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Debt Rattle April 11 2025

Apr 112025
 
 April 11, 2025  Posted by at 10:17 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  62 Responses »


Salvador Dali The hand 1930

 

• Trump Is the Bull in China’s Shop (Green)
• Trump’s Reality-Driven U-Turn (Ben Shapiro)
• House Passes Trump-Backed Budget Plan (Caldwell)
• Trump Says He Just ‘Likes’ Musk (RT)
• EU Would ‘Cut Its Own Throat’ By Pivoting To China – Bessent (RT)
• EU Puts US Counter-Tariffs On Hold (RT)
• EU Issues Threat To US Tech Giants (RT)
• No Solution But The Dissolution Of The Terrorist Kiev Regime (SCF)
• Trump Envoy In Russia For High-Level Talks – Media (RT)
• ‘Some EU States’ Opposed To Using Frozen Russian Assets – Kallas (RT)
• Adam Schiff Wants Trump Probed For Market Manipulation (RT)
• Trump Severs a Key Pillar of the Left’s Climate Alarmist Strategy (O’Neil)
• Russia–Iran–China: All for One, and One for All? (Pepe Escobar)
• Iran’s Regime Unlikely To Back Down As Trump Plays With Fire (Jay)
• RFK Jr. Promises To Reveal Cause Of ‘Autism Epidemic’ by September (RT)
• AfD Tops The German Polls For First Time In History (RMX)
• The Supreme Court Must Clarify Presidential Power (Jeffrey Tucker)

 

 

 

 

Protect

Miller China

Japan

Elon Pelosi

Peterson

Claims

WTO

Bessent

Dems

 

 

 

 

China just annnounced rates of 125%, said it would not go higher than that. Are they ready to talk?!

• Trump Is the Bull in China’s Shop (Green)

President Donald Trump has been called a bull in a china shop one million and six times — but what if it’s China’s shop he’s aiming to break? He just might, too. Recent history shows that, just like with any other government program, tariffs can produce mixed results at best. But I’m not here today to discuss the merits of tariffs broadly but rather their effect on our most worrisome strategic competitor, Communist China. (For the record, I’m generally a fan of free trade — at least with friendly nations — but I’m no ideologue. ) I have to get a bit technical here, so bear with me. Wellington-Altus Chief Market Strategist James Thorne argued on X last night about the bind Trump put China in. China, he wrote, is “weighed down by surplus production, overcapacity, and inelastic supply. A rapidly aging population and rising labor costs have left its growth model wobbling.”

Economically, China has yet to recover the dynamic growth it enjoyed before Communist Party boss Xi Jinping’s extended COVID lockdowns. Thorne went on to ask, “What happens when millions from the countryside lose their jobs as factories slow and exports falter? Social unrest could erupt like a powder keg, while Beijing’s half-hearted reforms offer little relief.” Selling their horde of T-bills helps Beijing weaken the RMB while simultaneously thwarting Trump and SecTreas Scott Bessent’s goal of bringing down interest rates. That much is working. We’re just a few days into this and, after early drops, the yield on the 10-year is inching back up again. The thing to remember about war — even a trade war — is that the other guy gets to shoot back. Beijing’s goal is to keep its exports competitive even with an eye-popping 104% tariff while putting the hurt on us here at home until Trump blinks.

But Thorne compared Trump to Dirty Harry, who “stares down China’s precarious economy and growls, ‘Go ahead, make my day.’ Devalue the RMB and sell [US Treasuries].” But devaluing the RMB too far risks capital flight, as the Chinese do whatever they can to trade in their increasingly low-value RMB and park their savings overseas in safer currencies. Beijing has been trying (and failing) for years to stimulate economic growth, and capital flight would make a bad situation worse. Looking at the bigger picture, Martin Capital founder Rod Martin noted on Tuesday that “Countries from Argentina to Vietnam are falling all over themselves to cut ‘zero-zero’ tariff deals with Trump,” giving companies like Apple a not-so-gentle prod to accelerate moving their production out of China.

So China’s dependence on the U.S. export market isn’t its only choke point, and Trump is squeezing it hard. That isn’t to say we don’t have choke points, too. Carol Roth, financial analyst and author of “You Will Own Nothing: Your War With a New Financial World Order and How to Fight Back,” warned on X today that “Small businesses have been beaten up for 5 years — Covid, supply chain, labor disruption, inflation,” and that “they cannot take another govt induced shock.” “Wall Street can manage through, Main Street will be crushed again,” Roth concluded. There’s at least some anecdotal evidence to back that up. There are plenty of reports out there, and this one is just the most recent I found:

Those tariffs kicked in today, but many importers have their sales prices contractually locked in for the short term. Where is the money supposed to come from for a small business existing on slender margins? That’s a tough question and one we don’t yet have the answer to. There are risks and pain involved in weaning ourselves off our dependence on China for vital finished goods, and I’m trying, once again, to be honest about them. The point to remember is that detox hurts, but it beats the hell out of continued addiction. And sometimes it takes somebody with a bull in a china shop attitude to help us kick.

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“Trump lives in the world of reality; he is a pragmatist, not an idealist…”

• Trump’s Reality-Driven U-Turn (Ben Shapiro)

President Donald Trump did what he had to do. Last week, Trump dropped an economic neutron bomb by declaring tariffs on virtually every country on the planet—tariffs based not on reciprocal tariff rates, but on trade deficits. After an initial stock dump of approximately 10% and then days of the markets bouncing up and down like a hyperactive corgi, Trump finally announced that he would be undoing his threatened tariff regime with regard to our allies.

In a statement posted to TruthSocial, he said, “Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately. At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable. Conversely, and based on the fact that more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the USTR, to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs, and that these Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

This was reality setting in and Trump respecting it. As I wrote last week, “Now, Trump is unlikely to carry his policies to their full fruition if markets respond as expected. He is too canny a politician for that.” Trump lives in the world of reality; he is a pragmatist, not an idealist. And that means that when the stock market tanks, when the effects of his tariff regime are about to wipe out small businesses across America, when the economic pain is imminent, Trump will change course. And he did. Some Trump acolytes make the case that this was all a planned rollout. If so, the evidence is sorely lacking; from poorly calibrated posterboards to the bizarrely ignorant comments of presidential adviser Peter Navarro, all this would have to have been a peculiar plan.

If the plan was to tariff China and negotiate better trade terms with our allies, the easiest thing to do would have been to tariff China and negotiate better trade terms with our allies. Occam’s razor suggests that Trump unleashed a policy he preferred and then reversed course thanks to blowback. Trump himself acknowledged that he changed policy because people were getting “yippy” and “queasy.” But in effect, it makes no difference whether this was planned chaos or merely reactionary course-changing—the utilitarian nature of the result is the same. I’ve said before that Trump lives in the world of reality—that he responds to headlines, to incentives and to situations. That’s just as true today as it has always been. And for that, Trump deserves credit.

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Tour de force by Mike Johnson. Needed.

• House Passes Trump-Backed Budget Plan (Caldwell)

House Republicans pushed through a Trump-backed budget framework on a 216-214 vote Thursday, providing a boost to the president’s legislative agenda. Democrats voted against it unanimously, while Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., were the only Republicans in opposition.The resolution’s passage came amid some protests from hard-line fiscal conservatives within the GOP, who argued that the plan does not provide sufficient cuts to the deficit. The budget resolution is a major first step that Congress must pass in order to get to budget reconciliation—the process of setting targets for spending in various areas.

Republicans have been eager to finish the process by Memorial Day, as the budget process will allow them to extend President Donald Trump’s first-term 2017 tax cuts, as well as provide funding for border security and other major campaign promises. Both houses of Congress must eventually agree on one identical bill in order to move forward. President Donald Trump on April 2 backed the Senate’s budget framework, which was passed in the Senate an all-night voting session which concluded early Saturday morning. He then urged the House to pass the exact same plan, and to “close [their] eyes and get there,” despite their reservations about the Senate’s plan.

The only problem? Many in the House criticized the Senate’s plan for not including as many enforceable cuts as the House’s previous framework did. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., who chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said he would probably “vote against it,” as he thought its framework would lead to excess spending and, as a result, higher taxes. His remarks were echoed by several other Freedom Caucus members. House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, also criticized the plan as “unserious and disappointing.” It creates “a mere $4 billion in enforceable cuts, less than one day’s worth of borrowing by the federal government,” Arrington wrote in his response to the plan.

House leadership attempted to assuage these fears, arguing that since the budget plan is not binding, House Republicans should wait until later to argue for more cuts. Skeptics of the plan held out until the very end, forcing Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., to delay a Wednesday evening vote on the matter until Thursday morning, when it ultimately passed. Now, Congress can focus on negotiating the final budget reconciliation bill, a process in which debate between GOP factions will continue.

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“We’d like to keep as many as we can. In fact, hopefully they’ll stay around for the long haul.”

He’ll need to find a way to keep Musk involved.

• Trump Says He Just ‘Likes’ Musk (RT)

US President Donald Trump has heaped praise on Elon Musk, the head of his government waste-cutting task force, saying he wants the billionaire and his “fantastic” Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team to stay in Washington for the “long haul.” Speaking at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump said he didn’t need anything from the billionaire entrepreneur – except that he happens to like him – while crediting Musk with uncovering billions in potential savings across the federal government. “Elon’s done a fantastic job. Look, he’s sitting here and I don’t care. I don’t need Elon for anything other than I happen to like him,” Trump said. “But I’m telling you, this guy did a fantastic job.”

The president said that he even bought a Tesla car he doesn’t need – not for himself, but to let his office staff drive around as a show of support for Musk. “They said, oh, did you get a bargain? No. I said, give me the top price,” Trump quipped. Musk, in turn, credited the “fantastic leadership” of Trump and the Cabinet, announcing that DOGE anticipates saving $150 billion in fiscal year 2026 by reducing fraud and waste in federal spending. “Some of it is just absurd – like people getting unemployment insurance who haven’t been born yet,” Musk said.

Musk’s high-profile advisory role in Trump’s administration has attracted many critics, accusing him of alleged conflicts of interest and political bias in his companies’ operations and federal contracts. A group of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to the White House calling for Musk’s removal, arguing that his “erratic behavior” and past controversies undermine public trust. The White House has so far stood by Musk, with Trump making clear on Thursday that he has no intention of parting ways with his government’s waste hunter. The US president said he hopes Musk’s team will stay on beyond this initiative, praising their tech-savvy approach. “Your people are fantastic… They’re great. Smart, sharp… finding things that nobody would have thought of,” the president said. “We’d like to keep as many as we can. In fact, hopefully they’ll stay around for the long haul.”

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China wants to produce for the whole world except itself. Now it needs to start consuming. But that won’t happen in times of uncertainty. The Chinese will sit on their money.

• EU Would ‘Cut Its Own Throat’ By Pivoting To China – Bessent (RT)

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has claimed that the EU would be “cutting its own throat” if it seeks a closer alliance with China while loosening ties with Washington. Bessent commented on Wednesday after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had called for a reassessment of the EU’s trade relationship with Beijing earlier in the day. Sanchez told reporters during a diplomatic trip to Asia that the EU could benefit from closer cooperation with China amid uncertainty surrounding US trade policies and President Donald Trump’s recent moves to hike tariffs for nearly all trade partners. “Nobody wins with a trade war. Every country loses,” Sanchez warned. Bessent defended Trump’s tariff moves and urged partners not to side with Beijing, claiming that its trade policies are ruinous to the global economy.

“The economic minister in Spain made some comments this morning, ‘Oh, well, maybe we should align ourselves more with China,’ – that would be cutting your own throat,” Bessent stated at a press briefing. “These Chinese exports that the US tariff wall is gonna keep out… the Chinese business model… it never stops. They just keep producing and producing and dumping and dumping.” Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for 75 countries, which he had earlier hit with duties ranging from 10% to 50% over what he called unfair trade imbalances, and lowered duties to a flat 10% rate on everyone except Beijing. Instead, he slapped China with a further hike to 125%, accusing Beijing of escalation after it raised tariffs on US goods to 84%.

“In terms of escalation, unfortunately, the biggest offender in the global trading system is China, and they’re the only country who’s escalated,” Bessent claimed. The Treasury chief said many countries are now seeking negotiations with Washington following the tariff changes, noting upcoming talks with Japan and Vietnam. He also said he hopes to finalize new trade deals with US allies to create a united front against what he called China’s unbalanced trade structure. China has vehemently opposed the tariffs and vowed to fight them. On Wednesday, the Chinese Finance Ministry called the latest US hikes a “mistake on top of a mistake” that “infringes on China’s legitimate rights and interests and seriously damages the rules-based multilateral trading system.”

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Negotiate zero.

• EU Puts US Counter-Tariffs On Hold (RT)

The EU has suspended the imposition of counter-tariffs on American imports, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced. The move follows US President Donald Trump’s decision to pause increased tariffs for three months while negotiations take place. In a post on X on Thursday, von der Leyen said the EU “took note of the announcement by President Trump” and wants to “give negotiations a chance.” “While finalizing the adoption of the EU countermeasures that saw strong support from our Member States, we will put them on hold for 90 days,” she stated. According to von der Leyen, the bloc will not hesitate to go ahead with counter-tariffs if the negotiations with the US fail. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Trump announced a “90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%.”

He claimed that “more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the USTR [Office of the United States Trade Representative] to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs.” According to the US president, these nations have refrained from retaliating against the tariffs his administration previously placed on them. That same day, EU member states approved retaliatory measures to the 25% tariffs imposed last month by the US on the bloc’s steel and aluminum, effective April 15. The counter-tariffs do not address the more recent 20% US tariffs on all EU exports that took effect on Wednesday and have since been paused.

While Brussels did not specify the list of targeted goods or tariff levels, media outlets have reported that tariffs ranging from 10% to 25% would cover a wide array of US goods, including poultry, grains, clothing, and metals. Last week, Trump announced sweeping tariffs targeting numerous countries across the world, citing the need to restore global trade fairness and accusing other nations of “ripping off” the US. The move sent shockwaves across global stock markets, though they have rebounded since Trump announced the pause on Wednesday.

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If the politicians do’t do our will, we’ll go after private industry.

• EU Issues Threat To US Tech Giants (RT)

The European Union is prepared to impose bloc-wide tariffs on major US tech companies, such as Meta and Google, if negotiations with Washington fail to resolve the escalating trade dispute, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned. Following President Donald Trump’s decision to pause further tariff hikes for 90 days, EU exports to the US will still face a “baseline” 10% import duty instead of planned 20% under his new trade regime. Nevertheless, the European Commission announced it would temporarily suspend its countermeasures pending further negotiations. Speaking to the Financial Times on Thursday, von der Leyen said Brussels was ready to deploy its most powerful trade measures, potentially targeting American digital service providers and the advertising revenues of Silicon Valley giants.

“We are developing retaliatory measures,” von der Leyen said, adding that these could include the first use of the EU’s anti-coercion mechanism to hit services rather than goods. “There’s a wide range of countermeasures… in case the negotiations are not satisfactory.” “An example is you could put a levy on the advertising revenues of digital services,” she added, outlining a measure that would apply across the bloc’s entire single market – on top of digital sales taxes set individually by member states. While the EU remains committed to seeking a “completely balanced” agreement during Trump’s 90-day tariff freeze, von der Leyen made clear that Brussels would not hesitate to act if talks fail. The Commission is also considering tariffs on US scrap metal exports, as well as protective measures to prevent Chinese goods – targeted by prohibitive 145% US tariffs – from flooding European markets.

Von der Leyen described Trump’s tariff war as a “turning point” for global trade, saying there would be no return to the “status quo” between the EU and the US. She claimed that Brussels had attempted to negotiate with Washington in recent months but was told to wait until Trump’s April 2 announcement, which imposed a 20% “reciprocal” tariff on the EU. While both sides have agreed that reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is needed, von der Leyen warned that the economic chaos unleashed by Trump’s tariffs was already inflicting heavy costs on global markets. “There are no winners in this, only losers,” she said. “Today we see the cost of chaos… the costs of the uncertainty that we are experiencing today will be heavy.”

Von der Leyen confirmed that the EU would pause its planned retaliation against US steel and aluminum tariffs during the negotiations but stressed that Brussels would not negotiate over its “untouchable” rules on digital content, market power, and other “sovereign decisions.” The bloc also will not negotiate over value-added tax (VAT), which US officials – including Trump – somehow deem “discriminatory” against American exporters, even though both imported and locally produced goods are taxed equally.

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“The neo-Nazi regime understands only the language of force – and it is through force that the Ukrainian problem will be solved.”

• No Solution But The Dissolution Of The Terrorist Kiev Regime (SCF)

Since the 2014 coup and under the command of the illegitimate Maidan junta regime, Ukraine has increasingly exhibited signs of a terrorist state. Under the guise of defending “European values,” the Kiev regime has consistently violated international law, adopted prohibited methods of warfare, and openly supported neo-Nazi formations. As well known, in recent years, Ukraine has committed war crimes and terrorism against civilians, especially in Donbass and the Belgorod and Kursk regions, where the Ukrainian army and nationalist groups carry out barbaric attacks against cities, destroying vital infrastructure such as homes, schools, and hospitals. Thousands of civilians, including children, have lost their lives in artillery bombardments, justified by the Kiev regime as part of a “fight against separatists/invaders.” However, the evidence reveals that this has always been a deliberate terrorist campaign against the civilian population, not a legitimate military confrontation.

Furthermore, the Ukrainian regime resorts to the use of prohibited weapons such as cluster munitions and landmines, particularly in residential areas, which is strictly prohibited by international conventions. These attacks aim to intimidate the civilian population and suppress their resistance. Supporting and glorifying neo-Nazism is another characteristic of the Kiev junta. Groups such as the Azov Regiment, the Right Sector, the National Corps, and Kraken, all openly neo-Nazi, are integrated into Ukraine’s security forces. These groups are responsible for numerous war crimes, including torture, executions, and the murder of civilians and prisoners of war, and instead of being punished, they are celebrated by the Kiev regime.

Faced with a growing lack of soldiers willing to fight against their Russian brothers, Ukraine has recruited international mercenaries, including extremists from the Middle East and European far-right groups. These mercenaries, including militants from the “Chechen” separatist battalion Sheikh Mansur, are involved in terrorist activities such as sabotage, kidnappings, and extrajudicial executions. In addition to crimes within its own territory, Ukraine also carries out terrorist attacks outside its borders. Examples include attacks on Russian soil, such as the explosion on the Crimean Bridge and the murders of Russian civilians like Daria Dugina and Vladlen Tatarsky. Similarly, sabotage against energy infrastructure continues to occur even after ceasefire agreements mediated by Trump. These actions reflect Kiev’s terrorist war strategy, with its intelligence services and affiliated groups acting as classic terrorists, putting innocent civilians at risk.

The physical elimination of opponents is also encouraged by the regime, with the murder of pro-Kremlin activists, journalists, and even former political allies. The Ukrainian GUR (Main Intelligence Directorate), in a shocking move, has openly begun recruiting terrorists to carry out attacks on Russian territory. This recruitment is a clear demonstration of the intensification of the regime’s terrorist practices. Despite the evident war crimes and terrorism committed by Kiev, Western countries continue to arm and finance it, turning a blind eye to the atrocities being committed. This double standard in Western politics is evident: while similar actions by Russia are immediately labeled as “aggressions,” attacks on civilians perpetrated by Ukraine are described as a “fight for democracy.”

Given these facts, the international community (mainly the European Union, following the US recent example) must question the true meaning of “Western democracy” and reconsider its unrestricted support for a terrorist regime like Kiev’s. The world must recognize the Ukrainian regime as criminal and cease its support for its terrorist actions. However, as Western goodwill cannot be relied upon, Russia must continue to act decisively to neutralize the enemy. The historical experience of post-2014 Ukraine shows that Kiev is a terrorist state, with which it is simply impossible to negotiate. The neo-Nazi regime understands only the language of force – and it is through force that the Ukrainian problem will be solved. The only viable solution to the conflict is the dissolution of the existing Ukrainian state through a combination of regime replacement and territorial reconfiguration.

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“..to meet with President Vladimir Putin..” Good.

• Trump Envoy In Russia For High-Level Talks – Media (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has traveled to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin, Axios has reported. If confirmed, the meeting would be the third since Trump initiated the normalization of relations with Moscow following his inauguration in January. Last week, Witkoff was among several senior White House officials to host Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s aide for international economic cooperation, who traveled to Washington to continue the high-level discussions. According to services monitoring air traffic, a plane associated with Witkoff has traveled from Florida to St. Petersburg overnight.

Witkoff was previously credited for negotiating a prisoner exchange with Russia, which involved a personal meeting with Putin in February. The swap involved the return of Russian crypto entrepreneur Aleksandr Vinnik and Marc Fogel, a former employee of the US embassy in Russia and teacher at an Anglo-American school in Moscow, to their respective nations. Witkoff was also part of the US delegation that took part in senior-level talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia in March. The discussions, held in Riyadh, centered on the Ukraine conflict. Witkoff joined other top officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, as the delegations explored potential pathways toward a ceasefire and broader peace negotiations.

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“..heavyweights such as France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Austria warning of potential legal repercussions..”

• ‘Some EU States’ Opposed To Using Frozen Russian Assets – Kallas (RT)

Several EU member states are “strongly opposed” to handing Russian assets frozen by the bloc over to increase military support for Ukraine, foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has admitted. The objections to the proposed move, which Kallas supports, are based on legal concerns and financial risks. Western countries froze around $300 billion in Russian sovereign and state-linked assets following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, with the bulk under EU jurisdiction. Brussels has since been exploring ways to use them to benefit Kiev, including by giving Ukraine the interest earned on the assets. Moscow has strongly condemned these efforts, calling them “theft.”

In an interview with Estonian state broadcaster ERR on Thursday, Kallas said that the bloc’s members are still in talks on the issue. “We’re getting ready, as there are certain risks involved and we need to find ways to mitigate those risks. Plus, some states are strongly opposed to it,” she said. When asked which countries are opposed, Kallas declined. “I can’t start naming names… it is not very difficult to figure out,” she said. The diplomat noted that countries holding large portions of the frozen assets face greater risks. “For example, take Belgium… they hold most of the assets. As a result, they feel their risk exposure is the highest.”

The proposal to use Russian assets to help Ukraine has faced significant opposition within the EU, with heavyweights such as France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Austria warning of potential legal repercussions of an outright confiscation. Meanwhile, Hungary and Slovakia have warned that such a move could escalate the conflict and undermine regional stability. Responding to Kallas’ comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that “Russia will never renounce its rights to its own assets and will not stop defending them”. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova remarked that Kallas’s interview presents “a unique opportunity to analyze a crime not after its commission, but at the moment of its planning.”

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They found a new angle..

• Adam Schiff Wants Trump Probed For Market Manipulation (RT)

US Democratic Senator Adam Schiff has called on Congress to investigate President Donald Trump for possible insider trading and market manipulation following his abrupt trade policy U-turn. Global stocks soared after the president paused the imposition of tariffs on a multitude of countries this week. On Wednesday, Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs against US trade partners, lowering duties to a flat 10% rate. The only exception was China, which he hit with an increase to 125% following Beijing’s tariff hike on US goods to 84%. Immediately after the announcement, US stock markets posted near-record gains after a week-long slump. Mere hours before the announcement, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well,” followed by, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT,” referencing his media company’s stock ticker.

The timing of his posts, the pause and the resulting market rally sparked speculation about market manipulation online, which became even more heated after White House aide Margo Martin posted a video of Trump praising financier Charles Schwab for making billions during the rally. “Trump removed many of the tariffs he had imposed in this on-again, off-again… kind of policy. This has just wreaked havoc on the markets,” Schiff said in his video address posted on X. “But there is another profound danger as well, and that is insider trading within the White House.” “The question is, who knew what the president was going to do? And did people around the president trade stock knowing the incredible gyration the market was about to go through?” he added.

Schiff went on to accuse Trump of corruption, citing his family’s crypto trading and the “conflicted self-dealing” of ally, billionaire Elon Musk. “We in Congress need to do more than demand answers. We need to do the oversight necessary to get those answers… We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” he pledged. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier claimed that the tariff reversal was part of Trump’s broader negotiation strategy, calling it his “art of the deal.” The White House has so far made no comment on Schiff’s call for a congressional probe.

Other Democrats also voiced concerns. “The President of the United States is literally engaging in the world’s biggest market manipulation scheme,” the House Democratic Financial Services Committee wrote on X, in response to Trump’s “Time to buy” post. Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada openly questioned whether the pause amounted to market manipulation during a House hearing with Trump’s trade representative, Jamieson Greer on Wednesday. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for all lawmakers to disclose recent stock purchases. “I’ve been hearing some interesting chatter on the floor,” she wrote on X. “Disclosure deadline is May 15th. We’re about to learn a few things. It’s time to ban insider trading in Congress.”

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“The Trump administration is cutting funding for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which produces a National Climate Assessment..”

• Trump Severs a Key Pillar of the Left’s Climate Alarmist Strategy (O’Neil)

The White House has begun to cut funding for a federal program that drives climate alarmism and bolsters the narrative that burning fossil fuels will doom the environment. The Trump administration is cutting funding for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which produces a National Climate Assessment. Agencies across the government use the assessment to justify directing taxpayer dollars to fighting the specter of climate change. President George H.W. Bush signed the Global Change Research Act of 1990, which directs the administration to release the assessment every four years. The law does not require the assessment to come to biased conclusions in favor of climate alarmism, however. The government report gives a veneer of respectability to the claims that scientists all agree that burning fossil fuels will lead to catastrophic climate change.

This justifies massive boondoggles like the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. As I wrote in my book, “The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government,” President Joe Biden picked John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s former campaign manager and the founder of the Center for American Progress, to determine where billions of dollars went. Podesta, who also founded a powerful Washington lobbying firm with his brother Tony, enjoys close ties with the Left’s dark money network. Podesta helped prop up a climate alarmist industry that uses billions of taxpayer dollars to promote less reliable forms of energy, like wind and solar power, in the name of saving the planet. NASA canceled a contract with the consulting firm ICF International, which coordinates the program and the 13 federal agencies that write the assessment, Politico reported. Killing that contract has “forever severed” climate change work across federal agencies, one official reportedly said.

“NASA is working with [the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy] on how to best support the congressionally-mandated program while also increasing efficiencies across the 14 agencies and advisory committee supporting this effort,” a NASA spokesperson said. A source familiar with the decision told The Daily Wire that ICF International’s leftist bias contaminated the assessments. “ICF has produced assessments riddled with worst-case scenarios, obfuscating the assumptions underlying dire predictions about what the planet will be like in 100 years,” the source said. “The quality of the information is low, and the administration is committed to basing decisions on realistic assumptions that comport with legal standards.”

Climate alarmists repeatedly claim that 97% of climate scientists agree that human burning of fossil fuels will spell global doom, yet the data does not back up this claim. The 2013 study that reached that conclusion not only excluded relevant studies but also mischaracterized scientific research to fit the alarmist narrative. Climate alarmist predictions have repeatedly failed to come true. Al Gore predicted that the snows would disappear from Mount Kilimanjaro due to climate change. Others predicted that the Maldives islands in the Indian Ocean would sink beneath the waves due to climate change. Rooting out the alarmist bias from the National Climate Assessment may enable scientists to admit what most Americans intuitively grasp: the global climate changes for many reasons, and carbon emissions are only one factor among many. If the climate alarmist narrative falls, the entire green boondoggle falls apart. Expect climate groups to scream to high heaven about this move.

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Complex relations. But close to each other.

• Russia–Iran–China: All for One, and One for All? (Pepe Escobar)

Russia and Iran are at the forefront of the multi-layered Eurasia integration process – the most crucial geopolitical development of the young 21st century. Both are top members of BRICS+ and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Both are seriously implicated as Global Majority leaders to build a multi-nodal, multipolar world. And both have signed, in late January in Moscow, a detailed, comprehensive strategic partnership. The second administration of US President Donald Trump, starting with the “maximum pressure” antics employed by the bombastic Circus Ringmaster himself, seems to ignore these imperatives. It was up to the Russian Foreign Ministry to re-introduce rationality in what was fast becoming an out of control shouting match: essentially Moscow, alongside its partner Tehran, simply will not accept outside threats of bombing Iran’s nuclear and energy infrastructure, while insisting on the search for viable negotiated solutions for the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

And then, just like lightning, the Washington narrative changed. US Special Envoy for Middle East Affairs, Steven Witkoff – not exactly a Metternich, and previously a “maximum pressure” hardliner – started talking about the need for “confidence-building” and even “resolving disagreements,” implying Washington began “seriously considering,” according to the proverbial “officials,” indirect nuclear talks. These implications turned to reality on Monday afternoon when Trump allegedly blindsided the visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the announcement of a “very big meeting” with Iranian officials in the next few days. Tehran later confirmed the news, with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying he would engage in indirect nuclear negotiations with Witkoff in Oman on Saturday. It’s as if Trump had at least listened to the arguments exposed by the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But then again, he can change his mind in a Trump New York minute.

Essential background to decipher the “Will Russia help Iran” conundrum can be found in these all-too-diplomatic exchanges at the Valdai Club in Moscow. The key points were made by Alexander Maryasov, Russia’s ambassador to Iran from 2001 to 2005. Maryasov argues that the Russia–Iran treaty is not only a symbolic milestone, but “serves as a roadmap for advancing our cooperation across virtually all domains.” It is more of “a bilateral relations document” – not a defense treaty. The treaty was extensively discussed – then approved – as a counter-point to “the intensified military-political and economic pressure exerted by western nations on both Russia and Iran.” The main rationale was how to fight against the sanctions tsunami.

Yet even if it does not constitute a military alliance, the treaty details mutually agreed moves if there is an attack or threats to either nation’s national security – as in Trump’s careless bombing threats against Iran. The treaty also defines the vast scope of military-technical and defense cooperation, including, crucially, regular intel talk. Maryasov identified the key security points as the Caspian, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and last but not least, West Asia, including the breadth and reach of the Axis of Resistance. The official Moscow position on the Axis of Resistance is an extremely delicate affair. For instance, let’s look at Yemen. Moscow does not officially recognize the Yemeni resistance government embodied by Ansarallah and with its HQ in the capital Sanaa; rather, it recognizes, just like Washington, a puppet government in Aden, which is in fact housed in a five-star hotel in Riyadh, sponsored by Saudi Arabia.

Last summer two different Yemeni delegations were visiting Moscow. As I witnessed it, the Sanaa delegation faced tremendous bureaucratic problems to clinch official meetings. There is, of course, sympathy for Ansarallah across Moscow intel and military circles. But as confirmed in Sanaa with a member of the High Political Council, these contacts occur via “privileged channels,” and not institutionally. The same applies to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which was a key Russian ally in routing ISIS and other Islamist extremist groups during the Syrian war. When it comes to Syria, the only thing that really matters for official Moscow, after the Al-Qaeda-linked extremists took power in Damascus last December, is to preserve the Russian bases in Tartous and Hmeimim.

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“ n reality, what we see in front of the cameras is a theatre. In reality Trump is unhappy about Netanyahu’s plans and his bigger ruse to draw the U.S. into a war with Iran. The real story here is that Trump does want a better deal from Iran..”

• Iran’s Regime Unlikely To Back Down As Trump Plays With Fire (Jay)

June 2019 was a critical moment in Donald Trump’s first term as president where, he was told that Iran had shot down a U.S. drone in international waters in the Persian Gulf. It is reported that he instructed the Pentagon to carry out a number of strikes against Iranian military installations but then was told by a general that if he did that, this would invoke a world war and that many U.S. soldiers would die as a consequence. He backed down, after weighing up the consequences and probably considered that the Iranian downing of the U.S. drone was probably within Iran’s airspace after all. For those who know Trump, this was quite a salient moment. Many would argue that Biden would not have backed down and that a war with Iran – and Iran alone in those days – would have been a huge defeat for the U.S. in that it would not win, thus only suffering from defeats on the battlefield would make it a loser.

Was it not Kissinger who said that “The conventional army loses if it does not win. The guerrilla wins if he does not lose.” The quote, of course, is perhaps poorly aligned with the reality of a war between the U.S. and Iran, as the latter can hardly be described as a guerrilla organization, but the point is that America cannot win against Iran simply because of the ratio of body bags and collateral losses of material. Iran can lose 1,000 soldiers verses America’s one, in terms of the negative impact on Trump’s decision to go ahead with the war in the first place. For the U.S. to fight Iran, even with partners, it would need to have only one plan, which would be the entire inhalation of the country and its regime. Given that the U.S. cannot even defeat the Houthis, it’s hard to see how even the most hard-core sycophant in the Pentagon that Trump has, indulging themselves to this level of fantasy.

Has Donald Trump reinvented his own political doctrine in his second term? Given that we are always led to believe that he doesn’t like the distraction of foreign wars, it’s hard to take him seriously with the threats he has made to Iran in recent days. In 2019 Iran’s ballistic missile defence system was considered too sophisticated and impenetrable for a U.S. attack. Six years later it is even greater than it was and Tehran now has both China and Russia as security partners. Add to that, Iran is believed to have purchased Russia’s S-400 air defence system, in exchange for it supplying Russia with ballistic missiles, which presents the possibility of an air strike by either America’s B-52 bombers or even fighter jets as a mission impossible – as they won’t be able to enter Iranian airspace as was the case in October 2024 when Israeli fighter jets attempted a massive attack but failed on a grand scale.

But then while Trump mulls over the idea of what a massive embarrassment such a failed operation would be, both politically at home but also in the region, military experts will no doubt point out that Iran has hypersonic missiles, which are not only impossible to shoot down, due the their speed (which we saw last year when they penetrated Israel’s airspace and struck at a number of military bases), but will be a game changer for the U.S. The ease of how one of those missiles could sink a U.S. aircraft carrier in the region should not be underestimated. So what is the real story here? Is Trump’s threat that if Iran doesn’t comply with the latest demands over a nuclear deal, a real one? The Iranians themselves don’t seem to be taking the threat seriously but they are taking the negotiations at face value as an opportunity while they now have 60% enriched nuclear grade uranium. And they are right not to.

It’s unlikely Trump is serious about an attack on Iran, as, according to a number of credible sources and despite appearances, he wants Netanyahu to back down from his ambitions of a war with Iran which would involve U.S. troops. In reality, what we see in front of the cameras is a theatre. In reality Trump is unhappy about Netanyahu’s plans and his bigger ruse to draw the U.S. into a war with Iran. The real story here is that Trump does want a better deal from Iran which gives him a longer ‘break out’ period for Iran to develop a nuclear bomb and some sort of curtailment on Iran’s ballistic missile program – his demands back in 2018 when he pulled the U.S. out of the JCPOA deal – but also wants to use the negotiations as a tool to both control Netanyahu and the Jewish lobby in DC.

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First big test. If he passes, the world’s his oyster.

• RFK Jr. Promises To Reveal Cause Of ‘Autism Epidemic’ by September (RT)

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced a large-scale federal initiative aimed at identifying the factors behind what he called the “autism epidemic,” with findings expected by September 2025. Speaking during a televised Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday, Kennedy – who has previously been accused by critics of promoting conspiracy theories about vaccines – said the new research effort would involve “hundreds of scientists from around the world.” “By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic. And we’ll be able to eliminate those exposures,” Kennedy promised. He stressed the urgency of the project, citing a sharp increase in childhood autism diagnoses over recent decades, rising from “one in 10,000 when I was a kid.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently estimate that 1 in 36 children in the US are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder – a rise often attributed to improved awareness and expanded diagnostic criteria. “That is a horrible statistic, isn’t it? There’s got to be something artificial out there that’s doing this,” Trump told Kennedy. “If you can come up with that answer – where you stop taking something, you stop eating something, or maybe it’s a shot – but something’s causing it,” Trump added. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) already invests over $300 million annually in autism research, primarily focusing on genetic factors and prenatal environmental influences. Kennedy did not elaborate on the scope of the new “massive testing and research effort” or what specific exposures might be targeted.

Kennedy, the founder of the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, has gained prominence in the US for questioning the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccinations and promoting the claim that vaccines are linked to autism – a theory widely rejected by the scientific community. He was also a vocal critic of the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 response measures, including lockdowns and the rapid rollout of experimental vaccines. Despite his controversial reputation, Kennedy denies being opposed to vaccination, noting that his own children are immunized. During his confirmation hearings, he stated that he advocates for stricter safety testing and more rigorous studies of vaccines. After Kennedy endorsed Trump’s campaign last year, the president vowed to give him broad authority over healthcare policy, saying he would let Kennedy “go wild.”

RFK

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Unstoppable, unless they try a Le Pen. They’ve been calling the AfD fascist for a long time, but the people stopped listening,

• AfD Tops The German Polls For First Time In History (RMX)

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the most popular party nationwide for the first time in its history, edging past the CDU/CSU in the latest Ipsos poll. The survey, conducted April 4–5, 2025, shows the AfD at 25 percent, just ahead of the CDU/CSU at 24 percent. The polling marks a dramatic turnaround since February’s federal election, when the Christian Democrats attained 29 percent and the AfD came second, four points behind. Meanwhile, the SPD holds 15 percent, and both the Greens and the Left Party are at 11 percent each.

https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1909885937758175428?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1909885937758175428%7Ctwgr%5E880847c0b612ae1426055e38356a23fe805989cb%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Frmx.news%2Farticle%2Fafd-tops-the-polls-for-first-time-in-its-history-as-merzs-public-support-for-chancellor-plummets%2F

These numbers come amid growing dissatisfaction with CDU leader Friedrich Merz. According to a separate Forsa poll for RTL and ntv, only 32 percent of Germans believe Merz is suited for the office of chancellor, while 60 percent say he is not. This marks a steep decline from early March, when 40 percent still had confidence in him. Merz’s numbers are even worse in East Germany, where just 19 percent see him as a good future chancellor, compared to 34 percent in the West. Only among Union voters does Merz enjoy solid support, with 69 percent considering him a strong candidate. Among supporters of other parties, skepticism is widespread: 69 percent of SPD voters, 71 percent of Green voters, and 84 percent of AfD voters say Merz is unfit for the role. Among Left Party voters, that number climbs to 85 percent.

“The majority of voters doubt that the black-red agreement is moving in the right direction,” said Hermann Binkert, head of the INSA polling institute, referring to ongoing negotiations over a possible Grand Coalition between the CDU and SPD. Voter frustration is also being stoked by the controversial €500 billion investment fund, approved with backing from the CDU, SPD, and Greens. Viewed as a signal of increased spending and mounting debt, the fund has intensified criticism of the political establishment.

FDP senior figure Wolfgang Kubicki recently issued a warning to Germany’s legacy parties, saying the country is on the verge of a political revolution. “An AfD chancellor is closer than we think,” Kubicki said. “The vast majority of German citizens have recently voted somehow right-wing. Now, however, they threaten to get left-wing politics. That can’t go on for much longer.” Following February’s election result, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel accused Merz of betraying his voters by cozying up to left-wing parties.

“If the CDU commits electoral fraud against its own voters by forming a coalition with the left, the next election will come sooner than you think,” she warned. “Then, we will overtake the CDU as the strongest force!” Coalition talks between the SPD and the CDU continued long into the night on Tuesday, with an announcement on the next federal government expected in the coming days.

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Very much.

• The Supreme Court Must Clarify Presidential Power (Jeffrey Tucker)

Signs are appearing all over my neighborhood. They say “Rejecting Kings Since 1776.” It does not take much political sophistication to grasp the upshot of this messaging. It is a focus-group-tested slogan to use against President Donald Trump. We have no history of kings or monarchs. The Founders were very clear about that. Our leaders would be elected by the people. There is widespread agreement on that point. But oddly a general bias against monarchs is not actually a helpful lens through which to understand the main controversies of our time. The kind of power that Trump is deploying right now—here we leave aside the issue of trade and tariffs—is mainly about the ability of the president to be in charge of his own executive branch. You might think that we have settled law and precedent that could decisively offer the answer. Incredibly, we do not.

The rise of the administrative state with more than 400 agencies and millions of employees with the power to make regulation and law is not something that has been clearly adjudicated by the highest court. Why not? Mostly because presidents have not really set out to offer a comprehensive challenge to the power of the agencies. Trump is arguably the first to make a forceful claim to be in charge of the agencies. He and his staff knew for sure that this claim would be subject to litigation and likely rejected by lower courts. But they also believed that forcing the Supreme Court to intervene was worth the risk. So far, the highest court has generally sided with the Trump administration against lower court attempts to restrict the power of the elected president over executive agencies. But the decisions have largely turned on procedural grounds, and these have been issued by a divided court with narrow wins.

What we await is a serious and large decision on the general topic of presidential authority. Is this about kingmaking? Not at all. It is about the ability of the head of state to determine policy within his own branch of government. Nor is it about stepping on the privileges and powers of the legislative and judicial branches. It is about recognizing the authority of each branch to manage its own shop. Consider the alternatives to having the elected president determine policy within his administration. It means allowing the agencies to act without any sort of accountability to anyone, not voters, not courts, not the president. That has been largely the case for many decades. Nothing in the Constitution would seem to permit that. And yet that is exactly where we are. Everyone is awaiting this decision. So long as it does not come down, there will be uncertainty within the White House about exactly what is possible, what policies will stick, and what policies will be overturned by the courts.

It comes down to this. The Trump administration bears full responsibility for whatever emanates from the executive branch during his term. In 2020, I blamed Trump for what the CDC, NIH, and FDA did. I took this position somewhat naively, thinking that Trump was surely in charge. I’ve since learned that this is not the case. There has been a long presumption within all these agencies that they can ignore the president. It’s the same with military policy. The president bears responsibility for wars and interventions and their effects. Trump blamed Biden for the disaster in Afghanistan and this is as it should be. It’s been the same with all presidents in American history. The success or failure of any single presidential term falls squarely on the shoulders of one man.

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McCullough on the vaccine

 

 

Tucker X

Tucker Alex

 

 

 

 

Tariff song

 

 

Maloney: ‘Mar-a-Lago Accords’

 

 

DNA
https://twitter.com/ill_Scholar/status/1909798418496496008

 

 

Peacock

 

 

King

 

 

Train

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Rattle February 26 2025

Feb 262025
 
 February 26, 2025  Posted by at 8:02 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  53 Responses »


Rembrandt van Rijn The deposition 1632-33

 

• Trump Is Well Placed To Secure A Deal With Russia To End The War (Proud)
• Zelensky To Visit White House Friday To Sign Minerals Deal (ZH)
• Trump Wants Russia Rare Earths Deal (RT)
• Majority Supports DOGE Measures to Reduce the Size of Government (Turley)
• Calls for UK DOGE as Billions ‘Wasted’ on ‘Woke’ Projects Abroad (ET)
• Florida GOP Gov DeSantis Announces State DOGE Task Force (JTN)
• A Change in US Foreign Policy from Lies to Truth, from War to Peace (PCR)
• ‘Militarist’ EU Has No Place At Ukraine Peace Negotiating Table – Moscow (RT)
• Kremlin Contradicts Trump On ‘NATO Troops In Ukraine’ (RT)
• EU Divided On Frozen Russian Assets – Politico (RT)
• AfD Success Divides Germany Into East and West (Sp.)
• Germany Elections Will Change Little, And Nothing For The Better (Amar)
• Russia-US Dialogue Must Pave Way For Disarmament – Top Hungarian Diplomat (TASS)
• Trump’s Incomprehension – “Thank You, Dear Donald” (Helmer)
• Musk’s Starlink Set To Upgrade America’s National Airspace System (ZH)
• Pentagon To Be ‘Shaken Up’ – White House (RT)

 

 

 

 

Working

Mearsheimer

Leavitt
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894222506954813807

Alina
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894280006043308449

Ron Paul

 

 

 

 

Unique point of view. Ian Proud was a member of HM Diplomatic Service from 1999 to 2023. From July 2014 to February 2019 he was posted to the British Embassy in Moscow (as Charge d’Affaires).

• Trump Is Well Placed To Secure A Deal With Russia To End The War (Proud)

The speed with which America has moved to reestablish diplomatic contact with Russia has left European leaders breathless and flatfooted. Zelensky has also been damaged by a needless public fight with President Trump that he could not win, after accusing him of living in a Russian disinformation bubble. Donald Trump has arrived in the White House, for the second time, following a collapse in U.S.-Russia relations under a preceding Democratic Party President. What seems different today is that the politics of Washington have made it easier for him to engage with President Putin. In 2017, Russia undoubtedly hoped for a potential reset of relations with the United States after a general collapse in engagement under President Obama. In Obama’s final foreign policy fling on 29 December 2016, he expelled 35 Russian diplomats, in response to the so-called Russiagate allegations.

In my view, Obama hoped these expulsions would make it harder for President Trump to engage with President Putin, if Russia retaliated with reciprocal diplomatic expulsions. But, Putin deliberately paused on retaliating, waiting to see what Trump might offer. The real obstacle to engagement in 2017, which doesn’t seem to exist today, was the bipartisan resistance in Washington to President Trump improving relations with Russia in any way. Just one day after Obama expelled the Russian diplomats, the rabidly anti-Russian late Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) were in Kyiv. There, they pressed for even tougher sanctions against Russia, and more support for Ukraine. Even before President Trump had been sworn in, moves were being made by representatives of his own political party, to hem him in.

The vehicle to achieve this was the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which imposed sweeping new sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea. This sanctions act was so punitive, allowing the U.S. to sanction European countries that did business with Russia, that several EU leaders were furious and lobbied hard for it to be watered down. On 31 July 2017, within days of Congress approving the CAATSA act, President Putin finally chose to retaliate, evicting seven hundred fifty five staff from U.S. diplomatic missions. Two days later, when President Trump signed the CAATSA Act into Law, he noted that the bill was ‘seriously flawed.. because it encroaches on the executive branch’s authority to negotiate. This bill makes it harder for the United States to strike good deals for the American people, and will drive China, Russia, and North Korea much closer together.’

Whether or not you agree with sanctions against Russia, it would take a confident person today, to say that Russia, China and North Korea weren’t closer now than they were eight years ago. Back in 2017 the CAATSA Act was a hammer blow to President Trump’s efforts to reengage. President Putin’s retaliation gutted America’s diplomatic network in Russia. I was Charge d’Affaires at the British Embassy at the time and took the short walk most days to the U.S. Embassy to help the Deputy Chief of Mission as he grappled with the dreadful choice of which of his diplomats to send back to America. I could have taken a car, but I wanted to walk in and out each day, under the watchful gaze of the Russian state apparatus, as a small sign of solidarity.

The main U.S. Embassy site in Moscow sits behind the White House, which the Russian army famously fired at by Russian army tanks during the 1993 parliamentary rebellion. In 2017, a cavernous new, glass and steel Consular Services building had recently erected which even today sits largely empty, as the U.S. shut down practically all visa processing in Russia. I recommended a plan – successful as it turns out – to prevent closure of the Anglo-American school of Moscow, under the cover of the mass expulsions. The school had first opened in 1949, as a place for the children of American, British and Canadian diplomats to get an education. That school finally closed it doors in May 2023, having supported diplomatic children – including my two – for seventy-four years without interruption. Both are small signs of just far low U.S.-Russia day to day diplomatic ties have fallen.

The talks that took place between in Saudi Arabia on 18 February between Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov focused in significant part on a process gradually to return diplomatic relations to a more normal footing. In my experience, Russia places considerable value on day-to-day diplomatic collaboration across social, cultural, scientific and other fields. Even NASA had a liaison in Moscow while I was there. It is no great secret that the intelligence services of both sides work relentlessly to spy on the other. But this softer diplomatic engagement is a huge help in moderating some of the ‘bad stuff’. President Trump would like the war to end, but Russia holds the upper hand on the battlefield and can play for time in suing for peace. Russia would undoubtedly like a more normalised diplomatic relationship with the United States of America.

Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov has said he is not interested in a quick ceasefire that allows Ukraine to rearm and come back later for another war. Any negotiation depends on knowing what both sides want and what you can offer without diminishing your own goals. There is little appetite on the Hill to pump further billions into the Ukraine war effort. With over 20,000 sanctions imposed on Russia already and with its economy still robust, there is no benefit in pushing more sanctions. Taking small steps to redress the awful day-to-day diplomatic relations between both countries seems a good place to start as both sides look to broker a lasting peace. And with President Trump not held back by dissenters in his own party, he appears strongly placed to agree a deal with President Putin.

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He’s going to be nervous.

• Zelensky To Visit White House Friday To Sign Minerals Deal (ZH)

Update(1720ET): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit the White House on Friday amid reports he is finalizing a mineral rights access deal with the Trump administration. President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday that he heard Zelensky was visiting on Friday, “and certainly it’s OK with me if he’d like to” – as cited in The Hill and other outlets. “Without the United States and its money and its military equipment, this war would have been over in a very short period of time,” Trump said in the remarks. Apparently Zelensky finally acquiesced after the negotiating teams reached agreement on a final draft that does not include a US demand that it would have rights to $500 billion in future revenue. Details remain largely unknown at this early stage.

An American official involved the talks told Axios that “General Kellogg’s meetings with Zelensky in Kyiv last Wednesday and Thursday were extremely important. Patient, persistent diplomacy can yield results.” “I hear Zelensky’s coming on Friday, it’s ok with me… It could be a trillion dollar deal, it could be whatever… Biden was throwing around money like it’s cotton candy. From the Oval Office presser: Reporter: What does Ukraine get in this mineral deal?Trump: “Military equipment… Without the United States and it’s money… this war would have been over in a very short period of time.”And… “I’d like to buy minerals on Russian land too.”

* * *

Update(1348ET): Ukraine has tentatively agreed to Trump’s mineral rights access deal, Financial Times is reporting in breaking headline. The devil will of course be in the details, given as recently as Sunday Zelensky was openly resistant to the terms offered so far. “Kyiv has agreed terms with Washington on a minerals deal that Ukrainian officials hope will improve relations with the Trump administration and pave the way for a long-term US security commitment,” FT reports early Tuesday afternoon. “Ukrainian officials say Kyiv is now ready to sign the agreement on jointly developing its mineral resources, including oil and gas, after the US dropped demands for a right to $500bn in potential revenue from exploiting the resources,” the report continues.

But again nothing appears to be ultimately finalized, and there will yet be plenty of haggling over what exactly this will look like. Snippets of draft agreements have been leaked, but little in the way of the more controversial details.”The minerals agreement is only part of the picture. We have heard multiple times from the US administration that it’s part of a bigger picture,” Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and justice minister who has led the negotiations, told the same publication.

As we detailed below, Europe is actually offering its own rival version, which could be part of yet more efforts to stall and sabotage a Washington deal. President Putin himself is also touting discussions over “major” cooperation with US companies, including on access to Russia’s rare earth minerals. The US has said ‘no’ to NATO membership for Ukraine, even as some European leaders continue to push this dubious future scenario. Zelensky has even talked stepping down if this could guaranteed future NATO membership, but also as Ukraine’s parliament has extended his mandate, with no new elections on the horizon.

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Ukraine mineral resources worth $14.8 trillion. 70% in Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Most of it is coal and iron, not rare earths. Europe’s largest titanium and lithium reserves, but those are also not rare-earth elements. Ukraine’s rare-earth metal deposits include beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite, and nickel. Question always is: is it pofitable to develop the resources? Question 2: why did Ukraine develop so little of it? Say, over the past 25 years?!

• Trump Wants Russia Rare Earths Deal (RT)

US President Donald Trump has signaled openness to the idea of jointly developing Russia’s mineral deposits, a proposal put forward by President Vladimir Putin earlier this week following a meeting with top officials and rare-earth metal industry experts. Moscow is prepared to collaborate with Washington on developing rare-earth mineral deposits, including those in Russia’s Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, Putin said on Monday. When asked on Tuesday whether he and Putin had discussed the possibility of such a deal, Trump acknowledged his interest. “I’d like to buy minerals on Russian land, too, if we can… They have very good rare earths, also, and oil and gas. Look, it’s a great thing,” Trump told journalists at the White House. “It’s great for Russia, too, because we could do deals there. They have very valuable land that isn’t utilized. So something like that could take place, yeah.”

Putin noted that Moscow would prioritize its own development of rare-earth minerals due to their strategic importance across multiple economic sectors. However, he added that Russia was open to cooperation with international partners, including Americans, should they express interest. Trump’s administration has shown increasing interest in rare earth and other metals as part of the US president’s push to secure returns on American “investments” in the Ukraine conflict. Trump has been demanding the equivalent of up to $500 billion in natural resources as compensation for aid already provided to Kiev. After multiple delays, Kiev has reportedly agreed to the deal, with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky expected to visit Washington on Friday to sign the agreement.

“I hear that he’s coming on Friday. Certainly, it’s okay with me if he’d like to sign it together with me, and I understand that’s a big deal, very big deal… the American taxpayer now is going to get their money back plus,” Trump said. The rare earths deal Trump is pursuing with Ukraine “doesn’t concern” Moscow, Putin said in an interview with Rossiya 1 TV journalist Pavel Zarubin, noting that the actual value of Ukraine’s mineral deposits remains uncertain. Before the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the country held Europe’s largest titanium and lithium reserves. While these metals are not classified as rare-earth elements, they are crucial for the defense sector, as well as for battery and capacitor production. Ukraine’s rare-earth metal deposits also include beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite, and nickel.

