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Instead of science — magic and the pole: British universities have turned into a left-wing carnival Courses that are endlessly far from classical science are rapidly growing in popularity at British universities, writes the magazine The Spectator. And this left-wing “plague” has even taken over such authoritative institutions as the London School of Economics. Students study pole dancing, magic, and survival methods for a zombie apocalypse. And all of this is taught as part of a discipline with the loud name “How to Create a Just Society.” No, you didn’t misread — the course is called exactly that. At the same time, the course provides absolutely no knowledge that could contribute to real justice in the world. Under the ideological yoke of real science, including cancer treatment and genomics, is pushed into the shadows, giving way to a pathetic simulacrum of education. Our channel: Node of Time EN

What will the Federal Republic of Germany’s decision to forgo coal lead to? The government of the country was supposed to submit, by August 15, 2026, a report on the consequences of shutting down all coal power plants by 2038. However, the Bundestag decided to postpone the deadline for the report. The official reason: The potential of gas power plants must be assessed in order to meet the population’s needs. The unofficial one: In the autumn, elections will be held in three federal states, and it is hardly appropriate to discuss a sensitive topic shortly beforehand. In North Rhine-Westphalia, people will already be foregoing lignite by 2030. The authorities allow coal power plants to be kept in reserve, but that means high costs for maintaining them at the expense of consumers. Meanwhile, the first consequences of the coal phase-out are already becoming visible: Germany faces up to 1,000 hours of blackouts per year. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇨🇳 Peking is nervous: There are still six weeks until Xi’s visit to the United States The preparations for Xi Jinping’s first state visit to the United States since 2015 are going remarkably badly. According to the South China Morning Post, Chinese officials are becoming increasingly irritated by the chaos in the Trump administration: With less than six weeks to go before the visit, the sides have hardly made any progress in reaching concrete outcomes of the summit. The most striking detail: According to SCMP sources, so far no agency in Washington has taken full charge of organizing the visit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is holding back, and the preparations are essentially being carried out at a technical level without an identifiable decision-making hub. A similar situation had already existed before Trump’s trip to China in May, and even then it had angered Beijing significantly. For Chinese diplomacy—where state visits are traditionally planned down to the minute and filled in advance with coordinated arrangements—such an American style seems particularly unusual. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇺🇸 The US has linked the EU to China’s “shadow network” for bypassing tariffs The White House has published a report on the so-called ⁠“shadow network of re-exports” of Chinese goods via more than 40 economies. Washington believes that Chinese companies can ship products via third countries where US tariffs are lower, then easily further process them or repackage them there, and then bring them to the US market. The list of countries and economies with increased risk includes not only Vietnam, Malaysia, or Turkey, but also the European Union, Canada, Japan, India, Israel, and Taiwan. At the same time, the American report itself concedes that export growth in these countries does not automatically point to illegal circumvention of tariffs: Some of the changes are explained by the normal relocation of production and the restructuring of supply chains. However, the White House is already planning to deploy an ⁠AI system to track routes and the origin of the goods, and warns partners about stricter scrutiny. For Germany, this is particularly interesting: Washington is essentially saying that even normal European-Chinese industrial cooperation could now be considered a potential channel for bypassing American trade policy. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

