Pope Leo Archives - The Automatic Earth

President Trump is 117 for 117 for endorsed candidates in the 2026 primaries.

117. Let that sink in.

U.S. Senate: 8/8
U.S. House: 101/101
Governor: 8/8 pic.twitter.com/jtTRcYNfwW
— The SCIF (@TheSCIF) May 27, 2026

Scott Jennings delivers the painful truth to CNN about what tonight’s primaries in Texas mean.

It was the exact same lesson seen in Indiana, Louisiana, and Kentucky — whether Democrats choose to acknowledge it or not.

JENNINGS: “Look, the bottom line is this…if Donald Trump… pic.twitter.com/ExIq8EpmUa
— Overton (@overton_news) May 27, 2026

Thank Heaven for the First Amendment in America! https://t.co/0n9cMWa2Kr
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 27, 2026

https://twitter.com/Sassafrass_84/status/2059039734114955467?s=20

It’s harder to keep them apart than to merge them.

Expect at least a $4 trillion evaluation.

But what happens if something happens to Elon Musk?

• SpaceX-Tesla Merger Speculation Grows (ZH)

Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives has pointed out for months the potential for a SpaceX-Tesla merger, discussing the possibility with Bloomberg in February and, more recently, on a podcast where he said the probability is 80% by 2027. Polymarket odds of a merger by the end of the year stand at 32%. Now, CNBC has joined the growing speculation that Musk may eventually merge Tesla and SpaceX into one mega-company. The report said: “The two companies already have a laundry list of shared resources, and Musk has discussed with colleagues the possibility of folding the companies together, according to people familiar with the talks who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the topic.”

A current Tesla employee told CNBC that many workers at the electric vehicle company have long expected such a transaction to eventually take place and that the topic is openly discussed internally. Another person close to the company said that shared challenges tied to power and compute constraints have led to regular collaborations. Both companies already overlap across AI, compute, power, batteries, materials, engineering, suppliers, board members, and personnel. SpaceX now includes Starlink and xAI, while Tesla is increasingly becoming an AI and robotics company, in addition to remaining one of the leading EV makers.
https://twitter.com/TheSonOfWalkley/status/2059348595019550769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2059348595019550769%7Ctwgr%5E625e36eedb1d9d3dbbc2ddd4320d05cb54e8efc4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Ftechnology%2Fspacex-tesla-merger-speculation-grows-decade-cross-company-deals-reveal-deeper
Financial ties between the two companies are already well known: Tesla invested $2 billion in xAI, which became part of SpaceX after the merger. SpaceX bought $697 million worth of Tesla Megapack systems for xAI data centers and $131 million worth of Cybertrucks. Past transactions also included Tesla selling solar equipment and parts to SpaceX, Tesla using SpaceX jets, and SpaceX helping with Cybertruck materials.Tejpaul Bhatia, a longtime SpaceX investor and CEO of Nebex, told CNBC that “Parallel entrepreneurship seems to work for him [Elon Musk].”
Tesla’s market cap currently sits at around $1.6 trillion, while SpaceX is expected to start trading on Nasdaq in about two weeks, after achieving a private market valuation of $1.25 trillion earlier this year. Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives recently told Anthony Pompliano that he has a high-conviction view (80-85% chance) that SpaceX will merge with Tesla in 2027, post-IPO.

Dan Ives: 80% probability of a Tesla-SpaceX merger by 2027. Polymarket: 20% by end of 2026.

One of those is dramatically wrong.

The structural argument for Ives: the IPO gives Elon a public-market currency for the first time at merger scale. Before the IPO, the mechanics did… pic.twitter.com/r7RXRIqiQj
— podcast alpha (@podcast_alpha_x) May 26, 2026

Musk sits on both company boards and holds 85% voting power at SpaceX, which would mean limited resistance when the time comes for a merger. EV blog Electrek laid out Musk’s creative engineering of billion-dollar self-dealings over the years:
1. SolarCity — $2.6 billion (2016): Tesla acquired SolarCity, a money-losing solar installer where Musk served as chairman and was the largest shareholder, for $2.6 billion in an all-stock deal. Shareholders sued, alleging it was a bailout of a company that was running out of cash. Musk sat on both boards. A Delaware court ultimately ruled the deal was “fair,” but other Tesla directors settled for $60 million without admitting fault. Musk argued that SolarCity’s solar business had become an integral part of Tesla’s own business, but shortly after winning the lawsuit, Tesla shut down parts of its solar operations and stopped reporting quarterly solar deployment.
2. Twitter/X — $44 billion (2022): Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion, a price he himself tried to back out of after realizing he overpaid. Within a year, Fidelity had revalued its stake as down 65%. By October 2024, the platform was valued at roughly $9-10 billion. Then, in March 2025, Musk had xAI acquire X for $33 billion ($45 billion including $12 billion in debt) — effectively bailing out his private investors by magically restoring a platform worth $9 billion to a $33 billion valuation on the back of xAI.
3. xAI — Tesla’s $2 billion investment, then SpaceX absorption (2025-2026): Tesla disclosed a $2 billion investment in Musk’s xAI in January 2026, despite shareholders having previously rejected a proposal. Days later, Musk was rumored to be floating a three-way merger. Within weeks, SpaceX acquired xAI in a deal worth roughly $250 billion. Weeks after that, Musk admitted xAI was “not built right” and needed to be rebuilt — after Tesla shareholders’ money was already in and SpaceX shareholders had swallowed the dilution.
4. Tesla-SpaceX merger (2026-2027?): Now Musk wants to combine the whole thing. If this happens, Tesla shareholders will be merging their $1.6 trillion company with an entity that Musk controls with 85% voting power — an entity that now includes the wreckage of Twitter, a money-losing AI company he admitted was built wrong, and a rocket business with an insane valuation that rests on ever-delayed Mars dreams and “data centers in space.”
Polymarket odds of a SpaceX-Tesla merger by the end of the year stand at 32%.

But the media like that picture.

• No, Iran and China Are Not ‘Winning’ (Ben Shapiro)

For years, much of the American media has operated under a peculiar assumption: that the best way to confront adversaries such as China and Iran is to accommodate them. If the United States applies pressure, the narrative quickly becomes that America is overextended, losing leverage, or somehow empowering its enemies. That narrative has resurfaced during President Donald Trump’s confrontation with Tehran and Beijing. According to outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, both Iran and China are supposedly emerging stronger from the current conflict. It is a difficult claim to square with reality.

Iran’s senior military leadership has been decimated. Its regional proxy network has been weakened. Its economy remains in severe distress, and its military capabilities have been heavily degraded. Yet much of the media coverage treats Iran’s mere survival as evidence that it is somehow winning. The New York Times recently argued that Iran had “succeeded in confounding U.S. and Israeli expectations for a speedy victory,” suggesting that Tehran had created a kind of stalemate. But modern wars rarely end with formal surrender ceremonies or total collapse. By the standards of contemporary warfare, weakening an enemy’s military leadership, degrading its economy, and limiting its regional influence would traditionally be viewed as significant strategic gains.
Instead, media coverage often defines victory so narrowly that any continued resistance by Iran becomes proof of American failure. The Times also suggested that Iran had “maintained control” over the Strait of Hormuz. But if Iran truly controlled the strait in any meaningful sense, it would be freely exporting its own oil and profiting from commercial traffic through the region. It is doing neither. Iran’s threats against shipping lanes reflect desperation and leverage-seeking behavior, not dominance.
In fact, instability in the Strait creates problems not only for the United States and its allies but also for China, which depends heavily on imported oil flowing through the Gulf. That reality complicates the simplistic narrative that Beijing somehow benefits automatically from chaos in the Middle East. To be sure, the Trump administration has exercised restraint in certain areas, particularly regarding direct attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure. But that restraint reflects strategic calculation, not weakness. Completely destroying Iran’s energy sector could devastate the Iranian population and eliminate the economic foundation for any future moderate government.
The same pattern appears in coverage of China. The Post recently highlighted a reported intelligence assessment claiming that Beijing is exploiting the Iran conflict to maximize its advantage over the United States. The report pointed to Chinese weapons sales, diplomatic messaging and China’s ability to study American military operations. None of that is surprising. Great powers routinely study conflicts and attempt to exploit geopolitical openings. That does not mean they are winning. China still faces the same structural problems it faced before the conflict began: slowing economic growth, demographic decline, mounting debt and heavy dependence on imported energy. Prolonged instability in the Middle East threatens Beijing’s economy as much as Washington’s.
The Post also emphasized concerns that the conflict is depleting American munitions stockpiles that could be needed in a future Taiwan contingency. That concern is legitimate. But it reflects years of inadequate defense production and military downsizing under previous administrations, not some strategic triumph by Beijing. Critics of American foreign policy often argue that China can portray the United States as an aggressive power in decline. But China’s own behavior makes that argument difficult to sustain. Beijing continues threatening Taiwan, tightening control over Hong Kong, expanding military influence across the Pacific, and pressuring neighboring countries throughout Asia.
The idea that China is positioned to win a global moral argument against the United States requires overlooking much of Beijing’s conduct. Ultimately, the broader media narrative reflects a longstanding tendency in parts of the American press to interpret nearly every assertion of U.S. power as evidence of American weakness. Military action becomes proof of overreach. Economic pressure becomes recklessness. Adversaries surviving become adversaries winning.
But survival is not victory, and disruption is not dominance. Whatever criticisms one may have of Trump’s foreign policy, the central premise of his approach remains straightforward: American strength deters adversaries more effectively than accommodation does… History suggests that argument deserves more serious consideration than much of the current media coverage is willing to give it.

“No, no, not at all. Not sanctions relief, no..”

• Trump Red Line: No Sanctions Relief Unless Iran Gives Up Uranium (ZH)

Trump Red Line
President Trump has reasserted his ‘red line’ for negotiations, centered on enriched uranium and the nuclear issue: President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran would not get sanctions relief in exchange for giving up their highly enriched uranium. His comments come as the United States and Iran try to strike a deal to end the conflict that has engulfed the Middle East for the last three months.

