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Debt Rattle June 23 2025

Jun 232025
 
 June 23, 2025  Posted by at 9:50 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,  87 Responses »


Rembrandt van Rijn The three trees 1643

 

• Medvedev: Countries Now Ready To Supply Iran With Nuclear Warheads (ZH)
• US Intervened Because Israel Was on Brink of Defeat – Iranian Ex-Ambassador (Sp.)
• Top Iranian Diplomat Expects ‘Critical’ Talks With Putin (RT)
• US Strikes on Iran Reckless Breach of Sovereignty – Russian FM (Sp.)
• Moscow Blasts US Redo Of ‘Iraqi Weapons Of Mass Destruction’ Stunt (RT)
• America Again Crawls on Its Belly for Israel (Paul Craig Roberts)
• Democrats Denounce Iranian Attack as Unconstitutional (Turley)
• Vance, Rubio Call For Peace With Iran, Say Regime Change Is Not The Goal (ZH)
• The EU’s Favorite War: The One Israel Starts (Marsden)
• What Russian Experts And Politicians Are Saying About The US Strikes (RT)
• Major US Cities on Alert After US Airstrikes on Iranian Nuclear Facilities (ET)
• Zelensky Makes New Threats Against Russia (RT)
• The European Garden On The Brink Of Ruin (SCF)
• Western Use of Interest From Russia’s Frozen Assets Is Theft – Top Banker (RT)

 

 

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https://twitter.com/DI313_/status/1936695758691950752
https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1936787865704276247

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Yesterday, I said: “If the situation pans out the way it’s presented today, much of the criticism [..] will subside..” Well, it hasn’t and it won’t. Scott Ritter’s must-see talk with Judge Nap makes that very clear. He claims the US bombs only literally pounded sand, and reality differs greatly from the narrative. If Trump can say today that there’s no Iranian nuclear threat, that’s because there wasn’t one before. They bombed two abandoned desert sites, and one-Fordow- that they couldn’t hit. Q: what’s the next move?

 

 

 

 

Great example of the role Medvedev plays: he gets to say what Putin can’t, for reasons of statesmanship and diplomacy.

• Medvedev: Countries Now Ready To Supply Iran With Nuclear Warheads (ZH)

On Sunday morning Russia’s former president and current deputy chairman of the country’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev issued his reaction to the major US overnight strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, giving what’s essentially the view of where things stand from the Kremlin. Medvedev in a ten-point list of reactions characterized the attacks as ultimately ineffective, and that it will blow back on America and Israel in a way opposite than intended, especially as Tehran will now only push harder for a nuke, and allied countries might now simply be willing to supply them to the Iranians, he described.

Interestingly, Medvedev has also echoed Moscow’s stance on nuclear warheads in the Middle East, and has written over the weekend on his VKontakte page, “Does Iran have nuclear weapons? We don’t know, but we know that Israel has a secret nuclear program. Well, let them both renounce such programs under the supervision of the UN Security Council and the IAEA.” As for the ten-point critique of the brazen US heavy bombing of the Islamic Republic, Medvedev wrote on X as follows… “What have the Americans accomplished with their nighttime strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran?” he first posed, before listing:

1. Critical infrastructure of the nuclear fuel cycle appears to have been unaffected or sustained only minor damage.
2. The enrichment of nuclear material — and, now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons — will continue.
3. A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads.
4. Israel is under attack, explosions are rocking the country, and people are panicking.
5. The US is now entangled in a new conflict, with prospects of a ground operation looming on the horizon.
6. Iran’s political regime has survived — and in all likelihood, has come out even stronger.
7. The people are rallying around the country’s spiritual leadership, including those who were previously indifferent or opposed to it.
8. Donald Trump, once hailed as ‘president of peace,’ has now pushed the US into another war.
9. The vast majority of countries around the world oppose the actions of Israel and the United States.
10. At this rate, Trump can forget about the Nobel Peace Prize — not even with how rigged it has become.

Medvedev actually finished his point #10 with a sarcastic dig at the US leader, writing “What a way to kick things off, Mr. President. Congratulations!” This certainly complicates things in terms of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. Moscow has long received its major supply of Shahed ‘Kamikaze’ drones from Iran, and has ongoing defense contracts and agreements, including possibly to receive mid-range missiles. Washington is ‘flexing’ in Moscow’s direction with this major long-range B-2 bomber military operation on the other side of the world.

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Interesting viewpoint.

“..Former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray told RIA Novosti that Iran had shown incredible patience and peacefulness over the past few years..”

• US Intervened Because Israel Was on Brink of Defeat – Iranian Ex-Ambassador (Sp.)

The United States would not have intervened in the Middle East conflict if Israel had not been on the brink of defeat, former Iranian Ambassador to Germany Seyed Hossein Mousavian told RIA Novosti. “Israel not only failed in its ten-day military operation against Iran but was on the verge of defeat. Had Israel not been in a crisis, the U.S. would not have intervened,” Mousavian said. He pointed out that while Iran has suffered irreparable damage, the negative consequences of the US attack against it will also harm the United States and jeopardize regional peace and security. “US President Donald Trump’s national security team either failed to properly assess the consequences of a U.S. military attack on Iran, or they were unable to dissuade the President—or perhaps the majority of them actually supported the decision. In any case, this event has further revealed the extent of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s influence over the White House,” he added.

The United States struck three Iranian nuclear sites in Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan on Sunday night. US President Donald Trump said that the strike aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear capabilities. He said Tehran must agree to “end this war” or face far more serious consequences. Iran denies the military component of its nuclear project. As IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on June 18, the agency’s inspectors have not seen concrete evidence that Iran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program. The US intelligence community, contrary to statements by President Donald Trump and Israel, believed that Iran was not seeking to create nuclear weapons, as reported by CNN. Former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray told RIA Novosti that Iran had shown incredible patience and peacefulness over the past few years, despite Israel’s actions.

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“..drastically increased the likelihood of a larger conflict in the Middle East.”

• Top Iranian Diplomat Expects ‘Critical’ Talks With Putin (RT)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expecting to hold a “crucial” meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his pre-arranged visit to Moscow, which coincided with US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend. Israel launched an attack on Iran last week, claiming Tehran was on the brink of developing a nuclear weapon. Iranian officials rejected the accusation and responded with retaliatory strikes. On Sunday, the United States followed with what it described as “massive precision strikes” on nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. The attacks were widely condemned as violations of international law. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said the strikes caused “a sharp degradation in nuclear safety and security.”

Speaking to reporters after arriving in Moscow early Monday, Araghchi said the situation demanded urgent coordination. “Given the current exceptional circumstances in the region, it is essential that Iran and Russia engage in closer, more precise, and more serious consultations,” he stated. Naturally, our talks this time will be more serious and cover broader dimensions. We will have important and serious discussions with President Putin, and I am confident that the outcomes will benefit both countries. The Kremlin has yet to confirm a meeting between Putin and Araghchi. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that Iran has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. In media appearances during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) last week, he emphasized that resolving the conflict should include mutual security guarantees – protecting both Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear development and Israel’s right to security.

Araghchi described Russia as a strategic ally and said the two countries have maintained regular dialogue on regional issues. He also noted that during recent nuclear negotiations with the US, Tehran “continuously consulted with our Russian friends, sharing every step of the progress with them.” Russia has strongly condemned the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, calling them a flagrant breach of international law. In a statement on Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry described the attacks as “a reckless decision” and “a blatant violation of the UN Charter and relevant Security Council resolutions.” It warned that the strikes – carried out by a permanent member of the Security Council – could have caused a nuclear disaster and had “drastically increased the likelihood of a larger conflict in the Middle East.”

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“..runs counter to international law, the UN Charter, the UN Security Council Resolution..”

• US Strikes on Iran Reckless Breach of Sovereignty – Russian FM (Sp.)

The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites as a reckless move that violates the Islamic Republic’s sovereignty, international law and the UN Charter. “The reckless decision to bomb the territory of a sovereign state, whatever the arguments, runs counter to international law, the UN Charter, the UN Security Council Resolution,” the ministry said. It is of particular concern that the attack was carried out by a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the ministry said, adding that the UN’s core body had to interfere.

“The UN Security Council should naturally take action. Confrontational behavior of the US and Israel has to be rejected collectively,” the statement read. “We call for an end of aggression and urge efforts that will create conditions for a return to a political and diplomatic path,” the statement said. The ministry also called on Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to report impartially on the Iran attacks at the UN atomic agency’s board of governors’ meeting on Monday.

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“Many today feel a strong sense of déjà vu,” he said. “The current situation is essentially no different: we are once again being urged to believe in fairy tales in order to once again bring suffering to millions of people living in the Middle East.”

• Moscow Blasts US Redo Of ‘Iraqi Weapons Of Mass Destruction’ Stunt (RT)

Russia has sharply condemned the United States for its airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, calling the attacks “irresponsible, provocative and dangerous,” and warning they risk pushing the Middle East toward a large-scale war with potentially catastrophic nuclear consequences. Speaking at an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Sunday, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Washington of violating the UN Charter, international law and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). “The United States has opened a Pandora’s box, and no one knows what consequences may follow,” Nebenzia said, noting that by targeting IAEA-supervised nuclear sites, Washington has “once again demonstrated total disregard for the position of the international community.”

Nebenzia drew a pointed comparison to the lead-up to the 2003 Iraq War, when then-US Secretary of State Colin Powell presented false evidence to “justify the invasion of another sovereign state, only to plunge its people into chaos for decades and not find any weapons of mass destruction.” “Many today feel a strong sense of déjà vu,” he said. “The current situation is essentially no different: we are once again being urged to believe in fairy tales in order to once again bring suffering to millions of people living in the Middle East.” Russia argued that Tehran has not been proven to be pursuing a nuclear weapon, echoing earlier assessments by US intelligence that were dismissed by President Donald Trump as “wrong.” Nebenzia accused Washington of fabricating a narrative to justify the use of force and of undermining the decades-long diplomatic framework built around Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.

The Russian envoy also criticized what he described as the hypocrisy of Western nations that had for days called for “restraint” in the same Security Council chamber, yet failed to condemn Washington for joining Israeli strikes – and even blamed Iran for the escalation. “We are witnessing an astonishing example of double standards,” he said. “Iran has been and remains one of the most thoroughly inspected states under the NPT, but instead of encouraging such an attitude, it receives bombardments of its territory and civilians by a state that refuses, in principle, to sign the NPT.” Nebenzia warned that the US strikes undermine the authority of the IAEA and the global non-proliferation regime, and that continued escalation could return the world to an era of uncontrolled nuclear risk.

“This is an outrageous and cynical situation, and it is very strange that the Director General of the IAEA did not say a word about it. Neither has he ever called on Israel to join the NPT,” Nebenzia added. Calling for urgent action, Russia – joined by China and Pakistan – submitted a draft Security Council resolution demanding an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and a return to diplomatic talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

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“The Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

• America Again Crawls on Its Belly for Israel (Paul Craig Roberts)

The recklessness increases. President Trump committed an act of war for Israel. This comes on top of some fool green-lighting an attack on the Russian strategic triad, an attack that was played down even by Putin himself. What will Washington’s next reckless act be? Why did Putin green-light the attack on Iran by conveniently announcing that Russia’s treaty with Iran did not include military support, a claim that John Helmer says is disproved by secret provisions in the treaty? Russia and China could have prevented the attack, but did nothing. Peace in the Middle East could have been established with a Russian-Iranian-Chinese mutual security treaty. Why do Russia and China prefer war to peace in the Middle East? Where was Iran’s air defense? Why is Iran always a sitting duck devoid of initiative? Why are Muslims happy fighting one another instead of their real enemies?

Israel and Israel’s Western puppets have turned war into an ongoing activity that does not need declaration. For Israel’s reasons, not for America’s, President trump has militarily attacked a regional military power without Congress’ declaration of war as required by the US Constitution. Clearly, war has prevailed over the Constitution. This began with Bill Clinton’s presidency, and expanded with subsequent presidents. Israel has obtained the power where Israel can send America to war and we hapless Americans can do nothing about it.

Israel has undeclared nuclear weapons but can have Trump attack Iran’s peaceful use of atomic power. Israel can exterminate Palestinians and obliterate Gaza, without effective protest from any country. But Iran is evil and against America if Iran stands up for itself. Thanks to the US media and Israel’s bought-and-paid-for US Congress, many years of Israeli propaganda against Iran has been driven into the heads of the American public, which will simply accept another of their country’s acts of aggression against “Muslim terrorists” and “weapons of mass destruction.”

Perhaps the saddest part of this is it demonstrates once again that elections cannot change anything. America cannot be made great again without a new political party led by people independent of Israel and the corrupt American Establishment. These people would have to avoid being assassinated or arrested and prosecuted by the American Establishment. This would require militant supporters willing and able to use violence. Who is there to lead such a movement? The American Establishment will not permit any such force to appear. The American Establishment would not even permit Americans to protest a stolen presidential election.

Conspiracy theorists will see in Russia and China’s inaction their involvement in a globalist plot against any form of independence. How do we know they are not right? What else explains the world sitting on its butt while Israel commits genocide of Palestine, and Washington, without a declaration of war, overthrows 5 countries, and is now working on a sixth, for Israel. The seventh on the list is Saudi Arabia, and Netanyahu recently added Pakistan as the eighth. Turkey will be the ninth. The extraordinary aggression that Washington and Israel have unleashed on the world seems never ending. Putin and Xi seem to think that Russia and China can sit them out, but Russia and China are the two main targets. While Russia and China sit on their butts, they are being isolated from allies such as Iran and from one another.

Trump had just given Iran two weeks to come to terms with his demands, and then launched a surprise attack in advance of the two weeks. After such treachery, how can Putin possibly return to “peace negotiations?” As Putin is so averse to acknowledging reality that he dismisses Washington’s attack on Russia’s nuclear triad as “an act of terrorism, not of war,” what will Washington’s next attack on Russia be? What is Xi going to do when he finds he cannot wait out his adversary?

“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat upon him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger” — Revelation 6:8

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“..the calls for impeachment are absurd given the prior actions of presidents in using this very authority. Once again, some Democrats appear intent on applying a different set of rules for impeaching Trump than any of his predecessors.”

• Democrats Denounce Iranian Attack as Unconstitutional (Turley)

Yesterday, I wrote a column in the Hill discussing how Trump is unlikely to go to Congress in launching an attack on Iran and how he has history on his side in acting unilaterally. The column noted that many Democratic politicians and pundits who were supportive of such unilateral actions by Democratic presidents such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are suddenly opposed to Trump using the same power. It is the Claude Rains School of Constitutional Law where politicians are “shocked, shocked” that Trump is using the authority that they accepted in Democratic predecessors. Democratic members are calling for impeachment, while others are declaring the attacks unconstitutional. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is particularly shocked that Trump took the action and is calling for a vote under the War Powers Act.

