Sep 252025
 


Edward Hopper The barber shop 1931

 

Only 36 Countries Back Ukraine In Key UN Vote (RT)
Trump’s Sudden Betrayal of Russia (Alexander Dugin)
NATO Fires $470,000 Sidewinders At $2,000 Drones (Ryumshin)
West’s Elevation Of ‘Cult Hero’ Zelensky Fueled His Hubris –The Economist (RT)
Russia Is A Bear, Not A ‘Paper Tiger’ – Kremlin to Trump (RT)
The EU Will Crack Under The Burden Of Ukraine (Romaenko)
Putin Declares It’s War Or Peace In Space (Helmer)
Zionist Trump Is No ‘Peace President’ (Paul Craig Roberts)
Presidential Walk of Fame Features Autopen, Not Biden (Salgado)
Can We Expect a James Comey Indictment ‘In the Coming Days’? (Margolis)
Here’s What the FBI Found in John Bolton’s Office (Margolis)
DOJ Investigator Ed Martin Questions FBI Agent in Alex Jones Lawsuit (CTH)
Secret Service Are Investigating Trump Escalator, Teleprompter ‘Mishaps’ (MN)
It’s Official: CV19 Vax Not Safe & Effective – Karen Kingston (USAW)
India, China, Europe, & The US Are On Very Different Population Paths (ZH)

 

 

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Albania, Andorra,….

Only 36 Countries Back Ukraine In Key UN Vote (RT)

A joint statement by Ukraine and the EU condemning Russia has received the backing of only 36 out of the 193 UN member states. The US notably abstained. Presented by EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga at the UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday, the document describes Russia’s actions vis-a-vis Ukraine as a “blatant violation of the UN Charter.” It also calls on the global community to “maximize pressure” on Moscow, and to support Ukraine’s “territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.”

The joint statement was endorsed by the 26 EU member states, with the exception of Hungary, and also endorsed by Albania, Andorra, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK. Back in February, the UN Security Council rejected a resolution drafted by Kiev and its European backers that contained similar anti-Russian rhetoric. A competing resolution promoted by the US was eventually adopted, with Washington, Moscow, and eight other members voting in favor and five European nations abstaining. That version avoided branding Russia as an aggressor and called for a “swift end” to the Ukraine conflict.

Moscow’s deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, at the time described the outcome as a victory for common sense, claiming that “more and more people realize the true colors of the Zelensky regime.” Moscow has consistently characterized the Ukraine conflict as a proxy war being waged against it by the West. The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that the hostilities would end were Kiev to renounce its claims to the five regions that have joined Russia through referendums since 2014, reaffirm its neutral status, and guarantee the rights of the Russian-speaking population on its territory.

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Putin’s philosopher on X.

“The worst outcome would have been for us to be drawn in. Now there is nowhere left to be drawn..”

Trump’s Sudden Betrayal of Russia (Alexander Dugin)

“Trump announced that he now believes Ukraine can retake all territories from Russia by purely military means, that Russia is a ‘paper tiger,’ and that he intends to sell weapons to NATO’s European members so they can flood Ukraine with them. This is a wholly different position than the one he held a minute ago. That, however, is Trump through and through. There is no other. This is nothing like MAGA or Charlie Kirk, who consistently sided with Russia and opposed aid to Kiev. But Kirk was killed. The boldest figures in MAGA are already beginning to suspect that this is not just the act of a lone liberal with a rifle living with a transgender furry.

Trump is faithful to no one and utterly faithful to himself — half MAGA, half neocon, and willing to compromise with the Deep State. That is what he is. At the same time, a pattern emerges: Trump facilitates the construction of a multipolar world even as he attempts to resist it. Consider how his wild tariffs deftly pushed India closer to China. This dynamic repeats itself across the board.

One might have thought a deal with Trump on Ukraine was possible, but in reality it is not. His positions shift by the minute; he never engages with historical or geopolitical details, and any agreement struck by a businessman is immediately overturned if someone offers better terms. That is business. This is an extremely volatile and ruthlessly brutal arena of aggressive, inhuman deception. The worst outcome would have been for us to be drawn in. Now there is nowhere left to be drawn. We have only one path: the sacred patriotic war. It was so and it remains so. Once it begins, it can end only in our victory.”

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“The more unrealistic the idea, the more it distracts from weakness.”

NATO Fires $470,000 Sidewinders At $2,000 Drones (Ryumshin)

Why did a handful of foam plastic drones leave NATO in a panic? And why is Poland now proposing establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine? It has been a long time since the West entertained ideas as reckless as these. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski broke what had been a useful tradition of keeping quiet when he suggested NATO should impose a no-fly zone. The last time we heard this nonsense was at the very start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, when Vladimir Zelensky demanded that NATO shoot down every Russian missile and aircraft over Ukraine. Estonia cheered him on, but NATO leaders dismissed it. They knew then what should be obvious now: a no-fly zone would mean war with Russia. No one in the alliance dared risk it in 2022, and nothing has changed since.

So why bring it up again? Not because Warsaw has suddenly gone mad or discovered a taste for apocalypse. It is political theater, closer to the instincts of a porcupine fish puffing itself up than of a serious power. Poland – and much of Western Europe with it – is desperately trying to appear larger and scarier than it really is. The trigger was an incident in which a group of UAVs entered Polish airspace. Western European politicians seized on the episode, trying to extract maximum political mileage. But decisive action is the last thing on their minds. The incident revealed just how unprepared NATO is for modern warfare. Nineteen unarmed, camera-less decoy drones crossed Polish skies. Their sole purpose was to commit “suicide” against air defenses before any real strike. NATO managed to shoot down only four. The rest wandered across Poland unhindered, some travelling nearly 500km before running out of fuel and falling from the sky.

In their panic, NATO scrambled F-35 fighters armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles – each one costing $470,000. The price of a single decoy drone? No more than $3,000. To bring down a handful of foam contraptions worth $8,000-$12,000, NATO spent close to $1.9 million. The alliance failed at every level. Intelligence failed because it did not detect the drones in time and then lost track of most of them. The military failed because it had no plan for such an obvious scenario. And political leaders failed because in almost four years of conflict they have done nothing to adapt NATO to the realities of 21st-century warfare. If this is how Poland and its partners cope with nineteen decoys, how do they plan to defend Ukraine from the drone swarms of a real battle?

The no-fly zone talk is also pointless without the United States. Washington commands the only truly powerful air force in NATO, yet it shows no interest in such schemes. The alliance is deeply divided. Its European members are demanding that America stop “flirting” with Moscow and impose harsher sanctions. Donald Trump, however, is digging in his heels, telling Brussels to impose measures themselves – and add tariffs against India and China while they are at it. Even Trump, who rarely avoids hyperbole, did not join the hysteria. He limited himself to a post on social media and then suggested the drones may have strayed accidentally. That directly contradicted Warsaw’s alarmist claims. The US also quietly declined to participate in Operation Eastern Sentry, a mission designed to protect NATO’s eastern flank. Forced to rely only on European resources, the operation ended up looking feeble and unconvincing.

So what can Western Europe do in this situation? Only what it always does: raise the alarm and toss out outlandish proposals. The more unrealistic the idea, the more it distracts from weakness. The main audience for this show is Russia – NATO wants to puff up its chest and project menace. But the second audience is closer to home.Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk admitted the real goal is to curb pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian sentiment inside Western Europe. In 2022, Western leaders briefly managed to suppress their contradictions and present a united front. They want to revive that atmosphere now, even if it takes hysteria about drones and fantasies about no-fly zones. Will it work? Probably not. Opinion campaigns are under way, but there are no serious polls yet to show whether Western Europeans are buying the story. My belief is that they will not. The mood of 2022 cannot be recreated. The talk of no-fly zones will end the same way as earlier attempts to whip up panic – with nothing.

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“Zelensky was more democratic at the start, but all the applause sent him to space,” another government insider told the magazine. “He began to believe in destiny.”

West’s Elevation Of ‘Cult Hero’ Zelensky Fueled His Hubris –The Economist (RT)

Western praise of Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky encouraged overconfidence and increasingly authoritarian behavior in Kiev, The Economist argued in a piece published on Tuesday. In a “report card” assessing Ukraine’s deepening problems as its conflict with Russia drags on, the British magazine highlighted manpower shortages, a mounting budget deficit, and what it described as a growing loss of government legitimacy. Kiev’s attempted crackdown on anti-corruption agencies in July, which sparked mass protests, marked a breaking point, according to a senior Ukrainian official, who said “trust has broken down between government and society.”

“[Zelensky’s] rise as a cult hero in the West has encouraged hubris,” the outlet wrote. The Ukrainian leader was lionized by foreign officials and media, some of whom compared him to Winston Churchill. “Zelensky was more democratic at the start, but all the applause sent him to space,” another government insider told the magazine. “He began to believe in destiny.” The analysis echoed a November 2023 Time magazine story that described Zelensky’s belief in eventual victory as “immovable, verging on the messianic,” with sources saying his inner circle was unwilling to challenge the “delusion.” According to The Economist, Ukraine is now governed by “a shrinking circle of confidants,” particularly Zelensky’s chief of staff Andrey Yermak.

The latter was described as “a bruiser whose power does not seem warranted by his experience or his mandate as an unelected official,” and a person seen by some as a de facto co-president. The magazine said Zelensky’s administration “has sunk into some of Ukraine’s old vices,” citing attacks on opposition media, the use of lawfare against political rivals, and “shakedowns by the domestic-security service.” One industrialist alleged a colleague paid $2 million to avoid charges of having ties to Russia. The Economist concluded that Zelensky “will have to find something other than his role as Ukraine’s chief warrior to renew his legitimacy,” warning that he “seems to be running out of road.”

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A real bear, no less.

Russia Is A Bear, Not A ‘Paper Tiger’ – Kremlin to Trump (RT)

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has rejected US President Donald Trump’s description of Russia as “a paper tiger,” joking that the country is more commonly compared to a bear. On Tuesday, following his meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, Trump said he believes that Kiev is “in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back,” if the EU and NATO continue to support it. He compared Russia to a “paper tiger,” claiming that the country is in “BIG Economic trouble” and that “this is the time for Ukraine to act.”

In an interview with Russian business daily RBK on Wednesday, Peskov disagreed with the US leader. “Russia is not a tiger. Russia is more often associated with a bear. There are no such things as ‘paper bears,’ and Russia is a real bear,” he quipped. Peskov added that the Russian economy has adapted to the ongoing conflict and has been able to provide its military with all the necessary equipment while acknowledging that it is facing certain “problems”, which are aggravated by unprecedented Western sanctions.Trump is a “businessman,” he said, suggesting that he is trying to force the world to buy American oil and gas at a higher price.

Still, Peskov stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin “highly values” Trump’s efforts to mediate the Ukraine conflict while describing their relationship as “warm.” Talks between Russia and the US are moving slowly, he noted, explaining that Washington links the issue of restoring bilateral ties to the settlement of the Ukraine conflict. Moscow remains open to seeking a peaceful resolution to the hostilities, Peskov said while Ukraine’s battlefield situation is deteriorating. “The dynamics show that for those who do not want to negotiate today, their position will be much worse tomorrow or the day after tomorrow,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

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“..Trump’s statement might be read not as a promise but as a test: can the EU demonstrate that it is not itself a “paper tiger”?

The EU Will Crack Under The Burden Of Ukraine (Romaenko)

US President Donald Trump has called Russia a “paper tiger,” supposedly “in BIG economic trouble” – so big, he believes, that Kiev “is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.” There’s one key caveat, though – according to Trump, that victory is possible “with the support of the European Union.” Support from the US is not included in the pep talk. This means that Trump is, for the moment, distancing himself from directly trying to end the war, at least in the short term. This also means that, unlike during the Biden years, when Washington was all but writing Zelensky a blank check, as well as supporting Kiev with intelligence and training, Trump appears to be drawing a line: responsibility should fall primarily on the EU and NATO.

The question is, do they actually have the resources, political unity, and stamina to propel Kiev to this supposed victory? EU economies are groaning under the strain of inflation and energy costs – self-inflicted wounds resulting in a large part from the cut-off of cheap Russian energy. Domestic political divisions are boiling up both between and within EU member states – again, the result of populations upset by their governments throwing cash into a bottomless pit with a “for Ukraine” sign next to it. This is where the “paper tiger” label begins to cut both ways, if not entirely backfire. Calling Russia a “paper tiger” is, above all, a psychological tactic. For decades, critics of Moscow have used similar language to argue that Russia’s military power is overstated, its economy brittle, and its system fragile.

Trump is not the first to say this, and he will not be the last. But such claims have been proven wrong as often as they have been vindicated – and since the beginning of Russia’s military operation and the ensuing sanctions, they have been proven nothing but wrong. The Russian economy, despite sanctions, has not collapsed. Predictions of its imminent demise have been made repeatedly since 2022, only to be walked back as Moscow adapted, re-routed trade, and leveraged its vast natural resources. That does not mean Russia is just shrugging off the West’s pressure: severe challenges and serious problems do arise and they are being openly discussed and overcome. Yet, the collapse thesis has become increasingly difficult to sustain after years of “imminent collapse” forecasts that never materialized.

This illustrates that narratives of inevitable collapse often serve political purposes more than analytical clarity. Trump’s framing fits neatly into this tradition: the “paper tiger” line does not come from sound economic analysis. It’s simply an attempt to undermine Russia’s psychological standing. For Ukraine, Trump’s affirmation that it can defeat Russia may have been meant as a morale boost. Except it probably doesn’t sound all that encouraging when Kiev realizes it will have to rely on its own nonexistent economy and the backing of European regimes that are struggling both politically and economically – struggles that come from blind support for Kiev to begin with. As EU leaders continue to try to drum up support with tired calls for “unity for Ukraine,” they keep bleeding voters. Defense spending is rising, but weapons and resources are being funneled to Kiev.

In several countries, support for the centrist establishment is in the gutter, and parties that promise to refocus on domestic problems are rapidly gaining popularity. If the burden of carrying Kiev falls entirely to EU nations, this will not only accelerate Ukraine’s own defeat, but also the demise of many of the EU’s own struggling governments. In this sense, Trump’s statement might be read not as a promise but as a test: can the EU demonstrate that it is not itself a “paper tiger”? Trump would love to go down in history as a great peace-maker, but what he wants even more – what he promised the voters who followed his “America First” banner – is to end Washington’s entanglement in losing battles.

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Putin wants new treaties. Trump should, too.

Putin Declares It’s War Or Peace In Space (Helmer)

Yesterday afternoon at the Kremlin meeting of the Security Council, President Vladimir Putin proposed to extend the current strategic nuclear weapons limitations of the New START Treaty expiring in February 2026, for one more year into 2027. This is the time Putin is giving President Donald Trump to choose between his Golden Dome escalation in space or new terms of nuclear deescalation by treaty with Russia. “Particular attention,” Putin declared, “must be directed towards US plans to expand strategic components of its missile defence system, including preparations for the deployment of interceptors in outer space. We believe that the practical implementation of such destabilising measures could nullify our efforts to maintain the status quo in the field of strategic offensive arms. We will respond appropriately in this case.”

“In order to prevent the emergence of a new strategic arms race and to preserve an acceptable degree of predictability and restraint, we consider it reasonable to maintain at this turbulent time the status quo established under New START. Accordingly, Russia is prepared to continue observing the treaty’s central quantitative restrictions for one year after February 5, 2026.” This isn’t Putin’s first offer of a timeout for Trump. On October 16, 2020, Putin had announced “to extend the [START] Treaty now in effect unconditionally for at least a year in order to have a chance to hold substantive talks on all the parameters of problems that are regulated by treaties of this kind, lest we leave our countries and all nations of the world with a vested interest in maintaining strategic stability without such a fundamental document as the Strategic Offensive Arms Limitation Treaty.”