“No, no, not at all. Not sanctions relief, no,” Trump told PBS News during a short phone call when asked if the current deal would mean that Iran would give up their highly enriched uranium in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump also in a televised Wednesday afternoon cabinet meeting said Iran is “intent on a deal” but that “Iran is negotiating on fumes.”
White House Rejects ‘Complete Fabrication’ Of Iran TV MOU Contents. The Trump administration has denied the morning Iranian state media reports on the contents of a current ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MOU) – which curiously had left out any reference whatsoever to the fate of Iran’s enriched uranium…
WHITE HOUSE: NOBODY SHOULD BELIEVE IRAN STATE MEDIA REPORTING
WHITE HOUSE CALLS REPORTED IRAN MOU A ‘COMPLETE FABRICATION’
An official underscored that it is a “complete fabrication” – and so it seems we are yet again back at square one, as Tehran has also said it is only engaged in ‘indirect’ contact with Washington at this point. There are further reports in US media that the Pentagon has drawn up a new target list, and has acknowledged that the Iranians have been able to better hide their missile launch sites. Also emerging are ambiguous reports of some kind of potential explosion incident at a petrochemical complex at Asaluyeh, in Iran’s Bushehr province. US side denounces Iranian state media reporting on current MOU draft and status:

This report from Iranian controlled media is not true and the MOU they “released” is a complete fabrication. Nobody should believe what Iranian state media is putting out. FACTS MATTER. https://t.co/agpTnBSgKu
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 27, 2026

Oil Dumps on MOU Headlines
As for the status of talks, the below headlines present the latest (and noticeably absent is the enriched uranium question, or release of Iranian funds). Bloomberg summarizes: “An unofficial draft of a US-Iran interim peace deal says maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz can return to normal within a month of the agreement being finalized, according to Iranian state television. It’s unclear how recent the draft, reported by IRIB News, is or whether the US has agreed to the terms.”

“Iran thought they were going to outwait me, you know: “We’ll out wait him, he’s got the midterms.”

• President Trump: Iran is Negotiating on Fumes (CTH)

Earlier today, President Trump and Vice President JD Vance held a cabinet meeting in the White House. The assembled press pool was invited to attend. Again, President Trump being the most transparent administration in history.

President Trump walked through many of the policy agendas within the various cabinet offices, and each cabinet head responded by discussing what their department was doing to combat waste and fraud and align for the strongest economic outcome. At 26:39 of the video, Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks through the current status of engagement with Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. At 45:00 of the video, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth discusses the ongoing military operation in the Middle East, against Iran. At 54:11 Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent provides an update.
At 58:00 the media question session begins. WATCH:

“Iran thought they were going to outwait me, you know: “We’ll out wait him, he’s got the midterms.” I don’t care about the midterms, look what happened last night, that was the prelude to the midterms. They want very much to make a deal. So far, they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be — either that or we’ll have to just finish the job. The strait’s going to be open to everybody. It’s international waters. Nobody’s going to control it. We’re going to watch over it.”
“Iran is negotiating on fumes, but we’ll see what happens. We can make a good deal right now, but maybe not a great deal, and if it’s not a great deal, we’re not making it. Iran will receive no concessions or sanctions relief in exchange for handing over its highly enriched uranium. Iran cannot be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon because it will use it immediately and without hesitation.”

“I believe Trump is going to have to call in the National Guard in certain states in order to get a fair election.”

• Democrat Voter Fraud in America is Legion – Dr. Jerome Corsi (USAW)

Dr. Jerome Corsi has a Harvard PhD in political science. He has written more than 50 books, and many of them became best-sellers. Dr. Corsi says the Democrat election and voter fraud days are caving in on them. The last time Dr. Corsi was on USAW, he said “Democrat Voter Fraud in America is Legion.” Former CIA Director John Brennan must have heard Dr. Corsi because two weeks later, the headline reads, “John Brennan: “Legion Of Professionals” In DOJ, FBI, CIA Are Still Resisting Trump’s Influence.” Was this a coincidence Brennan used the term “Legion”? Dr. Corsi says, “No, I think he is responding to the fact the resistance to Trump is overwhelming. He is balancing out the legitimate charge that the cheating is ‘Legion.’ He’s saying a ‘Legion’ of people are opposing Trump. That’s the real ‘Legion,’ and it’s Trump that is awful, and he’s the one blocking democracy. It’s ridiculous.”

So, former CIA Director Brennan is basically saying voter fraud is real? Dr. Corsi says, “Yes, he’s admitting it, and then he’s countering it saying the real ‘Legion’ are people opposing Trump. So, he’s trying to change the subject by using the same words. It doesn’t work. John Brennann is arguing that it is legitimate to oppose the President of the United States and the bureaucracy. . .. Therefore, he is legitimating insurrection.”
Dr. Corsi says the Democrat Party has changed into a communist party, and there is really nothing democratic about it. Dr. Corsi explains, “The design of the (Democrat) party is to destroy America. That was the original communist plan. Now, the Democrat Party is open to supporting Marxists for office and Islamists, radical Islamists like Mamdani (NYC Mayor). You have this fusion of radical Islam and Leftism because they both hate the United States. They are going on the theory of the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Dr. Corsi goes on to say, “The Democrat Party has gone insane. They have no agenda, and all they want is power. It does not matter how they get it. They are increasingly becoming violent in the attempt to grasp power. That is becoming apparent to the American people. When the American people see that, the Democrat Party will have no reason for existing. It is rapidly proceeding to that point. . .. The Democrat Party has become rogue, anti-God, anti-family and an anti-life destruction engine. It’s become dangerous.”
Dr. Jerome Corsi points out the losses at the Supreme Court are making voter fraud more difficult with rulings that make it illegal to give extra days to count votes and forbidding redistricting on race alone. These are just a few of the ways Democrats are losing their voter fraud grip. There are also 130 lawsuits across 32 states to stop Dem voter fraud, and there are DOJ lawsuits to clean up voter rolls with 29 states that are blocking access. Dems are desperately trying to hold onto their voter fraud. Dr. Corsi says with the Senate refusing to pass the “Save Act,” President Trump will be forced to declare a national emergency, probably sooner than later. November midterms are a little more than five months away.
In closing, Dr. Corsi predicts, “President Trump is not going to allow the Democrats to steal the midterm elections and have two years more of impeachment after impeachment, which is what the Democrats have vowed to do. . .. I believe Trump is going to have to call in the National Guard in certain states in order to get a fair election.”

From west to east.

• The Islamic Terrorist Conquest of West Africa (Lawrence A. Franklin)

The widened scope and quickened pace of the Islamic State’s military operations in the Sahel region — just below North Africa, roughly from Senegal to Sudan — threatens to alter the strategic orientation of the African continent. Efforts at countering terrorist operations in the Sahel, such as they were, have evidently failed. As all roads to Mali’s capital of Bamoko are now blocked, that country might be the first state to “go under.” On April 25, during a coordinated attack on several Malian cities, Muslim terrorists killed the country’s Minister of Defense. The terrorists then drove the Malian Army and its allied Russian mercenaries out of the country’s north.

The military juntas ruling Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have proven themselves as ineffective at combatting Islamic terrorist operations as the democracies that they overthrew. The increasing terrorist assaults across the Sahel and the jihadists’s determined efforts to take over Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have eroded the sovereignty of these states. The combat successes of the jihadists in the Sahel in March 2022 precipitated their elevation to the status of “Islamic State Sahel Province” within the hierarchy of the IS, and several other factors have facilitated the growth of the jihadist advance in the Sahel.
The cooling of the once global counterterrorist crusade — following an apparent shift in focus by the world’s great power rivalries, as well as fewer resources directed against the terrorist problem — left a vacuum that was adroitly filled by jihadist groups, which has reduced the pressure on Islamic State and Al Qaeda regional affiliates. Another situation that might have impacted negatively upon the Sahel’s overall security is the monumental migratory flow of Africans from sub-Saharan countries who pass through the Sahel to the Mediterranean, and the consequent stress this puts on the Sahel economies.
A third force eroding state sovereignty of Sahel countries is warfare waged by Al Qaeda terrorist affiliates that are rivals of the Islamic State, such as the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM). JNIM also coordinates attacks with the Malian anti-government militia known as the Azawad Liberation Front. Jihadist violence has become ubiquitous in the Sahel, and recently expanded to include fighting between Islamic State and Al Qaeda. On April 2, a notable clash between these two rival terrorist networks occurred in western Niger. The Sahel now appears to be the epicenter of global terrorist violence. Sahel’s terrorist groups might also be acquiring confidence that they can achieve permanent and more ambitious goals in the near future.
slamic State units have also been exploiting the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel and in Nigeria’s northeastern states, which are already governed under Islamic sharia law. Islamic State probably feels buoyed by its easy success in recent battles with the Nigerian Army. On April 25, Al Qaeda terrorists conducted simultaneous attacks against several Malian urban areas. Their success might well tempt jihadist fighters to move into major urban areas in northern Nigeria and elsewhere in the Sahel. An additional worrisome trend indicates that terrorist violence is moving westward to Africa’s Atlantic coast.
State control increasingly is being eroded in the Sahel region, despite multilateral efforts to sustain the sovereignty of several states in the Sahel, such as the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) consisting of Chad, Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, and, until last year, Niger. The MNJTF had made significant strides in halting the advance of the Al Qaeda-affiliated Boko Haram terrorist group, particularly in Chad, but recently the overall scorecard is less conclusive. The MNJTF is sustained mostly by the continent-wide Organization of the African Union (OAU). While the MNJTF originally planned to field a 10,000-member OAU army, insufficient air cover, poor communications, and logistical problems have reduced the organization’s effectiveness.

All this talk about democracy and transparency. Nothing is less transparent then the Vatican.

• Pope Leo Needs Trump to Tame AI (Daniel McCarthy)

Pope Leo is right about the need to make artificial intelligence answer to the human good. AI has to be subject to human moral responsibility. But whose? The pope warns against power accumulating in private hands: A few companies, led by a handful of executives and board members, control AI development. The hard question Leo’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” tries to answer is how to make AI accountable to public authority and the common good, not just the interests of its creators. This is where Leo runs into trouble — his view of politics is one-sided and decades out of touch.The encyclical is written in the language of 20th-century liberalism, with the United Nations and international bodies playing an outsize role.

