Elon Musk: "Government Is Basically Unfixable"

The venture capitalist "besties" of the All-In Podcast gathered in Los Angeles earlier this week for their latest summit, where Elon Musk joined via video link to discuss hot topics ranging from Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and humanoid robots to Starlink, declining birth rates, and the broader demise of the West.

All-In Podcast hosts welcomed Elon Musk via the video link, where Jason Calacanis wasted no time, opening with: "So, no more Washington, D.C. - you're back at work. Any lessons from your time in D.C.?"

"The government is basically unfixable," Musk said while reflecting on the lessons he learned from heading up DOGE for several months, adding, "It was a hell of a side quest."

In fact, much of DOGE has been wound down. Musk's small strike teams across federal agencies failed to uncover the promised $2 trillion in fraud and waste; so far, that figure stands around $206 billion. In reality, DOGE was likely more about neutering the Democratic Party's decades of corruption, cutting off funding lines such as gutting USAID and rolling the shell of it into the State Department under Secretary of State Marco Rubio's control.

Back to Musk. He told the hosts of All-In, "If you look at our national debt, which is insanely high. The interest payments exceed the defense department - I guess sorry war department - budget and they keep rising. If AI and robots don't solve our national debt, we're toast."

🚨ELON MUSK: "I haven't been to DC since May. The government is basically unfixable. I applaud David (Sacks') noble efforts…but at the end of the day if you look at our national debt…if AI and robots don't solve our national debt, we're toast."

https://twitter.com/i/status/1965634225073483988

Nepal Army Takes Over Capital As Politicians Flee By Helicopter, Mayhem Worsens

The collapse of the Nepal government situation has gone from bad to worse overnight and into Wednesday. Parliament has gone up in flames, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has resigned, there have been dozens of deaths and injuries - including among some government officials or their families.

Government ministers have been seen fleeing the capital, chased by enraged mobs of mostly youth, sick of government corruption and following the latest attempt to outright ban a large number of popular social media sites, including Facebook, X, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube.

But apparently the social media ban days ago was simply the straw that broke the camel's back. "The unrest started in early September, when a group of young Nepalis, fed up with seeing politicians’ children posting about their designer handbags and luxury travel while most people struggle to make ends meet, organized a peaceful protest," CNN reviews.

"Anger had been brewing for years about the country's worsening youth unemployment crisis and lack of economic opportunities, exacerbated by what many viewed as a growing disparity between the country’s elite and regular people," the report adds.

Residents of top politicians in Kathmandu have been reported attacked and in some cases damaged or set on fire, including the home of the now former prime minister of the country.

Army helicopters were seen ferrying government ministers to safety:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1965803771264672098

The 'Mass Manipulation' Machine Is On Overdrive

There are these strange moments in American political history when the whole of the establishment decides to test its power over the public mind.

I’ve lived through five of these times. Each makes a fascinating study in what is called “the manufacture of consent.” It happens when some big push is essential to powerful interests but this very thing is opposed or only mildly favored by the people.

The point is mass manipulation. You can feel it when it happens.

If you have lived through such times, you know that it has a different feel than the normal stream of news. You cannot turn on the TV without hearing about it. The radio and podcasts too. All top venues agree with right, left, or in between. Every expert agrees. The media blitz has a daily signal: anyone who disagrees with this is uniformed, deluded, crazy, dangerous, and certainly does not deserve a hearing.

This happened last week with regard to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

He went before a Senate committee to testify about goings-on. He could hardly get a word in. The Democrats called him a liar, a charlatan, a quack, a danger to the lives of children. Republicans weren’t much better.

He handled himself well given the situation. When he said that we have no idea how many people died of COVID, he was telling the truth. The death-certificate misclassification was rampant, and the PCR tests were wildly inaccurate, failing to distinguish between exposure and sickness. It was treated as a gotcha moment as if he did not know his stuff.

