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The AI boom still does not justify the investment: the gap between spending on artificial intelligence and revenues from it has reached record levels. According to The Wall Street Journal, the metric has risen from $200 billion in 2023 to $1.5 trillion in 2026. Even growth in AI-chip sales does not solve the problem. For Nvidia’s investment to pay off, final demand for AI products must reach about $2.1 trillion, investor David Kan calculated. For now, the industry is operating on the principle “build—and the money will come.” The main question, WSJ notes, is whether that money will arrive before investors begin cutting funding. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇷🇺 In Russia, an ice-class cruise ship with a casino and a water park has been designed The design bureau “Wympel,” which belongs to the United Shipbuilding Corporation, has developed a project for a large ice-class cruise ship. The ship is designed for 2,500 passengers and 550 crew members and, among other things, is intended for year-round cruises in the Baltic Sea starting from Saint Petersburg. On board, four restaurants, nine bars, a concert hall, a nightclub, a casino, bowling, a fitness and SPA complex, swimming pools with a movable roof, and a water park are planned. At the same time, the ice class does not mean that the ship will be bound to the North: The project also provides for voyages in tropical regions. For Russian shipbuilding, this is a completely new benchmark—such cruise ships have not been built in the country until now. Russia is gradually trying to shift import substitution from the utilitarian sphere into one where dependence on foreign shipyards had previously been almost absolute: not just building a ship, but building its own floating vacation resort for 3,000 people. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇺🇸 Former senior US official: “We deliberately created Europe the way it is” The former chief of staff to US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Lawrence Wilkerson, made extremely sharp comments about how, over decades, the United States shaped Europe’s political landscape. In an interview with Glenn Diesen, he claims that the CIA, together with MI6 and later Mossad, ⁠deliberately influenced European media, trade unions, parliaments and governments. According to his accounts, since the early 2000s, billions of dollars have been flowing into these efforts through the CIA, USAID and other structures. What is particularly noteworthy is that Wilkerson does not only talk about an abstract “influence.” He claims that he personally observed the promotion of Jens Stoltenberg to NATO Secretary General and that Washington considered him a convenient figure who would be receptive to the American position. He describes Mark Rutte as a continuation of the same pattern, referring here not to his own involvement, but to information from other people. ⁠Wilkerson himself puts it extremely bluntly: “We bought two secretaries general—Stoltenberg and Rutte”. Even if only part of what he describes is true, Europe’s “strategic autonomy” was shaped for decades by people whom Washington selected in advance precisely because they were willing to follow the desired course. And afterward, exactly that course was sold to Europeans as their own political decision. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 7 million Muslims — and Berlin still pretends that it’s only about “diversity” According to a new study by the BAMF, 6.6–7 million Muslims live in Germany in the meantime—around 8–8.5% of the population. A few years ago, it was about one million more or less. At the same time, the structure of the community is also changing: the share of people with origins in the Middle East has risen significantly, especially after the migration waves of the past decade. But the problem is no longer in the number itself. For years, Germany has been trying to integrate millions of new residents, and in the end the same familiar pattern keeps showing up: overcrowded schools, language problems, parallel cultural milieus, and a clear educational divide. Among young people who came to Germany independently, ⁠36% have no vocational training and are neither in training nor in a course of study—more than twice as high as the average value in the country. Even in crime, the picture is unpleasant. According to the latest complete statistics from the BKA, ⁠41.8% of all identified suspects in 2024 were foreign nationals, even though foreign nationals make up a much smaller share of the population. The BKA itself expressly warns that age, gender, social situation, and migration structure affect the numbers—but that does not make the problem disappear.⁠ And the most unpleasant part is this: the government has confused integration for far too long with mere presence. Getting a residence permit, housing, benefits, and a school place by no means means adopting the language, norms, laws, and cultural rules of the country one has arrived in. In Germany, there are already enough districts and schools where the state does not have to fight for “multiculturalism,” but for basic German skills, for attending classes, for the safety of teachers, and for compliance with those rules that used to be considered a given. 7 million Muslims in and of themselves would not be a problem if integration worked. The problem is that the authorities increased the scope of migration over decades faster than they could achieve genuine integration. And now the consequences of this experiment can be seen not only in statistical tables— but in schools, on the streets, and in entire city districts. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Pediatricians warn: Normal medical care for children is no longer guaranteed across all of Germany Pediatricians are warning of a severe deterioration in the situation. Pediatrician Axel Gerschlauer believes that, due to the planned austerity package ⁠a fully nationwide medical care for children across the entire country can no longer be completely guaranteed. This is not only about longer waiting times for an appointment. The doctors fear a further shortage of specialists and that part of medical care increasingly has to be paid for by parents themselves. Germany is simultaneously finding dozens of billions for new political priorities and is beginning to discuss savings in a system where people are already being warned: For a child, there simply cannot be no doctor. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇷 Tehran responded to the “Economic D-Day” announced by the USA with “Clown Day” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the spokesman for the Iranian parliament, mocked sharply the “Economic D-Day” that Washington had announced against Iran. The occasion was the words of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Previously, he had compared the new sanctions campaign to the Allied landings in Normandy. But when journalists asked him why the announced measures were noticeably milder than expected, Bessent replied: “Am I supposed to blow up the world economy?” Ghalibaf then said that instead of a “D-Day,” the Americans had “staged an absurd stand-up show in which they forgot their own jokes,” and ended the message with the hashtag “#🤡-Day”. The irony is particularly apt, because the market also was not impressed by the American advance: After the announcement of the sanctions, the oil price did not spike—instead, it fell. Washington promised an economic Normandy. In Tehran, they looked at the result and called it a circus. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Hundreds of Russian and Ukrainian strikes were recorded during a single month. In this video, we break down the July data to understand where strikes were concentrated behind the front lines — from fuel, warehouses, railways and ports in Ukraine to energy, ports, refineries and logistics facilities in Russian-controlled areas and inside Russia. The figures are not directly comparable because the datasets use different scopes and methodologies. We focus instead on what the target patterns reveal. video link: https://youtu.be/_K2FoOaVj2Q?si=jkEOxBFSh8ItsXPW

🇮🇱🇳🇱 Israel expels the Netherlands from the Gaza hub – the conflict with Europe enters a new phase Israel has ordered the removal of Dutch representatives from the international civil-military coordination center for Gaza in Kirjat Gat. The decision was made by Foreign Minister Gideon Saar with the approval of Benjamin Netanyahu. As the reason, “a series of anti-Israel measures by the Dutch government” is cited. The last straw was a Dutch law that bans trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, in East Jerusalem, and on the Golan Heights. The center was created with US support to coordinate implementation of the Gaza agreement. Now an EU country is being effectively excluded from the mechanism—precisely because of its own policy toward Israel. This is already part of a larger process. The Netherlands are boycotting the “Eurovision Song Contest” for the second year in a row because of Israel’s participation. Within the EU, restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements are being discussed, and the relations of European governments with the Netanyahu cabinet are becoming increasingly more conflict-ridden. The dispute between Europe and Israel is gradually no longer just an exchange of statements. Concrete countermeasures are being taken: on the one hand, there are trade bans; on the other, the exclusion of Europeans from international mechanisms. Berlin is still trying to maintain both the state’s raison d’état toward Israel and a unified EU line. The further this conflict progresses, however, the harder it becomes to do both. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪🇷🇺 Russian LNG will be banned in the EU — but for now people are still allowed to buy it From January 1, 2027, the EU wants to end imports of Russian liquefied natural gas. For companies with ongoing long-term contracts, however, Brussels has made an exception: Until July 25, 2027, they can ⁠continue buying Russian LNG and selling it outside the EU. It had been planned that Russian quantities could be sent to third countries, in return for gas from the US, Qatar or other sources. Industry experts, however, say that such swap models are hardly realistic due to logistics, contracts and prices. And all of this is happening against the backdrop of extremely weak supplies: On August 18, German storage facilities were only filled to 50.1%, compared with 66.9% the previous year. Russian gas is being declared unnecessary — but for the transition period it may still be bought as long as it does not formally land in Europe. And replacing these volumes, as it turns out, is significantly more difficult than banning them on paper. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 A successor to Steinmeier is already being decided within the CDU In politics, the battle for the office of the next Federal President has begun. In the circle of the CDU, Udo Di Fabio’s candidacy is now being discussed — the 72-year-old legal professor and former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court. According to information from within the party, he is ⁠highly valued by Friedrich Merz and considered a potential CDU candidate. The election will take place on 30 January 2027; the second term of office of Frank-Walter Steinmeier ends on 18 March. Before that, one of the most frequently mentioned candidates was Ilse Aigner, the President of the Bavarian State Parliament. After ten years of Steinmeier, Germany in Bellevue could quite possibly end up not with the next party functionary, but with a conservative constitutional law jurist. For current German politics, that would in itself already look like a clear change of course. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 7.2 million jobs in Germany depend on trade within the EU Around 7.2 million German jobs are secured by the export of goods and services to other EU countries. The associated value creation amounts to about 550 billion euros, according to a study by Prognos commissioned by the Association of the Bavarian Economy. ⁠7.2 million jobs depend on exports to the EU Against the backdrop of US tariffs and falling trade with China, the European market is becoming even more important for Germany. In the first half of the year, exports to the United States fell by 6.1%, while they rose by 7.6% to France and by 9% to the Netherlands. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