In 2023, Forbes Ukraine estimated that the country’s mineral resources were worth approximately $14.8 trillion, amounting to 111 billion metric tons, with coal and iron ore making up the majority. However, the publication noted that over 70% of these resources are located in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which declared independence from Ukraine in 2014 following the Western-backed Maidan coup in Kiev. These territories came under Russian control after referendums in 2022, when the regions voted to join Russia.

Aluminum

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Of course they do. Who doesn’t want to save money?

• Majority Supports DOGE Measures to Reduce the Size of Government (Turley)

As the courts hash out the legalities of the orders supporting the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the public appears to support the effort despite the almost universal condemnations in the media. Despite the prediction from James Carville that the Trump Administration will collapse within 30 days, a recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll shows that most citizens support the cutting of government spending and size. While the courts must rule on the legal basis for these executive orders, the polling shows continued support for both Trump and his agenda after the election.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) also has declared that “remorse” was growing among voters who were souring against the Trump Administration. Yet, the Harvard poll shows Trump with a 50% approval rating, (43% expressing disapproval). That is consistent with the RealClearPolitics polling average, giving Trump a 49.3% approval rating.What was interesting amid the ongoing judicial and legislative fight is that 83% of voters preferred cutting government spending to raising taxes. Some 77% also supported a broad review of government spending. A massive 70% believe government spending is rife with waste and fraud and 69% support cutting spending by $1 trillion.Sixty percent of voters said that DOGE is carrying out the need of the government to make significant cuts.

Once again, our courts are designed to resist popular demands when they contravene legal or constitutional authorities. However, courts are also sensitive to what is called the “countermajoritarian difficulty.” As Alexander Bickel discussed in his 1962 book, The Least Dangerous Branch, the courts straddle this line between protecting constitutional values and not becoming a type of super-legislature. The political question doctrine and other judicial rules are designed to remove federal judges from making policy or political judgments. Voters are allowed to bring about significant, even radical, changes in government policies and programs. They are allowed to elect “change agents” to use existing powers to achieve those goals.

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They have neither a Trump nor a Musk.

• Calls for UK DOGE as Billions ‘Wasted’ on ‘Woke’ Projects Abroad (ET)

Calls have grown for the British government to introduce the equivalent of the United States’ Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), after the extent of so-called “woke waste” spending on projects abroad which fall under the umbrella of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) was revealed. Successive Conservative and Labour governments have signed off on projects such as £9,550,000 awarded in December 2024 to Cowater International to support “Accountability and Inclusion” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The bulk of the funding under scrutiny has come through the foreign aid budget administered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), although spending at home for academic and arts projects that appear to push the DEI agenda have also come under fire.

More than half a million pounds (£575,000) was granted to the Ark Group to deliver advice to the Jordanian Armed Forces’ “Gender Mainstreaming Strategy,” also by the FCDO but under the previous Conservative government in March 2024. Projects around the world aiming to address the “climate crisis” are also major recipients of vast sums of UK money, with more than £101 million given to “Climate and Ocean Adaptation and Sustainable Transition” in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Mozambique, with this contract awarded to DAI Global in November 2024.The UK has also allocated a further £12 million for a “Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance“ in Mauritius, with the contract still out for tender until December this year, the database shows.

While many drivers in the UK have been hit by congestion, ULEZ, and parking charges, almost half a million pounds (£499,649.60) was awarded by the FCDO in 2023 for 15 electric vehicles to be “donated to Albanian prisons” by the British Embassy in Tirana. Since winning the general election last July, Labour has repeatedly claimed there is a “£22 billion black hole” in the public spending purse, which Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said necessitates sweeping cuts, such as the loss of winter fuel allowance for the majority of pensioners. A group operating under the handle The Procurement Files since December 2024 has trawled the publicly available government accounts database to expose some of the more contentious spending, working with journalist Charlotte Gill, who runs a blog and uses the handle @wokewaste.

Also under scrutiny has been the hundreds of millions awarded to diplomatic spending, such as the refurbishment of embassies and high commissioners’ offices. A spokesperson for The Procurement Files told The Epoch Times: “The UK spends over £100 billion a year on interest. Our aim is to help to find ways to reduce wasteful spend and to save the UK taxpayer money. “For us, it is a question of priorities. Why would the UK taxpayer fund a project for ‘Green Urban Growth in Somalia’ or a ‘Maldives Shark Diving Code of Conduct’ when people here are struggling to pay sky-high energy bills? “Politicans from the Conservatives and Reform, including Nigel Farage, have been in touch and follow our work.” They added, “We will follow the blueprint laid out by Elon Musk and the U.S. DOGE team, and are cheering them on from the sidelines!”

Reform MP Richard Tice told The Epoch Times: “I believe I speak for the majority of logical, common-sense Britons when I say we need an equivalent of DOGE in the UK. “As has been proven in America, the only people who oppose such an agency are the incompetent or corrupt bureaucrats. “Let’s expose the levels of government waste, sleaze, and neglect of taxpayers’ money. “Full transparency is what the people want—let’s give it to them.” Sam Bidwell, director of The Next Generation, part of the Adam Smith Institute, said on social media platform X: “The benefits of a British DOGE would be in long-term growth rather than short-term savings. “We have several hundred regulators, quangos, and [Arms Length Bodies], which churn out reams of absurd anti-growth regulation. “Defunding and reforming these bodies would be an enormous net positive.”

Some Conservatives have backed the calls for a UK DOGE, including Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay, who pledged in a speech on Tuesday to set up a Scottish Agency of Value and Efficiency in the event of him becoming first minister. Findlay said such a department would be tasked with “cutting waste, identifying savings, and delivering better value for taxpayers.” But there has been no talk from the British government of slashing such projects as the £22,490,382 awarded by the FCDO to PwC for “Green Growth” in Nepal shortly after Labour took office in July 2024. Under the previous government, £220 million was granted to Palladium for “UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions” in developing countries, with an option to more than double this amount. The same company was separately awarded £15.5 million to deliver a “climate smart jobs programme” in Uganda.

The FCDO is not the only department to come under scrutiny, with the Home Office also coming in for criticism on social media for awarding Alcis Holdings £133,000 to monitor the “Afghanistan Taliban’s Narcotics Ban.” Generous spending for high-level diplomacy is a recurring theme of the contracts under scrutiny, with £179,931 granted to “replace air-conditioning condensers” at the British High Commission in Barbados, and a £14.4 million contract for a whole-building refurbishment of the High Commission in Kenya. Smaller amounts of funding have also come under fire over the usefulness of the project, with an academic study of “Shrimp Health in Bangladesh” awarded £50,000 in May 2023 through the Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.

Arts Council funding which promotes DEI themes has also been criticised by commentators and social media users, such as the £185,627 awarded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (ACHR) for a trans-identified academic to research “Trans Performance Now: Glitching Transgenderism” at Northumbria University. Gill has highlighted a number of AHRC-sponsored studies in her work, writing that “the taxpayer is funding their own demise” by unwittingly stumping up for projects such as “The Europe that Gay Porn Built,” awarded £841,627 over four years at Birmingham City University. ACHR funding for academic projects abroad has included £318,510 for a study that claims that water has experienced trauma, and aims to “address current water and mental health issues affecting Indiginous communities” in Peru and the United States.

Since taking control of the White House for the second time, President Donald Trump has begun a wide-ranging and rapid programme to cut what he regards as unnecessary and sometimes corrupt government expenditure, appointing SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as head of DOGE, named after the internet meme. DOGE’s first radical move was to announce the slashing of USAID’s workforce from 14,000 to 294 after an audit revealed it was funding projects such as $1.5 million to “advance DEI in Serbia’s workplaces,” as well as $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala, and $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru. USAID was set up in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to administer humanitarian aid on behalf of the U.S. government, but much of its work is now contracted out to external agencies. Musk claims to have already saved the U.S government more than $3.4 billion by halting DEI contracts, using his platform X to highlight what he has labelled widespread “fraud” as well as “waste.”

The Trump team has suggested as much as a trillion dollars could be saved by DOGE, although there is pushback from the Democrats and many NGOs and others who work within the foreign aid field. The billionaire entrepreneur said earlier this month on X: “The corrupt politicians ‘protesting’ outside the USAID building are the ones getting money from USAID. That’s why they’re there – they want your stolen tax dollars!” The United States is the world’s largest provider of money for foreign aid, by a considerable margin. The UK is the world’s fourth largest spender, giving approximately £15.4 billion in 2023, compared to around £71.9 billion from the United States.

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DeSantis could get somewhere.

• Florida GOP Gov DeSantis Announces State DOGE Task Force (JTN)

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis says the state will establish a Department of Governmental Efficiency task force, similar to the Trump administration’s, to eliminate wasteful government spending at the local level. “Florida has set the standard for fiscally conservative governance, and our new Florida DOGE task force will do even more to serve the people of Florida,” DeSantis said in a statement on Monday. Some of the goals for Florida version will include a deep dive into government funding goint the state universities. Another goal will be looking into the continued existence of 70 boards and commissions in 2025. “The Florida State DOGE Task Force will implement a multi-pronged approach to eliminating bureaucratic bloat and modernizing our state government to best serve the people of Florida,” the governor’s office said.

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Paul Craig Roberts. “Europe has been totally misgoverned since the end of WW II. Indeed, European misgovernment caused WW II.”

• A Change in US Foreign Policy from Lies to Truth, from War to Peace (PCR)

Yesterday Trump began the task of his first term–the normalization of relations with Russia–which was blocked by the corrupt FBI’s “Russiagate” hoax, an act of treason for which executions should take place and, indeed, the utterly corrupt agency abolished. The United States, to the chagrin of USAID-supported CNN, voted with Russia against a UN General Assembly revolution condemning Russia’s “invasion” of Ukraine.CNN true to its reputation as the worst liar on earth found it “shocking” that the US aligned with Russia against the “free world” and aligned with “the aggressor in the war on the three-year anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.” It seems that CNN is going to continue lying for the military/security complex even after CNN’s funding courtesy of the US taxpayers has been halted.

Everyone knows that Russia did not invade Ukraine and limited its intervention to the two Russian break-away republics in Donbas. Everyone knows that Russia tried for eight years to keep Donbas in Ukraine with the Minsk Agreement. Everyone knows that the West used the Minsk Agreement to deceive the Kremlin while the US trained and equipped a large Ukrainian army to invade Donbas and subdue the break-away republics. Everyone knows that the US, NATO, and EU flatly refused Russia’s request for a mutual security agreement. Everyone knows that the US forced Putin’s hand to intervene in Donbas. Yet the CNN excrement continues to lie through its teeth. CNN is nothing but a lie factory. Shouldn’t the lie factory be sanctioned or abolished for fomenting war by lying and intentionally spreading misinformation, a charge that the lie factory leveled at every truth-teller?

How can anyone be sufficiently stupid and corrupt as to rely on CNN? The US-orchestrated conflict with Russia cannot be ended on the basis of total lies about the cause of the conflict. Acknowledgement of the truth is required, and the truth is on Russia’s side. President Trump realizes that. He knows that he cannot end the conflict by imposing lies on Putin. It is extraordinary that the dumbshit Europeans want war with Russia. It would mean the total destruction of all of Europe. European industry is dying because the fools have cut themselves off of Russian energy. European economies are dying because the fools have cut themselves off from a large and natural market. Europe has been totally misgoverned since the end of WW II. Indeed, European misgovernment caused WW II. In the postwar period, Charles de Gaulle was the only European leader. All the others were US puppets who sold out their peoples.

The rise of AfD in Germany and Marine Le Pen’s party in France are efforts to reestablish the sovereignty of Germany and France. But the German and French people have been so brainwashed and indoctrinated that they associate sovereignty with nationalism an nationalism with Nazism. Consequently, nationalist parties that actually represent the people cannot get into office. Trump is right that Europe is finished. Europeans have lost self-belief. European politicians are long accustomed to being on the payroll of USAID, National Endowment for Democracy, and the US military/security complex. Europe is exhausted, murdered by its own left-wing. Russia and China are on the rise. Trump intends to restore America, about which the American Establishment, CNN and the media whores are up in arms.

Hopefully President Trump will understand that he needs peace and cooperation with China just as much as he needs peace and cooperation with Russia. If the Trump administration tries to wedge the US between Russia and China, conflict will be perpetrated. Was USAID Using Our Taxpayer Dollars to Pay for CNN’s Propaganda Rants Against America? It seems so.

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“..they “embarked on a path of militarism” and “lost the right” to take part in efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict..”

• ‘Militarist’ EU Has No Place At Ukraine Peace Negotiating Table – Moscow (RT)

The aggressive position of Ukraine’s EU backers makes them unfit to take part in the peace process, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. Their desire to push divisive narratives will only harm their own relations with the international community, it added. The actions of the active Ukraine supporters among the EU nations show that they “embarked on a path of militarism” and “lost the right” to take part in efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict, according to the Foreign Ministry. It was commenting on two competing resolutions on Ukraine that were submitted to the UN General Assembly on Monday to mark the third year of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. One of them was initiated by Kiev and its EU backers and condemned Russia. Moscow blasted the document for “recycling baseless accusations and ultimatums against Russia, selective citation of the UN Charter” and ignoring the root causes of the conflict.

According to the ministry, the resolution was aimed at increasing international support for the ‘Zelensky peace formula’ – Kiev’s plan for resolving the conflict based on a set of demands and preconditions that Russia has called unacceptable. The document received record low support in the UN General Assembly, the Foreign Ministry said, adding that more than half of the UN members did not back it. The resolution was endorsed by 93 nations and opposed by 18, with 65 abstentions. The remaining members of the 193-strong body did not vote. The competing resolution put forward by the US, which initially only expressed sorrow for the loss of life in the conflict and called for a sustainable peace was “turned into yet another anti-Russian pamphlet” through “obnoxious” amendments introduced by Kiev’s EU backers, the ministry stated.

“The meaning of the initiative was distorted to a point when even its US authors could not endorse their own document,” the Russian statement said. The EU nations’ delegates tried to delay the vote on a similar US-sponsored resolution at the UN Security Council, it added. These actions run counter to the will of the international community, Moscow said, warning that Kiev’s EU backers could end up isolated due to their belligerent stance. The EU and some of its member states stepped up their aggressive rhetoric this month after Moscow and Washington announced plans to restore ties and work on resolving the Ukraine conflict. On Monday, the bloc adopted its 16th package of Ukraine-related restrictions, marking the anniversary of the launch of the Russian military operation against Kiev in February 2022.

Shortly after assuming office in January, US President Donald Trump pivoted Washington’s stance on Ukraine. Trump recently claimed that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is responsible for escalating the conflict and declared that Zelensky’s participation in meetings between Washington and Russia is unnecessary. Top EU diplomat and former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas accused the US of adopting a “Russian narrative” under the new administration and stated that Brussels should “support Ukraine right now more than ever.”

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“..the “presence of armed forces from NATO countries, even under the EU flag or as part of national contingents” as “completely unacceptable” to Moscow.”

• Kremlin Contradicts Trump On ‘NATO Troops In Ukraine’ (RT)

The Kremlin has contradicted a claim by US President Donald Trump that Russia would “accept” the placement of troops from NATO countries in Ukraine under a possible peace deal. When pressed by journalists on Monday about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s opinion on the possibility of Western troops deploying to Ukraine, Trump said “He will accept that. I have asked him that question.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday however that Moscow’s position has not changed since Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s description the week before of the “presence of armed forces from NATO countries, even under the EU flag or as part of national contingents” as “completely unacceptable” to Moscow.

Trump insisted he had “specifically asked [Putin] that question” regarding the deployment. “He has no problem with it,” he said while talking to the press following his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington. Trump and Putin spoke by phone for more than an hour earlier in February. According to both sides, the conversation involved a wide range of topics, including the ongoing Ukraine conflict. However, neither side mentioned any understandings reached at that time that could be linked to the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine.

Russia would only accept a foreign troop deployment to Ukraine as part of a UN mandate, Vassily Nebenzia, Moscow’s envoy to the international body, told RIA Novosti earlier this month. “‘Peacekeepers’ cannot operate without a mandate from the UN Security Council,” he said at that time, adding that any other military contingents on the ground would be treated as regular combatants. Moscow has warned that it would treat any troops entering Ukraine without Russia’s consent amid its ongoing conflict with Kiev as legitimate targets. Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, meaning it can veto any resolution to send foreign troops to Ukraine.

Several senior European leaders, most notably French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, have been floating the idea of sending military personnel to Ukraine. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the two nations were considering deploying up to 30,000 “peacekeepers” to the nation, depending on whether Moscow and Kiev could reach a peace deal. The plan was also dependent on whether the US would agree to contribute to the effort in a limited military capacity, the report said. The Trump administration has repeatedly stated that European NATO members should bear the brunt of security guarantees for Kiev. Earlier in February, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ruled out deploying American troops to Ukraine as part of any agreements on security guarantees.

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Thieves having open discussions.

• EU Divided On Frozen Russian Assets – Politico (RT)

The EU is reportedly divided over the fate of approximately €200 billion ($209 billion) in Russian sovereign assets, Politico reported on Tuesday. The funds, primarily held by Euroclear in Brussels, have been frozen since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. According to the outlet, since Brussels was left out of discussions between the US and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, some EU member states have started calling for the immediate transfer of Moscow’s frozen funds to Kiev. Others, however, have argued that the assets should be retained as a bargaining tool in future negotiations with Moscow. Those who support the seizure of Russia’s assets include the Baltic and Nordic states, as well as Poland, the Czech Republic, and the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, according to Politico.

They have argued that the frozen funds should be used to help Ukraine rebuild and sustain its war effort, especially if Washington decides to halt its support for Kiev. “I don’t take the argument that it’s legally problematic… we need [the] political will to do it,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told Politico in an interview. Previously, Kallas had also suggested that Russia’s money should be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine before being handed back over to Moscow, noting that she doubts there will be “anything left over.” However, other EU nations, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, believe that these funds should be kept as a bargaining chip. Some officials have also raised concerns that an outright confiscation of Russian funds could set a dangerous precedent and spook international investors.

”If you were to unfreeze [the assets] and give [them] to Ukraine, you don’t have it anymore and you can’t use it as a bargaining chip,” one anonymous EU diplomat told Politico. Western allies froze about $300 billion in assets belonging to the Russian central bank shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict three years ago. The bulk of the funds, around $213 billion, is being held in the Brussels-based clearinghouse Euroclear. Russia has repeatedly condemned the freezing of its assets and has warned that seizing them would amount to “theft.” The Kremlin says that any attempt to transfer the funds to Ukraine would lead to severe economic and legal consequences for the EU, including reciprocal actions that could tap the income from frozen Western assets held in Russia.

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Moving backwards?!

• AfD Success Divides Germany Into East and West (Sp.)

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has secured second place in the country’s snap election, exposing deep national polarization, German political analyst Dr. Gregor Spitzen told Sputnik. “Voting for the AfD is a form of political protest. A loud ‘no’ to the systemic political parties that have opened the door to terrorists in Germany and led the country into recession and deindustrialization,” Spitzen said. The divide is also geographical, with Eastern Germany (the former GDR) showing strong support for the Euroskeptic party. Spitzen attributed this to East Germans’ strong sense of national identity and critical thinking —qualities he believes are nearly lost in the West.

“Over the next four years, the East-West divide in Germany will only grow. This is illustrated by the AfD’s phenomenal result in Saxony, where it won 46 percent – more than all the other parties combined,” Spitzen predicted. Furthermore, he did not rule out the possibility of an AfD victory in the next parliamentary election, especially if US President Donald Trump and his ally, billionaire Elon Musk, continue to support the party. AfD may be even closer to victory than expected, given that a last-minute Democracy Institute poll ranked AfD Co-Chair Alice Weidel as the top choice for chancellor among likely German voters.

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Same old same old with slightly different numbers. Vested interests. They already started flying in refugees again. It will really take AfD to turn Germany around.

• Germany Elections Will Change Little, And Nothing For The Better (Amar)

The winner of the election is, of course, the conservative CDU (CSU in Bavaria) under ex-BlackRock globalist, hard-right Atlanticist, and fanatically pro-Zionist Friedrich Merz. He is now the chancellor-elect. Yet, in reality, the CDU result of not even 29% is nothing to write home about. It’s enough to win, but definitely too little to boast about. Long gone are the days of heavyweight Helmut Kohl who regularly scored in the 34-38% range. Indeed, the only time when Kohl netted a result similar to Merz’s current one was in 1998, i.e., when he was in obvious decline. The two parties that can really congratulate themselves are Die Linke (The Left) and the Alternative For Germany (AfD) under Alice Weidel. The Left, strongly rebounding from a period of demoralization, captured almost 8% of the vote and the AfD, doubling its 2021 result, nearly 21%.

That is as predicted by polls; so, Elon Musk’s clumsy last-minute intervention definitely did not help; it may even have hurt the party in the end. Yet for the AfD, this still marks a historic breakthrough (and I write this without political sympathy): It is simply a fact that the AfD is now the second-strongest party in Germany. The only, fundamentally dubious reason that it will – most likely – not participate in government is that all other parties, including the CDU, insist on treating it as a pariah. Citizens may vote for it – and in ever larger numbers – but the traditional parties claim the privilege of excluding it by a “firewall” (a concept unknown to the constitution, of course) from the ordinary process of coalition-making that really allocates power in Berlin.

Whatever you think about their reasons for doing so, it is a hard fact that the mainstream parties are thereby treating the AfD as a second-class party and therefore its voters as second-class voters. In that regard, a recent poll finding is relevant: As Germany’s thoroughly mainstream conservative paper of record Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is reporting, the AfD can no longer be understood as a mere “party of protest.” Instead, its voters mean it when they support it. Their decision is genuine and authentic, whether you like it or not. And the AfD now also has the highest share of voters who are either workers or unemployed. Finally, the AfD is still especially strong, indeed dominant in the former East Germany. Put all of the above together and it is obvious that discriminating against the AfD promotes social and regional polarization. Indeed, not treating Weidel’s party as a normal member of the Berlin club undermines German unity.

As things are, Germany will probably see the establishment of yet another “great coalition” between the CDU and SPD. Even while the latter has been diminished as literally never before, together the two still have enough parliamentary seats to govern. The AfD, in any case, is reiterating that it is ready for a coalition with the CDU, which would have a solid, indeed bigger majority and a shared view of the world. For, even if the mainstream conservatives of the CDU are loath to admit it, very little separates them ideologically from the AfD. Indeed, as one smart observer has plausibly argued, in terms of ideology, the true share of the “far-right” vote in this election was 60% – including the CDU, the AfD, and the Greens as well. Yet since the real conflict between the CDU and the AfD is not over “values” but electoral turf and ultimately survival as the go-to for Germany’s future right/far-right vote, their coalition is not likely to happen, not yet.

That will leave the AfD, for now, as the most powerful opposition party and free to profit from the predictable dysfunction and self-blockade that the CDU and SPD will, once again, inflict on Germany. By 2029 – or earlier in case of another government collapse – Weidel’s party will find itself in an excellent position to break into government, perhaps even dominate it. In that sense, the AfD has every reason to be optimistic now: one way or the other, the election results and their consequences will play into its hands. But as to the rest of Germany, they won’t be so lucky. For three reasons: First, reduce bureaucracy as you will, raise or lower taxes to your heart’s content, keep talking about initiative and hard work and all that – none of it will overcome Germany’s abysmal economic decline.

Except you also address two key issues: namely how to reform or better abolish the so-called “debt brake” that paralyzes economic policy and how to rebuild a pragmatic, normal relationship with Russia, including inexpensive energy for German industry and access to cooperation and markets for German business. Regarding the debt brake, a CDU-SPD coalition would have enough parliamentarians to govern but not to change the constitution. Yet that is what is needed to make a difference there. Hence, not only will the two coalition partners block and sabotage each other; they will also be unable to find enough support from the opposition. And if a compromise should be cobbled together, rely on it: it will be worthless since ineffective.

Regarding Russia: Merz and his CDU have already signaled that they intend to be even more belligerent than the “traffic light” coalition. As far as they can imagine loosening the self-strangulating debt brake, for instance, then mostly to pump more money into the military. And make no mistake: With regard to foreign policy, Merz’s declaration of seeking “independence” from the US may sound intriguing. But he remains a rigid, intellectually provincial Atlanticist, mentally stuck in the 1990s, if not the (early) ‘80s.

Merz’s idea of going it alone is motivated by nothing better than fear and necessity, as Washington under Donald Trump is getting ready to cut its European clients loose. Worse, where the imagination of, at least, a Gaullist would be required to rebuild European security with instead of against Russia, Merz seems to have no greater vision than, in effect, quixotically trying to make Germany (perhaps together with France as junior partner and nuke provider) replace America inside a shrunken, de facto EU-European-centered NATO remaining frozen in self-crippling Russophobia and daft Cold War reenacting, Kaja Kallas-style. Think of it as a new mutation of Atlanticism that doesn’t even feature an Atlantic anymore.

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That would be good.

• Russia-US Dialogue Must Pave Way For Disarmament – Top Hungarian Diplomat (TASS)

The renewal of dialogue between Russia and the US must pave the way for disarmament, which has stalled amid increased tensions between the two countries in recent years, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said on his way to the UN’s Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. “Of course, Hungary and all peace-loving nations have an interest in seeing resumed US-Russian dialogue lead to the revival of the disarmament process. This will require mutual trust once again, and I will urge the rebuilding of that trust at the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva today,” Hungary’s top diplomat wrote in a post on Facebook (banned in Russia, owned by Meta designated as extremist in Russia).

He also drew attention to the fact that over the last three years, as the Ukrainian conflict has dragged on, talk about nuclear weapons being used has increased, which is very dangerous in and of itself. Furthermore, this conflict led to the production of a copious amount of weaponry, and “no one knows what will happen to it in the future,” the Hungarian foreign minister said. “By whom, where, and against whom will it be used in the future?” he inquired. In particular, Russia and the US will discuss the possibility of renewing the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) which expires in 2026. Experts say that a new treaty, one which would replace the old agreement, could be drafted.

New START limits the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles Russia and the United States may own. In February 2023, Moscow announced that it was suspending its participation in the treaty but was not withdrawing from it. The Russian side wanted to understand how New START would account not only for the United States’ arsenals but also for the stockpiles of other NATO nuclear powers, namely the United Kingdom and France. In turn, the US has repeatedly stated that it would like to include China in the negotiations on nuclear disarmament. Beijing, however, does not see the need for this, as it has a much smaller nuclear stockpile than the other two powers. Following his return to office, Donald Trump has confirmed Washington’s willingness to communicate with Moscow and Beijing on these issues.

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John Helmer is no fan of Trump’s. Fair enough, but he should ask himself how much/how little Trump values Macron. Who visits because he wants a place at the peace talks table. Which he will not get.

• Trump’s Incomprehension – “Thank You, Dear Donald” (Helmer)

Compos mentis was missing in the Oval Office on Monday morning. French President Emmanuel Macron recognized it, and was so pleased, he repeatedly said: “Thank you, dear Donald”. The answers to press questions given by President Donald Trump, sitting beside Macron, revealed that Trump doesn’t understand what end-of-war terms President Vladimir Putin has announced, nor the substance of the conversations, back channel and front in Riyadh, which have been going on between the Russians and Trump’s representatives. In the 28-minute morning presser, Trump spoke in repeated slogans except for a handful of new briefing points he was given by his staff: the President stressed he has no points of difference with the French, the other Europeans, or NATO on how to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war.

“There was great unity in that room”, Trump claimed of the first round of meetings with the Macron delegation, which included a videolink to other G7 leaders. “Take back some of the land”, Trump then claimed after being asked what end-of-war terms in the Ukraine he has discussed with Macron. “We’ll see if we get some land back”, Trump repeated. Asked if he planned to go to Moscow on May 9, Trump revealed he does not know the significance of the May 9 celebration in Russia. “If this all gets settled out, sure I would go, and he could come here, too. I don’t know Ninth of May, no – I, err, that’s pretty soon. At the appropriate time I would go to Moscow…Within weeks. I think we could end it within weeks if we’re smart. If we’re not smart, it’ll keep going…” Trump revealed, however, that he has given up his effort to hold a summit meeting with Putin without preparatory agreement of terms for an end of the Ukraine war.

In the Oval Office, and in a simultaneous social media post, Trump repeated his interest in getting “payback” for US war spending in the Ukraine by negotiating a “rare earths” agreement. “I emphasized”, the media post said, “the importance of the vital ‘Critical Minerals and Rare-Earths Deal’ between the United States and Ukraine, which we hope will be signed very soon! This deal, which is an ‘Economic Partnership’, will ensure the American people recoup the Tens of Billions of Dollars and Military Equipment sent to Ukraine, while also helping Ukraine’s economy grow as this Brutal and Savage War comes to an end. At the same time, I am in serious discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia concerning the ending of the War, and also major Economic Development transactions which will take place between the United States and Russia. Talks are proceeding very well!”

In repeating to Macron his preoccupation with “rare earths”, Trump revealed in the Oval Office that he has no idea of the geography of the minerals he is negotiating to take over, so that “we get our money back over a period of time. But it is also beneficial to their economy, to them as a country.” Trump does not comprehend that the minerals — “rare earths and other things”, he called them — are mostly located, no longer in Ukraine but in the four new provinces of Russia and on the seabed off Russian Crimea. Trump also revealed he has no idea of how his proposed US investment in the minerals would be protected and by whom.

Reporters pressed to see if the minerals agreement is subterfuge for a US security pledge to the Kiev regime, substituting for NATO membership. Asked explicitly if the minerals deal will engage a US security guarantee for the Ukraine, Trump answered: “Well, uhh, it’ll be — Europe is going to make sure nothing happens. I don’t think it’s going to be much of a problem. I think once we settle, ahhh, there’s going to be no more war in Ukraine. You’re not go – uhhh, it’s not going to be a very big problem. That’s going to be the least of it.”

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“Where was the Biden-Harris administration’s urgent push to upgrade the national airspace system? We know why this wasn’t a priority—because DEI took center stage over the nation.”

• Musk’s Starlink Set To Upgrade America’s National Airspace System (ZH)

Bloomberg reported that Elon Musk’s SpaceX subsidiary, Starlink, is preparing to deploy terminals nationwide to upgrade the Federal Aviation Administration’s national airspace system. Musk responded to the report on X, indicating that the current ground-based internet, managed by Verizon, “is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk.”

Here’s more from the report: Musk approved a shipment of 4,000 Starlink terminals to the FAA last week for the initiative, said one of the people. One terminal has already been installed at the FAA’s air-traffic control technology lab in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for testing, the person said. The person familiar with the matter said the program will be called TDM X. The goal is to have the entire program fully functional within 12 to 18 months. An FAA spokesperson confirmed Bloomberg’s report, stating that the agency is testing one terminal in Atlantic City and two in Alaska. The military has used Starlink terminals at remote bases for the past few years.

Calls to upgrade the nation’s air traffic control system come weeks after Elon Musk, a special government employee in charge of DOGE, said his team will support the urgent need to make “rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system.” Trump has urged Congress to modernize the nation’s aging air traffic control system following last month’s midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a regional jet near Ronald Reagan National Airport, which killed 67. Where was the Biden-Harris administration’s urgent push to upgrade the national airspace system? We know why this wasn’t a priority—because DEI took center stage over the nation.

Under the Biden-Harris regime, Starlink was banished from the rural federal program to connect America, primarily because of the Biden admin’s dislike of Musk. Now, Starlink has rolled out across Ukraine for cellular service, while T-Mobile in the US has the same service. Recall legacy telecoms AT&T and Verizon have used lawfare to slow down Starlink’s constellation building in low-Earth orbit. Last week, Goldman turned bullish on part suppliers for Starlink satellites… Starlink will continue to soar as the roadblocks the Biden admin put up have vanished. We suspect a Starlink IPO will occur during Trump’s second term.

Read more …

The hardest part?!

• Pentagon To Be ‘Shaken Up’ – White House (RT)

The Pentagon is set for a major overhaul, with President Donald Trump ordering a leadership shake-up following years of financial mismanagement, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. The Department of Defense has never passed an independent financial audit since Congress mandated the process in 2018. Its most recent audit, in November 2024, found that only 7 of 30 sub-agencies could fully account for their expenditures. Pentagon officials admitted they are unlikely to achieve a clean audit before 2028. “They failed seven audits in a row; the trust in our United States military, amongst the warfighters, is low,” Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing. “The president is shaking up the Pentagon and the Department of Defense, of course, with Secretary [Pete] Hegseth leading, and he has the right to do such a thing.”

The White House’s latest announcement follows last week’s dismissal of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Charles Q. Brown Jr., along with several other high-ranking Pentagon officials, including Admiral Lisa Franchetti – the first woman to command the US Navy. The administration has framed these firings as part of a broader effort to improve accountability and efficiency within the military. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has echoed the call for change, rejecting past policies that he claims prioritized diversity initiatives over military effectiveness. “In this department, we will treat everyone equally,” Hegseth said earlier this month. “We will judge you as an individual by your merit.” The administration’s push for reforms includes an extensive financial audit of the Pentagon, led by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk.

Trump has tasked DOGE with reviewing federal expenditures, aiming to cut up to $2 trillion in government spending by mid-2026. With its $886 billion budget, the Pentagon is one of the key targets for cost reductions. “I’ve instructed him to go check out education, to check out the Pentagon, which is the military, and sadly, you’ll find some things that are pretty bad,” Trump said earlier this month. “We need to get rid of waste and make sure taxpayer money is spent correctly.” The White House has not yet detailed specific changes to military budgeting but has indicated additional personnel changes and restructuring efforts are on the horizon. The administration argues that these reforms are essential to restoring public confidence in the military and ensuring defense funds are spent effectively.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Uganda
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894267393280499749

 

 

Cow horse
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894161044571869576

 

 

Tiger
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894074860596293689

 

 

RIP

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Rattle February 17 2025

Feb 172025
 
 February 17, 2025  Posted by at 10:00 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  53 Responses »


Vincent van Gogh Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Café du Tambourin 1887

 

• Trump Says Russia Isn’t A Threat To NATO (RT)
• Trump Wants Ukraine Ceasefire By Easter (RT)
• Europe & Zelensky Throw Tantrum After US Sidelines Them From Russia Talks (ZH)
• Zelensky Is In A Very Bad Position – Tara Reade (RT)
• Trump Envoy Sets Timeline For Ukraine Peace Plan (RT)
• Trump’s Envoy Signals Possible Ukraine Concessions (RT)
• Ukraine c – Kremlin (RT)
• Russian Duma Speaker Predicts ‘Serious Changes’ For EU, Its Institutions (TASS)
• AfD Candidate For German Chancellor Seeks End To Russia Sanctions (TASS)
• Vance Meets Leader Of ‘Firewalled’ German AfD Party Backed By Musk (RT)
• Germany Is Self-Imploding (Victor Davis Hanson)
• From Rockefeller to Musk: How CEOs and Presidents Shape America (Bluey)
• House GOP Drafting Impeachment Articles Against Judges Blocking DOGE (ZH)
• Judge Declines to Halt Trump’s Firing of Inspectors General (ET)
• Trump Makes First Supreme Court Appeal In Test of Power To Fire Officials (BBC)
• Democrats and Unions Launch an Existential Fight Over Buyouts (Turley)
• Rand Paul Supports Fort Knox Physical Audit (ZH)

 

 

 

 

RFK NATO

Kudlow

Speaker

DOGE

Mearsheimer

1993-2025

 

 

 

 

The big word is out.

• Trump Says Russia Isn’t A Threat To NATO (RT)

US President Donald Trump has dismissed Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants a temporary pause in the conflict with Kiev to regroup and launch a full-scale war against NATO. Moscow has repeatedly ruled out any short-term truce, insisting on a permanent, legally binding agreement that addresses the root causes of the Ukraine conflict. However, Zelensky has insisted that he knows “for sure” that Putin wants a brief pause to “prepare, train, take off some sanctions” before launching an attack not only on Ukraine but also on NATO states. “It can happen in summer, maybe in the beginning, maybe in the end of summer. I don’t know when he prepares it, but it will happen,” Zelensky said in an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press on Saturday.

Trump, however, has brushed aside Zelensky’s warning, telling reporters on Sunday that he does not agree with the Ukrainian leader’s assessment at all. “No, I don’t agree. Not even a little bit,” Trump said, adding that he believes what Putin truly wants for his country is to “stop fighting.” “They’ve been fighting for a long time. They’ve done it before… They have a big, powerful machine. They defeated Hitler and they defeated Napoleon,” Trump added. “But I think he would like to stop fighting.” Trump also said he expects to meet Putin in person “very soon,” following their “long and hard” phone conversation last week, which was their first known direct interaction since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. He also called Zelensky to “inform” him of the discussion, during which the Ukrainian leader allegedly reaffirmed that Kiev is also prepared to seek a resolution to the conflict.

Russia will need to take Ukraine’s lack of independence into account in any future negotiations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday, recalling the failed 2014-2015 Minsk agreements. Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg, also pointed to the collapse of the two prior arrangements, stating, “We are not gonna go down that path.” NATO has long described Russia as a direct threat in order to justify the bloc’s existence after the fall of the Soviet Union, and Western officials have repeatedly claimed that if Moscow wins the Ukraine conflict, it could attack other European countries.

Putin has dismissed the idea of a Russian attack on NATO as “nonsense,” telling US journalist Tucker Carlson last February that the bloc’s leaders are trying to scare their people with an imaginary threat, but that “smart people understand perfectly well that this is a fake.” Moscow has consistently opposed Ukraine’s NATO aspirations, citing the bloc’s eastward expansion as a threat to national security and describing it as a key factor behind the ongoing conflict with Kiev. Zelensky claimed at the Munich Security Conference that “right now the most influential member of NATO seems to be Putin because he seems able to block NATO decisions.” Trump has indicated that Washington will not support Kiev’s accession as part of a potential peace deal with Moscow, while his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, described Ukraine’s NATO ambitions as “unrealistic.”

Read more …

False flag time?

• Trump Wants Ukraine Ceasefire By Easter (RT)

The administration of US President Donald Trump is pushing for a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict by April 20, Bloomberg wrote on Sunday, citing anonymous sources. A US peace plan could be forthcoming within weeks or even days, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy on Russia and Ukraine, said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. ”The Trump administration has told European officials that it wants to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine by Easter,” Bloomberg said, citing sources briefed on the talks. According to the outlet, some European officials felt the pace of the negotiations was ambitious and possibly unrealistic. Talks are reportedly set to kick off with a meeting of Russian and US representatives in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.

Europe will not be given a place in the negotiations, Kellogg told top European diplomats on Saturday. Despite this, UK and EU officials fear the US expects them to shoulder the burden of Ukraine’s post-war security, Financial Times wrote on Thursday. The envoy justified the exclusion of Europe, citing the legacy of the Minsk-2 agreement between Ukraine and now Russian Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics in 2015. Germany and France stood as guarantors to the failed accord, which then German chancellor Angela Merkel later admitted was just meant to buy Kiev time to strengthen itself. “When you looked at Minsk-2, there was a lot of people at the table that really had no ability to execute some type of peace process, and it failed miserably. So we are not gonna go down that path,” Kellogg said.

Moscow has similarly underscored that it will not accept a temporary freeze of hostilities, like the Minsk accords, and insists on a permanent solution that addresses the fundamental causes of the conflict. Just days prior, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump held a phone conversation in the first such interaction since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. The two leaders could meet in Saudi Arabia by the end of this month, Newsweek wrote on Sunday, citing reports. Putin has previously stressed that Moscow has never shied away from peace talks, but emphasized that they have to be based on terms previously agreed in Istanbul in 2022, modified for the territorial “realities on the ground.” Russia has demanded that Ukraine embrace neutrality, demilitarize, denazify and remain free of nuclear weapons, among other points.

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I’m [from] a school of realism,” Kellogg said, regarding Europe having a seat at the table during negotiations. “I think that’s not going to happen.”

• Europe & Zelensky Throw Tantrum After US Sidelines Them From Russia Talks (ZH)

Europe will not be included in peace talks for Ukraine, President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy said on Feb. 15 after sending a questionnaire to European capitals asking what they could offer in security guarantees for Kyiv. As The Epoch Times’ Jacob Burg reports, on Sunday, France said it will host a summit of European leaders on Monday to discuss the Russia–Ukraine war and European security after retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, didn’t include Europe in negotiations over Ukraine’s future following years of war with Russia. France President Emmanuel Macron “will convene the main European countries to discuss European security,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio. Barrot described the meeting as a working session and emphasized it should not be “overdramatized.” The office of the French presidency has not yet announced the meeting.

Macron has invited at least Britain, Germany, Poland, Italy, and Denmark, representing the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, the European Union leadership, and the NATO secretary general, according to six European diplomats. They said the purpose of the meeting is to discuss what immediate help can be given to Ukraine and the role Europe can play in providing both security guarantees to Kyiv and Europe at large. Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin last week before consulting European or Ukrainian leaders, saying peace talks had begun. The Trump administration is pushing European allies in NATO to take a primary role in security guarantees for the region as the United States prioritizes border security and counters Chinese political and military influence.

At a global security conference in Munich, Kellogg said the United States would act as an intermediary in talks between Ukraine and Russia. “I’m [from] a school of realism,” Kellogg said, regarding Europe having a seat at the table during negotiations. “I think that’s not going to happen.” In trying to reassure Europeans, Kellogg said it doesn’t mean “their interests are not considered, used, or developed.” Some European leaders pushed back on being sidelined for talks. “There’s no way in which we can have discussions or negotiations about Ukraine, Ukraine’s future or European security structure, without Europeans,” Finland’s President Alexander Stubb told reporters in Munich. “But this means that Europe needs to get its act together. Europe needs to talk less and do more.”

The questionnaire Kellogg sent to Europeans “will force Europeans to think,” Stubb said. Kaja Kallas, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, was more explicit stating that “if somebody agrees something and I mean, everybody else says ‘okay fine!’ you have agreed, but we will not follow this!” She added that EU’s position is “our importance” trumps any peace! NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged Europeans to get involved.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1891086302222618790

“And to my European friends, I would say, get into the debate, not by complaining that you might, yes or no, be at the table, but by coming up with concrete proposals, ideas, ramp up [defense] spending,” he said. Kellogg said that territorial concessions from Russia and targeting its oil revenues could be included in the talks over ending the war between it and Ukraine. “Russia is really a petro-state,” he said, adding that the West needs to do more in adequately enforcing sanctions against Russia. U.S. and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days for continued peace talks, according to Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). After meeting with Vice President JD Vance in Germany on Feb. 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his nation was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia and that Kyiv would consult with strategic partners before engaging with Russia.

“This is the war in Ukraine against us, and it is our human losses,” President Zelensky told Meet The Press this morning. “We are thankful for all the support, unity in the USA around Ukraine support, bipartisan unity, bipartisan support,” adding that “we are thankful for all of this, but there is no leader in the world who can really make a deal with Putin without us, about us.” “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never,” he exclaimed. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and White House Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia, McCaul said. The talks are meant to arrange a meeting between Trump, Putin, and Zelensky to “finally bring peace and end this conflict,” he said.

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“Zelensky is probably trying to figure out an exit route, among other things..” [..] “I think he wouldn’t be elected, obviously.”

• Zelensky Is In A Very Bad Position – Tara Reade (RT)

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky is far from being in a winning position at the moment, RT contributor Tara Reade has said. The former aide to Joe Biden specified that Washington is no longer fighting a proxy war against Russia via Kiev, making the Ukrainian leader useless to both the EU and the US. The comment comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with his US counterpart Donald Trump on Wednesday, the first known contact between the heads of state of the two nations since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. “Zelensky is probably trying to figure out an exit route, among other things,” Reade said, adding that running for president again was not an option for the former comedian. “I think he wouldn’t be elected, obviously.”

The Ukrainian leader’s presidential term expired in May 2024, but he has refused to hold elections, citing martial law. Trump has also acknowledged that Kiev will eventually have to hold elections and noted that Zelensky might not serve another term, saying his domestic poll numbers “aren’t particularly great, to put it mildly.” “He’s basically sacrificed a generation of men for what? To give rare earth minerals to the US? To give 22% of the lands to Russia?” Reade said, emphasizing that Zelensky was “in a very bad position.” The comment refers to recent statements made by Trump, who demanded the “equivalent of $500 billion worth of rare earths” from Kiev in exchange for what the president estimated to be “more than $300 billion” Washington had provided in aid since the escalation of the conflict with Moscow.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented Trump’s proposal to Zelensky during their meeting in Kiev earlier this week. According to multiple media reports, the deal outlines that Washington would receive a 50% stake in Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as compensation for the American aid. On Saturday, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the negotiations, that Ukraine had rejected the bid, citing the lack of security guarantees. According to Ukraine’s Institute of Geology, the country’s deposits include lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, erbium and yttrium. However, Zelensky recently admitted that a large chunk of Ukraine’s mineral-rich territories, some 20%, is currently under Russian control.

NBC reported on Saturday, citing unnamed officials, that the White House could send troops to guard Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. The deployment of military forces could reportedly come after Russia and Ukraine reached a deal to end the ongoing conflict. Reade said the reported troop deployment is unlikely. “There’s a will for there to be a different relationship with Russia.” She highlighted that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said definitively “that there would be no US troops in Ukraine” and “US involvement in providing money and weapons was going to end.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1890845003464794254

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“..I’m not talking six months, I’m talking days and weeks..”

• Trump Envoy Sets Timeline For Ukraine Peace Plan (RT)

A US peace plan for Moscow and Kiev could come within days or weeks, President Donald Trump’s special envoy on Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. In January, the WSJ reported that Trump had tasked Kellogg with outlining a settlement to the Ukraine conflict within 100 days. At the same time, the US president warned of new sanctions if Moscow refused an unspecified plan, but emphasized that he was “not looking to hurt Russia.” “You got to give us a bit of breathing space and time, but when I say that, I’m not talking six months, I’m talking days and weeks,” Kellogg projected as cited by CNBC, adding that he was “on Trump time.” “He’ll ask you to do this job today and he’ll want to know tomorrow why it isn’t solved,” Kellogg emphasized.

Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with his US counterpart, marking their first known high-level direct contact between Moscow and Washington since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. According to the Kremlin, the US leader expressed support for the swift cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution, while Putin mentioned the necessity of addressing the root causes of the conflict, but that a long-term settlement could be achieved through negotiations. Following the conversation, Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social that Washington and Moscow were immediately beginning discussions to resolve the conflict. Trump also said that American and Russian officials might meet during the conference in Munich, adding that Ukraine was also invited to participate. However, no such meeting was reported by the conference organizers or news outlets.

Read more …

Russia’s been very clear.

• Trump’s Envoy Signals Possible Ukraine Concessions (RT)

Territorial concessions may be part of future peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy on Russia and Ukraine has suggested. Speaking on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, Keith Kellogg emphasized that while some things are off the table, compromise could play a role in the negotiations.“Some of [the concessions] are unrealistic to expect where you’d want to go to, but it’s territorial. It could be the engagement of refusing to use force, renouncement of the use of force into the future,” Kellogg said. He added that both Russia and Ukraine might have to make concessions during talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously indicated that Moscow would be open to an immediate ceasefire and peace talks if Ukraine withdrew its troops from the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions, which formally joined Russia following referendums in 2022.

However, in August 2024, Putin dismissed negotiations, citing the Ukrainian military presence in Russia’s Kursk Region. Kellogg also mentioned the necessity of “breaking alliances” between Russia and North Korea, Iran, and China, which he claims have strengthened over the past four years. Earlier this week, Putin spoke by phone with Trump, marking the first known high-level direct contact between Moscow and Washington since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.

According to the Kremlin, Trump expressed support for the swift cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution, while Putin mentioned a need to address the root causes of the conflict, agreeing that a long-term settlement could be achieved through negotiations. Following the conversation, the US President wrote on his platform Truth Social that Washington and Moscow were immediately beginning discussions to end the fighting. Russia has yet to confirm any details, but according to multiple media reports, a US delegation – likely composed of national security officials – will travel to Saudi Arabia in the coming days for talks with their counterparts from Moscow. Trump also said that American and Russian officials might meet during the conference in Munich, adding that Ukraine was also invited to participate. However, no such meeting was reported by the conference organizers or news outlets.

Kellogg
https://twitter.com/i/status/1890830803657011239

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“That country cannot really answer for its words..”

• Ukraine Lacks Sovereignty – Kremlin (RT)

Russia will need to take Ukraine’s lack of independence into account in any future negotiations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Given that in the past, Kiev backtracked on its promises at the behest of other countries, Moscow will need to consider this lack of autonomy in any upcoming talks, Peskov said in an interview published by Russia 1 TV journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday. “That country cannot really answer for its words,” the spokesman said. “Each time it is necessary to make a certain adjustment when negotiating with them, for their deficit of sovereignty and the deficit of trust in them. Which will not go anywhere,” Peskov added.

The Kremlin spokesman cited the ill-fated 2014-2015 Minsk Agreements and the failed negotiations Moscow and Kiev held in Istanbul in 2022, soon after the full-blown escalation of the Ukraine conflict. The Minsk ceasefire, which was ostensibly intended to freeze the conflict between Kiev and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, was in fact only “an attempt to give Ukraine time” to build strength, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted to Die Zeit in 2022. “Ukraine would have been whole,” if the Minsk agreements had been followed, “and there would have been no civil war, and Russian people in the Donbass would have had no desire to separate from Ukraine,” Peskov claimed. Similarly, Moscow and Kiev had already agreed on several points during the initial peace talks in Istanbul in 2022, the spokesman added.

“The [papers] were ready, they were ready to be signed. Then another side said, no, you can’t. And they were thrown out,” he said. According to Ukrainian MP David Arakhamia, who was Kiev’s chief negotiator at the talks, then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson came in person to demand that nothing be signed and that Ukraine continue fighting. Moscow has ruled out any temporary solution akin to the Minsk agreements, insisting on a permanent, legally binding solution that addresses the core causes of the conflict. Any such settlement would need to be based on the points previously agreed upon in Istanbul, adjusted for the territorial “realities on the ground,” Russia has stated.

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“Democratic procedures in many EU countries have become window dressing. They have long been forgotten..”

• Russian Duma Speaker Predicts ‘Serious Changes’ For EU, Its Institutions (TASS)

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the Munich Security Conference suggested that the EU and its international institutions are in for serious changes. “Analyzing what happened in Munich, we can say with certainty: There are serious changes in store for the EU and its international institutions, including parliamentary ones,” he wrote on Telegram. “They will be difficult and painful.” According to Volodin, US Vice President JD Vance gave an accurate assessment of the situation in European countries at the conference. “He was not supported. Conference participants were not ready to hear the truth about themselves,” the lawmaker said.

The Duma speaker also said the institution of democracy in the EU was in a poor state. “Democratic procedures in many EU countries have become window dressing. They have long been forgotten and ignored in pan-European structures,” he said. “Therefore, the healthy forces that want to meet the public demand for the renewal of power will wage an uphill battle. They will face all kinds of hurdles meant to prevent them from going through the election procedure. Just like it happened in Romania during the presidential campaign. Or in France and Germany, when undesirable political parties won. But change is inevitable,” Volodin said.

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“..the delivery of German tanks to Ukraine, which are now “being used against Russia for the first time since the Second World War,” shows that the German government has completely forgotten history.”

• AfD Candidate For German Chancellor Seeks End To Russia Sanctions (TASS)

Alice Weidel, a candidate for German chancellor from the Alternative for Germany, accused the government of stoking tensions with Russia over the recent three years with such moves as supplying arms to Ukraine, according to Bild. “What has the German government been doing with regard to Russia for the last three years? We have been intensifying the escalation spiral. We have opposed Russia verbally, financially and even with arms deliveries,” she said in an interview with the newspaper. According to the politician, the delivery of German tanks to Ukraine, which are now “being used against Russia for the first time since the Second World War,” shows that the German government has completely forgotten history.

Weidel also called for talks on the settlement of the Ukraine conflict to start swiftly and urged an end to the sanctions policy, which is crippling German economy. Germany is the second-largest arms supplier to Ukraine after the US. According to German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit, Germany has provided 44 billion euros in various assistance to Ukraine since the start of the conflict. In the 2025 budget proposal, the country allocated 4 billion euros for the support, half the amount it spent this year. However, the Bundestag has yet to greenlight the budget proposal.

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For Scholz et el, that’s like meeting with the devil..

