Source: CNN
“Iran and the United States traded attacks for the first time in over a month overnight into Monday, in an exchange that risks reigniting the damaging conflict after weeks of relative military calm. Iran fired missiles toward US military targets in Jordan in retaliation for a strike on Iranian rocket launchers that the US said were trying to launch sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz –– the key shipping route that’s become the center of regional tensions and diplomatic efforts. Later Monday morning, the United Arab Emirates said it had intercepted a drone approaching from Iran over its territorial waters.” (08/31/26)
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/08/30/politics/us-iran-strikes-larak-island
Source: Gideon’s Substack
by Noah Millman
“Machiavelli advised princes that it is better to be feared than to be loved (though better still to be both loved and feared), but also warned them that they should avoid coming to be hated, as hatred inspires rebellion and a willingness to suffer for the sake of removing the object of hate. Trump plainly wants to believe he is loved despite all evidence to the contrary, which is why he demands such humiliating sycophancy from everyone in his orbit, and while in the immediate aftermath of his election he inspired quite a bit of fear, as time has worn on he has inspired far more hate. But a prince can inspire something worse than hate, and that is contempt. … there’s something particularly pathetic about this ‘Lake America’ gesture. It smacks too obviously of Caligula marching his legions to the English Channel to collect seashells as evidence that they had conquered the ocean.” (08/28/26)
https://gideons.substack.com/p/caligulas-trade-war
Source: The Chris Hedges Report
“The Iran War Is the Biggest Strategic Blunder in US History (w/ John Mearsheimer).” (08/29/26)
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-iran-war-is-the-biggest-strategic
Source: Independent [UK]
“Russia’s defence ministry has announced it is preparing ‘massive strikes’ on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in retaliation for a drone campaign by Kyiv attacking warehouses and oil and gas facilities. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the move would be an ‘appropriate response’ to Ukraine’s ‘path of escalation’ and said that Moscow had been ‘fairly systematic’ in attacking Kyiv’s military infrastructure. … a missile attack killed two people and injured 16 in the city of Belgorod close to the Russian border with Ukraine, acting governor Alexander Shuvayev said. Sunday’s deaths followed Ukraine’s hit on a commercial facility, which also set ablaze seven warehouses in the city, he added.” (08/31/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-putin-trump-strikes-missiles-b3041982.html
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Do we really need a mouthy Brit jetting over here at will, spouting stupid, evil, and abhorrent opinions at high volume, then overstaying the “welcome” he insists everyone else must continually bow and scrape for both initially and on a recurring basis, on pain of abduction and deportation? In my opinion, yes, that’s exactly what we need. I don’t have to like Milo Yiannopoulos, or agree with his odious ideas, in order to understand that where he travels to or chooses to live is neither my business nor the US government’s.” (08/30/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20852
Source: Yahoo! News
“One person has died and around 15 people remain missing after flash flooding swept through parts of Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park, park officials said. The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered on Sunday evening from the Colorado River near Crystal Rapids, the National Park Service (NPS) said on social media. No further details were immediately released. … The flooding caused significant damage in parts of Grand Canyon National Park, including destroying footbridges and hiking trails, and damaging campsites, according to US media reports.” (08/31/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/articles/one-dead-around-15-missing-080333286.html?guccounter=1
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid
“In case you haven’t noticed, things are going pretty bad for Donald Trump in the Middle East lately and they just keep getting worse. At the behest of his Zionist masters who have played that child molester like one of his own victims, Imperator Trump has dumped the entire weight of the greatest military industrial killing machine in recorded history into the Persian Gulf over the last six months. … And yet it is Donald Trump begging for mercy at the peace table right now while Iran smokes a cigarette and cracks its knuckles. The Donald is desperate to have the world believe anything otherwise but his desperation reeks even louder than his squealing bravado. ” (08/30/26)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-decline-of-western-imperial.html
Source: US News & World Report
“A South Korean court on Monday sentenced Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja to a combined two years in prison over political funding and bribery offences linked to efforts to gain influence with former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration. The Seoul Central District Court found that Han, 83, was involved in providing money to politicians and luxury goods, including Chanel bags and a diamond necklace, to former first lady Kim Keon Hee, according to the ruling. Han, head of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, was indicted in October 2025 by a special prosecutor team investigating allegations involving Yoon and Kim. The case was one of several probes launched after Yoon was removed from office following his December 2024 declaration of martial law.” (08/31/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-08-31/south-korea-court-finds-unification-church-leader-han-guilty
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Today in dystopia, ICE is planning to add police robots to the arsenal with which it will be patrolling US streets. … I guess it makes sense that the empire’s mad rush to normalize police robots would be spearheaded by the department responsible for persecuting immigrants; there’d be more domestic pushback if these dystopian machines were patrolling the streets targeting less marginalized populations. I still can’t stand how the western political/media class keeps calling these things ‘dogs’ to make them seem cute and familiar so that people won’t recognize them for the autonomous dissent suppression weapons they are intended to become. … Today in dystopia, a Pentagon employee has published a McCarthyite list of suspected leftists and socialists who can now be tracked with the help of an interactive map.” (08/30/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/08/30/today-in-dystopia-ice-robots-and-pentagon-puppets/
Source: Nature
“The largest infrared digital camera ever built and its scientific companion, a massive mirror originally designed for a spy satellite, are now safely in orbit, after the flawless launch of NASA’s newest flagship telescope. The US$4.3-billion Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope lifted off atop a SpaceX rocket at 7:35 a.m. local time today from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and it will soon be on its way to its final location. The observatory is expected to yield a wealth of discoveries, from insight into the nature of ‘dark energy’, the force causing the Universe’s expansion, to millions of stars in the Milky Way and the planets that orbit them. It is named after Nancy Grace Roman (1925–2018), NASA’s first chief astronomer and a leading figure in many of the agency’s most impactful scientific programmes, including the Hubble Space Telescope.” (08/30/26)
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02727-7
