Apr 122025
 


Pablo Picasso Guernica 1937 (I turned it 90°, so you can see)

 

Kremlin Reveals Content Of Putin’s Talks With Trump Envoy Witkoff (RT)
Trump’s Kiev Envoy Clarifies Proposal To ‘Divide Ukraine Like Postwar Berlin’ (RT)
Kellogg Blasts Times for Misrepresenting His Words on Ukraine (Sp.)
Zelensky Mustn’t Govern Russians He Despises – Lavrov (RT)
UK Has Deep Involvement In Ukraine Conflict – The Times (RT)
NATO Needs Romania To Launch WWIII – Georgescu to Tucker Carlson (RT)
The Tariff Issue Again (Paul Craig Roberts)
China Dismisses US Tariff ‘Numbers Game’ (RT)
10 Tariff Questions Never Asked (Victor Davis Hanson)
Trump’s Tariffs Only the Start. Congress Must Now Cut Taxes, Regulations (DS)
Dem-Appointed Federal Judges Are the Big Losers at Supreme Court This Week (DC)
The Wicked Flee (James Howard Kunstler)
Court Issues Curious Order in the Garcia Case (Turley)
Trump Plans Charm Offensive To Win Over Greenland – NYT (RT)
Zelensky Offered US Rare-Earths Deal Under Biden – Blinken (RT)
The End of La Grande Illusion Democratique (Karganovic)
Tulsi Gabbard Drops TWO Huge Bombshells (MN)
Trump Admin Reaches Agreements With 5 Law Firms (ET)

 

 

 

 

SAVE

Chamath

O’Leary

RFK

 

 

 

 

Trump has two envoys in/for Ukraine right now. One is General Keith Kellogg, whose task is to talk to Zelensky and Kiev. The other is Steve Witkoff, who has a much broader portfolio. One moment he’s discussing the Middle East with various parties, the next he holds a four hour meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg. Witkoff told Trump this week, before his meeting with Putin, that “recognizing Russian ownership of Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson was the swiftest path to halting the war”. To which Kellogg responded that Zelensky would never accept that.

Kellogg ponders a plan that involves peacekeeping forces and -zones with UK, France and Ukraine troops. Which Russia will not accept. It’s very easy this way for Zelensky to halt any peace proposals. It leaves two questions: 1/ who’s winning? and 2/ how much patience does Trump have? NATO will never concede that Russia won and now gets to call the shots. But Russia did win. UK, France and Ukraine cling on to hopes that Trump will support their side and start a world war. Trump wants peace.

Kremlin Reveals Content Of Putin’s Talks With Trump Envoy Witkoff (RT)

The discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday involved “aspects of the settlement of the Ukraine conflict,” the Kremlin has announced, declining to provide further details. Witkoff visited Russia on Friday and met with Putin in St. Petersburg. The meeting lasted over four hours and the content of the talks has been largely kept under wraps by Moscow and Washington. However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the issue during a press briefing earlier in the day when asked by a reporter about the purpose of Witkoff’s visit to Russia. According to Leavitt, the visit was aimed at facilitating direct US communications with the Kremlin as part of a broader effort to negotiate a ceasefire and eventual peace agreement in the Ukraine conflict.

The Trump administration faced growing internal divisions this week after Witkoff allegedly proposed a ceasefire plan that would recognize Russian control over four eastern regions claimed by both Moscow and Kiev, Reuters reported on Friday citing anonymous sources. During a White House meeting with President Donald Trump last week, Witkoff argued that recognizing Russian ownership of Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson was the swiftest path to halting the war, the outlet’s sources said. General Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, reportedly pushed back, stressing Ukraine would not accept full territorial concessions. The meeting reportedly concluded without a decision from Trump, who has repeatedly said he wants to broker a ceasefire by May. Witkoff subsequently traveled to Russia on Friday for talks with Putin.

The episode has deepened rifts within the Trump administration, as officials debate how to resolve the Ukraine conflict, Reuters wrote. Witkoff’s approach, previously outlined in a March interview with Tucker Carlson, has reportedly alarmed both Republican lawmakers and US allies. “They’re Russian-speaking,” Witkoff told Carlson of the eastern territories. “There have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule.” Several Republicans reportedly contacted National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to raise concerns about Witkoff’s stance, criticizing him for echoing Russian rhetoric.

A recent dinner with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who until recently was under US sanctions, further stirred controversy. Originally planned at Witkoff’s home, it was moved to the White House after security concerns were raised. Despite criticism, Witkoff retains strong backing from Trump and some administration officials. Waltz praised his efforts, citing his business background and recent diplomatic activity, including securing the release of US citizen Marc Fogel from Russia.

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“Medvedev, said that the potential emergence of any NATO “peacekeepers” in Ukraine would mean a war between the bloc and Russia.”

Trump’s Kiev Envoy Clarifies Proposal To ‘Divide Ukraine Like Postwar Berlin’ (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, has rejected the notion that he proposed partitioning Ukraine like post-WWII Germany, accusing The Times of misrepresenting his remarks about a Cold War-style post-ceasefire security arrangement. Kellogg told The Times in an interview published on Friday that British and French – but not American – troops could lead a Western military force positioned west of the Dnepr River, while Ukrainian forces would hold territory further east. He also suggested establishing a demilitarized zone (DMZ) roughly 18 miles (30 kilometers) wide along the current lines of control to prevent direct clashes with Russian forces.

“You could almost make it look like what happened with Berlin after World War Two, when you had a Russian zone, a French zone, and a British zone, a US zone,” said Kellogg, a retired US Army lieutenant general, appointed by Trump to deal directly with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky. Kellogg acknowledged that Moscow “might not accept” the proposed zones of control, and claimed that a DMZ would create conditions for a “sustainable” ceasefire and would “not be provocative at all” to Moscow. The British newspaper ran its story with the headline “Trump envoy: We can divide Ukraine like postwar Berlin,” prompting Kellogg to accuse the publication of taking his words out of context.

“The Times article misrepresents what I said,” Kellogg wrote on X on Friday evening. “I was speaking of a post-ceasefire resiliency force in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty. In discussions of partitioning, I was referencing areas or zones of responsibility for an allied force (without US troops). I was NOT referring to a partitioning of Ukraine.” The Times report, however, noted that Kellogg’s idea implies that any final settlement would involve Kiev relinquishing claims to territories already controlled by Russia – a point that echoes proposals recently floated by Trump’s Russia envoy, Steve Witkoff.

Witkoff, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Friday, had previously argued that recognizing Russian ownership of Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson was the swiftest path to halting the conflict. The suggestion, reportedly voiced during a White House meeting last week, has triggered internal debate within the Trump administration, with Kellogg allegedly pushing back against full territorial concessions. Kiev’s backers remain split on a proposed “reassurance force” that could potentially be deployed to Ukraine after hostilities between Kiev and Moscow end. Following the latest meeting of the “coalition of the willing” – composed of some 30 predominantly EU and NATO member states – in Brussels on Thursday, only six Western nations expressed readiness to send troops, according to AFP.

Moscow has repeatedly warned the West against deploying troops to Ukraine under any pretext, specifically objecting to forces from any NATO countries ending up in the country. Last month, former Russian president and deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said that the potential emergence of any NATO “peacekeepers” in Ukraine would mean a war between the bloc and Russia.

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“The Russian Foreign Ministry previously said the plans of some EU countries to send “peacekeepers” to Ukraine are a provocative step aimed at maintaining unhealthy illusions in Kiev..”

Kellogg Blasts Times for Misrepresenting His Words on Ukraine (Sp.)

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg accused the Times newspaper of misrepresenting his words about control zones in Ukraine, clarifying that he did not mean “partitioning” the country itself.
The Times wrote in an article that Kellogg suggested partitioning Ukraine into control zones after the end of the conflict like Berlin after World War II, but without US ground forces. Kellogg, the report said, proposed dividing Ukraine into several control zones, where the military of several countries would be located: British and French troops could be deployed to western Ukraine as a “reassurance force.” Between them and the Russian forces there could be “Ukrainian forces and a demilitarized zone.”

“The Times article misrepresents what I said. I was speaking of a post-cease fire resiliency force in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty. In discussions of partitioning, I was referencing areas or zones of responsibility for an allied force (without US troops). I was NOT referring to a partitioning of Ukraine,” Kellogg wrote on X, attaching a link to the article. Earlier in April, Alexey Polishchuk, Director of the Second CIS Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Sputnik that London and Paris’ discussions on sending deterrent forces to Ukraine were preparations for foreign intervention. According to Polishchuk, Kiev is known to be rejecting the peace process and is even sabotaging the moratorium on strikes against energy facilities. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in turn, previously stated that any foreign military presence in Ukraine would be viewed as a threat to Russia and carries the risk of a direct military clash.

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) previously reported that the West would deploy a so-called “peacekeeping contingent” of about 100,000 people in Ukraine to restore its combat capability. The SVR said this would be a de facto occupation of Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the deployment of peacekeepers is only possible with the consent of the parties to a particular conflict. According to him, it is premature to talk about peacekeepers in Ukraine. Earlier, he also left without comment statements that Russia would allegedly not be against the deployment of peacekeepers in Ukraine.

On March 6, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russia does not see any possibility for a compromise on the issue of deploying foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine. As the Russian minister specified at the time, if a foreign contingent is deployed in Ukraine, Western countries will not want to discuss the terms of peaceful settlement. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously said the plans of some EU countries to send “peacekeepers” to Ukraine are a provocative step aimed at maintaining unhealthy illusions in Kiev.

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“..Moscow has firmly rejected the idea of NATO troops being stationed in Ukraine.”

Zelensky Mustn’t Govern Russians He Despises – Lavrov (RT)

Vladimir Zelensky’s openly declared hatred for Russians means he must not and will not govern people living in former parts of Ukraine that Kiev seeks to retake, Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated. In a late March interview with the French daily Le Figaro, Zelensky expressed his disdain for “Russians who killed so many Ukrainian citizens,” asserting that this “hatred” fuels his leadership. Lavrov referenced the comments during a press conference at the Foreign Ministry on Friday, underscoring why Moscow has deemed Kiev’s territorial claims unacceptable. “Who would even hypothetically consider handing over those people to such an individual? Nobody. No way,” he emphasized. Since the Western-backed coup in Kiev in 2014, five Ukrainian regions plus the city of Sevastopol have voted to break away and join Russia. The Ukrainian government has dismissed these referendums as a “sham.”

Lavrov also reminded journalists of Zelensky’s previous derogatory remarks, including statements made prior to the conflict’s escalation in 2022. In 2021, Zelensky urged Donbass residents who identified as Russian to relocate to Russia. That same year, he referred to politicians targeted by his government with personal sanctions as another “species.” The minister accused the Ukrainian government of “legislatively eradicating everything related to Russia and the Russian world: the Russian language, Russian-speaking media, the Orthodox Christianity represented by the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and much more.”

Such discriminatory policies, he argued, justify labeling the Zelensky administration “neo-Nazi” and contribute to ongoing hostilities. Lavrov asserted that US President Donald Trump recognizes Russia’s red lines and considers “the return to the 1991 borders, as Zelensky keeps demanding” impossible. The Trump administration seeks to mediate a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev, while the UK and France are leading discussions on a proposed “reassurance force” to be deployed in Ukraine if a truce is achieved. Moscow has firmly rejected the idea of NATO troops being stationed in Ukraine.

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“Sometimes their visits were so sensitive they went in civilian clothing.”

UK Has Deep Involvement In Ukraine Conflict – The Times (RT)

Britain’s military leadership played a far more extensive and covert role in the Ukraine conflict than previously known, not only designing battle plans and supplying intelligence, but also authorizing secret troop deployments inside Ukraine to deliver weapons training and technical support, according to a report by The Times. While London’s political and military backing for Kiev has been public since the 2014 Western-backed coup, the extent of its involvement after the escalation in February 2022 “remained largely hidden… until now,” the British newspaper wrote on Friday. The Times claimed that British troops were sent into Ukraine in small numbers on several occasions throughout 2022 and 2023, operating discreetly to avoid provoking Russia. In particular, UK forces were deployed to fit Ukrainian aircraft with Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles and train pilots and ground crews in their use.

“UK troops were secretly sent to fit Ukraine’s aircraft with the missiles and teach troops how to use them,” the publication wrote, noting that it “would not be the first time British troops had been deployed on the ground.” The UK had been delivering thousands of NLAW anti-tank missiles to Kiev and sending instructors to train Ukrainian soldiers in their use since 2015. While British troops were pulled back from Ukraine shortly before the escalation in February 2022, the deteriorating battlefield situation and the urgent need for technical expertise saw small teams of UK personnel redeployed quietly alongside fresh supplies of missiles, the newspaper reported.

London also reportedly played a key role in helping Ukraine prepare its much-touted 2023 “counteroffensive” against Russia – and in mediating between Kiev and Washington when the operation failed to meet US expectations. The newspaper claimed that “behind the scenes” the Ukrainians referred to Britain’s military chiefs as the “brains” of what they called an “anti-Putin” coalition. Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was even ereportedly nicknamed “the man who saved Kiev” by Ukrainian military officials. “The Americans went to Ukraine only on rare occasions because of concerns that they would be seen to be too involved in the war, unlike Britain’s military chiefs who were given the freedom to go whenever necessary,” The Times wrote. “Sometimes their visits were so sensitive they went in civilian clothing.”

Moscow perceives the Ukraine conflict as a Western-led proxy war against Russia, in which Ukrainians serve as “cannon fodder.” It considers foreigners fighting for Kiev as “mercenaries” acting on behalf of Western governments. Senior Russian officials have suggested that more complex weapon systems provided to Kiev are highly likely operated by NATO staff. The presence of current and former NATO troops has also been tacitly admitted, but never openly confirmed, by Western officials. For example, last year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz revealed the involvement of British and French forces in preparing Ukrainian missile launches, as he explained why Berlin would not supply similar weapons to Kiev. Earlier this month, a New York Times investigation found that the administration of former US President Joe Biden provided Ukraine with support that went far beyond arms shipments – extending to daily battlefield coordination, intelligence sharing, and joint strategy planning, which were described as indispensable to Kiev’s fight against Russia.

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“..the “largest military base of NATO is in Romania,” coupled with the 380-mile (612 km) long border that his country shares with Ukraine..”

NATO Needs Romania To Launch WWIII – Georgescu to Tucker Carlson (RT)

Calin Georgescu, a former Romanian presidential candidate whose bid was controversially invalidated earlier this year, has claimed that NATO wants to “launch World War III from Romania.” In an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, he said his staunch pro-peace stance was among the main reasons why he was barred from running for president. The right-wing politician, known as an outspoken critic of NATO, the EU, and Western support for Ukraine, scored a surprise win in the first round of November’s presidential election, receiving 23% of the vote. However, the country’s Constitutional Court swiftly moved in to annul the result over alleged “irregularities” in his campaign. Later, Georgescu was stripped of his right to run for office.

Appearing on Carlson’s podcast on Thursday, the former Romanian presidential candidate alleged that NATO wants to “launch… World War III from Romania.” The politician cited the fact that the “largest military base of NATO is in Romania,” coupled with the 380-mile (612 km) long border that his country shares with Ukraine. “In this situation of course Romania is the asset for [the] European Union, for [French President Emmanuel] Macron in order to launch the war,” Georgescu insisted. “They want to turn NATO [into] an offensive force” and are “pushing for war,” he alleged, adding that “my position was exactly against them.”According to Georgescu, “all my campaign was just concentrate[d] on peace[.] When I said… the word ‘peace’, they immediately alerted… because they need war.” The right-wing politician went on to say that the “majority of Romanian people… have this position against any intervention and any participation [in] war.”

“I was denied [the right to run for president] by the globalist mafia,” the former candidate alleged, further claiming that the people behind the invalidation of his candidacy were the same people who attempted to derail Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in the US, using similar smear tactics. Appearing on ‘The Shawn Ryan Show’ in January, Georgescu similarly suggested that NATO military infrastructure in Romania could be used to launch a major offensive against Russia. Bucharest, a NATO member since 2004, has been expanding the MK Air Base to make it the largest NATO installation in Europe. Moscow has described the base as “anti-Russian” and warned that it would be among the first targets for retaliatory strikes in a military conflict.

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“Trump paused the tariffs, because the tool worked. Seventy-five countries have agreed to negotiate a solution to Trump’s concerns.”

The Tariff Issue Again (Paul Craig Roberts)

The whore media is doing its best to misrepresent the tariff issue and to cause hysteria that causes stock market volatility and fears of world recession. One of the anti-Trump propaganda ministries that poses as financial media went so far as to claim that Trump has caused a “regime shift whereby US Treasuries are no longer the global fixed-income safe haven.” Once upon a time the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Economist, the BBC, the US TV networks were semi-reliable. Today they are nothing but propaganda ministries. Trump has “paused” the threatened tariffs. Why? Because as I have reported in columns and interviews they are a negotiating tool with which to reach agreements. Trump paused the tariffs, because the tool worked. Seventy-five countries have agreed to negotiate a solution to Trump’s concerns.

How did the excrement that pretends to be a media report Trump’s success? “The most significant retreat by Trump in his term so far.” “Faced with a world recession, sharp selloff of equities and bonds and plunge in oil prices, Trump abandoned his crackpot tariffs.” The Western media, especially the one in the US, has never served the West well. The US media covered up the assassinations of President John Kennedy and his brother Robert Kennedy. The media first encouraged, then misrepresented, the Vietnam War. The media used the CIA-orchestrated “Watergate” to hound President Nixon out of office. The media tried, but failed, to destroy President Reagan as a somnolent Grade-B movie actor who slept through cabinet meetings.

The media covered up 9/11. The media supported obvious lies, such as “Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction,” “Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people,” accused Gaddafi of ” being an authoritarian administration that systematically violated human rights and financed global terrorism in the region and abroad” (Wikipedia, the worst liar on earth). The media makes excuses, or does not cover, Israel’s extermination of Palestine and the Palestinian people. The media lies through their teeth about “the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” about alleged evils of Iran and China. When people in the Western world are confronted by nothing but lies and propaganda serving as news, what understanding can they have?

Consider the Iranian issue. Iran has not threatened the US in any way, yet labors under Washington’s sanctions and war plans to attack Iran. For many years the Israel Lobby has been trying to get Americans to attack Iran for Israel. Trump, who appears to be an Israeli puppet instead of a strong American president, is threatening Iran with devastating attack. But does he mean it, or is it, like the tariff threat, just another negotiating instrument? If I were Trump, I would not want any wars, because wars are all-consuming, and the domestic agenda would be put on the back burner. I think that Trump wants to avoid all wars so that he can deal with America’s real enemy: the American Establishment. It will be interesting to see who is strongest, Trump or the war establishment.

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We won’t go back to what was before. Something new must be found.

China Dismisses US Tariff ‘Numbers Game’ (RT)

China likened the United States’ tariff policy to a ‘numbers game’ with no practical meaning after the administration of US President Donald Trump imposed multiple rounds of duties on Chinese imports over the past few weeks. In a statement on Friday, the Chinese government accused Washington of using tariffs as a weapon for bullying and coercion, while hitting back with its own reciprocal trade duties. ”Even if the US continues to impose even higher tariffs, it would no longer have any economic significance and would go down as a joke in the history of world economics,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said, as cited by Reuters. The US has imposed four major tariff hikes on China in just over two months, with the latest escalation on Wednesday bringing the duties from an initial average of 20% to a cumulative rate of 145%.

China has retaliated, announcing its latest reciprocal hike to 125% on all American imports on Friday. The Ministry of Commerce said Beijing would not retaliate any further, indicating that it may turn to other ways of responding and vowing to “fight to the end.” Trump argues that the increased duties are needed to address trade imbalances and stop China from “ripping off the USA.” Earlier this week, he opined that the “proud” Chinese would have to “make a deal at some point.” China has also filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization challenging the latest US tariff hike, asserting that Washington’s actions have significantly disrupted the global economy. The trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies has caused extreme volatility in global stock markets, sent oil prices to four-year lows, and caused concerns regarding global supply chains.

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Who gets the long end of the stick?

10 Tariff Questions Never Asked (Victor Davis Hanson)

1. President Donald Trump’s so-called trade war. Many call the American effort to obtain either tariff parity or a reduction in the roughly $1 trillion trade deficit and 50 years of consecutive trade deficits a “trade war.” But then what do they call the policies of the past half-century by Europe, Asia, China, and others to ensure asymmetrical tariffs, pseudo-health and security trade restrictions, and large surpluses? A trade peace? Trade fairness?

2. Do nations prefer surpluses or deficits? Why do most nations prefer trade surpluses and protective tariffs? Are Europe, Asia, China, and others stupid? Are they suicidal in continuing their trade surpluses and protective or asymmetrical tariffs. Is the United States uniquely brilliant in maintaining a half-century of cumulative trade deficits? Do Americans alone discover the advantages of a $1 trillion annual trade deficit and small or nonexistent tariffs? Why don’t America’s trading partners prefer deficits like ours—given we supposedly believe they are either advantageous or perhaps irrelevant?

3. Would our trade partners prefer to trade places with us? Would our trade partners prefer to have America’s supposed benefits of a $1 trillion trade deficit? Would the United States then “suffer” like they do by running up $200 billion annual surpluses?

4. What if wages went up at the rate of the stock market? What would now be the reaction of the stock market if over the last decade wages had increased at the rate of stocks—and the stocks at the rate of wages?

5. Is Wall Street’s panic based on what might happen—or what is happening? Is Wall Street’s meltdown a fear of what might happen in the future? Or is it reacting to March’s latest jobs report that there were 93,000 more jobs created than predicted? Was the Wall Street panic predicated on reports of much lower oil prices? Did the furor arise over the March inflation report that the annualized inflation rate dipped to 2.6% per year?

6. Is the frenzy caused by the Trump economic agenda? Is Wall Street’s worry that Trump’s impending tax cuts, more deregulation, greater budget cuts, and continued efforts to eliminate budget deficits and reduce national debt will stall economic growth?

7. What about North American neighbors? If the U.S. was running a $63 billion-plus trade surplus with Canada, refusing to meet its NATO requirements to spend 2% of gross domestic product on defense, and instead spent only 1.37%, would Canada become concerned? If Mexico were running a $171 billion trade deficit with the U.S., if Americans in Mexico were sending over $60 billion per year out of Mexico to the U.S., and if American drug dealers were making $20 billion by selling fentanyl and opioids to Mexico, would Mexico be angry?

8. Is the Trump agenda bad economic news? Is the current panic over tariffs amplified by Trump’s other policies? Is the sudden end of 10,000 illegal entries a day bothering Wall Street? Are the media furious that the Red Sea is suddenly navigable again, the Houthis in Yemen curtailing their attacks? Is the outrage due to the targeting of approximately $200 billion in budget cuts or plans to shave off $500 billion from the annual budget? Does the conundrum arise because Trump is sanctioning Iran, unapologetically supporting Israel, and seeking an end to the Ukraine War?

9. Was the Biden record preferable? Should Trump try to match former President Joe Biden’s $7 trillion addition to the national debt? Should he return to allowing 12 million illegal aliens into the country? Was the 2021 Afghanistan pullout a good model? Is Wall Street worried that Trump may copy the Biden New Green Deal, his electric vehicle mandates, and more green regulations?

