Quantum Vibe, 07/08/24
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott Bieser
Cartoon. (07/08/24)
UK: Tate brothers accused of being serial tax evaders
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Controversial social media personality Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been accused of failing to pay any tax on £21m of revenue from their online businesses. Devon and Cornwall Police is bringing a civil claim against the brothers and a third person, referred to only as J. They are accused of paying no tax in any country on their online business revenue between 2014 and 2022.
The force is seeking to recover around £2.8 million in seven frozen bank accounts, an application the three defendants are contesting. ‘Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are serial tax and VAT evaders,’ Sarah Clarke KC for Devon and Cornwall Police told Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday. ‘They, in particular Andrew Tate, are brazen about it.’ Ms Clarke quoted from a video posted online by Andrew Tate, in which he said: ‘When I lived in England I refused to pay tax.'” (07/08/24)
This week, NATO III celebrates itself
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Anatol Lieven
“During the 75 years of NATO’s existence, there really have been three NATOs: two with the mission of containing Russia, separated by one which thrashed around wildly and disastrously in search of a new mission. NATO I achieved a complete but peaceful victory when the Soviet bloc collapsed from within — though this came as a result above all of Communism’s own failed promise. NATO II threw away the fruits of this victory through a disastrous kind of frivolous megalomaniac dilettantism. It thereby helped to usher in NATO III, whose eventual fate remains uncertain.” (07/08/24)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/nato-75th-anniversary-2668681311/
Macron rejects PM’s resignation, as France seeks a way out of political “fog” of chaotic election
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday asked his prime minister to stay in the role for now, pending what will be difficult negotiations to form a new government after a surprise left-wing surge in elections that delivered a hung parliament. The leftist New Popular Front (NFP) emerged as the dominant force in the National Assembly after Sunday’s election, thwarting Marine Le Pen’s quest to bring the far-right to power. However, with no single group securing a working majority, the outcome heralded a period of political volatility just before the Paris Olympics and raised uncertainty among investors about who would run the euro zone’s second-largest economy. … Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, a centrist and close ally of Macron, tendered his resignation, but the head of state rejected it.” (07/08/24)
Finding Freedom, episode 445
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Kamala Suddenly Coherent and Sandusky Medical Records Released.” (07/08/24)
Yes to a Living City: Applying Jacobs’s Principles to New York’s Rezoning
Source: Liberal Currents
by Nick Felker
“Later this year New York City’s council will vote on the mayor’s ambitious rezoning, the City of Yes. This change will reform the zoning code in numerous ways, including allowing for Accessory Dwelling Units, Single-Room Occupancies, infill housing, and by-right mixed-use buildings across the city. These changes are a once-in-a-generation shift in the city’s land-use, with the last major changes occurring in the 1960s. In 1961, the urbanist writer Jane Jacobs wrote The Life and Death of Great American Cities, where she laid out a number of problems in then-present urban planning. Since it was published, we have seen the consequences of those planning policies. Today, it is time to re-evaluate what Jane Jacobs wrote and why the City of Yes is the right path forward.” (07/08/24)
Bidengate and the Doom Loop
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“The entire 2019-20 Biden candidacy and subsequent presidency were predicated on a rotten Faustian bargain. A hale Joe Biden would feign his aw-shucks, Joe from Scranton schtick. And an ossified working-class Joe’s camouflage would get the hard left elected, especially thanks to the changes in balloting laws that often saw only 30 percent of the electorate voting on Election Day in key states. In exchange, the two narcissistic Bidens would bask in the power and attention of the presidency. From the start, Jill and the media would orchestrate deep cover for Joe’s escalating dementia as well as the true intentions of the now-in-power radical Democratic Party with its neo-socialist agenda.” (07/08/24)
https://amgreatness.com/2024/07/08/bidengate-and-the-doom-loop/
Citi to cease operations in Haiti after 50 years
Source: Reuters
“Citigroup, opens new tab will wind up its operations in Haiti due to weak demand from institutional clients and lower international banking activity, ending its presence of more than five decades in the country. The exit is part of a strategic review and will not have a significant economic impact on Citi, the bank said, opens new tab on Monday. Citi, one of the largest banks in the United States, has exited non-core markets since CEO Jane Fraser took the helm in 2021. To catch up to peers whose profitability has outpaced Citi’s, the bank overhauled its operations and sharpened focus on businesses that offer the best returns. The bank is also exiting its consumer unit in Mexico, which is set for an initial public offering in 2025.” (07/08/24)
https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/citi-cease-operations-haiti-2024-07-08/
Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 07/08/24
Source: Antiwar.com
“Report Confirms Israel Used Hannibal Directive on Oct. 7, Netanyahu Sabotages Hostage Deal, and More.” (07/08/24)
Playbook for a Military Draft
Source: Antiwar.com
by Edward Hasbrouck
“Preparation for a draft is used as a weapon when it is used to threaten escalating war to another level of death and destruction, even when that threat isn’t carried out. … Proponents of draft registration and readiness for a draft such as the authors of the CNAS report argue that if, and only if, the great-power enemies of the U.S. believe that we are able and willing to activate a draft, we can use that threat of draft-enabled rapid and total military escalation and total war as a tool of diplomatic and military policy. Resistance to planning and preparation for a draft is thus a way to rein in those policies that are based on the ability to rush into total war, and the threat to do so.”
https://original.antiwar.com/edward_hasbrouck/2024/07/07/playbook-for-a-military-draft/