Houthis Down Second MQ-9 Reaper Drone In 72 Hours
Houthis Down Second MQ-9 Reaper Drone In 72 Hours
Yemen's Houthis have claimed another shootdown of a US MQ-9 Reaper drone. The Thursday announcement, if accurate, would mark the second such Reaper drone downing by the group within 72 hours.
The country's SABA news agency https://www.saba.ye/en/news3459989.htm
that the US drone was intercepted by an anti-air missile over the Hodeidah province, which has been subject of repeat US bombardment since President Trump ordered a renewed air campaign on March 15.
Fox News' Jennifer Griffin has offered some confirmation of the latest downing, writing https://x.com/JenGriffinFNC/status/1907872088800542974
"the Houthis shoot down 3rd MQ9 Reaper drone since March 3rd; 2nd since March 15th airstrike campaign began."
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"Another U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot down by the Houthis in Yemen, sources tell Fox News. This is the third MQ-9 Reaper drone shot down by the Houthis in the last month," she continued.
"It is the second MQ-9 drone shot down over Yemen since U.S. Central Command began daily airstrikes on the Houthis on March 15th. The U.S. military has carried out 20 straight days of bombing, and yet the Houthis continue to fire missiles."
The Fox correspondent continued in the Thursday statement:
The first MQ-9 drone was shot down on March 3rd. Days later the White House launched airstrikes against the Houthis. The second MQ-9 was shot down on Monday. And today the 3rd one was shot down. Overnight the Houthis said the U.S. carried out 36 airstrikes on Yemen.
The Pentagon has kept silent, offering no confirmation, however. US officials have in the past acknowledged only some drone downings over Yemen, but don't announce each one lost as they likely don't want to give the Houthis any acknowledgement of a successful battlefield action.
If accurate, this would mark the 17th Reaper drone shot down by the Houthis since 2023. Still, President Trump is touting 'successful' operations in Yemen, also as a second aircraft carrier is en route from the Pacific to Mideast regional waters.
"Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us," Trump said earlier this week on Truth Social. "We hit them every day and night — Harder and harder. Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are rapidly being destroyed. Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation."
Trump added: "The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran."
Pentagon's success in destroying Houthi missile and drone arsenal has been largely limited.
Pentagon spent roughly $200 million in munitions against Houthis in three weeks.
US strikes against Houthis could exceed $1 billion by next week.
Source: NYT
— Clash Report (@clashreport) https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1908036324189200856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The Iran-supported Yemeni militants have vowed to continue fighting so long as Israeli's military is active in the Gaza Strip. So far there's been no hint they'll back down, even in the face of overwhelming US airstrikes.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 04/04/2025 - 23:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/houthis-down-third-mq-9-reaper-drone-72-hours
"It's Un-American" - 19 Democratic State AGs Sue To Stop Trump Blocking Non-Citizen Voting
"It's Un-American" - 19 Democratic State AGs Sue To Stop Trump Blocking Non-Citizen Voting
A group of 19 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit on April 3 disputing President Donald Trump’s executive order that requires voters to verify they are U.S. citizens and prevents states from counting mail-in ballots they receive after Election Day.
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Filed in Boston federal court, the https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.282905/gov.uscourts.mad.282905.1.0.pdf
follows two others that challenge the order. The plaintiffs say the order “usurps the States’ constitutional power and seeks to amend election law by fiat.”
“The president’s attempt to control our elections, intimidate voters, and limit Americans’ right to vote is unconstitutional, undemocratic, and frankly, un-American,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat.
On March 25, Trump signed an https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/preserving-and-protecting-the-integrity-of-american-elections/
, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” mandating voters to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. The order also aims to stop states from counting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day for presidential and congressional elections.
Last year, the states joining in the lawsuit had allowed late ballots that were postmarked ahead of Election Day to be counted if they arrived within a specific window established by state law.
In his order, Trump cited Denmark and Sweden’s policies of not accepting late-arriving mail-in ballots regardless of when they are postmarked and said the United States should follow the same policy.
California and Nevada led the group of 19 states in arguing that Trump lacks the sole power to amend states’ election procedures. Congress, they said, has the power under the Constitution to preempt state laws for federal elections.
“Neither the Constitution nor Congress authorize the president’s attempted voting restrictions,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said in a statement.
The Democratic National Committee and Democratic congressional leaders, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), are already challenging Trump’s order in court.
In their lawsuit, the 19 states argued that the rule violates the Constitution and the National Voting Rights Act, which allows voting as long as a person attests to their citizenship under the threat of perjury.
While Democrats have said it’s already illegal for non-citizens to vote, Republicans have raised concerns about how the lack of verification may allow some noncitizens to lie in order to register.
The attorneys general also accused Trump’s order of violating states’ constitutional authority over elections by using the loss of federal funding and potential Justice Department investigations as threats in order to compel them to comply.
In his order, Trump argued that states “fail adequately to vet voters’ citizenship, and, in recent years, the Department of Justice has failed to prioritize and devote sufficient resources for enforcement of these provisions” and alleged the Biden administration allowed illegal immigrants on state voter rolls.
When he announced the order, the president said it was required to “straighten out our elections.”
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 04/04/2025 - 13:25
"Who's The President Of Syria Right Now, Roy?" Horton Blasts Regime-Change Narrative
"Who's The President Of Syria Right Now, Roy?" Horton Blasts Regime-Change Narrative
In the Biden Administration’s dying breath, they managed to help overthrow one last country in the Middle East: Syria, another notch in the neocon “7 country” wet dream General Wesley Clark https://x.com/wikileaks/status/1819709215352438921?lang=en
long ago. On December 8th of 2024, Assad was ousted.
The new leader is Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, head of the Al Nusra Front which, as Horton pointed out during the debate, was deemed simply an alias for Al Qaeda by none other than Victoria Nuland:
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Last night, ZeroHedge hosted antiwar.com’s Scott Horton and Pulitzer winner Roy Gutman to debate whether ousting Assad was wise and how to deal with the new regime. Hosted by Viva Frei, the debate got a bit fiery (as is common with Horton) but covered a lot of ground and is worth listening to.
Here are some highlights for those short on time:
Is Syria run by Al Qaeda?
Gutman attempted to downplay Al Qaeda’s role in the Syrian civil war, saying it was “mostly peaceful” protestors and rooted in the Syrian people’s urge to rid themselves of a dictator.
To which Scott replied bluntly: “Who’s in charge of Syria right now, Roy?”
— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) https://twitter.com/zerohedgeDebate/status/1907997468156907571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Jolani: Terrorist or Reformed?
Gutman said that the new Syrian regime is a “work in progress” and can possibly be dealt with diplomatically, emphasizing that “[Jolani is] from the middle class in Damascus.”
If that’s the case then why couldn’t we have worked with Assad, Horton asked.
“Oh, [Jolani] was a middle-class guy, huh? Yeah, so was Mohammed Atta… This is the enemy. This is treason.”
— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) https://twitter.com/zerohedgeDebate/status/1907997295448047707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Gutman has decades of on-the-ground experience in the Middle East while Horton has an encyclopedic mind and photographic memory. We highly recommend watching to the entire discussion below or listening via https://open.spotify.com/episode/1EzJMlRxwatqerckC1q4D3?si=TftMImuzQfu9Rw-P1DawTQ
:
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1907916762512822690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 04/04/2025 - 13:05
Democrats Want 'Misgendering' And 'Deadnaming' To Be Considered Child Abuse
Democrats Want 'Misgendering' And 'Deadnaming' To Be Considered Child Abuse
Democrats in Colorado have introduced legislation that would recognise ‘misgendering’ and ‘deadnaming’ as forms of abuse of children who have decided to identify as transgender.
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https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-bills-protections-transgender-people/
reports that the bill, called “The Kelly Loving Act” after a transgender-identifying individual killed in a 2022 club shooting in Colorado Springs, would ensure such ‘abuse’ be considered in child custody disputes.
The legislation defines ‘deadnaming’ as “to purposefully, and with the intent to disregard the individual’s gender identity or gender expression, refer to an individual by their birth name rather than their chosen name.”
INSANE. The CO House Committee has voted 7-4 to pass a radical transgender bill that makes "misgendering" a "discriminatory act," takes children away from parents who "deadname" or "misgender," and pushes gender ideology in all schools, including private and charter.
Every… https://t.co/x5WOwAKI6Z
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1907452027803705826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It identifies ‘misgendering’ as “to purposefully, and with the intent to disregard the individual’s gender identity or gender expression, refer to an individual using an honorific or pronoun that conflicts with the individual’s gender identity or gender expression.”
That’s right, calling little Jimmy ‘he/him’ after he’s decided he wants to be little Janey would be classed as child abuse.
🚨Yesterday, these 7 Colorado Reps voted to force all parents to affirm their kids’ gender dysphoria, or else the state will take them — and force ALL Coloradans call a man a woman if he tells you to, or else the state will come after you. https://t.co/7clVMmk2wN
— Erin for Parental Rights (@Erin4Parents) https://twitter.com/Erin4Parents/status/1907601335660208567?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The bill outlines that courts overseeing child custody decisions would have to consider ‘misgendering,’ and ‘deadnaming,’ as “coercive control” on behalf of a parent.
A group of Colorado Democrats in the state legislature have introduced legislation to require courts to consider “deadnaming” and “misgendering” in court battles regarding child custody.
DETAILS: https://t.co/4nrqsJCWd7
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status/1907488197447397783?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Imagine the scenario. The kid sees something on social media and decides he’s a girl now. Dad, let’s call him Chad, thinks it’s just a phase or an example of social contagion, but Mom, Karen, is adamant it’s not and wants to give the kid puberty blockers.
Who do you think is gonna get custody if the parents are separated?
A father in Colorado was gagged by the court during a custody battle because he refused to give his child puberty blockers.
