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.”

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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.”

Read more …

“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.”

Read more …

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.”

Read more …

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.

Read more …

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.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Elon

 

 

Nap
https://twitter.com/i/status/1897477371051360561

 

 

Feeders

 

 

Cheetah
https://twitter.com/i/status/1897665976646373393

 

 

Secret

 

 

Jekyll island

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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.

Read more …

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?

Read more …

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.”

Read more …

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.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Spike

 

 

Job cuts

 

 

Redfield
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891497832785535064

 

 

RFK
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891667385406587344

 

 

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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Sep 242024
 
 September 24, 2024  Posted by at 8:33 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,  61 Responses »


René Magritte Where Euclid walked 1955

 

The Madness of Antony Blinken (Lauria)
Wheezing Past the Graveyard (Kunstler)
“Have The Doors To A War Without Limits Been Opened?” (Alastair Crooke)
DoJ Releases Trump Assassin’s $150,000 Reward To “Complete The Job” Letter (ZH)
The Supreme Crisis of Chief Justice John Roberts (Turley)
Musk’s X Caves In To Brazil (RT)
Dear Readers, Tyranny Is Upon Us (Paul Craig Roberts)
West Has Halved Financial Aid To Ukraine (RT)
Ukraine Conflict Could Persist Beyond 2026 – UK FM (RT)
Zelensky Has Chosen Escalation – Moscow (RT)
Zelensky Aiming To ‘Trump-proof’ Aid – The Times (RT)
New Car Registration Levels Crashing In EU (RT)
Macron Calls For New World Order (RT)
Erdogan Weighs In On Failure Of Türkiye-mediated Ukraine Talks (RT)
Will a BRICS Bretton Woods Take Place in Kazan? (Pepe Escobar)

 

 

 

 

Bret

 

 

RFK MAHA


https://twitter.com/i/status/1837904332827906457

 

 

JDVance

 

 

Vivek will be a force

 

 

Pelosi
https://twitter.com/i/status/1838099477221015938

 

 

Gaetz

 

 

Taxes
https://twitter.com/i/status/1838218305498149181

 

 

 

 

“Blinken and the British are trying to lead us to the brink.”

The Madness of Antony Blinken (Lauria)

On March 7, 2022, two weeks after Moscow entered the civil war in Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS News from Moldova that the U.S. would give NATO-member Poland a “green light” to send Mig-29 fighter jets to Ukraine to enforce a no-fly zone against Russian aircraft. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer then also backed the no-fly zone. But within days the Pentagon shot down the idea as it engaged in a consequential battle with the State Department and members of Congress to prevent a direct NATO military confrontation with Russia that could unleash history’s most unimaginable horrors. A no-fly zone “could result in significant Russian reaction that might increase the prospects of a military escalation with NATO,” according to then Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. President Joe Biden was caught in the middle of the fray. Pressure on the White House from some members of Congress and the press corps was unrelenting to recklessly bring NATO directly into the war.

Biden ultimately sided with the Defense Department, and he couldn’t be more explicit why. He opposed a NATO no-fly zone over Ukraine fighting Russian aircraft, he said, because “that’s called World War III, okay? Let’s get it straight here, guys. We will not fight the third world war in Ukraine.” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin backed him up: “President Biden’s been clear that U.S. troops won’t fight Russia in Ukraine, and if you establish a no-fly zone, certainly in order to enforce that no-fly zone, you’ll have to engage Russian aircraft. And again, that would put us at war with Russia.” (The administration plan was, and apparently still is, to bring down the Russian government through a proxy counteroffensive and an economic and information war, not a direct military one.) Blinken, who stepped out of line to speak above the heads of the president and the Pentagon, lost that round. It’s surprising he kept his job. But he survived and now he’s come back for more.

Blinken’s recklessness emerged yet again last week when he peddled a story — eagerly picked up by The Guardian and The New York Times — that Biden would approve a British request to fire its Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russia. The Guardian story on Sept. 11 said: “The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, gave his strongest hint yet that the White House is about to lift its restrictions on Ukraine using long-range weapons supplied by the west on key military targets inside Russia, with a decision understood to have already been made in private. Speaking in Kyiv alongside the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, Blinken said the US had ‘from day one’ been willing to adapt its policy as the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine changed. ‘We will continue to do this,’ he emphasised.” To fire British Storm Shadows, Ukraine would have to depend on British technical soldiers on the ground in Ukraine to actually launch them and on U.S. geolocation technology.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz revealed those British soldiers are already in Ukraine. In other words, it would be a NATO attack on Russia, dressed up as a Ukrainian one. It would mean the U.S. and Britain were at war with Moscow, something Blinken seems to want and said was going to happen. The next day Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that launching such missiles into Russia “will mean that NATO countries — the United States and European countries — are at war with Russia. And if this is the case, then, bearing in mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us.” Nevertheless, The New York Times ran a story on the same day with the headline: “Biden Poised to Approve Ukraine’s Use of Long-Range Western Weapons in Russia.”

The Guardian added: “British government sources indicated that a decision had already been made to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow cruise missiles on targets inside Russia, although it is not expected to be publicly announced on Friday when Starmer meets Biden in Washington DC.” Blinken’s words evidently raised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer‘s hopes that he would satisfy his desire to strike Russia with his nation’s arsenal of long-range missiles, despite Putin saying that meant direct war with NATO. Blinken and the British are trying to lead us to the brink.

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“Ukraine was not a problem for anyone until we made it a problem on-purpose.. [..] Ukraine could, in theory, revert to not being a problem for anyone again. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Wheezing Past the Graveyard (Kunstler)

What could go wrong? Probably more than you might imagine. We have just turned the corner into autumn. Now, things get serious, even gravely dark. America has never been so into dancing skeletons and morbidity. The small-town yards are filling up with inflatable signifiers of hell and death. Don’t you wonder what all this signifies besides good old family fun? The zeitgeist maybe having a little sport with us, you think? We are chiefly preoccupied with our badly dysfunctional self-governance, of course, and the method for periodically revising it, which we call an election. Nobody has confidence in the process, which has acquired so many layers of absurd, needless complexity for the sole purpose of perverting the outcome that every lawyer in the land will have a hefty guaranteed annual income in the probably futile effort to sort it out come November 6. There is your hell-scape, with overtones of death on a pale horse. . . and all. Chaos. . . riots. . . anarchy. . . civil war.

The threat of World War Three may have abated for the moment, but in a peculiar and disconcerting way, viz. a coup in the executive branch. The gadfly Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, long ago chief-of-staff to Sec’y of State Colin Powell, reports that the Pentagon has cancelled “Joe Biden,” that is, taken him out of the decision-loop for anything. Well, you ask yourself, how is it possible he had even remained remotely close to any decision-loop this long, in any case, given the problem of his obviously broken brain? But now, it is unofficially official: just eat your mint-chocolate ice-cream and shut up, and let Dr. Jill run those “cabinet meeting” photo ops.According to Col. Wilkerson, Sec’y of Defense Lloyd Austin told the “president” to his face that there will be no flinging of US-supplied long-range missiles from Ukraine “deep into Russia,” as the neocon-infested White House been chattering about endlessly.

Wiser heads deep in the DOD HQ have decided the matter. Lump it, if you must, Tony Blinken and Jake Sullivan. The Russians’ “red-line” on such a caper is so wide you can see it from the International Space Station — that is, if you’re an astronaut marooned up there due to combined NASA/Boeing incompetence. . . but that’s another story. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was all revved up for the missile operation and flew to Washington for a one-to-one meet-up with “JB” to get the go-ahead. The Brits are avid for another World War. The last two went so well for them that they kissed their vast empire goodbye. Now they want to kiss goodbye their sceptered isle itself, which has almost no economy left and is overrun by cultural hostiles who are not into Shakespeare.

The Brits’ floundering government is a posse of monomaniacs fixated on defeating Russia which, at this point in history, is like a dormouse (Glis glis) facing down a brown bear (Ursus arctos). “Joe Biden,” reportedly “furious” at losing his executive power, was constrained to tell Mr. Starmer that the missile strike op was off, which left the UK PM miffed that he had crossed the ocean for no reason. Who knows, the Brits are so nuts these days that perhaps they’ll try to pull it off on their own. Mr. Zelensky, the no-longer-elected leader of Ukraine was begging them to try it because Ukraine has nothing left. NATO as a whole really has nothing left, either. Not much of a combined military, scant munitions left in the cupboard, and no will to wage war among the depressed citizens of its member nations.

There is nothing left except to come to terms on a settlement that will leave Ukraine not a member of NATO. The entire affair has been a humiliation for NATO and America, especially for the “Joe Biden” management team (whatever it actually consists of these days). The longer they refuse to engage in talks, the less of Ukraine will be left as a sovereign entity — having proven to the world that its sovereignty rests solely on its capacity to be used as a catspaw by the American neocon / intel blob. You’re reminded that for seventy years prior to 2014, Ukraine was not a problem for anyone until we made it a problem on-purpose — our purpose being idiotic and malicious — and Ukraine could, in theory, revert to not being a problem for anyone again. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

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“It is probable that we shall see more such hypersonic missiles flying – immune to air defences – should this war escalate, and Iran intervene..”

“Have The Doors To A War Without Limits Been Opened?” (Alastair Crooke)

For the last year, both Israel and Hizbullah have avoided major escalation by observing unwritten rules of engagement or ‘equations’ between the parties, such as not targeting civilians. That is now over. In his first speech since the devices blew up on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sayed Nasrallah, the Hizbullah leader, conceded that his group had “endured a severe and cruel blow”. He accused Israel of breaking “all conventions and laws” and said that it would “face just retribution and a bitter reckoning”. But he did not describe how Hezbollah might retaliate; “nor did he discuss the time, nor manner, nor place” of it ocurring. Nasrallah warned: “The enemy declares as its official goal to return the settlers to the North. We accept the challenge: You will not be able to return to the North. In fact, we will displace more Israelis from their homes. We hope Israel enters Lebanon, we are waiting for their tanks day and night: We say, ‘welcome!’”.

There is some point to this remark. From the outset, Hizbullah was configured militarily more for all-out war with Israel, than the limited tit-for-tat, calibrated war – which never played best to Hizbullah’s strengths. Clearly, a new phase of war has begun, and to underline this point, Israel began one of its heaviest strikes on Israel after Nasrallah’s speech on Thursday night. U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin reportedly informed leaders of Congress that evening about his fear of an imminent Israeli offensive into Lebanon. Nasrallah’s assessment of coming war is fully shared by at least some senior Israeli military commanders, albeit by no means all. Several profess the belief that war with Hizbullah could extend into a regional war – and lead to the collapse of Israel. However … “You don’t do something like that, hit thousands of people, and think war is not coming”, said retired Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, who leads the Israel Defence and Security Forum, a group of hawkish former military commanders.

“Why didn’t we do it for 11 months? Because we were not willing to go to war yet. What’s happening now? Israel is ready for war”. “There’s a lot of pressure from the society to go to war and win”, said Avivi, the retired general. “Unless Hezbollah tomorrow morning says, ‘OK, we got the message. We’re pulling out of south Lebanon’ – war is imminent”. A poll in late August by the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, found that 67% of Jewish respondents thought Israel should intensify its response to Hizbullah. That includes 46% who believed that Israel should launch a deep offensive striking Lebanese infrastructure, and 21% who seek an intensified response that only strikes on Hezbollah’s infrastructure. General Avivi’s remarks likely reflect an underlying reality that had become only too clear: Amos Hochstein, the U.S. Envoy, has failed to achieve any ‘diplomatic’ progress towards a Hizbullah withdrawal from the south of Lebanon.

In parallel, U.S. officials, (according to the WSJ) now concede that a Gaza ceasefire is ‘out of reach’ for Biden; and that, equally, Israel’s military attrition on southern Lebanon that had resulted in the displacement of 80% of its inhabitants had achieved nothing. Israel’s northern residents also remain displaced. It seems, therefore, that Israel is set on a path to wider conflict. A taster has already been given: On 17 September, the Houthis fired a missile at a target close to Ben Gurion airport. The missile covered 1,300 miles in less than 12 min, which is to say, it flew at hypersonic speed, approaching Mach 9 – untouchable by air defences – and struck its target. It is probable that we shall see more such hypersonic missiles flying – immune to air defences – should this war escalate, and Iran intervene. What is paradoxical (as so often in conflict) is that the exploding pager operation seemingly was entirely fortuitous in terms of the timing. It was not planned specifically to move Israel to a new phase in the Lebanese conflict:

“High-level regional intelligence sources told Al-Monitor that the decision to carry out the operation was “forced” on Israel following an intelligence lapse … The Israeli military’s original plan was to explode the devices in the event of a full-blown war with Hezbollah in order to gain a strategic edge – but not to detonate them on Tuesday”, the sources added. “However suspicions from at least two Hezbollah members caused the Israeli security establishment to agree to a premature execution of the plan. After a Hezbollah member in Lebanon suspected foul play with the pagers several days ago – that person was killed, the sources said … [and the plan was] ultimately executed. The subsequent decision to trigger the radios to explode was said to be driven by the expectation that after the pager detonations the radios would fall under suspicion”.

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He smells too much like an intel asset. Doesn’t have a penny but moves to Hawaii. Yet, spends his time in Ukraine. Then offers $150,000 for a murder.

DoJ Releases Trump Assassin’s $150,000 Reward To “Complete The Job” Letter (ZH)

Former President Trump’s would-be assassin Ryan Wesley Routh wrote a chilling letter admitting he failed in trying to take the life of the former president, and offering a reward for anyone who can finish the job… The note was addressed to the “World” and reads: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job,” according to court papers. Routh dropped off a box at a person’s home that included the letter, the court documents state. As Jack Phillips reports at The Epoch Times, law enforcement officials were contacted on Sept. 18, or three days after he was arrested, by a person who said that Routh dropped off the box at his location in the months prior to the incident. The witness opened the box after learning of Routh’s arrest, finding ammunition, phones, and various letters.

Prosecutors said the note and other evidence found at the scene show a need for Routh to be detained while the government builds its case against him. A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday morning at a federal court in Florida. “Because the facts are offered for the limited purpose of supporting the United States’s request for pretrial detention, the facts in this written proffer do not set forth all of the information and evidence known to the United States in this ongoing investigation,” the court documents state. Prosecutors found “a notebook with dozens of pages filled with names and phone numbers pertaining to Ukraine, discussions about how to join combat on behalf of Ukraine.” “He [the former President] ended relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled,” Routh wrote in one of the documents, according to the court papers. “Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest knows that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less U.S. president. U.S. presidents must at the bare miminum embody the moral fabric that is America and be kind, caring and selfless and always stand for humanity.”

Cellphone records from two of the recovered phones show that Routh traveled from Greensboro, North Carolina, to West Palm Beach on Aug. 14, 2024, prosecutors wrote. Further, on “multiple days and times from Aug. 18, 2024, to Sept. 15, 2024, Routh’s cellphone accessed cell towers located near Trump International and the former president’s residence at Mar-a-Lago,” the filing said. A cellphone that was recovered by authorities showed a Google search of how to travel from Palm Beach County, Florida, to Mexico. Federal officials also found a list with dates in August, September, and October as well as venues where the former president had appeared and was scheduled to appear, prosecutors say. During his first court appearance last week, Routh declared that he had no assets and only owned two trucks worth $1,000. In a 2023 book that apparently written by him, Routh also wrote that he had no bank account and no retirement savings.

Posts made by Routh on X and other social media sites show that he was an avid supporter of Ukraine in the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict, even posting images and videos of himself in Kyiv and other areas in Ukraine since the war started. He also made critical comments about the former president, including several in July that referenced the first assassination attempt. Routh faces federal firearms charges in connection to the Sept. 15 incident. Prosecutors say that Routh, 58, camped out near Trump’s Florida golf course for 12 hours before his gun barrel was spotted by a Secret Service agent, who then fired at the suspect before he fled the scene. Authorities also discovered an SKS-style rifle with 11 rounds, including one round in the chamber, according to the court papers. Officials previously said that the suspect did not fire any shots and had no direct line of sight to Trump, who was golfing at the time of the incident. The former president also was not harmed.

In July, Trump survived his first assassination attempt and was shot in the ear by a gunman who fired at a rally while he was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania, prompting questions about the Secret Service’s ability to protect him. The FBI said that when its agents attempted to interview Routh after he was detained on Sept. 15, he invoked his right to an attorney. Routh has not entered a plea. Finally, Matt Walsh brings up a crucial point about the release of this letter: “They didn’t release the Covenant shooter manifesto because they were allegedly afraid it would inspire more shootings. And yet within a week they release a letter from Trump’s would-be assassin where he openly encourages more shootings and offers to pay for them.” Routh is set to appear in federal court on Monday for a detention hearing after the attempted assassination on September 15 at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Better keep an eye out for ‘Jack Ruby’-esque followers…

Routh

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“..calling for them to be more aggressive against the conservative justices and even calling for Congress to cut off their air conditioning to make them retire.”

The Supreme Crisis of Chief Justice John Roberts (Turley)

Chief Justice John Roberts has always been “a man more sinned against than sinning.” That line from Shakespeare’s “King Lear” seems increasingly apt for the head of our highest court. Roberts was installed almost exactly 20 years ago and soon found himself grappling with a series of controversies that have rocked the court as an institution. He is now faced with another monumental scandal, after the New York Times published leaked confidential information that could only have come from one of the nine members of the court. By most accounts, Roberts is popular with his colleagues and someone with an unquestioning institutional knowledge and loyalty. He is, in many respects, the ideal chief justice: engaging, empathetic, and unfailingly respectful of the court’s justices and staff. Roberts has been chief justice during some of the court’s most contentious times. Major decisions like overturning Roe v. Wade (which Roberts sought to avoid) have galvanized many against the court.

According to recent polling, fewer than half of Americans (47 percent) hold a favorable opinion of the court (51 percent have an unfavorable view). Of course, that level of support should inspire envy in the court’s critics in Congress (18 percent approval) and the media (which only 32 percent trust). Some, however, want to express their dissatisfaction more directly and even permanently. This week, Alaskan Panos Anastasiou, 76, was indicted with 22 federal charges for threatening to torture and kill the six conservative justices. Another man, Nicolas Roske, 28, will go on trial next June for attempting to assassinate Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In the meantime, law professors have rallied the mob, calling for them to be more aggressive against the conservative justices and even calling for Congress to cut off their air conditioning to make them retire.

Politicians have also fueled the rage against the court. On one infamous occasion, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared in front of the Supreme Court, “I want to tell you, [Neil] Gorsuch, I want to tell you, [Brett] Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price.” Yet, it is what has occurred inside the court that should be most troubling for Roberts. On May 2, 2022, someone inside the court leaked to Politico a copy of the draft of the opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade. It was one of the greatest breaches of ethics in the court’s history. The subsequent investigation failed to produce any charges for the culprit or culprits. Now, the New York Times has published highly detailed accounts of the internal deliberations of the court. The account seemed largely directed at the conservative justices and Roberts.

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They appointed a legal representative. “Musk claimed that de Moraes threatened to arrest the company’s legal representative if X did not adhere to court orders…”

Musk’s X Caves In To Brazil (RT)

Social media platform X says it is moving to comply with demands issued by Brazil’s Supreme Court in hopes of reversing a nationwide ban ordered by Justice Alexandre de Moraes last month. For nearly three weeks, X has been inaccessible to Brazilian users. Using a VPN to access the site carries the threat of a fine of almost $9,000. That’s after de Moraes, the country’s top judge, banned the platform for failing to censor accounts that “spread disinformation.” The platform’s owner Elon Musk, a vocal advocate of free speech, has until now refused to back down, describing de Moraes’ orders as an attempt to censor voices on his platform and calling the justice “an evil dictator cosplaying as a judge.” However, on Friday, X’s legal representatives announced that the platform has taken steps to comply with the Brazilian court’s demands to help resolve the impasse and get the ban on the site lifted.

These steps include paying the fines X owes, blocking the accounts that de Moraes had previously accused of propagating misinformation and of undermining Brazilian democracy, and naming a legal representative in the country. Under Brazilian law, in order to operate in the country, foreign companies are required to have a representative who would assume all the legal responsibilities of the firm locally. X had such a representative until mid-August when it decided to close its offices and fire all its staff in the country. That was after Musk claimed that de Moraes threatened to arrest the company’s legal representative if X did not adhere to court orders.

On Saturday, Brazil’s Supreme Court confirmed X’s moves and gave the company five days to file all the necessary paperwork validating its new legal representative. It also reiterated its orders to block the accounts that had previously been indicated in a probe into hate speech and misinformation, and to pay fines totalling over $3 million. It’s unclear which particular accounts have been targeted, as the probe is confidential. The dispute between Musk and Brazilian authorities began in April when de Moraes ordered X to delete the accounts of several supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, calling them “digital militants” who spread “disinformation” about himself and the court. Musk refused, saying this would violate Brazilian laws.

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“If you don’t support those who are opposing tyranny, tyranny is what you will have..”

Dear Readers, Tyranny Is Upon Us (Paul Craig Roberts)

Dear Readers, Truth is being dispelled from the Western World. Truth diminishes by the day. It is not only happening in America but also throughout America’s empire. In Great Britain it has become a criminal offense to protest Israel’s slaughter of Palestinians. In Germany it is a criminal offense to challenge Zionist history of the Second World War. In France if you are the owner of a social media site that permits free speech, you are detained, subject to investigation, and possibly indicted. In the United States if you challenge an official narrative you can be declared a domestic terrorist and have your passport and personal possessions confiscated. Of course, extremely few Americans do challenge official narratives. Americans learn to live a safe life by accepting whatever the authorities say. Don’t rock the boat and get in trouble. Do as your peers do. This well ingrained attitude is a recipe for tyranny, into which America is falling.

When you can’t tell the truth without bringing trouble upon yourself, there must be a reason: truth is dangerous to the authorities, so truth is demonized as disinformation, false news, Russian disinformation, espionage, offensive, racist, domestic terrorism. Little wonder that truth is disappearing from the Western World. It is certainly not welcome. The risk of saying it is growing. No university will support the truth. No foundation will support the truth. No official media will support the truth. No bar association, no medical association, no political party will support truth. Fewer and fewer courts will support the truth. Truth is on the verge of extinction. It is being replaced by official narratives. These official narratives are bringing you tyranny. If you don’t support those who are opposing tyranny, tyranny is what you will have. Tyranny is much closer than you think.

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” Just over a week ago, the Ukrainian government adopted its draft budget for 2025, indicating a deficit of 75%.”

West Has Halved Financial Aid To Ukraine (RT)

The flow of Western funds into Ukraine’s state budget has almost halved compared to last year, the Russian newspaper Vedomosti has calculated after reviewing data from Kiev’s Finance Ministry. Between January and June this year, the US and its allies, who have been backing Kiev throughout its conflict with Moscow, financed only 27% of the country’s budget expenditure, compared to 50% in the first half of 2023, the paper said in an article on Monday. In monetary terms, Western financial aid to Kiev decreased from $19.1 billion to $10.6 billion, during that period, Vedomosti noted. According to the article, authorities in Kiev are expected to attract $37 billion in outside loans in 2024 to cover the budget almost entirely, but in the first half of the year they managed to receive only a quarter of that sum.

At the same time, the burden on the Ukrainian budget is increasing, as the cost servicing previously accrued debt has soared from $900,000 to $5.2 billion this year, the paper said. This is more than total expenditure on education, healthcare and supporting the economy combined, it stressed. Analysts who spoke to Vedomosti suggested that postponing payment deadlines and debt restructuring would only allow Kiev to delay a default but not to avoid it. Ukraine is insolvent and will not be able to pay back its foreign loans, they insisted. Just over a week ago, the Ukrainian government adopted its draft budget for 2025, indicating a deficit of 75%.

According to a report in the Sunday Times, continued international financial aid for Kiev is among the key pillars of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s so-called ‘victory plan.’ Zelensky is currently in the US, where he is expected to present his initiative to President Joe Biden, members of Congress, and to both 2024 election presidential contenders – Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. He claims the scheme could allow the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to be concluded the end of this year if Washington and its allies make “quick decisions” on boosting its support for Kiev. Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, has said Moscow is unaware of the contents of Zelensky’s proposals and that it has not been invited to discuss them. “It is hard for us to understand what is on the madman’s mind,” he remarked.

W. 2008

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“This is a critical time for nerve and guts and patience and for fortitude on behalf of allies who stand with Ukraine..”

Ukraine Conflict Could Persist Beyond 2026 – UK FM (RT)

The fighting between Russia and Ukraine is likely to rage on for at least another two years, the UK foreign secretary has predicted. David Lammy gave a speech at a conference of the governing Labour Party in Liverpool on Sunday, stressing Britain’s commitment to supporting Kiev. He noted that the government has committed to providing Ukraine with £3 billion ($3.99 billion) in military aid annually “for as long as it takes.” On the same day, the foreign secretary attended an event on the sidelines of the conference, warning that the hostilities could persist into “the back end of 2025 into 2026” and beyond. The hardship and challenges arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict are set to become “deeper and harsher” in the coming years, he said, as quoted by the Guardian. “This is a critical time for nerve and guts and patience and for fortitude on behalf of allies who stand with Ukraine,” Lammy insisted.

The foreign secretary’s remarks apparently referred to the unwillingness of US President Joe Biden’s administration to allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons for long-range strikes into Russia’s internationally recognized territory. Moscow has warned that giving such permission, which Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has been demanding for months, would make NATO countries direct participants in the conflict and be met with an appropriate Russian response. “There is a very real-time discussion across allies about how we can support Ukraine as we head into winter,” the British foreign secretary noted. However, he refused to reveal details, saying that would only “only aid [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”

Lammy’s view on the likely duration of the fighting appears to clash with plans set out by Zelensky – who claimed last week that he had developed a scheme to end the hostilities by the end of this year if the West makes “quick decisions” on increasing its support for Kiev. The Ukrainian leader is now in the US, where he plans to show his so-called ‘victory plan’ to Biden, members of Congress, and both presidential contenders – Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Russia has never set deadlines when it comes to the conflict with Ukraine, and has repeatedly said that its military operation, which started in February 2022, will continue until its goals are achieved. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated on Sunday that “there is no alternative to our [Russian] victory.”

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“It is hard for us to understand what is on the madman’s mind.”

Zelensky Has Chosen Escalation – Moscow (RT)

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky chose the path of escalation when he ordered Kiev’s forces to enter Russia’s Kursk Region, Moscow’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, has said. On Sunday, Zelensky arrived in the US, where he is planning to meet with US President Joe Biden, members of Congress, and both presidential contenders – Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – to present them with his ‘peace plan,’ which he recently renamed a ‘victory plan.’ According to Zelensky, the scheme could end the conflict between Moscow and Kiev by the end of this year if the West makes “quick decisions” on increasing its support for Ukraine. Polyansky told RIA Novosti news agency on Monday that Russian authorities “judge what the others do by their actions, not by their words. This means that he [Zelensky] clearly chose the path of escalation when he invaded Russia’s Kursk Region.”

“I think this was the best reply to everybody who hoped that the Ukrainian leadership was striving for peace,” he stressed. The Ukrainian military entered Kursk Region on August 6, in the largest attack on internationally recognized Russian territory since the outbreak of the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022. The Russian military quickly halted their advance and has reported the recapture of more than a dozen villages in the past few weeks. However, Kiev’s forces remain in control of part of the region, and the fighting continues. According to the latest data from Russia’s Defense Ministry, Ukraine has lost more than 16,000 troops and several hundred units of military equipment, including 126 tanks and 95 armored personnel carriers, since the start of the incursion.

Moscow is unaware of the content of Zelensky’s ‘victory plan’ and has not been invited to discuss it, Polyansky said. “It is hard for us to understand what is on the madman’s mind. We do not know what Zelensky is planning, and there is a lot of hype around him being here [in the US] and about what he will or will not offer,” the diplomat stressed. Speaking about the outcome of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev on Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that “there is no alternative to our [Russian] victory.”

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“..the idea that Ukraine would not achieve a full victory over Russia is “awful” and “unacceptable..”

Zelensky Aiming To ‘Trump-proof’ Aid – The Times (RT)

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky will request NATO-type security guarantees for Kiev and other irreversible commitments when he meets US President Joe Biden this week, The Times reported on Sunday. Zelensky will also seek endorsement for Ukraine’s ongoing incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region and access to “specific” advanced Western weapons to be used against Russia, the British newspaper claimed. Each point is reportedly part of what Zelensky has termed a ‘victory plan’ in the conflict with Moscow. His aim is to increase the pressure on Russia to the extent that it is coerced into signing a peace agreement on Ukrainian terms, The Times explained, citing its analysis of public remarks and several anonymous sources. Zelensky has publicly stated that his plan would allow the conflict to end this year, although The Times claims it would take at least two more years to implement.

The key issue for Kiev is preventing Donald Trump from reversing commitments to Ukraine, should he be reelected as US president in November, the newspaper added. The Republican nominee and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, have suggested that their administration would force Kiev to make painful concessions in order to end the hostilities. However, the idea that Ukraine would not achieve a full victory over Russia is “awful” and “unacceptable,” Zelensky told the New Yorker magazine ahead of his trip to the US this week. The Ukrainian leader has promised to brief Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Haris, on his ‘victory plan’. Prior to Kiev’s incursion into Kursk last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered an immediate ceasefire in return for Zelensky renouncing Ukraine’s bid to join NATO and removing all troops from Russian territory.

Officials in Moscow have said they would accept a peace deal along the lines that the two nations agreed in 2022, before Kiev made a U-turn and opted to seek a military victory, reportedly after being prompted by the West. A NATO diplomat told The Times it is “clear that the Ukrainians will not be able to drive the Russians out,” although accepting neutral status and ceding territories “would be a disastrous outcome” that “can definitely not be the basis of the negotiation.” Moscow has said it will not take part in a ‘peace summit’ proposed by Zelensky for later this year, describing it as “fraudulent.”

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Bankrupted themselves over Ukraine.

New Car Registration Levels Crashing In EU (RT)

The EU market for new cars saw its biggest drop in over two years in August, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). Registrations of new automobiles fell 18.3% year-on-year across the bloc, with double-digit losses in the region’s three major markets: 27.8% in Germany, 24.3% in France, and 13.4% in Italy, according to the ACEA’s latest data. Spain, the fourth largest car market in the EU, saw a 6.5% decline. Only four EU member states posted slight growth in new car registrations last month, namely Poland, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Malta, according to ACEA data. Most of the new cars delivered across the bloc were petrol-fueled (33.1%), with hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) close behind at 31.3%.

The share of new battery-electric cars (BEV) in the EU car market fell to 14.4% from 21% recorded in August 2023. Deliveries of BEVs have been declining for four consecutive months this year, contrasting sharply with steady growth throughout 2023, notes ACEA. The association unites Europe’s 15 major car, truck, van and bus makers. The bloc-wide decline followed Brussels’ introduction in July of provisional tariffs on BEVs made in China and imported into the EU. Following an anti-subsidy probe, the European Commission concluded that the BEV value chain in China benefits from “unfair subsidisation,” which is causing “a threat of economic injury” to EU BEV makers.

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Join BRICS.

Macron Calls For New World Order (RT)

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for reform of the current “unjust” world order so that humans can coexist more peacefully. He outlined his vision on Sunday as part of the international ‘Imagining Peace’ gathering in Paris, which brought together leading political and religious figures. Speaking before the Catholic community of Sant’Egidio, Macron said “We must be imaginative enough to think about the peace of tomorrow, a peace in Europe in a new form.” If the European continent is to become more stable, everyone should acknowledge that it is “neither quite the EU, nor resolutely NATO,” he stated. “We will have to think of a new form of organization for Europe and rethink our relationship with Russia” after the Ukraine conflict is over, the president added. Macron has sent mixed messages regarding the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine as the conflict evolved over the years.

In 2022, he drew criticism from fellow Western officials for urging them not to “humiliate” Russia. In early 2024, he said the West should not rule out the deployment of NATO troops on Ukrainian soil – a proposal that multiple other national leaders have rejected. The speech comes as Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is set to meet US President Joe Biden to present his so-called ‘victory plan’ – a purported roadmap to pressuring Russia into conceding defeat. He wants permission to conduct long-range strikes deep inside Russia with Western weapons as part of the plan. France is among a handful of nations that have donated such military hardware to Ukraine in the form of SCALP/Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which the country produces jointly with the UK.

British officials have supported Kiev’s request to strike Russia, but the ultimate decision is understood to be in Washington’s hands. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that any such attack would be considered an act of war by NATO member states. In his speech, Macron claimed that the global system created in the wake of World War II was “incomplete and unjust,” because many modern nations did not even exist at that time and don’t have a proper place at the table. He said international bodies, such as the UN, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, should be reformed accordingly. Russia is among a number of nations that have declared a goal of reducing the influence of Western-dominated institutions in global affairs with a view to creating a multipolar world order.

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“..certain lobbies did not want these efforts to achieve their goal..”

Erdogan Weighs In On Failure Of Türkiye-mediated Ukraine Talks (RT)

Talks in Istanbul to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in March 2022 did not achieve their goal because certain interests were opposed to a peace deal, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has revealed. Erdogan addressed those negotiations between Moscow and Kiev on Monday during a press conference at the Turkish House in New York, as he was highlighting Ankara’s positive role as an intermediary in various conflicts. “We have made efforts to establish a just peace since the beginning of the [Ukraine-Russia] war, and we continue to do so,” he said, as quoted by Anadolu news agency. “The negotiations in Istanbul have proven the success of Türkiye’s active role. However, certain lobbies did not want these efforts to achieve their goal,”Erdogan added.

