Candace Owens Archives - The Automatic Earth

Pray for President Trump.

Not sure what’s happening.

But whatever issue brought him back to Washington must be serious. pic.twitter.com/hffJroAfVN
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) May 22, 2026

President Trump FIRES UP the crowd at his New York rally, telling them they’re “going to see numbers like you’ve never seen” — as recession odds plummet to ALL-TIME lows.

The crowd loved every minute of it, especially when he TORCHED the Democrats as “bullsh*t artists” for… https://t.co/f1wgSgbTBU pic.twitter.com/Sn95DqXvML
— Overton (@overton_news) May 22, 2026

Elon Musk: "Trump is not evil, the real villains are the media and their game of lies." pic.twitter.com/bQCnCS9u3Q
— Joe Rogan Podcast News (@joeroganhq) May 22, 2026

https://twitter.com/GreereMedeea/status/2057934621619470795?s=20

Gone again by the afternoon, as seems usual? Got to say, it’s a whole lot of people this time.

• Trump Says ‘ Agreement Largely Negotiated’ Between US and Iran (Spencer)

President Donald Trump made the momentous announcement on his Truth Social account on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.:

[VIA TRUTH SOCIAL] – “I am in the Oval Office at the White House where we just had a very good call with President Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, of The United Arab Emirates, Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, and Minister Ali al-Thawadi, of Qatar, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah, of Pakistan, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of Türkiye, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, of Egypt, King Abdullah II, of Jordan, and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, of Bahrain, concerning the Islamic Republic of Iran, and all things related to a Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE. An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries, as listed. Separately, I had a call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, which, likewise, went very well. Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly. In addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
~ President DONALD J. TRUMP
The long list of participants in the call adds a gravity to this announcement that previous ceasefires did not have. It is also noteworthy that the president says that he has been in touch with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but on a call separate from the one on which he spoke with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, and more. The hostility of the Muslim states toward Israel remains implacable, and is likely to cause future conflicts, but for now, the fighting will apparently stop.
It is likewise noteworthy that the agreement is between, as the president noted, the U.S. and “the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Iran’s Islamic regime is still in place, and this is not a cause for rejoicing for anyone who cares for the well-being of the long-suffering Iranian people. Leading the Islamic Republic, even after its top leaders have been killed, is a group of fanatical Shi’ite Muslim believers who will not set aside their core beliefs, and those core beliefs do not allow for the possibility of a permanent peace between a Muslim entity and a non-Muslim entity.
As long as the Islamic Republic remains in power in Iran, it will continue to fight against the two countries it regards as its foremost enemies, the United States of America and the State of Israel. The U.S. is the “Great Satan” because its promise of a just society resulting from a government that derives its just powers from the consent of the governed is in direct competition with the Islamic Revolution’s idea of a government that derives its powers from Allah alone and rules solely according to his law. The Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, reiterated many times that the Islamic Revolution was not for Iran only, but that it was a foremost imperative of the Tehran regime to export that revolution’s core principles around the world. The U.S. has been and remains the chief obstacle to that goal.
And then there is the “Little Satan,” Israel, which the Islamic Republic hates with particular intensity, not because there is some territorial or economic dispute between the two countries, but because Israel is a Jewish state existing on land that was once under the rule of Islamic law. “Drive them out from where they drove you out,” says the Qur’an (2:191), and that is the foundation for the Islamic theological principle that any land that was once Islamic must always be Islamic, and that Muslims must wage war to recapture lost territory.
Thus, there is nothing more certain than that the Islamic Republic will fight on when it is able. Free people can only hope that the regime will collapse before then, or that it has been so extensively damaged that it will not be able to resume its jihad for years to come. In the meantime, the forces of the U.S. and its weary Israeli allies get a respite as much as the Islamic Republic gets a chance to regroup. That in itself is a small blessing.

“In this game, the most committed wins.”

• Finish the Job, Mr. President (A.j. Christopher)

If you’re a movie geek like me, you’ll remember the 1998 film The Siege, in which FBI agent Anthony Hubbard (Denzel Washington) and CIA agent Elise Kraft (Annette Benning) attempt to root out and stop an unknown number of Islamic terrorist sleeper cells from wreaking havoc across New York City.

Agent Kraft has worked underground in the Middle East and knows the mindset of Islamic terrorism, whereas Agent Hubbard is a by-the-book, stick-to-protocol guy who can’t wrap his head around the warped reasoning of his adversaries. He’s used to dealing with criminals who avoid prison and fear death. Agent Hubbard assures Agent Kraft that he’ll be able to stop the terrorists once the judge approves his request for a warrant. The terrorists have a warrant from Allah, counters Agent Kraft.
Agent Hubbard tries to convince her (or himself) that the FBI will ultimately prevail. They have the infrastructure, the funding, the surveillance, the manpower, the training, the weaponry, and the advantage of being the good guys on their side, and in the end they’ll win this game. In this game, the most committed wins, counters Agent Kraft. It was early April when the ceasefire with Iran began. And by “ceasefire,” I mean that Iran continues its open hostilities against the United States and its allies, albeit at a lower intensity. For over a month before that, the militaries of the United States and Israel decimated Iranian leadership, its navy, its air force, and its ballistic missile defenses.
During Operation Epic Fury, Iran managed to infuriate any wavering potential allies, such as Qatar, by lobbing missiles and drones with reckless abandon at almost all of its neighbors. Since the ceasefire began, China has openly abandoned Iran, and whatever assistance it receives from Russia will continue to serve as little more than a mere annoyance. We’ve successfully blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, and are starving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of its only lifeline, its oil.
President Donald Trump claims that he holds all the cards. So why won’t the ayatollahs and the IRGC thugs see reason? Can’t they accept that they’re beaten? Don’t they understand that, like Agent Hubbard in The Siege, that we have the infrastructure, the funding, the surveillance, the manpower, the training, the weaponry, and the advantage of being the good guys on our side? President Trump holds every card except one.
The Iranian government sounds no different today from how it sounded in the months before Operation Epic Fury. The Iranian government sounds no different today from how it sounded on October 7, 2023, or on Sept. 11, 2001, or after the Beirut bombings in 1983, or after they took Americans hostage in 1979. Because its whole reason for existence is to spark a global apocalyptic war which will usher in the Hidden Imam, under whose rule the entire world will fall under the chains of Islam. And people who fancy themselves the future personal bodyguards for Allah’s earthly slave master don’t lie awake at night worrying about international law or public opinion or starving civilians, or even whether they themselves live or die.
In this game, the most committed wins. For the record, I don’t think President Trump is going to let Iran weasel its way out of anything here. I think his instincts tell him that negotiating with Iran is an exercise in futility. And I think we’ll see a resumption of military action sometime sooner rather than later. But I also think he leans too much on his desire to make a deal, to the point where making the deal is done simply for the sake of making the deal.
Ironically, this is the same trap that one of his predecessors, Barack Obama, fell into. The Iranians very badly wanted to pursue nuclear weapons. Barack Obama very badly wanted a piece of paper saying they wouldn’t. The JCPOA gave both of them what they wanted. Why we implemented a ceasefire with Iran to begin with is beyond me. My pea brain can only produce two assumptions. Either we were running low on armaments, and needed this past month as a breather to restock and reload. Or we had pummeled them so badly that we assumed that, if we let up for a bit, they’d be crazy not to jump at the first deal with offered them.
Well, they didn’t jump at the first deal. They went right back to the “Death to America” schtick, with zero retreat whatsoever from their stated desire to acquire nuclear weapons. And it’s not because they’re crazy. It’s because they’re committed. In this game, the most committed wins. Earlier this month, President Trump ordered limited strikes against Iran after they targeted U.S. destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump referred to our retaliatory strikes as a “love tap.”
All due respect, Mr. President, but the IRGC doesn’t need a love tap. It needs to be vaporized. It needs to be pounded into dust. It needs to be buried, once and for all, under a pile of rubble so deep that the world will forget it ever existed. Islamic theocracy is a cancer, and no matter how strongly you irradiate cancer, it will continue to spread and to kill until it itself has been completely annihilated.
Mr. President, forget the Democrats and half the Republicans. Forget the midterms. Forget the two-faced cowards in Europe. Forget our squeamish Gulf allies. Forget the fifth column traitors we call the media, who, we already know, will frame every military victory as a setback. Forget Tucker and Candice and the antisemites. Forget the anti-American campus nepo-mobs. Finish the job, Mr. President. Cement your legacy. Protect the American people. Show that your passion for making America great again overpowers the IRGC’s genocidal bloodlust to turn the world into an Islamic prison camp with underage harems.
In this game, the most committed wins.

“.. the Iranian parliament is drafting legislation to offer a reward of €50 million for assassinating Donald Trump..”

• What Iran Says — or Threatens — as Trump Admin Seeks War’s End (Salgado)

As the American public waits for President Donald Trump to decide whether to attack the Iranian regime again or not, the Iranian regime has made its warlike intentions clear. Trump seemed to be more in favor of striking Iran again as of Saturday morning, since he had canceled all his weekend plans and posted a map showing an American flag over Iran with the comment, “United States of the Middle East?”

The Kobeissi Letter, which sometimes has the inside scoop and sometimes jumps the gun, claimed that the following deal was under consideration, extending the ceasefire by 60 days:
1. This would include a “gradual reopening” of the Strait of Hormuz
2. It would also include a commitment to discussing the “diluting or handing over” of Iran’s highly enrich uranium
3. The US would ease its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and agree to sanctions relief
4. The US would also begin a phased unfreezing of Iran’s assets
Both sides are nearing a “memorandum of understanding” to extend a ceasefire. The problem is that the Iranian regime has broken the ceasefire we have currently many times, and we really shouldn’t give them any relief until and unless they give us more concessions. We are the winning side in this conflict, while they merely want us to give them a little bit of respite as they rally for another round. In fact, the Iranian parliament is drafting legislation to offer a reward of €50 million for assassinating Donald Trump. And an Iranian-tied terrorist is now in American custody after committing multiple terrorist attacks culminating in an attempt on Ivanka Trump.
On May 14, Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Ebrahim Azizi declared, “We expect the government to pay a €50 million [roughly $58 million] reward to anyone who carried out this religious mission” of assassinating Trump. Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee member Abolfazl Zohrevand also declared his intention of orchestrating the assassination of Trump. The U.S. government has identified more than one Iranian assassination team in the U.S.
One problem that has always surfaced with Western nations that prefer not to be at war is that we have a tendency either to make deals that are compromising for us, or optimistically assume until it is too late to take the initiative that the other side must really want peace as well. This is an assumption born of cultural imperialism rather than reality. Adolf Hitler wanted war much, much more than Neville Chamberlain wanted peace. Yasser Arafat and his successor Mahmoud Abbas wanted/want their jihad to continue until Israel is wiped off the map, no matter how many American presidents pander to them. And the Islamic regime of Iran has made terrorist war its consuming focus for half a century. It is never going to stop attacking America and Israel, not as long as any members of that regime are in power.

“..approximately 30 shots..” That’s a lot.

Sundance posted the second video somewhere near the article. Not sure about that.

• More Shots Fired Near White House Perimeter (CTH)

The White House was placed into lockdown after a series of approximately 30 shots were heard being fired near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Journalists and media correspondents reported hearing a series of multiple shots fired and were then told to go into the Brady Room of the White House where they were protected while secret security evaluated the danger.

Secret Service agents were seen on the White House grounds with their weapons drawn responding to the alarm. As far as currently reported, around 6pm a single gunman approached the White House gate on West Side. The gunman brandished pistol and fired toward the White House at least six shots. Secret Service returned fire and the shooter was taken down. A bystander on street is also reported to have been hit. The gunman never got through the security perimeter.

“The New York Post obtained a photo of the gunman and said he believed he was Jesus Christ.“

• Gunman Killed At White House Had Previous Run-ins With Secret Service (JTN)

Dozens of gunshots were reportedly heard near the White House on Saturday night. The incident resulted in a lockdown. The U.S. Secret Service shot and killed the shooter after he approached a security checkpoint and started firing at officers.The U.S. Secret Service said the suspect “removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers.” A bystander was also shot. Their condition is unclear at this time. The gunman has been identified as Nasire Best, 21, of Maryland. Reports said he suffered from mental health issues and had previous encounters with the Secret Service.

The New York Post obtained a photo of the gunman and said he believed he was Jesus Christ. Earlier on Saturday, FBI Director Kash Patel had confirmed a gunman fired shots and said law enforcement was on the scene. The shots were reportedly fired at the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest. Members of the press ran into the White House briefing room after hearing the shots.

Pepe is so focused on China that his prediction comes true of necessity: it’s all about China.

“The New Silk Roads/BRI and its derivations such as the Northern Sea Route/Arctic Silk Road remain alive and kicking..”

• The Russia-China Spaceship Rushes Towards Planet Multipolar (Pepe Escobar)

SHANGHAI – This is it.The Russia-China strategic partnership, the leaders in the process of Eurasia integration, the leaders of multipolar bodies BRICS and the SCO, have formally endorsed and boosted the drive towards multipolarity and a new system of international relations via a strategic joint declaration signed, sealed and delivered during President Putin’s visit to China this Wednesday.This is one for the History books – in several more ways than one. I was privileged to follow the proceedings in Beijing during the whole day at the Aurora College, a top Shanghai private school and university, among a fabulous congregation of teachers and students.

So we had plenty of time to discuss the implications of how the Top Two Eurasia powers – and global powers – are establishing the lineaments of a new geopolitical future for most of mankind. The exceptions will be exceptionalist recalcitrants and vassals addicted to commit serial political suicide. We all remember President Xi’s visit to Russia in 2023, when leaving the Kremlin, side by side with Putin, he voiced what he was already polishing for some time, in a very concise way: “Right now there are changes we have not seen in 100 years.” And then Xi and Putin agreed that now, “we are the ones driving these changes together”. The practical result is the sharply focused Beijing joint statement, penned by unmistakable “civilizations with ancient history.”
Let’s go through some of the highlights. The declaration minces no words and no concepts when it comes to offering a serious alternative to the current – dwindling – unilateral historic moment.
Polycentrism: “The attempts of a number of states to single-handedly manage global affairs, impose their interests on the entire world, and limit the sovereign development of other countries in the spirit of the colonial era have failed.” Russia-China will focus on establishing a “long-term state of polycentrism.”
The ”law of the jungle”: “Basic universally recognized norms of international law and international relations are regularly violated (…) there is a danger of fragmentation within the international community and a return to the ‘law of the jungle’.”
A new security architecture: “It is necessary to pay due attention to the rational concerns of all countries in the field of security, to focus on cooperation on security issues, to reject bloc confrontation and zero-sum game strategies, to oppose the expansion of military alliances, hybrid wars, and proxy wars, and to promote the creation of an updated, balanced, effective, and sustainable global and regional security architecture (…) It is unacceptable to force sovereign states to abandon their neutrality.”
This is exactly what Moscow proposed to Washington and NATO in December 2021: indivisibility of security. The non-response response precipitated the SMO in Ukraine two months later, as it became obvious to Moscow that NATO’s plan was a blitzkrieg in Donbass.
Hegemony: “Hegemony in the world is unacceptable and should be prohibited. No state or group of states should control international affairs, determine the fate of other countries, or monopolize opportunities for development.”
Global governance: that’s President Xi’s cherished concept, fully delienated in the SCO summit last year in Tianjin: “In global governance, which is an important tool for streamlining the system of international relations, it is necessary to adhere to the principles of sovereign equality, the rule of international law, multilateralism, human-centeredness, and results-oriented approach.”
The United Nations: it’s necessary to “strengthen the role of multilateralism as the primary tool for addressing the multifaceted and complex global challenges, and to prevent the weakening of the United Nations.” That should lead to “the reform of the United Nations”. Yet everyone knows that will definitely not happen under the current administration in the White House.
Point 4 of the declaration: global civilizational and value diversity. That may be the crux of the matter – inexorably burying any Exceptionalist pretensions: “The spiritual and moral system of any civilization cannot be considered exceptional or superior to others. All countries should advocate a view of civilizations based on equality, mutual exchange of experience, and dialogue, and should strengthen mutual respect, understanding, trust, and exchanges between different nationalities and civilizations, promote mutual understanding and friendship among the peoples of all countries, and protect the diversity of cultures and civilizations.”

“Moroccan security forces have stepped up their role as Europe’s de facto border enforcer ..”