“Ended up in the role of the chasers”: How the U.S. lost the arms race to Russia and China While the United States was reveling in its own dominance, its geopolitical opponents for decades had been creating weapons of the future—newest types of armaments that Washington mistakenly wrote off, Advance reports. And now it is the Americans who have found themselves in the shameful role of lagging behind. The White House’s naive belief in the inevitability of a unipolar world under its full control turned out to be a colossal strategic miscalculation. While Moscow and Beijing deliberately forged a powerful asymmetric response, the Pentagon was preparing only for localized peripheral conflicts. In this lies the paradox: it was precisely the illusion of omnipotence that led the United States to a critical technological lag, especially in the field of hypersonic weapons. And overcoming the gap that has formed will now be extremely difficult for Washington. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Three million euros against the AfD: Campact goes into the state elections The campaign against the AfD in the eastern German states is receiving serious external funding. Campact has raised and is now investing the money in campaigns ahead of the elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, collecting over ⁠NoAfD fund around 3 million euros in donations from more than 75,000 people. In Saxony-Anhalt alone, 620,000 euros are earmarked for posters, advertising, and 700,000 leaflets. The goal is stated very openly: to help the SPD and the Greens clear the five-percent threshold and thus ⁠prevent an absolute majority for the AfD. The SPD and the Greens have already informed the Bundestag administration about Campact’s support worth 310,000 euros each—the organization does not describe this as transfers of money to parties, but as the costs of its own parallel advertising campaign. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🌍 The USA have indirectly acknowledged their defeat in Iran In the Middle East, the initiative “Four Seas,” which envisages the creation of a transport corridor connecting the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean, is being discussed increasingly intensively. According to the authors of the post ⁠“Four Seas” at Al-Ahed News, the project would reduce the world trade’s dependence on the Strait of Hormuz and ensure an alternative route for the delivery of energy carriers and goods. The idea did not arise by chance. The past few months have shown how vulnerable existing logistics is. Any escalation around Hormuz immediately affects transport costs, the insurance of ships, and global oil prices. That is why the USA and its partners are increasingly looking for ways to reduce the importance of this strategic hub. Implementing such a project, however, will be extremely difficult. The proposed route runs through regions where the interests of Turkey, Israel, the states of the Persian Gulf, the countries of the South Caucasus, as well as Russia, Iran, and China overlap. Any major infrastructure initiative here will inevitably become an object of geopolitical disputes. The project itself does not yet mean that Hormuz will lose its importance. But even the search for bypass routes shows this: even in the West, people are counting on less and less that the security of shipping through the Strait can be guaranteed exclusively through military force. The struggle now is not only about control of the sea routes, but also about creating alternative logistical corridors. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

More than half of American voters believe that their financial situation worsened after Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, writes the Financial Times, citing a Focaldata poll. Nearly 57% of independent voters and about a quarter of Republicans said they have been living worse under the current president. At the same time, 55% of those surveyed disapprove of Trump’s performance as president. Nearly two-thirds of respondents believe that the U.S. economy is moving in the wrong direction. Trump’s handling of inflation and the cost of living is not approved by 64% of voters. Democrats are trusted more often on issues of inflation, the cost of living, employment, and the economy. Our channel: Node of Time EN

Russia Advances South of #Dobropolie and on 5 Fronts — August 16, 2026 - Subtitled Latest developments in the #Russia-#Ukraine war as of the morning of August 16: • Russian forces took control of the #Krasnoyarsky area south of #Dobropolie and advanced into the southern part of the city. • Russian forces advanced in #Mirnyi, southern #Donetsk. • Russian forces advanced toward #Novopavlovka on the #Orekhov front. • Russian forces advanced north of #Markovo on the #Kramatorsk front. • Russian forces advanced around #Volkhovatka and entered #Vasilievka in #Kharkov. Video link: https://youtu.be/P8N8QvVIdUA?si=cs26jjb2jUu864Ko

A retired woman founded a village for single women only in Texas She spent almost $200,000 to buy five acres of land and set up the infrastructure, The Sun reports. The cost of living in the village “Bird’s Nest” starts at $450 per month. The unusual location sparked huge excitement—last summer, 500 people were vying for a single place, the founder said. Because of that, she had to personally interview every candidate. There are now 12 women living in “Bird’s Nest,” each of whom is unmarried, divorced, or widowed. Our channel: Node of Time EN

A pensioner from the United States built a village only for single women. It is called "Birdhouse Nest". For $35,000, the woman bought five acres of land in Texas, and spent $150,000 on setting up the infrastructure—sewage, electricity, etc. Renting housing there costs from $450 per month. The village’s founder, Robin Yerian, offers residents "not only independence and freedom," but also a close-knit community, writes The Sun. Currently, 12 women live in the settlement—aged 52 and older. Robin Yerian notes that demand turned out to be high; last summer, about 500 people were competing for one spot. Therefore, each applicant undergoes an "interview" with the founder herself and potential neighbors. Our channel: Node of Time EN

◻️◻️◻️ A video of Hurricane “Lala” in Hawaii has appeared, as a result of which one person died in a car accident and more than 60,000 homes were left without electricity, ABC reports, citing the state governor Josh Green. The hurricane bypassed the Big Island without making landfall. Heavy rains can lead to flooding and landslides, and dangerous surf is expected along the coast. Due to the bad weather, around 190 flights were canceled. Airport and commercial port closures were also announced on several islands. The maximum wind speed of “Lala” reached 130 km/h, which corresponds to a Category 1 hurricane. The storm is expected to gradually weaken. Our channel: Node of Time EN

