Mr Global

The triple whammy:

• The Strait of Hormuz is closed
• The Bab el-Mandeb is closed
• Russia's main oil hub at Novorossiysk is closed

Some very important arteries of world trade - particularly, but not limited to, oil - are being strangled.

The ships can make it through the Suez Canal, but the canal is too shallow to accommodate the big ones, so they have to go half full or the shippers have to down size their boats.

Delivery to Asian customers will take an extra 40 days, and the shippers are sending half the volume to customers who aren't lowering their demand.

Again:

How is this not being leveraged by Democrats to push harder for a conversion away from The Dirty Fuels Cartel?

Lucas Bean

Confirming that you have to draw them out of the cult. Trying to yank them out usually just strengthens their resolve to remain.

Erika Jordan

American conservatives die early.

For The Critters!

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - Park rangers arrested a 34 year old man Saturday after he allegedly dressed in a homemade bison costume and spent nearly two hours chasing tourists while repeatedly yelling, "NOW YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS!"

Seems like a noble enough gesture. I mean the guy was just trying to educate some people.

Update: This is AI

Belle

Because Trump is a REMF, and fuckin' loser.

Not Too Deep, Now

FBI Director killed Epstein case after review of less than 7% of investigation files

Internal communications from the Department of Justice reveal that the decision to close the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein was made after a narrowly focused review of less than 7% of the case files, centered entirely on photo and video evidence.

FBI Director Kash Patel tasked agents in March 2025 to “determine if there are any images of individuals on any videos which should be considered for prosecution,” according to emails published as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The resulting review examined an estimated 400,000 of the 6 million files compiled against Epstein and did not include financial documents, personal communications, or a majority of witness testimony.

The review was conducted by an agent working out of the DOJ’s Southern District of New York office and completed within a few hours of the request. It supposedly found no evidence implicating anyone other than Epstein and his now-convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

“All videos and images from the case file and from Epstein’s residences and devices were reviewed for evidence of a crime,” the agent wrote in their analysis. “Those reviews revealed no evidence from any of the searches we conducted or any of the files we reviewed that any videos or other images exist of any victims in this case being sexually abused. Nor did those reviews reveal any evidence that anyone other than Epstein and Maxwell participated in the sexual abuse of victims in this case.”

The internal memo sheds new light on the agency’s abrupt decision to end its investigation into Epstein’s multi-billion dollar sex trafficking operation, and adds context to the public memo on the matter that many derided as woefully insufficient. In the analysis, the agent emphasized that their determinations were made exclusively based on visual evidence, and even that was limited to include investigations specific to the SDNY.

The review omitted all surveillance footage, for example, as the 2019 search warrant executed at Epstein’s properties only authorized confiscation of evidence related to crimes committed within the preceding 20 years. Witness testimony was also severely limited: anything other than on-camera interviews with the Palm Beach Police department was not considered.

The language in Patel’s official FBI memo announcing the closure of the investigation mirrors the internal analysis almost identically, and a reexamination of the text suggests the video and image elements were the only determining factors.

“The files relating to Epstein include a large volume of images of Epstein, images and videos of victims who are either minors or appear to be minors, and over ten thousand downloaded videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography. Teams of agents, analysts, attorneys, and privacy and civil liberties experts combed through the digital and documentary evidence” the memo stated. “This systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list.’ There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”

The DOJ and FBI did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

The decision to close the investigation into Epstein’s criminal enterprise without pursuing additional inquiries into potential accomplices or co-conspirators was seen as a miscarriage of justice by survivors, witnesses, and members of Congress, particularly after the DOJ acknowledged that there were “over one thousand victims” connected to the case.

Two weeks after the investigation was closed, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee forced a vote to open an inquiry into the government’s handling of the files. Patel’s decision not to pursue charges based on a small, selective portion of evidence reinforces committee members’ assertion that the DOJ has been involved in a cover-up to protect those implicated from harm.

