Mar 092025
 
 March 9, 2025  Posted by at 11:06 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , ,  Add comments


Raphael The transfiguration 1520

 

A New American Empire: Trump, Russia, and The End of Globalism (Kashin)
U.S. Admits Ukraine Proxy War Defeat (SCF)
Acute Dementia: Europe Declares War On Russia All Over Again (Pepe Escobar)
Keir Starmer Is Ditching Zelensky To Avoid Trump Tariffs (Proud)
UK Will Return Russian Money It Is ‘So Generously Giving Away’ – Moscow (RT)
“NO DISSENT”: Trump Asks “All Republicans” To “Give Us A Few Months” (ZH)
Federal Judge Denies Request to Block DOGE From Accessing Treasury Data (ET)
Early ICE Arrests Are Below 5% Of Trump’s Target: Here’s Why (JTN)
Something Huge for the MAHA Movement Is About To Happen (Margolis)
The Media Can’t Hide This Trump Victory Forever (Margolis)
US Pushing To Soften Anti-Russia Language In G7 Document (RT)
Ukraine Loses Access To US Commercial Satellites (RT)
Polish PM Plans To Double Size Of Army (RT)
Ukraine’s Losses Mounting Due To US Intel Freeze (RT)
Trump CDC to Probe Long-Rumored Vaccine-Autism Link (PJM)
Bezos Ousts Bond Producers Over ‘Idiots’ Remark (RT)

 

 

 

 

Candy

Article 2
https://twitter.com/i/status/1898352472546070902

Sacks


https://twitter.com/i/status/1898216959038439807

Cards
https://twitter.com/i/status/1897995649330598293

Promises
https://twitter.com/i/status/1898058853033365678

 

 

 

 

Daylight time in the US, not for another 3 weeks here in Europe. Always throws me off.

 

 

“Since the late 1990s, the costs of maintaining global hegemony have exceeded the benefits..”

A New American Empire: Trump, Russia, and The End of Globalism (Kashin)

Donald Trump’s return to the White House is shaping up to be nothing short of a political revolution. The new administration is rapidly dismantling the old order, purging the ruling elite, reshaping both domestic and foreign policy, and cementing changes that will be difficult to reverse – even if his opponents regain power in future elections. For Trump, as for all revolutionaries, the priority is to break the existing system and consolidate radical transformations. Many of the principles that guided US policy for decades – sometimes for over a century – are being deliberately discarded. Washington’s global strategy, long built on expansive military, diplomatic, and financial influence, is being rewritten to serve Trump’s domestic political needs.

The end of the American liberal empire For the past 100 years, the US has functioned as a global empire. Unlike traditional empires built on territorial expansion, the American empire extended its reach through financial dominance, military alliances, and ideological influence. This model, however, has become increasingly unsustainable. Since the late 1990s, the costs of maintaining global hegemony have exceeded the benefits, fueling discontent both at home and abroad. Trump and his allies seek to end this ‘liberal empire’ and return America to a more self-reliant, mercantilist model – one reminiscent of the late 19th and early 20th centuries under President William McKinley. Trump has openly praised this era, viewing it as the golden age of US prosperity, before the country took on the burdens of global leadership.

Under this vision, America will reduce unproductive foreign expenditures and refocus on its natural advantages: Vast resources, an advanced industrial base, and the world’s most valuable consumer market. Rather than policing the world, Washington will wield its economic power more aggressively to secure trade advantages. However, the transition to this model carries significant risks, particularly in a highly globalized economy.

A shift in global strategy Trump’s policies are driven by domestic concerns but will have major implications abroad. His administration is systematically dismantling key institutions of the old order, including those that irritated Moscow. For instance, USAID – a major vehicle for American influence in the post-Soviet space – has been gutted. Ironically, Trump had more motivation to destroy USAID than even Russian President Vladimir Putin, given that its resources had been repurposed for domestic political use by Trump’s rivals. If the US abandons its liberal empire model, many sources of tension with Russia will disappear. Historically, Moscow and Washington had relatively stable relations throughout the 19th century.

If Trump’s America reverts to a more isolationist approach, Russia will no longer be a primary target of US interference. The main friction point will likely be the Arctic, where both nations have strategic interests. China, however, remains Trump’s top adversary. Beijing’s state-led economic expansion is fundamentally at odds with Trump’s mercantilist vision. Unlike Biden, who sought to counter China through alliances, Trump is willing to go it alone – potentially weakening Western unity in the process. His administration is expected to escalate economic and technological warfare against Beijing, even if it means alienating European allies.

Europe’s strategic uncertainty One of Trump’s most disruptive moves has been his open hostility toward the EU. His vice president, J.D. Vance, recently delivered a speech in Munich that amounted to direct interference in European politics, signaling support for right-wing nationalist movements that challenge the EU’s authority. This shift is forcing Europe into an uncomfortable position. For years, China has viewed Western Europe as an ‘alternative West’ with which it could engage economically without the same level of confrontation it faces with the US. Trump’s approach could accelerate EU-Chinese ties, especially if Western European leaders feel abandoned by Washington.

There are already signs that European policymakers may loosen restrictions on Chinese investments, particularly in critical industries such as semiconductors. At the same time, the ambitions of some Europeans for NATO expansion into the Indo-Pacific may falter, as the bloc struggles to define its new role in a post-globalist US strategy. For years, Washington fantasized about splitting Russia and China apart. But Trump’s new approach is unlikely to achieve this goal. The Russia-China partnership is built on strong fundamentals: A massive shared border, complementary economies, and a shared interest in countering Western dominance.

If anything, the shifting geopolitical landscape could push Russia into a position similar to that of China in the early 2000s – focusing on economic development while maintaining strategic flexibility. Moscow may reduce its efforts to actively undermine the US and instead concentrate on strengthening its economic and security ties with Beijing. China, meanwhile, will bear the brunt of Trump’s new American empire. The US will no longer rely on alliances to contain Beijing but will use direct economic and military pressure. While this may make life more difficult for China, it does not necessarily mean the US will succeed. China has been preparing for economic decoupling for years, and Beijing may find opportunities in a more divided Western world.

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“European leaders are desperate. The about-turn in U.S. policy to walk away from the failed proxy war in Ukraine has left them holding a dead-end hand of cards..”

U.S. Admits Ukraine Proxy War Defeat (SCF)

In an interview on Fox News this week, America’s top diplomat Marco Rubio made a damning admission. He called the conflict in Ukraine a proxy war between the United States, its NATO allies and Russia. Stop the press. In one fell swoop, the narrative justifying the NATO-backed war for the past three years was exposed as a naked lie. It is not about “defending Ukraine” from alleged Russian unprovoked aggression. It is a proxy war. That means it has deeper causes and responsibilities. This is what Moscow and many other international observers have been saying all along. To recognize the conflict as a proxy war is to begin admitting wider culpability for it and to start addressing the root causes for a genuine peaceful settlement.

Secretary of State Rubio went on to emphatically call for an end to the war to spare lives. He claimed the conflict was in a stalemate, not quite bringing himself to utter the word, “defeat”. But defeat is what this debacle is. Rubio decried how the previous Biden administration and Congress (including himself as a Senator) had fueled the conflict along with other NATO members in a futile campaign. It is now time to bring the conflict to an end, he said. Appropriately, the U.S. foreign minister appeared on television with a prominent Lenten cross of ash marked on his forehead. Christians around the world begin preparations for Easter by donning ashes as a sign of repentance. Rubio’s “confession” of a failed U.S. policy of proxy war against Russia in Ukraine may be seen as a belated recognition in Washington that it needs to cease, desist and make amends for peace.

Not so the European leaders, however, who this week persisted in their lies about a noble purpose in Ukraine. Following the humiliating rebuke of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky by U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office last week, the European politicians have been rallying their support for the Kiev regime. Trump aides ejected Zelensky from the White House last Friday because he testily refused to comply with a U.S. initiative for peace in Ukraine. This week, the chastened Zelensky wrote a letter to Trump appealing for forgiveness – and more U.S. military aid. It’s not clear if the Ukrainian redundant president has convinced the Trump administration that he is ready to sign a peace deal. In the meantime, the White House has now cut off military aid and intelligence sharing with the Kiev regime. Again, proving the reality of a proxy war.

That move has thrown the European allies into a quandary and existential crisis. It is a crisis of their own making. An emergency EU leaders’ summit was convened to drum up more military support for Ukraine. The EU 27 could not agree on a package because Hungary vetoed it. Another summit is to be called on March 20, when it is intended to bypass Hungarian objection to funding the war in Ukraine. European leaders are desperate. The about-turn in U.S. policy to walk away from the failed proxy war in Ukraine has left them holding a dead-end hand of cards. Rather than folding, they are doubling down on their worthless chips. Trump upbraided Zelensky in the Oval Office by telling him, “You don’t have the cards” to keep this war going. The same advice can be leveled at the European governments, including the British, who strangely have wormed their way back into calling shots in Europe despite exiting the bloc five years ago.

This war has been lost with appalling losses. Three years of the biggest war in Europe since World War Two has resulted in over one million deaths – mainly on the Ukrainian military side – and hundreds of billions of dollars and euros wasted, which the American and European public will pay over generations through debts. This war is an abominable crime perpetrated by Washington and its European allies. All the more so because it could have been avoided if Russian diplomatic efforts in late 2021 had been reciprocated to deal with Moscow’s legitimate security concerns over NATO’s expansion. But no, the Western imperialists wanted to strategically defeat Russia and they used a NeoNazi regime in Ukraine as their pawn following the CIA-backed coup in Kiev in 2014 against an elected president.

Western leaders must be held to account for their nefarious machinations and the colossal damage in Ukraine and Russia. Russian civilians have been killed by NATO weapons and over $300 billion in Russian assets have been confiscated. Russia has the right to seek massive war reparations. At least, to their credit, the Trump administration has realized that the evil of this fraudulent war must stop.

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“..the overwhelming majority of France would gladly agree that mini-Napoleon should be dispatched to the battlefields in the black soil of Novorossiya right away…”

Acute Dementia: Europe Declares War On Russia All Over Again (Pepe Escobar)

Let’s start with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Road to Damascus moment: “Frankly, it’s a proxy war between nuclear powers, the United States helping Ukraine and Russia, and it needs to come to an end”. Now that’s a howler. Jeffrey Sachs to the rescue. Of course, the correct formulation would be “proxy war launched by the United States”. But still: Hallelujah! Such illumination – by proxy – from Heavens Above could never had hit the previous American Secretary of Genocide. Now cut to panic. Total European panic. Le Petit Roi, as popular in France as nighttime mosquitoes in a five-star beach resort, has declared that peace in Europe is only possible with a “tamed” Russia – and that Russia is a direct threat to France and Europe. On Ukraine, he pontificated that peace simply cannot take place under Russian terms or via the – inevitable – Ukrainian surrender.

Le breathless Petit Roi literally went nuclear. He stressed that France possesses a nuclear deterrent – and offered it to the rest of Europe, while insisting that Europe’s future should not be dictated by Moscow or Washington. Le Petit Roi napoleonically all but declared war on Russia. Well, the fact remains that the overwhelming majority of France would gladly agree that mini-Napoleon should be dispatched to the battlefields in the black soil of Novorossiya right away – where he would surrender in less than 5 minutes, waving a rainbow flag, as he realizes he’s about to be turned into an instant steak tartare. Now couple this Moliere farce with the fate of the much larger, fatter, pan-European New Model Woke Army regimented by the Fuhrerin SS von der Lugen out of Brussels, allegedly to be financed to the tune of 800 billion euros – money that no one has, and would have to be loaned then repaid with sky-high extorsion interest rates to the usual international financial system vultures.

SS von der Lugen insists Europe is in danger, so the solution is a massive expansion of the military-industrial complex – in practice, buying more overpriced American weapons – and “rearmament”. Talk about Gotterdammerung on crack. Were the New Model Woke Army ever come to light, surrender would also be a matter of less than 5 minutes – brandishing rainbow flags – as its woke warriors would face the dire prospect of being Oreshniked to a pile of charcoal grilled burgers. Add to it the Return of the Nord Stream Saga – with a new plot twist. Sy Hersh conclusively proved that the Nord Streams were bombed under orders of the previous Crash Test Dummy regime in Washington. Now Nord Stream 2, at least, could be back in business via a not-so-secret U.S.-Russia deal involving Gazprom and American oligarchs.

All that while fanatics in Berlin assure right and left they want to explore every possible way to prevent (italics mine) the Nord Stream system from being repaired – because after all no one, especially the new BlackRock chancellor, can deviate from the official policy of destroying the German economy by all means necessary. Compounding the Kafkaesque scenario, the Prime Minister of Denmark – which is on the brink of losing Greenland “one way or another” to Trump 2.0 – immortalized the words, “peace in Ukraine will be more dangerous than war.” The Polish Prime Minister did not miss a beat, adding that “Europe is stronger than Russia and capable of winning in any military, financial, or economic confrontation.” Europe is in such a “winning” streak now – as the record shows.