The 2022 negotiations between Kiev and Moscow to resolve their differences culminated in a draft treaty. If implemented, Ukraine would have agreed to become a neutral nation with a limited army in exchange for international security guarantees. Shortly after the document was signed by heads of the respective delegations, Kiev made a U-turn and declared military victory over Moscow as its only option in the conflict. The policy change was prompted by a visit to Kiev by then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a Russia hawk, who told the Ukrainians to keep fighting, according to Ukrainian MP David Arakhamia, who signed the draft treaty on Kiev’s behalf. Moscow believes that Johnson ordered Ukraine not to compromise, since the West is interested in inflicting maximum damage on Russia regardless of the cost paid for it by the Ukrainian people.

Johnson has claimed he simply advised Kiev not to trust the Kremlin and that his words did not amount to an instruction. Having left his position in September 2022 following a wave of domestic scandals, Johnson remains a vocal advocate for pumping more arms and aid into Kiev. Unrestricted Western support will “send the crucial message to the Kremlin” that it cannot have a say on what is happening at its doorstep, he argued in an op-ed just published by The Spectator magazine. Erdogan is visiting the US to take part in the UN General Assembly. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is set to promote his ‘victory plan’ on the sidelines of the event. He is scheduled to first present his proposal to US President Joe Biden.

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“What’s at stake is the extremely complex design of a brand-new financial system – decentralized and using digital technology.”

Will a BRICS Bretton Woods Take Place in Kazan? (Pepe Escobar)

With less than a month before the crucial BRICS annual summit in Kazan under the Russian presidency, serious informed discussions are raging in Moscow and other Eurasian capitals on what should be at the table in the de-dollarization and alternative payment system front. Earlier this month Andrey Mikhailishin, head of the task force on financial services of the BRICS Business Council, detailed the list of top projects under consideration. They include:
• A common unit of account – as in The Unit, whose contours were first revealed exclusively by Sputnik.
• A platform for multilateral settlements and payments in BRICS digital currencies, connecting the financial markets of BRICS members: that’s BRICS Bridge, which bears similarities with the Bank of International Settlements-linked MBridge, already in effect. That will complement intrabank systems already in action, as in Russia’s SPFS and Iran’s CPAM settling financial transactions – and 60% of their trade – in their own currencies.
• A blockchain-based payment system that entirely bypasses the US dollar: BRICS Pay. Arguably 159 participants may be ready to adopt this sanction-evading, similar-to-SWIFT mechanism right away.
• A settlement depository (Clear).
• An insurance system.
• And crucially a BRICS rating agency, independent from the Western giants.

What’s at stake is the extremely complex design of a brand-new financial system – decentralized and using digital technology. BRICS Clear, for instance, will be using blockchain to record securities and exchange them.
As for The Unit, the value of the common unit of account is pegged by 40% to gold and by 60% to a basket of BRICS member’s national currencies. The BRICS Business Council considers The Unit a “convenient and universal” instrument, since a unit can be converted into any national currency. That would definitely solve the nagging problem of exchange rate volatility when cash balances accumulate from settlements in national currencies; for example, a mountain of Indian rupees used to pay for Russian energy.

Who Do I Call to Talk to BRICS?
I asked a very direct question to two Russian analysts, one of them a finance tech executive with vast experience across Europe, and the other the head of an investment fund with global reach. Considering the sensitivity of their posts, they prefer to remain anonymous. The question: Is BRICS ready to become an actor in Kazan next month, and what should be on the table in terms of the strategy to establish an alternative payment system?

The Answers. Analyst 1:
“Time has come for BRICS to become a real actor. The world demands it. The leaders of BRICS countries clearly understand it. They have the moral power and the political will to set up an organization to provide a number for BRICS to be called in – that’s the best question for the upcoming summit.” The analyst is referring to what could be dubbed “the Kissinger moment”, when Dr. K famously quipped, in the Cold War era, “when I want to talk to Europe, who do I call?”
Now to Analyst 2:
“For a BRICS agreement amongst countries to mean something, countries need to agree on a framework of action and that means accepting some responsibilities in exchange for certain rights. And it sounds there’s no better way to achieve that than to arrive at mutually agreed obligations on settlement of financial transactions.” One of the analysts added a very important, specific point: “By now the situation is pretty clear, to properly address the issue of cross-border payments. The best mechanism should be based on the New Development Bank (NDB), given that Russia has a mandate to propose the new president of that organization. Whoever the candidate will be, cross-border payments should be at the top of his agenda.” The NDB is the BRICS bank, based in Shanghai. The analyst hopes this decision on the future of the NDB will be made before the BRICS summit: “Given the diplomatic and political considerations, the candidate should be made known, formally or informally to the member countries.”

Read more …

 

 

 

Obamagate
https://twitter.com/i/status/1838041585583337978

 

 

Obama Bieber
https://twitter.com/i/status/1838028542421909561

 

 

Cat tail
https://twitter.com/i/status/1838108949125448085

 

 

Pick up a duck

 

 

Cold
https://twitter.com/i/status/1838247556981080212

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Sep 182024
 
 September 18, 2024  Posted by at 8:39 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  36 Responses »


René Magritte The song of love 1948

 

9 Killed, 2700+ Wounded In Israel’s Pager Attack On Hezbollah (ZH)
Gunman Lurked For 12 Hours Before Trump’s Last-minute Game Of Golf (BBC)
26 Million Americans Say Political Violence Against Trump Is Justified (Turley)
CNN Worries That Trump Assassination Attempts Are HELPING Him Politically (MN)
Negotiate With Moscow To Prevent Nuclear Devastation (Trump Jr, RFK Jr)
Secret Service ‘Aware’ Of Elon Musk Post About Harris, Biden (BBC)
Meta Bans RT (RT)
Meta’s Ban on Sputnik ‘Very Bad’ and Politicized Decision (Sp.)
Grocery Rationing within Four Years (Jeffrey A. Tucker)
Hillary Demands Criminal Charges For Americans “Engaged” In “Propaganda” (ZH)
Experts Gone Wild (Mike Scanlon)
Springfield Ohio Is Just the Beginning (Paul Craig Roberts)
Macron’s Impeachment Clears First Hurdle in Left-Dominated National Assembly (Sp.)
The EU Retreats Further into a World of Self-Delusion (NC)
Yemen’s Hypersonic Ballistic Missile Rocks Israel’s Defenses (Nasrallah)

 

 

 

 

Trump ad
https://twitter.com/i/status/1835763816979673208

 

 

Birdie

 

 

Balls of steel
https://twitter.com/i/status/1835824494423769390

 

 

RFK
https://twitter.com/i/status/1835746266485276806

 

 

SS Obama Trump
https://twitter.com/i/status/1835722737148686485

 

 

Jennings

 

 

Eric Prince: “There’s some indication that shows the Butler shooter and yesterday’s shooter both appeared in BlackRock TV commercials. The statistical likelihood of that being random is impossible.”
https://twitter.com/i/status/1835654344902942916

 

 

 

 

“The Israeli spy agency placed a quantity of PETN, a highly explosive material, on the batteries of the devices, and detonated them by raising the temperature of the batteries from afar..”

9 Killed, 2700+ Wounded In Israel’s Pager Attack On Hezbollah (ZH)

Official Lebanese Health Ministry figures are that nine people were killed in the simultaneous pager explosions, including a young girl, and some 2,750 wounded. The Lebanese government has identified “Israeli aggression” as being behind the attack, while Hezbollah also says it holds Israel “fully responsible”. Israel has yet to issue official comment, but there are several reports from the region that war preparations are underway. There are reports of evening Israeli shelling of Hezbollah positions in south Lebanon. Israel’s Channel 14 is reporting that “senior Israeli military officials are preparing for a third Hezbollah war which is expected to begin almost immediately.” The US State Department has said the US “was not aware of this operation and was not involved” in the attack. The Biden administration says it is “still gathering information”.

The WSJ has offered some initial details on the sophisticated attack, which Lebanese and Arabs have condemned as a major ‘terror attack’. “The affected pagers were from a new shipment that the group received in recent days, people familiar with the matter said,” WSJ writes. “A Hezbollah official said hundreds of fighters had such devices, speculating that malware may have caused the devices to explode. The official said some people felt the pagers heat up and disposed of them before they burst.” And more: “Hezbollah said a number of pagers carried by its members exploded simultaneously at 3:30 p.m. It couldn’t immediately be determined what caused the blasts, which were spread out across the country in several areas where Hezbollah has a heavy presence.”

Israeli media says Mossad rigged the pager batteries of a shipment that was imported five months ago: The Israeli spy agency placed a quantity of PETN, a highly explosive material, on the batteries of the devices, and detonated them by raising the temperature of the batteries from afar, the source says. There are initial reports that more European airlines have began cancelling flights to Lebanon and Israel amid more headlines of war plans. Lebanese schools and colleges have announced widespread closures tomorrow. The US administration appears to be standing idly by in the meantime.

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He waited for 12 hours, having no idea if Trump would show up? Hmmm.. Check his phone, I’d say. Oh wait, the FBI has it..

Gunman Lurked For 12 Hours Before Trump’s Last-minute Game Of Golf (BBC)

A gunman hid for nearly 12 hours in bushes before Donald Trump played an unscheduled game of golf at his oceanfront club in Florida – leaving locals stunned at what authorities say appears to be the second attempt to assassinate the former president in as many months. It was hot and cloudy on Sunday afternoon when Trump and his good friend, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, arrived on the course of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. The former president was on the fifth fairway at 13:31 EDT (17:31 GMT), an area adjacent to busy roads near Palm Beach International Airport, when a member of his protection detail spotted a rifle poking out of foliage by the sixth hole. Trump – who was evacuated unharmed – recounted on Monday night that he heard “probably four or five” shots ring out in the near-distance. A quick-thinking Secret Service agent had opened fire in the direction of the suspect, who was about 300-500 yards away and did not have a clear line of sight to Trump, federal investigators said.

“Secret Service knew immediately it was bullets, and they grabbed me,” said Trump during a live-streamed event on X, formerly Twitter, from his Mar-a-Lago resort. “We got into the carts and we moved along pretty, pretty good. I was with an agent, and the agent did a fantastic job.” The gunman – who investigators say did not fire any shots – was concealed by the well-manicured shrubbery and tall palm trees that line the perimeter of the 27-hole course.He had been lurking there on the public side of a fence since 01:59 local time on Sunday morning, according to mobile phone records, cited by federal officials. The suspect was equipped with two digital cameras, a black plastic bag of food, an SKS-style semi-automatic rifle – a weapon with a range of nearly 440 yards – and a scope to magnify its lens. The Republican presidential candidate’s last publicly scheduled campaign event had been on Saturday evening, on the other side of the country, in the state of Utah.

Residents say Trump spends almost every Sunday at the West Palm Beach golf club when he is not on the campaign trail. But Secret Service director Ronald Rowe said on Monday that the former president was “not even really supposed to go there”, so agents had to put together a security plan at the last minute. The foiled plot has left Trump’s neighbours in Palm Beach with pressing questions. Did the suspect know the former president would be coming to play golf, or was it a guess? How could he have gone undetected for so long, hiding in the bushes with a rifle? The gunman escaped the scene in a black Nissan, ditching his backpack of goods and weapon. A civilian woman was able to take a picture of his licence plate and pass it to investigators, Trump said on Monday night. The gunman made it about 40 minutes before officers pulled over his vehicle on Interstate 95 and ordered him out.

Bodycam footage shows he seemed calm as officers shouted at him to step to the side before handcuffing him without incident. On Monday, the suspect Ryan Routh, 58, appeared in a crowded Palm Beach court, wearing a blue prison jumpsuit and smiling as he chatted with his attorney. He was charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. More charges could follow. Routh, a Hawaii resident with a criminal history, had come across the FBI’s radar in 2019 for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The bureau tipped off law enforcement in Honolulu at the time.

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“It was only after she later chased reporters with a machete that the college fired Rodríguez. She was then hired by another college.”

26 Million Americans Say Political Violence Against Trump Is Justified (Turley)

A poll released by the University of Chicago via the Chicago Project on Security and Threats offers a chilling account of the growing radicalism in America, particularly after the second foiled assassination attempt of former president Donald Trump, the poll found that 26 million Americans believe “the use of force” is justified to keep Trump from regaining the presidency. As discussed in my book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” we have seen an increasing level of rage rhetoric in our political system. For some, violent language can become violent action. There is a normalization that can occur as extreme actions become more acceptable to more and more citizens: “We are living in an age of rage. It permeates every aspect of our society and politics. Rage is liberating, even addictive. It allows us to say and do things that we would ordinarily avoid, even denounce in others. Rage is often found at the farthest extreme of reason. For those who agree with the underlying message, it is righteous and passionate. For those who disagree, it is dangerous and destabilizing.”

With the unrelenting claims of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and others that democracy is about to die in America, some now feel a license to commit criminal acts in the name of “saving democracy.” It is the ultimate form of self-delusion that one saves democracy by committing political violence against those with whom you disagree. We have seen this radicalism spread in past years from higher education into society at large. Years ago, many of us were shocked by the conduct of University of Missouri communications professor Melissa Click who directed a mob against a student journalist covering a Black Lives Matter event. Yet, Click was hired by Gonzaga University. Since that time, we have seen a steady stream of professors joining students in shouting down, committing property damage, participating in riots, verbally attacking students, or even taking violent action in protests.

It is now common to hear inflammatory language from professors advocating “detonating white people,” denouncing police, calling for Republicans to suffer, strangling police officers, celebrating the death of conservatives, calling for the killing of Trump supporters, supporting the murder of conservative protesters and other outrageous statements. At the University of Rhode Island, professor Erik Loomis defended the murder of a conservative protester and said that he saw “nothing wrong” with such acts of violence. At the University of California Santa Barbara, professors actually rallied around feminist studies associate professor Mireille Miller-Young, who physically assaulted pro-life advocates and tore down their display. Despite pleading guilty to criminal assault, she was not fired and received overwhelming support from the students and faculty. She was later honored as a model for women advocates.

At Hunter College in New York, Professor Shellyne Rodríguez was shown trashing a pro-life display of students. She was captured on a videotape telling the students that “you’re not educating s–t […] This is f–king propaganda. What are you going to do, like, anti-trans next? This is bulls–t. This is violent. You’re triggering my students.” Unlike the professor, the students remained calm and respectful. One even said “sorry” to the accusation that being pro-life was triggering for her students. Rodríguez continued to rave, stating, “No you’re not — because you can’t even have a f–king baby. So you don’t even know what that is. Get this s–t the f–k out of here.” In an Instagram post, she is then shown trashing the table. Hunter College, however, did not consider this unhinged attack to be sufficient to terminate Rodríguez. It was only after she later chased reporters with a machete that the college fired Rodríguez. She was then hired by another college.

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“Their followers, the people listening to their incessant 24 hour ‘Trump is Hitler’ loop, are literally trying to murder him, yet somehow Trump is the one who needs to tone it down..”

CNN Worries That Trump Assassination Attempts Are HELPING Him Politically (MN)

A former Obama administration official turned CNN shit talker expressed a concern Sunday that all these pesky failed attempts to assassinate Donald Trump are helping him politically. Yes, really. Juliette Kayyem, a former Department of Homeland Security official under Obama, labelled the situation a “problem” and “unfortunate” because it is making Trump more popular. “I really don’t care what you feel about him, or Harris,” Kayyem said referring to Trump, adding “I mean, this is, this is the expectation that he will be safe.” Kayyem continued, “And the reason why this is, you know, in some ways, you know, you said how close the election is, the problem is this is a safety issue that is being thrown into a very intense political environment in which the very fact of an assassination, a constitutional moment, because it’s, it could have impacted voters, will be used for political purposes.” “And that, to me, is, is just as not as a, you know, exceptionally unfortunate, because whatever your beliefs are, we do deserve to have campaigns that are not part that where violence isn’t being used as either a sword or a shield,” she added.

So, the only reason why CNN Democrats believe attempting to murder a political rival is bad appears to be because it could help them in the polls. How unfortunate that Trump keeps dodging bullets fired by radicalised deranged leftists and then… talking about it! CNN’s Wolf Blitzer expressed the same concern that Trump is using the assassination attempts “as a way to rile up his base.” So, the only reason why CNN Democrats believe attempting to murder a political rival is bad appears to be because it could help them in the polls. It’s good to see they have their priorities straight.

The media reaction to this second attempt to shoot Trump to death is just incredible. They’re actually running with the narrative that it is Trump’s OWN FAULT that a blue haired Harris supporter hid in a bush with an AK47 and tried to shoot him in the head.

It’s absolutely fascinating, and hideously disgusting at the same time. Their followers, the people listening to their incessant 24 hour ‘Trump is Hitler’ loop, are literally trying to murder him, yet somehow Trump is the one who needs to tone it down. It’s the equivalent of saying “she got raped because her skirt was too short.” Lets check where we are now on the leftist news cycle: You see, it’s ALL Trump’s fault. These shooters just have unclear political ideologies. It’s not like this latest nutcase just parroted the exact same phrases as the Democrat controlled leftist media while cosplaying as some sort of NGO official coordinating a Ukraine war effort response… is it?

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“There is no remaining step between firing U.S. missiles deep into Russian territory and a nuclear exchange. We cannot get any closer to the brink than this..”

Negotiate With Moscow To Prevent Nuclear Devastation (Trump Jr, RFK Jr)

The New York Times reported Thursday that the Biden administration is considering allowing Ukraine to use NATO-provided long-range precision weapons against targets deep inside Russia. Such a decision would put the world at greater risk of nuclear conflagration than at any time since the Cuban missile crisis. At a time when American leaders should be focused on finding a diplomatic off-ramp to a war that should never have been allowed to take place, the Biden-Harris administration is instead pursuing a policy that Russia says it will interpret as an act of war. In the words of Vladimir Putin, long-range strikes in Russia “will mean that NATO countries — the United States and European countries — are at war with Russia.” Some American analysts believe Putin is bluffing, and favor calling his bluff.

As the Times reported, “‘Easing the restrictions on Western weapons will not cause Moscow to escalate,’17 former ambassadors and generals wrote in a letter to the administration this week. ‘We know this because Ukraine is already striking territory Russia considers its own — including Crimea and Kursk — with these weapons and Moscow’s response remains unchanged.’” These analysts are mistaking restraint for weakness. In essence, they are advocating a strategy of brinksmanship. Each escalation — from HIMARS to cluster munitions to Abrams tanks to F-16s to ATACMS — draws the world closer to the brink of Armageddon. Their logic seems to be that if you goad a bear five times and it doesn’t respond, it is safe to goad him even harder a sixth time. Such a strategy might be reasonable if the bear had no teeth. The hawks in the Biden administration seem to have forgotten that Russia is a nuclear power.

They have forgotten the wisdom of John F. Kennedy, who said in 1963, “Nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war.” We should take this advice seriously. Putin has signaled numerous times that Russia would use nuclear weapons in extreme circumstances. In September 2022, Putin said, “If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will without doubt use all available means to protect Russia and our people — this is not a bluff.” In March 2023, he struck a deal with Belarus to station tactical nuclear weapons there. Earlier this month, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov announced that Russia would be amending its nuclear doctrine in response to Western involvement in the Ukraine war. Imagine if Russia were providing another country with missiles, training and targeting information to strike deep into American territory. The U.S. would never tolerate it. We shouldn’t expect Russia to tolerate it either.

This game of nuclear “chicken” has gone far enough. There is no remaining step between firing U.S. missiles deep into Russian territory and a nuclear exchange. We cannot get any closer to the brink than this. And for what? To “weaken Russia”? To control Ukraine’s minerals? No vital American interest is at stake. To risk nuclear conflict for the sake of the neoconservative fantasy of global “full-spectrum dominance” is madness. The war fever in the U.S. foreign policy establishment is at such a pitch that it is hard to tell whether they believe their own rhetoric. In last Tuesday’s debate, Vice President Kamala Harris conjured up images of Russian forces rolling across Europe. Surely she must know how absurd that is. For one thing, Russia can barely wrest a few provinces from Ukraine, which is by no means one of Europe’s great powers.

Secondly, Russia made its war aims very clear at the outset — most notably Ukrainian neutrality and a halt to NATO’s eastward expansion. Hundreds of thousands of lost lives, and hundreds of billions of dollars later, no one is better off — not Europe, not America and certainly not Ukraine. It is past time to de-escalate this conflict. This is more important than any of the political issues our nation argues about. Nuclear war would mean the end of civilization as we know it, maybe even the end of the human species. Former President Donald Trump has vowed to end this war, but by the time he takes office, it might be too late. We need to demand, right now, that Harris and President Biden reverse their insane war agenda and open direct negotiations with Moscow.

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“..the White House condemned the post, saying that “this rhetoric is irresponsible”. Guys, check out White House rhetoric.

“Turns out that jokes are way less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is in plain text..”

Secret Service ‘Aware’ Of Elon Musk Post About Harris, Biden (BBC)

The US Secret Service says it is “aware” of a social media post by Elon Musk in which he said that “no one is even trying” to assassinate President Joe Biden or Vice-President Kamala Harris. Mr Musk has since deleted the post and said it was intended as a joke. His post on X, formerly Twitter, came just hours after the suspected attempted assassination of Donald Trump at his golf course in Florida on Sunday. The tech billionaire is a close ally of Trump, who has vowed to enlist Mr Musk to run a “government efficiency commission” if he wins a second term as US president. Many X users criticised Mr Musk’s comments – which were accompanied by a raised eyebrow emoji – with some alleging that the post was a form of incitement against the US president and vice-president. In a statement, the White House condemned the post, saying that “this rhetoric is irresponsible”.

“Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about,” the statement said, adding that there should be “no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country”. When contacted by the BBC, the US Secret Service said only that it is “aware” of the post. “As a matter of practice we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence,” the statement added. “We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees.” After deleting the post, Mr Musk tweeted that “one lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on X.”

“Turns out that jokes are way less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is in plain text,” a subsequent post read. The controversial tech mogul is considered a close ally of Trump and formally endorsed him in the aftermath of a separate assassination attempt against the former president that took place at a rally on 13 July in Butler, Pennsylvania. In that attempt, the suspect fired multiple rounds, injuring Trump and killing an attendee at the rally. Since then, Mr Musk has often tweeted or re-posted messages critical of both Biden and Harris and in support of Trump.

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“RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan joked that RT had learned from the Americans, rather than from Russian intelligence officers. “Seriously? Did you run out of mirrors?”

Meta Bans RT (RT)

US tech giant Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has banned several Russian news networks, including RT. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Meta has been cooperating with a prohibition on RT imposed by the EU and other individual Western nations. In a statement on Monday, the company said the deplatforming of the media outlets from its apps is due to “foreign interference activity” and would be implemented globally over the next several days. The US government sanctioned RT last week, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken claiming that the outlet is “functioning as a de facto arm of [Russian] intelligence.” Moscow has called the move an act of information warfare, which exposes America’s inability to fairly compete with Russian media.

US officials have expressed frustration with RT’s role in offering an alternative to Washington-backed narratives on international affairs. “One of the reasons – not the only reason – why so much of the world has not been as fully supportive of Ukraine as you would think they would be, given that Russia has invaded Ukraine and violated rule number 1 of the international system – is because of the broad scope and reach of RT, where propaganda, disinformation, and lies is spread to millions if not billions around the world,” State Department spokesman Jamie Rubin told journalists on Friday, following Blinken’s remarks.

RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan joked that RT had learned from the Americans, rather than from Russian intelligence officers.“Seriously? Did you run out of mirrors?” she asked, commenting on the American allegations. Meta has faced legal issues in Russia after allowing exemptions in its rules forbidding hate speech. Meta management ruled that Ukrainians were entitled to call for violence against Russians and to hail extreme nationalists fighting against Russia on its platforms. Moscow labeled Meta an extremist organization and banned Facebook and Instagram in Russia.

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“..there’s no excuse or reason for this kind of embargo on foreign information based on the idea that it’s protecting the American people… from whom? From Mark Zuckerberg?”

“..other countries should consider Meta a government agency..”

Meta’s Ban on Sputnik ‘Very Bad’ and Politicized Decision (Sp.)

A politically motivated move by Meta* to ban Russia’s Rossiya Segodnya and RT news outlets from its apps globally reflects the company’s biased approach, analysts said in separate interviews with Sputnik. “There is a perception in the United States that the flow of Russian information will always be disinformation and that it will be tipped in favor of Donald Trump, even though [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has said that he could deal with Kamala Harris, too. This [perception] is simply untrue. I mean, the idea is to frighten the American people that they don’t know one idea from another. I mean, that’s the smokescreen,” Professor Joe Siracusa, political scientist and dean of Global Futures, Curtin University, told Sputnik. As such, the idea that Russia spends all of its time to propagandize the American public, and that “there is a body of information out there that is going to undermine their faith and their freedom is ridiculous”, Siracusa underlines.

Recently, Russia’s Rossiya Segodnya, RT and “other related entities” were banned from Meta* apps globally over alleged foreign interference activity. This is a “very bad decision, particularly coming from an American company,” the political scientist points out. Meta’s ban on Russian news outlets mean that “they [Meta] are really sort of censoring the news themselves. What they’re saying to the American people is that you’re not mature enough to understand ideas”, per the professor. “This is the kind of game that the Democratic Party plays. I mean, there’s no excuse or reason for this kind of embargo on foreign information based on the idea that it’s protecting the American people… from whom? From Mark Zuckerberg? It’s ridiculous. Meta was in very close cahoots with the Democratic Party the last time around when it went after Donald Trump. So, in a way, it’s already been politicized,” the professor concludes.

In a separate interview with Sputnik, Facebook whistleblower Ryan Hartwig says that as a former Facebook content moderator, he saw firsthand how the company “influenced elections throughout the world.” “Facebook is clearly biased and has an agenda with elections. At a whim, it can make newsworthy exceptions to protect certain politicians. They may as well ban their own app and go after themselves for foreign interference activity,” Hartwig, who is the co-author of “Behind the Mask of Facebook: A Whistleblower’s Shocking Story of Big Tech Bias and Censorship”, points out. When it comes to Facebook’s foreign influence, suffice to mention the elections in Spain, Venezuela, and the US, according to Hartwig. Given the fact that Facebook was being influenced by the FBI “to suppress major stories” like the Hunter Biden laptop saga, “other countries should consider Meta a government agency,” the whistleblower adds. As for the Ukraine crisis, “It’s clear that Meta is acting in coordination with the US government and the US State Department as a proxy for a foreign conflict,” Hartwig concludes.

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“Price controls lead to shortages of anything they touch, especially in inflationary times.”

Grocery Rationing within Four Years (Jeffrey A. Tucker)

There is a lack of public comment and debate about Kamala Harris’s call for price controls on groceries and rents, the most stunning and frightening policy proposal made in my lifetime. Immediately, of course, people will reply that she is not for price controls as such. It is only a limit on “gouging” (which she variously calls “gauging”) on grocery prices. As for rents, it’s only for larger-scale corporations with many units. This is nonsense. If there really are national price-gouging police running around, every single seller of groceries, from small convenience stores to farmers’ markets to chain stores, will be vulnerable. No one wants the investigation so they will comply with de facto controls. No one knows for sure what gouging is. Don Boudreaux is correct: “A government that threatens to punish merchants for selling at nominal prices higher than deemed appropriate by government clearly intends to control prices. It’s no surprise, therefore, that economists routinely analyze prohibitions against so-called ‘price gouging’ using exactly the same tools they use to analyze other forms of price controls.”

As for rental units, the only result will be fewer amenities, new charges, new fees for what used to be free, less service, and a dramatically reduced incentive to build new units. That will only lead to a pretext for more subsidies, more public housing, and more government provision generally. We have experience with that and it is not good. The next step is nationalizing housing and rationing of groceries because there will be ever fewer available. The more the betting odds favor Kamala, the stronger the incentive to raise prices as high as possible now in anticipation of price controls come next year. That will provide even more seeming evidence for the need for more controls and a genuine crackdown. Price controls lead to shortages of anything they touch, especially in inflationary times. With the Federal Reserve seemingly on the verge of cutting rates for no good reason – rates are very low in real terms by any historical standard – we might see wave two of inflation later next year.

[..] Kamala is wrong that this will be the “first-ever” ban on price gouging. We had that in World War II, along with rationing tickets on meat, animal fats, foil, sugar, flour, foil, coffee, and more. It was a time of extreme austerity, and people put up with it because they believed it was saving resources for the war effort. It was enforced the same as we saw with covid lockdowns: a huge network enlisting state and local institutions, media, and private zealots ready to rat out the rebels. Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. It claimed broad powers to manage all production and consumption in the US. On January 30, 1942, the Emergency Price Control Act granted the Office of Price Administration (OPA) the authority to set price limits and ration food and other commodities. Products were added as shortages intensified.

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It is pretty wild that Hillary mentions Mueller to make her point. Talk about propaganda.. Hillary should be indicted over Russiagate.

Aaron Mate: “To make her argument against free speech, she invokes the Russiagate scam that itself was the product of her campaign’s own propaganda. Speaking of which, the case that she invokes here — Mueller charging some Russians for social media activity — led to Mueller dropping the case after the Russian company showed up to fight the case in court.”

Hillary Demands Criminal Charges For Americans “Engaged” In “Propaganda” (ZH)

Amid claims that Trump is a “danger to this country and the world,” Hillary Clinton – the original sinner of ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’-propaganda – has called for anyone spreading “misinformation” to be criminally charged as a “better deterrence” ahead of the election. Specifically, the former Secretary of State told MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Monday that Americans “engaged” in “propaganda” – similar to the type that led to the Russians “boosting Trump” in 2016 – should face criminal prosecution.

MADDOW: Speaking of dictators, the Justice Department and the State Department have taken another of act — a number of actions in the past several weeks, striking actions, to both call out and indict and take action against the Kremlin for their attempts at interfering in this — in yet another presidential election cycle on Trump’s behalf. The State Department has put out a $10 million reward for information leading to — for information about people who are trying to — about entities that are trying to illegally interfere in our election. We have seen these dramatic indictments from the Justice Department, including for paying millions of dollars, the Kremlin paying millions of dollars to pro-Trump influencers.

We have seen the Justice Department seize Web domains, where the Kremlin had set up news sites, what looked like news sites, looked like versions of American news sites, but were secretly operated by the Russian intelligence services or by the Russian government. You feel like the U.S. government is sort of starting to figure out how to do this and taking this seriously enough, or do you still think there’s a far distance to go?

CLINTON: I think there’s a far distance to go. I applaud the actions taken by the Justice Department and the State Department. I think that they’re very important. But, truly, we are just at the beginning of uncovering everything that Russia, but not just Russia, other countries, have done and are doing to influence our election. If you focus on Russia — and I commend you, Rachel, for your new movie — because we are only at the beginning of understanding the whole iceberg here. What the Russians started doing in 2015 and 2016, what they continued doing, they have gotten more sophisticated. They aren’t even pretending anymore.

Their international news operation, Russia Today, R.T., is an arm of the Russian government, an arm of its intelligence operation. It’s basically an extension of their spying efforts. They are using Americans, both those who are witting and willing and those who are unwitting and are just so surprised they’re getting $400,000 a week or $100,000 a podcast to parrot Kremlin propaganda. We know from what even Republicans have said, the chairs of the Intelligence Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee and other Republicans who are currently in office have said that Republicans go to the floor of the Congress and they parrot Russian talking points.

So, I think it’s important to indict the Russians, just as Mueller indicted a lot of Russians who were engaged in direct election interference and boosting Trump back in 2016. But I also think there are Americans who are engaged in this kind of propaganda. And whether they should be civilly or even in some cases criminally charged is something that would be a better deterrence, because the Russians are unlikely, except in a very few cases, to ever stand trial in the United States. They’re not going to be going to a country where they can be extradited or even returning to the United States, unless they are very foolish. So I think we need to uncover all of the connections and make it very clear that you could vote however you want, but we are not going to let adversaries, whether it is Russia, China, Iran, or anybody else, basically try to influence Americans as to how we should vote in picking our leaders.

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“..their right to say them, their right to record them, and their right to have them at places where they are accessible to others is unquestioned, or it isn’t America.”

Experts Gone Wild (Mike Scanlon)

An ability to win hearts and minds has long been seen by America’s leadership as essential to domestic and international politics and security. For much of the Pax Americana, our government and intelligentsia have poured time, effort, and money into studying how to persuade everyone from allies to enemies and, conversely, how to counter an opponent’s influence campaigns. But something essential has changed since the rise of President Donald Trump as a political force. During the Cold War, President Dwight Eisenhower spoke up against censorship and for lay readers in the wake of an attempt by Senator Joseph McCarthy’s henchmen to eradicate communist books from libraries:

“Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you are going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book . . . . How will we defeat communism unless we know what it is, and what it teaches, and why does it have such an appeal for men, why are so many people swearing allegiance to it? . . . And we have got to fight it with something better, not try to conceal the thinking of our own people. They are part of America. And even if they think ideas that are contrary to ours, their right to say them, their right to record them, and their right to have them at places where they are accessible to others is unquestioned, or it isn’t America.”