Schumer insisted that “no president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has issued a similar statement. Schumer is the same politician who was silent or supportive in earlier unilateral attacks by Democratic presidents. In 2011, Obama approved a massive military campaign against Libya. I represented a bipartisan group of members of Congress challenging that action. We were unsuccessful, as were such prior challenges. I have long criticized the abandonment of the clear language of the Constitution on the declaration of wars. Only eleven such declarations have been made in our history. That has not happened since World War II in 1942. Over 125 military campaigns have spanned from Korea to Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. It is not a rule honored solely in the breach.

Democrats were supportive when Clinton launched cruise missile attacks under Operation Infinite Reach on two continents on August 20, 1998. He ordered attacks in locations in Khartoum, Sudan, and Khost Province, Afghanistan. The War Powers Act has always been controversial and largely ineffectual. Presidents have long asserted the inherent powers to conduct such attacks under their Article II authority as the designated Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The WPA requires the President to inform Congress within 48 hours in a written notice to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate of the action.

The WPA further bars the use of armed forces in such a conflict for more than 60 days without congressional authorization for use of military force (AUMF) or a declaration of war by the United States. There is a further 30-day withdrawal period. President Trump reportedly did immediately notify Congress after the attack under the WPA . Presidents have routinely ignored the WPA when it limited their ability to conduct foreign military operations. In 1999, Clinton ignored the 60-day deadline and continued to bomb forces in Kosovo. His actions were also challenged, but the court in Campbell v. Clinton just shrugged off the violation and said it was a non-justiciable political question.

In responding to the current demands, Trump could look to a curious ally: Hillary Clinton. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pushed for unilateral attacks during the Obama Administration. She dismissed the need to consult, let alone secure authorization, from Congress. In March 2011, Clinton testified that there was no need for such consultation and declared that the Administration would ignore a 60-day limit on unauthorized military actions. Obama also defied the War Powers resolution on Syria. He actually did ask for congressional authorization to take military action in that country in 2013, but Congress refused to approve it. He did it anyway. Despite Congress expressly denying”authorization for the introduction of United States Armed Forces,” both Obama and Trump did precisely that.

Trump was wise to notify Congress. However, what occurs after that is anyone’s guess. The WPA and the AUMF have been paper tigers for decades and most in Congress wanted it that way. Politicians long ago abandoned their responsibilities to declare war. What remains has been little more than political theater. Even under the WPA, Trump would have 60 days to prosecute this war and another 30 days to draw down forces without congressional approval. The court, in Campbell v. Clinton, noted that even if Clinton violated the WPA by continuing operations after the 60-day period, he was technically in compliance by withdrawing forces before the end of the 90-day period. Trump could likely prosecute this campaign in 90 days. Indeed, if it goes beyond 90 days, we will likely be facing a potential global war with retaliatory strikes on both sides. In such an environment, it is very unlikely that Congress would withhold support for our ongoing operations.

In the meantime, the calls for impeachment are absurd given the prior actions of presidents in using this very authority. Once again, some Democrats appear intent on applying a different set of rules for impeaching Trump than any of his predecessors. Trump can cite both history and case law in allowing presidents to take such actions. At most, the line over war powers is murky. The Framers wanted impeachments to be based on bright-line rules in establishing high crimes and misdemeanors. This is all part of the Claude Rains School of Constitutional Law. Members will once again express their shock and disgust in the use of the same authority that they once accepted in prior presidents. Trump has a great number of a risks in this action from global military and economic consequences. The War Powers Act is not one of them if history is any measure.

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They all own it.

• Vance, Rubio Call For Peace With Iran, Say Regime Change Is Not The Goal (ZH)

Update (11:37ET): Following President Trump’s new foreign entanglement – bombing Iranian nuclear facilities (which may or may not have taken them out while causing a deep divide amongst MAGA), Vice President JD Vance says he believes their nuclear program has been set back “many years,” and that he feels “very confident that we’ve substantially delayed [Iran’s] development of a nuclear weapon,” adding that it was US intelligence, not Israeli intelligence assessments, that led to Trump’s decision. When asked if the United States is at war with Iran, he claimed “No, Kristen, we’re not at war with Iran. We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” and called on Iranians to “give peace a chance”. “They can go down the path of peace, or they can go down the path of this ridiculous brinksmanship of funding terrorism, of trying to build a nuclear weapon – and that’s just not something the United States can accept.”

When asked if the US would support an Israeli assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Vance said that it would be “up to the Israelis,” and that the US position is “we don’t want a regime change.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile insisted to Fox News that “This is not a war against Iran,” adding “Not a shot was fired against us. They didn’t even know what had happened. By the time we left, the planes were out of their airspace before they finally started realizing they’d been hit. So it would be a terrible mistake if Iran retaliates. So but that’s not our goal.” He also warned against Iranian retaliation, saying: “If Iran retaliates, it will be the WORST mistake they’ve ever made.” Rubio then warned Iran not to close the strait of Hormuz after Iran’s parliament backed its closure, saying “If Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz, it will be another terrible mistake. It’s economic suicide for them if they do it and we retain options to deal with that.”

Everyone got the script? Iran, meanwhile in a statement through spox Esmail Baghaei, accused the Trump administration of sabotaging diplomatic efforts – saying “They cannot talk about diplomacy, they betrayed diplomacy,” adding that “diplomacy never ends.” Regarding the escalating conflict, Baghaei warned “No one knows what will happen next, but what is sure is that the responsibility of the consequences of this war must be borne by the United States and Israel.” The Iranian foreign ministry declined to elaborate on Tehran’s likely response to the attacks, or to detail the extent of the damage – only saying in a statement to CNN that Iran “is entitled … to exercise its right of self-defense,” adding “And we will do that for sure.”

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In a Sunday morning press briefing, Trump’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declared that “Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated” – but also asserted that the attack did not target the Iranian people or civilians. He hailed the “incredible and overwhelming success” – following President Trump last night saying the same thing. “It’s worth noting the operation did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.” Hegseth said this is part of the commitment of this administration’s vision of “peace through strength”. He continued, “Many presidents have dreamed of delivering the final blow to Iran’s nuclear program, and none could, until President Trump.”

For the “bold and brilliant” operation, there was weeks of preparation and precision logistics and “misdirection” at the highest level, involving B-2 bombers going to hit, Hegseth described. “No other country on planet earth” could have conducted this operation. He also underscored that the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) was used for the first time in US combat history – also that it was the longest bomber mission of its kind since 2001. “Just like [IRGC Quds Force General Qasem] Solemani found out in the first term, Iran found out when POTUS says ’60 days’ – that when he seeks peace and negotiation – he means 60 days of peace and negotiation, otherwise that nuclear program will not exist. He meant it.” Hegseth then read aloud Trump’s post to Truth Social last night, soon after the three nuclear sites were struck:

“Any retaliation by Iran against the United States of America will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed tonight.” That’s when the US Defense Secretary then warned, “Iran would be smart to heed those words. He said it before and he means it.” He tried to stress the ‘limited’ scope of the attack and urged the Iranians to come back to the negotiating table: There are both public and private messages being delivered to the Iranians in multiple channels, giving them every opportunity to come to the negotiation table, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says at a Pentagon press briefing. Scope of operation on Iran was “intentionally limited” Hegseth says he believes the US attack will have a clear psychological impact on how Iran views the future US strikes against Iran’s nuclear enrichment site at Fordow are believed to have destroyed capabilities there…

To review the details of what happened last night, the US deployed six B-2 bombers to drop 12 GBU-57 “bunker-buster” bombs on Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow nuclear site, marking the first time these massive 30,000-pound bombs were used in combat. The enrichment sites at Natanz and Isfahan were also attacked. The mission lasted about 37 hours with multiple refueling missions. While the White House is now claiming Iran’s nuclear facilities were “completely and totally obliterated,” officials say it’s too early to confirm the full extent of the damage. Iran, along with international nuclear agencies, reported no radiation leaks, prompting skepticism about the strike’s effectiveness—particularly at Fordow, which is buried deep underground. Iranian officials said damage was minimal and mostly above ground. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization vowed to continue its nuclear program, referring to assassinated nuclear scientists as “martyrs.”

Some degree of political backlash has quickly emerged over the lack of Congressional approval for the strikes. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, despite previously mocking Trump’s diplomatic efforts with Iran, called for a War Powers vote, criticizing the president’s unilateral military action without a clear strategy.

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“So after Israel unilaterally launched its hundred-target missile tantrum across Tehran – complete with residential hits and assassinations – maybe some strong words against that kind of thing are in order?”

• The EU’s Favorite War: The One Israel Starts (Marsden)

Israel flew over to Iran with fighter jets and has since gone totally ballistic — literally and figuratively. So what does the European Union’s insane clown posse have to say about it? Get yourself some popcorn. The Eurojokers are doing their best stand-up comedy again without even realizing it. First up: French President Emmanuel Macron, who took to social media to declare that “peace and security for all in the region must remain our guiding principle.” Aww, how sweet. Calling for peace while holding your buddy’s coat as he storms into the bar to punch someone on the face. So after Israel unilaterally launched its hundred-target missile tantrum across Tehran – complete with residential hits and assassinations – maybe some strong words against that kind of thing are in order?

“France has repeatedly condemned Iran’s ongoing nuclear program and has taken all appropriate diplomatic measures in response. In this context, France reaffirms Israel’s right to defend itself and ensure its security,” Macron posted as the conflict kicked off. Classic French parenting: ignore the kid setting the house on fire and scold the one who looked at him funny. Next up, Germany. Surely the new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, can inject some sober logic into the conversation about who just broke the fragile regional peace everyone’s pretending to care about. “Iran has subsequently threatened to accelerate uranium enrichment again. This nuclear programme violates the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and poses a serious threat to the entire region, especially to the State of Israel. We reaffirm that Israel has the right to defend its existence and the security of its citizens. We call on both sides to refrain from steps that could lead to further escalation and destabilise the entire region,” wrote Merz.

Oh, so now that Israel has attacked Iran, it’s time for restraint? Not before. Not during. After. Like a guy who throws the first punch in a bar fight and then shouts, “Hey! Let’s all calm down!” Both Macron and Merz say that Iran brought this on itself by enriching uranium. That’s like this: you’ve got a neighbor who lifts weights in his home gym. You see him through the window with a squat rack, bench press, treadmill – getting jacked. And you’re like, “Wow, he’s getting so ripped I’m afraid he might beat me up someday. So I better go over there now and beat him up while I still can.” That’s basically what Israel did with its “preemptive” strike. And Macron and Merz are cheering it on like, “Totally! That guy was getting too buff. Definitely deserved a missile to the face.”

Then Merz added from the G7 summit in Canada: “This is the dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us. We are also victims of this regime.” Oh, sorry – didn’t realize the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had hired Israel as a global bouncer. And remind us, Friedrich: where exactly did Iran touch Germany on the map? Because Europe is far more likely to be “victimized” by waves of immigration facilitated by its own lax policies, and sparked by its own support for regime change wars – like this one is shaping up to be – than by any distant centrifuge. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU’s de facto queen, is now cosplaying as global playground monitor, sending all the boys to their corners. “Europe urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint, de-escalate immediately and refrain from retaliation. A diplomatic resolution is now more urgent than ever, for the sake of the region’s stability and global security,” she wrote.

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“This is more than hypocrisy; it’s a catastrophic failure of US policy. Trump’s administration has made a colossal mistake.”

• What Russian Experts And Politicians Are Saying About The US Strikes (RT)

Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs: The trap awaiting Trump is simple – but highly effective. If Iran responds by targeting American assets, the US will be pulled deeper into a military confrontation almost by default. If on the other hand, Tehran holds back or offers only a token response, Israel’s leadership – backed by its neoconservative allies in Washington – will seize the moment to pressure the White House: now is the time to finish off a weakened regime and force a convenient replacement. Until that happens, they’ll argue the job isn’t done. Whether Trump is willing – or even able – to resist that pressure remains uncertain.

Most likely, Iran will avoid hitting US targets directly in an effort to prevent a point-of-no-return escalation with American forces. Instead, it will likely intensify its strikes on Israel. Netanyahu, in turn, will double down on his efforts to convince Washington that regime change in Tehran is the only viable path forward – something Trump, at least for now, remains instinctively opposed to. Still, the momentum of military entanglement has a logic of its own, and it’s rarely easy to resist.

Tigran Meloyan, analyst at the Center for Strategic Research, Higher School of Economics: If Iran does nothing, it risks appearing weak – both at home and abroad. That makes a carefully calibrated response almost inevitable: one designed not to escalate the conflict, but to preserve domestic legitimacy and project resolve. Tehran is unlikely to go much further than that. Meanwhile, by continuing to build up its military presence, Washington sends a clear deterrent message – signaling both readiness and resolve in case Tehran miscalculates.

Another option for Iran could be a dramatic symbolic move: withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Such a step would be Tehran’s way of declaring that Trump, by striking nuclear infrastructure, has effectively dismantled the global nonproliferation regime. The NPT was supposed to guarantee Iran’s security; instead, it has delivered the opposite. Still, if Iran goes down that path, it risks damaging ties with Moscow and Beijing – neither of which wants to see a challenge to the existing nuclear order.

The bigger question now is whether Iran will even consider returning to talks with Washington after this attack. Why negotiate when American promises no longer mean anything? Tehran urgently needs a mediator who can restrain Trump from further escalation – and right now, the only credible candidate is Moscow. Iran’s foreign minister, [Abbas] Araghchi, is set to meet with President Putin on June 23. It’s hard to imagine that a potential NPT withdrawal won’t be on the table. If in the past an Iranian bomb was considered an existential threat to Israel, the calculus has now reversed: for Iran, nuclear capability is quickly becoming a question of survival.

Konstantin Kosachev, vice speaker of the Federation Council: Let’s state the obvious: Iraq, Libya – and now Iran – were bombed because they couldn’t hit back. They either didn’t have weapons of mass destruction or hadn’t yet developed them. In some cases, they never even intended to. Meanwhile, the West doesn’t touch the four countries that remain outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty: India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel. Why? Because unlike Iraq, Libya, and Iran, these states actually possess nuclear weapons. The message to so-called ‘threshold’ nations couldn’t be clearer: if you don’t want to be bombed by the West, arm yourself. Build deterrence. Go all the way – even to the point of developing weapons of mass destruction.

That’s the grim conclusion many countries will draw. It’s a dangerous lesson, and one that flies in the face of global security and the very idea of a rules-based international order. Yet it’s the West that keeps driving this logic. Iraq was invaded over a vial of powder. Libya gave up its nuclear program and was torn apart. Iran joined the NPT, worked with the IAEA, and didn’t attack Israel – unlike Israel, which just struck Iran while staying outside the NPT and refusing to cooperate with nuclear watchdogs. This is more than hypocrisy; it’s a catastrophic failure of US policy. Trump’s administration has made a colossal mistake. The pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize has taken on grotesque and dangerous proportions.