“International organizations, particularly the United Nations, are essential instruments for promoting a civilization of love,” he writes, in the context of “negotiating shared regulations on the use of digital technologies, in order to protect civilians and the most vulnerable from ‘invisible’ yet real forms of violence.” Leo compares AI to the Tower of Babel, yet that image applies at least as well to the U.N. Citing the teachings of Saint John Paul II and Pius XII, Leo affirms, “the Church values democracy insofar as it guarantees the effective participation of citizens, enables them to elect and peacefully replace their leaders and prevents power from being monopolized by small elite groups motivated by particular or ideological interests.”
By that measure, how democratic are most international organizations? “In a world where data, computational resources and regulatory influence remain in the hands of a few, to speak of the common good means exposing this new form of epistemic, economic and political asymmetry and naming the new monopolies of AI,” writes Leo. Hear hear! The pope is absolutely correct about the need for transparency — if we want ethical AI, we have to know whose ethics are being written into the system. Ordinary people have to know who in the major tech companies is responsible for teaching these machines, instilling rules in them, and what those rules are.
And the public has to exercise due skepticism about the supposedly objective results that AI inquiries generate — the results conform to someone’s chosen criteria and expectations. The machines may generate their own answers; they don’t do their own moral thinking: “So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean,” the pope writes. “Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences.”
These things must all be supplied by human beings, and as the pope says, we shouldn’t trust tech companies to come up with the right guardrails on their own. The technology is so powerful, its uses have to be debated by a well-informed public, and Big Tech must be answerable to higher authority. Yet Leo often downplays the role of elected national governments in this, favoring nebulous “new collaborative efforts” among “political leaders, labor organizations, the business world and the scientific community.” That’s consistent with his confidence in the cacophonous United Nations, as well as his thinking about “how legislative and regulatory decisions impact the dignity of work, shared prosperity, inequality reduction and environmental protection” in the context of AI.
It’s one smorgasbord after another — a welter of competing interests and agendas that can’t be brought into focus in time while AI races ahead. Leo appreciates the speed at which the technology is moving, but not the need for commensurate “dispatch” on the part of the political response. A policymaker has to be able to act quickly to keep up with AI and has to have one will and voice — in short, what’s needed is a strong executive backed by the popular authority of a national election. The age of AI has serious implications for the institutions of government, and it makes the presidency more important than ever. It’s not the United Nations or an amorphous assortment of interest groups Leo needs to appeal to; it’s President Trump.
“Magnifica Humanitas” doesn’t do that. The pope would not, and should not, trim Catholic Social Teaching down to suit Trump; on economics, war and much else, there are sharp differences. Yet Leo’s encyclical goes beyond the necessary points of disagreement to embrace a broadly liberal and internationalist agenda — even including global warming on his ideological checklist. If commonsense AI regulation is going to succeed, not only does it need Trump’s support, it has to have his voters’ backing, too. Leo needs to learn to speak their language, if he wants to stop AI running away with our lives.

Will we risk the entire global financial system?

• Russian Court Orders Euroclear To Pay €200 Billion (RT)

A Moscow arbitration court has granted the Bank of Russia’s request for the immediate enforcement of a ruling ordering Euroclear to pay around €200 billion ($233 billion), RBK reported on Tuesday, citing lawyers for the Belgian clearing house. Ukraine’s Western backers froze about $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets after the escalation of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev in 2022, most of it held at the Brussels-based depository. While the EU has so far stopped short of seizing the assets outright, Brussels has transferred some €6.6 billion in profits generated from frozen Russian central bank assets to a fund for Ukraine since 2024.

Moscow has said any use of its frozen assets would amount to theft, also warning it could retaliate by seizing about €200 billion in Western assets held in Russia, though it has so far stopped short of doing so. Commenting on the latest ruling, lawyers for Euroclear, Sergey Savelyev and Maksim Kulkov, claimed to RBK that its right to a fair trial had been violated but declined further comment due to the closed nature of the proceedings. The Bank of Russia described the ruling as fair, noting that it takes into account not only the ongoing nature of the violation, but also the risk that any delay in enforcement would prolong the restoration of the violated rights.
The initial ruling ordering Euroclear to pay €200 billion was issued by the arbitration court last week. Commenting at the time, Euroclear called it unfounded, adding that such claims are not recognized under EU law. It also pledged to appeal the verdict. Shortly after filing a lawsuit against Euroclear in December, the Bank of Russia said it could expand its legal action over frozen assets beyond the Belgian-based depository to include other European banks that also hold its funds.

Putin will have to flatten Kiev after all.

• Ukraine War Enters ‘A New Phase’ (Stephen Green)

“Russia is considering limiting exports of diesel and jet fuel,” Bloomberg and other sources reported Tuesday, “as refinery run rates fall to multi-year lows amid Ukraine’s escalating attacks.” An Interfax source claimed that the decision to ban exports is at “an advanced stage,” but no date has been set. If it comes to pass, that would be bad for diesel prices and inflation right here at home, but worse for Moscow’s finances. Just the fact that the Kremlin is considering an export ban is more evidence that Kyiv’s drone campaign is increasingly effective — against Russia’s energy production at home, and closer to the frontlines in Ukraine.

The brutal math is that most months this year, Ukraine managed to kill or wound more Russian soldiers than Moscow was able to recruit. After nearly four-and-a-half years of remorseless attritional warfare, that’s not a good place to be. And it wasn’t supposed to happen this way. ISW’s George Barros said on Monday, “The war in Ukraine has entered a new phase.” Well, maybe take a statement like that one with several grains of salt. While ISW’s reporting is rock solid — everything they post in their daily Russo-Ukraine War updates is open-source and verifiable — the organization’s analysis can be somewhat (ahem) less reliable.
Estimates vary, but ISW believes that Russian forces suffered a net loss of territory in April, while others claim it happened in April and in February. There are still a few days of fighting to go in May, but Russia is believed to maybe have lost a little ground again this month.nThrough the end of April, Russian advances in 2026 average about 2.9 km², per day, down sharply from 9.76 km² per day in early 2025. Russian casualties are much higher, too.
Two things seem to have changed. One is that Ukraine finally has enough mid-range drones to do to Russian forces what Russian forces spent 2025 doing to Ukraine: interdicting soldiers and logistics well behind the front lines “by fielding new technologies such as the US-made Hornet strike UAV, among other systems,” as Barros put it. The other is that Ukraine is now systematically going after Russian fuel trucks, further complicating Moscow’s logistical problems.

Numbers matter when you are talking 50 destroyed Russian trucks on their most important logistical roads in a week. 50 out of a 1,000 trucks is 5%.

50 out of 2,500 trucks is 2%

Say half that 50 (25) are fuel trucks out of a fuel truck fleet of 150 tanker trucks.
1/ https://t.co/iKj7bumAEt
— Trent Telenko (@TrentTelenko) May 24, 2026

Trent wonders if the losses are “enough to cause fuel shortages, fuel rationing & the shutdown of civilian motor traffic between Crimea and Russia?” Regardless, Kyiv spent 2025 giving up ground, yes, but also destroying Russian air defenses faster than Russian industry can replace them. The bloody results speak for themselves on the ground, and in Moscow’s concerns over fuel exports. With no end in sight to this stupid war, there’s no doubt in my mind that Barros is correct when he says that “Ukraine’s advantage in intermediate range strikes is notably not permanent,” and that “Russia will very likely eventually develop countermeasures to mitigate Ukraine’s advantages.”

“..200 billion in fraudulent PPP loans that the Biden administration tried to hide, and forgive, and sweep under the rug,”

• Small Business Administration: $200 Billion In Fradulent Pandemic Loans (JTN)

Small Business Administration head Kelly Loeffler said that the agency found $200 billion in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans, which were intended to allow businesses to pay staff during the pandemic. “At the SBA, we found $200 billion in fraudulent PPP loans that the Biden administration tried to hide, and forgive, and sweep under the rug,” Loeffler said during President Donald Trump’s Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Wednesday.

She said that $22 billion in those fraudulent loans have been turned over to the U.S. Treasury and Department of Justice for collections and prosecution, and people who have been convicted of fraud are serving prison sentences. Small Business Administration head Kelly Loeffler said that the agency found $200 billion in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans, which were intended to allow businesses to pay staff during the pandemic.
“At the SBA, we found $200 billion in fraudulent PPP loans that the Biden administration tried to hide, and forgive, and sweep under the rug,” Loeffler said during President Donald Trump’s Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Wednesday. She said that $22 billion in those fraudulent loans have been turned over to the U.S. Treasury and Department of Justice for collections and prosecution, and people who have been convicted of fraud are serving prison sentences.
Loeffler said that, because small businesses are some of the biggest taxpayers in the U.S., they bear a lot of the impact from fraud. “They show up every day. They work hard to provide for their employees, to build their businesses. They’re doing it the honest way. And they see fraudsters taking from the American people. It’s taxpayer money,” she said. The PPP provided government-backed loans to help small businesses keep their workforces employed during the pandemic. The program stopped accepting new applications on May 31, 2021.

Quo Vadis, Ottawa?

• Two Countries in the World Retaliated Against Us, China and Canada (CTH)

I never quite understood just how controlled the information flow is inside Canada until about two years ago when we began closely monitoring Canadian positioning for the upcoming USMCA (CUSMA) renegotiation/cancellation. It quickly became obvious the majority of Canadians have no idea why it is almost a certainty the U.S. would exit the trilateral arrangement and position for a bilateral free trade agreement.