All this discombobulated Tower of Babel proves, without a shadow of a doubt, that Europe is geopolitically – and geoeconomically – dead and buried. No Teutonic Gods – complete with fat lady singin’ – will be able to resurrect it. The notion that Europe is able to pose a military threat to Russia does not even qualify as trashy propaganda for sub-zero IQs. It would take at least a decade to re-militarize Germany as its economy is moribund, serially stabbed by unmanageable energy costs. Russia for its part is protected from a possible nuclear attack by Le Petit Roi’s puny “umbrella” arsenal by the most sophisticated missile defenses in the world. The Aegis defensive missiles in Poland are relatively worthless – even if their prime danger to Russia remains that the system can be converted to handle offensive missiles. As a whole, the Aegis, Patriot, THAAD-PAC-3, SBIR-HIGH Ground Based Infrared Systems are all relatively useless.

Other than the U.S., NATO simply has no military worth. And Washington under Trump 2.0 simply will not be involved in the next European War. The U.S. has satellite systems for targeting but no one else in NATO has them. With the U.S. pulling out, and in the event of a hypothetical von der Lugen-led New Woke Army attack against Russia, Russian missiles can knock out all European ports, airports and manufacturing and energy systems in a day max – instantly returning Europe to the stone age. This applies to England, France, Germany, not to mention assorted chihuahuas: all of NATO. Russia can knock out all British power systems with Zircons launched from a conventional submarine. Stone Age, here we come. Russian hypersonic missiles cannot be intercepted.

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“..His Majesty King Charles II and President Trump are peers as Heads of State, and Prime Minister Starmer is a more junior Head of Government..”

Keir Starmer Is Ditching Zelensky To Avoid Trump Tariffs (Proud)

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Washington majored on an historic invitation for President Trump to make a second state visit to Britain. Despite considerable pre-visit hype among the UK mainstream media, Ukraine was barely mentioned. The cold truth is, Starmer is ditching Zelensky to avoid tariffs. The subtle art of diplomacy is often hard to fathom for the outsider. When Keir Starmer called on Donald Trump in the Oval Office on 27 February, there was an air of conviviality that belied what some considered to have been, hitherto, a difficult relationship. The set piece moment was the Prime Minster handing the President a letter from His Majesty, King Charles II. While it has attracted little comment, The King’s letter to President Trump was a diplomatic masterstroke. A section of the first page was captured by a photographer.

These were words crafted by His Majesty himself, with his distinct syntax, rather than written by an anonymous committee of officials in 10 Down Street. The preambular second paragraph appears to contain mere niceties about a possible Trump visit to Scotland, but it was so much more. Donald Trump’s mother was born in Scotland, and the President famously owns golf courses there. The King extends a deeply personal invitation for the President to stay at Balmoral, the favoured Residence in Scotland of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and the place she passed. There is also an offer to visit and stay at Dumfries House, which was His Majesty’s seat in Scotland before ascending to the throne, when his Royal title in Scotland was the Duke of Rothesay. He mentions that underprivileged young people are trained at the House and many end up working at the President’s golfing establishments.

Scotland holds a special place in the hearts of both Heads of State. And Diplomacy, ultimately, is about human connection. This was King Charles addressing President Trump as an equal, a peer and a cherished friend. And then the coup de grace, an invitation to an historic second State visit, historic because no US President has been afforded two State visits. President Trump appears to value the form of diplomacy at least as much as its substance. The style and class of King Charles’ letter sits in stark contrast, to the truculent, unshaven President Zelensky arguing in the Oval Office on 28 February. And the theatre behind Keir Starmer’s handing the letter to President Trump was designed to reinforce two perceptions. The first was that The King continues to regard the United States as a dear and trusted friend. The second, and perhaps more significantly, that Prime Minister Starmer was the messenger, not the peer.

Some British journalists jokingly referred to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday 27 February as a visit to the King. Clearly, President Trump isn’t a monarch, nor is he Elvis Presley. But in the game of diplomacy between the United States and the United Kingdom, His Majesty King Charles II and President Trump are peers as Heads of State, and Prime Minister Starmer is a more junior Head of Government. While the first sentence of the letter is not fully visible, His Majesty is clearly thanking President Trump for receiving the British Prime Minister – i.e. His Head of Government – so soon after the inauguration. I don’t believe the optics of this would have been lost on the President. The Labour Prime Minister’s has had a bad start with Donald Trump. The King’s letter brings the adults back into the conversation in a way that can only help the UK repair some of the damage caused.

In inviting President Trump to Britain, with all the pomp and ceremony that Britain offers like no other country, the UK government wants to reprioritise its trade and investment relationship with the United States. As Europe and America teeter on the brink of a trade war, Britain wants a genuinely open trading relationship with America that both prevents the risk of US tariffs but also gives the UK economy a much-needed boost post-Brexit. America is Britain’s largest export partner accounting for 15.7% of business and trade in goods is fairly balanced, with a tiny surplus of £2.5bn going Britain’s way in 2023. This may help to explain why Britain appears less in the firing line for US tariffs than the European Union, which President Trump said was designed to ‘screw the US’ flooding America with a surplus of $300bn in goods trade.

After President Obama famously said that Britain would have to join the back of the queue in any post-Brexit trade talks with America, UK-US trade talks were not prioritised under the Biden administration. This has now become a top priority for the UK in its relationship with the Trump administration. And Starmer has recognised that he can’t have it all – he can’t criticise Trump on Ukraine, backing Zelensky and steering Europe on a pro-war course, while at the same time landing a lucrative trade deal and avoiding Trump tariffs. He has therefore decided quietly to ditch Zelensky and to line up behind Trump’s plans for a peace deal.

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“Volodin said Britain “will have to give back to Russia what they are now so generously giving away,” adding that Moscow has “every reason to respond in kind.”

UK Will Return Russian Money It Is ‘So Generously Giving Away’ – Moscow (RT)

The UK’s transfer of the proceeds from Russia’s frozen central bank funds to Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law, Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has said. On Friday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal said that Kiev had received a first tranche worth about $1 billion from the UK, secured by the proceeds from the Russian assets. He said the funds would go toward “strengthening” Ukraine’s defense and voiced hope that all frozen Russian assets would be “confiscated and transferred” to Kiev. Speaking to reporters later in the day, Volodin said Britain “will have to give back to Russia what they are now so generously giving away,” adding that Moscow has “every reason to respond in kind.”

Volodin also warned that London’s actions would “undermine confidence” in its financial system, as they “violate the principle of property inviolability, a cornerstone of the global financial system.” Western countries froze around $300 billion in Russian central bank assets after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Of this total, more than $200 billion is reportedly held at the Brussels-based clearinghouse Euroclear, while up to $30 billion is in the UK. The assets have already generated billions in interest. Euroclear transferred over $1 billion directly to Ukraine last July. Kiev has been pressing its Western backers to expropriate the assets to finance its military and reconstruction efforts.

The West remains divided over the fate of the frozen assets. Many EU countries are reluctant to tap the reserves themselves, opting instead for the interest earned on them. Some have raised concerns that seizing the assets could damage the Western financial system and erode trust in the euro. The International Monetary Fund has also warned that taking the funds without a clear legal basis could undermine global confidence in Western financial institutions. The Kremlin has repeatedly denounced the asset freeze as “theft” and warned of legal action against those involved in the asset seizure.

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“..a March 14 deadline approaches for the latest government shutdown threat..”

“NO DISSENT”: Trump Asks “All Republicans” To “Give Us A Few Months” (ZH)

President Trump on Saturday implored ‘All Republicans’ to vote on a 99-page spending bill that would keep the government funded through September, as a March 14 deadline approaches for the latest government shutdown threat. The bill largely maintains current spending levels, while an additional $8 billion would be included for defense programs, and $6 billion for veterans’ healthcare. Non-defense spending would drop by approximately $13 billion. Johnson is setting up the bill for a vote on Tuesday, despite a lack of buy-in from Democrats – essentially daring them to vote against it and risk a shutdown. He’s also betting that Republicans will be able to quash inner divisions over spending and force it through.

As Bloomberg notes, unlike previous shutdowns, this one would impact all discretionary spending since none of the 12 appropriations bills have been signed into law. While key entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid would continue making payments, administrative delays could affect new enrollments. With a razor-thin Republican majority in the House and the need for bipartisan cooperation in the Senate, negotiations remain fraught, as both parties clash over budgetary provisions that could make or break a last-minute deal. The economic consequences of a prolonged shutdown, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, would be immediate yet largely reversible. A month-long halt in government operations could shave 0.4 percentage points off GDP growth in the first quarter, though a rebound is expected once normal spending resumes. While federal workers may face furloughs, unemployment figures would not be affected in March but could rise by 0.5 percentage points in April if the impasse drags on. Inflation would see a temporary uptick because furloughed federal workers’ output wouldn’t be counted, even though they will eventually be paid.

More:
• Economic Data Collection: The shutdown will delay crucial economic reports like the consumer price index (CPI), unemployment rate, and retail sales data.
• Federal Agencies: Around 850,000 workers could be furloughed.
• Impact on the Fed: The Federal Reserve, which operates independently, will continue normal operations, including the scheduled March 18-19 FOMC meeting.

As Bloomberg concludes: In normal times, avoiding a shutdown would be a big priority – but now, amid the flurry of dramatic steps early in Trump’s term, it’s just one of many competing priorities. It’s not clear if the two sides can find common ground. Only twice before has the government been shuttered when one party controlled the White House, House of Representatives and Senate – and both were during the first Trump administration. Whether a third such episode can be avoided will depend on how the two sides assess the tactical risks of bringing the normal operations of government to a halt.

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The first judge DID block DOGE, “citing concerns over insufficient vetting and training” and saying “..the potential consequences of a cybersecurity breach could be catastrophic.”

Really, the Treasury is better at training and security than Musk and Big Balls? Is that judge just ignorant or is something else amiss?

Federal Judge Denies Request to Block DOGE From Accessing Treasury Data (ET)

A federal judge in Washington has refused to block staff from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the Treasury Department’s systems that contain millions of Americans’ personal data. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly—who previously restricted DOGE’s work at the Treasury to two employees with read-only access—issued a decision on March 7 that rejects a request from the Alliance for Retired Americans and several employee unions to bar DOGE staff from the Treasury’s Fiscal Service system, which processes roughly 90 percent of federal payments. In her ruling, Kollar-Kotelly determined that the plaintiffs had failed to establish that allowing DOGE employees access to the system would result in irreparable harm.

“If Plaintiffs could show that Defendants imminently planned to make their private information public or to share that information with individuals outside the federal government with no obligation to maintain its confidentiality, the Court would not hesitate to find a likelihood of irreparable harm,” the judge wrote. She found no indication of any plans to misuse or improperly disclose sensitive data, and noted that the plaintiffs are free to return to court to seek emergency remedy if these circumstances change. The decision also lifts Kollar-Kotelly’s earlier access restrictions, which had permitted two DOGE-affiliated individuals to view the Fiscal Service system on a read-only basis. DOGE staff remain barred from the Fiscal Service under a separate order issued by U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas in New York.

Vargas, responding to a lawsuit from 19 Democratic attorneys general, partially granted their request to block DOGE personnel from the Treasury’s payment system, citing concerns over insufficient vetting and training. “Indeed, taking the time to adequately mitigate potential security concerns and properly onboard members to engage in this work outweighs the defendants’ immediate need to access and redevelop [the] Treasury system,” Vargas stated in her 64-page order. “Without addressing these issues, the potential consequences of a cybersecurity breach could be catastrophic.”

Vargas left open the possibility of lifting or modifying her order if the administration certifies that DOGE staff have undergone proper training and obtained necessary security clearances. She also denied the plaintiffs’ request to impose broader restrictions preventing DOGE from creating processes to stop payments within the Treasury’s systems. Vargas argued that such measures would “far exceed” the scope of the earlier temporary restraining order and that the plaintiffs had not justified the need for such extensive relief against DOGE.

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Homan will get there.

Early ICE Arrests Are Below 5% Of Trump’s Target: Here’s Why (JTN)

President Donald Trump put the figure of illegal aliens in the U.S. under President Joe Biden at 21 million during his Tuesday address to Congress, but the latest arrest figures show his administration on pace to apprehend less than 5% of that amount by the end of his term. “Over the past four years, 21 million people poured into the United States,” Trump said. “Many of them were murders, human traffickers, gang members and other criminals from the streets of dangerous cities all throughout the world because of Joe Biden’s insane and very dangerous open border policies, they are now strongly embedded in our country.” The latest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) figures pointed to 20,000 arrests in Trump’s first month. Calculated as 20,000 in 30 days, the daily rate came to 667 arrests, which projected over four years would lead to slightly fewer than one million arrests by the end of Trump’s term, or 4.8% of the 21 million.

Put simply, ICE arrests are significantly behind schedule and would need to total roughly 440,000 per month to see Trump’s target met. Border Czar Tom Homan has expressed optimism that federal law enforcement can meet that target. So, why then the sluggish pace? The short answer is money. After a string of continuing resolutions from Congress to avoid government shutdowns, ICE and other immigration-related agencies are operating at Biden-era funding levels. That administration prioritized processing illegal entrants to the United States rather than removing them and former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas did not make arrests at a comparable rate to current figures.

