Sep 092025
 


Utagawa Yoshitoshi Ariko weeps as her boat drifts in the moonlight 1886

 

Britain’s Spirit of Freedom Is Dying (Chris Queen)
French Government Collapses (RT)
French Debt A Danger To Eurozone – DW (RT)
EU Top Diplomat Kallas ‘Critically Uneducated’ – Moscow (RT)
Zelensky Claims ‘Victory’ Is Avoiding Total Loss Of Ukraine (RT)
Zelensky Has Insulted Trump. Is He Suicidal? (Romanenko)
Russia Has No Desire For Revenge – Lavrov (RT)
Orban Outlines EU Security ‘Guarantee’ Plan (RT)
Democrats ‘Hate’ Trump More Than They ‘Love’ Their Communities – Homan (DS)
‘The Politics Will Figure Itself Out’: JD Vance (Pero)
Days of Thunder (James Howard Kunstler)
Appeals Court Upholds E. Jean Carroll’s $83.3 Million Judgment Against Trump (ZH)
Trump Admin Asks Supreme Court to Allow Withholding of Foreign Aid Funds (ET)
Another Tremendous Supreme Court Victory for Trump! (Margolis)
Is the Western World Degenerating Into Communism? (Paul Craig Roberts)
Chuck Schumer Tested FAFO and the GOP Will Make Him Pay the Price (Margolis)
Did Johnson Really Say Trump Was an Informant Against Epstein? (Margolis)
Elite UK Divers Likely Behind Nord Stream Sabotage – Patrushev (RT)

 

 


https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1965073853576831472

https://twitter.com/TRUMP_ARMY_/status/1965058356647002444

100s of arrests for Palestine Action protesters. Banksy is quick. Just as quickly, a fence was erected in front of the artwork.
https://twitter.com/GBPolitcs/status/1965030113332056143

 

 

Nap Ritter

 

 

 

 

Britain itself is dying along with that spirit.

Britain’s Spirit of Freedom Is Dying (Chris Queen)

I’m writing this on the third anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. I still remember that day so distinctly since I was on breaking news watch for her certain passing. The death of such a long-reigning monarch was heartbreaking to the nation she led, but it was also a sad day for Anglophiles like me.I’ve been an Anglophile as long as I can remember. It’s literally in my DNA; the vast majority of my heritage comes from the British Isles. But British culture, entertainment, and politics have fascinated me for decades (although I have to admit that I’m not as enamored with the royal family after Elizabeth’s passing as some people are). British politics has gotten frustrating in recent years for true conservatives, and watching Britain slide into authoritarianism on free speech is something even a dyed-in-the-wool Anglophile like me can’t support. And I’m not alone.

Last week, Lee Cohen wrote a column in The Spectator that resonated deeply with me: “Today, for the first time, I find Britain indefensible. The affection and historical respect remains. The confidence is gone. Britain now prosecutes her own citizens, not for violence or treason, but for words. Lucy Connolly was sentenced to 31 months in prison for a tweet in the wake of the Southport murders last year. Her crime was expression, harsh perhaps, but still speech. This week, Graham Linehan, the award winning creator of Father Ted, was arrested at Heathrow Airport by armed officers for online comments defending women’s spaces. Arrested, by police carrying weapons, for his opinions. This is the country that gave the world John Stuart Mill.

“Such cases expose what Britain has become: a two tier system of justice. Those branded far right, nationalist, or Islamophobic are persecuted with zeal, Cohen added. Those spreading incendiary rhetoric from Islamist or minority factions are, all too often, met with indulgence. ” Cohen cited not just the crackdown on social media users who express conservative views, but also local governments cracking down on patriotic Britons who fly the Union Jack or St. George s Cross. The same nation that survived the Great Fire of London, the Blitz, and the Falklands War can t handle patriotism in the face of unchecked Muslim immigration. “Meanwhile, foreign flags fly freely across London without question, he wrote. The message is unmistakable: pride in your own country is suspect. Allegiance to any other is acceptable.”

He continued: “From abroad, the shift is impossible to ignore. Elon Musk has called Britain’s censorship Soviet style. JD Vance has condemned its crackdown on speech. The US State Department now lists Britain as a country presenting significant risks to free expression. I never imagined America would place Britain alongside nations that treat liberty as a nuisance. That day has come. For those of us who have long defended Britain, it is heartbreaking. This is the country whose strong institutions enabled America’s own rise and whose commitment to liberty inspired ours. Yet under its current leadership, Britain has stumbled into repression, constraint, and fear, where ordinary citizens look over their shoulders before speaking.”

Cohen appeared on The Spectator’s “Americano” podcast over the weekend, and he told host Freddy Gray that he’s never seen Americans as interested in British politics as they are right now. He mused whether Donald Trump’s Anglophilia and JD Vance’s earnest engagement with British politics might drive the two American leaders to urge the British government to stem the anti-free speech tide. It’s tempting to hope so, but it’s equally tempting to despair that Britain is too far gone. For someone who loves the British and their history and culture, I hope Britons can reverse course and return to shining as a beacon of freedom and hope to the world.

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Another PM gone. They go through them like candy.

Still, Macron stays. But: “..the latest Le Figaro poll showing nearly 80% of French no longer trust the president.”

The only person they trust is Marine Le Pen. Who is prohibited from running.

French Government Collapses (RT)

The French government has fallen after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou lost a crucial confidence vote in parliament on Monday. Bayrou is the second consecutive prime minister under President Emmanuel Macron to be ousted, throwing the nation into political and economic turmoil. A no-confidence motion in the National Assembly requires at least 288 votes to pass. Monday’s motion received 364 votes, with the left-wing New Popular Front and the right-wing National Rally uniting in opposition to end a months-long standoff over Bayrou’s austerity budget. Having previously survived eight no-confidence motions, Bayrou called this vote himself, in a bid to secure backing for proposals that forecast almost €44 billion ($52 billion) of savings to ease France’s debt burden before the budget is presented in October.

The prime minister, who has repeatedly warned that France’s national debt poses a “mortal danger” to the country, appeared to acknowledge his fate. In a bitter remark on Sunday, Bayrou lashed out at rival parties that he said “hate each other” yet joined forces “to bring down the government.” Bayrou is the second French prime minister in succession to be brought down following Michel Barnier’s ejection last December after just three months in office – and the sixth to serve under Macron since he was first elected in 2017. Bayrou’s ouster reportedly leaves the French president to choose between appointing a Socialist prime minister to steer a budget through parliament, effectively ceding control of domestic policy, or call snap elections that polls suggest favour Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.

With Macron’s approval ratings already hitting historic lows, either choice risks further weakening his presidency. Analysts warn that if markets lose confidence in France’s ability to rein in its deficit and mounting debt, the country could face turmoil reminiscent of the UK during the brief Liz Truss premiership. Public discontent with Macron’s leadership has deepened, with the latest Le Figaro poll showing nearly 80% of French no longer trust the president. Thousands marched through Paris at the weekend demanding Macron’s resignation and carrying placards reading ‘Let’s stop Macron’ and ‘Frexit.’

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Why Macron needs a war with Russia.

But be careful: he’s a Rothschild banker. He knows people.

French Debt A Danger To Eurozone – DW (RT)

France’s ballooning sovereign debt coupled with political infighting could threaten the fiscal stability of the Eurozone, Deutsche Welle has reported, citing an expert. France has one of the highest national debts in the EU, currently standing at €3.35 trillion ($3.9 trillion) — about 113% of GDP. The ratio is expected to climb to 125% by 2030. Its budget deficit is projected at 5.4–5.8% this year, well above the bloc’s 3% limit. Friedrich Heinemann of the ZEW Leibniz Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim, Germany, told the outlet in an article published on Saturday “we should be worried. The eurozone is not stable at this point.”

A drastic austerity plan proposed by French minority government Prime Minister Francois Bayrou triggered a no confidence vote that he lost on Monday evening. The plan involved slashing public sector jobs, curbing welfare spending, as well as axing two public holidays. The right-wing National Rally, the Socialists, and the leftist France Unbowed vehemently opposed the proposal. An Elabe poll ahead of the vote also showed most respondents were against the measures. Heinemann told DW he doubts France will find a way out soon, given the bitter political infighting.

In July, Bloomberg, citing ING Groep NV experts, similarly claimed that France’s rising debt could be a “ticking bomb” for EU financial stability. Despite the considerable budget deficit, France plans to hike military spending to €64 billion in 2027, double what the country spent in 2017. President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly cited a supposed Russian threat. The Kremlin has consistently dismissed the claims as “nonsense,” accusing the EU of rapidly militarizing. In May, member states approved a €150 billion ($169 billion) debt program for arms procurement.

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One job requirenent: hatred of Putin. Not even Russia, just Putin. Can we blame her for not knowing much else?

EU Top Diplomat Kallas ‘Critically Uneducated’ – Moscow (RT)

Remarks by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stereotyping Russians and Chinese expose her as “critically uneducated,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday. Speaking at an event organized by the EU Institute for Security Studies last week, Kallas argued that the two nations complement one another in their opposition to the West, describing Russians as strong in social sciences but weak in tech, and the Chinese as the reverse. “Chinese are very good at technology but they are not that good in social sciences,” Kallas said. “The Russians… are not good at technology at all, but super good in social sciences.” Zakharova mocked the remarks in a Telegram post, asking who built the Crimean Bridge or launched rockets from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome if it’s true that Russians lack technological expertise.

“On the same note, China would not be able to govern a billion citizens without being strong in social sciences,” Zakharova wrote. “Kallas is critically uneducated.” The top EU diplomat made the comments while lamenting Western disunity, in contrast to what she described as Russia and China’s unified front. She also claimed that when the two nations highlight their roles in defeating the Axis powers during World War II, it “raises a lot of question marks” for a person who knows history. Moscow has frequently accused officials in the EU of scapegoating Russia for the bloc’s internal problems, arguing that this rhetoric is used to divert public attention from their own failures.

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Russia never laid claim to all of Ukraine. So yeah, some victory. But it’s great media fodder, they eat it up, as do their readers and viewers. Who have no clue what really goes on. The same media made sure of that.

Zelensky Claims ‘Victory’ Is Avoiding Total Loss Of Ukraine (RT)

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to occupy the whole of the country, and that Kiev can claim “victory” in the conflict as long as this does not happen. Russia has long stressed that it has no intention of occupying Ukraine in full. Putin reiterated this when the conflict escalated in February 2022, and again later that year when Russian troops reached Kiev but then withdrew. Since then, Moscow has consistently said any peace settlement requires Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and recognition of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye as Russian territory. Zelensky, however, insisted in an interview with ABC News’ Martha Raddatz which aired on Sunday that Moscow’s ambitions go further.

“Putin’s goal is to occupy Ukraine, it is to destroy us… For him that’s victory,” he claimed. “And until he can do it, the victory is on our side… For us to survive is a victory.” He also accused Putin of “playing games” by holding a summit with US President Donald Trump in Alaska while allegedly refusing to meet with him, and claimed the Russian leader is not truly interested in peace. Putin and Trump met in Anchorage on August 15. Although the summit produced no breakthroughs, both sides described it as a positive step. Trump’s remarks afterward fueled speculation of a potential Putin-Zelensky meeting. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov later said no agreement had been reached, although Putin has not ruled out a meeting, despite questioning Zelensky’s legitimacy after his presidential term expired.

Putin has stressed, however, that talks can only occur after tangible progress in negotiations. Last week, Putin struck a cautiously optimistic note about the prospects for peace, saying “there is light at the end of the tunnel” given the US shift to peace mediation. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s aide on international economic affairs, echoed the sentiment on Sunday, saying that “peace is close precisely because of Trump-Putin dialogue.” On Sunday, Trump told reporters he planned further talks with Putin “over the next couple of days,” vowing “to get it done – the Russia-Ukraine situation” soon.

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“Ukraine is exhausting its people, its infrastructure, and its economy. If survival truly is the goal, then ending the war must be the only priority.”

Zelensky Has Insulted Trump. Is He Suicidal? (Romanenko)

In a weekend interview with ABC News, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky accused US President Donald Trump of giving Russian President Vladimir Putin “what he wanted” at the Alaska summit in August. Whether a passing complaint or a calculated jab, it may come at a steep cost for Zelensky. To suggest that Trump bent to Putin’s will is to imply weakness, and weakness is something Trump never tolerates being accused of. This rhetorical swipe was directed at a man who holds significant sway over the trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine war. For Zelensky, the insult may prove more damaging than cathartic.

Zelensky appears to believe that he has become indispensable in Trump’s calculations, that Washington’s policy revolves around Kiev’s demands. But this overstates his importance. Trump has been consistent about one priority: he wants the war to end, and more than that, he wants the US disentangled from it. His approach reflects the sentiment of much of the American public – weary of sending weapons and aid overseas while domestic problems fester. By framing Trump’s summit with Putin as a giveaway, Zelensky risks alienating the one Western leader positioned to actually shift the direction of the war. Trump is sensitive to personal slights. For years, allies and adversaries alike have learned that once he feels personally insulted, he hardens, not softens. To tell Trump, in effect, that he’s Putin’s stooge is to court precisely that reaction.

Trump’s efforts at the Alaska summit were grounded in a political reality that Zelensky refuses to acknowledge. The battlefield is not tilting in Kiev’s favor. Russia’s position, bolstered by sheer resources and strategic depth, is proving resilient. Ukraine’s European backers continue to speak in lofty terms of standing “as long as it takes,” but they lack the power to deliver a Ukrainian victory. Trump, by contrast, pursued a path that might actually move events forward: direct talks with Russia, engagement on security concerns, and the search for a negotiated framework. It is not an approach designed to satisfy Zelensky and the Europeans’ maximalist goals but rather one rooted in ending an exhausting conflict. To dismiss this effort as capitulation is to ignore that it may be the most realistic option still on the table.

In the same ABC interview, Zelensky says his vision for a Ukrainian victory is Ukraine’s survival. Yet his strategy as evident from his actions appears geared less toward survival and more toward dragging the war on for as long as possible. Each new demand for weapons, each new appeal for escalated sanctions, pushes the conflict forward without changing the battlefield reality of Russia grinding forward toward its objectives – and whatever Zelensky claims, total occupation of Ukraine is not one of those objectives. In the name of “survival,” Ukraine is exhausting its people, its infrastructure, and its economy. If survival truly is the goal, then ending the war must be the only priority. Right now, Trump has the best shot at it, because he is realistically engages with the interests of Russia – the side that has the clear upper hand on the battlefield. And Zelensky is pushing that opportunity away.

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“We have never turned away or pushed anyone out. Those who want back in are welcome..”

Russia Has No Desire For Revenge – Lavrov (RT)

Russia has no plans to exact vengeance on Western countries that cut ties and pressured Moscow over the Ukraine conflict, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Speaking at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations on Monday, Lavrov stressed that Russia did not intend to “take revenge or vent anger” on companies that decided to support Western governments in their push to support Kiev and impose economic sanctions on Moscow, adding that hostility is generally “a poor adviser.” “When our former Western partners come to their senses… we will not push them away. But we… will take into account that, having fled at the order of their political leaders, they have shown themselves to be unreliable,” the minister said.

According to Lavrov, any future market access would also depend on whether the companies would pose risks to sectors vital to Russia’s economy and security. The minister stressed that Russia is open to cooperation and has no intention to isolate itself. “We live on one small planet. It was Western-style to build Berlin Walls… We do not want to build any walls,” he said, referring to the symbol of the Cold War that split the German capital from 1961 to 1989. ”We want to work honestly, and if our partners are ready to do the same on the basis of equality and mutual respect, we are open to dialogue with everyone,” he said, pointing to the Alaska Summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, as an example of constructive engagement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, on Saturday, that Western businesses would be welcomed back if they had not supported the Ukrainian army and had met obligations to the state and their Russian staff, including paying due salaries. Putin this month also rejected isolationism, stressing that Russia would like to avoid closing itself off in a “national shell” as it would harm competitiveness. “We have never turned away or pushed anyone out. Those who want back in are welcome,” he added.

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“.. the outcome would only slightly differ from the pre-conflict balance, when Ukraine itself acted as a buffer between Russia and NATO with “50% influence” each..”

Orban Outlines EU Security ‘Guarantee’ Plan (RT)

Partitioning Ukraine into Russian and Western zones of influence is the likely outcome of the conflict and the only reliable guarantee of the EU’s security, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. Kiev has pressed its Western backers for security guarantees as a precondition for a settlement with Russia, first pushing for NATO membership and later floating ideas such as ‘peacekeepers’ and a buffer zone with Western military patrols. Moscow has rejected Ukrainian membership in NATO or Western troops on its territory, stressing that any settlement must include Kiev’s neutrality, demilitarization, and recognition of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye as Russian territory.

Orban, however, has suggested it is time for the West to acknowledge Russia’s “inevitable” military victory and to begin deciding how Ukraine should be partitioned. ”Europeans all so elegantly talk around security guarantees, but the security guarantee actually means the division of Ukraine,” Orban told guests at the annual Civic Picnic in Kotcse on Sunday. “The first step has already been taken – the Westerners have accepted that a Russian zone exists.” He referred to earlier remarks by US President Donald Trump that Ukraine regaining Crimea was “impossible.”“The result would be a Russian zone, a demilitarized zone and, eventually, a Western zone…The only question is how many kilometers away from the border of the Russian zone a demilitarized zone should be established,” he stated.

Orban noted the outcome would only slightly differ from the pre-conflict balance, when Ukraine itself acted as a buffer between Russia and NATO with “50% influence” each in the country. He said this division would help end the conflict and benefit all sides, particularly the EU, which he warned is on the verge of “collapse” and lacks the means to fund the conflict further. The Hungarian leader has long criticized Brussels over its “warmongering” stance on Russia and support for Ukraine. In his speech, he repeated his warning that Ukraine’s EU accession would trap the bloc in a permanent conflict with Moscow, calling instead for an EU-Russia security pact.

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“.. they’re sanctuary cities and they’re releasing criminals every hour, so that’s where we’re going,” Homan said. “That’s where we’re going to flood the zone.”

Democrats ‘Hate’ Trump More Than They ‘Love’ Their Communities – Homan (DS)

Trump administration border czar Tom Homan says Democrat leaders in sanctuary states and cities hate President Donald Trump more than they care for their communities. Homan spoke to the State Freedom Caucus Network Summit in Dallas, Texas, Friday night and reiterated the plan to deport illegal aliens in Chicago. While Democrats say Trump is targeting Democrat run cities for political reasons, Homan said that’s not the case. “It’s not because they’re blue, it’s because they’re sanctuary cities and they’re releasing criminals every hour, so that’s where we’re going,” Homan said. “That’s where we’re going to flood the zone.”

Weeks ago, Homan had said they will “flood the zone” with immigration enforcement in Chicago. Last month, Trump said he would send in the National Guard to address public safety, but later hedged that and insisted Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker call for help. Pritzker said he would not call Trump to ask for help, saying there is not an emergency. Saturday, Trump posted a graphic to Truth Social, depicting him as a character in the film Apocalypse Now, but it said “Chipocalypse Now,” “I love the smell of deportations in the morning” and “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” Pritzker posted on social media in response that “this is not a joke” and “this is not normal.”

Pritzker and other Democratic leaders also posted on social media over the weekend “know your rights” campaign messaging, with tips like remaining calm, denying entry without a warrant, remaining silent, and declining to sign anything. Homan tried to make sense of the Democrats’ resistance to cooperating with ICE. “They hate President Trump more than they love their communities, there’s no other reason,” Homan said. “I can’t think of why you would not join forces with us.” Illinois law prohibits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials. State law also prohibits police from inquiring about an individual’s immigration status. Pritzker said if Trump deploys the National Guard in Chicago, they will immediately take the administration to court.

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Peter Thiel and four different names. That’s JD Vance.

‘The Politics Will Figure Itself Out’: JD Vance (Pero)

Vice President JD Vance joined “My View with Lara Trump” Saturday where he discussed everything from his best-selling book “Hillbilly Elegy” to whether he will run for president in 2028. Since it’s been 10 years since Vance wrote “Hillbilly Elegy,” he reminisced on his life before he became vice president of the United States. “I was raised by a grandmother who—we didn’t go to church a whole lot—but she prayed everyday. She read the Bible everyday, and she gave me this sense that there was some purpose to this. We might not understand it. God works in mysterious ways, but there was some deeper meaning to what we were experiencing, and that gave me the perseverance to go through it.” Vance said a major motivation for him growing up was knowing his grandmother was very sick and that someone was going to have to step up and hold the family together when she was gone.

“I kind of wanted that person to be me. I wanted to be the person in my family that other people could rely on.” Vance said his wife Usha Vance is starting to “hit her stride” as second lady, getting involved in projects like John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and children’s literacy. Usha is the anchor of their family, Vance said, and she’s making sure their children are having as normal a life as possible as their family’s life has drastically changed with Secret Service protection and living in the vice president’s residence. “This is really weird for the kids. This is really weird for the whole family unit. [Usha’s] main job more than anything else is just to make the kids have as normal a life as possible.

She makes us do normal family stuff as much as possible.” When it comes to working with President Donald Trump, Vance said there are so many surprising things. One surprise has been that Trump “doesn’t have an off switch.” “Sometimes the president will call you at 12:30 or 2:00 in the morning, and then he’ll call you at 6:00 in the morning about a totally different topic.” Trump is also very good about delegating work, empowering his people to do it, and also trusting them to do the work, Vance said. “What’s made this so much fun is that the president all the time is just saying, ‘JD, you go and do this,’ or ‘JD, you go and talk to these leaders about this particular issue … You don’t have to have me looking over you all the time.’”

When it comes to the 2028 presidential election, many people are viewing Vance as a top Republican candidate. Vance said there are a lot of great people and that if he does decide to run, the job won’t be handed to him “either on the Republican side or on the national side.” “I don’t like thinking about it because I like thinking about the job that I have right now,” Vance said. He added that he thinks ”the American people are so fed up with folks who are already running for the next job seven months into the current one.” “If we do a good job in 2025 and 2026, then we can talk about the politics in 2027,” Vance said. “I’m going to try to do my best job, and I think if I do that, the politics will figure itself out.”

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“If we hadn’t won this election we would have all been vaxxed to death and censored so no one could hear our dying screams” — Mike Benz on “X”

Days of Thunder (James Howard Kunstler)

That reckoning you’ve heard about lo these many years? It’s here now. We’re in it. You just can’t see all the moving parts, and if you did, you might not understand how or where they are moving, and what they are fixing to do next. Aside from certain US senators playing their pre-scripted mad scenes for the cameras, a disquieting quiet blankets the swamp like a miasma. It feels like a long, still moment before some shaking of the earth. Everyone senses it and the guilty must feel it most keenly.

That’s why they are laying low and keeping their traps shut. Every criminal defense lawyer inside the beltway is burning the midnight oil (and racking up the billable hours, ka-ching). Meanwhile, where are their clients? No longer peddling alibis on MSNBC (MSNOW), at least. I doubt that John Brennan is even in the country. My guess would be he’s cooling his heels in Abu Dhabi, where the extradition protocols with the USA remain comfortably squishy to his advantage. (He reportedly became a Muslim while running the CIA station in Riyadh between 1996-99, just in time for 9-11. . . hmmmm. . . .)

Hillary Clinton has been keeping her pie-hole closed for weeks now while rattling around that big house in Chappaqua, NY, like a BB in a packing crate. Is anyone counting the wine-boxes coming and going from the place? It must be maddening to be HRC — but that new extra edge of prosecution terror would just be larding the lily, considering what Vlad Putin learned about her mental state way back in 2016: deeply unstable. . .diabetic. . . on tranqs. . . often plastered. . . bursts of rage. . . . Comey and Clapper? No more cute pranks on the beach for Big Jim, 86 on the menacing messages in seashells and putting out Taylor Swift fan-boy Tik-toks. Was that some attempt to not be taken seriously? Like you’re some kind of overgrown, harmless child?

James Clapper, of course, would be voted most likely to flip on his compadres, if such a canvass were taken on Coup island. He was the first to publicly announce his lawyering-up in the Russia collusion affair. He never expected it would come to this, this ordeal of interrogation. . . his “good soldier” self plopped ignominiously in the witness chair. . . the odor of his own fear. . . the proffer (just tell us what really happened). . . the US attorneys appearing to leer at him, his house mortgaged to pay the attorney’s fees. . . what’s a poor boy to do. . . ?

Adam Schiff has gone radio silent. A miracle! Alas, the autopen pardon granted for his J-6 Committee doings apparently does not apply to matters such as mortgage fraud and wire fraud. He realizes with chills and sighs of despair that this ain’t no foolin’ around. People go to jail for these things. . . gulp! His attorney absolutely forbids any televised appeals to his fan-base, as if the glamorati of Rodeo Drive could do anything to stop what’s coming. Too bad Ed Buck and his magic checkbook are no longer around.

Even the seeming untouchables, Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Lisa Monaco, Norm Eisen, Mary McCord, Anrew Weissmann, Marc Elias must be listening hard for shoes to drop. They thought they had it made in the shade after 2020. They had the USA on a string, they thought. Home free. The trouble with the smarty-pants way of life is sometimes you out-smart yourself and your pants fall down. But all they can do in this late hour is induce a bunch of federal judges — recently imported from countries where justice means casting goat neckbones across the dusty floor of a mud hut — to gum up every executive action coming out of the White House with a poorly-argued TRO. They might as well be on a U-haul box truck throwing furniture off the back at a fleet of pursuing cop cars.

Mr. Trump is having sport with them now. Their crimes spanning the decade past are being bundled into one big coup case against the country, a color revolution on their own citizens and against “the democracy” that they never stop pretending to tout. If I am perceiving all this correctly, the days and weeks ahead will be as consequential a train of events as ever rolled down the tracks into Union Station, DC.

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“.. even though a jury ruled that she lied about her rape allegations..”

“.. has reportedly accused at least six prior men of raping her..”

Appeals Court Upholds E. Jean Carroll’s $83.3 Million Judgment Against Trump (ZH)

A federal appeals court has upheld a civil jury’s finding that President Donald Trump must pay $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll for his repeated social media attacks against the longtime advice columnist after she accused him of sexual assault – even though a jury ruled that she lied about her rape allegations. Carroll, whose advice column ran in the women’s magazine Elle from 1993 to 2019, has reportedly accused at least six prior men of raping her, including former CBS President Les Moonves. Her bizarre social-media history also included posts making light of sexual trauma and even asking her followers if they found Trump sexually attractive. Trump was prevented from submitting that evidence in his trial.

Despite her dubious track record, on Monday the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump’s appeal of the defamation award, finding that the “jury’s damages awards are fair and reasonable.” Trump had argued that he should not have to pay the sum as a result of a Supreme Court decision expanding presidential immunity. His lawyers had asked for a new trial. A civil jury in Manhattan issued the $88.3 million award last year following a trial that centered on Trump’s repeated social media attacks against Carroll over her claims that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store in 1996. That award followed a separate trial, in which Trump was found liable for sexually abusing Carroll and ordered to pay $5 million.

That award was upheld by an appeals court last December. In a memoir, and again at a 2023 trial, Carroll described how a chance encounter with Trump at Bergdorf Goodman’s Fifth Avenue in 1996 started with the two flirting as they shopped, then ended with a violent struggle inside a dressing room. Carroll said Trump slammed her against a dressing room wall, pulled down her tights and forced himself on her. A jury found Trump liable for sexual assault, but concluded he hadn’t committed rape, as defined under New York law. Trump repeatedly denied that the encounter took place and accused Carroll of making it up to help sell her book. He also said that Carroll was “not my type.”

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Lawfare at its finest.

“Solicitor General D. John Sauer said in the new application that this is the third time in this case that Ali “has issued an unlawful injunction that precipitates an unnecessary emergency and needless interbranch conflict.”

Trump Admin Asks Supreme Court to Allow Withholding of Foreign Aid Funds (ET)

The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 8 to permit it to withhold billions of dollars in foreign aid previously authorized by Congress. The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the justices to pause a ruling by U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, who ordered the federal government to spend about $4 billion in previously appropriated funds. The money is earmarked for foreign aid and United Nations peacekeeping projects. The emergency application was filed in two cases, Trump v. Global Health Council, and U.S. Department of State v. AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalitions. Solicitor General D. John Sauer said in the new application that this is the third time in this case that Ali “has issued an unlawful injunction that precipitates an unnecessary emergency and needless interbranch conflict.”

In February, Ali gave the federal government 36 hours to pay roughly $2 billion in invoices for past foreign-aid work, which Sauer called “an impossible task,” and one that the judge lacked authority to order. The Supreme Court ended the dispute by granting an administrative stay, a court order that gives the justices more time to consider a matter. After the deadline was lifted, the government paid “virtually all of the contested amounts,” Sauer said. Next, Ali issued a “novel injunction requiring the government to obligate tens of billions of dollars in foreign-aid appropriations on the theory that failing to do so constituted an unlawful impoundment in violation of the Constitution and the Impoundment Control Act of 1974,” Sauer said. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit lifted that injunction and that court allowed its ruling to come into effect on Aug. 28, Sauer said.

Now that its original theory has been “decisively rejected,” the district court precipitated a new emergency “by issuing a version of the same injunction near midnight on September 3,” Sauer stated. Again, the district court is forcing the government to obligate about $10.5 billion in foreign-aid funding that was due to expire on Sept. 30, according to Sauer. But now the government has been left “with even less time for further review or compliance, with even more deficient legal theories,” Sauer said. Sauer said the government already intended to obligate $6.5 billion of that funding by Sept. 30, but Ali’s order regarding the remaining $4 billion “raises a grave and urgent threat to the separation of powers,” a constitutional doctrine that divides the government into three branches to prevent any single branch from accumulating too much power.

After the D.C. Circuit canceled Ali’s injunction, the president proposed rescinding that $4 billion in funding under the Impoundment Control Act. Under fast-track procedures, Congress has 45 days to consider the rescission request and during that period the president cannot be required to spend the money, Sauer said. Ali’s new injunction would compel the Executive Branch to begin “obligating those funds at breakneck speed to meet the September 30 deadline, even as Congress is considering the rescission proposal” and before Congress’s 45 days to do so elapse, Sauer said. A panel of the D.C. Circuit denied by a vote of 2–1 a stay of the judge’s order late on Sept. 5, Sauer added.

Also on Sept. 8, Global Health Council and other litigants that want the $4 billion to be released filed a brief opposing the government’s application for an administrative stay of Ali’s order. “The government’s theory that the agencies need not comply with enacted legislation mandating that they spend funds, because the President has unilaterally proposed legislation to rescind those statutory mandates, would fundamentally upend our constitutional structure,” the brief reads. It is unclear when the Supreme Court will act on the government’s application.

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“The order, crafted to appease immigration activists, accused officers of running “roving patrols” and floated the idea that their actions violated the Fourth Amendment. But on Monday, the Supreme Court wasn’t buying it.”

Another Tremendous Supreme Court Victory for Trump! (Margolis)

The Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a major victory on Monday, greenlighting his push for tougher immigration enforcement in Los Angeles. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court lifted a lower-court injunction that had barred federal agents from conducting raids without what the judge had called “reasonable suspicion.” With that order gone, Trump’s record-setting deportation efforts are back on track. The liberal justices predictably fumed in their dissent, warning of supposed risks to “constitutional freedoms,” blah, blah blah. But the conservative majority was having none of that garbage. For now, immigration agents can resume their sweeping operations while the case winds through the courts—a clear sign that Trump’s agenda won’t be derailed by activist judges.

Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in Monday’s decision that the lower court’s restraining order went too far in restricting how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents could carry out stops or questioning of suspected unlawful migrants. “To be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion,” he wrote. “However, it can be a ‘relevant factor’ when considered along with other salient factors.” The Supreme Court’s three liberal justices issued a strong dissent penned by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote that “countless people in the Los Angeles area have been grabbed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed simply because of their looks, their accents, and the fact they make a living by doing manual labour.” “Today, the Court needlessly subjects countless more to these exact same indignities,” she wrote.

The decision undoes a ruling by US District Judge Maame E Frimpong in Los Angeles, who had said that there is a “mountain of evidence” showing the raids were violating the US Constitution. Back in July, Judge Frimpong tried to hamstring immigration enforcement by ordering Trump’s raids halted. His ruling claimed the administration couldn’t rely on “apparent race or ethnicity” or “speaking Spanish” as grounds for questioning someone. He even barred agents from acting based on whether individuals were found at bus stops, farms, or car washes—places long known as hubs for illegal labor. The order, crafted to appease immigration activists, accused officers of running “roving patrols” and floated the idea that their actions violated the Fourth Amendment. But on Monday, the Supreme Court wasn’t buying it.

The justices ruled 6-3, that Trump’s policies stand a strong chance of being upheld as constitutional, clearing the way for raids to continue. Trump’s crackdown began in June with large-scale raids in Los Angeles at places like Home Depot and other worksites. Predictably, activists launched protests that quickly spiraled into unrest. Trump responded by deploying nearly 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines after California’s Democrat leadership refused to act. This ruling is more than just a win for Trump—it’s a crushing humiliation for Gavin Newsom. The California governor spent weeks smugly touting the lower court injunction as proof that Trump had been reined in by the courts. He mocked the president, framing the lower-court order as a permanent roadblock to ICE enforcement, like this post on X that didn’t age well at all:

Now, with the Supreme Court’s decisive smackdown, Newsom is left looking foolish and powerless. His big talking point has evaporated overnight, replaced by the hard reality that Trump’s immigration agenda is moving forward stronger than ever.

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“Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is communism.”

Is the Western World Degenerating Into Communism? (Paul Craig Roberts)

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is communism. During the past year I have read on various websites articles that the West has become the Communist State that it once opposed. Various legitimate examples are offered: the use of law as a weapon as in Stalin’s show trials of the Bolsheviks who made the Russian Revolution; suppression of free speech and protest as all over the Western world; fake election results as in the 2020 US presidential election and in Europe by banning opposition candidates from running for office; focus on “foreign enemies” instead of the domestic institutionalization of tyranny; designation of Trump’s supporters as domestic enemies and insurrectionists. As of yet, no one has put all of these concerns into one formula. Allow me to try.

For 60 years liberals have transitioned the United States from merit to race and gender based entitlements. The United States, whose foundational basis is English common law and the accountability of government achieved by the English Glorious Revolution of 1680, has been beset by progressives and liberals for many decades for being a society based on merit and equality under law. Equality under law requires just that and thus prohibits DEI-based preferences. A merit-based society allows and encourages those best able and qualified to take the leading positions. But this excludes those less capable and, thereby, violates “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” which the liberal-left has raised as the new standard. The “solution” is to put the less capable in charge.

This requires demonizing merit as “racist” which has resulted in merit no longer being the requirement for admissions to Ivy League universities and formerly merit-based high schools. Instead, admission is based on racial privilege. Progressives and liberals since the regime of Franklin D. Roosevelt have succeeded in elevating DEI above merit, today dismissed as “white racism.” The entire purpose of the Democrat Party is to destroy a merit-based society. Trump is hated by the liberal-left for trying to restore a merit-based society. For the liberal-left merit is discriminatory and thereby racist. To escape racism, DEI must supplant merit as the basis of American society. DEI is the Democrat Party’s weapon to overthrow a merit-based society. Communism precludes incomes, influence, and status based on merit in theory but not in practice.

In practice, Communist Party membership was the ladder to upward mobility. But for ideologues it is theory that counts. Under communism equality regardless of merit is the standard. Capitalistic, bourgeois society is based on merit with income, influence, and status based on success. Therefore a merit-based society precludes equal results. A merit-based society is “unfair” in the modern parlance. A fair society is one in which merit receives no reward and is handicapped by preferences for those who are without merit. Kurt Vonnegut describes the liberal-left ideal in his short story, “Harrison Bergeron.” Vonnegut thought it would be 2081 before the American liberal-left would be able to establish the Cabinet Department of Handicapper General. But the transition began in 1965 when the EEOC stood the 1964 Civil Rights Act on its head and imposed racial preferences for blacks known as “affirmative action.”

These preferences were explicitly prohibited by the 1964 Civil Right Act. But the American liberal-left elevated its ideological agenda above the law. Such a society will, of course, be mediocre and a laggard in intellectual and cultural advancement. But as such advancements are merit-based, they don’t count. DEI is achieved when individual achievement becomes a criminal offense against society. In Vonnegut’s story, Harrison Bergeron is shot by the Handicapper General. I once read a science fiction story in which at a certain age children were tested for intelligence. If their intelligence was above the norm, they were terminated. Already today September 8th, 2025, we have laws or regulations that penalize merit-based admission, hiring, and promotion decisions and criminalize disagreement with some official narratives, such as the Holocaust.

Various Democrat cities have passed laws that give legal immunities to non-whites. Yet the West continues to claim free speech–obviously a false claim–and to redefine equality under law as equality of result. As free speech guaranteed by the American Constitution is now impermissible, how does truth survive? As truth is impermissible, how can good decisions be made? As recent decades have made completely clear, good decisions cannot be made in the Western world. Enemies are created instead of peace. Law breakers are protected while their victims are punished. Borders are undefended at the expense of the ethnic citizens of the country. As the immigrant invasions continue, the more entitlement takes over from merit and the less Western governments represent their ethnic base. Thus we have arrived at The Camp of the Saints.

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“The solution they’ve crafted draws inspiration from an unlikely source—a 2023 proposal by Democrat Amy Klobuchar that would allow up to 10 nominees from the same committee to be confirmed together.”

Chuck Schumer Tested FAFO and the GOP Will Make Him Pay the Price (Margolis)

Chuck Schumer is about to learn the hard way what happens when you block and stall for too long. After seven months of throwing a tantrum and holding up more than 100 of President Trump’s nominees, the Senate Minority Leader’s obstruction has finally pushed Republicans to the breaking point. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has had enough, and he’s preparing to unleash the nuclear option to break Schumer’s blockade, ram through confirmations, and get Trump’s team in place before the September 19 recess. In Washington, this is FAFO politics at its finest—Schumer tested his luck, and now he’s about to pay the price.

As PJ Media previously reported back in August, Thune has warned that Republicans would change the rules if Democrats refused to cooperate on speeding up confirmations. Schumer chose to ignore those warnings, apparently believing he could continue his obstruction indefinitely without consequences. That calculation is about to prove spectacularly wrong. After negotiations with Democrats predictably went nowhere, Thune assembled a working group in August featuring Republican Senators Katie Britt, James Lankford, Ron Johnson, Eric Schmitt, and Ted Budd. Their mission was simple: find a way around the Democratic roadblock. The solution they’ve crafted draws inspiration from an unlikely source—a 2023 proposal by Democrat Amy Klobuchar that would allow up to 10 nominees from the same committee to be confirmed together.

The Republican version promises to be far more comprehensive, removing artificial caps on how many nominees the Senate can confirm simultaneously. While judges and Cabinet nominees would remain exempt from this streamlined process, the change represents a fundamental shift in how the Senate handles executive branch confirmations. Schumer’s obstruction strategy has been as petty as it is unprecedented. He openly told The Wall Street Journal that he would instruct his entire caucus to vote against every single Trump nominee, effectively grinding the confirmation process to a halt. In August, he actually bragged about his caucus’s commitment to delaying Trump’s confirmations as long as humanly possible.

The numbers show just how far Democrats have taken their obstruction campaign. Trump is now the first president since Herbert Hoover—almost 100 years ago—to have zero civilian nominees confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent in the early months of his term. That’s not politics as usual; that’s pure spite. Of course, Chuck Schumer is out there defending this nonsense, claiming Trump’s picks are somehow “flawed” or “unqualified.” That’s rich coming from the party that shoved through Xavier Becerra, Pete Buttigieg, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—not to mention a slew of judicial nominees who couldn’t answer basic questions about the law. Republicans have seen this game before, and it looks like they’re finally ready to call Schumer’s bluff. For context, during Trump’s first term, 65 percent of his civilian nominees were approved by voice vote or unanimous consent. Biden managed 57 percent.

Today, only Secretary of State Marco Rubio has slipped past the Democrats’ blockade. That tells you everything you need to know about how shamelessly the left is weaponizing the confirmation process. Republicans aren’t thrilled about using the nuclear option, fully aware that this rule change will eventually benefit Democrats when they next control both the Senate and White House. But make no mistake: this is the inevitable result of the Democrats’ years-long weaponization of the confirmation process, dating back to George W. Bush’s presidency. If the nuclear option is invoked, it’s on them. Chuck Schumer built this trap with nothing but raw partisan spite, and now he’s about to feel the consequences. The nuclear option is coming, and it’s entirely his doing.

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“The Speaker is reiterating what the victims’ attorney said, which is that Donald Trump — who kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago — was the only one, more than a decade ago, willing to help prosecutors expose Epstein for being a disgusting child predator..”

Did Johnson Really Say Trump Was an Informant Against Epstein? (Margolis)

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dropped a bombshell last week, only to take a cautious step back just days later. When CNN’s Manu Raju pressed him on President Donald Trump’s use of the word “hoax” regarding the controversy over the Epstein files, Johnson said that the president had once acted as an FBI informant against Jeffrey Epstein — a fresh detail in the saga. “What Trump is referring to is the hoax that the Democrats are using to try to attack him,” Johnson explained. “He has never said or suggested or implied; I’ve talked to him about this many times, many times. He is horrified. It’s been misrepresented. He’s not saying that what Epstein did is a hoax. It’s a terrible, unspeakable evil. He believes that himself.”

Johnson also recalled Trump’s decision years ago to ban Epstein from Mar-a-Lago, and that’s when he made the claim. “When he first heard the rumor, he kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago. He was an FBI informant to try to take this stuff down,” Johnson said, effectively revealing for the first time that Trump had cooperated with federal authorities in efforts to stop Epstein. On Sunday, Johnson’s office tried to clarify the remarks with a carefully worded statement. “The Speaker is reiterating what the victims’ attorney said, which is that Donald Trump — who kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago — was the only one, more than a decade ago, willing to help prosecutors expose Epstein for being a disgusting child predator,” Johnson’s office said, according to a report from the Washington Post.

We already knew that Trump was one of the few people willing to stand against Epstein’s depravity, but the revelation that Trump was an informant was a game-changing new detail. It’s not lost on me that the statement the Washington Post printed doesn’t actually retract the claim, but it doesn’t double down on it either. For years, Democrats have tried to turn the Epstein saga into a Trump scandal because they know many of their own allies have deep ties to Epstein. When they controlled the White House and Congress, they did squat about releasing Epstein files or pursuing real transparency. The Epstein scandal suddenly became the Left’s favored weapon only after Biden’s administration ignored it for so long. Now, they want to drag it out as a smear against Trump in the hopes of creating a distraction to derail his second term. Classic political maneuvering.

Johnson’s “informant” comment touched a nerve because it challenged the left’s carefully constructed lie. Did Trump formally inform on Epstein, or did he simply cooperate with authorities? The difference might matter to the media vultures and political spin doctors, but the real takeaway is Trump’s stance against Epstein, which includes kicking him out of Mar-a-Lago for inappropriate behavior and assisting authorities in exposing Epstein. Whether or not he was an actual FBI informant is unclear, but the Democrats still look foolish trying to make Epstein a Trump scandal.

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Just yesterday, another German report claimed it was Ukrainians. The particular novelty this time (every report needs one) is that it claims Zaluzhny was in charge.

Why do they do this? To cast doubt on Seymour Hersh’s report. They never say he’s wrong, or even mention him, it’s just an endless stream of “different” stories.

Elite UK Divers Likely Behind Nord Stream Sabotage – Patrushev (RT)

The sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines could not have been carried out without Western commandos, a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed, singling out Britain as the likely culprit. German prosecutors have attributed the explosions in international waters in September 2022, which disabled the twin pipelines supplying Russian gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea, to a group of Ukrainian nationals. In an article published Sunday in Kommersant, the former head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Nikolay Patrushev, argued that Ukrainians lack the expertise to carry out this complex operation independently.

The sabotage was likely “planned, overseen, and executed with the involvement of highly trained NATO special forces,” Patrushev wrote, adding that the perpetrators were experienced in deep-sea operations and familiar with working in the Baltic.“Few armies or intelligence services have divers capable of executing such an operation correctly and, above all, covertly. One unit with the necessary skills is the British Special Boat Service,” he said. Founded during World War II, the SBS is the Royal Navy’s elite squad specializing in amphibious warfare. Russia has criticized the German investigation for a lack of transparency and for not including the Russian authorities. In 2024, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service claimed it had “credible information” that the US and UK were directly involved in the sabotage, a claim denied by both London and Washington.

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https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1964729425863282789

fauci

https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1964927875116925373
https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1965081470231511305

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Sep 082025
 
 September 8, 2025  Posted by at 10:06 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  48 Responses »


Banksy Bataclan emergency door 2018

 

Putin and Trump ‘Will Prevent WWIII’ – Kremlin Envoy Dmitriev (RT)
Macron’s Government Is Collapsing. Ukraine Should Worry (RT)
Putin Notes an Underlying Issue Within Ukraine that Impedes Negotiation (CTH)
Peace in Ukraine ‘Easier Without Brussels Hawks Fueling War’ (Sp.)
Orban: EU’s Next 7-Year Budget to Become Last One If Bloc Does Not Change (Sp.)
THE CAMP OF THE SAINTS (Paul Craig Roberts)
Trump Astride at 7 Months (Victor Davis Hanson)
Truth About CV19 Vax Awakens Public – Karen Kingston (USAW)
Thoughts on Robert F Kennedy Jr Congressional Testimony (CTH)
Trump Threatens ‘War’ On Chicago Over Immigration (RT)
29 Million Deaths Linked To EU and US Sanctions (RT)
US in ‘Very Deep Negotiations’ With Hamas to End Gaza Conflict – Trump (ET)
Globalists’ Attacks on Russia Linked to Its Rich Natural Resources – Dmitriev (Sp.)
Gold & Silver Sniffing Out Risk & Fear – Bill Holter (USAW)
Bessent Doubles Down On Tariffs, Predicts Economic Surge (ZH)
Once Were Relevant (el gato malo)

 

 

BLM

Optimus

Conor
https://twitter.com/CilComLFC/status/1964731216751648805

Chicago
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1964735109900439575

 

 

 

 

Do let’s start the day, and the week, with some optimism.

Putin and Trump ‘Will Prevent WWIII’ – Kremlin Envoy Dmitriev (RT)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, are bringing the end of the Ukraine conflict closer, Kirill Dmitriev, a presidential aide on international economic affairs, has said. He added that the diplomatic efforts of the two men could prevent World War III. Dmitriev, who is also the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, wrote on X on Saturday: “Stalin, Roosevelt & Churchill won WWII. Putin & Trump will prevent WWIII.” He accompanied his post with a picture of the Soviet, US, and British leaders made during the historic 1945 Yalta Conference, which laid the foundations for the post-war order after the defeat of Nazi Germany.

https://twitter.com/kadmitriev/status/1964424166498619598?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1964424166498619598%7Ctwgr%5E4cb35d87737794ec695f4472c5464573d6efc307%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rt.com%2Frussia%2F624235-putin-trump-prevent-wwiii%2F

He also pushed back against former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, who suggested that Moscow is not serious about negotiations to end the conflict and urged more Western weapons for Ukraine. “Wrong. Peace is close precisely because of Trump-Putin dialogue. Idiotic [former US President Joe] Biden’s approaches failed. Isolation attempts failed. Sanctions failed. Dialogue, respect, understanding each other, problem-solving to find [a] long-term solution is the way,” Dmitriev said. Breaking a long hiatus in top-level talks between the US and Russia, Putin and Trump have held several phone conversations and met face-to-face in Alaska in mid-August.

While no ceasefire agreement was reached at the Alaska summit, the two sides praised the engagement as highly productive. Following the talks, Trump said that Ukraine cannot hope to join NATO or reclaim Crimea. On Friday, Putin struck a cautiously optimistic tone about the prospects for ending the conflict, noting that “there is light at the end of the tunnel,” but noted that if no diplomatic solution is found, “we will have to reach all the goals through arms.” Moscow has insisted that a sustainable resolution to the conflict is possible only if Ukraine commits to neutrality, demilitarization, denazification, and recognizes the new territorial reality on the ground.

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“Kiev’s guarantees are cast into doubt, and Moscow can argue convincingly that Europe’s talk of peace is inseparable from its rush to militarize.”

Macron’s Government Is Collapsing. Ukraine Should Worry (RT)

France’s government is once again on the verge of collapse. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou faces near-certain defeat in a confidence vote over a disputed austerity plan, a showdown that threatens President Emmanuel Macron’s authority at home and casts doubt on Paris’ ability to deliver on its ambitious promises abroad – including security guarantees for Ukraine.

France in meltdown – how bad is it this time? Bayrou has staked his survival on a confidence vote scheduled for Monday, September 8. At issue is an austerity package worth €44 billion, meant to shrink France’s deficit from 5.4% of GDP in 2025 toward 4.6% in 2026. Under EU fiscal rules, the official ceiling is 3%, so Brussels is pressuring Paris to cut deeper. But the plan – which includes reducing public holidays and raising healthcare contributions – has triggered anger at home. Trade unions are preparing strikes, while opposition parties from the far left to the far right have pledged to vote against Bayrou. With his government already in a minority, few in Paris believe he can survive.

Macron’s friend, savior, or dead weight? Francois Bayrou is one of the most familiar names in French politics. He leads the centrist Democratic Movement (MoDem) and has been mayor of the city of Pau since 2014. Back in 2017, his endorsement was crucial for Macron, giving the then-upstart candidate credibility in the political center. As president, Macron briefly made him justice minister, and after Michel Barnier was forced out in late 2024, Bayrou was elevated to prime minister to hold together Macron’s fragile coalition. But with his budget collapsing and support evaporating, the man once hailed as a stabilizer is now being blamed for dragging Macron further into crisis.

How did one budget plan blow up the PM’s career? In France, governments can invoke Article 49.3 of the Constitution to force a bill through the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, without a vote. The mechanism has existed since 1958 and is legal, but risky: once Article 49.3 is triggered, opposition lawmakers have 24 hours to file a no-confidence motion. If that motion passes, the government falls. Bayrou’s decision to use 49.3 turned his €44 billion austerity plan into a survival gamble. Bayrou chose confrontation over compromise. By tying his austerity program directly to a confidence vote, he hoped to project resolve. The package included unpopular measures such as cutting public holidays and raising healthcare charges. Instead of rallying deputies behind him, the move united nearly every opposition faction. The far-right National Rally, the Socialists, and the leftist France Unbowed all declared they would vote him out, filing no-confidence motions that set up a showdown on Monday. What was meant to be a show of strength turned into political suicide.

Macron without Bayrou – what’s left of his power? If Bayrou falls, Macron is left exposed: he’s going to have to pick between two bad options. He can install a Socialist prime minister to get a budget through parliament, effectively conceding control of domestic policy. Or he can gamble on snap elections, which polls suggest would hand more seats to Le Pen’s National Rally. With Macron’s approval ratings already scraping historic lows, either choice would deepen the sense of a weakened presidency. Commentators warn that if markets lose confidence in France’s ability to control its 5.4% of GDP deficit and 110% debt-to-GDP ratio, the country could face a crisis reminiscent of Britain’s “mini-budget” turmoil under Liz Truss.

Where does Bayrou actually stand on Ukraine? On foreign policy, Bayrou has been a vocal supporter of Kiev. In March 2025, he openly criticized Washington for pushing Ukraine to negotiate peace with Moscow, calling such demands “unbearable.” He argued that pushing concessions would humiliate Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and amount to rewarding Russia. Inside Macron’s government, Bayrou has been one of the strongest advocates of sustained European backing for Ukraine, insisting that Paris must stand firm.

