Grand Jury Archives - The Automatic Earth

Elon Musk's answer to why he's still working, despite being worth over $800 Billion pic.twitter.com/tQL6fq9U5x
— The Driven Man (@Thedrivenman) April 24, 2026

If you don’t see by now that Donald Trump is a very brave man, good luck.

• Shots Fired at Correspondents Dinner, Shooter Dead, Trump Evacuated (Salgado)

UPDATE. 12:15 a.m. Eastern: Apparently, the shooter has been identified:

NEWS: The attempted shooter at the White House Correspondent's Dinner is 31 year old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, California and he is in custody.
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) April 26, 2026

UPDATE, 9:26 p.m. Eastern: President Donald Trump issued a statement on Truth Social:
UPDATE, 9:20 p.m. Eastern: Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich is reporting that the would-be shooter tried to get into the hotel with a gun, but the “counter assault team did their job.”
Hello from backstage.

We’re in a hold behind the stage right now. Staff are going out to reset the head table.

POTUS never left and is down the hall from me. He wants the show to go on.

We’re told by his detail someone tried to get through the mags with a gun. The counter…
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) April 26, 2026

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro says Interim Chief of Police of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Jeffrey Carroll is heading over to take charge of the investigation and that Mayor Muriel Bowser is also coming.
Original story:
The shooter who fired off multiple rounds at the White House correspondents’ dinner Saturday evening is reportedly dead, and Secret Service agents successfully took President Donald Trump off the stage to safety. Fox News announced around 9 p.m. EDT that Trump was going to return, and the dinner could go on as planned.
CNN’s Scott Jennings relayed the report from his network’s chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, who confirmed that the shooter is dead. Jennings also shared video footage of the stage and Secret Service rushing Trump out after the shots went off. Fox News’ Bret Baier, who was at the dinner, just reported live that the threat is neutralized, and people are exiting the building. Fox News, however, said that the shooter might have been detained rather than shot.
https://twitter.com/ScottJenningsKY/status/2048202135880265878
WHAT JUST HAPPENED AT WHCD;

Trump was introduced with First Lady 15 mins ish ago

Five or so mins after he was seated shots range out: POP POP POP POP. Sounds like five to me where I’m sitting.

Everyone immediately hit the floor.

Secret Service immediately took POTUS out…
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) April 26, 2026

The shooter seemingly did not fire in the main area where the dinner was happening. Baier said he thought the shots came from a “light box” in a sort of entrance area. It is not clear what that means. Baier did not confirm that the shooter was dead and said that information was still sparse. Security was searching room to room. The mainstream media have, of course, been encouraging violent hatred against President Trump for years with their extreme rhetoric framing him as worse than Hitler and the KKK. Perhaps they will be less extreme in their language now that they themselves faced such a potentially deadly situation. An announcement made live on stage, streamed by Fox News at about 9 p.m. EDT, indicated that the press is not being told to leave the building.

JUST IN: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer says he was just feet away from the White House Correspondents dinner shooter, says he was thrown to the ground by a police officer.

“It was a very, very serious weapon, he starts shooting.”

“I happened to been a few feet away from him as he was… pic.twitter.com/6ajscWy7Q9
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 26, 2026

Yep. And he just wanted to continue, Every day has this threat level.

• Trump Says WHCD Shooting Was Another Assassination Attempt (Margolis)

During the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, an as-yet-unidentified shooter fired multiple rounds in an entrance area near the event at the Washington Hilton, prompting Secret Service agents to evacuate President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and other officials, like House Speaker Mike Johnson, to safety. There have been conflicting reports, but it appears that the shooter was neutralized and detained, and a Secret Service agent was shot, but was wearing protective gear. No injuries were confirmed among attendees, who sheltered under tables amid chaos.

President Trump had wanted to resume the dinner, but the event was ultimately canceled. But Trump did give a press conference soon after returning to the White House. Flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Trump began by quipping that what happened was “very unexpected” but also “ incredibly acted upon by Secret Service and law enforcement.” “And this was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press,” he continued. “And in a certain way it did, because the fact that they just unified… I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was, in one way, very beautiful. A very beautiful thing to see.”
He then offered details about what happened. “A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service, and they acted very quickly.” Trump wasted little time before announcing he had ordered surveillance footage of the attack released publicly, a move consistent with his administration’s stated commitment to transparency. “And I’ve just released, for purposes of transparency, clarity, I’ve ordered it to be put out. You probably have it by now, put out on Truth, and put out on many other platforms. A tape showing the violence of this thug that attacked our Constitution, and also showing how quickly Secret Service and law enforcement acted on our country’s behalf.”
As for the Secret Service agent who took a bullet, Trump revealed he had spoken with the agent directly. “Really did a great job. One officer was shot, but saved by the fact that he was wearing, obviously, a very good bulletproof vest. He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job. I just spoke to the officer, and he’s doing great. He’s great shape. He has very high spirits, and we told him we love him and respect him, and he’s a very proud guy. He’s very proud of what he does, Secret Service agent.” Trump also used the moment to point out that the incident is further proof that the White House ballroom project is very much needed.
“I didn’t want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House. It’s actually a larger room, and it’s much more secure. It’s drone-proof, it’s bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom. That’s why Secret Service, that’s why the military are demanding it.” He pressed the point further: “They’ve wanted the ballroom for 150 years for lots of different reasons. But today’s, uh, a little bit different because today we need levels of security that probably nobody’s ever seen before.” Trump made that abundantly clear without being subtle about it, that the Washington Hilton isn’t secure enough. “It’s not a particularly secure building.”
From there, Trump made it clear that he saw this as another assassination attempt. “So, as you know, this is not the first time in the past couple of years that our republic has been attacked by a would-be assassin who sought to kill. In Butler, Pennsylvania, less than two years ago, you know, all know that story. And in Palm Beach, Florida, a few months after that, we came close. We really had, again, we had some great work done by law enforcement.” Trump then issued what amounted to a direct appeal to the country.
“But in light of this evening’s events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully. We have to, we have to resolve our differences. I will say, you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals and progressives. Those words are interchangeable perhaps, but maybe they’re not. But yet everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd. There was a record-setting group of people, and there was a tremendous amount of love and coming together. I watched. I watched, and I was very, very impressed by that.”
He also confirmed that he, Melania, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were all evacuated quickly, crediting the speed and professionalism of the Secret Service response. When it came to Hegseth, Trump couldn’t resist a jab wrapped in a compliment.
https://twitter.com/RichSementa/status/2048231706960843079?s=20

“This is why we need the ballroom…”

• Secret Service Agent Shot but in Good Condition (Salgado)

The shooter at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday evening did hit a Secret Service agent who will survive thanks to his body armor, Fox News confirmed a little before 10 p.m. EDT.

The Secret Service agent received treatment and is in good condition, Fox News reported. Many of the mainstream media talking heads who were at the dinner tonight have deliberately fueled violent hatred against Donald Trump with extreme rhetoric, calling Trump a Nazi and a racist and a threat to democracy. They put the lives of Trump, his Secret Service, and everyone around them in danger. Notably, the Democrat-induced partial government funding shutdown has left Secret Service without paychecks for weeks now as the Dems hold up Department of Homeland Security funding.

BREAKING: "The shooter charged the magnetometer closest to the front door… and took a shot at a Secret Service member at the ballroom."@seanhannity describes what he's been told directly from top White House officials in the wake of shots fired at the White House… pic.twitter.com/C2bNPV25up
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 26, 2026

Poor Erika Kirk was present and extremely traumatized by the event, a person present at the dinner who spoke to Fox News stated. It must feel as if she is reliving the nightmare of her husband Charlie’s assassination. Trump posted at one point on Truth Social, “Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely. The shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON’ but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement. They will make a decision shortly. Regardless of that decision, the evening will be much different than planned, and we’ll just, plain, have to do it again.”
Fox News sources reported that the president was pushing hard to return to the stage and continue with the dinner as planned but that everyone around him, both security and family, were urging him not to do so. They felt they could not guarantee his safety as the situation was at that time. nApparently, the Secret Service won out, because Trump followed up with the following message on Truth Social:
Law Enforcement has requested that we leave the premises, consistent with protocol, which we will do, immediately. I will be giving a press conference in 30 minutes from the White House Press Briefing Room. The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition. We will be speaking to you in a half an hour. I have spoken with all the representatives in charge of the event, and we will be rescheduling within 30 days.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said that Interim Chief of Police of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, Jeffrey Carroll, was heading over to take charge of the investigation and that Mayor Muriel Bowser was also coming. Of course, D.C. Democrat officials are absolutely part of the problem in fueling violent hatred against Trump, just as the mainstream media is.

“It comes with the territory. If you want to do a great job, I really believe that….It doesn’t happen to people that don’t do anything..”

“Tonight was the first time they got to experience for themselves the real danger Trump faces every day. They not only got to watch how he handles it, but because they were witnessing this as they tried to hide under tables, they could feel it, too.”

• Something’s Changed: Trump Explains Why People Want to Kill Him (Tim O’Brien)

In President Donald Trump’s press briefing following the latest attempt on his life by a would-be assassin, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, sitting in the front row in the White House Press Briefing Room, still in the gown she wore to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, asked Trump if he thought he was the intended target of the gunman. This question came within a couple of hours of when the shooter attempted to breach security and shot a Secret Service agent, who survived thanks to a bulletproof vest, before being subdued. Trump said he was intercepted at the outer layer of his protection detail — the “first line of defense.”

