GERMANY - The German government plans to reduce incentive payments for buyers of electric cars and end incentives for buying plug-in hybrids at the end of this year. The government had announced shortly after taking office in December that, starting in 2023, it would only provide payments for electric vehicles that “demonstrably have a positive climate-protection effect.” It unveiled details of the new system late Tuesday. At present, buyers of electric-only cars are eligible for incentives of up to 6,000 euros ($6,100) and people who buy plug-in hybrids can get up to 4,500 euros. The economy and climate ministry said the number of electric cars on the road is rising fast, with the total expected to near 2 million this year. They “are becoming ever more popular and will need no state subsidies in the foreseeable future,” minister Robert Habeck said in a statement.

USA - The United States has become “a beggar nation,” former President Donald Trump said during a speech at the America First Policy Institute summit on Tuesday. Marking his first appearance in Washington since he left office in 2021, Trump blasted the Democrats and the Biden administration for having brought the US “to its knees.”

USA - There are some things that I believe to be true about the anarchy that purports to be US foreign policy. First, and most important, I do not believe that any voter cast a ballot for Joe Biden because he or she wanted him to relentlessly pursue a needless conflict with Russia that could easily escalate into a nuclear war with unimaginable consequences for all parties. Biden has recently declared that the US will support Ukraine “until we win” and, as there are already tens of billions of dollars of weapons going to Ukraine plus American “advisers” on the ground, it constitutes a scenario in which American and Russian soldiers will soon likely be shooting at each other. The President of Serbia and columnists like Pat Buchanan and Tulsi Gabbard believe that we are already de facto in World War 3 and one has to wonder how the White House is getting away with ignoring the War Powers mandates in the US Constitution.

GERMANY - Berlin is considering an intensification of its confrontational policy toward the People's Republic of China. This is apparent in a strategy paper recently presented by the CDU-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The proposals in the paper include an intensified interference in the domestic affairs of China, “public campaigns,” accusing Beijing of “disinformation and propaganda,” as well as attempts in Africa to alienate China, as a cooperation partner. At the same time, the “resilience” of the domestic population must be strengthened – for example, with “a strategic media and information policy in Germany and the EU.” To weaken the People’s Republic’s position in the global economy, the CDU’s foundation suggests that the globally anchored WTO be replaced by a new alliance merging the G7 with the OECD (“WTO of the West”). The foundation points out, however, that Chinese resistance and massive damage to German enterprises are to be expected – at a time when Germany’s economy is already beginning to suffer heavily under the war of sanctions against Russia.

USA - The US is working “furiously” behind the scenes to keep the European Union united against Moscow amid a drop in supply of Russian gas to the bloc, CNN reported Wednesday, citing American officials. There’s panic on both sides of the Atlantic over the possibility of Europe experiencing severe gas shortages this winter, unnamed officials told the broadcaster. “This was our biggest fear,” one of them confessed, warning that the impact of a crisis in Europe could boomerang to the US, leading to a further spike in gas and electricity prices for American customers. The whole situation is also going to become a major test of European resilience and unity against Russia, he added.

USA - Following their second emergency meeting on monkeypox in less than a month, WHO Director-General Thedros Adhanom told the press: “In short, we have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission about which we understand too little and which meets the criteria in the international health regulations… For all of these reasons I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a global health emergency of international concern.”

USA - The Biden administration has estimated that it may need almost $7 billion from Congress to respond to the spread of monkeypox, given “the scope and urgency of the current situation,” the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing a White House memo. The figure was specified in a document addressed to US President Joe Biden and obtained by the outlet. The memo, however, was not a formal funding request addressed to Congress, but rather an option that Washington may choose to tackle the monkeypox outbreak.

USA - Corrupt politicians are intent on perpetuating a state of emergency by employing scare tactics. In a bid to sustain support for funneling weapons into Ukraine at taxpayer expense and ramp up hysteria surrounding Russia, New York City is issuing warnings to the public on how to respond amid a nuclear attack. Earlier this month, New York City’s Department of Emergency Management released a public service announcement guiding residents on how to respond in the event of a nuclear disaster, the first of its kind since the 1960s.

