Oct 012025
 
 October 1, 2025  Posted by at 9:48 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , ,  88 Responses »


Louis Anquetin Girl Reading a Newspaper 1890

 

MTG ‘Warns Of ‘Powerful People’ Trying To Silence Her Over Epstein (RT)
Survival of Western Civilization Depends on Ukraine – Polish PM (RT)
Eric Trump Releases New Book, “Under Siege” (CTH)
EU To Bend Rules For Ukraine And Moldova Admission Process – FT (RT)
Palestinian Authority Backs Trump Peace Plan (RT)
The Liberal Order Is Over, and It’s Created This Unexpected Problem (Lukyanov)
The NSA Report No One Has Ever Seen (CTH)

 

 

No full shutdown here yet, but we do have some medical things to take care of the next few days.

 

 

https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1973003991035367757
https://twitter.com/C_3C_3/status/1973007751493369918


https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1973056445160604087

 

 

 

 

“If something happens to me, I ask you to find out which foreign government or powerful people would go to such lengths to keep this information from coming out,” she added. “The People understand what I’m saying..”

MTG ‘Warns Of ‘Powerful People’ Trying To Silence Her Over Epstein (RT)

US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has claimed that “powerful people” are trying to silence her over her renewed efforts to have the Epstein files released. She further added that she is “not suicidal,” and that if she is harmed in any way it would not be self-inflicted. Greene is backing a House resolution introduced by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie that seeks to force a full House vote that would compel the Justice Department to release all remaining files related to Jeffrey Epstein – the financier and convicted sex offender who allegedly died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Greene, a Republican from Georgia, took to X on Saturday with a stark warning, telling followers to “find out” what really happened if she were ever found dead.

“I am not suicidal and one of the happiest, healthiest people you will meet,” she wrote, dismissing any suggestion she might take her own life after backing a petition to unseal the records. The petition requires 218 signatures to bypass committee leadership and bring the resolution directly to the floor – a step Greene says is crucial to exposing what she calls the “Epstein rape and pedophile network.” “If something happens to me, I ask you to find out which foreign government or powerful people would go to such lengths to keep this information from coming out,” she added. “The People understand what I’m saying.” According to media reports, the White House has been pressing lawmakers privately to abandon the petition, but Greene said she has no intention of backing down.

“I stand with girls and women who are sexually abused and raped. Period. Every time. At all times,” Greene wrote earlier. “This isn’t about a pissing contest between political parties or rivals. The Epstein rape and pedophile network must be exposed – and my name will remain on the discharge petition.” Earlier this month, the House Oversight Committee released 33,295 pages of Justice Department records on Epstein, including redacted court files, surveillance footage and other evidence. On Friday, House Democrats released another batch – calendars, flight logs and financial ledgers naming Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Steve Bannon – prompting Republicans to accuse them of “cherry-picking” to spotlight conservatives while withholding material that could implicate Democrats.

Read more …

Repeat it often enough and….

Survival of Western Civilization Depends on Ukraine – Polish PM (RT)

The survival of Western civilization is at stake in the Ukraine conflict, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has claimed. Russia has stated that the Ukraine conflict was provoked by NATO countries and that it is only defending itself, accusing the West of using Kiev to wage a “proxy war.” Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum in the Polish capital on Monday, Tusk called for more support for Ukraine, arguing that “this is not only a matter of solidarity with the country that was attacked. It is a matter of security and the survival of Western civilization.” The Polish people should understand that “it is our war, because the war in Ukraine is part of a terrible project that surfaces from time to time: a political program aimed at subjugating peoples, depriving individuals of freedom, and introducing authoritarianism, despotism, cruelty, and the absence of human rights,” he claimed.

“If we lose this war… the consequences will touch not only our generation but also future generations in Poland, in Europe, in the US, everywhere. Let there be no illusions,” the Polish prime minster, who has taken an increasingly hardline stance on the Ukraine conflict since returning to office in late 2023, warned. In an address at the UN General Assembly last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, “threats to use force against Russia are becoming more frequent, prompted by unproven accusations that Russia is planning to attack NATO and the EU.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin “has repeatedly debunked such provocations. Russia has not had and does not have any such intentions. However, any aggression against my country will receive a decisive response,” he said. Lavrov added that Moscow has “called on NATO capitals to… agree on legally binding security guarantees,” including those made before the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, but its proposals “continue to be ignored.”

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10 years of madness.

Eric Trump Releases New Book, “Under Siege” (CTH)

This is one book that I absolutely want to read. In a great interview, the Executive Vice-President of Trump Inc, Eric Trump, describes what it was like to be targeted by a fully weaponized U.S. government. Eric Trump speaks highly of the intents and purposes of Kash Patel and Dan Bongino in addition to several other members of the MAGA alliance who have assisted the family of Donald Trump in defending themselves. Eric notes the background conversations with his dad and family as Lawfare mounted their assault.

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Rules are meant to be broken.

EU To Bend Rules For Ukraine And Moldova Admission Process – FT (RT)

The EU plans to adjust its rules in order to push ahead with technical steps for admitting Ukraine and Moldova, thereby bypassing the Hungarian veto that has stalled formal accession talks with Kiev, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. No negotiation cluster has been opened for Ukraine as Hungary has repeatedly vetoed the procedural steps required to launch the first one. Budapest has consistently opposed Ukraine’s EU membership bid, citing Kiev’s treatment of ethnic Hungarians and the potential economic strain Ukrainian accession would entail for the bloc. According to the FT, however, the European Commission has proposed adjusting its own rules to sidestep the veto by launching technical work in several clusters even without a formal decision to open negotiations in those areas.

A negotiation cluster is a group of related policy areas that a candidate country must negotiate as part of the accession process. Brussels on Monday backed European Council President Antonio Costa’s plan to bypass Budapest’s veto by allowing a qualified majority of member states to open negotiating clusters for Ukraine and Moldova instead of requiring unanimous approval at each stage as is the case now, Politico reported. The issue is set to be discussed at an informal European Council meeting in Copenhagen later this week. Ukraine applied for EU membership in February 2022, while Moldova submitted its application the following month. The two bids have long been informally treated as a package, though some in the bloc argue they should be considered separately.

Zelensky has claimed that splitting them would signal a rift in the EU over security guarantees for Kiev – a stance critics see as an attempt to keep Moldova tied to Ukraine’s slower-moving accession bid. Last month, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto warned that Ukraine’s accession “would be the coup de grace to the European Union,” arguing that the bloc would have to divert “practically all” its financial resources to support Kiev, while cheaper Ukrainian farm products would “destroy European agriculture.” Unlike most EU member states, Hungary has refused to supply weapons to Ukraine and has repeatedly criticized EU sanctions on Russia. Moscow says it has no objection to Ukraine joining the EU but considers Kiev’s proposed accession to NATO an unacceptable security threat.

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” The Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, said in a statement on Tuesday that it has confidence in Trump’s ability to find a path toward peace in Gaza. Partnership with the US is essential in bringing stability to the region, it added.”

Palestinian Authority Backs Trump Peace Plan (RT)

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has said it welcomes US President Donald Trump’s “sincere and determined efforts” to achieve peace in Gaza, after Trump unveiled his roadmap to stop the fighting between Israel and Hamas.The 20-point plan, released by the White House during Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, calls for an immediate ceasefire and the exchange of all hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. It envisions turning Gaza into a “deradicalized, terror-free zone” after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, with Hamas excluded from governing the enclave. The Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, said in a statement on Tuesday that it has confidence in Trump’s ability to find a path toward peace in Gaza. Partnership with the US is essential in bringing stability to the region, it added.

The fighting must end “through a comprehensive agreement that ensures the sufficient delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, the release of hostages and prisoners, the establishment of mechanisms to protect the Palestinian people… prevent annexation of land, s top the displacement of Palestinians, end unilateral actions that violate international law, release withheld Palestinian tax revenues, and lead to a full Israeli withdrawal,” it said. “This would… open the path toward a just peace based on the two-state solution, with the independent and sovereign State of Palestine living side by side with the State of Israel in security, peace, and good neighborliness, in accordance with international legitimacy,” according to the PA.

Hamas has said it will study the US proposal “in good faith.” According to NBC’s sources, the group is leaning toward accepting the plan and will present its response to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators on Wednesday. However, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is fighting along Hamas, rejected Trump’s roadmap, calling it “a recipe to blow up the region.”West Jerusalem launched its military operation in Gaza in October 2023 in response to a deadly assault on southern Israel in which Hamas killed around 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages. Over 66,000 Palestinians have since been killed and more than 168,000 others injured in the enclave, according to the local health authorities.

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“The concept of annihilating the enemy, born of the 20th century, looks unlikely to return.”

The Liberal Order Is Over, and It’s Created This Unexpected Problem (Lukyanov)

The liberal order is over. Propriety has been abandoned, rules have been forgotten, and borders no longer mean what they once did. Force still exists, but peace lives only in the imagination of those who cling to old slogans. What we call the “international situation” is a spectacle without a script. The task is to describe it, and to understand it. Every year, the Valdai International Discussion Club produces a report on the state of the world system. This year’s paper – tellingly titled ‘Dr. Chaos or: How to Stop Worrying and Love the Disorder’ – asks whether the world has entered a revolutionary situation, one that would bring about a wholly new order. The answer is no. The changes are radical and often alarming, but they are not revolutionary. Why? Because the system is not unbearably unjust to any of the key players.

It is decaying, but not so intolerable that it demands overthrow. Institutions are weakening, many survive in name only, but nobody is trying to destroy them outright. Even the most disruptive US administration in recent memory – Donald Trump’s – has never attempted a fundamental overhaul. Washington simply ignores the constraints when it suits its interests. nThis is not because the global powers have grown cautious or responsible. It is because the order has become too complex to dismantle. The “top,” once embodied by the ruling great powers, can no longer exercise true hegemony. The United States is the clearest example: it lacks the money, the domestic drive, and even the will to police the world as before. Yet the “bottom,” the so-called global majority, is not demanding revolution either. Rising states see too much risk in total collapse. They would rather climb the ladder within the old framework than tear it down completely.

Here the Valdai report invokes Lenin’s definition of a revolutionary situation: the ruling class must be unable to rule as before, while the ruled must demand change. Today, the first condition exists but the second does not. Most countries prefer gradual elevation of their status without the gamble of a system-wide rupture. The shift from hegemony to multipolarity is profound, but multipolarity is not yet an order. It is an environment – fluid, confusing, and non-linear. Instability multiplies because the world is more interconnected than ever, yet also more conflict-ridden. For states, internal stability has become more important than external ambition. Governments everywhere, Russia included, now place domestic development and resilience above dreams of global domination. mWhat makes this transition unusual is that it is not driven by ideological revolutionaries.

China, the rising giant, does not try to remake the world in its image. It adapts to circumstances and tries to minimize the costs of being at the center. The transformation is objective – a consequence of economic, social, cultural, and technological shifts that unfold simultaneously but not in sync. Only an artificial intelligence, the Valdai report quips, might one day calculate the vector sum of all these forces. In the meantime, foreign policy is not withering away. On the contrary, international activity has never been greater. But its purpose has changed. States no longer dream of total victory. They seek incremental advantage – small corrections, favorable conditions for the near future, a perpetual negotiation backed by pressure.

The United States, for example, knows it cannot defend its dominance as in the past. Russia, too, will not risk its socio-economic stability for a decisive battlefield triumph. Nuclear deterrence makes full-scale war against major powers unthinkable. Israel may still act as if it can permanently alter the status quo, and Azerbaijan has restored its control over Karabakh. But these are exceptions. For most, international politics is returning to the positional confrontations of the 18th century: bloody contests, yes, but rarely total destruction. The concept of annihilating the enemy, born of the 20th century, looks unlikely to return.

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The webs we weave.

The NSA Report No One Has Ever Seen (CTH)

During the period of Nov 2015 to April 2016, the Obama administration, through the FBI under James Comey and Andrew McCabe, was conducting a political spying operation against all Republican presidential primary candidates using the power of their offices. The intent was two-fold. (1) Tracking the candidates to identify activity; and (2) conducting opposition research to be fed to the campaign of Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton. This surveillance activity was happening in concert with Comey, McCabe and a small group inside the FBI, running a defensive operation for the issues surrounding Hillary Clinton’s prior use of private email servers -which included classified information transmission- during her tenure as Secretary of State. Documentary evidence of the Obama spying operation surfaced as an outcome of the NSA compliance officer discovering the FBI activity. The compliance officer reported the activity to National Security Agency Director, Admiral Mike Rogers. The spying operation is not an issue of FISA-702, or any FISA system or process.

However, the availability of FBI access to the NSA database is what triggered the discovery of the spy operation. That FBI access is created under the auspices of FISA, but FISA-702, or any aspect therein, was not the issue. The issue was the spying operation. FISA, and using the NSA database to conduct the electronic surveillance, was simply the tool to exploit the electronic communication (metadata) of the targets. The Obama administration was spying on their political opposition and telling the Clinton team the results of their surveillance. Put another way, the United States government was spying on political candidates for office, in order to control the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. After Director Mike Rogers was made aware of the operation, and the exploitation of the NSA database, the NSA Director blocked the FBI from access and began an investigation. That investigation culminated in Director Mike Rogers informing the regulatory body in charge of protecting the database from exploitation.

FISC SIDEBAR: With the NSA now collecting the private electronic communication of Americans, the FISA Court was assigned the responsibility of oversight; it was intended to protect the growing metadata library and ensure the 4th Amendment provisions to the constitution were maintained. The FISC oversight was intended to stop the government from reviewing the private records of Americans, the NSA database, without a warrant. Because the NSA database was used by the Obama administration, the FBI, to conduct political spying operations, the only normal compliance venue Director Mike Rogers had to reveal the spying, was to inform the FISA court (FISC). NSA Director Mike Rogers was a cabinet member working for President Obama at the time the Obama administration was exploiting the NSA database. Director Mike Rogers does not appear to have informed congressional oversight. That would have violated the chain-of-command, and the President held absolute power.

Director Rogers could have chosen to inform the congressional Gang-of-Eight of the issue. He did not. This is an issue Director Rogers would later address by moving custodial control of the NSA database to Cyber Command (a DoD agency)]. NSA Director Mike Rogers informed the FISA Court of the issue, by detailing who the people were who were searched within the database, and what the results were over the timeframe of Nov ’15 to April ’16. The compliance officer provided the audit-trail, audit logs showing who was being spied on, who was being searched (queried), how often and how many times. The audit-trail also showed who was logging in to conduct the spy operations, and what FBI authorized workstations they were using. Director Rogers informed the court he had blocked FBI access and removed part of the functionality for how the system could be exploited.

The internal investigation by the NSA compliance officer and Rogers was completed and sent to the FISA Court in October 2016, with additional information sent in March 2017. The FISA Court then responded in April 2017, where Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer outlined the events in a heavily redacted 99-page opinion. President Obama conducting political spying operations, through a politically weaponized FBI, against the Republican opposition elements is colloquially called “Spygate.” Hillary Clinton manufacturing a political dirty trick against Donald Trump, accusing him of a Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy, is called “Russiagate.” President Obama and every member of his cabinet, that was involved in the spying operations, used Clinton’s “Russiagate” to cover up Obama’s “Spygate.”

The two controversies are distinct and separate. Within the evidence trail, that documents the Obama spying operation exists: (1) the NSA audit-trail, and, more importantly, (2) the specific document where the NSA notified the FISA Court. Those have never been seen. While a redacted 99-page response from the court has been reviewed in granular detail, the missing piece of the puzzle; -the evidence that proves the operation beyond any reasonable doubt – is the NSA investigative outcome, the notification to the FISC given by NSA Director Mike Rogers to the FISA Court. The NSA report to the FISA Court is a specific, actionable, discoverable document. I have been on the hunt for that notification report for 8 years. Now you know why this position is so important.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status/1972728226524062060

 

 

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Sep 282025
 
 September 28, 2025  Posted by at 10:15 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  62 Responses »


René Magritte The seducer 1953

 

Scott Jennings Explains Comey’s Indictment (Margolis)
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Ruling On His Birthright Citizenship Order (RT)s
What Hegseth’s Mystery Meeting Of Hundreds Of Generals Is All About (ZH)
Report: ‘PERSON 1’ and ‘PERSON 3’ in Bombshell Comey Indictment Revealed (Hoge)
John Brennan Wants Us to Move On from the Russian Collusion Hoax (Margolis)
Kremlin Responds To Zelensky Hinting At Assassination Of Top Leadership (ZH)
Kiev ‘Will Lose Ukraine’ If It Doesn’t Accept Moscow’s Terms – Lukashenko (ZH)
EU Can’t Override Hungary’s Veto On Ukraine – German Media (RT)
Ukraine Accuses Hungary Of Violating Its Airspace (RT)
Zelensky Is ‘Losing His Mind’ – Hungary FM (RT)
Orban Reveals What He Told Trump About Russian Oil (RT)
Belgium Rejects Plan To Raid Russia’s Reserves (RT)
Tony Blair Vying To Run Gaza – Media (RT)
Springsteen Is Calling For Trrump’s Impeachment Again (Cantrell)
Obama Library Funds Are Flowing to Dark Money Networks (Margolis)

 

 

https://twitter.com/TheStormRedux/status/1971930508004032577

https://twitter.com/RussiaIsntEnemy/status/1971929313583968623

 

 

 

 

“There are people in our orbit who believe that maybe this is a holding matter and there’s going to be a superseding indictment. And so there may be more information yet to come here.”

Scott Jennings Explains Comey’s Indictment (Margolis)

A grand jury has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on two counts—false statements to Congress and obstruction of a congressional proceeding, and the left isn’t happy about it. In fact, in the most hilarious case of irony, they’re accusing President Trump weaponizing the system against opponents. But here’s the reality: when you play dangerous political games and cross legal lines, eventually the law catches up with you. Democrats may have looked the other way when it was one of their own under scrutiny, but that doesn’t mean Republicans should do the same. After all, it was the left that spent four years twisting and corrupting the justice system to keep Trump from returning to power. Now that accountability has finally arrived, they can’t stand the taste of their own medicine.

But for Democrats, it’s always “different” when they do it. CNN’s Abby Phillip accused Trump of giving orders on whom to prosecute. “He is sending direct orders in public. He is thanking people for carrying out those orders. He’s firing people who don’t carry out those orders,” Phillip claimed. “I mean, what more sign do you need that Trump is directing this in public? He’s not doing it in private. It’s literally happening on the open.” CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings then pointed out the obvious: that Trump was simply exercising his authority as president and responding to wrongs done against him.

“It’s almost like he got elected president,” Jennings quipped. “I mean, honestly, he has never made any secret, nor have any of his people ever made any secret, that they believe a great many injustices were committed against him. And, honestly, when you look back on it and you look back at the inspector general reports, and you look back about everything that we know now that happened from the beginning of his first term all the way through now, there are some people that need to be held accountable.”

Jennings added that the grand jury process itself demonstrated impartial review. “If a grand jury says these things should be charged, that’s part of the process. Now, there was another charge they declined on, so they obviously looked at it and made some decisions in the room. But the fact is Lindsey Halligan walked in there, gave them some evidence, they looked at all of it, they charged on two. And I know people who think they may not be done. There are people in our orbit who believe that maybe this is a holding matter and there’s going to be a superseding indictment. And so there may be more information yet to come here.”

https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/1971762934763360553

Jennings also noted that Democrats had long pushed for prosecutions of Trump and his allies. “Every Democrat in this country for years made no secret about the fact that they wanted Donald Trump and his people prosecuted, put in jail and prevented from running for reelection, and they opened this box and now they’re living in it.” And that right there is the key: the left spent years weaponizing the justice system, tearing apart norms and exploiting law enforcement to target political opponents. Now, when the same standard is applied to one of their own for actual alleged crimes instead of made-up ones, the outrage is deafening. They can’t argue that the law shouldn’t apply—they made this game their own. Comey’s indictment is a reminder that no one, regardless of rank or party loyalty, is above the law. The lesson is clear: play political games with criminal implications, and sooner or later, the consequences catch up.

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What makes this hard: Biden let in 10-20 million people. If all their kids become US citizens, you live in a different country. Birthright is a nice principle, but it doesn’t scale.

Trump Seeks Supreme Court Ruling On His Birthright Citizenship Order (RT)s

US President Donald Trump’s administration has asked the Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of his executive order ending birthright citizenship for children whose parents entered the United States illegally, CNN reported Friday.Signed on January 20, Trump’s first day back in office, the order directs federal agencies to deny citizenship to children born on US soil if neither parent is an American citizen or a lawful permanent resident. The policy has since faced a series of nationwide injunctions, with judges declaring it unconstitutional. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, the administration’s top appellate lawyer, argued in the US Supreme Court filing that longstanding interpretations of the 14th Amendment have been “mistaken” and have had “destructive consequences,” according to the appeal obtained by CNN. He claimed lower courts had “undermined border security” by striking down “a policy of prime importance to the president.”

The administration is challenging rulings from a federal appeals court in San Francisco and a district court in New Hampshire, both of which blocked enforcement of the order in July. In one case, a coalition of Democratic-led states argued that the decree threatened billions in funding tied to citizenship status. In another, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) won a class-action lawsuit halting the policy nationwide. “This executive order is illegal, full stop, and no amount of maneuvering from the administration is going to change that,” ACLU attorney Cody Wofsy said after Friday’s filing. “We will continue to ensure that no baby’s citizenship is ever stripped away by this cruel and senseless order.”

The administration insists that the Supreme Court’s landmark 1898 ruling in US v. Wong Kim Ark, which established birthright citizenship for the children of immigrants, has been misapplied for decades. Sauer argued the precedent only applied to children of parents with “permanent domicile and residence” in the United States, not those who are in the country unlawfully or temporarily. The Supreme Court has yet to docket the case, and it is unclear if four justices will vote to hear it. In June, the justices issued a procedural decision limiting the power of lower courts to block presidential policies, but left open other pathways for nationwide injunctions.

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“..never once did a secretary summon all of the hundreds of one- to four-stars from each of the services, plus their top enlisted counterparts, from every corner of the globe to a single auditorium.”

What Hegseth’s Mystery Meeting Of Hundreds Of Generals Is All About (ZH)

The Washington Post and CNN say they know what Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth’s big summoning of hundreds of military generals and admirals is all about. The meeting is set for Tuesday at Quantico Marine Base near Washington D.C. No official explanation has yet to be given for why some 800 top commanders are being gathered – some traveling from bases across the globe. Speculation has abounded, including whether it could relate to going to war with Russia, or some other dire and alarming change in force posture. Major media outlets in the US are now claiming it will merely be a big talk by Hegseth in maintaining “warrior ethos” and things like professional standards. It’s also being reported as one big “rally the troops” meeting.

Apparently this somewhat unprecedented gathering is due to his “mounting impatience that the Pentagon hasn’t readily adopted the Trump administration’s directives on military culture, according to officials briefed on the plan. “The speech will aim to get everyone on the same page in terms of Trump’s desire to tighten up discipline and professional standards across military ranks. So far, President Trump has only said when asked about the somewhat unprecedented meeting by reporters, “It’s great when generals and top people want to come to the United States to be with a now-called secretary of war.” The Washington Post states:

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered hundreds of generals to travel from around the world to hear him make a short speech on military standards and the “warrior ethos,” multiple people familiar with the event told The Washington Post. “Commenting on the swift pushback, it continues: “Some Pentagon officials questioned the wisdom of launching a relatively large gathering on short notice to hear Hegseth speak for a matter of minutes, and bristled at the idea that long-serving military leaders — a segment of whom spent years in combat earlier in their careers — needed instruction on how to fight.” “They don’t need a talk from Secretary Hegseth on the warrior ethos,” a defense official said. A high profile retired general has spoken up on social media, and Hegseth bat it down…

There have in the last months been some firings and reshufflings of top command posts by Hegseth, who dismissed Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, Navy Reserve Chief Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, and Naval Special Warfare Command head Rear Adm. Milton Sands. “Critics have argued that his policies have often not seemed aligned with lethality — core initiatives have included removing transgender service members, ordering new shaving standards military-wide and rebranding the Defense Department as ‘the Department of War,’ complete with new seals and signage marking the entrance to his offices at the Pentagon,” WaPo continues.

One such critic, Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.), former commander of US Army Europe, wrote as follows:In my forty years in uniform, I never saw anything like it. While senior leaders have been recalled to Washington to meet with the secretary of defense during all our wars, never once did a secretary summon all of the hundreds of one- to four-stars from each of the services, plus their top enlisted counterparts, from every corner of the globe to a single auditorium. Not during the Cold War, not during Desert Storm, not during the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not Rumsfeld, not Gates, not Panetta, not Mattis, not Austin.

They likely didn’t do it because it is disruptive. It is expensive. And it is unnecessary. The optics of the meeting will be interesting, and Hegseth plans to record and later make public his speech. There still remains the possibility that WaPo and CNN’s reporting on it being about “warrior ethos” is flat wrong. But things will soon become clear in a matter of days.

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“Count 1 says that Comey “willfully and knowingly” lied when, testifying under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee..”

Report: ‘PERSON 1’ and ‘PERSON 3’ in Bombshell Comey Indictment Revealed (Hoge)

As the ramifications of the stunning and some would say long overdue indictment of former FBI Director James Comey continue to sink in, new information is emerging—specifically about two individuals labeled as PERSON 1 and PERSON 3 in the filing. ABC News is reporting that Hillary Clinton is PERSON 1, as RedState’s Rusty Weiss postulated earlier Friday, and that PERSON 3 is Comey friend and one-time personal lawyer, Daniel Richman. We are also learning more about the charges, and the DOJ is alleging that Comey is a flat-out liar. ABC News senior investigative reporter Mike Levine posted to X Friday evening:

Levine continued in his tweet, saying his sources have confirmed the identities: …personal lawyer, Daniel Richman, provide information to reporters about an FBI investigation connected to Hillary Clinton.In the indictment, Count 1 says that Comey “willfully and knowingly” lied when, testifying under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020, he reaffirmed previous Senate testimony insisting he never “authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports” about an investigation connected to someone only identified as “PERSON 1.” “That statement was false, because, as JAMES B. COMEY JR. then and there knew, he in fact had authorized PERSON 3 to serve as an anonymous source in news reports regarding [the] FBI investigation,” the indictment reads. Sources tell ABC News that “PERSON 1” is Clinton and “PERSON 3” is Richman. Levine had more and said that officials allege that Comey used Richman as his secret back door to leak to the media:

“Richman contacted journalists to correct stories critical of Comey, the FBI and to shape future press coverage,” the FBI said in a September 2021 report on its investigation. “Richman did this both when he was an SGE and after he resigned from the FBI.” Granted, this report comes from ABC, which is part of the mainstream media cabal known for shading stories and printing misinformation if it hurts Trump. However, this story isn’t of the “Get Trump!” variety, and Levine’s explanation seems reasonable given the facts known at this time. We’ll know soon enough. In the meantime, stock up on your Orville Redenbacher, because this case promises to be quite the drama.

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(pause for laughter)

Brennan is sweating.

John Brennan Wants Us to Move On from the Russian Collusion Hoax (Margolis)

Former Obama CIA Director John Brennan is urging conservatives to move past the Russian collusion hoax. In an interview with MSNBC, Brennan criticized the ongoing attacks on former FBI Director James Comey and others, framing them as part of what he called a “revenge tour” by Trump’s second administration. “I worked very closely with Jim Comey while he was director of the FBI and I was director of CIA. Jim Comey is a man of integrity, of honesty,” Brennan said. “I had some disagreements with Jim Comey about decisions or actions he took. That is natural, but I never had any doubt whatsoever that he was fully committed to the rule of law and a commitment to uphold his oath of office, which he has done.”

(pause for laughter)

Brennan highlighted Trump’s and his allies’ repeated efforts to bring charges against Comey despite little evidence. He noted the resignation of the acting U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia after determining there was insufficient evidence, memos from prosecutors warning a new appointee that there was no case, and public pressure from Trump himself. “All of the facts that we know of right now really say that Jim Comey should not be charged,” Brennan said. The former CIA director traced Trump’s animosity toward him and Comey back to the intelligence community’s 2016 assessment that claimed Russia attempted to interfere in the presidential election to benefit Trump.

“It would have been derelict, absolutely derelict if the FBI and CIA, NSA, and the Office of Director of National Intelligence did not in fact explore what the Russians were doing to be able to stop them and to raise the alarm that this is something the Russians will continue to do,” Brennan said. “And it’s very, very unfortunate- …that, again, Donald Trump and his, you know, people who are supporting him refuse again to acknowledge that and move on.”

He would want us to move on. Why? Because he played a pivotal role in orchestrating the Russiagate hoax. Brennan was instrumental in promoting the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) released in Jan. 2017, which falsely claimed that Russian interference aimed to benefit Trump. Despite credible intelligence suggesting that some Russian officials anticipated a Clinton victory and had compromising material on her, this information was deliberately omitted from the final report. Brennan’s reliance on dubious sources such as the Steele dossier and his dismissal of warnings from seasoned CIA analysts underscore the politicization of intelligence under his leadership. Hence the reason he’s under investigation as well.

Recent revelations, including declassified documents that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has released, have shed light on the coordinated efforts within the Obama administration to manufacture a narrative of Russian interference. These documents suggest that Brennan, along with other top officials, suppressed dissenting intelligence and manipulated assessments to align with a predetermined political agenda. The emerging evidence points to a deliberate scheme to weaponize U.S. intelligence against a sitting president and subvert the will of the voters.

That’s exactly why Brennan now pretends everything that went down was “above board,” and insists Trump and his supporters should just move on. But make no mistake—we’re not moving on. Brennan wasn’t some bystander; he conspired with other Obama officials to frame Donald Trump as a traitor to his country, spinning a phony tale of Russian collusion to delegitimize his presidency. They knew the allegations were false, and they pushed them anyway—weaponizing the intelligence community, poisoning the media, and dividing the nation in order to undo the results of the 2016 election. That isn’t just politics as usual—it’s one of the dirtiest abuses of power in American history.

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“Russia can use weapons that no bomb shelter will save you from. And the Americans should remember this too.”

This appeared to be another veiled nuclear threat”..

No, Tyler, Russia doesn’t threaten with nukes. At most they mention they have them. Russia will use nukes if they are used on them.

This bit refers to Kinzhal and Oreshnik hypersonics. Just as deadly, and no possible defense.

Kremlin Responds To Zelensky Hinting At Assassination Of Top Leadership (ZH)

Russia on Friday blasted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his “irresponsible” threats after the day prior he said that leaders in Moscow should check for bomb shelters near the Kremlin if the country does not stop its war in Ukraine. Zelensky had told Axios that Russian officials “have to know where their bomb shelters are,” adding: “If they will not stop the war, they will need it in any case.” He did caveat the threat by saying he won’t target civilians as “we are not terrorists” but then underscored, “They have to know that we in Ukraine, each day, we will answer. If they attack us, we will answer them.” Zelensky also stressed that if Ukraine receives long-range weaponry from the United States, then “we will use it.”

This is an especially dangerous scenario as it is flirting with WW3, given Moscow has long issued a red line related to such long-range weapons attacking Russian territory. The Ukrainian leader could be upping these threats not only out of desperation, but after earlier this month Russia struck Ukrainian government buildings in the capital for the first time of the war, and it was not far from Zelensky’s own office. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the threats as follows: “Zelensky is clearly continuing his desperate efforts. That’s why he’s issuing threats left and right, which is quite irresponsible,” according to the AFP. Former Russian president and current top national security official Dmitry Medvedev also responded, by saying: “The freak should understand something else: Russia can use weapons that no bomb shelter will save you from. And the Americans should remember this too.”

This appeared to be another veiled nuclear threat, and hint at runaway escalation if American long-range weapons are used to attack government buildings in Moscow. There was at least one notable time earlier in the conflict that Ukraine sent small drones against the Kremlin complex in Moscow, damaging a dome and putting the capital on high alert. Meanwhile, constant cross-border drone attacks targeting Russian energy sites continue. On Thursday Ukrainian drones struck the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region. It marks the second attack on the site within a month, and it sparked a large fire, which was soon extinguished with no casualties. The Afipsky refinery is one of the largest in southern Russia.

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“..here, as we agreed, everything continues in a rhythmic and operational mode. Everything keeps developing naturally,..

Kiev ‘Will Lose Ukraine’ If It Doesn’t Accept Moscow’s Terms – Lukashenko (ZH)

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin in Moscow on Friday, with the two hailing expansion of cooperation on all levels. “We are practically enjoying active collaboration in all directions,” the Russian president said. “The same applies to security issues and ensuring the safety of the Union State. By the way, here, as we agreed, everything continues in a rhythmic and operational mode. Everything keeps developing naturally,” Putin added. Lukashenko is joining Putin and other officials at events of the World Atomic Week in Moscow during the two-day visit.

Most importantly, Lukashenko revealed while speaking to the media after discussions with Putin that Russia has presented a new peace proposal to Ukraine, and that Kiev’s response will determine the outcome of the conflict. According to state media source BelTA, he went so far as to warn the Ukrainians that if they don’t accept its terms, they they will lose all of Ukraine. “There are good proposals for resolving the Ukrainian conflict,” Lukashenko said of options which are apparently on the table. According to his full comments as translated by BelTA:= “You can say and declare anything. But what if the Kremlin strikes Bankovaya Street [a street in Kiev where Ukrainian government institutions are headquartered]? What would remain of it?

Therefore, Vladimir Zelensky needs to calm down. There are good proposals on the table. We discussed them with President Putin. I will not speak about them; the president will speak about them himself. These are good proposals. Proposals regarding Ukraine, which were also heard by Donald Trump in Alaska, were taken to Washington for consideration and discussion.” After again calling them “Very good proposals,” he then warned ominously that “If the Ukrainians do not accept these proposals, then the situation will be like the beginning of the Special Military Operation. It will be even worse. They will lose Ukraine.”

As far as what Moscow is offering for negotiated settlement, this without doubt includes Kiev giving up all claims to the four easter territories and to Crimea, as well as to never join NATO, and that it must open up restrictions on the Russian language. Essentially Ukraine will see it as a plan of ‘surrender’. It was this past summer that Russian forces expanded their operations beyond the Donbass for the first going. The military has at this point captured several villages and settlements Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, which neighbors Donetsk. Ukraine’s manpower crisis has only grown worse in the meantime. This signifies that Moscow could expand the fight, and Lukashenko’s latest warning suggests this as well. However, Putin unlikely desires to attempt to occupy the whole of the country, but the threat is being echoed amid the ongoing standoff with NATO.

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“..Szijjarto claimed that Brussels was conspiring to overthrow the “patriot Slovak, Hungarian, and Serbian governments” and replace them with puppet regimes..”

EU Can’t Override Hungary’s Veto On Ukraine – German Media (RT)

The EU leadership has yet to devise a way to overcome Hungary’s veto, which has blocked the start of accession talks with Ukraine, DW has reported, citing anonymous sources. Unlike most other EU member states, Hungary has consistently refused to provide weapons to Ukraine and repeatedly criticized the bloc’s sanctions against Russia. Budapest has also staunchly opposed the prospect of Kiev joining the EU. In a piece on Friday, DW quoted an unnamed source as acknowledging that “currently, there are no ways to overcome Hungary’s veto.” Another source concurred that the “situation is complicated,” with Brussels’ attempts to “explore legal ways to bypass Hungary’s veto” having proved fruitless.

According to the publication, Brussels is counting on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party losing power in the parliamentary election scheduled for April 2026. For the time being, the EU leadership intends to complete all technical work “in advance, so that when Orban leaves we are ready to move quickly forward” on Ukraine accession talks, DW quoted its source as saying. Delivering her annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that it was time to “break free from the shackles of unanimity” and move towards qualified majority voting in some areas of foreign policy.

Last month, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto claimed that Brussels was conspiring to overthrow the “patriot Slovak, Hungarian, and Serbian governments” and replace them with puppet regimes. Around the same time, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) made similar allegations. Also in August, Szijjarto warned that Ukraine’s potential accession to the bloc “would be the coup de grace to the European Union,” as it would have to redirect “practically all” of its financial resources towards supporting Kiev. Moreover, “much lower-quality agricultural products would destroy European agriculture,” the Hungarian diplomat stated, echoing concerns previously aired by Orban. In June, Hungary vetoed a joint EU statement on Ukraine, effectively blocking Kiev’s accession talks, since unanimous approval was required.

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With paper planes.

What nonsense. But there’s an audience for it.

Ukraine Accuses Hungary Of Violating Its Airspace (RT)

Vladimir Zelensky has claimed Hungarian reconnaissance drones were spotted in the west of Ukraine. Budapest quickly dismissed the allegation. Relations between the neighboring countries have been strained. Unlike many EU states, Hungary has refused to provide weapons to Ukraine, and has opposed the bloc’s sanctions against Russia. Budapest has repeatedly spoken out against Kiev joining the EU and NATO, and has accused the Ukrainian authorities of discriminating against the Hungarian ethnic minority in the country’s Western Transcarpathia region. In a statement posted to social media on Friday, Zelensky said that the Ukrainian military had informed him about alleged “recent drone incidents along the Ukrainian-Hungarian border.”

“Ukrainian forces recorded violations of our airspace by reconnaissance drones, which are likely Hungarian,” Zelensky claimed, suggesting that the supposed UAVs “may have been conducting reconnaissance on the industrial potential of Ukraine’s border areas.” Responding to the allegation in an X post of his own, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote that Zelensky “is losing his mind to his anti-Hungarian obsession [and is]… now starting to see things that aren’t there.” Commenting on a decision to declare three senior Hungarian military officials persona non grata earlier in the day, Szijjarto accused Ukraine of carrying out an “anti-Hungarian policy.” The diplomat expressed incredulity that Kiev still expects Hungary to back its EU membership bid.

Following repeated Ukrainian strikes on the Druzhba (‘Friendship’) pipeline that carries Russian oil to Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban last month accused Kiev of attempting to undermine his country’s energy security in retaliation for refusing to back Ukraine’s EU membership bid. In late June, Hungary vetoed a joint EU statement on Ukraine, effectively blocking Kiev’s accession talks. Budapest has repeatedly expressed concern that Ukraine’s potential admission to the bloc would adversely affect the Hungarian economy. In May, Orban accused Ukraine of stepping up a covert interference campaign in Hungary. The allegation came shortly after both countries expelled each other’s diplomats amid mutual espionage recriminations.

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Friendly neighbors.

Zelensky Is ‘Losing His Mind’ – Hungary FM (RT)

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has issued a sharp rebuke of Vladimir Zelensky, claiming that Kiev has become obsessed with Budapest and is imagining threats that do not exist. Zelensky alleged on Friday that Hungarian drones had violated western Ukrainian airspace, suggesting they “may have been conducting reconnaissance on the industrial potential of Ukraine’s border areas.” “President Zelensky is losing his mind to his anti-Hungarian obsession,” Szijjarto wrote on X in response, adding that “he is now starting to see things that aren’t there.” Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga fired back, stating that “no amount of your attacks on our President will change what we – and everyone – see.”

“We are starting to see a lot of things, Peter, including your government’s hypocrisy and moral degradation, open and covert work against Ukraine and the rest of Europe, serving as a Kremlin lackey,” the Ukrainian diplomat wrote. Szijjarto also accused Kiev of pursuing an “anti-Hungarian policy” after Ukraine declared three senior Hungarian military officials persona non grata earlier on Friday. Relations between Hungary and Ukraine have been tense for years. Budapest has resisted pressure from Brussels and Washington to provide weapons to Kiev or support EU sanctions against Russia, arguing that such moves would harm Hungarian national interests.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has also accused Ukraine of discriminating against the Hungarian minority in its Transcarpathia Region and of undermining his country’s energy security by attacking the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Russian oil to Central Europe. Hungary blocked EU accession talks with Ukraine earlier this year and has continued to call for negotiations to end the conflict rather than further sanctions or military escalation. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York this week, Szijjarto warned that as long as the hostilities continue, “events will occur that carry the risk of escalation” between NATO and Russia, insisting that peace is the only way to bring that risk “down to zero.”

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“If we are friends, we listen to each other – and then everyone does what they think is right.”

Orban Reveals What He Told Trump About Russian Oil (RT)

Budapest continues to resist mounting pressure from Brussels and Washington to end its reliance on Russian energy, citing geographic and infrastructural constraints as well as national security interests. “If Hungary is cut off from Russian oil and natural gas, immediately, within a minute, Hungarian economic performance will drop by 4%,” Orban said in his regular interview on Friday. “It means the Hungarian economy would be on its knees.” Asked whether Trump accepted his arguments during their phone call on Thursday, Orban replied: “America has its arguments and interests, Hungary has its own. Our task is to express and represent them clearly. If we are friends, we listen to each other – and then everyone does what they think is right.”

Trump appeared to acknowledge Orban’s concerns, describing him as a “great guy” and a “great friend of mine.” “Hungary, you know, they’re landlocked. And they don’t have a nice ocean where ships can sail in from all over the world. You know, they have one pipeline,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday. He was referring to the Druzhba (Friendship) oil pipeline, which has recently been targeted by Ukraine, disrupting supplies to Hungary and Slovakia. “And Slovakia, too. They’re sort of married to one pipeline. So I just don’t want to have people go blaming them,” Trump added.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto reaffirmed that Budapest would not abandon its “national interests” under external pressure, following a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov just hours after the Orban-Trump call. Szijjarto also blasted Brussels for failing to defend member states’ energy security in the wake of the Druzhba attacks. “Instead of protecting our energy security, they gave us lectures. And you know, this is a scandal, I think,” he said.

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“Taking Putin’s money and leaving the risks with us. That’s not going to happen, let me be very clear about that..”

Belgium Rejects Plan To Raid Russia’s Reserves (RT)

Belgium has slammed the brakes on a new German plan to use frozen Russian central bank assets to bankroll Ukraine — a veto that matters because Brussels holds the keys to the vault. Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Thursday that the proposal by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to funnel €140 billion from frozen Russian reserves into an “interest-free loan” for Kiev “will never happen.” His warning carries unusual weight: some €200 billion of Moscow’s immobilized assets are parked at Euroclear, the Brussels-based clearinghouse.

”If countries see that central bank money can disappear if European politicians see fit, they might decide to withdraw their reserves from the eurozone,” De Wever said at the UN General Assembly in New York, calling the plan reckless and a “dangerous precedent.” “Taking Putin’s money and leaving the risks with us. That’s not going to happen, let me be very clear about that,” he stressed. “Taking Putin’s money and leaving the risks with us. That’s not going to happen, let me be very clear about that,” he stressed.

Western countries have long sought to tap into the frozen funds to bankroll Kiev, with attempts to do so repeatedly frustrated by lack of a legal mechanism and broader concerns about the implications. Last year, the G7 backed a plan to use the accrued interest to secure $50 billion in loans for Ukraine – with the EU pledging $21 billion and disbursing about half so far. Moscow has repeatedly condemned the asset freeze and any effort to seize or redirect Russian funds as a violation of international law and undermining trust in the global financial system. Russia has also pledged it would retaliate, adding that further military and financial aid to Ukraine only prolongs hostilities.

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What a great idea!!

Tony Blair Vying To Run Gaza – Media (RT)

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has proposed to lead a transitional administration in Gaza when Israel’s military campaign in the enclave ends, British media reported on Friday. Blair is reportedly seeking to chair a body called the Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA), which would oversee reconstruction and eventually transfer power to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA). One of a dozen concepts proposed by various governments and think tanks, GITA would seek a UN mandate to be Gaza’s “supreme political and legal authority” for five years. If approved, Blair would have a secretariat of up to 25 people funded by Gulf states. The Economist described the plan “a distinct improvement” over US President Donald Trump’s earlier vision of an American-owned Gaza “riviera.”

According to the report, GITA would be initially headquartered in El-Arish, Egypt, and modeled on past transitional authorities in East Timor and Kosovo. Its mission would include unifying Gaza and the West Bank under the PA. The Ramallah-based Palestinian body currently exercises only limited authority in the West Bank, where the Israeli military exerts dominant control – an arrangement critics have branded as an apartheid system. Israel has previously rejected any role for the PA in governing Gaza after the war. The Financial Times said Washington presented fresh ideas for Gaza’s future during this week’s UN General Assembly meetings, including putting Blair on an international supervisory board. Several Arab states reportedly favored a committee of Palestinian technocrats instead.

Earlier this month, the Times of Israel detailed Blair’s lobbying efforts, including talks with Trump and a July meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas, noting that his plan requires “significant reforms” from the Palestinian Authority and offers it only limited involvement in Gaza. Analysts remain skeptical that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would back GITA, given his reliance on right-wing ministers who are urging him to annex all Palestinian territory, including Gaza and the West Bank.

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Springsteen these days wants to be Obama’s twin brother.

Springsteen Is Calling For Trrump’s Impeachment Again (Cantrell)

Rock legend Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen, who is obsessed with President Donald Trump, it seems, once again called for the commander-in-chief to be impeached. Once upon a time, rock and roll was about rebellion, thinking for yourself, and “sticking it to the Man.” These days, rock musicians are The Man. And sadly, the vast majority of them can’t see their own hypocrisy. Voices of a generation that once encouraged listeners to blaze their own trails are demanding that everyone fall in line and march lockstep along the path of radical leftism. Not to mention that the radical left already impeached the president twice during his first term. Both attempts failed. A Democrat seems to submit articles of impeachment against Trump every few months. These, too, amount to a hill of beans.

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) is one of the repeat offenders I alluded to above. If President Trump so much as breathes in his general direction, he pops out some articles of impeachment. And yet, despite the failure of these efforts, Springsteen believes Democrats lack the conviction and political gumption to try, try, again. The whole “trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity” thing doesn’t seem to be a bit of wisdom Springsteen has heard before. The Boss sat down for an interview with Time, where he shared his belief that Democrats need to impeach Trump. Again. A move that will, no doubt, fail for a third time. “He’s the living personification of what he 25th Amendment and impeachment were for.

If Congress had any guts, he’d be consigned to the trash heap of history,” the “Born in the U.S.A.” singer told the publication. Hold on. Is he really calling for the invocation of the 25th Amendment? Where was Springsteen when former President Joe Biden bumbled and blubbered all over television for four years, clearly suffering from dementia? If any president ever deserved subjection to the 25th Amendment, it was Biden. “We’re desperately in need of an effective alternative party, or for the Democratic Party to find someone who can speak to the majority of the nation,” he continued. “There is a problem with the language that they’re using and the way they’re trying to reach people.” When Time asked about some of the harsh things President Trump has said about Springsteen, he claimed he “absolutely couldn’t care less what he thinks about me.”

Trump referred to Springsteen as “highly overrated” and a “dried out prune,” both statements he made in May 2025. “I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country,” President Trump wrote in a Friday morning post on Truth Social.

“If I wasn’t elected, it would have been GONE by now! Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock,’ and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)?” Trump’s post continued. “This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!” Nothing more needs to be said. President Trump nailed it.

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“The group, which received just $129,320 in donations in 2022, spent more than $27 million on salaries.”

Obama Library Funds Are Flowing to Dark Money Networks (Margolis)

Barack Obama’s long-promised presidential library is shaping up to be just as corrupt as his administration. You probably haven’t heard much about this in the media, but recent tax filings reveal that money donated to the Obama Foundation—supposedly earmarked for his sprawling “presidential center” in Chicago—is quietly being redirected to one of the left’s most notorious dark money groups: the Tides Foundation. The numbers tell the story. In 2022 and 2023, the Obama Foundation handed over $2 million to Tides, a group best known for serving as a clearinghouse for radical left-wing causes and for shielding donor identities. It should come as no surprise that George Soros heavily backs Tides, and Tides is directly tied to groups organizing anti-Israel protests. That includes demonstrations against the Jewish state in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas atrocities.

In other words, donations made in the name of funding a presidential library are now helping bankroll organizations promoting antisemitic activism under the guise of social justice. That’s pretty on-brand for Barack Obama. “The Tides Center played an administrative role in the program by processing grants while Cities United [a nonprofit] managed the application process,” the spokeswoman said in an email. Grants ranged from $15,000 to $30,000 each over the two summers. Tides has also handled donations for Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, which sued the group in California Superior Court last year. It alleged “egregious mismanagement” of more than $33 million in its funds, according to court documents. That lawsuit is ongoing.

In addition to sending donations to Tides, the Obama Foundation has sent more than $3 million in 2022 and 2023 in grants to Gofundme.org for undisclosed “grassroots leaders to empower girls through education,” according to the group’s filings. Meanwhile, the foundation admitted it has so far spent more than $615 million building the Obama Presidential Center, which is scheduled to open in spring 2026, according to its website.

The group, which received just $129,320 in donations in 2022, spent more than $27 million on salaries. While community members struggle, insiders at the Obama Foundation are doing just fine. The foundation’s CEO, Emeka Jarrett, earned over $750,000 last year. The executive vice president, Rob Cohen, pocketed nearly $650,000, and also maintains ties to the Pritzker Realty Group. His connection to Penny Pritzker—sister to Governor J.B. Pritzker—only highlights the tangled web of Democratic powerbrokers who are thriving while the project supposedly dedicated to “the people” spirals out of control.

Meanwhile, the presidential center itself—originally sold to the public as a beacon of civic pride for Chicago’s South Side—has turned into a financial pit. Construction on the 20-acre site in Jackson Park began years ago, with a ballooning price tag that has already exceeded $615 million, far above the initial $500 million projection. The opening date has slipped again, now pushed to spring 2026. Local residents aren’t thrilled either. One lawyer described it bluntly as a “monstrosity,” pointing to rising costs, neighborhood headaches, and little actual benefit to the people forced to live around it. This entire project reeks of the kind of carefully crafted con job only career political operators could pull off. Sell it as a beacon of unity, then funnel millions to radical, antisemitic causes, all while insiders pocket obscene salaries. It’s a true reflection of the same kind of corruption that plagued Obama’s presidency.

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https://twitter.com/ProjectConstitu/status/1971917570287501753

 

 

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Jun 272025
 
 June 27, 2025  Posted by at 8:45 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  48 Responses »


Rembrandt van Rijn Let the little children come to me 1627-28

 

US Reportedly Mulls Easing Iran Sanctions (ZH)
Iran Truce Could Inspire Ukraine Peace – Witkoff (RT)
Ayatollah Claims ‘Victory’ Over Israel Which ‘Almost Collapsed’ (ZH)
Let Trump Save Us from War with Iran (Paul Craig Roberts)
The Damage Iran Has Inflicted On Israel (Helmer)
Netanyahu’s Corruption Trial Should Be ‘Canceled’ – Trump (RT)
Trump To Consider Future Ukraine Aid (RT)
Brazil’s Lula Tells Trump To Spend Less Time Posting (RT)
Orbán Tells Zelensky On X: The EU Was Created For Peace, Not War (RMX)
Ukraine Deliberately Exterminating Civilians In Donbass – Moscow (RT)
EU Must Prepare To Talk To Russia – Macron (RT)
Slovakia To Veto New Russia Sanctions – PM Fico (RT)
The Ceasefire Kabuki (Pepe Escobar)
Is Donald Trump Really Running The Iran Show? (Jay)
A European Body Suffering From Acute Trumpitis (Dionísio)
Trump Plans Mass Dismissal Of Asylum Claims, Fast-Track Deportations (ZH)

 

 

Scott: I usually hide this comic behind the Locals subscription wall but you might like it.

von Greyerz
https://twitter.com/GoldSwitzerland/status/1938227969484591338

Maersheimer

Candace

 

 

 

 

Just because they tried so hard, I looked for a story on the Trump admin’s presentation of evidence concerning the Iran nuclear bombings. Found only this, by now buried in a ZH article.