Since the shooter did not get anywhere close to the president, Collins’ question is a fair one, even though it seems pretty likely the president was the target. After two earlier overt attempts on his life and the steady number of death threats he receives, he appears to have been the obvious subject of the shooter’s plans. But what Trump said in response is worth noting. The magnanimous Trump, still wearing his tuxedo, respectfully told Collins that he wasn’t sure if he was the target, but he added that he has studied a lot of assassinations. I’m going to go out on a limb and say his interest in the subject really piqued after July 13, 2024, when a would-be assassin shot and struck Trump’s ear at a rally in Butler, Pa.
Trump told Collins, more humbly than is characteristic for him in this room, that he could have been the target because his presidency has been “impactful.” He said that with presidencies that aren’t impactful, “they leave you alone.” But in his case, he said, just look at “the list.” He said it backs up his claim, and he’s right. Not all of the most impactful presidents experienced direct attempts on their lives while sitting in the White House, but most who have been the target of attempted assassinations were, to varying degrees, consequential in some way. He reiterated that point later in the briefing while commenting on the fortitude of his administration in its continued pursuit of his agenda.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2048237808695812607
“It comes with the territory. If you want to do a great job, I really believe that….It doesn’t happen to people that don’t do anything,” he said, shortly before wrapping up the briefing and exiting the room. In addition to Trump, other presidents who were targeted for assassination include Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Ronald Reagan, Andrew Jackson, Harry Truman, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, George W. Bush, and Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt famously continued speaking after being shot, pausing briefly before insisting on finishing his speech.
This is not to say that all of these men were equally “impactful” on the trajectory of the country, but Trump has a point. If you do nothing, they do leave you alone. Trump has done quite a bit. He’s been impactful. He is being impactful, and it seems that long before this latest attempt on his life, he made peace with the risks he was taking in order to achieve what he wants to achieve. This was self-evident.
Trump is rarely described as “selfless.” As for the people who were in the room with him, most of them hated him before they walked into that room. Tonight was the first time they got to experience for themselves the real danger Trump faces every day. They not only got to watch how he handles it, but because they were witnessing this as they tried to hide under tables, they could feel it, too. Nothing is more persuasive than feeling it. As a result, they could no longer ignore or downplay the simple fact that he accepts the risks because he is trying to leave the country better than the way he found it. One word for this is “courage,” but don’t tell the legacy media I told you that.
On hand at the dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., was a crowd of 2,700 that included members of the news media and their “plus ones.” It’s impossible to speculate on what effect this event had on all of them, or if anything will change. Experience tells me nothing material will change in Trump’s relationship with the media. But one person stands out in my mind: the chair of the event, Weijia Jiang of CBS News and the current president of the White House Correspondents’ Association. She was on the dais with Trump when the shooting happened. Before the shooting, you can see on video how relaxed she was.

President Trump was rushed off of the stage by Secret Service at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. pic.twitter.com/U71YqZdmno
— richlux713 (@RichLux713) April 26, 2026

After the shooting and once the room settled down, Jiang had to take to the podium and tell the room the event would continue at another time. In this video, you can see she was still visibly shaken by the evening’s events.

Weija Jang, President of the White House Correspondents' Association, relayed the president's message to the crowd, saying, "Thank God everybody is safe. And thank you for coming together tonight. We will do this again. Thank you." pic.twitter.com/ZVYroEBZoL
— The National Desk (@TND) April 26, 2026

And later in the briefing with Trump, hers was the first question he took, and it was as conciliatory as it gets in that room. But take note of Jiang’s demeanor as Trump responds to her question. It appears, at least to me, that regardless of how she may have felt about Trump before the evening, something had changed by this point.

White House Correspondents Association president and CBS senior WH correspondent Weijia Jiang gets the first question during the post-shooting press conference. She notes his unfortunate history with such attacks and wanted to know what was going through his head:

JIANG: As you… pic.twitter.com/Kmv2dLiXI3
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) April 26, 2026

For those few members of the media who are open to it, maybe just a handful allowed themselves to see Trump as human for a change. I’m not getting my hopes up, but I’d be remiss not to mention this. Meanwhile, Trump may have just punctuated his presidency in a way that he himself never anticipated, and the timing of his statements in this particular briefing may be just the thing to make sure his framing of an “impactful” presidency sticks for the rest of his term. Trump has been and will be impactful, and as long as he lives, nothing will stop him.

Strike 1 to Iran. This kind of delay is over. Let’s move to the next one. This is methodical.

Trump’s tactic is giving them a chance at everything, though he knows what that means. So, a chance, but only once.

Don’t forget, this could lead to a serious war, with many victims. Lots of people would hold that against Trump.

He’s covering his bets. Trump might not have hit Iran on his own, but he doesn’t mind having done it. He grew up with the images of the 1970s.

He did it now because Bibi said he’d nuke Tehran if he didn’t, and Trump did not want to take that risk.

• “We Have All The Cards”: Trump Cancels Witkoff-Kushner Trip To Pakistan (ZH)

In a sharp reversal first reported by Fox News, President Trump has personally canceled the planned trip of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan. Trump told the outlet that he halted the delegation just as they were preparing to leave: “I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18 hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18 hour flights to sit around talking about nothing.’”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has reportedly already left Islamabad, Pakistan, following Saturday talks with the country’s prime minister. So much for that “cautious optimism” that Pakistani officials were citing as a sign of progress. The Pakistan-mediated channel is now in clear stalemate, with the Trump administration signaling it sees no value in further shuttle diplomacy on Iran’s current terms.
***
Iran Foreign Ministry Insists ‘No Meeting is Planned’ Even With US Delegation En Route
Not too much that’s new or bombshell happened overnight, with a second round of US-Iran negotiations still in limbo, but with the US delegation led by Witkoff-Kushner said to be departing Saturday or else en route. A small Iranian team has already been there since Friday, engaging the Pakistanis, also amid reports that they will submit a written presentation of their conditions for ceasefire and where things stand from Tehran’s point of view.
Iran has denied that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s trip to Pakistan will include new talks with Washington, rejecting reports that President Trump is sending envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to actually restart negotiations. So once the US side arrives, it would be interesting to see what happens next. Potentially they could start in separate rooms with messages delivered, and thus the interaction would be indirect.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a post on X early Saturday that “no meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US” during the visit and that Tehran’s positions will instead be conveyed to Pakistan. Araghchi said earlier he is undertaking a “timely tour” of Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow to “closely coordinate” with partners on bilateral issues and consult on regional developments. Iranian state media said the three-leg trip forms part of Tehran’s ongoing diplomatic push to secure an end to US-Israeli aggression.
Reports of ‘Optimism’ amid ‘Stalemate’ in Talks
At the moment there’s no direct contact between Tehran in Washington on the diplomatic front. The Pakistanis have been back at the center of shuttling messages back and forth between US and Iranian officials. Al Jazeera has presented commentary Saturday citing “optimism” but also an ongoing stalemated situation: So we are still in that stalemate, but Pakistani officials are telling us that their presence here and the Americans coming is an indication that behind-the-scenes diplomacy is working.
There’s been shuttle diplomacy, and as one diplomat said, it’s been relentless diplomacy that has been put forward by Pakistan from all sides. There’s been, in the last 24 hours, conversations that have been held not just between the Pakistanis and Iranians, but also between the Pakistanis and the Russians – Russia is going to be one more stop when the Iranian foreign minister leaves. An important overnight headline: Sources close to Pakistan-Iran talks say negotiations are progressing through “Iranian concessions” in exchange for “American flexibility regarding the issue of frozen funds,” according to Al Hadath. And also this: Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Islamabad said Pakistani mediators are “cautiously optimistic” regarding Iran-US talks.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian:

The enemy is attacking our infrastructure and putting us under siege so that people become dissatisfied.

We currently do not need the people's sacrifice, but we request that people reduce electricity and energy consumption.

For example, at… pic.twitter.com/Nq2A8WMqPC
— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) April 25, 2026

Iran Military: Ready & Waiting To Fight
Iran’s military warned the United States it will face the “reaction of Iran’s powerful armed forces” if the blockade of Iranian ports continues, according to Tasnim News Agency.The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the armed forces possess “greater power and readiness than before to defend sovereignty, territory, and national interests, which the country’s army experienced part of this power and offensive capability during the Third Imposed War.” This is actually consistent with what even Trump predicted – that the ceasefire has been used by Iran to regroup, rearm, and reposition its forces. Currently the only regional fighting remains in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, despite there technically being a Trump-backed three week Lebanon ceasefire:

“.. you’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing’.”

• Chaos in Iran, Trump Drops the Hammer on Talks (Robert Spencer)

Shortly before noon on Saturday, Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie reported that President Donald Trump “just told me over the phone he has unilaterally cancelled Witkoff and Kushner’s trip to Pakistan to meet with the Iranians.” Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have been carrying on the on-again-off-again negotiations with what remains of the Islamic Republic’s leadership, in hopes of striking some deal that would definitively end the mullahs’ nuclear threat. Hasnie’s assertion that Trump called off the talks “unilaterally” is a bit of a stretch, as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had already left Islamabad before Witkoff and Kushner had been scheduled to arrive. And so in calling off their trip, Trump was simply recognizing reality.

The president explained: “I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18-hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing’.” Shortly thereafter, Trump added: “I just cancelled the trip of my representatives going is Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with the Iranians. Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their “leadership.” Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” President DONALD J. TRUMP
All this follows Trump’s announcement from last Tuesday, when he postponed the resumption of military action until the talks could run their course: “Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal. I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other”. President DONALD J. TRUMP
The latest call-off of the talks does not, of course, necessarily mean that a resumption of military action is imminent, or even in the offing at all. The situation at the moment is extremely volatile, as it is not even clear who exactly is in charge in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and there seem to be at least two factions: fanatics from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who want to pursue war with the U.S. and Israel even if it means the fiery destruction of the nation, and a more pragmatic group that appears to include Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and others among the most prominent survivors from the prewar regime.
Behind both factions is the mysterious figure of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late supreme leader and his putative successor. Mojtaba, however, still has not actually been seen or heard since he was made supreme leader, and was reportedly left disfigured and crippled from the airstrike that killed his father. It is also possible, given this regime’s long record of duplicity, that Mojtaba Khamenei is actually dead, and that regime officials are pretending that he is still alive and directing the nation’s affairs from his hospital bed because he gives them some claim to legitimacy, however tenuous.
Trump likely continues to hold out hope that the Iranians will return to the negotiating table. As recently as last Tuesday, he asserted that “Iran can get themselves at a very good footing. If they make a deal, they can make themselves into a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again.”
Yet even after the Iranian leadership and military has taken a severe pounding, there is no indication whatsoever that if the Islamic Republic of Iran becomes “a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again,” it will also be a friend to the United States. If the current regime, whoever is actually in charge of it, remains in power, it will simply be a strong and wonderful jihadi rogue state.
That orientation is fundamentally anti-American. It should not be forgotten that in a nationally televised address in November 2023, the late Khamenei explained, “The situation between America and Iran is this: When you chant ‘Death to America!’ it is not just a slogan – it is a policy. I have stated the reasons previously. For many years, from the 1940s to the 1970s – that is 30 years – the Americans did everything they could do against the Iranian nation. They hit Iran in any way they could – financially, economically, politically, scientifically, and morally.”
Despite the fact that this was not true then and isn’t true even now, the Islamic Republic remains determined to hit us back, one way or another, in any way that the opportunity arises to do so. The Iranian leadership will keep looking for that opportunity.

Europe’s “leaders” are all hugely impopular. They need to hide that.