Democrats in CO are now pushing bill HB25-1312 which would take “misgendering” & “deadnaming” into account during custody hearings. https://t.co/vxOxRu3M8F
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1907808615848685689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The report also notes that the legislation would prohibit Colorado courts from enforcing orders or laws from other states that require a child to be removed from parents who allow them to undergo ‘transition’ procedures.
The bill would also ensure that ‘misgendering’ and ‘deadnaming’ are recognised as discrimination under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.
The report also highlights that the proposed law would mandate schools to adopt policies regarding “chosen names” and prohibit school dress codes based on “gender.”
The legislation has passed the House committee on its way to a vote.
When President Trump took office, he signed an Executive Order outlining that there are only two genders. Trump’s order also defunds any schools or clinics supporting transitioning procedures or self identifying when it comes to sex.
JUST IN: A child was denied "gender-affirming care" at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin due to Trump's EO banning funds for puberty blockers for minors.
President Trump is saving our children from irreversible, harmful drugs. https://t.co/XjWlGMkxu8
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1889050866650378318?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via https://pauljosephwatson.locals.com/support
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Fri, 04/04/2025 - 07:20
China Strikes Back: Slaps 34% Tariff On US Goods After Trump's 'Liberation Day'
China Strikes Back: Slaps 34% Tariff On US Goods After Trump's 'Liberation Day'
U.S. equity futures took another leg lower, the VIX spiked to 36, Treasury yields slipped (UST10Y <4%), crypto tumbled, and the dollar reversed its European session gains—just after 06:00 ET—when China hit back at President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff blitz.
Beijing retaliates:
China to impose additional 34% tariffs on **all** imported U.S. products starting April 10, the official Xinhua news agency reports.
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) https://twitter.com/JavierBlas/status/1908099877759795260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
According to state-run Xinhua, Beijing announced it would slap 34% retaliatory tariffs on all U.S. imports starting April 10. Details were scarce at the moment.
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"Chinese authorities said they will start a probe into medical CT X-ray tubes imported from the US and India, and halt imports of poultry products from two American companies," Bloomberg noted.
Xinhua also reported that Beijing announced export control measures on certain rare earth-related items but did not provide specifics.
China announces export control measures on certain rare earth-related items https://t.co/HBW2ahcjv1
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) https://twitter.com/XHNews/status/1908106306516668749?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The move comes two days after Trump's tariff-a-palooza pushed the effective U.S. tariff rate on Chinese goods to 54%.
Deutsche Bank's George Saravelos noted on Thursday that the https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/beijing-slams-trumps-unilateral-bullying-tariffs-signals-retaliatory-action
this week has been the 50%+ tariff rate on China (far worse than expectations) and the key connector economy Vietnam, which affected $600bn worth of manufactured goods to the U.S. combined.
Goldman helped clients visualize this move.
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On Thursday, Beijing condemned the escalating tariff war, calling it "unilateral bullying. " It added that it "firmly opposes" the tariff war and "will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests."
And here we are—risk assets getting hammered again on a Friday morning—as tensions between Washington and Beijing escalate sharply to end the week. Both superpowers remain locked in a stalemate over China's subsidization of fentanyl precursor chemicals to Mexico, which has fueled the overdose death crisis in the United States.
Stay on top of the tariff war:
In markets, main US equity futures indexes were hammered lower after China retaliated.
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A lot more red.
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UST10Y <4%.
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Implied interest rate cuts top 4.5 for the year.
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Bitcoin tumbles.
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Dollar loses steam after European surge.
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And Yuan weaker.
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*Developing...
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 04/04/2025 - 07:00
Iran Lacks The Leverage For A Fair Deal With The US
Iran Lacks The Leverage For A Fair Deal With The US
https://korybko.substack.com/p/iran-lacks-the-leverage-for-a-fair
It’ll therefore either have to accept a lopsided one or prepare for a major war that it might lose.
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Iranian-US tensions are boiling after Trump https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-says-there-will-be-bombing-if-iran-does-not-make-nuclear-deal-2025-03-30/
” but to build nukes if that happens.
Although the US Intelligence Community’s latest https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ATA-2025-Unclassified-Report.pdf
, which could begin churning out nukes in a matter of months, but neither the US nor its regional allies consider Japan to be a threat, unlike how they view Iran.
The US’ renewed bombing campaign against Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen might have been https://korybko.substack.com/p/the-domestic-and-international-implications
to send a message to the Islamic Republic aimed at getting it to enter direct talks over this issue by signaling that Trump 2.0 does indeed have the political will to initiate military action if it refuses. Despite Iran’s recent rejection of his demand, Trump might still hold off on this for now due to the likelihood that Iran could inflict unacceptable retaliatory damage to the US’ regional bases and allies.
Furthermore, diplomacy hasn’t yet been exhausted since Iran didn’t reject indirect talks of the kind that Russia offered to mediate after reportedly being asked by the US to do so, which was discussed https://thealtworld.com/andrew_korybko/putin-might-broker-an-iranian-us-new-detente-as-a-reciprocal-favor-to-trump
. Therefore, it would be premature for the US to seriously consider bombing Iran at this time, yet that option isn’t off the table if indirect talks fail to reach a deal. Iran lacks the leverage for a fair deal with the US, however, so it’ll either have to accept a lopsided one or prepare for a major war that it might lose.
Iran is a proud civilization-state that’s loath to subordinate itself to anyone, hence the difficulty in getting it to agree to drastic curbs on its nuclear energy program that would enshrine its status as a second-class country in this regard, all while abandoning any chance of nuclear weapons in the future. From Iran’s perspective, this could embolden Israel into one day launching a large-scale conventional or even nuclear war against it, which Iran believes has only hitherto been deterred by dangling this Damocles’ sword.
That said, while Iran could inflict unacceptable retaliatory damage to the US’ regional bases and allies (first of all Israel) if it’s attacked over its refusal to agree to a Russian-mediated lopsided deal, it cannot inflict such damage to the US’ nuclear triad and would thus likely be destroyed. Iran couldn’t count on Russia intervening to help it either since their https://korybko.substack.com/p/the-russian-iranian-partnership-might
doesn’t include mutual defense obligations and Moscow doesn’t want war with Washington or West Jerusalem.
Even though the US could survive a major war with Iran, it still prefers to avoid one. So long as the US’ demands remain limited to drastically curbing Iran’s nuclear energy program and don’t expand to include curbs on its https://korybko.substack.com/p/russia-dodged-a-bullet-by-wisely
or its ballistic missile program, then creative diplomacy could prevail. For that to happen, Russia would have to devise a set of incentives for Iran that the US approves of and Iran then agrees to, but that’s still a far way off and Trump might strike first if he loses patience.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 04/03/2025 - 23:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-lacks-leverage-fair-deal-us
Auto Tariffs Pump Brakes On Jeep Owner; Stellantis Pauses Canada, Mexico Plants
Auto Tariffs Pump Brakes On Jeep Owner; Stellantis Pauses Canada, Mexico Plants
President Trump's https://www.zerohedge.com/market-recaps/reign-tariffs-begins-futures-crash-dollar-craters
on imported vehicles took effect overnight, with the first signs of impact materializing Thursday morning—i.e., shares of U.S. carmakers tumbled in the early cash session, and Stellantis NV announced plans to temporarily suspend production lines in both Canada and Mexico.
reported that the global automaker overseeing 14 car brands will pause production at its Windsor, Ontario plant for two weeks starting next Monday. Details about how long production lines in Mexico would remain offline were not disclosed.
"With the new automotive sector tariffs now in effect, it will take our collective resilience and discipline to push through this challenging time," Antonio Filosa, head of the company's North American operations, told employees in a memo earlier. He said the move will affect employees at "several" of the company's U.S. powertrain and stamping facilities supporting Canada and Mexico operations.
Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska warned clients that a "25% automotive imports lasting beyond four to six weeks would likely have a chilling effect on the entire sector as [automakers] need to grapple with significant impact to the bottom line."
TD Cowen's Itay Michaeli described the tariffs as "close to the worst case outcome vs. recent expectations," while Barclays' Dan Levy warned: "there are no 'winners' in the absolute – only relative winners."
Upcoming production changes at some of Stellantis' factories in Canada and Mexico are some of the first effects of Trump's 25% tariffs on auto imports. The administration's move is to revive America's industrial base, and the only way to do that is to use tariffs to force companies to re-shore operations.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told clients that "the concept of a U.S. carmaker with parts all from the U.S. is a fictional tale that does not exist and would take years to make this concept a reality."
CNBC noted, "Parts that are currently compliant with the USMCA trade deal will be tariff-free, but only until the secretary of commerce and Customs and Border Protection establish processes to impose levies on non-U.S. content."
In markets, automakers were pressured lower with broader main equity indexes. General Motors dropped 2.4%, Ford -2.2%, Rivian -3%, Lucid -4%, and Tesla -3.5%
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An analysis we shared with readers on Tuesday, https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trade-war-hits-gas-trumps-auto-tariffs-reshape-global-manufacturing
provides more color into how the repercussions of the auto tariffs could be far more impactful than initially appear—impacting everything from dealership showrooms to global supply chains.
The move to restore America's hallowed industrial core begins.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 04/03/2025 - 13:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/auto-tariffs-pump-brakes-jeep-owner-pauses-canada-mexico-plants
Elon Musk's Neuralink Seeks Patients Globally To Try Its Brain Chips
Elon Musk's Neuralink Seeks Patients Globally To Try Its Brain Chips
https://cointelegraph.com/news/elon-musk-neuralink-seeks-global-patients-brain-chip-trials
Elon Musk’s brain-chip company, Neuralink, is recruiting participants worldwide to trial its device, which enables users to control a computer using only their thoughts.
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Neuralink is looking for people with quadriplegia — those who are not able to use their arms or legs — to sign up for a clinical trial, it said in an April 2 https://x.com/neuralink/status/1907493477086117955
on X, the social media platform also owned by Musk.
