Mar 082026
 


Frida Kahlo Self portrait in a Velvet Dress 1926


Donald Trump Is a Great Man of History (Josh Hammer)
I Think We’re Going to Need a Bigger Military (Sarah Anderson)
The Real Reason Trump Fired Kristi Noem Is Not What You’ve Been Told (Margolis)
Can We Just Appreciate How Hardcore Trump’s New DHS Secretary Is? (Margolis)
Right Now, Russia is Like Amazon During COVID (CTH)
The White House Fool (Paul Craig Roberts)
US Military-Industrial Complex Agrees To Quadruple Bomb Production (ZH)
No Justification for US-Israeli War On Iran – Moscow (RT)
The End of Russia’s Gas Era (Dmitry Lekukh)
Is There Any Escape from Israel’s Control of America? (Glenn Greenwald)
Conversation with Alexander Dugin (PCR)
Will Reality Ever Dawn? (Paul Craig Roberts)
Prosecution of Maltese Man for Discussing Transition from Homosexuality (Turley)
The Clearest Sign Yet the Obamas’ Marriage Is a Total Lie (Margolis)
EU Nationalists Rally Around Orbán (RMX)

 


 

https://twitter.com/OCOCReport/status/2029958942114128203?s=20 https://twitter.com/apocalypseos/status/2030167724530262091?s=20

 


 

 


 


(Almost) half the country thinks he’s Hitler instead.. Dangerous.

Donald Trump Is a Great Man of History (Josh Hammer)

Most students of history have likely pondered the question: Is it the times that make the man, or is it the man that makes the times? The question, though superficially intriguing, seems to have an easy enough answer: Sometimes it is the times that makes the man, and sometimes it is the man that makes the times. Rarest of all is the man who is both summoned and elevated by the times, on the one hand, and who has the courage and conviction to shape the times in return, on the other hand. It is this lattermost group of men who we might refer to as the truly great men of history.Donald Trump is, on this metric, a great man of history.


In 2016, Trump was first swept into office, just a few months after the Brexit referendum in the UK, amid a broader wave of nationalist backlash to the regnant neoliberal global order. Trump, a lifelong free-trade skeptic with New York City outer-borough sensibilities, was the right man to lead at the right moment. He became the first president since Richard Nixon’s fateful trip to visit Chairman Mao in Beijing to begin decoupling the U.S. from its economic bear hug with the Chinese Communist Party. More recently, Trump has overseen a historic securing of America’s porous southern border and an equally historic withdrawal from dozens of transnational institutions.

Trump has met the moment and risen to the occasion in numerous foreign theaters besides China and the broader Indo-Pacific as well. He saw decades of American malaise, managed decline and overextended empire, and he has promptly reversed course.Trump and his administration have repeatedly proven willing and unafraid to criticize America’s European allies, nudging our core NATO partners to be better versions of themselves in such areas as military spending and defense self-sufficiency. He has responded to decades of buildup of murderous transnational nonstate cartels and Chinese and Russian entrenchment in our own hemisphere by reasserting the Latin America-centric Monroe Doctrine, as most spectacularly evidenced by January’s Operation Absolute Resolve extraction of fugitive Nicolas Maduro in Caracas.

And now there is the unfolding Operation Epic Fury in Iran. For 47 years, Iran’s revolutionary Shiite theocracy has been attempting to kill, and indeed killing, Americans. From the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut in 1983 to the Bush-era roadside IEDs in Iraq to the attempted (and indicted) assassination of Trump himself, the mullah regime in Tehran has a long and bloody track record when it comes to American loss of life — more than 1,000 Americans killed in total, according to U.S. Central Command. For decades, presidents kicked the can down the road, appeasing and negotiating with the mullahs as if they were atheistic Soviets and not 72 virgins-aspiring apocalyptic Islamists. The mullahs dissembled and stalled, while racing toward nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles on which to mount them.

And then Trump came along. Trump campaigned on ending so-called forever wars in the Middle East. His critics, both on the left and in certain pockets of the impotent right, have accused Trump of violating that promise with the current campaign. But those critics are wrong. Iran has been at war with us, whether or not we think about it and acknowledge it, since the founding of the revolutionary regime in 1979. The revolutionaries’ very first action was to storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran and commence a 444-day hostage crisis. Tehran’s “death to America” chants since then have been daily, and its anti-American atrocities have been legion.

With Operation Epic Fury, Trump isn’t starting a new forever war — he is ending one. Time and again, Trump has shown that he is willing to take actions that U.S. presidents of both parties long paid lip service to support but never actually effectuated. The notion that the world’s most zealous Islamist regime cannot acquire the world’s most dangerous weapons had been spoken so many times by so many different politicians over the decades that it had become old hat. No one actually acted on it until Trump tore up Barack Obama’s disastrous nuclear deal in 2018 and bombed key Iranian nuclear facilities during Operation Midnight Hammer in 2025. Now, with Operation Epic Fury, Trump is attempting to finish the job and permanently ensure that Iran no longer threatens American interests.

God bless him for it.

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“The New Monroe Doctrine.”

I Think We’re Going to Need a Bigger Military (Sarah Anderson)

Well, folks, the moment is upon us. If you’ve been reading this column for the last month, you know that I’ve been teasing this big meeting of Latin American leaders — those aligned with the United States — in Miami, hosted by Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. That will happen on Saturday, March 7, and I am not sure how much will be made public (though I do know someone who will be there, so fingers crossed, I get some info), but I’ll be around to cover what I can. I think this marks the official beginning of an exciting — and historic — moment for the United States and our entire region. According to Rubio, the summit will include leadership and heads of state from 13 countries. I can confirm 12:

  • Argentina
  • Bolivia
  • Chile
  • Costa Rica
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • El Salvador
  • Guyana
  • Honduras
  • Panamá
  • Paraguay
  • Trinidad and Tobago


I have heard rumors that number 13 could be Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, but I can’t confirm that one. Note that Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia were not invited, nor was Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez, because she’s not really a head of state. We run that country, and inviting ourselves to our own summit would be redundant. Initially, the reason for the summit was said to be to “stop China’s encroachment in the region,” but Karoline Leavitt has described it as promoting “freedom, security, and prosperity in our region.” Same thing? I imagine it will be a good bit of both anti-cartel measures and anti-China measures, along with some economic stuff. I also imagine that there will be a lot of talk about the future of Venezuela and Cuba because it’s going to take a regional effort to make them totally great again.

But this is a good team. These countries are all aligned or are ready to align with the United States and move away from China. They largely agree with everything Trump has done globally. They all have conservative or right-leaning leadership who are ready to take a hardline stance against the cartels and organized crime that plagues the Americas. As the Trump administration has stated, they are the “ISIS and the Al-Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere,” and they must be dealt with. Assuming this becomes a regular thing, I think Colombia, after its elections in a few months, and Venezuela, after it elects a real leader, will be able to join. Who knows, after Brazil’s October elections, it may even get to join Team Americas. I don’t have a lot of hope for Mexico, but Trump may have something up his sleeve.

We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Military
Maybe I’m just a big dork, but I’m really excited about this. I’m tracking all the presidential planes coming into Miami as I write this. The Summit follows the Pentagon’s Americas Counter-Cartel Conference, which Catherine has been writing about over the last 48 hours. It included “defense and security leaders from 17 countries across the Western Hemisphere.” She quotes Pentagon Chief Spokesman Sean Parnell as saying, “The Department of War values the strong partnerships that make collective action possible to prevent external powers from interfering in our neighborhood and confronting shared threats. We look forward to working with these committed nations to support efforts that strengthen regional cooperation and advance a safe, secure, and prosperous Western Hemisphere.”

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“..the fallout in Minnesota, the ad campaign, the allegations of infidelity, the mismanagement of her staff, and her constant feuding with the heads of other agencies..”

The Real Reason Trump Fired Kristi Noem Is Not What You’ve Been Told (Margolis)

The story you heard first — that President Donald Trump fired Kristi Noem over a $220 million ad campaign — isn’t wrong, exactly. But it’s incomplete. The ad spending lit the fuse; an eight-word question that Noem refused to answer in plain English plunged the detonator. Here’s what really pushed Trump to fire her. It was previously reported that the breaking point for Trump was when Noem testified on Tuesday that he had personally approved $220 million in Homeland Security advertising, including a cinematic spot of her riding a horse in front of Mount Rushmore with a voiceover that said, “From President Trump and me: Welcome home.” Trump says he never knew about it, and multiple reports indicated he was really upset over her claim.


So yes, Trump was already halfway out the door with Noem after Tuesday. Then came Wednesday. What went down that day sealed her fate. At the House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) asked Noem point-blank, “Have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?” Noem didn’t say no.“I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today,” Noem replied. “I would tell you is, that he is a special government employee who works for the White House. There are thousands of them in the federal government.” Lawmakers pressed her repeatedly. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) told her directly, “I really think you need to say the word ‘no’ into the record so that you can clear that up.” Noem never did.

“It kept mounting up,” said another source, who agreed that it was the last nail in the secretary’s coffin. A third source said, “There was just no going back with the two hearings. It all became about her and him.” Lewandowski himself told The Post he wasn’t sure what role the alleged affair played. “You’re asking me to speculate on things that I have no insight into,” he said when reached by phone. “The question about the affair at the hearing was actually the final straw. It was f—ing brutal,” a source told the Post.

Lewandowski, for his part, played dumb. Asked whether the affair question factored into Trump’s decision, he said, “You’re asking me to speculate on things that I have no insight into.” He also described himself publicly as merely an “unpaid volunteer” — despite DHS staffers describing him as Noem’s de facto chief of staff who ran what employees called a “reign of terror” inside the department. Noem and Lewandowski began to lose influence in January when a second anti-deportation activist, Alex Pretti, was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, following the earlier fatal shooting of Renee Good. Trump sent in the pair’s internal rival, border czar Tom Homan, to calm and wind down the local operation.

An administration official said: “Replacing Kristi was based on the culmination of her many unfortunate leadership failures including the fallout in Minnesota, the ad campaign, the allegations of infidelity, the mismanagement of her staff, and her constant feuding with the heads of other agencies, including CBP and ICE.“Kristi’s drama sadly overshadowed and distracted from the administration’s extremely popular immigration agenda, which will continue full force.” In the end, Noem turned one of the highest-profile jobs in Trump’s cabinet into a liability — and Trump, who had reportedly “joked about” her relationship with Lewandowski for years, finally decided the joke wasn’t funny anymore.

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Political fisticuffs? No thanks,

Can We Just Appreciate How Hardcore Trump’s New DHS Secretary Is? (Margolis)

Whatever your verdict on Kristi Noem’s tenure at the Department of Homeland Security, one thing is beyond debate: her replacement is built differently. President Trump has nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to take over DHS. If you don’t know much about him, let me tell you: He’s hardcore. Before winning a Senate seat, Mullin ran a successful plumbing business, coached wrestling, and raised two Oklahoma State Wrestling Champions. He also holds a 3-0 MMA record in the Xtreme Fighting League. But here’s what I’m really talking about. And he literally challenged a union boss to fight in the middle of a hearing. It all started in June 2023 when Teamsters President Sean O’Brien mocked Mullin in a tweet, and Mullin responded by challenging O’Brien to an MMA fight for charity, which O’Brien apparently ignored.


It gets better. Then, in November of that year, O’Brien was testifying before the Senate, and Mullin read O’Brien’s tweet aloud and then challenged him to a fight right then and there. First, Mullin read O’Brien’s tweet accusing Mullin of being a “clown and fraud.” “Sir, I wish you was in the truck with me when I was building my plumbing company myself, and my wife was running the office, because I sure remember working pretty hard and long hours,” Mullin said.He kept reading, line by line, quoting O’Brien’s own words: “Pretends like he’s self-made. What a clown. Fraud. Always has been, always will be. Quit the tough guy act in these Senate hearings. You know where to find me. Any place, any time, cowboy.” Then he dropped the hammer: “Sir, this is a time, this is a place. You wanna run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults, we can finish it here.”

O’Brien didn’t back down. “Okay, that’s fine. Perfect,” he said. “You wanna do it now?” Mullin asked. “I’d love to do it right now,” O’Brien shot back. “Well, stand your butt up, then,” Mullin said O’Brien fired back instantly. “You stand your butt up.” And so Mullin stood up, ready to give O’Brien a much-deserved beating right there. It would have been great to see, but unfortunately, that’s when Bernie Sanders, who was chairing the hearing, had to intervene. The fight never happened. O’Brien wimped out. “O’Brien declined, instead suggesting they meet for coffee and work out their differences,” NPR reported. “Mullin accepted, but the two kept shouting at each other until the next senator, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, started her questioning by talking over them.”

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Russia will be alright.

Right Now, Russia is Like Amazon During COVID (CTH)

We like the deep weeds, most do not. The geopolitical ramifications of the U.S. confrontation with Iran are vast and complicated; however, to encapsulate one of the most interesting dynamics consider this ‘tldr’ statement to open the discussion with your friends: Right now, Russia is like Amazon during COVID-19. What follows is not me saying President Trump and President Putin are holding nightly conversations, discussing steps or details, or even obliquely coordinating measures as Trump eliminates the generational threat posed by Iran.


However, I am saying that given the nature of all contact and communication between Trump and Putin, including extensive contacts by their representative emissaries, both Putin and Trump are well aware of each downstream effect from the Iranian confrontation. Two days after the U.S./Israel began Operation Epic Fury, President Vladimir Putin said Russia should consider shutting down oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) shipments to the EU in advance of the previously scheduled April deadline date when the EU would stop purchases.

First, remember ‘force majeure’ contract nullification is in place for every producer, supplier and transporter in the middle east. Second, with shipments from the Gulf of Oman greatly reduced, LNG prices along with oil prices are increasing rapidly. The result – ships filled with oil and LNG currently on the water are diverting in real time as international bidding for the content of the ships take place. If Putin stops selling LNG to Europe, and Europe cannot get LNG from the Gulf of Oman, and China/Asia are LNG dependent (not exporting), then where is Europe going to get the LNG to replace what Russia will no longer provide? Answer: The United States, and to a lesser extent, Norway.