US Reportedly Mulls Easing Iran Sanctions (ZH)

As expected Hegseth during the Thursday morning Pentagon press conference excoriated the mainstream media for its coverage of the Trump-ordered attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites. This after repeatedly praising Trump’s leadership at yesterday’s NATO summit. “I hope, with all the ink spilled, all of your outlets find the time to properly recognize this historic change in continental security that other presidents tried to do, other presidents talked about,” Hegseth said. “President Trump accomplished it. It’s a huge deal.” He strongly pushed back especially against CNN reporting that the strikes merely set back Iran’s nuclear program by months, again, framing the avalanche of MSM skepticism as supposedly due merely to anti-Trump bias and not wanting to give him a ‘win’.

“Again, it was preliminary, a day and a half after the actual strike, when it admits itself in writing that it requires weeks to accumulate the necessary data to make such an assessment,” the defense secretary said. The president “created the conditions to end the war, decimating – choose your word – obliterating, destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” he asserted, before reading aloud the assessments of various US and foreign intelligence heads.

Much of the press conference consisted of a highly detailed narrative of what it was like for troops – from officers to enlisted privates – in the Middle East as Iran’s very brief retaliatory missile strike rained down on Qatar, and US-manned anti-air batteries intercepted the inbound projectiles. There was also a lot of focus on the pilots and crew of the B-2s and their marathon 37-hour bombing run all the way from Missouri to Tehran and back. The presser, especially while Hegseth was speaking, was charged with patriotism and emotion – much more than is normal for a Pentagon press briefing. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine emphasized in a detailed way the specs of the 30,000 pound bombs dropped on the Iranian sites, and they “functioned as designed, meaning they exploded.”

“A point that I want to make here: the Joint Force does not do [battle damage assessments],” Caine told the press pool. “By design, we don’t grade our own homework. The intelligence community does. But here’s what we know following the attacks and the strikes on Fordow: First, that the weapons were built, tested and loaded properly. Two, the weapons were released on speed and on parameters. Three, the weapons all guided to their intended targets and to their intended aim points. Four, the weapons functioned as designed, meaning they exploded. We know this through other means intelligence means that we have that were visibly, we were visibly able to see them. And we know that the trailing jets saw the first weapons function.” He actually cited one pilot’s eyewitness account as saying the blast from the initial bombs was so big as it was like an overwhelming flash of daylight.

Among the more interesting assertions and revelations was that the Pentagon has been working intensely on the operation, particularly to take out the Fordow site, for-15 years. While the US military often spends a lot of time on various ‘contingency’ options to present to the Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Caine’s description of two Pentagon analysts who devoted a decade-and-a-half of their lives to studying just Fordow strongly suggests the US long ago knew it would pull the trigger at some point. “In the days preceding the attack against Fordow, the Iranians attempted to cover the shafts with concrete to try to prevent an attack. I won’t share the specific dimensions of the concrete cap, but you should know that we know what the dimensions of those concrete caps were,” Caine said. “The planners had to account for this, they accounted for everything. The cap was forcibly removed by the first weapon, and the main shaft was uncovered.”

And President Trump soon after the Pentagon briefing ended, wrote the following on Truth Social:


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Comparing the two is useless. Just ask Russia.

Iran Truce Could Inspire Ukraine Peace – Witkoff (RT)

A ceasefire between Iran and Israel, declared this week after a brief escalation, could influence the Ukraine conflict, US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has said, expressing hope for renewed peace efforts between Kiev and Moscow. The hostilities began on June 13 when Israel launched strikes on Iran, claiming Tehran was close to developing a nuclear bomb – allegations denied by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and US intelligence. The US joined the campaign – which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a step to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons – by striking Iranian nuclear sites. A ceasefire brokered by Washington came into effect on Tuesday. In a CNBC interview on Wednesday, Witkoff said the truce could serve as a model for resolving other conflicts. “We are hopeful that this will lead to some very, very, very good things happening in the Russia-Ukraine resolution.”

Russia has criticized the US bombing campaign, calling it a dangerous escalation and a violation of international law. The Foreign Ministry warned that these actions risk further destabilizing the region.Witkoff was reportedly instrumental in brokering the ceasefire after a brief but intense conflict between Iran and Israel that left hundreds dead in Iran, 25 in Israel, and thousands injured on both sides, according to official sources. He has also been a key figure behind kickstarting the Ukraine peace process. Russia and Ukraine resumed direct talks in Türkiye last month, reviving a diplomatic process that was paused by Kiev in 2022 after it opted to pursue victory on the battlefield with Western assistance.

At their most recent meeting on June 2, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange prisoners and presented draft memorandums outlining their visions for a peace agreement. However, each side currently views the other’s terms as unacceptable. Russia has stressed that any lasting agreement must reflect the current battlefield realities and Ukrainian neutrality. Trump, who vowed during the 2024 presidential election campaign to resolve the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours, recently described the promise as “sarcastic.” He has repeatedly voiced frustration with both sides, warning that the US could impose sanctions on both Russia and Ukraine if the conflict does not come to an end soon.

https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/1937983447210881146

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War of words.

And: “..a concert by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, which goes back nearly 100 years.”

Persia’s past.

Ayatollah Claims ‘Victory’ Over Israel Which ‘Almost Collapsed’ (ZH)

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday issued his first comments since the Trump-backed ceasefire with Israel took effect, congratulating “the great nation of Iran” for its “victory over the fake Zionist regime.” “Despite all that noise, and with all those claims, the Zionist regime almost collapsed and was crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic,” he said, according to the national IRNA news agency. He also claimed to have “delivered a slap to America’s face.” At a moment the Trump administration is celebrating to ‘obliteration’ of the Islamic Republic’s core elements and main facilities of its nuclear program, the Ayatollah downplayed the effects of the military campaign. He described that the United States entered the war along Israel’s side “because they felt that if they did not enter, the Zionist regime would be destroyed.” He presented this as a sign of Israeli weakness, echoing prior statements issued during the aerial raids.

“However, the Americans did not gain anything in this war,” he asserted. He went to say that those that attacked Iran suffered a high cost. According to more from state media translation: “We thank God for aiding our armed forces, who managed to breach their advanced multilayered defense systems and flatten large parts of their military and urban centers with powerful missile and weapons strikes,” he said.Ayatollah Khamenei said it proves to the Zionist regime that aggression against the Islamic Republic comes with a high cost that it will have to pay, crediting both the armed forces and the people of the Islamic Republic for the glorious victory. The last couple days since the ceasefire has held saw throngs of people come out into Tehran streets, to demonstrate in solidarity with the military, and to show defiance and that the 12-days of attacks did not bring the nation to its knees.

There have been other signs of symbolic defiance and resistance as well, including public events and a concert by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, which goes back nearly 100 years. On Wednesday, in the city’s popular Azadi Square, reports described: As residents gathered for the performance, the orchestra played “Ey Iran,” the country’s unofficial national anthem that has long been considered a song of national pride and resistance and had once been banned by the Islamic Republic due to its association with anti-government sentiment. Established in 1933, the orchestra has survived multiple regimes, coups, revolution and wars, widely seen as a symbol of resilience. Its hardest days came during the term of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when the orchestra was disbanded due to sanctions, financial difficulties and negligence.

In total over 630 Iranians died and thousands were injured in the strikes, with Israel also claiming to have assassinated at least 14 Iranian nuclear scientists and many more high-ranking military commanders. But Israel, and Tel Aviv especially, had whole building and neighborhoods leveled, and had some of its military command centers hit by Iranian ballistic and hypersonic missiles. On the other side, much of Tehran was destroyed, and the Iranians admit that key nuclear facilities suffered significant damage; however, they have pledged that nuclear energy development will continue as a matter of national sovereignty.

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“Let’s pre-empt Israel’s pressure for more war by supporting Trump’s statement that there is no longer a nuclear threat from Iran.”

Let Trump Save Us from War with Iran (Paul Craig Roberts)

The ongoing pundit discussions whether or not the US attack destroyed the three Iranian nuclear facilities, which might or might not have been involved in developing a weapon, with many challenging the Trump administration’s report that all three facilities were destroyed, is stupid and even dangerous. The whore media, incapable of thought, is desperate to do Trump in on any and every thing. Why are intelligent analysts keeping the issue alive for the biased media? I won’t name them, but they need to think before they speak. Why? At this time based on the information I have been able to gather, Gilbert Doctorow appears to be correct that the Trump administration’s claim, whether true or not, has eliminated Netanyahu’s only reason for war with Iran. We should be thankful.

War with Iran is more dangerous than Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Tel Aviv, and Tehran know. Iran is a more formidable opponent than the five Muslim countries Washington has destroyed for Israel. Iran can do damage to Israel, to US bases and naval assets in the region, and to world economies by closing the Strait of Hormuz and raising the oil price by restricting the supply.Additionally, Iran is a strategic buffer for Russia. If Iran is put into chaos, inflow the CIA’s jihadists into the Muslim provinces of the Russian Federation. If Iran’s oil falls under US control, China is cut off from an important part of its energy supply. So far, Russia and China are standing apart from Iran. But what happens when China doesn’t want to lose another round of oil investments like Washington caused China in Libya when Gaddafi was overthrown?

What happens when Putin realizes, if he ever does, that the demise of Iran opens Russia to CIA jihadists? Having foolishly stood aside, Russia and China would have to enter the conflict. What would be the consequences?How much better if Russia and China had prevented the conflict by placing Iran under their nuclear umbrella or by publicly announcing a mutual defense treaty among the three countries. But there was no vision. Russia and China, having failed in their responsibility, left the problem with President Trump. On our side, let us not discredit Trump’s claim and, by doing so, resurrect Netanyahu’s justification for war with Iran. It would be difficult for Trump to resist Netanyahu’s pressure given Israel’s extraordinary influence in the US. Let’s pre-empt Israel’s pressure for more war by supporting Trump’s statement that there is no longer a nuclear threat from Iran.

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“..Trump was compelled to announce his ceasefire on June 23 to save Israel from running out of interceptors..”

The Damage Iran Has Inflicted On Israel (Helmer)

Why do so many CIA and MI6 officers (retired) know and say so much about the damage Israel and the US have inflicted on Iran since they began their war on June 13, but so little about the damage Iran has inflicted on Israel? “As you know,” President Donald Trump said last night, following the NATO summit meeting in The Netherlands, “last weekend the United States successfully carried out a massive precision strike on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities. And it was very, very successful. It was called obliteration. No other military on earth could have done it. And now this incredible exercise of American strength has paved the way for peace with a historic ceasefire agreement late Monday.”

He then asked his Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth to clarify how to interpret the military intelligence reporting from “the group [Defense Intelligence Agency] that’s run by this gentleman, in fact, he may want to talk about it for a second.” Hegseth: “somebody somewhere is trying to leak something to say — oh, with low confidence – [that] we think maybe it’s moderate. Those that drop the bombs precisely in the right place know exactly what happened when that exploded. And you know who else knows? Iran. That’s why they came to the table right away because their nuclear capabilities have been set back — back beyond what they thought were [sic] possible because of the courage of a commander in chief who led our troops, despite what the fake news wants to say.”

By this intelligence reporting standard, escalation of force by the US has compelled Iran to negotiate terms of capitulation which it was refusing to accept before June 13. But what, according to this intelligence standard, has been motivating Israel to accept Trump’s ceasefire? The answer to that is the most classified secret the Trump Administration, the Israeli government, and the Jewish financiers of Trump’s election campaigns are keeping. This is also a secret so sensitive that not one of the US media Trump is attacking dares to publish it. The secret is simple: Israel was desperate to have Trump call the ceasefire in order to obtain emergency resupply of US air defence missiles. And Trump was in just as much hurry because the cost which Iran’s war has imposed on the US defence budget is more money than Trump currently has the legal authorization to spend.

According to this painstaking analysis of the available intelligence, “between the start of the war on June 13 and the announcement of a ceasefire on June 23, a race was under way. The Israelis were racing to destroy Iranian missiles and launchers before the Iranians launched enough missile salvos to deplete the Israeli interceptor magazine. Considering estimates placed Iranian ballistic missile stocks at about 2,000-3,000 before the war started, the Iranians would eventually exhaust Israeli interceptors if they weren’t attrited, making the left-of-launch or missile-defeat element of the Israeli strategy critical. If the Iranians had the missiles and launchers available to continue generating salvos against Israel, there would have come an inflection point in the amount of damage they were able to do, and that inflection point would have arrived once Israel ran out of interceptors.”

This is the intelligence assessment for Israel, Trump and Hegseth they are not acknowledging: “a lot of interceptors have [been] fired in less than two weeks. 39 THAAD interceptors in nearly the full loadout of a 6 launcher THAAD battery without a reload, 48, so that system may be close to being out of interceptors. It seems likely it was deployed with reloads based on the satellite imagery, but considering the number of Iranian strikes missing from Abbadi’s videos, I think this is a fair judgement. Similarly, 34 Arrow-3s is a lot, nearly double the number used in October. While there is little insight into how deep Israel’s Arrow-3 magazine is, the presence of THAAD in Israel suggests it may not be much deeper. Nevertheless, based on the [Wall Street Journal ] reporting and this data, it seems likely that Israel and the U.S. THAAD battery are hurting for interceptors.”

That last phrase means Trump was compelled to announce his ceasefire on June 23 to save Israel from running out of interceptors as Iran accelerated its strikes, according to the rope-a-dope strategy reported here.

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Why? They’ve been doing it for ten years…

Netanyahu’s Corruption Trial Should Be ‘Canceled’ – Trump (RT)

US President Donald Trump has called for an end to the corruption trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, days after Israel and Iran reached a ceasefire. Trump showered his Middle Eastern ally with praise in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday evening. “Bibi Netanyahu was a WARRIOR, like perhaps no other Warrior in the History of Israel,” he wrote. He hailed Netanyahu’s leadership during Israel’s conflict with Iran and slammed the allegations against him as “politically motivated.” “Such a WITCH HUNT, for a man who has given so much, is unthinkable to me,” the US president wrote. “Bibi Netanyahu’s trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State..

Netanyahu, whose trial began in 2020, denies any wrongdoing in three separate cases involving charges of corruption and influence peddling. He is Israel’s first sitting prime minister to take the stand as a criminal defendant. Under Israeli law, Netanyahu is not required to resign unless convicted by the Supreme Court. Netanyahu has praised Trump’s support for Israel and his “historic” decision to carry out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22. The ceasefire, which ended nearly two weeks of open hostilities between Iran and Israel, took effect on Tuesday and has so far been upheld.

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He doesn’t want to. But Europe is pushing.

Trump To Consider Future Ukraine Aid (RT)

US President Donald Trump says he will think about whether or not to supply more Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, as Kiev has been requesting. Speaking at a press conference in The Hague after meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Trump was asked by a BBC Ukraine journalist whether Washington would be providing the missiles. “The systems are very hard to get,” he replied, adding that the US also needs them. Noting that some Patriots were being sent to Israel, Trump said the administration would “see if we can make some of them available.”

Ahead of the meeting, Zelensky said that Kiev was ready to buy the systems and “support American weapons manufacturers” if Washington refused to donate them. The Ukrainian leader has previously asserted that the Patriot was the only system that could viably counter Russian missiles. However, Moscow has disputed claims about the Patriot’s effectiveness, and even Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat acknowledged in an interview with Le Monde last month that the American system has shown critical limitations against Russia’s weaponry.

As of May, Ukraine reportedly had six operational Patriot systems, most of which were donated by the US and Germany, with additional components provided by the Netherlands and Romania. Zelensky has previously stated that Ukraine aimed to acquire a total of 25 units and urged Kiev’s European backers to fund the purchase of another ten at a cost of $15 billion. The Trump administration had dismissed the proposal as a pipedream. When asked directly whether the US would contribute to the $5 billion in military aid pledged to Ukraine by other NATO countries, Trump only told reporters that the hostilities must end.

Trump has pushed for a negotiated settlement to the Ukraine conflict since taking office in January, while voicing frustration over the slow pace of peace talks. On Wednesday, he said that he planned to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of bringing the conflict to an end, though he did not specify when the conversation might take place. Earlier this week, he said he hoped to reach a “deal with Russia” to stop the fighting. Moscow has maintained that it is willing to hold talks “without preconditions,” but insists that any lasting agreement must reflect the current realities on the battlefield and establish Ukrainian neutrality.

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“..no one can make a beautiful place on top of dead bodies of women and children.”

Brazil’s Lula Tells Trump To Spend Less Time Posting (RT)

US President Donald Trump should focus on running his country instead of spending too much time on social media, his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has said. Trump has published more than 2,100 posts on his Truth Social platform since returning to the White House on January 20, issuing 17 messages per day on an average, The Independent reported in early June. He was even more active online during the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran this month, in which he warned both sides not to violate the US-brokered ceasefire in a Truth Social post. Lula criticized Trump’s extensive use of social media in an interview with the news site g1 on Wednesday, saying, “in this troubled world, where we have a president of a country the size of the US, who must watch his words, think about what he says, must spend less time on the internet and more heading the state, must think more about free trade, multilateralism, must care more about peace.”

“And what do we see every day in the press? The need for goddamn headlines,” the Brazilian leader said. In an interview with The Atlantic in April, Trump revealed how his Truth Social posts are made. “I go quickly as hell. You would be amazed. You would be impressed. And I like doing them myself. Sometimes I dictate them out, but I like doing them myself.” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers previously defended Trump’s use of social media, saying it makes him “the most transparent president in history and is meeting the American people where they are to directly communicate his policies, message, and important announcements.”

Lula has attacked Trump, who had good relations with former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, on a number of occasions in recent months. In February, he said the US president was elected to govern his country, “not rule the world.” In March, during the standoff over tariffs announced by Washington, Lula stated: “There is no point in Trump shouting from over there because I learned not to be afraid of an angry face.” Regarding Trump’s plans to turn Gaza into a posh resort, Lula said, “no one can make a beautiful place on top of dead bodies of women and children.”

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“Accepting a country that is at war with Russia would immediately drag the EU into a direct conflict. It is unfair to expect any member state to take this risk..,”

Orbán Tells Zelensky On X: The EU Was Created For Peace, Not War (RMX)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is leading an effort to ensure Ukraine, which is currently at war with Russia, does not join the European Union due to the high potential for a conflict that could spread to all of Europe. In this regard, he is now confronting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky directly on X on the issue. “President (Zelensky), with all due respect: the European Union was founded to bring peace and prosperity to its member states. Accepting a country that is at war with Russia would immediately drag the EU into a direct conflict. It is unfair to expect any member state to take this risk,” wrote Orbán. Orbán had responded to a post from Zelensky, in which the Ukrainian leader thanked EU leadership after a meeting, stating that they discussed, among other things, Ukraine’s ascension into the EU.

Citing his meeting with EU commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Council President António Costa, Zelensky called out Hungary. “It is important that the leaders of the member states reach a common decision to open the first negotiation cluster. It is unfair when a single party blocks the Union’s decision. We also discussed in detail additional sanctions against the Russian Federation and the preparation of the EU’s 18th sanctions package. This package must significantly increase pressure on Russia’s energy and banking sectors, as well as on the shadow fleet.

The key element here must be a strong price cap on Russian oil, and we count on the appropriate decisions. I thank the leaders for their support. Every step of assistance means lives saved,” he wrote.] Zelensky desires an accelerated process to gain EU membership, despite his country being the most corrupt country in Europe — a finding noted even before the war. The rebuilding of Ukraine is expected to cost hundreds of billions of euros. Currently, the country has no democracy or free press, as all elections have been suspended during the war. Perhaps of greatest concern is that even if Ukraine is admitted to the EU during a ceasefire, hostilities could start again, which could drag Europe further into a new war.

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“She went on to praise the tribunal as a “forensic body that documents the truth the West refuses to hear.”

Ukraine Deliberately Exterminating Civilians In Donbass – Moscow (RT)

Ukrainian forces are deliberately committing atrocities against civilians in Donbass, including mass killings of the elderly and drone strikes on residential homes, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. Zakharova delivered the remarks on Thursday while speaking at a conference on the “atrocities and war crimes by the Kiev regime in Dzerzhynsk,” a city some 30km north of Donetsk that was liberated by Russian troops in February. The conference featured a report including testimonies from over 30 civilians recounting the “genocide” policies pursued by Ukrainian troops while they controlled the city. The event was organized by the Public Tribunal on the Crimes of Ukrainian Neo-Nazis, which includes representatives of civil society from 35 countries worldwide.

Zakharova noted that the testimonies detail “horrific episodes of neo-Nazi atrocities and confirms terror against the civilian population.” “This is not an accident, but an inherent flaw – the hallmark of the Kiev authorities. It is a deliberate policy that has already been elevated to the level of state doctrine,” she stressed. The spokeswoman pointed to evidence of mass killings, which included “executions of the elderly and children,” adding that other atrocities included drone strikes on civilian homes. She went on to praise the tribunal as a “forensic body that documents the truth the West refuses to hear.” The body, Zakharova added, “is doing what international human rights organizations should be doing if they had remained true to their mission. It shows that all the crimes we are talking about have specific perpetrators, clients, and patrons.”

Among the document cases was a story by one witness, who recounted a deadly drone attack in the city: “When we were evacuating, the Armed Forces of Ukraine dropped bombs on us. They sent a kamikaze drone to search for us… I received six shrapnel wounds… My father and grandmother died.” Another witness recalls an incident in which an elderly woman went out to feed kittens, but was killed by a grenade dropped from a Ukrainian UAV. One local resident also suggested that the Ukrainians “killed a lot of people just because [they] needed a picture” to be circulated in the media and used to falsely accuse Russia of strikes on civilians. Russian officials have said that Moscow will do everything in its power to bring those responsible for the Ukrainian atrocities to justice.

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They don’t want to talk; they want to fight – but only if Trump does too…

EU Must Prepare To Talk To Russia – Macron (RT)

EU member states should consider resuming contact with Moscow, which was severed after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron has told reporters. According to Macron, despite being fully committed to boosting military capabilities within NATO, the bloc’s European members have no wish to “endlessly” arm themselves and should in the near future negotiate a new security framework with Moscow. “We are not going to go towards an endless escalation, towards more armament. We must arm ourselves because today there is a gap between our level of armament and that of Russia. And that poses a threat,” Macron stated on Wednesday.

“At the same time, we must think about the security framework in which we want to live tomorrow,” he said. “That’s why we need to rethink [the security architecture] in the territories from the Black Sea to the Arctic, to determine how far we are willing to go to defend ourselves and what would be the terms of the discussion with Russia to make it possible to limit military capabilities and restore trust.” Macron advised member states to “think about” restoring dialogue with Russia “right now” in order to be able to negotiate broader European security as part of a potential Ukraine peace deal.

Macron made the remarks at the NATO summit in The Hague, where members committed to hiking defense spending to 5% of their GDP annually by 2035 in order to address the alleged “long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security.” US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged European NATO members to take more responsibility for their security and increase defense spending. Commenting on the hike, which one reporter called a “one-man whim,” Macron said it is both Washington’s wish and a “European necessity” to become more independent militarily.

Moscow has stressed that it has no intention of attacking any NATO member states, dismissing the claims as “nonsense” and scare tactics used by Western officials to justify increased defense spending. Asked to disclose what NATO’s warnings of a Russian threat were based on at the NATO summit, Secretary-General Mark Rutte did not provide any specific intelligence assessments, instead citing general fears. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused NATO of “fueling global militarization and an arms race” by fabricating “horror stories” to extract money from citizens of member states.

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“Slovakia has gone from being a country at the beginning of the pipe to a country at the end of the pipe…There may be shortages, prices will go up… RePowerEU is harmful..”

Slovakia To Veto New Russia Sanctions – PM Fico

Slovakia will block the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia unless Brussels resolves its concerns over the planned phase-out of Russian energy, Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced. Although the energy measures are set to be presented as trade legislation – thus needing only a qualified majority for approval – Fico argues that they relate to sanctions and should be treated as such.The issue stems from the European Commission’s RePowerEU plan, which aims to eliminate all Russian energy imports by 2028. The initiative is due to be discussed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, alongside the new sanctions package, which mostly targets Russia’s energy and financial sectors. Fico has insisted the measures against Russian energy actually fall under the bloc’s sanctions regime and should be unanimously approved. Fico said Slovakia will request a postponement of the vote and, if denied, will vote against it.

“As for tomorrow’s vote, Slovakia will not vote on the 18th sanctions package,” he stated at a parliamentary committee meeting on Thursday. “We consider it to be one package that includes RePowerEU, and we believe that unless the fundamental issues are resolved, we cannot adopt any further sanctions.” He warned that the regulation would endanger Slovakia’s energy security and cause price hikes. He also noted that Brussels has yet to provide answers on how it would compensate for rising gas prices or handle potential arbitration with Gazprom. Fico warned that if Slovakia breaks its long-term supply contract with the Russian energy giant, it could face up to €20 billion ($23 billion) in penalties. “Let’s take this seriously. Slovakia has gone from being a country at the beginning of the pipe to a country at the end of the pipe…There may be shortages, prices will go up… RePowerEU is harmful,” he said, calling the initiative “ideological nonsense.”

Hungary has also voiced opposition to the plan. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Budapest and Bratislava had jointly blocked the package when it was discussed at the foreign ministers’ meeting earlier this week, warning that the proposed phase-out would “destroy Hungary’s energy security” and sharply raise utility costs. He signaled that Hungary also planned to vote against the new sanctions package. Moscow has repeatedly condemned sanctions as illegal and self-defeating, particularly those targeting energy, noting how energy prices in the EU surged after the initial measures against Russia were imposed in 2022. Commenting on the sanctions debates, Kremlin investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev praised Slovakia and Hungary on X for “doing what Brussels won’t: fighting to keep the EU globally competitive.”

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“The myth of genocidal invincibility has been shattered forever. The whole Global South has seen it, and now takes it in serious consideration.”

The Ceasefire Kabuki (Pepe Escobar)

In the end, predictably, the Circus Ringmaster went TACO (“Trump Always Chickens Out”). He was terrified by three crucial reality-based developments. The Iranian message on preparing to close the Strait of Hormuz. The CIA had warned Trump that China was viscerally opposed to the Strait being blocked. That’s one of the reasons, according to a Deep State old hand, that Trump decided to go ahead anyway with his “spectacular” (sic) theatrical op on Fordow. But when the specter of a blocked Hormuz destroying the global economy became real, he went TACO.The Iranian warning conveyed by the bombing of the Al-Udeid base in Qatar, the military jewel in the imperial crown in West Asia. Even Atlanticist sources in Doha confirm the damage to the – evacuated – base was “monumental”, with at least 3 missiles hitting their targets. Tehran was unmistakably saying we can hit you anywhere, anytime, with anything we want. And your GCC lackeys will blame you for it.

Arguably the key reason: the genocidals in Tel Aviv are running out of interceptors – fast; in fact their whole – porous – air defense network is in trouble. In the last substantial Iranian missile volley on occupied Palestine on Monday morning, interception rate fell below 50%, and Iran started targeting Israel’s electric grid. Iran’s new directive – strategic offense, not patience – was meant to completely paralyze the Israeli economy. On top of it the genocidals had already begged Tehran to “end the war”. Tehran answered the time had not yet arrived. So the genocidals begged Daddy Trump to rescue them. The chain of events leading to the ceasefire remains murky. A key accelerating factor was Putin’s personal meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi at the Kremlin on Monday.

Speaking on behalf of Ayatollah Khamenei, Araghchi may have asked for a solid supply of weapons and most of all defense systems; but these will take time, especially considering that the strategic partnership recently approved by both the Duma and the Majlis in Tehran is not – officially – a military alliance. Yet according to sources in Moscow who were informed about the meeting, Putin did position Russia at the center of a possible resolution, thus displacing Washington. Team Trump 2.0 was incensed. Trump boasted that both Iran and Israel had called him almost simultaneously to arrance a ceasefire. Nonsense: only Tel Aviv did. As Putin made it clear, once again, that Russia would back Iran, he indirectly offered Trump an off-ramp.

True to character, the Circus Ringmaster jumped on it, marketing his own, branded ceasefire, reality show-style. And this only two days after gloating that the Iranian nuclear program was “obliterated” (he insists on it even as U.S. intel admits the program may have been set back for only a matter of months). Iran has learned a few important lessons the hardest way, paying a horrendous price. Tehran was way too transparent and reasonable dealing with a bunch of gangsters: from allowing IAEA nuclear monitoring that turned out to be a process of amassing precious intel for Israeli targeting; and believing in diplomacy and honoring agreements that were unceremoniously ditched.

There’s no diplomacy when it comes to dealing with the imperial Leviathan/Behemoth – especially as it contemplates, in horror, its frootprint being reduced all across the Global South.Domestically though, Iran is going to the next level. There are at least three factions in confrontation: Ayatollah Khamenei and his close circle plus the IRGC; the reformists, embodied by the meek Pezeshkian presidency; and what could be construed as secular nationalists, who want a strong Iran but not as a theo-democracy. The IRGC now has all the power. Defending the homeland against the deadly Zionist axis, Empire included, crystalized a widespread sentiment of national unity and pride. All sectors of the Iranian population – 90 million, someone tell pathetic Marco Rubio – rallied around the flag.

Conceptually, the ceasefire – nobody knows how long it will last – is adverse to Iran, because its increasing deterrence capacity is now lost. Israel will have its air defenses feverishly replenished while Iran, alone, will need months and even years to rebuild. The imperial modus operandi remains the same. The Circus Ringmaster saw that a monster humiliation was at hand –something like Israel’s Vietnam: so he announced a one-sided ceasefire and fled. Yet the configuration for the next battles has changed. If Washington decides to escalate again, or resorts to the certified practice of using terror proxies, Iran as the de facto leader of the Resistance will resolutely counter-attack. The myth of genocidal invincibility has been shattered forever. The whole Global South has seen it, and now takes it in serious consideration.

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“..the least the Americans and Israel could scrape back out of the busted flush would be some political capital by hitting the sites with the bunker busters..”

Is Donald Trump Really Running The Iran Show? (Jay)

Is Donald Trump in charge of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East or is he following the orders of others? Few if any analysts in recent days can fail to admit that they’ve been outfoxed by the Donald since Iran air strikes began by Israel on June 13th. Most, including the author, were baffled by how Trump could be the first president ever in the U.S. to sign off on the strikes and then break all convention again by putting himself in the history books with the bunker buster attacks, which we are told have destroyed three of Iran’s underground nuclear storage facilities. And now just recently, after the B2 strikes we witnessed Iran launch token missile attacks on U.S. bases which were really more than anything else a PR stunt for Tehran and not intended to actually harm any U.S. soldiers of hardware installed there.

We now know that the Iranians warned the Americans beforehand and so are we led to believe that there is a cordial, if not amiable, relationship in place between Iran and the U.S.? What are we witnessing exactly? It’s important to remember that the U.S. and Iran have two different objectives. But seen in the clear light of day, it may still be possible that those pundits who insisted Trump didn’t have the guts to go ahead with the bunker buster strikes might still be right. It might not have actually been the Donald who ordered the strike. It is entirely feasible that most of what we are seeing on mainstream media and even on social media threads are, at best twisted or, at worse completely concocted. There are a number of scenarios which might explain the events of recent days.

The first one is that Israel is controlling the entire operation from the beginning and Trump is playing the role of a spectator who gets most of the credit. Part of this scenario is that Mossad might have got intelligence that the centrifuges from the underground bunkers were being moved – or had already been moved – and so the least the Americans and Israel could scrape back out of the busted flush would be some political capital by hitting the sites with the bunker busters. Are you curious about the reports that they did little damages? Do you find it odd that experts are saying that for the strikes to be effective, they should not have been carried out in the way the B2 bombers dropped their payloads?

One explanation is that Trump was told that the centrifuges were no longer there and so all that was required would be to damage the sites sufficiently to tick the box and show Iran that the U.S. has the option always of using them in the future. In other words, despite everything, there are still backchannel talks going on and a deal is still there to be made. Some experts are leading us to believe that the Iranians played a master card by carrying out the strikes on U.S. airbases in the region as this would defuse the tensions and pave the way for a ceasefire. An “off ramp” for everyone it is often described. But there is a huge division of joined up thinking on what happens next. Many still believe that Trump (or the deep state and Israel which control him) thinks that regime change is not really an objective of whoever is running the show.

It is as though Trump is allowed some bandwidth here for his own ideas as he is fixated on getting a better nuclear deal signed than the Obama one which he annulled while Israel would prefer a regime change and to get their own people in to run the country more or less as a western satellite. The last time Israel had this idea in the region was in the summer of 1982 when its forces had invaded Lebanon and plans were afoot to install their preferred candidate Bashir Gemeyel as president. Gemeyel hadn’t even taken office before he was assassinated on the instructions of Syria. In the coming days it will be critical how Israel respects the ceasefire. Probably it won’t as it’s often the style of Israel to break the very deals it signs.

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“This EU [..] failed to realize that the war in Ukraine, fueled by the violation of Minsk and NATO’s expansion into the country, was a war against itself.”

A European Body Suffering From Acute Trumpitis (Dionísio)

If the EU has not yet realized what is at stake in Israel’s aggression against Iran, it is serious and should not reassure us. If it has realized and persists in the error, it is even more concerning. It means that the European Union is a body dominated by a spinal column—the Franco-German-British axis—which, instead of coordinating and balancing its members, alienates and disorganizes them, undoubtedly feeding off them and continuing to do so in a future where nothing will remain but the body itself. We are all experiencing firsthand, in our skin, pockets, and stomachs, the consequences of how the revanchist, neo-fascist, and reactionary right exploits immigration to influence national and European politics and seize power.

In this context, where neo-fascist and neo-Nazi influence manifests in attacks on immigration, xenophobia against Asians, Muslims, or Africans, violence against minorities and political opponents, is the EU prepared for an uncontrolled and absolutely massive wave of migration? Amid an unparalleled energy crisis, accompanied by brutal price increases, will it be ready to receive—or be “invaded,” as they say—by millions of desperate people legitimately seeking work and better living conditions? The civilizational gravity of the moment we live in is proven by how Trump behaved once in office. His attitude is representative of how fascism operates in its neo-fascist version, whether dressed in an Armani suit and a white condom or not.

Anything goes to seize power, and once achieved, “the people,” “the workers,” are forgotten, while loyalty to the oligarchic donors of electoral funds is honored, supporting monopolies, relieving the richest of tax burdens, and increasing taxes on the poorest. Consequently, the president elected to end the eternal wars draining the U.S. budget is, in fact, the one working hardest to bring us World War III. Nothing new here: Zelensky had already risen to power in the same way. Faced with the desperation of European peoples for better living conditions and stability, it has become too easy to manipulate their will and achieve significant electoral results.

This EU, itself undergoing a neo-fascist reconquest, formally or materially, failed to realize that the war in Ukraine, fueled by the violation of Minsk and NATO’s expansion into the country, was a war against itself. Three years later, as expected, the EU is worse off in every way: a weaker Euro, overtaken by the Yuan as the most sought-after reserve and exchange currency; a weak and anemic economy; loss of important markets; loss of essential energy resources and raw materials in quality and quantity, with no replacement in sight; loss of the Fourth Industrial Revolution train. At least we have Kaja Kallas, content with the fact that “the Russian Federation has lost billions due to sanctions,” while “the EU is the largest contributor to the Ukrainian cause.” A meager prize: being first on the podium of those losing the most billions with Ukraine’s defeat!

As if this weren’t enough, after failing to prevent the rift with the Russian Federation, the EU was unable to foresee that the destruction of Libya, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and the end of the JCPOA under Trump 1.0 would trigger a massive wave of refugees and “economic” migrants. This wave is not only impossible to contain—as proven by the rafts in the Mediterranean—but also suddenly exploited by traffickers, employers hungry for cheap labor, and the revanchist and neo-fascist right, whose financiers exploit both the migrants and the disruptions caused by the sudden surge in demand for work and public services to seize power and make everything even more chaotic.

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“33-year-old Marxist Zohran Mamdani, is campaigning on a platform of free stuff paid for by the government (taxpayers)—even promoting his campaign in at least one foreign language. Keep in mind NYC is the mecca of sanctuary cities in America.”

Trump Plans Mass Dismissal Of Asylum Claims, Fast-Track Deportations (ZH)

The Trump administration is preparing to dismiss asylum claims for potentially hundreds of thousands of migrants—primarily those who crossed the southern or northern borders illegally and later applied for protection—according to CNN, citing two sources. Once dismissed, these migrants would become immediately deportable under fast-track removal procedures, bypassing immigration court. Migrants who entered the U.S. unlawfully and sought asylum through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would be impacted if the new policy goes into effect. This could result in up to 250,000 migrants—out of the 1.45 million pending asylum cases—being slated for removal. The people being targeted in this case are those who entered the U.S. unlawfully and later applied for asylum, the sources said. Their cases are expected to be closed, therefore leaving them at risk of deportation. It could affect hundreds of thousands of asylum applicants.

According to a memo obtained by CNN, USCIS, which falls under the control of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, will place those migrants in fast-track deportation proceedings as well as “take additional actions to enforce civil and criminal violations of the immigration laws.”nUSCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser told the outlet that no agency changes have been “announced at this time,” adding that its “top priority remains the screening and vetting of all aliens seeking to come, live, or work in the United States. President Trump and Secretary Noem have given USCIS the ability to use all tools in our toolbox to ensure that the integrity of the immigration system is upheld, fraud is uncovered and expeditiously addressed, and illegal aliens are removed from the country.”

Earlier this month, President Trump directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ramp up operations in chaotic sanctuary cities run by far-left politicians working with dark money-funded NGOs to shield criminal illegal aliens from deportations. In one extreme case, a Los Angeles official reportedly called for Mexican gangs to mobilize against ICE agents. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party’s nominee for New York City mayor, 33-year-old Marxist Zohran Mamdani, is campaigning on a platform of free stuff paid for by the government (taxpayers)—even promoting his campaign in at least one foreign language. Keep in mind NYC is the mecca of sanctuary cities in America.

Understand where we are: Marxist-aligned Democrats are offering government handouts to migrants to establish a new, dependent voting class. This invasion—driven by a mass migration of third-worlders and supported by dark money-funded NGOs and the federal gov’t during the Biden-Harris regime—has been used to reshape the electorate. The Democratic Party’s political future entirely hinges on protecting criminal illegal aliens.

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Malhotra

mRNA

Swans

Horse cat
https://twitter.com/Yoda4ever/status/1937853793867034891

Football

https://twitter.com/davidcoverdale/status/1937937697668272198

 

 

 

 

Support the Automatic Earth in wartime with Paypal, Bitcoin and Patreon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 082025
 


Edouard Vuillard The two sisters 1899

 

Russia’s 72-hour ‘Victory Day’ Truce Begins (RT)
Trump Warns of ‘Decisions’ on Russia-Ukraine Talks (RT)
Von der Leyen Calls On EU To Speed Up Ukrainian Entry (RT)
EU Parliament Head Threatens To Sue von der Leyen (Sp.)
‘Absolute Insanity’ – Hungary Slams EU Plan To Halt Russian Energy Imports (RT)
Slovakia’s Fico Calls EU’s Refusal of Russian Fuel ‘Economic Suicide’ (Sp.)
New German Chancellor Tells US To ‘Stay Out’ of Berlin’s Affairs (RT)
Who der Leyen: EU’s Major, Unfixable Problem With Its Foreign Policy (Marsden)
Proof That Polls Showing Trump Underwater Are Bogus (Margolis)
President Trump’s Most Loyal Supporters: Hispanics (Victor Davis Hanson)
Yemen – US Concedes Maritime Defeat (MoA)
Canadian PM Asks Trump To Rein In His Taunts (RT)
Trump Administration Asks for Help in Uncovering Big Tech Censorship (Stepman)
Confirming Trump’s Court Nominees ‘Priority’ for Judiciary Committee (DS)
Pete Hegseth: Today’s Decisions and Tomorrow’s Military (Zito)
Pakistan Closes Airspace For 48 Hours, Authorizes Response To Indian Attack (ZH)
The Russia-Ukraine Lesson India Must Learn From Its Pakistan Standoff (Suchkov)
‘Prince Andrew Was F*ing Underage Girls’ – James O’ Keefe (ZH)

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1920144368599552162

https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1919787566317908125

https://twitter.com/BRICSinfo/status/1919770832135491818
https://twitter.com/BellaVLiberman/status/1919896141505737188
https://twitter.com/SMO_VZ/status/1919902855655293265

https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1919745461730078828

https://twitter.com/SMO_VZ/status/1920032150537056657

Ritter

Bondi

https://twitter.com/ricwe123/status/1919814308180926622

 

 

 

 

Predictable: Putin declares a truce. Zelensky refuses. Ukraine violates the truce terms. Ukraine and the entire western press claim Russia itself broke the truce.

Russia’s 72-hour ‘Victory Day’ Truce Begins (RT)

A 72-hour ceasefire proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially come into effect, with Russian forces halting offensive operations from midnight on Thursday, despite a surge in Ukrainian drone attacks in the hours before the truce. The pause in fighting, set to last until midnight on May 10–11, is described as a humanitarian gesture marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. The Kremlin says the ceasefire also aims to create space for direct peace talks with Ukraine, without preconditions. ”Yes, this is an initiative by the Russian side, by President Putin. It remains in force,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Wednesday, stressing that Moscow is committed to honoring the truce despite Ukraine’s record-breaking drone assault ahead of its start.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has refused to back the ceasefire, denouncing it as an “attempt at manipulation” and accusing Russia of using humanitarian overtures for tactical advantage. Instead of pausing hostilities, Kiev intensified its drone campaign, with high-ranking Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik stating that Ukrainian UAV strikes over the past week caused a record number of civilian casualties — 15 killed and 142 injured. Earlier in the week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Zelensky of engaging in “classic terrorist behavior” by threatening civilians in Russia while soliciting additional funding from Western donors.

Peskov condemned the continued attacks, accusing the “Kiev regime” of revealing “its essence and inclination toward terrorist actions.” He noted that Russian special services and the military are taking all necessary measures to ensure Victory Day events proceed safely across the country. Despite calls from some lawmakers for an “asymmetrical” response to the drone strikes, the Kremlin has reiterated its position: “All instructions have been given, there are no new elements here,” Peskov said when asked about potential retaliation during the ceasefire window. Victory Day, celebrated on May 9, commemorates the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 and remains one of the most significant public holidays in Russia.

Read more …

Vance and Trump may claim that Russia asks for too much, but this didn’t start today. The situation is the culmination of three years of fighting. Which itself was the culmination of over 10 years of mostly violent ‘provocations’. Now, Russia wants to stop these provocations once and for all. Incorporating Crimea and the 4 regions into Russia is part of that. In the first peace talks 3 years ago Russia never talked about land. Only when it became clear the talks were fake, did it become an issue. And now there’s no going back. Russia can’t give away parts of its own territory.

Vance should do his homework.

Trump Warns of ‘Decisions’ on Russia-Ukraine Talks (RT)

President Donald Trump has expressed displeasure over the pace of the US-brokered negotiations with Russia and Ukraine regarding the current conflict, stating that decisions need to be reached soon. According to US Vice President J.D. Vance, Washington currently considers Russia’s demands for ending the conflict unacceptable. “The Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions, in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” he said at a Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Trump was asked to comment on Vance’s statement in a press briefing in the White House later in the day. “It’s possible that he’s right,” the US president replied. “I’m not happy about it,” Trump said.

Senior figures in the current US administration, including the president himself, have stated that Washington may have to step back from trying to mediate talks over the Ukraine conflict if sufficient progress is not made. “At some point in time, it either has to be something that can happen or we all need to move on. That’ll be a decision the president will have to make,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News last week. Washington has reportedly prepared a fresh set of economic sanctions targeting Russia’s energy and banking sectors, as potential leverage in the talks.

Moscow has repeatedly declared that it remains open to peace talks with Kiev. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a 72-hour ceasefire around the upcoming Victory Day celebrations. Ukraine rejected the initiative, demanded an unconditional 30-day truce and increased UAV and missile attacks on Russia. Despite this, the ceasefire offer is still on the table, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Russia’s demands for ending the conflict have remained stable: Ukraine must demilitarize, denazify, abandon ambitions to join NATO, stay neutral and remain free of nuclear weapons. In addition, Kiev needs to recognize the Russian regions of Crimea, Kherson and Zaporozhye as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Moscow has stated.

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Either she goes, or the EU is finished. And she won’t go voluntarily.

Von der Leyen Calls On EU To Speed Up Ukrainian Entry (RT)

Ukraine EU accession talks should be launched in 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed on Wednesday. She argued that such a step would enhance Kiev’s negotiating position against Moscow while also opening the door for more investments in the country’s military industry. Kiev has repeatedly expressed its desire to join the EU. However, Ukraine’s “immediate” accession has been consistently opposed by several member states. Hungary has voiced concerns over corruption, the treatment of ethnic minorities, and economic competition, particularly in agriculture. Other EU nations, including Slovakia, France, and Germany, have also expressed reservations, emphasizing that Kiev must meet existing reform benchmarks before talks proceed. Speaking at a Europe Day event on May 7, von der Leyen said that the EU’s current task is to “help Ukraine stand strong, defy Putin’s intimidations.”

“Today, I would like to focus on how we can do so, and on three priorities for our action. First, support Ukraine’s defense. Second, complete the phase-out of Russian fossil fuels. And third, accelerate Ukraine’s accession path to our Union.” She added that Brussels is “working hard with Ukraine to open the first cluster of accession talks, and to open all clusters in 2025.” While Russia has consistently rejected the idea of Ukraine joining NATO, its position on EU accession has been more restrained. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that the country has a “sovereign right” to join the bloc, provided that it remains a matter of economic integration and not military alignment.

At the same time, Russian officials have increasingly warned that the EU is losing its purely civilian character. Peskov has accused the bloc of actively working to prolong the Ukraine conflict by repeatedly expressing its intention to keep supporting Kiev in its desire to “continue the war.” He has also criticized Brussels for undermining peace efforts by consistently portraying Russia as the bloc’s primary adversary. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had previously also stated that the EU was “becoming militarized at a record pace,” and claimed there was now “very little difference” between the EU and NATO.

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“..adoption of the Commission’s plan without a proper legal basis would end up “putting at risk democratic legitimacy by undermining Parliament’s legislative and scrutiny functions..”

EU Parliament Head Threatens To Sue von der Leyen (Sp.)

The European Parliament has warned the European Commission (EC) that it could take it to court if it bypasses EU lawmakers to create a €150 billion ($170 billion) loan program to boost defense spending across the bloc. In March, EC head Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a plan to raise €800 billion to expand military potential across the EU in response to what she described as “a threat coming from Russia” – a claim rejected by Moscow. To raise the money, the Commission used Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which allows member states in emergencies to approve proposals from the executive branch in Brussels without going through the usual process.

On Monday, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola sent a letter to von der Leyen, urging her to change the legal basis for the initiative, threatening to sue the EC if it fails to comply. The adoption of the Commission’s plan without a proper legal basis would end up “putting at risk democratic legitimacy by undermining Parliament’s legislative and scrutiny functions,” the letter read. The EC “will always be available to explain why Article 122 has been chosen as the appropriate legal basis,” its spokesman Thomas Regnier told Euronews. “[Western] Europe faces an unprecedented security threat.

As stated by President von der Leyen in her Political Guidelines, Article 122 will only be used in exceptional circumstances, as the ones we are currently living in,” Regnier stated. The €150 billion loan program is seen by the Commission as a cornerstone of its ‘Readiness 2030’ proposal to invest over €800 billion into defense across the bloc by the end of the decade when – as Brussels claims – Russia would be in a position to attack an EU-member country. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly rejected allegations that Moscow harbors aggressive intentions toward EU countries, calling it “nonsense” designed to alarm Western Europeans and legitimize major increases in defense budgets.

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“..uphold the right to source energy from where it reliably arrives and where it arrives at a low cost.”

‘Absolute Insanity’ – Hungary Slams EU Plan To Halt Russian Energy Imports (RT)

The European Commission’s plan to completely phase out Russian fuel imports violates the sovereignty of EU member states by depriving them of the right to choose their energy sources, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. Brussels has outlined plans to end the bloc’s energy reliance on Moscow by completely eliminating imports of oil, gas, and nuclear fuel in the coming years. Hungary obtains over 80% of its gas from Russia via pipeline, with LNG playing a supplementary role. Budapest has continued to strengthen its energy ties with Moscow despite the sanctions introduced by the EU in the wake of the Ukraine conflict.

“The forced, artificially ideological-based exclusion of natural gas, crude oil, and nuclear fuel originating from Russia will lead to severe price increases in Europe, seriously harming the sovereignty of European countries, and cause major difficulties for European companies,” Szijjarto said in a video he shared on his Facebook page on Tuesday, adding that “what was announced is absolute insanity.” “Everyone in Brussels has lost their common sense,” the foreign minister exclaimed, emphasizing that Budapest would not allow the European Commission (EC) to violate Hungary’s sovereignty and would “uphold the right to source energy from where it reliably arrives and where it arrives at a low cost.” Earlier in the day, the EC published a “roadmap” outlining its ambitious strategy to end reliance on Russian energy by the end of 2027.

The bloc’s executive branch said it would propose legislation in June requiring all member states to draft “national plans” to terminate their imports of Russian gas, nuclear fuel, and oil. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico also criticized the plan, calling the proposal “economic suicide.” He added that Slovakia would push for changes in the legislative process. Brussels announced its intention to wean EU members off Russian energy shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Supplies of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) have since replaced much of the cheaper pipeline gas previously delivered by Russia. Although Russian pipeline gas supplies to the EU have plummeted, the bloc has been increasing its imports of LNG from the sanction-hit nation. Last year, Russia still accounted for around 19% of the EU’s total gas and LNG supply, according to the EC.

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“This is an economic suicide: to come to the point where [there is] no gas, no oil, no nuclear fuel, nothing [from Russia] just because some new iron curtain is being set up..”

Several EU countries denied Orban and Fico permission to use their airspace to go to Moscow tomorrow. EU countries!

Slovakia’s Fico Calls EU’s Refusal of Russian Fuel ‘Economic Suicide’ (Sp.)

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday that the European Union’s desire to completely abandon Russian energy resources was economic suicide. On Tuesday, the European Commission presented the REPowerEU roadmap for ending Russian energy imports. It proposed a halt to all remaining Russian gas contracts by the end of 2027, as well as restrictions on imports of enriched uranium from Russia. “This is an economic suicide: to come to the point where [there is] no gas, no oil, no nuclear fuel, nothing [from Russia] just because some new iron curtain is being set up between the Western world and perhaps Russia and other countries,” Fico told a news conference.

The European Union’s desire to reject Russian energy resources is an “extremely dangerous game,” the prime minister said, adding that Slovakia would work to draw the European Commission’s attention to the risks associated with the decision. Earlier in the week, Fico said that by insisting on cutting off energy supplies from the east, the EU was creating conditions for further gas price hikes for political reasons. Slovak National Council Deputy Speaker Tibor Gaspar had previously told RIA Novosti that Bratislava was interested in further purchases of Russian energy resources, and this was due, among other things, to the orientation of capacities towards Russian raw materials.