• The EU ‘Democracy Shield’ Is The End of Freedom In Europe (Kwasniewski)

Mass censorship is coming to Europe, and it is being labeled the Democracy Shield. Jerzy Kwasniewski, head of the board of the Ordo Iuris Institute, writes: “Under the banner of protecting democracy, the European Union is rolling out a web of regulations that critics say will curb free expression, sideline conservative voices, and reshape the public sphere through opaque moderation, labeling, and algorithmic controls, Remix News provides the full article here below:

The year 2026 will go down in the history of European integration as a special moment. The European Union, under the banner of protecting democracy, has begun systematically restricting freedom of speech and real political pluralism. Thus, it embarks on the well-trodden historical paths of every authoritarian regime, resorting to violence and censorship as public support wanes. A report recently published by the Ordo Iuris Institute leaves no doubt: we are dealing with a project for a profound overhaul of the public sphere that will primarily target conservative communities, including Catholics.
The new EU mechanisms, ironically referred to as the “Democracy Shield,” are not a single piece of legislation. This is a coordinated regulatory system—from the Digital Services Act (DSA), through codes of conduct on “hate speech” and “disinformation,” to the regulation on political advertising. Their common denominator is the now-official departure from the European cult of free speech and its replacement with a system of preventive restrictions, in the name of… true freedom and democracy.
The European Commission claims that its aim is to create a “safe” information space in which “reliable” messages are meant to dominate, that is, in practice, narratives aligned with the liberal consensus . The problem is that the criteria for the EU’s “credibility,” for what is considered prohibited “disinformation,” and—what is particularly harmful—”divisive speech” are extremely vague and prone to ideological interpretation. As a result, it will not even be independent courts, but online platforms cooperating with non-governmental organizations selected by Brussels that will decide what content may reach citizens of the European Union. Including Polish citizens.
This system is multi-stage. First—mechanisms for reporting and removing content that, in practice, incentivize rapid takedowns, even at the expense of freedom of expression. Secondly—a labeling system under which statements labeled as “unverified,” “misleading,” or “political” are subject to mandatory restrictions on platforms such as Facebook or X. Thirdly—there is to be algorithmic intervention that limits the reach of content deemed problematic.
It is worth emphasizing the role of so-called trusted flaggers and fact-checker networks. It is precisely these entities, often financed with public funds from the European Union or the Member States and ideologically uniform, that gain a privileged position in the content moderation process. In practice, this means cleverly delegating censorship to entities that are not subject to any democratic oversight.
Even more troubling are the regulations concerning political advertising. The definition of “political speech” has been framed so broadly that it encompasses not only the activities of political parties but also public awareness campaigns concerning the protection of life, the family, or national identity. This means that Catholic pro-life organizations or movements defending marriage as the union between a woman and a man may be subjected to restrictive requirements and even sanctions. Even now, our own Ordo Iuris Institute and Center for Life and Family, as well as our friends from Polonia Christiana’s PCH24 news portal and their editorial team should start preparing to implement a “replacement language.” The censorship game, well known here in Poland from the communist era, is making a comeback.
At the same time, restrictions on the targeting and funding of political messages make it much more difficult to reach voters. In practice, the largest platforms, such as Facebook, have already stopped running “political” ads to avoid legal risk. It is no longer possible to freely promote petitions opposing abortion or same-sex unions there.
The Polish political context cannot be ignored. The introduction of these instruments specifically in 2026, just before the crucial parliamentary campaign in Poland, is no coincidence. Restricting the reach of conservative speech, making it harder to organize public-interest campaigns, and selectively labeling content as “problematic” will have a real impact on election results.
From the perspective of socially engaged Catholics, this is particularly dangerous. Unequivocal assessments concerning the protection of life from conception, the indissolubility of marriage, the condemnation of the aberrations of gender ideology, and even clear support for national sovereignty within the European Union will increasingly be classified as “controversial” or “divisive.” In the new regulatory model, such content may be restricted not directly—through a ban—but through invisible mechanisms of reach reduction and stigmatization.
This does not, of course, mean that the state has no right to combat crimes online or to protect citizens from real threats. The problem is that the European Union has crossed the line between protection and control, between security and social engineering.
Therefore today, more than ever, courage is needed to defend freedom and the right to publicly proclaim one’s faith. Not as a privilege for the select few, but as the foundation of a healthy society. If we allow, under the pretext of combating “disinformation,” the voices of those who defend life, the family, and sovereignty to be curtailed, democracy will quickly become a grim dictatorship hidden behind a facade of apparent diversity and tolerance.

Globalism in Europe Is On The Verge of COLLAPSE

French President Emmanuel Macron just announced he’s leaving politics for good in 2027 after his party got demolished in elections.

Marine Le Pen’s right-wing National Rally party is surging in France.

The same right-wing wave is… pic.twitter.com/1YWawaA7O9
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 24, 2026

To go after the larger threat.

• DOJ Quietly Retracts John Brennan Subpoenas, Offers No Explanation (AP)

Greasy Deep State eel in a human skinsuit, John Brennan, may have slipped the proverbial noose once again. In what appears to be now standard operating procedure for the administration, the Department of Justice assigned Trump ally Joseph diGenova to serve as the special prosecutor for the ongoing case regarding former Obama-appointed head of the CIA Brennan and his alleged role in the criminal conspiracy to frame then-president-elect Trump as a Russian asset in 2016. Now, the DOJ, according to internal sources, with stunning parallels to the botched James Comey prosecution, has withdrawn its subpoenas of individuals associated with Brennan, opting instead for “voluntary interview” requests.

Via Associated Press (emphasis added): “The Justice Department has withdrawn subpoenas issued in the investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan, with officials asking for voluntary interviews instead of testimony before a grand jury, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. A small handful of subpoenas were known to have been issued over the weekend for witnesses to appear before a grand jury in Washington. But investigators on Monday evening informed lawyers that the subpoenas were being withdrawn in favor of requests for voluntary interviews, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to discuss developments in an ongoing investigation. The reason for the reversal in course was not immediately known.”
I’m sure Brennan, his comrades, and their respective teams of $1,000/hr lawyers will jump at the “voluntary interview” invite. They’re here to assist the government in any way possible in the furtherance of justice.These are red-blooded patriots, after all. They just want what’s best for America. Speaking of true-blue, red-blooded Americana, here is John Brennan in 2021, immediately after the Jan 6 fedsurrection, having transitioned into a “journalist” at MSNBC, joining an entire lineup of “retired” spooks speaking truth to power for the masses on the network, declaring a war on “an unholy alliance of religious extremists, authoritarians, fascists, bigots, racists, nativists, even libertarians” — a war that the Biden administration went on to wage with all the weight of the federal government:
“[The Biden intelligence services] are moving in laser-like fashion to try to uncover as much as they can about what looks very similar to insurgency movements that we’ve seen overseas… It brings together an unholy alliance of religious extremists, authoritarians, fascists, bigots, racists, nativists, even libertarians. And unfortunately I think there’s been this momentum that generated as a result of unfortunately the demagogic rhetoric of people that’s just departed government, but also those who continue in the halls of Congress. And so I really do think that the law enforcement, homeland security, intelligence, and even the defense officials are doing everything possible to root out what seems to be a very very serious and insidious threat to our democracy and our republic.”

“I suspect, well, let’s consider, Ciaramella has been given the opportunity to cooperate as a witness in the 2017 Brennan case; perhaps in exchange for something like limited immunity in the 2019 impeachment issue. The timeline tracks.”

• Great News – Subpoenas for Brennan Grand Jury Testimony are Withdrawn (CTH)

Several people have inquired about the Washington DC subpoenas for former CIA Director John Brennan being withdrawn, and what does that mean. I intentionally did not write about it at the time because I wanted to look closely at the fact pattern. The DOJ is still planning to send requests for voluntary interviews and grand jury testimony according to media reports.From my perspective, this is a good sign. Potentially a very good sign. The issues around the CIA targeting President Trump are extensive, attached to numerous individuals and entities, and generally complex. Normally, an investigation of this scope would begin with questions to the outer perimeter individuals who were carrying out the instructions of those above them.

It is from those types of lower-level interviews that material is gathered for use in examining the truthfulness of those who organized and directed the operations. In the example of John Brennan’s false statements to congress surrounding the ICA (Intelligence Community Assessment), or the inclusion of the Steele Dossier in the analytical material, there are key people within the Directorate of Analysis, National Security Agency and National Intelligence Council who can give first-hand statements about Brennan’s instructions. Those types of interviews are just as important as questioning John Brennan himself, and for obvious reasons those interviews should come first.
Here is where it becomes important to remember a key thing that happened between the time the investigation of Brennan began and the arrival of investigative Asst to the AG, Joe DiGenova. Do you remember the recent criminal referral by DNI Tulsi Gabbard for former CIA Analyst Eric Ciaramella?
BACKGROUND: Former CIA Director John Brennan was being investigated during the time that DNI Tulsi Gabbard was working on retrieving and declassifying the material surrounding the first impeachment effort against President Trump. CIA Analyst Eric Ciaramella was the “anonymous whistleblower” that triggered the report to Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson that started the impeachment operation. This same CIA Analyst Eric Ciaramella was also involved in the fabrication of the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, which is at the heart of the false testimony to congress that John Brennan is being investigated for.
Eric Ciaramella was criminally referred by DNI Gabbard for his actions in relation to the impeachment operation. This sets the DOJ up with the potential for a plea agreement with Ciaramella on his impeachment conduct, in exchange for testimony against Brennan on the ICA construct. Suddenly we see reports of DOJ Brennan subpoenas being withdrawn immediately after the DOJ criminal referral for Eric Ciaramella is introduced. **nudge-nudge* *wink-wink** See the dynamic? I’m not saying this is happening, but the timing is awfully coincidental, no?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has withdrawn subpoenas issued in the investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan, with officials asking for voluntary interviews instead of testimony before a grand jury, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. A small handful of subpoenas were known to have been issued over the weekend for witnesses to appear before a grand jury in Washington. But investigators on Monday evening informed lawyers that the subpoenas were being withdrawn in favor of requests for voluntary interviews, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to discuss developments in an ongoing investigation.
The reason for the reversal in course was not immediately known. The months-old Brennan investigation is one of several criminal probes the Justice Department has opened over the last year against President Donald Trump’s perceived adversaries. It centers on one of the Republican president’s chief grievances — a U.S. intelligence community finding that Russia interfered on his behalf during his successful 2016 presidential campaign. TIMELINE:
Aug – Nov 2025: CTH emphasizes need for ICIG Atkinson material to get to Ciaramella/Brennan
December 2025 – Brennan attorney notified he is under investigation.
Jan – March 2026 – DNI gains access to Atkinson transcript from HPSCI
March 2026 – DNI assembled ICIG Atkinson material from Ciaramella report and investigation.
March 25 – HPSCI releases transcript to DNI.
April 13 – HPSCI released ICIG declassified transcript / DNI releases ICIG Ciaramella report.
April 15 – Eric Ciaramella criminal referral.
April 21 – Brennan witness subpoenas withdrawn.

