Headlines

… We have entered the lengthiest period of prolonged popular disenchantment since the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of democratic politics, a disturbing state of affairs that urgently requires addressing … This sense of alienation is especially prevalent among the working and lower middle classes, as well as the young, but no element of society is immune from it, other than perhaps multi-millionaires … Even for the sensible majority, the belief in progress that used to define the Western psyche has faded, with hope replaced by despair, bitterness and fear. The political phenomenon of our times is mass discontent, and yet this crisis continues to be largely ignored by an unempathetic ruling class. Its only answer is more of the same … Right-wing populism has become the anti-establishment movement globally.

… David Hoggan’s The Forced War is an invaluable work of history and a crucial touchstone for modern dissidents. Appreciating the justice and truth behind the German perspective during the Second World War is the first step we all must take to have a balanced and accurate understanding, not only of history, but of the crippling ideological conformity of our own times … This book should be read carefully and with great urgency by as wide an audience as possible. As pure history, it is as entertaining as it is enlightening.

… Times Square is looking a lot like its bad old self, with vagrants, boozy migrants, junkies, and scofflaws making the Crossroads of the World look more like the third world, infuriating those who played an important role in its cleanup. On three separate days over the past week, The Post saw junkies brazenly smoking crack pipes on West 43rd Street, drug dealers peddling their wares within eyeshot of cops, hobos conked out wherever they can find a spot, and scores of aimless migrants loitering the day away … In the last two years, major crime has rocketed 50% in the NYPD’s Midtown South precinct – which encompasses Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, Madison Square Garden, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal – and is up 28% compared to 13 years ago, according to NYPD data.

The U.S. State Department encouraged the Pakistani government in a March 7, 2022, meeting to remove Imran Khan as prime minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a classified Pakistani government document obtained by The Intercept. The meeting, between the Pakistani ambassador to the United States and two State Department officials, has been the subject of intense scrutiny, controversy, and speculation in Pakistan … One month after the meeting with U.S. officials documented in the leaked Pakistani government document, a no-confidence vote was held in Parliament, leading to Khan’s removal from power. The vote is believed to have been organized with the backing of Pakistan’s powerful military.

President Joe Biden has framed his support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion as part of his “worldwide commitment” to defending countries’ rights to sovereignty. But a report from The Intercept suggests that the Biden administration was willing to meddle in Pakistan’s democratic process in its efforts to rally a global coalition to isolate Russia. The Intercept published a diplomatic cable it said it obtained from an anonymous source in Pakistan’s military documenting a U.S. State Department official encouraging the Pakistani government to oust the country’s then-prime minister Imran Khan from power … It underscores the inconsistency of the U.S. when it comes to respect for countries’ sovereignty, and how rhetoric about freedom and democracy only seem to matter when the U.S. believes it has something to gain from a situation.

… The romantic relationship that once existed between the two countries came to an abrupt end when Washington played a critical role in toppling the government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh on August 19, 1953 ..; But unbeknownst to Iranians, Eisenhower had personally approved “Operation Ajax,” which we know now was assisted by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and British intelligence, to remove Mosaddegh. The U.S. had committed its “original sin” in Iran. This episode marked the transformation of the U.S. image from a benevolent power sympathetic to Iranian aspirations to one similar to that of the British and Russians. To many Americans, however, the significance of the coup remains unknown.

Just when you may have thought things couldn’t get any crazier: American playwright and humorist C.J. Hopkins, profiled in this space on numerous occasions, has been sent a “punishment order” by a German judge, offering him a Sophie’s Choice of 60 days in jail or 3,600 euros. His crime? Essentially, insulting the German health minister in a tweet, and using a scarcely-visible image of a Swastika on a mask in a book critical of the global pandemic response, The Rise of the New Normal Reich. … Authorities claim that through the use of the mask image, C.J. was “disseminating propaganda, the contents of which are intended to further the aims of a former National Socialist organization.”

The Chinese Communist Party is teaching African leaders its authoritarian alternative to democracy at its first overseas training school — the strongest evidence yet that Beijing is exporting its model of governing in its push to challenge the Western-led world order. The Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School in Tanzania is Beijing’s counter to efforts by the U.S. and other Western countries to shape African politics in a fight for influence on a continent rich in raw materials and energy. At the school, the CCP teaches how it fuses the ruling political party and the state, marking a clear departure from Beijing’s previous, more subtle attempts to peddle influence on the international stage.