As of January, Neuralink has said that three patients have been implanted with a device. All are quadriplegic and are testing a small brain implant that tracks neural activity https://cointelegraph.com/news/early-research-exposes-dark-side-brain-computer-interfaces
or smartphone as part of a clinical trial called the Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface, or PRIME study.
Neuralink is one of several companies and academic institutions developing and testing so-called brain-computer interfaces, which vary from small wire-like implants as part of clinical trials to non-invasive devices akin to a hat.
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Source: https://x.com/neuralink/status/1907493477086117955
Neuralink’s https://neuralink.com/patient-registry/
says its clinical PRIME study, which will take around six years, is looking for quadriplegics with spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to use their thoughts to control a computer.
Musk also heads vehicle maker Tesla and is the Trump administration's government https://cointelegraph.com/news/elon-musk-doge-sec
“give people superpowers.”
First Neuralink patient reports no side effects after a year
Noland Arbaugh, Neuralink's first patient, said in a March 28 X https://x.com/ModdedQuad/status/1905696935883010058
that he’s “had no negative side effects, neither physically nor psychologically” in the year after receiving his brain implant.
Arbaugh, a quadriplegic, demoed his brain chip about a year ago by controlling a computer cursor to play chess and surf the web.
— Neuralink (@neuralink) https://twitter.com/neuralink/status/1770563939413496146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Arbaugh said he’s now using his brain chip “for all sorts of things” and guessed he’s using it for over 10 hours a day.
He said the company’s researchers were “figuring out how to control a wheelchair with the implant,” which he added he won’t use “unless it’s next to perfect. I think it benefits everyone if I don’t lose control and drive into traffic.”
Arbaugh said he had found work as a traveling keynote speaker thanks to Neuralink’s implant, which helps him write, research, and communicate online.
“I can’t tell you how much hope and purpose this technology has provided me,” he wrote. “It’s only a matter of time before the implant is in dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of people.”
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 04/03/2025 - 13:05
Beijing Slams Trump's "Unilateral Bullying" Tariffs, Signals Retaliatory Action
Beijing Slams Trump's "Unilateral Bullying" Tariffs, Signals Retaliatory Action
President Trump's late afternoon announcement on Wednesday—"https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/goldman-panics-much-worse-expected
"—unveiled a far more aggressive tariff policy than top Wall Street analysts had anticipated, prompting panic dumping in global equities and futures markets overnight.
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Of particular concern is Trump's stance toward China. The total effective tariff rate on Chinese imports surged to 54%, a dramatic increase of 34% from the previously imposed 20% in additional levies tied to fentanyl and earlier duties.
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Trump's https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/goldman-panics-much-worse-expected
has drawn swift condemnation from Beijing, which has described the escalating tariff war as "unilateral bullying."
quoted China's Ministry of Commerce, warning that it "firmly opposes" Trump's tariffs and "will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests."
The Commerce Ministry noted that the US "ignored" the benefits of a global trading system, adding, "The so-called 'reciprocal tariffs,' which are based on subjective and unilateral assessments by the United States, are not in line with the rules of international trade, seriously jeopardize the legitimate rights and interests of the parties concerned, and are typical of unilateral bullying."
The ministry did not discuss specifics on the countermeasures. A ministry spokesperson told reporters that Beijing hopes to "resolve various issues through equal consultation."
In other words, it's just a matter of time before Beijing mounts a countermeasure against the US, whether that's targeted tariffs, export controls, or other measures (such as targeting US Big Tech). Or as we've recently seen: Beijing Derailing Panama Port Deal.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sang the same tune: China "firmly opposes" Trump's trade war escalation, which "seriously undermines" the rules-based global trading system. He urged Washington to resolve trade differences through talks.
However, President Trump tried that with the Chinese Communist Party in his first term with the so-called "Phase One" agreement. Beijing committed to purchasing $200 billion of additional US exports. Yet, the phase one deal with the CCP was derailed by Covid disruptions.
The Trump administration's goal with reciprocal tariffs against literally the entire world, including some cases of near triple-digit reciprocal tariffs that will lead to a historic emerging markets shock, is to reverse a half-century or more of de-industrialization policies in the US that have hollowed out the nation's core and produced a national security threat as the world fractures into a bipolar state.
— Crypto_Maximaliste (@Crypto__Maxi) https://twitter.com/Crypto__Maxi/status/1907542960612258205?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In financial markets, the People's Bank of China set the daily reference rate for the yuan at 7.1889 per dollar, weakening the currency. This allows the yuan to depreciate and support export competitiveness. A move like this will only draw accusations of currency manipulation from Trump.
"We maintain our view that the PBOC will not allow a sharp [yuan] depreciation given capital outflow risks and the government's objective to restore confidence in the Chinese economy," HK Mizuho Securities analyst Ken Cheung wrote in a note earlier.
Goldman analysts Andrew Tilton and others told clients:
On April 2, President Trump announced "reciprocal" tariffs on trading partners with exclusion of products that are subject to sectoral tariffs, resulting in what we estimate to be an increase of 26pp in the average effective US tariff rate on China, which would bring the total effective tariff rate on Chinese goods to 58%.
This is much higher than we and the market had expected. Similar to the experience when the previous two 10% tariff increases were imposed on China earlier this year, we think the Chinese government is likely to retaliate with some targeted tariffs on US products as well as non-tariff measures like export controls.
We expect policymakers to continue to resist significant CNY depreciation. We believe the government will step up easing measures to offset the additional growth drag from higher tariffs. We are not changing our 2025 full-year GDP growth forecast of 4.5% at this time due to better-than-expected Q1 data and increased policy easing expectations, as well as remaining uncertainties regarding whether some of the tariffs could be negotiated down in the coming months. That said, we acknowledge downside risk from slowing global growth after the large, across-the board US tariff increases.
S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Ming Tan warned that Trump's tariffs could exacerbate China's weak economy:
"The drag on China's economy from higher tariffs will transmit to banks. We expect problem loans will rise over the next few years and could leap as high as 6.4% of total loans in a downside scenario."
Fred Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC, had a big-picture view for clients: "The era of Asia's export manufacturing-led development has come to an end, and the region will need to develop markets closer to home."
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 04/03/2025 - 07:20
In Warning To Turkey, Israel Strikes Several Bases Across Syria
In Warning To Turkey, Israel Strikes Several Bases Across Syria
Israel on Tuesday carried out several major airstrikes on Syria, including targeting the capital of Damascus, according to state agency SANA.
"An Israeli occupation airstrike targeted the vicinity of the building of the scientific research center in the Barzeh residential district of Damascus," the outlet said. This area has been hit several times in recent years, as it conducted chemical weapons research under Assad.
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Separate airstrikes rocked a military airport in Hamas, and reportedly the T4 airbase in Homs province, in central Syria (Syrian desert).
No causalities were initially reported, but some sources say they were particularly intense, with five airstrikes launched on the Hama air base in less than half an hour on Wednesday evening.
Regional war correspondent Elijah Magnier observers of https://x.com/ejmalrai/status/1907502978329629050
:
After bombing Damascus, Israel also bombed Syria, Hama and the T4 airport, challenging Turkey, which was/is planning to establish a military air base at the same bombed airport.
Since Bashar al-Assad's ouster on December 8, Israel has conducted literally hundreds of strikes on army bases, weapons storehouses, and alleged chemical weapons sites.
The timing of these fresh strikes is interesting especially given Turkey's growing closeness to the new Jolani regime.
Israel airstrike on Hama military airport https://t.co/ffRiv7zMoY
— ScharoMaroof (@ScharoMaroof) https://twitter.com/ScharoMaroof/status/1907507765226123480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
We earlier https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/turkey-moves-take-control-strategic-airbase-central-syria
which says Turkey is mulling the takeover of Syria's T4 airbase, and could provide aircover to the new government, given it has no air protection to speak of. It appears Israel wants to ensure this doesn't happen:
A source familiar with the matter told MEE that Turkey has begun moving to take control of the T4 air base, located near Palmyra in central Syria. "A Hisar-type air defense system will be deployed to T4 to provide air cover for the base," the source said.
"Once the system is in place, the base will be reconstructed and expanded with necessary facilities. Ankara also plans to deploy surveillance and armed drones, including those with extended strike capabilities," the same report said.
Israel sends a warning to Turkey by heavily striking bases across Syria, saying that Ankara shouldn’t try to prevent Israelis from flying over the airspace https://t.co/VlF5ewcsis
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1907515731173916733?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
While Iran has long been Israel's enemy number one in Syria, Turkey is increasingly being viewed from Tel Aviv as a dangerous regional rival, especially as it cozies up to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham/AQ militants in Syria. Israel now wants to ensure it has complete dominance over Syria's skies for the foreseeable future.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 04/03/2025 - 06:55
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/warning-turkey-israel-strikes-several-bases-across-syria
How Globalists Use Crazed Leftists To Piss Off The Populace And Provoke Dictatorship
How Globalists Use Crazed Leftists To Piss Off The Populace And Provoke Dictatorship
There is nothing more dangerous than an incomplete picture of history. A hundred years from now, if the powers-that-be have their way, the few children still allowed to be born (due to carbon controls) will be regaled with school lessons about the “Dark Ages of Nationalism” – When humanity was divided into warring states and divided societies that refused to embrace multiculturalism “to the detriment of all”.
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They will say that a “great movement” for globalism and wokeness arose and that the courageous revolutionaries fought evil conservative fascists using any means necessary. The political left will be painted as heroes fighting, not for freedom, but for equity and the “greater good”. Western culture, Christianity, meritocracy, moral objectivity, personal liberty and appeals to reason will be demonized as relics of the old world – Monstrous constructs that prevented civilization from attaining true “oneness”.
