May 192025
 
 May 19, 2025  Posted by at 9:35 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , ,  53 Responses »


Pablo Picasso Composition “Peasants” 1906

 

Witkoff Believes Putin Call Will Be ‘A Success’ (RT)
EU Leaders Plan to Talk to Trump Before His Phone Call With Putin (Sp.)
The Lesson of The Arrogant King and The Burning of The Oracles (Helmer)
Presidential Candidates In EU States Call Trump ‘Symbol Of Freedom’ (RT)
Pro-EU Candidate Wins Romanian Presidential Election Rerun (RT)
Musk Hails Durov Over Rejection of French Political Censorship Request (RT)
German Democracy Still Alive? Merz Speaks Out Against AfD Ban (RMX)
Don’t listen to NATO – Russia to Ukraine (RT)
Something Doesn’t Add Up About Biden’s Cancer Announcement (Margolis)
Democrats and Journalists Still Avoid Biden’s Decline (Graham)
Distrust and Accountability (Erickson)
Patel&Bongino Tease New Russiagate Evidence, Say Epstein Killed Himself (ZH)
Devin Nunes Discusses Likelihood of Success for Patel and Bongino (CTH)
FBI Agents Beg Court To Destroy List Before ‘Shame’ Campaign (ZH)
Weapons From Ukraine Will Flood Europe – Report (RT)
House Republicans Advance “Big, Beautiful Bill” After Weekend of Talks (ZH)
The USA, As We Knew It, Has Been Destroyed By The Supreme Court (PCR)

 

 

 

 

They all know
https://twitter.com/Juliesnark1731/status/1924143006644342845

Comey

Obama
https://twitter.com/LauraLoomer/status/1924092742889836977

 

 

 

 

Time to meet. Bring Lavrov, bring Rubio, bring Witkoff.

Witkoff Believes Putin Call Will Be ‘A Success’ (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s upcoming phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be “very successful” and could help clear “some of the logjam” in peace negotiations over Ukraine, American special envoy Steve Witkoff has said. Trump announced he will speak with Putin on Monday, several days after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct negotiations in three years. During the talks in Istanbul on Friday, the sides agreed on a major prisoner exchange and to continue dialogue after each submits a detailed ceasefire proposal. Witkoff hailed the talks in Türkiye as “good achievements,” and reaffirmed that Trump would like to broker a stable ceasefire followed by a “final peace deal.”

“I believe that the president is going to have a very successful call with Vladimir Putin,” Witkoff told ABC’s This Week on Sunday. “They know each other. The president is determined to get something done here… If he can’t do it, then nobody can.” Asked whether Moscow’s terms were too harsh, Witkoff said the conflict was “very complicated” and that the sides must find compromises. “I think in a negotiation like this, people take positions,” he said. “The art here is to narrow that wide berth. And I think to some extent we’ve done that. Monday will go a long way towards identifying where we are and how we complete this negotiation.”

Trump also expressed hope that Monday will be a “productive day.” He added that he plans to speak with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and “various members of NATO” after his call with Putin. At the same time, he warned that Moscow could face “crushing sanctions” if no progress is made, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that Washington is determined to avoid “endless talks” without results. Moscow has rejected demands for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, insisting that talks must address the “root causes” of the conflict, including Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO – which Russia considers a threat to its national security. Putin has maintained that a lasting truce would require Ukraine to halt its mobilization drive, stop receiving weapons from abroad, and withdraw troops from Russian territory. He warned that Kiev would likely use a temporary ceasefire to rearm and regroup.

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I bet Trump loves that. Not last week, not yesterday, no, an hour or so before he talks to Putin.

EU Leaders Plan to Talk to Trump Before His Phone Call With Putin (Sp.)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday he and other European leaders plan to talk to US President Donald Trump again, ahead of a possible phone conversation between the US leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We have agreed that in preparation for this dialogue we will talk again — four heads of state and government — with the US president,” Merz was quoted as telling reporters in Rome by the Bild newspaper. One can only hope for the further progress to be made, the German chancellor said, adding that he has already discussed the possible Trump-Putin call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

On Saturday, Trump said he was planning to speak by phone to Putin on May 19. On Friday, the Ukrainian newspaper reported, citing Volodymyr Zelensky’s spokesman, Sergii Nykyforov, that Zelensky and Merz, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, held a telephone conversation with Trump on the sidelines of the European Political Community (EPC) summit in the Albanian capital of Tirana.

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“Trump’s staff had left a four-hour gap in the timing of his flight back to Washington in order to meet with Putin in Istanbul on condition that Trump ordered Zelensky to leave Turkey beforehand and Putin agreed to a summit announcement of an immediate ceasefire. Zelensky was removed to Albania but the Putin’s ceasefire conditions remained unchanged..”

The Lesson of The Arrogant King and The Burning of The Oracles (Helmer)

In the outcome, it’s the old story come true again. That’s the one in which Tarquin, the ancient Roman king, wanted the Cumaean Sybil to sell him the nine books of prophecies known as the Sybilline Oracles. When the king dismissed the Sybil’s price for the nine, she burned three and asked the same price for six. When the king held out again, she burned another three. In desperation, the king then paid for the three remaining at the price he had refused for the original nine.For two thousand years this has been known as the art of the deal. As if they didn’t know the story, on Friday the leaders of France, United Kingdom, Germany, Ukraine and Poland (FUGUP) telephoned President Donald Trump and told him to keep fighting President Vladimir Putin until he accepts their price. FUGUP told POTUS to burn Putin until Russia will have nothing left to pay with.

Two leaks from the Istanbul meetings confirm what has happened. According to Oleg Tsarev’s account from the Russian side, the Russian delegation said they would agree to a ceasefire if the Ukraine withdrew its forces completely from the four regions – Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson. The Ukrainians refused. In reply, the Russians said that next time there will be five regions. According to a London newspaper’s leak from the British adviser to the Ukrainians, the Russian delegation said they would agree to a ceasefire only if the Ukraine withdrew its troops from the four regions, and Kiev refused, Russia would take two more regions – Sumy and Kharkov. The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, had reportedly said that Russia “does not want war but is ready to fight for a year, two, three — no matter how long it takes. We fought with Sweden for 21 years. How long are you ready to fight? Perhaps someone sitting at this table will lose even more of their loved ones. Russia is ready to fight forever.”

Trump was sitting in his aeroplane flying north from Abu Dhabi, two hours and a thousand kilometres south of Istanbul when he got the call from FUGUP. The day before, he had told reporters ““we will be leaving tomorrow but you know, almost destination unknown because it could be here, it could be there, but probably we’re back to Washington DC tomorrow.” An hour before he took off, he said: “You know, they all said Putin was going, Zelensky was going, and I said, if I don’t go, I guarantee Putin’s not going. And he didn’t go…We’re going to get it done.” Trump added he would meet Putin “as soon as we can set it up. I would actually leave here [Abu Dhabi] and go [to Istanbul]… in two or three weeks we have a deal.”

As Russian forces accelerate their spring offensive west, north and south, burning what Trump, Zelensky and the Europeans have to fight over, the terms of the Russian deal are now far greater than Vladimir Medinsky, the Russian lead negotiator, accepted at Istanbul-I in March 2022 but were repudiated when he returned to Moscow. Before he set out for Istanbul-II last week, the consensus in Moscow was unanimous, as Putin demonstrated at his lengthy Kremlin session in the evening of May 14 with ministers, intelligence agency chiefs, and senior military commanders from the General Staff and from the front.

“Andrei Belousov [Defence Minister] and Valery Gerasimov [chief of the General Staff] also delivered reports. All commanders of the groups of armed forces in the special military operation zone reported on the situation in their respective sectors along the line of contact. The meeting participants conducted a detailed joint discussion of all reports. Based on these briefings, the President summed up the meeting results, set tasks and charted the negotiating position of the Russian delegation in Istanbul.” In Abu Dhabi, Trump’s staff had left a four-hour gap in the timing of his flight back to Washington in order to meet with Putin in Istanbul on condition that Trump ordered Zelensky to leave Turkey beforehand and Putin agreed to a summit announcement of an immediate ceasefire. Zelensky was removed to Albania but the Putin’s ceasefire conditions remained unchanged. Trump then abandoned his summit meeting plan; the record of his flight log was erased. He announced his personal success instead – “in two or three weeks”.

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EU=no freedom.

Presidential Candidates In EU States Call Trump ‘Symbol Of Freedom’ (RT)

A joint election campaign rally by Romanian election frontrunner George Simion and Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki have announced plans for what the former described as a “pro-MAGA” union at a joint rally the two held earlier this week in Poland. Supporters at the event chanted the name of US President Donald Trump. Both EU nations are heading into presidential elections this Sunday. Poland will hold the first round of voting, while Romania will see a runoff between Simion and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan. Speaking at the rally in support of Nawrocki in Zabrze on Tuesday, Simion vowed to reverse what he called an “anti-American change in Europe.” A critic of the EU who has been banned from entering Ukraine, Simion won the first round of the presidential election rerun in Romania on May 4 with more than 40% of the vote.

https://twitter.com/MAGAVoice/status/1923568138706354538

His words prompted the crowd to begin chanting: “Donald Trump! Donald Trump!” The politician joined the chant and called the American leader “not just a person but a symbol of freedom.” Nawrocki, a conservative candidate who is supported by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, is currently polling second behind Rafal Trzaskowski, who is aligned with Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s coalition. Addressing the rally, he vowed to “build a Europe of values, a Europe of homelands, in which we will not allow the EU to centralize and turn Poland and Romania into provinces.” Nawrocki opposes EU and NATO membership for Ukraine, as well as financial aid for refugees, while supporting continued military assistance to Kiev.

Speaking to the magazine American Conservative a day after the rally, Simion stated that, together with Nawrocki, they “could become two pro-MAGA presidents committed to reviving our partnership with the United States.” He also vowed to “shift our focus to bilateral negotiations with the Trump administration” if elected. The rally prompted Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to claim on X that “Russia rejoices” at seeing Nawrocki standing together with “his pro-Russian Romanian counterpart George Simion.” Simion responded by posting an image of Tusk meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin back in 2010 and calling him “Putin’s man in Poland.” Moscow has never commented publicly about any ties with either Simion or Tusk. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier blasted the Romanian presidential election as “scandalous” after RT correspondent Chay Bowes was deported from the country right after arriving in the country to cover the vote.

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Pro-EU Candidate Wins Romanian Presidential Election Rerun (RT)

Pro-EU Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan has defeated Euroskeptic candidate George Simion in Romania’s presidential election rerun, according to the official tally. With more than 99% of ballots counted, Dan secured 54% of the vote in Sunday’s runoff, while Simion received 46%. Dan thanked his supporters for an “unprecedented mobilization.” “Starting tomorrow, we begin the reconstruction of Romania – a united and honest Romania, founded on respect for the law and for all its people,” he wrote on X. Simion, the leader of the right-wing Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), did not initially concede defeat, claiming in a post on X on Sunday evening that he was “the new president.” However, he conceded several hours later and congratulated Dan.

“It was the will of the Romanian people. We will go all the way, even if it is hard to bear the bitter taste of defeat,” he said in a video address on Monday. “We may have lost a battle, but we will certainly not lose the war.” The pro-EU president of neighboring Moldova, Maia Sandu, congratulated Dan. “Moldova and Romania stand together, supporting one another and working side by side for a peaceful, democratic, and European future for all our citizens,” she said. The two countries share deep historical and cultural ties, with around 30% of Moldova’s population holding dual Moldovan-Romanian citizenship. Simion’s party has claimed that Moldovan authorities and media outlets waged an illegal campaign to mobilize support for Dan among voters living in Moldova. Chisinau has denied any interference in the election.

The election rerun was ordered after Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the November vote, in which independent right-wing candidate Calin Georgescu came first with 23%. The authorities cited “irregularities” in his campaign, along with intelligence reports alleging Russian interference – claims Moscow has denied. Simion had condemned the annulment of the 2024 election results as a “coup d’état” and said that, if elected, he could appoint Georgescu as prime minister. During the first round on May 4, Simion received 41% of the vote, while Dan and former Senator Crin Antonescu each garnered around 20%.

https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1924164565862129948

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“..you can’t ‘fight election interference’ by interfering with elections.”

Musk Hails Durov Over Rejection of French Political Censorship Request (RT)

Elon Musk has voiced support for fellow tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov after the Telegram founder said he had rejected a request from the French government to block conservative political content on the messaging platform. Durov said Sunday that a Western European government had asked him to take down Romanian Telegram channels ahead of the country’s presidential runoff. He declined, arguing that, “you can’t ‘fight election interference’ by interfering with elections.” Musk, the majority stake owner of the social media platform X, responded to Durov’s remarks with a brief post: “Hear, hear!” Following Durov’s statement, French authorities acknowledged they were the subject of the claims but denied making any such request. In a follow-up post, Durov identified the official involved as Nicolas Lerner, director of France’s domestic intelligence agency, the DGSI.

The controversy came as Romanian voters headed to polling stations on Sunday. The Romanian Foreign Ministry accused Russia of interfering in the election, although it offered no supporting evidence. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova remarked that the Romanian process could hardly be described as an election, and urged Bucharest not to soil foreign nations with its mess. In 2024, Romania’s Constitutional Court overturned the result of a presidential election after right-wing independent Calin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round. Reports linked the pro-Georgescu social media campaign to a government-affiliated consultancy firm allegedly aiming to divide right-wing voters. The case was cited by US Vice President J.D. Vance in a February speech in Munich as an example of EU nations undermining democratic norms. On Sunday, pro-EU candidate Nicusor Dan defeated Euroskeptic George Simion in a runoff, securing the Romanian presidency by a single-digit margin.

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Remember: Germany has very strict laws on domestic spying. They probably let the NSA do it for them. As if that’s legal.

German Democracy Still Alive? Merz Speaks Out Against AfD Ban (RMX)

In recent months, a ban of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) appeared to be inching closer and closer, but now a key voice has clearly spoken out against such a move. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has now said that voting on an AfD ban in the Bundestag is not the right path, saying it “smacks too much of the elimination of political rivals.” He said he does not believe the current evidence is sufficient. He has even gone a step farther, stating that former Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, an SPD politician with far-left sympathies who wrote for Antifa Magazine, was wrong to classify the AfD as “confirmed” right-wing extremist in the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) report. Critics indicate that she rushed the report out at the last minute of her tenure, despite the BfV having no president and despite a lack of any expert review, which she had previously promised would happen.

Speaking to Die Zeit, Merz said; “Working ‘aggressively and militantly’ against the free democratic basic order must be proven. And the burden of proof lies solely with the state. That is a classic task of the executive branch. And I have always internally resisted initiating ban proceedings from within the Bundestag. That smacks too much of political competition elimination to me.” When the BfV first labeled the AfD “certainly right-wing extremist,” calls came from the left, including the Greens, Left Party, and SPD, to immediately begin proceedings to ban the party in the Bundestag. Even a large portion of the CDU backed the move. Now, the BfV has temporarily removed the designation pending a court appeal, and as Remix News reported, this removal may have been in large part possible due to pressure from the United States. Merz also expressed his displeasure with Faeser’s move to release the report on her last day of work.

He told Zeit he was “not happy with the way this process is being conducted.” “The old government presented a report without any factual review, and it was also classified as confidential,” he added. As Remix News reported, the 1,100 page report contained only public statements from the AfD, and it has already been leaked and published by the German press. Remix News, in a report published earlier today, notes that the BfV is likely sitting on huge amounts of private surveillance data related to AfD members, but due to the unsavory mass surveillance methods used to obtain this data, it is likely withholding this from any official report. “I don’t know the content of this report, and frankly, I don’t want to know it until the Federal Ministry of the Interior has made an assessment of it,” said Merz. He said that it would take several weeks and even months for the interior ministry to make such an assessment.

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“..the citizens of Ukraine should not allow the ‘NATO advisers’ to lead them off the true path of settlement into the ravine of other people’s interests again..”

Don’t listen to NATO – Russia to Ukraine (RT)

Kiev would have a better chance of resolving the conflict with Russia if it resists malignant NATO influence that impedes peace efforts, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday. Zakharova responded to remarks by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga about the results of the Istanbul meeting, which marked the first direct negotiations between Kiev and Moscow since 2022. The talks resulted in Russia and Ukraine agreeing to a major prisoner swap. The sides also agreed to exchange lists of conditions for a potential ceasefire and discuss a follow-up meeting. “If we put aside all the Russian nonsense, pseudo-historical statements, provocations, and so on, the bottom line is this: we managed to agree on the return of 1,000 of our people. These are 1,000 happy families. Even for this reason alone, all this made sense,” Sibiga said.

“All ‘this,’” Zakharova said, referring to the talks, “was proposed by Russia – by its president – and implemented by a delegation authorized by the head of state, which Zelensky mocked for a day.” She also noted that, if all the insults are put aside, Sibiga essentially acknowledged that the “Russian propositions have a certain sense.” “The main thing is that the citizens of Ukraine should not allow the ‘NATO advisers’ to lead them off the true path of settlement into the ravine of other people’s interests again,” Zakharova warned. Russia and Ukraine held direct peace talks in Istanbul in 2022, shortly after the escalation of the conflict. While the sides initially made progress and reached a tentative agreement – which included a Ukrainian commitment to neutrality – the talks later collapsed after Kiev unilaterally abandoned them.

Moscow later claimed the talks were derailed by then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who advised Kiev to continue fighting. While Johnson has denied the accusation, David Arakhamia, who led the Ukrainian delegation at the time, admitted that the ex-prime minister played an influential role in the decision to stop the negotiating process. Since then, Russia has repeatedly accused Western governments of using Ukraine as a “battering ram” against Russia and pursuing the conflict “until the last Ukrainian.” It has noted, however, that the US began shifting its approach to the settlement under President Donald Trump.

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It’s the timing.

Something Doesn’t Add Up About Biden’s Cancer Announcement (Margolis)

On Sunday, news broke that former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 and metastasis to the bone. The announcement, made by Biden’s office, detailed that the diagnosis followed the discovery of a prostate nodule after worsening urinary symptoms a week prior. While the statement emphasized that the cancer is hormone-sensitive, offering hope for effective management, the timing and context of this revelation raise serious questions about transparency and political motivations. The key question I have is this: Did Joe Biden’s inner circle know about this diagnosis last year?

Obviously, questions about Joe Biden’s physical and mental health have been raised for years. Let’s be honest here. Joe Biden had access to top-notch health care while in the Oval Office—with a personal physician, Kevin O’Connor, who, back in 2023, described him as a “healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.” We all knew that assessment was garbage. Would the same doctor who claimed Joe Biden was “healthy” and “vigorous” also cover up a cancer diagnosis until after the presidential election? Yeah, I think so. I’m not saying that’s what happened, but you better believe that I think it’s possible that he did. In fact, a clip of Biden saying he “had cancer” back in 2022 has gone viral in the wake of the revelation.

“And guess what—the first frost, you know what was happening?” said Biden. “You’d have to put on your windshield wipers to get, literally, the oil slick off the window.,” he said during a speech about climate change in Somerset, Massachusetts. “That’s why I, and so damn many other people I grew up with, have cancer. And why, for the longest time, Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation.” A gaffe? A slip of the tongue? With the Bidens, anything is possible. Okay, let’s state the obvious: I’m not a doctor. Heck, I don’t even play one on TV. Okay, fine. I’ll get a doctor’s input. Fox News Senior Medical Analyst Dr. Marc Siegel says the presence of symptoms and bone metastases in Joe Biden’s case strongly suggests the cancer had been growing undetected for quite some time. That’s not just concerning—it raises serious questions about how such an advanced stage of disease went unnoticed, especially for someone with constant access to top-tier medical care.

Siegel pointed out that Biden’s age—82—is a major risk factor, noting that more than 80 percent of men over 80 have some level of prostate cancer cells in their bodies. “This is one of the cancers doctors specifically monitor in older men,” Siegel explained. Which begs the obvious question: Are we really supposed to believe that Biden, while in office, wasn’t being routinely screened for this? Come on. Not giving him a cognitive exam because they knew he’d flunk it is one thing; not screening him for something he was obviously at high risk for? That just doesn’t pass the smell test. So, now, you have to ask the question: why go public with this information now? The answer is obvious, isn’t it? Do you think it is mere coincidence that the announcement came just two days before the release of “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson?

Damaging excerpts have been released over the past few weeks, including one excerpt claiming that Biden’s aides were so concerned about his physical decline in early 2024 that they discussed the possibility of him needing a wheelchair if reelected. Then there was the release of the Hur tapes. It’s been a damaging week for Joe Biden and his legacy, and in the hours since his diagnosis was revealed, the usual statements of praise and support are flowing in. It all makes sense, doesn’t it? The book’s excerpts have painted a damning picture of Biden’s physical and cognitive state. And while it’s old news to those of us in conservative media, it’s getting serious widespread attention now. So, announcing a serious cancer diagnosis right before the book’s release could serve as a strategic move to shift the narrative, garner sympathy, and distract the public from the damaging information contained in the book.

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The book is out, but everyone will talk about his cancer. Timing.

Democrats and Journalists Still Avoid Biden’s Decline (Graham)

The first excerpts of the Jake Tapper-Alex Thompson book on denying former President Joe Biden’s obvious mental decline have been posted, and you can already sense Democrats don’t want to deal with what they have done. The book’s title is “Original Sin.” Why the biblical title? The authors write: “The original sin of Election 2024 was Biden’s decision to run for re-election—followed by aggressive efforts to hide his cognitive diminishment.” There is more religious terminology. “It was an abomination,” one “prominent Democratic strategist” told the authors. “He stole an election from the Democratic Party; he stole it from the American people.” The condemnations here make sense, but they are far too narrow. Democrats as a whole failed to hold an actual primary election in 2024. Almost no one decided to challenge Biden, with the unforgettable exception of Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who ran explicitly on the issue of Biden’s inability to run for reelection and serve a second term.

Democrat state parties kept challengers like Phillips off primary ballots, and Democrats sought to strip Donald Trump off primary ballots. So the “stole an election” sermon ignores a lot of facts. The condemnation should obviously include the Democrat-allied media, who mostly ignored Phillips and his cause or told him he was foolish. They still don’t want to talk about this. Since the first previews in The New Yorker and Axios, where we learned Biden didn’t recognize actor George Clooney at a fundraiser and Biden aides pondered putting him in a wheelchair after the election, only NBC offered a short report summarizing the scoops. ABC, CBS and PBS ignored it. The “PBS News Hour” offered nine grieving minutes on a state law in Ohio gutting diversity, equity, and inclusive programs on campus, but nothing on Biden. These networks might still sound like NPR as it dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop in 2020. It’s a “pure distraction.”

The broadcast networks have displayed their shamelessly partisan reflexes, that on any issue that feels like a Trump talking point, they circle their wagons around Democrat die-hards. The “sin” here extends to these authors. If and when Tapper and Thompson engage with the national media in interviews, let’s guess there won’t be much pushback on their own demurrals and dismissals of Biden’s decline during his four years in office. Like many journalists, they’ll insist they didn’t avoid the issue—but that’s only because the voters told pollsters it was a problem. For his part, Tapper didn’t cover Biden trying to find a dead congresswoman in the audience in 2022, and he insisted Biden was “sharp” mentally when presidential contender Nikki Haley insisting on cognitive tests for elderly candidates. He disagreed with Republican critics after Biden’s yelling-Grandpa performance at the 2024 State of the Union address: He showed his age, but “he didn’t seem incapable of doing the job.”

Tapper didn’t want to be on the “wrong” side of the Bidens. Dylan Byers at Puck reported that at a Super Bowl party in 2018, Hunter Biden put his arm around Tapper and told him if they weren’t in public, “I would knock you out”. Hunter believed Tapper had reported on allegations of his rampant use of drugs and prostitutes that emerged from his divorce. Tapper assured Hunter that he didn’t report any of that—as if that’s a point of pride. Democrats and their media allies need to face a reckoning for their vast left-wing conspiracy to deny what everyone could see—that Biden was unfit to continue, even to the end of his term. This is especially ridiculous for networks like Tapper’s CNN, which repeatedly proclaimed that Trump was mentally unfit throughout his first term, pushing a 25th Amendment “solution” for him.

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“This contradicts both the new Democrat spin that Biden began a rapid decline after 2022 and also the Tapper and Thompson revelations that the decline had started being noticed in 2019.”

Distrust and Accountability (Erickson)

CNN’s Kasie Hunt interviewed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer the other day. She confronted him about allegations of a meeting with former President Joe Biden that should have raised alarms about Biden’s fitness for office. “We’re moving forward,” Schumer replied. He would not answer the question. Chuck Todd, speaking afterwards on CNN, said, “He is among the people responsible for this. The leaders of the Democratic Party, the staff of the White House—and I have to say I find everybody now talking to these authors—get out of here. Now you tell us?” He then referred to the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s administration as “catastrophic governance.” The American people began raising concerns about Biden’s fitness for office while Biden campaigned for the presidency in 2020. Polling in 2021 noted that a majority of the American public had concerns about Biden’s mental and physical frailty.

Former President Barack Obama’s speechwriter Jon Favreau now claims Biden declined after the 2022 midterms. New reporting from CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson notes Biden regularly had bad days before 2022, but as he aged, he got even worse. Democrats would have us believe it was stress related to Hunter Biden. But these same Democrats refused to release the audio of Biden’s interview with Special Prosecutor Robert Hur. The same reporters who now claim they were stunned and their sources would not be candid with them were the very same reporters who never fought for the release of the Hur audio and, in fact, treated the Hur report’s conclusion that Biden was not mentally fit to stand trial as a partisan statement. Axios’ Alex Thompson is one of the few reporters the Biden administration blackballed for regularly covering Biden’s decline.

CNN’s Tapper, for his part, told his colleague John Berman, “I’m not going to speak for anybody else, but knowing then what I know now, I look back at my coverage during the Biden years—and I did cover some of these issues, but not enough.” Comcast gave Biden White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki her own show. She used her show to deflect from concerns about Biden’s decline. Joe Scarborough of MSNBC’s Morning Joe told his audience on March 6, 2024, “F you if you can’t handle the truth. This version of Biden, intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever.” This contradicts both the new Democrat spin that Biden began a rapid decline after 2022 and also the Tapper and Thompson revelations that the decline had started being noticed in 2019.

“Look, what we learned through our reporting is that starting in around 2019, 2020, there were two Bidens. There was a Biden that was perfectly workable, serviceable, seemed fine. And then there was a non-functioning one that couldn’t come up with names of top aides, that would lose his train of thought to an alarming degree. And that non-functioning Biden reared his head increasingly over and over,” Tapper told Berman. This gets back to Chuck Todd’s comments about Sen. Schumer. “Now you tell us,” he says. But what did they need to tell us? The American people were raising concerns in 2020 and 2021. It was the American press corps that insisted Americans not believe their lying eyes. It was voices on CNN and MSNBC that had Democrats on to insist the video of Biden being led off stage by Barack Obama had been mischaracterized by Republicans.

“Catastrophic governance” is how Todd characterized this opening of Trump’s new term. That, I suspect, gives us the answer to the big question—how could the press cover for Biden when the American people themselves knew something was wrong? Because, at that time, Biden was the only thing standing between the presidency and Trump. Now that he has lost, the truth can be told, except for the part of the press’ complicity in the cover-up. Americans did not need White House sources to tell them something was wrong. Only America’s top reporters did, and without those sources, they insisted until the bitter end that the public got duped by the GOP.

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They need to explain.

Patel&Bongino Tease New Russiagate Evidence, Say Epstein Killed Himself (ZH)

FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Fox News on Sunday, where the pair hinted at a “wave of transparency” on the horizon over weaponization of the DOJ by the Biden and Obama administrations. “You asked in the beginning how the FBI was weaponized,” Patel told host Maria Bartiromo. “Well, the FBI hijacked the constitutional responsibility of the Department of Justice and the Attorney General, and James Comey and others specifically decided what cases to prosecute and not prosecute. Don’t believe me? Go to the videotape in the Hillary Clinton investigation.” Cool, cool.”We don’t decide prosecutions, and neither does any agent or intel analyst. We have great partners under Attorney General [Pam] Bondi. We work with them and discuss the matter with them, but the prosecutorial decision is with them,” Patel continued.

No rush on those indictments and pre-dawn raids, guys. The pair also said they’ve uncovered additional details regarding the Obama DOJ’s Crossfire Hurricane (Russiagate) investigation, and are working with Congress on it – which for some reason they have to do before they can release it. Of note, Patel was previously the House Intelligence Committee’s lead Russiagate investigator. “They bastardized the process, they withheld and hid documentation and put it in rooms where people weren’t supposed to look,” he said. “That’s how vindictive and vicious the former leadership structure here was. Not only did they bastardize the FISA process and lie to the American public, they withheld and hid documentation and put it in rooms where people weren’t supposed to look,” Patel continued, adding “It’s a good thing we’re here now to clean it up, and you’re about to see a wave of transparency… Just give us about a week or two.”