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Double tongue: “Ten million AfD voters, you cannot ban them..” And then do it anyway…

New German Chancellor Tells US To ‘Stay Out’ of Berlin’s Affairs (RT)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has told the US government to “stay out” of his nation’s domestic politics. It comes after Trump administration officials slammed the designation of Germany’s second-largest party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), as an “extremist” organization. Following the move last week by Berlin’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, US Vice President J.D. Vance said the “German establishment” had “rebuilt” the Berlin Wall. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in turn, declared that the EU’s largest economy has become “a tyranny in disguise” and called upon the German authorities to change course. Merz, who was elected chancellor only after failing his first confirmation vote in parliament, told the broadcaster ZDF on Tuesday that “absurd observations” were emanating from Washington regarding the treatment of the right-wing party AfD by German authorities.

The chancellor stressed he “would like to encourage the American government… to largely stay out of” German domestic politics. The 69-year-old politician noted that he “did not interfere in the American election campaign” last year, which ended with Trump winning a second term in the White House. He also expressed his belief that US politicians should not support AfD because they “can clearly distinguish between extremist parties and parties of the political center.” Merz said he is planning a phone call with Trump on Thursday, with their first face-to-face meeting set for the NATO summit in the Hague on June 24 and 25.

When asked about the possibility of AfD being outlawed in Germany altogether, the chancellor said the German government needed to show restraint on the issue. “Ten million AfD voters, you cannot ban them,” Merz argued. He said the ruling CDU/CSU alliance should instead focus on addressing the causes pushing people to vote for the right-wing party. AfD demands tighter immigration and asylum laws and opposes the “woke agenda.” It achieved its best ever result in February’s election, clinching 20.8% of the vote and finishing second after CDU/CSU, which got 28.5%. The party filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging the BfV’s decision to classify it an “extremist” organization.

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“Her unity-at-any-cost talk really just means that dissent from countries that disagree is quashed. And those dissenters are typically those with ideological views and approaches similar to Trump’s..”

Who der Leyen: EU’s Major, Unfixable Problem With Its Foreign Policy (Marsden)

This one stings. When asked how the EU might dodge US President Donald Trump’s tariff hammer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent replied, “My observation… goes all the way back to [former US Secretary of State] Henry Kissinger’s statement: ‘When I call Europe, who do I call?’ So, we’re negotiating with a lot of different interests.” Translation: You can’t sit with us until you stop fighting at your own lunch table. Sure, the continent is tripping over its own policies and tumbling down an economic staircase, but at least everyone’s falling in sync. Brussels tightens the “unity” straitjacket, and they all cheer, or risk getting whacked back into line. Unity is the brand. Unity is the product. Unity is the hashtag. “Only together can we address the grave challenges we face,” unelected European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in January 2024.

“It is thanks to all this that in the last five years, Europe has weathered the fiercest storm in our economic history. And we overcame an unprecedented energy crisis. We did this together, and we can do it again. And we have the political will. Because when Europe is united, it gets things done,” she said in an address earlier this year at the Davos World Economic Forum, explaining how solidarity will help the EU weather the problems created by its own policies. “The EU’s strength lies in its unity, including when confronted with major health crises. European solidarity, in sharing medical supplies, treating patients or helping repatriate citizens, and in the reconstruction of our economies, helped us to protect our citizens together and overcome the most difficult phases of the pandemic,” she said in 2023 about the Covid fiasco, during which she brokered a non-transparent deal for jabs with her pal, the CEO of Pfizer, via text messages that have since vanished.

Contracts which ultimately left EU member states on the hook even after they had no use for the jabs. “This 4th Ukraine meeting was another demonstration of European unity,” Queen Ursula posted a month ago on social media. Of course it was. What isn’t? Even just this week, in evoking fires in Israel and EU assistance, she wrote on social media that it was “EU solidarity in action.” Unity and solidarity are important to the EU in the same way that the concept of family is important to evoke every time two toddlers want to poke each other’s eyes out with crayons. As in, “you’re supposed to be brothers, so play nice!” All that helps to paper over the unfortunate history of family infighting and battlefield beatdowns. Enter Scott Bessent, politely suggesting that he’s not impressed by the EU’s unity thirst traps.

And that hits deep. It’s like telling someone that what they think is their very best feature is really their worst. Say, for example, you really love your own butt, have been spending years in the gym doing every kind of squat, lunges, hip thrusts, and you’re so proud of your butt – and then one day, someone you’re interested in is like, “You know, you should really work on those glutes more.” That’s exactly what Bessent’s comment is when he says that the problem with the EU is their lack of unity.

Nothing the US can do about it, he implies – just a little friendly feedback. Back to the gym, Brussels. And Queen Ursula must be fuming since she talks like it’s her best feature and she already spends all day and night obsessing over it. How is she possibly supposed to do more when she’s already maxed out on her unity obsession? Which is all superficial by the way. Her unity-at-any-cost talk really just means that dissent from countries that disagree is quashed. And those dissenters are typically those with ideological views and approaches similar to Trump’s that place their own country’s interests above those dictated by a supranational institution of global governance.

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“..while Trump’s critics continue to spin, exaggerate, or dismiss his rhetoric, voters are seeing something entirely different: results.”

Proof That Polls Showing Trump Underwater Are Bogus (Margolis)

While the corporate media keeps pushing the narrative that Donald Trump’s approval ratings are sinking, we’ve seen this act before. Remember 2024? Pollsters swore up and down that Kamala Harris was going to win in a landslide. But anyone who scrutinized the data knew those numbers were bogus. Now that Trump is back in office, the same game is playing out. The media’s obsession with tearing him down hasn’t faded one bit. So we’re flooded with polls from the same discredited pollsters who got 2024 so wrong — polls that claim Trump is “underwater” while simultaneously showing broad public approval of how he’s handling the issues that matter. Case in point: even CNN’s Harry Enten was forced to admit on Wednesday that Trump’s law-and-order message is hitting home with voters in a way Joe Biden never could, and the numbers back it up.

“It speaks to one of Trump’s best issues, right? The idea of Alcatraz — you think law and order, you think Donald Trump,” Enten said, driving home a point that’s almost too obvious to require analysis. On CNN, of all places, Enten presented data showing Trump with a positive net approval rating on crime, something that eluded Biden for his entire presidency. “Look at that,” Enten said. “At plus two points, far better than Joe Biden who was so far underwater. My goodness, he was setting records at minus 26 points. You rarely ever see it.” Yes, you read that correctly — while Biden sank to historic lows, Trump is now in positive territory. Not only that, but Trump’s crime approval is stronger now in his second term than it was during his first.

“We compared Donald Trump’s first term to now his second term,” Enten explained. “We see that Donald Trump’s net approval rating on handling crime is far better now at plus two points… than back in March of 2024 in which he was underwater at minus 13 points.” That’s a stunning 15-point improvement. In typical fashion, Trump’s messaging — often mocked by the media as outlandish or theatrical — is connecting with voters. Enten referenced Trump’s remarks about Alcatraz, saying, “Yes, I know it’s late-night fodder for a lot of different folks, but what it actually speaks to is Donald Trump focusing the American people’s attention on an issue in which they actually do like what he’s doing.”

Even more telling? The American public’s concern about crime is decreasing under Trump’s leadership. “It was 53% last year and look at where we are now. We’re at 47%,” Enten noted. “It’s the first time in about five years in which the percentage of Americans who worry a great deal about crime has actually dropped under the 50% mark.” That kind of drop isn’t just statistically significant; it’s politically potent. Enten emphasized that crime is one of just two issues where public concern declined by five points or more from 2024 to 2025, and it happened among both Democrats and Republicans.

So while Trump’s critics continue to spin, exaggerate, or dismiss his rhetoric, voters are seeing something entirely different: results. “I think Donald Trump is gonna continue on this law and order issue,” Enten concluded, “because the bottom line is, it is working for him.”Just as it was obvious during the campaign that Trump’s support far exceeded what the polls claimed, it’s clear now that his approval ratings are higher than what those same discredited pollsters were pushing last year.

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“Gulf of Arabia” and “Arabian Gulf” are predominately used in Middle Eastern countries.”

Trump To Announce US Will Call The Persian Gulf The Arabian Gulf (JTN)

President Trump is reportedly planning to announce the U.S. will refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia during his trip to Saudi Arabia next week. Two U.S. officials told the Associated Press of Trump’s plan on condition of anonymity, according to a report Wednesday. The White House and the National Security Council didn’t immediately respond to the wire service’s requests for comment. Iran has claimed it has historic ties to the gulf that is off its southern coast, while Arab nations have pushed for a change to the geographic name of the body of water. The U.S. military has unilaterally referred to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf in statements and images it releases for years. The Persian Gulf name has been widely used since the 16th century, but “Gulf of Arabia” and “Arabian Gulf” are predominately used in Middle Eastern countries.

The government of Iran, previously called Persia, in 2012 threatened to file a lawsuit against Google for its decision to not label the body of water at all on its maps. In the U.S., Google Maps labels the body of water as the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf), while Apple Maps only says the Persian Gulf. Iran’s foreign minister took issue with the possible renaming of the gulf. “[P]olitically motivated attempts to alter the historically established name of the Persian Gulf are indicative of hostile intent toward Iran and its people, and are firmly condemned,” Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on X on Wednesday. “Such biased actions are an affront to all Iranians, regardless of their background or place of residence.

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“..they have a more realistic, as all immigrant communities do, a realistic appraisal of what’s important and what’s peripheral. And right now, the Democratic Party is peripheral to the Hispanic community in general.”

President Trump’s Most Loyal Supporters: Hispanics (Victor Davis Hanson)

At the end of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days, there were a number of polls that came out. Most of them were liberal and most of them were negative. And as we have mentioned in the past, some of them who have a much more reliable history—such as the Rasmussen poll, the Insider Advantage poll, the Trafalgar poll—they all had Donald Trump, at the end of 100 days, with either roughly 50-50 approval ratings or even slightly above that, 48-46, 50-49. But my point is, in one of the daily Rasmussen polls, they had an astonishing figure, that they broke down Donald Trump’s support by ethnic category. And there were 39% of black Americans that expressed support for Donald Trump. That’s an astonishing number. Given that 95% of the news coverage, according to the Media Research Center, has been negative.

And yet here is a traditional Democratic constituency where 4 out of 10 people like what’s been going on. But even more astonishing is the ethnic constituency that expressed the highest approval of Donald Trump’s first 100 days was the Hispanic community. In fact, far above the so-called white community. How can that be possible? The Democratic Party had told us that closing the border and stopping the illegal entry of 10 to 12 million illegal aliens during the Biden administration—that was deeply unpopular to the Hispanic community. And then, the deportations of illegal aliens like Kilmar Abrego Garcia, for example, or Eduardo Flores-Ruiz that was in Judge Hannah Dugan’s courtroom, whom she tried to hide. He was the assaulter of three people, including women. This was supposed to be deeply unpopular. But it actually has the opposite effect.

And why would that be? The reason is that when 12 million people come in illegally and they gravitate to certain constituencies or enclaves, they usually feel more at home with fellow Spanish-speaking Americans. And where is that? That is along the Rio Grande Valley. That is in Texas. That is in parts of New Mexico. That is in the San Joaquin Valley. What am I getting at? What I’m getting at is that a group of elites in the Biden administration, for particular political purposes—and I’ll be frank here—I think they did want people to come in, both to serve as future constituents under the lax rules and protocols of early and mail-in voting, and also to grow the government and have more constituencies on welfare. But in any case, the price, the cost, the toll fell most heavily on Hispanic communities. These were the ones that were trying to get competitive Advanced Placement programs in their schools.

And suddenly they have English as a Second Language programs again. They were the ones at dialysis clinics, at emergency rooms that were swarmed with people who in some cases had never been to a doctor. And so, they bore the greatest brunt of it. They were in cities where the Biden administration flew people in at night from Mexico and then dispersed them in Hispanic communities. And so they were very angry. And why would so-called white people poll much more negatively against Trump’s first 100 days than Hispanics? It’s because the white elite had created an agenda under the Biden and Obama administration that was elitist. By that I mean—let’s face it—Sen. Bernie Sanders had to take out the word “millionaires” from his usual castigation of millionaires and billionaires. And it wasn’t just because he’s a millionaire now.

That is the trademark of the professional bicoastal classes. And they’re interested in issues that are not existential—at least not everyday existential. By that I mean global warming, the Green New Deal, transgendered men in women’s sports, international organizations—the U.N. But they’re not interested in what the Hispanic working classes are interested in. And that’s affordable gasoline, affordable power bills, good-paying jobs, schools that allow their children to be competitively educated, safety in their neighborhoods. And the idea that they should have some natural antipathy for illegal aliens just because they share the same language and maybe ethnic background—they don’t.

They’re just like anybody else that’s trying to make a living and has been ignored and shunned by the grandees of the Democratic Party. And so, they’re expressing support for an administration that is trying to get affordable energy prices, that is damning the high rise in crime, that is seeking to close the border and secure it, that is calling to account the elite universities that gouge the federal government. All of that appeals to people who have to work with their muscles. And many of the Hispanic community, they’re contractors or small business people. Many of them are professionals. But they have a more realistic, as all immigrant communities do, a realistic appraisal of what’s important and what’s peripheral. And right now, the Democratic Party is peripheral to the Hispanic community in general.

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“Houthi officials and supporters swiftly portrayed the deal as a major victory for the militia and a failure for Mr. Trump, spreading a social media hashtag that read “Yemen defeats America.”

Yemen – US Concedes Maritime Defeat (MoA)

Just two days ago I stated that the U.S. had lost its war against Ansar Allah in Yemen: The Houthi can not be defeated. Soon a U.S. ship will get hit. From there the war could easily escalate into a war against Iran. There is a good chance that the U.S. would lose it. It is high time for the Trump administration to pull back from its Yemen campaign. Last night Trump conceded that the campaign was lost. He order the U.S. fleet to retreat:
“Trump Says the U.S. Will Cease Strikes on Houthi Militants (archived) – NY Times, May 6 2025″. It was unclear whether the Houthis were going to stop impeding international shipping, which was the objective of the American bombing campaign. The United States and Houthis in Yemen reached a deal to halt American airstrikes against the group after the Iranian-backed militants agreed to cease attacks against American vessels in the Red Sea, President Trump and Omani mediators said Tuesday.

“They just don’t want to fight,” Mr. Trump said. “And we will honor that and we will stop the bombings. They have capitulated, but more importantly, we will take their word. They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore.” But despite his claim of success, it remained unclear whether the United States had achieved its objective of stopping the Houthis from impeding international shipping after a costly seven-week bombing campaign.” There is nothing ‘unclear’ about the objective which the U.S. has obviously not achieved. The Houthi will continue to attack Israel related shipping as well as the Zionist entity itself: “The Houthis themselves stopped short of declaring a full cease-fire, saying that they would continue to fight Israel. And Houthi officials and supporters swiftly portrayed the deal as a major victory for the militia and a failure for Mr. Trump, spreading a social media hashtag that read “Yemen defeats America.”

The U.S. Navy has long run out of military targets in Yemen. Its ships have emptied their magazines. They can not replenish at sea and need to go to a friendly harbor that has the appropriate equipment (Crete, Bahrain).
“Three F-18 Fighter Jets And Some 20+ Reaper Drones Were Lost During Fighting The Houthi:“
“A Navy fighter jet failed to land on an aircraft carrier and plummeted into the Red Sea on Tuesday, marking the fourth major mishap involving the vessel and the third loss of a fighter jet deployed with it since the warship left home last year … The latest incident, reported earlier by CNN, followed the loss of another jet, an F/A-18E, in an accident aboard the Truman last week in which the aircraft tumbled overboard after sailors aboard lost control of it while towing it in the ship’s hangar bay. A third fighter jet from the Truman was shot down accidentally over the Red Sea in December by another Navy warship, the USS Gettysburg, in an incident that triggered concerns about communication among warships and fighter jets in the region.

The Truman also was involved in a collision in the Mediterranean Sea in February, prompting the service to fire its commanding officer, Navy Capt. Dave Snowden. The U.S. Navy has spent over a billion dollar on ammunition on Yemen. It lost more than half a billion in flying equipment and managed to achieve nil. Others will take note of that record. The U.S. could have made this deal a month ago:

“A senior leader of Ansar Allah, commonly known as the Houthis, told Drop Site News that if the U.S. ends its campaign of air strikes against Yemen, Houthi forces will commit to halting all attacks on U.S. ships in the region. “We do not consider ourselves at war with the American people,” said Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of Ansar Allah’s political bureau and a longtime spokesperson for the Houthis. “If the U.S. stops targeting Yemen, we will cease our military operations against it.” Oman was, as usual, moderating talks between the U.S. and the Houthi. Iran was helpful in that it pressed for a deal. Trump claims that Ansar Allah will stop shooting at U.S. shipping. There was no civilian U.S. shipping in the Red Sea in the first place:

There are fewer than 200 U.S. commercial vessels. Only about 80 are engaged in global trade. The small U.S. commercial fleet compares to 5,500 active Chinese-flagged vessels. U.S. military shipping in the area is of no interests for the Houthi unless it is used to attack them. How much other shipping in the area will revive to its previous levels remains to be seen: Shipping volumes in the Red Sea continue to be depressed, currently around 50% lower than 2023 figures, according to data from SEB, a Swedish bank.

“The prospect of a ceasefire agreement and enhanced security suggests a likely resurgence in commercial shipping operations in the region,” shipping analysts at SEB suggested in a note to clients this morning, arguing that car carrier and container markets are projected to experience the most significant rebalancing. There is a lot of ambiguity as the Houthi will continue to target Israel related ships. Some might be owned by Israeli entities but are sailing under some other countries flag. Other ships may be held up or fired at because they carry goods designated for Israel. Until the war on Gaza ends, and the Houthi campaign stops, international insurance companies are likely to ask for higher premiums for any ship that wants to sail through the Red Sea. It will take months of quietness before insurance premiums and traffic through the Red Sea will come back to a normal level. Egyptian income losses from a lack of Suez Canal crossings will continue.

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“When you get rid of that artificially drawn line… when you look at that beautiful formation when it’s together, I’m a very artistic person,” Trump said, recalling his real estate developer background.”

Canadian PM Asks Trump To Rein In His Taunts (RT)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has claimed he asked US President Donald Trump to stop taunting his country as the 51st state during their first meeting at the White House on Tuesday. Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of acquiring Canada and described its border with the US as “artificial.” During the meeting with Carney in the Oval Office, Trump reiterated that sentiment and said that a union between Canada and the US would be a “wonderful marriage” and could bring “tremendous” benefits. “When you get rid of that artificially drawn line… when you look at that beautiful formation when it’s together, I’m a very artistic person,” Trump said, recalling his real estate developer background.

Carney interjected by stating that “there are some places that are never for sale,” likening Canada to the Oval Office and Buckingham Palace. “Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale, it won’t be for sale, ever,” the PM said, adding that the two nations could nevertheless work toward building a strong partnership together. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Carney said he had asked Trump to stop using the term 51st state and described the comments as “not useful.” At the same time, he acknowledged that Trump is the US president and “he’ll say what he wants to say.” The meeting came days after Carney’s election victory, in which his Liberal Party secured a fourth consecutive term. Carney centered his campaign on attacking Trump over tariffs and his insistence on acquiring Canada.

At the beginning of their meeting, Trump congratulated the new prime minister and joked, “I think I was probably the greatest thing that happened to him.” Despite ongoing tensions over tariffs, which Trump said would stay in place regardless of what Carney said, both sides ultimately described the talks as positive. “Regardless of anything, we’re going to be friends with Canada,” the US president told reporters. Meanwhile, Carney called the discussions “wide-ranging” and “very constructive” and stated that trade negotiations would continue, including during the upcoming G7 summit in Canada’s Alberta province.

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Google runs an ad monopoly. A judge has confirmed as much. So yes, demonetized and shadow banned Right here, right this site.

Start there. Stop writing reports, do something. Then take it from there.

Trump Administration Asks for Help in Uncovering Big Tech Censorship (Stepman)

The Trump administration has vowed to root out Big Tech censorship that was openly practiced under former President Joe Biden. In 2021, Biden administration press secretary Jen Psaki—now a host for MSNBC—admitted that the government coordinated with Big Tech to weed out “misinformation” on social media platforms. “We are in regular touch with these social media platforms, and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff, but also members of our COVID-19 team,” Psaki said at a 2021 press conference. “We’re flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation.” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has since said that the Biden administration pressured Facebook to censor Americans.

“Basically, these people from the Biden administration would call up our team and, like, scream at them and curse,” Zuckerberg told podcast host Joe Rogan in January. “It just got to this point where we were like, ‘No, we’re not gonna, we’re not gonna take down things that are true. That’s ridiculous.’” While government coordination with Big Tech companies to censor Americans may be gone under President Donald Trump, the censorship problem remains. In early February, the Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into Big Tech. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson announced that the agency would be looking into attempts by tech companies to censor on their platforms. “Big Tech censorship is not just un-American, it is potentially illegal. The FTC wants your help to investigate these potential violations of the law,” he wrote.

Big Tech companies should not be “bullying their users,” Ferguson said, “this inquiry will help the FTC better understand how these firms may have violated the law by silencing and intimidating Americans for speaking their minds.” Ferguson asked for public cooperation “from anyone who has been a victim of tech censorship (banning, demonetization, shadow banning, etc.), from employees of tech platforms, or from anyone else who can shed light on these practices and the ways in which they may violate the law.” The FTC said in a statement that the agency is interested in “understanding how consumers—including by potentially unfair or deceptive acts or practices, or potentially unfair methods of competition—have been harmed by the policies of tech firms.”

The FTC directed Americans with a complaint about Big Tech censorship to submit a comment to the agency by May 21. Heritage Action for America created a portal to direct a comment to the agency that can be accessed here. Once the comment period is over the comments will be posted at Regulations.gov. Heritage Action included some helpful tips for what to include in a comment to the FTC.
What platform censored you?
• How were you censored? (E.g., Labeled as misinformation? Content removed? Shadow banned? Demonetized? etc…)
• What was the impact on you, your family, employees, friends, or followers/clients?
• Did the platform tell you about their action to censor you? And did they provide a reasonable and specific explanation?
• Did the platform give you the option to appeal the censorship? What was the result?

Last week, Trump made an additional move to quash the censorship of Americans. He proposed in his budget request eliminating the disinformation offices and programs at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “CISA was more focused on cooperating with Big Tech to target free speech than our nation’s critical systems,” the White House said in an “Ending Weaponization of the Federal Government” fact sheet, adding the agency’s disinformation offices “functioned as a hub in the Censorship Industrial Complex.”

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“..it’s important to move to fill those vacancies while there’s a Senate that is still going to be cooperative and not trying to put up the roadblocks..”

Confirming Trump’s Court Nominees ‘Priority’ for Judiciary Committee (DS)

Confirming President Donald Trump’s federal court nominees will be a “priority” for the Senate Judiciary Committee, says Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a member of that panel. “It’s certainly going to be a big priority for the Judiciary Committee,” Lee told The Daily Signal in a phone interview, “particularly once we get … a number of sub-Cabinet-level nominees processed.” “I do see that occupying more of the Judiciary Committee’s time over the next little while, and once those get through the pipeline, it will start occupying more time than it has on the Senate floor,” Lee continued. “This part of the process is just starting.” On Sunday night, Trump told The Daily Signal he would nominate federal judges “rapidly” and “try to get very good ones.” He subsequently nominated five judges Tuesday night, in addition to the one he nominated Thursday night.

Because Republicans were unable to retake control of the Senate in 2022, Trump will have less ability to reshape the federal judiciary than he did in his first term. Then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pushed through 139 judges nominated by President Joe Biden, the third-highest total in U.S. history. That leaves Trump with just 46 current court vacancies, compared with 123 at the start of his first term. Still, Lee says, judicial appointments will be an ongoing effort over the next four years, “as it is with any administration where the president’s party is the same party that is the majority of the Senate.” The Utah senator praised Trump’s first-term judicial nominations and said he expects to see high-caliber judges nominated again.

“We will be very fortunate if the same standards for judicial nominees are followed during this second Trump administration,” Lee said. “I know of no reason to believe that they won’t be. If that’s the case, we’ll be in really good shape.” Trump had historically high court vacancies to fill in his first term and has historically low vacancies in his second, but each of those vacancies is still critical, said Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network. “Every one of those is crucially important, and it’s important to move to fill those vacancies while there’s a Senate that is still going to be cooperative and not trying to put up the roadblocks,” Severino told The Daily Signal. “If the Senate ever switched hands, that would certainly be the case.” Confirming Trump’s Court Nominees Will Be ‘Priority’ for Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lee Says.

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“When President Trump called me to take this job, he told me first—he told me two things. The first was, ‘Pete, you’re going to have to be tough as s— —tough.’ Boy, he was not kidding on that one.”

Pete Hegseth: Today’s Decisions and Tomorrow’s Military (Zito)

Maj. Gen. David Hill was standing a few feet from where the Black Hawk helicopter en route from the Defense Department would soon be landing, at the lush green fields of the Army War College. Hill is the commandant of the prestigious military institution and had been preparing for days for something rare around here: a visit from the secretary of defense. “I’ve been here for four years as the commandant of the Army War College. This is the first opportunity we’ve had to host the secretary of defense,” Hill said with a broad smile, adding, “It is pretty cool.” Hill said that having Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth come to rural Pennsylvania is important because of the history of the Carlisle Barracks, where the campus is located. “This is a really special place,” he said. “It’s a 268-year-old military encampment that predates our nation, and it’s been an integral part of our Army and our nation’s history since 1757. And since 1951, the United States Army War College has been housed here.”

Its mission is to preserve peace through intelligent preparation to repel aggression. At peak load, the student body is about 2,000. Its signature is a 10-month resident graduate degree program that certifies students in the highest level of joint professional military education. This year’s officer class drew not just U.S. military leaders from all branches and intelligence services—Hill said there are also military leaders attending from 77 different countries. “There are 31 European nations represented here, as well as most of the Indo-Pacific nations represented, such as India, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia. There’s a half-dozen from the African continent and a similar number from South America and Central America. Ukraine is here, and we have an officer from Israel and Lebanon here,” Hill explained.

When Hegseth was minutes away, Hill left to greet the defense secretary and his team. As Hill walked away, he said, “Today is going to be a big day.” The handshake between Hill and Hegseth was warm. They motorcaded through the Claremont Gate and toward the Wheelock Bandstand, where 800 seats were set up outside for the defense secretary’s speech. The overflow crowd exceeded 1,000, leaving several hundred standing in the grass as Hegseth took to the podium just in front of the old bandstand. Whoever was running the sound turned up the volume for AC/DC entrance music. The senior military officers in attendance approved. “Who dialed up ‘Thunderstruck’? I didn’t choose it, but I like it. Please take your seats. It might have to become SOP,” Hegseth said as everyone in attendance, a sea of camouflage and uniforms, laughed. Hegseth was in his element: confident, assured, and far from Washington, D.C.

Hegseth was there to mark the first 100 days of the Trump administration and share what he has accomplished at the Department of Defense. He bluntly acknowledged it had been bumpy in the wake of a series of leaks that have resulted in resignations and firings, not to mention unsubstantiated rumors that President Donald Trump is about to fire him. “When President Trump called me to take this job, he told me first—he told me two things. The first was, ‘Pete, you’re going to have to be tough as s— —tough.’ Boy, he was not kidding on that one. This job requires a steel spine, and that’s fine,” he said. For the next 28 minutes, he discussed a policy blueprint and vision that this White House sees for the military. Afterward, in the same room where Army War College graduate and former five-star Gen. and President Dwight D. Eisenhower once gave a talk, Hegseth sat down with the Washington Examiner.

He spoke about his recent controversies, his mission to reshape the military, the robust growth each service branch has seen since Trump took office, and how faith has kept him grounded. Dressed in a navy-blue suit, with a crisp red, white, and blue pocket square, and dark socks with green Army warriors, Hegseth said coming here and being able to articulate the department’s focus at a hundred days while looking out at a group of men and women who are the future leaders of our formations meant a lot to him. Hegseth said he spoke to those in attendance about restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military, and reestablishing deterrence. He said that these men and women were on board despite having come up in a military filled with a woke quota mindset.

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Someone stop this. It has to be Xi, right?

Pakistan Closes Airspace For 48 Hours, Authorizes Response To Indian Attack (ZH)

Though aerial fighting between the nuclear-armed rivals does not appear to be sustained and ongoing at this point, Pakistan has closed its airspace for nearly all flights on Wednesday, in the aftermath of the Indian cross-border strikes which killed at least 26 people – including a 3-year-old girl – and wounded at least 46 other people, Pakistani authorities say based on the latest revised death toll. International carriers have also canceled flights to the region, and access to social media, including X, was temporarily blocked in Pakistan amid the assault. Heavy shelling is being reported along the Line of Control (LOC) separating the historic enemy nations.

The true casualty toll could be higher, as a Pakistani militant chief targeted in the attacks on ‘terror camps’ said 10 of his relatives, including five children, were killed. The Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was one of the groups targeted, and its leader Masood Azhar said his older sister, brother-in-law, his nephew and niece are among the dead. Pakistan says that civilians were harmed and targeted that mosques were hit across six locations in its territory, and so has the right to respond to aggression. Indian has said it attack nine terror sites, but has been careful to stipulate these were non-military locations, and is now seeking de-escalation. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered his armed forces to prepare a plan for “self-defense” with “corresponding actions” in order “avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives”.

The order was issued after an emergency National Security Commitee (NSC) meeting on Wednesday. “Pakistan reserves the right to respond, in self-defense, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing to avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives and blatant violation of its sovereignty,” the NSC readout said. “The Armed Forces of Pakistan have duly been authorized to undertake corresponding actions in this regard.” Pakistan’s Government Security Committee has charged that India has “ignited an inferno in the region”. These do indeed seem to be fighting words.What India has dubbed ‘Operation Sindoor’ is intended to be limited, Indian leaders have said, but it’s highly questionable whether it was a ‘success’ – given that India lost at least one or possibly up to five fighter jets.

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“Why do you keep shooting? Business is done differently now.”

The Russia-Ukraine Lesson India Must Learn From Its Pakistan Standoff (Suchkov)

There is plenty to say about the chaos unfolding in Washington these days, but the sudden military escalation between India and Pakistan shifts our attention elsewhere – and provides some useful lessons. Since the start of Russia’s military operation against Ukraine, India’s official stance has generally aligned with Moscow’s interests. Yet it has consistently stressed the importance of peace. While many in India’s political and media elite – especially the pro-Western crowd – have criticized Russia, their views have been shaped by alignment with the West, not by deeper national principles. India’s official line, however, has always been dressed in polished diplomatic language, designed to project wisdom and balance. Early in the conflict, India’s Ambassador to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, said: “India has consistently called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to violence.”

Fast forward to 2024, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi added: “The conflict in Ukraine is a matter of deep concern for all of us. India firmly believes that no problem can be solved on the battlefield. We support dialogue and diplomacy for early restoration of peace and stability.” And of course, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar offered a soundbite which was repeated endlessly in international forums: “Wars are not the way to settle disputes.” The consistent refrain at countless conferences about “peace in Europe” boiled down to this: Russia was old-fashioned, clinging to outdated great power logic. The world had moved on, they insisted. And inevitably, some “public intellectual” would spice things up with a quote from Chanakya, Confucius, or even the Pope – advising Russia on how real diplomacy should look today.

It was all reminiscent of a famous scene in Aleksei Balabanov’s 2005 movie Dead Man’s Bluff, where a bandit from the polished 2000s lectures his 1990s Russian counterparts: “Why do you keep shooting? Business is done differently now.” It wasn’t just the Indians who pushed this line. The Chinese, Brazilians, Turks (yes, them too), and other so-called “rising powers” repeated similar mantras. Now, let’s be clear: no one should gloat. War is a terrifying and extreme manifestation of unresolved contradictions. However, to pontificate about “wisdom” and peace as if it’s a fresh insight is banal – and, frankly, vulgar.

Because when real danger arrives – when an enemy or existential threat targets your home – there is no high-minded choice left. States, like individuals, take up arms and fight for victory in order to restore peace. That’s not bloodlust; it’s the basic logic of international relations, from ancient kingdoms to today’s global order. You can deny it, but you can’t make it disappear. Western propaganda’s greatest success over the past three years was convincing much of the world that Russia’s offensive was a “war of choice” rather than a “war of necessity” – which it was. Many in the so-called rising powers naively believed that every conflict offers a choice, and that they themselves would never resort to arms. But history teaches otherwise.

When survival and national security are truly at stake, even the most idealistic states will – without even realizing it – abandon their slogans and do whatever is necessary. That, too, is a timeless law of international life. As the Bible reminds us: “While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). What should Russia do now? Stay the course – finish what we started. And be prepared for new challenges on other fronts. At the same time, we should follow diplomatic protocol and call on India and Pakistan to resolve their crisis peacefully. We can even offer to host peace talks, if needed. Because while the reality of conflict remains unchanged, so too must our commitment: Victory first. Peace second.

Happy World War Two Victory Day – to us, and to peace.

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O’Keefe said a few days ago he was scared and would go dark ahead of this report. It’s clear why.

John Bryan, the unwilling “witnesss”, is the worst douche I’ve seen in a while.

‘Prince Andrew Was F*ing Underage Girls’ – James O’ Keefe (ZH)

An American businessman close to the royal family (not for long) was caught on undercover footage with damning claims about Prince Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. John Bryan, a trusted advisor to the Duke of York, claims that Prince Andrew lied to him about his involvement with minors, according to the footage, obtained by O’Keefe Media Group (OMG). “I knew he [Prince Andrew] saw him [Jeffrey Epstein],” said Bryan, “But he lied to me that he was such a close friend,” revealed Bryan, referring to Prince Andrew’s personal relationship with Epstein. More via OMG;

After Prince Andrew’s 2019 BBC interview, where he denied knowing Virginia Giuffre and famously claimed he was physically incapable of sweating, Bryan says he was quietly brought into “Royal Lodge,” Andrew’s private residence, to provide “crisis” management advice. In a previous interview with the New York Post, Bryan revealed “They [the British Royal Family] brought me in to help him [Andrew].” Bryan told the publication, “Andrew was so distressed, he wasn’t able to focus for more than 40 minutes.”

According to previous reporting by The Daily Mail, Bryan also admitted to crafting a five-page PR strategy titled the “House of Kroy,” advising Andrew to publicly express sympathy for victims of Jeffrey Epstein while maintaining his own innocence. At the time, Bryan publicly supported the Prince, stating, “I believe Prince Andrew is innocent.” “I did a big thing in The Daily Mail saying that I believed Andrew,” Bryan recounted to our undercover OMG journalist, adding, “And then I found out he was lying. I was so pissed.” When asked what Andrew had lied about, Bryan didn’t mince words: “That he was fucking underage girls. That’s not cool.” O’Keefe Media Group has reached out to both the Royal Family and John Bryan for comment regarding Bryan’s admissions.”

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Butler

Happy

Opera
https://twitter.com/Ducnghia16/status/1920073056439161292

Alpaca

Robot

 

 

 

 

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Apr 222025
 


Edward Hopper The Lee Shore 1941

 

Trump Wants Direct Talks With Xi – Politico (RT)
China Is In Economic Dire Straits And They’re No Longer Able To Hide It (ZH)
China’s Gray Trade Strategy Blunts Impact of US Tariffs (Gorrie)
The Shanghai Spirit – China Will Take No Bullying (Pepe Escobar)
Trump Wants Piece Of Russia Claimed By Kiev – WSJ (RT)
Trump Slams Supreme Court Over Blocking Deportations (JTN)
Do You Prefer White Liberal States To Hispanic States? (Paul Craig Roberts)
Trump Wants A Deal. Putin Wants Victory. Ukraine Will Get What It Deserves (RT)
Putin Reacts To EU Threats On Victory Day (RT)
Is a Coup Against Pete Hegseth Brewing at the Pentagon? (Margolis)
Hegseth Slams Media Over Latest Smear Campaign: ‘Full of Hoaxsters’ (Margolis)
US Senator Ron Johnson Says New 9/11 Investigation Could Happen (RT)
Canada’s Conservatives See A Reversal of Fortune (JTN)
Trump Administration Halts New York Offshore Wind Project (Wade)
The UK Is Doubling Down On Wind Energy (ZH)

 

 

 

 

Rickards
https://twitter.com/JimFergusonUK/status/1914201957213814828

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O’Leary

Thiel

Tucker

 

 

 

 

Trump shuts down all potential communication lines between him and Xi. Except for those he wants. Direct line. Call me.

Trump Wants Direct Talks With Xi – Politico (RT)

US President Donald Trump has stifled almost every channel of diplomatic outreach with China, aiming to deal directly with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, as the trade war between the two superpowers escalates, Politico has reported citing anonymous sources. The increasing tit-for-tat duties between the US and China is part of a broader US tariff campaign against more than 90 countries, said to be aimed at addressing unfair trade imbalances. While Trump has paused the hikes for most countries for 90 days, Beijing was excluded and faces a 145% tariff. China has retaliated with 125% tariffs on US goods and restricted certain key exports. The US president is adamant about direct negotiations with Xi, and has stifled other diplomatic avenues, Politico wrote on Saturday, citing anonymous former US State Department officials and an industry official.

Trump has not authorized White House delegates to engage with Beijing, the outlet cited its sources as saying. In addition, the Senate has not confirmed a US ambassador to China, Trump has not nominated an official to lead a diplomatic effort, and Washington has thus far not reached out to the Chinese embassy, Politico reported. “The backchannels don’t work because President Trump doesn’t want them to,” Ryan Hass, former director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia at the National Security Council during the Obama administration, told the outlet. “Trump wants to deal directly with President Xi in the same way he has with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” he said. Washington is waiting for Beijing to reach out and call first, CNN wrote earlier this month, citing anonymous officials.

“China wants to make a deal. They just don’t know how quite to go about it,” Trump has said. “They’re proud people.” Additionally, Washington intends to use negotiations over potential tariff exemptions to pressure US trading partners to curb their ties with China and ramp up pressure on Beijing, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing unnamed sources. In a statement on Monday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry stressed that it would retaliate against any country that takes such a deal “at the expense of China’s interests.”

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Memories of all the roads to nowhere and the giant empty apartment buidings a few years ago.

China Is In Economic Dire Straits And They’re No Longer Able To Hide It (ZH)

Official economic data from any government is always treated with suspicion by anyone with common sense. The US, for example, witnessed some of the most egregious statistical tinkering imaginable under the Biden Administration, not to mention outright lies and propaganda from the establishment media on the health of the economy. To this day no one has been fired (or tarred and feathered) for hiding the reality of the stagflation crisis. Any government or corporate economist that called the threat “transitory” should be stripped of their financial prestige and banished to a cash register at Arby’s. And let’s not forget Biden’s misrepresentation of the labor market, portraying millions of new jobs for illegal migrants and visa holders as if they were jobs benefiting American citizens. In the US and across the western world, lying about the economy is generally seen by politicians as a temporary solution to secure reelection.

However, in China, lying about the economy is treated as a national security imperative. If there’s anything in the world that gives communists a feeling of existential dread, it’s the fear that their ideological enemies will discover proof that communism doesn’t work. The Trump Administration’s tariffs on China are not the initiator of the nation’s troubles, they are more a bookend to a process of decline that has been ongoing for years. Overall tariffs on Chinese goods currently sit at 124%, but some goods will be taxed as high as 245%. Trump has given a 1 month exemption on electronic parts and devices, perhaps to offer manufacturers like Apple, Nvidia and Microsoft time to arrange sourcing from alternative vendors. The problem for Chinese manufacturers is not just the tariffs but the uncertainty of timing and sudden changes to policy. They say no one is willing to make a big move on production or shipments until the trade landscape becomes more predictable. This means most Chinese factories are frozen in stasis.

Trump’s tariff actions are widely criticized by the media as erratic or poorly planned, but what they don’t understand is that uncertainty is the real leverage, not the tariffs. What seems like a spur of the moment decision or a sudden capitulation on Trump’s part can be highly effective at throwing foreign governments and corporations off balance. Globalism requires a perpetual status quo, change of any kind is like holy water to a vampire. Chinese shipments are on standby and orders are frozen. Nothing is moving. At bottom, China will not be able to survive tariffs on the current scale for long (a single year of 124% tariffs would crush China’s economy beyond repair). The US is 15% of China’s export market, which may not sound substantial but their next largest trading partner (outside of Hong Kong) is Vietnam at 4% of exports.

In terms of domestic buying, China is 11% of the global consumer market which is not too shabby, but compared to the US with its 30%-35% global consumer market share there is no chance that the Chinese will be able to fill the void domestically and stay afloat. But the situation is far worse than most people know… China has been suffering from a deflationary crisis since 2023. An uptick in exports during the pandemic was offset by the CCP’s draconian lockdowns. This was, essentially, fiscal suicide on the part of the government and China has been struggling ever since. Their property market has imploded, partially due to overbuilding through government subsidized infrastructure programs that flooded the market with poorly constructed homes and buildings that were then left to rot. Corporate defaults have run rampant and left investors with nothing.

There was some optimism that the government’s measures to end the crisis had been working to reinvigorate the market, but on Mar 31st, government-linked developer Vanke reported a record 49.5 billion yuan (S$9.1 billion) annual loss for 2024. It’s the company’s first full-year loss since its initial public offering in 1991, reigniting concerns about the sector and showing just how deep the problem runs. When these projects do finally see some progress it is often due to dangerously poor construction standards and subpar workmanship; what many now refer to as “Tofu Dreg” buildings. The deflationary spiral has been eating away at employment and has also resulted in numerous factories refusing to pay their workers on time (or at all). Unpaid wages are leading to frequent protests and a disturbing trend of factory fires. The government is limited in how it can respond to the problem. Stimulus is an option, but China’s overall non-financial debt is well over 300% of GDP already.

China’s attempts to hide the decay from the outside world are becoming less and less effective. With Chinese citizens able to access the internet beyond the “Great Firewall”, more and more videos are being leaked by people within the country who are tired of the misinformation. Again, the CCP views negative economic data as a national security threat and any citizen caught leaking this info could be subject to harsh punishment. Chinese citizens have taken substantial risks to get the truth out there. It cannot be stressed enough that the global economy is largely a farce, but China is closest to the edge of the cliff in terms of consequences and crisis. The interdependency of globalism has left many nations without the ability to weather a trade dispute and China’s survival is almost entirely based on steady exports to the west and the US in particular. Don’t let high paid TikTok and YouTube influencers fool you with videos of Chinese skyscrapers caked with LED lights or lavish parties with dancing robots. This is not the true China. Underneath the facade is a nation on the brink of disaster.

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China tries to export to US via Vietnam because of tariffs. Easy to shut down.

China’s Gray Trade Strategy Blunts Impact of US Tariffs (Gorrie)

Is a new boom in deceptive trading practices taking shape in many parts of the world? As the U.S.–China trade war intensifies, it certainly looks that way. With U.S. tariffs reaching 145 percent on Chinese imports—at least at the time of this writing—Beijing’s new strategy seems to include the use of so-called gray trade to bypass American trade barriers. Gray trade involves rerouting goods through low-tariff countries, such as Vietnam, Mexico, or Malaysia, to conceal their Chinese origin and thereby reduce U.S. import duties. This sneaky tactic has surged as a response to President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies, making China’s goods less competitive in the U.S. market due to their added cost.

Gray Trade Loophole Strategy The simple idea behind gray trade is to exploit loopholes in U.S. Rules of Origin, the trading guidance for determining a product’s country of origin for tariff purposes. Chinese goods, for example, will remain unassembled or may be about 90 percent manufactured before being shipped to an intermediary country. There, they undergo final production, assembly, processing, repackaging, or relabeling to qualify as originating from that country, rather than from China. For example, Chinese electronic parts may be sent to Vietnam, assembled into a product, and then labeled, “Made in Vietnam.” This enables China to benefit from the 10 percent tariff on Vietnamese imports under Trump’s 2025 reciprocal tariff regime, instead of the 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods. It’s a perfectly sensible response by Beijing, and there’s no doubt that Chinese firms are rerouting goods through Vietnam, Mexico, and Turkey to exploit lower tariffs on goods sourced from those countries. A related tactic occurring in Mexico involves dividing goods into packages that are below the $800 tariff-free threshold for non-Chinese origins, a tactic called the “Tijuana two-step.”

China Has to Resort to Gray Trade But gray trade isn’t new or even unfamiliar to the second Trump administration. During Trump’s first term, Chinese solar manufacturers bypassed 30 percent tariffs by partnering with their neighbors in Southeast Asia. In 2025, tracing the movement and provenance of vast numbers of products is complex at best and nearly impossible at worst, making it a challenge to disrupt gray trade. It’s no mystery why Beijing is engaging in gray trade. With its exports to the United States accounting for 10 percent of its trade and supporting between 10 million and 20 million jobs, some experts say the world’s largest manufacturer faces an estimated 80 percent decline in its exports over the next two years, if the gray trade were to cease.

As domestic economic conditions decline due to the anticipated extensive trade tensions, China’s 2025 GDP projections have fallen from 5 percent to as low as 4 percent, potentially resulting in a 20 percent drop in GDP growth in just one year. With joblessness among its young people (ages 16 to 24) already approaching 17 percent, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) faces a growing resentment among its people. The Party would like to avoid an uprising by its younger generation. The gray trade has provided a much-needed cushion against the blow of the Trump administration’s high tariffs. For instance, according to official data, China’s exports surged by 12.4 percent in March, with exports to ASEAN increasing by 11.6 percent and exports to Vietnam climbing by nearly 19 percent.

Impact on Low-Tariff Countries But it’s not just China that gains from gray trade. Its low-tariff country partners also gain economically from gray trade but face risks, too. Gray trading partners, such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and Mexico, profit from trade and processing fees, with some estimates on the social media platform X reaching as high as 10 percent. It’s worth noting that between 2017 and 2022, Vietnam replaced almost half of China’s lost market share in U.S. imports. However, gray trading partner countries risk the consequences of U.S. pushback, resulting in a delicate balancing act for these countries caught between gray trade with China and managing important trading relationships with the United States.

Economic and Geopolitical Implications Economically, gray trade preserves China’s U.S. market access for the moment, but it raises costs as intermediaries take their cut, with logistics costs also increasing. For U.S. consumers, it may delay steep price hikes, but won’t eliminate them. Geopolitically, Beijing’s retaliatory 125 percent tariffs on U.S. goods, plus adding barriers to U.S. beef and LNG imports, raise tensions even higher. CCP leader Xi Jinping’s recent visits to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia could have secured their gray trade hubs going forward.

But the impact of gray trade is perhaps deeper and wider than many may expect. On the one hand, it’s a reasonable response on China’s part to U.S. tariffs. But on the other hand, there are greater risks. The United States could expand tariffs or use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to close loopholes. That, too, may be a rational response by the United States, or it could make things worse. “The global trade system for the past ninety years is collapsing, leaving it difficult for people to forecast the economic impact and tell where the bottom for a market is,” Vincent Chan, a China strategist at Aletheia Capital Ltd., told Bloomberg. As new phases of U.S. trade policy and responses unfold, the biggest risk may be uncontrolled escalation in both tariff retaliation and other forms of retaliation. In short, the impact of the gray trade may be deeper and wider than many expect, and it could even lead to a global trade war, with its own far-reaching implications.

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Pepe is in China and in love.

The Shanghai Spirit – China Will Take No Bullying (Pepe Escobar)

There could not be a more strategic place to spend these past Trump Tariff Tizzy (TTT) heady days than in Shanghai – China’s trade, commercial and cultural capital. From the top of the Jin Mao tower in the world class Lujiazui financial district in Pudong, an elegantly discreet art deco companion to the World Financial Center super-skyscraper – the trademark symbol of China’s economic power – it’s as if the spokes of a wheel radiated to the Bund and beyond tracking a ceaseless drive to counteract the absurd idiocy of the “Emperor of Tariffs”, relentless mocked across myriad Chinese social media platforms. I have had the privilege to transit from the Bund Financial Center, which hosts among others the Fosun Foundation – a bamboo-inspired architectural masterpiece – to the China Academy at the immaculate campus of Fudan University, where I shared a seminar with star professor Zhang Weiwei and a round table with top PhD students from several disciplines. Professor Zhang Weiwei is the foremost conceptualizer of China as a civilization-state.

The key theme of our seminar was the Russia-China strategic partnership, but inevitably the focus switched back and forth to the rationale behind the Emperor of Tariffs. The questions from the students were as sharp as they come. That was compounded with an in-depth interview for China Academy hosted by their CEO, the formidable Pan Xiaoli. A visit to the HQ of Guancha – the top independent new/analysis site in China, whose several channels in several different platforms reach an astonishing 200 million people – could not have been more timely. Guo Jiezhen, a research fellow from the China Institute, who was part of our round table at Fudan University, came up with one of the more astute analyses of what he describes as Trump’s “deranged money-making technique”.

While meeting with Guancha’s new editor-in-chief He Shenquan and discussing with hyper-competent international relations specialist Kelly Liu and Yang Hanyi – the China Institute’s communication officer – we watched together an exceptional podcast featuring PLA Colonel Wang Lihua, Gao Zhikai – Deputy Director of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) – and the always essential Li Bo, President of the Shanghai Chunqiu Development Strategy Institute. And that’s when Mao Zedong’s legendary 1960s formulation of the US as a “paper tiger” – quoted in everything from Latin American guerrilla slogans to Godard movies – resurfaced with full force. Wang Lihua picked up on what President Xi had told Putin at their landmark meeting at the Kremlin two years ago: we are right in the middle of changes not seen in 100 years. Wang: “This change cannot be changed all at once, and the trade war between China and the United States will not be resolved once and for all. This kind of friction and struggle, in the words of Chairman Mao, is ‘making trouble, failing, making trouble again, failing again, until destruction.’”

Wang wrapped up with what may encapsulate the general feeling in China, identified in every nook and cranny across Shanghai: “It is difficult for the United States to repair itself from within. Now the United States has to confront China and the whole world, and its strength is obviously not enough, so failure is inevitable. We are not afraid of a protracted war, because time is on our side.” China “not afraid of war”, however it may manifest itself, from hybrid to hot, is the consensus feeling in Shanghai, borrowing from the Maoist concept of “united front”, and espoused from academics and business leaders to residents of “model quarters” of the Maoist era still impeccably preserved – and with an eye for innovation (example: row after row of a.c. outlets to feed the array of electric bikes parked in the internal patios).

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Hard bargain.

Trump Wants Piece Of Russia Claimed By Kiev – WSJ (RT)

The US intends to assert control over the Russian territory surrounding Europe’s largest nuclear power plant as part of a mediated agreement between Kiev and Moscow, according to the Wall Street Journal. The proposal is part of a reported package of options that the US expects Ukraine to respond to by the end of this week. Last Thursday, senior members of US President Donald Trump’s administration met with Ukrainian and European officials in Paris. One of their ideas aimed at facilitating a peace agreement between Kiev and Moscow involves designating the land around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (NPP) as neutral territory under US control, the newspaper reported Sunday, citing anonymous sources. The former Ukrainian region hosting the facility voted to join Russia in 2022, though Kiev has dismissed the referendum as a sham.

