This multipolar megaproject was given a second wind following years of lackluster progress after emerging as Russia's only remaining outlet to the international economy as a result of this year's dramatic developments, which in turn accelerated that Eurasian Great Power's grand strategic convergence with Iran and India.

Conversations about Eurasian connectivity had hitherto been dominated by China's Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) and in particular its potential to pioneer more robust East-West integration. That all changed with the onset of Russia's special operation and the unprecedented sanctions that the US-led West imposed in response, which immediately rendered the Eurasian Land Bridge politically unviable. Nevertheless, Moscow's Greater Eurasian Partnership (GEP) continues, albeit with a North-South focus.

To that end, it's prioritized the eponymous North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) between Iran and India, which had been stillborn for years prior. It was given a second wind after emerging as Russia's only remaining outlet to the international economy, however, which in turn accelerated its grand strategic convergence with Iran and India. Those three are now trying to create a third pole of influence in International Relations, which will revolutionize the global system upon their plans' completion.

The Biden administration vastly overstated its estimate that employers created more than 1 million jobs in the second quarter of this year, claiming historic job growth when in fact hiring had stalled, according to a new estimate.

Job growth was "essentially flat" in the second quarter with only 10,500 new jobs added, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said. Republicans are accusing the administration of lying about the employment data in an election year and are demanding answers.

The Philadelphia Fed's new assessment shows that employment numbers in 29 states and the District of Columbia were significantly lower than the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported for the March-through-June period.

The BLS, a division of the Department of Labor, estimated net job growth of 1,047,000 jobs in the second quarter. The Philadelphia Fed now says its data shows that 10,500 net jobs were created in that period.

Kiev's latest war crime was also a psychological operation aimed at manipulating domestic, Russian, and Western perceptions of the conflict at this pivotal moment when its dynamics are once again trending in Moscow's favor. It's too early to predict whether this hybrid military-infowar provocation will succeed in obtaining its desired results, but there's no doubt that more will likely follow as Kiev becomes more desperate.

Mayor of Donetsk Alexey Kulemzin wrote on Telegram Thursday morning:

"Another war crime was committed this morning by Ukrainian fascists. Today, at exactly 7:00 a.m. [04:00 GMT], they subjected the center of Donetsk to the most massive strike since 2014."

Kiev's worst attack against that newly incorporated Russian city in eight years was undertaken out of desperation in an attempt to "save face" amidst the American Ambassador to NATO admitting that the bloc can't keep up the pace of its aid.

Julianne Smith dropped that bombshell while speaking at an event hosted by the CSIS think tank on Tuesday, but it shouldn't have been surprising for objective observers. After all, it was already obvious by as early as last spring that NATO couldn't indefinitely sustain the scale and scope of its military support for Kiev. That anti-Russian alliance's stockpiles are dwindling yet its military-industrial complex can't replace its lost supplies fast enough to reverse this trend.

This piece came to me in an unusual way. A British friend sent it, after his wife sent it to him. He said: "Well written piece! Pulled from Jean's friend on Facebook!". All I really know is the author's name is Janet Daley, and she's in all likelihood British. I like how she points out the correlation between what the church allowed people to think and know and express in the Middle Ages+, and what we are allowed by government and media and industry to think and know and express today.

And then makes the link between the past 3 years of covid info, and climate change "science". Going forward, you will find out how much Fauci declaring himself "The Science" has hurt the entire climate campaign. And maybe that's not so bad. Let's talk about these things. There doesn't appear to be much sense in "saving the Planet" if the only way to do that is to kill your economy and society.

It would have been better is she had included the same "conglomerate"'s control over the Ukraine issue, but we can't have everything. Hey, I would include the Trump "RussiaRussiaRussia" campaign, but that might be a step too far for many. Maybe we need to explain this one step, one topic, at a time. For the Automatic Earth, it all has meant censorship, and lots of lost ad revenue, but also more readers, and their donations, because, luckily, there are still people left who, in Janet's words: Argue. Question. Disagree. This light ain't dying.

