Rembrandt van Rijn The deposition 1632-33
Play to win decisively
pic.twitter.com/BViMbfRglZ— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 24, 2025
Working
Great President @realDonaldTrump
pic.twitter.com/k0PMS8eoRC— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 24, 2025
Mearsheimer
Ukraine Would Be Intact Today
John Mearsheimer: Crimea would be part of Ukraine If the West had not Pushed Hard to Bring Ukraine into NATO
Did the West Provoke Russia in Ukraine? pic.twitter.com/1P1PCV0CuF
— Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil (@ivan_8848) February 24, 2025
Leavitt
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894222506954813807
Alina
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894280006043308449
Ron Paul
Absurd that a 5 min email generates this level of concern!
Something is deeply wrong.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 24, 2025
Unique point of view. Ian Proud was a member of HM Diplomatic Service from 1999 to 2023. From July 2014 to February 2019 he was posted to the British Embassy in Moscow (as Charge d’Affaires).
• Trump Is Well Placed To Secure A Deal With Russia To End The War (Proud)
The speed with which America has moved to reestablish diplomatic contact with Russia has left European leaders breathless and flatfooted. Zelensky has also been damaged by a needless public fight with President Trump that he could not win, after accusing him of living in a Russian disinformation bubble. Donald Trump has arrived in the White House, for the second time, following a collapse in U.S.-Russia relations under a preceding Democratic Party President. What seems different today is that the politics of Washington have made it easier for him to engage with President Putin. In 2017, Russia undoubtedly hoped for a potential reset of relations with the United States after a general collapse in engagement under President Obama. In Obama’s final foreign policy fling on 29 December 2016, he expelled 35 Russian diplomats, in response to the so-called Russiagate allegations.
In my view, Obama hoped these expulsions would make it harder for President Trump to engage with President Putin, if Russia retaliated with reciprocal diplomatic expulsions. But, Putin deliberately paused on retaliating, waiting to see what Trump might offer. The real obstacle to engagement in 2017, which doesn’t seem to exist today, was the bipartisan resistance in Washington to President Trump improving relations with Russia in any way. Just one day after Obama expelled the Russian diplomats, the rabidly anti-Russian late Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) were in Kyiv. There, they pressed for even tougher sanctions against Russia, and more support for Ukraine. Even before President Trump had been sworn in, moves were being made by representatives of his own political party, to hem him in.
The vehicle to achieve this was the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which imposed sweeping new sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea. This sanctions act was so punitive, allowing the U.S. to sanction European countries that did business with Russia, that several EU leaders were furious and lobbied hard for it to be watered down. On 31 July 2017, within days of Congress approving the CAATSA act, President Putin finally chose to retaliate, evicting seven hundred fifty five staff from U.S. diplomatic missions. Two days later, when President Trump signed the CAATSA Act into Law, he noted that the bill was ‘seriously flawed.. because it encroaches on the executive branch’s authority to negotiate. This bill makes it harder for the United States to strike good deals for the American people, and will drive China, Russia, and North Korea much closer together.’
Whether or not you agree with sanctions against Russia, it would take a confident person today, to say that Russia, China and North Korea weren’t closer now than they were eight years ago. Back in 2017 the CAATSA Act was a hammer blow to President Trump’s efforts to reengage. President Putin’s retaliation gutted America’s diplomatic network in Russia. I was Charge d’Affaires at the British Embassy at the time and took the short walk most days to the U.S. Embassy to help the Deputy Chief of Mission as he grappled with the dreadful choice of which of his diplomats to send back to America. I could have taken a car, but I wanted to walk in and out each day, under the watchful gaze of the Russian state apparatus, as a small sign of solidarity.
The main U.S. Embassy site in Moscow sits behind the White House, which the Russian army famously fired at by Russian army tanks during the 1993 parliamentary rebellion. In 2017, a cavernous new, glass and steel Consular Services building had recently erected which even today sits largely empty, as the U.S. shut down practically all visa processing in Russia. I recommended a plan – successful as it turns out – to prevent closure of the Anglo-American school of Moscow, under the cover of the mass expulsions. The school had first opened in 1949, as a place for the children of American, British and Canadian diplomats to get an education. That school finally closed it doors in May 2023, having supported diplomatic children – including my two – for seventy-four years without interruption. Both are small signs of just far low U.S.-Russia day to day diplomatic ties have fallen.
The talks that took place between in Saudi Arabia on 18 February between Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov focused in significant part on a process gradually to return diplomatic relations to a more normal footing. In my experience, Russia places considerable value on day-to-day diplomatic collaboration across social, cultural, scientific and other fields. Even NASA had a liaison in Moscow while I was there. It is no great secret that the intelligence services of both sides work relentlessly to spy on the other. But this softer diplomatic engagement is a huge help in moderating some of the ‘bad stuff’. President Trump would like the war to end, but Russia holds the upper hand on the battlefield and can play for time in suing for peace. Russia would undoubtedly like a more normalised diplomatic relationship with the United States of America.
Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov has said he is not interested in a quick ceasefire that allows Ukraine to rearm and come back later for another war. Any negotiation depends on knowing what both sides want and what you can offer without diminishing your own goals. There is little appetite on the Hill to pump further billions into the Ukraine war effort. With over 20,000 sanctions imposed on Russia already and with its economy still robust, there is no benefit in pushing more sanctions. Taking small steps to redress the awful day-to-day diplomatic relations between both countries seems a good place to start as both sides look to broker a lasting peace. And with President Trump not held back by dissenters in his own party, he appears strongly placed to agree a deal with President Putin.
He’s going to be nervous.