Read more …

Iran will not target LA. Why on earth should they?

• Major US Cities on Alert After US Airstrikes on Iranian Nuclear Facilities (ET)

Three major U.S. cities indicated that they’re on heightened alert following U.S. military airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities on June 21. In an announcement on the night of June 21, President Donald Trump confirmed that the U.S. military carried out bombing missions targeting three facilities, prompting threats from Iranian officials. “We’re tracking the situation unfolding in Iran,” the New York City Police Department stated in a post on X on the evening of June 21. “Out of an abundance of caution, we’re deploying additional resources to religious, cultural, and diplomatic sites across NYC [New York City] and coordinating with our federal partners. We’ll continue to monitor for any potential impact to NYC.”

Soon after that, the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington issued a similar statement about the Iran–U.S. situation and stated that it would increase police presence at religious institutions. The law enforcement agency noted that there are no known threats to the nation’s capital city. Also on June 22, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass wrote on X that her city is “monitoring any threats to public safety” that may arise. “There are no known credible threats at this time and out of an abundance of caution, LAPD is stepping up patrols near places of worship, community gathering spaces and other sensitive sites,” Bass wrote in a June 21 statement, referring to the Los Angeles Police Department. “We will remain vigilant in protecting our communities.”

Outside the United States, the State Department has ordered nonessential personnel and the families of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon to leave as concerns mount about Iranian retaliation. In a notice issued on June 22, the department stated that it had taken the step “due to the volatile and unpredictable security situation in the region.” The notice makes no mention of any potential evacuation flights or other assistance for private Americans wanting to leave Lebanon but states that they should try to use existing commercial services to depart. The United States has already organized several evacuations of American citizens from Israel and is advising American citizens in Iran on how to leave the country. After the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020, Iran launched multiple barrages of missiles at U.S. bases in the Middle East, doing minor damage and causing minor injuries to American troops.

Hours after the June 21 bombing, Trump administration officials signaled a willingness to renew talks with Iran and avoid a prolonged war in the Middle East. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters late on June 21 that the United States isn’t seeking regime change in Iran, while Vice President JD Vance said during a June 22 interview that the Trump administration doesn’t want “boots on the ground” in Iran. Before the U.S. bombing mission, Iran and Israel had engaged in a weeklong aerial conflict, with both sides firing missiles at one another, after Israel struck a host of military and strategic sites in Iran a day after a 60-day negotiating period set in April by Trump expired. Israel has stated that it is seeking to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, which both U.S. and Israeli officials say was intended to produce nuclear weapons.

Read more …

”The equipment in question… was not destroyed, but damaged. It will be restored,”

• Zelensky Makes New Threats Against Russia (RT)

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has suggested that Kiev’s forces will conduct more long-range strikes targeting facilities deep inside Russian territory. Ukraine has significantly escalated drone attacks deep into Russia in recent weeks, despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described the actions as an attempt to derail the peace process. In a post on his Telegram channel on Sunday, Zelensky wrote that he had held a meeting with the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Kirill Budanov, claiming that Kiev was keeping tabs on Russia’s “main pain points.” He pledged to “strike appropriate blows” with a view to “significantly reducing” Moscow’s military potential.

Zelensky also stated that Kiev was sharing its intelligence on Russia with its Western backers, with which it is “preparing joint defense solutions.” Speaking to reporters also on Sunday, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Aleksandr Syrsky, similarly said that Kiev “will increase the scale and depth” of its strikes on Russian military facilities deep inside the country. On June 1, Ukrainian intelligence conducted a coordinated attack on several Russian airbases across five regions, from Murmansk in the Arctic, to Irkutsk in Siberia. Ukrainian media later reported that the operation codenamed ‘Spiderweb’ involved dozens of first-person view (PFV) kamikaze drones. At least some of them were reportedly launched in close proximity to the targets, from commercial trucks that had been covertly brought into Russia.

The strikes were said to have been prepared for more than a year and a half and focused on Russia’s “strategic aviation.” The Defense Ministry in Moscow said that a number of aircraft in Murmansk and Irkutsk regions had caught fire as a result of the attack. Kiev claimed that the strikes had damaged or destroyed approximately 40 Russian military aircraft, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 long-range bombers. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov later dismissed these estimates as incorrect. ”The equipment in question… was not destroyed, but damaged. It will be restored,” the diplomat told TASS in early June. Around the same time, Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, cautioned that “when you attack an opponent’s part of their national survival system, which is their nuclear triad… that means your risk level goes up because you don’t know what the other side’s going to do.”

Read more …

The garden becomes the jungle.

• The European Garden On The Brink Of Ruin (SCF)

The war in Ukraine is entering a critical stage—not only for Kiev, but also for a Europe that, deluded by meaningless slogans and unrealistic promises, finds itself standing at a geopolitical precipice. Ignoring the clear signs of Ukraine’s military and societal exhaustion, European leaders persist in a suicidal escalation of militarization that, far from preventing Ukraine’s collapse, is dragging the continent into an economic, political, and strategic spiral of decline. The impasse worsened once the U.S. began to show signs of fatigue and a desire to end the conflict. Washington now pushes for a negotiated solution, while Brussels insists on keeping Zelensky afloat, offering not real solutions but false hope in the form of temporary ceasefires and new arms shipments. The goal is obvious: to buy time in hopes of rekindling Washington’s old appetite for war. It’s a dangerous—and fundamentally unrealistic—calculation.

The truth is that Ukraine has no strategic breath left. Since the failed counteroffensive of 2023, the country has plunged into a deep crisis of morale, cohesion, and combat capacity. The situation now resembles that of the Spanish Second Republic after its defeat at the Ebro in 1938: the end is in sight, and the continuation of war serves only to prolong suffering. Zelensky himself, now a deeply unpopular leader, would be politically defeated in any free election—consistently trailing behind military figures like Valeriy Zaluzhniy in every poll. An abrupt internal collapse, whether due to political rifts, military mutinies, or civil unrest, is a very plausible outcome. Such a scenario would not only seal Ukraine’s defeat but also trigger a catastrophic shift in the European balance of power.

Moscow could advance to Odessa, annex vast areas of Ukrainian territory, and reach the European Union’s borders. The consequences would be devastating: NATO demoralized, Brussels’ strategic credibility shattered, and the region permanently destabilized. Even so, the European continent seems unable to acknowledge its military impotence. Leaders like Macron, Starmer, and Kallas continue proposing unworkable peace plans based on illusions of European power—ignoring the fact that France and the UK can barely maintain even minimal operational forces. While Russia mobilizes thousands of tanks, Britain has only a few dozens. Germany, mired in political crisis, can’t even produce enough ammunition at scale. European rhetoric speaks of rearmament, but national budgets tell another story: ballooning deficits, public debt over 100% of GDP, and increasingly hostile populations unwilling to accept social cuts in the name of a war with no future.

The militarization of Europe, sold as a solution, is in fact a symptom of collapse. Lacking an industrial base, political capital, or social support, any attempt to rebuild a significant military force will result either in prolonged recession or the dismantling of the welfare state—two paths that will lead the so-called “European garden” to ruin. In this context, the war in Ukraine is not only the grave of the Atlanticist project, but the tombstone of a Europe that traded its stability for fantasies of power.

Ukraine’s collapse, therefore, will not be an isolated event. It will mirror Europe’s strategic collapse. The refusal to face reality – that a negotiated solution with concessions to Russia is better than total destruction—not only threatens the existence of the Ukrainian state but also drags Europe into an existential crisis. The continent that once saw itself as guardian of the liberal international order is transforming, before our very eyes, into a graveyard of its own illusions.

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“In the West, they say, let’s pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine from the reserves. And they will draw up such a bill that even the reserves will not be enough,”

• Western Use of Interest From Russia’s Frozen Assets Is Theft – Top Banker (RT)

The use of the interest generated by Russian assets frozen in the West amounts to theft, Andrey Kostin, the CEO of major Russian lender VTB, told RT on Saturday on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Kostin condemned the actions of the West, the EU in particular, in regard to Russian assets as “dangerous” games that could eventually be used by others against them. Western countries froze an estimated $300 billion worth of Russian sovereign funds following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Some $213 billion of the assets are held by the Belgium-based settlement house Euroclear. “It is a very dangerous thing to play such games. You start against one – tomorrow someone will use it against you,” Kostin warned.

The use of proceeds from the assets, which have been repeatedly funneled for procurement of military aid for Ukraine, is grossly illegal and amounts to theft, Kostin noted. While various parties in the West have repeatedly mulled the possibility of seizing the assets themselves, they have failed to find a legal mechanism to do so because there is none, he added. “This is theft. They are using interest now, but interest is the same money of the owner as the principal debt,” he stressed. Moscow has repeatedly condemned the freezing of its assets and has hinted at possible retaliatory measures against Western investments and property in Russia.

Last October, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov warned that Moscow would retaliate in kind and start using the interest generated by the assets of “unfriendly” countries and organizations held in Russia for its own needs. Kostin has long been skeptical about the prospects of Russia ever seeing its frozen assets again. Late last year, he suggested that the funds will never be returned under the pretext of Ukraine’s purported “reconstruction.” “In the West, they say, let’s pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine from the reserves. And they will draw up such a bill that even the reserves will not be enough,” Kostin said at the time.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

urso

1925
https://twitter.com/calvinfroedge/status/1936521743696535656

solar
https://twitter.com/onionweigher/status/1936630237208469898

goats

bob

 

 

 

 

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Debt Rattle June 21 2025

Jun 212025
 
 June 21, 2025  Posted by at 9:25 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  99 Responses »


Salvador Dali Portrait of my father 1920

 

• Iran Now First Line Of Defense For BRICS & The Global South (Pepe Escobar)
• Trump Hints at Potential Breakthrough with Iran (Margolis)
• Medvedev Warns of New Chernobyl (RT)
• IAEA Chief: Strike On Iran’s Bushehr Plant Would Create Nuclear Disaster (ZH)
• Fox Report: Tactical Nukes ‘Not Off The Table’ For Trump’s Iran Response (ZH)
• Trump Believes Only ‘Agreement’ Can Solve Russia–Ukraine Conflict (RT)
• Russia Not Seeking Ukraine’s Surrender – Putin (RT)
• NATO Split Over 5% Spending Commitment (RT)
• Americans Irritated By Zelensky’s Top Aide – Politico (RT)
• Ninth Circuit Rules for Trump on National Guard Deployment (Turley)
• World Needs ‘Fundamentally New Development Model’ – Putin (RT)
• Trump Calls For Special Prosecutor To Investigate 2020 Election (JTN)
• Hungary To Keep Russian Oil and Gas Flowing (RT)
• US Working Class Wages Are on the Rise (Sheffield)
• Anxiety Attack (James Howard Kunstler)
• EU To Gamble With Russia’s Frozen Assets – Politico (RT)

 

 

Macgregor

Levy

Tucker

1980

Bannon

 

 

 

 

Very different viewpoints. Trump and Bibi claim Israel victory. Pepe Escobar in the first article says the opposite.

RT: “US President Donald Trump said he will decide whether to join Israel’s campaign against Iran within two weeks “at maximum,” noting that it is difficult to push for a ceasefire and negotiations when one side is clearly “winning.” “I’m giving them a period of time. And I would say two weeks would be the maximum,” Trump told journalists on Friday. The comment came shortly after senior diplomats from the UK, France, and Germany met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva. However, Trump insisted that “Europe is not going to be able to help in this.”

If Washington were serious about pursuing a peaceful resolution, it would take Trump just one phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Araghchi said earlier in the day. Trump responded, “It’s very hard to make that request right now.” “If somebody’s winning, it’s a little bit harder to do than if somebody’s losing,” he added.”

Now Escobar:

 

 

 

 

The crying shadow in the funeral dance,
The loud lament of the disconsolate chimera.

T. S. Eliot, Burnt Norton

• Iran Now First Line Of Defense For BRICS & The Global South (Pepe Escobar)

Israel’s shock’n’awe on Iran – straight from the trademark US playbook – essentially failed, despite the initial combination of speed, meticulous military planning and the element of surprise, including hacking the Iranian electronic communications within the military grid; decapitation of the vertical IRGC nomenklatura; the spiderweb drone attack playbook; and bombing – ultimately ineffectual – of key nodes of the Iranian nuclear infrastructure. It took hours for top Iranian technicians to get their grid back. And once that happened, the tide began to turn, to the point that after surgical missile volleys deep in the night on Sunday, the IRGC announced its capability to seriously disrupt Israel’s command and control systems using “enhanced intelligence”, thus breaching Iron – or Paper – Dome.

Absolutely key infrastructure nodes in Tel Aviv and Haifa have been destroyed – from the Rafael weapons complex (specialized in missiles, drones, cyber warfare and Iron Dome components) to the power plant and oil refinery in Haifa. This is historic in more ways than one. Compound the cries of joy all across the lands of Islam to the massive psychological trauma inflicted on Israel. The myth of Israeli invincibility has been definitely shattered. Unleashing hell from above, killing women and children and spinning like there’s no tomorrow does not win a war against a real opponent. The tweaked IRGC strategy – applied by an instantly revamped leadership – is being fine-tuned day by day in a calculated, surgical manner. It’s not that hard for the IRGC to totally paralyze Israel’s economy. Israel has only one oil refinery (already bombed); three ports, of which one is already bankrupt (Eilat) and another is on fire (Haifa); and one airport (already in dire straits).

The blowback on Tel Aviv’s desperate, indeed suicidal move – no chess involved – is in effect. Tehran is proving that every Zionist axis calculation that Iran could – and was – bled dry in a matter of hours was, predictably, false. The POTUS, for his part, fell into a voracious trap. His MAGA base is already fractured – in depth. Non-Zionist MAGA is the overwhelming majority. He admitted in a stunning infantilist post that he knew everything about the Israeli shock’n awe all along. Less than 10 days ago, in a meeting in New York packed with billionaire usual suspects, Steve Witkoff himself – Trump’s Talleyrand – explicitly noted that Iranian ballistic missiles are “a threat to America”. Considering their performance in the last 48 hours, everything points to Washington de facto entering the Hot War.

Diplomatic sources in Tehran point out that the leadership is working under this scenario. That’s why they are essentially still holding their capabilities – and carefully calibrating the next big steps in the escalatory ladder. Once again: Iranian strategic patience on display. The question then is, in a scenario of the US de facto at war, what will it take for Russia and China, in concertation, to lose their own strategic patience. Persian pride – and trust in their own capabilities, as I observed last month in Iran – rules that they consider to have all the necessary resources to outlast the Zionist axis, US included. After all they are only now starting to use their really advanced missiles – from the Kheybar-Shekan 2 and the Fattah-1 to the Haji Qassem. So, in a nutshell, the Iranian response turned the chessboard completely upside down.