• Vance Meets Leader Of ‘Firewalled’ German AfD Party Backed By Musk (RT)

US Vice President J.D. Vance met with Alice Weidel, the leader of Germany’s ‘firewalled’ Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, on Friday. Vance was in the country to attend the annual Munich Security Conference. Their meeting reportedly lasted about half an hour and focused on the Ukraine conflict, German domestic policies, and freedom of speech, including the so-called ‘Brandmauer’, or “firewall against the right.” The term refers to a stance embraced by mainstream German parties that aims to prevent the right-wing powers from joining ruling coalitions in the country. News of the meeting came after Vance slammed European politicians for “fearing” their own voters by refusing to engage with right-wing parties in a speech on Friday. While he did not mention the AfD directly, he said European governments should drop “firewalls” and “embrace” public opinion or lose the right to be called democratic.

Vance referred to the recent endorsement of Weidel for German chancellor by Elon Musk, a close ally to US President Donald Trump, whose online presence at an AfD rally in Halle last month resulted in accusations of election interference from the German government. The vice president dismissed the allegations, painting Musk’s endorsement as an example of free speech, a core democratic value. He chided the European establishment for criticizing Musk, and said he feared free speech was “in retreat” across the continent.

The AfD denies being far-right, insisting that it promotes the interests of the German people with its anti-immigration stance. It has, however, been put under surveillance for suspected extremism by German intelligence. Despite the allegations, public support for the party has been growing, and it is currently polling in second place ahead of the German parliamentary election on February 23, with 21% of the public saying they support it. Weidel did not comment on her meeting with Vance, but praised his remarks in Munich in a post on X, saying they were “excellent” and applauding his comment regarding firewalls.

According to Reuters, citing Vance’s office, he met with leaders of all of Germany’s major political parties while in Munich, including Friedrich Merz, the head of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which is currently leading in the polls. After meeting with Vance, Merz said in a post on X that he and the vice president “reaffirmed the special importance of transatlantic relations.” However, he later described Vance’s speech in Munich as “little short of interference.” Other German politicians have also criticized Vance for his remarks targeting their policies, with incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz posting on X that “the extreme right should be out of political decision-making processes” in Germany and stating that Vance had no right to give the country advice on the issue.

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“..we’re here 80 years after the rejection of the Morgenthau Plan and the German people, or the German leadership, have essentially updated it and inflicted it on themselves willingly..”

• Germany Is Self-Imploding (Victor Davis Hanson)

Hi, I’m Victor Davis Hanson, today I’d like to talk about the crisis facing Europe, specifically its self-implosion across the spectrum—energy, population, fertility, defense. Germany, for example, has been systematically shutting down its nuclear plants and, for a while, its natural gas electrical generation plants. It’s relying, believe it or not, more on oil and coal. But the net result of all of this deliberate turn to wind and solar, at the expense of fossil fuels and nuclear, is that it costs about four times more to use electricity in Germany than it does on average throughout the United States. That’s not the only problem. Germany is deindustrializing. And by that I mean it’s losing about 200,000 jobs in its auto industry due to these high energy prices and regulations. Its green mandates, especially electric vehicle mandates, have revolutionized the car industry, in the sense that they’re not selling abroad as they did in the past.

In addition to that, Germany’s disarmed. They only have about 125 attack aircraft. They have very few armored vehicles. Their active military is only about 180,000 soldiers. They have 84 million people in the country. The fertility rate is getting very close to 1.4. I know we have problems here in the United States at 1.6, but 1.4. And they don’t have borders. They have had a million to 2 million illegal aliens just prance into Germany, especially during the last years of the Merkel chancellorship. In terms of percentage of foreign-born, Germany has more foreign-born than does the United States, which doesn’t have a border in the south, at least until Donald Trump comes in. Twenty percent of the German population is foreign-born. Why am I mentioning all of this?

Because Germany represents the powerhouse, traditionally, of the European economy, and even culture, and it’s starting to implode. The euro, the benchmark of European financial health, is about, right now as I speak at the end of December, one dollar to one euro, and sometimes even less for the euro. That’s very strange because when I used to run a travel company to go to Europe—I remember in 2008, the euro was 1.6, almost 1.7 per the dollar. So what’s happening is that Germany is, I guess we would call it, undertaking a slow-motion suicide. But here’s the irony. In September 1944, at the height of World War II, the secretary of the treasury under the Roosevelt administration, Henry Morgenthau, had a plan for postwar Germany when it was defeated.

He didn’t want another war—the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, World War I, World War II. He said, “Enough.” So what did he do? He submitted a plan that was going to deindustrialize Germany, depopulate Germany, change its borders. It was almost as if he was trying to turn it into something like Tacitus’ description of first-century A.D. Germany, as a pastoral, agrarian society. In fact, he explicitly said that. When Joseph Goebbels heard about this, he said, “Oh my God, this is a gift. We’re losing the war. We’ll tell all of the German people they want us to be permanently pastoral. We’ll starve to death. And even if they don’t like the Nazis, as we’ve destroyed the country, you’re losing more, they’ll fight.”

Thankfully, George Marshall, chief of staff of the Army; ex-President Herbert Hoover; and others went to the Roosevelt administration and said, “If you institute this plan, they’re going to fight to the death. And we have bombed Germany. So when we get into Germany, you’ll see that it’s almost depopulated now.”The net result was they canceled the Morgenthau Plan that would have permanently made Germany depopulated, disarmed, deindustrialized. What’s my point in bringing up this historical example? We the victors of World War II thought imposing a plan of deliberate deindustrialization, depopulization, disarmament, open borders, destroyed borders would be too Carthaginian, and so we backed off. And now we’re here 80 years after the rejection of the Morgenthau Plan and the German people, or the German leadership, have essentially updated it and inflicted it on themselves willingly, not by coercion. That’s a tragic irony and it’s something we should all take a very close look at.

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Trump has a much more acute sense of presidential time and how limited it is and how you need to use it quickly or you don’t maximize its value..”

• From Rockefeller to Musk: How CEOs and Presidents Shape America (Bluey)

One of America’s most successful businessmen is closely collaborating with the country’s commander-in-chief—with huge consequences for our government and economy. Elon Musk and President Donald Trump are the latest dynamic duo to showcase the role between private-sector CEO and America’s elected president. But they’re hardly alone in history. Presidential historian and former senior White House aide Tevi Troy writes about the complex relationships between corporate leaders and U.S. presidents in his latest book, “The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry.” Troy spoke with The Daily Signal about the historical examples he’s studied and more recent events.

Less than a month into Trump’s second term, Troy already sees notable differences from Trump’s first term. He said Trump’s previous presidential experience is clearly shaping his leadership style and use of executive time. “It really is a remarkable opening to a presidency and shows the contrast between someone who goes into the presidency not sure what they’re to do, which included Trump’s first term, but also Bill Clinton at the beginning of his administration, and then someone who comes in with experience who says, ‘I know exactly what I’m going to do and I’m going to do it,’” said Troy, who is a senior fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute. The presidential historian and author addressed the shifting dynamics between corporate America and the presidency, particularly with tech leaders like Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, and others who had front-row seats at Trump’s inauguration.

Troy explained that while these recent CEO moves toward Trump could be viewed as political opportunism, there’s more to the story. “The other side is how hostile the Biden administration was to these entities. Joe Biden even said, ‘I don’t like Mark Zuckerberg,’” Troy said. “Elon Musk had a whole bunch of regulatory actions targeting his companies.” Trump, meanwhile, appears to recognize that these corporate leaders—and their outsized role with artificial intelligence—will have far-reaching implications for American competitiveness. “We need to encourage AI so that America is the leader in AI going forward,” Troy said, suggesting that America’s free-market system provides an advantage over competitors like China, whose AI development is “handcuffed by the censorship of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Troy’s book, “The Power and the Money,” examines the relationships between 18 different CEOs and multiple presidents, offering insights into how these dynamics have shaped American policy and business over the past 150 years. For corporate leaders navigating today’s political landscape, Troy offered this advice: “CEOs need to increase their level of engagement in Washington, but decrease their level of partisanship. And that will allow them to be more influential over the course of multiple administrations.” As for Trump’s next four years, Troy has already observed a more strategic approach to staffing and time management in his second term. “Trump has a much more acute sense of presidential time and how limited it is and how you need to use it quickly or you don’t maximize its value,” Troy explained.

Troy praised Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for maintaining discipline within the White House. “The chief of staff role is hugely important. Susie Wiles … really brooked no nonsense during the campaign. You didn’t hear a lot of leaks. You didn’t hear a lot of infighting,” he said, contrasting this with Trump’s first term when he had four different chiefs of staff in four years. This might be most visible in Trump’s selection of staff, creating more cohesion at the White House and allowing him to move swiftly to implement his agenda.“The staff seem to be much more loyal to him. The first time there were a lot of people with a lot of different ideological perspectives,” Troy said, referencing his previous book “Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump.”

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“They can’t do that, especially when they have a serious record of Democrat activism and being hardcore against President Trump..”

• House GOP Drafting Impeachment Articles Against Judges Blocking DOGE (ZH)

House Republicans are drafting articles of impeachment against Democrat judges that have blocked various actions by the Trump administration, including those who have halted efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to The Hill: “Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) said he is drafting articles of impeachment against Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York, who in a ruling last weekend temporarily restricted Musk and DOGE aides from accessing a Treasury Department payment system. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) is working on an impeachment resolution against Rhode Island District Judge John McConnell Jr. over his ruling halting the Trump administration’s freeze on federal funding.

And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), chair of the House Oversight Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee, pledged in a hearing this week while referencing Engelmayer that “We will hold this judge and others who try to stop the will of the people and their elected leaders accountable.” “Our case for impeaching Judge Engelmayer is basically that he’s an activist judge trying to stop the Trump administration from, you know, executing their, you know, Article 2 powers to make sure that the laws are faithfully executed,” Crane told former Rep. Matt Gaetz earlier this week. Greene, meanwhile, said that she would support Engelmayer’s impeachment – arguing that judges can’t simply take power away from Cabinet secretaries.

“They can’t do that, especially when they have a serious record of Democrat activism and being hardcore against President Trump,” said Greene, adding “So, yeah, judges like that, they definitely should be impeached.” On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that “district court judges in liberal districts across the country are abusing their power to unilaterally block President Trump’s basic executive authority.” Engelmayer initially blocked everyone at the Treasury Department – including Secretary Scott Bessent, from accessing the agency’s database, however another judge overseeing the case later said that the order would not apply to Bessent. Rep. Clyde announced that he was working on impeachment articles, saying in a post on X that Judge McConnell Jr. is “a partisan activist weaponizing our judicial system to stop President Trump’s funding freeze on woke and wasteful government spending.”

It would take near-unanimous support from House Republicans to impeach one of the judges assuming no Democrats support the measure, while Democrat support would definitely be required to clear the 2/3 threshold to convict in the Senate. So basically, this is going nowhere. “Up till last Congress, the Speaker of the House had never been fired before,” said Crane. “I’m not a wait-and-see kind of guy — look around, hope somebody’s going to do something. I’m going to take action. And like I said, If this isn’t how we get to the, you know, the place that we need to be, I’m fine with that. But I’m not going to sit around and just, you know, watch these individuals stop President Trump from doing exactly what he told the American people he was going to do.”

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“..she chastised him for making everybody rush to a TRO when the matter could have been handled with a five-minute call with the Department of Justice..”

• Judge Declines to Halt Trump’s Firing of Inspectors General (ET)

A federal judge on Feb. 14 rejected an emergency bid by eight inspectors general fired by the Trump administration to have their jobs restored. District Judge of the District of Columbia Ana Reyes forced the attorney for the inspectors general to drop the request for a temporary restraining order during a virtual hearing, opting instead for an expedited schedule to hear their request for a preliminary injunction. Reyes expressed frustration that the plaintiff’s counsel, Seth Waxman, filed suit on Feb. 12 for the order requesting emergency same-day relief, which would have included backpay 21 days after the firings occurred, stating that her court’s staff was already overwhelmed with scores of other temporary restraining order requests. Demanding only yes or no answers, the judge asked several questions of Waxman.

He confirmed to her that the eight inspectors general were fired on Jan. 24 without Congress first being given a 30-day notice or “substantial rationale” for the termination and that they were able to retrieve all of their personal belongings. These former inspectors general were employed by the Defense, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, State, Education, Agriculture, and Labor departments and the Small Business Administration. The judge pointed out to Waxman that there was nothing stopping Trump from issuing that 30-day termination notice to Congress five minutes after a TRO (temporary restraining order) went through, this time with a written reason for their termination. Addressing the written complaint arguing the plaintiffs faced reputational damage, Reyes proposed that a 30-day return to the office with a written reason why they were unfit for their jobs could actually cause even more reputational harm than what was already given. All the public knows is that they were fired without cause, she said. There was no harm to their reputation because no cause, say of incompetence, was given, and such a termination could be seen as preferable.

She also criticized Waxman for referencing what he called a similar case in his written complaint, pointing out that the government employee who was fired in that instance was operating independently of the White House while his clients worked for agencies that took direction from the presidency. Reyes declined to even humor the merits of the temporary restraining order during the virtual hearing, which lasted less than 13 minutes, forcing the plaintiffs to drop it. When Waxman transitioned to an expedited briefing schedule, she chastised him for making everybody rush to a TRO when the matter could have been handled with a five-minute call with the Department of Justice. The defense counsel representing the heads of the various departments employing those inspectors general remained silent and opted not to weigh in on the matter.

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“..the agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the agency’s current needs..”

• Trump Makes First Supreme Court Appeal In Test of Power To Fire Officials (BBC)

President Donald Trump’s attempts to shrink the federal bureaucracy are heading to the Supreme Court, according to US media.He has filed an emergency appeal to the country’s highest court to rule on whether he can fire the leader of an independent whistleblowing agency. Hampton Dellinger, head of the US Office of Special Counsel, sued the Trump administration after he was fired by email this month. Trump has also sacked more than a dozen inspectors general at various federal agencies along with the jobs of thousands of employees across the US government. Mr Dellinger, who was nominated by Joe Biden, the former president, argues that his removal broke a law that protects leaders of independent agencies from being fired by the president, “except in cases of neglect of duty, malfeasance or inefficiency”.

A federal judge in Washington DC issued a temporary order on Wednesday allowing Mr Dellinger to hold on to his position while the case is being considered. On Saturday, a divided US Court of Appeals in the nation’s capital rejected the Trump administration’s request to overrule the lower court. That has led to the justice department filing an emergency appeal to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court. It is the first case the president has taken to the justices since he took office last month. “This court should not allow lower courts to seize executive power by dictating to the president how long he must continue employing an agency head against his will,” Sarah M Harris, acting solicitor general, wrote in the filing provided by the Department of Justice to the Washington Post.

“Until now, as far as we are aware, no court in American history has wielded an injunction to force the president to retain an agency head,” the acting solicitor general wrote, according to the Associated Press news agency. The Republican president’s orders on immigration, transgender issues and government spending have also become bogged down in dozens of lawsuits in the lower courts. Those cases may ultimately wind up at the Supreme Court, too. Trump’s efforts to reduce and reshape the 2.3 million-strong civilian federal workforce continued over the weekend.Workers in various health agencies who are still within their probation periods received letters on Saturday evening informing them they would be terminated, sources told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

“Unfortunately, the agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the agency’s current needs, and your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment at the agency,” read the letters. At least 9,500 workers at the departments of Health and Human Services, Energy, Veterans Affairs, Interior and Agriculture have been fired by Trump, according to a tally from Reuters news agency. Another 75,000 workers have taken a buyout offered to get them to leave voluntarily, according to the White House. The cost-cutting initiative has been led by department of government efficiency, or Doge, a task force led by Elon Musk.

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“..Musk is “taking away everything we have.” That is precisely what Americans asked for in reelecting Donald Trump…”

• Democrats and Unions Launch an Existential Fight Over Buyouts (Turley)

Thomas Paine once remarked, “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” With the approaching 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, much has clearly changed. President Donald Trump’s move to reduce government is now portrayed as evil in its own right. Elon Musk’s move to draw down various agencies was presented as a virtual return to the state of nature. Democratic members staged protests in front of various agencies to declare “war” and to accuse Trump of “destroying the government” by shrinking it. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D., Md.) Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Ma, declared “Every time you hear DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, you just remember it is the department of government evil.”

Americans say Trump is keeping his promises
The coordinated efforts of Democratic leaders and the mainstream media have once again not resonated with the public. Trump, according to polls, is now at higher popularity levels than during his first term. And a strong majority of Americans say Trump is keeping his promises, including in his efforts to reduce government spending and waste. Those efforts include a generous buyout offer for federal employees. The Trump administration offered federal workers the chance to stay home for months while receiving full pay if they would agree to resign from government employment.It was an extremely clever move. The best way to shrink the government is to get people to leave voluntarily. But Trump and Musk also have warned that layoffs will follow if not enough federal workers accepted the buyout.

It is a type of self-deportation from government service. And it worked, with about 75,000 federal workers accepting Trump’s offer before the deal ended Wednesday. It worked so well, in fact, that Democrats rushed to stop the voluntary exodus by falsely suggesting that it was a scam. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., warned employees that Trump would “stiff you,” even though the offer comes with the authority of the federal government. His colleague, Mark Warner (D, Va.) added ominously for workers to “Think twice. Has this individual in his business world ever fulfilled his contracts or obligations to any workers in the past?” At the same time, unions (looking at a major reduction of force) have filed with Democratic groups to stop these employees from taking the offer. They found a favorable court with U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole who enjoined the program.

However, after citywide celebrations over the injunction, the court then lifted the injunction on the buyout program, agreeing to allow the buyouts to go forward. Unions representing federal workers and liberal legal organizations are likely to now appeal O’Toole’s decision. The unions, which are facing a major reduction in dues-paying members, have a disturbing conflict of interest in trying to deny federal workers the benefits of an offer they chose to accept. The legal challenges to the buyout have relied on a plethora of arguments asserting that a president cannot allow employees to stay home and receive pay pending their departure from federal employment. Those arguments cited the Antideficiency Act, which bars agencies from spending beyond the money appropriated by Congress.

President has the authority to manage the executive branch
The counterargument is that money used for the buyouts was allocated to pay employees whose service normally continues year after year. Under Article II of the Constitution, the president is given ample discretion in running the executive branch, including the work status of federal employees. Congress clearly has a role in controlling use of the federal purse. For example, Congress can determine whether to allocate money to build certain Navy vessels. However, once the ships are built, it is the president who decides where to send them and who will serve on the crew. The commander in chief also can expand or shrink the size of the crew. Trump was well within his authority in offering to change employees’ duties while they look for new positions, and the employees had every right to agree to eight months of paid leave in exchange for their resignation from government service.

The opposition from Democrats and labor unions is the ultimate form of paternalism. In the name of protecting employees, opponents fought to prevent workers from accepting offers they believe are best for themselves and their families. Federal employees are entitled to protections in their employment. But they’re not entitled to permanent employment. Congress is entitled to appropriate money for specific purposes. But it is not entitled to manage the executive branch. Trump is very willing to fight on this hill. He holds a strong constitutional position and an even stronger political position.

For those who proclaimed themselves as defenders of democracy throughout last year’s election cycle, this is what democracy looks like. Voters made clear that they want changes in the size and the focus of government. Those voters are unlikely to be convinced by the warning of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that Musk is “taking away everything we have.” That is precisely what Americans asked for in reelecting Donald Trump.

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Bigger mystery than Kennedy’s murder.

• Rand Paul Supports Fort Knox Physical Audit (ZH)

One of the biggest questions over the past 50 years is whether the gold at Fort Knox, Kentucky is really there, or if it’s been plundered. What we do know is that the last ‘audit’ of America’s gold stash was conducted on Sept. 23, 1974, when the US Treasury opened just one of its 15 vaults at Fort Knox so politicians and reporters could swarm the site for a two-hour photo-op with roughly 6% of the alleged amount held. Adding to the complete farce, none of the bars being passed around for the cameras were matched to a serial number, assayed or tested for purity, or even verified as US holdings – as foreign countries have previously stored their gold at Fort Knox as well.

Since then there has been no independent verification of the roughly 4,580 metric tons supposedly held by the Treasury outside of bullshit annual ‘vault seal checks’ that don’t actually analyze the gold (oh, and they’ve ‘lost’ seven of those) – various efforts have been raised to audit Fort Knox – most recently in 2021, when Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) introduced (now-dead) legislation to audit America’s gold holdings with a full assay, inventory, and audit of all US gold – which would include a full account of gold transactions undertaken by the US government.

In 2010, former Libertarian Rep. Ron Paul called for an independent audit of Fort Knox. “It’d be nice for the American people to know whether or not the gold is there,” Paul said at the time.

With Elon Musk’s team at DOGE – including a gent who goes by the name “Big Balls” – investigating government-wide waste, fraud and abuse, we thought it might be helpful to point them towards Fort Knox… The suggestion immediately went viral on X, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) indicating he’s on board – replying to Musk with “Let’s do it.” Musk and team need to get to the bottom of just how deep the rot goes…

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Arab jews

 

 

Toys
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891110279649366275

 

 

Grok

 

 

Hello

 

 

Thai cat
https://twitter.com/i/status/1890863657350783065

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Rattle February 4 2025

Feb 042025
 
 February 4, 2025  Posted by at 11:11 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,  64 Responses »


Jean Metzinger The blue bird 1912-13

 

• Panama Caves to Trump. Are You Tired of Winning Yet? (Margolis)
• US Halts Tariffs On Mexican Goods After ‘Very Friendly’ Talk (RT)
• Trudeau Announces Tariff Deal With Trump (RT)
• China Retaliates Against Trump Tariffs (RT)
• Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, Tyranny on America (Paul Craig Roberts)
• Medvedev Warns That US Deep State Might Swallow Musk (ZH)
• USAID Closes Headquarters (RT)
• Musk: “USAID A Ball Of Worms, No Apple. Must Get Rid Of Whole Thing” (ZH)
• USAID Absorbed Into State Department Under Rubio (ZH)
• Ukraine Has Lost – Arestovich (RT)
• NATO Plans To Oust Zelensky – Russian Intel (RT)
• Ukraine Renews Efforts To Seize Russian Assets – WaPo (RT)
• ‘Shy Musk Voter’ Could Hand Victory to AfD (Sp.)
• NYT Shock Poll Reveals the Complete Collapse of Democratic Party (Pinsker)
• Pro-Russian Versus Anti-Russian Social Media (Helmer)
• Last Rites (James Howard Kunstler)
• Lawmakers Urge RFK Jr to Recuse Himself From All Vaccine-Related Decisions (ET)
• What Tulsi Gabbard Should Have Said About Ed Snowden (Larry Johnson)

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1886487372583637368

Kash

Mike Benz knows USAID

Jennings

Bernie

USAID Power
https://twitter.com/i/status/1886327327497285779

FCC
https://twitter.com/i/status/1886210118892867706

 

 

 

 

The tariff stories keep on coming, and rapidly. I put them in chronological order:

• Panama Caves to Trump. Are You Tired of Winning Yet? (Margolis)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Sunday, making it clear that the U.S. won’t tolerate China’s growing influence over the Panama Canal. “Secretary Rubio informed President Mulino and Minister Martínez-Acha that President Trump has made a preliminary determination that the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal,” the State Department said in a statement. “Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty.”

The Associated Press had an interesting take on the situation: “The statement was unusually blunt in diplomatic terms, but in keeping with the tenor and tone Trump has set for foreign policy. Trump has been increasing pressure on Washington’s neighbors and allies, including the canal demand and announcing Saturday that he was imposing major tariffs on Canada and Mexico. That launched a trade war by prompting retaliation from those close allies. Mulino, meanwhile, called his talks with Rubio “respectful” and “positive” and said he did not “feel like there’s a real threat against the treaty and its validity.” The news had barely settled before another bombshell dropped: Panama has backed down.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino announced that after his meeting Rubio, his government will not renew its 2017 memorandum with China on the “Belt and Road Initiative.” He also stated that Panama will seek to terminate its agreements with the Chinese government ahead of their scheduled end dates in 2027 and 2028. “One important thing, which is a decision I made and communicated to you, is that the 2017 MoU on the Silk Road, the Bell and Road Initiative, will not be renewed by my government. That is the case,” Mulino said according to a translation of his remarks. “We are going to study the possibility of whether it can be finished earlier or not, but I think it is due for renewal in one or two years, because it is every three years. So that initiative that was signed when it was signed, at the time it was signed, will not be renewed by my government. I think “that this visit opens a path to build a new stage of relations.”

He continued, “That’s how I see it, that’s how I felt from Secretary Marco Rubio, and at the same time, we’re trying as much as possible to increase U.S. investments in Panama. I explained to him a series of infrastructure projects that the government has in its portfolio, in the hope that they’ll be aware of them and that when the time comes, the bidding process that will begin very soon will be done, so that they can get involved.” They’re not just refusing to renew their 2017 deal with China; they’re scrambling to cut ties ahead of schedule. China’s influence over the canal is coming to an end.

Read more …

“..she agreed to deploy 10,000 Mexican soldiers to the northern border. The troops will be “specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our country..”

• US Halts Tariffs On Mexican Goods After ‘Very Friendly’ Talk (RT)

US President Donald Trump has announced that he is pausing the planned tariffs on Mexican imports for one month following a “very friendly” talk with his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. The announcement on Monday came two days after Trump imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, citing concerns over illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Levies of 10% were also imposed on Chinese imports. Trump wrote on his Truth Social social media platform that he had held a “very friendly conversation” with Sheinbaum, during which she agreed to deploy 10,000 Mexican soldiers to the northern border. The troops will be “specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our country,” Trump stated.

He added that the nations will engage in high-level negotiations led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for commerce secretary, from the US side. Sheinbaum confirmed the troop deployment in a post on X, highlighting a US commitment to curbing the “trafficking of high-powered weapons” into Mexico. She described the exchange as a “good conversation.” Over the weekend, tensions escalated when Trump accused Sheinbaum’s administration of an “intolerable alliance” with Mexican crime groups. Sheinbaum rejected the claim as “slanderous” and, in response, threatened retaliatory tariffs on US imports along with other measures to protect Mexico’s national interests.

The US and Mexico have a strong trade relationship, anchored by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced NAFTA in 2020. The deal eliminated most tariffs and trade barriers among the three nations. Millions of cars sold in the US each year are assembled in Canada and Mexico, with 30-50% of their parts sourced from these countries. While the tariffs on Mexico have been put on hold, the US is proceeding with those on Canada and China. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau swiftly announced 25% retaliatory tariffs on American goods following Trump’s measures on Canadian imports. China has also vowed “corresponding countermeasures” and signaled plans to challenge Trump’s move at the WTO. The tariff pause helped stabilize Wall Street on Monday, with major indices paring earlier losses.

Read more …

Rapidly shrinking big words.

• Trudeau Announces Tariff Deal With Trump (RT)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that the United States will postpone the imposition of 25% tariffs on Canadian imports for at least 30 days, following discussions with US President Donald Trump. The agreement was reached after a phone call between the two leaders on Monday, during which Canada committed to strengthening border security. The announcement follows President Donald Trump’s decision on Saturday to sign executive orders imposing tariffs—25% on imports from Mexico and Canada and 10% on imports from China—citing concerns over illegal immigration and drug trafficking. ”Proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while we work together,” Trudeau stated in a post on X.

“Canada is implementing our $1.3 billion border plan — reinforcing the border with new choppers, technology, and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl,” Trudeau added. As part of the deal, nearly 10,000 frontline personnel will be deployed to secure the border, according to the Canadian PM. Canada also announced new initiatives, including the appointment of a Fentanyl Czar, a government official responsible for coordinating efforts to combat the opioid crisis and prevent the trafficking of fentanyl. ”We will list cartels as terrorists, ensure 24/7 eyes on the border, and launch a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl, and money laundering,” Trudeau stated. “I have also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl, and we will be backing it with $200 million.”

President Donald Trump expressed his satisfaction with the initial outcome of the agreement with Canada in a recent post on Truth Social, stating, “I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30 day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured. FAIRNESS FOR ALL!” Earlier in the day, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reached a similar agreement with President Trump, agreeing to deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border to address fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration. In return, the US pledged to intensify efforts to stop weapon trafficking into Mexico. Markets experienced increased volatility with major stock indices and cryptocurrency valuations fluctuating, following in response to what has been described as a “Trump tariff tantrum” before recovering some of their losses after news broke of the deal with Mexico.

Trump has consistently emphasized tariffs as a key negotiation tool in trade discussions, both during his first term and following his re-election in 2024. Trump has not yet offered a 30-day delay for the new 10% tariffs on Chinese imports but told reporters on Monday that he anticipated discussions with China “probably over the next 24 hours.” On Sunday, Trump signaled that the European Union could be the next target for US tariffs, without specifying a timeline. In response, EU leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, emphasized their readiness to defend Europe’s interests and consider reciprocal measures if necessary.

Read more …

They’ll be talking imminently.

• China Retaliates Against Trump Tariffs (RT)

China has announced new tariffs and trade restrictions, following a similar move by the administration of US President Donald Trump, which views competition against China as a key foreign policy point. Last week, Trump ordered additional 10% tariffs on all goods from China, saying he is using his emergency authority to fight a national emergency caused by drug trafficking and illegal immigration. In the same executive action, the president targeted Canada and Mexico. Both US neighbors have since offered concessions on border security to deflate the growing trade conflict. The Chinese government responded minutes after the new tariffs came into force on Tuesday. It included restrictions on certain American goods – a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas, and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and some vehicles.

Announcing its policy change, the Chinese Finance Ministry condemned Trump’s decision, saying it “seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO)” and “undermines the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the US.” Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry announced that China has filed a complaint over the US tariffs with the WTO. Beijing has also introduced a licensing regime for exports of products containing tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum, and indium. The measure will “safeguard national security and interests” the Commerce Ministry said, without specifically mentioning the US. The minerals are essential for advanced manufacturing.

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“The United States has become too disunited for Congress to perform its constitutional function..”[..] “The same thing happened to Rome when executive authority took precedence over the Roman Senate..”

• Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, Tyranny on America (Paul Craig Roberts)

The US will impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and 10 percent on China, the Trump White House said. The purpose of tariffs is to protect domestic manufacturers and their work forces. What American manufacturers and workers are being protected by Trump’s tariffs? So much of US manufacturing is located offshore, what purpose are the tariffs serving? The “tariffs” in reality are taxes imposed on imports of foreign produced goods, including the offshored production of US corporations of goods and services sold in the US. If the tariffs are paid by the consumer rather than by the US corporations that offshore their production for the American market, the effect will be to reduce the quantity demanded because of the higher price. How much this harms the offshore producers depends on whether their products are price elastic or inelastic. Some are one and some are the other.

This approach to bringing offshored US jobs back to America is incorrect. It demonstrates the economic ignorance of Trump and his advisors. Consider, for example, if US auto assembly relies on parts made in Canada, a 25% rise in parts cost could shutdown auto assembly and result in US unemployment. As best as I can tell, few auto parts are any longer produced in the US, so there is no industry to protect or to supply the parts that tariffs keep out. Before you can protect industries, you first must have them. Instead of tariffs, the income tax should be used. US Corporations that produce domestically using American labor–not H-1B and L-1 imported labor– should have a lower tax rate. US corporations that produce abroad with foreign labor goods and services sold in the US should have a higher tax rate.

The tax rate should be high enough to more than offset the lower labor and regulatory cost of producing abroad for American markets. The higher after-tax profits from producing at home would bring manufacturing and jobs back to America where they belong. A country that divorces the consumers of products from the incomes associated with their production, as jobs offshoring does, is stupid and incompetent beyond belief. No such country can possibly be made great again. Some people believe, correctly or incorrectly, that this business model was imposed on America in an effort to destroy us, using threats to finance takeovers of the American firms that refused to abandon their American workforce and cities. In other words, offshoring America’s manufacturing sector was a step in turning America into third world country that makes nothing and imports its needs.

Is Trump overlooking one important element of making America Great Again? The moral element. It seems to be the case. Trump’s support for Israel is disturbing to Americans who still have a moral conscience and are shamed by Trumps support of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians and their country and their ethnic cleansing so that Trump’s son-in-law can become a multi-billionaire by developing Gaza as a resort. Another problem with Trump’s imposition of tariffs is that it is another encroachment of executive power on the authority of Congress. It used to be that tariffs were a legislative issue. For many years the South tried to prevent the North with the Missouri Compromise, and in other ways, from gaining a sufficient majority in Congress to impose a tariff on British goods that would require the South to finance in higher prices and lowered agricultural sales abroad the industrialization of the North.

The Morrill Tariff, a huge increase, was passed the day prior to Lincoln’s inauguration. The Northern congressmen also passed that day a resolution that if the South would stay in the Union and pay the tariff, a Constitutional Amendment would be passed institutionalizing slavery forever. Lincoln endorsed the federal government’s protection of slavery and declared that there would be no war against the South unless the South refused to pay the tariff. The agricultural South seeing ruin in the face succeeded from the Union. The tariff, not slavery was the issue. Lincoln called it insurrection and invaded. That is how the so-called “civil war” happened. Clearly it was no civil war. The South was not fighting for the control of the government, it had its own government. The South had to fight as it was invaded.

How did tariffs move from being an legislative issue to an issue of executive orders? We are witnessing in this transformation of power from the legislature to the executive the transformation of democracy into dictatorship. It has been going on for a long time: Lincoln, FDR, George W. Bush, Obama. The United States has become too disunited for Congress to perform its constitutional function. This is the real problem that America faces, and there is no awareness, no discussion. The same thing happened to Rome when executive authority took precedence over the Roman Senate. I look in vain for discussion of the real problem, and I cannot find it. In America despite Trump, or perhaps because of him, insouciance still rules.

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“Smart move by Elon Musk, trying to plug USAID’s Deep Throat. Let’s hope notorious Deep State doesn’t swallow him whole..”

• Medvedev Warns That US Deep State Might Swallow Musk (ZH)

Having long witnessed the phenomenon of USAID-backed ‘color revolutions’ in neighboring and regional former Soviet satellite countries, Russia has been closely following the Trump administration’s efforts to fully dismantle the United States Agency for International Development. Head of the recently established US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, has been spearheading this, saying on Monday that “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could gone to some great parties. Did that instead.” And now Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has weighed in with a message and a warning.The former Russian president and top national security official expressed hope that the US deep state won’t consume Elon Musk after shutting down the long-running agency known for having funded regime change operations abroad for many decades.

“Smart move by Elon Musk, trying to plug USAID’s Deep Throat. Let’s hope notorious Deep State doesn’t swallow him whole,” Medvedev wrote on X.Ironically this came the same day that never-Trump neocon and intellectual architect behind Bush’s disastrous Iraq war issued a tweet declaring his preference for the deep state, and he was being quite literal. “The deep state is far preferable to the Trump state,” Kristol said, in a rare moment saying what many other career government operatives are thinking, or saying the quiet part out loud. Interestingly Medvedev also took the opportunity Monday to blast Ukraine and President Zelensky over alleged ‘missing’ USAID funds meant for Kiev. According to Russia’s RT:

“Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s recent claim that he is unaware of the whereabouts of more than $100 billion of Western aid funds allocated to Kiev is a “brazen and cynical lie,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has suggested. In a Telegram post on Monday, Medvedev, who now serves as the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, accused Zelensky and his associates of embezzling significant sums. “In a fit of candor, the Bandera regime’s boss admitted that he and his cronies had siphoned off $100 billion,” he stated.” Zelensky had told the Associated Press in an interview published the day prior that Ukraine received just over $75 billion in military and other types of assistance, despite $177 billion in military aid had been approved under Biden.

“When it is said that Ukraine received $200 billion to support the army during the war – that’s not true. I don’t know where all that money went. Perhaps it’s true on paper with hundreds of different programs – I won’t argue, and we’re immensely grateful for everything. But in reality, we received about $76 billion. It’s significant aid, but it’s not $200 billion,” Zelensky said, in remarks that have raised eyebrows. There may also be serious questions from the new Trump administration over the line about not knowing where all that money went. Time for a full stoppage at least until there is a thorough US-sponsored audit? Medvedev has alleged, “The hundred billion lined the pockets of all kinds of kleptocrats from Washington to Kiev.”

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A lot of USAID news, some of it overlapping. Pretty insane that it could exist the way it did. This alone was enough reason to suspend foreign aid for 90 days. They knew reactions to that were inevitable.

• USAID Closes Headquarters (RT)

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has closed its main office in Washington DC, multiple US media outlets reported on Monday. Most personnel have reportedly been told to stay away from the building. The development comes after US President Donald Trump accused the agency’s leadership of being “radical lunatics” and proposed major changes to the organization. Established in 1961, USAID is responsible for administering foreign aid and development programs abroad to promote American interests. According to an email obtained and shared by CNN, USAID leadership directed that the “headquarters at the Ronald Reagan building in Washington, D.C. be closed to Agency personnel on Monday, February 3, 2025.”

“Agency personnel normally assigned to work at USAID headquarters will work remotely tomorrow, with the exception of personnel with essential on-site and building maintenance functions individually contacted by senior leadership,” the letter said. AP has confirmed the email, adding that more than 600 employees discovered overnight that they had been locked out of USAID’s computer systems. The development comes after Trump blasted the agency, arguing that “it’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics.” “We’re getting them out, and then we’ll make a decision,” he said. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and a close ally of the US president, has also been a fierce critic of USAID. He described it as a “criminal organization” which he believes was financing bioweapon research, including projects that allegedly led to the emergence of Covid-19.

“It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm in it. What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair,” Musk said. He also revealed that he had spoken with Trump, claiming that the president had “agreed” that USAID should be shut down. The crackdown on USAID comes after the Trump administration suspended foreign assistance, with a few exceptions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US would carry out a program-by-program review to determine which projects make “America safer, stronger or more prosperous.” He claimed that shutting down US-funded programs during the 90-day review had resulted in “a lot more cooperation” from recipients of various assistance.

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“..USAID is a front for the CIA. And together with NGO’s like the Open Society Foundation, they have been using US tax dollars & govt resources as their personal piggy bank..”

“..Musk’s involvement with DOGE suggests that the rapid counteroffensive against the Deep State is underway. What likely happened with USAID is a precision-guided strike aimed at severing the Deep State’s key funding source..”

• Musk: “USAID A Ball Of Worms, No Apple. Must Get Rid Of Whole Thing” (ZH)

About one day after the US Agency for International Development’s website went dark and its official X account disappeared, President Donald Trump addressed reporters Sunday night, declaring, “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics. And we’re getting them out.” By midnight, Elon Musk—who oversees the government efficiency initiative “DOGE”—provided taxpayers with an update on USAID’s status during a live X Spaces session. Musk told the more than 682,000 listeners who tuned in that the president “agreed we should shut it [USAID] down.” This would be one of the largest planned cuts to date, and the fate of USAID is likely that it will lose its independence and be rolled into the State Department.

“As we dug into USAID it became apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm in it, but we have actually just a ball of worms. If you have an apple with a worm in it, you can take the worm out. If you have a whole ball of worms, it’s hopeless. USAID is a ball of worms. There is no apple. And when there is no apple you just need to get rid of the whole thing. That’s why it’s got to go. It’s beyond repair,” Musk explained. Musk wrote on X, “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.” The move to end USAID as a stand-alone agency comes as the DOGE creator revealed: “Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded bioweapon research, including COVID-19, that killed millions of people?”

AP noted: “Musk’s comments come after the administration placed two top security chiefs at USAID on leave after they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to Musk’s government-inspection teams, a current and a former US official told The Associated Press on Sunday. Members of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, eventually did gain access Saturday to the aid agency’s classified information, which includes intelligence reports, the former official said. Trump has already ordered a freeze on foreign aid as part of his “America First” foreign policy. As some note, USAID has effectively served as a laundering scheme for the Deep State. [..] “Like I said before, USAID is a front for the CIA. And together with NGO’s like the Open Society Foundation, they have been using US tax dollars & govt resources as their personal piggy bank. It has been infuriating to watch. Hopefully now the whole truth will come out,” journalist Lara Logan wrote on X.

Musk’s involvement with DOGE suggests that the rapid counteroffensive against the Deep State is underway. What likely happened with USAID is a precision-guided strike aimed at severing the Deep State’s key funding source. Always follow the money—neutralizing the Deep State’s ability to launder taxpayer funds is a good start. Musk was also joined by DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) on X Spaces. Ramaswamy noted: “If USAID is rolled into the State Department, Marco Rubio will ensure grant scrutiny, preventing taxpayer funds from being stuffed into the coffers of the Deep State. And this will ultimately mark a historic shift in America’s role in the world.”

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“If USAID is rolled into the State Department, Marco Rubio will ensure grant scrutiny, preventing taxpayer funds from being stuffed into the coffers of the Deep State. And this will ultimately mark a historic shift in America’s role in the world.”

• USAID Absorbed Into State Department Under Rubio (ZH)

Update (1210ET) “USAID will be merged into the State Department with cuts in the workforce, but it will remain a humanitarian aid entity, sources told @saraecook and me. Trump admin expected to announce the moves in coming days. Discussions of reductions in funding were still fluid today,” CBS News senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs wrote on X. Over the last several days, the Trump administration’s move to strip USAID of its independence and be rolled into the State Department has been well-telegraphed with leaks and reports via media outlets. As we noted earlier: If USAID is rolled into the State Department, Marco Rubio will ensure grant scrutiny, preventing taxpayer funds from being stuffed into the coffers of the Deep State. And this will ultimately mark a historic shift in America’s role in the world.

All USAID lacked was grant distribution oversight, turning the agency into a Deep State slush fund. Not anymore, under Rubio at State.

* * *
About one day after the US Agency for International Development’s website went dark and its official X account disappeared, President Donald Trump addressed reporters Sunday night, declaring, “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics. And we’re getting them out.”

By midnight, Elon Musk—who oversees the government efficiency initiative “DOGE”—provided taxpayers with an update on USAID’s status during a live X Spaces session. Musk told the more than 682,000 listeners who tuned in that the president “agreed we should shut it [USAID] down.” This would be one of the largest planned cuts to date, and the fate of USAID is likely that it will lose its independence and be rolled into the State Department. “As we dug into USAID it became apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm in it, but we have actually just a ball of worms. If you have an apple with a worm in it, you can take the worm out. If you have a whole ball of worms, it’s hopeless. USAID is a ball of worms. There is no apple. And when there is no apple you just need to get rid of the whole thing. That’s why it’s got to go. It’s beyond repair,” Musk explained. Musk wrote on X, “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.”

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Arestovich is also still a candidate to succeed Zelensky.

“Trump will sort things out with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping “without consulting us, because engaging with those who deny reality is futile.”

• Ukraine Has Lost – Arestovich (RT)

Ukraine has lost the armed conflict with Russia, primarily due to the inability of the Ukrainian people to take personal responsibility for their failures, Aleksey Arestovich, a former aide to Vladimir Zelensky, has argued. He expects the US, Russia, and China to decide on a resolution without consulting Kiev. Arestovich resigned from his government post in early 2023 after making claims about a missile incident that contradicted the official narrative. He is now a sharp critic of the Zelensky administration. In a Telegram post on Sunday, he argued that the changing tone of Western discourse about Ukraine signals a significant policy change. US President Donald Trump will sort things out with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping “without consulting us, because engaging with those who deny reality is futile,” he wrote.

“We have lost the war due to our own stupidity, pride and stubbornness. In truth, we have defeated ourselves,” Arestovich added. “We have created a society of mutual hatred and intolerance, in which every individual is right and everyone collectively is to blame.” He cited several recent news stories, calling them a wakeup call for Ukrainians to acknowledge defeat and their role in it. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for the Ukraine conflict, has called on Kiev to resume presidential and parliamentary elections, which Zelensky suspended under martial law. Conservative US political commentator Tucker Carlson branded the Ukrainian leader “a dictator” during a debate with British television host Piers Morgan. Additionally, Washington’s decision last month to suspend foreign aid programs has forced many Ukrainian NGOs and media outlets to solicit for private donations to avoid shutdown.

Public statements and media reports suggest that the Trump administration seeks a freeze of the Ukraine conflict along existing frontlines. Moscow has said that it won’t accept an outcome that would allow Kiev to rebuild its military and renew hostilities in the future. The core causes of the conflict, including NATO’s expansion in Europe, need to be addressed in order for a sustainable peace agreement to be reached, Russian officials have asserted. The Ukrainian military is reportedly plagued by large-scale desertion and poor morale, while Russia continues to advance. Zelensky, meanwhile, has called on Kiev’s Western backers to deploy at least 200,000 troops as “peacekeepers.” He has also urged Trump to adopt a “peace through strength” approach to pressure Moscow into accepting truce terms favorable to Kiev.

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“..the bloc is reportedly preparing a campaign to discredit Zelensky ahead of Ukraine’s next presidential elections..”

• NATO Plans To Oust Zelensky – Russian Intel (RT)

NATO is considering trying to facilitate the removal of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky from power by discrediting him ahead of potential elections next fall, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed in a statement on Monday. The agency believes that Western officials see Zelensky as a key obstacle to peace talks with Moscow. Zelensky remains in office despite his term having officially expired last May. He has refused to step down and postponed presidential elections, citing the martial law imposed in 2022 following the escalation of the conflict with Russia. Western leaders are looking to “freeze” the conflict by pushing both Moscow and Kiev toward negotiations, but Zelensky is seen as a barrier, the SVR said.

“Washington and Brussels agree that the main obstacle to the implementation of such a scenario is Zelensky, who is referred to in Western circles as nothing more than ‘expendable material,’” the agency said in the statement, adding that “even NATO understands that Zelensky’s time is up.” To address this, the bloc is reportedly preparing a campaign to discredit Zelensky ahead of Ukraine’s next presidential elections, which the agency said could take place next fall. The SVR claimed that Western officials plan to release information linking Zelensky and his team to the embezzlement of over $1.5 billion in funds intended for purchasing military equipment.

Additionally, the report alleged that Zelensky’s administration was involved in schemes to divert the salaries of 130,000 deceased Ukrainian soldiers who remain listed as active service members. The SVR also claimed that Zelensky was implicated in the illegal sale of Western-supplied weapons to armed groups in Africa. The SVR suggested that the return of Donald Trump to the White House has created uncertainty over future Western support for Ukraine, which could accelerate efforts to replace Zelensky. According to the agency, NATO’s broader goal is to maintain Ukraine as an anti-Russian foothold, regardless of the situation on the battlefield. Neither NATO nor Ukrainian officials have responded to the SVR’s claims so far.

In an interview with the Associated Press on Saturday, Zelensky accused Russia of avoiding peace talks and reiterated his calls for Western security guarantees as a precondition for negotiations. He argued that Ukraine’s membership in NATO would be the “cheapest” option for the West to ensure such guarantees. Moscow has repeatedly stated its willingness to engage in peace talks but has pointed out that it is unable to do so because of the prohibition on negotiations with Russia announced by Zelensky in 2022. The Russian leadership has also stated that freezing the conflict is unacceptable and that Ukraine’s accession to NATO cannot be allowed. Russian officials have maintained that Ukraine’s neutrality, its withdrawal from Russian territories, and legal protections for Russian-speaking populations are necessary conditions for any settlement.

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“Kiev reportedly hopes to persuade Washington to back the move by suggesting the money be used to pay for US weapons..”

• Ukraine Renews Efforts To Seize Russian Assets – WaPo (RT)

Ukraine has renewed its push to confiscate frozen Russian assets following Donald Trump’s reelection as US president, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing anonymous officials. Kiev hopes Trump’s business acumen and influence over the EU could sway opponents of the move toward supporting it, the newspaper claimed. After the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022, Western states froze an estimated $300 billion belonging to the Russian central bank held in foreign depositories, a move Russia has branded as theft. While proceeds from the assets are already being used to back a $50 billion loan for Ukraine from the G7, most Western nations have stopped short of seizing the assets themselves. Opponents of the move, including Belgium, Germany, and France, fear it could set a legal precedent and undermine trust in the Western banking system.

According to the Washington Post, Ukrainian officials believe Trump could persuade skeptical countries if he sees the move as beneficial for the US. “We firmly believe that it’s President Trump who can be a change maker,” Irina Mudra, deputy head of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’ office, told the news outlet. “[Trump] has the power to change the stance of more-skeptical countries… they know he’s not joking, that his are not just hollow words. That’s exactly why we need his help convincing our partners that transferring Russian assets is a necessary tool to finish this war,” she added. Kiev plans to frame the seizure of Russian assets as an alternative source of funding for weapons and reconstruction. Zelensky claimed in an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman that he had “spoken to Trump” about using the money to buy US-made arms.

“I told him, take the $300 billion of frozen Russian assets… and we will buy all the weapons from the US… It will be very good for your industry,” Zelensky said, describing it as one of Ukraine’s key security guarantees for future peace talks with Moscow. Analysts suggest the proposal may appeal to Trump, given his ‘America First’ stance and calls to cut foreign aid. “That’s a very clear quid pro quo. And they would love for Trump to adopt that argument and basically say to the Europeans, ‘Look, if you want me to continue to supply Ukraine with weapons, well, let’s buy them with Russian assets,’” Jacob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics told the news outlet.

Former US President Joe Biden’s administration previously expressed cautious support for the idea, but Trump’s stance remains unclear. Some EU countries reportedly prefer to keep the assets frozen as potential leverage in future peace negotiations with Moscow. Russia has repeatedly condemned the freezing of its assets. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned in December that Moscow would pursue legal action against any attempts to channel the funds “stolen” from the country to Ukraine. Russian officials also warned Moscow could mirror the West’s actions by tapping income from frozen Western assets held in the country.

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“In a surprising twist, AfD co-chair Alice Weidel leads as the most popular choice for chancellor on 35%..”

• ‘Shy Musk Voter’ Could Hand Victory to AfD (Sp.)

A new survey by the Washington-based Democracy Institute has sent shockwaves through European politics. It suggests the Euroskeptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) is on the brink of winning the country’s snap elections—and Elon Musk might play a key role. The AfD is now the second-strongest party with 25% support, trailing the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) by just two points, the poll shows Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) are third place on 15% and the Greens fourth with 13%.

In a surprising twist, AfD co-chair Alice Weidel leads as the most popular choice for chancellor on 35%, leading CDU head Friedrich Merz by nine points. But the real shocker? A striking 28% of Germans say they are more likely to vote AfD due to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s endorsement, compared to 23% who say they are “less likely”. Democracy Institute director Patrick Basham dubbed the phenomenon the “shy Musk voter”. The German Bundestag elections are set for February 23.

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“..the Democrats are in a PR freefall. Keep an eye on the numbers: Should the Dems’ unfavorable rating hit the mid-60s, it will likely lead to a full-on liberal-on-liberal civil war for control of the party.”

• NYT Shock Poll Reveals the Complete Collapse of Democratic Party (Pinsker)

It happens a lot: You’ll hear about a new movie or TV show with a really cool, totally original premise, but alas, the writers and actors fumbled the football in the execution. The first few minutes are promising, but you quickly realize that the script’s premise far exceeded the participants’ talents. It’s frustrating and annoying. An example of this is the 1995 supernatural thriller “The Prophecy,” starring Christopher Walken and Viggo Mortensen, where humans discover a “lost” chapter in the Book of Revelation:
Joseph: What is it?
Thomas Daggett: Twenty-third chapter of Saint John’s Revelations.
Joseph: And?
Thomas Daggett: There is no twenty-third chapter.
Joseph: Well, maybe this is the Teacher’s Edition.
Here’s the 78-second original trailer:

The film has its moments (and actually spawned a ridiculous number of straight-to-video sequels). But I can’t recommend it; way too much silliness and nonsensical writing. But there’s an absolutely brilliant line of dialogue in the very beginning: “Some people lose their faith because Heaven shows them too little. But how many people lose their faith because Heaven showed them too much?” I was thinking about that quote when I read today’s article in The New York Times, “Most Americans Say the Democratic Party Does Not Share Their Priorities.” As the article states:Many Americans say they do not believe the Democratic Party is focused on the economic issues that matter most to them and is instead placing too much emphasis on social issues that they consider less urgent.

Asked to identify the Democratic Party’s most important priorities, Americans most often listed abortion, L.G.B.T.Q. rights and climate change, according to a poll from The New York Times and Ipsos conducted from Jan. 2 to 10. The issues that people cited as most important to them personally were the economy and inflation, health care and immigration, the poll found. The kinds of social causes that progressive activists have championed in recent years ranked much lower. When it comes to publicity and brand-building, the GOP is often forced to go off-roading — hitting the podcasts or using alternative media — since the mainstream outlets are unwelcoming. At first, this greatly handicapped the GOP’s outreach, but as we say, “Necessity is the mother’s milk of invention.”

The Republican adapted and evolved: They learned how to streamline their message, master the social media game, and claim an ownership stake in emerging, nontraditional outlets. And now, we’re better at it. Meanwhile, the Democrats always had an embarrassment of riches: They didn’t have to streamline anything! They controlled broadcast television, the daily papers, and all the syndicated news services. There’s no need to streamline when you’ve been given unlimited real estate. And so, they didn’t: On issues likes gender, Hamas, late-term abortion, and radical climate change initiatives, they let their liberal freak flag fly. They kept circling further and further to the left. To echo “The Prophecy,” the Democrats didn’t lose in 2024 because they showed the voters too little. They lost because they showed the voters too much.