In the two years that have passed, now we see a few Canadians starting to realize the core issues of trade conflict that make any FTA between the U.S. and Canada almost impossible. The largest issue centers around Canada’s net-zero carbon legislation that now completely disconnects them from aligned North American energy policy between the U.S. and Mexico.
A trilateral agreement requires core alignment on industrial manufacturing, and that requires similar abilities & similar energy policy. You cannot make steel, iron and aluminum without coal and gas. You need joules for heavy industrial manufacturing that cannot be achieved without exploiting coal, gas or oil (carbon materials). Canada’s energy policy no longer aligns with industrial manufacturing. This core issue cannot be resolved at the current level of energy policy in Canada.
There are other issues like Canadian trade deals with China, non-tariff barriers, legislated rules over intellectual property and other points of significant friction that make alignment within North America challenging. However, the energy component makes compatible trade impossible.
In the interview below, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra appears on a podcast with David Leis, for a blunt conversation about trade, pipelines, critical minerals, China, and why the U.S. is growing frustrated with Canada’s direction. At the end Hoekstra even explains why he is doing Canadian podcasts; because information within Canada is restricted by the government control of media – and that explains why most Canadians are clueless about the issues.
I’ve prompted the interview to the point that gets into the details. If you are interested to be fully understanding of what is coming, this is a solid reference point. Also, if you have financial investments associated with Canada or any system that is connected to the economic relationship between the U.S. and Canada, you need to watch this interview to proactively defend your financial interests. VIDEO PROMPTED:
.
Watch it or listen to this roughly 30 minutes (prompted) as you cook, drive or go about your day. But listen to it and see the disconnect between Canada and the USA as outlined. Things are going to get much worse in this relationship as the finality of it all suddenly starts to sink in north of the border with the average Canadian.
Additionally, there’s another short segment on U.S-Canadian trade as discussed by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer recently at a Council on Foreign Relations event.
QUESTION: “How serious is the fissures? Are the fissures with Canada, the rupture with Canada? And can you envisage USMCA being transformed into separate agreement with Mexico, separate agreement with Canada, or no agreement with Canada?”
USTR GREER: “Well, I would say that, you know, the team right now is in Mexico. My team, and they’re negotiating with Mexico on a bilateral basis. I speak with some regularity to my Canadian counterparts.
Our sense is that we have with Canada, you know, some some trade challenges, which, you know, to some people, you know, some people may think, oh, those are just irritants to us. They’re, they’re significant, and the reality is, we’ve spent the past year and a half going to countries, telling them we have to have some level of tariff on the globe to deal with this giant death that we’re dealing with, to try to reshore, etc.
And, and most countries have, you know, I know grudgingly, but they said we understand your policy, we understand so we’re going to negotiate with you, we’re going to remove some of these tariffs and non tariff barriers, etc. Canada’s approach has been different.
They like China retaliated against the United States. Two countries in the world retaliated against us, People’s Republic of China and Canada, so they’re just, they’re just in a different spot, and it’s, it’s hard to see necessarily where that ends.”

“$40 Million in Gold Bars, $2 Million Cash and 35 Rolexes”

• Home of 20-Year CIA Senior Manager Raided: $40 Million in Gold Bars (CTH)

An interesting arrest that might warrant some background material prior to today’s events. Keep in mind there are several indicted individuals from Venezuela and Mexico now said to be cooperating with the DOJ and federal law enforcement. In addition to former Venezuela dictator Nicolas Maduro in the Southern District of New York, we should also note three Mexican officials connected to the Sinaloa cartel previously turned themselves in to U.S. federal officials and are said to be cooperating.

Earlier this month, Gerardo Mérida, a retired Mexican army general who served as public-security secretary in northwestern Sinaloa state surrendered in Tucson, Arizona. Enrique Inzunza Cazárez, who is also facing drug trafficking and weapon charges, was taken into custody in San Diego by the DEA. Sinaloa businessman Enrique Diaz Vega – another name from the SDNY indictment – also turned himself into U.S. authorities in Arizona.
As you read this story, also keep in mind the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, falls under the authority of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and that agency oversees a background check program, known as “continuous vetting.” According to NBC News a 20-year veteran manger within the CIA named David Rush has been arrested on suspicion of embezzlement and theft. The CIA operative was reported to have been referred to the FBI by CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
(VIA NBC) WASHINGTON — A former CIA senior officer with top secret-level clearance has been accused of secretly stashing millions of dollars in gold bars in his home that he said he needed for “work-related expenses,” according to court documents and two people familiar with his employment history.
David Rush, who held a management position, was charged with criminal theft of public money in a complaint filed last week in the Eastern District of Virginia. His lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment. He was also accused of lying to his employers about his background for nearly two decades. Asked about Rush’s case, a CIA spokesperson said in a statement joint statement with the FBI that the FBI had arrested a person after a referral from the agency.
“After a CIA internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI for a law enforcement investigation,” the written statement said. “The FBI is working closely with our partners at the CIA and the Department of Justice as we continue to investigate this matter fully. We are committed to following the facts, ensuring accountability, and pursuing justice in accordance with the law.”
[…] It wasn’t clear how the investigation into Rush began, and it also wasn’t clear when he left the CIA. His home was raided just last week.
From November through March, Rush made several requests for funds, including for foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars, according to an affidavit filed in federal court by an FBI agent investigating the case. In a storage space near his office, investigators found only a portion of the funds. On May 18, federal agents searched Rush’s home and seized roughly 300 gold bars worth more than $40 million, court documents said. Agents also seized about $2 million in U.S. currency and 35 luxury watches, mostly Rolexes, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit alleges Rush knowingly took part of the money he requested for work-related expenses to his home for personal gain. The court filing didn’t specify which agency employed Rush, but the two people familiar with his employment history said he was with the CIA. (link) Separate allegations in the complaint accuse Rush of falsifying his background over nearly two decades in dealings with government employers.

She’s not gone yet.

• President Trump Praises DNI Tulsi Gabbard for Her Incredible Work (CTH)

During a cabinet meeting today at the White House, President Trump took the opportunity to thank Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, for her exceptional work and focus within the intelligence system to organize strong reforms that will be around for a long time. DNI Tulsi Gabbard has indeed been a transformative member of the cabinet, working through her office and agency while partnered with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio. Mrs. Gabbard is leaving on June 30 to stand beside her husband Abraham as he battles a bone cancer diagnosis. WATCH:

It is expected that DNI Gabbard will deliver more information to the American public through a series of declassifications prior to the end of her tenure. There is no immediate discussion of her replacement and Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence following her departure.
REMINDER: There will likely be a great deal of rumor and speculation about a different permanent replacement. One name sure to surface within the discussion is Devin Nunes, but I strongly doubt the former Chairman of the HPSCI would desire or accept the position.If, and that is a very big ‘if’, Devin Nunes was to accept the role, that would indicate a remarkable change in his opinion about the overall intelligence apparatus. Therefore, I doubt this is an option. Devin Nunes believes in the historic fidelity of the intelligence institutions. As a result, the DNI position has seemed smaller and less significant.
The only way Nunes would take the job is if two things changed. First, he now believed the construct of the United States intelligence apparatus is teetering on the edge of irreversible corruption (he did not previously hold this position); and second, if he sees that Tulsi has now proven the power of the DNI in the intelligence apparatus. As readers here will fully understand, until DNI Gabbard that power was never fully extended. Former House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) member Elise Stefanik will likely be another name. She would have the full support of the Susie Wiles grouping. The same network who advocated for Mike Waltz to be National Security Advisor.
However, Stefanik would greatly please Laura Loomer, Mark Levin and Ben Shapiro; while conversely providing fuel for Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly antagonisms. Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn would likely be another name. Unfortunately, Flynn’s judgement is not stellar, and while he has been supportive of Mrs. Gabbard it’s not likely President Trump wants that kind of Flynn drama or the issues he brings with him for a nomination. That said, if the political calculation is to fuel the core base, Flynn might stand a chance at nomination. But don’t overthink it, Flynn would be of no value in the DNI position for anything of substance. Again, weak judgement (led to his former demise) and grifting tendencies.
Two other names of note: Scott Perry from Pennsylvania who was a target of the FBI/IC for his support of President Trump, and Rick Crawford the current Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, a gang of eight member. The IC has nothing to fear from either of these names. They are essentially Mike Waltz clones, though to be fair I might be a little harsh on Perry.
Rick Crawford, as HPSCI Chairman, allowed Tulsi Gabbard to review the Atkinson transcript. Still, he didn’t act until Gabbard asked to see it and later pushed to declassify it. While he had the authority to handle it himself, like many congressional IC members in both the House and Senate, he seemed wary of challenging the very system they’re tasked with overseeing. [TIP: If whoever’s name it is currently falls under the IC oversight mechanism, they probably fear the “seven ways from Sunday” group, unlike Tulsi Gabbard. Accept this reality and adjust your perspective accordingly.]
GOPe types and “CONservative” influencers might also bring up Trey Gowdy or former HPSCI Chairman Mike Rogers. If either of these names show up, there’s a problem. And anyone advancing these names…. well, they’re the problem. One name that would seem to fit the role and responsibilities would be former Congressman Dan Bishop, currently serving as a U.S. Attorney in North Carolina. Bishop was a member of the House Subcommittee on Govt Weaponization that frustratingly went nowhere as it was designed to fail by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan. Bishop himself was frustrated by the lack of assertiveness within the sub-committee structure. There’s no immediate need for any speculative guesswork. ADNI Aaron Lukas will likely do a solid job.

*$125 million https://t.co/w29rmkW9VY
— Caroline Wren (@CarolineWren) May 27, 2026

https://twitter.com/NiohBerg/status/2059207985797169529?s=20

SpaceX Satellite Growth pic.twitter.com/nDsfv6mKRI
— KrunalSinh Sisodia (@krunalbuilds) May 26, 2026

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Debt Rattle April 15 2026

Apr 152026

April 15, 2026 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 9:25 am Finance Tagged with: Boasberg, FBI, Helmer, Holocaust, Iran, Ireland, Lincoln, Mamdani, MDCP, patriots, Pope Leo, Swalwell, Tulsi 74 Responses »

Thomas Cole The Course of Empire – Destruction 1836

• Over 20 US-Approved Ships Pass Through Hormuz (ZH)

• U.S. Says Israel and Lebanon Agree to More Peace Talks (New York Times)

• The Money in the Background of the Iran Conflict (CTH)

• Blood, Money, and The Trump Dynasty – Iran Shows How To Fight (Helmer)

• All in All, It’s Just Another Brick in the Wall Around China (Stephen Green)

• Appeals Court Terminates Criminal Contempt Proceedings Against Trump Admin (ET)

• FBI “Is Reviewing Closely New Allegations On Ukraine Impeachment Accuser” (JTN)

• Johnny Didn’t Bark – But Tulsi Did (CTH)

• Irish Patriots are Fighting Back (J.B. Shurk)

• Eric Swalwell and the Fall of a Made Man (Turley)

• Mamdani Pledges to Open First City-Run Store (Tuirley)

• American Pope Leo Has a Massive Case of TDS (Rick Moran)

• ‘Unwavering Commitment’ to Fight Hatred (Salgado)

• Remembering the Faith of Lincoln on the Anniversary of His Death (Tom Griffin)

https://twitter.com/_Postive_Vibes/status/2043732003951129020?s=20 https://twitter.com/ColorApril/status/2043807069581537616?s=20

BOMBSHELL: CIA Director John Ratcliffe REVEALS that John Brennan, James Comey and Hillary Clinton are headed for AN INDICTMENT over the Russia Collusion Hoax.

