Zero Rss

Everything You Wanted To Know About Building A Cheap AI Setup (That Still Works) But Were Afraid To Ask

Authored by Christopher Penn via 'Almost Timely News' substack,

I’ve been putting together a new course for Trust Insights, AI for Writing (and Writers), which will be coming out August 25th, and during the process of creating that course, I realized I’ve never walked through setting up a discount agentic AI system.

For a while now, many of us who work in “corporate” have had access to what feels like unlimited amounts of AI (though that free ride is coming to an end at enterprise shops thanks to absurdly large bills). For the average person who doesn’t have the backing of a corporation, how could we tap into the power of agentic systems without tapping out our wallets?

This tracks back to a question from Leslie in the Analytics for Marketers Slack group:

“have you done a video or post with recommendations for a cheap second computer set up someone can use to build their separate AI machine?“

So this week, let’s get scrappy.

Warnings, Disclaimers, Disclosures

If you work at a company, please check with IT before installing software willy-nilly. As a former IT professional, we thank you.

Second, in this issue I’ll be talking about Chinese-made AI models like Qwen and DeepSeek. There is a HUGE difference between a Chinese model hosted by a company in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and a Chinese-made model hosted by a company outside the PRC.

It is manifestly unsafe to use any AI models hosted in the PRC for any kind of confidential information, period. Totally fine to use those models for things that are completely public, like research requests.

However, it is completely safe to use Chinese-made AI models on your own hardware, or in an infrastructure that’s trustworthy. There are many, many great inference providers that have things like Zero Data Retention (ZDR) hosting which are even safer to use than Big Tech models because the providers warrant that they don’t keep your data at all. (Most Big Tech providers have a “we hold onto your data for 30 days to prevent abuse” clause in their Terms of Service)

There is a lot of fear mongering about open weights models (including the Chinese ones) happening right now because Big Tech providers’ profits are on the line if these models continue to offer parity of capabilities at a fraction of the cost. Don’t believe the hype; open weights models are so safe that companies like HuggingFace have used them to do their own cybersecurity defenses.

Third, where I have commercial relationships, I’ll disclose them. I have an Amazon affiliate link in this week’s article, and obviously I work for my company, Trust Insights. I do not have a financial interest in the other companies mentioned as of the time of writing. (but I’m happy to, call me)

Part 1: The Model

We’ll begin our tour with what model to use. In general, you want models that are a blend of cost efficient with effective performance. One of my favorite sites for this is Artificial Analysis; there’s a nice little grid on their models page that shows cost versus intelligence. What we’re looking for in this grid is models that are at the top left corner - the vertical (y) axis is brains, where higher is better, and the horizontal (x) axis is cost, where to the left is lower.

The current winner here is DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731, which has a crazy low cost and lots of brains, on par with OpenAI’s newest model, GPT-5.6 Luna. On the far right is Claude Opus 5, which has about 15% more brains but 40x the cost. The worst quadrant to be in is the lower right - high cost, low brains.

For the purposes of building the cheapest agentic system, DeepSeek is going to be your daily driver model.

Now, it’s worth pointing out, as I have in my book Almost Timeless: 48 Foundation Principles of Generative AI that a daily driver may not be the smartest model, but in terms of day to day work, a model like DeepSeek v4 Flash is going to get the job done most of the time. Here’s a bit of retrospective, by the way, putting DeepSeek on the same scale as all of OpenAI’s major models over the years to see where it stacks up in terms of brains.

DeepSeek V4 Flash outcompetes all but the most recent releases of OpenAI’s models over the years; it is almost 50% smarter than last summer’s flagship model, GPT-5, and is only 17% less capable than OpenAI’s current flagship model.

Here’s the same chart from the Claude world:

DeepSeek V4 Flash is about on parity with Claude Opus 4.7 - which came out in April 2026, a scant FOUR MONTHS AGO.

Now, times change, tech changes, and what you should be doing is checking in on these kinds of charts over time to see which model is closest to that top left corner. This month, it’s DeepSeek V4 Flash. Next month, it might be completely different. It’s our responsibility to keep up with the charts and use the cheapest, best brains we can get a hold of.

Now that we know what model we’re aiming to use, we have to figure out where to use it.

Part 2: The Host

Just like web hosting companies host websites, model hosting companies - called inference providers - host models. There are so, so many of these out there, and they compete mainly on two things, speed and price. Some providers charge a premium but generate results (tokens per second) at ridiculous speeds, like Cerebras. Others offer a wide variety of models at slower speeds but are cheap (like DeepInfra).

Choosing a provider is straightforward: because you’ve decided the model already, it’s a question of pricing and availability. In Google AI Mode, modify this prompt to suit your needs:

Help me create a list of inference providers that match these criteria. First and most important, they MUST offer this exact model: {model}. This is immutable and non-negotiable; a provider that does not offer this model does not make the list. Second, identify the pricing for this model in three categories: cost per input tokens, cost per output tokens, cost per cached tokens. If a provider does not offer pricing for this model for cached tokens, disqualify them. Third, the provider MUST be a zero data retention (ZDR) inference provider. If ZDR pricing is additional, compute it as part of the token costs. ZDR capability is mandatory; if a provider does not offer ZDR, disqualify them. Fourth, if available, obtain the tokens per second for this model for each provider. Return your results as an ordered list in ascending order by lowest cost per tokens for each provider for our chosen model.

You might want to add specific additional needs like SOC 2 compliance, GDPR compliance, etc. To the prompt based on your needs, so customize it any way you like.

With any model you choose, be sure you capture the full model name; DeepSeek v4 Flash for example has an antecedent that lacks the 0731 suffix. Our exact model that we want is DeepSeek v4 Flash 0731.

When I stick this into Google, DeepInfra, Fireworks AI, and OpenCode Zen show up as good options. Which one you choose will be based on how much you prioritize speed versus cost. If you told me to pick one and only one, I’ve been a customer of DeepInfra for a couple of years now and have no complaints at all, BUT there is also a case to be made for OpenCode Zen. More on that in a minute.

What I like, for Leslie’s specific use case, is that pay as you go providers mean that you’re not paying if you’re not using the AI AND there’s a strong economic incentive for you to use AI as little as possible and be as efficient in its use as possible. One of the problems with token plans (which include things like Claude Pro/Max, etc.) is that if you haven’t hit your weekly/monthly limits, you’re wasting money - and thus you’re more likely to use AI frivolously. With pay as you go, you only pay for what you use.

Part 3: The Hardware

For a second computer setup that’s cheap, we have to think about how computers work. The graphical user interface we’re all used to on Windows or Mac or even desktop Linux, as well as on our phones and tablets, is an INCREDIBLY inefficient waste of compute resources. It takes enormous amounts of memory and processing power to draw and maintain the interface compared to pure text-based interfaces.

Now, the crusty old GenX computer nerd in me says that everyone should know how to use a text-based interface (often called a command line or command prompt or terminal), but that’s not realistic. However, there is one user that LOVES text-based interfaces.

Yup, you guessed it. That’s AI. AI is far, far more efficient at typing than it is using a mouse, so for our second computer as Leslie asked about, we’re going to aim for a super cheap box that can run a terminal, store things, and run an AI harness. At a price point of roughly USD 500, you won’t be running AI models directly on this hardware (hence why we searched for hosting providers in Part 2), but you’ll have a decent machine with good storage.

On the shopping venue of your choice, look for what are called gaming mini-PCs. These typically will have AMD Ryzen chips, a small hard drive (typically 256 GB or 512 GB SSD), and between 16 GB and 32 GB of RAM. The cardinal rule of computing is that you want as much RAM/memory as money can buy; a slightly slower processor with more RAM is better than a fast processor with not enough RAM. RAM is like highway lanes; a Bugatti stuck in traffic on a single lane dirt road will not go as fast as a Prius on an 8 lane highway with no traffic jam.

Google AI Mode is handy here as well. Modify this prompt to suit your needs, especially if there are some companies you would prefer not to do business with:

Help me create a list of vendors that offer gaming mini PCs for sale that ship to my location: {locale}. My criteria are that the machine cost less than {amount} inclusive of shipping and that it have a minimum of 16 GB of RAM and 500 GB of disk space, ideally with an SSD. 32 GB of RAM is preferred, and more disk space is always preferred. The system MUST be able to run Ubuntu Linux 26.06 in headless mode. The CPU can be any make or model that offers a base clock speed of 3 GHz; AMD, Intel, or other vendors are fine as long as they are fully supported on Ubuntu. Ethernet and Wifi are mandatory. USB-C, Bluetooth, and HDMI are preferred. eGPU support is preferred. The following vendors and resellers are preferred: {preferred list}. The following vendors and resellers are forbidden: {banned list} The use case for this device will be to run OpenCode and Ubuntu Linux, plus apps like PostgreSQL, Docker, SQLite, Apache2, and similar server-like systems for a single person. Arrange your results in ascending order by price as an ordered list.

I spotted some random Chinese computer on Amazon that was selling for USD 499 with 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD (affiliate link!) that has a name that resembles what happens if you stuff Scrabble tiles in your mouth and then spit them out on the table. It’s got a 2023 chip in it, the AMD Ryzen 7730U, which is plenty fast for what we’re doing.

Why these specs? You want the extra RAM and disk space so you can run multiple local applications together on the same box. For example, if you want to run Hermes Agent, chances are you’ll want it in something like a Docker container, and the RAM/disk space will REALLY help with that. Likewise, if you want to roll your own local apps, you’ll probably be running a server that has a database, maybe even a local webserver, and more memory and disk space will really help there.

And technically, though it’s a miserable experience, a mini PC like this CAN do local inference with small models. Using something like llama.cpp, koboldcpp, or Unsloth Studio, you COULD theoretically serve up a small model like Gemma 4 E4B and get a modest little AI server running that can do basic things like summarization.

Once you get your hardware, you’ll want to erase the operating system on it and install a version of Linux. Linux is the best choice for this kind of computer because it can run using very few system resources. I’d suggest Ubuntu Linux in LTS flavor - LTS stands for Long Term Support, and the Ubuntu Foundation warrants that a version of Ubuntu will be supported for 10 years from the launch date. The current version is 26.04 LTS, Resolute Raccoon.

One thing that’s nice about Ubuntu Linux is that you can start it up with a GUI for configuration and all the comforts of modern computing, and then once everything is all square, you can shut down the GUI to free up resources, running it in text-based interface alone.

Part 4: The Harness

AI models by themselves are smart but are prone to things like hallucinations. Model hosts can add some guardrails and some tuning, but the real magic happens when you put a good model in a great harness. Think of the model like the engine of a car. An engine isn’t much good by itself, and a car without an engine is a lawn ornament, doubly so if it’s on cinderblocks.

But a good engine in a great car? That’s where, quite literally, the rubber meets the road. And as with cars, sometimes you can do with a good engine but not a great one if the rest of the car is nice. Unless you’re driving NASCAR or Formula 1, a Prius doesn’t need a V8 engine.

Harnesses are the interfaces to AI. When you use ChatGPT on the web, OpenAI has put a harness around its models, and what you experience as ChatGPT is their tuned harness. The same is true for Gemini, for Claude, etc. - and different harnesses do different things. Claude Code, for example, has hundreds of words of specific language built into its system prompts to behave a certain way, plus a slew of deterministic rules that silently reject bad outputs from the Claude models before you ever see them as a user.

For our purposes, because we’re trying to build a scrappy AI setup, we want a harness that’s free and supports multiple providers. For that, there’s no better harness than OpenCode. OpenCode is Free Open Source Software, and it comes in 2 flavors, a command line version and a GUI version. What’s really nice about it is that the GUI version is built on top of the command line version, so you don’t have to do anything differently and you can configure it in GUI mode, then use it later in command line mode with no changes at all.

OpenCode also supports all the modern skills and plugins that other AI systems use, so if you see a cool skill that someone’s showing off in Claude Code, for example, you can install that same skill in OpenCode.