None of this will be true, of course. The majority of wars are triggered by globalist interests, not nationalists, and the political left is a gaggle of insane zealots hellbent on destroying the west. But, as they say, history is written by the victors.
Many conservatives and liberty advocates still don’t understand that we are in the middle of a 4th Generation conflict. It’s not a political or ideological disagreement, it’s a war; a guerrilla war in which the enemy hides behind civilian status and the legal apparatus.
They use our moral code and our constitutional provisions against us. They find loopholes in the governmental structure and exploit those weaknesses. They turn our society into a living suicide bomb, all while claiming they hold a position of ethical superiority. It has happened before…
If you get the chance I highly recommend readers check out the in-depth investigative analysis of professor and economist Antony Sutton; specifically his book ‘Wall Street And The Bolshevik Revolution’. In it he describes the historical timeline of how Trotsky and Lenin were funded and aided by the elites of the era. The key leaders of the Marxist takeover of Russia could not have done what they did without the help of American and European globalists.
The greater takeaway from Sutton’s revelation is not so much what happened in the past, but what is happening NOW and how it is similar.
The reality of a hidden hand behind the Bolshevik Revolution might sound rather familiar – Today’s DOGE audits have exposed massive bureaucratic manipulation schemes through agencies like USAID to instigate political and social change in America and in foreign nations. These schemes involve vast sums of taxpayer subsidies cycling through globalist controlled NGOs that then use the free cash to push multiculturalism, LGBT propaganda and color revolution.
The agenda to create a one world system and erase traditional western principles is ongoing, handed down from one generation of globalists to the next in a parasitic lineage. The people behind it are moral relativists and Luciferians (they worship themselves and desire to become godlike). They pursue their goals with the fervor of a religious cult. They believe in what they are doing utterly; with as much conviction as you or I hold in our fight for freedom and accountability.
In America the process is beginning to parallel the leftist movements that ended with Marxist terrorism in Europe and the eventual rise of fascism.
After WWI, leftists engaged in a hurricane of disruption tactics including industrial sabotage, mob intimidation, politically motivated worker strikes, terror attacks, bombings, assassinations, etc. Modern day academics try to paint these tactics as heroic, or at the very least they claim that the actions of Marxists had nothing to do with the European embrace of fascism. This is a lie.
It was, in fact, the constant psychological attacks, economic attacks and direct attacks by far-left groups that made fascism so appealing to common Europeans. Ernst Thalmann, the Stalin-backed leader of the far-left during the last days of Weimar Germany, came to the conclusion that the moderate left was a greater threat than the Nazis. The communists viewed centrist liberals as an impediment to their efforts, much like the woke leftist of today treat moderates as heretics instead of allies. They alienated everybody and made everyone want to work with the fascists.
Of course, Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini BOTH openly venerated Karl Marx and his socialist system of governance. Fascism was nothing more than a different flavor of leftist tyranny posing as a solution to leftist tyranny. But for Europeans tired after years of societal division and constant unrest, the fascist message of order was enticing.
Antony Sutton outlines this dichotomy and how globalists helped the Nazis rise to power in his book ‘Wall Street And The Rise Of The Third Reich’.
In other words, the globalists created a Marxist terror campaign across Europe and then used it to drive the public into the arms of another socialist empire in the form of The Third Reich.
In Germany, people supported fascism because they sought to drive out and eliminate the social rot created by Bolshevik relativism (very similar to the rot we see in America today). For instance, sexual degeneracy was rampant in Germany after WWI. The very first transgender clinic was founded in Berlin in 1919. The Marxists lobbied for the legalization of abortion in order to garner more female support.
The rise of the “sexual reformation” was initiated and the 1920s equivalent of the “Gay Pride” movement was born. Pedophiles began to creep out of the woodwork – The concept of underage prostitution and “rent boys” was a notable problem in Berlin.
Questions of personal liberty are fair to argue. But without moderation, psycho-sexual obsessions embraced on a large scale can trigger social collapse. The true intent of any sexual reformation is to normalize cultural and psychological outliers. Weimar Germany in the 1920s was very much like America in the 2020s in this way.
Then there was hyperinflation, economic hardship and vying political factions that drove fear into common Germans. The fascists offered a clear vision, they offered economic prosperity, they offered domestic peace, they offered an end to the morally bankrupt madness of the left, and the public jumped at the chance. It was not a good choice, but it was better to them than allowing a communist takeover.
The globalists have a tendency to attack a target population from two sides, using chaos they control, and then order they control. Marxism plays the role of chaos, and fascism plays the role of order.
Most of us are familiar with the idea of the Hegelian Dialectic. However, I would argue that the situation is much more complex today than it has ever been. There is only one true option; order is the obvious choice. Leftists and globalists must be removed from power.
But how do we avoid doing what the Germans did? How do we remove the leftist threat without diving headfirst into our own brand of totalitarianism? It might not be possible.
As I warned in my article https://alt-market.us/terror-attacks-kick-off-in-2025-its-only-going-to-get-worse-so-be-prepared/
published in January, there is now a rising tide of leftist sabotage. Today, activists across the country are using property destruction for intimidation. It’s not going to stop there. This is just the first phase.
There’s the judicial overreach by activist judges to thwart any cuts to the bureaucracy, and the attempts to stop deportations of illegals. There’s steady online threats of assassination and calls for alliances with foreign adversaries and terror groups. Just be ready for bombings, shootings and the rampaging mobs because that’s all coming this summer, I have no doubt.
The risk of martial law being declared is very high if things go the way I suspect they will go, and a majority of the US public will applaud the idea. Donald Trump has taken measures to follow through on every one of his campaign promises so far and I believe that this has earned him the benefit of the doubt. However, if he did call for martial law under the circumstances I describe to expedite matters, conservatives would be falling into a classic government power trap.
Once that door is opened it will be hard to reverse matters, and there’s no guarantee that the right wing will be in control of the machine as it shifts from checks and balances into a streamlined top down autocracy. We almost fell off that cliff under the Biden Administration during covid and it’s a miracle the country is still in one piece.
The scary thing is, beyond the hypothetical risks involved, it’s difficult to argue that martial law is unreasonable. The leftists are making it very hard for us to want to fight for their liberty, and frankly most conservatives would not care if they were shipped off to an isolated island somewhere to cannibalize each other. If you examine how these activists rationalize their violence on social media, one can only conclude that they need to be locked up or booted out of the country. They’re not redeemable.
Their actions are designed to elicit a call of force from conservatives. Then the activists rush to to the global stage and scream “You see! The right wingers really are the fascists we said they were!” The mere act of applying law and order becomes “tyranny” by the definition of the progressives.
In the meantime, a lot of libertarians are still out there in the wilderness searching for a perfect solution in which no one’s rights are stepped on and all viewpoints are respected. I’ve accepted that this is not going to happen. There is no silver bullet, no magically pure society in which everyone leaves everyone else alone. In a war, someone’s rights are going out the window.
It’s a zero sum game for conservatives because the more we accommodate the political left and treat them like fellow citizens rather than an enemy insurgency, the more the US will degrade into chaos. If we respond to them as enemies, crushing them like the bugs they are, then we become the bad guys and potentially welcome in a level of government power that could hurt us all in the end.
My solution is an ugly one and it’s something that most conservative commentators don’t want to touch with a ten foot pole: Instead of relying on government power to stop the political left and the globalists, common Americans should organize and handle the problem independently. This removes the danger of government overreach and constitutional trespass.
The average American is not limited by the constitution, the government is. We don’t have to respect the legal rights of NGOs. We don’t have to give leeway to leftist rioters because we’re afraid of political optics. We don’t have to let globalists operate in the US with impunity and without fear. Keep in mind that the US was NOT founded as a libertine nation where anything goes.
The Founders believed in revolution against tyranny, not revolution against morality. They believed in freedom, as long as it’s freedom WITH responsibility. They believed in rules and order, not anarchy. There’s no way on Earth they would have tolerated leftist and globalist machinations. Neither should we.
When we do act, we have to make sure we don’t create a governmental Golem that ultimately turns on us.
* * *
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Wed, 04/02/2025 - 23:25
Over 100 Rounds Fired During Weekend Shooting In Seattle
Over 100 Rounds Fired During Weekend Shooting In Seattle
West Seatlle...or war zone?
That's the question many have to be asking after a report that over 100 rounds were fired in West Seattle this past Sunday according to https://mynorthwest.com/crime_blotter/west-seattle-shooting/4070008
.
The SPD said in a statement: “On March 30, patrol officers responded to multiple reports of shots fired and property damage near 26th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Brandon Street.”
“When police arrived, all involved parties left the area. They did not locate any victims with injuries, no suspects, or cooperative witnesses,” the report continued.
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Seattle police say a large crowd was gathered for a vigil—likely for a recent South Seattle homicide victim—when gunfire erupted. Officers found over 100 shell casings at the scene.
A detective commented: “There was bullet damage to a nearby RV trailer. There was bullet damage to a house, and there was an abandoned vehicle that was also damaged."
The https://mynorthwest.com/crime_blotter/west-seattle-shooting/4070008
says that SPD suspects Glock switches may have been involved. The Gun Violence Reduction Unit is investigating and processing the scene.
“These glock switches, they’re basically capable of turning a pistol into an automatic machine gun type of a weapon,” the detective continued.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/02/2025 - 20:30
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/over-100-rounds-fired-during-weekend-shooting-seattle
Judge Blocks Trump Admin From Firing Federal Employees On Probation In 19 States
Judge Blocks Trump Admin From Firing Federal Employees On Probation In 19 States
(emphasis ours),
A federal judge on April 1 indefinitely blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from quickly firing thousands of probationary federal workers in 19 states and Washington, narrowing a nationwide order issued last month.
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U.S. District Judge James Bredar in Baltimore, Maryland, had already https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/judge-orders-trump-admin-to-reinstate-thousands-of-fired-employees-5824971
on March 13 that the administration should have provided advance notice when it terminated at least 11,000 workers without notifying states and local governments in advance.
