to his former lover.

Robinson died on June 5 while in Martha’s Vineyard and his will directed that his fortune be left to his “longtime romantic partner” Iole Lucchese, according to the NY Post

Four days ago, we reported a shipping container-sized Tesla Megapack battery unit at the world’s largest energy storage project, operated by France’s Neoen SA, in Australia’s Victoria, dubbed “Victorian Big Battery,” caught fire during a test-run. 

Victoria Country Fire Authority (CFA) published a statement Monday that said the 13-ton battery was finally extinguished after four days, according to Bloomberg. 

“There was one battery pack on fire to start with, but it did spread to a second pack that was very close to it,” Chief CFA Fire

Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via Summit News,

Politically correct ideology is masking and contributing to the widespread failure of our institutions…

We know the nature of mass hysterias in history, and how they can overwhelm and paralyze what seem to be stable societies.  

We know the roots and origins of the cult of wokeness.  

And we know, too, how such insanity—from the Salem witch trials to Jacobinism to McCarthyism—can spread, despite alienating most of the population, through fear and the threat of personal ruin or worse. These are the dark sides of the tulip,

South Korean intelligence as well as the media have of late been closely monitoring Kim Jong Un’s changing appearance, especially given his clear rapid weight loss of the past months, setting off higher than usual amounts of speculation over possible ill health. 

This speculation has been renewed over these past days and has taken a bizarre turn, as commentary on the reclusive dictator’s appearance is now focusing on a strange “dark green spot” on the back of Kim’s head, as NK News has

By Vincent Cignarella, Bloomberg Markets Live commentator

Job growth at pre-pandemic levels is the key to the start of tapering, according to Fed Chair Powell. The good news for fixed income traders worried about higher rates and bond bulls is we’re not there yet.

A good gauge for when we do get there, take a look at the spread between the labor participation rate and job openings (JOLTS). It’s nowhere near pre-pandemic levels. Looking back at where labor and job openings were when the Fed announced tapering in December 2013 serves

If there’s one thing about the growing demand for EVs that we have tried to point out over the last month, it’s the fact that the rhetoric about the “green” vehicles being perfect for the environment with little consequence isn’t exactly 100% accurate.

Just over the last two months, we’ve written not only about how much driving needs to be done in EVs to make them better for the environment than internal combustion engine vehicles, but we’ve also noted that EV carbon