• Morocco Launches Mass Deportations To Block Europe Migration Route (ZH)

Since April 14, Morocco has been conducting large-scale deportation operations targeting sub-Saharan Africans migrating to Europe, reportedly arresting over 100 per day, local sources told Middle East Eye. According to Moroccan human rights groups, around 800 people were detained during coordinated raids in the forests between Fnideq and Belyounech, in the northern tip of the North African state, where many were sheltering before attempting to reach Europe.

The operation is still ongoing, with authorities then moving their focus to operations in and around Tangier. Witnesses have described mass arrests, beatings, racist abuse and forced transfers toward the Algerian border.Sudanese and Chadian detainees were bused south and abandoned near border zones, while people from countries including Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Guinea were deported on flights departing Casablanca. The crackdown comes as the European Union has intensified its cooperation with Morocco as part of its border externalization strategy, which is a key component of the bloc’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum set to take effect in June.
The EU increasingly outsources immigration enforcement to North African nations with poor human rights records, designating over €900 million within the bloc’s Global Europe development instrument to fund stricter migration control, border management and surveillance initiatives across the region. “The EU wants to restrict people’s mobility as far down the route as possible – what officials describe as stopping migration downstream,” Frey Lindsay, a journalist on Statewatch’s Outsourcing Borders project, which tracks how the EU outsources migration control, told Middle East Eye. “It’s about exerting border control without getting your hands dirty, basically.”
Raids and expulsions
Morocco is a key transit country for sub-Saharan Africans en route to Europe. They sail across the Strait of Gibraltar or climb the towering razor wire fence that separates Morocco from Ceuta and Melilla, Spanish enclaves within the kingdom. Over the years, Morocco has increased cooperation with Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, to prevent migrants from departing the North African coast. In 2025, Moroccan authorities thwarted 73,640 irregular migration attempts toward Europe, according to a report from the interior ministry, a slight decline from 2024 – attributed to alternative migration routes.
In recent weeks, Moroccan security forces have stepped up their role as Europe’s de facto border enforcer, carrying out regular raids on makeshift forest camps and key transit points used by people trying to reach Spain. Attacks on migrant camps have long been pervasive, but have escalated since April 14, with operations concentrated in the north of the country. People who are not deported are typically exiled to the south in an effort to disrupt migration routes.
“According to migrants we have been in contact with, they were subjected to various forms of humiliation, insults and mistreatment by authorities,” Chad Boukhari, a journalist and member of Border Resistance, a grassroots collective that supports migrants across the Mediterranean, told MEE. Some were abandoned near the Algerian border without food or water, where they were detained by Algerian forces. “The Algerian army allegedly tortured many of them. Some individuals also found the bodies of other migrants in the desert,” Boukhari added.

“Democrats are laying the groundwork to pack the court the next time they hold power, and they need a narrative to justify it. Every impeachment article, every ethics accusation, every outraged floor speech is a brick in that foundation.”

• What the Democrats’ Push to Impeach Chief Justice Roberts Is About (Margolis)

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) filed an impeachment resolution Thursday against Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. I guess we should just add it to the pile of impeachment resolutions Democrats have filed against President Donald Trump and members of his administration, right?

Cohen has represented Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District for years, but he’s retiring after Tennessee Republicans redrew his seat following a late-April Supreme Court ruling declaring racial gerrymandering unconstitutional. Rather than accept the outcome, Cohen decided to go out with a fire-sale grievance tour, targeting the most consequential figure in American law. In announcing the resolution, Cohen said, “I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that while John Roberts remains Chief Justice, correcting this misconduct and ensuring the Justices and the Court itself comply with their legal obligations will be impossible.” The problem is that his resolution is absurd.
Take Article I, which accuses Roberts of allowing the court to become “a political instrument” through its handling of election and redistricting cases. This is rich coming from a party that spent decades running to the courts to block policies it couldn’t kill through legislation, and to impose policies it couldn’t pass through Congress. It’s funny how when the courts were a rubber stamp for the left, they were oracles of justice. Now that they’re not, they’re corrupt.
Article II claims Roberts “entrenched minority rule” through decisions that have enabled partisan gerrymandering. Cute story. Remind me again which party aggressively gerrymandered blue states for decades? Oh right.
Article III blames Roberts for campaign finance rulings that allegedly “empowered the rich.” For starters, that isn’t even a constitutional argument, but if you can find me the part of the Constitution that says that “the rich” have fewer rights than “the poor,” we can talk.
Article IV targets Trump v. United States and the issue of presidential immunity. Cohen apparently forgot that presidents of both parties have long asserted immunity protections for official actions; Democrats were just the first party to weaponize justice against a former president.
Of course, my favorite is Article VI, which alleges that Roberts failed to recuse himself from cases involving law firms connected to his wife. Democrats have never raised similar concerns about Justice Elena Kagan, who declined to recuse herself from Obamacare cases, despite previously arguing for the law’s constitutionality as Obama’s solicitor general. George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley has noted that the majority of Supreme Court decisions are unanimous or near-unanimous (often, Biden’s DEI pick is a lone dissenter), which runs counter to the narrative that the court is a 6-3 ideological machine grinding out partisan rulings on command.
Strangely, the inconvenient facts never make it into the Democrats’ talking points. Here’s the thing: This impeachment resolution has zero chance of passing. So why bother? Because this was never about impeachment or removing Roberts. Democrats are laying the groundwork to pack the court the next time they hold power, and they need a narrative to justify it. Every impeachment article, every ethics accusation, every outraged floor speech is a brick in that foundation. Trust me, I used to be an architect. The left is merely trying to delegitimize the court so that, when the moment comes, the public is already primed to accept packing the court.

Read and weep.

• The Democrat POTUS Possibles for ’28 (Florack)

Think about it. When did the Democrats last field anything resembling a quality presidential candidate, even from the rather myopic view of a Liberal Democrat voter? Let’s look at the history of the thing. (By the way, the barf bags are in the storage on the seat back in front of you.) Hillary Clinton? A genuinely terrible candidate — and that’s before you factor in the steamer trunk of baggage she dragged behind her everywhere she went. Just horrible. By the way, I have no plans whatever to kill myself, in case the subject should come up.

Joe Biden? His campaign strategy consisted of hiding in a basement and hoping America was desperate enough to bite on the pablum he offered up. And yes, they were. He won — though we’re learning more every day about just how dishonestly that win was assembled. Then he got into office, and exactly as I and most others predicted, he delivered an unmitigated disaster that answered every question anyone had left about him and the people hanging onto his coattails. (Autopen, anyone? I mean, who was actually making executive decisions? We still have no real answer for that, and it doesn’t seem likely the Democrats will ever want to find out.)
Kamala Harris? Her own party wanted nothing to do with her. In her entire lifetime, she’s never won a primary vote. By the way, that seems the likely reason why the Democrats didn’t subject her to a primary vote in ’24, but bypassed their own voters to install her, like someone replacing a dead headlight with another dead headlight. She tops the polls, now, sure — but two points there:
1: These are the same pollsters who called her a shoo-in in 2024.You might recall how that worked out, though I’ve begun to wonder if SHE does.
2: That she tops the polls now only suggests how weak the remainder of the field is.
Harris’ entire rationale for running now is staying visible enough to shake down speaking-fee money from people who inexplicably still believe she matters in the slightest. Even she knows she’s got no chance.mThen there’s Gavin Newsom — a man who locked himself out of serious contention using nothing but his own mouth and his ability to slam leftist policy through a one-party legislature. He’s the kind of politician who endangers anyone standing between him and a microphone. But California — that magnificent catastrophe he built — will crush any national ambitions flat. Voters will look at what he did to that state and treat his presidential run like a restraining order.
There’s the towering political vision of Mark Kelly. A man who has masterfully built his entire brand around disliking one specific person. Sure, that razor-sharp platform of “Orange Man Bad” will absolutely carry him through a primary, a general election, and straight into the history books. Who needs ideas when you have feelings?mAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez has graciously stepped into a role that blonde jokes previously held. But really, who needs punch lines when the subject writes them herself? We’ll just leave it at that, shall we? No further elaboration required.
And Pete Buttigieg — ah yes, the man who turned disappearing into an art form. A truly stunning record of achievement: successfully located an exit door at the exact moment his job required him to show up. The fine people of East Palestine, Ohio — Democrats included, bless their hearts — must be simply overwhelmed with gratitude for his dedicated service. Surely they’re already printing the Buttigieg 2028 yard signs as we speak. He’ll get their votes any day now.
JB Pritzker? Why would anyone vote for him? Particularly Democrats. Oh sure. Absolutely inspired choice. Because nothing screams “man of the people” like a billionaire aristocrat. And Illinois as a model for the nation? Please, sign the rest of America up immediately for that glorious experiment in governance. (Chicago! Just… Chicago.) A party that treats “millionaire” like a slur suddenly rallying behind one? Oh, that’ll be a completely seamless pivot, no cognitive dissonance whatsoever.
Josh Shapiro? Brilliant. A party that has spent the better part of a decade cozying up to some rather… let’s say colorful ideological company on the Jewish question, suddenly deciding a Jewish candidate is its standard-bearer? Totally coherent. Makes complete and perfect sense. Nothing to untangle there at all. And the thing is, not a one of them cracks 10% in the polls, currently.
There’s this, too; Has anyone seen any efforts on the part of the Democrats to get their primary act together? After Hillary’s manipulation of that process, there was a fair amount of noise from some quarters that the DNC had to make the Democrat party’s primary system actually democratic. A great concept, but if there’s ever been any action at all toward that goal in all the time since then, I’ve not heard of it. If I haven’t, then it’s a pretty good bet most Democrat voters haven’t, either.
The lack of effort to learn from the mistakes of 2024, given what they’ve showed us with that joke of an election autopsy report, shows us clearly that the Democrats aren’t rebuilding. Add it all up, and they’re just reshuffling the same losing hand and waiting for someone to sell to the Democrat voters that it looks different and better this time.

‘I pray to God that by the end of this, that you think of me as a friend, because if anything ever happened to me, I want you’ — Hunter Biden to Candace Owens

• Candace Owens Interviews Hunter Biden (Tim O’Brien)

Another item that Owens clearly wanted to feature prominently for this interview is what looks like a golden Catholic reliquary vessel, but I’m only going by the visual, and cannot assume she has an actual relic of a saint in that vessel. That’s what reliquary vessels are for – to house relics from Catholic saints. Needless to say, these aren’t typical adornments for a Catholic home. They most often can be found in actual churches or faith-based institutions.

There are many reasons a person would have something like this in their home and for public display. One is they are seriously devout Catholics, and whoever would have such items on display would expect you to stop here. But other reasons could be that the individual is a non-religious collector, or an obsessive-compulsive where nothing is ever enough; or the person could be what is known as a “magpie,” which is someone who collects shiny or impressive items and is known as overly talkative or gossipy.
Owens is a newly christened Catholic, having been baptized in 2024, and so I’ll just leave all of that here. Against this backdrop, literally, Owens interviewed one of the most disgraced members of the Biden White House, namely Hunter Biden, the president’s son and intermediary for so much of what Joe Biden did in his personal life before and during his tenure as president. Stating the obvious, if Owens were a conservative, Biden would never have agreed to allow her to interview him. So why did he do it? We can assume that each had their own reasons, which may include the fact that they both dislike the same people, they know an interview like this will give them more clout, it keeps them in the public conversation, or all of the above.
I’ve long believed that Owens has never taken the time to study up on conservatism and has no ideology that can’t be changed on a dime to suit her insatiable desire for attention. Hunter Biden seems to be equally shallow, having no principles that can’t be compromised if the promise from the other end of a given transaction is a pile of cash or a hit of cocaine. And so, these two users decided to use each other by using microphones, a camera, and Owens’ loyal audience. The leftists who saw the interview were relieved that for starters, Owens made it clear she wouldn’t cast any shade on Joe Biden.

Candace Owens started the Hunter Biden interview off beautifully.

“I will say to the audience right now. I have already made the pledge right when I got on the phone with you— that obviously I’m not going to make you say anything about your father, because that would just be… pic.twitter.com/2dTQnE92MJ
— Kay Su (@KaySu00) May 21, 2026

The first hour of their nearly two-hour interview centered mostly on Biden’s drug use. This gave Owens an opportunity to show her empathetic side, something she has yet to show towards Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk. During this hour, Owens gave Biden the opportunity to set the record straight on that bag of cocaine that was found in the White House situation room. You’ll be relieved to hear that Hunter said it was not his, and Owens appeared to take his word for it.
“Was it (the cocaine) yours?,” Owens said. “No,” Biden said, adding that if it were his, he never would have “forgotten it in a cubby to go into the Situation Room.” In a nod to those Catholic decorations in Owens’ studio, Biden made sure to talk about how hard his life is and was, and that his Catholic faith has sustained him. He did not talk about whether that faith made him a better father to the illegitimate child he had with a stripper, whom he had abandoned until he and the Biden family were shamed into publicly acknowledging the child.
All of that was just a setup to what both seemed to really want to talk about, which is President Donald Trump and the Joos. Biden described Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and murders of innocent Israelis as “wholesale murder of a population in Gaza.” Owens brought up what she described as Trump’s family making money off of his presidency. Yes, she really did that while talking to Hunter “Barisma” Biden. And she did it with a straight face. Using Hunter Biden as a sounding board, she actually tried to make a case that it’s the Trump family that’s corrupt — all with no sense of irony that she was sitting across from the Biden family’s consigliere.
Using that as a jumping-off point, Biden gave his approval of Owens’ backbone “for asking questions” about the public execution of her supposed friend Charlie Kirk. Owens is now notoriously best known for demonizing Kirk’s family, his team, and anyone who might come to their defense against Owens’ own conspiracy theories, mostly centered on Israel. Never mind that the alleged assassin has already confessed to the crime, and is awaiting trial.
In a moment of magnanimity, Owens actually apologized to Biden for things she had said about him over the years. She told him that she felt “terrible” when she commented on his self-imposed scandal surrounding the “Hunter Biden Laptop” controversy. On that topic, Biden is now blaming Israel for the scandal. He told Owens that two Israeli-Americans, Alexander Smirnov and Gal Luft, were at the center of the situation, which itself is centered on tons of indefensible content that Biden has never denied being from him.

Hunter Biden claims his laptop story was "all a hoax" with no criminal activity.

Candace Owens as the terrible "journalist" she is gives zero push back pivots to Trump.

Laptop showed, emails, text messages with foreign governments, meetings with officials with 10% for Joe… pic.twitter.com/bHd9deff18
— J (@JayTC53) May 21, 2026

Still, Owens is sorry she talked badly about Biden and said so, “Genuinely, I am so sorry.” She may want to redirect that apology to Erika Kirk, but I digress. I guess in order to get an apology from Owens, you need to just despise the same people she does. Then the two chatted about how the narrative, as Biden’s own allies concocted at the time, falsely alleged that the scandal was a “Russian disinformation” op.
It’s getting hard to keep track. Who was behind the Hunter Biden laptop? The Russians? Israel? Or, could Hunter himself have had something to do with it? Biden did tell Owens that was him smoking crack in a motel room with hookers, but because that was him as a drug addict, it was not really him. He even had the nerve to say, “That was addiction. That wasn’t corruption.” Well, that makes it all better, doesn’t it?

“It’s not Mexico that needs a trade deal with Europe, it’s the opposite. “

• Mexico Signs Trade Deal with European Union (CTH)

It’s not Mexico that needs a trade deal with Europe, it’s the opposite. For almost two decades Europe has been investing heavily inside Mexico, particularly noted in the auto industry, as they positioned themselves to take advantage of NAFTA and later the USMCA as an entry to the U.S. market. European auto companies spent billions on assembly plants in Mexico, where they could ship EU manufactured component goods to be assembled into NAFTA/USMCA compliant vehicles. As President Trump and USTR Greer begin focusing on eliminating the USMCA trade agreement in favor of two bilateral deals (U.S-Canada and U.S-Mexico), Europe now needs to protect prior investment. The prior Mexico-EU trade agreement has existed since 2000 (NAFTA timeframe). In 2025 they agreed to a revised Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and finalized the terms and conditions yesterday.