[SIDENOTE: now does President Trump continuously smacking Great Britain about shutting down their North Sea oil and gas operations take on context? Geopolitical foresight? I digress. END SIDENOTE] The European Commission’s decision to phase out and ultimately stop purchasing Russian oil/gas was made in 2025 prior to the Iran conflict triggering. Europe’s replacement plan included increased LNG purchases from the U.S., Norway and middle east; the latter supply option is now void.

Europe’s decision to stop buying oil/gas from Russia puts them in a very precarious position. The supply option for Europe is suddenly very limited, and Putin’s statement about stopping the flow early was obviously made with this understanding in mind. [Go back to the sidenote above. Without question President Trump already knew that an LNG supply restriction from the middle east would disproportionately hurt Europe. Both President Trump and President Putin would understand this geopolitically obvious fact/reality. If Europe now has to purchase more LNG from America (at higher prices) President Trump’s leverage over Europe increases. If both oil and LNG prices increase substantially, the price of oil/LNG currently on the water increases.

[SIDENOTE #2 – Previously the EU confiscated their holdings of the Russian Sovereign Wealth Fund, value €210 billion held in Euroclear and another €50 billion from other G-7 countries; total €260 billion. From those seized assets the EU created a €90 billion loan scheme to Ukraine with no repayment mechanism, because the EU predicts Russia will be forced to pay reparations for war and the negotiated settlement will deduct the €90 billion loan scheme from the balance. Hungary, a Trump ally, is currently blocking the transfer of funds; but this payment scheme -created by the EU holding the assets- underpins why the EU will not permit the conflict to end without their approval. END SIDENOTE]

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“It is possible that events are now out of everyone’s hands and are on a course of their own.”

The White House Fool (Paul Craig Roberts)

Just as the whore media told us for three years that Ukraine was winning and Russia’s defeat was imminent, we are now hearing that Iran’s defeat is imminent. If so, why is Trump now speaking about sending in American troops? Why is the CIA offering large bribes to Kurd leaders to send Kurdish men to die for Israel in Iran? Why are executives of American armament companies suddenly summoned to the Pentagon to see how quickly Washington’s depleted supply of missiles can be overcome? Why have Japan and South Korea been ordered to return to the United States the missiles supplied to them? Who is really losing?


To answer this question, it is necessary to move beyond the war propaganda. It appears that not only did Trump allow Netanyahu, not the US Congress as the US Constitution requires, to take the United States to war for Israel, but Trump also allowed America to be taken to war without proper preparation and without a backup plan.It appears that Trump was convinced that the Iranian government was so weak that if a few bombs an d missiles were dropped on Iran, the government would collapse and Trump and Netanyahu could appoint a puppet government. It never occurred to Trump, despite warnings from the US military, what the situation facing him would be if Iran lasted longer than the limited supply of US and Israeli missiles. That’s such a question could be overlooked totally discredits President Trump.

Add to the situation these elements: The United States has proved itself unable to protect the small Arab city states that are sites for American air and naval bases. Trump is faced with a midterm election and a population, the majority of which does not support his war of choice for Israel. Apparently, Iran is yet to use it’s hypersonic accurate missiles, apparently planning to use those to severely punish the US, Israel and the Arab oil city states once Washington and Israel are empty of missiles for air defense. The strait of Hormuz is effectively closed. In the US premium gasoline prices have already risen by $.70 per gallon. Trump says the US Navy will escort oil tankers in and out of the Persian Gulf, but this would expose the U.S. Navy to easy destruction by Iran.

Possibly Iran, would not deliver Trump the humiliation of sinking a US aircraft carrier out of fear that Trump would reply with nukes. However, if Iranians understand that they are in a fight for their very existence, whether Iran goes out like Gaza or via nukes might not matter to the leadership. If oil flows stop and oil revenues dry up, the petro-dollars from the region will cease to underwrite AI’s data centers in the US, possibly setting off a major stock market contraction. Americans, caught between falling wealth and rising inflation, are likely to turn against Trump and the midterm election, leaving Trump with no protection from impeachment. You really have to be reckless to bring so many possible risks down on your head all at the same time and all for Israel. In no way does America benefit from Trump’s war in behalf of Israel’s agenda of Greater Israel.

Trump will have to save face. What can he do? Send troops into such a large country as Iran with unfamiliar and difficult terrain? If troops are sent and are chewed up, what is Trump’s remaining option? To nuke Iran or will Israel do it? It is entirely possible that Trump’s mindless act in attacking Iran has opened the door to nuclear war. Russia and China have already lost credibility from failing to stand by their allies, first Syria, then Venezuela, and now Iran. This will encourage Trump’s belief that both countries are paper tigers. If Iran is defeated, it means the end of BRICS and China’s New Silk Road. Trump’s success, if such is the case, with Venezuela, Iran, and in the meantime, Cuba, Greenland and whomever else, will encourage him to restore American hegemony over Russia and China.

At this point, Russia and China will no longer be able to continue their mindless policy of turning a blind eye to reality. Maybe the two countries leaderships will finally read the Wolfowitz Doctrine. As far as I can tell, not many people are aware of the catastrophe that can result from the American president allowing himself to be led to war by Netanyahu, and those few who are aware are considered unpatriotic. Trump’s ego will never allow him to admit that he has made a possibly catastrophic decision for all of humanity and cause Trump to withdraw and to act to restore the sovereignty and independence of American foreign policy from Israel’s control. Trump is simply too completely owned by the Zionists.

Perhaps Putin and Xi will wake up, but there are no signs of it. Both seem more interested in trade deals than in national survival. It is possible that events are now out of everyone’s hands and are on a course of their own. Humanity’s stupid and foolish leaders have betrayed humanity.

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Makes some people happy. They call themselves investors.

US Military-Industrial Complex Agrees To Quadruple Bomb Production (ZH)

U.S. Central Command said late Friday on X that U.S. forces struck 3,000 IRGC targets with air-delivered munitions during the first week of Operation Epic Fury, signaling that the campaign is only intensifying as it moves into next week.


President Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday that he would not accept a negotiated end to the war with Iran, suggesting the conflict could drag on for some time. “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” he said. We have reported that U.S. inventories of some critical munitions are running low, with U.S. forces scrambling for supplies of key air-defense interceptors as IRGC missiles and drones continue to target American and allied bases across Gulf states.

Dwindling supplies of critical munitions are being amplified by Ukraine’s continued need for interceptors amid relentless Russian missile and drone barrages, a major problem that likely prompted President Trump to host top U.S. defense manufacturers to discuss accelerating missile and bomb production. “We just concluded a very good meeting with the largest U.S. Defense Manufacturing Companies where we discussed Production and Production Schedules,” Trump said on Truth Social late Friday afternoon.

Trump said the CEOs of BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris Missile Solutions, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon were all in attendance and “agreed to quadruple” weapons production. “They have agreed to quadruple Production of the ‘Exquisite Class’ Weaponry in that we want to reach, as rapidly as possible, the highest levels of quantity. Expansion began three months prior to the meeting, and the plants and Production of many of these Weapons are already underway,” the President said. “We have agreed to quadruple critical munitions production,” LMT wrote on X shortly after the meeting.

As the conflict is set to drag on for weeks and weapons production ramps up, the Goldman Sachs index for U.S. defense firms is primed for a breakout. One reason the breakout could occur is USCENTCOM’s X post, which reads “We Are Not Slowing Down.” Our defense pick since May 24, 2025, has been L3Harris, another defense firm that attended the meeting. Nearly a year ago, we outlined that L3Harris was a play on the “U.S. Hemispheric Defense Theme.” Since then, the stock is up more than 50%. What is clear to traders is that the moment Trump signals Iran is prepared to surrender, defense stocks and crude are likely to plunge as war risk premiums implode.

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Washington and West Jerusalem have described their strikes as preemptive measures to dismantle Tehran’s military capabilities

No Justification for US-Israeli War On Iran – Moscow (RT)

There is no justification for the ongoing US-Israeli strikes on Iran as the Islamic Republic posed no threat to either nation, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. Washington and West Jerusalem have framed their attacks on Iran as preemptive measures aimed at destroying its uranium enrichment and ballistic missile programs. The Islamic Republic insists that its nuclear program is peaceful and has denounced the strikes as entirely unprovoked. Speaking to RIA Novosti on Wednesday, Zakharova stated that “although we are hearing claims from the US and Israel that they are even supposedly defending themselves… no one attacked them, no one threatened them.” The Russian diplomat noted that Iran had always been willing to engage in negotiations with the West.


Moscow previously condemned the US-Israeli strikes as a “premeditated and unprovoked act of aggression” aimed at toppling a government that “refused to yield to the dictates of force and hegemonic pressure.” Commenting on the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the first wave of attacks unleashed last Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin characterized it as a “cynical violation of every norm of morality and international law.” The Russian Foreign Ministry has similarly denounced the “practice of political assassinations and the ‘hunting’ of leaders of sovereign states.”

According to Iranian authorities, aside from Khamenei and a number of senior commanders, at least 168 children, as well as teachers and staff, were killed in the US-Israeli bombing of an elementary school in the southern Iranian town of Minab on Saturday.While the Pentagon has said it is investigating the incident, the New York Times, citing newly released satellite imagery, verified social media posts and geolocated videos, reported on Thursday that American forces were likely responsible for the attack. According to the newspaper, the US military was targeting an adjacent naval base belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

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“Putin tells Russia’s energy sector: There’s no going back to EU..”

The End of Russia’s Gas Era (Dmitry Lekukh)

The current discussion about redirecting Russian gas flows away from Europe and toward other markets should not be understood as a short-term political maneuver. Judging by Vladimir Putin’s remarks on Wednesday, the signal is much deeper and primarily aimed at a domestic audience.In an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin, the president noted that Russia could theoretically stop supplying gas to Western Eur opean markets immediately rather than in a month, as proposed by the EU. Moscow, he suggested, could instead concentrate on more promising markets elsewhere.


Formally, no final decision has been made. Putin has only instructed the government to study the issue. But even this preliminary statement should not be dismissed as rhetorical flourish. It carries a clear meaning. Contrary to what some observers assume, the signal is not primarily directed at the EU or other external players. It is addressed to economic actors inside Russia who still hope for a return to the old model, one in which the country’s energy industry was built around “traditional markets” in the West. In more human terms, the message could be interpreted as follows: are you certain that Western Europe remains a reliable partner?

The warning is simple. The current surge of EU interest in Russian oil and gas, fueled in part by instability in the Persian Gulf, may prove temporary. Betting the country’s long-term strategy on such fluctuating demand would be risky. For this reason, the emphasis on “promising markets” in the president’s remarks should not be overlooked. Putin rarely uses words casually in public speeches. In this case the term was clearly stressed, and the implication is obvious: Western European markets are increasingly viewed as declining rather than promising. From a long-term economic perspective, investing political capital and bureaucratic effort to preserve access to shrinking markets simply makes little sense.

If American suppliers want to dominate the EU gas market, Moscow appears increasingly willing to let them try. Ironically, however, even Washington seems ambivalent about fully taking on that role. There is a notable bipartisan consensus in the United States on this issue. The freeze on new long-term LNG contracts, after all, was introduced not by Donald Trump but by the Biden administration.In other words, the future of Europe’s gas market remains uncertain even for those who claim to benefit from Russia’s withdrawal.

Putin also pointed to broader structural trends that have reshaped the European energy landscape. The EU’s ambitious and expensive green transition has been underway for years, despite growing economic pressures. At the same time, geopolitical events have narrowed Western Europe’s access to traditional energy sources.The upheavals of the Arab Spring complicated access to southern resource bases, while the conflict in Ukraine effectively closed the eastern Russian corridor that had long supplied the EU. Against this backdrop, Russia’s strategic pivot toward Asia, a policy launched in the early 2010s, now appears less like a gamble and more like long-term planning. Analysts within the Russian leadership began promoting this shift well before today’s geopolitical tensions made it unavoidable.

None of this means Russia intends to abandon European customers entirely. Moscow still describes itself as a reliable supplier. But the EU is no longer the central pillar of Russia’s energy strategy. From now on, it will be treated as a residual market rather than a priority. And that raises a difficult question for the bloc’s policymakers. Is it wise to build long-term economic plans around partners whose own future, economically and politically, appears increasingly uncertain?

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No.

Is There Any Escape from Israel’s Control of America? (Glenn Greenwald)

PCR: Glenn Greenwald, one of the handful of real journalists who still exist in the Western world, where the Israel Lobby has murdered Free Speech despite the protection the US Constitution gives Free Speech in the First Amendment–impotent protection it turns out to be in Trump’s Zionist America–has just delivered the best news I have ever heard. Pray that he is correct and that Americans will be delivered from rule by Satanic Israel, the Nation of Unbridled Evil, the agents of Satan. Support for Israel in the US Has Collapsed, Radically — Finally Opening the Debate


GLENN GREENWALD
An article I wrote for Brazil’s largest newspaper documents growing opposition to Israel among Americans, and its relevance for other countries where Israel dissent is still taboo. This article was published this morning in Brazil’s Folha de S.Paulo, the country’s largest newspaper, where I am a columnist. It has been translated to English from its original Portuguese, and reformatted where necessary for re-publication on Substack. To read the original, you can find the link here: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/colunas/glenn-greenwald . For decades in the United States, absolute support for Israel was an unbreakable bipartisan consensus. The only argument about Israel in U.S. presidential elections has been when one candidate boasts that they are more pro-Israel than the other.

That the U.S. must always finance, arm, diplomatically protect, and even deploy its own soldiers to fight for Israel was affirmed by former President Barack Obama (who fed Israel weapons to bomb Gaza in 2014 and agreed in 2016 to give Israel $38 billion over 10 years), as well as Joe Biden and Donald Trump (who financed and armed Israel’s destruction of Gaza following the October 7 attack). mLast year, Trump joined Israel in bombing Iran. And now Trump, with Israel, has launched a highly dangerous regional war against Iran that both The New York Times and The Financial Times are accurately describing as a war for Israel.

Already, both countries are relentlessly bombing Tehran and other cities, killing at least hundreds of the same Iranian civilians they claim to want to “liberate.” The U.S. is on its way to doing to Iran what it did to Iraq, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Syria and Libya: not liberating it, but destroying it. For more than fifty years, prominent Americans were petrified to criticize Israel or question American devotion to it because of guaranteed reputational destruction. Powerful pro-Israel groups would instantly accuse anyone questioning Israel of anti-Semitism. That worked.