… The sad fact is both parties, along with a majority of the American people, are addicted to welfare-warfare spending … Despite the Fed’s repeated interest rate increases, Americans are paying an average of $709 more per month for basic living expenses than they were two years ago. This is why credit card debt is over one trillion dollars. Adding more in private and public debt will increase pressure on the Fed to “do the impossible” – keep interest rates relatively low without creating price inflation. Eventually, the Fed-created debt-based economy will collapse as the dollar loses its reserve currency status. This will increase political divisions and may even lead to political violence.

The dollar has been the world’s reserve currency since World War II, but a combination of political and economic reasons is slowly chipping away at its supremacy. Nearly 60% of international reserves are held in dollar-denominated assets, according to the International Monetary Fund. The dollar is also the most widely used currency for trade. Now, Western-led sanctions against Russia related to its invasion of Ukraine are making other countries wary of potential consequences of crossing Washington. Some, such as Brazil, Argentina, Bangladesh, and India, are lining up backup currencies and assets — such as the Chinese yuan and bitcoin — for trade and payments.

The civil war between Ukraine and Russia is one of the most poorly reported conflicts that I’ve ever witnessed. Western media has shown how much it has become an arm of big government. Much of our media and the British media have faithfully parroted Washington’s official party line on the war: saintly little Ukraine versus evil Goliath Russia. Not since the US invasion of Iraq has the American media so blatantly promoted a war or so vilified a foreign leader, President Vladimir Putin … As Henry Kissinger said, being America’s ally can be more dangerous than being its enemy. Ukraine should take this grim lesson to heart.

Back in Print! Completely reset, expanded and reformatted new IHR edition. In this pathbreaking study of the origins of the Second World War, Dr. Hoggan explains why Hitler decided to attack Poland in 1939, and examines the short-sighted policies that made war all but inevitable. He dismantles the often-repeated charge of sole German responsibility for the war, which for many years has been a centerpiece of the prevailing narrative of twentieth century history. The eminent American historian Harry E. Barnes called this “the first thorough study of the responsibility for the causes of the Second World War in any language … likely to remain the definitive revisionist work on this subject for many years.” With index, source notes, extensive bibliography, map, and 30 photographs. Available in hardcover and paperback editions.

… The 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur running as an “America First” crusader isn’t shying away from controversy in the Republican field, especially when it comes to foreign policy … Ramaswamy has touched on an even bigger third rail in conservative American politics: proposing an eventual end to military aid to Israel. … Israel, which human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused of imposing a brutal regime of apartheid on Palestinians, receives more military aid from the US — $3.3 billion annually — than any other country. Despite international concern around Israel’s systemic occupation, overwhelming majorities in both the GOP and Democratic Party strongly favor the relationship, making Ramaswamy an outlier even among other America First Republicans.

Ahead of the first Republican presidential debate, the candidate with the least political experience is making some of the biggest headlines — in part due to his views on Israel. Vivek Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur who has never held elected office, is seeing growing support for his long-shot candidacy … DeSantis and the other hopefuls are expected to attack Ramaswamy’s many unconventional views, including a call to eventually end United States aid to Israel. … He’s also made headlines for more outré proposals, such as a pledge to eliminate the FBI and Department of Education … Ramaswamy has also drawn attention for criticizing a bill signed by DeSantis that penalizes antisemitic harassment and has called to repeal a law banning religious discrimination in employment.

This is the story of Egon Mayer, one of Germany’s greatest fighter pilots during World War II. With over 50 Spitfire Kills and 25 Heavy Bomber kills, he was easily one of the most valuable pilots of the Luftwaffe. He was also responsible for the tactic that brought down countless American B-17 “Flying Fortress” bombers. Runtime: 34 mins.

The Japanese government stepped up its alarm over Chinese assertiveness, warning in a report issued Friday [July 28] that the country faces its worst security threats since World War II as it plans to implement a new strategy that calls for a major military buildup. The 2023 defense white paper, approved by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet, is the first since the government adopted a controversial new National Security Strategy in December, seen as a break from Japan’s postwar policy limiting the use of force to self-defense. China, Russia and North Korea contribute to “the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II,” according to the 510-page report. It says China’s external stance and military activities have become a “serious concern for Japan …” …

Police-reported crime in Canada has increased for the second year in a row, with violent crime reaching its highest point since 2007. In a report released Thursday, Statistics Canada researchers found that violent crime rose by five per cent in 2022 — after a six per cent increase in 2021 — using the Crime Severity Index (CSI). It’s one of the tools the federal agency uses to track the volume and severity of reported crimes. The increase may be a sign that crime is returning to an upward trend that researchers observed before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, said Warren Silver, an analyst with Statistics Canada.