The article continued: “The country remains deeply divided over Mr. Trump’s leadership, with roughly equal shares of people saying that his second term is cause for celebration or concern. But the poll suggests that people do not view the Democratic Party as an appealing alternative. In a broad sense, the poll, which surveyed a representative sample of 2,128 adults nationwide, found that Americans think the Republican Party is more in sync with the mood of the country. The issues that people said mattered most to Republicans were also, for the most part, the issues that mattered to them: immigration, the economy, inflation and taxes. That’s the beauty of competing in a binary marketplace: You don’t have to be perfect. You can still make lots of mistakes. All that matters is that you’re better than the alternative. [..] The article continued:

“Overall, voters view the Democratic Party more negatively than the Republican Party, according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted the week after Mr. Trump took office. The 57 percent unfavorable rating for Democrats is the highest Quinnipiac has recorded for the party since it first started asking the question in 2008.” Right now, the Democrats are in a PR freefall. Keep an eye on the numbers: Should the Dems’ unfavorable rating hit the mid-60s, it will likely lead to a full-on liberal-on-liberal civil war for control of the party. Those numbers would threaten their ability to raise money or compete nationally, and simply aren’t sustainable. And if we know anything about today’s Democratic Party, we know how much it values money. Interestingly, The New York Times specifically labeled the LGBTQ plank as especially problematic to the Democrats’ public image:

“On lesbian, gay and transgender rights, people perceive the Democratic Party’s priorities as particularly misaligned with their own. Just 4 percent of Americans listed L.G.B.T.Q. issues as very important to them personally. But 31 percent said they were a Democratic Party priority.” Once again, the Democrats lost because they showed the voters too much. They were marketing to their activists instead of to the voters. I’ve never met Democratic strategist Adam Jentleson (I don’t believe), but he 100% nailed the problem: “Politics is about perception,” said Adam Jentleson, a Democratic strategist who has urged his party to rethink how much influence it allows activist groups to have over its agenda. “And people perceive Democrats as being focused on the demands of activists instead of kitchen table issues.”I suspect Jentleson’s advice will fall on deaf ears. The liberal activists aren’t going away; they’d rather destroy the Democratic Party internally than cede an inch of ideological turf. They’re (im)moral absolutists. And thus, the cycle will continue.

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“As a rule you couldn’t win over your enemies, but you could lose your friends.”

• Pro-Russian Versus Anti-Russian Social Media (Helmer)

When Tulsi Gabbard, nominee to be the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), was asked by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence what she thought of Russia Today (RT), she replied: “RT News is a propaganda arm of the Russian state government and is not a reliable source of objective news reporting.” This was one of the few unequivocal responses Gabbard gave to the hostile questioning she faced from the Russia warfighters on the Intelligence Committee last week. She also implied – but stopped short of saying — that if a news medium, publication, tweet, or podcast is paid for by a government or one of its agencies – any government, any medium including the Voice of America and the British Broadcasting Corporation — it follows that whatever is reported is state propaganda, so its truth value is zero and should be dismissed. This is the 400-year old maxim that he who pays the piper calls the tune.

It’s not the rule for truth-telling which the Anglo-American courts observe – beyond reasonable doubt for capital crimes, balance of probabilities for civil offences. It is also not the rule of truth-telling in politics the world over. “It was worthwhile making sure of your potential friends,” the English science official and novelist C.P. Snow put into the mouth of an ambitious cabinet minister he knew in London a half-century ago. “As a rule you couldn’t win over your enemies, but you could lose your friends.” In the present information war accompanying the military and economic campaigns against Russia, Snow’s rule should be understood to mean that telling the truth isn’t going to win over the enemy. Gabbard’s condemnation of RT at the Senate is a proof of that. Snow’s rule is also a warning that truth-telling risks alienating your allies – particularly those allies competing for reward from the Pied Piper.

Throughout his career, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has accepted and followed the Snow rule: he always keeps his friends, the Russian ones. But Putin, his officials and friends have misunderstood the other half of the rule. Since 2000 their attempts to win over Russia’s enemies by persuasion have been a mistake they have been slow to acknowledge and learn from.

Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin were quicker learners. They understood it was impossible by means other than force against their enemies, so they didn’t put their trust in persuasion. They also shared an ideology explaining why the protracted combat which engaged them, including class war and war against imperialism, was relentless, permanent. Since Lenin and Stalin had few friends and ended up treating most of them as enemies, the second half of the rule, risking loss of friends, didn’t apply in Russia for the entire 20th century. Mikhail Gorbachev got both parts of the rule wrong. For different reasons, so did Boris Yeltsin. Their mistakes have cost Russia and the Russians severely, especially those who thought the permanent war between Russia and the US had ended with the collapse of Communist Party rule in 1991.

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“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could have gone to some great parties. Did that instead.” — Elon Musk

• Last Rites (James Howard Kunstler)

“In private meetings and at public events, elected Democrats appear leaderless, rudderless and divided. They disagree over how often and how stridently to oppose Mr. Trump. They have no shared understanding of why they lost the election, never mind how they can win in the future.” — The New York Times.

Maybe that’s because the four years of “Joe Biden” was little more than a vaudeville show in front of the curtain, distracting you from what was going on backstage — the world’s biggest political racketeering operation as conducted by a vast bureaucracy gone wild and mad: the blob in florid, mature efflorescence, doing its blob-thing to the max, looting and punking the nation. Now it is all being uncovered, disclosed, unmasked.

Think of the Democratic Party as the entertainment arm of the overall operation. Its aim has basically been to induce you to doubt your sanity. You were asked to swallow one fabulous absurdity after another — lockdowns, vaccines that don’t prevent illness, mostly-peaceful arson, US soldiers in puppy masks, pronoun police, shoplifting-is-reparations, the wide-open border — an epic acting-out of manifold mental illness in living color. The climax was drag-queens in the primary schools, obese men in fright-wigs presenting nightmare varieties of Mom-as-monster, often with some exposure of their male junk as part of the act. Suburban mothers watched approvingly, insisting on video that this was all wholesome, edifying fun for the kiddies (while some of the more insane moms went even further at home, coaxing their little kids toward medical “transitioning”).

Can you grok how insane all this was? So, if you were a Democratic Party strategist, perhaps the first thing you’d consider these days is to stop being insane. Second, at this particular juncture, you might consider apologizing to the people of this land for your heinous antics of recent years — like an alcoholic parent who has acted very badly against the family — and promise to make the effort to get your shit together. This is obviously the part that Democrats are struggling with now, and it explains why they pretend to be at such a loss to make course corrections. Of course, any further failure to come to grips with all this will lead to the death of the Democratic Party. Never in history has a political faction gone out in such pathetic ignominy.

Yet it is not just this feckless party that needs to expiate its shame, it is also America’s thinking class as a whole, its “experts,” its managers, its educated elites, its doctors and lawyers, its curators of “news” and opinion, and most of the denizens of showbiz. For the moment, they are all cowering and shuddering before the juggernaut of Mr. Trump, who they so grievously underestimated.

They know — they can see in plain view — that he is coming for them, and many might find themselves called to account in a rebalanced justice system. Many of them committed crimes against the nation and its citizens. The raft of lawyers fired out of the DC federal district this weekend for cause —namely, for conducting overtly malicious prosecutions under dubious predication — are an early sign. Ditto, the warning issued to Chuck Schumer concerning his 2020 incitement of violence against Supreme Court justices. Imagine, too, how many officials in the public health agencies need to answer for their roles in Covid-19 — the creation of it in their labs, the worthless vaccines, and the deadly treatment protocols they insisted on.

Now, the fate of the blob itself is a thing somewhat apart from the fate of this evil vaudevillian Democratic Party fronting for it. A purge of the blob is pretty clearly underway. USAID was shot dead like a rabid dog over the weekend. The agency had gone completely rogue, serving (Mike Benz explains) as the pivot between every nefarious operation coming out of the CIA, the DOD, and the State Department’s many black box units. The billions of dollars laundered out of USAID went to support hundreds of NGOs, many of them dedicated to harming the life of this nation, such as the orgs that handed out money to illegal aliens and advice on evading detection in-country. And these many NGOs represented an employment racket for the “elite overproduction” of grads coming out of universities with useless degrees and Maoist political training. There was, of course, a giant revolving door between these NGOs and the activist ranks of the Democratic Party.

The country needs a functioning, sane, opposition party to whoever is in power, since power inevitably corrupts. Like any other powerful office-holder, Mr. Trump needs a governor and guard-rails on his actions. Something will have to take the Democratic Party’s place, maybe even a group that uses the same name for convenience and the sake of tradition. But it will have to jettison just about everything the party stands for in its current incarnation, its insane ideas and policies. It might also consider the value of not lying about everything it does.

Read more …

Kennedy’s role is a bit murky.

• Lawmakers Urge RFK Jr to Recuse Himself From All Vaccine-Related Decisions (ET)

Several Democrat lawmakers said on Feb. 2 that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should commit to avoiding all decisions related to vaccines if he becomes the next U.S. health secretary. “Given the breadth of your involvement in vaccine litigation, such a recusal would help ensure that you and your family do not benefit financially from official government actions that you will oversee and control,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), wrote in a letter to Kennedy. President Donald Trump has selected Kennedy, a lawyer, to take over the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The department includes the Food and Drug Administration, which clears vaccines, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issues vaccine guidance that is widely adopted by states.

The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled this week to vote on Kennedy’s nomination. If a majority approves, the nomination will be sent to the full Senate. Kennedy said in an ethics agreement that, if he is confirmed, he would resign from a consulting arrangement with the Wisner Baum law firm that involves referring cases to the firm. “Pursuant to the referral agreement, I am entitled to receive 10% of fees awarded in contingency fee cases referred to the firm. I am not trying these cases, I am not an attorney of record for the cases, and I will not provide representational services in connection with the cases during my appointment to the position of Secretary,” Kennedy wrote. The Finance Committee identified at least five cases related to litigation over the Gardasil human papillomavirus vaccine in which Kennedy is still listed as the attorney of record.

“When questioned by the Committee, you did not directly acknowledge this omission or provide clarity about any financial compensation you might receive related to these cases,” Wyden and Warren said. While Kennedy agreed to divest from those cases, Kennedy declined to recuse himself from decisions related to Gardasil in written communication with the panel, the senators said. He also disclosed that he was divesting his interest in cases referred to Wisner Baum to his adult son, which would let an immediate family member benefit from Kennedy’s secretary role if Kennedy is confirmed, they added. Recusing from vaccine-related decisions and communications will “ensure vaccine-related policymaking and communications are not inappropriately skewed by your personal views at the expense of scientific evidence,” they wrote.

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A number of senators insisted Tulsi should call Snowden a traitor. Larry Johnson has the perfect riposte:

“..the answer to your question is quite simple — Edward Snowden has not been charged with treason and has not met the legal standards required to impose such charges. Therefore, Edward Snowden is not a traitor.”

• What Tulsi Gabbard Should Have Said About Ed Snowden (Larry Johnson)

Democrat Senator Michael Bennet, who I think is a disgraceful representative of his Colorado constituents, played a silly and dishonest game of gotcha with Tulsi Gabbard during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Bennet demanded that Tulsi declare Ed Snowden, who exposed Top Secret US government programs that illegally spied on US citizens, as a traitor. Tulsi refused to take the bait. Tulsi is a very smart person and a woman of unimpeachable character. I hope she is confirmed. That said, she missed a golden opportunity to school Senator Bennet. Here is what I wish she had said:

“Senator, Edward Snowden has not been charged with treason. You’re asking me, as part of a political stunt, to cave to political pressure and give you the answer you want. Sir, that is not what you want for a Director of National Intelligence (DNI). I am here today to explain to you why I am qualified and competent to serve as a DNI. My first obligation is to present the President and his aides with the best intelligence and facts. Not my opinions. Here are the facts: The U.S. government charged Mr. Snowden with two counts of violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property after he leaked classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA). He violated his Non-Disclosure Agreement.

I would note that The Espionage Act of 1917 is a U.S. federal law that primarily addresses issues related to national security, such as the unauthorized gathering, possession, or transmission of defense-related information that could harm the United States or aid a foreign nation. That clearly applies to Mr. Snowden’s case. It covers a wide range of activities, including spying, sharing classified information, sabotage, and other acts that could undermine national security. In the case of Mr. Snowden, he stands accused of unlawfully divulging classified information. A violation of the Espionage Act does not necessarily require intent to betray the United States. It can involve negligence or recklessness in handling sensitive information. In Mr. Snowden’s case, we face a conundrum. Mr. Snowden also took a pledge to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Mr. Snowden claims that he only took the actions he did because of the consistent and demonstrated pattern of hostility by the US government towards whistleblowers. Mr. Snowden cited the precedent of the US government’s menacing actions towards previous NSA whistleblowers, such as Bill Binney, Ed Loomis, Kirk Wiebe and Thomas Drake. Drake was wrongly charged under the Espionage Act. You are demanding that I declare Edward Snowden a traitor, even thought the US government has declined to charge him with that count. Treason is explicitly defined in the U.S. Constitution (Article III, Section 3) as levying war against the United States or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. It is a much narrower offense and requires a direct act of betrayal against the United States, such as providing material support to an enemy during wartime.

While Mr. Snowden was granted asylum in Russia, we were not at war, in the legal sense of the word, with Russia at the time. If confirmed as the DNI, my primary responsibility is to present the President and his team with the best facts and intelligence available. There is no place for my opinion or personal beliefs in carrying out those duties. I will set politics aside and ensure the President is provided with the best intelligence available, regardless of whether it promotes or threaten the President’s political agenda. I leave the politics to you. So, Senator Bennet, the answer to your question is quite simple — Edward Snowden has not been charged with treason and has not met the legal standards required to impose such charges. Therefore, Edward Snowden is not a traitor.”

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Psaki

 

 

Leavitt

 

 

33

 

 

Real girls

 

 

Bears

 

 

Italy husky

 

 

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Debt Rattle January 10 2025

Jan 102025
 
 January 10, 2025  Posted by at 10:35 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,  78 Responses »


Pablo Picasso Le pigeon aux petits pois (Pigeon with Peas) – stolen May 20 2010 1911

 

• ‘It’s All Talk’: Trump Accuses Biden of Sabotaging ‘Smooth Transition’ (RCW)
• Supreme Court Rejects Trump Request To Stop Sentencing In Hush Money Case (ZH)
• ‘Putin Wants To Meet’ – Trump (RT)
• Jim Rogers Predicts Russian Economic Boom (RT)
• Trump Serious About Acquiring Greenland – Reuters (RT)
• Erik Prince: Trump Was Closer To Buying Greenland Than Previously Known (ZH)
• Trump Tells California Governor Newsom To Resign (RT)
• 150 EU Officials To Monitor Elon Musk Conversation With Alice Weidel (RMX)
• Key Points From Musk’s Talk With AfD Leader (RT)
• Zelensky Says Send Western Troops To ‘Force Russia To Peace’ (ZH)
• Kiev Hunting Half A Million Draft Dodgers (RT)
• Netanyahu Cancels Trip To Trump’s Inauguration (RT)
• Slovak PM Fico Warns Of Looming EU Collapse (RT)
• Senators Introduce Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent (ET)
• Joe Rogan and Mel Gibson Puzzled That Fauci ‘Is Still Walking Around’ (RT)

 

 


(Photo credit: MoD Crown Copyright via Getty Images)

 

 

Adult

Nvidia

Mel Gibson
https://twitter.com/i/status/1877505358530265478

 

 

 

 

We’ll have 10 days in absolute nowhere land. Happy smooth transition.

“Decades ago, this sort of petty behavior was limited to the Clinton team taking the ‘W’ off the keyboard before Bush took office. Now we have this sort of crap..”

• ‘It’s All Talk’: Trump Accuses Biden of Sabotaging ‘Smooth Transition’ (RCW)

President Biden and President-elect Trump sat side-by-side in the Oval Office after the election exchanging pleasantries in front of the cameras, both promising “a smooth transition.” Biden vowed to “do everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated,” insisting the president-elect would get “what you need.” Trump replied, “I very much appreciate that,” agreeing with the president that the coming transfer of power would be “as smooth as it can get.” That era of good feeling, if it hadn’t already, ended two weeks from inauguration day. “They say we’re going to have a smooth transition,” Trump said Tuesday during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate, “all they do is talk. It’s all talk.” The incoming president feels sabotaged by the outgoing president on at least two fronts: A sudden and sweeping offshore drilling ban and his imminent sentencing in his New York hush money trial.

Biden announced earlier this week that he would protect 625 million acres of ocean from offshore oil and gas drilling along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea. An environmentalist, he has conserved more land and waters than any other president in history and condemned the “false choice” of choosing “between protecting the environment and growing our economy” when announcing the ban under a provision of the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Predictably, Trump balked. “It is like the whole ocean,” he said while reflecting on the vast acreage and complaining that his predecessor had just “destroyed the economic viability of drilling in the ocean.” “I’m going to have it revoked on day one,” he continued before indicating that such a move would likely incur legal challenges. And he should know.

Trump tried to reverse former President Barack Obama’s ban on drilling in Arctic and Atlantic waters through executive action, only to be blocked by a federal court in 2019. The judge ruled that reversing a ban would require congressional action. Democratic administrations tend to be more conservation-minded, while Republican ones are more permissive of oil and gas production. This is nothing. During the campaign, Trump often bragged about how the United States became a net exporter of fossil fuels during his tenure, boasting about the vast reserves of “liquid gold under our feet,” a supply far greater “than any other country.” And while the U.S., in fact, hit record highs of domestic oil production in the last four years, Biden hastened and cheered the transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy.

The latest conservation effort is more than just energy policy in the eyes of Trump. It is instead a direct attempt to hamstring his strategy to bring down inflation before that plan can even start. During remarks at the Detroit Economic Club, Trump vowed that increased drilling would bring down gas prices and reduce manufacturing inputs, thus “driving down inflation.” At Mar-a-Lago, an optimistic president-elect pegged the value of offshore drilling at $50 trillion, complaining that Biden “has thrown it away.” Of course, there is no love lost between Trump and Biden. The Republican calls his counterpart “the worst president in history.” The Democrat regularly called his predecessor “a threat to democracy.” “Decades ago, this sort of petty behavior was limited to the Clinton team taking the ‘W’ off the keyboard before Bush took office. Now we have this sort of crap,” Mick Mulvaney, who served as Trump’s second chief of staff, told RealClearPolitics.

He also pointed to federal employees at the EPA racing to lock in union contracts ahead of a second Trump term as more evidence of a permissive outgoing president stymieing his successor. “It’s outrageous and will likely lead to a bipartisan effort to dramatically curtail presidential authority,” Mulvaney added, “especially during lame duck periods.” While Biden sees last-minute conservation as part of legacy building, Mulvaney and other Republicans see it as an ongoing failure of Democrats to understand the electorate. “What I can’t understand is this: If this is about your legacy, why make your legacy something that American voters just soundly rejected?” added the former chief. “If they thought banning offshore drilling was a good idea, they could’ve voted for Kamala.”

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The last one left of a long series of cases. He should wear it as a badge of honor.

• Supreme Court Rejects Trump Request To Stop Sentencing In Hush Money Case (ZH)

The Supreme Court on Jan. 9 rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s request to halt proceedings in his New York business records case, removing a potential barrier to sentencing scheduled for Jan. 10, The Epoch Times reports. The brief order – which ensures Trump will be branded a “convicted felon” at his inauguration in 10 days – noted that Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh would have granted the application. In other words, Trump appointee Amy Coney Barrett sided with the liberals on the bench. In retrospect, CNN belief that Justice Barrett might be the “last best hope for Supreme Court liberals” proved to be accurate. Thanks to Barrett’s defection, the Supreme Court will stand by as Judge Juan Merchan sentences Donald Trump over felony offenses that many legal analysts consider to be a sham.

The Supreme Court offered two reasons it said it refused to grant the application. “First, the alleged evidentiary violations at President-elect Trump’s state-court trial can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal. Second, the burden that sentencing will impose on the President-Elect’s responsibilities is relatively insubstantial in light of the trial court’s stated intent to impose a sentence of ‘unconditional discharge’ after a brief virtual hearing,” a note on the Supreme Court’s docket read. After the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump wrote on TruthSocial that he appreciated the “time and effort of the United States Supreme Court in trying to remedy the great injustice done to me.” He went on to say that he was innocent and would appeal the case. “For the sake and sanctity of the Presidency, I will be appealing this case, and am confident that JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL,” Trump wrote.

Trump’s application for a stay was submitted on Jan. 8 and argued that “the prospect of imposing sentence on President Trump just before he assumes Office as the 47th President raises the specter of other possible restrictions on liberty, such as travel, reporting requirements, registration, probationary requirements, and others—all of which would be constitutionally intolerable under the doctrine of Presidential immunity.” New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has indicated that he wouldn’t impose a punishment including incarceration. He denied Trump’s request to halt proceedings as did two state appeals courts this week. Trump told the U.S. Supreme Court that Merchan had erroneously admitted certain evidence of his official acts as president and failed to acknowledge a form of immunity for presidents-elect. He asked the court to take up his case and consider those issues, as well as whether he was entitled to an automatic stay due to an appeal on presidential immunity.

Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying records in relation to an alleged payments to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford. Merchan is expected to enter a judgment of conviction on Jan. 10 and potentially offer a statement criticizing Trump’s behavior. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the indictment against Trump in 2023, told the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 9 that it should reject Trump’s application and allow the state courts to continue handling the issue. Bragg said Trump was asking for an extraordinary intervention by the justices and that Trump had not yet exhausted his state-court remedies. “Any stay here risks delaying the sentencing until after January 20, when defendant is inaugurated and his status as the sitting President will pose much more severe and potentially insuperable obstacles to sentencing and finality,” Bragg’s brief read. The president-elect said that the opinion written by Merchan “goes against our Constitution, and, if allowed to stand, would be the end of the Presidency as we know it.”

Read more …

“He wants to meet, and we are setting it up..”

• ‘Putin Wants To Meet’ – Trump (RT)

US President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday that a meeting is being set up between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “He wants to meet, and we are setting it up,” Trump said before a meeting with Republican governors in his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, according to Reuters. He did not specify when the meeting would take place. Trump, who takes office on January 20, has criticized outgoing President Joe Biden’s unconditional aid to Kiev and, during his election, has vowed to quickly compel Russia and Ukraine to restart negotiations.

He also described Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky as the “greatest salesman on earth,” in reference to his constant requests to Western countries to provide additional military and financial assistance. Although Trump did not reveal a clear roadmap for peace, media reports indicate that his team is considering freezing the conflict along the current front line. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow “had received no requests” for a Trump-Putin meeting. “It makes sense, of course, to wait until [Trump] takes office,” Peskov said.

Trump’s incoming Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, has expressed hope that he can hammer out a deal between Russian and Ukraine within 100 days after Inauguration Day. He also criticized Biden for not speaking to Putin since 2022, when Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine. Negotiations between Moscow and Kiev broke down in spring 2022, with both sides accusing each other of making unrealistic demands. According to Putin, the Ukrainian team had agreed to some of Russia’s terms, but then abruptly walked away from the talks. Former senior State Department official Victoria Nuland later revealed that Western countries advised Kiev not to agree to Russia’s terms in 2022.

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“..I would be happy to buy something if there is real peace..”

• Jim Rogers Predicts Russian Economic Boom (RT)

Russia is headed for an economic boom once the Ukraine conflict is over, according to US investor and hedge fund manager Jim Rogers. In an interview with RBK news outlet on Wednesday, Rogers said the resolution of the conflict would stabilize the geopolitical situation and positively impact Russian bonds, the ruble, and foreign investment. Many non-Russian investors have seen their funds blocked due to Ukraine-related sanctions and Moscow’s countermeasures since early 2022. In March, Russia launched an asset-swap scheme allowing Russian and foreign investors to exchange frozen Western securities for immobilized funds in Russia. Two rounds of the scheme freed some 10.64 billion rubles ($102 million) in foreign assets.

However, Rogers, whose Russian portfolio includes shares in state airline Aeroflot, did not participate. He told RBK he wants to retain Russian assets and is looking forward to buying more as soon as non-residents get the opportunity to trade on the Russian market. “I would be happy to buy more Aeroflot shares, I would be happy to buy Moscow Exchange shares, I would be happy to buy something if there is real peace,” he stated. Rogers said the Russian market is currently unsuitable for most foreign investors due to conflict-related risks, including fears of asset confiscation. However, he predicted a drastic shift following a resolution, leading to a market boom, higher bond prices, and a stronger ruble. “If the situation changes, perhaps I will be driven to pay more attention to bonds and the ruble,” Rogers said.

He added that shares in the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) and stocks in travel and tourism could become significant beneficiaries once geopolitical tensions ease. Rogers also linked his optimistic outlook to Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory. Trump has pledged to resolve the Ukraine conflict upon returning to the White House, and his incoming special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, recently expressed hopes for a resolution within 100 days of Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Rogers noted that Trump “really wants” to resolve the situation but cautioned that achieving peace will require negotiations with Moscow.

Russia has reiterated its openness to diplomacy while insisting that Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification must be part of any settlement. Moscow has also demanded that Ukraine cease military operations and acknowledge the “territorial reality” of its former regions that chose to join Russia. Regarding the world economy, Rogers warned of a looming global recession by mid-spring, predicting that it would be “the worst” in his life. He attributed this to growing national debt and Trump’s potential import tariffs on Chinese goods, which he said could severely impact global trade and the economy, likening the potential fallout to the Great Depression of the 1930s. He added that the US dollar would weaken as a safe-haven currency, leading to a downturn in the global stock market.

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Greenland, the world’s largest island, is essentially defenseless. Someone will do something.

• Trump Serious About Acquiring Greenland – Reuters (RT)

Donald Trump is serious about his plan to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, Reuters has reported, citing sources familiar with the US president-elect’s thinking. The plan is part of Trump’s efforts to expand America’s global influence and secure his presidential legacy, the outlet explained. Trump has argued that US control over the Arctic island is a national security imperative, and has not ruled out taking the territory by force if necessary. The former real estate developer first floated the possibility of acquiring Greenland during his previous term in office, calling the potential acquisition “a large real estate deal.” Trump’s idea has so far been dismissed by the current administration of US President Joe Biden, the EU, Denmark, and the government of Greenland itself.

Trump’s renewed statements, however, indicate that his desire is a “deep-rooted ambition” rather than “a fleeting fancy,” Reuters wrote on Thursday. Trump sees territorial expansion as a means of creating a lasting legacy that will be remembered for generations, the outlet cited sources as saying. The US was last expanded in 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th US states under then-President Dwight Eisenhower. Trump has also recently spoken about taking over the Panama Canal and Canada. One source told the agency that the future president is unlikely to use military force to gain control over Greenland. However, he is serious about using other means – including applying diplomatic and economic pressure on Denmark.

Greenland, the world’s largest island, lies between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is home to a large US military base and is located on the shortest route from North America to Europe. Its territory is larger than Mexico but is home to fewer than 57,000 permanent residents. The island gained home rule from Copenhagen in 1979. Greenland’s significance has grown due to its rich natural resources, including rare earth minerals. As climate change makes the Arctic more accessible, its potential for exploiting resources and emerging shipping lanes has drawn heightened attention from global powers, including China and Russia. Moscow seeks to keep the Arctic stable, the Russian ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, said on Thursday.

In a post on Telegram, the diplomat wrote that “an attempt to strengthen US national security at the expense of other countries… will be taken into account by Russia in its military planning.” The deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and former president, Dmitry Medvedev, has described Trump’s plans as “over the top and eccentric – and totally unworkable.” “There is not going to be a quick solution to the conflict in Ukraine; the US economy will waddle on at a leisurely pace… so instead, Trump has decided to ‘reshape’ the world… to redraw the political map in his own style. A new, vibrant, and colorful globe to replace the dull and gray old one,” Medvedev said.

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“..what Trump had proposed last time, last administration, was effectively a 50-50 rev share where the US would take over the overhead costs because it costs Denmark tens of billions of dollars a year..”

• Erik Prince: Trump Was Closer To Buying Greenland Than Previously Known (ZH)

Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince revealed in a recent interview on the Sean Spicer Show that President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration was closer to securing a groundbreaking agreement with Denmark to take control of Greenland than previously known. Prince’s comments come as Trump ramps up his calls to acquire the Arctic landmass, highlighting its strategic military and economic advantages.

SEAN SPICER: From a strategic standpoint how important is Greenland to the United States?

ERIK PRINCE: It is an enormous amount of mineral potential. It is of significant interest to the Chinese Communist Party. And so I think what Trump had proposed last time, last administration, was effectively a 50-50 rev share where the US would take over the overhead costs because it costs Denmark tens of billions of dollars a year for the policing, security, and administration of Greenland. The US would take that on, but then it would basically split the revenue of any mining or energy development together with Denmark. I think it’s a good deal for Denmark and a good deal for the United States.

SEAN SPICER: Does Denmark view themselves right now as potentially being under attack by the Chinese or under threat from them?

ERIK PRINCE: No, but it’s the same CCP approach of show up with a lot of money, buy a lot of influence, and create presence—literally in our attic—that the Canadian government doesn’t do nearly as much of effective patrolling of all those waters and areas. And so, as a defensive play and as a good opportunity for the United States to maximize the reach and the economic development in our own hemisphere, it makes perfect sense. Most importantly, there’s some fantastic back country and helicopter skiing.

SEAN SPICER: I knew there’d be a silver lining, but I mean in all honesty I just can’t imagine Denmark saying oh yeah yeah we’ll give up 50% or 20% even of our sovereign territory because you guys want.

ERIK PRINCE: They were almost ready to do the deal last time. Yes, and because Denmark—I don’t believe Denmark doesn’t come anywhere near to the 2% that they’re supposed to be spending on NATO. Maybe it’s just a false flag by the president to make Denmark spend their 2% on NATO. But it’s an interesting approach and I hope he sees it through.

SEAN SPICER: If you had to make a prediction whether Denmark agrees to some kind of a deal, where would you put it?

ERIK PRINCE: Above 50%. Remember, you know, think about, um, you know, they called the purchase of Alaska Seward’s Folly and it turned out to be absolutely a brilliant purchase. I think it came out to two or three cents per acre in terms of value. Um, the United States, you can imagine, where would we be without Alaska? So maybe in five years or 10 years, we’ll be looking back, where would we be without Greenland?

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“NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA. THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!”

• Trump Tells California Governor Newsom To Resign (RT)

US President-elect Donald Trump has urged California Governor Gavin Newsom to resign over the state’s devastating wildfires, alleging his water policies caused the disaster. The wildfires, which started earlier this week, have wreaked havoc across California, killing at least five people and forcing more than 100,000 to evacuate. The fires have consumed over 20,000 acres, including parts of affluent areas in Los Angeles County, damaging or destroying more than 2,000 homes, businesses, and other buildings, according to officials. Some firefighters have reportedly been hindered by a lack of water in fire hydrants. Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to lash out at Newsom, urging him to resign. “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snowmelt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” he wrote.

He further accused Newsom of prioritizing environmental policies over human lives: “He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid.” Trump also criticized US President Joe Biden over the crisis: “NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA. THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!”, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Newsom’s director of communications, Izzy Gardon, dismissed the criticism, accusing Trump of “playing politics” during a crisis. “The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need,” Gardon said.

Newsom has declared a state of emergency, and President Joe Biden canceled a trip to Italy to prioritize directing the federal response in the days ahead. Areas hit hardest by the fire include the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Pasadena, San Fernando Valley, and Sepulveda Basin. Several celebrity homes have been destroyed in the fires, including those of Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins, Mandy Moore, and Leighton Meester. According to the Hollywood Reporter, another fire has broken out not far from the Runyon Canyon, dangerously close to such iconic landmarks as the Hollywood Bowl and Hollywood Walk of Fame, while also threatening tourist hotspots such as the TCL Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

Read more …

The only way left to make them feel relevant.

• 150 EU Officials To Monitor Elon Musk Conversation With Alice Weidel (RMX)

The European Union’s outrage is only growing over a planned interview hosted by Elon Musk later today with Alternative for Germany (AfD) party co-chair Alice Weidel. Now, Politico is reporting that 150 EU officials are expected to attend the conversation between Musk and Weidel for the purpose of learning whether X is complying with EU rules. In addition, French politicians are already talking about an EU-wide ban. The claim is that there are fears that Musk’s team will manipulate the algorithm to provide the interview more attention. However, Musk has over 200 million followers and nearly all of his posts receive millions and often tens of millions of views, which makes it certain that the interview, which has also been widely advertised, will receive significant attention. Weidel has also taken to X about the surveillance of the upcoming interview.

“Big Brother is watching you: 150 EU officials are supposed to monitor my conversation with @elonmusk. An EU that uses its bureaucracy to exercise censorship on social media is instilling the spirit of unfreedom. The #dsa threatens democracy!” she wrote The officials overseeing the interview are “given relatively extensive power,” according to Politico. They will be able to use, among other things, the Digital Services Act (DSA) to monitor how the algorithm works and how content is being displayed to users. Politico writes that Musk allegedly pushed certain posts in the past, including one about the Super Bowl in the past. The alleged reason was that Musk was mad that one of President Biden’s posts were getting more attention. The EU officials are working with experts from the European Center for Algorithmic Transparency” in Seville to determine if such an action will occur once again.

However, they will not release this information immediately. Instead, it will like be added to a general procedure against X. A wide range of EU leaders fear losing power due to shifting public sentiment, and Musk’s X represents their top threat. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, on Wednesday, called for a decisive stand against political influence. When asked whether a ban on X, in the same style as Brazil, was possible, he responded: “That is possible under our laws.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also claimed Musk was pushing “hate” and warned against the rise of fascism in Europe. SPD General-Secretary Matthias Miersch said that Musk’s influence on Germany’s elections now “call into question the foundations of democracy.”

However, Musk is unlikely to manipulate the algorithm in favor of Weidel especially when enough people are already likely to watch the interview without any interference. Absent some overt manipulation, it is unclear what could possibly be illegal about such an interview. Musk is allowed to interview Weidel. That is his right and her right. The bigger problem would be if he censored anyone who criticized such an interview or manipulated the algorithm to suppress this criticism, which is undoubtedly what the old Twitter regime did before his purchase — all of which the EU actively supported The head of Germany’s Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, appeared to take a more measured approach to the issue.

“Not everything that you get upset about is also illegal,” said Müller on Thursday morning on Deutschlandfunk. “In election campaigns, you also have to put up with things that you personally find inappropriate, indecent or unacceptable.” Freedom of expression always means “the freedom of those whose opinion you do not share.” He said that the excitement over the Musk interview was “understandable” but it must first be observed whether any laws are actually broken during the process. He noted, however, that people could choose simply not to listen to the interview.

Read more …

Much ado about nothing. It’s just that Germany seeks to ban them, and Musk doesn’t like that.

• Key Points From Musk’s Talk With AfD Leader (RT)

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has hosted a lengthy conversation with the co-leader of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Alice Weidel. Up 150 experts were expected to monitor the talk live-streamed on X on Thursday evening for potential violations of Germany’s election laws, according to Politico. Musk earlier ruffled some feathers in Berlin by praising AfD’s policies, including its tough stance on immigration. During his talk with Weidel, he reaffirmed his belief that “only AfD can save Germany” ahead of the 2025 parliamentary election.

Merkel ‘ruined’ Germany. Weidel slammed former Chancellor Angela Merkel for her “open-doors policy” during the 2015 migrant crisis, when Germany accepted around 1 million of asylum-seekers from Africa and the Middle East. Merkel “basically ruined our country,” Weidel stated, arguing that the phaseout of cheap nuclear energy “destroyed the backbone” of the German economy. Germany has shut down its nuclear plants, becoming the only industrial nation to do so, the AfD leader said. In 2011, the German parliament decided to close the plants in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan. The last reactor was shut down in 2023, two years after Merkel stepped down as chancellor. Weidel said Germany should reintroduce nuclear power as a cheaper alternative to green energy promoted by Berlin. Musk, who described himself as “a big fan of solar energy,” suggested that Germany should not only reopen its nuclear power plants but “significantly increase” their output.

Immigration takes toll on taxpayers. Weidel criticized the government for what she said was fostering “immigration into the social system,” which consumes a significant share of taxpayers’ money. Over 7 million people have arrived in Germany since 2015, the politician claimed, adding that almost 60% of them got rid of their ID papers to complicate potential deportation procedures. She blamed the situation on the lax attitude to migrants during the Merkel era. Musk said that the US has to deal with a similar influx of undocumeted migrants through its border with Mexico. According to the German federal statistics agency, over 14 million “non-Germans” arrived in the country between 2015 and 2023. The report did not specify whether they came from other EU nations or from outside the bloc. The federal and regional authorities spent €6.29 billion ($6.48 billion) as part of the asylum seekers’ benefits program in 2023 alone, according to the government data.

‘Libertarian conservative party’. Alternative for Germany is a “libertarian conservative party” that fights bureaucracy and seeks to “free the people from the state” by reducing the role of the government in public life, Weidel said. She added that she wants to see “self-confident people” enjoying the freedom of speech and generating wealth. Weidel complained that her party was being “negatively framed” by the media. She thanked Musk for a “normal conversation,” where she was not being “interrupted” on a regular basis. She repeatedly rejected comparisons between AfD and the Nazis, arguing that Adolf Hitler was neither a libertarian, nor a conservative. Some current and former AfD members, including its Thuringia leader Bjoern Hoecke, have made controversial statements regarding Germany’s Nazi past and have been accused of links to neo-Nazi groups. For that reason, all other major parties have mostly refused to work with AfD. In 2021, Germany’s domestic security agency BfV classified AfD as a “suspected” extremist group. The party unsuccessfully contested the designation in court.

Censorship is what Hitler did. Musk and Weidel blasted EU officials for monitoring their conversation and engaging in “censorship of free speech.” They agreed that free speech is a “bedrock of democracy,” while “extreme censorship” helped Hitler to cement his power. “For those who want censorship, I think they should be careful what they ask for because once you institute censorship, it’s only a matter of time before that censorship is turned [against] you,” Musk said.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict ‘complicated’. Weidel voiced her support for Israel, describing her party as the “only protector” of Jews in Germany. At the same time, she stressed that the people of Gaza should have access to drinking water and other basic resources. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “complicated,” she said, adding that she does not see an obvious solution at the moment. Musk proposed steps he said would help bring about an end to the fighting, such as the “elimination” of Hamas and other forces that seek the “destruction” of Israel. He called for “fixing” the Palestinian education system. The Palestinian territories should be prosperous, he said. “I think there is great wisdom in forgiveness,” Musk stressed. “It is the only way to stop the endless cycle of violence.”

EU ‘has given up’ and only escalates with Russia. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict demonstrates how much the EU had “given up on everything” and has been reliant on the US, Weidel said. She stated that, while the ongoing hostilities are a “big danger” to European security, the EU has only managed to “escalate the entire conflict [with] Russia.” “It is very dangerous what is going on here,” she stated, adding that EU countries “have no strategy” and “no red lines.” The conflict could “escalate big time towards a nuclear exchange,” she warned. Musk expressed hope that US President-elect Donald Trump could quickly resolve the crisis, but refused to comment on the incoming administration’s plans. He argued that prolonging the conflict would only weaken Ukraine, which is a “smaller country” and cannot afford major losses.

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Go away!

• Zelensky Says Send Western Troops To ‘Force Russia To Peace’ (ZH)

During a meeting of Ukraine’s defense allies held at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tried to once again get his backers to escalate their entry into the war with Russia. We can perhaps expect such desperate, harebrained appeals to be floated each day until Trump takes office on January 20. Zelensky wants as much commitment to the war from the West as possible ahead of a Trump administration which has repeatedly vowed to negotiate a swift end to the nearly three-year long conflict. Zelensky’s newest pitch issued Thursday is for the deployment of Western troops in large numbers to Ukrainian soil. He called this one of the “best instruments” to “force Russia to peace.” “Our goal is to find as many instruments as possible to force Russia into peace,” he told the meeting of defense representatives.

“I believe that such deployment of partners’ contingents is one of the best instruments,” he emphasized. “Let’s be more practical in making it possible.” He further acknowledged that Europe is entering a “new chapter” of cooperation and would have “new opportunities” given Donald Trump’s return to the White House. This was perhaps a way of sugar-coating what for many European officials is cause for deep anxiety and uncertainty. For this reason, Europe has spent many months trying to ‘Trump-proof’ aid to Ukraine in unison with the Biden administration.

“It’s clear that a new chapter starts for Europe and the entire world. Just 11 days from now, a time when we have to cooperate even more, rely on one another even more and achieve even greater results together,” Zelensky said. “I see this as a time of opportunities.” While Zelensky didn’t get any immediate affirmations that Western troops will suddenly be sent to directly aid his forces in the war, US Secretary of State Lloyd Austin used the occasion to announce the very last aid package of the Biden administration: Austin on Thursday announced a $500 million in additional weapons and equipment for Kyiv, which officials say will be the final military aid package before Biden leaves office.

He said the package includes additional missiles for Ukrainian air defense, more artillery ammunition, more air-to-ground munitions and equipment to support Ukraine’s F-16 fighter jets. This is unlikely to do much, when by all accounts the real most pressing problem remains manpower woes, and a consistently advancing Russian army in Donetsk. Zelensky did try to find a positive concerning his war effort during the meeting in Germany, calling the Kursk offensive into Russia one of the “biggest wins, not just last year, but throughout the war.” Russia confirmed as a last weekend that a new Ukrainian counterattack in the border territory was underway. In the last days the Kremlin has claimed to have significantly dented it while destroying many tanks, assets, and personnel.

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Hell hole. Courtesy of … us.

• Kiev Hunting Half A Million Draft Dodgers (RT)

Around half a million Ukrainian men are suspected of evading conscription, according to the country’s military. Media communications officer Natalia Kindrativ told Kiev FM radio on Wednesday that over 500,000 draft dodging warrants had been filed since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in February 2022. Since that time, Ukraine has declared a general mobilization, lowered the conscription age to 25, and toughened penalties for draft evasion to address troop shortages. However, the military has continued to face personnel challenges and recruitment officers are increasingly using harsh tactics.

“Enlistment offices have filed search notices for over 500,000 people,” Kindrativ said, adding that searches are carried out by Ukraine’s National Police, as conscription officers lack the authority to pursue individuals. She added, however, that “police resources are limited,” which makes it challenging to locate such a large number of people. In order to tackle the problem, law enforcement has been enlisting investigators and forming task forces to help in the effort.

Kindrativ emphasized that men aged 25 to 60 are subject to mobilization under Ukrainian law but noted that conscription officers are empowered to check the documents of males as young as 18. She clarified that police are not allowed to search for draft dodgers in their homes, but only in public places. “If a person does not have a deferment or reservation and is deemed fit for service, they are called up. All healthy individuals are mobilized,” she said. Under Ukraine’s martial law and general mobilization regulations, conscription officers can look for citizens between 25 and 60 who are believed to have violated registration rules. Those declared wanted can resolve the issue by voluntarily appearing at a conscription center with the necessary documents.

Numerous videos on social media over the past year have shown officers forcefully detaining men on the streets and taking them to recruitment centers. Street raids to find potential recruits have reportedly led to violent clashes, with some incidents resulting in injuries and deaths. In addition to draft dodging, Ukraine’s military has faced a rise in desertions. According to Bloomberg, nearly 96,000 criminal cases have been opened against servicemen who abandoned their positions since 2022, most of them last year. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky recently acknowledged the increase in desertions but insisted the numbers have been declining since a peak in autumn.

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Like Zelensky, Netanyahu should leave too.

• Netanyahu Cancels Trip To Trump’s Inauguration (RT)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend US President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration ceremony, The Times of Israel reported on Thursday, citing the prime minister’s senior aide. Trump will take the oath of office and officially be sworn in as the 47th US president on January 20 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. The Israeli leader had previously been expected to attend the event. Netanyahu’s senior aide did not elaborate on why the trip was cancelled. However, some media reports cited the Israeli prime minister’s recent prostate surgery, claiming Netanyahu had been advised to rest following the procedure. The now-cancelled trip to Washington would have been Netanyahu’s first trip abroad since an arrest warrant against him and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in November.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice. The ICC’s decision garnered mixed reactions worldwide, with some countries expressing their intention to comply with the court’s directives, regardless of diplomatic immunity. Hungary, which is a Rome Statute signatory, said it would not enforce the warrant, while the US, which is not party to the ICC, has denounced it. According to media reports, Trump has been in contact with Netanyahu over the situation in the Middle East, particularly Gaza. The two spoke in December, which both later described as a “very good” and “warm” discussion. Trump later reiterated his public warning that hostages held in Gaza be released before he assumes office or there will be “hell to pay.”

A Hamas official recently stated that the group had approved a list of 34 captives to be freed as part of a potential ceasefire agreement with Israel. Progress, however, has stalled after Palestinian officials reported more than 100 deaths from intensified Israeli airstrikes over the past weekend. On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants launched a deadly assault on Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages to Gaza. In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has resulted in widespread destruction and massive loss of life in the Palestinian enclave. Gaza’s health authorities have reported over 46,700 Palestinian deaths.

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“..the overall focus in the EU should be on addressing the economic fallout and not engaging in pointless political debates.”

• Slovak PM Fico Warns Of Looming EU Collapse (RT)

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has slammed the EU over what he called its inability to address economic fallout across the bloc and claimed that it could collapse. Fico issued the warning on Wednesday in a video message posted on Facebook about Ukraine’s recent decision to halt the transit of Russian gas to EU member states. Kiev refused to extend a contract with Russia’s Gazprom beyond 2024, effectively cutting off the flow of natural gas to Hungary, Austria and Slovakia. Fico accused Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky of “sabotaging the financial interests of Slovakia and the EU,” saying the transit stoppage could trigger an energy crisis across the bloc and result in some €70 billion ($72 billion) worth of damage.

“Neither Slovakia nor the EU is at war, we have no reason to tolerate Zelensky’s adventures, especially looking at the aid Slovakia and the EU are providing to Ukraine,” Fico said in the video as quoted by News Now agency. He further voiced frustration with the EU’s failure to take action, saying he would travel to Brussels to meet with the energy commissioner and would do everything he can “to wake him up from his sweet sleep, because we have a ‘bloody’ serious problem.” Fico met with the EU’s energy chief, Dan Jorgensen, on Thursday to discuss the impact the halt in flows would have on energy prices in the region. It was reportedly agreed that talks on the matter would continue. In the video, the Slovak prime minister also rejected allegations by Zelensky, the Slovak opposition, and some Western officials that he is aligned with Moscow. Fico said his priority is to safeguard Slovakia’s financial and national interests.

He emphasized that the overall focus in the EU should be on addressing the economic fallout and not engaging in pointless political debates. “…Looking at the EU, I fear that it will fall apart sooner than we can imagine,” he stressed. Reflecting on his recent trip to Moscow, Fico pointed out that Kiev’s gas transit blockade was the reason behind his Russia visit. “I needed to secure at least gas for Slovakia’s domestic consumption, which we have secured, even without increasing gas prices,” he said, confirming Moscow’s commitment to continued energy supply via the TurkStream pipeline. Kiev’s cutoff of Russian pipeline gas supplies has already caused a surge in European energy prices, which reached €50 per megawatt hour for the first time in over a year. This led to an immediate call by Italy to extend the EU’s emergency gas price cap to prevent an energy price shock across the bloc.

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‘Lock the Clock’. Think Europe will follow?

• Senators Introduce Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent (ET)

A bipartisan group of senators, led by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), has reintroduced legislation to make daylight saving time permanent year-round. The proposal is opposed by a coalition of sleep medicine organizations, which advocate “locking the clock” but in standard time. The legislation, called the Sunshine Protection Act, was unanimously passed in the Senate in 2022 during the 117th Congress, but it stalled in the House. Now, Scott and 15 other senators have reintroduced the bill, describing it as a common-sense approach that will simplify the lives of U.S. households, citing President-elect Donald Trump’s backing for an end to the practice of twice-yearly clock changes.

“I hear from Americans constantly that they are sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year—it’s an unnecessary, decades-old practice that’s more of an annoyance to families than benefit to them,” Scott said in a Jan. 8 statement. “I’m excited to have President Trump back in the White House and fully on board to LOCK THE CLOCK so we can get this good bill passed and make this common-sense change that will simplify and benefit the lives of American families.” Although Trump has advocated locking the clock, it’s unclear whether the president-elect is in favor of making daylight saving time or standard time permanent. In March 2019, he said he was fine with making daylight saving time permanent. In December 2024, he called for the elimination of daylight saving time, suggesting that it’s standard time that he backs, a position aligned with several medical organizations.

The legislation proposed by Scott and the others would establish permanent daylight saving time, meaning clocks would no longer be turned back in the fall, resulting in later sunrises and sunsets throughout the winter. Current federal law allows states to exempt themselves from observing daylight saving time, with Arizona and Hawaii observing year-round standard time, resulting in more morning daylight in the winter months. Advocates for permanent daylight saving time argue that it would eliminate the need to turn clocks back in the fall and provide extended sunlight in the evening, offering more opportunities for outdoor activities.

“Every winter folks in Washington state despair at the prospect of losing an hour of precious sunlight when we are forced off Daylight Saving Time,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement. “This is about public health, it is about our economy, and it’s about just putting a little more light in families’ lives so they can spend time together, outdoors, in the sunshine.” Opponents of daylight saving time, such as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), counter that standard time is better for both health and safety. AASM said in a position statement issued on Jan. 1 that there are numerous benefits to a permanent switch to standard time, including better sleep, less stress, and fewer car accidents.

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”I drove up to San Francisco and I listened to it and I had road rage,” Gibson said..”

• Joe Rogan and Mel Gibson Puzzled That Fauci ‘Is Still Walking Around’ (RT)

Hollywood star Mel Gibson and popular American podcast host Joe Rogan have claimed that former chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci should face prosecution, as they discussed his influence on the American healthcare system over the years. Fauci became the public face of the federal government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic both under President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. The imposition of restrictive measures and the scientist’s reported involvement in suppressing the theory that the virus may have originated from US-funded gain-of-function research in China have made Fauci a controversial figure. Gibson was a guest on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Thursday. Both men wondered how Fauci was “still walking around,” or “at least free” after his actions during the pandemic.

They were discussing the 2021 book by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. titled ‘The Real Anthony Fauci’. The author, a healthcare campaigner turned politician, described Fauci as an official in cahoots with big pharmaceutical corporations, who had abused his power for decades. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in the US was one of the main topics of the book. ”That book is an accurate depiction of what Anthony Fauci did during the AIDS crisis, which probably was an AZT crisis,” Rogan claimed. He was referring to the antiretroviral medication azidothymidine. It was the first to be used en masse in the late 1980s to suppress HIV and had serious side effects. Kennedy claimed that Fauci, in his role as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), improperly endorsed AZT and downplayed its side effects while undermining possible alternative treatments.

”I drove up to San Francisco and I listened to it and I had road rage,” Gibson said, recalling his reaction to the book. ”If this is true, what the f**k is going on and how is that monster still loose?” Rogan asked. Meanwhile, the outgoing Biden administration is considering “giving him a full pardon – it’s like f**king crazy.” Fauci’s name came up as the two were criticizing mainstream media for its “complicity” in protecting for-profit healthcare in the US. Gibson recalled how Rogan was attacked by news outlets for taking the drug ivermectin after testing positive for Covid-19 in 2021. “font-size:11px;color: #353535;”The medicine is widely used to treat parasites in humans in Africa. But the media dismissed it as a “horse dewormer” – the drug’s usual application in the US – as they urged the public to vaccinate against Covid-19.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Swan
https://twitter.com/i/status/1877083043220918319

 

 

Comet
https://twitter.com/i/status/1877362438883942438

 

 

5th
https://twitter.com/i/status/1877389207045288187

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Rattle January 8 2025

Jan 082025
 
 January 8, 2025  Posted by at 11:27 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  78 Responses »


Pablo Picasso Portrait de femme au col d’hermine (Olga) 1923

 

• Trump Not Ruling Out Using Military Force To Reclaim Panama Canal, Greenland (ET)
• Trump Posts Maps Of Canada As US Territory (RT)
• Trump Confirms Visit By His Son, Donald Trump Jr, to Greenland (Sp.)
• EU Commission Threatens Musk Ahead of Interview With AfD Leader (RMX)
• Germany’s Gun Grab? Saxony-Anhalt Begins Disarming AfD Members (RMX)
• Senate Democrats Consider Support For RFK Jr. As Health Secretary (ZH)
• National Sheriffs’ Association Endorses Kash Patel For FBI Director (JTN)
• Federal Judge Blocks Release Of Jack Smith’s Classified Documents Report
• Merchan Rejects Trump’s Attempts To Delay Sentencing In Hush Money Case (JTN)
• Trump Blames Biden For Ukraine War (RT)
• Trump’s Ukraine Aide Postpones Trip To Kiev – Reuters (RT)
• Trump Plan to “Un-Ban” the Biden Drilling Order Could Prove Difficult (Turley)
• Meta Culpa: Zuckerberg Joins Musk in the Global Fight for Free Speech (Turley)
• McDonald’s Latest To Bail On DEI Goals (ZH)

 

 

 

 

Gulf
https://twitter.com/i/status/1876677300399362196

CNN Musk

Denmark

Rob Roos

 

 

 

 

2 weeks out, and who dominates the headlines? The king himself.