But all of that has changed over the last two-plus years, especially among younger Americans. They have, for the first time, seen the true face of Israel and U.S. devotion to that country. They hate what they see. And support for Israel in the U.S. has now collapsed. Every demographic group except for conservatives over 50 has now turned against Israel. That once-unthinkable shift is reflected by the vehement opposition to U.S. support for Israel’s wars from leading American conservatives, including Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and (before he was assassinated) [by Israel] Charlie Kirk.

So extreme is this collapse that the most recent Gallup data, as reported by The Financial Times this month, shows that “more Americans sympathise with Palestinians than Israelis for the first time since Gallup began tracking the sentiment.” A recent internal Democratic Party report concluded that the Biden-Harris support for Israel’s war in Gaza suppressed the youth vote and cost them the election. The reasons are not difficult to understand. The world spent two years watching daily videos of Israel incinerating families and children in Gaza [with the “Israeli Defense Force” defending Israel by shooting mothers and babies in the head with ZERO protest from the Trump regime and with the heinous war crimes paid for by American taxpayers.]

International tribunals as well as numerous genocide scholars – many of whom are Jewish, and even Israeli – have concluded that Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza [but you cannot say this in “free America.”] Yet while debate over Israel has finally become more permissive in the U.S., it remains strangely stifled in large Brazilian media [whores paid off by Israel.] Just over two years ago, in this paper, I harshly critiqued this extreme pro-Israel bias, with a particular focus on Globo, Brazil’s largest news conglomerate. That trend has only worsened, and the examples cited therein have continued.

The Brazilian Right also maintains a truly bizarre reverence for Israel, and for every new American and Israeli war. Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro love to prance around declaring how powerful and just it is to bomb the enemies of Israel and the U.S. – from Venezuela and Iraq to Yemen and Iran – yet apparently never themselves want to fight in, or have their own country to pay for, any of those wars they glorify. The Scottish philosopher Adam Smith warned 250 years ago – in his 1776 book Wealth of Nations – that people will always be eager to support and cheer for wars, and will derive a warped sense of excitement and purpose from them, as long as they are kept at a safe distance away from the fighting. The Brazilian Right is superb at cheering on American and Israeli wars, and equally superb at ensuring they bear none of the burdens or costs.

Whatever else is true, basic journalism requires the inclusion of all reasonable perspectives or else it is crude propaganda. World opinion has now turned sharply against Israel and its joint wars with the U.S. It is long past time for Brazilian journalism to prominently reflect that dissent.

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From paulcraigroberts.org.

Conversation with Alexander Dugin (PCR)

Conversation with Alexander Dugin on the Sputnik TV program Escalation.

Host: Dear friends, today we are addressing a large and serious topic. Everyone is talking about it right now, and understandably so, because a historic event is unfolding. Let me remind our listeners: on February 28, 2026, a joint operation was launched by the armed forces of the United States of America and Israel. Strikes were carried out against Iran, as a result of which Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed. In addition, many other high-ranking figures were eliminated in the attack. Iran has begun responding with strikes against both Israel and American bases, and as we speak, military clashes are taking place. There are many questions about what the consequences will be, who will suffer most from these developments, and whether Iran will be able to withstand the pressure. But the first thing one wants to understand is: where is all of this leading?


Alexander Dugin: This is indeed an extremely important event. It is entirely possible that it could become the beginning of the Third World War, because forces of enormous scale are now involved. The actions of the Americans—Trump together with Netanyahu—directed against the political leadership of Iran were extraordinarily abrupt.

This is already the second such case. First, the United States abducted Maduro, establishing direct control over Venezuela and effectively occupying that country. Now they have destroyed the entire military-political and religious leadership of Iran. In significance, this is comparable to destroying the Pope or an Orthodox Patriarch, because the spiritual leader of the Shiites—the Rahbar, Ayatollah Khamenei—was revered not only in Iran. He was effectively the head of the entire Shiite world, which includes hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Before this, Israel eliminated the leadership of Hamas—a more limited case—and then the leadership of Hezbollah, which was already more serious.

Now the leadership of Iran has been directly and openly destroyed. This means that there are no longer any international norms, no rules, and the United Nations effectively no longer exists. That organization now belongs to the past, like a phantom limb from a vanished world. Trump himself essentially said as much: there is no international law; whatever he does is moral. This changes everything. The previous world order has collapsed. We had been gradually moving in this direction, but now the point of no return has been crossed. If a country can destroy the military-political and religious leadership of a sovereign state without any grounds whatsoever, then we are living in a completely different world—a world where everything is permitted, where law is replaced by force, where the principle operates: “If I can do it, I will.” [Or as Lenin put it, “neither more nor less than unlimited power, resting directly on force, not limited by anything, not restricted by any laws, nor any absolute rules. Nothing else, but that.”]

Trump’s behavior is particularly striking. All of this happened during negotiations involving Kushner and Witkoff, and according to available information Iran had agreed to almost all American demands—literally to almost everything. Despite this, such a strike followed directly against the leadership of the country. First of all, we must understand that in this situation we [Russia] are next. Venezuela, Iran, and before that Syria and Hezbollah—these are all regimes or political systems currently targeted by the United States, and they are our allies.

In effect, if such actions can be taken against our allies, if all of this goes unpunished, if Trump succeeds in everything he attempts, then at the next stage—perhaps even during negotiations between Kirill Dmitriev and Kushner and Witkoff—a similar operation aimed at regime change in our country could occur.

And what protects us from such a scenario? Nuclear weapons? Even here the question remains whether we would actually use them. In an extreme situation, the West has serious doubts that we would be prepared to take that step—we issue threats too often and fail to follow through. [ in other words, the Russian government does not sufficiently believe in Russian national sovereignty to defend the country.] At the same time, efforts are underway to surround and isolate our president. Our president, beyond any doubt, is the figure upon whom everything rests. In our country, and perhaps even in the world, everything depends on him. He is the one who restrains—the Katechon, as our Orthodox tradition describes it. Today this is simply a fact of geopolitics, a fact of the global order.

But if the Americans—Trump himself—become convinced that other Russian leaders who might, God forbid, replace our president would be more accommodating towards the West—and this was precisely the calculation in Iran, when the sovereign leaders of that country were physically eliminated because they pursued policies that did not align with American interests—then what would prevent Washington from attempting to implement the same scenario here? [Dugin forgets that Washington already has attempted regime change in Russia when Washington tried to assassinate Russian President Putin in his home.]

Trump is conducting a completely consistent neoconservative geopolitical strategy of attack. The states that were targeted by globalists under Biden, under Obama, and under Clinton are exactly the same states being targeted now. Nothing fundamentally new has appeared. Despite the scandals and disputes with European NATO allies, in the end those allies align themselves behind the United States and adopt the same position. For us, therefore, this is extremely serious. It is the final warning.

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“Will Russia and China, along with Iran, be destroyed by the inability of their leaders to recognize reality?”

Will Reality Ever Dawn? (Paul Craig Roberts)

It seems that Netanyahu is the only effective leader in the world, and that he is leading the world to Armageddon.mClearly, the Zionist goal of greater Israel is the dominant force in world foreign policy today and has been for sometime. The Zionist’s goal is, of course, aided and abetted by the delusions of the rest of the leaders and their fear to say anything negative about Israel.mWhy, for example, did the Chinese government sit on its insouciant butt and allow a war to start that cuts China off from 50% of its oil, when all China had to do was to form a mutual defense agreement with Iran, extend the Chinese nuclear umbrella to the protection of Iran, and provide a couple of squadron of Chinese fighter aircraft on Iranian airfields.


Putin could have done the same thing and, thereby, avoid the risks to the Russian Federation of an Iranian defeat. But Russia also was incapable of looking after its own interest. It appears that Putin’s delusional belief in his “special relationship with Donald Trump” has made Putin blind to reality. The only person who has a special relationship with Donald Trump is Netanyahu. It is the relationship of a servant to his Zionist master. The outcome of the war depends heavily on which side first runs out of missiles. Washington is already showing concern. Weapons industry executives have been asked what they can do to provide sufficient missiles for Washington to be able to continue the conflict, and missiles in the hands of Washington’s Japanese and South Korean allies have been recalled for use against Iran.

Another sign that Washington is less confident of the outcome than is President Trump is Washington’s effort to bribe the Kurds to send its soldiers to fight for Israel by invading Iran. Perhaps the ballistic middle reportedly fired at Turkey from Iran, is further evidence of Washington’s attempt to cover a bad bet. I suspect the missile, if there was one, was fired by Israel or the US and that its purpose is to drag Turkey and thereby the European countries that comprise NATO into the conflict with Iran. Clearly, neither the Russian nor the Chinese nor the Indian leaderships are doing anything to contain the developing catastrophe. Allowed to succeed in Iran, Trump will regard Russia and China as paper tigers. As Alexander Dugan says, “Today Iran, Tomorrow Russia.”

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What a story,

Prosecution of Maltese Man for Discussing Transition from Homosexuality (Turley)

We have been discussing the erosion of free speech rights across Europe, particularly within the European Union. The crackdowns on free speech in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France are often the focus of these columns. However, a recent case shows how smaller countries like Malta have joined this effort with a repressive vigor. Fortunately, the prosecution of Matthew Grech, 33, ended in acquittal this month, but not for a lack of effort by the government. The case should shock the conscience of anyone who values this “indispensable right.”


Grech faced up to five months in prison and a fine of 5,000 euros ($5,400) after he discussed his own history abandoning a homosexual lifestyle to become a born-again Christian. Not only did the government prosecute him for discussing his life, but it also charged journalists Mario Camilleri, 44, and Rita Bonnici, 45, for interviewing him. It was a full frontal attack on both free speech and the free press. The prosecution was brought under Malta’s “Affirmation of Sexual Orientation, Gender and Gender Expression Act.” The law makes it a crime to perform or advertise practices aimed at changing or suppressing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Grech was the first to be prosecuted under the law after LGBTQ activists failed criminal complaints against him following his interview. Silvan Agius and Christian Attard filed a report alleging that a related Facebook post and the subsequent interview advertised illegal conversion practices and promoted their “efficiency.” Cynthia Chircop, a volunteer with the Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement, filed a report with the Cyber Crime Unit that the video had “triggered emotions” of isolation she experienced as a teenager. The government alleged that the interview constituted “marketing” for the International Foundation for Therapeutic and Counseling Choice, an organization associated with Grech that advocates such transitioning away from homosexual lifestyles.

However, Magistrate Monica Vella ruled that sharing a personal account does not constitute marketing the procedures. She sought to protect “free exploration and development.” However, the law itself was not struck down. The acquittal was secured on the basis that it was a personal account and not marketing. The country still criminalizes programs that seek to help those who want to transition away from homosexual practices or lifestyles. In my view, such programs should be considered protected under free speech, religious, and associational rights.

Advocates in the United States have attempted analogous bans by other means. Roughly 23 states have laws banning conversion therapy for minors. The Supreme Court recently heard the case of Chiles v. Salazar, a challenge to Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors.

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Is she still a man?

The Clearest Sign Yet the Obamas’ Marriage Is a Total Lie (Margolis)

Jesse Jackson’s funeral was held Friday at the House of Hope on Chicago’s South Side. Every major Democrat who still matters showed up: Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Jill Biden, California Gov. Gavin Newsom.That’s right: sitting with a bunch of other couples, Barack Obama once again went stag. The Obamas themselves issued a joint statement about Jackson’s death that made Michelle’s absence on Friday all the more glaring. “Michelle got her first glimpse of political organizing at the Jacksons’ kitchen table when she was a teenager,” the statement read. “And in his two historic runs for president, he laid the foundation for my own campaign to the highest office of the land.” If there was ever a funeral Michelle had a personal, deeply rooted reason to attend, this was it.


So what’s the excuse this time? Her absence at Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Dec. 2024 was bizarre enough. Her excuse was that she was “on vacation” in Hawaii. She skipped Trump’s second inauguration in Jan. 2025. Why? Her excuse was that she had nothing to wear. I’m not even joking.I could see her refusing to go to the Trump inauguration in protest, but skipping Carter’s funeral? Well, I know she’s not a big fan of white people, so maybe that’s it. But skipping Jesse Jackson’s funeral raises huge red flags. It may be the most telling sign yet that the Obamas are married in name only.

The Obamas have been the subject of divorce rumors for a while now, and to say they’ve not handled them well is an understatement. They appeared on a podcast together, which looked painfully scripted, and of course, there’s the obligatory birthday, anniversary, Father’s Day, and Mother’s Day posts on social media. The choreographed podcast appearances and coordinated anniversary posts on social media prove nothing. Bill and Hillary Clinton have been photographed holding hands, too; no one believes they have a happy marriage. Last June, Michelle said she was relieved she didn’t have a son, because he would have been “another Barack.” That’s not the kind of thing a happily married woman says in public.

The real tell is the explanation Michelle keeps offering. “One of the major decisions I made this year was to stay put and not attend funerals and inaugurations and all the things that I’m supposed to attend,” she told NPR last year. “That was a part of me using my ambition to say, ‘Let me define what I want to do, apart from what I’m supposed to do.'”That would be a compelling argument if she were actually retreating from the public eye. She’s not. She’s recently “written” a book. She does podcast interviews regularly. She gives speeches. From where I sit, she seems to be declining the specific events where the public would see her standing next to her husband. There’s a meaningful difference between stepping back from the spotlight and stepping away from your spouse.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again — the Obamas are almost certainly never going to officially divorce. The financial and reputational stakes are too enormous. Their entire brand was built on being the perfect couple. They were portrayed as the opposite of every messy political marriage the public had ever seen. They won’t ever get divorced because to do so would unravel decades of carefully constructed mythology. What we’re likely watching is the same arrangement the Clintons have run for years: a show marriage for the public to keep their legacies intact, while the actual relationship is a dumpster fire behind the scenes.

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He’s threatening members of the club, for pete’s sake. They should fire Von der Leyen because of it, but they don’t.