• Zelensky To Visit White House Friday To Sign Minerals Deal (ZH)
Update(1720ET): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit the White House on Friday amid reports he is finalizing a mineral rights access deal with the Trump administration. President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday that he heard Zelensky was visiting on Friday, “and certainly it’s OK with me if he’d like to” – as cited in The Hill and other outlets. “Without the United States and its money and its military equipment, this war would have been over in a very short period of time,” Trump said in the remarks. Apparently Zelensky finally acquiesced after the negotiating teams reached agreement on a final draft that does not include a US demand that it would have rights to $500 billion in future revenue. Details remain largely unknown at this early stage.
An American official involved the talks told Axios that “General Kellogg’s meetings with Zelensky in Kyiv last Wednesday and Thursday were extremely important. Patient, persistent diplomacy can yield results.” “I hear Zelensky’s coming on Friday, it’s ok with me… It could be a trillion dollar deal, it could be whatever… Biden was throwing around money like it’s cotton candy. From the Oval Office presser: Reporter: What does Ukraine get in this mineral deal?Trump: “Military equipment… Without the United States and it’s money… this war would have been over in a very short period of time.”And… “I’d like to buy minerals on Russian land too.”
* * *
Update(1348ET): Ukraine has tentatively agreed to Trump’s mineral rights access deal, Financial Times is reporting in breaking headline. The devil will of course be in the details, given as recently as Sunday Zelensky was openly resistant to the terms offered so far. “Kyiv has agreed terms with Washington on a minerals deal that Ukrainian officials hope will improve relations with the Trump administration and pave the way for a long-term US security commitment,” FT reports early Tuesday afternoon. “Ukrainian officials say Kyiv is now ready to sign the agreement on jointly developing its mineral resources, including oil and gas, after the US dropped demands for a right to $500bn in potential revenue from exploiting the resources,” the report continues.
But again nothing appears to be ultimately finalized, and there will yet be plenty of haggling over what exactly this will look like. Snippets of draft agreements have been leaked, but little in the way of the more controversial details.”The minerals agreement is only part of the picture. We have heard multiple times from the US administration that it’s part of a bigger picture,” Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and justice minister who has led the negotiations, told the same publication.
As we detailed below, Europe is actually offering its own rival version, which could be part of yet more efforts to stall and sabotage a Washington deal. President Putin himself is also touting discussions over “major” cooperation with US companies, including on access to Russia’s rare earth minerals. The US has said ‘no’ to NATO membership for Ukraine, even as some European leaders continue to push this dubious future scenario. Zelensky has even talked stepping down if this could guaranteed future NATO membership, but also as Ukraine’s parliament has extended his mandate, with no new elections on the horizon.
Ukraine mineral resources worth $14.8 trillion. 70% in Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Most of it is coal and iron, not rare earths. Europe’s largest titanium and lithium reserves, but those are also not rare-earth elements. Ukraine’s rare-earth metal deposits include beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite, and nickel. Question always is: is it pofitable to develop the resources? Question 2: why did Ukraine develop so little of it? Say, over the past 25 years?!
• Trump Wants Russia Rare Earths Deal (RT)
US President Donald Trump has signaled openness to the idea of jointly developing Russia’s mineral deposits, a proposal put forward by President Vladimir Putin earlier this week following a meeting with top officials and rare-earth metal industry experts. Moscow is prepared to collaborate with Washington on developing rare-earth mineral deposits, including those in Russia’s Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, Putin said on Monday. When asked on Tuesday whether he and Putin had discussed the possibility of such a deal, Trump acknowledged his interest. “I’d like to buy minerals on Russian land, too, if we can… They have very good rare earths, also, and oil and gas. Look, it’s a great thing,” Trump told journalists at the White House. “It’s great for Russia, too, because we could do deals there. They have very valuable land that isn’t utilized. So something like that could take place, yeah.”
Putin noted that Moscow would prioritize its own development of rare-earth minerals due to their strategic importance across multiple economic sectors. However, he added that Russia was open to cooperation with international partners, including Americans, should they express interest. Trump’s administration has shown increasing interest in rare earth and other metals as part of the US president’s push to secure returns on American “investments” in the Ukraine conflict. Trump has been demanding the equivalent of up to $500 billion in natural resources as compensation for aid already provided to Kiev. After multiple delays, Kiev has reportedly agreed to the deal, with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky expected to visit Washington on Friday to sign the agreement.
“I hear that he’s coming on Friday. Certainly, it’s okay with me if he’d like to sign it together with me, and I understand that’s a big deal, very big deal… the American taxpayer now is going to get their money back plus,” Trump said. The rare earths deal Trump is pursuing with Ukraine “doesn’t concern” Moscow, Putin said in an interview with Rossiya 1 TV journalist Pavel Zarubin, noting that the actual value of Ukraine’s mineral deposits remains uncertain. Before the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the country held Europe’s largest titanium and lithium reserves. While these metals are not classified as rare-earth elements, they are crucial for the defense sector, as well as for battery and capacitor production. Ukraine’s rare-earth metal deposits also include beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite, and nickel.
In 2023, Forbes Ukraine estimated that the country’s mineral resources were worth approximately $14.8 trillion, amounting to 111 billion metric tons, with coal and iron ore making up the majority. However, the publication noted that over 70% of these resources are located in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which declared independence from Ukraine in 2014 following the Western-backed Maidan coup in Kiev. These territories came under Russian control after referendums in 2022, when the regions voted to join Russia.
Aluminum
JUST IN: Vladimir Putin says Russia is ready to supply the United States with 2 MILLION tons of aluminum, which will help stabilize prices.
The U.S. is the largest importer of aluminum. This will help drive down the costs of so many things.pic.twitter.com/JsINQ1OpnI
— George (@BehizyTweets) February 24, 2025
Of course they do. Who doesn’t want to save money?