MEXICO CITY, May 22 (Reuters) – Mexico and the European Union signed a long-stalled free trade agreement on Friday as they seek to decrease dependence on the U.S. and partially insulate themselves from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The accord, which they reached broad agreement on in 2025 but have delayed signing, expands a Mexico-EU trade accord from 2000, which covered only industrial goods. The new pact adds services, government procurement, digital trade, investment and farm produce. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa are to sign the deal in Mexico City in their first summit in over a decade.
“This agreement is a true geopolitical statement,” Costa said on Friday, shortly after signing the agreement. “With the modernized global agreement, we are better prepared to face the challenges of our time.” […] Mexico’s economy ministry estimates the new agreement could increase Mexican exports to the EU from around $24 billion a year to $36 billion by 2030. The EU exports around $65 billion in goods annually to Mexico. Trade between Mexico and the EU has increased 75% in a decade, dominated by transport equipment, machinery, chemicals, fuels and mining products.
The new deal provides duty-free access for almost all goods including farm products such as Mexican chicken and asparagus and European milk powder, cheese and pork, albeit with some quotas. (read more) I love how Reuters uses the term “transportation equipment” to cloud the actual content, EU vehicle components for auto assembly. Sometimes you just have to snicker at the silliness of it all. In essence, in order for the EU to retain their investment status, they are telling Mexico they will import more chickens, pork, dairy and row crops. All of it subject to “quotas” established as an outcome of analysis about what bureaucrats in Brussels will tell EU farmers they have to accept.
A conversation akin to, ‘we’re going to buy more vegetables in order to keep our auto manufacturing systems in place.’ However, once those EU vehicles like BMW are assembled in Mexico, then what? It’s not like Mexican workers are going to be running to the showrooms to purchase exotic cars. All of these maneuvers are designed around one central strategic intent, keep the auto assembly close to the USA market and then pay Mexican officials through roots and vegetables to negotiate the best bilateral trade agreement with the United States that keeps European investment alive. Europe needs Mexico to think about -and represent- their interests when Mexico is negotiating a bilateral with Trump.

How to kill a highly successful franchise or entire field: go woke. You would think they figured that out by now.

• Disney’s Marvel Comics Faces Mass Layoffs And New Woke Leadership (ZH)

The saga of woke comics is the saga of woke America. Much like video games, comics and superhero movies were ignored by conservative movements as “meaningless kids stuff” until recently, which is part of the reason why those industries were so easily invaded by leftists and used to indoctrinate millions of children and teens a decade ago. Culture is more important than politics. This is obvious. It’s a fact that leftists have understood for generations and one that conservatives have foolishly dismissed. Only in the past few years has there been a shift; at least, the progressive rampage through America’s various media institutions has been stalled and slightly reversed.

But, the most captured platforms are not going to change anytime soon, even in the face of financial decline and mass layoffs. Disney and Marvel have recently announced a shake-up of the comics division, with over a thousand layoffs this year (after moderate layoffs over the past few years), and new executive leadership. Far-left DEI advocate Dan Buckley is on the way out. This change is being presented as a retirement, though some skeptics argue he is being forced out as part of the company’s restructuring.
Buckley replacement is not much better, however. TV Chief Brad Winderbaum is taking over as Marvel President and his track record on Marvel TV series includes some of the biggest woke failures in streaming history – Ms. Marvel (Muslim Pakistani representation), She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (feminist/meta take, which he defends as a strong performer despite critical failure), Ironheart (feminism and BLM propaganda), Echo, Agatha All Along, Wonder Man (prominent LGBT elements). In other words, superhero fans hoping that the company changes will result in a renewed respect for the source materials are probably going to be disappointed. Marvel’s direction is unlikely to improve.
Marvel Comics, a subsidiary of Disney, has been at the forefront of far-left propaganda in content for many years, and their woke concepts are usually ported directly into Disney’s movies and streaming series. Everything from gay and trans X-Men to black Spider-Man, to female gender swaps of popular male characters have become the norm. And, books sales have flatlined in response. Marvel’s market share has plunged from highs of 40%-45% to around 29% today. Direct market US comics make up around 15% of total sales in the medium, while Japanese Manga dominates with 50% of the market. US comics continue to lose ground exactly because no one likes woke superheros.
Only ten years ago the business of superheroes was big. Theater goers could not get enough of the comic book genre. Comic studios from industry titans to indies were scrambling to turn every property they had into a movie deal. Nerd culture went fully mainstream and every kid and suburban wine-mom was geeking out in a way that used to get people beat up in middle school.

Fewer kids and marriages is all men’s fault?

• No Wonder Men Are Opting Out (Bettina Arndt)

A Merlin Strategy poll of young Britons aged 18 to 30 found three times more young women than young men held a negative view of the opposite sex. Only about 50% of women had a positive view of men compared to 72% of men feeling positive about women. For women under 25, it was even starker: only around one-third (35%) reported a positive view of men. This applies particularly to professional and managerial young women of whom just 36% hold a positive view of men, compared with 61% of working-class women.

The contempt for men is hardly surprising – that’s what they have been taught. Mary Harrington, a British journalist and cultural critic who writes on Substack, frequently criticises what she calls the “femosphere” — the online feminist spaces where women bond through shared grievances about men. “The online feminist scene often feels like one long group therapy session for women to compare notes on how awful men are,” she writes, suggesting this makes men the universal scapegoat, where ordinary male behaviour is routinely framed as toxic or oppressive, while women’s collective resentment is rewarded and amplified. “Casual, low-level male-bashing has become the background hum of progressive online culture.”
Not only does this toxic climate encourage women to be wary of men, but growing up in a hate-fuelled online sewer takes a toll on their mental health. Psychologist Jonathan Haidt has long been warning that the toxic world of social media would lead to a rise in mental health problems, particularly in girls and young women. “Since the early 2010s, young people across the developed world are becoming more anxious, depressed and lonely. The increases were even greater in young women,” he said.
Recent large-scale surveys (Ipsos 202-–2026 across 31 countries, Gallup 2025) are showing Gen Z women currently report the highest recorded levels of anxiety, persistent sadness, hopelessness and depression of any female generation at the same age. Not much fun for their partners. Last year Psychology Today had a stark warning for men about these women as marriage prospects.The saying ‘happy wife, happy life’ may have some validity, but the lesser-known saying ‘anxious wife, miserable life’ has research-approved validation. … The more neurotic the spouse is, the less happy the relationship — but women’s neuroticism seems to carry more weight in the overall marital happiness equation.
Then there’s the intriguing issue of married women turning off the tap, leaving sex-starved husbands as the norm. For as long as anyone can remember, men were shamed into showing up economically. Society has absolutely nothing to say to women who stop showing up sexually. One obligation was enforced by church, law and community for centuries. The other is now abrogated on the grounds of bodily autonomy.mSo here we have the portrait of the modern woman as marriage prospect: miserable, anxious, politically radicalised, contemptuous of men, often sexually rejecting and trained to see menace in ordinary male behaviour. And yet the puzzled chorus from commentators, economists and policymakers continues: why won’t men commit? Why won’t they work?
The approved explanations are dutifully trotted out. The economic story: men have been displaced by automation and globalisation. The health story: opioids, disability, mental illness. The educational story: men are falling behind women in universities and therefore in the job market. The cultural story, favoured by progressive commentators: toxic masculinity is preventing men from adapting to a modern service economy. All of these contain a grain of truth. But they do not account for what is really going on. The obvious explanation — the one staring out of every data table — is intentionally ignored.
Marriage was the primary incentive for sustained male economic effort. It has always been — Ehrenreich knew it in 1983, and the economists have now confirmed it. There’s an economic research paper, ‘The Declining Labour Market Prospects of Less-Educated Men, which establishes that the prospect of forming and providing for a family constitutes a critical male labour supply incentive, and that the decline of stable marriage directly removes it. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas calculated that declining marriage rates are responsible for roughly half the drop in the hours men work.Remove the marriage and you remove the responsibility. The data have been telling us this for decades.

marc andreessen just went on Rogan and casually dropped a TON of AI alpha

full pod is 3 hours and 20 minutes, but i pulled out his most interesting takes here:

1. AGI is here. he thinks the line was crossed about 3 months ago with the new GPT-5.5, claude 4.6, gemini 3, and grok… pic.twitter.com/IrBAUmxDcA
— Ole Lehmann (@itsolelehmann) May 22, 2026

https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2057782776192245840?s=20

My statin thread reached over 460,000 people. Thousands of you asked the same question.

"If cholesterol does not cause heart disease, then what does?"

The answer has been published for years. In the largest risk factor study ever conducted. 27,939 women. 21 years. Published in… pic.twitter.com/KbKId3yLVS
— Mark Kaplan (@markkaplan20) May 23, 2026

Aaron Russo was killed just days after doing this interview in 2007. How did Aaron Russo know all of this information in 2007 ? Because one of the Rockefellers told him. pic.twitter.com/0pipWiSppD
— Andrew Bridgen (@ABridgen) May 22, 2026

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Debt Rattle April 20 2026

Apr 202026

April 20, 2026 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 9:18 am Finance Tagged with: Atlantic, Butler, Candace Owens, Hormuz, Iran, JD Vance, MAGA, MTG, Tucker Carlson, Turkey, Zakharova 42 Responses »

Edgar Degas Les repasseuses (women ironing) 1884

• Trump’s Cryptic ‘The End Is Near’ Post Sends Internet Into A Frenzy (MN)

• Trump Warns Iran: ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’ (Margolis)

• Turkey Could Be ‘Next Iran’ For Israel: US Envoy Scrambles To Calm Tensions (MEE)

• Netanyahu Left ‘Personally Stunned’ By Trump Rhetoric On Lebanon Strikes (ZH)

• Will This Atlantic Hit Piece Be the Final Straw? (Margolis)

• The Enigma of JD Vance (Alan Joseph Bauer)

• Will Spain’s Supreme Court Block Mass Legalization Of Migrants? (RMX)

• Will Ukraine Forcibly Conscript Women To Fight On The Frontline? (RMX)

• Chief Justice Roberts Faces Two Strikes After New Leak Rocks the Court (Turley)

• West Still Wants To Seize Ukrainian Black Soil, Russian Oil – Zakharova (TASS)

• Circling the Drain Phase of Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens Gimmick (Pinsker)

• Marjorie Taylor Greene Amplifies Viral Doubts About Butler (ZH)

https://twitter.com/GuntherEagleman/status/2045684789802336442?s=20

WOW

CIA + 51 spies CAUGHT plotting a COUP in 2020…

Brennan e-mails: “Add your name…we’re burying Hunter’s Laptop to save the vegetable Biden.”

Gina Haspel signed off. Deep State literally rigged the election on camera.

THIS IS TREASON WITH RECEIPTS… pic.twitter.com/DEPmBK6WOJ
— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) April 18, 2026

https://twitter.com/JudyMaxB/status/2045542891616194898?s=20

Obama and his entire administration including Hillary Clinton were caught red-handed in a coup to overthrow President Trump and the United States government itself.

Why did they do this? To maintain power and control, continue their taxpayer fed money laundering and trafficking… pic.twitter.com/GmnteKT78n
— The SCIF (@TheSCIF) April 19, 2026

https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/2045628818602459221?s=20 https://twitter.com/Real_RobN/status/2045552110100758533?s=20

Trump plays the West like a fiddle.

But Iran is going for what they know best: the long game. That’s not Trump.

• Trump’s Cryptic ‘The End Is Near’ Post Sends Internet Into A Frenzy (MN)

In a development that quickly fueled online speculation, President Trump posted a video of Frank Sinatra performing his signature hit “My Way” on social media with no accompanying text or explanation. The move came just hours after he convened a high-level meeting in the White House Situation Room to discuss the ongoing standoff with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. The post featured the classic track whose lyrics speak of independence and resolve. While Trump has long used the song at rallies, inaugurals, and even as Air Force One departed at the end of his first term, its sudden appearance amid rising tensions drew immediate attention.

Trump posted a video of Frank Sinatra performing “My Way”.

“And now, the end is near / And so I face the final curtain…
⁰Regrets, I’ve had a few / But then again, too few to mention…
⁰I did it my way.” pic.twitter.com/9y4aPnloZj
— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 19, 2026

this one is far Worst than his end of the whole civilization threat. Donald Trump is becoming so erratic and unstable. pic.twitter.com/thlIdCaf8K
— Mars Jupiter (@sen_ven49488) April 19, 2026

This latest social media activity follows fresh statements from Trump on Truth Social addressing direct accusations of Iranian ceasefire violations. In the post, shared widely on X by accounts including RedWave Press, Trump laid out his position clearly:
“Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz — A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement! Many of them were aimed at a French Ship, and a Freighter from the United Kingdom. That wasn’t nice, was it? My Representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan — They will be there tomorrow evening, for Negotiations. Iran recently announced that they were closing the Strait, which is strange, because our BLOCKADE has already closed it. They’re helping us without knowing, and they are the ones that lose with the closed passage, $500 Million Dollars a day! The United States loses nothing.”
He added, “In fact, many Ships are headed, right now, to the U.S., Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska, to load up, compliments of the IRGC, always wanting to be ‘the tough guy!’ We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY! They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honor to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other Presidents, for the last 47 years. IT’S TIME FOR THE IRAN KILLING MACHINE TO END!”

MOMENTS AGO: President Trump on Truth Social: “Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz — A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement! Many of them were aimed at a French Ship, and a Freighter from the United Kingdom. That wasn’t nice, was it? My… pic.twitter.com/8s0ytsYCHE
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) April 19, 2026

After a U.S.-brokered 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect, Iran initially announced the Strait of Hormuz was open to commercial vessels for the truce period. Oil prices dropped on the news. But the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) quickly reversed course, citing the continued U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and ships. Iranian officials, including Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, warned that without concessions the strait would remain closed.
Trump has maintained that the American blockade will stay in place until Tehran reaches a broader agreement that includes commitments on its nuclear program. He has described conversations with Iranian counterparts as productive but stressed that the U.S. position will not shift without concrete steps from the other side. No new direct talks are currently scheduled.
Saturday’s Situation Room session included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. According to Axios reporting, the focus was on assessing ceasefire compliance and preparing for possible next steps in negotiations. No immediate policy changes were announced afterward.
This episode echoes dynamics we previously covered, when major outlets claimed Trump was preparing to “nuke” Iran ahead of a deadline tied to the same Strait of Hormuz standoff. The White House pushed back firmly at the time, clarifying that any potential action would be conventional strikes on infrastructure rather than nuclear weapons. Media speculation ran hot then, much as it has with today’s cryptic post.
As of this writing, U.S. representatives are set to arrive in Islamabad, Pakistan, tomorrow evening for indirect negotiations. Iran has not publicly responded to the latest Trump statement, and shipping interests continue to watch developments closely given the strait’s critical role in global energy flows. The situation remains fluid, with both sides signaling openness to a deal while holding firm on core demands. Whether the current pressure and diplomatic track yield results or further escalation will depend on the coming days of talks.

Did they think he was a nice guy?

• Trump Warns Iran: ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’ (Margolis)

President Donald Trump is done playing nice with Iran — and he wants Tehran to know exactly what that means. After Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps fired on multiple ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, Trump took to social media with a message that left zero room for ambiguity. Trump said Iran violated a ceasefire agreement by opening fire in the Strait of Hormuz, describing the incident as a serious escalation. He claimed that multiple vessels were targeted, including a French ship and a British freighter. “Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz — A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement!” Trump said. “Many of them were aimed at a French Ship, and a Freighter from the United Kingdom. That wasn’t nice, was it?”

Trump added that U.S. representatives are headed to Pakistan for negotiations, signaling that diplomatic efforts are still underway. “My Representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan — They will be there tomorrow evening, for Negotiations,” he said. At the same time, Trump suggested that Iran’s own actions have effectively reinforced a U.S. blockade in the region. “Iran recently announced that they were closing the Strait, which is strange, because our BLOCKADE has already closed it,” he said. “They’re helping us without knowing, and they are the ones that lose with the closed passage, $500 Million Dollars a day!”
According to Trump, the United States stands to benefit from shifting shipping patterns, particularly in domestic energy markets. “The United States loses nothing. In fact, many Ships are headed, right now, to the U.S., Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska, to load up, compliments of the IRGC, always wanting to be ‘the tough guy!’” He emphasized that the administration has put forward what he described as a fair deal, while warning of severe consequences if Iran refuses. “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” Trump said. “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!”
Trump closed with a stark warning, framing potential military action as long overdue. “They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honor to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other Presidents, for the last 47 years,” he said. “IT’S TIME FOR THE IRAN KILLING MACHINE TO END!” Speaking with Fox News’ Trey Yingst Sunday morning, Trump took it further, warning that if no deal is reached, “the whole country is getting blown up.” That’s language strikingly similar to what he deployed just before a previous ceasefire was announced, which suggests this may be Trump’s version of deadline diplomacy. Push hard enough, make the consequences concrete enough, and watch the other side blink.
He also made clear that the military option is fully loaded. “We’re preparing to hit them harder than any country has ever been hit before because you cannot let them have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told Yingst, adding that the U.S. has “massive amounts” of ammunition ready to go. Trump’s frustration is obvious, and clearly, he’s done playing games. The fact is that Iran has spent decades testing the limits of American patience and walking away with sanctions relief, pallets of cash, and enough breathing room to keep spinning centrifuges. The mullahs have learned, quite effectively, that the cost of bad behavior rarely exceeds what they can absorb.
Trump argues that the price just changed. Whether this is carefully calibrated pressure designed to bring Iran to the table on American terms, or a genuine ultimatum with a Tuesday deadline, one thing is clear: the administration believes the only language Tehran understands is overwhelming force, and Trump is speaking it fluently. “It’s time for the Iran killing machine to end,” he said. And when Trump says it, you know he means it.