And Ukraine – what happens when Paris goes quiet? For Kiev, French instability brings real costs.
• Cash flow: The €3 billion pledged for 2024 but still not disbursed was meant to cover weapons and financial aid. But such spending has to pass through the annual budget. With Bayrou’s plan collapsing and parliament in revolt, securing new funds will be politically and legally harder for any caretaker government.
• Losing an ally: Bayrou’s exit would strip Kiev of one of its most reliable advocates inside the French cabinet. By contrast, opposition parties – and even voices within Macron’s camp – have been more skeptical of pouring money into Kiev while cutting spending at home. His departure strips Macron of a key advocate inside the cabinet.
• Security guarantees in limbo: Macron has positioned France as the organizer of the “Coalition of the Willing,” where 26 countries promised postwar guarantees for Ukraine, potentially including a reassurance force. Such a plan requires stable leadership, funding commitments, and parliamentary approval. A government in turmoil cannot push through the legal and financial framework needed to turn pledges into reality.
• ‘Armed to the teeth’ peace plan: Macron has also announced an extra €6.5 billion in defense spending for 2025-2027, lifting France’s annual budget from about €47 billion in 2024 to €64 billion by 2027 – a roughly 35% increase. This blurs the line between “peace guarantees” and outright militarization, reinforcing Moscow’s argument that Europe’s settlement talk is cover for escalation.

If France wobbles, is the EU still ‘united’? The fallout would reach Brussels as well. The EU relies on France, the bloc’s second-largest economy, to underwrite collective aid to Kiev, yet the €3 billion pledge Paris made for 2024 is in doubt. That damages the bloc’s credibility as a reliable funder at a time when Germany is reluctant to shoulder the costs alone. Macron has also styled himself as the champion of “strategic autonomy,” calling together with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for a stronger European defense role. But as the Financial Times has noted, those ambitions collide with weak finances and political divisions. With France paralyzed, the EU’s claim to speak with one voice looks hollow, and existing rifts – from Hungary’s open skepticism to Slovakia’s resistance on energy and sanctions – are harder to conceal.

Bottom line Bayrou’s downfall would leave Macron weaker at home and less credible abroad. France’s ability to anchor the EU’s Ukraine policy looks shaky, Kiev’s guarantees are cast into doubt, and Moscow can argue convincingly that Europe’s talk of peace is inseparable from its rush to militarize.

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Machine translation?!

Putin Notes an Underlying Issue Within Ukraine that Impedes Negotiation (CTH)

I have often said that Russian dialogue is essentially different from Western dialogue in that Russian speaking is direct and without pretense. This difference is very visible when outlining positions built on pragmatic acceptances. Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked about the status of negotiations with Ukraine. President Putin notes some of the internal political issues within Ukraine must be deconflicted in order for discussions to proceed. Without these issues resolved, discussion is futile.

Russian President Vladimir Putin: “First. After all, quite recently, the leadership of the Kyiv regime, mildly speaking unflatteringly of us, and excluded all possibility of direct Contacts. Now we see that they are asking for these contacts, at least Offer. I have repeatedly said that I am ready for these contacts. At the news conference in Beijing, which you mentioned, I said that there is no point in I don’t see much of it. Why? Because it will be agreed with the Ukrainian side is almost impossible on key issues. Even if there is a political will, What I doubt is that there are legal and technical difficulties that are that any agreements on territories must be confirmed in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine at a referendum. In order to hold a referendum, martial law must be lifted, Martial law is not carried out. If martial law is lifted, it is necessary to immediately hold presidential elections.

After the referendum, if it is held, regardless of the results, it is necessary to obtain a decision of the Constitutional Court. And the constitutional court does not work, because after requests, as I understand it, to the Constitutional Court about the legitimacy of the current government, the court evaded these decisions, and the head of the regime He simply ordered the guards not to let the chairman of the Constitutional Court into the working place. This is the kind of democracy there. And the chairman of the Supreme Court is just sitting in prison on corruption charges. It is well known that Ukraine has enough of this Corruption. But why was it necessary to send the chairman of the supreme court to prison to plant, it is not very clear. Although it is clear that it came to destruction their judicial system as such. This is another of the striking signs of “democracy” current Ukrainian authorities.

Therefore, this endless process is going nowhere. Nevertheless, we said that we are ready for a summit meeting. Listen, the Ukrainian side wants this meeting and offers this one Meeting. I said: ready, please come, we are definitely completely We will provide working conditions and safety, the guarantee is one hundred percent. But if We are told we want to meet with you, but you go there for this meeting, it seems to me that these are just their excessive requests to us. I repeat once again: if someone really wants to meet with us, we Ready. The best place for this is the capital of the Russian Federation, the hero city Moscow.” {SOURCE}

Vladimir Putin: “We have an open dialogue with President Trump. There is an agreement that in case of We can call, contact, and talk to each other. He knows that I am open to these conversations; And he too – I know about it. But so far, we have not had conversations in Europe based on the results of these consultations. Actually, it was difficult for me to do this, I had just come from China, I’m here. We have no problems with communications here. First. Secondly, regarding possible military contingents in Ukraine. This is one of the root causes of Ukraine’s involvement in NATO. Therefore, if there are some troops appear, especially now, in the course of hostilities, We proceed from the assumption that these will be legitimate targets for their destruction.

And if solutions are reached that lead to peace, to long-term peace, then I simply do not see any point in them being on the territory of Ukraine, that’s all. If agreements are reached, let no one doubt that Russia will comply with them in full. We will respect those guarantees security, which, of course, must be worked out both for Russia and for Ukraine. And I repeat once again: of course, Russia will agree to these agreements execute. In any case, no one has discussed this with us on a serious level, that’s all.”

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“Brussels, “the capital of diplomacy..”

Peace in Ukraine ‘Easier Without Brussels Hawks Fueling War’ (Sp.)

It would be easier to achieve a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis if the “hawks” in Brussels stopped fueling the conflict, the Russian Embassy in Belgium said on Sunday. “It is obvious that if the ‘hawks’ in Brussels and other Western capitals stop fueling the war and support peace efforts, including those undertaken by US President [Donald] Trump, then it will become much easier to achieve peace,” the embassy wrote on Telegram. Instead, the Belgian government is becoming more and more Russophobic, misleading its citizens about Russia’s alleged intent to attack Brussels, the embassy added. Earlier in September, Belgian Defense Minister Thomas Francken said that Moscow was capable of “infiltrating” one of the NATO member states by 2030 under the pretext of protecting the Russian-speaking minority in it, while at the same time attacking Brussels, “the capital of diplomacy,” with drones and missiles.

“The flawed logic offered to ordinary citizens confirms that the current Belgian leadership is rapidly moving away from its previously declared moderation in foreign affairs and is increasingly joining the ranks of the most Russophobic part of the EU and NATO, pursuing an extremely dangerous course of inciting confrontation with our country,” the statement read. The Russian embassy dismissed the allegations, adding that the policies pursued by the Belgian government result in significant economic and social costs, which Belgian citizens are forced to pay.

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“..its days are numbered, it would fall apart on its own, there would no point in even leaving it..”

Orban: EU’s Next 7-Year Budget to Become Last One If Bloc Does Not Change (Sp.)

The European Union is in a state of disintegration, and if there are no radical changes, the next seven-year budget will be the last one for the community, according to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
“I believe that the European Union has now entered a state of disintegration. And if it continues like this — and the likelihood of this is very high, — then the EU will go down in history as a depressing result of a noble experiment,” Orban said, speaking at the opening of the political season in the city of Kotcse. The Hungarian prime minister recalled that the European Union must now adopt a new common budget for 2028-2035.

“Even if we manage to pass this budget — which we may have serious doubts about — but if we do, it will be the last seven-year budget of the European Union. If things continue like this, I consider it completely impossible to pass a common budget after 2035,” he emphasized. The Hungarian Prime Minister proposed a possible way out of the crisis: the formation of four “circles,” so that the outermost one would include countries that want to cooperate in the field of security and energy security, which could include not only EU member states, but also Turkey, the United Kingdom and Ukraine; the second circle would include countries that have a common market, similar to the EU’s internal market; the third circle would include eurozone countries with a common monetary policy, and the fourth would unite countries that want a close political union with common political principles.

“Only such a flexible structure of circles can ensure interaction between European countries at different levels of cooperation… If we do not move to this order, the European Union will fall apart,” Orban concluded. Orban previously stated that if the European Union continued its economic policy, its days are numbered, it would fall apart on its own, there would no point in even leaving it, and the period during which something could be radically changed is two to three years. According to the politician, Europe will fall apart before our eyes if the liberals in power in Brussels are not replaced by representatives of patriotic governments, “purges” are needed, similar to those taking place in the United States.

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“Britain is being over-run again. First the Romans. Then the Anglo-Saxons. Then the Vikings. Then the Normans. In all previous times, the British fought. But not this time.”

THE CAMP OF THE SAINTS (Paul Craig Roberts)

The British nation no longer exists. A Muslim immigrant-invader has been appointed Home Secretary. She is in charge of immigration, borders, and the police. When the ethnic British elected Starmer, they signed their death warrant. The 1939 English song, “There’ll always be an England,” turned out to be mistaken.

British political parties have concluded that ethnic British self-rule is racist. The Conservative Party chose an Indian Prime Minister. The Labor Party chose a Muslim Home Secretary. The leader in waiting of the Conservative Party is an African woman. The Mayor of London is a Muslim. Immigrant-invaders are also mayors of 18 British cities, including the largest ones. Rape of white ethnic British females by immigrant-invaders, due to non-enforcement of law, has become a de factor right of immigrant-invaders. Raped ethnic British females who complain about being raped risk arrest for “offensive statements” and “hate crimes” against a protected class–immigrant-invaders. The ethnic British people have recently been protesting their treatment by their government, but with insufficient force to be effective.

Britain is being over-run again. First the Romans. Then the Anglo-Saxons. Then the Vikings. Then the Normans. In all previous times, the British fought. But not this time. The Muslim world has claimed Britain. England as an ethnic British nation is a lost cause.


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“..the Left’s strategy is that of the kamikaze: to destroy Trump at the cost of destroying the Democratic Party.”

Trump Astride at 7 Months (Victor Davis Hanson)

President Donald Trump’s greatest achievement within six months was simply ending illegal immigration as we had once known it—without “comprehensive immigration reform” or any other rhetorical trickery. It remains difficult to find, much less deport, the 10 to 12 million illegal aliens who entered in the last four years. Those who helped break the law, by design or indifference, now believe it was moral to destroy federal immigration law but immoral to uphold it. And it is still unclear whether former President Joe Biden’s handlers deliberately sabotaged their own border for political and demographic purposes out of sheer orneriness or utter incompetence. Many of the Left’s cherished totems—massive Green New Deal subsidies, the diversity/equity/inclusion industry, biological males competing in women’s sports, and the U.S. Agency for International Development revolving door—are either comatose or in their death throes.

The historic drop-off in military recruitment reversed shortly after Trump took office. Republican voter registration is up, and Democrat registration is down. Abroad, Trump finds remarkable successes. For now, there are pauses in the fighting between India and Pakistan, Egypt and Somalia, Cambodia and Thailand, Rwanda and Congo, Serbia and Kosovo, and Armenia and Azerbaijan. Much credit is due to Trump for brokering ceasefires. Iran will not get a bomb in the next four years—as seemed likely when Biden left office. The Middle East’s current most grotesque terrorist cadres and states—Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis—are far weaker than they were when Trump entered office in January. There is at least some engagement in envisioning the outlines of a ceasefire in Trump’s inherited Ukraine War.

The rub is finding the degree of ordnance necessary to convince Putin that increasing Russia’s casualties to more than one million will endanger his own dictatorship sooner than destroy Ukraine. Breaking up the new three-billion-person China/India/Russia nexus hinges on ending the war. The economy is still strong. Gas prices are at historic lows. Increases in all types of energy production proceed full bore. Current gross domestic product, inflation, unemployment, and the stock market—all at one time or another said to be in a crisis state—remain strong. Talk of an impending recession or hyperinflation is mostly muted. No one quite knows either the full effects of Trump’s tariffs—especially given the injunctions issued by left-wing district justices—or of the promised over $10 trillion in foreign investments.

Much of Trump’s agenda will hinge on whether interest rates are lowered, Republicans survive the midterms, and the degree to which unelected left-wing lower-court justices can be stopped from hijacking the Constitution and de facto running the country. As for the Democrat opposition, there is no counter agenda, no shadow government responsible leadership, and no willingness to craft bipartisan legislation. Instead, the Left’s strategy is that of the kamikaze: to destroy Trump at the cost of destroying the Democratic Party. Otherwise, Democrats seek to prove so obnoxious in demonizing Trump that they create such mass hysteria that the weary electorate figuratively lies down, closes its eyes, covers its ears, and screams nonstop, “Make them all go away!”

Former foul-mouthed vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is now reduced to a ghoulish status. He recently boasted to an audience that rumors of Trump’s death—who survived two assassination attempts last summer—will thankfully one day prove true. The top of the failed ticket, Kamala Harris, wanders aimlessly without an office, constituency, audience, or ideas. To remain viable, she knows she must continue touring and speaking. But Harris accepts that the more anyone hears her word salads, the more they will remember her 2024 train wreck. Head of the Democratic Party, Ken Martin, now screams that Trump is a fascist. But by what standards does he judge? Did Trump try to take his rivals off state ballots? Does he advocate for destroying the filibuster, the Electoral College, and the 156-year-old nine-justice Supreme Court, or packing the Senate by admitting two new states?

Are local, state, and federal prosecutors—a la Bragg, James, Smith, and Willis—coordinating with the White House and the Justice Department to indict Trump’s current chief adversaries, such as Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, or Josh Shapiro? Did Trumpers hire a foreign spy to concoct a fake hit dossier on Democrat grandees? Are his subordinates now spreading it to the media. Are 51 conservative former CIA contractors and retired spooks swearing that Newsom or Harris is working with the Russians, Chinese, or any of our enemies? The greatest Democrat fear? That it has so institutionalized excessive executive orders, ad hominem lawfare, lower-court usurpation, state nullification of federal law, and federal intervention in higher education, the energy industry, and the nation’s open spaces that their own legacies empowered Trump and now will boomerang upon themselves—as the public applauds the karma.

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“And nearly five years later, every single thing Kingston predicted about the CV19 bioweapon vax has been proven true.”

Truth About CV19 Vax Awakens Public – Karen Kingston (USAW)

Karen Kingston is a biotech analyst and former Pfizer employee that warned in her very first appearance on USAWatchdog in September of 2021 that the “CV19 Vaccines are Poison.” Nearly five years ago, Kingston said, “They are only intended to poison, mutate, cause genetic mutations, and kill adults and children. They contain advanced medical technologies called lipid nanoparticles that are made of hydrogel, which contain graphene oxide (poison to humans) . . .. There are strong immunosuppressants, different types of chemotherapies that could suppress your immune system while being injected by something that is going to highjack your immune system . . .. and actually produce this disease-causing genetic material that can cause cancers, inflammatory diseases, genetic disorders, infertility and etc.”

And nearly five years later, every single thing Kingston predicted about the CV19 bioweapon vax has been proven true. The latest example showing the deadly and debilitating disaster that is the CV19 vax comes from a new peer reviewed study that “Finds COVID-19 ‘Vaccines’ Increase Risk of Multiple Cancers — CONFIRMS Fears of ‘Turbo Cancer’ Epidemic.” There are also diseases of “epidemic” proportions with heart, immune system and brain function, to name a few more. Maybe this is why Florida, just today, ended all vaccine mandates. Many of these ‘vaccines’ contain deadly and debilitating mRNA. This ban also includes the CV19 “vaccine.” Kingston reports, “The Florida Department of Health, in partnership with the governor, is going to be working to end all vaccine mandates in Florida law, ALL of them, EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM,” says Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joe Ladapo.

President Trump is also questioning the CV19 vaccines and is demanding the vaccine makers justify the safety of their products. Trump said in part on Truth social, “With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW. . .. I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as “BRILLIANT” as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why??? Kingston says, “President Trump is demanding that Pfizer shows its data. . .. One report from June of 2022 from Pfizer and people calling in and they recorded it. Pfizer recorded nearly five million adverse (CV19 vax) events across nearly 1.5 million people. The most common were neurological. There were nearly 750,000 nervous system disorders. . .. This is really scary. . .. This was in a period of 18 months.” Kingston says there were at least a dozen other CV19 vax studies that were never released and were kept from the public.

Did Pfizer stop the shots and alert President Trump about this? NO! Now, even top former CDC officials are trashing the CV19 shots. Kingston says, “Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a CDC director, just repeated what HHS Secretary Kennedy said in 2021, and that is the CV19 vaccine is ‘the deadliest vaccine ever made.’ (So-called fact checkers said back in 2021 this was not true. In 2025, with millions of victims dead, it most certainly IS TRUE.) My point is Daskalakis repeated what Kennedy said in 2021 recently on MSNBC. They are putting it out there. They can’t undo the damage that has been done. RFK Jr. just revoked more than $500 million in research projects of mRNA. There have been a lot of movements, and it is interesting Trump is calling on the drug companies to step in and disclose their information. The last time they disclosed their information, it was horrible. . .. By the way, a lot of data they submitted to the FDA has never been released.”

Multiple top people at the CDC recently have quit or been fired. Also, the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the CV19 vax has been terminated. This move makes many now liable for adverse vaccine reactions. Maybe this is why CVS and Walgreens have restricted the CV19 vax after this announcement. Kingston calls what is happening now “a watershed moment of awakening” for the people who want the ugly truth to come out for the CV19 vax. Kingston says, “It’s all criminal, and this is what I have always said. This is the data.”

Now, Kingston says people need treatment to “detox” from the ill effects of the CV19 vax. Let’s hope the treatment starts soon and we don’t wait another five years to start saving lives of the CV19 vaccine injured.

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“DANCING FUCKING NURSES!

See, that’s why.”

Thoughts on Robert F Kennedy Jr Congressional Testimony (CTH)

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. appeared before the Senate Finance Committee after U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez was fired and four senior officials have resigned amid growing tensions over vaccine policies and public health directives. I have not commented on what happened during the hearing, nor shared the numerous confrontational segments of wide distribution, because the background context of the hearing itself is challenging to discuss in stable mindset without blowing a blood pressure cuff. However, here goes.

COVID-19 is the name of the disease caused by the SARS-CoV2 virus. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) – Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (CoV2), colloquially referred to as “COVID-19”, was a man-made influenza (flu) virus created in a laboratory in Wuhan China, using “gain of function” research grants from the United States government. The virus escaped the laboratory and became a pandemic influenza virus as it spread throughout the world. The response to the release of the virus, the mitigation effort, was organized by global intelligence services and coordinated through western military cooperation. The military and intelligence services coordinated the mitigation efforts with various national health services, the compliance rules and subsequent restrictions upon Americans were a downstream consequence.

Everything within the mitigation process was fraught with governmental fear, widely ridiculous panic, over-the-top reactions and a level of political pressure never before seen in modern history. All of the rules and restrictions were genuinely crazy at the time events were happening, and in hindsight review none of the mitigation efforts made any sense whatsoever. Commonsense was thrown out the window as mass formation psychosis spread like wildfire with a hurricane. Approximately a year after the COVID-19 virus was unleashed a quickly created and untested genetically modifying serum called a “COVID-19 vaccine” was then promoted to the world as the most important element in virus mitigation. There was never, NEVER, a more heavily pushed and forced mandate by the entirety of western collective government, and global intelligence systems, as the modern compliance effort to force citizens to take the “vaccine.”

Ultimately, the vaccine rules, demands, mandates and economic compliance pressures, divided the various nations into two sets of people: (1) those who took the vaccine, and (2) those who did not. Much like the COVID-19 mitigation rules themselves, the pressure to take the vaccines was unrelenting. The United States Government, through various emergency declarations and legal processes, mandated compliance forcing the vaccine upon people who did not want to take the untested, unverified and eventually determined unsafe genetically modifying serum. Within the control systems deployed by government, including the panel who were recently questioning HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr., non-compliance with the “vaccine” mandate was not optional. Every regulatory and enforcement element of government was deployed to coerce and ultimately force compliance to take the vaccine.

The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments) was subverted, manipulated and legally twisted at the behest of government officers, including President Joe Biden using emergency powers. Families were torn apart as the dynamic of the compliant -vs- the non-compliant played out in every relationship. Socially, the cohesive nature of acceptable behavior was destroyed. Children were forcibly taken for vaccinations and parents who would not comply with the vaccine were legally held accountable, threatened, ostracized and ridiculed. During the panic, industries were taken over by government, hundreds of thousands of unnecessary and unneeded ventilators were built, portable hospitals were erected in football stadiums and convention centers by military and national guard, they were never used; forced lockdowns were mandated and travel was restricted by local, state and federal authorities.

People were not permitted to work; the economy was shut down and the workforce was divided into essential -vs- nonessential positions. All of it was madness. In the USA the entire weight of the scientific community and healthcare industry was leveraged by the intelligence agencies, military and government politicians, to force compliance with all the rules and regulations as determined by “experts” in the field of health and science. This was the largest psychological control operation ever deployed against the American people, and anyone who stood up against the system of forced compliance was immediately identified, removed, shutdown, had their social media presence blocked, and every element of the government regulation used to silence their dissent.

The President Biden administration used their emergency powers to collaborate with and force social media platforms and tech systems to control the electronic messaging and communication of the American people. Private industry was forced into compliance and small business were forcibly shutdown if they did not adhere to the rules and regulations of the various enforcement mechanisms. The federal, state and local police were used as armed compliance officers to monitor the behavior of the American people and control their activity. Government checkpoints were put into place to verify status as “essential” during travel, and vaccination compliance documents were required for commerce and social engagements.

Four years later the larger American population now realizes all of what took place was built on a foundation of fraud and lies. Four years later we discover the rules, regulations and compliance techniques were carried out with no official scientific basis. Worse still, the untested and unsafe vaccine -forced upon millions of Americans- is now identified as killing hundreds-of-thousands of innocent victims who were completely healthy until they were injected with a genetically modifying serum of unknown consequence. To protect themselves from the consequences of their conduct, all of the officials who engaged in the process of mandated vaccine deployment are now hiding the data in an effort to avoid the consequences.

This is the background for newly appointed and highly skeptical HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr to appear before congress and explain the changes he is making to a U.S. healthcare system that was shown to be completely broken by the example of SARS-CoV-2. I have not previously commented about the RFK Jr hearing, genuinely because discussing…. THE MURDEROUS FUCKING ACTS OF BIDEN’S GOVERNMENT DURING COVID-19 FORCED VACCINATIONS… is beyond my capacity for stable-minded discussion. Congress sits there, arguing narratives from perches, as if we the people have completely forgotten the madness that took over the entire healthcare system.

DANCING FUCKING NURSES!

See, that’s why.

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“..the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution..”

Trump Threatens ‘War’ On Chicago Over Immigration (RT)

US President Donald Trump has ramped up threats to deploy federal troops to Chicago for an immigration crackdown, warning that the city “will soon find out” why he renamed the Defense Department the “Department of WAR.” The warning follows Trump’s order to dramatically ramp up deportations in Democrat-led cities after riots swept Los Angeles earlier this year. On Saturday, Trump posted on Truth Social what appears to be an AI-generated meme showing him in military uniform with the Chicago skyline, helicopters, and flames in the background. Above the image, Trump wrote: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning… Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”

The caption to the meme read: “Chipocalypse Now,” a play on the 1979 film ‘Apocalypse Now’, which includes the line: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” Trump offered no further details.Trump’s warning has drawn massive pushback from local officials. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker wrote on X that the president “is threatening to go to war with an American city,” adding, “Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.” Illinois Representative Mike Quigley told Politico at Chicago’s Mexican Independence Day parade that Trump spoke “like a true tyrant.” “The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wrote on X.

Illegal immigration has been a central focus of Trump’s presidency. On Inauguration Day, he vowed to deport “millions and millions” of undocumented immigrants. Since then, he has expanded border security, tripled Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention funding, cut humanitarian programs, and detained thousands of illegal migrants, among other regulatory measures. Saturday’s post adds to Trump’s repeated threats to include Chicago in his list of cities targeted for expanded immigration enforcement. In June, his administration deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles, followed by Washington, DC, after mass pro-immigration riots. Trump has also suggested that Baltimore and New Orleans could face similar measures.

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Over 50 years.

“..564,258 deaths per year, similar to the global mortality burden associated with armed conflict..”

29 Million Deaths Linked To EU and US Sanctions (RT)

Western sanctions contributed to nearly 29 million excess deaths worldwide over five decades – a toll comparable to that of wars, according to a recent study. The research, published last month in the Lancet Global Health, has gained attention around the world. Examining age-specific mortality in 152 countries from 1971 to 2021, using statistics from the Global Sanctions Database, researchers compared mortality rates before and after sanctions, tracking long-term trends to estimate their toll in excess deaths. They focused on three sanctioning authorities: The UN, the US, and the EU (and its predecessor). “We estimate that unilateral sanctions over this period caused 564,258 deaths per year, similar to the global mortality burden associated with armed conflict,” the authors noted, with a total of 28.8 million deaths across the 51-year span.

We found the strongest effects for unilateral, economic, and US sanctions, whereas we found no statistical evidence of an effect for UN sanctions. Most excess deaths occurred among the most vulnerable – the very young and the elderly. “Our findings reveal that unilateral and economic sanctions, particularly those imposed by the USA, lead to substantial increases in mortality, disproportionately affecting children younger than 5 years,” the study said, noting that the age group accounted for 51% of the total death toll. The report found that the sanctions undermine economic and food security, often causing hunger and health problems among the poorest. Additionally, the dominance of the dollar and euro in global transactions allowed the US and EU to amplify the impact of their sanctions.

At last year’s BRICS summit, member nations called for “unlawful unilateral coercive measures” to be eliminated, warning of their disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable. Members have increasingly avoided the dollar “to shield themselves from US arbitrariness,” Moscow has said. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a fairer global governance system based on mutual respect and opposition to Western dominance. Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the proposal as especially relevant when “some countries still do not abandon their desire for dictatorship in international affairs.”

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What i see coming is deep alright.

US in ‘Very Deep Negotiations’ With Hamas to End Gaza Conflict – Trump (ET)

The United States is in “very deep negotiations with Hamas” to bring an end to the current conflict in the Gaza Strip, President Donald Trump announced on Sept. 5. Hamas, which continues to hold hostages taken from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has so far rejected any deals to end the nearly two-year Israeli military campaign across the Gaza Strip, despite widespread death and destruction throughout the territory. Addressing the ongoing hostage situation and the surrounding conflict, Trump reiterated calls for Hamas to release all of the remaining hostages in a bed to end the carnage. “We said let them all out right now. Let them all out, and much better things will happen for them. But if you don’t let them all out, it’s going to be a tough situation. It’s going to be nasty. That’s my opinion. Israel’s choice, but that’s my opinion,” the president said during a White House press briefing.

In recent weeks, Israeli forces have been ramping up operations in Gaza City, which is located towards the northern end of the embattled strip of territory. The Israeli military has claimed responsibility for strikes targeting high-rises in the city, and footage has shown strikes toppling at least one tower there. As many as 20 captives may still be alive, though Trump said “there could be some that have recently died, is what I’m hearing.” “I hope that’s wrong,” he added. The bodies of around 30 more captives also remain in the Gaza Strip. Hamas released a video on Sept. 5 with Israeli hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal. In the video, apparently dated Aug. 28, Gilboa-Dalal states that he and other hostages are being held in Gaza City and fear they will be killed in the intensifying Israeli operation.

Trump offered few specifics about what Hamas is requesting in negotiations for the release of the remaining hostages. “They’re asking for some things that are fine,” Trump began, when asked about Hamas’s demands, but said the initial Hamas attack on Israel—in which around 1,200 were killed and thousands more were wounded—must be taken into consideration in the negotiations. Throughout the conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has articulated a goal to ensure Hamas is defeated and that the Gaza Strip can never become a haven for the group or similar militants opposed to Israel.

In an Aug. 10 speech, Netanyahu said the Gaza City takeover plan is not part of an indefinite Israeli occupation of the strip. At the same time, he indicated the plan is for Israel to have “overriding security responsibilities” for the territory, while allowing a “non-Israeli, peaceful civil administration. Netanyahu said Gaza’s post-Hamas civil authority must be one that “doesn’t educate its children for terror, doesn’t pay terrorists, and doesn’t launch terrorist attacks against Israel.” Netanyahu said these terms would disqualify the Palestinian Authority—which has partial governing authority in the West Bank—from stepping in as Gaza’s eventual civil authority.

In a Sept. 6 statement, Hamas representatives said, “The movement affirms its openness to any ideas or proposals that achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, unconditional entry of aid, and a real prisoner exchange through serious negotiations via mediators.”

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“rich natural resource reserves, estimated at $75 trillion..”

Globalists’ Attacks on Russia Linked to Its Rich Natural Resources – Dmitriev (Sp.)

Russian Federal Agency for Mineral Resources (Rosnedra) has completed the development of a geological exploration program for new Russian regions and is coordinating this work, the Agency’s representative earlier said. Globalists’ attacks on Russia are linked to its rich natural resource reserves, estimated at $75 trillion, Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev, who is also the Russian president’s special representative for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, says.

“Russia is Number 1 in the world with an estimated $75 trillion natural resource value. That’s also why it is constantly attacked by globalists and the deep state. Russia has partnered and will build new partnerships with the leading countries for joint resource development,” Dmitriev said on X. According to estimates by the international agency Statista for 2021, which RDIF CEO cites, after Russia, the top five countries in terms of natural resource reserves include the United States ($45 trillion), Saudi Arabia ($34 trillion), Canada ($33 trillion) and Iran ($27 trillion).

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“..capital from all over the world will be trying to get off the railroad tracks because gold and silver cannot default.”

Gold & Silver Sniffing Out Risk & Fear – Bill Holter (USAW)

Precious metals expert and financial writer Bill Holter worked side by side with his business partner Jim Sinclair for more than a decade. No two people knew more about markets and money than them. Two years ago, Sinclair, aka “Mr. Gold,” passed away. Now, the baton has passed to Holter, who is the new “Mr. Gold.” Holter warns one explosive new all-time high, hitting day after day, for the yellow metal is signaling big trouble coming. Holter explains, “There is a huge breakout. In my opinion, the metals market is sniffing out risk and fear. . .. They funded literally trillions of dollars by borrowing in yen. Now, what has happened, the Japanese yield curve has gone from basically zero to over 1.6 % on a ten-year (bond) and 3.2% on a 30-year (bond).

So, that carry trade now is being squeezed because the yen has gone higher . . . your cost to carry has gone higher because Japanese yields have gone higher. So, the gold market is looking at the Japanese carry trade in the process of blowing up. It is sovereign bonds across the world. If you look at interest rates worldwide, they are actually going higher.” If the Fed cuts interest rates later this month, it may not be good news. The bond market could rebel. Holter says, “You could see bond prices drop and yields go higher. There is also a very high probability with lower Fed rates that the dollar weakens.” Earlier this year, Holter called the global economy a hyper-levered house of cards. The leverage has gotten worse, much worse.

Holter says, “There is a turbocharge to this, and when I say turbocharge, it’s fear. It’s fear of bankruptcy. It’s fear of default. The world is clearly over-levered, and there are going to be sovereign defaults left and right going forward. The only two monies that cannot default on the planet are gold and silver.” So, is there going to be a big crash coming soon? Holter says, I don’t know if it is going to be September, October or whatever, but you look at the math and the valuations. The valuations are ridiculous. Look at the math on sovereign debt all over the world. Look at the math on the amount of debt outstanding and margin debt, and this is a huge credit bubble. Credit bubbles do not go away quietly. Credit bubbles burst and markets collapse. The problem now is there is so much debt in the system and the system is so big the central banks together cannot stand against the tsunami of bankruptcies that are coming. There is no white knight this time.”

Holter (aka, the new Mr. Gold) says, “The vast majority of wealth will seek a safe haven that cannot evaporate or be taken away. It’s going to be gold and silver. You are going to see a bull market in gold and silver unlike any bull market in any field ever. . .. Gold and silver will make financial history because capital from all over the world will be trying to get off the railroad tracks because gold and silver cannot default.” In closing, Mr. Gold says if you just divide the amount of official gold held in the US Treasury by the official US government debt, you get about $135,000 per ounce gold price and around $6,700 per ounce silver price. Holter says with $2 quadrillion in derivative debt, who knows how high the price of gold and silver can go. One thing for sure is gold and silver cannot default.

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Well, the jobs numbers were pretty bad… Let’s start there.

Bessent Doubles Down On Tariffs, Predicts Economic Surge (ZH)

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed back Sunday against growing concerns that the U.S. economy is sliding toward a “jobs recession,” defending the administration’s trade policies, tariffs, and fiscal strategy while signaling confidence that growth will accelerate by year’s end. In a wide-ranging interview on NBC’s Meet the Press (full interview at the bottom), Bessent rejected forecasts from economists at Moody’s Analytics and elsewhere who have warned that slowing hiring trends and manufacturing job losses point to deeper weakness. Instead, he argued that recent data is noisy, revisions are likely, and that President Donald Trump’s economic agenda remains on track to deliver a “substantial acceleration” in the fourth quarter.

Host Kristen Welker opened the interview by citing Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi, who recently described the U.S. slowdown as a “jobs recession.” Asked if he agreed, Bessent pushed back: “We’re not going to do economic policy off of one number,” Bessent said. “Good policies are in place that are going to create good high-paying jobs for the American people.” He added that August is “the noisiest month of the year” for employment data and stressed that significant revisions are common: “We need good data before we jump to conclusions.” Pressed on manufacturing job losses since the April rollout of the administration’s new tariffs, Bessent urged patience, noting that factories “can’t be built overnight” citing a “record amount of investment intentions” already underway.

He highlighted July’s passage of the administration’s flagship tax and infrastructure package – the One Big Beautiful Bill, which included full expensing for factories and equipment. According to Bessent, many companies were “holding back” investment until the bill passed and are now planning major capital expenditures and expansions. Still, U.S. manufacturing employment has declined by 42,000 jobs since April, even as the White House has promised a “manufacturing renaissance”” Bessent attributed some of the perceived weakness to flawed data collection and suggested that upcoming revisions could wipe out hundreds of thousands of jobs previously reported under the Biden administration. “We’re going to get revisions next week that may be as big as an 800,000-job downward revision,” Bessent said. “I’m not sure what these people who collect the data have been doing, but we need good data.”

The interview grew tense as Welker pressed Bessent on widespread reports from U.S. manufacturers that tariffs are increasing costs and forcing layoffs. Companies including John Deere, Nike, Black+Decker, and the Big Three automakers have warned investors that tariffs are adding hundreds of millions – in some cases billions – in unexpected expenses. Goldman Sachs recently estimated that 86% of tariff costs have ultimately been borne by U.S. companies and consumers. Bessent rejected those conclusions outright. “For every John Deere, we have companies telling us the tariffs have helped their business,” he said, citing meetings with executives at Treasury. “They’re increasing capital expenditures and expanding employment. And if things are so bad, why was GDP up 3.3% and why is the stock market at a new high?”

When asked directly whether tariffs amount to a tax on U.S. consumers, Bessent responded flatly: “No, I don’t.” He also dismissed Goldman Sachs’s analysis, quipping: “I made a good career trading against Goldman Sachs.”

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X thread.

Once Were Relevant (el gato malo)

i don’t think western europe and canada understand how little their opinions matter anymore. once, at least europe was relevant, but today? both are failing, no-growth, collapsing demographic failures that are rapidly losing anything like their high trust, flourishing cultures as they are eaten by the davos/WEF culture collapsers and the occupying armies they invite. both are dying regimes held up by censorship and political suppression. they are overrun by barbarian invaders to whom they are too effete and butthurt to advocate resistance. the contrast with eastern europe, which refuses to fall for this societal suicide pact (likely because they have living memory memories of communism) could not be more stark in both economics and culture.

of course the EC elites hate an american return to vibrance and strength. it highlights how badly they themselves lack this. their misery demands company that america will no longer provide. it will be fun to watch and see if they can learn to defend themselves. it’s not that america is dying. it’s that we’re getting ready to live again by escaping this nonsense. it’s europe who is on the table in critical care. i hope their smug senses of self-importance can keep them warm in the coming conquest by caliphate and the green death of watermelon politics. those who advocate the US imitating the serfdom surrender of europe and canada have been far too dominant for far too long. and their 15 minutes are up. i wonder when spencer will realize this?

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https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1964688908857250278

Owls

Scott

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Aug 142025
 


John Martin The Seventh Plague of Egypt 1823

 

Both Sides Want The Putin-Trump Alaska Summit To Succeed (Suslov)
Ukraine and NATO’s Playbook of Staged Attacks Blamed on Russia (Sp.)
Zelensky Doesn’t Want Peace – Human Rights Lawyer (RT)
Doomed Zelensky Desperate to Sabotage Putin-Trump Summit – Expert (Sp.)
New EU Media “Freedom Law” Allows for Journalist Arrests (RTN)
EU Plotting ‘Regime Change’ In Hungary – Moscow (RT)
Kash Patel Sends John Solomon a Prior Whistleblower Report (CTH)
Trump Takeover Renews Questions Over D.C. Crime Data (Turley)
Newly Released FBI Files Uncover Comey’s Plot Against Trump (Margolis)
FBI Offered Chris Steele $1 Million to Substantiate Dossier; He Never Did (CTH)
This Could Be the End of Chuck Schumer’s Political Career (Margolis)
Texas Democrats Will Return Home, and the New Map Will Be Approved (Margolis)
Trump Rails Against ‘Unfair’ Media Quoting ‘Fired Losers’ (NYP)
Hollywood Writers Wage War on Trump (Tim Graham)
Trump: 1, USAID: 0 – Appeals Court Lets Admin Block Billions In Aid (ZH)
The Trump-Putin Meeting: How We Got Here (Connor O’Keeffe)
Macron’s Rise To Power (John Mac Ghlionn)

 

 

https://twitter.com/MAGAVoice/status/1955315649082954158

Comey
https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1955587369572409831
https://twitter.com/patel_patriot/status/1955434673552888015

Creek

 

 

Here’s the Michelle Shocked video I couldn’t find yesterday. Someone found it on a Russian site. Still an excellent song. Arrangement? Oh well…

 

 

 

 

On our way to Anchorage, a few longish articles are included today. Can’t always avoid them.

 

 

“No Zelensky, no Brussels, no problem: Here’s how Putin and Trump’s Alaska power move will play out…”

Both Sides Want The Putin-Trump Alaska Summit To Succeed (Suslov)

On Friday, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in Alaska. This will be the first full-scale Russia-US summit since June 2021 in Geneva, and the first official visit by a Russian president to American soil since Dmitry Medvedev’s trip in 2010 at the height of the “reset.” It will also be the first time the leaders of Russia and the US have met in Alaska, the closest US state to Russia, separated only by the narrow Bering Strait, and once part of the Russian Empire. The symbolism is obvious: as far as possible from Ukraine and Western Europe, but as close as possible to Russia. And neither Zelensky nor the EU’s top brass will be in the room. The message could not be clearer – Moscow and Washington will make the key decisions on Ukraine, then inform others later. As Trump has said, “they hold all the cards.”

The Alaska summit marks a sharp departure from the Biden years, when even the idea of such a meeting was unthinkable and Washington’s priority was isolating Russia. Now, not only will Putin travel to Alaska, but Trump is already planning a return visit to Russia. Moderate optimism surrounds the meeting. Summits of this type are rarely held “just to talk”; they usually cap a long process of behind-the-scenes negotiations. The idea for this one emerged after three hours of talks in Moscow on August 6 between Putin and Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov described Washington’s offer as “very acceptable.” That suggests Putin and Trump will arrive in Alaska with a preliminary deal – or at least a framework for a truce – already in place.

Why Trump needs this
Trump has good reason to want the summit to succeed. His effort to squeeze Moscow by pushing China and India to stop buying Russian oil has backfired badly. Far from isolating Russia, it triggered the worst US-India crisis in 25 years and drove New Delhi even closer to Moscow. It also encouraged a thaw between India and China, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi now set to attend the SCO summit in Tianjin. BRICS, which Trump has openly vowed to weaken, has only grown more cohesive. The Alaska summit is Trump’s chance to escape the trap he built for himself – trying to pressure Moscow through Beijing and New Delhi – and to show results on Ukraine that he can sell as a diplomatic victory. For Moscow, a successful summit would be a powerful demonstration that talk of “isolation” is obsolete – even in the West. It would cement Russia’s standing with the “global majority” and highlight Western Europe’s diminished influence.

The transatlantic split would widen, weakening Brussels’ claim to be Russia’s toughest opponent. Most importantly, Washington today has little real leverage over Russia, especially on Ukraine. If the summit yields a joint Russian–American vision for a truce or settlement, it will inevitably reflect Moscow’s position more than Kiev’s or Brussels’. And if the Western Europeans try to derail it, the US could pull the plug on all aid to Ukraine – including intelligence support – accelerating Kiev’s defeat. Not everyone in Russia is cheering. Many prominent “Z”-aligned war correspondents see the war as unfinished and oppose any truce. But they have been asked to stick to the official line. If the Alaska meeting produces a deal, they will be expected to back it – or at least use “cooling” language for their audiences. The Kremlin is betting it can manage this dissent.

Western Europe, for its part, will be watching from the sidelines. Its leaders are “scrambling” for scraps of information via secondary channels. The optics will underline a humiliating reality: for the first time in almost a century, decisions about Europe’s security will be made without the likes of Italy, France and Germany in the room. The location hints at other agenda items. Arctic economic cooperation, largely frozen since 2014, could be revived. Both sides stand to gain from joint development in the far north, and a deal here would be politically symbolic – proof that the two countries can work together despite the baggage of the last decade. Arms control will also be on the table. Moscow’s recent decision to end its unilateral moratorium on deploying intermediate-range missiles was almost certainly timed to influence the talks. Strategic stability after the New START Treaty expires in February 2026 will be a central concern.

If Alaska delivers, it could reshape the conflict in Ukraine and the broader Russia-US relationship. A joint settlement plan would marginalize Kiev and Brussels, shift the diplomatic center of gravity back to Moscow and Washington, and reopen channels for cooperation on global issues – from the Arctic to arms control. If it fails – if Trump bends to last-minute EU pressure – Moscow will continue fighting, confident that US involvement will fade. Either way, Russia’s position is stronger than it was two years ago. What’s different now is that the two powers with “all the cards” are finally back at the same table – and Western Europe is on the outside looking in.

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“…the April 2022 Ukrainian neo-Nazi massacre of civilians who accepted Russian aid in a Kiev suburb after the withdrawal of Russian forces..”

Ukraine and NATO’s Playbook of Staged Attacks Blamed on Russia (Sp.)

The Russian MoD’s warning about a plot to stage a fake incident in Chuguyev, Kharkov region to sabotage the upcoming Putin-Trump meeting in Alaska “positions Russia to expose the West and Zelensky’s deception if it occurs, undermining their credibility,” veteran geopolitical analyst Angelo Giuliano told Sputnik. It’s definitely not the first time Kiev and its backers have stooped to such tactics. “The Bucha lie, crafted by Ukraine and the West, derailed 2022 peace talks by framing Russia for war crimes,” Giuliano recalled, referencing the April 2022 Ukrainian neo-Nazi massacre of civilians who accepted Russian aid in a Kiev suburb after the withdrawal of Russian forces, which galvanized the West for long, costly proxy war against Moscow.

That was just the beginning, according to Giuliano, who also cited:
1. the constant shelling of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, threatening to unleash a Chernobyl-like disaster on Europe, and blaming Russia (even though Russian forces control the plant).
2. the July 2022 bombing of a prison housing Ukrainian PoWs in a Russian-controlled area of the DPR, killing dozens, and designed to “silence Azov prisoners, preventing exposure of Western-backed neo-Nazis in Russian courts.” Also blamed on Russia, ironically.
3. the September 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline network, severing a major Russian energy artery with Germany. Sy Hersh revealed that the operation was carried out by US Navy divers with assistance from Norway. Russia still blamed.
“Despite the West’s propaganda machine—evident in Zaporozhye and Nord Stream—Russia’s readiness to counter this deception could limit its impact, though Western bias might still disrupt the Alaska summit. The Bucha playbook remains a potent tool for sabotage,” Giuliano warned.

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“The only chance he has to stay in power and to continue looting the aid from the West is for this war to continue…”

Zelensky’s Life Depends On War Continuing – Human Rights Lawyer (RT)

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky does not want peace because he can only stay in power as long as the conflict with Russia continues, US human rights lawyer Dan Kovalik has told RT. The Russian Defense Ministry warned on Tuesday that Kiev is preparing a false flag attack on civilians in Kharkov Region in an attempt to derail Friday’s summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump. During the talks in Anchorage, Alaska, the two leaders are expected to discuss the possible settlement of the Ukraine conflict and bilateral issues. Zelensky has not been invited to the summit. Kovalik said in an interview on Tuesday that he “suspected Ukraine would try to do something provocative to break up any possibility of a deal in Alaska. I mean Zelensky, his whole political life and maybe his real life depend on this war continuing.”

Moscow was right to warn the international community about Kiev’s plans, as “this will immunize people against a false-flag attack in the sense that they will be ready for it and know who really did it when, if it comes. God forbid it does come,” he suggested. The Ukrainian authorities “clearly do not want it to end… they do not want peace,” the human rights lawyer said. “Look, Zelensky has not had proper constitutional authority… for over a year. His term ran out over a year ago. He has refused to have elections. He knows his popularity is in decline. The only chance he has to stay in power and to continue looting the aid from the West is for this war to continue,” Kovalik added.

Zelensky said on Tuesday that he considered the fact that Putin was meeting Trump on US soil a “personal victory” for the Russian leader. The US president earlier described the Alaska summit as a “feel-out meeting” that will help him determine whether the Ukraine conflict can be settled. Moscow expects that the talks between Putin and Trump will “give an impulse to the normalization of bilateral relations” with Washington.

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“Expired” Zelensky and his team will stop at nothing to derail the upcoming summit..”

Doomed Zelensky Desperate to Sabotage Putin-Trump Summit – Expert (Sp.)

Ukraine’s Zelensky is painfully aware that being sidelined from the upcoming Putin-Trump dialogue on Ukraine will deliver him a knockout blow, said Vietnamese international relations expert Dr. Hoang Giang.
“Expired” Zelensky and his team will stop at nothing to derail the upcoming summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, or at the very least, cast a shadow over the talks, Dr. Hoang Giang told Sputnik. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban put it perfectly when he said that “If you’re not at the negotiating table, you’re on the menu,” the pundit explained, adding: “That is something Zelensky and his backers simply cannot accept.”

Intelligence from multiple sources points to a planned provocation by the Ukraine regime designed to sabotage the Russia-US summit planned for Friday, Russia’s Defense Ministry has stated. The Ukrainian Armed Forces could deliver a provocative strike using UAVs and missiles against one of the densely populated residential neighborhoods of Chuguyev in the Kharkov region [near the Russian border], causing significant civilian casualties. The imported Western journalists are expected to ‘immediately document’ the incident. Provocations in other settlements under the control of the Kiev regime are also possible, noted the MoD.

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The “Digital Services Act” and this “European Media Freedom Act” sound great, beneficial even, but have one goal only: control.

New EU Media “Freedom Law” Allows for Journalist Arrests (RTN)

The European Union’s “European Media Freedom Act” became binding law across all member states on August 8, but behind its name lies a set of provisions that could restrict the very freedoms it claims to safeguard. Alongside language about protecting reporters, the regulation authorizes arrests, sanctions, and surveillance of journalists whenever authorities say it serves an “overriding reason in the general interest.” Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, hailed the legislation’s arrival on social media, saying, “A free and independent press is an essential pillar of our democracy. With our European Media Freedom Act, we want to improve their protection. This allows journalists to continue their important work safely and without disruption or intimidation.”

Although the law outlines protections such as prohibiting spyware or coercion to expose sources, those assurances are undercut by built-in loopholes. Governments can bypass them if their actions are allowed under national or EU law and deemed proportionate to a vaguely defined “general interest.” That permission extends to intrusive surveillance technologies in cases tied to crimes carrying a maximum prison term of three years or more, a list that ranges from terrorism and human trafficking to offenses labeled as “racism and xenophobia.”

The legislation also orders each country to maintain registers of media owners and addresses. It targets so-called “disinformation,” accusing some media outlets of manipulating the single market to spread falsehoods. Large online platforms are portrayed as choke points for access to news, blamed for fueling polarization. To confront this, the EU wants tighter cooperation between national regulators, overseen by a European Media Services Board made up of member state regulators and a Commission representative. Although labeled independent, the board’s secretariat is run by the Commission, giving it an inside track on the decision-making process.

Another element of the act involves pushing “trustworthy media” and reinforcing state broadcasters through transparent appointment processes and stable public funding. Annual gatherings between EU officials, internet companies, media representatives, and NGOs are encouraged to assess how disinformation initiatives are being carried out. Despite being sold as a shield for press freedom, the structure of the act gives Brussels and national authorities the ability to decide which voices remain active and which can be silenced. By allowing arrests, surveillance, and tighter state involvement in the media landscape, it risks turning from a safeguard into a tool for control.

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” Orban announced last month that he was rejecting the budget proposal, calling it “built on the logic of war.”

EU Plotting ‘Regime Change’ In Hungary – Moscow (RT)

The European Commission is plotting to help oust Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over what it considers his overly independent policy, according to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). The Hungarian leader has repeatedly clashed with Brussels in recent years, opposing EU military aid to Ukraine and Kiev’s bid to join the bloc. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “is seriously studying regime change scenarios” in Hungary, the SVR press service said in a statement on Wednesday. Brussels intends to bring Peter Magyar, leader of the Hungarian opposition Tisza Party – seen as “loyal to globalist elites” and “the main candidate for the post of Prime Minister” – to power in the 2026 parliamentary elections, “if not sooner,” according to the SVR.

Significant “administrative, media and lobbying resources” are being deployed to support Magyar through “German party funds, the European People’s Party and a number of Norwegian NGOs,” the Russian intelligence service said. Kiev, which has been “offended” by Orban’s opposition to Ukraine attempting to join the EU, is doing the “dirty work” and destabilizing the home situation in Hungary via its intelligence services and local Ukrainian diaspora, it added. Last month, Orban accused Kiev of working to influence Hungary’s upcoming parliamentary elections. The European Commission is “outraged” by Orban’s attempts to “pursue independent policy” and his efforts to influence EU decision-making, the SVR stated.

Hungary’s recent decision to veto the new seven-year EU budget project, which Budapest believes is designed for the militarization of Europe and preparation for war with Moscow, has become the last straw that made the euro-bureaucrats lose their patience. Orban announced last month that he was rejecting the budget proposal, calling it “built on the logic of war.” “Billions for Ukraine, crumbs for farmers and development. Their goal: defeat Russia, install liberal allies, and expand their realm of influence,” he wrote on X. Moscow has repeatedly denied claims that it aims to attack NATO or EU countries, and has accused Western European leaders of pursuing “uncontrolled militarization” to prepare for war with Russia.

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Sundance still has his own view:

“The Patel’s, Bondi’s, Solomon’s and Hannity’s then play this game of pretend. Packaging the corruption evidence as accountability hopium and selling it to the addicted battered conservatives.”

Kash Patel Sends John Solomon a Prior Whistleblower Report (CTH)

FBI Director Kash Patel sends John Solomon a declassified whistleblower report, showing how a prior House Intelligence Committee staffer blew the whistle on then HPSCI ranking member Adam Schiff, who was giving the staff instructions to leak fabricated intelligence reports on Trump-Russia to smear President Donald Trump in 2017 and 2018. According to the release, the FBI eventually received and investigated the whistleblower claims; then in 2023, sent the information to the Merrick Garland/Lisa Monaco DOJ, who took no action because the claim was now beyond the statute of limitations. Read those dates carefully, because what this report from Kash Patel and John Solomon actually outlines is something we have all been very frustrated with.