These days, America’s most educated have grown distrustful of non-experts and their ability to process dangerous ideas. Our elites have launched a campaign to protect the undereducated from themselves. The credentialed class pressures book retailers to stop selling “uncritical” translations of sinister foreign texts, meaning those lacking an accepted authority’s “soberly critical framing, complete with detailed footnotes, contextual commentary, or other forms of annotation.” Journalists writing about controversial topics do not link directly to primary sources but instead filter such news “through multiple layers of condemnation by a shrinking pool of academics trusted to read raw material.”

Our best and brightest unabashedly seek to silence individuals who disagree with their betters and to regulate (or outright suppress) social media sites that allow free (or free-ish) debate about unsafe thoughts. Opinion makers cheer on activists seeking to deplatform or shout down an ever-growing list of enemies, including those who refused to toe the party line on Russia’s war in the Ukraine. Self-proclaimed defenders of press freedom are rallying to safeguard the right of social media companies to collaborate with state actors to squelch wrongheaded arguments and to wall the incorrigible off from the marketplace of ideas. The Biden Administration tried to establish a governance board to combat disinformation. That crusade is not going well.

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“.. [Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela] .. the program had brought up to 30,000 migrants from those four nations into the U.S. every month under two-year work permits..”

Springfield Ohio Is Just the Beginning (Paul Craig Roberts)

Why does the US government hate the American people? Why does the US government try to destroy us? The Anti-White American Democrats are Incapable of Understanding that an illegal alien does not become part of a national community by unlawfully entering it, any more than a thief becomes an owner of property by stealing it. What has happened to America when the entirety of the media, the entirety of the Democrat Party, the entirety of the universities, Homeland Security (sic) not only welcome but also facilitate the immigrant invasion that is overrunning the United States while Washington, abandoning its own borders, fights for Ukraine’s?

The national print and TV media describe the over-running of Springfield by immigrant-invaders as a restoration of a declining city, restoring property values, and enriching the culture. Every bit of information to the contrary is dismissed as fake news. Wake Up White People. Your Existence Is Being Erased. How is the Department of Homeland Security Protecting Our Security by Flying into Our Country at Our Expense Immigrant-invaders from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela? “DHS restarts migrant flights from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela – weeks after halting program over ‘fraud’ concerns” | 29 Aug 2024 |

The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday it is resuming migrant flights into the US from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela — one month after putting the program on pause due to potentially massive “fraud.” Under the Harris-Biden administration, the program had brought up to 30,000 migrants from those four nations into the U.S. every month under two-year work permits, so long as they passed a vetting process. Nearly half a million migrants had already received advance travel authorizations and then made their own arrangements to enter America via the humanitarian parole process before it was paused in mid-July. Around that time, an internal DHS report found thousands of sponsors allegedly committing fraud by listing fake Social Security numbers, home addresses or phone numbers — some of which belonged to dead people.

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Storm brewing..

Macron’s Impeachment Clears First Hurdle in Left-Dominated National Assembly (Sp.)

France’s lower house of parliament – the Bureau – has approved the draft resolution which must now be approved by the legislative commission before moving to the Senate. “The Bureau of the National Assembly has approved the procedure for removing Emmanuel Macron from power,” newspaper Le Parisien reported on Tuesday.. The Bureau is the highest collegial body of the lower house of parliament. Currently, 12 of its 22 members are representatives of the left. The proposal to remove Macron from power was put forward by the left-wing party La France Insoumise (lit. Unsubmissive France). According to the BFMTV channel, the proposal was supported by 12 votes to 10 during consideration by Bureau members. The party made this move after the French leader excluded left-wing parties from the newly formed government, despite their coalition’s victory in parliamentary elections.

The proposal was submitted under Article 68 of the French Constitution, which allows for the removal of the president in the event of a breach of his duties. The resolution must now be approved by the legislative commission of 73 deputies, where the left holds only 24 seats. After that, it must be passed by two-thirds of the National Assembly (385 deputies) within two weeks. The final two stages must also pass in the upper house of parliament, the Senate, where the left does not have a majority. If the Senate approves the resolution (with 232 votes), both chambers will meet in a joint session, and 617 of the 925 parliamentarians from both houses must support the resolution. If this happens, the president will be forced to resign immediately.

In 2016, the Bureau of the National Assembly ruled a similar impeachment resolution against President François Hollande to be inadmissible. In the July parliamentary snap elections, the left-wing bloc gained the most votes, winning 182 seats out of 577. Macron’s presidential coalition Together for the Republic came in second, with 168 seats in the National Assembly. The right-wing party National Rally and its allies from the Republicans became the third-largest force in parliament with 143 seats. As a result, no political force secured a majority to form a new government. The composition of the new French cabinet, led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, is expected to be announced this week.

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“.. the report is trash economics that reads like something out of the late-stage USSR, according to economist Philip Pilkington.”

The EU Retreats Further into a World of Self-Delusion (NC)

The situation in Europe is getting so bad on so many different levels, the Brussels crowd had to bring in “Super” Mario Draghi to save the day — or at least write a report telling them what to do… Draghi has spent time at Goldman Sachs, the European Central Bank (ECB) during the sovereign debt crisis, and as unelected prime minister of Italy during the early days of the Covid pandemic and runup to Project Ukraine. Depending on where you sit, he could be an odd choice to chart a path forward; while Draghi knows his way around a crisis control center, he’s also plenty experienced at creating them. He was one of the chief architects of the EU’s disastrous economic war against Russia and he’s always been a grim reaper for working class citizens of his native country of Italy. No wonder that for months the neoliberal, war-loving spreadsheet crowd in Brussels has eagerly awaited the report as if it is manna from heaven that will help deliver them from the corner they have backed themselves into.

Curiously, his report was delayed by months, which only increased the anticipation, and it finally dropped last week, conveniently timed at another crisis point. Project Ukraine is quickly unraveling and pressure is coming from all directions for Berlin to give the go ahead for joint EU debt in order to make the EU “competitive” again and buy a bunch of weapons to do something (nobody is too sure of what exactly) about Russia. Indeed, Draghi’s report doesn’t say, nor does it ever consider making nice with Moscow. That’s because the report, “EU Competitiveness: Looking Ahead” is a political document more than economic one intended to not only give cover to the bloc’s disastrous Russia policies, but continue to double down. And it is already being used as more ammunition for those in the Baltics, Poland, the media, US-funded think tanks in Europe, and more who are calling on Germany to support debt for an extended Cold War.

Specifically, they wanted Super Mario to tell them how to get out of the predicament of their own making without changing course on Russia and a host of other issues, and Draghi delivered — as long as you don’t let reality get in the way. His answer? More money. Lots of it. He calls for massive infusions of cash into multiple sectors: green, tech, energy, and of course defense. According to Draghi, the price tag is a minimum of 800 billion euros annually until 2030. Asked if his message was “implement your report, or die?” he replied that “It’s ‘Do this, or it’s a slow agony.’” The EU certainly needs an economic plan, but Draghi’s report never questions whether ongoing belligerence toward Moscow (and loss of pipeline Russian gas) is in the bloc’s best interest and it never mentions Brussels’ obsession with austerity, which is once again being forced on member countries. From a purely economic standpoint, the report is trash economics that reads like something out of the late-stage USSR, according to economist Philip Pilkington.

But it does plug nicely into the political economy of today’s EU, which is being subsumed under Washington and NATO. It is engaged in open economic war and an proxy war in Ukraine against Russia, both of which have hurt working class citizens across the bloc. The austerity-obsessed EU is once again forcing its member states to enact austerity budgets. Draghi’s report was requested by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is working to amass more power to her mostly unaccountable throne, and is one of many voices calling for a defense union and militarization and the ability to borrow and potentially levy taxes to pay for those debts.

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Happened right before the pager attack..

Yemen’s Hypersonic Ballistic Missile Rocks Israel’s Defenses (Nasrallah)

In the early hours of Sunday, 15 September, a Yemeni hypersonic ballistic missile pierced through the air, striking at the heart of Tel Aviv. Launched on the Mawlid, or birthday of Prophet Muhammad, the missile traveled over 2,000 kilometers, evading the collective defense systems of Israel, the US, and its Arab allies. This latest attack by Yemen’s Ansarallah-aligned armed forces “was carried out with a new hypersonic ballistic missile … within 11 and a half minutes, and caused a state of fear and panic among the Zionists,” according to a statement by the movement. The missile strike occurred against the backdrop of mounting Israeli threats of military action against fellow Axis of Resistance member Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to accept a ceasefire in Gaza.

In an interview with The Cradle, Ansarallah’s political bureau and Shura Council member Dr Hizam al-Assad confirmed that “the missile operation confused the enemy’s calculations and drew new rules in the balance of deterrence operations,” pointing out that it is “the first for future operations.” Assad separates the operation from the response to the Israeli aggression that affected Hodeidah, stressing that it will come “deep inside Israel and in what the enemy or those who stand behind the enemy or on his side do not expect.” Regarding the Israeli occupation army’s denial that the missile that hit Tel Aviv was hypersonic, Assad confirmed that “the Republic of Yemen has developed military technologies and entered the path of technological industrialization, including hypersonic missile systems, in addition to drones and other things.”

On Netanyahu’s intention to expand the battle with Lebanon, the Ansarallah official charges that those “threats come from a position of weakness” and warns the Israeli prime minister that “the next will be worse for your forces and settlers.” And Assad doubles down against Israeli attempts to compartmentalize its battles on various fronts, arguing that the Resistance Axis’ military efforts represent a unified front: As for us, within the framework of the support front, we stand by our brothers in Hizbullah, our brothers in the Iraqi front, and the various fronts inside and outside Palestine, and we coordinate and cooperate within the framework of joint and non-joint operations. He concludes by underlining the goal for all parts of the axis: “We will not stop until the aggression on the Gaza Strip is stopped and the siege on its people is lifted.”

Yemen’s bold missile operation on Sunday was a clear message that it, too, holds sway in shaping the future of the conflict, defying Israel’s expectations and altering the strategic calculations of regional players. Crucially, it served as a warning to the occupation state to “expect more strikes and qualitative operations to come – as we are on the threshold of the first anniversary of the blessed October 7 operation – including the response to its criminal aggression on the city of Hodeidah.” Indeed, this is not the first time Yemen has targeted Tel Aviv in support of the Palestinian resistance. In July, representing the “fifth phase” of operations, the armed forces launched a long-range drone attack that resulted in one fatality, prompting the occupation state’s subsequent bombing of the Yemeni port city.

In his Sunday speech to commemorate the Mawlid, Ansarallah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi reiterated the commencement of the fifth phase, stating that the attack that targeted occupied Jaffa “was carried out with a high-tech missile that bypassed the enemy’s systems.” He also stressed that “Yemen’s operations and positions would continue as long as the aggression and siege on Gaza continue” and “until Palestine is cleansed from the clutches of the occupation.”

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https://twitter.com/i/status/1835793692302418144

 

 

Tiger
https://twitter.com/i/status/1835960868615422428

 

 

Electric elephant

 

 

Puppylings
https://twitter.com/i/status/1835993455954166004

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Sep 062024
 
 September 6, 2024  Posted by at 8:16 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  68 Responses »


Pablo Picasso Two naked figures 1908

 

Putin Quips That He Prefers Harris To Trump (ZH)
Trump Reacts To Putin Rooting For Harris (RT)
Trump Pulling Ahead Of Harris – Nate Silver (RT)
ABC Debate: ‘I’m Gonna Let Her Talk’ – Trump (ET)
Trump Will Adopt Elon Musk’s Proposal For Gov’t Efficiency Commission (ZH)
Ukrainian Army Facing Collapse – Putin (RT)
Prosecutors Urge Hunter Biden Judge To Reject Plea Deal (ZH)
Scott Ritter Says Ending Cooperation With RT, Sputnik Due to US Sanctions (Sp.)
‘A Unique Kind of Fascism’: US Continues Clampdown on Alt Media (Miles)
DoJ Clampdown on Russian Media Proving US Empire Has No Clothes (Sp.)
Whistleblowers Reveal US Secret Service Blunders (Sp.)
Pavel Durov Warns French Crackdown Will Prompt Serious Tech Setbacks (Sp.)
Macron Pushes Through PM Pick After 60 Days (Manley)
Germany Reeling in the Wake of AfD Election Victories (SCF)

 

 

 

 

Trump lead CNN

 

 

RT

 

 

Kamala CNN
https://twitter.com/i/status/1831694357855965273

 

 

Tulsi
https://twitter.com/i/status/1831414258451775980

 

 

Benny

 

 

Liz Cheney Kamala
https://twitter.com/i/status/1831461002115981776

 

 

Tucker

 

 

9 times cheaper
https://twitter.com/i/status/1831249005189198011

 

 

Chris M Butler
https://twitter.com/i/status/1831722765335806020

 

 

Rogan
https://twitter.com/i/status/1831396827893026873

 

 

 

 

“Putin said Harris “laughs so contagiously and expressively, it shows she’s doing well.”

Putin Quips That He Prefers Harris To Trump (ZH)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during an interview at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok that Russia now wants Vice President Kamala Harris to win in November since they had previously supported Joe Biden – and Biden has endorsed Harris. “I told you, our favorite, if I may say so, was the current president, Mr. Biden,” said Putin, smirking. “He was removed from the race, but he advised all his supporters to support Ms. Harris. So we will do it as well, we will root for her,” he continued. Putin said Harris “laughs so contagiously and expressively, it shows she’s doing well.” “And if she is doing well, then … Trump introduced so many restrictions and sanctions against Russia, like no other president had ever introduced before him. And if Ms. Harris is doing well, perhaps she will refrain from doing anything like that,” he continued.

As modernity.news continues, Putin’s comments are likely to be dismissed as a joke by the Harris campaign, while Trump will probably use them to deflect long-standing claims by Democrats that his campaign is supported by Russia. According to Sky News’ Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett, “Vladimir Putin is having a little chuckle himself here. His comments are almost certainly more mischief-making than a statement of fact because, as we know, Russia’s president doesn’t always say what he thinks.” As we highlighted earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked by pro-Russia TV reporter Pavel Zarubin, “Then who is our candidate now?” “We have no candidate. But, of course, the Democrats are more predictable. And what Putin said about Biden’s predictability applies to almost all Democrats, including Ms. Harris,” responded Peskov. The Kremlin spokesman was also dismissive towards Trump’s claim that he could end the war with Ukraine within 24 hours.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1831723835101499393

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” I don’t know exactly what to say about it. I don’t know if I’m insulted or he did me a favor..”

Trump Reacts To Putin Rooting For Harris (RT)

US Republican candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday that he doesn’t know how to feel about Russian President Vladimir Putin stating that he preferred his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris. The Russian leader said earlier in the day at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok that Moscow would rather see Harris win the US presidential election in November. Putin told the audience that he admired the Democratic Party candidate’s “infectious laugh” and that he respected current President Joe Biden’s choice to endorse her as his successor. “He [Putin] endorsed Kamala, and I didn’t know if I was supposed to call him up and say, ‘Thank you very much’ … I don’t know exactly what to say about it. I don’t know if I’m insulted or he did me a favor,” Trump claimed during an event at the Economic Club of New York. US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby reacted by stating that the Russian president should refrain from discussing the US presidential election.

Putin’s remarks came in response to a question at the forum on whether he had a preferred candidate in the US election now that Joe Biden, for whom he previously expressed a preference, has dropped out. Putin replied by saying that it was not Russia’s job to choose a “favorite” in the election, which is up to American voters. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed Washington’s allegations about attempts to interfere in the US elections. Speaking about Harris, the Russian president suggested that her positive disposition could mean she would refrain from imposing as many sanctions on Russia as Trump did, who Putin said had introduced more restrictions on Moscow than any other president in American history at the time. “In the end, the choice is up to the American people, and we will treat their eventual decision with respect,” Putin said.

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“..Trump now stands a 58.2% chance of winning the election, compared to Harris’ 41.6%..”

Trump Pulling Ahead Of Harris – Nate Silver (RT)

Influential American election analyst Nate Silver has put Republican candidate Donald Trump’s chances of defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in this November’s election higher than at any point since Harris announced her candidacy in July. Despite polling consistently showing Harris with a slight lead over Trump, Silver claimed on Wednesday that the Democrat has underperformed in recent surveys, and that Trump now stands a 58.2% chance of winning the election, compared to Harris’ 41.6%. This time last week, Silver’s model gave Trump a 52.4% chance of winning, and put Harris’ chances at 47.3%. Silver’s predictions are regularly cited by American media outlets, and are considered among the more influential election forecasts in the country. His methodology samples polling, economic data, likely turnout, and other factors – including the post-convention “bounce” that typically boosts a candidate for several weeks after the official nomination.

Democrats confirmed Harris as their party’s nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago three weeks ago. However, Harris didn’t receive the “bounce” that most candidates normally do, Silver explained. CNN polls conducted after the convention showed Harris and Trump tied in three out of six battleground states and leading by around five points in three more, while a YouGov survey showed the Democrat leading by two points nationwide. With these polls taken so soon after the convention, Harris should have held a wider lead, Silver argued. Silver’s predictions are contradicted by other pollsters. FiveThirtyEight, an analytics organization founded by Silver, maintains that if the election were held today, Harris stands a 55% chance of winning, with Trump’s likelihood of victory standing at 44%. While FiveThirtyEight and Silver use the same methodology, FiveThirtyEight places more emphasis on polling as election day draws closer.

Individual polls can be misleading, however. A New York Times poll last month showed Harris beating Trump by 50% to 46% in the swing states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. However, the poll oversampled Democrats, and when adjusted showed Harris and Trump in a statistical dead heat in all three states. For both Harris and Trump, winning either Pennsylvania and its 19 electoral votes, or Michigan and Wisconsin’s combined 25 votes, will be essential to winning the election. Silver’s model shows Trump winning in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina, with the two candidates tied in Michigan and Harris with a slight lead in Wisconsin. “Needless to say, stranger things have happened than a candidate who was behind in the polls winning,” Silver cautioned. “And in America’s polarized political climate, most elections are close and a candidate is rarely out of the running.”

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“Everybody has a plan until they get ‘punched in the face..”

ABC Debate: ‘I’m Gonna Let Her Talk’ – Trump (ET)

After Hannity asked what the former president was doing to get ready for next week’s debate with Harris, Trump replied: “I think I’ve been practicing all my life for this stuff. It’ll be an interesting evening.” The former president said debates are unpredictable, so a candidate needs to be nimble. Many before him have prepped extensively, only to fail miserably in the heat of debate. “Everybody has a plan until they get ‘punched in the face,’” Trump said, quoting Mike Tyson. “A lot depends on ABC. … I hope they’re going to be fair,” he said, adding that a contract bars the network from providing questions to either candidate in advance of the showdown. The Trump and Harris camps had proposed different ground rules for the debate; they disagreed over whether the candidates should be seated or standing, and over whether microphones should be muted while the opposing candidate is speaking.

Trump’s strategy? “I’m gonna let her talk,” he said. That is what he did on June 27 in Atlanta, where CNN hosted a debate between him and President Joe Biden. The incumbent was widely seen to have struggled during that face-off. Biden withdrew from the race less than a month later and endorsed Harris as his preferred successor. Noting that many thousands of Pennsylvanians depend on fracking for their livelihoods, Trump told the audience, “You have no choice; you’ve gotta vote for me.” Hannity played multiple video clips of Harris making past statements opposing fracking. Trump said he disbelieves her recent statement that she won’t ban the procedure that is used to help extract gas or oil from the ground. He said Democrats’ policies have directly hurt the industry even without an outright ban. “You have to have fracking. … It’s a massive business for Pennsylvania, and you can’t take a chance” that Harris would eliminate it, Trump said.

Hannity noted the town hall came at a time when Trump was trending upward in some of the polls. Those include a Trafalgar Group poll showing Trump ahead of Harris in Pennsylvania by 2 percentage points. The host said the latest numbers seem to suggest that Harris’s “long-lived honeymoon phase now finally, finally appears to be over.” In the RealClearPolitics average of opinion polls, Harris was holding a 1.9 percent national lead against Trump on Sept. 4. But a few very recent polls were detecting a shift in momentum. In Rasmussen Reports’ Daily Presidential Tracking Poll on Sept. 4, Trump opened a six-point lead over Harris nationally. But in Rasmussen’s five-day average, he was only 2 percent ahead of her. Many other polls still show Harris with an edge over Trump nationally, but still within the margin of error, which runs at 3 percent or more for most polls. An online prediction and betting site, Polymarket.com, on Sept. 4 showed Trump with a 52-percent chance of winning the Nov. 5 election; Harris had a 47-percent chance.

Hannity noted that Harris has given no solo news conferences since she became the apparent Democratic nominee 45 days prior to the Fox town hall. She and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, participated in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Aug. 29 but disclosed no new policy specifics. And, as of Sept. 4, no policy platform was yet listed on Harris’s website. Hannity contrasted this with the dozens of news conferences and interviews Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), have given since Biden dropped out of the race. After Trump passed the 16-minute, 30-second mark into the program, Hannity thanked him for going longer than Harris’s CNN interview; the audience laughed.

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“No pay, no title, no recognition is needed.”

Trump Will Adopt Elon Musk’s Proposal For Gov’t Efficiency Commission (ZH)

Former President Trump plans to adopt Elon Musk’s proposed new commission, the Department of Government Efficiency abbreviated as ‘DOGE.’ According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump could unveil the new government efficiency commission as early as today. Trump plans to unveil the government efficiency commission before he delivers a speech at the Economic Club of New York. He will tell reporters that the commission would conduct “a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government” and make “recommendations for drastic reform.” The commission’s primary goal is to identify ways to eliminate fraud and improper payments, according to portions of the speech viewed by journos at WSJ.

Trump’s upcoming speech and proposed commission to address the failures of Biden-Harris’ Bidenomics, which sparked an inflation storm and financially crushed mid—and low-tier consumers, also aims at deregulation. Trump has actively championed deregulation to make the economy great again. Musk endorsed Trump on X shortly after the failed assassination attempt on July 13. He pledged millions of dollars to a super PAC supporting causes on the right. Speaking with Reuters last week, the former president said he would offer Musk a position if he were seriously interested. ” He’s a very smart guy. I certainly would—if he would do it, I certainly would,” the former president said. “He’s a brilliant guy.” Musk and Trump first publicly discussed a government efficiency commission during a two-hour conversation on X on August 13. The conversation has received 60.4 million views so far.

Musk shared an AI picture last month of himself standing at a platform that read “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) and wrote on X, “I am willing to serve.” Earlier this week, Musk reiterated, “I can’t wait. There is a lot of waste and needless regulation in government that needs to go.” On X this morning, Musk responded to one user’s post about WSJ’s story. He said, “I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises. No pay, no title, no recognition is needed.” Trump also plans to say, “This election will decide whether we reward Kamala Harris with re-election and four more years of economic calamity—or whether we change direction.” Let’s not forget that the federal government loses between $233 billion and $521 billion to fraud annually, or about $4,000 per American household, as per The Hill.

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Meanwhile…

Ukrainian Army Facing Collapse – Putin (RT)

High casualties incurred by the Ukrainian military since Kiev launched its incursion in Russia’s Kursk Region could render its armed forces useless, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. The Russian leader shared his assessment of the frontline situation on Thursday during a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. He said the Ukrainian attempt to disrupt the Russian military with the massive attack across the border last month had backfired. ”Our military has stabilized the situation and is now gradually pushing the opponent from the border territories. More importantly, there is no resistance to our advancement [in Donbass],” he explained. “The opponent has weakened itself on the key axis by moving those relatively strong and well-trained units to the border areas.” Ukrainian officials expected Moscow to redeploy some of its forces from the east to repel the incursion in the north.

However, the gamble has not paid off, Aleksandr Syrsky, Kiev’s top general, acknowledged last week. Putin said Russian troops had been securing more land in Donbass, which is a priority for Moscow, at a pace unseen in a long time. Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops are “suffering very high losses in manpower and hardware.” “Because of that, [Kiev] risks a collapse of the front line on the most important axis. The casualties may result in a loss of fighting capability of the entire armed forces, which is what we are looking to achieve,” the president added. On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry estimated that Ukrainian casualties in the Kursk operation had surpassed 9,700 troops. Kiev also lost 81 tanks, dozens of other armored vehicles, hundreds of cars, and multiple heavy weapons, the military said. Putin confirmed the statistics, telling the audience that the intelligence had been confirmed by multiple sources.

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Alford plea: you don’t say you did it, but you accept the punishment.

Does there need to be a conviction before he can be pardoned?

Prosecutors Urge Hunter Biden Judge To Reject Plea Deal (ZH)

It would appear that Hunter Biden doesn’t have a nicely arranged plea deal with the DOJ after all – as prosecutors have urged the judge in the case to reject his proposal to plead guilty. Of note, Hunter is attempting to plead guilty via an “Alford plea,” which would have to be approved by the prosecution and higher-ups at the DOJ. It appears they were caught off guard.

* * *

Hunter Biden’s lawyers announced on Thursday that the first son will plead guilty in his $1.4 million tax evasion case. “Mr. Biden intends to change his plea this morning,” Hunter’s lawyer Abbe Lowell told the judge in a Los Angeles federal courtroom, with the younger Biden facing trial on nine federal charges for failing to pay federal taxes from 2016 – 2019. If convicted, Hunter faced up to 17 years behind bars. He currently faces up to 25 years behind bars when he’s sentenced in November for a conviction on gun charges.

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“I am deeply grateful for the professionalism of all of my Russian colleagues over the past several years, and am proud to have made their acquaintance..”

Scott Ritter Says Ending Cooperation With RT, Sputnik Due to US Sanctions (Sp.)

The US Department of the Treasury issued a statement on Wednesday to announce sanctions against the Rossiya Segodnya media group, RIA Novosti, RT, Sputnik and Ruptly. The sanctions affected Rossiya Segodnya and RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan and a number of other senior executives. “The actions by the Department of the Treasury in levying new sanctions against RT, Sputnik, and other Russian media organizations has made it impossible for me to continue my work as an outside contributor for RT and Sputnik, as well as participating in interviews and other collaborations with other Russian media,” Ritter said on X. He said his work with Russian media organizations was legitimate journalism.

“I reject the notion that the work I have done over the past years with the newly sanctioned Russian media organizations has been anything other than legitimate journalism, the content of which has been factually correct and analytically sound, and always of my own creation,” Ritter said. However, he said, he is committed to obeying US laws. “Nonetheless, I am fully committed to obeying US law, and as such will be terminating all contractual relationships with both RT and Sputnik effective immediately, as well as suspending my participation in any and all media interaction with sanctioned individuals and organizations until which time it is deemed lawful to do so by US authorities,” Ritter said. He said he will continue to exercise his free speech rights.

“I am deeply grateful for the professionalism of all of my Russian colleagues over the past several years, and am proud to have made their acquaintance. I regret the actions of my government in silencing legitimate journalistic outlets, and look forward to the day when freedom of speech and a free press is not constrained by a dubious ‘Russian exception’ that is violative of Constitutional norms and values,” Ritter said. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on the US sanctions imposed against the Rossiya Segodnya media group, told Sputnik that attacks on Russian media are the result of operations by Western security services to “sterilize” the information space.

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“..a recent survey found that almost half of Amercans believe there is “not enough democracy” in the United States while 57% of people polled said the US government only serves a minority of its population..”

‘A Unique Kind of Fascism’: US Continues Clampdown on Alt Media (Miles)

The Biden administration signaled that it would continue to clamp down on alternative media Wednesday with the announcement of several measures against figures connected to Russian outlets. “Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated ten individuals and two entities as part of a coordinated US government response to Moscow’s malign influence efforts targeting the 2024 US presidential election,” read a statement released Wednesday morning. US Attorney General Merrick Garland claimed individuals connected to Russian media outlets were involved in a campaign to spread “disinformation” in the months leading up to November’s election, a favored talking point the Biden administration has repeatedly used to justify its heavy-handed tactics in regulating social media.

The account for RT on the video sharing giant YouTube was removed in 2022 and Biden signed legislation earlier this year likely to result in the social media app TikTok becoming unavailable in the United States after this fall’s election.Writer and historian Dr. Gerald Horne joined Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program Wednesday to discuss the surprising development, which he attributed to the United States’ concern over the rise of Russia, China and Iran and the emergence of an increasingly multipolar world. “It’s difficult to judge what you just described without judging simultaneously what’s unfolding in the Tampa, St. Petersburg area of Florida, where Chairman Omali and his comrades and the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru movement are now facing trial in the halls of injustice for reasons eerily similar to these charges,” said Horne, referring to the Biden administration’s ongoing persecution of Black radical groups.

“Certainly, we should not forget what has befallen Scott Ritter, the former arms inspector, now viewed widely as a dissident who has been a frequent guest on numerous platforms including your own, as I understand it, rebuking and reprimanding US foreign policy, particularly as it relates to the escapade in Ukraine,” he continued. “Not to mention the funding and financing an army of the radical regime in Israel. We are also aware of what has befallen Richard Medhurst who is a frequent speaker on issues related to Iran in particular. He was detained in London summarily just a few days ago in a blatant violation of civil rights and civil liberties, causing some commentators to suggest that England, Great Britain is moving towards a unique kind of fascism.” Horne claimed a “hysteria” is gripping the US political class over an emerging counterhegemonic bloc of countries increasingly able to challenge the political and economic might of the United States.

Former US Army officer Gen. Wesley Clark reflected the anxieties of Washington officialdom in an editorial in USA Today recently, casting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping as enemies of “democracy.” But a recent survey found that almost half of Amercans believe there is “not enough democracy” in the United States while 57% of people polled said the US government only serves a minority of its population. Russia and China ranked higher than the United States on most questions regarding their citizens’ self-perception of their country’s democracy, with Chinese people being among the most likely in the world to consider their country democratic. Clark drew attention to improving relations between Beijing and Moscow, something the United States worked to undermine throughout the Cold War.

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“$10 million would barely influence a US Senate race. The amount is hardly a drop in the bucket for a presidential race.”

DoJ Clampdown on Russian Media Proving US Empire Has No Clothes (Sp.)

The US Justice Department’s sweeping crackdown on Russian media on Wednesday to the thunderous applause of the legacy media will leave Americans a little less informed, less safe and a lot less free, observers including long-time Sputnik contributors say. “It looks like the US Department of Justice is producing another election year spectacular. Sixty days before the election we are invited to suspend our disbelief and embrace ‘Russia, Russia, Russia: The Sequel.’ And once again the DOJ is rounding up the usual suspects: Trump, Russia and Democracy,” political commentator and Newsmax columnist Michael Shannon told Sputnik, commenting on the DoJ’s unprecedented crackdown on Russian media Wednesday over alleged “disinformation” and an election-related “malign influence operation.”

“I predict the audience for this lame sequel will be the remaining mask wearers, Clot Shot booster advocates, Trump haters, consonant crusaders and government employees. Anyone else with simple common sense will see it for what it is: The DOJ’s attempt to influence the election,” Shannon stressed. The figures being alleged by the Justice Department are also laughable, according to the observer. “Let’s put alleged Russian influence buying in perspective. The indictment says Tenent Media was given $10 million to ‘influence the election.’ I’ve got news for you. $10 million would barely influence a US Senate race. The amount is hardly a drop in the bucket for a presidential race. Donald Trump and Joe Biden combined spent $1.85 BILLION in 2020,” Shannon emphasized.

“I regret the actions of my government in silencing legitimate journalistic outlets, and look forward to the day when freedom of speech and a free press is not constrained by a dubious ‘Russian exception’ that is violative of Constitutional norms and values,” former US Marine intelligence officer, UN weapons inspector and commentator Scott Ritter wrote in a social media post. Ritter, who has already suffered a campaign of blatant intimidation by the FBI, including a raid on his family home and the confiscation of his passport, announced the termination of his work for Sputnik and other Russian media after the DoJ and Treasury’s new restrictions were announced, fearing he would be further targeted.

Former CIA analyst-turned whistleblower and author Larry Johnson highlighted the DoJ crackdown’s off the charts “hypocrisy that is staggering in its magnitude and its foulness,” telling Sputnik that the claims of Russian media attempts to “meddle” in the upcoming US presidential election are simply laughable when considering that the US government has allocated “almost $4 billion to interfere or meddle in the political affairs of other countries” in 2024 alone. Popular independent media personality Jackson Hinkle says Americans looking for alternative perspectives and sources of information will the most to suffer from the DoJ’s move. “We can topple governments. We can kill sovereign presidents of sovereign countries. But for a media company to be reporting on the facts…about what’s actually going on in the world, and then for the United States to sanction them, it’s absolutely insane,” Hinkle said. “I think millions of Americans want to hear that truth, and that’s why they’re going after companies like Sputnik so hard right now.”

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“It’s a matter of an intent to expose him to potential assassination..”

Whistleblowers Reveal US Secret Service Blunders (Sp.)

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) has claimed that most agents who were present during the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in July were not US Secret Service (USSS) agents, but were in fact Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents. The US politician told Fox News that the only training the agents received was a “2-hour online webinar” training. Citing claims made by whistleblowers, he added that the agents who were protecting the former president that day had no prior experience in security detail. Hawley wrote the whistleblowers’ allegations in a letter to Ronald Rowe, the acting director of the USSS, and attached the letter to an X post. Tyler Nixon, an attorney, media relations specialist and political analyst, joined Rachel Blevins on The Backstory on Wednesday, and presented a rundown of the agency’s long-standing failings.