Border funding is on the table, of course, but pending the resolution of House and Senate budget battles, there exists little in the way of resources to expand operations. Capacity issues prompted efforts to expand detention at Guantanamo Bay, though an early effort to use tents to expand the facility was abandoned over standards concerns. On Wednesday, reports emerged that the administration had halted deportation flights using military aircraft due to cost concerns. At present, the House and Senate remain divided on a one-step vs. two-step funding plan, with Trump himself favoring the former. The upper chamber has sought to advance border funding in the first phase while addressing Trump’s tax promises in a second. But no surge in additional funding to address the border crisis is expected until the resolution of that standoff.

Homan initially outlined plans to prioritize illegal alien violent criminals, namely those tied to gangs such as Tren de Aragua, repeat deportees, and those convicted of crimes. Recent ICE social media posts have pointed to MS-13 gang member arrests and efforts to handle trafficking operations. On February 20, the U.S. Department of State announced that Executive Order 14157 designates drug cartels and international gangs as “as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).” “We are prioritizing public safety threats, child predators, rapists, murderers. These are the worst of the worst walking around your communities,” Homan told Fox News’s Sean Hannity in late February. “And you would think any elected mayor, any elected governor, any elected city councilwoman would want public safety threats removed from their communities.”

ICE stopped posting regular updates on daily arrests weeks ago, leading to speculation that arrests had ground to a halt. The recently unveiled 20,000 figure appeared to confirm that the pace was not on target. Arrests and deportation figures are not the same. Potentially simplifying things for ICE, however, is the precipitous decline in new entrants to the U.S., with U.S. Customs and Border Protection reporting only 61,465 encounters at the southwest land border in January. The agency has yet to report on February’s numbers, which are expected to be much lower, but the January figures still represent a significant decline from the December 2023 high of 301,981.

ICE enforcement statistics are not currently up to date and are published on a quarterly basis. An ICE spokesperson told Just the News that “since Jan. 20, ICE has significantly increased its immigration enforcement activities with additional support from other federal law enforcement and DOD partners. In an effort to keep the American people informed about the results of our efforts with only the most accurate information, ICE is compiling and validating the data and is working toward publishing our enforcement statistics on a monthly basis.”

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“It’s about time someone in Washington had the courage to stand up to these corporate giants. Monday can’t come soon enough.”

Something Huge for the MAHA Movement Is About To Happen (Margolis)

The foxes are about to meet the new guardian of the henhouse, and it promises to be quite the showdown! Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is scheduled to meet with executives from General Mills, PepsiCo, and other food industry giants on Monday, according to a report from Politico. And boy, do they have some explaining to do. Kennedy, who’s been waging war against what he calls the “chemical-intensive processed foods” poisoning Americans, isn’t exactly known for pulling punches. During his Senate confirmation hearing in January, he boldly declared what many of us have known for years: “Something is poisoning the American people.” Now he’s taking his fight directly to the corporate boardrooms of Big Food.

The timing couldn’t be more perfect—or more terrifying—for these corporate executives. With the Health and Agriculture Departments set to craft new Dietary Guidelines for Americans this year, the stakes couldn’t be higher. These guidelines shape everything from what our kids eat at school to what your doctor tells you about nutrition. What’s particularly interesting about this whole situation is that the Consumer Brands Association—the very group representing these food giants—initiated the meeting proposal back in February. This could be a sign they’re willing to do what it takes to make foods healthy again, or they’re going to play offense against the changes Kennedy wants to make. So what’s going to happen with to their precious seed oils and chemical additives? Will Big Food capitulate to the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement?

The meeting agenda remains “undecided” as of Friday, which has apparently caused quite the stir among CBA board members. It could mean they are trying to figure out how to defend their ultra-processed food empire against someone who’s made it his mission to expose their role in America’s chronic illness epidemic. But some industry insiders are whispering that these CEOs might actually cave to Kennedy’s demands. The real question is whether these corporate bigwigs will finally acknowledge their role in America’s health crisis, or continue hiding behind their slick marketing campaigns and army of lobbyists. Kennedy’s appointment signals that the days of business as usual might be coming to an end for Big Food.

Several fast food chains have recently announced they are switching to beef tallow for frying. One such chain is Steak ‘n Shake, which announced its support of RFK Jr. and the MAHA movement on Friday. One thing’s certain: Monday’s meeting won’t be your typical corporate kumbaya session. With Kennedy’s track record of calling out food conglomerates for their role in increasing childhood chronic illnesses, these executives better bring more than their usual PR talking points to the table. The American people are watching, and they’re tired of being force-fed chemicals disguised as food. It’s about time someone in Washington had the courage to stand up to these corporate giants. Monday can’t come soon enough.

Read more …

“..completed the hazardous materials cleanup in Los Angeles in just 29 days—far ahead of initial projections. “The estimates were it was going to take 18 months..”

The Media Can’t Hide This Trump Victory Forever (Margolis)

The Trump administration has shattered expectations with its rapid response to the Los Angeles wildfire cleanup, delivering results in record time and proving critics wrong. Despite accusations of inefficiency and political grandstanding, the administration worked closely with California officials to expedite the recovery effort. And no one is covering it. CNN’s Scott Jennings pointed this out Friday night on “Laura Coates Live” on CNN, after Keith Boykin, a Democratic strategist and former Clinton White House aide, made a wild accusation that the Trump administration was responsible for “waste, fraud, and abuse” across various sectors, including water management and foreign aid.

“Not to mention the $400 million going to Elon Musk for his Cybertruck,” Boykin claimed. “This is the waste, fraud, and abuse in America. It’s not because of the federal workers doing their jobs. It’s because Donald Trump is self-dealing.” The Cybertruck story was debunked last month, by the way. But to the larger point that somehow Trump is causing “waste, fraud, and abuse” in America, Jennings destroyed that claim in a matter of seconds by highlighting an achievement that has gotten virtually no coverage in the media. It turns out that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Trump completed the hazardous materials cleanup in Los Angeles in just 29 days—far ahead of initial projections. “The estimates were it was going to take 18 months,” Jennings pointed out. “But this is the cleanup of the hazardous material that you have to do in order to start rebuilding. Twenty-nine days.”

Jennings dismissed the narrative that Trump was neglecting California, emphasizing instead the growing confidence in government efficiency under his leadership. “All this idea that there’s photo ops and waste and fraud and whatever and that Donald Trump was going to abandon California and L.A.—the EPA under Donald Trump, 29 days.”

Have you heard anything about this? Probably not, but it’s true. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the achievement on February 26. “President Trump set an extremely ambitious deadline for EPA to clean up all hazardous materials in the wake of the deadly California wildfires. Thanks to his leadership and the hard work of countless personnel in the field, we got it done in record time. There is still a long road ahead for thousands of residents who lost everything just a few weeks ago, but EPA is proud to do our part in the recovery process. The community will rebuild stronger than ever before,” Zeldin said in a statement. According to the agency, this effort “has been the largest wildfire hazardous waste cleanup in the history of the EPA.”

At the direction of President Trump, EPA partnered with the U.S. military and U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop and execute a response plan. Under EPA leadership, crews identified and cleared hazardous materials from 13,612 residential properties and 305 commercial properties, paving the way for debris removal and other stages of the recovery effort to move forward. Administrator Zeldin traveled to Los Angeles on February 6, 2025, to survey damage and meet with EPA personnel on the ground. The results speak for themselves. Make no mistake about it, the Biden administration would have taken at least 18 months to get it done. The Trump administration took 29 days. Thanks to Trump, the government is working more efficiently and effectively, and the rebuilding process will be able to begin far sooner than anticipated. Once again, Trump delivered where bureaucrats and politicians had long failed.

Read more …

Found this funny: “..replace the wording about Russia’s ability to “maintain its war” with “earn revenue..”

US Pushing To Soften Anti-Russia Language In G7 Document (RT)

The US has been pushing to soften the language aimed at Russia in the final communique of the upcoming G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, Bloomberg has reported, citing a draft of the joint statement and people familiar with the matter. The Group of Seven, comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and US, will meet next week in the Canadian city of Charlevoix. According to the report published on Saturday, the administration of US President Donald Trump is pushing to strengthen the language on China while “watering down” the wording on Russia. The US wants to remove the word ‘sanctions’ from the final statement and replace the wording about Russia’s ability to “maintain its war” with “earn revenue,” Bloomberg said. The US has reportedly rejected Canada’s proposal to establish a task force that would monitor the so-called ‘shadow fleet’ of oil tankers the West claims Russia is operating to bypass sanctions on energy exports.

During the final weeks of the previous administration of President Joe Biden, the US blacklisted more than 180 vessels allegedly used to illegally transport Russian oil. Moscow insists that all Western sanctions are illegal and has denied that it operates a shadow fleet. Trump has abandoned his predecessor’s strategy of “isolating” Russia on the world stage and reopened direct talks with Russia, which were suspended in 2022. He has stressed that his priority is to end the conflict through diplomacy and reach a ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev. Last week, Trump suggested that the US could lift the sanctions “at some point” during peace talks. He has since threatened Moscow with a new round of “large-scale” sanctions until a ceasefire and a “final settlement agreement on peace” is reached. Moscow has stated that the Western sanctions have failed to weaken or isolate Russia, instead harming the countries that imposed them.

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“..it would “probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace.”

Ukraine Loses Access To US Commercial Satellites (RT)

The US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has stopped providing Ukraine with satellite imagery paid for by Washington, several media outlets have reported, citing a statement by the agency. The decision was made in line with President Donald Trump’s “directive on support to Ukraine,” it said. The move follows Washington’s recent freeze on further weapons deliveries and intelligence sharing with Kiev, which, in turn, came on the heels of last Friday’s altercation between Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance at the White House. The US head of state accused Zelensky of ingratitude and “gambling with World War III” by refusing to seek peace with Russia.

On Friday, the Washington Post, ABC News, and several other media outlets reported, citing a statement from the agency itself, that the NGA had “temporarily suspended [Ukraine’s] access” to commercial satellite imagery purchased by the US government. The NGA is a unit within the Department of Defense. The same day, Maxar, a leading US provider of commercial satellite imagery, issued a statement, confirming that the “U.S. government has temporarily suspended Ukrainian accounts” in the Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery program. According to the Washington Post, the Ukrainian military, artillery and drone units in particular, had heavily relied on the NGA service. The media outlet quoted several Ukrainian service members as saying that the “suspension was immediately felt” by Kiev’s forces.

The publication noted, however, that Kiev could still access this kind of satellite imagery via its own accounts. In a post on X on Wednesday, Oliver Carroll, a staff writer for The Economist, claimed that the US had ceased providing Ukraine with the data needed to conduct long-range strikes on Russian targets with the help of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). Also on Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox Business that Trump had “asked for a pause” in intelligence sharing with Ukraine to determine whether Kiev was ready to negotiate peace with Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Washington’s decision to halt intelligence sharing with Kiev proved that without the West’s direct involvement “Ukraine would not be able to… launch long-range missiles at our territory.” Commenting on Tuesday on the halt of US intelligence sharing with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed cautious optimism, noting that if the US were to suspend supplies altogether, it would “probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace.”

Read more …

“..that would require every adult male in Poland to undergo “large-scale military training” to prepare for a potential conflict with Russia..”

Polish PM Plans To Double Size Of Army (RT)

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has unveiled plans to more than double the size of the country’s military to 500,000. Speaking in the Polish Parliament on Friday, Tusk said Poland must be prepared for future conflicts and strengthen its defenses. Tusk reiterated his earlier claims that Russia poses a threat to Europe, saying Moscow could launch a “full-scale operation” against a “larger” target than Ukraine within three to four years – which Russia has repeatedly dismissed as unfounded. He argued that Poland must serve as a “bastion” to protect NATO’s eastern flank and should expand its military capabilities. “We’re talking about the need to have an army of half-a-million in Poland, including the reservists,” he stated, noting that Poland’s current armed forces number around 200,000, which he compared to Russia’s estimated 1.3 million troops.

Tusk said his government is drafting legislation that would require every adult male in Poland to undergo “large-scale military training” to prepare for a potential conflict with Russia. “We will try to have a model ready by the end of this year so that every adult male in Poland is trained in the event of war, so that this reserve is comparable and adequate to the potential threats,” he said. He added that Polish women may also be required to undergo military training, thought “war is still to a greater extent the domain of men.” Tusk’s remarks came a day after EU leaders approved a major military spending plan to unlock billions of euros to build up defense capabilities. The initiative – ReArm Europe – which was adopted following an emergency summit in Brussels, hikes defense spending by up to €800 billion ($840 billion) – twice the total EU defense expenditures in 2024.

