Search This Blog

Saturday, June 20, 2026

The Four Jokers of the Apocalypse: Carney, Starmer, Macron, and Merz

 by J.B. Shurk

The so-called “leaders” of Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany are the four jokers of the apocalypse — each doing his damndest to drag what’s left of those nations into Hell.  

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has given several speeches recently in which he reaffirms his commitment to fighting “climate change” by severely limiting Canadians’ meat and dairy consumption, clothing allowance, private ownership of vehicles, air travel, and other basic lifestyle choices. 

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer — who did nothing while Islamic rape gangs hunted young British girls — has rolled out a totalitarian system for online speech controls, mandatory digital identifications, and device-level scanning under the pretense that Big Brother must “protect the children” from “harmful” content.

French President Emmanuel Macron pretends that Christians are not under attack while churches and other sacred sites burn to the ground.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has decided that the only way to save the German economy from the self-inflicted and “severe strategic mistake” of shutting down its nuclear reactors is to juice Germany’s defense industry by investing in prolonged war with the Russian Federation.

Net-zero communism, online censorship, Christian persecution, and endless war — these are all pillars of the globalist, “progressive,” anti-Western apocalypse that Carney, Starmer, Macron, and Merz continue to unleash.  The “Build Back Better”-“Green New Deal”-“Net-Zero”-“Great Reset”-“Climate Change” program will make it impossible for people to own anything.  “Protect the children” controls over the Internet will make it impossible for people to exchange information freely and anonymously.  Continued attacks on Christians’ religious beliefs and their houses of worship will make it impossible for people to exercise their freedom of conscience without punishment.  Using war to distract citizens from “green energy”-induced inflation, central bank currency destruction, and the totalitarian architecture of the West’s national security surveillance State will make it impossible for people to marry, have children, prosper, and live in peace.  

These are not popular policies.  If any one of these globalist pillars were put on a ballot for a general referendum, voters would overwhelmingly strike it down.  But the dictators who pretend to be leading “democracies” will never allow the people to decide their own futures.  After Ukraine voters surprised European elites in 2010 by choosing a president (Viktor Yanukovych) aligned more with Russia than the European Union, British voters surprised the ruling class by opting for Brexit in June 2016, and American voters surprised the Deep State by electing President Trump later that November, the Establishment realized that the successful implementation of its new-world-order policies would depend upon rigged elections and the sabotage of unapproved victors (see, e.g., the U.S. State Department’s 2014 Maidan coup d'état in Kyiv, the United States’ mail-in-ballot-tainted 2020 election that installed Joe Biden in the White House, the European Union’s annulment of Romania’s December 2024 presidential election, and Keir Starmer’s April 2026 national address effectively canceling Brexit).  Government by mandate and oppressive regulation is the dystopian system that has swallowed most of the West.  Elections with uncontrolled outcomes are to be avoided whenever possible.

Notice how the four jokers of the apocalypse govern by emergency.  When Carney talks about energy controls and economic regulation, he emphatically declares that man-made “climate change” is causing imminent destruction of the planet.  The “science” is not only “settled”; we’re all about to die!  A member of the British government said of Starmer’s social media spying: “Keir has been clear we need a game-changer to keep our children — and future generations — safe online.”  You hear that?  We must give up online privacy in order to keep the children safe!  In Macron’s France, even circumspect suggestions that millions of unvetted Islamic migrants might have something to do with the inexplicable spate of church fires across the country are met with government “hate crime” charges and public denunciations of right-wing nationalists and racists!  Poor Merz is so desperate to distract Germans suffering under the continent’s economically suicidal “green energy” policies that he’s substantially increased defense spending and taken steps toward mass conscription while warning that the Russians could invade Berlin at any time! 

In other words, if “climate change” doesn’t kill us, “right-wing nationalists” will!  And if those “racist fascists” don’t get us, the Russians will!  And if we somehow manage to survive those villains, too, well, a free, open, and uncensored Internet will certainly murder our children in their sleep!  All very scary things.  No time to use our brains to consider whether the four jokers of the apocalypse might have ulterior motives for their globalist policies.  No, sirree!  We have enough time only to listen to the government and do exactly what it says!  You know…just like during COVID…when the “experts” told us we could not question government rules for surviving the apocalypse — no matter how irrational, silly, or plain insane most of those rules proved to be — because grandparents, children, cute puppies and kittens, and maybe every person on the planet were all about to die…unless we obeyed the government!  