In another segment, the pair insisted that pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein definitely killed himself. “You said Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide. People don’t believe it,” said Bartiromo. “They have a right to their opinion,” Patel replied. “But as someone who’s been a public defender, a prosecutor, who’s worked in that prison system and been inside segregated housing——you know a suicide when you see one. And that’s what that was.” Bongino concurred, saying “He killed himself.”

https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1924128234439844211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1924128234439844211%7Ctwgr%5E87a70587f03f5b008b4ef25a44ed1da9929a9db7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fpatel-bongino-tease-russiagate-accountability-wave-transparency-yet-insist-jeffrey

So, Epstein, whose cellmate moved out the day before he died, was able to kill himself right at the moment security cameras malfunctioned and his guards fell asleep. And other inmates reportedly heard “shouting and shrieking” from Epstein’s jail cell the morning he died. And some footage which was apparently recovered was deemed “too flawed for investigators to use.” And this was a photo of the ‘noose’ he used:

And coroner Dr. Michael Baden said his autopsy was more consistent with homicidal strangulation than suicide. Right. Remember when Elon Musk told Joe Rogan he can’t dig too deep into government corruption or he’ll be wet work’d? Bongino’s reply to the above question has the same vibes.

https://twitter.com/InternetH0F/status/1896455529813139858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1896455529813139858%7Ctwgr%5E87a70587f03f5b008b4ef25a44ed1da9929a9db7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fpatel-bongino-tease-russiagate-accountability-wave-transparency-yet-insist-jeffrey

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“..for Obama to take the nomination, the presidency and then eventually support Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election bid. Obama would appoint Clinton to Secretary of State, Hillary would then use her office to build wealth for herself and her family, and then HRC would exit the Dept of State to begin her presidential run.”

Devin Nunes Discusses Likelihood of Success for Patel and Bongino (CTH)

Former HPSCI Chairman Devin Nunes is a man very familiar with the Russiagate nonsense and the weaponization of the DOJ, FBI and CIA against candidate Donald Trump and later President Trump. Within this interview Nunes hits on a few good points, the most accurate is his focus on the motives and intents of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who was installed as the cover-up operation for Crossfire Hurricane. However, Nunes gets a part of the origin a little askew and inaccurately framed. The original agreement between Clinton and Obama going back to 2008 was for Obama to take the nomination, the presidency and then eventually support Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election bid. Obama would appoint Clinton to Secretary of State, Hillary would then use her office to build wealth for herself and her family, and then HRC would exit the Dept of State to begin her presidential run.

John Podesta would enter the Obama administration as Hillary left in 2013. Podesta would look out for Hillary’s interests from his position inside the Obama White House. The Clintons and Obamas never fully trusted each other. Barack Obama would put all the mechanisms into place that would transition his administration into Hillary Clintons’. That was always the plan. In 2015 Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama had a check-in meeting; just touching base to firm up the goals and objectives as Hillary began her campaign launch. Podesta left the White House to take up position inside the campaign, and Team Obama would maintain Clinton’s interests as planned without an insider.

All of President Obama’s appointments in after 2015, were essentially through the prism of assisting Hillary Clinton to win in 2016. Attorney General Loretta Lynch (tarmac meeting), Deputy AG Sally Yates, Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe and FBI Director James Comey were all part of that. Technically Hillary had eyes and ears all over the White House at the time, and with Hillary Clinton being a foregone conclusion per the expectations of Washington DC, everyone would fall in line during the transition from Obama to Clinton. Again, this was the general plan. Obama would show up in 2016 to campaign for Hillary and all would be seamless.The FBI was aware of the plan for transition from Obama to Clinton, hence their role in eliminating the threat later presented by the Clinton, as Secretary of State, laptop scandal and the subsequent issues of classified information.

Remember, Clinton’s motive as Secretary of State was to sell her position for material wealth; that’s why she used a personal email, maintained her own servers, and generally controlled how her activity could be monitored and tracked. [Also, she didn’t fully trust Obama] When the Clinton campaign launched the Russia Collusion dirty trick move against her opponent Donald Trump, originally using Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson, the role of the Obama administration was to facilitate the political hit, and at the very least not impede it. Hence, former CIA Director John Brennan briefing Barack Obama on the status of the Russia collusion hoax as it spread in 2016 via the Clinton campaign.

Specifically because President Obama was, by extension, now a participant in the Clinton created “Russia Collusion hoax,” and specifically because his administration officials were participants in the process (DOJ, FBI), when President Trump won the 2016 election. President Barack Obama was now exposed by the threat the operation represented. This context is the impetus for the January 5, 2017, Susan Rice memo. Following the surprising result in the 2016 election, the team around Obama was urgently framing plausible deniability. President Obama did not orchestrate the Russia Collusion hoax; he facilitated it by not interfering with his administration officials who were assisting Hillary Clinton. This is a very key distinction. President Obama knew what was going on, he was willfully blind as it was carried out. However, the mess and fallout from the extreme lengths his FBI and DOJ officials went eventually represented a threat to Obama.

Robert Mueller and all 19 of his Clinton-aligned Lawfare operatives, were put into place to cover-up the entire mess created within the Russia Collusion operation. Mueller +19 continued the Crossfire Hurricane operation, while the extreme Lawfare strategy was deployed against the Trump administration. That’s the short, encapsulated version. The Russia Collusion hoax was created by Hillary Clinton, spread to media through Fusion GPS and given the patina of credibility by the DOJ and FBI. President Obama facilitated the operation by not interfering in the operation, until it became a threat to him personally. Both the Obama and Clinton political teams supported and organized the Robert Mueller cover-up.

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“..if they can be charged, we’ll charge them. But if they can’t be charged, we will name them.”

FBI Agents Beg Court To Destroy List Before ‘Shame’ Campaign (ZH)

A group of FBI agents involved in the Jan. 6 investigations asked a judge Thursday to destroy a Trump administration list containing the names of roughly 5,000 agents tied to the probes. Their move follows Ed Martin’s vow, as the newly appointed weaponization czar, to “name” and “shame” the thousands of agents who helped crack down on more than 1,000 Americans allegedly involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, protests. The anonymous agents told U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb that Martin’s public pledge signals the federal government plans to release the list. They first sued in February, asking the court to destroy or seal the roster.

Their Thursday filing came after Martin promised at a Tuesday press conference to hold the agents accountable for destroying the lives of more than 1,000 Jan. 6 defendants. “There are some really bad actors, some people that did some really bad things to the American people. And if they can be charged, we’ll charge them. But if they can’t be charged, we will name them. And in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are ashamed. And that’s a fact. That’s the way things work. And so that’s, that’s how I believe the job operates.”

The agents argue Martin’s rhetoric puts them in greater danger of retribution by the pardoned Jan. 6 defendants. “Mr. Martin’s statements represent new, relevant facts worthy of the Court’s attention while it considers Plaintiffs’ requested relief,” their filing claimed, according to Law and Crime. The agents are represented by a group of attorneys that includes Mark Zaid, who is also suing President Trump over revoked security clearances. Zaid is also representing former FBI agent Jamie Mannina in a defamation suit against journalist James O’Keefe, after O’Keefe released undercover footage of Mannina expressing his contempt for Trump.

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“..some EU institutions continue to push for Ukraine’s accession to the bloc. Analysts say this could further weaken border controls and oversight mechanisms..”

Weapons From Ukraine Will Flood Europe – Report (RT)

A massive influx of weapons from Ukraine will hit Europe’s black markets after the conflict with Russia is over, according to a new report by the Eurasia Observatory, which tracks the conflict’s long-term impact on organized crime. Western-supplied weapons and thousands of battle-hardened Ukrainian veterans are expected to fuel a wave of crime, arms trafficking, and instability across the continent – as talks between Moscow and Kiev to resolve the conflict raise hopes for a ceasefire – the document warns. ”Stockpiles of weapons, including heavy arms, are being amassed throughout Ukraine,” the report says. “Should the fighting stop, martial law in Ukraine will presumably be lifted, reducing the resources and powers of the state to police the civilian sphere – and opening up the field for organized crime to operate more freely.”

Kiev received over $363 billion (€326 billion) in NATO aid by February 2025, according to the Kiel Institute. Porous borders and weak oversight may fail to stop smuggled weapons such as rifles, grenades, and missile systems, according to the document. Earlier this year, US journalist Tucker Carlson claimed that the Ukrainian military was selling American weapons systems “on the black market, including to drug cartels.” Western media and officials have acknowledged that weapons sent to Kiev have ended up in criminal hands. Europol reported in April 2022 that arms were being trafficked from Ukraine into the EU for organized crime groups. Later that year, the Finnish authorities confirmed that these weapons had surfaced locally, with similar findings in Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

By mid-2024, Spanish media reported gangs in southern Spain had acquired modern weapons allegedly smuggled from Ukraine. The return of Ukrainian soldiers skilled in sabotage, drones, and cyber warfare poses a threat, with the report warning that they could become a “valuable resource” for criminal networks in Europe. Corruption in Ukraine is a major concern, with the most recent estimate showing Ukraine will require $524 billion to repair the damage from the war. The report warns that criminals could exploit the process to launder money and gain influence.

Despite mounting concerns over arms trafficking and fraud, some EU institutions continue to push for Ukraine’s accession to the bloc. Analysts say this could further weaken border controls and oversight mechanisms. The report warns that without a coordinated long-term strategy, Western nations risk facing the fallout of a conflict that Moscow claims they helped fuel and now struggle to control. Russia has warned against Western weapons deliveries to Ukraine, saying they only serve to prolong the conflict and heighten regional security threats. It has also said the unchecked supply of weapons has resulted in a large number falling into the hands of organized criminal groups and extremists worldwide.

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It’ll still take a while. Senate next.

House Republicans Advance “Big, Beautiful Bill” After Weekend of Talks (ZH)

Following a Friday fracas on Capitol Hill which saw House Republicans fail to advance President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” out of the House Budget Committee, Republicans on said Committee did just that after several GOP deficit hawks relented. And while the bill still has a couple of stops before it can hit the House Floor, passage to the Senate could come as early as the end of this week. The measure passed narrowly, 17-16, with all Democrats opposed and four Republicans; Reps. Chip Roy of Texas, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma – voting “present” after voting “No” on the bill in a 16-21 vote just two days earlier. The sudden turnaround followed a weekend of furious negotiations that remain largely behind closed doors.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) met with fellow lawmakers shortly before Sunday’s vote and told reporters that there had been “some minor modifications,” several sources posted on X. Johnson said the bill, which includes making Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent and reforming Medicaid, is now “on track” for a House floor vote toward the end of this week.The vote was a big win for Johnson and Trump, coming just two days after Republican opposition torpedoed the bill’s first attempt at committee passage. Despite this procedural victory, the legislation must still clear the House Rules Committee and secure a vote on the House floor, where Republicans hold only a razor-thin majority, Axios reports. Norman, one of the Republicans who shifted his position, said he was “excited about the changes” in the works for the bill.

Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) confirmed during the Sunday night session that “most likely there would be some changes” to the measure before it reaches the floor – but he couldn’t comment on specifics or any side deals that might have been struck. The panel’s reversal came after it initially rejected the legislation Friday, setting off a scramble to renegotiate terms with holdout Republicans. One of the most contentious elements has been the GOP’s proposed Medicaid overhaul, with conservatives pushing for deeper structural changes and moderates raising concerns about the political risks.

Even if the package passes the House, Senate Republicans are expected to propose their own revisions. To that end, Johnson has also been working to secure buy-in from blue state Republicans by exploring a compromise on the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap. On Friday, Trump did his usual shit-talking to pressure Republicans into line – posting on Truth Social; “We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!”

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“..it is possible that they could save themselves if there was a massive violent uprising, but the people are too weak-minded and weak-willed..”

The USA, As We Knew it, Has Been Destroyed By The Supreme Court (PCR)

“The Supreme Court has just ruled that the worst murderers, drug dealers, gang members, and even those who are mentally insane, who came into our Country illegally, are not allowed to be forced out without going through a long, protracted, and expensive Legal Process, one that will take, possibly, many years for each person, and one that will allow these people to commit many crimes before they even see the inside of a Courthouse. The result of this decision will let more CRIMINALS pour into our Country, doing great harm to our cherished American public. It will also encourage other criminals to illegally enter our Country, wreaking havoc and bedlam wherever they go. The Supreme Court of the United States is not allowing me to do what I was elected to do. Sleepy Joe Biden allowed MILLIONS of Criminal Aliens to come into our Country without any “PROCESS” but, in order to get them out of our Country, we have to go through a long and extended PROCESS. In any event, thank you to Justice Alito and Justice Thomas for attempting to protect our Country. This is a bad and dangerous day for America!” — President Trump, Truth Social, May 16, 2025 at 5:59 PM

As I predicted, the liberal-left, committed as it is to the establishment of a Sodom & Gomorrah Tower of Babel, used the mindless judiciary to protect “rights” of non-citizens who broke the law by entering the country illegally. The judges defined the preservation of America in terms of defending “rights” for illegals who are not US citizens to use US courts to evade enforcement of US law. No one knows where these American rights of non-Americans came from, but the morons on the Supreme Court are defending them. The Supreme Court’s ruling against America in favor of illegal aliens reads like the babel of an insane asylum. Which is what the court is. Instead of standing when judges enter the courtroom, they should be pelted with rotten tomatoes and rotten eggs. There is no reason to respect them as they do not respect America and its Constitution. Most of them are activists for overthrowing traditional America.

The judiciary has also created a fourth branch of government, the civil service or executive branch employees, who the judiciary has now made independent of presidential control. So, five months into the presidential term, my prediction has come true that the Democrats, committed as they are to the replacement of white racist Americans with people of color, would use the courts to defeat the will of the people as expressed in the presidential election.

Americans do not realize, despite the over-abundance of evidence, that they have been in a civil war for many years. That a civil war was underway became completely and totally clear in 2016 and again in 2020 and again during the Biden regime’s illegal prosecutions of Donald Trump and falsely accused and incarcerated “insurrectionists.” That the US Department of Justice and federal courts could be used to imprison American patriots who protested a stolen presidential election demonstrated for even morons to see that the Democrat liberal-left was committed to overthrowing America.

Parents in every state had the evidence before their noses every day of the school year. In place of education, white kids were taught, and still are, that they are racists, along with their parents and grandparents, that they might have been born into the wrong body, that gender is unrelated to biology and determined by self-declaration. Parents who resisted sex change operations for their underage children risked losing them to seizure by Child Protective Services. Young kids were being sexualized at an early age, taught how to give oral sex and to copulate. The Democrats heavily into pedophilia are creating receptive children for themselves. Merit was abandoned as a basis for admission to quality schools for the gifted and as the basis for graduation, resulting in the destruction of the educational experience once offered to the gifted, people America certainly needs.

Corporations and even the military sidelined hiring and promotion for white heterosexual Americans in order to give illegal preference to DEI. Corporate advertising promoted, and still does, miscegenation. Democrat political jurisdictions permitted Antifa and Black Lives Matter to loot and burn white business areas of cities and refused to prosecute. Laws were passed that reduced the accountability of people of color for crimes. For these and many other reasons enough of the insouciant American population saw the light and responded by electing an American as president. It only took 7 Supreme Court justices and a sprinkling of Democrat federal district judges to defeat the American people’s uprising. Americans need to understand that the Supreme Court with its ruling has destroyed America.

A country that cannot defend its borders and that cannot deport illegal entrants is described in Jean Raspail’s The Camp of the Saints, a description of the fate that awaits white Americans, but Americans cannot stop scrolling their cell phones long enough to read a book that tells their future. If Americans understood what awaits them, it is possible that they could save themselves if there was a massive violent uprising, but the people are too weak-minded and weak-willed to save themselves even if they could face up to the threat. With my prediction that Trump’s agenda would be blocked proven true, I am encouraged to offer another prediction. The Democrats will steal the mid-term elections. The RINO Republicans, media, and judiciary will help them in order to get rid of Trump. Next, President Trump will be successfully impeached, and he and members of his government and supporters will be prosecuted.

White heterosexual Americans will be discriminated against in every aspect of life. All who protest will face charges. The United States of America is about to disappear. My backup prediction is that the American Establishment will override the Democrat liberal-left, because the ruling establishment sees Trump as an effective agent for their construction of an American neo-colonial empire consisting of Greenland, Panama, Gaza, and the Middle East. This opens up new avenues of plunder for the ruling elite. The destruction of American unity that the Democrat liberal-left has achieved plays into the hands of the elite as the absence of unity prevents constraints on their privatization of government. Now that I think about it, my backup prediction could well be the most likely one.

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1933

222

China

https://twitter.com/Mappy6984/status/1923933323983827214

https://twitter.com/Ric_RTP/status/1924102595125100637

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

May 052025
 


Felix Vallotton On the beach 1899

 

Russia Alone in Confronting Entire Collective West – Putin (Sp.)
Russia Standing Alone Against West – Putin (RT)
The Summit In The Sand – Putin To Meet Trump In Abu Dhabi May 15-16 (Helmer)
Ukraine Ignores Russia’s Truce Request, Prepares To Sabotage Victory Day (SCF)
No Peace And No Respect: Zelensky Threatens The May 9 Parade (Pacini)
No Ukraine in EU Without Budapest’s Approval – Orban (RT)
Slovak PM Fico Pledges To Defy ‘Unacceptable’ Zelensky Threats (RT)
Musk Reacts To Video of Forced Mobilization In Ukraine (RT)
How to Win the PR War on Tariffs (Scott Pinsker)
Trump Just Got a Game-Changing Legal Victory (Matt Margolis)
Trump Orders Reopening Of Notorious Alcatraz Prison (NYP)
Trump Will Start Nominating Federal Judges ‘Rapidly’ (DS)
Trump’s 100 Days and the Legal War in Washington (Hans von Spakovsky)
Romania Hits All-Time Low With Fake Elections, Manipulated By The EU (Jay)
Right Wing George Simion Wins First Round of Voting in Romania (CTH)
The Bell Tolls for All White Gentile Ethnicities (Paul Craig Roberts)

 

 

 

 

Biden’s the worst thing that ever happened to old people :-))

Ballroom

JD

Bannon
https://twitter.com/JanJekielek/status/1918696577448747095

FSD+

Sachs

GOP

Roosevelt

 

 

 

 

“..if Russia doesn’t rely on its traditional values, it risks losing its identity, and, ultimately, its existence.”

Russia Alone in Confronting Entire Collective West – Putin (Sp.)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia did not initiate its military operation in Ukraine any earlier because it believed in the Minsk agreements and aimed to resolve the Donbass issue peacefully. Russia did not prepare specifically for a military operation, but instead sought a peaceful resolution to the Donbass conflict, Vladimir Putin told journalist Pavel Zarubin in a documentary dedicated to the 25th anniversary since the president’s first inauguration. The country could not proceed with drastic action on Ukraine without first addressing key issues in the spheres of security and the economy. The president pointed out that the United States is now openly acknowledging that the West is engaged in an existential war with Russia. Putin emphasized that Russia is essentially standing alone in its confrontation with the collective West.

Until 2022, Russia had approached agreements with its Western partners with cautious trust. The signing of the Minsk agreements was a hopeful moment for Russia, expecting compliance from all parties. However, Putin pointed out that the country was ultimately deceived. The West used the pause under the guise of complying with the Minsk agreements to rearm Ukraine and prepare for war with Russia, he added. Putin said that as Western companies began to leave Russia, many risks loomed over the country’s economy. But despite these challenges, Russia did not fall into crisis, thanks to strong economic fundamentals that kept the country resilient. The president underscored the danger of a nation becoming too dependent on external factors, stressing that if Russia doesn’t rely on its traditional values, it risks losing its identity, and, ultimately, its existence.

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“I was responsible for the future of the country. Of course, I began working to ensure that this never happened..”

Russia Standing Alone Against West – Putin (RT)

Russia is standing alone against the West, which is waging an “existential war” against the country, President Vladimir Putin has said. Putin made the remarks in a documentary titled ‘Russia. Kremlin. Putin. 25 years,’ filmed by Rossiya-1 broadcaster and released on Sunday. The film marks the 25-year anniversary of Putin becoming the country’s president for the first time. He inaugurated on May 7, 2000. The documentary features conversations between Putin and journalist Pavel Zarubin on various matters, including the hostilities between Ukraine and Russia, as well as a broader conflict between Moscow and the West. “Russia is essentially standing alone against the collective West. This required a serious attitude to the possible development of the situation in this particular sense,” Putin stated.

It has been clear from the early 2000s that the West has been acting “insidiously” against Russia, speaking about one thing and doing the opposite, Putin noted. The West’s failure to hear Russia’s repeated warnings, as well as its refusal to fully recognize the country’s sovereignty and respect its national interests, has ultimately led to the ongoing crisis, the president explained. “This ‘civilized world’ decided that Russia had weakened, historical Russia called the Soviet Union had collapsed, and the remaining parts needed to be finished off. The largest of them was the Russian Federation, and it also needed to be partitioned into 4-5 pieces. I was responsible for the future of the country. Of course, I began working to ensure that this never happened,” he said.

Moscow has repeatedly described the hostilities in Ukraine as a Western proxy war against Russia, in which Ukrainians are being used as “cannon fodder.” Russian officials have argued that the US and other Western powers intentionally escalated tensions by disregarding Moscow’s security concerns over NATO’s expansion in Eastern Europe and its growing military cooperation with Ukraine. Russia and the collective West ended up locked into an “existential war,” Putin stressed, adding that many in the West have now openly admitted that. Back in March, for instance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the conflict as “frankly, a proxy war between nuclear powers – the United States, helping Ukraine, and Russia” and said the West should abandon its dead-end strategy of propping up Kiev “for as long as it takes.”

Putin

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Only reference to this meeting I have seen.

The Summit In The Sand – Putin To Meet Trump In Abu Dhabi May 15-16 (Helmer)

After the Victory Day celebration later this week, President Vladimir Putin has agreed to hold a summit meeting with President Donald Trump. “The Americans have repeatedly asked for a summit and the Kremlin has finally decided,” according to a reliable Moscow source, “that there is no need to spurn the extended hand.” The source believes Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is the likely location. Preparatory discussions were held last week in Moscow when Putin telephoned the UAE President, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The Kremlin communiqué claimed “the current state of Russia-UAE relations…constitute a strategic partnership and…enables ongoing dialogue even on the most sensitive international issues.” That was on May 1. The next day Putin met with Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, one of the President’s sons and his personal security chief, titled deputy prime minister.

The Moscow source says “the messages have been sent that it will not be a conclusive deal, only a meeting. This is a climb-down from the previous, public Russian position that a lot of work needs to be done first, before a presidential summit, by specialists. The Russians have understood there are no specialists on the US side yet, and the opportunity is right to shake hands first, then work out the details later.” The White House press spokesman has announced Trump “will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates [in this order] from May 13th, until May 16th.” “It’s a display of the Russian hand of friendship and mutual security,” the Moscow source adds. “The Americans are offering nothing concrete but we believe Trump is disposed to giving Russia the security steps it needs.”

The source says the Kremlin is “neither surprised nor disappointed” at Trump’s May 1 tweet declaring that “many of our allies and friends are celebrating May 8th as Victory Day, but we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing a victorious result on World War II.” “It shows you how foolish the Kremlin faction was which has advocated inviting Trump to Red Square for May 9. Putin will give Trump his PR opportunity – but in the sand, not in Red Square.” The shift in the Moscow consensus – from resistance on the part of the General Staff, the intelligence agencies, and the Foreign Ministry – has followed remarks by Vice President JD Vance. “It’s going to be up to them [Russia and Ukraine] to come to agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict,” he said on Friday (May 2).

“It’s not going anywhere right [now]. It’s not going to end any time soon…Look, I am optimistic, but it’s hard to say…confident because the Russians and the Ukrainians – they’re the ones who have to take the final step. We got ‘em talkin’. We got ‘em offering peace proposals. We got the minerals deal done. I think we’re in a place where they’ve got to say we’re done with the fighting…but only Russia and Ukraine can make that decision. That’s not something even President Trump can do for ‘em.” In Moscow this is interpreted as acceptance by Washington that the war will continue on Russia’s terms – slow advance westward, no massed offensive – and that it’s now up to “direct” negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to reach an agreement.

“This is a double signal prompting Putin”, another Moscow source says, “to agree to a summit meeting with Trump now without preconditions and without pressure to agree on the Kellogg or Witkoff term sheets. In all likelihood, this will be a feel-good summit. No negotiations at all.” The source adds a caution. “The planned meeting may be derailed at the last minute if the Ukrainians violate the Victory Day ceasefire [between May 8 and 11], and if Trump is either shown to be incapable of controlling the Kiev regime, or duplicitous in aiding the violations. If the Ukrainians do not observe it, the Russians will hit back hard, very hard, and then ask Trump if he still wants to meet. It might go to the wire.”

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“As the world prepares to honor those who gave their lives in the fight against fascism, Kiev prepares to attack those who once defeated Ukraine’s infamous so-called “heroes.”

Ukraine Ignores Russia’s Truce Request, Prepares To Sabotage Victory Day (SCF)

Behind its “democratic” rhetoric and constant appeals for Western support, the Kiev regime continues to display its true nature: belligerent, provocative, and increasingly engaged in terrorist practices. The most recent demonstration of this is Ukraine’s plan to sabotage the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, scheduled for May 9, 2025—a date that symbolizes the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazism and thus holds profound historical and civilizational significance for Russia and the world. Despite ongoing international tensions, leaders from more than 20 countries have confirmed their attendance at the event. Among them are high-profile figures such as Presidents Lula da Silva (Brazil), Ibrahim Traoré (Burkina Faso), Nicolás Maduro (Venezuela), To Lam (Vietnam), Miguel Díaz-Canel (Cuba), and Aleksandar Vucic (Serbia), along with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

The diversity of the guest list highlights that the event goes far beyond Russia’s national interest—it stands as a global tribute to the defeat of fascism and a reaffirmation of our shared historical memory. However, on the other side of the border, in Kiev, President Vladimir Zelensky’s government is taking a radically different path. According to diplomatic and intelligence sources, Ukrainian authorities have openly discussed the possibility of launching provocations and terrorist attacks to disrupt the Moscow event. The presence of foreign dignitaries does not appear to deter such plans, revealing a flagrant disregard for basic norms of international law and diplomatic conduct. Zelensky himself, in recent statements, advised world leaders not to attend the May 9 parade, a clear attempt to sow fear and discourage participation.

His suggestion that the event may be targeted echoes earlier remarks in which he stated that “they are worried their parade is under threat—and they should be,” signaling awareness of or complicity in potential sabotage operations. These threats are not vague or speculative. Influential figures within Ukrainian nationalist circles, such as Dmitry Korchinsky—the leader of the radical “Bratstvo” party—have used social media to call on followers to prepare terrorist attacks on Russian soil. In public messages, Korchinsky even recommended planting improvised explosive devices in Moscow’s Red Square ahead of the celebration and proposed using fiber-optically guided drones. The range of potential attacks is wide and deeply concerning: from direct terrorist acts in Moscow and other Russian cities to infrastructure sabotage, targeted assassinations, disinformation campaigns, and psychological operations.

There is also evidence suggesting the possible deployment of foreign mercenaries and nationalist militant groups such as the “Freedom of Russia Legion” or the “Sheikh Mansur Battalion” to destabilize Russian border regions like Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk. A full-scale incursion by the Ukrainian regular army into these regions to spread panic and terror cannot be ruled out. In contrast, Russia has formally called for a ceasefire during the Victory Day period—a humanitarian gesture that any state truly committed to international law and human rights should respect. However, all indications suggest that Kiev will not only ignore this appeal but will deliberately violate it. This reinforces the growing perception that the Ukrainian regime acts as a perpetual agent of destabilization, supported—either tacitly or explicitly—by the West.

By aligning themselves with a government that threatens to sabotage a historic and internationally respected commemoration of the defeat of Nazism, Western countries are, whether knowingly or not, siding with reckless historical revisionism and disorder. This raises a serious question: how far are NATO allies willing to go in tolerating the increasingly extreme methods of the Kiev regime? As the world prepares to honor those who gave their lives in the fight against fascism, Kiev prepares to attack those who once defeated Ukraine’s infamous so-called “heroes.” The West and its institutions may absolve the Maidan junta—but History will judge it differently.

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“The invitation, as is well known, was also extended to US President Donald Trump, in continuation of the peace talks that have been ongoing since January..”

No Peace And No Respect: Zelensky Threatens The May 9 Parade (Pacini)

Volodymyr Zelensky, in his delusions as self-proclaimed president-without-end of Ukraine, continues to spout nonsense even during this festive period: referring to the May 9 celebrations, he rejected Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a truce, similar to what happened at Easter. Unfortunately, the rejection was widely predictable, as is the fact that he will try to provoke Russia at the height of the celebrations. Zelensky has called for a 30-day ceasefire, which Russia has no reason to accept given the situation on the battlefield, which is entirely in Russia’s favor. On the other hand, Putin has always said, since the beginning of the SMO, that he would only agree to stop the war permanently, i.e., through genuine and comprehensive peace negotiations, as is customary in diplomacy.