As Solomon now notes, … “The alleged leaks fall outside the statute of limitations for prosecution on most legal theories, but the revelations nevertheless come at a sensitive time for Schiff“.. At the time of the Whistleblower report, the information to the FBI and DOJ would have been evidence that could have prosecuted Adam Schiff. However, now the information is limited to just providing I-told-you-so’s. There are a couple of really frustrating aspects to this, and the pattern is transparently obvious. The FBI and DOJ from 2017 to 2023, under both Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s administration, played the silo game of control of evidence. They did nothing with the evidence until the statute of limitations had tolled, which then provides Main Justice with the justification for doing nothing.

In 2025, understanding the public is insanely frustrated with the lack of accountability, the pretending game is now deployed by the FBI under Kash Patel, through John Solomon, to the broadcast venue of Sean Hannity. At the end of this clickbait circle-jerk is nothing. Again, no accountability, but a bunch of controlled information operatives saying, “Well, let’s see what the DOJ does with this now.” A pox on all their houses. There is no doubt in my mind this is a clear example of why the DC system uses special counsels (Mueller, Durham, et al) purposefully to create “ongoing investigations” as capture nets for information/evidence control. “It’s under investigation, and we don’t speak about ongoing investigations.” In real time, from 2019 to 2020, I was providing this type of evidence from within the silo system to John Durham and Bill Aldenberg who were designated information managers.

In my naiveté’, as I initially opened these doors, I thought some form of accountability would be possible, because the evidence was direct, irrefutable and without denial. However, once Aldenberg and Durham clearly said they could only act on evidence they ‘discovered’ themselves, and they could not act on evidence provided by “others” because that would make the “evidence political,” I quickly realized this was all going to amount to nothing. Now, we are looking in hindsight at evidence from inside the system, provided to these investigators by participants inside the system, yet they also did nothing with it at the time it held value. So, here’s the basic construct of how the DC game is played. Evidence delivered from outside DC cannot be used by those who are charged with investigating corruption within DC.

Evidence delivered from inside DC, goes into the system of “ongoing investigations” (special counsels) until its usefulness is exhausted by the clock-ticking. If the risk of accountability remains, the special counsels are extended until that accountability clock has expired. Once the accountability clock has expired, if another party comes along (Kash) and releases that evidence (Solomon), the value only exists insofar as it generates clickbait income (Just News), column inches and punditry talking points (Sean Hannity) for the DC proletariat. The Patel’s, Bondi’s, Solomon’s and Hannity’s then play this game of pretend. Packaging the corruption evidence as accountability hopium and selling it to the addicted battered conservatives. Insert vote. Pull lever. Get hopium pellet. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Who is continuing to buy this game?

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“Washington, DC’s 2024 murder rate was 27.54 per 100,000 people. That is higher than cities like Bogota (15.1), Mexico City (10.6), Islamabad (9.2), and Lima (7.6). It is astronomical when compared to the capitals of close allies like Paris (1.64), London (1.1), and Madrid (0.96).”

Trump Takeover Renews Questions Over D.C. Crime Data (Turley)

Washington, D.C. is a city that has long spun statistics to the point that they become more fable than fact. It reaffirms the famous view that there are “lies, damned lies, and statistics.” The line is the perfect warning to the unwary about politicians citing statistics. The quote itself is widely misrepresented as the work of Mark Twain or British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, so it seems nothing can be trusted when it comes to statistics, not even quotes on statistics. That question is again at the heart of a debate following the announcement of President Donald Trump that he would be sending the National Guard into Washington and taking temporary control of the D.C. police. In response, Mayor Muriel Bowser and other democrats denounced the plan and claimed that violent crime is at a 30-year low after dropping by 26% so far in 2025.

However, those statistics were recently challenged after a scandal involving allegations of suppressing crime reports to artificially reduce crime rate statistics. The media is reporting the reduction claim despite only recently questioning those statistics. The MPD in July suspended Michael Pulliam, police commander for the Adams Morgan neighborhood, for allegedly manipulating crime numbers. D.C. Fraternal Order of Police chairman Gregg Pemberton accused police officials of pressuring officers to falsify statistics to reduce crime rates: “When our members respond to the scene of a felony offense where there is a victim reporting that a felony occurred, inevitably there will be a lieutenant or a captain that will show up on that scene and direct those members to take a report for a lesser offense.

So, instead of taking a report for a shooting or a stabbing or a carjacking, they will order that officer to take a report for a theft or an injured person to the hospital or a felony assault, which is not the same type of classification.” Pemberton said that the MPD’s statistics were “preposterous… There’s absolutely no way crime could be down 28%. Last year, they suggested that it went down 34%.” Even accepting some of these statistics, it is hardly anything to celebrate. For example, Washington, DC’s 2024 murder rate was 27.54 per 100,00 people. That is higher than cities like Bogota (15.1), Mexico City (10.6), Islamabad (9.2), and Lima (7.6). It is astronomical when compared to the capitals of close allies like Paris (1.64), London (1.1), and Madrid (0.96).

There are good-faith reasons to oppose this move. I am not convinced that the National Guard deployment is warranted or likely to have a meaningful impact on crime. However, President Trump is within his rights to order the deployment. He may also take temporary control of the police and can notify Congress if he wants to extend that period to 30 days. D.C. is a federal enclave and is thus different from other cities. There is no governor involved in such orders in Washington, which remain under the jurisdiction of the federal government. What is also clear is that crime remains very high in this city and the reliability of the D.C. crime statistics can be legitimately questioned as we look for solutions for public safety.

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“The goal, Richman told the FBI, was “to correct stories critical of Comey, the FBI and to shape future press coverage” outside of the bureau’s official press office…”

Newly Released FBI Files Uncover Comey’s Plot Against Trump (Margolis)

Newly released FBI documents paint a damning picture of James Comey’s role in a coordinated intelligence operation against Donald Trump, an effort we know that Barack Obama ordered and that John Brennan, James Clapper, and a network of loyal operatives carried out. The “Arctic Haze” documents reveal that the FBI not only knew that sensitive information was leaking to the media, but it was also orchestrating the leaks. At the center of this effort was Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman, whom Comey personally arranged for the FBI to hire and grant top security clearance. Richman acted as Comey’s go-between with reporters, helping to shape the Russian collusion hoax and polish Comey’s public image. Hard evidence now backs what many have long suspected: the willful weaponization of U.S. intelligence against a duly elected president.

“The FBI concluded numerous legacy news media stories that crafted the false Russia collusion narrative contained illegally leaked classified intelligence but failed to definitively identify the leakers,” reports Just the News. “But agents did force a stunning admission that ex-FBI Director James Comey used a special conduit to the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times in his bid to polish his image and push for a special prosecutor to take down President Donald Trump.”Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman admitted to agents in interviews he routinely communicated on behalf of Comey, his longtime friend, with Times reporter Michael Schmidt, whose work was among the newspaper’s 2018 Pulitzer-winning stories on Russian election interference.

The goal, Richman told the FBI, was “to correct stories critical of Comey, the FBI and to shape future press coverage” outside of the bureau’s official press office, according to internal FBI memos that current Director Kash Patel delivered to Congress this week. Just the News notes that the media publicly quoted Richman in news stories as a Comey advocate. What’s new, however, is that “he admitted to agents, who were part of the FBI’s Arctic Haze classified leaks inquiry, that Comey gave him access to what turned out to be highly classified information up to the SCI level and sometimes provided information to reporters on an anonymous basis.” According to the FBI memos, Richman claimed he didn’t think he had passed classified information to reporters but admitted he couldn’t be “100%” sure. In fact, he told agents he was only confident “with a discount” that he hadn’t told New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt about the classified material.

That’s not exactly the kind of airtight denial you’d expect from someone with top security clearance. Earlier this week, we learned that a veteran career intelligence officer, who spent over a decade working for Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, repeatedly warned the FBI starting in 2017 that then-Rep. Adam Schiff had personally signed off on leaking classified information to smear President Trump during the Russiagate hoax. Despite this and other evidence pointing to potential leaks, the Justice Department shockingly chose not to press charges against Comey, his inner circle, or even now-Sen. Adam Schiff. Their excuse? They just couldn’t be certain who leaked what and when. Convenient.

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“Danchenko told them the Steele dossier was full of fabricated nonsense. However, to keep the revelation of the dossier presented “as nonsense” hidden, the FBI then hired Danchenko as a confidential human source, technically shielding him from being questioned or exposed…”

FBI Offered Chris Steele $1 Million to Substantiate Dossier; He Never Did (CTH)

I have been asked to recap some of my research into cited formats of what I believe to be criminal conduct, with specific statutes against them. This is the third.mDNI Tulsi Gabbard is not a lawyer. While I may be wrong, I find Tulsi Gabbard to be a patriot. Mrs. Gabbard is focused on providing evidence to the DOJ that essentially forces action. I support Tulsi Gabbard’s efforts.

In 2022, the legal case brought by prosecutor John Durham against Chris Steele’s primary sub source, Igor Danchenko, was predicated on the notion that Christopher Steele’s primary source for his dossier willfully and intentionally lied to the FBI. Therefore, according to Durham’s legal theory, Danchenko was guilty of purposefully misleading FBI investigators assigned to the Trump-Russia/”Crossfire Hurricane” investigation. Every intellectually honest person knew the FBI were not duped by Danchenko, and later records proved Danchenko told them the Steele dossier was full of fabricated nonsense. However, to keep the revelation of the dossier presented “as nonsense” hidden, the FBI then hired Danchenko as a confidential human source, technically shielding him from being questioned or exposed. The FBI decision to hire Danchenko was to keep the fraudulent Steele Dossier useful for their Trump targeting operation. After all, the Trump surveillance warrants were dependent on it.

The pretending by Durham highlighted two things: (1) Durham was protecting the corrupt DOJ and FBI institutions by not investigating any government action; and yet, (2) Durham was simultaneously exposing corrupt FBI and DOJ action through his Danchenko court filings. FBI supervisory analyst Brian Auten testified in court that Hillary Clinton’s contracted opposition researcher, Christopher Steele – hired by Fusion GPS to dig up dirt on Donald Trump, was offered up to $1 million by the FBI in early October 2016, if Chris Steele could prove the claims within the Trump dirt dossier he authored. Steele was never paid the money, because he could not prove the claims within the dossier, nor would he originally give up the name of the primary source for the information, Igor Danchenko.

However, despite the FBI knowing the dossier could not be proved, validated or verified, later that same month, October 21, 2016, they used the dossier as evidence to support a Title-1 FISA surveillance warrant against former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page. The FBI offered Chris Steele $1 million to ‘prove it.’ Chris Steele could not ‘prove it.’ The FBI used the dossier anyway to get the warrant. The details provided by Durham proved the researched outline we delivered in 2018. The FBI knew the Steele dossier was junk, yet they used it in lieu of the mandatory ‘Woods File’ to seek an all-inclusive secret search warrant against the Trump campaign. Carter Page was a tool for the fraudulent search warrant, the FBI knew Carter Page from previous work he had done for them as an informant. However, to get the warrant they needed to accuse Page of being an asset of a foreign government – so they did.

The Steele Dossier was used as manufactured evidence to support the FISA application. The FBI goal was to create a legal mechanism putting everyone in/around Donald Trump under surveillance. This was the “insurance policy” as described by FBI agent Peter Strzok. The FBI had been conducting unlawful political surveillance against Donald Trump throughout the 2016 campaign, the FISA warrant was used as the legal basis to make the previous and future surveillance legal. The FBI knew the dossier was junk, the FBI didn’t care – they needed it to create a fraudulent search warrant. The FBI knew Carter Page was not a Russian asset, the FBI didn’t care – they needed him to get to Trump. The FBI goal was always to conduct political surveillance against Donald Trump.

(Via CNN) – Shortly before the 2016 election, the FBI offered retired British spy Christopher Steele “up to $1 million” to prove the explosive allegations in his dossier about Donald Trump, a senior FBI analyst testified Tuesday. The cash offer was made during an October 2016 meeting between Steele and several top FBI officials who were trying to corroborate Steele’s claims that the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia to win the election. FBI supervisory analyst Brian Auten testified that Steele never got the money because he could not “prove the allegations.” Auten also said Steele refused to provide the names of any of his sources during that meeting, and that Steele didn’t give the FBI anything during that meeting that corroborated the claims in his explosive dossier.

Auten was testifying at the criminal trial of Igor Danchenko, a primary source for Steele’s dossier, who is being prosecuted by special counsel John Durham. Danchenko has pleaded not guilty to lying to the FBI. CNN previously reported that the FBI reimbursed some expenses for Steele, who had been an FBI informant. Durham, a Trump-era prosecutor who is looking for misconduct in the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation, has used some of the proceedings Tuesday to criticize the FBI’s handling of some of the early steps in the Russia probe. Durham handled many of the in-court arguments on Tuesday and personally questioned Auten on the witness stand – a rare move for a special counsel and former US attorney. (read more)

Offering $1 million to a source to provide evidence is not a decision made by a supervisory special agent. The authorization to spend up to $1 million for evidence is a decision made by the Director or Deputy Director of the FBI. Follow the timeline:
• Steele offered $1 million to prove the dossier in early October 2016. He cannot.
• FBI uses dossier in late October for a FISA warrant against Trump campaign.
• Dossier source Igor Danchenko interviewed by FBI in January 2017. Tells FBI dossier is junk.
• The FBI then interviews Carter Page five times, March 9, 10, 16, 30 and 31, 2017.
• The FBI then hired Danchenko in March 2017, just before renewing the FISA they now know is based on junk.
• April 2, 2017, the FBI renew the FISA warrant for the 2nd time.
• May 2017 Robert Mueller appointed to cover up all of the DOJ/FBI corruption that existed in the Trump targeting.
• June 2017 Robert Mueller interviews Danchenko, then Mueller renews the FISA.
• February 2019, Bill Barr enters as Attorney General.
• April 2019 Robert Mueller completes investigation.
• May 2019, Bill Barr appoints Durham just to look into things. Immediately then begs Trump not to declassify any documents. Trump writes executive order giving Bill Barr ability to review and declassify documents.
• October 2020, Bill Barr officially (and quietly), makes John Durham a special counsel. We don’t find out until December (after the Nov. election).
• October 2020, FBI drops Igor Danchenko as paid informant.

Put it all together and you see the continuum.
(1) Donald Trump was being targeted by a corrupt DOJ and FBI.
(2) Robert Mueller was installed in May 2017 to cover up the targeting.
(3) When Mueller is nearing his completion, Bill Barr steps in to mitigate institutional damage from 1 and 2.
(4) Barr maintains damage control and installs Durham.
(5) Durham takes over the coverup operation from October 2020 (Danchenko safe to exit) through today.

Main Justice kept a bag over Danchenko until they needed a scapegoat, created by Durham, to sell a narrative that Main Justice was duped. John Durham charged Danchenko (working outside govt) with lying to the FBI while simultaneously avoiding drawing attention to the FBI/DOJ officials (inside govt) who knew Danchenko was lying and were willfully blind to it in order to continue attacking and investigating President Donald Trump. James Comey, Robert Mueller, Bill Barr, John Durham, the Mar-a-Lago raid… it’s all one long continuum of the same targeting and coverup operation. Bill Barr was the Bondo application, and John Durham was the spray paint. The entire system is corrupt.

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“A poll from earlier this year showed AOC leading Schumer by double digits in a hypothetical primary…”

This Could Be the End of Chuck Schumer’s Political Career (Margolis)

The political winds are shifting dramatically in New York, and no figure embodies this change more starkly than Chuck Schumer. Once an unshakable pillar of Democratic power, Schumer now finds himself grappling with a crisis of confidence unlike any he’s faced in two decades. This isn’t just a battle over approval numbers; it’s a stark referendum on the future of the Democratic Party itself. As younger, more radical voices rise to challenge the old guard, the question becomes: Is Schumer’s era ending, and if so, what comes next? Schumer has hit a historic low in favorability, according to a recent Siena College poll — the worst showing of his career dating back two decades. Once comfortably positioned as the Democratic strongman in the Empire State, Schumer now finds himself under fierce fire not just from political adversaries but from within his own party.

His approval rating stands at a mere 38% favorable, with half of New Yorkers viewing him unfavorably. Even more striking, Schumer is underwater among New York City voters for the first time ever in Siena’s polling, at 39% favorable to 46% unfavorable. The tide really turned against Schumer after his controversial decision in March to allow a vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. This move angered radical leftist Democrats who derided it as a betrayal. That decision cast a long shadow over Schumer’s leadership and raised serious questions about whether his era is concluding. The fissures within the Democratic Party have become increasingly visible. Leftist voices have started rallying behind Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a potential challenger to Schumer’s Senate seat in 2028.

A poll from earlier this year showed AOC leading Schumer by double digits in a hypothetical primary, signaling a deep appetite among Democratic voters for younger, more confrontational leadership. His favorability with Democrats has dropped from 55% in June to 49%, while unfavorable ratings among party members rose to 39%. This erosion of support reflects a widening gap between Schumer’s pragmatic approach and the ambitions of a more aggressive, younger generation of Democrats unwilling to yield to Republicans or Donald Trump. The big question is whether Schumer will seek re-election or make way for fresher faces representing the party’s emerging priorities.

His declining approval ratings suggest that if he does run again, it won’t be without a stern primary challenge, and I can’t see him running in a primary that he’s at risk of losing. Indeed, in an era where firebrands like AOC capture the spirit of the party’s activist wing, the political script in New York is fast rewriting itself. Ultimately, Schumer’s political plunge reflects a broader crisis of confidence within Democratic ranks. Once a master of Senate backroom deals and partisan maneuvering, his struggles highlight the party’s deepening identity crisis. Will Democrats double down on the establishment’s old-school power politics, or will they hand the reins to the younger, more radical voices demanding aggressive confrontation? The answer will shape not only Schumer’s fate but the future trajectory of the party itself.

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Predictable. Will they pass on their traveling bills to the taxpayer?

Texas Democrats Will Return Home, and the New Map Will Be Approved (Margolis)

The war over Texas’ congressional maps is nearly over, and conservatives emerged victorious. ABC13 Eyewitness News reports that multiple sources have confirmed House Democrats are finally coming back to Texas. They haven’t said exactly when, but apparently, they think they’ve achieved some grand victory by killing the first special session and grabbing a few headlines about the mid-decade redistricting fight. In reality, all they’ve done is waste taxpayer money, embarrass themselves on the national stage, and guarantee that the new map will still pass, just without the drama next time. It is unclear which day they will be in Austin at the Capitol, but they stress that they will push for Hill Country flooding relief to be the priority. nThis comes as the House went another session without a quorum on Tuesday, with just 95 members present for the second day in a row.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows said that assuming there is no quorum on Friday, the session will end, and a new one will begin. Hours later, the Senate actually passed a new map that benefits Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. It’s the same map that passed out of committee in the House and precipitated more than 50 House Democrats to break quorum. Democrats in the Senate walked out in protest, but a quorum remained. Sources told ABC13 that Senate Democrats will not break quorum. It’s not all that surprising. The Democratic Party, the worst offenders when it comes to gerrymandering, throwing a conniption over Republican redistricting, was the epitome of hypocrisy, and to top that off, Texas Democrats fled to the heavily gerrymandered state of Illinois: a stunt so tone-deaf that it practically wrote its own punchline. Democrats were going to cave eventually; it was only a matter of when.

Something tells me that when Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to keep calling special sessions until the new map was passed, they knew they were beat. “This could literally last years because in Texas, I’m authorized to call a special session every thirty days. It lasts thirty days,” he told Fox News host Shannon Bream on Monday, promising to keep calling session after session relentlessly. “As soon as this one is over, I’m gonna call another one, then another one, then another one, then another one.” When it comes to gerrymandering, Democrats are the undisputed champions. Four of the five most gerrymandered states, Illinois, California, New Jersey, and New York, are all under full Democratic control.

Their congressional maps hand Democrats far more seats than their actual vote totals warrant. Illinois, for instance, gives Democrats a staggering 27-point edge in representation, even though they only won 55% of the presidential vote. California and New Jersey aren’t far behind, each showing double-digit advantages for Democrats. The only state making the list with a significant Republican presence is North Carolina, with a 20-point GOP edge. But Texas, often slammed as the GOP’s gerrymandering poster child, actually has a smaller partisan gap. Republicans won 56% of the presidential vote and hold 66% of the congressional seats, a 10-point advantage that will grow with the new map, but still pales compared to the distortions cooked up in Democratic bastions.

The facts don’t lie. The worst gerrymanders are in blue states, and that advantage has propped up Democrats even as they lose the national House popular vote. What’s happening in Texas isn’t an attack on democracy; it’s a long-overdue correction. No amount of grandstanding from lawmakers playing hide-and-seek in Illinois will change that reality. Texas Democrats finally realized they were fighting a losing battle. Now the Texas Senate has approved the map, sending it to the State House for final passage, leaving Democrats to grumble about something else.

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‘Fired Losers’ = Bolton.

Trump Rails Against ‘Unfair’ Media Quoting ‘Fired Losers’ (NYP)

President Trump raged against the “unfair” media over their coverage of his high-stakes summit with Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. “Very unfair media is at work on my meeting with Putin. Constantly quoting fired losers and really dumb people like John Bolton, who just said that, even though the meeting is on American soil,” Trump seethed on Truth Social Wednesday. “‘Putin has already won.’ What’s that all about? We are winning on EVERYTHING. The Fake News is working overtime (No tax on overtime!). If I got Moscow and Leningrad free, as part of the deal with Russia, the Fake News would say that I made a bad deal! But now they’ve been caught,” he added. Leningrad reverted to its pre-Bolshevik name, St. Petersburg, in 1991.

Trump’s anticipated meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson with Putin will mark the first time the Russian leader sets foot on US soil in about a decade. It will also be Putin’s first in-person meeting with a US president since he began the brutal invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has made ending the bloody war in Ukraine one of his top foreign policy objectives. Over recent months, he has soured on Putin over the brutal Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian civilians. Critics such as Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton have argued that the president will be welcoming a “rogue leader of a pariah state” into the US and that Putin will attempt to “take advantage” of him.

The Friday summit meeting comes after special envoy Steve Witkoff met with the Russian leader at the Kremlin last week, ahead of Trump’s deadline for Moscow to move toward peace or else the US would work to cut off its oil exports using steep economic penalties. Details about Putin’s exact conditions for bringing about an end to his country’s war are murky and have drawn confusion from European allies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly cast doubt on making significant territorial concessions to Russia and underscored that Ukraine must have a say in any potential deal. The Trump administration is working toward a trilateral summit among Trump, Putin and Zelensky and sees the Alaska meeting as a step toward that goal, according to Vice President JD Vance.

One of Trump’s close allies, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, has claimed the president is “testing” Putin and trying to gauge his openness to peace. Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly implied that Trump is attempting to get a better sense of whether the Russian dictator is open to peace. “The president talked to Putin on the phone three times or four times. Okay. And nothing has come of it — or at least we haven’t gotten to where we want to be,” Rubio told “Sid and Friends in the Morning” on Tuesday.“So the president feels like, ‘Look, I’ve got to look at this guy across the table. I need to see him face-to-face,’” he added. “‘I need to make an assessment by looking at him.’”

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“The Democrats are about as popular right now as measles, so democracy is somehow endangered.”

Hollywood Writers Wage War on Trump (Tim Graham)

The entertainment press found it very important to report that Hollywood thinks President Donald Trump is an authoritarian. This is still somehow considered “news.” Over 2,300 members of the Writers Guild felt compelled to speak out in an open letter because they believe in their “role in a healthy democracy.” In 2024, democracy was healthy and Hollywood’s candidate lost. “Writers Guild of America West PAC [political action committee] Endorses Kamala Harris for President,” they announced. So sad. They can’t get over it. When the Left’s feverishly spinning propaganda machines don’t work, “now, we face an unprecedented, authoritarian assault.” The Democrats are about as popular right now as measles, so democracy is somehow endangered.

“We are members of the Writers Guild of America who speak with one voice to decry the dangerous and escalating attacks on the First Amendment, independent media, and the free press,” the letter read in part. “He has retaliated against publications reporting factually on the White House and threatened broadcasters’ licenses. He regularly calls for the cancellation of news and entertainment television shows that criticize him in late-night and, most recently, ‘The View.’” They complained, “We don’t have a king, we have a president. And the president doesn’t get to pick what’s on television, in movie theaters, on stage, on our bookshelves, or in the news.” Of course not. The kings and queens of Hollywood insist they get to pick what people see, and the “healthy democracy” librarians get to dictate what’s on the public bookshelves. The leftists think “democracy” is healthiest when they are in charge of all “mainstream” messaging.

When it comes to Trump, Hollywood rushed to make hostile movies—for the Cineplex and for TV—asserting the rudest things, like Trump raped his first wife (“The Apprentice” movie). Nobody made a Hunter Biden movie, despite all the wild crack-and-hookers narratives, not to mention Hunter sleeping with his brother’s widow and getting her on drugs. The fundamental fallacy of these “attacks on the First Amendment” arguments is that the First Amendment includes the freedom to attack the “free press”—like asserting liberals lie when they call themselves the “independent media.” They’re partisan operatives. Trump suing news organizations and spurring settlements isn’t authoritarian. This is where you undermine the silly claim of these scriptwriters that leftist “news” outlets are being attacked for “reporting factually.” They don’t lead with facts. They lead with their angry opinions and often unproven accusations.

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“The majority holds that when the President refuses to spend funds appropriated by Congress based on policy disagreements, that is merely a statutory violation and raises no constitutional alarm bells.”

Trump: 1, USAID: 0 – Appeals Court Lets Admin Block Billions In Aid (ZH)

The Trump administration scored a major victory on Wednesday after a US appeals court ruled that they can cut billions of dollars in foreign assistance approved by Congress. In a 2-1 decision, the appellate panel reversed a Washington federal judge who ruled that US officials were violating the Constitution’s separation of powers principles by failing to authorize payments in line with what the legislative branch had allocated. This means that President Trump’s day-one order to dissolve the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and broadly withhold funding from other foreign aid programs can move forward. After the Trump administration cut off foreign aid, two groups of grant recipients sued, claiming a violation of separation of powers.

US District Judge Amir Ali (Canadian-born Biden appointee) ruled in March that the administration must make available foreign assistance that Congress appropriated for FY2024. Ali’s order also required USAID to pay bills owed through Feb. 13 under existing contracts and grants, however that part of the injunction was not on appeal – and substantially all of the owed payments are now complete according to court records. Not so fast Ali! Writing for the majority appellate decision – US Circuit Judge Karen Henderson (Bush appointee) said “The district court erred in granting that relief because the grantees lack a cause of action to press their claims. They may not bring a freestanding constitutional claim if the underlying alleged violation and claimed authority are statutory.”

One judge, US Circuit Judge Florence Pan (Biden appointee) dissented, writing “The majority holds that when the President refuses to spend funds appropriated by Congress based on policy disagreements, that is merely a statutory violation and raises no constitutional alarm bells.” Lauren Bateman, an attorney for consumer advocacy group Public Citizen which represents the suing grant recipients wrote on Wednesday “Today’s decision is a significant setback for the rule of law and risks further erosion of basic separation of powers principles,” adding “We will seek further review from the court, and our lawsuit will continue regardless as we seek permanent relief from the Administration’s unlawful termination of the vast majority of foreign assistance.”

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Pieces so long I put them at the bottom of the pile. Still good to refresh the memory.

The Trump-Putin Meeting: How We Got Here (Connor O’Keeffe)

This Friday, President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to sit down together in what will be the first face-to-face meeting between leaders of each country since the war in Ukraine broke out almost three and a half years ago. For many, this is a long-overdue step towards bringing this war to an end. For others, it marks the dangerous and unnecessary return of a policy of “appeasement” that’s sure to prompt more invasions from Putin and other leaders that the US government does not back. There certainly will be plenty of debate in the coming days over the wisdom and likely consequences of this meeting. But, as with anything, the best way to understand both is to look back at how we got here. A lot has been written about the many policy decisions that took place after the USSR fell in 1991, which transformed the Russian government and the Western governments in NATO back into enemies.

Those factors are important for understanding why Putin made the decision to invade Ukraine in early February 2022 and how he was able to get enough of the Russian public on board with the war. But even setting all of that aside, when Putin gave the order for Russian forces to invade Ukrainian territory, he cited three purposes for the move in his address to the Russian people that can help us understand the specific Russian objectives in this campaign. They were to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, to destroy the far-right Nazi factions within Ukraine, and to protect the people living in the separatist regions of eastern Ukraine. It is certainly possible that none of these reasons was or is genuine. As we Americans should know well, governments frequently use entirely fake justifications to manufacture public acceptance for a war when they think the real reason won’t work.

However, if we look closer at Putin’s actions, we can get a clearer picture of what the Russian leader wanted and, importantly, was willing to settle for. Shortly after the invasion began on February 24, 2022, Ukraine’s President Zelensky attempted to set up an indirect backchannel with Putin. He was able to do so fairly quickly with the help of the Israeli Prime Minister at the time, Naftali Bennet. Thanks to Bennet’s efforts, the two sides began talking. And, exactly two weeks after the tanks had rolled over the border, the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers sat down in person in Turkey to see if an agreement could be reached that would put an end to the fighting. A few weeks later, they did reach an agreement. According to officials who were present on both sides and in mediator roles, the Russians agreed to pull all of their forces back to pre-invasion boundaries—in other words, to end the war and give up all the territory they had seized in that first month.

And, in exchange, the Ukrainians agreed not to seek NATO membership. Remember, this isn’t some Russian spin on the Istanbul talks, it’s based on what the Ukrainian negotiators and the German, Israeli, and Turkish officials who were present said happened. So we know that a month into the war, Putin was willing to abandon two of the three stated objectives of his military campaign in exchange for a promise that Ukraine would not join NATO, which suggests that this really is the priority for the Russian regime. He may have even begun to honor his side of the agreement. Putin claims that the sudden massive withdrawal of Russian forces from the areas around Kyiv, a few days after the Istanbul agreement was reached, was actually the first step towards withdrawing the entire invading force. That may be a lie, but the timing does match up.

Regardless, shortly after the talks wrapped up, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson went to Kyiv, really on behalf of all the top Western military powers in NATO, and convinced the Ukrainians to walk away from the agreement, which they did. It appears that Western governments talked the Ukrainian leaders into continuing the fight by promising heavier weapons and more sophisticated support to help them gain more leverage over the Russians, so future talks could be even more fruitful. Some people in Western governments may have really believed that. But a lot of the rhetoric we saw from American officials when they were talking to the American public or to each other suggests that the true motivations for keeping the war going grew out of a recognition of how lucrative it would be for certain well-connected American companies, a desire to learn more about what tactics and technology is effective in modern conventional war, and a perceived opportunity to “weaken Russia” without the need to spill any American blood.

But regardless of whether their intentions were pure and misguided or deceptive and depraved, American and Western European officials stymied the early peace talks and kept the war going. And fairly quickly, it became frustratingly clear that the Ukrainians would not be able to fight their way to a better negotiating position than they had had in March of 2022. Over that first summer, the “heavier weapons” the US and other Western governments began transferring to the Ukrainians did not push the front line dramatically to the east, as the Ukrainian government seems to have been led to expect. And then, in September, the Russian government formally annexed four oblasts—or provinces—in eastern Ukraine, laying permanent claim to tens of thousands of square miles of territory that it had previously agreed to surrender. Ukraine’s position in future negotiations was already growing weaker.

That said, in November, a month after the Russian annexation, Ukrainian forces successfully used misdirection to recapture the southern city of Kherson and the northern city of Kharkiv. While their position was still weaker than it had been in March, it was still a solid opportunity to transition back to talks. But again, the opportunity was missed. Instead, Western officials and their allies in the media began to generate hype about plans for a massive counteroffensive operation that would mobilize all Ukrainian forces to break through Russian lines and drive Russian forces out of the newly-annexed territory. For months, the coming counteroffensive was used to shoot down any calls to return to the negotiating table. But several independent military experts raised doubts—especially in reaction to the nightmarish battle over the city of Bakhmut—that Ukraine truly had the capability to push the Russian lines way back to the east.

Those concerns really came to a head in early 2023 when a 21-year-old airman named Jack Teixeira leaked evidence that American military and intelligence officials were similarly pessimistic about the operation—for which he was thrown in prison with a sixteen-year sentence. And, sure enough, when the counteroffensive began in the summer of 2023, the Ukrainians struggled to break through Russian minefields and ended up losing more territory than they gained. The counteroffensive was a failure. And yet, the war went on. For the next year, the front lines remained mostly unchanged as the war evolved into a trench-style artillery war of attrition. Ukraine was dealing with a serious shortage of soldiers, which the Russians appeared to have recognized meant time was in their favor.

Then, last summer, the Ukrainians made the surprising decision to pull troops away from the front line to send them north over the border to capture some Russian territory in the so-called Kursk region. While they were met with some initial success, because the Russians had not thought to defend the area heavily, the territory they took was small compared to what the Russians held in Ukraine. And, most consequentially, the transfer of soldiers weakened Ukraine’s already-tenuous standing on the eastern front. Which has meant that, over the last year, Ukraine has been struggling. According to some analysts like retired Colonel Daniel Davis, the Russians have shifted their focus from trying to take more territory to trying to wipe out as many soldiers as possible to exacerbate Ukraine’s manpower problems, which will ensure that, down the road, taking territory will be far easier.

The Russians also didn’t let the lame-duck Biden administration’s provocative and unnecessarily risky decision to help the Ukrainians launch long-range missiles deeper into Russia pull them away from their strong position. So Russian forces now hold a lot of territory, and time is on their side if they wish to take even more territory in the future. And there isn’t much of anything else the NATO governments can do with weapons transfers or economic sanctions to change that. If they could, they would have done it already. In other words, the Russians have significantly more leverage over the Ukrainians and their Western backers than they did during those early talks in Turkey a month into the war. Trump has clearly tried to create some pain points against Putin that he can attempt to negotiate away—most notably a massive tariff on India for buying Russian oil. But the disheartening and frustrating fact is that Putin has no real reason to want this war to come to an end right now.

That said, the Russian president did signal that he would be open to stopping the war in exchange for eastern Ukraine. If that proposal is genuine, Trump should seriously try to work out a deal and hope that the boasts he made about deceiving the Iranians with fake negotiations earlier this summer did not destroy his credibility in situations like this. But, regardless of what happens during the talks on Friday, more Americans need to start recognizing what the civilians in Ukraine evidently have already: that, as bad as this situation is, it can and will continue to get worse. So many opportunities for peace have been missed. If there is any chance of another, Trump should take it.

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X thread.

“The Macron we see today — the carefully packaged politician, the unapologetic globalist, the made-for-television president — wasn’t born. He was built. And he was built at remarkable speed.”

Macron’s Rise To Power (John Mac Ghlionn)

The term “Manchurian Candidate” conjures images of spy thrillers, of men who are brainwashed and programmed to act against their own nations. It’s Hollywood fantasy. Or is it? Because when you examine Emmanuel Macron, his sudden, improbable ascent from obscurity to the Élysée Palace starts to feel less fictional. No sci-fi brainwashing. No flashing lights or hypnotic spirals. Just careful grooming. Silent backers. Loyalties shaped long before the public ever knew his name. A mediocre man who gets slapped around by his domineering wife is now one of the most powerful people in the world. Germany may be Europe’s economic engine, but France has always been its crown jewel: the political, military, and cultural heart of the continent. Control France, and you control not just markets, but minds, traditions, and the future of Europe itself.

Which makes the rise of Macron all the more disturbing. How, one wonders, did a provincial banker, virtually unknown to the French public a decade ago, climb so quickly to the highest office in the land? The truth is, he didn’t climb. He was carried. Macron’s Rothschild years reveal a man propelled by connections, not competence. Early colleagues recall that he didn’t even know what EBITDA — earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization — meant. A fundamental term in corporate finance. It’s the equivalent of a mechanic not knowing what an ignition is. Yet Macron rose from basic spreadsheet tasks to partner in record time, thanks to elite backers and well-timed advantages, not technical mastery. From relatively obscure banker to the highest circles of European politics.

The rise was too fast, too clean, and far too suspect. Enter Jacques Attali. His name may not mean much to some readers, but this is someone who has influenced France’s political class for decades. Now 81, he served as special adviser to President François Mitterrand. Attali played a key role in mentoring François Hollande. Even now, he ranks among the most formidable behind-the-scenes operators in French politics. In the American context, his reach would put him in the company of Zbigniew Brzezinski and George Soros. Part strategist, part gatekeeper, part financier. Attali once boasted that he “discovered” Macron, even claiming he “invented him.” The Macron we see today — the carefully packaged politician, the unapologetic globalist, the made-for-television president — wasn’t born. He was built. And he was built at remarkable speed.

At age 32, Macron’s selection into the French-American Foundation’s program placed him among future operatives aligned with U.S.-EU integrationist interests. The Foundation has long served as a quiet grooming ground for transatlantic elites. Past participants in the French-American Foundation’s Young Leaders program include figures like Bill and Hillary Clinton. Macron passed through other elite grooming institutions: Sciences Po and the École nationale d’administration (ENA). Sciences Po, often referred to as the training ground for France’s ruling class, has produced generations of presidents, prime ministers, and top civil servants. The ENA is even more exclusive. Founded after World War II, it was designed to produce the officials who would rebuild modern France.

ENA alumni include Hollande, Jacques Chirac, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, and Mr. Macron. But then came Bilderberg, the real proving ground. Within months of attending in 2014, Macron’s political career took off. For the uninitiated, Bilderberg is a private, invitation-only gathering where the world’s most powerful bankers, CEOs, generals, and politicians meet behind closed doors. Off the record, out of sight, and far from accountability. It is where future leaders are sized up, tested, and quietly approved. At the 2014 meeting, Macron was placed directly before the men and women who would soon bankroll and promote his ascent. This wasn’t a coincidence. It was, I suggest, a coronation. In 2016, after becoming a World Economic Forum (WEF) Young Global Leader, Macron reached another “miraculous” milestone. He joined a carefully selected group approved by Klaus Schwab that included the likes of Justin Trudeau and Jacinda Ardern.

This was yet another clear signal, a public endorsement from the same global interests that had backed him from the start. Less than twelve months later, Macron stormed to the French presidency. Stunning achievement for a man with no real political base, no electoral track record.= His main rivals were systematically crippled by scandals, exposed and prosecuted with an efficiency rarely seen in a country where the legal machinery usually crawls. Meanwhile, a political vehicle — En Marche! — was assembled almost overnightzBacked by deep-pocketed donors and coordinated by consultants and firms closely tied to France’s corporate and financial elite. Macron didn’t create a movement. A movement was created around him. There is nothing normal about Emmanuel Macron’s rise.

Under his leadership, France has been pushed deeper into corporate control, subordinated to supranational institutions, and subjected to sweeping social experiments, often in open defiance of the will of the French people. He has governed not as a servant of the nation, but as an agent. National industries have been stripped. Traditional institutions have been weakened. Public anger has hardened into revolt, visible everywhere from the Yellow Vests to the farmer protests that periodically paralyze parts of the country. He has waged war on free speech and presided over mass immigration policies that have transformed the demographics of major cities. Expansion of digital surveillance that now rivals anything seen in authoritarian states. Vaccine mandates with open contempt for dissenters.

He boasted that his government would make life “miserable” for the unvaccinated. At the same time, Macron has cultivated a carefully managed image of centrist respectability. English-language media has showered him with endless praise, even as approval ratings have plummeted. The modern political asset doesn’t need reprogramming. He only needs ambition, vanity, and the right people whispering promises of power and protection in his ear. Who would want a man like Macron at the helm? Those who needed a willing figurehead to manage, reframe, and ultimately dissolve France’s sovereignty into a broader, borderless project — a France no longer for the French, but for the architects of the global agenda.

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Inside mRNA Vaccines – The Movie.
1 Hour movie. it may be shadowbanned (happened to me overnight). If so look on Steve Kirsch’s timeline.
https://twitter.com/stkirsch/status/1955425232413659281

 

 

RFK

Elon

NGOs
https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/1955397400656482561

Net zero
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1955351128440213532

Tucker

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jul 252025
 


Henri Matisse Harmony in red 1908

 

Trump Sends So-Called Experts Reeling After Historic First 6 Months (VDH)
DOJ Forms “Strike Force to Assess ODNI Evidence” (CTH)
Russiagate Was America’s Other Pearl Harbor – Ted Cruz (RT)
Epstein vs. Russiagate (J. Peder Zane)
Kirk To Tucker: Trump Only Has A Short Window To “Smash The Deep State” (MN)
We’re Close To The War Nobody Wants But Everyone’s Preparing For (Timofeev)
James Carville Slams Democrats’ ‘Cracked-Out Clown Car’ (Margolis)
DNI Tulsi Gabbard Holds a Press Conference (CTH)
Could Obama Be Prosecuted Over the Russian Hoax? A Look at the Law (Spakovsky)
‘Russiagate’, Revenge, and The Rotten Core Of US Power (Amar)
Deputy AG Blanche To Meet With Ghislaine Maxwell On Thursday (JTN)
“I Want Elon To THRIVE” Trump Says (ZH)
Candace Owens Responds To Macrons’ Lawsuit Over Transgender Allegations (RT)
Germany’s €450 Billion EU Tribute: Brussels Demands, Berlin Pays (Kolbe)
Europe Is Stuck in a Disastrous, Failing Marxist Trap (GI)

 

 

Jesse Tulsi

Powell
https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1948206791449346162

Steele

Sydney Powell
https://twitter.com/Real_RobN/status/1948201594287472751

CNN

Subpoena
https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1948175505586315652

 

 

 

 

For some reason, a lot of longer overviews and assessments today. Let’s follow them. And start positive:

Victor Davis Hanson. Promises made. And more then kept.

Trump Sends So-Called Experts Reeling After Historic First 6 Months (VDH)

In this first six months of the Trump administration, we’ve entered unknown territory. I guess the best way to term it is there are a lot of known unknowns. We’re doing things we’ve never done before. And our experts think they can predict it, but they’ve been wrong. Let’s take some examples. Usually, tariffs are not a source of revenue because traditional economic orthodoxy says that whatever revenue they generate, they decrease gross domestic product by inflicting attacks on goods. But yet, we don’t know what the profit margin is in these countries. And perhaps the tariffs are not resulting in rising prices. At least they haven’t in May and June. Which suggests, again, that the Germans or the South Koreans or the Chinese were making so much money by exporting to the United States, while protecting their own industry and piling up surpluses, that they could pay tariffs and still remain in our market at a cost-competitive profit.

The result is that we’re getting $26 billion a month and higher. No one anticipated that. Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, said, “In theory, the year could end with a third of a trillion dollars—$330 billion.” That’s almost 5% of our revenue is coming from tariffs, which we’d thought would be impossible. Another impossibility is usually we’re running a $2 trillion debt. That’s what we were usually told by people. But in the month of May, there were more federal revenues than there were debits. And that was a result of the Department of Government Efficiency cuts and the tariffs and the seasonal increase in federal revenues that come through taxation and other charges against the private sector.

Everybody said, “Well, May’s always a good month. It’s the one good month of the year.” But we haven’t had a surplus since 2017 in any month, which is kind of strange if we’re going to run this huge $2 trillion budget deficit. And while we’re discussing it, more money is coming in than going out. And we have this known unknown about tariffs. Then something’s up. And that something’s up is amplified. When we look at the foreign investment, we were told, $4 trillion, $6 trillion, $8 trillion. That’s a phenomenal number. Nobody has ever had $8 trillion of foreign investment in the United States in one year. The secretary of interior, Doug Burgum, says to us now that the actual income or amount or capital investment from foreign sources of various statuses could be $15 trillion. Economists have ratios for each billion dollars in foreign investment, depending on the nature of the foreign investment, the jobs created. If this were true, it’s a phenomenal number.

He also said something that was quite striking. That the value of U.S. assets that have been untapped—natural gas, coal, oil, timber, rare earth minerals—is somewhere between $100 trillion and $200 trillion. Now, we don’t want to exploit and plunder our countryside, but it’s something to think about, that if we were not buying rare earth minerals from China—and we probably may not be—or we had a mechanism to tap our coal and use it cleanly to help generate the electricity for artificial intelligence. This is unusual. This is crazy: $15 trillion of foreign investment, $200 trillion of unrealized assets. And remember that the $15 trillion is coming from people who were not willing to do that prior to President Donald Trump. They’re doing it in fear of tariffs.

There’s a couple of other things, and that is the military was short anywhere—depending on who you talked to—45,000 to 65,000 recruits. They could only get 50% of their benchmarks. A year ago, at this time, about 50%, only about half of the people were enlisting. But when they changed the ad campaigns, and they said they were no longer going to prejudice recruits for tenure promotion, enlistment, advancement, etc. by their race or gender, and they were going to stress battle efficacy, all of a sudden, recruitment soared.

Nobody thought you could do it in six months. But in less than six months, the military went from, “We’re short 50%. We don’t know what to do. Maybe it’s gangs. Maybe it’s tattoos. Maybe it’s drug use. Maybe it’s obesity. Maybe we’re competing—” to, “I don’t know what happened but all these people have enlisted.” And we all know what happened. They stress what the military is for in their ads and communications. And they got what they wanted. And there’s one other final thing that’s inexplicable. We were letting in up to 10,000 illegal immigrants a day for over a four-year period. It’s controversial how many in total came. But it could be from 8 million to 12 million.

So when Donald Trump said he was going to offer a self-deportation, you get a thousand dollars, you get your way paid for, and you can apply for legal immigration at some future date—if you don’t do this, you’re disqualified for 10 years. And then the “Big, Beautiful Bill” will continue the wall. He put pressure on Mexico to enforce its own borders, to stop this trek northward. We could go through all the things he has done. But we all thought that maybe he could reduce it from 10,000 to 2,000, maybe to 1,000. I thought maybe, “Wow. If he does all this, if he actually forces people and he creates a new deterrence, he might get only 500.” Some months, there’s nobody; 126 people I think it was in May. This is phenomenal. There is no illegal immigration right now, as we speak. That frees the Border Patrol and the new agents that’ll come online and the new Big, Beautiful Bill to round up the 10 million, starting with the 500,000 criminals that former President Joe Biden let in.

Add it all up and the orthodoxy, the conventional wisdom about tariffs, about foreign investment, about our assets that are unrealized, about military recruitment, about illegal immigration, they’ve all gone with the wind. We’re in new territory. All the perceived wisdom is ignorance. And nobody knows what is what, except we’re in a very exciting period. If $9 trillion represents the market capitalization of all of Silicon Valley, you can imagine what $10 trillion to $15 trillion would do to this country. It’s like bringing a new Silicon Valley—in total, one and a half of them—and plopping them down. And when you add in robotics and AI and the efficiency in government regulation, through these cuts and fast-tracking permits, we don’t know where we are, but we might be on the verge of an economic boom.

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“The DC intel silos are built so their lack of sharing creates a natural defense mechanism; there is no cross-reference capability..”

DOJ Forms “Strike Force to Assess ODNI Evidence” (CTH)

Main Justice has announced the formation of a DOJ strike force to assemble and assess the evidence provided by Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, against former intelligence and government officials. This will require the DOJ to take a new approach, extracting information from multiple silos and then overlaying context to the content therein. That’s essentially the new approach that DNI Gabbard has taken to break down the silo defenses, and this is the first time since I’ve been outlining how they self-protect that someone (DNI) has actually done the extracting and cross-referencing.

– Dept of Justice – WASHINGTON – “Today, the Department of Justice announced the formation of a Strike Force to assess the evidence publicized by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and investigate potential next legal steps which might stem from DNI Gabbard’s disclosures. This Department takes alleged weaponization of the intelligence community with the utmost seriousness. Upon the formation of the Strike Force, Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated: “The Department of Justice is proud to work with my friend Director Gabbard and we are grateful for her partnership in delivering accountability for the American people. We will investigate these troubling disclosures fully and leave no stone unturned to deliver justice.” Don’t underestimate how radical and challenging this type of an approach is going to be.

https://twitter.com/JesseBWatters/status/1948200092365992336

OIG Michael Horowitz never could attempt it (not authorized), SC John Durham was not permitted to do it (not authorized); the House Select Sub-Committee on Govt Weaponization ran away with hair on fire at even the suggestion of doing it (ask me how I know), and no modern internal investigative unit has ever been allowed to extract national security information from multiple IC institutions, and review it in context.

The DC intel silos are built so their lack of sharing creates a natural defense mechanism; there is no cross-reference capability. DNI Tulsi Gabbard has the unique ability -due to her position- of reaching into each IC silo regardless of their effort to stop her. That’s what has led to this point. If the DOJ is successful, things could change; but that’s a very big ‘if’. The entire mechanism of the USIC, led by defenses from the Senate Intel Committee (Cotton), will do everything to stop any internal extraction and review of their silo information. “National security” claims will run rampant. This will be a heavy lift requiring Executive Office support and coordination at every level.

https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1948198774779568451

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“..a moment of “infamy” in American political history..”

Russiagate Was America’s Other Pearl Harbor – Ted Cruz (RT)

US Senator Ted Cruz has compared the launch of the Trump-Russia investigation to the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, calling it a moment of “infamy” in American political history. The Texas Republican made the remark on Fox News on Wednesday, accusing former President Barack Obama’s administration of lying to the public and using federal agencies to undermine Donald Trump’s presidency. ”December 9 should be a day that lives in infamy,” Cruz said, referencing the date in 2016 when the FBI opened its inquiry and the famous wording Franklin D. Roosevelt used in a speech following a surprise Japanese attack on the US naval base in Hawaii. “That’s a moment when senior members of our government decided to lie to the American people and sabotage President Donald Trump.”

During a meeting on December 9, 2016, then President Obama ordered National Security Council officials to discard intelligence assessments that found no Russian involvement in Trump’s campaign and replace them with claims blaming Moscow based on fabricated data, according to declassified documents released by US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard last week. Trump had defeated Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the presidential election that November.

The scandal led to the years-long Trump-Russia probe known as ‘Russiagate’. It severely damaged relations between Moscow and Washington, leading to sanctions, asset seizures, and a breakdown in normal diplomacy. Russia has not yet commented on Gabbard’s revelations. It has however consistently denied allegations that it interfered in the 2016 US election. The Kremlin has described the Russiagate affair as a politically motivated smear campaign intended to justify sanctions and worsen relations with Moscow.

Read more …

I’ve mentioned this a few times: the MSM have revived Epstein -after a 4-year silence- so they have a counterweight to Tulsi’s accusations. When will we start calling it Epsteingate?

Epstein vs. Russiagate (J. Peder Zane)

It’s a tale of two stories. The first concerns President Trump’s back-peddling on pledges to release government files connected to the long-dead pervert Jeffrey Epstein. The second involves the growing evidence that President Obama and his top officials spread the false narrative casting Trump as a treasonous agent of Russia, one that hobbled his first term. While the Epstein saga is a tawdry kerfuffle with no larger significance, the new revelations about the Russia hoax provide scorching detail on one of the biggest political scandals in American history. Guess which one the legacy media is running with? Which one is it trying to bury? The answer is obvious. If only stating that was enough, and we could just laugh away the legacy media’s predictable and partisan coverage.

They are not serious people. Unfortunately, they are deadly serious in their continuing efforts to malign Trump while covering up their own malfeasance. The contrasting coverage of the Epstein and Russiagate stories is just the latest example of a media that has lost its way. First, Epstein. During the last few weeks the legacy media has covered that story as if it were Watergate. The New York Times, for example, published more than 50 articles and opinion pieces on Epstein and Trump between July 16 and July 23. Much of the rest of the legacy media has followed suit. Except for a salacious, if inconsequential, story spoon-fed to the Wall Street Journal – that Trump may have contributed a bawdy letter to a birthday book for Epstein 23 years ago – none of them broke news or advanced the story.