OpenCode also offers 2 paid coding plans to go with it, OpenCode Zen which is pay as you go, and OpenCode Go, which is a subscription plan. There are some free models in OpenCode Zen but those DO collect your data and are not zero data retention. Remember in the world of AI that if you’re not paying, you and your data are the product being sold to someone else.

If you want the convenience of not having to manage your AI hosting separate from your AI harness, OpenCode Zen is a great choice. If you want the lowest possible costs, then use OpenCode with DeepInfra.

Part 5: Wrapping Up, the Process in a Nutshell

So in a nutshell, here is the order of operations to get up and running - and you can put this list (or this entire newsletter, really) into your favorite chat-based AI tool to walk you through this process.

1. Choose a model.

2. Choose a hosting provider.

3. Choose a hardware box of some kind.

4. Install Linux on that box.

5. Install OpenCode on that box.

6. Connect OpenCode to your hosting provider.

With those six big steps, you’re ready to go! I would suggest also installing and configuring tmux on your new box, because that gives you the ability to remote control it very easily, and if you want to get FANCY, install Tailscale on it as well, to create a VPN of your computers together so you can access your new AI box from anywhere in the world. That’s probably best for another time, though your AI of choice can walk you through that pretty easily.

The key to remember here is that this machine is a self-contained little server. Once you have OpenCode installed on it and connected to your model of choice, one of the first tasks you can do is put it to work securing itself. Using your favorite deep research tools, ask for a best practices guide to securing your little computer and optimizing it for AI usage, especially with the most popular command line tools that will help AI save tokens and usage. Because you’re using a provider like DeepInfra, every request you make costs you a tiny bit of money, and the more you can reduce that, the more you save.

If you deploy this system as written, you’ll spend about USD 500 on the hardware, and probably USD 5 to 10 per month in AI inference costs for moderate usage, which I define as a major coding project per week, something where your AI is working with sustained effort for about 2 hours a day. Models like DeepSeek V4 and similarly capable models are incredibly capable and dirt cheap to use.

It’s worth pointing out that if you have a working computer today, you could skip the hardware purchase and install OpenCode on your computer as is, eliminating the hardware cost. For folks on limited incomes, this is a great way to get access to high end AI without high end subscriptions, like job seekers without stable income.

Enjoy running your own little AI operations center!

Tyler Durden Tue, 08/11/2026 - 06:30

Russia's Only Anti-War Party Banned From Parliamentary Elections Over 'Foreign Funding'

It's been no secret that Russian authorities have increasingly cracked down on public speech which opposes the war in Ukraine, or as the Kremlin calls it - the special military operation. Any speech deemed 'unpatriotic' has also come under a legal microscope of late.

Currently, Yabloko (Apple) is the only officially registered Russian political party which openly oppose the war, calling "for peace and freedom". But the party has just suffered a huge setback, having been banned by the nation's top court from running candidates in upcoming parliamentary elections.

EPA

Russia's Supreme Court on Monday "upheld a suit brought by a pro-Kremlin nationalist party, stripping voters opposed to the four-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine of their last option on the ballot," France24 reports.

"The claims seeking to annul the registration of the federal list of candidates for the State Duma of the ninth convocation, nominated by the Yabloko political party, were granted," the ruling by judge Vyacheslav Kirillov indicated.

Some one hundred mostly young supporters of Yabloko demonstrated outside the courthouse chanting "Shame! Shame!" following the ruling. Yabloko leader Nikolay Rybakov has affirmed that the party is planning to appeal the decision.

The rationale for the ban is that the anti-war party is accused of receiving foreign funds; however, it has countered by saying rival political parties have also received such funding:

According to data from Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring), the Yabloko party had received funding from abroad, a Central Election Commission (CEC) representative said. The representative spoke during a court hearing on a lawsuit the Rodina party filed seeking to remove Yabloko from the State Duma election.

On Aug. 7, Rosfinmonitoring gave the commission a document stating that individuals on Yabloko’s federal candidate list had received foreign funding, the CEC representative said.

Several dozen of the party’s counterparties had also received this funding, according to Rosfinmonitoring.

Anti-Kremlin regional outlet Meduza has published the following from Yabloko party concerning its legal hot water situation:

Yabloko has attributed the foreign funding data to the sale of foreign shares, which the law requires candidates to sell off ahead of elections, the Telegram channel Varlamov News reports. Yabloko lawyer Gadzhi Aliev said the funds did not come to the party itself from foreign individuals, but from Russian citizens who had received money from foreign sources.

Russia has long been fearful over foreign entities making inroads into Russian society, a concern which stretches to well before the war started.

The future of Russia’s only registered party opposing the war in Ukraine hangs in the balance. Moscow’s Supreme Court is hearing a bid to remove Yabloko from September’s parliamentary elections, drawing hundreds of the party’s supporters to the courthouse. pic.twitter.com/yJGoHod0nv

— TVP World (@TVPWorld_com) August 10, 2026

It also worries that US and European intelligence could seek to manipulate parliamentary elections. In America, Democrats had starting long ago charged Moscow with interfering in US elections, which produced years of 'Russiagate' hanging over President Trump - yet with nothing close to a smoking gun.

Regarding the brutal war in Eastern Europe, common Russian families have continued to struggle and suffer quietly because of the conflict as more and more young men are killed in the fighting. On the other side of it, Ukrainian families are also suffering immensely - and tragically there seems no end in sight as peace talks have proven illusive. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 08/11/2026 - 05:45

Trump Finally Responds To Iran's Demands, Counters US Is Owed "Compensation," Stops Short Of New Threats Summary

• Trump demands Iran compensate the US and families of fallen soldiers, but issues no new military threats.
• US again pivots to economic warfare: Trump says Washington is "low-keying it" and betting Iran's economic weakness will force concessions.
• Iran digs in on Hormuz: Tehran says the Strait will not return to pre-war conditions without major concessions.
• Hardliners gain influence: Former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei is set to take Iran's top security post.
• Deal remains elusive: Tehran appears intent on prolonging talks and extracting maximum concessions from Washington.

//--> //--> //--> Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by August 31?
Yes 4% · No 96%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

*  *  *

Trump Belatedly Responds to Iranian Demands

President Trump on Monday has very belatedly responded to the Iranians after they issued new demands over the weekend, or conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, after declaring a ban on all US and Israeli-linked vessels.

Noting that the Iranians are now asking for war compensation, Trump is seeking to turn it around and now demands compensation from Iran "for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts, for which they are famous...". He also asserted that American families of fallen soldiers should be paid.

Trump proclaims the strait as actually "open" right now:

🚨 REPORTER: When will the Strait of Hormuz open?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: It's open NOW! The only one that has control of the Strait is the US Navy. Our blockade is a STEEL WALL. We let people in who we want to let in. They're coming in and going out. It's ACTUALLY open now. We do not… pic.twitter.com/qBuvzLwkQN

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 10, 2026

Interestingly and tellingly, unlike many prior Truth Social posts related to Iran, Trump did not issue any new threats or ultimatums saying what he will 'do' to the country if it doesn't comply. This perhaps reveals he's out of answers or new strategy, and doesn't wish to escalate militarily. The statement comes on the heels of the president telling Axios on Sunday that the US is now "low-keying" it and primarily turning back to prolonged economic warfare to strangle the Iranian economy.

And he added something further within a short time after the initial post...

Trump "Low-Keying It" As Iran Doubles Down on Demands

After President Trump said Sunday that the US is now "low-keying it" with Iran and only "semi-negotiating" following a top Iranian security official having laid out multiple stringent conditions for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, oil is edging higher on Monday.

"We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money," Trump told Axios reporter Barak Ravid in comments we analyzed earlier, signaling his return to an economic warfare focus. President Trump has fewer and fewer options and is being squeezed, with any opportunity to declare 'victory' and make swift exit more elusive than ever, given Washington would have to make huge compromises, including lifting sanctions and paying war compensation to Tehran.

"The Supreme National Security Council will not retreat from these demands, whether in war or in negotiations," the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr has said, in effect doubling down, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.

NurPhoto via AP Hardline IRGC Commander Moved to Top Security Chief Spot

But speaking of Zolghadr, its been widely reported that a 'hardline' former IRGC commander will take his place. The NY Times explains:

Iran is replacing its top national security adviser with a longtime military commander whose appointment could represent a further consolidation of power by the country’s old-guard security establishment.

Mohsen Rezaei, who led Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, will be the new secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, a spokesman for Iran’s president wrote on social media on Sunday. He had been serving as an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

Mr. Rezaei is replacing Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who stepped into the role when the council’s previous secretary, Ali Larijani, was killed in an Israeli strike during the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran earlier this year.

This is yet another likely sign that Tehran sees itself in the driver's seat, will not back off its demands and conditions for reopening Hormuz, and plans to make an exit from the conflict for Washington as painful as possible, extracting as much as it can while smelling weakness.

Ali Nikzad, Iran’s deputy speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, has emphasized that the Strait of Hormuz is not going to return to its pre-war condition, addressing the body on Monday.

He said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran tried to inform the aggressor and deluded enemy of the fact that the Strait of Hormuz is not going to return to the pre-war conditions during the days of the war."

WSJ: the feared oil crunch may not have been avoided, just delayed. The likely reason is that the world had more "hidden" oil inventories than analysts realized. But those stockpiles are finite. If Hormuz remains disrupted, prices could rise sharply once they're exhausted. pic.twitter.com/lKRvLnoiZG

— Sina Toossi (@SinaToossi) August 7, 2026

"Unfortunately, they tried to pretend not to know, but the passage of time is the greatest teacher for deluded people, and today the American-Zionist enemy, with a strong fist of armed forces, has practically realized that the opening of the Strait of Hormuz has no military solution and must submit to the new order in the region," Nikzad stated.

Return to Focus on Economic War

He went on to admit that a focus on reducing the country's economic challenges is at this moment the highest priority. This is where the US hopes to regain some leverage, with the aforementioned Axios interview including the following declarations by Trump:

• He stressed that Iran "is in very bad shape" economically and has no money to pay its troops. The U.S. naval blockade has exacerbated the Iranian regime's economic crisis, Trump said.
• At the same time, Trump said that with oil down to slightly over $75 a barrel, U.S. consumers are feeling less pain from the war.
• "It will work out. It always works out. It's like a chess game," Trump said of the back-and-forth with Iran.

However, the assumption that the Islamic Republic is ever on the verge of economic panic and collapse is the same talking point that existed at the very start of Operation Epic Fury - and there's as yet been no snowball. Instead in some ways the population and leadership may have 'toughened' and adapted amid wartime conditions.

"Iran is not overplaying. It’s just playing its hand."

Johns Hopkins scholar Vali Nasr tells host Tom Switzer that Washington’s fixation on Tehran “overplaying its hand” reflects disbelief at how dramatically the balance of power has shifted.

“Iran is not overplaying. It’s just playing its hand,” he said.

Iran sees a narrow window… pic.twitter.com/7sL9ryc5Jw

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) August 10, 2026 Three Scenarios of Iran's Strategy

Trita Parsi, who is co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and co-founded the National Iranian-American Council (NIAC), lays out three scenarios on Iran's potential strategy.

"The NYT reports that Iran has effectively rejected a deal on the Strait and presented a list of very hard-line demands in order for an agreement to be reached," he wrote over the weekend. "My understanding of what has transpired differs somewhat. I see three possible interpretations, some of which overlap with the NYT's reporting"...

1. There are divisions within the Iranian system in which hardline elements want to prolong the talks and have the current blockade inflict more damage on Trump and the global economy. Their narrative is that Iran agreed to the MOU too quickly, which contributed to the MOU's deterioration later. Tehran should have held out longer then, and it should also do so now, essentially. A variation of this explanation is what the USG is advancing: The lack of agreement is because of divisions in Iran.

2. Rather than a division, it may also be that a united system is seeking to prolong the talks to pressure the US. As such, a narrative of divisions in Iran may be seen as helpful, as it diverts from an arguably more problematic reality: The more flexible elements within the Iranian system also agree that talks should be prolonged.