• Majority Supports DOGE Measures to Reduce the Size of Government (Turley)
As the courts hash out the legalities of the orders supporting the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the public appears to support the effort despite the almost universal condemnations in the media. Despite the prediction from James Carville that the Trump Administration will collapse within 30 days, a recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll shows that most citizens support the cutting of government spending and size. While the courts must rule on the legal basis for these executive orders, the polling shows continued support for both Trump and his agenda after the election.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) also has declared that “remorse” was growing among voters who were souring against the Trump Administration. Yet, the Harvard poll shows Trump with a 50% approval rating, (43% expressing disapproval). That is consistent with the RealClearPolitics polling average, giving Trump a 49.3% approval rating.What was interesting amid the ongoing judicial and legislative fight is that 83% of voters preferred cutting government spending to raising taxes. Some 77% also supported a broad review of government spending. A massive 70% believe government spending is rife with waste and fraud and 69% support cutting spending by $1 trillion.Sixty percent of voters said that DOGE is carrying out the need of the government to make significant cuts.
Once again, our courts are designed to resist popular demands when they contravene legal or constitutional authorities. However, courts are also sensitive to what is called the “countermajoritarian difficulty.” As Alexander Bickel discussed in his 1962 book, The Least Dangerous Branch, the courts straddle this line between protecting constitutional values and not becoming a type of super-legislature. The political question doctrine and other judicial rules are designed to remove federal judges from making policy or political judgments. Voters are allowed to bring about significant, even radical, changes in government policies and programs. They are allowed to elect “change agents” to use existing powers to achieve those goals.
They have neither a Trump nor a Musk.
• Calls for UK DOGE as Billions ‘Wasted’ on ‘Woke’ Projects Abroad (ET)
Calls have grown for the British government to introduce the equivalent of the United States’ Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), after the extent of so-called “woke waste” spending on projects abroad which fall under the umbrella of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) was revealed. Successive Conservative and Labour governments have signed off on projects such as £9,550,000 awarded in December 2024 to Cowater International to support “Accountability and Inclusion” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The bulk of the funding under scrutiny has come through the foreign aid budget administered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), although spending at home for academic and arts projects that appear to push the DEI agenda have also come under fire.
More than half a million pounds (£575,000) was granted to the Ark Group to deliver advice to the Jordanian Armed Forces’ “Gender Mainstreaming Strategy,” also by the FCDO but under the previous Conservative government in March 2024. Projects around the world aiming to address the “climate crisis” are also major recipients of vast sums of UK money, with more than £101 million given to “Climate and Ocean Adaptation and Sustainable Transition” in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Mozambique, with this contract awarded to DAI Global in November 2024.The UK has also allocated a further £12 million for a “Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance“ in Mauritius, with the contract still out for tender until December this year, the database shows.
While many drivers in the UK have been hit by congestion, ULEZ, and parking charges, almost half a million pounds (£499,649.60) was awarded by the FCDO in 2023 for 15 electric vehicles to be “donated to Albanian prisons” by the British Embassy in Tirana. Since winning the general election last July, Labour has repeatedly claimed there is a “£22 billion black hole” in the public spending purse, which Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said necessitates sweeping cuts, such as the loss of winter fuel allowance for the majority of pensioners. A group operating under the handle The Procurement Files since December 2024 has trawled the publicly available government accounts database to expose some of the more contentious spending, working with journalist Charlotte Gill, who runs a blog and uses the handle @wokewaste.
Also under scrutiny has been the hundreds of millions awarded to diplomatic spending, such as the refurbishment of embassies and high commissioners’ offices. A spokesperson for The Procurement Files told The Epoch Times: “The UK spends over £100 billion a year on interest. Our aim is to help to find ways to reduce wasteful spend and to save the UK taxpayer money. “For us, it is a question of priorities. Why would the UK taxpayer fund a project for ‘Green Urban Growth in Somalia’ or a ‘Maldives Shark Diving Code of Conduct’ when people here are struggling to pay sky-high energy bills? “Politicans from the Conservatives and Reform, including Nigel Farage, have been in touch and follow our work.” They added, “We will follow the blueprint laid out by Elon Musk and the U.S. DOGE team, and are cheering them on from the sidelines!”
Reform MP Richard Tice told The Epoch Times: “I believe I speak for the majority of logical, common-sense Britons when I say we need an equivalent of DOGE in the UK. “As has been proven in America, the only people who oppose such an agency are the incompetent or corrupt bureaucrats. “Let’s expose the levels of government waste, sleaze, and neglect of taxpayers’ money. “Full transparency is what the people want—let’s give it to them.” Sam Bidwell, director of The Next Generation, part of the Adam Smith Institute, said on social media platform X: “The benefits of a British DOGE would be in long-term growth rather than short-term savings. “We have several hundred regulators, quangos, and [Arms Length Bodies], which churn out reams of absurd anti-growth regulation. “Defunding and reforming these bodies would be an enormous net positive.”
Some Conservatives have backed the calls for a UK DOGE, including Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay, who pledged in a speech on Tuesday to set up a Scottish Agency of Value and Efficiency in the event of him becoming first minister. Findlay said such a department would be tasked with “cutting waste, identifying savings, and delivering better value for taxpayers.” But there has been no talk from the British government of slashing such projects as the £22,490,382 awarded by the FCDO to PwC for “Green Growth” in Nepal shortly after Labour took office in July 2024. Under the previous government, £220 million was granted to Palladium for “UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions” in developing countries, with an option to more than double this amount. The same company was separately awarded £15.5 million to deliver a “climate smart jobs programme” in Uganda.