“Everything comes from Turkey. It’s fiber optics. We’re talking about Azerbaijan and Armenia, which is flowing oil, gas, information, data and materials. Where does it go? How does it go?”

• Turkey Could Be ‘Next Iran’ For Israel: US Envoy Scrambles To Calm Tensions (MEE)

US Envoy Tom Barrack has downplayed escalating tensions between Turkey and Israel as just “rhetoric” and pushed for regional cooperation between the two countries in security and energy projects. Speaking during a panel at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Barrack pushed back against comments from some officials in both countries that suggested they could come into conflict in the near future. “I think Turkey is just not a country to be messed with,” Barrack said. Barrack said that both countries were seeing a distorted image of each other as a result of sensationalized media coverage that painted both as expansionist.

“So if you wake up in Tel Aviv, you read the newspaper, what do you see? You see the diagram on the paper of The Ottoman Empire 2.0, which is Vienna to the Maldives, right,” he said. “You wake up in Istanbul and read the paper and it’s Greater Israel.” Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognize the state of Israel in 1949, and has enjoyed largely cordial security and trade ties throughout most of their modern history. However, since the 2010 attack on the Mavi Marmara flotilla, when Israeli forces raided a Turkish ship delivering aid to Gaza and killed 10 of those on board, tensions have been strained and the government has increasingly hit out at Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
The ‘next Iran’?
The most recent attempt to restore relations in September 2023 – which saw Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting and shaking hands for the first time in New York – collapsed the next month after the 7 October Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the subsequent genocide in Gaza. Since then, the rhetoric has escalated from politicians in both countries, with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett describing Turkey as potentially the “next Iran” in March. The US government has staunchly backed Israel’s military actions across the region, including joining its war on Iran.
However, Turkey’s status as a Nato member and US President Donald Trump’s stated admiration for Erdogan has led American officials to seek to restore relations between the two countries. Barrack told the forum in Antalya that the energy price shocks from the Iran war had proven the importance of regional cooperation to maintain energy security. “Everything comes from Turkey. It’s fiber optics. We’re talking about Azerbaijan and Armenia, which is flowing oil, gas, information, data and materials. Where does it go? How does it go?” he said. “So Israel aligned with Turkey, like Israel aligned with Abu Dhabi. Saudi Arabia could be aligned with Israel and, for the prosperity of the Israeli people, to me that’s the answer.”
Some recent rhetoric out of Israeli media:

'No matter how much Trump might deny it, Israel has grave concerns over Erdoğan of Turkey with very good reason.'@perry_dan on #TheRundown with @Nicole_Zedeck pic.twitter.com/KgPvInm5Oe
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) December 30, 2025

Barrack added that Israel should go further, and try to engage Turkey as part of the International Stabilisation Force established for Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal signed in September. “The smartest thing that Israel could do is to entice and embrace Turkey to enter that force,” he said. Barrack said that Erdogan’s interactions with the Palestinian group Hamas was instrumental for reaching a deal to release Israeli hostages, and that it happened because Ankara didn’t designate the group. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also met with Barrack on Monday for what they said was a “productive” meeting.

“On Friday, Trump declared the US had “prohibited” further Israeli strikes..”

• Netanyahu Left ‘Personally Stunned’ By Trump Rhetoric On Lebanon Strikes (ZH)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his inner circle were reportedly blindsided – left “stunned” – after President Trump dropped a surprise line effectively clipping Israel’s wings in Lebanon, according to Axios, citing sources familiar with the exchange. On Friday, Trump declared the US had “prohibited” further Israeli strikes just as the administration-brokered 10-day ceasefire with Lebanon kicked in. The US President was unusually harsh in rhetoric with America’s longtime #1 Mideast ally, writing on Truth Social that “enough is enough”.

The words were clearly not directed at Lebanon, or Hezbollah, but squarely at Israel and its deadly air campaign which had included intense bombing of Beirut at the South for the last week-and-a-half.The statement set off alarms in Jerusalem, with Israeli officials scrambling for clarity from Washington. Almost everything out of the Trump administration has up to now been generally glowing and positive when it comes to Israel and Netanyahu. However, Axios captures the reaction in Tel Aviv, in a Saturday report saying “Netanyahu was personally stunned and alarmed when he learned of the post, the sources said.”
Israel is set to pause offensive ops, but still says it reserves the right to “take all necessary measures in self-defense at any time against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.” The NY Times has highlighted that all of this has put Netanyahu in a tough spot: “Now, the prime minister’s critics, and even some of his allies on the right, have seized on what appears plain as day: his inability to resist Mr. Trump’s pressure, not just in pushing to bring the long-distance war with Iran to a close but even in demanding a truce with an enemy directly across Israel’s northern border.
“A cease-fire must come from a position of strength and be an Israeli decision, reflecting leverage that serves negotiations,” said Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff whose new centrist opposition party, Yashar, is gaining in the polls. “A pattern is emerging in which cease-fires are being imposed on us — in Gaza, in Iran and now in Lebanon.” Again, this actually constitutes some of the toughest talk and restrictions ever imposed on Israel from this administration. This suggests the White House is indeed serious about cobbling together a final offramp.
Still, Netanyahu has declared that the fight with Hezbollah is not over, while at the same time confirming Israel’s agreement with the 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon.”One hand holds a weapon; the other is extended for peace,” Netanyahu said in a fresh speech. “I will say honestly, we have not yet finished the job,” he continued. “There are things we plan to do regarding the remaining rocket threat and the drone threat, which I will not detail.” Israel seeks to “dismantle” Hezbollah, Netanyahu continued, “but this will not be achieved tomorrow. It requires sustained effort, patience, and careful navigation in the diplomatic arena.”

“.. categorically false and defamatory” As an MO.

• Will This Atlantic Hit Piece Be the Final Straw? (Margolis)

The Atlantic has a well-documented history of publishing fake hit pieces about President Donald Trump and his administration, and one wonders how many more hoaxes they can run before they get in real trouble.Its latest ef fort targeting FBI Director Kash Patel may be its most reckless yet — and this time, the bureau is fighting back with lawyers. The piece, written by reporters Sarah Fitzpatrick and Jonathan Lemire, claims that on Friday, April 10, Patel struggled to log into an internal FBI computer system while wrapping up his workday.

He quickly became convinced that he had been locked out, and he panicked, frantically calling aides and allies to announce that he had been fired by the White House, according to nine people familiar with his outreach. Two of these people described his behavior as a “freak-out.” Patel oversees an agency that employs roughly 38,000 people, including many who are trained to investigate and verify information that can be presented under oath in a court of law. News of his emotional outburst ricocheted through the bureau, prompting chatter among officials and, in some corners of the building, expressions of relief. The White House fielded calls from the bureau and from members of Congress asking who was now in charge of the FBI.
It turned out that the answer was still Patel. He had not been fired. The access problem, two people familiar with the matter said, appears to have been a technical error, and it was quickly resolved.The piece didn’t stop there. It also alleged Patel has been plagued by “bouts of excessive drinking,” claiming members of his security detail had trouble waking him on multiple occasions because he was seemingly intoxicated. It further alleged that breaching equipment — the kind used by SWAT and hostage-rescue teams — was requested last year because Patel had been unreachable behind locked doors. The FBI denied every word of it before the article ever went live. Attorney Jesse Binnall sent a formal letter to The Atlantic and Fitzpatrick ahead of publication, putting them on notice that the claims were “categorically false and defamatory.”

This is the letter we sent to The Atlantic and Sarah Fitzpatrick BEFORE they published their hit piece on FBI Director @FBIDirectorKash. They were on notice that the claims were categorically false and defamatory. They published anyway.

See you in court. pic.twitter.com/Ke8cqNh8hY
— Jesse R. Binnall (@jbinnall) April 17, 2026

The bureau’s response was even more direct: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court — bring your checkbook.” They printed it anyway. Late Friday night, Patel fired back on X.

see you and your entire entourage of false reporting in court… But do keep at it with the fake news, actual malice standard is now what some would call a legal lay up. https://t.co/MfbHH8OtLv pic.twitter.com/kw5U3LrfMM
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) April 18, 2026

It’s worth noting that The Atlantic was apparently the only outlet willing to run this story. Other D.C. reporters chased the same tips and couldn’t verify them. They passed. The Atlantic published it. And now they’re going to be sued. This is what The Atlantic does. They publish outlandish and bogus stories that no other outlet will touch, which accomplishes the goal of giving Democrats and their supporters reason to insist the stories are true.
The outlet’s hoax piece alleging Trump didn’t want to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018 because the troops there who died in battle were “losers” and “suckers” was disputed by over a dozen witnesses. Yet, the left still insists it happened—even after Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, admitted it could have been wrong. Sarah Fitzpatrick herself has a history of publishing bogus hit pieces lacking sources and corroboration.

By the way, @S_Fitzpatrick is also the reporter who wrote the throughly debunked hit piece that claimed Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh drugged women so they could be sexually abused.

She has a history of writing hit pieces with either no sources on the record or… https://t.co/YnaE5llsJO pic.twitter.com/5HMYZVyYjl
— Megan Basham (@megbasham) April 19, 2026

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche both publicly defended Patel. Blanche praised Patel, noting he “has accomplished more in 14 months than the previous administration did in four years.” FBI spokesperson Erica Knight added that since being sworn in, Patel has taken just 17 days off — roughly half the time taken by former directors James Comey and Christopher Wray over comparable stretches.

The Atlantic published a "bombshell" on Director Patel tonight that every real DC reporter chased, couldn't verify, and passed on.

Here's reality. Since being sworn in, Director Patel has taken a grand total of 17 days off — half as much time off as Comey and Wray — and he…
— Erica Knight (@_EricaKnight) April 17, 2026

Try again in 2028.

• The Enigma of JD Vance (Alan Joseph Bauer)

The sitting vice president is hard to figure out.

Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said the other day that nearly 80 million people specifically voted for Donald Trump, and thus it was incumbent on Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act and other legislation that the president supports. Tuberville was right about Trump: many, if not most, of those who voted in 2024 for Donald Trump did so because of the man. Whereas some people vote based on party, independent of the candidate, Donald Trump is the main draw for many voters. Whether it be his colorful ways, supportive family, fighting style, blunt presentation, reliability with friends and allies, little dance, or other features, there is simply nobody like Donald Trump. The stock market is reaching highs, the Iranians are assessing massive damage, tariff revenue is enormous, the armed services reached their recruiting goals five months early, etc. The U.S. and the world are different and, for many, better due to the actions of Donald Trump.
So what happens after Trump? The basic thinking is that JD Vance is the heir apparent of MAGA and the obvious choice to run in 2028. Some people whisper that Vance will take the family over country route and not actually run. There are other Republicans who might have an eye on the prize, though Marco Rubio has consistently said that he will not run if Vance chooses to do so. So what about JD Vance? Nobody can be a Trump II. Fine. But is JD Vance a good fit for the tens of millions who supported Donald Trump, the man and his policies?
Before the vice president left for Pakistan recently in order to talk to the Iranians, he gave a quick interview on the tarmac in Hungary. There had been an open point on Lebanon and the ceasefire. Iran claimed that the two were intertwined as the Iranians are desperate to save their decades-long, hundreds of billions of dollars investment in the Shiite terror group, Hezbollah. The U.S. said that Israel stopping its military campaign in southern Lebanon was never included in the 15-point ceasefire document. What struck me was a comment that Vance made on the subject. In the interview, he said that the issue of a Lebanese ceasefire was one of misunderstanding, but he went on to say that the negotiations should not fall over Lebanon, “which has nothing to do with them [the Iranians].”
My “uh-oh” sensor went off. Now I appreciate that it is hard to give a cogent interview while halfway on one’s way home, but the question is whether JD Vance really meant what he said. Lebanon is everything to Iran. I recently saw an interview with Ayatollah Khomeini on an Air France flight back to Iran. He was asked what he felt returning to his homeland. His answer: “Nothing.” His only goal was to spread Shia Islamic teachings and terror, and if Tehran was a good place to set up his office, so be it. Lebanon has been the graveyard of dozens of IRGC generals and officials. Not surprisingly, when the beepers exploded, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon was seriously injured. Why would he have a beeper meant for Hezbollah operatives?
More recently, at a TPUSA event last week, JD Vance spoke. Ben Shapiro noted that his response to the young audience was troubling. Essentially, he stated that okay, you may not like our being friends with Israel, but there are so many other things that you do like, such as beating up Iran, raising wages, etc., that you should judge us on the whole and join us going forward. I have seen at other TPUSA events with Vance and other Republican stars where they skirt the Groyper arguments against Israel (“attacking Christianity!” “making a genocide!” “the USS Liberty!”) and say, yeah, let’s talk about other stuff that you like. All of the calumnies thrown at Israel by the Groyper-Tucker Carlson wing of the party are lies. There have been no Israeli attacks on Christian sites, with the Christian population of Israel the only one growing in the Middle East. There was no genocide in Gaza, with the population growing and over 80 percent of those killed identified by Hamas as their operatives. The Liberty attack was a mistake; Israel apologized and paid reparations. Hey, did we hear anything from these clowns about the Muslim Kuwaiti pilot who whacked three American F-15Es at the start of the current war?
Do you know how not anti-Christian Israel is? After the Kotel or Western Wall was closed to prayers for the duration of the shooting war, it finally opened after the ceasefire took hold. Several family members went to the Old City to pray at “the Wall.” They were not allowed to enter the Old City. Why? Because it was the Saturday on which local Christians have their Fire Ceremony, so access to the Old City was denied to non-Christians. My wife tried to get in at several points, but the walled city was blocked off to all but Christians and residents of the Old City. Now, does that sound like anti-Christian bigotry?
I remember similar events from the past and being rerouted due to a Christian march in the Armenian Quarter. What I just wrote, Vance should have cited. He should have fought back against the strong Groyper, Jew-hating movement infesting TPUSA and younger Republicans. But he chose to punt: Okay, you may not like our Middle East policies, but how ‘bout them tax cuts? The GOP has a Jew-hating problem imported from the Left/Muslim nexus. It’s no coincidence that Tucker Carlson has high praise for Qatar, Islam, and Muslim cities being superior to Western cities. Vance said that Theo Von was the go-to podcaster. A doorknob is more knowledgeable than Von. Von asked Joe Rogan how much longer Israel will “let us stay alive.” And this is Vance’s guy?
So is JD Vance the real deal? Nobody is going to be Donald Trump, and there is no point trying to compare any potential 2028 candidate with a model that they made one copy of and then destroyed the mold. We should be grateful for Donald Trump’s forceful leadership in an age of wet noodles, but we must realize that just as George H. W. Bush was no Ronald Reagan, the next president will not tell a rally that he is going to bomb the s**t out of America’s enemies. Vance may not run, or he may be bested by someone else in the party. But if Vance is the nominee and he can’t get his head around Israel as a good country and not a genocider or starver of the millions, then he will lose some of the MAGA base. The U.S.-Israel relationship is based on respect, and I have heard only praise from Pete Hegseth and Adm. Brad Cooper regarding Israel’s full participation in the war against Iran. While the Gulf states do little, Israel dropped 18,000 munitions prior to the ceasefire. Where is the praise of a true ally while the Europeans hide in the sand? Where is the counter to Groyper anti-Israel lies? Silence here is not golden.
One can’t expect a guy who grew up in the Rust Belt to have the knowledge and experience with Jews that a New York real estate developer has. Donald Trump grew up among Jews, and he learned respect from his father, who did not take rent from Holocaust survivors who could not afford it. I don’t believe for a minute that JD Vance is an antisemite, and even if he won’t divorce himself from Tucker Carlson’s hatred, I know that he is a friend of Israel and the Jewish people. I don’t think he fully understands the region, and I hope that he is a quick learner.