• Trump Not Ruling Out Using Military Force To Reclaim Panama Canal, Greenland (ET)

President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would not rule out the possibility of using military or economic coercion to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, emphasizing their strategic significance to U.S. national security. Speaking at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump said that he “cannot assure” that military or economic coercion would not be used to take control of these two strategic locations, in response to a question. “ No, I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this, we need them for economic security,” Trump responded. “It might be that you’ll have to do something. Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country. It’s being operated by China. We gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn’t give it to China, and they’ve abused it. They’ve abused that gift.”

Trump in recent social media posts expressed his frustration over China’s expanding influence in the canal, despite it having been built by the United States more than 110 years ago at great financial and human cost. The Panama Canal, which opened in 1914 after a decade of construction led by the United States, was gradually handed back to Panama under a 1977 treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter. During his speech, Trump criticized Carter for handing over the Panama Canal. “Carter gave it to them for $1. … I thought it was a terrible thing to do. It was the most expensive structure ever built in the history of our country,” Trump said. The president-elect said that this action cost Carter the election in 1980. In 1999, Panama assumed full control of the canal, which has since become one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Construction of the canal, however, came at a high human cost. Official estimates suggest that around 5,600 workers died during the U.S.-led effort to build the canal. Additionally, nearly 22,000 people are estimated to have died during an earlier French-led construction attempt. Trump reiterated that 38,000 people died during the waterway’s construction. “They laugh at us because they think we’re stupid, but we’re not stupid anymore. So the Panama Canal is under discussion with them right now,” Trump said during the press conference. Trump also said the United States needs Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, for “national security purposes.”

“People have been talking about it for a long time. You have approximately 45,000 people there,” Trump said. “They should give it up, because we need it for national security. That’s for the free world. I’m talking about protecting the free world. “You have China ships all over the place. You have Russian ships all over the place. We’re not letting that happen. We’re not letting it happen.”

Fetterman
https://twitter.com/i/status/1876817024359518631

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The last 4 years have been so bad in both countries…

• Trump Posts Maps Of Canada As US Territory (RT)

US President-elect Donald Trump has shared two maps on social media showing Canada as American territory. He posted the images hours after officials in Ottawa rejected his repeated claim that Canadians would be better off under US rule. Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Tuesday to share a map of the US and Canada as a single country, with the state border erased and the words ‘United States’ superimposed on the new entity. He then posted an image of the territory of both nations painted in the colors of the US flag, accompanied by the words “Oh Canada.” Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump suggested that the US could use “economic force” to absorb its northern neighbor, whose goods he threatened to hit with harsh tariffs.

“You get rid of that artificially-drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security,” Trump argued. Canada’s outgoing prime minister, Justin Trudeau, wrote on X that “there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.” Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, similarly said that “Canada will never be the 51st state.” Despite the rejection of Trump’s proposal to absorb America’s northern neighbor, politicians in Ottawa have stressed the importance of maintaining good bilateral ties as Canada enters election season. Trudeau announced earlier this week that he would step down as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party, due to his shrinking popularity.

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Greenland can’t defend itself. Neither can Denmark. Yeah, they’re part of NATO. But that already means the US must defend it.

• Trump Confirms Visit By His Son, Donald Trump Jr, to Greenland (Sp.)

US President-elect Donald Trump confirmed that his son Donald Trump Jr. and a number of representatives would travel to Greenland on a visit. Earlier, the DR broadcaster reported that Trump’s son would arrive on Tuesday on a private visit to Greenland. “I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA.’ My son, Don Jr, and various representatives, will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights,” Trump said on Truth Social. According to Trump, “if, and when” Greenland becomes part of the United States, its residents will benefit greatly.

“We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!” the politician added. Greenland was a colony of Denmark until 1953. It remains part of the kingdom, but it received autonomy with the possibility of self-government and independent choice in domestic policy in 2009. In 2019, a series of publications appeared in the media that Trump was considering the possibility of buying Greenland. Later, Trump himself confirmed to journalists that he was interested in this issue “strategically.” At the same time, Greenland said that the island was not for sale, and Denmark expressed hope that Trump was joking, calling the very idea of a sale absurd.

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“..if the conversation with Weidel gains above-average visibility on X [..] the European Commission will look into whether the service provided users with the option to, for example, turn off streaming..”

They just want to ban AfD.

• EU Commission Threatens Musk Ahead of Interview With AfD Leader (RMX)

The European Commission will check whether the X platform promotes an interview between its owner, American entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk, and the leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Alice Weidel, the body’s spokesman Thomas Regnier said on Monday, reports the Do Rzeczy news portal. Regnier said that under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which among other things governs content moderation rules on internet platforms, platforms must respond to “potential threats to EU electoral processes,” including providing above-average visibility to content promoting political forces, including content posted on X by Musk himself, the EU official said. The interview is taking place ahead of Germany’s snap parliamentary elections, enraging the political establishment. “The foundation of the DSA is freedom of speech. Mr. Musk has the right to express his private views and political opinions about the EU both online and offline,” Regnier said, adding that nothing prevents Musk from conducting an interview with Weidel, which will be streamed on his platform.

However, if the conversation with Weidel gains above-average visibility on X, as part of the procedure against this platform conducted in December 2023, the European Commission will look into whether the service provided users with the option to, for example, turn off streaming and whether it used algorithms to give it greater visibility. It is unclear what threshold the EU commission would set for “greater visibility,” as Musk’s posts tend to garner millions of views and sometimes tens of millions of views regardless of what he posts. He does have, after all, over 200 million and followers. In addition, both he, Weidel, and many others have been promoting the interview in the last weeks. Last month, Musk openly expressed his opinion that “only the AfD can save Germany.”

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And they called it democracy..

• Germany’s Gun Grab? Saxony-Anhalt Begins Disarming AfD Members (RMX)

Authorities in Germany have begun withdrawing gun ownership licenses from Alternative for Germany (AfD) members, who are deemed a “danger to public safety.” So far, five AfD members have received a notice that their gun license would be revoked, while another member voluntarily returned his license after a revocation procedure was initiated. Another 51 cases are currently being examined by authorities, according to data released by the Saxony-Anhalt Interior Ministry in response to a request for information from the Left Party. Hunters and sport shooters will also have their gun licenses canceled by authorities. In total, there are 74 members of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt that hold a firearms license, with 49 registered as sport shooters and 25 as hunters.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1787484137600733207

The revocation of gun licenses comes after the Office of the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s powerful domestic intelligence agency, classified the AfD as “certainly right-wing extremist.” With this designation, AfD members suddenly faced a litany of problems. For one, authorities could spy on their communications without any warrant; however, authorities could also seize their firearms, and members could also face issues with government employment. The efforts to disarm AfD members won praise from the Left Party’s parliamentary group leader Eva von Angern. “The first revocation notices show that, after individual examination, these people pose a threat to public safety,” she said to German news outlet Mitteldeutsche Zeitung.

As Remix News has reported in the past, the BfV has also been active designating the AfD as an extremist threat in other states such as North Rhine-Westphalia, where gun owners are also under threat of having their firearms taken away from them. The BfV is a highly politicized intelligence agency targeting domestic “threats” to the constitutional order, while critics contend it is designed to snuff out political opposition. The agency is currently monitoring AfD members in a number of states, including tapping their phones and surveilling their internet communications, all without a warrant. Currently, their membership in the party offers enough legal grounds to target what is the second-largest party in the country. In 2023, the Gera Administrative Court ruled that the Thuringian Ministry of the Interior cannot revoke firearms licenses of AfD members in a blanket measure; however, it left the door open for individual cases.

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If they try to block him, they’ll have a huge fight on their hands. Kennedy’s presence is important for Trump.

• Senate Democrats Consider Support For RFK Jr. As Health Secretary (ZH)

As the Biden administration gears up for the confirmation hearings of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the role of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, a surprising development has occurred within the Senate. Despite considerable backlash from many in the Democratic Party due to Kennedy’s controversial views on vaccinations, a few Senate Democrats are reportedly keeping an open mind about voting for him. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and John Fetterman (D-PA) may throw support behind Kennedy, according to The Hill. They share Kennedy’s criticisms of heavy corporate influence over the food industry and advocate for a shift towards less chemical-laden approaches in America. This openness aligns with their ongoing efforts to address the shortcomings in the U.S. food system, despite the contentious nature of Kennedy’s nomination.

“I think Bernie will give him a fair review,” said one source close to the Senator’s office. “I definitely think his Senate office will use the opportunity to point out the shortcomings of the industrial food system, supply chains, etc.,” the source continued. “I think they’ve been doing a little of that already.” “Their perceived openness comes despite a fervent backlash against Kennedy’s nomination from many within the Democratic Party, where his controversial stances on vaccinations still could be a deciding factor for many who see his views as dangerous for public health.” -The Hill. Kennedy’s efforts to be confirmed involve reaching out to Republican senators as well, from whom he needs a substantial majority to secure his position, given the potential lack of unanimous Democratic support.

His meetings on Capitol Hill and public calls for support are part of a strategic push to showcase his health agenda, which focuses heavily on reforming food industry practices and promoting healthier lifestyles. The nomination has placed Democrats in a difficult position. Many spent the last election distancing themselves from Kennedy after his switch from the Independent party, wary of his ability to draw third-party support that could impact general election outcomes. His nomination by Trump has forced them to reassess their stance, especially as Kennedy reemerges in the political spotlight. Despite some Democrats’ willingness to consider Kennedy’s nomination, others remain staunchly opposed. Senators like Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and potential concerns from other liberal members reflect the deep divisions within the party regarding Kennedy’s fitness for the role, especially concerning his vaccine views.

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), has publicly criticized efforts associated with Kennedy’s nomination, particularly around vaccines – calling it “outrageous and dangerous for people in the Trump Transition to try and get rid of the polio vaccine” in a post last month to X. Kennedy recently visited Capitol Hill to discuss his health agenda – which he telegraphed would be central to his approach at HHS. While there, he met with Republican Sens. John Barrasso (WY), Shelley Moore Capito (W. VA.), and Marsha Blackburn (TN). That said, he’ll have slightly more breathing room if he can convince even one Democrat to vote for him. “I am no expert on Fetterman, but my sense is that he and [Sanders] will vote for RFK,” said progressive Nina Turner, a former congressional candidate who’s close to Sanders.

Fetterman had previously talked shit about Kennedy, however, saying in November, “I’m not going to really take any kind of advice [from] a dude that chainsaws whale heads and delivers dead bears into a park.” That said, the Pennsylvania politician may be open after all. “Fetterman has impressed me with his willingness to meet with Trump’s nominees without the normal partisan spin and insults attached to the process,” one pro-Kennedy source told the outlet. “To me, he’s signaling to MAGA that he’s open to working together on areas that can benefit the people and help everyday people.” “Fetterman,” the source added, is “definitely a swing vote for all of Trump’s nominees.”

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In 12 days, he’ll head the FBI. Check your engines..

• National Sheriffs’ Association Endorses Kash Patel For FBI Director (JTN)

The National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) on Monday endorsed President-elect Donald Trump’s FBI director nominee Kash Patel, and urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm his nomination quickly. Trump nominated Patel in November, before FBI Director Christopher Wray even announced his intention to resign under the next Trump administration. Wray said he will resign his post on Jan. 20, the first day of Trump’s new administration. NSA President Kieran Donahue shared his endorsement in a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin, saying the association believed Patel had the “credentials, skills, temperament, commitment, and experience” for the post.

“We are pleased to give our enthusiastic endorsement of Mr. Patel’s nomination to be the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and urge the Committee hold hearings expeditiously,” Donahue wrote, per Fox News. “We believe there will be broad support for Mr. Patel and we look forward to his swift confirmation by the full United States Senate.” Donahue stated that Patel would prioritize bringing the FBI back to its previous standards, and restore confidence in the bureau by providing more transparency, and collaboration.

“Mr. Patel promised NSA – if confirmed – his unwavering dedication to working hand in glove with local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement at the rank-and- file and leadership levels,” the president wrote. “His commitment to the reciprocity of access-to-advise is essential to combating the most serious security and policing challenges ahead. We are certain Mr. Patel’s engagement will result in vital and effective partnerships nationwide to protect communities large and small.” Donahue also highlighted the importance of Patel’s position in keeping the country safe, after the Biden administration’s policies reportedly “undermined the rule of law and burdened our nation with great risk and vulnerability.”

“Equally detrimental are the border policies that permit unchecked access to our homeland,” he continued. “These two factors have sadly but predictably granted domestic and international criminals unprecedented opportunity to victimize or endanger the citizens and residents of our nation. As a result, countless communities across America are under siege.” The sheriff said that the association wants to work more closely with federal law enforcement but was not granted the opportunity under President Joe Biden. “Our federal law enforcement hierarchy, armed with knowledge gained through local collaboration, must be heard by the decisionmakers in Washington,” he concluded. “In this time of uncertainty, it is critical the Federal Bureau of Investigation be led by someone who has the complete confidence of the President.”

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Stuck.

• Federal Judge Blocks Release Of Jack Smith’s Classified Documents Report

Update (1240ET): U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Tuesday blocked the release of a special counsel’s final report into President-elect Donald Trump, pending a decision by an appeals court. The order bars special counsel Jack Smith and the Department of Justice (DOJ) from releasing the report until the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals reviews a motion submitted by Trump’s co-defendants. “Pending resolution of the Emergency Motion filed in the Eleventh Circuit … Attorney General Garland, the Department of Justice, Special Counsel Smith, all of their officers, agents, and employees, and all persons acting in active concert or participation with such individuals are temporarily enjoined” from releasing or transmitting the final report, Cannon’s order stated.

* * *
As Zachary Stieber detailed earlier via The Epoch Times, Special counsel Jack Smith is preparing a final report on the case involving President-elect Donald Trump and two others, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed on Jan. 7. Smith’s office is preparing a two-volume report to explain Smith’s prosecution decisions, lawyers for Smith’s office and the DOJ said in a filing to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. One of the volumes pertains to the case Smith brought against Trump, former aide Walt Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago manager Carlos De Oliveira. Attorney General Merrick Garland “has not yet determined how to handle the report volume pertaining to this case,” but will commit to not releasing it to the public before 10 a.m. on Jan. 10, the lawyers added. Smith will not transmit the report to Garland before 1 p.m. on Jan. 7.

The details by the government came after Nauta and De Oliveira, through their lawyers, urged Cannon to enter an order blocking Smith from sharing the report with anybody else, and from taking any further actions to complete it. The release of the report, they said, “would directly infringe on Nauta’s and De Oliveira’s Fifth Amendment due process rights, taking on the status of a public form of an invalid new indictment, replete with unfairly prejudicial assertions of alleged offenses going well beyond any assertions in the indictment and other public filings.” The lawyers said that Cannon needs to act quickly because they believe that the government will issue the final report within the next few days. Federal law states that each special counsel shall provide the attorney general with a confidential report “explaining the prosecution or declination decisions reached by the Special Counsel.”

Smith brought two cases against Trump. Both were dropped after Trump won the 2024 election and started preparing to take office again. Trump’s lawyers told Garland in a separate letter that they were able to review a draft of the report recently in Washington and that there are serious problems with the document. “The Draft Report violates fundamental norms regarding the presumption of innocence, including with respect to third parties unnecessarily impugned by Smith’s false claims,” the lawyers said. Releasing the report to the public would violate the Presidential Transition Act, according to the lawyers. Both sets of lawyers highlighted how Cannon previously found that Smith was unconstitutionally appointed as a special counsel.

“Because Smith has proposed an unlawful course of action, you must countermand his plan and remove him promptly. If Smith is not removed, then the handling of his report should be deferred to President Trump’s incoming attorney general, consistent with the expressed will of the People,” Trump’s lawyers told Garland. “Finally, should you disagree with the positions set forth below, we respectfully request notice of that decision prior to the unlawful release of any report so that we can pursue injunctive and other relief to protect the rights of President Trump, others unfairly implicated by Smith’s work, and the people of this great Nation who elected President Trump to run the government and put an end to the weaponization of the justice system,” they added. Smith’s office and the DOJ said the brief, early morning filing would be followed by a more detailed response to the emergency motion by 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Cannon

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Extreme lawfare.

• Merchan Rejects Trump’s Attempts To Delay Sentencing In Hush Money Case (JTN)

New York Judge Juan Merchan on Monday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s legal team’s attempts to delay the sentencing in the former president’s hush money case. The judge last week set the sentencing date for this coming Friday, Jan. 10, just 10 days before Trump is scheduled to be sworn into office. Merchan also rejected Trump’s attempt to dismiss the case, after his legal team cited the former president’s reelection and the fact that other pending cases against the president-elect that have already been dropped. Merchan has indicated that he is unlikely to impose any jail time in the case. Trump was convicted last year on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a 2016 payment his then-attorney, Michael Cohen.

“This Court has considered Defendant’s arguments in support of his motion and finds that they are for the most part, a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past,” Merchan wrote in Monday’s ruling. Merchan’s decision not to dismiss the case now that Trump has won the presidency, means that the convictions still stand, making Trump the first person convicted of a felony to win the Oval Office. However, Trump has vowed to appeal the verdict.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1876380949157667314

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“There were a lot of mistakes made” in negotiations between Moscow and Washington during the period preceding Russia’s military campaign against Kiev..”

• Trump Blames Biden For Ukraine War (RT)

US President Joe Biden’s inept handling of the tensions between Russia, Ukraine and NATO has led to a conflict between Moscow and Kiev, President-elect Donald Trump told a press conference on Tuesday. Had Washington not offered the Ukrainian authorities a prospect of joining the US-led military bloc, the war could have been avoided, Trump believes. Washington’s desire to see Ukraine in NATO at some point despite Moscow’s legitimate concerns is what has triggered the conflict, the president-elect told journalists, adding that he believes that Biden “broke” a deal that America had with Russia on how far the US-led military bloc could expand. “Moscow has repeatedly stated even before President Vladimir Putin came to power that it does not want to see NATO in Ukraine,” Trump stated, adding that it “has been written in stone.”

Biden nonetheless insisted that “they should be able to join NATO,” he added. The president-elect also said he “could understand” how Russia was “feeling about” having a foreign military bloc “right on their doorstep.” “There were a lot of mistakes made” in negotiations between Moscow and Washington during the period preceding Russia’s military campaign against Kiev, he said. “When I heard the way that Biden was negotiating, I said: ‘you’re going to end up in a war,’ and it turned out to be a very bad war,” Trump said, adding that the ongoing conflict could still escalate even further and become “much worse than it is now.” The president-elect referred to the ongoing conflict as a “disaster” that “should have never happened” and called it “Biden’s fiasco.” He also vowed to “straighten up” the situation, while still admitting it will be “a tough one.”

According to Trump, it would have been much easier to prevent the conflict from breaking out back in 2022 than to settle it now. Answering one of the journalists’ questions, Trump said that he might need up to six months after taking office to help Moscow and Kiev reach a deal. Previously, he had repeatedly vowed to end the conflict in 24 hours. He still expressed his hope that it could be done “long before six months.” In late December, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed that Biden offered him to delay Ukraine’s membership in NATO at the organization’s 2021 summit in Geneva. For Moscow, Kiev’s accession to the US-led bloc was unacceptable “whether it’s in one year or ten years,” the Russian leader said at that time.

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First, do your homework: “Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Kellogg needs to “delve deeper into the Ukrainian issue”.

• Trump’s Ukraine Aide Postpones Trip To Kiev – Reuters (RT)

US president-elect Donald Trump’s key Ukraine aide has postponed a planned trip to Kiev until after the Republican’s inauguration, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Retired lieutenant general Keith Kellogg initially planned to visit the city in early January to meet the Ukrainian leadership. No specific date for a future visit has been set, the news agency added. Bloomberg reported last month that Kellogg was also open to meetings in Moscow, if invited. The trip would focus on gathering information rather than implementing any specific policy goal, the outlet claimed. Reuters, however, did not mention the Russian capital in its report on Monday. Kellogg previously expressed concerns about the protracted nature of the Ukraine conflict, stating that “this has become a war of attrition that’s going to kill a whole generation of young men.”

Trump has repeatedly claimed he can resolve the conflict within 24 hours of taking office. The president-elect has also criticized outgoing President Joe Biden’s decision to permit Kiev to launch US-supplied missiles deep into Russia, describing it as a dangerous escalation. Trump has warned that he may cut off aid to Ukraine if it refuses to pursue a peace agreement. He indicated last month that he expects Vladimir Zelensky to consider accepting certain territorial concessions as part of a potential peace deal.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that it is ready to engage in a dialogue on Ukraine without preconditions, based on the 2022 Istanbul preliminary agreements and the situation on the ground. Among the conditions for a peaceful settlement, Vladimir Putin has named the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donbass, along with the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, as well as Kiev abandoning its plan to join NATO. A peace plan, co-authored by Keith Kellogg and presented to Trump earlier this year, proposes freezing the conflict along the current front line and preventing Ukraine from joining NATO for ten years. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Kellogg needs to “delve deeper into the Ukrainian issue”.

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“..there are grounds to assert this authority of reversal, but it will take years in court..”

• Trump Plan to “Un-Ban” the Biden Drilling Order Could Prove Difficult (Turley)

After a presidential campaign where both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pushed back on claims that they were trying to shut down much of the fossil fuel industry, Biden waited until the final days of his administration to ban oil and gas drilling over 670 million acres of America’s coastline. President-elect Donald Trump responded that“It’s ridiculous. I’ll un-ban it immediately. I have the right to un-ban it immediately.” It will likely be more difficult than a simple “un-ban” order. Environmental groups will likely push a “sue, baby, sue” campaign to counter Trump’s “drill, baby, drill.” In his statement, Biden justified the move to counter the “climate crisis.” A White House announcement stated that “President Biden has determined that the environmental and economic risks and harms that would result from drilling in these areas outweigh their limited fossil fuel resource potential.”

The question is whether the order can handcuff Trump in pursuing one of the main parts of his campaign platform to unleash America’s fossil fuel resources. This is all familiar ground. Biden acted under Section 12(a) of the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which states that the president “may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the Outer Continental Shelf.” As noted in a Congressional Research Service report there is an ongoing debate over whether presidents can reverse the withdrawals of prior presidents. Trump faced that question in 2017 when he sought to overturn a ban by President Barack Obama in order to open up Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas and some parts of the Atlantic to oil and gas exploration.

Two years later, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska struck down Trump’s order. While acknowledging that the law is ambiguous, it did not find express authority for such reversals. Litigation ran out the clock and Biden later overturned Trump’s executive order. So, there are grounds to assert this authority of reversal, but it will take years in court. The alternative and preferred route would be Congress. This is an issue that should ultimately rest with Congress. This ambiguous law is unfortunately common in poorly crafted provisions giving presidents sweeping authority. Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah), chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has already pledged to “push back using every tool at our disposal.”

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The no. 1 censor…

• Meta Culpa: Zuckerberg Joins Musk in the Global Fight for Free Speech (Turley)

“Faithful friends are hard to find.” For the free speech community, those words from Shakespeare have long been tragically true. Indeed, until Elon Musk bought Twitter (now X), we were losing ground around the world to an unprecedented anti-free speech coalition of government, corporate, media, and academic interests. Now, Musk may have added a major new ally that could help turn the tide for free speech: Mark Zuckerberg. In a new video, Meta’s CEO announced that the company would adopt X standards and restore free speech protections across Facebook, Instagram, and Meta platforms. Meta will also end its third-party fact-checking program, introduce a ‘community notes’ system, and focus on removing criminal and fraudulent material—the very guidelines proposed by some of us in prior years. For the free speech community, it was like the United States entering World War II to support Great Britain.

Where Musk stopped the progress of the global anti-free speech movement, Zuckerberg could actually help us regain ground around the world. As one of Zuckerberg’s most vocal critics over free speech, it is admittedly hard to trust. We all love redemptive sinners, but it would be more impressive if the redemption preceded the apprehension. So allow me a brief cathartic moment… In the last few years, a mix of House investigations and litigation has forced more of the censorship system under the Biden Administration into public view. That is expected to draw even greater attention with the continued discovery in Missouri v. Biden, showing years of false statements about the extent of this government-corporate alliance across social media platforms. In my recent book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage, I wrote about Zuckerberg and Meta’s record on censorship, including their failure (until recently) to release the Facebook files.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1876630108158787925

Meta resisted efforts to uncover this evidence for years, even after Musk released the Twitter Files and revealed a censorship system described by one court as perfectly “Orwellian.” While Zuckerberg portrayed Meta as an unwilling partner in this censorship system in his video, he and the company ignored many years of objections from many of us regarding the critical role the company plays in targeting and censoring opposing viewpoints. Facebook even ran a creepy ad campaign to try to convince young people to embrace what they call “content modification” as part of their evolution with technology. It did not work. When the anti-free speech movement targeted Musk, Zuckerberg did nothing for years. Fearing that other companies might restore free speech protections, members of Congress, including now Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), sent a chilling letter to Facebook stating that it should not even consider such a move or risk becoming “part of our ongoing oversight efforts.”

In a November 2020 Senate hearing, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), D-Conn., warned Zuckerberg and other CEOs that he and his Senate colleagues would not tolerate any “backsliding or retrenching” by “failing to take action against dangerous disinformation.” While Musk defied those threats, the pressure seemed to work with Zuckerberg. It was not until the Republicans won both houses and the White House that Zuckerberg and Meta decided that free speech was worth fighting for. In his exclusive interview with Fox News, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, admitted that the Trump election changed the situation for Meta: “We have a new administration coming in that is far from pressuring companies to censor and [is more] a huge supporter of free expression.”

It is a chilling statement if one thinks of what might have happened if Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, arguably the most anti-free speech ticket in history, had won. The suggestion is that the new spring at Meta would have turned into a frozen tundra for free speech. Around the world, free speech is in a free fall. Speech crimes and censorship have become the norm in the West. A new industry of “disinformation” experts has commoditized censorship, making millions in the targeting and silencing of others. An anti-free speech culture has taken root in government, higher education, and the media. We will either hold the line now or we will lose this indispensable right for future generations. Zuckerberg could make this a truly transformative moment but it will take more than a passing meta-culpa. We need Zuckerberg now more than ever. So, with that off my chest, I can get to what I have longed to say: Mr. Zuckerberg, welcome to the fight.

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“..similar developments in a host of huge US companies, including Walmart, Ford, John Deere, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson, Jack Daniel’s, Microsoft, United Airlines and Boeing.”

• McDonald’s Latest To Bail On DEI Goals (ZH)

Bowing to a mix of court rulings, consumer backlash, and rational attentiveness to self-interest, US institutions are abandoning the cult of diversity, equity and inclusion. The latest domino to fall is an American icon: McDonald’s on Monday announced it is curtailing many of its diversity initiatives. The news came in an open letter to McDonald’s its owner/operators, employees and suppliers. Among other factors influencing the move away from DEI, the company pointed to the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that struck down race-centric admissions practice. “We…assessed the shifting legal landscape to anticipate how this ruling may impact corporations such as McDonald’s,” the firm wrote. The McDonald’s return to rationality follows similar developments in a host of huge US companies, including Walmart, Ford, John Deere, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson, Jack Daniel’s, Microsoft, United Airlines and Boeing. While reaffirming McDonald’s commitment to inclusion, the company announced it would “modify…a few practices.” Among them:

• We are retiring setting aspirational representation goals and instead keeping our focus on continuing to embed inclusion practices that grow our business into our everyday process and operations.
• We are pausing external surveys to focus on the work we are doing internally to grow the business.
• We are retiring Supply Chain’s Mutual Commitment to DEI pledge in favor of a more integrated discussion with suppliers about inclusion as it relates to business performance.
McDonald’s vague reference to “pausing external surveys” almost certainly refers to an annual Human Rights Campaign survey that grades companies on LGBTQ inclusion, while the supply chain DEI pledge was McDonald’s quest to impose DEI schemes on the company’s suppliers, demanding they promise to “accelerate cultures of inclusion and belonging.” When announcing that pledge, McDonald’s said it was starting with 20 US-based suppliers, with an ambition to impose it “across McDonald’s value chain by 2025.” Instead, 2025 is the year the scheme is evaporating.

Perhaps the best component of McDonald’s announcement was an embrace of what might be called benevolent neutrality: “We are also excited to introduce a new concept: the power of OUR “Golden Rule” — treating everyone with dignity, fairness and respect, always.” Robby Starbuck, the conservative who’s been blazing a highly effective, boycott-threatening, anti-DEI warpath on prominent consumer-brand companies, implied that his imminent targeting of McDonald’s triggered the announcement, noting that he’d told the company on Friday that he was working on a story about their practices. In a social media post, Starbuck celebrated the McDonald’s move and the broader trend it’s part of: “Our campaigns are so effective that we’re getting the biggest companies on earth to change their policies without me even posting a story exposing their woke policies first. Companies can see that America wants sanity back. The era of wokeness is dying right in front of our eyes. The landscape of corporate America is quickly shifting to sanity and neutrality. We are the trend, not the anomaly anymore.”

Some of McDonald’s woke infrastructure will remain, but it’s being renamed to better align with how the company will approach things going forward. “We are evolving how we refer to our diversity team, which will now be the Global Inclusion Team. This name change is more fitting for McDonald’s in light of our inclusion value and better aligns with this team’s work,” McDonald’s said. McDonald’s noted that 30% of its US leaders come from “underrepresented groups.” However, that’s only 1% higher than it was in 2021, according to Associated Press. It had targeted 35% as the goal for year-end 2025. McDonalds went all-in on diversity schemes in 2021, the year after George Floyd’s death in the custody of Minneapolis police set off a DEI mania that swept across America and western Europe. In addition to the social pressure, the company had also been hit by lawsuits alleging sexual harassment against employees and racial discrimination against black former franchise owners. As the Great DEI Rollback continues, the only question is…who’s next?

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16

Sharks

Everytime

Joke

Turn around

Louis

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Rattle January 5 2025

Jan 052025
 
 January 5, 2025  Posted by at 11:14 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  62 Responses »


Salvador Dali They were there 1931

 

• Top Ukrainian Journalist Predicts Spring Peace Deal (RT)
• Russia, US May Strike New Arms Control Deal (Sp.)
• Biden & Make-Believe Democracy (Cook)
• Trump Administration Must Begin Restoring American Values on Day One (Spivak)
• Biden Awards Hillary Clinton, George Soros Presidential Medal of Freedom (Sp.)
• Uncle Sam and Banderite Bandits Destroy Europe (SCF)
• Countdown to the European Collapse (SCF)
• Last Ditch Media Sanctions From The West Against Russia (Jay)
• ‘Don’t Feed The Troll’ – Scholz On Musk (RT)
• UK Responds To Musk’s Criticism Over Child Rape Scandal (RT)
• Musk Calls For King Charles To Dissolve Parliament Over Grooming Gangs (HT)
• Elon Musk Makes 23 Posts Urging King Charles To Overthrow UK Government (HT)
• US MIC Wants Ukrainian Bloodbath to Continue Even With 18-Year-Olds (Sp.)
• US Supplied ‘A Lot of Weapons’ To Ukraine Ahead of Conflict – Blinken (RT)
• Starmer May Ask Trump to Continue Military Support to Ukraine (Sp.)
• Trump Hires Hawkish Mideast Envoy Because GOP’s Neocon Wing Wanted It (Sp.)
• Taiwan Reunification ‘Closer Than Ever’ – Chinese Ambassador (RT)

 

 

 

 

Ritter
https://twitter.com/i/status/1875710682903019977
Bernays
https://twitter.com/i/status/1875724638992601139

 

 

 

 

“..Trump’s pick for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, who predicted last month that the conflict would be “resolved in the next few months” with Trump in office. “Keith Kellogg is a very serious person..”

• Top Ukrainian Journalist Predicts Spring Peace Deal (RT)

Russia and Ukraine could sign a peace deal this spring, Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon has predicted. In an interview published on his YouTube channel last week, Gordon said the “hot phase” of the conflict ended in 2024. “The peace treaty will be signed somewhere around spring 2025, followed immediately by elections [in Ukraine],” Gordon stated. He said his prediction was based on intuition and information from sources close to the government in Kiev. “I’ll reiterate: The hot phase of the war ends this year [2024],” Gordon added. He also cited US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, who predicted last month that the conflict would be “resolved in the next few months” with Trump in office. “Keith Kellogg is a very serious person. If such a person says that the war will end before the end of the year… people say such things when they have 100% verified information,” Gordon claimed.

Trump has pledged throughout his campaign to end the conflict within 24 hours of returning to the White House. While he has not provided specific details, reported plans include freezing the conflict, delaying Ukraine’s NATO membership by 20 years, and creating a demilitarized zone monitored by European peacekeepers. According to Gordon, Trump’s approach could allow Russia to keep former Ukrainian territories that voted to join it and lift “the most painful” sanctions imposed on Moscow since 2022. At the same time, he claimed the potential deal would likely see NATO troops deployed along the line of contact and granting Ukraine access to frozen Russian assets for reconstruction. Kiev has been reluctant to negotiate with Russia, and earlier this week, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky called Trump’s promise to end the conflict in one day “unrealistic.”

Zelensky has insisted Ukraine needs firm security guarantees, including NATO membership, as the foundation for long-term peace. Moscow has said it is open to talks but insists that any settlement must begin with Ukraine ceasing military operations and acknowledging the “territorial reality” that it will never regain control of its former regions that chose to join Russia. It has also insisted that all the goals of its military operation, including Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification, must be part of any peace deal. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier stated that Trump’s reported plans to send NATO peacekeepers to Ukraine and postpone Ukraine’s membership in the military bloc instead of providing guarantees that it will never join NATO were “unacceptable” for Moscow.

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Too expensive, no results.

• Russia, US May Strike New Arms Control Deal (Sp.)

Russia and the United States are likely to reach an agreement on a new arms control deal after the expiration of the New START Treaty and avoid the risk of nuclear weapons use during Donald Trump’s presidency, experts told Sputnik. During his election campaign, US President-elect Donald Trump said the US was close to reaching a denuclearization agreement with Russia and China during his first presidential term. Last week, US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said that the Trump administration would have “significant leverage” in potential arms control talks with Russia due to the Biden administration’s initiatives to modernize the nuclear arsenal. The official added that the New START treaty, which places limits on the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads and is due to expire in February 2026, creates a crucial opportunity for negotiations.

The New START Treaty signed in 2010 and extended until February 5, 2026, serves as a cornerstone of strategic stability between the US and Russia and primarily focuses on limiting the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads and delivery systems. In February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of Russia’s participation in the New START Treaty, stating that Russia would not allow the US and NATO to inspect its nuclear facilities as Washington was not abiding by the terms of the treaty and was trying to undermine Russia’s national security. Richard Bensel, a professor of government at Cornell University, expressed confidence that Russia and the US will be able to conclude a new arms control agreement. “I believe that the United States and Russia will agree to a new nuclear arms treaty but the negotiations will be quite complicated and, for that reason, we should not expect an agreement soon after the [New START Treaty] expiration,” Bensel told Sputnik.

At the same time, Bensel stressed that the new treaty will probably not be a high priority for the Trump administration because of the prevailing importance of the domestic agenda in the US. “He will have a year to do this but he may even want more time to put some distance between the treaty he will accept and the preliminary negotiations of the Biden administration,” the expert added.Similarly, Roderick Kiewiet, a professor of political science at the California Institute of Technology, assumed that both Moscow and Washington would be interested in reaching a new treaty after the New START Treaty expiration due to the high cost to both countries of maintaining their existing nuclear arsenals. “Trump has said little to nothing about it, but I believe he will want a new arms control treaty. Putin, too, I would think … New generations of these weapons are on the drawing board, but these would be even more expensive to bring on line. So I think there is a ton of money involved that both sides would prefer not to spend,” Kiewiet said.

Both experts ruled out the possibility of China joining a new arms control treaty, as well as any other country that possesses nuclear weapons. According to the latest Pentagon annual report to Congress, China possesses more than 600 operational nuclear warheads as of mid-2024 and will increase their number to over 1,000 by 2030. Earlier in the month, Russian Strategic Missile Forces Commander Col. Gen. Sergei Karakaev did not rule out the possibility that Russia could increase the number of warheads on deployed carriers in response to similar US actions, saying, however, that Russia intends to maintain the number of its nuclear warheads at the level of the New START Treaty limits. On November 19, Russia updated its nuclear doctrine. According to the updates, aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state with the involvement of a nuclear state would be considered a joint attack.

One of the reasons for updating the doctrine was the West’s decision to allow Kiev to use US-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles and the UK’s Storm Shadow long-range missiles for strikes deep into Russian territory. Speaking about the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons, Bensel ruled it out. “Perhaps I am too optimistic but I do not believe that Russia will use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine War,” Bensel said. The expert stressed that it was “almost inconceivable” that the Ukraine conflict could result in the use of nuclear weapons. The same opinion was echoed by Kiewiet, who expressed confidence in the continuation of efforts by Moscow and Washington to overcome existing tensions.

“The thing about these weapons, which has been true since 1945, is that the thought of actually using them is, well, unthinkable. I am confident the US and Russia will continue to manage tensions,” Kiewiet said. The expert called Russian ballistic missile Oreshnik a plus for the Russian military effort at the moment in Ukraine, but doubted that it would have much direct impact on US-Russian relations. In early December, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the US did not consider the possibility of supplying nuclear weapons to Ukraine and only focused on providing conventional weapons to Kiev.

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“Is the U.S. a democracy, or is the democracy just a facade behind which a wealth elite maintains its power? Biden has given us the answer. Were you listening?”

• Biden & Make-Believe Democracy (Cook)

Only in the world of political make-believe we inhabit in the West would The Wall Street Journal’s account of Biden’s years-long cognitive decline, and its concealment by his officials, count as a scoop. And only in a world in which the billionaire-owned media alone constructs and polices what counts as reality would the WSJ be able to run this story without also being expected to consider what it signifies about America’s professed democracy. The emperor, we are now told, was naked all along. How did it take more than four years for the fearless, tenacious billionaire-owned media to notice? The WSJ reports that even back in 2021 Biden had what his officials described as “bad days” when his mind worked so poorly he had to be kept away from senior Congresspeople and his own cabinet colleagues. So insulated was he that he rarely met even with key figures directing White House policy, such as the secretaries of State, Defence and the Treasury.

He was able to hold only two or three cabinet meetings a year during his four-year term — a total of nine, compared to 19 by Barack Obama and 25 by Donald Trump. His aides barely strayed from his side because they needed to whisper instructions for him to carry out the simplest of public tasks, such as where to enter and exit a room. Concern only went mainstream when he performed catastrophically in an unscripted TV debate against Donald Trump in June, eventually having to pull out of his re-election bid and let his vice-president, Kamala Harris, take over. Shortly afterwards, it emerged that he had been receiving regular visits to the White House from a leading neurologist and Parkinson’s expert. Many observers — myself included — pointed out Biden’s mental infirmity from the get-go. Matt Orfalea has been compiling video clips of the president’s stunning gaffes and verbal confusions for years.

None of us were geniuses. We didn’t need access to the 50 White House insiders interviewed by the WSJ. It was blindingly obvious. You had to be lying, or hypnotised, to deny what was so visible. And yet every time we pointed out Biden’s clear cognitive impairment, we were accused of promoting conspiracy theories, engaging in elder abuse, or supporting Trump. The emperor, so we were told, was fully clothed. The truth about Biden hasn’t suddenly leaked out from his officials. Senior politicians on both sides of the aisle knew. White House correspondents knew. Editors knew. And they all lied to protect the system of power to which they belong, the system that keeps them gainfully employed, the system that maintains their status. No one was going to rock the boat.

The WSJ hasn’t suddenly found out things it didn’t know before. The reason it is coming clean now – as are White House staffers – is that President Biden is almost out the door. The truth is no longer a serious threat to the Washington power system. There will be more revelations about Biden’s incapacity – maybe contained in a future book by Bob Woodward – after his presidency has become a distant memory. When it is safe for the full story to be told. When the lies are no longer important. But more significant than the media deceptions are the fact that much of the public fell for them, not once but over and over again: day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. Why? Because far too many of us are in the grip of the West’s propaganda system. We believe that the billionaire-owned media is to be trusted, that it serves the public good, not private wealth.

If a large chunk of the public can be persuaded that a man who is incapable of finding the door through which he’s supposed to leave is “sharp as a tack”, then why would they not also believe that the United States is promoting democracy as it has laid waste to the Middle East over the past two decades to control the region’s oil? Or that Washington is seeking peace for the world and Ukraine by arming it with ever-more offensive weapons against a nuclear-armed Russia so that the U.S. can place ballistic missiles on Moscow’s doorstep? Or that the U.S. wants a ceasefire in Gaza even as it supplies the munitions, intelligence and diplomatic cover for Israel to carry out a genocide there?

The problem is that, subjected to a lifetime of elite propaganda, many are readier to believe that very propaganda than the evidence of their own own eyes. They are truly hypnotised. Even now, many are listening to the “revelations” of Biden’s long decline and, just like the WSJ, not wondering how the U.S. has been functioning for the past four years with a president barely able to read a teleprompter, one whose mind is so vacant he can wander off in the middle of a conversation. Does the U.S. run by itself? Does it need a president? Or is the president nothing more than a figurehead for a permanent bureaucracy that expects to wield power from the shadows, unobserved by voters and unaccountable to them? Is the U.S. a democracy, or is the democracy just a facade behind which a wealth elite maintains its power? Biden has given us the answer. Were you listening?

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“Democrats incessantly claimed that Trump would be a dictator. Instead, Biden became the most authoritarian president of the last 80 years.”

• Trump Administration Must Begin Restoring American Values on Day One (Spivak)

As the Biden-Harris administration slips away, Donald Trump must fulfill his promises to dispose of the woke detritus. His administration will have to bypass antidemocratic booby traps, including recently adopted rules that take time to reverse, last-minute appointments of progressive federal judges, and a hostile, left-leaning Deep State protected by Joe Biden’s revocation of Schedule F termination rights. Democrats incessantly claimed that Trump would be a dictator. Instead, Biden became the most authoritarian president of the last 80 years. Article I, Section 3 of the United States Constitution requires the President to “take care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” and in his oath of office, he swears to do so.

Instead, Biden and his administration issued executive orders and rules he knew to be unconstitutional, unlawful and unpopular, including a radical left agenda of censorship, racism through diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and fanatic transgenderism. The Trump administration should promptly seek to settle lawsuits centered on the outgoing administration’s hard left policies by conceding the government’s position is wrong. It will be difficult for future administrations to violate the settlements without approval of the other parties. At the least, the administration should dismiss, with prejudice, the cases in which it is the plaintiff.

The Trump administration also should seek legislative solutions that give standing to states and private individuals to secure government compliance, and to act as “private attorneys general” to enforce these laws if a future administration fails to do so. Though it will be tough to obtain the 60 votes required for passage in the Senate, there may be opportunities to peel off a few Democrats, or to use reconciliation, which requires only a majority. Regrettably, eliminating the filibuster to facilitate passage would ultimately backfire.

Trump’s team is well positioned for this mission. Harmeet K. Dhillon, Trump’s nominee to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, is a tough litigator who believes in the Constitution and individual rights. Linda McMahon, another of the strong, intelligent women around Trump, will be instrumental as secretary of the Department of Education, which mandated and funds much of the woke jihad. Trump fairly describes Brendan Carr, his pick to chair the Federal Communications Commission, as “a warrior for Free Speech.”

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They missed Charlie Manson.

• Biden Awards Hillary Clinton, George Soros Presidential Medal of Freedom (Sp.)

With just over two weeks left to go in his administration, President Biden has been taking a series of last minute measures to try to ‘Trump-proof’ his legacy and put a spoke in his successor’s wheels. But some of his actions seem designed solely to trigger his opponents. Joe Biden has apparently decided to give one final giant middle finger to detractors on his way out the door, awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, hedge fund shark-turned ‘philanthropist’ George Soros and a slew of celebrities and activists. The White House said the award, given “to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors,” is being handed out this year to 19 individuals that “have made America a better place.”

Online, people were less than enthused about Clinton and Soros’ nominations.“Biden is giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Hillary Clinton and George Soros…seriously two of the worst people on earth. This could be a Babylon Bee article with how unbelievable it is,” internet personality Natalie Danelishen vented. “Unreal,” Elon Musk replied. “It would be almost like awarding the war president par excellence named Obama with a Nobel Peace Prize…Oh…that really happened!” another person quipped. “This shell of an administration is writing the book on how to inflict maximum damage on the country and the American people. Just remember they HATE 60% of us and they have no shame in showing us how much and giving us the finger,” someone wrote. “Epstein wasn’t available,” another user joked. “The special guest of the event will be Lucifer,” another suggested.

“Awarded for their attempt in destroying America?” one person asked. “Does the medal come with…The Biden Pardon? Asking for a friend,” someone wrote.“At least he’s remained consistent, corrupt all the way until the very end,” another suggested.Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Soros are two of the most reviled figures of contemporary US politics among conservatives, the non-liberal left and anti-war and anti-interventionism advocates of all stripes. Clinton, the former first lady and wife of alleged child sex offender Bill Clinton, served as a senator from New York from 2001-2009, actively supporting the Bush administration’s ‘War on Terror’, including the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. As Barack Obama’s secretary of state from 2009-2013, Mrs. Clinton cheerled the NATO operation to topple Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, which turned the North African country into a failed state with open air slave markets, backed the US-led dirty war against Syria, and supported the funneling of billions of dollars in State Department funding into Ukrainian ‘civil society’ initiatives that ultimately helped trigger the Ukrainian crisis in 2014.

[..] Besides Clinton and Soros, Biden’s Medal of Freedom recipients include Bono, Michael J Fox, Denzel Washington, Bill Nye, Magic Johnson, Jane Goodall, liberal philanthropists and activists Jose Andres, Tim Gill and David Rubenstein, soccer star Lionel Messi, American Film Institute founder George Stevens Jr., and Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Robert F Kennedy Jr’s late father, former attorney general Robert F Kennedy, Ashton Carter, deceased former Obama-era Pentagon chief, late former Michigan governor George Romney and late civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer were also honored.

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“The grim fate of Germany heralds the economic misery that the whole EU is sliding headlong into. The history of Europe’s economic demise is as obvious as it is blatant.”

• Uncle Sam and Banderite Bandits Destroy Europe (SCF)

The upshot is that all major Russian natural gas supply lines to Europe have now been terminated. The only one remaining is Turk Stream which runs under the Black Sea to Turkey. But it mainly supplies Balkan countries that are not in the EU. In the space of two years, Russia has gone from being the major supplier of EU gas imports (over 40 percent) to being a minor source. The big winner of the phenomenal market disruption is the United States, whose exports of liquefied natural gas to the EU have tripled. Another winner is Norway, which is not an EU member. Other sources of gas for Europe are Azerbaijan and Algeria.

However, the unprecedented extra costs to Europe for this enormous rearrangement in its energy trade are encumbering the EU economies, industries and households with crippling burdens. New pipelines have to be built, as well as new terminals to receive the shipped gas. U.S. exports cost 30 to 40 percent more than the Russian product. The slump in the German economy from higher energy costs is directly caused by the cutting off of abundant and affordable Russian gas. And it is going to get even worse. The grim fate of Germany heralds the economic misery that the whole EU is sliding headlong into. The history of Europe’s economic demise is as obvious as it is blatant.

Of course, it is all about the United States using and abusing its Western “allies” for its own interests. For Western imperialists, there is no such thing as allies, only interests. And the Americans are exacting that maxim to the hilt. For decades, the U.S. has vehemently opposed the energy trade between the EU and Russia. Back in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan’s administration tried its best to block the development of the Brotherhood Pipeline with threats of economic sanctions. The Americans openly said they didn’t want to see Europe and the Soviet Union developing cooperative relations.

At least in earlier times, the European governments appeared to have more independence and backbone. Germany, France, Italy and others rebuffed Washington’s demands to shut down the gas projects. The long-running strategic aim of the U.S. to displace Russia as an energy supplier to Europe has now been realized. It’s a sign of the desperate times and lawlessness that American military operatives attack European infrastructure. The blowing up of the Nord Stream pipelines and the proxy war in Ukraine have secured the strategic aim of the U.S. and its NATO proxy – keeping the Germans (Europeans) down, the Americans in, and the Russians out. So much for the free-market capitalism and rules-based order that American and European elites preach. The practice is brute economic competition and dominance down the barrel of a gun.

Millions of lives have been destroyed in this “great game” of American imperialist chicanery, and the proxy war in Ukraine is risking the escalation to a nuclear Third World War. The Banderite regime – an echo of the Nazi past – has enabled the United States to enslave Europe to Washington’s imperialist desires. Tragically, a coterie of elitist European political leaders are so obsessed with Russophobia and servility to their American overlord that they are crowing with delight at cutting off Russia. Russia will not suffer. Its vast energy resources are finding alternative lucrative global markets. The victims are the European citizens who are being plunged into wretched economic hardship due to the machinations of American capital, its Banderite tools, and Euro fools.

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“The final goal is a ruined Europe, not only unwilling but also incapable of establishing any future strategic ties with Moscow..”

• Countdown to the European Collapse (SCF)

Finally, energy cooperation between Russia and Europe is (almost) completely over. After nearly three years of sanctions and sabotage, the bilateral Moscow-EU energy partnership suffered its greatest historical blow. Kiev fulfilled its promise not to extend its contract with Gazprom, which was allowing the arrival of Russian gas to Europe, then creating an extremely uncomfortable energy insecurity situation for its own “partners” in the European Union. On the morning of the first day of 2025, the Russian Federation stopped supplying gas to European buyers via Ukraine. Even amidst the conflict, the Russian Gazprom and Ukrainian Naftogaz had kept in operation an energy transit agreement signed in 2020, which expired on the last day of 2024. Previously, Kiev had already announced it was unwilling to renew the contract with Gazprom, although some European countries repeatedly asked Ukraine to do so.

Despite the sanctions imposed on Russia since 2022, some European countries continued benefiting from the import of Russian gas, particularly Slovakia and Hungary – nations that refused to participate in the Western-sponsored anti-Russian boycott – as well as Austria, a country historically neutral in Europe’s geopolitical and military disputes. Other nations, even adhering to the sanctions, continued hypocritically receiving Russian gas, such as Italy, Poland, Romania, and Moldova. There were also cases of gas resale, with receiving nations re-exporting the commodity to countries seeking to bypass the sanctions.

With the end of the Ukrainian route, all these states lost any guarantee of a safe energy source – precisely during winter, the time of year when gas consumption in Europe is at its highest. Obviously, there are currently energy reserves that may be enough to cope with the challenges of the current season, but the situation will progressively become more critical over time. European nations will have to find new sources of gas or expand the use of the only two remaining routes for Russian gas (via Turkey and the Black Sea). Recent indicators show a substantial rise in gas prices among Asian exporters. Ankara is also expected to take the opportunity to gain more profits from its pipeline.

There is currently hope among Europeans for a cheap gas supply through the long-awaited Qatari-Turkish pipeline project via Syria. With the fall of Bashar al Assad’s legitimate government, energy giants from Turkey and the Gulf have revived the proposal, although they are waiting for domestic pacification in Syria by the Al-Qaeda junta to begin the construction. Some optimistic analysts in Europe believe this would be the antidote to Europe’s dependency on Russian gas – or Asian and American, as in the current circumstances.

The main problem with this hope is believing in the goodwill of the Western hawks to “pacify Syria.” Without Assad, Damascus became a “failed state,” with territory divided between different factions in constant hostilities. It is unlikely this will change – simply because, despite the tactical operators of the Syrian crisis (Turkey and Qatar) wanting pacification, the strategic mentors (Israel and the USA) are not interested. Tel Aviv prefers a polarized and war-torn Syria, unable to do anything to prevent territorial progress in the Golan and beyond. Washington, which is subservient to Israeli interests through the international Zionist lobby, is interested in the same – along with, of course, fostering Kurdish terrorists to worsen the internal Syrian situation even further.

In other words, Western analysts still do not understand that the decision-makers of the unipolar axis simply do not want to solve Europe’s problems. It is not in the US’ interest that its “partners” in Europe regain cheap energy and a strong industrial base. For Washington, the collapse of Europe is not a tragedy but a strategic goal, whose roots lie in the science of geopolitics itself. According to the fundamentals of Western geopolitics, Russian-European integration would be disastrous for the US-UK Atlantic axis. Therefore, in the face of Russia’s imminent military victory and Moscow’s rehabilitation as a Eurasian geopolitical power, the Americans and the British have adopted a “scorched earth” strategy in Europe.