The FCDO is not the only department to come under scrutiny, with the Home Office also coming in for criticism on social media for awarding Alcis Holdings £133,000 to monitor the “Afghanistan Taliban’s Narcotics Ban.” Generous spending for high-level diplomacy is a recurring theme of the contracts under scrutiny, with £179,931 granted to “replace air-conditioning condensers” at the British High Commission in Barbados, and a £14.4 million contract for a whole-building refurbishment of the High Commission in Kenya. Smaller amounts of funding have also come under fire over the usefulness of the project, with an academic study of “Shrimp Health in Bangladesh” awarded £50,000 in May 2023 through the Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.
Arts Council funding which promotes DEI themes has also been criticised by commentators and social media users, such as the £185,627 awarded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (ACHR) for a trans-identified academic to research “Trans Performance Now: Glitching Transgenderism” at Northumbria University. Gill has highlighted a number of AHRC-sponsored studies in her work, writing that “the taxpayer is funding their own demise” by unwittingly stumping up for projects such as “The Europe that Gay Porn Built,” awarded £841,627 over four years at Birmingham City University. ACHR funding for academic projects abroad has included £318,510 for a study that claims that water has experienced trauma, and aims to “address current water and mental health issues affecting Indiginous communities” in Peru and the United States.
Since taking control of the White House for the second time, President Donald Trump has begun a wide-ranging and rapid programme to cut what he regards as unnecessary and sometimes corrupt government expenditure, appointing SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as head of DOGE, named after the internet meme. DOGE’s first radical move was to announce the slashing of USAID’s workforce from 14,000 to 294 after an audit revealed it was funding projects such as $1.5 million to “advance DEI in Serbia’s workplaces,” as well as $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala, and $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru. USAID was set up in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to administer humanitarian aid on behalf of the U.S. government, but much of its work is now contracted out to external agencies. Musk claims to have already saved the U.S government more than $3.4 billion by halting DEI contracts, using his platform X to highlight what he has labelled widespread “fraud” as well as “waste.”
The Trump team has suggested as much as a trillion dollars could be saved by DOGE, although there is pushback from the Democrats and many NGOs and others who work within the foreign aid field. The billionaire entrepreneur said earlier this month on X: “The corrupt politicians ‘protesting’ outside the USAID building are the ones getting money from USAID. That’s why they’re there – they want your stolen tax dollars!” The United States is the world’s largest provider of money for foreign aid, by a considerable margin. The UK is the world’s fourth largest spender, giving approximately £15.4 billion in 2023, compared to around £71.9 billion from the United States.
DeSantis could get somewhere.
• Florida GOP Gov DeSantis Announces State DOGE Task Force (JTN)
Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis says the state will establish a Department of Governmental Efficiency task force, similar to the Trump administration’s, to eliminate wasteful government spending at the local level. “Florida has set the standard for fiscally conservative governance, and our new Florida DOGE task force will do even more to serve the people of Florida,” DeSantis said in a statement on Monday. Some of the goals for Florida version will include a deep dive into government funding goint the state universities. Another goal will be looking into the continued existence of 70 boards and commissions in 2025. “The Florida State DOGE Task Force will implement a multi-pronged approach to eliminating bureaucratic bloat and modernizing our state government to best serve the people of Florida,” the governor’s office said.
Paul Craig Roberts. “Europe has been totally misgoverned since the end of WW II. Indeed, European misgovernment caused WW II.”
• A Change in US Foreign Policy from Lies to Truth, from War to Peace (PCR)
Yesterday Trump began the task of his first term–the normalization of relations with Russia–which was blocked by the corrupt FBI’s “Russiagate” hoax, an act of treason for which executions should take place and, indeed, the utterly corrupt agency abolished. The United States, to the chagrin of USAID-supported CNN, voted with Russia against a UN General Assembly revolution condemning Russia’s “invasion” of Ukraine.CNN true to its reputation as the worst liar on earth found it “shocking” that the US aligned with Russia against the “free world” and aligned with “the aggressor in the war on the three-year anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.” It seems that CNN is going to continue lying for the military/security complex even after CNN’s funding courtesy of the US taxpayers has been halted.
Everyone knows that Russia did not invade Ukraine and limited its intervention to the two Russian break-away republics in Donbas. Everyone knows that Russia tried for eight years to keep Donbas in Ukraine with the Minsk Agreement. Everyone knows that the West used the Minsk Agreement to deceive the Kremlin while the US trained and equipped a large Ukrainian army to invade Donbas and subdue the break-away republics. Everyone knows that the US, NATO, and EU flatly refused Russia’s request for a mutual security agreement. Everyone knows that the US forced Putin’s hand to intervene in Donbas. Yet the CNN excrement continues to lie through its teeth. CNN is nothing but a lie factory. Shouldn’t the lie factory be sanctioned or abolished for fomenting war by lying and intentionally spreading misinformation, a charge that the lie factory leveled at every truth-teller?
How can anyone be sufficiently stupid and corrupt as to rely on CNN? The US-orchestrated conflict with Russia cannot be ended on the basis of total lies about the cause of the conflict. Acknowledgement of the truth is required, and the truth is on Russia’s side. President Trump realizes that. He knows that he cannot end the conflict by imposing lies on Putin. It is extraordinary that the dumbshit Europeans want war with Russia. It would mean the total destruction of all of Europe. European industry is dying because the fools have cut themselves off of Russian energy. European economies are dying because the fools have cut themselves off from a large and natural market. Europe has been totally misgoverned since the end of WW II. Indeed, European misgovernment caused WW II. In the postwar period, Charles de Gaulle was the only European leader. All the others were US puppets who sold out their peoples.