Trump rejected that offer before he lost the election the following month. President Joseph Biden then accepted it and on February 3, 2021, the State Department and Foreign Ministry exchanged papers extending the New START terms for five years until 2026. Putin’s statement of yesterday is his explicit reply to Trump’s announcement of Golden Dome four months ago, on May 20. “There’s never been anything like this,” Trump said. “This is something that’s going to be very protective. I think you can rest assured there’ll be nothing like this. Nobody else is capable of building it either.”

According to Trump, the new Golden Dome system – to be part-paid by Canada, he added – “will integrate with our existing defence capabilities and should be fully operational before the end of my term. So we’ll have it done in about three years [2028]. Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they are launched from space, and we will have the best system ever built. As you know, we helped Israel with theirs and it was very successful and now we have technology that’s even far advanced from that, but including hypersonic missiles, ballistic missiles and advanced cruise missiles, all of them will be knocked out of the air.”

“We will truly be completing the job that President Reagan started 40 years ago, forever ending the missile threat to the American homeland and the success rate is very close to 100 percent, which is incredible when you think of it, you’re shooting bullets out of the air. I’m also pleased to report that the One Big, Beautiful Bill will include $25 billion for the Golden Dome to help construction get underway”. Trump was asked by a reporter: “Have you addressed Russia’s ventures in space with a space based nuclear weapon and told Putin to stop in your conversations with him?” Trump replied: “We haven’t discussed it. But at the right time we will.” Putin has just called time. Trump has seventeen months.

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“..an obvious hoax. But it served for the neoconservatives to elicit from Trump that if “Russia keeps escalating” the US will defend Poland and the Baltic States from Russia.”

Zionist Trump Is No ‘Peace President’ (Paul Craig Roberts)

Robert Kagan, the Jewish Zionist Neoconservative Husband of another Jewish Zionist Neoconservative, Victoria Nuland, has written an article in the Jewish Publication, formerly the WASP magazine, The Atlantic, that blames Washington for assisting Ukraine in Washington’s war against Russia while avoiding direct confrontation with Russia when the real target was Russia. Kagan says that insufficient Russian forces made it possible for America to dispense with the alleged Russian threat.

Do you remember Kagan’s “Project for a New American Century?” It wasn’t a project for America. It was a project for Israel. All American neoconservatives serve Israel, not America. It is a reasonable conclusion that the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2021 was an inside job arranged by the highly placed neoconservatives in the US government led by vice president Dick Cheney. The purpose of the attack was to produce the “New Pearl Harbor” that the Zionist neoconservatives said was necessary to deceive the American people into a quarter century of war destroying the Arab countries in the way of Greater Israel.

The Americans fell for the orchestrated deceit of “the war on terror,” and sacrificed their money and their soldiers for the sake of Israel. Five of the “seven countries in five years” whose destruction the neconservatives called for have been destroyed. Norman Podhoretz proposed the project in the Jewish magazine, Commentary. Whether or not Podhoretz used the specific quote, “seven countries in five years,” he called for the overthrow of seven countries ending with Saudi Arabia. I read the article and most likely wrote about it. General Wesley Clark, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told us about it in a speech to the Commonwealth Club of California in 2007. Neoconservatives talked about it openly. 9/11 created America’s “war on terror,” which was used to destroy Muslin countries opposed to Greater Israel.

In 2014 the neoconservatives used their high positions in the US government to overthrow the Ukraine government in the “Maidan Revolution,” appointed an anti-Russian president, and began the Ukrainian neo-nazi campaign against the Russian residents in Donbas, formerly part of Russia. This forced Russia’s intervention. Russia’s forced intervention was called “the Russian invasion of Ukraine.” The escalations of the conflict in Ukraine have been caused by the US which has supplied ever longer range weapons to Ukraine and the targeting information that permits their use. Recently the whore media reported a nonexistent “drone attack” by Russia on Poland and the Baltics, an obvious hoax. But it served for the neoconservatives to elicit from Trump that if “Russia keeps escalating” the US will defend Poland and the Baltic States from Russia.

In other words, the neoconservatives’ agenda is to expand the war from Ukraine to Poland and the Baltic States. By expanding the conflict, the neoconservatives hope to gradually wear down Russia. Putin handed this opportunity to the Russophobic neoconservatives with his never-ending, ever-widening war in Donbas. Putin’s failure to quickly win the conflict is proving to be a strategic blunder. Putin was too afraid of alarming the West to tend to Russia’s interest. In the meantime, the US military/security complex and the neoconservatives have wrested foreign and military policy out of Trump’s hands and catapulted the nuclear arms race into space with the Golden Dome escalation of deploying nuclear weapons in space, a project that will produce never-ending profits and cost overruns.

Putin has offered to extend the expiring START treaty one year, if Trump will agree, in order to avoid an even less predictable and more destabilizing nuclear situation. Trump, totally failing to comprehend the increased danger that accompanies Golden Dome, describes it as completing President Reagan’s work to “end the missile threat to the American homeland.” No, President Trump. Reagan worked to end, not escalate, the cold war that the Zionist neoconservatives have restarted and to normalize relations with Russia. Reagan’s “Star Wars” was a threat intended to bring the Soviet Union to the negotiating table, like your tariff threats are used to bring foreign investment to the US.

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“No politician trolls quite like Donald Trump does.”

Presidential Walk of Fame Features Autopen, Not Biden (Salgado)

Donald Trump‘s new White House Presidential Walk of Fame features a picture of the infamous autopen instead of the face of Joe Biden for the 46th president. Margo Martin, special assistant to the president and communications advisor, posted a video of the new Presidential Walk of Fame at the White House. “Wait for it…” she joked with a pen emoji. The White House followed up with an image of Trump looking at the autopen between the photos of himself on the walk.Trump had previously indicated that he would use a picture of the autopen in his new Walk of Fame and joked about not using a portrait with a smile. “This is going to be very controversial,” Trump predicted with satisfaction.

Judging from the ranting and raving already on X from leftists, he was absolutely right in that prediction. His administration is currently investigating the autopen scandal to assess who was actually running the country, since clearly Joe Biden was not. There are quite a few evil, anti-American, and/or insidious men on the Presidential Walk of Fame, including Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Lyndon Johnson, Andrew Johnson, Woodrow Wilson, Andrew Jackson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. But the face of the man who is arguably our worst president ever does not appear on the walk, with a classic Trump dig at his dementia-incapacitated predecessor’s lack of control in his own administration.

Trump has commented on the autopen scandal and ridiculed Biden and his advisers for it numerous times. Just a couple of weeks ago, Trump posted on Truth Social, “THE BIDEN AUTOPEN SCANDAL IS BIG, NOT AS BIG AS THE RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX, OR THE RIGGED 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, BUT, NEVERTHELESS, ONE OF THE BIGGEST, EVER!!!” The autopen scandal revolves around revelations that numerous pardons and other executive actions, including for felon Hunter Biden and COVID tyrant Dr. Anthony Fauci, were signed not by Joe Biden himself, in a continually deteriorating state of mind as he was, but by autopen. Recipients of the pardons included violent criminals, a child porn offender with CCP ties, Liz Cheney, and various members of the Biden family.

While presidents have been able to access an autopen for decades, the fact that it may be unconstitutional has meant it is usually not used for important documents. Obama raised controversy by authorizing the use of the autopen when he was not in Washington, D.C., but the Biden administration went further, in many cases seemingly using it for documents about which Joe Biden was not even aware. Therefore, it is quite likely that pardons signed by autopen are, in fact, invalid. No politician trolls quite like Donald Trump does. Every person who visits the Presidential Walk of Fame will be reminded that Dementia Joe Biden and his advisors presided over one of the most shameful scandals in modern American history.

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They’ve run out of time. That may doom the case.

Can We Expect a James Comey Indictment ‘In the Coming Days’? (Margolis)

Brace yourselves, folks, because Washington is rumbling again. Former FBI director James Comey, once the darling of the anti-Trump press, now finds himself staring down the barrel of an indictment, according to the progressive stronghold MSNBC and insiders familiar with the probe. That’s right: for all the years Democrats lionized Comey as the fierce guardian of the “Russia collusion” narrative, the tables may be turning in spectacular fashion. MSNBC broke the news on Wednesday afternoon that Comey is on the verge of facing criminal charges. Anchor Katy Tur told viewers, “Three sources familiar tell MSNBC former FBI director James Comey is expected to be indicted in the coming days.”

Tur added, “The full extent of the charges being prepared against Comey is unclear,” before bringing in MSNBC justice and intelligence correspondent Ken Dilanian and senior investigative correspondent Carol Leonnig for analysis. Leonnig explained, “We have some sources who say that for several weeks now, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia, and actually in offices that are potentially much further south than Alexandria, have been eyeing ways to indict Comey, and they are getting very much closer.” She continued, “They are arguing that Comey — there is evidence to suggest Comey lied to Congress in his testimony on The Hill in September of 2020.”

Leonnig pointed out that the clock is running out for prosecutors. “For viewers out in the audience who may not be legally as nerdy as me and Ken, I’ll just say that there’s a statute of limitations to charge people with the crime of lying to Congress, or perjury, and that’s five years. The five-year statute runs this month.” According to CNN, prosecutors haven’t made a decision yet.

Federal prosecutors are nearing a decision whether to bring possible perjury charges against former FBI Director James Comey, with a legal deadline expiring on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the investigation. The probe, run by federal prosecutors at the US Attorney’s Office for Virginia’s eastern district, is examining whether Comey made false statements during his September, 30, 2020, testimony to Congress on his handling of the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, people familiar with the matter said. Prosecutors, under criminal law, generally would only have five years to the day to bring a charge.

If a federal grand jury were to approve the case by next week, it would mark one of the highest-profile indictments of a political figure during President Donald Trump’s second term in office – and against one of the longtime figures whom Trump and his political allies detest the most from what they call the “deep state” of the federal government. If the Justice Department truly brings charges, it will represent a seismic test of accountability inside the federal bureaucracy. For years, the media have shielded Comey as a noble martyr of the “resistance,” but if prosecutors finally hold him to the same laws that every American faces, there’s no going back. The public must demand transparency because, without it, this indictment risks becoming just another D.C. power play buried under the weight of spin.

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Bolton was a secrets supermarket for ages.

Here’s What the FBI Found in John Bolton’s Office (Margolis)

The FBI raided John Bolton’s office and home last month and exposed yet another former government official who mishandled classified documents. Democrats and their media allies spent years screaming about Donald Trump’s document handling, stayed completely silent when Joe Biden had classified files in his garage, and now, predictably, aren’t losing any sleep over authorities catching one of their favorite anti-Trump Republicans with classified materials.

On August 22, federal agents raided Bolton’s Washington office and his Bethesda residence, walking away with a treasure trove of classified documents marked “secret,” “confidential,” and other sensitive designations. According to court filings, the materials reportedly span Bolton’s lengthy government career, including his time during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations from 1998 to 2006, covering everything from weapons of mass destruction intelligence to strategic communications and United Nations mission documents.

What makes this particularly rich is the timing and the player involved. Bolton, who made a career out of positioning himself as the principled conservative willing to stand up to Trump, now finds himself facing potential Espionage Act violations. The same man who positioned himself as a paragon of national security virtue apparently kept classified materials in his office decades after leaving government service. The FBI’s investigation goes beyond simple document retention. Court filings reveal that agents are hunting for evidence of conspiracy to gather, transmit, or lose national defense information without proper authorization. That’s serious business, the kind that can land someone in federal prison for years. The seriousness of the situation is huge considering that, according to federal investigators, a “foreign entity” successfully hacked Bolton’s AOL email account.

Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, who previously represented Hunter Biden, is doing what defense lawyers do: claiming that everything was above board and that many documents had been cleared through pre-publication review processes. However, that defense rings hollow when considering the scope of what investigators found. These weren’t just a few memos that slipped through the cracks; this was an extensive collection of sensitive materials spanning multiple administrations and covering some of our nation’s most closely guarded secrets. This case also highlights the broader problem of Washington’s revolving door culture, where former officials routinely walk away with materials they claim are necessary for their post-government careers. Joe Biden, for example, had classified documents in his garage dating back to his days as a U.S. senator.

The fact that some of these documents in Bolton’s possession date back to the Clinton and Bush eras demonstrates just how long this problem has been festering. While Bolton built his reputation as a hawk who understood the importance of protecting American secrets, his alleged actions suggest a different reality, one where personal convenience trumped national security protocols. As this investigation continues, Americans deserve answers about how a former national security advisor could allegedly retain classified materials for decades while using compromised email systems that foreign adversaries could access. The Justice Department must pursue this case with the same intensity it has shown in other high-profile document cases, regardless of Bolton’s political positioning or media relationships.

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“..it wasn’t particularly smart for Alex Jones to post the letter on his Twitter account. Without much doubt the Ed Martin retraction was due to this knuckleheaded move.”

DOJ Investigator Ed Martin Questions FBI Agent in Alex Jones Lawsuit (CTH)

UPDATE: According to CNN, “in a new letter addressed to attorney Christopher Mattei on Wednesday, Martin withdrew his initial letter entirely. In a brief note, according to a person familiar with the letter, Martin wrote that there is no investigation of Aldenberg and “because of this, I hereby withdraw my request for information from you or your former client.”

As noted in the original outline below, it wasn’t particularly smart for Alex Jones to post the letter on his Twitter account. Without much doubt the Ed Martin retraction was due to this knuckleheaded move.

— Original Outline Below —
William “Bill” Aldenberg was the lead investigator for John Durham in 2020. Bill Aldenberg was also a plaintiff in the case against Alex Jones in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting 2012, lawsuit and civil trial 2022. According to a U.S. News and World Report article, “Aldenberg was among the law enforcement officers who responded to the school and found the dead children. That then led to years of abuse from people who believed the shooting was a hoax, he has said. His share of the judgment totaled around $120 million.” Bill Aldenberg was the first witness in the 2022 case against InfoWars. Alex Jones and InfoWars lost the lawsuit and were punished by a $1.4 billion damage award to the plaintiffs. InfoWars filed bankruptcy and the arguments over liquidation of assets is underway in Texas.

Here’s where things get weird. We know the FBI was conducting an operation called “Arctic Frost,” essentially the targeting of Donald Trump and key figures who aligned with Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 election. It is widely suspected, the massive amount of evidence captured in the Arctic Frost operation, was eventually fed to the January 6th Committee for use in their expanded investigation. That evidence then underpinned the case against President Trump that was being assembled by Jack Smith. Essentially, operation Arctic Frost was the evidence gathering operation, then the J6 Committee and special counsel Jack Smith used the FBI evidence to frame their cases. [Readers will note, this process is similar to the FBI “Crossfire Hurricane” operation, which fed evidence to special counsel Robert Mueller, to frame their cases.]

Back to FBI Investigative Agent William Aldenberg, who was lead for John Durham. DOJ attorney Ed Martin is looking at the connective tissue around all of the FBI targeting operations. He now asks the lawyers for William Aldenberg about details of their client’s involvement in the case against Alex Jones.


Alex Jones posted a copy of the letter on his Twitter [X] feed, along with a picture of him and Ed Martin. A rather knuckleheaded move by Jones considering how Ed Martin says in the letter he would prefer not to litigate the issue in the media. Then again, wisdom and sound judgement have never been Jones’ strong points. Really, it’s a convoluted mess making the serious issues around Arctic Frost get lost in the weeds. Then again, perhaps that is a feature not a flaw. Many people, CTH included, view Alex Jones through the prism of compromise ever since the $1.4 billion sword of Damocles was established over his head.