The judge had ordered the administration to reinstate the fired workers at 18 agencies by March 17.
Bredar’s latest https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.578045/gov.uscourts.mdd.578045.125.0_3.pdf
replaces that order but also covers two additional agencies: the Defense Department and the Office of Personnel Management.
In handing down his decision, the judge said that the federal government may “terminate probationary employees en masse (i.e., dismiss them via a reduction in force, or ‘RIF’)” but that when it does, it “must follow certain laws and regulations.”
“Recently, government agencies executed a series of mass terminations, but when they did so, on the record before the Court, they failed to follow mandatory RIF procedures,” the judge wrote.
Bredar found the Trump administration “probably broke the laws that regulate en masse terminations of government employees, and this to the continuing and irreparable harm of the Plaintiff States.”
He noted, however, that his order only applies to employees who either live or work in the mostly Democratic-led states that, along with Washington, D.C., sued over the mass firings.
“Perhaps a broader injunction would be in order if this action were on behalf of the thousands of employees who were laid off, the circumstances of each likely being similar if not identical to those of the others, and there being little doubt that the harms visited on some were representative of those experienced by all, or almost all. But this is not that case,” Bredar wrote.
“Only states have sued here, and only to vindicate their interests as states. They are not proxies for the workers.”
Agencies Covered by Court Ruling
The judge noted that while “each state is entitled to decide for itself whether it will seek relief in the present circumstances,” it would “be inappropriate for the Court to fashion relief having the consequence that decisions properly reserved to the non-party states are effectively, and unnecessarily overruled by this Court.”
Bredar’s ruling covers workers at the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.
Additionally, terminated probationary workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, General Services Administration, Small Business Administration, and the U.S. Agency for International Development are covered by the orders, along with those from the Defense Department and the Office of Personnel Management.
The employees covered by the order must work in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, or Washington, D.C.
Bredar’s ruling is in response to a March 6 https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/20-states-sue-federal-agencies-over-mass-terminations-5821713
filed by a coalition of mostly Democratic-led states who sued nearly two dozen federal agencies over the probationary worker firings.
In their lawsuit, the states, led by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, argued the move was illegal because the agencies had failed to comply with legal requirements for RIFs, including providing 60 days of advance notice to workers and states.
The Trump administration has appealed Bredar’s earlier decision, claiming the firings were lawful and that the judge lacked the power to require workers to be reinstated.
A U.S. appeals court panel earlier in March declined to put Bredar’s ruling on hold.
The Epoch Times has contacted the White House and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office for comment.
Zachary Stieber and Reuters contributed to this report.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/02/2025 - 13:20
"This 'Scoop' Is Garbage': White House Spox Denies Musk Is Stepping Back
"This 'Scoop' Is Garbage': White House Spox Denies Musk Is Stepping Back
Update (1305ET):
Aaand here's the denial. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt has called Politico's scoop "garbage," adding "lon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete."
This “scoop” is garbage.
Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete. https://t.co/Brppff6SKi
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1907476290438901863?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Though we would note that 'stepping back' (Politico) does not equal 'departing' (WH).
* * *
Shares of Tesla rose on Wednesday following an anonymously sourced Politico report (keeping in mind Musk just yanked millions in government 'subscriptions' from them) that President Trump has told his inner circle that Musk would be stepping back from his advisory role in the coming weeks.
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Musk, who https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/02/trump-musk-leaving-political-liability-00265784
describes as "governing partner, ubiquitous cheerleader and Washington hatchet man" (totally not salty), claims that Trump "remains pleased with Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency initiative but both men have decided in recent days that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role."
Then Politico gets extra nasty - writing that "Musk’s looming retreat comes as some Trump administration insiders and many outside allies have become frustrated with his unpredictability and increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability, a dynamic that was thrown into stark relief Tuesday when a conservative judge Musk vocally supported lost his bid for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat by 10 points."
One anonymous official allegedly told Politico that Musk is likely to retain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional face around the White House, while another said that anyone who thinks Musk is going to disappear entirely from Trump's orbit is "fooling themselves."
As we noted above, shares of Musk-owned Tesla rose more than 5% on the report.
?itok=gLGUmpQB
While Polymarket odds that he'll be out as the head of DOGE in 2025 spiked as well.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/02/2025 - 13:04
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/tesla-shares-rise-over-report-musk-step-back-doge
DNC, Schumer Sue Trump Over Order Targeting Illegal Immigrant Voting
DNC, Schumer Sue Trump Over Order Targeting Illegal Immigrant Voting
(emphasis ours),
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and two top U.S. lawmakers on March 31 sued President Donald Trump over a recent executive order that aims to enforce the law against illegal immigrant voting and election dates.
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“The Executive Order seeks to impose radical changes on how Americans register to vote, cast a ballot, and participate in our democracy—all of which threaten to disenfranchise lawful voters and none of which is legal,” says the lawsuit, https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25875203-dnc-lawsuit-against-trump-doge/
by Democratic Party attorney Marc Elias in federal court in Washington.
Trump’s March 25 order has multiple sections. Several deal with laws that bar foreigners from registering to vote or from voting in federal elections. Trump directed the independent Election Assistance Commission to require proof of U.S. citizenship in its mail voter registration form, ordered U.S. officials to work with the Department of Government Efficiency to review voter rolls to identify noncitizens who are already registered, and told the U.S. attorney general to prosecute individuals who have illegally registered or voted.
Another prong takes aim at how some states in recent years have begun counting mailed ballots that arrive after Election Day, which the order says contravenes federal law.
A third portion says the Election Assistance Commission shall stop providing federal funds to states that don’t comply with the laws on election dates and noncitizen voting and voter registration.
The U.S. Constitution’s election clause says that states can set election dates, although Congress can alter them.
“Outside of the Elections Clause, other provisions in the Constitution place certain requirements and limitations on the regulation of elections—but none allows the President to override the will of the States or Congress in this space,” the new suit states.
The legal challenge also says that the Election Assistance Commission is an independent agency over which the president, who appoints commissioners, has no control, and that federal law lets applicants who vote in federal elections attest to citizenship with a signature as opposed to requiring proof from documents such as a passport.
In addition to the DNC, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, are plaintiffs in the suit.
The Democrats are asking the court to declare that the order violates the Constitution and federal law and block U.S. officials, such as the attorney general, from implementing it.
“The Democrats continue to show their disdain for the Constitution and it continues to show in their insane objections to the President’s commonsense executive actions to require proof of U.S. citizenship in an effort to protect the integrity of American elections,“ Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman, told The Epoch Times in an email. ”The Trump administration is standing up for free, fair, and honest elections and asking this basic question is essential to our Constitutional Republic.”
Ahead of the 2016 election, Elias helped compile a dossier against Trump. He was https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-directs-top-officials-to-take-action-against-lawyers-violating-rules-5830368
in a different order by Trump that directed officials to take action against lawyers who are violating laws and regulations.
Earlier Monday, several organizations https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25875204-groups-sue-over-trump-order/
a separate suit in the same court over the election order, outlining similar arguments.
“The president’s executive order is an unlawful action that threatens to uproot our tried-and-tested election systems and silence potentially millions of Americans,“ Danielle Lang, senior director of voting rights at the Campaign Legal Center, which is representing the groups, said in a statement. ”It is simply not within the president’s authority to set election rules by executive decree, especially when they would restrict access to voting in this way.”
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/02/2025 - 07:20
White House Prepares TikTok Proposal Meeting Wednesday Ahead Of Deadline
White House Prepares TikTok Proposal Meeting Wednesday Ahead Of Deadline
Ahead of President Trump's https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/trumps-liberation-day-live-blog-all-you-need-know
across all US trading partners later today, the president will meet with senior administration officials to review a final proposal for the Chinese social media app TikTok. The deliberations come before a Saturday deadline, by which TikTok must complete a sale to a non-Chinese entity or face a US ban.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-consider-final-tiktok-proposal/
." The report noted that Blackstone and Oracle are potential investors.
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At the start of Trump's first term, he signed an https://www.zerohedge.com/political/overview-trumps-day-one-executive-actions
granting a 75-day extension for TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app—used by 170 million Americans—to a US entity or face a nationwide ban. The deadline is Saturday, April 5, bringing the final deal down to the wire.
Over the weekend, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, "We have a lot of potential buyers. There's a lot of interest in TikTok. The decision is going to be my decision," adding, "I'd like to see TikTok remain alive." Trump said Monday there was "a lot of enthusiasm for TikTok."
In a separate report, the https://www.ft.com/content/f88f61aa-164d-420f-9a77-d1a4facc4638
said Marc Andreessen's venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, was discussing the purchase of TikTok from ByteDance with Oracle and other investors.
noted, "In the closely watched sale of TikTok, the White House is playing the role of an investment bank, with Vance running the auction."
The Trump administration is about to have a hectic week. It will announce reciprocal tariffs later today, and it must also begin finalizing a deal for TikTok as the April 5 deadline looms.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/02/2025 - 06:55
USAID And The Architecture Of Perception
USAID And The Architecture Of Perception
https://brownstone.org/articles/usaid-and-the-architecture-of-perception/
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has long portrayed itself as America’s humanitarian aid organization, delivering assistance to developing nations. With an annual budget of nearly $40 billion and operations in over 100 countries, it represents one of the largest foreign aid institutions in the world. But recent disclosures reveal its true nature as something far more systematic: an architect of global consciousness.
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Consider: Reuters, one of the world’s most trusted news sources, received USAID funding for ‘Large Scale Social Deception’ and ‘Social Engineering Defence.’ While there’s debate about the exact scope of these programs, the implications are staggering: a division of one of the world’s most relied-upon sources for objective reporting was paid by a US government agency for systemic reality construction. This funding goes beyond traditional media support, representing a deliberate infrastructure for discourse framing that fundamentally challenges the concept of ‘objective’ reporting.