The rise of AfD in Germany and Marine Le Pen’s party in France are efforts to reestablish the sovereignty of Germany and France. But the German and French people have been so brainwashed and indoctrinated that they associate sovereignty with nationalism an nationalism with Nazism. Consequently, nationalist parties that actually represent the people cannot get into office. Trump is right that Europe is finished. Europeans have lost self-belief. European politicians are long accustomed to being on the payroll of USAID, National Endowment for Democracy, and the US military/security complex. Europe is exhausted, murdered by its own left-wing. Russia and China are on the rise. Trump intends to restore America, about which the American Establishment, CNN and the media whores are up in arms.
Hopefully President Trump will understand that he needs peace and cooperation with China just as much as he needs peace and cooperation with Russia. If the Trump administration tries to wedge the US between Russia and China, conflict will be perpetrated. Was USAID Using Our Taxpayer Dollars to Pay for CNN’s Propaganda Rants Against America? It seems so.
“..they “embarked on a path of militarism” and “lost the right” to take part in efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict..”
• ‘Militarist’ EU Has No Place At Ukraine Peace Negotiating Table – Moscow (RT)
The aggressive position of Ukraine’s EU backers makes them unfit to take part in the peace process, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. Their desire to push divisive narratives will only harm their own relations with the international community, it added. The actions of the active Ukraine supporters among the EU nations show that they “embarked on a path of militarism” and “lost the right” to take part in efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict, according to the Foreign Ministry. It was commenting on two competing resolutions on Ukraine that were submitted to the UN General Assembly on Monday to mark the third year of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. One of them was initiated by Kiev and its EU backers and condemned Russia. Moscow blasted the document for “recycling baseless accusations and ultimatums against Russia, selective citation of the UN Charter” and ignoring the root causes of the conflict.
According to the ministry, the resolution was aimed at increasing international support for the ‘Zelensky peace formula’ – Kiev’s plan for resolving the conflict based on a set of demands and preconditions that Russia has called unacceptable. The document received record low support in the UN General Assembly, the Foreign Ministry said, adding that more than half of the UN members did not back it. The resolution was endorsed by 93 nations and opposed by 18, with 65 abstentions. The remaining members of the 193-strong body did not vote. The competing resolution put forward by the US, which initially only expressed sorrow for the loss of life in the conflict and called for a sustainable peace was “turned into yet another anti-Russian pamphlet” through “obnoxious” amendments introduced by Kiev’s EU backers, the ministry stated.
“The meaning of the initiative was distorted to a point when even its US authors could not endorse their own document,” the Russian statement said. The EU nations’ delegates tried to delay the vote on a similar US-sponsored resolution at the UN Security Council, it added. These actions run counter to the will of the international community, Moscow said, warning that Kiev’s EU backers could end up isolated due to their belligerent stance. The EU and some of its member states stepped up their aggressive rhetoric this month after Moscow and Washington announced plans to restore ties and work on resolving the Ukraine conflict. On Monday, the bloc adopted its 16th package of Ukraine-related restrictions, marking the anniversary of the launch of the Russian military operation against Kiev in February 2022.
Shortly after assuming office in January, US President Donald Trump pivoted Washington’s stance on Ukraine. Trump recently claimed that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is responsible for escalating the conflict and declared that Zelensky’s participation in meetings between Washington and Russia is unnecessary. Top EU diplomat and former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas accused the US of adopting a “Russian narrative” under the new administration and stated that Brussels should “support Ukraine right now more than ever.”
“..the “presence of armed forces from NATO countries, even under the EU flag or as part of national contingents” as “completely unacceptable” to Moscow.”
• Kremlin Contradicts Trump On ‘NATO Troops In Ukraine’ (RT)
The Kremlin has contradicted a claim by US President Donald Trump that Russia would “accept” the placement of troops from NATO countries in Ukraine under a possible peace deal. When pressed by journalists on Monday about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s opinion on the possibility of Western troops deploying to Ukraine, Trump said “He will accept that. I have asked him that question.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday however that Moscow’s position has not changed since Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s description the week before of the “presence of armed forces from NATO countries, even under the EU flag or as part of national contingents” as “completely unacceptable” to Moscow.
Trump insisted he had “specifically asked [Putin] that question” regarding the deployment. “He has no problem with it,” he said while talking to the press following his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington. Trump and Putin spoke by phone for more than an hour earlier in February. According to both sides, the conversation involved a wide range of topics, including the ongoing Ukraine conflict. However, neither side mentioned any understandings reached at that time that could be linked to the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine.
Russia would only accept a foreign troop deployment to Ukraine as part of a UN mandate, Vassily Nebenzia, Moscow’s envoy to the international body, told RIA Novosti earlier this month. “‘Peacekeepers’ cannot operate without a mandate from the UN Security Council,” he said at that time, adding that any other military contingents on the ground would be treated as regular combatants. Moscow has warned that it would treat any troops entering Ukraine without Russia’s consent amid its ongoing conflict with Kiev as legitimate targets. Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, meaning it can veto any resolution to send foreign troops to Ukraine.
Several senior European leaders, most notably French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, have been floating the idea of sending military personnel to Ukraine. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the two nations were considering deploying up to 30,000 “peacekeepers” to the nation, depending on whether Moscow and Kiev could reach a peace deal. The plan was also dependent on whether the US would agree to contribute to the effort in a limited military capacity, the report said. The Trump administration has repeatedly stated that European NATO members should bear the brunt of security guarantees for Kiev. Earlier in February, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ruled out deploying American troops to Ukraine as part of any agreements on security guarantees.
Thieves having open discussions.
• EU Divided On Frozen Russian Assets – Politico (RT)
The EU is reportedly divided over the fate of approximately €200 billion ($209 billion) in Russian sovereign assets, Politico reported on Tuesday. The funds, primarily held by Euroclear in Brussels, have been frozen since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. According to the outlet, since Brussels was left out of discussions between the US and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, some EU member states have started calling for the immediate transfer of Moscow’s frozen funds to Kiev. Others, however, have argued that the assets should be retained as a bargaining tool in future negotiations with Moscow. Those who support the seizure of Russia’s assets include the Baltic and Nordic states, as well as Poland, the Czech Republic, and the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, according to Politico.