… Defensive operations do not win wars, and Washington continues to believe Ukraine can win. Washington discounts Ukrainian losses and exaggerates Russian losses … America’s proxy war with Russia has transformed Ukraine into a graveyard. Indulging Poland’s passion for war with Russia encourages Poland to follow the Ukrainian example. The very idea must leave Moscow no choice but to bring all of Russia’s military power to bear simultaneously against Ukraine, before the collective West stumbles into regional war. Make peace, you fools, before it’s too late.

… This is a major reason behind the freakish sycophancy and empire loyalism we see in the mainstream press. It’s not just the obscenely wealthy owners of the mass media who are protecting their class interests — it’s the reporters, editors and pundits as well.
These are typically fairly wealthy people from fairly wealthy families, who become more and more wealthy the more their careers are elevated. As insiders of the mainstream press have attested, it’s widely understood by employees of the mainstream media that the way to elevate your career is to toe the establishment line and refrain from spotlighting issues that are inconvenient to the powerful.

By mid-1934 Adolf Hitler had consolidated his hold on power in Germany, and had won the support and affection of the great majority of his people. But foreign policy problems remained. Some influential foreign newspapers and media were hostile, eager to try to bring down the National Socialist regime. Nonetheless, in 1934 and 1935 Hitler skillfully gained more sympathy and support from other countries, even in Britain. Leni Riefenstahl’s film record of the 1934 NS Party rally in Nuremberg impressed viewers both inside and outside Germany. Her “Triumph of the Well” documentary was an artistic achievement and an international success. In 1935 the people of the Saar region voted overwhelmingly to join Hitler’s Germany. That same year, Hitler took a great gamble in “remilitarizing” the German Rhineland. Runtime: 42 mins.

Short documentary television report, produced after the war, on the astonishing success of the Hitler regime success in banishing mass unemployment, reviving the nation’s economic life, and restoring confidence. Runtime: 4:25 mins.

A flurry of mainstream films released this year pivot on Jewish historical figures who impacted the world in ways impossible to ignore: Robert Oppenheimer, the subject of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Oppenheimer, is known to history as the “father of the atomic bomb.” Leonard Bernstein, played by Bradley Cooper in Netflix’s Maestro, which Cooper will also direct, is considered one of the 20th century’s most influential composers. And Golda Meir, played by Helen Mirren in Guy Nattiv’s Golda, served as Israel’s first — and, to date, only — female prime minister, shepherding the fledgling nation through the 1973 Yom Kippur War. All of these individuals were Jewish. In their cinematic counterparts, none of them are played by Jews.

The share of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who believe that President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win was not legitimate has ticked back up, according to a new CNN poll fielded throughout July. All told, 69% of Republicans and Republican-leaners say Biden’s win was not legitimate, up from 63% earlier this year and through last fall, even as there is no evidence of election fraud that would have altered the outcome of the contest … Overall, 61% of Americans say Biden did legitimately win enough votes to win the presidency, and 38% believe that he did not.

… For the Norwegian branch of the social media movement Architectural Uprising, this revision was another feather in its cap. Founded in Sweden in 2014 as a public Facebook group, the Uprising is a collective of citizen design critics who object to what organizers call the “continued uglification” of developments in Nordic cities, and push for a return to classically informed design. With more than 100,000 social media followers across some 40 different branches, the group now serves as a significant platform for those who assert that the public, not just bureaucrats, architects, developers and property owners, ought to have a voice in the design of their built environments.

Poland has been one of the most assertive proponents of Ukraine’s entry into NATO and of NATO’s escalating involvement in the war, from providing tanks to providing fighter jets. As Ukraine’s chances of rapid entry into NATO have faded and their chances of victory in the war are falling apart, there has been talk of the threat that Poland could intervene more directly to bring Ukraine into NATO or NATO into Ukraine … Several analysts have also suggested that there have been discussions on Poland uniting with Western Ukraine, drawing the remaining parts of Ukraine into NATO, or moving militarily into Western Ukraine or against Belarus, drawing Russia into an Article 5 triggering response and NATO into the war in Ukraine.