(USN&WR) – “[…] Ed Martin Jr., who leads the Justice Department’s “weaponization working group,” asked in the letter whether retired agent William Aldenberg received any financial benefits from helping to organize the lawsuit, in which he was a plaintiff along with victims’ family members. Aldenberg, like the parents and other relatives of the 20 children and six educators killed in the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, has been the subject of false conspiracy theories spread by Jones on his “Infowars” broadcasts. Aldenberg was among the law enforcement officers who responded to the school and found the dead children. That then led to years of abuse from people who believed the shooting was a hoax, he has said. His share of the judgment totaled around $120 million.

In a Sept. 15 letter to Christopher Mattei, a lawyer who represents Sandy Hook families, Martin suggested he was scrutinizing Aldenberg’s role in the lawsuit. Mattei responded to the letter in a text message to The Associated Press. “Thanks to the courage of the Sandy Hook families, Infowars will soon be finished,” he said, referring to the families’ efforts in court to liquidate Jones’ assets to help pay the judgment. “In his last gasps, Jones is once again harassing them, only now with the corrupt complicity of at least one DOJ official. It’s as disgusting as it is pathetic, and we will not stand for it.”

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Trump and Melania were stuck in a glass elevator. Ready for shooting practice.

Secret Service Are Investigating Trump Escalator, Teleprompter ‘Mishaps’ (MN)

President Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has stated that the Secret Service are looking into incidents prior to and during President Trump’s speech to the UN where an escalator was seemingly purposefully stopped the moment he stepped onto it, and a teleprompter malfunctioned just as he was about to speak. Appearing on Jesse Watters’ show, Leavitt noted “There was some concerning reporting over the weekend from the London Times, as you pointed out, that U.N. globalist staffers were basically plotting to set up the president of the United States.” She continued, “And first it was the escalator, then it was the teleprompter, and then Katie Pavlich from Townhall, who we offered a seat in the press pool to cover the president’s historic speech today, noticed that the audio inside of the room was much lower and different for the president of the United States than the previous speaker.”

https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1970691385524097362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1970691385524097362%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmodernity.news%2F2025%2F09%2F24%2Fsecret-service-are-investigating-trump-escalator-teleprompter-mishaps%2F

“So when you put all of this together, it doesn’t look like a coincidence to me,” the Press Secretary further asserted, adding “I know that we have people, including the United States Secret Service, who are looking into this to try to get to the bottom of it.” Leavitt further remarked that “if we find that these were U.N. staffers who were purposefully trying to trip up, literally trip up the president and the first lady of the United States, well, there better be accountability for those people. And I will personally see to it.” In addition to lambasting the UN for its “empty words” on global conflicts, Trump quipped “These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”

https://twitter.com/Viralvid_89/status/1970582389417222261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1970582389417222261%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmodernity.news%2F2025%2F09%2F24%2Fsecret-service-are-investigating-trump-escalator-teleprompter-mishaps%2F

While the teleprompter glitch was an embarrassing tech hiccup, it’s the escalator stoppage that demands scrutiny as a glaring security lapse. UN officials quickly attributed it to a safety mechanism triggered accidentally by Trump’s videographer backing up the stairs, and the White House has demanded an investigation into potential sabotage. But even if unintentional, the incident exposes deep vulnerabilities in protecting a leader with a massive target on his back. Trump has survived two assassination attempts in 2024 alone, and the recent murder of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk, a brazen campus shooting by a lone gunman with leftist derangements, has only amplified the threats. Kirk’s killing, amid a surge in politically motivated violence on the left, underscores a rising tide of leftist aggression: from arson attacks on officials’ homes to targeted hits on high-profile voices challenging progressive orthodoxy.

Imagine the escalator halting not by glitch, but by design—or worse, exploiting a momentary freeze in Secret Service protocols. Trump, frozen in place on a confined, elevated platform, surrounded by international delegates and staff in a building teeming with potential bad actors. No quick exit, no buffer zone; just seconds of vulnerability where a concealed assailant could strike. This a near-miss that could have echoed the chaos of Butler, Pennsylvania, or the golf course attempt last year. The Secret Service, still reeling from those failures, must up their game: pre-clear every mechanism in high-threat venues, deploy redundant transport like private elevators, and drill for “stuck” scenarios that turn routine movements into kill zones. Anything less invites disaster, especially as Trump’s unfiltered rhetoric continues to provoke extremists on the left.

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She warned from the very start.

It’s Official: CV19 Vax Not Safe & Effective – Karen Kingston (USAW)

Karen Kingston is a biotech analyst and former Pfizer employee that told everyone not to get the CV19 vax because of all the health problems it would cause. She did this repeatedly after the CV19 vaccine rollout to wake up the public up to the dangers of the injections. She listed heart disease, auto immune problems, blood clotting and turbo cancers popping up everywhere, including the brain. These are just a few of the many problems caused by the CV19 vax that led to disability and death for millions of people around the world. The things Kingston revealed about why nobody should get the CV19 vax have now been officially acknowledged by the top doctors and researchers in the world at the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) this past week.

Kingston, who sat in on the six-hour meeting, says, “What happened during this meeting, the policies that were voted on, the evidence reviewed . . . is now going to become policy. This was not a Senate dog and pony show. This was a regulatory . . . legally binding meeting.” A few of the highlights that came out of this meeting, according to Kingston, “They said we have to be honest about Myocarditis caused by the CV19 vax. They said the CV19 vaccine causes short-term and long-term diseases and injuries, and those need to be addressed. Professor Levi said we must drop the term ‘safe and effective.’ It is propaganda, and it should never be used when describing the Covid 19 vaccine. The term ‘safe and effective’ has got to go away.”

Also, so-called ‘turbo cancers’ came up at the ACIP meeting and the fact they are caused by the CV19 vaccine. For years, pregnant women were told the CDC recommended they get the CV19 shots. That too is no longer the CDC recommendation. Another big change is true informed consent about the huge risks with the CV19 vaccines. The new rule would basically force doctors and pharmacists to tell the public about the possibility of death and disability with the risk of getting cancer, autoimmune disease, blood clotting and infertility, to name a few. Kingston says, “Informed consent was clearly defined throughout the presentations. . .. Informed consent is not just signing off on a piece of paper. It is a shared clinical decision. . .. In a shared clinical decision, you are now sharing responsibility with that patient. The old, informed consent was ‘I signed my form, I got my $20 CVS coupon, and I got my shot.’ That is not informed consent.”

So, they are going to actually have to tell you all the bad things that can happen if you get the CV19 vax. Kingston told everyone NOT to get the CV19 vax right after the rollout in 2021. All the reasons she gave back then have now come out in this recent ACIP regulatory meeting. If there is going to be true informed consent, Kingston says, “Nobody of sound mind would get these shots. . . .If your doctor knows all the evidence and all the serious adverse events, and your doctor still tells you to get the shots, is that malpractice at this point?” Another big lie exposed is that the CV19 vaccine made Covid19 milder. This is yet another total lie exposed at the ACIP meeting. Kingston says, “Professor Levi straight up said, the actual . . . clinical trials did not show decrease in hospitalization or death . . . they, in fact, showed harm.”

Also, at the ACIP meeting, the recent Rasmussen poll came up that showed 56% of Americans now believe the CV19 vax caused deaths. This is another signpost in the public’s perception on these dangerous and debilitating CV19 injections. Kingston contends this ACIP meeting was a turning point and says, “I think this is the beginning of the end of the CV19 shots.” There was even talk of treatment for the CV19 vax injured, but no definite treatments were put forth—yet. Maybe the CDC can talk to Dr. Betsy Eads or Dr. Pierre Kory about how to treat the millions of victims of the CV19 bioweapon vax. They and other doctors have been successfully doing it since the CV19 injections started.

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Interesting, but what use is it to look at global population prospects without looking at Africa? They’re the odd one out.

India, China, Europe, & The US Are On Very Different Population Paths (ZH)

This chart, via Voronoiapp.com, tracks the UN’s latest demographic projections for four large populations: India, China, Europe, and the United States. Together, they account for about half of today’s world population. The curves are shaped by what the UN expects to happen to future fertility, life expectancy, and migration worldwide. India and China are the world’s most populous countries today, and the UN projects that both will remain at the top through the end of the century. Yet their trajectories diverge sharply in these projections. China’s population has already begun to fall and is projected to more than halve to around 630 million by 2100. India, by contrast, is expected to keep growing for nearly four more decades, reaching about 1.7 billion people in 2060 and gradually declining to around 1.5 billion.

In contrast, the United States and Europe are projected to change more gradually. The US is expected to grow slowly and steadily, reaching about 420 million people by the end of the century. Europe’s population, meanwhile, is projected to decline. Based on these figures, its population peaked around 750 million in 2020, and is expected to fall to about 590 million by 2100, not far from China’s projected level. The UN’s model is the most widely used baseline for international population comparisons, but all population projections are sensitive to the underlying assumptions. Other research groups use different demographic assumptions about fertility, life expectancy, and migration to reach different long-term population figures.

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https://twitter.com/GenFlynn/status/1970584779054817584

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Apr 262025
 


Odilon Redon Street in Samois 1888

 

President Trump Delivers Remarks on Ukraine/Russia Conflict (CTH)
Trump’s Peace Plan Triggers ‘Concern’ Among Allies – CNN (RT)
Crimea Will Stay With Russia – Trump (RT)
Zelensky Contradicts Trump On Deal With Russia (RT)
Zelensky Demands ‘At Least’ Israel-style Support From US (RT)
Ukraine ‘Pressuring’ Italy For Sideline Summit At Pope’s Funeral (RT)
Elon Musk Mocks Zelensky For Claiming Every US Taxpayer Dollar Is Accounted For (ZH)
Who Blinks First? China May Exempt Tariffs On US Ethane & Other Goods (ZH)
How Not to Fight a Trade War (Ben Shapiro)
China, Hong Kong and The Art of Blinking (Pepe Escobar)
Netherlands To Create Trial Detention Areas For Troublesome Asylum Seekers (RMX)
Trump Might Be About to Make Reagan’s Dream Come True (Green)
You Won’t Believe Who Trump Granted an Interview (Margolis)
We Need to Reclaim Our Country’s Soul From the Radical Left (Margolis)
Berlin Labor Minister Says Tesla Cars Are ‘Nazi Cars’ (RMX)
German Finance Minister Says Trust Not Yet Broken With US (CNBC)
Where Things Stand (James Howard Kunstler)
Cancelation of Romania’s Presidential Election Overturned (RT)
Exclusive: Inside Trump’s First 100 Days (Time)

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/sxdoc/status/1915472634252583045

Judges
https://twitter.com/DOGEDDS/status/1915751361955668308

Gingrich

 

 

Oz

Satan

Lavrov
https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1915571315966435445

Harvard
https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1915579807011660139

BS

USAID and the CIA helped orchestrate Trump’s impeachment

 

 

 

 

‘sundance’ explains that the Ukraine constitution was changed right after Russia invaded, so Zelensky can now say all sorts of things are unconstitutional.

President Trump Delivers Remarks on Ukraine/Russia Conflict (CTH)

President Trump hosted Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in the Oval Office and took questions from reporters on Thursday. The majority of the question from both the U.S. and Norwegian media encompass the current effort to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine. One of the ceasefire ‘sticking points’ per se’, is that immediately following the breakout of the conflict the government of President Zelenskyy changed many of their constitutional rules to include the legal elimination of opposition parties in the country, removal of religion or faith-based social influence that runs counter to the Ukrainian Nazi mindset, the cessation of elections in Ukraine, and other “emergency measures” intended to assist the stability of Zelenskyy’s government as they entered a war footing.

The results of the legal changes and constitutional framework, which included non-recognition of any lost territory, is now being leveraged by Zelenskyy in negotiations for a ceasefire. President Zelenskyy is now saying the ceasefire terms proposed, which include accepting regional losses of geography to Russia, are not constitutionally possible and he has no power to agree to them. In essence, Zelenskyy’s emergency government changed the constitutional power of the President, cemented a new constitutional status during war, and now says those previous changes make it impossible to accept proposed terms. This self-fulfilling creation, intentionally done with forethought for exactly this kind of current scenario, is the baseline for frustration toward the Ukraine position. President Trump notes this Ukraine position is frustrating, while thousands die weekly in the process.


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“..if one country in Europe is forced to give up parts of its own legal territory… no country in Europe or elsewhere can feel safe, NATO or no NATO.”

Trump’s Peace Plan Triggers ‘Concern’ Among Allies – CNN (RT)

Officials in Western Europe and Asia have claimed US President Donald Trump’s reported framework to end the Ukraine conflict could set a precedent for territorial conquest, CNN reported on Thursday, citing anonymous sources. The framework, which has not been officially confirmed by the White House, reportedly includes US recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and acknowledgement of Moscow’s control over large parts of four former Ukrainian regions that have joined Russia. US Vice President J.D. Vance has also stated that the administration is considering the option to “freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today.” CNN cited several unnamed diplomats who criticized the proposed settlement, claiming it would “reward” Russian President Vladimir Putin and send a “dangerous message” to other leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping.

“This is about the fundamental principles of international law,” one Eastern European diplomat told CNN, claiming that “if one country in Europe is forced to give up parts of its own legal territory… no country in Europe or elsewhere can feel safe, NATO or no NATO.” Moscow has repeatedly denied having any intention to strike NATO or EU countries, or claim their territories, accusing Western officials of “fearmongering” in order to justify further militarization. Nevertheless, many Eastern European governments, such as Poland and the Baltic states, have cited the supposed threat of a Russian attack as justification for increasing defense budgets and deploying additional forces. The CNN report comes as US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Russian officials in Moscow for another round of talks in the coming days. Trump has warned that Washington could abandon its diplomatic efforts altogether if no significant progress is made in the peace effort soon.

Trump has publicly expressed frustration with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, whom he has accused of obstructing peace efforts by refusing to even consider any territorial concessions. At the same time, the US president has suggested that he has found Russia easier to negotiate with than Ukraine. Moscow has welcomed the Trump administration’s attempts to settle the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated this week that Moscow and Washington are “moving in the right direction” with regard to reaching a peace deal. Russian officials have repeatedly said that Moscow remains open to a negotiated solution, but have emphasized that any peace agreement must reflect the territorial realities on the ground and address the root causes of the conflict.

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Realism helps.

Crimea Will Stay With Russia – Trump (RT)

The Crimean Peninsula will remain a part of Russia under a final settlement of the Ukraine conflict, US President Donald Trump has said in an interview with Time Magazine published on Friday. Crimea officially joined the Russian Federation in 2014 after a referendum that followed a Western-backed coup in Kiev. Ukraine and its backers have dismissed the results of the referendum as illegitimate, and Kiev has continued to claim sovereignty over the peninsula, vowing to take it back by any means necessary. In an interview to mark his first 100 days in office, Trump said Crimea “went to the Russians” long ago and suggested that “everyone understands” that Ukraine will not be able to get it back. “Crimea will stay with Russia” under a final settlement of the Ukraine conflict, Trump went on to say, adding that even Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky understands this.