“Well, there’s no question that the Secret Service (USSS) is a very troubled agency and it has been varyingly for many years,” Nixon said. “…the agency has had serious problems with … racial discrimination. There was a lawsuit that became a class action that dragged on for nearly 17 years of Black agents from the ‘80s and ‘90s who were held back, discriminated against, suppressed in terms of promotions. They won and the Secret Service fought that tooth and nail.” The lawyer disclosed that he represents the first Black Secret Service agent who served on presidential protection, who has threatened to be a whistleblower to the “Warren Commission concerning the laxity, drinking and other things that the agents had perpetrated or done on the President John F. Kennedy detail,” he said, adding that “many argue [the laxity] contributed to their slow reactions [of JFK’s assassination].”

“[USSS] has to, I think, if they were talking about it, it’s well over a billion-dollar budget. I think it might have been $1.4 billion, if I’m not mistaken. But whatever it is, it is absolutely enough that they should have the best equipment, the best agents and the best operations. And I think it’s just proof that, generally speaking, you can throw as much money as you want at a government agency to address a problem if there’s institutional incompetence and institutional issues and just the fact that the government operates the way it does without accountability,” Nixon explained.

“And one of the other things was, which really stands out in the Trump affair was that they were assigning […] based on apparently the status, let’s just say, of the protectee, meaning Trump’s not the president. He’s a candidate, a former president. Versus what [American conservative commentator Dan Bongino] noted should be the criteria for assigning the resources, which is the threat profile,” he added. “In Butler, there was what I would view as it wasn’t simply incompetence. There was actually active security stripping, which is very, very troubling because that’s not just a matter of people not doing their jobs properly. It’s a matter of an intent to expose him to potential assassination or assassination, and that is, that’s corruption that is so – I mean, it would be criminal, obviously, that level of corruption,” he continued. “So, major reforms need to happen with that agency, if not a total reckoning.”

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“..Telegram has an official representative in the EU that both “accepts and replies to EU requests.”

Pavel Durov Warns French Crackdown Will Prompt Serious Tech Setbacks (Sp.)

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov spoke out on Thursday against the crackdown against his platform by French authorities, warning that the spate of charges could mark the start of serious setbacks for the tech industry as a whole. In a post shared on Telegram, Durov detailed that he had been questioned by French authorities over a period of four days, and that he had been informed he would be held “personally responsible” for criminal actions that occur on the platform due to past notifications that had gone answered. “This,” Durov went onto emphasis, “was surprising for several reasons.” Not least of which was the fact that Telegram has an official representative in the EU that both “accepts and replies to EU requests.” “Its email address has been publicly available for anyone in the EU who googles ‘Telegram EU address for law enforcement,'” he pointed out, adding that authorities could have easily contacted him via the French consulate in Dubai.

“A while ago, when asked, I personally helped them establish a hotline with Telegram to deal with the threat of terrorism in France.” “Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach,” he said. “Building technology is hard enough as it is. No innovator will ever build new tools if they know they can be personally held responsible for potential abuse of those tools.” Rather than pursuing criminal charges, French authorities should have instead opted for the “established practice” of filing legal action against an internet service to start proceedings. Durov underscored that Telegram would not be abandoning its principles on ensuring users’ privacy and security, but that it was and will continue to hold open lines of communications with country regulators.

However, if no balance can be made in any one nation, the company will opt to “leave.” The CEO further rejected reports that painted Telegram as “some sort of anarchic paradise” and slammed them as “absolutely untrue.” However, while the platform’s user count has soared upwards of 950 million, he acknowledged the spike “made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform.” Durov revealed that new internal measures were being implemented, and that such steps would be made public at a later time. The Russian-born tech entrepreneur was detained at a Paris airport on August 24 on charges related to criminal uses of his messaging app, including terrorism, child pornography, drug trafficking, money laundering and fraud. He was released on August 28 on a 5-million-euro ($5.5 million) bail and is barred from leaving France.

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Both France and Germany are in deep political trouble.

“It’s like a husband and wife debating over which electrician to hire to redo the wiring in your house not being able to come to an agreement and hiring a plumber..”

Macron Pushes Through PM Pick After 60 Days (Manley)

President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Michel Barnier, 73, a veteran right-wing politician who served twice as European Commissioner and played a major role in the 2016 Brexit Task Force, as the new prime minister of France as of Thursday. Macron is trying to break through a political impasse that has gripped France following the country’s snap legislative elections held in July. The French presidency said in a statement that Macron is entrusting Barnier with “the task of forming a unity government to serve the country and the French people”, the New York Times reported. Barnier will take over the role from Gabriel Attal, France’s youngest ever prime minister who has held the position for the last eight months. Phil Kelly, a Belfast-based political commentator and socialist activist, joined Sputnik’s Political Misfits Thursday to discuss Macron’s continued rejection of the French public’s desires.

“This is far from democracy. This is an absurdity,” said Kelly. “It’s like a husband and wife debating over which electrician to hire to redo the wiring in your house not being able to come to an agreement and hiring a plumber. It’s an affront, an absolute affront to the democratic will of the people.” “What Macron is doing is he’s investing heavily in creating future problems because France is a powder keg. It is divided. The breakthrough for the left was good to see, but let’s hope it’s not a pyrrhic victory because what acts like this are doing is it just erodes faith that people have in their democratic institutions,” he added. “It’s a further sign that France is in dissent and chaos, that its establishment is flailing, that Macron is just trying to hold the door against change,” the analyst suggested. “But that change will come to France and I hope it’s a positive change, but there’s no guarantee there will be. The country’s in a dark way.”

In March of last year France’s Senate passed a controversial reform bill to raise the retirement age for French citizens by two years. The Senate passed the bill by 195 votes to 112. Macron’s decision to push through a bill that is extremely unpopular among voters for the alleged sake of the economy clearly went unforgiven during July’s election. Business-friendly think tanks such as the pro-Macron Institut Montaigne claim Macron’s pension plan is more cost-effective than other proposals, but a majority of French voters reject the ploy. “A country that is able to send billions of euros to the Kiev regime while its own citizens are offered a diet of, ‘we make you work longer for less’… and it’s a bit like from his gilded palace in Paris. He’s a bit like Macron Antoinette,” Kelly said.

“Macron [is] a guy who’s deeply unpopular, who, at one point, was talking up the advantage of World War III to the French people, now clinging on desperately to power, trying to make the guy who lost who came forth the leader of the country and all, as you say, to cling on to his own power for a little bit longer and to try and push through a policy that is so deeply unpopular.” In January, Macron claimed during a speech at the Swedish Defense Academy that the future security architecture of the continent could no longer be settled simply by the United States and that Europe should determine its own future. In April, the French president said he would be willing to discuss using French nuclear warheads as a “credible European defense” against a supposed Russian threat. The French president previously hinted at the use of France’s nuclear weapons in 2020 and again in 2022. In March the leader alarmed other EU member states when he announced his openness to ground operations in Ukraine, saying it might be required “at some point”.

“It’s not, unfortunately, only France that has this kind of political class,” Kelly added. “[There was] one of the ministers in the German government who’s a member of the Green Party saying — I’m sure you remember this — ‘I don’t care about German voters, I’ll do whatever it takes to support Ukraine.’” “This is why Europe is in decline. Much like your country where the political establishment has [nothing to] offer, it has no vision of how to move things forward, it only has ‘how can we trick the electorate in the next election and then just do the same [thing],’” he explained.

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“The government in Berlin should ask itself if it can even continue to govern..”

Germany Reeling in the Wake of AfD Election Victories (SCF)

The German residents of Saxony and Thuringia awoke on Monday to a radical new political landscape as the Alternative for Germany, or Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), received more than double as many votes as the three parties which make up the federal coalition government — the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), environmentalist Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) — combined. This marks the first in any German state since Nazi rule. The results represent a major setback to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s struggling coalition government and demonstrate the increasing breakup of the political landscape and surge in popularity of anti-establishment parties across the continent. Scholz labelled the losses for his government “bitter” and called upon mainstream parties to build governments without “right-wing extremists”.

The AfD, which, as an “extremist” group, falls under the official surveillance of the German domestic intelligence agency, was founded in 2013 as an offshoot of the CDU. It advertises itself as a right-wing movement that is critical of the European Union’s policies but supportive of German membership. Since its founding, the party has moved further to the political right and shifted its attention to immigration and Islam. The party is most powerful in the formerly communist east Germany, which is less wealthy than the country’s west. Björn Höcke, 52, the leader of Thuringia, has been convicted of knowingly using a Nazi slogan at political events, a conviction he is appealing. A court in the eastern city of Halle fined the history teacher turned politician for using the prohibited phrase “Everything for Germany”, or “Alles für Deutschland” in German. The slogan was etched on weapons used by Nazi paramilitary officers. Germany has harsh laws against the use of phrases and symbols linked to the Nazi party.

In the last nationwide election, for the European Parliament in June, the AfD attracted 16 percent of the vote. In other words, not exactly a nationwide nationalist takeover. Moreover, with just over 2 million people out of a national population of more than 80 million, Thuringia ranks as one of the smallest of Germany’s 16 states. At the same time, Saxony’s population stands at just 4 million. Nevertheless, it is rather astonishing, and worrisome, that about one in three voters in these two states cast their vote for a party that the states’ own intelligence agencies have declared to be ‘extremist’. Factors that have led to support for the AfD in eastern Germany include deep dissatisfaction with the national government, anti-immigration sentiment and opposition to any further German military aid for Ukraine. And despite the government’s rapid reaction to the deadly knife attack in Solingen, in western Germany, shortly before the elections failed to result in a change of opinion. Four out of five German voters have expressed discontent with the work of the federal government, a sentiment that has lasted a long time.

The AfD rightly views itself as having established a deep support base. The state elections brought “historic” success for their party, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said on Sunday, calling for the federal government to stand down. “It is also a punishment for the federal government, it is a requiem for this coalition,” she said. “The government in Berlin should ask itself if it can even continue to govern. This question of fresh elections should be posed at least following the [upcoming] election in Brandenburg, because things cannot carry on like this.” Now the government of Olaf Scholz is attempting to recalibrate its positions, moving further to the right to counter the AfD’s respectable gains. Looking down the road to the immigration debate during the electoral campaigns, the federal government last week announced harsher migration and security policies, and made an unexpected move to deport 28 asylum-seekers who had committed criminal offenses to Afghanistan.

Now, all eyes are now focused on the eastern German state of Brandenburg, where elections are scheduled for September 22. The coalition of the SPD, Greens and FDP are nervously anticipating this vote as the German population is increasingly demanding new blood in the halls of power. If early nationwide elections were to be held today, current polling shows they would no longer get a majority. The victors would be their competitors the AfD and the Conservative Union of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian counterparts, the Christian Social Union (CSU). The Union, which comprises the largest opposition bloc in the Bundestag, has long called for the government to step down. Therefore, the SPD will be campaigning extra hard leading up to election day, because the vote will be crucial for them. The party has led the government in Brandenburg since 1990.

“I expect that everyone will make even more of an effort than ever before,” said SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil on Sunday evening in Berlin. The party needed to work together to win back votes, he said. “Everyone now needs to play their part so that things improve.” In the event that Brandenburg’s state premier of 11 years, Dietmar Woidke, fails to be reelected, this could set in motion some serious power moves in the country. There is even the possibility that Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who polls higher than Scholz among Germans, could become the chancellor candidate for the federal election in September 2025. Will the coalition government last that long? That’s a question many Germans are anxiously pondering today amid the rise of far-right ideology, which is beginning to reverberate across the country. Whether that will turn into a political earthquake remains to be seen.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Putin Nordstream
https://twitter.com/i/status/1831646625074127257

 

 

Ghostwriting
https://twitter.com/i/status/1831522277705372109

 

 

Fox

 

 

Best job

 

 

Thank you
https://twitter.com/i/status/1831375847825272873

 

 

Trust

 

 

Antlers

 

 

Moose
https://twitter.com/i/status/1831678847835590856

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Aug 312024
 
 August 31, 2024  Posted by at 8:50 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  38 Responses »


Pablo Picasso Five women 1907

 

Trump Threatens Zuckerberg With Life In Prison (RT)
Nuclear War Is World’s Biggest Threat – Trump (Sp.)
World Leaders, Even Macron, Still Use Telegram Despite Durov Arrest (Sp.)
Kremlin Affirms Putin, Durov Never Held Any Meetings (Sp.)
France Stoops To Hostage-taking of Pavel Durov (SCF)
3 Key Battlegrounds May Still Omit Kamala (HUSA)
Tulsi Gabbard About Endorsing Trump: ‘This Is Personal For Me’ (ZH)
The Significance of the Passage of Time (Kunstler)
Judge Bans X In Brazil For Refusing To Comply With Demands (ZH)
Musk’s X Lawsuit Against Media Matters Can Proceed To Trial: Judge (ZH)
US To Give Zelensky ‘Free Hand’ On Deep Strikes Into Russia – Moscow (RT)
Ukraine Says Its Biggest Problem Is Western Concern for Escalation (Antiwar)
Medvedev Believes He Knows Why Kiev Wants Donbass (RT)
Putin ‘Not Worried’ About ICC Warrant On Mongolia Trip – Kremlin (RT)
Look, If You Guys Have To Go, We’re Behind You All The Way (Alastair Crooke)
“That Little Piece of Paper” of the Founders (Turley)

 

 

 

 

Death machine
https://twitter.com/i/status/1829454153401155836

 

 

CNN
https://twitter.com/i/status/1829344582146183408

 

 

Arlington

 

 

Zack

 

 

Shanahan

 

 

Alina

 

 

 

 

“We already know who you are. Don’t do it! Zuckerbucks, be careful..”

Trump Threatens Zuckerberg With Life In Prison (RT)

Former US President Donald Trump has accused Mark Zuckerberg of plotting against him during the 2020 election and has warned the Meta CEO against doing it again in the vote this November, according to an excerpt from his soon-to-be released book seen by Politico. Titled ‘Save America’ and set to be published next week, Trump’s book features a photograph of himself meeting with Zuckerberg in the White House when he was president. Under the photo Trump wrote a caption stating that the Meta chief “would come to the Oval Office to see me. He would bring his very nice wife to dinners, be as nice as anyone could be, while always plotting to install shameful Lock Boxes in a true plot against the president.” Trump, Politico’s report says, appears to be referring to a $420-million contribution that Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan made during the 2020 presidential election to fund voting infrastructure.

The former president went on to claim that Zuckerberg had told him that there was “nobody like Trump on Facebook” but at the same time had “steered it against me.” “We are watching him closely, and if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison – as will others who cheat in the 2024 Presidential Election,” Trump reportedly warns in the book. The excerpt examined by Politico follows similar statements made by Trump in the past. In July, the Republican presidential candidate also wrote on his Truth Social platform that, if elected, he would pursue “election fraudsters at levels never seen before” and would send them to prison for “long periods of time.” “We already know who you are. Don’t do it! Zuckerbucks, be careful,” Trump wrote.

While Meta has not commented on the former president’s allegations and warnings, earlier this week Zuckerberg sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, confessing that senior officials from US President Joe Biden’s administration had “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to “censor” Covid-19 content back in 2021. The Meta CEO noted in the letter that he believed that “government pressure was wrong” and expressed regret for not speaking out about it at the time. Zuckerberg went on to declare that he will no longer compromise Facebook’s content standards due to pressure “from any administration in either direction.” He pledged to “push back if something like this happens again,” and will remain politically “neutral” ahead of the November election.

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“..help maintain stability around the world by keeping lines of communication open..”

Nuclear War Is World’s Biggest Threat – Trump (Sp.)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said during a town hall event in the state of Wisconsin that the biggest challenge the United States and the international community face is preventing a nuclear war in the near future. “In my opinion, the biggest problem our country has, the biggest problem the world has, is nuclear weapons,” Trump said on Thursday. “They are a destructive force, the likes of which nobody has ever seen before, and we have to make sure they’re never used.” Trump said he’d be able to help maintain stability around the world by keeping lines of communication open, adding “I could do it with telephone calls, by being smart.”

Trump mentioned that the United States and Russia are the biggest nuclear powers, but expects that China will catch up in about five years as it builds up its nuclear arsenal. Trump is expected to enter arms control talks with Russia if he returns to the White House after the November election.

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“The list could go on indefinitely..”

World Leaders, Even Macron, Still Use Telegram Despite Durov Arrest (Sp.)

Despite recent allegations that Telegram is being used for criminal activities, leaders from around the world, including French President Emmanuel Macron, continue to actively utilize the encrypted messaging service. Earlier this week, Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, faced preliminary charges for allegedly facilitating criminal activities on his encrypted platform. These charges include accusations of enabling drug trafficking and the sharing of sexual images of minors due to inadequate moderation. Durov’s arrest has not deterred President Macron from using the messaging app. According to European press reports, on August 26, the head of state was indicated to have logged into Telegram “recently.” Additionally, French lawmakers, cabinet members, and presidential advisers frequently use the messaging platform, as revealed by the media.

Macron has been active on the platform since the early days of his first presidential campaign. He has over 112,000 followers and his latest post is dated August 12. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who boasts over 1.6 million followers, shares posts on Telegram practically on a daily basis. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also active on Telegram, with his most recent post dated August 28. A verified account belonging to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also exists on the platform. On August 30, he began sharing a series of posts about the Tren Maya, a renowned railway project in Mexico. Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s account, which boasts almost 200,000 followers, makes use of Telegram for official announcements. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu runs an official account on the messaging service in Russian. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali takes to Telegram regularly to shed light on the African nation’s urgent issues. The list could go on indefinitely. The platform has evolved into a convenient means for world leaders to engage with their constituents.

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“No, as far as I know, they never met..”

Kremlin Affirms Putin, Durov Never Held Any Meetings (Sp.)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Telegram founder Pavel Durov have never held meetings, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. On August 24, Durov, the Russian-born founder of Telegram, was detained at a Paris airport on charges related to the criminal use of his messaging app, including terrorism, child pornography, drug trafficking, money laundering and fraud. The 39-year-old billionaire holds citizenship of several countries, including France. On Wednesday, Durov was released under judicial supervision, banned from leaving France and ordered to pay a 5 million euro ($5.5 million) bail. “No, as far as I know, they never met,” Peskov told reporters. Durov had not held any negotiations with the Kremlin, the official said, adding that there were no agreements.

Peskov on also refused to comment on the detention of two Colombian citizens in Russia, redirecting the question to the relevant departments. “I have no information at all about the detention of Colombian citizens. I suggest you contact the relevant services — the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the FSB. This is not a topic for the Presidential Administration,” Peskov told reporters. Earlier in the day, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had detained two Colombian citizens suspected of participating in military operations on Ukraine’s side as mercenaries.

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“Why not arrest the owners of telephone companies based on the same logic..”

“Why shouldn’t Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk be arrested next ..?

France Stoops To Hostage-taking of Pavel Durov (SCF)

The charges against Durov are not only draconian but also absurd. The notion of holding the owner of a social network platform as being responsible for or complicit in the content of the network is preposterous. Why not arrest the owners of telephone companies based on the same logic? It’s ridiculous and indicates an ulterior motive. Telegram was founded in 2013-2014 by Durov (and his older brother). He left Russia in 2014 because he refused to comply with Russian authorities on allowing access to the privacy of users. Over the years, Telegram has grown worldwide to become one of the major messaging apps with nearly one billion monthly users. It has gained a reputation for secure communications and fierce independence from governments.

Pavel told American journalist Tucker Carlson in an interview earlier this year that he has routinely been harassed by U.S. authorities to hand over the encryption keys of Telegram, which he has refused to do. By contrast, Western-based competitor apps such as WhatsApp and Western-controlled internet companies are known to have relented to pressure from the U.S. and European authorities on allowing “backdoor access” to supposedly private communications between individuals and groups. Having said that, however, the content of these Western apps is also tainted with crime networks and horrendously sordid material. Why shouldn’t Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk be arrested next on similar charges to those leveled at Pavel Durov? The difference is that Telegram has refused to comply with Western state intelligence services as it previously did with Russian counterparts. A case can be made that the Telegram owner is a “free speech absolutist”.

Much more important than the marginal criminal use of Telegram (as all apps are prone to), is the preponderant use of the platform for disseminating independent news and analysis. Telegram has gained an enviable reputation for its accurate information on the war in Ukraine. Numerous independent news channels have flourished on Telegram to bring reliable and critical information about the conflict. Unlike Western media and social network platforms that kowtow to Western governments and NATO propaganda, Telegram has enabled a much more informed view of the war that exposes the Western narratives as a sham. Defense of Ukrainian democracy? More like defense of a NeoNazi regime and defense of Western war economies. The fact is Telegram has become a globally important independent media network that is not controlled by Western regimes.

It is for this reason that it is in the cross-hairs for repression, not because of alleged criminal activity by its owner. The latter reason is a pathetic pretext. At a time when the U.S.-led NATO proxy war in Ukraine against Russia has entered a disastrous phase of defeat, the Western elite must shut down all and every critical media. It is no coincidence that following the outrageous persecution of Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange (five years in solitary confinement in a British dungeon) for exposing U.S. and NATO war crimes, we now see a surge in cases of cracking down on free media. American commentator Scott Ritter who has been a valued critic of the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine, recently had his home raided by the FBI. Other independent journalists have been arrested or harassed in Britain, France, Germany and across Europe for their critical views on the war in Ukraine or the Western-supported Israeli genocide in Palestine.

Western so-called democracies are increasingly using fascist jackboot attacks on independent journalism and freedom of thought. The Western elites and their fascistic power cannot abide any criticism or dissent that is fatal to their charade of authority. Emmanuel Macron, with his pretensions of grandeur and brittle egotism, embodies the Western elite. Pavel Durov is awaiting the outcome of a vague and nebulous cybercrime investigation that may take years to complete. After which he may be imprisoned for another 10 years and pay huge financial fines. France which claims to uphold the highest principles of free speech has just descended to hostage-taking of innocent people for the vile purpose of killing free speech and independence of thought.

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“..the deadline for removing Biden from the ballot has already long since passed in Georgia, Wisconsin and Nevada.”

3 Key Battlegrounds May Still Omit Kamala (HUSA)

Earlier this month, leftist secretaries of state pounced at the opportunity to attack Trump-backing billionaire Elon Musk over allegations that his artificial intelligence chatbot had errantly suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris would not make the ballot in several states. Curiously enough, the complaint appeared to ignore three major battleground states where the law still stipulates that President Joe Biden will appear on the ballot as the Democrat candidate, according to a leading conservative think-tank, which suggested that claims of Harris being eligible to appear in all 50 states may be the real disinformation. Grok—which is available only to subscribers of the premium versions of X—debuted last year and was touted by Musk as a “rebellious” AI chatbot that would answer “spicy questions that are rejected by most other AI systems.” However, not all of its responses may be entirely accurate.

Top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington sent a letter to Musk on Aug. 5 complaining that the chatbot had produced false information about state ballot deadlines shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. According to the letter, Grok had indicated that the deadline for replacing Biden had already passed in nine states states where it had not: Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. “In all nine states the opposite is true: The ballots are not closed, and upcoming ballot deadlines would allow for changes to candidates listed on the ballot,” the secretaries wrote. Following the fix, the chatbot now says, “For accurate and up-to-date information about the 2024 U.S. Elections, please visit Vote.gov” before listing responses to election-related questions.

“We appreciate X’s action to improve their platform and hope they continue to make improvements that will ensure their users have access to accurate information from trusted sources in this critical election year,” the secretaries of state wrote. Even while Biden was in the race, ballot eligibility in Ohio, Alabama and Washington was a source of concern since all three initially had ballot deadlines that took effect prior to last week’s Democrat convention in Chicago. In each case, however, the state legislature or the secretary of state worked to resolve the loophole and ensure that the Democrat nominee would be on the ballot. That nominee, of course, proved not to be Biden but rather Harris, his former running mate, after party elites forced the incumbent president out of the race. To play it safe, Democrats conducted a virtual nominating process that took place prior to Harris’s ceremonial nomination and acceptance speech at last week’s convention.

Yet, despite the focus on states where Harris is now assured her spot on the ballot, major questions remain as to whether she will be eligible to appear in at least three other crucial swing states. According to the Heritage Oversight Project, an election-integrity watchdog launched by prominent conservative think-tank the Heritage Foundation, the deadline for removing Biden from the ballot has already long since passed in Georgia, Wisconsin and Nevada. [..] Mike Howell, the executive director of the Oversight Project, told Headline USA in an email that its researchers “were not mistaken at all” about their read on the state laws. Democrats are “not out of the woods yet … and I’m wondering why no one with standing is suing,” Howell said. “The DNC and Biden claimed that Biden was already the nominee before he was taken out, Howell added. “So now they have two nominees, without formally withdrawing and substi[tu]ting one of them, and I’m not sure why Secretaries of State are okay with that process.”

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“He would meet with whoever he needed to pursue peace. Kamala Harris criticized Donald Trump for doing exactly that.”

Tulsi Gabbard About Endorsing Trump: ‘This Is Personal For Me’ (ZH)

Former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI) offered a detailed explanation for her endorsement of former President Donald Trump’s 2024 White House bid earlier this week on Fox Business’s “Kudlow.”

DAVID ASMAN: since you and RFK are part of the Trump campaign, explain why did you go with Trump?

TULSI GABBARD: The choice in this election is very clear and the differences between President Trump and Vice President Harris couldn’t be more stark. Frankly, to put it simply, the choice for the American people is a choice with Donald Trump, a man who values peace, prosperity, and freedom. He has a record that proves that. And Vice President Kamala Harris, whose record shows an increasingly tyrannical government undermining our freedoms. We are embroiled in multiple wars and the world is closer to the brink of nuclear war than ever before, with increasing economic hardship for Americans throughout the 3Ω years she served as Vice President of the United States. The contrast couldn’t be more clear.

This is personal for me, the endorsement of President Trump. As a soldier for over 21 years, I deployed to multiple war zones in different parts of the world, putting my life on the line for the safety, security, and freedom of the American people. It is important to me and every one of my brothers and sisters in uniform that we have a Commander-in-Chief who values every one of our lives, who carries that responsibility as Commander-in-Chief very seriously, and who will exhaust all diplomatic avenues before seeing war truly as a last resort.

The last point that I will make on this—another point of contrast—is that President Trump showed through his last administration that not only did he not start any new wars, but he took action to prevent them by courageously meeting with adversaries, allies, partners, dictators. He would meet with whoever he needed to pursue peace. Kamala Harris criticized Donald Trump for doing exactly that. That shows if she is elected President, she will not do what is necessary in the pursuit of peace, and I’m certain she will lead us very quickly into a war to mask the weakness and insecurity that she feels and try to project strength using the lives of my brothers and sisters in uniform to do so.

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Zero Hedge is right: the title should have been “Why Haven’t You Done That Already?”. Jim is one round behind.

The Significance of the Passage of Time (Kunstler)

Did you think Kamala would still be rising on the joyful billows of hot air that blew out of the Democratic Convention? Like so many of the magic tricks in the party’s repertoire, that one was a spoof of artificial levitation, to give the appearance of something holding up, like, say, the US economy, when there is actually nothing underneath. Nothing real, that is. What’s giving the economy its appearance of loft has been “Joe Biden” pouring government money into scores of party-connected NGOs as pure grift. The main effect of that is the inflation that everybody notices. Meanwhile, nobody gets hooked up to promised broadband and only eight EV charging stations get built for $7.5-billion allocated to the Department of Transportation.

The current prank, though, is to artificially pump-up Ms. Harris in the polls in the attempt to justify the coming ballot fraud to be executed two months from now, as engineered by election lawfare maestro Marc Elias, now on the Harris campaign payroll. That is, an effort to obviate any apparent discrepancies between actual poll numbers and harvested ballots flooding in at two o’clock in the morning on Nov 6. As it happens, Ms. Harris’s poll numbers have begun to sink the past week, as the tactic of hiding the candidate from the press has backfired. As of August 29, Nate Silver has her chance of winning down at 42.7 to Mr. Trump’s 56.7. Voters have begun to notice that the candidate represents nothing except whatever happened the past four years in Biden-Land — which is to say, open borders, war for the sake of arms profiteers, flagrant censorship, inflation, cratering business activity, and overt DOJ political persecutions. Martin Armstrong, for instance, has estimated Kamala Harris’s true polling number in the ten percent range. Yikes.

So, what was the net effect of the CNN interview with Ms. Harris? It couldn’t have helped. They had to get her out of hiding, considering the significance of the passage of time in an election campaign. Even the in-the-tank news media was starting to complain about her holing-up on the bus. Dana Bash was surprisingly harsh at times when the veep confabulated about her plans to “fix” America’s problems, like asking, “Why haven’t you done that already?” The answer was the bizarre, “We can do what we’ve accomplished so far.” Roger that. You’re probably wondering: how Mr. Trump will play this? He’d best be polite about it and assume that the voters can see and understand the obvious: that the Democrats have put up an especially inadequate candidate who can’t explain away the fiascos of the past four years. He doesn’t have to rub in so hard that it seems cruel.

His own policy intentions are a quite clear alternative to four years of hoaxes, pranks, trips, gaslighting, and grift. Installing Ms. Harris without any input or votes from the party rank-and-file was about as desperate an affront to “our democracy” as anyone could imagine, like something straight out of the old Soviet politburo, picking an Andropov or a Chernenko. Mr. Trump should remind audiences of this at every opportunity if the Democrats keep yapping about “our democracy,” which seems to be all they’ve got. Something is slip-sliding out there, perhaps the solidarity of the news media. Even The New York Times dissed Kamala Harris — Bret Stephens called her interview “vague and vacuous” the day after. One thing you have to give CNN credit for: they didn’t show a whole lot of Kamala Harris cackling in her trademark manner — to cover that mental vacuum. The cackle has been getting very mixed reviews, anyway, when you disconnect it from the fake “joy” trope. Maybe a laugh-riot is what’s in the missing 23-minutes that CNN edited out of the 41-minute recording.

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“..In the days to come, we will publish all of Judge de Moraes’ illegal demands and all related court filings..”

Judge Bans X In Brazil For Refusing To Comply With Demands (ZH)

As we previewed overnight, Elon Musk’s X has been ordered ‘immediately suspended’ by Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, citing the company’s refusal to comply with a legal order to censor the judge’s political opponents, Bloomberg reports. Officially, the ruling was due to Musk’s refusal to name a legal representative for the social network (after the judge froze his last attorney’s bank accounts). On Thursday, X’s global government affairs account said that it would “not comply in secret with illegal orders,” and said that it would publish Moraes’ demands and related court documents for transparency.

More: “When we attempted to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts. Our challenges against his manifestly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues on the Supreme Court are either unwilling or unable to stand up to him. We are absolutely not insisting that other countries have the same free speech laws as the United States. The fundamental issue at stake here is that Judge de Moraes demands we break Brazil’s own laws. We simply won’t do that. In the days to come, we will publish all of Judge de Moraes’ illegal demands and all related court filings in the interest of transparency. Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders. To our users in Brazil and around the world, X remains committed to protecting your freedom of speech.”

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The judge in Brazil wants to bring in Starlink in a suit vs X. Media Matters wants to bring in Tesla. But these are all separate companies, in completely different industries. You can’t hold the shareholders of one company responsible for what happens at another.

Musk’s X Lawsuit Against Media Matters Can Proceed To Trial: Judge (ZH)

A federal judge in Texas has ruled that a lawsuit brought by Elon Musk’s X against Media Matters can proceed to trial, after dismissing a request by the Democrat-run enterprise. “Because the Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendants, venue is proper, and Plaintiff has properly pled its claims, Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is denied,” wrote Judge Reed O’Connor in his ruling. X, formerly known as Twitter, filed the suit in November after Musk threatened to bring a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against the left-leaning nonprofit and “all those who colluded” for “completely misrepresenting” the real user experience on X.” According to the lawsuit, Media Matters – founded by Democratic operative David Brock, who left the organization in 2022, used manipulative and deceptive tactics to convince advertisers like Apple, IBM and Disney that ‘hateful’ content was being displayed next to their brands – leading them to pause their X advertising campaigns. X claims Media Matters fabricated the results. From the original complaint:

“Media Matters has opted for new tactics in its campaign to drive advertisers from X. Media Matters has manipulated the algorithms governing the user experience on X to bypass safeguards and create images of X’s largest advertisers’ paid posts adjacent to racist, incendiary content, leaving the false impression that these pairings are anything but what they actually are: manufactured, inorganic, and extraordinarily rare. Media Matters executed this plot in multiple steps, as X’s internal investigations have revealed. First, Media Matters accessed accounts that had been active for at least 30 days, bypassing X’s ad filter for new users. Media Matters then exclusively followed a small subset of users consisting entirely of accounts in one of two categories: those known to produce extreme, fringe content, and accounts owned by X’s big-name advertisers.

The end result was a feed precision-designed by Media Matters for a single purpose: to produce side-by-side ad/content placements that it could screenshot in an effort to alienate advertisers. But this activity still was not enough to create the pairings of advertisements and content that Media Matters aimed to produce. Media Matters therefore resorted to endlessly scrolling and refreshing its unrepresentative, hand-selected feed, generating between 13 and 15 times more advertisements per hour than viewed by the average X user repeating this inauthentic activity until it finally received pages containing the result it wanted: controversial content next to X’s largest advertisers’ paid posts.”

