News and Views on the Global Stage....

darvinsantos-day-of-the-dead-568012_1920
Currently...

Day of the Dead Bears No Relationship to Halloween

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a rich, vibrant holiday dedicated to honoring and celebrating deceased loved ones. While it shares a spot on the calendar with Halloween, it is not “Mexican Halloween,” nor does it share a direct cultural origin with it. It is typically celebrated from about October 31 to November 2. The Origins of Day of the Dead The origins of Día de los Muertos stem from a blend of Indigenous Mesoamerican traditions and European Catholic practices. Indigenous Roots (Mesoamerica) Long before Spanish contact, Indigenous groups across Mesoamerica—including the Aztecs, Maya, Toltecs, and Mixtecs—viewed death not as a terrifying end, but as a natural phase in the continuous cycle of life. The Journey of the Soul: Aztec mythology held that when a person died, their soul traveled through nine levels of the underworld (Chicunamictlán) over several years before reaching their final resting place in Mictlán. Families would provide food, water, and tools to help the spirit on this difficult journey. The Festival of Mictecacihuatl: An annual multi-week festival in late summer was dedicated to Mictecacihuatl, the Lady of the Dead. Celebrants honored ancestors with food, offerings, and decorative skulls—a practice that directly prefigured modern

Read More »
ParisRiots
My Take

Is the Western World Pricing Itself Out of Existence?

What began in France as student protests against school conditions rapidly spread not only in France but throughout Europe. Suddenly, people from all walks of life were out protesting the rapidly increasing cost of everything. It soon became a generational fight between those who benefited from the rapid economic development following World War II and those who now must pay the bills and suffer the high costs created by those earlier generations. Which begs the question: “Is the Western World Pricing Itself Out of Existence?” The proposition that the Western world is “pricing itself out of existence” has moved from the fringes of macroeconomic critique into mainstream debates across political economy, sociology, and statecraft. At first glance, the phrase suggests an apocalyptic collapse—a sudden, dramatic implosion of advanced industrial democracies. In reality, the phenomenon is more subtle, gradual, and structurally insidious. Western societies are not disappearing overnight. Rather, a compounding web of escalating baseline costs—spanning housing, childcare, higher education, physical infrastructure, healthcare, and regulatory compliance—is placing severe friction on the mechanisms of social and economic reproduction. By making ordinary life milestones increasingly unaffordable for younger cohorts and rendering physical development prohibitively expensive, Western economies risk a prolonged state of demographic

Read More »
image_20261031_071830
Currently...

Alan Dershowitz Flees the Dems and Thinks You Should Too

I remember Alan Dershowitz defending OJ Simpson in the “Trial of the Century” decades ago. I also remember that there was no liberal cause he didn’t or wouldn’t champion. Now, this…. For nearly seven decades, prominent attorney and Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz was a registered Democrat. However, citing a profound divergence in values, Dershowitz publicly severed ties with the party—first registering as an independent in late 2024 before officially joining the Republican Party in April 2026. In his book, Why I Quit the Dems: And So Should You!, Dershowitz elaborates on the rationale behind his departure and makes the case for why like-minded voters should follow his lead. His critique centers on three primary arguments about the modern Democratic Party’s ideological and institutional direction. Shift Toward Radicalism and Departure from the Center Dershowitz characterizes himself as a traditional, centrist liberal and an avowed “anti-radical.” In his view, the contemporary Democratic Party has abandoned the moderate, classic liberal principles of the John F. Kennedy era in favor of far-left politics. He contends that party leadership has capitulated to progressive radicals, pointing specifically to influential figures such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, and Zohran Mamdani. Dershowitz argues that these factions have

Read More »
freestocks-photos-evil-2942937_1920
Is This for Real?