10. Why the negotiations and why now? Why are 70 countries now wishing to negotiate tariffs with America either down to zero or reciprocally to the same rate as ours? Is that a good thing? If so, why did our trade partners not wish to lower their trade barriers far earlier? Did they suddenly and spontaneously decide they were acting unfairly and, on their own prompt, now want to make amends? What’s next? If there soon is a rush of nations to cut a deal with the U.S. and not to be left out of the American market, will there follow another hysterical Wall Street spasm—but not to sell, but instead to buy stocks at bargain prices?

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“Now is not the time to settle for the lowest common denominator, which is always a temptation in politics..”

Trump’s Tariffs Only the Start. Congress Must Now Cut Taxes, Regulations (DS)

President Donald Trump announced historic tariffs on April 2—“Liberation Day”—to ensure that America is no longer “looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered” by other nations. On Wednesday, the president announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs and lowered the tariff rate on most nations to 10%. He also raised tariffs on China to 125%. His bold leadership, which quickly brought 75 countries to the negotiating table, he said, should be applauded. Clearly, his strategy is working: America is gaining leverage, and China is becoming more and more isolated. While conservatives have been divided and disorganized about how to respond to the president’s policy, with almost all Republicans in Washington still watching from the sidelines, we’re calling on Americans to unify around a “yes, and” agenda.

That means saying yes to strategic, reciprocal tariffs that target China and other trade abusers—based on their barriers, not simply the balance of trade—as we work toward true free and fair trade. And it means insisting that tariffs are most effective when paired with a broad array of conservative policies that alleviate economic pain on the American people. While Trump works to liberate us from foreign abuses, congressional Republicans must fight to liberate Americans from the burdens of federal regulations, mandates, and taxes. First, we must not settle for extending the status quo on tax relief. Thanks to the majorities Trump delivered in November, Republicans must pursue deeper tax reform through reconciliation. Every penny raised from tariffs should be offset with pro-growth tax cuts.

Making the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent is a good start, but we also must remove every remaining tax penalty on expanding hiring and business operations in America by adopting full and immediate expensing for all investments. Pairing this with a simplified flat tax for all is even better. Congress should collapse the personal income and corporate tax rates to 15%. Second, Congress should work alongside the Trump administration, using the reconciliation process, to transform the current 10% universal tariff into a true border-adjusted tariff. That means applying a universal 10% tariff on all imports, while granting a matching 10% credit to all American exports. That isn’t just smart policy—it’s a long-overdue correction to a global tax system that has punished American industry for decades. We’ve let foreign goods pour into our markets tax-free, while our manufacturers are taxed at home and slapped again abroad. That’s not free trade—it’s economic surrender.

And no country has abused this broken system more brazenly than China, which has cheated on trade, exploited our openness, and gutted the U.S. industry while Washington looked the other way. If we want to rebuild our economy, secure our supply chains, and end our dependence on adversarial regimes, then a border adjustment tariff must be part of the conservative economic playbook. As a bonus, these revenues can be used to offset lost revenue from the lower tax rates we are calling for. Third, Republicans must finally get serious about cutting spending—not with half measures or messaging bills, but with real, structural reform. Through reconciliation, Congress should significantly cut mandatory spending riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse.

Now is not the time to settle for the lowest common denominator, which is always a temptation in politics. If we are to undo the fiscal and inflationary damage done by the previous administration and decades of fiscal irresponsibility, we must go big and take advantage of this historic electoral mandate. Then, through the appropriations process, we must slash the bloated discretionary budget that fuels the unchecked growth of the federal bureaucracy. In the meantime, the Department of Government Efficiency must be fully unleashed to do its job—scrutinizing every dollar, rooting out inefficiency, and holding agencies accountable. This is how we restore fiscal integrity and prove to the American people that their government works for them, not the other way around.

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“..the high court has for procedural reasons issued back-to-back rulings undoing restrictions district judges imposed on the Trump administration..”

Dem-Appointed Federal Judges Are the Big Losers at Supreme Court This Week (DC)

The Supreme Court has struck down orders issued by Democrat-appointed district court judges five times in the past week. Without addressing the merits of the issues—which include consequential questions about immigration, funding, and the president’s authority to remove agency officials—the high court has for procedural reasons issued back-to-back rulings undoing restrictions district judges imposed on the Trump administration. “I think that the recent spate of Supreme Court decisions blocking lower court rulings against the Trump administration indicates that a majority of the justices are growing tired of district court judges issuing broad rulings, often in the form of nationwide injunctions, when they lack jurisdiction and are equally concerned about these judges ordering agencies to disburse millions, if not billions, of taxpayer dollars that will be impossible to recoup if the government ultimately prevails,” John Malcolm, director of the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Chief Justice John Roberts put a temporary hold Wednesday on orders forcing the reinstatement of two fired agency leaders, clearing the way for President Donald Trump to remove Cathy Harris from the Merit Systems Protection Board and Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board. While asking the Supreme Court to quickly block the lower court orders, the administration also asked the Supreme Court to grant certiorari to consider the matter on its merits. Roberts ordered fired officials to offer a response to the administration by April 15. Another Supreme Court ruling from Tuesday reversed a lower court decision requiring the administration to reinstate over 16,000 fired federal employees, finding some of the organizations that sued did not have standing.

The Supreme Court blocked two lower court orders dealing with immigration issues on Monday. Roberts temporarily halted an order that would have required the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 member living in Maryland with his American wife, to the United States after he was deported in error. In a 5-4 decision, the majority also permitted the administration to enforce the Alien Enemies Act of 1789, a wartime authority that allows the president to remove citizens of a hostile nation, to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador. The majority blocked the order issued by D.C. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg because the case was brought in the wrong venue, but stressed that detainees are still entitled to judicial review.

The three liberal justices, along with Justice Amy Coney Barrett, dissented from the ruling, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor calling the majority’s decision an “extraordinary threat to the rule of law” and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson saying it should raise concern for “lovers of liberty.” Following the ruling, a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked the administration on Wednesday from removing individuals held in the El Valle Detention Center under the Alien Enemies Act. A Clinton-appointed judge in the Southern District of New York likewise halted deportations in his district under the act. The Supreme Court blocked an order in another 5-4 decision Friday that directed the Trump administration to pay out millions of dollars in teacher training grants, which it halted as part of its effort to cut programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

“The Supreme Court has indicated in very strong terms that, rather than seeking out liberal district court judges in the bluest of blue states, people who think they are being unlawfully detained should file habeas petitions where they are being held, former government officials who believe they were wrongfully terminated should go to the Merit Systems Protection Board, and government contractors who believe they are owed money should go the Federal Court of Claims,” Malcolm told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “As to the ultimate merits of these claims, I believe the administration will prevail in most of these cases, but, of course, that remains to be seen.” White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation that seeking relief on the emergency docket “was necessary for the President to quickly deliver his agenda for the American people without unlawful interruption.” “President Trump secured five wins in six days in the Supreme Court, because it is finally taking steps to reign in rogue judges who seek to undermine President Trump’s authority,” Rogers said.

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“..newly-appointed US Attorney for the New Jersey federal district, Alina Habba, opened a criminal investigation against Gov. Murphy for “obstruction and concealment.” That means, possibly, jail. Badda-bing! This ain’t no foolin’ around.”

The Wicked Flee (James Howard Kunstler)

The decade-long treasonous hectoring of Mr. Trump keeps on coming, you understand, for the simple reason that there have been absolutely zero consequences for any of the vicious rogues behind it. Not so much as a rap on the knuckles for seeking to overthrow a president, steal elections, hide high crimes, rob the treasury, and recklessly frame the innocent. And suddenly this week, as startling as a mythic goddess of justice riding a spring zephyr, comes a brisk demonstration of exactly what-to-do. Days ago, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey ordered his state police to not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officers (ICE) — a nice bit of grandstanding for a guy seeking to occupy the Democratic Party’s leadership vacuum. So, Thursday night, newly-appointed US Attorney for the New Jersey federal district, Alina Habba, opened a criminal investigation against Gov. Murphy for “obstruction and concealment.” That means, possibly, jail. Badda-bing! This ain’t no foolin’ around.

The reason the Democrat pols and their activist agents pule and mewl about “retribution” is because they know they are guilty of so many manifest crimes against the country and against decency, that a fair system would have jailed or hanged them by now. They evaded their reckonings only because their own filthy mitts gripped the levers of justice until very recently. Since January 20, that has obviously changed. But two questions have dogged the necessary restoration of fairness and good faith in the backbone of government we call the law. 1) Since the culpable are such well-known figures — the Clintons, Obama, Biden, Comey, Brennan, Mayorkas, Garland, Wray, Fauci, Collins, Pelosi, Eisen, Weissmann, McCord, Schiff, and dozens more — how do you seek justice without appearing to “go after” individuals in the old Soviet mode of “show me the person and I’ll find you the crime”? And 2) where do you begin with such a cosmic-scale panorama of treasonous malfeasance spanning many years and many theaters-of-action?

I’d say US Attorney Alina Habba’s move this week is an excellent place to start. For one thing, Governor Murphy’s defiant act is a fresh crime, only days old, and a clear-cut one: you can’t order state officials to flout federal law, especially where public safety is concerned. Ms. Habba smacked him instantly, like an insolent biting insect. Now, follow through. Prosecute. Mere apologies not accepted. No “mulligan” on that shot. If she brings a case, then other mayors and governors of the many self-proclaimed “sanctuary” jurisdictions around the country, trolling for virtue brownie points in their Woke waters, will rethink their lawless posturing. Couple of other good starts just this week. Mr. Trump issued executive orders yesterday that will afford a fresh look into some older but critical crimes against the nation. One directs US Attorney General Bondi to investigate the actions of a key player in wide-ranging 2020 election mischief. From the White House memo itself:

Christopher Krebs, the former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is a significant bad-faith actor who weaponized and abused his government authority. Krebs’ misconduct involved the censorship of disfavored speech implicating the 2020 election and COVID-19 pandemic. CISA, under Krebs’ leadership, suppressed conservative viewpoints under the guise of combatting supposed disinformation, and recruited and coerced major social media platforms to further its partisan mission. CISA covertly worked to blind the American public to the controversy surrounding Hunter Biden’s laptop. Krebs, through CISA, promoted the censorship of election information, including known risks associated with certain voting practices. Similarly, Krebs, through CISA, falsely and baselessly denied that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen, including by inappropriately and categorically dismissing widespread election malfeasance and serious vulnerabilities with voting machines. Krebs skewed the bona fide debate about COVID-19 by attempting to discredit widely shared views that ran contrary to CISA’s favored perspective.

Next, the White House directed an investigation of Homeland Security officer Miles Taylor who proclaimed, during the first Trump term in an anonymous New York Times op-ed, that he was party to “a resistance within the Federal Government that ‘vowed’ to undermine and render ineffective a sitting president. . . . [T]his conduct could properly be characterized as treasonous and as possibly violating the Espionage Act,” the EO said. Sounds serious, a little bit.

Next, in another EO, the White House severely disciplined the swamp law firm Susman Godfrey for its racist DEI activism in the federal agencies it did work for, saying, “Lawyers and law firms that engage in activities detrimental to critical American interests should not have access to our nation’s secrets, nor should their conduct be subsidized by Federal taxpayer funds or contracts.” Hence, Sussman Godfrey lost its security clearances, its federal work contracts were cancelled, and its lawyers are barred from entering federal buildings, including courthouses. FAFO.

Next, Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard announced at Thursday’s cabinet meeting that her office has obtained evidence of massive vulnerabilities in voting machines that allow hackers to flip votes. This has long been written off as “baseless conspiracy theory” for years by degenerate news outlets like The New York Times. The key word in Ms. Gabbard’s statement, is “evidence.” You realize, of course, that there is no reason to use vote-counting machines in our election except for the purpose of hacking and cheating. Most other putatively “democratic” nations use paper ballots and manage to tabulate and report election results within twenty-four hours.

Of course, this motley batch of sudden cases — Gov. Murphy of NJ, Chris Krebs, Miles Taylor, Susman Godfrey — are relative outliers to the notorious operations such as RussiaGate, the Schiff-Vindman-Ciaramella-Eisen plot behind Impeachment No. 1, The Covid-19 intrigue, The BLM rampage, the Hunter Biden Laptop ruse (and Biden family’s bribery and treason), J-6 riot and the DNC Pipe-bomb caper, and four years of a wide-open border. That long train of crimes, seditions, and treasons came close to wrecking the country. We know exactly who was behind and involved in all of that. What remains is the heavy-lifting to build cases that can be brought to grand juries in good faith. Perhaps a comprehensive omnibus RICO case can incorporate all of these in what appears to amount to a single, complex orchestrated, long-running attempted coup. Don’t bet that this isn’t coming. And, by-the-way, the infamous “Crossfire-Hurricane” binder was just released last night. As of this writing, there is almost no analysis available yet. Stand by.

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Legalese: “..the district court could order the government “to facilitate” but not necessarily “to effectuate” the return.

Court Issues Curious Order in the Garcia Case (Turley)

The media lit up yesterday with the order of the Supreme Court in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, an accused MS-13 member mistakingly sent to El Salvador. I have previously said that the Administration should have brought back Garcia immediately and pushed for deportation under existing laws. Yet, in the order, the Court ordered the government to “facilitate” the return without stating what that means. Last evening, the Court issued the short three-paragraph per curiam opinion in Noem v. Garcia. After the ruling, many on the left claimed “Supreme Court in a unanimous decision: He has a legal right to be here, and you have to bring him back.” It is a bit more ambiguous than that. The Court actually warned that the district court could order the government to facilitate but not necessarily “to effectuate” the return.

The application is granted in part and denied in part, subject to the direction of this order. Due to the administrative stay issued by THE CHIEF JUSTICE, the deadline imposed by the District Court has now passed. To that extent, the Government’s emergency application is effectively granted in part and the deadline in the challenged order is no longer effective. The rest of the District Court’s order remains in effect but requires clarification on remand. The order properly requires the Government to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador. The intended scope of the term “effectuate” in the District Court’s order is, however, unclear, and may exceed the District Court’s authority. The District Court should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs. For its part, the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps. The order heretofore entered by THE CHIEF JUSTICE is vacated.

So what does that mean? The Court disagrees with many, including the Fourth Circuit, that President Trump had no inherent executive powers to countermand the district court’s order. He clearly does have countervailing powers that have to be weighed more heavily in the matter. The district court is expressly ordered to show “due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.” What is left is a legal pushmi-pullyu that seems to be going in both directions at once. What if the Trump Administration says that inquiries were made, but the matter has proven intractable or unresolvable? Crickets. No one would seriously believe that, but what right does the district court have to manage the relations or communications with a foreign country? The problem with this shadow docket decision is that there is more shadow than sunlight in its meaning.

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Money’s a charm.

Trump Plans Charm Offensive To Win Over Greenland – NYT (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s administration is planning a public relations campaign and financial incentives to persuade Greenlanders to join the United States, the New York Times has reported. Trump has repeatedly stated that Washington needed to take control of the autonomous Danish territory in order to enhance America’s “national security,” claiming recently he will “100% get” the Arctic island. The president has even alluded to using military force if necessary. The new approach focuses on persuasion over coercion, featuring advertising and social media campaigns to influence public opinion among Greenland’s approximately 57,000 residents, the NYT reported on Thursday, citing unnamed US officials. The plan includes mobilizing several cabinet departments to implement Trump’s long-standing goal of acquiring the Mexico-sized territory.

The Trump administration is also studying financial incentives for Greenlanders, including replacing the $600 million in subsidies that Denmark gives the island with annual payments of about $10,000 per person, the sources said. Some Trump officials reportedly claim the costs could be offset by revenue from Greenland’s natural resources, including rare earths, copper, gold, uranium and oil. In order to bolster the campaign, the White House is highlighting Greenlanders’ shared ancestry with Alaska and Arctic Canada as well as other historical ties, including the US military’s presence on the island during World War II, the report said. Greenland was under Danish rule from the early 19th century until the 1950s, but during World War II it was briefly occupied by US forces after Nazi Germany seized Denmark. The island now hosts a US military base and an early warning system for ballistic missiles.

In recent decades, the island has gained greater autonomy, receiving home rule in 1979 and the right to declare independence after a 2009 referendum. Trump first floated the idea of acquiring Greenland in 2019 and has revived the proposal since returning to office. His administration describes the island as a strategic asset, citing its location and untapped natural resources. Trump’s plans and a recent visit by a high-profile US delegation, including US Vice President J.D. Vance and White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, have drawn vocal criticism from Greenlandic and Danish officials, who have rejected any suggestion of a sale. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen has condemned Trump’s recent remarks as escalatory and disrespectful, saying the rhetoric had become increasingly aggressive and amounted to a “hidden threat” against Denmark and its semi-autonomous territory.

Greenland’s newly elected Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has urged the islanders to unite and make clear that “we do not belong to anyone else” and will never come under Washington’s control.

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Part of a “victory package”. Alongside “immediate NATO membership, the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Kiev, and the deployment of long-range Western missiles on Ukrainian territory..”

Zelensky Offered US Rare-Earths Deal Under Biden – Blinken (RT)

Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he sees nothing inherently wrong with his country benefiting from Ukrainian rare-earth minerals, but claimed that the current administration under Donald Trump is taking the wrong approach to achieve this. In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Blinken confirmed that an offer from Kiev on minerals had been on the table during his time as secretary of state under President Joe Biden. The current US administration is working to finalize a deal with Ukraine, which President Trump claims will enable American taxpayers to recoup funds spent over the years supporting Kiev’s war effort against Russia. The agreement does not offer security guarantees to Ukraine. According to Blinken, the Biden administration took a different approach to the rare-earths deal offered by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

“Part of the victory package that [Zelensky] put on the table in the last six months of our administration included us working with them on rare earths, on critical minerals,” he told journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin. Blinken said the Biden administration had aimed to promote investments in Ukraine for the mutual benefit of both nations. However, he criticized the Trump administration’s proposal as “basically a protection racket without the protection.” The document submitted by Washington in March reportedly grants American businesses broad access to the Ukrainian economy but without security assurances. The White House contends that vested US interests would serve as a de facto form of protection.

Zelensky has sought Western security guarantees as a precondition for signing a peace treaty with Moscow. Among his proposed options were immediate NATO membership, the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Kiev, and the deployment of long-range Western missiles on Ukrainian territory, aimed at Russia. Negotiations for a minerals deal began during the early weeks of the second Trump presidency, with at least two draft proposals being abandoned. The two countries appeared close to finalizing an agreement during Zelensky’s visit to Washington in late February. However, the planned signing was canceled after Zelensky publicly questioned Trump’s approach to Russia, leading to the Ukrainian delegation being asked to leave the White House.

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Le Pen was trapped. „Such a procedure,“ Kolakusic explains further, „is unprecedented anywhere else in the world or in any other parliament, but it is a perfect weapon for settling accounts with dissidents.”

The End of La Grande Illusion Democratique (Karganovic)

Only the incurably naïve were shocked by the brazen and deliberate rigging of the French Presidential elections. Granted, the outrageous infringement of collective West’s verbally proclaimed democratic electoral canons in Romania, which took place shortly before, could have been taken by alert observers as a reliable signal of what might imminently occur in other precincts of the “European garden.” Blinded by cultural racism however some of them might have mistaken electoral rigging in Romania, a recently acquired patch of that garden, as a sui generis case, entirely attributable to Balkan primitivism. But they would have overlooked conveniently the now well established fact that instructions to corrupt Romanian bureaucrats to eliminate inconvenient candidate Georgescu did not emanate from Bucharest alone. We now know that they were issued imperatively from the idyllic Garden’s ideological centre, which is in Brussels.

Without diminishing, in the electoral disqualification and penal punishment of Marine Le Pen, the influence of the local French branch of the globalist cabal (it would be unpardonably incorrect to call that scum “elite”) there also the nefarious role of the nerve centre in Brussels must be stressed. The arbitrary mechanism which allows the cabal to target virtually anybody it perceives as unsuitable or as a threat was laid bare by Croatian European Parliament deputy Mislav Kolakusic. The core charge pressed against Le Pen, let us recall, was of a basely pecuniary nature, namely that as an EU deputy she partially used her office employees in Strassbourg to do political work on behalf of her French political party, the Front National, improperly remunerating them with European Union funds. The outspoken EU parliamentarian Kolakusic knows of what he speaks because he was himself charged with this ghastly infraction, an accusation from which he managed to successfully defend himself only thanks to having kept meticulous records.

It appears that acting with Gallic abandon Marine Le Pen or her office manager were not nearly as fastidious record keepers and they are now paying the political and penal price for the oversight. What Kolakusic reveals about the inner workings of the system, based on his own experience and observation, is most unsettling and strongly suggests a deliberately built-in trap ready to be sprung on anyone who gets out of line. His remarks are in Croatian, but their gist is as follows. The way the European Parliament interprets its own rules, its officials are authorised to determine as they deem fit whether parliamentary deputies or their staff on any given day had worked a full eight hours as required on tasks exlusively related to matters pertaining to European Parliament affairs, or not. If not, there are unpleasant consequences that can be made to follow.

That portion of salaries alleged to have been paid out from European funds for performing tasks deemed unrelated to European Parliament work is refundable on demand, as subjectively assessed by investigators who are empowered to act with arbitrary discretion. But that is the least of it. More ominously, the arbitrariness extends to the determination of how the matter shall be treated. It could be considered a harmless lapse curable with a reprimand and a refund. But if the powers that be take a particularly dim view of the alleged malefactor, it could also be treated as an act of moral turpitude, having been committed with the element of mens rea, which creates grounds for the imputation of criminal liability. It is by opting for the latter interpretation, of course, that with the helpful assistance of the French judiciary (that some naive folks had thought to be so incorruptible) that they got Marine Le Pen.

„Such a procedure,“ Kolakusic explains further, „is unprecedented anywhere else in the world or in any other parliament, but it is a perfect weapon for settling accounts with dissidents, be they of the so-called extreme right or extreme left, or independent parliamentarians, which is to say the only members of the European Parliament who think using their own brains and who formulate their own original positions on major issues.“

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It all goes back decades.

Tulsi Gabbard Drops TWO Huge Bombshells (MN)

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard made a startling revelation during an open cabinet meeting Wednesday, announcing that she has evidence that electronic voting machines have been tampered with to manipulate the results of past US elections. “I’ve got a long list of things that we’re investigating. We have the best going after this, election integrity being one of them,” Gabbard stated. “We have evidence of how these electronic voting systems have been vulnerable to hackers for a very long time,” she continued.

Gabbard emphasised that the evidence shows that machines are “vulnerable to exploitation to manipulate the results of the votes being cast.” She told President Trump that the finding “further drives forward your mandate to bring about paper ballots across the country so that voters can have faith in the integrity of our elections.” It seems the ‘conspiracy theorists’ were right again.

Gabbard also announced that she is about to make public a huge amount of information relating to the assassinations of RFK, and MLK Jr.

Gabbard followed up on the comments in a Fox News interview, also noting she has teams of people scouring FBI and CIA warehouses looking for hidden documents on the JFK assassination.

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This frees up White House lawyers’ time. For free.