The Circus Ringmaster – complete with hosting a pathetic military parade in Washington – is naked. And unmasked. He now owns not one but two proxy wars: against Russia, and against Iran, with neo-nazis in Kiev and genocidals in Tel Aviv on the frontlines. All part of the Big Picture War: against BRICS. By now it’s clear even for the deaf, dumb and blind that this was never about the Iranian nuclear program, or the “effort” to construct a Trump-owned JCPOA 2.0. It is about the lifelong Zionist axis obsession: regime change in Tehran. That is the Holy Grail, dreamed of since the late 1990s, capable of opening the door for the deeply troubled Empire of Chaos of Iran’s immense wealth in natural resources – from energy to rare earth deposits, thus prolonging the life of the multi-trillion-dollar-indebted Empire.

Read more …

“We are ready and willing and able and have been speaking to Iran, and we will see what happens..”

• Trump Hints at Potential Breakthrough with Iran (Margolis)

President Donald Trump delivered his most explicit signals yet that his administration is actively pursuing diplomatic channels with Iran, even as he maintains the threat of military action against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Speaking to reporters at Morristown Airport in New Jersey, Trump revealed that his administration has been in direct communication with Iranian officials and expressed cautious optimism about potential negotiations. “We are ready and willing and able and have been speaking to Iran, and we will see what happens,” Trump stated when asked about Iran’s conditions for negotiations. The revelation that the United States is already engaged in talks with Tehran represents a significant development in the escalating situation between the two nations.

Trump’s comments came in response to questions about Iran’s foreign minister suggesting that serious negotiations would require the U.S. to ask Israel to halt its ongoing air strikes. While Trump acknowledged the complexity of such a request, noting that “if someone is winning, it’s harder to do than if somebody is losing,” he didn’t rule out the possibility entirely. As we learned on Thursday, Trump has given Iran what he described as a maximum two-week window to demonstrate progress toward a resolution. When pressed about this timeline, Trump explained his reasoning simply: “Just time to see if people come to their senses.” He emphasized that any decision on military action would depend on Iran’s response during this period, stating, “I’m giving them a period of time and we will see what that period is, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum.”

Notably, Trump dismissed European involvement in potential negotiations, asserting that “Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe but to us. Europe will not be able to help on this one.” This preference for direct bilateral engagement suggests the administration believes it has unique leverage that European allies lack. When questioned about Iran’s desire for civilian nuclear capabilities, Trump expressed skepticism about the necessity of such programs. “They are sitting on top of one of the largest piles of oil in the world. I don’t know why they need that for civilian work,” he argued, suggesting that Iran’s vast oil reserves make nuclear energy development suspicious. While some voices on the left have suggested Trump is getting hawkish with Iran, he was quick to draw distinctions between the current situation and past military interventions, particularly the Iraq War, which he opposed.

“There were no weapons of mass destruction. I never thought there were,” Trump recalled, emphasizing his prescient opposition to that conflict while maintaining that the current Iranian threat is fundamentally different. “It is a tremendous amount of material, and I think within a matter of weeks or certainly within a matter of months, they would be able to have a nuclear weapon, and we can’t let that happen.” The revelation of ongoing U.S.-Iran communications, combined with Trump’s two-week ultimatum and openness to various diplomatic solutions, suggests his administration is pursuing a complex strategy that keeps all options on the table while prioritizing a negotiated resolution to prevent Iranian nuclear weapons development.

Read more …

“According to the report, some officials have said that only a tactical nuclear weapon could damage Fordow — a scenario President Donald Trump is reportedly not considering..”

• Medvedev Warns of New Chernobyl (RT)

Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities could result in a nuclear disaster akin to the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Thursday. His comments come amid reports that the US is weighing a potential strike on Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow nuclear installation, which was built deep into a mountain to withstand airstrikes. The US is reportedly considering the deployment of its GBU-57bunker-buster bombs to target the site. Israel has no comparable military capability. Everyone, even the Israeli defense minister, with his loud declaration about Khamenei’s fate, must understand that attacks on nuclear facilities are extremely dangerous and can lead to a repeat of the Chernobyl tragedy,” said Medvedev, who is currently deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, in a social media post.

Earlier Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz referred to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as a “modern-day Hitler” who “can no longer be allowed to exist.” The Guardian reported on Thursday that US officials doubt whether the GBU-57s would be effective. According to the report, some officials have said that only a tactical nuclear weapon could damage Fordow — a scenario President Donald Trump is reportedly not considering. The White House has dismissed the claims. Fox News cited an anonymous official who said the US military is “confident bunker busters can complete the job, and NO OPTIONS have been taken off the table.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said a final decision on possible US military action would be made within two weeks.

Speaking in a Q&A with journalists on Wednesday night Russian President Vladimir Putin said that despite the attacks, Iran’s underground infrastructure remained operational. Moscow is calling for deescalation of tensions and has offered itself as a mediator. On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called reports about possible US use of tactical nuclear weapons “speculative” and warned that such a move would be “catastrophic.” Tensions flared last Friday when Israel launched unprovoked airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and assassinated multiple Iranian nuclear scientists and high-ranking military officers. West Jerusalem claimed the operation was a “preemptive” effort to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran denies its nuclear program has a military dimension, and the International Atomic Energy Agency has said it has seen no signs of imminent weaponization.

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It would be madness.

• IAEA Chief: Strike On Iran’s Bushehr Plant Would Create Nuclear Disaster (ZH)

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, has issued fresh remarks before the Security Council on Friday, warning that Israeli strikes on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant is where the consequences of an attack could be most serious. The active and operating nuclear power plant currently hosts thousands of kilograms of nuclear material. He warns of potential nuclear disaster: “Countries of the region have reached out directly to me over the past few hours to express their concerns, and I want to make it absolutely and completely clear — in case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity,” Grossi tells the UN Security Council. More highlights from Grossi’s UN address via Al Jazeera:

• Countries of the region have reached out directly to me over the past few hours to express their concerns, and I want to make it absolutely and completely clear that, in case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment.
• Similarly, a hit that disables the only two lines supplying electrical power to the plant could cause its reactor core to melt, which could result in a high release of radioactivity to the environment.
* In their worst case, both scenarios would necessitate protective actions, such as evacuations and sheltering of the population, or the need to take stable iodine with a reach extending to distances from a few to several hundred kilometres.
• Radiation monitoring would need to cover distances of several hundred kilometres, and food restrictions may need to be implemented.
• Any action against the Tehran nuclear research reactor could also have severe consequences, potentially for large areas of the city of Tehran and its inhabitants.
• Armed attack on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with great consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the state which has been attacked. I, therefore, again call for maximum restraint.

Oil facilities are still getting hit by Israeli warplanes into Friday: A series of headlines, some contradictory, on where things stand with Iran nuclear negotiations with the US, sent oil sliding, then pumping, then extending losses again. One senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran is ‘ready’ to discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment, while a quick follow-up headline said “zero enrichment will undoubtedly be rejected” by Iran “especially now, under Israel’s strikes.”

The official said “the role of European powers is now more prominent, as Tehran is unwilling to engage with US amid Israeli attacks. After that glimmer of hope offered for negotiations, the clarification that nothing has in fact changed, sent oil dropping further Friday morning. Oil prices declined on Friday but stayed on track for a third straight weekly increase, following the White House’s postponement of a decision regarding US participation in the Israel-Iran conflict: nBrent crude futures were down $2.57, or around 3.3%, to $76.28 a barrel by 1204 GMT but still set to gain nearly 3% on the week.

According to the latest from Bloomberg: Israel will complete the task of preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons whether or not the US joins the operation, its energy minister said. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the only way to end the war is to “unconditionally” stop Israel. And Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has clarified just before meeting European officials in Geneva related to EU efforts at mediate that “Iran is not prepared for negotiations with anyone while Israel continues its attacks.”

Read more …

One tactical nuke and the world would never be the same… Pandora’s floodgate..

“..even if President Trump give the order it may not be powerful enough to reach and destroy the deeply buried site..”

• Fox Report: Tactical Nukes ‘Not Off The Table’ For Trump’s Iran Response (ZH)

We described earlier that the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has reportedly informed American officials that destroying Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow nuclear facility might require the use of a nuclear weapon, based on The Guardian. Officials, briefed on the limitations of the GBU-57 — a 30,000-pound conventional bunker-buster bomb — are worried that even if President Trump give the order it may not be powerful enough to reach and destroy the deeply buried site. The latest reporting has sought to clarify that President Trump is not considering the nuclear option, nor has it yet to be formally presented to him by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. From fresh ‘anonymous’ White House statement present contradictory information.

So very quickly, here we are… there’s prominent public discourse about the ‘possibility’ or eventual ‘necessity’ of a nuclear bomb. As the Quincy Institute’s Eli Clifton observes: It’s disturbing but not surprising how the entire Executive Branch communications apparatus can be activated into total war-hysteria mode seemingly overnight. Israel is urging the US under Trump to target Fordow with whatever it takes, given it lacks the capability to carry out such a strike. But at least it’s ‘comforting’ that a tactical nuke is off the table, for now… or wait: “none of the options are off the table” – a fresh FOX report claims, citing a senior White House official. All this is premised on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that Iran is in fact pursuing a nuclear weapon. Dangerously the White House seems to be siding with Israeli intelligence over the assessment of the US intelligence community, as presented by DNI Tulsi Gabbard, who may have already been sidelined in White House Situation Room discussions.

* * *
The Publication Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists are meanwhile warning that it’s possible that the Fordow enrichment facility could be destroyed and yet still it won’t make the Iranian nuclear threat go away…

“If the Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program, started on June 13, is to prove successful in preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, then a necessary—but not sufficient—step will involve the elimination of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. At the Fordow plant, located near the city of Qom, the Iranians have enough centrifuges (including IR-6s, their more advanced type) and uranium hexafluoride gas to produce several nuclear weapons. They could probably produce enough weapon-grade (90 percent) enriched uranium for one nuclear weapon within five to six days. Perhaps more important, Fordow itself is a hardened facility, built within a mountain and protected from many forms of attack. It could—in theory—continue to operate even after other nuclear facilities in the country have been destroyed, with its material then fueling nuclear weapons to be produced clandestinely. If Israel decides to continue down the military path against Iran’s nuclear program, it has no choice but to ensure that the Fordow enrichment plant no longer poses a threat.

Read more …

“..Kiev must acknowledge the “realities on the ground” and that its negotiating position worsens with each passing day..”

• Trump Believes Only ‘Agreement’ Can Solve Russia–Ukraine Conflict (RT)

US President Donald Trump views a negotiated agreement between Russia and Ukraine as the only viable path to ending the ongoing conflict, according to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce. Trump’s efforts to mediate a truce between Russia and Ukraine contributed to the countries restarting direct negotiations in Türkiye last month – talks that Kiev had abandoned in 2022 to focus on its military campaign. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that while Moscow is not seeking an “unconditional surrender,” Kiev must acknowledge the “realities on the ground” and that its negotiating position worsens with each passing day. In a press briefing on Friday, Bruce was asked whether those remarks meant Moscow was not serious about the talks, and how Washington would respond.

“As I’ve mentioned before, during negotiations, things sometimes progress, things change. That’s the whole point of negotiations and conversations: you signal how long you’re generally willing to wait, but you also know if someone is serious,” she said, noting, “At the same time, we’ve heard some very blunt comments by President Trump about President Putin.” That’s where we’ve landed at this point in comments from both the president and secretary of state – that the only way this is going to end is for the two parties to meet and come to a conclusion and a decision, and some kind of an agreement. She added that while the US remains Ukraine’s “biggest supporter,” the process of peace negotiations is complex and constantly evolving. “We are clearly making our presence and our care about the situation known… but this is not about reacting to a single quote or online statement,” she said.

When asked about Putin’s assertion that Russia now holds a “strategic advantage” in the conflict, Bruce declined to comment on potential punitive measures or new sanctions, reiterating: “We’re not going to listen to what [Russia] says – we’re going to watch what they do.” “Only the president can make the decision about how to proceed. Only he knows all the elements about what’s important and how we’re going to make a difference,” she said. “As I term it… there is one guiding hand to the choices that we make. And that would include Russia, Ukraine, and every conflict he’s trying to stop.” The spokeswoman added that direct engagement between Moscow and Washington continues behind the scenes, involving “months now of dealing with the parties directly,” and argued that Trump, as “the most powerful leader in the world right now,” is better positioned than the public or press to assess the situation.

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“I have said many times that I consider Russians and Ukrainians to be one people..”

• Russia Not Seeking Ukraine’s Surrender – Putin (RT)

Russia is not seeking Ukraine’s surrender, President Vladimir Putin has said. During a plenary panel on Friday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin was asked whether Moscow has been seeking Ukraine’s “unconditional surrender,” as US President Donald Trump is demanding from Iran. “We are not seeking the surrender of Ukraine. We insist on recognition of the realities that have developed on the ground,” Putin said, noting that the Ukraine conflict was “completely different” from the ongoing escalation in the Middle East. During a Q&A session, Putin was also asked about Moscow’s military plans and the advance beyond the former Ukrainian territories that became part of Russia as a result of referendums in 2022.

Putin did not give a direct answer, suggesting that in a certain sense, the entirety of Ukraine is Russian. “I have said many times that I consider Russians and Ukrainians to be one people, in fact. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours,” he said, stressing that Moscow has never denied Ukraine’s right to be an independent country. The president did not rule out seizing the Ukrainian city of Sumy and pushing the “buffer zone” designed to protect Russia’s border areas from attacks deeper into Ukrainian territory. “We don’t have the goal of taking Sumy, but in principle, I don’t rule it out,” Putin stated.

Russian troops entered Sumy Region earlier this year, after expelling Kiev’s invasion force from Russia’s Kursk Region, which Ukraine attacked last August. According to the Russian president, the “buffer zone” in Sumy Region is 10-12km deep already. The attack on Kursk Region has only created more problems for the already thinned-out Ukrainian troops, Putin said, adding that the ranks of Kiev’s military are currently filled to only 47% on average. The invasion of Kursk turned into a “catastrophe” for the Ukrainian military, which lost around 76,000 troops there, he went on to say.

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They’ll find some creative accounting..

• NATO Split Over 5% Spending Commitment (RT)

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has rejected NATO’s proposal for member states to increase military spending to 5% of their GDP, calling the idea “not only unreasonable but also counterproductive.” Following US President Donald Trump’s demands for a 5% target, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called for every bloc member to raise military spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to wider security spending. “Spain will continue to fulfill its duty in the years and decades ahead and will continue to actively contribute to the European security architecture. However, Spain cannot commit to a specific spending target in terms of GDP at this summit,” Sanchez wrote in a letter to Rutte that emerged on Thursday in the media.