EU Nationalists Rally Around Orbán (RMX)

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has condemned remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Budapest says amounted to a threat against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Responding to comments made during a press briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, Szijjártó said the statement was “beyond every limit” and reflected what he described as “the kind of ‘culture’ coming from Kyiv.” “This is the man Brussels admires and the country they want to fast-track into the European Union,” Szijjártó said. “No one can threaten Hungary or its prime minister. No one can blackmail us just because we refuse to pay the price of Ukraine’s war and refuse to accept higher energy prices because of Ukraine.” Zelensky had been speaking to compatriots about the proposed €90 billion European funding package for Ukraine, and warned that a single EU leader should not block the measure, widely interpreted as meaning Viktor Orbán.


“We hope that in the European Union, one person will not block the 90 billion [euros]. Otherwise, we will give this person’s address to the armed forces, to our guys, let them call him and talk to him in their own language,” Zelensky said. The Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament also criticized the comments, saying that “statements suggesting intimidation or threats of violence are incompatible with democratic principles and with the spirit of mutual respect that should guide relations between partners.” The group noted that EU member states have already provided approximately €200 billion in support to Ukraine and said such rhetoric was difficult to reconcile with Ukraine’s ambition to join the European Union.

Tensions escalated further after Orbán responded on social media, declaring that Hungary would restore energy flows through the Druzhba oil pipeline by force, if necessary. b“There will be no deals, no compromise. We will break the Ukrainian oil blockade by force. Hungary’s energy will soon flow again through the Friendship pipeline,” Orbán wrote.m“President Zelensky’s threats are not about me. He is threatening Hungary. Unfortunately for him, he cannot stop me from protecting Hungarian families,” he added.

Several Members of the European Parliament stood in support of Hungary following the remarks. “Let me remind you that Hungary decided to take this step not out of some whim or bad mood, but in response to Ukraine halting the transit of oil to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline,” noted Polish MEP Ewa Zajaczkowska-Hernik, affiliated with the right-wing Confederation. “Because of this, fuel prices in Hungary have risen, and Prime Minister Orbán is simply standing firm in defense of his citizens.” “Not another euro for Zelensky and his corrupt gang! We stand with Hungary,” added Austrian Freedom Party MEP Harald Vilimsky.

“Zelensky has long been making a mistake by allowing himself to be used by the European Union to cooperate with Von der Leyen and the Brussels troop in the massive interference in the Hungarian election campaign,” added Spain’s Vox MEP Hermann Tertsch. “It’s very likely that their plan will backfire.” Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also weighed in late on Thursday. In a video posted on social media, Fico expressed “full solidarity” with his Hungarian counterpart, and intimated that “if the Ukrainian president continues like this, it may be that other EU member states will also block the €90 billion loan.” He further urged key members of the European Commission and European Parliament to “distance themselves” from what he called Zelensky’s “outrageous blackmailing statements.”

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https://twitter.com/theUMreal/status/2030185782871290039?s=20 https://twitter.com/XCorpHub/status/2029935040814104625?s=20

 

 

 

 

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Feb 062026
 
 February 6, 2026  Posted by at 10:47 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , ,  57 Responses »


Albert Cuyp Cows in a river 1650


UBS: SpaceX-xAI Merger Signals Rise Of “Orbital AI” (ZH)
This is When Volatility Kicks In – Martin Armstrong (USAW)
Netherlands To Tax Unrealized Gains: EU Wealth Grab And Global Implications (Kolbe)
Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman Deny Epstein Malarkey, And Here’s Some Weird Sh*t (ZH)
DHS Secretary Noem Identifies Another Leaker and Refers to DOJ for Prosecution (CTH)
Why Democrats Fight Immigration Enforcement (Matt Margolis)
How Many Handshakes From Epstein Are You? (Akhmedova)
Nancy Mace Demands SUBPOENA For Bill Gates In Epstein Case (MN)
Vance Slams ‘Incestuous’ US Elites Over Epstein Files (RT)
Vance To Lead Sweeping Anti-Fraud Task Force Investigating California (ZH)
Vance and Rubio Lead ‘Critical Minerals’ Strategic Ministerial Gathering (CTH)
How Fast Is The Asian Population Ageing? (ZH)

 

 


What would YOU do with your days in a world where robots fulfill every need and want?

https://twitter.com/HustleBitch_/status/2019282180187291921

 

 

 

 


“… the merger of Musk’s SpaceX and xAI earlier this week, a transaction that has lifted his net worth to $850 billion..”

UBS: SpaceX-xAI Merger Signals Rise Of “Orbital AI” (ZH)

In September 2024, we penned a note that Elon Musk was on track to become the world’s first trillionaire by 2027, driven by what we described as “space race bets.” That call looks increasingly correct following the merger of Musk’s SpaceX and xAI earlier this week, a transaction that has lifted his net worth to $850 billion. By contrast, former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann, who once famously said in 2019 that he wanted to live forever and be the first trillionaire, must be watching Musk’s empire soar to new heights in disgust. Musk’s decision to fold xAI into SpaceX is already being framed by UBS as an “orbital AI” investment angle, positioning Musk at the center of low-Earth orbit dominance and next-generation AI compute.


UBS trader Jephine Wong provided clients on Wednesday with what has caught her eye with the xAI-SpaceX deal:

“X” marks the spot as Elon Musk moved swiftly to fold xAI into SpaceX – an all stock deal valuing the combined entity at ~$1.25T (~$1T for SpaceX; ~$250B for xAI). The signal is clear: SpaceX is planting a flag in orbital AI, betting that a meaningful share of compute -essentially data centers in space- will be operating within 2–3 years. It’s a bold storyline to take into a potential summer/fall ~$50B IPO, but it also introduces new complexity for investors: SpaceX is generating ~$8B in EBITDA while xAI is burning approximately $1B per month. The roadshow narrative shifts from a pure- play space champion to a space-plus-AI hybrid -asking investors to balance operating strength against AI scale capex. EchoStar, a holder of SpaceX- linked assets, slipped on the news – a sign that not everyone is converted just yet.”

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“Europe needs war. You already had the finance ministers of France and Germany say that they may need IMF bailouts. This is why they want war. It’s a distraction.”

This is When Volatility Kicks In – Martin Armstrong (USAW)

Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong warned in late December to be ready for the “Perfect Storm for Debt, Economy, War, Gold & Silver.” The rain and thunder started at the beginning of February, and the storm is just beginning. Armstrong says, “This is where the volatility starts kicking in. I think Europe is so desperate for war. My concern with the Trump Administration is I would not step a foot in there. Europe needs war. You already had the finance ministers of France and Germany say that they may need IMF bailouts. This is why they want war. It’s a distraction.


Without war, people are going to figure out what the hell is going on. My pension fund is gone. Everything is defaulting. What’s going to happen? They are basically going to be storming the parliament with pitch forks.” Where are you going to see volatility? Armstrong says, “The volatility is in everything. You just saw the metals come down. They will probably consolidate before they go back up when people realize that Europe is going to go to war. What will happen? The dollar will go up. Metals will go up. It will be like WWI and WWII. The US became the financial capital of the world because Europe blew its brains out twice. Now, they think the third time is going to be the charm. . .. If there is war in Europe, it will be maybe in the summer. It does not look good.”

One bright spot was the Ukraine/Russia peace plan Armstrong put together at the request of President Trump. Armstrong says, “I did get a letter from President Trump . . . thanking me for writing it. So, it was sanctioned by Trump, and that’s pretty much everything he is doing except for NATO . . .. At the meeting, they told me you are correct. We know we are not going to be at war with Russia.” Let’s hope the US stays out of a coming Russia/Europe war. If we do, you can thank Martin Armstrong who put his peace plan together for Trump for free.

Armstrong also says the illegal alien invasion created by Democrats is the way they are trying to stay in power. Don’t be fooled by the close Dem wins in recent special elections. Armstrong’s “Socrates” computer has seen no advantage for either side for the midterms this year–yet. Armstrong sees the dollar staying strong and says, “You can’t park money in Canada, Mexico, Japan, or Europe. . ..Where are you going to put serious money? The United States is the only place—sorry. This is why the United States is what it is. Big money needs a place to park.”

On gold and silver, Armstrong is decidedly bullish on both metals and says, “This is not the major high. We have too much craziness on the horizon, from sovereign debt default to war. You are just getting a pullback and consolidation. . .. I am looking at the $165 to $200 per ounce area for silver. For gold, I am looking at resistance at the $8,500 per ounce level and, after that, $10,000 per ounce . . . in the next few years.”

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Taxing the money you haven’t yet made…

Netherlands To Tax Unrealized Gains: EU Wealth Grab And Global Implications (Kolbe)

A fiscal storm is brewing in the Netherlands. With the potential introduction of a tax on unrealized capital gains, The Hague is set to become a testing ground for the systematic transfer of wealth from the private sector to the state. Across all government levels, the European Union is increasingly transforming into an aggressive parasitic system. A fundamental clash between the public and private sectors is intensifying across the EU. In March, both chambers of the Dutch parliament will decide on the implementation of an annual tax on unrealized gains. Going forward, all increases in value—from real estate and stocks to bonds and cryptocurrencies—would fall under this fiscal framework.


This move significantly accelerates the extraction of capital from the private sector, constituting a political rule violation. Already taxed income and assets would be hit again based on hypothetical gains, severely impeding private wealth accumulation. Support for this measure spans both right- and left-wing parties. It reflects a form of fiscal horseshoe logic, apparently anticipating a severe national financial crisis. For the EU as a whole, this is disastrous. That a nation with a debt ratio of just 46% and new borrowing of slightly over 2% of GDP would effectively declare war on private capital signals profound economic distortions in one of Europe’s most successful economies. One naturally asks: if this is happening in the Netherlands, what does it say about the rest of the European Union?

The End of the Productive Economy

A glance at Eurozone manufacturing suggests a storm is brewing. Deindustrialization in Germany, the largest industrial base in Europe, began in 2018 and has accelerated ever since, with massive capital flight. What applies to Germany applies even more so to the fragile peripheral European economies. For decades, Europe’s economy has shifted from production toward financial and wealth-rentier models. As financialization advances, production and value creation increasingly relocate abroad. This mirrors a process the United States underwent for decades and attempted to reverse under President Donald Trump.

European states see no escape from the economic death spiral created by expanding welfare systems, uncontrolled migration, and slowly shrinking core industrial productivity. Politicians are buying time through the expropriation of citizen savings to evade growing reform pressure. Once societal patience reaches a tipping point, Europe may witness scenes similar to those currently unfolding in the U.S., where the government has effectively declared war on illegal immigration amid a media-driven defensive battle coordinated by far-left forces, globalist media, and foreign foundations.

The pressing question for Europe: how long will native populations tolerate financial assault from the state without demanding corresponding migration and welfare reforms? Several EU states already levy progressive inheritance and gift taxes. Norway recently introduced a wealth tax of roughly 1% on net assets above €160,000 per person, raising eyebrows in one of Europe’s richest nations. Spain applies a progressive wealth tax up to 3.5%, plus a solidarity wealth levy for assets above €3 million—“solidarity,” a political buzzword used to rhetorically justify impending fiscal expropriation.

This expropriation is imminent. Coalition parties have spent the past year laying the groundwork for a massive expansion of inheritance taxes. It would be unwise to rule out Germany’s politically influenced Constitutional Court approving a national wealth tax in the future.

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Lots of them.

DHS Secretary Noem Identifies Another Leaker and Refers to DOJ for Prosecution (CTH)

The good news is the process to identify the subversive agents inside the various offices of the administration continues to yield results. The bad news is there’s a lot of them to identify and remove. Dept of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shares another leaker has been identified and removed. Additionally, she is referring their conduct to the Dept of Justice for criminal prosecution.

Both Noem and Gabbard appear to be continuing their methodical approach without fear or favor. Secretary Noem facing down the internal resistors within the FBI, who have been leaking about ICE enforcement operations. Director Gabbard working through the tentacles of the Intelligence Community to identify similarly minded IC agents. Meanwhile there was some media controversy about the FBI Special Agent in charge of the Atlanta Field office being removed from his position just prior to the execution of a federal search warrant in Fulton County. The reason for that removal now seems to come to light with the release of letter former Agent Paul Brown sent to Elections Director Nadine Williams giving her a head’s-up on the material the FBI was going to seize.

FBI Agent Brown asks Ms Williams to voluntarily hand over the material, which has the result of giving Fulton County a heads-up about the specifics of the material the FBI were going to gather and review in their search warrant. [..] Another positive outcome amid all of this, is honestly exposing FBI Director Kash Patel’s lack of operational control over the agency he heads. Each day more people are starting to realize what many of us have noted from the outset. Without first admitting the scale and scope of the problem within the FBI, there was no way Kash Patel was ever going to address it.

The issues with the FBI are obvious; a few examples: There were 40 FBI agents on the Robert Mueller investigation into Trump-Russia collusion. Why would any of them still be employed? Additionally, think about the J6 investigations and Arctic Frost, are those FBI agents still employed within the FBI? There is no apple, it’s all worms.

FEBRUARY 9, 2025:

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“…huge majorities of Republicans, Democrats, whites, Latinos, and black Americans all agreeing that you should show a photo ID to vote.”

Why Democrats Fight Immigration Enforcement (Matt Margolis)

Democrats have spent years insisting illegal immigrants do not vote, yet Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries just gave the whole game away. In a letter to GOP leadershi p, they demanded a slate of “reforms” to immigration enforcement as the price for funding the Department of Homeland Security, including targeted enforcement, no masks, mandatory use of body cameras, and other demands, several of which I suspect are nonstarters. I don’t see Democrats getting anywhere with these, but the big thing is that buried in that list is a rather revealing demand:


“Protect Sensitive Locations – Prohibit funds from being used to conduct enforcement near sensitive locations, including medical facilities, schools, child-care facilities, churches, polling places, courts, etc.”

huge majorities of Republicans, Democrats, whites, Latinos, and black Americans all agreeing that you should show a photo ID to vote. Polling places? They went out of their way to include polling places right alongside hospitals, courts, and churches. There is only one thing that happens at polling places that would matter to illegal immigrants, and it is not the bake sale. Democrats have insisted for years that illegal immigrants cannot and do not vote, and that the whole issue is a right-wing myth. If that is true, then why is “polling places” even on their list of protected zones for immigration violators? No one accidentally adds “polling places” to a policy letter being negotiated at the leadership level. This is deliberate. It gives away what they are worried about… and what they are counting on.