In March, Trump claimed that Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky had proposed that the US take ownership of his country’s nuclear power plants. Zelensky, however, refuted this assertion, stating that he and Trump only discussed potential US investments in the Zaporozhye NPP. Additionally, Washington has suggested recognizing Russian sovereignty over Crimea, not opposing Russian control over four other former Ukrainian regions, including Zaporozhye, and rejecting Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership, according to the WSJ. However, the list of proposals does not include any cap on the strength of the Ukrainian army or ban on troop deployments by European NATO members in Ukraine, the newspaper noted. If the US, its European allies, and Ukraine achieve a “convergence” this week, the package will be presented to Moscow, the WSJ reported.

Moscow has firmly rejected any proposed NATO presence in Ukraine and has asserted that the Istanbul agreement — a truce proposal negotiated in 2022 that includes limitations on the Ukrainian military — should serve as the foundation for a future peace accord. This plan was rejected by Kiev following intervention from then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Russia has accused the EU and the UK of attempting to undermine Trump’s mediation efforts in order to prolong the conflict in Ukraine. The US president has cautioned that his administration would “just take a pass” if the diplomatic effort becomes too challenging.

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“We cannot give everyone a trial, because to do so would take, without exaggeration, 200 years..”

“What a ridiculous situation we are in..”

Trump Slams Supreme Court Over Blocking Deportations (JTN)

President Donald Trump on Monday slammed the United States’ court system, including the Supreme Court, over their response to his efforts to deport illegal migrants, stating it is “not possible” to try every person who is in the U.S. illegally. The Supreme Court over the weekend temporarily blocked Trump’s latest round of deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. Trump’s deportations have come under scrutiny after he removed hundreds of illegal migrants he accused of being gang members without due process. The president defended his actions in a post on Truth Social, claiming it would take “200 years” to try every illegal migrant, and slammed the Supreme Court for allegedly not wanting him to “send violent criminals and terrorists back to Venezuela.”

“I’m doing what I was elected to do, remove criminals from our Country, but the Courts don’t seem to want me to do that,” Trump wrote in the post. “My team is fantastic, doing an incredible job, however, they are being stymied at every turn by even the U.S. Supreme Court, which I have such great respect for, but which seemingly doesn’t want me to send violent criminals and terrorists back to Venezuela, or any other Country.” The president praised Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s dissent, stating the justice was right for wanting to “dissolve the pause on deportations.” “If we don’t get these criminals out of our country, we are not going to have a country any longer,” Trump insisted. “We cannot give everyone a trial, because to do so would take, without exaggeration, 200 years. We would need hundreds of thousands of trials for the hundreds of thousands of Illegals we are sending out of the country. Such a thing is not possible to do.

“What a ridiculous situation we are in,” he concluded.

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“Millions of immigrant-invaders can enter America illegally, but they cannot be deported until they have had their day in court..”

“The deportation hearings, which will be shopped to Democrat district and appeal courts, will take years and will not be resolved until Trump’s term is over.”

Do You Prefer White Liberal States To Hispanic States? (Paul Craig Roberts)

Like Trump’s on-off-on tariffs, the US Supreme Court’s rulings are off-on-maybe-we will see. Last week the Court overruled Boasberg and said that Trump had the authority to deport illegal aliens. But by the time last Saturday arrived, the Court had changed its mind and “paused” the deportation of illegal entrants. The Court now has decided that those who had entered the US illegally, thus committing a crime, had the right to challenge their deportation in US courts.Here is the Supreme Court’s ruling: “The government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this court.” Note the Court’s use of the word “putative.” The Court is saying that it is uncertain that the illegals are illegals. Once you have walked in, you are an American, right? That seems to be the Democrats’ position. What will the Court’s position be?

Amazing, isn’t it. Millions of immigrant-invaders can enter America illegally, but they cannot be deported until they have had their day in court. To be clear, what the US Supreme Court has ruled is that there will be no further deportations. The 16 or 30 million, or whatever the figure, illegal entrants are here to stay. The deportation hearings, which will be shopped to Democrat district and appeal courts, will take years and will not be resolved until Trump’s term is over. For decades American conservatives have thought that the most important reason to have a Republican president is Supreme Court Appointments, but now we see it matters not to have a Republican majority on the Supreme Court. The Court, whether Republican or Democrat, has no comprehension of American survival. The courts are preoccupied with grabbing power from the executive.

Just as the US took Texas, Colorado, California and the SouthWest from Mexico, the hispanics are taking it back with the aid of the Democrat Party and the US Supreme Court. And, of course, with the acquiesce of Republicans who are incapable of fighting. The question is: how much do we really care? Would you prefer to have white liberal Colorado, California, Arizona or Hispanic Colorado, California, and Arizona. I would prefer the Hispanics. They are more decent people than white liberals, and, unlike white liberals, they do not hate America. Perhaps the ignorant insouciance of the American courts will have the unintended result of replacing anti-American blue states with Hispanic states. It would be a huge improvement in the quality of America.

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Sergei Poletaev.

Trump Wants A Deal. Putin Wants Victory. Ukraine Will Get What It Deserves (RT)

The Easter ceasefire has come and gone, with Russia and Ukraine trading accusations over thousands of violations as fighting resumes across the front lines – yet another reminder of how difficult it is to bring this war to an end. Amid the renewed hostilities, Donald Trump’s long-promised peace plan is colliding with geopolitical realities. Despite backchannel talks with the Kremlin and growing pressure from both allies and opponents, Trump has yet to produce a deal that doesn’t resemble capitulation – or undermine his own political standing. With a new offensive looming and patience wearing thin, the real question now is whether peace is still on the table – and if so, on whose terms.

The Relentless Push for Peace The fundamental difference between President Donald Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, is that Trump is genuinely trying to negotiate a meaningful peace with Russia. He has no interest in prolonging what he sees as a losing war inherited from Biden, and he’s determined to end it. But he also knows he can’t accept just any deal – he needs a version of peace that won’t look like a defeat. After all, his critics are ready to frame any compromise as his own personal Afghanistan.That’s the framework Trump is working within. What motivates Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t really a top concern for him. So, he sends a trusted confidant – Steve Witkoff – to explore the possibility of striking a deal with the Kremlin. In his meeting with Putin, Witkoff likely hears the same hardline message the Russian leader shares in public – and, reportedly, in private calls with Trump: lasting peace can only be achieved on Moscow’s terms.

At a minimum, that means reviving the Istanbul agreements with additional territorial concessions. At most, it involves Russia’s sweeping 2021 demands to redraw Eastern Europe’s security architecture and, in effect, reverse the legacy of the Cold War. It also seems Putin thinks he can secure at least his minimum objectives through brute force. Whether he’s bluffing or not, he’s clearly using the threat of escalation to pressure Trump. The message is implicit: Worried that Ukraine’s collapse will be blamed on you? There’s one way to prevent that – make a deal with me. In return, Trump could preserve face, gain economic wins like Nord Stream 2, and claim peace during his term. Meanwhile, Putin gets what he really wants: a thaw in US-Russia relations, an end to sanctions, and, crucially, legitimization of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. And if future conflicts arise, he’ll be in a stronger position. Not to mention, it would strike a blow against the globalists – an enemy both men seem to share.

That’s the pitch Putin’s been making, and by all indications, it’s what he and Witkoff discussed in their five-hour meeting. Witkoff, for his part, appears to be on board – he said as much during a Fox News appearance on April 15. But the final call rests with Trump, not Witkoff. And Trump faces a difficult challenge: even if he wants to make a deal, how can he ensure it sticks? It’s not just Ukraine and Europe trying to sabotage the talks – that was to be expected – but opposition is also coming from inside Trump’s own camp. Take Keith Kellogg, for example. He might tell Trump that Ukraine will never accept any such agreement. He could argue that Europe is fully aligned with Kiev and that if Trump really wants peace, he’ll need to get Putin to accept a European military presence in Ukraine. You want peace? Here’s the map – go make it happen.

Then there’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who may quietly but firmly advance the globalist view: any peace must be on Western terms, not Russian ones. He might even bring a fresh round of sanctions and another military aid package for Ukraine to the table. It’s a situation reminiscent of 2016. Back then, Trump had seemingly cordial relations with Putin but ended up expanding anti-Russia measures due to domestic constraints. Today, his political position at home is stronger – but so are the stakes.

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EU knows no shame.

Putin Reacts To EU Threats On Victory Day (RT)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has commended the courage of European leaders who choose to come to Moscow for events commemorating the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II, despite pressure on them from EU officials.Last week, the bloc’s top diplomat and former Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, warned the leaders of EU member and candidate states against flying to Russia to take part, recommending instead that they visit Kiev to show solidarity with Ukraine. Other EU officials have reportedly threatened to derail membership bids for candidate countries whose leaders defy Brussels on the matter. Journalists asked Putin to comment on the reports after the All-Russian Municipal Service Award ceremony in Moscow on Monday.

“Those who are going to come to Russia have much more courage than those who are hiding behind someone’s back and trying to threaten others,” he replied.“In this case, [threatening] those who are going to celebrate the historical merits of people who gave their lives in the fight against Nazism,” Putin said. According to Kallas, participation in this year’s events in Moscow “will be not taken lightly.” Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the only EU member state leader who has promised to attend, blasted the statement as outright “disrespectful.” “Is Ms. Kallas’s warning a form of blackmail or a signal that I will be punished?” he wrote on X last week. “The year is 2025, not 1939,” he added.

The president of EU candidate Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, similarly indicated that he would not change his plans in the face of pressure from Brussels. “I have not changed my decision… Eight months ago, I announced my visit to Moscow, publicly,” he said last week, according to Serbian media.Moscow has extended multiple invitations to this year’s landmark celebrations, including to the heads of China, India, and Brazil, as well as a number of other international leaders. Victory Day is one of the most important national holidays in Russia. The event is celebrated annually on May 9 to mark the 1945 triumph of the USSR over Nazi Germany and its allies, and to honor the estimated 26.6 million deaths the Soviet Union suffered in World War II. Around 18 million were civilian deaths.

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Recently Hegseth, JD Vance, Tulsi Gabbard and Susie Wiles voted against bombing Iran. Three Pentagon staff departed. This is the result. Usual suspects: NPR, NYT, Politico et al.

Is a Coup Against Pete Hegseth Brewing at the Pentagon? (Margolis)

Something tells me that the liberal media is trying to force Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth from the Pentagon. According to a report from Politico, the Pentagon has become a “chaotic” mess because of Hegseth’s alleged influence, and it’s becoming a problem for the administration. “It’s been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon. From leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings, the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,” the article claims. “President Donald Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.” It’s a claim so ludicrous that you almost have to appreciate the creative writing involved. What’s the evidence? A few anonymous complaints and a spin cycle that would make a laundromat envious.

John Ullyot, the writer of the article, claims that he’s a Hegseth supporter, yet the Pentagon recently asked him to resign. So I’m sure he doesn’t have an axe to grind. But let’s take a look at what he’s claiming anyway. According to Ullyot, the Pentagon “is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership.” Curiously, to prove his point, he cites the “Signalgate” kerfuffle as evidence of the chaos, not the successful mission against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Despite his repeated claims of supporting Hegseth, his narrative sounds like it was lifted straight from the Democrat playbook. I suspect he leans on his supposed backing of Hegseth not out of conviction, but as a shield to lend credibility to what amounts to a repackaged left-wing hit job on the Pentagon.

“Yet even strong backers of the secretary like me must admit: The last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon — and it’s becoming a real problem for the administration,” Ullyot writes. Let’s not pretend that this isn’t orchestrated. The timing is telling. Hegseth has been critical of the Biden administration’s dismal defense policies, exposing its failure to prioritize American security interests. And now, as if by magic, Politico drops a hit piece linking him to alleged dysfunction at the Pentagon by a “friend.” Give me a break. He sounds like the next Omarosa. We saw this play out during Trump’s first term, and it looks like it’s happening all over again — figures who claim to support the president suddenly breaking ranks “for the greater good.” But scratch the surface, and it’s clear that they’re serving as mouthpieces for the deep state, trying to create the very dysfunction and chaos they claim already exists.

It’s a classic tactic: create the chaos, then point to it as proof they were right all along. Ullyot claims that “There are very likely more shoes to drop in short order, with even bigger bombshell stories coming this week, key Pentagon reporters have been telling sources privately.” Ahhh, sources. If anything, this article proves one thing: the left and their media enablers are running scared. So let’s call the situation what it is. Politico isn’t reporting the news; it’s trying to shape it. Hegseth stands for values that terrify the liberal elite: strength, accountability, and an America-first mindset. And that’s why the left is working so hard to undermine him, even if it means stretching the truth to the breaking point to create chaos.

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Hegseth survived phase 1. That emboldened him, also because it shows Trump’s trust and loyalty.

Hegseth Slams Media Over Latest Smear Campaign: ‘Full of Hoaxsters’ (Margolis)

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth didn’t hold back when asked about the latest media-driven controversy involving internal Signal messages and supposed leaks from the Pentagon. Speaking during the White House Easter Egg Roll, Hegseth delivered a scathing rebuke of the press, accusing it of orchestrating a smear campaign using anonymous sources and recycled narratives. “What a big surprise,” Hegseth said, when asked about the so-called “Signal chat controversy.” “A few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax. They got Pulitzers for a bunch of lies — Pulitzers for a bunch of lies, and on hoaxes, time and time again.” Hegseth wasn’t finished. As reporters tried to pepper him with more questions, he tore into what he sees as the media’s standard operating procedure: relying on unverifiable leaks and turning them into politically motivated attacks.

“This is what the media does,” he said. “They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations.” “But it’s not gonna work with me,” he added defiantly. “Because we’re changing the Defense Department. We’re putting the Pentagon back in the hands of war fighters, and anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn’t matter.” Former Pentagon official John Ullyot, who was recently asked to resign, just penned a thinly veiled hit piece in Politico claiming that the Pentagon has descended into “chaos” and predicting that Hegseth’s ouster is imminent. The article leans heavily on anonymous sources and paints a conveniently damning picture that plays right into the hands of the deep state.

It’s a familiar playbook: pose as a concerned insider while amplifying the very narrative the left wants to push. The timing is no accident. These attacks are surfacing just as Hegseth is aggressively working to clean house, purge entrenched bureaucrats, and return the Pentagon to the control of actual warfighters. This isn’t genuine concern; it’s a coordinated attempt to take down an outsider who refuses to play by their rules. As the secretary stood alongside his father and his children, he reminded reporters what motivates him. “This is what we’re doing it for. These kids right here. This is why we’re fighting the fake news media. This is why we’re fighting slash-and-burn Democrats. This is why we’re fighting hoaxsters.” When one reporter tried to interject with another question, Hegseth cut through the noise.

“This group right here,” he said, pointing toward the assembled press, “full of hoaxsters that peddle anonymous sources from leakers with axes to grind. And then you put it all together as if it’s some news story.” Despite the media’s coordinated efforts to generate controversy, Hegseth made it clear he isn’t backing down.“I’m really proud of what we’re doing for the president — fighting hard across the board,” he said before heading off to enjoy the Easter event with his family. “I’ve spoken to the president, and we are gonna continue fighting on the same page all the way.” In typical fashion, the media tried to create a scandal. But in Pete Hegseth, they’ve found someone unafraid to punch back.

https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1914484235597176850

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24 years ago.

US Senator Ron Johnson Says New 9/11 Investigation Could Happen (RT)

Republican Senator Ron Johnson has suggested that new congressional hearings into the September 11 attacks may be forthcoming, citing unanswered questions surrounding the official narrative and the handling of evidence. On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger airliners, crashing two into the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan. A third plane struck the Pentagon, while the fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), World Trade Center Building 7 collapsed due to fires ignited by debris from one of the nearby towers. During an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson published Monday, Senator Johnson questioned several aspects of the 9/11 investigation, including the collapse of Building 7.

“I don’t know that you can find structural engineers – other than the ones that have the corrupt investigation inside NIST – that would say that that thing didn’t come down in any other way than a controlled demolition,” he said. Johnson, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, also criticized the removal and destruction of physical evidence from the site, calling it “totally contrary to any other firefighting investigation procedures.” “Where’s all the documentation from the NIST investigation? There are a host of questions that I want and I will be asking, quite honestly, now that my eyes have been opened,” he added. When asked whether the public might see hearings on the issue, Johnson replied, “I think so.”

He further suggested that President Donald Trump, “being a New Yorker himself,” might have an interest in reopening the case: “What actually happened in 9/11? What do we know? What is being covered up? My guess is there’s an awful lot being covered up in terms of what the American government knows about 9/11.” Johnson also said he recently spoke with former Congressman Curt Weldon and plans to “work with him to expose what he’s willing to expose.” Earlier this month, Weldon urged Trump to appoint “people of impeccable integrity” to lead a commission to “study the facts” surrounding 9/11.

In an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson, Weldon dismissed the label of conspiracy theorist, suggesting that the CIA and the government have long engaged in disinformation. “You know, what gets me is reporters who call people conspiracy theorists. Well, that’s all the agency does! They’re the ones who create the conspiracies,” he said. “They have whole courses for their agents on how to make people look like they’re conspiracy theorists.” The 9/11 Commission Report, released in 2004, remains the most comprehensive federal review of the attacks. However, critics have pointed to omissions and the continued classification of key government documents. Johnson also referenced a bipartisan effort with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in 2023 to obtain unredacted FBI files. “We wanted to get those answers, those documents for the families. Again, we didn’t get squat from the FBI,” he said.

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January: Conservatives polled 92.5%. April, 3 months later, they poll 38%. ¿Perqué? A very fertile breeding ground for TDS.

Canada’s Conservatives See A Reversal of Fortune (JTN)

Before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down in favor of Mark Carney, Canada’s Conservative Party was expected to streamroll the national elections and overturn more than a decade of far-left liberal leadership. But under Pierre Poilievre, the Conservatives have seen their electoral prospects fall off a cliff as he has struggled to meet the moment and galvanize his supporters on a promise of tangible change. Betting markets currently hand Carney a 76.6% chance of winning the election, to Poilievre’s 23.3%. The figure represents a stunning reversal from mid-January, when Poilievre was assigned a 92.5% chance of winning. The Canadian Broadcast Corporation’s current polling shows Carney’s Liberal Party with 43.2% support, while Poilievre and the Conservatives trail with 38.0%.

Canada is a multi-party parliamentary democracy that often sees other blocs gain seats in its legislature, though no other party is expected to seriously compete for the premiership. Under CBC estimates, the Liberals have an 83% shot at an outright majority and a 13% shot at winning a plurality, while the Conservatives reportedly have a 2% chance of taking the most seats. “I have never seen a transformation of our voter landscape in Canada of that nature,” pollster Frank Graves told Politico. Adding to Poilievre’s own shortcomings is the ongoing tariff row between Canada and the United States, which has allowed the Liberals to own the nationalist angle while Carney’s status as a fresh face has let him shed much of Trudeau’s baggage. The Conservatives were the favorites to win as recently as mid-March. So why the massive flip? In short, Poilievre, Trump and immigration.

Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump criticized the trade relationship between Ottawa and Washington, suggesting that the Canadians enjoyed unfair advantages due to dubious practices to undercut American markets. “The dominant issue is, how do we negotiate future trade relationships with the United States and all those sorts of issues around tariffs,” Politico’s Graves said. “And [Carney] has a very large advantage on that.” While Trudeau was still in office, he traveled to Mar-a-Lago on a high-profile visit to address prospective tariffs. Trump later mocked Trudeau as the “governor of Canada,” leaning into his tounge-in-cheek rhetoric of making the country the 51st American state. Trudeau himself was widely lampooned in the Canadian media for seemingly surrendering his dignity to the American president.

After Trudeau resigned, however, Trump went further and announced reciprocal tariffs, which have seen Carney garner support for opposing them and triggered a nationalist Canadian response on the left to Trump himself. Trump’s nominal ideological link to the Conservatives as a fellow politician on the right, moreover, appears to have hurt the party’s image, despite Poilievre’s own criticisms of Trump and the tariffs. “It produced this really dramatic rise in national attachment, which is the main factor that propelled the Liberals to their elevated position,” Graves said of Trump’s goading.

Like many Western countries, Canada is struggling with an identity crisis amid mass immigration, notably from South Asian countries such as India and Bangladesh. Trudeau was comparable to President Joe Biden in allowing large numbers of migrants into the country. The sheer volume of migrants contributed substantially to an ongoing housing shortage in Canada and, like in America, overwhelmed public services. Immigration ranked among the leading contributors to Trudeau’s decline in popularity.

Though the issue may have stoked considerable frustration in the electorate, the Conservatives struggled to harness voter discontent about immigration and were hesitant to lean into deportations in the way that Trump did while campaigning for the White House. Poilievre has called for “moderate, reasonable levels of immigration” though he has made no commitment to specific immigration levels. In recent weeks, however, he has softened somewhat on the issue and issued statements more welcoming to immigrants, though that has come with some backlash. “Bring your culture, bring your traditions, bring your family, but do not bring foreign conflicts onto our streets,” Poilievre said this month. The clip went viral, attracting millions of views and thousands of comments, nearly all of which condemned the soft stance on immigration.

Though the Canadian Conservative Party occupies the right side of the Canadian aisle, as one would expect, they are far from the ideological siblings of the MAGA-dominated Republicans in the United States. Rather, under its current leadership, the Conservatives more closely resemble the GOP of Mitt Romney and so-called “RINOS.” Graves gave Poilievre credit for running a “disciplined campaign” but asserted he had not been able to pivot on his messaging in response to Trump, especially in light of a subset of his supporters liking the American president.

“They’ve tried a lot of things,” he said. “They’ve tried labeling Carney as another Trudeau. That’s not penetrating. They’ve tried going after him on an ethics issue. But in our testing on this stuff, they haven’t figured out a message that’s really resonating.” Poilievre used the approach of likening Carney to Trudeau as recently as Sunday, saying then that the only adjustments he made to the former prime minister’s platform were to “increase inflationary spending even higher.” “Canada can’t afford a 4th Liberal term of the same Liberals pushing higher taxes, higher spending, and higher inflation,” he posted. The election is set for next Monday. Canadian law prohibits publication on Election Day of previously unreleased polls as well as the release of “exit polls” before all polling stations are closed.

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“This halt is to remain in effect until further review is completed to address these serious deficiencies.”

Trump Administration Halts New York Offshore Wind Project (Wade)

The Donald Trump administration has halted a massive New York offshore wind project as it conducts a financial and regulatory review of plans to erect towering turbines along the nation’s coastlines. The Interior Department issued an order earlier this week calling for the immediate halt of construction on the Empire Wind Project “until further review,” citing new information suggesting that the Joe Biden administration “rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis.” “Approval for the project was rushed through by the prior administration without sufficient analysis or consultation among the relevant agencies as relates to the potential effects from the project,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote in a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Management, which oversees federal offshore lease permits. “This halt is to remain in effect until further review is completed to address these serious deficiencies.”

The project’s developer, Norway-based Equinor, said Thursday that it was complying with the Trump administration’s order to halt the project but is considering a potential legal challenge. “Upon receipt of the order, immediate steps were taken by Empire and its contractors to initiate suspension of relevant marine activities, ensuring the safety of workers and the environment,” the company said in a statement. “Empire is engaging with relevant authorities to clarify this matter and is considering its legal remedies, including appealing the order.” Gov. Kathy Hochul blasted the decision, saying Empire Wind 1 already employs hundreds of New Yorkers, including 1,000 “good-paying union jobs” as part of a growing sector that she claimed has “already spurred significant economic development and private investment.”

“This fully federally permitted project has already put shovels in the ground before the President’s executive orders—it’s exactly the type of bipartisan energy solution we should be working on,” she said in a statement. “As Governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand. I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future.” New York’s Empire Wind is one of several offshore wind projects under development off the Atlantic coastline that could be impacted by the Bureau of Ocean Management’s review of federal leases. President Donald Trump had campaigned on a promise to end the offshore wind industry, arguing it is too expensive and hurts birds and marine animals. He previously issued an order suspending new leasing for wind projects in federal waters. Massachusetts is working with Rhode Island on three projects totaling 2,678 megawatts of offshore wind, which, when completed, will be capable of providing enough electricity to power more than 1.4 million homes.

In August, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $389 million to Massachusetts and several New England states for improvements to the power grid aimed at significantly increasing the region’s capacity for offshore wind. The Power Up New England plan—a collaboration between Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont and several utilities—calls for expanding and upgrading the shared interconnection points for undersea cables that bring power from offshore wind turbines to the regional grid. But the push to develop wind comes amid increasing turbulence in the nation’s nascent green industry. Even before the Trump administration’s scrutiny of the projects, developers were scaling back—or in some cases backing out of projects—citing supply chain disruptions, higher construction costs and a lack of tax credits from the states and federal government. Some states, like New Jersey, have struggled to go it alone on offshore wind and have ended up scrapping some projects.

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Must be a different science.

The UK Is Doubling Down On Wind Energy (ZH)

The U.K. is already a world leader in wind energy, having rapidly expanded both its onshore and offshore wind capacity over the last decade. Now, under the new Labour government, the U.K. hopes to expand its wind power sector even further through the massive expansion of the Rampion offshore wind farm. This is expected to help the government progress towards achieving its net-zero carbon ambitions. In 2023, 46.4 percent of the UK’s electricity was generated using renewable energy sources, of which wind energy contributed 61 percent. Around 39.7 percent of the U.K.’s wind energy is generated onshore and the remaining 60.3 offshore. The U.K. constructed its first commercial onshore wind farm in 1991, generating 1 GW of wind capacity. In 2024, the U.K.’s wind energy capacity increased to 30GW, double that of 2017. The U.K. has 11,906 turbines, with 9,141 onshore and 2,765 offshore, consisting of 10 floating and 2,755 fixed turbines.

Approximately 32,000 people are employed in the U.K.’s offshore wind industry, a figure that is expected to increase to over 120,000 by 2030. The government also hopes to achieve 60 GW of wind capacity by the end of the decade, which could add as much as $58.5 billion to the economy. By the beginning of 2025, the U.K. had grown its offshore wind energy capacity to become the largest in Europe and second only to China, at 14 GW. In early April, the government approved plans to develop Rampion 2, an offshore wind farm with enough energy to power around 1 million U.K. homes. The expansion of the Rampion offshore wind farm, off England’s south coast, would include the addition of 90 turbines to add 1.2 GW of capacity. The project is expected to create 4,000 jobs during the construction phase, which is scheduled to commence in 2026. The government decision on the expansion was expected to be delivered in February but it has been delayed while more information is collected from the project’s developer.

The wind farm is being developed by RWE as the majority shareholder (50.1 percent), a Macquarie-led consortium (25 percent), and Enbridge (24.9 percent). The electricity produced at Rampion will be transported to land via subsea cables. An underground cable will then deliver the power inland to a new substation at Oakendene near Cowfold before connecting it to the national grid at Bolney in Sussex. The wind farm is expected to be operational by the late 2020s. Danielle Lane, the director of offshore wind development U.K. and Ireland at RWE, stated, “We are delighted to receive the development consent order for the proposed Rampion 2 offshore wind farm. This is a key milestone in the development of the project, as Rampion 2 can play an important role in helping secure the U.K.’s energy supplies from our abundant wind resource and play a key role in supporting the U.K. government’s clean power ambitions.”

Since coming into power last July, the Labour government has gone full throttle on the deployment of green energy, with plans to double the U.K.’s onshore wind, triple its solar power, and quadruple its offshore wind power capacity by 2030. It has also announced plans to reduce the contribution of natural gas to the country’s electricity generation to just 5 percent by the end of the decade. Thanks to the development of a more friendly investment environment, in an event in October some of the world’s largest green energy companies pledged to invest almost $31.39 billion across the U.K., demonstrating that greater public investment in the sector is attracting higher levels of private financing.

U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said, “The U.K. has a boundless supply of wind that cannot be turned on and off at the whims of dictators and petrostates. It’s time to get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster, roll out clean power, protect our energy security and bring down bills for good.” He added, “This project puts us within reach of our clean power offshore wind target,” Miliband said. “Through our plan for change, we’re getting on with delivering the clean energy and jobs Britain needs.” Last year was a record year for wind energy production, with onshore and offshore projects producing 83 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity across Great Britain, an increase from almost 79 TWh in 2023. In around 10 days in December alone, over 50 percent of Britain’s electricity production came from wind.

However, there are also less windy periods, where energy production is lower. This suggests the need for greater investment in battery storage technology to make the renewable energy source more reliable and help reduce the U.K.’s reliance on fossil fuels during low-production times.The U.K. is already a major onshore and offshore producer of wind energy, having developed several projects over the last three decades. The approval of the new Rampion 2 project is expected to put the country on track to achieve its end-of-decade climate goals, by decarbonising its transmission network. This is one of many clean energy projects the Labour government has announced over the last eight months, with the ambitious green transition agenda expected to attract high levels of private funding in the sector.

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Bhattacharya
https://twitter.com/plantparadise7/status/1914251645430489245

 

 

Makary

 

 

 

 

RFK
https://twitter.com/AVPac_US/status/1914432756815421626

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sagan

 

 

 

 

Goats

 

 

Cat

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Apr 212025
 


Edward Hopper The “Martha McKeen” of Wellfleet 1944

 

What It Means To Be White In America (Von Hoffmeister)
Pope Francis Meets JD Vance On Easter, Appeals For Release Of Hostages (JTN)
Trump Hopeful For Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal In Coming Days (RT)
Russia Will Attack In A ‘Couple Of Years’ – Estonian FM (RT)
The Era of Lawless Leftist Judges is Likely Ending Soon (Margolis)
EU Selectively Condemns Political Persecution – Turkish Foreign Minister (RT)
Experts and Western Media Weigh In On Russia-Initiated Easter Truce (RT)
Trump Faces Self-Imposed Deadline To Make Scores Of Trade Deals (JTN)
It’s World War III… and the Democrats Are Siding With China (Pinsker)
SCOTUS Orders Trump to Stop Deporting Illegal Alien Gang Members (CTH)
Alito: SCOTUS Block Of Venezuelan Gang Deportations “Legally Questionable” (ET)
Ukrainian Envoy Asks For 30% Of Germany’s Military Equipment (RT)
Hegseth Shares Data on Yemen Strikes in Yet Another Chat (Sp.)
Van Hollen Tries to Rewrite Script of His El Salvador Stunt (Margolis)
Tom Homan Destroys Van Hollen for Prioritizing MS-13 Member (Margolis)
MSNBC Suggests Trump Plans to Deport African-Americans (Bartee)
Democrats Issue Warning To Biden – The Hill (RT)
US Liberals Changing Their Minds About Free Trade (RT)

 

 

 

 

Sachs
https://twitter.com/upholdreality/status/1913733871155257356

Movie

Chamath


https://twitter.com/theallinpod/status/1913991732863356970

 

 

 

 

An overdue conversation?!

What It Means To Be White In America (Von Hoffmeister)

To be white in America is to inherit a name shaped by migration, faith, and forgotten histories. It is a lineage carried across oceans, passed through lullabies, and rooted in both cathedrals and cornfields. This identity lingers in quiet rural churches, where the voices of ancestors seem to echo in the trees. For many, “white” becomes a stand-in when older names fade — when “American” feels like a hollow label on a billboard. It is not about shame or dominance. It is about memory, continuity, and being quietly aware of where you come from.

Multiculturalism, as it manifests now, behaves like a solvent. It dissolves the distinct, merges the sacred into sameness, smiles as it rubs out the texture of rooted lives. Within this flood, those who carry European memory find themselves drifting, searching for a foothold. The word “White” is that foothold. It holds meaning through resistance, through memory, through the fierce dignity of cultural continuity. Identity, in this sense, becomes a form of love — love for origins, love for inherited stories, love for those yet to come.

Supremacism speaks in the language of domination. Identity speaks in the language of presence. The White American who awakens to his name does not seek a throne. He seeks a hearth. He seeks a way to stay whole in a world that rewards fragmentation. This is a path of loyalty to one’s kind, never hostility towards others. In the garden of peoples, each flower flourishes with its own fragrance. Ethnopluralism offers an architecture of difference, a choreography of coexistence, where each cultural rhythm retains its beat without drowning the others.

The term “White” in the American lexicon carries a unique frequency. It vibrates with Jefferson’s quill and Bach’s organ, with frontier hymns and Viennese waltzes, with cavalry horns and Celtic chants. To call oneself White in this context is to protect this frequency from dissonance disguised as “inclusion.” It is to declare, without aggression, that the old songs deserve to be sung again. Memory deserves air. Tradition deserves breath. Identity deserves more than footnotes in someone else’s anthology.

European nationalists who peer across the Atlantic may see a racial label where a cultural signal flares. In America, this signal reaches through the noise, calling for cohesion in the absence of nationhood. The immigrant once became American through absorption into a defined mythos. That mythos no longer exists. “White” now fills the vacuum with a new mode of belonging — fused from ancestral fragments, reconstructed into a postmodern tribe bound by shared affinities rather than state-sponsored creeds. This tribe seeks kinship, not conquest.

The word itself — “White” — is undergoing alchemy. Once used carelessly, once wielded cruelly, now reclaimed with care. It becomes a sanctuary word, a quiet defiance against vanishing. It shields neither empire nor empire-building. It cradles only memory. Those who say the word do so with reverence, tracing maps invisible to those who only see skin. Within this word lives the village, the chapel bell, the grandmother’s eyes. To be White, then, is to feel time coiling through your veins, to hold the sacred burden of continuity with both hands.

Identity here acts as a compass, never a cage. It points to something essential, never reductive. Within its frame, new expressions rise — art, ritual, story, space. The future emerges from the past, remixed through intention rather than accident. Each person who reclaims identity becomes a steward. Each community that honors its inheritance becomes a lighthouse. In the haze of cultural disintegration, the glow of remembrance shines stronger than shame. Authentic diversity, when anchored in respect, requires difference. And difference requires selfhood.

To be pro-White is to be pro-identity. To affirm one’s people is to affirm all peoples. The line between celebration and supremacism is one of spirit, not volume. This spirit seeks harmony, not hierarchy. A world without distinct identities offers only the cold hum of managed sameness. A world of living cultures brims with meaning. So let this be said clearly: the affirmation of White identity, grounded in respect, carried with humility, lit by ancestral fire, serves not as a threat — but as a promise. A promise to remain, to remember, to reimagine.

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Last thing he did. The Pope died this morning.

Pope Francis Meets JD Vance On Easter, Appeals For Release Of Hostages (JTN)

An ailing Pope Francis, still recovering from a lung infection, met Sunday with Vice President J.D. Vance at the Vatican and made an Easter appeal for the release of hostages in the Hamas-Israel war. “I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!” Francis said in a prepared Easter message. Hospitalized for more than a month with pneumonia, the 88-year-old Roman Catholic pontiff made several surprise appearances on Easter, including waving to adoring crowds from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

While he did not preside over the traditional Easter mass, he did deliver the “Urbi et Orbi” blessing to the “City [of Rome] and to the World,” a special declaration of reconciliation that only a pope may deliver. Perhaps his highest profile moment came when he met privately with Vance, a 2019 convert to Catholicism who has tangled with the pope over U.S. enforcement of immigration laws. “The meeting, which lasted a few minutes, provided an opportunity to exchange Easter greetings,” the Vatican said in a statement.

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Here’s hoping.

Trump Hopeful For Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal In Coming Days (RT)

US President Donald Trump has expressed hope that Russia and Ukraine could reach a peace agreement within days, suggesting that both nations could instead turn their attention to trade with the United States. The statement follows remarks from Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who hinted that Washington may abandon its mediation efforts unless tangible progress is made. “HOPEFULLY RUSSIA [and] UKRAINE WILL MAKE A DEAL THIS WEEK,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Sunday. “BOTH WILL THEN START TO DO BIG BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHICH IS THRIVING, AND MAKE A FORTUNE!” The 30-hour Easter truce declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin expired at midnight on Monday. The Kremlin confirmed there were no plans for an extension, and both sides have accused each other of breaching the agreement.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported around 1,300 violations of the holiday ceasefire, including artillery strikes and drone attacks. Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly emphasized his desire to broker an end to the conflict “as soon as possible.” His team has engaged in shuttle diplomacy, including a 30-day moratorium on strikes targeting energy infrastructure last month. However, both Moscow and Kiev later accused each other of violating that deal. According to the New York Post, the United States aims to “make a determination for a full and comprehensive ceasefire” within the coming days. The Friday report cited a senior US official who said the goal was to evaluate where Moscow and Kiev stand on a potential agreement through direct discussions.

Rubio warned that Washington could drop the peace initiative if talks break down. “We need to figure out here, now, within a matter of days, whether this is doable,” he told reporters on Friday. “If it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on.” He described the current proposal as a “broad framework” but declined to provide further details. Trump endorsed Rubio’s remarks, stating that Washington wants to see the conflict resolved and that there is “a good chance of solving the problem.” sMoscow has emphasized that any peace deal must address the “root causes” of the conflict, including NATO’s eastward expansion and Ukraine’s aspirations to join the US-led alliance.

Putin has also demanded that Kiev recognize Russia’s new borders – something Ukrainian leaders have so far rejected. Last month, Putin stated that in order for a viable ceasefire to be achieved, the Western nations must cease arms shipments to Ukraine, and Kiev must withdraw troops from Russian territories. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Russian UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia called a full ceasefire “simply unrealistic at this stage,” accusing the West of using negotiations as a cover to rearm Ukrainian forces.

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What Trump’s peace efforts are up against.

Russia Will Attack In A ‘Couple Of Years’ – Estonian FM (RT)

NATO still has several years to prepare for a Russian invasion, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has said. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly dismissed claims that Moscow has any aggressive plans towards NATO as “nonsense” that is meant to scare the European population and justify increases in military spending. In his interview with France 24 on Friday, Tsahkna suggested that “we have a couple of years to prepare for the full-scale [Russian] invasion capabilities to be ready” on the bloc’s borders. NATO has this time window because Russia’s military is currently preoccupied with the Ukraine conflict, he said. Like its fellow Baltic States, Estonia has been one of the most vocal backers of Ukraine during the conflict with Russia, calling for the supply of more weapons to Kiev and increased sanctions pressure on Moscow.

Tallinn has provided military assistance worth nearly €500 million, or more than 1.4% of its GDP, to the government of Vladimir Zelensky since February 2022. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are also reportedly among the six countries that support the push by the UK and France to deploy a Western “reassurance force” to Ukraine once the fighting stops there. “I was defense minister of Estonia in 2016 and 2017, and I saw the other side of our borders, NATO and European Union borders, 120,000 troops ready to go within 48 hours from the Russian side,” he said. However, currently it “is pretty empty [on] the other side of our borders from the Russian side because Russia is in Ukraine,” the foreign minister explained. “But what we see is that Russia is investing heavily to the [military] infrastructure, even [on] a larger scale than they had before,” he said.

According to Tsahkna, Moscow has “a plan to relocate the troops, maybe even [on] the largest scale in the future to the other side of all borders. But we are not talking about [the] Estonian border, we are talking about NATO.” He suggested that “if [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would like to test NATO in our region, I think that the cost for him will be very high” due to the permanent deployment of the bloc’s troops in the Baltic States, increased defense spending by member states in recent years and the inclusion of Finland and Sweden into NATO 2023 and 2024, respectively. US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who has met with the Russian leader at the Kremlin three times, told American journalist Tucker Carlson in March that Moscow is “100% not” interested in invading NATO countries.

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“The fact that the justices have called for arguments in May suggests the urgency and significance of the issue. “It never hears cases in May..”

The Era of Lawless Leftist Judges is Likely Ending Soon (Margolis)

The U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to weigh in on one of the most significant legal power plays in recent memory: whether individual federal trial judges can continue issuing nationwide injunctions that derail national policy. The high court’s move could mark a turning point in the Trump administration’s effort to rein in what it sees as activist judges stifling the will of the elected government. John Yoo, a law professor at UC Berkeley and former Justice Department official, broke down the issue during an appearance on Fox News, where he explained the gravity of the situation and why the Supreme Court is now stepping in. “This is about who controls all those… and there’s about 675 federal trial judges spread out all over the country,” Yoo said.

“And some of them have been bringing the federal government, bringing President Trump’s agenda to a screeching halt, even though they don’t have anybody, say, who works for the government or any of the illegal aliens or any of the spending in their own courtrooms.” In recent years, liberal activists have filed lawsuits in strategically chosen jurisdictions where they know they’ll find a sympathetic judge. The result? Leftist district judges, with no direct connection to the underlying policy or parties involved, have been able to issue injunctions blocking Trump administration directives nationwide—from immigration enforcement to federal spending priorities. “What’s going on here, I think it’s important to understand, is that the Supreme Court is already signaling that they’re very sympathetic to the Trump administration,” Yoo said. “The Supreme Court scheduled oral argument for May 15th.”

That date raised eyebrows among legal observers, as the Court typically stops hearing arguments by April and shifts to issuing decisions in pending cases. The fact that the justices have called for arguments in May suggests the urgency and significance of the issue. “It never hears cases in May,” Yoo explained. “Usually, they’d be done their business and they’d be sending out opinions by now. They’ve called basically a special session in order to hear President Trump’s claims that there should not be unlimited nationwide injunctions, but that they should be under the control of the Supreme Court.” The specific case revolves around Trump’s executive order targeting birthright citizenship, but Yoo emphasized that the justices may not even reach that policy question. The real issue is the unchecked legal activism that’s allowed district court judges to assume authority over foreign policy, immigration, and federal hiring and spending.

https://twittercom/RichSementa/status/1913695871088161159

“Whether you agree or disagree with President Trump’s order on birthright citizenship,” Yoo said, “they may not even get to the question, because the key thing here is for the Supreme Court to put an end to the 675 trial judges who all think they can run foreign policy, spending and hiring throughout the federal government. ”If the court sides with the Trump administration, it could dramatically reshape how federal power is contested in the courtroom and restore constitutional limits on unelected judges meddling in national affairs.”

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Being lectured by Turkey on democracy.

EU Selectively Condemns Political Persecution – Turkish Foreign Minister (RT)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has accused the EU of applying double standards by remaining silent over Moldova’s arrest of Yevgenia Gutsul, the elected governor of the country’s autonomous Gagauzia region, who was arrested on charges related to her 2023 election campaign. Fidan noted that while the bloc has been vocal about the detention of Ekrem Imamoglu, the former mayor of Istanbul and potential rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, they have not condemned similar actions in other countries.

“In France, a woman party leader was imprisoned for corruption. Did you criticize it? No. In Romania, a candidate who won the election was tried before the second round and was politically banned. In Moldova, you imprisoned an elected regional head. Did you condemn it? No,” Fidan stated, as reported by Hurriyet on Sunday. Last month, Gagauzia Governor Yevgenia Gutsul was arrested amid an investigation into alleged irregularities during her 2023 election campaign. She condemned the Moldovan government’s actions, asserting that it seeks to undermine the autonomous region’s freedoms in retaliation for its support of opposition figures, including herself.

Gutsul’s arrest has sparked protests in Gagauzia, with supporters claiming political persecution. Moldovan authorities assert that the legal proceedings are part of efforts to uphold the rule of law and combat corruption. The French example Fidan referred to appears to concern Marine Le Pen, a former leader of the right-wing National Rally party (RN) and a three-time presidential candidate. A Paris court sentenced Le Pen to four years in prison for embezzlement last month, with two years suspended, and the other two to be served under a form of house arrest. She also received a five-year ban on holding political office, which effectively disqualifies her from the 2027 presidential race.

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The westerners all seem to think it’s all about the west. Like Russia has no life and no culture of its own.

Experts and Western Media Weigh In On Russia-Initiated Easter Truce (RT)

Multiple pundits and commentators, Western, Russian and those from further afield, have offered their takes on the Easter truce in the Ukraine conflict, which was unilaterally declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday. While many Western experts have been quick to express skepticism over the Kremlin’s true motives, others have described the temporary ceasefire as a pivotal step toward a potential broader peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev.

Western experts heap scorn on Putin’s Easter truce Ivor Bennett of Sky News suggested in his piece that the truce “feels like a diplomatic dance,” in which President Putin seemingly makes a concession, though one falling distinctly short of US President Donald Trump’s expectations. “Putin is giving Trump just enough to keep him on side” and secure the continuation of the apparent thaw in relations with the US, while “trying to cast himself as the peacemaker in the eyes of the US president – as the one who gives solutions, not problems,” Bennett wrote. CNN’s International Security Editor Nick Paton Walsh opined that the “sudden rush of this seems designed entirely to placate White House demands for some sign that Russia is willing to stop fighting,” adding that “it will likely feed Trump’s at-times pro-Moscow framing of the conflict.” Walsh concluded by predicting that the Easter truce “is likely to do more damage to the role of diplomacy in the coming months than it does to support it.”

Western pundits see ploy to lure Trump in Putin’s Easter truce Col. Richard Kemp (ret.) of the British Army and Rafael Bardaji, former national security advisor to the Spanish government, stated in an article for The Telegraph that Putin “needs time to rebuild the Russian economy” and does not want to draw President Trump’s ire by rejecting his peace proposals outright. German military expert Carlo Masala told Bild that “a cold-blooded calculation,” lies behind Putin’s Easter truce, with Moscow’s message being primarily intended for the occupant of the US White House. He further suggested that by throwing “Trump another crumb,” Moscow is trying to isolate Vladimir Zelensky and prompt Washington to abandon Kiev, while continuing to mend relations with Russia.

Others think Moscow is serious about peace Speaking to RIA Novosti, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl struck a more positive tone, saying that the “Easter truce is not something that will have decisive importance militarily, but diplomacy and human life often need gestures before it is possible to move on to real measures.” She opined that Putin chose an “opportune” moment to make such a signal, and expressed hope that the temporary ceasefire could pave the way to a comprehensive peace. Argentinian international relations analyst Christian Lamesa told Izvestia that the Kremlin’s initiative “will be received well by Washington, as a genuine and true expression of Vladimir Putin’s will toward creating a lasting peace.”

Russian expert says Easter truce was prepared well in advance In a comment to RIA Novosti, Iranian political scientist and international security expert Professor Ruhollah Modabber hailed the Russian president’s move on two counts: first, the Ester Truce demonstrates that Moscow respects and takes Christian ideals very seriously; second, Putin’s initiative proves that Russia truly wants to achieve peace in the Ukraine conflict. Russian military expert and RT contributor, Col. Mikhail Khodarenok (ret.), told Gazeta.Ru that the “Easter truce was possibly agreed on in advance… with the most direct involvement of the White House.” He claimed that the Russian military had begun making preparations well before it was officially announced. According to Khodarenok, Putin’s initiative is a “goodwill gesture,” illustrating Moscow’s readiness to put an end to the hostilities.

In announcing the truce, which is set to expire at midnight on April 21, Putin said that it would help reveal whether Ukraine is sincerely willing to engage in negotiations to end the conflict. Responding to the temporary ceasefire on social media, Zelensky made a counteroffer, suggesting that the current lull in fighting be extended further. Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Sunday that its forces had been targeted by Ukrainian troops with artillery and mortar fire, as well as kamikaze drones more than 1,300 times since the truce took effect.

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Busy days ahead.

Trump Faces Self-Imposed Deadline To Make Scores Of Trade Deals (JTN)

The White House likes to say that it moves at “Trump speed,” but even the dealmaker in chief could face challenges meeting a self-imposed deadline to work out trade deals with at least 75 nations during a 90-day pause on higher tariffs. Trump plans to sign off on each deal personally. He’s also personally talking to top leaders in other countries. On Tuesday, the White House reported the president’s team was reviewing 15 trade proposals. On Wednesday, Trump reported “big progress” on talks with Japan. The president met with Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday at the White House. The same day, Trump described a call with Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum as “very productive.”

On Friday, Trump talked with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the leader of a nation that maintains a special relationship with the U.S. and a more even trade balance with the U.S. than other countries. Starmer underscored his “commitment to free and open trade and the importance of protecting the national interest” during the call, a Downing Street spokesperson said. In March, Trump announced a 25% tariff on foreign vehicles and auto parts. That also affects the UK. British car makers sell luxury vehicles to the U.S. In 2024, the UK shipped more than 1 million British vehicles worth about $9.79 billion to the U.S. Jaguar Land Rover halted shipments to the U.S. for a month as it studies ways to mitigate the costs of the tariffs.

The White House reported that more than 75 nations reached out to Trump and his trade team after Trump implemented a wave of what he called reciprocal tariffs on April 2 – Trump’s self-proclaimed “Liberation Day” for U.S. trade. On April 9, Trump announced a 90-day pause on those higher tariffs while keeping a baseline 10% tariff and a 145% tariff on imports from China. Trump has made some exemptions to that tariff on imports from China by excluding smartphones, computers and other electronics. A tariff is a tax on imported goods. The importer pays the tax and can either absorb the loss or pass the tax on to consumers in the form of higher prices.

Trump has promised that tariffs will help increase federal revenue, restore manufacturing jobs lost to lower-wage countries in decades past, and shift the tax burden away from U.S. families. Some nations, including China, have responded with retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. Others have signaled they are eager to make a deal with the Trump administration. Trump has not yet announced any trade deals. Trump paused the higher tariffs for 90 days, giving his administration limited time to make deals with 75 nations the White House reported reached out seeking trade negotiations. Trump said after the 90-day pause, the higher reciprocal tariffs could come back into play, something most nations and business groups want to avoid.

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“You’ve got 82% of Republicans with an unfavorable opinion of China — and 77% of Americans overall.”

It’s World War III… and the Democrats Are Siding With China (Pinsker)

“Liberation Day” was on April 2. Hasn’t even been three weeks yet. As far as Trade Wars go, this one is still in diapers. So today, on Easter Sunday, let’s (carefully) vacate our bunkers and survey the dreadful damage: Hmm… Disruption has been minimal. You can still buy all the iPhones you want. Sure, the ambiguity over tariffs sucks for globally-sourced products, but most Americans understand Trump’s thought process. It’s threefold:
• China is a communist dictatorship that’s ruthlessly dishonest, absolutely untrustworthy, and has become our #1 global rival. Seems kind of stupid to perpetually send our money to our #1 global rival.
• One of the lessons of the COVID pandemic was the importance of nationalizing critical supply chains, so we’re no longer dependent on foreign rivals for medicine, food, and technology.
• Cheap (crappy) mass-produced Chinese goods are great, but American jobs are even better. And with millions of young people stuck in stagnant, low-paying jobs — unable to ever afford a house of their own — we needed to flip our priorities.

Which is why Trump is playing brinksmanship and renegotiating trade deals. You can agree or disagree with his methodology, but the problems he’s attempting to fix are painfully authentic. Ignore them at your own peril. (Kamala Harris ignored ‘em, and it cost her the election.) Yet the Democrats are already waiving the white flag, bowing before the country that is, quite literally, a red flag. Again: it’s only been 18 days! Mark Twain popularized the expression in 1907, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” And, to be fair, poll numbers are statistics. So for consistency’s sake, we’ll use the exact same numerical thresholds as our pals in the mainstream media. Two days ago, we noted a new media theme about Trump’s “tanking” numbers on immigration. And there were a lot of stories:

• The Independent: Trump’s approval rating on immigration has tanked in recent weeks as more controversial deportations are revealed
• Newsweek: Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Over Immigration Is Tumbling
• Slate: Trump polling: Perhaps sending people to Salvadoran gulags is not exactly what voters had in mind.
• The Independent (Part II): Amid the Kilmar Abrego Garcia controversy, Trump is losing ground on immigration
• Splinter: Trump’s Immigration Policies Are Not Popular
• The American Prospect: The Anti-Immigration Majority Is a Mirage
• MSN: Trump’s economic and immigration policies face growing dissent

Well, garsh! That all sounds crappy. So we dug deeper and reviewed the poll that the media described as “tanking,” “tumbling,” “losing,” and a “mirage”: “Tanked,” eh? Well, let’s look under the hood, shall we: Last week 57% of Americans supported Trump’s immigration policies. This week it “tanked” to 54%. Three points! The poll’s margin of error is 3.5, by the way. You don’t need to be a math major to recognize a big, fat, juicy Nothing Burger when you see one. According to the standard set by the mainstream media, a three-point drop — in an opinion poll with a 3.5 margin of error! — constitutes “tanking,” “tumbling,” “losing,” and a “mirage.” Fine. Recently, the Pew Research Center released a new poll on Americans perceptions of China. And what did they discover?