Hopefully the timeline helps people to understand what is likely happening in the background. I suspect, well, let’s consider, Ciaramella has been given the opportunity to cooperate as a witness in the 2017 Brennan case; perhaps in exchange for something like limited immunity in the 2019 impeachment issue. The timeline tracks.

Is he really a prince?

• Iranian Prince in Exile Reza Pahlavi Delivers a Brutal Message (CTH)

Two years after the Russia-Ukraine war began, people kept wondering why I continued to ask why no western media were boots on the ground in Ukraine delivering news of the conflict. I called it “world war reddit” for a reason. That question loomed even bigger given the relentless on-the-ground reporting over the U.S-Iran conflict. Why were/are international journalists almost immediately embedded in Iran to cover the details of the conflict, yet that same approach never took place in Ukraine. For Ukraine there was no daily reports on the fighting; no frontline reports with journalists in helmets and flak jackets; no live interviews or reports of the back-and-forth battles between Russia and Ukraine; no ‘coming to you live from Kiev‘ tonight, nothing. However, as soon as military conflict breaks out in Iran – all the familiar war/conflict reporting surfaced again.

But I see the Ukraine war reported on Telegram, some say. True, but really? What you “see” is through a social media prism that is structurally controlled by Western intelligence operations. World War Reddit! For additional context, when the U.S. went to war in Iraq/Afghanistan, how did it impact your daily life? That’s analogous the same impact within Russia that I experienced in 2024 (3 months) and 2025 (1 month). All recognizable impact is sanctions related. One of the reasons I traveled from Western Russia to Poland -specifically driving across Ukraine- was to see for myself. I shared that story before. The reality of the Ukraine conflict, World War Reddit, is entirely against the interests of those who are constructing the false impression of it.
In reality the Eastern Donbas region is very pro-Russian and when the Russian Federation took over towns and geography, driving back the Ukraine military, Russian troops were factually greeted as liberators. Now, there is a slow-grinding stalemate, and the losses on the Ukraine side are well beyond what has been reported by government officials. I provide this context of reality -vs- media presentation because Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi is strongly calling attention to the bias and willful blindness of European media. WATCH:

“I want to speak directly to the people of Europe. In the past two weeks I have had two major press conferences — one in Stockholm, one in Berlin. Between them 150 journalists attended. We spent more than two hours together.” Not a single one of those 150 journalists asked about the 40,000 Iranians slaughtered on the streets of my country on January 8th and 9th! Not a single one of the 150 journalists asked me about the 19 political prisoners executed in the last two weeks.
When I told them 20 more are currently sentenced to death, nothing. Not a single one of the 150 journalists asked me about them. When I stood next to a mother and next to a father who lost their sons on January 8th and 9th, and asked them to hear their stories, not a single one of the 150 journalists asked them a question.
[…] It is clear to me that my 40,000 brave, innocent compatriots who were slaughtered in the fight for liberty are of little interest to these journalists. They seem more interested in criticizing America and asking why the United States and Israel killed the dictator that has slaughtered our people for 47 YEARS — than criticizing the regime doing the slaughtering. They seem more interested asking questions about Iran’s past and history than about what is happening in Iran today; or about the democratic future Iranians are seeking. One member of parliament even told me they didn’t think Iranians are ready for democracy. To that member of Parliament, to those journalists, I remind you: Iranians aren’t just “ready” for democracy. 40,000 people just gave their lives for it, and I won’t let that be in vain.”
So know this, whether or not Europe stands with us; whether or not your journalists do their jobs; whether or not your politicians demonstrate their courage to act, I will fight for my people and my country. Even if we have to do this alone – we will fight until Iran is free”! I don’t know if this guy is the right one to lead the charge to bring a more politically democratic outcome for the people in Iran, but what he is saying about the willful blindness of western media is absolutely correct.

“There is also the behavior of the three leftist judges, which is shockingly juvenile for persons occupying such prestigious positions.”

• The United States of America v. John Roberts (A.J. Christopher)

The Supreme Court is under attack. It has been under attack for years, almost exclusively from the left. And by “under attack,” I don’t mean the peaceful criticism. I mean everything from challenges to its legitimacy to outright ignoring its rulings to death threats against conservative justices. This began years ago. Chief Justice John Roberts initially responded by trying to stay apolitical and by trying to ignore the criticism. When President Barack Obama called him out during his 2010 State of the Union address, Roberts called the stunt “very troubling.” In the last two decades, that has been the entire extent of his pushback against the left.

In the last couple years, leftist district judges and leftist federal judges issue decrees and stays that directly contradict recent rulings from the Supreme Court itself. Last August, Justices Brett Kavanaugh Neil Gorsuch also publicly rebuked lower courts for having to reverse orders from lower courts regarding issues that the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) had already addressed. But not by Roberts. Last September, a group of anonymous federal judges criticized recent emergency stays that SCOTUS granted. In interviews with NBC News, these judges said such rulings imply that the lower courts are doing shoddy work (yes, that’s the point). One judge quipped, “It’s inexcusable. They don’t have our backs.” Far be it from me to explain to this judge that the job of SCOTUS is not to “have their backs.”
It’s John Roberts’ job to explain this to them. And yet, nary a peep. District Judge Brian Murphy has twice openly flouted SCOTUS decisions. For his obstinacy, Justice Elena Kagan, of all people, publicly rebuked him. But still nothing from Roberts. Then there is the internal drama. It burst into the open with the Dobbs decision, which the liberal justices deliberately slow-rolled in an attempt to stave off the inevitable. The problem arises because no SCOTUS decision is binding until the justices’ opinions are finalized and publicized. If a justice happens to die in the interim, then that justice’s vote is nullified.
This rule applies even if a justice dies from assassination. Like, you know, what almost happened to Brett Kavanaugh in June 2022. An armed suspect showed up outside his home, and his presence was made known to the authorities only because the suspect got cold feet and called the police and turned himself in. The would-be assassin was upset the upcoming (and, at that time, unreleased) Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade and helped decodify legalized infanticide. But how did he know about the upcoming Dobbs decision? Because one of the justices’ staffers unprecedentedly leaked it to the press. This has never happened before on the Supreme Court. It happened on Roberts’ watch.
Who was the leaker? Who knows? Roberts refused to let the FBI investigate, and instead handed the investigation to federal marshals. There is speculation that Roberts did so to prevent the executive branch from encroaching on his turf. As a result, to this day we have no idea who the leaker was.
There is also the behavior of the three leftist judges, which is shockingly juvenile for persons occupying such prestigious positions. There is Justice Elena Kagan, who screamed “so loudly” at fellow liberal Justice Stephen Breyer that the “wall was shaking.” Why was she screaming? Because Breyer disapproved of Kagan’s tactic of slow-rolling the Dobbs decision because of the threats to the lives of his conservative friends on the bench. Breyer was that rare liberal that put the value of human life above his personal opinion, and he supported publishing the Dobbs dissent quickly to diffuse the threats. Kagan, on the other hand, was perfectly willing to risk the murder of her fellow justices in order to possibly skew the decision.
This is the Roberts’ court. Then there is the “wise” Latina, who thinks that colorblind, impartial justice requires one to consider race and upbringing while trying to excuse why the law should be applied unequally upon the citizenry. Regarding a disagreement on a recent immigration ruling, Sotomayor told the Lawrence Journal-World that her colleague Brett Kavanaugh is “a man whose parents were professionals. And probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour.”
Continuing, she quipped that “There are some people who can’t understand our experiences, even when you tell them.” I’m confident that Sotomayor wouldn’t understand the “experiences” of Laken Riley, Rachel Morin, or Sheridan Gorman, even if they told her. But they can’t tell her. Because the very illegals for whom Sotomayor so passionately fights murdered them. If this is the left’s definition of what it means to be “wise,” then I’m glad they consider me “deplorable.” Sotomayor issued a hand-in-the-cookie-jar apology, but the fact remains is that this sort of backstabbing culture is being allowed to fester within the hallowed walls of SCOTUS.
This is the Roberts’ court.
And finally, we have that morbid disaster of a flaming clown car, more commonly known as Ketanji Brown Jackson. In a recent speech at Yale, she called the judicial rulings of her conservative colleagues “utterly irrational.” This from the person who couldn’t give a definition of a woman. Back in August, she blasted her colleagues for “lawmaking” from the bench, impervious to the fact that this is exactly what the lower courts have been doing since Jan. 20, 2025.
This is the Roberts court.

Where people go to show us they’re not funny. Did Colbert ever make that clear. The whole Jon Stewart clan once witnout Jon Stewart did.

In hindsight, an unfortunate headline…

• Trump Plans an Ambush at White House Correspondents’ Dinner (Pinsker)

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner’s featured entertainer, Oz Pearlman, is worth spelunking down the YouTube rabbit hole to learn more about. Pearlman was born in Israel and worked briefly at Merrill Lynch before launching his second career as a mentalist. Currently, he’s the biggest, most sought-after mentalist on the planet. If you didn’t know better, you’d swear he was psychic. He “guessed” Joe Rogan’s ATM PIN in an interview. (Rogan’s shocked response: “Yeah… that’s weird. Yeah, I don’t like that.”) He’s baffled all the top news and entertainment TV shows. With clockwork precision, he plucks your deepest, darkest secrets straight out of your brain. It’s spooky: Like a scholar reads books, he reads minds.