The Kremlin condemned the bloc’s “militarization” plan, calling it a path towards confrontation that hinders peace efforts with Ukraine. In addition to a larger army, Tusk said Poland must enhance its military capabilities, including through the acquisition of nuclear and “modern unconventional weapons.” Tusk’s speech followed his recent accusations that Moscow is fueling a new arms race, and calls for fellow EU nations to ramp up defense spending. The Kremlin has criticized Tusk’s rhetoric as confrontational and militaristic. Moscow has rejected accusations that it poses a military threat to Europe, with President Vladimir Putin dismissing the claims as “nonsense” designed to justify increased military budgets.

Read more …

Kursk.

Ukraine’s Losses Mounting Due To US Intel Freeze (RT)

The recent suspension of US intelligence sharing with Ukraine has critically weakened Kiev’s defense capabilities, leading to substantial casualties, territorial losses – particularly in the occupied part of Russia’s Kursk Region – and plummeting morale, Time reported on Friday, citing Western and Ukrainian officials familiar with the situation. One unnamed official claimed that the lack of US intel directly resulted in “hundreds of dead Ukrainians,” adding that “the biggest problem is morale,” as Kiev is unable to effectively use some of its most powerful Western-supplied weapons. According to Time, the abrupt halt in intelligence sharing has affected the Ukrainian foothold in the Russian border region of Kursk, which Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky regards as a bargaining chip in potential peace talks with Russia.

The magazine said, citing sources, that Russia has made swift advances in the area, aiming to cut off Ukrainian supply lines into the region. According to Ukrainian media reports citing the Deep State monitoring website, Russian forces have nearly cut off Kiev’s foothold in Kursk Region from the border. The New York Post reported, citing sources, that Ukrainian forces in the region could wrap up their incursion within as little as two weeks due to supply shortages and deteriorating battlefield conditions. On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed gains in the region, saying Russian troops had liberated three villages. Ukraine invaded Kursk Region last August, and while it initially made some gains, the advance was soon halted.

A source in Zelensky’s government told Time that the loss of US intel has had major consequences beyond Kursk. The magazine noted that Ukraine has lost its ability to track Russian bombers and fighter jets, leaving the country vulnerable to surprise attacks. “It’s very dangerous for our people,” the source said. “It has to be immediately changed.” The halt in intelligence sharing has also weakened Ukraine’s ability to launch long-range and intermediate-range strikes against Russian military positions, as these operations rely heavily on precise targeting information from US reconnaissance data, Time added.

The US froze military aid and intelligence support for Ukraine following a heated exchange between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump on February 28 at the White House. During the televised meeting, Zelensky cast doubt on the possibility of diplomacy with Russia and told Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance that the US “will feel” the impact of the conflict. Trump accused Zelensky of being disrespectful and ungrateful for the US aid to Kiev, as well as being reluctant to seek peace with Russia while “gambling with World War III.” US officials have said the suspension of aid will remain in place until Kiev shows a commitment to holding peace talks.

Read more …

“..perhaps his handlers figured out that rolling a diseased-looking hippo in a white coat out in front of the cameras to parrot pharma industry talking points isn’t the compelling sell they would hope it might be.”

Trump CDC to Probe Long-Rumored Vaccine-Autism Link (PJM)

Sources inside the Trump administration have leaked reported plans to put the CDC to work studying the “potential connections between vaccines and autism,” per the Washington Post. Via Washington Post:

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is planning a study into the potential connections between vaccines and autism, according to two people familiar with the plan, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that there is no link between the two. The request for the study came from Trump administration officials, said the two people familiar with the plan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy have repeatedly linked vaccines to autism… In a statement, HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said: “As President Trump said in his Joint Address to Congress, the rate of autism in American children has skyrocketed. CDC will leave no stone unturned in its mission to figure out what exactly is happening. The American people expect high quality research and transparency and that is what CDC is delivering.”… The number of autism cases is rising in the United States. About 1 in 36 children has received such a diagnosis, according to data the CDC collected from 11 states, compared with 1 in 150 children in 2000.”

For the first time in history, the American people might actually get an exhaustive, thorough, (fingers-crossed) unbiased examination of the long-suspected link between the ever-growing list of recommended (for all practical purposes, mandated) childhood vaccines and skyrocketing autism rates among American children. The biomedical industry that would stand to lose billions — along with its credibility, possibly forever — if the results of this investigation don’t go its way is not likely to simply allow the research to go forward unimpeded. And it has a major asset on its side: the legacy corporate state media machine that, although it’s losing influence, still holds massive sway in terms of narrative-setting.

For such propagandistic purposes, MSNBC turned to the de facto face of the “vaccinate everything and let God sort it out” side of the ideological spectrum, Dr. Peter Hotez. (To be radically fair to Hotez, he’s looking significantly less bloated these days than we are accustomed to seeing him. Speculatively, perhaps his handlers figured out that rolling a diseased-looking hippo in a white coat out in front of the cameras to parrot pharma industry talking points isn’t the compelling sell they would hope it might be.)

Me thinks the doctor doth protest too much; if he’s as sure of his professed belief in vaccine safety as he portrays, why wouldn’t he be eager to put the conspiracy theories to bed once and for all rather than shut down any inquiry before it gets off the ground? For the record, Peter Hotez got everything wrong that he possibly could have during the pandemic in terms of his pronouncements regarding the COVID shots as a frequent guest on corporate state media. Hotez also — and he should never be allowed to skirt this stain either — declared himself, with none of the commensurate shame, a “junk-food-a-holic” on Joe Rogan’s podcast a few years back at the height of COVID insanity. He then, like the weasel that he is, justified his horrific dietary habits by hiding behind his autistic daughter, claiming that their trips to the “Burger Joint” are ritual bonding experiences that they share.

Read more …

A Moneypenny spinoff?!

Bezos Ousts Bond Producers Over ‘Idiots’ Remark (RT)

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has taken full creative control of the James Bond franchise after longtime producer Barbara Broccoli reportedly called his executives “f**king idiots,” the Hollywood Reporter wrote on Friday. According to insiders, Bezos reacted immediately, ordering her removal at any cost, which ultimately led to a $1 billion deal. As a result, Amazon now holds full control over the future of James Bond. Amazon acquired MGM in 2022, gaining distribution rights to the films, but creative control remained with Eon Productions under Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. The duo resisted Amazon’s proposed spin-offs, including a Moneypenny series and a female-led 007 project, preferring to maintain James Bond’s traditional narrative.

Tensions between Broccoli, Wilson, and Amazon executives escalated in late 2024. In December, the Wall Street Journal reported that Broccoli privately told friends she did not trust “algorithm-centric Amazon with a character she helped to mythologize through big-screen storytelling and gut instinct.” She also described the status of the next Bond film as dire, with no script, no story, and no actor chosen for the role. In the same conversation, referring to the company while among executives, she said, “These people are f**king idiots.”

The comment enraged Bezos, prompting him to take drastic action, the Hollywood Reporter stated. “He read her quote in the Journal and got on the phone and said, ‘I don’t care what it costs, get rid of her,’” an insider told the magazine. Soon afterwards, Amazon struck a deal worth nearly $1 billion to remove Broccoli and Wilson from creative control and bring the franchise under Amazon MGM Studios. After the deal was finalized in February 2025, Bezos shared a headline on X that read, “James Bond’s long-serving producers give control to Amazon,” adding the caption, “Who’d you pick as the next Bond?”

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Dore

 

 

Milk

 

 

Genius
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Toucan

 

 

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Home Forums Debt Rattle March 9 2025

Viewing 35 posts - 1 through 35 (of 35 total)
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  • #183835

    Raphael The transfiguration 1520   • A New American Empire: Trump, Russia, and The End of Globalism (Kashin) • U.S. Admits Ukraine Proxy War Defe
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle March 9 2025]

    #183837
    zerosum
    Participant

    Collection of Points of view/Opinions/facts – Irrelevant, change, right/wrong, illusion,
    ———
    • A New American Empire: Trump, Russia, and The End of Globalism (Kashin)

    The American empire extended its reach through growth, financial dominance, leverage, military alliances, and ideological influence.
    This model, however, has become increasingly unsustainable.
    ————-
    • U.S. Admits Ukraine Proxy War Defeat (SCF)
    Marco Rubio made a damning admission.
    In one fell swoop, the narrative justifying the NATO-backed war for the past three years was exposed as a naked lie.
    It is not about “defending Ukraine” from alleged Russian unprovoked aggression.
    It is a proxy war.
    This war has appalling losses.
    Three years of the biggest war in Europe since World War Two has resulted in over one million deaths – mainly on the Ukrainian military side
    – and hundreds of billions of dollars and euros wasted,
    which the American and European public will pay over generations through debts.
    Emptying the inventory of military equipment.
    Modernizing application of warfare: drones, economic, electronic.
    This war is an abominable crime perpetrated by Washington and its European allies.
    The Trump administration has realized that the evil of this fraudulent war must stop.
    ———–
    • Acute Dementia: Europe Declares War On Russia All Over Again (Pepe Escobar
    Allegedly to be financed to the tune of 800 billion euros – money that no one has, and would have to be loaned then repaid with sky-high extorsion interest rates to the usual international financial system vultures.
    In practice, buying more overpriced American weapons – and “rearmament”
    Other than the U.S., NATO simply has no military worth.
    And Washington under Trump 2.0 simply will not be involved in the next European War.
    The U.S. has satellite systems for targeting but no one else in NATO has them.
    ———–
    The King’s letter to President Trump was a diplomatic masterstroke.
    ————
    The UK’s transfer of the proceeds from Russia’s frozen central bank funds to Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law, Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has said.
    On Friday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal said that Kiev had received a first tranche worth about $1 billion from the UK, secured by the proceeds from the Russian assets.
    He said the funds would go toward “strengthening” Ukraine’s defense and voiced hope that all frozen Russian assets would be “confiscated and transferred” to Kiev.
    Speaking to reporters later in the day, Volodin said Britain “will have to give back to Russia what they are now so generously giving away,” adding that Moscow has “every reason to respond in kind.”
    ————-
    President Trump on Saturday implored ‘All Republicans’ to vote on a 99-page spending bill that would keep the government funded through September, as a March 14 deadline approaches for the latest government shutdown threat.
    Johnson is setting up the bill for a vote on Tuesday.
    As Bloomberg notes, unlike previous shutdowns, this one would impact all discretionary spending since none of the 12 appropriations bills have been signed into law.
    ————–

    • Federal Judge Denies Request to Block DOGE From Accessing Treasury Data (ET)
    —————-
    • Something Huge for the MAHA Movement Is About To Happen (Margolis)

    Something is poisoning the American people.” Now he’s taking his fight directly to the corporate boardrooms of Big Food.
    ————–
    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Washington’s decision to halt intelligence sharing with Kiev proved that without the West’s direct involvement “Ukraine would not be able to… launch long-range missiles at our territory.”
    Commenting on Tuesday on the halt of US intelligence sharing with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed cautious optimism, noting that if the US were to suspend supplies altogether, it would “probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace.”
    ————–
    Tusk’s speech followed his recent accusations that Moscow is fueling a new arms race, and calls for fellow EU nations to ramp up defense spending.
    The Kremlin has criticized Tusk’s rhetoric as confrontational and militaristic.
    Moscow has rejected accusations that it poses a military threat to Europe, with President Vladimir Putin dismissing the claims as “nonsense” designed to justify increased military budgets.
    —————-

    #183838
    kultsommer
    Participant

    Dr D is typing……Dr D is typing….. Dr D is typing.

    In the mean time on Unz this morning: Broken Doctors for a Broken Medical System
    In comments, one sad existence goes with:

    A Reminder:
    “Everything the government touches turns to $hit” Ringo Starr.
    Solution:
    Get the government entirely out of “health care” , so individuals are free to make their own health care decisions and to be fully responsible for those choices.

    Oblivious of Medical Industrial Complex and the “guy from the government” who is given a chance to fight it.

    #183839
    Dr. D
    Participant

    It’s not Transfiguration season. My 40 days in the wilderness decorations are still up.

    “”Resign In Disgrace!”: Bill Ackman Says Democrats Need “Complete Reboot”

    Great idea! To what? Unless they know where they’re headed, they won’t know who needs to resign. Some should have HAD SOME PRINCIPLES and joined like Dore’s Worker’s Party. Nope. They’re the War Party.

    “Ackman broke with the Democrats in the 2024 election by endorsing President Donald Trump and has since expressed optimism about the U.S. economy under the new Republican administration.
    “I’m very bullish on America. I’m kind of bearish on Europe,” the hedge fund manager recently told CNBC. “And I think they need to make some fairly dramatic changes politically and otherwise.
    “I would say I’m more optimistic about the economy and the country than I have been in a long time,” he added.”

    Capital flows. We don’t have to be great, because they’re awful.

    “Trump Sends Letter To Ayatollah Urging Fresh Nuclear Negotiations

    If you’re wondering at tariffs, no tariffs, sanctions, no sanctions, this is all optics while he’s doing real stuff on the telephone. The other guys are politicians too, they know the deal. For instance here, Trump is a’gonna tell him, boy howdy! No nukes for you!! …For all of us not deranged, not morons, NUKES ARE ILLEGAL in Iran. They issued a Fatwa (iirc that word) saying they are un-Muslim and will avoid if at all possible. Trump is going to sell them what they already own. …Cause: morons in the press. Who then misled the people, not of America but the whole world with ceaseless lies. Now to get the lies BACK on cohesion with the truth, we have to waste all our time on this. But whatever.