For the first time in five years, the share of Americans with an unfavorable opinion of China has fallen from the year before – albeit slightly, from 81% in 2024 to 77% in 2025. Well, that’s a four-point drop. (Even bigger than Trump’s “tanking” three-point drop.) Hmm. Let’s dig a little deeper: Views of China tend to vary by party. While majorities of adults in both parties have an unfavorable opinion of China, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are significantly more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to hold this view (82% vs. 72%). So the real story is a 10-point divide between the parties on China. Keep an eye on this gap, because the Democrats’ knee-jerk impulse to oppose everything Trump supports — and support everything Trump opposes — will push them closer to China. They’ll sympathize with the Chi-Coms. They’ll editorialize on behalf of China. They’ll include Xi within the Great Liberal Wall of Resistance.

And they’ll likely pluck away a few libertarian-leaning, Ayn Rand-loving conservatives, too. One of the unexpected results of the poll was a 16-point drop amongst Republicans who had a “very unfavorable” view of China. Still, this issue is a yuuuuge net winner for the GOP. You’ve got 82% of Republicans with an unfavorable opinion of China — and 77% of Americans overall. Even after 18 days of hyperbolic, venomous headlines, more than seven out of 10 DEMOCRATS rightly recognize China as a bad actor! But that 10-point gap is a doozy. So far in this Trade War, there’s been a curious absence of nationalism. That’s a PR mistake. Beginning on Monday, it would be wise for Team MAGA to reframe the issue from fairness to patriotism — because the fairness argument has already been successfully seeded. We’re at 77%! There’s already a consensus. What’s missing is a patriotic call to arms, where the country understands that we’re sacrificing together so we can win together. We need a national buy-in on the mission. That’s what’s missing. And it’s not too late.

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‘sundance’ on that midnight order.

“Any illegal alien who happens to also be a gang member, or illegal alien who would ‘smartly’ now claim to be a gang member, is ultimately the beneficiary of a Supreme Court order..”

SCOTUS Orders Trump to Stop Deporting Illegal Alien Gang Members (CTH)

At 1:00am on Saturday, the Supreme Court of the USA issued an injunction blocking President Trump from deporting illegal aliens identified under the Alien Enemies Act. It was/is a bizarre order considering the lower court had not even ruled on the matter; worse yet, the Supreme Court created an imaginary “class” of aliens. Any illegal alien who happens to also be a gang member, or illegal alien who would ‘smartly’ now claim to be a gang member, is ultimately the beneficiary of a Supreme Court order blocking their removal or deportation. That’s how judicially insane this injunction is.

As outlined in the original injunction order, Justice Alito issued a blistering dissent, calling out seven of the justices who affirmed the order. An incredulous Alito concludes with the following paragraph:

The Trump administration has already filed a response, hitting on several of the key legal contradictions that are outlined by Alito in his dissent. The bottom line appears to be the ACLU ran to the Supreme Court less than an hour after filing a responsive motion with the court of jurisdiction, solely on the false premise that some illegal alien member within the removal order process of deportation, might be removed. The Supreme Court bought the argument, created an entire class of deportees under the auspices of gang membership, and blocked President Trump from deporting anyone who might be a gang member, while the illegal aliens argue about their non-gang status.

Madness; all of it.

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“.. literally in the middle of the night, the Court issued unprecedented and legally questionable relief without giving the lower courts a chance to rule..”

“..with dubious factual support for its order, and without providing any explanation for its order..”

“The justices acted even though “it is not clear the Court had jurisdiction..” or authority to hear the case, he wrote.”

Alito: SCOTUS Block Of Venezuelan Gang Deportations “Legally Questionable” (ET)

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito filed a strongly worded dissent from the court’s order issued early April 19 that temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua. The dissenting opinion, which was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, was posted on the court’s website early on April 20. “In sum, literally in the middle of the night, the Court issued unprecedented and legally questionable relief without giving the lower courts a chance to rule, without hearing from the opposing party, within eight hours of receiving the application, with dubious factual support for its order, and without providing any explanation for its order,” Alito wrote. “I refused to join the Court’s order because we had no good reason to think that, under the circumstances, issuing an order at midnight was necessary or appropriate.”

“Both the Executive and the Judiciary have an obligation to follow the law. The Executive must proceed under the terms of our order in Trump v. J.G.G., and this Court should follow established procedures,” Alito wrote. The justices acted even though “it is not clear the Court had jurisdiction,” or authority to hear the case, he wrote. “The papers before us, while alleging that the applicants were in imminent danger of removal, provided little concrete support for that allegation,” Alito wrote. In Trump v. J.G.G., the Supreme Court on April 7 granted the president’s request to pause a federal district judge’s orders preventing his administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected members of Tren de Aragua but determined that detainees must be given an opportunity to challenge their removal.

The unsigned one-page administrative stay issued early April 19 to which Alito referred directed the federal government “not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this Court.” An administrative stay gives the justices more time to consider the emergency request to block the deportations. That order did not provide an explanation of why the court acted. The order was issued after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed an emergency request on behalf of two Venezuelan nationals late on April 18, asking the Supreme Court to immediately block their deportation. The emergency application in A.A.R.P. and W.M.M. v. Trump challenges President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal immigrants who are alleged or confirmed criminal gang members. A.A.R.P. and W.M.M. are the initials of two of the detained men.

The ACLU also sought a temporary restraining order from the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, as well as a stay of removal order from the Fifth Circuit, according to the application. On March 14, Trump signed Proclamation 10903, in which he officially declared that Tren de Aragua, a designated foreign terrorist organization, “is perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States.” The group is using mass illegal immigration to the United States to harm U.S. citizens, undermine public safety, and support the goal of the Venezuelan socialist regime with which it is associated to destabilize “democratic nations in the Americas, including the United States,” the proclamation said. The president invoked the Alien Enemies Act to authorize the “immediate apprehension, detention, and removal” of members of the group who are Venezuelan citizens 14 years of age or older and who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States.

The application said the ACLU’s clients are challenging the Trump administration’s use of the federal statute to deport them. The clients “are in imminent and ongoing jeopardy of being removed from the United States without notice or an opportunity to be heard, in direct contravention of this Court’s order in Trump v. J.G.G.” “Many individuals have already been loaded on to buses, presumably headed to the airport,” and are at risk of being sent to a prison in El Salvador, according to the April 18 application. On March 15, the Trump administration used the Alien Enemies Act to deport at least 137 Venezuelans to El Salvador, where they are now incarcerated “possibly for the rest of their lives” at the Salvadoran Terrorism Confinement Center, which is “one of the most notorious prisons in the world,” the application said. The application alleged that many of those deported since March 15 were not members of Tren de Aragua.

“Such false accusations are particularly devastating given the present Applicants’ strong claims for relief under our immigration laws,” the application said. The application came one day after U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas denied the ACLU clients’ request for a temporary restraining order halting removal efforts.Hendrix rejected the ACLU’s claim that its clients were “at imminent risk of summary removal” because the government denied the allegation. Late on April 19, Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the Supreme Court to deny the application. “At a minimum, if the Court keeps its administrative stay in place, the government respectfully requests that the Court clarify that it is administratively staying removals only under the [Alien Enemies Act], and that its order does not preclude removal pursuant to any other immigration authorities,” Sauer wrote.

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Why not all of it?

Ukrainian Envoy Asks For 30% Of Germany’s Military Equipment (RT)

Germany should donate 30% of its available armored vehicles and military aircraft to Kiev, according to Andrey Melnik, Ukraine’s envoy to the UN. His appeal comes as the EU nations seek ways to boost support amid uncertainty over whether US President Donald Trump will continue to back Ukraine. Melnik, who served as ambassador to Berlin from 2015 to 2022, addressed his plea in an open letter to Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz, published in Welt am Sonntag on Saturday. “It is in your hands, as peacemakers, to stop this damn war by the end of 2025,” he wrote. The diplomat outlined a series of steps he believes Merz must take to “cut the Gordian knot and force [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to make peace.”

According to Melnik, Germany should donate 30% of its Bundeswehr stock of armored vehicles and aircraft to Kiev, including around 45 Eurofighter Typhoon and 30 Tornado fighter jets, 100 Leopard 2 main battle tanks, and 115 Puma and 130 Marder infantry fighting vehicles. He also called on Berlin to defy “the expected resistance” from the Social Democrats (SPD) and send 150 Taurus cruise missiles. The SPD has opposed the missile deliveries, citing concerns about further escalation with Russia. The Social Democrats and Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are currently engaged in coalition talks.

Melnik urged Germany to commit 0.5% of its GDP, or €21.5 billion ($24.5 billion) annually, toward military aid to Ukraine through 2029. “These funds should be invested in the production of state-of-the-art weapons in both Germany and Ukraine,” he wrote. He also called for the 0.5% benchmark to be adopted across the EU as a “huge warning signal” to Russia. Merz recently expressed an openness to delivering Taurus missiles, prompting criticism from SPD leader Matthias Miersch and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev warned that such shipments would “bring no changes to the battlefield” but would further implicate Germany in the conflict.

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Ugly.

Hegseth Shares Data on Yemen Strikes in Yet Another Chat (Sp.)

In March, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent data on upcoming strikes on Yemen in a closed group chat on the Signal messenger, the participants were not only people from his professional circle, but also his wife, as well as his brother and lawyer, the New York Times reported, citing sources. According to the publication, the Pentagon chief sent the flight schedule of the F/A-18 Hornets that attacked Shia military-political movement Ansar Allah (Houthis) in Yemen from his personal phone to a chat called “Defense | Team Huddle” — he published the same information in another chat with officials of the US administration.

The publication notes that Hegseth’s wife Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, is not an employee of the US Department of Defense. However, she was previously criticized for accompanying her husband to secret meetings with foreign leaders. At the same time, Hegseth’s brother and lawyer work at the Pentagon, but, as the newspaper said, it is unclear why they needed information about the upcoming strikes on Yemen. The newspaper notes that Hegseth was the group chat’s creator. In addition to his wife, it included about a dozen people from his personal and professional circle. Earlier, the Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Defense launched an investigation into the use of the Signal messenger by the US Secretary of Defense after the scandal surrounding the leak of discussions between officials of the US administration about strikes in Yemen.

On March 24, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, said that on March 11, he had received a request in the Signal messenger and had got into a chat where the US authorities were discussing strikes against the Houthis ruling in northern Yemen. According to Goldberg, accounts under the names of Hegseth, US Vice President J.D. Vance, White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and other officials were in the chat, what many of them subsequently confirmed, insisting that they did not exchange classified information in the messenger. Goldberg presented screenshots of the correspondence, in which the Pentagon chief, several hours before the start of the operation, reports on the types of aircraft and targets, which, according to the journalist, could threaten servicemen if leaked. Goldberg accused officials of serious violation of security rules. It was also noted that the chat was set to automatically delete messages, which violated the requirements for storing official information.

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“Americans’ constitutional rights are nowhere near as endangered by enforcing immigration law as they are by the lawlessness that open borders and weak leadership encourage.”

Van Hollen Tries to Rewrite Script of His El Salvador Stunt (Margolis)

Last week, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) scrambled to contain the fallout from his tone-deaf El Salvador stunt that quickly turned into a political fiasco. The Maryland Democrat, who initially grandstanded about his efforts to “rescue” a deported MS-13 gang member, is now in full damage control mode—desperately trying to rewrite the narrative of a trip that backfired spectacularly. Van Hollen even hit the Sunday talk shows to contain the fallout. Curiously insisting to Jonathan Karl of ABC News’s “This Week” that he’s not defending Kilmar Abrego Garcia, but that he’s defending “the rule of law.” Host Jonathan Karl pressed Van Hollen on “some pretty serious allegations of abuse” made by Abrego Garcia’s wife in court—allegations that President Trump has recently brought to national attention.

“Obviously, everybody in this country, even those undocumented immigrants, have rights. But are you concerned about standing so forcefully with somebody that has, you know, at least a questionable record?” Karl asked. Van Hollen insisted his advocacy wasn’t about the man himself, but about legal principle. “I am not defending the man. I’m defending the rights of this man to due process,” he claimed. “And the Trump administration has admitted in court that he was wrongfully detained and wrongfully deported.” Abrego Garcia’s case is anything but an example of a rushed or unjust deportation. In fact, the timeline of events makes clear that Garcia received extensive due process over the course of several years. His encounters with law enforcement began well before his deportation, including multiple arrests tied to suspected gang activity.

His immigration status was reviewed in formal proceedings before multiple judges. Notably, two separate immigration judges independently determined that Garcia was a member of the violent MS-13 gang—a finding that was never overturned or disputed in subsequent legal filings. Garcia was represented by legal counsel throughout, and he took full advantage of the appeals process. Several of his appeals were reviewed by higher courts and ultimately rejected. Adding to the legal weight against him, Garcia’s wife sought a protective order through a U.S. court. The judge in that case found that Garcia had committed acts of domestic abuse, further strengthening the government’s case for removal.

Taken together, these facts dismantle the narrative that Garcia was denied fair treatment. His deportation came only after a lengthy legal process, multiple court rulings, and ample opportunity to challenge the government’s case—proving that due process was not only afforded, but exhausted. Van Hollen’s defense of his misguided field trip to El Salvador boils down to hollow talking points about constitutional rights. He dramatically claims, “If we take [those rights] away from him, we jeopardize them for everybody.” Really, Senator? Because last I checked, Americans’ constitutional rights are nowhere near as endangered by enforcing immigration law as they are by the lawlessness that open borders and weak leadership encourage.

Meanwhile, Democrats such as Van Hollen keep sending a clear message to criminals and illegal immigrants worldwide: America’s laws are optional, especially if you can find a soft-hearted (or soft-headed) liberal to champion your cause. How many innocent Americans have to suffer due to gang violence fueled by people such as Abrego Garcia before someone such as Van Hollen admits this open-borders sympathy act only hurts the country? And let’s talk about priorities. While Van Hollen grandstands about “due process” in a Salvadoran prison, how about the rights of American families devastated by MS-13’s reign of terror? How about standing up for law-abiding citizens who expect safety in their communities? Instead, Van Hollen wants us to sympathize with a gang member who had no business in this country in the first place.

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“He didn’t care when border patrol agents were being overrun, when families were being destroyed, when fentanyl was pouring into this country. But now he wants to talk about due process for someone with MS-13 ties?”

Tom Homan Destroys Van Hollen for Prioritizing MS-13 Member (Margolis)

During a hard-hitting segment on ABC’s “This Week,” border czar Tom Homan tore into Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for prioritizing a suspected MS-13 gang member over the countless American victims of illegal immigration. Homan’s comments came in response to Van Hollen’s trip to El Salvador, where the senator met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 member, wife-beater, and human trafficker recently deported by the Trump administration. “What bothers me more than that is a U.S. senator traveled to El Salvador on taxpayer dime to meet with a MS-13 gang member, public safety threat, terrorist,” Homan said. “And in the meantime, the day before he traveled, an illegal alien was arrested for murder, released to the streets rather than honoring an ICE detainer in his very own state.”

Homan didn’t stop there. He slammed Van Hollen for turning a blind eye to the border crisis throughout Joe Biden’s presidency. “What concerns me is Van Hollen never went to the border the last four years under Joe Biden,” he said, “when you had a 600% increase in sex trafficking in women and children. You have a record number of known suspected terrorists crossing that border. You had a quarter million Americans die from fentanyl overdoses because of the open border.” He continued, “You got over 4,000 illegal aliens [who] died making that journey, which is an historic record. What shocks me is he’s remained silent on the travesty that happened on our southern border.” Homan emphasized the staggering human cost of lax immigration enforcement, something Van Hollen appears uninterested in addressing.

“Many people died. Thousands of people died,” he said. “I’ve met with hundreds of angel moms and dads who buried their children that were murdered by an illegal alien—how many angel moms and dads has he met in, in the state of, uh, state of Maryland? That’s what concerns me.” According to Homan, this isn’t just about one deportation—it’s about a complete failure to acknowledge the real-world impact of Democratic immigration policies. “He’s more concerned about getting a photo op with a gang member,” Homan said, “than he is about the thousands of Americans who have been killed, raped, or trafficked because the border was left wide open for four years.”

Homan concluded with a damning indictment of Van Hollen’s priorities: “He didn’t care when border patrol agents were being overrun, when families were being destroyed, when fentanyl was pouring into this country. But now he wants to talk about due process for someone with MS-13 ties?” President Trump is back in the White House and his administration is wasting no time restoring law and order at the border. The days of open-border appeasement, of politicians bending over backwards for criminals while turning their backs on American families, are coming to an end. The public is fed up with leaders such as Van Hollen, who sympathize with gang members while ignoring the blood-stained consequences at home.

Read more …

Oh, of course. Next week: women.

MSNBC Suggests Trump Plans to Deport African-Americans (Bartee)

The latest racial-tinged conspiracy theory that the TDS-addled corporate state media is running with is that the Trump administration is developing plans to deport African-Americans, otherwise known as “people of color.” Let the brutal ogre and former Kamala Harris press ops goon who has rebranded herself as a journalist, Symone Sanders, explain:

“We’ve been talking about this all week, but Janai Nelson of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, she penned an op-ed in The Nation this week. And her op-ed talked about that we think democracies are — the way they die is dramatically, through these wars, and blood is shed, and it’s cinematic in a sense. But really, the realistic way in which democracies die, is it is dismantled brick by brick, piece by piece. And she says that what we are seeing now with the lawlessness from this administration are really the canaries in the coal mine gasping for air. I’m paraphrasing here. But to me, that is why Kilmar Abrego-Garcia’s specific case, the case of the gentleman who’s a make-up artist out of California who was also sent to that prison, that’s what the more — the 75% of the folks who have been sent, the men who have been sent there that don’t have criminal records — that is why this is so important. If they can do it to them, if they can snatch students off the street without any pushback or recourse, they will do it to any of us. To be very clear, it’s going to be the people of color, and vulnerable communities that are next in line.”

Diverse Congressman Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) goes on to concur with Sanders’ apocalyptic warning, adding that “that’s certainly part of why the African-American community is so behind” trying to bring the “Maryland father”/alleged MS-13 gang member back to the United States, clearly insinuating that the Trump administration is going to specifically target blacks in its next roundup. Absolutely at no point did Trump, obviously, declare his intention to begin deporting minorities on racial grounds. What he did say — and, for the record, I don’t agree with trying to deport American citizens convicted of crimes — is that he would look into deporting “homegrown” criminals here, the meaning of which is not entirely clear. “The homegrowns are next, the homegrowns. You’ve got to build about five more places,” he told El Salvador president Nayib Bukele last week in reference to the prisons that currently house deported illegal aliens.

Later, during the same meeting, Trump clarified that these are not established plans, but that he instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether doing so would be legal: “I’d like to go a step further, I mean, I say, I said it to Pam: “I don’t know what the laws are,” we always have to obey the laws, but we also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways, that hit elderly ladies on the back of the head with a baseball bat when they’re not looking, that are absolute monsters. I’d like to include them in the group of people to get them out of the country, but you’d have to be looking at the laws on that.”

Read more …

Go away!

Democrats Issue Warning To Biden – The Hill (RT)

Democrats are expressing frustration over former US President Joe Biden’s re-emergence in the public spotlight, arguing that his presence is complicating efforts to regroup after the party’s defeat in the 2024 presidential and congressional elections, according to The Hill’s sources. Biden made his first public appearance in months on April 15, delivering a speech sharply criticizing recent White House policy decisions. Biden claimed that US President Donald Trump has inflicted a “breathtaking” amount of damage on federal programs through extensive cuts, and went on to demean the Republican’s supporters and argue that America has “never been this divided.”

Many in the party believe the octogenarian’s return is ill-timed and risks distracting from the Democratic Party’s attempts to rebuild. Former press secretary to First Lady Jill Biden Michael LaRosa argued that Biden’s speech was a “lovely gift for the White House, President Trump and conservative media,” especially in light of the new tariff policies, when the administration is under “heavy scrutiny.” “If they had advisers who had their hand on the pulse of the Democratic Party or national politics, they would have understood the intense level of anger or indifference to them that remains inside our party and isn’t going away anytime soon,” LaRosa added.

Strategists close to the Democratic leadership have expressed concern that it’s an inopportune time for Biden to appear, especially as polling indicates that Americans are increasingly blaming Trump for his handling of the economy.Biden’s recent remarks have also drawn criticism from conservatives, who alleged that the Democratic Party and the former president’s policies were among the main factors contributing to divisions in American society. According to polling cited by The Hill earlier this year, only 39% of Americans approved of Biden’s presidency from 2021 to 2025, while 57% rated his performance negatively. In some surveys, he was described as one of the least popular living US presidents.

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They support free trade because Trump does not.

“Negative partisanship is a helluva drug..”

US Liberals Changing Their Minds About Free Trade (RT)

Support for free trade among American liberals has more than doubled since Donald Trump won his second term as US president in November, a study has suggested. During the election campaign, Trump accused America’s trade partners of ripping off the country and vowed to impose harsh duties on them. On April 2, he made good on his threat, announcing new “reciprocal” tariffs on nearly 90 countries, saying that it would raise revenues and boost the number of jobs in the US. After global markets reacted by dropping sharply, the president put most of the tariffs on hold for 90 days, reducing them to a baseline rate of 10%. However, the pause does not apply to China, whose exports to the US are now subject to tariffs of up to 145% amid an ongoing tit-for-tat trade war.

A poll by Polarization Research Lab, first published by the Financial Times and actively shared by social media users on Friday, has suggested that “American attitudes towards free trade have rapidly polarized” over the past several months. In early 2024, there was some 20% support for unrestricted exports and imports among both liberals and conservatives, the study said. However, the divide on the issue between the groups, which appeared in the run up to the election, has increased dramatically since Trump’s victory, it said. According to the poll, more than 40% of leftists surveyed now say that they “strongly approve” of free trade. The Democrats, whom liberals tend to support, had earlier blasted Trump’s tariff policies as being “dangerous” and a “corrupt scheme to enrich administration officials and those loyal to them.”

Meanwhile, the number of conservatives who support free trade has decreased, albeit not as sharply, with some 13% of them still favoring it, the study suggested. Some of the commentators online said that the results of the poll suggested that the supporters of both Democrats and Republicans tend to simply back the stance of their party on various issues, without actually looking into them. “Negative partisanship is a helluva drug,” chief data reporter at the Financial Times John Burn-Murdoch wrote on X about the findings of the survey. The director of Polarization Research Lab, Sean Westwood, disagreed with the notion, arguing that “this is not an irrational flip by Liberals in response to Conservatives – Liberals are witnessing a stock market crash and an economic retraction. It could very well be reasoned.”

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Spike

 

 

Lymphocytes
https://twitter.com/FredsFarm247/status/1914100594366644534

 

 

Birds

 

 

Harbor

 

 

 

 

Support the Automatic Earth in wartime with Paypal, Bitcoin and Patreon.

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 222025
 


Pablo Picasso Young girl throwing a rock 1931

 

Trump Allies Believe Zelensky Should Leave Ukraine ‘Immediately’ (RT)
Zelensky ‘Not Important’ For Meetings – Trump (RT)
US Has ‘Frozen’ Weapons Sales To Ukraine – MPs (RT)
US Threatens To Shut Down Starlink In Ukraine – Reuters (RT)
Marco Rubio Allows For Easing Sanctions Against Russia – NYT (TASS)
Rubio Explains Purpose of Russia-US Talks (RT)
Liz Truss Calls For ‘Elon & His Nerd Army’ To Investigate ‘UK Deep State’ (ZH)
Pete Hegseth’s Military (Victor Davis Hanson)
Trump Fires Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs of Staff (NYP)
NATO Leaders Back Zelensky Over Trump (RT)
Europe’s Leadership Continues To Fail Its Citizens (Mevissen)
Germany Issues Warning To US (RT)
Macron Calls For ‘Massive Defense Plan’ For EU (RT)
Trump Deputy Chief Of Staff Blasts Media Propagandists To Their Faces (MN)
Funny Money (Kunstler)
Kash Patel Is Already Making Huge Changes at the FBI (Margolis)
The Democrats Are Standing Against America (Paul Craig Roberts)
Millions of Long COVID Patients May Actually Be Vaccine Injured (Thacker)

 

 


© Alvaro Herrero/UPY2025 Radiant Bond

 

 

Bondi

Rubio
https://twitter.com/i/status/1892806427808522684

First 30 days

 

 

 

 

“..Zelensky “would lose a future election by 30% to 65% to Valery Zaluzhny,” if the latter ran for office..”

Trump Allies Believe Zelensky Should Leave Ukraine ‘Immediately’ (RT)

Vladimir Zelensky should leave Ukraine “immediately” and move to France so as not to impede peace talks with Russia, a source close to US President Donald Trump has said, according to the New York Post. The outlet reported that frustration with Zelensky is growing in the White House. Tensions between Washington and Kiev escalated this week after Zelensky criticized Trump for ending the period of diplomatic non-engagement with Russia. On Tuesday, US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia for high-level talks aimed at restoring ties and addressing the Ukraine conflict. Zelensky has demanded a seat at the negotiating table, although Trump has said he and other Ukrainian officials are in no position to complain. He further blamed Zelensky for failing to resolve the conflict with Russia despite having years to do so.

A source familiar with White House discussions told the New York Post that the developments are “nothing new,” adding “I heard months ago it’s time for an election [in Ukraine] and new leadership.” The source emphasized that opposition to Zelensky is widespread within the West Wing. According to another person close to Trump, “the best case for [Zelensky] and the world is that he leaves to France immediately.” Zelensky, whose presidential term expired in May 2024, has refused to hold a new election, citing martial law due to the ongoing conflict. On Tuesday, Trump suggested that Zelensky’s leadership lacks legitimacy and that “he’s down at a 4% approval rating.” Trump later posted on his Truth Social platform that Zelensky “refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls,” saying he “better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”

Zelensky responded by accusing Trump of repeating “Russian disinformation” and citing a presidential poll that has him at 57%. “If somebody wants to replace me right now, it will not happen,” he said. An internal poll cited by The Economist on Wednesday suggested that Zelensky would lose to his former commander-in-chief, Valery Zaluzhny, by a large margin if elections were held in Ukraine today. According to data cited in the report, Zelensky “would lose a future election by 30% to 65% to Valery Zaluzhny,” if the latter ran for office. Zaluzhny currently serves as Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK. Zelensky’s popularity skyrocketed to 90% during the first months of the conflict with Russia in 2022, but has since decreased due to mounting losses on the battlefield and problems with the economy. Russia has also said it considers Zelensky “illegitimate” and recognizes the Ukrainian parliament and its speaker as the only legitimate authority in the country.

Read more …

“He’s been at the meetings for three years and nothing got done. So I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings to be honest with you..”

Zelensky ‘Not Important’ For Meetings – Trump (RT)

Ukraine’s leader Vladimir Zelensky is actually “not very important” to have at meetings, US President Donald Trump has said, adding he only makes negotiations difficult. Trump ramped up his ongoing criticism of the Ukrainian leader in an interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeadeon on Friday, during which he suggested Zelensky was an obstacle to making any deal to end the conflict with Russia and suggested the it is “not very important” to have him at meetings at all. “He’s been at meetings for three years with a very, with a president who didn’t know what the hell he was doing,” Trump said, referring to his predecessor Joe Biden and dismissing Zelensky’s complaints about Ukraine not being represented during recent talks between Moscow and Washington in Saudi Arabia.

“He’s been at the meetings for three years and nothing got done. So I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings to be honest with you… He’s – he makes it very hard to make deals. But look what’s happened to his country, it’s been demolished,” Trump added.Earlier this week, the US president branded Zelensky a “dictator” for refusing to hold presidential elections, and claimed the Ukrainian leader had an extremely low approval rating in his country. When repeatedly pressed by the host about whether Russia was responsible for the ongoing conflict, Trump dodged the question, suggesting that other parties were at fault. The US president also reiterated his claim that the hostilities would never have started if he had been in office at the time.

”Every time I say, oh, it’s not Russia’s fault, I always get slammed by the fake news. But I’m telling you, Biden said the wrong things. Zelensky said the wrong things. They got attacked by somebody that’s much bigger and much stronger, which is a bad thing to do, and you don’t do that. But Russia could have been talked out of that so easily,” Trump asserted. Ties between Kiev and Washington appear to have rapidly deteriorated in a matter of a week, with Trump and Zelensky, as well as other senior officials from the two nations, trading various accusations.

Among other things, Zelensky has claimed that the US leader was “living in a disinformation bubble” allegedly created by Russia and has also rejected a proposed deal that would give the US access to Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals to compensate for military aid. He has also refuted Trump’s estimates on the amount of aid Kiev has received, claiming it had not got even half of the sum. On Wednesday, Trump branded Zelensky a “dictator without elections,” claimed that the Ukrainian leader has had an extremely low approval rating and warned that the Ukrainian leader would not “have a country left” should he continue with his policies. Top US officials, including National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, said Trump has grown frustrated with Kiev’s rhetoric, branding it “unfortunate” and “unacceptable.”

Read more …

Not frozen, I’d say. Arms makers simply demand to know who’s going to pay the bill.

US Has ‘Frozen’ Weapons Sales To Ukraine – MPs (RT)

The US has halted weapons sales to Ukraine, senior MP Roman Kostenko, who serves as secretary of the Verkhovnaya Rada’s Defense Committee, claimed on Thursday. Washington has been the biggest source of military aid to Ukraine since the escalation of its conflict with Russia in early 2022, including through weapons and equipment shipments and financial support. Part of the financial aid has been used to pay US arms makers to procure new weapons for Ukraine’s army or replace old ones previously provided. In an interview with journalist Natalia Moseychuk, Kostenko stated that “according to my information, the weapons that were going up for sale have stopped. Those companies that were ready to transfer these weapons are now waiting because there is no decision [from Washington].”

He claimed that the suspensions were linked to the budding rapprochement between Washington and Moscow, who held their first direct negotiations at senior level in three years in Saudi Arabia this week. According to Kostenko, the fact that Ukraine was not invited to the talks has prompted uncertainty among US arms manufacturers about deliveries to Kiev. Kostenko said Ukraine is attempting to resolve the issue and has offered to pay for the weapons directly instead of counting on their delivery as part of US aid. His remarks were confirmed by fellow MP Aleksey Goncharenko in a Telegram post on Friday. “The US has frozen arms sales to Ukraine. Roman Kostenko’s statement yesterday is absolutely true,” Goncharenko wrote, adding that “American companies confirmed this to me.”

Neither Washington nor US arms makers have commented on the reported pause in shipments. Ukrainian MP Alexandra Ustinova, who serves as an adviser to the defense minister, refuted the claims in a post on Facebook, stating that “the US has NOT stopped selling weapons to Ukraine” and advising fellow MPs not to “add fuel to the fire” by voicing unconfirmed information. The remarks come amid a growing spat between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, the US leader accused Zelensky of mismanaging the conflict with Russia and misusing American financial aid.

Trump earlier threatened to cut aid for Ukraine, and has insisted that Kiev must repay Washington for the funding it has received, which the US leader claimed was “more than $300 billion.” He demanded the “equivalent of $500 billion worth of rare earths” from Ukraine in return.Zelensky has accused the US leader of “living in a disinformation space” supposedly created by Russia. He rejected the proposal for Ukraine’s rare earths, saying last week that it was not “in the interests of sovereign Ukraine.” Zelensky previously refuted Trump’s estimates of the aid provided by Washington, insisting Ukraine had not received even half of that sum.

Read more …

There are still some who think the rare earths are there.

US Threatens To Shut Down Starlink In Ukraine – Reuters (RT)

US officials have warned that they could block Ukraine from using Elon Musk’s Starlink internet terminals if Kiev doesn’t grant access to its critical mineral reserves, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the matter. Musk, a major ally of US President Donald Trump, has donated more than 40,000 internet terminals since 2022, which have been widely used by Ukrainian troops on the battlefield. According to Reuters, during a meeting between Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and Trump’s envoy, Keith Kellogg, in Kiev on Thursday, the Ukrainians were told that they faced an “imminent shutoff” of Starlink’s satellite service if they did not sign a deal on critical minerals with the US.

“Ukraine runs on Starlink. They consider it their North Star,” a source told Reuters, adding that losing the service “would be a massive blow.” In an effort to ensure further military aid from the US, Zelensky has pitched Trump a preferential partnership in developing Ukraine’s resources, including rare-earth minerals. However, he refused to sign an agreement that would have granted the US ownership of 50% of the nation’s mineral wealth. “I cannot sell our country,” he said on Wednesday. Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said that Kiev’s reaction was “unacceptable” and advised Ukrainian officials to “tone it down” and sign the minerals deal.

Both Trump and Musk ramped up their criticism of Zelensky earlier this week, branding him “a dictator” and claiming that he is deeply unpopular at home. The US president argued that Ukraine was in no position to complain about his decision to restore direct talks with Russia that were suspended by his predecessor, Joe Biden. Zelensky acknowledged earlier this month that around half of its rare-earth deposits are “under Russian occupation.” Writing for Bloomberg this week, commodities expert Javier Blas argued that Trump’s expectations from a deal are grossly exaggerated because Ukraine “has no significant rare-earth deposits other than small scandium mines.”

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“..agreed to ensure the earliest possible appointment of ambassadors in both capitals..”

Marco Rubio Allows For Easing Sanctions Against Russia – NYT (TASS)

In a telephone conversation with a number of European diplomats after the US-Russian talks in Riyadh, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio kept open the option of easing some anti-Russian sanctions if Russia begins to take the steps that Washington is seeking, the New York Times reported, citing a summary of the conversation prepared by European officials. “No, he said, the administration would not lift U.S. sanctions on Russia absent a noticeable change in Moscow’s behavior, though he left the door open to easing some sanctions in limited ways if the Russians began taking steps that the administration was seeking,” the newspaper wrote. The publication did not specify the names of the participants in the conversation with Rubio, noting that among them were representatives of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy.

Overall, the newspaper writes, Rubio conveyed to his European colleagues “a more nuanced and conciliatory” message than the statements that were made publicly by representatives of the US administration. “The Secretary of State sought to reassure nervous European allies that the talks [in Riyadh] did not represent an abrupt departure from American policies, as many feared,” the newspaper wrote. The State Department did not respond to the newspaper’s request regarding Rubio’s talks with his European colleagues. Judging by the information provided by the publication, we are talking about a telephone conversation that took place on February 19 after the meeting in Riyadh. In particular, the conversation was reported at that time by Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani. In addition to Rubio and Tajani, ministers from Great Britain, France, Germany, as well as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas took part in the talks.

On February 18, Russia and the US held talks in Riyadh, which lasted 4.5 hours. Russia was represented at the meeting by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, presidential aide Yury Ushakov, and RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev. The US was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and the US leader’s special envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff. According to Ushakov, the delegations talked at length about everything on the agenda, including bringing the positions of Russia and the United States together and contacts on Ukraine. Lavrov called the conversation with US officials very constructive and reported that Russia and the United States had agreed to ensure the earliest possible appointment of ambassadors in both capitals. In turn, the State Department noted that Lavrov and Rubio agreed at the meeting to create negotiating groups on Ukraine, as well as on future cooperation on issues of common geopolitical interests.

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“..we can’t work on the things we might potentially agree on or deconflict on things that could lead to dangerous confrontations as long as this Ukraine impediment stands in the way.”

Rubio Explains Purpose of Russia-US Talks (RT)

The US and Russia sought to restore normal diplomatic relations during this week’s talks in Saudi Arabia because global nuclear powers must communicate to resolve conflicts such as the one in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said. Senior officials from both countries met in Riyadh on Tuesday in what Moscow and Washington both described as a productive dialogue. According to Rubio, who led the US delegation, the primary objective was to restore normal communication channels, which were almost completely severed under the previous administration of President Joe Biden. ”Even in the worst days of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union maintained communication,” Rubio said in an interview with journalist Catherine Herridge on Thursday.

He underscored that political disagreements should not impede statecraft, asserting that mature leaders must engage with nuclear-armed nations. ”Whether we like it or not, Russia is a power, a global power,” Rubio added. “We’re going to disagree on a lot, but we can’t work on the things we might potentially agree on or deconflict on things that could lead to dangerous confrontations as long as this Ukraine impediment stands in the way.” According to Rubio, Washington remains cautious about Moscow’s stated intentions to find a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict, but that future discussions would bring more clarity. No details about potential territorial concessions by Ukraine or the lifting of sanctions against Russia were debated in Riyadh, the US official added. Rubio rebuffed claims that the US was sidelining Kiev and its European allies, stressing that their involvement would be essential in any agreement with Russia.

He characterized such suggestions as exaggerated, driven by “hyperbole” and “hysteria,” and urged a recognition of US President Donald Trump’s peacemaking efforts, noting that previous Western strategies had not been successful. ”There was an effort in Istanbul a couple years ago, and it involved a number of European countries, and it failed,” he noted. In 2022, Türkiye facilitated Russian-Ukrainian peace talks, resulting in a preliminary agreement for a treaty that would have seen Ukraine become a neutral nation with a limited military, backed by security guarantees from major world powers, including Russia. However, Kiev later withdrew from the deal after then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged it to continue fighting.

Read more …

“We want Elon and his nerd army of muskrats examining the British Deep State!”

Liz Truss Calls For ‘Elon & His Nerd Army’ To Investigate ‘UK Deep State’ (ZH)

Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss told the audience at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that her country is “failing,” and needs a MAGA-type movement to save it. “We now have a major problem in Britain that judges are making decisions that should be made by politicians,” said Truss, speaking from National Harbor, Maryland, and adding that the British judiciary is “no longer accountable” due to reforms by her predecessor, Tony Blair, who handed power over to an “unelected bureaucracy.” “There’s no doubt in my mind that until those changes are reversed, we do not have a functioning country. The British state is now failing, is not working. The decisions are not being made by politicians,” Truss continued. Truss also said that UK voters have grown increasingly angry because they keep voting for change – only to be let down over and over, including by current PM Keir Starmer.

“The same people are still making the decisions. It’s the deep state, it’s the unelected bureaucrats, it’s the judiciary,” Truss said. “And I think what ultimately will happen, what I hope to see, is a movement like you have in the US with Maga [‘Make America great again’], with CPAC, with all these organisations, that ultimately pushes change we all want. We want to have a British CPAC.” Truss then said “We want Elon and his nerd army of muskrats examining the British Deep State!” Truss’s comments are emblematic of a growing right-wing movement across Europe – as voters in Germany, Austria, France and the Netherlands have been gravitating towards populism amid failed ‘green’ policies, unchecked immigration, and censorship policies that violate basic human rights.

According to the NY Times, which spoke with Europeans who voted for right-wing candidates, people cast their ballots “in fury, in frustration, in protest and perhaps most of all in a bid to bring change to a system they believe has failed to fulfill the contract between their democratically elected governments and the people.” They talked openly about nationalism, immigration, stagnant economies, the cost of living, housing shortages, anger at the elite and their countries’ perceived buckling to what many consider politically correct views. Their voices offer a window into the choices Europeans may make in the year ahead. The main event will be a Feb. 23 snap federal election after the collapse of the governing coalition in Germany, where the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has made tremendous gains. Voters in Italy, Poland, Norway, Ireland, Romania and the Czech Republic — all countries where populist movements are either well established or on the rise — are also expected to choose leaders on the local or national level.

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage’s Reform Party is on track to win the next election. Farage has notably slammed the impact of Net Zero on the British Economy, and says he’s on a mission to “reindustrialize” Britain and achieve a “180 shift” in the country’s policies. There’s reason for cheer at Reform HQ this morning: Nigel Farage’s party is leading Labour in a YouGov voting intention poll for the first time. According to the poll, Reform UK leads on 25 points with Labour in second place on 24 per cent and the Conservatives in third on 21 per cent. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats are on 14 per cent and the Greens on 9 per cent. While there have been a handful of polls to date putting Reform in the lead, they have so far been regarded as outliers. In response to the poll, Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform, said: ‘Much more to come as common sense policies welcomed to save Britain and make us better off’. -Spectator.co.uk.

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“..I think he’s gonna be very successful. He is gonna be very controversial. And that’s why the Left went after him more than anybody else..”

Pete Hegseth’s Military (Victor Davis Hanson)

Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. I’d like to speak a little bit today, very briefly, about the Pentagon under new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Did you notice that of all the controversial Trump nominees—Kash Patel, Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi, RFK, Tulsi Gabbard—the Left went after Pete Hegseth the most vehemently? And he required JD Vance to break that tie. There was a reason for that. He is proposing radical changes in the Pentagon. Remember where we are right now with the Pentagon. We spend $820 billion a year. It’s about 14% of the entire budget and it’s immune to criticism. It really is. And we are building $14 billion carriers. We’re building $85 million F-35s. We have built $140 million F-22s. And we’re watching, in Ukraine and the Middle East, the entire mode of 21st-century warfare being revolutionized.

It’s more of—not that we’re going to have bad quality, but it’s more quantity than quality. They’re flooding the zones with cheap drones—cheap drones on the ocean, in the air, and on land. And we’re not there yet. We’re not doing it. So, what Pete Hegseth wants to do is change the entire manner of procurement.What we have now is more or less a monopoly. We have Raytheon. We have the Boston military group. We have Northrop. We have General Dynamics. We have Lockheed. And the way it has worked is that four-star generals, who have very generous pensions, rotate out. They work for these consortia and then they use their contacts of subordinate officers to favor their procurement. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it but it’s an inherent conflict of interest. And Pete Hegseth is going to stop that. And he can stop it in a number of ways.

First is, he can just go back to what we used to do. We used to say that a military officer cannot be secretary of defense in the civilian role. But the last two were fine men. Gen. [Jim] Mattis, I know him, whom I like, and also Gen. [Lloyd] Austin. We waived that. I don’t think we should continue to do that. There was a reason we had a law. I wrote that we should waive it for Jim Mattis because I thought he was a superb [choice]. Looking back, I think it puts too much pressure on the military officers to distance themselves. So, it would be better to have that position as a civilian one. Another thing we’re going to do is, whether we like it or not, we’re going to get rid of diversity, equity, and inclusion. And he’s already doing it and he’s going to save, I think, billions of dollars. And that has already had a profound effect.

We have record number of recruitment, per day. It’s accelerating, at almost 10,000 a month. And we were down 40,000 or 50,000 recruits. And the military, instead of saying, “This is a crisis,” said, “We really didn’t need 40,000 or 50,000. So, we met our goals.” No, no, no. We were down and now we’re not down. And you can see that socially, culturally, Pete is trying to associate with the rank and file. Lift weights with him, jog. It’s going to be a people’s person defense secretary. He’s also not going to tolerate retired admirals and generals that come out of the woodwork during election season, use their rank—they’re still subject to Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is enforced against lower-ranking officers. The statute says that retired or serving flag officers shall not disparage major civilian officials in the executive branch; Cabinet officers, vice president, especially the president.

And yet we’ve seen in these recent news cycles, I won’t mention all of the generals’ names, but they’ve called their commander in chief a fascist, a Nazi-like, a Mussolini character, an architect of Auschwitz, a liar, a cheat, who should be removed sooner—just terrible things, with impunity.

We’re not going to see that anymore under Pete Hegseth. So, the procurement will be different. Recruitment will be different. Retired officers will adhere to the code. There’ll be no more—less conflict of interest. There’s a lot of fat in that budget with DEI. And he’s basically sending a message that we’re not going to look at the superficial color of one’s skin, or their religion, or their gender. We’re going to look at the content of their character, and more importantly, even than that, the ability to fight well for the United States. And I think he’s gonna be very successful. He is gonna be very controversial. And that’s why the Left went after him more than anybody else. And I think that the Pentagon budget will shrink and it will be more bang for the buck. And it’s just all welcome.

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Hegseth’s move?!

Trump Fires Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs of Staff (NYP)

President Trump on Friday night abruptly fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr., in a major shake-up of Pentagon leadership. And the president just as quickly named his pick to replace Brown – Air Force Lt. General Dan “Razin” Caine, who served as the associate director of military affairs for the CIA from 2021 to 2024. “I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family,” the president said. Just hours before his sudden dismissal, Brown was touring the southern border according to posts on social media.

Brown served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the last 16 months and was only the second black general to hold the vaunted post. The general was seen in mid-December at the Army-Navy football game seated next to then president-elect Trump. Trump named Caine, a former F-16 pilot, as his nominee to succeed Brown in the same Friday night Truth Social post. Caine will need to be confirmed by the Senate as is customary with all new military leaders. “General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a “warfighter” with significant interagency and special operations experience,” Trump wrote. The commander in chief also credited Caine with the “complete annihilation” of the ISIS caliphate which occurred during the president’s first term.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth celebrated the nomination of Caine as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “General Caine embodies the warfighter ethos and is exactly the leader we need to meet the moment. I look forward to working with him,” Hegseth said in a statement, which also honored Brown. However, Hegseth previously had harsh words for Brown. “First of all, you gotta fire, you know, you gotta fire the chairman of Joint Chiefs” Hegseth said in a podcast in November.

Hegseth also questioned how Brown got the job in one of his books, according to the Associated Press. “Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We’ll never know, but always doubt — which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter,” Hegseth wrote. Despite these criticisms, Hegseth gave Brown a nod of approval after a face to face meeting late last month, according to the Washington Examiner. Brown wasn’t the only senior military officer ousted on Friday night. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Jim Slife were also fired, Hegseth said in the statement.

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NATO has no leaders other than Trump. Scholz will be dumped in Sunday’s election, Macron and Starmer are in single digits. It’s one big vacuum.

NATO Leaders Back Zelensky Over Trump (RT)

European leaders, including those from the UK, Germany, and the Czech Republic, have rallied behind Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky after US President Donald Trump described him as a “dictator without elections.” In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, the Republican accused the Ukrainian leader of mismanaging the conflict with Russia and misusing American financial aid. Trump went on to claim that Zelensky “refuses to have elections” and “is very low in Ukrainian polls.” Trump’s post was apparently sparked by an accusation from Zelensky that the US president was in a “Russian information bubble.” Zelensky’s five-year presidential term expired in May 2024 and he has refused to hold elections since, citing martial law. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that he does not consider Zelensky to be the legitimate head of the Ukrainian state any longer.

Commenting on Trump’s remark, Czech President Petr Pavel wrote in a post on X on Wednesday that characterizing Zelensky as a dictator “requires a great deal of cynicism.” He also called into question the feasibility of holding elections in Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict with Russia. British Prime Minister Kier Starmer’s office reported he had phoned Zelensky and expressed support for “Ukraine’s democratically elected leader.” The official similarly argued that “it was perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war time,” citing Britain’s own practice during World War II. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz chimed in in a post on X on Wednesday, writing that “it is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelensky democratic legitimacy.”

Several prominent US Democrats have also sided with Zelensky. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that “it is disgusting to see an American president turn against one of our friends and openly side with a thug like Vladimir Putin.” He suggested that the Ukraine conflict directly affects the “security of the American people.” Senator Adam Schiff also accused Trump of betraying Kiev and appeasing Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted on Thursday that the “rhetoric of Zelensky and many representatives of the Kiev regime in general leaves a lot to be desired.” Officials in Kiev “often allow themselves to make statements directed toward other heads of state, completely unacceptable things,” Peskov concluded.

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“Europe needs to grow up, leave Disney world and come to terms with this new world..”

Europe’s Leadership Continues To Fail Its Citizens (Mevissen)

While Europe is still reeling from the Munich security conference last weekend, Putin probably couldn’t believe his luck when he saw Trump’s message accusing Ukraine of starting the war and calling president Zelensky a dictator. For the past four years, Europe knew very well that there was a chance that Trump could be re-elected. And during all these years, From a military perspective, European leaders did close to nothing to prepare themselves for a possible second Trump administration. Most notably German Chancellor Scholtz, who spoke of a zeitenwende just days after Russia’s invasion, failed to deliver any meaningful progress in rebuilding Germany’s army and its defence industry. And now the chickens have come home to roost.

While it is the new US administration that seems to shock the European elites the most right now, they should actually fear their own inaction, lack of urgency, can’t do mentality and in some cases the inability to overcome national interests. On top of that we see a lack of strategic thinking, apathy, panic and victimhood. All of this points towards a theme that we have often discussed. Europe continues to be plagued by a leadership crisis and does not do what is considered to be the core tasks of any government: protecting its citizens and their belongings. All this leads to one conclusion. Europe needs to grow up, leave Disney world and come to terms with this new world. Illustrative of this new world is the inability of G7 countries to agree on a common statement. The US has opposed the phrases that mention “Russian aggression,” which were included previously in statements of support released on 24 February. All this would have been unthinkable until recently.

But there is more for Europe to worry about. This weekend, Germany will hold elections and the far right AfD is polling to win about 20% of the votes, doing especially well in the Eastern part of the country. A complex formation of a new government could further delay much needed decision making within Europe on crucial areas like defense cooperation and complying to more ambitious and realistic NATO spending targets. Read more in our special covering the German elections. And Europe faces more than security challenges alone. Its manufacturing sector is still struggling with high energy prices and lots of red tape. This has led to a prolonged period were sentiment in the European manufacturing sector can only be described as pessimistic. That pessimism may now be bottoming out, but we don’t expect a rapid rebound. Today’s first estimate of the manufacturing PMI for Germany came in at 46.1. That’s slightly better than the 45.5 that was expected, some improvement from the 45.0 reading for January.

France also saw a some improvement of sentiment within the manufacturing sector with a figure of 45.5 compared to 45.3 expected and 45 for January. While sentiment in the manufacturing sector slightly improved, the French services sector came in at a very disappointing 44.5. The S&P report noted: “The services sector is a cause for concern, with a significant downturn in activity compared to the previous month.” The data present a weak picture of the sector at the start of 2025. Order intakes are shrinking at a rapid pace and future activity expectations remain well below the historical average. That’s weighing on French hiring, and we saw substantial layoffs in February. Earlier this morning there was more positive news coming in from the UK which showed that British consumers spent considerably more than was expected. However this was after very disappointing retail sales during the all-important holiday month of December. Furthermore consumer sentiment continues to remain weak.

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Everything that’s wrong, caught in just a few words:

“Europe should not hesitate to put pressure on the US if it fails to fall in line with “liberal democracies..”

Germany Issues Warning To US (RT)

Europe should not hesitate to put pressure on the US if it fails to fall in line with “liberal democracies,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Friday. The diplomat made the remark following talks between the US and Russia that excluded representatives from the EU and Ukraine.Speaking at a campaign rally in Potsdam on Friday, the Green politician stated, “We’re increasing pressure on the Americans [so they know] they have a lot to lose if they don’t stand on the side of Europe’s liberal democracies.”With respect to EU-US relations, Baerbock warned against drawing any precipitous conclusions, remarking that “nothing has been decided there.”“No one can decide about war and peace for the Ukrainians or us Europeans, and this is the clear German stance,” she insisted.

