The Coming Famine: How war and empire are starving the world

The Coming Famine: How war and empire are starving the world

Ramon Tomey

• In "The Coming Famine: Engineered Starvation and the Price of Empire," Col Douglas MacGregor warns that a global famine is being deliberately engineered, with the daily cost of the current war machine destroying enough grain and fertilizer to feed 30,000 people for an entire year.
• The United States has approved over $113 billion in aid to Ukraine with minimal oversight, while American farmers face doubled fertilizer prices and domestic infrastructure crumbles.
• Sanctions on Russia and blockades on Iran are strangling the inputs needed for modern agriculture, such as natural gas for nitrogen fertilizer, which causes crop yields to fall by 40% to 50% in a single season.
• The military-industrial complex profits from destruction, as defense contractors benefit from policies that cause starvation, with war profiteering being a deliberate outcome rather than an accident.
• The solution proposed is humanitarian disengagement – including an immediate ceasefire, removal of foreign troops, an end to sanctions on food and fertilizer and a focus on local food sovereignty and home gardens.

According to the book "The Coming Famine: Engineered Starvation and the Price of Empire," the evidence is undeniable. We are witnessing the deliberate construction of a global famine that will dwarf any natural disaster in human history.

Col. Douglas MacGregor, a decorated combat veteran and former senior advisor to the Department of War, has been sounding the alarm that the mainstream media refuses to broadcast. His credentials are impeccable: He led troops in battle, then helped plan strategy from the top floor of the military establishment.

When MacGregor speaks about the connection between endless war and engineered starvation, he speaks from decades of insider experience that few can match. And the numbers are staggering.

The United States has approved over $113 billion in aid to Ukraine alone, yet oversight is so minimal that much of this money disappears into a black hole of corruption. Meanwhile, American farmers face fertilizer prices that have more than doubled, and our own infrastructure crumbles.

The connection between energy wars and food production is the key that the corporate media refuses to explain. Modern agriculture depends entirely on natural gas for nitrogen fertilizer through the Haber-Bosch process.

When the United States and its allies impose sanctions on Russia and blockade Iran, they are not just punishing geopolitical rivals. They are strangling the very inputs that keep the world's crops growing.

Iran's oil fields are old and fragile. If shut down for even two weeks, they can suffer permanent damage that cuts output by 20% to 30%. The same applies to Venezuela, whose production collapsed from 3.5 million barrels per day to just 400,000.

MacGregor has warned repeatedly that this is not an accident. The same elites who control the financial system and the war machine have engineered conditions for mass starvation.

The Houthi blockade of the Red Sea, the destruction of fertilizer plants, the sanctions that prevent shipments of ammonia and urea – all of these fit a pattern that benefits defense contractors while destroying the Global South. India, Bangladesh, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia are already on the brink. When fertilizer supplies are cut off, crop yields fall by 40% to 50% in a single season. That means hundreds of millions of people facing starvation.

The hypocrisy is staggering. Western leaders claim to be defending democracy and human rights, yet their policies have caused more deaths from starvation than from all the bombs dropped in the conflict. The World Food Programme's own data shows that the resources poured into weapons could have prevented famine.

But the military-industrial complex profits from destruction, not from feeding people. Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman donate heavily to both political parties, ensuring that no vote to continue war will ever fail. The War Powers Act of 1973, designed to prevent endless conflict, has become a rubber stamp for the very thing it was meant to stop.

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Zelensky Telegraphs 40-Day Pressure Offensive On Russia, Fueling Fears Of Slide Toward WW3

Zelensky Telegraphs 40-Day Pressure Offensive On Russia, Fueling Fears Of Slide Toward WW3

TYLER DURDEN

The Ukraine war is quite obviously escalating, especially regarding Ukrainian leaders seeking to "bring the war" to Russian soil, amid nightly drone attacks which have come in the hundreds and even thousands of late.

President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking to seize on the momentum of repeat drone hits on Russian refinery and energy infrastructure - a reality Russia has suffered over many months, leading to a current fuel crisisspanning dozens of cities and regions, and especially Crimea, which has temporarily halted fuel sales to common citizens altogether this week.

Ukrainian media is touting a new Zelensky plan to ramp up the pressure on Russia over the next 40 days, aimed at "pressuring Russia to end its war".

He has ordered Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) to launch a new 40-day operation, which also includes "plan for long-range sanctions, medium-range sanctions, and the results achieved by the SBU," Zelensky said on X. He's further calling it an "influence operation."

"For several months in a row, the SBU has demonstrated the highest performance in defending Ukraine’s positions on the front lines through the use of various types of drones," Zelensky said on Thursday evening. According to more of the statement:

I approved a 40-day influence operation for the Service against the aggressor state aimed at compelling it to end the war.