?itok=CQzilxAn
Source: https://www.usaspending.gov/
But it goes deeper. In what reads like a Michael Crichton plot come to life, the recent USAID revelations show a staggering reach of narrative control. Take Internews Network, https://x.com/wikileaks/status/1888072129327083979?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1888072129327083979%7Ctwgr%5E587e4a02aeda89c34d00d7d3a611ec4e0146062f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.frontiermyanmar.net%2Fen%2Fmusk-and-trump-show-why-the-media-matters%2F
that has pushed nearly half a billion dollars ($472.6m) through a secretive network, ‘working with’ 4,291 media outlets. In just one year, they produced 4,799 hours of broadcasts reaching up to 778 million people and ‘trained’ over 9,000 journalists. This isn’t just funding – it’s a systematic infrastructure of consciousness manipulation.
The revelations show USAID funding both the https://x.com/chrismartenson/status/1886822395224203624
around what emerged from it. Backing organizations that would fabricate impeachment evidence. Funding both the election systems that facilitate outcomes and the fact-checkers that determine which discussions about those outcomes are permitted. But these disclosures point to something far more significant than mere corruption.
These revelations didn’t emerge from nowhere – they come from government grant disclosures, FOIA requests, and official records that aren’t even hidden, just ignored. As my old friend https://stylman.substack.com/p/the-pattern-recognition-era-a-manifesto
, ‘The most important truths today cannot be debated – they must be felt as totalities.’ The pattern, once seen, cannot be unseen. Some may question DOGE’s methods or the rapid pace of these disclosures, and those constitutional concerns deserve serious discussion. But that’s a separate conversation from what these documents reveal. The revelations themselves – documented in official records and grant disclosures – are undeniable and should shock anyone who values truth. The means of exposure matter far less than what’s being exposed: one of the largest narrative control operations in history.
No domain is untouched – https://mhdempsey.substack.com/p/the-evolution-of-perception-markets
– and you’ll find the same design. Intelligence agencies are deeply embedded in each domain because shaping how we perceive reality is more powerful than controlling reality itself
Just as fiat currency replaced real value with declared value, we now see the same pattern everywhere: fiat science replaces inquiry with predetermined conclusions, fiat culture replaces organic development with curated influence, fiat history replaces lived experience with manufactured narratives. We live in an https://stylman.substack.com/p/fiat-everything
– where reality itself is declared, not discovered. And just as they create artificial scarcity in monetary systems, they manufacture false choices everywhere else – presenting us with artificial binaries that obscure the true complexity of our world.
As Schiffer wrote elsewhere, reality no longer requires consensus, only coherence. But there’s a crucial distinction: real coherence emerges naturally across multiple domains, reflecting deeper truths that cannot be fabricated. The coherence imposed by perception management isn’t truth – it’s a controlled discourse engineered for consistency, not discovery. The USAID receipts now provide concrete evidence of how this manufactured coherence is built: a scripted reality where the appearance of logic is more important than actual substance.
This isn’t just pattern matching – it’s pattern prediction. Just as algorithms learn to recognize and anticipate behavioral patterns, those who understand this system’s architecture can see its next moves before they’re made. The question isn’t whether something is “true” or “false” – it’s understanding how information flows shape consciousness itself.
To understand how deep this goes, let’s examine their methodology. As https://drtenpenny.substack.com/p/usaid-corruption
and others have meticulously documented through FOIA requests and government grant disclosures, the pattern emerges through two primary vectors of control:
Information Control:
$34 million to Politico (which as Tenpenny notes, struggled to make payroll without this funding)
Extensive payments to the New York Times
Direct funding to BBC Media Action
$4.5 million to Kazakhstan to combat “disinformation”
Health and Development:
$84 million to Clinton Foundation health initiatives
$100 million for AIDS treatment in Ukraine
Funding for contraceptive programs in developing nations
Cultural Programming:
$20 million to Sesame Street in Iraq
$68 million to the World Economic Forum
$2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala
Global cultural initiatives (millions spread across LGBTQ programs in Serbia, DEI projects in Ireland, transgender arts in Colombia and Peru, and tourism promotion in Egypt)
What emerges is not just a list of expenditures, but a blueprint for global reality architecture: From Kazakhstan to Ireland, from Serbia to Peru, from Vietnam to Egypt – there isn’t a corner of the world untouched by this system. This isn’t merely a distribution of resources, but a strategic infrastructure of global influence. Each allocation – whether to media outlets, health initiatives, or cultural programs – represents a carefully placed node in a network designed to shape perception across multiple domains. First, control the flow of information through media funding. Then, establish legitimacy through health and development programs. Finally, reshape social structures through cultural programming. The end goal isn’t just to influence what people think, but to determine the boundaries of what can be thought – and to do so on a planetary scale.
For those who’ve been studying the architecture of censorship, like https://x.com/MikeBenzCyber/status/1880239992808603991
for years, none of this comes as a surprise. It’s perfect symmetry: we knew about the censorship. Now we’re seeing the receipts. One hand feeds them talking points, the other hand feeds them our taxpayer dollars. This isn’t speculation; it’s documented fact. Even Wikipedia’s own funding database contains over 45,000 reports tied to USAID – many detailing corruption, media influence, and financial manipulation. The evidence has always been there, but it was ignored, dismissed, or buried under the very fact-checking apparatus USAID funds. These weren’t crackpot theories; they were warnings. And now, we finally have the receipts.
And it doesn’t stop at controlling information. USAID isn’t just shaping media portrayals – it’s funding the systems that enforce them. Last week, https://x.com/MikeBenzCyber/status/1880239992808603991
: USAID gives twice as much money ($27 million) to the fiscal sponsor of the group controlling Soros-funded prosecutors than Soros himself gives ($14 million). This isn’t about one billionaire’s influence – it’s about state-backed enforcement of scripted accounts. The same network that dictates what you can think is dictating who prosecutes crime, what laws are enforced, and who faces consequences.
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Source: https://search.wikileaks.org/?q=USAID
USAID’s influence isn’t just about funding media control—it extends to direct political interference. It didn’t just send aid to Brazil – it funded censorship, backed left-wing activists, and https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/1888088150964093250
.
Former State Department official Benz revealed that the agency waged a “holy war on censorship,” systematically suppressing Bolsonaro supporters online while bolstering opposition voices. Millions flowed to NGOs pushing leftist framing, including the Felipe Neto Institute, which received US funding while Bolsonaro’s allies were deplatformed. USAID also bankrolled Amazon-based activist groups, financed media campaigns designed to manipulate public opinion, and funneled money into Brazilian organizations that pushed for stricter internet regulations.
This wasn’t aid – it was election interference disguised as democracy promotion. USAID used American tax dollars to decide Brazil’s future, and it likely deployed similar tactics in many other countries – all under the guise of humanitarian assistance.
And it’s not just abroad. While USAID’s defenders claim it’s a tool for charity and development in poor nations, the evidence suggests something much more insidious. It’s a $40 billion driver of regime change overseas – and now, evidence points to its involvement in regime change efforts at home. Alongside the CIA, https://x.com/shellenberger/status/1887282174321152095
– an illegal effort to overturn a US election using the same tools of perception sculpting and political engineering it deploys abroad.
Left vs right, vaxxed vs unvaxxed, Russia vs Ukraine, believer vs skeptic (on any topic) – https://stylman.substack.com/p/divided-we-fall
serve to fragment our understanding while reality itself is far more nuanced and multidimensional. Each manufactured crisis spawns not just reactions, but reactions to those reactions, creating endless layers of derivative meaning built on artificial foundations.
The real power isn’t in manufacturing individual facts, but in creating systems where false facts become self-reinforcing. When a fact-checker cites another fact-checker who cites a “trusted source” that’s funded by the same entities funding the fact-checkers, the pattern becomes clear. The truth isn’t in any individual claim – it’s in recognizing how the claims work together to create a closed system of artificial reality.
Take the vaccine debate for example: The pattern manifests before the explanation – people passionately debate efficacy without realizing the entire framework was constructed. First, they fund the research. Then they fund the media to shape the narrative. Even skeptics often fall into their trap, arguing about effectiveness rates while accepting their basic premise. The moment you debate ‘vaccine efficacy,’ you’ve already lost – you’re using their framework to discuss what is, in reality, an https://x.com/jstylman/status/1624445753895559169
. By accepting their terminology, their metrics, their framing of the discussion itself, you’re playing into their constructed reality. Each layer of control is designed not just to influence opinions, but to preemptively structure how those opinions can be formed.
Like learning to spot a staged photo or hearing a false note in music, developing a reliable bullshit detector requires pattern recognition. Once you start seeing how narratives are constructed – how language is weaponized, how frameworks are built – it changes the lens with which you view the whole world. The same intelligence agencies embedding themselves in every domain that shapes our understanding aren’t just controlling information flow – they’re programming how we process that information itself.
The recursive theater plays out in real time. When USAID announced funding cuts, BBC News rushed to amplify humanitarian concerns with dramatic headlines about HIV patients and endangered lives. What they didn’t mention in their reporting? USAID is their top funder, bankrolling BBC Media Action with millions in direct payments. Watch how the system protects itself: the largest recipient of USAID media funding creates emotional propaganda about USAID’s importance while obfuscating their financial relationship in their reporting.
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Source: https://x.com/TexasLindsay_/status/1890722985293586687
This institutional self-defense illustrates a crucial pattern: organizations funded for reality construction protect themselves through layers of misdirection. When presented with evidence, the fact-checking apparatus funded by these same systems springs into action. They’ll tell you that these payments were for standard “https://www.npr.org/2025/02/07/nx-s1-5290282/politico-subscriptions-usaid-x-musk-trump
, blurring the line between advocacy and direct intervention. The very organizations funded for social architecture are the ones telling you there is no social architecture. It’s akin to asking the arsonist to investigate the fire.