Andrew Carusone, president of Media Matters and one of the defendants, said that it was a “frivolous lawsuit” that was “meant to bully X’s critics into silence.” Judge O’Connor didn’t buy it, and denied the nonprofit’s effort to have the case dismissed, ruling that X “had properly pled its claims.” In August, O’Connor dismissed a request by Media Matters to force Musk to list Tesla as an interested party in X’s lawsuit against the nonprofit. O’Connor said at the time in a legal filing that “there is no evidence that shows Tesla has a direct financial interest in the outcome of this case.” O’Connor was also overseeing a recently filed antitrust lawsuit by X against a global advertising association and its member companies like Unilever, Mars and CVS Health. O’Connor then recused himself from the lawsuit. Although he didn’t provide a reason for the recusal, a recent financial disclosure showed that the judge invests in Unilever.” -CNBC

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“..Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov compared the US and their allies to “children playing with matches” over their continued speculations about greenlighting Ukrainian strikes..”

US To Give Zelensky ‘Free Hand’ On Deep Strikes Into Russia – Moscow (RT)

Washington is prepared to lift its ban on Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia’s territory with the use of US-supplied weapons, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. Last week, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that US “policy does allow for Ukraine to conduct counter fires to defend itself from Russian attacks coming over that border region,” including Kursk Region, where an incursion by Kiev’s forces has been ongoing since early August. On Monday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Washington was aware of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s “desire” to be allowed to fire US weapons such as ATACMS missiles, which have a range of up to 300km (186 miles), deep into Russia. “We will keep the conversations with the Ukrainians going [on the issue], but we are going to keep them private,” he said.

“Extremely serious conclusions” can be drawn from the latest statements coming from Washington, Zakharova said on Friday. “Ukraine has been given a carte blanche for operations in Russian regions,” she added. “Furthermore, the administration of [US President] Joe Biden is obviously getting ready to make new concessions to Zelensky and give him a free hand to use virtually any type of American weapons, including [for attacks] deep into Russian territory,” the spokeswoman stressed, as cited by RIA Novosti. Through its continued support for Kiev, Washington “has effectively become a party to the armed conflict over Ukraine,” she insisted.

“The US course towards escalation is becoming increasingly outrageous. It seems that the American elites have cast aside the last vestiges of common sense and believe that anything is allowed to them,” Zakharova said. Earlier this week, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov compared the US and their allies to “children playing with matches” over their continued speculations about greenlighting Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory. “It is a very dangerous thing to do for grown-ups, who are entrusted with nuclear weapons in one or another Western country,” he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned earlier that Moscow might engage in an asymmetrical response to the US supply of long-range systems to Ukraine, by arming groups or countries hostile to Washington – such as North Korea – with advanced weaponry.

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We should welcome nuclear war.

Ukraine Says Its Biggest Problem Is Western Concern for Escalation (Antiwar)

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Wednesday that the biggest problem Kyiv has faced in its war against Russia is the Western concern for escalation and the risk of provoking Moscow. “Ever since the beginning of the large-scale invasion, the biggest problem Ukraine has been facing is the domination of the concept of escalation in the decision-making processes among our partners,” Kuleba said, according to Reuters. The foreign minister’s comments come as Ukraine is pushing hard for the US to allow long-range strikes inside Russian territory using US-provided missiles. Russia has strongly warned against the move and suggested that it would risk World War III. “The war is always about a lot of hardware: money, weapons, resources but the real problems are always here, in the heads,” Kuleba said.

“Most of our partners are afraid of discussing the future of Russia… This is something that is very upsetting because if we do not speak about the future of the source of threat, then we cannot build strategy.” Throughout the war, the US and NATO have taken steps that they previously ruled out over escalation concerns, such as providing tanks and fighter jets. The most recent significant escalation was President Biden’s decision to give Ukraine the greenlight to use US weapons in attacks on Russian border regions. A few months later, Ukraine launched its invasion of Kursk. Kuleba made the comments during a conversation with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who expressed support for allowing Ukraine to launch long-range strikes with NATO weapons. Sikorski said NATO should “let Ukraine fight with whatever it has, with whatever we have delivered them, and let’s deliver them more.”

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“..the natural resources located in Donbass are estimated to be worth $7.3 trillion..”

Medvedev Believes He Knows Why Kiev Wants Donbass (RT)

Ukraine is fighting for Donbass because of the region’s vast natural resources, which Kiev and its foreign backers want to exploit, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, which officially joined Russia together with Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions in the fall of 2022, are “completely alien” to Ukraine in terms of culture, Medvedev wrote on Telegram. The reason why the Kiev authorities are trying to get them back so desperately, he explained, “is trivial: money is needed.” “The criminal clique” of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, which “has stolen so heavily,”has led the country’s economy to “disaster,” while Kiev’s backers in the US and the EU have also “spent a lot” on aiding Ukraine during conflict, which “irritates” their populations, Medvedev, who serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, also pointed out.

The West needs a “payback” from Ukraine, he said, adding that it has nothing to do with Zelensky personally. “This kid will be gone soon, but the debt will remain. And it must be paid off, with interest,” the former president noted. Medevdev reminded readers that, according to open-source data, the natural resources located in Donbass are estimated to be worth $7.3 trillion. The area is rich in coal, metals, rare-earth elements and other valuable materials, including lithium, he added. “To get access to the coveted minerals, the Western parasites shamelessly demand that their wards [in Kiev] wage war to the last Ukrainian,” he wrote. Western politicians are “directly voicing” their plans, the official said, referring to a statement made by South Carolina’s Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

In June, the Republican lawmaker called Ukraine a “gold mine” due to its vast reserve of “critical minerals.” Graham argued that Washington should keep helping Kiev in the conflict with Moscow to make sure those “assets could be used by Ukraine and the West, not given to Putin and China.” With the Russian military making steady gains in Donbass since the start of the year and now approaching the strategic town of Pokrovsk, “the fact remains that the economic basis of Ukrainian statehood has been undermined,” Medvedev wrote. The resource base that had been “illegally obtained” by Kiev after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 “has returned to its native country,” which is Russia, he said. As for Ukraine, the Western aid it gets “will soon dry up” and all that awaits the country is “rapid decomposition and imminent disintegration,” the former president concluded.

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The ICC has now “ordered” Mongolia to arrest Putin.

Putin ‘Not Worried’ About ICC Warrant On Mongolia Trip – Kremlin (RT)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not concerned that Mongolia might arrest him on International Criminal Court charges during his upcoming trip, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Putin is scheduled to visit Mongolia on Monday for a World War II commemoration. This would theoretically put him at risk of arrest on the ICC’s “war crimes” warrant, as Ulaanbaatar recognizes the court’s jurisdiction. “We have excellent relations with our friends from Mongolia,” Peskov told reporters on Friday. All issues concerning Putin’s visit have been “worked out separately” he added, noting that Moscow “has no concerns” about the ICC warrant. Putin is expected to attend a ceremony commemorating the 1939 Battle of Khalkhin Gol. The Soviet-Mongolian victory over the Imperial Japanese Army secured the USSR’s eastern flank until 1945. The Russian president received assurances from the Mongolian government that he will not be arrested, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

The ICC issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest in March 2023, accusing the Russian president of “unlawful deportation of population (children)” and “unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.” Moscow has rejected the claims as ridiculous, noting that evacuation of civilians from combat zones – where they were targeted by Ukrainian artillery and drones – was not a crime. Moreover, neither Russia nor Ukraine signed the Rome Statute, so the ICC has no jurisdiction in the matter. Mongolia, however, ratified the ICC’s founding document in 2002. Six months ago, one of its judges was appointed to sit on the court in a historic first for the Central Asian nation. Mexico has rejected Ukraine’s demand to detain the Russian leader should he travel there later this year for the inauguration of the new Mexican president.

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“..it sets up expectations of available military success from which wrong conclusions will be drawn. We have been here before. It didn’t go well …”

Look, If You Guys Have To Go, We’re Behind You All The Way (Alastair Crooke)

“The successful thwarting of Hizbullah’s attack on Sunday, symbolized Israel’s intelligence and operational edge”: According to the IDF spokesman, the Hezbollah attack was thwarted for the most part – thanks to 100 Israel aircraft carrying out around the clock – pre-emptive strikes that destroyed “thousands of missile launchers”. “The group [Hizbullah], did manage to fire hundreds of rockets at northern Israel, but the damage they caused was quite limited”, the Israeli spokespersons disdainfully suggested (amidst a complete blackout on publication, under full censorship, in Israel of any reporting on damage caused to strategic Israeli infrastructure or to military sites). In effect, it was ‘theatre’ mounted by both sides: By limiting their 20 minute strike to within 5 kms of the border – and by Hizbullah staying within the ‘equations’ of war – both sides signalled plainly to each other they were not looking for all-out war.

The ‘winner narrative’ from Israel was to be expected in today’s psy-war atmosphere. Yet it comes at a cost: Amos Harel in Haaretz suggests that “there’s a tendency in Israel [as a result] to view the success in foiling Sunday’s attack as renewed evidence of the consolidation of regional deterrence and [of western] strategic supremacy. But such an assessment” he concedes, “appears to be far from accurate”. Indeed it is (far from accurate). The Sunday theatre concluded with no change to the strategic situation in the north of Israel: Daily attrition continues from across the frontier of Lebanon, down to the new 40 km border defining the extent of Israel’s loss of territory to the Hizbullah no-go zone. The strategic point is not that this narrative of a successful thwarting of Hizbullah’s capabilities is highly misleading. Rather, it sets up expectations of available military success from which wrong conclusions will be drawn. We have been here before. It didn’t go well …

Seymour Hersh, doyen of U.S. investigative journalism, this week re-posted a piece that he wrote in August 2006 about U.S. thinking in the context of an Israeli war on Hizbullah – and on its intended role as a pathfinder-project for a subsequent U.S. strike on Iran. What Hersh wrote then represents a striking déjà vu of today’s situation. It remains to the point because U.S. neocon thinking rarely evolves, but remains constant.

“The big question for our [U.S.] Air Force”, Hersh noted in 2006, “was how to hit a series of hard targets in Iran successfully”, the former senior intelligence official said. “Who is the closest ally of the U.S. Air Force in its planning? It’s not Congo—it’s Israel”. The official continued: “Everybody knows that Iranian engineers have been advising Hezbollah on tunnels and underground missile emplacements. And so the USAF went to the Israelis with some new tactics and said to them: ‘Let’s concentrate on the bombing and share what we have on Iran – and what you have on Lebanon.’”. “The Israelis told us [that Hesballah] would be a cheap war with many benefits,” a U.S. government consultant with close ties to Israel said: “Why oppose it? We’ll be able to hunt down and bomb missiles, tunnels, and bunkers from the air. It would be a demo for Iran”. “I was told by the consultant that the Israelis repeatedly pointed to the war in Kosovo as an example of what Israel would try to achieve.

“The NATO forces … methodically bombed and strafed not only military targets but tunnels, bridges, and roads, in Kosovo and elsewhere in Serbia, for seventy-eight days …“Israel studied the Kosovo war as its role model … The Israelis told Condi Rice: You did it in about seventy days, but we need half of that—thirty-five days’ [to finish off Hizbullah]””. “The Bush White House”, a Pentagon consultant said, “has been agitating for some time to find a reason for a preëmptive blow against Hizbullah”; adding, “It was our intent to have Hezbollah diminished, and now we have someone else doing it … According to a Middle East expert, with knowledge of the current thinking of both the Israeli and the U.S. governments: Israel had devised a plan for attacking Hezbollah—and shared it with Bush Administration officials—well before the July 12th [2006] kidnappings: “It’s not that the Israelis had a trap that Hezbollah walked into,” he said, “but there was a strong feeling in the White House that sooner or later the Israelis were going to do it”, Hersh wrote.

“The White House was more focussed on stripping Hezbollah of its missiles, because – if there were to be a military option against Iran’s nuclear facilities – it had to get rid of the weapons that Hezbollah could use in a potential retaliation at Israel. Bush wanted both”, Hersh was told”. “The Bush Administration was closely involved in the planning of Israel’s retaliatory attacks. President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney were convinced … that a successful Israeli Air Force bombing campaign against Hezbollah’s heavily fortified underground-missile and command-and-control complexes in Lebanon could ease Israel’s security concerns and also serve as a prelude to a potential American preëmptive attack to destroy Iran’s nuclear installations – some of which are also buried deep underground”.

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“..Americans becoming “slaves” to the U.S. Constitution and that the Constitution itself is now the problem for the country..”

“That Little Piece of Paper” of the Founders (Turley)

We have been discussing Democratic leaders and activists who have been calling for revolutionary change and a rejection of the foundation of the American constitutional system. The latest is Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson, who spoke at the National Democratic Convention. In an earlier speech, Robinson rejected what she referred to as the Founders’ “little piece of paper” and called for the reimagining of our constitutional system. The voices calling for radical change have been growing for years, including among law professors and legal commentators. Viewers now get a steady diet of figures like MSNBC commentator Elie Mystal who called the U.S. Constitution “trash” and argued that we should simply just dump it. In a New York Times column, “The Constitution Is Broken and Should Not Be Reclaimed,” law professors Ryan D. Doerfler of Harvard and Samuel Moyn of Yale called for the Constitution to be “radically altered” to “reclaim America from constitutionalism.”

Georgetown University Law School Professor Rosa Brooks went on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut” to lash out at Americans becoming “slaves” to the U.S. Constitution and that the Constitution itself is now the problem for the country. I was recently called for a response to Robinson’s call. Yet, it is not clear if Robinson is speaking about the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution as that “little piece of paper.” However, she insists that “[i]n this moment, we’ve got to reimagine it with people that look and love like us at the center.” Robinson added: “And I think for us right now is about reimagining freedom and this American story in a way that is more revolutionary than what our Founders actually put down on that little piece of paper, but instead is the type of democracy that is by and for all of the people in this country. That’s the opportunity that we have.” Her comments did include positive views of the progress made under the current system:

“The story of America is the story of progress towards freedom. In just a few generations, my family went from being enslaved in Mississippi to the first free Black family in Muscatine, Iowa, to preparing to elect President Kamala Harris. Progress is happening my friends!” As someone who has supported LGBT rights for over four decades, I have nothing but admiration for those who fight for equal rights for everyone to be able to live their lives according to their own values and associations. However, a radical “reimagining” of our constitutional system is a popular and growing call on the left. It is often left vague in terms of what such a reimagination would entail, but suggests structural, not just policy, changes. It is that “little piece of paper” that has secured the equal rights for members of this community. Assuming that the “little piece of paper” is a reference to the Madisonian constitution, it is a “type of democracy” that has proven the oldest and most successful constitutional system in the history of the world.

It has survived precisely because it was designed for the most pluralistic nation in the world. It allows for tremendous social and political changes but does so within a framework that protects individual rights. Before we start “reimagining” our way out of the most stable constitutional system in history, we may want to consider how the alternatives have been faring around the world. It is that “little piece of paper” that introduced a revolutionary concept of governance that permits a nation of rivaling factions and values to govern as one. That does not mean that we do not have deep and at times bitter divisions. However, we are joined in a common article of faith in the Constitution. While he spoke more about democracy in general, Churchill’s famous comment could as easily refer to the Madisonian system: it may be “the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Trick
https://twitter.com/i/status/1829471131893399937

 

 

Puppy
https://twitter.com/i/status/1829470542186885245

 

 

Tai chi

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Aug 292024
 
 August 29, 2024  Posted by at 8:46 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , ,  75 Responses »


M. C. Escher Bond of union 1956

 

Durov Released On €5 Million Bail (RT)
Durov Under Investigation For Child Abuse – AFP (RT)
French Paper: Macron Had Invited Durov For Dinner (Sp.)
CIA Used Telegram To Topple Governments – Mike Benz (RT)
Kim Dotcom Calls For Boycott Of France Over Durov Arrest (RT)
Cut the Defense Budget by 97.5% (Rall)
The Policy Desperation Of Kamala Harris (QTR)
Several States Refuse To Remove RFK Jr’s Name From Ballots, Hurting Trump (ZH)
Trump Slams Jack Smith As ‘Deranged’ (RT)
Trump Suggests Biden And Harris Partly To Blame For Attempt On His Life (RT)
Ukraine Demands ‘No Strings Attached’ $50 Billion From G7 (RT)
Banning the “Russian” Orthodox Church (SCF)
The World Is Heading Towards War, It Will Begin In The Middle East (Sadygzade)
The World is Devoid of Intelligent Leadership (Paul Craig Roberts)

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1828603996463841417

 

 

Kamala 2019

 

 

Tulsi
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828762295599759749

 

 

Tulsi RFK
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828506544931217835

 

 

Jesse wall

 

 

Tax

 

 

Hawley

 

 

 

 

“The investigation against Durov began in February, the court statement noted. This detail contradicts a statement released by prosecutors on Monday, which described the probe as beginning last month..”

Durov Released On €5 Million Bail (RT)

A French court has formally indicted Telegram founder Pavel Durov, accusing him of complicity in a litany of offenses and barring him from leaving France until the case against him concludes. Durov appeared before a magistrates’ court in Paris on Wednesday, four days after he was arrested upon arrival in the French capital from Azerbaijan. In a statement released on Wednesday night, the court said that Durov had been formally charged with a dozen offenses, including complicity in “administering an online platform” used by a criminal gang to conduct an illicit transaction, a charge that the court noted carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. The rest of the charges, which were announced by prosecutors on Monday, include facilitating fraud, money laundering, and the distribution of narcotics and child pornography, as well as refusal to turn over user data to law enforcement investigations.

The Russian entrepreneur, who also holds the citizenship of France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis, was released on a €5 million ($5.55 million) bond. He was ordered to remain in France until the investigation against him concludes, and to report to a police station twice a week. Criminal investigations in France are run by special magistrates – judges granted wide-ranging investigative powers. Charges like those leveled against Durov are typically announced before investigators have finished gathering evidence, and can be dropped at any time if they cannot be substantiated. The investigation against Durov began in February, the court statement noted. This detail contradicts a statement released by prosecutors on Monday, which described the probe as beginning last month. It is being led by OFMIN, a French agency tasked with investigating crimes against minors. Telegram, which has almost a billion monthly users, generally refuses to hand over user data or chat records to law enforcement.

However, the company said on Sunday that it complies with local laws, and called it “absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.” Anti-censorship activists have described Durov’s arrest as part of a wider campaign against free speech waged by Western governments, with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden accusing France of taking the entrepreneur “hostage” in order to access private communications on Telegram. In a social media post on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron insisted that Durov’s arrest “is in no way a political decision,” and that France “is more than anything attached to freedom of expression and communication.” It is unclear whether Durov has been pressed to hand over user data since his arrest on Saturday. Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), said on Tuesday that the billionaire would likely be coerced into giving up this data. “I really hope that he will not allow this,” Naryshkin told Russia’s TASS news agency.

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Credible?

Durov Under Investigation For Child Abuse – AFP (RT)

French authorities have launched an investigation into claims that Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov committed “serious acts of violence” against his own son, AFP reported on Wednesday. The investigation is separate from an ongoing probe into his alleged complicity in a wide range of crimes. The 39-year-old Russian, who also holds the citizenship of France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis, appeared before a Paris court on Wednesday. Though he has not been formally indicted in either French case a decision is expected overnight on Wednesday. Durov could be charged with 12 criminal offenses, including facilitating narcotics distribution, money laundering, and organized crime, and aiding in the distribution of child pornography. According to Paris prosecutors, a “person unnamed” used Durov’s app to commit multiple offenses. Durov’s refusal to turn over the user’s data to law enforcement led to him being investigated, Politico reported on Wednesday.

Shortly after Durov arrived at the court, France’s AFP news agency reported that the entrepreneur was also being investigated on suspicion of “serious acts of violence” against his six-year-old son. Citing “a source close to the case,” AFP claimed that the probe was recently opened by France’s child welfare office. Durov’s son was born in Russia and now resides in Switzerland with his mother, Irina Bolgar. It is unclear whether the investigation is linked to a criminal complaint filed against Durov by Bolgar in Switzerland last year. According to court documents seen by Forbes magazine, Bolgar accused her ex-partner of five instances of violence against his son, before filing a child custody case. Both cases were filed shortly after Durov allegedly stopped paying Bolgar €150,000 ($167,500) in child support per month, Forbes noted. Durov has also claimed to have fathered over 100 children in 12 countries through sperm donation.

In a statement on Sunday, Telegram called it “absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.” Telegram complies with local laws, including the EU’s Digital Rights Act (DSA) and anti-Russian sanctions, the company added. Neither Durov nor Telegram have commented on the alleged child abuse case. Anti-censorship activists have described Durov’s arrest as part of a wider campaign against free speech waged by Western governments, with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden accusing France of taking the entrepreneur “hostage” in order to access private communications on Telegram. X Owner Elon Musk, American journalist Tucker Carlson, and Silicon Valley investor David Sacks have all condemned Durov’s arrest as an attack on free speech.

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They had had dinner before. Why would he be suspicious?

French Paper: Macron Had Invited Durov For Dinner (Sp.)

It appears that Paris has tried to trap Telegram founder Pavel Durov for quite a while, Wall Street analyst and investigative journalist Charles Ortel told Sputnik, not ruling out that granting of the French citizenship to the Russian tech prodigy was part of the plan. “It looks very much like a trap,” Ortel said. He also referred to the claim by the French newspaper, Le Canard Enchaine, that the Telegram founder came to Paris to dine with President Emmanuel Macron. The claim was rejected by the Elysee Palace. This apparent plot to entrap Durov could have been initiated by Macron either at the behest of the US “deep state,” or as the French president’s attempt to “curry favor” with American deep state figures, according to the Wall Street analyst. “The essence of the problem is simple: Deep State ‘globalism’ is a fundamentally flawed construct that enriches a tiny minority of connected insiders, and impoverishes the balance of the world,” Ortel told Sputnik.

“Those who play along pretending that unregulated, chaotic globalist plans are actually working are celebrated including the Clintons, Soros, Bill Gates, Mike Bloomberg, Rupert Murdoch and people like Macron, Blair and Obama. Those who wish to punish corrupt globalist actors are targeted. According to the Wall Street analyst, Macron is “a purveyor of trash talk”. The analyst notes that platforms like Telegram are educating “the deluded mass audience,” which could hold corrupt actors— including those within the deep state— accountable. Consequently, the deep state and its allies are targeting Durov’s Telegram and other independent platforms, the analyst maintains. On August 28, the Wall Street Journal reported that Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, had at least one dinner with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, during which the possibility of relocating Telegram’s headquarters to France was discussed. Macron also allegedly put forward the offer of granting French citizenship to the Russian tech mogul.

According to the WSJ, this conversation took place in 2018. Interestingly, a year earlier, Durov had become the target of a French-Emirati intelligence operation code-named “Purple Music.” Sources familiar with the situation revealed that Durov’s iPhone was reportedly hacked by spies at that time. In August 2021, Durov was granted French citizenship through “an exceptional and highly political procedure,” as the French press described it in June 2023, calling it “a surprising choice on the part of the authorities.” That being said, it does not appear that the Russian national urgently required another foreign citizenship. Before obtaining a French passport, Durov became a citizen of the UAE. Additionally, he has held citizenship in Saint Kitts and Nevis since 2013. Likewise, there were no announcements that he planned to move the Telegram headquarters anywhere from Dubai where he has resided since 2017.

The Telegram CEO was arrested on August 24, immediately after his private jet landed at Paris’ Le Bourget airport. When the Russian Embassy in France sent a note to the French authorities, requesting consular access to the detained Telegram founder, Paris made it clear that they arrested Durov as a French citizen. This is how the trap for Durov snapped shut, according to Russian diplomats. “The problem is that… Pavel Durov has French citizenship. Accordingly, for Paris, for France, he is, first and foremost, a citizen of their country,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a press briefing on August 25. The German press cited an unnamed investigator as saying that Durov had apparently been aware he was a wanted man in France which makes his flight to Paris “something of a surprise”.

Le Canard Enchaine, however, cites Durov as saying that he was invited by the French president. If the Russian businessman believed he was invited by Macron there is nothing surprising in his decision to go to Paris. According to Ortel, this situation speaks volumes about the French government. The Macron cabinet was lambasted by French politician and head of the Patriot Party, Florian Philippot: “Macron is perfectly capable of this kind of trickery, in order to fulfill the mission demanded by his masters: to jail all those who defend freedom of expression!”

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“..Telegram has been “the darling of the CIA, the State Department, and USAID” for political operations worldwide..”

CIA Used Telegram To Topple Governments – Mike Benz (RT)

The US and its CIA-controlled “soft power” arm utilized the encrypted social media app Telegram to foment riots and protest movements against foreign governments it deems undesirable, former Trump administration official and free speech activist Mike Benz has said. These statements were made during an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson on his show Wednesday. Benz, a State Department official under the Trump administration, now runs the free speech watchdog Foundation for Freedom Online. Carlson asked Benz about a potential US role in the arrest of Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov in France last week. A court in Paris charged Durov on Wednesday with complicity in several crimes perpetrated through his app, as well as failing to cooperate with French authorities. While the former diplomat did not speculate, he noted that Durov’s detention aligns with the pattern of “soft power” tactics the US has pursued in the past.

The US has championed free speech globally for decades, “in large part” because it allows the country to build resistance and political or paramilitary movements “in countries where the US State Department seeks political control,” the former official said. Durov’s end-to-end encrypted social media app Telegram has been instrumental in this effort, Benz claimed. The reason “26 US-government-funded NGOs” condemned Russia for attempting to ban Telegram in 2018 was that “the US State Department was using Telegram,” utilizing its encryption and local popularity “to foment protests and riots within Russia – just as they did in Belarus, Iran, Hong Kong, and attempted to do in China,” the former State Department official stated. The app’s encryption is a powerful means of evading state control over media and allowing “US-funded political groups or dissidents to garner tens of thousands of supporters with relative impunity,” he added.

Benz asserted that Telegram was the “main channel” when the US was “effectively orchestrating a color revolution in Belarus” in 2020. “The National Endowment for Democracy NED was actually paying the main administrators of the Telegram channels that orchestrated those riots,” he noted, calling the NED “one of the most prolific CIA cutouts in the arsenal.” This practice is part of a long-running campaign by the US, UK, and other NATO partners to gain political control over the territories of the former Soviet Union and their resources, according to Benz. He concluded that Telegram has been “the darling of the CIA, the State Department, and USAID” for political operations worldwide, due to its billion users and the ease with which they can be directed to necessary channels for recruitment.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1828962108349792457
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828929910490182140
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828941145055084682

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“If you want to fight for free speech, this is the way..”

Kim Dotcom Calls For Boycott Of France Over Durov Arrest (RT)

The founder of the Megaupload file sharing service, Kim Schmitz, more commonly known as Kim Dotcom, has called for a boycott of France over the recent arrest of Telegram creator and CEO Pavel Durov in Paris. Writing on X on Wednesday, Dotcom urged people to “boycott France until Pavel Durov is released” and called on people to stop spending money on French products and refrain from traveling to the country. “If you want to fight for free speech, this is the way,” Dotcom wrote. The 39-year-old Russian entrepreneur was arrested on Saturday upon arriving at the Paris-Le Bourget Airport on a private jet. The Paris public prosecutor’s office has stated that Durov was arrested as part of a broader criminal inquiry against an unnamed person and a French judge has already twice extended his detention.

According to prosecutors, Durov, who also holds French, Emirati, and St Kitts and Nevis citizenship, could face charges ranging from complicity in drug dealing and money laundering, to facilitating the distribution of child pornography. The possible charges reportedly stem from what prosecutors believe to be insufficient moderation of Telegram and Durov’s failure to prevent misuse of the messenger app by bad actors. French President Emmanuel Macron has also claimed that the Telegram founder’s detention was part of “an ongoing judicial investigation” and was “in no way a political decision.” Telegram, meanwhile, has stressed that the app “abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act” and has called it “absurd” to claim that the company or its owner are responsible for the misuse of the platform.

Durov’s sudden arrest has sparked a wave of backlash against French authorities from across the globe. Many, including billionaire Elon Musk, American journalist Tucker Carlson, and Silicon Valley investor David Sacks, have described the move as a direct attack on free speech. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has also accused France of holding Durov “hostage” in order to gain access to the private communications of Telegram users. The app currently has approximately one billion active monthly users around the world. Durov previously stated in an interview with Carlson that he had consistently refused to provide user data to any authorities, including US intelligence services, or to install a surveillance “backdoor” in the app.

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“Like the hippo, the U.S. started out small and vulnerable to aggressors like England, which re-invaded in 1812. But things have changed for both the hippo and us. Can’t we be smarter than a hippo?”

Cut the Defense Budget by 97.5% (Rall)

Because effective lawmaking requires bipartisanship and members of Congress are, like their constituents, at their most ideologically divided point in a half century, cooperation is in increasingly short supply. As a result or, more precisely non-result, the U.S. Congress passes fewer bills every year. There is, however, one consistent area of agreement on Capitol Hill: defense spending. Each year for the past six decades, the massive National Defense Authorization Act—Washington-speak for the federal defense spending bill has passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. Defense appropriations are so sacrosanct that the press often describes the NDAA as “must pass”; it is routine for Congress to add in hundreds of millions of dollars of extraneous spending that the Pentagon does not want or request.

In the U.S. Congress, even “antiwar” voices support the military. Obama’s 2008 campaign was primarily predicated on his opposition to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Yet even his GOP opponent John McCain didn’t care call out Obama on the fact that when he had six chances to vote on the Iraq War—he wasn’t in the Senate yet when it voted on the measure authorizing President George W. Bush to attack the government of Saddam Hussein—he voted to send the cash each time. Bernie Sanders has repeatedly voted to fund the military and sending weapons for wars being waged by U.S. proxies like Israel and Ukraine. Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Republicans describe as Marxist, socialist and communist, is thoroughly committed to the cult of American militarism. “As Commander-in-Chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world,” she said in Thursday’s nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.

The idea that military expenditures are “must pass” relies on the assumption that the U.S. faces existential threats to its safety and/or sovereignty. This is crap. As Statfor’s classic 2011 assessment of the United States and its geopolitical position noted: “The American geography is an impressive one.” Consider Russia. It has thousands of miles of land borders, most of it without significant natural barriers like mountain ranges or large bodies of water to deter a potential invader, millions of square miles of fairly flat lands that can quickly and easily be traversed, with numerous neighbors that are hostile and have posed a historical threat. Given its situation, Russia’s rulers have traditionally relied on friendly buffer and vassal states around its perimeter.

“The U.S. Atlantic Coast possesses more major ports than the rest of the Western Hemisphere combined,” Stratfor observed. “Two vast oceans insulated the United States from Asian and European powers, deserts separate the United States from Mexico to the south, while lakes and forests separate the population centers in Canada from those in the United States. The United States has capital, food surpluses and physical insulation in excess of every other country in the world by an exceedingly large margin.” Canada and Mexico are friendly vassal states. “Red Dawn” was just a movie. Gun nuts who think they’ll need AR-15s to arm a Resistance against alien invaders are deluded. No one wants to invade us. No one wants to take away our freedoms. No one can.

We are acting like the hippopotamus. Hippos are the most dangerous land animal on the planet, killing 500 human beings every year. They’re nervous and high-strung because they rapidly evolved from a much smaller creature that made easy prey. Poor things! They don’t realize that they’ve become huge, grown fearsome teeth and no longer need to be aggressive and territorial. Like the hippo, the U.S. started out small and vulnerable to aggressors like England, which re-invaded in 1812. But things have changed for both the hippo and us. Can’t we be smarter than a hippo?

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“..an interview from Dana Bash on CNN this Thursday — but it’ll be with Tim Walz by her side, ready to step in should she put her foot in her mouth. It’ll also likely be pre-recorded and edited.”

The Policy Desperation Of Kamala Harris (QTR)

While Donald Trump spent last week continuing to advocate for the same policies he ran on the first time he was president, Kamala Harris was advocating for the opposite of what her administration has done for the last 3.5 years and was adopting another one of Trump’s policies she previously railed against: building a border wall. Axios reported on Tuesday morning that Harris was now considering spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a wall on the southern border. The report said: If she’s elected president, Kamala Harris pledges to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the wall along the southern border — a project she once opposed and called “un-American” during the Trump administration. Harris had also previously called a wall ““a medieval vanity project”, as well as repeatedly calling it “racist”, “useless”, a “stupid use of money”, “a complete waste of taxpayer money” and “wasteful”.

“On the subject of transnational gangs, let’s be perfectly clear, the President’s medieval vanity project is not going to stop them,” she said in 2019, talking about Donald Trump’s wall-building ambitions. This humiliating and hypocritical change of stance by Kamala Harris marks the second major Trump policy she’s stolen from her Republican competitor since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee barely 40 days ago. As my readers know, just days ago I wrote about how Harris, whose IRS during the Biden administration was actively trying to crack down on taxing tipped employees, miraculously changed her mind and adopted Donald Trump’s “no tax on tips” policy that he had been advocating for, with success, over the last few months. Further, economist Peter Schiff skewered her ideas as “socialism” in a wide ranging interview I held with him just days ago about Harris’ economic plan.