Globalism is an evil ideology that generates endless “emergencies” in order to frighten and intimidate people into surrendering their rights and freedoms.  Carney, Starmer, Macron, and Merz sell fear in exchange for power.  They’re good at what they do.  Peddling the apocalypse ad nauseam isn’t easy.  Fear merchants must constantly be ready to produce a new “emergency” just as soon as the current “emergency” grows stale.  That’s how “global cooling” turned into “global warming” before becoming “climate change” which morphed into threats from “extreme weather.”  Every time the temperature changes — heck, every time there’s a little extra sun, snow, wind, or rain — Mark Carney and his fellow “climate change” conmen are ready to sell the apocalypse!

It makes me wonder whether Western citizens will ever grow exhausted of being perpetually punked.  Will people realize that surviving on wind-powered unicorns downgrades life to what it was before the Industrial Revolution?  Will they figure out that mass surveillance and social credit scores are inimical to personal freedom?  Will they recognize that the Islamic conquest of Europe effectively means that there will be no Europe?  Will they notice that the constant fearmongering regarding Russia’s supposed intent to conquer the European continent mirrors Orwell’s satirical critique of perpetual war among the thinly-disguised fictional superstates of Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia?  

I really hope they do.  For all of our sakes, I really hope that a “great awakening” occurs during which ordinary Westerners accept that their “experts” are frauds, their “money” is fake, their “democracy” is a lie, and their “leaders” are totalitarians.  The line separating the Carneys, Starmers, Macrons, and Merzes from the Stalins, Mussolinis, Maos, and even Hitlers is smudged and getting only more blurry.  

To some people, that might read like hyperbole.  But these Western demagogues posing as “leaders” are allowing Christians to be violently attacked and prosecuted for imaginary “hate crimes.”  They do nothing as churches not-so-mysteriously go up in flames.  They let Islamic rape gangs hunt young girls and even cover up their horrific crimes in order to protect globalism’s support for mindless “multiculturalism” and forced “diversity.”  They censor speech in the name of “protecting children” and pump out endless propaganda while attacking dissent as “disinformation.”  They tax and regulate and take, take, take.  Then, after confiscating the public’s incomes and properties so that they and their cronies can have more wealth and more power, they go on television to hyperventilate about threats from invading Russians, right-wing fascists, and “global warming.”  Western “leaders” destroy minds with their lies.  They do not deserve our sympathy.  They deserve prison.

When the four jokers of the apocalypse come calling, pay them no attention.  Fear merchants can’t sell Armageddon if nobody listens.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/06/the_four_jokers_of_the_apocalypse_carney_starmer_macron_and_merz.html

Banning Hospitals' 'Certain Contracts' Could Save Americans $45 Billion, Report Finds

by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times,

A ban on certain contracts between hospital systems and health insurers could save Americans around $45 billion, according to a report from White House analysts released on June 18.

Lenox Health Greenwich Village Hospital in Manhattan, New York City, on Nov. 2, 2020. Chung I Ho/The Epoch Times

"The Council of Economic Advisers' findings reinforce that the Trump administration is delivering meaningful cost reductions for American patients," White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster told The Epoch Times by email June 19, noting the president's surgical approach to policy development that prioritizes fiscal discipline.

"By harnessing the use of free-market competition, President Trump has found a real solution to lowering costs instead of blindly throwing more taxpayer money at the problem."

Administration officials are exploring how best to manage hospital systems and insurers without relying on price controls or heavy-handed regulations.

At issue are three clauses, known as "anti-steering, anti-tiering, and all-or-nothing" contracts, which critics say shield healthcare providers from competition, thus increasing prices for consumers.

Anti-steering clauses block insurers from incentivizing or guiding clients toward cheaper options or providers, even when their data indicate clear savings potential.

Anti-tiering is used to stop insurers from categorizing hospital systems in less desirable benefit tiers that would reduce profit margins by forcing the providers to cover higher patient costs.

Bundled, also known as all-or-nothing, contracts require insurers to include all hospitals and physicians in a system, eliminating the option to negotiate independently.

Combined, the provisions result in more expensive healthcare, with higher rates, less efficiency, and limited insurance plan innovation due to reduced competition.

In markets where the clauses in question are widespread, a ban would lead to an 18 percent decline in hospital and physician prices, amounting to approximately $4,100 per inpatient admission, according to the report.

Premium prices would decline by about 7 percent, saving the average family about $1,800 annually, the report found, with aggregate reductions totaling about $45 billion and up to $63 billion.