“Democrats just admitted they think illegal aliens need to be protected at polling places. Why exactly would illegal aliens be at polling places? We MUST fully fund DHS AND pass the SAVE America Act,” Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) posted on X. That is the obvious question Democrats do not want to answer. If illegal immigrants are not supposed to be anywhere near the ballot box, then immigration enforcement near polling sites ought to be a non-issue.This comes as Republicans are pushing election reform through Congress with the SAVE Act. The SAVE Act is a straightforward concept: safeguard federal elections by ensuring only American citizens can cast ballots, and that an ID is required to vote.

Schumer’s response has been to smear the SAVE Act as “Jim Crow 2.0” and brand it “racist” and “dead on arrival.” That is the Democrats’ go-to play whenever Democrats feel threatened: slap a “Jim Crow” label on common-sense election rules and scare minorities into thinking Republicans are trying to stop them from voting. The problem is that even minorities aren’t buying it. As PJ Media previously reported, polling has shown consistent and overwhelming support for Voter ID laws for years. That consensus cuts across both party and race, with

Why are Democrats pushing so hard against common sense and trying to help illegal immigrants vote even though they’re not supposed to? Recent census projections show blue states are bleeding population while red states are gaining it, which will shift House seats and electoral votes after the 2030 reapportionment. As people flee high-tax, crime-ridden, Democrat-run states for freer red states, Democrats face shrinking power at the national level. That gives them every incentive to import a new population, shield it from enforcement, and eventually convert them into votes, one way or another.

That’s why Democrats have no qualms fighting so aggressively against overwhelmingly popular election reforms. For them, it’s a matter of survival.

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“Some Weird Sh*t” alright.

Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman Deny Epstein Malarkey, And Here’s Some Weird Sh*t (ZH)

As the latest Epstein Files release continues to provide premium toilet reading and no arrests, tech billionaires Bill Gates and Linkedin founder Reid Hoffman are in full damage control mode, while President Donald Trump – whose name is all over the files as well, is back to asking if we can just move on. Other notables mentioned in the release are Steve Tisch, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Harvey Weinstein, Leon Black, Peter Mandelson (who just imploded), Sergey Brin, Jason Calacanis, Howard Lutnick and the Nobel Prize committee (more on that later, it’s a fun one), and of course Ehud Barak.


To review – Gates, whose ex-wife Melinda says he ‘needs to answer to those things’ in the Epstein files – was featured in a 2013 email Epstein sent to himself – three months after the disgraced financier appears to have brought top Gates ‘assistant’ Boris Nikolic and ‘two Russian girls’ to Richard Branson’s island for a crypto summit. According to Epstein, Gates – who apparently severed ties with Epstein after some incident involving Boris, ‘implored’ Epstein to ‘delete the emails regarding your std, your request that I provide you with antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda and the description of your penis.’ Gates responded to the latest email, claiming it was ‘never sent’ (incorrect) and that it’s ‘false,’ (though he did offer $100k to anyone that can make a ‘next generation’ condom earlier that year).

https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/2019045284689424764

Hoffman vs. Musk Meanwhile, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman – who went to Epstein’s island, was invited to his weird fertility ranch, and apparently left his passport in a ‘gift bag’ for Epstein – has been trading Epstein ‘gotchas’ with Elon Musk, who asked Epstein if he could bring his ex-wife to the island for a ‘wild’ party. Hoffman claims he was only on Epstein’s island to fundraise with former MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito, while Musk claims Epstein used the fact that Hoffman was on the island to try to get him to go.

Feb 1: Musk drops ‘reid was on the island last weekend,’ email Epstein sent him, and notes that Hoffman brought ‘gifts’ to Epstein. Hoffman, who says he deeply regrets associating with Epstein post-conviction, defended his visit, replying to ZeroHedge after we asked to clarify that he went to Epstein island to raise money for MIT.

When asked if President Trump deserves the same ‘assumption of innocence’ that you are claiming, Hoffman pivots, saying he’s “been calling for an investigation,” adding “No one will need to assume anything if Trump releases all of the files, and we conduct a transparent investigation into those implicated in crimes.” Shockingly, not everyone is buying Hoffman’s story…

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2018958358607520099

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“Look at Ukraine. The same political class that now shocks you with its private depravity has been overseeing the destruction of a country in public. These political cannibals may not literally devour people, but the result is much the same. They would have consumed Russia too, had it not resisted.”:

How Many Handshakes From Epstein Are You? (Akhmedova)

The US Department of Justice has released another batch of files connected to Jeffrey Epstein, so extensive that even Russia’s “foreign agents” and émigré commentators felt compelled to sift through them. “It seems this isn’t a conspiracy theory after all,” they muttered, suddenly uneasy. “It seems the American and global elite really did indulge in depravity with children. And… perhaps even something worse.” Stunned, they asked each other: Will nothing change now that the truth is out? Is the world simply evil? But the world is not “doomed.” What these revelations provoke is disgust, outrage and, for many in Russia, very little surprise.


What exactly is new here? That parts of the global elite are morally rotten? But haven’t they behaved that way in full public view for years? Was it not the same elite – acting through NATO coalitions and political blocs – that bombed countries, toppled governments, and plunged entire regions into chaos? For over a decade, the world has lived with the consequences of decisions made by a tight circle of self-styled “civilized” leaders. The problem is not just a few twisted individuals. It is the elite as a collective. It’s cohesive, protected, smug, and convinced of its own impunity. When you see how casually they destroy weaker nations in politics, it’s not hard to imagine an island where the same people feel entitled to indulge their private vices.

Political cruelty and moral corruption rarely exist separately. Yet many of Russia’s liberal émigrés, who fled in 2022 hoping to merge into this very “global elite,” seem only now to be waking up. Journalist Anna Mongait, for example, wrote that she spent an entire day studying the Epstein files as if sorting through rubbish. She says it looks unreal, as though generated by artificial intelligence: “Old men I know from official chronicles groping teenage bodies. One frame would be enough for a universal scandal, but there are thousands.”

By evening, she said she was wondering whose handshake had indirectly connected her to Epstein. The thought, she wrote, made her want to wash her hands “up to the elbow.” Now she fears Epstein will drag down not only the American establishment, but “many of our own people.” But two things must be said. First: not everyone is linked to Epstein by some chain of social proximity. Many of us are not connected to that world at all. Not by one handshake, not by ten. He will not drag down “our people,” because we were never part of that circle.

Second: you did not need to know about Epstein’s island to recognize the moral bankruptcy of the global elite. Look at Ukraine. The same political class that now shocks you with its private depravity has been overseeing the destruction of a country in public. These political cannibals may not literally devour people, but the result is much the same. They would have consumed Russia too, had it not resisted. Those who left Russia did not support that resistance. Now they recoil from the elite they once admired. But is this a moral awakening, or simple disappointment? Perhaps they distance themselves now because the political winds have shifted, because figures like Trump do not favor them. If a smiling Western politician returned who embraced their worldview, would they not stretch out their hands again?

Cleansing oneself is actually simple. Stand on firm moral ground. Judge people by their actions, not their smiles, slogans, or fashionable reputations. Understand that evil persists as long as people remain fascinated by it and eager to belong to its circle. There are fewer such admirers left in Russia today. Not least because many of them have already left, and no longer lecture the rest of us about what we should be ashamed of.

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“And I am so happy to be away from all the muck.”

Nancy Mace Demands SUBPOENA For Bill Gates In Epstein Case (MN)

Congresswoman Nancy Mace is turning up the heat on Bill Gates, pushing for a subpoena that could force the tech tycoon to spill the beans on his shady ties to Jeffrey Epstein—exposing how deep the rot runs in the elite circles that have long evaded justice. With the DOJ dropping three million pages of Epstein docs packed with stomach-turning allegations, Mace isn’t buying Gates’ denials, demanding he testify before Congress to set the record straight or face the consequences. Mace wasted no time after seeing Melinda Gates’ eye-opening comments about her ex-husband and Epstein during an NPR interview.

The Rep. announced a push to subpoena Bill Gates in a social media blast, revealing she has asked House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) to haul the Microsoft founder in “immediately.” “We’re calling for Bill Gates to testify under oath on his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein in front of the Oversight Committee,” Mace declared. She added: “[Three] million pages of Epstein documents were just released by the DOJ and the allegations are SICK. If these allegations are false, Bill Gates should have no problem saying so under oath before Congress.” “Nobody is above the law. Not billionaires. Not the powerful. Nobody,” Mace added.

The latest Epstein files, unleashed by the Department of Justice, include a 2013 email from the predator himself alleging Gates caught an STD after “sex with Russians girls” and schemed to slip antibiotics to Melinda without her knowing. Another 2017 email hints at Epstein blackmailing Gates over an alleged affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova. Melinda’s response on NPR’s Wild Card podcast lit the fuse for Mace. Melinda said Gates and other Epstein cronies “need to answer to those things.”

“I think we’re having a reckoning as a society,” she told host Rachel Martin. “No girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him.” Reflecting on the victims, Melinda added: “It’s beyond heartbreaking. I remember being those ages those girls were; I remember my daughters being those ages.” The Gates’ 2021 divorce announcement cited: “[W]e no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.” But Melinda tied the Epstein mess directly to her pain: “So, for me, it’s personally hard whenever those details come up because it brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage, but I have moved on from that.”

She pointed the finger squarely: “whatever questions” that remain on the Epstein debacle “are for those people, and even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me. And I am so happy to be away from all the muck.” Gates’ camp fired back through a spokesperson: “These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false.” They claimed: “The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”

This push comes amid a broader reckoning, with the DOJ’s massive file dump shining a light on elite entanglements. Fresh scrutiny hits figures like Elon Musk and Howard Lutnick over their Epstein links, proving no one is immune. Gates’ own squirming defense on Australia’s 9News—claiming he was “only at dinners” and never met women—got shredded on The View, with hosts like Joy Behar mocking: “I know nothing. I did nothing.” Even that leftist stronghold is turning, signaling Gates’ PR fortress is crumbling.

The Clintons have also finally caved under pressure, agreeing to testify in the Epstein probe after dodging subpoenas for months. Facing contempt charges, Bill and Hillary bent the knee, with depositions set for late February— a win for transparency against deep state stonewalling. This cascade signals that the elite pedophile network’s protectors are finally cracking. As Mace leads the charge, it’s clear the Epstein saga is far from over. Globalists like Gates, long shielded by their billions and media allies, now face real oversight. The Clintons’ testimony could unleash more bombshells, exposing how power corridors enabled this horror.

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“… Gates sought help obtaining drugs “in order to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls.”

Vance Slams ‘Incestuous’ US Elites Over Epstein Files (RT)

US Vice President J.D. Vance has said new documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein expose what he described as an “incestuous” culture among America’s political and business elites. The documents, released by the US Justice Department last week, include previously unpublished records from Epstein’s estate and related investigations. The trove spans more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images, renewing scrutiny of his connections to political, business, and tech figures and revealing how he maintained ties with prominent individuals even after his 2008 conviction.


Vance told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that the files expose a “pretty incestuous nature” among America’s elites, calling the revelations “pretty gross.” He singled out figures including Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, former US President Bill Clinton, and billionaire Bill Gates, saying the disclosures reflected “very poorly on them.” The documents show Musk discussing plans in 2013 to visit Epstein’s private island, asking about “a good time to visit,” with Epstein offering to send his helicopter. The trip never happened, and Musk said he never traveled to the island.

A separate 2013 email shows Epstein sending himself a document claiming Gates sought help obtaining drugs “in order to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls.” A spokesperson for Gates dismissed the claim as “absolutely absurd and completely false.” Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee in its investigation into Epstein. The ex-president has previously acknowledged flying on Epstein’s private jet in the early 2000s but denied wrongdoing. The couple had initially resisted subpoenas, calling them “invalid and legally unenforceable.”

Speaking about Trump, whose name appears in the files on at least 3,000 occasions and who has denied being friends with Epstein, Vance said the president “knows a lot of these people” due to his wealth and status but “is very much outside of the social circle” and was not closely involved. Trump himself has accused Epstein of plotting against him, writing on social media: “I never went to the infested Epstein island but, almost all of these Crooked Democrats, and their Donors, did.” Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019, in a death ruled a suicide, which has fueled conspiracy theories, including claims he was killed to prevent the disclosure of compromising material involving prominent figures.

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“Hospice is crazy here,” Dr. Oz said. “You’ve got hospice that’s grown seven-fold in the last five years. They represent about three and a half billion dollars of fraud, we believe, just in LA County.”

Vance To Lead Sweeping Anti-Fraud Task Force Investigating California (ZH)

Vice President JD Vance is poised to chair a new White House task force aimed at rooting out potential fraud and abuse in government programs in California, according to CBS News. Andrew Ferguson, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, is expected to serve as the task force’s vice chairman and handle day-to-day operations, CBS News reports. President Donald Trump is anticipated to issue an executive order in the coming days to formally establish the group, the news outlet said. The White House task force would operate separately from a related Justice Department effort led by Colin McDonald, a Trump nominee for a new fraud-investigation role at the department. McDonald is expected to also probe fraud in Minnesota uncovered by YouTuber Nick Shirley and other independent journalists.

https://twitter.com/NJGOP/status/2017397171604115771

California has long grappled with documented issues of waste, fraud, and weak oversight in state and federally funded programs. State auditors have for more than a decade flagged problems including persistent cost overruns, inadequate internal controls, and unimplemented reform recommendations across various initiatives, CBS News reported last month. California’s Employment Development Department faced acute criticism during the pandemic, when unemployment-insurance fraud resulted in an estimated $20 billion or more in improper payments, while many eligible claimants endured lengthy delays in receiving benefits, according to NPR News. Separately, federal officials have recently scrutinized fraud risks in hospice and home-health services, particularly in Los Angeles County.

Last week, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz visited the area to draw attention to the issue, citing the rapid proliferation of hospice providers and potential billions in improper billings. One physician in California reportedly billed the government $120 million in a single year while claiming oversight of 1,900 patients -an volume that has raised questions about feasibility and potential abuse. The county is home to nearly 2,000 licensed hospice agencies, a number exceeding the combined total in more than 36 states and roughly 30 times the count in states such as Florida or New York. “Hospice is crazy here,” Dr. Oz said. “You’ve got hospice that’s grown seven-fold in the last five years. They represent about three and a half billion dollars of fraud, we believe, just in LA County.”