And while Harris may have been able to write off the “no tax on tips” policy theft as a one-off in the name of adopting common sense, her repeated railing against the idea of a border wall, combined with the fact that she has allowed millions of illegal immigrants to cross the border during her tenure as Vice President and “Border Czar”, makes this policy change look like pure desperation. It is an appalling, unfathomable stance to take all of a sudden — after 3.5 years of the Biden-Harris administration willingly allowing millions of illegals through the southern border and even actively fighting against the state of Texas to prevent it from sealing its border. If people didn’t catch on that Harris has no good ideas when she stole Trump’s “no tax on tips” policy, they’re going to catch on now.

To try to wave another massive policy flip-flop in the face of the voters that matter—swing state independents and centrists—is just going to look ridiculous at this point. The pivot is so stark and stands in such contrast to Harris’s past rhetoric that even the most uninformed voters are going to have to take notice. Compounding the idiocy of running her campaign on an increasing number of Donald Trump’s policies (to boot, Harris also said Tuesday she wouldn’t mandate electric vehicles), Kamala Harris still refuses to do a live, solo in-person interview or press conference. On Tuesday night it was announced she’d sit down for an interview from Dana Bash on CNN this Thursday — but it’ll be with Tim Walz by her side, ready to step in should she put her foot in her mouth. It’ll also likely be pre-recorded and edited.

Read more …

“Minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so his name will remain on the ballot in the November election..”

Several States Refuse To Remove RFK Jr’s Name From Ballots, Hurting Trump (ZH)

After Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the presidential race last week and threw his support behind former President Trump, several states have refused to remove his name from the ballot after he announced he would do so in about 10 swing states. “Our polling consistently showed that by staying on the ballot in the battleground states, I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues,” Kennedy said just before endorsing Trump, Insider reports. Three key states have dug in and are refusing to remove his name; Michigan – a key battleground state, said it was too late for Kennedy to withdraw as the nominee of the Natural Law Party. Wisconsin – whose Elections Commission voted 5-1 on Tuesday against removing his name, citing a law which says “any person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot may not decline nomination.” Colorado – which, while less competitive for Trump than Michigan or Wisconsin, also refused to remove Kennedy’s name.

“Minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so his name will remain on the ballot in the November election,” said Cheri Hardmon, a spokesperson for Michigan Secretary of State in a statement to the Detroit News. “The Natural Law Party held their convention to select electors for Robert Kennedy Jr. They cannot meet at this point to select new electors since it’s past the primary,” she added. Nevada notably allowed RFK Jr. to remove his name after his legal team came to an agreement with DNC lawyers who were suing to keep him off the ballot. As The Conservative Treehouse notes; “RFK Jr is gone from ballots in the battleground states of Arizona, Pennsylvania and now Nevada. Not Michigan and Wisconsin. Florida, Texas and Ohio have also removed Kennedy, but those are generally Red. The state to watch is now North Carolina, where ballots would have to be reprinted quickly if the RFK Jr intent is to withdraw. The Kennedy team have not requested to remove their candidate from North Carolina.

(VIA NPR) – “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been nominated by the We The People Party as that party’s presidential candidate to be listed on the ballot,” North Carolina State Board of Elections public information officer Patrick Gannon said. “That party has not informed the State Board of any plans to change its nomination.” Gannon said that if We The People withdrew Kennedy’s nomination, state officials would have to consider if it would be practical to reprint ballots. As of Friday, nearly a third of North Carolina’s 100 counties had started the printing process.

Read more …

“Trump claimed that the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling should have seen the entire case being dismissed..”

Trump Slams Jack Smith As ‘Deranged’ (RT)

Former President Donald Trump has lashed out at the US administration and the Department of Justice over their latest attempt to prosecute him for alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election. The Republican candidate in this year’s race for the White House has described the legal campaign targeting him as “a direct assault on democracy” and a case of actual election interference. Trump’s statements follow a new indictment filed against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith, accusing the former head of state of illegally trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. The new document is a stripped-down version of last year’s criminal case against Trump, which alleged that he “spread lies” of “outcome-determinative fraud” in the election by insisting that he had won the race at the time instead of Joe Biden. Trump launched an appeal in that case, claiming immunity from prosecution as president, and the initial indictment was dismissed last month by the Supreme Court.

The revised document, which is shorter and lacking part of the original that had accused Trump of trying to force the Justice Department to overturn his election loss, still lays out the same four charges that prosecutors initially brought against the former president. Among them are conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy against the voting rights of citizens, and charges relating to the disruption of Congress’ certification of the electoral vote by a mob of Trump’s supporters on January 6, 2021. Trump, who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and denounced the case as an attempt to prevent him from returning to power, slammed the new indictment in a slew of posts on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, calling it a “resurrection of a dead witch hunt.”

What they are doing now is the single greatest sabotage of our Democracy in History…. This is for Third World Countries and Banana Republics, not for the USA! Trump claimed that the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling should have seen the entire case being dismissed, and lambasted the “deranged” Jack Smith for bringing it up again “in an act of desperation, and in order to save face.” “This is merely an attempt to interfere with the election, and distract the American people from the catastrophes [Vice President] Kamala Harris has inflicted on our nation,” Trump wrote. He also accused the Department of Justice of breaking its own 60-days policy, which prohibits it from taking any action that could influence the race in the two months preceding the presidential election.

Read more …

“..Harris and Biden portrayed him as a “threat to democracy,” which “can get assassins or potential assassins going.”

Trump Suggests Biden And Harris Partly To Blame For Attempt On His Life (RT)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has suggested that his Democratic rival and current vice president, Kamala Harris, and President Joe Biden are partly responsible for the assassination attempt against him last month. The GOP firebrand alleged that the pair had been making it more difficult for the Secret Service to protect him, while pedaling the kind of rhetoric that could have encouraged the shooter. Trump narrowly escaped death when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on him during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. The would-be assassin had taken position on a nearby rooftop that gave him an unobstructed view of the Republican candidate. One of the bullets grazed the former president’s right ear, with one attendee killed and two others injured as a result of the shooting. The shooter was subsequently killed by Secret Service agents.

In an interview on Tuesday with Phil McGraw, better known as Dr Phil, Trump said: “I think to a certain extent it’s Biden’s fault and Harris’s fault.” He accused the pair of “weaponizing government” against him and bringing in the “whole DOJ to try and get me.” “They weren’t too interested in my health and safety,” the Republican nominee added, claiming that Biden and Harris “were making it very difficult to have proper staffing in terms of Secret Service.” According to the former president, Harris and Biden portrayed him as a “threat to democracy,” which “can get assassins or potential assassins going.” “Maybe that bullet is because of their rhetoric,” Trump suggested.

In late July, Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives unanimously voted in favor of creating a bipartisan task force to probe the attempted assassination of Trump. Made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats, its intended goal is to examine potential security lapses on federal, state and local levels of law enforcement that led up to the incident. Several days prior, Kimberly Cheatle stepped down as director of the Secret Service. Her resignation was preceded by an acrimonious congressional hearing that saw lawmakers accuse her of withholding information and refusing to take responsibility for security failures at the rally. She was forced to acknowledge that “on July 13, we failed” in a manner not seen in decades.

Read more …

Ask Trump.

Ukraine Demands ‘No Strings Attached’ $50 Billion From G7 (RT)

Ukraine has demanded that no conditions be attached to a $50 billion loan by G7 members to the country which is reportedly backed by seized Russian assets. Speaking at the ‘Ukraine 2024. Independence’ forum on Tuesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal stated that while G7 leaders agreed to lend $50 billion in June, Kiev insists on a certain “political framework” related to the funds. “Ukraine should receive them by the end of this year at the latest. These funds should be provided to Ukraine without any conditions,” he insisted. This loan also “should be interest-free and not affect an increase in the state debt,” Shmigal went on, adding that Kiev must be able to use the funds for any of its needs, primarily to compensate for the damage the country has suffered during the conflict.

The prime minister noted that Kiev and the G7 had reached an agreement on this point, but said he wants Ukraine to be able to use the funds to finance the budget and the military. Shmigal conceded that providing Ukraine with this loan “is a difficult task.” “The G7 countries and the EU must find a consensus on how to provide this money. These funds will be compensated for our partners by revenues from frozen Russian assets, the total amount of which is $300 billion,” he said, adding that the annual interest on this sum is $3-4 billion annually. The prime minister acknowledged that Ukraine remains in dire financial straits, pointing to a $35 billion deficit in next year’s budget, $15 billion of which still has to be covered in some way.

“Our goal is to get all $300 billion which is frozen,” Shmigal stressed. He added, however, that for the time being, Ukraine also intends to raise funds by increasing internal borrowing and taxation. While Western nations have discussed outright confiscation of the $300 billion in sovereign Russian assets, mostly stashed in Belgium, they have so far refrained from doing so due to legal and public image concerns. However, G7 members have agreed to use the profits from these assets to finance Ukraine. Moscow has denounced the asset freeze as “theft.” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the West’s decision to use profits from Russian money to help Ukraine is “criminal, cynical, and another blow to international law.”

Read more …

“Ukraine, for obvious reasons, has always been part of the canonical jurisdiction of Moscow and never wanted to stop being so..”

Banning the “Russian” Orthodox Church (SCF)

Recently, Ukraine finally passed a total ban on the Orthodox Church, making the faith of more than 80% of the Ukrainian people illegal. The decision did not surprise anyone, as several laws restricting the Church’s activities had already been approved in the country since 2022 – in addition to the de facto persecution of Orthodoxy taking place since the Maidan coup in 2014. However, even so, the Western media continues trying to soften the crimes of its proxy regime. The current main narrative in the Western media is that Ukraine has banned the “Russian Orthodox Church”. By calling the Orthodox Church on Ukrainian soil “Russian”, the media induces public opinion to believe that the ban only affects a specific religious group linked to Moscow, and does not harm the Orthodox faithful as a whole. However, this is an easily refutable lie.

Unlike the Catholic Church, Orthodoxy does not have a “universal bishop” – like a “Pope” – and its administration is therefore divided into regional jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction of the Church is absolutely sovereign, with Orthodoxy being a Communion of Faith between different Autocephalous Churches. Each Autocephalous Church administers a canonical territory, with no Church being authorized to interfere in the internal affairs of another’s territory. The canonical territory of an Autocephalous Church is not necessarily restricted to the borders of nation states. Canonical territorial delimitation concerns the historical development of Orthodoxy in a region. State borders are much more unstable than canonical borders – which, although they can change, require much more time to develop such reconfigurations. In the case of the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate, Russian jurisdiction extends to almost the entire post-Soviet space, in addition to some regions of Far Asia, such as China and Japan.

Ukraine, for obvious reasons, has always been part of the canonical jurisdiction of Moscow and never wanted to stop being so. There are even reports that canonical autocephaly was already offered to Ukrainians by the Russians, being rejected. In the case of very large canonical territories, such as Russia’s, it is common for there to be division into local “sub-jurisdictions”. These sub-jurisdictions sometimes correspond to the specific territories of some nation states. This is precisely the case with the Orthodox Church of Japan and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, for example – both sub-jurisdictions subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate. These regional churches have broad administrative autonomy, but do not have canonical sovereignty (autocephaly). It is important to emphasize how these divisions are purely administrative in nature, although they correspond to historical, cultural and political factors.

There is no such a thing as an “ethnic division” of Orthodoxy, being this type of segregationist mentality – known as “phyletism” – banned as a heresy in the Orthodox Communion. So, it must be said very clearly that by banning the canonical Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) on Ukrainian soil, the Kiev regime simply banned the Ukrainian Orthodox Church itself. In other words, the faith of 80% of the Ukrainian people has become illegal in the country. Zelensky did not simply banish the Church. He also called the Orthodox Christians of the Moscow Patriarchate “Muscovite demons” in his speech on Ukraine’s “independence day.” Furthermore, Artyom Dmitruk, a Ukrainian parliamentarian who voted against the Church ban, is being persecuted by the regime, having even suffered attacks on members of his family. The police are also reacting with violence against all demonstrators protesting against the ban on the Church, having then an official situation of religious persecution in the neo-Nazi regime.

It is also interesting to mention that there are efforts by the Western media to promote an ultranationalist Ukrainian schismatic sect – the so-called “Kiev Patriarchate”. The group was created by some former Ukrainian ultranationalist clerics in the 1990s following unsuccessful minority demands of autocephaly for Kiev. Since 2014, the sect has become a kind of Ukrainian “state church”, receiving strong support from the Maidan Junta – including the handover of canonical Church assets confiscated by the Ukrainian state. This sect is known for venerating as saints the so-called “national heroes” of Ukraine, such as SS member and Holocaust collaborator Stepan Bandera. Furthermore, the group carries out several blasphemous acts against Orthodox Christianity, preaching a kind of Russophobic “anti-Orthodoxy”.

Unfortunately, however, political interference in religion has been strong in Ukraine, mainly from external actors. The “Kiev Patriarchate” was recently “recognized” by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in an illegal intervention maneuver in the canonical territory of Moscow. Constantinople is fortunately isolated in its decision, being supported only by the Autocephalous Churches of Athens and Alexandria.

Read more …

“..Iran is not interested in a war that could further undermine its economy and increase social tensions within the country.”

The World Is Heading Towards War, It Will Begin In The Middle East (Sadygzade)

With each passing day, the Middle East inches closer to a full-scale, devastating war. Multiple regional powers are involved, each being pushed by its own internal and external pressures further away from peace. The situation intensified following the events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, prompting a fierce response from the Israeli military. Palestinians continue to insist on a return to the 1967 borders and the establishment of their own state with East Jerusalem as its capital, while Israel refuses to make these concessions. Tensions remain high, severely complicating any attempts at a diplomatic resolution. Some Western officials, however, particularly in the US, claim that a ceasefire agreement is imminent, and optimism about these statements is buoyed by Iran’s restraint in not yet retaliating for the assassination of Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, 2024. Iran seems to be holding back, perhaps in hopes of stabilizing the region.

However, there are forces within and beyond the region that continue to exert a destructive influence, seemingly unaware that their actions could lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, the collapse of several states, and disastrous consequences for the entire world. This is precisely what Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed during a press conference on August 27. He expressed the view that some parties involved in the Middle Eastern conflict are not interested in a resolution. According to him, these parties prefer to continue the hostilities, betting on potential changes in the global political landscape. Lavrov noted that it appears some of these actors are deliberately maintaining violence to achieve their political goals. Lavrov also highlighted the connection between the situation in the Middle East and political processes in other countries, particularly the upcoming election in the US.

He suggested that the Israeli leadership might be hoping for changes in American policy that would reduce international pressure on Israel concerning its military operation in Gaza. The foreign minister expressed concern that these expectations could delay a resolution of the conflict. Furthermore, Lavrov stressed that Russia, like many other countries, condemned the terrorist attacks that occurred on October 7. However, he pointed out that a response involving collective punishment of the civilian population violates international humanitarian law. He criticized approaches that cause suffering to innocent people and exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe. Lavrov paid special attention to statements by Israeli military officials who claim there are no civilians in Gaza, suggesting that all its residents are terrorists. He called this rhetoric dangerous, noting that it further inflames tensions.

In recent weeks, negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have failed to produce any concrete agreements on a ceasefire. While the talks in Cairo were described as constructive, no agreements were reached. This situation illustrates that, despite the efforts of the international community, the parties to the conflict are not yet ready for peace. The recent assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a prominent leader of Hamas, has raised numerous questions about Iran’s response, given its longstanding support for Palestinian resistance groups and the fact that the man was killed in Tehran. Iran has yet to strike back against Israel, which at first glance might seem surprising. The reasons for this restraint lie in Iran’s strategic interests and its desire to avoid a large-scale conflict.

First and foremost, the Iranian leadership understands that a war with Israel could have catastrophic consequences. The situation in the Middle East is already highly volatile, and an open conflict involving Iran would only exacerbate the crisis. Furthermore, Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, a representative of the reformist bloc, is focused on normalizing relations with the West. The primary reason for this is Iran’s dire economic situation. In 2024, the Iranian economy continues to face significant challenges: Inflation has reached 40%, unemployment has risen to 15%, and the national currency continues to depreciate. Under these conditions, Iran is not interested in a war that could further undermine its economy and increase social tensions within the country.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly expressed a willingness to negotiate a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, also known as the Iran nuclear deal) under fair terms. These statements indicate that Iran is pursuing diplomatic solutions and recognizes the need for international cooperation. Tehran is aware that the outcome of a war with Israel, backed by NATO, is unpredictable. Thus, the delay in responding to Israel’s actions is more of a political tool than a sign of weakness. Iran seeks to use this pause to exert diplomatic and political pressure on Israel and the US to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

Read more …

“I am more convinced than ever that we are headed for nuclear Armageddon..”

The World is Devoid of Intelligent Leadership (Paul Craig Roberts)

As readers know, I admire Russian President Putin, but the reasons I admire him make him a failed war leader. Putin is a product of an old conception of foreign affairs as a rational enterprise conducted by gentlemen who relied on agreement rather than on the imposition of power. Consequently, when faced with non-gentlemen, Putin finds he played his cards wrong and lacks power. By this I mean conventional power. He went to war in Donbas without an army, and he still doesn’t have one. Therefore, the defense of Russia now resides in tactical nuclear weapons. Once they are used, it goes full scale. Putin failed to understand that the conflict in Ukraine provoked by Washington had to be quickly won. He has failed to comprehend reality since 2014 when Washington overthrew, while Putin did nothing, the Ukrainian government.

He still hasn’t built the massive Russian Army that would cause second thoughts among Washington’s NATO puppets. How a leader of Putin’s quality fails in this way is beyond my understanding. Perhaps Putin is a Western liberal created by decades of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe propaganda beamed into the Soviet Union. So many Russian intellectuals, known as Atlanticist Integrationists, are a product of Washington propaganda and thus a threat to Russia. Putin has never enforced any of his red lines. Consequently, every one has been crossed with zero consequences to the West. The latest Western audacity was the American led invasion of Kursk. Putin said the attackers would be held accountable, but the very limited strikes on some Ukrainian military and civilian infrastructure hardly count as acts of war.

If we turn to the Middle East, we see the same inability to recognize reality. Israel used the moronic George W. Bush (really Dick Cheney) Regime to eliminate the countries opposing Israel’s expansion in the Middle East–Iraq, Syria, Iran. Washington knocked off Iraq for Israel, pretending it was a “war on terror” and “weapons of mass destruction,” and the dumbshit Americans fell for it. But before the Obama Regime could deliver its attack on Syria, Russia was there, thus saving the country. Now Israel has Washington focused on Iran. Why? Because Iran finances and arms the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, which has successfully defeated two Israeli invasions. If Israel can get Washington to get rid of Iran, Israel can grab southern Lebanon and perhaps the entire country. Once Israel’s forces were committed to Gaza, it was a perfect time for Syria to retake the Golan Heights and for Hezbollah to overrun northern Israel.

Iran could have knocked out the Iron Dome and destroyed Israeli air bases and military sites. But nothing happened. Seeing nothing but indecision and weakness, Israel began a campaign of attacking Syria, Hezbollah, and assassinating people in Iran. Following an assassination in the Iranian capital, the Iranian leader said he was going to teach Israel a lesson. But he didn’t. All Iran did was to reveal to Israel that it had the capability to breach the Iron Dome and bring destruction to Israel, but Iran brought no destruction. Instead, Iran stupidly revealed its capability, thus in an act of total stupidity put Israel on alert. Syria, allegedly, has the Russian S-300 air defense system. Either it doesn’t work or the Russians won’t let Syria use it to deter Israeli and US air attacks on Syria, which continue unabated. Makes one wonder why Russia bothered to intervene..

One can’t help but wonder if Putin and the almost equally unrealistic Chinese leader are sitting on Iran and Hezbollah, thinking that they are preventing an outbreak of a larger war. To the contrary, they are contributing to the outbreak of wider war. From all indications, neither the Russian, Chinese, or Iranian governments have sufficient awareness of the situation to understand that a lack of effective response to aggression leads to more and worse aggression. There are on the Iranian scene two of Washington’s carrier task force groups, US soldiers, and US jet fighters. Why are they there? Certainly not to rescue Israel from Gazans. What does this tell us? There are no Russian or Chinese forces in the area. What does this tell us? Just as there is no effective response to Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians, there is no effective response to Washington’s aggression against Russia, China, and Iran.

It would be so easy to stop this dangerous aggression. Only one simple thing is needed–a public statement by Russia, China, and Iran that the three countries have signed a mutual defense treaty, and an attack on one is an attack on all. That would end the Middle East conflict, and it would end the otherwise certain increase of NATO attacks, if only with long range missiles, on mother Russia that, unless Putin surrenders, will result in nuclear World War 3. Where is the necessary treaty that will stop the road to nuclear Armageddon? Why are the leaders of Russia, China, and Iran unable to act?

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Elvis
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828689517210968437

 

 

RFK 30 min
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828517649875189949

 

 

MAHA

 

 

Wedding

 

 

Cat snake
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828660201836204525

 

 

Workout
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828667904809701597

 

 

Grey wolf

 

 

Pyramid

 

 

Oasis

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Aug 282024
 


Francisco Collantes The Vision of Ezekiel 1630

 

Durov May Be Banned From Leaving France If Charged (Sp.)
Macron Invited Durov in 2018 to Move Telegram Headquarters to Paris (Sp.)
Pavel Durov: The Quixotic Free Speech Hero of Our Time (Karganovic)
EU to Telegram – We’re Coming to Get You (Pepe Escobar)
Musk Asks Macron To Explain Durov Arrest (RT)
Durov’s Arrest Is ‘Hallmark Of Dictatorship’ – Tucker Carlson to RFK Jr (RT)
Durov’s Arrest Represents A New Level Of Desperation From Western Elites (Jay)
Harris Agrees To Debate Rules – Trump (RT)
Trump Slams Harris ‘Flip Flop’ On Border Wall (ZH)
Will Kennedy Save Trump? (Bridge)
Jack Smith Files Revised Indictment in Trump Federal Election Case (ET)
Trump Lawyers Urge Appeals Court to Disqualify Fani Willis (ET)
The Western Way of War – Owning The Narrative Trumps Reality (Crooke)
Macron Rejects Left-Wing Government (RT)
Poland In ‘State Of Hybrid War’ – Deputy Defense Chief (RT)
US Nuclear Missile Project At Least 5 Years Behind Schedule – WSJ (RT)

 

 

 

 

How on earth can the polls be so close if most people Lemon talks to don’t know who Kamala is? I’m not buying it. It takes time to build name and face recognition. But Kamala just spent her first 40 days hiding from the press. Those polls are lying.

Lemon

 

 

RFK
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828219047407706539
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828245686845927504

 

 

Trump Dr. Phil
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828599617216209031

 

 

Tulsi
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828382219125301584

Biolabs
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828150312265547911

 

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1828268100040700374

 

 

 

 

“..the arrest warrant was issued by France’s OFMIN, the agency tasked with combating violence against minors..”

But

“..the investigation of his case has been entrusted to the National Anti-Fraud Unit..”

What links violence against minors to fraud?

Durov May Be Banned From Leaving France If Charged (Sp.)

Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who was detained in France, may be banned from leaving the country if charged, the Financial Times newspaper reported, citing an informed Paris-based lawyer. Investigators may try to obtain additional information from Durov for the investigation or put pressure on him by extending his detention, the report said on Tuesday. If Durov is charged “it will be interesting to see what measures a judge imposes, as he lives abroad,” the lawyer was quoted as saying by the newspaper, adding that house arrest or a ban on leaving the country could be imposed. Durov may be in custody at the National Anti-Fraud Unit in the suburbs of Paris, a source told RIA Novosti.

“Considering that the investigation of his case has been entrusted to the National Anti-Fraud Unit, Durov may be there,” the source said. Russian-born Durov, who is a citizen of multiple countries, including France, was detained at an airport north of Paris on Saturday on charges linked to criminal uses of his Telegram app, including terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering and fraud.

Read more …

Macron detests not having hi tech industry in France.

Macron Invited Durov in 2018 to Move Telegram Headquarters to Paris (Sp.)

French President Emmanuel Macron invited Telegram founder Pavel Durov to move the app’s headquarters from Dubai to Paris in 2018, but he declined, US media reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Macron made the proposal during a lunch, which had not been previously reported, the people said. The French leader also discussed granting French citizenship to Durov at the time, the newspaper reported. Russian-born Durov, who holds citizenship in several countries including France, was detained at a Paris airport on Saturday on charges related to the criminal use of his Telegram app, including terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering and fraud, which could land the 39-year-old billionaire in prison for up to 20 years. Macron has said that Durov’s arrest was not a political decision and promised that the decision on the businessman’s case will be made by judges.

Read more …

“..enormously gifted, focused, eloquent, engagingly modest, and above all supremely principled..”

Pavel Durov: The Quixotic Free Speech Hero of Our Time (Karganovic)

It seems that over two hundred years after the Revolution, in France the Liberté part of its celebrated slogan has not really stuck. On Saturday 24 August, Russian social media platform entrepreneur Pavel Durov was arrested by the French police at La Bourget airport near Paris on trumped-up charges. The French authorities went about it in a sneaky third-world manner that does them no honour. They waited for Durov’s plane to enter French air space before issuing the arrest warrant. In it Durov was charged with a slew of “ham sandwich” offences, including such absurdities as “promotion of terrorism, paedophilia, fraud, drug trafficking, organised crime, and cyberbullying”. As soon as Durov departed the plane, he was surrounded and led off by police agents. The actual reasons for this arrest have nothing to do with the allegation in the charge sheet and they are bound to resonate with partisans of freedom everywhere.

Firstly, it is Durov’s resolute and principled refusal to share on demand with security agencies information that would compromise the privacy of Telegram users. Durov’s firm position in this regard collided directly with legislation which obligates social platforms operating on European Union territory to do precisely that. Secondly, the same legislation requires social media platforms to institute a humiliating system of what euphemistically is called “monitoring.” This amounts to directed censorship of opinions expressed by users in their Telegram posts. Durov wanted none of it. But in the EU, platform management is under orders to engage in this odious practice on behalf of and according to the directives of the totalitarian EU political elite. The firm rejection by Durov of that invasive demand, as we just saw, had dire consequences for his personal liberty.

All collective West based social platforms have willingly succumbed to these unethical demands and have more or less meekly agreed to act as extensions for their countries’ security services, to the detriment of users’ privacy. Attentive readers will easily connect the dots and recall that far from being an isolated occurrence this arrest follows a pattern of repression targeting non-systemic public figures in all major collective West “democracies.” Tucker Carlson a few months ago performed a huge public service by broadcasting an immensely informative interview with the thirty nine year-old Russian Wunderkind, recorded at Durov’s office in the United Arab Emirates.

The fascinating interview unveils the portrait of an enormously gifted, focused, eloquent, engagingly modest, and above all supremely principled person. Durov and his equally accomplished brother were the driving force behind VK, the Russian version of Facebook characterised by a much greater degree of sophistication, and later on of the Telegram social media platform which, at last count, had a global following of over nine hundred million users. But the key takeaway that emerged from Tucker Carlson’s interview, and it was with providential timing to counteract the deluge of media calumnies that is sure to follow Durov’s arrest, is something entirely different. It is the glaring contrast between the Russian genius, unmoved by the temptations of wealth and fame, and the avarice, vanity and emptiness of his Western counterparts who have been trying to compete with him in the same line of work.

With all that being said, like many members of the Russian intelligentsia, from A. Herzen in the 19th century on to the present day, Pavel Durov fell pray to his compatriots’ standard infantile misperception of where the grass is greener. At an earlier stage of his career he sadly failed to strike a reasonable balance between his passionate and laudable commitment to freedom and privacy and the conscientious fulfilment of his patriotic duties which, in their broad sweep, override fidelity to narrower principles, no matter how fundamental in their significance. Had he acted more flexibly then, and in the interview with Tucker Carlson the circumstances of that episode are fully revealed, he would not have turned into a stateless global nomad and most likely would not have fallen into the trap so treacherously sprung on him in Paris.

The legal situation arising from the detention of Pavel Durov, with the preposterous charges concocted against him and the harrowing possibility of twenty years’ imprisonment, is tailor made for maître Jacques Vergès but, unfortunately, he is no longer with us. One hopes that Durov will secure competent and uncorrupted representation and that his legal counsel shall grasp the self-evident fact that the case against him in its entirety is political, with criminal elements maliciously contrived and grafted on for propaganda effect.

The Assange case now having been settled, Pavel Durov is certain to become the new global privacy and freedom of expression icon. Freedom loving people world-wide will mobilise to show support in order to extract him from the clutches of the pathetic Macron regime and its overseas “partners” who, from the background, are undoubtedly pulling the strings. That is well and good. But one simply wishes that once and for all liberty would triumph. Icons are uplifting, but we could easily do with one fewer if that were the price that we should have to pay in order to secure the freedom to which Pavel so admirably dedicated his passionate idealism and irrepressible creativity.

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“Durov though got drunk on NATOstan’s “freedom and democracy” propaganda, rebuffed Russia, and left.”

“There’s one thing that Putin never tolerates: betrayal of Russia. And that applies to the letter to Durov.”

NOTE: he was free to leave.

EU to Telegram – We’re Coming to Get You (Pepe Escobar)

The Pavel Durov saga is a gift that will keep on giving for a long time to come. This is what hot information war is all about. So let’s attempt to connect several loose ends. A high-level Russian analyst makes the case that Durov’s arrest is connected with “anti-French protests in its former colonies, withdrawal from its traditional ‘sphere of influence’ where Telegram infrastructure was used to push anti-colonial and anti-Macronist narratives”. Add to it an “attempt to influence narratives on Ukraine both in Russian and the international media field, which is highly dependent on Telegram infrastructure.” Paris is indeed desperate to make itself relevant when it comes to psy ops and influencing/special warfare in Ukraine. However, as the analyst notes, the French don’t have the tech means to accomplish it.

So this may have led to Macron deciding to “exercise a personal pressure campaign against Durov himself. French authorities must be rather desperate in trying to keep their heads in the game of global politics. And Telegram today is global politics.” Paris was just waiting for a big break. When the pilot of Durov’s Embraer private jet submitted his flight plan, there was no warrant for his arrest in France. Only when the jet was on its way to Le Bourget, Paris filed the warrant in haste. Durov was clueless all along. In a nutshell: Paris got a fateful heads up he was flying into France – could have been via Durov’s Dubai-based, post-obsessive, social climbing girlfriend – and laid out the trap in a flash. There’s a myth that the FSB in the past asked Durov for Telegram’s encryption keys. False. The FSB wanted Telegram to provide top access on investigations of serious crimes, on a case-by-case basis.

That’s an enormous difference compared to what the US Government does with Meta or Twitter/X via their totally open backdoors. Durov though got drunk on NATOstan’s “freedom and democracy” propaganda, rebuffed Russia, and left. And that brings us to President Putin. Putin had better things to do than to meet Durov in Baku, and the Kremlin has gone on the record to deny the meeting. Durov was doing a tour of Central Asia and the Caucasus, they happened to cross their paths in Azerbaijan. There’s one thing that Putin never tolerates: betrayal of Russia. And that applies to the letter to Durov. When Durov went to the US, the Americans, predictably, demanded Telegram’s backdoors to surveil everybody. So he set up shop in Dubai and later applied for French citizenship.

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“The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office has stated that he was arrested as part of a broad criminal inquiry against an unnamed person.”

Musk Asks Macron To Explain Durov Arrest (RT)

US tech mogul Elon Musk has asked French President Emmanuel Macron to shed light on the reasons behind the arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov. The Russian entrepreneur was detained last week upon arriving at Paris-Le Bourget Airport. The French judicial authorities have twice extended Durov’s detention. The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office has stated that he was arrested as part of a broad criminal inquiry against an unnamed person. “It would be helpful to the global public to understand more details about why he was arrested,” Musk wrote in a comment under Macron’s post on X (formerly Twitter). On Sunday, the French leader took to X to deny having any political motive for detaining Durov. He insisted that the arrest is part of “an ongoing judicial investigation” in which the courts will decide the entrepreneur’s fate.

Durov has said he has faced pressure from the US. In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson in April, he claimed that he received “too much attention” from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies while on US soil. According to the prosecutors, Durov could face charges ranging from complicity in drug dealing and money laundering, to facilitating the distribution of child pornography. French media had previously reported that the arrest of the 39-year-old Russian citizen, who also holds French, UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis citizenship, was related to alleged offenses regarding Telegram. Reports suggest that the authorities believe Durov is complicit in a range of crimes allegedly committed via the social media app due to insufficient moderation.

Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1984, Durov left Russia in the mid-2010s and has since mainly lived in the UAE. In 2021, he was granted French citizenship. In July, Durov wrote on his Telegram channel that the number of active monthly users of the messaging platform had grown to 950 million. Durov’s arrest has been denounced as an infringement upon rights enjoyed in both the EU and the US. Carlson, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, former CIA and NSA contractor Edward Snowden, and Silicon Valley investor David Sacks have spoken out in support of the entrepreneur. Shortly after the arrest, Musk, who launched the hashtag #FreePavel, suggested that the pressure on freedom of speech could worsen.

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“We’ve lost Europe,” Kennedy replied. “Europe now does not have free speech.”