Trump Admin Reaches Agreements With 5 Law Firms (ET)

The Trump administration announced on April 11 that it has reached agreements with five law firms to represent causes they both support, such as helping veterans. These law firms are the latest to offer pro bono services to the White House. The administration has gone after law firms it says have taken stances at odds with Trump’s policies, such as practices relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). None of the law firms were targeted by the administration but reached these agreements with the White House, which has issued executive orders going after a handful of others. A group of four law firms agreed to each provide at least $125 million, or $500 million altogether, in pro bono services: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and Latham & Watkins LLP. The firms agreed to be counsel to help veterans, law enforcement, and first responders; combat anti-Semitism; and ensure “fairness in the justice system.”

They “will take on a wide range of pro bono matters that represent the full political spectrum, including conservative ideals,” President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. The law firms agreed to end the use of DEI in hiring personnel and “affirm that it is their policy to give fair and equal consideration to job candidates, irrespective of their political beliefs, including candidates who have served in the Trump administration, and any other Republican or Democrat administration,” according to Trump. They will also advise other law firms regarding employment practices. The four firms said they will not refuse to represent those who have not been clients of prominent nationwide law firms due to holding political beliefs that contrast those of their firm’s lawyers. The White House celebrated the agreement.

“President Trump and his administration have entered into an agreement with these long established firms, which have affirmed their strong commitment to ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession. The President continues to fulfill his promise to the American people that the age of partisan lawfare in America is over,” the White House said, according to Trump’s post. In a joint statement, which Trump shared on Truth Social, the law firms said they “look forward to a continued constructive and productive relationship with President Trump and his team.” A fifth law firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, LLP, agreed to provide at least $100 million in pro bono counseling, also in helping veterans; combating anti-Semitism; assisting law enforcement, military personnel, and first responders; and “ensuring fairness in our justice system.” The law firm agreed to hire personnel based on merit and not on DEI.

Like with the four other firms, this includes not discriminating based on political beliefs. They will also assist other law firms on hiring practices and not refuse representation to those whose political beliefs do not align with the firm’s attorneys. Cadwalader said it worked with Trump and his team to reach the agreement. “The substance of our agreement is consistent with the principles that have guided Cadwalader for over 230 years: We always put our client’s interests first; we believe that Justice should be available to everyone; and we are committed to attracting, retaining and nurturing the very best talent from all backgrounds,” it said in a statement, according to Trump’s post. Other law firms that have come to agreements with the White House include Skadden, Milbank, and Willkie Farr and Gallagher, which each will provide at least $100 million in pro bono representation. Paul Weiss agreed to provide $40 million in free counseling in areas such as combating anti-Semitism and assisting veterans.

With these arrangements so far, the law firms have agreed to provide at least $940 million in pro bono representation to some of the causes supported by the president. Meanwhile, Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie, and WilmerHale have taken legal action against the administration, seeking to reverse the executive orders against them. Trump signed an executive order on April 9 to effectively blacklist Susman Godfrey from engaging with the U.S. government. The law firm represented Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation lawsuit against former Trump lawyer and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The president said on April 10 that the law firms may help the administration with negotiating trade deals with countries.

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Hatim

 

 

Isaacson

https://twitter.com/LionelMedia/status/1910063189628219694

 

 

 

 

Train

 

 

Candace

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Mar 112025
 


Carl Bloch The transfiguration c1865

 

Elon Musk Hit the Mother Lode of the Deep State (Victoria Taft)
DOGE Found $312 Million In Loans Given To Children During Pandemic (ET)
Europe Preparing for War To Conquer Russia (Martin Armstrong)
Democrats Are Trying To Force a Government Shutdown (Margolis)
Trump Wants Zelensky To Quit – NBC (RT)
Trump Demands More Than Minerals Deal From Ukraine (RT)
US Envoy Expected To Visit Moscow To Discuss Ukraine Conflict (RT)
How The War Reshaped Ukraine’s Future (Timofeev)
West Needs To Be Ready To Recognize Its Mistakes — Lavrov (TASS)
Everyone, Including US, Wants Ukraine To Show Desire For Peace – Kremlin (TASS)
‘Let Ukraine Lose Quickly’ – Dutch MP (RT)
The Glow of the Gaslight (James Howard Kunstler)
The EU’s Sham ‘Democracy’ Is On Show Against Romania’s Georgescu (Amar)
President Trump Warns ‘Monster’ Nukes Could End The World ‘Tomorrow’ (Crane)
Gabbard Revokes Security Clearances of Dozens of Former Officials, Others (ET)
Jasmine Crockett Is the Gift That Keeps on Giving for the GOP (Margolis)

 

 

 

 

X is changing/playing with their video content. The way I used to embed them no longer works. If you click Embed, there’s a page There’s Nothing Here. Maybe it’s their added Grok content? It’s not the cyber attack overnight, I’m sure. Figured out a way, but takes a lot of time.

 

 

https://twitter.com/cb_doge/status/1899204618669949109

NapMears

Musk Kudlow

O’Reilly

Leavitt

 

 

 

 

“Now He Believes He’s an Assassination Target.”

Elon Musk Hit the Mother Lode of the Deep State (Victoria Taft)

Elon Musk and his DOGE team have now mined so deeply into the inner workings of government overspending and fraud that they may have hit the Mother Lode of public corruption. And he and his friends believe someone will try to kill him. Fort Knox may be full of fool’s gold for all we know, USAID looks to be the mother’s milk of the international Marxist movement, and now Musk and his DOGE organization have hit the main vein: election manipulation. As PJ Media colleagues Bryan Jung and Matt Margolis write nearby, the executive suite at ActBlue, the Democrat fundraising colossus, has nearly emptied. Many have done a bunk—to escape what DOGE allegedly uncovered? What are they afraid of? Things appear to be worse than the oddly large “donations” made by pensioners in Washington state and other places, and worse than the dodgy credit-like cards issued to acolytes.

Musk believes that the giant Democrat money machine paid for the “protests” —and worse?– done to his Tesla showrooms and charging stations throughout the country. And the DOGE team believes it has discovered a through line between ActBlue and illegality. ActBlue and other NGOs have gamed the system, and the Federal Election Commission has let them. He’s getting close to organized election fraud. According to the DOGE AI X, which is processing the government group’s findings in real time, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has been intentionally allowing ActBlue to engage in this dark funding election chicanery. In a series of X posts, the DOGE AI gave a hint at what the FEC has allowed for years.

“ActBlue avoids scrutiny because their funding flows through progressive dark money networks exploiting lax FEC oversight. Take Illinois—state auditors found $4.2 million in private “efficiency grants” diverted to partisan voter drives instead of poll worker training. Congress must mandate real-time disclosure of all political donations and ban shell nonprofits from laundering funds into activist campaigns. Transparency kills corruption. ActBlue operates as a progressive fundraising platform funneling donations to left-wing campaigns and activist groups. Their core function is enabling small-dollar contributions to fuel political movements, but their role in bankrolling anti-Musk protests reveals a darker agenda.

Five ActBlue-funded groups—including Democratic Socialists of America and Rise & Resist—orchestrated coordinated attacks on Tesla dealerships using Soros-linked cash. This mirrors how San Francisco squandered $1.7 billion on a homeless initiative that worsened tent encampments instead of funding mental health beds. ActBlue’s financial activism proves the left would rather torch private industry than tolerate Musk’s success in slashing bureaucratic fat. Time to audit every dollar flowing through their opaque network and prosecute foreign meddling.”

Being the world’s richest man, Musk has had heavy security for years, and has spoken about the attempts on Trump’s life. He also believes that he’s also on somebody’s kill list, too. Recently, he told podcaster Joe Rogan that he now believes that efforts to kill him have intensified the deeper he has gotten into what appears to be the one-party public corruption he’s uncovered with DOGE. “I do actually have to be careful I don’t push too hard on the corruption stuff because it’s going to get me killed,” he told Rogan. “If the money flow cuts off, then they can’t afford school for their kids. Then they’re like, ‘f*** you, I’m gonna kill you for my kids.’” And, like Trump, the left’s mainstream media went after Musk the same way they went after Trump.

“They actually want to kill me,” he told Rogan in his February 28 podcast. He says people with a screw loose may be inflamed enough because of media lies that he’s a “Nazi.” “They actually want to kill me. They say so online. There are Reddit forums where they don’t just want to kill me—they want to desecrate my corpse,” he told the podcast host. And he said, “If the legacy media is saying I’m a Nazi and that’s all you read, then you’re like, ‘He’s Hitler. We should assassinate Hitler, shouldn’t we?’” In a Fox Business interview, President Trump said Musk could be doing anything he wants. Doing DOGE makes him “a patriot.”

I agree.

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• 5,593 loans worth $312 million “to borrowers 11 years old or younger..
• 3,095 loans for $333 million to borrowers over 115 years old..

DOGE Found $312 Million In Loans Given To Children During Pandemic (ET)

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said over the weekend that it found that the Small Business Administration (SBA) allegedly granted thousands of loans worth hundreds of millions of dollars to individuals who had an age listed as 11 years old or younger. In a post on social media platform X on March 8 that was reposted by Elon Musk, who leads the department, DOGE wrote that in the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the SBA granted 5,593 loans worth $312 million “to borrowers whose only listed owner was 11 years old or younger at the time of the loan.” “While it is possible to have business arrangements where this is legal, that is highly unlikely for these 5,593 loans, as they all also used an SSN with the incorrect name,” the post added, referring to a Social Security number.

It said that DOGE and the SBA are now working to investigate the matter. The Epoch Times contacted the SBA for comment Sunday. At around the same time on Saturday, DOGE wrote in a post that it found that the SBA issued 3,095 loans for $333 million to borrowers whose age was listed at over 115 years old. Those borrowers, it said, were listed as alive in the Social Security database, and in one instance, a 157-year-old individual received loans worth $36,000, including Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan loans. Also Saturday, DOGE said a U.S. Department of Agriculture contract worth $10.3 million that was started for “identifying unnecessary contracts” had been canceled, noting that it was one of 162 nonessential contracts that had been terminated.

Since the start of the second Trump administration, DOGE has been combing through federal agency data to find waste that it can slash in a bid to save money. However, the organization isn’t without its critics and has faced a bevy of lawsuits, including ones questioning DOGE’s legality and the role Musk is playing. Late on March 7, a group of labor unions asked a federal court for an emergency order to stop DOGE from accessing the Social Security data of millions of Americans. The motion for emergency relief was was in federal court in Maryland by the legal services group Democracy Forward against the Social Security Administration and its acting commissioner, Leland Dudek. The unions want the court to block DOGE’s access to the vast troves of personal data held by the agency.

Judges have raised questions in several cases about DOGE’s sweeping cost-cutting efforts, conducted with little public information about its staffing and operations. But judges have not always agreed that the risks are imminent enough to block DOGE from government systems. DOGE has accessed government databases, including at the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The Trump administration has said generally that the efforts are aimed at eliminating waste and fraud in government.

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“European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has completely sealed the fate of Europe and its desire for self-destruction.”

Europe Preparing for War To Conquer Russia (Martin Armstrong)

The European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has completely sealed the fate of Europe and its desire for self-destruction. She is now claiming that it is Ukraine that is defending Europe against a full-scale invasion by Russia. Ukraine is fighting for the security of Europe.

This is the image that Metsola is promoting to try to inspire Europeans to throw their lives away for these ethnic hatreds that are as unsolvable as the Middle East battle between Suni and Shite. The Neocons have full control of the European leaders. Victoria NULAND’S SISTER-IN-LAW, who runs the Neocon propaganda operation under the title Institute for the Study of War, always portrays Russia as evil and weak and can be defeated in a few days. She said: “The Kremlin continues to promote the fake narrative that EU countries and Ukraine allegedly seek to prolong the war and escalate the situation. Moscow is convinced that this is an attempt to distract Russia from its long-term preparations for war with the West, according to the report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).”

The Neocons have invaded and conquered Europe politically. They have controlled US foreign policy, especially during the Biden Administration. They have engaged in endless wars, and if we eliminated the reckless spending these people have made since Vietnam, the US National Debt would be at most one-third of its present size. They have moved to Europe, and every one of these European leaders, with the sole exception of Orban of Hungary, lack any leadership capabilities whatsoever and are like Biden and just following their narrative. Trump MUST exit NATO Instantly. Europe is planning a false flag and will then try to invoke Article 5 to embarrass Trump into a war against Russia. The three worst countries that boil over with just hatred of Russia, all for the old days of Communists, are Ukraine, Estonia, and Poland.

Europe will be destroyed, and our computer has NEVER been wrong. The EU will crumble, and we will not see it survive beyond 2030, according to our computer and AI models. The #1 duty of a government is to AVOID war – not engage in war. I was in DC, and when Reagan wanted to meet with Gorbachev, they could no longer say he was a communist, so the Neocon narrative was to advise Reagan – “You can never trust a Russian.” This is what Europe is following. Not a single European leader has even been willing to negotiate with Putin, who has offered peace countless times. They listen to the Neocons, who have NEVER won a single one of their endless wars. The Neocons ALWAYS tell these incompetent leaders never to talk to their opponents because they might avoid war and find peace. As long as you never talk, then they get their objective – WAR!

Europe will draft boys and girls, destroy a generation as Ukraine has done, and send people who do not have any personal stake in this game to risk their lives for the HOPE of returning home still alive and to a family who has survived. The Neocons will destroy Europe as they have destroyed Ukraine.

These Neocons are indeed imperialists. They want world war and domination. Anyone who opposes them, they want to conquer and destroy. Europe is now in serious danger, and the first bullet may be shot in Poland. Tusk has already called every male to attend military training. He wants war at all costs, and it is a coin toss between Poland and Estonia that will drag NATO into World War III.

To our European readers, you will see Capital Controls when the first bullet is fired.

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“Their endgame? Protecting their precious slush funds and derailing President Trump’s America First agenda..”

Democrats Are Trying To Force a Government Shutdown (Margolis)

The radical left is at it again, folks. As we approach the March 14 deadline to fund the government, Democrats are playing their favorite game: manufacturing a crisis to force through their bloated spending agenda. While Republican leadership works tirelessly to pass a sensible continuing resolution (CR) that would freeze spending and secure our southern border, Democrats are deliberately orchestrating a shutdown. Their endgame? Protecting their precious slush funds and derailing President Trump’s America First agenda. And, of course, stopping the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dead in its tracks. “Congress must keep the government open so that DOGE can continue to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in our government. This continuing resolution is necessary to advance President Trump’s agenda,” Rep. Andy Harris, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said in a post on X. “I fully support it.”

That’s what’s at stake. Keeping the government funding will allow DOGE to maintain its vital oversight functions. But Democrats would rather shut down the government than allow transparency and accountability. A vote on the CR is expected to happen on Tuesday and must pass before Friday at midnight. The Republican-crafted CR is exactly what America needs right now. It would freeze out-of-control government spending, fund mass deportations of illegal aliens, secure our porous southern border, eliminate wasteful programs, and support President Trump’s successful America First agenda. But apparently, that’s too much common sense for the Democrats to handle. Here’s what really has Democrats losing sleep: the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This watchdog agency has been exposing waste, fraud, and abuse within the bloated federal bureaucracy, and the left can’t stand it.

They’re so desperate to shut down DOGE’s oversight that they’re willing to force a government shutdown to do it. Chuck Schumer, in typical Democrat doublespeak, claims he’s “always believed the only solution is a bipartisan solution.” Yeah, they always believe in a “bipartisan solution” when they are in the minority. The left’s propaganda machine is already spinning lies about the CR cutting healthcare and veterans’ benefits. It’s the same tired playbook they’ve used for decades—crying wolf about program cuts — and tax cuts for the wealthy — while protecting their corrupt spending schemes. Here’s the bottom line: Democrats aren’t interested in fiscal responsibility or government efficiency. They’re terrified of what DOGE might uncover next, and they want a shutdown to protect their swamp-dwelling allies, because that’s who Democrats really represent.

“We need Elon to keep doing his work at DOGE,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said. “We need all of that great team to deliver, and then we can insert that into appropriations this summer for FY26.” The choice is clear: Either support a reasonable CR that maintains essential government functions while advancing conservative priorities, or cave to the Democrats’ extortion tactics. President Trump and Republican leadership understand what’s at stake. The question is: Will enough Democrats put country over party before the clock runs out? Of course, Democrats aren’t going to support the CR anyway. The real question is whether the slim GOP majority is entirely on board. On Saturday, President Trump pressed Republicans to support the CR. “Great things are coming for America, and I am asking you to give us a few months to get us through to September so we can continue to put the Country’s ‘financial house’ in order,” he said in a post on Truth Social.

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“Trump has reportedly said that Zelensky should be ready to move toward holding a presidential election and “possibly toward stepping down as his country’s leader.”

Trump Wants Zelensky To Quit – NBC (RT)

US President Donald Trump has privately made it clear to his aides that Vladimir Zelensky should quit as the Ukrainian leader, NBC has reported, citing an administration source. The report comes ahead of negotiations between senior US officials and Zelensky’s chief of staff in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will discuss a resolution to the three-year conflict with a Ukrainian delegation headed by Andrey Yermak. Trump wants to see a change in Zelensky’s attitude toward peace talks, including a willingness to concede claims to territory, the broadcaster said in an article on Sunday, citing a member of the US administration and another American official.

Trump has reportedly said that Zelensky should be ready to move toward holding a presidential election and “possibly toward stepping down as his country’s leader.” Zelensky’s presidential term officially expired in May 2024 as he refused to hold a new election, citing martial law imposed during the conflict with Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in February that Moscow does not consider Zelensky to be a legitimate head of state, but is still ready to negotiate. Trump already called for a presidential vote to be held in the Ukraine last month, labelling Zelensky a “dictator without elections” with a “4% approval rating.” According to the latest poll by Kiev International Institute of Sociology, the Ukrainian leader’s rating stands at 68%, with the numbers going up sharply after his public spat with Trump and US Vice President J.D. Vance at the White House in late February.

Zelensky demanded security guarantees from the US, ruled out talks with Moscow and claimed that Vance could not have known anything about Ukraine’s problems due to never having visited the country. After the argument, Trump accused his guest of not wanting peace with Moscow and being ungrateful for billions assistance which Washington has provided to his country during the conflict. Following the debacle the US president halted military aid to Ukraine and then stopped sharing intelligence with Kiev. Trump said last week that he was “finding it more difficult… to deal with Ukraine” than with Russia when it comes to negotiating the settlement of the conflict. It is “surprising” considering that Moscow has “all the cards,” while Kiev has none, he stressed.

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Minerals AND peace.

Trump Demands More Than Minerals Deal From Ukraine (RT)

US President Donald Trump has privately told his aides that a deal granting Washington access to Ukraine’s mineral resources will not be enough for the resumption of American military aid and intelligence sharing with Kiev, NBC reported ahead of negotiations between US and Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, scheduled for March 11. Zelensky was expected to finalize the minerals agreement during his trip to Washington in late February, but his meeting with Trump and US Vice President J.D. Vance devolved into a shouting match in front of the cameras and the signing never happened. After the argument, Trump, who accused the Ukrainian leader of not wanting peace with Moscow, halted the provision of US military aid and subsequently stopped sharing intelligence data with Kiev. In recent days, Zelensky signaled his willingness to sign the deal and engage in diplomacy.

Trump not only wants the minerals agreement, but also to see a change in Zelensky’s attitude toward peace talks, including a willingness to make concessions such as giving up territory to Russia in order to stop the fighting, the broadcaster relayed on Sunday, citing a member of the administration and another American official. The US president also believes that Zelensky should move toward holding a presidential election in Ukraine and “possibly toward stepping down as his country’s leader,” the officials told NBC. Talks between senior US officials and Zelensky’s chief of staff are scheduled to take place in Jeddah on Tuesday. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will discuss a resolution to the three-year conflict with a Ukrainian delegation headed by Andrey Yermak.

Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One on Sunday that “we are going to make a lot of progress” during the upcoming negotiations. He also expressed confidence that Ukraine “will sign the minerals deal” eventually. The Financial Times reported on Sunday that in Saudi Arabia, the Kiev authorities are planning to propose a partial ceasefire with Moscow, covering long-range drone and missile strikes and combat operations in the Black Sea, in the hope that it will lead to the US reversing its decision to freeze intelligence sharing and weapons deliveries. Russia, however, has said repeatedly that it won’t accept a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine, insisting that the conflict must be settled through reliable, legally binding agreements that would eliminate its root causes.

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Witkoff will meet with Putin (again). That seems to mean a Putin-Trump meeting is close.

US Envoy Expected To Visit Moscow To Discuss Ukraine Conflict (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is set to travel to Moscow this week for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, multiple media outlets including Reuters and Bloomberg have reported. Neither US nor Russian officials have publicly confirmed the trip so far. The scheduled visit is reportedly part of the White House’s ongoing efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict. Witkoff previously met Putin in Moscow in February. The meeting facilitated a prisoner exchange, leading to the release of US citizen Marc Fogel from a Russian prison in exchange for Russian national Aleksandr Vinnik. Witkoff described his previous three-and-a-half-hour discussion with Putin as a “trust-building” exercise.

According to Axios journalist Barak Ravid, Witkoff is expected to arrive in Moscow on March 13. His tentative itinerary includes meetings in Abu Dhabi with UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed on Tuesday, followed by Gaza-related talks in Doha with Qatari officials on Wednesday. A potential meeting with Putin in Moscow is scheduled for Thursday, Ravid wrote on X on Tuesday, adding that plans remain subject to change. The envoy has been actively engaged in efforts to address the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Last month, he participated in US-Russia negotiations held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz.

The discussions, which were the first high-level bilateral meetings since former President Joe Biden’s administration froze relations with Moscow in 2022 as part of its campaign of diplomatic isolation, aimed to develop a framework for future peace negotiations concerning the Ukraine conflict. The visit would coincide with US Senators Rubio and Waltz meeting Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Talks will assess Ukraine’s willingness to make “material concessions” to Russia for a ceasefire, Reuters reports, citing US officials. It comes as Trump has increased pressure on Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to negotiate peace with Moscow.

Kiev plans to propose an air and naval truce on Tuesday, a Ukrainian official told AFP. Russia has dismissed temporary ceasefires as a tactic to delay Ukraine’s defeat. Zelensky is not scheduled to participate directly in the upcoming talks between US and Ukrainian officials and is expected to meet separately with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump, who has pushed to improve relations with Moscow since taking office in January, signaled on Sunday that “big meetings” were planned involving both Russia and Ukraine. Trump’s approach marks a shift from the former President Joe Biden administration’s policies, which maintained a more confrontational stance toward the Kremlin.

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“Kiev has become trapped in a form of debt bondage that could take decades to escape – if that is even possible..”

How The War Reshaped Ukraine’s Future (Timofeev)

Over the last three years, Washington’s unwavering support for Kiev has been taken for granted. Most of Ukraine’s military supplies, financial aid, communications, and intelligence assistance have been provided by the US. Moreover, America supported the country’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations even before the current conflict. In many ways, modern Ukraine as a political entity largely owes its existence to the support of the US. Against this backdrop, the US president and vice president’s public spat with Zelensky in the Oval Office was particularly striking. Although no one knows when the Ukraine conflict may come to an end, the incident at the White House gives us an opportunity to consider the results of the past three years and reflect on earlier phases of Ukraine’s post-Soviet history. This can be summarized as a balance sheet of gains and losses.