“It is the legitimate right of every government to decide whether or not they are willing to make those sacrifices. As a sovereign ally, we choose not to.” Spain currently falls well behind other Western nations, allocating only about 1.3% of its GDP to military spending – significantly below NATO’s 2% target. Rutte previously called for cuts to social programs across the EU in order to fund the increased military outlays. Since assuming office in January, Trump has intensified demands that the bloc’s European members spend more on defense and has repeatedly accused them of failing to shoulder the burden equitably. Earlier this month, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled his cabinet’s plan to significantly increase military spending.

The move was backed by Rutte, who claimed that Russia could be ready to target NATO countries within the next five years. Leaders of the bloc are expected to agree to increase defense spending to contain the alleged threat. Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the rhetoric about the threat posed by Russia to NATO as an “inconceivable lie” used by Western governments to justify tax increases and the diversion of public funds to the military-industrial complex. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday, Putin warned that this kind of military posturing only escalates global tensions while diverting resources from social and economic development.

The Times reported on Wednesday that the upcoming NATO summit, scheduled for 24-25 June in The Hague, is expected to be unusually brief with just one working meeting lasting two and a half hours. The outlet reported that the format of the summit was altered in light of Trump’s dislike of lengthy diplomatic meetings.

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“..with some officials even claiming that he de facto runs the country..”

• Americans Irritated By Zelensky’s Top Aide – Politico (RT)

A growing number of US officials – from Capitol Hill to the administration of President Donald Trump – are expressing deep frustration with Vladimir Zelensky‘s powerful chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, according to a Politico report. Yermak’s repeated visits to Washington since the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 have been seen as increasingly unproductive and even counterproductive, according to ten people familiar with his interactions, the publication reported on Thursday. US officials describe Yermak as “abrasive,” prone to pressing unclear demands, and “uninformed” about the realities of US politics.

His most recent trip to DC earlier this month included poorly attended briefings, last-minute meeting cancelations – including with Secretary of State Marco Rubio – and confusion among aides about his purpose in town. “We don’t know why he’s here,” one of the sources said. Another Trump administration source called him a “bipartisan irritator.” The Biden White House reportedly tolerated Yermak as an acceptable source of friction during wartime. But with President Donald Trump pressuring Kiev toward diplomacy, he now appears to have become an “existential liability” for Ukraine, according to another source.

Yermak dismissed the criticism, telling Politico through a spokesperson: “If that means being considered ‘challenging’ by others – so be it,” stressing that he is focused on promoting Ukraine’s objectives regardless of political niceties. However, Yermak is reportedly “extremely frustrated” with the results of his visit, according to another Politico source. One person described the trip as “a disaster from the Ukrainian perspective.” Yermak is a former film producer who Zelensky – an actor-turned-politician – brought into government in 2019. The 53-year-old has been described as “Zelensky’s right-hand man” and “Ukraine’s real power broker,” with some officials even claiming that he de facto runs the country.

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Back to normalcy.

• Ninth Circuit Rules for Trump on National Guard Deployment (Turley)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom just lost a major ruling in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which ruled that President Donald Trump is likely to prevail in his deployment of National Guard troops. Newsom and various Democratic politicians have insisted that Trump’s order is unlawful and that Newsom has to agree to any request for deployment. The Ninth Circuit ruled on Thursday that Newsom does not have such a veto over deployments.

The Ninth Circuit blocked the injunction of District Court Judge Charles Breyer who suggested in open court that Trump was acting like another “King George.” He then wrote an opinion that included many Democratic talking points — suggesting, for example, that Trump was creating disorder by calling out the National Guard to deal with disorder. Breyer further indicated that the violence in Los Angeles was relatively minor, despite potentially deadly attacks on law enforcement, arson, and looting. Breyer gave the Administration little time to appeal his ruling, but it was enough for the Ninth Circuit.

Title 10 provides:
Whenever— (1) the United States, or any of the Commonwealths or possessions, is invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation;
(2) there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States; or
(3) the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States;
the President may call into Federal service members and units of the National Guard of any State in such numbers as he considers necessary to repel the invasion, suppress the rebellion, or execute those laws. Orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States or, in the case of the District of Columbia, through the commanding general of the National Guard of the District of Columbia.

In his decision, Judge Breyer took the extreme position that Trump could not use subsection 3 if there was any possibility of executing federal laws absent the use of the National Guard troops: [T]he statute does not allow for the federalizing of the National Guard when the President faces obstacles that cause him to underperform in executing the laws. Nor does the statute allow for the federalizing of the National Guard when the President faces some risk in executing the laws. . . . The statute requires that the President be “unable” to execute the laws of the United States. That did not happen here.

In its decision, the court rejected this premise and held that “Section 12406 does not have as a prerequisite that the President be completely precluded from executing the relevant laws of the United States in order to call members of the National Guard into federal service, nor does it suggest that activation is inappropriate so long as any continued execution of the laws is feasible.” It concluded that “it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority” in federalizing control of the guard. It also rejected Newsom’s claim of a veto on deployment.

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“The global system must pivot away from neocolonialism, which enabled the ‘golden billion’ to siphon resources for the elites, the Russian president says..”

• World Needs ‘Fundamentally New Development Model’ – Putin (RT)

The world needs a new development model that is not based on the principles of neocolonialism and is resilient to political manipulation, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. Speaking on Friday at a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin stated that throughout the past several decades, the so-called ‘golden billion’ has been pumping out resources from other nations to benefit the interests of a narrow circle of elites. He pointed to the example of the US, saying the country’s “super incomes” never actually reached ordinary citizens or the middle class.

The Russian president insisted that changes in the political sphere should be reflected in the people’s quality of life, in education, science, and infrastructure. He called for a “fundamentally new development model, one that is not built on the rules of neocolonialism.” He stressed that this model should be “free from political manipulation” and “focus on the needs of citizens.” Putin added that the old mechanisms of the globalization era have outlived their usefulness, and there isn’t even an effort to modernize them. Instead, it is now necessary to create a new model, taking into account the national interests of all states, he said.

The Russian president stated that the global economy is already undergoing its biggest transformation in decades, with the balance of power shifting and BRICS emerging as a leading force. Putin went on to say that BRICS now accounts for 40% of the global economy, and that this share will only grow given the rise of the Global South.

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Add one for 2024.

• Trump Calls For Special Prosecutor To Investigate 2020 Election (JTN)

President Donald Trump on Friday called for a special prosecutor to investigate election fraud in the 2020 presidential election. “Zero Border crossings for the month for TRUMP, verses 60,000 for Sleepy, Crooked Joe Biden, a man who lost the 2020 Presidential Election by a ‘LANDSLIDE!'” he posted on Truth Social. “Biden was grossly incompetent, and the 2020 election was a total FRAUD! The evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING. A Special Prosecutor must be appointed. This cannot be allowed to happen again in the United States of America! Let the work begin! What this Crooked man, and his CORRUPT CRONIES, have done to our Country in 4 years, is grossly indescribable! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Trump’s call for a special prosecutor comes in the wake of reports from the FBI that China had conspired to mass-produce fake driver’s licenses to carry out a massive fake ballot scheme in the 2020 election. Officials told Just the News that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had captured nearly 20,000 fake driver’s licenses in July 2020. Those revelations have called into question the assertions from former FBI Director Christopher Wray that he knew of no foreign interference plots ahead of the election. They have further reignited Trump’s own claims of large-scale election fraud in 2020 that he has said affected the results.

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“We won’t let Brussels force [Hungarian] families to pay 2-4x more for energy..”

• Hungary To Keep Russian Oil and Gas Flowing (RT)

Hungary has received assurances from Russia that deliveries of oil and gas under long-term contracts will continue despite efforts by the EU and Ukraine to disrupt them, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025). Hungary has opposed EU sanctions on Russian energy since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, saying the imports are vital to national interests. The country has a long-term contract with Gazprom and receives the bulk of its oil and gas from Russia. Gas is mainly delivered via the Turkish Stream pipeline through Bulgaria and Serbia. Budapest is also working with Russia’s Rosatom to expand the Paks Nuclear Power Plant.

The foreign minister was commenting on a proposal by the European Commission that would ban imports of Russian gas, including LNG, to the EU starting January 1, 2026. For landlocked countries such as Hungary, the cutoff would apply from early 2028. According to Szijjarto, the heads of Russia’s largest energy firms have signaled that they are ready to continue supplying Hungary with low-cost natural gas and crude oil despite challenges and restrictions.n”Agreed with Russian officials & energy company leaders to maintain our cooperation, despite efforts by Brussels & [Kiev] to undermine it,” Szijjarto wrote on X. He made the statement after meetings with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller, and Rosatom Director General Aleksey Likhachyov.

Szijjarto said oil deliveries are ongoing, gas flows continue through the TurkStream pipeline, and the expansion of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant – known as Paks II – is progressing. “We won’t let Brussels force [Hungarian] families to pay 2-4x more for energy,” he added. His remarks come as the European Commission has proposed ending all remaining Russian gas imports to the EU by the end of 2027. Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen presented the plan on Tuesday, following approval from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It includes a ban on new Russian gas contracts starting in 2026 and a full phaseout the following year.

The proposal faces opposition from Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, and reportedly from Italy. It is expected to be introduced as trade legislation, which would not require unanimous approval from all EU member states. Szijjarto has called the plan “absolute insanity,” warning it could cause fuel price hikes and undermine national sovereignty. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has vowed to block the move.

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Maybe Trump should stick to domestic issues…

• US Working Class Wages Are on the Rise (Sheffield)

In his fight to elevate life for the Forgotten Americans, President Donald Trump has already shattered another record in his second term in support of blue-collar Americans. During Trump’s first five months of his second term, real wages for hourly workers saw their largest increase under any administration in nearly 60 years. Blue-collar U.S. workers saw real wages grow 1.7% thus far during the second Trump administration—a stark contrast from the negative wage growth seen during the first five months of the Biden administration. “The only other time it has been this high … was during President Trump’s first term,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in an interview with the New York Post. Bessent attributed the rise in working-class wages first to Trump’s policy focus on reviving manufacturing.

“Since Richard Nixon in 1969, Trump has been the only president to record positive growth for blue-collar workers in his first five months. He also achieved 1.3% in his first term,” noted the Post’s Miranda Devine. “The recovery from a 1.7% decline recorded in Biden’s first five months, as inflation outpaced earnings, suggests a shift in economic conditions for this financially stressed segment of the workforce.” Bessent also noted the rise in working-class wages for Americans was due to the Trump administration’s focus on combating illegal immigration. Competition for hourly jobs with illegal immigrants drives down wages for U.S. workers. Progressives once championed the working class. They dominated among blue-collar workers, but as the movement drifted in the direction of chaos and lawlessness, Democrats moved to the far left on immigration. Earlier on, Democrats’ 1984 party platform didn’t even include a section on immigration.

But now they’ve shifted so far left that Democrat voters now hold more leftist views on immigration than one-time Democratic Party leaders like former President Barack Obama, who was dubbed “the deporter in chief” for the Obama administration’s immigration enforcement.

The negative effects of illegal immigration on black U.S. workers, for example, was admitted by the Obama U.S. Civil Rights Commission: “Among its findings, the Commission notes that the illegal workers are estimated to account for as much as one-third of total immigrants in the United States, and that illegal immigration has tended to increase the supply of low-skilled, low-wage labor available. The Commission found also that about six in 10 adult black males have a high school diploma or less, and are disproportionately employed in the low-skilled labor market in likely competition with immigrants. Evidence for negative effects of such competition ranged from modest to significant, according to the experts who testified, but even those experts who viewed the effects as modest overall found significant effects in occupations such as meatpacking and construction.”

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“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” —Marcus Aurelius

• Anxiety Attack (James Howard Kunstler)

You must have noticed by now how this Fourth Turning bidness disorders the collective mind. The churning zeitgeist is hard on the nerves, while something strange is birthed by mankind, the end of one way of life and the beginning of another. Everybody’s got a story, and most of them are pretty spooky — A-I Globalist hell. . . de-pop and neo-slavery. . . chemtrail death. . . lizard people. . . caliphate on-the-march across Western Civ. . . World War Three. . . escape to Mars. . . . Mercy!

The last thing you might imagine is a tranquil evening in the town square among happy and prosperous neighbors, the dogs frisking and the children chasing each other as lights begin to twinkle against the lovely violet sky. Rather, you have to wonder just when is that hard rain a’gonna fall? When will some obdurate enemy try to bust a cap in your country’s ass? And at the center of this psychic maelstrom, the provocative visage of Mr. Trump.

So, let’s stipulate that it’s natural to be alarmed by events. But must you lose your mind? Many did during the Covid set-up, and they have not recovered. Most particularly the political Left. The Covid operation was supposed to rid the world of DJ Trump for good, and it flopped. What it accomplished politically for four years was to demonstrate that the Left cannot be trusted to run our national affairs. That, and the cumulative failures of lawfare, have made the Left crazier than ever — while the Democratic Party goes broke and bleeds out support-wise.

Meanwhile, the political Right struggles to hold things together, especially the morale of the people. The great national megaphones — CNN, The New York Times, et al. — are no help at all. They only multiply the mental disorder. And they will do everything possible to undermine the efforts of MAGA to reform a system that foundered under corruption and delusion. Where there is not gridlock these days, chaos breaks out. . . violence of action and opinion.

The focus of all this angst for the moment is Israel. Suspicion runs deep that Israel “owns” America, bends us to its will, treats us like a mere lackey in its quest to dominate the world. It does this, they say, through AIPAC, its chief lobbyist, stuffing money into every pocket and every campaign treasure-chest in DC. In reality, political payoff-wise, AIPAC, at $3.3-million (according to OpenSecrets.org) doesn’t hold a candle to the National Association of Realtors at $63.5-million, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, at $30-million, and the US Chamber of Commerce, at $29.6-million.

Of course, the AIPAC suspicion tends to redound upon plain-old, age-old hatin’ on the Jews. (Full disclosure, yours truly is one.) It’s true enough, for such a low percentage of the US population, Jews seem to run an awful lot of things here: Wall Street firms, Ivy League universities, medical research, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, Broadway, the news media. How to account for that? Well. . . it is said that in the shtetls of old Europe, the richest fathers married off their daughters to the smartest young men in the village. Hence, their offspring sailed into Ellis Island with a certain advantage. It could be as simple as that. What else might it be? Luciferian magic, some seem to think.

So now, obviously, Israel is engaged in trying to beat the crap out of Iran in order to persuade them to discontinue that country’s quest for deliverable nukes. Every other means of persuasion has failed, you understand, while Iran has never ceased to advertise its wish to “wipe Israel off the map” — a leitmotif not subject to disambiguation. Strange to relate, this has utterly inflamed the political Left against Israel and the Jews. Strange especially because until the day-before-yesterday the political Left in America was dominated by Jewish orgs, Jewish money, and Jewish individuals.