The arrogance of Washington’s puppet knows no bounds, remaining completely outside the bounds of diplomatic decorum. Not even in the worst war schools would they have gone this far. It is almost embarrassing how the Ukrainian president is seeking direct confrontation at all costs. It is no longer a simple repetition of provocation, it is much more: it is a strategy to exhaust the enemy’s patience. The most suicidal move one could attempt. Zelensky has also stated that Ukraine cannot guarantee the safety of the leaders who will participate in the May 9 parade in Red Square. We are witnessing an explicit threat against heads of state who, in theory, could apply restrictive measures and sanctions against Ukraine if they wanted to. How can it come to this? It is a wicked statement.

Clearly, no one is afraid of the threat posed by the ‘loneliest man in the world’, the leader ignored by all, who, like a parasite, has sucked money from European states and NATO members in the name of an impossible war, protecting only his own interests. Imagine you have a crazy friend whom you would never give anything important to do because you are afraid he might ruin everything. That’s Zelensky. But now it’s time to stop playing games. If Ukraine really attacks Moscow, the retaliation will be devastating. And so will the international response. Numerous politicians from around the world are expected in Moscow on May 9. The invitation, as is well known, was also extended to US President Donald Trump, in continuation of the peace talks that have been ongoing since January, as well as to Chinese President Xi Jinping, at a time of particular tension between the US and China.

Once again, it is a lesson in life and diplomacy. Russia seeks mediation and puts it into practice with authority, being in an international position where it certainly does not have to ask anyone’s permission; on the contrary, it sets an example. An example that Kiev should keep in mind. The opportunity is of enormous value: symbolically, it is the repetition of a principle that has been engraved in history, that of anti-fascism and the historical truth of the defeat of Nazism in Europe thanks to Soviet Russia. It is also the repetition of an objective historical victory of socialism, in the Soviet model, over the other ideologies of a century ago (a victory that did not last uninterrupted, unfortunately suffering a severe blow from liberalism after 1989). And today, it is a sign of a clear desire: to reunite the peoples of Eurasia in a bloc that will serve as a guide for all peoples who do not want to submit to Western hegemony, under any name or flag.

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“..Orban warned that Ukraine’s EU membership “would bankrupt the Hungarian economy,” describing Kiev’s potential accession as a “collective economic trap.”

No Ukraine in EU Without Budapest’s Approval – Orban (RT)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky have clashed over Kiev’s prospects of joining the EU. Orban reminded the Ukrainian leader that Kiev has no chance of becoming part of the bloc without Budapest’s approval. The war of words started on Friday when Orban warned that Ukraine’s EU membership “would bankrupt the Hungarian economy,” describing Kiev’s potential accession as a “collective economic trap.” The Hungarian leader also criticized the EU’s goal of admitting Ukraine by 2030, a target recently reiterated by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “We know when they want to bring them in. It’s not some vague future; it’s here, knocking at our door,” he said. “Forget the fairy tales about when and how. They want to do it now, as fast as possible.”

Zelensky responded by citing domestic polling in Hungary. “70% support Ukraine joining the EU. That means people in Hungary are with us,” Zelensky claimed. However, the poll conducted by the opposition Tisza Party to which Zelensky referred showed only 58% support. An earlier poll by the Hungarian newspaper Nepszava showed even lower figures, with 47% in favor and 46% against. Orban fired back at Zelensky on X, writing: “What the Hungarian people think is not decided by the president in Kiev or the bureaucrats in Brussels. There is no Ukrainian EU accession without Hungary. Every Hungarian will have their say on this. Whether you like it or not. That’s how we do things here.”

All EU member states must unanimously approve any new country joining the bloc. Hungary has repeatedly cited widespread graft and minority rights issues as reasons to oppose Ukraine’s fast-track membership, with Orban at one point describing the nation as “one of the most corrupt countries in the world.” Ukraine, which has designated EU membership as a national priority, formally applied to join the bloc in February 2022, just days after the escalation of hostilities with Russia. Despite support from several EU members, the timeline for Ukraine’s membership remains uncertain. Brussels has cited the need for Kiev to undertake significant legal, political, and economic reforms.

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“..Fico, however, stated that the threats issued by Kiev would not deter him from participation in the commemoration.“In my opinion, it’s ridiculous. I reject such threats..”

Slovak PM Fico Pledges To Defy ‘Unacceptable’ Zelensky Threats (RT)

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has confirmed he will attend Russia’s Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9, dismissing warnings by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky of potential security risks as “ridiculous.” The May 9 parade in Moscow will mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. The Kremlin has extended invitations to the event to the leaders of Serbia, Slovakia, China, India, and Brazil, among others. In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict to coincide with the Victory Day celebrations. Zelensky rejected the offer, labeling it a “theatrical performance” and advocated for a more substantial, unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Russian officials argue that a new temporary truce would simply allow Kiev to regroup and rearm.

Earlier this week Zelensky urged foreign leaders to avoid visiting Moscow, citing potential security risks. Russian officials accused Zelensky of endangering the safety of civilians attending the May 9 events. Fico, however, stated that the threats issued by Kiev would not deter him from participation in the commemoration.“In my opinion, it’s ridiculous. I reject such threats,” Fico said at a press conference on Sunday. “I will go to the celebrations of the 80th anniversary [of Victory Day in Moscow].” Fico claimed Zelensky was effectively warning invited leaders not to attend, with the veiled threat that Ukraine might retaliate in some way. “Well, celebrate, we might throw you a drone or something like that. These are unacceptable things for me,” he said.

Referring to Zelensky’s claim that Kiev could not guarantee the security of attending leaders, Fico responded: “If Zelensky thinks that his cries will prevent foreign delegations from coming there, it is a huge mistake. Ensuring the security of participants [in the celebrations] is the responsibility of the Russian Federation,” said the Slovak prime minister. The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, warned in April that the bloc does not want any member or candidate states attending. During a meeting last month with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who earlier pledged to attend, EC Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos reportedly cautioned that his attendance would be held against Serbia in its bid to join the EU. Fico recommended “Kallas and others to deal with more serious problems than whether I will go or not to the celebration of the 80th anniversary.”

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“Elon Musk has drawn attention to a viral video showing Ukrainian military recruiters forcibly detaining a deliveryman in Lutsk..”

Musk Reacts To Video of Forced Mobilization In Ukraine (RT)

Elon Musk has drawn attention to a viral video showing Ukrainian military recruiters forcibly detaining a deliveryman in Lutsk, in the western part of the country. Kiev has pursued a violent mobilization campaign for months, often resulting in clashes between reluctant civilians and military personnel. On Saturday, a media user on X shared a video showing three Ukrainian soldiers approaching a man on a bicycle carrying a large yellow bag and wearing a vest, who appears to be a delivery worker. After a brief conversation, the soldiers attempt to drag him into a white van parked nearby, but he resists. Following a struggle, the recruitment officers manage to shove the man into the vehicle, which then drives off. The fate of the detainee is unknown. Reacting to the video, Musk posted “!!” on his social media platform. The X owner and close ally of US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on the Ukrainian leadership to sign a ceasefire with Russia to avoid further casualties.

Last November, he also criticized reported calls by the US government for Ukraine to lower the minimum conscription age to 18, writing: “How many more need to die?” On Friday, another mobilization video from Lutsk surfaced on social media, with recruitment officers – potentially driving the same van as in the first clip – forcibly detaining a man riding a scooter. Ukraine announced a general mobilization following the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, barring most men 18 to 60 years old from leaving the country. In 2024, faced with manpower shortages and mounting losses, Kiev lowered the conscription age from 27 to 25, while introducing stricter penalties for draft evasion and tightening other mobilization rules. As the mobilization drive continues, numerous videos have emerged on social media showing Ukrainian officials trying to forcibly recruit reluctant civilians, often leading to violent clashes.

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How to win? Talk about jobs. Talk about no income taxes.

“If we can lift 800 million Chinese peasants out of poverty, then there’s no excuse for leaving any Americans behind..”

How to Win the PR War on Tariffs (Scott Pinsker)

“In a few moments, I will sign a historic executive order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world, reciprocal. That means they do it to us and we do it to them, very simple, can’t get any simpler than that.” —Donald Trump’s very first mention of tariffs during the May 2 “Liberation Day” event.

That was an honest lead, but it wasn’t optimal PR. There are zillions of truthful, accurate, interesting facts about tariffs. It’s a complex subject that’s intertwined with global trade, international diplomacy, geography, history, and economic policy — textbooks can (and certainly have) been written about it. You could yak about it 24/7 for a decade and still find something new to say. When it comes to tariffs and PR, there’s an embarrassment of riches. I know that sounds like a good thing, but it’s actually a problem.

[..] Experts in highly skilled fields (engineers, medical, tech) are often difficult to train for media appearances… because they know so damn much! For example, if a doctor is representing a hospital during a news segment and is asked about a new procedure they’re offering, he’ll instinctively want to share all the info he’s most excited about: the new research, new clinical studies, new data, new equipment, and new theories! To a doctor, all that stuff is incredibly important — and medically relevant, too. He’s right. But the guy sitting at home just wants to know if it’ll make him feel better. Truth and tactics are different. Let’s get back to tariffs. More often than not, the standard MAGA answer for “why” is twofold: Liberation Day was necessary because other countries were ripping us off, and because what they’ve been doing to us is unfair.

Fairness is almost always accentuated. Even the name reflects it: The “Fair and Reciprocal Plan” on Trade. In fact, that was the very first bullet-point listed under the announcement: The “Fair and Reciprocal Plan” will seek to correct longstanding imbalances in international trade and ensure fairness across the board. Well, fairness is very nice. Most people would support that. But fairness to whom? The guy sitting at home doesn’t associate himself with global trade. He’s indifferent to Walmart’s stock price. For him, tariffs are connected to higher prices.[..] Tariffs are about FAIRNESS, eh?! The way it’s currently being positioned, it sounds a helluva lot “fairer” for those big corporations than for the guy at home, ‘cause he’s the one who’s gonna pay more! Those rich guys don’t seem to be suffering. Asking Joe Sixpack to sacrifice so Walmart, Apple, Google, and Boeing can claim a bigger piece of the pie is a pretty big ask.

Other countries’ tariffs have been grossly unfair and decidedly un-reciprocal; that’s a true statement. And even the media doofuses who’ll call Trump a liar at the drop of a (red) hat are actually taking his word on tariffs: Trump really, truly believes that other countries were unfairly ripping us off; it’s not a put-on. Nobody’s doubting the sincerity of his convictions. But for PR purposes, we need to recalibrate the trajectory of who is being ripped off: We don’t want our audience to think about the Walmarts, Apples, and Boeings of the world. We want them to think about themselves. If the American people personalize this issue — i.e. if they identify with the struggle — then MAGA will win the political war over tariffs. And if they don’t? We won’t. The answer, then, to WHY we have tariffs must always be a four-lettered word: JOBS!

“Fairness” is an abstraction; a job is tangible. I’d be furious with the politician who gave me higher prices, just so Google’s shareholders could make more money — but I’ll gladly sacrifice so my friends, neighbors, and colleagues will have better jobs. Everyone recognizes the value of high-paying jobs. The American economy is unfathomably large. It’s the envy of the world. It’s so big and prosperous, we’ve employed BILLIIONS of foreign nationals over the last 40 years! We’ve made hundreds of millions of Chinese, Indians, Vietnamese, Europeans, and others incredibly wealthy. Since 1978, global trade has lifted 800 million Chinese people out of poverty. Good for them. Maybe the limousine liberals in the Democratic Party haven’t noticed, but our own people are hurting. We need to lift our friends and neighbors out of poverty, too. There aren’t enough good jobs available!

If we can lift 800 million Chinese peasants out of poverty, then there’s no excuse for leaving any Americans behind. So, this isn’t just “Make AMERICA Great Again” — it’s Make AMERICANS Great Again. This is about us! There’s an affordability epidemic in our country: 67% of Americans now believe that homeownership is “unrealistic” for young people. It’s gotten so bad, 73.8% of millennials are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Without your own home, it’s really tough to raise children. And without more children, our entire system collapses. It’s literally an existential threat. Unless we bring high-paying jobs back to our country ASAP, our children and grandchildren won’t have a country left anymore — because greedy, corrupt politicians gave our country away in crooked trade deals. The status quo was destroying the American Dream.

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“The court noted that the district court likely lacked jurisdiction to interfere with the administration’s personnel actions and funding decisions..”

Trump Just Got a Game-Changing Legal Victory (Matt Margolis)

When President Trump returned to the White House, he didn’t just get to work cleaning up Joe Biden’s mess—he set his sights on dismantling decades of entrenched bureaucratic bloat, waste, and corruption. With a relentless series of executive orders and policy directives, Trump reignited his mission to drain the swamp—this time with laser precision and zero patience for the status quo. Predictably, the left went into full-blown panic mode. Liberal legal groups immediately launched a barrage of lawsuits, cherry-picking friendly courts in a shameless attempt to stall Trump’s agenda. They’re terrified of losing control over the bloated regulatory state they’ve used for years to push policies they could never pass through Congress. But that strategy just hit a major roadblock.

In a landmark ruling on Saturday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals handed the Trump administration a decisive legal victory—one that could fundamentally change how activist judges and forum-shopped cases interfere with executive authority. “This is a huge victory for President Trump and his Article II powers granted in the United States Constitution. It’s also a victory for US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and VOA,” Kari Lake told Fox News Digital. Lake now serves as a USAGM senior advisor to the Trump administration. “We are eager to accomplish President Trump’s America First agenda which has always been to modernize and make our government efficient while cutting waste, fraud, and abuse.” The appeals court’s 2-1 ruling Saturday emphasized the judiciary’s deference to executive authority in matters concerning federal employment and contractual decisions.

The court noted that the district court likely lacked jurisdiction to interfere with the administration’s personnel actions and funding decisions, particularly regarding grant agreements with non-federal entities like Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. This ruling Trump’s March 14 executive order (EO), which aimed to dismantle USAGM operations. This ruling effectively reins in district courts that have been sidestepping proper jurisdictional channels in cases challenging Trump administration actions. The decision serves as a clear reminder that courts themselves must operate within their prescribed legal boundaries. According to Margot Cleveland, senior legal correspondent for The Federalist, the D.C. Circuit’s ruling hinges on a critical point: jurisdiction, which has sweeping implications.

As Cleveland explains, many of the legal challenges being hurled at the Trump administration involve employment decisions—precisely the kind of disputes Congress has explicitly said federal district courts have no authority to adjudicate. The court’s decision also strikes at the heart of a broader legal strategy being used by leftist groups to stymie Trump’s reforms—namely, the claim that the administration is engaging in “wholesale dismantling” of agencies. But as the ruling makes clear, the Administrative Procedure Act was never designed to handle such broad-based political grievances, and Congress never waived sovereign immunity to allow them. In another key point, the court found that the lower court also overstepped its bounds by trying to restore federal grants—something Congress assigned to the Court of Federal Claims, not the district courts. All told, the decision is a sharp rebuke to the legal overreach being used to obstruct the Trump administration’s agenda.

The significance of this decision extends far beyond these specific cases—it establishes clear jurisdictional parameters that could affect dozens of pending lawsuits against Trump administration policies. While the administration won’t prevail in every case, this ruling suggests courts may need to more carefully consider their jurisdictional authority before issuing sweeping injunctions against executive actions.

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Strong symbols.

Trump Orders Reopening Of Notorious Alcatraz Prison (NYP)

President Trump called on his administration to reopen and expand Alcatraz so authorities could send the “dregs of society” to the notorious California prison more than six decades after it closed. The commander in chief announced Sunday that he was directing the Bureau of Prisons and other federal agencies to get the massive island facility off the San Francisco bay — which has long been the lore of Hollywood — back up and running again to lock away homegrown, repeat criminals. “For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering,” he wrote on Truth Social. “When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm.

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be. No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets.” Trump, 78, also said the “substantially enlarged and rebuilt” prison would “serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.” But the logistics behind the presidential order are thornier. The island is now a major tourist attraction that is run by the National Parks Service and attracts thousands of visitors each year. It’s also a designated National Landmark. Alcatraz was initially closed because its infrastructure was crumbling and it was too expensive to keep running — given all food, supplies and other necessities had to be delivered by boat. The facility was operated as a major federal detention center between 1934 and 1963 and was nearly inescapable because the island was surrounded by strong currents and ice-cold water. Some of its most famous prisoners included gangsters Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.

The island has become the subject of several Hollywood blockbusters, including “The Rock,” starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage and the 1979 film “Escape from Alcatraz,” starring Clint Eastwood. During Alcatraz’s 29 years as a prison, 36 men made a bid for freedom — with nearly all of them dying or getting captured by guards. To this day, it remains unknown if three inmates – brothers John and Clarence Anglin, and fellow inmate Frank Morris – successfully made it off the island alive during their attempted escape in 1962. Trump, in his social media post, said the country can’t be held hostage by “criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally.” The Republican has railed against federal judges who have slowed his effort to boot alleged gangbangers and ship them off to the infamous El Salvador megaprison.

Just last Thursday, District Judge Fernando Rodriguez – who was appointed by Trump – blocked the US government from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Trump also ordered the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to help get Alcatraz reopened. The president previously reopened a detention center at Guantanamo Bay, where criminal migrants have been sent. When that announcement was made in late January, one of the president’s sons, Donald Trump Jr., floated the idea of dumping prisoners in Alcatraz. “Now this is a great idea,” he said in reference to Guantanamo Bay. “Maybe we should also reopen Alcatraz?!?!”

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“..we have thousands of murderers in this country, we’re getting them out and they say ‘we don’t want them out, we want them to stay in our country until we have a trial..”

Trump Will Start Nominating Federal Judges ‘Rapidly’ (DS)

President Donald Trump will nominate federal judges “rapidly,” he told The Daily Signal on Sunday night. “We’re putting them in rapidly and trying to get very good ones, but we need judges that are not going to be demanding trials for every single illegal immigrant,” Trump said on Air Force One. “We have millions of people that have come here illegally, and we can’t have a trial for every single person, that would be millions of trials.” Trump is off to a slower start in nominating judges than his first term, having only nominated one federal judge, Whitney Hermandorfer, who will serve on the 6th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio. About 100 days into Trump’s first term, the Senate had already confirmed a new Supreme Court justice, Trump had nominated an appeals court judge, and several other prominent judicial nominees were in the queue to be announced within days.

But according to the president, his slow start to judicial nominations is about to morph into a sprint. Trump said America needs federal judges who won’t insist on a trial for the deportation of every illegal immigrant. “The people elected me in a landslide… We won every swing state… by big numbers… not only swing state, but the popular vote by millions of votes… they elected me, this was the number one issue,” Trump said, “and now we have judges that are radicalized, and they’re crazy because … if you believe this, they want us to have a trial for every person that came illegally into our country.” “So they come into our country illegally, and we’re supposed to take weeks, I guess, and months to have a trial, you want every criminal, and we have murderers that are all over the country,” the president continued. “I don’t think the Supreme Court will stand for that, I can’t believe it, because you know what? If they do, we’re not gonna have a country.”

The Daily Signal asked the president how he will ensure his nominations are different than the judges blocking his agenda, and he said all he can do is his best. “All you can do is do the best you can,” he said. “You try to appoint the best people to being judges or anything else that you appoint, but so far you know we’re very disappointed with the decisions that come out, mostly from people appointed by others than me.” “But it’s so hard to believe that you have a murderer, you know we have 11,888 or whatever the number is, we have thousands of murderers in this country, we’re getting them out and they say ‘we don’t want them out, we want them to stay in our country until we have a trial,’” Trump said. Trials take years, and America doesn’t have that much time to curb illegal immigration, according to the 47th president. “They take years,” he said. “It’s so crazy. We won’t have a country left. We can’t have that happen.”

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” If the Supreme Court doesn’t take steps to do that, Congress may remove it from the court’s hands and deal with the problem itself.

Trump’s 100 Days and the Legal War in Washington (Hans von Spakovsky)

During his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump acted with unprecedented speed to make major changes in government policies and root out the pervasive waste, fraud, and diversity, equity, and inclusion poisoning our government and its programs. Still, he was hampered by a handful of biased judges who abused their authority to keep him from implementing the policies the American people voted for. Jurisdiction is limited to the federal districts where the hundreds of district court judges reside. However, some of these judges arrogantly assert that they can override the president in areas of core executive branch competency and issue sweeping injunctions that affect the entire nation. They even claim they can act on behalf of people who aren’t parties in the cases before them.

These judicial tyrants seem to believe that the Constitution gives them more power than the president to make decisions on the size of the federal government, how it spends its money, and whom it can hire and fire. They say they have a right to overrule the president’s national security judgment on issues that affect our relations with foreign governments, our military readiness, and the safety of the public from unchecked illegal immigration. The Constitution does not give that authority to the judiciary. Perhaps these judges would like to rewrite President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to say we must preserve “government of the judges, by the judges, for the judges.” Make no mistake: These judges are acting far outside their authority, and their actions are unprecedented.

Last year, the Harvard Law Review noted that of the 127 nationwide injunctions issued since 1963, 64 were against the first Trump administration. Similarly, Justice Clarence Thomas noted in Trump v. Hawaii (2018) that district courts had issued such injunctions in recent years “without considering their authority to grant such sweeping relief.” Thomas said these injunctions “did not emerge until a century and a half after the founding” and are “inconsistent with long-standing limits on the equitable relief and the power of Article III courts.” In the case in question, district courts had issued nationwide injunctions against Trump’s proclamation restricting entry of aliens from eight nations, many of them terrorist states, because of the security threat they posed. As in many of today’s cases on dangerous criminal gangs and terrorist organizations, those judges thought their national security judgment overrode that of the president.

Trump won that case when the Supreme Court ruled that he was well within his authority to make that judgment and that the admission and exclusion of aliens is a “fundamental sovereign attribute exercised by the government’s political departments largely immune from judicial control.” Over the past 100 days, we have again witnessed numerous injunctions against actions well within Trump’s constitutional authority as the chief executive and commander in chief. Justice Neil Gorsuch warned against this type of judicial activism in 2020 in Department of Homeland Security v. New York, a case involving rulemaking on the definition of “public charge” as used in federal immigration law. In that case, multiple lawsuits had been filed with conflicting rulings by different courts. Gorsuch cynically said these different rulings didn’t matter.

“Despite the fluid state of things—some interim wins for the government over here, some preliminary relief for the plaintiffs over there—we now have an injunction to rule them all: the one before us, in which a single judge in New York enjoined the government from applying the new definition to anyone, without regard to geography or participation in this or any other lawsuit.” The Supreme Court stayed that injunction, but it never ruled on the legitimacy of the rulemaking. As soon as the Biden administration came in, it withdrew the government’s appeal and revoked the rule as part of its open borders policy. Today’s bout of lawfare is still in its preliminary stages, and the substantive merits of the various claims have not yet been decided by federal courts of appeals or the Supreme Court. However, the president has had some significant wins.

Notably, the Supreme Court recently dissolved temporary restraining orders issued by Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in a decision that told Boasberg he lacked jurisdiction over the removal of members of the terrorist group Tren de Aragua. Similarly, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a Biden district judge’s injunction that had told the administration it couldn’t root out DEI poison from the executive branch. The lawfare against the administration is undoubtedly frustrating, but we’ll see what happens when these cases reach the Supreme Court. In Trump v. Hawaii, Thomas said that if the “popularity” of nationwide injunctions continues, “this Court must address their legality.” Let’s hope the justices do that soon. If the Supreme Court doesn’t take steps to do that, Congress may remove it from the court’s hands and deal with the problem itself.

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“How convenient it was for Brussels to cancel an election in a country where corruption is so endemic that the people simply didn’t question how anti-democratic the stunt was in the first place..”

Romania Hits All-Time Low With Fake Elections, Manipulated By The EU (Jay)

The European Union continues to sink deeper and deeper in its own political excrement as it not only believes its own manufactured consent by its Brussels cabal of wasters who call themselves journalists but is also tightening down its grip on its 400 million citizens. The EU never pretended to be a democracy but these days it is surpassing even the Stalinist period of the Soviet Union in its determination to control every thought of its citizens, which, of course means hunting down and persecuting any journalists who even simply question the narrative. The latest example – as there are many – is good ‘ol Chay Bowes, an RT presenter-come-journalist who was sent to Romania to cover the presidential elections – second time around, as the original result in March, which didn’t please the EU, was cancelled.

It’s what the EU does quite frequently. It simply cancels democratic processes which don’t come up with the results it prefers. Ireland and France experienced the same with their own referendums which had to be done a second time to get the right result. These days the EU simply calls any results which it doesn’t like ‘Russian interference’ and everyone just rolls over and accepts it, amazingly. Well, perhaps not amazingly for Romania which entered the EU in 2007 as its sort of Third World member state with corruption so bad that the narrative in Brussels at the time was “we’ll let them it and then reform them”. Not much has changed. The elite in Bucharest quite confidently takes its instructions from Brussels these days which told the Romanians to arrest Bowes when he arrives in Bucharest and get him to sign some bullshit fake police statement admitting all kinds of nonsense before kicking him out of the country.

Only the EU elite would go this far to block any kind of old school reporting on the ground by polemics like Bowes, who is probably considered very odd in his native Ireland, but was really only going to report what he saw and heard. Only the EU would be this obsessed with using the example of his arrest as a warning to any other odd journalists who don’t believe the EU script, that this is what happens to you. Bowes may well be wondering what will happen to him if he ever has to return to Ireland to see loved ones. Will his own police, on the instructions of the fabulously corrupt EU, have him arrested on some fake charge? At the heart of the matter is a man called Georgescu who, in basic terms, stands against everything that the corrupt EU and its boss – Ursula von der Leyen – stand for and so he got branded as being ‘pro-Russian’ and they have the piece of paper to prove it. From their own secret service goons. Oh yes they have.

Although he didn’t stand this second time around, back in March he got very close to winning outright the election before the EU stepped in. How convenient it was for Brussels to cancel an election in a country where corruption is so endemic that the people simply didn’t question how anti-democratic the stunt was in the first place. Romania, it would seem, is an irony-free zone. And I should know. In 2007 I travelled there to interview the PM for Euronews, only to find that once I arrived the interview was cancelled. I protested in a sarcastic email offering a couple thousand euros bribe to the press officer, only to receive a very angry email back. The press honcho had taken my offer seriously. Undeterred, I comforted myself by interviewing Romania’s new, young anti-corruption minister who, somewhat on cue, was forced to resign a few days after the interview. Yes, you’ve guessed it. He was accused of graft on a grand scale himself.

Democratically speaking, Romania is not at all a serious country, which has allowed the EU to meddle in its internal workings quite effortlessly rather like Moscow might have done at one point in its history. The elite in Bucharest and their EU masters have a real problem with Georgescu and is policies which are remarkably similar to those of Victor Orban, the EU’s in-house irritant who holds back the project from thinking big. “His frequent posts channelled widespread frustration over persistent poverty and endemic corruption in the country” Bloomberg wails. “Reprising themes popular with prominent nationalists such as Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, he condemned LGBTQ rights, questioned the use of vaccines, portrayed the coronavirus pandemic as a hoax and espoused the “Great Replacement” theory — the idea that Christian populations are being systematically replaced by non-Christians and immigrants”.

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“Simion hoped to harness the election support Georgescu built last year by saying he’ll have a job for him, even possibly as prime minister.”

Right Wing George Simion Wins First Round of Voting in Romania (CTH)

The original winner of the previous Romanian election in 2024, Calin Georgescu, was removed as the election winner and barred from ever running again because Georgescu did not support the EU security state and did not want war with Russia. The election was thrown out because the wrong person won the vote of the Romanian people. A second election was organized, and the man who represents the voice of Georgescu, George Simion, has won the first round. However, do not get too excited; remember, NATO is building their biggest military base in Romania, and they will not accept any impediments. Like Moldova, the second round will likely see massive numbers of “Romanians voting from abroad” to help shape the final result. The people living in Romania will not technically be the ones deciding the Romanian election. In the new era of intelligence systems controlling “democracy,” all votes from people with an interest in the matter will be counted in favor of the candidate chosen by the EU national security apparatus.

Politico: “BUCHAREST — George Simion, the hard-right leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, is projected to win the first round of Romania’s presidential election with around 40 percent of the vote, according to partial results from the country’s election authority. Simion badges himself as a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement, wants to stop military aid to Ukraine and will leave the EU quaking as another key country threatens to turn its back on mainstream European policies. “I promise I will always heed the will of the people. I am here to serve Romanians, not the other way around,” Simion said in a statement early Monday. He will face centrist Bucharest Mayor Nicosur Dan, who edged out establishment figurehead Crin Antonescu to make it into a runoff on May 18.

