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

 

 

 

 

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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?

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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%.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

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“..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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