As we speak, Jewish Democratic Party lawyers run the Lawfare endeavor: Norm Eisen, Marc Elias, Benjamin Wittes, Michael Bromwich, Brooke Goldstein (Exec Director of The Lawfare Project org). Marc Elias has served as the Left’s chief election law finagler through three national elections, while Norm Eisen coached Special Counsel Jack Smith, New York AG Letitia James and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg in mounting their cases against Donald Trump.

Now, ironically-to-the-max, The Lawfare project is battling against the wild outbreak of antisemitism on Ivy League campuses (surprise, surprise) — Harvard, in particular, where the antisemitic frolics are presided over by the university’s Jewish president, Alan Garber. So, now it’s Jew-on-Jew, which is just another angle on the political Left eating itself alive. In case you’re wondering, I consider the Jewish lawfare ninjas a disgrace to my ethnic group, for the simple reason that their years’ long exploits against Mr. Trump have been altogether garishly dishonest. The lawfare gang has done much more damage to our country than AIPAC ever has.

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Gambling with other people’s money..

• EU To Gamble With Russia’s Frozen Assets – Politico (RT)

The European Union is looking to channel billions of euros in profits from frozen Russian assets into “riskier investments” to boost funding for Ukraine, Politico has reported, citing sources. Officials reportedly view the move as a way to generate higher returns without directly tapping into the sovereign funds themselves, which would be in breach of international law. The proposal is part of a broader EU initiative to use profits from immobilized Russian assets – primarily Western government bonds held by the Brussels-based clearing house Euroclear – to support Ukraine’s war effort. Moscow has labeled the seizure of its assets as “theft.” bWestern nations froze an estimated $300 billion in Russian sovereign funds following the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022. Of that amount, more than $200 billion is held by Euroclear.

The funds have generated billions in interest, with €1.55 billion ($1.78 billion) transferred to Kiev last July to back a $50 billion G7 loan. Under the new plan, the assets would be placed into an EU-managed investment fund that could pursue higher-yield strategies, officials told Politico on Thursday. The goal is to increase returns without resorting to outright confiscation – a step opposed by countries such as Germany and Italy due to the potential legal and financial consequences. The EU’s $21 billion contribution to the G7 loan is expected to be fully disbursed by the end of this year. With future US aid uncertain and the bloc’s own budget under pressure, officials are exploring alternative ways to keep Ukraine’s economy afloat beyond 2025, Politico reported.

EU policymakers hope the plan will allow them to extract more revenue from the assets without violating international legal norms. The International Monetary Fund has warned that outright seizure could damage global trust in Western financial institutions. Talks among member states over confiscation have dragged on for more than three years without resolution.

Brussels also reportedly sees the new investment structure as a safeguard in case Hungary vetoes the renewal of sanctions – a move that could result in the assets being returned to Russia. EU sanctions must be unanimously extended every six months, and Budapest has repeatedly threatened to block them, citing national interests. Critics caution that riskier investments could result in losses ultimately borne by EU taxpayers, the outlet noted. Russia has condemned the asset freeze and has threatened countermeasures, including legal action.

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Autopen

Deal

Vax

Elon

BYD

 

 

 

 

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Debt Rattle March 10 2025

Mar 102025
 
 March 10, 2025  Posted by at 11:09 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  40 Responses »


Giovanni Bellini The transfiguration c1490

 

• A Formidable President Storms Ahead (Michael Barone)
• Ukraine Hasn’t Shown It Wants Peace – Trump (RT)
• Trump Says Zelenskyy Took US Money “Like Candy From A Baby” (ZH)
• The EU’s Leadership Is Now A Global Threat (Bordachev)
• ‘Europe Is Now A Dictatorship’ – Georgescu (RT)
• Americans Can No Longer Tolerate European Entitlement (Shellenberger)
• The Death of Europe (John Stossel)
• Musk Calls For Sanctions On Ukrainian Oligarchs (RT)
• Starlink is ‘Backbone’ of Ukrainian Military – Musk (RT)
• Be Quiet, Small Man – Musk to Polish FM (RT)
• Trump Is Building His US Utopia On A Paradox (Amar)
• France To Fund Ukrainian Military With Interest From Frozen Russian Assets (RT)
• ‘Unnatural For Ukraine To Be Anti-Russian’ – Bosnian Serb leader (RT)
• Canada Will Win Trade War With US – Next PM Carney (RT)

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1898839854743732619

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“..for a very good reason. I was saved by God to make America great again–I believe that. I really do.”

• A Formidable President Storms Ahead (Michael Barone)

Some thoughts spring to mind after President Donald Trump’s 100-minute address to Congress.The first is that this 78-year-old man has amazing resilience and perseverance. Consider that in the past 12 months, he has had to spend hours listening to a kangaroo court proceeding before a hostile judge in New York, has maintained a campaign rally schedule that would daunt candidates half his age, has participated in planning sessions for a detailed set of executive orders he might never have an opportunity to issue, has faced the former president and vice president of the United States in televised debates with moderators he had reason to believe were biased against him, and suffered a bullet wound that came within 1 inch of killing him. Around minute 98, he made mention of the last. This inspired sympathizers in the House chamber to echo the cries of “Fight! Fight! Fight!” he made as he rose above his Secret Service protectors.

A second thing to say is that, long before minute 98, his speech was almost entirely about what he has been doing, saying, proposing and persuading others to do. Four paragraphs near the end gracefully evoked themes from history, but he otherwise spoke about his orders withdrawing from United Nations institutions, eliminating government censorship (while renaming the Gulf of Mexico), overturning racially discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, and his Department of Government Efficiency’s identification of dubious U.S. Agency for International Development programs. Instead of an overarching vision of where the world stands in history, he quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s letter apologizing for his comments the previous Friday and promising to sign the mineral rights deal he had criticized in the televised exchange that for once showed the public what leaders look and sound like in what diplomats call “a full and frank exchange.”

My third observation is that, as the Zelenskyy letter suggests, Trump is mostly getting his way. It was surely no accident that the narrow and previously fractious Republican majority in the House elected a speaker and passed a budget resolution with just one dissenting vote. Similarly, Trump’s top-level appointees have all been confirmed by the Senate. Neither foreign leaders nor domestic partisans want to defy this aggressive man with three years, 10 months and two weeks left in his term.

Fourth, there was no return to norms of civil discourse. Trump called former President Joe Biden “the worst president in American history” and condemned “the open-border, insane policies that [Biden had] allowed to destroy the country.” Democrats have a point when they say Trump started this with his derogatory nicknames for 2016 opponents. Republicans have a point when they say Democrats escalated this with the Russia collusion hoax and baseless post-presidential prosecutions, unprecedented since former President Thomas Jefferson’s treason prosecution of former Vice President Aaron Burr. But neither Trump’s speech nor the Democrats’ childish behavior (that Trump predicted) in the audience moved to de-escalation.

Fifth, Trump continues to disregard free-market economists’ (in my opinion, wise) advice. True, he is encouraging congressional Republicans to reup the tax-cut-for-all legislation they passed eight years ago, but with political payoff addons such as no tax on tips. However, he also devoted multiple paragraphs extolling his imposition of tariffs, notably on Mexico and Canada. Economists point out that the tariffs will likely raise the U.S. prices of many products, not just eggs. Voters won’t welcome something that looks like the Biden inflation, which could overshadow the Trump administration’s genuine successes.

This leads to my sixth observation: that he’s aware that the Constitution and calendar set limits on his time. Early in his speech, Trump noted that measures of illegal crossings on the southern border have immediately dwindled to almost nothing. Smugglers and potential illegals clearly got his message, even as Democrats and much of the press argued that only new legislation could stop the flow. His only problem is that solving a problem can deprive you of an issue. Former President George H.W. Bush’s deft handling of foreign policy problems left voters concluding they didn’t need him after the Cold War. Success can breed failure.

But for a time, it can breed success. The first words of Article II of the Constitution state, “The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” Those words, plus recent Supreme Court decisions, suggest that most decisions limiting Trump’s administrative powers will not stand. Current polls show that Trump’s disapproval is rising, but his approval rate is steady at just under 50%, while Republicans keep making gains in party registration. What is Trump planning for years two, three and four? I’m not sure, and I suspect he’s not, either. Trump knows the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment prevents him from running again. He must know that’s likely to reduce his clout with foreign leaders and American politicians. More importantly, he’s aware his time may be cut short. In the House chamber, as in his convention speech on July 19, he remembered how he had narrowly escaped death on July 13. “I believe my life was saved that day in Butler,” he said, “for a very good reason. I was saved by God to make America great again–I believe that. I really do.”

Like him or not, he is a formidable man.

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Not in the slightest.

• Ukraine Hasn’t Shown It Wants Peace – Trump (RT)

Ukraine has not demonstrated that it wants peace with Russia, US President Donald Trump has said ahead of American-Ukrainian talks in Saudi Arabia. On Sunday, a reporter asked Trump aboard Air Force One if he would resume military aid to Ukraine if it signed a partnership with the US on the development of its critical mineral deposits. “I think they will sign the minerals deal. But I want them to want peace. Right now, they haven’t shown it to the extent that they should,” Trump said. “But I think they will be. I think it’s going to be evident over the next two or three days. I think, eventually, we’ll have peace,” the president added.

Trump reiterated that his priority is to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine to save “human lives” on the battlefield. He said that he expected a “good result” from the planned US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia. Last week, Trump halted all weapons deliveries to Kiev and restricted intelligence sharing in the hope of persuading Ukraine to be more receptive to his mediation efforts. The president has said he finds it “more difficult” to deal with Ukraine than with Russia, as Kiev attempts to mend relations in the wake of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s disastrous visit to the White House last month.

The US had originally planned to sign the minerals deal on February 28. The ceremony was shelved, however, after Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance clashed with Zelensky in front of reporters in the Oval Office. Trump later accused the Ukrainian leader of behaving disrespectfully and being ungrateful for the military and financial aid the US has been providing since 2022. Zelensky described the meeting as “regrettable” and expressed the desire to mend fences. Russia has stated that a lasting peace is impossible without addressing the root causes of the conflict, including NATO’s expansion eastward. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine drop its aspirations to join the US-led bloc and become a neutral country with a restricted army. Russia has also said Ukraine must renounce its claim on Crimea and four other regions that have voted to become part of Russia since 2014.

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“What I have to do is build a strong country,” Trump replied. “You can’t really watch the stock market. If you look at China, they have a 100-year perspective. We go by quarters. And you can’t go by that. You have to do what’s right.”

• Trump Says Zelenskyy Took US Money “Like Candy From A Baby” (ZH)

In a Sunday interview with Fox News’ Mario Bartiromo, President Donald Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took US money “like candy from a baby” under President Biden. “He took money out of this country, under Biden, like candy from a baby. It was so easy,” Trump said in the interview which aired on Sunday. “I just don’t think he’s grateful. We gave him 350 billion and he is talking about the fact that they have fought and they have this bravery,” Trump continued, adding that he was the one that gave Ukraine Javelin anti-tank weapons, and that the war in Ukraine wouldn’t have started in the first place if he had been president in 2022. On the topic of European aid to Ukraine, Trump said: “All he (Zelenskyy) had to do is say (to Europe), you got to stay even with us (the US) … We’re not in the danger, they (Europe) are …So they’re paying all this money to Russia, and we’re in there for $350 billion.”

Bartiromo also asked Trump about whether he was worried about a looming recession for the US economy. “I hate to predict things like that,” said Trump, when asked if he expected a recession this year. “There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing. And there are always periods of — it takes a little time. It takes a little time. But I think it should be great for us. I mean, I think it should be great.” Bartiromo also pressed Trump on his use of tariffs, telling Trump: “I think CEOs want to see predictability. They say, look, I have to speak with shareholders,” adding “Can you give us a sense of whether or not we are going to get clarity for the business community?”

To which Trump responded, “Well, I think so. But you know, the tariffs could go up as time goes by, and they may go up and, you know, I don’t know if it’s predictability.” Trump has acknowledged that tariffs on imports may result in “disruptions” to the economy – to which Bartiromo asked whether the recent dip in the stock market had to do with Trump’s tariffs targeting Canada and Mexico. “What I have to do is build a strong country,” Trump replied. “You can’t really watch the stock market. If you look at China, they have a 100-year perspective. We go by quarters. And you can’t go by that. You have to do what’s right.” On the topic of education, Trump said “We have the worst education department in the world,” adding “We want to not only have school choice, but we want to bring it back to the states so the states can run the schools, and they will be every bit as good as the top educational departments anywhere in the world.”

Trump’s comments came days after the White House denied a WSJ report that Trump was expected to issue an executive order on Thursday aimed at abolishing the Department of Education – which was established under President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and has an annual budget of around $80 billion. Trump and Bartiromo also discussed the state of the Democratic party, and how woke ideology has more or less destroyed it. “There’s something wrong with them. I can’t even believe it… they were talking about men playing in women’s sports… they had their signs—their little tiny signs… it’s unbelievable. They don’t get it,” said Trump.

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“..Western European politicians have produced a constant stream of contradictory and absurd statements, each more unrealistic than the last.”

• The EU’s Leadership Is Now A Global Threat (Bordachev)

Western European politicians have long approached governance with a strategy of avoidance – always seeking the easiest way out while postponing real decisions. While this used to be a problem only for the region itself, today, its indecision is threatening global stability. Europe’s current political landscape must be understood in the context of the dramatic shifts taking place in the United States. The continent’s political elites are not striving for strategic autonomy, nor are they preparing for a direct confrontation with its biggest state, Russia. Their primary concern is holding on to power. In pursuit of this goal, history has shown that elites will go to great lengths. Recently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointed out that, for the past 500 years, Europe has been the epicenter of global conflicts or their instigator. Today, its independent military potential is depleted – both economically and socially.

To rebuild, Europe would need years of aggressive militarization, which would impoverish its citizens. Western European leaders seem determined to ensure the latter, but they are not yet ready for the former. While the EU states may not be preparing for a direct military confrontation with Russia, their entanglement in Ukraine and its reliance on a failing strategy could escalate tensions unpredictably. Many Western European politicians have staked their careers on the survival of the Kiev regime, making them willing to take extreme measures to justify their past decisions. This collective political egoism is now manifesting as an inability to acknowledge mistakes or alter course.