Dan won 20.7 percent of the ballots of Romanians voting at home, barely ahead of Antonescu, who received 20.5 percent. But Dan won 26 percent of the votes of Romanians voting abroad, with nearly 80 percent of the polling stations counted. Antonescu only received 7.3 percent of the votes abroad. […] The election results are being closely watched in Brussels and Washington, as Romania has become the latest battleground between the far right and the political establishment. […] Sunday’s vote was part of the election do-over that Romania’s top court ordered in December, after canceling the November ballot over allegations of illegal campaigning and potential Russian interference in favor of Calin Georgescu, an ultranationalist firebrand who came out of nowhere to win the first round.

That was the first time a candidate backed by a mainstream political party did not make it into the second round. Georgescu was set to face reformist Elena Lasconi in the second round. Lasconi, whose center-right Union Save Romania party leadership abandoned her to support Dan, only received some 2.8 percent of the votes of Romanians voting at home, according to the partial results. Simion hoped to harness the election support Georgescu built last year by saying he’ll have a job for him, even possibly as prime minister. “We are approaching an exceptional result, far beyond what the system’s TV channels present, which stirred up division, sprayed venom and distorted everything I said,” Simion said in a message projected at his party’s headquarters after the exit polls were released.

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“President Trump’s effort to restore power to ethnic Americans is being blocked by an anti-American judicial system that represents immigrant-invaders, not American citizens.”

The Bell Tolls for All White Gentile Ethnicities (Paul Craig Roberts)

The Vice President and Secretary of State of the United States have called attention to the tyrannical behavior of the current German government, a corrupt anti-democratic government, controlled by Israel, that is holding on to power by designating its rival, AfD, the rapidly growing second largest party as “extremist.” Recent polls indicate that the AfD has pulled even and perhaps a bit ahead of the government that is trying to suppress it. By applying the “extremist” label to its rival, the government gives itself the power to use its spy agencies to keep the AfD under surveillance. This permits the current corrupt government to know in advance the AfD’s electoral plans while demonizing the AfD as so extreme that it must remain under surveillance.

On what grounds is the AfD designated extremist? The German Domestic Security Service BfV explains: The AfD represents ethnic Germans. Representing “people based on ethnicity and descent” disregards the human dignity of immigrant-invaders and is “incompatible with the democratic basic order.” Here we have it stated clearly just as Jean Raspail put it in The Camp of the Saints. It is anti-democratic for a government to represent the citizens from whose ethnicity the name of the country is derived. Democracy requires representation of those who entered the country illegally or under false pretenses. All government enforcement measures are then directed against the ethnic citizens who are coerced to accept the invasion. As Jean Raspail showed, this is a formula for the extinction of white ethnicities. President Trump’s effort to restore power to ethnic Americans is being blocked by an anti-American judicial system that represents immigrant-invaders, not American citizens.

Hanne Herland of the Herland Report tells us accurately that this is the situation all over Western Europe, the UK and Ireland: “In Europe, non-Western immigrants were given the victim card, and the current discrimination against the indigenous native Europeans by their own leaders began. Instead of listening to their needs, they demonized their views and attacked their own populations. “Europeans were told to step aside and allow immigrants to behave however rudely they wanted, since they came from poor countries and ‘didn’t know any better.’ They were to be excused from law-breaking behavior such as violent rapes, murders or entering the country illegally.” In other words, the immigrant-invaders weren’t civilized sufficiently to know any better, and it is all the fault of racist white ethnicities. What representing immigrant-invaders means in the EU is the loose enforcement, if any enforcement at all, of criminal and rape laws against immigrant-invaders.

Holding immigrant-invaders accountable would be racism, like what the Germans did to Jews. In effect, what is happening all over Europe and in Britain is that immigrant-invaders are becoming overlords over the ethnicities that comprise the former nations, now towers of babel. So, on top of their Israeli overlord, Europeans have immigrant-invaders as another overload. What a joke that Europeans and British and Irish are “free people.” They are the most enslaved in history. Even their tongues have been cut out. They cannot speak. The entire Western World is a dead man walking. Every person who rises to the defense of Western civilization is demonized, arrested, fired, dismissed from his university, framed in a false prosecution and imprisoned. The Insouciant West was insouciant for too long, It has lost its life.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Genes

Birth rate

Giga

Trump 1980

BR

Mess

Ali Baba

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Apr 262025
 


Odilon Redon Street in Samois 1888

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

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

Gingrich

 

 

Oz

Satan

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

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

BS

USAID and the CIA helped orchestrate Trump’s impeachment

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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Realism helps.

Crimea Will Stay With Russia – Trump (RT)

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

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

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

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

Zelensky Contradicts Trump On Deal With Russia (RT)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Shapiro knows better.

How Not to Fight a Trade War (Ben Shapiro)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Wonder where they would send them.

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

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

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

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

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“Golden Dome.”

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

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

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


Reagan White House Photographs, 1/20/1981

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Some people…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where Things Stand (James Howard Kunstler)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cancelation of Romania’s Presidential Election Overturned (RT)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read more …

 

 

 

 

2032

 

 

Sun

 

 

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

 

 

Laundry

 

 

Willy

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

 

 

Rowe

 

 

Machine

 

 

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

 

 

Puffer

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Apr 122025
 


Pablo Picasso Guernica 1937 (I turned it 90°, so you can see)

 

Kremlin Reveals Content Of Putin’s Talks With Trump Envoy Witkoff (RT)
Trump’s Kiev Envoy Clarifies Proposal To ‘Divide Ukraine Like Postwar Berlin’ (RT)
Kellogg Blasts Times for Misrepresenting His Words on Ukraine (Sp.)
Zelensky Mustn’t Govern Russians He Despises – Lavrov (RT)
UK Has Deep Involvement In Ukraine Conflict – The Times (RT)
NATO Needs Romania To Launch WWIII – Georgescu to Tucker Carlson (RT)
The Tariff Issue Again (Paul Craig Roberts)
China Dismisses US Tariff ‘Numbers Game’ (RT)
10 Tariff Questions Never Asked (Victor Davis Hanson)
Trump’s Tariffs Only the Start. Congress Must Now Cut Taxes, Regulations (DS)
Dem-Appointed Federal Judges Are the Big Losers at Supreme Court This Week (DC)
The Wicked Flee (James Howard Kunstler)
Court Issues Curious Order in the Garcia Case (Turley)
Trump Plans Charm Offensive To Win Over Greenland – NYT (RT)
Zelensky Offered US Rare-Earths Deal Under Biden – Blinken (RT)
The End of La Grande Illusion Democratique (Karganovic)
Tulsi Gabbard Drops TWO Huge Bombshells (MN)
Trump Admin Reaches Agreements With 5 Law Firms (ET)

 

 

 

 

SAVE

Chamath

O’Leary

RFK

 

 

 

 

Trump has two envoys in/for Ukraine right now. One is General Keith Kellogg, whose task is to talk to Zelensky and Kiev. The other is Steve Witkoff, who has a much broader portfolio. One moment he’s discussing the Middle East with various parties, the next he holds a four hour meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg. Witkoff told Trump this week, before his meeting with Putin, that “recognizing Russian ownership of Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson was the swiftest path to halting the war”. To which Kellogg responded that Zelensky would never accept that.

Kellogg ponders a plan that involves peacekeeping forces and -zones with UK, France and Ukraine troops. Which Russia will not accept. It’s very easy this way for Zelensky to halt any peace proposals. It leaves two questions: 1/ who’s winning? and 2/ how much patience does Trump have? NATO will never concede that Russia won and now gets to call the shots. But Russia did win. UK, France and Ukraine cling on to hopes that Trump will support their side and start a world war. Trump wants peace.

Kremlin Reveals Content Of Putin’s Talks With Trump Envoy Witkoff (RT)

The discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday involved “aspects of the settlement of the Ukraine conflict,” the Kremlin has announced, declining to provide further details. Witkoff visited Russia on Friday and met with Putin in St. Petersburg. The meeting lasted over four hours and the content of the talks has been largely kept under wraps by Moscow and Washington. However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the issue during a press briefing earlier in the day when asked by a reporter about the purpose of Witkoff’s visit to Russia. According to Leavitt, the visit was aimed at facilitating direct US communications with the Kremlin as part of a broader effort to negotiate a ceasefire and eventual peace agreement in the Ukraine conflict.

The Trump administration faced growing internal divisions this week after Witkoff allegedly proposed a ceasefire plan that would recognize Russian control over four eastern regions claimed by both Moscow and Kiev, Reuters reported on Friday citing anonymous sources. During a White House meeting with President Donald Trump last week, Witkoff argued that recognizing Russian ownership of Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson was the swiftest path to halting the war, the outlet’s sources said. General Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, reportedly pushed back, stressing Ukraine would not accept full territorial concessions. The meeting reportedly concluded without a decision from Trump, who has repeatedly said he wants to broker a ceasefire by May. Witkoff subsequently traveled to Russia on Friday for talks with Putin.

The episode has deepened rifts within the Trump administration, as officials debate how to resolve the Ukraine conflict, Reuters wrote. Witkoff’s approach, previously outlined in a March interview with Tucker Carlson, has reportedly alarmed both Republican lawmakers and US allies. “They’re Russian-speaking,” Witkoff told Carlson of the eastern territories. “There have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule.” Several Republicans reportedly contacted National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to raise concerns about Witkoff’s stance, criticizing him for echoing Russian rhetoric.

A recent dinner with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who until recently was under US sanctions, further stirred controversy. Originally planned at Witkoff’s home, it was moved to the White House after security concerns were raised. Despite criticism, Witkoff retains strong backing from Trump and some administration officials. Waltz praised his efforts, citing his business background and recent diplomatic activity, including securing the release of US citizen Marc Fogel from Russia.

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“Medvedev, said that the potential emergence of any NATO “peacekeepers” in Ukraine would mean a war between the bloc and Russia.”

Trump’s Kiev Envoy Clarifies Proposal To ‘Divide Ukraine Like Postwar Berlin’ (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, has rejected the notion that he proposed partitioning Ukraine like post-WWII Germany, accusing The Times of misrepresenting his remarks about a Cold War-style post-ceasefire security arrangement. Kellogg told The Times in an interview published on Friday that British and French – but not American – troops could lead a Western military force positioned west of the Dnepr River, while Ukrainian forces would hold territory further east. He also suggested establishing a demilitarized zone (DMZ) roughly 18 miles (30 kilometers) wide along the current lines of control to prevent direct clashes with Russian forces.

“You could almost make it look like what happened with Berlin after World War Two, when you had a Russian zone, a French zone, and a British zone, a US zone,” said Kellogg, a retired US Army lieutenant general, appointed by Trump to deal directly with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky. Kellogg acknowledged that Moscow “might not accept” the proposed zones of control, and claimed that a DMZ would create conditions for a “sustainable” ceasefire and would “not be provocative at all” to Moscow. The British newspaper ran its story with the headline “Trump envoy: We can divide Ukraine like postwar Berlin,” prompting Kellogg to accuse the publication of taking his words out of context.

“The Times article misrepresents what I said,” Kellogg wrote on X on Friday evening. “I was speaking of a post-ceasefire resiliency force in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty. In discussions of partitioning, I was referencing areas or zones of responsibility for an allied force (without US troops). I was NOT referring to a partitioning of Ukraine.” The Times report, however, noted that Kellogg’s idea implies that any final settlement would involve Kiev relinquishing claims to territories already controlled by Russia – a point that echoes proposals recently floated by Trump’s Russia envoy, Steve Witkoff.

Witkoff, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Friday, had previously argued that recognizing Russian ownership of Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson was the swiftest path to halting the conflict. The suggestion, reportedly voiced during a White House meeting last week, has triggered internal debate within the Trump administration, with Kellogg allegedly pushing back against full territorial concessions. Kiev’s backers remain split on a proposed “reassurance force” that could potentially be deployed to Ukraine after hostilities between Kiev and Moscow end. Following the latest meeting of the “coalition of the willing” – composed of some 30 predominantly EU and NATO member states – in Brussels on Thursday, only six Western nations expressed readiness to send troops, according to AFP.

Moscow has repeatedly warned the West against deploying troops to Ukraine under any pretext, specifically objecting to forces from any NATO countries ending up in the country. Last month, former Russian president and deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said that the potential emergence of any NATO “peacekeepers” in Ukraine would mean a war between the bloc and Russia.

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“The Russian Foreign Ministry previously said the plans of some EU countries to send “peacekeepers” to Ukraine are a provocative step aimed at maintaining unhealthy illusions in Kiev..”

Kellogg Blasts Times for Misrepresenting His Words on Ukraine (Sp.)

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg accused the Times newspaper of misrepresenting his words about control zones in Ukraine, clarifying that he did not mean “partitioning” the country itself.
The Times wrote in an article that Kellogg suggested partitioning Ukraine into control zones after the end of the conflict like Berlin after World War II, but without US ground forces. Kellogg, the report said, proposed dividing Ukraine into several control zones, where the military of several countries would be located: British and French troops could be deployed to western Ukraine as a “reassurance force.” Between them and the Russian forces there could be “Ukrainian forces and a demilitarized zone.”

“The Times article misrepresents what I said. I was speaking of a post-cease fire resiliency force in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty. In discussions of partitioning, I was referencing areas or zones of responsibility for an allied force (without US troops). I was NOT referring to a partitioning of Ukraine,” Kellogg wrote on X, attaching a link to the article. Earlier in April, Alexey Polishchuk, Director of the Second CIS Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Sputnik that London and Paris’ discussions on sending deterrent forces to Ukraine were preparations for foreign intervention. According to Polishchuk, Kiev is known to be rejecting the peace process and is even sabotaging the moratorium on strikes against energy facilities. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in turn, previously stated that any foreign military presence in Ukraine would be viewed as a threat to Russia and carries the risk of a direct military clash.

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) previously reported that the West would deploy a so-called “peacekeeping contingent” of about 100,000 people in Ukraine to restore its combat capability. The SVR said this would be a de facto occupation of Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the deployment of peacekeepers is only possible with the consent of the parties to a particular conflict. According to him, it is premature to talk about peacekeepers in Ukraine. Earlier, he also left without comment statements that Russia would allegedly not be against the deployment of peacekeepers in Ukraine.

On March 6, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russia does not see any possibility for a compromise on the issue of deploying foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine. As the Russian minister specified at the time, if a foreign contingent is deployed in Ukraine, Western countries will not want to discuss the terms of peaceful settlement. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously said the plans of some EU countries to send “peacekeepers” to Ukraine are a provocative step aimed at maintaining unhealthy illusions in Kiev.

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“..Moscow has firmly rejected the idea of NATO troops being stationed in Ukraine.”

Zelensky Mustn’t Govern Russians He Despises – Lavrov (RT)

Vladimir Zelensky’s openly declared hatred for Russians means he must not and will not govern people living in former parts of Ukraine that Kiev seeks to retake, Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated. In a late March interview with the French daily Le Figaro, Zelensky expressed his disdain for “Russians who killed so many Ukrainian citizens,” asserting that this “hatred” fuels his leadership. Lavrov referenced the comments during a press conference at the Foreign Ministry on Friday, underscoring why Moscow has deemed Kiev’s territorial claims unacceptable. “Who would even hypothetically consider handing over those people to such an individual? Nobody. No way,” he emphasized. Since the Western-backed coup in Kiev in 2014, five Ukrainian regions plus the city of Sevastopol have voted to break away and join Russia. The Ukrainian government has dismissed these referendums as a “sham.”

Lavrov also reminded journalists of Zelensky’s previous derogatory remarks, including statements made prior to the conflict’s escalation in 2022. In 2021, Zelensky urged Donbass residents who identified as Russian to relocate to Russia. That same year, he referred to politicians targeted by his government with personal sanctions as another “species.” The minister accused the Ukrainian government of “legislatively eradicating everything related to Russia and the Russian world: the Russian language, Russian-speaking media, the Orthodox Christianity represented by the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and much more.”

Such discriminatory policies, he argued, justify labeling the Zelensky administration “neo-Nazi” and contribute to ongoing hostilities. Lavrov asserted that US President Donald Trump recognizes Russia’s red lines and considers “the return to the 1991 borders, as Zelensky keeps demanding” impossible. The Trump administration seeks to mediate a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev, while the UK and France are leading discussions on a proposed “reassurance force” to be deployed in Ukraine if a truce is achieved. Moscow has firmly rejected the idea of NATO troops being stationed in Ukraine.

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“Sometimes their visits were so sensitive they went in civilian clothing.”

UK Has Deep Involvement In Ukraine Conflict – The Times (RT)

Britain’s military leadership played a far more extensive and covert role in the Ukraine conflict than previously known, not only designing battle plans and supplying intelligence, but also authorizing secret troop deployments inside Ukraine to deliver weapons training and technical support, according to a report by The Times. While London’s political and military backing for Kiev has been public since the 2014 Western-backed coup, the extent of its involvement after the escalation in February 2022 “remained largely hidden… until now,” the British newspaper wrote on Friday. The Times claimed that British troops were sent into Ukraine in small numbers on several occasions throughout 2022 and 2023, operating discreetly to avoid provoking Russia. In particular, UK forces were deployed to fit Ukrainian aircraft with Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles and train pilots and ground crews in their use.

“UK troops were secretly sent to fit Ukraine’s aircraft with the missiles and teach troops how to use them,” the publication wrote, noting that it “would not be the first time British troops had been deployed on the ground.” The UK had been delivering thousands of NLAW anti-tank missiles to Kiev and sending instructors to train Ukrainian soldiers in their use since 2015. While British troops were pulled back from Ukraine shortly before the escalation in February 2022, the deteriorating battlefield situation and the urgent need for technical expertise saw small teams of UK personnel redeployed quietly alongside fresh supplies of missiles, the newspaper reported.

London also reportedly played a key role in helping Ukraine prepare its much-touted 2023 “counteroffensive” against Russia – and in mediating between Kiev and Washington when the operation failed to meet US expectations. The newspaper claimed that “behind the scenes” the Ukrainians referred to Britain’s military chiefs as the “brains” of what they called an “anti-Putin” coalition. Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was even ereportedly nicknamed “the man who saved Kiev” by Ukrainian military officials. “The Americans went to Ukraine only on rare occasions because of concerns that they would be seen to be too involved in the war, unlike Britain’s military chiefs who were given the freedom to go whenever necessary,” The Times wrote. “Sometimes their visits were so sensitive they went in civilian clothing.”

Moscow perceives the Ukraine conflict as a Western-led proxy war against Russia, in which Ukrainians serve as “cannon fodder.” It considers foreigners fighting for Kiev as “mercenaries” acting on behalf of Western governments. Senior Russian officials have suggested that more complex weapon systems provided to Kiev are highly likely operated by NATO staff. The presence of current and former NATO troops has also been tacitly admitted, but never openly confirmed, by Western officials. For example, last year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz revealed the involvement of British and French forces in preparing Ukrainian missile launches, as he explained why Berlin would not supply similar weapons to Kiev. Earlier this month, a New York Times investigation found that the administration of former US President Joe Biden provided Ukraine with support that went far beyond arms shipments – extending to daily battlefield coordination, intelligence sharing, and joint strategy planning, which were described as indispensable to Kiev’s fight against Russia.

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“..the “largest military base of NATO is in Romania,” coupled with the 380-mile (612 km) long border that his country shares with Ukraine..”

NATO Needs Romania To Launch WWIII – Georgescu to Tucker Carlson (RT)

Calin Georgescu, a former Romanian presidential candidate whose bid was controversially invalidated earlier this year, has claimed that NATO wants to “launch World War III from Romania.” In an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, he said his staunch pro-peace stance was among the main reasons why he was barred from running for president. The right-wing politician, known as an outspoken critic of NATO, the EU, and Western support for Ukraine, scored a surprise win in the first round of November’s presidential election, receiving 23% of the vote. However, the country’s Constitutional Court swiftly moved in to annul the result over alleged “irregularities” in his campaign. Later, Georgescu was stripped of his right to run for office.

Appearing on Carlson’s podcast on Thursday, the former Romanian presidential candidate alleged that NATO wants to “launch… World War III from Romania.” The politician cited the fact that the “largest military base of NATO is in Romania,” coupled with the 380-mile (612 km) long border that his country shares with Ukraine. “In this situation of course Romania is the asset for [the] European Union, for [French President Emmanuel] Macron in order to launch the war,” Georgescu insisted. “They want to turn NATO [into] an offensive force” and are “pushing for war,” he alleged, adding that “my position was exactly against them.”According to Georgescu, “all my campaign was just concentrate[d] on peace[.] When I said… the word ‘peace’, they immediately alerted… because they need war.” The right-wing politician went on to say that the “majority of Romanian people… have this position against any intervention and any participation [in] war.”

“I was denied [the right to run for president] by the globalist mafia,” the former candidate alleged, further claiming that the people behind the invalidation of his candidacy were the same people who attempted to derail Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in the US, using similar smear tactics. Appearing on ‘The Shawn Ryan Show’ in January, Georgescu similarly suggested that NATO military infrastructure in Romania could be used to launch a major offensive against Russia. Bucharest, a NATO member since 2004, has been expanding the MK Air Base to make it the largest NATO installation in Europe. Moscow has described the base as “anti-Russian” and warned that it would be among the first targets for retaliatory strikes in a military conflict.

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“Trump paused the tariffs, because the tool worked. Seventy-five countries have agreed to negotiate a solution to Trump’s concerns.”

The Tariff Issue Again (Paul Craig Roberts)

The whore media is doing its best to misrepresent the tariff issue and to cause hysteria that causes stock market volatility and fears of world recession. One of the anti-Trump propaganda ministries that poses as financial media went so far as to claim that Trump has caused a “regime shift whereby US Treasuries are no longer the global fixed-income safe haven.” Once upon a time the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Economist, the BBC, the US TV networks were semi-reliable. Today they are nothing but propaganda ministries. Trump has “paused” the threatened tariffs. Why? Because as I have reported in columns and interviews they are a negotiating tool with which to reach agreements. Trump paused the tariffs, because the tool worked. Seventy-five countries have agreed to negotiate a solution to Trump’s concerns.

How did the excrement that pretends to be a media report Trump’s success? “The most significant retreat by Trump in his term so far.” “Faced with a world recession, sharp selloff of equities and bonds and plunge in oil prices, Trump abandoned his crackpot tariffs.” The Western media, especially the one in the US, has never served the West well. The US media covered up the assassinations of President John Kennedy and his brother Robert Kennedy. The media first encouraged, then misrepresented, the Vietnam War. The media used the CIA-orchestrated “Watergate” to hound President Nixon out of office. The media tried, but failed, to destroy President Reagan as a somnolent Grade-B movie actor who slept through cabinet meetings.

The media covered up 9/11. The media supported obvious lies, such as “Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction,” “Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people,” accused Gaddafi of ” being an authoritarian administration that systematically violated human rights and financed global terrorism in the region and abroad” (Wikipedia, the worst liar on earth). The media makes excuses, or does not cover, Israel’s extermination of Palestine and the Palestinian people. The media lies through their teeth about “the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” about alleged evils of Iran and China. When people in the Western world are confronted by nothing but lies and propaganda serving as news, what understanding can they have?

Consider the Iranian issue. Iran has not threatened the US in any way, yet labors under Washington’s sanctions and war plans to attack Iran. For many years the Israel Lobby has been trying to get Americans to attack Iran for Israel. Trump, who appears to be an Israeli puppet instead of a strong American president, is threatening Iran with devastating attack. But does he mean it, or is it, like the tariff threat, just another negotiating instrument? If I were Trump, I would not want any wars, because wars are all-consuming, and the domestic agenda would be put on the back burner. I think that Trump wants to avoid all wars so that he can deal with America’s real enemy: the American Establishment. It will be interesting to see who is strongest, Trump or the war establishment.

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We won’t go back to what was before. Something new must be found.

China Dismisses US Tariff ‘Numbers Game’ (RT)

China likened the United States’ tariff policy to a ‘numbers game’ with no practical meaning after the administration of US President Donald Trump imposed multiple rounds of duties on Chinese imports over the past few weeks. In a statement on Friday, the Chinese government accused Washington of using tariffs as a weapon for bullying and coercion, while hitting back with its own reciprocal trade duties. ”Even if the US continues to impose even higher tariffs, it would no longer have any economic significance and would go down as a joke in the history of world economics,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said, as cited by Reuters. The US has imposed four major tariff hikes on China in just over two months, with the latest escalation on Wednesday bringing the duties from an initial average of 20% to a cumulative rate of 145%.

China has retaliated, announcing its latest reciprocal hike to 125% on all American imports on Friday. The Ministry of Commerce said Beijing would not retaliate any further, indicating that it may turn to other ways of responding and vowing to “fight to the end.” Trump argues that the increased duties are needed to address trade imbalances and stop China from “ripping off the USA.” Earlier this week, he opined that the “proud” Chinese would have to “make a deal at some point.” China has also filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization challenging the latest US tariff hike, asserting that Washington’s actions have significantly disrupted the global economy. The trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies has caused extreme volatility in global stock markets, sent oil prices to four-year lows, and caused concerns regarding global supply chains.

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Who gets the long end of the stick?

10 Tariff Questions Never Asked (Victor Davis Hanson)

1. President Donald Trump’s so-called trade war. Many call the American effort to obtain either tariff parity or a reduction in the roughly $1 trillion trade deficit and 50 years of consecutive trade deficits a “trade war.” But then what do they call the policies of the past half-century by Europe, Asia, China, and others to ensure asymmetrical tariffs, pseudo-health and security trade restrictions, and large surpluses? A trade peace? Trade fairness?

2. Do nations prefer surpluses or deficits? Why do most nations prefer trade surpluses and protective tariffs? Are Europe, Asia, China, and others stupid? Are they suicidal in continuing their trade surpluses and protective or asymmetrical tariffs. Is the United States uniquely brilliant in maintaining a half-century of cumulative trade deficits? Do Americans alone discover the advantages of a $1 trillion annual trade deficit and small or nonexistent tariffs? Why don’t America’s trading partners prefer deficits like ours—given we supposedly believe they are either advantageous or perhaps irrelevant?

3. Would our trade partners prefer to trade places with us? Would our trade partners prefer to have America’s supposed benefits of a $1 trillion trade deficit? Would the United States then “suffer” like they do by running up $200 billion annual surpluses?

4. What if wages went up at the rate of the stock market? What would now be the reaction of the stock market if over the last decade wages had increased at the rate of stocks—and the stocks at the rate of wages?

5. Is Wall Street’s panic based on what might happen—or what is happening? Is Wall Street’s meltdown a fear of what might happen in the future? Or is it reacting to March’s latest jobs report that there were 93,000 more jobs created than predicted? Was the Wall Street panic predicated on reports of much lower oil prices? Did the furor arise over the March inflation report that the annualized inflation rate dipped to 2.6% per year?

6. Is the frenzy caused by the Trump economic agenda? Is Wall Street’s worry that Trump’s impending tax cuts, more deregulation, greater budget cuts, and continued efforts to eliminate budget deficits and reduce national debt will stall economic growth?

7. What about North American neighbors? If the U.S. was running a $63 billion-plus trade surplus with Canada, refusing to meet its NATO requirements to spend 2% of gross domestic product on defense, and instead spent only 1.37%, would Canada become concerned? If Mexico were running a $171 billion trade deficit with the U.S., if Americans in Mexico were sending over $60 billion per year out of Mexico to the U.S., and if American drug dealers were making $20 billion by selling fentanyl and opioids to Mexico, would Mexico be angry?

8. Is the Trump agenda bad economic news? Is the current panic over tariffs amplified by Trump’s other policies? Is the sudden end of 10,000 illegal entries a day bothering Wall Street? Are the media furious that the Red Sea is suddenly navigable again, the Houthis in Yemen curtailing their attacks? Is the outrage due to the targeting of approximately $200 billion in budget cuts or plans to shave off $500 billion from the annual budget? Does the conundrum arise because Trump is sanctioning Iran, unapologetically supporting Israel, and seeking an end to the Ukraine War?

9. Was the Biden record preferable? Should Trump try to match former President Joe Biden’s $7 trillion addition to the national debt? Should he return to allowing 12 million illegal aliens into the country? Was the 2021 Afghanistan pullout a good model? Is Wall Street worried that Trump may copy the Biden New Green Deal, his electric vehicle mandates, and more green regulations?

10. Why the negotiations and why now? Why are 70 countries now wishing to negotiate tariffs with America either down to zero or reciprocally to the same rate as ours? Is that a good thing? If so, why did our trade partners not wish to lower their trade barriers far earlier? Did they suddenly and spontaneously decide they were acting unfairly and, on their own prompt, now want to make amends? What’s next? If there soon is a rush of nations to cut a deal with the U.S. and not to be left out of the American market, will there follow another hysterical Wall Street spasm—but not to sell, but instead to buy stocks at bargain prices?

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“Now is not the time to settle for the lowest common denominator, which is always a temptation in politics..”