Durov’s Arrest Is ‘Hallmark Of Dictatorship’ – Tucker Carlson to RFK Jr (RT)

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest in France, along with the US administration’s encouragement of it, bear “the hallmark of dictatorship,” American journalist Tucker Carlson has said. The comments were made during an interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has recently announced the suspension of his campaign as an independent candidate for US president. Durov was arrested in Paris last week, and is being held for questioning in connection to a broader cybercrime probe into illicit activities on the billionaire’s end-to-end encrypted social media platform, the French authorities have said. Telegram generally refuses to share user data and chat logs with law enforcement, and Durov has claimed that this privacy-first approach has drawn attention from intelligence agencies around the world.

In the interview on Monday, Kennedy said the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects the right to freedom of expression from government interference, should also protect “misinformation,” as well as information that “no one wants to hear.” Carlson replied that the administration of US President Joe Biden currently views anything that criticizes the “job that they’re doing” as misinformation. “With that in mind, you see the Biden administration encouraging France, [French President Emmanuel] Macron to arrest the owner and founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, who is, as of now, in a French prison,” Carlson said, adding: “that’s the hallmark of dictatorship.” “We’ve lost Europe,” Kennedy replied. “Europe now does not have free speech.”

He went on to draw a comparison between Durov and X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk, blasting the Democratic Party for its lack of actual democratic values. “Elon Musk should be the hero of the Democratic Party,” Kennedy said. “He was actually the only one that would allow free speech on his platform, and he’s now become a villain because of it.” Russia’s top human rights official, Tatyana Moskalkova, said Durov’s arrest is a blow against free speech, claiming it is “an attempt to shut down Telegram, the platform where you can find the truth about world affairs.” Telegram’s official statement on the arrest of its CEO noted that the platform complies with EU laws, and that its content-moderation policies are in line with industry standards.

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“..while Musk himself shuts down Egyptian comedian Bassem Youseff who had 10m followers on X..”

Durov’s Arrest Represents A New Level Of Desperation From Western Elites (Jay)

The arrest of Pavel Durov marks a new low point on the scumline of the side of the bath – the tub being western democracies and the line being their desperation to stay in power at the costs of controlling social media. Durov, who owns Telegram and lives in Dubai, could be in jail for months and possibly years on the trumped-up charges which the French state has conjured up simply because he refuses to allow any government to have a back door into Telegram. He has fought this tooth and nail for years with the west, in particular the U.S., playing every dirty trick in the book to get access to the platform for its own nefarious purposes – to destroy opposition figures, their strategies etc. – rather than what it is dressed up to be, identifying terrorists and international criminals.

As the UK ponders how its own state has sunk to a new totalitarian level in recent days with the arrest of its citizens who merely like a posting on a social media platform, the West has arrested this French Russian dual national genius who is charged with the crimes of those criminals active on Telegram. And so charges of terrorism and trafficking in minors, drugs and whatever else they can find on the platform will be made against him as someone abetting in the crimes. Of course, the same rules will not be levelled against Elon Musk who surely has criminals on his platform or for that matter any of the other social media platforms.

But how many of these platforms are also taking the same stand as Durov? We are led to believe that most of them aren’t but in light of his arrest we should assume that many of them have already allowed some sort of access to them for the deep state. Elon Musk likes to brag about his refusal to comply with the EU’s demands that he “moderates” who he allows onto X, adding that other social media platforms accepted the deal offered to him by Brussels: comply with our requests and we grant you some leniency on future antitrust fines. This offer, which he claims was happily accepted by other platforms is a close as you can get to the EU offering a brown envelope stuffed full of cash to a man in a pub. It’s a bribe and gives a clue as to how anti-democratic the EU is and how it operates in the shadows.

The French arrest however goes deeper in that we can assume that it was not France operating alone to nab Durov. We can assume that the FBI and CIA had probably pushed Macron to do this appalling dirty work but perhaps also Israel had a hand in it. Just recently, Netanyahu complained that data which was stolen from the government was being exchanged on Telegram and asked Durov to step in and retrieve it. He got not reply. Did Mossad have a hand in the arrest of Telegram’s boss? It seems credible given that it is hard to believe the Durov would fly into French airspace eyes wide open. Was it a kidnapping operation to get his plane and his pilot to land in Paris? French TV channel TF1 said Dubai-based Durov had been travelling from Azerbaijan and was arrested at around 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Saturday 24th of August but did not state whether the plane’s ultimate destination had been France.

The details around the arrest are very sketchy, but according to Reuters, Durov, whose fortune was estimated by Forbes at $15.5 billion, said some governments had sought to pressure him but the app should remain a “neutral platform” and not a “player in geopolitics”. Another question which arises from the arrest is whether it is an international effort by western countries led by the U.S. – with Israel very much part of it – to test the waters for other arrests. Pundits have been dismissed as conspiracy theorists for weeks now suggesting Elon Musk will be arrested at some point, or charged in his absence, by UK authorities for some of the more controversial posts he has made about the political situation in the UK, or even by the EU which appears to have started a legal battle with him after he refused to respond to two letters sent to him by a French European Commissioner.

Perhaps even the Democrats in the U.S. might play the same card given that Musk has lost all credibility as this neutral player in U.S. politics after he has so openly supported Trump who has promised him a position in a new government if he were to enter the Oval Office. There is no such thing really as free speech. It comes at a very high price for those who want to protect and cherish it and now France will test the political landscape to see how the arrest of Durov will affect Macron’s ratings. The French president has made outstandingly poor judgment in the past in calling for parliamentary elections immediately after EU ones which gave so much power to far-right groups, so he seems to be good at falling on his own sword. He may well have factored that Durov does not have the popularity of say Assange who didn’t stir so much political anger when he was banged up for years in a filthy, dank cell in the UK on trumped up charges from the U.S.

What is especially worrying is that locking up powerful people who have huge followings on the internet is becoming a trend which people are getting used to. The war between those who want to control the perceived truth and those who hold the actual one is hotting up. Scott Ritter, Andrew Tate, Richard Medhurst all arrested within days of one another, while Musk himself shuts down Egyptian comedian Bassem Youseff who had 10m followers on X. What we are witnessing is a new level of desperation that western elites are more afraid than ever that after wasting hundreds of billions of dollars in Ukraine and starting a world war in the Middle East that voters have no confidence any more in their decision-making, as they, the public, struggle more and more to pay for groceries or even heat their houses. It’s a new milestone in the blind dogma of elites to resort to tactics which we would have scorned China or North Korea for using just a few years ago. It’s a new level of panic which we haven’t seen before.

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“..neither side will be given the questions in advance,” he continued, adding “no Donna Brazile!”

Harris Agrees To Debate Rules – Trump (RT)

Former US President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have agreed to a set of rules for their upcoming presidential debate, Trump announced on Tuesday. Harris allegedly wanted to use a “cheat sheet” during the ABC-hosted showdown, but was apparently denied. The debate will take place on September 10 in Philadelphia, and will be hosted by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. “The rules will be the same as the last CNN debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone except, perhaps, Crooked Joe Biden” Trump wrote in a post to his Truth Social platform. “The debate will be ‘stand up’, and candidates cannot bring notes, or ‘cheat sheets’. We have also been given assurance by ABC that this will be a ‘fair and equitable’ debate, and that neither side will be given the questions in advance,” he continued, adding “no Donna Brazile!”

Before the 2016 presidential election, CNN contributor and Democratic National Committee (DNC) vice-chair Donna Brazile gave Hillary Clinton a list of questions ahead of her town hall event with the network. Trump has long maintained that CNN and other mainstream media outlets openly favor Democrats. However, he praised the objectivity of CNN hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash after they moderated a debate between him and President Joe Biden in June. The debate was an unmitigated disaster for Biden, who appeared frail and confused throughout, and ended his reelection campaign three weeks later.

Trump pulled out of the September 10 debate after Biden withdrew from the race, calling on Harris to face him in a September 4 head-to-head on Fox News instead. However, Harris insisted on September 10, and Trump agreed, before calling on the vice president to accept a total of three debates, including the Fox News date and a third showdown hosted by NBC News. Harris has only agreed to the ABC News debate. The Trump and Harris campaigns argued this week over rules and technical details governing the debate, with Trump’s team pushing for each candidate’s microphone to be muted while the other speaks, and Harris’ staff lobbying for open mics.

Harris “is ready to deal with Trump’s constant lies and interruptions in real time. Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button,” a spokesman for the vice president said on Monday. Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller replied that the Republican candidate had “accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate,” before claiming that Harris asked for “a seated debate, with notes, and opening statements.” Before announcing that he had reached an agreement with Harris’ team, Trump said on Sunday that he was considering backing out of the debate entirely due to ABC’s “ridiculous and biased” coverage of him. “Why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” he wrote on Truth Social, adding that ABC’s journalists “have a lot to answer for.”

O’Leary

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That’s one whopper of a flip flop.

Trump Slams Harris ‘Flip Flop’ On Border Wall (ZH)

After presiding over the worst illegal immigration crisis in US history, failed ‘border czar’ Kamala Harris has now pledged to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build a wall at the southern US border – a plan she called “un-American” during the Trump administration. According to Axios, which calls it the “latest example of Harris flip-flopping on her past liberal positions,” Harris is now embracing a ‘more hawkish’ immigration policy while the Trump campaign spends tens of millions of dollars on attack ads over the Biden-Harris administration’s failed border policies. Last week, Harris told the Democratic National Convention that she would sign a recent bipartisan border security bill negotiated by Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), which calls for hundreds of millions of dollars of unspent funds to be used to continue Trump’s wall.

“It requires the Trump border wall,” Lankford told Axios. “It is in the bill itself that it sets the standards that were set during the Trump administration: Here’s where it will be built. Here’s how it has to be built, the height, the type, everything during the Trump construction.” In 2017, then-Senator Harris called Trump’s border wall project a “stupid use of money,” and committed to blocking funding for it. Then, under her watch as the so-called “Border Czar,” illegal crossings on the southern border spiked (at least) 140% compared to numbers seen during the Trump administration, according to the House Committee on Homeland Security.

After Democrats gained control of the House in 2019, they opposed the large-scale funding Trump requested for the wall – leading to a government shutdown. Eventually, some funding was approved – but was far less than what Trump had requested. In response, Trump declared a national emergency in February 2019 to divert funds from other federal projects to the wall’s construction, which led to various legal challenges. Last week Harris came under fire for a campaign video which prominently featured images of Trump’s partially built US-Mexico border wall, boasting that her credentials as a “border-state prosecutor” would allow her to get the job done.

Update (1153ET): The Trump campaign has responded to Axios reporting that Kamala Harris now supports a border wall. “How much longer will the mainstream media allow Kamala Harris to hide and use staff to speak on her behalf? It’s DAY 37 of ZERO interviews and Kamala’s anonymous campaign sources are now claiming she supports President Trump’s border wall – this is a preposterous and false claim.” “Kamala’s ACTIONS speak much louder than the WORDS of the anonymous staff she is cowering behind.”

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Trump doesn’t need saving. The polls are lying.

Will Kennedy Save Trump? (Bridge)

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign got the boost it desperately needed when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined forces with the former president in an effort to ensure the defeat of Kamala Harris. It was undoubtedly a painful sight for millions of diehard Democrats to behold: On Friday, the estranged Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared the stage with former President Donald Trump at a sprawling rally in Arizona, hours after he’d suspended his independent presidential campaign and announced that he was endorsing the rabble-rousing Republican. The 70-year-old independent, showing that he has not completely lost his presidential ambitions, emphasized that he is suspending his campaign — “not ending it.” “I am not terminating my campaign, I am simply suspending it and not ending it. My name will remain on the ballot in most states,” he said.

Importantly for Trump in his grueling showdown with Kamala Harris, Kennedy said he would drop his name from the ballot in 10 battleground states where his presence could have stolen electoral college votes from the former president. Will the entrance of Kennedy into the equation make a profound difference for the Trump campaign come November? It’s difficult to say. When the campaign was down to a contest between two elderly white men, many voters seemed happy to consider a third voice, as reflected in Kennedy’s relatively high poll numbers earlier in the year. However, once Joe Biden was sent back to the basement and Kamala Harris was catapulted to the political forefront amid heavily scripted, media-generated enthusiasm (the same media, by the way, which Harris stubbornly refuses to talk to), Kennedy’s popularity began to wane.

While Kennedy’s performance in the polls has been steadily declining – a recent CBS News poll measured his support at just 2% – even this limited number could spell the difference between victory and defeat in a race that promises to be razor-close. However, with regard to the critical swing states, the picture improves dramatically for Kennedy. A recent New York Times/Siena College poll showed him with 6% support in Arizona and Nevada and 5% in Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. And let’s not forget that Arizona and Georgia were decided by fewer than 12,000 votes each in 2020. Wisconsin has been decided by fewer than 23,000 votes in the last two presidential elections.

So now the question for the Republicans is: how best to utilize a scion from one of the most famous political dynasties of modern American history? How about as the future CIA Director or District Attorney? Trump tossed out juicy bait to the conspiracy theorists when he said Kennedy could be granted access to “all of the remaining documents pertaining to the assassination of John F. Kennedy,” as part of a proposed executive commission on presidential assassination attempts, including the one that nearly killed him last month in Butler, Pennsylvania. RFK Jr. has made it clear that he believes that the CIA and associated actors of the ‘deep state’ were directly involved in the assassination of his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy. A recent poll by Gallup showed that over 60 percent of Americans believe that JFK was killed as the result of a well-planned government conspiracy. The CIA has repeatedly denied that it had any involvement in the murder.

Another Kennedy talking point that could help herd voters into the Republican camp is his extreme skepticism of Covid vaccines, mask mandates, lockdowns and the individuals who pushed these controversial measures on the public in the first place, namely Anthony Fauci and company. Trump teaming up with the anti-vaxxer Kennedy seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom. After all, it was Donald J. Trump who was initially responsible for delivering – right or wrong, the jury is still out on the matter – the Covid-19 vaccine to an unsuspecting public through “Operation Warp Speed.” However, Trump’s unbridled enthusiasm for the Covid vaccine failed to trickle down to his army of conservative constituents, who are intrinsically wary of any government overreach in their lives. In other words, Trump drastically misread his base, which is loaded with vaccine skeptics.

On one memorable occasion at the height of the Covid pandemic, Republicans admonished Trump during a rally with rare boos and heckling when he encouraged members of the audience to get their shots. So here is another area – government enforced medical interventions – where Kennedy’s presence on Team Trump could lend some much-needed balance to the worn-out narrative, although it does have the potential to attract more “weird” accusations from the left.At the same time, Kennedy, much like Trump, has spoken out fiercely against the “media organs” that have severely throttled his message on the campaign trail, while engineering the rise of Kamala Harris based upon “nothing.” “No policies, no interviews, no debates, only smoke and mirrors and balloons in a highly produced Chicago circus.”

This is a concern that will resonate with those voters who remember how intensely unpopular Harris was before pulling out of the 2020 presidential race with her opinion poll numbers in the lower single digits. And here is the crux of the matter: do they remember Harris’ intense unlikability and lack of presidential qualities, or has the media successfully brainwashed the entire Democratic camp into believing that the vice president is the ‘second coming of Abraham Lincoln,’ as JD Vance feared? While we may never know to what degree RFK Jr. will influence the outcome of the election, it seems undeniable that he will attract many disaffected voters from across the political spectrum who now understand what a controlled and pathetic sham the entire US political process has become, largely due to overwhelming leftist control of the media machinery. That may give Donald Trump just enough of a grudge vote to enter the White House a second time.

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Exercise in futility. If Trump wins the election, he’ll throw out these lawfare cases. If he loses, they’ve beaten him, no more need for lawfare.

Jack Smith Files Revised Indictment in Trump Federal Election Case (ET)

Special counsel Jack Smith filed an updated indictment against former President Donald Trump in Washington on Aug. 27 following the Supreme Court’s ruling that he enjoyed some presidential immunity from criminal prosecution. “Today, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a superseding indictment, charging the defendant with the same criminal offenses that were charged in the original indictment,” an Aug. 27 filing from the special counsel’s office reads. “The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions in Trump v. United States.” The new indictment narrows the allegations against the former president by removing allegations involving his interactions with the Justice Department.

It no longer lists as a co-conspirator former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark. Trump’s co-conspirators were not named in either indictment, but they have been identified through public records and other means. Smith’s superseding indictment still contains four charges against the former president, including those from the financial reform law the Supreme Court addressed in Fischer v. United States. In Trump v. United States, a majority of the Supreme Court held that presidents enjoyed several tiers of immunity from prosecution: absolute immunity for acts that fall within their “conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority,” a presumption of immunity for their official acts, and no immunity for unofficial acts. Chief Justice John Roberts’s majority opinion grouped the allegations into three categories: those surrounding Trump’s work with the Department of Justice (DOJ); those involving his communication with state electors and his communications on Jan. 6, 2021; and his urging Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the election results in the Senate.

Trump received absolute immunity from prosecution of the first category. For the second, the Court remanded the issue to the district court to determine whether his actions were official. His communications with Pence are “presumptively immune,” but the DOJ can rebut that presumption in court. It’s unclear how much of the superseding indictment will survive. D.C. Judge Tanya Chutkan will likely receive briefings from both the special counsel and former Trump’s legal team advocating their view of which charges should be dropped or maintained in the indictment. The Supreme Court has left her with the task of parsing former Trump’s actions and determining which were official and which were unofficial. Judge Chutkan has scheduled a status conference for Sept. 5.

Experts have told The Epoch Times that the prosecution will extend past the election. If Trump wins the presidency, he’s expected to withdraw the case. Even if he loses, however, the case could face additional appeal and potentially make its way back to the Supreme Court. Last year, Trump’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss on statutory grounds and alleging that the initial indictment failed to “state an offense.” More specifically, it alleged the indictment failed to allege the type of deceit or trickery needed for the first count, which focused in both indictments on an alleged conspiracy to defraud the United States. On Aug. 3, Judge Chutkan denied the motion without prejudice and stated that Trump “may file a renewed motion once all issues of immunity have been resolved.”

The superseding indictment came just a day after Smith asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to affirm the legitimacy of his office. Florida Judge Aileen Cannon had dismissed his classified documents case against Trump on the grounds that Smith’s appointment violated the constitution. That case too could reach the Supreme Court where at least one justice — Justice Clarence Thomas — expressed concern about Smith’s office. That came in his concurrence for Trump v. United States. None of the other justices joined that opinion, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh expressed concern about the special counsel’s power during oral argument on April 25. Cannon limited her decision to the documents case, although it raised questions about the legitimacy of his other prosecutions.

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“The Georgia appeals court will hear an appeal by Trump and several co-defendants on Dec. 5..”

Trump Lawyers Urge Appeals Court to Disqualify Fani Willis (ET)

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers on Monday submitted a court filing against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the Georgia Court of Appeals, arguing that she should be removed from the case for committing a “severe violation” of the state’s legal guidelines. In a reply brief, the former president’s team wrote that Trump was “aggrieved by Willis’ church speech,” referring to comments she made in January that suggested there was a racial animus at play when a co-defendant filed a motion to have her disqualified over a relationship she had with her then-special prosecutor. The legal team said that her speech was “a severe violation of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct,” claiming that her comments at the church were allegedly designed to increase public condemnation of Trump and the other co-defendants in the eyes of potential jurors. On those grounds, according to the lawyers, Willis should be removed from the case.

“Pretermitting fairness, President Trump was injured by Willis’ … speech because national and local media outlets broadcast and reported Willis’ claim as an attack against the defense,” the filing said. Willis, it added, also asserted that “allegations against her stemmed from racism,” which his legal team said were unfounded. The Georgia appeals court will hear an appeal by Trump and several co-defendants on Dec. 5, it previously ruled, over whether Willis should be disqualified from the case due to her relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Earlier this year, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled that either Wade or Willis must leave the case, prompting Wade to leave and allowing Willis to stay on board. Trump and the other defendants quickly sought to appeal the case.

In his March ruling, McAfee chided Willis for her church speech but said it is not grounds for her disqualification. He also said there wasn’t enough evidence to remove her based on the Wade relationship, although he signaled that an “odor of mendacity” was permeating the case. Fulton County prosecutors had said that her speech at the church was vague, and she was not speaking about anyone in particular. “Isn’t it them who’s playing the race card when they only question one?” Willis said during her speech, in part. “Isn’t it them playing the race card when they constantly think I need someone from some other jurisdiction in some other state to tell me how to do a job I’ve been doing almost 30 years?”

Her office filed a motion to dismiss the appeal in August, arguing there wasn’t enough evidence to back up their claims that she had a conflict of interest due to her prior relationship with Wade. “Unsatisfied, the Appellants now seize upon the trial court’s criticisms of the District Attorney to distort its actual findings and overstate their case,” the district attorney’s office wrote. “They ask this Court to second guess the trial court’s factual conclusions and apply standards of disqualification that no Georgia court has ever authorized or employed.” The conflict started in January when co-defendant Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign aide, alleged in court papers that the pair were in a relationship, a claim that the two later confirmed during a contentious hearing before McAfee in February.

However, they disputed key allegations made by lawyers for Roman and his co-defendants, including that they improperly benefitted financially from their arrangement. They also refuted claims made by a witness that their relationship started much earlier than they had said. The case was brought by Willis against Trump and more than a dozen other co-defendants, accusing them of conspiring to overturn the election results in the county after the 2020 election. In part, her office’s indictment focused on a Trump phone call in January 2021 with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which the president asked him about votes and ballots. Trump and the majority of the other co-defendants, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have pleaded not guilty, although several have entered guilty pleas as part of deals with the prosecution. Due to the appeals process, the case likely will not proceed to trial before the November election.

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“Reading the runes of Bill Burns message says prepare for war with NATO.”

The Western Way of War – Owning The Narrative Trumps Reality (Crooke)

War propaganda and feint are as old as the hills. Nothing new. But what is new is that infowar is no longer the adjunct to wider war objectives – but has become an end in and of itself. The West has come to view ‘owning’ the winning narrative – and presenting the Other’s as clunky, dissonant, and extremist – as being more important than facing facts-on-the ground. Owning the winning narrative is to win, in this view. Virtual ‘victory’ thus trumps ‘real’ reality. So, war becomes rather the setting for imposing ideological alignment across a wide global alliance and enforcing it via compliant media. This objective enjoys a higher priority than, say, ensuring a manufacturing capacity sufficient to sustain military objectives. Crafting an imagined ‘reality’ has taken precedence over shaping the ground reality. The point here is that this approach – being a function of whole of society alignment (both at home and abroad) – creates entrapments into false realities, false expectations, from which an exit (when such becomes necessary), turns near impossible, precisely because imposed alignment has ossified public sentiment.

The possibility for a State to change course as events unfold becomes curtailed or lost, and the accurate reading of facts on the ground veers toward the politically correct and away from reality. The cumulative effect of ‘a winning virtual narrative’ holds the risk nonetheless, of sliding incrementally toward inadvertent ‘real war’. Take, for example, the NATO-orchestrated and equipped incursion into the symbolically significant Kursk Oblast. In terms of a ‘winning narrative’, its appeal to the West is obvious: Ukraine ‘takes the war into Russia’. Had the Ukrainian forces succeeded in capturing the Kursk Nuclear Power Station, they then would have had a significant bargaining chip, and might well have syphoned away Russian forces from the steadily collapsing Ukrainian ‘Line’ in Donbas. And to top it off, (in infowar terms), the western media was prepped and aligned to show President Putin as “frozen” by the surprise incursion, and “wobbling” with anxiety that the Russian public would turn against him in their anger at the humiliation.

Bill Burns, head of CIA, opined that “Russia would offer no concessions on Ukraine, until Putin’s over-confidence was challenged, and Ukraine could show strength”. Other U.S. officials added that the Kursk incursion – in itself – would not bring Russia to the negotiating table; It would be necessary to build on the Kursk operation with other daring operations (to shake Moscow’s sang froid). Of course, the overall aim was to show Russia as fragile and vulnerable, in line with the narrative that, at any moment Russia, could crack apart and scatter to the wind, in fragments. Leaving the West as winner, of course. In fact, the Kursk incursion was a huge NATO gamble: It involved mortgaging Ukraine’s military reserves and armour, as chips on the roulette table, as a bet that an ephemeral success in Kursk would upend the strategic balance. The bet was lost, and the chips forfeit.

Plainly put, this Kursk affair exemplifies the West’s problem with ‘winning narratives’: Their inherent flaw is that they are grounded in emotivism and eschew argumentation. Inevitably, they are simplistic. They are simply intended to fuel a ‘whole of society’ common alignment. Which is to say that across MSM; business, federal agencies, NGOs and the security sector, all should adhere to opposing all ‘extremisms’ threatening ‘our democracy’. This aim, of itself, dictates that the narrative be undemanding and relatively uncontentious: ‘Our Democracy, Our Values and Our Consensus’. The Democratic National Convention, for example, embraces ‘Joy’ (repeated endlessly), ‘moving Forward’ and ‘opposing weirdness’ as key statements. They are banal, however, these memes are given their energy and momentum, not by content so much, as by the deliberate Hollywood setting lending them razzamatazz and glamour. It is not hard to see how this one-dimensional zeitgeist may have contributed to the U.S. and its allies’ misreading the impact of today’s Kursk ‘daring adventure’ on ordinary Russians.

‘Kursk’ has history. In 1943, Germany invaded Russia in Kursk to divert from its own losses, with Germany ultimately defeated at the Battle of Kursk. The return of German military equipment to the environs of Kursk must have left many gaping; the current battlefield around the town of Sudzha is precisely the spot where, in 1943, the Soviet 38th and 40th armies coiled for a counteroffensive against the German 4th Army. Over the centuries, Russia has been variously attacked on its vulnerable flank from the West. And more recently by Napoleon and Hitler. Unsurprisingly, Russians are acutely sensitive to this bloody history. Did Bill Burns et al think this through? Did they imagine that NATO invading Russia itself would make Putin feel ‘challenged’, and that with one further shove, he would fold, and agree to a ‘frozen’ outcome in Ukraine – with the latter entering NATO? Maybe they did. Ultimately the message that western services sent was that the West (NATO) is coming for Russia. This is the meaning of deliberately choosing Kursk. Reading the runes of Bill Burns message says prepare for war with NATO.

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Macron lost the parliamentary election in July. But he’s still president.

Macron Rejects Left-Wing Government (RT)

French President Emmanuel Macron has refused to accept the left-wing New Popular Front’s candidate for prime minister, saying it would be a threat to “institutional stability,” according to a communique released by the Elysee Palace on Monday. The parliamentary election in July gave the left-wing alliance more seats in the National Assembly than the competitors, but not enough to govern, forcing the president to conduct successive rounds of talks to appoint a new prime minister and form a new government. As president, Macron is responsible for confirming the new head of the government. However, he dismissed the idea of allowing the left-wing coalition to hold the office of prime minister, leaving the nation in a political deadlock.

“My responsibility is that the country is not blocked nor weakened,” Macron said in a statement, claiming that a left-wing government “would be immediately censored by all the other groups represented in the National Assembly” and “the institutional stability of our country therefore requires us not to choose this option.” The parliamentary election in July left 577 seats in the National Assembly divided between the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance with over 188 seats, followed by Macron’s centrist alliance at around 161, and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally at 142. The Republicans received 48 seats, while the remaining 38 were divided between minor parties.

Launched in June as a broad left-wing alliance, the NPF comprises France Unbowed (LFI), the Socialist Party, the Greens, the French Communist Party, and other political parties, composing the majority of the left wing in France. The alliance has put forward Lucie Castets, a 37-year-old economist and director of financial affairs at Paris City Hall, as its candidate for prime minister. After Macron’s announcement, Jean-Luc Melenchon, the LFI leader, accused the president of creating an “exceptionally serious situation.” Commenting on the move, the secretary-general of the Greens, Marine Tondelier, said the decision is “a disgrace” and “dangerous democratic irresponsibility,” adding that Macron is ignoring the election results. LFI also called for protests to urge Macron to “respect democracy,” and said it would present a motion of impeachment of the president.

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A nation hell-bent on war.

Poland In ‘State Of Hybrid War’ – Deputy Defense Chief (RT)

Poland has slipped into a state of “hybrid war” amid soaring tensions with Russia and its key ally Belarus, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk has said. Tomczyk made the remarks on Monday while speaking at a high-level panel on Poland’s security situation, suggesting that his country had already entered a state just below the level of actual war. “What we are facing in Poland today is de facto hybrid warfare. And we can say directly that Poland is in a state of war today, but in a state of hybrid warfare,” he stated, as quoted by PAP news agency. He pointed to the situation on the border with Belarus, as well as incidents where weather balloons appeared in Polish airspace. Warsaw has for years accused Minsk of trying to pressure it by sending illegal migrants across the border.

Belarus has denied the allegations while accusing Polish authorities of brutal treatment of the migrants. In recent months, Polish authorities also reported several cases of Russian balloons straying into national airspace. Officials in Warsaw investigated the incidents, but concluded that the craft posed no threat to national security. One of the most recent cases occurred in late June, when Poland reported that they had been warned by their Russian counterparts that they had lost control of one of their balloons protecting airspace in the exclave of Kaliningrad. The aircraft strayed into Polish airspace for four and a half hours. Polish authorities said they deliberately did not shoot it down because of “possible negative consequences.”

Tomczyk, however, suggested that the balloon incidents are still intended to promote Russia’s political agenda. “It is de facto a tool for a few hundred dollars, which can be used to influence all of us in a very simple way… It is enough to put a few words in Cyrillic on them, and all portals in Poland will write about it.” He added that the purpose of such tactics is to trigger discussions in Polish society and undermine public trust in the government. The deputy minister said cyberattacks are another facet of the hybrid warfare, which he estimated at about 5,000 a year.

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“It could be “five years or more before work starts”.

If you can’t get Elon to do it, just close it down.

US Nuclear Missile Project At Least 5 Years Behind Schedule – WSJ (RT)

Refurbishing the decades-old missile silos will cost billions of dollars more than originally thought and may not start for five years, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing Pentagon officials. The US Department of Defense decided last month to press on with the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program, even though its estimated cost has almost doubled from the original $78 billion. Replacing the aging Minuteman III missiles has no alternative, the Pentagon said. It could be “five years or more before work starts” on modernizing some 450 existing silos for the new missiles, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing a recent town meeting in Kimball, Nebraska. The community of less than 3,000 residents is surrounded by “one of the biggest missile fields” in the world. “There are a lot of unknowns here, and I understand the frustration,” Brigadier-General Colin Connor told residents earlier this month.

Minuteman III missiles entered service in the early 1970s and were supposed to be replaced after a decade. Washington finally greenlit the Sentinel program in 2020, awarding the initial $13.3 billion contract to Northrop Grumman, after Boeing dropped out. The Sentinel project manager, Colonel Charles Clegg, was sacked in June for unspecified reasons. Along with the new missiles, which are still on the drawing board, the project envisions modernizing the 50-year-old silos and command centers. Construction involves, among other things, laying down thousands of kilometers of fiber-optic cables. However, shutting down the silos or the command facilities is impossible, because the nuclear doctrine requires them to be available at a moment’s notice. Some silos may also need to be rebuilt from scratch.

The scale, scope and complexity of the Sentinel project is “something we haven’t attempted as a nation for over 60 years,” Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Bill LaPlante told reporters last month, insisting that it had to be done nonetheless. The US Air Force is looking for ways to reduce the project’s complexity, but it might take up to 18 months to decide on the changes, LaPlante said, hoping for sometime in early 2025. Such delays may cause problems of another kind for the Pentagon, according to the WSJ. The US government has already negotiated about a third of the real-estate deals needed for laying down thousands of kilometers of fiber-optic cables. But some of them may need to be redone in light of the new timeline. Meanwhile, the rising costs of construction and raw materials have made early cost estimates “be unreliable and unrealistic,” Pentagon officials have said.

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Nut splitter

 

 

Happy
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828308193467855004

 

 

Attack
https://twitter.com/i/status/1828563078113362089

 

 

Baby bat

 

 

First toy

 

 

Heroes

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jul 012024
 


René Magritte The human condition 1935

 

Le Pen’s Conservative National Rally Crushes Macron, Socialists (ZH)
Orban Announces New EU Parliament Alliance (RT)
Russia Will Recover, ‘Not Disappear’ Due to Sanctions – Jim Rogers (Sp.)
EU, Euro Will Break Up Someday – Jim Rogers (Sp.)
Major Democratic Donors Weighing Biden’s Future – NYT (RT)
Biden Campaign’s Future Hinges On His Wife – NBC (RT)
Nikki Haley Urges Republicans To Prepare For Biden’s Replacement (RT)
Biden Beat Trump In The Spinach Debate (Helmer)
West Loses $257 Billion on Trade Restrictions With Russia (Sp.)
Zelensky Outlines Model For Talks With Russia (RT)
Ukraine Aid Hits Record Low of $2Bln Per Month Since February 2022 (Sp.)
Alan Dershowitz Compares Lawfare Against Trump To McCarthyism (JTN)
Supreme Court Downsizes the “Insurrection” to Largely Trespassing (Turley)
Klaus Schwab Reportedly Facing Sexual Harassment Allegations (Sp.)
DOJ to Charge Boeing With Criminal Fraud (Sp.)