Like characters in a grand production, I watch old friends still trusting in institutions like the New York Times. Even this exposition becomes a potential node in the system – the very act of revealing the mechanics of control might itself be anticipated, another layer of the recursive theater. https://stylman.substack.com/p/the-technocratic-blueprint
, I explored how our digital world has evolved far beyond Truman Burbank’s physical dome. His world had visible walls, cameras, and scripted encounters – a constructed reality he could theoretically escape by reaching its edges. Our prison is more sophisticated: no walls, no visible limits, just algorithmic containment that shapes thought itself. Truman only had to sail far enough to find the truth. But how do you sail beyond the boundaries of perception when the ocean itself is programmed?
Sure, USAID has done some good work – but so did Al Capone with his https://www.history.com/news/al-capone-great-depression-soup-kitchen
. His carefully cultivated image made him beyond reproach for decades, just as institutional benevolence now serves as a protective layer for global influence operations. The true function of organizations like USAID isn’t just aid – it’s social architecture, mind shaping, and the laundering of taxpayer dollars through an intricate web of NGOs and foundations.
This layered deception is self-reinforcing – each level of manufactured reality is protected by another level of institutional authority. These institutions don’t just dictate stories; they shape the infrastructure through which narratives are disseminated. For what it’s worth, I believe most tools themselves are neutral. The same digital systems that enable mass surveillance could empower individual sovereignty. The same networks that centralize control could facilitate decentralized cooperation. The question isn’t the technology itself, but whether it’s deployed to concentrate or distribute power.
This understanding didn’t come from nowhere. Those who first sensed this artificiality were dismissed as conspiracy theorists. We noticed the coordination across outlets, the strange synchronicity of messaging, the way certain stories were amplified while others disappeared. Now we have the sales receipts showing exactly how that manipulation was funded and orchestrated.
I know this journey of discovery intimately. When I started understanding the dangers of mRNA technology, I went all in. I connected with the incredibly talented filmmaker Jennifer Sharp and helped with https://www.anecdotalsmovie.com/
. The deeper I looked, the more I realized these weren’t isolated deceptions – it was part of a larger system of control. The very fabric of what I thought was real began to dissolve.
What disturbed me most was seeing how deeply programming relies on mimicry. Humans are imitative creatures by nature – it’s how we learn, how we build culture. But this natural tendency has been weaponized. I’d present friends with peer-reviewed studies, documented evidence, historical connections – only to watch them respond with verbatim talking points from corporate media. It wasn’t that they disagreed – it was that they weren’t even processing the information. They were pattern-matching against pre-approved chronicles, https://brownstone.org/articles/the-illusion-of-expertise/
. I realized then: none of us knows anything for certain – we’re all just mimicking what we’ve been programmed to believe is authoritative knowledge.
The challenge isn’t just seeing through any single deception – it’s understanding how these systems work together in complex, non-linear ways. When we fixate on individual threads, we miss the larger pattern. Like pulling a thread on a sweater and watching it unravel, eventually you realize there was no sweater in the first place – just an intricately woven illusion. Just as a hologram contains the whole image in each fragment, every piece of this system reflects the larger blueprint for reality construction.
Consider the $34 million to Politico – this isn’t just a funding stream, but a holographic reveal of the entire system. It’s not merely that Politico received money; it’s that this single transaction contains the entire blueprint of perception management. The payment itself is a microcosm: struggling media outlet, government funding, narrative control – each element reflects the whole. This recursive system protects itself through layers of self-validation. When critics point out media bias, fact-checkers funded by the same system declare it ‘debunked.’ When researchers question official accounts, journals funded by the same interests reject their work. Even the language of resistance – ‘speaking truth to power,’ ‘fighting disinformation,’ ‘protecting democracy’ – has been co-opted and weaponized by the very system it was meant to challenge.
The Covid story epitomizes this systemic manipulation. What began as a public health crisis transformed into a global experiment in narrative control – demonstrating how rapidly populations could be reshaped through coordinated messaging, institutional authority, and weaponized fear. The pandemic wasn’t just about a virus; it was a proof of concept for how comprehensively human cognition could be engineered – a single node revealing the true scope and ambition of discourse manipulation.
Think about the cycle: American taxpayers unknowingly funded the crisis itself – then paid again to be deceived about it. They paid for the development of gain-of-function research, then paid again for the messaging that would convince them to accept masks, lockdowns, and experimental interventions. The system is so confident in its psychological control that it doesn’t even bother hiding the evidence anymore.
As I’ve documented in my https://stylman.substack.com/p/engineering-reality-part-i
, this framework for consciousness management runs far deeper than most can imagine. USAID’s revelations aren’t isolated incidents – they’re glimpses into a vast system of social design that has been in operation for decades. When the same agency funding your fact-checkers is openly paying for ‘social deception,’ when your trusted news sources are receiving direct payments for ‘social architecture,’ the very framework of what we consider ‘real’ begins to crumble.
We’re not just watching events unfold – we’re watching reactions to artificial events, then reactions to those reactions, creating an infinite regression of derivative meaning. People form passionate positions about issues that were constructed, then others define themselves in opposition to those positions. Each layer of reaction fuels the next phase of steered consensus. What we’re witnessing isn’t just the spread of manufactured realities, but the architecture of cultural and geopolitical trends themselves. Artificial trends spawn authentic reactions, which generate counter-reactions, until we’ve built entire societies responding to carefully orchestrated theater. The social engineers aren’t just steering individual beliefs – they’re reshaping the very foundations of how humans make sense of the world.
These revelations are just the tip of the iceberg. Anyone paying attention to the depth and depravity of the corruption knows that this is only the beginning. As more information emerges, the illusion of neutrality, of benevolence, of institutions acting in the public interest, will crumble. No one who truly engages with this information is walking away with renewed faith in the system. The shift is only happening in one direction – some faster than others, but none in reverse. The real question is: what happens when a critical mass reaches the point where their foundational understanding of the world collapses? When they realize that the records shaping their perception were never organic, but manufactured? Some will refuse to look, choosing comfort over confrontation. But for those willing to face it, this is not just about corruption – it’s about the very nature of the reality they thought they inhabited.
The implications are staggering not just for individual awareness, but for our very ability to function as a republic. How can citizens make informed decisions when reality itself has been splintered into competing manufactured tales? When people discover that their most deeply held beliefs were shaped, that their passionate causes were scripted, that even their cultural interests and tastes were curated, that their opposition to certain systems was anticipated and designed – what remains of authentic human experience?
What’s coming will force a choice: either retreat into comfortable denial, dismissing mounting evidence as “right-wing conspiracy theories,” or face the shattering realization that the world we thought we inhabited never actually existed. My research over the past few years points to far more nefarious activities yet to be revealed – operations so heinous that many will simply refuse to process them.
As I wrote about in “https://brownstone.org/articles/the-second-matrix-break-the-controlled-awakening/
,” there’s always the risk of falling into another layer of controlled awakening. But the greater risk lies in thinking too small, in anchoring ourselves to any single thread of understanding. The USAID revelations aren’t just about exposing one agency’s role in shaping reality – they’re about recognizing how our very thought patterns have been colonized by recursive layers of artificial reality.
This is the true crisis of our time: not just the manipulation of reality, but the fragmentation of human consciousness itself. When people grasp that their beliefs, causes, and even their resistance were shaped within this system, they are forced to confront the deeper question: What does it mean to reclaim one’s own mind?
But here’s what they don’t want you to realize: seeing through these systems is profoundly liberating. When you understand how reality is constructed, you’re no longer bound by its artificial constraints. This isn’t just about exposing deception – it’s about freeing consciousness itself from manufactured limitations.
The jig may be up on USAID’s reality architecture operation. But the deeper challenge lies in reconstructing meaning in a world where the very fabric of reality has been woven from artificial threads. The choice we face isn’t just between comfortable illusion and uncomfortable truth. The old system demanded validation before belief. The new reality requires something else entirely: the ability to recognize patterns before they’re officially confirmed, to feel coherence across multiple domains, to step outside the crafted game completely. This isn’t about choosing sides in their manufactured binaries – it’s about seeing the pattern architecture itself.
What does this liberation look like in practice? It’s catching the pattern of a manufactured crisis before it’s fully deployed. It’s recognizing how seemingly unrelated events – a banking collapse, a health emergency, a social movement – are actually nodes in the same network of control. It’s understanding that true sovereignty isn’t about having all the answers, but about developing the capacity to sense the web of deception before it solidifies into apparent reality. Because the ultimate power isn’t in knowing every answer – it’s in realizing when the question itself has been designed to trap you inside the manufactured paradigm.
As we develop this pattern recognition capacity – this ability to see through algorithmic manipulation – what it means to be human is itself evolving. As these systems of ideological infrastructure crumble, our task isn’t just to preserve individual awakening but to protect and nurture the most conscious elements of humanity. The ultimate liberation isn’t just seeing through the deception – it’s maintaining our essential humanity in a world of tightly controlled perception.
As these systems of reality sculpting crumble, we have an unprecedented opportunity to rediscover what’s real – not through their manufactured frameworks, but through our own direct experience of truth. What’s authentic isn’t always what’s organic – in a mediated world, authenticity means conscious choice rather than unconscious reaction. It means understanding how our minds are shaped while maintaining our capacity for genuine connection, creative expression, and direct experience. The most human elements – love, creativity, intuition, genuine discovery – become more precious precisely because they defy algorithmic control. These are the last frontiers of human freedom—the unpredictable, unquantifiable forces that cannot be reduced to data points or behavioral models.
