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Debt Rattle February 3 2025

Feb 032025
 
 February 3, 2025  Posted by at 11:10 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  63 Responses »


Jean Metzinger Soldier playing chess 1915

 

• Musk Claims USAID Funded Bioweapon Research (RT)
• USAID Tried To Block DOGE Audit (RT)
• Trump’s Dismantling Of USAID A Seismic Shift In America’s Role In The World (ZH)
• Panama Will Not Renew “Silk Road” Deal With China After Rubio Visit (ZH)
• John Brennan’s Protests to Trump Lifting his Security Clearances are Absurd (AmG)
• Military Strikes On Cartels Inside Mexico “On The Table”: Hegseth (MN)
• Tariffs Could Cause ‘Some Pain’ – Trump (RT)
• Trump’s Big Stick Strategy Will Make America Respected Again (Vasile)
• European Leaders Will ‘Wag Tails’ For Trump – Putin (RT)
• EU Incapable Of Helping End Ukraine Conflict – AfD Leader (RT)
• Zelensky: Trump Talking To Putin About Ukraine Without Us ‘Very Dangerous’ (ZH)
• Zelensky Has No Idea Where Most Of ‘$200 Billion’ In US Aid Went (RT)
• Arab Nations Reject Trump’s Idea To Relocate Gaza Population (RT)
• Musk Urges Astronauts To Lead Mars Investigation (RT)
• Rosatom’s Quantum Breakthrough Set to Transform AI, Healthcare and More (Sp.)
• CBS To Provide Unedited Version Of Harris ‘Word Salad’ Interview (RT)
• Exhausted Media Begs Trump To Take A Day Off (BBee)

 

 

 

 

JD
https://twitter.com/i/status/1885894662369530009

Leavitt

DOGE

Cher
https://twitter.com/i/status/1885772428573319518

 

 

 

 

Gold

Mafia

FAFO

Tucker JFK

 

 

 

 

USAID was never an aid agency, that’s just a clever CIA disguise to wrap its front in. Full name is US Agency for International Development.

It’s over now. Trump will either kill it or make it part of the State Dept. Musk: “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die..”

• Musk Claims USAID Funded Bioweapon Research (RT)

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has accused the US Agency for International Development (USAID) of financing bioweapon research, including projects that allegedly led to the emergence of Covid-19, branding the agency a “criminal organization.” Musk’s comment came in response to a post from user @KanekoaTheGreat on Sunday, which claimed that USAID had funneled $53 million to EcoHealth Alliance. The post alleged that these funds were used to support gain-of-function research on coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, potentially leading to the creation of Covid-19. “Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded bioweapon research, including COVID-19, that killed millions of people?” Musk wrote.

Musk did not elaborate on the allegations, but the post he was responding to further asserted that “the CIA’s deception regarding COVID-19 origins becomes much clearer when considering USAID’s long history of serving as a CIA front organization.” “USAID is a criminal organization,” Musk wrote in another post, replying to a video about the alleged USAID involvement in internet censorship and “rogue CIA work.” EcoHealth Alliance, a US-based nonprofit organization, has been at the center of controversy due to its collaborations with China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. The organization has denied that its work involved gain-of-function research, but in May 2024, the US Department of Health and Human Services suspended all federal funding to EcoHealth Alliance, citing concerns over the organization’s oversight of high-risk experiments and failure to report research activities promptly.

The CIA believes it is “more likely” that Covid-19 originated from a lab-leak incident rather than a natural source, the agency’s spokesman said last month after the confirmation of John Ratcliffe as CIA director. US President Donald Trump’s nominee, Ratcliffe, has been a vocal supporter of the lab-leak version, calling it “the only theory supported by science, intelligence, and common sense.” Following the confirmation, Ratcliffe also said the CIA’s assessment of Covid’s origins would be a “day-one thing for me.” USAID has a history of funding global health initiatives, including the PREDICT program, which aimed to identify viruses with pandemic potential and ran from 2009 to 2020 in partnership with EcoHealth Alliance. In 2021, USAID launched a $125 million follow-up program known as the Discovery & Exploration of Emerging Pathogens – Viral Zoonoses – but it was shut down prematurely in 2023.

Russia has repeatedly raised concerns about the network of biological research laboratories supported by the Pentagon and other US agencies around the globe, particularly in Ukraine and other countries near its borders, alleging that these facilities are involved in bioweapon research. Reporting about US biolab activities was one of the main priorities of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the Russian military’s top official on the hazards posed by weapons of mass destruction. He was murdered along with his assistant in Moscow in December in the bombing attack allegedly ordered by Kiev. In its latest reports, the Russian Defense Ministry has drawn attention to the transfer of unfinished Ukrainian projects to post-Soviet states and Southeast Asia, and said that Africa has now become a focal point of interest for the US government, which views the region as an unlimited natural reservoir of dangerous pathogens and a testing ground for experimental medical treatments.