Workers would benefit from higher take-home pay and lower out-of-pocket costs thanks to the reduced insurance costs. Small businesses and employers would also get relief with lower costs.

Analysts arrived at the numbers by calculating several variables, including the increased leverage insurers would gain while bargaining, with an expectation that prices would drop by about 8 percent as a result.

Allowing steering and tiering will improve patient management and shift care toward lower-cost providers, with transparencies helping reduce prices by about 4 percent, according to the report.

Free-market dynamics are expected to drive dynamic competition, with efficient, low-cost competitors helping further drive down costs by about 3 percent.

Proposed policies prioritize healthcare in rural areas, with bans aimed at lowering premiums while boosting independent rural hospitals.

Crackdowns are underway in the form of federal legal proceedings, with eyes on a national framework to codify the proposals.

"Thanks to the Trump administration's crackdown on anti-steering, anti-tiering, and all-or-nothing contracts by hospitals, everyday Americans are directly benefitting from lower premium contributions and higher take-home wages," Schuster said.

Congressional lawmakers are considering a similar course of action with the Healthy Competition for Better Care Act introduced by Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), which would outlaw the anti-competition clauses.

Some states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Texas, prohibit certain clauses, though coverage and enforcement vary.

The report referenced two recent civil antitrust actions brought by the Department of Justice, one against OhioHealth filed in February and settled June 18, with no admission of wrongdoing and the hospital forbidden from using anticompetitive clauses.

"Providing affordable healthcare to Americans is uncontroversial and this Department of Justice will not tolerate corporate prioritization of revenue in contravention of our antitrust laws," Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement.

A case against New York-Presbyterian Hospital, filed in March, is pending. Justice Department filings allege the hospital is insulated from price competition by contractual clauses, thus raising healthcare costs for New Yorkers.

A settlement with Sutter Health of Northern California from 2022 offers a successful precedent, according to the report, with the system agreeing to pay $575 million in fines and stop using the contractual clauses and succeeding in the aftermath of the agreement, later receiving recognition for its rural facilities.

Trump has repeatedly placed healthcare at the front of his second-term agenda, seeking to address the root causes of high medical costs, including with the release of TrumpRX.gov for prescription medicine at reduced prices.

He's taken his message on the road around the country in recent weeks, highlighting his actions and plans to further address Americans' healthcare cost burdens.

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/banning-hospitals-certain-contracts-could-save-americans-45-billion-report-finds

China's Caribbean Listening Post? Satellite Imagery Shows Cuba Spy Base Completed

 The Center for Strategic and International Studies published a report using geospatial intelligence to show that construction of a circularly disposed antenna array in Cuba has been completed.

CSIS states the circularly disposed antenna array in Cuba, just 240 miles miles from Miami, Florida, could be used to monitor or intercept radio transmissions across a wide range of frequencies in the region.

The DC-based think tank added that the site may be linked to China and could be used to track sensitive U.S. military and communications activity across the Caribbean, the Gulf of America, and the southeastern U.S.

Here's a section of the report:

At an expansive SIGINT site in Bejucal, near Havana, recent satellite imagery shows construction work completed on a new large circularly disposed antenna array (CDAA).

Over the last two years, an antenna field at the northeast end of the facility has been converted from a linear antenna grid to a CDAA. Imagery published by CSIS in April 2025 captured ongoing groundwork to lay cables between the antennas and the central control facility. Construction now appears to be complete and the facility has very likely begun operations.

The array of 32 antennas (19 outer and 13 inner) is larger and likely more capable than any Cuban CDAA previously observed by CSIS. CDAAs are primarily used for high-frequency direction finding, which involves intercepting and geolocating incoming radio transmissions over a wide range of frequencies.

From Bejucal's location in Cuba's northwest, the CDAA could improve the ability of Cuban authorities—or potentially their foreign partners—to monitor sensitive U.S. activities in the Caribbean and across the southeastern seaboard. U.S. naval and air operations in the region have escalated amid the Trump administration's prioritization of the Western Hemisphere, increasing the potential value of monitoring U.S. movements in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.

CSIS cited a congressional testimony in 2005 that pointed out China's activities in the Bejucal area:

The main Chinese electronic spy bases in Cuba are located to the northeast of Santiago de Cuba in the far east of the country and in the Bejucal area in the province of Havana, according to intelligence sources. The base of antennas in Santiago de Cuba is mainly dedicated to the capture of U.S. military satellite communications, meanwhile in Bejucal the Chinese have created a complex interception system of telephone communications. To disguise these activities, the official Chinese station, Radio China International is transmitting its programs from Havana to the United States and Latin America.