Only he doesn’t: Pearlman openly admits he doesn’t have any psychic ability. These are all tricks, based on his understanding of body language, psychology, and social behavior. There’s absolutely nothing “psychic” about him. But because he’s so thoroughly mastered his craft, you’d swear otherwise: Somehow, he’s always a step ahead. Remind you of anyone? Of course, it helps when your audience is predictable. The more predictable an audience, the easier it is to know what it’ll do next. If an audience is predictable enough, you could probably anticipate its every move. Remind you of anyone else? That’s our segue for today’s story: Saturday, April 25 is the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner — which will be attended by, for his very first time as president, Donald J. Trump.
He attended a few dinners as a private citizen, most notably in 2011, when then-president Barack Obama taunted him from the podium. Since then, he hasn’t been back. So many are wondering… why now? Why tonight? The audience, after all — and the event itself — are predictably predictable. Every (non-Trumpian) year for the past 20 years, it’s been the exact same thing: If the president is a Democrat, he’s met with kid gloves and fawning praise. If he’s a Republican, he’s vilified, mocked, and personally insulted. And if he’s Donald Trump — a.k.a. “literally Hitler” and the terrible, evil Orange Monster — he’s excoriated unmercifully. This is an audience that hates his frickin’ guts. Yet now he’s attending.
Ex-emcee Stephen Colbert will be skipping the dinner. So is the HuffPost. Hundreds of journalists have signed an open letter, asking their colleagues to “forcefully demonstrate opposition to President Trump’s efforts to trample freedom of the press.” In their evenhanded, completely unbiased opinions, “these are not normal times, and this cannot be business as usual with the press standing up to applaud the man who attacks them on a daily basis.” Many journalists will be wearing special hankies to protest the man they’re paid to cover (“without fear or favor!”). In the goofiest, lamest, most cringeworthy example of virtue-signaling yet… well, CNN’s Jake Tapper will explain:
So why would Trump waste his time by spending an evening with a gaggle of journalists who plot his demise? Why would he help his enemies publicize their complaints, lies, and political grievances? Some speculate that the choice of Oz Pearlman as emcee was a factor: He’s not a partisan comedian, but a mentalist — which minimizes chances it’ll devolve into yet another anti-Trump roast. That was surely something the White House considered before signing up: In 2006, Stephen Colbert’s vicious mockery of President George W. Bush skyrocketed his career. If you’re a comedian, attacking Republican presidents is very good for business. Pearlman probably won’t do that. Being a partisan hack isn’t his business model.
But I suspect it’s more than just Pearlman’s inclusion. From the White House’s perspective, one of two things will likely happen tonight — and either outcome plays into the president’s hands. First, there’s a chance it won’t be a complete and total anti-Trump rally. Not a GREAT chance, but a chance. I’d give it a very low probability. Because Pearlman won’t be the only speaker, and the ballroom will be filled with journalists, many of the biggest names in their industry. Like it or not, journalists have a vested interest in drawing attention to themselves: eyeballs = success.mShamelessness is their signature trait. It’s what they do best.
All Trump can reasonably hope for is that their attacks will be muted. Because almost certainly, some left-wing journalist will seize the opportunity to give “literally Hitler” a piece of his mind. But if the Trump-bashing is kept to a minimum, the president comes across as magnanimous, courageous, and confident, jumping right into the lion’s den and charming all the lions.= The second outcome expects things will go haywire: The media can’t resist the urge to draw its daggers and attack. Despite Pearlman emceeing the event, one way or another, left-wing agitators will hijack the dinner. This is, I suspect, what President Trump is counting on. Nothing rallies a people, a party, and/or a movement like a common enemy. Furthermore, if you’re a Republican, few institutions are more detestable than the mainstream media.
I think Trump wants the media to make jackarses of themselves and attack him tonight — so he’ll have an excuse to counterpunch ‘em right back! Because it would be an excellent opportunity to unite Red America by reminding us who our real enemies are: a dishonest media that propagandizes anti-Americanism, secularism, and deep state leftism.Expecting D.C.’s journalists to act “fair and balanced” is a fool’s errand. Decades of experience virtually guarantees it won’t happen. Which means, tonight’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner is obviously an ambush — so why the heck is Trump walking into it? Most likely explanation: He’s planning an ambush of his own.

DEEP STATE PANIC MODE

DOJ’s Todd Blanche is green lighting a FULL INQUIRY into Liar Cassidy Hutchinson’s FAKE J6 Testimony against Trump, REVIVING the case against Dirty Cop Comey, launching subpoenas on Fani Willis’ Team…and going FULL STEAM AHEAD on Treasonous Brennan. pic.twitter.com/zedoKhEikF
— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) April 24, 2026

HATE HOAX: Apple CEO Tim Cook funded the SPLC for nearly a decade. The SPLC used the money to fund KKK & Neo-Nazi leaders. The DOJ announced indictments. Cook resigned the day before.

h/t @TheRipCord https://t.co/35LV1mgLDN pic.twitter.com/G6IEJdB4uR
— @amuse (@amuse) April 24, 2026

This is earth-shattering.

Senator Ron Johnson just revealed that Secretary Kennedy provided him with 11 MILLION pages of HHS documents on the COVID vaccine.

What the documents exposed about the FDA is truly disturbing.

JOHNSON: “We have now uncovered the fact that FDA… pic.twitter.com/ifnpm4tqVu
— Overton (@overton_news) April 23, 2026

Greg Gutfeld says all the mainstream media knew that the Southern Poverty Law Center was funding fake white supremacy hoaxes but they went along with it anyway to help Democrats

This is one of the bigger scandals in decades. This is domestic terrorism and the media participated… pic.twitter.com/h3aFv4VK1q
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) April 25, 2026

BREAKING NEWS ‼️‼️

TRUMP drops post about Arizona's ENORMOUS 2020 Election FRAUD Scandal. Forensic Evidence of 25,000+ counterfeit ballots. This is just ONE state. Imagine the entire country… pic.twitter.com/pydMg3TrGZ
— MASTER POOL (@mrpooln) April 24, 2026

Today is Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

Over 3 million Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Yazidis, and Maronites were killed by the Ottoman Turks.

This is what an actual genocide looks like. Not whatever people are calling a genocide today. pic.twitter.com/n3jD6hYLbv
— Dr. Maalouf ‏ (@realMaalouf) April 24, 2026

https://twitter.com/GustBrian/status/2047864908524773756?s=20

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

Debt Rattle May 14 2024

May 142024

May 14, 2024 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 9:18 am Finance Tagged with: Belousov, Bragg, Grand Jury, Kharkov, Michael Cohen, Putin, Stormy Daniels 48 Responses »

Vittorio Matteo Corcos Sogni 1896

• Scott Ritter: The Russians Advance and Ukrainians Can’t Stop Them (Sp.)

• One of Russia’s Top Economists is Being Appointed as Minister of Defense (Sp.)

• Belousov May Create Problems for Russia’s Adversaries as Defense Minister (Sp.)

• Biden Is ‘Surrounded By Fascists’ In Oval Office – Trump (RT)

• Biden ‘Doing It All Wrong’ – Ex-Clinton Adviser (RT)

• ‘Unusually Aggressive’ Anti-Trump Grand Jury Went Rogue With Indictments (ZH)

• “I See Dead People”: Bragg’s Case Against Trump Goes Paranormal (Turley)

• A Massive Transformation Is Taking Place In Russia (Trenin)

• Elon Musk Wins Court Battle Against Australia (RT)

• The Coming of BRICS+ Decentralized Monetary Ecosystem (Pepe Escobar)

• Putin to Visit China at Invitation of Xi Jinping on May 16-17 – Kremlin (Sp.)

• Latest Polls Show Biden Will Need Twice As Many Fake Ballots This Year (BBee)

“In a society of spectacle, of propaganda and of the totalitarian nature of Western systems, doubt is a fundamental stepping-stone to get out of the cave.”

Daria Dugina

Watters Cohen

Alvin Bragg’s whole case rests on a convicted lying rat and a porn star ghostbuster, who both will do anything for money. This is a ‘he said, she said’ without a crime. And today, Michael Cohen blew the prosecution’s case wide open. pic.twitter.com/CrCnctQEL8

— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) May 14, 2024

Turley Trump

Fitton

The farce of a trial up in New York is a direct assault on our elections by Democratic Party politicians. pic.twitter.com/FxVrRvVFNB

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) May 13, 2024

Ed Dowd: “The Only Way Biden Wins Is If They CHEAT”

“We’ve never seen approval numbers like this. So if he wins, if he’s still actually alive, it’ll be theft.” Official reports suggest that Biden’s approval ratings are hovering around 36%. But Biden’s real approval rating is only about 8%, according to economic forecaster Martin Armstrong and an anonymous Big Tech source. Ed Dowd revealed that he has “seen numbers” to suggest that 30% of black men and 15% of black women will vote for Trump in 2024.

“That’s way above the numbers that Trump was getting in 2016 … These numbers just immediately turf the chances of Biden. Just those numbers alone.” When it comes to increasing Biden’s chances, Dowd says, “[War] is the only way to improve his approval rating.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1790055748312986006

Seinfeld

Kharkiv.

• Scott Ritter: The Russians Advance and Ukrainians Can’t Stop Them (Sp.)

Russian forces have launched a large-scale offensive towards Kharkov, revealing apparent gaps in Ukraine’s previously proclaimed fortified defenses along the northern border. According to military analyst Scott Ritter, the Ukrainian military, expecting robust defenses including anti-tank obstacles and minefields, was significantly outmaneuvered. As Russian troops continue to push south from the Belgorod area, Ritter notes that the situation exposes a broader vulnerability within the Ukrainian defense strategy. “The Ukrainians are now in a panic, pulling forces from critical fronts elsewhere,” Ritter explained. This reallocation of troops to the north leaves other strategic areas, such as Kherson and Odessa, potentially exposed to new Russian attacks.

Simultaneously, Russia’s military seems to be capitalizing on a lack of Ukrainian reserves, with simultaneous pressures in the Zaporozhye and Donetsk regions contributing to what Ritter describes as “the collapse of Ukraine as a cohesive combat force.” In the midst of these battlefield developments, Russia has appointed a new Minister of Defense, Andrei Belousov, a move that has sparked discussions and speculation both within Russia and internationally. Belousov, an economist with extensive governmental experience but no military background, steps into a role that seems more focused on managing the defense industry’s growth and sustainability amid the conflict.

Some question the timing and suitability of appointing an economist as defense minister during wartime. However, supporters argue that his economic acumen is crucial for maintaining the efficiency and integrity of the defense sector’s expansion. “This is exactly the kind of person Russia needs,” Ritter states, asserting that the strategic appointment aims to strengthen Russia’s military capabilities indirectly through economic stability and reduced corruption. Meanwhile, General Gennady Gerasimov will continue to oversee the military operations, ensuring continuity in leadership. According to Ritter, this combination of economic and military leadership is far from a sign of Russian weakness. “By bringing in Andrei Belousov, we’re talking about Putin creating tempered steel,” he remarked, suggesting that the West may underestimate Russia’s strategic positioning.

“..the new minister’s duties might involve issues related to weapon procurement and defense contracts..”

• One of Russia’s Top Economists is Being Appointed as Minister of Defense (Sp.)

If economist Andrei Belousov does get appointed as Russia’s newest minister of defense, it would not be the first time a civilian got put into that office, retired Russian naval officer (Captain 1st Rank) and military analyst Vasily Dandykin told Sputnik. “I believe that, first and foremost, he’s a man from the president’s team,” Dandykin commented on Belousov’s candidacy. “He was the first deputy prime minister and he actually knows very well the problems that [Russian] military-industrial complex faces. As always, our supreme commander-in-chief, the President of Russia, supervises all decisions.” Russian military expert and military intelligence veteran Ret. Col. Rustem Klupov pointed out that Belousov is an accomplished economist of a very high caliber who advised prominent Russian statesmen “If he is being appointed as the defense minister, it means that there will be goals of economic nature to complete,” Klupov suggested.