The National Archives on Thursday released 13,173 unredacted documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, offering historians and conspiracy hunters a fresh trove of details.

It came soon after President Joe Biden issued an executive order authorizing their publication, while keeping thousands more documents from public view.

'Pursuant to my direction, agencies have undertaken a comprehensive effort to review the full set of almost 16,000 records that had previously been released in redacted form and determined that more than 70 percent of those records may now be released in full,' said Biden.

'This significant disclosure reflects my administration's commitment to transparency and will provide the American public with greater insight and understanding of the government's investigation into this tragic event in American history.'

Japan has approved its biggest military buildup since the second world war, warning that China poses the "greatest strategic challenge ever" and outlining plans to develop a counterstrike capability funded by record defence spending.

The plans, announced by the government on Friday, reflect growing alarm over a more assertive Chinese military and a North Korean regime that continues to improve its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

But the changes have also triggered criticism that Japan is abandoning more than seven decades of pacifism under its postwar constitution.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari urges heads of states from neighboring states participating in the Lake Chad Basin Commission to confront the issue of Western arms smuggling from Ukraine.

Weapons supplied to Ukraine from Western countries are "starting to flow" into the Lake Chad basin region, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari warned this week.

Addressing the heads of states from neighboring states participating in the Lake Chad Basin Commission on Tuesday in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, the president said, "Regrettably, the situation in the Sahel and the raging war in Ukraine serve as major sources of weapons and fighters that bolster the ranks of the terrorists in the region."

Democracy has never recovered

As reported earlier - On Thursday the National Archives released thousands of the never disclosed JFK documents.

But the FBI-CIA would not allow the release of all of the documents. Around 3% of the JFK documents are still being withheld from release by the government to the public — more than 50 years after the assassination.

What are they hiding?

Tonight Tucker Carlson provided the answer to this question on Thursday night.

Republican lawmakers have promised to take action after the sixth and latest installment of the "Twitter Files" alleged members of the FBI coordinated with Twitter executives to censor users and their tweets.

Substack writer Matt Taibbi dropped dozens of tweets about the new "Twitter Files" Friday that detailed the FBI's ties with the social media platform — a connection Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, said he will be asking the FBI about.

"[The] FBI has a lot to answer for after the latest drop of Twitter Files 6," Gaetz tweeted Friday.

No one ever lost money capitalizing on the unlimited nonsense spewed out by the collective deer caught in the headlights also known as Western mainstream media - complete with showering Person of the Year awards on a megalomaniac, cocaine-fueled lousy actor impersonating a warlord.

The non-stop trashy parade of Western military analysts is now "assessing" that the first targets of an incoming, joint Russia-Belarus attack on the 404 black hole formerly known as Ukraine will be Lviv, Lutsk, Rivne, Zhytomyr, and why not throw Kiev in the mix straight out of a second axis.

The Russian General Staff is attentively monitoring all the action and may even follow the advice of such "analysts".

And then there's outright panic, as the Ministry of Defense announced that the Strategic Missile Forces have loaded two Yars ICBMs into their intended silos. Cue to widespread shrieks of horror of the "Russia Readies Nuclear Missile Capable Of Striking Deep Into US" variety.

Some facts though never change. Number One is NATO as a figment of the collective West's - extremely impaired - imagination. If push ever came to shove - as Straussian/neo-con armchair warriors hope and pray - Russia can conveniently defeat the whole of NATO as there is hardly anything "there".

That, of course, would require a massive Russian mobilization. As it stands, Russia may look feeble in a few quarters as they activated at best 100,000 troops against possibly 1 million Ukrainian troops. It's as if Moscow was not exactly seduced by the idea of "winning" - which may be the case, in a quite twisted way.

Even now, Moscow has not mobilized enough troops to occupy Ukraine - which, in theory, would be imperative to completely "denazify" the Kiev racket. The operative concept though is "in theory". Moscow in fact is busy demonstrating a completely new theory - irrespective of the fact that a few exalted souls have been peddling that Putin should be replaced by the FSB's Alexander Bortnikov.