“It’s been with them for a long time,” the US president stated, noting that Russia had its submarines there “long before any period that we’re talking about” and that the majority of Crimeans speak Russian. Trump also stressed that the peninsula was “given” to Russia by former US President Barack Obama, claiming that the whole conflict is “Obama’s war,” which “should have never happened.” Since returning to office in January, Trump has been pressuring both Moscow and Kiev to settle the conflict. During last year’s election campaign, he said he would end the hostilities “within 24 hours” of entering the White House. He told Time, however, that he said this “figuratively” as an “exaggeration.” Recently, Trump has signaled that he has grown frustrated with the lack of progress on reaching a resolution of the Ukraine conflict. He has expressed dissatisfaction with Zelensky, saying he has found Russia much easier to negotiate with than the Ukrainian leader.

In a Truth Social post this week, the US president criticized Zelensky for refusing to even consider any territorial concessions. Russia has expressed its appreciation for Trump’s peace efforts and has repeatedly indicated that it is open to negotiations. However, Russian officials have stressed that a final peace deal must respect the territorial realities on the ground and address the root causes of the conflict, such as Ukraine’s NATO aspirations. In his interview with Time, Trump acknowledged that Ukraine would likely never be able to join NATO. He cited Kiev’s ambitions to enter the US-led bloc as the issue that “caused the war to start.” “If that weren’t brought up, there would have been a much better chance that [the conflict] wouldn’t have started,” he said.

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“the constitution of Ukraine says that all the temporarily occupied territories… belong to Ukraine.”

Zelensky Contradicts Trump On Deal With Russia (RT)

President Donald Trump has claimed that “most of the major points” in an agreement to end the Ukraine conflict have been resolved, even as Vladimir Zelensky once again publicly rejected a reported key clause in the proposed US peace framework. Russian President Vladimir Putin held lengthy talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday, described by Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov as “constructive and very useful.” Trump also expressed satisfaction with the negotiations, praising a “good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine.” “They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off.’ Most of the major points are agreed to,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social late Friday, adding that “SUCCESS seems to be in the future!”

The agreement proposed by Washington reportedly includes US recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, a “freezing” of the conflict along the current front line, and acknowledgment of Moscow’s control over large parts of the four former Ukrainian regions that voted to join Russia. “Crimea will stay with Russia” under a final settlement of the Ukraine conflict, Trump said in an interview with Time Magazine published on Friday. However, in direct contradiction to Trump, Zelensky reiterated on Friday that Kiev will not even discuss formally recognizing Crimea as Russian territory. “Our position is unchanged: only the Ukrainian people have the right to decide which territories are Ukrainian,” Zelensky told reporters in Kiev, arguing that “the constitution of Ukraine says that all the temporarily occupied territories… belong to Ukraine.”

Zelensky went on to claim that his “vision” of a resolution includes more “sanctions, economic and diplomatic pressure” on Moscow – even as Washington’s peace framework reportedly includes a phased removal of restrictions imposed on Russia. Trump has previously blamed Zelensky’s public statements for harming the negotiation process and warned that he risks losing the entire country if he continues to stall talks with Moscow. The US-proposed deal would also reportedly prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, an ambition enshrined in Ukraine’s constitution. Kiev’s intention to join the US-led bloc likely “caused the war to start,” Trump acknowledged in his interview with Time.

The Kremlin has consistently said it remains open to diplomacy and has expressed gratitude for Trump’s peace efforts. Ushakov confirmed that Friday’s talks touched on the possibility of resuming direct bilateral negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, but offered no details. No direct talks between the two sides have taken place since Ukraine pulled out of the Istanbul negotiations in 2022. According to Putin, Zelensky – who has banned himself from engaging in talks with Moscow – is actively sabotaging any peace process, as it would require lifting martial law, which currently allows him to remain in power. Moscow maintains that without martial law, Zelensky would be compelled under the Ukrainian constitution to either hold elections or transfer presidential authority to the current speaker of Ukraine’s parliament.

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“..Zelensky insisted that any future peace arrangement with Moscow must be backed by sustained US military, financial and political support.”

Zelensky Demands ‘At Least’ Israel-style Support From US (RT)

Kiev expects Washington to provide long-term security assistance modeled on the US relationship with Israel, Vladimir Zelensky has claimed, after Ukraine’s European backers reportedly rejected several significant points of President Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan. Washington presented its draft deal to end hostilities between Kiev and Moscow during talks in Paris last week. At a follow-up meeting in London on Wednesday – which was downgraded at the last minute after Zelensky publicly rejected key US suggestions – Ukrainian officials and their NATO European counterparts reportedly tabled a counterproposal. Speaking to journalists on Friday, Zelensky insisted that any future peace arrangement with Moscow must be backed by sustained US military, financial and political support.

“Discussions in London have focused on security guarantees from the United States. We hope them to be at least as robust as those provided to Israel. Additionally, we anticipate support from our European partners and are actively developing the infrastructure necessary for these guarantees,” Zelensky said. Deliberations about an “Israeli model” of support for Ukraine first emerged during the presidency of Joe Biden, when Western officials began to acknowledge that Kiev was unlikely to be granted NATO membership. In lieu of collective security guarantees, they sought ways to at least ensure a long-term, uninterrupted flow of Western arms. Zelensky’s comments come amid increasing friction with Washington, as Trump pushes Kiev to accept what media outlets have described as his “final offer” to end the conflict.

Reports indicate that Washington’s framework includes freezing the conflict along current front lines and recognizing Crimea as Russian territory – a condition Zelensky has firmly rejected. Trump stated that “Crimea will stay with Russia” in an interview with Time Magazine on Friday. He argued that Kiev would never have enough weapons or manpower to retake the peninsula, which “was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired.” Crimea officially joined the Russian Federation in 2014 after a referendum held following a Western-backed coup in Kiev. “Our position is unchanged,” Zelensky reiterated on Friday, despite acknowledging Kiev’s dependence on continued American support.

Trump and other senior US officials have warned that if progress is not made soon, Washington may reconsider its role as a mediator and shift its focus to other global priorities. According to reports, Ukrainian officials are already bracing for the possibility of reduced American support should negotiations collapse. Moscow has consistently expressed willingness to engage in negotiations, conveying its gratitude for Trump’s peace initiatives. However, the Russian leadership has repeatedly stressed that it seeks a lasting solution to the crisis, saying a temporary halt in the hostilities would simply allow Ukraine’s Western backers to rearm its military. Any peace deal must acknowledge the territorial reality and address the root causes of the conflict, including Ukraine’s NATO aspirations, Russia has insisted.

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“..due to the Vatican’s arrangements for the various delegations, Zelensky will be seated “very, very far away” from Trump during the funeral ceremony.”

And Meloni doesn’t need it either. The security operation in Rome today is on her. Her plate is full.

Ukraine ‘Pressuring’ Italy For Sideline Summit At Pope’s Funeral (RT)

Kiev is reportedly “pressuring” Rome to organize a mini-summit on the Ukraine conflict on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral this week. Around 140 delegations are expected at the Vatican on Saturday morning to pay their final respects to the late pontiff, who passed away on Monday. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky will be in attendance, as will US President Donald Trump. Diplomatic sources cited by La Repubblica on Friday said Trump may hold a few informal bilateral meetings in Rome, potentially including with Zelensky. Meanwhile, Kiev is advocating for a broader multilateral gathering involving European NATO members to be held in Italy, putting the Ukrainian delegation in front of the USA, Italy, France, Great Britain and probably also Germany.

However, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government is hesitant to facilitate such a gathering, fearing that the country’s reputation as a host could suffer from its likely failure, the outlet noted. Sources described the situation as “fluid.” This month, American officials outlined a potential framework for a truce that they believe Moscow could accept. However, Ukraine reportedly rejected key aspects of it, and in collaboration with European backers, proposed an alternative plan this week. Trump has accused Zelensky of undermining the peace process with public remarks that directly contradicted the ideas his administration reportedly included in its proposal.

A Trump-Zelensky meeting at the White House in late February ended in a diplomatic spat when the Ukrainian leader openly questioned Washington’s approach to mediating the conflict. Vice President J.D. Vance, who was present at the scene, admonished Zelensky for what he perceived as ingratitude and disrespect. La Repubblica noted that, due to the Vatican’s arrangements for the various delegations, Zelensky will be seated “very, very far away” from Trump during the funeral ceremony.

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Zelensky simply denies ever receiving half of the money. That should be about the amount that vanished?! “Hey, not our fault”

Elon Musk Mocks Zelensky For Claiming Every US Taxpayer Dollar Is Accounted For (ZH)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hilariously declared that every single dollar of U.S. taxpayer money sent to Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion has been meticulously tracked and accounted for, dismissing concerns about corruption or misuse. The claim, one of his most audacious yet, came during an interview with Daily Wire co-founder and conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro. Shapiro, known for his interventionist views regarding foreign affairs, pressed Zelensky on the issue of transparency, zeroing in on the nearly $200 billion in U.S. aid allocated to Ukraine’s defense. “There’s lot’s a questions about where the money is going pensions, to war profiteering, to corruption,” Shapiro noted, before asking: “What kind of transparency can you provide to the American people to guarantee that there taxpayer dollars are being used in the best possible way to fight Russia and defend Ukraine, and to ensure, if the United States wants, would an audit be possible by the United States for where those dollars are going?”

“As for the audit, the United States has the understand there’s United States inspectors working, there’s inspectors of European countries, because we’ve also allocated their money and grateful to them,” Zelensky replied. “That is why we told them at once we’re ready to have any inspections from the very beginning of the way, inspectors coming from the United States, Europe, and our own inspectors.” “We have complete reporting and accounting, absolutely transparent within the ministry of defense,” the Ukrainian president added. “There’s access to all the figures starting from the very first year of the war.” Zelensky then claimed that Russian “fake news” aimed at undermining U.S. aid to Ukraine was a primary reason for maintaining a comprehensive accounting of all American taxpayer funds provided to his government for the war.

“There’s nothing to hide, we’re absolutely open,” Zelensky told Shapiro. “There’s all the reports available.” Zelensky’s comments prompted Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), an opponent of additional U.S. aid to Ukraine, to ask his nearly 600,000 followers on X if they believed the Ukrainian president’s claims. “Funniest thing I’ve read all day,” billionaire Elon Musk tweeted in response, with a pair of laughing emojis.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1915562708264771665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1915562708264771665%7Ctwgr%5E65156ec4eccd8c9b49e6ec040010947d6d39dff2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Ffunniest-thing-ive-read-all-day-elon-musk-mocks-zelensky-claiming-every-us-taxpayer

Not only does Zelensky maintain that Ukraine’s handling is U.S. aid is corruption-free, but he’s suggested in an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman that corruption was an issue in the West. Kyiv Independent reports: “Ukraine has received less than half of the $177 billion in U.S. aid allocated to support Kyiv throughout the full-scale war, according to Zelensky. He suggested that this shortfall could be tied to issues of corruption or lobbying by U.S. companies. “If we had $177 billion and if we get the half, where is the second half? If you find the second half, you will find corruption,” he said. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firmly denies corruption allegations, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari claims the Russia-Ukraine conflict is fueling an influx of arms and fighters into the Lake Chad region, strengthening terrorist groups.

Of note, in 2015, The Guardian ranked Ukraine “the most corrupt nation in Europe.” VOA reported in November 2022: “Buhari called for more vigilance and cooperation among the commission’s six member nations against the increased proliferation of weapons into the Lake Chad basin. He said weapons meant for the Ukraine war and to combat terrorism in the Sahel are being diverted to West Africa and ending up in the hands of terrorist groups. Zelensky’s comments about U.S. aide comes as President Donald Trump is intensifying efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, with recent London talks pushing a ceasefire that would freeze frontlines and cede Crimea to Russia. Zelenskyy resists the plan, calling it unconstitutional, but Trump remains optimistic. On Thursday evening, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told CBS News that the Kremlin is “ready to reach a deal” with the U.S. regarding Ukraine, but cautioned that some of the terms need to be “fine tuned.” “The President of the United States believes, and I think rightly so, that we are moving in the right direction,” Lavrov told the news outlet.

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“U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned a US-China trade deal could take 2 to 3 years to finalize..”

Who Blinks First? China May Exempt Tariffs On US Ethane & Other Goods (ZH)

Those sources continued down Beijing’s laundry list of potential tariffs to be removed, including waiving the tariff for plane leases… Boeing has caught a sigh of relief. “It’s another step toward a de-escalation of the trade war,” said Kok Hoong Wong of Maybank Securities, adding that a trade deal might not be imminent, but certainly, “it would appear the worst may truly be over.” Bloomberg Economics analysts Chang Shu and Eric Zhu commented on the BBG headline: “Exempting critical, hard-to-replace U.S. products from tariffs would be a pragmatic approach that could ease tensions with the U.S. and serve the interests of Chinese industry. Anything that helps lower the temperature in the trade war is also beneficial from the perspective of avoiding broader clashes with the U.S.”

In a separate report, Reuters stated that instead of merely considering exemptions, Beijing has already “exempted” certain U.S. imports from the 125% tariff, citing businesses that were notified by authorities about the change. “As a quid-pro-quo move, it could provide a potential way to de-escalate tensions,” said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, a senior adviser to the Conference Board’s China Center. Montufar-Helu warned: “It’s clear that neither the U.S. nor China want to be the first in reaching out for a deal.”

Earlier in the week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned a US-China trade deal could take 2 to 3 years to finalize. Bessent emphasized at a closed-door investor meeting on Tuesday: “No one thinks the current status quo is sustainable, at 145% and 125%, so I would posit that over the very near future, there will be a de-escalation. We have an embargo now on both sides.” Both sides may want a deal to avoid further tariff fallout in their respective economies, but neither wants to appear desperate on the global stage. China is grappling with shuttered factories and possible ethane supply woes that threaten to roil its core manufacturing economy, while in the U.S., containerized volumes through the Port of Los Angeles are poised for a steep decline in the coming week.

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Shapiro knows better.

How Not to Fight a Trade War (Ben Shapiro)

This week, the stock market yo-yoed wildly, taking investors on a roller coaster of stunning lows and sudden highs. Rarely has investment been so gut-churning. And the reason for the turbulence is obvious: the Trump administration’s continuing mixed signals over its trade war. When that trade war was first announced on April 2 (“Liberation Day”) the Dow Jones Industrial Average immediately plummeted nearly 4%; the day after, 5.5%. After President Donald Trump put a hold on the vast majority of tariffs the following week, it recovered nearly 8%. The following day, as markets realized that Trump would retain massive tariffs on China and highly elevated tariffs on many of our allies, it dropped again 2.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained volatile but close to even for a few days. And then to open this week, it dropped almost 2.5% again, thanks to Trump’s apparent threats to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

And then, on Tuesday, it rose again, 2.7%—this time based on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s leaked statements implying that the United States would come to a trade agreement with China (a sentiment seconded by Trump), as well as Trump’s statements that he would not be firing Powell. What is the purpose of recapping this potted history? To understand a simple lesson: Volatility in policy results in market volatility. Market volatility results in lack of investor confidence. And lack of investor confidence results in economic disaster. Typically, stock prices and bond yields work in inverse, since people flee to safety from stocks to bonds, driving down yields. Yet even as the Dow Jones is off approximately 13% from its high just after Trump’s inauguration, bond yields have been climbing as well—meaning that investors are showing lack of confidence in investing in American assets.

Now, taking on China is an admirable goal. And trade is certainly a chief weapon the United States could use in containing Chinese aggression across the world. But to wage a successful trade war on China would require certain preliminary steps: negotiation of strong and stable trade relationships with allies to box in China rather than a declaration of trade war on everyone; time to reshore critical national security industries and resources and to solidify non-Chinese supply chains; a military buildup capable of deterring Chinese action against Taiwan, which—based on the destruction or capture of semiconductor giant TSMC—could plunge the entire world into a depression and easily leave China itself at a technological advantage over the West.