3. The Iranian narrative, however, is that new elements were added to the talks at the last minute by the US and that Iran's on-the-surface hardened position is a reaction to what Tehran says is an attempt by the US to move the goalposts. Whether this is true or not, Tehran has tended to react in this manner (escalation) when it believes the US has shifted its position or added additional demands at the last minute. This is, however, not a denial of Zolghadr's list of demands.

Parsi concludes: "That list is an accurate reflection of Iran's broader goals, but ultimately, they won't be its demands for the immediate deal on the Strait. If the truth is closer to the third explanation, then a deal may still be within reach in the short term."

Majid Shakeri, Qalibaf's advisor: Trump will not reach an agreement with us. We are going along with him until his term ends.

مجيد شاكري، مستشار قاليباف: ترامب لن يتوصل إلى اتفاق معنا.
نحن نسايره إلى أن تنتهي ولايته pic.twitter.com/UNvghab4Ih

— Mohamad Ahwaze (@MohamadAhwaze) August 10, 2026 Weekend & Overnight Developments

• Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said Iran and the US are not engaged in talks, and Tehran will not allow them to start as long as Washington breaches the interim deal signed in June.
• Iran said it is very close to a deal with Oman regarding a new maritime transit route in the Strait of Hormuz, but it renewed a list of demands for the US to agree to before the waterway could open. It was separately reported that Iran warned it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the US meets a series of conditions, including paying compensation for war damage, according to FT.
• Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued six demands to the US, including total force withdrawal, end to proxy warfare, financial reparations, sanctions and asset relief, lifting the blockade and cessation of rhetoric.
• The wait for the Iran-Oman deal regarding the Strait of Hormuz dragged on, with Iran warning the US that any pact wouldn’t lead to an immediate reopening of the key waterway.
• UKMTO reported that a vessel near Oman was struck by an unknown projectile, which caused a fire on board but has been extinguished.
• Saudi Arabia put out a fire at its Jazan plant early on Sunday, while Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on the refinery.
• It was separately reported that Houthis resumed attacking Yemen’s Mocha port using ballistic missiles and drones, with the attacks aimed at Saudi troop concentrations and weapon depots in the region.
• Israel again targeted Alia Al-Tahir Hill in the Al-Nabatiyeh a governorate in southern Lebanon with artillery fire, according to IRNA
• Israeli PM Netanyahu said Israel does not accept a US-backed 15-point plan for Gaza, under which Hamas would disarm in exchange for a phased Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, according to FT.
• US official said the White House is not bothered by Israeli PM Netanyahu's statement on Gaza plan and sees it as part of election season in Israel, according to Axios
• The Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee on Sunday approved the general outlines of a bill to manage the Strait of Hormuz, according to ISNA.

Tyler Durden Tue, 08/11/2026 - 05:33

'How Can We Help You Kill More Russians?' German Reporter To Zelensky At Belgrade Meeting

It has never been a secret that much of the Western mainstream media "journalist and pundit class" are in reality warmongers and armchair interventionists and chickenhawks - or also activists and advocates operating under the guise of "objective reporting".

One German journalist was surprisingly open with his lust for blood at a press conference in Belgrade on Saturday. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung correspondent Michael Martens posed a surprisingly blunt question to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky,  and with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic looking on at the other podium. The journalist wanted to know how Europeans could concretely assist in "killing more Russians". Watch:

🇩🇪🇷🇺 German journalist who asked Zelensky how Europeans can "help kill more Russians" turns out to be the grandson of a high-ranking Nazi

Michael Martens's grandfather was a senior Wehrmacht command officer

He is now facing backlash, with a petition calling for his firing https://t.co/wDoGfUmBWd pic.twitter.com/xL6gUPC0dr

— The Other Side Media (@TheOtherSideRu) August 10, 2026

"Can you tell us Europeans what can we concretely do to help you to kill more Russians?" Martens asked.

He quickly checked himself, adding that he means "more Russian soldiers, of course." President Vucic is seen with a look of shock on his face as the question is being asked, raising his eyebrows in apparent disbelief.

Zelensky had responded to the question with the usual calls for more money, and more weapons, and to hit Moscow harder with Western sanctions. 

Vucic's answer was very diplomatic but also somewhat of a rebuke to the question, expressing his desire to see all killing come to and end:

"We did not discuss military cooperation today," the Serbian president said. "What happens when the war ends is another matter. And speaking about killing, I hope all killing will end."

The clip has gone viral in Europe, and has been highlighted in Russian and Ukrainian media - but has been curiously absent from Western mainstream press.

The Serbian leader's look says it all...

"Tell us, Europeans, what can we concretely do to help you kill more Russians?"

That was the question a German journalist asked Zelensky at a press conference in Belgrade

Vucic's face said it all pic.twitter.com/Y7dlMK9FxV

— The Other Side Media (@TheOtherSideRu) August 8, 2026

Amid the controversy, the outlet that Martens writes for, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, issued a statement expressing "regret" while still seeming to defend the exchange, only saying that its reporter's statement was "worded ambiguously".

Sadly, none of this is completely surprising - and the longer the Ukraine war drags on, the more bloodthirsty that "journalists" and pundits and some politicians are likely to become. Or rather, the masks are off and such sentiment is much more out in the open.

Tyler Durden Tue, 08/11/2026 - 04:15

Retired Syrian General Who Fought ISIS 'Disappears' Inside Embassy In Beirut

Via The Cradle

A retired Syrian general who commanded forces fighting ISIS was abducted by personnel from the Syrian embassy in Lebanon, Al-Akhbar reported on Saturday.

Adel Issa, an Alawite brigadier general from Tartous, entered the Syrian embassy in Beirut at 12:30 pm on Friday to arrange a power of attorney for a relative. His Syrian driver waited outside for him, but he never returned. As his driver waited outside, a car with several young men stopped and demanded that the driver hand over the retired general's phone, claiming they needed to register his passport.

Syrian Embassy in Beirut

The driver waited for Issa until 4:30 pm before going to the embassy entrance to inquire about him. A Lebanese guard prevented him from entering, telling him the embassy had closed an hour before.

After persisting, the driver was able to speak with an embassy employee who told him that Issa had left the embassy 20 minutes earlier. This surprised the driver, as Issa never came out of the embassy to have the driver take him home.

The driver then informed the general's family of the incident. They began making calls to locate him, but his phone was switched off after 3:30 pm.

The family contacted several Lebanese organizations for help in determining his fate, fearing he might have been illegally detained at the embassy, ​​given his status as an Alawite officer in the deposed government of Bashar al-Assad. There were also fears that he might be transferred to Syria and subjected to torture.

Since the fall of Assad's government in October 2024, Syria's new authorities, led by the former Al-Qaeda leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, have detained thousands of Alawite officers from the former army. 

Syrian authorities claim they are detained for committing war crimes during the 14-year war that began in 2011. However, in practice they are typically detained based on their religious identity as Alawites.

According to a December 2025 report by Reuters, Syria's prisons are overflowing with Alawite men who are held without trial and often tortured.

Al-Akhbar notes that Brigadier General Issa had retired more than six years ago. He continued to live in Tartous and move around Syria without being pursued by the new authorities.

He gave a statement before a Syrian court a few months ago regarding a financial dispute with someone without being arrested or prosecuted, as there was no warrant or legal case against him. However, roughly one month ago, a group of unknown armed men raided Issa's home and inquired about him.

#Syria/#Lebanon: Following the scandal reported by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar over the Syrian Embassy’s abduction and detention of Syrian citizens, the embassy admitted yesterday that retired officer Adel Issa had been held inside the embassy. Embassy staff then handed him… https://t.co/WEkW2aF9TW pic.twitter.com/IgDK7k0H9N

— Syria Justice Archive (@SyJusticeArc) August 9, 2026

Issa was unable to determine whether the armed men were from the official Syrian security forces or from an armed faction affiliated with the new government but operating outside the chain of command. As a result, Issa decided to leave Syrian territory for Lebanon.

The Syrian Justice Archive (SJA) noted that after news emerged of the detention of the retired general, an attempt was made to cover up his abduction at the embassy and make it appear as if it was part of a legal process.

Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat claimed that Lebanese authorities had arrested Issa and requested his judicial file from their Syrian counterparts to decide whether to hand him over to Syrian authorities. SJA notes that the evidence indicates that Issa was taken by Syrian embassy personnel, not by Lebanese prosecutors or police.

"If Syria wanted his arrest and extradition, the proper procedure would have been for the Syrian Prosecutor General to formally request his arrest and handover through the Lebanese authorities, not for him to be abducted while visiting the embassy after legally leaving Syria," SJA stated.

The Syrian embassy admitted later on Saturday that Issa had been held inside the embassy and that embassy staff then handed him over to Lebanese security authorities after he had spent more than a day detained inside the embassy.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that Issa commanded the Syrian army's 17th Division. In 2015, he was given command of all Syrian ground forces in the eastern governorate of Deir Ezzor, which borders Iraq, before he retired in late 2016.

Under Issa's command, the 17th Division was responsible for protecting Deir Ezzor from ISIS, of which self-appointed Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa's armed group, the Nusra Front, is an offshoot. The Nusra Front was later rebranded as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Another scandal emerged last week when journalist Lindsey Snell reported that the Nusra Front member, Mohamad Qanatari, who had kidnapped her in northern Syria in 2016, had been named as charge d'affaires to the Syrian Embassy in Washington.

My interview with the Syrian chargé d'affaires to the US back when he was a member of Jabhat al-Nusra. pic.twitter.com/g0NSaH1WUp

— Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) July 28, 2026

In 2012, Nusra was designated as a terrorist group by both the UN and the US State Department, despite covert US support for the group. Since HTS and Sharaa came to power, the US government has openly embraced members of the former terror group, including Sharaa himself, who visited the White House to meet US President Donald Trump in November 2025.

SJA reports that another disturbing incident involving the Syrian embassy in Beirut occurred earlier this week when a Syrian social media influencer, Hussein Abdul Qader al-Ahmad, was abducted after making a video for social media in front of the embassy.

In the video, Ahmad criticized the new extremist-dominated Syrian authorities, including President Sharaa – who formerly went by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani and is well known for dispatching suicide bombers and car bombs to kill thousands of civilians in Iraq and Syria.

After his abduction at the Lebanese-Syrian border, Ahmad appeared on Syrian government media in detention with visible marks on his forehead, suggesting that he was subjected to abuse or torture. He is now detained on charges of “insulting state symbols” and “provoking the feelings of Syrians.”

Tyler Durden Tue, 08/11/2026 - 03:30

Spy Cams On UK Navy Drones Secretly Transmitted Data To China

An investigation into surveillance equipment fitted to Royal Navy unmanned vessels has raised concerns over military supply-chain security after cameras containing Chinese-made components were found communicating with an internet address in China.

The camera on top of a K3 Scout uncrewed vessel, used by the Royal Navy in Portsmouth harbour. Parts of the camera were made in China. Via The Telegraph

The cameras were installed on K3 Scout unmanned surface vessels used by Royal Marines and other specialist British forces, according to a report by The Telegraph. The vessels form part of the Royal Navy's push to expand its use of autonomous systems for surveillance and maritime operations.

A technical assessment reportedly discovered that the cameras were sending routine electronic signals to an IP address located in China. The communications were described as "heartbeat" traffic - automated messages commonly used by connected devices to confirm that they remain online and operational. The Ministry of Defence said investigators found no evidence that classified information, military systems or other sensitive data had been accessed or transmitted abroad. Nevertheless, internet connectivity associated with the cameras was removed after the issue was discovered.

The episode has renewed scrutiny of the increasingly complex international supply chains behind modern defense equipment, where a system designed and assembled in one country can contain electronic components manufactured across several others.

Concerns over sensitive military locations

The K3 Scout vessels have been used by the Royal Marines since earlier this year and are capable of extended autonomous operations. Their surveillance equipment is intended to give military personnel greater awareness of maritime activity without requiring crews to remain aboard the vessels.