They have argued that the frozen funds should be used to help Ukraine rebuild and sustain its war effort, especially if Washington decides to halt its support for Kiev. “I don’t take the argument that it’s legally problematic… we need [the] political will to do it,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told Politico in an interview. Previously, Kallas had also suggested that Russia’s money should be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine before being handed back over to Moscow, noting that she doubts there will be “anything left over.” However, other EU nations, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, believe that these funds should be kept as a bargaining chip. Some officials have also raised concerns that an outright confiscation of Russian funds could set a dangerous precedent and spook international investors.
”If you were to unfreeze [the assets] and give [them] to Ukraine, you don’t have it anymore and you can’t use it as a bargaining chip,” one anonymous EU diplomat told Politico. Western allies froze about $300 billion in assets belonging to the Russian central bank shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict three years ago. The bulk of the funds, around $213 billion, is being held in the Brussels-based clearinghouse Euroclear. Russia has repeatedly condemned the freezing of its assets and has warned that seizing them would amount to “theft.” The Kremlin says that any attempt to transfer the funds to Ukraine would lead to severe economic and legal consequences for the EU, including reciprocal actions that could tap the income from frozen Western assets held in Russia.
Moving backwards?!
• AfD Success Divides Germany Into East and West (Sp.)
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has secured second place in the country’s snap election, exposing deep national polarization, German political analyst Dr. Gregor Spitzen told Sputnik. “Voting for the AfD is a form of political protest. A loud ‘no’ to the systemic political parties that have opened the door to terrorists in Germany and led the country into recession and deindustrialization,” Spitzen said. The divide is also geographical, with Eastern Germany (the former GDR) showing strong support for the Euroskeptic party. Spitzen attributed this to East Germans’ strong sense of national identity and critical thinking —qualities he believes are nearly lost in the West.
“Over the next four years, the East-West divide in Germany will only grow. This is illustrated by the AfD’s phenomenal result in Saxony, where it won 46 percent – more than all the other parties combined,” Spitzen predicted. Furthermore, he did not rule out the possibility of an AfD victory in the next parliamentary election, especially if US President Donald Trump and his ally, billionaire Elon Musk, continue to support the party. AfD may be even closer to victory than expected, given that a last-minute Democracy Institute poll ranked AfD Co-Chair Alice Weidel as the top choice for chancellor among likely German voters.
Same old same old with slightly different numbers. Vested interests. They already started flying in refugees again. It will really take AfD to turn Germany around.
• Germany Elections Will Change Little, And Nothing For The Better (Amar)
The winner of the election is, of course, the conservative CDU (CSU in Bavaria) under ex-BlackRock globalist, hard-right Atlanticist, and fanatically pro-Zionist Friedrich Merz. He is now the chancellor-elect. Yet, in reality, the CDU result of not even 29% is nothing to write home about. It’s enough to win, but definitely too little to boast about. Long gone are the days of heavyweight Helmut Kohl who regularly scored in the 34-38% range. Indeed, the only time when Kohl netted a result similar to Merz’s current one was in 1998, i.e., when he was in obvious decline. The two parties that can really congratulate themselves are Die Linke (The Left) and the Alternative For Germany (AfD) under Alice Weidel. The Left, strongly rebounding from a period of demoralization, captured almost 8% of the vote and the AfD, doubling its 2021 result, nearly 21%.
That is as predicted by polls; so, Elon Musk’s clumsy last-minute intervention definitely did not help; it may even have hurt the party in the end. Yet for the AfD, this still marks a historic breakthrough (and I write this without political sympathy): It is simply a fact that the AfD is now the second-strongest party in Germany. The only, fundamentally dubious reason that it will – most likely – not participate in government is that all other parties, including the CDU, insist on treating it as a pariah. Citizens may vote for it – and in ever larger numbers – but the traditional parties claim the privilege of excluding it by a “firewall” (a concept unknown to the constitution, of course) from the ordinary process of coalition-making that really allocates power in Berlin.
Whatever you think about their reasons for doing so, it is a hard fact that the mainstream parties are thereby treating the AfD as a second-class party and therefore its voters as second-class voters. In that regard, a recent poll finding is relevant: As Germany’s thoroughly mainstream conservative paper of record Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is reporting, the AfD can no longer be understood as a mere “party of protest.” Instead, its voters mean it when they support it. Their decision is genuine and authentic, whether you like it or not. And the AfD now also has the highest share of voters who are either workers or unemployed. Finally, the AfD is still especially strong, indeed dominant in the former East Germany. Put all of the above together and it is obvious that discriminating against the AfD promotes social and regional polarization. Indeed, not treating Weidel’s party as a normal member of the Berlin club undermines German unity.
As things are, Germany will probably see the establishment of yet another “great coalition” between the CDU and SPD. Even while the latter has been diminished as literally never before, together the two still have enough parliamentary seats to govern. The AfD, in any case, is reiterating that it is ready for a coalition with the CDU, which would have a solid, indeed bigger majority and a shared view of the world. For, even if the mainstream conservatives of the CDU are loath to admit it, very little separates them ideologically from the AfD. Indeed, as one smart observer has plausibly argued, in terms of ideology, the true share of the “far-right” vote in this election was 60% – including the CDU, the AfD, and the Greens as well. Yet since the real conflict between the CDU and the AfD is not over “values” but electoral turf and ultimately survival as the go-to for Germany’s future right/far-right vote, their coalition is not likely to happen, not yet.