The Trump administration did not do this preliminary groundwork. And so, the White House has been forced to punch holes in its own tariff regime, from exempting Apple products and semiconductors to unilaterally abandoning tariffs on erstwhile allies to deploying Bessent to pledge to lower tariffs on China itself. Impulsive decision-making can be an asset in foreign policy; it’s often smart to keep our enemies on their toes, unsure of what comes next. But in economic policy, impulsivity and unpredictability lead to chaos. And it’s far easier for the markets to lose trust in policymakers than to regain it. China must be contained, and Trump has been singularly transformative in forcing the world to face up to that fact. But if he wishes to truly defeat China in the economic sphere, it’s time for solid, understandable, and methodical policy that achieves the goals Trump has correctly set forth.

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Pepe’s still in China, in body and in mind. But even he does see a few problems.

China, Hong Kong and The Art of Blinking (Pepe Escobar)

So, predictably, Captain Chaos did blink first. As much as he – and his sprawling media circus – could not possibly admit it. It all started with “tariff exemptions” – from smartphones and computers to auto parts – on products imported from China. Then it veered towards carefully manicured leaks implying tariffs “could” be reduced to a range between 50% and 65%. And finally a terse admission that if there’s no deal, a “tariff number” will be unilaterally set. China’s Ministry of Commerce was unforgiving: “Trying to trade away others’ interests for temporary gains is like bargaining with a tiger for its skin – it will only backfire”. And it got fiercer. The Ministry was adamant that any Trump 2.0 claims of any progress on bilateral negotiations have “no factual basis” – de facto depicting the US President as a purveyor of fake news.

Tigers, tigers burning bright: the image does not recall poetry superstar William Blake, but Mao’s legendary depiction of the US Empire as a “paper tiger” – a flashback that struck me over and over again last week in Shanghai. If the US Empire was a paper tiger already in the 1960s, the Chinese argue, imagine now. And the pain will increase, not only for the paper tiger: any dodgy deals made by foreign – vassal – pussycat governments at the expense of Chinese interests simply will be not be tolerated by Beijing. Last week in Shanghai I was reminded over and over again – by academics and business people – that the weaponized Trump Tariff Tizzy (TTT) goes way beyond China: it is a desperate offense ordered by the US ruling classes against a peer competitor that scares the hell out of them.

The best Chinese analytical minds know exactly what’s going on in Washington. Take for instance this essay originally published by the influential Cultural Horizon magazine breaking down the “triangular power structure” of Trump 2.0. We have all-power Trump forming a “super-establishment”; Silicon Valley money politics, represented by Elon Musk; and the new right-wing elite represented by VP J.D. Vance. End result: a “governance system that is almost parallel to the federal government.” European chihuahuas – caught in the crossfire of Trump 2.0 – are simply incapable of such synthetic and precise conceptualization.

Paper tiger meets fiery dragon What a deep dive in Shanghai has revealed is that China has been handed over a rare earth-like opportunity by Trump 2.0 to consolidate its strategic initiative solidifying the role of leader of the Global South/Global Majority, at the same time carefully managing the risk of a New Cold War. Call it a Sun Tzu move that may paralyze the Empire in its tracks. Professor Zhang Weiwei, with whom I had the pleasure to share a seminar in Shanghai on the Russia-China strategic partnership, would agree. China is on the move across the spectrum. Chinese Premier Li Qiang sent a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishibe urging a joint drive, right now, to counteract the tariff dementia.

President Xi’s top message in his Southeast Asia tour last week was to stand up against “unilateral bullying”. Xi deftly moved between Malaysia – current rotating chair of ASEAN, always avoiding taking sides – and Vietnam – with its “bamboo diplomacy” always hedging between US and China. Xi told Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, directly: “We must safeguard the bright prospects of our Asian family”. Translation: let’s create an exclusive sphere of influence close to the ‘community of shared destiny’ but that does not include outside powers such as the US. In parallel, there has been a strong debate – from Shanghai to Hong Kong – that transcends the role of China as the world’s factory: what matters now is how to redirect some of China’s astonishing manufacturing capacity towards the domestic market.

Of course there are problems – such as the lack of purchasing power among scores of Chinese domestic consumers, even as the bulk of national China income is directed to fixed-asset investments. A great deal of China’s rural elderly population survives on a monthly pension of roughly $30 a month, and the hourly rate for the gig economy has stagnated at around $4. Meanwhile, in several high-tech fronts, China just built the fastest high-speed train on the planet: 400km/h, soon to run between Beijing and Shanghai. China is already receiving orders for the C919 commercial wide-bodied airliner. And China has come up with the world’s first thorium-powered nuclear reactor. Translation: unlimited cheap and clean energy is at hand.

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Wonder where they would send them.

Netherlands To Create Trial Detention Areas For Troublesome Asylum Seekers (RMX)

Dutch Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber, of the Party for Freedom (PVV), is initiating trial detention areas for disruptive asylum seekers in the Ter Apel registration center, as well as restrictions on where they can go, De Telegraaf reports. A trial “process availability location” (PBL) will be created in Ter Apel to detain “disadvantaged” asylum seekers who misbehave on public transport or shoplift. They must report there twice a day, may only stay in and around the asylum seekers’ center, and will be banned from entering residential and village areas. Faber adds that anyone who does not comply with the rules can be locked up.

“The behavior of a group of disruptive and criminal asylum seekers who abuse the hospitality offered in the Netherlands and cause nuisance and damage is, in whatever form, absolutely unacceptable,” said Faber. The PVV minister is taking action after the majority in the Dutch House of Representatives agreed that repeatedly disruptive asylum seekers need to be dealt with more quickly and severely. Her suggestion for the PBLs comes after her predecessor, Eric van der Burg (VVD), tried to do the same but had to stop it after a court ruling

Faber claims this will help get those migrants with behavioral problems — and little chance of being granted asylum — out of the Netherlands faster. The PBLs will help keep an eye on them and record their behavior as (and if) it deteriorates, she says. The new PBL in Ter Apel is specifically designed for lighter forms of nuisance and recidivism, such as shoplifting. Although not strict enough in cases demanding even tighter security, they are sufficient to justify restricting freedom. “It is unacceptable that asylum seekers who come to our country for safety, intimidate residents, and cause insecurity. These troublemakers deserve the toughest possible approach. I will not tolerate any nuisance. Not now. Not ever,” she posted on X.

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“Golden Dome.”

Trump Might Be About to Make Reagan’s Dream Come True (Green)

Acting on President Donald Trump’s promise of a “Golden Dome” against nuclear attack, the Republican Congress just placed a yuge down payment on fulfilling President Ronald Reagan’s dream of strategic missile defense. Congressional Republicans on Thursday announced a supplementary defense spending package, including $27 billion for Trump’s Golden Dome. In addition to funds for 14 new anti-missile warships, the bill includes money for the Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile systems, and “Elon Musk’s SpaceX and partners are expected to play a key role in missile tracking infrastructure.” When Reagan announced his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in 1983, it started with some pretty crazy-sounding proposals that were nearly impossible then and aren’t much more likely now. Things like a network of orbital laser platforms and particle beam weapons, plus “smart rocks” and even “brilliant pebbles.”

That last one caught my imagination as a teen and never let go. But here’s the thing: If you throw enough time, money, and engineering talent at a problem, Americans will eventually find solutions. SDI — now known as Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) — has come a long way since 1983. In addition to the Navy’s AEGIS systems that can shoot down anything from airplanes to satellites, we have a couple of Army land-based systems, and more on the way. Plus, some entertainingly fancy radars and satellites to detect threats and tie together the different defensive layers. One thing that hasn’t changed since 1983 is just how expensive it is. While we do have effective BMD systems, we have too few. We can (probably) defend against a small-scale nuclear attack from a rogue nation like North Korea, but that’s about it. Reagan’s dream of protecting our cities from nuclear destruction remains a dream — for now.


Reagan White House Photographs, 1/20/1981

“At least 70 or 80% of the resources applied should be going toward a system that will not evidence itself during the Trump administration,” Mark Montgomery, senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, cautioned. So, before you get too excited, experts say that deploying a nationwide BMD network will be an “intergenerational” project. Congress’s new budget priorities, however, are a big step in the right direction. It isn’t often appreciated, but for years, we’ve had mobile missile defense platforms that are quite good — the Navy’s guided-missile ships. The Navy took a keen interest in negating airborne threats on Dec. 7, 1941, and that interest grew only more keen after the Japanese developed kamikaze tactics. An anti-ship missile is basically an unmanned kamikaze.

So a lot of what a modern warship does is already missile defense, and a nuclear warhead is basically a very fast, very small missile. It’s more difficult to hit, sure, but the concept — one the Navy has worked on longer than I’ve been alive — is no different. The Navy’s SM-3 Standard Missile (they have got to come up with cooler names) has been in service since 2014 and can shoot down incoming nuclear warheads or even enemy satellites. Depending on the model and its capability, a single SM-3 costs between $10 million and $28 million, so we’ve only produced about 400 for us and our allies. But if you think an SM-3 is expensive, try losing a city. Reagan’s critics never seemed to understand any of this, or pretended not to for political advantage. I don’t have to imagine leaving this country open to a nuclear attack just to win a few votes because I witnessed it.

Let me finish with an anecdote that highlights how good even our limited number of BMD systems are. After retiring from the Air Force, my father-in-law spent almost 20 years working for a small BMD contractor. He had a list of clearances as long as your arm, so one of his jobs was coordinating between the disparate elements required to make BMD work, usually out of Pearl-Hickam in Hawaii. There wasn’t a room he wasn’t cleared to enter. A decade or so ago, I sketched out a scenario for him where China used long-range, hypersonic missiles across the Pacific in a theater-wide sneak attack against our naval and air bases. “I’d like to see them try,” he said with his undiminished fighter-pilot confidence. It’s nice knowing that our men and women in uniform at vital installations around the world enjoy some BMD protection. It will be nicer still when every city in America does. That won’t come soon, and it certainly won’t come cheap, but Reagan would have loved it.

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” This isn’t just an interview—it’s a reckoning.”

You Won’t Believe Who Trump Granted an Interview (Margolis)

President Trump made a huge announcement Thursday, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. “Later today I will be meeting with, of all people, Jeffrey Goldberg, the Editor of The Atlantic, and the person responsible for many fictional stories about me, including the made-up HOAX on “Suckers and Losers” and, SignalGate, something he was somewhat more ‘successful’ with,” Trump announced in a post on Truth Social. Jeffrey Goldberg, the notorious editor of The Atlantic who’s made a career out of publishing anonymous hit pieces against Donald Trump, is finally going to have to look President Trump in the eye. And boy, is this going to be interesting.

Trump, displaying his characteristic boldness, announced he’ll be sitting down with Goldberg and his cadre of liberal scribes, including Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker— neither of whom could be mistaken for MAGA supporters. It’s like walking into the lion’s den, except these lions have a history of making up stories out of thin air. According to Trump, the story being written will be titled “The Most Consequential President of this Century.” Let’s not forget Jeffrey Goldberg’s hall-of-shame reporting, starting with the infamously debunked cemetery smear against President Trump—a story denied by 25 witnesses, including Trump critic John Bolton. The most recent, of course, is the “Signalgate” kerfuffle, which was another flimsy hit piece the media eagerly seized on in a failed attempt to oust Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Goldberg’s reporting style is all too familiar by now: a revolving door of anonymous sources and conveniently unverifiable claims that crumble under scrutiny, but are repeated ad nauseam by the liberal media as fact. But here’s what makes this deliciously ironic: Trump is doing this interview from a position of absolute strength. He’s already secured his place in history with a second term, while Goldberg and his mainstream media cohorts are no doubt still nursing their wounds from years of failed attempts to take him down. What’s Goldberg going to do when he can’t hide behind anonymous sources? When he has to actually face the man he’s spent years attacking through the safety of his keyboard? This isn’t just an interview—it’s a reckoning.

The liberal media elite have spent years constructing their anti-Trump narrative from the comfort of their coastal bubbles. Now, one of their chief architects will have to defend his “journalism” face-to-face with his favorite target. For conservatives who’ve watched the mainstream media’s relentless assault on truth, this meeting represents something larger than just another interview. It’s a moment of accountability, where one of the most egregious practitioners of fake news has to confront reality in real-time.

As Trump himself put it, he’s doing this “out of curiosity, and as a competition with myself.” The real question isn’t whether The Atlantic can write a fair story—we all know the answer to that. The real show will be watching Goldberg squirm when he has to defend his “reporting” to the very person he’s spent years maligning with fake stories. Get your popcorn ready, patriots. This is going to be wild.

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“..America witnessed a 600% increase in sex trafficking, while over 10.5 million people entered illegally. A quarter-million Americans have died from fentanyl flooding across our open borders. The brutal Tren de Aragua gang now plots assassinations on U.S. soil.”

We Need to Reclaim Our Country’s Soul From the Radical Left (Margolis)

In a stunning display of misplaced priorities, Democratic lawmakers recently traveled to El Salvador—not to address the border crisis devastating American communities, but to advocate for MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. This disturbing development perfectly encapsulates how far the Democratic Party has strayed from protecting American interests. The same Democrats who rushed to El Salvador to defend a gang member remained conspicuously silent when Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was brutally murdered by an illegal alien on her college campus. They offered no words of comfort when 18-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was found dead in a San Diego canyon, raped and murdered by two illegal immigrants. And where were their impassioned speeches about “due process” when Rachel Morin, a mother of five, was murdered on a hiking trail by an illegal alien with a violent criminal history?

Border Czar Tom Homan and former Trump advisor Stephen Miller have both exposed the dangerous hypocrisy of these actions. While Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) claims he’s merely defending “due process,” the facts tell a different story. Garcia’s own wife has accused him of domestic abuse, and he’s been accused of MS-13 gang affiliation. And then there are his connections to human trafficking. “The Democrat Party has become the party of terrorists and illegal aliens,” Miller declared during a recent Fox News appearance. “Who does it fight for? Who does it move heaven and earth to protect? Illegal alien gang members and foreign terrorists.” The statistics are damning: Under the Biden administration, America witnessed a 600% increase in sex trafficking, while over 10.5 million people entered illegally. A quarter-million Americans have died from fentanyl flooding across our open borders. The brutal Tren de Aragua gang now plots assassinations on U.S. soil.

“Where were you when thousands of American parents buried their children?” Homan demanded of the Democrats during a recent appearance on Sean Hannity’s show. “They got separated from their children forever ’cause they were killed by illegal aliens. That’s preventable crime.” The graves of Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, and Rachel Morin stand as stark testimonies to this preventable tragedy.Even more shocking, Van Hollen spent taxpayer money to meet with Garcia while ignoring murders committed by illegal aliens in his own state—released despite ICE detainers. During Biden’s presidency, Van Hollen never once visited the border to witness the catastrophe firsthand or spoke with the family of Rachel Morin, one of his actual constituents.

The American people face a critical choice. We can either stand with those working to secure our borders and protect our communities or watch as radical Democrats continue dismantling our national security to protect criminals and terrorists. We need your help to expose the radical left for their indifference to the safety and security of this country and its citizens.