 

 


© Sebastien SALOM-GOMIS/AFP

 

 

Stolen election

 

 

Bannon

 

 

Marc Elias has the answer: Blame SCOTUS!

 

 

Vivek

 

 

Galloway
https://twitter.com/i/status/1807113580803743754

 

 

Democracy

 

 

 

 

“..a 28 year old kid may soon be a prime minister of the 2nd largest European economy…”

Far right? Not strong enough. In Holland, someone’s come up with “radical right”.

Le Pen’s Conservative National Rally Crushes Macron, Socialists (ZH)

As expected, Le Pen’s conservative (or in the world’s of the liberal media, “Far Right”) National Rally (RN) party won the first round of France’s parliamentary election on Sunday, exit polls showed, but the final result will depend on several days of horsetrading before next week’s run-off. The RN was seen winning around 34% of the vote, exit polls from Ipsos, Ifop, OpinionWay and Elabe showed. That was ahead of both far-left and centrist rivals, including President Emmanuel Macron’s Together alliance, whose bloc was seen winning a paltry 20.5%-23%, a far cry from his crushing victory several years ago. The New Popular Front (NFP), a hastily assembled left-wing coalition, was projected to win around 29% of the vote, the exit polls showed. The exit polls were in line with opinion polls ahead of the election, but provided little clarity on whether the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic RN will be able to form a government to “cohabit” with the pro-EU Macron after next Sunday’s run-off.

The RN’s chances of winning power next week will depend on the political dealmaking made by its rivals over the coming days. In the past, centre-right and centre-left parties have teamed up to keep the RN from power, but that dynamic, known as the “republican front,” is less certain than ever. If no candidate reaches 50% in the first round, the top two contenders automatically qualify for the second round, as well as all those with 12.5% of registered voters. In the run-off, whoever wins the most votes take the constituency. According to Reuters, the high turnout on Sunday suggests France is heading for a record number of three-way run-offs. These generally benefit the RN much more than two-way contests, experts say. Sure enough, the horsetrading began almost immediately on Sunday night. In a written statement to the press, Macron called on voters to rally behind candidates who are “clearly republican and democratic”, which, based on his recent declarations, would exclude candidates from the RN and from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party.

The problem, of course, is that Macron’s party was crushed in the recent European parliamentary elections precisely because the people have had enough with “clearly republican and democratic” puppets of the World Economic Forum and want actual change. LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said the second-placed NFP alliance will withdraw all its candidates who came third in the first round.”Our guideline is simple and clear: not a single more vote for the National Rally,” he said. It is, however, unlikely that many will care what the French socialists want: after all, last week the French socialist leftist alliance said it would raise the top marginal income tax rate to 90% if it were to take over the government. Meanwhile, Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old RN party president, said he was ready to be prime minister – if his party wins an absolute majority. That’s right, a 28 year old kid may soon be a prime minister of the 2nd largest European economy.

He has ruled out trying to form a minority government and neither Macron nor the NFP will form an alliance with him. “I will be a “cohabitation” Prime Minister, respectful of the constitution and of the office of President of the Republic, but uncompromising about the policies we will implement,” he said. While the RN is seen winning the most seats in the National Assembly, only one of the pollsters – Elabe – had the party winning an absolute majority of 289 seats in the run-off. Experts say that seat projections after first-round votes can be highly inaccurate, and especially so in this election. Voter participation was high compared with previous parliamentary elections, illustrating the political fervour Macron aroused with his stunning decision to call a parliamentary vote after the RN trounced his party in European Parliament elections earlier this month.

His decision plunged France into political uncertainty, sent shockwaves around Europe and prompted a sell-off of French assets on financial markets. A longtime pariah, the RN is now closer to power than it has ever been. Le Pen has sought to clean up the image of a party known for racism and antisemitism, a tactic that has worked amid voter anger at Macron, the high cost of living and growing concerns over immigration. At 1500 GMT, turnout was nearly 60%, compared with 39.42% two years ago – the highest comparable turnout figures since the 1986 legislative vote, Ipsos France’s research director Mathieu Gallard said. In short, the people have had enough and they finally want to be heard.

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More right wing. Orban chairs the EU as per today, July 1.

Orban Announces New EU Parliament Alliance (RT)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced the creation of a new EU Parliament alliance, in cooperation with right-wing parties from Austria and the Czech Republic. The announcement comes a day before Budapest takes on the rotating six-month EU presidency. The new group, presented as “Patriots for Europe” comprises Fidesz, the party led by Orban; the Czech Republic’s largest opposition bloc, ANO, chaired by the country’s former prime minister, Andrej Babis; and the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO), headed by Herbert Kickl. “Today we are creating a political formation that I believe will very quickly become the largest faction of the European right-wing,” Orban said during a press briefing which was also attended by Babis and Kickl. The Hungarian leader expressed hope that the alliance would dominate the right of the EU’s political spectrum.

The bloc’s policies must be altered in accordance with the results of the latest European Parliament elections, according to the Hungarian leader, who stressed that the current parliamentary groups will inevitably split. The results of the election carried out on June 9 revealed that citizens across the 27-nation bloc had mostly shifted away from the left, although the performance of the right-wing and conservative parties varied from country to country. The ruling coalitions in Germany, France and Italy were effectively trounced by the right. Orban’s Fidesz won 11 seats in the EU parliament, while FPO and ANO have six and seven seats respectively, with all three parties becoming strongest in their countries’ elections. According to the current rules, 23 members are needed to form a political group in the European Parliament, and at least one-quarter of the member states must be represented within the alliance.

In a statement to the media, the leaders of the three parties expressed hope that the new group would be joined by many other European parties in the coming days. Hungary is set to take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1 and will remain in charge until the end of the year. During the period, Hungarian diplomats will chair meetings in Brussels and shape the EU’s political agenda. Orban has faced sharp criticism in the EU for pursuing policies that run counter to those of Brussels. Since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Budapest has refused to provide weapons to Kiev, calling for a diplomatic solution instead, and has maintained economic ties with Russia. The prime minister had previously said that the results of the election had won time for the bloc and “slowed the train hurtling towards war.”

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“Russia is a huge country, America is too. Of course, there will be communication and trade again someday. There always has been and there always will be after the war.”

Russia Will Recover, ‘Not Disappear’ Due to Sanctions – Jim Rogers (Sp.)

Anti-Russia sanctions imposed by the West will not make Russia’s economy disappear, the country will recover, renowned US investor Jim Rogers told Sputnik. “Russia is not going to disappear. There have been sanctions against Russia in history, there will be again. There have been sanctions against everybody in history. Russia will recover,” Rogers said. The investor noted that Russia is experiencing a record number of sanctions, which would hurt any country. Rogers said that many people in such circumstances would turn to the black market and go around the sanctions, while many others would abide by them, and Russia will have to deal with the reality of sanctions. “If any country has a lot of sanctions against it, they would hurt the country for a while. So, Russia is going to have to deal with the fact that there are many sanctions against it,” Rogers said.

The investor emphasized that Russia has a lot of oil and agricultural products, which are needed around the world, and has so far done a good job of working around the sanctions. “Russia is finding a way to get around the sanctions. But this always happens whenever somebody imposes sanctions. Many people try to find a way to get around the sanctions and they do,” Rogers said. Once the conflict in Ukraine is over, Russia will start opening up again and people will open up to Russia again, Rogers added. The countries of the collective West stepped up sanctions pressure on Russia after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine in 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the collective West’s long-term strategy of containing Russia was instead hurting the global economy.

Rogers is also optimistic that Russian-US relations will improve, and begin communicating and trading as both are huge countries with consequential economies, renowned US investor Jim Rogers told Sputnik. When asked whether he thinks that relations between Russia and the United States will improve one day, Rogers stated, “Of course, they will someday.” “I can remember when Americans wouldn’t even talk to Russians. And the Russians wouldn’t talk to Americans. That will change again,” he said. “Russia is a huge country, America is too. Of course, there will be communication and trade again someday. There always has been and there always will be after the war.”

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“Whenever people have economic problems they blame somebody and that always leads to change.”

EU, Euro Will Break Up Someday – Jim Rogers (Sp.)

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is slowing down the European countries’ economies and some will not be as prosperous as they used to be, renowned US investor Jim Rogers told Sputnik. “It [the Ukraine conflict] causes economies to slow down and some countries will not be as prosperous as they have been,” Rogers said. “Whenever people have economic problems they blame somebody and that always leads to change.” Rogers said the issues facing the global economy will affect not only Europe but also other parts of the world in the next couple of years. “There are many countries in Europe that will try to get around the European problems. So there may be more countries that will leave the European Union,” Rogers said. The investor noted that the United Kingdom left the European Union despite some people speculating such a move would destroy its economy, but added he believes other politicians will start “doing the same thing.”

Rogers expressed doubt that the European Union would survive given that few blocs have lasted for very long. “Most of them have broken up. I’m afraid the Euro will break up someday,” Rogers said. In early June, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the Eurozone economy was gradually recovering from the coronavirus pandemic measures, the cut in gas supplies from Russia and the consequences of the Ukraine conflict, but the bloc’s aging population and sluggish productivity present risks to growth in the medium term. The IMF warned that intensifying geopolitical tensions, trade disputes and distortive industrial policy could further complicate economic prospects and the policy making environment for a region highly open to trade. The collective West stepped up sanctions pressure on Russia after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine in 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the West’s long-term strategy of containing Russia hurts the global economy.

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“..discussions were being held with political advisers on “arcane rules” that may allow Biden to be forced off the 2024 ballot..”

Major Democratic Donors Weighing Biden’s Future – NYT (RT)

US Democratic Party donors are looking at ways Joe Biden can be removed from the presidential race against his will, and replaced with a stronger candidate, The New York Times reported on Sunday, citing sources familiar with the efforts. The discussions follow Biden’s poor performance in Thursday’s debate with Republican challenger Donald Trump. A flash poll conducted by CNN revealed that 67% of registered voters who watched the televised clash in Atlanta, Georgia, felt that Trump had won. People close to the situation told the New York Times that discussions were being held with political advisers on “arcane rules” that may allow Biden to be forced off the 2024 ballot before the Democratic National Convention, scheduled for August .

One Silicon Valley donor who had planned to host a fundraiser featuring Biden later this summer has reportedly called off the event, and a major California sponsor left a debate watch party and emailed a friend with the subject line “Utter disaster,” according to a copy of the email obtained by the NYT. Other wealthy Democrats have reportedly expressed hope that Biden will “have an epiphany and decide to exit on his own.” The idea of reaching out to first lady Jill Biden is also being considered, the sources said. NBC News earlier quoted sources as saying that the only person who can impact Biden’s decision is his wife. The couple will reportedly join their children and grandchildren on Sunday at Camp David, where Biden expected to “decide whether to move forward or to end his campaign early.”

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He’s done. The GOP should hope he stays on.

Biden Campaign’s Future Hinges On His Wife – NBC (RT)

US President Joe Biden is expected to discuss the future of his re-election campaign with his family following a disastrous debate with Republican challenger Donald Trump, NBC News reported on Saturday. The network cited sources as saying the only opinion that can influence Biden’s decision will be that of his wife, Jill. Thursday’s televised face-off highlighted concerns about the 81-year-old president’s fitness for office, with Biden’s performance described in the media as “incoherent,” “stumbling” and “unclear”. Senior Democrats and their donors are now actively pushing for his withdrawal from the race, according to multiple reports.

NBC cited five people familiar with the matter as saying Joe and Jill Biden would join their children and grandchildren at Camp David on Sunday as part of a pre-planned trip. The network said there is “an understanding among top Democrats that Biden should be given space to determine next steps” and that “only the president, in consultation with his family, can decide whether to move forward or to end his campaign early”. One source told the outlet that only two people have a genuine say on the matter – the president and his wife. “Anyone who doesn’t understand how deeply personal and familial this decision will be isn’t knowledgeable about the situation,” he added.

The view was echoed by another NBC source, saying: “The only person who has ultimate influence with him is the first lady. If she decides there should be a change of course, there will be a change of course”. Despite the debate being widely seen as a humiliation for Biden, his team has publicly insisted that he has no plans to drop out of the race. The president has acknowledged his poor performance against Trump, saying at a rally on Friday: “I don’t debate as well as I used to,” but “know how to tell the truth… I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job, I know how to get things done. And I know what millions of Americans know: When you get knocked down, you get back up.”

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She found a way to make the news…

Nikki Haley Urges Republicans To Prepare For Biden’s Replacement (RT)

The US Democratic Party is going to replace Joe Biden with a younger presidential candidate after his failure in the debate, and the Republicans must be ready for this, Nikki Haley, who lost to Donald Trump in the race for the GOP nomination, has said. The 81-year-old president’s display during his televised face-off with Trump in Atlanta on Thursday was “shocking,” Haley said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Saturday. “What we saw was that Trump was strong, but I don’t even think that mattered because Biden was so amazingly unfit. The way he lost his train of thought, the way he couldn’t grasp topics of what he needed to talk about,” she said.

The US president’s performance projected weakness and “our enemies just saw that they have between now and [the inauguration day on] January 20 to do whatever it is they want to do,” the former US envoy to the UN and ex-governor of South Carolina added. Since the debate, reports have emerged that some Democratic donors are insisting that Biden be dropped as the party’s nominee for the November 5 election, and Haley expressed her belief that their demands will be met. The Democrats “are going to be smart about it: they’re going to bring somebody younger, they’re going to bring somebody vibrant, they’re going to bring somebody tested,” the Republican politician predicted. “This is a time for Republicans to prepare and get ready for what’s to come because there is no way that there will be a surviving Democratic Party if they allow Joe Biden to continue to be the candidate,” she said.

Haley reiterated her call for cognitive testing of all federal candidates, which she made as she competed with 78-year-old Trump in the primaries earlier this year. Washington is “full of older people” and voters should be able to see “who is up to the challenge and who is not,” Haley argued. If the Democrats “continue down this path and they have Biden as their nominee, they are committing to hurting America,” the Republican politician stressed. The president should be replaced on the rival party’s ticket “for the good of the country,” she added. On Friday, Axios published the results of a poll by Morning Consult, which suggested that 60% of voters believe that Biden should “definitely” or “probably” be replaced as the Democratic presidential nominee. When asked by journalists after the debate if the president was planning to step aside, the Biden campaign said “of course not.”

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“We’re needed to protect the world because our own safety is at stake..”

Biden Beat Trump In The Spinach Debate (Helmer)

If you think that Popeye beat Bluto because he ate spinach, this US presidential cartoon, I mean debate, was for you. That President Joseph Biden, handicapped as he was by Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy body dementia, won the 120-minute television fight with Donald Trump seems so obvious to Russians, they express surprise at the near-unanimity in the US that the opposite was the outcome. While the Russian state propaganda organs are repeating the “Joe Must Go” line — the US-funded Russian opposition media also — military and intelligence analysts in Moscow are concluding that Biden and Trump proved they are equally dangerous for Russia, but that Trump is now the candidate for much bigger wars in the Middle East and against China. Replacing Biden, Russian sources believe, is now an operation of the Zionist and Taiwan lobbies in Washington.

“The Democratic party elites started to think of ways to get Biden out of the way,” according to one Moscow source. “so sending him into a long debate, so early in the campaign, was exactly meant to achieve this – he will look bad but there is enough time to replace him. Republicans have always been this racist but Trump says it more plainly. Biden has always been a wolf in sheep’s clothing but he can no longer find new words to keep up the charade. What is there to see? America has never been weaker. The important thing to see here [Moscow] is the reluctance to drive American imperial power off the cliff.” “Despite Biden’s obvious handicap, I thought he won,” adds a second source. “Biden telling Trump ‘you have the morals of an alley cat’, won it as far as I’m concerned. He also called Trump out on the racism and fascism, something Trump had no answer for except to double down. Didn’t anyone notice Trump’s compulsive repetitiveness? He repeated the same lies and aspersions over and over again. He’s more lucid than Biden, but not by much. He’s an ageing, narcissistic, racist crook.”

The Russian sources also believe that support for Trump in Moscow is an oligarch operation with a similar fondness for Israel. That has been the line of Roman Abramovich since his abortive attempts to save himself from sanctions and defeat the Russian Army failed at the beginning of the Special Military Operation in March and April 2022. “I believe,” said one source, “ ‘Joe must go’ because he expressed some trepidation regarding Israel. He was set up — the guns were loaded and cocked before the debate even started.” There were nineteen references in all to Russia in the debate; seventeen to President Vladimir Putin. Leaving aside mentions by the CNN moderators of the debate, Trump referred to Russia fourteen times; Biden none. Trump named Putin seven times, Biden the same number. The Ukraine was named twenty-two times, Vladimir Zelensky twice. NATO was named thirteen times.

This count reveals that the war in Europe was significantly more important to both candidates than any other foreign policy issue. Compared to the war in the Ukraine, there were eighteen mentions of Israel; thirteen of Hamas; fourteen of China; six of Iran; one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of President Xi Jinping. North Korean President Kim Jong-Un got three. Both Biden and Trump claimed to be tougher and the other weaker in the war against Russia. Said Biden: “we found ourselves in a situation where, if you take a look at what Trump did in Ukraine, he’s – this guy told Ukraine – told Trump, do whatever you want. Do whatever you want. And that’s exactly what Trump did to Putin, encouraged him, do whatever you want. And he went in. And listen to what he said when he went in, he was going to take Kyiv in five days, remember?

Because it’s part of the old Soviet Union. That’s what he wanted to re-establish, Kyiv. And he, in fact, didn’t do it at all. He didn’t – wasn’t able to get it done. And they’ve lost over – they’ve lost thousands and thousands of troops, 500,000 troops…If you want a World War Three, let him follow and win, and let Putin say, do what you want to NATO – just do what you want…I can’t think of a single major leader in the world who wouldn’t trade places with what job I’ve done and what they’ve done because we are a powerful nation…right now, we’re needed. We’re needed to protect the world because our own safety is at stake. And again, you want to have war, just let Putin go ahead and take Kyiv, make sure they move on, see what happens in Poland, Hungary, and other places along that border. Then you have a war.”

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That’s more than the aid..

West Loses $257 Billion on Trade Restrictions With Russia (Sp.)

Western trade restrictions forced Russian companies to focus on markets in the Global South with enormous purchasing power. Importers from unfriendly countries received less Russian goods in the amount of $256.5 billion, while Russia managed to sell these goods to other states and made a profit of almost $31 billion, Sputnik calculated using open data. According to the trade statistics, Russian exports to unfriendly countries were uneven – while some items grew, others shrank. Russia saw an increase in exports compared to the pre-sanctions period, with companies earning an additional $31 billion from trade with friendly countries, data from the Federal Customs Service show.

Western importers were mostly undersupplied with Russian minerals ($107 billion), jewelry ($38 billion) and metals ($21 billion). Russia has repeatedly stressed that it is happy to trade with friendly nations in the wake of Western economic sanctions and warned that these restrictive measures will backfire, spurring inflation and triggering a cost-of-living crisis. In January-February trade between Russia and China grew by 9.3%, with exports from Russia exceeding $20 billion. Earlier, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping set the goal of doubling bilateral trade. The goal was reached in November 2023.

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You’re done. Get out of the way..

Zelensky Outlines Model For Talks With Russia (RT)

Kiev is not ruling out peace talks with Moscow, but they can only be held through intermediaries, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday. He suggested that the format used to broker the 2022 Black Sea grain deal could provide a foundation for negotiations. Ukraine has previously refused to accept Russia’s terms as the basis for talks and has accused Moscow of being incapable of good-faith negotiations. In late 2022, Zelensky issued a decree proclaiming the “impossibility” of talks with Moscow while Russian President Vladimir Putin remains in power. Moscow, meanwhile, has maintained that it is ready to restart negotiations, but only if Kiev renounces claims to former territories that have become part of Russia. In autumn 2022, four former Ukrainian territories – the two breakaway Donbass republics and the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye – formally joined Russia following a series of referendums.

Ukraine has never recognized the results and continues to lay claim to these regions, as well as Crimea, which joined Russia following a similar referendum in 2014. In his interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Zelensky claimed that Ukraine “can find a model” for a potential settlement with Russia. He pointed to the deal brokered two years ago by Türkiye and the UN that allowed the establishment of a corridor for agricultural exports from Ukrainian ports. According to Zelensky, Ankara and the UN signed separate agreements with Moscow and Kiev. “It worked,” he said, adding that the grain corridor then existed “long enough.” Moscow and Kiev were close to reaching another grain deal in March, but Ukrainian negotiators abruptly walked away after two months of talks, according to Reuters.

Agreements on “territorial integrity, energy and freedom of navigation” could be struck between Moscow and Kiev in the same format, Zelensky stated. He suggested that other countries could be invited to mediate. “No one should say that it is… just Europe and the US,” he said, adding that nations from Asia, Africa, and South America should participate and help prepare the documents that would be presented to Moscow and Kiev. “So far, there is only this model,” Zelensky added. He stressed, however, that the final agreement must “suit” Kiev and be based on Ukraine’s terms. Zelensky has long sought to promote his own ten-point “peace formula,” most recently during the summit in Switzerland on June 15-16, to which Russia was not invited. Moscow has flatly rejected Zelensky’s terms, insisting that the status of its newly acquired territories is non-negotiable.

Putin further demanded in June that Kiev withdraw all its troops from the areas of the four Russian regions it currently controls. According to Putin, Ukraine must also renounce its plan to join NATO and become a neutral country, as well as limit the size of its army. Despite rejecting Russia’s terms, Kiev has recently signaled its willingness to end the fighting. In June, the deputy head of Vladimir Zelensky’s office, Igor Zhovkva, said Ukraine wanted “peace as soon as possible.” Zelensky said last week that Kiev does not want to “prolong the war” or make it “last for years.”

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Confusing numbers.

Ukraine Aid Hits Record Low of $2Bln Per Month Since February 2022 (Sp.)

Foreign financial assistance to Ukraine has hit record lows since February 2022 after falling to a monthly average of 1.9 billion euros ($2 billion) in the first half of 2024, an analysis of the Ukrainian Finance Ministry’s data conducted by Sputnik showed on Saturday, adding that Kiev received no funds in May. In 2022, Ukraine’s budget received an average of 2.9 billion euros per month from 17 countries and the European Union, with the United States providing the largest disbursement of 11.4 billion euros, the EU 7.6 billion euros and Canada 1.8 billion euros, the data showed. In 2023, 13 countries and the European Union, which became the largest donor (18.1 billion euros), provided Ukraine with a monthly average of 3 billion euros, the data said. The United States took the second place with 10.1 billion euros, followed by Japan with 3.4 billion euros, the data showed.

Austria, Albania, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania and Latvia did not provide any financial assistance to Ukraine last year, the data said. This year, Kiev received financial support from the European Union, Canada, Japan, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and the monthly allocations dropped to 1.9 billion euros, the data showed. Earlier in June, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that Ukraine would receive 1.5 billion euros from profits generated by frozen Russian assets in July. Kiev is also set to receive 1.9 billion euros from the European Union by the end of June for reforms and investment, she said.

Earlier experts explained to Sputnik that Western voters are gradually getting tired of the Ukrainian crisis and do not want to see their governments sending more aid to the corrupt Kiev regime. Western countries have been providing massive military and financial aid to Kiev since the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kiev, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict.

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“The new McCarthyism is by young people, and it represents our future. So we have a dark future unless we can reverse this new McCarthyism.”

Alan Dershowitz Compares Lawfare Against Trump To McCarthyism (JTN)

Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz is comparing the political lawfare occurring against former President Donald Trump to McCarthyism which began in the late 1950s. “I know lawyers who have been asked to defend Donald Trump on First Amendment grounds,” Dershowitz said on the Wednesday edition of the Just the News, No Noise TV show. “They would normally take the case, but they say, ‘we can’t afford it for our family because they’re coming after our bar license.’ It’s exactly what happened during McCarthyism.” McCarthyism, also called the “Red Scare,” started when Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., said he obtained a list of over 200 card-carrying communists that worked at the U.S. Department of State. This resulted in congressional hearings about “communist subversion” in the United States and it led to repression and targeting of left-wing individuals for fear of spreading communist ideas.

“I’m seeing a return of it now,” Dershowitz said. “But it’s much more dangerous today. Because the old McCarthyism…..it was a thing of the past where you were communist in the 1930s. The new McCarthyism is by young people, and it represents our future. So we have a dark future unless we can reverse this new McCarthyism.” Last month, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree for his reimbursement of a $130,000 payment his then-lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump had argued that this lawsuit and lawsuits on other states were part of a political witch hunt, which other GOP politicians have echoed. Recently, Missouri GOP Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced he would be filing a lawsuit against the state of New York for using ‘lawfare’ against former President Donald Trump.

“This is a lawsuit to vindicate Missourians rights to have access [and] to and hear from a chosen candidate for President of the United States in the heat of a campaign in the most consequential election in this nation’s history,” Bailey said on a “Just the News, No Noise” special. Trump recently had a gag order lifted that was imposed on him by the New York judge. Trump’s lawyers argued the gag order was stifling his campaign speech, and said it might limit his ability to respond to attacks from Democratic President Joe Biden during the first presidential debate. Bailey argued that lawfare and the politicization of the judicial system is a sign that the U.S. is headed towards a banana republic. “We are absolutely slouching towards a tyrannical dictatorial Banana Republic where the law becomes a joke,” he said. We used to be a country of laws……certainly the law under the Biden administration has hastened this departure from those basic principles of the rule of law. ”

Bailey said that Biden does not respect the rule of law and Trump needs to get back into office. “If the Chief Executive Officer of the United States of America doesn’t support the law and doesn’t support the United States of America, we lose credibility,” he said. “President Trump put America first. He enforced the rule of law.” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., suggested that if former President Donald Trump gets back into office, he should go after federal agencies like General Ulysses S. Grant attacked Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War. “When Trump gets back in, he better go through these departments like Grant through Richmond — you can look it up. Grant, during the Civil War, went through Richmond pretty brutally,” Burchett said on the Just the News, No Noise TV show.

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Now investigate the Jan 6 committee. They locked up 100s of people for insurrection.

Supreme Court Downsizes the “Insurrection” to Largely Trespassing (Turley)

The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday in Fischer v. U.S. struck down one of the most common charges against January 6 defendants. “Obstruction of an official proceeding” had been used in hundreds of cases, and those convictions are now invalid. But the biggest impact of the decision may occur elsewhere. For years, calling January 6 an “insurrection” has been a litmus test for press, pundits and politicians. Members of Congress such as Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) claimed a conspiracy of “armed and organized insurrectionists.” The claim is legally absurd but politically advantageous. It now seems like the insurrection increasingly looks more like a legal case of mass trespass and unlawful entry. I have always believed that criminal charges were warranted for the riot of Jan. 6, 2021. But this week’s decision shows how the Justice Department has wrongly prosecuted hundreds of people for the obstruction crime.

It was all part of what Justice Department official Michael Sherwin proudly declared in a television interview, that “our office wanted to ensure that there was shock and awe…it worked because we saw through media posts that people were afraid to come back to D.C. because they’re, like, ‘If we go there, we’re gonna get charged.’ …We wanted to take out those individuals that essentially were thumbing their noses at the public for what they did.” The Fischer opinion will bring an end to a minority of cases that were based entirely on the charge under 1512(c)(2). The section had been enacted after the Enron scandal in 2001 with the collapse of an energy company accused of corporate fraud. It was designed to allow criminal charges for the destruction of evidence in the form of documents and records. The Justice Department chose to interpret that provision to broadly include any obstruction of any legal proceeding, and then used it in hundreds of Jan. 6 cases.

At least a quarter of the prosecutions included this charge. Most also included other charges, including trespass and unlawful entry. A small number involved serious offenses like violence against officers and an even smaller number involved charges for “seditious conspiracy.” For most cases, the decision may require resentencing. Others with pending charges will go to trial without an obstruction claim. One of those is former President Donald Trump. Special Counsel Jack Smith brought four charges in Washington, D.C.: obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy against rights. The Fischer ruling means that half of the indictment would be dropped. Smith could be compelled to seek a superseding indictment. The loss of the obstruction counts seemed to rip the wings off the plane that Smith has been trying to get off the ground before November.

It was the obstruction theory that held the indictment together — the notion that Trump was directing his followers to stop the certification from occurring by charging the Congress. The court rejected this theory and noted that that the “novel interpretation would criminalize a broad swath of prosaic conduct, exposing activists and lobbyists alike to decades in prison.” Smith has been here before. He was unanimously overturned by the Supreme Court in his conviction of Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. Notably, as with today, the court found his theory to be dangerously “boundless.”

[..] Biden has also become the most anti-free speech president since John Adams, including the establishment of a massive censorship system described by one court as “Orwellian.” As I discuss in my new book, the Biden administration has brought together an unprecedented alliance of government, corporate and academic interests to target and silence those with opposing views. These, combined with the weaponization of the legal system and his party’s efforts at ballot cleansing, hardly make Biden look like the defender of democracy to many citizens. For those who have been found guilty under these unlawful charges, it is a bit late to convert the Justice Department’s “shock and awe” into a mere “aw shucks.” It can also seem just awful for many citizens who see the political rage of Jan. 6 replaced by a type of state rage. As a result, Fischer suggests for many that democracy may be on the ballot, but the threat is not exactly what the press and the pundits have suggested.

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“It’s particularly distressing when contrasted with the eagerness and earnestness with which many of us joined the forum..”

Klaus Schwab Reportedly Facing Sexual Harassment Allegations (Sp.)

Under Klaus Schwab’s decades-long oversight, the World Economic Forum “has allowed to fester an atmosphere” of sexual harassment and discrimination against women and Black people, the World Street Journal has cited numerous sources, including current and former forum employees, as saying. An array of female staffers described sexual harassment they experienced at the hands of senior managers, some of whom remain at the forum, “a tone that was set at the very top of the organization,” according to the WSJ. “Since the Forum’s earliest years, staffers say women received warnings about Schwab: If you find yourself alone with him, he may make uncomfortable comments about your appearance. They describe his behavior as more awkward than menacing, but inappropriate for a leader,” the newspaper pointed out.

Former forum staffer Farid Ben Amor, for his part, told the WSJ, “It was distressing to witness colleagues visibly withdraw from themselves with the onslaught of harassment at the hands of high-level staff, going from social and cheerful to self-isolating, avoiding eye contact, sharing nightmares for years after.” “It’s particularly distressing when contrasted with the eagerness and earnestness with which many of us joined the forum,” Ben Amor added. In separate incidents, white managers reportedly used the N-word around Black employees, who also raised formal complaints to its leaders about being passed over for promotions or left out of Davos. Forum spokesman Yann Zopf has, meanwhile, rejected all the accusations, insisting that the WSJ article purportedly mischaracterizes “our organization, culture and colleagues, including our founder,” who “does not and has never engaged in the vulgar behaviors” the newspaper described.

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They will have to listen to the victims’ families. There are too many to ignore.

“.. the families oppose the plea deal because it does not include any company executives being prosecuted..”

DOJ to Charge Boeing With Criminal Fraud (Sp.)

The US Department of Justice will indict US aerospace company Boeing on criminal fraud charges over its alleged breach of a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement, a source familiar with the matter told Sputnik.
The source said Sunday that Boeing will face one charge of defrauding the US government regarding the safety of its planes. The Justice Department notified Boeing in May that it was subject to criminal prosecution after it determined the company had breached a 2021 agreement to avoid criminal charges for two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. Under the agreement, Boeing paid $2.5 billion in penalties and vowed to improve its safety and compliance protocols. But federal prosecutors recently recommended to senior Justice Department officials that Boeing be prosecuted for failing to improve the safety of its aircraft after a series of mishaps this year, including a door panel that blew off an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after takeoff.

The legal team representing the families of victims of the 737 MAX aircraft crashes was notified of the decision the Justice Department reached to prosecute Boeing, but they do not believe it does enough to hold the company accountable. “The Justice Department is preparing to offer to Boeing another sweetheart plea deal. The deal will not acknowledge, in any way, that Boeing’s crime killed 346 people. It also appears to rest on the idea that Boeing did not harm any victim. The families will strenuously object to this plea deal,” the legal team said in a press release without disclosing details of the expected charge against Boeing. The release added that the families oppose the plea deal because it does not include any company executives being prosecuted and there are also issues with the amount of the fine federal prosecutors intend to ask the court to impose.

Trouble began for the aircraft manufacturer in 2018 when a Boeing 737 MAX plane operated by Lion Air in Indonesia crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 189 on board. The same model aircraft experienced another catastrophic failure just five months later, when all 157 people on board a flight from Ethiopia were killed under similar circumstances. It was later revealed the two aircraft lacked optional safety features Boeing sold to airlines at a premium, a decision that was sharply criticized.

A series of shocking whistleblower testimonies have offered troubling details about the company’s safety practices, including reports of employee drug use and allegations that contractors use substandard parts and ignore manufacturing defects. One former employee claimed he was pressured to overlook hundreds of production faults in order to ensure that Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems continued to meet its quotas. Whistleblower Santiago Paredes claimed he was demoted and moved to a different part of the factory after reporting numerous concerns. Two Boeing whistleblowers, Joshua Dean and John Barnett, suddenly died shortly after going public with their concerns.

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Neuralink 1st patient

 

 

Cow pool

 

 

Fibonacci

 

 

Bowie Ricky
https://twitter.com/i/status/1807092337610240080

 

 

 

 

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