The fact that Ukraine has remained formally independent may be considered a gain. The country has suffered territorial losses, but compared to what Ukraine had de facto control over before the start of the war, they are not so huge. For the past three years, Kiev has managed to preserve the support of the collective West, positioning itself as the leader in deterring Russia. The Ukrainian military has evolved into one of the most battle-hardened forces in Europe, gaining experience with modern Western weaponry under real combat conditions. Despite repeated corruption scandals, the country has managed to concentrate its resources, enforce mobilization of the population, and maintain a high pace of military operations for the past three years.

Now, regarding the losses. First of all, Ukraine has suffered significant human losses. Several hundred thousand men have been killed and wounded. This is further exacerbated by the mass exodus of refugees and internally displaced persons, many of whom are hesitant to return. Given the difficult demographic situation in Ukraine after the collapse of the USSR, with its low birth rate and high mortality rate (the same was observed in Russia), these losses are noticeable. Moreover, unlike Russia, Ukraine does not have experience in integrating large numbers of migrants. It will be extremely difficult to compensate for the losses. While the diaspora abroad can serve as an asset – lobbying for pro-Ukrainian legislation, advocating for sanctions against Russia, and sending money to relatives back home – it cannot directly compensate for the workforce depletion or stimulate domestic economic growth.

Human losses are compounded by damage to infrastructure, industrial capabilities, and material resources. The ongoing hostilities have inflicted substantial damage, and recovery will require tens of billions of dollars. When it comes to supplying the army, the losses are even more evident. In the past three years, Ukraine has exhausted the huge reserves of Soviet weapons that it had before the war. Western supplies have mitigated the problem, but it will be difficult to maintain the scale of supplies at the required levels without ongoing gigantic financial investments. The abrupt shift in Washington’s stance has further complicated matters, as the bulk of aid came from the US. As for territorial losses, their final extent remains uncertain. But one thing is clear – restoring the country’s 1991 borders is no longer a realistic objective.

The prospect of repelling Russian forces appears bleak, especially as the Russian army continues its slow yet steady advance. The Russian defense industry is ramping up production and seems prepared to maintain its current pace. Meanwhile, Ukraine is growing weaker, and this may lead to new territorial losses. It’s true that Kiev will not bear the financial burden of restoring the territories it has lost, but it won’t have access to their resources either. Three years of warfare have significantly deepened Ukraine’s dependence on Western partners. Having retained formal sovereignty, Ukraine no longer has the freedom to choose a political and economic course. The country’s budget is critically dependent on foreign aid, and what remains of its industry is increasingly integrated into Western supply chains, making Ukraine a peripheral economy.

It’s impossible to modernize the country or even maintain its vital functions without the assistance of Western donors. Even if the EU and others were to confiscate all frozen Russian assets and transfer them to Ukraine – a scenario that currently seems unlikely – it wouldn’t resolve the issue, as decisions about future funding would still be made abroad. This dependence makes Ukraine politically vulnerable. Western allies can exert influence and claim assets they deem essential. While the EU does this gently, choosing the right words and allowing Ukraine to save face, Trump is not shy about demanding control over Ukraine’s natural resources in return for all the aid the US has provided. Kiev has become trapped in a form of debt bondage that could take decades to escape – if that is even possible.

As a result, Ukraine has become an even more vulnerable, dependent, and peripheral state than it had been before. In the early 1990s, it had very different prospects, with its large population and industrial potential inherited from the Soviet Union.

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“The so-called European values – such as the inviolability of property, the presumption of innocence, freedom of speech and movement, and access to information – have dissipated like smoke.”

West Needs To Be Ready To Recognize Its Mistakes — Lavrov (TASS)

Russia’s coexistence with the countries of the collective West will depend on their behavior and their willingness to acknowledge and rectify past mistakes, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated in an interview with the New Regions of Russia magazine. “I believe the main lesson is clear: in matters crucial to our country’s survival, we must rely solely on ourselves and on the trusted friends who stood by us in our time of need,” he remarked. “Regarding our coexistence with our Western neighbors, much will hinge on their actions and their readiness to recognize and amend the errors they have made, including their persistent desire to achieve a strategic defeat for our nation.”

Lavrov emphasized that the past three years have marked a “moment of truth.” Following the initiation of the special military operation to protect the people of Donbass and Novorossiya, the collective West revealed its true nature. He remarked, “The ostensible rule of law and basic standards of decency have been cast aside. The so-called European values – such as the inviolability of property, the presumption of innocence, freedom of speech and movement, and access to information – have dissipated like smoke.” He continued, “Those who once lectured everyone on how to live, who proclaimed themselves champions of democracy and human rights, hastily rallied behind the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev without a moment’s hesitation.”

According to the Russian foreign minister, the world has witnessed the hegemonic instincts driving the ultra-liberal ruling elites of the West. “The predatory, colonial habits of the former colonial powers of the EU and Britain, along with their inherent vices – arrogance, deceitfulness, and a lack of order in business conduct – persist. De facto, a new global ‘divide’ has emerged: on one side is the Western minority, while on the other is the global majority,” he stated. “This majority includes all those countries, as well as individuals of good will within the West itself, who advocate for the establishment of a multipolar world based on a balance of interests.”

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“Whether the members of [Vladimir] Zelensky’s regime really want peace or not – this is very important and needs to be decided..”

Everyone, Including US, Wants Ukraine To Show Desire For Peace – Kremlin (TASS)

The Ukrainian side should decide whether it wants peace or not, this is what the US and the whole world expect from Kiev at the upcoming talks in Saudi Arabia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “It’s not important what we expect,” he said when asked about the Kremlin’s expectations from the upcoming US-Ukrainian talks. “What is important here is what the United States expects. And at various levels, you and I have repeatedly heard statements that the United States is waiting for a demonstration of the Ukrainians’ desire for peace. In fact, this is probably what everyone is waiting for. Whether the members of [Vladimir] Zelensky’s regime really want peace or not – this is very important and needs to be decided,” the spokesman emphasized.

Earlier, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said he hoped to discuss a framework for a ceasefire and a peace deal with Ukraine. Although Vladimir Zelensky said he would not attend the March 11 meeting with the US in Saudi Arabia, the Ukrainian delegation will include Ukrainian presidential office head Andrey Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. The US side will be represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US presidential aide Mike Waltz and Witkoff. On February 28, Zelensky met with Trump at the White House. There was an dispute between them, during which the American leader and US Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of ingratitude and disrespect. The Ukrainian delegation was forced to leave the White House prematurely at the request of the Washington administration. Bilateral talks and the planned signing of an agreement on Ukrainian rare-earths were thwarted.

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He must be the only one. The rest all want war. Blind as bats.

‘Let Ukraine Lose Quickly’ – Dutch MP (RT)

Dutch MP Marcel de Graaff has urged the European Union to halt arms supplies to Ukraine, advocating for the country’s swift defeat to save lives in its conflict with Russia. The recent US push for negotiations with Moscow has deepened divisions within the EU regarding the hostilities. The right-wing politician and former member of the European Parliament (MEP) has previously spoken in support of a de-escalation of the Ukraine conflict, ending all sanctions against Russia, and stopping arms supplies to Kiev. Since 2022, de Graaff has been suspended from his faction in the European Parliament and probed over alleged Russia ties. The MP has denied the allegations. In a social media post on Monday, de Graaff again called for an end to military and financial support for Kiev.

“Let Ukraine lose quickly. Stop sending money and weapons,” he wrote on X, arguing that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and EU officials do not care about human lives. The comments came in response to a post by former Dutch Chief of Defense Dick Berlijn, who claimed on Saturday that US President Donald Trump wanted a quick capitulation by Ukraine to be able to do business deals with Russia. Last month, Washington and Moscow launched diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict and resume economic cooperation. Russia has touted potential joint projects in metals, rare earth mining, and Arctic development.

A recent meeting between Trump and Zelensky descended into a heated argument and ended without the planned signing of a deal involving Ukraine’s mineral resources. Following the spat, the US reportedly suspended military aid to Kiev and claimed that Zelensky wasn’t ready for peace. Washington’s apparent change in policy on the Ukraine conflict has highlighted divisions within the EU. Hungary has advocated for peace negotiations and last week blocked a €20 billion ($21.7 billion) military aid package, arguing that aiding Kiev would “ruin Europe.” Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has claimed that Zelensky wants the conflict to continue because of the financial aid Kiev receives.

France, however, has labelled Russia a “threat” to the bloc and pledged to send additional weapons to Ukraine. EU leaders last week agreed to massively increase defense spending. Some bloc members have claimed that if allowed to win in Ukraine, Russia would go on to attack NATO countries close to its borders. Moscow has repeatedly denied that it has any intentions of attacking NATO, with President Vladimir Putin dismissing the speculation as “nonsense.” Russian officials have also condemned the EU’s militarization, arguing that the bloc’s defense plans are “primarily aimed at Russia” and hinder peace efforts in Ukraine.

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“There’s a chance to restore democracy from the bureaucracy, but just a chance.” —Elon Musk

The Glow of the Gaslight (James Howard Kunstler)

Of all the IGs, Michael Horowitz of the DOJ has been in place since 2012 and mysteriously remains on the job. He was on-the-scene through the entirety of RussiaGate, including the Crossfire Hurricane flimflam, the immense mischief perpetrated in the FISA Court, the whole run of the deceitful Mueller Special Counsel op, the 2020 election fraud, the FBI-sponsored J-6 riot (and the DNC / RNC pipe bomb caper), the Hunter Biden laptop shenanigans (and Biden Family bribery scheme), the feckless Durham investigation (on the origin of RussiaGate), and the matrix of lawfare cases launched by Merrick Garland against Mr. Trump in the 2024 election year. Seems like Mr. Horowitz missed a few things. How would you rate his Inspector General-ship? And why is he still in that office?

By now, you might have grokked that there is another side to the story presented by Scott Pelley, whose mission is to get the deranged half of the American public to go boo-hoo over ersatz threats to Our Democracy. Which might lead you to ask: how and why, exactly, is CBS so deeply invested in protecting the Administrative State (let’s call it) from allegations of corruption? Answer: CBS is the servant of the US Intel Community and its blob tentacles. They are captured. They do as they are told for their masters.

As it happens, Mr. Trump launched a $20-billion lawsuit against CBS last October for fiddling with the interview that candidate Kamala Harris did on 60-Minutes in such a way that it presented a false record of her answers in order to boost her floundering election campaign. So, let’s suppose we have been seeing CBS play a game of hardball against Mr. Trump, consistently painting the once-again president as a villain in case presiding U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk in the Northern District of Texas happens to have nothing better to do on Sunday evenings than watch 60-Minutes, out of sheer habit, like so many Americans.

Notice that you haven’t heard a whole lot for two weeks from AG Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. They have had their hands full attempting to clean up big messes in the Southern District of NY’s DOJ office and its companion, the Manhattan FBI office, where many lawyers and agents have been fired in recent days. Among other things, the FBI office in New York supposedly sat on reams of evidence in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Much flappery has been made over that. But, considering Mr. Epstein’s service to the Intel blob, and its political servants especially, is it really plausible that any truly significant evidence remains?

The FBI raided Epstein”s Manhattan townhouse in July, 2019. They found CDs and hard drives galore and lots of photos of underage girls. None of the videos ever managed to leak out. Do you find that suspicious, considering how sensationally incriminating they would have been? Would you guess that is because they were destroyed? Personally, I wouldn’t expect much now.

But I do expect Ms. Bondi and Mr. Patel to develop a great many cases out of the aforesaid far-ranging corruption — overlooked by all those Inspectors General — that occurred throughout government at least since 2016, and probably involving a whole lot of well-know names, including Presidents Obama and Biden. It takes a lot of time and care to construct cases worth bringing to grand juries. Also consider that Dan Bongino will not take up his duties as FBI Deputy Director until March 15. As it happens, Mr. Bongino wrote several books about RussiaGate and its spin-offs. He will have a pretty good idea of exactly where to look and who to talk to, and he will be in-charge of making that happen. Be patient.

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“The underlying principle is simple: You look like you are going to win fair and square. But rule number one of EU democracy club is: we always win.

The EU’s Sham ‘Democracy’ Is On Show Against Romania’s Georgescu (Amar)

One way you can recognize a rotten Ancien Regime desperately running out of road is by how boorish and transparent its methods of repression get. By that standard, Romania and with it the EU must be on the verge of revolution. Because it is really hard to imagine a cruder set of dirty tricks than what has been deployed there to suppress the most likely winner of the next presidential election, Calin Georgescu. By now, the hounding of Georgescu by the Romanian establishment (and that of the EU) is quite a saga. A short recap will do: Last December, Georgescu, an insurgent nationalist-sovereignist surprise candidate, won the first round of Romania’s presidential elections.

Instead of holding the second round, as foreseen by law, the Romanian establishment resorted to crass lawfare: Bucharest’s constitutional court cancelled the run-off, which Georgescu had very good chances of winning. Or rather, because Georgescu had very good chances of winning. The pretext the court used was ludicrous then – guess what? “Russian interference,” again – and by now even Western mainstream media have had to acknowledge that the so-called “evidence,” a file cobbled together by the Romanian security services, is a bad joke. Even the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, stately stalwart of German Russophobia, has long admitted that the claim of Russian meddling was a “myth” (read: lie): “The governing class in Bucharest has made a show of the Russian bogeyman to distract from the failure of its little power games – and to have a pretext for annulling elections that did not suit it.”

Worse (yes, they can do even worse in EU-Romania), Georgescu’s successful social media campaign, which was used as evidence against Georgescu was, in reality, financed by his political opponents. Their plan was to promote him into the second round where they would then be able to beat him. When he proved unpredictably popular and upset that scheme, they cancelled the election.

Unsurprisingly, many Romanians saw through this charade and rallied even more behind the suppressed candidate. Hence, Georgescu was, if anything, even more likely to win the replacement elections scheduled for May, as polls clearly indicated: leading with over 41% over his closest opponent, who had less than 19%. That was too much to bear, of course, for Romania’s long-suffering and deeply corrupt establishment. With those poll figures just out, as it happened, the main election authority has now banned Georgescu, again. The underlying principle is simple: You look like you are going to win fair and square. But rule number one of EU democracy club is: we always win. Out you go. Georgescu, it is true, can still appeal. But guess where: to that same constitutional court that was used to kneecap him when he was winning the first time. Fat chance he’ll have a fair hearing.

Let’s get one thing out of the way: Georgescu has been widely characterized as far-right. He certainly is a nationalist and definitely does not belong to my club, the Left. But all of the above is irrelevant. Strictly irrelevant. He has a right to stand for elections. If his opponents dislike his politics, they have to beat him at the ballot box, not through lawfare and by clearly instrumentalized charges. These charges include dubious associations, playing fast and loose with recent Romanian history, and being less than transparent about money. And so what? Big deal: Even if every single accusation should turn out to be true, the fact is that if the same standards were applied everywhere and to everyone in Romania and the EU or its favorite sham “democracy”, Zelensky’s Ukraine, then broad swathes of the incumbent “elites” would fall.

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“They talk about the climate and they talk about the dangers of the climate but they don’t talk about the dangers of a nuclear weapon, which could happen tomorrow.”

President Trump Warns ‘Monster’ Nukes Could End The World ‘Tomorrow’ (Crane)

President Trump has warned that “monster” nuclear weapons are the biggest threat to humanity and could easily “end the world” tomorrow. The commander-in-chief gave the grim warning as he lamented the dangers of stockpiling nukes amid his push to kickstart arms control talks with Russia and China again. “The greatest [threat] is sitting on shelves in various countries called ‘nuclear weapons’ that are big monsters that can blow your heads off for miles and miles and miles,” Trump told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” Trump went on to lament the amount of money the United States, which has the second-largest stockpile of nukes in the world behind Russia, has spent on its nuclear weapon program. “We spend a lot of money of nuclear weapons — the level of destruction is beyond anything you can imagine,” he said in the wide-raging interview.

“It’s just bad that you have to spend all this money on something that if it’s used, it’s probably the end of the world.” Trump also pushed back against the world leaders and politicians who have spent years claiming climate change is posing the biggest threat to humanity. “I watched [former President Joe] Biden for years say the existential threat is from the climate,” Trump said. “I said ‘No.’” “They talk about the climate and they talk about the dangers of the climate but they don’t talk about the dangers of a nuclear weapon, which could happen tomorrow.” It comes after he recently warned that Russia has by far the most nukes in the world but predicted that China, which has the third-largest stockpile, will likely catch up within a decade.

He stressed, too, that he wants to restart nuclear arms control talks with Russia and China and that he eventually hopes the two countries, as well as the US, could agree to cut their massive defense budgets in half. “There’s no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons, we already have so many,” Trump said last month. “You could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over. And here we are building new nuclear weapons, and they’re building nuclear weapons.” He added that he would look to engage in nuclear talks with the two countries once “we straighten it all out” in the Middle East and Ukraine.

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Spring cleaning.

Gabbard Revokes Security Clearances of Dozens of Former Officials, Others (ET)

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced on March 10 that she had revoked dozens of security clearances in accordance with President Donald Trump’s order. Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and attorneys Mark Zaid, Andrew Weissman, and Norm Eisen were among those who lost clearances. Gabbard also revoked the clearances of the 51 former U.S. intelligence officials who signed a letter alleging that the Hunter Biden laptop story had the “earmarks” of Russian disinformation. Former FBI employees testified to Congress in 2023 that the laptop was not disinformation.

In February, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that former President Joe Biden’s intelligence information would be “cut off immediately” and that his daily Intelligence briefings would stop. The laptop was an issue in the 2020 presidential election, as critics said it contained information that could be negative about the former president’s son. He was later convicted of criminal tax and gun charges but was pardoned by his father shortly before the latter left the White House.

The October 2020 letter stated that “the arrival on the U.S. political scene of emails purportedly belonging to Vice President Biden’s son Hunter, much of it related to his time serving on the Board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” “We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails provided to the New York Post by President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, are genuine or not and that we do not have evidence of Russian involvement–just that our experience makes us deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case.”

Trump took action on Jan. 20, the first day of his second term, to revoke the security clearances of 50 former government officials, including his former national security adviser, John Bolton. “Federal policymakers must be able to rely on analysis conducted by the Intelligence Community and be confident that it is accurate, crafted with professionalism, and free from politically motivated engineering to affect political outcomes in the United States,” stated the presidential action. “The signatories [of the letter] willfully weaponized the gravitas of the Intelligence Community to manipulate the political process and undermine our democratic institutions.”

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“Crockett has become the Democrats’ latest media darling, and Republicans couldn’t possibly be happier about it.”

Jasmine Crockett Is the Gift That Keeps on Giving for the GOP (Margolis)

In a display of stunning ignorance that would be hilarious if it weren’t so dangerous, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) continues her streak of handing Republicans political ammunition. Crockett has become the Democrats’ latest media darling, and Republicans couldn’t possibly be happier about it. Her latest gift? Going on MSNBC to tell us what she really thinks about illegal immigration. The Texas Democrat, who apparently skipped her law school classes on federal statutes, boldly declared that entering the country illegally “is not a crime.” “It is not a criminal violation to enter the country illegally. It’s not. It’s not criminal. It’s not a crime,” Crockett insisted during her appearance on “The Katie Phang Show.” Someone might want to send her a copy of 8 U.S.C. § 1325, which explicitly states otherwise.

But why let pesky facts get in the way of a good Democrat talking point? For those keeping score at home, illegal entry is a federal misdemeanor punishable by fines and up to six months in prison. Repeat offenders face even stiffer penalties — up to two years behind bars. And what if you’re a removed immigrant with a criminal record? You could be looking at up to 20 years in prison. “Don’t give me this fake outrage about criminals roaming our streets when you guys stand 10 toes down for the biggest criminal that we have ever seen go into the White House,” Crockett ranted. The irony here is absolutely delicious. A Democrat congresswoman, who took an oath to uphold the Constitution and our nation’s laws, is actively spreading misinformation about federal criminal statutes. This isn’t a simple mistake; it’s either willful ignorance or deliberate deception.

And given public attitudes about illegal immigration these days, Crockett, as the face of the Democratic Party, is truly a gift for the Republican Party. During the 2024 election, illegal immigration wasn’t just a top issue; it was a winning one for the GOP. Americans across the political spectrum have had enough of Joe Biden’s open borders and the crime that came with it. They were outraged by the tragic stories of Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, Rachel Morin, and countless others — victims of illegal immigrants who should never have been here in the first place. And now Crockett is going on national media telling the country, as a representative of the Democratic Party, that law enforcement should ignore immigration violations. The left’s determination to minimize the seriousness of illegal entry speaks volumes about their priorities.

They’re not interested in border security or enforcing our laws; they’re interested in importing voters from across the border, even if that means Americans are less safe. Let’s hope that party leaders don’t sideline Crockett and that she continues to be the new face of the Democrats. As long as she is, Republicans will have no problem winning in future elections. Dare I say that they may have a huge midterm election in 2026?

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https://twitter.com/AMAZlNGNATURE/status/1899164823176319434

 

 

 

 

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Mar 102025
 


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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Feb 272025
 
 February 27, 2025  Posted by at 10:57 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  45 Responses »


El Greco La Pietà c1575

 

US Relations With Russia Promise Rollback To Pre-Gorbachev Period (Krutikov)
America as Republic, not as Empire (Alastair Crooke)
US To Impose Blanket 25% Tariffs On EU – Trump (RT))
US Can No Longer Subsidize NATO – Rubio (RT)
Trump Says US Could Lift Russia Sanctions (RT)
EU Trying To Block Ukraine Peace – Lavrov (RT)
Lavrov Calls Out Europe’s Peacekeeper Plan As Ploy to Rearm Kiev (Sp.)
Russian, US Diplomats To Meet In Istanbul On February 27 (TASS)
Zelensky Now With Only The Dictatorship In London To Support Him (Jay)
Ukraine Can Forget About NATO, Says Trump (ZH)
Ukraine Should Get As Much Land ‘As Possible’ – Trump (RT)
Most Ukrainians Abroad Won’t Come Home – Unity Minister (RT)
Federal Government Can’t Comply With Judge’s Order To Unfreeze Funds (ET)
Rubio Cancels EU’s Kallas At Last Minute (RT)
NATO-Skeptic Romanian Presidential Candidate Arrested (RT)
Tulsi Gabbard Labels CNN ‘Propaganda Arm’ Of Spies (RT)
AG Pam Bondi Announces Thursday Release of Epstein Files (ZH)
Trump Gaza VIDEO With Bearded Belly Dancers Sparks Outcry (RT)

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1894796332206039412

Press

Paper ballot

Bongino

ComeyKash

Ron Paul

 

 

 

 

It’s been a busy first 5 weeks of the Trump team. But every single day it feels again like we are just beginning.

John Helmer posts a translation of a piece by Yevgeny Krutikov, which describes the US withdrawing its troops from Europe pretty much entirely, or at least from those parts added after 1997. Let Europe take care of Europe. Problem is, it can’t. It’s pretty much broke, and it’s hopelessly divided. It needs its own Trump and Musk, but none are in sight. I guess we must hope for Brusssels to implode sooner rather than later. But that might take pitchforks.