The US Department of Defense has acknowledged providing support to some laboratories in Ukraine, but insisted that these efforts are focused on preventing the outbreak of infectious diseases and developing vaccines, and that the laboratories are owned and operated by their respective countries, not by the United States. Western officials have consistently dismissed Moscow’s investigations as disinformation aimed at discrediting “legitimate” public health initiatives. Moscow and Beijing have nevertheless demanded greater transparency from the US regarding its military biological activities. Last year, the two countries agreed to unite against biological security threats and strengthen the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BTWC).


https://twitter.com/i/status/1886167348282863630

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It’s easier to just not see the mission Trump and Musk are on.

• USAID Tried To Block DOGE Audit (RT)

Two senior security officials with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have reportedly been placed on leave by President Donald Trump’s administration after attempting to prevent an audit by the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. A team of DOGE inspectors sought to review “classified material in restricted areas” at USAID on Saturday but were stopped by security officials, AP reported on Sunday. The inspectors allegedly lacked the necessary security clearance, and USAID security was “legally obligated” to deny them access to the requested data, the news agency claimed. “No, they tried to lie to cover up their corruption,” Musk wrote on X, dismissing allegations that the team lacked security clearance. Katie Miller, who serves on an advisory board for DOGE, also said that “no classified material was accessed without proper security clearances.”

Eventually, the inspectors gained access to the requested materials, including personnel records and “intelligence reports,” according to AP. Meanwhile, the USAID officials, identified as John Vorhees and his deputy Brian McGill, were placed on leave. The DOGE has yet to publish any details of its review of USAID activities, but Musk had already attacked the agency in a series of fiery posts on Sunday. “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,” Musk said, accusing the agency of “paying media organizations to publish their propaganda,” and even using US taxpayer dollars to fund “bioweapon research, including COVID-19, that killed millions of people.” Over the weekend, the official USAID website went offline, and its X account disappeared amid reports that the White House considered merging the agency into the US Department of State.

The DOGE was created by President Donald Trump as a presidential advisory commission dedicated to reducing government spending. Its goal is to cut at least $1 trillion in federal spending by July 2026. In late January, the DOGE claimed that it had already cutting federal spending by $1bn per day. It had allegedly saved over $1 billion solely by eliminating contracts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Musk’s department has also been granted full access to the US Treasury Department’s payment system, which is considered sensitive and was previously restricted to a small group of career civil servants.

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“..many allies as well as an assortment of US-backed ‘opposition groups’ will feel completely abandoned.”

• Trump’s Dismantling Of USAID A Seismic Shift In America’s Role In The World (ZH)

The most consequential decision and executive order which came within the opening days of President Donald Trump’s administration has without doubt been his “reevaluating and realigning US foreign aid” — which sent shockwaves through Washington especially given federal funding has been cut to USAID in a shock blow to the agency. But it is also having a massive ripple effect throughout the world. Some foreign powers will welcome the news, while many allies as well as an assortment of US-backed ‘opposition groups’ will feel completely abandoned.

This has meant that pro-Western media outlets, NGOs, and ‘soft power’ organizations are in panic mode. This has basically overnight shutdown a multi-billion dollar regime change apparatus which pushed or often imposed American interests throughout the globe, especially in the very vulnerable Third World, as well as former Soviet satellite regions. The way this works on a practical, on the ground level is detailed in the well-known book Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man. As for Trump’s apparent efforts to dismantle the powerful USAID agency, we compiled some of the best current analysis from around the web outlining the huge significance of this move, which is nothing less than a historic reset (and we say a very welcome reset) of Washington’s relations with the rest of the world.

We’re looking at a seismic shift in the US’s relationship with the world, via Arnaud Bertrand:
1) The US is dismantling its foreign interference apparatuses (like USAID )
2) Marco Rubio stating that we’re now in a multipolar world with “multi-great powers in different parts of the planet” and that “the postwar global order is not just obsolete; it is now a weapon being used against us.”
3) The tariffs on supposed “allies” like Mexico, Canada or the EU: This is the US effectively saying “our attempt at running the world is over, to each his own, we’re now just another great power, not the ‘indispensable nation’.” It looks “dumb” (as the WSJ just wrote) if you are still mentally in the old paradigm but it’s always a mistake to think that what the US (or any country) does is dumb.

Hegemony was going to end sooner or later, and now the U.S. is basically choosing to end it on its own terms. It is the post-American world order – brought to you by America itself. Even the tariffs on allies, viewed under this angle, make sense, as it redefines the concept of “allies”: they don’t want – or maybe rather can’t afford – vassals anymore, but rather relationships that evolve based on current interests. You can either view it as decline – because it does unquestionably look like the end of the American empire – or as avoiding further decline: controlled withdrawal from imperial commitments in order to focus resources on core national interests rather than being forced into an even messier retreat at a later stage.