Spain doesn’t let them enter Spain, it lets them enter Europe. No borders.

“As tens of thousands of migrants rush embassies across Spain to begin the regularization process, for the Spanish right, the clock is now ticking to save the country”

• Will Spain’s Supreme Court Block Mass Legalization Of Migrants? (RMX)

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his far-left government are not over the finish line yet when it comes to their plan to legalize hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants. Now, the Spanish legal group Hazte Oír have made the first successful step in challenging the far-left government’s “Royal Decree,” which was used to pass the legislation without a vote from parliament. After Hazte Oír’s application was accepted for processing by the Spanish Supreme Court, the government now has a non-extendable 20-day deadline to hand over the complete administrative file regarding mass legalization.

While it does not guarantee a reversal, it places the decree in a state of significant legal uncertainty. By admitting the case, Spain’s top court has found sufficient legal grounds to examine the merits of the lawsuit rather than dismissing it outright. The Supreme Court will verify whether the government followed correct legal procedures and whether it possessed the constitutional authority to use a Royal Decree for a mass regularization, according to La Razon.
The legal risk for the government currently remains high. The plaintiffs argue that such a measure requires a formal law passed by Parliament rather than a simple cabinet decree. Crucially, Hazte Oír has requested a precautionary suspension of the law. If the Supreme Court grants this, the legalization process would be frozen immediately while the judges deliberate on a final ruling. Hazte Oír argues that if the decree is allowed to proceed, it will create “irreparable damage” by granting legal status to hundreds of thousands of people — a situation that would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to reverse even if the decree is later found to be illegal.
Already, scenes showcasing thousands of migrants across the country lining up at different embassies to receive the proper paperwork to apply for legalization have spread across social media. The law, which went into effect on April 15, has proven controversial and been fiercely opposed by conservative and right-wing parties. “These are the lines to manage mass regularization in each municipality of Spain. Tomorrow this chaos will move to the health centers, to the social services, to the real estate agencies… It’s called thirdworldization. It’s already happening. Our priority is to reverse it, radically,” wrote Vox party leader Santiago Abascal.
In contrast, Sánchez has been active promoting his Royal Decree, writing: “Thanks to civil society, institutions, the Church, social agents, and the Plataforma Regularización Ya for making it possible. Regularizing is not just necessary: it is just. It is recognizing a reality that already exists. It is guaranteeing rights and obligations, dignity and social cohesion.” The law is expected to have not only a dramatic effect on Spain, including its public services, but all of Europe, as these legalized migrants will have the right to travel freely across borders within the EU.
The lawyer of Hazte Oír is pointing out the irreversible nature of the decree to argue that it is most certainly a law that should have been passed by parliament. The appellant association, Javier María Pérez-Roldán, refers specifically to the transformative aspect of the law on the Spanish system, noting “the granting of residence and work authorizations; registration with Social Security; access to benefits; and the suspension of final expulsion orders.”
Hazte Oír indicates that the Royal Decree “structurally alters the State’s immigration policy, with direct and lasting effects” on the labor market, the public benefits system, the municipal registry, “and, in the medium term, the electoral roll.” As many critics of the law have also pointed out, the mass amnesty will have profound effects on public services, which are already buckling under the pressure of mass immigration. “Massive regularization without planning directly impacts the saturation of essential public services (educational and social), affecting the collective interests that this association defends,” said Pérez-Roldán.
While the Supreme Court did not grant an immediate suspension, that suspension could still arrive once the court reviews the documentation justifying the law. In such a case, the process of legalization could be frozen, creating a legal limbo for all migrant applicants. Royal Decrees are also legally reserved for situations of “extraordinary and urgent need.” Hazte Oír argues there is no “sudden emergency” that justifies bypassing the normal legislative process. They argue the government is using a “shortcut” to avoid political friction in Congress.
In contrast, the government argues the situation is urgent because of labor shortages in key sectors like agriculture and hospitality, and the humanitarian need to bring “invisible” people into the social security system to fund future pensions. It is unclear if the Supreme Court will buy this argument from the government. While the Royal Decree was used to bypass parliament, which allowed the government to fast-track the process of legalization, it may also still prove the decree’s downfall.

Will Zelensky’s wife volunteer? Or will she be decorating their mansion?

• Will Ukraine Forcibly Conscript Women To Fight On The Frontline? (RMX)

Since Ukraine’s population has shrunk dramatically, the army’s number one problem is no longer the lack of weapons, such as ballistic missiles and air defense systems, but the lack of soldiers to operate them, writes Világgazdaság. The competent authorities in Kyiv, however, must bring the army size required by Commander-in-Chief Zelensky (800,000 active soldiers), and since the number of men eligible for military service (between the ages of 18 and 60) is slowly running out, the Ukrainian leadership is now trying to fill the gaps by conscripting women.

As of early 2024, approximately 5 million men are considered to be of conscription age in Ukraine, reduced from about 8.7 million before the February 2022 invasion due to death and emigration. And yet, many of these 5 million are exempt, unfit for service, or already serving. Ukraine has long been shown to use forced conscription methods, with increasing violence, leading men to attempt to leave the country, often at the risk of their lives. Last year, Hungarian channel M1-Hirado recently ran a special compiling some of the latest footage of Ukrainians being beaten and shoved into vans in forced mobilization operations.

“The most immediate concern for Roberts should be that this is strike two: another leak from within the Court.. ”

• Chief Justice Roberts Faces Two Strikes After New Leak Rocks the Court (Turley)

The legendary baseball player and manager Ted Williams once wrote a letter to the Angels outfielder Jay Johnstone on improving his hitting. Among his pieces of advice was that “with two strikes, you simply have to protect the plate.” Williams’s advice on not striking out came to mind this week when another leak of confidential information rocked the Supreme Court. (The prior leak of the Dobbs decision went unsolved). For Chief Justice John Roberts, the message is clear: it is a time like this that you have to protect the plate.

Roberts, of course, is famous for his own baseball analogies. In his confirmation, he declared that “judges are like umpires. Umpires don’t make the rules. They apply them…Nobody ever went to a ballgame to see the umpire.” Yet, justices do make rules not only in new precedent, but in the operation of the court system. Those rules are being broken. In the same week as the new leak, Justice Sonia Sotomayor attacked her colleague Brett Kavanaugh as essentially an out-of-touch prig who had never even met an hourly wage worker. It was an unfair insult and a departure from the Court’s long-standing rules of civility. (Sotomayor later apologized).
Additionally, a forthcoming book by Mollie Hemingway on Justice Samuel Alito contains an embarrassing account of how Justice Elena Kagan allegedly screamed at Justice Stephen Breyer so loudly before the Dobbs opinion that the “wall was shaking.” (The book suggests that Kagan was upset with Breyer agreeing to spur along the dissents to get out the final opinions in light of rising threats against conservative colleagues after the leak). For an institution that prides itself on its confidentiality and insularity, the Court is looking increasingly porous and partisan in these leaks. Worse yet, people are indeed coming to the Court “to see the umpires.”
The most recent leak was published by the New York Times, which was given internal memos from various Supreme Court justices on the use of what is known as the “shadow docket” to issue rulings without oral arguments. Notably, the leaks occurred after a controversial speech by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson at Yale Law School in which she denounced the use of the shadow docket by her conservative colleagues to release decisions that were sometimes “utterly irrational.”
The memos reveal the concern of the justices that the Environmental Protection Agency was effectively gaming the system, imposing unlawful regulatory burdens on electric utilities despite a countervailing earlier ruling in Michigan v. EPA. Chief Justice Roberts noted that the EPA was using the ongoing litigation to force utilities to spend billions of dollars to comply with the new regulations: “In other words the absence of stay allowed the agency to effectively implement an important program we held to be contrary to law.”
The controversy over the use of the shadow docket is immaterial to this story. The most immediate concern for Roberts should be that this is strike two: another leak from within the Court that was clearly designed to wound some of its members. Unlike the Dobbs leak (which appeared to be an effort to influence the final opinion), this is a leak about a decade-old case. It had a purely malicious purpose to embarrass or disrupt the Court.
The question, again, is the identity of the culprit. There is no reason to assume that the same person was involved in both leaks. Rather, the leaks appear to reflect a deteriorating culture at the Court. After the Dobbs leak, Chief Justice Roberts launched a fruitless investigation through the federal marshals to find the responsible person. The use of the marshals as the lead investigators (rather than the FBI) was criticized at the time. Roberts may have been sensitive to an executive-branch agency rooting around in the highest court of a sister branch.The result was the worst possible outcome. The culprit succeeded in both leaking the opinion and evading any accountability.
The fact is that the Court’s culture and institutional identity have always been its greatest protection of confidentiality. In a city that floats on a rolling sea of leaks, the Court was an island of integrity and civility. The “umpires” could call balls and strikes without playing the leak game. That culture is fast becoming nothing but a relic in the wake of yet another major leak. For the future of the Court and the faith of the public, Roberts has to set his reservations aside and bring in the FBI to find the culprit. Most importantly, he has to guarantee total transparency in allowing the public to see the results wherever they may lead. In other words, with two strikes, Roberts needs to protect the plate.

“This refers to revanchism, “which assumes that they now want to carry out that very revenge that will allow them to still win in this very division of the world, the redrawing of the world’s resources for themselves,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman added..”

• West Still Wants To Seize Ukrainian Black Soil, Russian Oil – Zakharova (TASS)

Western countries have not abandoned their plans to seize Ukrainian black soil and Russian oil, as well as divide the world to suit their own interests, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview with TASS for the Day of remembrance of the victims of the genocide of the Soviet people, which will be held for the first time on April 19.m”No, they do not want to give up the idea of taking over the Ukrainian black soil, Russian oil and gas, at least managing them, and extending their influence to the resources of Central Asia, South Caucasus, and so on,” she said. This refers to revanchism, “which assumes that they now want to carry out that very revenge that will allow them to still win in this very division of the world, the redrawing of the world’s resources for themselves,” Zakharova added.

“.. they embraced the business model of Howard Stern and Jerry Springer: saying and doing increasingly outrageous things.”

• Circling the Drain Phase of Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens Gimmick (Pinsker)

First, the good news: We’ve juuuust about reached the point where we won’t have to talk about Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens anymore. They’ve unmasked themselves as lying, bigoted click-whores. Carlson’s career was longer; Owens’ was shorter. But for a brief, flickering moment in the 2010s, both were considered credible, trustworthy journalists and/or mainstream conservative “influencers.” Turning Pont USA and The Daily Wire boosted Owens; Carlson was the beneficiary of the (exceptionally) well-oiled NewsCorp PR machine. And then… they weren’t.

Conservative audiences are a fiercely loyal breed. We instinctively protect our favorites from the liberal mob — because history has taught us that they’re constantly under attack. That’s our muscle-memory: They smeared Rush Limbaugh. They smeared every other big-name Republican. They attack, demean, defame, and deplatform — and the only way to stop them is by fighting back. Rush Limbaugh still reigns supreme in conservative hearts. No man in the history of political media was slandered more viciously than El Rushbo. Not because he deserved it — but because liberals feared him.
That’s the tragedy of Carlson and Owens’ dark turn: Limbaugh dedicated his professional career to building goodwill between himself and conservative audiences. Time and again, that “harmless, lovable fuzzball” proved himself worthy of our love and respect. No matter how often the mainstream media called him a racist, a sexist, a Nazi, and a homophobe, we knew it wasn’t true. This became our template. It’s how we understood the host-audience relationship. So great was Limbaugh’s legacy that we assumed future hosts would be just as worthy — which meant, as long as we continued to have their back, conservatism, truth, and decency would prevail. It’s a symbiotic relationship: If we do our part, the host will surely do his.
Turns out the paradigm was wrong: Carlson and Owens were unworthy successors — and Rush Limbaugh’s genius was even rarer than we thought. Carlson and Owens traveled the road that Limbaugh paved. They benefited from all the trust and goodwill that he spent his entire career building. And then they destroyed the road.
Because, despite how easy Limbaugh made it look, talking about conservatism 24/7 for years at a time is VERY hard work. Even in the talk-radio medium, there’s absolutely no one else like Limbaugh — someone capable of carrying a three-hour show completely on his own, without guests, co-hosts, a “morning zoo,” or a whack-pack. (Heck, Rush barely even took phone calls!) Yet Limbaugh had the #1 show for decades… and it mostly consisted of him speaking extemporaneously about life, politics, news, and culture.
Of course, Rush had real, actual talent (“on loan from God!”). Lesser hosts must take shortcuts to retain an audience. Like, for instance, Sean Hannity: The veteran conservative still has a highly entertaining program when he’s interviewing someone interesting and compelling. And when he doesn’t, it’s not. There’s no shame in that. Limbaugh-level talents are extraordinarily rare; there almost certainly won’t be another one in our lifetime. (Or, probably, in our kid’s lifetime.) If anything, Hannity deserves credit for staying true to his values. Despite the pressures of fame and fortune, Hannity continues to provide conservative programming for conservative audiences — because conservatism is his north star.
Not so with Carlson and Owens. They abandoned conservatism when they became independent journalists. When they worked for conservative media outlets, they delivered a (mostly) conservative message. Then, when they lost their jobs and had to get clicks to make money, their content changed in a hurry. Instead of being like Limbaugh or Hannity, they embraced the business model of Howard Stern and Jerry Springer: saying and doing increasingly outrageous things. Such as global Jewish conspiracies. Or Mrs. Macron’s innie being an outie. Or Erika Kirk murdering her husband. Or Donald Trump being the Antichrist. Or Muslim extremists being peaceful friends of Christians.
Initially, it was important for conservative media to call out the bait-and-switch, because Limbaugh’s legacy loomed so large, we instinctively gave Owens and Carlson the benefit of the doubt — over and over (and over) again. In fact, the more they were attacked, the more we yearned to protect them! After all, Rush Limbaugh never broke our hearts — so why would his successors? It was a dangerous time for the conservative movement, because Carlson and Owens were mainstreaming antisemitism, crazy conspiracy theories, and historical inaccuracies. Tainting MAGA with their nonsense would’ve been electoral poison. We still considered Owens and Carlson conservatives first — and influencers second. (Just like you-know-who.)
Alas, the trouble with the shock-jock strategy is that it depends on escalation: What shocked us yesterday is old news today. Once you begin circling the drain, you’ve got to circle faster and faster — or the novelty wears off. And eventually, you still go down the drain.

Didn’t she retire?

• Marjorie Taylor Greene Amplifies Viral Doubts About Butler (ZH)

Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has drawn attention to a detailed personal account from a longtime Trump supporter who now questions key elements of the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. In an April 12 post on X, Trisha Hope, a self-described J6 activist and 2024 Republican National Convention delegate from Texas, details how she shifted from staunch MAGA supporter to skeptic – writing “I learned of the attempt on Trump’s life at the Butler rally. I was in the middle of having dinner at a restaurant in Little Rock, AR.”

Then, at the convention, she thought it was strange that Trump opened his speech by saying he would recount the incident “exactly” once because “it’s actually too painful to tell,” which she found out of character for someone who makes everything about himself. Hope also thought that the ‘ICONIC’ photograph of Trump rising with fist raised, shouting “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT” was weird and “perfectly timed” with a flag lowering and Secret Service agents positioned as if for a staged shot.
“Following the inauguration, I found it odd that Trump wasn’t going aggressively after those who allowed this to happen. He seemed to behave like it was no big deal,” she writes, adding that Trump later promoted Sean Curran – the agent visible in the white shirt in that photo – to head of the Secret Service on January 22, 2025, rather than dismissing anyone for security failures. She also questions Trump’s limited subsequent references to the event, except to say he “took a bullet for us,” and argues that Corey Comperatore’s death was necessary to make the incident believable, while his widow has been denied ongoing answers. Hope concludes by urging readers to apply “critical thinking skills” and have “at least some questions.”
“Instead of his SS detail being terminated as they should have been, Trump made the gentleman in the white shirt the HEAD of the Secret Service on January 22, 2025. Instead of losing his job Sean Curran was given a massive promotion,” she said.

I was a long time Trump supporter, I became a National Delegate to make certain Trump was seated as the nominee.