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“… has made a policy decision to create a critical mineral reserve [..] The initiative is called “Project Vault.”

Vance and Rubio Lead ‘Critical Minerals’ Strategic Ministerial Gathering (CTH)

In the past few years people have heard the term “rare earth minerals” or “critical minerals” as they relate to the manufacture of component goods that are vitally important in the lives of everyone. However, the term “rare” is somewhat of a misnomer. The minerals themselves are not rare; indeed, they have been around for hundreds of millions of years in abundant supply. It is the processing of those minerals into stable second stage commodities that has become rare.


As a result of western environmental rules and regulations, U.S, EU and developed nations have outsourced critical mineral processing (the dirty stuff) to China and Asia. We then import the finished commodity after processing. This becomes a problem when you realize the processor can weaponize western dependency, as we have recently seen with China controlling the export of processed minerals needed for manufacturing. President Trump has made a strategic decision to bring back the manufacturing of critical minerals to the United States and has made a policy decision to create a critical mineral reserve. Just last Monday President Trump announced a $12 billion strategic mineral reserve to combat China’s domination of critical mineral supply chains, a major step toward tackling China’s advantage in a crucial sector of the U.S. economy. The initiative is called “Project Vault.”

“For years, American businesses have risked running out of critical minerals during market disruptions,” President Trump said. “Just as we have long had a strategic petroleum reserve and a stockpile of critical minerals for national defense, we are now creating this reserve for American industry,” Trump said during the Oval Office announcement. Today in Washington DC, Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio led a critical minerals discussion at the State Dept., where they are organizing an effort to get all nations to invest and create their own critical minerals strategic reserves. WATCH:

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Faster than us?!

How Fast Is The Asian Population Ageing? (ZH)

The latest revision of UN World Population Prospects reveals that demographic shift is no longer a distant projection but an accelerating reality across parts of Asia, with the share of people aged 65 and over rising fast in several countries. As Statista’s Tristan Gaudiaut reports, this trend poses a significant challenge in the region for labor markets, public finances and care systems within a single generation. The figures (UN medium-scenario projections) show Japan already far ahead, as older adults made up already around 29 percent of the population in 2020, and are projected to surpass 30 percent in the coming years: 31.1 percent by 2030 and 35.4 percent by 2040. But, as our infographic shows, the more striking story is the pace of change elsewhere.

South Korea and China are among the standout accelerators. Both countries are expected to see their 65+ population shares more than double between 2020 and 2040. In South Korea, this figure is projected to surge from 15.8 percent (2020) to 33.8 percent (2040), while in China, it is expected to rise from 12.7 percent to 26.6 percent.

Those trajectories mirror intensifying national concerns about future labor supply and pension burdens, amid persistent low fertility and a shrinking workforce. Meanwhile, rapid ageing is not confined to the region’s richest economies. Thailand and Vietnam start from lower baselines, yet both trend sharply upward by 2040. Both South-East Asian countries are projected to see their 65+ population shares double in twenty-years: Thailand to 25.6 percent and Vietnam to 15.8 percent.

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https://twitter.com/MarioBojic/status/2019010007887478792 https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2019025650099855464

 

 

 

 

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Jul 152025
 


Pablo Picasso Female bust 1943

 

World War III Has Already Begun (Dmitry Trenin)
Trump Issues Threats To Russia Over Ukraine Conflict (RT)
Trump’s Patriot Pledge is Just Political Theater: Scott Ritter (Sp.)
If Trump Folds to Neocons on Ukraine, MAGA Base Will Bury Him as Biden 2.0 (Sp.)
Bannon Warns of Electoral Catastrophe For Republicans (RT)
Trump Could Send Long-range Missiles To Ukraine – Media (RT)
Interest Groups Are Stronger Than President Trump (Paul Craig Roberts)
Trump Was Saved to Save Our Country (Margolis)
German President Calls For Universal Military Conscription (RT)
Nvidia CEO Says China’s Army Won’t Rely On US AI Chips (ZH)
Kristi Noem Turns NBC’s Ambush Into a Masterclass in Command (Margolis)
FBI Opens ‘Grand Conspiracy’ Probe On Weaponization (JTN)
X Marks The Spat (Zilber)
Biden Defends Controversial Autopen Use For Mass Clemency Decisions (NYP)

 

 

Alex

Tariffs

MIlley

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the MAGA base is still talking about Epstein, Trump is picking a fight with Putin, risking WWiiI. They may forgive him for Epstein, but not that.

World War III Has Already Begun (Dmitry Trenin)

Many now speak of humanity’s drift towards World War III, imagining events similar to those of the 20th century. But war evolves. It will not begin with a June 1941 Barbarossa-style invasion or a Cuban Missile Crisis-style nuclear standoff. In fact, the new world war is already underway – it’s just that not everyone has recognized it yet. For Russia, the pre-war period ended in 2014. For China, it was 2017. For Iran, 2023. Since then, war – in its modern, diffuse form – has intensified. This is not a new Cold War. Since 2022, the West’s campaign against Russia has grown more decisive. The risk of direct nuclear confrontation with NATO over the Ukraine conflict is rising. Donald Trump’s return to the White House created a temporary window in which such a clash could be avoided, but by mid-2025, hawks in the US and Western Europe had pushed us dangerously close again.

This war involves the world’s leading powers: the United States and its allies on one side, China and Russia on the other. It is global, not because of its scale, but because of the stakes: the future balance of power. The West sees the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia as existential threats. Its counteroffensive, economic and ideological, is meant to put a halt to that shift. It is a war of survival for the West, not just geopolitically but ideologically. Western globalism – whether economic, political, or cultural – cannot tolerate alternative civilizational models. Post-national elites in the US and Western Europe are committed to preserving their dominance. A diversity of worldviews, civilizational autonomy, and national sovereignty are seen not as options, but as threats.

This explains the severity of the West’s response. When Joe Biden told Brazil’s President Lula that he wanted to “destroy” Russia, he revealed the truth behind euphemisms like “strategic defeat.” Western-backed Israel has shown how total this doctrine is – first in Gaza, then Lebanon, and finally Iran. In early June, a similar strategy was used in attacks on Russian airfields. Reports suggest US and British involvement in both cases. To Western planners, Russia, Iran, China and North Korea are part of a single axis. That belief shapes military planning. Compromise is no longer part of the game. What we’re seeing are not temporary crises but rolling conflicts. Eastern Europe and the Middle East are the two current flashpoints. A third has long been identified: East Asia, particularly Taiwan. Russia is directly engaged in Ukraine, holds stakes in the Middle East, and may become involved in the Pacific.

The war is no longer about occupation, but destabilization. The new strategy focuses on sowing internal disorder: economic sabotage, social unrest, and psychological attrition. The West’s plan for Russia is not defeat on the battlefield, but gradual internal collapse. Its tactics are all-encompassing. Drone strikes target infrastructure and nuclear facilities. Political assassinations are no longer off-limits. Journalists, negotiators, scientists, and even their families are being hunted. Residential neighborhoods, schools, and hospitals are not collateral damage – they are targets. This is total war.

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“The Russian stock market soared on Trump’s remarks, with the main index jumping nearly 3%,,,”

Trump Issues Threats To Russia Over Ukraine Conflict (RT)

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose “severe” tariffs of up to 100% on Russia’s trading partners unless a deal is reached to end the Ukraine conflict within 50 days. Trump issued the warning on Monday during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office. “We’re very, very unhappy – I am – with [Russia], and we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in about 50 days,” he stated. Trump blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for dragging Washington into the conflict, saying the US had spent approximately $350 billion on aid for Ukraine. The US president also mentioned a congressional bill that would impose tougher sanctions on Russia, saying, “I’m not sure we need it, but it’s good they’re doing it… could be very useful.” A Senate vote is expected next week.

He noted that, if there was no progress on Ukraine, slapping Russia with secondary US tariffs would not require congressional approval. Secondary tariffs are sometimes introduced on countries that do business with a sanctioned country. Trump also announced that the US will send weapons to Ukraine through NATO, which would handle both payment and distribution. “We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them,” he said. Russia has repeatedly denounced the West for supplying Ukraine with weapons, warning that this only serves to prolong the conflict and makes no impact on its outcome. The Russian stock market soared on Trump’s remarks, with the main index jumping nearly 3%, according to data from the Moscow Exchange.

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“..while Trump’s tariff and sanctions threat may be “designed to weaken the Russian will…all it’s going to do is collapse the American economy, and it will be the United States that pulls back and withdraws and shows weakness, not Russia and not Russia’s allies,”

Trump’s Patriot Pledge is Just Political Theater: Scott Ritter (Sp.)

Donald Trump’s pledge to source “up to 17” Patriot batteries for Ukraine leaves an array of questions unanswered, like whether US allies will be willing to pony up, whether Ukraine has the personnel required to operate them, and whether the systems would even survive transit to their destination in conditions of near-total Russian air superiority in the skies over Ukraine, Ritter says. “Russia right now enjoys relative freedom of activity over Ukraine in terms of drone operations, missile operations. They apparently have very good intelligence coverage of Ukraine. So as Patriot batteries are transferred to Ukraine there’s an increased likelihood that they will be detected by the Russians and destroyed by the Russians before they’re ever installed,” Ritter told Sputnik.

Delivering the air defense systems to Ukraine would be “a massive waste of money” that “won’t help Ukraine,” but hurt it, needlessly prolonging the conflict, in which time “thousands” more people will be killed, Ritter said. “This is a political gesture being made by President Trump because he’s embarrassed that he hasn’t been able to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into bending the knee to American demands on how to bring this war to an end,” the analyst emphasized. The CIA being tasked with procuring the Patriots opens the door to even more questions, according to Ritter. “This is a non-standard transaction. It’s not the byproduct of extensive diplomacy and the defense departments of both nations getting together and talking about things.

“This is a CIA covert operation that has its roots, the political drive of a president who needs to be seen as doing something. So there’s a lot of intent in here, but it’s not backed up with a guaranteed outcome. We don’t know if all of the systems that the CIA thinks can be made available are in fact available,” the observer explained. “Germany has 12 Patriot systems…Are the Germans going to relinquish all of their Patriot batteries? How many of those is the United States counting on? The United States may say, ‘give us them all, we’ll back you up’. But are the Germans really going to give up all 12 batteries?” Ritter asked. “The same thing with Spain. Spain is said to be a potential source of Patriot batteries, but Spain has very few Patriot batteries that they’ve procured. And is Spain willing to give up all of its Patriot capability, knowing that the American backfill is dependent upon a production bottleneck that isn’t going to change anytime soon?”

“Then we also have to remember, a Patriot battery is not a Patriot battery,” Ritter said. “There’s old Patriot batteries, there’s less old, there’s new Patriot batteries. If you’re giving away old Patriot batteries with old systems, first of all, many of these missiles may have already gone through a life extension program and are not suitable for continuing to be made operational. They may not function. And if they do function, they’re not designed to do the kind of high-speed maneuvering and target acquisition that’s affiliated with the modern Patriot. So even if you get numbers, the capabilities, they might as well not have a Patriot system,” the observer stressed. Beside the Patriot announcement is Trump’s threat of 100% secondary sanctions on countries cooperating with Russia. Making good on these threats would be “foolhardy” to say the least, according to Ritter.

“Trump just recently unraveled the disaster he made by putting sanctions on China back in April. China’s retaliation on rare earth minerals destroyed the American automobile industry. And only recently did Donald Trump get a new arrangement with China where the pipeline for these magnetic materials and rare earth minerals will once again be opened. But production has already been disrupted. And now if you’re talking about putting on another 100%. First of all, even before that 100% goes on, who’s going to sign contracts today, believing that in 50 days, the entire thing will unravel because of sanctions. This is disruptive in the extreme.”

Secondly, “do you think China is just going to sit there and go ‘okay, yeah, give us that 100%. We’ll do nothing’? No, they’ll retaliate again. It’s ridiculous. India isn’t going to put up with this. And Brazil has already indicated that if the United States wants to play tariff games, then Brazil will just cut off all trade with the United States,” the analyst stressed. In other words, while Trump’s tariff and sanctions threat may be “designed to weaken the Russian will…all it’s going to do is collapse the American economy, and it will be the United States that pulls back and withdraws and shows weakness, not Russia and not Russia’s allies,” Ritter summed up.

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“Putin said the US and its allies have disregarded Russia’s interests since the collapse of the Soviet Union.”

Trump Could Send Long-range Missiles To Ukraine – Media (RT)

US President Donald Trump is weighing whether to authorize the delivery to Ukraine of long-range missiles capable of striking targets deep within Russia, Axios reported on Sunday. The outlet cited two sources with knowledge of the plans for weapons deliveries. Trump is expected to make an announcement regarding Ukraine on Monday, which “is going to be very aggressive,” according to comments to Axios by Senator Lindsey Graham, who supports ramping up the sanctions on Russia. Trump previously said he could send Patriots to Ukraine – without specifying whether he means the missiles or the complete air defense systems – and expressed frustration over Russia’s unwillingness to agree to an unconditional ceasefire.

Moscow considers the ceasefire proposal to be a stalling tactic to allow Ukraine to regroup. Trump has hinted at new weapons deliveries, saying the US will send “various pieces of very sophisticated military” equipment. He added that other nations “are gonna pay us 100%” for the weapons, describing it as good business. He indicated that the EU would cover the costs. During the latest direct peace talks in Istanbul, Moscow offered a conditional ceasefire, saying it would agree to a truce if Kiev takes meaningful steps to deescalate, including suspending deliveries of Western military aid. This proposal was rejected, and Kiev appears unwilling to resume the negotiations.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislitsa said last week that “this format has practically exhausted itself,” unless Russian President Vladimir Putin grants his delegation the authority to offer terms suitable for Ukraine. Kislitsa said Kiev’s goal in Istanbul is to push for a summit between Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. The Russian president previously said he would meet with Zelensky if Kiev first accepts the terms of a viable peace deal – adding, however, that he does not believe Zelensky has the authority to sign international treaties, as his term as president expired last year and he refused to step down, citing martial law. In a separate interview last week, Putin said the US and its allies have disregarded Russia’s interests since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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“Trump would effectively become a second Biden, thus committing political suicide.”