Baerbock also warned against forcing Kiev into a “phony peace” or “capitulation,” which she said would only invite further “war and violence.”A rift has opened up between Washington and Brussels since US President Donald Trump took office last month. Trump has taken a tougher stance on trade with the EU by threatening tariffs and demanded that its European-NATO partners boost spending on collective defense.Addressing Munich Security Conference attendees last Friday, US Vice President J.D. Vance delivered a sobering speech to Europe’s political elites, suggesting that the biggest threat the continent is facing is one coming from within – the erosion of democracy. ”In Britain and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat,” the official stated, concluding that “if you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you.”

The speech sent shockwaves across governments, with leaders, including Germany’s Olaf Scholz, scrambling to rebuke Vance’s assertions. The fallout was further highlighted when Washington and Moscow held high-level talks in Saudi Arabia this week without bothering to invite EU representatives. This perceived slight prompted an outpouring of anguish and indignation on the continent. Trump blasted Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky this week, branding him a dictator without elections, but a number of European leaders have rejected the US president’s assertion that he lacks legitimacy. In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump said he sees no point in having Zelensky involved in peace talks with Russia. He also insisted that French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer “haven’t done anything” to put an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine for the three years since it started.

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Macron’s on his way out, and Europe has no money.

Macron Calls For ‘Massive Defense Plan’ For EU (RT)

The EU needs to develop a “massive defense plan” and boost military investment due to rising tensions with Russia and US President Donald Trump’s stance on the Ukraine conflict, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. Speaking at a Q&A session on X on Thursday, the French leader stressed that EU members must reduce their reliance on the US over the next five to ten years.“We need innovative European spending to innovate together, maybe, in the first place to help Ukraine, but also for ourselves,” Macron said, arguing that significant investment in the military should come “in the coming weeks.” The French leader claimed that the world has entered a “new era” in which states have to increase defense spending while diminishing the population’s purchasing power.

He also addressed the shift in Washington’s strategy on the Ukraine conflict, which this week saw US officials hold their first high-level talks on resolving the crisis with their Russian counterparts since February 2022. “I’m going to tell him [US President Donald Trump]: ‘You can’t be weak with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. That’s not who you are, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest,” Macron said, noting that he is due to meet the US leader in Washington on Monday. Macron has for years championed the creation of a “European army,” initially floating the idea in 2018 during Trump’s first term. His remarks at the time did not result in any real action, with NATO officials voicing concerns that any new army would compete with the bloc rather than complement it.

Trump has consistently demanded that Washington’s European allies boost their defense spending, complaining that the US is bearing the main burden.Following the EU’s exclusion from the US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia this week, Macron called an emergency summit in a bid to drum up the bloc’s unity and discuss ways to ensure its role in the settlement of the Ukraine conflict. President Putin has dismissed claims that Russia plans to attack Western countries, describing the speculation as “nonsense.” He has also repeatedly said that one of the key causes of the Ukraine conflict was NATO’s expansion towards Russia’s borders.

Read more …

Stephen Miller is one of the early stand-outs.

Trump Deputy Chief Of Staff Blasts Media Propagandists To Their Faces (MN)

The White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller torched fake news reporters Thursday during a briefing for playing along with the charade for years that Joe Biden was mentally fit, before giving them a lecture about how government works. “Many of the people in this room for four years failed to cover the fact that Joe Biden was mentally incompetent and was not running the country,” Miller told leftist media correspondents. He then noted that to counter the ridiculous leftist talking point that Elon Musk is an unelected bureaucrat, the media was in need of “a brief civics lesson.” Miller then began his short but ever so sweet fact smackdown.

“A president is elected by the whole American people. He is the only official in the entire government that is elected by the entire nation. Judges are appointed, members are Congress are elected at the district or state level,” he noted. “The Constitution, Article II, has a clause known as ‘the vesting clause,’ and it says ‘the executive power shall be vested in ‘a’ president — singular. The whole will of democracy is imbued into the elected president. That president then appoints staff to impose that democratic will onto the government,” he continued. “The threat to democracy — the existential threat to democracy — is the unelected bureaucracy of lifetime, tenured civil servants who believe they answer to no one; who believe they can do whatever they want without consequence; who believe they can set their own agenda, no matter what Americans vote for,” Miller explained.

“So, Americans vote for radical FBI reform, and FBI agents say they don’t want to change. Or Americans vote for radical reform on our energy policies, and EPA bureaucrats say that they don’t want to change. Or Americans vote to end racist DEI policies, and lawyers at the DOJ say they son’t want to change,” Miller further outlined. “What President Trump is doing is he is removing federal bureaucrats who are defying democracy by failing to implement his lawful orders, which are the will of the whole American people,” Miller asserted. As we’ve previously highlighted, it seems shocking to the leftist media that Trump, given a mandate by the American people, would put into place people who are loyal to him and will implement his policies.

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“..the blob is getting methodically disassembled, one bureaucratic office at a time. Before much longer we are going to be a different country, and most probably a better one.”

Funny Money (Kunstler)

The key to understanding how the Democratic Party works is how it uses federal grants to redistribute taxpayer money into jobs programs for its rank-and-file. As seen in the recent USAID scandal, the action revolves around the creation of countless NGOs (non-governmental orgs). They are easily created, poorly supervised, and assembled into large networks of self-serving, inter-dependent organisms whose main mission is paying staffers — and secondarily pretending to do good works, as suggested by a given group’s name is. These staffers make up the matrix of Democratic Party activists, well-paid foot-soldiers in do-nothing jobs who can be called upon to cheer-lead for the party, organize street protests and, most critically, harvest ballots when the time comes. S

tacey Abrams became a kind of field marshal for setting up NGOs around her campaigns for office and then later turned them into money laundromats for the trillions of dollars fire-hosed out of the US Treasury during the Covid-19-darkened “Biden” years. Here are some of Stacy’s NGOs:· The New Georgia Project and its affiliated NGP Action Fund — set up for her 2018 run for governor. It was eventually fined $300,000 for failing to disclose millions in contributions, failing to register properly, and sixteen violations of campaign laws. Its main purpose was providing jobs for an army of activists. One question that might have been asked: how many of Stacey Abrams’ books were purchased by The New Georgia Project, juicing her royalties?

· The Southern Economic Advancement Project, founded in 2019 to “promote equity” in twelve southern states, paid Stacey a $700,000 annual salary.

· The Fair Fight Action group raised nearly $62 million in dark pool donations by 2022, with 96-percent from 252 large, unidentified donors.

· The Fair Count Project was created to lobby for counting illegal aliens in the 2020 US Census, in order to pad state congressional districts.

· The Third Sector Development group, created as an “incubator” for other groups (including the New Georgia Project).

· The Fair Fight 2020 group, created to “train voter protection teams” in twenty “battleground states.” That is, ballot harvesting.

Out of the $27-billion from “Joe Biden’s” Inflation Reduction Act sent to EPA in 2024, $2-billion from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) ended up in the Stacey-associated Rewiring America org and its offshoot the Power Forward Communities org. Stacey was listed as “senior counsel” to Rewiring America, which also happened to “partner” with her prior NGOs Fair Count and Southern Economic Advancement Project.What you might surmise from all this is that “Joe Biden’s” green energy agenda was used as a green smokescreen for a giant patronage racketeering operation. The billions allocated would go ostensibly to innumerable corporations set up to carry-out “green” good deeds, most of which would never actually happen, but would, along the way, pad thousands upon thousands of bank accounts for favored contractors.

Stacey’s Power Forward Communities NGO was incorporated in the state of Delaware where loose corporate governance requires such orgs to pay out only five percent of the org’s funds to its stated mission recipients each year. The rest of the $2-billion not allocated to staff salaries can be socked away in safe investments garnering, say, $50-million-a-year in returns, which can be rolled back into the org and used for spinning out new NGOs with more paid staff positions. . .grift upon grift. . . . That is what patronage is, and that, by the way, is how it became such an urgent national issue over a hundred years ago when it was openly known as the “spoils system” in electoral politics — to the victor go the spoils— which was resolved by the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. Alas, in our time patronage (that is, corruption) has reinvented itself as the blob, the runaway system that almost sank the country.

Do you see how all this works now? The ever-expanding matrix of NGOs creates an army of useful idiots working hand-in-hand with an ever-expanding rogue bureaucracy that has become effectively a fourth branch of government accountable to nobody. This is how your tax dollars disappear down a rat-hole and why the US government is insolvent. The difference now is that the Democratic Party no longer has its hands on the levers of power. Different managers are in place at the critical agencies, most particularly Pam Bondi at DOJ, Kash Patel at the FBI, Russell Vought at OMB, Lee Zeldin at EPA, and Elon Musk in the DOGE. In the past, nothing was done about these shenanigans. This time is different. The Democratic Party will lose its principal means for staying alive. That’s why senators like Chuck Schumer, Chris Coons, and Adam Schiff are out mewling and hollering in the streets. Meanwhile, the blob is getting methodically disassembled, one bureaucratic office at a time. Before much longer we are going to be a different country, and most probably a better one.

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He had his plans ready.

Kash Patel Is Already Making Huge Changes at the FBI (Margolis)

Newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel is on fire. After his swearing-in, he gave a not-so-subtle speech, showing that he’s ready to handle the media’s smears. “I know the media’s in here, and if you have a target, that target’s right here,” he said, pointing to himself. “It’s not the men and women at the FBI.” “You’ve written everything you possibly can about me that’s fake, malicious, slanderous, and defamatory,” he continued. “Keep it coming — bring it on. But leave the men and women, the FBI out of it. They deserve better.” He also promised that a new day at the FBI has started. “I promise you the following, there will be accountability within the FBI and outside of the FBI, and we will do it through rigorous constitutional oversight — starting this weekend.”

Kash continued, “I am living the American dream, and anyone that thinks the American dream is dead, just look right here. You’re talking to a first-generation Indian kid who’s about to lead the law enforcement community, the greatest nation on God’s green earth.” He wasted no time turning his bold rhetoric into action. Following his blistering speech on Friday, he ordered the transfer of 1,500 agents and staff from the bureau’s Washington, D.C., headquarters to field offices across the country. Roughly 1,000 will be sent to high-crime cities that the Trump administration designated, where they can focus on fighting crime instead of political games. Another 500 will be reassigned to Huntsville, Ala., which is widely seen as D.C.’s version of exile.

This is just Patel’s first move, and if any Democrats want to shed a bunch of tears over the move, they can, but they can’t claim they shouldn’t have expected it. As the Washington Post reported, Patel made this plan known during his confirmation hearings. Patel, in his 2023 book, vowed to shutter the Hoover headquarters building and turn it into a “museum to the Deep State.” He’s made similar recommendations at his confirmation hearing and in appearances on conservative TV news shows. “One of my biggest personal recommendations is … you send those 7,000 agents in the headquarters building down range to chase down rapists, to chase down murderers, to chase down drug traffickers and let the cops be cops on the streets across America,” Patel said during an August appearance on “Stinchfiled Tonight.”

During his confirmation hearing last month, Patel was asked about his previous comments suggesting he wanted the FBI’s headquarters emptied out and shuttered. His responses did not directly address whether he would actually shut the building down or seek to transform it into a museum, but suggested that he believes the FBI’s workforce in Washington should go out into the country. “A third of the workforce for the FBI works in Washington, D.C.,” Patel said. “I am fully committed to having that workforce go out into the interior of the country, where I live west of the Mississippi, and work with sheriff’s departments and local officers.”

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“Trump does not want war. War would put his domestic agenda on the back burner.”

The Democrats Are Standing Against America (Paul Craig Roberts)

This is my interview by Larry Sparano of a few days ago prior to my learning, as I posted yesterday, that the temporary injunctions that judges are issuing against Trump and Musk’s activities in rooting out corruption from the federal budget are only good for a few days and are not effective except in the sense of giving the corrupt elements in the federal departments and agencies a few days to hide, erase, destroy, and “lose” evidence before Musk can get his hands on it. To be effective in blocking Trump, the hearing on the temporary injunction must succeed in advancing to a preliminary injunction, which is a rare event.

If a temporary injunction becomes a preliminary injunction, that is when it enters the appeal process and becomes subject to the long delay of the judicial process. The hearings on the temporary injunctions against Trump and Musk are resulting in the dismissal of the injunctions and are not carrying forward to preliminary injunctions. At the time of the interview it did not occur to me that the judges’ injunctions were short-lived temporary measures. The whore media were presenting the injunctions as if they were defeats for Trump. Almost anyone can request one and it seems judges almost always have to grant them. What this means is that the concern I state in the interview about the judiciary’s ability to block Trump is overstated. I think overall the interview is a good stab at this time at a picture of the fight ahead.

Skeptics perhaps endeavoring to demoralize Trump supporters say it is all just an act. To see how unlikely this suggestion is, consider that the American Establishment has spent 8 years trying to destroy Trump. They tried to destroy him politically. They twice impeached him. They tried to imprison him. They tried to steal his property. They tried to assassinate him physically both with gun shots and with 8 years of heavy stress that would have killed most people of his age. Would Trump be inviting more such stress if he were not serious? Would he have appointed the people he did if he were not serious?

Trump has a beautiful wife and plenty of money. He doesn’t need the stress of the task he has undertaken. He is literally in a fight to the death for our country and for us. It is extraordinary that there can be Democrats and leftwing freaks who believe that DEI is more important than equality under law, that multicultural nirvana can exist when blacks are taught to hate whites, who are happy when perversity is elevated above normality, and who believe a Sodom and Gomorrah Tower of Babel is preferable to Western Civilization.

Trump is trying to save our country for us. The people who oppose him are traitors and our deadly enemies. The Democrats and the leftwing are standing against America. As Trump and Vance have said, America’s real enemies are at home, not in Russia, China, and Iran. Trump does not want war. War would put his domestic agenda on the back burner. War would produce demands for unity, which means stopping the attack on the domestic enemy. War is a way of defeating Trump’s agenda. We must keep our eyes open. A false flag attack that traps Trump into war is a real possibility.

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Millions of them… This will be a long storry.

Millions of Long COVID Patients May Actually Be Vaccine Injured (Thacker)

Yale researchers released a study today that posits millions of Americans thought to have Long COVID may have been misdiagnosed and actually have post-vaccination syndrome caused by exposure to the spike protein in COVID vaccines. Spike protein produced by the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines triggers the body’s immune response, and the FDA claimed in a 2023 Politifact fact check that vaccine spike protein is not toxic and does not linger in the body. However, Yale researchers report that some patients, who were never infected with COVID virus, were sick with post-vaccination syndrome (PVS) and had elevated levels of virus spike protein in their blood up to 709 days after vaccination.

“There is considerable overlap in self-reported symptoms between long COVID and PVS, as well as shared exposure to SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein in the context of inflammatory responses during infection or vaccination,” noted the study authors. NIH has poured $1.6 billion into Long COVID research, while ignoring patients harmed by COVID vaccines, causing some well-known patient advocates to hide vaccine injury. After a 13-month battle with Long COVID, Hollywood screenwriter Heidi Ferrer took her own life after deciding death was preferable to another minute in her own “personal hell.” Death of the Dawson’s Creek writer made headlines across the media including places such as People, the Guardian, Variety, CNN, Newsweek, and The Daily Mail—each recounting Ferrer’s struggle with Long COVID.

But in a private video circulating among patient groups and obtained by The DisInformation Chronicle, Ferrer’s husband Nick Guthe stated that Moderna’s COVID vaccine was the final straw, causing Heidi to develop tremors and then internal vibrations when she lay down for bed, so that even prescription sleeping pills would not allow her to sleep. “And that’s when things turned,” Guthe said in the video. Prominent patient advocate Beth Mazur also committed suicide after a COVID vaccine apparently worsened her struggles with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), a chronic illness with many similarities to Long COVID. Mazur co-founded #MEAction for patients with chronic illness. #MEAction reported in early 2021 that a significant number of ME/CFS patients experienced “both new symptoms and long-lasting exacerbations of their pre-existing ME/CFS symptoms” after a COVID vaccine.

“Beth was a compassionate advocate for ME/CFS and a fierce advocate for vaccine injury after she experienced this herself sometime before she took her own life,” said one of Mazur’s personal friends who did not wish to be identified. “Having people come after you for vaccine injury is worse than being sick itself. And people can’t handle that. It’s a shroud of shame.”

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Buster

 

 

Dino
https://twitter.com/i/status/1892960793282441308

 

 

Anaconda

 

 

Baby bear

 

 

Baby

 

 

Eagles

 

 

Lioness

 

 

Support the Automatic Earth in wartime with Paypal, Bitcoin and Patreon.

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 132025
 


Dante Gabriel Rossetti Monna Vanna 1866

 

Putin Invites Trump To Visit Moscow In ‘Highly Productive’ Call (ZH)
China Offers To Host Putin-Trump Summit (RT)
Hegseth Casts Doubt on Ukraine’s NATO Gamble As Peace Talks Loom (Sp.)
Trump ‘OK’ With Keeping Ukraine Out of NATO (RT)
NATO Boss Issues Warning To Putin (RT)
Musk Calls For Complete Overhaul of NATO (RT)
EU Won’t Give Zelensky 200,000 Peacekeepers – NYT (RT)
Tulsi Gabbard Confirmed As Director of National Intelligence (ZH)
Pam Bondi’s DOJ Sues NY, Hochul, Letitia James Over Licenses For Illegals (ZH)
Trump Sees ‘Tremendous Kickbacks’ In US Government Contracts (RT)
Why They Really Hate Elon Musk (Mises)
Federal Judge Allows Trump To Push Forward With Gov’t Workers Buyouts (NYP)
Federal Judge Blocking Spending Freezes Has History of TDS (AmG)
Judge Temporarily Blocks DOGE From Accessing Federal Student Aid Data (ET)
Left Will Push Violent Revolution Against Trump – Larry Klayman (USAW)
Biden WH, DOJ, National Archives Collaborated On Trump Documents Probe (JTN)
New Task Force To Probe jFK, RFK, MLK Murders, Epstein’s ‘Lolita Express’ (RT)
Switching Off Russian Gas Pipelines Hurts Europe Far More Than Russia (SCF)
Trump Admin Eyes Billions Going to California High-Speed Train (Turley)

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1889398883786301695

Navarro

Harry
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889370026626441606

VDH
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889336313322561852

Hegseth
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889686598498832503
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889684187986210922

X – a thread

 

 

 

 

“Millions of people have died in a War that would not have happened if I were President, but it did happen, so it must end.”

Putin Invites Trump To Visit Moscow In ‘Highly Productive’ Call (ZH)

Update(1330ET): Just on the heels of the historic Putin call, President Trump has revealed an outline of his call with Ukraine’s President Zelensky, calling it a “meaningful conversation”. He had earlier vowed to inform Zelensky of the contents of the Putin phone call, at a moment European allies are stressing that there can be no peace deal without Ukraine’s direct input and participation.
• Trump: a meeting with Vance, Rubio, Zelensky being set up on Friday
• Trump: It is time to stop the Ukraine-Russia war
• No Ukraine deal without Ukraine and Europeans: French, German, Spanish FMs
• Trump has pledged that talks to end the war will start immediately. Wednesday marks the first known conversation between Trump and Putin since the new US president entered office last month.

* * *
US President Trump and Russian President Putin held a nearly hour-and-a-half call this morning which the US president described as “lengthy and highly productive.” Trump said on Truth Social that both leaders had extended invitations of “visiting each other’s nations,” while, the US leader said he would be calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “right now” to inform him about the call. President Trump took to his Truth Social account to explain what was discussed (emphasis ours):

“I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects. We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II, remembering, that Russia lost tens of millions of people, and we, likewise, lost so many! We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together. But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, “COMMON SENSE.”

We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now. I have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, to lead the negotiations which, I feel strongly, will be successful. Millions of people have died in a War that would not have happened if I were President, but it did happen, so it must end.

No more lives should be lost! I want to thank President Putin for his time and effort with respect to this call, and for the release, yesterday, of Marc Fogel, a wonderful man that I personally greeted last night at the White House. I believe this effort will lead to a successful conclusion, hopefully soon!”

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Interesting twist. Riyadh seems more logical for now, but who knows?

China Offers To Host Putin-Trump Summit (RT)

China has presented a proposal to hold a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump to help end the Ukraine conflict, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. China has long sought to position itself as a potential peace broker in the Moscow-Kiev conflict, presenting its own roadmap to resolve the crisis. The development comes after Putin and Trump held a phone conversation on Wednesday – their first confirmed contact since Trump returned to the White House last month. The leaders had a “lengthy and highly productive” conversation, according to the US president. Trump later announced that he and Putin had agreed on an “immediate” start of negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict.

In recent weeks, Chinese officials have put forward a proposal to the Trump team through intermediaries, suggesting a summit between the two leaders and offering to help with peacekeeping efforts following a potential truce, the WSJ reported, citing sources in Beijing and Washington. According to the report, the Chinese offer envisions a US-Russian summit without the participation of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. The proposal goes against the West’s long-standing commitment to involve Kiev in any conflict-related discussions. The White House declined to confirm to the WSJ whether it had received China’s offer but dismissed it nonetheless, with a White House official describing it as “not viable at all.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry also declined to comment on the report, stating only that Beijing is “pleased” to see that Russia and the US are “strengthening ties and intensifying dialogue on a range of international issues.”

During their conversation, Trump and Putin reportedly agreed to visit each other’s countries. The Kremlin press service has confirmed that Putin invited Trump to visit Moscow, but did not provide a time frame for any potential trip. The US president later indicated that their first meeting would “probably” take place soon in Saudi Arabia. No peace talks on Ukraine have been held since the early months of the conflict. The negotiations between Russia and Ukraine held in Belarus and Türkiye broke down in spring 2022, with both sides accusing the other of making unrealistic demands. Senior US State Department official Victoria Nuland said in 2024 that Washington and its allies advised Kiev not to agree to the terms demanded by Moscow.

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“..our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its own security..”

Hegseth Casts Doubt on Ukraine’s NATO Gamble As Peace Talks Loom (Sp.)

The United States holds the view that Ukraine’s NATO membership is not a feasible outcome of any potential negotiation with Russia, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday. “The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth said during a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting. The idea of returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is unrealistic and pursuing this goal will only cause more suffering, Hegseth said. “We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine, but we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” Hegseth said.

Any future security assurances for Ukraine need to be supported by capable European and non-European forces, which should be deployed under a non-NATO mission and not fall under the purview of Article Five, Pete Hegseth said. “Any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission, and they should not be covered under Article Five,” Hegseth said. Hegseth highlighted that these security assurances will not entail the deployment of US forces to Ukraine. The United States is making its priority deterring war with China in the Pacific, US Secretary of Defense Hegseth said.

“We also face a peer competitor in the Communist Chinese with the capability and intent to threaten our homeland and core national interests in the Indo-Pacific. The US is prioritizing deterring war with China in the Pacific,” Hegseth said. The United States under the Trump administration will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship with allies that is based on dependency, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said. “The United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency. Rather, our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its own security,” Hegseth said.

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“They’ve been saying that for a long time, that Ukraine cannot go into NATO, and I’m OK with that..”

Trump ‘OK’ With Keeping Ukraine Out of NATO (RT)

US President Donald Trump has cast doubt on Ukraine’s chances of joining NATO, aligning with Russia’s long-standing opposition to the move. Moscow has been firmly opposed to Ukraine’s NATO aspirations, calling this a key reason for the ongoing conflict with Kiev. The Kremlin views expansion of the bloc as a threat to national security and insists that Ukraine must remain neutral as part of any peace deal. “I don’t think it’s practical to have it, personally… They’ve been saying that for a long time, that Ukraine cannot go into NATO, and I’m OK with that,” Trump said on Wednesday. His remarks came after a lengthy phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin – their first confirmed contact since Trump returned to the White House last month.

Trump later announced that he and Putin had agreed to begin talks to end the Ukraine conflict. He also indicated that a meeting between the two leaders could take place soon, possibly in Saudi Arabia. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Trump’s stance, calling Ukraine’s NATO ambitions and its goal of reclaiming all lost territories “unrealistic.” Speaking ahead of a meeting of the US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, Hegseth stressed the need for Ukraine to prepare for a negotiated peace, potentially supported by international troops, but without NATO membership as part of any agreement. The Trump administration’s willingness to consider certain Russian demands, including keeping Ukraine out of NATO, marks a significant shift in US foreign policy. Trump previously stated that he understands Russia’s stance on the issue.

Speaking to reporters in Florida last month, he said Moscow’s position had long been “written in stone,” but that former President Joe Biden had ignored it, contributing to the current conflict. “Somewhere along the line, Biden said, ‘[Ukraine], they should be able to join NATO.’ Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I can understand their feelings about that,” Trump added. Kiev remains firm in its desire to join NATO. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has stated that membership is a crucial security goal and a prerequisite for resuming negotiations with Moscow. Despite NATO declaring last year that Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to membership, no timeline has been provided. While NATO members have supported Ukraine politically and militarily, they have also insisted that Kiev must meet several conditions before joining the bloc – including resolving the conflict with Russia.

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“Mark Rutte has said the US-led military bloc would crush Russia if the country attacks member states..”

This comes as Trump and Putin talk peace. The timing! And without the US, NATO can’t crush as much as a pebble.

The US is planning to undo NATO’s article 5, which obliges help if any member gets attacked.

NATO Boss Issues Warning To Putin (RT)

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that the US-led military bloc would deal a crushing blow to Moscow if it attacks any of its member states.In recent years, senior officials from European NATO member states, including Rutte, have alleged that Russia is harboring aggressive plans toward the military bloc. Putin has repeatedly dismissed this speculation, calling it “nonsense” and a ruse to justify increased military spending. Answering reporters’ questions at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, Rutte said, “At the moment, if Putin would attack NATO, the reaction will be devastating. He will lose. So, let him not try it, and he knows this. The deterrence and defense is very strong.” However, NATO needs to spend more on defense to be able to defend itself four or five years from now, he added.

Rutte urged member states to make “some difficult decisions this year about… defense spending, doing much, much more than the 2% we pledged.” He went on to say that while the West has “fantastic” arms manufacturers, “they are not producing enough,” which needs to be urgently addressed. The question regarding supposed Russian aggression was prompted by a report issued by Denmark’s Defense Intelligence Service on Tuesday. According to the document, within five years of ending or freezing the Ukraine conflict, Moscow would be ready to conduct a large-scale onslaught on Europe, based on the assumption that NATO’s defense spending remains at the current level. “Russia is likely to be more willing to use military force … if it perceives NATO as militarily weakened or politically divided,” the intelligence agency claimed, adding that “this is particularly true if Russia assesses that the US cannot or will not support the European NATO countries in a war.”

Last month, Rutte similarly urged NATO member states to “shift to a wartime mindset” to “prevent war.” Those who refuse to spend more on defense might as well “get out your Russian language courses or go to New Zealand,” the NATO secretary-general warned at the time. In December, Rutte suggested that European member states should redirect some of the funds they currently spend on welfare toward their militaries. On Tuesday, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed that the Ukrainian special services, with Western support, were preparing a false-flag provocation in the Baltic Sea involving Russian-made naval mines, in the hope of dragging NATO into a direct military confrontation with Moscow.

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“Nobody listens to them anymore. It’s just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money..”

Musk Calls For Complete Overhaul of NATO (RT)

NATO should be thoroughly revamped, tech billionaire and US government efficiency tsar Elon Musk, has argued. US President Donald Tump has recently expressed dissatisfaction with the level of defense spending by the bloc’s European members, which he views as a drain on American resources, going so far as to threaten underpaying allies with the withdrawal of US protection. In a post on X on Wednesday, Republican Senator Mike Lee wrote that the “Cold War is over. NATO’s anachronistic.” Trump appointed Musk as a ‘special government employee’ to lead the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) following his victory in the November 5 election, aiming to slash government spending. Commenting on Lee’s message, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO concurred, suggesting that “NATO needs an overhaul.”

Over the weekend, the DOGE chief also took aim at two long-standing state-funded propaganda outlets, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Voice of America (VOA). The two CIA cutouts were prominently used by Washington to counter Soviet influence in Europe during the Cold War. “Shut them down. Europe is free now (not counting stifling bureaucracy). Nobody listens to them anymore. It’s just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money,” Musk wrote in a post on X. Trump has insisted that NATO member defense spending “should be 5%, not 2%” of GDP, accusing some European nations of taking “advantage of us.” The US is spending “billions and billions of dollars more … than Europe,” he claimed, having previously warned that Washington would not defend those NATO countries that fail to meet their financial commitments.

Earlier this month, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Berlin “could neither afford that nor spend” 5% of its GDP for this purpose while NATO chief Mark Rutte has urged countries to reduce their social support spending to boost military budgets. Against this backdrop, Italian news agency ANSA, citing EU diplomatic sources, claimed in January that President Trump was considering scaling back the number of American troops stationed in Europe by 20%. In recent years, multiple senior officials from European NATO member states have alleged that Moscow was harboring aggressive plans toward the US-led military bloc. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly rejected this speculation, describing it as “nonsense” and “utter rubbish.” He suggested that Western officials employ scare tactics in order to justify increased military spending.

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The EU is toothless.

EU Won’t Give Zelensky 200,000 Peacekeepers – NYT (RT)

The EU is unable to fulfill Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s request for 200,000 peacekeepers to enforce a potential ceasefire with Russia, a senior bloc official has told the New York Times, in an article published on Tuesday. Zelensky has advocated for a substantial European peacekeeping force of some 200,000 troops to uphold a potential ceasefire and deter future Russian offensives. Analysts cited by the New York Times consider this figure unattainable, noting that deploying even 40,000 troops would be challenging and could still fall short of providing an effective solution. “A senior European official said that the continent doesn’t even have 200,000 troops to offer, and that any boots on the ground must have American support, especially faced with the world’s second-largest nuclear power, Russia,” the NYT reported.

“If not, they would be permanently vulnerable to Russian efforts to undermine the alliance’s political and military credibility.” Recent reports by the Financial Times and Politico also indicate that while Kiev has publicly called for 200,000 peacekeepers, it realistically anticipates a deployment of 40,000 to 50,000 troops. The outlets suggested that the lower figure is more feasible, though the EU would still face difficulties assembling a force. Moscow opposes the introduction of international peacekeepers in Ukraine. Russian officials have argued that the move could escalate tensions and complicate efforts to resolve the conflict. Earlier this week, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia stated that any deployment of peacekeepers to Ukraine without Moscow’s consent would be “illegal,” warning that they would be considered legitimate targets.

In an interview with RIA Novosti, he called the rumors about the possible deployment of peacekeepers “bizarre,” noting that they cannot operate without a mandate from the UN Security Council, which Russia is a part of and where it holds the right of veto. Russia remains opposed to a freezing of the Ukraine conflict and the introduction of peacekeeping forces, insisting that the only way to resolve it is to address the root causes of the conflict. Moscow insists that Kiev must commit to permanent neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification, while acknowledging the territorial realities on the ground.

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Good. Is RFK today?

Tulsi Gabbard Confirmed As Director of National Intelligence (ZH)

In what is hands-down the most surprising, and welcome, development concerning a Trump pick for a national security top post, Tulsi Gabbard has been confirmed as New Director of National Intelligence. It was narrow, and predictably along parisan lines… Mitch McConnell was the lone Republican no vote… in a post-vote statement he claimed that Gabbard is “tainted”. “Tulsi Gabbard failed to demonstrate that she is prepared to assume this tremendous national trust. The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the President receives are tainted by a DNI with a history of alarming lapses in judgment,” he said, citing her refusal to condemn Edward Snowden, and her stance on the Russia-Ukraine war.

She’s been subject to years of media attacks branding her a ‘Kremlin agent’ and ‘Assadist’ etc… For example, right up through the vote The New York Times was running its smear campaign in the following: “Gabbard is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve and a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii. She has taken a sympathetic stance toward Russia and Syria under the Assad family’s rule. And she has defended Edward Snowden, an intelligence contractor who released classified information in 2013. These positions, at odds with the foreign policy establishment in both parties, have made her one of President Trump’s most divisive cabinet nominees.”

But she’s long risen to popularity among military members and veterans especially, given her no compromise approach to blasting America’s regime change wars abroad in the wake of Bush’s Iraq war, taking neocons and liberal interventions alike to task. It’s a new day in the world of the deep state intelligence blob in Washington, and without doubt the old powers that be are nervous, or else running scared. But time will tell. Meanwhile, somewhat surprising to see Thune praising her, the new sheriff in town overseeing the nation’s intelligence collection…

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Pam Bondi is ready to announce the new reality. Trump is going to sue, not be sued.

Pam Bondi’s DOJ Sues NY, Hochul, Letitia James Over Licenses For Illegals (ZH)

The US Department of Justice on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the state of New York and key officials over the state’s 2019 “Green Light” law, which has allowed thousands of illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, while blocking federal immigration and border enforcement agencies from accessing the state’s motor vehicle database. The lawsuit, filed in US district Court in Albany, was announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi during a Wednesday press conference. Aside from the state of NY, Governor Kathy Hochul, state Attorney General Letita James, and DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder were named as defendants. The 2019 Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act prohibits New York sheriff’s departments and other agencies from sharing motor vehicle data with federal authorities for the purposes of immigration enforcement. It has allowed tens of thousands of migrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

Yet, as the Times Union notes, the program has been mired in fraud. “The Times Union reported in 2021 that there had been allegations of widespread cheating in the driver permit program, involving schemes to illicitly obtain driving credentials for immigrants. Many of those individuals allegedly also used the licenses to falsely prove New York residency in order to receive unemployment benefits under the state’s pandemic-era Excluded Worker Fund. The $2.1 billion program had provided unemployment benefits for a short period in 2021 for immigrants who did not qualify for regular state and federal benefits.

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In December, following an investigation by multiple agencies, including the New York inspector general’s office, five men, including two immigrants who had returned to Brazil, were indicted on federal charges in Massachusetts for conspiring to apply for New York driver’s licenses for more than 1,000 undocumented immigrants who did not live in New York. Those charges allege the group’s conspiracy took place between November 2020 and last September, and that they typically charged customers about $1,400 to obtain a driver’s license. The scheme relied on fraudulent residency documents and falsified driving school certificates, according to the indictment.”

When the law was enacted, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and other Democrats said it was intended to improve public safety by ensuring that illegal immigrants are authorized to drive – with advocates remaining silent on subsequent allegations of widespread fraud. “From a state point of view, I want to make sure the people who are driving on our roads pass a driving test. It is a public safety issue,” Cuomo insisted during a February 2020 interview. In February 2020, former acting director of ICE, Matthew T. Albence, said that law enforcement leaders urged Cuomo and state lawmakers to restore access to NY’s motor vehicle database for ICE and the US Customs and Border Protection.

“New York has barred these two agencies, and only these two agencies, from obtaining information we need to do our jobs, and to keep you safe, and it was done purely for political purposes,” Albence said at the time. “As a 25-year law enforcement professional, it’s unfathomable that information which could be used to prevent crime or a potential terrorist attack is purposefully being withheld in this state, the same state that less than 20 years ago suffered the worst terrorist attack on American soil.”

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“How could a judge want to hold us back from finding all of this fraud and finding all of this incompetence?”

Trump Sees ‘Tremendous Kickbacks’ In US Government Contracts (RT)

US President Donald Trump has sounded the alarm over what he described as rampant corruption in the American government, while vowing to crack down on inefficient bureaucracy that costs the country billions of dollars. The president delivered his remarks in the Oval Office on Tuesday, with Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and a close ally, standing next to the Resolute Desk as the two outlined their vision for cutting government spending. Trump noted in particular deals between the government and private contractors, recalling one case in which a consultant – whom he did not identify – was hired for three months, but continued to receive money over 20 years. “I see a lot of kickbacks. Tremendous kickbacks. Because nobody could be so stupid to give some of these contracts,” he argued.

Meanwhile, billions of dollars go “in waste, fraud, and abuse,” Trump said, adding that “nobody had any idea it was that bad, that sick, and that corrupt.” He stressed that he ran on promises to fight corruption, and he planned to do precisely that. Echoing the president’s remarks, Musk noted that “there are quite a few people in the bureaucracy who have ostensibly a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars but somehow managed to accrue tens of millions of dollars.” The Trump administration and DOGE’s mission is “to restore democracy,” he added. He also noted that the US has no choice but to usher in major reforms. “We’ve got a $2 trillion [budget] deficit. And if we don’t do something about this deficit, the country’s going bankrupt,” Musk said. Trump also criticized the US judiciary for attempts to stop DOGE from auditing government agencies, particularly the Treasury Department’s payment system.

“If I need a vote of Congress to find fraud and abuse, it’s fine with me… How could a judge want to hold us back from finding all of this fraud and finding all of this incompetence?” he charged. While Trump has insisted that the goal of audits is to eliminate corruption, opponents have accused Musk and his agency of overstepping authority, seeking to dismantle critical government programs, and potentially misusing sensitive data for political purposes. As part of its push to combat government inefficiency, the Trump administration has already cracked down on the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington’s primary vehicle for funding political projects abroad, by suspending most foreign aid. The US president earlier called for the agency to be shut down, calling it run by “radical lunatics.”

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“..a political class that classifies an estimated fifty million documents a year [..] is voicing disgust over Musk’s team’s occasional use of discretion.”

Why They Really Hate Elon Musk (Mises)

As Elon Musk continues to take over and wind down parts of the federal bureaucracy, establishment figures from across media and politics are growing increasingly resentful of the tech entrepreneur. If you read a national newspaper, turn on a major news channel, or tune into one of the establishment’s many late-night “satire” shows, you’re bound to see Musk getting mocked and criticized relentlessly. He’s framed as a rich person using government to get even richer and as a political operative willing to skirt rules and norms to get what he wants. Many establishment types also like to remind their audience Musk is “unelected” at any chance they get—a not-so-subtle suggestion that the actions he’s taking in DC right now are illegitimate. You’ll also hear Musk and his team criticized for conducting some of their work in secret.

And then there’s, of course, the swipe that’s become popular in the wake of his gutting of USAID: that he is willing to hurt poor people to make himself better off. Setting aside the many flaws and inaccuracies with these characterizations of Elon Musk, it’s worth noting that all of them apply even more accurately to the American political establishment itself. To start, “rich people using the government to benefit themselves” has defined the American political system for more than a century. As Murray Rothbard laid out in great detail in his book The Progressive Era, the transition from the laissez-faire, hyper-limited government system of the mid-1800s was not driven by the bottom-up plea to protect workers and keep food clean that we were taught about in elementary school.

It grew out of the recognition among the heads of industry that they could much more effectively protect their market share from smaller competitors and go on to expand it if they used the power of government for their own benefit. In other words, the key to staying on top switched from innovating to lobbying. That started with railroad companies in the late 1800s but quickly grew to include industrial farmers, healthcare providers, and bankers in the early 1900s, followed by weapons companies, Wall Street firms, and many others in the second half of the century. Today, virtually all the giant corporations that dominate these industries owe their positions to government policies set up in their favor—to the detriment of the American public.

The modern political establishment is defined by their willingness and ability to protect and expand this dynamic. It is laughable to hear them falsely criticize Musk for doing the same thing. The same goes for his supposed violation of constitutional rules and norms. Many of the loudest establishment voices condemning this behavior were cheering just as loudly as the George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama administrations launched dozens of undeclared wars, conducted warrantless surveillance, used torture, carried out extrajudicial assassinations on American citizens, and provided aid and comfort to Al Qaeda. At the very least, these are explicit violations of Article 1, Section 8; Article 3, Section 3; and the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution, as well as Section 2340A of Title 18 of the United States Code.

And during the covid pandemic, the political establishment took the exact same kind of approach they’re now criticizing Musk for conducting. Federal and state governments rushed to close businesses, schools, and churches and prohibit people from attending public gatherings—all without even pretending to care about the constitutional rules and norms they’re now feigning concern about. Next, the implication that what Musk is doing is illegitimate because he’s unelected is ridiculous. Not only was it made very clear to voters before the election that Musk would do this if Trump won, virtually the entire federal workforce that the establishment is trying to protect from Musk is unelected too. The millions of unelected officials who conduct the bulk of federal government operations were brought on and set to work without even a fraction of the transparency and publicity involved in Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk.

Speaking of transparency, it’s comical that a political class that classifies an estimated fifty million documents a year—ninety percent of which are “probably unnecessary” according to some establishment legal experts—is voicing disgust over Musk’s team’s occasional use of discretion.

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The first of the activist judges collapses?!

Federal Judge Allows Trump To Push Forward With Gov’t Workers Buyouts (NYP)

A federal judge on Wednesday declined to pause the Trump administration’s buyout program for government workers, giving President Trump a key win in his push to shrink the size of the federal government. US District Judge George A. O’Toole ruled that the union groups suing to block the so-called “Deferred Resignation” program lacked standing and that his Massachusetts-based court lacked the jurisdiction to proceed with the lawsuit. O’Toole, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, temporarily blocked the Office of Personnel Management from moving ahead with the program earlier this week, after unions representing more than 800,000 federal workers charged that that the buyout offers were unlawful. “The plaintiffs here are not directly impacted by the directive,” the judge ruled.

“Instead, they allege that the directive subjects them to upstream effects including a diversion of resources to answer members’ questions about the directive, a potential loss of membership, and possible reputational harm.” “The unions do not have the required direct stake in the Fork Directive, but are challenging a policy that affects others, specifically executive branch employees,” O’Toole continued. “This is not sufficient.” OPM had given some 2 million federal workers unwilling to comply with a return-to-office mandate a Feb. 6 deadline to accept about eight months of pay and benefits in exchange for their resignations. The agency further warned that the buyout offer would not be extended past the deadline and that workers choosing to stay put should expect downsizing, restructurings, realignments and workforce reductions under Trump.

About 75,000 federal workers have accepted the deal, according to OPM. “OPM is pleased the court has rejected a desperate effort to strike down the Deferred Resignation Program,” OPM spokeswoman McLaurine Pinover told The Post. “As of 7:00 p.m. tonight, the program is now closed.” “There is no longer any doubt: the Deferred Resignation Program was both legal and a valuable option for federal employees,” she added. “This program was carefully designed, thoroughly vetted, and provides generous benefits so federal workers can plan for their futures.” OPM had left the program open to resignations after the judge’s initial stay of the deadline.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), one of the groups attempting to block the program, maintains that the program is illegal despite its lack of standing to sue. “Today’s ruling is a setback in the fight for dignity and fairness for public servants. But it’s not the end of that fight. AFGE’s lawyers are evaluating the decision and assessing next steps,” AFGE President Everett Kelley said in a statement. “Importantly, this decision did not address the underlying lawfulness of the program,” Kelley added. “We continue to maintain it is illegal to force American citizens who have dedicated their careers to public service to make a decision, in a few short days, without adequate information, about whether to uproot their families and leave their careers for what amounts to an unfunded IOU from Elon Musk.”

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“Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island can be seen in video footage from 2021 accusing Trump of being “a dictator” and claiming that “racism is a white people problem..”

Federal Judge Blocking Spending Freezes Has History of TDS (AmG)

The federal judge who ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze all funding pauses while federal spending is being assessed, has a history of anti-Trump and woke activism. Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island can be seen in video footage from 2021 accusing Trump of being “a dictator” and claiming that “racism is a white people problem” and that “we all have racism inside of us.” McConnell, who was appointed by president Obama, has ordered Trump to resume all paused funding and to restore any funds that have been withheld or potentially face criminal contempt charges. The judge also mandated that if Trump wishes to delay any payment, he will need to first need to seek McConnell’s permission and justify the request to the judge’s satisfaction. Commentator Scott Jennings, in a discussion on CNN earlier this week, posed the question to fellow panelists as to whether an unelected judge can cover up fraud but the sitting president is powerless to stop it.

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Fellow commentator and former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu raised the possibility that McConnell’s actions, in conjunction with 23 state Attorneys General, were the product of “judge shopping” and that “judges don’t just randomly get these cases.” Sununu told the CNN panel that “there’s a reason that these cases are filed in Boston and Rhode Island.”

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The question of whether the president is subordinate to 300 district court judges will likely find its way to the U.S. Supreme Court for further clarification. In the meantime, Judge McConnell’s anti-Trump statements and history of activism casts serious doubt on his ability to maintain impartiality.

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‘Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job.’ I want her to make the Education Department unnecessary.”

Judge Temporarily Blocks DOGE From Accessing Federal Student Aid Data (ET)

A federal judge has temporarily barred Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing federal student loan and financial aid information stored at the U.S. Department of Education. In an order issued Tuesday evening, Judge Randolph Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia barred any members or associates of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from seeing or using information from more than a dozen internal databases related to student finance until next Monday. Both sides of the lawsuit—a group of students at the University of California (UC) and the Education Department—have agreed to the halt as they prepare arguments.

UC students a week ago accused the Education Department of violating the Privacy Act of 1974, a federal law that restricts federal agencies from sharing personally identifiable information with third parties unless specific legal exceptions apply. For example, the FUTURE Act of 2019 authorizes the Education Department to import tax return information from the IRS to streamline the financial aid application process.In their complaint filed at the D.C. federal court, the students allege that the Education Department has been providing DOGE with “continuous and ongoing access” to sensitive information “for an unspecified period of time” without clear oversight or legal authorization.

“Because [the Department’s] actions and decisions are shrouded in secrecy, individuals do not have even basic information about what personal or financial information Defendants are sharing with outside parties or how their information is being used,” the complaint reads. The lawsuit comes amid growing uncertainty over the future of the Education Department, which operates on a multi-hundred-billion-dollar budget and oversees $1.5 trillion in federal student loans owed by more than 42 million Americans. President Donald Trump has expressed strong interest in dismantling the department, a position long held by some conservative and libertarian-minded Republican lawmakers but rarely taken seriously in mainstream political discussions—until now.

Speaking about his nominee for secretary of education, Linda McMahon, Trump said he hoped she would eliminate her own position and return control of education to individual states.“We spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, and we’re ranked near the bottom, we rank very badly,” Trump told reporters on Feb. 4 in the White House. “What I want to do is let the states run schools—I believe strongly in school choice—but in addition to that, I want the states to run schools. “I told Linda, ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job.’ I want her to make the Education Department unnecessary.” McMahon’s Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

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“Trump says he’s going to obey the orders, and I don’t think he should… Trump should not obey the orders. That is the fastest way to get it to the Supreme Court, and that is not to obey the orders..”

Left Will Push Violent Revolution Against Trump – Larry Klayman (USAW)

Renowned Attorney Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and later Freedom Watch USA, predicted that the crap would hit the fan after Donald Trump was sworn into office. He was correct. Now, Klayman says, “Just in the last few days, we have had Chuck Schumer, Maxine Waters and Hakeem Jefferies, the Minority Leader in the House, threating to go into the streets for violence. ..” “We can expect violence, but right now, what they are testing are these federal judges… The Democrats have gone forum shopping in leftist states, I don’t even call them liberal anymore… and they are enjoining every one of President Trump’s major executive orders. It’s an outrage. It’s illegal, and I don’t think President Trump should obey those orders.

I think they are illegal. Trump says he’s going to obey the orders, and I don’t think he should… Trump should not obey the orders. That is the fastest way to get it to the Supreme Court, and that is not to obey the orders. They will be at the Supreme Court lickety-split.” Klayman says, “The President has the right to intervene to see how that money is being spent.” “If he finds fraud, waste and corruption, it should be turned over to (AG) Pam Bondi to prosecute. What they found so far is $50 million worth of condoms for Hamas, all kinds of money going to terrorist organizations and you name it. It’s beyond the theater of the absurd. It’s criminal. Trump pointed out at his press conference today that there are likely kickbacks… There are trillions and trillions of dollars, and that is just what has been wasted in the past.”

Klayman also says the pardons from President Biden for his son and family are illegal. Klayman contends, “These so-called pardons are null and void…” “The pardons were illegal for two reasons: He (Biden) did not have the mental capacity to grant them, and they were not specific. They did not say what people were being pardoned for. I just pardon you for any crime. You can’t do that.” Klayman thinks the fight with the Left is a lot worse than most people think. Klayman explains, “We are going to be in a violent revolution potentially in short order…” “The Left is pushing too hard right now, and they are going to start the violence like they did with Antifa and Black Lives Matter. Look what happened in Philadelphia when the Eagles won the Super Bowl.

Lawless, leftist thugs burned down Broad Street. . . . This is a situation that can only spin more wildly out of control the more Trump pushes. . . . It’s getting to a very dangerous phase… The Left wants us dead – they really do. They want to have complete control. Now that control has been taken away from them in an election, they are not going to go quietly. If they don’t get what they want in court, and they probably won’t, they are going to be violent, and this could ratchet up more and more.”

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“..was never about securing classified documents — it was always about weaponizing the full force of the Department of Justice against President Trump by whatever means necessary..”

Biden WH, DOJ, National Archives Collaborated On Trump Documents Probe (JTN)

Newly published emails show the Biden White House cooperated with the National Archives in the Justice Department’s classified documents case against Donald Trump – which allowed the White House to build a predicate for the federal case against Trump that was ultimately dismissed, America First Legal says. The emails, which were obtained in a lawsuit and released by the nonprofit conservative public interest group, show then-Deputy White House Counsel Jonathan Su took a phone call with National Archives and Records Administration officials to discuss the missing boxes allegedly retained illicitly by Trump in September 2021, delaying the agency’s referral to the Department of Justice until after the White House filed a “special access request” the following year.

“New NARA emails further confirm that the classified documents case against President Trump was a sham prosecution that involved the Biden White House from the start – long before NARA’s official referral of classified documents to DOJ for investigation,” America First Legal posted to X. The federal case that was ultimately dismissed centered on allegation that Trump after losing 2020 reelection took classifiied documents to his Mar-a-Lago home in Flordia. “This new timeline is further proof that Biden’s FBI raid on [Mar-a-Lago] was never about securing classified documents — it was always about weaponizing the full force of the Department of Justice against President Trump by whatever means necessary,” the group said.

On Sept. 15, 2022, NARA general counsel Gary Stern wrote to his colleagues that he had brought Su “up to speed on the issue” of the missing boxes. “this [sic] week Jonathan told me that they are open to having [redacted] participate in a meeting with [redacted] and possibly [redacted], the former Staff Secretary who was [redacted] principal source. Accordingly, they need access to war notes from the last administration, which we now hold — so they will be making a special access request,” Stern wrote. The emails show NARA abandoned sending a letter to the DOJ about the case at that time due to the ongoing discussions between the White House and Trump’s legal team. NARA admitted that the cooperation of Trump’s team on the document issue “could help to clarify, if not actually resolve, the issue,” eliminating the need for a wider probe.

But, as Trump’s team tried to fight the requests to turn over the documents, which they argued rightfully belonged to the former president, America First Legal previously argued that the Biden administration used the future “special access request” to create the predicate for an FBI-led raid of Mar-a-Lago to obtain the documents. Just the News first reported in 2022 how the Biden White House worked directly with the Justice Department and National Archives to instigate the criminal probe into alleged mishandling of documents. The White House eliminated the 45th president’s claim to executive privilege and allowed the FBI to review evidence retrieved from Trump’s Florida estate that spring, kicking the probe into high gear.