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Some people…

Berlin Labor Minister Says Tesla Cars Are ‘Nazi Cars’ (RMX)

Berlin Senator Cansel Kiziltepe, of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), decided to attack Elon Musk on X, comparing his Tesla cars to “Nazi cars,” creating a massive backlash in the neighboring state of Brandenburg, home to Europe’s only Tesla car factory. The post is particularly odd, given her role as state minister for labor. “Who wants to drive a Nazi car? Manufacturers of electric cars are experiencing a sales boom – apart from Tesla,” according to Welt. Brandenburg’s Minister of Economic Affairs Daniel Keller (also SPD) called on her to retract the statement.

“Such a Nazi comparison hurts the people who work there and is completely inappropriate for a labor senator,” Keller told the dpa news agency. “I expect the labor senator to retract her historically unacceptable comparison and return objectively to the major economic and labor market policy challenges that Berlin and Brandenburg should tackle together.” Keller continued, saying, “Everyone can have their own personal opinion about Elon Musk. But it’s important to me that we don’t forget the people behind the Tesla factory in Grünheide. 11,000 people from 150 nations work here – more than half of the employees live in Berlin.”

Senator Kiziltepe still has a more diplomatic statement posted regarding the electric car company: “Tesla is currently experiencing a sales slump because customers attribute the right-wing extremist positions of its shareholder Elon Musk, who holds around 13% of the company,” she wrote. “I explicitly stand by my assessment of Elon Musk. Of course, this does not mean that I hold Musk’s employees or customers responsible for his political positions,” she added. But not everyone felt this was enough, especially given her comment was seen by most as potentially endangering jobs. “Denigrating the Tesla as a Nazi car shows what you’re really like. Full of hate and division. Simply disgraceful. Better to eliminate all jobs in Germany. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? After all, we’re paying you,” reads one reply.

“Are you still a senator, or have you already resigned to avert further damage to your office and democracy after your unspeakable trivialization of the Nazis? If not, you should do so immediately” another commenter posted.“Yeah, everyone knows by now that you hate Elon Musk. What are the reasons for your hatred? As a civil servant, don’t you have better things to do than vent your hatred online? another X user asked. Tesla has become the largest employer in Brandenburg in Grünheide, with some 11,500 people working there. The jobs at its Gigafactory, which opened just three years ago, are permanent with good salaries. The automaker’s net profits took a hit last quarter; the drop in sales is attributed to both a model change as well as controversies surrounding Musk’s politics.

“Brandenburg and Berlin benefit from this in terms of employment and value creation,” AfD deputy leader Stephan Brandner told the “Rheinische Post” newspaper. The Berlin-Brandenburg Business Association (UVB) also called out the comparison for insulting Tesla employees and scaring away new investment, not to mention hurting Kiziltepe’s own re-election. Managing Director Alexander Schirp stated that such defamation was unworthy of a member of the Berlin Senate. “This doesn’t increase the manufacturer’s chances of investing in the capital. Statements of this magnitude do not bode well for the election campaign,” the UVB MD said.

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“..the transatlantic partnership has been built over so many decades that we will not get carried away by the statement of tariffs..”

German Finance Minister Says Trust Not Yet Broken With US (CNBC)

The trust between Europe and the U.S. is not yet broken despite President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies, Joerg Kukies, acting German finance minister, told CNBC Thursday. “For trust to be broken, a lot more would have to happen because the transatlantic partnership has been built over so many decades that we will not get carried away by the statement of tariffs,” he told CNBC’s Carolin Roth on the sidelines of the IMF World Bank Spring Meetings. Kukies added that during a previous visit to Washington, soon after the 25% tariffs on all cars imported to the U.S. was announced, there did appear to be interest in coming to an agreement. Europe and the U.S. have different interests and both parties need to understand one another’s viewpoints, he said. “But this is not the first time ever that the United States and Europe are negotiating over tariffs, so I don’t think we’re anywhere near a crisis moment.”

Kukies struck a positive tone when referring to talks, saying “everything is going in negotiation mode” with the bloc “optimistic” that it can resolve the differences. A zero-for-zero tariff agreement would be his preferred outcome, Kukies stated. This aligns with what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has advocated for. However, Trump has already rejected a proposal from the European Union for a deal which would see zero percent duties on industrial goods imported from the U.S. as well as on imports from the EU. Germany is currently subject to 10% tariffs — the temporarily reduced rate announced by Trump after the initially imposed 20% duties. The country’s struggling economy is heavily reliant on trade, as the U.S. serves as its most important trading partner. Tariff turmoil led by Trump is therefore expected to hit Germany especially hard.

Earlier on Thursday, the German government revised its forecast for the country’s economic growth lower, saying it was now expecting stagnation in 2025. This compares to January’s estimate of 0.3% growth. Acting economy minister Robert Habeck in a press conference cited U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies and their impact on the German economy as the main reason for the downward revision. The IMF in its latest World Economic Outlook, which was published earlier this week, also cut its expectations for the German economy with the body now projecting a 0.2% contraction.

Germany’s economy has been struggling for some time, contracting in both 2023 and 2024 on an annual basis. The country has however avoided a technical recession, which is characterized by two consecutive quarters of contraction. The latest GDP data is slated to be released next week. There could however also be some positives on the horizon after a major fiscal package, which could lead to a major investment boost, was enshrined in Germany’s constitution earlier this year. It included changes to the long-standing debt brake rule that are set to enable higher defense spending, as well as a 500 billion euro ($569 billion) infrastructure investment fund. Germany’s debt brake limits how much debt the government can take on and dictates the size of the federal government’s structural budget deficit

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“In order for a system to be stabIe, it requires negative feedback, also known as consequences.” —Barrie Drain

Where Things Stand (James Howard Kunstler)

“Fighting fascism,” for the American Jacobins who lead the Democratic Party, means opposing any attempt to flush the corruption out of the entrenched bureaucracy, just as their pet phrase “our democracy” actually refers to the matrix of grift and despotic activism that drives their political operating system. That is exactly how and why the USAID was so crucial to spread captured taxpayer spoils as NGO salaries for the gender studies grads to play “activist,” so as to inflict their special brand of sadistic power madness over the land — to keep the game going. Now, USAID is scattered to the winds and all they have left is their installed base of federal judges and the horde of lawfare lawyers who feed them bogus cases to halt the remaining work of Mr. Trump’s executive branch clean-up operation.

Remember: Robespierre, leader of the Jacobins in the French Revolution, was a lawyer. Their version of defending “our democracy” in 1793 was the Reign of Terror that sent at least 17,000 political opponents to the guillotine. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is the Democrats’ Robespierre. He is promising his own reign of terror when his party recaptures Congress in the 2026 “midterm” election. Norm Eisen is his chief lawyer and legal strategist. His sole aim is to recapture power in order to restore the Democrats’ sadistic regime of thought-control and the money-flows that feed it. That’s where things stand for the moment. You can sense how this tension is tending toward something that looks like civil war.

In the House, Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA) has introduced the No Rogue Rulings Act of 2025 (HR 1526, passed on April 9) to complement Sen. Grassley’s bill. The Constitution is somewhat vague about the composition of a federal judiciary below the Supreme Court, and essentially leaves the matter to Congress to set parameters for the power of federal judges. Congress can also alter or abolish districts, such as the DC federal district from which so much partisan Democratic Party lawfare has emanated under political activist Judges James Boasberg, Amy Berman Jackson, Tanya Chutkan, and Beryl Howell (all of them involved in the sadistic prosecutions of J-6 defendants).The bills from each house next must go through a reconciliation process that boils them down to a single piece of legislation that can be sent to Mr. Trump for the presidential signature. The House passage is likely assured.

The hang-up is that under Senate rules, the Democrats could mount a filibuster that would require 60 votes to break. The Republicans only control the chamber by a 53 to 47 majority, and no Democrats have signaled any intention to vote in favor of such a bill. In any case, the entire process would take months and might not succeed at all. A much simpler remedy would be for the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to rule in any of a number of cases now on their docket that the lawfare antics of the federal judges amount to interference with an independent executive branch — in short, that the judiciary can’t usurp the executive powers of the President, which include the conduct of foreign policy, the ability to manage personnel in executive agencies, and certain issues around the spending of taxpayer dollars.

A different sort of remedy would be the application by the DOJ of federal statute 18 USC 371, Conspiracy to Defraud the United States against Norm Eisen and his colleagues-in-lawfare for attempting to maliciously bury the executive branch in litigation for the purpose of nullifying the executive powers of the president. Beyond all that is the abyss: a nullified election, a paralyzed chief executive, and a constitutional crisis that has the potential to lead to civil violence. The Democrats seem willing to go there, perhaps even avid for it. The Jacobins of 1793 were mad for blood, too, and they spilled a whole lot of it. By the summer of 1794, the blood was finally spouting out of their own necks. . . and then the Jacobin reign of terror came to a sudden and complete end. Heed their example.

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But they’re not done yet. Got to have that giant NATO base.

Cancelation of Romania’s Presidential Election Overturned (RT)

An appeals court in Romania has suspended the Constitutional Court’s decision to annul the results of the first round of last year’s presidential election, which was won unexpectedly by independent candidate Calin Georgescu, local media outlets reported on Thursday. Georgescu, a vocal NATO critic and opponent of arming Ukraine, made the headlines in November 2024 after securing 23% of the vote in the first round of the election. The Constitutional Court later invalidated the results, citing “irregularities” in his campaign and intelligence reports alleging Russian interference – which Moscow has denied. On Thursday, Judge Alexandru Vasile of the Ploiesti Court of Appeal overturned the annulment, according to HotNews. The prosecutor’s office attached to the Ploiesti court has filed an appeal.

George Simion, the leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians party, welcomed the decision as a “return to democracy” and constitutional order in a post on X. He added, however, that the Central Electoral Bureau – which barred Georgescu from running in May – “ignores it and continues its activity.” In February, Georgescu was indicted on six criminal charges, including allegedly plotting “anti-constitutional acts” and “promoting fascist, racist, or xenophobic ideologies.” He has denied all the charges, insisting the criminal case against him is part of a campaign orchestrated by the Romanian “deep state.”

The politician, who is under a 60-day travel ban as part of judicial oversight, will remain under court supervision for another 60 days, according to media reports. The preliminary findings of an investigation into the ‘irregularities’ found they were likely caused by a consulting firm associated with the pro-Western National Liberal Party running a campaign on behalf of an opponent of Georgescu, which backfired.

Romania
https://twitter.com/daily_romania/status/1915657419264246123

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“Our success depends on his ability to shock you.”

Time has a whole edition on Trump. This is just one of their stories. A look from “the other side”.

Exclusive: Inside Trump’s First 100 Days (Time)

President Donald Trump emerges through a pair of handsome wooden doors on the third floor of the White House. On his way down the wide, carpeted staircase, he passes portraits of his predecessors. Nixon is opposite the landing outside the residence. Two flights down, he has swapped the placement of Clinton and Lincoln, moving a massive painting of the latter into the main entrance hall of the mansion. “Lincoln is Lincoln, in all fairness,” he explains. “And I gave Clinton a good space.” But it’s the portrait around the corner that Trump wants to show off. It’s a giant painting of a photograph—that photograph, the famous image of Trump, his fist raised, blood trickling down his face, after the attempt on his life last July at a rally in Butler, Pa. It hangs across the foyer from a portrait of Obama, in tacit competition. When they bring tours in, everyone wants to look at this one, Trump says, gesturing to the painting of himself, in technicolor defiance. “100 to 1, they prefer that,” he says. “It’s incredible.”

Making his way out to the Rose Garden, he walks up the inclined colonnade toward the Oval Office, describing the other alterations to the decor, both inside and out. His imprint on his workspace is apparent. The molding and mantels have gold accents now, and he has filled the walls with portraits of other presidents in gilded frames. He has hung an early copy of the Declaration of Independence behind a set of blue curtains. The box with a red button that allows Trump to summon Diet Cokes is back in its place on the Resolute desk, behind which stands a new battalion of flags, including one for the U.S. Space Force, the military branch he established. A map of the “Gulf of America,” as Trump has rechristened the Gulf of Mexico, was propped on a stand nearby.

If Trump is making cosmetic changes to the White House, his effect on the presidency goes much deeper. The first 100 days of his second term have been among the most destabilizing in American history, a blitz of power grabs, strategic shifts, and direct attacks that have left opponents, global counterparts, and even many supporters stunned. Trump has launched a battery of orders and memoranda that have hobbled entire government agencies and departments. He has threatened to take Greenland by force, seize control of the Panama Canal, and annex Canada. Weaponizing his control of the Justice Department, he has ordered investigations of political enemies. He has gutted much of the civil service, removing more than a hundred thousand federal workers. He has gone to war with institutions across American life: universities, media outlets, law firms, museums.

He pardoned or gave a commutation to every single defendant charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attacks, including those convicted of violent acts and seditious conspiracy. Seeking to remake the global economy, he triggered a trade war by unleashing a sweeping array of tariffs that sent markets plummeting. Embarking on his promised program of mass deportation, he has mobilized agencies across government, from the IRS to the Postal Service, as part of the effort to find, detain, and expel immigrants. He has shipped some of them to foreign countries without due process, citing a wartime provision from the 18th century. His Administration has snatched foreign students off the streets and stripped their visas for engaging in speech he dislikes. He has threatened to send Americans to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Says one senior Administration official: “Our success depends on his ability to shock you.”

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2032

 

 

Sun

 

 

Miniatures
https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1915721903483875524

 

 

Laundry

 

 

Willy

https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1915771350137897215

 

 

Rowe

 

 

Machine

 

 

Baby swan
https://twitter.com/Yoda4ever/status/1915407889482633272

 

 

Puffer

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Sep 082019
 
 September 8, 2019  Posted by at 9:40 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  9 Responses »


Pablo Picasso Horses and person 1939

 

 

To everyone used to receiving Automatic Earth posts in their email, I’m sorry but since yesterday they’re suddenly bouncing again en masse. This makes me very tired by now, but I’ll look for a solution. I suspect there may be a connection between this and Google accusing me of violating their rules, without telling me what rules I’m supposed to have violated.

 

 

Boris Johnson Will Challenge Law Stopping No-Deal Exit In Court (Ind.)
UK Minister Amber Rudd Resigns, Says Unclear Who Is Running Country (Ind.)
Churchill’s Grandson Blasts ‘Unreliable’ Boris And ‘Fraud’ Rees-Mogg (Mirror)
How Bad Is Boris Johnson? We Can’t Even Find The Words (G&M)
Trump Abruptly Cancels Afghan Peace Deal, Camp David Meeting With Taliban (BBC)
Ukraine And Russia Exchange Prisoners In Landmark Deal (BBC)
China’s August Exports Unexpectedly Shrink, Imports Remain Weak (R.)
China: A Paper Tiger In A Fragile Economy (LN)
Robert Mueller Helped Saudi Arabia Cover Up Its Role In 9/11 Attacks (NYP)
On the Road to Interview Lula, Into a Brazilian Black Hole (Pepe Escobar)

 

 

I’ll keep saying they should have gone to the courts much sooner. But it’s unclear what the courts can do.

Boris Johnson Will Challenge Law Stopping No-Deal Exit In Court (Ind.)

Boris Johnson will go to court to challenge the order from parliament to delay Brexit, the foreign secretary has revealed. Dominic Raab insisted the government would not break the law – after MPs passed legislation requiring him to seek an Article 50 extension – but said it would not comply either. Vowing to “test to the limit” what the new law demands, Mr Raab said: “We will look very carefully, legally at what it requires and what it doesn’t require.” And, pointing to the failed legal actions to stop parliament being suspended, he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge programme: “We had two legal challenges last week and we won both of those.”