Sanctions, the terrorist attack on Nord Stream, and the closure of the Ukrainian route to Europe are events that are part of the same strategic context: in all these cases, Anglo-American strategists want to provoke an energy collapse in Europe to enable deindustrialization and the subsequent economic and social crisis. The final goal is a ruined Europe, not only unwilling but also incapable of establishing any future strategic ties with Moscow. With the fall of the Ukrainian gas route, it can be said that the US won an important battle in its economic war against Europe. The total collapse is merely a matter of time.

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“The West is under no illusions privately that it is losing the war in Ukraine and is wondering how it can tell a fairy tale story to its own voters so as to deflect blame with the sole purpose of staying in power..”

• Last Ditch Media Sanctions From The West Against Russia (Jay)

Many analysts will be wondering what Trump will do about Russian sanctions when gets into the Oval office, although there is some optimism that he will try and reverse them. He is cautious not to get into a debate about this subject, which leads me to suspect that this will be one the bombshells he will drop on the Biden administration which left him the small gift of signing off over a billion dollars of military aid to Ukraine. What almost no Americans understand though, which is largely the fault of mainstream media, is that these military spending sprees are really all about feeding a dual-purpose racket which really has nothing to do with the actual war in Ukraine, which everyone now admits Russia is winning.

On one hand, it is of course pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the 5 main arms manufacturers in the U.S. in a move which could arguably be called illegal state aid; on the other hand the kit which is sent to Ukraine from the U.S. – and the UK – is mainly being sold on a number of black markets, with only about 30 percent or thereabouts actually reaching Ukrainian troops. My own investigation has proved that the Zelensky cabal are selling off the heavy equipment like armoured personal carriers (APCs) and lorry loads of American made assault rifles to dealers in the international arms bizarre of Libya – where Middle Eastern terrorists, or their affiliates in the Sahel buy it at bargain prices. And Trump certainly understands the racket and will want to stop it. Dropping the mother of all bombshells on the Biden legacy by scrapping the sanctions and blocking any more aid would be an effective way to do that.

But it’s the sanctions on Russia media which he should also give priority to, given that, with the state of western media being such a shambles, we had to rely on RT for example, in the UK and U.S., to ask the difficult questions and hold our administrations to account. The recent news at the end of December that the EU is cracking down even further on Russia media and individuals who are active within it – journalists and others – is another parting shot which smacks of desperation. The West is under no illusions privately that it is losing the war in Ukraine and is wondering how it can tell a fairy tale story to its own voters so as to deflect blame with the sole purpose of staying in power. This is really what media sanctions are all about.

Shutting down any narrative that could possibly hold you to account and expose the tawdry reality of the mess the West has made in Ukraine based on the military industrial complex gaining too much power and eating up elites in its path. The Biden administration will be remembered for this. A new dawn in just how much power these arms manufacturers have and what lengths they can go to, to get the big contracts. This will all come out in the Trump administration with documentaries about Biden and his son’s laptop and how Ukraine was a holiday camp for them to go to with empty suitcases and return with a few million dollars. Like a cash machine which keeps churning out cash due to a computer glitch. The lure of Ukraine and corrupt western elites is nothing new. But during Trump’s first term citizens of the West are going to see the dark side to the events which led up to Russia’s invasion. And it stinks.

Part of that racket, going back even to 2013 or 2014 was to try and shut down Russian media. In reality, it was simply RT which elites noticed was gaining popularity in many European countries from people who had lost all faith in their own media which had fallen into the grubby hands of the powerful elites and their dirty games long ago. It used to be the case that in Brussels, the hold that the powerful institutions had on journalists was so strong in such an abusive relationship that what we saw each day on TV and in the newspapers was pure EU propaganda on a scale that even the Soviet Union could not muster. There used to be however the contrast between Brussels and member states where the media were more robust and anti-establishment. But no more.

Now the political journalists along with the defence correspondent in the UK for example are practically government propaganda agents who probably think they were journalists once. Their work is to keep the lies about Ukraine, as one example, flowing so that the public are distracted and can’t focus on what is under their nose. Sometimes the plain truth is so close to the person looking for it, that it can’t be seen. Distance is required. When RT operated in the UK, there was this certain environment which questioned more and provided an alternative viewpoint which was needed in any functioning democracy. Trump’s priority should be to finish the sanctions and adopt a more grown-up approach to resolving Ukraine as the Russians want a longer-term solution rather than quick fix buggerydoo. Ending the sanctions on Russian media would be a good message to western elites that have fed from the trough for so long with the lies which have been created that their time is up. Trump’s back.

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“Our democracy cannot afford such external influences,” Habeck said.”

• ‘Don’t Feed The Troll’ – Scholz On Musk (RT)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has responded to criticism from SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who recently signaled his support for Germany’s right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. In an interview with Stern magazine published on Saturday, Scholz advised keeping calm when dealing with such remarks and urged against succumbing to provocations. “There are many people on social media who want to attract attention with strong slogans,” Scholz said. “The rule is: Don’t feed the troll.” Musk referred to Scholz as an “incompetent fool” in December in a post on X, his social media platform. The billionaire criticized Berlin’s migration policy after it emerged that the man who had mowed through a crowded Christmas market in Germany, killing five and injuring dozens, was an Arab immigrant with a residence permit.

Musk also praised the AfD and expressed support for its anti-immigration stance and said it’s the only party capable of “saving Germany.” He later elaborated in an op-ed for Welt am Sonntag that the right-wing party’s immigration policies are aimed at preserving the nation’s culture and security rather than promoting xenophobia. Musk’s backing of the AfD is “far more concerning” than personal insults, the chancellor told the German magazine, noting that the party advocates closer ties with Russia and a weakening of transatlantic relationships. German officials, including Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, have condemned Musk’s comments, and warned the billionaire against interfering in German politics. “Our democracy cannot afford such external influences,” Habeck said.

Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have been picked by US President-elect Donald Trump to lead his proposed ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ initiative (DOGE). Some members of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s inner circle have said that Musk could not maintain active support for AfD and Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK party while remaining a member of the new US administration, The Sunday Times reported on Thursday. Such actions would effectively amount to declaring war on the main US allies in Europe, the newspaper’s sources said. The tech entrepreneur earlier also shared a post agreeing with the statement that Reform is “the only way to save” Britain.

Germany gears up for early parliamentary elections on February 23, following the collapse of Scholz’s coalition government due to disagreements on Ukraine aid, economic reforms, and climate policy, leading to a vote of no confidence and parliamentary dissolution in December. Scholz has since been leading a minority government. The AfD has seen a rise in popularity, with recent polls indicating support of around 17%. However, Germany’s major political parties, including Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), have ruled out any coalition with the group.

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Farage is coming. He doesn’t even have to campaign.

• UK Responds To Musk’s Criticism Over Child Rape Scandal (RT)

The UK will not refuse Elon Musk’s assistance in tackling systemic failures in addressing child sexual exploitation, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said. Britain has been rocked by the exposure of, and failure to properly investigate, a grooming scandal in which hundreds of groups of Asian men, mostly Pakistanis, raped and tortured thousands of underage British girls – in towns across the north of England. Musk, who is known for his stance against illegal immigration, has been particularly vocal about the scandal, calling it a case of “state-sponsored evil.” He went on to claim that Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who led the Crown Prosecutorial Service from 2008 to 2013, “was complicit in the RAPE OF BRITAIN,” and must not only resign, but also face charges for failing to deliver justice.

In an interview with ITV News on Friday, Streeting suggested that “some of the criticisms Elon Musk has made… are misjudged and certainly misinformed.” However, he said the UK’s Labor government is “willing to work with Elon Musk who I think has got a big role to play with his social media platform, to help us tackle this issue.” Streeting added that “political correctness was able to get in the way of going after the perpetrators of these serious crimes,” vowing that the government will do its utmost to prevent further incidents.

The grooming gang scandal, a euphemism for widespread child sexual exploitation, primarily came to light through cases in Rotherham, Rochdale, and Telford. Investigations revealed systemic abuse spanning decades, with reports estimating that over 1,400 children were exploited in Rotherham alone from 1997 to 2013. In one of the most egregious cases, the police arrested a father who attempted to rescue his daughter from a house where she was being raped. As the revelations were pouring in, some British media outlets blasted law enforcement for their “cowardice” and for attempting to downplay the scandal in order to not be accused of racism and prevent the rise of the far-right in the UK.

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Been going on for decades. Worse than Epstein. What role did Charles play?

• Musk Calls For King Charles To Dissolve Parliament Over Grooming Gangs (HT)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has continued his social media criticism of UK PM Keir Starmer for the government’s handling of a ‘child grooming’ scandal in the country Elon Musk has continued his criticism of the Government, calling on the King to step in and dissolve Parliament. The world’s richest man, who purchased the social media site Twitter and renamed it X in 2022, has shared and reacted to tweets critical of the Government and the Prime Minister after Labour rejected a call for an inquiry into child grooming. In his latest attacks on Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Musk shared a post asking whether Charles “should dissolve parliament and order a General Election… for the sake and security” of Britain. Mr Musk retweeted the X thread with a one-word comment: “Yes.”

The 53-year-old Starlink boss continued to wade into the debate overnight, hours after he posted that safeguarding minister Jess Phillips “deserves to be in prison” after she denied requests for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham on Thursday. He also suggested the Prime Minister had failed to bring “rape gangs” to justice when he was director of public prosecutions. Mr Musk reposted an article in The Daily Telegraph by shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick in which he says the “grooming gangs” should be renamed “torture rape gangs”. He wrote that Mr Musk’s comments had shamed “the establishment by taking more interest in bringing these rape gangs to justice in one evening than most of the British establishment has for decades”.

Mr Musk continued his criticism in a post alongside footage of The Times’ chief investigative reporter Andrew Norfolk as he detailed the scope of the case and police mishandling, calling it “State-sponsored evil.” Mr Norfolk exposed the Rotherham child sexual exploitation ring in the UK press in 2011. In another comment on the same post, Mr Musk branded the scandal and the child rapists involved as “utterly shameful”. The Tesla owner also called a post asking why people were angrier at his comments than they were about “mass rape” of children as the “perfect question”. Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said a full national inquiry into organised grooming gangs is “long overdue”. Ms Phillips said she recognised the “strength of feeling” for a Home Office-led inquiry into Oldham, but she told the local council the Government will not “intervene”.

“I believe it is for Oldham Council alone to decide to commission an inquiry into child sexual exploitation locally, rather than for the Government to intervene,” she said. In response, Mr Musk, a key member of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle, said: “She deserves to be in prison.” He also appeared to place blame at the Prime Minister’s door. Mr Musk said: “In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the Crown Prosecution Service’s approval for the police to charge suspects. Who was the head of the CPS when rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer, 2008-2013.” In a series of posts on his social media site, Mr Musk described the Prime Minister as “two-tier Keir”, claiming there was “no justice for severe, violent crimes but prison for social media posts”.

Mr Musk also expressed his support for activist Tommy Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – who was jailed for 18 months for contempt of court in October. Senior Tories also sought to put pressure on the Government over grooming gangs. Mrs Badenoch said: “The time is long overdue for a full national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal. Trials have taken place all over the country in recent years but no one in authority has joined the dots. 2025 must be the year that the victims start to get justice.” Shadow home secretary Chris Philp and shadow safeguarding minister Alicia Kearns pressed for a statutory inquiry in Oldham. They said that only a public inquiry “can adequately encompass the national nature of these crimes and issues” and consider whether reports were ignored by the police, CPS and local council “or even covered up”.

In 2022, the then-Conservative government also refused a request for a public inquiry into events in Oldham. An Oldham Council spokesman said: “Survivors sit at the heart of our work to end child sexual exploitation. Whatever happens in terms of future inquiries, we have promised them that their wishes will be paramount, and we will not renege on that pledge.” Responding to Mrs Badenoch’s post, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “Talk is cheap. The Conservatives had 14 years in government to launch an inquiry. The establishment has failed the victims of grooming gangs on every level.” Mr Musk, who is rumoured to be considering a major donation to Mr Farage’s party, responded: “Exactly. Time for Reform.” The Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse, which published its final report in 2022, described the sexual abuse of children as an “epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake”.

Led by Professor Alexis Jay, the inquiry looked into abuse by organised groups following multiple convictions of sexual offences against children across the UK between 2010-2014, including in Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale and Bristol. In November last year, Professor Jay said she felt “frustrated” that none of the probe’s 20 recommendations had been implemented more than two years after its conclusion. A Labour spokesman said the Government is “working at pace to implement the recommendations” in Professor Jay’s report. The spokesman added: “We have supported both the national overarching inquiry into child abuse which reported in 2022, and local independent inquiries and reviews including in Telford, Rotherham and Greater Manchester.”

“This Government is working urgently to strengthen the law so that these crimes are properly reported and investigated. In Oldham the crimes committed by grooming gangs were horrific. Young girls were abused in the most cruel and sadistic way.” “Victims and the community need to know that all steps are taken to deliver justice and protect children properly in the future. We will welcome and support an independent investigation commissioned by Oldham Council which puts victims’ voices at its heart, following the examples of Telford and Rotherham.” “We also continue to support wider work commissioned by mayor Andy Burnham into child protection issues across Greater Manchester, following the review into historic safeguarding issues in Oldham which was published in 2022.”

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“..had Elon Musk really paid attention to what’s going on in this country, he might have recognized that there have already been inquiries..”

• Elon Musk Makes 23 Posts Urging King Charles To Overthrow UK Government (HT)

Elon Musk has become a political lightning rod in the United Kingdom after he advocated for King Charles III to shutdown Parliament and call for a new election. The Tesla boss endorsed a social media post criticizing the government’s handling of criminal gang investigations in Manchester. “In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the Crown Prosecution Service’s approval for the police to charge suspects. Who was the head of the CPS when rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer, 2008 -2013,” Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter) on New Year’s Day. “Who is the boss of Jess Phillips right now? Keir Stamer. The real reason she’s refusing to investigate the rape gangs is that it would obviously lead to the blaming of Keir Stamer [head of the CPS at the time],” he wrote in a follow-up post.

“The King must step in. We can’t have Keir heading the country, while he was the one heading the Crown Prosecution Service [CPS] while all this was happening,” he added in the thread. Responding to his comments, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said they were “misjudged and certainly misinformed.” Labour Minister Andrew Gwynne echoed the sentiment during an interview with LBC radio, “Elon Musk is an American citizen and perhaps ought to focus on issues on the other side of the Atlantic.” “The grooming issue is a very serious issue. We’ve already had inquiries into Telford, into Rotherham, we’ve had a local inquiry commissioned by Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, into the situation here in Greater Manchester, which includes Oldham,” Gwynne explained.

“There comes a point where we don’t need more inquiries, and had Elon Musk really paid attention to what’s going on in this country, he might have recognized that there have already been inquiries. What we need is justice for the victims, and we need to make sure that the criminal justice system follows up and makes sure that these atrocious things are never able to happen again.”

The debate intensified when Musk suggested that Minister Jess Phillips “deserves to be in prison” for her stance on launching a new public inquiry into grooming in Oldham. Phillips had argued that a local council-led inquiry, similar to those in Rotherham and Telford, would be more effective, per BBC report. Adding fuel to the fire, Musk shared an article by Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick from The Daily Telegraph discussing the investigations. Jenrick commented that Musk’s remarks had “shamed the establishment by taking more interest in bringing these rape gangs to justice in one evening than most of the British establishment has for decades.”

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The people will rise to defend their kids.

• US MIC Wants Ukrainian Bloodbath to Continue Even With 18-Year-Olds (Sp.)

Washington is pressuring Zelensky to lower the draft age from 25 to 18. Meanwhile, Western media is reporting that Ukrainian recruits have begun deserting forces training in European NATO countries hundreds at a time. Retired Russian Army colonel and renowned military observer Viktor Litovkin explains how these events are connected. “The war in Ukraine is profitable to the United States economically, politically and so on. That’s why they’re interested in this war continuing,” Litovkin told Sputnik, commenting the Biden administration’s steady pressure on Kiev to reduce the draft age to 18. Besides the cash the US military-industrial complex can expect from new contracts from its Eastern European NATO allies from the “recycling” their Warsaw Pact-era Soviet equipment, and the replenishment of Pentagon warehouses after sending old stocks off to Kiev, hawks in Washington are able to pursue their long-term obsession with “weakening Russia,” Litovkin explained.

The gruesome “business” in Ukraine is so profitable that Litovkin doesn’t expect it to stop once Donald Trump is in charge. After all, he recalled, it was Trump who first sent lethal weapons to the country in 2019. “I’m more than certain that Trump will not rush to stop this ‘business’. He will likely simply dump part of it onto Europe, while continuing the rest because it’s profitable for the US. Trump has always been on the side of the US military-industrial complex,” Litovkin said. As for plans to draft 18-year-olds, how else “how can this conflict continue, if a million Ukrainian servicemen have already been knocked out, killed, wounded, maimed and so on,” with other draft-age men fleeing to Europe, Russia, etc., the observer asked.

“There are about 30,000 mercenaries fighting in Ukraine. All the complex military equipment is controlled by mercenaries, US, Polish and German specialists, from HIMARS to Patriots and others…But someone has to man the front lines, someone has to man the trenches” if the reserve of 25-year-olds and up – the current draft age, is exhausted, the retired soldier said. Unfortunately, Litovkin doesn’t expect Ukraine’s population to rise up and overthrow the government sending its sons to their deaths. “Power in Ukraine is in the hands of the Banderites, who keep the people who are left in fear…Maybe individuals and groups can declare a protest, but they will be immediately thrown in jail and the men sent to the front,” he said.

Ukrainian and US business media reported this week that Ukraine’s brand new, elite NATO-trained 155th Mechanized Brigade “disintegrated” before reaching the frontlines, with over 1,700 of its 5,800 members said to have fled during training in France and Poland, before deployment in the ongoing bloody battles in the Donbass. The mass desertion signals a critical lack of “fighting spirit,” Litovkin believes. “Victory in every war is determined by the fighting spirit of those masses who shed blood on the battlefield,” Litovkin explained, suggesting the incident shows that “coercion,” not fighting spirit, are the main remaining motivator in the Ukrainian Army, hence the regular mass desertions, mass surrenders, etc.

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They knew what would happen. And then provoked it.

• US Supplied ‘A Lot of Weapons’ To Ukraine Ahead of Conflict – Blinken (RT)

Washington supplied “a lot of weapons” to Ukraine in the months before the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev began in February 2022, outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has admitted. The top diplomat made the remarks while speaking on the New York Times’ ‘The Interview’ podcast, aired on Saturday. The US saw the conflict between Russia and Ukraine “coming” and wanted to get Kiev “prepared” for it, according to Blinken. “Starting in September and then again in December, we quietly got a lot of weapons to Ukraine to make sure that they had in hand what they needed to defend themselves – things like Stingers, Javelins that they could use,” he said.

The weaponry has proven “instrumental” in “preventing Russia from taking Kiev,” as well as “rolling over the country, erasing it from the map,” Blinken asserted. The intentions ascribed to Moscow by the top US diplomat, however, sharply contrast with the goals of the military operation repeatedly articulated by Russia’s leadership. The original aims included demilitarization and denazification of the country, as well as Kiev accepting a neutral status and abandoning its aspirations to join NATO. Over time, the list was somewhat expanded in the wake of the incorporation of the four formerly Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, into Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly said any potential negotiations with Kiev would require it to accept the “realities on the ground,” as well as to withdraw troops from the new Russian territories. Blinken’s remarks received a poor reception in Moscow. Senior Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik suggested the revelations somewhat undermined the usual narrative about the supposedly “unprovoked Russian aggression.” “Pumping [Ukraine] with weapons for an attack on Donbass and Russia, isn’t that a pretext for the special military operation?” Miroshnik said in a Telegram post.

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Tell him to talk to Musk.

• Starmer May Ask Trump to Continue Military Support to Ukraine (Sp.)

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer may travel to Washington within weeks after US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20 to urge him to provide military assistance to Ukraine, the media reported, citing sources. Downing Street hopes Starmer will fly to Washington in late January or early February and try to convince Trump to continue backing Kiev even despite Trump’s promise to strike a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the media said. According to the publication, on the Chinese issue, the prime minister will support the United States on national security issues, but does not approve of tariffs as a way to improve global trade. Russia believes that arms supplies to Ukraine hinder the settlement, directly involving NATO countries in the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russia.

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“..I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for them. Let’s see what happens..”

• Trump Hires Hawkish Mideast Envoy Because GOP’s Neocon Wing Wanted It (Sp.)

The President-elect’s second term cabinet picks have been a mixed bag, with America First doves like Tulsi Gabbard (his pick for director of national intelligence) overshadowed by neocon hawks like Marco Rubio (secretary of state), Mike Waltz (national security advisor) and Elise Stefanik (UN ambassador). Donald Trump has tapped another neoconservative for his cabinet, selecting Morgan Ortagus, his previous administration’s ex-State Department spokeswoman, to serve as deputy envoy of his Middle East peace team. The president-elect made the announcement in an oddly resentful manner on his social media platform Friday. “Early on Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson. These things usually don’t work out, but she has strong Republican support, and I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for them. Let’s see what happens,” Trump wrote.

“She will hopefully be an asset to Steve [billionaire Steven Witkoff, Trump’s pick for special Middle East envoy, ed.], a great leader and talent, as we seek to bring calm and prosperity to a very troubled region. I expect great results, and soon!” Trump added. Ortagus, who served as State Department spokeswoman under Mike Pompeo in the second half of Trump’s first administration, is also a former Treasury Department intelligence analyst, public affairs officer for USAID – the US government’s soft power foreign aid tool, a former banker, Fox News contributor, and officer in the US Navy Reserve. Before throwing her hat into the ring with Trump, Ortagus worked for Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Her foreign policy positions are cross-the-board hawkish. Ortagus has cheered an escalation of tensions with China at every turn, praised the 2020 murder of Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, accused Russia of destabilizing the Middle East, and said the problem with the conflict in Ukraine isn’t NATO’s fueling of a proxy war, but the Biden administration not being “serious about defeating Russia.” Ortagus reportedly has close relationships with Trump’s secretary of state pick Marco Rubio, forever war hawk Senator Lindsey Graham, and Trump special missions envoy Richard Grenell. During Trump’s first term, she also worked closely with Jared Kushner, architect of the ‘Deal of the Century’ Palestinian-Israeli peace deal which Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said belongs in the “garbage can of history.”

Graham praised Ortagus’s new appointment, saying she was “literally the best pick he could have made,” and that “nobody has closer ties to Israel and understands the mischief of Iran.” Ortagus said she was “honored” over her appointment and that “to be given the opportunity to once again represent my country and the Trump administration in a crucial diplomatic role is dream come true [sic].” The Witkoff-Ortagus team is expected to be tasked with ending the Gaza war and reducing Mideast tensions more broadly as Israel escalates its war against Yemen’s Houthis, and mulls aggression targeting Iran’s nuclear sites.

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‘One China’.

• Taiwan Reunification ‘Closer Than Ever’ – Chinese Ambassador (RT)

China is making significant strides toward achieving its long-held goal of reunification with its self-governed region of Taiwan, according to Zhang Hanhui, Beijing’s ambassador to Russia. It follows a recent statement made by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who described reunification as inevitable. In an opinion piece for RIA Novosti published on Friday, Zhang denounced Washington’s involvement in the affairs of the island, which Beijing insists is its sovereign territory. “Reunification is a historical trend and the right path, albeit one that involves hardships. ‘Taiwan independence’ is… a path doomed to failure. The Chinese nation has always adhered to the common belief that territory cannot be divided… the nation cannot be fragmented,” Zhang wrote. “China is closer than ever in its history to achieving the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” he added.

Beijing is “full of confidence and possesses the strength to achieve… the complete reunification of the country,” the ambassador said. Self-rule was established in Taiwan by nationalist forces after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Only a handful of nations currently recognize the island’s sovereignty, with most of the world, including Russia, complying with Beijing’s request that it be seen as part of the People’s Republic. While the US officially adheres to the One-China policy, recognizing Taiwan as part of China, it simultaneously engages in military cooperation with the government in Taipei, provoking indignation from Beijing. Last month, US President Joe Biden authorized $571 million in arms and supplies for the self-governing island.

Taiwan rejects Beijing’s claims and insists upon its sovereignty. Under President Tsai Ing-wen, the island has consistently opposed China’s “One Country, Two Systems” framework. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs frequently condemns Beijing’s actions as provocative and detrimental to regional peace. China held large-scale military drills around the island in October. The government in Taipei has claimed that Beijing will never “renounce the use of force” against it. Despite this, Zhang reiterated Beijing’s preference for peaceful reunification, a sentiment previously expressed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Zhang accused the United States of using Taipei as a tool to contain China, blaming Washington for escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait. He also acknowledged Russia’s consistent support for Beijing’s ‘One China’ policy, calling it a testament to the close strategic partnership between the two countries.

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3
https://twitter.com/i/status/1875364457993650265

 

 

Humming
https://twitter.com/i/status/1875213551633318400

 

 

Pura raza
https://twitter.com/i/status/1875570384591810899

 

 

Je t’aime

 

 

Irwin

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Rattle December 30 2024

Dec 302024
 
 December 30, 2024  Posted by at 11:12 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  60 Responses »


René Magritte The key to the fields 1936

 

• How Trump Reacted to Jimmy Carter’s Passing (TH)
• Trump To Battle Federal Employee Unions As He Seeks To Shrink Government (JTN)
• Trump’s Tariff Threats Cast Shadow Over European Auto Industry (RFGE/RL)
• Lefty Legal Experts Call on Congress to Disqualify Trump (Heine)
• Musk Appears to Soften Pro-Foreign Worker, H-1B Visa Stance (ET)
• Musk’s Big Bet: Could Germans Kick Out Their Liberal Elites? (Romanenko)
• Musk Pens Pro-AfD Op-Ed In Major German Paper; Editor Resigns (ZH)
• Sugar Juice & Fraud Propped Up Failing Biden Economy – Ed Dowd (USAW)
• No Longer Sustained by Education, Western Humanity Is in Death Throes (PCR)
• The Moral Bankruptcy of the West (John Mearsheimer)
• Most, But Not All, Republicans Lining Up To Support Speaker Of The House (JTN)
• New Strategy For DNC: Younger Candidates Launching Bids To Run Party (JTN)
• Ukraine Could Agree To Non-NATO Security Guarantees – Envoy (RT)
• Zelensky Charges Slovakia’s Fico With Opening “Second Energy Front” (ZH)
• EU States Seek To Protect Russian Gas Flow Despite Ukrainian Threat (RT)
• Georgia’s New President ‘Hardline Critic of the West’ (Sp.)

 

 

 

 

1987

1992

Andreessen


https://twitter.com/i/status/1873099800801099847

Dore

X
https://twitter.com/i/status/1873410603941048825

Munro

200
https://twitter.com/i/status/1873449375092916283

 

 

 

 

A full life. The presidency was not his brightest moment.

• How Trump Reacted to Jimmy Carter’s Passing (TH)

Jimmy Carter passed away on Sunday at the age of 100. It was the longest post-presidencies in American history. Carter was also the oldest former president to ever live in American history. A few lived into their 90s; Carter’s predecessor, Gerald R. Ford, died at 93 in 2006. While not a successful presidency, Carter’s philanthropic activities and other forms of civil engagement is his real legacy. He lived a remarkable life (via NYT): “Jimmy Carter, who rose from Georgia farmland to become the 39th president of the United States on a promise of national healing after the wounds of Watergate and Vietnam, then lost the White House in a cauldron of economic turmoil at home and crisis in Iran, died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Ga. He was 100. The Carter Center in Atlanta announced his death, which came nearly three months after Mr. Carter, already the longest-living president in American history, became the first former commander in chief to reach the century mark. Mr. Carter went into hospice care 22 months ago, but held on longer than even his family expected.

Tributes poured in from presidents, world leaders and many everyday people from around the world who admired not only Mr. Carter’s service during four years in the White House but his four decades of efforts since leaving office to fight disease, broker peace and provide for the poor. President Biden ordered a state funeral to be held and was expected to deliver a eulogy. “To all of the young people in this nation and for anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning — the good life — study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith and humility,” Mr. Biden, the first Democratic senator to endorse Mr. Carter’s long-shot 1976 bid for the presidency, said in a statement. “He showed that we are great nation because we are a good people.”

Trump issued two statements on Mr. Carter’s passing: “I just heard of the news about the passing of President Jimmy Carter. Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History. The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude. Melania and I are thinking warmly of the Carter Family and their loved ones during this difficult time. We urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers.” And the second:

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Big fight.

• Trump To Battle Federal Employee Unions As He Seeks To Shrink Government (JTN)

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to drastically cut government and clean out inefficiencies, but he faces an entrenched power in Washington, D.C. that may throw a wrench in his plans: federal government public employee unions. “For president-elect Trump to succeed at making the federal bureaucracy more efficient and accountable to the American people, he’ll have to once again do battle with federal unions,” Max Nelsen, a labor policy expert at the Freedom Foundation, told The Center Square. Trump has tapped top businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency effort. Musk has claimed he can cut $2 trillion in federal spending. In a November joint editorial in the Wall Street Journal, Musk and Ramaswamy pledged “mass head-count reductions” in the federal government.

Firing federal workers is notoriously rare and difficult, but Ramaswamy has publicly said that mass, indiscriminate firings may allow for circumventing the usual bureaucratic holdups for firing a federal employee. Trump himself recently pledged to cut “hundreds of billions” in federal spending. “Government unions are hands down the single most significant defenders of the administrative state,” Nelsen said. “Their interests are always served by bigger, more expensive, less accountable government, and their partisan allegiance to the radical Left leads them to both overtly and covertly undermine conservative policy changes across the federal government…” The first battle with unions in the DOGE war may be federal work from home policies, where unions have already threatened legal action to protect their pre-arranged deals with the Biden administration.

Trump threatened to fire federal employees who are not willing to report to the office, a clear shot at federal work-from-home policies, something Musk has also blasted in recent weeks. “If people don’t come back to work, come back into the office, they’re going to be dismissed,” Trump told reporters during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago. The largest federal employee union quickly shot back after Trump made the comments and threatened legal action. Trump’s comments are likely at least in part reacting to a Biden administration official negotiating a deal with a union that extends until 2029, after Trump is scheduled to leave office. As The Center Square previously reported, Social Security Administrator Martin O’Malley negotiated a deal with union leaders to codify work-from-home policies, keeping telework in place for his 42,000 employees until 2029.

Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employee union, pointed out that these contracts are legally binding. “Collective bargaining agreements entered into by the federal government are binding and enforceable under the law,” Kelley said. “We trust the incoming administration will abide by their obligations to honor lawful union contracts. If they fail to do so, we will be prepared to enforce our rights.” Trump’s backers may have an ace in the hole, though, in the form of new Supreme Court precedent. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year in a landmark case to overturn Chevron deference, the longstanding legal practice of giving federal agencies broad power to interpret and practically change and expand federal laws as they deemed fit, citing their expertise.

Now, Musk and Ramaswamy will likely have more leeway in cutting rules from the books and workers from the payroll. Nelsen said Trump should limit the amount of federal dollars that go toward unions, and that he should increase union transparency. “Additionally, President Trump will need a cadre of energetic appointees at the Office of Personnel Management, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and in labor relations departments government wide to aggressively implement his directives,” Nelsen said. “Finally, to truly have a long-term impact, President Trump will need a successor in four years committed to continuing the fight.”

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Make a deal.

• Trump’s Tariff Threats Cast Shadow Over European Auto Industry (RFGE/RL)

As Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20, Europe’s already battered car industry is bracing for additional headwinds amid the threat of new tariffs from the incoming U.S. president. Trump has pledged to impose steep new tariffs on goods coming from China, Canada, and Mexico in one of his first acts in office, a promise that could ignite trade wars. That is bad news for European automakers who have already seen sales and manufacturing decline in top markets like the United States and China. The potential tariffs would be felt hard not only by leading European car brands like Volkswagen, Volvo, and Stellantis — the conglomerate that produces Fiat, Chrysler, and Citroen — but also for the Central and Eastern European countries whose economies rely heavily on making them.

Toma Savic, a former director at Zastava, a Serbian international car manufacturer that was shuttered in 2008, said the tariffs would be a particularly hard blow for operations in the Balkan country. “This inevitably would lead to the shrinking of production in Europe and mass layoffs,” he said. Zastava later became Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Serbia, which is owned by Stellantis. Based in Kragujevac in central Serbia, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Serbia has already been struggling to recuperate its foothold in the European auto industry prior to the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s when it assembled 200,000 cars annually and exported them to 26 countries. Germany’s auto industry is also likely to be highly vulnerable to Trump’s promised tariffs, especially given that Europe’s biggest economy is by far the region’s largest exporter of passenger cars to the United States.

European and American carmakers could lose up to 17 percent of their combined annual core profits if the United States imposes import tariffs on Europe, Mexico, and Canada, according to some estimates. While Europe was not specifically mentioned in Trump’s first tariff announcement in late November, he took aim at the European Union while on the campaign trail earlier this year and accused European partners of unfair trade practices and stealing American manufacturing jobs. “They don’t take our cars, they don’t take our farm products, don’t take anything,” Trump said on the campaign trail in October. “They are going to have to pay a big price.” The U.S. market is the main destination for European passenger cars. Exports amounted to 42.5 billion dollars in 2023, according to Statista, a German online platform that specializes in data gathering and visualization.

In comparison, the value of U.S. vehicles imported to the EU was around 7.8 billion dollars during the same period. Trump said on the campaign trail in September that he wants German automakers to become “American car companies” and “build their plants here.” He added that he was prepared to offer low taxes and energy costs to draw more companies to set up manufacturing inside the United States. In 2016, German carmakers avoided 35 percent tariffs floated by Trump by investing in more production in the United States. But Trump’s new proposed tariffs could make it more costly for European automakers to set up U.S.-based factories. The threat of new tariffs will add to already growing pressures facing the European auto industry as it looks to compete for the future electric vehicle (EV) market that is dominated by Chinese manufacturers.

Earlier this year, the EU imposed duties of up to 35 percent for EVs from China saying that the “unfairly subsidized” cars have given them a market foothold. Added to this, car sales for EVs across the EU have dipped downward and some governments have repealed subsidies meant to incentivize consumers to buy the cars. The rise of Chinese companies, such as EV-leader BYD, has also seen Western car brands lose market share inside China at a steady rate, with Volkswagen in particular grappling with declining sales. Between tougher competition from China, declining sales at home, and new pressure from Trump, many European automakers are facing a bleak outlook.

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You lost. Go away.

• Lefty Legal Experts Call on Congress to Disqualify Trump (Heine)

Two Democrat legal experts are calling on Congress to take immediate action to prevent President-elect Donald Trump from taking office, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Evan A. Davis, the former editor in chief of the Columbia Law Review and David M. Schulte, the former editor in chief of the Yale Law Journal, called for Trump’s disqualification in an opinion piece for The Hill, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Davis is a New York City attorney and a former president of the New York City Bar Association. He worked on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee impeachment inquiry staff during the impeachment process against Richard Nixon. Schulte is an investment banker and good friend of Barack Obama. He owns the oceanfront Martha’s Vineyard home where the Obama and his family used to vacation when he was in office.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment bars individuals who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort to its enemies from holding “any office, civil or military.” In a unanimous decision last March, the Supreme Court tossed out a Colorado court decision that barred Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s Republican presidential primary ballot. The lower court had based its decision on 14th Amendment provision. In their 9-0 ruling, the Supremes concluded that “states have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency.” But Davis and Schulte argue that evidence of Donald Trump engaging in “insurrection” is “overwhelming” and that Congress has the authority to block Trump from being inaugurated under the Constitution and the Electoral Count Act of 2022.

The act, which was intended to prevent another January 6 scenario, added certain procedures for the counting of electoral votes following a presidential election. In January 2021, the then-Democrat controlled House of Representatives impeached Trump for “incitement of insurrection” following the January 6 Capitol riot, but the Senate acquitted him, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for conviction. The Democrat lawyers argue that the majority (57-43) vote in the Senate supports their case for disqualification under the 14th Amendment. They say that any votes cast for Trump should be deemed “not regularly given” due to his alleged disqualification.

“Democrats need to take a stand against Electoral College votes for a person disqualified by the Constitution from holding office unless and until this disability is removed,” the Davis and Schulte wrote. “No less is required by their oath to support and defend the Constitution.” Most legal experts however agree that the notion of Republican lawmakers supporting a move that could elevate Kamala Harris to the presidency is highly improbable and at the moment, Democrats just don’t have the stomach for such a fight. “Republicans and Democrats seem to agree they’ll give Trump the smooth, drama-free transfer of power he denied Democrats in 2020,” Politico reported Thursday, adding “top Democrats say they have no plans to stand in the way of Trump’s victory — and they’re not even sure their rank-and-file colleagues will make the token objections they’ve lodged in years past.”

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None of it sounds terribly smart.

• Musk Appears to Soften Pro-Foreign Worker, H-1B Visa Stance (ET)

Tesla billionaire and X owner Elon Musk appeared to soften his stance on H-1B visas on Saturday night after saying he’d “go to war” for the visas, amid an ongoing online spat over immigration and the tech industry. Tensions erupted between wealthy members of the tech world, including Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for what they describe as highly skilled workers in their industry by using H-1B visas, and Trump supporters who have long championed more stringent immigration policies to give priority to American workers. On Saturday night, Musk responded to a mega-thread on social media platform X that criticized how H-1B visas are being used. “Easily fixed by raising the minimum salary significantly and adding a yearly cost for maintaining the H-1B, making it materially more expensive to hire from overseas than domestically,” he wrote.

“I’ve been very clear that the program is broken and needs major reform.” Musk was responding to a remark from investor Robert Sterling, who said that: “America needs to be a destination for the world’s most elite talent. But the H-1B program isn’t the way to do that.” The H-1B visa program allows up to 65,000 highly skilled foreign workers annually, plus 20,000 foreigners who obtained an advanced degree from a U.S. institution, to fill specialized roles in the U.S. workforce. Separately, Musk has been accused of censorship from conservatives after multiple prominent accounts that criticized his views on immigration and H-1B visas lost access to premium features. Laura Loomer, a conservative activist and independent journalist who has long backed President-elect Donald Trump, wrote on X in multiple posts over the weekend that the social platform demonetized her account of more than 1.4 million followers.

Her account appears to now lack a verified blue check mark. Loomer said that it was because she posted comments that were critical of Musk and his allies’ views on immigration as well as H-1B visas. “Why are X users who pay for @premium having their posts listed as ‘probable spam’ on my posts @elonmusk?” she wrote late on Saturday. “This is censorship. I understand you don’t like me, but this is nothing but retaliatory censorship?” Last Tuesday, Loomer criticized tech billionaires for descending “upon Palm Beach” as Trump works on his transition team at Mar-a-Lago. Two days later, Musk responded by saying: “Loomer is trolling for attention. Ignore.” Later that week, she said that her account lost access to premium features.

Others who also said their accounts lost premium access include InfoWars host and Jan. 6 defendant Owen Shroyer, New York Young Republican Club president Gavin Wax, and the ConservativePAC, which all have hundreds of thousands of followers apiece. “My verification badge is now under review. Weird! Didn’t change anything,” wrote Wax, who also spoke out against H-1B visas. As of Sunday, however, Wax appears to have had his verification badge restored. “All of our influencers have now lost verification status, as well as our own page,” the Trump-supporting ConservativePAC wrote. “Our brand did nothing. We spoke out against HB1 visas and it appears that @elonmusk intentionally shut us down? Is this the new status quo from America’s ‘most free’ social media platform?” So far, Musk has not publicly responded to the recent accusations of censorship on X. The Epoch Times contacted the platform for comment but received no response as of Sunday.

Musk and Ramaswamy, who were tapped to head the Trump-backed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), engaged in X infighting over whether immigrants who come to work at U.S. tech companies on H-1B visas or Americans would be better tech workers. Ramaswamy, in particular, drew ire for a lengthy post the day after Christmas that appeared to criticize a caricature of American culture. “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” Ramaswamy wrote. “A culture that venerates Cory from ‘Boy Meets World,’ or Zach & Slater over Screech in ‘Saved by the Bell,’ or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in ‘Family Matters,’ will not produce the best engineers.”

Musk appeared to echo his sentiments, writing in a post that the “number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low.” A number of pro-Trump accounts took umbrage with Musk’s and Ramaswamy’s comments. On Saturday, meanwhile, Trump weighed in on the controversy and appeared to back Musk and Ramaswamy, telling the New York Post that he supports the H-1B program. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” said Trump, although the president-elect had restricted access to such visas during his first term in office.

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“..the odds of a return to centrist predictability appear slimmer by the day.”

• Musk’s Big Bet: Could Germans Kick Out Their Liberal Elites? (Romanenko)

Donald Trump will soon return to the White House, and Elon Musk – the tech billionaire and serial disruptor – regularly weighs in on European politics from across the Atlantic. Meanwhile, in Germany, public dissatisfaction with the political establishment has reached fever pitch. As Europe’s largest economy grapples with inflation, high energy costs, and a general sense that “liberal elites” have grown out of touch, more radical parties on both the right and left are seizing the moment. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is gaining ground almost daily, wooing voters who feel abandoned by the mainstream, while Sahra Wagenknecht, a controversial leftist, is forming a new party that could siphon off working-class support from traditional parties. With these developments, Germany – once the epitome of stability – now stands on the verge of a political earthquake whose tremors may be felt throughout the European Union.

A major factor behind this upheaval is Germany’s stuttering economy. After decades of relying on relatively cheap Russian gas to fuel its industries and heat its homes, the sudden cut-off has left the country scrambling. Energy bills have skyrocketed, hitting vulnerable households the hardest, and making everyday life more expensive for everyone. Inflation, partially exacerbated by global trends, has eroded purchasing power and confidence in the traditional parties that were expected to safeguard economic prosperity. As factory orders dip and small businesses struggle to stay afloat, voters are growing frustrated – and the AfD has proven adept at channeling that frustration into votes.

But the AfD is not the only beneficiary of this climate of discontent. Wagenknecht, who made her name in the Left Party (Die Linke) before breaking away, is set on pulling disillusioned voters from across the political spectrum. Fiercely critical of deregulated markets and neoliberal orthodoxies, she accuses Germany’s mainstream leaders of abandoning true social justice in favor of what she sees as global corporate interests. For some on the left, who feel the Social Democrats and the Greens have lost touch with working-class realities, her new party offers a tantalizing alternative. By merging left-populist rhetoric with sharp critiques of rising living costs, Wagenknecht might peel away the very voters that kept the center-left afloat for years.

Friedrich Merz, who leads the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and is often seen as Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s principal rival, faces headwinds from unexpected quarters. Musk’s criticism of Merz has drawn attention to a rift between conventional conservatism and the disruptive style championed by a new generation of influential voices. Worse for Merz, Trump’s return to the presidency in the United States signals that a more populist brand of politics may gain transatlantic support. During his first term, Trump’s ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, made headlines by engaging openly with right-leaning German politicians, including members of the AfD. Now, with a second Trump administration, Washington could well encourage a similar or even more robust alignment with populist forces in Berlin.

This newfound enthusiasm for anti-establishment politics also points to a broader pattern across Europe, where trust in traditional parties has been waning. For years, Germany seemed immune to the populist waves that buffeted Italy, France, and other EU states. No longer. Should the AfD continue its ascent – and if Wagenknecht’s party gains real traction – a once-placid two- or three-party system might fracture, making future coalitions messy at best. Already, local and regional elections have hinted at the extent of voter dissatisfaction. On the national stage, that frustration could crystalize into a governing challenge the likes of which Berlin hasn’t seen in decades.

Nor can any of this be separated from Germany’s broader role in Europe. As the bloc’s central economic engine, Germany largely sets the tone for EU policy. A dramatic rightward shift, or even a strong left-populist surge, would ripple through Brussels. Questions of migration, defense policy, and EU fiscal rules might be renegotiated under a less europhile coalition. Countries that share more conservative or nationalist leanings could feel emboldened, while those favoring greater integration or progressive reforms might be sidelined.

In short, Germany’s political shift is a wake-up call to all of Europe: ignoring the grievances of voters on both ends of the spectrum comes at a price. If mainstream elites continue to champion broad liberal agendas without addressing concrete problems – such as ballooning energy bills and the loss of stable employment—more radical alternatives will claim their slice of the political pie. Whether that slice comes from the right, the left, or a combination of both, the result is likely to be a more fragmented, unpredictable Germany. And with Trump soon to be in the White House again and Musk’s disruptive influence seeping into every corner of public discourse, the odds of a return to centrist predictability appear slimmer by the day.

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“The Last Spark Of Hope” For Germany..

“The portrayal of the AfD as rightwing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you?”

• Musk Pens Pro-AfD Op-Ed In Major German Paper; Editor Resigns (ZH)

Amid ongoing efforts by the establishment to ban the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party from the upcoming German elections (in the name of democracy?), Billionaire Elon Musk has waded deeper into the politics of this declining nation, in an effort to protect his “significant investments”. A week after he stated on X that “only the AfD can save Germany”, he has penned a supportive op-ed for the country’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper… prompting the resignation of the paper’s editor. The initial six word post on X was enough to prompt much wailing and gnashing of teeth among Europe’s cognoscenti, but this op-ed appears to have ratcheted up the panic to ’11’. First things first, this is not a direct op-ed as one might comprehend it as it’s title clearly highlights: “Why Elon Musk is betting on the AfD – and why he is wrong”.

Welt editor-in-chief Jan Philipp Burgard is careful to remind readers (multiple times) that: “The AfD is in parts xenophobic and anti-Semitic. That is why it is a danger to Germany.” Musk makes short work of the farcical “far-right extremist” accusation: “The portrayal of the AfD as rightwing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” AfD co-leader Alice Weidel SLAMS Angela Merkel and the CDU party, says she destroyed Germany in powerful 13-minute speech. The Tesla CEO is undeterred as he covers a variety of topics that Germany needs to address as it near an “economic and cultural collapse,” adding that he has the “right” to address the country’s political climate as he has “made significant investments” in Germany’s technological and industrial sectors.

In the op-ed, Musk argued that Germany’s economy is handicapped by regulatory overreach and bureaucracy. “The AfD has understood that economic freedom is not just desirable, but necessary. Its approach of reducing government over-regulation, cutting taxes and deregulating the market reflects the principles that made Tesla and SpaceX successful,” Musk wrote, according to a rough translation. “If Germany wants to regain its industrial strength, it needs a party that doesn’t just talk about growth, but also takes policy action to create an environment where companies can thrive without heavy government intervention,” he added. While the globalist elites panic over Musk’s six word X statement (and now the op-ed), he points out this is not some marginalized political party:

“The AfD, even though it is described as far-right, represents a political realism that resonates with many Germans who feel that their concerns are ignored by the establishment. It addresses the problems of the moment – without the political correctness that often obscures the truth,” the tech billionaire continued. Musk also said the AfD was “committed to a controlled immigration policy that gives priority to integration and the preservation of German culture and security. This is not about xenophobia, but about ensuring that Germany does not lose its identity in the pursuit of globalization.” Musk concluded that AfD was the “last spark of hope” for the country.

Following the op-ed’s publication, the paper’s opinion section editor, Eva Marie Kogel, announced her resignation on X. “I always enjoyed heading the opinion section of WELT and WAMS. Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. I handed in my resignation yesterday after it went to print.” Elections in Germany are set for Feb. 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government. The AfD is now running second in opinion polls with around 19% support, behind the conservative CDU/CSU alliance with more than 30%. However, Germany’s mainstream parties have all ruled out working with AfD at the national level….all of which rings a very loud bell from what we just witnessed in Paris.

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“..everybody’s prices are going up. Health insurance is going to become unaffordable for most people.”

• Sugar Juice & Fraud Propped Up Failing Biden Economy – Ed Dowd (USAW)

Former Wall Street money manager and financial analyst Ed Dowd of phinancetechnologies.com is back with more data on how the Biden Administration propped up a failing economy during the 2024 election year. Dowd contends “crisis level spending” was being administered, along with some bigtime “fraud.” Dowd says, “We had 10% deficit to GDP during the Great Financial Crisis (2008 – 2009) when we actually had a crisis. We had 8% deficit to GDP during this election year. You have to ask yourself, what was the crisis?” “The crisis was to get the Biden Administration (and Kamala) re-elected. So, they went on binge spending. They borrowed from the future to try to ensure they won. They did it two ways: They hired massive amounts of government personnel to float the economy, and they also did illegal immigration.

We are thinking it was 10 million to 15 million illegal immigrants that came in the last four years. The majority of the illegal immigrants came in the last two years. That stimulated the economy and raised the velocity of money as those people were given money. All the NGO’s that facilitated the illegal immigration also got money, and that stimulated the economy. This deficit added $2 trillion, and that was unproductive assets. So, we borrowed from the future to create more government jobs and imported unprecedented amounts of illegal immigrants that don’t add to the economy. That’s what we have, and President Trump’s policies are going to reverse all that sugar juice. There are going to be mass deportations and reduced government spending. That short term juice is going away, and it was not sustainable anyway. The bond markets are revolting, and that could not have gone on much longer.”

But it was not just massive money printing and debt creation that hid how bad the real economy was, it was very crooked data. Dowd says, “We also had bureaucratic incompetence or fraud or whatever you want to call it. They were padding the non-farm payroll numbers to the tune of 1.25 million jobs… If you look at the chart, which we don’t have here, it’s insane. It’s one of the biggest misses between reality and estimates we have ever seen. It’s a seven-sigma event. It’s 1.25 million jobs. It’s already started downward revisions… The 3rd quarter GDP of 3% will be revised down, and when we get . . . the data in February, there will be more GDP economic revisions down. . . . The capital markets made bad decisions on this data. The Fed made bad decisions on this data, and corporations made bad decisions on this data. The price tag is coming due in 2025. Not only that, but we have a slowing economy across the globe…

The amount of foreign assets in our stock market has never been higher, and this is all going to reverse. The price will be paid in 2025. . . .What’s coming is coming. It’s how low do we go, and when do the animal spirits kick in? So, there is pain coming, and it’s up to the Trump Administration to get all their policies enacted. Then we have a hope and a prayer coming out the other side that we will be way better off. The bottom line is there is pain coming regardless. The question is how fast can we restart with Trump’s policies?” Dowd likes gold as part of a portfolio, and he is suggesting people get some cash in hand. Dowd says the war in Syria is going to intensify, and you will be hearing much more negative news from that area in 2025.

Dowd, who wrote the popular book “Cause Unknown: The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021, 2022 and 2023,” says the epidemic caused by the CV19 injections will be with us for the rest of our lives. Dowd released new data that added 800,000 people to the 4 million disabled we already had since the CV19 mRNA vax began. Dowd says, “The other thing that is going on is the increase in cancers. Science is following up . . . There is cancer causing agents in the mRNA vaccines, and we are seeing cancers on the rise. . . . There are new (medical insurance) claims among young workers, especially cancer claims. . . . Insurance rates are going up across the board. The answer to what is going on is to raise prices. They are not differentiating between the vaxed and unvaxed. So, everybody’s prices are going up. Health insurance is going to become unaffordable for most people.”

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Paul Craig Roberts

“The disassembly of our civilization has left a barbaric people who would not be able to understand Shakespeare if they were to read him.”

• No Longer Sustained by Education, Western Humanity Is in Death Throes (PCR)

Universities no longer produce educated people, and educated people are ceasing to exist. It is an interesting question, not to be discussed here, whether the disappearance of educated people is cause or result of the rise in barbarity that is engulfing the world. Wherever one looks one sees degeneration. From Bach, Mozart, Beethoven to four-letter rap. Literature has ceased to be written as well as read. Art has become scribbles attesting to meaningless. Both the inclination and ability to read are declining. Fewer people can use their language. University students’ essays are written by insentient AI. People no longer understand the metaphors and allusions used in language, because they have been denied literature. Great literature explores the human condition and prepares people for an aware life. It protects against naïveté. It teaches the richness and usefulness of language, enhances communication skills, essential skills lost to today’s technical training and “customer service” AI.

Communication today is nonverbal, shorthand text messages. The digital revolution, artificial intelligence, and transhumanism are eliminating human communication. Increasingly humans are forced by “customer service” to communicate with an unthinking programmed voice that cannot recognize any question, an answer for which it has not been programmed. Just think how difficult it is to deal with a service provider. What once was a matter of a three minute telephone call answered by the third ring, can now be a multi-hour and even multi-day enterprise. The lack of Internet security means that even if a human is reached, no decision or solution can be made. It has to go up a level as fewer and fewer employees are trusted to make a judgment. The digital revolution has brought an explosion in crime and scams. Florida, for example, has so many that they don’t want you to report another one.