China's activity in the Western Hemisphere was recently uncovered by a Select Committee’s investigation that found Beijing developed "an extensive network of dual-use space ground stations and telescopes across Latin America and uses this network to collect intelligence and boost the PLA's warfighting capacity," adding, "The investigation found at least eleven China-linked space facilities established across Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, and Brazil."

The Trump administration's campaign to purge China's influence from the Western Hemisphere has intensified this year as part of a broader U.S. effort to reorder the political map of the Americas. After the collapse of the socialist Maduro regime in Venezuela, the Trump administration is increasingly focused on Cuba, where decades of communist rule have hollowed out the island's economy and turned it into an island playground for U.S. adversaries. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/chinas-caribbean-listening-post-satellite-image-shows-cuba-spy-base-completed

Virginia Residents Battling Constant Noise From Data Center Generators

 For more than a year, residents living next to the Vantage Data Centers facility have endured what they describe as a constant, high-pitched whining or ringing sound coming from the site's massive backup generators - the facility's only source of electricity.

An aerial view of the Vantage data center in Sterling, Va., which abuts a residential neighborhood. (NewsNation)

Unlike most data centers connected to the power grid, this facility runs entirely on its own on-site power plant. What residents were told would be temporary generator testing has become permanent operation.

"They're Just Never Turned Off"

Neighbor Hari Doue told News Nation that the community was initially assured the generators were only being tested for emergencies.

"We were told in the beginning that they test the generators to make sure they're working in case of an emergency. And then as the year and the months have gone on, they're just never turned off," Doue said. 

Another neighbor, Greg Pirio, has reached out to attorneys over the issue. He described the impact bluntly:

"You just hear this noise, it's just like, you just want to curse, you know, it's that bad."

Some residents have taken drastic steps to cope. One placed a mattress against their window to muffle the sound. Another installed plexiglass and began monitoring decibel levels with a sound meter. Concerns center on sleep disruption, stress, and falling property values.

Vantage Data Centers officials told NewsNation they continue to monitor noise levels and do not believe the sound exceeds Loudoun County's limits - which is 55 decibels in Residential and rural areas and 60 decibels in Mixed-use residential areas. Exceptions include generators operating during emergencies, at utility request, or during testing.

Virginia: America's Data Center Capital

Virginia has the largest concentration of data centers in the United States - 287 operational and 398 prospective, according to Pew Research. Loudoun County has become ground zero for this boom, often called "Data Center Alley."

The economic upside is significant. Data centers generate almost half of Loudoun County's property tax revenues, funding schools and public services while helping keep residential tax rates lower.

However, the facilities consumed approximately 26% of Virginia's total electricity in 2023, contributing to higher energy costs for all residents.

The situation in Sterling reflects a broader national tension. On June 18, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued show-cause orders requiring major grid operators to justify or update rules for connecting large energy users such as data centers.

President Trump has encouraged data center developers to build dedicated on-site power sources - the exact model used by Vantage in Sterling - to protect regular utility customers from rate hikes.

Residents near the Vantage site acknowledge the benefits of data centers, including jobs, tax revenue, and essential digital infrastructure, but strongly object to their placement directly next to homes.

"Do everything in your power to try and stop it from being built in an area that has any residential properties within 10 or 15 miles of it," said Doue. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/its-bad-virginia-residents-battling-constant-noise-data-center-generators#google_vignette

Sunday talkies: Wright, Rice, Tim Scott, Mike Lee, Mullin, Luna

 NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.)

NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)

CBS’s “Face the Nation”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.)

ABC’s “This Week”: Energy Secretary Chris Wright, former national security adviser Susan Rice

CNN’s “State of the Union”: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Mitt Romney

Fox News’s “Fox News Sunday”: Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)

Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures”: DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.)

https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/5932841-vance-switzerland-nuclear-deal/

Espaillat threatens PAC with suit over ‘false’ ICE ads backing far-left challenger

 US Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s campaign has slapped a super PAC bankrolling a trio of far-left congressional candidates with a “cease and desist” letter demanding it halt a “false” ad campaign that “misrepresents” the five-term congressman’s record, The Post has learned.