If Trump Folds to Neocons on Ukraine, MAGA Base Will Bury Him as Biden 2.0 (Sp.)

President Trump has pulled a 180 on his Russia/Ukraine peace push, including an “aggressive” new arms aid plan, and 100% “secondary tariff” threats against Moscow. Sputnik asked a leading Russian foreign and defense policy expert to weigh in. The US president’s escalatory rhetoric vis-à-vis Russia is the result of the realization that he cannot “force” Russia to make the concessions he needs to declare a peace in Ukraine which doesn’t address the conflict’s root causes, Russian Council on Foreign & Defense Policy Dmitry Suslov has told Sputnik. Succumbing to the “hypocritical flattery” of the neocon wing of the GOP, plus hawkish European allies, Trump is being lobbied to believe that acting “tough” works. At the same time, his intuition is telling him to try to avoid being dragged into a long confrontation with Russia, and thus “become a second Biden.”

The president’s problem is that he’s trying to “maneuver” between neocons and MAGA Republicans who don’t want any more wars on US taxpayers’ dime. “Trump wants to somehow demonstrate toughness to put pressure on Russia, but doesn’t want to ‘privatize’ the Ukraine war,” Suslov argues. If he uses the leftover $4B from Biden’s budget for Ukraine, he can continue to make the argument that this is ‘not his war’. But “if he asks Congress for a new budget to support Ukraine, it will mean that Biden’s war has turned into Trump’s war,” Suslov stresses.

“This would be a political disaster, a political defeat for Trump, because he would antagonize his MAGA base even further,” the observer noted. “Trump would effectively become a second Biden, thus committing political suicide.” As for arms deliveries vs. dialog, everything comes down to the “risks of escalation,” according to Suslov. If Trump approves the use of ATACMS missiles for deep strikes into Russia, this would increase the risks of a direct Russia-NATO clash. If his efforts are limited to freezing the rapprochement and new sanctions, the impact wouldn’t be nearly as serious, the analyst argues. Whatever comes next, Russia will “continue its special military operation, and continue to intensify offensive operations and strikes against military and MIC targets in Ukraine, regardless of what the US does or does not do,” Suslov summed up.

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“Trump’s party could lose up to 40 US House seats and the presidency over the backlash to the Epstein files debacle, the former strategist has said..”

Bannon Warns of Electoral Catastrophe For Republicans (RT)

Republicans could lose 40 US House seats and the presidency if the backlash over the Jeffrey Epstein case continues to divide the MAGA base, President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, has warned. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly promised to declassify files related to the case of late financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi said that a list of Epstein’s clients was “sitting on my desk.” Last week, however, the Justice Department released a memo claiming that no client list exists, and that no evidence has been found to justify the investigation of uncharged third parties.

The memo has triggered outrage among Trump supporters, with accusations that the administration has failed to deliver transparency. Bannon warned during a podcast last week that the fallout could erode 10% of MAGA’s support. “If we lose 10% of the MAGA movement right now, we’re going to lose 40 seats in ‘26, we’re going to lose the presidency,” he said. Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has also cautioned that the Epstein issue “is not going away” and will hinder Trump’s efforts on other national challenges. According to CNN, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has not reported to work since the memo’s release and is considering resigning.

Epstein, a financier with ties to influential figures, was arrested in 2019 for sex trafficking and died in jail before trial. His death was ruled a suicide, but many have demanded the release of alleged client names rumored to include Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Bill Gates, and others. Some suspect Trump may also be implicated. Trump has dismissed the controversy, saying, “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” and claiming on Truth Social that the Democrats fabricated the client list. “We’re on one Team, MAGA,” he wrote, blaming “selfish people” for fueling internal divisions.

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“It has only taken the Ruling Establishment six months to cancel the domestic agenda of the Trump administration. The Reagan administration lasted longer before it was neutralized..”

Interest Groups Are Stronger Than President Trump (Paul Craig Roberts)

We are six months into Donald Trump’s presidency, really his first presidency as his previous four years he was staffed by the ruling establishment with his opponents. Washington taught Trump a lesson, and this time he is staffed with people who share the values he expressed in his campaign. Nevertheless, the Trump administration is now at odds within itself and with a significant percentage of its MAGA supporters, if news reports can be believed. The issue splitting the Trump forces is the Epstein dossier. I wrote yesterday about the Epstein Saga. Clearly there are problems. But the nature of the problem is being misrepresented. Attorney General Bondi did not decide on her own that the Epstein file was empty. She was not protecting Trump.

The decision was imposed on the Trump administration by the American Establishment, the Ruling Elite, the Deep State, the Globalists–whatever you want to call those whose money and economic interests rule the governments in the Western World. The issue our rulers put to President Trump was: Are you prepared to discredit in the eyes of the American People the ruling establishment and the government of the United States? If the people lose confidence in their government, how can you accomplish anything? Netanyahu was there with Trump to back them up. If you release the Epstein Files it will be revealed that he was a Mossad agent blackmailing your leaders. We, Israel, will release the names, and your country will be ruined. But it is not only Bondi having difficulties. It is also Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human services, and Trump himself.

Robert Kennedy has found that despite being a cabinet secretary in the US government, he cannot decide based on hard evidence that the Covid “vaccine” is harmful to everyone. All RFK could do was to cease the government’s recommendation of the deadly Covid vax for healthy children and pregnant women. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is powerless to stop the vaccination of the vast majority of the American population with a “vaccine” that kills and destroys the immune system. Big Pharma is more powerful than the US Secretary for Health. Kennedy despite his promise was also unable to ban the deadly glyphosate weed killer that has poisoned food, soil, and water. Kennedy announced that this toxic substance was too important to agri-business to be denied them. Agri-business is more powerful than Secretary Kennedy, and its profits are more important than Americans’ health.

President Trump cannot even impose tariffs or deport immigrant-invaders. Globalism makes countries dependent on imports. Manufacturers are harmed by tariffs, and agri-business is harmed by deportations of illegals. These powerful economic interests are opposed to tariffs and deportations. Trump’s tariffs are used to lower foreign tariffs against the US or to force concessions from foreign governments. But as it turned out the tariffs raise the cost of the remaining American manufacturers and hurt their profits.. They confronted Trump and were granted exemptions from tariffs for their input needs. Essentially, the tariff list was naked. Nothing on it that wasn’t exempted. The same for deportations. According to news reports, there are to be no deportations of restaurant workers, farm workers, and workers in the chicken slaughter houses. The deportations seem mainly to be limited to criminal gangs.

It has only taken the Ruling Establishment six months to cancel the domestic agenda of the Trump administration. The Reagan administration lasted longer before it was neutralized. Trump’s peace agenda has also gone by the wayside. He has bombed Iran for Netanyahu and continues to support Israeli aggression and Israel’s genocide of Palestine. Trump is yet to meet with Putin, instead handing the “peace negotiations” over to Zelensky and Putin. As the war is really between the US and Russia, Zelensky cannot settle it. The military/security complex needs war or the threat of war for its profits and power. Peace does not serve their interests. Americans have a false belief in the power of a president. As long as private money determines politics, money, not the people, rules.

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“..fighting with a clarity and conviction that only comes from knowing just how far the enemy is willing to go..”

Trump Was Saved to Save Our Country (Margolis)

One year ago in Butler, Pennsylvania, America came within inches of catastrophe. A bullet meant for Donald Trump whizzed past his head, grazing his ear thanks to a sudden turn of his head, in a near-miss that could have changed history. That bullet didn’t miss by accident. Trump was spared for a reason. The attempt wasn’t just a physical attack—it was a political one. At the time, Joe Biden was collapsing in the polls. Hispanic and black voters were shifting toward Trump. Democrats and their allies in the legacy media were in a frenzy, comparing him to Hitler, accusing him of being a dictator, and trying to put him in prison. The rhetoric was poisonous—and it was only a matter of time before someone acted on it.

But instead of silencing Trump, the assassin did the opposite. He ignited something far more powerful. The shot missed, and in that moment, Donald Trump emerged not just as a survivor—but as a man on a mission. A president with unfinished business and a renewed sense of purpose. That brush with death didn’t shake him—it emboldened him. Everything we’ve seen in Trump’s second term flows from that moment. He came back stronger, more focused, more unapologetically committed to saving the country from the radical left. There’s no more playing nice, no more deference to broken institutions or phony decorum. The Trump we see today is a man who knows exactly how high the stakes are—and he’s governing like it. Whether it’s securing the border, dismantling the administrative state, or taking on the corrupt DOJ, this is a president unchained.

The media refused to acknowledge that this was a politically motivated attempt to erase Trump from the national stage. But the American people saw it for what it was—and they responded. They rallied around him, not out of sympathy, but out of shared conviction. They saw the left for what it had become: a movement willing to destroy anyone who stands in its way. When lawfare failed, violence was the next option. The miracle in Butler lit a fire that hasn’t gone out. It changed the tone of his presidency and the trajectory of the movement behind him. When Americans voted in November, they didn’t just elect a president—they sent a message. That they were done being bullied by a regime that trades in fear. That they chose secure borders over chaos, defending police over defunding them, protecting children instead of butchering them, and truth over the manufactured lies of the press.

Trump’s survival wasn’t the end of a chapter—it was the beginning of something much bigger. A sharpened presidency. A hardened resolve. A movement that refuses to back down. He was saved to finish the job. And one year later, he’s doing exactly that—fighting with a clarity and conviction that only comes from knowing just how far the enemy is willing to go. The bullet missed, but the message hit its mark: Trump is still here, and he’s more dangerous to the left than ever. America was given another chance that day. And with Trump back in charge, this time we’re not wasting it.

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Russia: “Germany becoming dangerous again..”

German President Calls For Universal Military Conscription (RT)

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has urged a nationwide debate about reinstating military conscription, stressing that Berlin needs to strengthen its armed forces amid what he described as escalating security threats in Europe. Compulsory military service was suspended in Germany in 2011. Although inactive, the legal framework for a draft remains intact and can be reactivated by a simple parliamentary majority. A full-scale return, including women, however, would require changes to the constitution. Speaking to ZDF on Sunday, Steinmeier said Germany must prepare for the possibility that voluntary enlistment will fall short of staffing requirements for the army.

“I am an advocate of conscription because I believe that with the changing security situation in Europe, with the fact that a war is taking place, and with the conclusions we have drawn from it to better protect ourselves, the personnel equipment of the Bundeswehr also needs to be adapted,” he said. He expressed support for Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’ proposal to expand troop numbers and create a backup draft system. The plan aims for around 5,000 volunteer recruits annually, rising to 30,000 by 2029. Legislation which is being prepared for cabinet review in August with possible enactment by early 2026 includes provisions to automatically reintroduce conscription if volunteer numbers fall short.

“We need this debate now, preferably with a positive outcome, so that if there are not enough volunteers, we will probably return to a different form of conscription than the one we have already abolished,” Steinmeier said. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Germany has been working to strengthen its military, citing what it sees as a security threat from Russia. Moscow has rejected claims that it plans to attack NATO nations, dismissing them as “nonsense” and accusing Western leaders of intentionally alarming their citizens to justify increased defense budgets.

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“We want the American tech stack to be the global standard … in order for us to do that, we have to be in search of all the AI developers in the world..”

Nvidia CEO Says China’s Army Won’t Rely On US AI Chips (ZH)

In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang argued that, just as the internet was designed and built by American technology, so too should artificial intelligence be shaped by it globally. He emphasized the need to reopen markets where Nvidia’s advanced chips are currently banned, such as China. Zakaria asked Huang: “But what if, in doing that, you are also providing the Chinese military and Chinese intelligence with the capacity to supercharge, turbocharge their weapons with the very best American chips?” Huang replied, “We don’t have to worry about that, because the Chinese military, no different than the US military, won’t seek each other’s technology out to build critical systems.”

“It could be limited at any time; not to mention, there’s plenty of computing capacity in China already,” he said, adding, “They don’t need Nvidia’s chips, certainly, or American tech stacks in order to build their military.” Huang’s remarks follow years of bipartisan U.S. policy imposing trade restrictions on Nvidia’s advanced AI chips to China. He argued that these export controls have been counterproductive, accelerating China’s own AI chip ambitions. Huang contended that U.S. tech leadership means ensuring global AI systems are built on the American tech stack, rather than Chinese technology…

“We want the American tech stack to be the global standard … in order for us to do that, we have to be in search of all the AI developers in the world,” Huang said, noting that about half of the world’s AI developers are based in China. Huang’s CNN interview comes just days after he met with President Trump at the White House late last week, and plans a scheduled trip to Beijing to meet with senior Chinese officials and attend the International Supply Chain Expo. Huang has been vocal in recent months about the combined impact of the Biden-Harris regime and the Trump-Vance administration’s export restrictions on advanced AI chips to China. In May, he told investors, “The $50 billion China market is effectively closed to U.S. industry.”

However, the Trump team cancelled a planned rule by former President Joe Biden called the “AI diffusion rule,” promising fewer restrictions later this year on which countries could receive Nvidia’s advanced AI chips. “The world is right now hungry, anxious to engage AI,” Huang previously said, adding, “Let us get the American AI out in front of everybody right now.” Last week, Nvidia became the first company to close a trading day with a market cap over $4 trillion… This was a symbolic milestone for capital markets and the current bull cycle. Huang is walking a very fine line between Washington and Beijing as he seeks to preserve Nvidia’s global market access. The real question is whether China hawks in the White House will ever allow Beijing unrestricted access to Nvidia’s AI chips—something that seems increasingly unlikely.

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“Within just an hour or two after the flooding, we had resources from Homeland Security on the ground. The Coast Guard was deployed immediately and rescued countless Texans. Border Patrol tactical teams were there. FEMA arrived within hours. Call centers were fully staffed. This was the fastest FEMA deployment in years—maybe decades.”