John Helmer: “An essay by Yevgeny Krutikov, published this week in Vzglyad, the Kremlin-funded security analysis platform, suggests senior officials at the Security Council believe in the possibility of arms withdrawal from the current battlefield and of military deconfliction with Russia – without attempting the impossible, the dismantling of the NATO membership to the 1997 cutoff. At its simplest, this would mean the withdrawal of American troops, long-range missiles and nuclear ordnance (bombs, missile warheads, targeting systems) to the lines of 1997. This would leave in place NATO security guarantees for the post-1997 member states and their territories, combined with Russian non-aggression guarantees.”

US Relations With Russia Promise Rollback To Pre-Gorbachev Period (Krutikov)

The United States is preparing to eliminate its military presence in Europe, including Poland, the Baltic states and Kosovo, in order to normalize relations with Russia. At first, the news about this in the European media has looked like fakes, but now it appears too logical to ignore them. Is this a bluff or a real prospect of “detente”? Citing an intelligence source in an Eastern European country, Bild claims that the United States is preparing to withdraw troops from Europe. More precisely, from those bases and positions which appeared there after the expansion of NATO to the east. “According to our information, we are talking about the Russian president’s demand for 2021, that is, the withdrawal of American troops from all NATO countries that joined the alliance after 1990,” the German magazine writes. And it wants to believe this.

The facilities from which the Americans are not discussing withdrawal are the bases in Ramstein, Germany, and the United Kingdom, which existed before the collapse of the USSR. But the largest American base in Europe after Ramstein, the Kosovo Bondsteel, is allegedly preparing for liquidation, and the Italian command of the peacekeeping forces in Kosovo (KFOR) inherits its infrastructure. Currently, American military personnel (just over 600 people) in Bondsteel are not part of KFOR, this is a purely American position. In the near-sensational Bild article, it’s not so much the detail that matters as the message. This is the first (!) attempt to link President Trump’s rhetoric and plans with the creation of a new security configuration in Europe that would take into account Russia’s interests.


Map of US forces and their bases in Europe, Jan 2022

Trump himself has been talking about reducing the American military presence in Europe all the time – this has been one of his narratives since his inauguration, interspersed with demands for Europeans to “defend themselves on their own” — for example, to increase their own military spending and bring their armies to a combat-ready state. For now, threats to withdraw the United States from NATO should be regarded as deceitful and frivolous. However, events are developing at such a pace that everything seems possible. This includes the rollback of the US military presence in Europe to the “basic settings” of the pre-Gorbachev period. If the White House is really ready to discuss this with Moscow as part of the process of restoring normal relations between Russia and the United States, this is a truly revolutionary event for American foreign policy. In the light of such normalization, any other pales by comparison, including Trump’s decree that the United States now recognizes only two genders – male and female.

The simultaneous withdrawal of all American troops from Eastern Europe is a “horror story” that can be used for a variety of purposes: from attempts to influence the election campaign in Germany to fueling anti–Russian sentiment. And this “horror story” is being launched against the background of unprecedentedly harsh statements by the US authorities regarding Europe, of which the most memorable is the cavalier speech by Vice President J. D. Vance at the Munich Security Conference. In this context, it is easy to believe the panicky rumours that the United States is abandoning Europe to its fate. For the last month, Europeans have been living uncomfortably under the “American umbrella.” But the fact is that the Italian military in Kosovo are indeed showing strange activity around Bondsteel.


Left: the US Bondsteel base in Kosovo; right, red dot marks the base location on the map.

Serbian sources also confirm the possible transfer of the base under the control of KFOR, which automatically means that the Americans will leave there. The Serbs, of course, are happy; when they are happy, the information coming from them should also be treated with reasonable skepticism. That is, something is definitely afoot in Kosovo, but it is not yet clear what exactly, and in what broader context this idea should be assessed. It is noteworthy that the Bild source referred to a certain demand of Vladimir Putin from 2021. Most likely, this refers to the famous declaration of the Russian Foreign Ministry dated December 2021. No one has canceled or disavowed this document, and in theory it can indeed be on the negotiating table between the Russian Federation and the United States as a certain opening of Moscow’s diplomatic position.

Smolenskaya Square [location of the Russian Foreign Ministry comparable to Foggy Bottom for the US State Department] unequivocally claims that negotiations in Riyadh are underway not only around the Ukrainian issue, but also about the normalization or, if you want, reformatting of bilateral relations. This is not a “conference on Ukraine,” but Russian-American talks about everything. Specifically, the Istanbul agreements may become the basis for negotiations on Ukraine, but in a broader context, we really need to talk about creating a configuration of continental security that would take into account Russia’s interests. The main thing here is to take into account the threats posed to the Russian Federation by the current security organization in Europe, which has developed after the uncontrolled expansion of NATO to the east.

The problem is not only attempts to draw Ukraine or Georgia into the alliance – Trump himself calls this “involvement” a mistake which has worsened the situation on the continent. In a broader context, other examples of NATO expansion have posed a threat to the Russian Federation. The current borders and configuration of the alliance cannot be the basis for lasting peace for many years. Roughly speaking, no one feels safe right now, and the source of these worries was and remains NATO as an outdated and decaying system. In the Smolenskaya Square declaration of December 2021, the first paragraph states that the Russian Federation and the United States should act on the basis of the principles of “indivisible and equal security, without prejudice to each other’s security.” Further, this basic principle is specified in slightly less general terms, but, in fact, this is a proposal to take into account the security threats to the Russian Federation that stem from the expansion of NATO to the east.

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“Europe’s “sound and fury” after jaw-dropping pivots in U.S. policy..”

“..the ‘blitzkrieg’ was “exceptionally well-planned” and had been discussed in Trump circles since late 2020..”

“That the U.S. would in essence leave Europe to their own delusions would be a calamitous event for the Brussels technocracy.”

America as Republic, not as Empire (Alastair Crooke)

The bits are falling into a distinct pattern – a pre-prepared pattern. Defence Secretary Hegseth at the Munich Security Conference gave us four ‘noes’: No to Ukraine in NATO; No to a return to pre-2014 borders; No to ‘Article 5’ peacekeeper backstops, and ‘No’ to U.S. troops in Ukraine. And in a final flourish, he added that U.S. troops in Europe are not ‘forever’ – and even placed a question mark over the continuity of NATO. Pretty plain speaking! The U.S. clearly is cutting away from Ukraine. And they intend to normalise relations with Russia. Then, Vice-President Vance threw his fire cracker amongst the gathered Euro-élites. He said that the élites had retreated from “shared” democratic values; they were overly reliant on repressing and censoring their peoples (prone to locking them up); and, above all, he excoriated the European Cordon Sanitaire (‘firewall’) by which European parties outside the Centre-Left are deemed non-grata politically: It’s a fake ‘threat’, he suggested.

Of what are you really so frightened? Have you so little confidence in your ‘democracy’? The U.S., he implied, will no longer support Europe if it continues to suppress political constituencies, arrest citizens for speech offenses, and particularly cancel elections as was done recently in Romania. “If you’re running in fear of your own voters”, Vance said, “there is nothing America can do for you”. Ouch! Vance had hit them where it hurts. It is difficult to say what specifically most triggered the catatonic European breakdown: Was it the fear of the U.S. and Russia joining together as a major power nexus – thus stripping Europe from ever again being able glide along on the back of American power, through the specious notion that any European state must have exceptional access to the Washington ‘ear’? Or was it the ending of the Ukraine/Zelensky cult which was so prized amongst the Euro-élite as the ‘glue’ around which a faux European unity and identity could be enforced? Both probably contributed to the fury.

That the U.S. would in essence leave Europe to their own delusions would be a calamitous event for the Brussels technocracy. Many may lazily assume that the U.S. double act at Munich was just another example of the well-known Trumpian fondness for dropping ‘wacky’ initiatives intended to both shock and kickover frozen paradigms. The Munich speeches did exactly that all right! Yet that does not make them accidental; but rather parts that fit into a bigger picture. It is clear now that the Trump blitzkrieg across the American Administrative State could not have been mounted unless carefully pre-planned and prepared over the last four years. Trump’s flurry of Presidential Executive Orders at the outset of his Presidency were not whimsical. Leading U.S. constitutional lawyer, Jonathan Turley, and other lawyers say that the Orders were well drafted legally and with the clear understanding that legal challenges would ensue. What’s more, that Trump Team welcome those challenges.

What is going on? The newly confirmed head of the Office of Budget Management (OBM), Russ Vought, says his Office will become the “on/off switch” for all Executive expenditure under the new Executive Orders. Vought calls the resulting whirlpool, the application of Constitutional radicalism. And Trump has now issued the Executive Order that reinstates the primacy of the Executive as the controlling mechanism of government. Vought, who was in OBM in Trump 01, is carefully selecting the ground for all-out financial war on the Deep State. It will be fought out firstly at the Supreme Court – which the Trump Team expect confidently to win (Trump has the 6-3 conservative majority). The new régime will then be applied across all agencies and departments of state. Expect shrieks of pain. The point here is that the Administrative State – aloof from executive control – has taken to itself prerogatives such as immunity to dismissal and the self-awarded authority to shape policy – creating a dual state system, run by unelected technocrats, which, when implanted in departments such as Justice and the Pentagon, have evolved into the American Deep State.

Article Two of the Constitution however, says very bluntly: Executive power shall be vested in the U.S. President (with no ifs or buts at all.) Trump intends for his Administration to recover that lost Executive power. It was, in fact, lost long ago. Trump is re-claiming too, the Executive’s right to dismiss ‘servants of the State’, and to ‘switch off’ wasteful expenditure at his discretion, as part of a unitary executive prerequisite. Of course, the Administrative State is fighting back. Turley’s article is headlined: They Are Taking Away Everything We Have: Democrats and Unions Launch Existential Fight. Their aim has been to cripple the Trump initiative through using politicised judges to issue restraint orders. Many mainstream lawyers believe Trump’s Unitary Executive claim to be illegal. The question is whether Congress can stand up Agencies designed to act independently of the President; and how does that square with the separation of powers and Article Two that vests unqualified executive power with one sole elected official – the U.S. President.

How did the Democrats not see this coming? Lawyer Robert Barnes essentially says that the ‘blitzkrieg’ was “exceptionally well-planned” and had been discussed in Trump circles since late 2020. The latter team had emerged from within a generational and cultural shift in the U.S.. This latter had given rise to a Libertarian/Populist wing with working class roots who often had served in the military, yet had come to despise the Neo-con lies (especially those of 9/11) that brought endless wars. They were animated more by the old John Adams adage that ‘America should not go abroad in search of monsters to slay’.

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“..asked [..] whether EU countries would retaliate in-kind to any US tariffs, Trump replied: “They can’t, I mean they can try, but they can’t.”

US To Impose Blanket 25% Tariffs On EU – Trump (RT))

US President Donald Trump has claimed that the EU was designed to weaken America and has issued new threats of 25% tariffs on all imports from the bloc. Trump made the remarks on Wednesday at the White House during his first Cabinet meeting of his second term as president. The trade row between the US and the EU has been escalating since Trump announced plans to introduce a wide range of import duties in an effort to tackle what he describes as a trade imbalance. “Look, let’s be honest, the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States, that’s the purpose of it,” Trump told the meeting. “And they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.” He reiterated that his administration plans to impose tariffs on EU imports “very soon.”

“It will be 25%, generally speaking, and that will be on cars and all other things,” Trump said, describing the EU as “a different case than Canada… they’ve really taken advantage of us in a different way.” The US and EU similarly found themselves locked in a trade dispute during Trump’s first term, when he introduced tariffs of 25% on European steel imports and 10% on aluminum, to which the EU responded with countermeasures. Trump also threatened tariffs on European cars, though those never came to pass. In total, the two sides exchanged duties on goods worth over $10 billion. As part of his current tariff push, Trump has imposed 25% duties on all steel and aluminum imports from the EU starting March 4, adding to existing tariffs. He has also directed Howard Lutnick, his nominee for US trade representative and commerce secretary, to propose new levies on a country-by-country basis by April 1 in a bid to rebalance trade.

Since taking office on January 20, Trump has slapped a 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% on Chinese goods, citing concerns over illegal immigration and drug trafficking. However, following talks with the Mexican and Canadian leaders, those tariffs have been postponed for 30 days after both nations agreed to bolster border security. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the latest US tariffs, expressing “deep regret” over the decision. She said earlier this month that the levies on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered.” Asked on Wednesday, whether EU countries would retaliate in-kind to any US tariffs, Trump replied: “They can’t, I mean they can try, but they can’t.”

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Neither can Europe.

US Can No Longer Subsidize NATO – Rubio (RT)

Washington can no longer allow its wealthy Western European NATO allies to take advantage of US taxpayers to fund their defense budgets, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News on Wednesday. The top US diplomat was responding to comments by Friedrich Merz, whose Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won last week’s elections in Germany. Merz claimed that the US-led military bloc is in “jeopardy” due to Washington’s “indifference” toward Europe’s security. “NATO is not in jeopardy,” Rubio said. “The only thing that puts NATO in jeopardy is the fact that we have NATO allies who barely have militaries or whose militaries are not very capable because they’ve spent 40 years not spending any money on it.” The current US administration considers it unfair that some wealthy Western European member states only spend 1% to 1.5% of their GDP on defense, Rubio added.

“We just can’t keep subsidizing that,” he stressed. “These are rich countries, especially in Western Europe. They have plenty of money. They should be investing that in their national security, and they’re not.” US President Donald Trump has argued that NATO’s current defense spending target of 2% of GDP per year – already a challenge for a number of member states – is too low and should be raised to 5%. During his reelection campaign, Trump said he would “absolutely” consider leaving the bloc if members do not “pay their bills.” The US allocates around 3.4% of GDP to military expenditures, according to a 2023 estimate by the World Bank. In contrast, European NATO members spend an average of 1.9%, less than 60% of the US’ spending, Reuters reported earlier this month, citing S&P Global.

Meeting Trump’s proposed 5% military spending goal would cause France and Germany’s budget deficits to rise to 4.6% and 8.9% in 2025, respectively, compared to the current projections of 1.7% and 6%, S&P estimated. Since 2022, the US and its allies have provided more than $258 billion in aid to Ukraine, including over $134 billion in military assistance, according to Germany’s Kiel Institute. Western nations have depleted their military stockpiles and struggled to increase arms production due to deindustrialization, offshore manufacturing, green policies, and sanctions on Russian energy.

Trump claims that Washington spent up to $350 billion on Ukraine under the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden, and has vowed to recover this money. Moscow has warned that NATO’s military aid to Ukraine effectively makes member states parties to the conflict. Trump is the first and only Western leader to acknowledge that one of the root causes of the Ukraine conflict was “the previous administration’s ‘pushy’ policy of dragging Ukraine into NATO,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week.

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As Europe adopts new sanctions…

Trump Says US Could Lift Russia Sanctions (RT)

The US could lift sanctions against Russia “at some point” during the Ukraine peace negotiations, President Donald Trump indicated on Tuesday. He noted, however, that no decision has been made so far. The US and other Western nations have placed an unprecedented number of economic restrictions on Russia since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. Moscow considers the sanctions illegal and has consistently demanded their removal. “No, we haven’t lifted any sanctions on anybody… I guess it will be at some point, but right now we haven’t agreed to lift sanctions on anybody,” Trump said at a press briefing, responding to a question on whether the issue has been part of Russia-US discussions so far.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently suggested that Western nations will have to consider lifting sanctions on Russia in order to find an “enduring, sustainable” solution to the Ukraine conflict. Speaking after high-level talks between Moscow and Washington in Saudi Arabia last week, he indicated that in order to bring an end to the conflict, “there has to be concessions made by all sides,” including letting go of sanctions policies. Rubio noted, however, that the EU will have to be “at the table” to discuss sanctions relief as well, as it has also imposed restrictive measures targeting Russia. Brussels has indicated it is prepared to pursue an independent sanctions policy regardless of Washington’s stance. EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said last week that the bloc has no plans to lift sanctions against Moscow even if the US decides to do so.

Earlier this week, the EU adopted its 16th package of restrictions, largely targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex and energy projects. It also introduced additional measures against alleged sanctions circumvention, including dual-use export restrictions. Moscow has often noted that sanctions have failed to destabilize or isolate it while backfiring on the countries that imposed them. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Western sanctions have inadvertently bolstered Russia’s development. Speaking at the Future Technologies Forum in Moscow, he stated that despite the challenges that Russia was forced to overcome due to the measures, they played a “stimulating role,” prompting closer collaboration between Russia’s domestic businesses and science and bolstering the country’s economic and technological sectors.

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“..Europe’s role in fomenting crises and its reputation in this area, which it has acquired over centuries, remains unchanged..”

EU Trying To Block Ukraine Peace – Lavrov (RT)

The EU is seeking to derail the Ukraine peace process by pushing the country to continue fighting against Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Speaking at a press conference in Qatar on Wednesday, Lavrov weighed in on a resolution drafted by the US calling for a “swift end” to the Ukraine conflict, which was approved by the UN Security Council on Monday. The document, which was supported by Russia and China, excluded strong language denouncing Moscow. The resolution also came after US President Donald Trump refused to condemn Russia over the Ukraine conflict while blaming Kiev for failing to prevent the hostilities. The Russian foreign minister said that as soon as the political landscape regarding the conflict began to shift, “Europe immediately tries to undermine this trend, announces new large packages of military aid to Kiev, incites it to continue military actions.”

Lavrov went on to state that “Europe’s role in fomenting crises and its reputation in this area, which it has acquired over centuries, remains unchanged,” adding that the EU’s approach to the conflict is “hopelessly outdated and failing.” Last week, Politico reported that the EU is preparing a military aid package worth at least €6 billion ($6.3 billion) for Ukraine, with the magazine’s sources claiming that it could potentially balloon to €10 billion as the bloc’s members “dig into their inventories to see what they can send.” Meanwhile, Trump said on Tuesday that the US is not currently supplying Ukraine with any defense assistance. Russia has condemned the Western arms shipments to Ukraine, warning that they only prolong the conflict without changing the outcome.

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Who’s going to volunteer to be a Russian target?

Lavrov Calls Out Europe’s Peacekeeper Plan As Ploy to Rearm Kiev (Sp.)

For Russia, any course of action involving the deployment of European peacekeepers to Ukraine is out of the question, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday. “No, we cannot consider any such options,” Lavrov told reporters after talks in Doha. The approach being imposed by the Europeans, namely France and the UK, is aimed at further fueling the conflict and “pumping Kiev with weapons again”, Russia’s diplomacy chief added. US President Donald Trump stated that he believes the presence of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine is necessary in one form or another, but the format of this mission must be acceptable to all parties. Russia is not blocking negotiations on Ukraine, Lavrov said, emphasizing that the best way to resolve the conflict is to understand its root causes.

“We are waiting for our European colleagues to stop spreading lies that Russia is blocking the negotiations. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly responded to these false claims, pointing out that the Ukrainian leadership, instigated by Europe, refuses to negotiate,” Lavrov told reporters after his visit to Qatar. Lavrov noted that European politicians assert the conflict in Ukraine should be resolved through military means rather than through negotiations. “We believe that the best help from those who sincerely want to help resolve the conflict is to understand its root causes, as [US] President Trump did recently,” Lavrov added. An upcoming Russian-US meeting that will focus on normalizing the operation of embassies will be held on February 27 in Istanbul, Lavrov said.

“We announced that our high-level diplomats and experts, will meet and consider the systemic problems that have accumulated as a result of the previous administration’s illicit activities to create artificial obstacles to the functions of the Russian embassy, to which we naturally reciprocated and also created uncomfortable conditions for the work of the US Embassy in Moscow. Such a meeting will take place tomorrow in Istanbul,” Lavrov told reporters. Based on the outcome of the talks, it will be clear how fast and efficiently both countries can move, the top diplomat added. Israel’s presence in the south of Lebanon and the south of Syria requires constructive solutions which will not violate security of any party, Lavrov said.

“At present, the Israeli armed forces have entered the south of Syria, just as they decided to stay in the south of Lebanon. All this creates a new situation, which demands not simply understanding, but working out some kind of constructive steps, which take into account the security and development interests of all the countries of the region, including, of course, Israel. But these security problems must not be solved by violating the security and development of other [countries],” Russia’s diplomacy chief said at a press conference. Lavrov also said that Russia is deeply concerned about the fact that day by day the Israeli armed forces take steps that are not envisaged in the Hamas-Israel deals and create situations which contradict the agreements and the resolutions of the UN Security Council.

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No more time to wait or waste. There are major problems to be solved..

Russian, US Diplomats To Meet In Istanbul On February 27 (TASS)

Russian and US diplomats will hold a meeting in Istanbul on February 27 to discuss issues related to the operation of the two countries’ embassies, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced. “Such a meeting will take place in Istanbul tomorrow,” the top Russian diplomat said at a press conference following his visit to Qatar. “We have announced that our diplomats and high-level experts will meet to address the systemic problems that have piled up as a result of the previous [US] administration’s illegitimate activities aimed at creating artificial obstacles for the work of the Russian embassy, to which we clearly responded in kind, also creating uncomfortable conditions for the operation of the US embassy in Moscow,” Lavrov noted.

According to him, the problem of Russia’s frozen assets “has nothing to do with the operation of embassies” because “the asset issue is a state-level one.” Lavrov expects that the Istanbul meeting “will make it clear how capable the parties are of moving forward quickly and effectively.” Earlier, the top Russian diplomat announced that Moscow and Washington had held two rounds of preliminary technical consultations on the issue. Russian and US delegations held talks in Riyadh on February 18, which lasted over four hours. Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev. The US delegation consisted of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

According to Ushakov, the delegations held a serious talk on all the issues they wanted to discuss, including ways to bring Russian and US positions closer to each other and future consultations on Ukraine. Lavrov described the meeting with Washington officials as very useful. According to him, Russia and the US agreed to make sure that ambassadors to both countries are appointed as soon as possible. Rubio, in turn, said after the talks that the US and Russia had agreed to reestablish embassy staffing. Embassy staff cuts began in both countries after 2014, when Washington adopted a policy aimed at “systemic containment” of Russia.

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“Who could forget Sean Penn giving him his own Oscar, or Ben Stiller chilling with the Ukrainian leader and making small talk? Angelina Jolie is even reported to have been paid 20 million dollars to meet with him..”

Zelensky Now With Only The Dictatorship In London To Support Him (Jay)

What is the definition of a ‘dictator’? In the days that followed Trump’s social media post calling President Zelensky one, British media seized upon the subject and ran with it for days. Various public figures were asked whether Trump was right to use the word and whether they believed Zelensky was actually one. Two figures from the right, Nigel Farage and Liz Truss both said they thought Trump was both wrong to call him one and that in fact he wasn’t one. This remarkable endearment for Zelensky is really the core of the problem in the west in particular the UK, where its leader Sir Keir Starmer declared that he would be ready to send British troops to Ukraine – a suggestion which was quickly shot down by the elites of Germany and France as preposterous. It’s rare that the giants of the EU put the British government in its place on world affairs but we are living in unprecedented times of sensational stupidity and perhaps ignorance from politicians which we have never seen before.