USA - John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations and former White House national security adviser, said on Tuesday that he had helped plan attempted coups in foreign countries. Bolton made the remarks to CNN after the day's congressional hearing into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The panel's lawmakers on Tuesday accused former President Donald Trump of inciting the violence in a last-ditch bid to remain in power after losing the 2020 election.

CHINA - China and Russia are taking their shot at the US dollar. And as often happens with consequential news in the United States and the West, no one seems to notice or even care. Since the beginning of the year, I have been writing about the possibility of Russia and China challenging the US dollar’s global reserve status. Now, it’s happening. It shouldn’t be any surprise to those paying attention that Russia and China are strengthening their economic ties amidst continued Western sanctions on Russia as a result of the country’s war in Ukraine. What may surprise some people, however, is that Russia and the BRICS countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, are officially working on their own “new global reserve currency,” RT reported in late June. Nobody even seemed to notice.

IRELAND - Irish leaders joined The Netherlands and Canada in cracking down on farmers with grueling carbon emissions cuts. Farmers in The Netherlands have been protesting for weeks after the government instituted a new plan to bankrupt them and disrupt food supplies in Europe. Around 40,000 Dutch farmer paralyzed traffic in the Netherlands and blocked around 20 food distribution centers over the weekend with trucks and tractors. Ireland’s green agenda-loving government is set to impose an emissions cut of around 28 per cent on farmers, a report has claimed. Farmers in Ireland may soon be forced to make potentially damaging changes to their businesses as climate alarmist ministers within Ireland’s government look set to cut the sector’s emissions by around 28 per cent. This past week Canadian tyrant Justin Trudeau also announced he is moving forward with a plan to reduce Canadian fertilizer use and bankrupt farmers.

USA - America, and its allies, love to invoke the code words for ‘you are free to do as we tell you’. US President Joe Biden has beaten the drum that Americans will have to pay high prices for energy for “as long as it takes” to stick it to Russia in Ukraine. A couple of months ago, when one of Biden’s advisors, Brian Deese, was quizzed about the president’s response to the price hikes on CNN, he replied: “This is about the future of the liberal world order and we have to stand firm." Also in June, when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, both leaders issued a joint statement that “reaffirmed New Zealand's and the European Union's strong commitment to multilateralism and the rules based international order.”

USA - CIA Director William Burns said he is “very proud” of the agency’s analysis in Afghanistan in 2021 despite being blindsided by the swift collapse of the Afghan government and failing to predict how quickly the Taliban would take Kabul. The CIA director prefaced this by admitting the agency had not predicted the Taliban would take over the country as fast as they did and that “all of us have lessons to learn from experiences like that.” He suggested that the CIA had at least gotten it less wrong than other parts of the US government.

USA - Your tax dollars at work! The Joe Biden regime is spending millions in taxpayer dollars to spread atheism overseas. This program that favors atheism over Christianity or other belief systems is unconstitutional. The United States was built on Judeo-Christian principles. Democrats are moving at warp speed to erase that important piece of our American history. Democrats have morphed into a godless and demonic party afraid of God and in support of the vilest behaviors and beliefs. Several House Republicans are demanding answers from the Biden administration regarding a grant program the Republicans say will “promote atheism worldwide.” “The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) was officially titled ‘DRL FY20 IRF Promoting and Defending Religious Freedom Inclusive of Atheist, Humanist, Non-Practicing and Non-Affiliated Individuals,’” Banks and the Republicans wrote.

USA - The healing properties of fresh air have been appreciated since ancient times, when Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) recommended that people with tuberculosis breathe in the air of evergreen forests, which happens to be high in ozone, a known germicidal agent. In more recent history, outdoor air was considered part of the standard treatment for tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. Ironically, the “high-tech” hospitals of modern day, with their enclosed, indoor close quarters, may be facilitating the spread of disease far more so than open-air hospitals of yesteryear.