“This is obviously really concerning. We have a lot of questions about this,” said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), ranking member of the Oversight Committee. “We have some other information as it relates to the FBI director and the way he’s mismanaged the redaction process, so there are a lot of questions for Kash Patel, including the really serious ones that you raised. And so this is why Kash Patel has got to be in front of the committee, and he’s got to answer our questions.”

On Tuesday, Garcia sent a letter to committee chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) requesting that Patel and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche be brought in for questioning.

Patel and Blanche were repeatedly referenced by former Attorney General Pam Bondi during her recent interview with the committee, during which she redirected nearly all criticism to her subordinates. According to Bondi, Blanche handled the day-to-day affairs of the Epstein investigation — including transferring convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell to a more desirable prison with low security and luxurious amenities — while Patel oversaw the consolidation of the files and redaction process.

“Pam Bondi deflected to Todd Blanche over 30 times. I mean, it was crazy how often she would put the blame on Blanche. So, if that’s going to be the case, we want to talk to Blanche. We want to understand why Bondi was saying that Blanche was the one in charge of the redactions, in charge of the investigation. He has questions to answer,” said Garcia. “She did mention Patel numerous times on the FBI redaction side. And so we have questions obviously for Kash Patel. These are people that we want to talk to as soon as possible.”

Survivors of Epstein’s abuse have also come forward in support of Garcia’s request, demanding answers as to why they were never contacted by the DOJ as part of its investigation and why the FBI failed to redact personal and identifying information about them while adding redactions to the names of those implicated in criminal activity.

Maggie Has Her Master's

JoJo Janks 'Em

Make It A Hate Election

GOP midterm strategy: Make it a "hate election"

Republicans admit the GOP's midterm forecast is bleak. But they're clinging to two hopes: voters' fear and loathing of Democrats.

• "It's going to be a hate election," a Republican tied to President Trump's political operation told Axios. "Voters have to hate the Dems more than they hate us. And we have material to work with."

Why it matters:

There's broad GOP frustration that Trump has made challenging midterm elections worse by not focusing heavily on pocketbook issues — especially the tax cuts Republicans won — while launching the Iran war, which raised gas prices and fueled inflation.

• Trump's prime-time speech Thursday night about China's alleged influence campaign targeting U.S. voters six years ago did little to assuage those concerns.
• "I have yet to understand how we win the midterms by talking about what happened in 2020," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told Axios.

Zoom in:

Trump hopes his speech will pressure Congress to pass his controversial SAVE America Act and excite his base voters to turn out. But GOP pollsters and election pros outside of the White House say it's falling on deaf ears.

• "We've studied this, and it's not a winner," said a Republican pollster working on multiple races nationwide. "Our research shows people want the president to make their life better, and they don't believe he has."

The pollster's data now indicate Democrats could wind up with a seven-seat majority in the House, where Republicans currently have a six-seat edge. Trump's net approval rating is underwater by 10 points.

• A Washington Post/Ipsos poll out Thursday showed Trump's net approval rating was even worse among registered voters: -19%.

Friction point:

Democrats also have poor favorability ratings. And Republicans plan to use the Democrats' Tea Party-like revolt by progressives to paint the entire party as radicals who can't be trusted to govern.

• "Swing voters have a persistent fear the Democrats will just go too far left," said a second GOP pollster with an array of clients across the nation. "So we can make the case that yeah, we suck. But they're worse."
• That pollster echoed the first: "The president has got to start talking about things people really care about — like tax cuts — and not all this other stuff. But we know he just won't."

Reality check:

Both political parties have similar (low) approval ratings in the eyes of voters, according to a Pew Research Center poll.

• A majority of voters consistently view Trump as dishonest (even in red states, including Texas).
• And Republicans counting on voters hating liberal Democrats more than them might consider this: A CNBC poll out Friday found that voters now are more likely to be turned off by a MAGA candidate than a democratic socialist.

The Trump Regime's Crimes