A Rasmussen poll reveals that a large portion of voters believe the United States is doomed if their presidential candidate of choice loses in 2024. Per the poll, 40% of likely US voters agree with the statement, “Joe Biden must be re-elected president next year, or the United States is doomed,” which includes 25% who strongly agree. 53% are in disagreement, which includes 43% who strongly disagree. 45% agree with the statement, “Donald Trump must be re-elected president next year or the United States is doomed,” which includes 26% who strongly agree. 53% disagree, which includes 44% who strongly disagree.

Generation Z will be the last generation of Americans with a white majority, according to census data. The nation’s so-called majority minority arrived with Generation Alpha, those born since about 2010. Barely two decades from now, around 2045, non-Hispanic white people will fall below half as a share of the overall U.S. population … Generational data from the 2020 census shows the upward march of racial diversity by age group. Non-Hispanic white people make up 77 percent of the over age 75 population, 67 percent of the age 55-64 population, 55 percent of the 35-44 cohort, and barely half of the 18-24 age group. America’s children are only 47 percent non-Hispanic white …

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy declared a state of emergency Tuesday, citing an influx of migrants seeking shelter at a time when the cost of housing — already in short supply — continues to rise. There are nearly 5,600 families or more than 20,000 people – many of whom are migrants — currently living in state shelters, including infants, young children and pregnant women. That is up from around 3,100 families a year ago, about an 80 percent increase, Healey said. Many of the migrants are arriving by plane from other states. In the past 48 hours alone, she said, 50 migrant families have landed in the state in need of shelter.

Mayor Adams issued yet another dire warning to President Biden Thursday — for the 36th time — predicting that the migrant crisis would eventually “decimate” the Big Apple if more federal funding doesn’t come fast. “New York City is the economic engine of this entire state and country,” Adams told CBS Mornings. “If you decimate this city, you’re going to decimate the foundation of what’s happening. There’s a lot of blame to go around.” Hizzoner has now asked Biden roughly three dozen times for assistance in combating the mushrooming humanitarian crisis, based on numbers compiled by The Post. But Biden has promised no extra money and pledged no added assistance — and, in fact, Adams revealed he hasn’t actually engaged directly with the president this year.

… The Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, at a time when its economy was in total collapse, with ruinous war-reparation obligations and zero prospects for foreign investment or credit. Yet through an independent monetary policy of sovereign credit and a full-employment public-works program, the Third Reich was able to turn a bankrupt Germany, stripped of overseas colonies it could exploit, into the strongest economy in Europe within four years, even before armament spending began … The centerpiece was Germany’s Work Creation Program of 1933-36, which preceded its rearmament program. Neo-liberal economists everywhere seven decades later have yet to acknowledge that employment is all that counts, and living wages are the key to national prosperity.

To deal with the massive unemployment and economic paralysis of the Great Depression, both the Roosevelt government in the US and Hitler’s government in Germany launched innovative and ambitious programs. Although Roosevelt’s “New Deal” programs helped only marginally, the Third Reich’s much more focused and comprehensive policies proved remarkably successful. Within three years unemployment was banished and Germany’s economy was booming. This remarkable achievement is little known and rarely acknowledged. Runtime: 35:38 mins.

A rural community about halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg has been selected as the location of an “African village,” according to the African International Congress in Russia. The project is a part of a five-year pilot program to settle thousands of migrants from South Africa … “We plan to establish 30 settlements in Russia for Afrikaners who want to immigrate,” said the head of the Eurasian International University (EIU) and general representative of the AIC in Russia, Konstantin Klimenko. “These are Boers, farmers of European origin, whose ancestors settled in Africa many years ago,” Klimenko explained … The Afrovillage is part of the pilot project currently underway in the Moscow and Tver regions, with the goal of settling about 3,000 Boer families.

The jury has reached a verdict in the trial of investigative journalist Andy Ngo v. Rose City Antifa and its alleged affiliated members, in which they found both defendants not liable in the civil case brought against them. Ngo filed a complaint in Portland, Oregon, in 2020, claiming assault and other injuries over alleged acts of violence carried out by members of Antifa, which began in 2019 … During closing statements, defense lawyer Michelle Burrows told the jurors that not only does she self-identify as both a progressive and an “anti-fascist,” she strongly declared, “I am Antifa” … Despite Antifa’s significant recorded history of violence, she told the jury that Antifa’s unfavorable reputation is untrue and depicted the organized militant group as activists fighting for social justice and civil rights.

