Incompetence? Or enemy action?
Sounds like hacked firmware.

"Instead of producing shells in an efficient and streamlined fashion, drop hunks of steel 5 feet down to the floor. The factory’s signature device, meant to precisely stretch the steel for the artillery shells, instead often cracked it beyond repair. Then there were the giant press machines, which required regular pounding with a sledgehammer to function properly but still botched the shaping of nearly every shell."

https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/bombshell-report-touted-futuristic?r=lp6h7&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

🌾 🌍 🚜 JPMorgan warns a massive global food supply crisis could begin next year as fertilizer shortages tighten agricultural supply.

JPMorgan is the latest institutional research desk to warn that the next global food crisis may already be taking shape, driven by what its analysts describe as the "Five Ws": War, Weather, Warehousing, Water, and Waste.

In a new report titled Food Security Is National Security: A Compounding Storm, a team led by London-based senior global economist Nora Szentivanyi warned that disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and the emergence of a potentially historic El Niño could weaken crop yields, constrain agricultural production, and keep food inflation elevated through the first half of 2027.

"Successive shocks since COVID have compounded, eroding food production capacity and keeping food price pressures elevated into 2027," Szentivanyi said, warning that "this is not a short-lived shock; it has reduced the likelihood of near-term disinflation, and the food inflation cycle is likely to exert pressure through 1H27."

She expects global food inflation to accelerate from 2.8% in the first half of 2026 to 5% in the first half of next year.

The warning comes despite a modest improvement in hunger statistics. About 645 million people faced hunger in 2025, down roughly 43 million from 2022. Yet 2.1 billion people, or 25.8% of the global population, still experienced moderate or severe food insecurity.

Szentivanyi outlined the most immediate vulnerability: fertilizer. She noted, "Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the coming super El Niño are adding to fertilizer and food price pressures."

She said that "crop and price effects are still building and agricultural impacts lag the oceanic peak by 6 to 12 months."

Szentivanyi warned that this year's energy shock could roughly double the inflationary impact of a super El Niño, lifting global food CPI by about 1.5 percentage points, compared with the historical .7-point increase. Food inflation is projected to reach a 5% annualized rate in the first half of 2027, adding .6 percentage points to headline inflation and slowing full-year disinflation by .3 points.

"Exposure is concentrated in South and Southeast Asia, including rice, sugar, and coffee; West Africa, including cocoa; and parts of East and Southern Africa," the analyst said, adding, "EM bears the brunt of El Niño. The largest food inflation responses are concentrated in EM Asia and Latin America, where weather-sensitive agriculture plays a larger role in economic activity, and food carries a higher weight in consumption baskets. India, Colombia, Indonesia, Brazil, Taiwan, and Korea emerge as among the most sensitive economies"”

Furthermore, China has been stockpiling food, fertilizer, energy, and industrial metals. While the West has strategic oil reserves (quickly draining to offset the loss of Gulf supplies), it lacks a meaningful fertilizer buffer. With the Hormuz chokepoint still disrupted, crop conditions deteriorating, and export controls spreading, Szentivanyi suggests that the next inflation shock may emerge not at the gas pump, as seen earlier this year, but potentially in the grocery aisle next year.

This comes as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's global food price index climbed to a three-year high in July.

Bank of America analyst Robert Ohmes recently warned that another food price spike could arrive in supermarkets this fall. He said that grocery inflation "may be on the way," citing a blended index of wages, diesel, and commodity costs.

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/wont-be-short-lived-jpmorgan-warns-next-global-food-crisis-could-erupt-next-year

Russia deploys warships to the Baltic Sea amid Putin’s threats against Europe

Russia has transferred the modern frigate Admiral Kasatonov from the Northern Fleet to the Baltic Sea. A few days earlier, the anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Levchenko also arrived there, according to Bild.

Kasatonov is one of Russia’s most modern frigates and can launch Kalibr and Tsirkon cruise missiles. Levchenko is designed for submarine warfare and is also equipped with air defense systems, torpedoes, artillery, and helicopters.

The deployment is particularly notable because the ships appeared in the region amid Putin’s threats against European countries opposing Russia’s “shadow fleet.” The Kremlin has been using warships to escort its tankers and cargo vessels for several months.

Moscow has not officially explained the reasons for the deployment. However, maritime security expert Moritz Brake believes the Kremlin’s threats should not be dismissed as empty rhetoric, as they could be followed by concrete actions against European vessels.

Who claimed what in North America in 1650
https://redd.it/1v7yov1
@r_mapporn

Skip the Sunscreen

Another lesson in what trusting the science and the media gets you: At this point, your best bet is to ignore absolutely everything the media reports that The Science is recommending. Some of us can still remember when microwaving carbohydrates in margarine, then going outside covered in sunscreen was optimizing your health. DISCUSS ON SG

https://voxday.net/2026/08/17/skip-the-sunscreen/

SCOTUS rejects Trump’s petition for rehearing $5M E. Jean Carroll judgment
Article Link
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has formally rejected President Donald Trump’s request for a rehearing regarding the $5 million civil judgement in the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit. The high court rejected the petition without providing an explanation, adhering to its standard custom regarding rehearings.

Beautiful sunset last night.

💢 Germany has advised its citizens to refrain from traveling within Ukraine by train before Independence Day.

The German Foreign Ministry has updated its recommendations for citizens, warning of an increased risk of travel within Ukraine in the days leading up to August 24th.

The ministry believes that during this period, it is impossible to rule out an intensification of Russian attacks on energy and transportation infrastructure, as well as civilian targets.

It is specifically noted that Ukrainian railway infrastructure continues to be a target of Russian strikes. Therefore, German citizens are advised to consider potential risks when planning travel within the country before Independence Day.

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Don’t They Know They’re Losing?

Iran is engaging in some very unusual behavior for a side that we are reliably and repeatedly losing the war in the Gulf. Of course, we’re also being told that Ukraine is winning the EU/NATO’s war against Russia despite having lost over one-third of its population, 20 percent of its territory, and living without heat […]

https://voxday.net/2026/08/18/dont-they-know-theyre-losing/