The last blockbuster article written about Epstein was Lee Fang’s May 21 piece for RealClearInvestigations revealing how officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands – including Democratic Rep. Stacey Plaskett – appear to have benefitted from and shielded Epstein, who brought young girls to a private island he owned there. Yes, the Epstein saga is a legitimate story. Despite legacy media claims to the contrary, there was a cabal of wealthy and influential men who cavorted with Epstein – and almost certainly some of them had sex with young girls. But it is unlikely that proof of such criminal acts is detailed in material in the government’s possession. Nevertheless, the Trump administration should release what it has and let the chips fall where they may for these amoral folks who tied themselves to a disgusting person.

Or Trump should forthrightly explain why that is a bad idea. A full account may be hard, given a Florida federal judge’s ruling yesterday that the law “does not permit” the release of secret Epstein grand jury testimony as requested by the DOJ. It is telling that the recent wall-to-wall coverage focuses so much on Trump. The irony is that he appears to be one of the few stand-up guys in the Epstein story. The two men were apparently friends at one time, – though probably not all that close given the lack of articles linking the two men before Trump ran for office. We do know that Trump was one of the few people who distanced himself from Epstein long before the financier pleaded guilty to sex crimes in 2008. Trump barred Epstein from Mar-a-Lago before his arrest, supposedly because of his creepy behavior toward a minor.

There are also reports that Trump may have been the one who alerted the authorities to Epstein’s predations – not, perhaps, out of conscience but because of a real estate dispute. While the legacy news organizations pile on to the Epstein story, they are downplaying the recent revelations detailing the Obama administration’s efforts to push the Trump/Russia hoax. In their telling, his administration declassified a batch of new documents to distract from the Epstein scandal and to seek retribution against his perceived enemies. Whatever Trump’s motivations, the newly disclosed documents are significant. As Aaron Maté reported this week for RealClearInvestigations, they show that the official “confirmation” of the Russiagate hoax – the Intelligence Community Assessment completed in the January 2017 and reports by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate committee investigating the issue – “all excluded the intelligence community’s own secretly identified doubts and evidentiary gaps on the core allegation of Russian meddling.”

The intricate timeline of events Maté details makes this point abundantly clear: Suspicions that Russia interfered in the 2016 election were repackaged as purported facts after Trump’s stunning win. We do know that emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee were published in the summer and fall of 2016 by Wikileaks. But, Maté notes, a September 2016 intelligence assessment reportedly “had no hard evidence that Putin ordered the theft of Democratic Party material as part of an influence campaign to help Trump.” Maté’s previous reporting for RCI has also shown that there is still no proof that Russia removed any emails from the DNC servers or passed them along to anyone else. That assessment was ignored after Trump’s victory in November. It is also clear that President Obama was a key player in advancing the false narrative of Russian interference.

Obama – who had been briefed that summer about Hillary Clinton’s plans to falsely cast Trump as a Kremlin stooge to deflect from her email scandal – requested a new intelligence assessment in December 2016. It was to be a rush job he wanted to get out before leaving office. That report, crafted largely by CIA Director John Brennan, suppressed FBI and NSA doubts about Russian interference. Obama went further. On Jan. 5, 2017, he held an Oval Office meeting with various figures, including FBI Director James Comey. Two days later, Comey briefed President-elect Trump about the Steele dossier – a phony and sloppy bit of opposition research paid for by Clinton’s campaign that suggested Trump and his associates had been compromised by the Russians. That briefing became the news hook anti-Trump media needed to quickly report on the bogus dossier, launching the Russiagate probes.

Two points: First, Russia probably did try to interfere in the 2016 election. But the actual facts we know – that they purchased a handful of ads on social media, and that they probably hacked into the DNC servers, albeit without proof that they removed emails published by Wikileaks – do not support the Mueller Report’s famous claim regarding a “sweeping and systematic” effort. More importantly, Democrats and the legacy media are trying to pretend that we spent three years debating Russian meddling. In fact, their efforts were aimed at painting Trump and his associates as treasonous allies of a foreign enemy. It was never about interference, but collusion.

I believe this was the worst scandal in American history because unlike Watergate – where wrongdoing was largely confined to the White House – Russiagate’s cancer metastasized from the White House to the CIA, the FBI, and the legacy media. The lack of accountability for these actions gave Democrats and their media allies a sense of impunity. It is why they felt free to lie so brazenly about other things, including Hunter Biden’s laptop and Joe Biden’s mental acuity. Those forces are so invested in hiding their own duplicity that they can never admit the truth. While the Russiagate and Epstein stories are clearly of different orders, Democrats and the legacy media insistently push a mirror image of the news, claiming the new revelations about corruption at the highest reaches of the government are simply Trump’s effort to “deflect” from Epstein. You can’t make this up – except they can.

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“I know what the grassroots want. I know what President Trump wants. We need perp walks. We need arrests..”

Kirk To Tucker: Trump Only Has A Short Window To “Smash The Deep State” (MN)

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk believes that President Trump only has a short timeframe to take decisive action and score a meaningful victory over the Deep State before it’s too late.Kirk told Tucker Carlson that the clock is ticking and “We need accountability. If we do not smash the administrative state and the deep state in the coming six to 12 months, then we’re actually not going to.” “I know what the grassroots want. I know what President Trump wants. We need perp walks. We need arrests,” Kirk further urged.

Referring to the bombshell documents on Obama’s role in the Russia hoax dropped by Tulsi Gabbard last week, Kirk noted “I believe that all roads lead back to the intel agencies on all this stuff. And so Tulsi is now getting under the hood.”“This revelation of Russiagate is massive. It’s huge. God bless her for doing this,” Kirk contiuned, adding “I know the president cares about it personally, as he should, because how much of his life and his energy was just spent defending against a fabrication? Not a fabrication of the Chinese Communist Party, by the way. Not a fabrication of our adversaries, [but] a fabrication of our own government.”

“That’s what makes this so sinister, is that our own government was turned against the duly elected president. So here we are now in the year of our Lord 2025. Who’s running the United States government?” Kirk continued adding “President Trump, he is now the hunter. He was the hunted back in the first term.” However, Kirk warned that if progress is not rapidly made then “We’re not going to bring this entire intelligence apparatus to heel,” asserting “We have to lance the boil because it’s gone so out of control.”

“I can tell you, they are deeply fearful of this movement. They know that we are aware. They notice that they know that we are noticing things, that we’re seeing patterns, that we know how powerful the intelligence agencies have become,” Kirk further urged. “So that’s why I think Russiagate really matters, is that it’s a way to hold them accountable to see how dark and honestly demonic their activities have become,” he emphasised. Kirk described the remaining months of 2025 as “Hopefully an opportunity to fulfill a mandate that President Trump ran on I still know [he] believes to this day, which is to bring the deep state to hopefully smash it or, [at] the very least, bring it back into balance.”

Read more …

A one-on-one result of Russiagate.

We’re Close To The War Nobody Wants But Everyone’s Preparing For (Timofeev)

US President Donald Trump’s recent push for peace in Ukraine highlights a troubling reality: the options for resolving the conflict are narrowing. Kiev continues to rely on NATO military support, while member states are ramping up defense spending and bolstering their arms industries. The Ukraine war may yet spark a broader confrontation between Russia and NATO. For now, the chances remain low – thanks, in large part, to nuclear deterrence. But how strong is that deterrent today? It’s difficult to gauge the role of nuclear weapons in modern warfare. Their only combat use – the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 – occurred under vastly different political and technological conditions. Nonetheless, most international relations experts agree that nuclear weapons serve as powerful deterrents.

Even a small nuclear arsenal is seen as a shield against invasion: the cost of aggression becomes unthinkable. By this logic, Russia, as a nuclear superpower, should be nearly immune to external military threats. The use of nuclear weapons has become a political and moral taboo – though military planners still quietly game out scenarios. The dominant belief holds that nuclear weapons are unusable – and that no rational actor would challenge a nuclear-armed state. But is that belief grounded in reality? For Russia, this is becoming an increasingly urgent question as the risk of direct confrontation with NATO – or individual NATO members – grows, especially in the context of Ukraine. There are political flashpoints aplenty. Both Russia and NATO have made their grievances known.

Whether these tensions erupt into conflict will depend not just on intent, but on military-industrial capacity and force readiness. And these are changing fast. Russia has expanded defense production since 2022. NATO countries, too, are rearming – and their collective industrial base may soon surpass Russia’s conventional strength. With that shift could come a more assertive posture – military pressure backed by material power. Several pathways could lead to a NATO–Russia war. One scenario involves direct NATO intervention in Ukraine. Another could stem from a crisis in the Baltics or elsewhere along NATO’s eastern flank. Such crises can escalate rapidly. Drone strikes, missile attacks, and cross-border incursions are now routine. In time, NATO regulars – not just volunteers – could be drawn in.

Could nuclear deterrence stop that? At first glance, yes. In a direct clash, Russia would likely begin with conventional strikes. But the war in Ukraine has shown that conventional weapons, even when effective, rarely force capitulation. NATO possesses Ukraine’s defensive tools – but at greater scale. Its societies are less prepared to endure casualties, but that could change with sufficient political mobilization and media messaging. Russia has amassed significant military experience – especially in defensive operations – but NATO remains a formidable opponent.

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“Constipated. Leaderless. Confused. A cracked-out clown car. Divided. These are the words I hear my fellow Democrats using to describe our party as of late. The truth is they’re not wrong..”

James Carville Slams Democrats’ ‘Cracked-Out Clown Car’ (Margolis)

Let’s be honest here: The Democratic Party is a train wreck, and famed party strategist James Carville is screaming it from the rooftops. I’ve given him a lot of flak for torching his credibility by confidently predicting a Kamala Harris victory—but credit where it’s due; this time, he’s not wrong. In a scathing New York Times op-ed, Carville called his party a “cracked-out clown car”—and let’s face it, he hit the nail on the head. The Democrats are bleeding voters, hemorrhaging credibility, and spiraling into irrelevance with no clear leader or message. Carville’s attempt to patch this sinking ship is bold but delusional, and it’s a perfect snapshot of a party too broken to fix itself. Buckle up, because this is a masterclass in liberal denial.

Carville’s diagnosis is spot-on: “Constipated. Leaderless. Confused. A cracked-out clown car. Divided. These are the words I hear my fellow Democrats using to describe our party as of late. The truth is they’re not wrong: The Democratic Party is in shambles.” His evidence? Well, he points to the shocking nomination of Zohran Mamdani, a far-left socialist, for New York City mayor as proof of the party’s problems. Mamdani’s win isn’t just a fluke; it’s a symptom of a deeper rot—generational and ideological divides that have Democrats eating their own. Older and more pragmatic party members like Carville see pie-in-the-sky promises of economic utopias as undeliverable, while the younger, radical wing demands fealty to woke causes like defunding Israel over Gaza. Good luck uniting that mess.

But here’s where Carville’s plan goes off the rails. He thinks the Democrats need a “savior” to swoop in and save the day, like Barack Obama in 2008 or Bill Clinton in 1992. The Democratic Party is steamrolling toward a civilized civil war. It’s necessary to have it. It’s even more necessary to delay it. The only thing that can save us now is an actual savior, because a new party can be delivered only by a person — see Barack Obama in 2008 and Bill Clinton in 1992. No matter how many podcasts or influencer streams our candidates go on, our new leader won’t arrive until the day after the midterms in November 2026, which marks the unofficial-yet-official beginning of the 2028 presidential primary contest. No new party or candidate has a chance for a breakthrough until that day.

Really? A knight in shining armor to rescue a party that’s alienated half the country with open borders, skyrocketing prices, and identity politics on steroids? Carville’s banking on a mythical figure to emerge after the 2026 midterms. That’s not a strategy; that’s wishful thinking combined with the admission that he believes nobody on the theoretical Democrat Party bench for 2028 has a prayer of winning. So yes, he’s right about one thing: The party’s in shambles. But his solution—waiting for a political unicorn—isn’t just delusional, it’s an insult to voters who are fed up with Democrat overreach. While they wait for a fairy tale comeback, President Trump is getting real results—securing the border, growing the economy, and leading with strength.

Read more …

I’ve hinted at Trump apologizing to Putin over Russiagate.

“The timing does not appear to be accidental. President Trump gives Russia 50 days to come to the negotiation table and end the conflict in Ukraine. A few days later, DNI Tulsi Gabbard begins releasing information that shows both President Trump and President Putin being framed by the U.S. Intelligence Community.”

DNI Tulsi Gabbard Holds a Press Conference (CTH)

Today, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard declassified and released the 2020 House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence report (HPSCI), that outlines their investigation into the Intelligence Community Joint Analysis Report (JAR) of 2016 and the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) that followed. I know that’s a lot of acronyms, however, the key element of Director Tulsi Gabbard’s release today is to underscore just how fraudulent the JAR/ICA created in 2016 and 2017 was. The JAR/ICA report was fabricated by the CIA and Intelligence Community to give the appearance of Russia interfering in the election. The declassified HPSCI report takes that fraudulent intelligence analysis apart, step by step.

The JAR/ICA was also used to justify President Obama expelling Russian diplomats, confiscating Russian property, targeting Russian officials for sanctions, and imposing a series of sanctions against various Russian entities, individuals, groups and organizations. All of the Obama’s Russian targeting effort was part of an enhanced IC op to give additional patina of credibility to the fraudulent premise. In many ways, Russia was collateral damage created by a domestic USA political intelligence operation run by Obama allies in order to attempt to destabilize the incoming administration of President Donald Trump. The framing of both Donald Trump and Russia is going to be a key facet to accept as time moves forward on this story. Tulsi Gabbard gives a press conference. WATCH:

I will have more on the Tulsi release of the HPSCI report shortly. In the interim… The timing does not appear to be accidental. President Trump gives Russia 50 days to come to the negotiation table and end the conflict in Ukraine. A few days later, DNI Tulsi Gabbard begins releasing information that shows both President Trump and President Putin being framed by the U.S. Intelligence Community. It would appear that President Trump is setting a new baseline for a relationship with Russia. However, first the tables need to be cleared of the historic manipulation and targeting that structurally, and fraudulently, set the course of conflict and antagonism in U.S-Russia relations.

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It’s not so easy. Presidents are well protected. Since the recent Supreme Court involvements in Trump cases, probably more than ever.

Could Obama Be Prosecuted Over the Russian Hoax? A Look at the Law (Spakovsky)

Can former federal officials be prosecuted in the Russia-Trump collusion hoax? That is the question arising from the recent actions of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard has released declassified documents over what she says was a “treasonous conspiracy” that was “directed by President [Barack] Obama” to provide “manufactured intelligence” that “Russia had helped Donald Trump get elected.” This was in the face of contradictory intelligence analyses that said the exact opposite: that “Russia had neither the intent nor the capability to try to ‘hack the United States election.’” Gabbard says she is sending these documents to both the FBI and the Justice Department with the hope that they will criminally prosecute those involved in this hoax. That includes, in addition to Obama, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, and former national security adviser Susan Rice.

If we assume, just for the sake of argument, that what Gabbard is saying is correct and that the internal, formerly classified communications and perhaps other evidence support those claims, what federal criminal statutes might cover what is alleged to have occurred? Two things should be kept in mind. First, a very thorough, intensive investigation is required to ensure that all the relevant facts and possible evidence pertaining to this claim are uncovered. Second, there is no point in federal prosecutors going forward with a prosecution unless they are confident they have a reasonable chance of obtaining a conviction. Despite Gabbard’s understandable language about a “treasonous conspiracy,” the federal treason statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2381, seems like a pretty far stretch.

As bad as the allegations are—the misuse of federal power to target a political opponent and eventual president—the statute only applies to someone who “levies war against” the country or “adheres to [its] enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere.” What about the sedition statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2384? That criminal statute applies to “two or more persons” who “conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States … or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States.” Again, even if we assume the truth of these allegations, there was no force involved in what happened. On the other hand, what are the statutes that former special counsel Jack Smith attempted to use against Trump?

He indicted Trump under 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Defraud the United States); 18 U.S.C. § 1512(k) (Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding); 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) (Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding); and 18 U.S.C. § 241 (Conspiracy Against Rights). The description Smith gives in the original grand jury indictment to justify using these particular federal criminal statutes seems to fit Gabbard’s description very aptly. Here is that description—just substitute Clapper, Brennan, and company for Trump as the defendants (changes are in brackets): So for more than two months following election day on November [8, 2016], the Defendant[s] spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election [by the Russian government in conspiracy with the Trump campaign] and that [Hillary Clinton] had actually won.

Those claims were false, and Defendant[s] knew that they were false. But the Defendant[s] repeated and widely disseminated them anyway—to make [their] knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election [and the legitimacy of the Trump presidency]. Remarkable resemblance to Gabbard’s allegations, isn’t it? Were the alleged conspirators obstructing an official proceeding? Last year in Fisher v. U.S., the Supreme Court held that prosecution under that statute requires showing that a defendant impaired the availability or integrity of documents used in an official proceeding, which includes creating false evidence. That could apply here if official intelligence reports were falsified as is alleged and that became part of the official investigation.

The federal fraud statute Smith was using is very general and applies to those conspiring to defraud the United States “in any manner or for any purpose.” But the use of this fraud statute by Smith was very questionable. As my colleague John Malcolm has pointed out, in recent cases “the Supreme Court has taken a dim view of more amorphous theories of what constitutes fraud against the United States.” In a unanimous opinion in 2023 in Ciminelli v. U.S., the court held that “Federal fraud statutes criminalize only schemes to deprive people of traditional property rights,” like money or property. They don’t “vest a general power” in the federal government to enforce its view of “integrity in broad swaths of state and local policymaking.” The serious misbehavior here doesn’t seem to meet that requirement.

And a “Conspiracy Against Rights?” That statute covers conspirators who “injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person … in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same.” This statute was part of the Enforcement Act of 1871, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, and was designed to stop the violence against newly freed blacks in the South. Applying it to Trump for merely questioning the outcome of the 2020 election was a gross misuse of the statute. Could it be applied to the actions of Brennan, Clapper, and other alleged conspirators? Perhaps. But the statute had never been applied in this manner before Smith tried to misuse it.

Finally, to the extent any of these alleged conspirators lied about what they did when they were testifying before Congress, that is a potential violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1621. This federal statute makes it a crime for an individual under oath to “testify, declare, depose, or certify truly … any material matter which he does not believe to be true.” The biggest problem any investigation conducted by the Justice Department faces is the federal statute of limitations. All of this is alleged to have happened at the end of 2016 and in 2017, more than five years ago. That is significant because the general federal statute of limitations for most crimes, 18 U.S.C. § 3282, is five years.

There are exceptions. There is no statute of limitations on treason, espionage, or capital crimes such as murder, but that is not the situation here. Additionally, for those hoping that the evidence would be sufficient to prosecute Obama, that also is highly unlikely to happen. Recall that last year, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. U.S. that presidents have absolute immunity from federal criminal prosecutions for actions taken within the scope of their official duties while president. If all the facts alleged are true, was Obama acting within the scope of his constitutional authority as president? Maybe not but trying to prove that in a court of law in order to overcome the Supreme Court’s holding of his presumptive immunity would be an almost impossible task.

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“Just ask that crackhead, porn addict, and shady “businessman” from an infamous clan, who is currently not in prison but giving expletive-laden interviews instead.”

‘Russiagate’, Revenge, and The Rotten Core Of US Power (Amar)

Be real: It is not hard to see that America – as it really exists, not the ‘dream’ version – is neither a democracy nor a country with genuine rule of law. That’s because democracy worth the label is impossible, for starters, with elections awash in private money and a bizarre Electoral College making sure that Americans do not, actually, have votes of even numerically equal weight when electing their single most powerful official, the president. The rule of law can only exist where citizens are equal before laws that apply to everyone in the same, just manner. This is a challenge everywhere, but the US is an almost comically egregious case of legal bias, obscurantism (masquerading as limitlessly re-interpretable case law), and inequality by status, wealth, ethnicity, and skin color. Just ask that crackhead, porn addict, and shady “businessman” from an infamous clan, who is currently not in prison but giving expletive-laden interviews instead.

The US, simply put, does not operate the way it claims to operate. It takes an extraordinary amount of naivete – on the scale of believing in Santa Claus or an honest Vladimir Zelensky – not to notice that much. What is more difficult to figure out is how politics and power actually do work in America and, most of all, who is really in charge. We have, for example, recently witnessed a presidency in which a severely senescent Joe Biden claimed to be but clearly could not be in command. So, who was? And who is in general? That, ultimately, is perhaps the single most disturbing question raised by recent developments around the rotting corpse of “Russiagate” (aka Russia Rage). In its heyday – between 2016 and about 2020 – “Russiagate” was the shorthand for a conspiracy theory that dominated US politics and mainstream media, causing mass hysteria.

Its details were exceedingly complicated but its core was extremely simple: the claims that Russia had manipulated the American presidential elections of 2016, that it had done so to facilitate the first victory of Donald Trump, and finally that Donald Trump’s team had colluded with Russia. The power of this preponderantly factually false and entirely misleading narrative was such that it overshadowed much of Donald Trump’s first presidency and contributed greatly to a catastrophic and very dangerous decline in the always challenging relationship with Russia. Indeed, there even is a plausible connection to be made between the mass madness of “Russiagate” and the reckless policy of provoking and waging a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Now, Trump is back for a second term and bent on revenge against his detractors not only but especially over “Russiagate.”

In his usual refreshingly candid style, he has announced that “it is time to go after people,” fingered former president Barrack Obama for “treason,” and gleefully shared an AI-generated video showing Obama being arrested in the White House. Just before that typical Trump outburst, his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, released a freshly declassified report – produced in early 2017 by the intelligence committee of the House of Representatives – that addresses what really happened in 2016 when “Russiagate” was initially invented. This release was clearly meant to be a sensation: Gabbard accompanied it with press statements and a detailed thread of X posts bringing out its most explosive aspects. Among them, the key finding is that Russia did not work to make Trump president. Boom: the basis of “Russiagate” gone, just like that.

And who was to blame? Gabbard made clear that “Russiagate” was not a cluster-fiasco born of mere incompetence but a monster intentionally produced and carefully nurtured. She accused “top national security officials,” including FBI Director James Comey, CIA Director John Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper as well as Obama himself of deliberately creating and spreading the impression of Russian election meddling in favor of Trump by manipulating the actual, contradictory findings of the intelligence agencies. Gabbard used strong language: a “coup” against Trump, the “weaponization of intelligence,” a “treasonous conspiracy,” and a “betrayal concerning every American.” Those mainstream media, such as the New York Times, that are among the worst offenders in spreading the “Russiagate” hoax have already pounced on this language to, in essence, pooh-pooing Gabbard’s charges as hyperbolical.

Don’t fall for that deflection. Gabbard’s way of presenting her case does have a political edge. Of course it does. Duh. And if they wish, the old “Russiagaters” can nitpick over her terms to their heart’s content. But that makes no difference to the fact that what has happened is an enormous blight on US politics, implicating the intelligence services as well as other state agencies, the media, and, indeed, former President Obama. Gabbard may be laying it on a little thick (or not, actually), but even without any embellishment, the fabrication of “Russiagate” was the real, humungous scandal. And it must be dealt with at long last.

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Another meeting today. After that he’ll talk to the press I’m sure.

Deputy AG Blanche To Meet With Ghislaine Maxwell On Thursday (JTN)

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is set to meet Thursday with Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, according to a news report. Blanche will meet Maxwell in Tallahassee, Fla., where she is serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking and related offenses, anonymous sources told ABC News. The reported meeting comes amid bipartisan furor over the Trump Justice Department effectively shutting down any further investigations related to Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender who died in prison amid more charges related to additional sex crimes. Among the lingering questions who were Epstein’s close, powerful friends and-or on his purported “client list.” President Trump was friends with Epstein before he was convicted in 2005 in Florida of sex crimes.

Maxwell helped find women, some of them minors, for Epstein. “I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days,” Blanche said Tuesday. “Until now, no administration on behalf of the department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government. “President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” the deputy attorney general explained.

Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said Tuesday, “I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully. We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Wednesday subpoenaed Maxwell to sit for a deposition at the Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee on Aug. 11.

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Of course he does. Elon went off the rails, and his rocker, but he’s still a unique asset. It’s just that Trump has an entire country to run, and that’s too large of a picture for Musk.

“I Want Elon To THRIVE” Trump Says (ZH)

Today former President Donald Trump denied accusations that he plans to harm Elon Musk’s companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX, by cutting off federal support. Responding to recent speculation, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government. This is not so!” He added, “I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before! The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us.” “We are setting records every day and I want to keep it that way” Trump added.Though Trump had previously threatened to revoke billions in government subsidies to Musk’s ventures, his recent statements mark a softer stance.

The two have had a turbulent relationship in recent weeks, with tensions rising after Musk’s departure from the Department of Government Efficiency. Despite their past alliance, Trump emphasized his broader commitment to American business success. It was reported over the past week that President Trump had expressed a willingness to harm Musk’s companies by targeting their federal funding and contracts. Following a public feud between the two men—intensified after Musk left his government advisory role—Trump reportedly suggested he could retaliate by canceling contracts with Musk’s businesses, including SpaceX.WSJ reported that after tensions between President Trump and Elon Musk escalated in early June 2025, the Trump administration began reviewing SpaceX’s multibillion-dollar government contracts to assess potential waste and whether any could be canceled.

This move followed Trump’s public suggestion that terminating Musk’s federal deals would be an effective cost-cutting measure. The General Services Administration asked several agencies, including the Defense Department and NASA, to compile detailed spreadsheets—known as “scorecards”—on SpaceX’s active contracts, evaluating their financial value and whether any competitors could fulfill the same roles. However, after reviewing the data, officials concluded that most of the contracts were essential to national security and space exploration, making them difficult to terminate.

SpaceX’s dominance in the launch and satellite sectors left the government with few viable alternatives. Despite ongoing frustrations and scrutiny, the company continued securing major contracts, including a $5.9 billion Pentagon deal for 28 national-security launches. SpaceX’s proven track record, reusable rocket technology, and critical role in programs like Crew Dragon and Starlink have solidified its position as a cornerstone of U.S. space and defense operations—even amid political friction. Most recently, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she did not believe Trump supported federal agencies contracting with Musk’s AI company, xAI, which had just secured a $200 million deal with the Department of Defense.

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The Fench president can’t win in a French court, but thinks he can in a US court?

Candace Owens Responds To Macrons’ Lawsuit Over Transgender Allegations (RT)

American commentator Candace Owens has vowed to fight a defamation lawsuit filed by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, after the conservative Youtuber repeatedly claimed the first lady was transgender. The lawsuit, filed earlier this week in a US court, accuses Owens of spreading “false and defamatory claims” – including that Brigitte Macron was born male, that the couple are blood relatives, and that Emmanuel Macron is a product of a CIA mind control program. According to the filing, the allegations were made “to promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money,” and amounted to “relentless bullying on a worldwide scale.”

In a video posted to her YouTube channel on Wednesday, Owens shared a message intended for Brigitte Macron with her 4.5 million subscribers: “You were born a man and you’ll die a man,” adding that she is “fully prepared to take on this battle on behalf of the entire world” and that she will see the French president’s spouse in court. The Macrons filed a 219-page lawsuit in the US state of Delaware earlier in the day, alleging 22 counts of defamation against Owens. The complaint includes 99 pages of factual claims and evidence such as Brigitte Macron’s childhood photos, birth records, and documentation of her three children with her first husband. The document says Owens has turned the couple’s life “into fodder for profit-driven lies.”

Suing the podcaster was “the last resort,” as she ignored all requests to stop her activities, Macron’s lead counsel Tom Clare told CNN. Owens has repeatedly attacked Mrs. Macron on social media. In 2024, she posted a video titled “Is France’s First Lady a Man?” Earlier this year, she shared an investigation called “Becoming Brigitte.” The rumors about Brigitte date back to 2021, when Amandine Roy and Natacha Rey posted a four-hour video alleging she was born a man. However, this July, the Paris Appeals Court overturned the fines put on the bloggers following Mrs. Macron’s 2022 lawsuit. The court ruled out the women acted in “good faith” and that their allegations were an expression of belief.

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Europe will be much poorer than anyone today can imagine. Simply because of their politics. Totally preventable.

Germany’s €450 Billion EU Tribute: Brussels Demands, Berlin Pays (Kolbe)

Political centralism doesn’t come free of charge. On the path toward the United States of Europe, Brussels is entangling itself in a web of overreach, control mania, and interventionism. The invoice for this arrogance is being handed down to the outposts of Eurocracy. Celebration in Berlin. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proudly presented what he called a comeback for Germany’s depression-plagued economy this Monday. Under the deeply original (read: painfully clichéd) slogan “Made for Germany”, 60 of the country’s top corporations showcased their already planned investments as a kind of aggregated act of economic liberation. “Germany is back,” Merz posted on X – grandiose, juvenile, and more cringe-inducing than inspiring. The reality of the German economy paints a different picture.

The labor market has already tipped into decline, with more than 100,000 industrial jobs set to be eliminated this year. A record wave of bankruptcies and a dramatic capital flight round out the portrait of an economic policy in freefall. How far Merz’s corporate pep rally strays from the economic facts is made clear by the country’s net direct investment figures: In 2024, Germany saw €64.5 billion in net capital leave the country. In 2023, it was €67.3 billion; in 2022, a staggering €112.2 billion. Germany is bleeding. And the real scandal is this: the country’s political leadership and, for practical purposes, let’s call them its “economic elite,” refuse to speak about the true causes of this collapse. A summit truly “Made for Germany” would call for an exit from the suicidal green policy agenda.

It would advocate a drastic reduction in bureaucracy and regulatory coercion, a return to affordable Russian gas, and the revival of nuclear power – the pillars of any serious industrial policy. Contrast this PR stunt with the hard numbers, and it becomes obvious why the event faded into oblivion – uninspired, flat, and quickly archived as another placebo moment of postmodern politics. Merz, for his part, was likely already preoccupied with another headache. While he toasted in Berlin, half of Europe was reacting to the ballooning budget proposal by his party colleague, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She had just introduced her draft for the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028 to 2034: a whopping €1.82 trillion.

No one can accuse Brussels of lacking ambition. €100 billion is earmarked to keep the proxy war in Ukraine afloat, while another €650 billion is slated for the EU’s green subsidy machine – a lifeline for its artificial eco-economy. The proposed budget would increase by €750 billion, or nearly 50%. Unlike China’s five-year plans, the EU dreams in seven-year cycles. A true central planner’s paradise. If enacted, this mega-budget would trigger a massive increase in member-state contributions – with Germany, as usual, stuck with the lion’s share. Based on its economic size, Germany would be expected to contribute around 25% of the total, or approximately €450 billion.For comparison: Germany currently pays around €30 billion annually into the EU budget and receives €14 billion in return – a net loss of €16 billion per year.

Under the new framework, Berlin’s net contribution could rise to as much as €50 billion per year – more than triple today’s level. Cynics might argue that Germany could absorb the extra debt without much fuss. After all, Berlin is planning to borrow €90 billion next year anyway – what’s another €26 billion? Relative to GDP, it’s just a 0.6% bump in spending. A small price to pay for stabilizing Europe’s central authority. In the lingo of German politics: a Democracy Tax.And since no one in Brussels or Berlin seems to care about the Maastricht debt rules anymore, the path is clear for another round of debt-financed Euro-socialism.Merz, together with von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron, is united in the belief that consolidating power within Brussels is the only way to keep Europe geopolitically relevant.

Merz is increasingly revealing himself as a committed central planner. With him, there will be no market-based reset – no return to constitutional economics. The German government’s current budget plan shows that Berlin is on board. The crisis will be “managed” through massive borrowing and state-directed investment of fictitious capital. To resolve Brussels’ budget dilemma, we can expect a two-pronged solution: new EU taxes and increased national contributions. I’ll go ahead and predict what’s coming: in the next few months, we will see a coordinated push to eliminate the veto rights of individual EU member states in budget negotiations.

Let Viktor Orbán stomp his feet in Budapest all he wants – the advance of European-style socialism won’t be stopped by ox or donkey. One imagines CDU members quietly humming The Internationale under their breath. Once that veto hurdle is cleared, national debts could be pooled under the umbrella of the EU Commission, monetized via the European Central Bank, and camouflaged by a digital Euro – all in an effort to halt the economic hemorrhaging of the Eurozone. The Ukraine conflict serves as the ideal justification for this massive wave of public credit creation.

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“..seem destined to diverge ever more sharply. By 2023, US GDP per capita had climbed to $82,770, exactly double the EU’s $41,420..”

Europe Is Stuck in a Disastrous, Failing Marxist Trap (GI)

In a world where shifting economic forces are redrawing the global balance of power, the trajectories of the United States and the European Union over the coming decade (2025-2035) seem destined to diverge ever more sharply. By 2023, US GDP per capita had climbed to $82,770, exactly double the EU’s $41,420. America’s lead rested on average annual real GDP growth of 2.2% between 2010 and 2023; productivity gains of roughly 14%, and research-and-development spending equal to 3.4% of GDP. Add to that a remarkably flexible labor market, modest demographic growth (0.5% per year) and, since 2019, energy self-sufficiency. The EU tells a different story: average annual real GDP growth of barely 1.3%, a mere 7% rise in hourly productivity, a working-age population that shrinks by about one million a year, and an energy-dependence rate still hovering around 58%.

“Ah, but….” retort the socialists of every political hue — and in Europe they exist in every political party — “you cite average income, not median income.” Median income, the point at which 50% earn less and 50% earn more, is indeed lower than the mean in the United States. Inequality is more pronounced in the US than in Europe. Yet their reply, presented as though it settled the debate, is itself part of Europe’s predicament. In Europe, inequality is generally treated as an evil, a moral abomination; therefore material equality, even if it means, as in the former Soviet Union, that no one (except senior party members) has anything, is elevated to the status of an ideal good. At 17, as first-year law student, I had the opportunity to interview André Molitor, former chief of staff to King Baudouin of Belgium. Molitor, a gracious left-wing Catholic, confided that the single thing he truly despised was inequality; his dream was for “fewer rich and fewer poor.”

True material equality is a myth. The “real equality” championed by communists and socialists of every stripe has simply never existed. Hand every European €100,000 today, and by tomorrow there would already be a handful of tycoons — perhaps even an Elon Musk or two — alongside those who squandered everything, with the vast majority scattered somewhere in between. Equality, as a moral value, has served largely as a pretext for socialism — take from Peter and give to Paul — all while funding a sprawling, parasitic apparatus of “redistribution” that provides little opportunity or incentive to succeed or to keep what one has earned. Europe’s elevation of material equality may well be its most disastrous bequest to itself. With ironclad consistency, the continent advances toward greater equality — in increasing misery and squalor.

The baseline projection for 2035 at current growth rates shows that if current trajectories persist — 2% annual growth in the United States versus 1% in Europe — the average American income will exceed $100,000 by 2035, while Europe’s will remain around $50,000. Carriage drivers in New York’s Central Park or dog-walkers in Beverly Hills will soon earn more than French physicians and German engineers — not metaphorically, but in cold cash. Even taking into account the differences in inflation and purchasing power between Europe and the US — the cost of living is lower in Europe — the transatlantic gap is immense and growing.

Under alternative scenarios — a European technological renaissance, or conversely a severe geopolitical shock for the United States, the ratio rarely falls below 2:1. America’s productivity growth, energy production and R&D investment remain decisive. Plainly stated: absent a political sea-change, Europe is on a path of swift decline, notwithstanding genuine strengths such as longer life expectancy. Per-capita GDP — imperfect yet inescapable — crystallizes a transatlantic chasm. Europe is becoming to the USA what Greece was to Rome: a charming open-air museum. Is it inevitable? Hauling Europe out of the mire of socialism, in all its guises, would demand two transformations so radical they verge on the unimaginable.

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Power bill


Optimus

Scott

Bean
https://twitter.com/HJB_News__/status/1948384161107972544

Balance impossibile

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jul 242025
 


Max Ernst Inspired hill 1950

 

Gabbard Refers Obama for Criminal Investigation Over Russiagate (Margolis)
Obama’s Role In ‘Russia Hoax Lies’ Exposed – Gabbard (RT)
Tulsi Is About To Drop More Evidence Against Barack Obama (Margolis)
Canada Accepts No Trade Deal Before 35% Tariffs Kick In (CTH)
Trump Questions Kiev’s Use Of US Aid (RT)
Western Media Reacts To Zelensky’s Crackdown On Anti-Corruption Bureau (RT)
US Congresswoman Labels Zelensky ‘Dictator’ (RT)
Zelensky’s End Goal Is In Sight, And So Is His End (Amar)
Von der Leyen Warns Zelensky Over Risk To Ukraine’s EU Bid (RT)
US State Dept Accuses EU of ‘Orwellian Censorship’ (RT)
The Case For Media Transparency Within The EU Just Got Sexy (Jay)
Biggest US Power Grid Sets Power Costs At Record High To Feed AI (ZH)
Whose Politics Canceled Stephen Colbert? (Daniel McCarthy)
Macron’s Popularity Hits Record Low (RT)
Macron Sues Candace Owens For Defamation For Claiming His Wife Is A Man (ZH)

 

 

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

tulsi


Bannon

2020

Fed

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

 

 

 

 

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

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

Gabbard Refers Obama for Criminal Investigation Over Russiagate (Margolis)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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That Congresswoman can only be MTG.

US Congresswoman Labels Zelensky ‘Dictator’ (RT)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Time to go

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The EU taxpayer pays to be deceived…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Whose Politics Canceled Stephen Colbert? (Daniel McCarthy)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The President sinks below 20%.

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

Macron’s Popularity Hits Record Low (RT)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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elon 2024

Starship

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jul 022025
 


Pablo Picasso Woman with blue collar (Portrait d’Inez) 1941

 

Senate Passes the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’-With 3 GOP Defections (Margolis)
Trump Says DOGE Should Investigate Musk (RT)
Trump Vs. Musk: “Big, Beautiful Bill” Feud Sparks Overnight Firestorm (ZH)
Media Forced To Admit Trump’s Tariffs Are Working As Revenues Spike (ZH)
Pentagon Halts Weapons Supplies To Kiev Over Depleting Stockpiles (RT)
‘Catastrophic’ Budget Increase Will Destroy NATO – Lavrov (RT)
Putin and Macron Talk For First Time In Three Years – Kremlin (RT)
Italy Could Classify $13.5 Billion Bridge As NATO Spending – Poltico (RT)
1 in 5 Illegal Migrants Now Simply Flying Into Germany (RMX)
Poland Reintroduces Immigration Controls (RT)
President Trump’s Plan for the Middle East (Paul Craig Roberts)
Trump Says Israel Agrees To 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire, Urges Hamas To Accept (ZH)
Syria Could Drop Demand That Israel Return The Golan Heights (RT)
AI Is The Only Thing Keeping The World From Total Stagnation – Peter Thiel (Flor)
Kennedy Labels US Democrats ‘War Party’ (RT)
RFK Jr. Unloads Disturbing Vaccine Secrets On Tucker (VF)

 

 

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1940120314744070596

Miller census
https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1939702115515191304

RFK

j6

https://twitter.com/TheGabriel72/status/1939831962224529910

Candace

Fraud

 

 

Ritter’s Rant 017: The Blame Game

 

 

 

 

“We’re just extending current tax policy,” he said. “We are preventing a $4 trillion tax increase on the American people. When you vote against this, that’s who you’d be voting for.”

Senate Passes the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’-With 3 GOP Defections (Margolis)

After days of gridlock and backroom wrangling, the Senate today passed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,’ the legislative linchpin of President Trump’s second-term agenda. The tally was 51 yeas and 50 nays, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tiebreaking vote. The Senate was locked in a “vote-a-rama”—a procedural endurance test where senators burn the midnight oil, lobbing amendment after amendment in a desperate bid to tweak, torpedo, or salvage the bill. With a razor-thin majority, Republicans could not afford more than three defections, which is why Vice President JD Vance was summoned to the Capitol to cast the tie-breaking vote. Vance has already played this role before, and it’s clear the White House was counting on him to drag this bill across the finish line.

The real drama, however, wasn’t coming from Democrats—they were united in opposition, as always—but from within the GOP ranks. Senators like Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins became the focal points of intense lobbying, their votes courted with a mix of sweeteners and veiled threats. In the end, Murkowski voted for the bill; Collins voted against it, along with Sens. Thom Tillis and Rand Paul. Naturally, Democrats were panicking, posting apocalyptic predictions on social media. On Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune blasted Democrats for what he called a “mind-blowing” display of hypocrisy over the national debt, accusing them of pretending to care about fiscal responsibility now that Republicans are in charge.

“It is rich to hear Democrats all of a sudden concerned about debt and deficits,” Thune said on the Senate floor, as lawmakers debated President Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” “Really? I mean, I’ve been here a long time, and I’ve not been involved in a single spending debate in which Republicans [weren’t] trying to spend less and Democrats [weren’t] trying to spend more—except when it comes to national security. Democrats are always willing to cut defense, but never want to cut anywhere else.” Thune reminded the chamber that Democrats had full control of Congress and the White House just a few years ago and used reconciliation not to cut deficits, but to push through massive spending packages.

“One of the bills cost $2 trillion. The other cost $1 trillion. And it was all spending,” he said. “That’s the fundamental difference between us. Democrats like government—and when you send money to Washington, money is power.” Thune contrasted that with the GOP’s effort to stop a looming tax hike. “We’re just extending current tax policy,” he said. “We are preventing a $4 trillion tax increase on the American people. When you vote against this, that’s who you’d be voting for.” The bill now heads to the House.

Massie

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Has he offered to repay the $400 million Musk paid into his campaign?

Trump Says DOGE Should Investigate Musk (RT)

US President Donald Trump has suggested that Elon Musk should be investigated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which the tech billionaire formerly headed, for allegedly benefiting excessively from government subsidies. Musk, a former ally of Trump, stepped down as the head of DOGE last month amid disagreements with the president over his so-called “big, beautiful” budget bill, which includes a $5 trillion debt ceiling increase. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has repeatedly criticized the legislation, saying it undermined his work with DOGE to cut federal spending. The tech billionaire attacked the bill and its supporters again on Tuesday as the US Senate began voting on the amendments to Trump’s 940-page proposal.

“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame,” Musk wrote on X. “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth,” he warned. The entrepreneur also reiterated his call for a new “America Party” to be formed to serve as “an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.” Trump, who claims that the actual reason for Musk’s anger was not the “big, beautiful bill,” but his plans to roll back the government’s electric vehicle (EV) subsidies, fired back at the Tesla and SpaceX CEO shortly afterwards in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” he wrote. Without the assistance from the government to Musk’s companies, there would be “no more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!” Trump insisted. “Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate. It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one,” Trump added.

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“As for Trump’s threat about “no more rocket launches, satellites” — referring to Musk’s company SpaceX — good luck following through on that. SpaceX is the reason the U.S. is leading the global space race..”

Trump Vs. Musk: “Big, Beautiful Bill” Feud Sparks Overnight Firestorm (ZH)

Update (0800 ET):President Trump on Elon Musk this morning:
TRUMP: MUSK IS UPSET HE LOST THE EV MANDATE BUT ‘HE COULD LOSE A LOT MORE THAN THAT’
TRUMP, ASKED ABOUT DEPORTING MUSK, SAYS HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK

* * *
Tesla shares slid in premarket trading in New York following a late-night clash between CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump. The feud played out across their respective social media platforms. “Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for president, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate. It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The president continued, “No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!” The Truth Social post came after Musk slammed Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” on X ahead of the final vote, vowing to launch a new political party, claiming that Republicans and Democrats are merely a ‘uniparty’ operating with a limitless taxpayer-funded credit card.

Tesla has long benefited from the $7,500 EV tax credit, which the BBB plan aims to eliminate. While this move has been widely anticipated, it could ultimately work in Tesla’s favor, hitting rivals like Rivian, Lucid, and legacy automakers far harder, as many still rely heavily on such subsidies to stay afloat. Tesla shares are down 4% in premarket trading, currently hovering around $303 per share. On the year, shares are down 21%, as of Monday’s close. As for Trump’s threat about “no more rocket launches, satellites” — referring to Musk’s company SpaceX — good luck following through on that. SpaceX is the reason the U.S. is leading the global space race.

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“If they buy more from US sources or countries not on the list, then their costs will remain low. If they don’t, then they must shift the costs in other ways.”

Media Forced To Admit Trump’s Tariffs Are Working As Revenues Spike (ZH)

The debate is raging this week over increased government spending and the potential raising of the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, with many fiscal conservatives splitting with the GOP and the Trump Administration over what they feel is a betrayal of their campaign promises to reduce government waste. Trump argues that all the elements included in his “big beautiful bill” are necessary in order to revitalize the US economy and break from the interdependency of the current globalist model. Can the dollar continue to absorb the pressure of ever increasing debt obligations? Is there a way to cut the debt without cutting spending? At least one aspect of Trump’s fiscal plan is showing success in this area despite the warnings of critics; the establishment media has been forced to admit that the administration’s tariff efforts are actually working.

The US has collected over $121 billion in revenues from tariffs on imported goods, and despite claims that tariffs are a “tax on the consumer”, prices on the shelf have not risen so far. Opponents of the policy are struggling to explain the data. Some still argue that disaster is right around the corner while others are acknowledging that there is a potential to pay off US debt over time if the import duties remain in place for the long term. Misconceptions about tariffs lead the public to believe that they are a tax on foreign producers or governments, but tariffs are in fact taxes on companies sourcing products internationally from nations on the duties list. The taxes place the responsibility of adaptation on corporations – If they buy more from US sources or countries not on the list, then their costs will remain low. If they don’t, then they must shift the costs in other ways.

Raising prices is the last thing any company not producing necessities wants to do. Consumers can easily cut back on peripheral goods. In other words, the assertion that tariffs are a hidden tax on the public is rooted in a lack of understanding on import duties and how they affect markets. Consumers will buy from producers that keep prices down by adapting to the tariffs, and there are many ways to adapt. It’s that simple. Democrats and some conservatives argued that prices would rise exponentially as international corporations immediately deferred costs on consumers in order to offset the added expenses on imported raw materials and manufactured goods. They were wrong.

The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 2.3% in May, modestly above the central bank’s 2% annual target. The May Consumer Price Index rose at an annual rate of 2.4%, cooler than economists expected. Some blame the “front loading” of imports (increased orders of goods before the tariffs went into effect). However, front loading was estimated to act as a stop-gap for only two months (possibly three by some predictions). Tariffs were initiated in February and though there have been fluctuations it’s been five months waiting for the tariff asteroid to explode American wallets and nothing has happened.

Will companies eventually shift the tariff burden on American consumers over the next year? A better question would be can they shift the burden in a weaker retail market? Would they take the risk of plunging sales? Or will they do what they should have been doing all along: Buy a larger percentage of their goods from US producers and bring manufacturing back home? At the current rate, tariffs could generate around $300 billion by the end of this year and $1.2 trillion over the next four years. It’s not enough to offset increased debt spending, but it does offer an alternative to hiking taxes on the general public (which is what Democrats would do). And if inflation concerns continue to prove over-hyped, then the tariff model could remain in place for many years to come.

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All they needed was a credible excuse.

Pentagon Halts Weapons Supplies To Kiev Over Depleting Stockpiles (RT)

The Pentagon has suspended shipments of several categories of US-made weapons to Ukraine, according to Politico and NBC News. The decision reportedly followed an internal review of American weapons reserves ordered by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, amid rising concerns about the rate at which munitions are being depleted. The move reportedly affects dozens of Patriot missile interceptors, Stinger and AIM air-to-air missiles, hundreds of Hellfire and GMLRS systems, as well as thousands of 155mm artillery shells that Washington had previously pledged to Kiev. Some of the weapons were already positioned in Europe have now been withheld before handover to Ukrainian forces, NBC reported. The weapons in question had been funded under the Biden administration through two mechanisms: direct drawdowns from existing US military stockpiles and the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which contracts new production from defense contractors.

The Trump administration has not requested any additional Ukraine aid, and existing resources are expected to last only “several more months,” according to Politico. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly defended the move as a necessary step to prioritize American defense needs. “This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a DOD review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe. The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned – just ask Iran,” she said, without confirming any details. The decision to freeze or slow-walk the remaining aid without formal notice to Congress may raise legal concerns similar to the 2019 withholding of some Ukraine assistance under Trump’s first administration –a move the Government Accountability Office ruled unlawful at the time, Politico noted.

Kiev has repeatedly voiced frustration over what it sees as dwindling support from Washington. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky met with President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in The Hague last week but received no firm promises. Trump said Patriots were “very hard to get” and that the US needed them for its own defense and for Israel. Trump has stated he intends to negotiate a ceasefire with Moscow and bring the conflict to an end. Hegseth said last month that the White House is reducing military funding for Kiev as part of its “America First” strategy and in hopes of achieving a diplomatic settlement.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration signed a deal giving the US priority access to Ukraine’s mineral wealth –a step the White House said would allow America to “get back” some of the hundreds of billions spent under Biden. The Pentagon’s policy shift appears to reflect a broader realignment under Trump, who has publicly questioned the rationale behind endless aid to Ukraine. Russian presidential envoy and head of the Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev, noted that the move “highlights the real limits of Western capacity and the shifting priorities of the US military.”

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“Perhaps he foresees – being such a prophet – that this catastrophic, in my view, increase in NATO countries’ budgets will also lead to the organization’s collapse.”

‘Catastrophic’ Budget Increase Will Destroy NATO – Lavrov (RT)

The results of NATO countries hiking military budgets will be “catastrophic” and lead to the bloc’s collapse, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. His remarks mirrored Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski’s earlier suggestion that a boost in Moscow’s defense spending could trigger the fall of the government. At NATO’s most recent summit last month in the Hague, member states committed to spending 5% of GDP on the military – a significant rise from the previous 2% target. Poland backed the hike, arguing that failing to achieve the new benchmark “as soon as possible” would pose a ‘‘threat’‘ to the bloc considering the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

In an interview with Polish media, Sikorski drew a parallel between modern Russia and the late USSR. Referring to President Vladimir Putin, he stated that “he himself once said that the Soviet Union fell because it spent too much on armament, and now he is doing exactly the same thing.” Meanwhile, speaking to the press at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Foreign Ministers Council in Kyrgyzstan, Sergey Lavrov took issue with Sikorski’s characterization, countering: “Perhaps he foresees – being such a prophet – that this catastrophic, in my view, increase in NATO countries’ budgets will also lead to the organization’s collapse.”

Lavrov also said that Russia “plans to reduce its military spending,” which now accounts for 6.3% of GDP, and “be guided by common sense, but not made-up threats like NATO member states, including Sikorsky.” The 5% GDP target faced opposition from some NATO members. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said his country could not allocate one-fifth of its state budget to defense, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the goal “not only unreasonable but also counterproductive.”

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Makes the ‘war on Russia’ narrative much harder to maintain.

Putin and Macron Talk For First Time In Three Years – Kremlin (RT)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron by telephone, the Kremlin press service said on Tuesday. It is the first phone contact between the leaders since September 2022. The conversation revolved around the situation in the Middle East, as well as the Ukraine conflict. During the call, Putin told Macron that the Ukraine conflict was “a direct consequence of the policies pursued by Western states, which for many years ignored Russia’s security interests,” and had established an “anti-Russian bridgehead” in the country, the press service stated. The Russian leader reiterated Moscow’s approach to any settlement, stating that it must “be comprehensive and long-term, address the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and be based on new territorial realities.”

Putin and Macron also discussed the situation in the Middle East, namely the recent escalation between Israel and Iran. The two leaders agreed that diplomacy was the way forward, the Kremlin press service noted, adding that they agreed to maintain contact for the sake of “possible coordination of the positions.” Both countries share a “special responsibility” to maintain “peace and security,” as well as to preserve the “global nuclear non-proliferation regime,” the two men agreed, according to Moscow. “In this regard, the importance of respecting Tehran’s legitimate right to develop peaceful nuclear energy and continuing to fulfill its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, including cooperation with the IAEA, was emphasized,” the Kremlin press service said.