    “Putin Said To Be “Ready To Agree” To Ceasefire… With Conditions That Are Unacceptable To Ukraine

    Same. Cosman points out, “We are always ready for peace!” …As Napoleon said, “I love peace! …On my terms.” Yes, if you unconditionally surrender, there can be peace today! …So what are the TERMS? We can pick on Russia, but it’s really Ukraine. Their terms are the unconditional surrender of Russia, them being wiped from the earth, when they’re losing and just lost in Kursk, the fake, fantastical “Bargaining chip” everyone shook their heads at. Really? You think you can trade Kursk…for ANYTHING? How about they shoot you all dead and say no? …Well, that’s what happened. Some 6,000 will surrender today perhaps, with 10k dead til now?

    But Ze makes it up on the volume, you see.

    “Trump Admin Axes $400 Million In Grants To Columbia University Over Antisemitism Inaction

    I’m as thrilled as anyone with cutting off colleges, and especially Columbia, home of world-wide #AntiJournalism but wtf is “AntiSemitism”? That people don’t like you as much as you wanted? Did they commit crimes? Or were they only thinking and feeling the wrongthink and had them a racism?

    Chevron: “NY Times says Musk wants to cut Air Traffic Controllers”. Does he though? Or is this like yesterday with 400 TSA workers and 550 Union guys as their HR laisons.

    “No court may take over that role.”

    What happens when the Courts say “Make me”? The Court SAYS it is the President now, and decides all things. Barrett (among others) says so. So, Congress…you going to impeach some people? Actually they are YOUR laws that Trump can’t execute now, so…

    Bitcoin “would have been worth $17B today.” Yes, but they gave Podesta 20 TIMES that for untracked payouts. So, thanks for looking I guess, but.

    Sacks: But that’s the truth, so who cares? If we can slander without consequence, that’s what we do. You set the rules. If you’re providing an inch of good faith, that’s you. I just take it and grab more. You see, LOSING $400Million = MAKING $400M. All #Opposites are the #Same. Good, Evil, who can really tell, even?

    “TRUMP: “Under the final two years of Biden, 1 in every 4 jobs created in America was a government job.”

    That’s kind of surprising. Because wasn’t 2:1 jobs created go to illegal immigrants? I thought that was the number. It was at least Zero jobs for Americans, some for immigrants.

    “Daylight time in the US, not for another 3 weeks here in Europe. Always throws me off.

    Please, can Republicans do something useful for once and repeal this? There are like 50 people killed each year.

    “J.D. Vance, recently delivered a speech in Munich that amounted to direct interference in European politics,”

    Huh? Having opinions is “direct interference” now? No wonder they’re starting to put every single German into prison one by one. And here I thought you’d have to vote, stuff boxes, use the NSA to expose dirt, or something like….real? Have ACTIONS?

    Alrighteeeeee then: I hereby sanction and embargo all Europe for all THEIR election interference with us. Don’t they have opinions too? That are on the news? …And MI6 paying for Steele report, with Starmer and Zelensky sending hundreds of staff and personally coming to campaign throughout America? YOU set the rules, dooods. Now pay up. Got some nice assets here, hate for anything to happen to them.

    ““European leaders are desperate.”

    Sometimes it’s hard to tell when they’re so moronic.

    He called the conflict in Ukraine a proxy war between the United States, its NATO allies and Russia.”

    Noooo!!!! What????

    “In one fell swoop, the narrative justifying the NATO-backed war for the past three years was exposed as a naked lie. “

    …All you have to do to pop the bubble is Tell the Truth. That’s it. Somebody, somewhere, tell the G-dd—n Truth, for ONCE. Ever. “Hey we’re stealin’ all Syria’s oil!” Like that.

    That move has thrown the European allies into a quandary and existential crisis. It is a crisis of their own making.”

    What???? Noooo!!!! …All you have to do to pop the bubble is Tell the Truth. That’s it.

    “Now couple this Moliere farce with the fate of the much larger, fatter, pan-European New Model Woke Army regimented by the Fuhrerin SS”

    Uh, no LITERALLY. Sweden has Army recruitment ads using the LGBT flag. With slogan “Worth dying for”. I saw a similar one in Germany, soldiers folding up the rainbow flag with every honor and ceremony, not a German flag in sight. Good idea! I say every gay person goes there and straight people all stay if that’s what you’re selling. Look at it honestly: if they had the flag of the House of HANOVER, the house of STUART, the Flag of ALABAMA, WHO exactly, do you think will, and is expected to rally to it? Well not everyone on the planet, that’s for sure! You mean Clan Stuart. You mean relatives of Hanover. No one else. That’s what “Flags” mean if I have to tell you.

    “The U.S. has satellite systems for targeting but no one else in NATO has them.”

    This retardation cannot be overstated: ALL German, British, top missiles (though 2+ generations behind) are worthless without that ground-terrain data. They’re like lobbing shells. Get your own proprietary data and satellites. Meaning, WE take Stormshadows off the map because Britain couldn’t be arsed.

    “the Prime Minster handing the President a letter from His Majesty, King Charles II. While it has attracted little comment, The King’s letter to President Trump was a diplomatic masterstroke.”

    Ha ha. Whut? Trump said, “Hey should I throw this away or open it now?”(he did) Seriously? You want us to betray our country for dinner with a ruinous, lifelong, mass-murdering, gay pedo like Chuckie? What’s your life expectancy if you stayed at Balmoral for 10 days? THIS is what you’ve got to bargain with now? This?

    Soooo yer boy Yats was 1) Paying to slander me and ruin the entire first administration then 2) Campaigned against me in the most egregious election tampering since the LAST USAID color revolution. Tell you what: Fire Starmer, his whole cabinet, ban Labour as a party and arrest all the Rape Gangs and it’s even.

    I’d pay $5,000 NOT to have dinner with Charles or stay in Balmoral. I don’t know what’s with some people.

    “A federal judge in Washington has refused to block staff from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the Treasury Department’s systems that contain millions of Americans’ personal data.”

    Pretty weird. Here I thought the Treasury was run by the Treasury Secretary, so why don’t we ask him? Oh we ask JUDGES instead?

    “Homan initially outlined plans to prioritize illegal alien violent criminals, namely those tied to gangs such as Tren de Aragua, repeat deportees, and those convicted of crimes.”

    Because, again, we know where all these people are, that they are criminals, but can’t be arsed to arrest them. No wonder they’re here! We’re not worthy of anyone’s respect if that’s the case. Rape away, good sirs! My daughter is right here! Take either of them! (Just like Soddom)

    “Moscow insists that all Western sanctions are illegal”

    Pretty sure that’s true. It’s an act of war that needs Security Council. Or court. Or process. Or a reason. ‘Coz I think you’re guilty is not a reason.

    “• Polish PM Plans To Double Size Of Army (RT)

    Great idea! …Maybe you should have started 10 years ago? Btw, what are they going to train with? Broomsticks? Vespas? They also said they’d call up – unclear, but by training? So that 55 year olds are likely to be pulled first? And no women? Aren’t they first and best on the gay flag? I’m sure everyone will be very, very happy with this.

    “• Ukraine’s Losses Mounting Due To US Intel Freeze (RT)

    Maybe, but it’s more likely all narrative. Duran points out Kursk was all lost days ago, before Donald even threatened shutting anything off. But why let the Truth stop a good Narrative!?! “We Make S—t Up!” It’s HIS fault, honest! Not that there were already no men left in Kursk to die.

    They do this same thing with the economy. All this “aid” that’s stopped is going to take days, weeks, to get through to the front, so shortly, sure. But just like the minute the new President comes in, like the weekly jobs (with a month lag) or the Air Traffic Controllers who no one’s had time to even look at, suddenly are the fault of the new guy.
    Biden kept this up for four years. It was a great economy! Best ever! But if it wasn’t, it was Trump’s economy, four years later. BothNeitherAi.

    “• Trump CDC to Probe Long-Rumored Vaccine-Autism Link (PJM)

    Great. Will anyone believe them now? (A: No. That’s what Mr. Fauci did for “Science”, his 100 year legacy.)
    See Dore, below. “Follow the Science…that follows only the money.” BTW sounds like JB: that’s odd: you say the entire world is ending but China, the Pentagon, WEF, Google servers, GrokAI, none of them have to change? Ten guys in Oslo have to buy slightly newer cars, that’ll help.

    “Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has taken full creative control of the James Bond franchise after longtime producer Barbara Broccoli reportedly called his executives “f**king idiots,”

    Bond is dead. Well, I thought it went out well, mostly. And it’s of it’s time, like the 60s.

    And we were going to cheer over Kathleen Kennedy FINALLY stop killing Star Wars, then digging it up and killing its corpse over and over again. BUT! She found out about it, got pissed, and is staying to ruin MORE. …Because the fans were finally happy at her leaving and she can’t have that.

    Raul: someone suggested https://newsandnews.com/#/ (aggregator) I haven’t checked it out, but sometimes getting a different angle can bring missing stuff to the top. My guess is it will be center-left.

    #183840
    Dr. D
    Participant

    …And that medical thing was working so well for 200 years.

    Welp! I guess physics and human nature are all different now and there’s nothing we can do except have 6-month waiting periods in Canada and England. A thing we never had ever in history before now the government got involved.

    #183841
    Michael Reid
    Participant
    #183842
    Michael Reid
    Participant
    #183843
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    time may reveal the truth or not

    #183844
    phoenixvoice
    Participant

    Medical system

    I don’t believe that there is a “one size fits all” solution. For immediate trauma, we need a system where anyone injured or suffering an acute issue can be seen right away and not be worrying about the cost. In the past 20 years for kids and I this has included: cuts requiring stitches, food impaction, appendicitis, skin infection that required IV antibiotics for 2 days, etc. One option is that the government cover the cost of this, so that low-income folks are not dissuaded from seeking aid. There are other options — however, the private medical insurance tied to a job route is not working all that well.

    Next, there are more minor acute issues: uti, strep throat, jock itch, bronchitis, minor skin infection, pink eye, ringworm, etc. — all that is needed is diagnosis and medication. Often, a simple diagnostic test is all that is required — but these are firewalled behind expensive doctor visits, and the most effective medications are also blocked in the same way. It’s a racket. It would be useful for diagnostic tests to be publicly available for a minor fee (a couple of dollars), so patients could make their own informed decisions, rather than guessing with folk-remedies. I mean, sure, folks might self-medicate with antibiotics for a sore throat that isn’t strep — but my experience is that doctors routinely do this as well, so what is the point?

    Then there are “well visits.” Yes, they have some use, because they can potentially find issues when they are minor and more easily treatable. However, currently the medical industry is using these as a cash cow. At age 40? Get a mammogram every year. 50? Get a colonoscopy. Cholesterol or blood pressure or blood sugar a little elevated? — here is a maintenance med for that. Funky skin thing? Have a biopsy, or two, or ten. Currently, the purpose of “well visits” is to find a “treatable chronic problem” that the medical industry can use to make a recurrent income from. Well visits have a place — but, currently, they are being exploited.

    And then there is treatment of chronic conditions. The way the medical industry responds to these is just like how my ex used to dream of methods of recurrent income — because that is what they are for the medical industry. Why cure someone when their pain causes income? Hence, when I went to a doctor for hip pain years ago I was told it was bursitis, rest it — but not too much, take ibuprofen, and come back if it didn’t go away. Stupid advice. Back in October the bursitis came back and didn’t go away, not with rest, not with ibuprofen. And due to a documentation mixup, my Medicaid was temporarily halted. (I was eligible, and I’d turned in the documents requested, but it would take a few weeks to get through the system.) So, I couldn’t see a doctor, couldn’t follow up on the referral that I already had for physical therapy. I turned to the internet for “physical therapy” and found a yoga instructor on YouTube who had experienced bursitis and had several vids on exercises to do. Three days after starting these mild and brief exercise regimens I was going two and three days at a time with no hip pain — after 6 weeks of having some pain every day. Now I do these exercise routines regularly, and have only minor hip discomfort a few times per month — usually after a busy few days when I skipped the exercises.

    The medical system is broken — it is designed as a holy gatekeeper that brings people in and then tries to get them to never leave. It should serve the people — right now, it is mostly the other way around, with people serving it.

    #183845
    those darned kids
    Participant

    cuba has a better medical system than both the united states and canada.

    #183846
    Michael Reid
    Participant
    #183847

    [paraphrase] The real threat of China is that it sets a good example. [In its efforts abroad].
    Thanks, Michael Reid, for that last video from yesterday.

    The lines are drawn. The hearts will swell
    And band together, and march to hell.
    Disgrace the cowards who shun the fight-
    And make it known that might is right!

    And all because banksters gotta bankst.