Security concerns are heightened by reports that the craft have operated around sensitive defense facilities and personnel.

One concern is whether connected cameras could potentially expose information about individuals, training activities or locations even when the main platform itself is not actively conducting a mission. Reports that some camera functions may have remained active while vessels were otherwise powered down have added to calls for closer examination of how individual subsystems operate.

The Ministry of Defence said its routine cyber-security procedures were responsible for identifying the vulnerability and stressed that its investigation found no evidence of a compromise of departmental information.

Internal Audit

The K3 Scout fleet was supplied by British defense company Kraken Technology Group, which obtained the cameras through a third-party supplier.

Kraken said the equipment had been considered compliant with relevant US defense procurement requirements but acknowledged that a small number of components inside the cameras originated outside the UK. Following an audit conducted with the Royal Navy, the company said it was satisfied that sensitive information had not been transmitted through unintended channels and that identified vulnerabilities had been addressed.

The distinction highlights a broader problem for defense procurement. A product can comply with rules prohibiting equipment from specified manufacturers while still incorporating individual components produced in countries viewed as potential security risks. Modern cameras, drones and communications systems can contain processors, sensors, networking modules and firmware originating from numerous suppliers. That makes establishing the provenance and behavior of every component increasingly important - and increasingly difficult.

The K3 Scout is designed for long-duration maritime missions and can carry a substantial payload. The platform has also been tested internationally and has attracted interest beyond the UK.

For the Royal Navy, such vessels are part of a wider strategy to combine conventional warships with autonomous and remotely operated systems.

Uncrewed platforms can conduct surveillance, patrol dangerous areas and provide intelligence while reducing the number of personnel placed directly in harm's way. Britain has committed billions of pounds to expanding military drone technology and accelerating the introduction of autonomous systems.

But greater reliance on digitally connected equipment also creates new vulnerabilities.

A conventional mechanical defect may prevent a vehicle from functioning. A compromised digital component could potentially create a less visible threat by transmitting information, receiving unauthorized instructions or revealing patterns of military activity.

Chinese technology remains a security concern

The discovery comes against a wider backdrop of British concern about technology and equipment with links to China. Successive governments have tightened restrictions on Chinese-made hardware in sensitive environments, while Huawei was removed from Britain's 5G infrastructure plans following national-security concerns. UK intelligence agencies have also repeatedly warned about Chinese espionage and efforts to obtain sensitive political, commercial and technological information.

The unmanned vessels were supplied by Kraken Technology Group, a major British defence contractor. Via The Telegraph Tyler Durden Tue, 08/11/2026 - 02:45

After Mass Migrant Invasion, 5 Girls Under 14 Reportedly Raped In Ceuta

Via Remix News,

Health sources have confirmed that Ceuta University Hospital has treated at least five girls over the past week for alleged rapes following the mass migrant invasion of Ceuta last month.

All the girls are Moroccan and were reportedly under the age of 14 when they were raped, with an emergency doctor verifying the cases and noting that many of these minors are sleeping on the street because of a shortage of places in shelters.

Susana Ascaso, an emergency-room doctor at Ceuta University Hospital, confirmed in an interview published by the Spanish outlet El pueblo de Ceuta that her service is dealing with cases of rape involving migrant girls.

She described the victims as 14-year-old minors who remain on the street because reception centers for minors have no available places.

“It’s not that we refuse to receive them, it’s that there is no room for them,” the doctor said.

In addition to the Moroccan girls, at least one boy was also reportedly raped, bringing the total number of underage victims to six. There may also be more cases that have not been reported yet, as there are more than ten cases involving sexual assault that have been handled by the hospital.

The Spanish National Police have opened an investigation into the alleged rape of a minor who entered Ceuta during the recent mass arrival of migrants. The child was taken to hospital, where injuries consistent with sexual assault were recorded. No arrests have been announced and the precise details of the case remain undisclosed as the investigation continues.

Judicial sources also added that several attempted sexual attacks were prevented by the intervention of local residents.

Ascaso described the entire situation as a “health disaster,” with her department receiving an average of “300 to 400 migrants a day” while operating with the same staff and resources that existed before the massive migrant crisis in July.

After being discharged from the hospital, most patients have nowhere to go. She also warned of the risk of epidemic diseases.

“We do not know if people arrive with tuberculosis, hepatitis or other types of diseases that, today, we will not be able to detect either,” she said.

Meanwhile, the people of Ceuta are also competing for medical care with the migrants.

Ascaso said the “population of Ceuta continues to get sick and go” to hospital as well, where medical authorities have established two different areas, one for migrants and another for Ceuta residents, who “also have the right to receive assistance,” according to the doctor.

Organizations such as Save the Children have highlighted the heightened risk of human trafficking and sexual exploitation facing migrant girls and adolescents in Ceuta, largely because of gaps in identification, accommodation, and support.

Jennifer Zuppiroli, a migration specialist with the organization, stressed that an adolescent girl left alone and outside the protection system can find herself in a situation of great vulnerability.

The National Police have given priority to girls and children under 13 in their identification operations. Meanwhile, the Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego, has acknowledged a change in the profile of minors arriving in the city, marked by an increased presence of girls and very young children.

Read more here...

Tyler Durden Tue, 08/11/2026 - 02:00

How A Fake IRGC Quote On Nuclear Weapons Reached Netanyahu's Speech

Via Middle East Eye

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated an alleged quote attributed to a senior Iranian commander about Tehran's determination to develop nuclear weapons, even though the statement had no identified primary source and was later traced to an Indian pro-Israel account on X.

An investigation by Israeli news outlet Ynet and New York Times journalist Ronen Bergman found that Netanyahu used the alleged quote, attributed to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Ahmad Vahidi, in an official address to warn Israelis about Iran's nuclear plans. Ynet's investigation traced the source of Netanyahu's remarks to Ritika, an Indian Hindu-nationalist and pro-Israel X account, which posted the alleged quote on 5 August.

Getty Images/AP

"There will be no discussion over enriched uranium or nuclear weapons. As long as the United States and Israel possess nuclear weapons, we will continue working on them for our national security. If they disarm, we will disarm," the post attributed to Vahidi said.

According to Ynet, the quote began circulating rapidly after it was posted.

About four and a half hours later, Mossad Commentary, which presents itself as an unofficial account of Israel's intelligence agency on X but has no connection to the Mossad foreign intelligence agency, repeated the claim to its more than 1 million followers.

"THERE WILL BE NO FINAL DEAL. The sooner we understand that, the better," the account said, before citing the alleged remarks by Vahidi. The account added: "The regime is not preparing to abandon its nuclear ambitions. It is buying time. There will be no deal." 

Israel's Channel 14 repeated the alleged Vahidi quote, describing it as the first direct admission by an Iranian official that Tehran was developing a nuclear bomb. It did not provide a primary source for the quotation. Channel 14 News is widely regarded in Israel as a mouthpiece for Netanyahu and his far-right government.

A recent report found that the Israeli government had bought millions of shekels worth of commercial airtime from the channel in recent years.

Ynet reported that Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister's eldest son, subsequently reposted content from the two Israeli accounts to his near-300,000 followers on X.

Yair Netanyahu is one of the most influential figures in the Prime Minister's inner circle, with numerous reports indicating that he and his mother, Sara Netanyahu, are heavily involved in the prime minister’s decision-making. Netanyahu's eldest son is known for promoting hardline politics and false information through his social media accounts, with many of Netanyahu's Likud party members seeking his approval.

Netanyahu Picks Up on Statement, Which then Spreads to United States

"Today, we heard the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Vahidi, explicitly declare Iran’s intention to continue developing nuclear weapons - ‘continue’, as he put it," Netanyahu said, according to Ynet's investigation.

The alleged quote subsequently spread to the United States. 

According to Ynet, Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, reposted the Channel 14 report before later deleting it. US conservative commentator Mark Levin also reposted it.

Fox News later reported that Vahidi had said Iran would continue working on nuclear weapons as long as the US and Israel possessed them. The outlet subsequently clarified its report, saying the remarks "were previously taken out of context and amplified as comments made this week".

The alleged quote continued to circulate in Israeli media, with journalists close to Netanyahu, including Yaakov Bardugo and Avishay Ben Haim, repeating the prime minister’s warning on Israeli television, Ynet reported. The Israeli foreign ministry's Persian-language X account also posted Netanyahu's remarks about Vahidi.

About 13 hours after the original post appeared on the Indian X account, Fox News reported on the alleged statement, saying it was "intensifying concerns that Iran is using negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz to postpone concessions on its nuclear program".

Two days later, the outlet clarified that Vahidi's remarks "were previously taken out of context and amplified as comments made this week".

Two hours after Fox's initial report, Asian News International, a major Indian news outlet, repeated the claim, citing Israeli media reports.

Vahidi's alleged quote, Ynet said, served Netanyahu to bolster his claim that Iran seeks to develop a nuclear weapon amid reports suggesting that Netanyahu opposes a deal between the US and Iran.

In June, Netanyahu told Channel 14 News that "as long as I am prime minister, Iran will not have nuclear weapons", adding that he saved Israel from "annihilation" twice by claiming Iran possessed atomic bombs.

While Ynet could not determine whether Netanyahu or his inner circle directed the circulation of Vahidi's alleged quote, the investigation pointed "to a series of familiar markers of disinformation distribution".

It said that Netanyahu had faced similar accusations in the past. In September 2024, Netanyahu’s office allegedly provided the UK-based Jewish Chronicle and Germany-based Bild newspaper with false information claiming that Hamas intended to smuggle Israeli captives through the Rafah area between the Gaza Strip and Egypt to Iran.

Two Netanyahu aides are also under investigation over allegations that classified documents were leaked to influence Israeli public opinion about military operations in Rafah.

Ynet's investigation said recent reports suggested Israeli influence operations had increasingly targeted audiences outside Israel, including in the US, amid growing criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza and Iran from both Democratic and Republican figures.

Last month, Iran's embassy in India also accused Indian media of spreading false information about Iran. "Indian media should not compromise the public trust and its professional credibility by disseminating fake and fabricated news," the embassy said, adding that it expected outlets to "avoid participating in external propaganda efforts".

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 23:25

Gun Owners Of America Lawsuit Strikes Down Parts Of National Firearms Act

via Gun Owners of America,

On August 5, we at Gun Owners of America won our "One Big Beautiful Lawsuit," against the registration requirements of the National Firearms Act at the district level in Texas.

This is definitely one of the biggest wins for gun rights - ever.

🚨BREAKING🚨

In GOA's case, a federal court just stuck down NFA registration for:

❌Suppressors
❌Short-Barreled Rifles
❌Short-Barreled Shotguns

GOA & our allies in Congress eliminated the tax.

The National Firearms Act of 1934 is now UNCONSTITUTIONAL as applied.

— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) August 5, 2026

We're proud to have fought this fight, but it's not over yet. The Department of Justice still has the opportunity to appeal, and the court stayed its order for seven days to give them time to seek appellate review. Although as of the writing of this article, they have not done so.

Also, the Judge in this case limited protection to members of Gun Owners of America and other named plaintiffs.

We fought for a nationwide injunction, but the Judge did not grant it to us.

So, because of the ruling, we're encouraging everyone who would like protection from the National Firearms Act's registration requirements to become GOA members.

Since 1934, the National Firearms Act has tightly regulated Short Barreled Firearms (rifles, shotguns), Suppressors, Machineguns, Destructive Devices, and "Any Other Weapons" (a catch-all term for other firearms that don't quite fit in the other categories.)

To purchase any of these items, Americans must submit to a lengthy background check process that includes passport photos, fingerprinting, address disclosure, and paying a $200 tax.

That is, until President Trump signed the "One Big Beautiful Bill" on July 4, 2025.

In that legislation, Congress removed the $200 tax on some of these regulated items.

For short barreled firearms, suppressors, and "Any Other Weapons" or AOWs, the tax was reduced to $0, effective January 1, 2026. Machineguns and destructive devices were not included, and still carry the $200 tax. Thanks to the hard work of Gun Owners of America and our allies, this important change was added to the reconciliation bill and passed into law.