Stanley K. Schlein, the congressman’s campaign lawyer, fired off a letter to reps of American Priority PAC threatening a lawsuit unless it pulls a recent TV ad containing “factual inaccuracies” about Espaillat’s record on Capitol Hill to help promote insurgent socialist challenger Darializa Avila Chevalier in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

“Warning to New Yorkers: this is a public service announcement,” the 30-second ad says. “Your representative, Adriano Espaillat, is cooperating with ICE. Voted to fund them to the tune of $7.6 billion. Said he trusted Donald Trump to do the right thing.

“This is a public service announcement. Vote Darializa to fight ICE, to fight for our families.”

The lawyer’s letter — which was sent Monday and also copied and delivered to the Federal Election Commission and the New York Board of Elections —  rips the ad for claiming to be a “public service announcement” when it’s really a “paid political communication produced and distributed by a political action committee for the purpose of influencing an election.”

Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s campaign has slapped a super PAC bankrolling a trio of far-left Congressional candidates with a "cease and desist" letter demanding it halt a “false" ad campaign that “misrepresents” the five-term congressman’s record, The Post has learned.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s campaign has slapped a super PAC bankrolling a trio of far-left Congressional candidates with a “cease and desist” letter demanding it halt a “false” ad campaign that “misrepresents” the five-term congressman’s record, The Post has learned.Matt Roberts/Shutterstock
The letter also charges that the ad “fabricated” a quote it claimed came from a March report in The Intercept and falsely claimed Espaillat “cooperated” with and voted to fund the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila speaking at a Get Out The Vote rally.
Espaillat’s campaign fired off a letter to reps of American Priority PAC threatening a lawsuit unless it pulls a recent TV ad containing “factual inaccuracies” about Espaillat’s record on Capitol Hill to help promote insurgent socialist challenger Darializa Avila Chevalier (pictured speaking) in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.AP Photo/Ryan Murphy

“The advertisement creates a materially false and misleading impression of his record,” Schlein wrote.

“At a minimum, viewers are led to believe that Congressman Espaillat voted in favor of the legislation ultimately cited as evidence that he ‘funded ICE’ when, in fact, he voted against its final passage.

“We hereby demand that you forthwith CEASE and DESIST such advertisement that perpetrate this false, misleading and corrupt messages or risk further legal action that will be taken against American Priorities PAC and those individuals that have authorized and facilitated their publicly disseminated statements,” wrote the lawyer.

American Priority PAC’s top backers include Hussein “Sam” Mahrouq, a pro-Palestinian businessman. 

The super PAC announced earlier this month it plans to drop $2 million on TV, streaming and digital ads to boost Avila Chevalier and two other far-left congressional candidates backed by socialist Mayor Mamdani: Queens Assemblywoman Claire Valdez and ex-city Comptroller Brad Lander.

Avila Chevalier — who is challenging Espaillat in the primary for the 13th Congressional District that includes parts of northern Manhattan and the West Bronx — has faced furious backlash over a series of vile, since-deleted social media posts uncovered over the past few months.

It includes ones calling the US “a f–ing disgrace,” trashing cops and accusing veterans of committing “war crimes.”

American Priority PAC reps did not immediately return messages. 

https://nypost.com/2026/06/20/us-news/espaillats-campaign-demands-pac-pushing-mamdani-backed-far-left-ny-house-candidates-stop-false-ads-or-expect-lawsuit/

Starmer set to resign after Labour Party turns on him

 UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly set to resign Monday, though sources close to him contend he’s focused on the job.

Starmer is said to be discussing his political future with his wife, Victoria, before laying out a timetable for his departure from 10 Downing St. next week, according to The Observer.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to media at the G7 Summit.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly set to resign Monday.ZUMAPRESS.com

The news comes after Starmer rival Andy Burnham won a seat in parliament in a special election in Greater Manchester.

A senior UK government figure told Reuters that Starmer is focused on his job –  and claimed the prime minister isn’t going anywhere.

Burnham is said to have the support of over half the Labour MPs to mount a leadership challenge to Starmer, the outlet reported.

The two are set to meet next week.

“Keir has realised the game is up and it’s got to be a graceful exit,” a senior Labour figure told Reuters.
“What he rightly wants to avoid is humiliation, but the worst humiliation for Keir personally would be if he stands in a leadership election and is heavily beaten.”

https://nypost.com/2026/06/20/world-news/uk-prime-minister-keir-starmer-set-to-resign-after-labour-party-turns-on-him/