Trump’s Tariffs Only the Start. Congress Must Now Cut Taxes, Regulations (DS)

President Donald Trump announced historic tariffs on April 2—“Liberation Day”—to ensure that America is no longer “looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered” by other nations. On Wednesday, the president announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs and lowered the tariff rate on most nations to 10%. He also raised tariffs on China to 125%. His bold leadership, which quickly brought 75 countries to the negotiating table, he said, should be applauded. Clearly, his strategy is working: America is gaining leverage, and China is becoming more and more isolated. While conservatives have been divided and disorganized about how to respond to the president’s policy, with almost all Republicans in Washington still watching from the sidelines, we’re calling on Americans to unify around a “yes, and” agenda.

That means saying yes to strategic, reciprocal tariffs that target China and other trade abusers—based on their barriers, not simply the balance of trade—as we work toward true free and fair trade. And it means insisting that tariffs are most effective when paired with a broad array of conservative policies that alleviate economic pain on the American people. While Trump works to liberate us from foreign abuses, congressional Republicans must fight to liberate Americans from the burdens of federal regulations, mandates, and taxes. First, we must not settle for extending the status quo on tax relief. Thanks to the majorities Trump delivered in November, Republicans must pursue deeper tax reform through reconciliation. Every penny raised from tariffs should be offset with pro-growth tax cuts.

Making the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent is a good start, but we also must remove every remaining tax penalty on expanding hiring and business operations in America by adopting full and immediate expensing for all investments. Pairing this with a simplified flat tax for all is even better. Congress should collapse the personal income and corporate tax rates to 15%. Second, Congress should work alongside the Trump administration, using the reconciliation process, to transform the current 10% universal tariff into a true border-adjusted tariff. That means applying a universal 10% tariff on all imports, while granting a matching 10% credit to all American exports. That isn’t just smart policy—it’s a long-overdue correction to a global tax system that has punished American industry for decades. We’ve let foreign goods pour into our markets tax-free, while our manufacturers are taxed at home and slapped again abroad. That’s not free trade—it’s economic surrender.

And no country has abused this broken system more brazenly than China, which has cheated on trade, exploited our openness, and gutted the U.S. industry while Washington looked the other way. If we want to rebuild our economy, secure our supply chains, and end our dependence on adversarial regimes, then a border adjustment tariff must be part of the conservative economic playbook. As a bonus, these revenues can be used to offset lost revenue from the lower tax rates we are calling for. Third, Republicans must finally get serious about cutting spending—not with half measures or messaging bills, but with real, structural reform. Through reconciliation, Congress should significantly cut mandatory spending riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse.

Now is not the time to settle for the lowest common denominator, which is always a temptation in politics. If we are to undo the fiscal and inflationary damage done by the previous administration and decades of fiscal irresponsibility, we must go big and take advantage of this historic electoral mandate. Then, through the appropriations process, we must slash the bloated discretionary budget that fuels the unchecked growth of the federal bureaucracy. In the meantime, the Department of Government Efficiency must be fully unleashed to do its job—scrutinizing every dollar, rooting out inefficiency, and holding agencies accountable. This is how we restore fiscal integrity and prove to the American people that their government works for them, not the other way around.

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“..the high court has for procedural reasons issued back-to-back rulings undoing restrictions district judges imposed on the Trump administration..”

Dem-Appointed Federal Judges Are the Big Losers at Supreme Court This Week (DC)

The Supreme Court has struck down orders issued by Democrat-appointed district court judges five times in the past week. Without addressing the merits of the issues—which include consequential questions about immigration, funding, and the president’s authority to remove agency officials—the high court has for procedural reasons issued back-to-back rulings undoing restrictions district judges imposed on the Trump administration. “I think that the recent spate of Supreme Court decisions blocking lower court rulings against the Trump administration indicates that a majority of the justices are growing tired of district court judges issuing broad rulings, often in the form of nationwide injunctions, when they lack jurisdiction and are equally concerned about these judges ordering agencies to disburse millions, if not billions, of taxpayer dollars that will be impossible to recoup if the government ultimately prevails,” John Malcolm, director of the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Chief Justice John Roberts put a temporary hold Wednesday on orders forcing the reinstatement of two fired agency leaders, clearing the way for President Donald Trump to remove Cathy Harris from the Merit Systems Protection Board and Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board. While asking the Supreme Court to quickly block the lower court orders, the administration also asked the Supreme Court to grant certiorari to consider the matter on its merits. Roberts ordered fired officials to offer a response to the administration by April 15. Another Supreme Court ruling from Tuesday reversed a lower court decision requiring the administration to reinstate over 16,000 fired federal employees, finding some of the organizations that sued did not have standing.

The Supreme Court blocked two lower court orders dealing with immigration issues on Monday. Roberts temporarily halted an order that would have required the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 member living in Maryland with his American wife, to the United States after he was deported in error. In a 5-4 decision, the majority also permitted the administration to enforce the Alien Enemies Act of 1789, a wartime authority that allows the president to remove citizens of a hostile nation, to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador. The majority blocked the order issued by D.C. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg because the case was brought in the wrong venue, but stressed that detainees are still entitled to judicial review.

The three liberal justices, along with Justice Amy Coney Barrett, dissented from the ruling, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor calling the majority’s decision an “extraordinary threat to the rule of law” and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson saying it should raise concern for “lovers of liberty.” Following the ruling, a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked the administration on Wednesday from removing individuals held in the El Valle Detention Center under the Alien Enemies Act. A Clinton-appointed judge in the Southern District of New York likewise halted deportations in his district under the act. The Supreme Court blocked an order in another 5-4 decision Friday that directed the Trump administration to pay out millions of dollars in teacher training grants, which it halted as part of its effort to cut programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

“The Supreme Court has indicated in very strong terms that, rather than seeking out liberal district court judges in the bluest of blue states, people who think they are being unlawfully detained should file habeas petitions where they are being held, former government officials who believe they were wrongfully terminated should go to the Merit Systems Protection Board, and government contractors who believe they are owed money should go the Federal Court of Claims,” Malcolm told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “As to the ultimate merits of these claims, I believe the administration will prevail in most of these cases, but, of course, that remains to be seen.” White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation that seeking relief on the emergency docket “was necessary for the President to quickly deliver his agenda for the American people without unlawful interruption.” “President Trump secured five wins in six days in the Supreme Court, because it is finally taking steps to reign in rogue judges who seek to undermine President Trump’s authority,” Rogers said.

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“..newly-appointed US Attorney for the New Jersey federal district, Alina Habba, opened a criminal investigation against Gov. Murphy for “obstruction and concealment.” That means, possibly, jail. Badda-bing! This ain’t no foolin’ around.”

The Wicked Flee (James Howard Kunstler)

The decade-long treasonous hectoring of Mr. Trump keeps on coming, you understand, for the simple reason that there have been absolutely zero consequences for any of the vicious rogues behind it. Not so much as a rap on the knuckles for seeking to overthrow a president, steal elections, hide high crimes, rob the treasury, and recklessly frame the innocent. And suddenly this week, as startling as a mythic goddess of justice riding a spring zephyr, comes a brisk demonstration of exactly what-to-do. Days ago, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey ordered his state police to not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officers (ICE) — a nice bit of grandstanding for a guy seeking to occupy the Democratic Party’s leadership vacuum. So, Thursday night, newly-appointed US Attorney for the New Jersey federal district, Alina Habba, opened a criminal investigation against Gov. Murphy for “obstruction and concealment.” That means, possibly, jail. Badda-bing! This ain’t no foolin’ around.

The reason the Democrat pols and their activist agents pule and mewl about “retribution” is because they know they are guilty of so many manifest crimes against the country and against decency, that a fair system would have jailed or hanged them by now. They evaded their reckonings only because their own filthy mitts gripped the levers of justice until very recently. Since January 20, that has obviously changed. But two questions have dogged the necessary restoration of fairness and good faith in the backbone of government we call the law. 1) Since the culpable are such well-known figures — the Clintons, Obama, Biden, Comey, Brennan, Mayorkas, Garland, Wray, Fauci, Collins, Pelosi, Eisen, Weissmann, McCord, Schiff, and dozens more — how do you seek justice without appearing to “go after” individuals in the old Soviet mode of “show me the person and I’ll find you the crime”? And 2) where do you begin with such a cosmic-scale panorama of treasonous malfeasance spanning many years and many theaters-of-action?

I’d say US Attorney Alina Habba’s move this week is an excellent place to start. For one thing, Governor Murphy’s defiant act is a fresh crime, only days old, and a clear-cut one: you can’t order state officials to flout federal law, especially where public safety is concerned. Ms. Habba smacked him instantly, like an insolent biting insect. Now, follow through. Prosecute. Mere apologies not accepted. No “mulligan” on that shot. If she brings a case, then other mayors and governors of the many self-proclaimed “sanctuary” jurisdictions around the country, trolling for virtue brownie points in their Woke waters, will rethink their lawless posturing. Couple of other good starts just this week. Mr. Trump issued executive orders yesterday that will afford a fresh look into some older but critical crimes against the nation. One directs US Attorney General Bondi to investigate the actions of a key player in wide-ranging 2020 election mischief. From the White House memo itself:

Christopher Krebs, the former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is a significant bad-faith actor who weaponized and abused his government authority. Krebs’ misconduct involved the censorship of disfavored speech implicating the 2020 election and COVID-19 pandemic. CISA, under Krebs’ leadership, suppressed conservative viewpoints under the guise of combatting supposed disinformation, and recruited and coerced major social media platforms to further its partisan mission. CISA covertly worked to blind the American public to the controversy surrounding Hunter Biden’s laptop. Krebs, through CISA, promoted the censorship of election information, including known risks associated with certain voting practices. Similarly, Krebs, through CISA, falsely and baselessly denied that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen, including by inappropriately and categorically dismissing widespread election malfeasance and serious vulnerabilities with voting machines. Krebs skewed the bona fide debate about COVID-19 by attempting to discredit widely shared views that ran contrary to CISA’s favored perspective.

Next, the White House directed an investigation of Homeland Security officer Miles Taylor who proclaimed, during the first Trump term in an anonymous New York Times op-ed, that he was party to “a resistance within the Federal Government that ‘vowed’ to undermine and render ineffective a sitting president. . . . [T]his conduct could properly be characterized as treasonous and as possibly violating the Espionage Act,” the EO said. Sounds serious, a little bit.

Next, in another EO, the White House severely disciplined the swamp law firm Susman Godfrey for its racist DEI activism in the federal agencies it did work for, saying, “Lawyers and law firms that engage in activities detrimental to critical American interests should not have access to our nation’s secrets, nor should their conduct be subsidized by Federal taxpayer funds or contracts.” Hence, Sussman Godfrey lost its security clearances, its federal work contracts were cancelled, and its lawyers are barred from entering federal buildings, including courthouses. FAFO.

Next, Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard announced at Thursday’s cabinet meeting that her office has obtained evidence of massive vulnerabilities in voting machines that allow hackers to flip votes. This has long been written off as “baseless conspiracy theory” for years by degenerate news outlets like The New York Times. The key word in Ms. Gabbard’s statement, is “evidence.” You realize, of course, that there is no reason to use vote-counting machines in our election except for the purpose of hacking and cheating. Most other putatively “democratic” nations use paper ballots and manage to tabulate and report election results within twenty-four hours.

Of course, this motley batch of sudden cases — Gov. Murphy of NJ, Chris Krebs, Miles Taylor, Susman Godfrey — are relative outliers to the notorious operations such as RussiaGate, the Schiff-Vindman-Ciaramella-Eisen plot behind Impeachment No. 1, The Covid-19 intrigue, The BLM rampage, the Hunter Biden Laptop ruse (and Biden family’s bribery and treason), J-6 riot and the DNC Pipe-bomb caper, and four years of a wide-open border. That long train of crimes, seditions, and treasons came close to wrecking the country. We know exactly who was behind and involved in all of that. What remains is the heavy-lifting to build cases that can be brought to grand juries in good faith. Perhaps a comprehensive omnibus RICO case can incorporate all of these in what appears to amount to a single, complex orchestrated, long-running attempted coup. Don’t bet that this isn’t coming. And, by-the-way, the infamous “Crossfire-Hurricane” binder was just released last night. As of this writing, there is almost no analysis available yet. Stand by.

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Legalese: “..the district court could order the government “to facilitate” but not necessarily “to effectuate” the return.

Court Issues Curious Order in the Garcia Case (Turley)

The media lit up yesterday with the order of the Supreme Court in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, an accused MS-13 member mistakingly sent to El Salvador. I have previously said that the Administration should have brought back Garcia immediately and pushed for deportation under existing laws. Yet, in the order, the Court ordered the government to “facilitate” the return without stating what that means. Last evening, the Court issued the short three-paragraph per curiam opinion in Noem v. Garcia. After the ruling, many on the left claimed “Supreme Court in a unanimous decision: He has a legal right to be here, and you have to bring him back.” It is a bit more ambiguous than that. The Court actually warned that the district court could order the government to facilitate but not necessarily “to effectuate” the return.

The application is granted in part and denied in part, subject to the direction of this order. Due to the administrative stay issued by THE CHIEF JUSTICE, the deadline imposed by the District Court has now passed. To that extent, the Government’s emergency application is effectively granted in part and the deadline in the challenged order is no longer effective. The rest of the District Court’s order remains in effect but requires clarification on remand. The order properly requires the Government to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador. The intended scope of the term “effectuate” in the District Court’s order is, however, unclear, and may exceed the District Court’s authority. The District Court should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs. For its part, the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps. The order heretofore entered by THE CHIEF JUSTICE is vacated.

So what does that mean? The Court disagrees with many, including the Fourth Circuit, that President Trump had no inherent executive powers to countermand the district court’s order. He clearly does have countervailing powers that have to be weighed more heavily in the matter. The district court is expressly ordered to show “due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.” What is left is a legal pushmi-pullyu that seems to be going in both directions at once. What if the Trump Administration says that inquiries were made, but the matter has proven intractable or unresolvable? Crickets. No one would seriously believe that, but what right does the district court have to manage the relations or communications with a foreign country? The problem with this shadow docket decision is that there is more shadow than sunlight in its meaning.

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Money’s a charm.

Trump Plans Charm Offensive To Win Over Greenland – NYT (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s administration is planning a public relations campaign and financial incentives to persuade Greenlanders to join the United States, the New York Times has reported. Trump has repeatedly stated that Washington needed to take control of the autonomous Danish territory in order to enhance America’s “national security,” claiming recently he will “100% get” the Arctic island. The president has even alluded to using military force if necessary. The new approach focuses on persuasion over coercion, featuring advertising and social media campaigns to influence public opinion among Greenland’s approximately 57,000 residents, the NYT reported on Thursday, citing unnamed US officials. The plan includes mobilizing several cabinet departments to implement Trump’s long-standing goal of acquiring the Mexico-sized territory.

The Trump administration is also studying financial incentives for Greenlanders, including replacing the $600 million in subsidies that Denmark gives the island with annual payments of about $10,000 per person, the sources said. Some Trump officials reportedly claim the costs could be offset by revenue from Greenland’s natural resources, including rare earths, copper, gold, uranium and oil. In order to bolster the campaign, the White House is highlighting Greenlanders’ shared ancestry with Alaska and Arctic Canada as well as other historical ties, including the US military’s presence on the island during World War II, the report said. Greenland was under Danish rule from the early 19th century until the 1950s, but during World War II it was briefly occupied by US forces after Nazi Germany seized Denmark. The island now hosts a US military base and an early warning system for ballistic missiles.

In recent decades, the island has gained greater autonomy, receiving home rule in 1979 and the right to declare independence after a 2009 referendum. Trump first floated the idea of acquiring Greenland in 2019 and has revived the proposal since returning to office. His administration describes the island as a strategic asset, citing its location and untapped natural resources. Trump’s plans and a recent visit by a high-profile US delegation, including US Vice President J.D. Vance and White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, have drawn vocal criticism from Greenlandic and Danish officials, who have rejected any suggestion of a sale. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen has condemned Trump’s recent remarks as escalatory and disrespectful, saying the rhetoric had become increasingly aggressive and amounted to a “hidden threat” against Denmark and its semi-autonomous territory.

Greenland’s newly elected Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has urged the islanders to unite and make clear that “we do not belong to anyone else” and will never come under Washington’s control.

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Part of a “victory package”. Alongside “immediate NATO membership, the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Kiev, and the deployment of long-range Western missiles on Ukrainian territory..”

Zelensky Offered US Rare-Earths Deal Under Biden – Blinken (RT)

Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he sees nothing inherently wrong with his country benefiting from Ukrainian rare-earth minerals, but claimed that the current administration under Donald Trump is taking the wrong approach to achieve this. In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Blinken confirmed that an offer from Kiev on minerals had been on the table during his time as secretary of state under President Joe Biden. The current US administration is working to finalize a deal with Ukraine, which President Trump claims will enable American taxpayers to recoup funds spent over the years supporting Kiev’s war effort against Russia. The agreement does not offer security guarantees to Ukraine. According to Blinken, the Biden administration took a different approach to the rare-earths deal offered by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

“Part of the victory package that [Zelensky] put on the table in the last six months of our administration included us working with them on rare earths, on critical minerals,” he told journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin. Blinken said the Biden administration had aimed to promote investments in Ukraine for the mutual benefit of both nations. However, he criticized the Trump administration’s proposal as “basically a protection racket without the protection.” The document submitted by Washington in March reportedly grants American businesses broad access to the Ukrainian economy but without security assurances. The White House contends that vested US interests would serve as a de facto form of protection.

Zelensky has sought Western security guarantees as a precondition for signing a peace treaty with Moscow. Among his proposed options were immediate NATO membership, the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Kiev, and the deployment of long-range Western missiles on Ukrainian territory, aimed at Russia. Negotiations for a minerals deal began during the early weeks of the second Trump presidency, with at least two draft proposals being abandoned. The two countries appeared close to finalizing an agreement during Zelensky’s visit to Washington in late February. However, the planned signing was canceled after Zelensky publicly questioned Trump’s approach to Russia, leading to the Ukrainian delegation being asked to leave the White House.

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Le Pen was trapped. „Such a procedure,“ Kolakusic explains further, „is unprecedented anywhere else in the world or in any other parliament, but it is a perfect weapon for settling accounts with dissidents.”

The End of La Grande Illusion Democratique (Karganovic)

Only the incurably naïve were shocked by the brazen and deliberate rigging of the French Presidential elections. Granted, the outrageous infringement of collective West’s verbally proclaimed democratic electoral canons in Romania, which took place shortly before, could have been taken by alert observers as a reliable signal of what might imminently occur in other precincts of the “European garden.” Blinded by cultural racism however some of them might have mistaken electoral rigging in Romania, a recently acquired patch of that garden, as a sui generis case, entirely attributable to Balkan primitivism. But they would have overlooked conveniently the now well established fact that instructions to corrupt Romanian bureaucrats to eliminate inconvenient candidate Georgescu did not emanate from Bucharest alone. We now know that they were issued imperatively from the idyllic Garden’s ideological centre, which is in Brussels.

Without diminishing, in the electoral disqualification and penal punishment of Marine Le Pen, the influence of the local French branch of the globalist cabal (it would be unpardonably incorrect to call that scum “elite”) there also the nefarious role of the nerve centre in Brussels must be stressed. The arbitrary mechanism which allows the cabal to target virtually anybody it perceives as unsuitable or as a threat was laid bare by Croatian European Parliament deputy Mislav Kolakusic. The core charge pressed against Le Pen, let us recall, was of a basely pecuniary nature, namely that as an EU deputy she partially used her office employees in Strassbourg to do political work on behalf of her French political party, the Front National, improperly remunerating them with European Union funds. The outspoken EU parliamentarian Kolakusic knows of what he speaks because he was himself charged with this ghastly infraction, an accusation from which he managed to successfully defend himself only thanks to having kept meticulous records.

It appears that acting with Gallic abandon Marine Le Pen or her office manager were not nearly as fastidious record keepers and they are now paying the political and penal price for the oversight. What Kolakusic reveals about the inner workings of the system, based on his own experience and observation, is most unsettling and strongly suggests a deliberately built-in trap ready to be sprung on anyone who gets out of line. His remarks are in Croatian, but their gist is as follows. The way the European Parliament interprets its own rules, its officials are authorised to determine as they deem fit whether parliamentary deputies or their staff on any given day had worked a full eight hours as required on tasks exlusively related to matters pertaining to European Parliament affairs, or not. If not, there are unpleasant consequences that can be made to follow.

That portion of salaries alleged to have been paid out from European funds for performing tasks deemed unrelated to European Parliament work is refundable on demand, as subjectively assessed by investigators who are empowered to act with arbitrary discretion. But that is the least of it. More ominously, the arbitrariness extends to the determination of how the matter shall be treated. It could be considered a harmless lapse curable with a reprimand and a refund. But if the powers that be take a particularly dim view of the alleged malefactor, it could also be treated as an act of moral turpitude, having been committed with the element of mens rea, which creates grounds for the imputation of criminal liability. It is by opting for the latter interpretation, of course, that with the helpful assistance of the French judiciary (that some naive folks had thought to be so incorruptible) that they got Marine Le Pen.

„Such a procedure,“ Kolakusic explains further, „is unprecedented anywhere else in the world or in any other parliament, but it is a perfect weapon for settling accounts with dissidents, be they of the so-called extreme right or extreme left, or independent parliamentarians, which is to say the only members of the European Parliament who think using their own brains and who formulate their own original positions on major issues.“

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It all goes back decades.

Tulsi Gabbard Drops TWO Huge Bombshells (MN)

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard made a startling revelation during an open cabinet meeting Wednesday, announcing that she has evidence that electronic voting machines have been tampered with to manipulate the results of past US elections. “I’ve got a long list of things that we’re investigating. We have the best going after this, election integrity being one of them,” Gabbard stated. “We have evidence of how these electronic voting systems have been vulnerable to hackers for a very long time,” she continued.

Gabbard emphasised that the evidence shows that machines are “vulnerable to exploitation to manipulate the results of the votes being cast.” She told President Trump that the finding “further drives forward your mandate to bring about paper ballots across the country so that voters can have faith in the integrity of our elections.” It seems the ‘conspiracy theorists’ were right again.

Gabbard also announced that she is about to make public a huge amount of information relating to the assassinations of RFK, and MLK Jr.

Gabbard followed up on the comments in a Fox News interview, also noting she has teams of people scouring FBI and CIA warehouses looking for hidden documents on the JFK assassination.

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This frees up White House lawyers’ time. For free.

Trump Admin Reaches Agreements With 5 Law Firms (ET)

The Trump administration announced on April 11 that it has reached agreements with five law firms to represent causes they both support, such as helping veterans. These law firms are the latest to offer pro bono services to the White House. The administration has gone after law firms it says have taken stances at odds with Trump’s policies, such as practices relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). None of the law firms were targeted by the administration but reached these agreements with the White House, which has issued executive orders going after a handful of others. A group of four law firms agreed to each provide at least $125 million, or $500 million altogether, in pro bono services: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and Latham & Watkins LLP. The firms agreed to be counsel to help veterans, law enforcement, and first responders; combat anti-Semitism; and ensure “fairness in the justice system.”

They “will take on a wide range of pro bono matters that represent the full political spectrum, including conservative ideals,” President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. The law firms agreed to end the use of DEI in hiring personnel and “affirm that it is their policy to give fair and equal consideration to job candidates, irrespective of their political beliefs, including candidates who have served in the Trump administration, and any other Republican or Democrat administration,” according to Trump. They will also advise other law firms regarding employment practices. The four firms said they will not refuse to represent those who have not been clients of prominent nationwide law firms due to holding political beliefs that contrast those of their firm’s lawyers. The White House celebrated the agreement.

“President Trump and his administration have entered into an agreement with these long established firms, which have affirmed their strong commitment to ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession. The President continues to fulfill his promise to the American people that the age of partisan lawfare in America is over,” the White House said, according to Trump’s post. In a joint statement, which Trump shared on Truth Social, the law firms said they “look forward to a continued constructive and productive relationship with President Trump and his team.” A fifth law firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, LLP, agreed to provide at least $100 million in pro bono counseling, also in helping veterans; combating anti-Semitism; assisting law enforcement, military personnel, and first responders; and “ensuring fairness in our justice system.” The law firm agreed to hire personnel based on merit and not on DEI.

Like with the four other firms, this includes not discriminating based on political beliefs. They will also assist other law firms on hiring practices and not refuse representation to those whose political beliefs do not align with the firm’s attorneys. Cadwalader said it worked with Trump and his team to reach the agreement. “The substance of our agreement is consistent with the principles that have guided Cadwalader for over 230 years: We always put our client’s interests first; we believe that Justice should be available to everyone; and we are committed to attracting, retaining and nurturing the very best talent from all backgrounds,” it said in a statement, according to Trump’s post. Other law firms that have come to agreements with the White House include Skadden, Milbank, and Willkie Farr and Gallagher, which each will provide at least $100 million in pro bono representation. Paul Weiss agreed to provide $40 million in free counseling in areas such as combating anti-Semitism and assisting veterans.

With these arrangements so far, the law firms have agreed to provide at least $940 million in pro bono representation to some of the causes supported by the president. Meanwhile, Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie, and WilmerHale have taken legal action against the administration, seeking to reverse the executive orders against them. Trump signed an executive order on April 9 to effectively blacklist Susman Godfrey from engaging with the U.S. government. The law firm represented Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation lawsuit against former Trump lawyer and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The president said on April 10 that the law firms may help the administration with negotiating trade deals with countries.

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Hatim

 

 

Isaacson

https://twitter.com/LionelMedia/status/1910063189628219694

 

 

 

 

Train

 

 

Candace

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jan 142025
 


Pablo Picasso Studio with plaster head 1925

 

Trump To Meet Putin ‘Very Quickly’ After Inauguration (RT)
Trump Allies Prepare Bill To Let Him Buy Greenland (RT)
Crazy Like a Fox: Trump’s Greenland Pitch (Miele)
More Than Half of Greenlanders Want To Join US – Poll (RT)
UK PM ‘Sent Operatives’ To Undermine US Elections – Musk (RT)
Musk Calls Out ‘Tyrant Of Europe’ (RT)
Romanians Rail Against Do-Over Election Targeting Populist NATO Skeptic (ZH)
Blinken Exploited Biden’s Senility – Scott Ritter (Sp.)
Judge Allows Release of Vol. 1, Blocks Vol. 2 of Jack Smith’s Report (ET)
How Jack Smith Destroyed His Own Case Against Trump (Turley)
‘Let’s Buy Good, Cheap Gas From Our Friends In Russia’ – UK Politician (RT)
No Western Training Can Save Ukrainian Troops From Their Own Commanders (Amar)
Vance Blasts “Dumpster Fire” Left For Trump By Biden/Harris (MN)
Labour MPs Call For Britain-Wide Probe Into Rape Gangs (RT)
Top Cops Shielded In UK Grooming Gangs Inquiry – Whistleblower (RT)
Climate Jeezus Taketh Away (Kunstler)
Washington Post Web Traffic Plummets Nearly 90% (RT)
Ugly Trucks to the Rescue! (PJM)

 

 

 

 


https://twitter.com/i/status/1878637134762152275

https://twitter.com/i/status/1878822562345459907

O’Leary

Tucker Shell

DC broke Tulsi?

 

 

 

 

Last week, Lavrov, for a reason, said Trump envoy Keith Kellogg needed to ‘dive into’ the relevant material. Trump et al must realize that Crimea and the 4 territories are not up for negotiation; they are part of Russia now. 3 years ago, before the SMO, Russia suggested leaving them be part of Ukraine. That’s no longer a option, Putin’s suggestions then were rejected by Zelensky and NATO.

There will be an argument that being too easy on Putin will mean a loss of face for US and NATO. Trump can put that on its head by saying it’s a loss of face for Biden, Blinken and the Democrats, plus a whole slew of wildly unpopular European leaders like Starmer, Macron and Scholz.

Trump wants the killing to stop. Easy. He and Putin can pick a date (Jan 21?) for a ceasefire, in a way that no-one will dare break. After that, it’s no nukes, no nazis, no NATO.

Oh, and the Gaza ceasefire? Yeah, that’s Trump.

Trump To Meet Putin ‘Very Quickly’ After Inauguration (RT)

US President-elect Donald Trump has announced plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin “very quickly” after being sworn in on January 20. During an interview on Monday, Newsmax host Rob Schmitt asked Trump about his strategy to end the Ukraine conflict, to which Trump said “there is only one strategy, and it’s up to Putin.” He added: “I can’t imagine he’s too thrilled with the way it’s gone, because it hasn’t gone exactly well for him either.” “I know he [Putin] wants to meet, and I’m going to meet very quickly,” the incoming US leader said. “I would have done it sooner, but … you have to get into the office.” During his campaign, Trump promised to end the Ukraine conflict and multibillion-dollar US funding of the government in Kiev. He claimed he could stop the hostilities “in 24 hours” by making several phone calls.

Since his election as president, Trump and members of his transition team have moderated expectations, acknowledging that a resolution will probably take several months at least. In the interview with Newsmax, Trump blamed the outgoing President Joe Biden for allowing the conflict to escalate on his watch. The fighting has had devastating consequences for both Ukraine and Russia, he said. ”This was gross incompetence. That’s the only reason this war has taken place,” he stated. Biden, speaking at the Department of State on Monday, defended his handling of the crisis, claiming it was one of his administration’s foreign policy achievements. ”I had two jobs – one to rally the world to defend Ukraine, and the other is to avoid war between two nuclear powers. We did both those things,” he said.