While en-route to Wisconsin, I learned of the attempt on Trump's life at the Butler rally. I was in the middle of having dinner at a restaurant in Little Rock, AR.… pic.twitter.com/Ed1gz2HiyB
— Trisha Hope – National Delegate-TX (@JustTheTweets17) April 12, 2026

Greene – a former MAGA loyalist whose split with the party over the Epstein files, airstrikes on Iran, Trump’s continued support for Israel and the Gaza conflict, and US involvement in Ukraine – led to her November 2025 resignation from Congress, amplified the post six days later. “Extremely important post worth the read and consideration. Corey Comperatore’s family deserves to know the truth about Matthew Crooks and what happened in Butler on July 13, 2024,” Greene wrote. “President Trump, of all people, should be leading the charge. Why isn’t he? That’s the question.” https://twitter.com/mtgreenee/status/2045528340602269713
The Official Story
According to the FBI, congressional investigations, and law enforcement accounts, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, acted alone when he fired eight rounds from an AR-15-style rifle from the roof of a building near the Butler Farm Show grounds. The shots grazed Trump’s right ear, killed 50-year-old volunteer firefighter and former fire chief Corey Comperatore (who was shielding his family), and critically injured two other attendees, David Dutch and James Copenhaver. A Butler County Emergency Services Unit officer and a Secret Service counter-sniper returned fire; Crooks was killed on the roof. The FBI has stated after extensive interviews and analysis that Crooks acted alone, though questions about his motive have persisted. Security lapses were acknowledged, including how Crooks was able to access the rooftop despite local police spotting him earlier, but the incident was classified as a genuine assassination attempt.
The Official Doubt
A growing number of voices – particularly from within former Trump-supporting circles – aren’t buying it – arguing that the iconic photograph appeared too perfectly composed to be spontaneous, with the flag lowering in sync, agents seemingly posing, and Trump allowed to stand exposed on stage for the image. Some note Trump’s RNC remarks as unusually curt, suggesting an intent to shut down further discussion rather than capitalize on the drama. Critics highlight the promotion of a Secret Service agent involved in the detail instead of widespread firings or accountability, and Trump’s relative silence on the matter afterward beyond occasional references to “taking a bullet.”
Skeptics also note several early security lapses and immediate post-incident actions as further reason to question the official timeline. Video and photographs show FBI investigators hosing down the rooftop where Crooks was killed the day after the shooting, arguing the scene was cleaned too quickly and that biological evidence was potentially lost.
Then there’s police radio chatter that captured officers spotting Crooks, losing sight of him, and struggling to clearly relay the escalating threat between local law enforcement and the Secret Service – communications that were later explained as coordination failures but struck many as highly unusual. Multiple confirmed reports show Crooks was identified as suspicious, photographed with a rangefinder roughly 90 minutes before the shooting, and was spotted on the roof by Secret Service snipers about 20 minutes before he fired – details critics say should have prompted immediate action to remove Trump from the stage or secure the building.

For good reason https://t.co/jVojEAdhS4
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2026

Children are the future https://t.co/2nwlFiea0P
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2026

Jordan Peterson: "Second guessing Elon Musk is a fool's game."pic.twitter.com/AcZBe0o74C
— Joe Rogan Podcast News (@joeroganhq) April 18, 2026

Indeed, this needs to stop https://t.co/wtfmWM2hqJ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2026

Muslims in Greece are losing their minds after this bold interview.

Greek MP Afroditi Latinopoulou from the European Parliament told them clearly:

“Whoever wants to wave a Palestinian flag should go to Gaza!
You have no place in Greece.”

Thin is exactly the kind of straight… pic.twitter.com/NLzvGARHF8
— Yossi BenYakar (@YossiBenYakar) April 18, 2026

https://twitter.com/AlexAndBooks_/status/2045497400416969022?s=20 https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/2045676255077433779?s=20 https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/2045735203260207306?s=20

This 1 hour lecture by Richard Feynman will teach you more about imagination, atoms, and how the world actually works than years of memorizing science in school.

Bookmark this & give it 1 hour, no matter what. It’ll change how you see everything around you. pic.twitter.com/JfWsCrz44h
— Peak Thinkers (@PeakThinkers_) April 18, 2026

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Debt Rattle July 24 2025

Jul 242025

July 24, 2025 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 9:25 am Finance Tagged with: AI, Canada, Candace Owens, criminal investigation, Macron, MTG, Obama, Orwellian censorship, power grid, Tulsi Gabbard, Zelensky 102 Responses »

Max Ernst Inspired hill 1950

• Gabbard Refers Obama for Criminal Investigation Over Russiagate (Margolis)

• Obama’s Role In ‘Russia Hoax Lies’ Exposed – Gabbard (RT)

• Tulsi Is About To Drop More Evidence Against Barack Obama (Margolis)

• Canada Accepts No Trade Deal Before 35% Tariffs Kick In (CTH)

• Trump Questions Kiev’s Use Of US Aid (RT)

• Western Media Reacts To Zelensky’s Crackdown On Anti-Corruption Bureau (RT)

• US Congresswoman Labels Zelensky ‘Dictator’ (RT)

• Zelensky’s End Goal Is In Sight, And So Is His End (Amar)

• Von der Leyen Warns Zelensky Over Risk To Ukraine’s EU Bid (RT)

• US State Dept Accuses EU of ‘Orwellian Censorship’ (RT)

• The Case For Media Transparency Within The EU Just Got Sexy (Jay)

• Biggest US Power Grid Sets Power Costs At Record High To Feed AI (ZH)

• Whose Politics Canceled Stephen Colbert? (Daniel McCarthy)

• Macron Sues Candace Owens For Defamation For Claiming His Wife Is A Man (ZH)

HOLY SHIT… it’s happening.

Trump is not joking. He is going full scorched-earth on Barack HUSSEIN Obama and his cabal.

“After what they did to me, whether it’s right or wrong, it’s time to go after people.”

Trump says he caught Obama, Hillary, and all of them, and it’s time. pic.twitter.com/CNMtimNYSV

— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) July 22, 2025

Treason
https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1947688498330247277

tulsi

Tulsi Gabbard just announced she’s dropping bombshell evidence tomorrow that will make Barack Obama’s denial of treason “look ridiculous.”

She says Obama, Hillary Clinton, and the media will all end up exposing themselves—with their own words—as fools. pic.twitter.com/Fnh9ET8sGr

— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) July 22, 2025

Bannon

BANNON: What happened today in the Oval Office was historic. For the first time in U.S. history, a sitting President called out a former President by name for high treason. On global television. In front of a visiting head of state. And Obama took the bait. It’s game on. pic.twitter.com/clG2CosEDf

— Grace Chong, MBI (@gc22gc) July 22, 2025

2020

September 29, 2020. Trump is asked during his debate with Biden if he will commit to a free transition.

Trump's answer was called a conspiracy theory by the MSM. Not only was his answer accurate, it may have been the reason that his house was raided after he left office. pic.twitter.com/pIl2m9zNGG

— MAZE (@mazemoore) July 22, 2025

Fed

“I’ve been in construction my whole life… but I go to this $2.5B Fed building and they’re tearing down marble and steel? It doesn’t make sense. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.”
—@Pulte on the bizarre rebuild of the Federal Reserve HQ. pic.twitter.com/kSM8NPOBl8

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) July 23, 2025

FEDERAL RESERVE: What do the Fed’s 24,000 employees do all day? The one thing the Fed’s economists don’t do is vote for Republicans – not one has donated to a Republican in 25 years. pic.twitter.com/vyYe6SLNSH

— @amuse (@amuse) July 22, 2025

Mearsheimer
https://twitter.com/zei_squirrel/status/1947723599801925912

CNN does mention Obama and Tulsi now -in passing-, but only to assert that this story serves one purpose only: to divert attention away from the real and infinitely BIGGER story, which is that Trump is connected to the Epstein files. And then it has five different stories about that.

“The evidence that we have found and that we have released directly point to President Obama leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment. There are multiple pieces of evidence and intelligence that confirm that fact.”

• Gabbard Refers Obama for Criminal Investigation Over Russiagate (Margolis)

Barack Obama has long pretended that he had no hand in the Russia collusion hoax, but that narrative is crumbling fast. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has just declassified a trove of explosive documents that reveal the Obama administration’s direct role in fabricating the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) — the cornerstone of the bogus claim that Donald Trump was a Russian asset.nOne key piece of evidence is a 2020 House Intelligence Committee report that flatly states that there was no Russian cyber interference connected to Trump’s win. Despite that, Obama demanded a rushed intelligence assessment in the final weeks of 2016, deliberately designed to push the false claim that Vladimir Putin helped install Trump. The goal? To sabotage the incoming president before he was even sworn in.

According to the documents, Obama and his top advisers — working hand in glove with Hillary Clinton’s campaign and their loyal media allies — staged a coordinated, calculated effort to weaponize U.S. intelligence for political warfare. What began as a smear campaign has now turned into something much bigger. On Wednesday, Gabbard confirmed during a White House press briefing that her office has officially referred Obama to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation over his leading role in the conspiracy. “Do you believe that any of this new information implicates former President Obama in criminal behavior?” a reporter asked. “We have referred and will continue to refer all of these documents to the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate the criminal implications of this,” Gabbard replied.

When asked point blank if that includes the former president himself, Gabbard didn’t flinch. “Correct,” she replied. “The evidence that we have found and that we have released directly point to President Obama leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment. There are multiple pieces of evidence and intelligence that confirm that fact.” A second reporter followed up, referencing Gabbard’s recent statement accusing Obama of helping to lead a coup against President Trump. “Do you believe President Obama is guilty of treason?” he asked. Gabbard stopped short of personally issuing a legal judgment but made it clear what she believes took place. “I’m leaving the criminal charges to the Department of Justice. I am not an attorney,” she said.

“But as I have said previously, when you look at the intent behind creating a fake manufactured intelligence document that directly contradicts multiple assessments that were created by the intelligence community, the expressed intent and what followed afterward can only be described as a years-long coup and a treasonous conspiracy against the American people, our republic, and an attempt to undermine President Trump’s administration.” The implications are staggering. For years, the media and Democrats insisted that Russia installed Trump; now, under the Trump administration’s own intelligence leadership, it’s Obama who stands accused of orchestrating the deception that fueled the entire narrative. On Tuesday, Obama’s office released a rare statement essentially denying Obama’s role in the scandal.

“Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” the statement read. “Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.” Obama can scoff all he wants and hide behind carefully worded denials, but the truth is catching up with him — and fast. The declassified evidence paints a damning picture: not only did Obama know about the Russia hoax, but he was also the one orchestrating it from the top.

This wasn’t some rogue effort by low-level staffers or overeager Clinton allies. This was a calculated, top-down operation to sabotage President Trump and deceive the American public using the full weight of the intelligence community. And now, for the first time, there are real consequences on the horizon.

“..the most egregious weaponization and politicization of intelligence in American history.”

• Obama’s Role In ‘Russia Hoax Lies’ Exposed – Gabbard (RT)

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday released a previously classified congressional report, which she claims debunks “Russia Hoax lies” – a coordinated effort by former President Barack Obama to distort intelligence regarding Moscow’s alleged role in the 2016 election. This marks Gabbard’s second major declassification move, following her earlier allegation of a “treasonous conspiracy” aimed at undermining Donald Trump’s presidency. The newly public document – produced by the House Intelligence Committee in 2020 under Republican leadership – challenges the analytical foundation for the conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to help then-candidate Trump win the election.

It criticizes the CIA for failing to adhere to its own standards, citing “one scant, unclear, and unverifiable fragment of a sentence from one of the substandard reports” as the basis for its assessment that Putin favored Trump. In a post on X on Wednesday, Gabbard called the report a “bombshell,” asserting it reveals “the most egregious weaponization and politicization of intelligence in American history.” She accused Obama and his senior officials of collaborating with media allies to delegitimize Trump through what she described as a deliberate disinformation campaign. “They conspired to subvert the will of the American people,” Gabbard wrote, claiming the effort amounted to a “years-long coup” against Trump.

https://twitter.com/DNIGabbard/status/1948007534960198036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1948007534960198036%7Ctwgr%5Eaebb331bf68ee0ee74f45252db892d1f0e19f30e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rt.com%2Fnews%2F621884-obama-ordered-putin-trump-reports%2F

The report also claims Obama issued “unusual directives” to accelerate the release of the intelligence assessment before Trump’s inauguration, bypassing normal interagency coordination procedures within the intelligence community. Gabbard has argued that these actions warrant a criminal investigation and accused Obama-era officials of manufacturing a false narrative to discredit a sitting president. Trump has endorsed her findings, calling for prosecutions of Obama and top members of his administration. She also claimed that internal US intelligence assessments consistently concluded Russia lacked both the capability and intent to interfere in the 2016 election – but that these findings were deliberately suppressed. Russia has denied any involvement in US elections, and President Putin has repeatedly stated that Moscow does not favor any particular American political candidate.

This is from before Tulsi dropped her second batch of files yesterday.

• Tulsi Is About To Drop More Evidence Against Barack Obama (Margolis)

Barack Obama’s team is in full damage control mode after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified and released evidence that Obama and his top officials in his administration knowingly fabricated intelligence to push the false narrative that Trump was compromised by Russia—an operation designed to delegitimize his election and kneecap his ability to govern. On Tuesday, Barack Obama released a statement through a spokesman in response to the recent release of Russiagate documents implicating the former president in the effort to delegitimize Trump’s presidency. “Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,” the statement read. “But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”

But, Gabbard isn’t backing down. In an appearance on “Rob Schmitt Tonight” on Newsmax Tuesday, she announced that her team will be releasing documents that directly contradict Barack Obama’s latest attempt to rewrite the history of the Russia collusion hoax. “We will be releasing further documents tomorrow that will refute that statement,” Gabbard said, dismissing the statement outright as part of pattern of misinformation pushed by top Democrats and their allies in the media ever since the release of what she called the “manufactured intelligence document” in January 2017. She didn’t stop there. “We will be pulling a whole host of statements that were made by the Obama administration, by Hillary Clinton, by senior Democrat officials, by their friends in the media,” she said. “They state over and over again after this January 2017 manufactured intelligence document was created that repeat the narrative.”

Gabbard laid out a damning list of examples. “The New York Times says, ‘Russian hackers acted to aid Trump in the election,’” she quoted. “Obama’s CIA Director John Brennan says, ‘There is strong consensus among us… to support the CIA claim Russian hackers aided Donald Trump’s election.’” And of course, Hillary Clinton’s infamous refrain: “I would be president if not for the Russian hackers supporting Donald Trump.” “There is a vast body of evidence and intelligence that debunks and refutes this statement you’ve just read and others coming from some of the Democrat leaders in Congress today,” Gabbard concluded. With more documents expected to drop soon, Gabbard is making it clear she intends to expose the Obama-era narrative for what it was—an orchestrated political operation designed to undercut the legitimacy of a duly elected president.

Now that the truth is starting to trickle out, the Obama crowd is sweating—and for good reason. Tulsi Gabbard’s document drops are pulling back the curtain on what looks like a coordinated effort by Obama and his top brass to sabotage a duly elected president using fake intelligence and a complicit media echo chamber. The phony Russia narrative was a deliberate attempt to delegitimize Trump before he even took the oath. And now, the evidence is catching up. No matter how hard Obama’s lackeys try to spin it, accountability is coming. And they know it.

“..Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Mark Carney’s chief-of-staff, Marc-André Blanchard are once again coming to DC to ride their bicycles in slow circles at the bottom of the White House driveway while staring in the windows.”

• Canada Accepts No Trade Deal Before 35% Tariffs Kick In (CTH)

I’ll repeat it as much as needed, until it sinks in. The U.S-Canada trade deal status is simply a no-brainer. President Trump will answer questions about Canada and tariffs, he’ll put people into seats to discuss trade with the Canadian delegation, and he’ll give every outward appearance of being favorable to Prime Minister Mark Carney…. BUT… In the background, Trump is simply waiting for the USMCA timeline to trigger a renegotiation. President Donald Trump is ambivalent to the trade partnership with Canada. This moot-status reality is why there’s no substantive engagement. ‘No deal’ -until USMCA redo- is a win for President Trump. For some bizarre reason that I simply cannot fathom, almost every Canadian politician seems entirely oblivious to this reality. Instead, Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Mark Carney’s chief-of-staff, Marc-André Blanchard are once again coming to DC to ride their bicycles in slow circles at the bottom of the White House driveway while staring in the windows.