    #183848
    John Day
    Participant

    Just Cut Out The Bankers https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/just-cut-out-the-bankers

    When economies change, political alliances may have to change, also. After WW-1, the UK had passed peak-coal, and could no longer provide coal to Italy. Italy had to get coal from Germany, and by WW-2, Italy was Germany’s ally, not Britain’s.
    Peak oil-plus-condensates occurred in November 2018, and by March 2020 the largest global financial bailout ever was happening under cover of “pandemic lockdowns”, which greatly reduced demand for oil and impaired the economies of the world. The inflation was recognized when lockdowns ended.
    Russia has the most natural resources per capita by far, and economy which is still growing in real terms. The United States is second in resources per capita, but has a lot more people. Both of these countries have the potential to be fairly self-sufficient, and both have access to Arctic oil resources, which appear to be the last big oil play. Developing Arctic oil is technically difficult, but the US Oil Majors can do it, have done it in Russia, and would like to go back and do it some more.

    Traditional foreign policy of the British Empire was to keep rivals at war with each other, especially Germany and Russia. After WW-2, the rivalry arrangement was to be that NATO would “keep the Russians out, the Germans down, and the Americans in”.
    The days of empire waned, the cold war ended, but the British balance remained as habit, to sustain the imperial army of NATO, which was repurposed for offensive action outside of Europe, even as Europe suffered economic decline from expensive oil and excessive payments on national debts.
    With declining real economies, borrowing increased in most nations and most private households to sustain necessities and living standards. That is no longer possible, as the debt service burden is too high. A financial crisis looms.
    There was a plan in NATO and western global finance, to destabilize Russia, and resume the neoliberal corpse-picking of the 1990s. Militarizing Ukraine for this was already underway, Slavs against Slavs, in the service of London banking interests. It was a big investment, somewhat risky, but those Russian resources could provide enough collateral to recapitalize western finance.
    The investment scheme failed badly, but cannot be admitted, because the losses are so large as to make London and other interlaced banking centers insolvent. A cascade of calling-in-collateral would be triggered, the definitive second part of the 2008 global financial crisis.

    Why are the Americans against the Russians in favor of London banks? Would it not be a much more favorable game-theory alignment for the US and Russia to become allies and control oil markets and the Arctic together. both being self-sufficient enough overall to withstand trade wars with the rest of the world?
    Presidents Trump and Putin seem to fully comprehend this. Both countries can profit greatly by cutting London and other global financial centers out of their controlling and intermediating financial positions, creating an oil oligopoly and military alliance, forcing the rest of the world to trade on its terms. It does not seem that European bureaucrats, in service of global banking interests, have much potential to resist, but could upset the whole game by starting a nuclear war. This is a dangerous moment in history.

    ​ Ukraine “rare earths” deal: the empire’s fatal mistake​ , Alex Krainer
    Rare earths deal is a very British hustle, a cheap rerun of Winston Churchill’s playbook to ensnare the US in World War 2. Now Starmer’s doing it for WW3.
    ​ I first wrote about the “rare earths” deal between the US and Ukraine last week, on Tuesday, 25 February and I intended to follow up with this report in a day or two. However, the situation continued to evolve and the rabbit hole presented new discoveries. The affair appears to be a deceitful ploy contrived by the British ruling establishment to lure Donald Trump into providing security for Ukraine and ultimately to go to war against Russia. However, this could prove to be the British Empire’s fatal mistake that will probably accelerate its final collapse.
    ​ Yes, the British Empire is still a thing. It’s an undead empire of money, bankers and money laundering; it’s an empire of secret intelligence networks and covert diplomacy; of illicit influence, bribery and corruption; it’s an empire of false narratives and co-opted governments of degenerates, morons and incompetent bureaucrats. It’s a parasite that has infected humanity centuries ago and turned it into a radical perversion of itself.
    ​ It’s also a dying empire, wounded and extremely dangerous as it is prepared to set the world on fire to preserve itself.​..
    ..It seems extraordinary that Zelensky, who is desperate for continued US financial and military support would antagonize President Trump in such a brazen manner, which included insulting him and embarrassing his Secretary of State. The explanation may have emerged from a Czech publication AENews, citing leaks from Ukraine’s intelligence. AENews reported that Zelensky is unable to cut the deal with the U.S. because he already signed over Ukraine’s resource wealth to Britain…
    ..Back in late September 2024, two months before the US elections, Zelensky paid a visit to Trump in New York and proposed the minerals deal. Perhaps he wanted to win Trump over to Ukraine’s cause just in case he won the elections and became the new president. The $500 billion figure came from Zelensky, not from Trump, and I very much doubt that Zelensky came up with the idea himself…
    ​..To preempt Trump and secure Ukraine’s resources for Britain, Sir Keir Starmer rushed to make the deal with Zelensky under the framework of the “One Hundred Year Partnership…” The new partnership was signed on 16 January of this year, only four days before Donald Trump’s inauguration. In Article 4, the agreement sets out its purpose: to “strengthen conditions for investment and trade … and cooperate across a range of sectors, including but not limited to transport, infrastructure, and energy to make both their economies more modern, resilient and prosperous.”
    ​ According to the intelligence leaks from Ukraine, the agreement includes a secret Appendix, which provides that after the end of hostilities, the UK would gain control of all of Ukraine’s ports, power plants, natural gas deposits, storage facilities and pipelines, titanium deposits and more.
    ​ Apparently, Zelensky signed over these resources in exchange for the UK’s commitment to Ukraine’s security, support for her NATO membership and “no less than £3 billion a year,” for “as long as needed to support Ukraine.”​…
    ..According to Pravda News report on 17 January, Zelensky corroborated as much himself: in a video message on Telegram, Zelensky referred to the 100-year partnership stating that, “There is also a closed, secret part of this agreement,” which would add to Ukraine’s “resilience and the opportunity to develop.”​…
    ..It would appear that the British have already secured the lion’s share of Ukraine’s wealth, but it can’t protect it without the Americans doing the dirty work and all the heavy lifting. To get the Americans into the game, the British presented bait in the shape of the “rare earth minerals” deal to be implemented through some future fund from which the US will receive a portion of the proceeds. It is likely that this bait was contrived already in September of last year, when Zelensky first offered the deal to Trump.
    ​ Obviously, the arrangement has a massive downside for the United States: in addition to the cost in blood and treasure of providing security, there would also be the likelihood of a nuclear war with Russia.​ https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/ukraine-rare-earths-deal-the-empires

    ​It’s those bankers at work again, trying to get a war to part-out Russia so they’ll collect the profits. Thanks Eleni. The agony of the “political West”​ by Thierry Meyssan
    I take the same elements, and many others that followed, to show that the divorce of Europeans from each other and of the EU from the United States has become a reality…
    ..The United Kingdom and France are competing to take the place of the United States on the continent and not to reform​…​
    ..For the moment, the EU, the G7 and the G20 have not yet been dissolved, but these three structures are already dead. The World Bank and the United Nations could follow.
    Let’s look back at these events, which happened so quickly that almost none of us followed them and understood their consequences​:
    ​ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12
    ​ The major European powers (i.e. Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom and the European Union), who feared what the Trump administration might decide, met in Paris on February 12 to develop a common position on the Ukrainian conflict. In this case, they agreed to continue what they have been doing for three years…
    ..Meanwhile, in Kiev, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented the US aid bill: $500 billion and proposed paying it by exploiting the rare earths of which the country is proud… However, from a European point of view, what was going on was frightening: if the United States seized these so-called riches, they excluded the Europeans from benefiting from the sharing they had agreed upon. Without informing their fellow citizens, they shared Ukraine between them during its reconstruction: to the British, the ports, to the Germans, the mines, etc.​..
    ​..While Washington and Moscow were exchanging prisoners, the American presidents, Donald Trump, and Russian presidents, Vladimir Putin, spoke by telephone for an hour and a half. This summit was preceded by a conversation, in the Kremlin, between President Putin and Steve Wilkoff, President Trump’s special envoy who came to organize the prisoner exchange. Wilkoff had given his president a report on his mission that shattered everything NATO claimed to know about Ukraine.​ Both bosses now had the same information.​..
    ​..THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14
    ​ On February 14, the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, addressed the diplomatic and military elite of the EU at the Security Conference in Munich. He drew up an indictment against the autism of European leaders: They refuse to respond to the concerns of their fellow citizens in terms of freedom of expression and immigration. However, if they are afraid of their people, the United States will be able to do nothing for them, he asserted, making the president of the conference, the German ambassador Christoph Heusgen, cry.​..
    ​..MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17
    ​ A second meeting was held on February 17, still in Paris, with the same participants, plus Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO. They agreed to stand together against Donald Trump and not to accept any questioning of Western policy towards Russia.​.. Also on February 17, the Ukrainian army attacked US, Israeli and Italian interests in Russia. It bombed facilities partially owned by Chevron (15%), ExxonMobil (7.5%) and ENI (2%). Around twenty drones caused serious damage to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which supplies Israel with Russian oil… The Europeans reacted no more to this operation than when the CIA sabotaged the Nord Stream gas pipeline (September 26, 2022), although it is owned not only by the Russian Gazprom (50%), but also by the Germans BASF/Wintershall and Uniper, the French Engie, the Austrian OMV and the British Royal Dutch Shell. This sabotage has thrown Germany into an economic recession…
    ​..TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18
    ​ The European powers learned with astonishment that, at their first meeting in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), on February 18, the US and Russian delegations agreed:
    to denazify and neutralize Ukraine,​ to respect the commitments made during German reunification and to withdraw NATO troops from all countries that joined the Atlantic Alliance after 1990.
    ​ President Trump had suddenly abandoned the plan of General Keith Kellogg, his special envoy for Ukraine, as it had been published in April 2024 by the America First Foundation. On the contrary, he had used the plan of his friend Steve Witkoff, special envoy for the Middle East, who had met Vladimir Putin in Moscow​… Kellogg reasoned with NATO’s ideas, while Witkoff listened, heard and verified the validity of the Russian position.​..
    ..The European powers were quickly able to verify that the order to withdraw had been transmitted to certain US troops, in the Baltic countries and in Poland. The security architecture in Europe, that is to say the system ensuring peace, was destroyed…
    ​..WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19
    ​ On February19, EU ambassad​ors approved the 16th package of unilateral coercive measures (misleadingly called “sanctions” by Atlantic propaganda) against Russia. It was to be officially approved on 24 February by the Foreign Affairs Council on the occasion of the third anniversary of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.​.. Meanwhile, on the same day, February 19, President Donald Trump vented his anger at his unelected Ukrainian counterpart, calling him a “modestly successful comedian” and an “unelected dictator,” and then accusing him of provoking the wa​r…
    ​..SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22
    ​ Without waiting, Polish President Andrzej Duda went to Washington uninvited on February 22. He managed to meet President Donald Trump for ten minutes, not at the White House, but on the sidelines of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). He asked him not to withdraw US troops from his country, giving Poland time to complete its military restructuring. Since Warsaw has already initiated a profound internal revolution by reestablishing universal military service and building a very large army, he managed to get him to postpone, not cancel, his order​…​ His Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, had promised in Paris not to negotiate separately with the United States.​ So, whatever one might say, the united front of the Europeans was broken. It had only lasted ten days.​..
    ​..MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24
    ​ On the third anniversary of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, on 24 February, Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, António Costa, President of the European Council and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, issued a completely out-of-place joint statement. In it, they called for “a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the Ukrainian peace formula”, meaning they stuck to the old narrative: there are no Nazis in Ukraine and Russia is the aggressor.​..
    ​..On the same day, French President Emmanuel Macron travelled to Washington, on behalf of all Atlanticist Europeans. Before receiving him, President Donald Trump had his chief of staff take him to a wing of the White House to participate in a G7 video conference that he was chairing… from another room.
    ​ For two hours, the heads of state and government of the G7, plus the Spanish Prime Minister and the unelected Ukrainian president, tried in vain to make their overlord relent. He would not budge: the Ukrainian conflict was not started by Russia, but by the Ukrainian fundamentalist nationalists hiding behind Zelensky alone.​..
    ..Donald Trump refused to sign the final communiqué prepared by the Europeans and announced to them that, if this text were published (it had already been distributed under embargo to journalists), he would deny it and his country would leave the G7.
    ​ Only after this scandal did he receive President Emmanuel Macron.​ The latter chose not to confront him, but to celebrate transatlantic friendship.​..
    ​..Meanwhile, in New York, the UN General Assembly was debating a resolution proposed by Ukraine. It denounced “the total invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation” and demanded that it withdraw “immediately, completely and unconditionally all its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within the internationally recognized borders of the country and that the hostilities conducted by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, in particular all attacks against civilians and civilian objects, cease immediately.”
    ​ For the first time in history since World War II, the US delegation voted against a text, along with that of Russia, against those of Canada, the Europeans and Japan who approved it.​..
    ​..TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25
    ​ Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, travelled to Washington to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The meeting, which had been announced for a long time, was cancelled at the last minute by Mr Rubio’s secretariat, officially due to his overbooked schedule.​.. After EU members voted against the US at the UN, the Secretary of State refused to meet his European counterpart.​
    ​ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26
    ​ At a press conference in ​Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky assured on February 26 that without security guarantees from the United States and NATO, any peace agreement would be unfair and there would be no real ceasefire.
    ​ THURSDAY 27 FEBRUARY
    ​ Before leaving Washington, Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, gave a lecture at the Hudson Institute on February 27. She said: “We need to put pressure on Russia to also want peace. It is in a position where it does not want peace.”
    ​ Keir Starmer, British Prime Minister, went to the White House, carrying an invitation from King Charles III for a second state visit to the United Kingdom. Her Majesty’s diplomats believe that President Trump greatly enjoyed the premiere and that, given his pride, he would be sensitive to the pomp of the Crown.
    ​ During the two leaders’ press conference, President Trump… expressed openness to the idea of the 25% tariff hike not affecting the United Kingdom and to London returning the Chagos Islands (including the Diego Garcia base) to Mauritius.
    ​ On the substance, Keir Starmer managed to renew his country’s “special relationship” with the United States.​..
    ..Meanwhile, US and Russian negotiators met for six and a half hours at the US Consulate General in Istanbul for a second round of negotiations, at a “technical level”. It was not a question of progress on the substance, but of resolving problems that had been addressed by the ministers in Riyadh. Namely, the operating conditions of the respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, which President Joe Biden had considerably suspended and to which Moscow had responded identically.
    ​ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28
    ​ The unelected Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, visited the White House on February 28. President Trump and Vice President Vance received him, not to listen to his version of events, but to sign an agreement on rare earths that Ukraine claims to possess.​..
    ​ The welcome press briefing will be remembered. The Western press was shocked by the altercation between President Trump and his guest… During the fifty minutes of this press briefing, President Donald Trump constantly recalled that he was not aligned with either party, Russian or Ukrainian, but that he was negotiating with Russia to defend the interests of his country and, ultimately, for all of Humanity… Volodymyr Zelensky has constantly accused Russia of aggression since 2014, of murders, kidnappings and torture. He even claimed that President Vladimir Putin had violated his own signature 15 times.​..
    ..It escalated when Vice President Vance noted that his guest’s narrative was “propaganda,” then returned to the charge, declaring of both versions of the facts: “We know you’re wrong!” Ultimately, President Trump noted that Ukraine was in bad shape and that his guest not only was not grateful for U.S. support, but did not want a ceasefire. Exasperated, he observed that Vladimir Putin had never violated his signature, neither with Barack Obama nor with him, but only with Joe Biden because of what the latter did to him. He then recalled the repeated false accusations made against Russia by President Biden.
    ​ SUNDAY, MARCH 2
    ​ British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Europe is “at a crossroads of history” as he welcomed to Downing Street the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania, as well as the Turkish foreign minister, the NATO secretary general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council.
    ​ The UK and France are competing to replace the US and guarantee peace on the European continent. Both countries are said to be prepared to guarantee the security of others with their nuclear weapons. However, no one seriously considers that these would be sufficient to ensure peace in the absence of serious conventional forces, which neither London nor Paris has.​..
    ​..After the meeting, which aimed to create a “coalition of the willing”, Keir Starmer said on behalf of all participants:
    ​ “Today I welcomed to London counterparts from across Europe, including from Türkiye, as well as the Secretary General of NATO and the Presidents of the European Commission, the Council of the EU and Canada, to discuss our support for Ukraine.
    ​ Together, we reaffirmed our determination to work towards a permanent peace in Ukraine, in partnership with the United States. Europe’s security is our primary responsibility. We will tackle this historic task and increase our investment in our own defence.​.. In addition, many of us have expressed our readiness to contribute to Ukraine’s security, including through a force of European and other partners, and will intensify our planning. We will continue to work closely together to advance next steps and make decisions in the weeks ahead.”
    ​ The participants in this summit have not changed their analysis of the Ukrainian conflict at all. They remain deaf to the United States and, as a result, no longer understand it. They managed to unite not to deploy a peace stabilisation force in Ukraine, but to protect critical infrastructure in western Ukraine or in similar strategic areas. They agreed not to make fragmented national efforts, but to take advantage of the economic power of the European Union (EU) by redirecting its recovery funds. They therefore convened a special European Council on March 6. However, to transform the EU from a common market to a military alliance, they will need not a majority, but the unanimity of the 27 Member States, including Hungary and Slovakia.
    ​ And yet, already, Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister, has responded to the draft final declaration of the European Council by stressing that there are “strategic differences” between the EU states. He therefore advocates that there should be no written conclusions, because “any attempt to do so would project the image of a divided European Union.”​ https://www.voltairenet.org/article221886.html