That will leave the AfD, for now, as the most powerful opposition party and free to profit from the predictable dysfunction and self-blockade that the CDU and SPD will, once again, inflict on Germany. By 2029 – or earlier in case of another government collapse – Weidel’s party will find itself in an excellent position to break into government, perhaps even dominate it. In that sense, the AfD has every reason to be optimistic now: one way or the other, the election results and their consequences will play into its hands. But as to the rest of Germany, they won’t be so lucky. For three reasons: First, reduce bureaucracy as you will, raise or lower taxes to your heart’s content, keep talking about initiative and hard work and all that – none of it will overcome Germany’s abysmal economic decline.
Except you also address two key issues: namely how to reform or better abolish the so-called “debt brake” that paralyzes economic policy and how to rebuild a pragmatic, normal relationship with Russia, including inexpensive energy for German industry and access to cooperation and markets for German business. Regarding the debt brake, a CDU-SPD coalition would have enough parliamentarians to govern but not to change the constitution. Yet that is what is needed to make a difference there. Hence, not only will the two coalition partners block and sabotage each other; they will also be unable to find enough support from the opposition. And if a compromise should be cobbled together, rely on it: it will be worthless since ineffective.
Regarding Russia: Merz and his CDU have already signaled that they intend to be even more belligerent than the “traffic light” coalition. As far as they can imagine loosening the self-strangulating debt brake, for instance, then mostly to pump more money into the military. And make no mistake: With regard to foreign policy, Merz’s declaration of seeking “independence” from the US may sound intriguing. But he remains a rigid, intellectually provincial Atlanticist, mentally stuck in the 1990s, if not the (early) ‘80s.
Merz’s idea of going it alone is motivated by nothing better than fear and necessity, as Washington under Donald Trump is getting ready to cut its European clients loose. Worse, where the imagination of, at least, a Gaullist would be required to rebuild European security with instead of against Russia, Merz seems to have no greater vision than, in effect, quixotically trying to make Germany (perhaps together with France as junior partner and nuke provider) replace America inside a shrunken, de facto EU-European-centered NATO remaining frozen in self-crippling Russophobia and daft Cold War reenacting, Kaja Kallas-style. Think of it as a new mutation of Atlanticism that doesn’t even feature an Atlantic anymore.
That would be good.
• Russia-US Dialogue Must Pave Way For Disarmament – Top Hungarian Diplomat (TASS)
The renewal of dialogue between Russia and the US must pave the way for disarmament, which has stalled amid increased tensions between the two countries in recent years, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said on his way to the UN’s Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. “Of course, Hungary and all peace-loving nations have an interest in seeing resumed US-Russian dialogue lead to the revival of the disarmament process. This will require mutual trust once again, and I will urge the rebuilding of that trust at the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva today,” Hungary’s top diplomat wrote in a post on Facebook (banned in Russia, owned by Meta designated as extremist in Russia).
He also drew attention to the fact that over the last three years, as the Ukrainian conflict has dragged on, talk about nuclear weapons being used has increased, which is very dangerous in and of itself. Furthermore, this conflict led to the production of a copious amount of weaponry, and “no one knows what will happen to it in the future,” the Hungarian foreign minister said. “By whom, where, and against whom will it be used in the future?” he inquired. In particular, Russia and the US will discuss the possibility of renewing the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) which expires in 2026. Experts say that a new treaty, one which would replace the old agreement, could be drafted.
New START limits the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles Russia and the United States may own. In February 2023, Moscow announced that it was suspending its participation in the treaty but was not withdrawing from it. The Russian side wanted to understand how New START would account not only for the United States’ arsenals but also for the stockpiles of other NATO nuclear powers, namely the United Kingdom and France. In turn, the US has repeatedly stated that it would like to include China in the negotiations on nuclear disarmament. Beijing, however, does not see the need for this, as it has a much smaller nuclear stockpile than the other two powers. Following his return to office, Donald Trump has confirmed Washington’s willingness to communicate with Moscow and Beijing on these issues.
John Helmer is no fan of Trump’s. Fair enough, but he should ask himself how much/how little Trump values Macron. Who visits because he wants a place at the peace talks table. Which he will not get.
• Trump’s Incomprehension – “Thank You, Dear Donald” (Helmer)
Compos mentis was missing in the Oval Office on Monday morning. French President Emmanuel Macron recognized it, and was so pleased, he repeatedly said: “Thank you, dear Donald”. The answers to press questions given by President Donald Trump, sitting beside Macron, revealed that Trump doesn’t understand what end-of-war terms President Vladimir Putin has announced, nor the substance of the conversations, back channel and front in Riyadh, which have been going on between the Russians and Trump’s representatives. In the 28-minute morning presser, Trump spoke in repeated slogans except for a handful of new briefing points he was given by his staff: the President stressed he has no points of difference with the French, the other Europeans, or NATO on how to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war.
“There was great unity in that room”, Trump claimed of the first round of meetings with the Macron delegation, which included a videolink to other G7 leaders. “Take back some of the land”, Trump then claimed after being asked what end-of-war terms in the Ukraine he has discussed with Macron. “We’ll see if we get some land back”, Trump repeated. Asked if he planned to go to Moscow on May 9, Trump revealed he does not know the significance of the May 9 celebration in Russia. “If this all gets settled out, sure I would go, and he could come here, too. I don’t know Ninth of May, no – I, err, that’s pretty soon. At the appropriate time I would go to Moscow…Within weeks. I think we could end it within weeks if we’re smart. If we’re not smart, it’ll keep going…” Trump revealed, however, that he has given up his effort to hold a summit meeting with Putin without preparatory agreement of terms for an end of the Ukraine war.