In any case it is the end of an era and, while the Trump administration looks like chaos to many observers, they’re probably much more attuned to the changing realities of the world and their own country’s predicament than their predecessors. Acknowledging the existence of a multipolar world and choosing to operate within it rather than trying to maintain an increasingly costly global hegemony couldn’t be delayed much further. It looks messy but it is probably better than maintaining the fiction of American primacy until it eventually collapses under its own weight. This is not to say that the U.S. won’t continue to wreak havoc on the world, and in fact we might be seeing it become even more aggressive than before.

Because when it previously was (badly, and very hypocritically) trying to maintain some semblance of self-proclaimed “rules-based order”, it now doesn’t even have to pretend it is under any constraint, not even the constraint of playing nice with allies. It’s the end of the U.S. empire, but definitely not the end of the U.S. as a major disruptive force in world affairs. All in all this transformation may mark one of the most significant shifts in international relations since the fall of the Soviet Union. And those most unprepared for it, as is already painfully obvious, are America’s vassals caught completely flat-footed by the realization that the patron they’ve relied on for decades is now treating them as just another set of countries to negotiate with.

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Got to love it: “John Bolton and John Brennan have been permanently banned from government buildings.”

• Panama Will Not Renew “Silk Road” Deal With China After Rubio Visit (ZH)

The Trump administration is not messing around. Let’s review. In the past thirteen days;
• Border crossings are down 94% after Trump declared a national emergency and sent US troops to the southern US Border .
• Special Envoy Ric Grenell flew down to oil-rich Venezuela, got 6 hostages freed (that Biden didn’t even care to check up on), and convinced Maduro to accept tens of thousands of migrants we’re about to deport.
• Trump halted almost all foreign aid for 90 days, including to Ukraine, while each program undergoes review to make sure they align with the new agenda.
• Elon Musk’s DOGE descended upon the US Treasury and revealed that we’ve been ‘auto paying’ all sorts of bad actors, including terrorist groups. DOGE then kicked the door down at Deep State slush fund USAID, where employees were placed on paid leave last week for trying to circumvent Trump’s orders, causing a massive Democrat freakout.
• Trump just slapped tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico for failing to control the flow of illegal immigration and fentanyl.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a worldwide cable announcing the end of DEI policies within State, prioritizing American interests, and told his Chinese counterpart that America is done kowtowing. See below for more!

And now, Rubio has convinced Panama not to renew its deal with China’s Belt and Road economic program, after applying pressure to the Panamanian government to immediately take steps to address US concerns over Chinese businesses operating ports near the canal – which President Trump says represents a threat to US national security. “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,” said US State Department spox Tammy Bruce. Trump had also refused to rule out the use of military force over Panama, while US officials said in a senate hearing last week that fines and restrictions on Panamanian-flag vessels entering US ports could be imposed due to the dispute over the canal.

Now, Secretary of State Rubio has convinced Panama to reverse course on their deal with China – with President Jose Mulino making an announcement following a “respectful and cordial” meeting with Rubio in which Panama also agreed to expand a July MoU so that Venezuelans, Colombians and Ecuadoreans can be returned from the perilous Darien Gap at U.S. cost, through an airstrip in Panama, Reuters reports. According to the PanAm Post, Panama will not renew the memorandum of understanding on the “Silk Road” signed with China. “We are going to study the possibility of whether it can be finished earlier or not. I think it is due for renewal in one or two years,” said Molino.

As one ZH reader, the esteemed Pooper Popper, noted earlier today…
• All federal prosecutors handling January 6th cases fired, computers locked and marched out of their offices by security.
• David Sundberg, the FBI Assistant Director at the helm of the January 6th investigations, has been fired.
• 20 leaders of FBI field offices have been escorted out of FBI buildings around the country
• The 51 intelligence officers who spread misinformation about Hunter Biden’s laptop and interfered in elections are now banned from entering federal properties.
• Federal employees are now required to return to the office, with non-compliance leading to termination.
• John Bolton and John Brennan have been permanently banned from government buildings.
• Jarold Harold Rogers has been indicted for compromising U.S. trade secrets to China.
• Ban on all use of pronouns in government communications.
• All 2 million Feds sent a resignation offer. At this rate both Canada and Greenland will be US territories by the end of the month.

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Trump wasn’t going to ask Brennan’s advice. Now he knows.

• John Brennan’s Protests to Trump Lifting his Security Clearances are Absurd (AmG)

Former CIA Director John Brennan is angry that President Trump signed an executive order last week lifting his security clearances. The president took this action because Brennan was one of 51 former intelligence officers who meddled in the 2020 presidential election by signing a letter they knew falsely claimed a damaging press story about a laptop owned by President Biden’s son Hunter was Russian disinformation.Brennan indignantly asserted in an MSNBC interview that President Trump’s action was “bizarre” and said he misrepresented the laptop letter, claiming that based on their intelligence experience, the signatories were “deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case.” Brennan also said he needs to hold security clearances as a former intelligence officer so administration officials can consult with him on national security matters.