The comments suggest the controversy is heading for the Supreme Court in late October, with Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s key aide, believed to be convinced there is a legal way out. Mr Raab also dismissed a warning by a former director of public prosecutions that the prime minister is heading for jail if he flouts the law as “ridiculous”. Shami Chakrabarti, Labour’s shadow attorney general, condemned the comments, saying: “Is that what we say to our kids? Is that what we say to vulnerable kids? It’s irresponsible and elitist.”

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Boris has claimed progress in talks with the EU, but the EU has said there’s no such thing.

UK Minister Amber Rudd Resigns, Says Unclear Who Is Running Country (Ind.)

Amber Rudd has claimed it is unclear who is running the country following her shock resignation from the government. The former work and pensions secretary said she did not think the cabinet was having “proper discussions about policy”. When asked who was running the country, if not the cabinet, she told The Andrew Marr Show: “If I knew that I would have perhaps had further conversations with the prime minister or them.” Ms Rudd, who announced her resignation from the cabinet on Saturday, said she quit because she had not seen enough evidence of planning for a no-deal Brexit.


She claimed she was shown a “one-page summary” when she asked for evidence of the government’s work in negotiating a deal with the European Union. “It’s 80 to 90 per cent of government time going into preparing for no deal,” she said. “It’s disproportionate.” She added: “There is no evidence of the deal. There is no formal negotiation taking place. “I think we should be doing so much more to get the deal.”

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Outspoken.

Churchill’s Grandson Blasts ‘Unreliable’ Boris And ‘Fraud’ Rees-Mogg (Mirror)

Sacked Tory rebel MP Sir Nicholas Soames says Boris Johnson is “nothing like” his grandfather Sir Winston Churchill – and called Jacob Rees-Mogg an “absolute fraud”. Sir Nicholas, 71, tore into the Prime Minister and his right-hand man in a scathing interview as “unreliable” Mr Johnson’s Brexit strategy lay in tatters. The MP for 37 years said of the PM: “Boris Johnson is nothing like Winston Churchill. “I don’t think anyone has called Boris a diplomat or statesman.


“We all know the pluses and minuses, everyone he has worked for says the same thing: he writes beautifully [but he’s] deeply unreliable.” And of Mr Rees-Mogg, he was even more unforgiving, telling the Times: “He is in serious danger of believing his own shtick. “He is an absolute fraud, he is a living example of what a moderately cut double-breasted suit and a decent tie can do with an ultra-posh voice and a bit of ginger stuck up his arse.” Sir Nicholas blasted Mr Rees-Mogg after the Leader of the House was pictured slouching on the front bench like a sunbed as the Prime Minister suffered one of several humiliating defeats this week.

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View from Canada. Whose head of state still is Elizabeth. “British politics today is what results from the collision of an unstoppable force, an immovable object and a clown car.

How Bad Is Boris Johnson? We Can’t Even Find The Words (Globe & Mail)

We begin this editorial with an apology to you, our faithful readers. In March, we described the Brexit situation, then careening through its third year and nowhere close to resolution, as an “omnishambles.” An omnishambles is a state of utter chaos, total disorder and perfect mismanagement – which brings us to our apology. If you’ve been paying any attention to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, you know that, in declaring United Kingdom politics to have reached peak shambolic six months ago, we spoke too soon. Oh, did we ever. Because if the Conservative government was making an omnishambles of Brexit back in the spring – a happy era now remembered as a halcyon age of a merely half-hearted appetite for national self-destruction – then what words can adequately describe the scale of Mr. Johnson’s achievements?

Megashambles? Summa cum laude shambles? Tyrannosaurus shambles? The-Chernobyl-reactor-just-exploded-and-the-dosimeter-reads-15,000-roentgen shambles? Mr. Johnson is the author of 11 books, some admittedly banged out in the careless haste that is his style. But this week, without breaking a sweat, the PM penned the Odyssey and the Iliad of shambles. He faced his first votes in Parliament and lost them; lost his minority government’s governing majority; sacked 21 of his own MPs, including his party’s longest-serving member and Winston Churchill’s grandson; provoked his own brother into resigning from cabinet, citing a conflict between “family loyalty and the national interest”; and lost control of the House of Commons while remaining so offside the chamber’s confidence that it will not yet allow him to resolve the matter by calling an election.

Mr. Johnson did all that, and more, in the space of two days. What will tomorrow bring? British politics today is what results from the collision of an unstoppable force, an immovable object and a clown car.

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Leaving should still be the priority.

Trump Abruptly Cancels Afghan Peace Deal, Camp David Meeting With Taliban (BBC)

US President Donald Trump says he has called off peace negotiations with the Taliban that sought to end America’s 18-year war in Afghanistan. Mr Trump tweeted he had been set to meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and senior Taliban leaders on Sunday. But he cancelled the secret meeting at his Camp David retreat after the militants admitted they were behind a recent attack that killed a US soldier. The US invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban in 2001. The militants had provided a safe haven for the al-Qaeda network to plan the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US. A source from the Taliban’s political office in Doha told the BBC that the group was set to hold an “urgent internal meeting” to discuss Mr Trump’s decision.


A meeting with the Taliban at Camp David, just ahead of the 18th anniversary of 9/11, would have been an extraordinary diplomatic move by the US president. The top US negotiator had announced a peace deal “in principle” on Monday. It was the result of nine rounds of talks between the US and Taliban representatives, held in Doha, the capital of the Gulf state of Qatar. Mr Trump’s tweets on Saturday evening appeared to put an end to nearly a year of painstaking negotiations which had excluded the Afghan government in Kabul, dismissed by the Taliban as American puppets. “Unfortunately, in order to build false leverage, [the Taliban] admitted to an attack in Kabul that killed one of our great great soldiers,” the president tweeted.

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I like.

Ukraine And Russia Exchange Prisoners In Landmark Deal (BBC)

Russia and Ukraine have completed a long-awaited exchange of prisoners. Those freed include 24 Ukrainian sailors and – controversially – a “person of interest” over the downing of flight MH17 which killed 298 people. The swap is hoped to ease tensions between the two neighbours. Greeting the Ukrainians at the airport, President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We have to do all the steps to finish this horrible war.” Russia said it was glad its citizens had returned home. Relations between the two countries deteriorated dramatically in 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and Russian-backed rebels began an insurgency in two regions of eastern Ukraine.

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The trade war can only be part of it.

China’s August Exports Unexpectedly Shrink, Imports Remain Weak (R.)

China’s exports unexpectedly fell in August while imports shrank for a fourth month, pointing to further weakness in the world’s second-largest economy and underlining a pressing need for more stimulus as the Sino-U.S. trade war escalates. Beijing is widely expected to announce more support measures in coming weeks to avert the risk of a sharper economic slowdown as the United States ratchets up trade pressure, including the first cuts in some key lending rates in four years. On Friday, the central bank cut banks’ reserve requirements for the seventh time since early 2018 to free up more funds for lending, days after a cabinet meeting signaled that more policy loosening may be imminent.


August exports fell 1% from a year earlier, the biggest fall since June, when it fell 1.3%, customs data showed on Sunday. Analysts had expected a 2.0% rise in a Reuters poll after July’s 3.3% gain. That’s despite analyst expectations that looming tariffs may have prompted some Chinese exporters to bring forward or “front-load” U.S.-bound shipments into August, a trend seen earlier in the trade dispute. Many analysts expect export growth to slow further in coming months, as evidenced by worsening export orders in both official and private factory surveys. More U.S. tariff measures will take effect on Oct. 1 and Dec. 15. Sunday’s data also showed China’s imports shrank for the fourth consecutive month since April. Imports dropped 5.6% on-year in August, slightly less than an expected 6.0% fall and unchanged from July’s 5.6% decline.

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Pon Zi.

China: A Paper Tiger In A Fragile Economy (LN)

We typically imagine the Chinese entrepreneur crunching numbers, working around the clock to boost the economy, and repeating Communist propaganda about the West being the supreme devil. But we might have it wrong. Considering that the major source of funding for tens of thousands of companies in China originates from the central bank’s printing press, the reality could be businessmen and employees getting plastered on baijiuand beating each other to death with Pokémon cards during office hours. Think of it as the Eastern version of The Wolf of Wall Street.

[..] Even prior to the trade war, the Chinese government had employed a series of measures to reverse the slump. Thanks to the dispute with the Americans, Beijing’s growth prospects are bearish, projected to fall to a 30-year low of 6.2% in the second quarter of 2019. Because of this, analysts anticipate the PBOC will impose another 50-basis-point RRR decrease. In addition, observers prognosticate that the central bank could cut at least one of its key policy interest rates later this month. This would be the first time since 2015. The routine intervention and stimulus have ostensibly metastasized the economy into an addict, reliant on its next fix. So, can the Chinese economy survive without the state?

In the last five years, China’s M2 money supply – a measurement of the money supply that includes cash, checking deposits, and liquid assets – has ballooned 120%. Since the country is being paralyzed by the trade spat and other negative trends that threaten its foundation, China is not showing any signs that it is ready to hit the pause button on money-printing. In fact, judging by previous remarks by PBOC heads, Beijing might rev it up even more, especially if the downturn intensifies. But can China print to infinity? It may have to because seemingly every area of the economy counts on being propped up by the Communists through cash injections, stimulus projects, and bailouts.

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“He was the master when it came to covering up the kingdom’s role in 9/11..”

Robert Mueller Helped Saudi Arabia Cover Up Its Role In 9/11 Attacks (NYP)

After a lengthy investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller charged Russia made “multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election” and said the incursion “deserves the attention of every American.” But former FBI investigators say their old boss didn’t feel the same concern when they uncovered multiple, systemic efforts by the Saudi government to assist the hijackers in the lead-up to the 9/11 attacks — a far more consequential, to say nothing of deadly, foreign influence operation on America. As the head of the FBI at the time, they say Mueller was not nearly as interested in investigating that espionage conspiracy, which also involved foreign intelligence officers. Far from it, the record shows he covered up evidence pointing back to the Saudi Embassy and Riyadh — and may have even misled Congress about what he knew.


9/11 victims agree. “He was the master when it came to covering up the kingdom’s role in 9/11,” said survivor Sharon Premoli, who was pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center 18 years ago. “In October of 2001, Mueller shut down the government’s investigation after only three weeks, and then took part in the Bush [administration’s] campaign to block, obfuscate and generally stop anything about Saudi Arabia from being released,” added Premoli, now a plaintiff in the 9/11 lawsuit against Saudi Arabia. In fact, Mueller threw up roadblocks in the path of his own investigators working the 9/11 case, while making it easier for Saudi suspects to escape questioning, multiple case agents told me. Then he deep-sixed what evidence his agents did manage to uncover, according to the 9/11 lawsuit against the Saudis.

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Pepe with Lula and Dilma Rousseff, astonished at the changes in the country.

On the Road to Interview Lula, Into a Brazilian Black Hole (Pepe Escobar)

We were just beginning to hit cruising speed in our wide-ranging, 2 hour and 10 minute world exclusive interview with former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in his prison at the Federal Police building in Curitiba, in southern Brazil. And then it hit us hard when he told us: “The US was very much afraid when I discussed a new currency and Obama called me, telling me, ‘Are you trying to create a new currency, a new euro?’ I said, ‘No, I’m just trying to get rid of the U.S. dollar. I’m just trying not to be dependent.’”


It was the foundation stone of what would build into a complex, rolling Hybrid War coup, from NSA spying on the Brazilian government and leading national companies, to the Car Wash corruption investigation (now demolished as a monster racket) to the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, the imprisonment of Lula, and the emergence of the Purveyor of Chaos, Jair Bolsonaro. My journey started in Cambodia. I had spent hours wandering around Beng Mealea, the jungle squeezing the stony repose of the Angkorian ruins, meditating on the rise and fall of empires. The message popped up on my phone in the dead of night: the request for an interview with Lula, placed five months ago, had been approved. How soon could I get to Sao Paulo?

Read more …

 

 

 

 

 

Aug 152019
 


Henri Matisse The terrace, St. Tropez 1904

 

US Yield Curve Inversion Highlights Recession Fears, Fed Dilemma (R.)
China: Paper Tiger (Jim Rickards)
Trade Wars and the Over-Valued Dollar (Hill)
Trump Ties China Trade Deal To ‘Humane’ Hong Kong Resolution (R.)
Autopsy Finds Jeffrey Epstein Had Several Broken Neck Bones (NYPost)
Jeffrey Epstein’s Body Claimed By Unidentified ‘Associate’ (NBC)
CEO Scott Borgerson Denies He’s Dating Epstein Pal Ghislaine Maxwell (NYPost)
UK Labour Vows To Bring Down PM Johnson And Delay Brexit (R.)
No Chance Of US-UK Deal If Northern Ireland Peace At Risk – Pelosi (G.)
Half of UK Farms Could Fail After No-Deal Brexit – Report (G.)
Gibraltar To Release Iranian Oil Tanker On Thursday (R.)
Scientists Find Micro Plastics Deep in Arctic Ice (R.)

 

 

It takes on average 18 months from a US yield-curve inversion to a recession.

US Yield Curve Inversion Highlights Recession Fears, Fed Dilemma (R.)

When the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates last month for the first time in more than a decade, it signaled that further reductions in borrowing costs might not be needed. Bond markets vehemently disagree. Sliding bond yields and the inversion of a key part of the U.S. yield curve on Wednesday for the first time in 12 years show that bond investors have a far gloomier outlook for the U.S. and global economies than the U.S. central bank. “The rates market rarely lies and globally it looks like it’s expecting a day of reckoning,” said Tom di Galoma, a managing director at Seaport Global Holdings in New York.

Fears are also rising the Fed may not only be behind the curve in cutting rates, but that central banks may be running out of ammunition to stimulate growth as countries offset each other’s attempts to boost growth with looser fiscal policy. Worsening economic data, weak inflationary pressures, the escalating U.S.-China trade war and intensifying tensions between protesters in Hong Kong and the Chinese government have boosted demand for safe-haven debt, sending many European government bond yields deeper into negative territory while the longest-dated U.S. Treasury yields have fallen to record lows. The inversion of key parts of the Treasury yield curve, in which investors in short-term holdings get paid more than those in long-term ones, has historically been a reliable indicator of a coming recession.

On Wednesday, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note tipped 2.1 basis points below 2-year Treasury yields, the first time this spread has been negative since 2007, according to Refinitiv data. The inversion rattled investors already worried that a U.S.-China trade war might trigger a global recession and kill off a decade-long bull market on Wall Street. Major U.S. stock indexes were down about 2%.

Read more …

“The new “Cold War” is here. Get used to it.”

China: Paper Tiger (Jim Rickards)

[..] at $11,000 per capita GDP, China is stuck squarely in the “middle income trap” as defined by development economists. The path from low income (about $5,000 per capita) to middle-income (about $10,000 per capita) is fairly straightforward and mostly involves reduced corruption, direct foreign investment and migration from the countryside to cities to purse assembly-style jobs. The path from middle-income to high-income (about $20,000 per capita) is much more difficult and involves creation and deployment of high-technology and manufacture of high-value-added goods. Among developing economies (excluding oil producers), only Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea have successfully made this transition since World War II.


All other developing economies in Latin America, Africa, South Asia and the Middle East including giants such as Brazil and Turkey remain stuck in the middle-income ranks. China remains reliant on assembly-style jobs and has shown no promise of breaking into the high-income ranks. In short, and despite enormous annual growth in the past twenty years, China remains fundamentally a poor country with limited ability to improve the well-being of its citizens much beyond what has already been achieved. [..] Trade wars with the U.S. are escalating, not diminishing as I warned from the start in early 2018.