In the Oval Office, and in a simultaneous social media post, Trump repeated his interest in getting “payback” for US war spending in the Ukraine by negotiating a “rare earths” agreement. “I emphasized”, the media post said, “the importance of the vital ‘Critical Minerals and Rare-Earths Deal’ between the United States and Ukraine, which we hope will be signed very soon! This deal, which is an ‘Economic Partnership’, will ensure the American people recoup the Tens of Billions of Dollars and Military Equipment sent to Ukraine, while also helping Ukraine’s economy grow as this Brutal and Savage War comes to an end. At the same time, I am in serious discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia concerning the ending of the War, and also major Economic Development transactions which will take place between the United States and Russia. Talks are proceeding very well!”
In repeating to Macron his preoccupation with “rare earths”, Trump revealed in the Oval Office that he has no idea of the geography of the minerals he is negotiating to take over, so that “we get our money back over a period of time. But it is also beneficial to their economy, to them as a country.” Trump does not comprehend that the minerals — “rare earths and other things”, he called them — are mostly located, no longer in Ukraine but in the four new provinces of Russia and on the seabed off Russian Crimea. Trump also revealed he has no idea of how his proposed US investment in the minerals would be protected and by whom.
Reporters pressed to see if the minerals agreement is subterfuge for a US security pledge to the Kiev regime, substituting for NATO membership. Asked explicitly if the minerals deal will engage a US security guarantee for the Ukraine, Trump answered: “Well, uhh, it’ll be — Europe is going to make sure nothing happens. I don’t think it’s going to be much of a problem. I think once we settle, ahhh, there’s going to be no more war in Ukraine. You’re not go – uhhh, it’s not going to be a very big problem. That’s going to be the least of it.”
“Where was the Biden-Harris administration’s urgent push to upgrade the national airspace system? We know why this wasn’t a priority—because DEI took center stage over the nation.”
• Musk’s Starlink Set To Upgrade America’s National Airspace System (ZH)
Bloomberg reported that Elon Musk’s SpaceX subsidiary, Starlink, is preparing to deploy terminals nationwide to upgrade the Federal Aviation Administration’s national airspace system. Musk responded to the report on X, indicating that the current ground-based internet, managed by Verizon, “is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk.”
The Verizon system is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 25, 2025
Here’s more from the report: Musk approved a shipment of 4,000 Starlink terminals to the FAA last week for the initiative, said one of the people. One terminal has already been installed at the FAA’s air-traffic control technology lab in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for testing, the person said. The person familiar with the matter said the program will be called TDM X. The goal is to have the entire program fully functional within 12 to 18 months. An FAA spokesperson confirmed Bloomberg’s report, stating that the agency is testing one terminal in Atlantic City and two in Alaska. The military has used Starlink terminals at remote bases for the past few years.
Calls to upgrade the nation’s air traffic control system come weeks after Elon Musk, a special government employee in charge of DOGE, said his team will support the urgent need to make “rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system.” Trump has urged Congress to modernize the nation’s aging air traffic control system following last month’s midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a regional jet near Ronald Reagan National Airport, which killed 67. Where was the Biden-Harris administration’s urgent push to upgrade the national airspace system? We know why this wasn’t a priority—because DEI took center stage over the nation.
Under the Biden-Harris regime, Starlink was banished from the rural federal program to connect America, primarily because of the Biden admin’s dislike of Musk. Now, Starlink has rolled out across Ukraine for cellular service, while T-Mobile in the US has the same service. Recall legacy telecoms AT&T and Verizon have used lawfare to slow down Starlink’s constellation building in low-Earth orbit. Last week, Goldman turned bullish on part suppliers for Starlink satellites… Starlink will continue to soar as the roadblocks the Biden admin put up have vanished. We suspect a Starlink IPO will occur during Trump’s second term.
The hardest part?!
• Pentagon To Be ‘Shaken Up’ – White House (RT)
The Pentagon is set for a major overhaul, with President Donald Trump ordering a leadership shake-up following years of financial mismanagement, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. The Department of Defense has never passed an independent financial audit since Congress mandated the process in 2018. Its most recent audit, in November 2024, found that only 7 of 30 sub-agencies could fully account for their expenditures. Pentagon officials admitted they are unlikely to achieve a clean audit before 2028. “They failed seven audits in a row; the trust in our United States military, amongst the warfighters, is low,” Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing. “The president is shaking up the Pentagon and the Department of Defense, of course, with Secretary [Pete] Hegseth leading, and he has the right to do such a thing.”
The White House’s latest announcement follows last week’s dismissal of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Charles Q. Brown Jr., along with several other high-ranking Pentagon officials, including Admiral Lisa Franchetti – the first woman to command the US Navy. The administration has framed these firings as part of a broader effort to improve accountability and efficiency within the military. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has echoed the call for change, rejecting past policies that he claims prioritized diversity initiatives over military effectiveness. “In this department, we will treat everyone equally,” Hegseth said earlier this month. “We will judge you as an individual by your merit.” The administration’s push for reforms includes an extensive financial audit of the Pentagon, led by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk.
Trump has tasked DOGE with reviewing federal expenditures, aiming to cut up to $2 trillion in government spending by mid-2026. With its $886 billion budget, the Pentagon is one of the key targets for cost reductions. “I’ve instructed him to go check out education, to check out the Pentagon, which is the military, and sadly, you’ll find some things that are pretty bad,” Trump said earlier this month. “We need to get rid of waste and make sure taxpayer money is spent correctly.” The White House has not yet detailed specific changes to military budgeting but has indicated additional personnel changes and restructuring efforts are on the horizon. The administration argues that these reforms are essential to restoring public confidence in the military and ensuring defense funds are spent effectively.
Uganda
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894267393280499749
Cow horse
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894161044571869576
Tiger
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894074860596293689
RIP
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