Brennan’s objections are absurd and justify the President’s executive order. Brennan’s claims defending the laptop letter are patently false. The 51 former intelligence officers did not sign the letter as a well-intentioned initiative to warn the American people about a possible Russian attempt to influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. They knew this wasn’t true. We know this because one of the principal organizers of the letter, former acting CIA Director Michael Morell, testified during an investigation by the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees about the letter’s purpose:“There were two intents. One intent was to share our concern with the American people that the Russians were playing on this issue, and two, it was to help Vice President Biden.” The House investigation also found that the letter signers were informed “of the intent of the statement prior to its publication, writing that the statement was meant to insulate Vice President Biden from serious electoral vulnerabilities created by his family’s influence peddling activities.”

This means there can be no doubt the laptop letter was an attempt by the 51 former intelligence officers to misuse their intelligence careers to provide political cover for Biden from damaging information that could have cost him the election. They knowingly misled the American people to give Biden a talking point to discredit the laptop story during the final presidential debate, held on October 22, 2020. There can be no doubt John Brennan knew about all of this. Brennan also made the preposterous argument that he only held security clearances as a former CIA officer so he could be a resource for the U.S. government. He said in an MSNBC interview: “The only reason I still had a clearance, as I have had for years since leaving government service, was for the benefit of the government. It was to facilitate classified discussions, should the CIA or any agency need to consult with me or other former directors and members of the intelligence community.”

I don’t doubt that the deeply incompetent Biden administration sought counsel on classified national security matters from disgraced former intelligence officers like John Brennan. However, there is zero chance that anyone in the second Trump administration will ever consult someone like Brennan on any issue. Brennan omitted the real reason he and most other laptop letter signers held security clearances after they left their intelligence jobs—to make money. High-level security clearances can be very lucrative for former U.S. government employees because they enable them to obtain highly paid contracts and jobs with defense firms and Beltway consulting companies that do business with intelligence and defense agencies. After intelligence officers retire, many retain their security clearances and return to their old offices as highly paid contractors.

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Better if Mexico does it, but it doesn’t.

“The military is orienting, shifting toward an understanding of homeland defense on our sovereign territorial border.”

• Military Strikes On Cartels Inside Mexico “On The Table”: Hegseth (MN)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Announced Friday that all options, including military strikes against cartels on Mexican soil are “on the table.” Hegseth asserted that nothing is out of the question “if we’re dealing with what are designated to be foreign terrorist organizations who are specifically targeting Americans on our border.”The development comes after Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office to designate “cartels and other organizations as foreign terrorist organizations.” The order stated that “The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs.”

Hegseth urged “We’re finally securing our border. We’ve been securing other people’s border for a very long time. The military is orienting, shifting toward an understanding of homeland defense on our sovereign territorial border.” “That is something we will do and do robustly. So we’re already doing it,” Hegseth continued, adding “Should there be other options necessary to prevent the cartels from continuing to pour people gangs and drugs and violence into our country — we will take that on.” “So the president will make that call. I’ll work with him in that decision making process. Ultimately, we will hold nothing back to secure the American people,” he emphasized.

While campaigning, Trump repeatedly vowed to use the military against the cartels, suggesting that special forces could be deployed in Mexican territory. Border czar Tom Homan also recently stated that Trump intends to “use the full might of the United States Special Operations to take ’em out,” and “ take ’em off the face of Earth.” During a recent discussion with Joe Rogan, former Green Beret Evan Hafer, noted that if Trump does decide to go to war with the cartels he could opt to use Delta Force and Seal Team 6 to destroy them. “These dudes are not going to understand what the fuck is going on,” Hafer promised, adding “They are in for a world of ultra violence they’ve never actually felt before… we could just kind of like erase the problem in about two years. It’d be gone.”

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“WE ARE A COUNTRY THAT IS NOW BEING RUN WITH COMMON SENSE – AND THE RESULTS WILL BE.”

• Tariffs Could Cause ‘Some Pain’ – Trump (RT)

US President Donald Trump has acknowledged that Americans could feel “some pain” from newly imposed tariffs on foreign trading partners, but insisted the measures were necessary to restore economic strength. He also warned that further tariffs could be levied on the European Union and possibly the UK if trade practices are not addressed. The latest tariffs, which take effect on Tuesday, include a 25% duty on all goods from Canada and Mexico, with a 10% tariff applied specifically to Canadian energy exports. Imports from China will also face a 10% tariff. “WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!),” Trump wrote in all caps on Truth Social on Sunday. “IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID. WE ARE A COUNTRY THAT IS NOW BEING RUN WITH COMMON SENSE – AND THE RESULTS WILL BE.”

Commenting on Canada’s retaliatory measures, announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump suggested the possibility of imposing steeper levies. “If they want to play the game, I don’t mind. We can play the game all they want,” he told reporters upon landing at Joint Base Andrews from Florida. In a separate social media post, Trump renewed his call for Canada to become a US state, arguing that “without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable country.”Addressing potential import taxes on the EU, Trump stated that with a trade deficit of $350 billion, “something is going to take place there.” He did not specify a timeline but suggested action was likely “pretty soon.”