According to him, the new minister’s duties might involve issues related to weapon procurement and defense contracts. “Gerasimov (Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russian Armed Forces’ Chief of General Staff) will conduct military operations and the defense minister will handle his own matters,” Klupov added. Soviet and Russian Army veteran and military journalist Viktor Litovkin also highlighted Belousov’s impressive reputation as a scholar and an economist, noting that the latter also paid considerable attention to the military-industrial sphere and military matters during his career as a government official. “So far, there is no reason to question his expertise. He’s a distinguished man who paid a lot of attention while working in the government to the military-industrial complex and to the connection between the military and the industry.”

War economy.

• Belousov May Create Problems for Russia’s Adversaries as Defense Minister (Sp.)

While Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to replace Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu with veteran economist Andrei Belousov may come as a surprise to some, there seems to be a good motive behind his move. Andrei Belousov’s appointment as Russia’s newest minister of defense may help take Russia’s military-industrial complex and the entire weapon procurement system to a whole new level, argues Russian political analyst Sergei Poletaev. According to him, a de facto grassroots “technological revolution” has happened in Russia over the past two years when groups of enthusiasts supplied the armed forces with repurposed civilian drones worth no more than $300 apiece that could be used to take out enemy military hardware worth millions of dollars. Being a talented economist, Belousov can combine the pros of the two approaches in weapon procurement – the “planned, government” method and the “spontaneous grassroots” method – and weed out their cons, Poletayev suggests.

Many Russian soldiers in the field come up with technological and tactical solutions that could become a boon for the Russian Armed Forces, but there is no streamlined way for them to share their ideas with the higher-ups, he notes. “If Belousov can create a system, a platform to convert this experience into orders that could then be sent to weapon manufacturers who would thus be allowed to better understand what is required and to better react to this input, and then to mass produce the most successful solutions – that would generate a tremendous impulse,” Poletaev muses. He also points out that Russia’s military spending has been steadily growing in recent months, and while the situation is far from critical, it would be prudent for Moscow to ensure that this money does not go to waste. Last weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed the candidacy of Andrei Belousov for the position of Russia’s defense minister.

Belousov is a veteran Russian economist who started off as a researcher at the Soviet Academy of Sciences’ Central Economic Mathematical Institute and later with the Institute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences. After being appointed deputy minister of economic development and trade in 2006, Belousov served in several prominent positions in the Russian government before becoming first deputy prime minister in 2020 – an office he held until now.

”Russia and China we can handle, but these lunatics within our government that are going to destroy our country and probably want to..”

• Biden Is ‘Surrounded By Fascists’ In Oval Office – Trump (RT)

The White House has been infiltrated by “enemies from within,” former US President Donald Trump has claimed in a campaign speech, while lashing out at “crooked” Joe Biden. “Joe is weak. He’s only good at cheating on elections – but it’s not him, he’s surrounded by fascists around the Oval Office,” Trump told a crowd of supporters in Wildwood, New Jersey, on Saturday. ”The Democrat Party is becoming radicalized. It’s becoming radical left and they’re going to lose our country,” he predicted. Without naming names, Trump said administration’s “enemies from within” are more dangerous for America than foreign adversaries. ”Russia and China we can handle, but these lunatics within our government that are going to destroy our country and probably want to,” he claimed.

The “fascist” label has also been used by high-profile Biden supporters against Trump, with some Democrats suggesting that if he returns to the White House he could push the country toward dictatorship. Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent in the 2016 presidential election, claimed on The View program last year that her former rival was showing “dictatorial” tendencies, remarking that Adolf Hitler “was duly elected” before transforming Germany. “Trump is telling us what he intends to do. Take him at his word. The man means to throw people in jail who disagree with him, shut down legitimate press outlets, do what he can to literally undermine the rule of law and our country’s values,” she said.

Trump’s New Jersey rally served as a change of scenery for Trump, who has been spending much of his time attending court hearings in New York, on charges of using campaign funds to pay hush money to former porn actress Stormy Daniels. The Republican is facing dozens of charges in four separate criminal cases against him. He told supporters that “radical left Democrats, Marxists Communists and fascists” were behind the indictments, calling his New York hush money case “a Biden show trial.” Trump has repeatedly claimed that the 2020 election was “stolen.” One of the cases against him relates to his alleged attempt to subvert the election. Hearings are currently on hold pending a Supreme Court decision on whether the former president should be immune to prosecution.

|”..his campaign is too focused on courting his left-leaning base, while neglecting swing voters..”

• Biden ‘Doing It All Wrong’ – Ex-Clinton Adviser (RT)

US President Joe Biden risks losing a potential election rematch with Donald Trump because his campaign is too focused on courting his left-leaning base, while neglecting swing voters whose support could prove decisive, a former adviser to Bill Clinton has warned. In an opinion piece for the New York Times published on Sunday, Mark Penn, who advised the former US leader and his wife, ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, from 1995 to 2008, suggested that “Biden is doing it all wrong” when it comes to his reelection campaign. According to Penn, many believe that a high turnout should be a priority for any candidate, because swing voters are fewer in number. In the current US political landscape, Biden and Republican frontrunner Trump each enjoy solid support from about 40% of the nation’s population, with only 20% on the fence, the adviser noted.

However, in a highly polarized political environment, those 20% “have disproportionate power because of their potential to switch,” Penn believes. Despite this, candidates are often convinced that they must feed their bases with “what they want to hear” to get them to the polling stations, the article said. While this may be true in some cases, the Democratic base is highly unlikely to sit idly by at the thought of a Trump victory in November, Penn wrote. At the same time, swing voters in battleground states who are concerned about immigration, inflation, and other major issues “are likely to put Mr. Trump back in office if they are not blunted,” according to the former adviser. “If Mr. Biden wants to serve another four years, he has to stop being dragged to the left and chart a different course closer to the center that appeals to those voters who favor bipartisan compromises to our core issues, fiscal discipline and a strong America,” he added.

Penn believes that most of the 101,000 “uncommitted” voters who refused to back Biden over his policy on the Israel-Hamas war would eventually return to the fold because they have nowhere else to go. At the same time, Biden could potentially seek the support of hundreds of thousands of moderate Republicans who chose to vote for former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley over Trump in the GOP primary. According to a Wall Street Journal poll last month, Trump retains a lead over Biden in six of seven battleground states. Meanwhile, a recent poll by the Financial Times found that Biden’s reelection prospects are being threatened by inflation concerns, with 58% of respondents disapproving of his handling of the economy.

Does not smell squeaky clean.

• ‘Unusually Aggressive’ Anti-Trump Grand Jury Went Rogue With Indictments (ZH)

The Arizona grand jury that recently indicted 18 people for allegedly trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn the results of the 2020 election with so-called ‘fake electors’ went completely rogue and took ‘aggressive steps to haul in witnesses,’ to the point where they ‘even brought charges against some’ who were told by prosecutors that they weren’t under investigation, Politico reports. Their efforts ultimately resulted in a 58-page indictment which has ensnared various national and state Republicans – including one of Trump’s current top advisers, and several individuals who were previously in his orbit – with felony charges. Trump himself was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.

“Documents reviewed by POLITICO reveal that at least two of the 18 people charged — former Trump lawyers Jenna Ellis and Christina Bobb — were assured by prosecutors that they were not targets of the probe, only to learn that the grand jury indicted them anyway. In fact, a letter that a prosecutor sent to Ellis just days before the indictment appeared to significantly understate her legal jeopardy. One witness who testified before the grand jury said a faction of the panel drove intense questioning that exceeded the limited scope that prosecutors had publicly acknowledged. The probe was led by the office of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.” -Politico.

Mayes, a Democrat who replaced a Republican in January 2023, has been accused of politically motivated lawfare – however Politico’s sources say that the grand jury was ‘surprisingly independent’ of her prosecutors – and ‘sometimes even hard for them to predict.’ “The State Grand Jury was given leeway to conduct an independent investigation, as it is entitled to do by law,” said Mayes’ spox, Richie Taylor. “I cannot confirm or deny the specifics of grand jury proceedings, and I will note that the investigation remains open and ongoing. I will have to decline to comment further.” Grand juries are empowered to conduct their own lines of questioning in order to reach conclusions which may not necessarily align with the wishes of prosecutors – though they typically defer.

That said, in high-profile cases, they’ve been known to take on more independence. “Every high-profile case that I’ve ever had, which is cases that have necessarily attendant publicity, or a public corruption case, or anything else, grand jurors become interested,” according to former Arizona prosecutor, Paul Charlton. “Ultimately, the Arizona grand jury investigating the 2020 election indicted former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, and close Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn. It also indicted the 11 Arizona Republicans who falsely claimed to be the state’s rightful presidential electors. Arizona is the fourth state — after Georgia, Michigan and Nevada — to bring criminal charges stemming from the efforts of Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 results in states that Biden won. At the federal level, special counsel Jack Smith has also charged Trump himself for the scheme.” -Politico.

“Not a target” (just kidding!)

“Trump will be allowed to testify. He would be insane to do so..”

• “I See Dead People”: Bragg’s Case Against Trump Goes Paranormal (Turley)

“I see dead people.” Before this week, that claim was most associated with the nine-year-old character Cole Sear from the 1999 film “The Sixth Sense.” But now it is one of the talents claimed by former adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her bizarre testimony in Manhattan during former President Donald Trump’s trial. It turns out that speaking to the dead was one of the few relevant things Daniels had to offer in the case, which is now on a collision course with a motion for acquittal before the case even goes to the jury. The Daniels testimony will live in infamy in the annals of criminal justice. For two days, she offered lurid and completely irrelevant details whose only possible purpose was to humiliate Trump. Admitting that she was coached by the prosecution in her testimony, it was clear that she was there not to win a case but to win an election.

Judge Juan Merchan allowed this legal burlesque to unfold in his courtroom, later blaming defense counsel who had vociferously objected to her appearance and the scope of the examination. The cross examination was devastating. It shattered her laughable claim that she had not really been seeking money in shaking Trump down for a non-disclosure agreement, a claim contradicted by her own former lawyer. Daniels also revealed that she had spoken with the dead, and that a ghost had once held her boyfriend under water in a bathtub. She also said that she lived in a haunted house, only to discover later that the spirit haunting it was actually a large possum. In a case based on a dead misdemeanor and a rapidly falling heart rate on the manufactured felony, one can understand the appeal of witnesses who can speak for the dead. Indeed, Daniels’s graphic testimony may prove the moral high point of this trial, since serial perjurer and disbarred attorney Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify Monday.

Cohen recently broke his pledge, midway through the trial, to stop attacking and taunting Trump. Cohen has insisted that he deserves the protection of the gag order by Judge Merchan as a witness, despite serious constitutional concerns. Merchan continues to threaten Trump with jail if he responds to Cohen’s unrelenting attacks. Merchan waited for the weekend before his testimony to suggest that the prosecutors tell Cohen to stop the public antics. But it remains unclear what the order is protecting Cohen from. Not only is he trolling for money on social media with reference to the trial, but he is also widely being attacked by others. It is only Trump who cannot address his attacks, including political opposition to his campaign.