    #183849
    John Day
    Participant

    ​ Gilbert Doctorow, Transcript of WION ‘Game Plan’​: Macron’s nuclear umbrella
    The idea that Trump will remove the United States from NATO is a certainty.​ Russia has no interest in possessing the whole of Ukraine.​..
    ..His ​[Macron’s] idea of France taking a leading role in the peace initiative for Ukraine by making available its boots on the ground in Ukraine to provide a security guarantee to whatever peace is arrived at — that is spun out of thin air and was completely ignoring the reality of the world we live in, which is that the Russians will not accept any, any foreign troops in Ukraine, as has been explicitly stated by President Putin and by his minister of foreign affairs, Lavrov…
    ..I can tell you, the Russians have been sniggering. The latest remarks are that Russia is not threatened in any way…
    ..The idea that Trump will remove the United States from NATO is a certainty.​ This is not something that may happen; it’s something that will happen. And the Europeans are bringing this down on themselves by their repeating collectively the disastrous mistake that Volodymyr Zelensky made in the Oval Office last Friday. That mistake is lèse-majesté. You do not insult, you do not challenge directly the opinions of the president of the United States before cameras, and expect to survive politically. Now, Europe has done that…
    ..I think that the people who are making these statements will be swept from power in the coming months. The net result of their present efforts to stand up directly to defy present-day United States will be the withdrawal of US participation in NATO, after which NATO is an absolutely hollow and useless instrument.
    ​ Therefore, by their actions today, which are– nominally the argument is that defending Ukraine means defending European security, the net result of what they are doing is a much more serious threat to European security, because it removes the Americans from the equation…
    ..As to standing up to Russia, once it is clear that Europe has no proper defense– which it hasn’t​… they simply don’t have the armaments, and without the United States, they have no overall capability to stand up to Russia– when that sinks in, then they or their successors in office will approach the Russians to do a general settlement and new security arrangements…
    ​..I do believe that at the end of the day, common sense will prevail, because what we’re seeing now is nonsense, not common sense. And Mr. Macron is among the leaders in the nonsense alliance. Everything that he says, yes, France arguably is the best positioned of European countries to provide a nuclear umbrella… But they would not be suitable for extension of missile coverage across Europe, which is what, if I understand you properly, Macron’s argument seems to include.​.. Moreover, it ignores entirely Russia’s strategic developments in nuclear and non-nuclear weapons of destruction. It has with its hypersonic missiles the ability to decapitate all of the participating countries in any alliance directed against itself…
    ​..Europe needs some unifying theme. Europe is falling apart, for good reason. The European Union does not deserve to continue its [existence] in its present form, which is a dictatorship.
    ​ Ursula von der Leyen, seeing around her the completely cowardly leaders, so-called leaders, and parliamentarians coming from European countries has grabbed power and is using it in a way that is not foreseen in the European constitution. Therefore, Europe is falling apart. And the only way that Ursula and others like Macron and Starmer from outside the EU hope to keep Europe together is a unifying cry, “We have to save ourselves from Russia.”
    ​ As I was saying, Russia has no interest in possessing the whole of Ukraine, not to mention moving west to Lisbon. It does not have the means and is not intending to expend its valuable resources, its funds and its arms to hold on to territory that is hostile to it.​ The rest of Ukraine is hostile to Russia, and always will be. So Russia doesn’t want to move west to the Dnieper, let alone to move into the hostile Baltic states, which have no economic or demographic value to anybody, or to Poland, which is a wonderland of political, what can I call them, they live in a Disneyland. They are, the Poles are wonderful people, and have a magnificent culture, but their political elites are as they were since the 18th century, out of touch with reality​. https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2025/03/07/transcript-of-wion-game-plan-macrons-nuclear-umbrella/

    ​ Pepe Escobar, Paralyzed by acute dementia, Europe declares war on Russia all over again
    Let’s start with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Road to Damascus moment:
    ​ “Frankly, it’s a proxy war between nuclear powers, the United States helping Ukraine and Russia, and it needs to come to an end”.​..
    ​..Now cut to panic. Total European panic.
    ​ Le Petit Roi, as popular in France as nighttime mosquitoes in a five-star beach resort, has declared that peace in Europe is only possible with a “tamed” Russia – and that Russia is a direct threat to France and Europe…
    ​..Le Petit Roi ​Napoleonically all but declared war on Russia. Well, the fact remains that the overwhelming majority of France would gladly agree that mini-Napoleon should be dispatched to the battlefields in the black soil of Novorossiya right away – where he would surrender in less than 5 minutes, waving a rainbow flag, as he realizes he’s about to be turned into an instant steak tartare.
    ​ Now couple this Moliere farce with the fate of the much larger, fatter, pan-European New Model Woke Army regimented by the Fuhrerin SS von der Lugen out of Brussels, allegedly to be financed to the tune of 800 billion euros – money that no one has, and would have to be loaned then repaid with sky-high extorsion interest rates to the usual international financial system vultures.​..
    ​..Sy Hersh conclusively proved that the Nord Streams were bombed under orders of the previous Crash Test Dummy regime in Washington. Now Nord Stream 2, at least, could be back in business via a not-so-secret U.S.-Russia deal involving Gazprom and American oligarchs.
    ​ All that while fanatics in Berlin assure right and left they want to explore every possible way to prevent the Nord Stream system from being repaired – because after all no one, especially the new BlackRock chancellor, can deviate from the official policy of destroying the German economy by all means necessary.​..
    ..Europe is geopolitically – and geoeconomically – dead and buried. No Teutonic Gods – complete with fat lady singin’ – will be able to resurrect it.​ https://strategic-culture.su/news/2025/03/07/paralyzed-by-acute-dementia-europe-declares-war-on-russia-all-over-again/

    Putin warns Europe against sabotaging US-Russia rapprochement​ http://www.defenddemocracy.press/putin-warns-europe-against-sabotaging-us-russia-rapprochement/

    ​ A top Canadian politician wants European nukes as protection from the US
    After spearheading her own country’s sovereignty erosion, ​(​Galician) Chrystia Freeland is suddenly militant about a supposed threat to its independence​ https://www.rt.com/news/613875-canada-eu-nukes-trump/

    Macron’s Remarks on Possible Use of Nuclear Arms a Threat to Russia – Lavrov​ https://sputnikglobe.com/20250306/macrons-remarks-on-possible-use-of-nuclear-arms-a-threat-to-russia—lavrov-1121619968.html

    #183850
    John Day
    Participant

    Lavrov weighs in on US decision to halt intel sharing with Ukraine​
    Kiev cannot strike targets inside Russia without direct assistance from its Western backers, the foreign minister has said​ https://swentr.site/news/613826-lavrov-us-intel-sharing-ukraine/

    France Steps Up Its Military Intelligence To Ukraine After US Halt​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/france-steps-military-intelligence-ukraine-after-us-halt

    ‘We Can’t Stop Them’ – Thousands Of Ukraine Troops Suddenly Face Encirclement In Russia’s Kursk​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/we-cant-stop-them-thousands-ukraine-troops-suddenly-face-encirclement-russias-kursk

    ​ Here’s why: The Russians repurposed a shut-off gas pipeline to move troops far behind Ukrainian lines, behind the backs of the northernmost Ukrainian forces, panicking them. The Complete Defeat Of The Ukrainians On The Sudzha Direction Has BegunMilitary Summary 2025.03.09 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwRvsLpmeaQ

    ​ From a (timid) Russian academic: A new American empire: Trump, Russia, and the end of globalism , Vasily Kashin, Political Science PhD
    ​ Trump’s return marks a fundamental shift in global power dynamics. The US is moving away from being a liberal empire and toward a more transactional, power-based foreign policy. For Russia, this means fewer ideological conflicts with Washington but continued competition in key areas like the Arctic.
    ​ For China, Trump’s policies present a direct challenge. The question is whether Beijing can adapt to a world where the US is no longer just containing it but actively trying to roll back its economic influence.
    ​ For Western Europe, the picture is bleak. The EU is losing its privileged status as America’s primary partner and is being forced to fend for itself. Whether it can navigate this new reality remains to be seen.
    ​ One thing is certain: The world is entering a period of profound transformation, and the old rules no longer apply. Trump’s America is rewriting the playbook, and the rest of the world will have to adjust accordingly.​ https://swentr.site/news/613905-new-american-empire-trump-russia/

    #183851
    John Day
    Participant

    Gilbert Doctorow, Latest news from Donald Trump​
    Yesterday’s breaking news in The Financial Times included an article from their Washington correspondent James Politi telling us that:​ US President Donald Trump has threatened Russia with additional ‘large scale’ sanctions and tariffs, as he seeks to pile pressure on Moscow in an effort to broker a peace deal in Ukraine…
    ​..What these colleagues miss is that the latest threats to punish Russia were meant for the ears of Trump’s opponents, who are uninterested in the effectiveness of sanctions against Moscow and only want to hear that more sanctions are coming so that the Kremlin will finally be broken and submit to Washington’s will. Put in simple language, what Trump was doing was neutralizing his enemies, nothing more.​ https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2025/03/08/latest-news-from-donald-trump/