He also called the UK “out of line” but expressed confidence that the situation “can be worked out.” Canada and Mexico have already responded to last week’s tariff announcement. Trudeau has imposed a 25% levy on US goods, including alcohol and cosmetics, and warned of further countermeasures. Mexico has also signaled it will implement retaliatory tariffs and promote domestic products in response to Washington’s policies. Meanwhile, China has announced “corresponding countermeasures” and plans to file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization.

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“The Inconvenient Truth: Tariffs Are Effective..”

• Trump’s Big Stick Strategy Will Make America Respected Again (Vasile)

Under Biden, South and Central American countries had a free pass to send their citizens, freed criminals, and other migrants to America’s doorstep without repercussions. For the past four years, the Biden administration wrote a blank check to allow any and all migrants into our nation, without even a background check. This has led to a swelling of migrant gangs such as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, which has been busy at work committing violent crime – including murders and rapes – on American soil. Thanks to Biden’s “humanitarian policy,” countries like Venezuela have emptied their prisons and have encouraged migrants to pass through with the promise of attaining the “American dream” in the form of free cell phones, food, and even housing at the expense of the American taxpayer. There’s one issue: Trump is back.

With U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ramping up deportation efforts of violent illegal aliens, the countries which for so long have benefited from the Democrats’ open-border approach are now forced to address the migrant crisis and take back the citizens they’ve abandoned time and time again. Colombia’s Petro is one of the first to actively resist Trump’s efforts to repatriate Colombian citizens, announcing: “From today on, Colombia is open to the entire world, with open arms.” Petro also tweeted out: “The U.S. cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals,” and “We are the opposite of the Nazis.” Trump responded, declaring that an immediate 25% tariff on “all goods” coming into the States from Colombia will be enacted; in one week’s time, the tariff would be raised to 50%.

Petro responded in the like, announcing his own 25% tax on American goods, if Trump keeps to his word: “Your blockade does not scare me, because Colombia, besides being the country of beauty, is the heart of the world.” Despite Petro’s poetic declarations, it appears he is all bark and no bite; within 24 hours of sparring with President Trump, Petro bent the knee and agreed to take in America’s deportation flights, ensuring that Colombia will, “facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were to arrive in the country this morning from deportation flights … [th]is measure responds to the Government’s commitment to guarantee decent conditions.” In fact, Trump’s tariff threat was so effective, Petro quickly agreed to all of Trump’s terms regarding facilitating deportation efforts; so much for being “open to the entire world.”

Petro even offered his own presidential plane to pick up migrants in Honduras in a good faith effort not to disrespect American sovereignty again. This nimble victory on migration policy isn’t just a nod to how effective Trump’s diplomatic strategy is on the world’s stage. It also highlights a fear establishment politicians and the legacy media have been dreading: Protectionism works. While the talking heads of CNN, CNBC, NBC and others are quick to fear-monger and forecast the potential price hikes associated with hypothetical tariffs on foreign goods, they conveniently ignore one important aspect of announcing tariffs: leverage. For the past four years, America has been the world’s laughing-stock. Under Biden, we have experienced war in Ukraine, renewed Chinese efforts to invade Taiwan, the funding of Islamic terrorism in the Middle East, a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, and blatant spying on American soil.

The world has taken American for granted, betting on a weak and ineffective commander in chief to do their bidding and continuously fund their morally questionable policies. With Trump back in the picture, the threat of tariffs shows that America means business after four long years of inept (and absent) leadership. While academics, “classical liberals,” and politicians decry Trump’s use of tariffs as “anti-democratic,” they fail to address tariffs in action. Trump needed only to voice the possibility of tariffs if Colombia did not take back its own citizens. Petro knows better than to spar head-to-head with Trump, as do most other world leaders; the threat of tariffs is sufficient to get countries to step in line. No actual tariffs need to be put in place if American foreign policy is respected. Colombia is the textbook case: Trump rescinded his order after Petro conceded.

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Europe has no leaders.

• European Leaders Will ‘Wag Tails’ For Trump – Putin (RT)

The EU has always taken its political cues from Washington and will continue doing so with Donald Trump in office, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. Despite some EU leaders actively opposing Trump’s election, the newly inaugurated president “will restore order” and bring the bloc to heel “quite quickly,” Putin believes. The Russian president made the remarks on Sunday in an interview to Russia-1 TV journalist Pavel Zarubin. It has been decades since Europe last had strong politicians capable of forming opinions independently from Washington, Putin said, referring to the era of former French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder.

However, in recent years, the EU’s policies have been steered by “political small fries” who lack education and ability, Putin asserted. He noted that these individuals have “happily carried out any order from the president in Washington under Biden,” but “got confused when Trump suddenly won” the November election. “They just don’t like Trump, they actively fought him, interfered in political life, in the US election… Trump has different ideas about what is good and what is bad, including in gender policy, in some other issues, and they don’t like it,” Putin said. He believes, however, it won’t be long until the EU once again follows orders from Washington.