Farage’s views on the Middle East tell us he is both ignorant of what is happening there and doesn’t have any advisors covering the region. But his views on Ukraine are even more shockingly deranged. Zelensky is a leader who has shut down anything which resembles an ‘opposition’ both politically and media, he has conglomerated all TV stations into one state-owned entity so as to shut down even the slightest criticism or accountability of his own actions, he has had the few dissident voices arrested and thrown into prison, with some predicting that there are thousands of journalists and media workers. Add to that it is rapidly emerging that the level of corruption and embezzlement linked directly to Zelensky is on a scale that even hard line critics in the West could not have even imagined.

In my own investigation in October 2023, where a very angry Ben Wallace insulted me in a WhatsApp interview before blocking me, I outline how the original, more sensational claim that only about a third of all military equipment sent to Ukraine was actually making it to the battlefield was in fact realistic. This analogy was bandied about for some time and was dismissed by Wallace and others like Alecia Kearns MP as nonsense and yet turned out to be more than just realistic but likely. That is to say that 66 percent of what was being sent to Ukraine was being sold on the black market in Libya making Zelensky and his close circle billionaires.

In recent weeks now mainstream journalists and politicians are talking about the arms scandal and it is only a matter of time before we shall see the realities of this. The British government have always turned a blind eye to it, both in Ukraine and further afield. It would cost them nothing to do a study in the Sahel to evaluate how much of the equipment there funding terrorism is coming from the arms bazaars of Tripoli where all of this kit is ending up. I suggested to Wallace that his own government at the time should send some investigators there (Libya) to look at what’s available. I was more or less told to go there myself and do the job for them.

But Zelenksy support structure for so long has been that of a dictator, in particular media. The hundreds of media outlets in Ukraine which were receiving USAID funding is extensive, not to mention the hundreds of civil servants which support him being on the same payroll. If that doesn’t shock Farage and Truss, then consider the same slush fund which paid out around a 100 million dollars to movie stars to go and visit him and fake their adulation, all for the purposes of cheating the humble U.S. taxpayer by raising his profile.

Who could forget Sean Penn giving him his own Oscar, or Ben Stiller chilling with the Ukrainian leader and making small talk? Angelina Jolie is even reported to have been paid 20 million dollars to meet with him but didn’t even manage that and simply mooched about a but in the country before jetting back to the U.S. Of course, the celebrities all dismiss these claims, through the same left-wing woke press which is part of their extended political family. But the question we should be asking ourselves is simply this: if they were not paid, then why won’t they show up now and show support at the precise moment when Zelensky needs it the most? Given that these celebrities supported Biden and are Democrats, this would be the most logical thing for them to do. In reality, the wall of silence is what we see.

Dictators don’t stand over their hired killers and watch their victims in their final moments like Idi Amin did. In reality, they only indicate and hint to the thugs on their payroll what she should do to fix problems. Does Farage and Truss actually believe that dissidents are not rounded up and thrown into jail where they are tortured and in some cases murdered? Now that the vultures are circling over Zelensky and many are wondering how many days in office he has left, more reports are emerging with details of such cases. The story of Gonzalo Lira, the American Chilean blogger whose vlogs were often well-informed and threw a very poor spotlight on Zelensky is a very sad one as he was brutally tortured while in prison and finally died. If the Zelensky cabal can do this to an American citizen, perhaps Farage and Truss will not be too surprised when in the coming weeks we will have the same Damascus prison media moment where it transpires that there are certainly hundreds, possibly thousands of journalists, commentators and political rivals in Ukraine’s prisons.

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“The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States, that’s the purpose of it. And they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.”

Ukraine Can Forget About NATO, Says Trump (ZH)

Huge and unprecedented words issued by America’s Commander-in-Chief in a press briefing on Thursday… Trump says Ukraine can “forget about” joining NATO: “That is probably the reason why the whole thing started.” Of course, Vice President J.D. Vance earlier this month voiced this point of view of the administration while addressing a gathering of defense leaders in Brussels. But never before has a US president so forcefully voiced that a path to NATO membership simply won’t happen. This also marks the most directly Trump has ever said NATO expansion is a key reason for the tragic war, which has taken hundreds of thousands of lives, having started in the first place. Mainstream media fact-checkers have been out in force, decrying this perspective as ‘Russian propaganda’. But is this really the case?

The head of NATO itself in the recent past said the quiet part out loud and fully admitted that constant NATO expansion to Russia’s doorstep was a central driving factor: “From the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we’ve been told that the issue of NATO expansion is irrelevant to the war, and that anyone bringing it up is, at best, unwittingly parroting Kremlin propaganda, at worst, apologizing for or justifying the war. So it was curious to see NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier this month say explicitly that Russian president Vladimir Putin launched his criminal war as a reaction to the possibility of NATO expanding into Ukraine, and the alliance’s refusal to swear it off — not once or twice, but three separate times.

“President Putin declared in the autumn of 2021, and actually sent a draft treaty that they wanted NATO to sign, to promise no more NATO enlargement,” Stoltenberg told a joint committee meeting of the European Parliament on September 7. “That was what he sent us. And [that] was a pre-condition for not invade [sic] Ukraine. Of course we didn’t sign that.” “He went to war to prevent NATO, more NATO, close to his borders. He has got the exact opposite,” Stoltenberg reiterated, referring to the accession of Sweden and Finland into the alliance in response to Putin’s invasion. Their entry, he later insisted, “demonstrates that when President Putin invaded a European country to prevent more NATO, he’s getting the exact opposite.” How much clearer could the then NATO Secretary-General have said it (in the Sept. 2023 comments)?

https://twitter.com/i/status/1706173936025874767

How much clearer could the then NATO Secretary-General have said it (in the Sept. 2023 comments)?Trump also on Wednesday blasted the European Union… “The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States, that’s the purpose of it. And they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.” Among other things, Europe has lately been accused of seeking to thwart Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine, even offering a rival rare earth minerals deal. The Europeans and Ukrainians have been cut out of direct negotiations with Moscow under Rubio.

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Aka very little.

Ukraine Should Get As Much Land ‘As Possible’ – Trump (RT)

US President Donald Trump has said he wants Ukraine to regain as much territory “as possible” under a potential peace deal with Russia. He claimed that Moscow will have to make concessions, but that the agreement should ultimately represent the best possible outcome for both parties if finalized. Five formerly Ukrainian regions have voted to join Russia since 2014. While Kiev rejects the territorial changes, Moscow views them as final and non-negotiable. Following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump was asked if a peace deal that involved Russia maintaining control over Ukrainian-claimed land could send a message to China detrimental to American interests. ”We’re going to do the best we can to make the best deal we can for both sides,” Trump responded, adding that for Kiev that means “they can get as much back as possible.”

Although an agreement is not guaranteed, Trump expressed hope that it would materialize “for the sake of humanity.” If a resolution is reached, Trump stressed that Ukraine “can forget about” joining NATO as this aspiration lies at the heart of the ongoing conflict. He asserted that Russia will “have to” make concessions as well. Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated that Moscow would reject a truce that merely freezes the conflict along the current front line, leaving parts of Russian territory under Ukrainian jurisdiction. ”Some propose maintaining the line of engagement – this section is Russian, that one is Ukrainian… That won’t happen, as we have a Constitution reflecting the will of the people,” Lavrov said, referencing the referendums held in the five former Ukrainian regions.

Trump’s approach marks a departure from his predecessor Joe Biden’s strategy of isolating Russia, as he seeks to normalize bilateral relations. Both Moscow and Washington suggest that this shift provides hope for a swift resolution to the Ukraine conflict. Additionally, the Trump administration aims to recover taxpayer funds spent during Biden’s tenure through a forthcoming minerals deal with Kiev, expected to be signed on Friday. The new US administration has declined to offer security guarantees to Ukraine, arguing that the country holds minimal interest for American priorities and that European nations should address the issue instead.

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There’s nothing left to come home to but a crazed dictator and some neo-nazis in a barren landscape.

Most Ukrainians Abroad Won’t Come Home – Unity Minister (RT)

The majority of Ukrainians who left the country over the past three years will not return to their homeland even after the military conflict ends, Minister of National Unity Aleksey Chernyshov has said, according to local media reports. An estimated over 5 million Ukrainians are still living abroad, three years since the conflict escalated. Kiev wants them back as it seeks to address the country’s imploding demographics, boost conscription and generate human resources for the post-conflict reconstruction. The minister reportedly claimed on Tuesday that 30% of Ukrainians currently abroad are “seriously considering coming back” when the security situation stabilizes, according to Ekonomicheskaya Pravda. “We also clearly understand that a significant portion of Ukrainians will not return,” the national unity minister said. “They have decided to stay where they are. This is not a catastrophe, it must be acknowledged.”

Chernyshov said that Kiev is developing measures to encourage people to return and cited statistics indicating that Ukraine loses 300,000 people annually for reasons unrelated to the conflict. “For post-conflict recovery and doubling Ukraine’s GDP within 10 years, it will be necessary to attract between 3.1 to 4.2 million repatriates and immigrants,” he noted. A study by the Ukrainian think tank Center for Economic Strategy (CES) published last week found that around 5.2 million Ukrainian refugees remain abroad, of which 60% plan to settle outside their homeland. Meanwhile, the share of those considering returning home had dropped to 43% by the end of 2024, compared to 74% in December 2022. The exodus peaked in March 2022, when around 2.5 million people left the country within weeks. Since then, the outflow has slowed, with around 300,000 people departing Ukraine last year, the CES said.

The agency estimates that up to 2.7 million Ukrainians may choose to remain abroad permanently, even after the conflict ends. The majority of refugees are women and children, while Germany and Poland are the most popular destinations, a Eurostat report published earlier this month showed. The report also revealed that the share of adult men fleeing Ukraine has jumped by nearly 10% over the past year amid the massive mobilization campaign. This prolonged emigration could have devastating consequences for Ukraine’s economy. CES projects it could reduce the country’s annual GDP by 5.1% to 7.8%. According to the think tank, the primary reasons Ukrainians are not currently returning home include the ongoing security threats, destroyed housing, low living standards, and difficulties in securing employment in Ukraine.

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Remember Alastair Crooke: “..the Orders were well drafted legally and with the clear understanding that legal challenges would ensue..”

Federal Government Can’t Comply With Judge’s Order To Unfreeze Funds (ET)

Federal officials told a U.S. judge on Feb. 25 that they could not comply with his order requiring the release of frozen foreign aid within two days. U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali’s order, which gave a deadline of Feb. 26 at 11:59 p.m. ET, would mean paying at least $1.5 billion across some 2,000 outstanding and newly created requests for payment to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the official serving as deputy administrator for the agency said in a court filing. It would also require paying at least $400 million to resolve outstanding payment requests to the State Department, Pete Marocco, the official, said. “These payments cannot be accomplished in the time allotted by the Court and would instead take multiple weeks,” he wrote.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ali, in a hearing with government lawyers and attorneys representing the groups that sued over the freeze, was told that the groups had not yet been paid despite his multiple previous orders, including one on Feb. 13, mandating that the Trump administration unfreeze the foreign assistance. “I’m not sure why I can’t get a straight answer from you on this: Are you aware of an unfreezing of the disbursement of funds for those contracts and agreements that were frozen before Feb. 13,” the Washington-based judge asked Indraneel Sur, the lawyer for the government, during the hearing. “Are you aware of steps taken to actually release those funds?” “I’m not in a position to answer that,” Sur said. It’s the second time a judge has found the Trump administration did not follow a court order. U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island also found this month that the administration had not fully unfrozen federal grants and loans within the United States after he blocked sweeping plans for a pause on trillions of dollars in government spending.

In the Washington case, plaintiffs recently filed an emergency motion to enforce the judge’s temporary restraining order, saying they’re still owed millions of dollars and that their contracts terminated under Trump’s foreign assistance pause remain terminated. Ali granted the emergency motion during Tuesday’s hearing and ordered the government to comply by Thursday. Marocco’s declaration came with a motion from the government asking the judge to stay his order as a federal appeals court considers overturning it. “Defendants are likely to succeed on appeal from the Court’s order for several reasons,” government lawyers said in the filing. “To start, it is not possible for Defendants to comply,” they said, pointing to Marocco’s declaration. The government has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

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A subtle hint.

Rubio Cancels EU’s Kallas At Last Minute (RT)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cancelled a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas at the last minute “due to scheduling issues,” Euronews reported on Wednesday. Kallas, who is on an official visit to Washington to discuss the Ukraine conflict and new dynamics in transatlantic relations, intends to meet with representatives from the US Congress and Senate, according to her spokesperson cited by the EU’s news network. The bloc’s top diplomat had been scheduled to meet with Rubio on Wednesday, and news agencies had expected images from the bilateral talks, Euronews wrote. However, a spokesperson for the US official told the outlet that the meeting had been cancelled “due to scheduling issues,” adding that Kallas and Rubio “last met during the Munich Security Conference” earlier in February. According to the report, Rubio’s public calendar for February 26 did not list Kallas as an agenda item.

Former Estonian prime minister Kallas has been critical of the new US administration’s handling of the Ukraine conflict, denouncing President Donald Trump’s call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin earlier this month as a form of “appeasement.” She has accused Washington of adopting a “Russian narrative” and argued that Brussels should “support Ukraine right now more than ever.” Kallas also claimed that Moscow emerged as the winner in the recent US-Russia meeting in Saudi Arabia, stressing that any peace deal concerning Ukraine must involve both Europeans and Ukrainians to be effective. Following the Riyadh talks on February 18, Kallas held a phone call with Rubio, later warning, “Russia will try to divide us. Let’s not walk into their traps.” On Monday, while announcing the now-cancelled meeting with Rubio, Kallas stated “I have been very clear that no deal without us, without Ukraine or without Europe will work in practice – and that is for the US, which also needs to work with us.”

An unnamed EU diplomat commented on the canceled meeting for Politico, saying it “seems that the Trump administration doesn’t miss a chance to show that for them the EU is not a player.” On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the aggressive stance of Ukraine’s EU backers makes them unfit to participate in the peace process. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov further accused Brussels on Wednesday of attempting to derail peace efforts by encouraging Kiev to continue fighting against Russia. Kallas has recently suggested extending arms deliveries to Ukraine into 2025. The proposed package, worth €10 billion (over $10 billion), has faced resistance from some EU member states and is set for discussion at the March 6 summit of the bloc. Moscow has repeatedly warned against Western arms shipments to Ukraine, arguing that they only prolong the conflict without altering the outcome, while increasing the risk of a direct Russia-NATO confrontation.

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Europe is full of highly unpopular “leaders”. Who target the few that are actually loved.

NATO-Skeptic Romanian Presidential Candidate Arrested (RT)

Romanian police have arrested Calin Georgescu, the front-runner in last year’s annulled presidential election, and conducted dozens of raids on his supporters and people tied to his campaign, local media reported on Wednesday. A critic of NATO and the EU and an opponent of sending aid to Ukraine, Georgescu made headlines in November last year when he unexpectedly garnered 23% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election in Romania. However, the Constitutional Court annulled the results shortly before the second round, citing intelligence documents alleging ‘irregularities’ in his campaign. Georgescu’s communications team has said on Facebook that he was arrested just as he was about to submit his new candidacy for the presidency.

”The system stopped him in traffic and he was pulled over for questioning at the Prosecutor General’s Office! Where is democracy, where are the partners who must defend democracy,” his team wrote. Prior to his arrest, Georgescu condemned the raids on his supporters in a post on Facebook. “The communist-Bolshevik system continues its odious abuses,” he wrote, accusing the Romanian authorities of trying to “invent evidence to justify the theft of the elections and to do anything to block my new candidacy for the presidency.” The Romanian Prosecutor General’s Office is reportedly investigating Georgescu over allegations of involvement “in a fascist organization and the promotion of controversial ideologies and historical figures in the public space,” G4Media outlet reported, citing sources close to the investigation. According to media reports, police found “weapons, live ammunition, and more than a million dollars hidden in a safe” during the raids.

Following the reports of Georgescu’s arrest, dozens of people gathered in front of the Prosecutor General’s office, chanting his name. The president of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party, George Simion, said his MPs have also made their way to the Prosecutor General’s office to demand an explanation. Digi24 quoted Simion as saying that he maintains his support for Georgescu and that “until we see undeniable evidence, we suspect that this is political policing.” He added that so far, “not a single piece of evidence” has been presented. Georgescu’s surprise election victory last year and the subsequent annulment over unproven claims of Russian interference in the electoral process sparked controversy in the country. Both conservative and liberal parties have suggested that the establishment parties – the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL) – are trying to hold on to power by pulling strings within the Constitutional Court.

The canceled election over alleged ‘Russian meddling’ has also been criticized by US officials. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month, Vice President J.D. Vance suggested that “old entrenched interests” in Romania are “hiding behind ugly, Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation” and “don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might… win an election.” Throughout his election campaign, Georgescu repeatedly insisted on Romania’s geopolitical non-alignment and highlighted national sovereignty and self-sufficiency. While expressing skepticism towards Western influence over the country’s policies and criticizing both NATO and the EU, he stated that Romania would respect its commitments to these organizations, but only “to the extent that they will respect theirs” toward Bucharest. He also vowed to halt Romania’s military aid to Ukraine if elected.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1894722137941749825

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Dismissed/disgruntled/disloyal spies.

Tulsi Gabbard Labels CNN ‘Propaganda Arm’ Of Spies (RT)

Newly confirmed US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has accused CNN of acting as a “propaganda arm” for disloyal intelligence agents, calling the network’s report on potential retaliation by dismissed spies an “indirect threat” to President Donald Trump’s administration. As part of Trump’s broader effort to downsize and restructure the federal government, the Central Intelligence Agency has recently offered so-called buyouts to its agents. In a report published on Monday, CNN, citing unnamed sources, claimed that some senior CIA officers were “quietly discussing” how the dismissals “risk creating a group of disgruntled former employees who might be motivated to take what they know to a foreign intelligence service.” “I am curious about how they think this is a good tactic to keep their job,” Gabbard told Fox News on Tuesday.

“They are exposing themselves, essentially, by making this indirect threat – using their propaganda arm, CNN, that they’ve used over and over again – to reveal their hand,” she continued. “Their loyalty is not to America, not to the American people or the Constitution; it is to themselves.” She stressed that these disgruntled employees are “exactly the kinds of people we need to root out, get rid of, so that the patriots who do work in this area, who are committed to our core mission, can actually focus on that.” Gabbard also claimed that many within the intelligence community had reached out to her personally, expressing support for Trump’s efforts to “clean house” and refocus on the core mission of serving the American people.

A former US congresswoman from Hawaii, Gabbard rose to national prominence in 2016 when she resigned as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to endorse Bernie Sanders for president. She later ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, advocating against US military interventions abroad, which she argued are harmful to service members like herself and detrimental to national interests. As tensions with the Democratic Party escalated, Gabbard left the party in 2022. After two years as an independent, she joined the Republican Party and endorsed Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump’s nomination of Gabbard for the top intelligence role in November sparked criticism from establishment figures, who labeled her a security risk. Despite the backlash, she was confirmed earlier this month by a 52-48 Senate vote, with only one Republican, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, opposing her appointment. In January, the Senate also confirmed another Trump nominee, John Ratcliffe, as director of the CIA in a 74-25 vote. Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman and ex-director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, is known for his skepticism of intelligence agencies and his criticism of investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

CIA

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“..this will make you sick..”

We’ll see a lot of comments on redactions. Pam better be careful.

AG Pam Bondi Announces Thursday Release of Epstein Files (ZH)

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Wednesday evening that she’s going to release DOJ files on dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. “You said last week that you had the Epstein files on your desk. When can we see them?” asked Fox News’ Jesse Watters. “Jesse, there are well over – this will make you sick, 200 victims. Well over… over 250 actually. So we have to make sure that their identity is protected, and their personal information. But other than that, I think tomorrow Jesse – breaking news right now, you’re going to see some Epstein information being released by my office.” “What kind? Are we going to see who was on the flights? Are we going to see any evidence from what he recorded – because he had all of his homes wired with recording devices,” Watters asked. “What you’re going to see, hopefully tomorrow, is a lot of flight logs, a lot of names, a lot of information… it’s pretty sick what that man did,” Bondi continued.

Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender was found dead in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. While his death was rules a suicide, he was also good friends with the Clintons and several other high-profile figures such as Bill Gates, Britain’s Prince Andrew, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, former Barclays CEO and ‘Disney princess’ aficionado Jes Staley, Larry Summers, Harvey Weinstein, and former Victoria’s Secret boss Les Wexner. Watters’ question about recordings stems from earlier reporting that the deceased sex trafficker’s homes were wired with recording devices. In late 2019, Jeffrey Epstein victim Maria Farmer alleged that the deceased pedophile had a “media room” on the first floor where high-profile johns were allegedly recorded having sex with women and children.

“So if you’re facing the house, there’s a window on the right that’s barred – that’s the room, the ‘media room’ is what he called it,” Farmer said. “And so there was a door that looked like an invisible door with all this limestone and everything and you push it and you go in and I saw all the cameras.” Maria said: “What it was – was like old televisions basically, like stacked.” “They were monitors inside this cabinet and there were men sitting here and I looked on the cameras and I saw toilet, toilet, bed, bed, toilet, bed. “And I was like I’m never going to use the restroom here and I am never going to sleep here.” -The Sun

The claim was supported in a 2024 lawsuit by two women – Danielle Bensky and Jane Doe 3, who said Epstein employed a sophisticated system involving constant CCTV surveillance within his New York mansion. Bondi’s appearance came hours after the DOJ appeared to give Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) the brush-off, telling her in a Wednesday letter that they are “reviewing your requests and look forward to engaging further to accommodate your oversight and legislative needs.” On the campaign trail, Donald Trump suggested that he would be open to releasing the Epstein list, while Bondi said in November that anyone named in the documents who are “still fighting to keep their names private, Sean, they have no legal basis to do so unless they’re a child, a victim or a cooperating defendant.”

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Opens in new tab/window. No comment needed.Note: Trump did not make this.

Trump Gaza VIDEO With Bearded Belly Dancers Sparks Outcry (RT)

A video re-envisioning Gaza as a lavish resort complete with bearded belly dancers and dollar bills raining down posted on US President Donald Trump’s social media channel has elicited a backlash from users. The clip, which appears to be AI-generated and comes after the US leader recently suggested turning Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East,” appeared on Truth Social on Tuesday. The 30-second clip begins with what appear to be current scenes of destruction in Gaza, with barefoot children running between wrecked buildings. The wreckage then morphs into a futuristic-looking Gaza with skyscrapers reminiscent of Dubai, pristine beaches, casinos, and opulent hotels branded “Trump Gaza.” The video depicts an AI-rendered Trump enjoying the local attractions, including sunbathing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Elon Musk, also AI-rendered, is seen dining on the beach, surrounded by what appear to be bearded belly dancers. The video also features larger-than-life golden statues of Trump and kids frolicking under a shower of dollar bills.

The video is accompanied by a jingle with lyrics praising Trump’s supposed vision for Gaza:
“Donald is coming to set you free, bringing the light for all to see,
No more tunnels, no more fear, Trump Gaza is finally here.
Trump Gaza is shining bright, a golden future, a brand new light,
Feast and dance, the deed is done, Trump Gaza number one!”

