Guns were a ubiquitous part of my childhood. My grandfather, who had been a master sergeant in the army, had a small arsenal in his house in Mechanic Falls, Maine. He gave me a 2020 bolt action Springfield rifle when I was 7.

By the time I was 10, I had graduated to a Winchester lever action 30-30. I moved my way up the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) Marksmanship Qualification Program, helped along by a summer camp where riflery was mandatory. Like many boys in rural America, I was fascinated by guns, although I disliked hunting.

BY CHRIS HEDGES

Two decades as a reporter in war zones, however, resulted in a deep aversion to weapons. I saw what they did to human bodies. I inherited my grandfather’s guns and gave them to my uncle.

Academy Award–winning actor Matthew McConaughey has used an appearance at the White House to call on Congress to "reach a higher ground" and pass gun control legislation in honour of the children and teachers killed in last month's shooting rampage at an elementary school in his home town of Uvalde, Texas. 

“The ferocity of the confrontation in Ukraine shows that we’re talking about much more than the fate of the regime in Kiev. The architecture of the entire world order is at stake.” Sergei Naryshkin, Director of Foreign Intelligence

Here’s your ‘reserve currency’ thought for the day: Every US dollar is a check written on an account that is overdrawn by 30 trillion dollars.

Decades of exceptionalism, ideological obsessions and a deep-rooted sense of superiority is catching up with the United States.

The world needs to appreciate the rapid shifts in the global order arising from the US’ toxic domestic situation, and how its political elite distracts people from its decline with an aggressive foreign policy anchored in outdated doctrines

US President Joe Biden visited Asia last week and triggered panic across the region when he spoke out of turn and unproductively about war with China.

Russian missiles struck Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv for the first time in over a month on Sunday. [GUSNOTE: this bombing PRECISELY destroyed newly delivered weapons (tanks and possibly shells) from Poland according to Russian websites]... This comes as Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to battle over control of the eastern city of Severodonetsk and Russian President Vladimir Putin is warning Western nations against supplying longer-range missile systems to Ukraine.

The Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes (or simply the Water Buffaloes) is a fictional and very exclusive men-only fraternal organization operating within Bedrock with a long and dedicated history in the franchise of The Flintstones. It serves as Fred and Barney's main club and hangout.

...That argument is as good today as it was in 13th-century France. But in order to make it, conservatives would also have to take a stand against divorce, pornography, and possibly even contraception. That would be hugely unpopular, even with most Christians, which is why they didn’t do it. Instead, they muttered something about men marrying dogs and then breathed a sigh of relief when the Supreme Court rendered the whole thing moot. 

Disinformation is one of the Kremlin’s most important and far-reaching weapons.  Russia has operationalized the concept of perpetual adversarial competition in the information environment by encouraging the development of a disinformation and propaganda ecosystem.  This ecosystem creates and spreads false narratives to strategically advance the Kremlin’s policy goals.  There is no subject off-limits to this firehose of falsehoods.  Everything from human rights and environmental policy to assassinations and civilian-killing bombing campaigns are fair targets in Russia’s malign playbook.

A recent article in Politico’s Lockheed Martin-sponsored National Security Daily newsletter featured a quote from an empire think tanker who argues that the tyranny of Saudi Arabia’s murderous Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) can be tempered by sending him to seminars.

In “Saudi Arabia shows Biden can’t have it all,” Politico describes an entirely imaginary conflict of presidential interests between a sincere desire to prioritize humanitarian concerns in Saudi Arabia and a need to maintain warm relations with Riyadh to keep oil prices low amid Washington’s economic war against Moscow.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The confiscation of Russian property under legislation now moving toward approval by the parliament of Canada is illegal under international law, and, if it happens, Russia would be entitled to take countermeasures, a leading US authority who has worked with the United Nations told Sputnik on Monday.

"That is the correct conclusion under international law," University of Illinois Professor of International Law Francis Boyle said. "Under the current circumstances, it would be illegal to seize Russian assets, confiscate them and then distribute the proceeds to Ukraine."

Elon Musk asks why 'leaking' Justice Department won't spill Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's client list and says it's 'odd' officials remain silent on billionaire pedophile and his madam

Musk shared a meme of 'Things I'll never see in my life,' showing pictures of a dragon, a dinosaur, a unicorn, and text reading 'The Epstein/Maxwell client list'

Elon Musk has questioned why billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's client list has not been released by the 'leaking' Justice Department.

Musk, 50, shared a meme of 'things I'll never see in my life,' showing pictures of a dragon, a dinosaur, a unicorn, and text reading 'The Epstein/Maxwell client list.'

The United States has announced that it will be sending yet another heavy weapon system to Ukraine amid its ongoing proxy war with Russia. After sending thousands of Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and over 100 M777 howitzers (including several sent by US allies Australia and Canada), the US is preparing to send the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), America’s latest multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS).

BY Brian Berletic

Oil and Gas Industry Seized on War in Ukraine to Water Down Climate Policy, Report Shows

A new report details the PR and lobbying blitz from fossil fuel companies in the early days of the Russian invasion that aimed at benefiting oil and gas interests, while offering little for the current crisis.

By Nick Cunningham