And while GOA fought for a complete removal of the registration requirements, the Senate Parliamentarian removed them at the last second, leading us to call for her removal.

We at GOA were furious that at the last second, an unelected bureaucrat removed arguably the most important part of the legislation - the registration of these firearms.

While there was still a massive win for gun rights, it was incomplete.

So, we sued.

The bureaucrats at ATF and DOJ did not want to give up their registry. They fought us tooth and nail in court, arguing that just because the tax was reduced to $0, it doesn't mean that they couldn't register that "tax" as paid, and keep their gun registry intact.

But, thanks to a few cases from the 1930s, the Supreme Court had already ruled on this issue.

SCOTUS ruled in the 1935 case United States v. Constantine that when a tax stops functioning as a genuine revenue-generating measure, it stops functioning as a tax, and courts must evaluate if it is in fact a regulation disguised as a tax.

Which is exactly what a $0 tax on these NFA-regulated items is.

These regulations cannot be justified as "necessary and proper" as the Department of Justice argued in our case. The court also rejected the government's fallback argument that the Commerce Clause could carry the scheme, finding no sign Congress ever invoked it. The entire constitutional foundation - Congress's taxing power, that the National Firearms Act rested upon - was gone, so therefore the registration requirements that went along with the tax went as well.

So, on August 5 - a little over a year since we filed our lawsuit - U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas ruled that the items that had their taxes reduced to $0 were not subject to the registration and regulatory requirements of the National Firearms Act. The consolidated cases are Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF and Jensen v. ATF.

"[T]he Court concludes that the challenged NFA provisions exceed Congress’s Article I enumerated powers and are therefore unconstitutional... [Gun Owners of America is] entitled to a permanent injunction against the challenged NFA provisions." https://t.co/iyr4teQtN9 pic.twitter.com/UZA6waIAqc

— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) August 5, 2026

But, the fight doesn't end here. The Department of Justice still can appeal our win. We're prepared to fight this as long as it takes, and we're confident that the law is on our side.

The Department of Justice could also decide not to appeal this ruling and let it take effect nationwide.

GOA members have been contacting their Senators and encouraging them to get Attorney General Todd Blanche to commit to not appeal this decision.

This Department of Justice likes to refer to itself as "the most pro-2A DOJ in history."

Let's make them walk the walk, instead of just talking the talk.

*** Gun Owners of America is the only No Compromise Gun Lobby in Washington DC

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 22:35

North Korea Battles Record Heat By Prescribing Dog Soup And Propaganda

In "that's enough internet for today" news...

North Korea has apparently found the answer to record-breaking summer heat: dog-meat soup, chicken broth and stories about how hard Kim Jong Un sweats, according to Reuters.

Pyongyang hit 98 degrees, on Thursday, which state media said was the highest temperature recorded in the capital. With tropical nights piling up, the regime has rolled out an unusually enthusiastic summer survival guide.

Some advice is straightforward: watermelon, cucumbers, mung beans and plenty of fluids. Then things get considerably more North Korean.

A doctor quoted by the ruling party’s Rodong Sinmun recommended “nutritious foods” including fish porridge, red-bean porridge and dog-meat soup, traditionally believed to help people endure summer heat.

The newspaper even published a separate feature celebrating dog-meat soup, reviving an old saying that soup spilled on your foot during the summer dog days “becomes medicine.” North Korea also held a national dog-meat cooking competition earlier this year, because apparently it's important there that someone determines who is the best at cooking dog.

For less adventurous diners, state media promoted samgyetang, a chicken soup stuffed with ginseng, rice and jujubes. Television broadcasts also offered advice on hydration, swimming and outdoor exercise.

According to Reuters no North Korean weather emergency would be complete without reminding everyone that Kim Jong Un is also very hot, possibly hotter than you.

State media recycled stories of Kim heroically sweating through previous summers, including a 2013 construction-site inspection where his clothes supposedly became soaked. Other reports recalled him trudging through mountains and rain in 2018 and inspecting a seafood factory in temperatures reportedly reaching 39°C.

What Kim is actually doing during this heat wave was conspicuously absent. North Korea has disclosed no heat-related death figures, while neighboring South Korea has reported more than 20.

So the official North Korean summer survival plan appears simple: drink water, eat some soup and, if things get unbearable, remember that the Supreme Leader once perspired at a construction site.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 22:10

Trump Signs Executive Order Calling For Spacing Out Childhood Vaccines

Authored by Jackson Richman via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 10 calling for spacing out childhood vaccines.

President Donald Trump, accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (R) and Jayme Leagh Franklin with the The Conservateur (L), signs an executive order calling for childhood vaccine shots to be spaced out into separate visits during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on Aug. 10, 2026. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The order recommends administering the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine in three shots in separate visits.

"The Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations also recognize that the combined measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine should be administered in three separate single-disease shots once such products are domestically available and that, to the maximum extent feasible, all childhood immunizations should be administered at separate medical visits," the order states.

The executive order calls for the attorney general to take "appropriate measures to further meritorious legal actions challenging state laws that conflict with states' constitutional and Federal statutory obligations related to parental authority, religious freedom, disability accommodations, and equal protection under the law, including, to the extent applicable under Federal law, States' obligations to provide religious and medical exemptions from childhood and adolescent immunization requirements."

Public health experts say that vaccination delays could increase the chances that children are infected with diseases that vaccines can prevent before they return for their next appointment.

States, not the federal government, have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren - even though the order calls for revised vaccine recommendations.

Polls show that most Americans support school vaccine requirements, but Republicans are less likely than Democrats to view them as important.

Amid speculation that vaccines may be linked to autism, Trump has recently increased pressure on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to determine what causes autism, a goal Kennedy previously vowed to pursue through new research announced last year. During a Cabinet meeting last month, Trump asked Kennedy for an update on the research.

"How are you doing on the autism research?" Trump asked.

"We will have an answer for you," Kennedy said.

Decades of scientific research have found that vaccines do not cause autism. Childhood vaccines are thoroughly researched, and safety tracking has continued as long as the shots have been given.

Trump's executive order comes as kids return or are about to return to school.

The order also directs the Department of Justice, Department of Education, and Department of Health and Human Services to "take appropriate action to ensure that their contractors and grantees, including States and localities, are compliant with their constitutional and federal statutory obligations."

The executive order is a win for the Make America Healthy Again movement, which has expressed skepticism of mandatory vaccines.

During the signing, Trump criticized what he called "72 jabs for ... beautiful, healthy, lovely delicate little children."

Trump called for only 11 key vaccines. He said spreading out the shots was critical and said children should get their shots in one year with five separate visits.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 21:45

The Tactic Of AOC And Her Allies To Giggle Away The 'Craziness' Of Woke-Era Abuses Should Not Be Tolerated

Authored by Glenn Greenwald via greenwald.substack.com,

Many Democratic Party candidates emerging on what one might call the populist left are finding success in primaries across the country. But most of them have a shared liability: they were fully on board with the worst excesses and abuses of the "peak wokeness" that emerged in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 killing, enduring and contaminating most of our institutions for several years after.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks with ABC’s Jonathan Karl on August 9, 2026.

Most of these successful candidates are quite young for elected officials: they are now in their 30s or even late 20s. That means that most of them were indoctrinated and - since they were on the left - essentially forced to spout all the new "woke" jargon and convictions that were manufactured overnight by frenzied mobs.

One such candidate is Francesca Hong, a Democrat with a significant polling lead in Wisconsin's gubernatorial race. It is hard to overstate how much of a woke fanatic she was. Not even the most cringe and manifestly deranged views from that era evaded her advocacy. They are all there.

The one the national media has latched onto was various tweets and Zoom meetings where she seems to have expressed opposition to the beloved American holiday Thanksgiving, because it "makes some folks very uncomfortable." (Just as a side note, one of the most abominable linguistic aberrations imposed by woke warriors is the seemingly amiable but in fact grating and aggressively ideological use of the word "folks" or "folx" to replace "people.") That most of these movements were driven by legitimate or at least reasonable policy concerns does not excuse the resulting fanaticism, excesses, and authoritarian posture used to punish those who questioned them.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is one of this populist-left movement's senior leaders, and she was also a driving force behind some of the worst woke excesses. She's the one whom most of that movement wants to see run for president, and Kalshi's predictive market consistently ranks her as a leading candidate:

AOC, on Sunday, went on ABC's morning news program with Jonathan Karl, where she was asked about some of Hong's statements, including her call for "abolishing prisons" and "[defunding] the police," policies and phrases that have proven to be deeply unpopular. AOC, who herself aggressively advocated those policies, sought to laughingly dismiss this all as just some momentary, harmless frenzy of "craziness" that never really meant much and that everyone has all just agreed to move beyond:

WATCH: ABC's Jon Karl lobs a Francesca Hong softball at AOC. AOC dances around the question, asserts that "Woke One was crazy"- brought about by Covid causing a "huge opening of the Overtone Window."

JON KARL: So, you have Wisconsin coming up next. Francesca Hong, who is the… pic.twitter.com/Navw0iESNS

— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) August 9, 2026

It is, I suppose, a net positive that those who imposed extremist woke dogma are now too embarrassed to defend it. When they hear what they were saying and demanding at the time, it now sounds to them as unhinged and insane as it did to many of us back when they were earnestly and angrily spouting it.

But when AOC tries to giggle her way out of her behavior and the behavior of her allies, it actually is more offensive and cowardly than anything else. By invoking the lighthearted and playful terminology of the New York City Councilman whom she quotes - "Woke 1 was crazy!" - she seeks to depict this dark period as just a few oddball, zany moments that never really hurt anyone and thus need not be dwelled on or taken seriously.

But the woke extremism that AOC and her friends imposed on everyone else was anything but playful or frivolous. It was deeply authoritarian, mob-driven, sinister, coercive, and bloodthirsty. It sought to destroy anyone and everyone who did not immediately submit to and recite all of its new jargon and dictates. As was true for the similar hive-mind excesses of the #MeToo movement, the woke warriors - without batting an eye - destroyed careers, reputations, and institutions upon even the slightest transgression of their new dictates.

There are far too many examples of this to chronicle comprehensively. I will thus ask you to recall one particularly ugly and venomous event, which I am selecting in part because I had a front-row seat to witness it and thus recall it as if it were yesterday, and also because it so compellingly illustrates why this historical revisionism - dismissing "Woke 1" as if it were some trivial, harmless fun that went a bit awry - is so repellent.

When nationwide protests broke out over the killing of George Floyd, my long-time colleague at The Intercept, Lee Fang, did what journalists are supposed to do: he went to cover his local protests and interview multiple protesters about what motivated them. He then uploaded the interviews he conducted online.

Most of the ones he uploaded were ignored. But one was most definitely not ignored. The interviewee was a young, black protester. He told Lee that while he broadly supported the Black Lives Matter movement and believed that race-based police brutality was real and widespread, he did not understand why there was so little anger or concern when black lives were taken - murdered - by other black people. If, he asked, "black lives matter," then why are there protests against only one type of killing while there is steadfast silence about the far more common way that black people in the U.S. die: at the hands of other black people?

Note that it was not Lee who was saying any of this. These words came from one of about a dozen people he interviewed who were participating in the protest. Lee offered no editorial comment on them at all. He simply uploaded the interview alongside all the others he conducted.

Because the view expressed by this young man was so off-key to the compelled consensus that had emerged in the wake of Floyd's death, his mere posting of this interview sparked widespread and indescribably intense rage. And into that rage stepped a young Intercept reporter who - much to the surprise of many of her colleagues - apparently identified as black.

In response to Lee's crime of posting that interview, she took to Twitter to denounce Lee as the single worst thing someone could be, especially at that moment: "a racist." Within hours, tens of thousands of people had retweeted and liked her accusation, instantly branding Lee as a racist. Huge numbers of media cowards from the largest newspapers and TV outlets - ones who never knew anything about Lee or his work - quickly jumped on board, signaling to the mob demanding Lee's head on a spike that they were on their side. That is always how mob justice works.