An article in Politico notes the Canadian premiers are now accepting the August 1st deadline will pass without any agreement, and the 35% reciprocal tariffs on non-USMCA products (meaning a lot of stuff) is going to trigger. Literally, everything from Canada that has a non-USMCA component is going to be tariffed. Think about all the stuff from China, Asia (writ large) and Europe that Canada assembles for finished goods. All of that stuff will be subject to the tariffs. That said, there’s good news coming from the recent meeting between Prime Minister Carney and the Premiers. Within their statement they use the term “developing large infrastructure projects.” That’s Canadian political codespeak for them realizing they are going to have to get back to regular energy development, raw material use/refinement and ACTUAL MANUFACTURING.

Canada is going to have to bring back their ‘dirty’ industrial jobs. For our Treehouse friends in Canada, this is very good news. The Canadian assembly economic model has to change in order to get compliant with U.S. trade rules. THAT’S TRUMP’S ENTIRE POINT! The environmentalists within Canada will not like this, but economically they will have no choice; it’s the only way to avoid a complete economic depression.

HUNTSVILLE, Ontario — “Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada’s premiers are tempering expectations that they’ll strike a new economic and security deal with Donald Trump by the end of the month. “We would like to have the ideal deal, as fast as possible. But what can we get?” Quebec Premier François Legault said Tuesday. “You almost need to ask Donald Trump, and I’m not even sure he knows himself what he wants.” It’s a shift in tone from the premiers and Carney, who ran for election on his economic record, arguing he’d be the best person to negotiate with the president. But Canada is finding it harder than it looks. Carney met the premiers in Muskoka, cottage country north of Toronto, to update them on Canada-U.S. negotiations. As the leaders emerged from a three-hour meeting, they downplayed hopes of an Aug. 1 deal, arguing that achieving a “good deal” is more important than hitting a deadline.”

[…] As the negotiations continue, the premiers spent Tuesday carving out a strategy to offset the economic impact of Trump’s tariffs on the aluminum, steel, auto and lumber sector. They spoke about developing large infrastructure projects, breaking down trade barriers between provinces and encouraging a “buy Canadian” approach.”

Canada is going to go into a deep economic recession; there’s no way to avoid it. However, if they restart their industrial base, drop the ridiculous ‘green’ energy stuff, start exploiting their own natural resources and train an apprentice generation -just like we are trying to do- then Canada can bounce back stronger than ever. We know there are Canadian wolverines who understand this concept; we saw thousands of them in the Truckers’ vaccine strike. Make Canada Great Again, by Making Dirty Jobs Great Again, eh?

“They were supposed to buy their own equipment. But I have a feeling they didn’t spend every dollar on the equipment..,”

• Trump Questions Kiev’s Use Of US Aid (RT)

US President Donald Trump has claimed that billions of dollars in American aid given to Ukraine under his predecessor Joe Biden may have been misused. The US became Kiev’s top foreign backer under the Biden administration, allocating over $170 billion in military and financial aid, according to official data. Trump, however, has long argued the total is far higher, estimating $350 billion in “equipment and cash” and criticizing Biden for “giving away” money without returns. He reiterated the point at a Republican meeting at the White House on Tuesday, questioning whether Kiev had actually used US aid for defense needs.

“Biden gave away $350 billion worth of equipment or cash. Worse than equipment – cash… They were supposed to buy their own equipment. But I have a feeling they didn’t spend every dollar on the equipment,” Trump said. “We want to find out about that [money], someday, I guess, right?” Trump’s comments echo growing concerns over corruption in Ukraine. The country has long struggled with graft, and its Defense Ministry has faced multiple scandals since the conflict with Russia escalated in 2022. Both the US and EU have pressed for audits and stronger anti-corruption measures. In April, US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz urged tighter oversight of aid, calling Ukraine “one of the most corrupt nations in the world.”

'Not every dollar allocated to Ukraine by Biden for weapons was actually spent on them' – Trump believes that the Ukrainians partially embezzled American aid.

'I am very proud that European countries will buy our weapons, pay 100% of their price, and then distribute them… pic.twitter.com/rz3hnwQ74l

— Zlatti71 (@Zlatti_71) July 23, 2025

Despite calls for transparency, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky signed a law this week reducing the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies, claiming it would streamline investigations. The legislation has triggered international scrutiny and protests across the country, with critics saying the move could be aimed at shielding Zelensky’s inner circle and concealing the embezzlement of military funds. Moscow has long argued that Western aid prolongs the fighting without changing the outcome of the conflict. Russian officials have also long accused Kiev of misusing foreign funds. UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia told RT last month that it’s “an open secret” Ukraine “stole billions of dollars out of the aid” and that Zelensky clings to power to avoid consequences.

First, he effectively shut down the independent anti-corruption bureaus. That led to major protests in the streets, the first in years. So he (they) tweaked it all a bit and he claimed they’re independent again. These guys have embezzled billions and for some reason they’re now afraid of being found out.

• Western Media Reacts To Zelensky’s Crackdown On Anti-Corruption Bureau (RT)

Western news outlets have criticized Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky for stripping an independent anti-corruption bureau of its autonomy and placing it under the control of the prosecutor general. The move, carried out on Tuesday, drew widespread concern from journalists and observers. Zelensky signed legislative amendments on the subordination of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the office of the special anti-corruption prosecutor hours after they were rushed through parliament. The changes were enacted despite vocal opposition from the agency. Established in 2015 following the 2014 armed coup in Kiev, the NABU was a cornerstone of judicial reform conditions imposed by Western governments and international financial institutions.

The agency was intended to serve as a key check on official misconduct, along with Western-funded NGOs and media outlets. The move to “neuter” the NABU, as Axios described it, comes amid escalating tensions between the bureau and the Zelensky administration. Earlier this week, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) executed search warrants against at least 15 NABU personnel and arrested a top investigator on suspicion of ties to Russia. Zelensky defended the measures, alleging that the NABU was ineffective and compromised by Russian influence, warranting what he called a necessary purge. The clampdown drew muted statements of concern from Western officials and warnings about its potential consequences from journalists.

”It is never a good sign when governments accused of corruption raid the agencies and activists trying to hold them to account,” wrote Bloomberg columnist Marc Champion. “It’s something the country cannot afford, just as it asks taxpayers across Europe to pump tens of billions of additional euros into its defense.” Champion also pointed to “an emerging pattern,” referencing the recent criminal charges filed against anti-corruption activist Vitaly Shabunin, who was accused of fraud and draft evasion. Axios noted that the assault on the NABU’s independence came after recent improvements in US-Ukraine relations. However, the outlet cautioned that Zelensky was “playing with fire,” recalling President Donald Trump’s characterization of him as a “dictator without elections” governing under martial law.

The Wall Street Journal accused Kiev of launching an “attack on anti-corruption institutions,” emphasizing the NABU’s role in assuring Western donors that financial support would be safeguarded from embezzlement. It also extensively cited criticisms by Ukrainian anti-corruption activists. Shabunin told the newspaper that the charges against him were meant to send a message: “Those who investigate corruption in Zelensky’s office will be punished.” Another person suggested Zelensky had grown emboldened by the West’s subdued response after Kiev rejected the independent selection of a NABU detective to lead another economic crimes agency. Foreign correspondents covering Ukraine expressed dismay at the developments on social media.

Oliver Carroll of The Economist called the legislation “shocking” and accused Zelensky of allowing “hubris” to jeopardize the goodwill of the foreign public. Yaroslav Trofimov of the Wall Street Journal claimed the crackdown represented “a gift of historic proportions to Russian propaganda” and to Western skeptics of further military aid for Ukraine. Financial Times correspondent Christopher Miller emphasized that the responsibility lay squarely with Zelensky and his chief of staff, Andrey Yermak. ”Orders came from the office of the president last night and the law enforcement committee passed it early morning in such great haste that members had to join over video,” Miller wrote. “This did not just happen overnight, even if it feels that way. This is a shift months in the making.”

That Congresswoman can only be MTG.

• US Congresswoman Labels Zelensky ‘Dictator’ (RT)

US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has labeled Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky “a dictator” and called for his removal, citing mass anti-corruption protests across Ukraine and accusing him of blocking peace efforts. Her comments came after Zelensky signed a controversial bill into law that places the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) under the authority of the prosecutor general. Critics argue that the legislation effectively strips the bodies of their independence. The law has sparked protests across Ukraine, with around 2,000 people rallying in Kiev and additional demonstrations reported in Lviv, Odessa, and Poltava. “Good for the Ukrainian people! Throw him out of office!” Greene wrote Wednesday on X, sharing footage from the protests. “And America must STOP funding and sending weapons!!!”

Greene, a longtime critic of US aid to Kiev, made similar comments last week while introducing an amendment to block further assistance. “Zelensky is a dictator, who, by the way, stopped elections in his country because of this war,” she told the House. “He’s jailed journalists, he’s canceled his election, controlled state media, and persecuted Christians. The American people should not be forced to continue to pay for another foreign war.”Her statements come amid mounting speculation over Zelensky’s political future. Journalist Seymour Hersh has reported that US officials are considering replacing him, possibly with former top general Valery Zaluzhny.

Senator Tommy Tuberville also called Zelensky a “dictator” last month, accusing him of trying to drag NATO into the conflict with Russia. Tuberville claimed that Zelensky refuses to hold elections because “he knew if he had an election, he’d get voted out.” Zelensky’s five-year presidential term expired in 2024, but he has refused to hold a new election, citing martial law, which has been extended every 90 days since 2022.US President Donald Trump has also questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy, calling him “a dictator without elections” in February. Russian officials have repeatedly brought up the issue of Zelensky’s legitimacy, arguing that any agreements signed by him or his administration could be legally challenged by future leaders of Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1947777633586159856

“Western allies of Ukraine” still believe that Trump keeps seeing Russian President Vladimir Putin “as his main negotiating partner and Zelensky as the primary obstacle to a workable peace deal.”

• Zelensky’s End Goal Is In Sight, And So Is His End (Amar)

When the US picks clients, vassals, and proxies, it needs men or women ready to trade in the interests, even the welfare and lives of their compatriots. Vladimir Zelensky is such a man. A look at the elites of EU-NATO Europe shows he is not alone. But he is an especially extreme case. It is much less than a decade ago that the former media entrepreneur and comedian – often crude instead of witty – advanced from being a pet protégé of one of Ukraine’s most corrupt oligarchs to capturing the country’s presidency. As it turned out, never to let go of it: Zelensky has used the war, which was provoked by the West and escalated in February 2022, not only to make himself an indispensable if very expensive and often obstreperous American puppet but also as a pretext to evade elections.

And yet, now signs are multiplying that his days of being indispensable may be over. For one thing, Seymour Hersh, living legend of American investigative journalism, is reporting that Zelensky is very unpopular where it matters most, in US President Donald Trump’s White House. This is not surprising: Trump’s recent turn against Russia – whatever its real substance or marital reasons – does not mean a turn in favor of Ukraine and even less so in favor of Zelensky, as attentive observers have noted. According to the Financial Times, “Western allies of Ukraine” still believe that Trump keeps seeing Russian President Vladimir Putin “as his main negotiating partner and Zelensky as the primary obstacle to a workable peace deal.”

Time to go

Zelensky has gotten his own Maidan (?)
Protests are taking place across the country against the crackdown on NABU.
"I’m not a sucker!" (Я ж не лох!), people shout, echoing Zelensky’s infamous phrase. pic.twitter.com/upnmNFnUNR

— Marta Havryshko (@HavryshkoMarta) July 22, 2025

And according to “knowledgeable officials in Washington” who have talked to Hersh, the US leadership is ready to act on that problem by getting rid of Zelensky. And urgently: Some American officials consider removing the Ukrainian president “feet first” in case he refuses to go. Their reason, according to Hersh’s confidants: to make room for a deal with Russia. Hersh has to make do with publishing anonymous sources. It is even conceivable that the Trump administration is leaking this threat against Zelensky to pressure him. Yet even if so, that doesn’t mean the threat is empty. Judging by past US behavior, using and then discarding other countries’ leaders is always an option.

Another, also plausible, possibility is that Zelensky will be discarded to facilitate not ending, but continuing the war, so as to keep draining Russian resources. In this scenario, the US would prolong the war by handing it over to its loyally self-harming European vassals. After, that is, seeing to the installation of a new leader in Kiev, one it has under even better control than Zelensky. Just to make sure the Europeans and the Ukrainians do not start understanding each other too well and end up slipping from US control. The Ukrainian replacement candidate everyone whispers about, old Zelensky nemesis General Valery Zaluzhny – currently in de facto exile as ambassador to the UK – might well be available for both options, depending on his marching orders from Washington.

Meanwhile, as if on cue, Western mainstream media have started to notice the obvious: The Financial Times has found out that critics accuse Zelensky of an “authoritarian slide,” which is still putting it very mildly but closer to the truth than past daft hero worship. The Spectator – in fairness, a magazine with a tradition of being somewhat more realistic about Ukraine – has fired a broadside under the title “Ukraine has lost faith in Zelensky.” The Economist has detected an “outrage” in Zelensky’s moves and, more tellingly, used a picture of him making him look like a cross between a Bond villain and Saddam Hussein. Even Deutsche Welle, a German state propaganda outlet, is now reporting on massive human rights infringements under Zelensky, with the impaired systematically targeted for forced mobilization.

Don’t do it out in the open, you fool!

• Von der Leyen Warns Zelensky Over Risk To Ukraine’s EU Bid (RT)

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has requested explanations from Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky over the crackdown on the country’s anti-corruption agencies, which has sparked nationwide protests and international backlash. The agencies were seen as key conditions for Kiev’s EU membership bid and continued Western aid. Under the legislation, passed by the Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday and signed by Zelensky hours later, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) were placed under the direct control of the Prosecutor General, a political appointee. The controversial law followed security raids on NABU in light of claims by Zelensky that the agency was subject to Russian influence.

Von der Leyen was in contact with Zelensky, her spokesman Guillaume Mercier told reporters on Wednesday, saying she “conveyed her strong concerns about the consequences” of the new law and requested “explanations.” The legislation “risks weakening strongly the competences and powers of anti-corruption institutions of Ukraine,” Mercier said. The EC chief has urged “respect for the rule of law” and the “fight against corruption,” he stated, adding “There cannot be a compromise.” European Council President Antonio Costa reportedly also voiced concern to Zelensky and asked for explanations. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul wrote on X that the development “hampers Ukraine’s way towards the EU.”

The creation of NABU and SAP was one of the requirements set by the European Commission and International Monetary Fund more than a decade ago to fight high-level corruption in Ukraine. Since then, the two bodies have led far-reaching investigations, including into Zelensky’s circle. The organizations say they now have been stripped of the guarantees that allowed them to operate effectively. EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told the Financial Times that financial aid to Kiev is “conditional on transparency, judicial reforms [and] democratic governments.” Ukraine was ranked 105th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index.

“All the DSA protects is European leaders from their own people.”

• US State Dept Accuses EU of ‘Orwellian Censorship’ (RT)

The EU’s online content regulations are an affront to free speech, the US State Department has said in response to France’s praise for the Digital Services Act (DSA). The State Department echoed earlier criticism from US Vice President J.D. Vance, who accused EU member states of attempting to quash dissenting voices and stigmatize popular right-wing parties such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD). “In Europe, thousands are being convicted for the crime of criticizing their own governments. This Orwellian message won’t fool the United States. Censorship is not freedom,” the State Department wrote on X on Tuesday. “All the DSA protects is European leaders from their own people.”

Earlier this month, France’s mission to the UN promoted the DSA on X, stating, “In Europe, one is free to speak, not free to spread illegal content.” Passed in 2022, the DSA mandates that online platforms remove “illegal and harmful” content and combat “the spread of disinformation,” according to the European Commission. Critics in both the US and Europe have likened the regulations to the creation of a ‘ministry of truth’. Earlier this year, prosecutors in Paris launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s platform X, on suspicion that it was being used to meddle in French politics and spread hateful messages. The company dismissed the probe as “politically motivated.”

In 2024, the French authorities detained Russian-born tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov on charges that he had allowed his Telegram messaging app to be used for criminal activities. Durov, who was later released on bail, denied any wrongdoing and accused France of waging “a crusade” against free speech. He also claimed that French intelligence officials attempted to pressure him into censoring content during Romania’s 2024 presidential election. France’s foreign intelligence agency, the DGSE, confirmed that it had “reminded” Durov of his responsibility to police content, but denied allegations of election interference.

“A recent report has exposed the European commission guilty of bribing journalist to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars for favourable coverage..”