”Ukraine is still free, independent country, with a potential, a potential for a bright future,” Biden said, adding that it was up to the Trump administration to “protect the bright future of the Ukrainian people”. The Kremlin has responded positively to Trump’s declared intention to engage with Russia, but stressed that the Ukraine conflict needs to be resolved in a way that addresses its core causes. Those, according to Moscow, include NATO’s expansion in Europe and Ukraine’s discrimination against its ethnic Russian citizens. Russian officials have accused the Biden administration of intentionally escalating tensions to justify a proxy war against their country, which is how the conflict is viewed in Moscow.

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“US House Republicans have introduced a ‘Make Greenland Great Again Act’”.

Trump Allies Prepare Bill To Let Him Buy Greenland (RT)

President-elect Donald Trump’s Republican allies in the US House of Representatives have introduced draft legislation aiming to authorize negotiations for the United States to buy Greenland from Denmark. The island’s pro-independence leader has said he is “ready to talk,” after Trump refused to rule out a military takeover. The bill, circulated on Monday by Representative Andy Ogles and backed by ten co-sponsors, would allow Trump to begin talks with Denmark immediately upon his inauguration. “Congress hereby authorizes the President, beginning at 12:01 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 20, 2025, to seek to enter into negotiations with the Kingdom of Denmark for the purchase of Greenland,” the bill states. The proposal follows Trump’s renewed interest in making Greenland part of the US, calling it an “absolute necessity” for national security and refusing to rule out the use of military or economic pressure to achieve this goal.

“People really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to [Greenland], but if they do, they should give it up because we need it,” Trump said last week. Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede reiterated the island’s ambition to gain independence from Denmark last week, emphasizing that the Greenlandic people do not want to be either Danish or American. Egede also expressed readiness to “talk” with Trump, acknowledging that his refusal to rule out the use of force to acquire Greenland was “serious.” Greenland is the world’s largest island, with shores on the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. From the early 19th century to the 1950s, it was a territory under the full control of Denmark. During WWII, it was occupied by the US after Denmark was captured by Nazi Germany. Currently, the island hosts a US military base and an early warning system for ballistic missiles.

The island has grown increasingly autonomous, and was granted home rule in 1979, ultimately gaining the right in 2009 to declare independence if a referendum passes. “The desire for independence, the wish to be in one’s own house, is probably understood by all people in the world,” Egede stressed, adding that an independence vote “will come soon.” Greenland is home to fewer than 57,000 people and is 80% covered with ice, but it is rich in gold, silver, copper, and uranium deposits and is believed to have vast oil reserves in its territorial waters. According to a recent survey by US research firm Patriot Polling, approximately 57% of Greenland’s population supports Trump’s proposal. The poll involved 416 respondents and was conducted earlier this month while Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect’s son, was visiting the island on a “personal day trip.”

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“..no one dares to underestimate Trump any longer. His willpower is a force of nature, and if he says he wants Greenland, don’t count him out.”

Crazy Like a Fox: Trump’s Greenland Pitch (Miele)

It was back in August 2019, just about the time Democrats were wasting everyone’s time with the first fake impeachment scandal, when Donald Trump originally introduced the idea of buying Greenland from Denmark. At the time, the notion was dismissed by the pointy-headed arbiters of right and wrong known as the mainstream media, who concluded that Trump must see his presidency as an extended season of “The Apprentice.” In this episode, the modern-day land baron outsmarts the Scandihoovian rubes who didn’t know the “green” in Greenland was cold hard cash. Like almost every other preconception of Trump in his first term, that take was nonsensical. There was considerable historical and geo-political justification for Trump’s proposal to rescue Greenland from European colonialism, and perhaps if his enemies had not sprung the Ukraine phone call impeachment hoax shortly after the Greenland gambit was proposed, it might have become a major accomplishment of Trump’s first term.

I wrote about the original proposal on Aug. 26, 2019, for RealClearPolitics in an article that declared “Trump’s No Safe Bet; He’s a Leader.” The premise was that unlike the feckless, washed-out, safety-in-numbers politicians who lead by following polls, Trump used common sense and intuition to find solutions to problems no one else even liked to think about. Building a wall to keep out illegal immigrants might seem like an obvious idea now, but before Trump, no one would have dared to say it. The same is true of his wish to reclaim Greenland as North American territory. Few if any of Trump’s contemporaries had considered the idea, but it was not without precedent. Lincoln’s Secretary of State William Seward had sought to purchase Greenland for the United States in 1867, the same year he famously acquired Alaska from Russia.

These days, it may seem jarring to talk about buying large chunks of real estate for the purpose of national aggrandizement, but it wasn’t always so. In addition to Seward’s purchase of Alaska, the United States also can be grateful for Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase, which nearly doubled the size of the country, as well as for the largely free acquisition of Florida from Spain. Land deals are not just in Trump’s blood; they are part of our national heritage. They can also be vital to national security. Certainly everyone can agree we were infinitely better off during the era of the Soviet Union because Alaska was no longer in the hands of the Russian oligarchs. And President-elect Trump alluded to a similar benefit on Truth Social when he appointed his ambassador to Denmark in December: “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

Trump elaborated on that sentiment last week during his impromptu press conference at Mar-a-Lago. “We need Greenland for national security purposes. … People really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security. That’s for the free world. I’m talking about protecting the free world. You don’t even need binoculars. You look outside, you have China ships all over the place. You have Russian ships all over the place. We’re not letting that happen. We’re not letting it happen.” So again, we have the Russian threat, but this time added on top of the perhaps even greater Chinese threat. As I pointed out five years ago, China has its own eyes on Greenland, not just for the strategic importance but because it is a repository of rare earth minerals and other resources:

“President Trump was well aware that the Chinese had already expressed their own interest in Greenland, offering to fund millions of dollars of infrastructure improvements on the island as part of the plan for global economic domination known as the ‘Belt and Road Initiative.’” Fortunately, pressure on Denmark largely thwarted China’s Greenland ambitions, but meanwhile Trump’s appetite for American expansionism was whetted. It is perhaps significant that the play for Greenland has been paired with Trump’s threat to take back the Panama Canal, which was turned over to the nation of Panama by Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s. The canal zone, after all, has proven to be a lucrative foothold for China in the New World, and provides a chilling warning of what might happen if someone of Trump’s stature did not step forward to hold the communist state out of Greenland.

And one thing is certain. No one is laughing at Trump this time around for his pitch to Denmark. Far-fetched? Maybe, but no one dares to underestimate Trump any longer. His willpower is a force of nature, and if he says he wants Greenland, don’t count him out. Trump has already become the dominant force on the world stage weeks before he takes office. His attendance at the reopening of Notre Dame caused ripples throughout Europe. Mexico and Canada were put on notice that there was no more free ride once Trump took office, as he threatened them both with tariffs. Trump’s jest about making Canada the 51st state deserves a lot of the credit for (Governor?) Justin Trudeau’s resignation as prime minister. And that’s just the beginning.

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With all of 416 respondents, it’s not much of a poll. But this is even before Trump has offered to make every Greenlander a millionaire, and split proceeds of any resource exploitation 50-50.

More Than Half of Greenlanders Want To Join US – Poll (RT)

Some 57.3% of Greenland’s population supports US President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to make the island an American territory, a new survey has suggested. The number of those rejecting Trump’s proposal stands at 37.4%, with 5.3% undecided, US research firm Patriot Polling said on Monday. “Our survey finds that a substantial majority of Greenlandic residents support joining the US,” the pollster’s statement read. According to Patriot Polling, the survey involved 416 respondents in Greenland, and was conducted between January 6 and 11, while Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect’s son, was visiting the Danish autonomous territory. The little-known company had never previously conducted a poll outside the US.

Trump, who had offered to buy Greenland from Copenhagen during his first term in office, has returned to the issue in recent weeks. At a press conference last Tuesday, he refused to rule out using force to bring the world’s largest island under Washington’s control, saying: “It might be that you will have to do something… We need Greenland for national security purposes.” Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede stressed on Friday that the island “…is for the Greenlandic people. We do not want to be Danish, we do not want to be American.” The islanders’ desire is to be an independent nation, the prime minister said, promising that a vote on the issue “will come soon.”

However, Egede stressed that he was “ready to talk” to Trump, and expressed eagerness to keep cooperating with the US in the future. In 2008, Greenland held a non-binding referendum on increased autonomy from Denmark, resulting in 75% voter approval and a 72% turnout. This led to the 2009 Self-Government Act, granting the island greater control over its internal affairs. Spanning an area of 2.2 million sq km (about six times the size of Germany), Greenland is home to fewer than 57,000 people, and is 80% covered with ice. The island is rich in gold, silver, copper and uranium deposits, and is believed to have vast oil reserves in its territorial waters.

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“..Starmer has not been invited to Trump’s January 20 inauguration..”

UK PM ‘Sent Operatives’ To Undermine US Elections – Musk (RT)

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has accused British Prime Minister Keir Starmer of meddling in American elections. The tech billionaire has been tapped by US President-elect Donald Trump to head DOGE, a special advisory body tasked with identifying government inefficiency. On Sunday, Musk commented on an X user’s post that Starmer has not been invited to Trump’s January 20 inauguration, despite the UK being among the closest allies of the US. The tech billionaire made it clear that the UK prime minister’s absence from the ceremony’s guest list is no surprise, given that “he sent operatives to America to undermine the US elections.” Musk’s claim apparently stems from the accusations of “blatant foreign interference” made by Trump’s campaign against Starmer’s Labour Party in October.

At the time, the US president-elect’s team filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) over reports of the British activists campaigning in the US for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. Musk has been increasingly critical of Starmer on his X platform in recent weeks, saying that he runs a “tyrannical government,” from which the US might need to “liberate the people” in the UK. Among other things, he branded the British prime minister “evil” and accused him of being “complicit in the rape of Britain” over Starmer’s purported role in the cover up of the grooming gangs scandal while head of the Crown Prosecution Service from 2008 to 2013.

Those gangs, mostly made up of Pakistani males, targeted white British girls for some two decades. The UK authorities failed to act against them due to political correctness concerns, multiple government and media reports have alleged. Last week, Starmer hit back at Musk, calling his claims “lies and misinformation” and blaming the tech billionaire for spreading the “poison of the far-right.” On Thursday, the Financial Times reported that Musk is allegedly considering a campaign to force the British prime minister out of office by undermining his approval ratings. The outlet’s sources claimed that the SpaceX and Tesla CEO had privately discussed such plans with his allies, acting out of the belief “that Western civilization itself is threatened.”

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Breton now denies his own words. But they’re on video.

Musk Calls Out ‘Tyrant Of Europe’ (RT)

X owner Elon Musk has denounced former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton as “the tyrant of Europe” over an interview that appeared to endorse the cancelation of Romania’s presidential elections. Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the vote last month, citing since-debunked claims by intelligence services that front-runner Calin Georgescu had been boosted by a Russian campaign on TikTok. It has since emerged that the campaign had been the work of a rival Romanian party, but the court has refused to reverse its ruling. In an interview with the French outlet BFMTV/RMC last week, Breton appeared to warn that the upcoming German elections could suffer the same fate should the Musk-endorsed Alternative for Germany (AfD) party emerge triumphant.

“Let’s stay calm and enforce the laws in Europe, when they risk being circumvented and if not enforced, could lead to interference,” Breton said. “It was done in Romania and obviously, it will have to be done, if necessary, in Germany as well.” The minute-long video, in French, was shared by the Polish-based account ‘Visegrad24’, prompting Musk to reply, deriding “the staggering absurdity of Thierry Breton as the tyrant of Europe.” Breton objected to the label on Saturday, however, arguing that he was only referring to online censorship through the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and that the EU “has NO mechanism to nullify any election” in the bloc. “Lost in translation… or another fake news?” he wondered on X. Breton’s clarification did not address the fact that the alleged “interference” in Romanian democracy came from inside the country, undermining the basis for the Constitutional Court’s annulment.

Breton’s initial remarks came in response to Musk’s interview on X with Alice Weidel, AfD’s candidate for chancellor in the upcoming German election. Musk has endorsed her party and urged German voters to oust sitting Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which some EU officials have denounced as unacceptable foreign meddling. The Frenchman was the EU commissioner for Digital Affairs and Internal Markets in August, when he threatened Musk with penalties over an upcoming X interview with Donald Trump, then the Republican candidate for US president. When Musk threatened to expose “secret deals” the EU offered in exchange for censorship on X, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claimed the French commissioner had acted on his own. Breton resigned in September, accusing the Brussels leadership of “questionable governance.”

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“We are protesting against the coup d’état that took place on Dec. 6. We are sorry to discover so late that we were living in a lie and that we were led by people who claimed to be democrats, but are not at all.”

“At this rate we won’t be voting anymore, they will impose a leader like in the old days.”

Romanians Rail Against Do-Over Election Targeting Populist NATO Skeptic (ZH)

Upwards of 100,000 Romanians of various political stripes took to the streets on Sunday to express outrage over the voiding of a presidential election that seemed poised to put a NATO and Ukraine War skeptic in power. George Simion, leader of the right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, summed up the intent of the demonstrations his party organized: “We are protesting against the coup d’état that took place on Dec. 6. We are sorry to discover so late that we were living in a lie and that we were led by people who claimed to be democrats, but are not at all. We demand a return to democracy through the resumption of elections, starting with the second round.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1878429301638316513

In November, Romania held the first balloting in its two-round election. It resulted in Europe’s latest instance in which a populist, nationalist, right-wing candidate posted a result that far exceeded what polls indicated he was capable of. In a 13-contender field, that candidate, Calin Georgescu, led the pack with 23%, setting him up to advance to the second and final round against reformist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party. However, just two days before that second round was to take place on Dec. 8, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election, and ordered a complete do-over of both rounds. Their justification: Supposed Russian meddling manifested in manipulated votes, campaign irregularities and secret spending. The ruling came after incumbent President Klaus Iohannis reportedly shared intelligence claiming Russia organized thousands of social media accounts to boost Georgescu’s campaign.

“You petty politicians, with your ungrateful and immature games, you won’t even know what hit you in this global storm,” said Georgescue in a social media post in which he promoted the protest and compared Romanian leaders and judges with former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who’s on trial on corruption charges. “You are so small that you aren’t even able to understand anything. Nothing you do will make a difference anymore. The inevitable, is inevitable.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1876584350898413985

On Sunday, crowds — estimated in size from tens of thousands to more than 100,000 — marched through the streets of Bucharest, with Reuters reporting that many left-wingers joined the protest. The slogans on their signs included “We Want Free Elections,” “Bring Back The Second Round,” “Freedom,” and “Democracy Is Not Optional.” In a country that is among the most religiously observant in Europe, many carried Christian Orthodox icons. According to video posted to social media, protesters also vented their aggravation with establishment media: Social media was the principal catalyst of 62-year-old Georgescu’s success. He didn’t run as a member of any political party, but his TikTok account racked up 1.6 million likes for content showing him going to church, running, practicing judo, and being interviewed by podcasters.

Iohannis’ term was supposed to end on Dec. 21, but he’s now slated to remain in power until the do-over election is complete. The dates are not yet official, but, last week, leaders of the ruling coalition government said they’d agreed on holding the two rounds on May 4 and May 18. Georgescu’s views are anathema to the European establishment. He’s pledged to restore Romanian sovereignty and put an end to what he characterizes as subservience to NATO and the EU. He has taken a hard line against the presence of NATO’s missile defense system that’s based in Deveselu, southern Romania, calling it a “shame of diplomacy” that is more confrontational than peace-promoting.

Romania shares a 400-mile border with Ukraine and hosts a NATO missile defense system in the country’s south (via Britannica)

He’s also pushed for Romania to pursue a non-interventionist policy in the Ukraine war, and said US arms-makers were manipulating the conflict. Since Russia’s invasion, Romania has facilitated Ukrainian grain exports and furnished military assistance including the donation of a Patriot missile battery. In addition to his broad theme of restoring Romanian sovereignty, Georgescu also ran on countering price inflation, addressing Romania’s worst-in-EU poverty rate, supporting farmers and decreasing the country’s reliance on imports. However, now it is the sovereignty of the Romanian people themselves that is in peril. As a flag-wrapped economist named Cornelia told Reuters on Sunday: “At this rate we won’t be voting anymore, they will impose a leader like in the old days.”

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“Ritter voiced hope that Blinken would be “investigated, charged, and found guilty of betraying” his country.”

Blinken Exploited Biden’s Senility – Scott Ritter (Sp.)

Scott Ritter pointed out that Antony Blinken has facilitated the Ukraine conflict because “peace with Russia was never an option, only war.” Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is “a war criminal in every sense of the word,” former American Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter wrote on X, commenting on Blinken’s video, in which he praised the Biden administration’s work. Ritter accused Blinken of being “singularly responsible for the deaths of more than a million people” as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. “You took advantage of a mentally diminished president to take our nation to the brink of nuclear war with Russia, violating the Constitution’s due process,” the ex-intelligence officer wrote, referring to the outgoing US President Joe Biden.

Ritter voiced hope that Blinken would be “investigated, charged, and found guilty of betraying” his country. “And I hope you are given the justice you so richly deserve,” the ex-intelligence officer concluded. Blinken earlier told the New York Times that when it comes to the Biden administration, there’s allegedly “a very strong record of achievement, historic in many ways.” These claims are clearly out of sync with Biden’s plummeting approval rating, which hit a new low in December, when just 34% of respondents ok’d his job as POTUS, according to a Marquette Law School national poll.

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Yes, Jack Smith spent over $50 million on this.

Judge Allows Release of Vol. 1, Blocks Vol. 2 of Jack Smith’s Report (ET)

A federal judge has cleared the way for the public release of volume one of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on investigations involving President-elect Donald Trump while opting to keep volume two of the report restricted. Volume one pertains to Smith’s election interference case against Trump, while volume two relates to the classified documents case. In a Jan. 13 order, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon partially denied an emergency motion by two Trump co-defendants—Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira—to block the public release of the report. Nauta and De Oliveira had filed an emergency motion seeking to prevent the release of both volumes of Smith’s report, citing concerns that it would prejudice their pretrial rights.

Cannon upheld their request to restrict volume two, which pertains to a classified documents probe involving Trump in which Nauta and De Oliveira are co-defendants. The judge noted that the release of volume two would be “inconsistent” with the defendants’ right to a fair trial. The Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that the selective release of volume two to congressional leaders was in the public interest but stopped short of advocating broader dissemination. Nauta and De Oliveira argued that releasing the volume, even in a limited capacity, could irreparably damage their legal position. Cannon scheduled a hearing for Jan. 17 to address the DOJ’s request for limited disclosure of volume two to congressional leaders while withholding it from the public.

“Release of Volume II, even on a limited basis as promised by the United States, risks irreversibly and substantially impairing the legal rights of Defendants in this criminal proceeding,” Cannon wrote. “The Court is not willing to make that gamble on the basis of generalized interest by members of Congress, at least not without full briefing and a hearing on the subject.” The judge noted that a portion of the hearing may need to be conducted under seal to prevent parts of volume two from being disseminated to the public. However, Cannon agreed with the DOJ’s position that volume one contained no substantive references to the defendants or the classified documents case. Noting that there was “insufficient basis” to restrict the public release of volume one, Cannon cleared the way for its public release.

After Trump won the presidential election, Smith moved to dismiss the classified documents case and the election interference case against Trump, citing DOJ rules regarding not prosecuting presidents. The motions to dismiss were made “without prejudice,” meaning that charges could be refiled after Trump finishes his second term as president. However, the statute of limitations and the prospect that Trump pardons himself stand in the way of potential re-prosecution.

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I don’t think his case against Trump was so easy even at the start.

How Jack Smith Destroyed His Own Case Against Trump (Turley)

The expected release of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report will occur as early as this weekend, albeit without those sections dealing with the Florida documents case. (Other defendants are still facing prosecution in that case.) However, the most glaring omission will be arguably an explanation of how Smith lost this war without firing a single shot in a trial. After more than two years, two separate cases and countless appeals (not to mention more than $50 million spent), Smith left without presenting a single witness, let alone charge, at trial. It is an example of how a general can have the largest army and unlimited resources and yet defeat himself with a series of miscalculations. History probably won’t be kind to Smith, whose record bespeaks a “parade general” — a prosecutor who offered more pretense than progress in the prosecution of an American president.

Indeed, this report will be one of Smith’s last chances to display a case that notably never got close to an actual trial. One-sided and unfiltered, it will have all of the thrill of a Sousa march of a regiment in full dress. We know because we have seen much of this before. At every juncture, Smith has taken his case out on parade in the court of public opinion. The Smith report will reportedly concern only the Washington case alleging crimes related to Jan. 6 and the 2020 election — a case that was always a bridge too far for Smith. When first appointed, Smith had a straightforward and relatively easy case to make against Trump over his removal and retention of presidential materials. The case was not without controversy. Some of us questioned the selective nature of the prosecution given past violations by other presidents, particularly as shown by the violations of President Biden going back decades found by another special counsel.

However, the case originally focused on the conspiracy and false statements during the federal investigation into the documents at Mar-a-Lago. Those are well-established crimes that Smith could have brought to trial quickly with a solid shot for conviction. But Smith’s undoing has always been his appetite. That was evident when he was unanimously reversed by the Supreme Court in his case against former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R). In Florida, Smith was in signature form. He took a simple case and loaded it up with press-grabbing charges regarding the retention of classified material. In so doing, he slowed the case to a crawl. As a defense lawyer who has handled classified documents cases, I said at the outset that I did not believe he could get this case to a jury before the 2024 election, and that after that election, Smith might not have a case to present. Smith had outmaneuvered himself.

Then came the Washington filing, the subject of this forthcoming report. It was another vintage Smith moment. Smith played to the public in a case that pushed both the Constitution and statutory provisions beyond the breaking point. He simply could not resist, and he was only encouraged after the assignment of Judge Tanya Chutkan, a judge viewed by many as predisposed against Trump. In a sentencing hearing of a Jan. 6 rioter in 2022, Chutkan had said that the rioters “were there in fealty, in loyalty, to one man — not to the Constitution.” She added then, “[i]t’s a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.” That “one person” was then brought to her for trial by Smith. nThe D.C. case was doomed from the outset by both a prosecutor and judge who, in their zeal to bag Trump, yielded to every temptation. As time ticked away, Smith became almost apoplectic in demanding an expedited path to trial, including cutting short appeals.

After refusing to recuse herself, Chutkan seemed to indulge Smith at every turn. But the Supreme Court failed to agree that speed should trump substance in such reviews. With both cases slipping out of his grasp, Smith then threw a final Hail Mary. He asked Chutkan to let him file what was basically a 165-page summary of this report against Trump before the election. There was no apparent reason for the public release of the filing, except to influence the election — a motivation long barred by Justice Department rules. Chutkan, of course, allowed it anyway, despite admitting that the request was “procedurally irregular.” It did not work. Although the press and pundits eagerly repeated the allegations in the filing, the public had long ago reached its own conclusion and rendered its own verdict in November.

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Britain badly needs a new voice, but the Heritage Party??

‘Let’s Buy Good, Cheap Gas From Our Friends In Russia’ – UK Politician (RT)

British Eurosceptic politician David Kurten has called for a partial relaunch of the Nord Stream pipeline system – which previously pumped Russian natural gas to the EU – amid freezing weather and supply fears. In a statement on X on Sunday, the politician, who leads the Heritage Party, advocated purchasing gas from Russia to address a potential energy shortage. “One of the four Nord Stream pipelines is undamaged and could be turned on again very quickly. Let’s buy good, cheap gas from our friends in Russia once again,” Kurten wrote. British gas supplier Centrica warned last week that “plunging temperatures… have reduced UK winter gas storage to concerningly low levels.” “Stubbornly high” gas prices have made it “more difficult to top up storage,” the company added. The network operator National Gas has since downplayed the concerns, stating that the storage level “remains healthy.”

The Nord Stream system, operated by Russia’s Gazprom and designed to pump gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, consists of two parts – Nord Stream 1 and 2. The first was launched in 2011, becoming a key energy source for the EU. Nord Stream 2, completed in 2021, was intended to double the system’s capacity, but never went online due to certification issues in Germany – which were exacerbated by the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict the following year. Both Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 were ruptured in September 2022 in what EU officials described as an act of sabotage. Explosions rendered three of the four conduits inoperable. Russia has repeatedly called for an impartial international investigation, while criticizing the transparency of European-led probes. Moscow has suggested that the United States may have been behind the explosions, in an attempt to reduce Russia’s energy leverage.

The Nord Stream shut-down has sent energy prices soaring in Germany, which previously bought over 50% of its natural gas from Russia. In 2023, the EU’s largest economy recorded a recession, according to official statistics. Other countries, including Austria, Italy, Hungary, and Slovakia, have also experienced disruptions, which have been further exacerbated the suspension of Russian gas transit via Ukraine, after Kiev refused to extend a transit deal. German opposition politician and candidate for chancellor Alice Weidel pledged last week to put Nord Stream back into operation if her party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), wins next month’s general election.

The UK, unlike many European nations, historically imported only a small percentage of its gas from Russia. Before 2022, Russian imports accounted for less than 4% of the UK’s total supply, trailing behind domestic production in the North Sea, and imports from Norway, Qatar, and the United States. The Heritage Party was founded by Kurten in 2020. It claims to defend traditional family values and national sovereignty, while seeking to scale back UK ties with the European Union. In the UK general election last July, it contested several constituencies but did not secure any seats in parliament.

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“It is true that an end to the fighting would save many Ukrainians from dying in a hopeless, unnecessary war for literally less than nothing, namely an even worse outcome for their country.”

No Western Training Can Save Ukrainian Troops From Their Own Commanders (Amar)

“President-elect” Trump is about to turn into simply “president.” Signs are multiplying that, once he is in the White House again, Trump will at least try to actually end the insanity of the Ukraine War. He as well as his man for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, have distanced themselves from the obviously rhetorical campaign promise to end the war in one day. Now they are suggesting more realistic but still short – between 100 days (Kellogg) and six months or less (Trump) – deadlines. That is, actually, a sign of being serious. More important again is the fact that Trump has now publicly signaled understanding for Moscow’s refusal to accept Ukraine joining NATO. Since this has always been the single most important reason Russia went to war, Trump showing a new – if terribly belated – American readiness to finally acknowledge the issue’s make-or-break importance is essential for establishing a basis for meaningful talks.

These talks are now as good as certain to happen fairly soon and at the highest level: Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have both made it clear that they are ready to meet without fussy pre-conditions. Again, another sign that we are not dealing with mere PR moves but a genuine attempt to find a compromise. That does not mean that it will succeed. But it does mark a key change from the past, when all serious negotiations were blocked by the West’s obstinate refusal to face reality. If Russia and America should manage to mend fences comparatively quickly, not everyone will be happy, of course. It is true that an end to the fighting would save many Ukrainians from dying in a hopeless, unnecessary war for literally less than nothing, namely an even worse outcome for their country.

But that does not seem to interest the Kiev regime under president-beyond-best-by-date Vladimir Zelensky. A recent meeting at the Ramstein base in Germany has shown that at least publicly Kiev keeps beating the war drums and insisting on even more Western support, while preparing its own population for further mobilizations down to the age of 18. Zelensky’s old, devastatingly failing recipe abides: “You, West, give us the money, arms, and ammunitions, and we feed our people into the meatgrinder.” And then there are Washington’s European clients and vassals. They are also still putting on a brave face. For instance, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron – both, as it happens, abysmally unpopular at home – have dreamy dinners fantasizing about “supporting Ukraine as long as it takes.”

True, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz – another EU-NATO placeholder greatly not beloved by his people – has crashed his government and is facing an election and is therefore downplaying further support for Ukraine. Yet his foreign minister, the indefatigable Annalena “360 Degrees” Baerbock and his defense minister, Boris “Panzer” Pistorius, want more, as always. As so often, it is hard to tell how serious they are, but, on the whole, the official party line among Western European leaders still is that, even with Trump in the White House and the Russians steadily advancing in Ukraine – strapped for money, equipment, and troops as well as politically unstable and psychologically gloomy – will stay the moronic course of prolonging the great Western proxy war. Even if it has to do so on its own. That will not work, of course, one way or the other. But it is a policy with the potential to get even more people unnecessarily killed and make everything worse all around for everyone – including Ukraine but not, actually, Russia and the US – before it finally crashes and burns.

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“Donald Trump is going to have to put it out. But he’s good at doing that.”