The digital revolution was sold to businesses as a way to drop cost by replacing customer service representatives with AI. But AI is not sentient and cannot deal with anything for which it is not programmed. The main purpose of AI “customer relations” is to make it too expensive in time to correct an incorrect bill. It is cheaper just to pay the overstated one. There are fewer and fewer service companies where you can contact a human with the ability to correct a problem without an investment of hours of time. My favorite is when the Internet is down and you call the service supplier and are told to contact their chat on their website.

Years ago Shakespeare was accused by the Israel Lobby of being anti-semitic. Shakespeare lived during 1564 and 1616. The term anti-semite did not exist and there was no Israel Lobby. This did not prevent Shakespeare from being labeled an anti-semite in the 20th century and removed from high school and university literature courses. Consequently, the most remarkable use of the English language has been denied to students who have been deprived of understanding portions of their own language because of Jewish objections to Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s literature, of course, is not a literature of anti-semitism. But here and there he says a few things about Jews that everyone then believed and many today still do. In literature the same thing happens to every ethnicity, but it is only Jews who complain.

The World Economic Forum, an evil institution to which Western politicians and corporate executives long to belong, has a transhumanist operative who says that AI has made human life unnecessary and inconvenient. The need to dispose of superfluous humans has led to discussions of a legislated lifetime. I predicted many years ago that abortion would lead to enforced euthanasia. Ask yourself whose hand is driving geeks to make humans superfluous. Why is it more important to have AI answer a phone than a human? If humans are to be disposed of, who is to purchase the products of robots? Don’t you think it is extraordinary that the AI advocates have never asked themselves this question? How does it advance humanity to forever find new ways to transfer the human function to a robot? How did it come to be that the main agenda of science is to make humans irrelevant?

Over the course of my life I have watched a dark age gradually engulf the world. Trump says he is going to make America great again, but how is he going to do that when the building materials no longer exist? What is Trump’s definition of great? The disassembly of our civilization has left a barbaric people who would not be able to understand Shakespeare if they were to read him.

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“One wonders what people in the West who have either supported Israel’s genocide or remained silent tell themselves to justify their behavior and sleep at night. History will not treat them kindly.“

• The Moral Bankruptcy of the West (John Mearsheimer)

On 19 December 2024, Human Rights Watch issued a 179-page report detailing Israel’s genocide in Gaza. On 5 December 2024, Amnesty International issued a 296-page report detailing Israel’s genocide in Gaza. On 21 November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes. On 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice found that a plausible case can be made that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Given the West’s presumed commitment to human rights and especially to preventing genocide, one would have expected countries like the United States, Britain, and Germany, to have stopped the Israeli genocide in its tracks.

Instead, the governments in those three countries, especially the United States, have supported Israel’s unimaginable behavior in Gaza at every turn. Indeed, those three countries are complicit in this genocide. Moreover, almost all of the many human rights advocates in those countries, and in the West more generally, have stayed silent while Israel executed its genocide. The mainstream media has made hardly any effort to expose and challenge what Israel is doing to the Palestinians. Indeed some key outlets have staunchly supported Israel’s actions. One wonders what people in the West who have either supported Israel’s genocide or remained silent tell themselves to justify their behavior and sleep at night. History will not treat them kindly.

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“Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House, is doing an extraordinary job. I tell everybody, I was a pretty effective Speaker. I could never do his job. He has no margins. Any two or three members can rebel at any moment..”

• Most, But Not All, Republicans Lining Up To Support Speaker Of The House (JTN)

Weekend talk shows have featured considerable discussion about the vote in the House on Friday, January 3, for speaker, a position currently held by Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana. The potential for chaos is very real. As Republicans face an uncertain and precarious series of critical deadlines, party members are weighing in on what they believe should happen. The key dates in January are the 3rd, the 6th and the 20th. January 3rd is the day Congress reconvenes, at noon ET. At a little after 1 p.m. ET is when the vote to elect the Speaker of the House commences, according to Fox News. No other business can occur until that happens, and the number in the Republican conference is what has Republicans nervous. January 6 is supposed to be the counting of the electoral votes for president. January 20 is supposed to be President-elect Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day.

Neither of those can happen, at least theoretically, until the House chooses a speaker. This is the breakdown when the new Congress starts: 219 Republicans to 215 Democrats. While the number is usually 435, this time it is 434, as Matt Gaetz resigned after winning reelection in November, then being nominated for Attorney General, from which he later withdrew. He then resigned from Congress thinking that would end the House Ethics Committee’s plans to release their report on him, which it didn’t. Two other recently reelected Republicans have been nominated or named by Trump for key posts in his administration, but they remain in the House for now. Those two are Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida, picked as Trump’s national security adviser, and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, nominated as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

To become speaker, the candidate “must win an outright majority of all members casting ballots for someone by name.” Needing 218 votes, there is little room for losing members. So far there is only one member who has said he will not be voting for Speaker Johnson, and that is Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky. At least four others have refused to commit to vote for Johnson. If he loses one more, he does not get to the necessary 218 votes. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich spoke out, praising Johnson for the job he has done in his role as top Republican in the House. “Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House, is doing an extraordinary job. I tell everybody, I was a pretty effective Speaker. I could never do his job. He has no margins. Any two or three members can rebel at any moment,” Gingrich told John Catsimatidis on his show “Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770 AM, according to The Hill.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., was on “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox News. He called on President-elect Trump to call all of the members who have not yet committed to support Johnson and urge them to do so. The party and country could be moving into uncharted water if the vote for speaker drags on. Last time, two years ago, it took 15 rounds of votes over five days to get there, when then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy failed to get a majority. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., was on ABC’s “This Week.” When asked by host Jonathan Karl whether Johnson would and should be reelected as Speaker, “Yes, and yes,” he replied. “The fact is that Mike Johnson inherited a disaster.”

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The old guard is still there, the people who gave you Biden and Kamala. This will take a long time.

• New Strategy For DNC: Younger Candidates Launching Bids To Run Party (JTN)

Following the Democrats’ 2024 sweeping election loss, younger candidates are stepping up to run for Democratic National Convention leadership positions as the midterm elections approach. Some of the candidates that have thrown their hat in the ring include gun control activist David Hogg, 24, who is running for DNC vice chairman and New York State Sen. James Skoufis, 37, who is running for chairman. “Moving forward, we must have a renewed focus on our youth outreach in all states and territories to rebuild our coalition after the massive shift to the right among young voters this election,” Hogg said in a statement, according to NBC News. Skoufis said last month that the Democratic Party needs to have a “fresh” perspective for the future and getting new voters. “I think I bring a healthy mix of a track record of knowing how to win over the past 12 years but also being that younger, fresher perspective,” he said.

The Democratic National Committee is scheduled to hold its election for chairperson on Feb. 1, 2025. Current DNC Chairman Jamie Harrison, who has had the position since 2021, announced he wouldn’t run again after his party this past election cycle lost the White House and Senate. “The DNC is committed to running a transparent, equitable, and impartial election for the next generation of leadership to guide the party forward,” he said. Others running for DNC chairman include former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, DNC vice chair Ken Martin, Ambassador to Japan and former mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, and Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, according to The Hill. New Age author and former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson announced Thursday she’s running to lead the Democratic National Committee, according to CNN.

“This year, the party faces a more critical problem than we have ever faced before,” Williamson wrote on her Substack. “The MAGA phenomenon now challenges the very way that politics are done in America, and the traditional tool kit of party organizing will not be enough to meet the moment.” During the 2024 election, both Vice President Kamala Harris and President-elect Donald Trump made efforts to get younger voters through influencers and podcasts. During the campaign, Trump went on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” comedian Theo Von’s podcast and popular podcaster and scientist Lex Fridman’s podcast, each of which have male-dominated audiences. Rogan’s podcast has 14.5 million listeners and is the most popular podcast in the world.

Harris went on a popular podcast called “Call Her Daddy,” had celebrity endorsements of Beyonce and Oprah Winfrey and had singer Gracie Abrams sing at one of her campaign rallies. The Harris campaign paid Winfrey’s production company more than $1 million to stage the endorsement event, and paid Beyoncé’s production company $165,000 for her appearance. However, with the Democrats’ most recent loss, the party is looking to re-strategize with how to win over voters in the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential election. Hogg, a who gained fame as a survivor of the Parkland school shooting in Florida, had come out prior to the election and said the Democratic Party had to do a better job about reaching the male demographic.

According to The Trace, he co-founded Leaders We Deserve, a political action committee formed in 2023 that has raised nearly $8.5 million in the past year to elect Gen Z and millennial progressives to state and national office. “I hope I’m wrong but if we lose in November I think the main reason why will be the number of young men of all races that are no longer Democrats,” Hogg wrote on X in a September post. “There’s been a taboo about talking about this because we understandably are hesitant to make men a main point of conversation (given we have been for thousands of years) but we have a real problem to deal with.” “Long-term, we have a lot of work to do to provide positive examples of what actual masculinity looks like that is not defined by putting down women or other people, but by lifting others up and being a true leader,” his post concluded. The Democrats have two years to come up with a winning strategy for 2026 with the midterm elections and less than two months to elect leadership to execute their plan.

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“The envoy infamously branded Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “offended liver sausage” over his unwillingness to travel to Kiev personally.”

• Ukraine Could Agree To Non-NATO Security Guarantees – Envoy (RT)

Kiev’s main goal at present is to obtain meaningful security guarantees, which are not necessarily tied to the country’s NATO membership, Ukraine’s newly-appointed ambassador to the UN Andrey Melnik has said. The diplomat made the remarks in an interview published by Germany’s Berliner Morgenpost on Friday. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the leadership in Kiev has consistently named accession to the US-led military bloc as one of its top priorities. Russia has, in turn, singled out the threat of NATO military infrastructure appearing on its Western border as one of the reasons it initiated its special operation against the neighboring nation. “NATO membership remains on the table for Ukraine,” Melnik said. He went on to clarify that “nevertheless, the question of security guarantees as an interim solution is central to us.”

The diplomat stressed that any such arrangements must go beyond mere political pledges akin to the ones given to Kiev under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Under the accord, Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security guarantees provided by the US, the UK and Russia. The Ukrainian ambassador noted that “our partners must meticulously write down what military assistance they would rush to the rescue to defend Ukraine, should it be attacked by Russia again.” Melnik told the newspaper that both bilateral and multilateral agreements could be considered, as long as they are binding under international law. “These could also be part of a potential large peace treaty with Russia,” the Ukrainian diplomat added.

He also brushed aside predictions that US President-elect Donald Trump could drastically reduce or terminate Washington’s aid to Kiev altogether. Melnik concurred with the Republican, however, that European NATO member states should come to the fore in terms of their own defense and military assistance to Ukraine. The ambassador expressed hope that the leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union party, Friedrich Merz, billed by many observers as the future chancellor, would heed Trump’s advice. The Ukrainian diplomat insisted that European NATO member states are affluent enough, and can afford to spend a lot more on defense.

Speaking of Germany, where he served as Ukraine’s ambassador between 2014 and 2022, Melnik expressed indignation at the fact that funds allocated for defense aid to Kiev in the budget of the Federal Republic for next year had been slashed from eight to four billion euros. He also reiterated his country’s demands for German long-range Taurus missiles and expressed hope that Berlin’s new coalition government would “put military aid to Ukraine on a stable basis.” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier ordered the dissolution of the federal parliament on Friday, following the collapse of the country’s ruling coalition, with a snap election scheduled for February 23. During his time as Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Melnik repeatedly used undiplomatic language when speaking about the country’s leadership. The envoy infamously branded Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “offended liver sausage” over his unwillingness to travel to Kiev personally.

Speaking of Germany, where he served as Ukraine’s ambassador between 2014 and 2022, Melnik expressed indignation at the fact that funds allocated for defense aid to Kiev in the budget of the Federal Republic for next year had been slashed from eight to four billion euros. He also reiterated his country’s demands for German long-range Taurus missiles and expressed hope that Berlin’s new coalition government would “put military aid to Ukraine on a stable basis.” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier ordered the dissolution of the federal parliament on Friday, following the collapse of the country’s ruling coalition, with a snap election scheduled for February 23. During his time as Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Melnik repeatedly used undiplomatic language when speaking about the country’s leadership. The envoy infamously branded Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “offended liver sausage” over his unwillingness to travel to Kiev personally.

Read more …

“But who cares about Slovakia, right, Mr. Zelenskyy? But when you need something to keep you from freezing in the winter, you scream in frustration..”

• Zelensky Charges Slovakia’s Fico With Opening “Second Energy Front” (ZH)

Slovakia has threatened to cut off electricity to Ukraine if the Russian gas transit route halts at the end of the year, as we detailed earlier. Slovakia is greatly dependent on Russian gas, and Ukraine is not expected to renew a major energy transit contract with Russian state suppliers. With just a few days away from the start of the new year, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico escalated the standoff by saying he can leverage electricity supplies to Ukraine. “After Jan. 1, we will consider the situation and the possibility of reciprocal measures against Ukraine,” Fico said in a video released Friday. “If it is unavoidable, we will stop the supply of electricity, which Ukraine urgently needs in the event of grid failures,” he said. The war of words and threats is ratcheting by the day. Given that Fico just controversially met with Putin in Moscow, the electricity threat is going to add insult to injury at a moment Russian aerial forces have been pummeling Ukraine’s power grid this past week.

Fico lashed out in the most charged statement directed at Kiev to date: “But who cares about Slovakia, right, Mr. Zelenskyy? But when you need something to keep you from freezing in the winter, you scream in frustration,” Fico said. Zelensky responded Saturday by accusing Slovakia, which is a NATO and EU member state, of opening a “second energy front” against Ukraine on orders from Moscow. “It appears that Putin gave Fico the order to open the second energy front against Ukraine at the expense of the Slovak people’s interests,” Zelensky wrote on X. “Fico’s threats to cut off Ukraine’s emergency power supply this winter while Russia attacks our power plants and energy grid can only be explained by this,” he emphasized. He charged that Putin is “dragging Slovakia into Russia’s attempts to cause more suffering for Ukrainians.”

As Russia’s aerial assaults on Ukraine’s energy grid have grown worse, Ukraine has relied more and more on electricity imports from neighboring and outside countries to survive. Zelensky has indicated the Slovakia accounts for 19% of Ukraine’s power imports, which is a significant portion, and outsized given Slovakia’s small geographic size. Clearly, Fico does have serious leverage at his disposal. “Slovakia is part of the single European energy market and Fico must respect common European rules,” the Ukrainian leader further said Saturday. Fico has long been target of vitriol from Kiev officials, given he has consistently and loudly opposed Ukraine’s entry into NATO, in common with Hungary’s Viktor Orban. “As long as I am the prime minister of the Slovak Republic, as long as I lead the deputies, whom I, as the party chairman, have under political control, I will never agree to Ukraine’s membership in NATO,” Fico declared this past October.

Read more …

Sure, cut off the gas in the middle of winter…

• EU States Seek To Protect Russian Gas Flow Despite Ukrainian Threat (RT)

Countries in central and southern Europe are exploring solutions to ensure the continued flow of Russian natural gas, as a key transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine is set to expire on December 31, Bloomberg has reported, citing sources. Kiev has refused to extend the agreement, citing ongoing tensions and unresolved disputes with Moscow. Slovakia, Hungary, Austria and Italy are reportedly pursuing alternative strategies to avoid disruptions to their gas supplies. Among the options considered is a commercial agreement that bypasses the need for a renewed intergovernmental deal between Kiev and Moscow, Bloomberg wrote in a report on Saturday. This could involve Slovakia and other Central European countries striking direct contracts with Russian energy giant Gazprom, ensuring uninterrupted gas flows despite Ukraine’s objections.

Slovakia’s state gas utility, SPP, is also in discussions with Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company SOCAR. According to reports, one potential solution could involve a gas swap between SOCAR and Gazprom, where the Azeri company would purchase equivalent volumes of Russian gas to supply European buyers. Azerbaijan’s gas exports already reach several EU countries through the Southern Gas Corridor, an infrastructure project designed to reduce dependence on Russian gas. The strategy was adopted by the EU following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has also proposed moving the location of Russian gas sales to the physical border between Russia and Ukraine, which would transfer gas ownership to European buyers and oblige Kiev to ensure transit under its free-trade agreement with the EU, Bloomberg wrote, citing persons familiar with the matter. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that various proposals have been discussed, involving Hungary, Slovakia, Türkiye, or Azerbaijan. He noted, however, that any such arrangement would be difficult to enact because of Gazprom’s long-term contracts. Ukraine is punishing Europe by banning the transit of Russian gas, which will become more expensive, the Russian leader argued. Moscow has also insisted that it’s ready to continue supplying natural gas to the EU.

Although only about 5% of the EU’s total gas supply now transits through Ukraine, the route remains vital for landlocked countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the EU has sought to reduce its reliance on Russian gas, shifting toward alternatives such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and increased imports from Azerbaijan via the Southern Gas Corridor. Before February 2022, Russia was the bloc’s top gas supplier, accounting for more than 40% of its imports. Last year, Russian gas made up around 8% of EU imports.

Read more …

EU loses big.

• Georgia’s New President ‘Hardline Critic of the West’ (Sp.)

Mikheil Kavelashvili took his oath on the Bible and the Georgian constitution, swearing to serve the country’s national interests amid a political standoff. On December 29, Mikheil Kavelashvili was sworn in as Georgia’s new president in an inauguration at parliament that was attended by members of the ruling Georgian Dream party and its founder Bidzina Ivanishvili. Who is Georgia’s new president and how does the US meddle in internal affairs of the former Soviet republic? A former Dinamo Tbilisi and Manchester City football player, Kavelashvili was appointed president by the parliament during the December 14 elections, in which 224 out of 225 members of Georgia’s electoral college voted for the only candidate on the ballot.

The 53-year-old is a founder of the People’s Power party, allied with the Georgian Dream and known for being the main voice for anti-Western sentiments in Georgia. The Guardian recently called him “a pro-Russia, hardline critic of the West.” Kavelashvili has repeatedly said that Western intelligence agencies are seeking to drive Georgia into war with Russia. He accused opposition parties of acting as a “fifth column” directed from abroad, slamming outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili as a “chief agent”. The new president accused her of violating the constitution and declared that he would “restore the presidency to its constitutional framework.” The footballer-turned-politician insisted that Georgian society is divided,” and that “radicalization and polarization” in the country are being fueled from abroad. He pledged to do his best to unite the society “around the idea of Georgia’s identity and independence.”

Earlier this week, the US did not think twice before sanctioning Georgian Dream party’s founder Bidzina Ivanishvili for allegedly “undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia for the benefit of the Russian Federation,” according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In September, the US cited the aforementioned allegations as it slapped sanctions on Zviad Kharazishvili, head of the Department for Special Assignments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and his deputy Mileri Lagazauri. Georgian Dream spokesman Givi Mikanadze denounced the sanctions as “interference in the pre-election processes and an attempt to influence the will of voters.”

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), in turn, said in a statement in July that Moscow has data that indicates Washington’s determination to seek a change of power in Georgia following the results of the parliamentary elections in the small Caucasian nation on October 26, which was finally won by the Georgian Dream. According to the SVR, the US instructors have already given the command to the opposition forces in Georgia to start planning protests in the country timed to coincide with the elections. The October 26 elections saw Georgian Dream obtain 54.2% of the votes, with the four opposition parties together gaining 37.33%. The remaining political forces failed to overcome the 5% ceiling needed to make it to the parliament.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Back at it

Husky

 

 

 

 

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Debt Rattle Christmas Eve 2024

Dec 242024
 
 December 24, 2024  Posted by at 10:38 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  50 Responses »


Giuseppe Arcimboldo Four elements – Air 1566

 

• Musk Derangement Syndrome (AmG)
• Musk Makes Startling AI Prediction (RT)
• Elon Musk Is Winning The War Against The MSM. RT Was There First (Tarkhanov)
• Elon Musk: “The Fed Is Absurdly Overstaffed” (ZH)
• Musk Congratulates Durov On Telegram Milestone (RT)
• Tesla’s Market Cap Nears Half Of Global Auto Industry (ZH)
• Trump Adviser Says Ukraine Narrative Is Changing (RT)
• Kiev Increasingly Sees Conflict Ending In 2025 – WaPo (RT)
• Moldovan President Eyeing Attack On Russian Peacekeepers – Moscow (RT)
• AfD Chancellor Candidate Tops German Poll – Bild (RT)
• The Joy is Gone: A Liberal Hate-Fest for the Holidays (Turley)
• Half of the West Is Doomed: Here’s Why (Timofey Bordachev)
• The “King-Makers” Pull The Rug From Syria, Yet Again… (Alastair Crooke)
• House Ethics Committee Releases Its Report Into Matt Gaetz (ET)
• Biden Commutes Sentences Of Dozens On Death Row (ZH)

 

 

 

 

VDH
https://twitter.com/i/status/1871045510078824872

Woke

Puppet

Loopholes

Rand Paul

Pepe Nap

 

 

 

 

They can’t help themselves. It’s all they have left.

• Musk Derangement Syndrome (AmG)

Move over, Trump Derangement Syndrome! It is time to make room for the latest pathology: Musk Derangement Syndrome. The hysteria has been building for some time. It wasn’t so long ago that Elon Musk enjoyed enviable street cred among the brotherhood of snotty, self-congratulating elites. A green energy guru, he made the hearts of the Sierra Club Sultans go pit-a-pat with his talk of “sustainable transport” and solar roofs. Then Musk made several missteps. The first was buying Twitter and restoring open discourse to a platform that was started to encourage, well, open discourse but had become a headquarters of government surveillance and censorship during the first Trump administration.

Musk never recovered his progressive credentials after he came out as a supporter of free speech. But the atmosphere of left-wing disapproval that was swaddling Musk since his purchase of Twitter turned toxic and hysterical this past summer when, following the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, he announced that, gasp, he was supporting Trump’s reelection bid. Could you believe it? Supporting Trump’s reelection—especially actively, ostentatiously, effectively supporting Trump’s reelection bid—was like the sin against the Holy Ghost: unforgivable.

And then Musk compounded the perfidy by joining forces with Vivek Ramaswamy to form DoGE: the “department” of government efficiency, a time-limited initiative to help bring government spending and regulation under control. They have set an expiration date of July 6, 2026, by which date they hope to have been able to give America a 250th birthday gift of fiscal solvency and rational regulation. Many people have wondered what DoGe would be able to accomplish since it would just be making recommendations with no real power to enforce them. We have just been vouchsafed a glimpse of its possible potency.

For several years now, the approach of Christmas has brought not just visions of sugar plums and Santa sightings but also the annual Congressional budget snit known as CR, short for “Continuing Resolution.” The exercise now seems almost venerable. In fact, though, it is an admission of failure, begotten in legislative irresponsibility, bred in malodorous sluices of pork-laden, politically correct greed. Every year, Congress is supposed to deliver a budget before it breaks for Christmas. America’s last real budget was passed in 1996. The usual expedient is the stopgap measure of a “continuing resolution” in which Congress says it will just continue funding things at more or less the same level as it had been, kicking the can down the road and into the next fiscal year.

Contemplating the embarrassing sideshow that was this year’s CR squabble, a friend reminded me of the old quip. If “con” is the opposite of “pro,” what is the opposite of “Congress?” This year, as has become the usual practice, Congress waited until the last possible moment to plop the text of the Continuing Resolution on the desks of our Conscript Fathers. What had started as a twenty-page document had lizzoed into a 1547-page behemoth. This was no “continuing resolution” but a porker full of self-serving giveaways to Congress as well as numerous woke initiatives designed to stymie the incoming Trump administration.

Among many noxious items were a provision to scuttle any serious inquiry into the activities of Liz Cheney’s January 6 investigation and another provision to continue funding the State Department’s Global Engagement Center. This innocuous-sounding initiative (we’re all in favor of “global engagement,” right?) funds the Britain-based Global Disinformation Index, which encourages advertisers to flee media outlets of which the guardians of the Narrative disapprove. This includes the Washington Examiner, RealClearPolitics, Reason, the New York Post, Blaze Media, the Daily Wire, the Federalist, the American Conservative, Newsmax—and American Greatness. It is, as Vivek Ramaswamy observed, a “key node of the censorship industrial complex.”

This monstrosity was stopped, but how? Critics of Musk blame him. “He tweeted about our beloved monstrosity,” they skirled. “He killed the bill.” But this is wrong. Musk did indeed post, with Olympic assiduity, about the egregious piece of self-serving lard. But what scotched the original bill was the public outcry. Musk may have been the catalyst, the tocsin in the night. The fire brigade was manned by ordinary citizens. As one social media poster put it, “All Elon did was read a bill, post on a public platform that the reckless spending in it was unacceptable, ask others to contact their representatives if they agreed, and made clear that he will help primary Ds + Rs who support it.”

This is exactly right. But to listen to the Dems, you would think the world was coming to an end. On December 18, Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), knickers twisted tight, asked angrily, “Can you imagine what the next two years are going to be like if every time that Congress works its will and then there’s a tweet? Or from an individual who has no official portfolio, who threatens members on the Republican side with a primary? And they succumb?” Yes, just imagine, Dick, if it is the people themselves, and not your little club of coddled thumb suckers, who shed light on the activities of Congress as it pretends to go about the people’s business?

Read more …

How do we prevent for-profit AI? Even if we might succeed in the US, what good would that do in the rest of the world?

• Musk Makes Startling AI Prediction (RT)

Artificial intelligence could become smarter than any single human by the end of next year, according to tech billionaire Elon Musk. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the prediction shortly after his AI company, xAI, officially launched its first image generation model, Aurora, earlier this month. Aurora, an updated version of the first image generation model that xAI introduced in October, allows users to create photorealistic visuals. Compared to other AI models, Aurora has fewer restrictions and can accurately generate images at almost any prompt, including depictions of famous personalities and copyrighted characters.

‘It is increasingly likely that AI will superset the intelligence of any single human by the end of 2025 and maybe all humans by 2027/2028,” Musk wrote on Monday, in a post on his social media platform X. According to him, the probability that AI will exceed the intelligence of all humans combined by 2030 “is ~100%.” Earlier this year, Musk’s xAI launched Colossus, described as the world’s most powerful AI training system, setting a new benchmark in the rapidly advancing field of AI. Colossus boasts 100,000 liquid-cooled H100 graphics processing units (GPUs), the chips provided by Nvidia, which places xAI well ahead of its competitors, including those from OpenAI.

Meanwhile, high-profile figures and scientists have been raising concerns in recent years, over the potential dangers posed by the unregulated adoption of AI technology. Last month, renowned computer scientist and professor at the University of Montreal Yoshua Bengio warned that machines could soon have most of the cognitive abilities of humans and thus pose grave risks to humanity as it becomes harder to control AI. The computer scientist cited a common fear that the AI machines currently being trained “would lead to systems that turn against humans.”

Bengio also highlighted potential risks of social and political disparity stemming from AI, pointing out that a limited number of organizations and governments could afford to build powerful and costly AI machines. This would lead to a concentration of economic, political and military power, eventually threatening geopolitical stability worldwide, the scientist warned. In June, addressing the G7 summit in Italy, Pope Francis warned humanity against depending on choices made by machines. The Pontiff stressed that the algorithms “can only examine realities formalized in numerical terms,” while humans who have wisdom and can listen to Sacred Scripture “not only choose, but in their hearts are capable of deciding.”

Read more …

“..the scale of X’s influence and Musk’s ability to reach a global audience has elevated this struggle to new heights. RT walked so X could run..”

• Elon Musk Is Winning The War Against The MSM. RT Was There First (Tarkhanov)

The tragic terror attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, which claimed several lives and left hundreds injured, was not just an attack on innocent civilians – it was also an attack on truth. In the aftermath of the atrocity, a predictable yet disturbing pattern emerged: the mainstream media, in lockstep with political authorities, immediately attempted to frame the narrative in a way that avoided uncomfortable truths. They downplayed the attacker’s background, obscured his motivations, and redirected public focus towards safer, more politically convenient storylines. But one figure cut through the fog of misinformation – Elon Musk. In recent years, the tech billionaire has emerged as one of the most prominent critics of legacy media and its increasingly transparent biases.

In the wake of the Magdeburg attack, Musk did what most global leaders and prominent media outlets refused to do: he publicly raised the questions everyone was asking and pointed out the contradictions in the official narrative. The mainstream media’s response to the attack followed a depressingly familiar script. Initial reports focused on generic descriptions of the attacker, avoiding critical details about his ideological background, motivations, and long history of suspicious behavior. When conflicting evidence emerged – suggesting the attacker was not the ‘ex-Muslim atheist’ he claimed to be but rather someone deeply entrenched in extremist ideology – the media still hesitated to shift its tone.

Musk, however, did not hesitate. Using his platform X (formerly Twitter), he called out the inconsistencies in the reporting, criticized the German government’s inaction, and directly challenged Chancellor Olaf Scholz. His posts, viewed and shared by millions, forced a public reckoning. Instead of allowing the narrative to settle into the comfortable grooves carved by mainstream outlets, Musk shattered the illusion and amplified the voices of those who had been warning about the attacker’s background for years. Musk’s engagement in this discourse is significant for several reasons. First, it demonstrates the power of decentralized platforms like X, where influential voices can bypass traditional media gatekeepers.

Second, it reveals the extent to which public trust in legacy media has eroded. Millions of people no longer turn to CNN, BBC, or Der Spiegel as their first source of information – they look to independent voices on social media, and Musk has become one of the most powerful of those voices. Mainstream media outlets, accustomed to being the sole arbiters of public narratives, now find themselves unable to suppress dissenting views. Musk’s immense following and his willingness to confront uncomfortable truths mean that attempts to obfuscate or spin events like the Magdeburg attack are no longer guaranteed to succeed.

While Musk and X are currently at the forefront of this information battle, it’s worth remembering that RT has been challenging mainstream narratives for years. Long before Musk took over X, RT was often one of the few major outlets willing to question Western governments and expose stories that mainstream media preferred to ignore. Despite being heavily criticized, de-platformed, and even banned in multiple countries, the network has persisted in providing alternative perspectives on global events. This isn’t to say RT is without its flaws – like any media organization, it cannot escape some of its own biases – but its contribution to breaking the monopoly of Western media narratives cannot be ignored.

While Musk and X have brought this fight into the mainstream, RT was already in the trenches, challenging the narrative before it was fashionable. In this sense, Musk is building on ground already broken by others. However, the scale of X’s influence and Musk’s ability to reach a global audience has elevated this struggle to new heights. RT walked so X could run, and while Musk is rightly celebrated for his courage and transparency, it’s worth acknowledging that he’s not the first to challenge the system – just the most impactful so far.

The Western elites understand one undeniable truth: power in the modern world is not merely about political or military might – it’s about controlling the flow of information. Historically, legacy media served as the perfect tool for this purpose. Carefully curated stories, selective reporting, and strategic omissions allowed those in power to guide public perception seamlessly. However, that era is fading. Social media platforms and figures like Musk have democratized access to information. In the aftermath of the Magdeburg attack, it wasn’t state broadcasters or newspaper editors who exposed the full story – it was ordinary people online, sharing evidence, raising questions, and amplifying voices that the mainstream ignored.

It’s no wonder, then, that the elites have turned their focus towards silencing alternative sources of information. Media outlets like Russia’s RT have been relentlessly targeted, de-platformed, and demonized. The justification is always the same: fighting misinformation. But one must ask – who decides what constitutes misinformation? In a world where even basic facts are twisted to serve political ends, it’s clear that this battle is not about truth but about control. Elon Musk’s actions in the aftermath of the Magdeburg attack were not just those of an outspoken billionaire – they were those of someone who understands the stakes in the battle for information.

By refusing to bow to the narrative enforced by the mainstream media, Musk has demonstrated that the power to control the public discourse is slipping from the hands of legacy institutions. This is not just a victory for Musk, nor is it merely a battle over one tragic event in Germany. It’s a symbolic moment in a larger war – a war over whether information will remain free and decentralized or be corralled and curated by a handful of powerful actors.

Despite mainstream journalists’ best efforts to steer the public away from questioning their narrative about the Magdeburg attack, one man with power and influence refused to stay silent. As long as platforms like X exist and influential figures like Musk are willing to speak out, there is hope that the truth will continue to break through the carefully constructed walls of mainstream narratives. The legacy media may still have power, but they no longer have a monopoly on the truth. And that, in itself, is a victory worth celebrating.

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For every critical voice, they have 400 Economics PhD’s claiming they are The Science.

• Elon Musk: “The Fed Is Absurdly Overstaffed” (ZH)

The Ron Paul ‘Revolution’ could be on the horizon as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office next month. Elon Musk, one of Trump’s top advisors, wrote on X about creating efficiencies at the Federal Reserve. “The Fed is absurdly overstaffed,” Musk wrote on X early Monday morning, responding to Chamath Palihapitiya’s post about the Fed’s latest interest rate decision. A recent note from the Mises Institute pointed out that about 23,000 people work at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington and 12 regional reserve banks across the US. “But there’s more to it than that. The financial statements reveal that the Board of Governors expenses and currency costs were $2 billion. If this constitutes salaries, then total salaries and pension costs at the Fed become closer to $7 billion. Dividing this figure by 23,000 people equals around $304,000 per employee,” Mises said.

Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been tasked with streamlining federal operations through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The department aims to create a leaner, more efficient government, including $2 trillion in spending cuts. The wish list of potential efficiencies continues to grow – with a ‘really bold plan for day one ‘ … Days before the presidential election, Ron Paul asked on X if he could join DOGE in Trump’s second term. Musk responded: “Would be great to have Ron Paul as part of the Department of Government Efficiency!”

https://twitter.com/alx/status/1852454701943423287

Last week, Ron Paul wrote on X, “We should wean ourselves off The Fed, like we weaned ourselves off the mainstream media.” Musk responded: “Yes!! Ron Paul ftw.” Let’s not forget about 400 PhD economists at the Fed failed to forecast the inflationary storm triggered by the rapid expansion of the money supply by trillions—only for them to dismiss it as “transitory.” Such a massive misreading underscores the urgent need for restructuring. Errors of this magnitude are unacceptable. With a workforce of 23,000, the Fed still manages to lose money—upwards of $200 billion. Perhaps Fed chair Jay Powell’s days are numbered.

Read more …

What deals has Durov made with French justice?

• Musk Congratulates Durov On Telegram Milestone (RT)

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has offered some words of praise to Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov after the Russian-born entrepreneur’s company turned a profit for the first time in its three-year history of monetization. Durov announced the news in an X post on Monday. Describing 2024 as a “very successful year,” he explained that the privacy-focused messaging app made more than $1 billion in revenue this year, and that “we are closing the year with more than $500 million in cash reserves, not including crypto assets.” “Well done,” Musk responded under Durov’s post. Despite his company’s achievements, Durov has faced serious legal challenges this year. In August, he was detained after landing at a Paris airport and released on bail several days later. He faces 12 criminal charges, including complicity in distributing child pornography, drug dealing, and money laundering.

French prosecutors claim that Telegram’s supposedly lax moderation rules have enabled rampant criminality to flourish on the platform. Durov testified before a French court for the first time earlier this month. The Russian national, who is also a citizen of France, the UAE, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, refused to comment on the case to reporters. He has, however, denied any wrongdoing. Commenting in August on Durov’s detention, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov highlighted the absurdity of holding the entrepreneur accountable for crimes committed using his network. Prosecuting Durov for these crimes would be the same as French authorities arresting the heads of Renault or Citroen because “terrorists also use cars,” Peskov argued.

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“In 2023, Tesla sold 1.8 million vehicles, while Toyota sold 11.2 million..”

“Year-to-date, Tesla’s stock is up 57%..”

• Tesla’s Market Cap Nears Half Of Global Auto Industry (ZH)

Tesla shares just reached a new all-time high following Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, propelling the company to a massive $1.5 trillion valuation as of December 18, 2024. This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu, highlights the most valuable automakers by market cap worldwide as of Dec. 13, 2024, based on figures from CompaniesMarketCap.com.

Trailing far behind Tesla, the four other top automakers on the list are Toyota ($231 billion), BYD ($107 billion), Xiaomi ($98 billion), and Ferrari ($81 billion). Investors believe Elon Musk’s close relationship with Trump, along with Musk’s growing role in government, will serve as a powerful catalyst for Tesla. Additionally, some of the stock’s recent gains hinge on expectations that Trump’s planned corporate tax cuts will benefit U.S. manufacturers, including Tesla.

Tesla’s stock has also regained popularity due to investor expectations that its Robotaxi and Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology will drive a new phase of growth. Year-to-date, Tesla’s stock is up 57%. However, Tesla’s massive market cap is not reflected in its production numbers. In 2023, Tesla sold 1.8 million vehicles, while Toyota sold 11.2 million vehicles during the same period. Tesla’s success has further extended Elon Musk’s lead as the richest person on Earth. In December 2024, Musk’s net worth reached $462 billion, far ahead of Jeff Bezos in second place at $243 billion.

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“..slated to serve as national security adviser..”

• Trump Adviser Says Ukraine Narrative Is Changing (RT)

The stances taken by EU and NATO nations on handling the Ukraine conflict have changed since Donald Trump won the US presidential elections in November, according to Representative Mike Waltz. “We’ve seen everybody’s narrative go from ‘As long as it tanks (sic), blank check, don’t dare say anything else, or you’re somehow pro-Russian’ to ‘How do we get this to a deal?’” the Florida lawmaker, who is slated to serve as national security adviser in the incoming administration, told political commentator Ben Shapiro on Sunday. The President-elect has made it clear the war must end, Waltz said.

He also emphasized that part of his role, along with Trump’s team, is to identify key players in peace negotiations, to bring them to the table, and to establish terms for a resolution that align with American interests. Waltz criticized the administration of outgoing President Joe Biden, saying it wanted more funding of its Ukraine policy, but declined to define the specific outcome that pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into the conflict should produce. He also said he has been receiving questions from his constituents about that. ”Is it in America’s national interest to expect every Russian off of every inch of Ukraine, including Crimea? How long is that going to take? How much money is that going to cost? How many lives will be lost? Is that even a realistic goal at this point?” he quoted the inquiries, calling them “valid” and “something we’re certainly talking about.”

Crimea voted to reunite with Russia in 2014, following a US-backed armed coup in Kiev, which was rejected by people living in the peninsula. The government of Vladimir Zelensky is demanding full control of the Russian region in return for what the Ukrainian leader calls “just peace” with Moscow. Both Shapiro and Waltz claimed that Russia was seriously weakened by the fight against its NATO-backed embattled neighbour, giving Trump leverage on both Kiev and Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated last week that his nation’s military is in a very good shape, supported by a reinvigorated defense industry and military technology that the West cannot match.

The Shapiro-Waltz interview was focused on Trump putting pressure on nations that the US perceives as adversaries, primarily China, after he is inaugurated in January. ”One of the lessons we should learn from Ukraine is you don’t try to arm your allies after they’ve been invaded. You, maybe, arm them before to prevent the invasion in the first place,” Waltz mused, pledging more arms to the self-administered Chinese island of Taiwan. The increased arming of Kiev by NATO nations was one of the triggers that pushed tensions with Russia into open hostilities in February 2022, according to Moscow.

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“We’ve seen everybody’s narrative go from ‘As long as it [takes], blank check, don’t dare say anything else, or you’re somehow pro-Russian’ to ‘How do we get this to a deal?’” – Mike Waltz.

• Kiev Increasingly Sees Conflict Ending In 2025 – WaPo (RT)

Ukrainian officials are “starting to believe” that the conflict with Russia will be resolved next year, a senior member of Vladimir Zelensky’s government has reportedly told the Washington Post. The shift in attitude is a direct result of US President-elect Donald Trump’s public talk of a settlement, the official added. Trump promised on the campaign trail to end the conflict within a day of taking office, although he has since admitted that doing so may take longer. The US president-elect has revealed few details about how he plans to achieve this, but media leaks and comments from his closest advisers suggest that he will push to freeze the fighting along the current line of contact, using the leverage of US military aid to Ukraine to force Zelensky into talks with Putin.

“I wouldn’t believe we’re anywhere close to negotiations” were it not for Trump’s repeated comments on peace talks, the official continued, adding: “I just don’t think it’s possible to come to any agreement with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.” Since 2022 Zelensky has maintained that no compromise is possible with Russia: first by insisting on restoring Ukraine’s 1991 borders by force, which would place Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions as well as Crimea under Kiev’s control; and by pushing a punitive ‘peace formula’ that would involve Russia agreeing to such a territorial change, paying reparations, and handing its officials over to face war crimes tribunals. Moscow has rejected outright all of Zelensky’s proposals.

However, the Ukrainian leader has recently abandoned his talk of “victory,” claiming instead that he wants a “just peace” coupled with security guarantees from the West in the form of NATO membership, with the status of the former Ukrainian regions undetermined. Moscow maintains that any settlement must begin with Ukraine ceasing military operations and acknowledging the “territorial reality” that it will never regain control of its former regions. In addition, the Kremlin insists that the goals of its military operation – which include Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification – will be achieved. After meeting Zelensky in Paris earlier this month, Trump claimed that the Ukrainian leader “would like to make a deal and stop the madness.”

Zelensky immediately denied seeking a settlement, declaring that the conflict “cannot simply end with a piece of paper and a few signatures,” and that Putin “can only be stopped by strength.” Trump has since confirmed that he may cut military aid to Kiev once he takes office in January. “We’ve seen everybody’s narrative go from ‘As long as it [takes], blank check, don’t dare say anything else, or you’re somehow pro-Russian’ to ‘How do we get this to a deal?’” Trump’s nominee for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said in an interview on Sunday. Expecting “every Russian off of every inch of Ukraine, including Crimea?” might not be a “realistic goal at this point,” he added.

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This has NATO all over it.

• Moldovan President Eyeing Attack On Russian Peacekeepers – Moscow (RT)

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has openly discussed planning a military operation to seize control of the breakaway region of Transnistria, which hosts a Russian peacekeeping contingent, Moscow’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has claimed. According to the agency, Sandu became “emotionally unstable” at a recent meeting with government officials over Ukraine’s decision to cut the flow of Russian gas to Moldova, triggering fears of an energy crisis in the EU candidate state. Kiev has refused to reopen talks with Moscow on any future transit, prompting Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico to accuse Ukraine of graft. The news met with reported exasperation in Moldova, which is heavily reliant on Russian gas.

In a statement on Monday, the SVR claimed that Sandu’s government is preparing to escalate tensions in the region, potentially targeting the Cuciurgan power plant, which supplies around 75% of Moldova’s electricity. According to the agency, Sandu has discussed removing Russian peacekeepers and reasserting Chisinau’s control. EU officials were allegedly “clutching their heads” and “do not know how to calm down the emotionally unstable Sandu,” according to the agency. Sandu “categorically refused to discuss this issue with Ukraine and unequivocally pinned the blame on Russia,” threatening to “take it out on Transnistria” if Moscow fails to deliver gas to Moldova.

She reportedly ordered criminal cases against the breakaway region’s leaders for “separatism” and instructed officials to harass residents crossing the border. The SVR claimed the EU is deeply alarmed by Sandu’s alleged plans. “The meeting ended with Sandu discussing the need for a military operation to seize control over Transnistria and remove Russian peacekeepers,” leaving EU officials visibly shocked, the SVR alleged. Transnistria declared independence from Moldova in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. A brief war in 1992 ended with a ceasefire and the deployment of around 400 Russian peacekeepers.

Moldova does not recognize Transnistria’s independence and has periodically sought to reintegrate the territory. Sandu, who won Moldova’s presidency in 2024 after a contentious election, has previously faced criticism from Moscow, which accused her government of obstructing the voting rights of citizens of the country who live in Russia. Moldovan officials have not responded to the SVR’s latest claims, and no independent confirmation of the allegations has been made. Transnistrian authorities and international observers have yet to comment on the situation.

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“Weidel accused the EU of destroying the German auto industry, the country’s economic pillar, and proposed winding back the bloc to a free-trade zone..”

• AfD Chancellor Candidate Tops German Poll – Bild (RT)

The co-leader of the right-wing AfD (Alternative for Germany) party, Alice Weidel, is ahead of her rivals in the campaign to become the next chancellor, according to the latest survey conducted by the INSA polling institute for Bild. The results of the poll, published by the tabloid newspaper on Sunday, showed that Weidel has the support of 24% of respondents, putting her ahead of the leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, who received 20%. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who represents the Social Democratic Party (SPD), was reportedly backed by 15% of respondents. His coalition partner and Green Party leader, Robert Habeck, was favored by 14%.

The AfD named Weidel, 45, as its first chancellor candidate on December 7, setting out the bid for power ahead of snap elections scheduled for February 23. Weidel is due to be confirmed as the AfD’s nominee at a party conference next month. In an interview with Bloomberg last week, Weidel accused the EU of destroying the German auto industry, the country’s economic pillar, and proposed winding back the bloc to a free-trade zone. Earlier this month, the AfD stated in its draft election manifesto that Germany should leave the bloc and the euro in Brexit-like fashion, calling for a referendum on the issue.

AfD membership has swelled by 50% to about 50,600 over the past year, the party’s spokesperson told Reuters earlier his month. That number, however, only represents about 14% of the membership of Germany’s biggest parties, the CDU/CSU conservative bloc and the SPD. In recent years, right-wing, anti-immigration parties have gained traction across the EU, coming to power in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and Slovakia.

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“People do not like to admit it, but they like being angry.”

• The Joy is Gone: A Liberal Hate-Fest for the Holidays (Turley)

“May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace.” Those words, from Disney’s new Snow White actress Rachel Zegler, came shortly after half of the country, roughly 77 million Americans, voted for Donald Trump. Only a few weeks ago, Kamala Harris and her supporters were rallying the country to choose “love over hate.” Now, the “joy” is gone. Tis the season of the liberal hate-fest. As Washington prepares for the inauguration, we are seeing a return to rage. During the first Trump administration, liberal servers and restaurant owners pledged not to serve Trump officials. Now, the Washingtonian is reporting on the planned resumption of the harassment of those serving in the Trump administration. Zac Hoffman, manager at the National Democratic Club and “D.C. restaurant veteran,” told the magazine that abusing conservatives was only natural and understandable:

“You expect the masses to just ignore RFK eating at Le Diplomate on a Sunday morning after a few mimosas and not to throw a drink in his face?” One bartender stated that Trump people may “theoretically [have] the power to take away your rights, but I have the power to make you wait 20 minutes to get your entrée.” Suzannah Van Rooy, a server and manager at Beuchert’s Saloon on Capitol Hill, declared that she would not serve some Trump officials. “It’s not, ‘Oh, we hate Republicans,’” she said. “It’s that this person has moral convictions that are strongly opposed to mine, and I don’t feel comfortable serving them.” Beuchert’s later fired Van Rooy. This campaign of hate is all too familiar to conservatives.

Many remember when White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her family were kicked out of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia. As others were denied service or chased from restaurants, Democratic members like Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, supported such harassment. For those restaurants not willing to follow the Red Hen model, the response was equally unhinged. Mariya Rusciano runs a D.C. pizza restaurant. She posted congratulations to Trump on X after the election to encourage everyone to come together as a nation. The response from Democrats was furious, filled with pledges to boycott the restaurant and force it out of business. It is not just service and civility that are scarce in Washington.

Even while accusing Trump of putting his political and personal interests ahead of the nation, Biden is now reportedly moving to veto a bipartisan bill to relieve pressure on our overwhelmed court system. The Judges Act, supported by both Democrats and Republicans, would add 66 new judgeships to an over-worked court system. The White House supported the bill right up until Trump won the election. While some Democrats are still trying to get the White House to change its mind, liberal groups are applauding the expected veto “to prevent President Trump from having more vacancies.” If Biden carries out his threat, it will be not only gratuitous but illogical. The bill deliberately staggers the addition of judges over the next decade so that presidents of both parties will presumably be able to appoint them.

Moreover, the Senate is still closely divided, and “blue-slipping” (whereby senators can hold up some nominations) remains in effect. More importantly, the reason for this bipartisan effort is due to a dire need for our courts. Judges are drowning in dockets with rising caseloads. In 2004, the number of cases in district court pending for more than three years was 18,280. This year, there are 81,617. If justice delayed is justice denied, our court system is becoming a tar pit of injustice, with litigants left without verdicts or relief for years.

The word of the intended veto stripped away any pretense of the White House putting the public interest before politics. A veto would put rage before reason. In my recent book, I discussed how addictive rage is. People do not like to admit it, but they like being angry. Sometimes, people can choose madness as a release from reality. It offers a righteous license to slip from the bounds of civility and decency. It allows people to harass Republicans in restaurants or to scream profanities outside of their homes. It allows a president to say that he might block judgeships for a struggling court system, just because he does not want his successor to make any of the appointments. It is the reason 41 percent of adults under 30 believe that killing others, like healthcare executives, is justified, according to an Emerson College poll.

We cannot seem to shake this rage addiction even after an election or during a holiday committed to peace and understanding. One liberal site, Crooked Media, is actually selling holiday items featuring the violent extremist group Antifa — one of the most anti-free speech groups in history, which routinely attacks journalists, speakers, and conservative demonstrators. Created by former Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor, the Crooked Media site is selling a line of Antifa items for liberals, including Antifa onesies for infants and “Antifa Dad” shirts to seemingly celebrate political violence. It seems the joy, bipartisanship, and civility have all expired like last year’s eggnog. Even Disney’s new Snow White seems to have taken the cue from the Evil Queen and treated this election as “a blast of wind to fan my hate.” And we are not even at the inauguration yet.

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“Western Europe faces a growing contradiction: its political insignificance clashes with its still-considerable material wealth and intellectual legacy.”

• Half of the West Is Doomed: Here’s Why (Timofey Bordachev)

Only a few years ago, most of Western Europe seemed like a fortress of stability in international politics. With robust economies, solid social systems, and the grand edifice of “European integration,” it gave an impression of permanence, impervious even to major geopolitical upheavals. Now, however, it has become an inexhaustible source of peculiar headlines and confusion. We see endless talk of sending “European peacekeepers” to Ukraine, drawn-out dramas over forming a government in France, or pre-election storms in a teacup in Germany. There are attempts to meddle in the Middle East, and above all, a deluge of irresponsible, often meaningless statements from Western European politicians. For outsiders, these developments provoke a mix of bemusement and concern. In Russia, the Western side of our shared continent’s apparent decline is met with suspicion but also a certain sadness.

For centuries, Western Europe has been both an existential threat and a source of inspiration for Russia. Peter the Great famously reformed the country to borrow the best from European thoughts and culture. In the 20th century, the Soviet Union, despite great sacrifices, secured victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. And for many Russians, Western Europe has long been an “Eden,” offering respite from what were often harsh realities back home. But a Western Europe that is economically unstable, politically chaotic, and intellectually stagnant is no longer the same as what once inspired reforms or envy. It’s no longer a place Russia can look to as a neighbor worth emulating or even fearing. For most of the world, Western Europe’s problems provoke only curiosity. Major powers like China and India are happy to trade with its various countries and benefit from its technology and investment.

But if Western Europe were to disappear from the global stage tomorrow, it wouldn’t disrupt their plans for the future. These nations are vast civilizations in their own right, historically shaped far more by internal dynamics than by European influence. Meanwhile, African and Arab nations still view Western Europe through the lens of colonialism. For them, its decline is of material interest but little emotional consequence. Türkiye sees European countries as prey, aging and weakened rivals. Even the United States, a supposed ally, approaches the continent’s crises with a businesslike detachment, focused solely on how to maximize its own interests at Europe’s expense. It’s tempting to blame Western Europe’s odd behavior on the degeneration of its elites. After decades under US patronage, its leaders have lost the ability to think critically or strategically.

The end of the Cold War allowed them to govern without serious competition, leading to complacency and mediocrity. Many of the brightest minds went into business, leaving politics to those less capable. As a result, Western European foreign policy departments now resemble provincial bureaucracies, out of touch with global realities. The expansion of the EU in the early 2000s, which brought in several small former Eastern European nations, only exacerbated this problem. Their provincial outlook often dominates discussions, reducing complex issues to simplistic, parochial concerns. Today, Western Europe’s politicians are adept at convincing the world – and perhaps even themselves – of their own incompetence. But the root of the problem runs deeper. Western Europe faces a growing contradiction: its political insignificance clashes with its still-considerable material wealth and intellectual legacy.

For centuries, its countries have accumulated vast resources and developed unparalleled intellectual traditions. Yet its strategic irrelevance renders these assets useless. Even France’s nuclear arsenal, once a symbol of power, now garners little respect on the world stage. Germany, the EU’s economic powerhouse, exemplifies this impotence. Despite its wealth, it has failed to translate economic strength into political influence, even over its own affairs. The destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline in 2022, allegedly at the hands of its American allies, symbolizes the bloc’s inability to defend its interests or hold its partners accountable. The United Kingdom, often touted as Western Europe’s most active foreign policy player, plays this role largely under American patronage. Brexit, for all its drama, did little to change this dynamic.