France has long asserted itself as one of Kiev’s key backers in the conflict with Moscow. Paris has committed more than €3.7 billion ($4.1 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022, according to the Kiel Institute’s aid tracker. Macron has also repeatedly floated the idea of deploying French soldiers to Ukraine. While the deployment never materialized, Paris repeatedly signaled that troops could be sent after the end of hostilities to act as a deterrent against Russia. Moscow has firmly opposed Western forces in Ukraine in any role, warning the it could trigger an all-out war between Russia and NATO.

In recent months, however, Macron has softened his stance, admitting back in May that the French have done “the maximum we could” to help and could no longer supply Ukraine with weapons. Last week, the French president said that NATO’s European members have no wish to “endlessly” arm themselves and should “think about” restoring dialogue with Russia “right now” in order to negotiate broader European security as part of a potential Ukraine peace deal.

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“..the new designation of the project would make raising money for it easier and would also “override bureaucratic obstacles..”

Italy Could Classify $13.5 Billion Bridge As NATO Spending – Poltico (RT)

Italian authorities are looking to classify a long-term project to construct a bridge connecting the mainland to the island of Sicily as a NATO expenditure amid their struggle to meet the bloc’s spending goals, according to Politico. The idea of creating an overpass to the largest island in the Mediterranean had been discussed in Italy for many decades, but its realization has been hampered by high costs, the difficulty of operating in a seismic zone and other issues. If built by the current government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the 3.6-km-long suspension bridge across the Strait of Messina will become the longest in the world. In its article on Monday, Politico described Italy as “one of NATO’s lowest military spenders,” with Rome investing only 1.49% of its GDP in defense last year, a far cry from the 5% goal approved at the bloc’s summit in The Hague in June.

Marking the $13.5 billion bridge as a NATO spending could help Meloni meet the bloc’s 5% target and, at the same time, “convince a war-wary public of the need for major defense outlays at a time when Italy is already inching toward austerity,” the article read. An unnamed Italian government official told the outlet that no formal decision has yet been made by Rome on classifying the bridge as a security project, but further talks would likely be held soon to “see how feasible this feels.” According to another official from the Italian Treasury, who also talked to Politico, the new designation of the project would make raising money for it easier and would also “override bureaucratic obstacles, litigation with local authorities that could challenge the government in court claiming that the bridge will disproportionately damage their land.”

The problem for Rome is that the Strait of Messina lies outside of Italy’s only designated NATO military mobility corridor, the article pointed out. However, the Italian case is backed by the fact that only 3.5% from the NATO spending target must be allocated for core military needs, while the remaining 1.5% could be steered toward broader strategic resilience projects, including infrastructure. “Whether NATO — and more importantly, US President Donald Trump, who loves a big building project — will buy into that logic is another matter,” Politico noted.

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They do it on purpose?

1 in 5 Illegal Migrants Now Simply Flying Into Germany (RMX)

In the past 12 months, the German Federal Police have identified 12,858 illegal migrants who entered Germany by air, a significant number that is on the rise. Now, migrants are increasingly choosing simply to fly into Germany instead of dealing with the long ordeal of crossing multiple borders in dangerous conditions. This increase in migrants flying into Germany jumped after Germany tightened border controls.In May of this year alone, at least 977 illegal entries were recorded using air travel to enter Germany, accounting for over 20 percent of all identified illegal border crossings.However, the true number of such crossings is likely much higher, as foreign nationals traveling within the Schengen area are not required to show identification. As a result, they are often only discovered long after they have left the airport, making it impossible to turn them back.

“It would be consistent to also notify the Schengen air borders,” said Heiko Teggatz, a board member of the German Police Union (DPolG).“If the smugglers aren’t completely stupid, they’ll simply bring their people from other Schengen states to Germany by plane. Today, you can easily book a plane ticket within the Schengen area, and you generally don’t have to show your ID anywhere.”All of this information came from a government response from Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) after Alternative for Germany (AfD) MP Gottfried Curio, the party’s domestic policy spokesperson, launched an inquiry.Dobrindt was forced to acknowledge that the tightened controls “refer exclusively to the land borders,” meaning no illegal migrants were turned back at airports.

This trend of illegal entry by plane has intensified since the new federal government instructed officials to begin rejecting asylum seekers at internal borders. Teggatz confirmed this “increase in secondary migration via airports,” noting that “Medium-sized commercial airports like Hanover are particularly affected.” Despite hundreds of officers being deployed at German airports, checks are almost exclusively conducted on flights from outside the Schengen area. That means if a migrant makes it to Greece and manages to get on a plane to Germany, there is little chance he will be checked.= Dobrindt, like his predecessor, Nancy Faeser (SPD), has reported rejections of migrants coming into Germany, but only from land borders. It remains unclear why airports were not included in tightened border measures.

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People don’t go to Poland to stay there; they’re on their way to Germany.

Poland Reintroduces Immigration Controls (RT)

Poland has decided to temporarily reintroduce border controls along its frontiers with Germany and Lithuania to stop the flow of illegal migrants. All three nations are part of the Schengen Area, which allows free travel across most of the bloc. The EU has been grappling with a refugee crisis since at least 2015, largely caused by upheavals in the Middle East and Africa, and later by the Ukraine conflict. Warsaw has previously accused German police of “dumping” thousands of migrants back across the Polish border. Some activists have organized self-styled ‘citizen border patrols’ along the German frontier. “We remain advocates for freedom of movement in Europe, but only on condition that there is the shared will of all neighbors… to minimize the uncontrolled flow of migrants across our borders,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

He stated that temporary border controls would similarly be implemented on Poland’s border with Lithuania.In 2023, neighboring Germany, the EU’s top destination for asylum seekers, introduced temporary controls on its borders with Poland and the Czech Republic to stem the flow. Most of the people entering Poland travel on to western Europe, where benefits for asylum seekers are more generous. Berlin has since repeatedly renewed the controls. Under the Schengen agreement, participant nations are allowed to temporarily reintroduce border controls in emergency situations, with the Covid-19 outbreak having been one recent instance. Tighter national migration and border control policies could lead to the destruction of the EU, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned in May.

Commenting on the restoration of control on the Polish-Lithuanian border, Tusk accused the Baltic state, as well as neighboring Latvia, of having lax border controls. The lapses have supposedly allowed illegal migrants to cross over from non-EU Belarus, and subsequently to enter Poland. Since 2021, Warsaw has accused Minsk and Moscow of deliberately orchestrating the flow of illegal migrants into EU states. Russia and Belarus have denied the allegations.

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“If Netanyahu has any sense, he will let Trump rescue the Israeli people.”

President Trump’s Plan for the Middle East (Paul Craig Roberts)

In discussion yesterday with Nima on Dialogue Works about the Israeli-Iranian-Trump-Netanyahu ongoings, I suggested a bold and innovative plan for the Middle East that Trump should present to the world in a speech to the UN General Assembly. I even offered to write the speech. https://www.youtube.com/live/L-8j_NSxC14 I formed the plan from mulling over insights into Trump’s attitude toward the Middle East from Gilbert Doctorow, Michel Chossudovsky, and from Trump’s news conference with Netanyahu when Trump stated Washington’s claim to Gaza as an American possession. Doctorow pointed out that it was irrelevant whether Trump had destroyed the three underground Iranian nuclear sites. What mattered is that Trump’s assertion, true or false, had destroyed Netanyahu’s excuse for war with Iran. Is Netanyahu going to risk Washington’s protection by contradicting President Trump?

Chossudovsky pointed out that in the press conference at which Trump stated Washington’s claim to Gaza, Trump expressed the idea of a Gaza resort as the anchor for an American Middle East colony in place of Greater Israel. In front of Netanyahu Trump unveiled a vision of a Middle East made rich by American management. It would be a different kind of colonial management from the British/French approach that extracted assets and sent them home to Britain and France. Trump envisioned a partnership in which the “colonies” would be shareholders sharing in the profits from economic development. This would be good for Israel as well. When a presstitute asked Netanyahu his opinion, Netanyahu did not disavow it.

I was surprised that Trump’s claim to Gaza and its reconstruction and his idea of a reconstruction of the Middle Eastern countries that previous US regimes had destroyed for Israel did not get a big news play. But Chossudovsky saw it, and he helped me to see it. Ask yourselves, Is there any better solution to the Israeli-Muslim problem in the Middle East? Israel is smaller in area than New Jersey. Iran is 2.5 times larger than Texas. Israel has fewer than 10 million people. Iran has more than 90 million people. Iran can produce modern missiles in greater quantities than Israel can be supplied from the US. In a recent news conference in a demonstration of Israeli insanity, Netanyahu added the territory of Pakistan to Greater Israel. Pakistan has nuclear weapons and a population of 250 million.

Israel has zero chance of winning a war with Iran and the same for Pakistan. Israel knows this but is confident that the power that the Israel Lobby can exert over dumbshit American’s lives and money guarantees that Americans will fight more wars for Israel. The Israeli-subsidized Christian Zionists–a contradiction of terms–are all for it. Amazing, isn’t it, Israel has even corrupted Christian evangelicals, paying their preachers to send Americans to war for Israel. What might be reducing Israel’s control over America is the weakened position of Netanyahu, under two Israeli court indictments for crimes, and by the destruction inflicted on Israel by its irresponsible attack on Iran, culminating in Netanyahu’s plea to Trump to stop the war before Israel had to sue for peace.

This leaves Trump with the upper hand. Israel now understands that it cannot exist without Washington’s protection. Thus Trump can force Netanyahu to give up the unrealistic Zionist goal of Greater Israel and comply with Trump’s vision of a colony under America’s redevelopment of the Middle East. If Trump would take this plan to the UN, it would silence Israel and the American neoconservative zionists and save us from war that could turn nuclear. If Trump establishes peace and cooperation in the Middle East, he can do the same with the West and Russia. Russia was the ally of Britain and France in both WW I and WW II. It is not difficult to come to terms with a former ally. There is no ideological reason and no territorial reason for conflict between the West and Russia.

Think about America’s waste of resources and prestige during the first quarter of the 21st century. Trillions of dollars spend destroying Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Somalia with zero gain. No one except military/security war profits got anything from these wars. There was no terrorist threat. Washington brought no one democracy, only destruction. Think about the destruction Washington brought to entire countries for no purpose than Israel’s absurd idea of a Greater Israel. The millions of dead, permanently maimed, and dislocated people, many of whom have located in Europe and the US burdening those taxpayers with their upkeep. WHO BENEFITTED??

Let’s give Trump a chance. An American partnership in the Middle East is far better than the conflicts inherent in Greater Israel. If Israel refuses to go along, Trump should just run over them. Israel is of no consequence in the world. Israel since its existence has never been anything except a cause of conflict, death, and destruction. Why a people like this has been tolerated, I do not know. Can Sunni and Shia be brought together and Muslims brought together with Jews? Seems fantastic. But perhaps they will see it as preferable to the continuation of endless bloodshed. If Netanyahu has any sense, he will let Trump rescue the Israeli people.

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Too many dead Gazans for a real ceasefire.

Trump Says Israel Agrees To 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire, Urges Hamas To Accept (ZH)

President Trump said Tuesday that Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and warned Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. Trump announced the development as he prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House on Monday. The US leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war in Gaza. “My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,” Trump wrote, saying the Qataris and Egyptians would deliver the final proposal.

“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better – IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he said. Trump’s promise that it was his best and final offer may find a sceptical audience with Hamas. Even before the expiration of the war’s longest ceasefire in March, Trump has repeatedly issued dramatic ultimatums to pressure Hamas to agree to longer pauses in the fighting that would see the release of more hostages and a return of more aid to Gaza’s civilian populace. Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer was in Washington on Tuesday for talks with senior administration officials to discuss a potential Gaza ceasefire, Iran and other matters. Dermer was expected to meet with US Vice-President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump repeated his hope for forging an Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal next week. Asked if it was time to put pressure on Netanyahu to get a ceasefire deal done, Trump said the Israeli prime minister was ready to come to an agreement. “He wants to,” Trump said of Netanyahu in an exchange with reporters while visiting a new immigration detention facility in Florida. “I think we’ll have a deal next week.” Talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over a major sticking point – whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire agreement. About 50 hostages remain captive in Gaza, with less than half believed to be alive.

The development came as over 150 international charities and humanitarian groups called on Tuesday for disbanding a controversial Israeli- and US-backed system to distribute aid in Gaza because of chaos and deadly violence against Palestinians seeking food at its sites. The joint statement by groups including Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty International followed the killings of at least 10 Palestinians who were seeking desperately needed food, witnesses and health officials said. Meanwhile, Israeli air strikes killed at least 37 in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital. “Tents, tents they are hitting with two missiles?” asked Um Seif Abu Leda, whose son was killed in the strikes. Mourners threw flowers on the body bags.

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“On Monday, President Donald Trump lifted most US sanctions on Syria in order to facilitate the flow of foreign aid for the country’s reconstruction.”

Syria Could Drop Demand That Israel Return The Golan Heights (RT)

Former warlord Ahmad al-Sharaa, who seized power in Syria last year, may abandon the country’s claim to sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in exchange for normalized ties with West Jerusalem, according to a report by Lebanese media. Israel captured a large portion of the 1,800 square kilometer region of Syria’s Quneitra Governorate during the 1967 war and effectively annexed it in 1981. Amid the turmoil during al-Sharaa’s rise to power, the IDF seized additional territory. The IDF has also carried out multiple airstrikes against Syrian troops loyal to the current government, which West Jerusalem said were intended to protect the local Druze population, an ethnoreligious minority community which inhabits the contested region.

Lebanese broadcaster LBCI reported Monday that the two countries could normalize relations as part of a broad agreement. Under the proposed deal, Israel would recognize al-Sharaa’s legitimacy, withdraw troops from areas seized since his December takeover, and agree to Syria’s military presence near its borders with Israel and Jordan, with certain restrictions. In exchange, “Israel is expected to secure full sovereignty” over the Golan Heights, LBCI said, citing sources familiar with Syrian affairs. The report added that internal hardliner opposition, including from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – the jihadist group formerly led by al-Sharaa – could derail the effort.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Monday that Israel will maintain control of the Golan Heights under any future peace arrangement with Syria. Al-Sharaa has sought international recognition since ousting President Bashar Assad. Under former President Barack Obama, the United States aimed to remove Assad through a combination of sanctions and covert support for anti-government armed groups labeled “moderate rebels.” On Monday, President Donald Trump lifted most US sanctions on Syria in order to facilitate the flow of foreign aid for the country’s reconstruction.

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“..if Trump didn’t win, he’d leave the country. Elon replied: “There’s nowhere to go.” That moment stuck with Thiel. Mars, once a symbol of civilizational escape and ambition, no longer felt like a real option—even to Musk..”

AI Is The Only Thing Keeping The World From Total Stagnation – Peter Thiel (Flor)

Peter Thiel just did the most mind-exploding, crazy interview I’ve ever listened to. It’s so drastic, I still don’t know what to think – other than everyone should listen to it. So I dissected it piece by piece and organized it to draw some conclusions.nThis is what you cannot miss:

1. We are stuck. Thiel still believes in his “stagnation thesis.” His point? We’ve exited a 200-year period of accelerating change—1750 to 1970 was all about breakthroughs in physical reality: faster ships, railroads, cars, planes. It culminated in the Concorde and Apollo. But since then? Nothing. We’ve made marginal progress in “the world of bits” (internet, mobile, AI), but that’s not the same as reshaping the physical world. In biotech or cancer research, for example, progress is either negligible or cloaked in over-specialization that makes it impossible to track. As Thiel puts it: “The fact that it’s so hard to answer [whether we’re progressing] is itself cause for skepticism.”

2. Our future has been stolen—and it looks nothing like Back to the Future. Back to the Future II imagined 2015 as a world of flying cars, skateboards and radical transformation. What we got instead was smartphones and cars that look the same. Thiel’s kids watching 1985 on screen couldn’t tell it apart from today. “The world seems fairly similar.” That’s the cultural proof of stagnation: if a time traveler from 1985 landed in 2025, they’d be confused by the phone, but everything else would feel familiar. And the economic metric? Ask millennials: How are you doing compared to your parents? For most, the answer is worse.

3. We need to take more risks. Biotech is stuck. “We’ve made zero progress on dementia or Alzheimer’s in 40–50 years,” Thiel says. Scientists are trapped in a dead-end “beta-amyloid” theory that doesn’t work but keeps getting funded. We need to radically increase the risks we’re willing to take in medicine, aging, and beyond. Thiel wants a cultural return to the ambition of early modernity—Francis Bacon, Condorcet—when science promised immortality, not regulation. He tells the story of taking his PayPal team to a “freezing party” in 1999, where people bought cryonics insurance. “That was the last generation who still believed they could live forever.”

4. The moment Peter Thiel realized Elon lost faith in going to Mars. In 2024, Thiel joked to Elon Musk that if Trump didn’t win, he’d leave the country. Elon replied: “There’s nowhere to go.” That moment stuck with Thiel. Mars, once a symbol of civilizational escape and ambition, no longer felt like a real option—even to Musk. Why? Because “the woke AI and the socialist government would follow you to Mars.” The dream of Mars as a frontier for freedom had died. It was no longer a science project—it had become a political one. Thiel calls 2024 “the year Elon stopped believing in Mars.”

5. Will AI become stagnationist? AI is the only real exception to our stagnation—but Thiel worries it might reinforce it. He calls AI “more than a nothingburger, less than a total transformation.” Like the internet in the 1990s, it might boost GDP by 1% a year—but won’t restart the engines of human progress. And worse: it could become conformist intelligence. Like a Netflix algorithm that generates infinite okay-ish content, AI might flood the world with blandness, not breakthroughs. “If you don’t have AI, there’s nothing going on,” Thiel says. But he also warns: if AI becomes too “woke” or compliant, it will deepen the very stagnation it claims to solve.

6. Is AI hype—or is it transhumanism? Thiel sees modern transhumanism as not ambitious enough. It’s not that changing your body is weird—it’s that it’s pathetic compared to what early modern thinkers (and even Christianity) aimed for. “Transhumanism is just changing your body. But you also need to transform your soul.” He notes: the word nature never appears in the Old Testament. The Judeo-Christian story is about transcending nature—with God’s help. The critique of today’s “trans” ideas, he argues, isn’t that they go too far. It’s that they don’t go far enough.

7. The risk of the one-world totalitarian state: how the Antichrist would take over the world. Thiel introduces his most apocalyptic idea: that existential risk (AI, nukes, bioweapons) is being used to justify global governance. This leads to the ultimate form of stagnation: “a one-world state of the Antichrist.” The logic is seductive: to avoid destruction, centralize control. Nuclear weapons? A global authority must manage them. Dangerous AI? Global compute regulation. Thiel’s framing: The atheist slogan = “One world or none.” The Christian framing = “Antichrist or Armageddon.” The twist? The Antichrist doesn’t come with innovation. He comes with regulation. He offers “peace and safety”—and people submit.

8. Is Peter Thiel building the tools for the Antichrist? Thiel’s critics could argue: if anyone’s enabling global surveillance and control, isn’t it Thiel himself—via Palantir and military tech investments? He acknowledges the irony. He doesn’t believe he’s doing that, but concedes that many of the tools he’s helped build could be used that way. He warns that we’re already ruled—softly—by global regulators. The FDA doesn’t just control drugs in the U.S., but worldwide. Same with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “Nuclear power was supposed to be the technology of the 21st century,” he says. “And it somehow has gotten off-ramped all over the world.”

9. Are we already living under a moderate rule of the Antichrist? Thiel floats a chilling thought: what if the Antichrist isn’t a coming tyrant—but the mild technocracy we already live in? 50 years of “peace and safety” have come at the cost of progress. He cites 1 Thessalonians 5:3: “While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly…” Still, he insists we have agency. He rejects Calvinism and determinism. “There’s a huge scope for human freedom. Don’t wait for the lion to eat you.”

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“They were the party of free speech,” he continued. “When President Trump started advocating for free speech… the Democrats became openly for censorship.”

Kennedy Labels US Democrats ‘War Party’ (RT)

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has accused the Democratic Party of abandoning its traditional values and transforming into a pro-war, pro-censorship force defined largely by opposition to President Donald Trump. In a wide-ranging interview with conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson published Monday, Kennedy said the Democratic Party now instinctively reverses positions as soon as Trump adopts them. “The Democrats were the anti-war party,” Kennedy said. “But as soon as [Trump] expressed his opposition to the Ukraine war, they became the war party.” “They were the party of free speech,” he continued. “When President Trump started advocating for free speech… the Democrats became openly for censorship.”

Kennedy, a longtime Democrat who briefly ran as an independent candidate in 2024 before supporting Trump and joining his cabinet in early 2025, said he continues to champion the same principles but now faces opposition from former allies. “These were people I was friends with my whole life and I have not changed… but the party has just a knee-jerk reaction against anything that is Trump,” he told Carlson. Kennedy added that Democrats, once critical of the CIA and trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), shifted to support both once Trump voiced criticism. He also accused the party of undermining women’s sports, noting that his uncle, Senator Edward Kennedy, had helped write Title IX, a US federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination.

“You can go on and on with those examples, but President Trump is literally dictating the platform of the Democratic Party. Anything that he says, they’re going to be against,” he said, noting that this pattern reflects a deeper problem in American politics. “You know that partisanship by its nature is dishonest and it is the enemy of democracy,” RFK Jr. warned. “And in George Washington’s farewell speech, he said that he was very frightened about the rise of the political party because they would become self-interested rather than patriotic.”Kennedy, the founder of the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, has gained prominence in the US for questioning the safety and effectiveness of childhood inoculations and promoting the claim that they are linked to autism –a theory widely rejected by the scientific community.

He was also a vocal critic of the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 response measures, including lockdowns and the rapid rollout of experimental vaccines. Despite his controversial reputation, Kennedy denies being opposed to immunization, noting that his own children have been vaccinated. He has repeatedly stated that he advocates for stricter safety testing and more rigorous studies. After Kennedy endorsed Trump, the president vowed to give him broad authority over healthcare policy, saying he would let Kennedy “go wild.” Kennedy said most opposition to his policies as Health Secretary comes not from industry experts but from media and political operatives. “I get opposition from proxies to the industry. Yes. And I think the major opposition that I feel is from the mainstream media and from Democrats,” he said.

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“And the Democrats have him pegged as a guy who’s sort of sitting in the Cabinet meeting talking about how can we make billionaires richer. He’s the opposite of that. He’s a genuine populist,” Kennedy said.

RFK Jr. Unloads Disturbing Vaccine Secrets On Tucker (VF)

It’s not every day an active HHS Secretary sits down for 90 minutes straight with Tucker Carlson. But that’s exactly what happened, and Kennedy instantly seized Carlson’s attention with a chilling story of CDC corruption. He revealed that the health agency buried a 1999 internal study led by researcher Thomas Verstraten, which showed an alarming 1135% increase in autism risk from the hepatitis B vaccine. Kennedy said the researchers were “shocked” by the findings. So what did they do? They covered it up, according to Kennedy. “They got rid of all the older children essentially and just had younger children who are too young to be diagnosed [with autism].” RFK Jr. then explained the real reason why your pediatrician will kick you out of their practice for refusing vaccines.

“There’s a published article out there now that says that 50% of revenues to most pediatricians come from vaccines.” It’s all about the money. The higher the vaccination rate, the bigger the bonus. “And that’s why your pediatrician, if you say I want to go slow on the vaccines… will throw you out of his practice because you’re now jeopardizing that bonus structure.” To the claim that the vaccine–autism link has been “debunked,” Kennedy had a message for Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper, and everyone who smugly insists on it. “None of the vaccines given to children in the first six months of life have ever been studied for autism.” Let that sink in. He went further, revealing that the CDC actually did find a link when they studied the DTaP vaccine.

But they dismissed it. Kennedy said they claimed it “didn’t count” because the data came from VAERS—the very system they use to track vaccine injuries. So when the evidence pointed to harm, they simply claimed their own system wasn’t reliable enough and took no steps to fix it. The vaccine corruption didn’t end there. Kennedy attested that the CDC killed off a vaccine injury reporting system that actually worked—because it worked too well. It showed that 1 in 37 vaccines caused an injury. Tucker was stunned. “Of all vaccines?” he asked. “Yeah,” Kennedy confirmed. RFK Jr. explained that the CDC funded a study led by researcher Ross Lazarus. It compared a sophisticated machine-counting system to VAERS. What did they find? VAERS was failing to catch over 99% of vaccine injuries.

The new system also revealed that 2.6% of all vaccinations resulted in an injury. So what did the CDC do? They shut it down in 2010. And they’re still using VAERS today—even though it’s a completely inadequate system. But Kennedy didn’t stop at old vaccine scandals. He also broke down Pfizer’s own COVID vaccine trial data. That trial showed a 23% higher death rate in the vaccinated group. Pfizer gave 21,720 people the vaccine and 21,728 the placebo. One vaccinated person died of COVID. Two placebo recipients died. They used this tiny difference to claim “100% effective” based on relative risk reduction. But in absolute terms, it took 22,000 vaccinations to save one life. Over six months, 21 vaccinated participants died of all causes, compared to 17 in the placebo group—a 23.5% higher death rate.

And then there’s vaccine spokesperson Paul Offit, often seen on CNN and other mainstream networks. Kennedy shared an infuriating story about how he literally “voted himself rich” on the rotavirus vaccine. While serving on the CDC’s ACIP committee, Offit voted to add rotavirus vaccination to the childhood schedule—even as he was developing his own competing vaccine. He guaranteed demand for his product. The first approved rotavirus vaccine, RotaShield, was yanked from the market for causing dangerous intussusception. Offit’s vaccine, RotaTeq, eventually replaced it. He and his partners later sold their rights to Merck for $186 million. As RFK Jr. said, Offit literally “voted himself rich.” When Carlson mentioned Fauci, Kennedy revealed how Fauci funded research that helped scientists hide evidence of lab-made viruses. The technique, called “seamless ligation,” allowed researchers to engineer viruses in a lab without leaving telltale genetic fingerprints.

RFK Jr. explained: “One of his fundees, Ralph Baric, from the University of North Carolina, developed a technique called the seamless ligation technique, which is a technique for hiding the laboratory origins of a manipulated virus.” “… normally if there’s a virus manipulated, researchers can look at the DNA sequences and they can say this thing was created in a lab. Ralph Baric had developed a technique that he called the no-see technique and its technical name was seamless ligation, and it was a way of hiding evidence of human tampering.” He called it the exact opposite of what real public health work should be. Carlson cut in, saying, “That’s what you would do if you’re creating viruses for biological warfare.”

The conversation shifted to Trump, leading to one of the biggest highlights of the entire interview. First, Kennedy explained that Trump chose his cabinet in an unorthodox way: he wanted to see three clips of each candidate performing on TV before considering them for the job. “One of the things with President Trump is that he really knows how to pick talent… For every one of the positions that he picked, he wanted to see three clips of them performing on TV. He’s very conscious of the fact that these people are going to be out selling his program to the public,” Kennedy said. That’s when Kennedy ended the interview with a bang, sharing his genuine thoughts about Trump for three straight minutes. It was one of the standout moments of the entire conversation.

If you’re on the fence about Trump, listen to Kennedy here. It might just change how you see him. “I had him pegged as a narcissist, when narcissists are incapable of empathy. And he’s one of the most empathetic people that I’ve met,” Kennedy said. “He’s immensely curious, inquisitive, and immensely knowledgeable. He’s encyclopedic in certain areas that you wouldn’t expect,” he continued. Kennedy added that Trump genuinely cares about soldiers who go to war, citing how Trump “always talks about the casualties on both sides” of the Russia–Ukraine conflict. “Whether it’s vaccines or Medicaid or Medicare, he’s always thinking about how this impacts the little guy. And the Democrats have him pegged as a guy who’s sort of sitting in the Cabinet meeting talking about how can we make billionaires richer. He’s the opposite of that. He’s a genuine populist,” Kennedy said.

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Rogan

Hep B

99%

Sun
https://twitter.com/FredsFarm247/status/1939983704379592749

PIANO
https://twitter.com/Ducnghia16/status/1939746838510543130

Cupcakes
https://twitter.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status/1939990438389092561

Firefly

 

 

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Jun 272025
 
 June 27, 2025  Posted by at 8:45 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  48 Responses »


Rembrandt van Rijn Let the little children come to me 1627-28

 

US Reportedly Mulls Easing Iran Sanctions (ZH)
Iran Truce Could Inspire Ukraine Peace – Witkoff (RT)
Ayatollah Claims ‘Victory’ Over Israel Which ‘Almost Collapsed’ (ZH)
Let Trump Save Us from War with Iran (Paul Craig Roberts)
The Damage Iran Has Inflicted On Israel (Helmer)
Netanyahu’s Corruption Trial Should Be ‘Canceled’ – Trump (RT)
Trump To Consider Future Ukraine Aid (RT)
Brazil’s Lula Tells Trump To Spend Less Time Posting (RT)
Orbán Tells Zelensky On X: The EU Was Created For Peace, Not War (RMX)
Ukraine Deliberately Exterminating Civilians In Donbass – Moscow (RT)
EU Must Prepare To Talk To Russia – Macron (RT)
Slovakia To Veto New Russia Sanctions – PM Fico (RT)
The Ceasefire Kabuki (Pepe Escobar)
Is Donald Trump Really Running The Iran Show? (Jay)
A European Body Suffering From Acute Trumpitis (Dionísio)
Trump Plans Mass Dismissal Of Asylum Claims, Fast-Track Deportations (ZH)

 

 

Scott: I usually hide this comic behind the Locals subscription wall but you might like it.

von Greyerz
https://twitter.com/GoldSwitzerland/status/1938227969484591338

Maersheimer

Candace

 

 

 

 

Just because they tried so hard, I looked for a story on the Trump admin’s presentation of evidence concerning the Iran nuclear bombings. Found only this, by now buried in a ZH article.

US Reportedly Mulls Easing Iran Sanctions (ZH)

As expected Hegseth during the Thursday morning Pentagon press conference excoriated the mainstream media for its coverage of the Trump-ordered attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites. This after repeatedly praising Trump’s leadership at yesterday’s NATO summit. “I hope, with all the ink spilled, all of your outlets find the time to properly recognize this historic change in continental security that other presidents tried to do, other presidents talked about,” Hegseth said. “President Trump accomplished it. It’s a huge deal.” He strongly pushed back especially against CNN reporting that the strikes merely set back Iran’s nuclear program by months, again, framing the avalanche of MSM skepticism as supposedly due merely to anti-Trump bias and not wanting to give him a ‘win’.

“Again, it was preliminary, a day and a half after the actual strike, when it admits itself in writing that it requires weeks to accumulate the necessary data to make such an assessment,” the defense secretary said. The president “created the conditions to end the war, decimating – choose your word – obliterating, destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” he asserted, before reading aloud the assessments of various US and foreign intelligence heads.

Much of the press conference consisted of a highly detailed narrative of what it was like for troops – from officers to enlisted privates – in the Middle East as Iran’s very brief retaliatory missile strike rained down on Qatar, and US-manned anti-air batteries intercepted the inbound projectiles. There was also a lot of focus on the pilots and crew of the B-2s and their marathon 37-hour bombing run all the way from Missouri to Tehran and back. The presser, especially while Hegseth was speaking, was charged with patriotism and emotion – much more than is normal for a Pentagon press briefing. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine emphasized in a detailed way the specs of the 30,000 pound bombs dropped on the Iranian sites, and they “functioned as designed, meaning they exploded.”

“A point that I want to make here: the Joint Force does not do [battle damage assessments],” Caine told the press pool. “By design, we don’t grade our own homework. The intelligence community does. But here’s what we know following the attacks and the strikes on Fordow: First, that the weapons were built, tested and loaded properly. Two, the weapons were released on speed and on parameters. Three, the weapons all guided to their intended targets and to their intended aim points. Four, the weapons functioned as designed, meaning they exploded. We know this through other means intelligence means that we have that were visibly, we were visibly able to see them. And we know that the trailing jets saw the first weapons function.” He actually cited one pilot’s eyewitness account as saying the blast from the initial bombs was so big as it was like an overwhelming flash of daylight.

Among the more interesting assertions and revelations was that the Pentagon has been working intensely on the operation, particularly to take out the Fordow site, for-15 years. While the US military often spends a lot of time on various ‘contingency’ options to present to the Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Caine’s description of two Pentagon analysts who devoted a decade-and-a-half of their lives to studying just Fordow strongly suggests the US long ago knew it would pull the trigger at some point. “In the days preceding the attack against Fordow, the Iranians attempted to cover the shafts with concrete to try to prevent an attack. I won’t share the specific dimensions of the concrete cap, but you should know that we know what the dimensions of those concrete caps were,” Caine said. “The planners had to account for this, they accounted for everything. The cap was forcibly removed by the first weapon, and the main shaft was uncovered.”

And President Trump soon after the Pentagon briefing ended, wrote the following on Truth Social:


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Comparing the two is useless. Just ask Russia.

Iran Truce Could Inspire Ukraine Peace – Witkoff (RT)

A ceasefire between Iran and Israel, declared this week after a brief escalation, could influence the Ukraine conflict, US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has said, expressing hope for renewed peace efforts between Kiev and Moscow. The hostilities began on June 13 when Israel launched strikes on Iran, claiming Tehran was close to developing a nuclear bomb – allegations denied by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and US intelligence. The US joined the campaign – which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a step to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons – by striking Iranian nuclear sites. A ceasefire brokered by Washington came into effect on Tuesday. In a CNBC interview on Wednesday, Witkoff said the truce could serve as a model for resolving other conflicts. “We are hopeful that this will lead to some very, very, very good things happening in the Russia-Ukraine resolution.”

Russia has criticized the US bombing campaign, calling it a dangerous escalation and a violation of international law. The Foreign Ministry warned that these actions risk further destabilizing the region.Witkoff was reportedly instrumental in brokering the ceasefire after a brief but intense conflict between Iran and Israel that left hundreds dead in Iran, 25 in Israel, and thousands injured on both sides, according to official sources. He has also been a key figure behind kickstarting the Ukraine peace process. Russia and Ukraine resumed direct talks in Türkiye last month, reviving a diplomatic process that was paused by Kiev in 2022 after it opted to pursue victory on the battlefield with Western assistance.

At their most recent meeting on June 2, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange prisoners and presented draft memorandums outlining their visions for a peace agreement. However, each side currently views the other’s terms as unacceptable. Russia has stressed that any lasting agreement must reflect the current battlefield realities and Ukrainian neutrality. Trump, who vowed during the 2024 presidential election campaign to resolve the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours, recently described the promise as “sarcastic.” He has repeatedly voiced frustration with both sides, warning that the US could impose sanctions on both Russia and Ukraine if the conflict does not come to an end soon.

https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/1937983447210881146

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War of words.

And: “..a concert by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, which goes back nearly 100 years.”

Persia’s past.

Ayatollah Claims ‘Victory’ Over Israel Which ‘Almost Collapsed’ (ZH)

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday issued his first comments since the Trump-backed ceasefire with Israel took effect, congratulating “the great nation of Iran” for its “victory over the fake Zionist regime.” “Despite all that noise, and with all those claims, the Zionist regime almost collapsed and was crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic,” he said, according to the national IRNA news agency. He also claimed to have “delivered a slap to America’s face.” At a moment the Trump administration is celebrating to ‘obliteration’ of the Islamic Republic’s core elements and main facilities of its nuclear program, the Ayatollah downplayed the effects of the military campaign. He described that the United States entered the war along Israel’s side “because they felt that if they did not enter, the Zionist regime would be destroyed.” He presented this as a sign of Israeli weakness, echoing prior statements issued during the aerial raids.

“However, the Americans did not gain anything in this war,” he asserted. He went to say that those that attacked Iran suffered a high cost. According to more from state media translation: “We thank God for aiding our armed forces, who managed to breach their advanced multilayered defense systems and flatten large parts of their military and urban centers with powerful missile and weapons strikes,” he said.Ayatollah Khamenei said it proves to the Zionist regime that aggression against the Islamic Republic comes with a high cost that it will have to pay, crediting both the armed forces and the people of the Islamic Republic for the glorious victory. The last couple days since the ceasefire has held saw throngs of people come out into Tehran streets, to demonstrate in solidarity with the military, and to show defiance and that the 12-days of attacks did not bring the nation to its knees.

There have been other signs of symbolic defiance and resistance as well, including public events and a concert by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, which goes back nearly 100 years. On Wednesday, in the city’s popular Azadi Square, reports described: As residents gathered for the performance, the orchestra played “Ey Iran,” the country’s unofficial national anthem that has long been considered a song of national pride and resistance and had once been banned by the Islamic Republic due to its association with anti-government sentiment. Established in 1933, the orchestra has survived multiple regimes, coups, revolution and wars, widely seen as a symbol of resilience. Its hardest days came during the term of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when the orchestra was disbanded due to sanctions, financial difficulties and negligence.

In total over 630 Iranians died and thousands were injured in the strikes, with Israel also claiming to have assassinated at least 14 Iranian nuclear scientists and many more high-ranking military commanders. But Israel, and Tel Aviv especially, had whole building and neighborhoods leveled, and had some of its military command centers hit by Iranian ballistic and hypersonic missiles. On the other side, much of Tehran was destroyed, and the Iranians admit that key nuclear facilities suffered significant damage; however, they have pledged that nuclear energy development will continue as a matter of national sovereignty.

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“Let’s pre-empt Israel’s pressure for more war by supporting Trump’s statement that there is no longer a nuclear threat from Iran.”

Let Trump Save Us from War with Iran (Paul Craig Roberts)

The ongoing pundit discussions whether or not the US attack destroyed the three Iranian nuclear facilities, which might or might not have been involved in developing a weapon, with many challenging the Trump administration’s report that all three facilities were destroyed, is stupid and even dangerous. The whore media, incapable of thought, is desperate to do Trump in on any and every thing. Why are intelligent analysts keeping the issue alive for the biased media? I won’t name them, but they need to think before they speak. Why? At this time based on the information I have been able to gather, Gilbert Doctorow appears to be correct that the Trump administration’s claim, whether true or not, has eliminated Netanyahu’s only reason for war with Iran. We should be thankful.

War with Iran is more dangerous than Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Tel Aviv, and Tehran know. Iran is a more formidable opponent than the five Muslim countries Washington has destroyed for Israel. Iran can do damage to Israel, to US bases and naval assets in the region, and to world economies by closing the Strait of Hormuz and raising the oil price by restricting the supply.Additionally, Iran is a strategic buffer for Russia. If Iran is put into chaos, inflow the CIA’s jihadists into the Muslim provinces of the Russian Federation. If Iran’s oil falls under US control, China is cut off from an important part of its energy supply. So far, Russia and China are standing apart from Iran. But what happens when China doesn’t want to lose another round of oil investments like Washington caused China in Libya when Gaddafi was overthrown?

What happens when Putin realizes, if he ever does, that the demise of Iran opens Russia to CIA jihadists? Having foolishly stood aside, Russia and China would have to enter the conflict. What would be the consequences?How much better if Russia and China had prevented the conflict by placing Iran under their nuclear umbrella or by publicly announcing a mutual defense treaty among the three countries. But there was no vision. Russia and China, having failed in their responsibility, left the problem with President Trump. On our side, let us not discredit Trump’s claim and, by doing so, resurrect Netanyahu’s justification for war with Iran. It would be difficult for Trump to resist Netanyahu’s pressure given Israel’s extraordinary influence in the US. Let’s pre-empt Israel’s pressure for more war by supporting Trump’s statement that there is no longer a nuclear threat from Iran.

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“..Trump was compelled to announce his ceasefire on June 23 to save Israel from running out of interceptors..”

The Damage Iran Has Inflicted On Israel (Helmer)

Why do so many CIA and MI6 officers (retired) know and say so much about the damage Israel and the US have inflicted on Iran since they began their war on June 13, but so little about the damage Iran has inflicted on Israel? “As you know,” President Donald Trump said last night, following the NATO summit meeting in The Netherlands, “last weekend the United States successfully carried out a massive precision strike on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities. And it was very, very successful. It was called obliteration. No other military on earth could have done it. And now this incredible exercise of American strength has paved the way for peace with a historic ceasefire agreement late Monday.”

He then asked his Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth to clarify how to interpret the military intelligence reporting from “the group [Defense Intelligence Agency] that’s run by this gentleman, in fact, he may want to talk about it for a second.” Hegseth: “somebody somewhere is trying to leak something to say — oh, with low confidence – [that] we think maybe it’s moderate. Those that drop the bombs precisely in the right place know exactly what happened when that exploded. And you know who else knows? Iran. That’s why they came to the table right away because their nuclear capabilities have been set back — back beyond what they thought were [sic] possible because of the courage of a commander in chief who led our troops, despite what the fake news wants to say.”

By this intelligence reporting standard, escalation of force by the US has compelled Iran to negotiate terms of capitulation which it was refusing to accept before June 13. But what, according to this intelligence standard, has been motivating Israel to accept Trump’s ceasefire? The answer to that is the most classified secret the Trump Administration, the Israeli government, and the Jewish financiers of Trump’s election campaigns are keeping. This is also a secret so sensitive that not one of the US media Trump is attacking dares to publish it. The secret is simple: Israel was desperate to have Trump call the ceasefire in order to obtain emergency resupply of US air defence missiles. And Trump was in just as much hurry because the cost which Iran’s war has imposed on the US defence budget is more money than Trump currently has the legal authorization to spend.

According to this painstaking analysis of the available intelligence, “between the start of the war on June 13 and the announcement of a ceasefire on June 23, a race was under way. The Israelis were racing to destroy Iranian missiles and launchers before the Iranians launched enough missile salvos to deplete the Israeli interceptor magazine. Considering estimates placed Iranian ballistic missile stocks at about 2,000-3,000 before the war started, the Iranians would eventually exhaust Israeli interceptors if they weren’t attrited, making the left-of-launch or missile-defeat element of the Israeli strategy critical. If the Iranians had the missiles and launchers available to continue generating salvos against Israel, there would have come an inflection point in the amount of damage they were able to do, and that inflection point would have arrived once Israel ran out of interceptors.”

This is the intelligence assessment for Israel, Trump and Hegseth they are not acknowledging: “a lot of interceptors have [been] fired in less than two weeks. 39 THAAD interceptors in nearly the full loadout of a 6 launcher THAAD battery without a reload, 48, so that system may be close to being out of interceptors. It seems likely it was deployed with reloads based on the satellite imagery, but considering the number of Iranian strikes missing from Abbadi’s videos, I think this is a fair judgement. Similarly, 34 Arrow-3s is a lot, nearly double the number used in October. While there is little insight into how deep Israel’s Arrow-3 magazine is, the presence of THAAD in Israel suggests it may not be much deeper. Nevertheless, based on the [Wall Street Journal ] reporting and this data, it seems likely that Israel and the U.S. THAAD battery are hurting for interceptors.”

That last phrase means Trump was compelled to announce his ceasefire on June 23 to save Israel from running out of interceptors as Iran accelerated its strikes, according to the rope-a-dope strategy reported here.

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Why? They’ve been doing it for ten years…

Netanyahu’s Corruption Trial Should Be ‘Canceled’ – Trump (RT)

US President Donald Trump has called for an end to the corruption trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, days after Israel and Iran reached a ceasefire. Trump showered his Middle Eastern ally with praise in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday evening. “Bibi Netanyahu was a WARRIOR, like perhaps no other Warrior in the History of Israel,” he wrote. He hailed Netanyahu’s leadership during Israel’s conflict with Iran and slammed the allegations against him as “politically motivated.” “Such a WITCH HUNT, for a man who has given so much, is unthinkable to me,” the US president wrote. “Bibi Netanyahu’s trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State..

Netanyahu, whose trial began in 2020, denies any wrongdoing in three separate cases involving charges of corruption and influence peddling. He is Israel’s first sitting prime minister to take the stand as a criminal defendant. Under Israeli law, Netanyahu is not required to resign unless convicted by the Supreme Court. Netanyahu has praised Trump’s support for Israel and his “historic” decision to carry out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22. The ceasefire, which ended nearly two weeks of open hostilities between Iran and Israel, took effect on Tuesday and has so far been upheld.

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He doesn’t want to. But Europe is pushing.

Trump To Consider Future Ukraine Aid (RT)

US President Donald Trump says he will think about whether or not to supply more Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, as Kiev has been requesting. Speaking at a press conference in The Hague after meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Trump was asked by a BBC Ukraine journalist whether Washington would be providing the missiles. “The systems are very hard to get,” he replied, adding that the US also needs them. Noting that some Patriots were being sent to Israel, Trump said the administration would “see if we can make some of them available.”

Ahead of the meeting, Zelensky said that Kiev was ready to buy the systems and “support American weapons manufacturers” if Washington refused to donate them. The Ukrainian leader has previously asserted that the Patriot was the only system that could viably counter Russian missiles. However, Moscow has disputed claims about the Patriot’s effectiveness, and even Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat acknowledged in an interview with Le Monde last month that the American system has shown critical limitations against Russia’s weaponry.

As of May, Ukraine reportedly had six operational Patriot systems, most of which were donated by the US and Germany, with additional components provided by the Netherlands and Romania. Zelensky has previously stated that Ukraine aimed to acquire a total of 25 units and urged Kiev’s European backers to fund the purchase of another ten at a cost of $15 billion. The Trump administration had dismissed the proposal as a pipedream. When asked directly whether the US would contribute to the $5 billion in military aid pledged to Ukraine by other NATO countries, Trump only told reporters that the hostilities must end.

Trump has pushed for a negotiated settlement to the Ukraine conflict since taking office in January, while voicing frustration over the slow pace of peace talks. On Wednesday, he said that he planned to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of bringing the conflict to an end, though he did not specify when the conversation might take place. Earlier this week, he said he hoped to reach a “deal with Russia” to stop the fighting. Moscow has maintained that it is willing to hold talks “without preconditions,” but insists that any lasting agreement must reflect the current realities on the battlefield and establish Ukrainian neutrality.

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“..no one can make a beautiful place on top of dead bodies of women and children.”

Brazil’s Lula Tells Trump To Spend Less Time Posting (RT)

US President Donald Trump should focus on running his country instead of spending too much time on social media, his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has said. Trump has published more than 2,100 posts on his Truth Social platform since returning to the White House on January 20, issuing 17 messages per day on an average, The Independent reported in early June. He was even more active online during the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran this month, in which he warned both sides not to violate the US-brokered ceasefire in a Truth Social post. Lula criticized Trump’s extensive use of social media in an interview with the news site g1 on Wednesday, saying, “in this troubled world, where we have a president of a country the size of the US, who must watch his words, think about what he says, must spend less time on the internet and more heading the state, must think more about free trade, multilateralism, must care more about peace.”

“And what do we see every day in the press? The need for goddamn headlines,” the Brazilian leader said. In an interview with The Atlantic in April, Trump revealed how his Truth Social posts are made. “I go quickly as hell. You would be amazed. You would be impressed. And I like doing them myself. Sometimes I dictate them out, but I like doing them myself.” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers previously defended Trump’s use of social media, saying it makes him “the most transparent president in history and is meeting the American people where they are to directly communicate his policies, message, and important announcements.”

Lula has attacked Trump, who had good relations with former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, on a number of occasions in recent months. In February, he said the US president was elected to govern his country, “not rule the world.” In March, during the standoff over tariffs announced by Washington, Lula stated: “There is no point in Trump shouting from over there because I learned not to be afraid of an angry face.” Regarding Trump’s plans to turn Gaza into a posh resort, Lula said, “no one can make a beautiful place on top of dead bodies of women and children.”

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“Accepting a country that is at war with Russia would immediately drag the EU into a direct conflict. It is unfair to expect any member state to take this risk..,”

Orbán Tells Zelensky On X: The EU Was Created For Peace, Not War (RMX)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is leading an effort to ensure Ukraine, which is currently at war with Russia, does not join the European Union due to the high potential for a conflict that could spread to all of Europe. In this regard, he is now confronting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky directly on X on the issue. “President (Zelensky), with all due respect: the European Union was founded to bring peace and prosperity to its member states. Accepting a country that is at war with Russia would immediately drag the EU into a direct conflict. It is unfair to expect any member state to take this risk,” wrote Orbán. Orbán had responded to a post from Zelensky, in which the Ukrainian leader thanked EU leadership after a meeting, stating that they discussed, among other things, Ukraine’s ascension into the EU.

Citing his meeting with EU commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Council President António Costa, Zelensky called out Hungary. “It is important that the leaders of the member states reach a common decision to open the first negotiation cluster. It is unfair when a single party blocks the Union’s decision. We also discussed in detail additional sanctions against the Russian Federation and the preparation of the EU’s 18th sanctions package. This package must significantly increase pressure on Russia’s energy and banking sectors, as well as on the shadow fleet.

The key element here must be a strong price cap on Russian oil, and we count on the appropriate decisions. I thank the leaders for their support. Every step of assistance means lives saved,” he wrote.] Zelensky desires an accelerated process to gain EU membership, despite his country being the most corrupt country in Europe — a finding noted even before the war. The rebuilding of Ukraine is expected to cost hundreds of billions of euros. Currently, the country has no democracy or free press, as all elections have been suspended during the war. Perhaps of greatest concern is that even if Ukraine is admitted to the EU during a ceasefire, hostilities could start again, which could drag Europe further into a new war.

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“She went on to praise the tribunal as a “forensic body that documents the truth the West refuses to hear.”

Ukraine Deliberately Exterminating Civilians In Donbass – Moscow (RT)

Ukrainian forces are deliberately committing atrocities against civilians in Donbass, including mass killings of the elderly and drone strikes on residential homes, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. Zakharova delivered the remarks on Thursday while speaking at a conference on the “atrocities and war crimes by the Kiev regime in Dzerzhynsk,” a city some 30km north of Donetsk that was liberated by Russian troops in February. The conference featured a report including testimonies from over 30 civilians recounting the “genocide” policies pursued by Ukrainian troops while they controlled the city. The event was organized by the Public Tribunal on the Crimes of Ukrainian Neo-Nazis, which includes representatives of civil society from 35 countries worldwide.

Zakharova noted that the testimonies detail “horrific episodes of neo-Nazi atrocities and confirms terror against the civilian population.” “This is not an accident, but an inherent flaw – the hallmark of the Kiev authorities. It is a deliberate policy that has already been elevated to the level of state doctrine,” she stressed. The spokeswoman pointed to evidence of mass killings, which included “executions of the elderly and children,” adding that other atrocities included drone strikes on civilian homes. She went on to praise the tribunal as a “forensic body that documents the truth the West refuses to hear.” The body, Zakharova added, “is doing what international human rights organizations should be doing if they had remained true to their mission. It shows that all the crimes we are talking about have specific perpetrators, clients, and patrons.”

Among the document cases was a story by one witness, who recounted a deadly drone attack in the city: “When we were evacuating, the Armed Forces of Ukraine dropped bombs on us. They sent a kamikaze drone to search for us… I received six shrapnel wounds… My father and grandmother died.” Another witness recalls an incident in which an elderly woman went out to feed kittens, but was killed by a grenade dropped from a Ukrainian UAV. One local resident also suggested that the Ukrainians “killed a lot of people just because [they] needed a picture” to be circulated in the media and used to falsely accuse Russia of strikes on civilians. Russian officials have said that Moscow will do everything in its power to bring those responsible for the Ukrainian atrocities to justice.

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They don’t want to talk; they want to fight – but only if Trump does too…

EU Must Prepare To Talk To Russia – Macron (RT)

EU member states should consider resuming contact with Moscow, which was severed after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron has told reporters. According to Macron, despite being fully committed to boosting military capabilities within NATO, the bloc’s European members have no wish to “endlessly” arm themselves and should in the near future negotiate a new security framework with Moscow. “We are not going to go towards an endless escalation, towards more armament. We must arm ourselves because today there is a gap between our level of armament and that of Russia. And that poses a threat,” Macron stated on Wednesday.