The ultimate battle isn’t just for truth – it’s for the human spirit itself. A system that can engineer perception can engineer submission. But there’s a beautiful irony here: the very act of recognizing these systems of reality construction is itself an expression of authentic consciousness – a choice that proves they haven’t conquered human perception completely. Free will cannot be engineered precisely because the capacity to see through engineered reality remains ours. In the end, their greatest fear isn’t that we’ll reject their manufactured world – it’s that we’ll remember how to see beyond it.
Republished from the author’s https://stylman.substack.com/p/the-pattern-beneath
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 04/01/2025 - 23:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/usaid-and-architecture-perception
Iran 'Incredibly Weakened' By Over 200 US Strikes On Houthis: White House
Iran 'Incredibly Weakened' By Over 200 US Strikes On Houthis: White House
The White House on Tuesday declared that Iran has been "incredibly" weakened as a result of the Pentagon operation against Yemen's Houthis which was renewed on March 15 by President Trump and his national security cabinet.
Immense controversy has ensued in the wake of 'Signalgate' which involved discussions of war planning with Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg privy to the group chat conversation.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said there's has been over 200 strikes on targets in Yemen. It has long been a US talking point going back to 2015 that the Houthis (Ansarallah movement) has been supplied by the Iranians. Shipments of Iranian weaponry has over the years been intercepted by US naval ships in Gulf area waters.
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The group has fired at least eight ballistic missiles on Israel over the past week, but the US is leading the way in anti-Houthi operations.
"There have now been more than 200 successful strikes," Leavitt said. "Iran is incredibly weakened as a result. They’ve taken out Houthi leaders, critical members who have been launching strikes on naval ships and commercial vessels. This operation will not stop until the freedom of navigation in this region is restored."
The Houthis haven't confirmed the deaths of any leaders, nor has the US side acknowledged the repeat attacks on US warships or the carrier USS Truman.
According to some of the https://english.news.cn/20250402/257f54f9ce6940a5b008ec5d9adb4c72/c.html
:
According to a brief statement broadcast by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, five airstrikes at dawn targeted the Jarban area in the Sanhan district southeast of Sanaa, while two others hit the Bani Matar district west of the capital.
The statement further indicated that Saada, a stronghold of the group, was subjected to 15 U.S. airstrikes overnight, but did not disclose specific locations targeted.
Israeli media and The Associated Press have meanwhile said that these last two weeks of strikes on Yemen have been far more devasting than similar aerial assaults under Biden.
According to a report featured in center-left https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-us-campaign-against-yemens-houthis-far-more-intense-than-under-biden/
:
A new American airstrike campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels appears more intense and more extensive, as the US moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in city neighborhoods, an Associated Press review of the operation shows.
The pattern under US President Donald Trump reflects a departure from the Biden administration, which limited its strikes as Arab allies tried to reach a separate peace with the group. It comes after the Iran-backed Houthis threatened to resume attacking “any Israeli vessel” over the country’s refusal to allow aid into the Gaza Strip.
Both sides appear content to keep mum on the extent of 'success' of the back-and-forth attacks. But the consensus among war analysts is that if the Houthi threat to Red Sea shipping is to be rooted out, it will take a long, sustained campaign - which we should note has not had formal war authorization from Congress.
"Folks that say, ‘We’ll go in there and take out everyone with the last name Houthi and we’ll win.’ The Houthi leadership has been taken out in history in the past, and they are resilient,” said retired US Navy Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, per AFP. “They came back and they grew stronger. So this isn’t something that is a one-and-done.”
.https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1907109737184829574?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
As for Iran, it costs little for it to wage proxy war against US Navy ships positioned in the region. In a sense, the Pentagon is in the Iranians' backyard. Already, the Houthis have claimed to have downed the 16th US MQ-9 Reaper drone as of Tuesday, which hasn't been acknowledged as yet by the Pentagon. The controversy over the scope of US actions will likely only grow among the American populace.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 04/01/2025 - 23:00
"Maryland Father" Or MS-13 Migrant Gangster. Which Is It, MSM?
"Maryland Father" Or MS-13 Migrant Gangster. Which Is It, MSM?
Left-leaning corporate media unleashed another info war against the Trump administration after The Atlantic published an overnight story titled "An 'Administrative Error' Sends a Maryland Father to a Salvadoran Prison." However, the struggling outlet behind "SignalGate" conveniently omitted a key detail in the headline: the deported migrant held a "prominent role in MS-13," according to court filings. Notably, this Mexican drug cartel has been officially designated as a https://www.state.gov/more-foreign-gang-terrorists-deported-out-of-america/
by the Trump administration.
The omission in the title was no accident. Details matter, and this appears to be a concerted effort by the left to sway public opinion as the Democratic Party implodes in polling data over its disastrous Tesla Takedown color revolution operation that, in some instances, has resulted in https://www.zerohedge.com/political/communist-revolutionary-arrested-vegas-tesla-firebombing-attack
against Tesla showrooms, service centers, and vehicles nationwide.
MSM conveniently labeled the migrant MS-13 gangster as "Maryland Father" in the headlines ... and that's all you need to know about their slant (migrant gangsters > national security of citizens).
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Many X users fact-checked MSM's reporting, including Will Chamberlain, Senior Counsel at the Internet Accountability Project and the Article III Project, who said, "In an article this evening, The Atlantic pretended that a deported MS-13 gang member was merely a "Maryland father.""
NEW: In an article this evening, The Atlantic pretended that a deported MS-13 gang member was merely a “Maryland father.” https://t.co/ckFeuIeJsS
— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) https://twitter.com/willchamberlain/status/1906914623929884810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Before MS13 migrant gangster Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was removed from the US, he had been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in mid-March "due to his prominent role in MS-13," according to a court declaration from ICE.
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MSM and Dems only fixated on this from the filing: "On March 15, although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error." However, even as the filing admits the error, it continued: "final order of removal and Abrego-Garcia's purported membership in MS-13."
Democrats attempted a 'gotcha moment' with Vice President J.D. Vance...
The VP responded:
My comment is that according to the court document you apparently didn't read he was a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here. My further comment is that it's gross to get fired up about gang members getting deported while ignoring citizens they victimize.
My comment is that according to the court document you apparently didn’t read he was a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here.
My further comment is that it’s gross to get fired up about gang members getting deported while ignoring citizens they victimize. https://t.co/cPnloeyXYk
— JD Vance (@JDVance) https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1906934067607556440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
VP Vance added in a separate X post:
"It is telling that the entire American media is going to run a propaganda operation today making you think an innocent "father of 3" was apprehended by a gulag."
Kyle Cheney, a "legal affairs reporter" is apparently unable or unwilling to look at the facts here.
In 2019, an Immigration Judge (under the first Trump administration) determined that the deported man was, in fact, a member of the MS-13 gang. He also apparently had multiple… https://t.co/tEFd4AUqGY
— JD Vance (@JDVance) https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1907056566890566136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Trump has made it very clear through executive orders that migrant gangsters—especially those affiliated with FTOs such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13—will be deported. The mainstream media and the Democratic Party are furious because their future criminal migrant voters are being deported, and their end goal of a one-party state - like California - is being derailed.
Democrats have chosen migrant gangsters over national security and the safety of law-abiding citizens. This is alarming.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 04/01/2025 - 13:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/maryland-father-or-ms-13-migrant-gangster-which-it-msm
Trump Says Nothing 'Off The Table' In Obtaining Greenland
Trump Says Nothing 'Off The Table' In Obtaining Greenland
(emphasis ours),
President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he has “absolutely” had real discussions about annexing the semiautonomous Danish territory of Greenland.
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“We'll get Greenland. Yeah, 100 percent,” Trump told NBC News in a phone https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-couldnt-care-less-automakers-raise-prices-tariffs-rcna198731
on March 29, saying that there’s a “good possibility that we could do it without military force” but that he wouldn’t “take anything off the table.”
Trump’s comments were made one day after Vice President JD Vance visited the island with his wife, Usha, and talked with service members at Pituffik Space Base, a U.S. Space Force Base on Greenland’s northwestern coast.
“Our message to Denmark is very simple—you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance said during his trip.
NBC asked Trump what statement annexing Greenland would send to Russia and other nations worldwide.
“I don’t really think about that. I don’t really care. Greenland’s a very separate subject, very different. It’s international peace. It’s international security and strength,” he replied.
“You have ships sailing outside Greenland from Russia, from China, and from many other places. And we’re not going to allow things to happen that are going to be—that are going to hurt the world or the United States.”
The Epoch Times has requested a full transcript of the call from NBC.
On March 29, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen scolded the Trump administration’s “tone” in its criticisms of Denmark and Greenland. He said Denmark is currently investing more in Arctic security and continues to be ready for more collaboration with the United States.
Rasmussen made the comments in a video posted on social media following Vance’s visit to the Arctic island.
“Many accusations and many allegations have been made. And, of course, we are open to criticism,” Rasmussen said. “But let me be completely honest: We do not appreciate the tone in which it is being delivered. This is not how you speak to your close allies. And I still consider Denmark and the United States to be close allies.”
The prime minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in a Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Jensfrederiknielsendemokraatit/posts/pfbid02a2yKbEGGZ86kH8zYKTVjLZpWRiYFEFKZLad7sRRdnbYDuuDuhX6Pa82xJTxf1J6il
on Sunday, “President Trump says that the United States ‘will get Greenland.’ Let me be clear: The United States will not get it. We do not belong to anyone else. We decide our own future.”
Greenland remains a territory of Denmark, a key NATO ally of the United States. Trump has, for months, pushed for annexing the island, claiming America needs it for national security purposes. In January, House Republicans also sought support to craft a bill to purchase Greenland.
The territory is rich in mineral resources, including rare earth deposits in its southern Gardar Province. The territory is believed to possess graphite and graphite schist, copper, nickel, zinc, gold, diamond, iron ore, titanium-vanadium, tungsten, uranium, and other critical resources.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Tue, 04/01/2025 - 13:25
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