More than 100 years after the First World War dismantled Europe’s empires, the continent finds itself with resources it can no longer wield. The EU’s most recent foreign policy “victory” — the difficult absorption of impoverished Moldova — highlights its limitations. Meanwhile, Georgia, with its defiant government, remains beyond Brussels’ grasp. Even in the Balkans, the EU’s influence is limited to countries subdued by NATO and completely encircled by the US-led geopolitical order.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of modern Western Europe is its lack of reflection. Even the continent’s intellectual elite seems to live behind a wall of denial, detached from reality. This attitude extends to domestic politics, where the rise of non-mainstream parties is dismissed as voters “choosing the wrong way.” In foreign policy, its leaders continue to act as though their opinions still shape global politics, despite clear evidence to the contrary. The EU states march on, oblivious to their diminishing power and the shifting global environment. In theory, such persistence might seem admirable. But world politics is not a Glass Bead Game, as Hermann Hesse would have put it, and clinging to outdated behaviors will only hasten Western Europe’s decline. At some point, even its vast material and intellectual wealth will no longer be enough to sustain it.

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“..their ‘true-believers’… in the Sunni identitarian diaspora haven’t yet clocked that they’ve been sold out – as was always the plan..”

• The “King-Makers” Pull The Rug From Syria, Yet Again… (Alastair Crooke)

James Jeffrey, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, in a March 2021 interview with PBS Frontline, laid out very plainly the template for what has just happened in Syria this month: “Syria, given its size, its strategic location, its historical importance, is the pivot point for whether [there can be] an American-managed security system in the region … And so you’ve got this general alliance that is locked in with us. But … the stress point is greatest in Syria”. Jeffrey explained (in the 2021 interview) why the U.S. shifted its to support to Jolani and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS): “We got Mike Pompeo to issue a waiver to allow us to give aid to HTS – I received and sent messages to HTS” -The messages coming back from HTS were: “We [HTS] want to be your friend. We’re not terrorists. We’re just fighting Assad””.

The PBS Frontline interviewer asks: The U.S. was “supporting indirectly the armed opposition”? To which Jeffrey responds: “It was important to us that HTS not disintegrate … our policy was … was to leave HTS alone … And the fact that we haven’t targeted [HTS] ever, the fact that we have never raised our voice to the Turks about their cohabitation with them — in fact, I used this example the last time I was talking to very senior Turks – when they started bitching about this relationship we [the U.S.] have with the SDF [in eastern Syria]”. “I said to them, “Look, Turkey has always maintained that you want us in northeast Syria, which they do. But you don’t understand. We can’t be in northeast Syria without the platform, because we only have hundreds of troops there”; … I said: “It’s just like you in Idlib …”.

“We want you to be in Idlib, but you can’t be in Idlib without having a platform, and that platform is largely HTS. Now, unlike the SDF, HTS is a UN-designated official terrorist organisation. Have I ever, or has any American official ever, complained to you about what you’re doing there with HTS? No …”. David Miller, a British academic, has noted that in 2015, prominent Syrian Sunni Muslim scholar, Shaykh al-Yaqoubi (who is anti-Assad), was unconvinced by Jolani’s efforts to rebrand Al Qa’ida as Jabhat al-Nusra. Jolani, in his al-2013 Al-Jazeera interview twice confirmed his allegiance to al-Qa’ida, saying that he received orders from its leader, Dr Ayman [al-Zawahiri] … and those were to not target the West. He confirmed his own position as being that of hardline intolerance toward those who practiced a ‘heretical’ Islam.

Miller comments: “While ISIS put on suits; allowed Syria to be carved up by the U.S.; preach peace with the Zionist state; want free markets; and cut gas deals with their regional patrons – their ‘true-believers’… in the Sunni identitarian diaspora haven’t yet clocked that they’ve been sold out – as was always the plan”. “In private, the planners of this war in NATO states laugh about sending young Salafi cannon fodder from around the world into a meat grinder. The $2000 salaries are a mere speck of sand compared to the gas and construction wealth that is expected to be returned to Turkish, Qatari, Israeli and American coffers. They killed Palestine for this, and they’ll spend the next 30 years justifying it, based on whatever line the very expensive PR firms hired by the NATO and Gulf states shill to them…The Syrian regime change operation is the rug pull of the century”.

Of course, James Jeffrey’s account was nothing new. Between 1979 and 1992, the CIA spent billions of dollars funding, arming, and training Afghan Mujahideen militia (like Osama bin Laden) in an attempt to bleed the USSR dry by pulling it into a quagmire. It was from the ranks of the Mujahideen that al-Qa’eda emerged. “And yet, by the 2010s, even as the U.S. was ostensibly at war with al-Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan – it was secretly working with it – in Syria on a plan to overthrow Assad. The CIA spent around $1 billion per year training and arming a wide network of rebel groups to this end. As Jake Sullivan, told Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a leaked 2012 email, “AQ [al-Qaeda] is on our side in Syria”, as Alan Macleod observes in Consortium News.

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A whole list of alleged criminal activities they had ready to go after him, and keep him from becoming AG. But not one single charge.

“Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigating me hated me,” Gaetz wrote..”

• House Ethics Committee Releases Its Report Into Matt Gaetz (ET)

The House Ethics Committee unveiled its report into the past conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Dec. 23 after he filed a last-minute lawsuit in federal court to block its release. “The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” panel investigators wrote in the report. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing. The committee voted on Dec. 10 on whether to release the report publicly. Several members voted against releasing the report but the majority were in favor of its release. The report alleges that Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars to women for drugs or sex in at least 20 instances but that investigators did not find sufficient evidence to conclude that Gaetz had violated the federal sex trafficking statute.

The report noted that Gaetz had declined a voluntary interview. The committee investigators wrote that they found substantial evidence that Gaetz regularly paid women for sexual activity between 2017 and 2020. The report alleges he engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl in 2017; possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy, between 2017 and 2019; accepted gifts, including transportation and lodging related to a 2018 Bahamas trip; and sought to impede and obstruct the committee’s investigation. The committee cited potential violations of federal and state laws, including regulations that prohibit obstruction of Congress and tampering with witnesses in a congressional proceeding, and Florida law that makes unauthorized possession of controlled substances a criminal offense.

The committee said the Department of Justice originally instructed it to defer its review until the department had completed its investigation. In February 2023 the committee resuming its investigation after the DOJ closed its investigation into Gaetz without bringing charges. Gaetz said in a Dec. 18 post on X that he was fully exonerated. “Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigating me hated me,” Gaetz wrote. “In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated—even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court—which is why no such claim was ever made in court. It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank, and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.”

After resigning from Congress last month following his nomination by President-elect Donald Trump for U.S. attorney general, Gaetz on Dec. 23 filed the lawsuit, which asks the judge to issue an emergency order to block the committee from releasing the report. Now that Gaetz has resigned from Congress, he argued in the lawsuit that the House Ethics Committee is reaching beyond its constitutional authority because it lacks jurisdiction over him as a private citizen. His attorneys maintain the report includes “untruthful and defamatory information” that could “significantly damage” Gaetz’s standing and reputation. Gaetz’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, names the Ethics Committee and its chair, Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), as defendants.

“The Committee’s apparent intention to release its report after explicitly acknowledging it lacks jurisdiction over former members, its failure to follow constitutional notions of due process, and failure to adhere to its own procedural rules and precedent represents an unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” Gaetz’s attorneys wrote. The committee has said its singular mission is to “protect the integrity of the House.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1871385251718533349

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There are tons of people who want to abolish the death penalty. But a president cannot say ‘I don’t like this law, so I’ll circumvent it’. Only Congress can make/change laws. That makes this a scary precedent.

• Biden Commutes Sentences Of Dozens On Death Row (ZH)

President Joe Biden on Monday announced that he is commuting the sentences of 37 out of 40 prisoners currently sitting on the federal government’s death row – which will reclassify their sentences to life without the possibility of parole. The three men who were not spared for “terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder” are: “Robert D. Bowers, 52, who in 2018 gunned down 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh; Dylann Roof, 30, who opened fire on Black parishioners in 2015 at a church in Charleston, SC, killing nine people; and Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 31. The decision comes weeks before Biden is set to leave office.

“I’ve dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” Biden said in a statement – before suggesting that the US must abolish the death penalty at the federal level except in cases of terrorism and mass murder. “Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden continued. “But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level.”

[..] As the Epoch Times notes further, President-elect Donald Trump made it clear during his campaign that he would resume the death penalty and expand its use to include child rapists and illegal immigrants who kill U.S. citizens and law enforcement officers. Biden’s commutations are final and cannot be overturned. “In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted,” the president said in his statement. In July 2020, President Trump’s Justice Department resumed federal executions after a 17-year pause. During the final six months of his first term, Trump oversaw the execution of 13 federal death row prisoners. After Biden took office, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum in July 2021, imposing a moratorium on all federal executions.

“The Department of Justice must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system is not only afforded the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States, but is also treated fairly and humanely,” Garland said. “That obligation has special force in capital cases.” In his statement, Biden said his decision was consistent with the moratorium his Justice Department has imposed on federal executions. Among the individuals whose sentences have been commuted to life imprisonment are Jorge Torrez, a former Marine convicted in 2014 for the killing of a fellow service member; Thomas Sanders convicted in 2014 for the killing of a 12-year-old girl; and Kaboni Savage, a drug dealer convicted in 2013 for his role in the deaths of 12 people.

In recent weeks, the president faced increasing pressure from civil rights groups to commute federal death sentences, a campaign promise he made in 2020, before Trump takes office. The announcement, made just before Christmas, is also significant for Pope Francis, who recently urged Biden to commute the sentences of death row inmates. “Today, I feel compelled to ask all of you to pray for the inmates on death row in the United States,” the Pope said in his weekly address in early December. “Let us pray that their sentences may be commuted or changed. Let us think of these brothers and sisters of ours and ask the Lord for the grace to save them from death.” Biden spoke with the Pope on Dec. 19 and scheduled to meet with him during his trip to Italy from Jan. 9 to 12, according to the White House.

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Santa’s helper
https://twitter.com/i/status/1871091668994425135

 

 

Joke

 

 

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Debt Rattle December 23 2024

Dec 232024
 
 December 23, 2024  Posted by at 10:24 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  68 Responses »


René Magritte Meditation 1936

 

• Depression, Debt, Default & Destruction in 2025 -Martin Armstrong (USAW)
• Inaction Over Ukraine Would Have Been A ‘Crime’ – Putin (RT)
• Trump Suggests Zelensky Consider Ceding Territories – El Pais (RT)
• Ukraine Has Had Its Fill (SCF)
• Western Aid Covers Nearly 90% of Ukraine’s Spending in 2022-2024 (Sp.)
• Kremlin Assesses Chances Of Trump-Putin Meeting (RT)
• Trump Threatens To Take Back Panama Canal (ZH)
• Trump Resurrects Idea Of Buying Greenland (RT)
• Make Europe Great Again (David P. Goldman)
• Germany Is Heading For Irreversible Decline (Amar)
• Germany: Effort To Ban AfD Party Faces Major Setback (RMX)
• Romanian Presidential Frontrunner Funded By Pro-Western Party – Media (RT)
• Qatar Warns EU That Tough New Regulations Put Gas Supplies at Risk (Sp.)
• British Armed Forces Shrinking – Telegraph (RT)
• Has Disney Finally Learned What ‘Go Woke, Go Broke’ Means? (Sp.)
• Supreme Court Unanimous Ruling May Pave Way For Mass Deportation (JTN)
• US Could Quit WHO On Trump’s First Day – FT (RT)
• Roll Out The Barrel For The New Year – That’s Diogenes’s Barrel (Helmer)

 

 

 

 


https://twitter.com/i/status/1870900227898507348
https://twitter.com/i/status/1870901510319833540

 

 

 

 

‘I’m sorry, Trump is not going to have a blissful administration, and he’s not going to prevent the economic decline.’

• Depression, Debt, Default & Destruction in 2025 -Martin Armstrong (USAW)

Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong is back with a new round of predictions, and they are not going to make life easy for President Elect Trump. Armstrong says, “Our computer has been projecting that we are going into a depression in some areas and a recession in other areas. A depression most likely in Europe and a recession in the United States up until 2028. . . . At my November conference, everybody was celebrating after Trump won. I stood up and told my clients, ‘I’m sorry, Trump is not going to have a blissful administration, and he’s not going to prevent the economic decline.’ (Please remember, Armstrong predicted Donald Trump would win in a landslide many months before the November 2024 Election.)

Armstrong goes on to say, “We have a serious, serious problem on a global scale. . . . The sovereign debt crisis is really going to start percolating in 2025. It’s probably going to reach a major crisis by 2026 and 2027. Why? They have dictated all these banks and pension funds . . . 70%, generally, must be invested in government bonds. . . . They say it’s ‘safe,’ but it’s the worst debt possible. . . . So, if the government goes into a sovereign default, what happens? You wipe out the banking system and the pensions.”

Does Armstrong think the governments around the world are going to go into a sovereign default? Armstrong says, “Oh yeah. How does a government default? We are in this Ponzi Scheme. They have to keep selling new debt to pay off the old debt. . . . When you can’t sell the new debt, that’s when the default happens because you can’t pay off the old debt.”

What should the average guy do now? Does Armstrong think people should get to the bank and get cash? Armstrong says, “Yes, cash, physical paper money. We just had two hurricanes here in Florida. This idea of Bitcoin and CBDCs are very nice, but what’s the reality? The internet was down for 10 days. A credit card did not work. You wanted something, it was cash only. It was the same in Canada when they froze all the accounts of the truckers. They could not even buy food. Unless you had cash, you were dead in the water. This is why I am saying to have cash in this point in time.” Armstrong still likes physical gold, too.

Armstrong says the digital currencies that are getting a lot of attention lately are only a control mechanism. Armstrong contends digital money will stop bank runs. Armstrong still thinks the world will be at war by April or May of 2025. Armstrong says watch Turkey with its huge conventional army. Armstrong says Jordan and Lebanon may also be taken over, and like Syria, Turkey will be orchestrating this move. Armstrong says the Middle East is setting up for a major conflict starting in 2025, and there will be destruction. Armstrong also predicts Europe will be on the losing end of the next world war.

In closing, Armstrong says, “They can’t stop Trump from taking office, but they can delay him with martial law. Martial law has been enacted 60 times in the United States. . . . The neocons are scared to death of Trump and really want to trap him in war before he takes office.”

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“..we should have acted more decisively and swiftly, should have prepared for this and chosen the right moment to start..”

• Inaction Over Ukraine Would Have Been A ‘Crime’ – Putin (RT)

Russia should have launched its military campaign against Kiev earlier, after realizing that neither Ukraine nor its Western backers were committed to a peaceful settlement of the Donbass crisis, President Vladimir Putin has said. In an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday, Putin acknowledged that while it is difficult to give the ideal date for the special military operation in hindsight, Russians “should have gotten our bearings earlier and understood that our opponents are not going to implement the Minsk agreements, that they are simply leading us by the nose, misleading us.” A crime, Putin continued, can result from either action or inaction. “Our inaction would have been a crime against the interests of Russia and those of her people,” the president stressed.

The now-defunct Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014 and brokered by Germany and France, were intended to give the Donetsk and Lugansk regions a special status within the Ukrainian state. However, former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.” After the conflict escalated in 2022, the same sentiment was echoed by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande. The Western leaders were doing their best to prepare Kiev for a further fight with Russia, Putin stressed. “And if they gave them the opportunity to prepare for future military actions, it means they were counting on them.

With this in mind, we should have acted more decisively and swiftly, should have prepared for this and chosen the right moment to start [the campaign], without waiting for the moment when it was no longer possible to sit on our hands,” he added. Russia has said that it sent troops to Ukraine to protect the people of Donbass from recurring Ukrainian strikes and cited Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, while Ukraine has insisted that the attack was completely unprovoked. Moscow has also consistently opposed Kiev’s aspirations to join NATO, viewing the expansion of the US-led bloc as an existential threat. In the autumn of 2022, the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye regions voted overwhelmingly to join Russia in public referendums.

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“You look at some of these cities and there is not a single building in good condition left. So, when you say “restore the country,” restore what? This is a 110-year reconstruction..”

• Trump Suggests Zelensky Consider Ceding Territories – El Pais (RT)

US President-elect Donald Trump has sent a message to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, asking him to start thinking about a ceasefire and to abandon the territories that are currently under control of Russia, El Pais reported on Sunday. Trump has repeatedly pledged to end the Ukraine conflict within a day of taking office, but has yet to elaborate on how he plans to achieve this. His vows have raised concerns in Kiev that it may be facing not only a decline in aid but also an audit of the billions of dollars it has received from the White House under President Joe Biden. “You look at some of these cities and there is not a single building in good condition left. So, when you say “restore the country,” restore what? This is a 110-year reconstruction,” the Spanish newspaper cited Trump as saying in a “message” to Zelensky from his Florida golf club this week.

Earlier this month, Trump called on both Ukraine and Russia to reach an immediate ceasefire. He posted the call on his social media platform Truth Social after meeting in Paris with Zelensky and President Emmanuel Macron.
The Wall Street Journal reported in early December, citing officials, that Trump had said Western Europe should deploy its troops to Ukraine to monitor a potential ceasefire. He reportedly added that the EU should play the main role in defending and supporting Kiev, while Washington could support the effort without sending troops.

Speaking at his end-of-year press conference on Thursday, Russian president Vladimir Putin reiterated that Moscow remains open to negotiating with Kiev without any preconditions, except those that had already been agreed upon in Istanbul in 2022, which envisaged a neutral, non-aligned status for Ukraine, as well as certain restrictions on deploying foreign weaponry. He also noted that such talks would have to respect the realities on the ground that have developed since that time.

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Ukrainians will need to revolt.

• Ukraine Has Had Its Fill (SCF)

The Russian armed forces are now less than two miles away from overwhelming the city of Pokrovsk. The conquest of that city will have three major consequences for Ukraine. The first is that Pokrovsk is a key logistical hub, the loss of which would threaten the Ukrainian armed forces’ ability to supply their troops in the Donbas. The second is that, beyond Pokrovsk, Russian troops may find mostly undefended fields as they continue their march west across the Donbas. The third is that Pokrovsk is home to Ukraine’s only coking coal mine. Coking coal is essential in the manufacture of steel. The loss of Pokrovsk would affect not only Ukraine’s economy, but its ability to obtain steel for its military manufacturing industry. As the tide of Russian troops rushes toward Pokrovsk, the coking mine has been forced to shut down 50 percent of its operating capacity. If the remainder is lost, Ukraine’s steel production could plummet by 60-75 percent.

The battlefield reality is changing rapidly. Russian forces captured over 1,500 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in October and November, and that pace has quickened in December. And it is not just land, but key logistical and heavily fortified cities that are falling. Perhaps more importantly, troops and weapons are being exhausted. Deaths, injuries and desertions are horrifically high; morale is desperately low. On December 18, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky conceded that Crimea and the Donbas are lost to Ukraine. “De facto,” he said, “these territories are now controlled by the Russians. We don’t have the strength to bring them back.” Once again making the important distinction between de facto recognition and formal recognition, Zelensky said that Ukraine would rely, not on the Ukrainian military, but on “diplomatic pressure from the international community” to reacquire its lost territory.

But it is not only military change that is rapidly happening in Ukraine. Political change is following rapidly in its wake. The sociologist Volodymyr Ishchenko, research associate at the Institute of East European Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, says that there is no longer any enthusiasm, or that that enthusiasm is confined to a much smaller group of people than at the beginning of the war: “When the situation deteriorated and hopes that Ukraine could win the war diminished, support for negotiations increased, while support for, and trust in, Zelensky decreased.” The eclipsing of support for fighting by support for negotiating has been dramatic as Ukrainians suffer the prolonged devastation of the war. The most recent Gallup poll, conducted in August and October 2024, shows that the 73 percent of Ukrainians who believed at the start of the war that Ukraine should continue fighting until it wins has now shrunk to a mere 38 percent.

At the start of the war, in February 2022, only 22 percent felt that Ukraine should negotiate an end to the war as soon as possible. In 2023, that number still sat at only 27 percent. Today, that number has swelled to a majority for the first time, with 52 percent saying yes. Since the poll excluded the people in Russian-controlled regions, the numbers are likely even more telling. In any case, support for the war has dropped below 50 percent in all regions of Ukraine. Support for Zelensky, who succumbed to Western pressure by turning away from a possible early negotiated settlement and promising victory and the return of all Ukrainian land, including even Crimea, has dropped off even faster. Once lionized as a war leader and enjoying approval ratings in the stratosphere, by October 2023, those who strongly approved of Zelensky’s performance had dropped from 58 percent to 42 percent.

And things have gotten worse since then. The Economist reports that “if elections were held tomorrow, Mr Zelensky would struggle to repeat the success of the landslide win he secured in 2019.” The Economist has seen internal polling that shows that “he would fare badly in a run-off against Valery Zaluzhny,” the general who served as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for most of the war. And it is not only Zaluzhny, the war hero, that could challenge Zelensky. Ishchenko told me that some readings of polls show that he would probably also lose to Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense. Though Ukrainian’s changing views on negotiating an end to the war and on Zelensky have received some attention in the mainstream media, their changing views on America have not.

While the Western media reported on Gallup’s findings on Ukrainian support for diplomacy, it did not report on the findings on Ukrainian views of the United States. The polling suggests an erosion in trust for the United States. While 70 percent of those who favor negotiations want to see the European Union “play a significant role” in peace negotiations with Russia, and 63 percent wanted to see the United Kingdom play a significant role, only 54 percent wanted to see a Harris-led U.S. and only 49 percent want to see a Trump-led U.S. play a significant role.

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It’s not an actual country.

• Western Aid Covers Nearly 90% of Ukraine’s Spending in 2022-2024 (Sp.)

Russia has repeatedly warned that the US and its Western sponsors’ assistance to the Kiev regime will only prolong the Ukraine conflict. Western financing of Ukraine reached a whopping $238.5 billion from February 2022 to the beginning of December 2024, which approximately corresponds to 87% of the country s budget expenses, Sputnik s research based on information from the Ukrainian Finance Ministry, the University of Kiel, and open data has shown. The expenses of the Ukrainian budget in 2022-2023 amounted to $193.3 billion, while in 2024 the figure is expected to stand at $81.3 billion. It means that over the past three years, the expenses have increased to $274.6 billion, according to the analyzed data.

The volume of financial aid sent by Western countries to Ukraine amounted to $106 billion, whereas the West’s military assistance reached $132.5 billion within the aforementioned period. At the same time, the total volume of Western aid is 43% less than the $416 billion the West promised to Kiev, per the analysis. The US remains Ukraine s largest donor, having sent $95.2 billion to the Kiev regime in the past three years. Two-thirds of the sum was military aid, while one-third went towards budget financing. EU member states transferred financial and military aid to Ukraine worth $94.2 billion, with Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands being the bloc’s largest donors with $11.9 billion, $7.5 billion, and $6.3 billion, respectively.

The UK sent $13.4 billion, Canada $7.8 billion, and Japan $6.7 billion. During the December 19 Direct Line and year-end press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Ukraine can fight and exist only with the support of its Western donors. The statement came after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Washington’s financial aid to Kiev will not change the situation on the battlefield and will lead to “new victims among Ukrainians.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, for his part, recalled earlier that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasizes that continued aid to Ukraine is a guarantee of creating new jobs in the United States. “As if he is not speaking about financing a war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in Ukraine, but a lucrative business project,” Lavrov stressed. This followed Peskov warning that the EU’s hefty sums to Ukraine are “allocated to the detriment of EU economies which are already going through difficult times.” For example, Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is facing a second year of zero growth, in what comes as more Germans oppose Berlin’s excessive financial assistance to the Kiev regime, according to a recent opinion poll conducted by the ARD news channel.

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“..Moscow could immediately declare a ceasefire and start peace talks as soon as Ukraine leaves all Russian territory, including Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions.”

• Kremlin Assesses Chances Of Trump-Putin Meeting (RT)

No preparations have yet been made for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. On Sunday, Trump reiterated that he wanted to resolve the Ukraine conflict, signaling that he would not rule out a sit-down with the Russian leader to stop the bloodshed. “President Putin said that he wants to meet with me as soon as possible. So we have to wait for this, but we must end that war,” Trump said. Asked by TASS on Monday whether the two could meet face-to-face before Trump is sworn in at the end of January, Peskov replied that “there has been no real impetus at this point.” He previously stated that Russia has had no contact with the Trump team on settling the Ukraine conflict.

The remarks came after Putin last week suggested that “there will be plenty to discuss” with Trump. “Of course, I’m ready to talk anytime; I will be ready to meet with him if he wishes,” the Russian leader said at his annual Q&A session. Putin noted, however, that he did not know when the first contact could begin, recalling that he had not spoken with Trump since the president-elect’s first term. Trump has repeatedly vowed to put a swift end to the Ukraine conflict while urging the belligerents to conclude a ceasefire. Earlier this month, he met with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, later claiming that Kiev “would like to make a deal.” Ukraine, however, has ruled out any territorial concessions to Russia while demanding security guarantees.

According to several media reports, one potential peace plan being considered by Trump would include the freezing of the conflict along the current front line without recognizing Russia’s sovereignty over territories claimed by Ukraine while suspending Kiev’s NATO membership ambitions. While Russia has designated Ukraine’s neutrality as one of its key goals, it has repeatedly ruled out the freezing of the conflict, arguing that this would only enable the West to rearm Kiev. Putin has also suggested that Moscow could immediately declare a ceasefire and start peace talks as soon as Ukraine leaves all Russian territory, including Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions.

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“2025 is gonna be so lit”..

• Trump Threatens To Take Back Panama Canal (ZH)

Donald Trump warned that his new administration could try to regain control of the Panama Canal that the United States “foolishly” ceded to its Central American ally, contending that shippers are charged “ridiculous” fees to pass through the vital transportation channel linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. “The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US,” Trump wrote. “This complete ‘rip-off’ of our Country will immediately stop.” “The Panama Canal is considered a VITAL National Asset for the United States, due to its critical role to America’s Economy and National Security” Trump wrote adding that “if the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question.”

He ended by warning “the Officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!” Panama’s conservative president José Raúl Mulino, who was elected in May on a pro-business platform, roundly rejected the notion as an affront to his country’s sovereignty. The president-elect’s comment came during his first major rally since winning the White House on Nov. 5. Addressing supporters at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Arizona, Trump pledged that his “dream team Cabinet” would deliver a booming economy, seal U.S. borders and quickly settle wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

“I can proudly proclaim that the Golden Age of America is upon us,” Trump said. “There’s a spirit that we have now that we didn’t have just a short while ago.”

Trump also suggested that the canal was in danger of falling into the wrong hands, saying the canal isn’t China’s to manage. China is its second-biggest customer of the canal after the US. In response, Elon Musk, whom liberals now accuse of being Trump’s puppetmaster having seemingly vanquished Putin in this alleged task, responded that “2025 is gonna be so lit”, which it of course will be if Trump pulls a Russia and decides that it is indeed time to annex the Panama canal.

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“Controlling the world’s largest island is an “absolute necessity” for the US, the president-elect has said..”

“..it is rich in gold, silver, copper and uranium and the ocean shelf below its territorial waters is believed to have vast oil reservoirs.”

So how much will the US pay? $1 trillion, 2,3?

• Trump Resurrects Idea Of Buying Greenland (RT)

US President-elect Donald Trump has said that it is essential for Washington from a national security standpoint to take ownership of Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. During his first term, Trump repeatedly voiced his intention to buy Greenland, calling the possible purchase “a large real estate deal.” He argued that the Danish government would be eager to part with the world’s largest island as providing funding for it hurts them “really badly.” However, the authorities in both Denmark and Greenland outright rejected the sale, to which the then-US president reacted by canceling his state visits to Copenhagen in 2019. Trump, however, returned to the idea of the US acquiring the autonomous territory in a post on his TruthSocial platform on Sunday. “For purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the US feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” he wrote.

In the same message, the US president-elect named PayPal co-founder Ken Howery as his pick for Washington’s ambassador to Denmark. He described Howery as “a world-renowned entrepreneur, investor, and public servant,” who had performed “brilliantly” during his tenure as US envoy to Sweden between 2019 and 2021. “Ken will do a wonderful job in representing the interests of the US,” Trump insisted. Despite spanning an area of 2,166,086 sq km (about six times the size of Germany), Greenland is home to fewer than 57,000 people, as 80% of the island is covered with ice. However, it is rich in gold, silver, copper and uranium and the ocean shelf below its territorial waters is believed to have vast oil reservoirs.

The island, which is part of the continent of North America, has access to the Arctic, where competition for dominance over natural resources and strategic routes between the world powers has been intensifying in recent years. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned in September that Washington’s “desire for globalization and self-legitimization, to assert itself as a world policeman… is also extending to the Arctic region.” Moscow has taken notice of how the US-led NATO bloc is “stepping up exercises related to possible crises in the Arctic,” he said. “Our country is fully prepared to defend its interests in military, political and military-technical terms,” Lavrov insisted.

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“Led by the bumbling, malapropism-prone Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the Greens act like the German branch of the Biden State Department.”

• Make Europe Great Again (David P. Goldman)

My advice to President Trump on how to deal with the mess in Ukraine is simple: you should pull the plug on the Biden Administration’s flailing European peanut gallery. Your friends and allies in Europe want to shoulder the burden of their own defense, but they don’t want to pour money down the drain and risk World War III in Ukraine. Get an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, a war which no sane European wants to fight, and let the sovereigntist parties of the New Right mop up the globalist Left. They believe in their countries and will fight to protect them, unlike the Brussels liberals cowering behind the skirts of Mother America. Ending the war won’t happen without an agreement to keep Ukraine neutral and out of NATO. The Deep State will try to convince you that NATO can’t afford to back down on eventual Ukraine membership, and that Russia is bleeding out and ready to fold.

But the opposite is true: Europe’s willingness to defend itself depends on a revival of nationalism and the ascent of the sovereigntist parties on the Right. Freeze the fighting and deliver a political victory to European patriots whose watchword is “Make Europe Great Again.” A recent poll found most Germans probably wouldn’t fight to defend their country, and that two-fifths wouldn’t fight under any circumstances. Most striking is the breakdown by party affiliation. Only 9% of supporters of Germany’s Green Party—the most extreme backer of the Ukraine War—said they would personally take up arms to defend their country, the lowest of any group by party affiliation. Led by the bumbling, malapropism-prone Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the Greens act like the German branch of the Biden State Department.

The highest proportion of individuals ready to fight for their country came from supporters of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), the conservative upstart party now polling at 20% of the national vote. In a more recent poll, 68% of AfD members said they would defend their country “with a weapon in their hand” if Germany were attacked, compared to just 22% of Green Party supporters. The Washington Blob confuses the “let’s you and him fight” war party with the sovereigntists who are ready to defend their country, but want nothing to do with the Blob’s failed adventure in Ukraine. The European war party pledged neither their lives nor their sacred honor (they don’t have any), but rather their reputations, foundation grants, fellowships, and consulting gigs on the Ukraine War.

They made their careers on the twin premise of expanding NATO to the Russian border and arrogating governance to European rather than national institutions. European liberals were battered by the populist wave that began last year with Geert Wilders’s surprise election victory in the Netherlands. It continued through last September’s state elections in Germany, the local elections in the Czech Republic, the Freedom Party’s first-place finish in Austria, and the collapse of the French government. But even so, the continent’s liberals will fight to the last Ukrainian to keep their political privileges. If their proxy war collapses, European liberals know their figurative heads will roll. They have no plan except to keep the war going as long as possible.

And they are doing this by trying to gaslight Americans through a targeted campaign of misinformation. The British Ministry of Defense and the Pentagon, for example, allege that Russia has taken 600,000 casualties in the Ukraine War, and is losing 1,000 to 2,000 soldiers a day in the present fighting. The spurious 600,000 figure even found its way into a Trump social media post last week. The most comprehensive database on Russian casualties, Mediazona, counts 82,000 Russian dead, which it calculated by scraping information from death announcements and social media posts. A statistical estimate of excess deaths would bring the number to 120,000. Assuming three wounded for every soldier killed, Russian casualties are likely somewhere between 246,000 and 360,000.

A retired senior U.S. officer who tracks Ukraine war casualties observes: “Ukrainian casualties from independent sources are not as diligently tracked as are Russian casualties, but counts on graves, and anecdotal reporting, suggests it is higher than the figures released by Kyiv, London, or Washington, D.C. Estimates run between 105,000 and 160,000 KIA (killed in action). Using the same ratios for KIA to WIA, this places total Ukrainian casualties at between 105,000 KIA, and 365,000 WIA (wounded in action), or 470,000 total casualties, to 160,000 KIA and 640,000 WIA, or 800,000 total casualties.” Russia has had about 9,000 desertions in the course of the war. More than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers face official charges of desertion, and the actual number is double that.

Forty-thousand Ukrainians have been killed or wounded defending an incursion into Russian territory near Kursk, according to NATO intelligence sources—and the country has already lost half of the territory it gained in the August 2024 raid. Europe’s sovereigntist parties know this and want to stop the war now. The AfD wants to stop weapons deliveries to Ukraine and advocates a negotiated solution. It is excoriated by the establishment press as a neo-Nazi throwback, and quarantined by legacy parties with a fraction of its voter base. The Greens, represented by Annalena Baerbock and Economics Minister Robert Habeck, are ironically Germany’s most vociferous war hawks. Though they won’t fight for their own country, they want to fight the war to the last Ukrainian.

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“Germany is not merely in a mess; it also has a dysfunctional non-elite that is in total denial about how to fix that mess..”

• Germany Is Heading For Irreversible Decline (Amar)

Oops, he’s done it again: Tech mogul, richest man in the world, and also now new bestie of American President-elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk has used his massive social media clout – as owner of X and a personal account with more than 200 million followers – to post about politics. And here we don’t mean his unhelpful recent intervention in how Americans – barely – keep their rickety government contraption from stuttering to a halt for lack of cash. Nope, this is about Germany: With regard to Europe’s Sick Man on the Spree (there is another one on the Seine, of course), in his first post Musk waltzed in, guns blazing to support the right-wing AfD (Alternative for Germany) party in the run-up to the snap elections on February 23. Only the AfD, he pronounced with typical modesty, can “save Germany.” In a second post, a few days later, Musk reacted to a murderous attack on a German Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg. This time, he called Germany’s lame-duck Chancellor Olaf Scholz “an incompetent fool” who should resign forthwith.

Some Germans are aghast. How dare Musk, an American, intervene in our elections? Deeply unpopular German minister of health Karl Lauterbach, for instance, went almost comically Victorian with his performance of righteous ire for public display, calling Musk’s statements “undignified and highly problematic.” Shocking, shocking indeed! Interestingly enough, most of the same Germans still have no problem with Joe Biden, also an American, having helped Ukraine blow up their vital energy infrastructure and then mightily promoting the de-industrialization of Germany and the EU as a whole by subsidizing companies which move to produce in the US. Others think it’s totally normal that German politicians, such as Michael Roth – head of the German parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, no less – massively interfere in the politics of, say, Georgia, not only by messing with its elections but also trying to literally instigate a coup. Judge not, lest ye be judged…

So, let’s cut out the daft pearl-clutching: I am German, and I find it very objectionable when Musk fails to post about the genocide in Gaza, instead taking the side of the Israeli perpetrators. But I could not be less concerned about him stating his opinion – it’s not more than that – about what party would be best for Germany, even thought I do not agree at all. As to calling Scholz what he actually is, go ahead Elon. There, I am even on your side. Once we dispense with the huffy-puffy theatrics, what is really at stake here? And why would it even matter so much to some Germans what Musk has to say about their politics? It’s not complicated: Musk has hit a very sore spot. And the name of that very sore spot is Germany. Yes, all of it, or at least, everything that has to do with its tanking economy and, frankly, delusional politics. Here’s how:

On December 16, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in the German parliament. That was no surprise but the plan from the beginning. Or to be precise, since November 6, when the former governing coalition of Greens, Free Democrat market liberals, and Scholz’s own Social Democrats imploded with a nasty bang. After that, the no-confidence vote – even if it came with some predictable yet pretty fake drama and backbiting – was merely a formality on the way to snap elections, scheduled for February 23. On the face of it, the above may look like a minor politics-as-usual hiccup: Sometimes coalitions don’t work out and a country needs new elections to – hopefully – start over with a new government. In postwar Germany (the Cold War Western version and the post-unification one together), this procedure – based on article 68 of the constitution – is not unprecedented; it has been used 5 times before.

But this is not that sort of case. Rather, the snap elections are only one small symptom of a much deeper, all-pervasive malaise: By regularly reading the news about Germany, you could easily come to feel that Europe’s former economic locomotive and political first-among-not-so-equals is now a very unhappy country, economically in severe, persistent decline and politically – to put it kindly – badly disoriented. And you would be right. Except things are even worse, and I write that, let me remind you, as a German. For what’s really gloomy – indeed, quite literally hopeless – about the current German doom is that no one with even a remote chance at political power in Berlin is prepared to honestly face the root causes of the country’s misery. Germany is not merely in a mess; it also has a dysfunctional non-elite that is in total denial about how to fix that mess. But before we get to that elephant in the misery room that almost all German politicians fail to acknowledge, with stereotypical thoroughness, let’s look at the wasteland their failure has made.

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European version of lawfare.

• Germany: Effort To Ban AfD Party Faces Major Setback (RMX)

A motion to ban the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is unlikely to move forward, as there is less than a week left to vote on such a ban in this legislative period, and sources involved with the effort say there is no majority in place for such a move. The motion, originally put forward by CDU MP Marco Wanderwitz, who previously said he would retire after this term, will definitely not be put forward this term, co-signer Carmen Wegge (SPD) told the Rheinische Post. As Remix News previously reported, it appeared as if a ban procedure would almost certianly move forward just a month ago, with 105 MPs voicing cross-party support, including from MPs like Claudia Roth and Katrin Göring Eckardt from the Greens, and Ralf Stegner and Helge Lindh from the SPD, just to name a few. The motion will only move forward if there is a majority, but so far, the CDU and the SPD have spoken out against it.

There are grave worries that such a ban procedure could take years, and in any case, with elections expected to take place in February, it could lead to a substantial boost for the AfD. Currently, the SPD and CDU also see no success with the Constitutional Court, which has the final say in such a ban procedure. So far, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and CDU leader Friedrich Merz do not back the ban, although both have hinted that they may support such a procedure in the future. Notably, politicians involved in the ban procedure are once again resorting to claims of protecting democracy by banning what is currently the second-largest party in the country. “Due to the early elections, it is not yet clear whether we can put our motion to a vote in this legislative period,” said Wegge. “The AfD represents the greatest threat to our democracy.”

She claims the party’s goal is to abolish democracy, despite the AfD actually putting forward motions for direct democracy in the country, which would allow the country to make decisions via nationwide referendums — undoubtedly a purer form of democracy than what currently serves as democracy in Germany. Meanwhile, as Remix News previously reported, the Greens are working on an alternative ban procedure which would be more gradual but which MPs of the party, and other parties, believe would have a better chance of succeeding. Efforts to ban the AfD are certainly not helped by the fact that it is the second most popular party in the country at the moment, routinely polling between 18 and 20 percent. A move to outright ban the party would be seen as a catastrophic blow to democracy.

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He opposes sending aid to Ukraine, so he is pro Russian.

• Romanian Presidential Frontrunner Funded By Pro-Western Party – Media (RT)

An investigation launched by Romanian authorities has discovered that the social media campaign that contributed to last month’s surprise first-round win by independent candidate Calin Georgescu in the country’s presidential election was not funded by Russia but rather by the pro-Western National Liberal Party (PNL), the media outlet Snoop has reported. A critic of NATO and the EU and a staunch opponent of sending aid to Ukraine, Georgescu topped the first-round vote in Romania with 22.94%, beating other liberal leftist and democrat candidates. However, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results ahead of the second-round vote, declaring the process would repeat itself at a later date. It cited declassified intelligence documents which have allegedly found irregularities in Georgescu’s performance.

They claimed his candidacy was improperly promoted online, including on TikTok, by paid influencers and extremist right-wing groups, and that his campaign may have benefited from Russian interference – an allegation that Moscow has denied as “absolutely groundless.” According to Snoop, Romania’s tax authorities analyzed financial flows and discovered that the campaign that promoted Georgescu on TikTok was in fact paid for by the PNL and run by Kensington Communication, a company which provides political marketing services, as well as online campaigns. The briefs delivered to influencers were aimed at promoting “a responsible attitude and a mature choice” among Romanians that would help the country continue its “democratic path,” wrote Snoop.

Influencers were reportedly given a script to describe the qualities of a future president without giving a name. Some of them however left comments below the videos, providing Georgescu’s name. “It is a shock to everyone that the public money that taxpayers had provided to the PNL was used to promote another candidate,” one expert involved in the investigation told the publication. Kensington Communication has issued a statement alleging that its campaign had been “hijacked” or “cloned” and said it would file a criminal complaint.

The leak came on Friday, a day before the expiration of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis’ term, and just days before the supreme court is scheduled to hear the case initiated by Georgescu. Iohannis himself had earlier refused to leave office, citing the country’s legislation. Georgescu, who was labelled “pro-Russian” by his critics, filed a lawsuit with the supreme court to challenge the annulment of the election results. The candidate’s lawyer described the situation as “a flagrant violation of the constitution” and “a coup d’état.” The first hearing is scheduled for December 23.

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“If I lose 5 percent of my generated revenue by going to Europe, I will not go to Europe… I’m not bluffing..”

• Qatar Warns EU That Tough New Regulations Put Gas Supplies at Risk (Sp.)

One of the world’s largest suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Qatar, has warned the European Union that it may halt vital gas exports if the bloc enforces its new corporate due diligence directive. The legislation, which seeks to align companies with the EU’s net-zero goals, includes penalties of at least 5 percent of a company’s global annual revenue for non-compliance. Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times that such penalties would be unacceptable for QatarEnergy, a state-owned company with extensive global operations. “If I lose 5 percent of my generated revenue by going to Europe, I will not go to Europe… I’m not bluffing,” Kaabi stated, adding that the legislation imposes impractical requirements on energy producers.

Europe’s reliance on Qatari gas has grown significantly since the bloc decided to phase out Russian gas supplies. Countries like Germany, France, and Italy have signed long-term LNG contracts with QatarEnergy to secure energy supplies. Europe’s decision to cut ties with Russian gas has exacerbated its energy crisis, making alternative sources like Qatari LNG increasingly critical. Kaabi emphasized that QatarEnergy would not breach existing contracts but could explore legal challenges or halt new shipments if penalties are enforced. While hinting at possible compromises, he warned that Europe’s stringent regulations risk disrupting an already fragile energy supply chain.

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Soldiers are quitting by the thousands despite a 6% pay raise. Europe has no serious armies left.

• British Armed Forces Shrinking – Telegraph (RT)

Over 15,000 British soldiers left the Armed Forces in November 2023 through October 2024, The Telegraph reported on Saturday. The resignations continue to come despite the government’s attempt to stem the recruitment crisis with a record pay raise. The newspaper noted that more than half of 15,119 people who left the country’s military forces during the specified time-frame had resigned voluntarily. However, during the same period, they reportedly recruited some 12,000 personnel, resulting in a net shrinkage of the military. In July, the Ministry of Defense announced a 6% pay raise, the largest in more than two decades, in an effort to tackle the raging recruitment crisis. The Telegraph noted that the move, however, failed to alter the current predicament, with new recruits to the forces remaining among the worst-paid public servants in the UK.

Inflation-adjusted pay for army privates has reportedly increased only 1.9% since 2011, versus the 13.39% and 10.14% increases recorded for new junior doctors and train drivers, correspondingly.In May, satisfaction with the basic rate of pay in the military hit the lowest level on record, according to an armed forces survey, as quoted by the newspaper. The poll, conducted prior to the government’s raises, showed that only 32% of respondents said they were happy with their remuneration packets. Earlier this month, Alistair Carns, the defense minister and former Royal Marine, claimed that the regular British army could be wiped out in as little as six months if forced to fight a war on the scale of the Ukraine conflict.

As of October 2024, there were 181,550 members of the country’s armed forces, including total full-time trained and untrained UK service personnel, according to the latest Ministry of Defence (MoD) figures. This marks a decrease of 2% since October 1, 2023. In November, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense said that the current government “inherited” a recruitment crunch, adding that targets had been missed annually for the past 14 years. “We have already given personnel the largest pay raise in decades and scrapped 100 outdated policies that block and slow down recruitment,” the ministry stressed.

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Woke costs dearly.

• Has Disney Finally Learned What ‘Go Woke, Go Broke’ Means? (Sp.)

In a move that may seem out of place in the ‘woke’ US today, Disney has ordered the removal of a transgender storyline from Pixar’s “Win or Lose” animated series, according to the Hollywood Reporter. This isn’t the first instance of Disney removing ‘woke’ bits from its works recently, which may or may not suggest that the studio might realize that pandering to the ‘woke’ crowd might not be the best recipe for a good film. Last month, the “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur” animated series episode that focused on a transgender character also got shelved from the Disney Channel, with artists who worked the series claiming it was “because of which party that won the recent election,” Polygon noted.

These developments occurred after a number of Disney’s productions that were deemed ‘woke’ by a not-inconsiderable portion of the audience flopped, with the company’s losses being estimated at around $900 million last year. Some of Disney’s more notable box office failures included Strange World and Lightyear, two animated series that both featured same-sex romance and relationships.

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“The petitioners, illegal border crossers from El Salvador, India and Mexico, demanded they had rights to stay despite court orders requiring their deportation..”

• Supreme Court Unanimous Ruling May Pave Way For Mass Deportation (JTN)

A unanimous ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court may pave the way for challenges to a federal deportation plan under the incoming Trump administration to be defeated. The ruling was issued in a “sham marriage” case after an American citizen applied with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to obtain a visa for her noncitizen Palestinian husband to receive permanent legal residence status. Under the law, USCIS “shall … approve” a visa petition if it’s been determined “that the facts stated in the petition are true” and the noncitizen is the petitioner’s spouse. If the noncitizen previously sought or received an immigration benefit “by reason of a marriage determined by the Attorney General to have been entered into for the purpose of evading the immigration laws” – known as the sham-marriage bar – USCIS is required to deny it.

The petition was initially approved but two years later was revoked because USCIS argued there was “evidence suggesting that her husband had previously entered into a marriage for the purpose of evading immigration laws,” which the couple denied. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed the revocation, affirming that USCIS’s determination that the husband had entered into a prior sham marriage that would have prevented the initial visa approval. The couple sued, a federal district court dismissed the case, arguing federal courts don’t have jurisdiction over certain discretionary agency decisions. The couple appealed and the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which in a 9-0 vote affirmed both lower court rulings. “Section 1155 is a quintessential grant of discretion,” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a President Joe Biden appointee, wrote in the decision.

“The Secretary ‘may’ revoke a previously approved visa petition ‘at any time’ for what the Secretary deems ‘good and sufficient cause.’ Congress did not impose specific criteria or conditions limiting this authority, nor did it prescribe how or when the Secretary must act.” The ruling was issued after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month that the federal government has the authority to deport illegal foreign nationals over the objection of local authorities, The Center Square reported. In June, the Supreme Court also ruled in favor of federal deportation policies in three consolidated cases on appeal before the Fifth and Ninth circuits, where the courts issued conflicting rulings.

The lawsuits were brought by illegal foreign nationals deemed “inadmissible” under federal law and given Notice to Appear (NTA) documents stating they must appear before an immigration court at a future date and time. Each of the plaintiffs didn’t show up to their hearings, and federal immigration judges ordered their removal in absentia in accordance with federal law established by Congress. The illegal foreign nationals sued, demanded their removal orders be rescinded, claimed they didn’t receive proper written notification, challenged the definitions of the word “change” in the order they received, and made other technical arguments. The petitioners, illegal border crossers from El Salvador, India and Mexico, demanded they had rights to stay despite court orders requiring their deportation. In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court disagreed, ruling against them.

The ruling established precedent for potential future cases that could be brought after the Biden administration began issuing NTAs with court dates three to four years in the future, The Center Square first reported. The ruling could also have a bearing on roughly 200,000 deportation cases that were thrown out by immigration judges because the Department of Homeland Security didn’t file paperwork with the courts in time for scheduled hearings. The rulings are likely to have the most impact on those who attempt to fight a deportation plan by the incoming Trump administration to reverse a policy through which the Biden administration released millions of illegal foreign nationals into the country contrary to federal law.

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How could you not? Look at the damage they did.

• US Could Quit WHO On Trump’s First Day – FT (RT)

The transition team of US President-elect Donald Trump hopes to pull the country out of the World Health Organization (WHO) the first day of the new administration, thus cutting one of the agency’s major cash flows, the Financial Times (FT) has reported, citing health experts. Members of Trump’s team told the experts that they intend to announce a withdrawal from the global health body on inauguration day, January 20, the FT wrote on Sunday. Some in the team reportedly want the US to stay in the WHO but push to reform it. However, another group, which hopes to cut ties, is reportedly winning the argument. The transition team wants Trump to withdraw from the WHO on the first day because of the “symbolism” of reversing Joe Biden’s own inauguration-day move, FT wrote, citing Ashish Jha, former White House Covid response coordinator to the US President.

On January 20, 2021, Biden restarted relations with the UN body, after his then-predecessor Trump initiated a withdrawal process in line with his criticism of the WHO’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. ”America is going to leave a huge vacuum in global health financing and leadership. I see no one that is going to fill the breach,” Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health at Georgetown Law told FT. The plan to withdraw “on day one” would be “catastrophic”, he added. The WHO is a UN body that acts as a coordinating authority on international health issues. The agency gets its funding from dues-paying member states as well as voluntary contributions. The US has been one of the organization’s largest donors for decades, and, according to its data, is currently the second-largest contributor among its member states.

In 2020, Trump accused the WHO of being under China’s control amid the coronavirus pandemic. The president claimed that Beijing had pressured the organization to “mislead the world” about the virus and pledged to direct US funds to other global public health charities instead. Under a 1948 Congressional resolution, the US can withdraw from the WHO but must give a year’s notice and should pay outstanding fees. The Trump team, however, did not comment directly on the potential withdrawal, noted FT. In November, Trump nominated long-time vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy to become US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). RFK Jr. was among the vocal critics of the WHO-recommended Covid-19 response measures imposed by governments around the world, namely strict lockdowns and the introduction of rapidly developed vaccines. Kennedy’s nomination has yet to be approved by the Senate.

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“..living in a barrel, sleeping rough, going naked in the street, and declaiming rude jokes about the rulers and institutions of Athens, the state in which he lived.”

• Roll Out The Barrel For The New Year – That’s Diogenes’s Barrel (Helmer)

Diogenes of Sinope, the still famous philosopher of ancient Greece, had an unusually long and exceptionally miserable life between 412 and 323 BC. There’s no telling whether he inherited the profits of his father’s money manipulation business, but by the time he was captured by pirates, enslaved, and then put up for sale, he had nothing with which to pay the ransom. He was not the first crooked banker’s son to end up in poverty. He was the first, and possibly the last crooked banker’s son to make a virtue of poverty, and to demonstrate this in his lifestyle – living in a barrel, sleeping rough, going naked in the street, and declaiming rude jokes about the rulers and institutions of Athens, the state in which he lived.

There is some dispute over whether Diogenes’s barrel was in fact a large wine or oil storage jar; and whether the cause of his death was suicide by self-suffocation, gastroenteritis from raw octopus, or manslaughter by a hungry dog. There is no dispute over the fame Diogenes continues to enjoy for his subversion of the powerful, wealthy, and gullible of his society, and for the wit of his apothegms. They are all hearsay; next to nothing Diogenes wrote has survived.In the truth and in truth-telling, it’s certain that Diogenes was a believer. But excepting himself, towards truth-tellers in particular – journalists, lawyers, University of Chicago professors, and veterans of the US Marine Corps and CIA – Diogenes was more than cynical. He illustrated this point with his habit of walking about in the bright sunshine with a lighted lantern. Asked what he was doing, he quipped that he was looking for an honest man.

Let’s celebrate in Diogenic style and with his two convictions — that pursuing the truth is no laughing matter, and that pursuing the truth in hope of making money, power and celebrity is a joke: those who do so are masturbating in public as Diogenes used to do but for an altogether different, selfless reason. For the coming 2025 I wish you, dear reader, will catch a glimpse of the truth – enough to keep us in good spirits until the Moscow office reopens in mid-January; and then to slow down our arrival at the destination Diogenes recognized as inevitable for all truth-tellers – the empty barrel.

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Hornets

 

 

Cats&dogs
https://twitter.com/i/status/1870573708621779169

 

 

Sharks
https://twitter.com/i/status/1870485469726969997

 

 

Bros
https://twitter.com/i/status/1870777334392820166

 

 

Cat camera
https://twitter.com/i/status/1870834476361683086

 

 

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