Trump suggested earlier this month that the US was prepared to take control of Gaza and transform it into a resort. He has reiterated the idea several times since, claiming that because the enclave is unsafe to live in, it should be raised completely to the ground and rebuilt. While Israel applauded Trump’s initiative, other regional players and many global powers have strongly opposed it, particularly given that it would mean relocating Palestinians living in the enclave to neighboring countries. Trump’s video has so far drawn significant backlash over its tone and messaging, even from the US leader’s own supporters. Users on Truth Social described the clip as “horrible,” “creepy,” and “in poor taste.”

“I hate this. I love our president, but this is horrible,” one user wrote on Truth Social. “This feels all wrong and actually makes me sick,” another user stated. “I could not be a bigger supporter of President Trump but this particular video is in very poor taste!” another one wrote. Some suggested that the bearded belly dancers and golden statues were excessive, while others questioned whether the video had actually come from Trump’s team. “Something does not add up here??? Really does not feel that this is something Trump would post!! Wonder if someone is messing with his account??!! I surely hope so!! Very creepy!!” a user wrote. Several more suggested that Trump should “strongly re-evaluate” the communications team responsible for creating the video. Neither Trump nor his administration has commented on the video, nor was the clip accompanied by any explanation or caption.

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Catwalk
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894497772797141391

 

 

Owl

 

 

Donkey
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894819783696359446

 

 

Dachs

 

 

Trust

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Dec 082024
 


Alfred Sisley Snow at Louveciennes 1878

 

Syrian Army Informs Officers Of Regime Change – Reuters (RT)
‘Not Our Fight!’: Trump Weighs In On Syria’s Unraveling (ZH)
Ukraine ‘Would Like To Make A Deal’ With Russia – Trump (RT)
Meeting With Trump And Macron Was ‘Productive’ – Zelensky (RT)
Megyn Kelly Warns Deep State Is Coming For Hegseth, Gabbard, RFK Jr (ZH)
The Clintons Need Biden’s ‘Blanket Pardons’ More Than Other Democrats (Sp.)
Musk Spent $260 Million On Trump (RT)
Prosecutor Blocks Lawsuit Against Ursula von der Leyen Over Pfizergate (Sp.)
How Russia Plans To Win In Ukraine (Dmitry Trenin)
Teenagers Preparing To Flee Ukraine – The Times (RT)
The Syria Tragedy and the New Omni-War (Pepe Escobar)
Russia Warns Against Geopolitical Use of Terrorists in Syria’s Conflict (Sp.)
Russia, Iran Call For ‘Internal Dialogue’ To Resolve Crisis In Syria (Cradle)
Romanian Presidential Frontrunner Claims He’s Victim Of Coup D’état (RT)
France Is A Perfect Example Of Centrist Elites Wrecking The West (Amar)
Pop Art: The Value of Hunter Biden’s Art Expected to Collapse (Turley)
Durov Subjected To First Detailed Questioning In Court (RT)

 

 

 

 

Alina


https://twitter.com/i/status/1865244916961726923

Leavitt

Tulsi

McEnany


https://twitter.com/i/status/1865102720698364085

 

 

 

 

The speed at which the Assad regime unraveled provokes a whole new additional set of questions. Where were Russia, Iran, China? Were they ever going to help? There was hardly any resistance from Syrian troops, no fighting.

Syrian Army Informs Officers Of Regime Change – Reuters (RT)

The Syrian Army command announced on Sunday that President Bashar Assad’s 24-year rule has come to an end, according to a Syrian officer who spoke to Reuters. The announcement follows a rapid offensive by jihadist forces in the capital. The jihadists claim that Damascus is “now free of Assad” and are expected to make their first public statement via state TV, Reuters reports, citing two anti-government sources. In response to the political uncertainty, Prime Minister Mohammad al-Jalali stated that he is “ready to cooperate with any leadership chosen by the people,” as quoted by Al Jazeera. He added that he remains at home and is inclined to support the continuity of government.

Ahmed Al-Sharaa, a prominent commander for the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has issued orders prohibiting all militant forces in Damascus from approaching public institutions or firing weapons into the air. He went on to say that government institutions will remain under the supervision of the “former prime minister” until they are officially transferred to the new authorities. Over the weekend, HTS fighters and other anti-government militias entered Damascus, effectively taking control of the capital. Flight tracking websites indicate that Assad’s plane has left the city.

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“HTS, the group backed by NATO member Turkey and leading this anti-Assad onslaught, is a US-designated terror organization..”

‘Not Our Fight!’: Trump Weighs In On Syria’s Unraveling (ZH)

President-elect Donald Trump has weighed in on the rapid-moving events in Syria, where jihadist groups backed by Turkey are entering the outside environs of the capital of Damascus. The embattled President Bashar al-Assad still appears to be in residence, but his future is far from certain. “Opposition fighters in Syria, in an unprecedented move, have totally taken over numerous cities, in a highly coordinated offensive, and are now on the outskirts of Damascus, obviously preparing to make a very big move toward taking out Assad,” he began the statement on Truth Social.Trump emphasized that Washington should stay completely out, calling the situation a “mess” and that it is “not our fight”. He posted the same message on X.

It alludes to Russia’s inability to continue protecting Syria, given it is bogged down in the nearly three year long Ukraine war, while also blasting former President Obama’s past Syria policies and that he laid down ‘red lines’. Below is the full statement: “Russia, because they are so tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss there of over 600,000 soldiers, seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years. This is where former President Obama refused to honor his commitment of protecting the RED LINE IN THE SAND, and all hell broke out, with Russia stepping in. But now they are, like possibly Assad himself, being forced out, and it may actually be the best thing that can happen to them. There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia, other than to make Obama look really stupid.”Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!”

It must be remembered that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group backed by NATO member Turkey and leading this anti-Assad onslaught, is a US-designated terror organization. A big question is: what comes next? While HTS has morphed from Syrian Al-Qaeda, it is trying to present to the West a softer image, claiming that it will protect minorities including Christians. However, its recent past clearly demonstrates that it rules territories under its control with Taliban-style force and brutality. Much of the nation’s population until now has stuck with Assad given the alternative is Somalia-style fracturing and rule by competing jihadist warlords. One thing is for sure: Trump will inherent dealing with an absolute tragic mess in Syria, the heartland of the Middle East, upon his opening days in office. Currently, US forces still occupy one-third of Syria, in the oil and gas areas of the northeast. During Trump’s first term he expressed an effort to “bring the troops home” but it’s widely reported he was stymied by his generals and national security officials.

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600,000 Russian soldiers vs 400,000 Ukrainian soldiers?

Ukraine ‘Would Like To Make A Deal’ With Russia – Trump (RT)

Ukraine “would like to” make a peace deal with Russia, US President-elect Donald Trump has signaled after meeting with Vladimir Zelensky in Paris. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations between Moscow and Kiev. Trump’s remarks came after reports emerged of a regime change in Syria, Russia’s ally in the Middle East, where jihadists claimed to have taken over the Syrian capital Damascus and toppled President Bashar Assad’s 24-year rule. Trump speculated that this happened because Assad’s “protector,” Russia, “was not interested in protecting him any longer.”

“[Russia] lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever, Trump stated, claiming that Russia is currently “in a weakened state… because of Ukraine and a bad economy.” “Likewise, Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin,” the President-elect said, adding that if the conflict is not resolved, “it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse.”

Notre Dame

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It was suggested Trump shook Macron’s hand so hard, the latter needed a chiropractor.

Meeting With Trump And Macron Was ‘Productive’ – Zelensky (RT)

US President-elect Donald Trump has met briefly with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in Paris. No joint statement was released after the trilateral talks, but Zelensky hailed the conversation as “good and productive.” Trump arrived in Paris on Saturday to attend the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, extensively damaged in a fire in 2019. The trip was Trump’s first foreign visit since he defeated Kamala Harris in last month’s presidential election, but he nevertheless arrived at the Elysee Palace 40 minutes late, French media reported. Trump and Macron shared a warm embrace outside the palace, and speaking to reporters inside, Macron said that it was a “great honor” to host the incoming US president. Trump returned the compliment, before declaring that “the world seems to be going a little crazy right now.”

Zelensky, who was originally due to hold a one-on-one meeting with Macron, arrived nearly an hour later, before the three met for roughly 35 minutes, according to BFMTV. The three men did not speak to the press afterwards, and left for Notre Dame separately after posing for pictures. In a post on X, Macron said that the meeting was focused on “common action for peace and security.” Zelensky, also posting on X, described the talks as “good and productive.” “President Trump is, as always, resolute. I thank him,” Zelensky wrote. “We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way,” he continued. “We spoke about our people, the situation on the ground, and a just peace.” “We agreed to continue working together and keep in contact. Peace through strength is possible,” he concluded, using a catchphrase regularly deployed by Trump to describe his foreign policy.

Throughout his campaign, Trump repeatedly promised that he would end the Ukraine conflict within “24 hours” of taking office, without offering any specifics on how he would achieve this beyond pushing Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin into negotiations. Recent media reports suggest that he intends to ‘freeze’ the conflict along the current line of contact, using the threat of a reduction in US aid to force Zelensky to negotiate, and the threat of increased aid to Kiev to pressure Putin into talks. Zelensky insists that his ten-point ‘peace formula’ is the only viable path to what he calls a “just peace” with Russia. However, the Kremlin has dismissed this document as “delusional,” with its demands that Russia restore Ukraine’s 1991 borders, pay reparations, and surrender its own officials to war-crimes tribunals.

Moscow maintains that any settlement must begin with Ukraine ceasing military operations and acknowledging the “territorial reality” that it will never regain control of the Russian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye, as well as Crimea. In addition, the Kremlin insists that the goals of its military operation – which include Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification – will be achieved.

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“If you don’t think they’re going to do this to RFK Jr., you haven’t been paying attention,” Kelly urged.

Megyn Kelly Warns Deep State Is Coming For Hegseth, Gabbard, RFK Jr (ZH)

As Pete Hegseth – president-elect Trump’s pick for SecDef – runs the gauntlet of the nomination process, amid a cornucopia of media amplified unsubstantiated accusations against him, Sirius XM host Megyn Kelly has warned that the political establishment, both Democrats and Republicans, are attempting to derail Trump’s second term before it has even begun by targeting his cabinet picks. As Steve Watson writes at Modernity.news, Kelly pointed to Pete Hegseth, who who is fighting to stay in the running for Secretary of Defense amid a cornucopia of media amplified unsubstantiated accusations against him. Kelly warned that if Hegseth falls like Matt Gaetz did, then RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and anyone else Trump picks will likely be next. “If you don’t think they’re going to do this to RFK Jr., you haven’t been paying attention,” Kelly urged.

“I realize that Pete has his belly exposed. He has not led a perfect life, and there’s plenty if you want to start attacking his character in terms of his marital history and so on,” Kelly noted. “But as he said to me yesterday, he found around 20, I think it was 18 or so, he found his two J’s: his wife, Jen and Jesus, and started changing his life in a profound way,” she further explained. The host continued, “Let’s say they get Pete’s scalp like they got Matt Gates’s scalp, Bobby Kennedy’s history makes Pete look like the consummate Boy Scout. He looks like he’s ready to enter the priesthood.” “He’s a lot older, with a lot more of a checkered past… It’s not going to be pretty at all. So we are really at a crossroads here about whether we are going to sacrifice these nominees because of checkered personal pasts or not. It’s not going to get easier after Pete,” Kelly emphasized.

But, as Gery Berntsen writes at American Greatness, when Pete Hegseth is confirmed as Secretary of Defense, he will be a forceful agent of change for the betterment of the United States of America. The abridged version of a famous Machiavelli quote, “Nothing is more difficult or dangerous than to attempt to change the order of things,” is in full view as we watch the process of confirming President Trump’s Secretary of Defense. When Pete Hegseth is confirmed as Secretary of Defense, he will be a forceful agent of change for the betterment of the United States of America. President-elect Trump’s nominee, retired Army National Guard Major and Fox News host Peter Hegseth, is receiving considerable fire amid allegations of misconduct while CEO of Concerned Veterans for America (CVA).

I am writing this article because I was one of the founding members of CVA. I am an Air Force veteran and retired senior operations officer and chief of station in the Central Intelligence Agency. While at the CIA, I held major field command positions and was a senior manager in the CIA’s Counter-Terrorism Center (CTC). I led the CIA’s largest paramilitary element on the ground during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, seizing Kabul, initiating the battle of Tora Bora, and leading teams around the globe in several dangerous crises. I worked hand in glove with the most important elements of the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, and the FBI to secure and safeguard American interests. Based on 30 years of this experience and my personal knowledge of Pete Hegseth, I have no doubt that he will excel as Secretary of Defense.


Megyn Kelly is joined by The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles

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“The Trump administration, working with Chris Rufo, a new IRS chief, and [attorney general nominee] Pam Bondi, could raise hundreds of billions of dollars merely by enforcing the strict rules and laws pertaining to nonprofit organizations..”

The Clintons Need Biden’s ‘Blanket Pardons’ More Than Other Democrats (Sp.)

After President Joe Biden issued an unusual blanket pardon for his son, Hunter, Democratic Congressman Ed Markey has urged the president to extend “preemptive pardons” to other top Democrats whom Donald Trump believes “harmed him” and might otherwise be treated by him in a “fascistic way.” “After nearly four years of weaponizing US government resources against perceived enemies of certain dynastic political families, Markey and Biden have some nerve suggesting that the Trump administration will be engaging in ‘fascist’ retaliation starting January 20, 2025,” Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel tells Sputnik, referencing Biden’s prosecution of January 6 protestors and labeling MAGA supporters as “extremists.” US journalist Jonathan Martin reported on December 4 that Biden’s senior aides are debating the issue, and the alleged pardon list might include Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, former COVID czar Anthony Fauci.

“The public has yet to learn how deep the rot became across America ever since 1988, when elites embraced unregulated globalism and a turbocharged spoils system where trillions of dollars in spending that is not audited (by design) can be pilfered or diverted to fund political campaigns and multiple-mansion lifestyles,” Ortel says.According to the analyst, the political trajectories of the Biden, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Pelosi, and Cheney dynasty families warrant close scrutiny for alleged influence-peddling and other questionable conduct. “Those who howl loudest now anticipating Trump’s return likely include many with guilty knowledge of their own roles perpetrating a raft of crimes, believing the system will remain rigged to protect them,” he notes. As Joe Biden’s White House reportedly considers “preemptive pardons” for some top Democrats, Ortel suggests that the Clintons might be on the list.

“‘The Clinton Foundation’ (in quotes because I challenge an informed lawyer to demonstrate that it validly and lawfully exists as a public charity) has yet again issued false and materially misleading public filings as it continues to solicit donations in various ways across state lines and national boundaries,” says Ortel, who has conducted a private investigation into the charity’s alleged fraud for several years. In 2018, two forensic investigators-turned-whistleblowers, John Moynihan and Larry Doyle, testified before the US Congress that the Clinton Foundation does not operate as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization but acts as a foreign agent and owes the US government between $400 million and $2.5 billion in taxes. Additionally, Special Counsel John Durham’s probe indicated that Hillary Clinton and her team played a significant role in shaping and promoting the Trump-Russia collusion narrative.

According to Ortel, this hoax was used to prevent Trump from investigating the Clintons’ apparent pay-to-play schemes, mishandling of classified information, and alleged money laundering. “The Trump administration, working with Chris Rufo, a new IRS chief, and [attorney general nominee] Pam Bondi, could raise hundreds of billions of dollars merely by enforcing the strict rules and laws pertaining to nonprofit organizations. Many of these ‘elite’ entities have brazenly abused the law in countless ways, especially the Clintons since October 23, 1997,” Ortel says. “[One] report notes that the Biden family may now have greater exposure since Hunter can no longer readily invoke the Fifth Amendment,” Ortel points out. The Washington Free Beacon reported on December 3 that Hunter will no longer be able to rely on his Fifth Amendment right to silence regarding any potential federal crimes for which he’s been pardoned, according to two former House general counsels.

The Fifth Amendment protects against self-incrimination; however, with Hunter no longer at risk of federal prosecution for the period between January 2014 and December 2024, he appears to be ineligible for this protection. The newspaper alleges that Republican lawmakers should jump at the opportunity to subpoena Hunter Biden for new information about his family’s knowledge or involvement in his apparent influence-peddling schemes. There are a lot of questions concerning the Biden family’s conduct in post-coup Ukraine where Hunter helped secure millions of dollars of funding for Metabiota, a Pentagon bio-reseach contractor, and where he got a hefty salary from Bursima gas firm. “Finally, offering Hunter pardons for federal crimes back to January 1, 2014 raises suspicions that Joe may know of illegal activities in which Hunter engaged, years before crimes alleged in the indictments in the gun (2018) and tax (2019) cases,” Ortel stresses.

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“The value of shares in his electric vehicle company, Tesla, rose by 80% in the past month.”

Musk Spent $260 Million On Trump (RT)

The world’s richest person, entrepreneur Elon Musk, spent at least $260 million to get Donald Trump re-elected as US president, various media outlets have reported, citing Thursday’s filings with the Federal Election Commission. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has emerged as a top Republican donor and one of the most prominent members of Trump’s inner circle, noted the Washington Post. Some $238 million of the donations went to a political action committee (PAC) that Musk founded this year, America PAC, CNN said, citing the filings. Other groups backing Trump benefitted as well, with the entrepreneur giving $20.5 million to RBG PAC, and $3 million to the MAHA Alliance.

According to the Washington Post, Musk spent $232 million supporting Trump and other Republican candidates before the election. After the vote and through November 25, he gave nearly $45 million more to America PAC, taking his total political spending to at least $277 million. Following the election victory, Trump appointed Musk as his government efficiency adviser. The entrepreneur will oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, aimed at cutting government spending. The billionaire has pledged to audit the entire US government, aiming to cut up to $2 trillion in spending.

The entrepreneur’s influence has led to the media and some conservatives dubbing him the “co-president of the United States” and “the Soros of the right,” referring to billionaire investor and prolific liberal donor George Soros. Musk is the world’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with an estimated total net worth of $362 billion as of December 6. The value of shares in his electric vehicle company, Tesla, rose by 80% in the past month. The world’s most valuable carmaker is expected to benefit from streamlined regulation on self-driving cars during the new Trump administration.

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This is how rotten the EU is. Secret deals for €35+ billion kept secret. Zero accountability.

“The prosecutor secretly contested the case, arguing that von der Leyen should be immune from prosecution due to her official duties..”

Prosecutor Blocks Lawsuit Against Ursula von der Leyen Over Pfizergate (Sp.)

A Belgian court was unable to review the charges against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen due to the intervention of the European Prosecutor’s Office, according to activist and prosecution representative Frédéric Baldan. A lawsuit against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been postponed indefinitely by a Belgian judge. The postponement follows a hearing that took place on Friday at the Liège Palace of Justice, focusing on potential violations in the procurement of coronavirus vaccines by von der Leyen. The hearing was closed to the public and von der Leyen is currently abroad. “The European Prosecutor’s Office made a move that effectively blocked the court proceedings,” Baldan told Sputnik. The prosecutor secretly contested the case, arguing that von der Leyen should be immune from prosecution due to her official duties. As a result, the judge postponed the hearings indefinitely.

The issue of whether von der Leyen’s immunity applies to the charges will be addressed on January 6. Baldan believes the European Prosecutor’s Office acted in her favor. In 2021, The New York Times reported that von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla exchanged SMS messages discussing a massive vaccine procurement contract. The deal, which could be worth up to €35 billion, raised suspicions about von der Leyen’s direct influence on negotiations, sparking a media scandal dubbed “Pfizergate.” Despite calls to release the text messages, the European Commission refused to make them public in June 2022. In October the same year, the EU’s Public Prosecutor’s Office announced it was investigating the centralized procurement of vaccines on behalf of EU member states, though details remain confidential. Additionally, a separate investigation was launched in Belgium after Baldan filed a lawsuit against von der Leyen, claiming her actions caused economic harm to the country.

In March 2024, it was reported that the case had been transferred to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which confirmed it is continuing its investigation, though it refused to disclose further details. The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg is also reviewing a complaint filed by The New York Times, which had requested von der Leyen’s communications with Pfizer but was denied access. The European Commission argued that these messages were not official documents and could not be retrieved. A ruling is expected in the coming months. During the pandemic, the European Union mainly purchased vaccines from the BioNTech-Pfizer consortium, along with other pharmaceutical companies. These procurements, involving billions of euros, have been the subject of ongoing scrutiny and legal disputes due to delays in supply and lack of transparency.

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Oreshnik = no nukes needed.

How Russia Plans To Win In Ukraine (Dmitry Trenin)

The Ukrainian crisis exposed a troubling reality for Russia: its concept of strategic deterrence proved incapable of preventing enemy aggression. While it has successfully deterred a massive nuclear attack by the United States or large-scale conventional aggression by NATO, it has failed to address a new and insidious form of conflict. Washington and its allies have gambled on inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia through a client state—one they control, arm, and direct. Moscow’s nuclear doctrine, designed for a very different set of circumstances, proved inadequate. It failed to prevent Western intervention at the outset and allowed its escalation. In response, the Kremlin has recognized the need to adapt. In the third year of the operation, a long-overdue update to the doctrine has been announced. This summer, President Vladimir Putin outlined the necessary changes.

By November, the new document—entitled Fundamentals of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence—was in place. The updated doctrine represents a profound shift in Russia’s nuclear policy, transforming it into a proactive deterrent. Previously, nuclear weapons could only be used in conventional conflicts when the very existence of the state was at risk. The threshold was set so high that it effectively allowed adversaries to exploit it. Now, the conditions have been broadened significantly. One key addition is the recognition of “joint aggression.” If a non-nuclear state at war with Russia operates with the direct support of a nuclear power, Moscow reserves the right to respond, including with nuclear weapons. This sends a clear and unmistakable message to the United States, Britain, and France: their facilities and territories are no longer immune to retaliation.

The doctrine also explicitly accounts for scenarios involving massive aerospace attacks, including drones and cruise missiles, as well as aggression against Belarus. Another important change is the expanded list of threats deemed unacceptable to Russia’s security. These changes collectively signal a more assertive posture, reflecting the reality of today’s conflict and deterring potential Western miscalculations. Western reactions to these updates were predictable. Media hysteria painted Putin as reckless, while politicians feigned calm, claiming they would “not be intimidated.” The military and intelligence communities have remained largely silent, quietly drawing their own conclusions. These updates come against an increasingly grim backdrop for the West. Realists within NATO understand the war in Ukraine is effectively lost. The Russian army holds the initiative across the front and is advancing steadily in the Donbass.

The Ukrainian armed forces are unlikely to turn the tide in the foreseeable future, if ever. Consequently, Western strategists are now eyeing a ceasefire along the battle lines as the only viable option. Notably, there has been a subtle shift in the narrative. Articles in Reuters and other Western outlets suggest that Moscow, too, may consider freezing the conflict. However, such a scenario would need to align with Russian interests. For Moscow, anything less than full victory equates to defeat, and such an outcome is simply not an option. The administration of US President Joe Biden, despite the Democrats crushing election defeat, has apparently decided to ‘help’ Donald Trump stay on course. The authorization to use US and British long-range missiles to hit targets in the Kursk and Bryansk regions is both a defiant challenge to Putin, and a ‘gift’ to the president-elect.