The SPYING, LYING and ELECTION RIGGING MUST END pic.twitter.com/7ixE1Bv2vc
— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) April 13, 2026

CIA Director John Ratcliffe: “Adam Schiff covertly conspired with the fake whistleblower Eric Ciaramella in an attempt to overthrow the sitting President.” (2025)

The Inspector General CONFIRMED it.

Tulsi declassified the memos TODAY.

THIS COVER UP IS OVER pic.twitter.com/bo6OW0qRae
— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) April 13, 2026

I love that Trump and JFK Jr. were good friends. pic.twitter.com/LtbV5bhiW9
— Mila Joy (@Milajoy) April 14, 2026

I was looking for coverage of why the US insists on a 20-year moratorium, and sees 5 years as too little.

When Trump said he wanted 100% (Jeffrey Sachs didn’t get it), this is what he meant.

“..such a timeframe is necessary to permanently limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities.”

• Over 20 US-Approved Ships Pass Through Hormuz (ZH)

5-Years vs. 20-Year Nuclear Moratorium

More info and color has been added in the wake of failed talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan, per The New York Times citing officials from both countries. Iran signaled Monday it would halt uranium enrichment for up to five years. The Trump administration rejected the offer, according to two senior Iranian officials and one US official who spoke to the Times. The US position, shaped in part by Vice President JD Vance, calls for a roughly 20-year suspension. Vance has argued such a timeframe is necessary to permanently limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
“The Iranians, in a formal response sent on Monday, said they would agree to up to five years, according to two senior Iranian officials and one U.S. official. Trump has rejected that offer, the U.S. official said,” writes NY Times. “The official said the U.S. has also asked Iran to remove highly enriched uranium from the country, and the Iranians have insisted the fuel stays inside Iran. But they have offered to dilute it significantly, so that it could not be used to produce a nuclear weapon,” the report adds.

Bits and pieces.

• U.S. Says Israel and Lebanon Agree to More Peace Talks (New York Times)

President Trump reiterated that Iran wanted to negotiate a deal, telling Maria Bartiromo of Fox News that the war was near its end. “I think it’s close to over, yeah, I mean I view it as very close to over,” he said when asked if the war had ended, speaking in a clip from the interview posted on Tuesday night. The president has previously indicated that the war was ending. In his address to the nation on April 1, he estimated that it should wind down within three weeks. His interview with Bartiromo is scheduled to air on the Fox Business channel on Wednesday morning.

[..] The U.S. military has completely stopped commercial traffic to and from Iranian ports, Adm. Brad Cooper, the Central Command leader, said late Tuesday. The blockade began on Monday but trackers showed several Iranian-linked vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz after that. It was unclear if those ships departed within a grace period. Intelligence experts have also observed ships using tactics to avoid detection in waters in and around the strait.
… uptick in ‘spoofing’ by ships near the Strait of Hormuz.
[..] Maritime intelligence experts are starting to see a new pattern of “shadow” activity in waters in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the United States naval blockade on vessels coming in and out of Iranian ports went into effect on Monday, suggesting that more ships seem to be adopting tactics to avoid detection than during the previous weeks of war.“Now, we are starting to see vessels going dark or using ‘zombie’ or random identification,” said Ami Daniel, the chief executive of Windward, a maritime intelligence data provider, in an interview on Tuesday.
In the weeks after the American-Israeli attack on Iran in late February, Iranian exports went “uninterrupted” and had “almost no need to go off radar,” Mr. Daniel said. But in the past 24 hours, more ships appear to be manipulating the global system intended to keep tabs on vessel activity and traffic, suggesting that some vessels linked to Iran are being “a bit more cautious,” he said. Under international maritime law, most large commercial vessels must travel with a transponder that automatically transmits the ship’s name, location, route and other identifying information. That includes a 9-digit number with a country code, which serves as a digital fingerprint for a ship.
Vessels in Middle Eastern waters that are now trying to hide their location or are otherwise falsifying information are employing methods that have been perfected by Russian “shadow fleet” vessels evading sanctions related to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, some experts say. “Shadow fleet tankers have been experimenting with stateless ID numbers,” said John C.K. Daly, a nonresident fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute in Washington who has been tracking Russian shadow ships. “What the Russians have been doing is altering the numbers.”
When a ship is engaged in “spoofing,” as the practice is known, its captain can type in a false origin or destination or can pretend to be piloting another ship altogether. Vessels can also temporarily turn off their transponders, seeming to disappear in one place and reappear in another, sometimes with altered data. This approach has enabled Russia to keep up its energy exports and finance its war, generating up to $100 billion a year. It appears that vessels linked to Iran are using similar methods now, experts say. Some ships have gone dark, while sanctioned and falsely flagged vessels seem to still be active, a Windward report on Tuesday noted.
“Under previous enforcement frameworks, including the December blockade of Venezuela, sanctioned and stateless tankers were primary targets for interdiction,” the report said. “The continued movement of similar vessel profiles indicates that operators are testing the practical limits of enforcement in real time.” By manipulating the global system meant to illuminate ship movements, so-called ghost or shadow vessels may compound confusion about the state of the Strait of Hormuz, even if in the end they cannot breach the American blockade.
“Right now, the strait is a contested information environment,” said Erik Bethel, a partner at Mare Liberum, a maritime technology venture capital fund. Detection-avoidance tricksmay make it harder for the Navy to identify boats for interdiction. “A blockade is only as strong as the intelligence behind the interdictions,” Mr. Bethel said.The maritime system is complex. A vessel may be owned by one country, leased to another and travel under a third country’s flag of convenience, Mr. Bethel said. That makes determining who is truly behind any given journey a “really hard thing to do.”
Maritime intelligence companies and militaries use an array of sources to stitch together information about vessels, including optical satellites, radar satellites and radio frequencies. They also collect information being transmitted by sailors, sometimes unwittingly, through their own personal technology, like Fitbits and cellphones. Still, whatever ruses they employ, vessels off Iran might only get so far. It is difficult to get out to the open ocean via a waterway as narrow as the Strait of Hormuz without being detected.
A U.S. official said that more than 12 American military vessels were stationed in international waters in the Gulf of Oman. And on Tuesday, United States Central Command said that six merchant vessels had complied with directions by radio from U.S. forces to turn around and re-enter Iranian ports. “My expectation is that the U.S. Navy can sit out in the Gulf of Oman,” Mr. Daniel of Windward said. “I don’t think there’s a way to breach the blockade.”

“.. Trump has forced a hidden imperial system into the open “

• The Money in the Background of the Iran Conflict (CTH)

Promethean Action Follows the Money in the Background of the Iran Conflict. A generally good summary into some of the financial issues happening in the background of the dire Straits of Hormuz. Susan Kokinda highlights UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declining to join an American blockade and claims Britain has lost control of the choke point. She details financial actions targeting Iranian money flows, including UAE arrests of IRGC-linked money changers, Treasury Secretary Bessent using Patriot Act Section 311 against a Zurich bank, and scrutiny of London-based crypto exchanges and Santander UK. She cites a UK military chief admitting Britain’s war planning has lapsed since the Cold War and links fuel disruptions and protests to the conflict, concluding Trump has forced a hidden imperial system into the open.

Trump Names the Hidden War — Britain Has No Cards Left

Helmer lost track too. Iran has nothing left to fight with.

• Blood, Money, and The Trump Dynasty – Iran Shows How To Fight (Helmer)

In the world in which President Donald Trump plans his future and the presidential dynasty of his sons to succeed him, the gunman believes he can take away both lives and bribes. Unless the victim catches him by surprise, outgunning him and those of his allies who have paid the price of his protection. It’s blood for money. This is the new stage of Iran’s war. It is the stage which the Iranian and pro-Iranian post-mortem analyses of the Islamabad negotiations have not disclosed; the stage which the US and Israeli propaganda organs cannot comprehend; the stage which the Trump dynasty’s rivals are afraid of, Vice President JD Vance in front.

This stage of Iran’s war is also an example to President Vladimir Putin and President Xi Jinping of the futility of paying bribes, as their advisors tell them; and the vulnerability of Trump and his sons to political defeat at home. [..] In the Iranian account of the Islamabad negotiations, there was initial progress in the expert-level negotiations on release of Iranian assets and relief of trade and financial transfer sanctions. No detail has leaked or been disclosed officially by either side. The Iranian negotiator was Central Bank Governor, Naser Hemati. The Iranian pre-conditions – an Israeli ceasefire in Lebanon and release of Iranian assets blocked in Qatar – were partly fulfilled, partly glossed over.
A US attempt to send two destroyers into the Hormuz Strait boomeranged as a test of the IRGC’s readiness to open fire, and the vessels reversed course. However, when the talks reached the level of the principals – Vice President JD Vance, Steven Witkoff, Jared Kushner for the US; Mohammad Bakr (Bagher) Ghalibaf, Abbas Araghchi, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, and Ali Bagheri Kani – the US side added new deal-breaking conditons, according to the account of Mohammed Marandi, one of the Iranian delegation’s official spokesmen. The first of these was Iran’s agreement to give up its entire civilian nuclear programme, not only its nuclear material enrichment capacities and stockpiles; the second was a US half-share in the Hormuz Strait regime tolls. Neither of these proposals was included in the 15-point plan sent by the US to Iran through Pakistan in the run-up to the ceasefire announcement of April 8.
According to the Israeli-American outlet Axios, “the U.S. proposed that Iran accept a 20-year moratorium on uranium enrichment during negotiations in Islamabad over the weekend, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge.” The second source was Israeli. There has been no Iranian confirmation.
Several US moves were also unexpected, according to Marandi. Vance had interrupted the negotiations to make repeated telephone calls to Washington, including one — the Iranian delegation claims — to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Vance has acknowledged in his brief press appearance at the conclusion that he had made calls “half a dozen times, a dozen times”. In the Iranian interpretation, Vance did not have a clear negotiating mandate for the negotiations, and lacked personal authority.