Virtually nobody with any sizable media platform was brave enough to stand up and even question the merits of these accusations, let alone defend Lee. Perhaps there were others, but the only one I can recall vehemently doing so was Michael Tracey in his characteristically elegant and restrained manner, prompting all sorts of media personalities to line up and denounce Michael for having the gall to question Lee's black accuser. That included many of Lee's own journalistic colleagues, who actually joined in the public denunciations against him.

Along with a couple of Lee's allies, I spent countless hours inside The Intercept trying to save Lee's job, knowing that if he got fired for "racism," it would end not only his work there but possibly his career altogether. It is difficult to overstate what a climate of terror was ushered into every workplace, institution, and society in general.

Lee was ultimately forced to apologize. That gave The Intercept's always-cowardly editors an excuse not to fire him. To this day, I feel a great deal of doubt about the role I played: not publicly defending him so that I would have more weight defending him internally; counseling him that a fake and unjustified apology would, at the very least, prevent him from being fired with a gigantic black mark on his name; not waging a more aggressive war on his behalf, etc.

But the climate that was created and imposed as a result of what AOC and her allies now want to laughingly wave away as "crazy" was no joke. Jobs, reputations, and careers were at stake. Many people unjustly had all of those things taken away from them - destroyed - based solely on the whims of mob justice. People were genuinely terrified of thought crimes, no matter how trivial or well-intentioned. I watched countless 45- to 55-year-old journalists and editors adopt a completely new way of speaking and thinking overnight, out of fear that they would attract the woke mob and lose their jobs with even one false step. People watched their every word, knowing - correctly - that a bloodthirsty mob was on the hunt for even the most unintentional deviations from the newly imposed norm.

It should be noted that AOC was not some bystander during all of this. As she has done for every similar moral panic of the left - the incalculably deranged Russiagate conspiracy theories, the life-destroying and due-process-free #MeToo persecutions, COVID censorship - AOC supported and participated in the most extreme woke excesses because she does not have an iota of courage to resist social and political pressures.

In June 2020, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio responded to the growing demands of "Defund the Police" by slashing $1 billion, or about one-sixth of its overall resources, from the NYPD budget. AOC was having none of it. "Defunding the police means defunding the police," she insisted. That does not mean reducing budgets or shifting around resources, she argued. She wanted the NYPD defunded in full, and nothing short of that would be sufficient.

If AOC has now changed her mind about all of the brand-new woke dogma she vehemently defended and sought to impose, that would be welcome. But actual regret for past mistakes means taking responsibility for them and explaining what went wrong: whether it be support for the Iraq War, the policies that caused the 2008 financial crisis, Russiagate, COVID, etc. At the very least, it requires acknowledging the damage done to people and their lives, rather than minimizing it as just a benign and noble quest for justice that went a little too far.

If someone wants to stand up and say that they went along with and advocated a bunch of "crazy" ideas and demands because they simply got swept up in the hysteria of the moment - as AOC and her allies are now attempting to suggest - then that is a rather serious self-indictment. I can hardly think of a worse trait in a political leader, or a human being of any kind, than a lack of internal fortitude or personal courage to resist moral panics and accompanying demands for full submission by a gathered mob.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 20:55

Trump Golfs Under Missile Shield As Avenger Guards Bedminster Fairway

President Trump was spotted over the weekend at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, under a notably elevated air-defense posture. An AN/TWQ-1 Avenger positioned near the fairway provided last-line missile defense, indicating that security planners considered a low-altitude airborne attack plausible.

The Avenger's presence indicates a planned, layered air-defense posture around the president, complemented by F-16 fighter jets overhead and temporary flight restrictions over the course.

The X account POPULAR FRONT posted an image of the Avenger mounted on the back of a Humvee, with President Trump swinging what appears to be an iron.

President Donald Trump was seen golfing at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club with a missile-defense system deployed nearby as F-16s were scrambled to intercept civilian aircraft that entered the temporarily restricted airspace over the area. NORAD said two general aviation aircraft were intercepted and escorted out of the restricted zone while Trump was attending the LIV Golf tournament.

🇺🇸 #US: President Donald Trump was seen golfing at his Bedminster, New Jersey club with a missile-defense system deployed nearby, as F-16s were scrambled to intercept civilian aircraft that entered the temporary restricted airspace over the area.

NORAD said two general-aviation… pic.twitter.com/NyZbj9OUEo

— POPULAR FRONT (@PopularFront_) August 10, 2026

The Avenger provided terminal point defense over the course should a low-flying aircraft, helicopter, larger drone, or potentially a cruise missile penetrate the restricted airspace before fighters could respond. 

Types of drone threats (view note): 

The deployment supports the view that President Trump's security team was taking precautions in response to a constantly evolving threat environment, but it should not be taken as evidence that officials had warning of a particular attack. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 20:30

"He Flipped": Family Warned Police Before Man With 9 Priors Filmed Street Attacks

Relatives of a Charlotte man accused of attacking women in public say his behavior had become increasingly unpredictable and violent, prompting them to contact authorities before his arrest, according to the New York Post.

32 year old Di-Quan Schafar Hunt was taken into custody Thursday after disturbing videos circulated on social media showing confrontations with women on Charlotte streets.

According to Hunt’s sister, the problems extended beyond the incidents captured on video. She said relatives had witnessed violent behavior within the family and had previously called police because they were concerned about him.

The Post writes that the family believes Hunt has been diagnosed with PTSD and bipolar disorder and says he has not been taking medication. His sister said they had repeatedly tried to find help for him and are now concerned about the possibility of his returning to the community without treatment.

Hunt also has an extensive arrest record, with at least nine previous arrests reported.

Videos connected to the latest case appear to show Hunt confronting women without warning. In one clip, a woman is knocked to the ground as Hunt shouts at her. Another shows a woman being shoved before Hunt pursues her around a vehicle.

His sister said she turned over video evidence to police and later helped officers locate him.

While expressing concern about her brother’s condition, she also said the women involved deserve justice and acknowledged that the situation has created fear for Hunt’s own family.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 19:40

My First Encounter With Trans

Authored by Richard C. Crandall via American Thinker,

My first encounter with trans was in the early 1950s, when Christine Jorgensen became the first widely known person to undergo "sex reassignment" surgery. I remember some of my peers mocking Christine by threatening to swap the feminine lips and masculine mustache between Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. After some laughter, eye-rolling, and snide smiles, seven-year-olds settled the issue: It was ridiculous - we called it crazy - to believe that Mr. Potato Head could become Mrs. Potato Head any more than a man could become a woman.

The trans issue reemerged with the Reimer twins, Bruce and Brian. In the 1960s, during what was supposed to be a routine circumcision, Bruce's penis was destroyed. Dr. John Money at Johns Hopkins University saw an opportunity to demonstrate that sex roles are a blank slate at birth and are shaped by culture, not genetics. He convinced Bruce's parents that with surgery, hormones, and therapy, Bruce could be successfully transitioned to female. Bruce was castrated, given hormones, renamed Brenda, and not told that he had once been Bruce. From the beginning, "Brenda" didn't like acting like a girl. He tore off his dresses and played with his twin brother's toys more than his own. After applying makeup, Brenda said he looked like a clown. By his early teens, Brenda was confused, depressed, lonely, and suicidal. When Brenda was finally told that he was Bruce, he realized that he was normal and that those trying to turn him into a female were the problem. Brenda became David, underwent penile reconstruction, a double mastectomy, and hormone treatment and married a woman.

For years after "Brenda" became David, Dr. Money claimed that Bruce's transition to Brenda was successful. After the truth came out, I again thought the trans issue was resolved. However, in what can only be described as a new level of hell, swapping parts between Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head has been replaced by dolls that allow children to swap internal and external sexual parts.

I hold the same view I did at age seven. I will reconsider my stance when trans advocates agree to the following conditions.

First, we can change our race. Whites who claim to be black or Native American are called race hoaxers, even though some have demonstrated substantial knowledge of and connection to their new race. A recent example involves a white woman who received injections to darken her skin and surgeries to enlarge her lips. She plans to undergo butt augmentation and surgery to widen her nose. She feels that she is black, even though she is told she will never be black. But if all it takes for a man to be a woman are feelings and mutilating surgery, shouldn't this woman's feelings and surgeries make her black?

Second, we can change our age. If the sex listed on a birth certificate can be altered based on feelings, why not the date of birth? Many people feel younger or older than their chronological age, and some even undergo surgery to look and feel younger. If feelings, rather than biology, determine one's sex, shouldn't they also determine age?

Third, we can be both sexes. Recently, a judge ruled that a man who doesn't identify exclusively as male or female can have a surgically created vagina in the space between his scrotum and anus. And just in time, we have sologamy, "the practice of marrying oneself." Would this be a heterosexual marriage?

Fourth, we can change our species. Individuals who feel they are reptiles tattoo their hands and faces to resemble snake or lizard scales. Those who want to become snakes undergo surgery to remove their ears and noses and have their teeth filed to resemble fangs. Those who identify as lizards have their fingers and thumbs amputated, leaving claw-like hands. They have also had their tongues surgically altered to look forked. If removing a penis and testicles transforms a man into a woman, then does removing ears and fingers transform a human into a reptile?

Fifth, we can become space aliens. To achieve this transformation, one man tattooed his body black and removed his upper lip, nose, and ears. Another man, in addition to full-body tattoos, cut off some fingers, his ears, and part of his nose. A third man has full-body tattoos and fangs. He also chopped off a finger on one hand and had the other hand surgically altered so that his fingers remain in a permanent "V" formation. Again, if feelings and mutilation can change a man into a woman, then don't feelings and bodily mutilation transform someone into a space alien?

Sixth, we can choose our nationality. If men who feel they are women are allowed to use women's bathrooms and locker rooms, then shouldn't people who feel they are of a certain nationality be allowed to live in the country they feel they belong to?

Seventh, it would be easier to adjust feelings to match the existing body than to mutilate the body to match feelings. Why do trans proponents accept only chemical and surgical mutilation to align the body with feelings when it is more rational and humane to use therapy to adjust feelings to align with one's sex?

Eighth, feeling the desire to amputate a healthy arm or leg is abnormal. Body Integrity Dysphoria (BID) is a condition in which the body does not match how someone feels it should look. This goes beyond simply feeling that one's nose is too big or one's breasts are too small. Individuals with BID feel they have too many arms or legs, leading them to want the problematic limb amputated. Others with BID may wish to be paralyzed or to lose their hearing or sight. If chopping off a healthy arm is abnormal, then isn't removing healthy sexual organs also abnormal?

Ninth, we can belong to the ethnic group of our choice. Shouldn't feelings be enough to belong to an ethnic group?

Tenth, we don't need to accept and accommodate individuals' feelings about their identities. If a man who feels he is a woman also feels he is a queen, do we need to accommodate his feelings by addressing him as "Your Majesty" and bowing to him?

Eleventh, the feelings of trans people do not supersede those of people who believe trans people are mentally ill. Trans people demand that others tolerate their feelings, yet they don't tolerate others' feelings. We have seen men who look like men but feel they are women become unhinged when addressed as "sir" rather than "ma'am." There is the same lack of tolerance for those who feel that men pretending to be women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. They are even incapable of tolerating a T-shirt featuring the logo "XY ≠ XX." If trans people don't respect others' feelings, then can't others disrespect the feelings of trans people?

Feelings do not change reality, and the reality is that there are no Joseph Mengele, Dr. Moreau, Dr. Fauci, or Dr. Frankenstein medical procedures that can turn us into space aliens, reptiles, or the opposite sex.

Image via Pexels.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 19:15

Study Finds 93% Of Avocado Oil Chips Contain Other Oils. There Is A Solution ...

A new University of California, Davis, study found that a shocking number of avocado oil-labeled chips at the supermarket, marketed as a healthier alternative to toxic seed-oil chips, might not be made with pure avocado oil and, in fact, contain other oils.