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Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets. Anna Paulina Luna.

New Task Force To Probe jFK, RFK, MLK Murders, Epstein’s ‘Lolita Express’ (RT)

A so-called “black book” containing the list of contacts and alleged clients of deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein is set to be released to the public as part of a new declassification campaign, the newly appointed head of a specialized US task force has announced. The Republican-led congressional task force was created to oversee the release of government files linked to a wide range of high-profile topics, including the 9/11 attacks, the origins of Covid-19, UFOs, and the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother and political ally Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights campaigner Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

Epstein worked as a financier and socialized with the rich and famous for years, introducing them to dozens of young women – some of whom were underage at the time – and flying them to his private island in the Caribbean on a jet dubbed the “Lolita Express.” He was arrested in 2019 and died in his Manhattan cell later that year, officially ruled a suicide. Evidence related to his case remained classified even after his death, with media reports claiming that the FBI had found videos potentially containing compromising material on his “guests” during searches of his New York residence and Caribbean island. The newly appointed head of the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), has vowed to bring some of this information to light, along with other previously classified materials.

“The federal government has been hiding information from Americans for decades,” Luna said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that “it is time to give Americans the answers they deserve.” A GOP congresswoman and supporter of US President Donald Trump, Luna has repeatedly demanded “transparency” in the federal government. The 35-year-old lawmaker was elected to the House of Representatives in 2022 after serving in the military for six years. The establishment of the task force was announced by the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, James Comer (R-Ky.), who said it would “build on the Trump administration’s efforts to declassify records of national importance.” Trump signed an executive order to release federal records linked to the assassinations of the two Kennedys and King soon after his inauguration in January.

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“A low rouble is embraced which helps to offset energy price slumps and brings in bigger surpluses when prices soar. So, even cutting the oil price to $45 – which Trump is talking about – might not have as big an impact on Russia as he believes.

Switching Off Russian Gas Pipelines Hurts Europe Far More Than Russia (SCF)

European industry is being crippled by high energy prices, and we are told, this is Russia’s fault. But it is driven by self-defeating energy policies in Brussels and Berlin. The only answer is to boost global supply which may involve uncomfortable choices about Russian pipelines. The Financial Times recently reported that some European member states are pondering restarting supplies of Russian piped gas on the back of any future ceasefire in Ukraine. This is proving controversial, not least among hard-line Russophobe states like Poland and the Balts. But it might make economic sense, not for Russia’s sake, but for Europe’s. Before war started, gas prices in Europe were extremely low – comparable to U.S. gas prices today – because of hugely favourable global supply. LNG from the U.S., the Middle East and Africa together with piped gas from Norway and Russia, pushed the wholesale price of gas down to levels not seen since 2005.

European LNG imports had risen sharply after the onset of the Ukraine crisis in 2014 increasing from only 10% of to nearly 50% today, while Russian piped gas kept flowing. As part of this, imports from the U.S. tripled in volume between 2021 and 2023 and they now make up almost 50% of total European LNG imports. Read the European press and you’ll hear often how U.S. LNG is too expensive, which contributes to the economic headwinds manufacturers in Germany and else are facing. Emmanuel Macron has in the past called out the U.S. as ‘unfriendly’ for selling expensive LNG. But this is deeply misleading. Back in 2019, there was more gas than the world could possibly use, bearing down on prices. The fact of piped or shipped was immaterial to the glut in supply. The surge in U.S. supplies was doing to global gas prices what the glut of U.S. shale oil was doing in January 2016 when prices sunk to $26 per barrel.

The 2016 oil price collapse put immense pressure on Russia’s economy, which is heavily reliant on tax from oil and gas exports. Russia’s current account surplus in 2016 hit its lowest level since 1999, pinching tax income significantly. And that was at a time when Russia was pumping record amounts of oil and gas. Because herein lies a truth; the global price of energy has a much bigger impact on Russia than the amount of energy that you buy from Russia. When President Trump talks to OPEC about slashing the oil price, and, by extension, the gas price, he thinks that this will damage Russia’s economy more than cutting Russian supplies However, Russian monetary policy today is very different to 2016. A low rouble is embraced which helps to offset energy price slumps and brings in bigger surpluses when prices soar. So, even cutting the oil price to $45 – which Trump is talking about – might not have as big an impact on Russia as he believes.

And, in any case, those prices will only be possible by radically changing the supply equation. Mothballing Russian pipelines as putative punishment for Putin’s war in Ukraine is having the opposite effect – restricting supply, pushing up prices and hurting Europe far more than it is hurting Russia. In 2018, Europe imported 201 BCM of gas from Russia, mostly through pipelines, accounting for 38% of its total gas imports. Since the war started, Europe has shut down 185 BCM in potential yearly supply, or 35% of its total gas imports. This includes the destruction or suspensions of the Nordstream pipelines (110 bcm), the suspension of the Yamal Pipeline via Belarus (33 BCM) and now the cutting off of gas transit via Ukraine at the start of 2025 (42bcm). That leaves just 17.5 BCM in pipeline capacity through Turkey for Russian gas.

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“..could ultimately come in a billion dollars a mile.”

Trump Admin Eyes Billions Going to California High-Speed Train (Turley)

Despite a plethora of challenges, the Trump Administration is pushing ahead with its top-to-bottom review of government spending. It has already halted billions in what it views as wasteful spending. It now looks like one of the most wasteful, runaway public works projects in the country could be on the chopping block: California’s high-speed rail project. The project to build a bullet train from Los Angeles to Sacramento is an outrageous example of a public work that lacked any fiscal responsibility or oversight from the state government. Nevertheless, Democrats continue to push for billions more from the federal government as well as California taxpayers. There is currently $4.3 billion in unspent federal funds for California’s high-speed rail project, and Trump should seek to claw back the money in light of the gross negligence shown by the California authorities.

The project was initially approved in 2008 with the support of Gov. Jerry Brown (D) as an environmental and technological advance for the state. It proved a costly bait-and-switch. Voters approved a $9.95 billion bond issue in 2008 after absurdly low estimates of the projected cost. Influential figures and companies stood to make a fortune, and the key was to get a “buy-in” worth billions so that it would be more and more difficult to abandon the project as overruns and delays sent the costs soaring. Now the official estimate of future ridership has dropped by 25% and it demands billions more to complete a project that would be delayed by decades to complete. Remember that this entire project was meant to create a rail line of only 171 miles. It is projected at over $128 billion and could ultimately come in a billion dollars a mile. There are still uncompleted environmental assessments and challenging rail lines through the mountains.

In his first term, Trump criticized the project and withheld a billion dollars in federal aid. However, when President Joe Biden came into office, he opened the federal coffers and approved billions more despite well-documented mismanagement and dubious spending. Trump is now pledging an investigation, which is long overdue. There is ample reason to suspect fraud and other possible violations in this multi-billion dollar boondoggle. Indeed, this week, the inspector general, Benjamin Belnap, issued a scathing report on the first phase of still uncompleted project. That is only the stretch from Merced to Bakersfield which was supposed to be completed by 2033.

Belnap wrote: “With a smaller remaining schedule envelope and the potential for significant uncertainty and risk during subsequent phases of the project, staying within the 2033 schedule envelope is unlikely. In fact, uncertainty about some parts of the project has increased as the authority has recently made decisions that deviated from the procurement and funding strategies that were part of its plans for staying on schedule.” The Merced-Bakersfield line alone would now cost $35.3 billion, more than the 2008 projection for a complete system. California Democrats have continued to throw money at the project without making meaningful changes on the overruns and delays. There is currently only $28.7 billion in state bonds left. The inefficiency of the project has been raised for years.

Even if completed, the system would reduce auto travel by 10 million miles a day in a state where citizens drive a billion miles a day. As noted by Cal Matters, “A 10 million-mile reduction would ostensibly cut emissions by scarcely 1%.” It added: Logically, spending emission auction money on more direct carbon reduction programs, such as reducing emission-spewing wildfires, would make more sense. The current estimate for linking San Francisco with Southern California is $107 billion. Officials don’t even know how to fully finance Merced-Bakersfield, much less raise the other $72.4 billion they would need. Both a federal investigation and a cessation of funding are long overdue. It is time to bite the bullet. California has every right to spend over $100 billion during budget deficits, but the rest of the country should not subsidize it.

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Talent

 

 

Reindeer

 

 

Explain

 

 

Blackjack

 

 

Zanzibar
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889579116162158607

 

 

Penguin
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889578911207477372

 

 

Support the Automatic Earth in wartime with Paypal, Bitcoin and Patreon.

 

 

 

 

 

Jan 282025
 
 January 28, 2025  Posted by at 10:25 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  73 Responses »


Pablo Picasso The artist and his model 1926

 

A Cabinet of the Cancelled (Paul Craig Roberts)
US Army Needs Huge Shakeup – Vance (RT)
Trump Targets ‘Gender Ideology’ In The Military (RT)
Denmark Can’t Protect Greenland – Trump (RT)
Trumps Opens The War Against Russia From Greenland (Helmer)
The Trump Pardons Trigger Judicial Rage (Turley)
Russia Must Help Overthrow Europe’s Dangerous Political Elites (Karaganov)
DeepSeek Pulls Rug Out On Nvidia, ASML (ZH)
Trump Says He ‘Immediately Halted’ Hiring of New IRS Agents (ET)
Trump’s Agenda Will Force Foreign Leaders To Adopt Pro-Growth Policies (ZH)
Argentina’s Milei Attacks European Liberal ‘Epidemic’ (RT)
EU Prolongs Sanctions On Russia (RT)
Ukraine’s Top Spy Believes Country Could Cease To Exist (RT)
The CIA Report: A Low Confidence Finding is the Height of Hypocrisy (Turley)
Glug Glug. . . . (James Howard Kunstler)
Taibbi Hints FBI Communications With COVID Scientists Will Be Exposed (ZH)
Devalued Dollar Will Crash the DOW – Martin Armstrong (USAW)
The Nation That Liberated Auschwitz Is Being Excluded From Memory (Romanenko)

 

 


Mars

 

 

Tucker

NC

Homan


https://twitter.com/i/status/1883615616088842695

Ritter
https://twitter.com/i/status/1883841607566340255

Maidan 2014

Brennan
https://twitter.com/i/status/1883740561569677661

Historical course of WWII map sequence

Roger Ver

 

 

 

 

“During the next four years the fate of America’s constitutional order will be determined.”

A Cabinet of the Cancelled (Paul Craig Roberts)

Abigail Shrier writes in the City Journal that the members of Trump’s “Cabinet of the Cancelled” understand the danger of government coercion because they have experienced it firsthand. And so has Trump and thousands of his supporters. Shrier does a service by reminding us of the intense attempt of the Biden regime to revolutionize our society by attacking our principles and replacing a merit-based color-blind society with a status-based society of privileges based on race, gender, and sexual preference. The Biden regime weaponized law in order to cancel people who spoke truth to the regimes’ official narratives and to silence people by censoring and imprisoning them. 1,500 Trump supporters were sentenced for attending a rally, and right-to-life protesters were imprisoned for opposing a practice that during the first part of my life the law considered murder.

With Biden regime protection, Child Protective Services considered it child abuse for parents to oppose sex change operations or fail to use a child’s pronouns chosen for him by DEI propagandists at his public school, and children were seized from “abusive” parents. Large numbers of traditional Americans found themselves living in a dystopian novel. An effort was made to destroy the US military with DEI and mandated vaccination. Traditional military families turned their sons away from military service. Covid “vaccines” were forced on those who had too much sense to submit to vaccination with an untested experimental and known dangerous substance. The great horror of abortion advocates spread into the male population. Both genders lost control over their own bodies to coerced vaccination.

The examples are endless. Tulsi Gabbard was placed on a government watch list and subjected to airport harassment simply for being critical of the Biden regime. Stanford University Medical School professor Jay Bhattacharya was “cancelled” by social media companies at the insistence of the Biden regime’s Surgeon General. Elon Musk’s companies were targeted with regulatory harassment because he returned free speech to Twitter, now known as X. Skepticism expressed about the safety and effectiveness of the Covid “vaccine” got doctors fired, their medical licenses confiscated by utterly corrupt “medical boards” acting on Big Pharma’s orders under the protection of Fauci and the Biden FDA. Others who interfered with Big Pharma’s profits were branded “enemies of the people” and threatened with arrest.

Americans were not even permitted to object to males participating in female sports or to men gaining access to female locker rooms by self-declaring themselves to be women. During the Biden attack on America, the most serious crime was not treason or mass murder. The most serious crime was opposition to DEI. As I explained yesterday, the enemies arrayed against Trump and his supporters are in control of all American institutions, public and private. The federal bureaucracy is against him. His appointees must be culture warriors, because they are greatly outnumbered by a force that has been conducting culture war against America for decades.

The agenda of the Woke Democrats is no less than the revolutionary overthrow of the United States and its replacement with a race and gender status-based hierarchy in which white heterosexual males are second class citizens in law. White males who vote Democrat are endorsing their own demise and are the epitome of insouciant dumbshits. During the next four years the fate of America’s constitutional order will be determined.

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“We fought many wars over the last 40 years, but haven’t won a war about as long as I’ve been alive..”

US Army Needs Huge Shakeup – Vance (RT)

The US has failed to win a single war in several generations despite spending staggering sums of money on its army, Vice President J.D. Vance has said, calling for a major military overhaul. In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Vance defended the confirmation of Pete Hegseth as the new secretary of defense, which narrowly passed the Senate with a 50-50 tie broken by the vice president himself. Hegseth has faced criticism over his controversial public comments about Islam, limited leadership experience, and accusations of sexual assault, which he has denied. Vance described Hegseth as a “disruptor” and said he was the right person to usher in long-overdue change. “We fought many wars over the last 40 years, but haven’t won a war about as long as I’ve been alive,” Vance said.

“They’ve got us a military with a major recruitment crisis, a procurement price crisis that’s totally dysfunctional, where we buy airplanes for billions and billions of dollars, terrible cost overruns, the delivery dates are always delayed. So we need a big change,” he said. The US has “gotten into way too many wars that we don’t have a plan for winning,” Vance said, adding that “we have to really, top to bottom, change the way that we fund the procurement of weapons.” Hegseth “is the guy to lead the job,” he insisted, adding that the new secretary, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is the one who sees “not through the perspective of the generals or the bureaucrats, [but] through the perspective of the men and women that we send off to fight.”

US President Donald Trump has vowed to end the current conflicts, having already credited himself with brokering the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, while vowing to prioritize domestic issues. Shortly after his inauguration, he ordered additional troops to the US-Mexico border to stave off the migration crisis. In November, the Pentagon failed its seventh consecutive audit, having been unable to fully account for its $824 billion budget. It has not passed a single audit since 2018, when it became a legal requirement to do so. However, officials have pointed to visible progress, promising to achieve a clean audit by 2028.

Hegseth


https://twitter.com/i/status/1883891120876478807

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“..moves to end attempts to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”

Trump Targets ‘Gender Ideology’ In The Military (RT)

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at removing “radical gender ideology” from the US armed forces. The order, titled ‘Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness’, was issued on Monday, just over a week after Trump’s inauguration, as part of a broader effort to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal government. The order says that military service should be reserved for those who are mentally and physically fit for duty. It outlines a policy focusing on troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity. “This policy is inconsistent with the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria,” the order states. “This policy is also inconsistent with shifting pronoun usage or use of pronouns that inaccurately reflect an individual’s sex.”

Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who narrowly won Senate approval last Friday, is tasked with implementing the directive. Within 60 days, Hegseth must revise medical standards for military service to align with the order’s objectives. Over the next month, he will set up a strategy to tackle the issues and submit it to Trump. The US will focus on “restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence,” Hegseth said in a message to the armed forces on Saturday. The executive order follows a series of actions by the new US president aimed at dismantling DEI programs within the federal government. On his first day back in office, he signed orders rolling back protections for transgender individuals and terminating DEI initiatives, describing these efforts as moves to end attempts to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”

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“They put two dog sleds there two weeks ago, they thought that was protection..”

If you’re a Greenlander, how much faith do you have in Denmark?

Denmark Can’t Protect Greenland – Trump (RT)

Denmark is not capable of adequately protecting its strategically important territory of Greenland, US President Donald Trump has claimed. Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Saturday, Trump appeared to ridicule the Danish plan to increase its military presence on the Arctic island. Trump first floated the idea of purchasing Greenland during his first term in office, and revived the idea following his victory in the presidential election on November 5. The US president has spoken of Greenland’s significance for US national security, refusing to rule out the use of military force to obtain it. Denmark has firmly rejected any suggestion that Greenland could be sold.Trump stated: “I do believe Greenland, we’ll get – because it really has to do with freedom of the world. It has nothing to do with the United States, other than we’re the one that can provide the freedom. [Denmark] can’t. They put two dog sleds there two weeks ago, they thought that was protection,” he said, as quoted by the Financial Times.

Trump was apparently referring to an announcement by Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen earlier this month. He said Copenhagen was planning to add two inspection vessels, two drones, and two dog sled patrols to its current force of 75 personnel, four ships, and a surveillance plane. “I don’t really know what claim Denmark has to it, but it would be a very unfriendly act if they didn’t allow that to happen,” Trump said over the weekend. He also claimed that the “people [of Greenland] want to be with us.” Speaking to local broadcaster TV2 on Sunday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasized “how good an ally Denmark has been” to the US. The Nordic country is a NATO member state that participated in US-led military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Frederiksen also reiterated that Greenland was not for sale, and its population has an exclusive right to determine its future. According to a Financial Times report on Friday, citing several anonymous European officials, the US president and the Danish prime minister had a “horrendous” phone conversation earlier this month. Trump was reportedly “very firm” about his intention to purchase Greenland, threatening Denmark with tariffs if it continues to resist his bid. The confrontational tone of the phone call is said to have “freaked out” officials in Copenhagen, making them realize that Trump’s intentions were “serious.”

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Just check the maps..

Trumps Opens The War Against Russia From Greenland (Helmer)

In the two great battles whose outcomes turned a small, defensive Anglo-Saxon island into an offensive global empire, the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the Battle of Bosworth Field of 1485, the ruling English kings, Harold Godwinson and Richard III, launched downhill cavalry charges which almost overpowered the invading forces; almost reached the challengers William of Normandy and Henry Tudor; almost killed them. But Harold and Richard were killed instead; their kingdoms were captured. The lesson of those two cavalry charges led from the front by Harold and Richard has been erased in the story-telling which followed their deaths by the propagandists of William and Henry.

In the present battles with the US and the NATO allies on the Ukrainian battlefield, the Russians could provide an object lesson to the Danes on what they should expect to be done to them by President Donald Trump as he rushes to capture Greenland, confident that the threat of his charge will be enough to force the Danes to surrender, the Greenlanders to capitulate. Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen heard it for herself. “It was horrendous,” said one of the sources in Copenhagen after she and Trump had spoken by telephone last week. Another source has added: “He was very firm. It was a cold shower. Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous…It was a very tough conversation. He threatened specific measures against Denmark such as targeted tariffs.”

This was what was heard and reported to a London newspaper. Prime Minister Fredericksen was shy; she told the Financial Times she does: “not recognise the interpretation of the conversation given by anonymous sources”. Officially, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman has declared Russia to be against both Fredericksen and Trump. Their claims, Maria Zakharova said last Thursday, “neglect the crux of the issue.” That, she explained, is the concerted Danish campaign to destroy the indigenous identity, culture, and reproduction of the Inuit Greenlanders, combined with the theft and poisoning of their land by US nuclear bomber and submarine bases. “Given the extensive history of colonial exploitation by Denmark and the United States, it is unsurprising that Greenland seeks independence and the establishment of a sovereign state,” Zakharova said.

No Russian currently engaged in the serious fighting against the US believes in displaying enthusiasm for either the cavalry charge or the parley. Instead, the Russians are preparing to fight Trump’s Greenland move as the opening of a new front to attack Russia from the north. The US plan of attack on the north front isn’t new with Trump. The recent history of that plan, retold from the Russian point of view, follows.

In the US Defense Department’s “2024 Arctic Strategy” paper, Russia is the principal target, along with Russian-Chinese cooperation in natural resource mining, trade and oil and gas shipping along the Northern Sea Route. “Major geopolitical changes are driving the need for this new strategic approach to the Arctic,” the paper declared, “including Russia’s full-scale [sic] invasion of Ukraine, the accession of Finland and Sweden to the NATO Alliance, increasing collaboration between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia, and the accelerating impacts of climate change. This increasingly accessible region is becoming a venue for strategic competition, and the United States must stand ready to meet the challenge alongside Allies and partners.”

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“Rhodes previously asked to speak to the House committee that investigated the riot, but the Democrat-controlled committee refused to allow it..”

The Trump Pardons Trigger Judicial Rage (Turley)

Even though President Trump had made it a campaign pledge to pardon those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, the roughly 1,500 pardons Trump issued on his first day produced familiar reactions from politicians and pundits. In Philadelphia, District Attorney Larry Krasner pledged to pursue those pardoned or commuted with new charges on the state level — eclipsing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in repackaging federal crimes as state offenses. Others cited the pardons as evidence of an even greater plot or purpose. On MSNBC, former NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund head Sherrilyn Ifill declared that the pardons were all part of a plan to build an army of “brownshirts.” Not to be outdone, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) warned that Trump was issuing pardons to create a “reserve army of political foot soldiers to act on behalf of MAGA and Donald Trump.”

Such hyperbole, particularly the Nazi references, is now commonplace. Indeed, the left jumped the shark on the Nazi-mania and death-of-democracy mantra months ago. This week, however, some of the most strident comments seem to be coming from the federal bench itself. Indeed, some judges used dismissal hearings to launch into what seemed at points like cable-ready commentary. Take District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee who had previously presided over Trump’s election interference case. Chutkan had been criticized for failing to recuse herself from that case after she made highly controversial statements about Trump from the bench. In a sentencing hearing of a Jan. 6 rioter in 2022, Chutkan said that the rioters “were there in fealty, in loyalty, to one man — not to the Constitution.”

She added then, “[i]t’s a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.” That “one person” was still under investigation at the time and, when Trump was charged, Chutkan refused to let the case go. She then pursued Trump with a vigor second only to Special Counsel Jack Smith. In the latest hearing, Chutkan again decided to use the bench to amplify her own views of the pardons and Jan. 6. She proclaimed that the pardons could not change the “tragic truth” and “cannot whitewash the blood, feces and terror that the mob left in its wake. And it cannot repair the jagged breach in America’s sacred tradition of peacefully transitioning power.” In fairness, judges often express the gravity of offenses at sentencing, and most of us certainly share the strong revulsion over what occurred on Jan. 6. However, these cases are being dismissed after an election whose winner explicitly pledged to close the prosecutions through executive clemency.

The defendant in her courtroom was there to have a required dismissal entered in his case, not to hear Judge Chutkan speaking truth to power. In this case, she is the power. It is the power to rule dispassionately on the specific case before her. It is not the power to hold court on the merits of presidential decisions. Down the hall, Chutkan’s colleague Judge Beryl Howell, also an Obama appointee, lashed out at Trump’s actions, writing, “[T]his Court cannot let stand the revisionist myth relayed in this presidential pronouncement.” Yet, all of that paled in comparison to what their colleague U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, also an Obama appointee, did with his Jan. 6 cases. He ordered J6 defendants to seek prior approval before going to Capitol Hill or even coming within any of the 69 square miles of the nation’s Capitol. Thus Mehta practically banished Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and seven other defendants.

It does not appear that the Trump Justice Department requested such restrictions, but Mehta was able to impose them because those defendants had received commutations rather than pardons. A commutation does not require the dismissal of a case, and courts are generally allowed to set conditions for released defendants. However, these are new conditions imposed after presidential commutations. More importantly, they could affect the exercise of First Amendment rights from free speech to free association to the right to petition the government. For example, Rhodes and others would have to disclose intended meetings with members of Congress or participation in political events. Rhodes previously asked to speak to the House committee that investigated the riot, but the Democrat-controlled committee refused to allow it. (A Yale law graduate, Rhodes insisted that the hearing be conducted in public, the very condition Hunter Biden made with the support of some of these same members.)

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“Western Europe.” By Professor Sergey Karaganov, honorary chairman of Russia’s Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, and academic supervisor at the School of International Economics and Foreign Affairs Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow.

Russia Must Help Overthrow Europe’s Dangerous Political Elites (Karaganov)

Any outcome of the Ukraine conflict framed as a ‘compromise’ would be celebrated in the West as a victory and perceived as a failure by Russia. This must be avoided at all costs.

First, Russia must openly confront Western Europe’s historical culpability. It’s not the ‘garden’ its elites imagine but a field of fat weeds thriving on the blood of hundreds of millions it has enslaved, murdered, and robbed. Calling Western Europe out for its crimes – from colonialism to warmongering – legitimizes our potential use of nuclear deterrence as a justified response to aggression.

Second, Russia must emphasize the inevitability of nuclear escalation in any conflict between NATO and Russia. This message is essential not only to limit an arms race but also to underscore the futility of stockpiling conventional weapons that will be rendered irrelevant in a nuclear confrontation. NATO’s leaders must understand that they cannot avoid the consequences of their actions.

Third, we must continue advancing on the battlefield, destroying the enemy’s forces with relentless precision. However, it is equally critical to declare that Russia’s patience is finite. For every Russian soldier killed, we must make clear that a thousand Western Europeans will pay the price if their governments persist in waging war against us. The public over there must understand that their elites are preparing to sacrifice them, and nuclear weapons will not discriminate between soldiers and civilians. Western European capitals will be among the first targets of our retaliation.

Fourth, Russia must communicate to the Americans that their continued escalation of the Ukraine conflict will lead to catastrophic consequences. Should they persist, we will cross the nuclear Rubicon, targeting their allies and bases worldwide. Any non-nuclear response will provoke a nuclear strike on American soil. This clarity will force Washington to reconsider its reckless policies.

Fifth, we must strengthen our military capabilities while continuing to adjust our nuclear doctrine. If diplomacy fails, we must escalate decisively, demonstrating our readiness to use advanced weapons to defend Russia’s sovereignty and interests. While new technologies such as the Oreshnik missile system enhance our capabilities, they are no substitute for nuclear weapons, which remain the ultimate guarantor of our security.

Finally, Russia must offer the United States a dignified exit from its self-inflicted Ukrainian disaster. We have no desire to humiliate America but are prepared to help it extricate itself from this quagmire, provided it abandons its destructive policies. At the same time, Western Europe must be sidelined from global decision-making. It has become the primary threat to itself and the world.

If America withdraws, Ukraine’s defeat will follow swiftly. Russia will reclaim its rightful territories in the east and south, while a neutral, demilitarized state is established in central and western Ukraine. Those unwilling to live under Russian law will be free to relocate. Peace can only be achieved by removing Western Europe as a destabilizing force and addressing humanity’s broader challenges alongside the global majority.True peace will only come when Western Europe’s backbone is broken once more, as it was after Russia’s victories over Napoleon and Hitler. The current elites must be replaced by a new generation capable of engaging in constructive dialogue. Only then can Europe rejoin the world as a responsible partner, not a source of perpetual conflict. The stakes are clear: This is not just a battle for Russia’s future, but for the survival of human civilization as we know it.

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Overnight DeepSeek experienced a “large scale cyberattack”. They’ll be fine.

DeepSeek Pulls Rug Out On Nvidia, ASML (ZH)

There is only one topic on traders’ minds this morning that threatens to upend the multi-year AI bull trend driving chip stocks to record highs: the (extremely) cheaper Chinese DeepSeek response to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, as noted in an overnight piece titled “Goldman Asks If China’s DeepSeek is AI’s Sputnik Moment.” Bloomberg’s Mark Cudmore said earlier that the emergence of DeepSeek is terrific news for global growth and productivity. However, he cautioned that the new free, open-source large-language model undermines the massive premium paid for AI research and development by US mega-cap stocks, warning that this development could serve as a catalyst to end 15 years of US stock market exceptionalism. Perhaps the pin that bursts the AI stock bubble in the US. If so, watch out below…

The buzz over DeepSeek has stoked questions about the tens of billions of money big tech firms have spent on AI models and data centers, along with broader trends to upgrade aging power grids. As a result, chip designer Nvidia plunged 12% in premarket trading in New York, while Netherlands-based chip companies ASML and ASM International tumbled 10% and 15%, respectively. In Asia, Japanese chip-related stocks traded lower. Bitcoin was hammered lower. For Wall Street analysts, the developments raise serious questions about elevated valuations of AI-related stocks and Silicon Valley’s business model of massive research.”It does put a lot of scrutiny at the level of valuations,” said Benedicte Lowe, equity derivatives strategist at BNP Paribas Markets 360, adding, “We are quite positive on US tech stock sector. But it puts pressure on the outlook and is a turning point for the companies at this stage in the cycle.”

Jefferies analysts told clients, “Concerns have immediately emerged that it could be a disruptor to the current AI business model, which relies on high end chips and extensive computing power and hence energy.” Goldman’s Jeremy Elster offered his take on DeepSeek and market reaction:

“Only one topic to start the week, threatening to undermine much of the narrative driving eu industrials and cap goods ytd… DeepSeek .. I will defer to Privo’s take on the background this morning: “what makes DeepSeek important is not necessarily that it’s Chinese or rapidly ascended to one of the most popular downloads in the Apple App Store but that it appears quite a fundamental advancement in the efficiency of AI technology. For a lot of complicated reasons it’s basically a huge upgrade to effectiveness of inference. By some measurements, 40-50x more efficient than other models. If you can do more with less it naturally leads the question to whether you need so much capacity”…(note) => In industrials / cap goods, reactions this morning are mostly of the “shoot first” variety towards capex and power equipment plays in relevant and adjacent verticals. GSXEACDC -6% is unsurprisingly most impacted (SU most datacentre exposed,- see full list of exposures in piece from Friday here: link). Also seeing the contagion to semi-cap (Atlas Copco, VAT Group).”

In a separate Goldman note, analyst Francois Theis market outlined the DeepSeek reaction sent “Asian AI ecosystem in full profit taking mode (GS Japan AI -3.08%, GS Asia Power Grid -3.3%) and Nasdaq down significantly premarket.” Theis pointed out one key implication of the DeepSeek development: “First of all remains around Softbank’ Stargate return on investments and capex efficiency (and hence beneficiaries around supply chain and energy requirements).” JPM Market Intel desk told clients: “The DeepSeek story is forcing investors to question the market position of all the MegaCap Tech names and the entire AI supply chain.” Q&As about DeepSeek (courtesy of Bloomberg):

How does DeepSeek R1 compare to OpenAI or Meta AI? Though not fully detailed by the company, the cost of training and developing DeepSeek’s models appears to be only a fraction of what’s required for OpenAI or Meta Platforms Inc.’s best products. The much better efficiency of the model puts into question the need for vast expenditures of capital to acquire the latest and most powerful AI accelerators from the likes of Nvidia Corp. That also amplifies attention on US export curbs of such advanced semiconductors to China — which were intended to prevent a breakthrough of the sort that DeepSeek appears to represent. DeepSeek says R1 is near or better than rival models in several leading benchmarks such as AIME 2024 for mathematical tasks, MMLU for general knowledge and AlpacaEval 2.0 for question-and-answer performance. It also ranks among the top performers on a UC Berkeley-affiliated leaderboard called Chatbot Arena.

What’s raising alarm in the US? Washington has banned the export of high-end technologies like GPU semiconductors to China, in a bid to stall the country’s advances in AI, the key frontier in the US-China contest for tech supremacy. But DeepSeek’s progress suggests Chinese AI engineers have worked their way around the restrictions, focusing on greater efficiency with limited resources. While it remains unclear how much advanced AI- training hardware DeepSeek has had access to, the company’s demonstrated enough to suggest the trade restrictions have not been entirely effective in stymying China’s progress.

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“..no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created..”

Trump Says He ‘Immediately Halted’ Hiring of New IRS Agents (ET)

President Donald Trump on Saturday said he has halted any new hires of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents. “They hired—were trying to hire 88,000 new workers to go with you, and we’re in the process of developing a plan to either terminate all of them or maybe we move them to the border,” Trump remarked at a speech in Nevada, while also saying, “On day one, I immediately halted the hiring of any new IRS agents. “I think we’re going to move them to the border where they are allowed to carry guns. You know, they’re so strong on guns. But these people are allowed to carry guns. So we will probably move them to the border,” he said.

He was repeating a claim made in 2022 by Republicans that some of the IRS agents who would be hired would be able to carry firearms, although the bill did not designate money specifically for a large number of armed IRS employees. At the time, the IRS said it would also obligate about $8.64 billion of the new funding during the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years, and that 7,239 of the new hires during those years will be enforcement staff. In his administration, President Joe Biden approved plans to direct $80 billion to the IRS under the largely Democrat-passed Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. House Republicans later clawed back billions of dollars from the legislation, most recently in the attempt to avert a government shutdown in December.

The original 87,000 or 88,000 IRS agents figure appears to have come from a U.S. Treasury Department estimate in 2021 to determine the level of hiring of agents to maintain the agency’s efficiency in collecting taxes. Last year, the IRS said it was going to hire nearly 20,000 new employees and deploy new technology over the next two years as it ramps up an $80 billion investment plan to improve tax enforcement and customer service. Soon after taking office, Trump signed an executive order to freeze the hiring of federal civilian employees across the government, stating that “no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law.”

“Except as provided below, this freeze applies to all executive departments and agencies regardless of their sources of operational and programmatic funding,” it adds. Aside from the hiring freeze, the president suspended Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act funding disbursements in what his office said was “terminating the green new deal,” including pausing funds “supporting programs, projects, or activities that may be implicated by the policy established in Section 2 of the order.”

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By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management.

“Biden was bad for business but good for prices,” [..] “And Trump will be good for business but bad for prices.”

Trump’s Agenda Will Force Foreign Leaders To Adopt Pro-Growth Policies (ZH)

Hope all goes well… “Builders make the most money,” I said at the luncheon, high in some tower, looking out over Dallas. “That’s why I’m sitting here today,” said the entrepreneur to my left, confident, smiling. “If you’re not building a company, the next best thing is to own equity,” I said to the oil, gas, tech execs, family offices. We discussed the new administration, geopolitics, markets, risks, opportunities, my worldview. Then I asked them all about Trump’s drill-baby-drill policy, America’s energy supply dynamics, demand. “Biden was bad for business but good for prices,” one said, many nodded. “And Trump will be good for business but bad for prices.” “The golden age of America begins right now,” said President Trump, vowing to annihilate the nation’s many challenges, sending a shiver through our country’s allies and adversaries.

Economists were quick to spread skepticism. You see, American growth is already quite robust, with GDPNow estimating Q4 real GDP of 3.0%. Unemployment is low at 4.1%. CPI inflation at 2.9% is higher than target but well off the 9.1% high in mid-2022. Nationwide gasoline prices are $3.14 a gallon, not far from levels in Trump’s first term, miles below the $5.03 mid-2022 highs. And the stock market is at all-time highs, with the Shiller P/E ratio at a level exceeded only in the 1999 bubble. So, economists argue that with a 6.3% federal budget deficit, the prospect of massive tariffs, slowing international trade, government layoffs, reduced immigration, and rising inflation, the US economy simply lacks the capacity to power ahead, even with Trump’s pledge to slash red tape. Perhaps they’re right, but economists (and central bankers) have been horribly wrong for so many years that it’s hard to do anything but take the other side of their consensus.

Our geopolitical allies and adversaries are another matter altogether. They’re simply praying Trump’s economic experiment fails. With the American economy already outpacing every country that matters, and with those nation’s electorates growing increasingly agitated, restless, riotous, the possibility of the US widening the chasm terrifies their leaders. The prospect of being held to account for their economic mismanagement, like the negligent mayor of Los Angeles, is too much to bear for the globe’s presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, paranoid dictators. And this, in an ironic twist, holds promise for a brighter global future, if the America First agenda forces panicked foreign leaders to adopt more pro-growth policies for their people.

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“..their blatant desire to eliminate dissent, criticism and ultimately freedom so they can continue to uphold a model in which they are the main beneficiaries.”

Argentina’s Milei Attacks European Liberal ‘Epidemic’ (RT)

Argentine President Javier Milei has criticized European leaders and condemned “woke ideology,” branding it an “epidemic” that must be cured. Addressing the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Thursday, he claimed that the “global hegemony” of left-wing politics and ideology is “starting to crumble.” Making his second appearance at the WEF, the outspoken president defended what he called the traditional values of the West, describing them as “the peak of the human species.” Milei then doubled down on his “cultural battle” against so-called “wokeism,” a term often used by right-wing political movements to criticize progressive policies addressing social inequalities. “What once seemed like a global hegemony of the ‘woke’ left in politics, educational institutions, in the media, in supranational organizations or even in forums like Davos, has begun to crumble,” he said.

According to Milei, wokeism seeks to penalize any kind of opposition “because beneath the rhetoric that they so often preach what truly lies is their blatant desire to eliminate dissent, criticism and ultimately freedom so they can continue to uphold a model in which they are the main beneficiaries.” He took aim at Britain, asking: “Is it not true that right now as we speak, in the UK, citizens are being imprisoned for exposing horrifying crimes committed by Muslim migrants? Crimes that the government seeks to conceal?” Milei was referring to a wave of protests in the UK last summer against Islam and mass immigration which resulted in large-scale arrests. British authorities responded to the riots in draconian fashion, with more than 1,000 people arrested, 480 charged, and 99 sentenced for their role in the disorder, according to figures published by the BBC.

The Argentine leader, who attended US President Donald Trump’s inauguration last week, also targeted the EU, accusing the bloc of scrapping the presidential election in Romania. “Didn’t the bureaucrats in Brussels suspend Romania’s elections simply because they didn’t like the party that had won?” he asked. Romanian right-wing candidate Calin Georgescu, a critic of NATO and the EU and a staunch opponent of sending aid to Ukraine, topped the now-annulled first-round vote in November, beating liberal leftist candidates. Romania’s Constitutional Court suddenly canceled the election ahead of the second-round vote, citing intelligence documents alleging “irregularities” in Georgescu’s campaign performance, which have subsequently been linked to a social media campaign run by one of his opponents.

Milei said that while there is no actual censorship in the West, there is the idea that anyone who doesn’t align with a woke ideology must be silenced. In Milei’s view, it is an “ideology that has colonized the West, a single thought regime on feminism, diversity, inclusion, immigration, abortion, environmentalism, gender ideology” representing “an epidemic that must be cured, a cancer we need to get rid of.”

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Europe will shoot its own foot until it falls off.

EU Prolongs Sanctions On Russia (RT)

EU foreign ministers have agreed to extend the bloc’s economic sanctions on Russia, after Hungary dropped a last-minute threat to block the extension over Ukraine’s refusal to restart the flow of Russian gas to the EU. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the extension on Monday, claiming that the move will “continue to deprive Moscow of revenues to finance its war.” The EU has imposed 15 rounds of economic penalties on Russia since the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022, freezing Moscow’s sovereign assets and severing almost all trade and energy links between the bloc and Russia. These sanctions must be renewed every six months with the unanimous consent of all 27 EU member states.

Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to “pull the handbrake” on this renewal if Kiev does not restart a transit deal with Russian energy firm Gazprom to allow Russian gas to flow into the EU via Ukraine. Hungary relies on Russia for around three-quarters of its natural gas imports, a small percentage of which flowed through the trans-Ukraine pipeline. Budapest dropped the threat after receiving “the guarantees it has requested concerning the energy security of our country,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote in a post on X. In a statement seen by Reuters, the European Commission said it would “continue discussions with Ukraine on the supply to Europe through the gas pipeline system in Ukraine.” “The Commission is ready to associate Hungary in the process along with Slovakia,” it added.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced earlier this month that he would veto any future EU aid to Kiev over the gas cutoff, warning that he could also halt the supply of electricity to Ukraine and cut humanitarian aid deliveries. Slovakia depends on Russian gas to meet about 60% of its demand. Orban and Fico have repeatedly argued that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia on the battlefield, and that Western military aid to Kiev will only prolong the bloodshed. Both leaders have also insisted that the EU’s sanctions hurt European economies more than they hurt Russia’s, and Orban has repeatedly threatened to block the implementation of these sanctions in exchange for significant carve-outs from Brussels, including a partial exemption from the EU’s bloc-wide oil embargo and a guarantee that its nuclear sector won’t be affected by future sanctions.

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Budanov is a prime candidate to succeed Zelensky.

Ukraine’s Top Spy Believes Country Could Cease To Exist (RT)

Ukraine could face collapse by summer if it does not agree to peace negotiations with Russia, the country’s top intelligence official has told lawmakers in Kiev, according to a report on Monday by local outlet Strana.ua. According to the website’s sources, Kirill Budanov, the chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence, made his remarks during a closed-door meeting in the Ukrainian parliament. One of the people present at the conference told the outlet that there were sensitive briefings by top military officials, including officers of the General Staff. However, the source singled out Budanov’s account. “Someone asked him: ‘How much time do we have left?’ He responded, with his signature cold smile: ‘If there are no serious negotiations by summer, very dangerous processes could begin for the very existence of Ukraine.’”

Budanov’s reported warning comes as Kiev’s forces have been pushed back across the front line by Russian troops. Ukrainian officials and commanders have also complained of manpower shortages amid a troubled mobilization campaign, with recruitment officers often facing open resistance from reluctant draftees. Earlier this week, Strana reported that top Ukrainian officials were reviewing a plan by US President Donald Trump’s team to end the conflict within 100 days. While the roadmap has not been confirmed, its key points reportedly include direct talks between the US president and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to pave the way for a ceasefire along the front lines by April 20 and a peace agreement by early May.

According to the roadmap, it is believed that Ukraine would agree to abandon its NATO membership ambitions, stop cracking down on political forces advocating cooperation with Russia, and become a member of the EU by 2030. Kiev would also reportedly refrain from attempts to reclaim its former territories from Moscow without formally recognizing Russian sovereignty, with the West pledging to partially lift sanctions immediately after the peace deal. While Ukrainian officials have dismissed the roadmap as a hoax, the Kremlin has not commented on the report. However, Moscow has repeatedly said it is open to talks over Ukraine, signaling readiness for a Trump-Putin summit. Russia has ruled out the freezing of the conflict, arguing that Kiev would use such a pause to rearm itself, while insisting that peace could be reached only if Ukraine commits to permanent neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification.

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“Throughout history, censorship has never succeeded. It has never stopped a single idea or a movement. It has a perfect failure rate.”

The CIA Report: A Low Confidence Finding is the Height of Hypocrisy (Turley)

Every modern president seems to promise transparency during their campaigns, but few ever seem to get around to it. Once in power, the value of being opaque becomes evident. We will have to wait to see if President Donald Trump will fulfill his pledges, but so far this is proving the cellophane administration. Putting aside his constant press gaggles and conferences, the Administration has ordered wholesale disclosures of long-withheld files from everything from the JFK investigation to, most recently, the CIA COVID origins report. That report is particularly stinging for both the Biden Administration and its media allies. Newly-confirmed CIA Director John Ratcliffe released the report, which details how it views the lab theory as the most likely explanation for the virus.

Expressing “low confidence,” the agency still favored that theory over the natural origins theory, which was treated as sacrosanct by the media and favored by figures like Anthony Fauci. (Other recent reports have contradicted the equally orthodox view on the closing of schools, showing no material benefit in terms of slowing the transmission of COVID). Even a low-confidence finding shows the height of hypocrisy in Washington where politicians and pundits savaged any scientist who even suggested the possibility that the virus was man-made and likely originated in the Wuhan lab near the site of the outbreak. This follows a recent disclosure in the Wall Street Journal of a report on how the Biden administration may have suppressed dissenting views supporting the lab theory on the origin of the COVID-19 virus. Not only were the FBI and its top experts excluded from a critical briefing of President Biden, but government scientists were reportedly warned that they were “off the reservation” in supporting the lab theory.

As previously discussed, many journalists used the rejection of the lab theory to paint Trump as a bigot. By the time Biden became president, not only were certain government officials heavily invested in the zoonotic or natural origin theory, but so were many in the media. Reporters used opposition to the lab theory as another opportunity to pound their chests and signal their virtue. MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace mocked Trump and others for spreading one of his favorite “conspiracy theories.” MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt insisted that “we know it’s been debunked that this virus was manmade or modified,” MSNBC’s Joy Reid also called the lab leak theory “debunked bunkum,” while CNN reporter Drew Griffin criticized spreading the “widely debunked” theory. CNN host Fareed Zakaria told viewers that “the far right has now found its own virus conspiracy theory” in the lab leak. NBC News’s Janis Mackey Frayer described it as the “heart of conspiracy theories.”

The Washington Post was particularly dogmatic. When Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) raised the theory, he was chastised for “repeat[ing] a fringe theory suggesting that the ongoing spread of a coronavirus is connected to research in the disease-ravaged epicenter of Wuhan, China.” Likewise, after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) mentioned the lab theory, Post Fact Checker Glenn Kessler mocked him: “I fear @tedcruz missed the scientific animation in the video that shows how it is virtually impossible for this virus jump from the lab. Or the many interviews with actual scientists. We deal in facts, and viewers can judge for themselves.” As these efforts failed and more information emerged supporting the lab theory, many media figures just looked at their shoes and shrugged. Others became more ardent. In 2021, New York Times science and health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli was still calling on reporters not to mention the “racist” lab theory.

In Kessler’s case, he wrote that the lab theory was “suddenly credible” as if it had sprung from the head of Zeus rather than having been supported for years by scientists, many of whom had been canceled and banned. As these figures were attacking reports, Biden officials were sitting on these reports. Figures like Fauci did nothing to support those academics being canceled or censored for raising the theory. The very figures claiming to battle “disinformation” were suppressing opposing views that have now been vindicated as credible. It was not only the lab theory. In my recent book, I discuss how signatories of the Great Barrington Declaration were fired or disciplined by their schools or associations for questioning COVID-19 policies.

The suppression of the lab theory proves the ultimate fallacy of censorship. Throughout history, censorship has never succeeded. It has never stopped a single idea or a movement. It has a perfect failure rate. Ideas, like water, have a way of finding their way out in time. Yet, as the last few years have shown, it does succeed in imposing costs on those with dissenting views. For years, figures like Bhattacharya (who was recently awarded the prestigious Intellectual Freedom Award by the American Academy of Sciences and Letters) were hounded and marginalized. Others opposed Bhattacharya’s right to offer his scientific views, even under oath. For example, in one hearing, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) expressed disgust that Bhattacharya was even allowed to testify as “a purveyor of COVID-19 misinformation.”

Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik decried an event associated with Bhattacharya, writing that “we’re living in an upside-down world” because Stanford University allowed dissenting scientists to speak at a scientific forum. Hiltzik also wrote a column titled “The COVID lab leak claim isn’t just an attack on science, but a threat to public health.” One of the saddest aspects of this story is that many of these figures in government, academia and the media were not necessarily trying to shield China. Some were motivated by their investment in the narrative while others were drawn by the political and personal benefits that came from joining the mob against a minority of scientists. The CIA report does not resolve this debate, but it shows that there is a legitimate debate despite the overwhelming message of the media and the attacks on scientists. Of course, the same media and political figures responsible for this culture of intimidation have simply moved on. The value of an alliance with the media is that such embarrassing contradictions are not reported. At most, these figures shrug and turn to the next subject for groupthink and mob action.

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“. . .once Trump runs out of easy ways to unfuck the federal government, his administration will hit a crossroads moment, probably sooner rather than later.” — Matt Taibbi

Glug Glug. . . . (James Howard Kunstler)

That’s the sound of a swamp being drained. And much fetid water is still backed up over the 68.3 square miles that comprise the District of Columbia. You might be just realizing that the “Joe Biden” regime was not a government at all, but rather, a colossal racketeering operation. And let’s be clear and precise: racketeering is making money dishonestly. Thus: the grubby Biden Family itself at the top of that putrid food-chain, and their smalltime harvesting of mere table-scraps. Where trillions got creamed off by the big gators, the Bidens risked all for a measly few million, like newts gorging on gnats in a drainage ditch. Are you so cynical— as the Marxians are in their so-called “critique” of capitalism — that you think all human transactions of making-and-doing are dishonest? That is yet another misreading of reality, which the recent years of nonstop official propaganda and gaslight have catastrophically aggravated to the degree that half of America can no longer think at all.

Capitalism is not a political ideology despite the “ism” incorrectly attached to it, like the tail pinned on a donkey. Capitalism is simply the management of surplus wealth. The catch is, in a hyper-complex society, the management itself becomes complex to an extreme. And that can easily lead to mismanagement, which will deform and pervert the very mechanisms that superintend wealth, sometimes so badly that the wealth disappears altogether. These are the dynamics faced by the newborn Trump command. Both political parties, per se, have fallen into a dismal habit of racketeering in this sclerotic state-of-empire. But now Mr. Trump has seized control of the Republican apparatus, at least, and the Party’s entrenched ol’ crocs and pythons descry that under DJT the regular feeding frenzy is over.

Hence: the hand-wringing over Pete Hegseth setting foot in the Pentagon, as he will sometime this dawning day. The dollars pounded down that rat-hole in this century could have funded start-ups of several empires, but instead the swag just landed in the index funds of countless board members parasitically lodged in a dark cosmos of G.I. procurement circle-jerks. A lot of that can and will be stopped. And the ones who just won’t quit are liable to be found out. Now, the Democratic Party faces more perplexing quandaries. It, too, is constructed as a gigantic grift machine. But if you subtract the employees of the multitudinous NGOs and non-profit orgs set up in recent years to receive government largess — which have spawned like smelts in the San Joaquin delta — you would eliminate much of the party’s rank-and-file. (The rest are apparently embedded in government itself and the teachers’ union.) A whole lot of activists would lose their platforms for activism in the process.

[..] The first seven days of Mr. Trump have been sheer razzle-dazzle. He and the people around him have torn through the zeitgeist like front-end-loaders through a homeless encampment. He has yet to meet a crisis. Some of the obvious traps are avoidable. For instance: seeking further injury to Russia as a way of ending the stupid Ukraine war — started by us in 2014, thanks a lot Victoria Nuland & Company — since both the US and Russia are just about unconditionally desirous of stopping the damn thing as soon as possible. It’s had no benefit for anybody but the Raytheon war lobby and the Zelensky regime’s legion of grifters. Mr. Trump’s recent tough talk has been entirely for show, just a mass of rhetorical lube to un-stick the lingering “Joe Biden” stasis in that sad-sack corner of the world.

Read more …

Good conversation. The boys are somewhat optimistic.

Taibbi Hints FBI Communications With COVID Scientists Will Be Exposed (ZH)

Award-winning independent journalist Matt Taibbi revealed in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that communications between FBI officials and scientists related to gain-of-function research and the origins of COVID-19 is expected to one day be made public. Watch: (relevant portion begins at 34:06)

MATT TAIBBI: There are so many different areas where they are going to have to investigate and reinvestigate that. We just went through a period where there was mass stonewalling of Congress when it was trying to investigate what happened with COVID. There were key people like Peter Daszak from the EcoHealth Alliance, who just didn’t answer subpoenas, right? There are documents that we know exist that we’re going to get now with FBI communications between the bureau and a lot of these scientists dating back ten years. And it’s going to tell a crazy story, a really interesting story. There’s a reason why Fauci’s pardon is backdated to 2014, because that’s the time period they are going to have to start looking, which is, when did we start defying the ban on gain of function research. We clearly did. That’s pretty established at this point.