Kristi Noem Turns NBC’s Ambush Into a Masterclass in Command (Margolis)

Kristi Noem’s appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” this Sunday was a textbook example of how to dismantle media bias with poise and facts. Faced with a predictably hostile Kristen Welker, Noem didn’t just hold her ground—she flipped the script. In a setting designed to put Trump administration officials on the defensive, Noem calmly exposed the hollowness of NBC’s narrative and reminded viewers what real leadership looks like under pressure. The interview focused on the Trump administration’s rapid response to the devastating Texas floods and recent high-profile immigration enforcement actions. True to form, NBC leaned on anonymous sources to push a tired smear—this time suggesting Noem had personally delayed FEMA aid by requiring her approval for contracts over $100,000. But Noem dismantled that narrative without breaking a sweat.

“Those claims are absolutely false,” she said. “Within just an hour or two after the flooding, we had resources from Homeland Security on the ground. The Coast Guard was deployed immediately and rescued countless Texans. Border Patrol tactical teams were there. FEMA arrived within hours. Call centers were fully staffed. This was the fastest FEMA deployment in years—maybe decades.” That’s the reality: while the left hides behind nameless leaks and secondhand gossip, Americans saw a swift, coordinated federal response. Contrary to the media’s implication that federal agencies run on autopilot, it takes leadership to move that quickly. Noem and her team cut through red tape and got it done.

When Welker pivoted to immigration enforcement—specifically a major bust at a California marijuana grow operation—the media’s playbook was once again on display. She tried to push the false claim that Border Czar Tom Homan was advocating racial profiling during an appearance on CNN, but Noem didn’t take the bait. She laid out the facts: over 300 arrests, 14 unaccompanied minors rescued from likely trafficking or exploitation, and criminals among the detained with records including rape, child pornography, and murder. These weren’t random detentions—they were targeted law enforcement actions aimed at dismantling illegal grow operations that often serve as fronts for organized crime.

Of course, the legacy media doesn’t want to talk about that. They’d rather peddle innuendo than acknowledge that the Trump administration is actually enforcing the law—and doing it effectively.This is what voters signed up for: strong, competent leadership that doesn’t cave to media pressure or waste time chasing elite approval. Noem didn’t just survive the interview—she turned it into a moment of clarity for anyone still wondering whether the Trump administration is serious about restoring law and order. While NBC and its allies keep spinning excuses for the failures of the Biden years, Americans are seeing a stark contrast in real time. The chaos at the border, the paralyzed disaster responses, and the endless bureaucratic dithering that defined the last administration are over. Under Trump, we’re witnessing what happens when leaders actually take the job seriously.

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Someone suggested Bondi could be the special prosecutor, making way for Matt Gaetz to be AG, as Trump originally intended.

FBI Opens ‘Grand Conspiracy’ Probe On Weaponization (JTN)

The FBI has quietly launched an investigation into a decade of Democratic party and deep-state antics from Russia collusion to Jack Smith, opening the door for the appointment of a special prosecutor to examine whether the well-documented episodes amount to a criminal conspiracy to meddle in three U.S. elections to the benefit of Democrats and the detriment of President Donald Trump, Just the News has learned. The “grand conspiracy” case was opened several weeks ago after new FBI Director Kash Patel took over, and it could get a significant boost if Trump were to declassify two secret tranches of evidence that identify a potential ignition point to the alleged conspiracy in the summer of 2016, according to several people directly familiar with the inquiry, who spoke to Just the News on a condition of anonymity.

The first piece of evidence is a classified annex to a years-old inspector general probe of Hillary Clinton’s improper email server sought by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley. That annex is believed to show that credible information about possible wrongdoing was intentionally ignored by the FBI. The second tranche of evidence was identified by former Russiagate Special Counsel John Durham in his final report. The evidence was dubbed in the report as the “Clinton plan intelligence,” and it was also placed in a classified annex kept from the American public and even many members of Congress. Excerpts from the publicly-available and unclassified Durham report show that U.S. spy agencies were aware that Clinton’s 2016 campaign was concocting a bogus Russia collusion narrative to harm Trump’s election chances before the FBI opened its now-discredited Crossfire Hurricane probe, in part using evidence created by the Clinton campaign or offered by Clinton associates.

[,,] CIA Director John Ratcliffe earlier this month released a scathing review of the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment of Russian influence in the 2016 election, criticizing then-CIA Director John Brennan for joining the FBI in pushing to include disgraced British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s baseless anti-Trump dossier. In particular, Ratcliffe concluded that then-CIA Director John Brennan “showed a preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness.” Ratcliffe later posted on social media about his report, calling the smear campaign against Trump an “atypical & corrupt process under the politically charged environments of former Dir. Brennan & former FBI Dir. Comey.”

If Trump declassifies the Grassley and Durham documents, prosecutors could submit them to a grand jury in an effort to try to show a distinct pattern of the FBI and spy agencies willfully ignoring intelligence or evidence damaging to Democrats while relentlessly pursuing Trump with evidence that was often flawed. Trump administration officials have weighed naming a special prosecutor to probe the recent bombshell revelations reported by Just the News that the FBI received human source intelligence – and some corroborating evidence – that China was engaged in a scheme to create fake mail-in ballots in 2020 to help Joe Biden win. The FBI failed to investigate the matter, and even recalled the intelligence and asked fellow spy agencies to destroy it. But the five-year statute of limitations on that inquiry is only weeks away from expiring since the evidence arrived in August 2020, leaving the potential for criminal charges or other accountability on an almost impossibly tight timetable.

The overarching conspiracy case opened by Patel’s FBI offers a more expansive approach that would allow a special prosecutor time to tie alleged criminal events currently covered by statutes of limitations to older events by treating them as part of an ongoing conspiracy or even a racketeering operation. The “grand conspiracy” probe also would open the door to empanel a grand jury outside of Washington D.C. where juries have been reluctant to convict actors who pursued Trump. If voting patterns are any indicator, the Capitol City is the most hostile venue to Trump. The district has never supported a GOP presidential candidate. CNN reported that only one Republican presidential candidate has ever won more than 20% of DC’s vote — Richard Nixon in 1972, with 21.56%, and in the last election, a whopping 92.1% of the vote went against Trump.

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“She tried to ride the tiger but was thrown off.”

X Marks The Spat (Zilber)

Linda Yaccarino’s resignation from X as chief executive marked the end of a high-pressure — and at times emotional — two-year stint that insiders described as riddled with stress, conflict and power struggles, according to a report. At times, Yaccarino was reportedly tearful in the office, worn down by the overwhelming demands of working under Elon Musk and the increasing pressure surrounding her role, the Financial Times reported over the weekend. Yaccarino had claimed in an interview just three weeks before stepping down that “I’m the CEO of X and my boss remains the same.” But last Wednesday she announced her departure, citing X’s merger with Musk’s AI venture xAI as a turning point and calling it a “new chapter” for the company.

Their contrasting styles — Yaccarino’s polished advertising world background versus Musk’s unfiltered, hands-on leadership — clashed repeatedly. “Elon calls all the shots,” an advertising executive who knows both Yaccarino and Musk told FT. “She tried to ride the tiger but was thrown off.” A breaking point reportedly came early last year, when Yaccarino helped secure a content deal with former CNN anchor Don Lemon. The arrangement backfired after Lemon conducted a contentious interview with Musk, asking if he used drugs. Musk canceled the deal, and Lemon is now suing for breach of contract. The internal tension and lack of authority reportedly took an emotional toll. Multiple people who worked with Yaccarino said she was “at times being tearful in the office.”

One former colleague told FT: “She lasted two years in a job that would have crushed most people in two weeks.” Though she managed to lure back some major advertisers like Apple, Google and Verizon, many in the industry questioned the sustainability and strategy behind the return.“To her credit, she did get advertisers back to X,” one longtime executive told FT. “She did it with a gun, but they came back.” Another added, “They did not return voluntarily or happily.” Others criticized the platform’s underperformance. “Many clients don’t advertise on X, not because of the content, but because it does not perform very well,” one executive told FT. Sensor Tower reported some renewed ad strength, and Emarketer projected a revenue increase to $2.3 billion in 2025 — still far below the $4.1 billion in global sales before Musk’s takeover.

[..] Yaccarino’s priorities sometimes diverged from Musk’s, particularly around child safety — a concern she reportedly believed Musk was not focused on enough, according to FT. She ultimately informed a small circle ahead of time about her resignation, which happened to coincide with xAI’s chatbot Grok publishing antisemitic content, FT reported. X staff said the two events were unrelated. Yaccarino’s challenges began as soon as she took the job in 2023, leaving NBCUniversal to help repair the damage Musk’s $44 billion takeover of the platform had inflicted on advertiser relations. Brands had fled the platform, citing Musk’s volatile behavior and tolerance of toxic content. She was known as the “Velvet Hammer” in the industry, with a reputation for toughness and a powerful Rolodex of brand contacts.

She scored some victories, securing deals with creators and sports leagues, upgrading X’s video features and laying the groundwork for a digital wallet called X Money. She also aggressively pursued advertisers — at one point suing their trade group and companies like Shell and Pinterest, accusing them of an “illegal boycott.” But despite her efforts, she never gained full control of the company. Musk retained ultimate authority, even in areas core to her role like advertising, the FT reported. He began making unilateral decisions — banning hashtags in ads, charging brands based on vertical ad size — and hired product chief Nikita Bier without her input, according to FT. Musk’s growing relationship with President Donald Trump created further complications. His focus on politics temporarily drew attention away from X, offering Yaccarino some breathing room.

“What saved her was the election and Elon diving deep into the administration,” one person who worked with both told FT. But once Musk returned to business and pushed the $45 billion acquisition of X by xAI, her position became increasingly tenuous, it was reported. Financial control was another battleground. Musk brought in Mahmoud Reza Banki as CFO, who reported directly to Musk and bypassed Yaccarino. Their relationship grew strained, especially when Banki redirected funds away from creator and ad-tech investments — areas Yaccarino viewed as crucial, according to FT. Publicly, Yaccarino remained loyal to Musk, but insiders suggested her style never resonated with him. Her deep ties to Trump, however, remain intact, according to the FT.

She is reportedly close to Ivanka Trump, HUD Secretary Scott Turner and Director of Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. One confidante said she still supports Trump despite his falling-out with Musk. Her next move remains unclear. Some speculate she may join the Trump administration or assume a public-facing role around free speech.

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“Zients wrote in an email at 10:31 p.m.: “I approve the use of the autopen for the execution of all of the following pardons.”

Biden Defends Controversial Autopen Use For Mass Clemency Decisions (NYP)

Former President Joe Biden has acknowledged in a stunning new interview that he didn’t agree to the name of every person who received one of the 46th president’s sweeping pardons — with emails indicating that then-White House chief of staff Jeff Zients approved the use of the notorious White House autopen. The 46th president insisted in a phone interview with the New York Times last week that “I made every decision” about clemencies issued during his term before admitting that he had his staff replicate his signature because “we’re talking about a lot of people.” Biden’s team used an autopen on 25 warrants for pardons and commutations in December and January of last year, but two of those warrants granted clemency to thousands of people.

On Dec. 12, Biden commuted roughly 1,500 sentences and outright pardoned 39 more. Three days before he left office, the then-president commuted the sentence of nearly 2,500 federal inmates convicted of crack cocaine offenses. According to the Times, Biden approved what standards would be used to determine which convicts would qualify for a pardon or commutation, while his underlings sorted out the specifics. In cases where changes were made to the list of inmates, staffers waited until a final version of the clemency roster was produced, then ran it through the autopen rather than ask Biden to keep signing successive versions. President Trump has cast doubt on the legitimacy of the documents Biden signed via autopen—— which has been used since at least the Trump administration to reproduce the president’s signature.

“I understand why Trump would think that,” the former president told the Times,” because obviously, I guess, he doesn’t focus much. Anyway, so — yes, I made every decision.” Emails from a meeting held on the final night of Biden’s presidency, Jan. 19, indicate that the then-president decided to issue pre-emptive pardons to members of his family — including controversial first brother James Biden — with mere hours to go in his term. After messages summarizing the meeting circulated among top Biden advisers, Zients wrote in an email at 10:31 p.m.: “I approve the use of the autopen for the execution of all of the following pardons.” The autopen was managed by former staff secretary Stefanie Feldman, who put documents through the device. Feldman would receive “blurbs” or written accounts confirming that Biden supposedly gave the order to use the autopen, per the outlet.

But most of the time, the assistants who drafted those “blurbs” weren’t actually in the room to hear Biden give the orders, according to the New York Times. Still, Biden was adamant that he approved every high-profile pardon with aides, specifically noting Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “We know how vindictive Trump is, and I’ve no doubt they would have gone after Mark for no good reason,” Biden said. “The general, you know. So they may read off his name — what’d I want? I told them I wanted to make sure he had a pardon because I knew exactly what Trump would do — without any merit, I might add.” Biden, too, accused Republicans of lying about speculation that his subordinates abused the technology to try and hide his mental states.

“They’re liars. They know it. They know, for certain. I mean, this is — look, what they, they’ve had a pretty good thing going here. They’ve done so badly. They’ve lied so consistently about almost everything they’re doing,” he griped. “The best thing they can do is try to change the focus and focus on something else. And this is a — I think that’s what this is about.” Trump, for his part, recently claimed that Biden’s aides had committed “crimes” by using the autopen to “do anything they wanted.” “That’s a crime to do that to the country,” Trump said on The Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast hosted by Miranda Devine. “Well, number one, I really believe it was a crime because I don’t think he knew he was doing it. I think that people took over the autopen. They got things signed that shouldn’t have been signed.”

“It was people that surrounded that desk that operated the autopen. They surrounded the beautiful Resolute Desk,” Trump continued. “They are criminals, and what they did to our country should never be forgotten. And hopefully, as criminals, they’ll pay a price for what they do.” The Justice Department launched an investigation into the autopen controversy last month to probe whether any White House aides “abused the power of Presidential signatures.” The White House has also confirmed that Ed Martin, the head of an anti-weaponization working group, is probing whether Biden “was competent and whether others were taking advantage of him through use of AutoPen or other means.”

Meanwhile, House Republicans — led by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) — have started a separate inquiry into allegations of a White House cover-up involving aides who hid the president’s diminishing mental acuity from the public. Trump’s White House only allows two top aides — staff secretary Will Scharf and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — to use the autopen “for all matters,” according to an internal memo previously reported by The Post.

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1944605889962332374

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Toxic

IVM

Dragonfly

Cats

Emanuel
https://twitter.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status/1944402600255795268

Rube

 

 

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