Most Americans oppose Congress authorizing additional funding to support Ukraine in its war with Russia, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, as the public splits over whether the US has already done enough to assist Ukraine. Overall, 55% say the US Congress should not authorize additional funding to support Ukraine vs. 45% who say Congress should authorize such funding. And 51% say that the US has already done enough to help Ukraine while 48% say it should do more. A poll conducted in the early days of the Russian invasion in late February 2022 found 62% who felt the US should have been doing more. Partisan divisions have widened since that poll, too, with most Democrats and Republicans now on opposing sides of questions on the US role in Ukraine.

The anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki present an opportunity to demolish a cornerstone myth of American history — that those twin acts of mass civilian slaughter were necessary to bring about Japan’s surrender, and spare a half-million US soldiers who’d have otherwise died in a military conquest of the empire’s home islands … The most compelling witnesses against the conventional wisdom were patriots with a unique grasp on the state of affairs in August 1945 — America’s senior military leaders of World War II … We like to think of our system as one in which the supremacy of civilian leaders acts as a rational, moderating force on military decisions. The needless atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — against the wishes of World War II’s most revered military leaders — tells us otherwise.

The U.S. use of nuclear weapons against Japan during World War II has long been a subject of emotional debate … The fact that Japan had 68 cities destroyed in the summer of 1945 poses a serious challenge for people who want to make the bombing of Hiroshima the cause of Japan’s surrender. The question is: If they surrendered because a city was destroyed, why didn’t they surrender when those other 66 cities were destroyed? … The Soviet invasion invalidated the military’s decisive battle strategy, just as it invalidated the diplomatic strategy. At a single stroke, all of Japan’s options evaporated. The Soviet invasion was strategically decisive – it foreclosed both of Japan’s options – while the bombing of Hiroshima (which foreclosed neither) was not.

Devout blue city Portland lost $1 billion in income over a 12-month period between 2020 and 2021 in the wake of soaring crime, rampant homelessness and rioting following the death of George Floyd, a new study shows. Shocking figures also show that conditions in the city are far from improving, with fentanyl deaths increasing by more than 200 percent since 2020 Homelessness is also up 50 percent since 2019, while in 2020 and 2022, Portland broke its own homicide record. Prior to 2020, Portland’s population had been steadily growing for 15 years. But that year, voters elected to decriminalize possession of hard drugs, including fentanyl, as city sidewalks continue to play host to homeless encampments. Meanwhile, the cost of damage done to federal buildings during the infamous summer of 2020 was estimated at $2.3 million, reported Fox News.

Journalist Andy Ngo was chased, beaten, and chased again when he burst into a downtown Portland, Ore., hotel in May 2021 to get away from his black-bloc-clad Antifa attackers. “They’re trying to kill me,” he told the understandably frightened hotel workers. It wasn’t the first time he’d been attacked by the notorious Portland terrorist gang. If Portland’s criminal justice system wouldn’t stop these guys, Ngo figured, he’d sue them for $1 million. On Tuesday, a Portland jury decided that two key alleged Antifa conspirators whose cases went to trial were not civilly liable for Ngo’s injuries, both physical and otherwise. The trial was marred by intimidation tactics — not just from the attackers but from their attorney who declared to the unidentified jury members, “I am Antifa” and “I will remember each one of your faces.” We’re talking Godfather stuff here.

France’s interior minister on Monday said he had ordered his department to dissolve Civitas, a far-right party of mostly ultra-traditional Catholics, because of its antisemitism. Gerald Darmanin said on “X,” a rebrand of Twitter, that he had asked the ministry “to proceed to the dissolution” of the party, “firmly” condemning antisemitic remarks made during its summer seminar last month … Several politicians and Jewish organizations quickly condemned the remarks … Civitas, which claims to have 165,000 members, is an organization of ultra-traditionalist Catholics. It was recognized as having political party status in 2016 …

Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex abuse ring, is receiving services from a nonprofit that supports Jewish prisoners. Maxwell, whose father was Jewish, did not publicly identify as Jewish previously and is not considered Jewish under traditional Jewish law. The news was first reported by The Sun, a British newspaper, which said that Maxwell “has been rewarded with better food and more time off work.” US prisons are obligated to honor inmates’ religious obligations in most cases — meaning that Jews are often given access to kosher food, prayer supplies, and changes in work schedules to account for Shabbat and holidays.