Cohen’s testimony will be the culmination of this travesty of a trial. But Bragg already jumped the shark with Daniels. After three weeks, legal experts are still debating what the crime was that Trump was seeking to conceal by recording payments for a standard non-disclosure agreement as a legal expense. (That is the same characterization used by Hillary Clinton’s campaign for its funding for the infamous Steele dossier.) It is still unclear that Trump even knew how the payments were characterized, and the alleged false record was not even created until after the election was over. Yet he stands accused of using the “false business records” to somehow steal or rig an election that was already over.

After this circus with Cohen is complete, Trump will be allowed to testify. He would be insane to do so. Merchan has already said that he will allow a broad scope to cross-examination, making any appearance unlikely. That is when Merchan will face a key test of judicial ethics. He has failed to protect the rights of the defendant from a baseless, politically motivated prosecution. He could insist that he simply felt Bragg had a right to present his case. He will soon be done and, as expected, it is entirely based on Cohen, a disbarred perjurer who will ask for his former client to be sent to prison for following his own legal advice. After Bragg closes the prosecution’s case, the defense will make a standard motion for dismissal. Merchan should grant that motion.

“Russian political culture is returning to its fundamentals. Unlike that of the West, but somewhat similar to the East – it is based on the model of a family..”

• A Massive Transformation Is Taking Place In Russia (Trenin)

Two and a half years into its war against the West in Ukraine, Russia certainly finds itself on a course toward a new sense of itself. This trend actually predated the military operation but has been powerfully intensified as a result. Since February 2022, Russians have lived in a wholly new reality. For the first time since 1945, the country is really at war, with bitter fighting ongoing along a 2,000-kilometer front line, and not too far from Moscow. Belgorod, a provincial center near the Ukrainian border, is continuously subjected to deadly missile and drone attacks from Kiev’s forces. Occasionally, Ukrainian drones reach far deeper inland. Yet, Moscow and other big cities continue as if there were no war, and (almost) no Western sanctions either. Streets are full of people and shopping malls and supermarkets offer the usual abundance of goods and food items. One could conclude that Moscow and Belgorod are a tale of two countries, that Russians have managed to live simultaneously both in wartime and peacetime.

This would be a wrong conclusion. Even the part of the country that ostensibly lives ‘in peace’ is markedly different from what it was before the Ukraine conflict began. The central focus of post-Soviet Russia – money – has not been eliminated, of course, but has certainly lost its unquestionable dominance. When many people – not only soldiers but civilians, too – are getting killed, other, non-material values are coming back. Patriotism, reviled and derided in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse, is re-emerging in force. In the absence of fresh mobilization, hundreds of thousands of those who sign contracts with the military are motivated by a desire to help the country. Not just by what they can get from it. Russian popular culture is shedding – slowly, perhaps, but steadily – the habit of imitating what’s hot in the West. Instead, the traditions of Russian literature, including poetry, film, music are being revived and developed.

A spike in domestic tourism has opened to ordinary Russians the treasures of their own country – until recently neglected, as a thirst for travel abroad was quenched. (Foreign travel is still available, but difficult logistics make reaching other parts of Europe far less easy than before).Politically, there is no opposition to speak of against the current system. Almost all of its former figureheads are abroad, and Alexey Navalny has died in prison. A lot of former cultural icons who, after February 2022, decided to emigrate to Israel, Western Europe, or elsewhere, are fast becoming yesterday’s celebrities, as the country moves on. Those Russian journalists and activists who criticize Russia from afar are increasingly losing touch with their previous audiences, and are saddled with accusations of serving the interests of countries fighting Russia in the proxy war in Ukraine.

By contrast, nearly two-thirds of young men who left Russia in 2022 for fear of being mobilized have returned, some of them quite embittered by their experience abroad. Putin’s statement about the need for a new national elite, and his promotion of war veterans as the core of that elite, is more of an intention than a real plan at this stage, but the Russian elite is definitely going through a massive turnover. Many liberal tycoons essentially no longer belong to Russia; their desire to keep their assets in the West has ended up separating them from their native country. Those who stayed in Russia know that yachts in the Med, villas on the Cote d’Azur, and mansions in London are no longer available to them, or at least no longer safe to keep. Within Russia, a new model of a mid-level businessperson is emerging: one who combines money with social engagement (not the ESG model), and who builds his/her future inside the country.

Russian political culture is returning to its fundamentals. Unlike that of the West, but somewhat similar to the East – it is based on the model of a family. There is order, and there is a hierarchy; rights are balanced by responsibilities; the state is not a necessary evil but the principal public good and the top societal value. Politics, in the Western sense of a constant, often no-holds-barred competition, is viewed as self-serving and destructive; instead, those who are entrusted with being at the helm of the state are expected to arbitrate, to ensure harmony of various interests, etc. Of course, this is an ideal rather than reality. In reality things are more complex and complicated, but the traditional political culture, at its core, is alive and well, and the last 30 to 40 years, while hugely instructive and impactful, have not overturned it.

Russian attitudes to the West are also complex. There is appreciation of Western classical and modern (but not so much post-modern) culture, the arts and technology, and of living standards to an extent. Recently, the previously unadulterated positive image of the West as a society has been spoiled by the aggressive promotion of LGBTQ values, of cancel culture, and the like. What has also changed is the view of Western policies, politics and especially politicians, which have lost the respect most Russians once had for them. The view of the West as Russia’s hereditary adversary has again gained prominence – not primarily because of Kremlin propaganda, but as a function of the West’s own policies, from providing Ukraine with weapons that kill Russian soldiers and civilians, to sanctions which in many ways are indiscriminate, to attempts to cancel Russian culture or to bar Russians from world sports. This hasn’t resulted in Russians viewing individual Westerners as enemies, but the political/media West is widely seen here as a house of adversaries.

There is a clear need for a set of guiding ideas about “who we are,” “where we are in this world” and “where we are going.” However, the word ‘ideology’ is too closely linked in many people’s mind with the rigidity of Soviet Marxism-Leninism. Whatever finally emerges will probably be built on the values-led foundation of traditional religions, starting with Russian Orthodoxy, and will include elements from our past, including the pre-Petrine, imperial, and Soviet periods. The current confrontation with the West makes it imperative that some kind of a new ideological concept finally emerges, in which sovereignty and patriotism, law and justice take a central role. Western propaganda pejoratively refers to it as “Putinism” but, for most Russians, it may be simply described as “Russia’s way.”

Civil servants blinded by power. Ugly.

• Elon Musk Wins Court Battle Against Australia (RT)

Australian Federal Court judge has decided not to extend an order banning Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) platform from displaying a video of a stabbing attack in a church in Sydney. On Monday, Justice Geoffrey Kennett denied an application by the country’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, to extend restrictions on the clip, which she had deemed to be “class 1” material relating to high-impact violence. The judge hasn’t yet provided explanations for his ruling. The initial ban on the video, which was imposed by the Federal Court in Melbourne on April 22, expired on Monday. X had refused to comply with the order, which would have made the clip inaccessible to users worldwide. The platform only agreed to block the content in Australia. Musk insisted back then that one country should not have the power to censor the whole internet. The eSafety commissioner argued that a blanket ban was needed as Australians could still access the video through a VPN.

The clip in question showed a stabbing that took place during a live-streamed sermon at an Assyrian Christian church in the suburbs of Sydney on April 15. Four people, including Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, were injured in what the Australian authorities described as a “terrorist incident.” The footage of the attack was widely shared online and allegedly prompted heated protests near the crime scene. During the hearing on Friday, lawyer for the eSafety Commissioner, Tim Begbie, argued that the refusal to comply with the order by X amounted to mockery of the Federal Court. “What that says about the authority of the court is pretty striking,” he said.

X’s lawyer Bret Walker argued that the platform did not implement the ban on the stabbing video because the commissioner’s initial take-down notice was invalid and “manifestly inadequate” due to the absence of a detailed description of the reasons for the ban. The social media company believes that “global removal is reasonable when X does it because X wants to do it, but it becomes unreasonable when it is told to do it by the laws of Australia,” Walker told the judge. In late April, Bishop Emmanuel supported Musk during a sermon, saying that he wanted the video of the attack against him to remain online because it is “our God-given right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.”

Sounds too much like a promo.

• The Coming of BRICS+ Decentralized Monetary Ecosystem (Pepe Escobar)

Get ready for what may well be the geoeconomic bombshell of 2024: the coming of a decentralized monetary ecosystem. Welcome to The Unit – a concept that has already been discussed by the financial services and investments working group set up by the BRICS+ Business Council and has a serious shot at becoming official BRICS+ policy as early as in 2025. According to Alexey Subbotin, founder of Arkhangelsk Capital Management and one of the Unit’s conceptualizers, this is a new problem-solving system that addresses the key geoeconomic issue of these troubled times: a global crisis of trust. He knows all about it first-hand: a seasoned financial professional with experience in investment banking, asset management and corporate matters, Subbotin leads the Unit project under the auspices of IRIAS, an international intergovernmental organization set up in 1976 in accordance with the UN statute.

The Global Majority has had enough of the centrally controlled monetary framework put in place 80 years ago in Bretton Woods and its endemic flaws: chronic deficits fueling irresponsible military spending; speculative bubbles; politically motivated sanctions and secondary sanctions; abuse of settlement and payment infrastructure; protectionism; and the lack of fair arbitration. In contrast, the Unit proposes a reliable, quick and economically efficient solution for cross-border payments. The – transactional – Unit is a game-changer as a new form of international currency that can be issued in a de-centralized way, and then recognized and regulated at national level.The Unit offers a unique solution for bottlenecks in global financial infrastructure: it is eligible for traditional banking operations as well as for the newest forms of digital banking.

The Unit can also help to upend unfair pricing in commodity trading, by means of setting up a new – fair and efficient – Eurasian Mercantile Exchange where trading and settlement can be done in a new currency bridging trade flows and capital, thus paving the way to the development of new financial products for foreign direct investment (FDI). The strength of the Unit, conceptually, is to remove direct dependency on the currency of other nations, and to offer especially to the Global Majority a new form of apolitical money – with huge potential for anchoring fair trade and investments. It is indeed a new concept in terms of an international currency – anchored in gold (40%) and BRICS+ currencies (60%). [..] The Global Majority will instantly grasp the primary purpose of the Unit: to harmonize trade and financial flows by keeping them outside of political pressure or “rules” that can be twisted at will. The inevitable consequence translates as financial sovereignty. What matters in the whole process are independent monetary policies focused on economic growth.

That’s the key appeal for the Global Majority: a full ecosystem offering independent, complementary monetary infrastructure. And that surely can be extended to willing Unit partners in the collective West.