“I assure you, Trump, with his character and persistence, will restore order quite quickly. And all of them, you’ll see, soon all of them will stand at the master’s feet and gently wag their tails,” Putin argued. Many European leaders expressed concerns about Trump’s potential return to the White House throughout the presidential race last year, alarmed by his “America First” protectionist rhetoric, threats to impose tariffs on EU goods, criticism of the bloc’s low contribution to NATO defense spending, and calls to change course on the Ukraine conflict, among other things. After congratulating Trump on his election victory in November, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were nevertheless quick to call on the bloc to act in a united manner in the face of Trump’s return to office.

So far, Trump’s executive actions have not directly targeted the EU. However, this past week he reaffirmed his intention to place “substantial” tariffs on goods from the bloc. Brussels has pledged to respond to these actions “in a proportionate way,” while French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou last week called on the bloc to stand up to Trump and his policies or face being “crushed.” “The US has decided to embark upon an extremely domineering form of politics… and if we don’t do anything, our fate is very simple – we will be dominated. We will be crushed. We will be marginalized,” Bayrou stated.

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Any time the “extreme right” makes this much sense is a good time.

• EU Incapable Of Helping End Ukraine Conflict – AfD Leader (RT)

Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has said that the EU and Germany in particular are unable to assist in finding a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict due to being run by incompetent politicians. The AfD wants peace between Russia and Ukraine and is “committed to negotiations,” Weidel said during a campaign event in the town of Neu-Isenburg in central Germany on Saturday. She stressed that Trump “was the only one who actually spoke about peace during his election campaign” last year. “I personally have great hopes that the US, together with Russia, will end this terrible war as quickly as possible,” the AfD co-leader stressed.

According to Weidel, the EU, and Germany in particular, are “unfortunately no longer capable” of delivering peace because “we only have this small group of politicians sitting up there, who do not understand what they are actually talking about. They do not have the training; they do not have the experience.” Berlin should have started “to fight for peace immediately” after the escalation between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022 and hold talks with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky but failed to do so, she argued.

When German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock “refuses to shake hands… that is not how serious foreign policy works,” the AfD co-leader stressed. She appeared to have been referring to when Baerbock refused a handshake with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at a G20 summit in 2023. After his inauguration last week, Trump, who had repeatedly promised to quickly end the fighting between Moscow and Kiev if elected, said he was ready to meet Putin “any time” to find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict.

The Kremlin replied by saying that the Russian president is also willing to talk to his US counterpart, but stressed that Moscow has not yet been approached by Washington about arranging contact between the two leaders. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Thursday that Trump believes that the fighting “needs to end now. It needs to end to a negotiation.” The AfD, which was established in 2013 and is known for its hardline anti-immigration stance, is currently polling around 20%, ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) at 16% but behind the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at 31%. The German federal election is scheduled to take place on February 23.

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“Zelensky is essentially urging Trump to stand fast on the demand that Ukraine be invited into NATO. Of course, such a scenario could easily trigger WW3.”

• Zelensky: Trump Talking To Putin About Ukraine Without Us ‘Very Dangerous’ (ZH)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Russia and the United States are already talking about how to wind down the Russia-Ukraine war and this is “very dangerous” without Ukraine’s direct input. He said in an Associated Press interview published Saturday, “They may have their own relations, but talking about Ukraine without us — it is dangerous for everyone.” Zelensky issued this assessment the day after the Trump White House confirmed that discussions at a “general level” are happening with Moscow and that an in-person meeting between presidents will take place ‘soon’. According to an AP summary of Zelensky’s words: “Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Zelenskyy said Russia does not want to engage in ceasefire talks or to discuss any kind of concessions, which the Kremlin interprets as losing at a time when its troops have the upper hand on the battlefield.

He said U.S. President Donald Trump could bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the table with the threat of sanctions targeting Russia’s energy and banking system, as well as continued support of the Ukrainian military. “I think these are the closest and most important steps,” he said in the interview in the Ukrainian capital that lasted for more than an hour.” Zelensky did express openness to eventually entering negotiations with Putin, despite current active legislation which forbids entering direct communication with Moscow so long as Putin is head of state. But he emphasized Trump and Kiev should be on the same page first. “I believe that, first and foremost, we (must) hold a meeting with him, and that is important. And that is, by the way, something that everyone in Europe wants,” Zelensky said, describing this would be based on “a common vision of a quick end to the war.”

But importantly, Zelensky defines a key part of this ‘common vision’ as a path to NATO membership. “I really believe that these are the cheapest security guarantees that Ukraine can get, the cheapest for everyone,” he said. Putin has rejected this as a non-starter, and Trump too knows that negotiations would never get off the ground if this is held to. Zelensky continued, after the conversation with Trump, “we should move on to some kind of format of conversation with Russians. And I would like to see the United States of America, Ukraine and the Russians at the negotiating table. … And, to be honest, a European Union voice should also be there. I think it would be fair, effective. But how will it turn out? I don’t know.”