It was the same with the vaccine. Kennedy took the COVID shot off the recommended schedule for children because it was determined to be ineffective, unnecessary, and has a poor safety profile. The Democrats said he was putting the nation’s children at risk. Then the media got involved. It was all the usual suspects with commentaries nearly identical: dogmatic, extreme, vociferous, and wicked.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/mass-manipulation-machine-overdrive

Hundreds arrested in clashes with riot police at ‘block everything’ protests in France

The massive demonstrations come amid deepening political and economic turmoil in the country

Hundreds have been arrested in France as riot police clashed with demonstrators, who vowed to “block everything” nationwide amid rising discontent with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

Around 175,000 people took part in the protests on Wednesday across Paris and other cities, including Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, and Lyon, the Interior Ministry said. Officials reported 473 arrests nationwide, while security services logged over 800 protest actions and hundreds of fires and blockades of roads and buildings.

The demonstrations were called under the slogan ‘Bloquons Tout’, or ‘Let’s block everything’ – signaling an intent to strike, block roads, and disrupt public services in opposition to proposed austerity measures. Over 80,000 police officers were deployed to swiftly dismantle barricades and clear blockades.

In Paris, police fired tear gas outside Gare du Nord train station, where around a thousand protesters gathered, some holding signs declaring Wednesday a ‘public holiday’. In Nantes, demonstrators set tires and bins ablaze to block a highway before being dispersed with gas. In Montpellier, scuffles erupted as protesters erected barricades, with one banner demanding ‘Macron resign’.

The rallies come as France grapples with a spiraling budget deficit that hit 5.8% of GDP in 2024 – almost double the EU 3% ceiling. The unrest recalls the Yellow Vest revolt that erupted over fuel taxes and economic inequality in Macron’s first term. It follows Monday’s no-confidence vote that forced out Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, clearing the way for Sebastien Lecornu to become the country’s fourth premier in a year.

https://www.rt.com/news/624426-france-nationwide-protests-arrests/

Posted 30 minutes apart.

https://x.com/DarrigoMelanie/status/1965451343033962765

Netanyahu to Qatar, other nations: Expel Hamas leaders, or Israel will act again

Qatar's prime minister criticized Netanyahu during an interview with CNN, saying that "Netanyahu is leading the Middle East to chaos" and that Qatar will respond.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday called on Qatar and other nations that harbor terrorists to expel them or bring them to justice, adding that if they don't, "we will."

In his statement, Netanyahu reflected on the upcoming anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, saying, "Tomorrow is September 11th…On that day, Islamist terrorists committed the worst savagery on American soil since the founding of the United States. We also have September 11th. We remember October 7th. On that day, Islamist terrorists committed the worst savagery against the Jewish people since the Holocaust."

Netanyahu: "Like with 9/11, we went after masterminds who committed October 7th"

The prime minister said that after September 11, the US hunted down the terrorists who committed the crimes, and passed a resolution in the UN Security Council that stated that governments cannot harbor terrorists.

"Yesterday, we acted along those lines. We went after the terrorist masterminds who committed the October 7th massacre," Netanyahu said.

"And we did so in Qatar, which gives them a safe haven. It harbors terrorists, it finances Hamas, it gives its terrorist chieftains sumptuous villas, it gives them everything."

Netanyahu criticized various countries that condemned Israel, drawing parallels to the United States after 9/11.

"And I say to Qatar and all nations that harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don’t, we will."

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani criticized Netanyahu's decision to strike Qatar on Wednesday during an interview with CNN, saying that "Netanyahu is leading the Middle East to chaos."

The Qatari prime minister added that Qatari officers were injured in the Israeli attack on Doha and are in critical condition. Additionally, Qatar is reassessing "everything" about its mediating role and Hamas's future in Gaza.

Al Thani said that "Netanyahu has been wasting Qatar's time by engaging in mediation," and that there are currently discussions over a response, in coordination with regional partners.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-867047

>>23575464