Why were we doing it? What connection did that have to the Wuhan thing? What kind of advanced notice did we get? What kind of lies were told about it? Who were responsible for those lies? What information did we get about the inefficacy of the vaccine and how did that connect to statement by the CDC and the White House? This also connects to the censorship issue in a major way because there was a massive effort to control the public conversation about this that went through the health agencies. We know they’re looking at that. And that’s another executive order, by the way, the free speech order. It directs the Department of Justice to come up with a comprehensive review of all the censorship stuff, so we’re going to find out about that. I just think COVID is a gigantic rat’s nest of stuff. Every direction they look there’s going to find something revelatory.

TUCKER CARLSON: The question is: will that information reach the public? There is these intermediaries like the media. Congressional brand investigators, executive brand investigators like DOJ, inspector generals, they are always constantly releasing reports and no one reads them because no one picks them up in the media. Do we have enough interested reporters to designate what they find?

MATT TAIBBI: I think we do because what we think of as the media is dead. They no longer really matter. The media that matters right now are people like you, Joe Rogan and other independent podcasters out there. There’s this gigantic, thriving independent media out there that turned the last election. It was abundantly clear that the old media no longer had any ability to control the narrative about anything. They’re totally discredited.

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“..Armstrong’s computer program “Socrates” sees a global recession no later than 2028. Socrates also sees the possibility of “war as early as April or May of 2025.”

Devalued Dollar Will Crash the DOW – Martin Armstrong (USAW)

Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong is back with a warning to President Trump, who is on record wanting a weaker dollar. Trump might try to force a lower value for the US dollar to help offset the trade deficit. Just this past week, Trump is demanding lower interest rates. Experts say this might also lower the value of the US dollar. Armstrong predicts, “Everything has an international value. If you lower the value of the dollar, then oil in terms of dollars will rise. Look at gold. It’s not making new highs right now because the dollar is going up, but chart it in Canadian dollars or Euros and it’s making new highs. . . . You dramatically lower the dollar and you are going to cause a crash–again. . . . It could be 40% to 50%.”

Armstrong has deep experience in the currency markets. In 1985, Armstrong was called in by the Reagan Administration about cutting the value of the dollar to spark trade. Armstrong warned if you cut the dollar, you will have a big crash within two years. What happened? Two years later, the stock market crashed more than 22% in one day in the infamous 1987 stock market crash. It is still the record for a one-day crash in percentage terms. Armstrong says, “In the end, they said we think foreign exchange had something to do with the crash. That was the best I could get out of them. They are not going to stand up and say, oh gee, we caused it (the crash) by lowering the dollar by 40%.”

Armstrong is going to write President Trump a letter warning him NOT to force the US dollar lower. How is the war picture shaping up now that Trump, who wants to be a “peacemaker,” is in office? Armstrong says, “You have French President Macron saying he wants to send troops into Ukraine. Britian has just now sent 20,000 or 30,000 troops into Romania. They want war. They are basically on the verge of a sovereign debt crisis. So, they have a choice. They default and say, oh sorry, we screwed up. Or, it’s not us, it’s Putin. We have to go get him. The German government fell the very next day after Trump was elected. You see this going on all over Europe.”

In closing, Armstrong sees gold (and silver) going up from here. The US is still the strongest economy by far, but Armstrong’s computer program “Socrates” sees a global recession no later than 2028. Socrates also sees the possibility of “war as early as April or May of 2025.” Armstrong tells President Trump, “Get out of NATO–ASAP.”

Read more …

“On January 27, 1945, the Soviet Red Army liberated Auschwitz, revealing to the world the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust. This event became a symbol of the triumph of humanity over the worst atrocities of the Nazi regime.”

The Nation That Liberated Auschwitz Is Being Excluded From Memory (Romanenko)

Russia’s exclusion from the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation is not just a diplomatic snub – it is an insult to history and to the memory of millions who suffered and died during World War II. This decision, part of a growing trend of historical revisionism, diminishes the decisive role played by the Soviet Union in defeating Nazi Germany and liberating concentration camps, including Auschwitz. It’s a troubling development that undermines the lessons of the past in favor of political expediency.

On January 27, 1945, the Soviet Red Army liberated Auschwitz, revealing to the world the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust. This event became a symbol of the triumph of humanity over the worst atrocities of the Nazi regime. Yet, in 2025, Russian representatives were excluded from the anniversary ceremony at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland. Piotr Cywinski, the museum’s director, justified the decision by citing Russia’s actions in the Ukraine conflict, stating that a country “that does not understand the value of liberty has something to do at a ceremony dedicated to the liberation.”

This reasoning ignores a critical truth: Auschwitz’s liberation was accomplished by Soviet soldiers, many of whom paid with their lives. The USSR bore the brunt of the Nazi war machine, suffering the loss of an estimated 27 million military personnel and civilians during the war. To exclude Russia from commemorations of such a significant event is to erase the sacrifices of those who played an indispensable role in ending the Holocaust.

This act is part of a broader pattern of attempts to revise history, downplaying or ignoring the Soviet Union’s contributions to the defeat of Nazi Germany. In recent years, statements from Western leaders have increasingly glossed over the USSR’s role in World War II. For instance, during a Memorial Day speech, then-US President Joe Biden recounted the victory over Nazi Germany without mentioning the Soviet Union, a glaring omission that Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov criticized as a cynical diminishment of historical truth. Similarly, current US President Donald Trump once claimed that it was “American soldiers who truly won World War II,” conveniently overlooking the critical battles of Stalingrad, Kursk, and Berlin where Soviet forces dealt the decisive blows to the Nazi regime.

Even more troubling is the West’s apparent tolerance for neo-Nazi elements in Ukraine, a country central to the current geopolitical tensions. In 2023, the Canadian Parliament hosted Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian who served in the Waffen-SS “Galicia” division – a unit implicated in war crimes. Hunka was given a standing ovation, a shocking display that later forced the resignation of Canada’s House Speaker Anthony Rota. Such incidents highlight a disturbing willingness to whitewash history in the name of contemporary political alliances.

Russia’s exclusion from World War II commemorations is not new. In 2024, Russian officials were barred from the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France, with the French presidency stating that “the conditions for their participation are not there given the war of aggression launched in 2022.” Similarly, in 2020, Poland excluded Russian representatives from a Warsaw commemoration marking the outbreak of World War II. These decisions reflect a troubling trend: using historical remembrance as a tool of political messaging.

This selective approach to history is dangerous. World War II was a global conflict that required immense sacrifices from numerous nations, but no country paid a higher price than the Soviet Union. To erase or diminish that contribution is to distort the historical record and risk undermining the shared understanding that has underpinned the post-war international order. The decision to exclude Russia from Auschwitz’s 80th anniversary commemorations sends a troubling message about the value of historical truth in times of geopolitical conflict. If we begin to erase inconvenient aspects of history to suit present-day narratives, we risk losing sight of the lessons that history teaches us. The Holocaust and the broader atrocities of World War II were enabled by dehumanization, propaganda, and the denial of reality. To combat these forces in our time, we must commit to an honest reckoning with the past, even when it is uncomfortable.

By excluding Russia, the organizers of the Auschwitz commemorations missed an opportunity to reaffirm the shared commitment to remembering the Holocaust and the sacrifices made to end it. The liberation of Auschwitz was a moment of global significance, a reminder of what humanity can achieve when united against evil. That unity is undermined when we allow historical revisionism to take hold. In remembering Auschwitz, we must honor all those who contributed to its liberation, regardless of modern political considerations. The Soviet soldiers who freed the camp’s survivors deserve recognition, as do the millions of Soviet citizens who perished in the fight against fascism. To deny their role is not only an affront to historical truth but also a betrayal of the very ideals of liberty and justice that the commemorations seek to uphold.

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Covid Menstrual

 

 

Cranes

 

 

Bird sounds

 

 

Subsun
https://twitter.com/i/status/1883535925428297735

 

 

Ears

 

 

Creating Zen
https://twitter.com/i/status/1883764778453360855

 

 

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Jan 262025
 
 January 26, 2025  Posted by at 11:16 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  57 Responses »


Leonardo da Vinci First anatomical studies c1515

 

China’s DeepSeek Bombshell Rocks Trump’s $500B AI Boondoggle (Mike Whitney)
Stargate: Gateway to US AI Dominance or Dystopian Cyberpunk Nightmare? (Sp.)
America Could Soon Become ‘A Bigger Country’ – Trump (RT)
EU Military Chief Wants Troops In Greenland (RT)
Trump Wants Ukraine ‘Off His Table’ – Bolton (RT)
Kiev Seeking To Boost Enlistment Of Under-25’s – Zelensky Aide (RT)
Most Ukrainians Believe Corruption On The Rise (RT)
US Halts Programs For Migrants, Including Ukrainians – NYT (RT)
Trump’s Hypersonic Theft Allegations Are Flat-Out False (Sp.)
Hegseth Confirmed As Defense Secretary, VP Vance Casts Tie-Breaking Vote (ZH)
Kristi Noem Confirmed As Homeland Security Secretary (ZH)
Comer: Trump DOJ Could Subpoena Biden’s Bank Records (JTN)
Merkel’s Party Allies With AfD On Migration (RT)
‘Future of Europe’ Hangs On German Snap Elections – Musk (RT)
Gazprom Forced To Hike Prices On Russians In The Middle Of Winter (RMX)
Euroclear Warns Against Seizing Russian Assets (RT)
Soros’ Soft Power Empire is More Vulnerable Than Ever With Trump Back (Sp.)

 

 

 

 

Superman
https://twitter.com/i/status/1882892743380549731
WNC


https://twitter.com/i/status/1882852182552465820

Milei

Kelly

Fauci
https://twitter.com/i/status/1883079864846274776

Sachs

 

 

 

 

Trump announces a $500 billion AI project, Stargate, which curiously doesn’t involve Elon Musk. Just hours earlier, China had announced its own project, DeepSeek. The difference? DeepSeek is free, open source, and better. Take it from there. I think that Larry Ellison et al know they’ve been beaten, but with $500 billion on the line, they won’t tell you. After all, who in America is ready to say we got beaten by China?

China’s DeepSeek Bombshell Rocks Trump’s $500B AI Boondoggle (Mike Whitney)

The future of humanity is being decided as we speak. And it is not being decided on a battlefield in Eastern Europe, or the Middle East or the Taiwan Strait, but in the data centers and research facilities where technology experts create “the physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of Artificial Intelligence.” This is a full-blown, scorched-earth free-for-all that has already racked up a number of casualties though you wouldn’t know it from reading the headlines which typically ignore recent ‘cataclysmic’ developments. But when President Trump announced the launching of a $500 billion AI infrastructure project (Stargate) on Tuesday just hours after China had released its DeepSeek R1—which “outperforms its rivals in advanced coding, math, and general knowledge capabilities”—it became painfully obvious that the battle for the future ‘is on’ in a big way.

And this is not a battle that either side can afford to lose. Here’s how technology expert Adam Button summed it up: “Imagine we’re back in 2017 and the iPhone X was just released. It was selling $999 and Apple was crushing sales and building a wide moat around its ecosystem. Now imagine, just days later, another company introduced a phone and platform that was equal in every way if not better and the price was just $30. That’s what unfolded in the AI space today. China’s DeepSeek released an opensource model that works on par with OpenAI’s latest models but costs a tiny fraction to operate. Moreover, you can even download it and run it free (or the cost of your electricity) for yourself.

The product is a huge leap in terms of scaling and efficiency and may upend expectations of how much power and compute will be needed to manage the AI revolution. It also comes just hours before Trump is expected to unveil a $100 billion investment in US datacenters. The model shows there are different ways to train foundational AI models that offer up the same results with much less cost. It also opens up far more applications for AI that would have been too expensive to run previously, which should broaden the applications in the real economy. China’s DeepSeek may have just upended the economics of AI” (Forex Live).

Imagine the panic that is spreading across western tech capitals right now. AI was supposed to be the fast-track to absolute societal control and oligarchic rule into the next millennia, but now those pesky Chinese have overturned the applecart leaving western elites with a problem they might not be able to fix. They expected that their microchip sanctions would sabotage China’s AI efforts for at least a decade-or-so but, instead, China has come roaring back with a system that has left the tech giants gasping for air. Of course, China’s eye-popping strides in technological development are nothing new as editor Ron Unz pointed out in a recent article where he noted that “between 2003 and 2007, the US led in 60 of the 64 technologies.” Whereas, as of 2022, “China led in 52 of the 64 technologies.” That’s not a competition; that’s a beat-down in a parking lot. Here’s Unz:

China now leads the world in many of the most important future technologies. The success of its commercial companies in telecommunications (Huawei, Zongxin), EV (BYD, Geely, Great Wall, etc.), battery (CATL, BYD) and Photovoltaics (Tongwei Solar, JA, Aiko, etc.) are directly built on such R&D prowess. Similarly, the Chinese military’s modernization is built on the massive technological development of the country’s scientific community and its industrial base…. With its lead in science and technology research, China is positioned to outcompete the US in both economic and military arenas in the coming years…” American Pravda: China vs. America, Ron Unz, Unz Review. None of this should come as a surprise, although the timing of DeepSeek’s release (preempting Trump’s Stargate announcement) shows that the Chinese don’t mind throwing a wrench in Washington’s global strategy if it serves their regional interests, which it undoubtedly does. Here’s a bit more background from an article by Benj Edwards at Ars Technica:

“On Monday, Chinese AI lab DeepSeek released its new R1 model family under an open MIT license, with its largest version containing 671 billion parameters. The company claims the model performs at levels comparable to OpenAI’s o1 simulated reasoning (SR) model on several math and coding benchmarks…. The releases immediately caught the attention of the AI community because most existing open-weights models—have lagged behind proprietary models like OpenAI’s o1 in so-called reasoning benchmarks. … The R1 model works differently from typical large language models ….They attempt to simulate a human-like chain of thought as the model works through a solution to the query. This class of what one might call “simulated reasoning” models, or SR models for short, emerged when OpenAI debuted its o1 model family in September 2024. …

DeepSeek reports that R1 outperformed OpenAI’s o1 on several benchmarks and tests, including AIME (a mathematical reasoning test), MATH-500 (a collection of word problems), and SWE-bench Verified (a programming assessment tool)…. TechCrunch reports that three Chinese labs—DeepSeek, Alibaba, and Moonshot AI’s Kimi—have now released models they say match OpenAI’s o1’s capabilities, with DeepSeek first previewing R1 in November. Cutting-edge Chinese “reasoning” model rivals OpenAI o1—and it’s free to download..” Ars Technica. This is a very big deal. The United States intends to dominate the world in this critical technology and yet the upstart Chinese have not only produced a system that is every bit as good as America’s best, but have made it more affordable, more accessible and more transparent. What’s not to like?

[..] OpenAI is a privately held company that has open sourced some of its technology, but it has not open sourced most of its technology…. In contrast, DeepSeek AI R1 is open source which means its code is publicly accessible—anyone can see, modify, and distribute the code as they see fit. Open source software is developed in a decentralized and collaborative way, relying on peer review and community production.) Here’s more from political analyst Arnaud Bertrand in a post on X: “Most people probably don’t realize how bad the news (about) China’s Deepseek is for OpenAI. They’ve come up with a model that matches and even exceeds OpenAI’s latest model o1 on various benchmarks, and they’re charging just 3% of the price. It’s essentially as if someone had released a mobile on par with the iPhone but was selling it for $30 instead of $1000. It’s this dramatic.

What’s more, they’re releasing it open-source so you even have the option – which OpenAI doesn’t offer – of not using their API at all and running the model for “free” yourself. If you’re an OpenAI customer today you’re obviously going to start asking yourself some questions, like “wait, why exactly should I be paying 30X more?”. This is pretty transformational stuff, it fundamentally challenges the economics of the market…. So basically, it looks like the game has changed. All thanks to a Chinese company that just demonstrated how U.S. tech restrictions can backfire spectacularly – by forcing them to build more efficient solutions that they’re now sharing with the world at 3% of OpenAI’s prices. As the saying goes, sometimes pressure creates diamonds.” @RnaudBertrand.

Get the picture? Everything the US has done to stymie China’s development—including economic sanctions, chips embargoes, military provocations, political meddling, even arresting a Huawei executive (truly pathetic)—has blown up in their faces. China’s well-educated, highly motivated, technologically adept workforce have produced a model of AI that equals or exceeds the best the West has to offer at a fraction of the cost and with open sourcing that allows users to modify, and distribute the code as they see fit. So, which version of AI sounds like a genuine benefit to humankind and which sounds like another scheme for transforming the world into a dystopian police-state controlled by aspiring tyrants and psychopathic control freaks? Here’s more from Bertrand on ‘why China is making AI available so cheap:

“….it speaks to a different philosophy/vision on AI: ironically named “OpenAI” is basically about trying to establish a monopoly by establishing a moat with massive amounts of GPU and money. Deepseek is clearly betting on a future where AI becomes a commodity, widely available and affordable to everyone. By pricing so aggressively and releasing their code open-source, they’re not just competing with OpenAI but basically declaring that AI should be like electricity or internet connectivity – a basic utility that powers innovation rather than a premium service controlled by a few players. And in that world, it’s a heck of a lot better to be the first mover who helped make it happen than the legacy player who tried to stop it.” @RnaudBertrand.

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“Altman and Ellison’s involvement are major warning signs..” “Microsoft’s involvement in the project is also troubling..”

Stargate: Gateway to US AI Dominance or Dystopian Cyberpunk Nightmare? (Sp.)

The US’ new $500 billion tech initiative promises to “revolutionize” AI, “cement” America as the undisputed leader in advanced computing, and create 100,000 jobs. But it comes with grave risks for humanity. Here’s why. The Stargate Project is a privately financed plan to build 500,000-sq-ft AI data centers (10 under construction, 10 more to come), and grow from there, pending support from Donald Trump on the regulatory front. Its leading tech and financial players include Sam Altman’s OpenAI, Larry Ellison’s Oracle, Japan’s SoftBank, and Emirati sovereign wealth fund MGX. ARM, Nvidia, and Microsoft are also involved.Further details are sketchy, aside from an FT report revealing that the project will serve OpenAI’s interests exclusively, and OpenAI’s statement on looking forward to the creation of artificial general intelligence – the Holy Grail of human-like cognitive capabilities in machines.

Altman and Ellison’s involvement are major warning signs. Altman is on the record as a proponent of a transhumanist “merge” of human beings and machines. In 2017, he predicted that “the singularity” would take place between 2025-2075, and that superhuman AI, genetic enhancement and brain-machine interfaces were an inevitability. “More important than that, unless we destroy ourselves first, superhuman AI is going to happen, genetic enhancement is going to happen, and brain-machine interfaces are going to happen. It is a failure of human imagination and human arrogance to assume that we will never build things smarter than ourselves,” he wrote at the time. He’s is also an advocate of “AI agents” acting on human beings’ behalf online via the controversial World ID concept.

As for Ellison, the 80-year-old tech billionaire’s controversial views are well-known. Last year, he touted omnipresent AI cameras keeping citizens “on their best behavior because we are constantly recording and reporting everything that’s going on” as a good thing, and has been a proponent of national and digital IDs since 9/11. “We’re going to have supervision,” he said last September, assuring this would apply to authorities like police officers as well (feigning ignorance of the probability of a Robocop-style 4th directive preventing machines from arresting owners engaged in criminal behavior). Ellison is also an advocate of AI-driven mRNA cancer vaccines, announcing at Stargate’s rollout this week that artificial intelligence could help identify cancer via blood testing followed by gene therapy.

Microsoft’s involvement in the project is also troubling, with the company already planning to commit $80 billion for its own separate AI data centers to train and deploy cloud-based AI worldwide. A 2024 report by Business Insider revealed that real-life supervillain Bill Gates remains heavily involved in Microsoft’s AI strategies, from its decision to help OpenAI grow to support for Altman’s AI Agent idea. However, there’s a hitch in Altman’s development plans, with FT’s revelations that Stargate is an OpenAI investment vehicle disguised as a national project, combined with Altman’s very public feud with fellow tech billionaire Elon Musk following the initiative’s announcement, signaling trouble. According to Musk, SoftBank has actually secured less than $10 billion for Stargate so far. Altman assures that’s not the case, and accuses Musk of letting private interests get in the way of “what is great for the country.”

Musk, who has integrated narrow AI across his business empire, from Tesla’s autopilot to the AI chatbot Grok, has a long-outstanding grudge against Altman (including a 2024 lawsuit accusing OpenAI of violating its mission statement by putting profits over humanity). He’s also expressed fears of a 10-20% chance of AI wiping out humanity (although AI safety researcher Roman Yampolskiy says it’s more like 99.999999%). Naysayers of projects like Stargate argue that without regulation and left in the hands of corporations and the military-industrial complex, powerful AI systems will quickly become a tool for round-the-clock surveillance, signing off on military war crimes, and the implementation of social credit score systems long feared by sci-fi.

Read more …

Generating headlines is his second nature.

America Could Soon Become ‘A Bigger Country’ – Trump (RT)

The US could acquire new territories in the near future, President Donald Trump has told a crowd of supporters. In recent weeks, Trump has expressed ambitions to expand US territory and showed interest in annexing Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal. “We might be an enlarged country pretty soon,” Trump said in a speech in Las Vegas on Saturday. “For years, for decades, we were the same size to the square foot… probably got smaller, actually,” he said, adding that this could change “soon.” In a recent phone conversation with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Trump was “very firm” in pushing for Denmark to relinquish control of Greenland, leaving the Danes “utterly freaked out,” the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing European officials briefed on the matter.

Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, was granted home rule in 1979. The Arctic island is home to around 60,000 people and hosts the US Pituffik base. Greenland’s pro-independence leaders and Danish officials have been firm in rejecting Trump’s offer to buy Greenland. While Frederiksen has reportedly offered to expand US military presence on the island and deepen cooperation on mineral exploitation, Trump was aggressive and confrontational during the phone call, according to the FT.Trump initially floated the idea of purchasing Greenland during his first term in office in 2019, but was met with rejection from both Danish and Greenlandic officials. Last month, he said, “ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” for US national security.

In addition to Greenland, Trump has mentioned regaining ownership of the Panama Canal, which was under US management until 1999. He cited concerns about China’s growing influence over the vital trade route. Panamanian President Jose Mulino has promised to resist a potential takeover and denied that the vital waterway has been under foreign control. Trump has repeatedly argued that Canada should become the 51st state of the United States, promising tax breaks and other benefits to Canadian citizens if the move were to happen. He has accused Canada of being a bad trade partner and threatened to impose harsh tariffs on Canadian goods. In early January, Trump refused to rule out the use of military force against Greenland and Panama, saying the US needs both for “economic security.” Trump added that he would only use “economic force” against Canada.

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Greenland is not even part of the EU. Which, by the way, doesn’t have a military, but it does have a military chief. With very original ideas.

EU Military Chief Wants Troops In Greenland (RT)

The European Union should deploy military forces in Greenland, the chairman of the EU Military Committee (EUMC), Gen. Robert Brieger, said in an interview published Saturday. He cited Greenland’s geopolitical importance and “tensions” with Russia and China as the reason for his suggestion. It comes as US President Donald Trump has been laying claim to the island. ”It would make perfect sense not only to station US forces in Greenland, as has been the case to date, but also to consider stationing EU soldiers there in the future,” Brieger told Die Welt, referring to a major US military base that has been there since the early 1940s. Such a deployment would “send a strong signal and could contribute to stability in the region,” believes the former Austrian chief of staff, who currently leads a body that includes the chiefs of staff of EU member states.

Brieger said that although the autonomous Danish territory is not legally a part of the bloc, “the Europeans – just like the USA – have interests in Greenland.” The general cited rich deposits of raw materials on the island and its proximity to international trade routes, calling it an area of “great importance from a geopolitical point of view.” He also described the territory as “highly relevant from a security policy perspective.” Referring to US claims on the island, Brieger said that he expected Washington to respect the territorial integrity of other nations and the UN Charter. Instead, the general drew attention to potential “tension with Russia and possibly China” in the area if the polar ice caps continue to melt due to climate change.

Greenland has been grabbing headlines recently as Trump has repeatedly claimed that ownership of Denmark’s mineral-rich Arctic island is necessary for US national security. Earlier this month, he refused to rule out a military solution. Brussels responded to Trump’s comments by describing a potential US attack as a “highly theoretical issue.” Trump’s desire to acquire the island has reportedly sparked concern in Copenhagen. On Friday, Financial Times reported that the US president’s aggressive way of pushing the idea in a phone call with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen earlier this month triggered panic in the Nordic nation’s capital. The paper’s sources described the 45-minute-long conversation as “horrendous” and compared it to “a cold shower.”

Frederiksen reportedly reiterated Denmark’s stance that the island is not for sale. Earlier this week, a Danish politician, Anders Vistisen, took the floor of the EU parliament in Strasbourg and told Trump to “f**k off,” voicing his opposition to the idea of the US acquiring Greenland. Some Republicans in Congress have at least entertained the idea. GOP Congressman Andy Ogles introduced a bill to allow Trump to acquire Greenland, saying the US should be the “dominant predator.” He dubbed the bill ‘Make Greenland Great Again’. Carla Sands, Trump’s former ambassador to Denmark, has also publicly backed the proposal, arguing that Denmark cannot adequately defend the island and suggesting that US control would be a “common-sense solution.”

Read more …

One step short of calling it treason:

“I think Putin and the Kremlin would be very happy with the deal where they keep the territory in Ukraine; there is a ceasefire; NATO does not accept Ukraine as a member..”

“Putin “sees Trump as an easy mark, somebody who is susceptible to flattery..”

Trump Wants Ukraine ‘Off His Table’ – Bolton (RT)

US President Donald Trump does not want the Ukraine conflict complicating his agenda and may well end up offering Vladimir Putin a peace deal that would make the Russian leader “very happy,” former US national security adviser John Bolton has claimed in an interview with Afshin Rattansi’s show ‘Going Underground’. Bolton worked for Trump during his first term, but ended up being fired in September 2019 after only 18 months on the job. The US president later described the Republican as a “nutjob” and called his appointment one of his “biggest mistakes.” One of the first things Trump did after his inauguration on Monday was terminate his former adviser’s security detail provided due to alleged threats from Iran.

The new administration in the White House is “bad news” for Kiev, Bolton told Rattansi on Saturday, pointing out that Trump recently “threatened Ukraine with a cutoff of military assistance” if it refuses to talk peace with Russia. The US president and his team “want a negotiation because as with everything with Trump the world is just a long line of deals. He wants a deal to take this word ‘Ukraine’ off his table. He views it as [former US President Joe] Biden’s war… He wants it over with. He does not want it complicating his agenda,” he said. The possible terms for settling the Ukraine conflict voiced by Vice President J.D. Vance during the campaign look like “a peace plan that could be written in the Kremlin,” the former national security adviser argued.

“I think Putin and the Kremlin would be very happy with the deal where they keep the territory in Ukraine; there is a ceasefire; NATO does not accept Ukraine as a member,” he said. According to Bolton, Putin “sees Trump as an easy mark, somebody who is susceptible to flattery” and will try to take advantage of the US president’s conviction that “US relations with foreign countries depend on his personal relationship with the head of state.” Putin said on Friday that Russia and the US could still find “many points of contact” when it comes to the most pressing issues, including the Ukraine conflict. The Russian leader described Trump as “trustworthy,” recalling their “pragmatic” and “business-like” relationship during his first tenure in the White House. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the same day that Putin is ready to talk to Trump and that Moscow is awaiting signals from the new administration in Washington.

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Killed the grown-ups; now go for the kids.

Kiev Seeking To Boost Enlistment Of Under-25’s – Zelensky Aide (RT)

The office of the Ukrainian president will propose amendments in the coming days that offer incentives for males between the age of 18 and 25 to sign voluntary contracts with the armed forces, an adviser to the office’s military department, Nikolay Schur, has told local media. Men in that age range are currently not subject to mandatory mobilization under Ukrainian law. The prospect of further tightening of draft laws has become a source of significant controversy in Ukrainian society. According to the adviser, “a whole range of amendments” to existing legislation and presidential decrees have been prepared by a working group that includes representatives of the Defense Ministry, General Staff and public organizations. “Technical details are being agreed upon at the moment and some things may still change,” he said. The amendments are expected to be presented to the public “in the coming days,” Schur added.

Last spring, faced with manpower shortages, mounting losses, and military setbacks, Ukraine lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 and significantly tightened mobilization rules. Since then, numerous videos have appeared on social media showing Ukrainian conscription officers chasing potential recruits in the streets, brawling with them and subjecting them to abuse. Reports of the mobilization growing increasingly violent and lawless have appeared not only in the local media but also in the West. The previous US administration of President Joe Biden had reportedly been pressuring Ukraine to reduce the mobilization age to 18. Kiev resisted those attempts, with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky claiming in an interview with Bloomberg earlier this week that what the Ukrainian military needs is not more men, but more weapons from its Western backers for the troops that it already has.

New US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed a willingness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. Many Western officials, including Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham, have been actively pushing for Ukraine to lower the draft age, arguing that the country is fighting for its survival and needs more people at the front. Putin and other Russian officials have on numerous occasions blamed the US and its allies of willing to “fight Russia until the last Ukrainian” in their attempts to inflict a strategic defeat on Moscow.

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As if it can get any worse..

Most Ukrainians Believe Corruption On The Rise (RT)

Most Ukrainians think that corruption has worsened over the past year, with an overwhelming majority seeing it as one of the top problems in the country, a new survey indicates. According to a study published by Ukraine’s National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption on Friday, 69.1% of respondents believe that corruption has increased, compared to 61.2% in 2023. Among business representatives, 57% also reported a rise in corruption in 2024, up from 46.3% the year before. The nationwide survey found that 79.9% of citizens and 76% of businesses consider corruption the second most serious problem in Ukraine, behind only the conflict with Russia (92.3% of respondents).

Over the years, Ukraine has developed a reputation for endemic corruption, and the problem has only worsened since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, as the defense sector has been rocked by numerous scandals involving military procurement. In one of the most recent controversies, the army’s chief psychiatrist, Oleg Druz, was arrested on charges of “illegal enrichment” related to earnings of more than $1 million. Kiev’s Western backers have repeatedly expressed concern about graft, with the EU labeling corruption a major stumbling block in Ukraine’s aspirations to join the bloc. In January 2024, the US Department of Defense Office of Inspector General released a report revealing that the Pentagon was unable to fully track over $1 billion worth of weapons aid to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin weighed in on the issue earlier this week, suggesting that Kiev “happily receives hundreds of billions from its sponsors” only to “gobble up these billions with great pleasure.”

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America first.

US Halts Programs For Migrants, Including Ukrainians – NYT (RT)

US officials have paused several immigration programs, including those allowing Ukrainians to temporarily settle in the country, as part of President Donald Trump’s border security crackdown, the New York Times reported on Friday. A directive issued by a senior US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) official on Thursday has halted “final decisions” on applications for the programs while they undergo review, according to the report.The directive reportedly covers humanitarian parole programs introduced during the Biden administration which allowed approved migrants to stay in the US for up to two years, obtain work permits, and avoid deportation. The programs affected include Uniting for Ukraine, an initiative that has allowed more than 150,000 Ukrainians to enter the US with financial sponsorship as of September 2023, according to government data.

Other suspended initiatives include humanitarian parole programs for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, which have collectively admitted over 500,000 migrants since late 2022.The directive also impacts family reunification programs and an initiative for Central American minors with family members in the US. A USCIS spokesperson confirmed the directive’s existence to the New York Times but declined to provide further comment on its details.The halt follows an executive order signed by Trump on Monday directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “terminate all categorical parole programs that are contrary to the policies of the US” and to review remaining cases for compliance with US law. Acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman issued additional directives the same day to end broad applications of humanitarian parole and revert to case-by-case assessments.

“This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis… Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” a DHS spokesperson explained.Trump has consistently pledged to take swift action on illegal immigration. After his inauguration on Monday, the president signed a series of executive orders aimed at strengthening border security, including declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and ending automatic birthright citizenship for children born to parents who are not lawful permanent US residents.

Also on Monday, Trump has ordered a full review of all US foreign assistance, including that designated for Ukraine. Following the order, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio froze nearly all grants to Ukraine for 90 days, from development assistance to military aid, according to media reports. Trump has repeatedly criticized US foreign assistance to countries including Ukraine during his reelection campaign, promising to ease the burden it puts on the American taxpayer upon his return to office.

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Yes, they make little sense. The US had it first but did nothing with it?

Key: “resistance of materials-related work..” aka coating.

Trump’s Hypersonic Theft Allegations Are Flat-Out False (Sp.)

President Trump claimed that Russia stole the design for hypersonic missiles during the Obama administration, stating in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that “some bad person gave them the design,” while also boasting that the US would have even better super hypersonic missiles. Yury Knutov, military expert and historian of the Air Defense Forces, refuted Trump’s claim, explaining to Sputnik that: First, there’s no need for Russia to steal US technology since it showcased the first hypersonic device back in 1991. “The Soviet Union always outpaced the US in terms of resistance of materials-related work [vital for hypersonic missiles]. While the US focused on electronics and microchips,” Knutov told Sputnik. This led to the creation of the first-ever hypersonic laboratory, Kholod (lit. Frost).

A model of the S-200 missile fitted with a Kholod was bought by the Americans in the 1990s, who thoroughly studied the relevant documentation. Russia now has hypersonic missiles in three domains: air-based Kinzhal, sea-based Zircon, and land-based Oreshnik missiles. “Something no other country in the world has. This is why we outstrip the US in this regard.” “The country that was the first to launch a hypersonic vehicle cannot steal anything from the US, which only last year successfully tested a hypersonic missile.” “As for Trump’s claims, he was either misled or made up a story to compensate for the failures of the US military-industrial complex. On the other hand, Trump apparently needs an argument in Congress to increase funding for the US hypersonic weapons program,” Knutov concluded.

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“This marks only the second time in U.S. history that a vice president’s vote was required to confirm a Cabinet official.”

Hegseth Confirmed As Defense Secretary, VP Vance Casts Tie-Breaking Vote (ZH)

Vice President J.D. Vance cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate on Friday night to confirm Pete Hegseth as President Trump’s Secretary of Defense. This marks only the second time in U.S. history that a vice president’s vote was required to confirm a Cabinet official. VP Vance cast the 51-50 tie-breaking vote to confirm Hegseth late Friday night after three Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine), and Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), joined Democrats and independents in opposing the Princeton- and Harvard-educated former combat veteran and former Fox News host. “I thought I was done voting in the Senate,” the vice president wrote on X. On Truth Social, President Trump congratulated Hegseth shortly after his confirmation: “Congratulations to Pete Hegseth. He will make a great Secretary of Defense!”

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Hegseth’s nomination and attempts by the Deep State to derail it. Why the pushback? Hegseth has expressed an urgent need to restore lethality to a military he described as “woke” due to toxic diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. He has pledged to reinstate meritocracy in the armed forces, arguing that Marxist-inspired DEI initiatives are undermining national security. He has recently criticized woke senior Pentagon leaders and the Deep State on the Shawn Ryan Show: “First of all, you got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever, that was involved in any of the DEI woke s*** has got to go.”

Hegseth’s confirmation paves the way for his planned elimination of Marxist-inspired DEI initiatives in the military. This is all part of a broader strategy by Trump. The great purge has begun. There is no need for Marxist DEI leadership to undermine the nation at a time when the world has dangerously crept closer and closer to the next major conflict. Russia and China aren’t undermining their militaries with wokeism. Next week, senators will face Trump’s other Cabinet nominations, including Kash Patel for FBI head, Tulsi Gabbard for Office of National Intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services.

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“The homeland security secretary oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services.”

Kristi Noem Confirmed As Homeland Security Secretary (ZH)

The Senate on Saturday confirmed Kristi Noem as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Homeland Security, meaning that the South Dakota governor will be in charge of a massive agency established after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and has since had a long record of civil liberties and civil rights abuses. Noem was confirmed by a final vote of 59-34. Of note, the Trump ally who is in her second term as governor received support from several Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee when it voted 13-2 to advance her nomination earlier in the week. Republicans have also expressed confidence in Noem’s ability to lead border security and immigration enforcement, AP reports.

Meanwhile back at the swamp: “Fixing this crisis and restoring respect for the rule of law is one of President Trump and Republicans’ top priorities,” sid Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Friday. “And it’s going to require a decisive and committed leader at the Department of Homeland Security. I believe Kristi has everything it takes to undertake this task.” Democrats’ primary opposition to Noem revolved around how to handle border enforcement and immigration under Trump – with figures like Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) vowing to vote against Noem, suggesting instead “bipartisan solutions to fix the mess at our border” vs Noem, who he said “seems headed in the wrong direction.” The homeland security secretary oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Beyond those agencies, the department is also responsible for securing airline transportation, protecting dignitaries, responding to natural disasters and more. Trump is planning major changes to how the department functions, including involving the military in immigration enforcement and reshaping the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Those plans could immediately put Noem in the spotlight after the new president visited recent disaster sites in North Carolina and California on Friday. -AP. Noem was repeatedly asked by Senators during her confirmation hearing whether she would administer disaster aid to states even if Trump asked her not to, to which she replied that she would “deliver the programs according to the law and that it will be done with no political bias.” Noem was notably a state House Rep. for eight years before becoming governor in 2019.

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“We got everyone’s bank records except Joe Biden. We never could get Joe Biden’s bank records..”

Comer: Trump DOJ Could Subpoena Biden’s Bank Records (JTN)

House Oversight Chairman James Comer, who led the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, said he has been in contact with the incoming Trump Justice Department about his probe’s findings and suggested the new attorney general could subpoena bank records withheld from his committee. “I’m in communication with Pam Bondi’s team. If the Trump Justice Department wants to move forward on this, I want to move forward on this. But I’m waiting for direction from them, because we fought against the tide with the Merrick Garland Department of Justice. I don’t know how much appetite Donald Trump has or Pam Bondi has to go after Joe Biden,” Comer told the Just the News, No Noise TV show on Thursday. “But look the investigations there, Joe Biden lied. We got everyone’s bank records except Joe Biden. We never could get Joe Biden’s bank records,” he also said.

Comer’s impeachment probe concluded last year and found that Biden engaged in impeachable conduct by helping to enrich his family with millions of dollars in business schemes that traded on his name and then defrauded voters by lying to cover up the scandal. As part of the investigation Comer uncovered multiple payments to Joe Biden from his family members on several occasions which were labeled as loan repayments. Comer says reviewing Biden’s bank records would show whether they were legitimate loans. “I think it would be interesting for someone in the Bondi Department of Justice to look at Joe Biden’s bank records to see if, in fact, he ever loaned his brother money, because the money we found from Joe the quarter of a million dollars, as you know, John, he tried to say, was a loan repayment, but he never proved that he ever made the initial loan,” he continued.

Comer argued that the evidence collected by his team is enough to justify a subpoena for the records. “My investigation is detailed in the book, All the President’s Money, and in our final oversight committee report, they have the basis to be able to receive a positive subpoena to obtain this bank information from Joe Biden,” Comer said. “Look, he admitted to the American people when he pardoned his entire family preemptively, that’s right, that this was a Biden crime family.”

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”The firewall has fallen!” Weidel wrote on X on Friday. “The CDU and CSU have accepted my offer to vote together with the AfD..”

Merkel’s Party Allies With AfD On Migration (RT)

Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has said that it will implement strict immigration laws even if it has to enlist the support of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) to pass them. The move marks the first time a mainstream German party has agreed to work with the AfD and stands in stark contrast with the policy of former CDU leader and Chancellor Angela Merkel known for her lenient approach to migration.In a letter to party members seen by Politico on Friday, CDU leadership said that its lawmakers would introduce harsh immigration restrictions even “if only the AfD supports our proposals.” “We will introduce motions in the German Bundestag [Parliament] that are exclusively in line with our convictions,” CDU leader Friedrich Merz told German news agency DPA later on Friday. “And we will introduce them regardless of who agrees with them.”

Since the AfD’s founding in 2013, the country’s mainstream parties have maintained a ‘firewall’ around the right-wingers, refusing to enter coalition talks with them and declining to introduce legislation that could only pass with their support. However, German attitudes to immigration have hardened since Merkel opened Germany’s borders to more than a million migrants in 2015, and the AfD is now the country’s second-most-popular party. Ahead of a general election next month, the AfD is polling at 20%, behind the CDU at 30% but ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SDP) at 17%, according to Politico.

Merz is expected to assume the chancellorship after the election. A recent survey found that Immigration is the top concern among voters. After an Afghan man allegedly stabbed a two-year-old child to death at a Bavarian school earlier this week, AfD leader Alice Weidel wrote to Merz offering to back any immigration restrictions proposed by his party.”The firewall has fallen!” Weidel wrote on X on Friday. “The CDU and CSU have accepted my offer to vote together with the AfD in the Bundestag on the crucial issue of migration. This is good news for our country!” she added, referring to the CDU’s Bavarian sister party.

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“I think it could decide the entire fate of Europe, maybe the fate of the world.”

‘Future of Europe’ Hangs On German Snap Elections – Musk (RT)

The SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressed his “full support” for the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) at a campaign rally held by the party in the city of Halle on Saturday. The US-based billionaire called on party backers to “go all out” to convince Germans to vote for AfD, arguing that the upcoming snap parliamentary elections could be key for the future not only of Germany but of the world. The tech entrepreneur addressed the crowd that gathered for the event in Halle via video link. The party chose the central German city for its opening election campaign rally, which was attended by party co-leaders Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel, who is also the AfD candidate for chancellor. Some 4,500 people joined the event, according to AP. “This election is extremely important. I do not say it lightly when I think the future of civilization could hang on this election,” Musk told the cheering crowd.

“I think it could decide the entire fate of Europe, maybe the fate of the world.” The businessman has said he was convinced that people in Germany wanted “something different” from what they have had over the past decade. Voting for the AfD was the only way to bring about this much-desired change, he stated, calling on party supporters to do everything possible to convince their “friends and family” to join them, one person at a time. Musk also praised the policies proposed by the AfD as the “common sense” ones and compared them to the approach advocated by US President Donald Trump. The businessman emerged as Trump’s close advisor during the latter’s election campaign last year. “You have my full support,” he told the rally, adding that the AfD seeks to get “government out of people’s ways” and give “people back personal freedom” and protect them from “dangers.”

Musk AfD
https://twitter.com/i/status/1883201886880481453

The right-wing party has long been known for its harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric, with many German media outlets referring to it as far-right. Until recently, all other major German political parties refused to cooperate with AfD. Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), however, recently said that he would be willing to accept AfD support for his own party’s immigration policy proposals, even if it would be the only other political group to back them. Musk has been active in his support for AfD over the past months. In December, he called it the only party capable of “saving Germany” and praised its anti-immigration stance while calling German Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “incompetent fool.”

Earlier in January, the businessman also hosted a livestream with Weidel on his social media platform X, reiterating that “only AfD can save Germany.” The livestream was closely monitored by some 150 EU officials and technical specialists as Brussels suspected it could give the right-wing party an “unfair advantage” ahead of the February 23 vote. Musk’s activities have provoked unease in Berlin. Scholz had previously accused the SpaceX and Tesla CEO of seeking attention online and urged people to not “feed the troll.” Later, he also called him a “threat” to democracy and stated that although people in Germany and Europe enjoy freedom of speech, it cannot be used to support “extreme-right positions.” On Saturday, Musk accused the German government of “suppressing [free] speech very aggressively” and said that “true democracy” is impossible under such circumstances.

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Not everything runs smooth.

Gazprom Forced To Hike Prices On Russians In The Middle Of Winter (RMX)

Facing losses, huge debts, and layoffs, Gazprom is now turning to Russian citizens to help it out of its financial woes, writes “Rzeczpospolita.” Gazprom’s management is reportedly demanding that the Kremlin raise gas prices threefold on the domestic market. Alexey Sakharov, head of Gazprom’s strategic department, spoke about the company’s difficult situation: “The current level of regulated wholesale gas prices in Russia does not ensure the creation of financial resources in sufficient quantities to make the necessary capital investments in the maintenance and development of gas infrastructure in the interests of Russian customers. And this cannot but affect the reliability of gas supplies in the long term,” he warned during a meeting of the Council of Experts in the State Duma.

Sakharov argued that the price of gas for Russians must rise to a level that will allow Gazprom to provide gas to all regions and implement investment projects. The company will also have to triple the tariffs for gas transmission for independent producers. In May 2024, Remix reported that Gazprom had reported its first loss in 20 years and was running a $7 billion deficit. Earlier in January, the oil giant announced that it would have to lay off more than 1,500 employees from its headquarters in St. Petersburg. “Gazprom is currently generating losses. The rate frozen since 2015 is 62.5 rubles per thousand cubic meters per 100 km, and the company’s expenses amount to 109 rubles. The price that Gazprom needs and demands from the Kremlin is 170 rubles,” the portal quotes Sakharov as saying.

Gas in Russia used to be cheap, but everything changed after the invasion of Ukraine. “Since the beginning of the war, the Russian government has carried out a record indexation of gas tariffs for citizens in over 10 years. Last year, gas prices increased by 11.2 percent, in 2022 — by 3 percent in the summer and 8.5 percent in December. A new increase of 10.2 percent is planned from July 1, 2025, (the cumulative increase in gas prices will be 37 percent since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine),” they state. Back in December, Putin admitted that Russia’s economic growth measured in GDP in 2025 will be half of what it was in 2024, growing less than 4 percent this year, and, according to the Kremlin’s official estimates, it will slow down to 2-2.5 percent in 2026. The Russian president said the task for the authorities next year will be to “stabilize inflation,” which is soaring despite the efforts of the Russian central bank, which raised the interest rate to the highest level in 20 years.

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They warn all the time.

Euroclear Warns Against Seizing Russian Assets (RT)

Outright confiscation of the Russian assets currently frozen by the West as part of Ukraine-related sanctions could lead to unintended consequences for the EU, Euroclear CEO Valerie Urbain warned on Friday in an interview with Bloomberg. The Belgian-based depository holds around $213 billion (€197 billion) of nearly $300 billion of Russian central bank assets that were frozen by the US and EU shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. “There could always be also countermeasures from Russia which could further destabilize the financial markets,” Urbain told the news agency on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The Euroclear CEO said the frozen funds could be used as leverage in potential peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, while noting that some officials are interested in pushing ahead with confiscation. Urbain stressed the importance of transferring not only the funds, but the liabilities as well, in the event of expropriation by EU members, explaining that the clearinghouse should be protected from potential claims by Russia. In December, the CEO cautioned that tapping either the Russian assets or the proceeds generated by them, which has been debated by EU and G7 officials for nearly three years, could jeopardize the euro’s role as a global reserve currency and the broader stability of EU finances.

Kiev has been urging its Western backers to seize Russia’s sovereign assets in order to fund Ukraine’s military and reconstruction efforts. While the administration of former US President Joe Biden supported the proposal, some EU allies ruled out the move, citing the potential impact on the financial system and the euro’s reputation. In July, the European Commission said it was ready to transfer the first tranche of €1.55 billion generated from the Bank of Russia’s frozen assets to Ukraine. Moscow has condemned the asset freeze as “theft,” arguing that accessing the funds would be illegal and set a troubling precedent. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned that the Russian government will pursue legal action against those involved in the seizure.

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“But the people of America…are sick of this globalist, elitist, unregulated, Davos and Bilderberg operation where multibillionaires gather in secret and design ways to restrict liberty and impoverish private sector workers..”

Soros’ Soft Power Empire is More Vulnerable Than Ever With Trump Back (Sp.)

Open Society Foundations chairman Alex Soros has put a brave face on the losses facing by his father’s neoliberal philanthropic empire now that Joe Biden is gone and MAGA has turned to Washington with a vengeance.
“My father was more about how you get closed societies to become open, and my task within the foundation is how do you renew open societies from within?” Soros Jr. told FT in an interview this week, hinting at the OSF’s plans for work in the United States in the coming four years. A second Trump term carries substantial risks to the Soros family and ‘philanthropic’ fortunes. With the Democrats’ exit from the White House and loss of both houses of Congress, Soros will have fewer means to influence domestic policy on issues ranging from identity politics to courts, education and online censorship.

Trump’s reelection and the failure of the Soros-backed campaign to lock him up is a major reputational blow to the Open Society Foundations, which reoriented its global focus onto US politics in 2023 but still lost. Setbacks in the US could reverberate in Europe, toppling, undermining or crippling Soros-allied politicians. Hungary’s Viktor Orban said last week that Soros “lost the battle for America,” and his supporters must now be “squeezed out of Brussels” as well. Alex Soros also dropped hints about the seriousness of the threat posed by tech billionaire Elon Musk to his family’s fortunes. “I was open for a meeting [with Musk, ed.], I made an overture through somebody that knows him and he didn’t respond. I think he’s much more interested in trolling than meeting,” the OSF chairman said in his FT interview, referring to Musk’s references to Soros senior as a Magneto-style supervillain to Soros senior as a Magneto-style supervillain and as a “brilliant guy” who “fundamentally hates humanity.”

Musk opposes key policies pushed by Soros, from lawfare-minded DAs to censorship, and has accused him of seeking to “destroy Western civilization.” Since Trump’s comeback, Musk has also jumped into European politics to back populist figures abhorred by Soros, from AfD in Germany to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in Britain. “I think there are some important contrasts to draw between Musk and Soros. Soros is a financier,” veteran political commentator and former hedge fund manager Charles Ortel told Sputnik. “He has, in theory, a great track record managing his and other people’s money. But on the charity front, it’s difficult for me to find a lot of good works, and it’s easy to find a lot of diabolical activities,” Ortel said, citing Soros’ links with the Clinton Foundation, for example.

That’s a contrast with ‘pauper to prince’ Musk, whose career has involved actually “developing novel products and services and bringing them to market efficiently,” Ortel said. The tech billionaire’s philanthropic activities have been “quiet, which is the way it’s supposed to be done.” “No doubt the Deep State will resist [Musk and Trump]. But the people of America…are sick of this globalist, elitist, unregulated, Davos and Bilderberg operation where multibillionaires gather in secret and design ways to restrict liberty and impoverish private sector workers. This is a structure that must change, and I believe that Musk will be a powerful ally” to Trump, the observer believes.

“Soros is only one example of, I believe, a bad actor who is abusing non-profits that actually are not regulated carefully enough anywhere, and especially in the United States. So he and people like Bill Gates and the Clinton Foundation and the Obama Foundation and many other dynastic political families set up these ‘organizations’ that are not independent or not tightly controlled. They’re supposed to be nonpartisan under American law, the 501C3 entities, in fact, they’re not,” Ortel stressed.

“Folks like Soros use foundations…as false fronts to pay off people that are important inside the country. Nobody really knows how much money is actually sent from these charities to the to the recipients because they’re never audited. Nobody knows how many kickbacks end up in politicians pockets, not just around the world, but inside the United States,” he added. Ultimately, Ortel hopes the Trump administration will “use the power they now have merely to enforce existing laws and regulations to stop charity fraud. People talking about price gouging in the private sector – charity fraud and abuse of government money I think is a much more serious problem inside my country and around the world.”

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Ivermectin

 

 

Dachs
https://twitter.com/i/status/1883085313230438807

 

 

Wombat

 

 

Trouble
https://twitter.com/i/status/1883005618514010336

 

 

Sound waves

 

 

Guilty

 

 

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