Trump’s recent imposition of 10% tariffs on the remaining $300 billion of Chinese imports not currently tariffed (in addition to existing tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports) will slow the Chinese economy even further. China retaliated with a shock devaluation of the yuan below 7.00 to one dollar, a level that had previously been defended by the People’s Bank of China. Resorting to a currency war weapon to fight a trade war shows just how badly China is losing the trade war. But, this currency war counterattack will not be successful because it will incite more capital outflows from China.


The Chinese lost $1 trillion of hard currency reserves during the last round of capital flight (2014-2016) and will lose more now, despite tighter capital controls. The spike of bitcoin to $11,000 following the China devaluation is a symptom of Chinese people using bitcoin to avoid capital controls and get their money out of China. [..] lurking behind all of this is the coming debt crisis in China. About 25% of China’s reported growth the past ten years has come from wasted infrastructure investment (think “ghost cities”) funded with unpayable debt. China’s economy is a Ponzi scheme like the Madoff Plan and that debt pyramid is set to collapse.

Read more …

From last week, but a good reminder that different rules apply to the reserve currency.

Trade Wars and the Over-Valued Dollar (Hill)

President Trump and China are at it again—and both just upped the ante. Currency manipulation and an overvalued U.S. dollar have taken center stage in the news, thanks to Beijing devaluing its currency [last] Monday. Trump’s Treasury Department has countered by naming China a “currency manipulator.” But boiling the problem down to currency manipulation means the administration is fighting a previous war. And that highlights why the president lacks the strategic vision needed to keep up with newer global challenges. America’s trade problems have grown far more broad in recent years. Chronic global trade imbalances threaten the stability of the world economy. And that holds true whether these disruptions are caused by currency manipulation, trade barriers or global capital flows.

Designating China as a “currency manipulator” is long overdue. But it’s hardly a cure-all. It merely initiates consultations with the IMF. And it doesn’t necessarily provide leverage to solve core trade issues. What’s needed is an approach that addresses the fundamental causes of current trade imbalances. The problem does start with China, however, since Beijing just weakened its currency, the yuan, to its lowest level since 2008. This will likely neutralize the impact of new tariffs that the president announced in a tweet last week. China allowed its currency to fall by 2 percent in a mere 24 hours. That’s a significant drop, following an overall 11.4 percent decline since March of 2018.

Weakening the value of the yuan lowers the cost of Chinese goods in the U.S. market. And so, even though the president is attempting to raise the cost of imports through his new tariffs, their sticker price could still shrink. In the wider picture, Trump’s condo-selling mindset – in which he simply imposes more tariffs until Beijing agrees to a “deal” – is a poor means to address global trade imbalances. It’s not China’s intransigence that is overwhelming U.S. manufacturers; it’s an overvalued U.S dollar. There’s no doubt that China has long used predatory trade practices, such as dumping and illegal subsidies, to undercut U.S. manufacturers.

And Beijing has repeatedly intervened in currency markets to suppress the value of its currency—all to continue its job-killing trade surpluses with the United States. But China isn’t the only country that has played the currency game. Over the past two decades, Japan, South Korea and nearly 20 other countries in Asia and Europe have also bid up the price of the U.S. dollar to subsidize their own exports. And that has made U.S. goods increasingly uncompetitive in global markets—with the United States shedding five million manufacturing jobs and nearly 90,000 domestic factories in that time.

Read more …

Can the US sit still in case China invades Hong Kong? And what would such an invasion mean for the city’s status as a trade hub?

Trump Ties China Trade Deal To ‘Humane’ Hong Kong Resolution (R.)

President Donald Trump on Wednesday tied a U.S. trade deal with China to humane resolution of the weeks of protests wracking Hong Kong, hours after the State Department said it was “deeply concerned” about reports of movement of Chinese paramilitary forces along the Hong Kong border. The State Department warned that continued erosion of the territory’s autonomy put at risk the preferential status it enjoys under U.S. law. Trump, in his remarks on Twitter, appeared to suggest a personal meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to help resolve the crisis. “Of course China wants to make a deal. Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!” Trump said on Twitter. “I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?”


Trump, who has been seeking a major deal to correct trade imbalances with China ahead of his 2020 reelection bid, has faced mounting criticism from Congress and elsewhere for not taking a stronger public line on Hong Kong and for his characterization of the protests earlier this month as “riots” that were a matter for China to deal with. In his tweets on Wednesday, Trump also said that his delay in 10% tariffs on more than $150 billion in Chinese imports to Dec. 15 from Sept. 1 “will be reciprocated” by China and the “much good will come from the short deferral to December.” His comment appeared to contradict senior officials in his administration, who said earlier that no concessions were made by Beijing in response to the delay announced on Tuesday.

Read more …

“..more common in strangulation murders than suicidal hangings..”

Autopsy Finds Jeffrey Epstein Had Several Broken Neck Bones (NYPost)

Jeffrey Epstein’s autopsy determined the convicted pedophile suffered multiple broken neck bones, according to a report. One of Epstein’s breaks was to the hyoid bone, an injury that experts told the Washington Post is more common in homicide victims. The discoveries were disclosed to the paper by two people familiar with the findings of the autopsy, which was completed on Sunday, but warranted more information by the Medical Examiner’s Office before they make a final cause of death ruling. “Today, a medical examiner performed the autopsy of Jeffrey Epstein,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson in a statement Sunday night.

“The ME’s determination is pending further information at this time. At the request of those representing the decedent, and with the awareness of the federal prosecutor, I allowed a private pathologist (Dr. Michael Baden) to observe the autopsy examination. This is routine practice.” Epstein was found dead of an apparent suicide in his cell at the Manhattan Correctional Center early Saturday. He was being held there without bail since his July arrest on sex trafficking charges. The Washington Post spoke to Jonathan Arden, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, who said a broken hyoid bone — which is near the Adam’s apple — is more common in strangulation murders than suicidal hangings.

“If, hypothetically, the hyoid bone is broken, that would generally raise questions about strangulation, but it is not definitive and does not exclude suicidal hanging,” said Arden, who is not involved with the Epstein autopsy. Numerous studies were also cited by the paper that found hyoid bone breaks were found in the minority of suicidal hangings. One such study conducted from 2010 to 2013 that looked at suicidal hangings in India found that hyoid damage was present in just 16 of 264 cases.

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Bill Barr better get a grip on this. It’s turning into an absurdity.

Jeffrey Epstein’s Body Claimed By Unidentified ‘Associate’ (NBC)

Jeffrey Epstein’s body has been claimed from the New York City medical examiner’s office, a source close to the investigation told NBC News on Wednesday. Epstein, 66, was found dead by apparent suicide Saturday morning in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. The center’s warden has been temporarily reassigned, and the two guards assigned to watch Epstein have been placed on leave. Epstein wasn’t on suicide watch at the time of his death, multiple people familiar with the investigation have told NBC News. Attorney General William Barr has said that he was “appalled” by the development and that he has consulted with the Justice Department’s inspector general, who is also investigating. The person who claimed Epstein’s body was described only as an “Epstein associate.”

After Epstein was arrested last month on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors, his attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Richard Berman to allow Epstein to post bond secured by a mortgage on his home in Manhattan. According to court documents, they said the bond would have been co-secured by his brother, Mark Epstein, and a friend identified as David Mitchell. Berman denied bond on July 18. About a week later, Epstein was found injured and in a fetal position in his cell, raising questions at the time of whether he had tried to kill himself. On Monday, Berman complained in a letter to the warden, Lamine N’Diaye, that the federal Bureau of Prisons still hasn’t explained what he called the July “incident.”

In a response later Monday, N’Diaye said that an internal investigation was completed on July 23 but that she couldn’t reveal any information because of the investigations into Epstein’s death on Saturday. On Tuesday, Justice Department officials confirmed that N’Diaye had been reassigned.


Painting said to be hanging in Epstein townhouse

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“..a property manager of an adjacent parcel of land said that Maxwell was living at Borgerson’s residence as recently as two weeks ago…”

CEO Scott Borgerson Denies He’s Dating Epstein Pal Ghislaine Maxwell (NYPost)

The man rumored to be dating Jeffrey Epstein’s former lover and alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell has completely denied any romance between the pair. Maxwell has been reportedly living with tech CEO Scott Borgerson at his Manchester, Massachusetts home, according to the Daily Mail. But Borgerson called The Post Wednesday to insist he had been busy working abroad – and nobody has been at his home. He arrived back in the US late Wednesday, only to be met by a police escort, and said: “It’s pretty crazy, all of this just exploded. People keep asking me, but I am not dating Ghislaine, I’m home alone with my cat.” When asked about the status of his friendship with Maxwell now, Borgerson replied: “I don’t want to comment on that – would you want to talk about your friends?”


“I landed after a long flight and my phone went crazy, the first thing I did was call the local police to check my house.” Asked if he knew where Maxwell now is, Borgerson, a divorced dad, replied: “She’s not here, I have no idea where she is. “Nobody wants to be close to this radioactive situation.[..] The Post has been told that friends of Maxwell last saw her over the past month walking down a London street, but she has gone to ground. Borgerson refused to say whether Maxwell had ever stayed at his home. Despite this, NBC News reported on Wednesday that a property manager of an adjacent parcel of land said that Maxwell was living at Borgerson’s residence as recently as two weeks ago.

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Corbyn wants to be PM. But not a lot of MPs like him.

UK Labour Vows To Bring Down PM Johnson And Delay Brexit (R.)

The Labour Party has urged rebel MPs in the ruling Conservatives to help block a no-deal Brexit by bringing down Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s administration and allowing its leader Jeremy Corbyn to form a caretaker government. Johnson has promised to take Britain out of the European Union by Oct. 31, with or without a deal, setting the scene for a showdown in parliament where MPs are opposed to a divorce without a transition agreement. In a letter to opposition party leaders and several senior Conservatives opposed to a disorderly exit, Corbyn said his “strictly time-limited temporary government” would delay Brexit and hold a general election.


He said Labour would campaign in the election to hold a second referendum on the Brexit terms, including an option as to whether the country should remain in the bloc three years after it voted to leave. “This government has no mandate for No Deal, and the 2016 EU referendum provided no mandate for No Deal,” Corbyn said. “I therefore intend to table a vote of no confidence at the earliest opportunity when we can be confident of success.” A spokeswoman for Johnson’s Downing Street office said the choice was clear: “This government believes the people are the masters and votes should be respected, Jeremy Corbyn believes that the people are the servants and politicians can cancel public votes they don’t like.”

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Why is it Bolton who’s talking trade deals?

No Chance Of US-UK Deal If Northern Ireland Peace At Risk – Pelosi (G.)

There is no chance of Congress approving a US-UK trade agreement if Brexit undermines the Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has said. Pelosi was restating the entrenched position of congressional Democrats and many Republicans in the wake of remarks made by Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, during a visit to London this week. Bolton had said that Britain and the US could sign interim, partial free trade deals, one sector at a time, which would go through the a fast track legislative process, to help the UK cope economically if there is a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.

In a statement on Wednesday, the House speaker, who commands a Democratic majority, warned that the Trump administration would not be able to sidestep congressional approval. “Whatever form it takes, Brexit cannot be allowed to imperil the Good Friday agreement, including the seamless border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, especially now, as the first generation born into the hope of Good Friday 21 years ago comes into adulthood.” Pelosi said. “We cannot go back.” Bolton said the sectoral deals, focusing on industries such as car manufacturing, could be negotiated quickly, and insisted they would receive overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress.

“The ultimate end result is a comprehensive trade agreement covering all trading goods and services,” he said after meeting Boris Johnson and senior British officials on Monday. “But to get to that you could do it sector by sector, and you can do it in a modular fashion. In other words, you can carve out some areas where it might be possible to reach a bilateral agreement very quickly, very straightforwardly.”

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Most heavily subsidized.

Half of UK Farms Could Fail After No-Deal Brexit – Report (G.)

Campaigners for a second referendum are herding a flock of sheep down Whitehall to protest against the impact a no-deal Brexit could have on the farming community. According to a new report commissioned by the supporters of second poll, more than half of UK farms could go out of business if Britain crashes out of the EU on 31 October. Backed by the People’s Vote campaign and written by Dr Séan Rickard, former chief economist of the National Farmers’ Union, the report warns that 50% of farms could go under as the government would prioritise keeping down food prices for consumers ahead of protecting agricultural producers. To coincide with the report and launch of the Farmers for a People’s Vote group, campaigners are taking a small flock of sheep past the Cabinet Office where no-deal planning is taking place.

The report says the EU and all the countries with whom it has free-trade agreements would immediately apply tariffs and non-tariff barriers on food imports from the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit. At the same time, UK tariffs on imports would be slashed or reduced to nothing. It argues: “The combination of the removal of support payments – only a proportion will be made up by enhanced environmental payments – and an adverse trading environment will render the majority of farm businesses unviable. By the mid-2020s a large proportion of farm businesses – 50% or more is not an unreasonable estimate – recognising that they face an unprofitable future will decide to cease trading.”

[..] In the event of a no deal Brexit, Rickard argued that many industries would suffer but agriculture would feel the most serious economic shock. “It is impossible to project the exact number of farmers who will go out of business”, he said. “What we do know is that over 40% of them will have no net income if the basic payment is removed. If at the same time the government removes all tariffs and so depresses prices, these two factors combined will render over 50% of farms in this country unviable. “The possibility of any compensation from the government going anywhere near offsetting this is remote because so many promises have been made to so many other sectors and not all can be fulfilled.”

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Bolton gone wrong.

Gibraltar To Release Iranian Oil Tanker On Thursday (R.)

The British territory of Gibraltar will on Thursday release an Iranian oil tanker seized by Royal Marines in the Mediterranean in July, the Sun newspaper reported, citing sources close to Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo. Picardo would not apply to renew an order to detain Grace 1, the report said, adding that he is now satisfied that the oil tanker is no longer heading to Syria. Britain had said the vessel was violating European sanctions by taking oil to Syria, a charge Iran denies. “There is no reason to keep Grace 1 in Gibraltar a moment longer if we no longer believe it is in breach of sanctions against the Syrian regime,” the newspaper quoted a source close to Picardo as saying.

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Everywhere. Literally. If it’s deep in Arctic ice, it’s deep inside you too.

Scientists Find Micro Plastics Deep In Arctic Ice (R.)

Tiny pieces of plastic have been found in ice cores drilled in the Arctic by a U.S.-led team of scientists, underscoring the threat the growing form of pollution poses to marine life in even the remotest waters on the planet. The researchers used a helicopter to land on ice floes and retrieve the samples during an 18-day icebreaker expedition through the Northwest Passage, the hazardous route linking the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. “We had spent weeks looking out at what looks so much like pristine white sea ice floating out on the ocean,” said Jacob Strock, a graduate student researcher at the University of Rhode Island, who conducted an initial onboard analysis of the cores.


Microplastic found in ice core samples taken from the Northwest Passage. Northwest Passage Project/Camera: Duncan Clark via REUTERS

“When we look at it up close and we see that it’s all very, very visibly contaminated when you look at it with the right tools — it felt a little bit like a punch in the gut,” Strock told Reuters by telephone on Wednesday. Strock and his colleagues found the material trapped in ice taken from Lancaster Sound, an isolated stretch of water in the Canadian Arctic, which they had assumed might be relatively sheltered from drifting plastic pollution. The team drew 18 ice cores of up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) long from four locations and saw visible plastic beads and filaments of various shapes and sizes. “The plastic just jumped out in both its abundance and its scale,” said Brice Loose, an oceanographer at the University of Rhode Island and chief scientist of the expedition, known as the Northwest Passage Project.

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