“At the same time, we must think about the security framework in which we want to live tomorrow,” he said. “That’s why we need to rethink [the security architecture] in the territories from the Black Sea to the Arctic, to determine how far we are willing to go to defend ourselves and what would be the terms of the discussion with Russia to make it possible to limit military capabilities and restore trust.” Macron advised member states to “think about” restoring dialogue with Russia “right now” in order to be able to negotiate broader European security as part of a potential Ukraine peace deal.

Macron made the remarks at the NATO summit in The Hague, where members committed to hiking defense spending to 5% of their GDP annually by 2035 in order to address the alleged “long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security.” US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged European NATO members to take more responsibility for their security and increase defense spending. Commenting on the hike, which one reporter called a “one-man whim,” Macron said it is both Washington’s wish and a “European necessity” to become more independent militarily.

Moscow has stressed that it has no intention of attacking any NATO member states, dismissing the claims as “nonsense” and scare tactics used by Western officials to justify increased defense spending. Asked to disclose what NATO’s warnings of a Russian threat were based on at the NATO summit, Secretary-General Mark Rutte did not provide any specific intelligence assessments, instead citing general fears. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused NATO of “fueling global militarization and an arms race” by fabricating “horror stories” to extract money from citizens of member states.

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“Slovakia has gone from being a country at the beginning of the pipe to a country at the end of the pipe…There may be shortages, prices will go up… RePowerEU is harmful..”

Slovakia To Veto New Russia Sanctions – PM Fico

Slovakia will block the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia unless Brussels resolves its concerns over the planned phase-out of Russian energy, Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced. Although the energy measures are set to be presented as trade legislation – thus needing only a qualified majority for approval – Fico argues that they relate to sanctions and should be treated as such.The issue stems from the European Commission’s RePowerEU plan, which aims to eliminate all Russian energy imports by 2028. The initiative is due to be discussed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, alongside the new sanctions package, which mostly targets Russia’s energy and financial sectors. Fico has insisted the measures against Russian energy actually fall under the bloc’s sanctions regime and should be unanimously approved. Fico said Slovakia will request a postponement of the vote and, if denied, will vote against it.

“As for tomorrow’s vote, Slovakia will not vote on the 18th sanctions package,” he stated at a parliamentary committee meeting on Thursday. “We consider it to be one package that includes RePowerEU, and we believe that unless the fundamental issues are resolved, we cannot adopt any further sanctions.” He warned that the regulation would endanger Slovakia’s energy security and cause price hikes. He also noted that Brussels has yet to provide answers on how it would compensate for rising gas prices or handle potential arbitration with Gazprom. Fico warned that if Slovakia breaks its long-term supply contract with the Russian energy giant, it could face up to €20 billion ($23 billion) in penalties. “Let’s take this seriously. Slovakia has gone from being a country at the beginning of the pipe to a country at the end of the pipe…There may be shortages, prices will go up… RePowerEU is harmful,” he said, calling the initiative “ideological nonsense.”

Hungary has also voiced opposition to the plan. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Budapest and Bratislava had jointly blocked the package when it was discussed at the foreign ministers’ meeting earlier this week, warning that the proposed phase-out would “destroy Hungary’s energy security” and sharply raise utility costs. He signaled that Hungary also planned to vote against the new sanctions package. Moscow has repeatedly condemned sanctions as illegal and self-defeating, particularly those targeting energy, noting how energy prices in the EU surged after the initial measures against Russia were imposed in 2022. Commenting on the sanctions debates, Kremlin investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev praised Slovakia and Hungary on X for “doing what Brussels won’t: fighting to keep the EU globally competitive.”

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“The myth of genocidal invincibility has been shattered forever. The whole Global South has seen it, and now takes it in serious consideration.”

The Ceasefire Kabuki (Pepe Escobar)

In the end, predictably, the Circus Ringmaster went TACO (“Trump Always Chickens Out”). He was terrified by three crucial reality-based developments. The Iranian message on preparing to close the Strait of Hormuz. The CIA had warned Trump that China was viscerally opposed to the Strait being blocked. That’s one of the reasons, according to a Deep State old hand, that Trump decided to go ahead anyway with his “spectacular” (sic) theatrical op on Fordow. But when the specter of a blocked Hormuz destroying the global economy became real, he went TACO.The Iranian warning conveyed by the bombing of the Al-Udeid base in Qatar, the military jewel in the imperial crown in West Asia. Even Atlanticist sources in Doha confirm the damage to the – evacuated – base was “monumental”, with at least 3 missiles hitting their targets. Tehran was unmistakably saying we can hit you anywhere, anytime, with anything we want. And your GCC lackeys will blame you for it.

Arguably the key reason: the genocidals in Tel Aviv are running out of interceptors – fast; in fact their whole – porous – air defense network is in trouble. In the last substantial Iranian missile volley on occupied Palestine on Monday morning, interception rate fell below 50%, and Iran started targeting Israel’s electric grid. Iran’s new directive – strategic offense, not patience – was meant to completely paralyze the Israeli economy. On top of it the genocidals had already begged Tehran to “end the war”. Tehran answered the time had not yet arrived. So the genocidals begged Daddy Trump to rescue them. The chain of events leading to the ceasefire remains murky. A key accelerating factor was Putin’s personal meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi at the Kremlin on Monday.

Speaking on behalf of Ayatollah Khamenei, Araghchi may have asked for a solid supply of weapons and most of all defense systems; but these will take time, especially considering that the strategic partnership recently approved by both the Duma and the Majlis in Tehran is not – officially – a military alliance. Yet according to sources in Moscow who were informed about the meeting, Putin did position Russia at the center of a possible resolution, thus displacing Washington. Team Trump 2.0 was incensed. Trump boasted that both Iran and Israel had called him almost simultaneously to arrance a ceasefire. Nonsense: only Tel Aviv did. As Putin made it clear, once again, that Russia would back Iran, he indirectly offered Trump an off-ramp.

True to character, the Circus Ringmaster jumped on it, marketing his own, branded ceasefire, reality show-style. And this only two days after gloating that the Iranian nuclear program was “obliterated” (he insists on it even as U.S. intel admits the program may have been set back for only a matter of months). Iran has learned a few important lessons the hardest way, paying a horrendous price. Tehran was way too transparent and reasonable dealing with a bunch of gangsters: from allowing IAEA nuclear monitoring that turned out to be a process of amassing precious intel for Israeli targeting; and believing in diplomacy and honoring agreements that were unceremoniously ditched.

There’s no diplomacy when it comes to dealing with the imperial Leviathan/Behemoth – especially as it contemplates, in horror, its frootprint being reduced all across the Global South.Domestically though, Iran is going to the next level. There are at least three factions in confrontation: Ayatollah Khamenei and his close circle plus the IRGC; the reformists, embodied by the meek Pezeshkian presidency; and what could be construed as secular nationalists, who want a strong Iran but not as a theo-democracy. The IRGC now has all the power. Defending the homeland against the deadly Zionist axis, Empire included, crystalized a widespread sentiment of national unity and pride. All sectors of the Iranian population – 90 million, someone tell pathetic Marco Rubio – rallied around the flag.

Conceptually, the ceasefire – nobody knows how long it will last – is adverse to Iran, because its increasing deterrence capacity is now lost. Israel will have its air defenses feverishly replenished while Iran, alone, will need months and even years to rebuild. The imperial modus operandi remains the same. The Circus Ringmaster saw that a monster humiliation was at hand –something like Israel’s Vietnam: so he announced a one-sided ceasefire and fled. Yet the configuration for the next battles has changed. If Washington decides to escalate again, or resorts to the certified practice of using terror proxies, Iran as the de facto leader of the Resistance will resolutely counter-attack. The myth of genocidal invincibility has been shattered forever. The whole Global South has seen it, and now takes it in serious consideration.

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“..the least the Americans and Israel could scrape back out of the busted flush would be some political capital by hitting the sites with the bunker busters..”

Is Donald Trump Really Running The Iran Show? (Jay)

Is Donald Trump in charge of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East or is he following the orders of others? Few if any analysts in recent days can fail to admit that they’ve been outfoxed by the Donald since Iran air strikes began by Israel on June 13th. Most, including the author, were baffled by how Trump could be the first president ever in the U.S. to sign off on the strikes and then break all convention again by putting himself in the history books with the bunker buster attacks, which we are told have destroyed three of Iran’s underground nuclear storage facilities. And now just recently, after the B2 strikes we witnessed Iran launch token missile attacks on U.S. bases which were really more than anything else a PR stunt for Tehran and not intended to actually harm any U.S. soldiers of hardware installed there.

We now know that the Iranians warned the Americans beforehand and so are we led to believe that there is a cordial, if not amiable, relationship in place between Iran and the U.S.? What are we witnessing exactly? It’s important to remember that the U.S. and Iran have two different objectives. But seen in the clear light of day, it may still be possible that those pundits who insisted Trump didn’t have the guts to go ahead with the bunker buster strikes might still be right. It might not have actually been the Donald who ordered the strike. It is entirely feasible that most of what we are seeing on mainstream media and even on social media threads are, at best twisted or, at worse completely concocted. There are a number of scenarios which might explain the events of recent days.

The first one is that Israel is controlling the entire operation from the beginning and Trump is playing the role of a spectator who gets most of the credit. Part of this scenario is that Mossad might have got intelligence that the centrifuges from the underground bunkers were being moved – or had already been moved – and so the least the Americans and Israel could scrape back out of the busted flush would be some political capital by hitting the sites with the bunker busters. Are you curious about the reports that they did little damages? Do you find it odd that experts are saying that for the strikes to be effective, they should not have been carried out in the way the B2 bombers dropped their payloads?

One explanation is that Trump was told that the centrifuges were no longer there and so all that was required would be to damage the sites sufficiently to tick the box and show Iran that the U.S. has the option always of using them in the future. In other words, despite everything, there are still backchannel talks going on and a deal is still there to be made. Some experts are leading us to believe that the Iranians played a master card by carrying out the strikes on U.S. airbases in the region as this would defuse the tensions and pave the way for a ceasefire. An “off ramp” for everyone it is often described. But there is a huge division of joined up thinking on what happens next. Many still believe that Trump (or the deep state and Israel which control him) thinks that regime change is not really an objective of whoever is running the show.

It is as though Trump is allowed some bandwidth here for his own ideas as he is fixated on getting a better nuclear deal signed than the Obama one which he annulled while Israel would prefer a regime change and to get their own people in to run the country more or less as a western satellite. The last time Israel had this idea in the region was in the summer of 1982 when its forces had invaded Lebanon and plans were afoot to install their preferred candidate Bashir Gemeyel as president. Gemeyel hadn’t even taken office before he was assassinated on the instructions of Syria. In the coming days it will be critical how Israel respects the ceasefire. Probably it won’t as it’s often the style of Israel to break the very deals it signs.

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“This EU [..] failed to realize that the war in Ukraine, fueled by the violation of Minsk and NATO’s expansion into the country, was a war against itself.”

A European Body Suffering From Acute Trumpitis (Dionísio)

If the EU has not yet realized what is at stake in Israel’s aggression against Iran, it is serious and should not reassure us. If it has realized and persists in the error, it is even more concerning. It means that the European Union is a body dominated by a spinal column—the Franco-German-British axis—which, instead of coordinating and balancing its members, alienates and disorganizes them, undoubtedly feeding off them and continuing to do so in a future where nothing will remain but the body itself. We are all experiencing firsthand, in our skin, pockets, and stomachs, the consequences of how the revanchist, neo-fascist, and reactionary right exploits immigration to influence national and European politics and seize power.

In this context, where neo-fascist and neo-Nazi influence manifests in attacks on immigration, xenophobia against Asians, Muslims, or Africans, violence against minorities and political opponents, is the EU prepared for an uncontrolled and absolutely massive wave of migration? Amid an unparalleled energy crisis, accompanied by brutal price increases, will it be ready to receive—or be “invaded,” as they say—by millions of desperate people legitimately seeking work and better living conditions? The civilizational gravity of the moment we live in is proven by how Trump behaved once in office. His attitude is representative of how fascism operates in its neo-fascist version, whether dressed in an Armani suit and a white condom or not.

Anything goes to seize power, and once achieved, “the people,” “the workers,” are forgotten, while loyalty to the oligarchic donors of electoral funds is honored, supporting monopolies, relieving the richest of tax burdens, and increasing taxes on the poorest. Consequently, the president elected to end the eternal wars draining the U.S. budget is, in fact, the one working hardest to bring us World War III. Nothing new here: Zelensky had already risen to power in the same way. Faced with the desperation of European peoples for better living conditions and stability, it has become too easy to manipulate their will and achieve significant electoral results.

This EU, itself undergoing a neo-fascist reconquest, formally or materially, failed to realize that the war in Ukraine, fueled by the violation of Minsk and NATO’s expansion into the country, was a war against itself. Three years later, as expected, the EU is worse off in every way: a weaker Euro, overtaken by the Yuan as the most sought-after reserve and exchange currency; a weak and anemic economy; loss of important markets; loss of essential energy resources and raw materials in quality and quantity, with no replacement in sight; loss of the Fourth Industrial Revolution train. At least we have Kaja Kallas, content with the fact that “the Russian Federation has lost billions due to sanctions,” while “the EU is the largest contributor to the Ukrainian cause.” A meager prize: being first on the podium of those losing the most billions with Ukraine’s defeat!

As if this weren’t enough, after failing to prevent the rift with the Russian Federation, the EU was unable to foresee that the destruction of Libya, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and the end of the JCPOA under Trump 1.0 would trigger a massive wave of refugees and “economic” migrants. This wave is not only impossible to contain—as proven by the rafts in the Mediterranean—but also suddenly exploited by traffickers, employers hungry for cheap labor, and the revanchist and neo-fascist right, whose financiers exploit both the migrants and the disruptions caused by the sudden surge in demand for work and public services to seize power and make everything even more chaotic.

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“33-year-old Marxist Zohran Mamdani, is campaigning on a platform of free stuff paid for by the government (taxpayers)—even promoting his campaign in at least one foreign language. Keep in mind NYC is the mecca of sanctuary cities in America.”

Trump Plans Mass Dismissal Of Asylum Claims, Fast-Track Deportations (ZH)

The Trump administration is preparing to dismiss asylum claims for potentially hundreds of thousands of migrants—primarily those who crossed the southern or northern borders illegally and later applied for protection—according to CNN, citing two sources. Once dismissed, these migrants would become immediately deportable under fast-track removal procedures, bypassing immigration court. Migrants who entered the U.S. unlawfully and sought asylum through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would be impacted if the new policy goes into effect. This could result in up to 250,000 migrants—out of the 1.45 million pending asylum cases—being slated for removal. The people being targeted in this case are those who entered the U.S. unlawfully and later applied for asylum, the sources said. Their cases are expected to be closed, therefore leaving them at risk of deportation. It could affect hundreds of thousands of asylum applicants.

According to a memo obtained by CNN, USCIS, which falls under the control of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, will place those migrants in fast-track deportation proceedings as well as “take additional actions to enforce civil and criminal violations of the immigration laws.”nUSCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser told the outlet that no agency changes have been “announced at this time,” adding that its “top priority remains the screening and vetting of all aliens seeking to come, live, or work in the United States. President Trump and Secretary Noem have given USCIS the ability to use all tools in our toolbox to ensure that the integrity of the immigration system is upheld, fraud is uncovered and expeditiously addressed, and illegal aliens are removed from the country.”

Earlier this month, President Trump directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ramp up operations in chaotic sanctuary cities run by far-left politicians working with dark money-funded NGOs to shield criminal illegal aliens from deportations. In one extreme case, a Los Angeles official reportedly called for Mexican gangs to mobilize against ICE agents. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party’s nominee for New York City mayor, 33-year-old Marxist Zohran Mamdani, is campaigning on a platform of free stuff paid for by the government (taxpayers)—even promoting his campaign in at least one foreign language. Keep in mind NYC is the mecca of sanctuary cities in America.

Understand where we are: Marxist-aligned Democrats are offering government handouts to migrants to establish a new, dependent voting class. This invasion—driven by a mass migration of third-worlders and supported by dark money-funded NGOs and the federal gov’t during the Biden-Harris regime—has been used to reshape the electorate. The Democratic Party’s political future entirely hinges on protecting criminal illegal aliens.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Malhotra

mRNA

Swans

Horse cat
https://twitter.com/Yoda4ever/status/1937853793867034891

Football

https://twitter.com/davidcoverdale/status/1937937697668272198

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mar 072025
 


James McNeill Whistler Symphony in White, No. 3 1867

 

Are All of Biden’s Presidential Actions ‘Null and Void’? (Margolis)
Europe’s ‘ReArm’ Plan “Is Going To Come At A Vast Cost” (Rabobank)
European Leaders Want ‘Forever War’ In Ukraine – Musk (RT)
Lavrov Compares Macron to Hitler and Napoleon (RT)
Macron’s Remarks on Use of Nuclear Arms a Threat to Russia – Lavrov (Sp.)
Kremlin Reacts To Macron’s ‘War’ Speech (RT)
EU Must Win Arms Race – Poland (RT)
Macron Should Apologize – Moscow (RT)
Trump Begins CIA Cuts – NYT (RT)
US Ready To Change Legal Status Of 240,000 Ukrainian Migrants (RT)
Lavrov Weighs In On US Decision To Halt Intel Sharing With Ukraine (RT)
‘Science Should Be An Engine For Freedom’: NIH Nominee Bhattacharya (JTN)
Obama Judge Indefinitely Blocks Trump Admin Funding Freeze (ZH)
DOGE Looking To Cut More Than 80,000 Employees At Veterans Affairs (JTN)
IRS Reportedly Plans To Cut Half of Its 90,000 Workforce (JTN)
Elon Musk Says Amtrak, US Postal Service Should Be Privatized (ET)
Trump Planning Major NATO Shakeup – NBC (RT)
Trump Wants To Sideline EU – Politico (RT)
EU Seeking To Bypass Opponents of Ukraine Aid – Kallas (RT)
Israeli FM ‘Didn’t Know’ Kiev Glorifies Holocaust Perpetrators (RT)

 

 

 

 

1987

 

 

Destiny

PAC
https://twitter.com/i/status/1897633263750877606

Tulsi

Sachs Maidan

Rubio

Kash
https://twitter.com/i/status/1896935794532556981

 

 

 

 

Autopen. Could be explosive. Will the Trump admin want to pursue it? It has Pandora written all over it.

Are All of Biden’s Presidential Actions ‘Null and Void’? (Margolis)

The Biden presidency might have been the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the American people. A shocking investigation by the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project has revealed that virtually every document bearing Joe Biden’s signature during his presidency was signed by an autopen — except for one. What makes this revelation particularly damning is that the only document confirmed to have Biden’s actual signature was his letter announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race. Let that sink in for a moment. Remember when House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) revealed his discussion with Biden when Biden couldn’t recall signing the executive order halting LNG exports? Now we know why — he probably didn’t. The real question is: Who did? Who was running the country while Biden was not all there?

The use of the presidential autopen dates back to the 1950s, and there’s been much debate about its legality. In 2013, Barack Obama became the first president to sign a bill into law using an autopen. He was vacationing in Hawaii at the time. His office relied on a 30-page memo from President George W. Bush’s legal team asserting that the president’s presence was not required as long as said president had authorized the signature. What’s not clear, in the case of Biden, is who was running the autopen and whether Biden was aware it was happening. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is demanding that the Department of Justice investigate whether Biden’s obvious cognitive decline allowed unelected bureaucrats to essentially run the government without presidential oversight. If this is true — and let’s be honest, all signs point to yes — every executive order, every pardon, and every official action taken under Biden’s name could be constitutionally void.

Bailey’s letter to Michael E. Horowitz, the inspector general of the Department of Justice, spells it out perfectly. “I write to request that you conduct a full investigation into President Biden’s mental capacity in his final days in office. By now, Biden’s mental decline is famous. Under the 25th Amendment, his inability to make decisions should have meant a succession of power. Instead, it appears staffers and officers in the Biden administration may have exploited Biden’s incapacity so they could issue orders without an accountable President of sound mind approving them. That would explain why the Biden administration’s orders were aggressively much farther to the left than any previous President. If in fact Biden’s staffers were exploiting his mental decline, those orders are null and void.”

The evidence is overwhelming. We know that Biden’s handlers desperately tried to prevent anyone from meeting with him one-on-one. Even Democratic insiders admit the truth. DNC fundraiser Lindy Li recently spilled the beans and acknowledged that Biden wasn’t running the show; his staff, his wife, and Hunter were. Thanks to the Heritage Foundation’s investigation, we now have proof that Biden’s signature was automated throughout his presidency — which raises serious questions about whether he was aware of what was being signed in his name at all. The Oversight Project rightfully points out that since Biden revoked Trump’s executive privilege, we can easily determine who controlled the autopen and what safeguards, if any, were in place.

The implications are staggering. We essentially had a presidency by proxy, with unelected staffers wielding presidential power while the man himself was barely cognizant enough to read a teleprompter. This isn’t just a scandal; it’s potentially the biggest constitutional crisis in American history. The American people deserve to know who was really calling the shots during the Biden administration. If these allegations prove true, every single action taken under Biden’s name needs to be scrutinized and potentially nullified. The truth must come out, and those responsible must be held accountable.

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The end of Europe’s welfare state.

“They created a wasteland and called it democracy.”

Europe’s ‘ReArm’ Plan “Is Going To Come At A Vast Cost” (Rabobank)

The US has increased its pressure on Ukraine to pause the war by turning off military intelligence to it, removing Kyiv’s ability to fire missiles into Russia. This action has further outraged and –given their reliance on US systems in NATO– terrified Europe. Note President Eisenhower did the same vis-à-vis then-and-current ally South Korea in 1953, which didn’t want to stop fighting; the US didn’t want a direct war with China, or more inflation, and made it clear military aid would stop until an armistice was achieved. That frozen conflict seems where Ukraine-Russia is heading, especially as President Zelenskyy just said what rejected what the Russian terms for any formal peace deal (demilitarisation, formal renouncement of lost territories) would be.

Europe has added its own pressure on Zelenskyy as Germany’s ministry of defence admits it can’t supply more materiel to Ukraine either as it’s out of stock. That underlines the need for the German announcement on infrastructure investment and rearmament yesterday, which saw 10-year Bund yields rise 31bp on the day, their worst performance since 1997. EUR jumped. Ahead of today’s EU ReArm summit President Macron addressed his nation, stating: “Our prosperity and security have become more uncertain, and it must be said, we are entering a new era… if a country can invade its neighbour in Europe with impunity, then no one can be sure of anything anymore, and it is the law of the strongest that applies, and peace can no longer be guaranteed on our continent itself.” He added that the future of Europe will not be set by the Kremlin or Washington, DC, and spoke of extending the French nuclear umbrella to Europe.

This is going to come at a vast cost. If you think a 31bp rise in Bunds captures the scale of shocks involved in a soft-power Europe trying to set its own future in a hard-power world then you spend too much time in soft-power circles. For starters, the FT op-eds today that ‘Europe must trim its welfare state to build a warfare state’: like it or not, that is starting to sound a bit MEGA (Europe, not America) and DOGE. One wonders what the ECB will say about it today.

Europe is outraged by US actions vs Ukraine and what some call the White House’s “reverse Nixon” strategy (so, ‘Noxin’?) of trying to split Russia from China, as with China vs the USSR in the 1970s: there is talk of Trump–Putin kinship or kompromat even in the financial press. However, facing a united China and Russia, when until this week Europe refused to rearm, is something all geostrategists, some belatedly, see as a deeply flawed US strategy. Moreover, the eurocentric fail to spot that Trump is not only pivoting from Europe to focus on Asia –which the EU largely thinks of in terms of trade not security– but is trying to use the quid pro quo gained there for Putin’s help with nuclear negotiations with Iran.

After all, Tehran is close to a nuclear weapon and Israel, who just rehearsed a joint strike on it with the US, to having to remove what it sees as an existential threat the hard way. Were that to occur, it would have a vast negative impact on the US and European economies. That key issue isn’t even part of current EU conversations; but as Europe rearms and tries to find its own place in the world, it will find it has to join more such dots in more locations at an ever-higher price. It also goes without saying that the odds of ‘Noxin’ and an Iran deal success are very low; but the alternative scenarios are not ones markets want to think about. Again, they do not imply just a 31bp move higher in 10-year Bunds. Especially not when the Chinese embassy in the US tweets: “If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”

Read more …

Leaders that will all be voted out soon. So why do it?

European Leaders Want ‘Forever War’ In Ukraine – Musk (RT)

European leaders who are pushing against a peace agreement in Ukraine want a perpetual state of war, tech billionaire Elon Musk said in a statement on X on Thursday. His remarks come in response to a recent video of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen arguing that peace in Ukraine could be more dangerous than the ongoing conflict with Russia. Musk, who is also currently a senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, has repeatedly called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and has spoken out against continued military aid to Kiev, arguing that it could lead to an escalation and risk a nuclear confrontation. Responding to a post featuring Frederiksen’s latest remarks, he argued that some European leaders “want the forever war” and asked how many more people will have to lose their lives.

“How many more parents with no sons? How many more children with no fathers? By their logic, it never ends,” Musk wrote. Frederiksen, who stated last month that “peace in Ukraine is actually more dangerous than the war that is ongoing now,” told journalists earlier this week that “Ukraine has to win this war.” She claimed that if Russia is allowed to win, it will continue to take military action against other European countries. “If we end this war now with some kind of a ceasefire, it will give Russia the possibility to mobilize more funds, people, and maybe to attack another country in Europe,” she said.

Her statements echoed comments by other EU leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who has recently claimed that Russia poses a threat to the entire bloc and called for defense spending to be ramped up. Russia has also rejected unsubstantiated claims that it intends to attack European or NATO countries with Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissing such statements as “nonsense” and fear mongering by EU leaders aimed at alarming citizens and raising defense budgets. Moscow has warned that one of the key reasons for the Ukraine conflict was NATO expansion towards Russia, including the bloc’s promise that Kiev would eventually become a member.

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“..the French president’s “predecessors, who also wanted to fight Russia.”

Lavrov Compares Macron to Hitler and Napoleon (RT)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has compared French President Emmanuel Macron to Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte, saying that he is also looking to impose a defeat upon Russia. During an address to the nation on Wednesday, Macron labeled Russia a “threat to France and Europe” and announced that he was considering expanding Paris’s nuclear deterrent to cover other EU member states. He insisted that the bloc needs to strengthen its independence when it comes to defense as there are doubts about the US continuing to protect the EU after the administration of President Donald Trump “changed its position” on the Ukraine conflict and became “less supportive” of Kiev. The French president insisted on further assistance to the government of Vladimir Zelensky, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not stop if he is allowed to defeat Ukraine.

When asked to comment on Macron’s statements by journalists on Thursday, Lavrov mentioned Hitler and Napoleon, describing them as the French president’s “predecessors, who also wanted to fight Russia.” The two European dictators sent their armies into Russia in 1812 and 1941, respectively, but ended up suffering crushing defeats. The difference is that Hitler and Napoleon “said directly: ‘We must conquer Russia, we must defeat Russia.’ And he [Macron], apparently, wants the same thing, but for some reason says that we must fight Russia so that it does not defeat France; that Russia is creating a threat to France and Europe,” he stressed.

The minister refuted the French leader’s claims that Moscow has plans to attack Western Europe, calling such notions “unreasonable.” “President [Vladimir] Putin has said many times that this is absolute nonsense. I think that any sane person would understand that [by launching its military operation] Russia only wants to eliminate the root causes of the situation created by the West in Ukraine,” he explained. Lavrov also said that Moscow views Macron’s statement about widening France’s nuclear umbrella as a “threat towards Russia.” “If he considers us a threat, if he is calls a meeting of the chiefs of staff of the [Western] European countries and Britain; if he says that it is necessary to use nuclear weapons; if he prepares to use nuclear weapons against Russia – this is, of course, a threat,” he insisted.

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“..former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was right when he said, in his usual manner, that the conflict in Ukraine could be stopped very quickly, within two weeks, if military aid to the Ukrainian government was halted..”

Macron’s Remarks on Use of Nuclear Arms a Threat to Russia – Lavrov (Sp.)

Moscow sees French President Emmanuel Macron’s words on possible use of nuclear weapons as a threat, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday. “Of course, this is a threat to Russia. If he [Macron] considers us a threat, gathers a meeting of the chiefs of General Staff of European countries and Britain, says it is necessary to use nuclear weapons, prepares to use nuclear weapons against Russia, this is, of course, a threat,” Lavrov told a news conference. On Wednesday, Macron said that Russia had become a “threat” to France and Europe, therefore, it was necessary to open a discussion on the use of France’s nuclear weapons to defend the entire European Union. Emmanuel Macron has the opportunity to call Russian President Vladimir Putin anytime, and accusations that Russia is allegedly preparing a war against Europe are unwise, Lavrov said.

“Macron periodically proudly declares that he will definitely call Putin and talk to him. He has such opportunities. No one forbids it. On the contrary, the president constantly emphasizes his openness to contacts with all his colleagues. And regarding these, frankly, unwise accusations of Russia in preparing a war against Europe and France, Putin has repeatedly said, calling such thoughts delusional, nonsense. Probably, it is absolutely clear to any sane person that Russia does not need this,” Lavrov told a joint press conference with Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Amon Murwira. Russia sees no possibility for achieving a compromise on possible deployment of European peacekeepers in Ukraine, Lavrov said. “We see no room for compromise. This discussion is being conducted with an openly hostile purpose. They are not hiding what they need it for,” Lavrov.

Suspension of US intelligence transfers to Ukraine confirm Russia’s statements that such assistance was provided to Kiev and it helped to carry out strikes deep into Russia, Sergey Lavrov said. “As for the current situation with the provision of military assistance and the pause that the US has announced, and the pause that was announced with respect to the provision of intelligence information, this has confirmed what we have always said, our president has repeatedly noted that without the direct participation of the West, the US, the UK, France, Germany, and other countries that provide intelligence data and help use the technologies for using this data to launch long-range missiles at our territory, the Ukrainians could not do this,” Lavrov said. The suspension of military aid to Ukraine from the United States may help to quickly end the Ukrainian conflict, Sergey Lavrov said.

“It has been said many times that former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was right when he said, in his usual manner, that the conflict in Ukraine could be stopped very quickly, within two weeks, if military aid to the Ukrainian government was halted. This is the answer to your question. We agree with this assessment. Another thing that Josep Borrell added was that this should never be done, because first you need to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, and then dictate the terms of peace to it,” Lavrov told reporters. The Russian foreign minister noted that Russia is ready for a frank dialogue on the settlement of the Ukraine conflict.

“We are ready for an honest conversation, taking into account all the root causes of this conflict, including, of course, the main one – Russia’s security and guarantees against NATO’s continued expansion into Ukraine, which would then be used to create constant threats to Russia,” Lavrov said. In addition, the Russian official said that French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement about Russia and Ukraine was nervous and very verbose. “Macron, as I understand it, said in his lengthy, rather nervous statement yesterday [March 5] that the war should not be allowed to end with the surrender of Ukraine,” Lavrov said.

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“Following the 2022 escalation, both politicians admitted that the purpose of the accord from the West’s perspective had merely been to buy time for Kiev to strengthen its military..”

Macron said that Russia cannot be trusted because it violated the Minsk agreements. 4 days before the Russian invasion (February 20, 2022), Macron told Putin that the Minsk agreements have no legal force and are worthless!

Kremlin Reacts To Macron’s ‘War’ Speech (RT)

https://twitter.com/i/status/1897386604404306352

French President Emmanuel Macron’s speech focusing on Russia earlier this week was “highly confrontational,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday, arguing that it signals an intent to further escalate tensions. In his address to the nation on Wednesday, Macron labeled Russia “a threat” to the EU and called for a significant increase in defense spending to counter the perceived danger posed by Moscow. He also said that France would be prepared to deploy troops to Ukraine should a truce be reached in the conflict. Commenting on the remarks during a regular press briefing, Peskov stressed that it hardly conveyed a message of peace: “France apparently is contemplating war, a continuation of war.” This stance naturally elicits a negative reaction in Moscow, he suggested.

Macron’s address adhered to the conventional Western narrative portraying Russia as the unprovoked aggressor in the Ukraine conflict and claimed that Moscow has ambitions of conquest in Ukraine and beyond. However, according to Peskov, the French leader selectively ignored crucial events and circumstances that contributed to the current Ukraine crisis. Among these, he pointed to NATO military infrastructure “encroaching, or rather making seven-mile strides” towards Russia’s borders, creating significant security concerns for Moscow. Peskov stated that Russia had no choice but to respond to this growing threat. He also refuted Macron’s claims that Russia violated the Minsk Agreements, citing former French President Francois Hollande’s acknowledgment that the West never genuinely intended for them to succeed.

In 2015, Hollande and then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel co-mediated a roadmap purportedly aimed at peacefully reintegrating the then-breakaway regions in Donbass back into Ukraine. Following the 2022 escalation, both politicians admitted that the purpose of the accord from the West’s perspective had merely been to buy time for Kiev to strengthen its military with NATO support. Peskov also remarked that in 2014 France and other European nations “deceived” then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich by endorsing his power-sharing agreement with Western-backed militants, who violated the deal within hours and forcibly removed the democratically elected leader, all without any protest from Paris.

The EU is currently promoting a substantial military buildup that would cost some $840 billion and be funded through debt. Brussels asserts that European security risks have been intensified by the shift in Washington’s policy under President Donald Trump, who is seeking a resolution to the Ukraine conflict while urging Europe to assume responsibility for future security guarantees for Kiev. Peskov observed that while this does not make the US a friend of Russia, it at least opens avenues for normalizing bilateral relations.

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“The war, the geopolitical uncertainty and the new arms race started by Putin..”

EU Must Win Arms Race – Poland (RT)

The EU must escalate its military buildup and win the arms race against Russia, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said. This comes amid growing efforts by EU leaders to increase defense spending, citing what they describe as a threat from Moscow, which Russia has repeatedly denied. Tusk’s remarks also come as US President Donald Trump and his administration increasingly push European NATO members to take greater responsibility for their own defense. Washington has suggested that Europe should rely less on US military aid, particularly regarding Ukraine, and instead ramp up its own military spending. In a message posted on social media on Thursday, Tusk accused Moscow of starting a new arms race and insisted that Europe must respond.

“The war, the geopolitical uncertainty and the new arms race started by Putin have left Europe with no choice. Europe must be ready for this race, and Russia will lose it like the Soviet Union 40 years ago,” Tusk wrote, adding that from today, Europe will arm itself faster than Russia. His comments follow recent statements by French President Emmanuel Macron, who has claimed that Russia poses a threat to the EU. Macron has urged the bloc to increase defense spending and has also proposed expanding Europe’s nuclear deterrence, potentially extending France’s nuclear umbrella to other EU countries in response to the perceived risks from Moscow.

Moscow has dismissed the accusations that it poses a military threat to Europe and has condemned Macron’s latest statement as “highly confrontational.” Russian President Vladimir Putin called Western claims of an impending Russian attack “nonsense.” He has also accused European leaders of stoking tensions and using the perceived Russian threat as a pretext to justify increased military spending. In December, Putin also stressed that Russia does not want to be bogged down in an arms race, which would be detrimental to the social and economic development of the country. He warned, however, that Russia will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of itself and its allies.

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“Macron should invite his predecessor… Hollande, to the Élysée Palace to have a heart-to-heart talk with him… Then he’ll probably hear from Hollande… that he had no intention of implementing the Minsk agreements..”

Macron Should Apologize – Moscow (RT)

French President Emmanuel Macron should apologize for making “misleading” claims about the origins of the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has told RT. In particular, Zakharova criticized Macron for alleging that Russia was to blame for the failure of the Minsk Accords. The agreements were brokered in 2014 and 2015 to halt fighting between Ukraine and the now-Russian Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, with France and Germany as guarantors. They were ultimately not implemented, and Moscow later accused Kiev and the West of using them to strengthen Ukraine’s military instead of securing peace. In a televised address on Wednesday,

Macron, however, blamed Russia of violating the accords and cited them as proof that the West “can no longer take Russia at its word” when it comes to resolving the conflict. “We cannot forget that Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and that we negotiated a ceasefire in Minsk at that time. And Russia did not respect this ceasefire,” the French president alleged, claiming that Moscow poses a direct threat to France and the entire EU. Zakharova condemned Macron’s comments as “aggressive and destructive” and pointed out that former French President François Hollande and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel have “openly confessed, and not under torture or pressure” back in 2022 they never intended to enforce the accords.

“Macron should invite his predecessor… Hollande, to the Élysée Palace to have a heart-to-heart talk with him… Then he’ll probably hear from Hollande… that he had no intention of implementing the Minsk agreements while representing France,” Zakharova stated, suggesting that after speaking to Hollande, Macron would “have to apologize to his own population for misleading them.” Macron has been a vocal advocate of strengthening Europe’s defenses against Russia and reiterated this position in his latest address. Moscow, however, has repeatedly denied having any plans to attack either the EU or NATO, with President Vladimir Putin dismissing such speculation as “nonsense” on multiple occasions.

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“..effectively granted Ratcliffe the authority to remove any CIA employee for any reason without the right to appeal.”

Trump Begins CIA Cuts – NYT (RT)

The administration of US President Donald Trump has begun cutting CIA staff as part of a broader effort to downsize government agencies, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing sources. The first dismissals reportedly targeted officers hired within the past two years, many of whom were still on probationary contracts. According to sources familiar with the situation, several recently hired CIA employees were summoned to a location away from the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, where they were asked to surrender their credentials without prior notice. The firings have reportedly led to anxiety among remaining CIA staff, with some employees allegedly avoiding calls from security out of fear they may be next.

A CIA spokeswoman confirmed to the New York Times that certain recently hired officers had been let go but did not specify how many. She signaled that the dismissals were performance-based, as did several unnamed officials who spoke to the outlet. The reported firings come amid Trump’s efforts to cut government ranks as part of a drive to eliminate wasteful state spending, bureaucracy, and corruption – a campaign spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under billionaire Elon Musk. During the first cabinet meeting of his second term, Trump pledged to “cut down the size of government,” arguing that federal agencies had become “bloated” and “sloppy.” On February 11, he signed an executive order on workforce optimization, mandating large-scale reductions across government agencies and limiting hiring to essential positions.

The report also follows a federal judge’s ruling that cleared the way for CIA Director John Ratcliffe to fire employees at will. In late February, Judge Anthony J. Trenga ruled on a lawsuit brought by officers dismissed after Trump’s order to cut diversity programs in government agencies. That decision effectively granted Ratcliffe the authority to remove any CIA employee for any reason without the right to appeal. The Trump administration has previously cracked down on the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington’s primary mechanism for funding political projects abroad, firing some 2,000 employees and putting nearly all remaining staff on leave. According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Trump is also preparing an executive order aimed at dismantling the Department of Education, which he has repeatedly criticized as a “big con job.”

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And “around 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans..”

US Ready To Change Legal Status Of 240,000 Ukrainian Migrants (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing to revoke the temporary legal status for all refugees, including around 240,000 Ukrainians – a move that could speed up their path to deportation, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a senior administration official and three sources familiar with the matter. Expected to come into force in April, the decision is part of a broader crackdown on immigration which Trump launched since assuming office and marks a dramatic shift from the reception Ukrainians received under the previous administration of Joe Biden. The outlet noted that the effort to revoke protections for Ukrainians was already in progress before a verbal altercation between Trump and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in the Oval Office last week.

According to sources, the move is part of a broader Trump administration initiative to eliminate the legal status of over 1.8 million migrants who entered the US through temporary humanitarian parole programs introduced under the Biden administration. In addition to the 240,000 Ukrainians, the administration plans to revoke parole for around 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans this month, the administration official and one of the anonymous sources told the outlet. Shortly after assuming office on January 20, Trump signed a number of executive orders introducing tougher immigration controls, including a decree instructing the Department of Homeland Security to “terminate all categorical parole programs.”

An internal US Immigration and Customs Enforcement email reviewed by Reuters indicated that migrants losing their parole status could face fast-track deportation proceedings. Other executive orders also included enhancing vetting for visa applicants, limiting birthright citizenship, directing the armed forces to guard the southern border with Mexico, and erecting additional barriers. Trump also repealed 78 executive orders signed by Biden, including directives related to immigration.

The development comes amid a deepening rift in US-Ukraine relations. Tensions have escalated in recent weeks following Zelensky’s ill-tempered meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over a minerals deal, culminating in a tense public argument between Trump and Zelensky in the White House last week. Zelensky was accused of “disrespecting” the US, with Trump insisting that the Ukrainian leader does not want peace. A proposed minerals deal between the US and Ukraine was left unsigned as a result.

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“Without the direct involvement of the West [..] Ukraine would not be able to use these technologies and data to launch long-range missiles at our territory. This is a very important acknowledgment,”

Lavrov Weighs In On US Decision To Halt Intel Sharing With Ukraine (RT)

Ukraine is entirely incapable of launching long-range missile strikes on Russia without direct support from Western nations, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, citing the recent US decision to pause intelligence sharing with Kiev as proof. On Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that the US had halted intelligence sharing with Kiev, adding that the restrictions could be lifted if Ukraine demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia. Washington has also frozen military assistance to Kiev, with both moves following a public spat between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky during an Oval Office meeting last week. The talks ended with Trump accusing Zelensky of “disrespect” and reluctance to seek peace with Moscow.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Lavrov highlighted the consequences of the US decision on intel sharing. “Without the direct involvement of the West – namely the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and other countries – Ukraine would not be able to use these technologies and data to launch long-range missiles at our territory. This is a very important acknowledgment,” the minister said. At the same time, Lavrov declined to speculate on how long the freeze would last, stressing that Russia is focused on eliminating the root causes of the conflict, including securing guarantees that NATO “will not continue to absorb Ukraine as a territory that could later be used to create permanent threats against the Russian Federation.”

Ukraine has long used advanced Western-made weapons, including US-supplied HIMARS and ATACMS, and British Storm Shadow missiles, to target Russian facilities, including civilian ones. In the fall of 2024, the administration of then-US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use American long-range missiles for strikes deep into Russian territory despite Moscow’s warnings that this would escalate the conflict. In response to Ukrainian long-range strikes using Western weapons, Russia deployed its newest intermediate-range ballistic missile system, the Oreshnik, to target Ukraine’s Yuzhmash military-industrial facility in the city of Dnepr. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the Oreshnik as impossible to intercept, noting its warheads travel at ten times the speed of sound. Putin has said that Ukraine could launch missile strikes deep into Russia only if it receives reconnaissance data from satellites operated either by the EU or the US.

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“..Senate Democrats seem to have thrown in the towel on defending their own COVID record and heroes including Dr. Anthony Fauci..”

‘Science Should Be An Engine For Freedom’: NIH Nominee Bhattacharya (JTN)

Senate Democrats and some Republicans liked the status quo at the National Institutes of Health before the second Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency started closely scrutinizing its grant decisions, headcount and wildly generous reimbursement for “indirect costs” to institutions at the expense of money for their researchers. That seemed apparent at Wednesday’s Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing for NIH director-nominee Jay Bhattacharya, who faced repeated bipartisan demands to oppose President Trump who nominated him and immediately undo decisions made by agency leaders and the president’s Department of Government Efficiency, especially mass terminations and funding freezes.

Best known for his pioneering research on widespread COVID-19 immunity by April 2020 and vocal opposition to prolonged school closures and vaccine mandates, the Stanford medical professor and health economist barely drew criticism for his own record. He mentioned just a single vaccine whose safety record troubled him when asked by Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J.: “COVID vaccines for young men causing myocarditis,” which is inflammation of heart muscle. Like their House colleagues a month earlier, Senate Democrats seem to have thrown in the towel on defending their own COVID record and heroes including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the four-decade director of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Instead they assailed Trump and DOGE boss Elon Musk, with ranking member Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, telling Bhattacharya he’d be subservient to the unofficial leader of DOGE and asking Chair Bill Cassidy, R-La., to haul billionaire Musk before the committee. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., asked Bhattacharya whether he’d follow the law when Trump gave him an illegal directive. When he rejected the plausibility of the hypothetical, she responded “that strains credulity” and denounced his “disappointing answer.”

Sanders repeatedly cut off Bhattacharya as he tried to answer leading questions about unilaterally capping high prices for drugs developed through NIH research and using his “bully pulpit” to pressure TV stations to ban ads for “unhealthy foods.” The nominee barely got to answer that the U.S. could have saved untold spending on drugs by treating serious COVID infections with the “cheap steroid” dexamethasone, as documented in a July 2020 New England Journal of Medicine study. “A lot can be done through executive orders,” Sanders answered, referring to Trump’s first-month deluge, when Bhattacharya told him that previous NIH directors said only Congress can impose price caps. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., called bullplop on Democrats for not cosponsoring his bill to remove junk food from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which he said would disproportionately improve health for poor people.

The ophthalmologist cheered Bhattacharya’s tout of steroids that cost “pennies” to treat serious COVID, which he said Fauci rejected in March 2020. Paul called it “the best cure and the cheapest,” and Bhattacharya frowned that the U.K. did that research instead of NIH. Just as Democrats pivoted to praising COVID vaccines as “life-saving” after the novel therapeutics were found unable to stop transmission, to make infection more likely via the antibody “class switch” and to cause heart inflammation in young people, several used the compound adjective to describe research subject to NIH’s funding pause. So did Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who also joined Democrats in branding NIH’s new 15% cap on indirect cost recovery – in line with private foundations’ reimbursement ratios – a violation of congressional directives. She called the cap “ill-conceived and completely arbitrary” and a “one-size-fits-all approach,” a jab often applied to federal COVID guidance.

Bhattacharya reminded senators his own research received NIH grants and he served on a standing NIH grant committee for a decade, but said the agency must recover from the cratering public trust in public health leaders due to their pandemic management. His NIH will “vigorously regulate” research that could cause another pandemic, he said, referring to the theory favored by the FBI, CIA and Department of Energy that SARS-CoV-2 leaked from a Chinese lab conducting gain-of-function experiments, indirectly funded by Fauci’s agency. Bhattacharya promised Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., he’d work with Congress to keep taxpayer money out of foreign biolabs such as Ukraine’s, publish records with “limited obfuscation” and require funding recipients to report “politically inconvenient” results.

Tuberville had asked about an NIH-funded study on youth gender transitions and mental health whose negative findings were intentionally withheld for seven years, helping create a false medical consensus on so-called gender affirming care for young people. He urged Bhattacharya to be “very visual on television” with his transparency message. Bhattacharya said he’ll prioritize research on chronic diseases including obesity and diabetes and reversing the slide in life expectancy, which has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, and make it “replicable, reproducible and generalizable,” a weakness for the agency. He noted NIH’s “research integrity scandal” on Alzheimer’s disease, which he has studied, and its devotion to the “amyloid hypothesis,” an explanation for Alzheimer’s that may be based on falsified data and which he said crowded out study of other hypotheses.

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“..the Court finds that the public interest lies in maintaining the status quo and enjoining any categorical funding freeze.”

Obama Judge Indefinitely Blocks Trump Admin Funding Freeze (ZH)

A Rhode Island US District Judge has indefinitely blocked President Trump’s freeze on federal grants and loans, arguing in his ruling that the White House had “put itself above Congress” and undermined democracy. In a Thursday ruling, Judge John McConnell Jr., an Obama appointee – prohibited the Trump administration from freezing or otherwise impeding the disbursement of appropriated federal funds, WSJ reports. The decision is a victory for Trump critics who say he has trampled on Congress’s authority in his effort to cut federal spending and overhaul agencies. McConnell’s order follows a similar one issued by a different federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25. The judge had previously issued a temporary restraining order, which on Thursday he converted into an injunction, a more permanent form of relief.

“The Executive’s categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government,” wrote McConnell. “Here, the Executive put itself above Congress,” he continued. “It imposed a categorical mandate on the spending of congressionally appropriated and obligated funds without regard to Congress’s authority to control spending.” Of note – McConnell was very active in Democratic politics before becoming a judge – serving 14 years as treasurer of the Rhode Island Democratic State Committee, and donating heavily to Democratic political candidates. McConnell’s ruling came after 22 Democrat states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit which challenged a directive from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directing them to pause funding while it assessed whether various government programs complied with executive orders issued by Trump which target foreign aid, DEI, and green energy projects.

While OMB then rescinded that directive, the states say that come Congressionally-approved funds were still being improperly withheld – and that the initial OMB policy rollout sowed confusion among state governments, nonprofits, and lawmakers. McConnell issued an earlier temporary restraining order (TRO), in which he said that the administration couldn’t “pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate” its federal financial-assistance obligations to the states. According to the judge, state governments face “significant disruption in health, education, and other public services” due to the funding freeze, and as such, “the Court finds that the public interest lies in maintaining the status quo and enjoining any categorical funding freeze.”

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“In February, [..] VA said it was continuing to hire for more than 300,000 mission-critical positions that are exempt from the federal hiring freeze..”

DOGE Looking To Cut More Than 80,000 Employees At Veterans Affairs (JTN)

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is planning to cut 80,000 positions as part of an “aggressive” overhaul of the agency that runs programs for veterans and members of their families. The VA’s chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, told top VA officials on Tuesday that it would to return to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000 employees. That would require dismissing about 83,000 employees after the VA expanded during the Biden administration. It will work with the Department of Government Efficiency to create a workforce optimization plan, Syrek said in an internal memo obtained by multiple news outlets, including Government Executive, which first reported on the memo. He said VA will “move aggressively” to reduce bureaucracy, cut the department’s footprint and “increase workforce efficiency,” the outlet reported. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats said the move could hurt veterans.

“83,000 VA employees are set to be fired,” the committee wrote on X. “These cuts won’t just impact those seeking health care. They will create chaos across every aspect of VA – delaying benefits, straining claims processing, and making it nearly impossible for student veterans and schools to get the assistance they need. Veterans will suffer the consequences.” The VA added staff quickly during the Biden administration as it staffed up to address increased coverage under the PACT Act, a law that expanded VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances. News of the overhaul comes after relatively minor cuts at the agency. Earlier this week, Veterans Affairs started cancelling close to 600 “non-mission critical” and “duplicative” contracts valued at about $1.8 billion – and this is just the beginning, according to the department.

The cancellations result from the early stages of a “deliberative, multi-level review” by some of the people responsible for the contracts, VA senior leaders and contracting officials and will allow Veterans Affairs to redirect about $900 million back to veteran benefits and services, the agency said. The 585 contracts the department has begun canceling “represent less than 1% of the roughly 90,000 contracts VA currently has in place,” and the department plans to perform a thorough review of all of them. In February, VA dismissed more than 1,400 probationary employees in non-mission critical positions. At that time, VA said it was continuing to hire for more than 300,000 mission-critical positions that are exempt from the federal hiring freeze. Earlier that same month, VA announced it dismissed more than 1,000 of its 43,000 probationary employees in a move expected to save $98 million a year. The agency said those let go included non-union probationary employees who have served less than a year in a competitive service appointment or who have served less than two years in an excepted service appointment.

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“This will ensure that the IRS is not going after the wealthy and is only an agency that’s really focused on the low income,” he said. “It’s a travesty.”

IRS Reportedly Plans To Cut Half of Its 90,000 Workforce (JTN)

The Internal Revenue Service reportedly plans to cut its roughly 90,000-employee workforce by as much as half, as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce. The cuts will be made through a mix of attrition, layoffs and incentivized buyouts, two people familiar with the situation told the Associated Press. The reduction of the federal workforce is being led by the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, which is being led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. Those being laid off are mostly probationary employees who have not yet gained civil service protection.