Vance Blasts “Dumpster Fire” Left For Trump By Biden/Harris (MN)

Soon to be Vice President JD Vance has slammed the outgoing regime for leaving “an absolute dumpster fire” in its wake on multiple issues. During a Fox News interview Sunday, Vance spoke about the economy, the California fires and the Southern border, and urged that there has been a “serious lack of competent governance.” “I will always be an optimist about our country, but I think that optimism has to start with a bit of realism. And the real truth is that Joe Biden has left us a dumpster fire,” Vance asserted. He added that “Donald Trump is going to have to put it out. But he’s good at doing that.” Vance emphasized, “we’re excited to get to work. But we need to be open and honest about the fact that President Biden has not left the next administration in a good place, right?

“FEMA’s funds are depleted. We have a wide open southern border. Oil is going through the roof. Bond yields went from 4.1 percent to 4.8 percent in a month. And that’s on top of the fact that President Biden has been running the largest peacetime deficits in the history of this country.” “So we’ve got a lot of debt, a lot of problems, and a wide open southern border. And thank God that Donald Trump takes office in a week-and-a-half because we need somebody to actually govern this country effectively,” Vance further declared. On the border, Vance promised “dozens of executive orders” immediately to allow Customs and Border Patrol “to do your job again.” “To illegal immigrants all over the world, you are not welcome in this country illegally,” Vance further outlined, adding “if you came into this country illegally, you need to go back home. You need to have basic law enforcement.”

Vance explained that Democrats have been hiding behind having “compassion” for families and not wanting to separate families, using it as an excuse not to crack down on illegal immigration. “It is not compassion to allow the drug cartels to traffic small children,” Vance urged, adding “It is not compassionate to allow the worst people in the world to send minor children, some of them victims of sex trafficking, into our country. That is the real humanitarian crisis at the border. You’re not going to exacerbate it through law enforcement. You’re going to fix it through law enforcement. And that’s what Donald Trump is going to do.” On the economy, Vance emphasised that Biden “has added trillions and trillions of dollars to the federal debt during a time of peace. He has left us with bond yields, meaning how we’re going to finance that debt, we have to sell treasury bonds. And the treasury bonds have gotten more expensive because of Joe Biden’s policies.”

On the California fires, Vance stated “There is a serious lack of competent governance in California, and I think it’s part of the reason why these fires have gotten so bad. We need to do a better job at both the state and federal level.” “President Trump has committed to doing a better job when it comes to disaster relief,” Vance continued, adding “We need competent, good governance. Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t criticize the governor of California for I think some very bad decisions over a very long period of time.” “I mean, some of these reservoirs have been dry for 15, 20 years. The fire hydrants are being reported as going dry while the firefighters are trying to put out these fires,” Vance further stated.

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British politicians can no longer be trusted to probe themselves. That is a problem. Who are you going to bring in? Maybe Elon Musk has a suggestion. Insert smiley.

Labour MPs Call For Britain-Wide Probe Into Rape Gangs (RT)

Only a nationwide inquiry into the grooming gangs and the authorities’ handling of the sex-abuse scandal can restore the public trust, a Labour MP for Rotheram and advocate for women and children’s rights, Sarah Champion, has said. The lawmaker, who represents one of Britain’s worst rape hotspots, made the call in a statement on Monday, saying Child sexual abuse has become an “endemic” problem for the UK and must be recognized as a “national priority.” “It is clear that the public distrusts governments and authorities when it comes to preventing and prosecuting child abuse, especially child sexual exploitation,” the MP said. The statement constituted a sharp change in Champion’s stance on a potential inquiry, as the MP appeared to reject the idea just a week ago.

During a debate in the Commons on a Conservative-proposed amendment to a child protection bill that would have set up a national inquiry into the grooming gangs, the MP called for immediate implementation of the recommendations outlined in the 2022 Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse instead. “With the best will in the world – you all know me; I am not making a party-political point – another inquiry will mean another ten years of waiting,” she reasoned at the time. The Tory amendment fell through, getting overwhelmingly rejected by the parliament by 364 votes to 111, with all 411 Labour MPs either voting against it or abstaining. Earlier in the day, Paul Waugh, a Labour MP for another grooming hotspot, Rochdale, had made similar remarks while speaking to BBC News. “I’m not against a national inquiry but it has got to have some key caveats,” the MP said, raising concerns about the victims of the abuse having “to re-experience their trauma every time they explain this” as well as suggesting the probe should “not cut across live police investigations.”

The notorious grooming gangs, primarily involving men of Pakistani origin, have been active in the UK for decades, engaging in the systematic rape torture of vulnerable girls. According to multiple independent inquiries, public authorities have shown a failure to properly investigate the crimes or to bring perpetrators to justice, opting to hide the incidents instead. The long-standing controversy has gained new attention in recent weeks due to criticism from US-based billionaire Elon Musk. Musk has publicly attacked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, calling for his resignation and prosecution. Starmer served as the head of the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service from 2008 to 2013, during which Musk accused him of inadequately addressing the issue of grooming gangs. In response, Starmer condemned Musk’s statements as “lies and misinformation” and has rejected calls for a new inquiry into the matter.

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What a surprise.

Top Cops Shielded In UK Grooming Gangs Inquiry – Whistleblower (RT)

An inquiry into police failings during the Rotherham grooming scandal in the UK avoided investigating senior officers, focusing instead on junior ranks, despite systemic issues enabling the abuse of over 1,400 young girls, a whistleblower has told The Times newspaper. The ‘grooming gangs’ scandal involves groups of Asian men who, over the past two decades, have raped and abused thousands of underage girls in towns across northern England. Most of the perpetrators were Pakistani men, while the victims were predominantly white British girls. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) led Operation Linden, a seven-year probe into South Yorkshire Police’s handling of child sexual exploitation cases between 1997 and 2013.

The investigation revealed that police frequently failed to file crime reports for serious offenses like rape, neglected to question older men accompanying vulnerable young girls, and treated victims as troublesome rather than vulnerable. Despite this, some officers were cleared of misconduct by filing minimal intelligence reports. The investigation concluded in 2022, identifying leadership failures, lack of training, and cultural issues within the force. However, the whistleblower claims the inquiry was hindered by instructions to avoid examining senior officers’ roles in the scandal. “We were actively told not to pursue senior officers,” the whistleblower told The Times. “It was just largely incompetent. There was just no passion or desire within the IOPC to understand what went wrong in Rotherham and find out why those girls were let down.”

Operation Linden investigated 91 cases, reviewing 265 allegations from 51 complainants. Of 47 officers examined, eight were found to have committed misconduct and six faced charges of gross misconduct. Yet, the most severe punishments issued were written warnings or “management advice.” No officer lost their job, and the highest-ranked individual investigated was a detective inspector. The whistleblower criticized the limited scope of the inquiry, recalling that it was “very clear not only that there were force-wide systemic problems but problems in other parts of the country. I don’t think the failings have been truly properly investigated.” In response, the IOPC has defended its work, emphasizing the thoroughness of its investigations and the adoption of its recommendations by police. “Our priority was the welfare of survivors, who showed incredible bravery in coming forward,” an IOPC spokesperson said. The watchdog noted that its findings prompted measures to improve victim care and enhance officers’ capabilities to handle child sexual exploitation cases.

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“How many of them lost absolutely everything, including the possibility of a future?”

Climate Jeezus Taketh Away (Kunstler)

[..] you must wonder what is happening to those tens of thousands of displaced persons and families right now? How many of them are sleeping out on their smoldering properties, or in their cars, or just shivering on a sidewalk somewhere. It does not seem possible that they all found a place to go, certainly not at their neighbors’ houses, who were all burnt-out, too. . . and there are just so many hotel rooms not occupied by “the undocumented.” Anyway, how many families can stay in hotel rooms that go for $1,000-a-night, and for how many nights? How many of them lost absolutely everything, including the possibility of a future? Which gets you to the realization that we have barely begun to see the knock-on effects of this catastrophe. Those tens of thousands of the burnt-out will not be reporting to work anytime soon.

They will have all they can do to find a roof over their heads while they hassle with FEMA officials, State of California bureaucrats, insurance company claims agents, and other “helpers.” The rebuilding quandaries have already been rehearsed in the news. Even if politicians suspended all the building and zoning codes, and the tax issues, where will so many contractors come from in any reasonable time-frame? And where do you put all that melted plastic goop and toxic ash that remains on-the-ground where peoples’ lives used to be? If you lost a house valued at $5-million, it will cost you at least $10-million to replace it. Good luck, even if you were a mid-level movie star. Of course, if your insurance got cancelled lately — or you just didn’t have any because it cost too much — then there is zero chance you will get to even fantasize about living in the hills above Malibu ever again. And that job you’re not able to go to right now due to the pressing needs of sheer survival on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. . . you might never go to that job again. The business you worked for might not be there anymore, either.

If there was ever a proverbial last-grain-of-sand-in-a-landslide, the Great 2025 Los Angeles Fire must be a sure thing vis-a-vis the US economy, especially the financial side of it. An awful lot of homeowners will not be paying their mortgages on a smoldering empty lot. The banks are not in super-fabulous condition these days. How many loans-gone-bad will it take to wreck already unstable banks? And, by the way, the collateral isn’t even there anymore. The re-po man is out of the picture. What happens to the insurance companies? And the re-insurance companies who theoretically stand behind the insurers? I’ll tell you what happens: they will be backstopped by the government, which doesn’t have the money to backstop them. . . but will create it out of pixels on screens. . . which means expect a considerable uptick in inflation (i.e., a downtick in the purchasing power of the dollar), which will be a black eye for the new Trump administration. How does all this thunder through the US economy as a whole?

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Does it still have any value?

Washington Post Web Traffic Plummets Nearly 90% (RT)

The Washington Post’s web traffic has cratered over the past four years, with daily active users dropping from a high of 22.5 million in January 2021 when outgoing President Joe Biden took office, to around 2.5-3 million by the middle of 2024, according to internal data shared with news website Semafor. Internal financial and editorial struggles are rampant at the Jeff Bezos-owned broadsheet, according to various reports, with the paper’s rivals poaching talent, ad revenue falling dramatically, and layoffs on the horizon. In April last year, the Washington City Paper reported that the nosedive in the Post’s traffic was so staggering that the paper stopped sharing its traffic information publicly. An ‘Audience & Traffic’ tag on the website, which had been regularly updated for years, has not been updated since January 2023.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Post’s advertising revenue fell from $190 million in 2023 to $174 million in 2024. Leaders at the paper are “struggling to convince staff that they have a clear editorial vision and continuing commitment to hard-hitting journalism” and rivals have poached top talent, with more exits on the way, the WSJ said, citing over a dozen insiders. The reader exodus gathered steam in October last year, when Bezos decided to withhold an expected endorsement of outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris during the presidential election against now-President-elect Donald Trump. In an op-ed, Bezos argued that endorsements from newspapers “do nothing to tip the scales in an election,” and “create a perception of bias.”

The move backfired, however, resulting in a reported 250,000 canceled subscriptions just weeks before election day, or about 10% of the Post’s 2.5 million paid subscribers, according to NPR. Last week, the Post announced it was laying off around 4% of its staff. The cuts will affect nearly 100 workers in the paper’s business division, including sales and marketing, as well as its IT units, it said. The job cuts are “all in service of our greater goal to best position The Post for the future,” the paper’s statement said.

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“Musk apologized on X for SoCal customers who won’t be taking their expected Cybertruck deliveries this week, but those trucks got drafted into service.”

Ugly Trucks to the Rescue! (PJM)

You’re hot. You’re starving and thirsty. You’ve just lost everything to one of the number of wildfires sweeping through Los Angeles and you can’t even call for help or let your sister in Poughkeepsie know you’re OK because the cell service is down. You’re about as weary and frustrated as a human being can be. Just as you’re about to give up hope, like all ye who enter Los Angeles, a small fleet of the world’s ugliest truck comes into view, bearing gifts of food, drink, and internet connectivity. Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk ordered his company’s Cybertrucks into action, equipped with all the goodies they can carry — including SpaceX (another company he heads up) Starlink satellite internet transceivers. Musk apologized on X for SoCal customers who won’t be taking their expected Cybertruck deliveries this week, but those trucks got drafted into service.

Unbeknownst to me until I started gathering links, Tesla is also delivering Mobile Powerwall Units (MPUs) to parts of L.A. without power. Powerwalls are the giant batteries that come with Tesla solar home solar panels. The mobile versions can be loaded on trucks — fully charged, of course — to bring power wherever it’s needed. I don’t even like Tesla, but what it’s doing in L.A. makes that an increasingly untenable position. So you grab a protein bar and a bottle of water, plug your phone into the MPU, and borrow Starlink’s WiFi to let Little Sis in Poughkeepsie know you’re all right. “Some parts of America still work,” Glenn Reynolds likes to remind readers at Instapundit, and it would be shocking had it not become so routine how many of those parts are connected to Musk. But that’s only a part of what I want to discuss in this column.

[..] When it comes to natural disasters, there are three steps (broadly speaking) that competent leadership takes:
1) Prepare in advance to mitigate the potential effects of the disaster
2) React decisively and competently to mitigate the actual effects.
3) Get and stay the hell out of the way of people who would rebuild after the disaster.

California generally and Los Angeles particularly failed spectacularly on Steps 1. and 2. [..] Gov. Gavin Newsom claims that he’s taken action on Step 3. but… well…he doesn’t exactly make your heart swell with hope, does he? Thank goodness then for private individuals with the basic competence that Newsom and Bass lack, even though a huge company like Tesla can’t come anywhere close to matching the resources Washington and California can muster. So let’s go back to Tesla’s relief effort. It’s said that scotch is an acquired taste and, if so, I acquired it the first time I tasted it. The same might be said about Tesla’s polarizing Cybertruck, which people seem to love or hate based largely on its looks. While I appreciate that Tesla thought outside the box — waaaaay outside the box — designing Cybertruck, I still wince every time I see one. But you know what? Cybertruck is growing on me with today’s news.

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https://twitter.com/i/status/1878861254267486611

 

 

 

 

Leaves

 

 

Drive in

 

 

If it fits

 

 

Fish
https://twitter.com/i/status/1878712173964492991

 

 

I wish I could swim
https://twitter.com/i/status/1878889565626450026

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Dec 072024
 
 December 7, 2024  Posted by at 10:40 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,  80 Responses »


Johannes Vermeer Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window 1657-59

 

Not a Joke (James Howard Kunstler)
Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose Biden’s Pardon Of His Son Hunter (JTN)
Trump Confident About Getting Pete Hegseth Confirmed As Defense Secretary (JTN)
National Police Association Strongly Endorses Kash Patel For FBI Director (JTN)
NYC Mayor Eric Adams Hints At Switch To Republican Party (ZH)
Jeff Bezos Expresses Optimism About Trump’s Deregulation Agenda, Offers to Help (ET)
Congress, Trump Plan Law Enforcement Reform In DC To End Politicization (JTN)
The Biden Family of Liars (Patrick Lawrence)
Nothing Short Of Ukraine’s Surrender Is Negotiable With The US (Helmer)
US Opens a Third Front Against Russia (Paul Craig Roberts)
Erdogan’s Idlib Shock Shadows “Kursk” (Alastair Crooke)
The Elitist Tyranny Of “Western Democracy” Is Exposed And Crumbling (SCF)
Orban Blames Biden For Ukraine Conflict (RT)
Hungary Vows to Block EU Budget Draft Unless Frozen Funds Released (Sp.)
Dementia As A Military Strategy (José Goulão)
Romanian Court Annuls Presidential Vote, Declares Election Do-Over (ZH)
London Declining As Financial Center – Bloomberg (RT)

 

 

 

 

Barron

YMCA

Stephen Miller
https://twitter.com/i/status/1864507104285086147
https://twitter.com/i/status/1864849006209192132

Work from home
https://twitter.com/i/status/1864757348398698509

Vance

Nunes

Obama

Chicago

 

 

 

 

“Stare into the sun and begin to glimpse the size of what you’re up against.” — Mike Benz

I called the pardon Pandora’s box before. Jim has many names who would like a blanket pardon. And there are many more. Problem is, this erodes society itself.

Not a Joke (James Howard Kunstler)

The Hunter Biden super-sized blanket pardon went over so well around the country that “Joe Biden” — or the shadowy league of not-quite-geniuses who run the twilight White House operation — floated the idea of issuing preemptive pardons for a few of the most spectacularly dishonest characters in US political life: Dr. Fauci, Senator-elect Adam Schiff, and Liz Cheney. Does “JB” plan on legally adopting them so he can claim he was moved to act out of a father’s love? Like every official act ever associated with the name “Joe Biden,” the preemptive pardon idea has that reality-optional feel. None of the three has been convicted of a crime to be pardoned for, or even been hauled-in for questioning by federal law enforcement agents on a probable cause writ. But a pardon would necessarily paint them as criminals, ipso facto. Would they accept a pardon, with what it implies, or run shrieking from it as from an apple polished with novichok?

The proffer of a pardon itself must amount to a declaration of probable cause, igniting the very legal process it seeks to dispose of. An inquiry would have to be launched to discover what laws these three desperadoes might have broken, followed perhaps by a grand jury to evaluate the evidence, and so on. “Joe Biden” himself might have to answer some basic questions, such as: at what time prior to issuing the pardon did he begin to suspect some laws had been broken? And, since the president’s chief duty is to enforce the law, was “JB” negligent and culpable himself for misprision of felonies? You know, of course, that the Supreme Court decided last summer in Trump v. United States (Docket No: 23-939) that a president is immune from prosecution for official acts. But the misprision of felonies is neither a presidential duty nor anything describable as an official act. Rather it would be grounds for impeachment, being a “high crime.”

Now, luckily for Joe Biden, his term-in-office is so close to its conclusion that impeachment must be considered off-the-table as a practical matter. He might be subject to prosecution, though, after the clock strikes noon on one-six-twenty-five. I doubt he will be present at Mr. Trump’s inauguration, so the US marshals will have to root him out of Delaware (or wherever) and haul him into the federal lockup in DC at exactly the moment Mr. Trump pardons the J-6 prisoners. Will they get to see “Joe Biden” coming into the joint on their way out? There would be a certain poetic symmetry in that, and hard to not admire the workings of Providence after all its foot-dragging. You might well ask: how many days, or months, will “Joe Biden” have to endure in solitary detention before the paperwork is in order for a proper arraignment? Considering how the process was applied to those J-6 culprits, a year would seem sufficient.

Pardon me for saying: I fear that “Joe Biden” might have started something that isn’t going to end well for “Joe Biden” and many others. The little goldfish bowl of the White House is surrounded by the vast, pulsating DC blob and its million-footed ranks of officials deserving of pardons. You know the floated names Fauci, Schiff, and Cheney were only representative samples, denoting a certain managerial class of blobists that runs to the thousands of federal employees at least. What about Garland, Monaco, and Gupta at DOJ, and their paladin prosecutor Jack Smith, and his many deputies? Or Comey, Wray, Abate, Sallet, McCabe, Rosenstein, Strzok, Page, Pientka, Priestap, McCord, Horowitz out of the FBI? Or Mueller, Weissmann, Dreeben, Van Grack, Rhee, and Quarles from that spin-off Special Counsel venture? Or Boasberg, Chutkan, and Sullivan in the DC judiciary? Or, Collins, Wallensky, Cohen and their many deputies in Covid-land?

Surely, they all deserve pardons now, and their crimes can be sorted out later. There would appear to be no precedent for a chief executive pardoning the entire federal government, or we would have heard of it by now. At the conclusion of the Civil War, Abe Lincoln issued a conditional pardon to Southerners — they had to take an oath of allegiance to the Union — but it did not include military officers and high-ranking Confederate officials. The blob of our time is a different breed of porpoise. Actually, it’s more like a systemic fungal infection of the body politic, requiring deep fumigation and exposure to sunlight. The proposed D.O.G.E advisory under Messrs Musk and Ramaswamy might answer as a “good enough” therapeutic approach, wholesale dismissal of entire agencies and departments, actually flushing away the malign parasites en masse, pardons not required.

What I await in the sunsetting “Joe Biden” presidency is whether he will go ahead and pardon the other members of the Biden family beyond just “first son” Hunter: brothers Jim and Frank and the wives and various offspring who received cash “gifts” from officials in foreign lands laundered into their personal bank accounts amounting to millions of dollars. None of them enjoy the much talked-about presidential immunity out of mere familial proximity to their illustrious relation, number “46” in the lengthening line of commanders-in-chief.

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“Only 30% of voters favored Biden’s clemency..” There are a lot of Democrats among the remaining 70%.

Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose Biden’s Pardon Of His Son Hunter (JTN)

Americans overwhelmingly oppose President Joe Biden’s pardon that erased his son Hunter’s federal tax and gun convictions, according to a new poll released Thursday. Pollster Scott Rasmussen’s Napolitan News Service survey found 62% oppose the pardon, including 41% who strongly opposed it. Only 30% of voters favored Biden’s clemency, The poll also found Americans rejected the rationale the 46th president offered in explaining his decision. Biden has said that Hunter Biden was unfairly targeted by prosecutors for political purposes, but 54% disagreed with his rationale, while 37% agreed. Voters were more sympathetic to President-elect Donald Trump, with 46% declaring they believed that the Department of Justice unfairly targeted him under Biden’s leadership, while 42% disagreed.

Biden pardon
https://twitter.com/i/status/1864668354079854993

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All they have is smear.

Trump Confident About Getting Pete Hegseth Confirmed As Defense Secretary (JTN)

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday appeared optimistic that he can get his choice for Secretary of Defense confirmed by the Senate early next year, despite recent criticism. Trump tapped former Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth to lead the defense department last month, touting him as a major supporter of veterans and the military. However, allegations have surfaced recently, accusing him of sexual assault, alcohol abuse and financial mismanagement. The former president said he still has confidence in Hegseth, and that senators have told him that they will support his nomination. Hegseth met with multiple senators this week in an effort to reassure them that the reports are unfounded.

“It looks like Pete is doing well now,” Trump told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in an interview that will air on Sunday. “I mean, people were a little bit concerned. He’s a young guy, with a tremendous track record actually. He went to Princeton and went to Harvard. He was a good student at both. But he loves the military and I think people are starting to see it so we’ll be working on his nomination along with a lot of others.” Trump said he has spoken to friends of Hegseth over at Fox News who have denied the allegation that the veteran has a drinking problem. Trump himself does not drink alcohol. “He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him through Fox, but I’ve known him for a long time,” the president-elect said. “He’s basically a military guy. Every time I talk to him, all he wants to talk about is the military. He’s a military guy.”

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“We are confident that under his stewardship, the FBI will thrive in its vital mission to protect and serve the American people..”

National Police Association Strongly Endorses Kash Patel For FBI Director (JTN)

The National Police Association on Friday “strongly” endorsed Kash Patel, President-elect Trump’s nominee for FBI director, and urged the Senate to confirm him. “We firmly believe that Kash Patel’s appointment as FBI Director will mark a pivotal moment for law enforcement and public safety across the United States. His leadership will bring a renewed focus on collaboration, ethical standards, and the relentless pursuit of justice,” the organization said in a statement. “We are confident that under his stewardship, the FBI will thrive in its vital mission to protect and serve the American people,” the group added.

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“Those who don’t like it, they will cancel me,” he said. “I say: Cancel me. I’m for America.”

NYC Mayor Eric Adams Hints At Switch To Republican Party (ZH)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has left the door open to returning to the Republican Party – a move that would upend the political dynamics in the nation’s largest city. In a pair of Friday morning interviews, Adams – who was a member of the GOP from 1995 to 2002, refused to rule out a switch back to the Republican Party. “I’m a part of the American party,” Adams told NY1 when asked directly about his political future. He reiterated the sentiment in a subsequent interview on PIX11, emphasizing that his allegiance lies with “American values” over partisan lines. “No matter what party I’m on or vote on, I’m going to push for American values,” he declared, urging leaders to work beyond political affiliations to solve voters’ problems. Adams’ comments come amidst heightened tensions within the Democratic Party, sparked by his growing relationship with President-elect Donald Trump.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1865033350072746187

While most Democrats have criticized Trump, Adams has avoided open conflict, even praising Trump confidant Elon Musk for his efforts to streamline government operations, Politico reports.The mayor is scheduled to meet with incoming border czar Tom Homan next week to discuss federal immigration policies. Adams has signaled tentative support for deportation plans targeting undocumented immigrants with serious criminal offenses, a position that aligns more closely with Trump’s immigration platform than his own party’s stance. Adams’ relationship with Trump takes on added significance in light of his ongoing legal battles. The mayor faces a five-count federal indictment, and Trump’s incoming administration is poised to replace the U.S. Attorney prosecuting Adams. Trump, who has repeatedly framed his own legal troubles as politically motivated, has expressed empathy for Adams’ predicament.

Speculation has swirled that the president-elect might extend a pardon to the mayor, further entwining their political fortunes.Despite his openness to a Republican pivot, Adams insists he plans to run for reelection next year as a Democrat. “That is what I’m proposing to do,” he told reporters Friday. However, his lukewarm endorsement of the Democratic Party and his past GOP affiliation leave room for doubt. Adams’ critics see his comments as a calculated effort to hedge his bets as Trump prepares to wield significant influence over New York City’s political and legal landscape. Local Democrats have expressed frustration, with some questioning whether Adams is using his position to align himself with Trump’s administration for political gain. Adams defended his controversial stance with a bold parting message: “Those who don’t like it, they will cancel me,” he said. “I say: Cancel me. I’m for America.”

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Bezos, like Zuckerberg, are all too aware of Elon Musk’s presence.

Jeff Bezos Expresses Optimism About Trump’s Deregulation Agenda, Offers to Help (ET)

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos expressed optimism about President-elect Donald Trump’s second term on Wednesday, voicing enthusiasm for potential regulatory rollbacks in the years ahead, even offering to personally help with the deregulatory effort like his business arch-rival Elon Musk. Speaking at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New York on Dec. 4, Bezos said that there are “too many regulations in this country” and praised Trump’s commitment to slashing red tape. “I’m actually very optimistic this time around,” Bezos said. “He seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. If I can help do that, I’m going to help him.” Bezos said that, in his view, the United States is “so set up to grow” thanks to factors like abundant energy resources and the world’s best risk-capital system, and that eliminating barriers to growth is key to solving the nation’s most vexing economic problems, such as ballooning public debt.

“You’re going to solve the problem of the national debt by making it a smaller percentage of GDP,” he said. “That means you have to grow the GDP at three, four, five percent a year, and let the national debt grow slower than that. If you can do that, then this is a very manageable problem. The billionaire entrepreneur added that America’s many advantages are being undermined by burdensome regulations. “I’m very optimistic that President Trump is serious about this regulatory agenda, and I think he has a very good chance at succeeding,” he said. Bezos’ comments come weeks after his decision in October to bar The Washington Post, which he owns, from endorsing a presidential candidate. The move sparked backlash, with tens of thousands of readers canceling subscriptions and protests from veteran journalists at the paper.

In an op-ed, Bezos defended the decision, arguing that endorsements contribute to perceptions of bias in an era of widespread mistrust in the media and have little impact on election outcomes. During his interview at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, Bezos also addressed Trump’s contentious relationship with the press, saying he would work to dissuade the president-elect from seeing the media as an adversary. “I don’t think the press is the enemy,” Bezos said, adding that he believes Trump’s relationship with the media has become less adversarial in recent years as he has grown as a person, and is “calmer … more confident, more settled.”

During his first term, Trump frequently criticized Bezos, Amazon, and The Washington Post. In 2019, Amazon alleged in court that Trump’s animosity cost the company a $10 billion Pentagon contract, which the Biden administration later split between Amazon and Microsoft. Later in the interview, Bezos also commented on Musk’s regulatory role in the upcoming administration, expressing confidence that Musk would not use his influence to harm competitors. Bezos’s space venture, Blue Origin, is a rival to Musk’s SpaceX.

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“An important part of my platform for president is to bring back, restore, and rebuild Washington D.C. into the ‘crown jewel’ of the nation..”

Congress, Trump Plan Law Enforcement Reform In DC To End Politicization (JTN)

Donald Trump and his political allies are promising law enforcement reforms and to fight crime in Washington, D.C., when he takes office again in January. Already, allies on Capitol Hill are preparing to launch investigations, new committees, and detail new priorities as the former president prepares to take the reigns on the executive branch for the second non-consecutive term. Some initiatives are taking aim at the nation’s capital, following promises from Trump on the campaign trail to clean up the city. Congress is looking to block disfavored city laws or using its power to shape the city’s budget, while Trump wants to enforce “tough on crime” policies in the district.

One congressman believes the security of the U.S. Capitol building itself and the politicization in the police force protecting the complex at the heart of the city should be the focus of a new select committee. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, Chairman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight says reforms are needed to root out undue political influence on the department’s leadership, exposed by a probe into the Capitol Police in the aftermath of the January 6 riot. “I believe we need a select committee that is focused on the security of the United States Capitol. You know, we’ve done a lot with our January 6 investigation, and have done more than anyone ever thought that we would do to get to the truth,” Loudermilk told the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show. He added: “But there’s one thing that we’ve uncovered that no one else can fix, except for the United States Congress, and that’s the issues we have internally.”