Friends.

• Putin to Visit China at Invitation of Xi Jinping on May 16-17 – Kremlin (Sp.)

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the Kremlin press service said. “At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to the People’s Republic of China on May 16-17 as his first foreign trip after taking office,” the statement said. Following the talks, it is planned to sign a joint statement by the heads of state and a number of bilateral documents, the statement read, adding that the leaders will determine the directions for further development of cooperation and discuss most pressing issues. “The program of the visit of the Russian president provides for his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, during which it is expected to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation in the trade, economic and humanitarian spheres,” the Kremlin said.

Additionally, Putin will visit Harbin, where he will take part in the opening ceremony of the eighth Russian-Chinese EXPO, meet with students and teachers of Harbin Institute of Technology. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will attend a gala evening to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of the Russian-Chinese Years of Culture. “During the visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will exchange views on bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields, as well as on international and regional issues of common interest, in the context of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

“..this year, we’ve got to increase our production of hijinx and substantially raise the output of malarky.”

• Latest Polls Show Biden Will Need Twice As Many Fake Ballots This Year (BBee)

As former President Donald Trump continued to build a sizeable lead in a majority of swing states, the latest polls suggest President Joe Biden would need twice as many fake ballots to win the election this year. The startling poll results presented the Biden campaign with a sobering reminder that the standard number of fake ballots used in previous election years needed to be increased significantly for him to win again in November. “We’ve got to double our target number of fake votes this year,” said a Biden campaign insider under the condition of anonymity. “In previous years, we could just coast by with the standard quota of shenanigans, but this year, we’ve got to increase our production of hijinx and substantially raise the output of malarky.”

The polls also led White House insiders to express concern that there may not even be enough dead people casting votes to overcome the deficit. “We need more dead voters,” another insider said. “We’ve always done a good job of turning out the dead vote, but this year it will be even more crucial to get as many deceased people to the polls as possible.” Democrat ballot production centers across the country have reportedly already been notified to ramp up production to have any chance of meeting the demand in November. At publishing time, the Biden campaign was rumored to be in negotiations with foreign countries for permission to use large quantities of the dead voters they use to rig their elections.

CO2 history

CO2 Follows Warming Not The Other Way Round:
According to temperature proxies and atmospheric concentrations of CO2, through long periods of time, as estimated by examination of drilled ice cores:
-temperature changes PRECEDE changes in CO2.
-therefore, CO2 CANNOT be the… pic.twitter.com/zMVTGuwIEr

— Robin Monotti (@robinmonotti) May 13, 2024

Stairway to Heaven

As a tribute to his grandmother, a Chinese artist and pyrotechnic expert created this stairway to Heaven. Stunning. pic.twitter.com/aNmc7YGcKf

— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) May 13, 2024

Optimus

This is what is going to propel the valuation of $TSLA into the trillions

pic.twitter.com/nVEq0AlE3c https://t.co/deeEgQLyER

— Teslaconomics (@Teslaconomics) May 13, 2024

Ashley Biden
https://twitter.com/i/status/1790028497584259097

Dragonfly
https://twitter.com/i/status/1789665835604406444

Labrador vs. Border Collie

Labrador vs. Border Collie pic.twitter.com/EEHUym5ev9

— B&S (@_B___S) May 13, 2024

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Hearsay, Your Honor!

Nov 142019

November 14, 2019 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 1:30 pm Primers Tagged with: Bill Taylor, Grand Jury, hearsay, impeachment, inquiry, Jim Jordan, Schiff, Senate, trial, Trump 21 Responses »

Rembrandt van Rijn Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem 1630

Watching Day 1 yesterday of the impeachment inquiry that isn’t one, I was thinking about an old children’s game, which is just as useful for adults, in which, in a wide circle of persons, no. 1 tells no. 2 a story, no. 2 tells no. 3, and so forth. If the total numbers of persons in the circle is large enough, it’s certain that the story, if it has enough details, will have changed unrecognizably by, say, no. 20.

That little game is a nice illustration of why you’ve all heard the words “Hearsay, Your Honor” spoken by some lawyer or another in 1000+ movies and TV series. And hearsay was all there was yesterday from “witnesses” Bill Taylor and George Kent. They are both “witnesses” who didn’t witness anything related to the hearing in course and neither ever met or spoke to President Trump, but both claim to know exactly what he was thinking, why he did what he did, and said what he said, based on things they heard from third parties, quite a few of whom remain anonymous.

Little of what they said would therefore be ruled admissible in a court of law. But the House inquiry is not a court of law. It can probably best be compared to a grand jury, a very one-sided format designed to let a prosecutor find and present enough evidence to let a case go to court. If Taylor and Kent had been in a court room, you would have heard “Hearsay, Your Honor” about once in every ten seconds. That gets old fast.

So why do we have this circus going on when it is obvious that round 2 (or 3, if you think the basement hearings were round 1), the Senate trial which must follow if the Dems decide to impeach Trump, has to acquit him because the House based its entire case on hearsay? I don’t know, but perhaps we see some of it in Democrat Rep. Mike Quigley (IL)’s statement: “Hearsay can be much better evidence than direct … and it’s certainly valid in this instance”

Democrat Rep. Mike Quigley (IL) on evidence: “Hearsay can be much better evidence than direct … and it’s certainly valid in this instance” pic.twitter.com/JD0Ui6acxD

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 13, 2019

Note that Quigley in that little video got shut down very rapidly in his enthusiasm for using hearsay by someone (I can’t see who) saying none of the exceptions he seemed to refer to applied to “this testimony”. And that’s the crux here: courts may have in the past, after much deliberation, allowed hearsay in specific cases, but Quigley tries to make it look as if that is now some general rule, and that is certainly not true.

Before I forget, something that struck me at the start yesterday was how both Adam Schiff and Bill Taylor in their openings emphasized their focus on Russia, while this case is not about that, but about Ukraine. And Russia Russia Russia has been shot down along with Robert Muller in his memorably awful “defense” of his failed report a few months ago.

Schiff’s opening words:

In 2014, Russia invaded a United States ally, Ukraine, to reverse that nation’s embrace of the West, and to fulfill Vladimir Putin’s desire to rebuild a Russian empire. In the following years, thirteen thousand Ukrainians died as they battled superior Russian forces.

There is so much wrong and debatable and leading and what not in just those few words, I don’t even know where to start. I guess perhaps I should be shouting out “Hearsay, Your Honor” at the top of my lungs. Then there’s Taylor:

After his opening statement, Taylor answers questions. He tells committee members: “If we withdraw or suspend or threaten to withdraw our security assistance” to Ukraine, it sends a “message to Ukrainians, but its just as important to the Russians who are looking for any sign of weakness”. “That affects us” he adds. It affects the world that we live in; that our children and grandchildren will grow up in,” he adds, appearing to become emotional. “Ukraine is on the front line of that conflict,” he concludes.

These statements are important because they tell us that Schiff and Taylor both see the world through the same glasses. The Russians are looking for signs of US weakness that they can use to advance their grand plan to (re) build a grand empire. That comes with the idea that the US didn’t cause the mayhem in Ukraine in 2014 with their coup, no, it was Russia which reacted so it wouldn’t lose its only warm water port.

Back to the hearing. Taylor said it was his “clear understanding” that President Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine until the Bidens and other matters were investigated. At the very least there is no proof of that. It’s much more likely from what we know today that Ukraine didn’t know Trump withheld the aid until after the July 25 phone call this whole thing rests on. It was suggested yesterday that they didn’t know until the end of August, but I’ve seen people claim that they knew a few weeks earlier. But Zelensky didn’t know on July 25, that we can agree on.

And anyway, this is merely Taylor’s opinion. Based on hearsay. Based on what some guy told him some other guy told him etc etc. And though Taylor never met Trump, the very idea of withholding aid to one of the most corrupt nations on the planet scares the heebees out of him because Russia Russia Russia.

Taylor is a career diplomat who has bought hook line and sinker into established US policy in the region, and who will defend it until his dying breath. And if that means going against the president of the country he allegedly serves, who has every right to rebalance that policy, Taylor will do it. That is what he was saying.

Taylor came close to matching Mueller’s uber-bumbling performance the other day, though he didn’t quite get there. Kent was not quite that bad, but he’s in the same camp, the same career field, and the same deep state, FBI-CIA controlled policy-making no matter who gets elected president. And looking at Bill Taylor, how can one not question the wisdom of people like him making decisions on matters such as that?

Republican counsel Steve Castor started off strong, at least from what I saw, but seemed to fizzle out a little because he became lost in his own one question every five seconds model. Perhaps it was the format, maximum time limits etc., which you don’t have in a courtroom. Jim Jordan did well, he just got named to the committee, but he could have been more effective as well. Still, this part was strong:

You didn’t listen in on President Trump & Zelensky’s call?

Taylor: I did not.

Jordan: You’ve never talked with Chief of Staff Mulvaney?

Taylor: I never did.

Jordan: You’ve never met the President?

Taylor: That’s correct.

Jordan: And you’re their star witness.

All in all, if you thought yesterday was a good day for the Democrats, for the inquiry, or for Adam Schiff, you really need to check a few fundamental issues. All Schiff managed to bring to the table was hearsay. And it’s only because of the grand jury-like format that he even gets to start day 2. No judge would have let him. But there is no judge, and there is no jury. There’s only an executioner.

PS I found this thing from the BBC intriguing and illustrative:

Bill Taylor, the acting US ambassador to Ukraine, said a member of his staff was told Mr Trump was preoccupied with pushing for a probe into Mr Biden. He was speaking at the first public hearings in the impeachment inquiry.

[..] During a detailed opening statement, Mr Taylor said a member of his staff had overheard a telephone call in which the president inquired about “the investigations” into Mr Biden. The call was with Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, who reportedly told the president over the phone from a restaurant in Kyiv that “the Ukrainians were ready to move forward”. After the call, the staff member “asked ambassador Sondland what President Trump thought about Ukraine”, Mr Taylor said. Mr Taylor said: “Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden.”

First, it argues that a member of Taylor’s staff was told something by a third party, but later it changes to him/her hearing the president “live”. Albeit through an allegedly private phone call in which Trump may have sounded a bit loud. You want to impeach your president on the basis of a maybe overheard phone call that someone told you someone told someone else about?

By the way, that phone call allegedly was between Trump and Gordon Sondland, hotelier cum US ambassador to the EU, the same person who testified in the famous Schiff basement and whose laywer at some point contested Taylor’s statements about what Sondland told him, after which the latter went back to the basement to change his testimony. He said she said but then he said and then she said and so on.

What’s on the schedule for the circus today, is it the clowns or the elephants? I may take a day off. We have weeks more of this. And already I have no idea left of who told whom what.

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