A renowned religious philosopher once wrote that in a collective, the individual mind becomes subservient to the collective interest and loses the ability to act independently. This dynamic is now evident in EU policymaking. The bloc has effectively abandoned its instinct for self-preservation. Ukraine is proof that even large states can adopt self-destructive foreign policies. This poses dangers not just for Europe but for the wider world. The European Union’s bureaucratic dysfunction cannot be ignored. For over 15 years, top EU positions have been assigned based on two criteria: incompetence and corruption. The reason is simple – after the 2009-2013 financial crisis, EU states lost interest in strengthening the bloc. Consequently, Brussels no longer seeks independent-minded politicians with strategic vision. The days of statesmen like Jacques Delors or even Romano Prodi – who at least understood the importance of pragmatic relations with Russia – are long gone.

But incompetence does not preclude ambition. Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas exemplify this – leaders who, finding no avenues for career advancement back home, now seek to carve out their legacy through conflict with Russia. Since they have no real power within the EU, they latch onto the Ukraine crisis to justify their positions. Much of the rhetoric about European rearmament is little more than posturing. Brussels’ calls for militarization are designed to generate media attention rather than produce tangible results. Yet, constant war-mongering can have real consequences. The EU public is being conditioned to accept lower living standards and increased military spending under the guise of countering the “Russian threat.” The fact that this narrative is gaining traction among ordinary Europeans is a worrying development.

EU leaders are now caught between two conflicting desires: maintaining their comfortable way of life while outsourcing all security responsibilities to the US. They also harbor hopes that by prolonging the Ukraine conflict, they can extract concessions from Washington and reduce dependence on the US. But this idea is primarily entertained by major countries like Germany and France. The EU, as a bloc, lacks any real unity. The contradiction between unattainable goals fuels the spectacle of incoherent European policymaking. It was initiated last year by Emmanuel Macron’s bizarre claims that France was prepared to send troops to Ukraine. Since then, Western European politicians have produced a constant stream of contradictory and absurd statements, each more unrealistic than the last. Policy on the Ukraine crisis has devolved into a cacophony of noise with no practical direction.

The only clear Western European consensus is opposition to any peace initiative that might stabilize Ukraine. More and more EU representatives openly insist that the war must continue indefinitely. At the same time, the leaders of major EU states oscillate between bellicose threats and admissions that they would only escalate under American cover. Western Europe’s political schizophrenia no longer raises eyebrows. For decades, its leaders have operated in a vacuum, unconcerned about how their actions are perceived abroad. Unlike the US, which sometimes acts aggressively to project strength, European politicians exhibit an entirely different pathology – one marked by detachment and indifference. They act like madmen, oblivious to external reactions.

The EU’s elites, as well as its populations, understand that escaping American control is impossible. Many secretly wish it were otherwise. However, Donald Trump’s new approach to transatlantic relations is likely to be far harsher than anything seen before. Yet, European elites cling to the hope that, within a few years, the Democrats will return to power and restore the status quo. The bloc’s strategy, therefore, is simple: prolong the current situation for as long as possible. This is because European leaders have no idea how to maintain their positions if peace with Russia is restored. Over the past two decades, Western Europe has consistently failed to solve any of its pressing problems. The Ukraine crisis is simply the most dangerous manifestation of this longstanding dysfunction. EU politicians continue to ask themselves: How can we maneuver without having to take real action? This passive approach to governance is no longer just a problem for Europe – it is actively fueling conflicts and endangering global stability.

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NATO wants its new base near Constanta on the Black Sea, and it won’t let some politician get in the way.

• ‘Europe Is Now A Dictatorship’ – Georgescu (RT)

Romanian presidential hopeful Calin Georgescu has branded the EU a “dictatorship” and his home country a “tyranny” after the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) in Bucharest shot down his candidacy for the upcoming election re-run. The BEC dismissed Georgescu’s bid late on Sunday, having received more than 1,000 challenges against him, largely revolving around his allegedly “anti-democratic” and “extremist” stance. According to the ruling published on Sunday evening, Georgescu had “failed to comply with the rules of the electoral procedure, violating the very obligation… to defend democracy.” The presidential hopeful, who was a clear favorite in the upcoming election and was polling between 40% and 45%, strongly condemned the decision.

“A direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide! I have one message left! If democracy in Romania falls, the entire democratic world will fall! This is just the beginning. It’s that simple! Europe is now a dictatorship; Romania is under tyranny!” Georgescu wrote on X. The BEC ruling has prompted scuffles between Georgescu’s supporters and law enforcement outside the electoral board. The protesters tried to breach police barriers erected around the building, with the law enforcement responding with tear gas and pepper spray. Georgescu, a critic of NATO and the EU and an opponent of aiding Ukraine, made the headlines last November when he scored a surprise victory in the first round of presidential election, receiving 23% of the votes. The result, however, was promptly annulled by Romania’s Constitutional Court, which cited “irregularities” in the candidate’s campaign and intelligence reports claiming Russian meddling.

Preliminary findings of an investigation reportedly indicated that the “irregularities” stemmed from actions of a consulting firm associated with the ruling pro-Western National Liberal Party (PNL). The firm presumably sought to derail another candidate but accidentally boosted Georgescu instead. Romanian media also reported that Georgescu was suspected of breaking campaign finance laws by not disclosing donations from wealthy businessmen. Last month, Georgescu was arrested and charged with “promoting fascist, racist, or xenophobic ideologies” and plotting “anti-constitutional acts.” The politician has dismissed all the accusations as politically motivated, claiming that was being targeted by the Romanian “deep state,” and asked US President Donald Trump for help.

Russia has denied attempting to influence the elections in Romania. “We have repeatedly rejected these baseless speculations and are stating it again: Russia has no habit of meddling in the affairs of others,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakhharova told reporters earlier this week.

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Americans – like Shellenberger- find this a hard topic. Their problem is, they think in terms of a country, but Europe is not a country. Greece and Germany are very different, much more so than Idaho and California. And then you get lost in things like: “You have universal healthcare. You work 35 hours a week. You retire at a young age. You don’t work nearly as hard as we do in the United States.”

• Americans Can No Longer Tolerate European Entitlement (Shellenberger)

There’s something I need to say and I need to be blunt. So let me start by saying I love Europe. Truly love Europe. I love visiting Europe, I love Europeans, I have European friends. I respect the relationship we’ve had for a really long time. You Europeans do not respect Americans. You can protest and say, no, no, we love America. No, you don’t. We know you look down on us. You think you’re better than us. And in some ways you are. You know, you work 35 hours a week. You have longer vacations. You’ve got this magnificent culture. We get it. But any relationship in which one side doesn’t respect the other can’t last. It’s this thing where Ukraine comes to the White House and acts like it can tell us what we should do. That’s not what the relationship is. This thing where somehow we’re on the hook, including for countries that are not in NATO.

That was never the deal. Ukraine is not part of NATO. We were never obligated to protect Ukraine. Maybe that was something that Europe wants to do that. Great. Go. Europe should go protect Ukraine. We have no NATO agreement with Ukraine. And this thing where Zelensky then goes and quotes all these other European leaders. They’re with me, not with the United States. Great. Go, go, go work together. We have 100,000 Americans being killed by the Chinese and Mexican fentanyl and methamphetamine mafias every year. Our kids are not learning to read. We have thousands of veterans with PTSD and are hurting. We have been at war in the Middle East for a quarter century. It’s been 80 years since we bailed out Europe. You have your own militaries. You have your own nuclear weapons. I’ve been trying to be really indirect about this for years.

I’ve been trying to be soft peddling that you guys don’t get it. Europeans do not get it. You guys think that this relationship is going to last forever. You think that because something’s written down on a piece of paper, it’s going to last forever. Americans have voted against this multiple times. This is not about what you think of Trump or like Trump. People on the left, on the right, they do not want to be in a nuclear war with Russia. How can we explain this to you? We do not want to continue to be in the Ukraine war. We want peace. Our natural inclination is to actually not get involved in conflicts in Europe and Asia We didn’t want to have to continue to intervene after World War II. I get it, but times have changed. We’re ready to move on. We bear a lot of responsibility for this. The United States bears a lot of responsibility for this.

Our people, our administrations, our think tanks told Zelensky and told the Europeans that we were loyal to that alliance, that we were going to stick with them. No, the American people are not on board with that. Again, the left has traditionally been against those kinds of military entanglements. Now the right is, but a lot of the left is too. A lot of Democrats, a lot of liberals. I would love an orderly transition here, but the behavior that we’re seeing coming out of European leaders and out of Zelensky just now in the Oval Office suggests that the relationship is over. We’ll reset the relationship afterwards. We’re going to have a trade. We’re going to visit each other. It’s great. But this thing of this entitlement, I don’t think Europeans understand how angry it makes us. I don’t think Europeans really understand how much Americans want to deal with our problems.

We go to Europe. You have universal healthcare. You work 35 hours a week. You retire at a young age. You don’t work nearly as hard as we do in the United States. You have many more benefits in Large part because we pay for all of your security or a large part of it. And in return, we just get disrespect, entitlement, like your children. This is a dysfunctional relationship. It needs to end. It needs to change. Maybe there’s a transition period something, but this has gone too far. I think that the anger that you saw in the White House with Trump in advance with Zelensky holding his arms, rolling his eyes, acting like he was telling us what the deal was. No, that’s not a Republican, Democrat, whatever thing. That is not how we’re going to be treated by people that we’re helping. So it’s time to grow up. It’s time for the relationship to change.

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“..union power, excessive regulation, and high taxes are why Europe now has zero of the world’s largest companies. The list constantly changes, but as I write, no European company is in the top 20..”

• The Death of Europe (John Stossel)

European countries, they say, have more laws protecting workers, and so “Europe is better.” That’s nonsense, says economist Sven Larson in my new video. He grew up in Sweden, but now says, “If you’re a worker, you don’t want to live in Sweden!” One reason is that unemployment is 10%. “If you get fired,” says Larson, “There’s no job out there for you.” Years ago, America’s economy grew neck and neck with the European Union’s. Then, about 15 years ago, Europe stopped growing. Today, the USA is 50% richer—even though the European Union has 100 million more people. Europe is kind of like a big museum. Tourist money keeps it going, but there’s so little growth that, per person, America’s poorest state (Mississippi) is now richer than most European countries. The reason is the very same policies ignorant Americans want to copy—like higher taxes on the rich.

“But what do you do when you run out of the rich?” asks Larson. “Tax the almost rich. Then you run out of them.” But some Americans today are absurdly rich. Even “if you add up all the value these individuals have,” he replies, “it’’s nowhere near enough to pay the obligations that the federal government has.” So, tax is taken from the average worker. In Sweden, he says, “Average workers pay [a higher percentage of] taxes than you do if you make $400,000 here in the United States.” But at least their health care is free. “No!” he replies. “You get the right to free health care, but whether you get health care is a different story. I have friends who died in the Swedish health care system because they couldn’t get treatment in time.”

Still, Europe offers generous welfare benefits. “They take care of people!” I tell Larson. “But it also entraps you,” he says. “People get stuck in low-end jobs. They don’t start businesses like we do.” One reason they don’t start businesses is because Europe’s rules meant to “protect” workers make it hard to fire lazy ones. “You have to go through an extremely bureaucratic sequence,” says Larson. “Government will decide whether you are right in saying this person is not doing his job. … Why would you hire anybody when you are essentially responsible for them for the rest of your life?!” I wouldn’t. It’s a big reason why the unemployment rate in Europe is 50% higher than in the U.S. I often complain about America’s excessive regulations. But Europe has many more.

“Here in America,” says Larson, “You can put a sticker on a pickup truck that says, ‘Bob the carpenter,’ and you have a small business. You can start making money. In Europe, you have to wade through fees … talk to bureaucrats.” EU rules also protect unions. In Sweden, says Larson, “[Unions] can act like a mafia, force utility companies to shut off power, stop garbage collections, stop banks from processing your checks.” They do. Unions punished non-union Tesla by refusing to deliver new license plates. That union power, excessive regulation, and high taxes are why Europe now has zero of the world’s largest companies. The list constantly changes, but as I write, no European company is in the top 20. American firms lead the list.

I ask Larson, “Don’t European governments see what this has done to their economies and change these rules?” “No,” he answers. “A lot of politicians thrive on having a population dependent on government because you get a lot of votes from a lot of people who depend on government. America still has this spirit of understanding that you can actually make life better for yourself, which I don’t find in Europe.” We do have that spirit … now. But it’s challenged by the 300,000 bureaucrats who write and enforce regulation. And that’s just federal regulators. States and cities employ even more! That’s a lot of people who believe that if they’re not adding more rules, they’re not doing their job. Stop them before they make America as stagnant as Europe.

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“Place sanctions on the top 10 Ukrainian oligarchs, especially the ones with mansions in Monaco, and this will stop immediately. That is the key to the puzzle..”

• Musk Calls For Sanctions On Ukrainian Oligarchs (RT)

Elon Musk has suggested that sanctioning Ukraine’s top ten oligarchs could bring about a swift resolution to the conflict with Russia. He offered the unusual proposal in a post on X on Saturday. Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was responding to a discussion on US financial aid to Ukraine. He has frequently criticized US support for Kiev, while in general advocating reducing federal spending on foreign assistance. “Place sanctions on the top 10 Ukrainian oligarchs, especially the ones with mansions in Monaco, and this will stop immediately. That is the key to the puzzle,” Musk wrote in response to a post by Senator Mike Lee, who called for the US to halt financial aid to Kiev. Musk did not elaborate on how exactly such a move would impact the conflict.

According to the news outlet Ukrainian Focus, as of September 2024, topping the list of the country’s wealthiest people was Rinat Akhmetov, owner of industrial conglomerate SCM Group. He was followed by Interpipe Group owner Viktor Pinchuk, former President Petro Poroshenko, Dneprazot owner Igor Kolomoisky, and Ferrexpo owner Konstantin Zhevago. Most of the above-listed individuals have contributed to Kiev’s war effort. Poroshenko and Pinchuk are known to have supplied the Ukrainian army with drones and other equipment, while Akhmetov is behind a project that provides the military ammunition, transport, medical equipment and drones. He has reportedly spent the equivalent of some $274 million on the war effort in the past three years.

Musk’s suggestion sparked mixed reactions online. Some users questioned whether sanctioning Ukraine’s business elite would actually pressure Kiev to negotiate, noting that Ukraine mostly relies on Western funding. Others pointed out that just last month Kiev itself sanctioned several prominent businessmen, including Poroshenko, Kolomoisky, and Zhevago, which suggests a rift between them and the regime. While no reasons were given for the sanctions, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky had called for “blocking billions that were earned by essentially selling out Ukraine, Ukrainian interests, Ukrainian security” just a day before the sanctions announcement. Musk’s remarks came amid a growing rift between Kiev and Washington following Zelensky’s recent trip to Washington during which a meeting he had with US President Donald Trump at the White House turned heated and the planned signing of a minerals deal was put on hold. Shortly thereafter, the US suspended military aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.