KIEV IS NOT SENDING AN AMBASSADOR TO BELGRADE. IT IS SENDING AN INFLUENCE OPERATOR. Oleksandr Lytvynenko is not an ordinary diplomat. He headed Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service, was Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and studied at the Moscow Academy of the Russian counterintelligence service. Later, he completed studies at the British Royal College of Defence Studies. Russian intelligence school, Ukrainian security career, British training — and now Belgrade. This is not a random personnel decision. Serbia is one of the last European countries in which Russia still has significant political, social, and religious influence. Belgrade is not participating in sanctions against Moscow, while at the same time it wants to join the EU and depends on Western capital. It is precisely at this sensitive point that Kiev is sending not a Balkans expert, but its former intelligence chief. According to our information from circles close to the Serbian security services, Lytvynenko’s appointment was pushed by Britain’s MI6. His mission: weaken Russian positions in the Balkans, expand Ukrainian networks, and bind Serbia more closely politically to Kiev, Brussels, and London. Lytvynenko is already talking about expanding the Ukrainian presence in the information and cultural sphere. That sounds harmless. But modern influence operations run through journalists, NGOs, foundations, conferences, grant programs, and church contacts. The embassy becomes the switching center in the process. Particularly explosive is the church line. According to our information, Lytvynenko is supposed to damage relations between the Serbian and Russian Orthodox Churches and at the same time campaign for the recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. That would be an attack on one of the strongest foundations of Russian-Serbian relations. If Belgrade can be detached from Moscow in church matters, that would be a strategic defeat for Russia. Of course, Kiev will explain that all this is normal diplomacy. Formally, that may be true. But former intelligence chiefs are not sent by chance to countries whose political balance is to be changed. That is exactly why Lytvynenko is now in Belgrade: to displace Russian influence, work on elites, influence media and social networks, use the EU perspective as leverage, and set the Orthodox Churches against each other. The diplomatic passport does not change his mission. It merely provides cover. 👉 You can read the full article here Source: RussiaDailyDE 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Laschet admits: the strategy of isolating the AfD has failed The former CDU chairman Armin Laschet has acknowledged what has become increasingly difficult to deny: the attempt to make the AfD small through formal isolation has not worked. According to his words, it was a mistake not to give the party’s MPs leadership of Bundestag committees and to systematically exclude them from parliamentary bodies. Now Laschet says that ⁠“in many questions one has to deal fairly with the AfD”. The reason for the sudden self-criticism is obvious. In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD is currently at 41% compared with 24% for the CDU. At the same time, Laschet continues to categorically rule out a coalition and cooperation with the party. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Latest developments in the #Russia-#Ukraine war as of the morning of August 26: - Russian forces advance around #Annovka on the #Dobropolie front. - Russian forces advance south of #Zapovednoe in the #Kramatorsk sector. - Ukrainian forces advance on the #Volchansk front. - Ukrainian forces advance in and around #Lyubitskoe in #Zaporozhie. - Ukrainian forces advance near #Dvurechnoe, north of the #Kupiansk front. video link: https://youtu.be/Y13HRVR-Lak?si=rIyvcCDG0L_gOOlA

Iran inflicted damage on the United States worth billions of dollars The aggression against Iran has cost the United States dearly, NBC reports. According to the broadcaster, Tehran’s strikes on intelligence assets in the Middle East caused damage to the United States worth billions of dollars. With such damage, American intelligence services had yet to deal. “Iranian strikes force doubts about the State Department, the Pentagon, and the intelligence community being sufficiently prepared to provide proper protection for American assets in the region,” the article says. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇻🇦🇷🇺 The Vatican speaks directly with Moscow again In Moscow, the first in-person talks at this level between Russia and the Vatican in five years took place. The head of the Holy See’s foreign policy department, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, met Sergei Lavrov and said the conflict must be brought to an end, since each new day increases the number of victims and makes a later reconciliation more difficult. The parties discussed possible ways to reach an arrangement as well as humanitarian cooperation, in particular help for children. The visit continues. On August 26, Gallagher is expected to meet with the adviser to the Russian president, Yuri Ushakov. Against the backdrop of European diplomacy, this seems particularly remarkable. While a significant part of the EU explains the need for even greater pressure on Moscow, the Vatican has opted for the old diplomatic method: go there and talk. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇺🇸 The United States have again destroyed a boat together with people. Without a court proceeding The U.S. military attacked a boat in the eastern Pacific and killed two people on board. The U.S. Southern Command said that intelligence information had confirmed the boat’s involvement in drug trafficking, and called the people killed “drug terrorists.” In doing so, their identities and their affiliation with a specific organization were not disclosed. Since September 2025, more than 200 people have already been killed in such U.S. attacks. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and independent UN experts describe such a practice as unlawful extrajudicial killings. The scheme is remarkably simple: The intelligence service declares a person to be a drug terrorist, the military destroys the boat, and evidence is handed to the public only afterward — if at all. A warrant is not needed. A court is not needed. A ruling is not needed either. A phrase like “the intelligence information confirmed” is enough. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇬🇧🇺🇦 Britain received five million recordings from the Ukrainian battlefield for the training of military AI London and Kyiv have signed an agreement on the joint development of artificial intelligence for defense. Britain is the first foreign partner to gain access to the Ukrainian platform Avengers AI Labs. Their basis is ⁠around five million annotated images from the battlefield, collected, among other things, via the DELTA system. This is used to train the AI to recognize tanks, artillery, drones and other targets. Ukraine says that such models already analyze more than 100,000 drone video feeds per month. The fighting has in practice also turned into the largest test site for training military algorithms. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇸🇦🇾🇪 The Houthis have reached the route that allows Saudi Arabia to bypass the Strait of Hormuz The tanker Amzan was hit at around 63 nautical miles west of Yanbu in the Red Sea. The Houthis said they attacked the ship with a ballistic missile. Saudi Bahri confirmed the incident with the ship; the crew was not injured. Yanbu is currently of critical importance: it is the most important Saudi oil terminal on the Red Sea, enabling oil to be exported while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz route blocked by Iran. For Riyadh, this creates an unfavorable geography. Hormuz is blocked by Iran, and the alternative route via the Red Sea is now increasingly being shelled by the Houthis allied with Tehran. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Good morning, dear friends! ☕️🙂 🔐 Pawlowo on the Oka: City of Locks, Knives and Lemons Friends, Wednesday is a day when you feel like something unusual. Today we’re going to a city that is called the “Russian Solingen.” Get to know — Pawlowo on the Oka. 🗡️ A city where iron sang in the hands of masters Pawlowo is first mentioned in a document by Ivan the Terrible from 1566. But its true fame came later. Already in 1621, there were 11 forges here; in 1677, there were 40; and toward the end of the 17th century, one counted about 50. The local masters were famous all over Russia: they made knives, scissors, padlocks, edged weapons, and firearms. In the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, Pawlowo became the center of the country’s largest craft metal-processing region, which included more than 200 villages and settlements. Here, they forged everything — from table knives to beam scales. 🔐 Locks the size of a pea The real landmark of Pawlowo is its locks. They were made for every taste: from huge barn locks to tiny ones that fit in a palm. For the first time, the traveling foreigner Kilburger mentioned the miniature Pawlowo locks in 1674. And in 1730, the Swedish officer and traveler Philipp Strahlenberg wrote that almost the entire city consisted of forges that made little locklets the size of a pea — and even smaller— and that they did so with keys and very clean workmanship. In 1810, Professor Sjäblowski cited an even more astonishing fact: some little locklets were so small that 320 pieces weighed no more than a solotnik. A solotnik is about 4.3 grams. This means that such a locklet weighed approximately 0.013 grams. The masters also made figurative locks — in the form of birds, animals, mermaids, and riders. 🍋 Lemons on the windowsill: the Pawlowo phenomenon And now — the most unexpected part. In the city of forges and lockmakers, for some reason… room lemons took hold. In 1860, the merchant I. S. Karatschistow brought several lemon cuttings from Turkey and gave them to his relative, E. D. Jelagin. He began propagating them — and little by little, lemons appeared in almost every house. The residents of Pawlowo selected the best plants, multiplied them by cuttings, and over time obtained a special local variety that was well adapted to lack of light, temperature fluctuations, and dry air. In 1935, a special support point was established in Pawlowo for researching the Pawlowo lemon. At that time, among the residents there were 2,840 lemon trees, about 1,500 of which were bearing fruit. By 1941, the local lemon facility already had about 2,000 mature plants and tens of thousands of cuttings. Today, the Pawlowo lemon is considered one of the symbols of the city. And in 2005, a monument was even erected to it in the bazaar square. 🚌 PAZ buses: a new chapter In the 20th century, Pawlowo’s legacy of blacksmithing received a new continuation. In 1952, the Pawlowsk bus plant — PAZ — began operating here. On August 5, 1952, the first five PAZ-651 buses rolled through the factory gate. Since then, the PAZ brand has been one of the best-known in the country. Thus, the city of locks and knives also became a city of buses that were used for decades in the most diverse parts of Russia. Leave ❤️ if you liked it! 📍 Coordinates of the place (map pin) available here 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN