USA - The United States is currently waging economic warfare against one tenth of the world’s countries with cumulative population of nearly 2 billion people and combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than $15 trillion. These include Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, North Korea and others on which Washington has imposed sanctions over the years, but also countries like China, Pakistan and Turkey which are not under full sanctions but rather targets of other punitive economic measures.

FRANCE - French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday called on the European Union to take control of its defence, urging the bloc to stop relying so much on the United States for its security and consider reinforcing defence ties with Russia. The French centrist lamented the fact that China and the United States did not recognise the bloc as an “independent” world power. “Europe cannot rely on the United States for its security. It’s up to us to meet our responsibilities and guarantee our own security, and therefore European sovereignty,” he said in a speech to French ambassadors in Paris. “Do China and the United States think of Europe as a power with similar independence to their own? It is not the case,” he added.

USA - The Trump administration seems poised to help bring real and lasting peace to the Middle East by recognizing the long-ignored reality that the Palestinian “refugee” issue is a giant fraud perpetuated by the Palestinians together with the United Nations.

EUROPE - EU negotiator Michel Barnier finally conceded he would have to offer Britain a unique deal on Brexit today in the first hint of a climb down from Brussels. In remarks that sent the pound soaring up against the euro and the dollar, Mr Barnier promised a 'partnership with Britain such as has never been with any other third country'. Mr Barnier has repeatedly insisted Britain must choose from an existing model used by either Norway or Canada - deals the UK say are unacceptable. The Brussels chief still insists Britain cannot have an 'a la carte' choice of benefits from the EU single market. The intervention is a significant boost for Theresa May who has spent the summer trying to win support in EU capitals for her Brexit blueprint.

VATICAN - Vatican whistle-blower who has accused Pope Francis of having covered up sexually abusive behaviour by an American cardinal stepped up his attack on Wednesday, speaking from a secret location. Archbishop Carlo Mario Vigano, a former Vatican ambassador to the US, has plunged the Catholic Church into crisis with allegations that the pope failed to act against Theodore McCarrick, a US cardinal, who was accused of sexually abusing young priests over decades. Cardinal McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, resigned in disgrace last month, becoming the first cardinal to step down since 1927. Archbishop Vigano, 77, released an 11-page document detailing the allegations at the weekend and called on Francis to resign.

EUROPE - Over 100 European journalists signed an open letter accusing Big Tech companies, like Google and Facebook, of stealing their news, and supporting a European reform which would make Silicon Valley pay for it. According to AFP, “journalists from more than 20 countries joined a call Tuesday for European MPs to approve a controversial media reform aimed at forcing internet giants to pay for news content,” which will be discussed again in European Parliament, September, following the reform’s rejection in July. In an open letter signed by over 100 journalists, they described the current situation as a “fleecing of the media of their rightful revenue,” and “morally and democratically unjustifiable.”

USA - Teachers in Portland Public Schools are being given a teaching guide called “Planning to Change The World – A Plan Book For Social Justice Teachers.” At $18.00 a piece, with 3500 teachers, well, you can do the math to see how much money they’re spending just on this planning book. This planning book, published by Rethinking Schools, includes all of the wackjobbery that one would expect and more. They praise Che Guevara, feature Black Panther founders, promote islam, and several communist sympathizing mentions. There’s even a section to help teachers to stop using offensive and oppressive terms such as “boy” or “girl” in an effort to be more sensitive to trans and gender non-conforming students. These are designed to cater to kids as young as 5 years old.

VATICAN - The author of the bombshell accusation of sex abuse cover-up against Pope Francis has broken his silence and insisted he didn't act out of revenge or anger but out of love for the Catholic Church. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano told Italian journalist Aldo Maria Valli — a Vatican expert with state-run RAI television — that he was "serene and at peace" after publishing his declaration on Sunday, albeit saddened by subsequent attempts to undermine his credibility.

VATICAN - The Catholic bishops of Latin America have reacted strongly to allegations that Pope Francis knowingly rehabilitated a cardinal guilty of serial sex abuse, calling the accusations a “shameful” attack on the pope. During a meeting last Sunday in Medellín, Colombia, the president of the Latin American bishops’ council (CELAM) said that in the past adversaries attacked the institution, and “today they attack the person.”

USA - A series of earthquakes have sparked fears of greater tremors around the Ring of Fire - the world’s most active fault line. What countries are in the Ring of Fire and why are so many earthquakes happening right now? The Ring of Fire is the largest and most active fault line in the world and causes more than 90 percent of the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions around the world.

SOUTH AFRICA - The Constitutional Court of South Africa has ruled that 300,000 gun owners must turn in their firearms if they failed to register their weapons in accordance with a prior court ruling. The government must disarm white landowners in order to take their property without resistance. No matter how socialist apologists rationalize it, the redistributionist agenda the South African government is pursuing will not be implemented passively. Ultimately, it must be carried out by force.

USA - It’s been especially hard of late for those of us who are “reality”-based; who value data, fundamentals and historical context. I earn my living by reading, analyzing and making sense of the world, and then working to help orient people’s actions to align with both the current reality and future probabilities. But that’s become pretty difficult in a world where the financial markets are rigged and the main news outlets are unwilling (unable?) to cover the real issues, preferring instead to focus on distractions that mainly serve to keep us isolated and divided.

USA - Are we going to see violence in the streets of our major cities following the mid-term elections in November? President Trump seems to believe that this is a very real possibility, and he shared his thoughts on this with a group of top evangelical leaders on Monday night. Previously, those that have warned that a “civil war” is coming to America have been heavily criticized, but perhaps people will start taking this more seriously now that President Trump is saying it.

USA - A bombshell story that was supposed to be the end of President Donald Trump – until the celebrity source recanted. It sounds like a typical media screw-up, with one key difference: for whatever reason, CNN is standing by it. On July 26, CNN reported that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, claimed that Trump “knew in advance about the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower in which Russians were expected to offer his campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton,” and was willing to testify to that effect to special counsel Robert Mueller, according to “sources with knowledge.”

USA - President Donald Trump doubled down on threats against Facebook, Twitter and Google Tuesday afternoon, saying the social platforms are "treading on very, very troubled territory and they have to be careful." "Google has really taken advantage of a lot of people and I think that's a very serious thing and it's a very serious charge," Trump told reporters after a meeting with the president of FIFA. "They better be careful because they can't do that to people." Trump earlier Tuesday accused Google of altering search results to prioritize negative coverage and left-leaning outlets and warned that the issue "will be addressed."