MDCP= Major Defense Cooperation Partnership

• All in All, It’s Just Another Brick in the Wall Around China (Stephen Green)

Last year, Chinese Communist Party boss Xi Jinping played the rare earths card, forcing President Donald Trump to slow his roll on decoupling from the Middle Kingdom. This year, Trump played the oil card against China — first in Venezuela, then in Iran — and he just slapped it on the table again in Indonesia. Their summit in Beijing next month already promised to be interesting, with the U.S. enjoying significant leverage over Venezuela, Iran in tatters, and the U.S. Navy taking charge of the Strait of Hormuz. Until very recently, both countries served as Beijing’s reliable sources of discounted oil. Today, Xi might ask, “Et tu, Indonesia?” If he spoke Latin, that is.

It might have seemed like one of those dry, bureaucratic, almost meaningless announcements on Monday, when War Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X that the U.S. and Indonesia “are elevating our relationship to a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership.” According to a joint statement, the partnership covers “military modernization and capacity building,” “training and professional military education,” “exercises and operational cooperation,” and I can hear you snoring already.But a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership is kind of a big deal — and it’s aimed directly at China’s oil imports. China’s difficulties begin in the Strait of Hormuz, but they peak at Malacca.
Nearly two-thirds of China’s imports — largely the raw materials that keep its export machine humming — and a whopping 80% of its energy imports pass through Indonesia’s Strait of Malacca. But that hardly means Beijing minds its manners around its southern neighbor. While the two countries maintain a close strategic partnership, there are also persistent strains, particularly around Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, Chinese fishing boat fleets intruding on Indonesian waters, resulting in naval tensions, and ongoing trade disputes. And here comes Washington — with no territorial ambitions and no invading fishing fleets — with an MDCP.
And Another Thing: Honestly, China is now so powerful and aggressive that its neighbors ought to be attracted to Washington like iron filings to a magnet. It took significant displays of American weakness and dithering — thanks, Obama and Biden! — for countries like Indonesia to have fallen even partly into China’s orbit in the first place.
An MDCP usually means regular joint military exercises, interoperability training, and streamlined access to U.S. weapons systems. In other words, even though an MDCP is less than a formal military alliance, it allows the U.S. and its partners to effectively act as allies, should the need arise. The MDCP with Indonesia, just announced by Hegseth, even includes military overflight access.= Unlike NATO, there’s no Article Five-type guarantee requiring us to come to Indonesia’s defense, but should the need arise to act against China, our two militaries ought to have enough familiarity with one another to make it work.
In response to Trump’s tariffs last year, Beijing used its control over the majority of rare earth processing to get a better deal. But rare earths aren’t actually all that rare, and the U.S. sits on major deposits. Our problem is that we outsourced the processing to China. We’re working to correct that mistake. When Trump and Xi meet in May, the balance between our two countries will have shifted significantly in our favor since 2025. Seen that way, our new defense partnership with Indonesia is just another brick in Trump’s Great Wall Around China.

BIG ruling against Boasberg et al.

• Appeals Court Terminates Criminal Contempt Proceedings Against Trump Admin (ET)

An appeals court has put a stop to criminal contempt proceedings initiated by a district judge against the Trump administration. In a brief, unsigned order on April 14, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated a previous order by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, and ordered him to terminate the contempt investigation he launched in December. The contempt proceedings stemmed from the deportation of illegal immigrants—suspected gang members—to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, last year. Boasberg had ordered planes carrying those detainees halted and turned around, but the men were sent to El Salvador anyway.

The Trump administration had appealed Boasberg’s order all the way to the Supreme Court, which overturned his ruling. Despite that, Boasberg tried to hold members of the administration in contempt of his order unless they returned the suspected gang members to the United States. The appeals court blocked that move by vacating Boasberg’s first contempt order, but he decided to move ahead with a contempt investigation in November. “Undeterred, the district court is proceeding with criminal contempt for the government’s decision to transfer the plaintiffs to the custody of El Salvador,” the Appeals Court’s opinion reads.

“.. the so-called whistleblower behind the 2019 impeachment singled out Director Patel by name, relied on hearsay, submitted false claims, and had documented political bias — all of which was hidden from the American people..”

• FBI “Is Reviewing Closely New Allegations On Ukraine Impeachment Accuser” (JTN)

The FBI said Monday night that it is “closely” reviewing newly declassified memos showing the intelligence community kept secret for years evidence raising questions about the credibility and bias of the main accuser in President Donald Trump’s 2019 impeachment case. “The declassified impeachment memos show the so-called whistleblower behind the 2019 impeachment singled out Director Patel by name, relied on hearsay, submitted false claims, and had documented political bias — all of which was hidden from the American people,” FBI spokesman Ben Williamson wrote on his X account.

“This is the same playbook used during the Russia collusion hoax — which Director Patel exposed. The FBI has previously been reviewing these revelations closely and will continue to do so,” he added. The FBI was one of several agencies to react to a story Sunday night by Just the News that revealed the CIA analyst who alleged wrongdoing by Trump involving Ukraine policy was flagged for the “potential for bias,” had lied to investigators about a key fact and only had hearsay evidence to back his claims.
That evidence was kept from Trump’s impeachment proceedings by ex-Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Monday. Gabbard accused the former watchdog of “weaponizing” the whistle-blower process to hurt Trump. The alleged whistleblower’s name was redacted from the newly declassified memos but has been identified in some media reports as retired CIA analyst Eric Ciaramella, who now works at a D.C. think tank and is a regular on a podcast critical of Trump policies.
Officials declined to publicly confirm whether Ciaramella was, in fact, the whistleblower when questioned by Just the News. Ciaramella has appeared on numerous podcast episodes put out by the anti-Trump Lawfare outlet. Benjamin Wittes, the editor-in-chief of Lawfare, appeared on multiple episodes with Ciaramella. Wittes was described by Politico in 2017 as “The Bard of the Deep State” and is a longtime Trump critic and a self-described friend of fired FBI Director James Comey and Strzok.

“The Lawfare impeachment crew, led by Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Mary McCord, Dan Goldman, Barry Berke, Stephen Castor and Norm Eisen also weaponized the “ongoing investigation” classification to keep the CIA/ICIG report hidden during the impeachment effort.”

• Johnny Didn’t Bark – But Tulsi Did (CTH)

I’m going to try and keep this short. You can tell from the transcripts of the testimony from ICIG Michael Atkinson that at the time of his testimony, September 19, 2019 and October 4, 2019, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) was not in a classified session; simply closed-door. In fact, during the October 2019 deposition, Ranking Member Devin Nunes went out of his way to clarify the status of the hearing itself. Chairman Schiff reemphasized this was not part of the impeachment inquiry, simply a hearing to clarify questions from Republicans to ICIG Atkinson about the nature of the complaint created by CIA whistleblower Eric Ciaramella.

This is interesting, because that means at the time of the hearing itself in 2019 any one of the members could have immediately gone to the microphones and discussed all of the information gained from within the questioning. They didn’t. Later on, Chairman Adam Schiff classified the Atkinson testimony in order to bury it. The Lawfare impeachment crew, led by Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Mary McCord, Dan Goldman, Barry Berke, Stephen Castor and Norm Eisen also weaponized the “ongoing investigation” classification to keep the CIA/ICIG report hidden during the impeachment effort.
President Trump was not even allowed to see/review the classified IC IG information that was being used to impeach him. Now, as you can see from the attendance above, John Ratcliffe was present for both Atkinson depositions. Despite his immediate silence, we know John Ratcliffe was concerned about the content within ICIG Atkinson’s statements as he relayed in a series of questions during a public hearing December 9, 2019. Ratcliffe questioned both Dan Goldman and Stephen Castor who were part of Adam Schiff’s staff and present during the October 2019, testimony of ICIG Atkinson.

John Ratcliffe knew all of the details from ICIG Atkinson’s testimony because he was present and part of the questioning during both sessions. Here’s where it gets interesting Following the failed impeachment effort (Senate acquittal), President Trump fired IC IG Michael Atkinson April 3, 2020, and then nominated John Ratcliffe to the position of DNI to replace Acting DNI Ric Grenell. The ICIG investigation of the alleged claims by CIA whistleblower Eric Ciaramella ended during the impeachment inquiry. Following the impeachment acquittal, and following the subsequent firing of Atkinson, all of the ICIG work product returned to the custodial review of the ODNI.
DNI nominee John Ratcliffe was confirmed by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on May 21 and sworn in on May 26, 2020. John Ratcliffe was now a constitutionally confirmed DNI with access to the full record and work product that led to the previous impeachment effort. Why didn’t DNI John Ratcliffe release the ICIG investigative material and CIA whistleblower report? Why did it take another six years and DNI Tulsi Gabbard to discover, dig out, declassify and release the material that was in the custodial review of DNI John Ratcliffe back in 2020?
Congressman Ratcliffe was in both Atkinson depositions during Sept/Oct 2019, and he knew the impeachment allegations were false. He essentially called out the HPSCI Democrat staff in December of 2019. Congressman Ratcliffe became DNI in May 2020 and knew the entire background of the IC IG material that was now at his fingertips. Ratcliffe knew President Trump was set up. Why didn’t John Ratcliffe release the evidence of it in 2020?
I might also note that following the 2022 midterm election, Republicans took back control of the House in January 2023.Why didn’t HPSCI Chairman Mike Turner (2023/2024) release the Atkinson transcripts to the public? Why didn’t HPSCI Chairman Rick Crawford (2025-present) release the Atkinson transcript in 2025, without the request of DNI Tulsi Gabbard. To be fair, former HPSCI Chairman Mike Turner might say that back in 2023 without the underlying CIA/ICIG report, the explosive Atkinson testimony didn’t have context…..
…. But that brings us back to the question of why DNI John Ratcliffe didn’t release the CIA/ICIG report as soon as he took office in 2020. Has the statute of limitations tolled? Johnny didn’t bark – Tulsi did!