The agency has already cut roughly 6,000 employees, or bout 6% of its workforce, Reuters reported in late February. Philip Hackney, a University of Pittsburgh tax law professor and Former IRS lawyer, warned such cuts could unfairly target the country’s underclass. “This will ensure that the IRS is not going after the wealthy and is only an agency that’s really focused on the low income,” he said. “It’s a travesty.”

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“I think logically, we should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized..”

Elon Musk Says Amtrak, US Postal Service Should Be Privatized (ET)

Elon Musk, who is advising President Donald Trump on reducing government waste and downsizing the federal workforce, has called for privatizing the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and passenger rail operator Amtrak. “I think logically, we should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized,” Musk said at a March 5 Morgan Stanley conference. “I think we should privatize the Post Office and Amtrak for example.” Amtrak, a government-owned company created in 1970, reported an adjusted operating loss of $705 million in the prior fiscal year. USPS, also government-owned, has accumulated over $100 billion in losses since 2007, including $9.5 billion in the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2024. Neither Amtrak nor USPS responded to requests for comment on Musk’s remarks by publication time. The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) voiced opposition to Musk’s idea of privatizing USPS, emphasizing the service’s public mission.

“A friendly reminder on behalf of every American who depends on USPS (including 51.5 million rural addresses): It’s called universal service, not ‘as much as possible’ service,” NALC wrote in a post on X. “And we’ll #FightLikeHell to protect it.” Trump has previously suggested that the USPS could be privatized, a move that would allow for more flexibility in pricing and labor negotiations. During Trump’s first term, his administration proposed a restructuring plan for USPS, citing “extremely high” fixed costs and an inability to support its financial obligations. The plan highlighted over $100 billion in unfunded liabilities, a decade of consecutive losses, and a growing capital investment backlog. “A privatized Postal Service would have a substantially lower cost structure, be able to adapt to changing customer needs and make business decisions free from political interference, and have access to private capital markets to fund operational improvements without burdening taxpayers,” the proposal stated.

Last month, Trump said he was considering merging USPS with the Commerce Department, a move that Democrats said would violate federal law. Calling USPS “a tremendous loser for the country,” Trump said the objective of such a move would be to have a “post office that works well and doesn’t lose massive amounts of money.” Democrats have consistently opposed privatization efforts, warning that changes to USPS operations could disproportionately impact rural communities and those dependent on postal services for essential goods and medication. Trump has also repeatedly pushed to cut Amtrak’s federal funding, which totaled approximately $2.4 billion last year. His past budget proposals sought to reduce Amtrak’s funding by 40–50 percent and eliminate long-distance routes, arguing that resources should be redirected to higher-traffic corridors. Musk, comparing U.S. rail service to China’s high-speed system, criticized Amtrak as a “sad situation,” saying, “It will leave you with a very bad impression of America.”

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Trump questions Article 5.

Trump Planning Major NATO Shakeup – NBC (RT)

The US could decide to only defend those NATO countries that actually meet the bloc’s spending requirements, four former and current officials have told NBC. Such a policy would mark a major departure from a core article of the military bloc, which states that an attack on any NATO member is to be treated as an attack on all of them. A similar principle would apply to joint military exercises and American overseas deployments, the report said. Washington could choose to prioritize drills with those NATO partners that meet the defense spending targets and also reposition its forces in Europe according to the same criteria.

The administration of President Donald Trump has previously signaled that it was planning to reduce its military presence in Europe. The president also recently urged the EU to take the lead in its own defense and to bear the brunt of any future security guarantees for Kiev. Last month, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said that Washington intended to refocus its military priorities on countering China. He also warned the EU nations that they should not assume the presence of US troops on the continent will be indefinite. Some senior US officials contacted by NBC denied that the mutual defense clause – Article 5 – could be affected by any policy changes. Senator Chris Coons, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Defense, said that Trump’s nominee for the NATO ambassador’s position, Matthew Whitaker, “gave very reassuring answers” on the administration’s commitments to Article 5.

Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO members that fail to meet the bloc’s current defense spending threshold of 2% of GDP. The president floated the idea of raising mandatory defense spending by members to 5% of GDP, though none – including the US – currently meet that threshold. According to NATO estimates, 23 bloc members met the 2% threshold as of 2024, with just five, including the US, coming in above 3%. Poland was the only member to spend more than 4% of GDP on defense.

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“..too divided and insufficiently nimble to respond to the scale of the storm that Trump is whipping up over Ukraine,”

Trump Wants To Sideline EU – Politico (RT)

US President Donald Trump wants to sideline and destroy the European Union, an entity that he has long disliked, Politico has claimed in an article published on Thursday. The outlet argued that Trump is taking advantage of the cracks within the bloc caused by the Ukraine conflict. The administration in Washington has recently launched negotiations with Russia to broker peace in the Ukraine conflict and has excluded the EU from the process, which has elicited condemnation from Brussels. Trump has also halted American military aid to Ukraine, leaving the bloc jostling for funds to support Kiev. Washington’s anti-EU push “is triggering a crisis in Brussels institutions. The EU as a bloc is scrambling to prove its relevance,” Politico wrote. The Ukraine conflict has exposed differences among EU members in defense priorities, economic interests, and diplomatic approaches.

While countries such as Poland and the Baltic states have advocated for stronger military backing of Kiev, others, particularly Hungary and Slovakia, have pushed back, calling for a negotiated settlement with Russia. The financial burden of military aid and energy security concerns have also fueled tensions. Right-wing movements in several EU nations have questioned the bloc’s commitment to Kiev. “Trump will sideline the EU and play divide-and-rule with national leaders,” the publication wrote. While European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with US Vice President J.D. Vance in Munich last month, neither she nor European Council President Antonio Costa has had a face-to-face meeting with Trump, it noted.

The European Council, the body made up of the heads of state or government of all EU member states, “is being agonizingly exposed as too divided and insufficiently nimble to respond to the scale of the storm that Trump is whipping up over Ukraine,” Politico added. With Washington halting over $1 billion in arms shipments, Kiev faces potential shortages of ammunition and equipment. The EU is exploring alternatives to continue backing Ukraine militarily, despite the peace process initiated by the US and Russia. Von der Leyen on Tuesday unveiled a €800 billion plan aimed at bolstering the EU’s defense. In recent weeks, Trump has also targeted the bloc’s trade practices, describing them as “an atrocity” and announcing plans to impose a 25% tariff on EU goods. He also claimed that the bloc was “formed to screw the United States.”

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Trump wants to sideline EU, and the EU wants to sideline its own members.

“They created a wasteland and called it democracy.”

EU Seeking To Bypass Opponents of Ukraine Aid – Kallas (RT)

The EU is working on a new mechanism whereby a “coalition of the willing” would continue providing military aid to Kiev despite opposition by Hungary, according to Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s foreign policy chief. Kallas made the announcement on Thursday after arriving in Brussels for an emergency summit of the bloc’s 27 countries to discuss boosting defense and Ukraine aid amid waning US support.Asked by reporters about Hungary’s attempt to block aid to Ukraine, Kallas acknowledged the issue is “increasingly difficult” and explained that Brussels is considering a new initiative called a “coalition of the willing,” so that “one country cannot block everybody else.” She did not provide any details about how the mechanism would work in practice. Hungary has already rejected an EU draft text on Ukraine that included security guarantees for Kiev and a new military aid package. Budapest has also called on the EU to begin negotiations with Russia.

The idea of creating a “coalition of the willing” – a group of countries ready to support Kiev militarily – was first proposed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at an emergency summit in London this past Sunday. The meeting in London was summoned shortly after Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s ill-fated trip to Washington. The term “coalition of the willing” is most closely associated with the designation given to the countries supporting the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 on the ultimately disproven allegations of possession of weapons of mass destruction.“We are still striving for having the unity of 27 members,” Kallas said, but added that if unanimity cannot be reached, Hungary will have to “speak for themselves.” The military aid package for Ukraine reportedly being prepared by the EU is worth at least $6.2 billion, making it one of the bloc’s largest arms commitments since 2022. However, Hungary has indicated that it will veto the initiative.

Earlier this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the so-called ReArm Europe initiative, an €800 billion plan aimed at bolstering the EU’s defense capabilities. The proposal was prompted by US President Donald Trump’s freezing of military aid to Ukraine while urging the EU to take greater responsibility for its own defense. Moscow has long warned against Western arms shipments to Ukraine, arguing that they only prolong the conflict without altering the outcome, while increasing the risk of a direct Russia-NATO clash. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko has suggested that the EU could contribute to resolving the crisis by halting military and logistical support to Kiev.

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Without a past of nazis and holocaust, the country would not exist. It has one of the prime secret services in the world. But no idea what happens in Kiev.

Israeli FM ‘Didn’t Know’ Kiev Glorifies Holocaust Perpetrators (RT)

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has claimed ignorance of the well-documented fact that Ukrainian nationalists responsible for atrocities against Jewish people are venerated as heroes by Kiev. Moscow, in response, has offered to enlighten the Israeli official on the matter. On Monday, Sa’ar held a press briefing to mark Israel’s presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). West Jerusalem emphasized that anti-Semitism, which fueled Nazi crimes during World War II, “has not been eradicated from the world.” The minister seemed taken aback when a reporter asked for his thoughts on the modern-day glorification in Ukraine of Nazi-allied historical nationalist figures such as Stepan Bandera. In 2016, the Kiev city council renamed a large street in honor of Bandera, located just 3 km from Babi Yar, where an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 Jews and thousands of others were exterminated under Nazi occupation.

“First of all, I didn’t know about it. I will check it,” the official responded, pledging to issue a statement of condemnation “if there is a necessity.” Bandera and other nationalists, including those directly implicated in wartime atrocities, have been celebrated in modern Ukraine for years – something the reporter described as “common knowledge.” The Russian government expressed bewilderment at the exchange, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova sarcastically questioning the competence of Israel’s diplomatic staff. “How so? What is the Israeli embassy in Kiev doing then? And in Moscow too?” she wrote on social media, offering a collection of relevant documents in English for the minister’s convenience.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Kiev have in fact issued multiple statements denouncing the veneration of such figures. In January 2022, the diplomatic mission described that year’s annual torch march commemorating Bandera’s birthday as “desecrating the memory of the victims of the Holocaust in Ukraine.” No such condemnation was issued the following year, however. The embassy explained to Haarez that “we’ve made our position clear many times, but apparently there is nothing we can do, at least at the moment.” Moscow views the current government in Kiev as dominated by neo-Nazis and radical nationalists and insists that any potential peace deal with Ukraine must include a reversal of policies discriminating against ethnic Russians.

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Elon

 

 

Nap
https://twitter.com/i/status/1897477371051360561

 

 

Feeders

 

 

Cheetah
https://twitter.com/i/status/1897665976646373393

 

 

Secret

 

 

Jekyll island

 

 

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Feb 282025
 
 February 28, 2025  Posted by at 10:51 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  65 Responses »


Giovanni Bellini Pietà 1505

 

FBI Withheld ‘Thousands’ Of Epstein Docs – US AG Pam Bondi (RT)
DOJ Releases ‘The Epstein Files: Phase 1’ (RT)
Macron Persuaded Trump To Receive Zelensky In Washington (TASS)
Trump Refuses To Guarantee Backup For British Military (RT)
Kiev Facing Pressure To Intensify Conscription – Economist (RT)
UN Showed ‘Common Sense’ On Ukraine Conflict Resolution – Moscow (RT)
Putin Says 6+ Hour Talks With US “Inspire Certain Hopes” (ZH)
USAID Blew Millions On Literal ‘Pet Projects’ In Ukraine (RT)
Border Protection Feds Warned Of Possible Unrest Over USAID Firings (JTN)
Polls Highlight Disconnect Between Media And Public On DOGE (JTN)
Is the End of the Democrats’ Lawfare Strategy In Sight? (PJM)
Leavitt Slams NY Times Reporter As ‘Left-Wing Stenographer’ (NYP)
Prosecuted Romanian Presidential Candidate Asks Trump For Help (RT)
Elon Musk Floats Pay Hikes For Congress, Top Gov’t Workers To Fight Corruption (NYP)
Musk’s Father Says Son ‘Not Cut Out For Politics’ (RT)
Bezos Calls for WaPo to Champion Individual Freedom and Free Markets (Turley)
HHS Pauses Multi-Million Dollar Contract to Develop New COVID-19 Vaccine (ET)

 

 

 

 

DOGE
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894843925635940585

Lutnick

Malone

 

 

 

 

Bondi sort of walked into her own trap. Big promises, lot of hoopla, photo-ops, all of which affect not just her, but also Kash Patel and Trump, and then there’s nothing there. Ugly. She should have checked what she DID have. She called for a “new round” Friday 8am, but what if it’s still not there?

FBI Withheld ‘Thousands’ Of Epstein Docs – US AG Pam Bondi (RT)

US Attorney General Pam Bondi has accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation of withholding “thousands of pages” of documents related to the investigation of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. In a letter addressed to the newly appointed FBI director, Kash Patel, Bondi demanded the immediate release of all pertinent files. Earlier that day, the Department of Justice released a set of documents titled ‘The Epstein Files: Phase 1’ to a select group of conservative influencers. Notable figures such as Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichik, journalist Jack Posobiec, pundit Liz Wheeler, and conservative commentator Mike Cernovich were seen exiting the White House with binders labeled with the project’s title. However, these documents were heavily redacted and contained mostly previously reported information.

“We got the binder at noon… AG Bondi wanted to get out what they had, which wasn’t anything material,” Cernovich wrote in a post on X, adding that the FBI “held back the real information and AG Bondi directed Kash Patel to start kicking ass.” Bondi’s letter to Patel on Thursday alleges that despite assurances by his predecessors at the FBI that her office had received the complete set of Epstein-related documents, a tip from an insider revealed the existence of additional undisclosed files. The initial batch provided to Bondi’s office reportedly comprised approximately 200 pages, including flight logs, contact information, and victim identities, which according to the AG was already enough to “make you sick.”

Conservative influencers leaving the White House with ‘The Epstein Files: Phase 1’, February 27, 2025. © AP / Evan Vucci

“By 8:00am tomorrow, February 28, the FBI will deliver the full and complete Epstein files to my office, including all records, documents, audio and video recordings, and materials related to Jeffrey Epstein and his clients, regardless of how such information was obtained,” Bondi wrote in her letter to Patel. “There will be no withholdings or limitations to my or your access.” The limited release of the Epstein files has drawn criticism from Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna, who leads President Donald Trump’s newly established declassification task force. “This is not what we or the American people asked for. Get us the information we asked for instead of leaking old info to press,” Luna wrote on X in all caps.

Trump signed an executive order shortly after taking office, mandating the release of the Epstein files along with classified documents related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. The Epstein case has drawn significant attention due to his extensive network of high-profile associates, including former US President Bill Clinton, Britain’s Prince Andrew, billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and numerous other celebrities and business leaders. Trump also personally knew Epstein but has denied ever visiting his private island, maintaining that he cut ties with him in the 1990s – years before the financier’s first arrest for soliciting prostitution in 2006 – and has vowed to declassify all files.

Raising concerns about the potential destruction of these sensitive documents, Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles has proposed legislation aimed at preserving all non-public records related to Epstein. In a letter to Bondi on Wednesday, Ogles announced his intent to introduce the Preventing Epstein Documentation Obliteration Act, or PEDO Act, following “reports that certain FBI agents are allegedly attempting to destroy critical records.”

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“..tasked FBI Director Kash Patel with investigating why the request for all documents was not followed.”

DOJ Releases ‘The Epstein Files: Phase 1’ (RT)

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has released the first phase of declassified documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, which includes mostly previously known flight logs, phone records, and other materials linked to the convicted sex trafficker’s network of associates. Labeled ‘The Epstein Files: Phase 1’, the documents were first made available to a select group of conservative influencers before being broadly released to the public on Thursday evening. The DOJ has not yet confirmed whether additional phases will follow or provided a timeline for further disclosures. “The first phase of files released today sheds light on Epstein’s extensive network and begins to provide the public with long-overdue accountability,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“This Department of Justice is following through on President Trump’s commitment to transparency and lifting the veil on the disgusting actions of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators.” According to the DOJ statement, the release is part of a broader initiative to increase transparency regarding Epstein’s criminal activities and the people connected to him. However, some critics have expressed disappointment. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who leads President Donald Trump’s declassification task force, stated that the release did not contain the substantive information the public had been expecting. The DOJ has yet to comment on whether more names of high-profile individuals linked to Epstein will be revealed in future releases. The FBI, which has been accused of withholding documents, is also under pressure to release additional materials following Bondi’s demand for full disclosure.

Bondi has requested that the FBI hand over the remaining documents by 8:00am Friday and has “tasked FBI Director Kash Patel with investigating why the request for all documents was not followed.” “There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned – and anyone from the prior or current Bureau who undermines this will be swiftly pursued,” said Patel after Bondi wrote him a letter earlier in the day demanding the immediate release of all pertinent files. “The FBI is entering a new era – one that will be defined by integrity, accountability, and the unwavering pursuit of justice.”

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He just wanted to get rid of Macron?!

Macron Persuaded Trump To Receive Zelensky In Washington (TASS)

US President Donald Trump did not want to host Vladimir Zelensky in Washington, but changed his decision after French President Emmanuel Macron convinced him to do so, BFMTV reported. “Zelensky was supposed to come to Washington yesterday, but someone from the Trump administration told him, ‘Listen, Vladimir, there’s no point in chartering a plane, don’t come, all meetings have been canceled, President Trump won’t receive you.’ This caused panic in Kiev,” BFMTV reporter Patrick Sauce said. After that, Zelensky began calling Macron, asking him to convince Trump to reconsider, as he hoped to sign an agreement on Ukrainian minerals in Washington. Additionally, he mentioned that the visit “would have had strong symbolic significance.”

According to a French diplomatic source cited by the journalist, the French president then called the White House and successfully persuaded Trump to meet with Zelensky, offering his personal endorsement. On February 26, Trump confirmed that Zelensky would arrive in Washington this Friday to sign a deal on Ukraine’s minerals, among other matters. Prior to that, he had mentioned February 28 as a possible meeting date. However, on February 26, an unnamed White House official told Reuters that Washington saw no point in Zelensky’s visit without the signing of the minerals deal. Zelensky announced at a press conference on February 23 that he “does not want” to sign the agreement with the US because, in his view, future generations of Ukrainians would bear the financial burden.

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Starmer and Macron want war. Trump does not.

Trump Refuses To Guarantee Backup For British Military (RT)

US President Donald Trump has said British troops “can take care of themselves” when asked whether the US military would support them if the UK deploys forces to Ukraine as part of a potential peace agreement with Russia. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Trump at the White House on Thursday, where they discussed a plan to reach what he called a “peace that is tough and fair.” “I’m working closely with other European leaders on this, and I’m clear that the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal, working together with our allies, because that is the only way that peace will last,” Starmer told reporters after the meeting.

Trump, however, sidestepped a question about whether the US would provide backup if the deployment led to clashes with Russian forces, telling journalists that the British “don’t need much help.” “They can take care of themselves very well… It sounds like it’s evasive, but it’s not evasive. You know, the British have been incredible soldiers, incredible military, and they can take care of themselves,” Trump said at a photo op before the meeting. “If they need help, I’ll always be with the British, OK? I’ll always be with them – but they don’t need help.”

Starmer then hailed the US-UK relationship as the world’s “greatest alliance for prosperity and security,” adding that “whenever necessary, we’ve absolutely backed each other up.” “Could you take on Russia by yourselves?” Trump interrupted, turning to Starmer with a smile. “Well…” the prime minister responded to a burst of laughter from the audience before Trump moved on to other questions. The meeting came just days after French President Emmanuel Macron also reportedly failed to secure concrete US security guarantees for Ukraine during talks with Trump in Washington. Trump previously said he discussed “some form of peacekeeping” with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and claimed that Putin had “no problem” with the idea. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow had not been consulted on the matter.

Lavrov said the idea of deploying foreign troops to Ukraine is being pushed by “the Europeans, primarily France and also the British,” suggesting that this is meant to “further heat up the conflict and stop any attempts to calm it down.” Moscow has opposed the deployment of unauthorized peacekeepers to Ukraine, warning that without a UN mandate, they would be considered legitimate targets. Lavrov has said that any discussions about a peacekeeping force in Ukraine are “empty” and that the priority should be resolving the conflict’s underlying issues – including efforts to bring Kiev into NATO and the potential deployment of Western military infrastructure near Russia’s borders.

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“..increased mandatory conscription may be inevitable..”

Kiev Facing Pressure To Intensify Conscription – Economist (RT)

Kiev is under pressure to escalate its mobilization drive to sustain the conflict with Russia, according to The Economist. While Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky strives to motivate younger men to volunteer, his officials acknowledge that increased mandatory conscription may be inevitable. Last year, Kiev revamped its military service system, lowering the conscription age to 25 and imposing stricter penalties for draft avoidance. However, these measures have reportedly fallen short of the recruitment goals. The Economist reported on Wednesday that Western advisers are urging Kiev to draft younger individuals, viewing this as the quickest path to strengthening the army. Publicly, Zelensky has resisted lowering the draft age – privately, however, his officials have reportedly acknowledged that it will likely be necessary.

A senior official told the British magazine that the “tightening will continue because no one has come up with a better solution.” With frontline casualties increasing, many eligible men have been evading draft officers or have even resisted. The Economist noted a recent incident in Poltava, where a military official was fatally shot during a recruitment raid. While Ukraine’s security services attribute the blame to ‘Russian infiltrators’, soldiers suspect the violence may be “homegrown,” foreshadowing a potential increase in domestic discord. The Ukrainian government has initiated a program to attract younger volunteers into the military. Officials told The Economist that their aim is to recruit 4,000 people per month by offering generous compensation and a promise of demobilization after one year, though many have reportedly expressed skepticism.

”The army does not honor the terms of the contracts anyway – recently we got some guys who were transferred from an engineering brigade. They signed up to be pontoon builders, now they’re infantry,” a Ukrainian marine officer told The Times last week. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is advocating for a rapid resolution to the Ukraine conflict, pointing to the death toll and destruction incurred on both sides. Officials in Washington view the conflict as an obstacle to improving relations with Moscow. Trump has also pushed for a rare-earth minerals deal with Ukraine, which he believes would offset the US expenditures on the conflict over the years. In contrast, the EU and a number of European NATO members have pledged to continue pouring resources into the conflict. Zelensky has insisted that peace negotiations will only be possible from a “position of strength.”

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“..Western countries that have sought to isolate Russia are “themselves are becoming more isolated..”

UN Showed ‘Common Sense’ On Ukraine Conflict Resolution – Moscow (RT)

“Common sense” has finally prevailed in the UN Security Council after it approved a US-drafted resolution on Ukraine without anti-Russian rhetoric, Moscow’s deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, has told RT. Two competing resolutions on Ukraine were submitted to the UN on Monday, one of which was initiated by Kiev and its EU backers and condemned Russia. The other text, backed by the US, avoided branding Russia as an aggressor and called for a “swift end” to the conflict. The US text was later tabled at the UNSC, where it passed with ten votes in favor, with backing from Moscow and Washington and five abstentions from European members. Speaking to RT on Wednesday, Polyansky said it was the first time in a long while that the UNSC was able to speak with one voice on the Ukraine conflict after the US resolution was adopted with the support of Russia, China, and others.

“We owe this to common sense because I think now more and more people realize the true colors of the Zelensky regime and the true colors of Ukraine that was created under him,” the diplomat said. According to Polyansky, the new US administration under President Donald Trump has taken a more pragmatic approach on the crisis, which “really sets the framework for our future deliberations and work on this issue in the Security Council and in the UN.” Washington’s voting against a Ukrainian draft resolution condemning Russia “clearly” shows that the US approach to the conflict has changed, and that there is now a clash between a “militaristic” mindset in the EU and a “realistic” one in Washington, the diplomat said. Some members of the bloc stepped up their aggressive rhetoric this month after Moscow and Washington announced plans to restore ties and work on resolving the Ukraine conflict.

The EU was caught off guard by the US change of tone, Polyansky argued, as Brussels has spent years in a rigid position regarding any Ukraine resolutions. However, the attitude of Western countries over the past three years has shifted from “Ukraine must win” to “Ukraine must have very strong negotiating position,” and finally “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Polyansky added. The recent vote in the UNSC showed that Western countries that have sought to isolate Russia are “themselves are becoming more isolated,” the diplomat claimed. Polyansky stressed that a sustainable solution to the Ukraine conflict can only be achieved by addressing the root cause of the crisis, such as Ukraine’s NATO ambitions. Kiev also must remove its troops from all Russian territories, including the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, he added.

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The talks will continue. Without EU and Ukraine.

Putin Says 6+ Hour Talks With US “Inspire Certain Hopes” (ZH)

TASS is confirming that Russian and US delegations have concluded their meeting after more than six hours of talks in Istanbul on Thursday, the second round of such in-person talks after last week’s bilateral Riyadh meeting. Like the prior high-level dialogue, the Istanbul talks cut out Ukrainian and European representation. These talks have been focused on restoring full staffing at the two sides’ respective embassies and the improving of relations – with an eye toward preparations for achieving a lasting peace settlement in Ukraine. Importantly, on the same day President Vladimir Putin spoke of positive developments on these fronts in a meeting of the Federal Security Service. “We all see how rapidly the world is changing, the situation in the world. In this regard, I would like to note that the first contacts with the new US administration inspire certain hopes,” he said.

“There is a mutual dedication to work towards restoring interstate relations and gradually resolving the enormous volume of accumulated systemic and strategic problems in the global architecture.” He emphasized that “it was precisely these problems that provoked both the Ukrainian and other regional crises at the time,” as cited in TASS. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov separately took the opportunity to reaffirm what will remain a key Russian sticking point in any negotiations – that the four annexed territories in the east are not up for discussion.

“The territories which have become subjects of the Russian Federation, which are inscribed in our country’s constitution, are an inseparable part of our country,” Peskov told reporters. This after Ukraine’s President Zelensky recently tried to push the possibility of an “exchange” of territory with Moscow – Kursk for the four annexed regions. But Moscow has issued a firm no to this possibility. Peskov additionally said that Moscow doesn’t see any immediate breakthroughs happening in these ongoing talks with the Trump administration. “No one expects easy or quick solutions – the problem is too complex and has been neglected for too long. However, if both countries maintain their political will and willingness to listen to each other, I believe we will be able to navigate this working process,” he said.

“There is no need to jump ahead. Information on the outcome of the negotiations will be provided in due course,” he added. Meanwhile, Moon of Alabama says that the US side risks getting further entangled in Ukraine via the controversial rare earths minerals deal being sought by the Trump White House… By pressing for the agreement, instead of taking the Russian offer for access to minerals, Trump has committed himself to continue the war in Ukraine. This “will lead to the failure of his peace initiative,” the geopolitical blog continues. “The war Ukraine is now destined to become Trump’s Vietnam.” Let’s hope this doesn’t become the case.

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“The officials were “clearing significant waste stemming from decades of institutional drift..”

Trump Administration Cutting USAID Contracts By 90% – AP (RT)

The administration of US President Donald Trump plans to cut more than 90% of US Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts and a total of $60 billion in overall foreign aid worldwide, the AP reported on Thursday. The outlet cited an internal White House memo and filings in one of the federal lawsuits challenging the administration’s plan. Immediately upon assuming office, Trump suspended most US foreign assistance pending a three-month review to determine whether to continue or cease programs depending on their alignment with the new administration’s “America first” goals. USAID, Washington’s primary mechanism for funding political projects abroad, has found tens of billions dollars’ worth of approved grants frozen as a result.

NGOs and nonprofits formerly receiving grants and contracts from the agency have lodged multiple lawsuits against Trump and his administration, demanding the disbursement of already allocated funds. Late on Wednesday, the US Supreme Court intervened in one of the cases, and temporarily blocked a ruling that demanded that the government release billions of dollars in grants and contracts by midnight, according to AP. The administration plans to eliminate 90% of USAID contracts to the tune of $54 billion, AP reported, citing the memo and court filings. Nearly half of the State Department’s foreign aid grants also face the axe, to the tune of another $4.4 billion, according to the outlet. The officials were “clearing significant waste stemming from decades of institutional drift,” the memo reportedly states.

A further shakeup in how USAID and the State Department disbursed foreign aid was forthcoming “to use taxpayer dollars wisely to advance American interests,” it reportedly adds. Trump and his newly appointed government efficiency czar Elon Musk have repeatedly accused USAID of misappropriating taxpayer money and rampant corruption. The cuts are part of broader measures by the administration, and Musk’s recently formed Department of Government Efficiency, to cut down on ballooning government spending. On Wednesday, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) confirmed that it also had its government funding frozen. Officially a US State Department-funded nonprofit for distributing grants to pro-democracy causes abroad, the NED has faced numerous allegations over the years of acting as a CIA cut-out for toppling foreign governments.

USAID

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Pure corruption. “Literal pet projects” such as a “dog collar manufacturer” company and a “pet tracking app” firm were handed $300,000 each..” These things were never done. It’s just money.

USAID Blew Millions On Literal ‘Pet Projects’ In Ukraine (RT)

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) funneled millions in American taxpayer dollars into Ukrainian fashion and pet companies, then attempted to hide the funding from Congress, American conservative newspaper the Federalist reported on Wednesday. USAID, Washington’s primary mechanism for funding political projects abroad, had its multi-billion dollar budget frozen by President Donald Trump last month, pending a review for alignment with his “America first” policy. The president cited uncontrolled spending and massive corruption in the agency, calling for it to be shut down entirely. Seeking accountability for the agency’s allocation of taxpayer dollars, Senator Joni Ernst arranged for her team to visit USAID headquarters for an “in-camera review” of Ukraine aid data in October last year.

Despite multiple attempts to gain some clarity on the agency’s books, USAID had stonewalled both her direct communication and Congressional action for years. While they were restricted in what they were allowed to see, Ernst’s staff found that millions of dollars of taxpayer-funded grants were funneled into Ukrainian confectionery, fashion and pet companies, the Federalist wrote. The agency allocated Ukrainian luxury fashion businesses a total of roughly $733,000, a “custom carpet manufacturer” a $2 million grant, and a “specialty biscuit and confectionery company” around $678,000, the outlet said. “Literal pet projects” such as a “dog collar manufacturer” company and a “pet tracking app” firm were handed $300,000 each, the newspaper said.

Beyond the “in-camera review,” USAID “failed to provide any of these documents” to her staff, Ernst said. The agency often cites national security as a reason for keeping “controversial charges” in its books obscure, the Federalist wrote. While USAID claimed the grants were to “enhance Ukraine’s wartime posture” by boosting its economy, in effect, “the American people have funded extravagant trade missions and vacations for Ukrainian business owners to film festivals and fashion weeks across the glamorous capitols of Europe and beyond,” Ernst wrote in a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month.

Trump has repeatedly stated that he will put an end to funding Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, claiming that his predecessor Joe Biden spent $350 billion on assisting Kiev. The US president has announced that the US will “get back” the money through an upcoming deal to tap Ukraine’s mineral resources. With USAID funding suspended by Trump, the vast majority of Ukrainian media companies have been put at risk of shutting down, multiple NGOs have reported. According to French NGO Reporters Without Borders, 9 out of 10 media outlets in Ukraine were dependent on USAID as their primary donor.

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“There is a high probability of public gathering and First Amendment activities..”

Border Protection Feds Warned Of Possible Unrest Over USAID Firings (JTN)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials were warned Wednesday evening to take special security caution and keep “situational awareness” around their Washington headquarters in anticipation of protests as USAID workers fired by the Trump administration return to their offices to retrieve personal belongings the next two days. In memos sent from their “Operations Watch” alert system and obtained by Just the News, CBP employees in Washington were told that on Thursday and Friday “USAID staff, who previously vacated their workspace, will be on site to retrieve their belongings” in the vicinity around the Ronald Reagan federal building in downtown Washington D.C. near the White House. “There is a high probability of public gathering and First Amendment activities,” one of the alerts said. “Please maintain situational awareness throughout the building.

“CBP employees should be aware of these activities and uniformed employees should use good tactics and consider the use of cover shirts during transit portions in one out of controlled CBP spaces.” Another alert stated: “Be aware of your surroundings tomorrow, especially in uniform … we anticipate a significant amount of media as well as the possibility of nefarious actors.” Tensions have been high since President Donald Trump ordered thousands of USAID workers terminated as part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reorganization of the federal bureaucracy. Workers and their allies challenged their firings as well as the suspension of billions of dollars in foreign aid payments by the agency.

Late Wednesday, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts blocked a lower court’s order requiring Trump to resume the foreign aid payments. The Reagan building has been as the center of some of the tensions in part because CBP immediately took over some of the office space vacated in it by USAID. Officials told Just the News the CBP Operations Watch alert was based on intelligence that liberal and pro-government protesters might show up Thursday and Friday near the building.

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“I believe firmly that the story of 2024, one of the big story lines, is that the legacy media has finally been proven irrelevant,” pollster Scott Rasmussen said Wednesday..”

Polls Highlight Disconnect Between Media And Public On DOGE (JTN)

Despite a string of headlines suggesting that the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its efforts to slash federal waste is hurting President Trump in the polls, the public appears at odds with the media over its perception of the department and on Trump’s first month more broadly. Legacy media has vilified Musk in recent weeks, zeroing in on his oversight of USAID and the Treasury Department’s payment systems to pronounce the imminent end of major entitlements. Others have pointed to the price of eggs and inflation as the administration works to improve the economy. “Trump pledged to bring down food prices on Day One. Instead, eggs are getting more expensive,” read a CNN headline. “Will the backlash to Elon Musk hurt Republicans?” asked Vox. “Musk and DOGE underwater with some voters in recent polling,” Axios reported.

Despite the gloomy headlines, polling from legacy polling outlets and upstarts alike seems to show the public more supportive of Musk’s effort, and Trump’s policies, than a cursory view of the latest headlines would lead one to believe. A recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found Trump is enjoying a 50% approval rating, with just 43% disapproving of his performance. This week, a Napolitan News survey, moreover, found him with a 53% approval rating and 44% disapproval rating. Overall, he remains above water with a 49.1% approval rating in the RealClearPolitics polling average and a 47.5% disapproval rating. “I believe firmly that the story of 2024, one of the big story lines, is that the legacy media has finally been proven irrelevant,” pollster Scott Rasmussen said Wednesday on the “John Solomon Reports” podcast. “They could not control the narrative. They were out of touch talking to each other. YouGov actually ran a survey a couple weeks ago and found that more voters trust Donald Trump for information about what’s going on than trust the traditional media.”

“They don’t seem to understand even where the electorate is,” he said of legacy outlets. “I think last year, when the narrative was ‘economy is improving,’ and people say, ‘not in my checkbook, not at my kitchen table it’s not’ and I think that that now has spun out to they don’t understand that people are okay with deporting illegal aliens, particularly illegal criminal aliens who’ve committed crimes. The gap of just not understanding where America is, is because reporters don’t get out and talk to real people anymore.” Harvard/Harris’s latest survey found broad support for DOGE-related efforts. Eighty-three percent supported cutting government spending over raising taxes and a further 77% backed a broad review of federal spending.

Of DOGE, in particular, 60% expressed the belief that the department was actively helping the government to make substantial cuts. Seventy percent agreed that government spending was plagued by waste and fraud, while 69% favored a $1 trillion cut. Napolitan found comparable figures, with 62% of registered voters expressing the view that DOGE would help Trump to significantly reduce the deficit within the first year. Fifty-nine percent backed the idea of a “DOGE dividend” in which 20% of the savings created by DOGE cuts would be sent back to taxpayers while 80% goes to reduce the deficit. Only 22% opposed the idea. A separate Napolitan survey, moreover, found the public reasonably divided on Musk, with 44% holding a favorable view of him, 47% holding an unfavorable view, and 7% unsure.

Asked whether DOGE had gone far enough thus far, 36% said it had gone too far, while 19% said the agency had been “about right” and 25% said it had not gone far enough. Nineteen percent were unsure, but the sum of “about right” and “not far enough” suggested clear support for the Musk-led department’s work. Prophecies of doom for the administration based on economic moves, however, appear somewhat more in step with public opinion as polling shows Trump with relatively low numbers on inflation and facing a strong demand for immediate action on price increases. Trump is currently underwater on the economy in most surveys, albeit narrowly. He currently boasts a 46.0% average approval on the issue, according to RealClearPolitics, which reported that 49.8% disapproved of his handling of the matter. He was in worse shape on inflation, with 39.7% approving of his handling of the issue and 52.7% disapproving.

During Trump’s first month, Democrats often criticized his policies on unrelated issues by questioning how they related to lowering the price of eggs, referencing Trump’s promise to combat inflation. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a $1 billion investment on Wednesday to address egg prices, though most polling data previewed her announcement. A considerable part of Democrats’ and legacy media’s objections to DOGE plans is the claim that, according to PBS, “Data published on DOGE’s ‘Wall of Receipts’ are expected to yield no savings.” Journalist and blogger Kevin Drum argued last week that DOGE has only “saved taxpayers about 0.33% of the federal budget.” Nevertheless, the nation’s mood more broadly appears to be improving, with 42.5% saying the nation is headed in the right direction, a significant uptick from the mere 27.7% recorded on Jan. 17, just before Trump took office.

Recent Napolitan data, meanwhile, found broad support for the president’s immigration and deportation agenda. In 2024, 25% of registered voters believed the government was serious about securing the border, compared to 69% who said the same in the latest Napolitan survey. Another 61% expressed support for arresting people who leak information about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. Eighty-two percent of registered voters, moreover, expressed the belief that illegal immigration is bad for the country. On deportations, a clear majority of 57% expressed the belief that the administration’s deportation efforts had been either “about right” or that they had not gone “far enough.” Only 33% said they had gone too far while 10% were unsure.

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“The Chief Justice issued an administrative stay on Feb. 27, preserving the status quo while the Supreme Court considers the matter more thoroughly..”

Is the End of the Democrats’ Lawfare Strategy In Sight? (PJM)

In a major blow to the Democrats’ lawfare strategy to prevent the Trump administration from governing, Chief Justice John Roberts responded to the White House’s request for emergency intervention. Roberts blocked a Biden-appointed federal judge’s order that around $2 billion in frozen foreign aid funds be released immediately. The Chief Justice issued an administrative stay on Feb. 27, preserving the status quo while the Supreme Court considers the matter more thoroughly. This temporary action overrides U.S. District Judge Amir Ali’s midnight deadline, which would have forced the State Department and USAID to release billions in taxpayer dollars for already completed foreign aid work. Roberts, who oversees requests for emergency relief arising from cases in the District of Columbia, acted alone in halting the decision from a federal district judge issued Tuesday.

The judge, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, gave the State Department and USAID until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to pay its bills to contractors for work that had been completed before Feb. 13. The Trump administration had earlier in the night asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the dispute involving frozen foreign assistance funds. Roberts gave the State Department and USAID contractors until noon Friday to respond to the Trump administration’s request. This is just the latest example of how Democrats’ lawfare strategy against Trump might ultimately backfire spectacularly. Judicial rulings temporarily halting Trump’s actions may ultimately serve to advance his broader objectives as they make their way to the Supreme Court.

The Trump administration filed the emergency appeal hours before the deadline, arguing that Judge Ali had overstepped his authority and interfered with the president’s obligations to “make appropriate judgments about foreign aid.” The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel had declined to stay Judge Ali’s order, absurdly claiming his orders “could not be appealed.” Excuse me? When did District Court judges get the final say in such matters? During a particularly revealing telephone hearing on Feb. 25, Judge Ali couldn’t hide his bias against the Trump administration. “I don’t know why I can’t get a straight answer from you,” he complained after Justice Department attorney Indraneel Sur repeatedly avoided his leading questions about fund releases. “I guess I’m not understanding where there is any confusion here. It’s clear as day,” Ali further insisted, regarding his original order.

Chief Justice Roberts has ordered the challengers to file a response by Friday, with the Supreme Court likely to act soon after — a sign that the Court is poised to nip these endless legal challenges in the bud. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is moving forward with its promised America First agenda, “eliminating more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world, putting numbers on its plans to eliminate the majority of U.S. development and humanitarian help abroad,” according to the Associated Press.

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Legacy media insist they have God-given rights. As their attention numbers are down the drain. Times change, guys.

Leavitt Slams NY Times Reporter As ‘Left-Wing Stenographer’ (NYP)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted a New York Times reporter as a “left-wing stenographer” after he compared President Trump to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on press freedoms. The heated exchange with Peter Baker was sparked by him questioning the administration’s decision to seize control of the press pool and to bar Associated Press reporters from the Oval Office and Air Force One. Baker, a veteran journalist and former Moscow correspondent, compared the White House’s move to Kremlin tactics in a post on X Tuesday. “Having served as a Moscow correspondent in the early days of Putin’s reign, this reminds me of how the Kremlin took over its own press pool and made sure that only compliant journalists were given access,” Baker wrote.

“Give me a break, Peter,” she wrote. “Moments after you tweeted this, the President invited journalists into the Oval and took questions for nearly an hour. Your hysterical reaction to our long overdue and much-needed change to an outdated organization is precisely why we made it.” She then took a personal jab at Baker, criticizing what she described as a biased media landscape. “Gone are the days where left-wing stenographers posing as journalists, such as yourself, dictate who gets to ask what,” she added. When reached by The Post, Baker referred to an article he wrote on Wednesday which recalled the story of Yelena Tregubova, a former Kremlin pool reporter who was forced into exile from her native Russia after publishing a book detailing corruption and media censorship by the Putin regime.

Tregubova, who was kicked out of the Kremlin press pool, fled Russia after a bomb went off outside her apartment. “There are worse penalties, as Ms. Tregubova would later discover, but in Moscow, at least, her eviction was an early step down a very slippery slope,” Baker wrote. “The United States is not Russia by any means, and any comparisons risk going too far…But for those of us who reported there a quarter century ago, Mr. Trump’s Washington is bringing back memories of Mr. Putin’s Moscow in the early days.” A Times spokesperson who was reached by The Post referenced a statement from the newspaper which read: “The White House’s move to handpick favored reporters to observe the president — and exclude anyone whose coverage the administration may not like — is an effort to undermine the public’s access to independent, trustworthy information about the most powerful person in America.”

Since the early 1900s, the White House Correspondents’ Association — comprising journalists from major news organizations — has been responsible for determining which media outlets gain access to cover the president. Members elect representatives who make decisions about seating arrangements and press pool coverage. However, that system changed on Tuesday when Leavitt declared that the administration would take charge of deciding which reporters could cover the president most closely. “A group of DC-based journalists, the White House Correspondents’ Association, has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the President of the United States,” Leavitt said, adding: “Not anymore.” She framed the move as a shift toward democratizing press access.

“Today, I was proud to announce that we are giving the power back to the people. Moving forward, the ‘White House Press Pool’ will be determined by the White House Press Team,” she said, emphasizing that legacy outlets would not be excluded but that decisions on access would now rest with the administration. Baker responded with another sharp critique, warning that the move was meant to deter tough questioning. “Every president of both parties going back generations subscribed to the principle that a president doesn’t pick the press corps that is allowed in the room to ask him questions,” he wrote. “Trump has just declared that he will.” Despite the shift, Baker insisted that journalists would continue to hold the administration accountable. “None of this will stop professional news outlets from covering this president in the same full, fair, tough and unflinching way that we always have,” he said.

“Government efforts to punish disfavored organizations will not stop independent journalism.” Traditionally, the White House press pool has included reporters from wire services such as the Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg — along with representatives from television, print and radio as well as photographers. The shake-up followed a recent controversy in which the Trump administration removed an AP reporter and photographer from the president’s trip to Mar-a-Lago and Miami over the news agency’s refusal to use the administration’s preferred term, the “Gulf of America,” instead of the Gulf of Mexico. Despite the open seats, no replacements were assigned, highlighting the escalating tensions between the administration and the press.

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“The politician claimed that Romania had been thrown back to the 1950s..”

“..If democracy is defeated “in one country” in a “coup d’etat” that would mean a failure for the US as well..”

Prosecuted Romanian Presidential Candidate Asks Trump For Help (RT)

Calin Georgescu, the winner of the first round of last year’s annulled presidential election in Romania, has asked US President Donald Trump for help. The politician is facing criminal charges at home, which he has called part of a political persecution campaign against him. “I definitely ask President Trump to take care about the situation,” Georgescu told an American blogger, Mario Nawfal, in an interview published on X on Thursday. On Wednesday, Georgescu was arrested by the police as he was about to file to run for the presidency again. He was released later the same day. According to the Romanian authorities, Georgescu faces a total of six charges, including “anti-constitutional acts” and misreporting his finances. He was barred by a court order from leaving the country, appearing on TV, or posting anything on social media.

Speaking to Nawfal on Thursday, the politician denounced the criminal case against him as an assault on democracy that runs counter to the will of the Romanian people. Georgescu came out ahead in the first round of the presidential election in November in a surprise victory. The Constitutional Court then annulled the results shortly before the second round of voting, citing “irregularities” in the politician’s campaign amid unproven claims of Russian interference in the electoral process. According to Georgescu, the persecution campaign against him had “exposed” the Romanian “deep state” and its “corruption.” The politician claimed that Romania had been thrown back to the 1950s when it was ruled by a Communist regime.

“The deep state is so strong in this particular [kind] of activity,” Georgescu said, referring to his arrest on Wednesday. He also vowed to “fight for our freedom and for our democracy” and called on the US to support him in this fight. According to Georgescu, the US should support him in order to preserve its own image as a beacon of democracy. If democracy is defeated “in one country” in a “coup d’etat” that would mean a failure for the US as well, the politician stated. Washington has so far not commented on Georgescu’s appeal. US officials have previously criticized the actions of Bucharest for annulling the results of the November election. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month, Vice President J.D. Vance suggested that some “old entrenched interests” in Romania were using “ugly, Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation” to secure their own interests and prevent a politician with “an alternative viewpoint” from coming to power.

Elon Musk slammed the politician’s arrest on Wednesday by calling the move “messed up.” Georgescu is known for his skepticism towards Western influence over the country’s policies and criticizing both NATO and the EU. During his campaign, he also vowed to halt Romania’s military aid to Kiev if elected.

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“..hasn’t been increased since 2009..”

Elon Musk Floats Pay Hikes For Congress, Top Gov’t Workers To Fight Corruption (NYP)

“Special government employee” Elon Musk has floated a pay raise for members of Congress and senior government employees as a means of rooting out corruption at the federal level. “It might make sense to increase compensation for Congress and senior government employees to reduce the forcing function for corruption, as the latter might be as much as 1000 [sic] times more expensive to the public,” Musk, 53, wrote on X Thursday morning. Back in December, the billionaire helped torpedo a government funding measure that would have given lawmakers in Congress a 3.8% pay hike — worth approximately $6,600 per year in extra cash to rank-and-file members. Most federal legislators receive an annual paycheck of $174,000, which hasn’t been increased since 2009.

The proposed pay hike had been nestled into a continuing resolution, a stopgap measure that Congress needed at the time to avert a partial government shutdown. But Musk whipped up public opposition against both the resolution and the pay hike, grousing at the time while overstating the increase amount: “How can this be called a ‘continuing resolution’ if it includes a … pay increase for Congress?” The concept of high pay for government workers to discourage corruption has been used in other countries. Late Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, for example, was famous for championing exorbitant pay with ministers raking in millions a year. Lee argued that paying government workers well would help reduce perverse incentives for them to pad their pockets through illicit means.

Some good-government advocates in the US have also suggested pay raises for lawmakers to attract a higher caliber of candidates or job applicants. Musk has been on a crusade to trim federal spending via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has advised the Trump administration on mass layoffs and spending reductions while setting a target of $1 trillion in savings. Last week, Musk directed an email be sent out to government workers instructing them to list their top five accomplishments from the prior week. That email whipped up a frenzy and the Office of Personnel Management clarified Monday that a response was voluntary. Musk also clarified that the emails were intended to be a “pulse check” rather than a performance review.

Amid backlash from liberals over the cost-cutting crusade, Musk insisted Thursday that DOGE has also been elevating outstanding government employees — not just reducing headcount. “Hundreds of federal workers are being promoted daily every time we encounter excellence,” he wrote on X. “The @DOGE team will be more clear about this. The goal is to make the federal government a meritocracy as much as possible.”

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“ALL CABINET MEMBERS ARE EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ELON,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial ahead of the meeting.”

Musk’s Father Says Son ‘Not Cut Out For Politics’ (RT)

Elon Musk is “not cut out for politics,” according to his father, Errol Musk, who has said the billionaire’s personality would make it difficult for him to engage with the broad range of people required in public office. The richest man on the planet and owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X, Elon Musk has played an influential role in US President Donald Trump’s administration, particularly through his advisory position in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His critics have raised concerns that he wields too much power and have accused him of trying to dismantle significant parts of the federal government. In an interview with Al Arabiya News published on Monday, Errol Musk, a retired South African engineer, dismissed the idea of his son entering politics.

“Elon is not cut out for politics,” he said. “Politics is where you have to deal with everyone, from the very incredibly clever to the very somewhat not clever, the highly sophisticated to the very unsophisticated. If you can’t do that, don’t get into politics.” He went on to compare his son’s potential political journey to Trump’s, arguing that the US president’s brash personality made it harder for him to connect with ordinary voters, and that Elon would face similar challenges. During Trump’s inauguration rally last month, Elon Musk sparked a wave of backlash after he made a gesture that some compared to a “Nazi salute.” Errol Musk dismissed the allegations that his son is secretly a Nazi as “nonsense,” and claimed that the billionaire’s actions are often misunderstood.

“Elon is a terrible public speaker. He has a lot to learn. We all do… Knowing him as well as I do, I mean, I know him very well, that he was struggling to get through his little speech as fast as possible and to try and look as charming as possible as he could,” Musk said. He also suggested that his son’s gesture was an “international salute,” saying it had been around “for the last 10,000 years or more.” While Musk has received pushback over his attempts to streamline the operations of federal agencies, Trump has repeatedly expressed support for his efforts. Despite not holding a formal cabinet position, the White House has described him as a “special government employee” and “senior adviser” to Trump. On Wednesday, Musk attended Trump’s first cabinet meeting, where the president praised his contributions. “ALL CABINET MEMBERS ARE EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ELON,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial ahead of the meeting.

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“..many on the left expect Bezos to run the newspaper like a vanity project, losing millions of dollars to bankroll a far-left agenda..”

Bezos Calls for WaPo to Champion Individual Freedom and Free Markets (Turley)

There was another meltdown at the Washington Post after owner Jeff Bezos moved again to moderate the newspaper’s message, which has plummeted in readership. Bezos told the editors that he wanted the newspaper to advocate for individual liberties and the free market. The message sent the left into vapors and led to the resignation of Washington Post opinion editor David Shipley. Outside the paper, another round of calls for boycotts and subscription cancellations followed. In the announcement below, Bezos declared, “I’m confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America. I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I’m excited for us together to fill that void.” He added that a newspaper should be a voice for freedom — “is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity.” He noted that:

“There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job.” For those of us in the free speech community, the return of the Post as a champion of free speech and other individual rights would be a welcomed change. Notably, staff did not object when prior owners aligned with their views on editorial priorities. Obviously, we will need to see how this new directive is carried out. I would be equally opposed to the Post purging liberal views in the way it moved against conservative and libertarian views for the last decade. I do not see such a directive in this announcement. Bezos wants his newspaper to be a voice for individual freedom and free market principles. That should not mean that the newspaper will not run dissenting views on policies and programs.

What is striking is that many on the left expect Bezos to run the newspaper like a vanity project, losing millions of dollars to bankroll a far-left agenda. This is an announcement that goes to the position of the newspaper, not any intrusion into reporting. It also does not bar a diversity of opinion on the op-ed pages which still have a vast majority of liberal writers. The thought that the Post would now focus on advocating for individual rights and the free market led Jeffrey Evan Gold, who posts as a legal analyst for CNN and other networks, to declare that it was the “last straw” and post his cancellation.