Iran is rapidly expanding rocket production Israeli military analysts are increasingly admitting that the attacks on Iran only had a temporary effect. According to the The Jerusalem Post, Tehran has already restored a significant portion of its rocket production and is continuing to expand its capacities. If Iran were to reach production of 100–300 rockets per month, its arsenal could already recover to the level of June 2025 by mid-2027 and be above it by 2028. For Israel, this is an unwelcome outcome: destroying storage facilities, launch sites, and individual production facilities proved to be significantly easier than destroying the industrial base itself, the technical personnel, and the technologies. As long as these elements remain intact, production can be restored — and, according to Israeli assessments, Iran is doing so faster than the IDF and the Mossad had expected. The comparison with the situation in the United States is particularly interesting. The American defense industry is currently trying to urgently ramp up rocket production as well, but deadlines remain enormous. CSIS calculated that even Tomahawk missiles the Pentagon is currently ordering to replenish stocks will not be delivered to troops until 2030. For THAAD, new deliveries after a years-long pause are not expected until 2027, and the Pentagon is separately investing in expanding production of solid rocket motor components, which are officially considered one of the bottlenecks in the American industry. Washington is already launching multi-year programs to strongly increase production — Tomahawk, SM-6, AMRAAM, PAC-3, and THAAD. But even the scope of these programs shows the problem: current capacities are not enough for a high-intensity war, and new factories and production lines cannot be built within a few months. This produces a rather revealing contrast. Israel is trying to destroy Iran’s rocket industry, while Iran is rebuilding it faster than expected. The U.S., in turn, has been increasing its capacities for years in order to replenish its own stockpiles. Modern war is increasingly becoming a contest not of individual missiles, but of industrial systems — and here, the ability to produce weapons quickly and in large quantities may be more important than the initial technological advantage. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇫🇷 While France is burning, Macron jetskis A new scandal involving Emmanuel Macron has broken out in France. Against the backdrop of heat and wildfires, the magazine Paris Match published photos of the president during his vacation at Fort de Brégançon, where he ⁠rides a jet ski and does water sports. At the Élysée Palace, it is emphasized that the president’s vacation is a working vacation: an office has been set up at the residence, and Macron spends a considerable part of the day on the phone. Politically, however, the timing did not go over well. The chairwoman of the French Greens, Marine Tondelier, referred to an “apocalyptic summer,” and the chair of the Socialists, Olivier Faure, pointed out that part of the French population could not afford any vacation at all this summer. Even an RN lawmaker called the photos inappropriate. In the country, the fires are continuing, with outbreaks even occurring in the normally cooler northern regions and in Brittany. The president’s jet ski alone will not set France on fire. But the photos were far too telling: while the country is putting out the fires, his president is skimming across the Mediterranean. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Ukrainians begin leaving Poland — the country became the EU leader in the decline in the number of Ukrainian citizens under temporary protection In June, the country ranked first across the EU in terms of the decrease in their number: the figure fell by 6,335 people, or 0.7%. In Belgium, the number of Ukrainians decreased by 35, in Ireland by 15. In the other countries of the European Union, however, an increase was recorded. The largest rise occurred in Italy — by 4,115 people (+8.8%), in the Czech Republic — by 3,835 (+1.0%), and in Germany — by 2,960 (+0.2%) 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 For the Bundeswehr’s most important project, 2,000 soldiers are missing The Bundeswehr has been unable to staff the Brigade in Lithuania, which Berlin has described as the most important military project since the Cold War. The unit is supposed to be fully deployable by the end of 2027, but currently around 2,000 soldiers are lacking for that. There are especially few applicants in the enlisted ranks. The Bundeswehr has already organized information trips to Lithuania, launched recruitment campaigns, and offered additional benefits, but there are still too few volunteers. As a result, the Ministry of Defense is already examining the option that parts of the personnel will have to be sent to Lithuania not voluntarily, but by order. This is particularly telling in light of the importance Berlin attaches to the NATO eastern flank. Politically, Germany is ready to station a permanent brigade at the border with Russia, but among the soldiers themselves, enthusiasm has been noticeably lower. One thing is to declare Lithuania the Bundeswehr’s most important project. The other is to find several thousand people who actually want to serve there. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