“The spirit of revolution hangs in the air.”

• Irish Patriots are Fighting Back (J.B. Shurk)

So you say you want a revolution? Well, take a look at what’s happening in Ireland right now. Tens of thousands of farmers, truckers, and other fed-up “normies” are taking to the streets of Dublin to protest fuel taxes, mass immigration, and poverty-inducing “climate change” policies. For the most part, corporate news propagandists in both Europe and North America are intentionally ignoring the combustible situation. Just when I had begun to think that all the “fighting Irish” had moved to America, the Old Country has started to show signs of life. Perhaps there are still a few irascible pugilists willing to bash heads and take on the globalist empire after all.

Speaking of irascible pugilists, Irish slugger Conor McGregor issued a bit of an ultimatum to the ruling class after the government mobilized the military and sent tanks to intimidate the protesters: “One wrong move by government here, and you will see, at the very least, 250k Irish people descend on the capital in a blink. They must step down, there is no other way.” Declaring war against ordinary Irishmen isn’t a good look for an Irish Deep State that can’t be bothered to guard its borders from hordes of invading foreigners. While McGregor and his compatriots are out feeding protesters in the streets, the Irish government is hiking taxes on those who can least afford to pay them. “One wrong move” could spark a revolution.
Perhaps that’s why — after an initial show of force — Ireland’s globalist government appears to be trying to settle things down. Reports on the ground say that police officers have remained friendly with protesters. Some have suggested that Irish authorities are wary of following in the footsteps of Canada’s former prime minister, Justin Trudeau, when he exercised martial law powers to seize the bank accounts of and jail “Freedom Convoy” truckers protesting coercive COVID “vaccination” mandates. On the other hand, a lot of the Irish protesters have also described a sense that many of the law enforcement officers patrolling the streets appear to be on their side. If that’s the case, then Ireland’s political class may be worried about the effectiveness of siccing the military on a broadly-backed citizen uprising.
Although few people saw the present brouhaha coming, Ireland makes a natural “ground zero” in the war between Big Government globalists (aka, the “international rules-based order” club of World Economic Forum totalitarians) and ordinary citizens willing to defend their nation’s sovereignty and their own personal freedoms. For two decades, the globalists have been taking over Ireland and stripping it for parts. As a country that once took pride in its meaningful traditions, customs, family loyalties, and Catholic heritage, Ireland has been one of the globalists’ favorite targets for conquest.
If the “multicultural” atheists could convert Ireland into another globalist outpost devoid of religious or civilizational allegiances, they knew that they would collect a valuable scalp in their war against the West. Sadly, the globalists have been largely successful. By transforming a conservative, staunchly pro-life, Catholic nation into a “woke” re-education zone embracing abortion, “trans” surgeries for children, open borders, Islamic supremacy, and the fetishization of “diversity,” the World Economic Forum’s “Borg” hive mind gutted one of the most culturally rich nations on the planet and mounted Ireland’s head on globalism’s wall of slaughtered states.
Two months ago, free speech defenders Lorcán Price and Graham Linehan testified before the House Judiciary Committee concerning the mass censorship operation being run through the expanding Big Tech enclave in Dublin. There are over 32,000 NGOs in Ireland receiving billions of dollars in U.S. and E.U. grants meant to help shape public opinion. These organizations — one for every 155 Irishmen — represent the “information warfare” army that supports Europe’s globalist policies. Over 70% of Irish legislation is copy-and-pasted from bureaucratic edicts originating in the European Union. These laws include special incentives for illegal immigrants who arrive on Ireland’s shores. They also include “hate speech” laws that have been used to criminally prosecute Irish citizens who object to foreigners raping and murdering their children. The NGO-E.U. takeover of the Irish political system this century has drastically reshaped the country.
Once Christian Ireland now has constitutional protections for gay “marriage” and abortion up to a baby’s birth. Two years ago, Ireland’s globalist cabal nearly succeeded in removing all mentions of “women” from the national constitution, as well as nearly redefining “family” as a “durable relationship.” The Irish government continues to attack Ireland’s Catholic history, going so far as to depict Catholic saints as pagan goddesses in shameless acts of historical revisionism. Globalists continue to rename historic institutions due to ludicrous accusations that Irish clergymen and scholars had ties to slavery and “white supremacy.” As Irish writer Roger Berkeley sorrowfully observes, “Ireland shows what happens when elites, bureaucracies, and ideology override national identity.”
[..] What is clear is that ordinary people in nations across the West are becoming aware of the information war that has long been waged against them. For decades, they have been conditioned to believe false things: “Diversity is our strength.” “Islam is a religion of peace.” “Trans-women are real women.” “Sex is a social construct.” “Man-made climate change is killing the planet.” “New taxes will save the planet.” “Christianity is hate speech.” “Hate speech is a violent crime.” “Free speech requires government-moderated censorship.” “National sovereignty is fascist.” “Families promote white supremacy.” “Merit is white supremacy.” “Math, home ownership, mowed lawns, and punctuality are all forms of white supremacy.” “Equal rights require ‘Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity.’” “Unelected bureaucrats protect democracy.” “NATO must protect non-NATO Ukraine.” Et cetera ad infinitum.

That he was.

• Eric Swalwell and the Fall of a Made Man (Turley)

The resignation of Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Cal.) came with one of the most spectacular falls in political history. Just days ago, Swalwell was the leading Democratic candidate for governor of California and positioned to be one of two final candidates (the other a Republican). He expected that, regardless of his unpopularity, California Democrats would never vote for a Republican. Now Swalwell has pulled out of the race, pulled out of Congress, and was even tossed out of the home of a billionaire who had been letting him crash there during the scandal. Swalwell continues to deny the allegations and pledges to fight them.

For the record, I have been one of Swalwell’s most vocal critics for the last ten years. Yet, while I am not surprised by the allegations, I am surprised by how quickly Swalwell was abandoned by his political patrons in Congress and the unions. In Washington, Harry Truman advised politicians that if you want a friend in this city, get a dog. However, even Swalwell’s dog Penny has yet to appear in public with him. Presumably, she is consulting with her own canine crisis team. Swalwell has spent his entire career protected by an enabling establishment and media. He was a made man in Washington, and those who made him protected him despite years of rumors and allegations of misconduct.
He was never much of a legislator. One 2025 study showed that he was outvoted in Congress by a colleague who had died months earlier. His value was his vicious signature. He was always first to a mob. When Sen. Susan Collins received death threats, it was Swalwell who mocked her. In running for governor, he not only pledged to arrest ICE agents but to deny them driver’s licenses and jobs. He trafficked in unadulterated rage to a nation of rage addicts. His greatest patron was Nancy Pelosi, who single-handedly saved Swalwell’s career when he was found to have had an affair with an alleged Chinese spy. She told the media, “I don’t have any concern about Mr. Swalwell.”
For most of the media, that was enough and they slinked away. When critics sought to remove him from the classified House Intelligence Committee, Pelosi shocked many by insisting that he remain in the sensitive position, lashing out at those “trying to make an issue of this.” Now, Pelosi and the media allies are gone. Even Swalwell’s friend, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.), has morphed into Claude Rains and proclaimed that he is “shocked” by the allegations. His former campaign chair, Gallego was shown in a picture bare-chested and riding camels with Swalwell on a luxury junket paid for by Qatar business interests. The photo has not aged well for Gallego any more than his earlier lament that the Democratic party “used to be the party of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.”
The abandonment of Swalwell is a familiar move of political triage. By letting Swalwell succumb to the scandal, Pelosi and others hope to protect the establishment from any blowback after years of enabling his career. The media, as usual, is complying. The media will cover a scandal involving a leading Democrat if there is no real alternative. What is interesting is how the Democratic establishment is now signaling that they want Swalwell destroyed — quickly and surgically. The media is content calling Swalwell a monster without delving into who created and released that monster. Swalwell is no self-made man. He is a made man of the Democratic establishment.
The alleged victims have lashed out not only at Swalwell but also at many in the establishment. They allege that they were rebuffed when they tried to bring their allegations to reporters. One independent reporter said that he had been raising similar allegations about Swalwell with California Democrats from before Swalwell was elected to Congress. He was also turned away. Swalwell had a use and that made his “appetites” irrelevant. If even half of these allegations are true, it shows the sense of license that Swalwell developed for years in Washington. He lost that political immunity this week and now faces real legal liability. That does not mean that Democrats will not try to control the damage. They want Swalwell to take a deal to avoid any investigations that will pull other Democrats into the vortex of the scandal.
They are counting on New York and California district attorneys to produce the type of controlled explosion seen in construction where a hotel is brought down without damaging the adjacent structures. The problem is Republicans may not just accept his resignation as the final act. They could call the women to testify and even call some of his congressional friends who took trips and partied with him. They could cite Swalwell himself for demanding such total transparency.

“La Marxista: Mamdani Pledges to Open First City-Run Store with Projected $30 Million Initial Cost “

Turley is not his biggest fan.

• Mamdani Pledges to Open First City-Run Store (Tuirley)

Mayor Zohran Mamdani used his “First 100 Days” speech this week to announce that he has kept his promise to create a chain of city-run stores . . . by pledging to open one store sometime “next year.” According to the New York Post, the city is planning to make an East Harlem location the first store at a cost of $30 million. It will be located in La Marqueta near Park Avenue. Hopefully, La Marqueta will be renamed La Marxista for clarity. It will follow a long line of failed state-operated and city-operated stores. Chicago’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, also pledged such city-run stores.