UC Davis researchers tested 54 avocado oil-labeled products purchased from California supermarkets and online retailers in 2025 and 2026 and found that 48, or 89%, contained cheaper oils despite being labeled as containing premium avocado oil. The failure rate included 93% of chips, and beyond the snack aisle, 71% of mayonnaise products and 100% of salad dressings tested also failed.

"Consumers are increasingly paying a premium for products made with avocado oil or olive oil," lead author Selina Wang, Professor of Cooperative Extension in the UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology, stated in a press release. "They deserve to get what they pay for and food manufacturers deserve confidence that the ingredients they purchase from suppliers are authentic."

The Trump administration helped propel the MAHA movement into the mainstream, prompting millions of consumers to reevaluate what's actually in their food, including the widespread use of seed oils amid study after study showing potential health effects:

• The Facts About Seed Oils And Your Health
• Cooking Oils Used By Millions Linked To Cancer In Second Study In A Week

Results by brand:

There is only one real solution here: take control of what you eat. We've long believed that winning the information war starts with properly fueling the brain, which means getting back to real food and cutting out as much ultra-processed junk as you can.

And if you're still going to snack on a bag of chips, why not just keep it super simple? Potatoes cooked the old-fashioned way in actual grass-fed beef tallow. No mystery oils. No ingredient-label guessing games. Just a better chip.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 18:50

Nvidia Confirms Record $500 Billion Off-Balance Sheet SPV Deal To Fund The World's Biggest Circle Jerk

Update (1630ET): After the bell, NVDA confirmed the earlier reporting (that it has signed agreements with six of the largest finance houses on Wall Street to mobilize a $500 billion package to fund the artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out), with a press release quoting each of the BSDs involved in depth.

“NVIDIA has reached an important milestone. We began by building chips; today, we are helping create a new class of productive, investable infrastructure: AI factories,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “In AI, compute is revenue. NVIDIA compute is uniquely suited for this role. It is broadly adopted, flexible across models and workloads, fungible and transferable across customers and operators, and continuously improved through CUDA software — extending its useful life and improving its economics over time. It is supported by a deep global ecosystem of developers, customers and offtakers. That is why we are bringing the world’s leading long-term capital providers together to independently underwrite AI infrastructure. These financing platforms will help customers access scarce compute at scale and build the AI factories that will power every industry and country in the age of AI.”

“Modern compute has emerged as a scarce, mission-critical asset class with compelling investment characteristics that is positioned to drive significant long-term economic growth and productivity gains,” said Apollo President Jim Zelter. “The combination of NVIDIA’s proprietary technology ecosystem and Apollo’s flexible, long-term capital base provides a strong foundation to support the next stage of the AI buildout as part of the broader Global Industrial Renaissance.”

“The AI buildout will require unprecedented investment and a skilled workforce to turn that investment into the infrastructure that will help power future growth,” said Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock. “This partnership deepens our relationship with NVIDIA, including through the AI Infrastructure Partnership, and brings together NVIDIA’s leadership in accelerated computing with BlackRock’s ability to connect long-term capital to essential infrastructure. Together, we can help deliver the compute capacity that companies need to grow and create more jobs, supporting the continued growth of the U.S. and global economies, while creating attractive, long-term investment opportunities for our clients.”

“NVIDIA has created extraordinary demand for its compute through an intense focus on customer value and versatile technology,” said Jon Gray, President and COO of Blackstone. “We continue to be enormous investors globally across the NVIDIA ecosystem, and this announcement further underscores our confidence in their platform and the future of AI infrastructure.”

“As our strategic partner, NVIDIA is enabling us to scale AI factories. We are excited about further collaboration to build and fund the backbone of AI globally,” said Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield. “With demand for large-scale AI compute growing significantly as adoption scales across industries, compute is fast becoming the essential layer of infrastructure and a core pillar of the Brookfield AI infrastructure strategy.”

“We’re in a pivotal moment of a historic AI investment cycle. NVIDIA’s full-stack platform is in high demand and uniquely positioned at the center of that global buildout,” said David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. “Our investment and distribution roles reflect our confidence in NVIDIA’s leadership, and we’re excited for the new opportunity to create a market for credit backed by NVIDIA compute."

“Compute has become a critical infrastructure asset. As we’ve scaled our approach to digital infrastructure, we’ve learned that delivery, not ambition, is the hard part. That’s why we’re excited to build on our strategic partnership with NVIDIA, a founding investor in Helix Digital Infrastructure, to bring together NVIDIA’s accelerated computing platform with KKR’s long-duration capital, infrastructure expertise and capital markets capabilities to turn growing demand into real capacity at extraordinary scale,” said Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, Co-Chief Executive Officers of KKR.

But, you know this debt raise is urgent when the heads of all involved head to CNBC for a roundtable to discuss why "we need to raise more money as fast as possible"...

🤯🤯🤯
“We need to raise more money as fast as possible”

“We’re going to need to spend trillions and trillion of dollars on compute”

Oh my goodness. We did not even start…government funding is coming too. you’re bearish?? https://t.co/ADlrS88ex1 pic.twitter.com/YAcmno6NRr

— Nicholas Mugalli (@RealNickMugalli) August 10, 2026

...because "we’re going to need to spend trillions and trillion of dollars on compute"...

Hear it from the Horse’s mouth. Jensen talking about the trillions of dollars going into compute. Whoaaa https://t.co/pXAfYbRViD pic.twitter.com/pgsG5YknpC

— Nicholas Mugalli (@RealNickMugalli) August 10, 2026

...presumably to compete with the Chinese as overall Token spend plummets...

*  *  *

In what is shaping up as a record-breaking, off-balance sheet SPV deal, one which will send CDS and credit yields surging far beyond where the recent explosion in AI debt has already pushed them, and as shown in the chart below, it's pretty, pretty far...

... the FT reports that Nvidia - unable to generate fund the old-fashioned way by earnings - is working with the world’s largest financial groups are to assemble a $500bn funding package for AI infrastructure development, in what will be the biggest AI lending efforts to date of any kind.

A consortium of groups including private credit (and equity) giants Apollo, Blackstone, BlackRock, Brookfield, Goldman and KKR is entering a partnership with Nvidia to invest in the AI build-out, the FT cited six people briefed on the talks.

The "partnership" as the FT calls it as it sounds a bit better than "hail-may, off-balance sheet arrangement" underscores Nvidia’s increasingly desperate efforts to raise capital for itself and its clients (because everyone now admits that circular financing is absolutely critical to keeping the AI bubble going) to continue assembling the chips, power production and data centers at the heart of the AI boom.

The $5.25tn company, whose GPUs underpin most of the leading US AI models available today, has positioned itself at the center of the AI boom, providing chips, infrastructure and software to a wide array of partners developing the technology.

More ominously, as it brings back fresh memories of the vendor financing that was in part responsible for the collapse of the dot com bubble, the chipmaker traditionally provides financial backing to help its AI partners raise debt in capital markets, which then helps boost Nvidia’s own revenue, in what has become AI's trademark circle jerk deal.

As we have discussed here for the past year, the circular nature of such transactions has raised concerns about concentrated risks in the sector, and it's why NVDA stock slumped immediately after the FT news broke, sliding as much as 2% on the FT report and wiping out more than $70bn in market capitalisation.

Separately, Nvidia was in talks to provide a massive guarantee for a 10-gigawatt data centre project in Ohio leased to OpenAI, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The deal shows how Nvidia is building relationships with the giants of the private capital industry, which are collectively preparing to invest trillions of dollars of their insurance, retail and institutional investor assets into AI infrastructure. 

In recent years, private capital groups such as Apollo and Blackstone have structured off-balance sheet SPV, pardon, AI infrastructure deals to assist companies like Anthropic finance their heavy spending on chips and data centers. We discussed this extensively two months ago  in "The $1.8 Trillion Off-Balance Sheet Time Bomb At The Heart Of The AI Supercycle", a topic which the FT also caught up with today. 

The US hyperscalers have now signed up for about $1 trillion of lease commitments that don't appear in their financial data (and are on the hook for another $1 trillion of future purchase commitments). https://t.co/hLnjMGUHzJ pic.twitter.com/Tx2zRfwnIW

— Robin Wigglesworth (@RobinWigg) August 10, 2026

Nvidia, whose market cap has grown 15x since the launch of the first chatGPT in November 2022, is not the only beneficiary of the gargantuan circle-jerk deals that define the AI bubble: the biggest cloud-computing companies, including Meta, Oracle, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, have also dramatically increased their spending on AI infrastructure as they look to win the race to dominate the emerging technology. Morgan Stanley projects so-called hyperscalers will spend $3.5tn between 2026 and 2028.

That need for capital has forced technology groups to tap every source of cash they can find, including public equity, investment-grade and high-yield bonds, securitised debt, private credit and project finance markets.

“[The] sheer size of the AI infrastructure build-out is unprecedented,” Jim Zelter, president of Apollo, said on an earnings call earlier this month. “More than $8tn of capital is expected to be invested, a staggering sum. We see an enormous opportunity for private capital to finance a portion of this along with public capital.”

While all that is great, it appears nobody has done the math on what happens if traditional, expensive frontier models lose to vastly cheaper, open-weight/source models. One thing is certain: the free cash flow hockeystick projected in the chart below will never, ever happen should open-weight models win the arms race. 

So, uh, guys we still hockeystick FCF with everyone moving to open models? https://t.co/1i1Hs0XZIx

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 10, 2026

And now we sit back and wait to see just how far into the stratosphere this record SPV deal will send hyperscaler CDS and bond spreads. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 18:35

Secrets Of Tupac Shakur Murder To Be Revealed As Jury Selection Begins

Authored by Chris Summers via The Epoch Times,

Prosecutors are hopeful of obtaining the first conviction in relation to the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur—a crime that has been unsolved for 30 years—with jury selection due to start in Las Vegas on Aug. 10.

Shakur, who was 25 when he died, is widely considered to be one of the most influential rappers in the history of the genre.

He had five No. 1 albums on the Billboard chart, was nominated for six Grammy awards, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

Shakur, who was from Los Angeles, was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting just off the Las Vegas Strip on Sept. 7, 1996, shortly after a heavyweight title fight between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon. He died six days later in a hospital.

The head of Shakur’s Death Row Records, Marion “Suge” Knight, who was driving the car, survived the shooting.

Over the past three decades, Knight and, by association, Shakur, have been repeatedly linked with the Mob Piru Bloods gang in Los Angeles.

In Sept. 2023, Duane “Keffe D” Davis was arrested and later charged with Shakur’s murder.

Duane "Keffe D" Davis—who is accused of the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur—arrives for a hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas on Jan. 21, 2025. Ethan Miller/Pool Photo via AP

Seven months before his death, Shakur had produced his 10th rap album, All Eyez on Me, and at the time of his death was involved in a beef with East Coast rappers, including Biggie Smalls, and his producer Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Six months later, Smalls—real name Christopher Wallace—was fatally shot in Los Angeles in a crime that also remains unsolved.

Defendant’s Memoir is Key Evidence

In 2019, 63-year-old Davis co-authored a memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” in which he wrote about Shakur’s death.

In the book, Davis said he was a leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang at the time of the rapper’s death.

Davis alleged Combs, who ran Bad Boy Records, offered him money to kill Knight and Shakur.

Combs—who was jailed in October 2025 for 50 months after being convicted of transporting individuals for prostitution or other illegal sex acts—has always denied any involvement in the shooting.

Davis faces one charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further, or assist a criminal gang.

The trial, at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, with Judge Carli Kierny presiding, is set to last a month.

In his book, Davis said he was one of four men—all members of the South Side Compton Crips—who were in a white Cadillac that drew up alongside Shakur’s black BMW moments before the shooting, but he did not say who pulled the trigger.

The other three men, who have long been considered suspects in the shooting, later died in gang-related violence.