He warned against allowing Putin to take “control” of the war of the narrative, but the reality on the ground especially in the east strongly suggests this has already happened. Zelensky said “It will be a signal that it is not for Russia to decide who should be in NATO and who should not, but for the United States of America to decide. I think this is a great victory for Trump.” Zelensky is essentially urging Trump to stand fast on the demand that Ukraine be invited into NATO. Of course, such a scenario could easily trigger WW3.

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I think he got his share.

• Zelensky Has No Idea Where Most Of ‘$200 Billion’ In US Aid Went (RT)

Washington has provided Kiev with just over $75 billion in military and other types of assistance, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has claimed, adding that he has no idea where US President Donald Trump’s estimate of $200 billion originated or where it could have vanished. Trump, who has been highly critical of his predecessor Joe Biden’s generosity toward Ukraine, has argued that NATO states and the EU should “equalize” their contributions with Washington’s support. “We are in there for $200 billion more than the EU. I mean, what are we, stupid?” Trump said last month. US Vice President J.D. Vance referenced the figure as early as last July, saying, “We have now spent $200 billion. What is the goal? What are we trying to accomplish?”

In an interview with AP published on Sunday, Zelensky insisted that Ukraine never received even half of that sum. “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. Since 2022, the US Congress has authorized roughly $175 billion for Ukraine, but a significant portion of that funding has reportedly gone to American industries and various US government activities related to the conflict. According to Germany’s Kiel Institute, as of October 2024, the US had allocated approximately $92 billion in financial and military aid to Ukraine, while EU countries and the UK had allocated $131 billion.

Zelensky also insisted that he has seen little actual cash, as more than $70 billion of the aid came in the form of direct military assistance. “There are also many other humanitarian programs I’m uninformed about, except for knowing of their existence. Perhaps the US president’s administration will audit these programs and find additional billions, but I don’t know where those funds went,” he said. Among his first actions upon returning to office, Trump suspended US foreign aid for 90 days to review its alignment with his administration’s objectives, vowing to put “America first.” The cut affected many Kiev-related initiatives, particularly those funded by grants from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Over the weekend, USAID’s official website went offline, and its X account disappeared, amid reports that the White House was considering merging the agency into the State Department. The newly created US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, has reportedly sent inspectors to audit USAID’s activities. “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,” Musk wrote on Sunday. In a brief comment the same day, Trump also criticized the agency as being “run by a bunch of radical lunatics and we are getting them out.”

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“..achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, based on the two-state solution..”

• Arab Nations Reject Trump’s Idea To Relocate Gaza Population (RT)

A group of Arab nations has spoken out against the suggestion by US President Donald Trump that Palestinians from Gaza should be relocated to neighboring Egypt and Jordan. Trump claimed last week that Gaza has been turned into “literally a demolition site” by the fighting between Israel and Palestinian armed group Hamas, and that the best solution is to “just clean out that whole thing.” He vowed to “get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing [for Gaza’s population of 2.3 million] in a different location where I think they could maybe live in peace for a change.” According to the US president, the relocation “could be temporary” or “long term.”

Following a meeting of top diplomats in Cairo on Saturday, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority, and the Arab League issued a joint statement, saying they “firmly rejected… the displacement of Palestinians through direct expulsion or coerced migration.” These actions would “threaten the region’s stability, risk expanding the conflict, and undermine prospects for peace and coexistence among its peoples,” the statement read. The Arab nations said they are looking forward to working with Trump to “achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, based on the two-state solution” between Israel and the Palestinians.

They also called on the international community to assist with a comprehensive reconstruction plan for Gaza to make sure that the Palestinians remain there. Last week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi stressed that the relocation of Palestinians “cannot ever be tolerated or allowed.” Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, also expressed his country’s “firm and unwavering” opposition to the move. Shortly after the escalation between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, the previous administration of US President Joe Biden suggested that Egypt should take in the Palestinians from Gaza, but the Arab nations rejected the idea.

Around 47,500 Palestinians have been killed and over 111,500 wounded during the 15 months of Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to the latest data from the enclave’s Health Ministry. UN data suggests that 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced by the fighting. Israel began its military operation in Gaza in response to a cross-border raid by Hamas, in which around 1,200 people died and 250 others were taken prisoner. A US-brokered ceasefire is currently underway between Israel and Hamas, with prisoner exchanges ongoing. The Israeli authorities say that 79 hostages still remain in Gaza, 35 of whom are presumed dead.

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An adventure.

• Musk Urges Astronauts To Lead Mars Investigation (RT)

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has called for astronauts to be sent to Mars to investigate a peculiar square structure observed on the planet’s surface that has recently generated much public discussion. On Friday, Musk responded to a post on X by podcast host Joe Rogan, who shared images from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor showing a square-like formation on Mars. “We should send astronauts to Mars to investigate!” the US-based billionaire wrote. The photo was captured back in November 2001 but has recently gone viral on social media. The square formation has sparked discussions about its origin, with some speculating about it being artificial in nature.