We Can Thank Ireland’s ‘Gate to Hell’ for Our Halloween Traditions

Ireland’s “Gate to Hell” refers to Oweynagat (Irish for “Cave of the Cats”), a natural limestone fissure and ancient earthwork in Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. In Irish folklore and mythology, this underground site was considered a direct portal to the Otherworld (the realm of spirits, gods, and supernatural beings). The connection between Oweynagat and the modern holiday of Halloween traces back through the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Gateway of Samhain Over 2,000 years ago, the Celts marked the turn of the year at the end of October. This festival, Samhain (pronounced SOW-in), celebrated the end of the harvest and the onset of the dark, cold winter. The Celts believed that during Samhain, the veil separating the physical world from the supernatural realm grew thin. Oweynagat was seen as the primary point of origin where this barrier completely vanished. On the night of October 31st, the “Gate to Hell” was said to open, allowing the entities of the Otherworld to pour out into the human realm. Monsters from the Cave Early Irish medieval texts describe terrifying beasts emerging from Oweynagat at Samhain: The Morrígan: The phantom queen and goddess of war and fate was believed to dwell inside the cave

Read More »
image_20261031_122124-you-need-to-add-a-judge-in-the-chair-to-the-right
Currently...

Ilhan Omar Saga Rolls On….

Is Ilhan Omar really Ilhan Abdullah Omar, or Ilhan Nur Said Elmi? Was she 17 or 18 when he obtained citizenship? Was she born on October 4, 1981, or October 4, 1982? Did she marry her brother to obtain citizenship for him? All these questions linger after a raid on her D.C. home by Homeland Security Investigators took away things like cell phones, tablets, computer discs, notes, and whatever. The raid has been described as a “witch hunt” by her staff, and other Congressional Dems have come to her defense. Now, one Minnesota Democrat has come out against her, but the question is, “How much clout does this guy really have?” According to reports in Fox publications, Joe Radinovich, a former Minnesota State Representative, believes at least the allegation about her marrying her brother is true, posting on X: “Democrats should understand that the allegation is almost certainly true — whatever conclusions they draw from that point could vary — and her denials calling it a right-wing, Islamophobic or racist conspiracy are almost certainly not.” Radinovich thinks Omar’s finances could present a problem for her as well. Meanwhile, Omar’s alleged brother-husband, came out and proclaimed himself gay. Ahmed Nur Said

Read More »
Sylvia2
Currently...

Soon-To-Be-Impeached Pete Hegseth Gets It Right on General’s Big Mouth

Secretary of Defense/War Pete Hegseth, who will be impeached by Democrats immediately upon their taking control of the House in 2027, has been cleaning house at the Pentagon.  This week came another example of his firings and demotions when he summarily dismissed a general accused of leaking classified information to the media. My response: “You actually think he’s the only one doing this?” Anyway, it turns out that Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia, who failed four polygraph tests, eventually confessed to the evil but all-too-common Deep State deed. According to the Pentagon, Sylvia made “unauthorized disclosures to the media….” However, he “was cooperative in answering questions about interactions with the media to resolve this, and provided his personal phone for a forensic examination.” He evidently used a secure messaging app known as Signal to convey the secrets beginning in the summer of 2025. He even met with his media source at a diner 10 minutes from the Pentagon after that source’s Pentagon press credential had been revoked. “During the meeting at the diner, [Sylvia] relied on notes he took while reviewing a classified secret report to orally give [redacted] information on U.S. assistance to Ukraine,” according to the Pentagon and its

Read More »
image_20261028_110755
Currently...

What Happened to Bibi’s Much-Heralded ‘Crushing Defeat’?

As I surfed the news channels last night for reports on the Israeli election, the only two channels that seemed focused were BBC World News and France 24. Both reveled in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “crushing defeat.” Exit polls, they claimed, showed Bibi’s opponent — Gadi Eisenkot –– and his party topping Likud, Bibi’s party, 52 seats to 50 (hardly crushing). This morning, when I tuned into both channels once again, the only news I could find was a floating headline on BBC that said Netanyahu and his party had pulled ahead. The gushing joy in his “crushing defeat” was nowhere to be found. France 24 was virtually silent. Anyway, nice to know that Europe has its “fake news” outlets as well as we do. Here, the coverage of the Israeli election, pre-voting, was all focused on the tens of thousands of American Israelis who were flying home to vote against Netanyahu. Israeli politics are a bit complicated, but it appears that Netanyahu will have to form another coalition to remain in office. That might be harder to do this time around since the Arab-Israeli parties gained seats last night. It seems unlikely that they would throw their support behind

Read More »
Your Personal Assistant
Chatbot

Welcome to News Vérité