The EU taxpayer pays to be deceived…

• The Case For Media Transparency Within The EU Just Got Sexy (Jay)

A recent report has exposed the European commission guilty of bribing journalist to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars for favourable coverage. How long can this go on? While we witness the continuation of the European Commission chief’s anti-democratic control over the project but also a host of values like freedom of speech, a Brussels Eurosceptic think tank has revealed that the project bribes journalists for favourable coverage. In a recent report, MCC claimed that the EU was secretly pumping at least 80m euros a year into both print and broadcast outlets often under the guise of fighting fake news. Yet the figure of 80m euros is wildly underestimated and in reality is likely to be three or four times this as the accountability and transparency of such payments are unsurprisingly buried in opaque accountancy practices with both the EU and media outlets themselves unwilling to be open to their readers/viewers.

Funding programmes are often presented using buzzwords like “fighting disinformation” or “promoting European integration” yet the reality is that it is a fund which is simply there to push propaganda for the project itself. The truth is that the European commission in particular is advancing with a strategy to bribe media giants more and more to promote the EU with its tainted narrative. Ironically, it is Ursula von der Leyen who often talks about “facts” being important. Her pretence that she believes in the truth and an independent press is in itself an illusion on a grand scale and perhaps the greatest example of what “fake news” itself is, on the EU circuit. Just recently, the irony of her being close to losing her job as commission president gave her the opportunity to give us all a good laugh.

“Facts matter, the truth matters”, she said recently in her speech to the EU Parliament, just before a vote of no confidence was held against her. She said – stop laughing – she was willing to engage in debate — provided it was based on “facts” and “arguments”. Yet there has never been an EU commission president who believes and benefits more in the dark art of bunging journalists and media more than Ursula. Indeed, the very media outlets who rushed to her defence when she was facing the jaws of defeat by a group of Eurosceptic MEPs recently are fake news outfits which have been receiving millions of euros of cash in brown envelopes for decades. “Von der Leyen successfully defends against no-confidence vote and attacks right-wing extremists”, thundered Der Spiegel, while Deutsche Welle (DW) reported a failure by the right: “Right-wing extremists fail with no-confidence motion against von der Leyen”.

“Right-wing extremists”? Really? Perhaps it’s worth noting that DW, to date, has received around 35m euros from the EU slush fund, according to the Hungarian think tank’s report which is compiled by Thomas Fazi, an Italian hack whose work is published on Unherd and who recently has published impressive investigations into the salami sliced power grab that the EU has been executing from member states. Ursula, of course, plays a pivotal role in that, as does corrupt media outlets like Deutsche Welle which is so spectacularly shite that its own German language service had to be shut down as no Germans would watch such gobbledygook garbage which champions the EU and Germany’s foreign policy ambitions.

This slush fund, aimed at boosting the EU’s status and relevance, has been around for quite a while but the report was revealing as it explains exactly how the European Commission goes about distributing the cash.mTraditionally, a big way the EU gets artificially positive coverage from Brussels events is via broadcasters. Outfits like DW, Euronews and most of the major state broadcasters across the EU benefit from a subsidy here, whereby the European Commission, European parliament and other institutions like the Council of Ministers provide filming, editing and studio facilities at their state of the art studios which, themselves, are a murky pit of corruption and embezzlement on a grand scale.

These “studios” provide everything for national broadcasters who have “correspondents” in Brussels. TV production, particularly on location is expensive. The EU pays for everything saving state broadcasters like DW millions in production costs which is of course paid back by coverage from the outlet not only with a positive EU spin but often simply replicating the EU narrative. It’s propaganda on a level which would make Goebbels proud as the genius of it is that the relationship which forms between the broadcasters and the EU grows each day until the point where both realise they need one another more than they have previously realised. The result is that so-called “news events” in Brussels which are so boring and would never normally see the light of day if the editors back in Berlin, Paris or Rome would have their say, get air time. And quite a bit of it.

What the report didn’t cover was the contracts themselves with the private companies which run the studios who employ scores of technical staff. Curiously perhaps, it is the same Belgian company which gets the contract every six years when the budget is completed despite EU rules making this impossible. All the Belgian firm does is simply change its name. Corruption of course has to be the heart of this. Someone in the EU commission is getting a huge commission for this of course.

All AI data centers should generate their own electricity. But that will come only after a first batch of blackouts.

• Biggest US Power Grid Sets Power Costs At Record High To Feed AI (ZH)

Very soon if you want AI (and even if you don’t), you won’t be able to afford AC. Just this morning we warned readers that America’s largest power grid, PJM Interconnect, which serves 65 million people across 13 states and Washington, DC, and more importantly feeds Deep State Central’s Loudoun County, Virginia, also known as ‘Data Center Alley’ and which is recognized as one of the world’s largest hubs for data centers… had recently issued multiple ‘Maximum Generation’ and ‘Load Management’ alerts this summer, as the heat pushes power demand to the brink with air conditioners running at full blast across the eastern half of the U.S. But as anyone who has not lived under a rock knows, the deeper issue is that there’s simply not enough baseload juice to feed the relentless, ravenous growth of power-hungry AI server racks at new data centers.

“There is simply no new capacity to meet new loads,” said Joe Bowring to Bloomberg, president of Monitoring Analytics, which is the independent watchdog for PJM Interconnection. “The solution is to make sure that people who want to build data centers are serious enough about it to bring their own generation.” Well, there is another solution: crank up prices to the stratosphere. And that’s precisely what happened. As Bloomberg reports, business and households supplied by the largest US grid will pay $16.1 billion to ensure there is enough electricity supply to meet soaring power demand, especially that from a massive buildout in AI data centers. The payouts to generators for the year starting June 2026 topped last year’s record $14.7 billion, according to PJM Interconnection LLC, which operates the grid stretching from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic.

That puts the capacity price per megawatt each day at a record $329.17 from $269.92. In response to the blowout payout, shares of Constellation Energy and Talen Energy surged in late trading in New York on Tuesday.As millions of Americans will very soon learn the hard way, AI data centers are driving the biggest surge in US electric demand in decades, leading to higher residential utility bills. That’s a key reason why PJM’s auction, once only tracked by power traders and plant owners but now increasingly a topic for general consumption as electricity bills are about to hit an all time high, has also become closely watched by politicians and consumer advocates.

As Bloomberg notes, this is the first auction that included both a price floor and cap, setting the range at $177.24 to $329.17, which of course was the clearing price level reached in this auction. Why even bother pretending there is an auction: just set the price at the max and be done with it. Last year’s 600% jump in capacity prices set off a political firestorm, resulting in PJM reaching a settlement with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to essentially cap gains for two years and make auction prices more predictable after wild swings in recent years. Despite the increase in costs across the grid, the price cap trimmed costs for consumers who saw the biggest hikes in the last auction. Exelon’s Baltimore area utility reached a $466 last time, while Dominion Energy’s Virginia territory came in at about $444.

Payouts to generators stayed at high levels due to surging demand from big data centers coming online swiftly, said Jon Gordon, policy director of non-profit clean energy advocacy Advanced Energy United. New facilities are consuming as much power as towns or small cities, coinciding with a wave of older power plants shutting down and lagging investment in new supplies and grid upgrades, he said.The per-megawatt price exceeding the 2024 auction, and well closing at an all time high, is bullish for independent power producers including NRG, Talen, Constellation and Vistra, Barclays analyst Nick Campenella had forecast. These generators have spent more than $34 billion so far this year on deals to mainly buy up power plants fueled by natural gas to feed the AI boom especially in PJM.

“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” reportedly loses $40 million a year..”

“..the average age of Colbert’s viewers is 68..”

Jon Stewart revived late night comedy. He had no successors.

• Whose Politics Canceled Stephen Colbert? (Daniel McCarthy)

Stephen Colbert is at the center of a conspiracy theory. It was born last week, when news broke of CBS canceling Colbert’s late-night talk show. The network’s move wasn’t hard to understand: “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” reportedly loses $40 million a year, and Colbert is already in the final year of his contract. Viewership for all the late-night gabfests is evaporating; there’s no recovery in sight. Colbert is No. 1 in his time slot, but his show costs $100 million a year to produce and doesn’t bring in nearly enough eyeballs to attract the ad revenue to cover that. So in what universe does CBS renew Colbert and keep losing tens of millions of dollars? The conspiracy theory instantly popular among Democrats and many in the media who ought to know better, however, says Colbert is really being taken off air to please President Donald Trump.

If the Federal Communications Commission allows it, Paramount Global, owner of CBS, will soon merge with Skydance, a company owned by David Ellison, whose father is a major Trump supporter. The president doesn’t like being lampooned by Colbert; he’s happy to see his show end. Trump benefits, so Trump must be to blame—right? For those who suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, there are no coincidences. The truth is as clear as if Trump had been caught with his arms around the president of CBS Studios at a Coldplay concert. You see, if not for Trump’s FCC leverage over the network, CBS would have been content to keep losing millions on Colbert for years to come. That’s the crackpot view, and it’s politically convenient for Democrats, who’ve done their utmost to promote it.

Sen. Adam Schiff was a guest on the show the night Colbert announced its cancellation, and along with fellow Democrat Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, he took to X that evening to plant the seeds of conspiracy. “If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better,” Schiff wrote, feeling no need to offer evidence for the insinuation. “CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump—a deal that looks like bribery,” Warren posted, referring to CBS’ settlement of a lawsuit over “60 Minutes.” “Do I think this is a coincidence? NO,” Sanders chimed in. The party instantly had its line, with shouty caps to drive it home.

It worked—Bluesky and Facebook lit up with liberals saying free speech was under attack by Trump, while CNN’s Brian Stelter, even as he reported the dismal financial reality of the “unfortunately unprofitable” show, packed his story with the conspiracy narrative. Stelter devoted more than a third of his report titled “Inside CBS’ ‘agonizing decision’ to cancel Colbert’s top-rated late-night show” to speculation about how the pending sale to Skydance might have influenced CBS, with heavy emphasis on the Trump angle, which he brought elsewhere in his story, too. Stelter even added his own spin, attempting to patch up one of the conspiracy tale’s obvious holes by suggesting CBS could have kept Colbert on air by cutting costs since Colbert had produced a much cheaper show, “After Midnight With Taylor Tomlinson,” that CBS was willing to renew.

But that’s absurd—“After Midnight” is already canceled; CBS canned it when Tomlinson announced her departure to return to stand-up comedy, and while she might well love the live stage, it’s obvious that running a late-night show on the cheap means paying hosts less: too little to keep Tomlinson. How little would Colbert, currently raking in a reported $15-$20 million a year, settle for? Colbert loses viewers and advertisers even with a $100 million budget—how poorly would a Colbert show more than 40% cheaper do? Hollywood Reporter notes the average age of Colbert’s viewers is 68. According to CNBC, the average age of David Letterman’s viewers when he handed his time slot to Colbert in 2015 was 60.

All the data points in the same direction:“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” was a long time dying. That’s true of late-night talk as a whole, too. “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next,” Trump predicted on Truth Social. The president doesn’t have to pressure ABC to make that happen; the market will do that on its own, as it did with Colbert. Colbert had a hit when he played a parody conservative on Comedy Central. Once he stopped playing and presented his true face and politics to the country, he crashed. Donald Trump didn’t get Stephen Colbert canceled; everything Democrats like about him did. And the late-night host’s fate will also be theirs if they don’t heed this market lesson.

The President sinks below 20%.

Odd math: “Macron’s approval rating has fallen to 19%, with Bayrou at just 18%, making a combined approval of 37% ..”

French President Emmanuel Macron’s approval rating has dropped below 20% for the first time since taking office, as criticism mounts over rising defense spending and cuts to social programs. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou also performed poorly in the same poll, with the two forming the most unpopular executive pair of the Fifth Republic. Macron’s approval rating has fallen to 19%, with Bayrou at just 18%, making a combined approval of 37% – the lowest in modern France, according to a new IFOP survey published on Monday. Even during the Yellow Vest protests – a major anti-government movement that began in 2018 over fuel taxes and economic inequality – the French leader’s lowest rating was 23%.

Macron’s support has dropped sharply among his 2022 voters, with only 49% still backing him – down 12 points. His approval has also declined among business leaders and executives, falling by 18 and 8 points, respectively. Bayrou, who was appointed after Michel Barnier’s government collapsed in late 2024 following months of coalition infighting and public backlash over mishandled pension reforms, is now advancing a controversial austerity plan. Last week, he introduced new tax measures on high-income earners to help close a €43.8 billion ($48 billion) budget gap. The austerity package includes a freeze on pensions and social benefits, healthcare spending caps, and the scrapping of two national holidays to increase productivity and reduce government spending.

Left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon has called for Bayrou’s resignation, calling the measures “intolerable injustices.” Despite cuts in social services, defense spending continues to rise. Macron has pledged €6.5 billion more for the military over two years, citing heightened threats to European security. This comes as France’s public debt reaches €3.3 trillion – around 114% of GDP. A new French defense review has warned of a potential “major war” in Europe by 2030, identifying Russia as a leading threat. The Kremlin has denied having any intention to attack the West, and has accused NATO countries of exploiting perceptions of Russia to justify their military build-up.

Candace has sunk her teeth in this for quite a while. She doesn’t fool around.

“[I]..stake my entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man.”

• Macron Sues Candace Owens For Defamation For Claiming His Wife Is A Man (ZH)

French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron launched legal proceedings against conservative podcaster Candace Owens in a Delaware court, seeking damages for what they characterize as a sustained defamation campaign targeting the French president’s wife. The 218-page complaint, filed Wednesday in Delaware’s Superior Court where Owens’ company is incorporated, encompasses 22 counts including defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and defamation by implication. The lawsuit centers on Owens’ repeated claims across multiple platforms that Brigitte Macron was born male, claims the Macrons’ legal team describes as “outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions.” The conservative commentator has disseminated these allegations through social media posts and an eight-part YouTube series titled “Becoming Brigitte,” which the plaintiffs allege has generated significant online harassment.

Tom Clare, the Macrons’ high-profile attorney, said the case is a straightforward defamation in a statement accompanying the filing. “Relying on discredited falsehoods originally presented by a self-proclaimed spiritual medium and so-called investigative journalist, Ms. Owens both promoted and expanded on those falsehoods and invented new ones,” Clare said. The legal filing indicates the Macrons’ representatives made multiple requests for retractions before pursuing litigation. In a joint statement, the presidential couple said they concluded that “referring the matter to a court of law was the only remaining avenue for remedy” after Owens allegedly “systematically reaffirmed these falsehoods.” Owens has maintained her position despite calls for retractions, declaring in a 2024 social media post that she would “stake my entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man.”

The French first couple has consistently disputed these claims, citing official birth records. The lawsuit alleges the false statements have resulted in “relentless bullying on a worldwide scale” and caused “tremendous damage” to their reputations. BCC Communications, the public relations firm representing Owens, told Mediaite that the podcaster would address the lawsuit during her program Wednesday. The U.S. lawsuit follows mixed results for the Macrons in French courts addressing similar allegations. On July 11, a Paris appeals court overturned lower court convictions against two French women who had made comparable claims about the first lady’s gender identity.

The appellate ruling reversed a September 2023 decision that had ordered defendants Amandine Roy, a self-proclaimed spiritual medium, and Natacha Rey, a self-described independent journalist, to pay €8,000 in damages to Brigitte Macron and €5,000 to her brother. The women had produced a four-hour YouTube video in December 2021 promoting theories that Brigitte Macron was previously known as Jean-Michel Trogneux. The appeals court determined the defendants had acted in “good faith” despite making false claims, including allegations of “grooming a minor.” The decision eliminated their financial liability.

elon 2024

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Elon Musk and @xAI

“Never been done before – xAI did in 19 days what everyone else needs one year to accomplish.

That is superhuman – There's only one person in the world who could do that – Elon Musk is singular in his understanding of engineering.” pic.twitter.com/oNZuH97RhJ

— ALEX (@ajtourville) October 13, 2024

"Starlink Satellites will be able to broadcast direct to your mobiles. There will be no deadzone anywhere in the world for your cell phone. Your phone will still work even if there are no cell towers."

Starlink will save lives. ❤️

pic.twitter.com/JLt6045TNo

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) July 23, 2025

Starship

SpaceX’s Starship could take you from New York to Sydney in under an hour.

The Earth-to-Earth project skips jetlag by literally launching you into space and back down somewhere else.pic.twitter.com/iSLCyOCbYM

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 23, 2025

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