Importantly, for several months in a row, the SSU has demonstrated the highest performance in defending Ukraine’s positions on the front lines through the use of various types of drones. The Center of Special Operations “Alpha” leads in terms of the occupier’s personnel and equipment neutralized.

Earlier, in mid-June, Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov proclaimed  "Hell is beginning," for Russia and its military. "Logistics are being cut off. Crimea is being isolated," he said at the time.

 Russian forces still have the upper-hand on the front line in the east, but the pain clearly being inflicted on Russia's economy can't be ignored at this point.

This sets up a potential slide into tit-for-tat escalation which could unleash a WW3 scenario. In the meantime this is an interesting-timed warning from Latvia and Poland:

Western intelligence agencies are increasingly concerned that Russia may be preparing a limited hybrid operation targeting NATO's eastern flank, potentially involving the Baltic states or Poland.

Such a move, officials believe, could be an attempt to test the alliance's unity as the war in Ukraine enters a new phase.

According to reporting by The Guardian, intelligence officials from two NATO countries have warned that Moscow is considering a "provocation" rather than a full-scale military attack.

Report by Major General Yevhenii Khmara on our long-range sanctions plan, mid-range sanctions, and the results of the Security Service of Ukraine – specifically the Center of Special Operations “Alpha” – on the front.

Kiev now feels the pressure to keep this narrative going, also so it can attract more and more weapons and intelligence help. But at some point Russia will feel it necessary to strongly reassert its red lines. This could come in the form of another massive escalation, and against 'decision-making centers'.

Iran Responds With Drone Attack On Bahrain, Another Hit On Ship In Hormuz

Iran Responds With Drone Attack On Bahrain, Another Hit On Ship In Hormuz

TYLER DURDEN

A lot of escalation has ensued in the last 48 hours, starting when Thursday Tehran struck a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz, after which by the end of Friday US CENTCOM confirmed a series of fresh attacks on Iranian missile and drone storage sites as well as coastal radar installations, reportedly on Sirik Island located near the Strait of Hormuz.

Referring to Thursday's attack on a vessel off Oman, the Pentagon called it a "powerful response to yesterday’s attack," in the Friday statement. By early Saturday, Iran had re-retaliated and launched a fresh drone attack on Bahrain. Additionally, another ship in the Strait of Hormuz separately came under attack Saturday.

The Associated Press points to the obvious potential US-Iran deal (MoU) unraveling: "The attacks across the Persian Gulf show the danger of the Iran war again spinning out of control, even after Iran and the U.S. reached an interim deal to try and agree on a final accord to end the conflict" - though neither side has as yet indicated they are walking away from the deal at this point.

According to more details from the Saturday developments:

• Bahrain said it was targeted by "a number" of Iranian drones on Saturday, accusing Tehran of "undermining peace efforts" in the region. In a statement, the country's foreign ministry said it expressed "Bahrain’s condemnation in the strongest terms of the targeting of its territory at dawn today," adding that the attacks were a "blatant threat to the security of citizens and residents".
• US Central Command announced that American aircraft had hit Iranian missile and drone storage locations as well as coastal radar sites in response to Iran striking the M/V Ever Lovely ship with a one-way attack drone as it navigated the Strait of Hormuz.
• "The Singapore-flagged cargo ship was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast at the time of Iran’s attack," CENTCOM said, adding that Iranian forces had "clearly violated" the ceasefire agreement.

But it remains that Iran is now firing warning shots at ships that haven't cleared permits to transit the Strait of Hormuz under Iran's own protocol, which highlights that deep divisions remain over each side's interpretation of the terms. The latest via Reuters:

• IRAN WEIGHS WALKING AWAY FROM SWISS TALKS AFTER US STRIKE
• IRAN MAY HALT SWISS TALKS AFTER US STRIKE ON SIRIK

Gulf states have newly condemned "in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian attacks" on Bahrain, after drones hit the country's territory. The GCC statement further alleged that the Iranians targeted "civilian infrastructure and properties".

Other nations weighed in separately, with for example Kuwait's foreign ministry saying "The continuation of these aggressions, amid regional and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and reducing tensions, represents a dangerous undermining of efforts for peace and stability and a threat to the security and stability of the region," on X.

Amid all the tit-for-tat, Iran's IRGC is blaming the US for breaking it commitments under the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). A Saturday statement described:

According to Article Five of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, arrangements for monitoring maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz are carried out in coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

However, according to the statement, the United States sought to violate this commitment through various movements and received an appropriate response, and the same will apply in the future. If any aggression is repeated, the response will be broader."

Al Jazeera has meanwhile reported Saturday that that IRGC ‘targets’ US military sites in region after attacks - and so the response could be ongoing.

Independent journalist and pundit Michael Tracey points out sarcastically but aptly that Indefinitely bombing Iran sounds a lot like what you might call "endless war". And so the weekly tit-for-tat escalation might grow more regular until there simply is no more MoU deal to reference back to at all.

Ironically this comes just as Israel, Lebanon, and Israel hailed the signing of a 'trilateral peace framework' in Washington - and as Hezbollah is being pushed out of a political solution in south Lebanon, while the IDF occupation of significant territory remains.

 

Signposts to Heaven

Signposts to Heaven

By Holly Huffstutler

Often when I am sad, discouraged, or life seems full of trials, I think about the joys of heaven in an attempt to adjust my mindset. This is a good practice. James 1 tells us that trials lead to steadfastness, and that perseverance through the trials leads to a crown of life. Paul encouraged the Corinthians with the truths that—despite heavy persecution—he had far greater realities in heaven:

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal 

But perhaps a danger to avoid is looking upward to that eternal weight of glory only when we are down, discouraged, and depressed. Perhaps our eyes are usually so focused typically on what we see around us in both the humdrum and really enjoyable days, that when we do get super down and need to look up to the unseen, it takes a bit more effort than it should.

This could be solved by setting our eyes above on a regular, daily basis:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (Colossians 3:1-2).

My husband mentioned in a recent sermon how he was enjoying the beauty of my parents’ yard and our relaxed time together. This beauty caused him to think of heaven and how much more glorious it would be. I began to think of all the things that I cherish—and perhaps at times am tempted to idolize. All of these things are visible, good gifts of God, but what greater gifts they could be if I recognized them all as pointing to a greater joy and beauty that I will experience in heaven with God for eternity.

Wayne Martindale, mirroring C.S. Lewis’ views of earthly joys in light of heaven, wrote:

“Any earthly good may enrich and give a momentary sense of satisfaction, but we always want something more. At their core, Joy and all other desires are for Heaven, signposts along the way to guide the pilgrim home.”2

Lewis himself said that the problem is not that we have too strong desires for joys on earth, but too weak. He calls us “half-hearted creatures” who are happy enough with basic human pleasures:

“When infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.”3

I decided that I would list many of the things I really love and enjoy, followed by what the Bible has to say about some greater, now-unseen, eternal aspect of that same pleasure. Perhaps my making a practice of regularly looking heavenward in times of joy will make it a bit more natural to continue to look heavenward in times of difficulty.

Marriage

Marriage is a gift. I recognize that not everyone has experienced a great or even good marriage, but many Christians do. So, I couldn’t help but think of the marriage supper of the Lamb. As I enjoy my relationship with my husband (and we hope to share fruit from the tree of life together in heaven!), I remember that he pictures Christ and I—his wife—the church (cf. Ephesians 5:22-33). And one day, though he and I won’t be married in heaven (like the angels; cf. Matthew 22:30), we will experience together the wedding feast of the Lamb:

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:6-9)

Family

Besides my relationship with my husband, I cherish most on earth our family time. My family has moved from one state to another within the last year which also meant changing from homeschooling full time to traditional school. I’ve missed that huge amount of family time we’ve had, so I’ve absolutely loved our summer break so far with all the time we’ve been able to spend together. How can I turn this joy to point to eternal joy?

First and foremost, I want to spend eternity with my family. As my husband and I have told them multiple times, we know we will be there, and we want them to be there, too. So we have eternity-focused conversations with our children all the time. Like John writing to his “beloved children,” we communicate to ours:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1-4)

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True Cost of EU ‘Solidarity’ With Ukraine: Minus $19,300 Per Household

True Cost of EU ‘Solidarity’ With Ukraine: Minus $19,300 Per Household – Russia’s Investment Chief

Sputnik

As the EU flushes its first $3.7 billion tranche from a roughly $105 billion set to be funneled over the next two years to Ukraine, Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev offers up the hard math.

This EU “generosity” announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen - along with the over $234 billion already EU-provided to Ukraine - has European pensioners tightening their belts, workers struggling with energy bills, and industries bleeding out, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund points out on X.

As Dmitriev neatly pointed out: add the ~$3.5 trillion EU self-inflicted wound from rejecting Russian gas, and suddenly every EU household is down minus roughly $19,300.

But war hawk Ursula gets her to do her victory lap.

Lavrov Taunts EU: Let Ukraine In & Watch Bloc Crumble