The Biden White House inquired in meetings with Facebook executives asking whether Facebook could tweak its algorithm to showcase stories from The New York Times and Wall Street Journal over content posted by “polarizing” conservative journalists and commentators in early 2021, according to meeting notes the social media firm turned over to Congress … The alleged focus of the meetings was to assist the administration while it struggled to combat COVID vaccine hesitancy. … On April 14, 2021, for instance, the White House’s Flaherty asked Facebook whether it could promote The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal over The Daily Wire and Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren, according to Facebook meeting documents obtained by Just the News.

Wikipedia is one of many tools used by the US liberal establishment and its allies in the intelligence community to wage “information warfare,” the site’s co-founder, Larry Sanger, has told journalist Glenn Greenwald … Sanger lamented how the site he helped found in 2001 has become an instrument of “control” in the hands of the left-liberal establishment, among which he counts the CIA, FBI, and other US intelligence agencies … Activity by the CIA and FBI on Wikipedia was first made public by a programming student named Virgil Griffith in 2007. Griffith developed a program called WikiScanner that could trace the location of computers used to edit Wikipedia articles, and found that the CIA, FBI, and a host of large corporations and government agencies were scrubbing the online encyclopedia of incriminating information.

Larry Sanger, the co-founder of Wikipedia, published a blog post this month declaring that the online encyclopedia’s “neutral point of view” policy is “dead” due to the rampant left-wing bias of the site. Noting the article on President Donald Trump, Sanger contrasted its extensive coverage of presidential scandals with the largely scandal-free article on former President Barack Obama. Sanger also criticized Wikipedia’s coverage of religion and other controversial topics … On May 14, Sanger published a blog piece titled “Wikipedia Is Badly Biased,” and started by declaring Wikipedia’s “Neutral Point of View” policy dead. Having founded the online encyclopedia with Jimmy Wales and having been involved in the original drafting of the policy, Sanger offered particular insight into its development and its practice in recent years.

Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, was taken by surprise when he learned that Pope Francis elevated him to the high rank of cardinal last month. The archbishop, who recently warned against rising Israeli attacks on Christians in the birthplace of Christianity … The cardinal-elect denounced the “unprecedented aggression” by Israel and the “barbaric acts” committed in the process. … He is referencing the recent spike in anti-Christian hate crimes, in which an atmosphere of Jewish supremacy in Israel is translating into frequent manifestations of violence against Christians and harassment of clergy. These include trespassing on churches, spitting on churchgoers, destruction of Christian symbols and vandalising Christian graves, among other acts.

… Turkiye (and ex-Turkey) is the most populated nation in Europe (excluding Russia) and an industrial and military powerhouse. In fact, Turkiye’s tough military is the second largest fighting force in NATO after the US Army. This past week, Turkiye’s leader for the past 20 years, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was re-elected in a landslide electoral victory. The massive voter turnout again illustrated the wide gap in this nation of 84.7 million between Islamic-oriented conservatives and westernized urban dwellers who support efforts to Europeanise Turkiye and purge it of Islamic culture. … Erdogan, a devout Muslim, kept voicing support for the oppressed Palestinians and giving them more legitimacy. This put Erdogan on Israel’s hate list.

America’s leaders understood Japan’s desperate position: the Japanese were willing to end the war on any terms, as long as the Emperor was not molested. If the US leadership had not insisted on unconditional surrender — that is, if they had made clear a willingness to permit the Emperor to remain in place — the Japanese very likely would have surrendered immediately, thus saving many thousands of lives … General Curtis LeMay, who had pioneered precision bombing of Germany and Japan (and who later headed the Strategic Air Command and served as Air Force chief of staff), put it most succinctly: “The atomic bomb had nothing to do with the end of the war.”

Hiroshima native Kohchi was a 16-year-old schoolboy when his city was devastated by the first nuclear attack in history. He tells the dramatic, personal story of how he experienced and survived the bombing, and provides a moving account of his search for his family through the burning rubble of the doomed city. Then Kohchi recalls how, years later, he forced himself to come to grips with his past and uncover the facts about the bombing and the history the led up to it. The author’s frankness and humane spirit make this a first-hand Japanese account of a war crime that dwarfs almost all others. A unique revisionist classic. Praised by the Japan Times newspaper as a “noteworthy” and “authentic” personal account, and by Book­watch newsletter as a “moving, gripping account.” With full color dust jacket, photos and notes.