According to The Washington Post, Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky, now fear Trump may impose sanctions on Ukraine following the Ukrainian leader’s recent ill-fated trip. “All politicians in this country were discussing potential sanctions from the US side… A lot of people were very nervous, and the president was very nervous,” an unnamed official told the newspaper. He added that Washington could impose sanctions by linking individuals in Zelensky’s inner circle to corruption, which would weaken Ukraine’s war effort and jeopardize its EU backing. The official did not specify whether Ukrainian oligarchs would be targeted.

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You decry the young lives lost. But you help maintain the system that loses these lives.

• Starlink is ‘Backbone’ of Ukrainian Military – Musk (RT)

The Ukrainian military is fully dependent on the Starlink internet system, and turning it off would result in the collapse of the “entire frontline,” Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has claimed. The system “is the backbone of the Ukrainian army,” Musk said on Sunday in a post on X. “Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off,” he wrote, claiming that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has become a stalemate and that peace must be achieved now. “What I am sickened by is years of slaughter in a stalemate that Ukraine will inevitably lose. Anyone who really cares, really thinks and really understands wants the meat grinder to stop.”

In late February, Reuters reported that Musk had been considering cutting off Ukraine’s Starlink internet access in order to provide Washington with leverage in bargaining over a deal for natural resources. At the time, Musk denied the claims, accusing the news agency of “lying” and fabricating the entire report. SpaceX has provided the Ukrainian military with Starlink internet since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022. More than 40,000 terminals have been delivered over the years, with the system becoming a crucial component in the command and control architecture of the Ukrainian military.

Apart from providing comms, the terminals have seen direct combat use. Starlink dishes have been repeatedly seen rigged to Ukrainian sea and aerial drones, providing the unmanned systems with difficult-to-jam, reliable control access. Space X has been providing Kiev with access to Starshield, a more secure and militarized version of the system. According to a Bloomberg report, Musk’s company secured a new contract with the Pentagon late last year, with an additional 3,000 Starlink terminals in Ukraine granted access to Starshield.

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Be quiet, small man,” Musk replied. “You pay a tiny fraction of the cost. And there is no substitute for Starlink,”

• Be Quiet, Small Man – Musk to Polish FM (RT)

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has told Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski to “be quiet” during an argument online over the role and funding of the Starlink satellite internet service, which is widely used by the Ukrainian army. Musk has donated over 40,000 Starlink terminals to Ukraine since 2022. Ukrainian troops are using the service to guide drone and artillery strikes, among other tasks on the battlefield.On Sunday, Musk, an adviser to US President Donald Trump, renewed his call for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, describing his Starlink system as “the backbone of the Ukrainian army.”

“Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off. What I am sickened by is years of slaughter in a stalemate that Ukraine will inevitably lose,” he wrote on X. Sikorski responded to Musk’s post, noting that “Starlinks for Ukraine are paid for by the Polish Digitization Ministry at the cost of about $50 million per year.” “The ethics of threatening the victim of aggression apart, if SpaceX proves to be an unreliable provider we will be forced to look for other suppliers,” the minister added. “Be quiet, small man,” Musk replied. “You pay a tiny fraction of the cost. And there is no substitute for Starlink,” he wrote. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that Sikorski was “just making things up.”

“No one has made any threats about cutting Ukraine off from Starlink,” Rubio stressed. “And say thank you because without Starlink, Ukraine would have lost this war long ago, and Russians would be on the border with Poland right now.” Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, an exclave, shares a 232km border with the Polish Republic. Last week, Trump suspended the delivery of weapons to Ukraine and restricted intelligence sharing, arguing that Kiev should be more receptive to his efforts to broker a peace deal.

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Still trying to figure out what exactly the paradox is he’s referring to. Feels like there’s 100.

• Trump Is Building His US Utopia On A Paradox (Amar)

Say what you will about Trumpism, but it sure as hell is not lazy. That was also one of Trump’s key messages during his address to Congress. It is no surprise, but let’s state it for the record: Trump still has a huge ego – if anything, even bigger now, after his come-back triumph and dodging that assassin’s bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania – and, of course, he spent a lot of time on praising himself and his team, with special accolades to first buddy Elon Musk. So what? It will rile up Trump’s opponents and critics (which the Trumpists greatly enjoy); his voters and fans will love it. The same is true for Trump’s extensive and very deft use of the “human touch” or “showmanship” – call it what you will – highlighting individual citizens and their losses or challenges and offering them solace and recognition: A young boy suffering from cancer who admires the police was made an honorary Secret Service agent. A woman athlete permanently injured by a very misplaced man got a shout-out when Trump spoke of banning male athletes from women’s sports. The bereaved family members of crime victims received various acknowledgments.

None of the above was innocent, of course; everything was political. The crimes selected for mention featured illegal immigrants. An officer singled out for his bravery had saved a colleague in a fire fight with a gang from across the Rio Grande. Trump used his kindness toward the boy struggling with cancer to claim that his administration is fighting toxins in the environment. With his pronounced activism against environmental standards, the opposite is true, unfortunately. But you get the gist. Yet there are two mistakes that casual or angry observers are prone to make and they should better avoid: Yes, Trump is a politician – and a much more gifted one than we knew – and his relationship with the truth is very complicated, to put it politely.

But that does not make him exceptional: neither the substance nor the scope of his distortions and outright untruths exceed those of, for instance, the late Biden administration which was brazenly lying about Israel’s Gaza Genocide in a truly Orwellian register – as, by the way, are their Trumpist successors, too. Witness Trump’s bizarre claim that he has struck down “censorship,” while, in reality, his administration is suppressing solidarity with Palestine even worse than their predecessors. Secondly, the fact that Trump bends and breaks the truth does not mean that he does not believe in anything. This is a key fact: Trump, like quite a few other major political leaders in history and at present, has both a tactical relationship with reality and sincerely-held beliefs, even a sense of justice (usually aggrieved), some of it on display during the “human touch” moments of his speech. That is a powerful element of the charisma he has in spades and that has allowed him to not only win elections but re-center US politics.

Hence, you may agree with or you may oppose, even detest, Trump’s convictions. But critics and opponents who deny their existence or underestimate their effects simply because they are neither pure nor free of hypocrisy, will only have themselves to blame when the real world escapes the narrow limits of their imagination, again. Apart from the self-praise, there were other things about Trump’s speech that were less than surprising. As some commentators have pointed out, the address was generally thin on sensational revelations and announcements. (Going to Mars? Come on, we’ve all seen that one coming, from light years off.)

And, equally expectably, some of Trump’s statements were at least hyperbolic. New York Times “fact-checkers” who somehow hardly ever check Israeli non-facts, for instance, got busy pointing out that “Trump overstated […] fraud uncovered by” Musk’s DOGE outfit, “misled about energy and environmental policy” and “justified sweeping tariffs with hyperbolic claims about world trade, among other statements.” All true enough, but frankly, a bit of a yawn, too. US politics – and not only, is such a bipartisan orgy of lying, that it is hard to get excited about journalists picking on one side.

No, the really interesting – and it was very interesting – side of Trump’s speech was not what exactly he had to say or the tired old game of him tweaking reality and his opponents pretending he’s the only one (that is why Democrats holding up little signs reading “false” looked so sad and daft). What was truly intriguing is what Trump told us about himself, and in particular about himself at this stage of his life and career. Right from the get-go, there was Trump the Unforgiving, even Vengeful. If anyone had expected the usual pretend offer of bipartisanship to the defeated – here, the Democrats – what they got was more like Joe Pesci in one of his many roles as a mafia loose cannon stomping his already dazed opponent into the ground.

Biden, Trump let it rip, is “the worst president in American history.” And although that is probably true, it was a tad brutal to rub it in on this occasion. Senator Liz Warren, who boosted her career by claiming a fraction of native-American “blood” (yes, the US is weird that way), got her usual “Pocahontas” snub, and, in general, Trump taunted and teased the losers. It was not pretty, but it was funny and richly deserved. Then, there was – perhaps all too easily overlooked – Trump the Fit and Focused. This was not rambling Trump, and even his ad-libbing, while harsh, went well and was clearly under control. From a rhetorical point of view: Take a step back from whether you like his style, and you’ll have to admit, this was a powerful, effective, well-organized, and well-delivered speech. Long gone seem the days of Kamala Harris’s word salads and Joe Biden’s senescent mumblings. Trump may be not so much younger than his predecessor. Yet this speech showed that anyone betting on him declining soon, mentally or physically, is likely to lose. That, in and of itself, is an important fact.

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“What is obviously hysteria born of impotence has finally gotten the better of reason..”

• France To Fund Ukrainian Military With Interest From Frozen Russian Assets (RT)

France will use the interest accrued on Russia’s frozen central bank assets to procure weapons for the Ukrainian military, the country’s defense minister, Sebastien Lecornu, has announced. Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin criticized the decision, stating it contravenes international law. Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Western states froze an estimated $300 billion worth of Russian sovereign funds, of which approximately $213 billion is held by the Brussels-based clearing house Euroclear. The assets have already generated billions in interest, of which Euroclear already transferred €1.55 billion ($1.63 billion) directly to Ukraine last July.

In an interview to France’s La Tribune Dimanche on Saturday, Lecornu said that “thanks to interest from frozen Russian assets, we will also tap new funds worth 195 million euros.” He revealed that Paris would use the money to finance the delivery to Kiev of 155-mm artillery shells and glide bombs compatible with the Mirage 2000 fighter jets that France has handed over to Ukraine. The official added that France also plans to supply an unspecified number of armored fighting vehicles, including the AMX-10 RC. Volodin, the chairman of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, denounced the scheme as contravening international law. “What is obviously hysteria born of impotence has finally gotten the better of reason,” the MP said on Sunday.

Responding to a similar move by the UK on Friday, Volodin warned that London “will have to give back to Russia what they are now so generously giving away,” adding that Moscow has “every reason to respond in kind.” The remarks came shortly after Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal confirmed that Kiev had received a first tranche worth about $1 billion from London, secured by the proceeds from the Russian assets. Late last year, the US also transferred the first $1 billion installment of a $20 billion US loan backed by interest earned from the immobilized Russian assets. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time that “this money was stolen from us. Our assets have been frozen absolutely illegally, against all norms and rules.” He added that Russia would exhaust all legal avenues to protect its property and rights.

While Kiev has long been pressing its Western backers to outright expropriate the frozen Russian assets to finance its military and reconstruction efforts, a number of EU member states, most notably Germany, France, and Italy, have been reluctant to do so, citing legal concerns. The International Monetary Fund has also warned that appropriating the funds without a clear legal basis could undermine global confidence in Western financial institutions.

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“Ukraine is not a country that deserves to survive in a geopolitical sense. It turned out to be a serious destructive factor. Moreover, it is anti-Russian. It is unnatural for Ukraine to be anti-Russian..”

• ‘Unnatural For Ukraine To Be Anti-Russian’ – Bosnian Serb leader (RT)

Ukraine’s hostility towards Russia is “unnatural,” the president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, has said. He argued that Kiev’s stance has made it a destructive geopolitical force. In an interview with RT on Thursday, Dodik, who heads the predominantly-Serb region within Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressed strong support for Russia and its military operation against Ukraine, asserting that Moscow has every reason to protect its interests. He said that as early as in 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin had “acted very fairly” by voicing his opposition to potential Ukrainian membership in NATO while highlighting his desire for peace.

According to Dodik, after the Western-backed coup in Kiev and the start of hostilities in Donbass in 2014, Western nations attempted to deceive Russia through the Minsk agreements, which were meant to de-escalate tensions by granting Donetsk and Lugansk regions special status within the Ukrainian state. “Russia was not as strong as it is today to be able to step forward and protect some interests,” he argued, adding that Moscow genuinely wanted to settle the conflict – a desire that Dodik said was exploited by German and French leaders. Dodik further pointed to close cultural ties between Russia and Ukraine, drawing the example of the city of Odessa. “Many Russians live there, and they have the right to be in their homeland. Just as Americans have the right to protect every American wherever they are in the world, Russia has a legitimate right to protect its people, especially those who live near Russia.”

“Ukraine is not a country that deserves to survive in a geopolitical sense. It turned out to be a serious destructive factor. Moreover, it is anti-Russian. It is unnatural for Ukraine to be anti-Russian,” Dodik stressed. Putin has insisted that Ukraine in its current form is “an artificial state” which was essentially created by the Soviet Union using territories taken from several other nations. At the same time, he has also stated that “Russia is interested in ensuring that Ukraine eventually becomes a friendly neighboring state” and that it “should not be used as a hostile platform for attacking Russia,” referring to Moscow’s goal of keeping Kiev out of NATO.

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Carney is a simple globalist banker, put there by his ilk to fight Trump. Who will waltz all over him, thinking: what trade war?, let’s look at our borders?!

• Canada Will Win Trade War With US – Next PM Carney (RT)

Canada’s incoming Prime Minister, Mark Carney, has vowed to fight and win the trade war with the United States, warning that retaliatory tariffs will remain in place until “Americans show us respect.” Tensions escalated in February when US President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, along with 10% duties on Chinese imports. Initially delayed for a month, the measures took effect last Tuesday, with exemptions granted to automakers and goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) until April. Ottawa responded by imposing tariffs on $30 billion worth of American products, with an additional $125 billion in duties set for next month. Carney has been elected as the leader of Canada’s Liberal Party with 85.9% of the vote, positioning him to become the country’s next Prime Minister.

In his inaugural speech on Sunday, he criticized Trump for imposing “unjustified tariffs” that he said were “attacking Canadian families” and accused him of attempting to “undermine the Canadian way of life.” “There’s someone who’s trying to weaken our economy. Donald Trump. Donald Trump has put unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell, on how we earn a living,” he said. “The Canadian government is rightly retaliating with our own tariffs that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impact here in Canada. My government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect,” he added. Indirectly addressing Trump’s suggestion that his country should become the 51st US state, Carney declared, “Canada never, ever will be part of America in any way, shape, or form.”

“We didn’t ask for this fight, but Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves. So, Americans should make no mistake… In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win,” he said, while cautioning that “this victory will not be easy.” The ruling Liberal Party called a leadership election after Justin Trudeau resigned in January, following low approval ratings linked to inflation, a housing crisis, and economic struggles. Carney defeated four candidates, including former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, arguing he was the only one capable of handling the crisis.

Before entering politics, he advised Trudeau on economic policy and served as Governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. He will be sworn in as prime minister in the coming days. Meanwhile, Trump has confirmed that the tariffs will take effect on April 2, calling the delay “a little bit of a break.” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated on NBC’s Meet the Press that levies on steel and aluminum will begin Wednesday, while duties on Canadian dairy and lumber will follow. Lutnick said the restrictions would remain until Trump is “comfortable” with how Canada and Mexico are handling the flow of fentanyl into the US. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett described the measures as “a drug war, not a trade war.”

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