USA - President Joe Biden issued a sweeping executive order last year on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which “places the highest urgency on research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a United States CBDC.” The Biden administration and its corporate media echo chamber want Americans to focus only on CBDC’s many benefits. But experiences in China, a nation that launched a digital currency in 2020, have shown that a CBDC considerably expands government power at the expense of individual freedom. China’s digital currency, e-CNY, differs significantly from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. For instance, neither central banks nor governments have the power to program or manage Bitcoin. The total amount of Bitcoin was capped at 21 million by its mysterious creator. Such a finite supply gives Bitcoin its anti-inflation property. While Bitcoin transactions are transparent for all to see, users remain anonymous.

RUSSIA - There’s no “short-term solution” in sight to the Ukraine conflict, and “a lot of pressure” is required on both sides to bring Moscow and Kiev to the negotiating table, former Finnish prime minister and presidential hopeful Alexander Stubb, has said. The hostilities are unlikely to end even in 2024 as the conflict is “clearly a long war,” Stubb told Spanish newspaper 20minutos in an interview published on Sunday. The presidential candidate blamed the lack of any imminent diplomatic solution on Moscow and personally on Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The problem I see is that this war is too big for Putin to lose, so the conflict seems to have to be resolved on the battlefield,” he said. Negotiations will become possible only if third parties put “a lot of pressure” on both Moscow and Kiev, Stubb suggested.

AUSTRALIA - Australian geologist, Professor Ian Plimer, blows the UN's "human-induced global boiling" fear mongering completely out of the water: "Every single prediction they've ever made has been wrong... They still haven't, after 30 years, shown us that human emissions [of CO2] drive global warming." "There's been a relentless campaign of propaganda for 30 years, and the basics haven't been shown."

USA - Reviewers at the Mozilla Foundation published a Privacy Report yesterday (9/6/2023) on cars, and they concluded: All 25 car brands we researched earned our *Privacy Not Included warning label — making cars the official worst category of products for privacy that we have ever reviewed. They stated in their review that car companies have many more data-collecting opportunities than other products and apps people use, more than even smart devices in homes or the cell phones people take wherever they go.

UK - The school-roofs issue could be regarded as urgent yet manageable. But to a lot of the public, it seems as if the country is falling apart. The NHS is shambolic: its waiting list now includes 13 per cent of England’s adult population. The sewage system is inadequate, with rivers and coastlines full of effluents. Trains are expensive and overcrowded. Airports descend into chaos at the slightest glitch in air traffic control software.

UK - Birmingham City Council made a series of costly expenditures before it was forced to declare itself 'effectively bankrupt', it has emerged. The council spent millions on a botched IT system and spent another £184 million on its costly bid to stage the Commonwealth Games. It raked in close to £90 million from its controversial Clean Air Zone - only to pump more than £50 million back into hydrogen buses and cycle lanes. Other costs include a £13 million investment in the 2026 European Athletics Championship, as well as unrevealed outlays on a series of 'inclusive' street signs and an ambitious 'Green roads' plan.

UK - Birmingham City Council this week became the latest authority to declare itself effectively bankrupt - following on from five others in just five years. In a statement, the town hall confirmed it had issued the declaration that it cannot balance its books. The scandal echoed similar budget fiascos which have seen authorities in Northampton, Croydon, Thurrock, Woking and Slough declare bankruptcy since 2018. Before that the last one to run out of money was Hackney in 2000.

GERMANY - The 2024 German federal budget, which Finance Minister Christian Lindner (Free Democratic Party — FDP) introduced in parliament on Tuesday, is a war budget in two respects: It plans record spending for waging war and for rearmament, and it declares war on the working class by slashing social spending. If the government coalition has its way, Germany will spend €85.5 billion for military purposes next year, the highest sum since the end of the Second World War. That is more than the military expenditure of any other European country, including Russia. Germany is thus to be built up as the leading military power in Europe.

GERMANY - In mid-August, the Israeli Defence Ministry announced it had received permission from the US to sell the Arrow 3 missile defence system to Germany. The procurement of the system by the German Defence Ministry still has to be confirmed by the parliaments of both countries, but this is considered a formality, according to observers. The German parliament’s budget and defence committees already approved the purchase in June. The move has far-reaching military and geo-strategic implications. According to the German air force, Arrow 3 could be operational as early as 2025. Surrounding the new acquisition is discussion of preparations for nuclear war. The system consists of mobile missile units with a range of up to 2,400 kilometres and three radar systems. Deployed in Germany, Arrow 3 would cover all of Europe, including Moscow and Crimea, as well as half of Turkey and parts of Algeria and Libya. The projectile reaches more than ten times the speed of sound, can engage missiles at altitudes of up to 100 kilometres and can also be used against satellites.

USA - I just got published in Nature because I stuck to a narrative I knew the editors would like. That’s not the way science should work. If you’ve been reading any news about wildfires this summer — from Canada to Europe to Maui — you will surely get the impression that they are mostly the result of climate change.

SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi Arabia has launched an international body that will fund and promote water sustainability projects in developing nations. Riyadh warned that world water consumption is set to double in the coming decades. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the initiative on Monday, with the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) noting that the new Riyadh-based Global Water Organization plans to “exchange expertise, advance technology, foster innovation, and share research and development experiences” in the fields of water and sanitation. According to findings by the United Nations published in March, around 2 billion people currently lack access to safe drinking water – or 26% of the world’s population – while between 2 to 3 billion face water scarcity for at least one month out of the year. Another 3.6 billion do not enjoy proper sanitation services, the UN said, warning the problems will only worsen in the future with “the growing incidence of extreme and prolonged droughts.”

GERMANY - As evening fell on a recent Monday in this eastern German city of Gothic spires and Renaissance museums, hundreds of protesters began to gather, just as they have nearly every Monday for at least two years. They carried banners calling for Germany to leave the European Union and cheered speakers who demanded that the nearby border with Poland be shut. They are angry about migrants settling in their communities and inflation squeezing their pensions. They oppose arming Ukraine and say Russian President Vladimir Putin has been unfairly maligned.

USA - The signals coming from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are that his Republican majority will soon launch a formal impeachment investigation. The final decision hasn’t been announced — and an investigation is still a far cry from a full House vote. But setting up an impeachment committee is an essential first step. Most of his caucus wants to take it. Most, but not all. The reservations of some Republicans and the calculations behind them are why McCarthy has moved slowly. The speaker’s problem is more than rounding up votes. The other problem is the investigation carries real risks…

USA - Saudi Arabia's extension of oil production cuts until the end of 2023 or longer helps ensure energy prices will become an election 2024 battleground. Why it matters: US gasoline prices, which have been on the rise, are closely tethered to global oil prices. Meanwhile, the presidential campaign season is heating up — and voters already give the White House low marks on the economy. If sustained, "crude price strength could weigh on President Joe Biden's re-election bid," ClearView Energy Partners said in a note.

SAUDI ARABIA - The reason Saudi wealth funds are on the rampage, buying everything from stakes in Spain’s Telefonica (owners of the O2 network) to world golf through LIV, is because they are gloriously endowed. The Saudis are engaged in an enormous wealth transfer from motorists and other oil consumers in the West to Middle Eastern potentates and Russia. Left to market dynamics the oil price should be on a downward projection.