Robert McNamara was Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and played a major role in escalating US involvement in the Vietnam War. In this interview, he says he acted like a “war criminal.” He also speaks critically of the killings of hundreds of thousands of civilians during World War II, as part of the US campaign to destroy Japan’s cities. He talks about the role of General Curtis LeMay, who organized the bombing campaign. If the US had lost the war, LeMay would have been considered a war criminal, says McNamara. Both he and LeMay “were behaving as war criminals,” he adds. After quoting LeMay as saying, “If we had lost the war, we all would have been prosecuted as war criminals,” McNamara remarks: “I think he’s right.” He goes on say: “What makes it immoral if you lose, and not if you win?” Runtime: 2:59 mins.

Last week’s revelation that Facebook took orders from the Biden Administration to censor even accurate information about Covid is the latest example of the US government’s disregard for our Constitution. Thanks to Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, we now know the extent to which the Biden Administration went in its proxy war against the First Amendment. Getting the information wasn’t easy. It was only after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was threatened with being held in contempt of Congress that he relented and shared information with the Judiciary Committee about Biden Administration pressure to censor Americans on Facebook who disagreed with White House policy on Covid. What we have discovered thus far is disgusting.

Public confidence in the U.S. military continues to decline, reaching its lowest point in over two decades, according to a new poll. Only 60 percent of Americans expressed “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military in a recent Gallup poll conducted from June 1 to 22. That’s down from 64 percent who said the same last year … Over the past 48 years, Republicans have consistently shown the highest levels of confidence in the military. But in just the past three years, Republican confidence plunged from 91 percent to 68 percent. Independents — who historically held moderate levels of confidence — now have the lowest trust, with public confidence dropping by 13 percentage points to 55 percent.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the United States government’s credit rating, citing rising debt at the federal, state, and local levels and a “steady deterioration in standards of governance” over the past two decades. The rating was cut Tuesday one notch to AA+ from AAA, the highest possible rating. The new rating is still well into investment grade. The decision illustrates one way that growing political polarization and repeated Washington standoffs over spending and taxes could end up costing U.S. taxpayers. A lower credit rating, over time, could raise borrowing costs for the U.S. government. It’s only the second time in the nation’s history that its credit rating has been cut. In 2011, the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s stripped the U.S. of its prize AAA rating after a prolonged fight over the government’s borrowing limit.

The Polish prime minister has lashed out at Moscow after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that the country received its western territories thanks to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin … Putin recalled that the Soviet Union liberated Poland from the Nazi occupation during WWII, and said it was thanks to Stalin that Warsaw “acquired substantial territory in the West” after Germany’s defeat. “It is a fact that Poland’s Western lands are a gift from Stalin,” the Russian leader stressed … Poland’s modern borders were largely formed in 1945 after it gained a large portion of Germany’s territory, including part of Eastern Prussia, and most of Pomerania and German Silesia, with a majority of the local German population forcibly deported.

… Between 1945 and 1950, Europe witnessed the largest episode of forced migration, and perhaps the single greatest movement of population, in human history. Between 12 million and 14 million German-speaking civilians — the overwhelming majority of whom were women, old people, and children under 16 — were forcibly ejected from their places of birth in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, and what are today the western districts of Poland … Most disturbingly of all, tens of thousands perished as a result of ill treatment while being used as slave labor (or, in the Allies’ cynical formulation, “reparations in kind”) in a vast network of camps … By any measure, the postwar expulsions were a man-made disaster and one of the most significant examples of the mass violation of human rights in recent history.

To Americans World War II is all that is great about America. It represents American bravery, sacrifice, fortitude and compassion … When the expulsions came to a halt at the end of 1947 some 1,415,135 Sudeten Germans from Czechoslovakia had been expelled into the United States Zone of Occupation, along with 750,000 to the Russian zone and 1,500,000 to British zone … Thus, the United States was complicit in legalizing the largest episode of ethnic cleansing that occurred in the twentieth century when 12,000,000 to 16,000,000 Germans came to be expelled from their historic homelands from east-central Europe from the spring of 1945 to the end of 1947.

… Most Americans — whether they call themselves conservative or liberal — like to regard World War II as the “good war,” a morally unambiguous conflict between Good and Evil … The hubris of Clinton’s portrayal of history is not merely an affront against historical truth, it is dangerous because it sanctions potentially even more calamitous military adventures in the future. After all, if the United States was as righteous and as successful as the President says it was in “saving the world” in two world wars, why would anyone oppose similar world-saving crusades in the future?