It is notable that the stores received such emphasis by Mamdani. It is not difficult to set up a grocery store, particularly when you run the city that approves permits and compliance conditions. It is not even difficult to set up a money-losing store as long as you have a city budget to pay for it. It is far more difficult to set up an independently sustainable store. In my book, “Rage and the Republic,” I discuss the rise of support for socialism and communism among young citizens who have no experience or memory with the failures of such systems in the 20th Century. I specifically discuss Mamdani and his policies. These are calls that are likely to increase with the emerging new economy:
With the rise of American socialism, there are new calls for state subsidies and even the establishment of state-run grocery stores in places like Chicago. Past efforts have been colossal failures, including the still-ongoing effort in Kansas City. Over seven years, KC Sun Fresh is gushing money with losses in 2024 at $885,000. The millions lost on this store are on top of the $17 million that the city paid to buy the entire strip mall. By 2025, many of the shelves were entirely bare, while private grocery stores were successfully operating in the area. Despite these failures, there are new calls in other states to create their own state-owned stores.
In New York City, socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani was heralded for his campaign to open up “government-owned, government-operated grocery stores” in 2025. There are also calls to subsidize key industries that are becoming less competitive in the global market—an effort that is unlikely to succeed as jobs are lost to cheap labor markets or automation. Since the city already owns La Marqueta, it can avoid paying rent. However, it will lose any rent that could be earned by renting the property to a business.
Mamdani pledged that these will be “stores where prices are fair, where workers are treated with dignity, and where New Yorkers can actually afford to shop at our stores…Eggs will be cheaper, bread will be cheaper, grocery shopping will no longer be an unsolvable equation.” Of course, that has not worked out that way in other cities. Governments are not known to be either efficient or competitive. The start-up costs of this first store will consume almost half of the budget for the original cost estimate for all five stores.
Soon, New Yorkers will be subsidizing grocery stores to artificially support the myth of socialism. In the Soviet Union, state-run grocery stores were the subject of gallows humor. The “reimagining” of grocery stores left shelves bare with only imagined essential products. The most widely told joke spread just before the fall of the Soviet Union:
A man walks into a shop. He asks the clerk, “You don’t have any meat?” The clerk says, “No, here we don’t have any fish. The shop that doesn’t have any meat is across the street.” As Mamdani demands a 10% property tax to fund his promises of free buses and other socialist programs, he is returning to the same socialist script. Of course, as the University of Chicago’s Milton Friedman noted, “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.”

“.. was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”

• American Pope Leo Has a Massive Case of TDS (Rick Moran)

The papacy is one of the most unique institutions in the world. The pope is not “elected” in any meaningful sense. A bunch of older males who played the same kind of political games that Republicans, Democrats, Communists, and Socialists play to get ahead, to become “cardinal,” meet to fill a vacancy following the death of a pope. How a new pope is chosen is steeped in tradition and ritual. It’s all baloney. The pomp and circumstance were created to hide the simple fact that choosing a pope is no different than choosing a CEO or president of a large company. The assembled cardinals decide who should lead the church, the same way a board of directors chooses a new leader: someone who can best advance the goals and interests of the Catholic church.

There’s nothing holy about it. There’s nothing sacred in the process. It’s politics, plain and simple. Pope Leo XIV played the game exceptionally well in order to get elected last year. He had a huge obstacle to overcome; he is an American (and Peruvian), and there is a large faction in the Vatican that hates America. Leo was seen as a compromise candidate who, although close to the radical Pope Francis, who died in 2025, was not considered as confrontational as the former pope. That belief turned out to be very wrong.
In April 2025, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica stated that Leo was seen as a “cosmopolitan and shy figure” who was “appreciated by conservatives and progressives” within the church. The pope destroyed that illusion by going after Donald Trump in a very un-papal way. On Sunday, Trump let loose on Leo for his constant sermonizing. Of course, that’s what popes do, but Trump saw an opening to attack Leo on very secular grounds.
Truth Social:”I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History. “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump wrote.
“Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise,” Trump said. “He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”
I don’t think there’s any doubt that the church considered an American for pope because Donald Trump was president. Trump’s roundup of illegal aliens was bound to cause friction with the Vatican. Leo tried to sound diplomatic in his response, which was, in itself, a shocking departure from tradition. Popes aren’t supposed to play the tit-for-tat political game.”I don’t want to get into a debate with him [Trump],” the U.S.-born pope said. “I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.” The pope is referring to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asking “the American people to pray “every day, on bended knee” for a military victory in the Middle East “in the name of Jesus Christ.” “
We are not politicians, we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, Leo told reporters. The pope said that “to put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think, is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is.” Leo has entered the political fray with his words and has lost the moral authority to comment as the leader of one billion Roman Catholics. Commenting as a famous religious celebrity is perfectly fine, but getting in the mud and rolling around with a politician should be beneath Leo and the papacy. “I do not look at my role as being political, a politician,” Leo said. “Too many people are suffering in the world today, too many innocent people are being killed, and someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.

Holocaust Remembrance Day was Jan 27. Then why this? “Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day this year starting on the evening of April 13 into today, April 14.”

• ‘Unwavering Commitment’ to Fight Hatred (Salgado)

President Donald Trump issued a powerful message against antisemitism and a commitment to honoring the memory of Holocaust victims through a freer future in his message for Holocaust Remembrance Day. Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day this year starting on the evening of April 13 into today, April 14. While the Nazis killed political dissidents, Catholics, other Christians, and ethnic minorities, their death camps were most strongly focused on wiping out the Jewish people. In fact, the global Jewish population has never fully recovered since the Holocaust.

The Trump White House issued a message on April 13. “During the Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust, our Nation remembers the more than 6 million innocent Jewish lives taken in one of the most horrific atrocities and worst acts of anti-Semitism in human history; we commemorate the Roma and Sinti, Slavic and Polish people, persons with disabilities, Soviet prisoners of war, Jehovah’s Witnesses, people targeted for their sexual orientation, and countless others who were victims of the Holocaust; and we renew our unwavering commitment to ensuring that such evil is vanquished forever,” President Trump wrote.
Unfortunately, the fundamentalist Muslims who were allies of Hitler during World War II, because of their shared goal of destroying Jews, are more powerful than ever, somehow gaining the sympathy of the West every time they attack Israel and commit heinous atrocities. To give just one number for context, Hezbollah alone launched over 6,500 missiles, UAVs, and rockets at Israeli civilians during the first five weeks of Operation Epic Fury/Roaring Lion.
Trump continued, “On Yom HaShoah, we recall the horrors Nazi Germany inflicted across Europe during the harrowing years of the Second World War, where men, women, and children of many backgrounds were subjected to vicious acts of persecution, degradation, and death by methods beyond comprehension. Yet, in the midst of this unfathomable darkness, the resilience of the human spirit endured.” “From the outset of my Administration, I have taken decisive action to defend the God-given worth of every human being,” Trump affirmed. “By establishing the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, my Administration is bolstering coordination across federal agencies in an effort to prevent acts of hatred and violence in our streets and on our college campuses that were allowed to spread under my predecessor.”
He concluded: “I am directing the Department of Justice to relentlessly pursue those who threaten or harm Jewish Americans, and we will not stop until every case of terrorism perpetrated against the Jewish people is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
As our Nation marks these Days of Remembrance, we honor the memory of all who were murdered and vow to never forget the victims of the Holocaust—the most heinous violation of human dignity in the history of the world. Together, we reaffirm our solemn obligation to stand guard against antisemitism in every form and carry forward the enduring legacy of the more than 6 million innocent souls of the Holocaust with vigilance and unwavering resolve. May the memories of all who perished forever be a blessing. Global antisemitism has been on the rise ever since Hamas committed the Oct. 7 massacre. Each one of us is responsible for seeing that “never again” is more than a slogan.

Forever ago, I read a biography of Abe. Which was John Hay’s POV.

• Remembering the Faith of Lincoln on the Anniversary of His Death (Tom Griffin)

On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot in the head and killed by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre during the showing of “Our American Cousin.” It was Good Friday. It is eerily fitting that the murder occurred on the most somber day of the Christian year. Lincoln mentioned God frequently in his presidency, and his journey with God was deeply connected to the gravity of his work during the Civil War.
Between his election in November 1860 and his inauguration in March 1861, several southern states seceded from the Union. In Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address on March 4, 1861, he spoke about how the nation must be firm in faith: “Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty.” Here Lincoln showcased his distinctively American spirit. He believed that our nation was built on faith as well as love for both neighbor and country. Those qualities, in his view, can sustain the American people during tumultuous times.
In September 1862, during one of the most personally challenging parts of the Civil War, Lincoln wrote a private “Meditation on the Divine Will.” The Union had recently lost the Second Battle of Bull Run, and there were immense challenges ahead for the president. The country was tiring of the war. The growing death toll weighed heavily on the president. Had the time come to end the war? According to one of his White House secretaries John Hay, the letter was the president’s way of working through his confusion and stress about the most important decision of his life. Hay also noted that this letter was not meant to be seen by men, which is why we have only one section. Lincoln writes:
“The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God’s purpose is something different from the purpose of either party — and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say that this is probably true — that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By his mere great power, on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And, having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.”
The words above are filled with religious significance and depth. They relate the broken heart of a man—and a president—for his fellow countrymen. Faith demands that we be utterly honest with both ourselves and God. Lincoln’s meditation was more than a mere method to inform the president’s decision making; it was itself a prayer.
First, Lincoln writes that God’s will is victorious. To understand what that means for him, Lincoln then references a philosophical idea called “the principle of noncontradiction.” Most famously explained by Aristotle, the principle holds that two opposing claims cannot both be true in the same way at the same time. Therefore, either the south was right that human beings are not equal, and some can thus be owned by others. Or the north was right that the expansion of slavery—even its existence—is immoral because all human beings have dignity.
Second, Lincoln writes that the outcome of the war might be different from what either side hopes for. God often works in unexpected ways. God’s logic often makes itself known through challenging and confusing times. Though painful, this can ultimately teach us to rely on God and trust that providence will lead us through. Finally, the president’s meditation on God’s will does not seem to have resolved all Lincoln’s confusion. The war must continue, for now. This brings him much grief, but he knows that it is right.

You driving? Not on a public road any more. Go to a private circuit.

Every year, approximately 1.19 million people die in road accidents worldwide.

That’s like a massive, invisible pandemic killing over 3,200 people every single day.

When a deadly virus spreads, the world drops everything to develop a vaccine as fast as possible.

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— Captain Eli (@TheCaptainEli) April 13, 2026

https://twitter.com/HungaryBased/status/2043743519664185462?s=20 https://twitter.com/NiohBerg/status/2043783291178782888?s=20

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