    Trump mulls pulling US troops out of Germany – Telegraph​ https://swentr.site/news/613891-trump-troops-from-germany/

    EU ‘can’t afford’ to support Ukraine – Orban​ https://swentr.site/news/613854-eu-ukraine-aid-hungary/

    ​ EU seeking to bypass opponents of Ukraine aid – Kallas
    The bloc is working on ways to continue providing Kiev with more military assistance despite Hungary’s opposition​ https://swentr.site/news/613829-kallas-hungary-ukraine-aid/

    ​ Тrump wants to sideline EU – Politico
    The bloc is scrambling to prove its relevance without US support, the publication has claimed​ https://swentr.site/news/613836-trump-wants-to-destroy-eu/

    #183852
    John Day
    Participant

    Freezing and choking Europeans: New EU Carbon Market Set to Hit Households and Small Businesses​ https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/New-EU-Carbon-Market-Set-to-Hit-Households-and-Small-Businesses.html

    ​ US business wants easing of Russia sanctions
    Priority areas include aviation, investment, banking, and luxury goods, Chamber of Commerce chief Robert Agee has said​ https://swentr.site/russia/613853-us-business-easing-russia-sanctions/

    ​ Ukraine cut off from US satellite intel – media
    Aerospace firm Maxar Technologies has reportedly blocked Kiev’s access to its services​ https://swentr.site/russia/613879-ukraine-us-satellite-imagery-restriction/

    High Level US-Ukraine Meeting Set For Riyadh After Zelensky ‘Apologizes’​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/high-level-us-ukraine-meeting-set-riyadh-after-zelensky-apologizes

    ​What about Israel? Trump calls for ‘getting rid’ of nuclear weapons
    The US president has floated denuclearization talks with Russia and China​ https://swentr.site/news/613844-trump-getting-rid-nukes/

    #183853
    John Day
    Participant

    ​ Poland should have its own nukes – PM
    Donald Tusk made the state​ment just a day after calling for an arms race against Russia​ https://swentr.site/russia/613882-poland-own-nukes-tusk/

    ​Biden wet-signed one document during his tenure: Could a Bombshell Discovery Render All of Biden’s Presidential Actions ‘Null and Void’? https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/03/06/bombshell-discovery-could-make-all-of-bidens-presidential-actions-null-and-void-n4937648

    “NO DISSENT”: Trump Asks “All Republicans” To “Give Us A Few Months” And Approve GOP Continuing Resolution​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/no-dissent-trump-asks-all-republicans-give-us-few-months-and-approve-gop-continuing

    Obama Judge Indefinitely Blocks Trump Admin Funding Freeze, Says White House ‘Put Itself Above Congress’, Undermined Democracy​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/obama-judge-indefinitely-blocks-trump-admin-funding-freeze-says-white-house-has-put

    How to get those budget cuts around the court: Musk Fired-Up About Paul’s Rescission Idea For Slashing Spending Up To $500 Billion​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/musk-said-be-elated-over-pauls-rescission-idea-slashing-budget-500-billion

    #183854
    John Day
    Participant

    ​ Economic stimulus: SSA Confirms Over $7.5 Billion In Retroactive Social Security Payments
    ​ Last week, the agency said that it will start paying retroactive payments to people whose benefits have been affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). Through March 4, “SSA has already paid 1,127,723 people more than $7.5 billion in retroactive payments,” the agency said in a March 4 statement. “The average retroactive payment so far is $6,710.”
    ​ The WEP and GPO provisions “reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits for over 3.2 million people who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a non-covered pension).”
    ​ In January, former President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA) which ended both GPO and WEP. Since the provisions no longer applied as of January 2024, millions of Social Security beneficiaries became eligible for retroactive payments.
    ​ “President Trump made it very clear he wanted the Social Security Fairness Act to be implemented as quickly as possible,” said Lee Dudek, Acting Commissioner of Social Security.​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ssa-confirms-over-75-billion-retroactive-social-security-payments

    ​ Trump begins CIA cuts – NYT
    The firing process has reportedly started with the agency’s newest employees​ https://swentr.site/news/613820-cia-trump-staff-cuts/

    ​ What happens to the Middle East if Russia and the US stop being enemies?​
    ​ On Wednesday, the Kremlin said that future talks between Russia and the US would include discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme. Spokesman Dmitry Peskoa appeared to acknowledge a report that Russia offered to mediate between the Islamic Republic and the Trump administration.
    ​ Trump says he wants a diplomatic deal with Iran over its nuclear programme. On Friday, he said he sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asking for talks.
    ​ The Obama administration, which tried its own so-called reset with Russia, leaned on the Kremlin during the 2015 nuclear talks.
    “Obama gave Russia a lot of concessions for its mediation in the 2015 nuclear deal,” Anna Borshchevskaya, a Russia expert at the Washington Institute For Near East Policy, told MEE.​ https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/what-happens-middle-east-if-russia-and-us-stop-being-enemies

    ‘Civil War Is Now Official’ – Syria Erupts Into Worst Bloodshed Since Assad’s Fall​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/civil-war-now-official-syria-erupts-worst-bloodshed-assads-fall

    West-Backed Jihadists In Syria Massacre Over 1000 Alawite & Christian Men, Women & Children​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/uk-lifts-sanction-jolani-regime-syrian-army-barrel-bombs-civilians

    #183855
    John Day
    Participant

    Why Israel wants Syria to become a failed state​:​ Netanyahu is pursuing an expansionist agenda under the pretext of minimising any potential threats in the post-Assad era​ https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/why-israel-wants-syria-become-failed-state

    For not trampling student’s rights: Trump Admin Axes $400 Million In Grants To Columbia University Over Antisemitism Inaction​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-admin-axes-400-million-grants-columbia-university-over-antisemitism-inaction

    “Maximum Security For US”: DoE Head Plans $20 Billion Refill Of Depleted SPR After Biden Drain​ https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/maximum-security-us-doe-head-plans-20-billion-refill-depleted-spr-after-biden-drain

    Doing some ​public scientific research: US CDC plans study into vaccines and autism, sources say​ https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-cdc-plans-study-into-vaccines-autism-sources-say-2025-03-07/

    #183856
    John Day
    Participant

    ​Looking forward to Canadian Froot Loops ? : RFK Jr. To Meet Leaders Of Processed Foods Industrial Complex https://www.zerohedge.com/political/rfk-jr-meet-leaders-processed-foods-industrial-complex

    Maybe a quick negotiated settlement on chemical additives and seed oils? Something Huge for the MAHA Movement Is About To Happen​
    What’s particularly interesting about this whole situation is that the Consumer Brands Association—the very group representing these food giants—initiated the meeting proposal back in February.
    ​ This could be a sign they’re willing to do what it takes to make foods healthy again, or they’re going to play offense against the changes Kennedy wants to make. So what’s going to happen with to their precious seed oils and chemical additives? Will Big Food capitulate to the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement?​…
    ​..One thing’s certain: Monday’s meeting won’t be your typical corporate kumbaya session. With Kennedy’s track record of calling out food conglomerates for their role in increasing childhood chronic illnesses, these executives better bring more than their usual PR talking points to the table.​ https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/03/08/rfk-jr-makes-a-huge-move-to-make-america-healthy-again-n4937706

    Meryl Nass MD, Mandates for cattle and chicken vaccines are off the table and culling has decreased https://merylnass.substack.com/p/mandates-for-cattle-and-chicken-vaccines

    #183860
    kultsommer
    Participant

    Healthy food is expensive and cooking from scratch is beyond the ability for the many people handling the multiple jobs.
    We need to recognize reality out there.

    #183861
    kultsommer
    Participant

    Rogan, in that video, is holding hard not to out-pour an utter contempt for the “Dr” to which the idiot is completely unaware and conducting the interview as some kind of friendly giggle-like event.

    #183862
    those darned kids
    Participant

    “banksters gotta bankst.”

    #183863
    kultsommer
    Participant

    True invisible hand of the market.

    #183864
    Dr D Rich
    Participant

    “Hospitals are Bank!”

    ctzx’s crs already hit HCA.

    “Physician heal thyself” contemplate that one tdk!

    It’s Cold comfort doctors receive the worst medical treatment and that has been known for a long time long before The Unz.com article worth reading. Ditto for corpsmen and their families in Hegseth’s Navy.

    So proxy War in The Ukraine and American boots on the ground means The United States turned off ALL satellite imagery/StarLnk etc to The Ukraine because Pete Hegseth SecDef, NatGuard withdrew all U.S. military personnel from The Ukraine already

    Sure and “capital flows”, “free markets”, “price seeking” will whatever……..and folk wonder what happened To HealthCare except not capitalism, profit motive, MBAs, nurse administrators, physician administrators, hospital general counsels, medical monopolies UPMC-UW Medicine, Johnese Spisso UCLA Medicine, an EMR called Epic ad nauseam

    #183865
    kultsommer
    Participant

    Speaking of health care delivered with class:

    #183867
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    Regarding Trump and where it may be going:
    Please watch starting at 1:37:00

    Jacob Nordangård: It’s a Rockefeller World Order!

    #183868
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    #183869
    jb-hb
    Participant

    Healthy food is expensive and cooking from scratch is beyond the ability for the many people handling the multiple jobs.

    nah.

    https://www.azurestandard.com/

    casseroles, beans & rice, lasagna, there are lots of ways to make food for the week or month in a relatively short amount of time. These are only examples of MANY traditional meals suited to the common people, passed on generation to generation, only lost when those trying to reach a new Year Zero win.

    I got a small chest freezer for $99. I mass produce 30 En Papillot meals, throw em in there, fish them out as needed.

    Popping a pre-assembled thing in the oven means it requires essentially zero labor or time.

    Or I pile up a bunch of beans & rice in meal sized containers. Or I buy a big hunk of cheap red meat, soak it in cheap boxed wine, and roast it, then slice it myself instead of buying ridiculously expensive $/lb deli meat.

    I watched prices like a hawk and got a good (Zojirishi) bread machine heavily discounted. Organic flour is “expensive,” but baking your own brings the per loaf price below normal bromide and roundup enriched store bread. Parchment paper is cheap and not toxic compared to plastic packaging.

    I haven’t worked on making organic tortillas yet (there is a weird shortage of certain sizes at the store – WHY?) but I will figure it out.

    Or I’ll use bulk raw ingredients to make 4-8 dozen waffles at once and freeze those. pop em in the toaster while getting ready for work.

    There are super simple dead easy recipes available for free online. Bulk ingredients are available in all grocery stores. Everybody, essentially, still has a stove, oven, refrigerator, and freezer. The kind of chest freezer you can buy for $99 and take home in your economy car still exist.

    The problem isn’t time or money because you can SAVE time and money with the right method – take it from a call center rat. Lowest of the low. If anything the need is to get people not feeling de-territorialized, helpless, pointless, disconnected. I mean, YES knowing the various tricks to be cheap and eat healthy are good, but people need some basic level of encouragement– encourage = to be given courage. Demoralization is why people eat crap.

    And who has been pushing demoralization for decades, that Long March? We’re for the workers – except after they let us down in the mid 1800’s, at which point we decide they’re soul-less animals and stuff. Everything is downstream from culture, and culture was the wealth the poor people had, so definitely smash THAT. Gotta have our year zero.

    #183870
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    #183871
    Celticbiker
    Participant

    Problem, PedoJoe, jewhore. Reaction, Trumpigula, jewhore. Solution Eviscerate the Goyim.

    #183872
    poppie
    Participant

    Dr D ? Dr Demento ?

    #183875
    Dora
    Participant

    Today’s US medical training.

    #183876
    kultsommer
    Participant

    Healthy food is expensive and cooking from scratch is beyond the ability for the many people handling the multiple jobs.

    Again
    By genuinely healthy, I think of ingredients that are certified organic, grass fed, wild-caught or single source cold-pressed. Do I need to elaborate the cost of such items?
    There is a reason why ramen noodles, TV-dinner in the supermarket or “dollar-crap” at the gas station is taken as a food – it’s dirt cheap! Yes and true, many people do not bother to understand what they are eating.

    casseroles, beans & rice, lasagna, (or pastas)…..and breads

    As much as I love them and make them just as you do with exception of bread, they do not occupy that much of my plate surface as they did in the past since I am cutting on carb intake. Meets and vegetables, while home prepared from the scratch, mostly come from the shelves not marked as organic, grass fed or wild caught. For cooking I use virgin olive oil, which is probably more like “virgin olive oil”, and lard that is a side product of slow-frying bacon strips.
    I recently learned that eggs, while labeled as from “pasture raised” are not necessarily so and such a label is meant as a “rather an intent”?!?!
    Such is the most likely the picture of most pantries throughout the country.

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