The collapse of the Soviet Union freed the world of a horrid tyranny and global menace. However, it also unleashed an orgy of hubris in Washington. Convinced that America won … members of America’s foreign policy elite viewed Moscow’s collapse as only the first step. They considered themselves custodians of the globe’s unipower, with the mandate of heaven to remake the entire world, regardless of the cost to Americans and other peoples. The first Gulf War reinforced Washington’s illusion of omnipotence … The bipartisan War Party has been busy campaigning for conflict with Russia, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, North Korea, Venezuela, and China … For such dubious crusades they have sacrificed American lives and wealth — and are prepared to do so again and again.

Washington is a world apart. A war the United States supposedly isn’t waging hangs over the imperial city. Americans imagine they are at peace, but the Biden administration, backed by most members of Washington’s foreign policy elite, is waging a proxy war (and then some) against Russia in Ukraine. Accurate information about the conflict is hard to come by in the nation’s capital. Ideology reigns triumphant, leaving Washington a bubble in which no one is supposed to doubt Kiev’s final victory. Even the media compliantly spins the U.S. government’s line. Yet Ukraine’s latest offensive appears to have consumed many men and much materiel, with little territorial result. What if Kiev, not Moscow, is lurching closer to defeat?

The genetic makeup of a child is a stronger influence on personality than child rearing, according to the first study to examine identical twins reared in different families. The findings shatter a widespread belief among experts and laymen alike in the primacy of family influence, and are sure to engender fierce debate. The findings are the first major results to emerge from a long-term project at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (UMN) … For most of the traits measured, more than half the variation was found to be due to heredity, leaving less than half determined by the influence of parents, home environment and other experiences in life … Other traits that the study concludes were more than 50 percent determined by heredity included a sense of well-being and zest for life; alienation; vulnerability or resistance to stress, and fearfulness or risk-taking.

When it comes to opinions concerning standardized tests, it seems that most people know for sure that tests are simply terrible … But do they really know that standardized tests are all these bad things? What does the hard evidence suggest? … Standardized tests do predict academic outcomes, including academic performance and degree completion, and they predict with similar accuracy for all racial/ethnic groups … Research confirming the predictive validity of standardized tests is robust, and provides a stark contrast to popular claims to the contrary … The admissions process will be less useful, and more unfair, if standardized tests are not used … That is, there is a repeated and illogical rejection of what “is” in favor of what educators feel “ought” to be.

When it comes to population, quality matters more than quantity … Richard Lynn [in his book Dysgenics: Genetic Deterioration in Modern Populations] brings together studies and data from the last 200 years dealing with the connection between fertility and intelligence/ socioeconomic status from all over the world … Reviewing various studies and using findings from twin and adoption cases showing that IQ is 82 percent heritable, Lynn calculates a genotypic IQ decline of five points in Britain from 1890-1980. In the US he calculates a drop of 2.5 IQ points for whites and 6.2 for blacks over three generations.

Mark Weber joins host Keith Knight of The Libertarian Institute in this two-hour session to talk about “historical revisionism,” why history matters, and a range of specific historical topics of relevance for our times. The IHR director speaks with Knight about the origins of the First World War, Israel’s attack on a US Navy ship, the USS Liberty, the Vietnam War and the “Gulf of Tonkin” resolution, and more. The two also discuss the outlook and role of Murray Rothbard, the influential libertarian scholar.

… President Biden has signed an order to mobilize 3,000 US military reservists for deployment to Europe in support of the 2014 “Operation Atlantic Resolve.” What is Atlantic Resolve? It was launched in the aftermath of the US-backed coup in Ukraine and the ensuing unrest under the US-installed puppet government. So, if Russia is losing – or has already lost, as Biden said last week – why has it suddenly become necessary to call up US reserve forces? Well, in the midst of one of the most serious US military recruiting crises ever, it seems Washington does not have sufficient troops for its anti-Russia mission in Ukraine.

Avi Shlaim claims to have uncovered undeniable proof that Zionist agents were responsible for targeting the Jewish community, forcing them to flee Iraq and settle in Israel / … At the heart of this riveting and profoundly controversial book [Three Worlds] is Shlaim’s investigation into the Baghdad bombings against Jewish targets in 1950 and 1951. Between those years around 110,000 Jews of a population of approximately 135,000 emigrated from Iraq to Israel. Although Israel has consistently denied any involvement in these attacks, suspicion has hung over the clandestine activities of Zionist agents … Shlaim’s bombshell is to uncover what he terms ‘undeniable proof of Zionist involvement in the terrorist attacks’, which helped terminate the millennial presence of Jews in Babylon.