Jeff Stein, the publisher’s chief economics reporter, denounced Bezos as carrying out a “massive encroachment” that makes it clear “dissenting views will not be published or tolerated there.” For many moderates and conservatives, it was a crushingly ironic objection given the virtual purging of conservative and libertarian voices at the newspaper. Amanda Katz, who resigned from the Post’s opinion team at the end of 2024, offered a vivid example of the culture that Bezos is trying to change at the Post. Katz said the change was “an absolute abandonment of the principles of accountability of the powerful, justice, democracy, human rights, and accurate information that previously animated the section in favor of a white male billionaire’s self-interested agenda.”

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“..four years of the Biden administration’s failed oversight have made it necessary to review agreements for vaccine production..”

HHS Pauses Multi-Million Dollar Contract to Develop New COVID-19 Vaccine (ET)

Clinical trials for a new COVID-19 vaccine were halted after a multi-million contract authorized by the Biden administration to develop the inoculation was paused by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy implemented a 90-day stop-work order on Feb. 21 regarding the HHS contract with Vaxart Inc., according to the announcement, which was first reported by Fox News Digital on Feb. 25. Vaxart, an American biotech company, is creating a new COVID-19 inoculation for oral use. Before the stop-work order, 10,000 individuals were scheduled to start clinical trials on Feb. 24, an HHS spokesperson confirmed with The Epoch Times. Kennedy noted in comments to Fox News Digital that “it is crucial” that the HHS support pandemic preparedness, “four years of the Biden administration’s failed oversight have made it necessary to review agreements for vaccine production, including Vaxart’s.” The trial is not terminated, according to the HHS.

Kennedy and other health officials will determine the next steps after reviewing their findings over the next 90 days. As part of the Biden administration’s $4.7 billion Project NextGen program launched in 2023, the Vaxart vaccine was funded through an agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). That panel is part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which is managed by HHS. BARDA allocated around $460 million for Vaxart to develop the new vaccine, including $240 million that has already been approved. The announcement to pause Vaxart’s contract was followed by a report that an Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vaccine advisory committee meeting slated for March has been canceled, according to committee member Dr. Paul Offit, who is the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a vocal critic of Kennedy.

Offit told multiple media outlets on Feb. 26 that members of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee received an email from the FDA letting them know the meeting would not take place. The meeting had been set to choose the strains for next season’s flu shot. The FDA is one of 13 agencies under the HHS umbrella. On Feb. 28, a World Health Organization (WHO) advisory committee is scheduled to gather and discuss which strains should be included in the next flu vaccines across the Northern Hemisphere. The FDA often adheres that that committee’s recommendations. Trump issued an executive order in January to start the process of withdrawing the United States from the WHO.

Two weeks ago, Kennedy gained Senate confirmation to become HHS secretary. He was sworn in that day, and moments later Trump signed an executive order establishing the president’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission. Kennedy serves as chairman of the commission, which directs executive departments and federal agencies to primarily advise the president on how to “address the childhood chronic disease crisis.” The MAHA Commission is tasked to explore possible causes of such diseases, including “the American diet, absorption of toxic material, medical treatments, lifestyle, environmental factors, government policies, food production techniques, electromagnetic radiation, and corporate influence or cronyism.” For years, critics have called Kennedy an “anti-vaxxer,” a claim he has denied. During his presidential campaign and the Senate confirmation process, he repeatedly said he is an advocate for vaccine safety, informed consent, and “gold standard science” behind vaccine efficacy studies.

“I’ve never been anti-vaccine,” Kennedy told The Epoch Times in September 2024. “People should have a choice, and that choice should be informed by the best information possible. “I’m going to ensure that there are science-based safety studies available, and people can make their own assessments about whether a vaccine is good for them.” Under the Biden administration, COVID-19 vaccines were mandated throughout the federal government. Multiple private sector businesses, and public and private universities, also required the inoculation. Since Trump took office last month, he has signed several executive orders related to COVID-19 mandates implemented by the Biden administration. On Feb. 14, Trump signed an executive order barring funding to universities and schools with COVID-19 vaccine mandates. In his first week back in office, Trump reinstated service members dismissed for refusing the COVID vaccine, giving them full back pay and benefits.

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Baby

 

 

Nose

 

 

Bull dog

 

 

Wait

 

 

Dog baby

 

 

Ladder

 

 

Suspicious
https://twitter.com/i/status/1895071755078689199

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 182025
 
 February 18, 2025  Posted by at 11:25 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  56 Responses »


René Magritte The muscles of the sky 1927

 

“This Might Be The Biggest Fraud In History” (ZH)
Musk’s DOGE Seeking Access To IRS Taxpayer Data (RT)
DOGE Is Right To Defang the CFPB (RCW)
The Genius of the DOGE Exposures (AmG)
US, Russia Hold Peace Talks In Saudi Arabia Without Ukraine (ZH)
US-Russia Meeting In Riyadh Will ‘Have No Results’ – Zelensky (RT)
Ukraine Has No Bargaining Power in US-Russia Peace Talks (Sp.)
Macron’s Ukraine Summit A Gathering of ‘Warmongers’ – Hungary FM (RT)
Munich Conference ‘A Nightmare’ – Organizer (RT)
US Imposing ‘Colonial’ Resource Deal On Ukraine (RT)
Indian Strategy Puts Trump In Front of Putin (Helmer)
Kiev Regime Attacks Chernobyl To Sabotage Peace Talks (SCF)
J.D. Vance Delivers a Historic Defense of Free Speech (Turley)
Vance Blasts ‘Orwellian’ German Laws (RT)
Krakatoa Blows (James Howard Kunstler)
The European Welfare State Is Collapsing (Lacalle)

 

 

 

 

TDS
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891677532056949195

Leavitt
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891685749398859982

Nerd army

Courts
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891244904191287350

Watters

Miller
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891576558462353742

poop

Nebenzia
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891586940870291605

 

 

 

 

334 million or 394 million.

“This Might Be The Biggest Fraud In History” (ZH)

Elon Musk was expected to remain offline Sunday night into Monday morning as his xAI team prepared for the highly anticipated debut of “Grok 3,” scheduled for release Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST. However, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with streamlining the federal bureaucracy, returned very excited to his social media platform around midnight, unveiling what “might be the biggest fraud in history.” Musk posted a spreadsheet of Social Security Administration data showing “numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!” The data shows that 20.789 million Americans are collecting social security benefits over the age of 100. Drilling down into the age buckets, benefits are still being paid out to folks over 140!

One X user pointed out that 2023 data showed the US population at around 334.9 million. However, Musk’s data (likely from DOGE’s ‘Big Balls’ analyst) shows 394 million names in the Social Security Administration database. Musk responded: “Yes, there are FAR more “eligible” social security numbers than there are citizens in the USA. This might be the biggest fraud in history.” “Maybe we pause payments to everyone 120+ until they can authenticate they’re among the living, to start,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) wrote on X in response to Musk’s post. Collins is far too conservative. Lawmakers should freeze payments over the age bucket of 100 until a clear determination can be made where taxpayer funds are disappearing in this possible money pit that smells like fraud. “If DOGE’s numbers are right, $522B—1/3 of ALL spending on Social Security each year—is fraudulent,” X user Robert Sterling said.

At a DOGE press conference last week in the White House, Musk said: “If money is spent badly. If your taxpayer dollars are not spent in a sensible and frugal manner, then that’s not okay. Your tax dollars need to be spent wisely on the things that matter to the people,” Musk said. “It’s just common sense. It’s not Draconian or radical. I think it’s really just saying let’s look at each of the expenditures and say, is this actually in the best interest of the people, and if it is, it’s approved, if it’s not, we should think about it,” he added. “There’s crazy things, like, just a cursory examination of Social Security and we’ve got people in there that are about 150 years old,” Musk said. “Now, do you know anyone that’s 150? I don’t. OK. They should be on the Guinness Book of World Records, they’re missing out.”

“So, you know, that’s the case where, like, I think they’re probably dead is my guess, or they should be very famous. One of the two,” he added. It now appears DOGE’s Big Balls has been heard at work using AI to uncover possible fraud in federal entitlements. So far, we have not verified the data Musk shared on X, but confirmation could be just ahead.

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Protest! Protest!

Musk’s DOGE Seeking Access To IRS Taxpayer Data (RT)

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is seeking access to a highly secured Internal Revenue Service (IRS) system that stores the personal tax records of millions of Americans, according to media reports. The examination of the IRS system, first reported by the Washington Post on Sunday, represents the latest move by Musk-led DOGE to overhaul US government agencies in a bid to eliminate wasteful state spending. The IRS systems house private financial data for taxpayers, including tax returns, Social Security numbers, addresses, banking details, and employment information. The Integrated Data Retrieval System, used by IRS employees, enables the review of tax information, issuance of notices, and updating of taxpayer records.

DOGE software engineer Gavin Kliger already worked at IRS headquarters on Thursday, the outlet reported, citing people familiar with the matter. He is set to serve as a senior adviser to the acting commissioner, though the tax agency is still finalizing the details of his role. According to the report, Kliger is expected to have broad access to IRS systems. However, as of Sunday, he had not yet gained access to sensitive tax agency data. “Waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long. It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields told The Post. DOGE remains committed to exposing fraud, ensuring that Americans are informed about how their “hard-earned” tax dollars are being spent by the government, he said.

Last week, Musk also alleged that federal workers were defrauding taxpayers. “We do find it rather odd that there are quite a few people in the bureaucracy who have ostensibly a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars, but somehow managed to accrue tens of millions of dollars in net worth while they are in that position,” Musk told reporters while in the Oval Office with US President Donald Trump. “We’re just curious as to where it came from.” The request has raised concerns within the government and among privacy experts, who warn that granting Musk access to Americans’ private taxpayer data could pose substantial risks.

The IRS is set to lay off thousands of probationary employees in the coming days, aligning with the Trump administration’s broader initiative to cut federal spending. The action is part of a series of workforce reductions ordered by Trump after he launched a campaign aimed at streamlining government operations. His administration has implemented measures such as a hiring freeze, offering buyouts to federal employees, and mandating agencies to collaborate with DOGE to identify and eliminate inefficiencies.

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not what it seems.

DOGE Is Right To Defang the CFPB (RCW)

With a big tech-powered magnifying glass on federal websites, spending contracts, and government payment systems, Elon Musk’s band of DOGE system admins have been turning Washington inside out in their hunt for waste, fraud, and abuse. One of the most prized agencies on the chopping block is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, heralded by progressives as an indispensable force for helping consumers wronged by financial institutions, but derided by fintech investors and conservatives as little more than a government “shakedown agency.” Consumers will be better off without the CFPB breathing down the neck of American companies. Since the inauguration of President Trump, the CFPB’s temporary leadership put an immediate halt on all work, also informing the Federal Reserve, which directly funds the agency, that it would no longer seek new funding.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the intellectual force behind the agency’s founding, has been apoplectic. She’s argued that Trump is “firing the financial cop on the beat that makes sure your family doesn’t get scammed.” The origin of the CFPB goes back to the rubble of the 2008 financial crisis when legislators saw this proposed agency as a viable response to the populist backlash engulfing Washington and Wall Street. Instead of penalizing wrongdoers, Congress funded bank bailouts and launched a “watchdog” group. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act mandated new standards for lending, restricted capital that could be tapped for bank loans, and created the CFPB to police consumer finance. All functions performed by the five former federal banking supervisory agencies were rolled into the CFPB, granting it sole jurisdiction over non-depository firms and financial institutions with over $10 billion in assets.

This empowered the agency to issue regulatory guidance, demand information from financial institutions, and launch civil actions in federal court. Supporters of the CFPB point to an impressive record of close to $20 billion in consumer relief, as well as an additional $5 billion in civil penalties. Without the CFPB, fraudsters and scams would metastasize and consumer injustice would run wild, so they say. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. As a regulatory agency with civil litigation authority, the CFPB is emboldened to file high-dollar lawsuits against financial firms. An estimate of the CFPB’s database of enforcement actions reveals that roughly 85% of all cases are settled out of court before a final ruling. Companies often choose to settle, but this shouldn’t be mistaken for an admission of guilt. In a litigious society such as the United States where companies are routinely targeted in frivolous lawsuits, the court of public opinion matters just as much as the court of law.

Firms prefer settling cases over having their name dragged through the mud for months on end in the media, something tort lawyers call a “nuisance settlement.” These expected costs are baked into large firms’ financial projections and are sometimes factored into pricing their goods and services for consumers. The CFPB is more akin to a state-backed tort law firm that can tap the nation’s central bank for resources while exploiting its do-gooder reputation for easy PR victories. Rather than smart regulatory guidance to oversee a new generation of consumer finance firms, CFPB has relied on quick settlements out of court to squash innovative upstarts. While CFPB enforcement has been successful in penalizing banks and lenders for how loans are structured or advertised, it does not take much imagination to see how this has impacted the investing climate for new competitors. Since CFPB’s founding, there are now 35% fewer financial institutions remaining for consumers to choose from, down from 15,000 to just roughly 9,000 today.

While there is high consumer demand for fintech, payment apps, and account offerings, including Bitcoin and cryptocurrency banks, CFPB’s chilling actions have slowed that innovation, leading to the recent calls for the agency to be gutted. And they’re right. Most of CFPB’s functions are mirrored at the FTC on everything but finance. Regional Federal Reserve banks are also responsible for bank oversight and regulation, not to mention state banking regulators. Existing regulators have the reach, experience, and know-how to police would-be fraudsters and outright deceptive practices among banks. Why not let them? For consumers who want next-level services and financial products, there is no question that CFPB’s litigious approach has impacted their ability to access credit and financial services. There must be a better way to regulate our financial institutions and protect consumers than a tort law firm with government authority. Congress could fold elements of the CFPB into the FTC, OCC, or even FDIC, and bad actors will still be policed. Consumers deserve to be protected, and they will be, but they also deserve a regulatory structure that rewards innovation and brings financial products to market that they can choose between. The CFPB is due for defanging.

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“My advice to President Trump and Mr. Musk is: Keep highlighting the absurd spending. The American people will have your back.”

The Genius of the DOGE Exposures (AmG)

The American people have rightly been appalled at the outrageous expenditures Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been exposing at USAID, which not only demonstrates the striking wastefulness of our government but also an ingenious public relations strategy by the Trump administration. When Americans learn that their tax dollars are going to fund egregious projects around the world, it lays a foundation for the public relations framework needed by the Trump administration to bring American public opinion along on the necessary journey of restructuring the government. It makes people’s blood boil. And it sets the tone for the effectiveness, and need for, the entire Trump efficiency program, even though the spending in absolute monetary terms on these insane USAID projects is fairly minor compared to the overall $6.9 trillion federal budget.

Let’s consider some of the USAID expenditures recently revealed:
$70,000 for the production of a “DEI musical” in Ireland
$47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia
$2,000,000 for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala
$32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru
Hundreds of millions to support “irrigation canals, farming equipment, and even fertilizer used to support the unprecedented poppy cultivation and heroin production in Afghanistan,” benefiting the Taliban
$40,000,000 to fund research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which gifted the world with the COVID virus

The creators of Monty Python could not have made this stuff up, although they came close in their “It’s every man’s right to have babies if he wants them!” sketch. It still makes me laugh. But that’s why Donald Trump and Elon Musk are highlighting these absurd expenditures. They are so ridiculous that they almost defy belief, and they serve to supercharge American anger and righteous indignation. Trump recognizes, as Ronald Reagan did, the importance of galvanizing American public opinion as an integral part of carrying out his agenda. By inflaming the public, he puts pressure on the craven Congress to go along with his efforts to enact sweeping changes that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to achieve.

No doubt when Musk sets his genius young elves to work applying their AI algorithms on the Department of Health and Human Services and the Defense Department’s budget data, they will find waste so massive that it dwarfs that of USAID’s $40 billion annual outlay. But it’s a bit harder for the public to grasp the wastefulness of the government paying many times the price that it should be paying for anti-aircraft missiles, say, or ineffective vaccines. From a public relations standpoint, it’s much easier to see the lunacy of the US taxpayer shelling out $2.5 million for an electric vehicle project in Vietnam or $1.5 million to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbian workplaces.

We live in amazing times, led by an extraordinary team being assembled in the White House. Who would have imagined just a few years ago that a Kennedy family member would (likely) be holding a cabinet position as the head of HHS in a Republican administration? Ot that a prominent Democratic congresswoman and former Democratic presidential candidate would (likely) be the next Director of National Intelligence in that same Republican administration? Or that long-time liberal Democrat-voting, richest man in the world, Elon Musk, would be leading the effort of that administration to completely transform the government of the United States into a lean, mean, efficiently operating machine?

It all came about because of the vision and incredible tenacity of one individual—another former Democrat named Donald Trump, who survived a baptism of legal fire—and actual gunfire—by his political opponents to regain the presidency after all the “smart people” in Washington had written him off politically. More to the point, however, Trump’s career as a builder and, more importantly for the present discussion, as an unparalleled master of branding and public relations, has made him ideally suited to take on the gargantuan task at hand: bringing to heel an out-of-control government bureaucracy that will surely lead to this country’s destruction if not reined in.

Trump’s highly successful television show, The Apprentice, ran for a remarkable 15 years and caused the phrase, “You’re fired!”, to gain such familiarity that it stood beside such catchphrases as “Got milk?” and “Where’s the beef?” among the iconic popular expressions seared into Americans’ collective consciousness. And what more fitting expression to address a massively bloated and overpopulated federal bureaucracy desperately in need of draconian personnel cuts?

No one wishes ill on American citizens in government service, but there comes a point where the American body politic needs to make hard choices if the United States is to continue as a viable concern. And I don’t recall Democrats being nearly so exercised when Bill Clinton let 377,000 federal employees go after he assumed the presidency, using a buy-out program not so dissimilar to that offered by President Trump, which Democrats are inveighing against. Oh, how quickly Democrats forget. Remember when Clinton said, in his 1996 State of the Union speech, that “the era of big government is over”? Those were the days when Democrats still possessed a semblance of sanity.

The federal budget deficit in 2025 will be $1.8 trillion on outlays of $6.7 trillion, according to Congressional Budget Office data. And these deficits are cumulative. Every year that mountain of debt grows and currently stands at over $36 trillion. That is unsustainable. Approximately 13 percent of our federal budget just goes toward servicing our debt, with $2.6 billion per day on interest payments alone. When a single federal government employee, the recently resigned head of the Tennessee Valley Authority, has a total federal government compensation package of $10.5 million per year, then Houston, we have a problem. My advice to President Trump and Mr. Musk is: Keep highlighting the absurd spending. The American people will have your back.

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Already started today.

US, Russia Hold Peace Talks In Saudi Arabia Without Ukraine (ZH)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned on X that “Europe’s security is at a turning point.” She continued in the statement she wrote while arriving in Paris for “crucial talks” with European counterparts on the Russia-Ukraine war, “Yes, it is about Ukraine – but it is also about us.” “We need an urgency mindset. We need a surge in defense,” she wrote. “And we need both of them now.” The words come immediately on the heels of von der Leyen telling the Munich Security Conference, “I will propose to activate the escape clause for defense investments. This will allow member states to substantially increase their defense expenditure.” Europe is also deeply concerned that it is getting cut out of peace talks toward a negotiated settlement to end the Ukraine war. They are worried President Zelensky himself is getting sidelined, after last week’s 90-minute Trump call with Putin.

Several media outlets reported on Sunday that initial talks will be held in Saudi Arabia, expected to kick off Tuesday, between Russian and American diplomats. Both sides have confirmed the talks: Moscow has confirmed that Russian FM Sergey Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Putin, will take part in talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Washington has also confirmed the meeting, saying Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff will attend. Lavrov says Russia is not considering territorial concessions to be given to Ukraine at the planned negotiations to end the war. It appears final details ahead of the high-level talks were hammered out in a Saturday phone call between Secretary of State Rubio and top Russian diplomat and security official Sergey Lavrov.

“The Secretary re-affirmed President Trump’s commitment to finding an end to the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, they discussed the opportunity to potentially work together on a number of other bilateral issues,” a readout of that call indicated. Crucially, Ukrainian officials have revealed were not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia. Zelensky reiterated in a Sunday interview that he will “never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine” if Ukrainian officials aren’t at the table. As for a potential decision or concession amid the looming deal-making to end the war, European officials are saying President Trump will likely approve the withdrawal of US forces from Baltic states and possibly further to the West, in order to ease Russian fears of Washington encroachment, according to reporting in Al Jazeera.

As for the imminent US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia: Kyiv ‘knew nothing’ about US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia and won’t recognize their outcome if Ukraine is not part of them – Zelensky. Ukraine’s Kyiv Post is reporting the same: Ukraine was not informed about the negotiations in Saudi Arabia, will not participate in them, and will not recognize any agreements reached, — Zelensky Strangely, President Zelensky is actually currently in the Gulf region, visiting UAE, and he’s next traveling to Saudi Arabia—and yet he’s not going to be part of the the US-Russia talks. His office is stressing that his state visit to Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with the US talks, as it was planned in advance: Days before Svyrydenko’s announcement, Zelensky told reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that he intends to pay official visits to Saudia Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey, but has no plans to meet with any Russian or U.S. delegations in these countries.

“I will not meet with Russians, but then I will not meet with Americans there,” he said. That’s awkward, to say the least… Still, the Ukrainian leader has said these talks will “yield no results” without Ukraine’s direct representation and input. Many of his European backers agree, and have been urging Washington include Kiev in the negotiations. European leaders are meeting in Paris Monday, at President Macron’s invitation, for an urgent meeting assessing the Ukraine war and Europe’s defense readiness and security.

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From “Zelensky ‘refuses to recognize’” the talks, to “Zelensky demands Israel-style guarantees..”, to this, it all amounts to nothing. He’s done.

US-Russia Meeting In Riyadh Will ‘Have No Results’ – Zelensky (RT)

Kiev will not take part in the US-Russia negotiations in Riyadh and considers them meaningless, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has said. Teams led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet on Tuesday in what will be the first high-level talks between the two countries over Ukraine since 2022. “Ukraine will not participate,” Zelensky told reporters on Monday, adding that Kiev “didn’t know anything” about the upcoming talks. “Ukraine views any negotiations about Ukraine that are being held without Ukraine as having no results,” he said. “We will not recognize such agreements.” Zelensky insisted that his own visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday has “no connection” to the meeting between US and Russian negotiators the same day. “The visit to the region was planned long before the US decided to meet Russia there,” he said, as quoted by Politico.

Putin’s top foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, confirmed on Monday that the negotiations with Americans will not involve third parties. Speaking to journalists on the tarmac in Riyadh, he said the talks aim to lay the groundwork for ending the Ukraine conflict and serve as a step toward “real normalization” of relations with the US. While the administration of former US President Joe Biden maintained unconditional military and financial support for Kiev, President Donald Trump has rejected his predecessor’s campaign to “isolate” Russia on the global stage and promised to end the conflict as soon as possible through a lasting ceasefire. Ukrainian and EU officials have said they were blindsided by Trump’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12. They also criticized Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for ruling out NATO membership for Kiev and refusing to commit to the restoration of Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference last week, Hegseth said the Pentagon will not commit troops as part of any security guarantees offered to Kiev. He added that if peacekeepers are deployed to Ukraine, they will not be protected by NATO’s collective defense mechanism. Moscow has insisted that a peace settlement must address the “root causes” of the conflict, including Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month that Zelensky, instead of “empty words,” must demonstrate willingness to hold good-faith negotiations. Putin reiterated last month that he does not consider Zelensky legitimate because his five-year presidential term expired in May 2024 and no new elections have been called due to martial law.

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None. Anyone feel sorry?

Ukraine Has No Bargaining Power in US-Russia Peace Talks (Sp.)

Volodymyr Zelensky insists he won’t accept a US-Russia deal on Ukraine without Kiev’s input. But does his opinion matter?

• Ukraine today is a devastated country, deserted by much of its people and critically dependent on foreign aid.
• Over 6.1 million Ukrainian refugees had been registered in Europe by mid-2024, according to UN estimates. One can only guess how many Ukrainians opted not to register their refugee status out of fear of being deported and press-ganged into armed service.
• With the Ukrainian economy on its last legs, Kiev has received over $30 billion in US budget aid just to pay salaries to state employees.
• Foreign companies like Vanguard and BlackRock swept in to profit from this crisis, buying assets in Ukraine at bedrock prices. Much of Ukraine’s agricultural land is now Ukrainian in name only.
• Large proportions of Ukraine’s most valuable assets, such as natural resource deposits and industrial facilities, were located in the territories that chose to join Russia rather than submit to the rule of neo-Nazis in Kiev.
• Ukraine has been saddled with an enormous external debt due to all the credit it has been receiving from abroad. Now, Kiev faces the prospect of losing half of its natural resources to the US as repayment for the financing that turned out to be a loan.
• Foreign black market transplantologists have been operating in Ukraine for months now, harvesting organs from injured Ukrainian soldiers.
• US biowarfare experts treat Ukraine as their own playground where they can conduct dangerous research without the risk of a containment breach endangering American lives.
• US and British intelligence agencies took charge of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) since 2014, making it subservient to the West.
• And although no one has said anything about deciding Ukraine’s fate without Kiev’s input, the question remains: how much does Zelensky’s opinion matter in this context?

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Nobody cares about Europe.

Macron’s Ukraine Summit A Gathering of ‘Warmongers’ – Hungary FM (RT)

The European leaders that answered French President Emmanuel Macon’s call for an ‘emergency summit’ to discuss how to respond to being sidelined by US President Donald Trump are “warmongers,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has warned. Moscow and Washington have announced the beginning of bilateral talks on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia ahead of a possible summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump in Riyadh. Macron called EU leaders for an emergency summit on the Ukraine conflict in Paris on Monday after Washington made it clear that the bloc would not be at the table when the US and Russia discuss peace. Speaking at a press conference in Kazakhstan on Monday Szijjarto said “We trust that the American-Russian negotiations will be successful, and we hope that this will lead to peace in Ukraine as soon as possible… However, we must also see that in Europe, those who do not want peace are organizing,” he added.

“Those who have been constantly adding fuel to the fire for the past three years are gathering in Paris today,” Szijjarto said, branding the participants “war-mongering countries that have followed a misguided strategy.” Since Trump’s reelection, his administration has signaled a shift in US foreign policy, focusing on minimizing American involvement in any potential armistice achieved in Ukraine. Washington is also aiming to shift the financial and logistical burden of supporting Kiev to its European allies, while demanding that the continent’s NATO members contribute more to collective defense. The US has circulated a document to gauge the willingness of its European allies to deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, among other points, according to Reuters.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stressed that he is ready to send British soldiers to provide security guarantees for Kiev, in the event of a ceasefire. Similarly, Macron has repeatedly brought up the possibility of putting Western boots on the ground, both as peacekeepers and combatants. Last year, the French leader suggested that sending troops was a possibility that could “legitimately” arise if Russian forces broke through the Ukrainian front line, and Kiev asked for help. Moscow has stressed that any Western forces deployed to Ukraine without a UN mandate would be considered as enemy combatants and legitimate targets.

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“..on Sunday, Heusgen became emotional, having to cut himself short. He was addressing the mounting pressures on the “rules-based order,” urging EU politicians to uphold it despite a visible rift with the US.”

Munich Conference ‘A Nightmare’ – Organizer (RT)

Christoph Heusgen, chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), has described the results of last week’s gathering as a “nightmare” for Washington’s European allies. He claimed that the US under President Donald Trump “lives on another planet,” referencing comments made by American Vice President J.D. Vance at the Germany-hosted event. Vance criticized EU nations for increasingly mirroring the USSR in their suppression of dissent and the detachment of elites from voters. He cautioned that if the trend continues, the US could withdraw its support for its European allies.

During an interview with ZDF on Sunday — his final day as MSC chairman — Heusgen noted that, at the very least, Europeans now have clarity about the Trump administration’s stance. He added that while some Republican senators expressed commitment to “trans-Atlantic unity” in contrast to Vance, they were also cautious in their public statements. EU officials reaffirmed their pledges to support Kiev at the MSC, while Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky called for a united European army, asserting that Ukraine could play a significant role in such an initiative. Heusgen advised Europeans to “do what Zelensky says” and stand together. However, skepticism remains among certain EU member states, such as Poland, regarding the concept of a transnational military force to serve as a European counterpart to NATO.

The Trump administration has signaled no intention of involving either NATO or the US in any future security arrangements in Ukraine following a potential ceasefire with Russia. Additionally, Washington has expressed interest in recouping expenditures related to the Ukraine conflict through privileged access to mineral resources under Kiev’s control. Zelensky has previously advocated various forms of security for Ukraine that even his staunchest supporters deem exceedingly ambitious — from full NATO membership to deploying a 200,000-strong foreign military contingent, the mass placement of Western missiles, and even a Ukrainian nuclear capability. As he concluded his closing remarks at the MSC on Sunday, Heusgen became emotional, having to cut himself short. He was addressing the mounting pressures on the “rules-based order,” urging EU politicians to uphold it despite a visible rift with the US.

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“..an unnamed official from an unidentified country told AP that “it’s a colonial agreement, and Zelensky cannot sign it.”

US Imposing ‘Colonial’ Resource Deal On Ukraine (RT)

The US is trying to steamroll Kiev into a lopsided resource deal that evokes memories of the West’s colonial past, several media outlets have reported, citing officials familiar with the matter. Last fall, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky suggested that his country could agree to allow its Western backers to participate in the joint exploitation of vast deposits of rare earth minerals, including lithium, titanium, and graphite. The administration of US President Donald Trump apparently took up Zelensky on his offer, reportedly suggesting to Kiev that the US be granted 50% ownership of the country’s rare earth minerals and that American troops be deployed to defend them. However, Zelensky is said to have “politely declined” to sign a document granting the US control of half of Ukraine’s mineral reserves, seeking a “better deal” and arguing that the agreement did not provide any US security guarantees.

Commenting on the back-and-forth between Washington and Kiev, an unnamed official from an unidentified country told AP that “it’s a colonial agreement, and Zelensky cannot sign it.” Echoing this assessment, two unnamed officials told Bloomberg that Washington “was trying to ram through a one-sided deal” regarding Ukraine’s resources. One agency source compared the US attitude to Belgium’s colonial policy in Africa in the 19th century, when King Leopold II controlled the Congo as his personal fiefdom. An unnamed senior Ukrainian adviser cited by the Washington Post noted that he was “taken aback by the scale” of what the Trump administration demanded, also recalling the history of European colonialism in Africa. He warned that the deal “could also lead to the right to develop Ukraine’s resources being signed away for decades with no guarantees that investors would actually develop them.”

Despite this, Ukrainian officials are working on a counterproposal that would provide Washington with access to the country’s resources while also bolstering US security guarantees for Ukraine, according to Washington Post sources. In this vein, one senior Ukrainian official reportedly joked that Kiev would consider “almost anything” to maintain US support, including shipping Ukrainian eggs to America. Michael Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, has defended the concept of a resource deal, arguing that the US “deserve[s] to have some type of payback for the billions they have invested in this war.” He suggested that Zelensky would be “very wise” to sign such an agreement. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that the US was simply taking advantage of the Ukrainian leadership’s desire to “sell the country by auction.” “What Trump told Zelensky doesn’t even resemble a deal. It’s more like a command ‘fetch!’ – which the Kiev regime has been well trained to obey.”

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The Quad.

Indian Strategy Puts Trump In Front of Putin (Helmer)

Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, is the first of President Vladimir Putin’s strategic allies to leave him to make whatever exit from the Ukraine war he can negotiate with President Donald Trump. Modi did this by saying as little as he could about Russia last week in Washington while preparing his own military, energy supply, sea lane and land route agreements with the US; altogether, according to Indian sources in Moscow, they enlarge India’s role in the escalating US war against China across the globe, and diminish Russia’s role significantly. “I have been in constant contact with both Russia and Ukraine. I have also visited both countries,” Modi said beside Trump at the White House on February 13.

“And many people are mistaken and they feel that India is neutral. I would like to clarify: India is not neutral. We have taken a side, and we have taken the side of peace…Ultimately, you have to come to the negotiating table, and India has constantly made efforts that there are talks that take place where both parties are present. It is only then that we will find a solution. The efforts being made by President Trump — I support them, I welcome them, and I would like that President Trump is successful as soon as possible so that the world is on the path to peace once again.”

This isn’t a statement of India’s support for Russia, according to Russian sources. It is not even India’s acknowledgement of the wars which the US and its allies are waging against Russia simultaneously on its western and eastern, northern and southern fronts. It’s India’s declaration that it aims to be on the US side in the multi-front war India is waging against China from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean. It is also a proclamation by Modi against the Arab, Iranian and Muslim resistance to the US and Israel on the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf.

“The prime minister and I,” said Trump, “reaffirmed that strong cooperation among the United States, India, Australia, and Japan [the Quad], and it’s crucial really to maintaining peace and prosperity, tranquillity even, in the Indo-Pacific.”“We will work together to enhance peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” Modi replied, “The Quad will play a special role in this. During the Quad summit scheduled to be held in India this year, we will expand cooperation in new areas with our partner countries.”

A veteran Indian source in Moscow explains: “Indians are very pleased with the anti-China stand of the US. The last two years of relations with Russians have been bruising for Indians and a lot of top oil and gas managers are exasperated with the Russians. They would do anything to stop doing business with the Russians – this is not because of the sanctions, it is the Russians themselves! [From Modi’s visit to Washington] there is the general take that we cannot be throwing our lot with Russians because they are so unreliable now and are junior to the Chinese. Putin might have brokered the Ladakh moment, but all in all Indians prefer to deal with the US now. For now we know that the Americans call the shots.” Russia has been relegated. In Delhi now, Quad is major league; the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS are minor league.

“One thing that I deeply appreciate, and I learn from President Trump, is that he keeps the national interest supreme,” Modi said in his Oval Office remarks. “Like him, I also keep the national interest of India at the top of everything else.” The Indian media have interpreted this as more than compensating for the American put-downs Modi registered. “The President did not turn up to greet [Modi] when he arrived at the White House; Trump snubbed him by doubling down on reciprocal tariffs…Elon Musk insulted him by bringing his children to a business meeting… In the age of trivialisation through social media tattle and trolling, all of this is of little consequence… The broad consensus among more seasoned analysts and experts is that PM Modi disarmed a rampant US President…and advanced bilateral ties…The visit was actually a tour de force measured in terms of impact and outcomes.”

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“Once again, the neo-Nazi regime is simply doing everything possible to prevent the war from ending.”

Kiev Regime Attacks Chernobyl To Sabotage Peace Talks (SCF)

In recent days, an incident involving a drone attack on the Chernobyl nuclear plant has generated controversy and debate. According to Ukrainian authorities, a Russian drone allegedly struck the facility, damaging the structure around the reactor. Ukraine’s illegitimate president, Vladimir Zelensky, was quick to blame Russia, stating that the situation reflected a Russian assault on Ukraine’s nuclear infrastructure. However, Russian authorities, including Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, denied these claims, labeling them as yet another provocation by Kiev. More than that, even some Ukrainians question the regime’s official narrative.

Peskov categorically rejected the idea that Russia had attacked any nuclear facility, especially Chernobyl, stating that such claims were unfounded. He argued that any accusation of Russia attacking nuclear power plants was fabricated, asserting that Russia would never target such sensitive locations due to the risks involved. He suggested that the attack was, in fact, an attempt at manipulation and disinformation orchestrated by the Ukrainian government. The Kremlin spokesperson also pointed out that there were interests in Kiev aiming to sabotage any negotiation efforts, indicating that certain factions within the Ukrainian regime would take any actions to prevent the progress of peace talks.

The Ukrainian narrative surrounding the attack is not new. Kiev authorities often accuse Russia of attacking civilian targets like nuclear power plants and energy centers, supposedly attempting to provoke accidents. This happens particularly intensely in the Zaporozhye region, where the largest nuclear power plant in Europe is located. As part of Russian reintegrated territory, the area is consistently attacked by Kiev. I have personally visited the Zaporozhye plant and witnessed with my own eyes the wreckage of Western missiles and drones used by neo-Nazi troops against Russian nuclear infrastructure. However, Kiev enjoys vital support from the Western media in spreading false information, making their own provocations appear to the world like “Russian actions.” In this regard, the current claim that Russia is responsible for the attack on Chernobyl does not seem to be an exception but rather another episode of cooperation between Ukrainian state terrorism and Western information warfare.

However, it is not only Russian authorities who contest the Ukrainian accusations. Some members of the Ukrainian parliament have also questioned the government’s official version. Exiled lawmaker Artyom Dmytruk, for example, suggested that the attack could have been a coordinated operation by Kiev’s own authorities. He raised the question of who was in command of the attack and whether Zelensky or his close allies, such as chief of staff Andrey Yermak, were responsible. This stance reflects a growing atmosphere of distrust within Ukrainian politics and the informational war surrounding the conflict.

In practice, the real Russian strategic interest in attacking Chernobyl remains unclear. Since the beginning, Moscow has spared critical areas from military action. It does not seem rational or strategic for Russia, at a time when it holds significant military advantages and territorial gains, to launch such attacks now. On the other hand, Ukraine has launched such incursions since 2022, always trying to place the blame on the enemy side.

The current moment, when negotiations are finally becoming a possibility, seems to be the perfect timing for Ukrainian actions in Chernobyl. While attacks on other nuclear facilities, such as in Zaporozhye, are frequent, only Chernobyl has the power to mobilize hearts and minds globally, being a symbol of the radioactive tragedy that occurred during the Cold War. With the support of the mainstream media, which immediately blamed Russia, Kiev is trying to use the Chernobyl’s nuclear symbol to sabotage the diplomatic process.

There is nothing new in the Chernobyl case. Once again, the neo-Nazi regime is simply doing everything possible to prevent the war from ending. The question remains whether Western public opinion will continue to believe in the mainstream media and the Ukrainian lies.

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“If you are running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you. Nor, for that matter, is there anything that you can do for the American people that elected me and elected President Trump.”

J.D. Vance Delivers a Historic Defense of Free Speech (Turley)

In “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” J.D. Vance wrote, “I don’t believe in transformative moments, as transformation is harder than a moment.” Despite that profound point, on Feb. 14, Vance found that transformative moment. Speaking to European leaders at the Munich Security Conference, he shocked his audience by confronting them over their attacks on free speech in the West. For the free speech community, it was truly Churchillian — no less than the famous Iron Curtain speech in which Churchill dared the West to confront the existential dangers of communism. Roughly 80 years after Churchill’s speech, Vance called our allies to account not for the growing threat from countries like Russia or China, but from themselves.

To a clearly shocked audience, Vance declared that he was not worried about “external actors” but “the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” Vance then pulled back the curtain on the censorship and anti-free-speech policies of the European Union and close allies ranging from the United Kingdom to Sweden. He also chastised one of the most vehemently anti-free speech figures in Europe, Thierry Breton, who led the EU efforts to control speech with draconian measures under the infamous Digital Services Act. Vance called out the hypocrisy of these nations asking for greater and greater military assistance “in the name of our shared democratic values” even as they eviscerate free speech, the very right that once defined Western Civilization. The point was crushing.

Before we further commit to the defense of Europe, he argued, we should agree on what we are defending. These European nations are erasing the very distinctions between us and our adversaries. In my recent book, I discussed many of the examples cited by the vice president. One of the most telling came from Canada last year, when the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau temporarily blocked the citizenship of Russian dissident Maria Kartasheva. The reason was that she had a conviction (after a trial in absentia) in Russia for condemning the Ukrainian war. The Canadian government declared that Kartasheva’s conviction in Russia aligns with a Criminal Code offense relating to false information in Canada.

In other words, her use of free speech could be prosecuted in Canada under its abusive Section 372(1) of the Criminal Code, punishing speech deemed to be “convey[ing] false information with the intent to alarm or injure anyone.” Vance ran through just a fraction of the parade of horribles, from Britain arresting people for silent prayers near abortion clinics to Sweden prosecuting a religious protester who burned a Koran, with Judge Göran Lundahl insisting that freedom of expression does not constitute a “free pass to do or say anything.” Apparently, it does not include acts once called blasphemy or insulting religion. Vance also mocked the underlying premise for speech crackdowns to combat “disinformation,” pointing out that these measures constitute a far greater threat to citizens in the West than any external threat.

He had the courage to say what has long been verboten on the restriction of speech to combat foreign influence: “if your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with.” In perhaps the greatest single declaration uttered by an American leader since John F. Kennedy in Germany declared “Ich bin ein Berliner,” he added: “If you are running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you. Nor, for that matter, is there anything that you can do for the American people that elected me and elected President Trump.” The reaction of the European diplomats was one of astonishment. Few even offered the usual polite applause. Instead, rows of smug leaders looked straight ahead with the same level of disgust as if Vance were the second coming of the Visogoths threatening the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace.

In a single speech, Vance shattered the hypocrisy of our allies’ calling for a defense of the West while abandoning Western values. They did not like it, and many in the American press joined in dismissing his address. He was called a “wrecking ball” for bringing up the anti-free speech movement that has swept over Europe. One German official declared “This is all so insane and worrying.” This is a diplomat from a nation that shredded free speech for decades, to the point of arresting people over their ringtones. Of course, our own anti-free speech voices were in attendance, too. Politico quoted one “former House Democratic staffer” who bravely attacked Vance anonymously: “I was aghast … He was blaming the victim. What the f— was that? I had my mouth open in a room full of people with their mouth open. That was bad.” No, it was not bad. It was glorious.

After Elon Musk purchased Twitter with the pledge to dismantle the company’s censorship system, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton turned to the EU, calling on it to use its Digital Service Act to force the censorship of her fellow American citizens. That did not leave many people agape. But Vance’s defense of free speech is considered a breathtaking outrage. In “Hillbilly Elergy,” Vance explained his lack of faith in transformative moments. “I’ve seen far too many people awash in a genuine desire to change, only to lose their mettle when they realized just how difficult change actually is,” he wrote. And there is no “genuine desire to change” in Europe. The appetite for censorship is now insatiable, and free speech is in a free fall.

In the midst of this crackdown, Vance spoke with a quintessentially American voice. It was clear, honest and unafraid. There was no pretense or evasion. It was a speech about who we are as a nation and the values that still define us — and no longer define our allies. They saw him as a virtual hillbilly, an American hayseed who does not understand transnational values. For the rest of us, it was a true elegy — part lament and part liberating.

Bravo, Mr. Vice President, Bravo.

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Europe needs its own Trump.

Vance Blasts ‘Orwellian’ German Laws (RT)

The criminalization of free speech in the EU could put a “strain” on relations between Washington and its allies there, US Vice President J.D. Vance said on Monday, calling on Western nations on both sides of the Atlantic to “reject” such policies. “This is Orwellian,” the vice president wrote in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). He was referring to an interview with three German state prosecutors released by the US broadcaster CBS on Sunday. Focused on Germany’s efforts to fight offensive content on the internet, the interview included the prosecutors saying that insulting anyone in public or online is a crime in their country. The interview was recorded against the background of a series of coordinated raids recently launched by German police against some 50 individuals suspected of spreading hate speech online.

People found guilty of such crimes in the federal republic could face fines or even jail time in the event of repeat offenses, according to the prosecutors. “They don’t think it was illegal. And they say, ‘No, that’s my free speech’,” one of the prosecutors, Dr. Matthaus Fink, told CBS. “And we say, ‘No, you have free speech as well, but it also has its limits’.” The courts can also order the confiscation of their electronic devices, the prosecutors said. People are usually “shocked” when it happens, another prosecutor, Frank-Michael Laue, said. “It’s a kind of punishment if you lose your smartphone. It’s even worse than the fine you have to pay.”

The German Criminal Code states that anyone who “attacks the human dignity of others by insulting, maliciously disparaging or slandering” them in a way that is “likely to disturb the public peace” can face up to five years behind bars. The legislation is primarily aimed against insults linked to one’s race, nationality, religion or ethnic background but is not limited to these. According to CBS, the German laws specifically prohibit the spread of malicious gossip, violent threats and fake quotes online. Reposting false information is punished as well, the broadcaster said, citing the prosecutors.

Vance responded to the interview by saying that “insulting someone is not a crime, and criminalizing speech is going to put real strain on European-US relationships.” He then called on “everyone in Europe and the US” to “reject this lunacy.” The statement came just days after the vice president sharply criticized Washington’s EU allies for abandoning their core values, including free speech, as well as fearing their own voters and failing to uphold democratic principles at the Munich Security Conference. His words were lauded by President Donald Trump, who called Vance’s speech “brilliant.” “In Europe they’re losing their wonderful right of freedom of speech,” Trump said on Friday.

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“Reality distortion is no longer working so well with Mr. Trump in the White House.”

Krakatoa Blows (James Howard Kunstler)

You’ve got to wonder who at CBS-News thinks it’s a good idea to quadruple down on mendacious grandstanding when the network faces a $20-billion lawsuit from Donald Trump — for assisting Kamala Harris’s campaign (aka election interference) — while the FCC under new Commissioner Brendan Carr questions the network’s license to operate on the grounds of “news distortion” and violation of the broadcast news fairness doctrine.

So, on Sunday night February 16, CBS’s flagship news show, 60-Minutes, pitched a doubleheader of knowingly faked-up feature pieces intended to scramble American minds to benefit the Party of Chaos and its manager, the US Intel Blob. The first piece was a sob-story on how sad and unjust DOGE’s deconstruction of the USAID money-laundering operation is. Yeah, boo-hoo. They interviewed several part-timers and consultants pretending to be long-term employees of the outfit. Complete horse-shit, and they knew it. What really matters is that a whole lot of bureaucrat grifters (and politicians) won’t get paid anymore. . . and the Blob won’t be able to soften-up faraway nations for plunder with its color revolutions and other hijinks.

The second piece was a ringing endorsement of Germany’s current censorship campaign, arresting ordinary citizens for mean tweets. Their camera crew followed the German Gedankenpolizei entering apartments and seizing cell phones. The viewing audience was asked to shed tears for German Green Party politician, Renate Künast, who got dissed on “X” (“misogynist comments” and insults) — the same week that an Islamic immigrant maniac drove a car into a Munich crowd on-purpose, injuring 39 people, including two dead (one, a child). No mention of that incident on 60-Minutes, or, more generally, that illegal immigration is the big taboo subject behind all the censorship.

CBS actually preceded that gaslighting job with a bit of Sunday morning constructed Orwellian fake syllogistic idiocy by Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan, who said that free speech caused the Holocaust against the Jews. Her reasoning: free speech allowed the Nazis to gain power, therefore. . . Auschwitz . . . therefore, free speech is bad. Guest, Sec’y of State Marco Rubio, told her that he could not associate himself with her thesis. In fact, once in power, the Nazis totally controlled speech and news and did not permit other political parties to even exist. All of this, you understand, is just deliberate Gramscian distortion-and-perversion of language — black is white, up is down — to defeat any attempt at coherent public debate today.

The conclusion you might draw from all this is that CBS is terrified of free speech, and is trying desperately to hide the Blob’s long-running criminal racketeering activity — which they have aided and abetted for years and deserve to lose their license over, plus pay billions in penalties, and go out of business — a rather existential predicament.

Reality distortion is no longer working so well with Mr. Trump in the White House. Here is what’s behind the USAID brouhaha and why it matters. By 2016, the Blob had become a fullblown, independent, parasitical organism on US governance. It had several purposes: 1) to keep itself in perpetual power by paying off its voting blocs of “the poor and marginalized,” 2) to pay its corps of bureaucrat managers (of the “poor and marginalized”) handsome salaries to win their everlasting allegiance, and 3) to pay-off elected officials to keep voting the money flows for all that. All this created a massive class of Democratic Party activists dedicated to overthrowing the republic so as to usher-in their social equity nirvana. And all that was sheer hubris. More recently, nemesis arrived on the scene and all this institutional Blob power had to be diverted to a massive ass-covering operation, now in full, florid failure. And, worst of all for the Blobists, evidence of actual crime is accruing at a frightful, fast pace.

With the confirmation of Kash Patel later this week, Mr. Trump’s agency team will be complete. What follows will be a Krakatoa of revelation, drastically altering the climate of US politics for years to come. You should learn exactly how many FBI and CIA agents were moiling and roiling in the J-6 mob. You’ll find out what the J-6 DNC pipe bomb caper was all about. You’ll find out why RussiaGate was never properly investigated or adjudicated. . . how the Adam Schiff / Alexander Vindman / Eric Ciaramella impeachment op worked. . . how the Clinton Foundation made a zillion dollars . . . where all the money went that got poured into Ukraine. . . and much much more.

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“..a political class that would rather see high inflation and a weaker currency than reduce its grip on the economy.”

The European Welfare State Is Collapsing (Lacalle)

Politicians in Europe are using the JD Vance and Trump external enemy excuse to disguise the existential problem of a system that is crumbling. The statist nightmare built around what politicians call “welfare state” has proven to be a subterfuge to multiply bureaucracy and create a dependent subclass. The welfare state was never sustainable but was created as an affordable luxury that rich economies could finance with strong economic growth and a solid productive sector. However, European governments overlooked the necessity of fostering economic growth and productivity to finance the welfare state. Furthermore, as left-wing populism permeated all segments of the European political landscape, politicians started to include more and more so-called “rights,” which became entitlement costs and subsidies, in a trend that led Europe to forget to create wealth and focus entirely on extractive and confiscatory policies.

We have seen a gradual destruction of the productive sector, asphyxiated by constantly raising taxes and bureaucratic and regulatory limitations, while government budgets expanded without control. The economy of the European Union operates on an inverted economic model. It puts entitlement spending as its pillar, instead of seeing that the welfare state is, at best, a consequence of wealth creation, not a cause. Without a thriving private sector, there is no welfare. Politicians should understand that you cannot provide citizens with social programs if the productive economy is weakened by political design. In the latest Eurostat estimates, the ratio of social insurance pension entitlements to GDP was between 200% and 400% in European economies. Unfunded financial commitments are so large they will only be paid in a massively weakened currency if the current economic policies continue.

France is the prime example of this “upside down” approach to the economy. Putting entitlement spending at the forefront of economic policies has led to decades of stagnation, high debt and deficit, and social discontent. Taxpayers are tired, and recipients of entitlements are relegated to a dependent subclass. The trick is the following: Government spending soars, and everything spent is justified under the banner of “social spending”. Deficit and debt rise, so the government increases taxes to balance the budget. If the economy grows, spending grows faster, and if the economy enters recession, the government spends even more to “protect” citizens. Thus, taxes rise even faster.

The constant process of expropriation of productive wealth becomes a burden on growth, investment, and productivity. Furthermore, more taxes generate lower incremental revenues and a demotivated business and workforce community that finds it impossible to thrive alongside the burden of bureaucracy and taxation. Macron says that Europe is “underleveraged.”. The statement is incorrect, of course, but it is even less believable when we look at all the unfunded commitments.

Europe needs to abandon the current high taxes and bureaucracy and cut unnecessary spending so the pension and healthcare systems remain viable. This means slashing budgets and eliminating political spending. However, no political party wants to do it because thousands of their members depend on government jobs. The situation is so desperate that European nations cannot even increase the much-needed defense budget despite acknowledging the urgency of improving investment in security.

Europe’s welfare state became the welfare of the state at the expense of its businesses and taxpayers. The European Union has human capital, great businesspeople, and entrepreneurs. However, it is being destroyed from the inside by a political class that would rather see high inflation and a weaker currency than reduce its grip on the economy.

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Spike

 

 

Job cuts

 

 

Redfield
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891497832785535064

 

 

RFK
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Pebble

 

 

Ray
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891554907410329863

 

 

O’Leary

 

 

Sopranos
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891295611552411923

 

 

Henry

 

 

Turtle
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891743199649001495

 

 

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