“You have the Architect of the Capitol, you have the Capitol Police, you have both Sergeant at Arms that collectively are responsible for securing this Capitol. I believe we need a select committee that is dedicated to looking into all of those to find the how politicized each of those organizations are, and even the Capitol Police Inspector General,” Loudermilk said. Loudermilk’s probe into the Capitol Police followed from a broader investigation spearheaded by his subcommittee into the security failures of January 6 and the conduct of the January 6 Select Committee. That probe has upended several of the narratives espoused by the former select committee and uncovered troubling failures, like the Capitol Police and Democratic leadership’s failure to act on warnings of violence ahead of the riot.

[..] At the same time, President-elect Trump has promised to bring changes to law enforcement in the wider city of Washington, D.C., which is still suffering from elevated violent crimes rates, though it has declined from high levels last year. “An important part of my platform for president is to bring back, restore, and rebuild Washington D.C. into the ‘crown jewel’ of the nation,” Trump said last year during his campaign at the same time that the city was experiencing its greatest spike of homicides since 1997. He has frequently reiterated a promise to “take over our horribly run” capitol city on the campaign trail, according to an Axios analysis of his speeches, press conferences and interviews about policy. As president, Trump will have many options to directly address issues he perceives with the city, For example, he could deploy the National Guard to the city to crack down on crime.

The president used this option during the Summer 2020 riots in the district following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis that sparked violent Black Lives Matter protests across the country. Trump will also have the opportunity to appoint a new federal prosecutor for the district who shares his law enforcement priorities. His congressional allies also have tools that could help Trump shape the city’s government and law enforcement. The Congress can exercise control of the district by imposing an oversight board to run the city’s budget. It did so once before in the 1990s when the city went bankrupt. Congress can also block or overturn laws implemented by the city government, as it already did once before with a bill many critics saw as being too soft on crime.

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Biden’s pardon is a carbon copy of the earlier rejected plea deal.

The Biden Family of Liars (Patrick Lawrence)

With his shocking presidential pardon of his son Hunter, announced Thanksgiving weekend, when the maximum number of Americans would be watching football games and consuming potato chips, Joe Biden goes out just as he was the whole of his tatty career as a politician — a self-serving fiddler, indifferent to democratic process, ever going against his word. Peter Baker, that inimitable (thank goodness) clerk The New York Times posts as its chief White House correspondent, tells us in Wednesday’s editions, “We don’t really know how history will remember Joe Biden. It’s too early to say, obviously.” Actually, we really know at this point. Obviously. Much has been made of Biden as the family man torn between his duties as president and his compassion for an errant son as the victim of perverted justice. The Times unfolded a singular line of argument on Tuesday.

“President Biden was deeply concerned,” Katie Rogers and Glenn Thrush reported, “that legal problems would push his son into a relapse after years of sobriety, and he began to realize there might not be any way out beyond issuing a pardon.” No other way out. Here we have Joe Biden pimping the helpless suffering of his son’s addictions (to alcohol and crack). It is of a piece with Biden’s very regular references, always for similar political advantage, to the death of his other son, Beau, and the earlier deaths of his first wife and daughter. The Rogers and Thrush piece now passes for news reporting Americans are invited to take seriously. It is one among countless others of its kind and quality that are together a measure of how the corruptions of the Bidens, father and son as well as others, have deepened an already severe crisis in American media and turned public discourse into bad afternoon television.

The reporting on the pardon has been defective since the White House released the Executive Grant of Clemency, along with Biden’s official statement, last Sunday. The Times, The Washington Post, the other major dailies and the broadcast networks all reported as if in unison that Joe Biden’s motivating concerns were the guilty verdicts Hunter Biden faces on gun-possession and tax-evasion charges. Hunter was scheduled to be sentenced later this month. Biden père has told the nation his intent was simply to protect Hunter from a judicial system that political antagonists had unduly politicized. From the president’s statement:

“The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room—with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases. No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong.” You read a statement such as this and you have to wonder whether Joe Biden is capable of speaking truthfully in any circumstance bearing upon his personal interests.

The plea deal, negotiated in the summer of 2023, was indeed carefully negotiated — by Hunter’s attorneys and corrupt Justice Department prosecutors acting to keep the president’s son out of prison. The agreement collapsed not due to political pressure — there was none — but because an un-beholden judge with a commitment to the rule of law, Maryellen Noreika, read it and threw it out of court. The feature of the plea bargain that moved Judge Noreika to put an end to the negotiated arrangement was its stipulation that Hunter would be immune from further prosecution not only for the matters then tried — the gun and taxes charges — but for any other crimes he may have committed. Preposterous, Noreika rightly concluded.

Was Hunter Biden singled out as his father asserts? Not as his father asserts, but yes, singled out. He had made a mess of his life, breaching various laws while doing so, and was singled out for special treatment in a judicial system that plainly leaves elites and their families above the law. This context is essential to understanding why Joe Biden decided — and one strongly suspects this was not, as reported, a decision Biden considered and took over the Thanksgiving weekend — to grant his son clemency in the manner he did. The operative language in the official document, the raison d’être of the case, is this:

“Be It Known, That This Day, I, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States, Pursuant to My Powers Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution, Have Granted Unto ROBERT HUNTER BIDEN A Full and Unconditional Pardon For those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions)…” As is easily discerned, President Biden has reinstated, not quite verbatim but nearly, the terms of the plea agreement thrown out of court a year and a half ago — the agreement he defended in his official statement as fair and reasonable. He has granted his son precisely what Judge Noreika found objectionable — open-ended immunity for crimes “he has committed or may have committed or taken part in.”

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“Brown spilled the beans as part of a warfighting exercise to show light between Gerasimov and Putin,” a NATO military veteran comments. “It was underhanded, but typical.”

Nothing Short Of Ukraine’s Surrender Is Negotiable With The US (Helmer)

The head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), General Charles Brown (lead image, right), has just revealed by press leak that he and the chief of the Russian General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, had talked by telephone last week, on November 27, and agreed not to disclose the contents of their call. If that was the point of agreement the two generals reached, Gerasimov has honoured it. Brown has just now decided to break his word. “At the request of General Gerasimov, General Brown agreed to not proactively announce the call,” the New York Times has reported Brown’s spokesman saying “after he was approached by a reporter about the call”. The newspaper omitted to say that Brown had leaked information about the call in advance, in order to prepare reporters to publish the exchange.

As an exchange of positions between the two generals, the Russian assessment is that once again the American side proves that nothing it says in private, agrees to in public, or signs on paper can be trusted. Sources say in Moscow that Gerasimov and the General Staff will dictate the terms for the end of the Ukraine war “proactively”; that is, when the battlefield is ready, and there is nothing left for Brown to fight or leak. Officially, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) have not announced their “read-out” of the telephone conversation of November 27. The last of Brown’s calls was identified by the JCS three days earlier. The Russian Defense Ministry has made no disclosure. Boris Rozhin, who reports through the Colonel Cassad military blog, has not mentioned the telephone exchange. Neither has Yevgeny Krutikov, whose Mudraya Ptitsa blog and essays in Vzglyad report GRU-level intelligence.

The Foreign Ministry briefer was not asked about the call at her press briefing in Moscow on December 4, and she appeared to be unaware of it. The only publication in Russian to report the call was Meduza, an anti-Kremlin website in Latvia. In the New York Times version of Brown’s leak, it is claimed that Gerasimov said “the Oreshnik ballistic missile launch had been planned long before the Biden administration agreed to allow Ukraine to use American ATACMS to strike deeper into Russia.” This is spin, Moscow sources claim, to reinforce the Biden Administration’s line that development of the Oreshnik dates back to the violations of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty which the Trump Administration claimed as its justification for withdrawing from the treaty in 2019.

The Moscow sources also believe the General Staff was certain from its intelligence of Ukrainian battlefield preparations that the US had been planning to use ATACMS against Russian territorial targets long before the Biden Administration announced its go-ahead. On November 27, Gerasimov told Brown that because the JSC had ignored the Oreshnik strike on the Yuzhmash plant on November 21 and used ATACMS on November 23 and November 25, there would be fresh Russian retaliation. That followed on the day after the Gerasimov-Brown telephone call. Massed Russian missile and drone strikes across the Ukraine on November 28 also targeted and killed US personnel operating ATACMS launchers in the Sumy region. Since then no new ATACMS launch across the border has been reported by the Defense Ministry in Moscow or by Russian military bloggers.

“Brown spilled the beans as part of a warfighting exercise to show light between Gerasimov and Putin,” a NATO military veteran comments. “It was underhanded, but typical.” A source close to Moscow speculates that Putin and Gerasimov had agreed they would try to sound out Brown, just as they have been sounding out President-elect Donald Trump.

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PCR is a broken record.

US Opens a Third Front Against Russia (Paul Craig Roberts)

The problem with President Putin is that he never finishes anything. He has let Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, which should have ended in three weeks go on for three years and talks about ending it with negotiations, in which he will again be deceived. He does nothing while the US tries to overthrow the Georgian government and establish a hostile anti-Russian one. He never finished clearing Syria of hostile forces. Consequently, he left Syria and Russian interests exposed to the current US/Israeli coordinated mercenary attack on Syria, which has overrun Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, forcing 280,000 Syrians to flee. This is a massive defeat for Syria and Russia. How is it possible that such an obvious thrust was a surprise? Has the inability tp perceive threats become a Russian hallmark? Will Putin ever understand the consequences of his inaction, his tolerance of endless provocations, of US hegemonic intentions against Russia, Iran, and China?

What factual basis exists for Putin and Lavrov to think that Washington’s hegemonic intention will fade away? Is Russia’s foreign policy based on hope or on reality? Putin’s terms for ending the conflict in Ukraine are reasonable. But if Trump agrees to them, he will be blamed for America’s defeat, for selling out the Ukrainians to Putin, for whetting Putin’s appetite for more conquests, for helping Putin rebuild the Soviet Empire. The neoconservatives and military/security complex will use the propaganda to direct political campaign contributions to anti-Trump candidates for the House and Senate in the midterm elections. To prevail in this fight, Trump would have to convince voters that victory is defined in terms of achieving peace and the end of the conflict. Can Trump achieve this with a hostile media and the warmongers he has appointed to his cabinet? Are Putin and Lavrov aware of these constraints? Will Putin and Lavrov ever win and end a conflict before it spins out of control?

There is no sign of a proactive Russia in her dealings with the West. Putin’s inaction has convinced the West that he will not act. This belief deprives the West of a reason to stop its provocations. Putin has again validated the West’s belief by cancelling any Western restraint from lowering the threshold of Russia’s use of nuclear weapons by giving assurances that Russia is threatening no one with nuclear weapons. Possibly Ukraine has used up its military-capable population. Possibly the collapse of the French government will prevent NATO troops being sent to Ukraine. Possibly the Georgian government will withstand the Washington-directed color revolution. Possibly this time Russia will destroy the US and mercenary forces threatening Syria and not again leave the conflict unresolved. On the other hand, possibly events will spin out of control in Ukraine, Georgia, and Syria. The West is not demonstrating restraint, and the Russians are not proactive, which leaves the initiative in the hands of the West.

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Erdogan plays his familiar double role. “Reportedly, the Turkish initiative was hurriedly brought forward, to fit with Israel’s ceasefire plan.”

Erdogan’s Idlib Shock Shadows “Kursk” (Alastair Crooke)

‘Doomsters’ is an occasional Russian expression used to categorise commentators that only see the ‘dark side to events’ (a vice quite prevalent during the Soviet era). Marat Khairullin, a highly respected Russian military analyst, says, “Today, a network of mercenary war bloggers has begun another round of moaning – this time about Syria, where apparently everything is lost for Russia”. “Many see the events in Syria (and some add Georgia to the mix) as attempts to open additional fronts against our country. Perhaps that’s true. But in that case, it’s more appropriate to draw direct parallels with the reckless attack on Kursk, which left the Ukrainian armed forces in an almost hopeless position”. Khairullin views the activation of this jihadist insurgency in Syria as a similarly ‘desperate’ act.

The background is that the Syria-Russia-Iran coalition had – thorough the Astana negotiations – “cornered the remaining Syrian terrorists into a 6,000 sq. km enclave. Without delving into the details, it was a process reminiscent of the [Ukrainian] Minsk Agreements—both sides were utterly exhausted and thus agreed to a ceasefire. Importantly, all sides understood this was only a temporary truce; the contradictions were so profound that no one expected the conflict to end”. Aleppo fell quickly these past days, as “one division of the Syrian National Army outright defected to the Islamists (read: Americans)”. The defection was a set up. Northern Aleppo was occupied by the Syrian National Army, fully controlled, armed and funded by Turkey, which dominates northern Aleppo. The key, Khairullin says, is this crucial point: The land is flat criss-crossed by few roads:

“ … whomsoever controls the airspace controls the country. Last year, Russia formed a new aerial unit called the Special Air Corps, reportedly tailored for overseas operations. It consists of four aviation regiments, including a regiment of Su-35s. Currently, just two Su-35s are overseeing the entirety of Syria’s territory. Imagine the impact when 24 such aircraft are deployed. And Russia is fully capable of such a deployment”. The second crucial point is that “Iran and Russia have drawn closer. At the start of the Syrian war, relations between the two were decidedly ‘neutral-hostile’. By late 2024 however, we now see a very strong alliance. Israel and the U.S., by violating the peace agreements through this Turkish insurrection, have provoked a renewed Iranian presence in Syria: Iran has begun to expand beyond its bases, redeploying additional forces into the country.

This gives Assad and his allies a direct pretext to expel the American and Turkish proxies from Aleppo and Idlib. This isn’t speculation — it’s straightforward arithmetic”. Syria, however, is a key component to the Israeli-American plan to remake the Middle East. Syria is both the supply-line for Hizbullah, as well as a hub of resistance to Israel’s “Greater Israel Project”. Now that the permanent ‘Anglo’ Security State unreservedly is backing Israel’s ambition to assert regional hegemony, the West has okayed Erdogan’s jihadist insurrection against President Assad. The aim is to split Iran from its allies, weaken Assad and to prepare for the putative Iran overthrow. Reportedly, the Turkish initiative was hurriedly brought forward, to fit with Israel’s ceasefire plan.

Khairullin’s point is that this Syria ‘ploy’ is akin to Ukraine’s “reckless attack on Kursk”, which diverted Ukrainian élite forces from the beleaguered Contact Line, and then marooned these forces in an almost hopeless position in Kursk. Instead of weakening Moscow (as intended), ‘Kursk’ inverted NATO’s original objective – by becoming opportunity to eradicate a major portion of Ukraine’s élite forces. In Idlib, the Islamists (HTS), writes Khairullin, “had gained dominance – imposing a strict Wahhabi regime and infiltrating the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army. Both groups are patchwork organizations, with various factions fighting over money, border crossings, drugs, and smuggling. Essentially, it’s a cauldron—not very combat-effective but highly greedy”.

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“The utter failure of that gamble has cost European and American taxpayers a combined $200 billion and could frighteningly escalate into a nuclear conflagration..”

The Elitist Tyranny Of “Western Democracy” Is Exposed And Crumbling (SCF)

The charade of Western democracy is rapidly unraveling as so-called leaders and their dutiful media show themselves to be brazenly unaccountable to citizens while pursuing elitist, criminal interests. Biden using presidential powers to pardon his drug-addict felonious son – after promising he wouldn’t. Western media claims that the upsurge in conflict in Syria is a “civil war” and not due to NATO-backed terrorist proxies. Western support for genocide in Gaza and a fascist Israeli leader who is mass murdering his way to avoid court prosecution for years of corruption. Western support for a money-laundering NeoNazi regime in Kiev whose proxy war against Russia could spiral into nuclear annihilation. Western sponsoring of anti-government violence in Georgia after pro-EU groups lost an election there. The pro-West South Korean leader declaring police state powers to avoid prosecution for corruption.

That’s just a quick sample of something more ample in the West’s decaying image. The visit to China this week by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was another revealing fiasco. The obsessively anti-Russia Baerbock landed in Beijing not to prioritize improving trade relations with the European Union’s biggest global partner but rather to browbeat China with tedious allegations that it was helping Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. What’s more important? Getting along with China to bolster trade and jobs for millions of Germans and Europeans, or gratuitously grandstand over a wanton proxy war in Ukraine? Understandably, the Chinese authorities were not pleased by Baerbock’s insolence and gave her short shrift. She was snubbed by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi not affording a customary joint press conference after more than three hours of discussions.

In a separate statement, China again rejected claims that it was aiding Russia militarily in Ukraine. So here we have Germany’s top diplomat who is soon out of a job because her coalition government has collapsed and is facing new elections – but she flies to Beijing on taxpayer money to aggravate relations with China, whose annual trade with the EU amounts to over $700 billion. At her solo press conference in Beijing, Baerbock doubled down in her arrogance, accusing China of jeopardizing peace and security in Europe because it supports Russia. She claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was dragging Asia into the war with Ukraine. The double-think is astounding. Germany, the European Union, NATO, and the United States have done everything to drag the whole world into a war because of its reckless proxy machinations in Ukraine against Russia.

The utter failure of that gamble has cost European and American taxpayers a combined $200 billion and could frighteningly escalate into a nuclear conflagration. Baerbock turned reality on its head when she accused Russia of pulling Asia into the war in Ukraine. It is the United States, NATO, and European Atlanticist leaders who are expanding the proxy war to other regions, including the Middle East and Asia. Western so-called democracies and NATO are supporting the upsurge in violence in Syria by terrorist militias under the banner of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an internationally proscribed terror organization affiliated with Al Qaeda. Ukrainian military personnel and Turkey (which means NATO personnel) are reliably reported to be assisting the militants in Syria with drone technology.

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“Current US President Joe Biden wants to increase the scale of the conflict, Orban claimed, while President-elect Donald Trump is “pro-peace.”

Orban Blames Biden For Ukraine Conflict (RT)

US interference triggered the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. His comments come after Moscow accused Washington of lacking “common sense and restraint” in its approach to the conflict. In an interview with public broadcaster Kossuth Radio on Friday, Orban said the United States had played a decisive role in the conflict. ”America is one of the main players in this war. Without America, this war would never have happened. Ukraine would not have been able to resist without America’s support,” the prime minister said, as quoted by the Magyar Nemzet newspaper. According to official figures, as of September 30, Washington had allocated a total of nearly $183 billion in aid for Ukraine, with $130.1 billion committed and $86.7 billion disbursed.

Current US President Joe Biden wants to increase the scale of the conflict, Orban claimed, while President-elect Donald Trump is “pro-peace.” Earlier this week, the US State Department announced $725 million in assistance for Kiev, including air-defense capabilities, munitions for rocket systems and artillery, and anti-tank weapons. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently called on Kiev to lower the conscription age from the current level of 25 years, which Orban described as “terrible, because even more Ukrainians would die.” It’s time for American policies to change because they have become “unsustainable,” Orban argued. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday that Hungary was “pressing hard so that Donald Trump’s goal of ending this war quickly becomes a reality,” and warned that failure to achieve peace in Ukraine would increase the risk of escalation on a daily basis.

Trump, who is set to take over from Biden in six weeks, repeatedly pledged during his election campaign to end conflict within 24 hours of his inauguration on January 20. The proposals reportedly floated by Trump’s advisers include forcing Moscow and Kiev into negotiations by using military aid as leverage. Moscow has said it has yet to receive a detailed plan from Trump or his team regarding a potential resolution of the conflict. In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that Russia would not agree to any concessions that compromise its national security. The diplomat also claimed that there was a lack of common sense and “restraint in the West, in particular the US, where people seemingly underestimate” Russia’s resolve to defend its core national security interests.

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“Hungary will veto the European Union’s next seven-year budget draft unless it receives all blocked funds..”

Hungary Vows to Block EU Budget Draft Unless Frozen Funds Released (Sp.)

The European Union withheld some 7.5 billion euros worth of payments to Hungary from the shared budget in September 2022 over alleged rule-of-law shortcomings, but Budapest’s blocking of EU funding for Ukraine’s war effort prompted Brussels to release some of the funds to Hungary in December. Hungary will veto the European Union’s next seven-year budget draft unless it receives all blocked funds from the bloc’s budget, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday. “These 12.5 billion euros [held in Hungary’s accounts in Brussels] fulfill the requirements of the Hungarian economy until the end of 2026. We are entitled to more money besides these, this will be a problem after 2026.

‘In my opinion, we will certainly get them too. Because negotiations have started on a seven-year budget after 2027. It requires unanimity to pass. And I can say for sure that the money that we did not get in 2025-2026, we will have to get in 2027-2028, otherwise there will be no budget, we will not approve it,” Orban told Hungary’s media. The European Commission said in mid-December 2023, that it was ready to unfreeze 10.2 billion euros, roughly a third of Hungary’s total withheld funds, as it had received the latest clarification from Budapest about its claims about the rule of law in the country.

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“These leaders are mistaken and make us targets of the ricochets of their unconsciousness..”

Dementia As A Military Strategy (José Goulão)

The approval by the Washington Administration and immediate execution by the Nazi regime in Kiev of the launch of U.S.-produced tactical missiles known as ATACAM against Russian territory is a sign of the desperation that NATO and the Western world are going through in the face of the perceived military defeat, once again, now on Ukrainian territory. The most tragic and dangerous element of this decision by the real head of NATO to directly involve the alliance in the war against Russia is the fact that it was taken by a defeated and transitional U.S. president, senile and admittedly demented – always a sociopath – considered incapable of running for re-election but not of creating an imminent situation of nuclear war.

This is how the West works today: despair in the face of military defeat in a proxy war in which NATO – mainly the European Union – have invested almost everything, especially in budgetary resources and weapons, in addition to the squandering of essential means for their economies, leads to irresponsibility; And this, in turn, leads to decisions calling into question the survival of the eight billion people, as many as there are on the planet, to be taken (or at least announced) by a single sick individual, with cognitive capacities visibly and admittedly reduced to the tiniest species – but still enough for the warmongering and murderous impulses that marked his long life in the dominant imperial structures to come to the fore.

The decision to openly and effectively attack Russia using an individual without presidential legitimacy, but willing to kill his people in a losing war, was pronounced by an unconscious manipulated through the real system of power, the industrial, military and technological complex, currently in the hands of the criminal sect of neoconservatives who do not look at any means. even extermination, genocide and, ultimately, nuclear killing, to achieve their goals of controlling the planet globally. Many will think they are just crazy people raving about dominating the transnational levers of power, but they take themselves seriously. And we must take them seriously. It is almost certain that Joseph Biden did not read, or was unable to read, the new nuclear doctrine of the Russian Federation, fine-tuned after NATO, following the Western coup on Maidan Square, sponsored the war conducted by the then new Nazi-Banderist regime against Russian communities in the East of the country – now Russia’s de facto territory.

Anyone who hears or reads the opinions and statements of important Western leaders realizes that, as part of their irresponsibility and their autism, they do not give importance and do not take seriously the content of this doctrine. They interpret it as a propaganda document, intended to be a deterrent, but which does not correspond to the serious intentions of the Kremlin, sunk in a kind of congenital and deterministic weakness. That is, the West is desperately betting on a war whose ultimate objective is the destruction of the Russian Federation and its territorial transformation into a series of harmless and subservient states that allow the plundering of its goods and wealth, as happened at the end of the Soviet Union under the stylized consulate of Boris Yeltsin.

Western leaders even mock the content of this nuclear doctrine by assuring that Putin will never be able to apply it, which will be another of his manifestations of “weakness”. The worst thing is that if they pay to see it, we will all bear the price of this suicidal bet. These leaders are mistaken and make us targets of the ricochets of their unconsciousness, as has already happened with the effects of the economic sanctions on Russia.

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They’re blaming TikTok for the non-compliant candidate’s win..

Romanian Court Annuls Presidential Vote, Declares Election Do-Over (ZH)

Something unprecedented just happened in the NATO and EU member country of Romania – a top court on Friday annulled the first round of the country’s presidential election. Essentially there will now be a ‘do over’ election. The Constitutional Court made the decision even as voting is still underway in the diaspora. “The electoral process for the election of the President of Romania will be resumed in its entirety, with the Government required to set a new date for the election of the President of Romania as well as a new calendar program for carrying out the necessary actions,” the court said in a statement. The court decided “to annul the entire electoral process for the election of the President of Romania… to ensure the correctness and legality of the electoral process” – in a controversial ruling which has simply never happened.

Calin Georgescu, the widely dubbed ‘far-right’ contender, came out on top in a first round of voting in a ‘shock’ outcome which left political opponents claiming Russian election interference. Apparently the ‘smoking gun’ is related to mere social media posts on platforms like TikTok. “The Constitutional Court’s unprecedented decision — which is final — came after President Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence on Wednesday that alleged Russia ran a sprawling campaign comprising thousands of social media accounts to promote Calin Georgescu across platforms like TikTok and Telegram,” The Associated Press details. Georgescu emerged top of the ballot after the Nov.24 first round vote, despite declaring no campaign spending, and was set to enter a run-off originally scheduled for Sunday against reformist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party.

Contributing to the dossier examined by the court on the alleged Russian election interference included the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunication Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, AP has noted further. Georgescu’s nationalist rhetoric has proven ultra popular as social media videos featuring him have racked up millions of views. But at least much of this would likely be genuine and organic, given that the vast majority of the population leans ultra-conservative. Also Romania has one of the highest church attendance rates in Europe, with the dominant religion being the very traditional Romanian Orthodox Church, which is also in communion with the Russian Orthodox Church. Russia on Friday vehemently denied that it is interfering in Romania’s election. This as Western media is already labelling Georgescu as “pro-Russian”. Similar controversy has lately engulfed politics in Georgia as well, where pro-EU street protests have continued.

“The campaign for the Romanian presidential election… is accompanied by an unprecedented outburst of anti-Russian hysteria,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the press in response to the reports. “More and more absurd accusations are being made by local politicians, officials and media representatives…,” she said. “We firmly reject all hostile attacks, which we consider absolutely groundless.” The European Commission at the same time says it’s closely monitoring the TikTok platform related to Romania’s election. NATO and Washington are also watching closely, given a Georgescu victory could have huge implications for the future of Western military bases and units inside Romania, on NATO’s so-called Eastern flank:” Romania is a serious military power, which is why the risk that NATO-skeptic, pro-Russia candidate Calin Georgescu will become its president next Sunday is confounding the alliance.

The country of 19 million has been a NATO member for two decades, and is the site of an airbase that is expanding to be the bloc’s biggest in Europe. It borders Ukraine; stares across the Black Sea at Russia-occupied Crimea; has sent arms and ammunition to Kyiv; and hosts a U.S. Aegis Ashore missile defense system in Deveselu, in southern Romania, where both Romanian and U.S. forces are based. But those international ties are deplored by Georgescu, who has condemned the Deveselu missiles as a national shame, campaigned for ending Romanian aid to Ukraine, and called for Russian wisdom in shaping foreign policy.” His rhetoric is similar to Hungary’s Viktor Orban or Italy’s Meloni…

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“British equities are currently trading at a record discount of over 40% compared to peers globally..”

London Declining As Financial Center – Bloomberg (RT)

The number of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is decreasing at the quickest pace in more than ten years as a result of mergers and acquisitions by larger competitors and investment firms, Bloomberg has reported, citing data compiled by the outlet. In 2024, some 45 firms reportedly delisted from the London stock market, representing an increase of 10% compared to the whole of last year. It’s the highest number of companies to leave the exchange since 2010. At the same time, the volume of deals targeting UK corporations have soared 81% this year to more than $160 billion. Data tracked by the news agency also shows that only 11 companies have completed IPOs in London during the current year to raise a total of $1 billion, down 11% from the amount raised during the same period in 2023.

“Unless the UK gets its act together, it’s going to continue to lose ground and relevance,” Liad Meidar, managing partner at investment firm Gatemore Capital Management, told Bloomberg. “Quite simply, companies can’t get the right cost of capital. They can’t get the valuation they want.” Overseas private equity firms have been particularly active when it comes to mergers and acquisitions, the news agency noted. In November, Florida-based Starwood Capital Group completed the $852 million takeover of London-listed Balanced Commercial Property Trust last month. Sweden’s EQT recently closed the $2.7 billion acquisition of videogame services company Keywords Studios, while Chicago-based Thoma Bravo purchased cybersecurity software provider Darktrace for $5.3 billion. The media outlet noted that more new deals were expected to come in the near future.

Chief executive officer of UK-based insurance giant Aviva, Amanda Blanc, is reportedly trying to convince the board of the rival Direct Line Insurance Group to engage after making a $4.2 billion takeover bid. At the same time, US investment major General Atlantic has announced plans to acquire online training business Learning Technologies Group for $1 billion. The UK stock market remains popular with bargain hunters, Bloomberg said, noting that British equities are currently trading at a record discount of over 40% compared to peers globally. “If London wants to keep its place as the financial center of Europe, major reforms are needed,” said Joachim Klement, a strategist at British advisory firm Panmure Liberum, as quoted by the agency. “It is time for UK investment banks, the London Stock Exchange, and regulators to realize the seriousness of the situation and take action. Unfortunately, there are no easy fixes.”

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