They included Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, who was arrested a month after Shakur’s killing in relation to an unrelated murder in Compton, California.

Charges were never brought against him in relation to Shakur’s death, and he was killed in an unrelated gang shootout in Compton in 1998.

The other two men who were in the car, Terry “Bubble Up” Brown and Deandrae “Freaky” Smith, were also killed before they could be charged over Shakur’s death.

The lyrics of many of Shakur’s songs were associated with the so-called gangsta rap genre.

“Will I survive? Will I die? Let’s picture the possibility,” he rapped in the title track from the All Eyez on Me album.

Rapper Tupac Shakur attends a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles on Aug. 15, 1996. Frank Wiese/AP

On the night he was shot, Shakur was on his way from the MGM Grand, where the fight had taken place, to Club 662, where he was due to perform.

Knight was driving when the killers’ vehicle pulled up next to it at the intersection of East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, a block east of the Strip in Las Vegas.

Among the list of witnesses due to testify at the trial is Leonard Jefferson, a photographer, who pulled up next to the BMW shortly before the shooting and took an iconic photo of Shakur.

Will Suge Knight Testify?

Others named on the witness list include Knight, who told TMZ in 2023 he would not testify.

Knight is serving a 28-year prison sentence in California for running over and killing Terry Carter in 2015.

The incident stemmed from a dispute between Knight and an associate over the former music executive’s portrayal in a documentary, “Straight Outta Compton.”

Also named as potential witnesses are the former Las Vegas Mayor, Oscar Goodman, members of Shakur’s family, and Denvonta Lee, a former South Side Crips affiliate.

In his testimony to the grand jury, Lee testified that the South Side Crips and the Mob Piru Bloods were linked to Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records, respectively.

Lee also told the grand jury that Anderson did not have a clear target, so Smith took the gun and fired the fatal shots.

Jury selection is expected to last several days, and will be followed by the prosecution and the defense giving opening statements.

The courtroom is expected to be packed, and a live feed of the trial will broadcast it to millions on YouTube.

The prosecution team will be led by Clark County’s Chief Deputy District Attorney, Marc DiGiacomo, and his colleague Binu Palal.

Davis’s lead defense attorney is Michael Sanft.

The Epoch Times reached out to Sanft for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 18:25

Wildfires Continue To Rage Across Western US And Canada As Tens Of Thousands Evacuated

Wildfires burning across the western United States and Canada continued to threaten communities Sunday, leaving thousands of residents displaced and others watching closely for possible evacuation orders. While some evacuees waited anxiously to learn whether their homes had survived, firefighters worked to contain several major blazes across the region.

The Bald Range wildfire, that has forced people out of their homes in the south Okanagan region, burns in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada, late on Aug.8, 2026. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP

In western Canada, more than 20,000 people were forced to flee communities along Okanagan Lake in British Columbia over the weekend as a fast-moving wildfire destroyed homes and prompted dramatic aircraft rescues. Farther south, crews in eastern Washington continued cleanup and containment work on three wildfires that have burned in the Spokane area for more than a week.

Laurie Allen evacuated her home in Nine Mile Falls, a community north of Spokane, the previous weekend as flames burned nearby. She fled with her husband, dog and two kittens. Although roads into her neighborhood remained closed Sunday, Allen said a friend had told her that her home and several others nearby were still standing, though covered in ash.

"I've been here 65 years. It's never happened," Allen said. "We didn't think about anything but grabbing our animals and leaving. But now it's affected so many of our friends and family around. So it's pretty dang devastating."

More Than 20,000 Flee Wildfires in British Columbia

In Canada, residents across the Okanagan Lake region faced rapidly changing conditions as wildfires forced large-scale evacuations, AP reports.

Anette Boulet was among those who fled Summerland, a community of about 12,000 people along Okanagan Lake. She and her family left around 4:30 a.m. Saturday as thick smoke surrounded their home and flames approached nearby ridges.

"You couldn't see barely. It was, it was just dark, and the ridge, the ridge of fire just coming towards you," Boulet said after evacuating to a center in Penticton.

"There's no words to express it," she added. "The fear."

Later Sunday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said an 80-year-old woman died while attempting to escape the wildfire that prompted evacuations throughout the Okanagan Lake region.

🔥 BRITISH COLUMBIA IS ON FIRE — 20,000+ PEOPLE FORCED TO FLEE

British Columbia has declared a state of emergency as the Bald Range wildfire explodes across southern B.C., forcing more than 20,000 people to evacuate.

The fire nearly doubled in size overnight, expanding to… pic.twitter.com/hZAnb2DvSo

— Zacky vicent (@VicentZacky) August 9, 2026

In addition to the evacuations in Summerland, the Bald Range fire, first reported Friday evening, forced roughly 8,000 people to leave their homes in and around nearby Peachland. British Columbia declared a state of emergency Saturday as officials mobilized additional resources to respond to the worsening fire conditions.

Eleanor Olszewski, Canada's minister of emergency management and community resilience, said Sunday that she had approved British Columbia's request for federal assistance, including support for shelter and temporary accommodations for displaced residents.

Spokane-Area Fires Leave Communities on Alert

Across the border in Washington state, firefighters continued "mop-up operations" Sunday along containment lines surrounding three wildfires in the Spokane area. None of the fires were expanding, according to the team managing the response, offering some relief after more than a week of destructive fire activity.

Together, the fires have damaged or destroyed about 920 structures, leaving a significant recovery effort ahead for affected communities.

Earlier in the week, a man was arrested and charged with intentionally setting the largest of the three Spokane-area fires.

Residents of Malden, a small rural town about 35 miles south of Spokane, were urged Saturday to evacuate immediately as conditions worsened. By Sunday, however, officials had lowered the evacuation level, telling residents to remain prepared to leave quickly if conditions changed.

#BREAKING: Insane video shows devastating wildfires engulfing Spokane, Washington. pic.twitter.com/0M49raXjtO

— Insider Wire (@InsiderWire) August 3, 2026

"The wind is fairly calm. The fire is not progressing," said John Goyke, whose company operates Malden's water system under contract. "But we're using social media and Facebook to keep in contact with everyone."

Goyke, who also serves as mayor of nearby Rosalia, said Malden residents had been asked to conserve water so supplies would remain available for firefighting operations. Malden's fire department has also been trucking additional water in from Rosalia.

The renewed wildfire threat carries particular significance for Malden. In 2020, a wildfire destroyed much of the town, including its fire station, post office, city hall and library.

Two Pilots Killed in Utah Wildfire Helicopter Crash

Elsewhere in the West, the wildfire response turned deadly in Utah, where two helicopter pilots were killed when their aircraft crashed Friday morning while they were fighting a fire in Fishlake National Forest. Emergency crews were unable to reach the crash site until Saturday because of active fire conditions and the steep, rugged terrain. Officials confirmed the pilots' deaths after reaching the area.

Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said responders encountered both the burning wreckage and an advancing wildfire when they arrived.

"When we first got there we could see two different plumes of smoke, one from the crash site, one from an active fire coming towards us," Curtis said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the helicopter crash.

As firefighters across the U.S. and Canada continue working to contain the blazes, displaced residents face an uncertain return home and communities already scarred by previous wildfires are once again confronting the growing dangers posed by fast-moving fires.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 18:00

The New Censorship Isn't Coming From The Left - It's Coming From Everyone

Authored by George P. Brooks via American Thinker,

One of the great ironies of American politics is that every movement swears it's against censorship - right up until it has enough power to do some censoring of its own. It's almost adorable.

For years, conservatives rightly criticized Big Tech, universities, corporate America, and legacy media for suppressing dissenting viewpoints. We argued that free speech wasn't merely a constitutional protection; it was a moral principle. We insisted that bad ideas should be defeated in the marketplace of ideas rather than buried beneath bureaucratic decrees or algorithmic exile.

I agreed then. I still do. Which is why I'm beginning to ask a question that makes some people on my own side a little uncomfortable.

What happens when conservatives become just as tempted to use institutional power to silence people they don't like? As a Black conservative, I've learned that free speech is one of those principles everybody loves until somebody they can't stand starts talking. Then suddenly the Constitution comes with an asterisk.

Let's be honest. Every political tribe has its favorite form of censorship.

The Left often dresses it up in the language of safety, inclusion, misinformation, or protecting vulnerable communities. The Right is increasingly tempted to justify it in the language of patriotism, protecting children, combating ideological indoctrination, or preserving public morality. Different vocabulary. Same temptation.

Power has an uncanny ability to convince us that our restrictions are simply common sense while everyone else's are authoritarian. History suggests otherwise.

Free speech has never been tested by agreeable people saying agreeable things. It has always been tested by offensive people saying offensive things. Defending speech you already like requires no courage whatsoever. Defending speech you find irritating, misguided, or even insulting is where constitutional principles stop being bumper stickers and become convictions.

That's why I find myself increasingly skeptical whenever anyone begins a sentence with, "I'm all for free speech, but..." I've learned that whatever follows "but" usually involves someone deciding which opinions deserve oxygen and which should be quietly escorted out the back door.

The First Amendment doesn't ask whether an idea is popular. It doesn't ask whether it polls well. It certainly doesn't ask whether it might ruin someone's afternoon on social media.

It simply assumes that a free people are capable of hearing competing ideas without requiring the government - or increasingly, private institutions acting under political pressure - to function as national hall monitors.

Some readers will immediately object. "But George, some speech really is dangerous." Of course it can be.

Threats, criminal conspiracies, defamation, and direct incitement have long occupied well-established legal categories. That's not the debate. The debate is whether we have quietly expanded the definition of "harm" until it now includes disagreement itself.

Somewhere along the way, Americans stopped saying, "I think you're wrong." Instead, we started saying, "You shouldn't be allowed to say that." Those are radically different civilizations.

One believes truth emerges through debate. The other believes truth must be protected from debate.

As conservatives, we should be especially careful here. For decades, we were the ones demanding viewpoint diversity on college campuses. We objected when bureaucrats decided which speakers were acceptable. We criticized technology companies for selectively enforcing their rules. We warned that concentrated cultural power eventually becomes political power.

Were we making a timeless argument? Or were we merely complaining because we happened to be losing? That's the question history will eventually answer.

Winning elections should never cause us to abandon the principles that helped us win the argument in the first place.

One of the blessings - and frustrations - of being a Black conservative is that I don't fit comfortably inside anyone's political script. I've been called a sellout by people who think race should determine ideology. I've also occasionally been viewed with suspicion by people who assume conservatism requires intellectual conformity.

Both misunderstand what attracted me to conservatism. It wasn't tribalism. It was liberty.

Liberty means accepting that people will often say things that offend us. Liberty means resisting the seductive belief that if we could only silence enough bad opinions, society would finally become peaceful. It never works that way.

Every censorship regime begins by promising to target only the truly dangerous voices. Eventually the definition of "dangerous" expands to include inconvenient voices, unpopular voices, and finally independent voices. That's not a partisan observation. That's human nature.

Politics changes. Power changes hands. The precedents you create today will almost certainly be used by your opponents tomorrow. Conservatives above all people should understand that.

Social media has only accelerated the problem. Every controversy now comes with an online firing squad. We don't simply disagree anymore - we organize campaigns, demand apologies, contact employers, and measure victory by whether someone's life has been sufficiently detonated before dinner.

Apparently we've replaced "I disagree" with "unsubscribe from his existence." That's not justice. That's vengeance wearing business casual.

The Founders understood something we often forget. Freedom is messy. A republic is noisy. Open societies produce arguments, uncomfortable conversations, and occasionally spectacularly bad opinions.

The alternative isn't harmony. It's permission. Permission for whoever happens to hold power to decide which ideas deserve daylight. That bargain has never ended well.

Conservatives don't strengthen their case by becoming more efficient censors than progressives. We strengthen it by demonstrating that our commitment to liberty survives even when liberty protects people we profoundly disagree with.

Otherwise, we're not defending free speech. We're simply negotiating whose turn it is to do the censoring. And that's not conservatism. That's just tribalism with better branding.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 17:40