However, similar formations have been observed on Mars before. For example, the “Face on Mars” in the Cydonia region, initially thought to be artificial, was later shown through higher-resolution imaging to be a natural landform. Such interest in anomalies on the Martian surface aligns with Musk’s long-standing ambition to colonize the planet. He has previously emphasized the importance of making life multiplanetary, stating that becoming a spacefaring civilization is essential for the future of humanity. SpaceX has been actively developing its Starship spacecraft, which is designed to carry both crew and cargo to far-flung destinations including Mars.

In December, Musk set a potential timeline for his company’s space missions to the Red Planet. “Uncrewed Starships landing on Mars in 2 years, perhaps with crewed versions passing near Mars, and crewed Starships heading there in 4 years are all possible,” he wrote on X. He has also stated that he would want to see “direct, rather than representative, democracy” on Mars if it’s ever settled by humans. He has previously outlined plans to send a million people to Mars by 2050 using a fleet of Starships. US President Donald Trump announced in his inaugural address plans to send American astronauts to Mars, stating: “We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.”

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Change the world.

• Rosatom’s Quantum Breakthrough Set to Transform AI, Healthcare and More (Sp.)

A quantum research project conducted under the auspices of the Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom is poised to cement Moscow’s place as one of world’s technological powerhouses. Russia’s development of 50-qubit ion-based and rubidium neutral atom quantum computers in 2024 marks a key step in its quantum project roadmap. The next phase is going to be unveiled in Moscow on February 8. Russia’s accomplishments were made possible by a unique team of researchers and engineers of over 1,000 specialists, including about 600 scientists. By 2030, Rosatom intends to build a viable quantum industry in Russia, which entails industrial-scale manufacturing of quantum computers.

Quantum computing is expected to benefit Russia in the following areas:
• Healthcare and pharmaceuticals: development of new medicines thanks to the ability to model complex molecules, and prediction of future epidemics.
• Transportation and logistics: charting optimal transport routes and prevention of traffic congestion.
• Financial sector: minimization of risks and more accurate evaluation of credit ratings of various entities.
• Artificial intelligence: boosting machine learning, image recognition and data processing capabilities of AIs.

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So last year.

• CBS To Provide Unedited Version Of Harris ‘Word Salad’ Interview (RT)

CBS News has agreed to provide the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with the unedited version of its controversial interview with former Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. The interview is at the center of US President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit alleging that the network deceptively edited the interview to benefit Harris in the run-up to the 2024 election. The scandal erupted in October when CBS aired two versions of the interview with Harris. A preview version that aired on ‘Face the Nation’ included a question about the Middle East conflict, to which Harris gave a long and convoluted answer. The other full-length version shown on ‘60 Minutes’ featured a much clearer and more concise answer.

Just days ahead of the election, Trump lodged a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, calling the interview “word salad” and accusing the network of “deceitful, deceptive manipulation of news.” The action also claims that CBS tried “to tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party.” On Wednesday, as part of the legal proceedings, the FCC, under Trump appointee Brendan Carr, sent a letter to CBS requesting the “full, unedited transcript and camera feeds” of the Harris interview. On Friday, CBS agreed to hand over the data, stating, “We are working to comply with that inquiry as we are legally compelled to do.”

The network has admitted that it edited the Harris interview, but dismissed claims that it attempted to doctor it. “Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response. When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point,” CBS said. However, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing sources, that CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, is discussing a potential lawsuit settlement with Trump’s legal team. Some executives reportedly believe that the deal could improve the chances of obtaining regulatory approval for Paramount’s planned merger with Skydance Media, which falls under the FCC’s purview. The potential deal has reportedly caused concern among CBS reporters, with one unnamed correspondent telling CNN that “Trump’s lawsuit was a joke, but if we settle, we become the laughingstock.”

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It’s my turn now.

• Exhausted Media Begs Trump To Take A Day Off (BBee)

Only one week into the new administration and struggling to keep up with the constant flow of things being accomplished, the exhausted news media collectively begged President Donald Trump to take a day off. Journalists and broadcasters who are not used to working quite this hard urgently asked Trump’s staff if they could please ask him to just pause for one single, solitary day. “Please… please… just let up for a second,” said a visibly disheveled Jake Tapper. “The executive orders, the trips to disaster-ravaged areas of the country, the manhandling of foreign leaders and making them do things that help the United States… it’s impossible to keep up this pace. We’re not used to working this much. Why is a president doing so much anyway?”

Other members of the media were just as adamant that Trump needed to take a day off. “What, he’s just going to keep, like… doing stuff? Like every day?” asked CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan. “I’m starting to wonder if Trump knows anything about being president. He clearly doesn’t if he thinks it’s okay to be accomplishing important tasks every day. He should be taking our well-being into account. We’re not used to this. All the… working.” At publishing time, several members of the White House press pool had reportedly been rushed to the hospital to be treated for exhaustion after passing out from being overworked.

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Baron

 

 

Get rich

 

 

Mammogram

 

 

Eagle

 

 

Chains

 

 

Anemone

 

 

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