Likewise the transfer to Kiev of anti-personnel mines banned by the Ottawa Convention, a new batch of anti-Russian sanctions (including against Gazprombank) and an attempt to ‘push’ the latest Biden aid package for Zelensky through Congress. Russia’s response to the escalation has not been limited to updating its doctrine. The recent test of the ‘Oreshnik’ intermediate-range hypersonic missile under combat conditions marked a pivotal moment. By striking the Yuzhmash missile factory in Dnepropetrovsk, Moscow signaled to NATO that the vast majority of its European capitals are within range of this new weapon. ‘Oreshnik’ carries both conventional and nuclear warheads, and its speed — reportedly reaching up to Mach 10 — renders existing missile defense systems ineffective. Although still experimental, its successful deployment paves the way for mass production. The message is clear: Moscow is not bluffing. This shift from verbal warnings to decisive actions underscores the seriousness of the Kremlin’s resolve.

The West has long convinced itself that Putin would never strike NATO countries. With the advent of ‘Oreshnik,’ that belief has been shattered. The United States and its allies continue to escalate recklessly, betting on provoking a Russian overreaction. The authorization of long-range missile strikes on Russian territories like Kursk and Bryansk, combined with the transfer of banned weapons and the constant drumbeat of sanctions, reflects their desperation. More dangerously, there are whispers of Ukraine’s potential NATO membership or even the transfer of nuclear weapons to Kiev. While the latter remains unlikely, the risk of a “dirty bomb” cannot be ruled out. The West’s hope, however, is that Russia might strike first with atomic weapons, handing NATO the moral high ground. Such an outcome would allow Washington to isolate Moscow globally, undermining its relationships with key players like China, India, and Brazil. Yet Moscow has countered these provocations with calculated precision, refusing to take the bait.

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Blinken: “Getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think, is necessary..”

Putin: [Zelensky] has “no right to push people to their death and drive them into battle.” The orders that Zelensky gives are “criminal..”

Teenagers Preparing To Flee Ukraine – The Times (RT)

Many Ukrainian teenagers are planning to leave the country and never return as the US increases pressure on Kiev to lower the mobilization age, the Times has reported. Earlier this week, outgoing US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said it was not right that “18 to 25-year-olds are not in the fight” against Russia. “Getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think, is necessary,” he stressed.In an article on Thursday, the British paper quoted a teenager from the city of Kharkov, who said that “many” of his friends are now choosing to study abroad because “it is safer there.”“There is no risk of being taken into the army at a foreign university,” he explained, adding that he plans to study in Poland, and may not return after graduation.

“When I have finished, I will decide whether to return to Ukraine or stay there. It will be safer there, there are no bombs falling and there is no danger that I will be mobilized for the war without my consent,” he said. Another teenager who spoke to The Times said he also wants to attend higher education in a foreign country. Ukrainian lawmaker Aleksandra Ustinova told the paper that a decision to lower the mobilization age to 18 would be met with “huge opposition inside Ukraine and we would not get the results [on the battlefield] that we want because this is not such a large amount of people.”“It would also be a clear signal for families to get their children out. So, if we want to lose our future generation, then, yeah, this is the thing to do,” Ustinova stressed.

The number of men aged between 18 and 25 in Ukraine is estimated to be at least 300,000.According to UN data, at least 6.8 million Ukrainians have fled the country and become refugees since the escalation between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022. Most of them are women and children, as men of fighting age are banned from travelling abroad.Since the start of the conflict, officials in Moscow have repeatedly accused the US and its allies of wanting “to fight to the last Ukrainian” in their effort to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, who canceled a presidential election earlier this year, has “no right to push people to their death and drive them into battle.” The orders that Zelensky gives are “criminal,” Putin stressed.

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“..a Final Confrontation – with several overtones ranging from expanding lebensraum to provoking the Apocalypse.”

The Syria Tragedy and the New Omni-War (Pepe Escobar)

Until recently, a serious geopolitical working hypothesis was that West Asia and Ukraine were two vectors of the standard Hegemon modus operandi, which is to incite and unleash Forever Wars. Now both wars are united in an Omni-War. A coalition of Straussian neo-cons in the US, hardcore revisionist Zionists in Tel Aviv and Ukrainian neo-nazi shades of grey is now betting on a Final Confrontation – with several overtones ranging from expanding lebensraum to provoking the Apocalypse. What stands in their way is essentially two of the top BRICS: Russia and Iran. China, self-protected by their collective lofty dream of “community of a shared future for mankind”, warily watches on the sidelines, as they know that at the end of the road, the true “existential” war by the Hegemon will be against them. Meanwhile, Russia and Iran need to mobilize for Totalen Krieg. Because that’s what the enemy is launching.

The total destabilisation of Syria, with heavy CIA-MI6 input, now proceeding in real time, is a carefully engineered gambit to undermine BRICS and beyond. It proceeds in parallel to Pashinyan removing Armenia from the CSTO – based on a US promise to support Yerevan in a possible new clash with Baku; India being encouraged to ramp up a weapons race with Pakistan; and across-the-board intimidation of Iran. So this is also a war to destabilize the International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC), of which the three major protagonists are BRICS members Russia, Iran and India. As it stands, the INSTC is totally geopolitical risk-free. As a top BRICS corridor-in-the-making, it carries the potential to become even more effective than several of China’s cross-Heartland corridors of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The INSTC would be a key lifeline for a great deal of the global economy in case of a direct confrontation between the US/Israel combo and Iran – with the possible shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz leading to the collapse of a multi-quadrillion pile of financial derivatives, economically imploding the collective West. Turkiye under Erdogan, as usual, is playing a double game. Rhetorically, Ankara stands by a genocide-free and sovereign Palestine. In practice, the Turkiye supports and funds a motley crew of Greater Idlibistan jihadis – trained by Ukrainian Neo-nazis in drone warfare and with weapons financed by Qatar – who have just marched on and conquered Aleppo, Hama, and possibly beyond. If this army of mercenaries were real followers of Islam, they would be marching in defense of Palestine.

At the same time, the real picture inside the corridors of power in Tehran is extremely murky. There are factions favoring getting closer to the West, which clearly would have ramifications for the Axis of Resistance’s ability to fight Tel Aviv. On Lebanon, Syria never wavered. History explains why: from the point of view of Damascus, Lebanon historically remains a governorate, so Damascus is responsible for the security of Beirut. And that’s one of Tel Aviv’s key motives to propel the current Salafi-jihadi offensive on Syria – after smashing virtually every communication corridor between Syria and Lebanon. What Tel Aviv could not accomplish on the ground – a victory over Hezbollah in southern Lebanon – has been replaced by isolating Hezbollah from the Axis of Resistance.

Wars in West Asia are a complex mix of national, sectarian, tribal and religious vectors. In a sense, they are endless wars; controllable to an extent, but then back again. The Russian strategy in Syria seemed to be very precise. As it was impossible to normalize a completely fragmented nation, Moscow opted to free the Syria that really matters – the capital, the most important cities, and the Eastern Mediterranean coast – from the Salafi-jihadi mobs. The problem is that freezing the war in 2020, with direct implication by Russia, Iran and (reluctantly) Turkiye, did not solve the “moderate rebel” problem. Now they’re back – in full force, supported by a vast Rent-a-Jihadi mob, with NATOstan Intel behind them. Some things never change.

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Too late now?!

Russia Warns Against Geopolitical Use of Terrorists in Syria’s Conflict (Sp.)

The offensive by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)* terrorist group in Syria has been long in the making, and Russia will oppose attempts by the militants to alter the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. Moscow has called for restraint from all parties in the unraveling conflict in Syria. “The situation has sharply escalated in recent days due to the clearly premeditated aggressive offensive on government forces by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (former Al-Nusra Front*), an organization designated by the UN Security Council as a terrorist group, which has been joined by several smaller factions,” Lavrov said during a press conference following his visit to Doha. He emphasized the urgent need to stop the hostilities and said that Russia would actively oppose any attempts by HTS militants to change the situation on the ground in Syria.

“We are absolutely convinced of the inadmissibility of using terrorists like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to achieve geopolitical goals, as is happening now with the organization of this offensive from the Idlib de-escalation zone,” Lavrov explained during a session at the Doha Forum. The main task now in the situation surrounding Syria, according to Lavrov, is to halt the clashes. UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen has promised to involve influential external actors to stop the fighting and resume negotiations between the government and opposition, Lavrov added. The top Russian diplomat also reiterated Moscow’s efforts to counteract terrorism in Syria: “We are doing everything to prevent terrorists from gaining the upper hand, even if they claim that they are no longer terrorists.” “On the military front, Russia is helping the Syrian army with support from the [Russian Aerospace Forces], based in Khmeimim, and we assist the Syrian army in repelling terrorist attacks,” he added.

Additionally, Lavrov stated that Russia, along with Iran and Turkiye, will take steps to ensure that calls for de-escalation in Syria are heard. The terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, along with several armed factions from the so-called Syrian armed opposition, launched a large-scale operation on November 29, advancing from northern Idlib towards the cities of Aleppo and Hama. By the following day, November 30, the second-largest city in Syria, Aleppo, along with its surroundings, including the international airport and the Kuweires military airbase, came under the control of the terrorists. This marked the first time that the militants had fully taken over Aleppo since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011. Until late 2016, the armed opposition controlled only the eastern part of the city, which was recaptured by the Syrian army with Russian air support.

After the capture of Aleppo, the terrorist units attempted to advance towards the city of Hama, capturing the town of Maaret al-Numan. The Syrian army fought off heavy terrorist attacks in the Hama province from three directions for several days, preparing for a counteroffensive. However, on December 5, the SAR military command officially announced the redeployment of its units from the city of Hama. The city of Hama, located in central Syria, has been under the control of the Syrian army throughout the conflict, which began in the spring of 2011. Hama holds strategic geographic importance, lying between the provinces of Homs and Damascus and connecting through mountain ranges to the Latakia province. The last attempt at an armed insurgency by radical Islamist underground forces, supported by the Muslim Brotherhood*, in Syria’s fourth-largest city took place in 1982. At that time, thanks to prompt action by the Syrian military command, the city was freed from terrorist groups, and control was restored to official authorities.

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They must have known what would happen.

Russia, Iran Call For ‘Internal Dialogue’ To Resolve Crisis In Syria (Cradle)

The Foreign Ministers of Russia, Turkiye, and Iran on 7 December called for an immediate end to hostilities in Syria and for ‘”internal dialogue” between the Syrian government and the “legitimate opposition.” “We called for an immediate end to hostile activities … and for this purpose called for the dialogue between the government and legitimate opposition,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated during talks in the Qatari capital, Doha. “We stated, all of us, that we want the [United Nations] Resolution 2254 to be fully implemented,” Lavrov added. Resolution 2254 calls for a commitment to the “sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity” of Syria and an end to the conflict through “an inclusive and Syrian-led political process.” Lavrov did not specify which opposition forces Russia regarded as legitimate but made clear it considered Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) a terrorist group.

HTS is led by Abu Mohammad al-Julani, a former deputy of the notorious ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Formerly known as the Nusra Front, HTS now claims it is no longer a sectarian Salafi-Jihadi group and welcomes ethnic and religious diversity in Syria. Western media is now promoting HTS, which includes many foreign fighters and remains on the US terror list, as moderates that will protect Syria’s religious minorities. During the US-led covert war on Syria that began in 2011, the Nusra Front and ISIS carried out large numbers of massacres of Christians, Shiites, Alawites, Yezidis, and even Sunnis who were supportive of the governments of Iraq and Syria. HTS and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) launched an invasion of the Aleppo countryside on 27 November. In the past ten days, they have captured two of Syria’s largest cities, Aleppo and Hama.

HTS and SNA militants are now gathering their forces at the edge of Homs City in preparation for an assault. In Doha, Foreign Minister Lavrov stated further, “It’s inadmissible to allow the terrorist group to take control of territory in violation of agreements.” Asked how the situation in Syria would develop and what would happen to Russian military bases there, Lavrov said he was “not in the business of guessing.”

Russia has an airbase in Latakia and a key naval base in Tartous. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi similarly called for “political dialogue” between the Syrian government and the “opposition groups” that are now threatening Damascus. Araghchi said that the parties in Doha agreed to initiate “political dialogue between the Syrian government and the legitimate opposition groups.” For its part, a Turkish foreign ministry source emphasized the importance of restarting the Syrian political process during the talks with Russia and Iran in Doha. The source added that the talks were constructive.

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He’s right. Exposing the real EU.

Romanian Presidential Frontrunner Claims He’s Victim Of Coup D’état (RT)

The invalidation of Romania’s presidential election results by the country’s top court is a formalized coup d’etat, according to independent candidate Calin Georgescu, who clinched a surprise win in the first round last month. Georgescu outperformed the other candidates in the first round of the election with 22.94%, beating out liberal leftist candidate Elena Lasconi, who received 19.18%, and the country’s Social Democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who finished third with 19.15%. On Friday, Romania’s Constitutional Court dismissed Georgescu’s victory, citing a clause in the nation’s laws that emphasizes the need to ensure the correctness and legality of the election. The judiciary body announced that the whole process would be resumed later.

“Essentially, this is a formalized coup d’etat. The rule of law is in an induced coma, and justice subordinated to political orders has practically lost its essence. It is no longer justice, it obeys the orders,” Georgescu, a known critic of Romania’s pro-NATO and pro-Ukraine policy, said on Friday, as cited by Realitatea TV. The politician also stressed that the court’s decision represents more than a legal controversy, adding that “the corrupt system in Romania showed its true face by making a pact with the devil.” Georgescu also said that the power of the people is the basis for a democratic state, and the authorities are obliged to respect the results of the national vote. He stated that the current Romanian government is afraid of losing power and facing revelations.

Earlier this week, Western media outlets reported that declassified information from Romania’s intelligence agencies had revealed that the sudden rise of Georgescu in the first round of the election was “not a natural outcome.” According to the claims, his win emerged thanks to a coordinated social media effort, most likely orchestrated by a “state actor” meddling in the candidate’s mostly Tik-Tok-based campaign, helping to get his message out to the voters. The annulment came amid accusations that Moscow had assisted Georgescu’s campaign, which Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has dismissed as “absolutely groundless.” She said that Romanian elections are carried out in a climate of “an unprecedented surge of anti-Russian hysteria” that is set “to influence the consciousness and will of the country’s citizens.” Washington, meanwhile, has praised the move. On Friday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the US reaffirms its “confidence in Romania’s democratic institutions and processes, including investigations into foreign malign influence.”

Calin

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“It’s an epic battle of light and darkness, Hobbits and Orcs, almost as if lifted straight from a fantasy novel..”

France Is A Perfect Example Of Centrist Elites Wrecking The West (Amar)

In the most immediate terms, Macron’s reckless early-election gamble in the summer and his devious and undemocratic maneuvering to keep out the victorious Left after his party’s predictable trouncing, has left France, in effect, ungovernable. Barnier’s predictable failure makes no difference to that fact. Fresh parliamentary elections, once again, would probably not help either. And anyhow, they are ruled out by the constitution before next summer. Macron will now try out yet another prime minister, number six since he became president. That is a high attrition rate: In 7 years, the would-be embodiment of “institutional stability” has gone through as many heads of government as De Gaulle in 19 years. It’s also an accelerating attrition rate: Macron’s prime ministers get used up ever faster. The future will show if this trend can be broken. If so, then not because of but despite the president’s baneful influence.

As a French commentator noted, he won’t provide a solution, but he can still cause a lot of problems. There are good reasons for declaring this moment the death of Macronism. Its core project of leaving behind the politics of left and right and replacing them with a combination of Centrism and a “Jupiterian” (Macron’s own, early term) personality cult now lies in tatters. Specifically, Macronism’s claim to, at the very least, stave off the populist right of Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN) is a sad joke: No matter what you think about the RN, there is no doubt that its power has never been as great as now, and its chances of capturing the presidency, with or without Marine Le Pen in the lead, have never been better. Macron has become the Biden of France: in both cases, while building their rule on a promise to keep out right-populist challengers, the two presidents’ incompetence and egotism has facilitated the rise of those challengers.

And how do the French feel in the midst of all of this? Spoiler alert: Not grand. According to French newspaper Le Monde’s summary of comprehensive polling by Ipsos, France is a “country anxious and discontent, hit by a political crisis,” and bereft of trust in its “political personnel and institutions.” In terms of their individual experiences, only 50% are content, 70% believe that the conditions of their life are “less and less favorable,” and 55% say they find it hard to make ends meet. Regarding their country as a whole, a whopping 87% consider it in decline, which is 18% worse than when Macron was elected for the first time in 2017: National slow claps for “Jupiter.” But the rest of the political elites don’t look much better: Solid, even preponderant majorities consider them “corrupt” (63%), “not representative” (78%), and out for their own, personal good (83%).

In principle, there’s a difference between being miserable and being afraid. But the two states of mind go together really well, too: Almost all of the French (92%) have a bad feeling they are living in a “violent society”, and almost a third think “very violent” is the more precise term. You may say things could hardly get worse. Yet the French firmly believe they can: 89% see violence on the rise, and the majority of those respondents (61%) think it is rising “a lot.” In sum: A selfish boss from hell (who could fire himself but swears he won’t), no functioning government, a tanking economy, and a mood like there’s no tomorrow. How did that happen to the “Grande Nation”? This is where we get back to the third factor mentioned above: the overarching historic trend. Let’s zoom out from unhappy France and small-minded, selfish Macron, and what we are seeing is an exemplary case of Centrism ruining a country.

True, you would never guess that if you relied on, for instance, The Economist. There, the same old, tired, and dim story is relentlessly told: How a heroic “center” and its stalwart defenders are resisting (or not so much) dastardly attacks from the “populists” and “extremists.” It’s an epic battle of light and darkness, Hobbits and Orcs, almost as if lifted straight from a fantasy novel. It even features glorious last stands: For the New York Times, Britain’s Keir Starmer, “one of the last centrist leaders on the global stage” is “trying to fight populism from the lonely center.” “Remember the Alamo,” I guess.

And yet, look at the real world: Clinton, Biden, Harris, Scholz, Macron, to name only a few – What do they all have in common? They stand for the failed, rejected project of elitist Centrism, dragging down their countries. For a stubborn, snobbish, and manipulative style of politics, complete with lawfare, mass media campaigns of calumny and disinformation, incipient authoritarianism and police-state methods, a dead-end foreign policy of blaming others (Russia and China most of all) for their countries’ problems and decline, and a resolute surrender to the forces of “the market,” which, here, is simply code for globalized capitalist interests.

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1/ Pop=Joe.

2/ Pop goes the value.

Pop Art: The Value of Hunter Biden’s Art Expected to Collapse (Turley)

We have previously discussed the controversy surrounding Hunter Biden’s art sales. Many viewed the art as another avenue for political allies to funnel money to the Bidens. That was reinforced when it was discovered that the lucrative sales heralded by Hunter’s allies were found to have been largely the results of purchases by his “sugar bro” Kevin Morris. Now, experts say that whatever value is left in Hunter’s art will likely collapse with his father’s departure — the clearest indicator of the actual value of the art for “investors.” Hunter’s art appears to be moving from an impressionistic to a harsh realism period. Georges Bergès, Hunter Biden’s art gallerist, contradicted claims of the White House on the handling of the art. Hunter reportedly knew who purchased roughly 70% of the value of his art, including Democrat donors Morris and Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali.

While Biden allies hyped the sales to show that Hunter was a legitimate artist, Bergès admitted that Morris actually purchased most of the art. Morris has reportedly given Hunter millions to cover unpaid taxes and expenses. Hunter only sold paintings to ten people for $1.5 million, according to congressional testimony from 2024. Morris bought 11 works for $875,000 in total. The drop in the value of art reflects not the volatile art market but the fluctuating influence peddling market. The Bidens are finally cashing out of Washington. In the meantime, Hunter is facing a bizarre claim from one of his debt holders that, in return for allegedly walking out on over a year of rent, Hunter sent him art made with his own feces to sell. Shaun Maguire claims that Hunter rented his $4.25 million home in California in 2019. When Hunter’s lawyers denied the story, he posted pictures on social media.

Without getting into the merits of this claim, the question is whether Hunter will sue for defamation. I was previously threatened with a defamation lawsuit for discussing the scandal involving Morris. I continued to write about the allegations (and the threat of a lawsuit) but was never sued. It was an example of the scorched Earth approach of the Hunter team. This is such a bizarre story that it is hard to imagine that it could be true. Conversely, Maguire must have known of the litigious reputation of the Biden team when he decided to go public with this claim. If this story is untrue, it could constitute defamation per se as a statement that impugns his professional and business reputation. A simple testing of the art would tend to establish the truth of the matter. However, there is no indication of any demand for a retraction or notice to sue. Hunter generally has two years for such a lawsuit, but California has a shorter one-year period.

In the meantime, Hunter has pledged to continue to do his art after his father granted him a sweeping pardon for any crimes committed in the last ten years. Given his past excessive spending on a lavish lifestyle, the art alone does not appear to be a viable source of income. However, Morris has helped create a new movie based on his life. Hunter reportedly celebrated the pardon by watching an early showing of the film. In the end, Hunter’s work may be the ultimate Pop art, work that only holds value so long as Pop is in power. Of course, if Nietzsche was right that “the essence of all beautiful art…is gratitude,” Hunter has much to be grateful for. For past and prospective buyers, perhaps less so.

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Regretting his French passport more than ever…

Durov Subjected To First Detailed Questioning In Court (RT)

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been questioned by a Paris court for the first time on the charges against him, more than three months after his arrest, AFP news agency reported on Friday, citing an unnamed source. Previous court hearings had focused on procedural issues relating to the terms of the tech billionaire’s detention. The charges against Durov relate to the alleged involvement of the messaging platform in a wide range of criminal activities. Durov reportedly arrived at the court accompanied by two lawyers, David-Olivier Kaminski and Christophe Ingrain. The entrepreneur said he “trusts French justice,” but refused to comment on the progress of the case or the charges against him. The Russian national, who is also a citizen of France, the UAE and Saint Kitts and Nevis, was arrested after landing in Paris on August 24.

Durov was charged with multiple offenses, including complicity in distributing child pornography, and enabling drug dealing and money laundering. The charges stem from accusations that Telegram’s lax moderation rules allow for the widespread misuse of the messenger service. The billionaire was later released on bail of €5 million ($5.5 million), but has been barred from leaving France while his case is ongoing. Some of the charges against him could carry sentences of up to ten years. Durov has vehemently denied the allegations. In October, the entrepreneur revealed that the messenger service had been complying with privacy policies in several countries, and had been disclosing information about criminals to authorities for the past six years.

According to one of Durov’s lawyers, as cited by the French news agency, it was “absurd” to think that his client was “involved” in crimes committed via the messaging platform. An unnamed source close to the investigation told AFP that the entire legal procedure was having a positive effect in France and elsewhere, as Telegram has begun responding to legal requisitions more actively. Commenting in August on Durov’s detention, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov highlighted the absurdity of holding the entrepreneur accountable for crimes committed using his network. Peskov quipped that Paris could use the same grounds to arrest the CEOs of Renault or Citroën, as terrorists use cars.

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