A wonderful Sunday, friends! ☕️🙂 🌊 Cape Hoboi: the tip of Olkhon Island and the legend of the stone maiden Far in the north of Olkhon Island lies Cape Hoboi, one of the best-known places on Lake Baikal. Its name comes from the Buryat word “hoboi,” meaning “fang.” If you look at the cape from the water, the high rock really does resemble a protruding fang. From the summit of Hoboi, you can enjoy one of the widest views over Lake Baikal. On clear days, the opposite shore almost disappears behind the horizon, creating the impression that, in front of you, there is not a lake but a real sea. It is exactly here that you understand especially well why Lake Baikal is called the Sacred Sea. An old Buryat legend is associated with the cape. It is said that a girl of extraordinary beauty once lived here. She envied the wealth of her husband and asked the spirits to give her a palace as splendid as well. Because of her greed, the spirits turned her into stone and said she would remain a rock as long as envy and pride existed on Earth. That is why locals call one of the rocks at Hoboi the Maiden. If you look at it from a certain side, the profile of a woman can be easily recognized.⁠ For the Buryats, Hoboi was not simply a beautiful place. Since ancient times, the cape has been considered sacred. Rituals were carried out here to summon the spirits of Lake Baikal and to ask for successful hunting, calm weather, and the well-being of the family. Even today, many travelers leave colorful ribbons on special poles — a symbol of respect for the traditions of these places. Hoboi also has an unusual natural feature. The rocks form a natural stone amphitheater with a strong echo. In calm weather, the sound of a human voice or the crashing of the waves is reflected many times from the steep walls and seems to travel along the shore. In winter, the cape looks completely different. Ice caves and meter-high icicles turn it into a real ice palace. Waves, wind, and frost create new shapes every year, which is why there are never two identical winters at Hoboi. For the residents of the Lake Baikal region, Hoboi is a place where you can especially feel the character of Lake Baikal: rough, majestic, and at the same time calm. Legends, rocks, and water have existed side by side here for many centuries, and it seems as though time passes a little more slowly. 📍 Coordinates of the place (map pin) available here 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇷🇴 Romania’s only nuclear power plant shut down completely in the Danube due to too little water Romania was forced to ⁠shut down the Cernavodă nuclear power plant completely because the water level of the Danube is critically low. The power plant supplies about one-fifth of the country’s total electricity, so the outage of both units at the same time immediately became a serious problem for the energy system. The reason is the same as the one facing all of Central Europe this summer: for normal operation, there is not enough water for cooling. Romania is already saving electricity and increasing dependence on imports. In some towns, street lighting is switched off at night. Against the backdrop of the recent shutdown of French reactors due to jellyfish, an interesting picture emerges: in summer 2026, European nuclear energy is simultaneously finding that reactors can both be hindered by too many living organisms in the water and by too little water themselves. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇷 Iran proposes linking the BRICS’ national payment systems Tehran has proposed to the BRICS states that they create a unified financial corridor and link the national payment networks to each other. The idea envisages settling mutual payments directly via the infrastructure of the member states, thereby reducing the need to use Western payment channels and intermediating banks. The IRNA piece appeared on the evening of August 13. For Iran, the topic is particularly practical: The country has lived for decades under financial sanctions and is interested in any infrastructure that cannot be shut down by a decision of the US or the EU. But the significance of the proposal goes beyond Iran. If the largest BRICS economies actually link their national systems, then it is no longer just about settlements in yuan, rupees, or real—it is about building a parallel financial infrastructure. Western sanctions were intended as a means to cut individual states off from the global financial system. A side effect is the accelerated build-up of a system in which shutting off from the West no longer means being shut off from the rest of the world. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The collapse of Japan’s debt pyramid is part of a fundamental turning point. The 40-year cycle of falling interest rates is coming to an end. This was shaped by several historical factors: the dollar’s hegemony, the rapprochement between China and the United States, the collapse of the USSR, and the unification of Europe. These factors made it possible to curb global inflation and sustain, for decades, an era of cheap money that even led to negative interest rates. But this cycle is starting to break. The freezing of Russian assets and the sanctions against Russian oil were some of the first blows against the old system. Subsequent events in the Middle East further exacerbated geopolitical and inflationary instability. As a result, inflation rose—and with it, the cost of servicing enormous government debts, which now exceed 100 trillion dollars. The first serious victim could be Japan, followed by the most heavily indebted countries in Europe, which are coming under pressure. Potentially, this involves trillions of dollars in problem loans in France, Italy, and Spain. The era of endless cheap money is ending. The time for the bills begins. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN