Mar 252025
 
 March 25, 2025  Posted by at 10:59 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  65 Responses »


Caravaggio Conversion on the way to Damascus 1600-01

 

“A New World Order With European Values” (Turley)
‘Nazis’ In Ukraine ‘Nurtured’ By Europeans – Lavrov (RT)
Kiev Wants Trump Envoy Witkoff Sacked (RT)
Ukraine Doesn’t Want Peace – Moscow (RT)
US and Russia Engaging In ‘Creative’ Talks – Moscow (RT)
Rubio Accuses ‘Other Countries’ Of Blocking Peace In Ukraine (RT)
DOGE Reveals Mind Shocking Fraud Propping Up Economy – Ed Dowd (USAW)
The Pentagon’s War on Wasted Dollars (RCD)
Mike Davis Cooks Judge Screwing Around With Trump’s Deportation Flights (Vespa)
Anti-Trump Judge Makes Another Outrageous Ruling (Margolis)
New Dirt on Judge Boasberg Raises More Questions (Margolis)
The Last Resort (James Howard Kunstler)
Pentagon Chief Hegseth Comments On ‘Yemen War Plans’ Leak (RT)
Trump Team Unwittingly Sends Yemen Strike Plans to Editor of The Atlantic (Sp.)
Trump Names Alina Habba To Be Interim US Attorney For New Jersey (NYP)
The ‘Real’ Epstein Files Are Coming. Here’s What to Know. (Margolis)
“Tread Carefully”: Pam Bondi Issues Warning Over Musk “Takedown” (ZH)
Elon Musk Disguises IRS Building As Tesla Dealership (BBee)

 

 

Carpe
https://twitter.com/CarpeDonktum/status/1904173446759625176

RFK

2.924

Taxes
https://twitter.com/TONYxTWO/status/1904206868269945336

Gingrich

Zeldin
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1904209863128814043

 

 

 

 

“The problem is that this vision for a new Holy Roman Empire lacks a Charlamagne. More importantly, it lacks public support.”

“A New World Order With European Values” (Turley)

“A New World Order With European Values.” Emblazoned across banners and signs, those words met the participants at this week’s meeting of the World Forum in Berlin. Each year, leaders, executives, journalists and academics gather to address the greatest threats facing humanity. This year, there was little doubt about what they view as the current threat: the resurgence of populism and free speech. In fairness to the Forum, “a New World Order” likely sounds more ominous for some civil libertarians than intended. While the European Union is a transnational government stretching across 27 nations, the organizers were referring to a shift of values away from the United States to Europe. As one of the few speakers at the forum who was calling for greater protections for free speech, I found it an unnerving message.

Even putting aside the implications of the New World Order, the idea of building a world on today’s European values is alarming for free speech. Free speech is in a free fall in Europe, with ever-expanding speech regulations and criminal prosecutions — including for having “toxic ideologies.” The World Forum has a powerful sense of fraternity, even an intimacy, among leaders who see each other as a global elite — a cadre of enlightened minds protecting citizens from their own poor choices and habits. There has long been a push for transnational governing systems, and European figures see an opportunity created by the conflict with President Trump. The European Union is the model for such a Pax Europaea or “European peace.” The problem is that this vision for a new Holy Roman Empire lacks a Charlamagne. More importantly, it lacks public support.

The very notion of a “New World Order” is chilling to many who oppose the rise of a globalist class with the rise of transnational governance in the European Union and beyond. This year, there is a sense of panic among Europe’s elite over the victory of Trump and the Republicans in the U.S., as well as nationalist and populist European movements. For globalists, the late Tip O’Neill’s rule that “all politics is local” is anathema. The European Union is intended to transcend national identities and priorities in favor of an inspired transnational government managed by an expert elite. The message was clear. The new world order would be based on European, not American, values. To rally the faithful to the cause, the organizers called upon two of the patron saints of the global elite: Bill and Hillary Clinton. President Clinton was even given an award as “leader of the century.”

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“..the West’s approach to public messaging that “portrays itself as infallible and suffers from an exceptionalism complex.”

‘Nazis’ In Ukraine ‘Nurtured’ By Europeans – Lavrov (RT)

European NATO members are willfully ignoring the “Nazi” character of the Ukrainian government, which they have empowered as an anti-Russian instrument, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has asserted.On Monday, the senior diplomat expressed concern over the “demons of neo-Nazism, Russophobia, and other hateful ideologies” spreading across multiple EU nations. Member states are deliberately overlooking Kiev’s misconduct, even as it persecutes ethnic Russians and violates human rights, he stressed. “Ukraine – ‘that’s different.’ Those Nazis have been nurtured for the latest attempt to unite all of Europe under racist, Nazi banners for a war against the Russian Federation,” Lavrov stated.

The minister was speaking in his capacity as a trustee of the Gorchakov Fund, a Russian NGO aimed at enhancing public diplomacy. He emphasized the organization’s mission of presenting an authentic view of Russia and contrasted it sharply with the West’s approach to public messaging that “portrays itself as infallible and suffers from an exceptionalism complex.” The EU is pursuing a multibillion-dollar rearmament plan, justified by what Brussels labels a growing Russian threat. European officials have warned that a direct NATO confrontation with Moscow may break out within the next few years. Russia, however, denies any hostile intentions toward the US-led military bloc.

Tensions between European NATO members and Washington resurfaced after President Donald Trump assumed office in January. The new US administration has sought a swift resolution to the Ukraine conflict and intends to shift security responsibilities onto Europe once a truce is achieved. Moscow’s goal of ‘denazification’ remains central to its stance on the Ukraine conflict. Russian officials have denounced the Ukrainian government as a “neo-Nazi regime” due to its discriminatory domestic policies, alleged war crimes against Russian citizens, and veneration of historical nationalist figures who collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II.

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“..this person needs to be removed from this delegation, he should not be a representative of the [US] president. Since he’s either completely unprofessional or simply repeats Putin’s narratives..”

Kiev Wants Trump Envoy Witkoff Sacked (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who has played a central role in opening negotiations on resolving the Ukraine conflict, is “spreading Russian propaganda” and should be sacked, according to a senior Ukrainian lawmaker. The head of the Kiev’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Aleksandr Merezhko, made the remark in response to Witkoff’s interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, during which the envoy spoke about the status of former Ukrainian territories that have joined Russia, describing the issue as “an elephant in the room” that “no one wants to talk about.” “They’re Russian-speaking. There have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule,” Witkoff said.

“The Russians are de facto in control of these territories. The question is: Will the world acknowledge that those are Russian territories? Can [Vladimir] Zelensky survive politically if he acknowledges this? This is the central issue in the conflict,” he added. Merezhko strongly condemned the “disgraceful, shocking statements,” accusing Witkoff of acting as an envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin rather than of Trump. “We are talking about a representative of the president who should have professional expertise in this matter and know some basic things. obvious things. And he doesn’t know this. He spreads Russian propaganda,” the lawmaker insisted in a televised interview.

Merezhko said that [he] wasn’t sure if “ignorance, naivety, or unprofessionalism” was behind Witkoff’s statements and called for the US official to be booted from his role. “We clearly can’t dictate to American friends who should represent them. But this person needs to be removed from this delegation, he should not be a representative of the [US] president. Since he’s either completely unprofessional or simply repeats Putin’s narratives,” Merezhko added.

Moscow and Kiev have taken bipolar positions on the former-Ukrainian Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions and the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, all of which officially joined Russia in autumn 2022 following a series of referendums. Kiev also formally claims Russia’s Crimea, which seceded from Ukraine in the aftermath of a violent Western-backed coup in Kiev and joined Russia in 2014, as its own. Moscow has repeatedly signaled that its sovereignty over the territories is not negotiable, while Kiev has repeatedly pledged to seize back control of all the territories it claims as its own. The Ukrainian leadership has seemingly softened its rhetoric as of late, now insisting it will never recognize “occupation” of the territories and Russian sovereignty over them in any form.

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The US should simply leave.

Ukraine Doesn’t Want Peace – Moscow (RT)

Ukraine continues to attack Russian civilian infrastructure, proving that Kiev does not actually want peace, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. Last week, following a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, Moscow and Kiev agreed to a partial ceasefire and pledged to suspend strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days. However, the Russian Defense Ministry has since reported multiple Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy facilities such as oil and gas pipelines. The latest attack reportedly took place at 2 a.m. on Monday on the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station in Russia’s Krasnodar Region. The station is operated by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which works with US energy giants such as Mobil and Chevron.

Russian air defense systems intercepted a Ukrainian attack UAV some 7km from the facility, with fragments falling in the area of a railway station, according to the Defense Ministry. In an update on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine had also launched drone strikes on the Glebovskoye gas condensate field in Crimea on March 23 and on a gas distribution center in Belgorod Region on March 22. Commenting on the recent attacks, Zakharova claimed it is typical of Kiev’s behavior, particularly ahead of international events such as this week’s Russia-US talks in Saudi Arabia.

”Every time it’s the same story. Before any contacts, including during visits to Moscow by foreign delegations, the Kiev regime commits terrorist acts, attacks on civilian infrastructure, on civilian objects, extremist acts, and so on… They don’t need peace. They have stated this repeatedly,” Zakharova told reporters. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stressed that despite Kiev’s repeated violations, Moscow continues to uphold the energy strike truce and that President Putin has not issued any new commands to the country’s armed forces. However, Zakharova warned over the weekend that Russia reserves its right to respond to Ukraine’s attacks, including “symmetrically,” if Kiev continues its “destructive course.”

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The talks will intensify.

US and Russia Engaging In ‘Creative’ Talks – Moscow (RT)

The US-Russian talks held in Saudi Arabia are a “creative” endeavor, though they may not yield a diplomatic breakthrough on Monday, a Russian lawmaker who is part of Moscow’s delegation told journalists. Grigory Karasin, chairman of the International Relations Committee in Russia’s upper chamber of parliament, provided the media an update during a break in the talks in Riyadh. The discussions, which he described as “technical,” focus on maritime security in the Black Sea and the possibility of reviving the Black Sea Initiative, which was originally mediated by the UN and Türkiye. Russia withdrew from the deal in July 2023, citing the West’s failure to provide sanctions relief for its grain exports, as the conditions of the arrangement required.

“Not every negotiation yields a high-profile document or agreement,” Karasin remarked before returning to the closed-door meetings. “What matters is maintaining communication and understanding each other’s positions. In this regard, we are succeeding.” Alongside Karasin, Russia’s delegation includes Sergey Beseda, an adviser to the director of the Federal Security Service. Their American counterparts, as identified by Reuters, are Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Department official. When asked about possible outcomes, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov remarked earlier in the day that they “primarily concern the safety of maritime traffic. However, if you recall [the original version] of the deal, there were significant obligations made to our side that were never fulfilled. This remains part of the agenda.”

US President Donald Trump has suggested revisiting the grain deal as part of his efforts to mediate a broader truce between Russia and Ukraine, Peskov added. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to Trump’s proposal to suspend attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, while Ukraine committed to reciprocate. However, Kiev has violated the partial ceasefire multiple times, including on Monday morning, according to Russia. Moscow has warned that it reserves the right to withdraw from the arrangement should Ukraine fail to meet its commitments. A Ukrainian delegation is also present at the same luxury hotel in Riyadh where the US-Russian talks are taking place, but they have no direct contact with the Russian team. The Ukrainians had their own talks with the US delegation the previous day.

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There are 27 of them in the EU.

Rubio Accuses ‘Other Countries’ Of Blocking Peace In Ukraine (RT)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that unnamed foreign governments are obstructing efforts to end the Ukraine conflict, crediting President Donald Trump with leading negotiations to mediate peace between Moscow and Kiev. Senior Russian and US officials held marathon 12-hour talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Monday, focused on resolving the Ukraine conflict and ensuring maritime security in the Black Sea. However, the two sides have yet to release details or announce the outcome of the discussions. Speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House before the talks concluded, Rubio stressed that the conflict “needs to be brought to an end” through negotiations, not military means, and praised Trump as “the only one leader in the world that’s capable of bringing two sides to a table.”

According to Rubio, Trump’s diplomatic initiative has faced resistance from other governments, although he did not name any specific countries. “You’ve done it despite impediments from other countries and others who maybe have different opinions about how this should go,” Rubio said, addressing Trump directly. “Ultimately, I think that the only chance we have for peace is through the President’s leadership.” Following a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart last week, Moscow and Kiev agreed to a partial ceasefire and pledged to suspend strikes on energy infrastructure for 30 days.

However, the Russian Defense Ministry has since reported multiple Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stressed that despite Kiev’s violations, Moscow will continue to uphold the energy strike truce. In an interview on Sunday, Peskov also remarked that instead of seeking peace and addressing the root causes of the conflict, EU member states are now discussing the deployment of NATO contingents to Ukrainian territory. “This rampant militarist policy of Europe – there is no other way to describe it – is hard to comprehend,” he said.

Tensions between Washington and European NATO members resurfaced after Trump assumed office in January. The new administration has pushed for a swift resolution to the Ukraine conflict and plans to shift security responsibilities to Europe once a truce is in place. Following an emergency summit in London earlier this month, the UK and France signaled that they are open to sending Western “peacekeepers” to Ukraine once a ceasefire is reached. Moscow has rejected the proposal, stating that it makes no difference under what pretext NATO troops enter the country. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that this could lead to a direct war between the military bloc and Moscow.

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DOGE vs the NGOs.

“Martin Armstrong says all the gold movement coming to the US is because of a coming war..”

DOGE Reveals Mind Shocking Fraud Propping Up Economy – Ed Dowd (USAW)

Former Wall Street money manager and financial analyst Ed Dowd of PhinanceTechnologies.com is back with an update of a report on “Danger of Deep Worldwide Recession in 2025.” It was not just heavy government spending on illegal immigration, but “mind shocking” fraud that has been revealed with DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). Investigators have uncovered $115 billion so far with many hundreds of billions more to be exposed. Dowd says, “Both sides of the aisle are probably going to have problems. The DOGE revelations are mind shocking. The clear way in which the government was spending money through NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and people taking kickbacks and profits along the way is going to come out. There may have been theft along the way. What business does Stacy Abrams have getting $2 billion for an NGO? This doesn’t make any sense.

It’s going to be shocking, even shocking to me. I knew there was rot in the system, but the mind blowing way the NGOs were used to facilitate the illegal immigration just blows my mind. The 10 million plus illegals that came in over the last four years, you just don’t wake up one day in Central America and say I am going to the Darien Gap, and go to the Mexican border and then meander my way into the interior of the US without a tremendous amount of aid along the way. NGOs facilitated that and probably took their cut. What was the all-in economic cost of the goodies they got once they got here? Plus, the NGOs spent and what the government spent themselves to facilitate this, it’s not hard to imagine $50,000 to $100,000 all-in cost per illegal. . . . This is the all-in cost up and down the entire economic food chain. . . . It was anywhere between $500 billion to $1.5 trillion depending on the illegals. It was an illegal project funded purposely, and it was very logistical. It was not something that just happened overnight.”

The result, says Dowd, was the US economy was propped up when it should have already tanked. Now, all this spending on this illegal invasion is going away. Dowd says, “When we wrote our report, we were surprised on how fast DOGE would get to work. . . . This is why our thesis is playing out a little quicker than we thought. . . . The housing market was on fragile ground the last year or so. It was held up by illegal immigrants supporting rent prices. So, as that unwinds, we think there will be a mini 2008–2009 housing issue. Housing prices are going to come down, and that is a big driver of consumption in the economy. That needs to happen because home affordability is off the charts.”

Dowd also see a recession coming as the government downsizes, illegal alien funding gets cut and illegals continue to self-deport. Dowd says, “Consumer confidence has taken a nosedive recently, and you can see why. There are 10 million to 15 million illegal immigrants worried about their gravy train coming to an end. So, they may be holding back on their spending. There are millions of government employees worried about their jobs. Then, you have the NGO networks that employ about 6 million people. So, you have about 20 million to 25 million people that are in the workforce . . . worried about where their money is going to come from, and that can cause consumer spending to slow down.”

There is good news with the spending cuts, according to Dowd, and that will come in the form of lower interest rates in the bond market. Dowd still likes gold as a core asset and does not see Trump tariffs as inflationary. Dowd says the problems with tariffs are “overblown” and are a negotiation tool to get fair trade for America around the world. Dowd sees “deflation” and possibly a short but “deep recession” coming before inflation. A possible black swan event is an intensified war in Ukraine and no peace deal along with the EU getting deeply involved in a war with Russia. This could be a plus for the US if it stays out of the conflict. Dowd says, “There seems to be war drums beating in Europe, and capital will flee to the US. Martin Armstrong says all the gold movement coming to the US is because of a coming war, and of all the theories on this, that makes the most sense to me. I am not predicting war, but that is a geopolitical risk out there. That is one of those ‘black swan’ events. Another ‘black swan’ event is a Bank of Japan currency crisis and, also, something going on with Iran and the Middle East. . . . Black swan events add to the risk, and those are hard to predict.”

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“America cannot afford inefficiency..”

The Pentagon’s War on Wasted Dollars (RCD)

So far, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has swept through government agencies like the United States Agency for International Development, brushing off cobwebs and uncovering skeletons as it goes. Now, DOGE is set to enter a much bigger agency whose shortfalls demand reform: the Department of Defense. Long criticized for its budget woes, the DOD has recently faced accusations of overspending, underspending, and even simple misspending—criticisms which are all well founded. In fact, the DOD consistently mismanages its budget, a fact that’s led it to fail all of its last seven audits.To address these issues, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently announced that he would work with DOGE to conduct a DOD-wide budget review.

Already, this initiative has revealed $80 million in wasteful spending, including $1.9 million in “DEI transformation and training” and $3.5 million in “Defense HR Support for DEI.” While the Pentagon is notoriously resistant to change, additional pressure from DOGE and the administration could finally force the reforms needed to modernize the American military, refocus on warfighting capabilities, and rid the Pentagon of absurd budget line items. But DOGE’s mission isn’t just to slash budgets: it’s also to restore efficiency. Specifically, DOGE’s role is to ensure the federal government makes the most effective use possible of American taxpayer dollars.

Fundamentally, the DOD exists to ensure America’s warfighting capability—a task DOGE has no intention of obstructing. And even as the DOD’s mission grows more and more urgent, Pentagon dollars continue to be misused, a flaw that cries for immediate correction. Hegseth recently announced he’d be implementing a DOD budget “cut” of 8%, or about $50 billion. Rather than simply imposing strict cuts, this plan seeks to “refocus … and reinvest … existing funds” to build a more lethal fighting force, restore “warrior ethos,” and reestablish global deterrence. This shift is essential at a time when our arsenal is severely depleted and outdated and we lack the ships and planes to deter China from launching an attack in the Indo-Pacific.

To fix this, Hegseth should prioritize reinvesting funding cuts into procurement and, specifically, into the construction of new ships, planes, and munitions. Hegseth should also divert dollars from personnel—a category that accounts for almost a quarter of the DOD’s budget. Already, he and Musk have announced plans to reduce the civilian workforce by between 5% to 8%, a cut that will save the DOD between $9 and $14.5 billion. So far, he’s implemented this plan via a hiring freeze and the firing of probational employees and recent hires.

Many have sought to villainize the Pentagon’s budget purge. Yet those in national security should recognize the need to cut defense budget waste, especially given recent developments on the international stage. There, China continues to rapidly modernize its military to challenge U.S. dominance, while Russia persists in its aggression in Eastern Europe. North Korea still pursues its ever-growing nuclear ambitions (and strengthens its support for Russia), while Iran maintains its destabilizing influence in the Middle East.

These various actors all share one common feature: a vicious antipathy toward the United States. The burden falls on the Pentagon and the DOD to protect the American people. DOGE represents a historic opportunity for the DOD to further this mission by rethinking how it organizes, supports, and employs its people. The goal isn’t to cut corners—it’s to reinvest in the capacity and capability of America’s warfighting force. In a world of rising global threats, America cannot afford inefficiency. The Pentagon must embrace DOGE’s mission to break free from outdated bureaucracy and inefficient spending. Only then will the DOD be able to enhance American warfighting capability and ensure our security and prosperity.

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“He publicly exposed an ongoing U.S. military, intelligence, and law-enforcement operation with an American ally dealing with the most vicious terrorists (Tren de Aragua) and international gang member (MS13) in the Western Hemisphere. That public exposure put American and allied lives in grave danger.”

Mike Davis Cooks Judge Screwing Around With Trump’s Deportation Flights (Vespa)

Well, Attorney General Pam Bondi isn’t going to discuss further the details regarding the deportation flights of Tren de Aragua members, a Venezuelan gang that the Trump administration has designated a foreign terror group. Judge James Boasberg, however, wanted to know the classified details regarding this operation. No, sir. This will not happen, as the Justice Department informed the courts that they’re invoking the State Secrets Act. Move on, little man.

It still doesn’t negate the days of judicial overreach and insanity from Boasberg, who thought he was the executive, or at least in charge of deportation policy. He is not,andd never will be. He dabbled in the Russian collusion hoax, ran legal interference for those caught fabricating evidence to secure illegal FISA warrants. This man is a disgrace to the bench. Before Ms. Bondi invokes the state secrets provision, Boasberg insisted that those marked for deportation should be afforded court dates. Mike Davis, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, took a hatchet to little Boasberg, arguing that it’s time to impeach for his serial incidents of judicial overreach: Here is the fatal flaw with DC Obama Judge Jeb Boasberg’s order:

“Even if these designated foreign terrorists are entitled to individual court review before their deportation, which is disputed, the DC court is not the proper court. Judge Boasberg did not, and does not, have the power to do what he is purporting to do. For this reason alone, everything he is doing is lawless. But it is much worse; it is also dangerous. Judge Boasberg ran to his courtroom to hold a Saturday hearing, even though he was not even serving as the emergency judge that weekend. (How did he get this case?) He publicly exposed an ongoing U.S. military, intelligence, and law-enforcement operation with an American ally dealing with the most vicious terrorists (Tren de Aragua) and international gang member (MS13) in the Western Hemisphere. That public exposure put American and allied lives in grave danger.

Stunningly, Judge Boasberg even ordered the President to turn around planes full of terrorists over the Gulf of America, without knowing the fuel levels, the security footprint back in America, or other crucial operational details. We saw the enormous security footprint in El Salvador. Why would we have had that same footprint in America, as who could have ever imagined an activist DC judge could or would order the President to return planes full of terrorists? And not completing the mission would have humiliated and politically damaged El Salvador’s president, who had hundreds of military, law-enforcement, and other officials awaiting–and who took a significant political and personal risk by agreeing to take these terrorists. Judge Boasberg’s Saturday hearing and order crossed the red line. But Judge Boasberg is doubling down by demanding details about the military operation, to which he is not entitled.

Judge Boasberg says he has a security clearance, but he definitely does not have the need to know. And allowing judges to meddle in military operations like this is dangerous and unacceptable. Foreign leaders are less likely to work with the President, if they fear an activist American judge may disclose their secrets. This harms the President’s ability to conduct foreign policy and his constitutional duty to keep us safe. The President has a constitutional duty, as the chief executive officer and commander-in-chief, to conduct international affairs, repeal foreign invasion, and protect American lives. The President has a constitutional duty to ignore any clearly unlawful court order that imminently endangers American lives, like Judge Boasberg’s orders. Judge Boasberg is refusing to back down. So the House must move forward with impeachment proceedings for his lawless and dangerous sabotage of the President’s core Article II powers.

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“He dragged us into court on a Saturday without any notice. And then he’s continuing these hearings. He’s trying to ask us about national security information, which he is absolutely not entitled to.”

Anti-Trump Judge Makes Another Outrageous Ruling (Margolis)

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg is at it again. In a mind-boggling 37-page decision, he has blocked the Trump administration from swiftly deporting members of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang. The judge’s ruling reads like a progressive wish list, demanding “individualized hearings” before any deportations can proceed. Because apparently, we need to roll out the red carpet and due process for criminal aliens who shouldn’t be here in the first place. Even more outrageous, the government must now prove these individuals are actually gang members — as if their presence alone isn’t a violation enough of our immigration laws. Boasberg previously ordered a deportation flight for these illegal alien gang members to turn around back to the United States; however, since he made the ruling while the plane was over international waters, he had no jurisdiction, and the deportations continued as planned.

Boasberg’s memorandum opinion, which accompanied the order, maintains that these individuals must have “the opportunity to challenge their designation as alien enemies.” In other words, we’re giving suspected gang members a chance to argue that they’re actually upstanding citizens who deserve to stay in our country. Now he has the audacity to say that the court “need not resolve the thorny question of whether the judiciary has the authority to assess this claim in the first place.” This is an obvious reaction to the Trump administration’s position that district court judges don’t have the authority to micromanage the president of the United States or the executive branch. Boasberg’s opinion continues:

“That is because Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on another equally fundamental theory: before they may be deported, they are entitled to individualized hearings to determine whether the Act applies to them at all. As the Government itself concedes, the awesome power granted by the Act may be brought to bear only on those who are, in fact, “alien enemies.” And the Supreme Court and this Circuit have long maintained that federal courts are equipped to adjudicate that question when individuals threatened with detention and removal challenge their designation as such. Because the named Plaintiffs dispute that they are members of Tren de Aragua, they may not be deported until a court has been able to decide the merits of their challenge. Nor may any members of the provisionally certified class be removed until they have been given the opportunity to challenge their designations as well. The Motion to Vacate will thus be denied.”

This isn’t just judicial overreach; it’s judicial insanity. “This is an out-of-control judge, a federal judge trying to control our entire foreign policy, and he cannot do it,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. “He dragged us into court on a Saturday without any notice. And then he’s continuing these hearings. He’s trying to ask us about national security information, which he is absolutely not entitled to.” The plaintiffs now have until Wednesday to request converting the temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction. If granted, this would further cement this dangerous precedent and extend protection for these gang members from deportation. Because obviously, what America needs right now is more legal shields for criminal aliens. This ruling sets a dangerous precedent that undermines our immigration enforcement capabilities and makes a mockery of our national sovereignty.

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They’re organized.

New Dirt on Judge Boasberg Raises More Questions (Margolis)

The district court judge who recently blocked President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport illegal alien gang members attended a suspiciously partisan legal conference just months before his ruling, according to a judicial ethics report. Judge James Boasberg, who serves on the D.C. District Court, participated in what appears to be nothing more than a Democrat strategy session masquerading as a legal conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. The conference’s agenda items, “Judges in a Democracy” and “State of Democracy,” sound eerily similar to the Democrats’ tiresome 2024 campaign rhetoric about “saving democracy” — which, of course, has become the justification for their using the courts to obstruct Trump’s agenda.

“Called a ‘Privately Funded Seminar Disclosure Report,” the document discloses that Boasberg was in attendance but offers no details of whether Boasberg was paid for his attendance or travel, or what the remuneration was,’ reports Just the News. The outlet was “alerted to the conference and to Boasberg’s attendance by a retired Democrat-appointed judge, who was concerned the July 2024 conference’s focus on judges’ role in a democracy was too close to a political party’s theme for comfort.”

“Overseen by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the ethical rules governing federal judges require that a private entity who “issues an invitation to a federal judge to attend an educational program as a speaker, panelist, or attendee and offers to pay for or reimburse that judge, in excess of $480, must disclose financial and programmatic information.” The rules do not require a specific accounting for each judge, or even how much was paid to judges at all. […] It is possible that his “payment” was merely reimbursement for expenses, but Boasberg did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News.”

The entire arrangement reeks of the same swamp politics that President Trump has been fighting since day one. Is it any surprise that after rubbing elbows with fellow liberals at this partisan powwow, Judge Boasberg decided to obstruct Trump’s efforts to remove dangerous gang members from our streets? This is exactly why Americans have lost faith in our judicial system — unelected judges attending partisan conferences, then making decisions based on partisan biases, not constitutionality. The conference was part of the Rodel Institute’s Judicial Fellowship, and each attending judge, including Boasberg, was a first-year fellow, according to the institute’s website. Notably, Rodel receives funding from the same foundations that frequently bankroll anti-Trump organizations, programs, and publications. Additionally, the institute’s faculty advisors — twenty in total — are overwhelmingly outspoken Trump critics or those who have opposed his policies.

The Rodel Institute’s Board of Directors is stacked with Trump critics, including Ian Solomon. Co-founders Bill and Don Budinger have deep ties to Democratic organizations and candidates, with Don opposing Arizona’s immigration enforcement efforts and backing Democratic Senate candidates. Former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock was under consideration for Kamala Harris’s Cabinet, while former Arizona legislator Heather Carter abandoned the GOP and endorsed Democrats like Katie Hobbs. Jamie Woodson co-chaired a report lamenting “political disinformation” in 2016, and former Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna has openly attacked Trump, calling him a “demagogue” and dismissing his legal arguments as “flimsy.” Maybe next time, Judge Boasberg can hold his strategy sessions somewhere less obvious than a millionaire’s playground. But then again, the left has never been particularly good at hiding its contempt for Trump or the rule of law.

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“What is the alternative to presidential oversight and management of the agencies listed in this branch of government? They run themselves? That claim means nothing in practice.” —Jeffrey Tucker

The Last Resort (James Howard Kunstler)

Law is humanity’s instrument for creating order out of the terror and chaos of nature, where anything goes. The result of law theoretically, is a civil society, where only the good, true, and right things can go. These days, lawyers are hard at work to replace civilized order with the terror and chaos of nature — which is to say, the seeking of raw power: this is what I can do to you! That primal despotism is the motivating engine of the Democratic Party in its terminal phase, a feral, power-seeking monster. It was why, in case you hadn’t noticed, the essential drive of Woke politics was the sadistic pleasure it took in exacting its endless punishments — cancellation, personal ruin, censorship — not correcting alleged injustices against marginalized minorities.

And that tells you, by the way, exactly why the J-6 defendants were treated so harshly by the likes of Judge James Boasberg, Tanya Chutkan, and their colleagues of the DC federal district. The enabling device for that monstrous power seeking of the Democratic Party was the colossal racketeering operation they implanted in every corner of the federal government, an insidious process that accelerated during the Obama years, eluded discipline during Trump One — with the many distracting ruses such as RussiaGate — and surged into final overdrive during the perfidious term of “Joe Biden,” America’s first false-front president. The racketeering operation was perfectly illustrated in the DOGE’s recent deconstruction of USAID.

That agency worked as a gigantic money laundering matrix to pay Democratic Party activists for the sole purpose of maintaining and expanding the party’s power — its ability to push American citizens around, control our lives, tell us how to live, how to think, and, ultimately, in the Covid-19 scam, telling us to take our shots, get lost, and die. Pitifully, a lot of those vaxx victims were the Democratic Party’s own rank and file, which shows you how psychotically suicidal the Democratic Party became. By and large, it was conservatives who avoided the vaxxes because they were able psychologically to entertain the evidence that Covid was a nefarious set-up and that, month-by-month, the vaxxes were proving to be both ineffective and harmful. Democrats, in their Woke fugue state, could not do that. Even today, they insist that their vaxx injuries are “long Covid” and would be worse if not for the additional boosters they took. Poor dumb bunnies.

Mr. Trump was played masterfully in the initial 2020 Covid roll-out by the likes of Dr. Fauci, Deborah Birx, and the faithless Veep Mike Pence who directed the Coronavirus Task Force (and whoever was behind it). The president could not bring himself to oppose or cast doubt on their diktats and to this day he must remain embarrassed about how that all worked out. But he also probably learned to not be fooled again. And so, after the fishy 2020 election, and during the disastrous “Biden” years, Mr. Trump had time to lay careful and comprehensive plans for ending the massive racketeering and for restructuring the federal apparatus into a leaner, more efficient, and more lawful enterprise for managing the civil society known as the USA. Which brings us to the present.

Mr. Trump’s lawfully appointed agent, Elon Musk, and his legally chartered investigative advisory unit, called DOGE, has begun making recommendations for severe cuts in agencies and employees, which have been executed by the lawfully confirmed heads of agencies, and the chief executive himself. Thus, the rapid, systematic disassembly of the Democratic Party’s grift machine and the end of its immense revenue stream. No more USAID and its thousands of NGO money laundromats. No more Department of Education and its Grant-O-Matic depredations in the universities. No more work-from-home (but not really) nonsense. No more DEI reverse racism in hiring. No more flooding the swing state voting precincts with illegal aliens. No more stupid proxy war in Ukraine. No more gender pretending chaos. You see how it goes now.

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CNN yesterday didn’t talk about anything else.

Pentagon Chief Hegseth Comments On ‘Yemen War Plans’ Leak (RT)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has addressed a recent leak of high-level discussions about US airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, calling the journalist involved “deceitful” and downplaying the significance of the disclosure. The incident came to light after The Atlantic reported on Monday that its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, had been accidentally added to a Signal group chat that included top Trump administration officials such as Vice President J.D. Vance, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Hegseth. The group had been actively discussing potential US military operations against the Houthis for days prior to President Donald Trump ordering strikes on Yemen on March 15. Goldberg claimed that one of Hegseth’s final messages before the attack “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.”

When asked about the leak on Monday, Hegseth dismissed Goldberg as “a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes.” “Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that,” Hegseth said when pressed on the content of the messages. National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told Reuters that the message thread “appears to be authentic” and confirmed that an internal review had been launched into “how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.” “The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials,” Hughes added, without clarifying whether national security protocols had been breached or if any disciplinary action would follow.

Trump ordered a “powerful military action” against the Yemen-based Houthi militants last Saturday, accusing them of conducting an “unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones.” The group, officially known as the Ansar Allah movement, has controlled large portions of Yemen – including the capital, Sanaa – since the mid-2010s. In what The Atlantic described as a “fascinating policy discussion,” senior US officials reportedly acknowledged the difficulty of building public support for a new military campaign.

“There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary,” the account labeled ‘JD Vance’ said, arguing that “the strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message.” In response, Hegseth agreed, stating: “I think messaging is going to be tough no matter what – nobody knows who the Houthis are – which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded.” Trump has claimed that the Houthi attacks “emanate from, and are created by, Iran,” warning that from now on, Washington would view every shot fired by the Yemeni group as if it were fired by Tehran. “Iran will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire,” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform last Monday.

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“..the president dubbing it a “second-” or “third-rate,” “failing magazine” and calling “sleazebag reporter” Goldberg out by name..”

Trump Team Unwittingly Sends Yemen Strike Plans to Editor of The Atlantic (Sp.)

The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was included in a confidential Signal messaging chain detailing US planning. Here’s what was revealed. In a message to Pete Hegseth, Vice President Vance said it was at the DoD chief’s discretion whether or not to proceed. “I just hate bailing Europe out again,” Vance said. Hegseth responded by saying he “fully” shared Vance’s sentiments about the “free-loading” Europeans, but added that the US was the only one capable of engaging the Houthis “on our side of the ledger.” A user named S M (presumably WH deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller) chimed in, saying that “as [he] heard it, the president was clear: green light.” In return, the US would look to “extract” “some further economic gain” from the Europeans, S M indicated. A follow-up message by Hegseth titled “TEAM UPDATE” provided operational details on the attacks, targeting details, which weapons the US would be using, and attack sequencing.

By Goldberg’s account, he was added to the confidential chat by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and didn’t believe it was real at first, fearing it might be an attempt “to somehow entrap” him or a script “by a particularly adept AI text generator.” The White House has confirmed that Goldberg had been made privy to classified discussions and information by mistake. “We are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” NSC spokesman Brian Hughes said. The Atlantic and its editor-in-chief have been a longtime source of Trump’s ire, with the president dubbing it a “second-” or “third-rate,” “failing magazine” and calling “sleazebag reporter” Goldberg out by name multiple times over what Trump said was false reporting on his private conversations.

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Re-organizing the legal teams. Time for the heavies.

Trump Names Alina Habba To Be Interim US Attorney For New Jersey (NYP)

President Trump on Monday appointed his former personal attorney Alina Habba to serve as interim US attorney in New Jersey — with Habba vowing to clean up “corruption” in her home state. Habba, 40, became a public figure while repping Trump in a defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll between the president’s terms of office, and has held the senior role as presidential counselor since January. “There is corruption, there is injustice, and there is a heavy amount of crime right in [Senator] Cory Booker’s backyard and right under Governor [Phil] Murphy. And that will stop,” Habba told reporters on the White House driveway.

“I look forward to working with [Attorney General] Pam Bondi and with the Department of Justice and making sure that we further the president’s agenda of putting America first, cleaning up the mess and going after the people that we should be going after, not the people that are falsely accused.” Habba declined to say if she viewed the appointment as a stepping stone toward elected office in the Garden State — despite aiming her initial remarks directly at the Garden State’s two most prominent Democrats. “I think Cory Booker and Governor Murphy have failed the state of New Jersey,” Habba said. “If you look at what happened in crime, what’s going on in Newark, what’s going on in Camden, this has been a neglected state. It is one of the most populated states for its size, and it needs to stop. We’re going to do a bang-up job. I cannot wait. It’s a great honor.”

Trump announced Habba’s selection after selecting current interim US attorney John Giordano to serve as ambassador to Namibia. “It is with great pleasure that I am announcing Alina Habba, Esq., who is currently serving as Counselor to the President, and has represented me for a long time, will be our interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, her Home State, effective immediately!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Alina will lead with the same diligence and conviction that has defined her career, and she will fight tirelessly to secure a Legal System that is both ‘Fair and Just’ for the wonderful people of New Jersey.”

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“I recognize that when you’re dealing with children, it takes much more time. You’ve got to ensure that what you’re sending out publicly is not revealing any personal information.”

The ‘Real’ Epstein Files Are Coming. Here’s What to Know. (Margolis)

The Trump administration is proving once again that promises made are promises kept. After successfully releasing over 80,000 pages of files connected to the assassination of John F. Kennedy on March 18, the focus has now shifted to perhaps what should be an even more explosive collection of documents—the Jeffrey Epstein files. As you know, there was a huge document dump of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case last month that was, to say the least, underwhelming. Part of the problem, it turns out, was that rogue officials out of the Southern District of New York office had withheld documents from the Department of Justice. So, where’s the good stuff? Well, according to a report from Vanity Fair, it should be coming soon.

It’s the FBI’s flagship field office, with more than a thousand agents and another thousand or so civilian employees. And right now, multiple sources with knowledge of the matter say that one priority at the bureau’s New York field office is taking precedence over all others: the review and redaction of sensitive information in the Jeffrey Epstein case files, to prepare for possible publication.“It’s literally all hands on deck,” one source familiar with the matter tells me, adding that dozens and dozens of agents are working around the clock on the case, instead of on their regular duties. “I even saw an agent walking in with a pillow,” the source added. Attorney General Pam Bondi, appearing on Maria Bartiromo’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” spoke about this massive undertaking. Bartiromo pressed Bondi about the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Acknowledging the complexity of handling such sensitive material, Bartiromo noted,

“I recognize that when you’re dealing with children, it takes much more time. You’ve got to ensure that what you’re sending out publicly is not revealing any personal information.” She then asked Bondi whether more details would be forthcoming. Bondi confirmed that updates were on the horizon, stating, “You’re absolutely right, Maria. You know, tens of thousands of pages of documents and hundreds and hundreds of victims, um, of Jeffrey Epstein.” Bartiromo reacted with a stunned “Wow.” Bondi assured viewers that federal authorities were making progress. “The FBI, they have been working round the clock at my directive, at [FBI Director] Kash Patel’s directive,” she said, adding that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is also involved. “Dan Bongino’s there, who is a great asset for all of us at the FBI as well.”

Bondi reiterated the need to safeguard victims while ensuring transparency. “We have to protect their identity, their personal information, to make sure they’re safe,” she said. “But other than that, we are releasing all of these documents as soon as we can get them redacted to protect the victims of… of, of all of these horrific crimes he has committed.” Bartiromo responded, “Understood.” Rest assured, transparency is coming, everyone.

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“She is an elected public official, so she needs to tread very carefully because nothing will happen to Elon Musk..”

“Tread Carefully”: Pam Bondi Issues Warning Over Musk “Takedown” (ZH)

We certainly did not have a member of Congress conspiring with radical far-left NGOs to sabotage the most made-in-America car company and critical to retirement and pension funds for millions of Americans on our 2025 bingo card. But here we are, and far-left Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) joined a “Tesla Takedown” teleconference last week, laughing and rooting for Tesla and Elon Musk’s demise. Other revolutionaries on the call described how they wanted to “kill the Tesla brand” and “drive down the stock price” to push Tesla “into a death spiral.” Now Attorney General Pam Bondi is getting involved, warning Crockett to “tread very carefully” following her support for the Tesla Takedown. “She is an elected public official, so she needs to tread very carefully because nothing will happen to Elon Musk, and we’re going to fight to protect all of the Tesla owners throughout this country,” Bondi said on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

Bondi’s warning to the unhinged Democrat comes days after her appearance on the Tesla Takedown teleconference:

Crockett’s alliance with Tesla Takedown is alarming, considering the Soros-funded non-profit Indivisible is preparing a multi-city assault on Tesla service locations nationwide by the end of the month. There have been far-left terrorist attacks on Tesla service centers, showrooms, Supercharging networks, and vehicles that paint the Democratic Party as in disarray and resorting to communist revolutionary tactics. Polling data for the party has collapsed, while the latest ploy by the party to improve optics was entirely disproven to be “inorganic” by GPS data. The American people are finally getting to see the real Democratic Party—filled with hate and violence as its revolutionaries attack Tesla, all because the owner, Elon Musk, is uncovering massive fraud and waste by the Deep State. Remember when Democrats wanted to defund everything after George Floyd? Yet suddenly, now they don’t.

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🙂

Elon Musk Disguises IRS Building As Tesla Dealership (BBee)

Proponents of eliminating the federal income tax rejoiced today as Elon Musk cleverly disguised the Internal Revenue Service headquarters as a Tesla dealership so Democrats would burn it down. The billionaire inventor and entrepreneur hatched the genius plan to cover the main IRS building with Tesla emblems and signage, which goaded angry Democrats to launch a large-scale firebomb attack against the building. “This’ll show Musk who’s boss! Burn it to the ground!” one enraged leftist reportedly shouted before throwing a Molotov cocktail through a window of the IRS building. “This looks different from any other Tesla dealership I’ve ever seen. It’s almost like a really old government building. Oh well. It’s all got to go. Everything he owns must be destroyed.”

When reached for comment, Musk was quietly pleased that his plan had worked. “It was quite a simple idea, really,” he said. “If Democrats are trying to burn down anything belonging to me, why not redirect that anger in a useful way to burn down something that should be demolished? For the cost of a few Tesla signs, we’ve now freed the American people from the terrible burden of excessive taxation. Ironically, once the rubble of the IRS building is cleared, we will, in fact, build an enormous new Tesla dealership in its place.” At publishing time, reports had circulated that the U.S. Capitol would be next to be disguised as a Tesla dealership in a plot to round up and imprison Democrats for attempting a violent insurrection.

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MS

Swan
https://twitter.com/AMAZlNGNATURE/status/1903880749935206439

Rooster

Elephants

Bounce

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Mar 132025
 
 March 13, 2025  Posted by at 10:34 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  35 Responses »


James Ensor The frightful musicians 1891

 

Trump Is the World’s Worst Dictator (Joecks)
Moscow ‘Studying’ 30-day Truce Plan, Makes Steady Battlefield Gains (ZH)
Trump Envoy Witkoff To Present Ceasefire Deal To Russia This Week – White House (RT)
Kremlin Drags Its Feet On Ceasefire Deal As Armies Steamroll Ukraine (JTN)
US Discussed Territorial Concessions With Ukraine – Rubio (RT)
All The Pressure Is Now On Zelensky After Ceasefire Offer (Proud)
Free Trade: Ricardo’s Theory To Dispossess The British Aristocracy (PCR)
Medvedchuk Cautions Trump On Dealing With Kiev (RT)
Why Won’t Europe Step Up and Help Ukraine? (Victor Davis Hanson)
EU Accuses Trump of ‘Blackmailing’ Zelensky! (Pinsker)
800 Billion Euros of Delusional Promises (Dionísio)
This Is Literally The Worst News Democrats Could Get Right Now (Margolis)
Shutdown Schumer, the Shifty Democrats And a Government Standstill (Thorne)
Old Joe’s Fake Oval Office – and Its Fake News Apologists – Exposed (Victoria Taft)
Made in China 2025 – Revisited (Pepe Escobar)

 

 

 

 

One of his people was brutally murdered this week

Inflation

Maloney

 

 

Lavrov and the US new media

 

 

 

 

“Trump is one of the most successful men in the world, but he’s a complete failure at being a dictator.”

Trump Is the World’s Worst Dictator (Joecks)

Dictators crave power. President Donald Trump is using his power to give Americans more freedom. That’s a massive difference. Desperate to find an effective attack against Trump, some Democrats are recycling an old one. They claim he’s an authoritarian. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., invited laid-off federal workers to attend Trump’s recent speech to Congress. She said she was standing “shoulder to shoulder with people in defiance to a dictator.” That type of defiance led Democrats to callously withhold applause from a 13-year-old brain-cancer survivor simply because Trump introduced him. Shameful. Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams recently called Trump a “petty tyrant.” The Associated Press claimed that Trump “has embarked on a dizzying teardown of the federal government and attacks on long-standing institutions in an attempt to increase his own authority.”

These accusations aren’t new. Former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris frequently labeled Trump a threat to democracy. Last year, historian Jon Meacham called Trump a “tyrant” who would cause the downfall of the American Republic. Trump has fed into this. After he attacked congestion pricing in Manhattan, the White House posted a picture of him wearing a crown. Trump said, “Long live the king.” While that was obviously not a serious claim to monarchical authority, it sent the propaganda press into a tizzy. Many Americans believe the worst about Trump as 41% of Americans say Trump is a dictator, according to a February YouGov poll. Those people aren’t just wrong–they have it backwards. Trump is doing the one thing dictators never do–reduce their own power.

It’d help to define some terms. Merriam-Webster says a dictator is “one holding complete autocratic control.” An autocracy is a “government in which one person possesses unlimited power.” Tyrant has a similar meaning–“an absolute ruler unrestrained by law or constitution.” Therefore, by definition, you can’t be a dictator while increasing freedom and shrinking the size and scope of government. It’s a contradiction. That’s what Trump is doing. He rolled back Biden’s target for electric vehicle sales. He’s unshackled the energy industry. He wants to undo Biden administration restrictions on dishwashers, shower heads and light bulbs. He’s ordered agencies to eliminate 10 previous regulations for every new one they put in place. He’s increasing freedom. He’s also pushing for a significant tax cut. Dictators aren’t known for wanting to let you keep more of your own money.

He’s laid off tens of thousands of federal workers. Another 75,000 federal workers took buyouts. The Department of Government Efficiency is attempting to reduce federal spending by more than $100 billion. He’s shrinking the government he runs. The Trump administration is even gearing up to eliminate the Department of Education. In early March, Education Secretary Linda McMahon laid out “our department’s final mission.” She wants “to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children.” Indoctrinating a nation’s children is a powerful tool for any would-be dictator. Communist dictators wanted kids’ primary loyalty to be to the government. They sought to drive a wedge between children and their parents. Trump wants to give parents more control of their children’s education.

Now, Trump is governing aggressively. The executive orders have been fast and furious. He’s closed the border. He’s clearing out the deep state. He’s rooting out diversity, equity, and inclusion in the government. He’s recognized that men are not women. But an elected official changing government policy isn’t tyranny. That’s the point of having an election. It’d be tyrannical if an unelected, unaccountable bureaucracy could stop a democratically elected president from running the executive branch as he sees fit. Just look at the obstacles Trump faced in his first term. Trump is one of the most successful men in the world, but he’s a complete failure at being a dictator.

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For now it’s just some statements, they haven’t been given the “plan” yet.

Rubio was doing fine so far, but here he leaves the impression that if Russia doesn’t respond to a “plan” they don’t even know, it means they don’t want peace. Confused comments galore.

Moscow ‘Studying’ 30-day Truce Plan, Makes Steady Battlefield Gains (ZH)

The Kremlin says it is “studying” statements issued by the US and Ukrainian delegations following yesterday’s talks in Jeddah, and further describes Russian officials are waiting for a fuller briefing from the US on the proposal. The 30-day ceasefire plan calls for a halt to all the fighting on land, sea and in the air – which can be extended by mutual agreement, with a hoped-for path to a permanent truce based on negotiations in the interim. President Zelensky in a Tuesday X post said the ceasefire will apply to missile, drone and bomb attacks “not only in the Black Sea, but also along the entire front line” – though its as yet unclear what mechanism there will be to monitor this. The joint statement issued from Jeddah said the sides “will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.” Thus nothing will happen unless Moscow agrees.

Washington has agreed to lift the Trump ban on arms and intelligence for Kiev, while at the same Kiev and Washington agreed on inking a deal on Ukraine’s critical minerals “as soon as possible”. Russian state media is meanwhile reporting that President Putin is open to holding a telephone conversation with his US counterpart. On the potential for a new Trump call to discuss progress toward setting up negotiations and a truce, spokesman Dimitry Peskov said Wednesday, “We also do not rule out that the topic of a call at the highest level may arise. If such a need emerges, it will be organized very quickly. The existing channels of dialogue with the Americans make it possible to do this in a relatively short time.”

If it happens this would mark the second call since Trump’s inauguration, after the prior February 12 call. Theoretically this could lead to an in-person meeting between the two leaders if all goes well. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is traveling back from the meeting in Saudi Arabia, and gave some remarks to a press conference in Ireland:
• Deterrence against future attacks on Ukraine will be a crucial element of future negotiations.
• The US-Ukraine minerals deal benefits both nations and deepens Washington’s interest in Ukraine, but “I would not couch it as a security guarantee”.
• European sanctions against Russia will be part of the negotiations, making Europe’s involvement in the process essential.
• Any truce could be effectively monitored, but “one of the things we’ll have to determine is who both sides trust on the ground” to oversee it.

Ukraine continues to hold little to no leverage, given Russia is fast taking back its territory in Kursk as of mid-week. Over a dozen settlements have been liberated, and by all accounts Ukraine forces are in retreat there, also as Russian troops are currently in the center of Sudzha town. One regional source says that the Russian advance has been swift especially after one particularly daring operation: “Reports over the weekend claimed that 800 Russian special forces had crawled for 15 kilometers through an unused section of pipeline, which once carried Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine, in order to carry out a sneak attack on Ukrainian forces in Sudzha,” writes Moscow Times. These developments mean that Putin is even less likely to agree to any temporary pause in fighting. In January statements he had warned the Kremlin will not sign off on any temporary truces – given Ukraine could just use it to rearm, resupply, and regroup. Moscow has less incentive to sign onto a deal unless territorial concessions are part of it, given that at this rate it can just keep advancing in territory, particularly in the Donbass.

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“Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, is making his way to Moscow this week again..”

Trump Envoy Witkoff To Present Ceasefire Deal To Russia This Week – White House (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will be traveling to Moscow later this week to deliver the US ceasefire proposal for the Ukraine conflict, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz met with representatives from Kiev in Jeddah on Tuesday to discuss a diplomatic end to the Ukraine conflict. In a joint statement afterward, Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire, while the US resumed all military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Waltz held a phone conversation with his “Russian counterpart” on Wednesday to discuss the proceedings, Leavitt told journalists in a media stakeout at the White House. Trump’s envoy will be traveling to Russia in person, she added. “Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, is making his way to Moscow this week again to urge the Russians to sign on to this negotiation,” Leavitt told Fox News on Wednesday.

Russia and the US will hold a “big meeting” on Thursday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. When asked about potential US leverage on Moscow to accept the ceasefire deal, the US president warned of “devastating” financial measures he could impose. Moscow is “carefully studying the statements that were made as a result” of the US-Ukraine talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. He cautioned against making rushed statements, and stressed that Russia first needs to receive “detailed information” on the proposed ceasefire teased by Waltz on Tuesday. Moscow has previously opposed any temporary truce in the Ukraine conflict, saying that it would simply be a repeat of the ill-fated 2014-2015 Minsk agreements, which it claims were used by Kiev’s Western backers to rearm them.

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How can you “drag your feet” on a “deal” plan you’re not part of or party to?

Kremlin Drags Its Feet On Ceasefire Deal As Armies Steamroll Ukraine (JTN)

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday indicated that Moscow was in no rush to reply to the American-Ukrainian plan for a 30-day ceasefire, an announcement that came as Russian armies drove battered Ukrainian troops out of a salient in its own Kursk Oblast and appear poised to advance along the front. On Tuesday, Ukrainian diplomats reached an agreement with American officials to restore military aid and intelligence sharing to Kyiv in exchange for agreeing to an immediate, 30-day ceasefire deal that they would present to the Russians. That exchange followed a public squabble at the Oval Office between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump in which Zelensky was removed from the White House. Zelensky had been in Washington to sign a mineral resources deal that was not executed. Ukraine recommitted to the deal as part of the Wednesday deal.

“Look, you are getting a little ahead of yourself, we don’t want to do that,” Peskov told reporters about the ceasefire, according to Russian outlet RIA Novosti. “Yesterday, when talking to the press, both [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio and [National Security Advisor Mike] Waltz said that they would pass on to us detailed information about the essence of the conversations that took place in Jeddah through various diplomatic channels. First, we need to get that information.” A ceasefire proposal appears to be unpopular with some members of the Russian government, with high-profile politicians condemning the idea. State Duma Deputy Viktor Sobolev, a member of the Duma’s defense committee and notably, an opponent of the pro-Putin coalition, called a temporary ceasefire “absolutely unacceptable,” saying it would allow Ukraine to “regroup and rearm” and “play into the hands of” Kyiv.

Russian troops are currently advancing along the front and posting substantial gains against the Ukrainian military at the moment and a ceasefire would potentially bring that momentum to a halt. Ukrainian forces last year invaded Russia directly, carving out a large swath of territory in the border “oblast,” or region, of Kursk, centered on the city of Sudzha. That location became a cauldron for the Ukrainians as Russia stiffened its defense, and the region became decidedly unstable in recent weeks after the recapture by Russian forces of Sverdlikovo, exposing the Ukrainian flank. A daring operation by Russian special forces, moreover, saw personnel travel through a drained pipeline to attack the Ukrainian rear, which triggered a rout and led to the Russian recapture of Sudzha on Tuesday. Geolocation-based territorial maps show varying degrees of Russian control in the city.

Complicating matters for both sides is their history of dubious and short-lived ceasefires since the outbreak of the Donbas War in 2014. The Minsk I and II Accords both followed a decisive Ukrainian defeat on the battlefields of Ilovaisk and Debaltsevo, respectively. In those battles, Ukraine fought Russian-backed separatists and not the official Russian military. Both sides blame the other for violating both agreements. Explicitly pro-Ukrainian analyst Julian Ropcke, senior editor for security policy at Bild-Zeitung, a German-owned tabloid, highlighted that history and implied a ceasefire deal would lead to a repeat of those incidents. “Amazed to see people thinking a ceasefire deal would stop Russia’s war in Ukraine,” he wrote on X. “After signing Minsk 1 in September 2014, Russia pumped in more troops and kept advancing, capturing Donetsk airport and 20 more towns and villages. After signing Minsk 2 in February 2015, Russia further advanced and captured Debalsteve and five more villages.”

The Russians themselves previously ruled out a ceasefire, with Russian President Vladimir Putin stating last year that he would not accept a temporary agreement and would only allow a ceasefire after a lasting accord had been reached. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, downplayed the seriousness of a ceasefire proposal ahead of the Ukrainian meeting with the Americans on Tuesday. “Zelensky is saying publicly that he doesn’t want any ceasefire until Americans give him any guarantees that they will destroy Russia with nuclear weapons. It’s not serious,” Lavrov told reporters on a Russia Today webcast. In an interview with bloggers Mario Nawfal, Larry C. Johnson, and Andrew Napolitano published Wednesday, moreover, Lavrov insisted that Trump had no desire to provide Ukraine with security guarantees while Zelensky remained in power.

“He has his own view of the situation, which he bluntly presents every now and then that this war should have never started. That the pulling Ukraine into NATO, is a violation of its constitution, a violation of the declaration of independence of 1991,” Lavrov said. “On the basis of which we recognized Ukraine as a sovereign state for several reasons, including that this declaration was saying no NATO.” The terms of the deal itself remain unclear and the joint statement from the State Department and Ukrainian government did not offer much detail other than a proposal for an immediate 30-day ceasefire, during which they hope to hold negotiations with Moscow. At present, Russia maintains a swath of Ukrainian territory from the Khariv to Kherson Oblasts, providing a land bridge to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. Russia formally annexed four more regions amid the war but does not fully control any of them. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that the Ukrainians would likely have to give up some territory in a peace deal.

“The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things to end this conflict or at least pause it in some way, shape or form,” Rubio told reporters Tuesday. “I think both sides need to come to an understanding that there’s no military solution to this situation.” The state of the Russian economy has also appeared as a contributing factor. Trump previously threatened the Russians with additional sanctions if they refused to come to the table, though the scope of those sanctions and their potential impact remains unclear. “Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last week.

Conversely, some analysts believe Putin may use the ceasefire offer to drag out negotiations and demand greater concessions for a pause. Bloomberg News, citing an unnamed person “close to the Kremlin,” reported that he may demand an end to arms shipments to Ukraine. “Putin won’t give a hard ‘yes’ or a hard ‘no,’” Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center Senior Fellow Tatiana Stanovaya told the outlet. “Even in a fantastic situation where Putin makes some gestures toward a truce, it would still be a temporary one and with very harsh conditions.”

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“Moscow has repeatedly stated that the status of these regions is non-negotiable.”

US Discussed Territorial Concessions With Ukraine – Rubio (RT)

American and Ukrainian delegations discussed the issue of territorial concessions during their meeting in Saudi Arabia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Wednesday. Representatives from Washington and Kiev met in Jeddah on Tuesday to discuss a path toward a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict. Kiev claims sovereignty over Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. These territories officially became a part of Russia after each of them held referendums in 2014 and 2022. Moscow has repeatedly stated that the status of these regions is non-negotiable. After a nearly 9.5-hour meeting, the two sides released a joint statement in which Kiev agreed to a 30-day ceasefire while the US announced the resumption of military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Rubio, who took part in the meeting, was asked to disclose more details about what had been discussed and whether the issue of territorial concessions had been brought up. The secretary stated that “we had conversations” on the issue but declined to disclose specifics. He emphasized that the key point was figuring out what the negotiation process would look like and what issues would be on the agenda. Rubio called it obvious that the Ukraine conflict cannot be resolved militarily, and that “neither side can militarily achieve their maximalist goals” and that the only way to stop the fighting is through negotiations.

On Monday, ahead of the Jeddah talks, Rubio also indicated that Ukraine would inevitably have to relinquish the goal of regaining all the territory it claims in order to facilitate peace negotiations with Russia. “Obviously, it’ll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014,” the secretary told the New York Times. Moscow has not yet commented on the statement released by the US and Ukraine following the talks in Saudi Arabia, nor has it yet reacted to the proposed 30-day ceasefire. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that Moscow first expects to receive the details from the US, which should be sent in the coming days.

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“..it wants the big questions addressed front and centre. These include Ukraine’s aspiration to join NATO, the status of the four oblasts annexed by Russia since the start of the war and the protection of the Russian language in Ukraine.”

All The Pressure Is Now On Zelensky After Ceasefire Offer (Proud)

I assess that Russia will agree with the U.S. on a proposed ceasefire in Ukraine. This would put the ball back in Zelensky’s court to sign a peace deal that could destroy him politically and may give President Putin the security assurances he has sought for over seventeen years. In a quite remarkable turn of events, the BBC announced that Britain had helped the U.S. and Ukraine agree on the need for a 30-day ceasefire. This is spin of the most disingenuous kind. The UK has done everything in its power to prevent the possibility of ‘forcing’ Ukraine into negotiations on ending the three-year war. Indeed, just last week, a prominent UK broadsheet reinforced this point in a searing editorial. The British narrative for three years has been that, with sufficient support and strategic patience, Ukraine could impose a defeat on Russia. To use a British military phrase, that plan ‘didn’t survive contact with the enemy’.

Ukraine’s sudden collapse in Kursk, after Russian troops crawled ten kilometres through a gas pipeline that President Zelensky had, with much fanfare, shut down in January, was an astonishing defeat. It was astonishing because it revealed what many western commentators had said since August 2024, that seizing a small patch of land in Russia would turn out to be a strategic blunder for Ukraine. Since the Kursk offensive was launched, Russia has occupied large tracts of land in southern Donetsk, including several important mines and one of Ukraine’s largest power stations. The basic maths show a significant net loss to Zelensky over the past six months. The bigger picture proves that the overall direction of the war has been moving in Russia’s direction since the failed Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer of 2023. In Ukraine itself, the vultures are already circling in the sky as the body of Zelensky’s now six-year presidential term approaches its final breath.

Arestovich was quick to call for Zelensky to resign after the damaging shoot-out at the Oval Office. Poroshenko has come out to say Ukraine has no choice but to cut a deal. Even Zelensky’s former press spokeswoman has called for peace and implied that the Ukrainian government tries to limit free speech on the subject of a truce. Team Trump is apparently talking to the egregiously corrupt former Prime Minster Yulia Tymoshenko about the future, heaven help us. The domestic political space for Zelensky to keep holding out with meaningless slogans like ‘peace through strength’, and ‘forcing Russia to make peace’ is rapidly closing around him. That Ukraine has come to the negotiating table at all is a sign that it has been given no choice, since America paused the military and intelligence gravy train. There is nothing in the Jeddah meeting that suggests any change in the U.S. position towards Ukraine.

All that the ceasefire does, if Russia agrees to it, is pauses the fighting. Indeed, it goes further than the unworkable Franco-Ukrainian idea to pause the fighting only in the air and sea, allowing Ukraine to keep fighting on the ground. Ironically, the Jeddah formulation favours Russia, as a partial ceasefire would have provided succour to the Ukrainian army which does not enjoy strategic air superiority, despite its mass drone attack on Moscow and other parts of Russia. The joint U.S.-Ukraine statement calls for Ukraine and others to ‘immediately begin negotiations toward an enduring peace that provides for Ukraine’s long-term security’. If Russia agrees to a ceasefire, the clock will start on 30-days of intensive talks aimed at delivering a durable peace. Russia has said consistently that it will not agree to a ceasefire only; it wants the big questions addressed front and centre. These include Ukraine’s aspiration to join NATO, the status of the four oblasts annexed by Russia since the start of the war and the protection of the Russian language in Ukraine.

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“Trump has spoken of substituting tariffs for the income tax. This is a brilliant thought. The income tax taxes labor and capital, factors of production. Thus income tax reduces GDP and living standards.”

Free Trade: Ricardo’s Theory To Dispossess The British Aristocracy (PCR)

In their book, Global Trade and Conflicting National Interests published in 2000 by The MIT Press, Ralph E. Gomory and William J. Baumol proved that the free trade theory with which economists today are still indoctrinated is false. Economists have done their best not to notice that a part of their repertory is invalid. A number of years ago I presented Gomory and Baumol’s analysis to libertarian economists at the Mises Institute. They didn’t like it, but they couldn’t confute it. Over the years I have called attention to the defective theory that economists hold close to their breasts, but it is unpleasant information that they don’t want to hear. With Trump’s talk of tariffs, the invalid free trade theory is being used as a weapon against Trump. Those on Wall Street who are indoctrinated with free trade have been driving down the Dow with their panic.

As for Trump’s tariffs, at the present time it seems that often they are threats leveled at specific countries to get them to do what they should be doing or to get them to give their help to Trump’s agenda. For example, the initial tariffs Trump announced against Mexico and Canada were withdrawn once the two countries agreed to police their borders with the US to help halt the flow of immigrant-invaders into America. It remains to be seen whether a full blown tariff system is put in place. The American market is a large one, and although US consumer demand has been weakened by the offshoring of middle class manufacturing jobs, debt expansion has kept the American consumer market going, and the US remains a lucrative market for foreign produced goods.

It is possible that tariffs could recover their historic role in the financing of the US government. The US government was financed over most of its history by tariffs. It was not until 1918 that the income tax passed in 1913 affected the population, so the US government has been dependent on income taxation only for about a century. As I have explained, the introduction of an income tax resurrected a form of slavery as it gave government ownership rights in our labor. The definition of a free person is a person who owns his own labor. Today people subject to an income tax are in the same position as medieval serfs who owed part of their labor to feudal lords.

Trump has spoken of substituting tariffs for the income tax. This is a brilliant thought. The income tax taxes labor and capital, factors of production. Thus income tax reduces GDP and living standards. Classical economists, unlike the present day “junk economists” as Michael Hudson correctly calls them, said, correctly, that consumption, not factors of production, should be taxed. That is what a tariff does. If you don’t consume goods produced in other countries, you pay no taxation. Countries once understood that being dependent on imports of necessities, such as food, was a threat to national existence. A country could be subdued by the cutoff of food.

The British had the Corn Laws (corn was the term for all grains–wheat, barley, oats) that protected English farmers. The Corn Laws protected the incomes of the landed aristocracy, Britain’s leadership class during the years that Britain was the world power. As income is a basis of power, the rising British middle class wanted the power that was in aristocratic hands. David Ricardo, a bourgeois financier, attacked the incomes of the landed aristocracy with his concocted free trade theory. The repeal of the Corn laws shifted power from one class to another. The bourgeois gained and the aristocrats lost, and the British became dependent on food imports. The repeal was followed by Death Duties that appropriated the estates of the aristocrats, thus destroying the leadership class of Great Britain. Look at the post-aristocratic leadership of Britain. What do you see?

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“What US President Donald Trump does not realize is that as soon as he gets rid of Zelensky… the Ukrainian political system will throw another clown at him..”

Medvedchuk Cautions Trump On Dealing With Kiev (RT)

US President Donald Trump will not be able to reach any kind of agreement with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, nor with any other politician from his circle who may eventually replace him, exiled Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk has cautioned. Zelensky’s presidential term officially expired in May 2024 as he has refused to hold a new election, citing martial law imposed during the conflict with Russia. Trump reportedly insisted earlier this week that the Ukrainian leader should hold elections and possibly step down. Writing in an article for the ‘Other Ukraine’ news outlet on Wednesday, Medvedchuk – who was ousted in 2022 – suggested that removing Zelensky might not help achieve peace, as the country’s political system could produce another leader with similarly obstructive tendencies.

“What US President Donald Trump does not realize is that as soon as he gets rid of Zelensky… the Ukrainian political system will throw another clown at him,” Medvedchuk claimed. Medvedchuk cited the recent talks between Zelensky and Trump in the Oval Office, which escalated into an unprecedented public confrontation, as proof that there is a pervasive culture among Kiev’s pro-Western political factions that prioritizes self-interest. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance ended up accusing the Ukrainian leader of disrespectful behavior, a lack of gratitude, and an unwillingness to pursue peace. “America’s problem is that it’s not just Zelensky who doesn’t understand how he disrespected Trump, but most of his entourage doesn’t… Ukraine’s pro-Western politicians are not accustomed at all to considering the interests of others,” Medvedchuk argued.

He went on to claim that “Zelensky’s Ukraine is raising citizens to be spoiled, hysterical, illiterate, infantile and irresponsible; they believe that everyone owes them, and that they never owe anything to anybody in return.” Medvedchuk was leader of the Opposition Platform – For Life party, formerly the second-largest group in the Ukrainian parliament, until his arrest in April 2022. The party was subsequently banned, and Medvedchuk was sent to Russia in September of that year in exchange for several POWs. He founded the Other Ukraine movement in 2023 and acts as chairman of its council. In January, Zelensky imposed sanctions against him.

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“We have 500 million people in Europe and they’re very upset that 330 million people across the ocean will not help 40 million people fighting 140 million people in Russia…”

Why Won’t Europe Step Up and Help Ukraine? (Victor Davis Hanson)

Europe is greeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as if he’s a rock hero and giving us all sorts of dramatic, melodramatic, psychodramatic pronouncements that they are going their own way because of the Trump isolationism, and sometimes it’s Trump Jacksonianism. They can’t count on us. And Ukraine was the catalyst. But let’s look at that issue for a moment. We have 500 million people in Europe and they’re very upset that 330 million people across the ocean will not help 40 million people fighting 140 million people in Russia. In other words, of all the players in this drama, it’s Europe who should be in the driver’s seat. They have 500 million people. And yet, when we look at their expenditures, nine countries out of the 32, 11 years later, have not increased their NATO contributions to 2%. What should they be doing? They should be meeting with the Trump administration and telling the American people why countries in Europe still won’t meet their military responsibilities.

They’re also running a $200-plus billion trade surplus with the United States. They need to tell us—instead of just saying, “We don’t want to get in a tariff war; Trump is a protectionist”—just explain to us why we in Europe believe that we deserve a $200 billion surplus each year with the United States. And maybe you could explain why your tariffs are not symmetrical with ours. We just need to know. We need to know that very quickly, in fact. Another thing we need to know from Europe that we’re not getting, besides their surplus and the inability for all the NATO nations to meet their responsibilities and their promises of 11 years ago, is what is the strategy for Ukraine? They’re very angry that President Donald Trump temporarily cut off some aid to Ukraine to urge Mr. Zelenskyy to consider a truce so he can negotiate a more lasting peace and stop the Stalingrad slaughter between Ukraine and Russia.

I don’t even mean between Ukraine and Russia. It’s basically caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and they’re on the defensive, but Ukraine has not been able, strategically, to show a pathway to strategic resolution and victory. Again, my interest and your interest is, what’s the alternative position by Europe? Is it we have 500 million people, we’re going to rearm, we’re going to divide up tasks? Finns have great artillery. They will supply the artillery to Ukraine. The Swedes and the French have good air forces. They will supply the air cover. The Germans have a tradition of great tank-making. They’re not very productive in tank production today. But perhaps they’ll promise to send 500 tanks. And then outline a position or a trajectory or a pathway where they can force, apparently, Russian President Vladimir Putin all the way back to where he was either in February 2022 or maybe even 2014.

But we don’t get any of that. We don’t get anything but rah-rah talk that we’re all Europeans. We’re not Donald Trump. We’re going to stick together. We’re going to put boots on the ground. We have what? Logistical capacity, armor, air force. Why can’t they just get together and get an exact, detailed plan of military wherewithal, coupled with a strategy, coupled with a renewed commitment to meet their NATO promises, coupled with an explanation to the American people why they feel that $200-plus billion trade surplus is essential to Europe’s survival and it is not a result of asymmetrical and unfair trade practices? That’s all we’re asking for.

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“They want a peace guarantee that’s backed by American blood..”

EU Accuses Trump of ‘Blackmailing’ Zelensky! (Pinsker)

Yesterday’s pacifists are today’s Rambos, it seems: 442 lawmakers in the 720-seat European Parliament just agreed to a joint declaration that “strongly deplores any attempts at blackmailing Ukraine’s leadership into surrender to the Russian aggressor for the sole purpose of announcing a so-called ‘peace deal.’” It passed via landslide: 61%. Not all EU politicians supported the measure: Melonian Nicola Procaccini, co-chair of the Conservatives (ECR), had tried to delay the vote arguing that a strong stance by the chamber would risk undermining the delicate ongoing discussion between the United States and Russia on the conditions of the ceasefire that were agreed yesterday in Jeddah — on which the Kremlin has yet to officially comment — casting a negative light on the efforts of the star-studded administration.

But the parliament rejected his request, and thus the joint resolution submitted by EPP, S&D, ECR, Renew and Greens (which followed a debate last February) passed with 442 votes in favor, 98 against and 126 abstentions. Which means, less than 14% of our “friends” in the EU had the testicular fortitude to oppose this brazenly anti-American statement. Thanks, guys. But perhaps we’re being unfair. Perhaps the EU genuinely, sincerely opposes browbeating a democratic nation — especially one that was just invaded and attacked! — into accepting a permanent, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire. Perhaps this isn’t another example of our European “friends” acting selfishly and cowardly, but a heartfelt moral position. Nah: Fun Fact: Just one year ago, this is the same European Parliament that demanded Israel commit to a ceasefire in Gaza!

Hypocrisy, thy name is EU: The European Parliament was able to call for a permanent, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza only last month, on February 28, over 140 days after the genocidal war began. On that day, at the initiative of the Left, the European Parliament’s plenary in Strasbourg amended the 67th article of the 2023 Report on the ‘Human Rights and Democracy in the World and the European Union’s policy on the matter’ to include the call for an “immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, allowing uninterrupted access to food and water for its inhabitants.” [emphasis added] It raises the very obvious question: Israel was attacked by invaders, too. Why is it moral and just to impose a ceasefire on Israel, but “blackmail” to do so to Ukraine? As Politico reported today:

“The European Parliament on Wednesday accused the Trump administration of “blackmailing” Ukraine’s leadership into capitulating to Russia with a forced ceasefire, and denounced Washington’s decision to leave the European Union out of negotiations.” It’s unclear why the European Parliament insisted on using the word “blackmailing.” We’re not threatening to disclose harmful information about Zelensky. Besides, how do you blackmail a guy who’s already been videotaped [playing piano with his dick]: Usually, the “victim” of blackmail is the one who lost his money. Not here: The EU is claiming that Zelensky was blackmailed because Trump DIDN’T pay him. It doesn’t make much sense.The Politico article continued: “The statement also condemned as “counterproductive and dangerous” the current attempts by the Trump administration “to negotiate a ceasefire and peace agreement with Russia over the heads of Ukraine and other European states.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, they added, was being “rewarded” for Moscow’s ongoing three-year invasion of Ukraine. Even after all these years, Europe’s level of entitlement never ceases to astonish. What Ukraine and the EU really want is an American war guarantee. When you strip away the diplomatic niceties and coded language, Zelensky’s tantrum and EU’s fury can all be boiled down to this: They want a peace guarantee that’s backed by American blood. And because Trump doesn’t believe a Ukrainian war guarantee would “Make America Great Again,” he’s trying to find an off-ramp that averts World War III. He’s trying to stop a war between a nuclear superpower and a near-west ally that’s already cost 1.5 million lives.

By any objective standard, that’s a laudable goal. (If this had been Obama doing the negotiating, the Nobel Prize committee would’ve called an emergency meeting and earmarked him the next 10 awards.)Yet the EU not only objected, they actually called it “blackmail!” Sigh. If only they were willing to stand up to Putin like they stand up to Trump. Because the EU will do everything they can to protect Ukraine… just as long as they don’t have to do any of the fighting themselves.

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“..the EU will discuss proposals to exclude military spending from the limits imposed by the Stability and Growth Pact..”

800 Billion Euros of Delusional Promises (Dionísio)

Von der Leyen has accustomed us to her grandstanding nihilism and disconnection from reality. Listening to her, one might sometimes get the impression that she sees herself as a kind of a god of creation, capable of transforming everything into matter with the mere power of her words. But of course, this is not true! The Russian economy has not collapsed in “tatters”; in fact, it has shown remarkable resilience, with wages growing at their highest rate in 16 years (a 21.6% increase compared to March of last year, and an 11.3% real growth after inflation—a dream for any Portuguese citizen), with the average wage expected to reach $1,113 by 2025, while everything remains cheaper than in any EU country.

It is also not true that the Russians have been stripping semiconductors from washing machines, nor is it true that the G7 has blocked Russian oil exports with their oil caps. In fact, Russia has never exported as much oil as it does today. The broker Ursula von der Leyen was also wrong when she claimed that the U.S. had the cheapest LNG—why would Trump want to lower prices now?—urging European countries to buy more shale gas, in violation of the European corporate sustainability directive, which requires suppliers to comply with environmental sustainability rules. As is well known, shale gas is extracted through fracking, a method highly damaging to the environment and banned in the EU. It seems that for the unelected president of the European Commission, directives are applied according to her whims.

But the latest delusion from the European Commission president is the announcement of a “massive boost”—as she loves these Americanized propaganda slogans with supposed creative power—to European military spending, which has already been increasing over time, but now she proposes to raise it by an additional 840 billion euros. It’s worth noting that she was Germany’s Defense Minister, during the scandal involving the sale of Trident submarines to Portugal, a deal that led to the imprisonment of several intermediaries. During that time too, von der Leyen, when investigated about several businesses, said that she lost the cellphone which helped her avoid jail. Similarly, during her time at the European Commission, she was involved in the vaccine procurement scandal. Certain character traits never disappear, and it’s a pity that these are the traits that determine who gets chosen for such positions. To our detriment.

Of course, the European Commission president could have proposed, instead, a massive diplomatic effort, a vigorous and mobilizing movement for world peace, a series of proposals for disarmament and the reduction of military stockpiles. Would it have worked? Maybe not, but as a leader of a vast population and the guardian of the keys that unlock the doors to death, it was her duty, first and foremost, to make every effort to negotiate not just peace, but a relationship of unity and cooperation across Europe, promoting prosperity and improving the living conditions of its people. Wouldn’t this be expected of any leader who claims to be democratic, humanistic, and a lover of freedom? The first step should never be to deepen the war.

She could even blame Vladimir Putin, demonizing him to unimaginable levels, but always keeping her feet on the ground and acknowledging the enormous responsibility she claims to bear: the guardian of the free world. A “guardian of the free world” is expected to make every effort to preserve that freedom. Instead, von der Leyen has done everything to erode and erase it from the map. Instead of setting an example of elevating and exalting our civilizational values, the European Commission and all the actors parading around the European Council have chosen to adopt a rigid, backward, isolationist, and sectarian stance. “I won’t move from here,” “I won’t talk to them,” “I won’t even think about them!” The EU is the only bloc today that behaves this way, except for Israel with the Palestinians. This should give us much to think about.

But this isn’t even the biggest problem with von der Leyen’s proposal. I’m not even talking about the arbitrariness of a commission composed of unelected bureaucrats proposing draconian rearmament plans, which the Council approves almost unanimously, without criticism, except for Orban. It’s more than that. Von der Leyen doesn’t have the authority to approve such a thing, nor can she force member states to spend this money, or compel them to approve eurobonds that would allow such a magnitude of debt. I’ve mentioned in other articles that by 2026, with a military budget exceeding 600 billion euros, the EU and its member states will already be close to spending 3-4% of GDP on armaments, as Trump desires—the same Trump they claim not to align with. With this increase proposed by von der Leyen, 5% of GDP would be guaranteed.

The truth, however, is that when we look at the proposals, we see that what’s on the table is a line of credit, available to member states, worth 150 billion euros, with the remaining amount coming not from the “European Union,” but from the member states themselves. To facilitate this, the EU will discuss proposals to exclude military spending from the limits imposed by the Stability and Growth Pact, allowing increased investment in armaments to not count toward deficit or public debt limits. In other words, if it’s for weapons, states can borrow as much as they want.

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“..the news of lower inflation..”

This Is Literally The Worst News Democrats Could Get Right Now (Margolis)

The left’s desperate attempts to paint Donald Trump’s second term as an economic disaster are crumbling faster than Hunter Biden’s art career after his daddy left office. After spending four years gaslighting Americans about “Biden’s amazing economy” while families struggled to put food on the table, Democrats have suddenly discovered that inflation exists — and they’re trying to pin it on Trump. How convenient. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) recently embarrassed himself on ABC News when he claimed, “Donald Trump and Republicans consistently promised that they were going to lower the high cost of living, and they’ve done the exact opposite.” That’s not what the facts say at all. Remember when the left couldn’t stop squawking about egg prices? Well, those same Democrats are mysteriously quiet now that egg prices have plummeted.

After reaching an all-time high of $8.17 per dozen in early March, egg prices have plummeted to $5.51. Democrats will be sad to know that this is below the $7 average price when President Trump took office in January. But that’s not all — gas prices have dropped for three straight weeks. Funny how we’re not seeing wall-to-wall media coverage of these positive developments. The Democrats’ economic fearmongering hasn’t aged well. Their claims that Trump would cause runaway inflation have been proven laughably wrong. For Our VIPs: Sorry Dems, but the Trump Recovery Is Underway. The latest economic data shows inflation cooling to 2.8% year-over-year in February, with monthly inflation at just 0.2% — both numbers came in below expectations.

Even CNN had to swallow their pride and report on these positive developments. CNN’s Matt Egan had to concede that the latest economic report was “good news on the economy,” and he emphasized that inflation is “really the number one issue for many Americans.” He noted that both the annual and monthly increases were “a step in the right direction, and both were better than expected.” “This is definitely very encouraging to see,” Egan continued, adding that it is going to “relieve some fears that inflation was perhaps reaccelerating.” He pointed out that February’s report “actually breaks a streak of four straight months… where the inflation rate was going in the wrong direction, right? It was going higher and higher. Finally, we’re seeing it dip.”

Americans may finally be seeing some relief from Bidenomics. Remember how Democrats were lamenting the recent stock market woes? The market has rallied in the wake of the news of lower inflation. This is exactly why Americans are turning their backs on the Democrats’ economic policies. While Biden and his cronies were telling us to lower our expectations and accept sky-high prices as the “new normal,” Trump has been delivering actual results. The stark difference between Democrat rhetoric and reality couldn’t be clearer. Maybe it’s time for Democrats to admit what the rest of us have known all along: their economic policies failed miserably, and Trump’s America First approach delivers results for working families. But don’t hold your breath waiting for that admission — they’re too busy planning their next round of failed talking points.

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Smells like lawfare.

Shutdown Schumer, the Shifty Democrats And a Government Standstill (Thorne)

D.C. Democrats have always ruled the shutdown game. When they are in charge of Congress, they are positively allergic to passing a budget, let alone a balanced one. They prefer to clobber Republicans over the head with shutdown showmanship, ultimately getting their spendthrift way while reaping the fringe benefit of demolished approval ratings for their rival party. Here’s how it works: Democrats sit on their hands and do nothing about spending until the budget deadline looms. Once they are operating in a time-crisis setting, Democrats put forth a grotesque, bloated, and usually immoral omnibus spending bill rife with grift for their friends and economic incontinence. Republicans naturally recoil at this abomination and refuse to vote for it. Democrats and their media allies then bray that Republicans are obstructionists.

If the deadline passes without an agreement, the blame is uniformly heaped upon the Republicans. It is always they, never the blameless Democrats, who shut down the government by refusing to pass the perfectly good spending resolution the Democrats produced. If there is a Democrat president, he does his part by making the shutdown as absurdly public and painful as possible. Who can forget Barack Obama somehow finding employees who were magically exempt from furlough to put up fences around open-air monuments and parks? And to enforce closure of 1,100 square miles of open ocean off the coast of Florida? The compounded applied pressure — generally combined with a greasy offering of pork — is intense enough to shake loose just enough persuadable Republicans to pass everything the Democrats want.

In fact, Republicans were savaged and rolled with this technique enough times that after a while, all the Democrats had to do was threaten to shut down the government to get enough GOP senators to capitulate. But things are different now. Democrats aren’t in power in Congress or the White House, and their media arm has finally lied itself out of relevance. On Tuesday, the Republicans in control of the U.S. House passed a continuing resolution that would keep the government running until this summer — without profligate spending increases — and passed it along to their colleagues in the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the floor Wednesday, still trying to play the Democrats’ game of blaming the Republicans for his party’s obstructionism. “Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort,” droned Schumer dolorously.

But alas, those dastardly Republicans “chose a partisan path, drafting their continuing resolution without any input — any input! — from congressional Democrats. Because of that, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the house CR.” Republicans brought this shutdown upon themselves, you see. Meanwhile, said Schumer, the virtuous Democrats were “unified on a clean April 11 CR that will keep the government open and give Congress time to negotiate bipartisan legislation that can pass.” Finally, he expressed his fervent hope that “our Republican colleagues will join us to avoid a shutdown on Friday.” But somehow, the blame does not seem to be falling on the Republicans this time. “With Schumer saying that Democrats are not ready to proceed, the Democrats hold the cards,” explains ABC News Delaware affiliate 6ABC. “If they do not furnish the votes to clear this procedural hurdle and get on to the bill, things could be at a stand still, and a shut down could be on the horizon.”

Meanwhile, House Democrats are urging their Senate colleagues to vote no on the funding bill they almost unanimously opposed when it passed through the House on Tuesday evening. “House Democrats are very clear. We’re asking Senate Democrats to vote ‘no’ on this continuing resolution, which is not clean, and it makes cuts across the board,” said Vice Chair Ted Lieu, flanked by five other members of House leadership at a press conference at the Issues Conference at the Lansdowne Resort. Lieu’s comments came before Schumer pushed for a 30-day clean stopgap bill. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that conversations are “continuing” with Schumer all the way down to rank-and-file Democratic members about keeping the Democratic caucus united against the bill. “The House Democratic position is crystal clear as evidenced by the strong vote of opposition that we took yesterday on the House floor opposing the Trump-Musk-Johnson reckless Republican spending bill,” Jeffries said.

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Was anything not fake?

Old Joe’s Fake Oval Office – and Its Fake News Apologists – Exposed (Victoria Taft)

Joe Biden’s stage set is to the Oval Office what Dylan Mulvaney is to women: completely fake. We know that now, but there was a time when the media said all claims that Joe Biden was working from a virtual or fake Oval Office were considered to be “fake news.” Now, with Trump White House adviser Alina Habba personally finding the fake Oval Office set and showing it to the public in a video, people are discovering the story all over again. From January through September 2021, Joe Biden’s water carriers in the media went out of their way to “debunk” the claims that he was doing appearances from a phony Oval Office, a Hollywood-like set. Here’s a Reuters “fact check” that gives you an idea of how completely in-the-bag the White House media were for the man who ran for president from a set in his basement.

“Social media users have shared photos of President Joe Biden in the Oval Office, claiming they provide proof that the office is fake or a film set. The “evidence” includes a supposed change in wallpaper, allegedly darkened windows and claims that former President Trump is walking in the background outside the office. Reuters has examined each of these photos and found none of the claims to be true.” Reuters’ “debunking” went on to link Facebook posts that are no longer available, probably because Mark Zuckerberg’s social media platform instituted censorship on all posts that were from “right wing” sources that took a verbal shot at the man “saving democracy:”

“As so-called evidence, the post includes a series of photos [it] says show that Trump can be seen in the window behind Biden; the color of the rug has changed from Trump’s Oval Office; there is a tank outside the window; the background in the windows behind Biden does not match that of Trump’s Oval Office (here, here); the windows are darkened; the wallpaper is not the same as Trump’s Oval Office; and the post also includes photos of Oval Office movie sets”. When Politifact was at the center of the censorship industrial complex, it, too, “fact checked” the claim in its usual way; it took the claim, changed it, fact-checked the change, and pronounced the whole thing to be false. Here’s Politifact: “Since President Joe Biden was inaugurated in January 2021, false claims that his presidency is staged have proliferated online. We’ve debunked social media posts that a White House event was filmed at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, and that his administration created a fake set for him to get a booster shot.”

Neither was true. Remember: the original claim was that Biden had a fake Oval Office. Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA took a victory lap when he saw the Biden Administration optics as Joe got a COVID shot on a set: Here’s another Politfact fact check from September 2021 listing a Facebook meme as false. The headline reads, “No, White House didn’t create fake set just for Joe Biden’s booster shot.” The supposed fact-checking outfit was looking into a meme featuring a photo of Joe getting a COVID shot on the Hollywood-style set that said, “[The White House] created a fake set for (President Joe) Biden to get his booster shot. The entire Biden presidency is one giant charade.” You can see what they did there. The claim was that the Oval Office with the COVID shot was fake.

Politifact conflated that claim with the poster’s opinion that the “entire Biden presidency is one giant charade” and then denounced the whole thing as false. (Later, when proven wrong, Politifact went back and changed its fact check to include a revised version of the story it got wrong in a highlighted box with an “If your time is short” prompt to keep eyes off its incorrect story). Have I ever told you about Politi”fact”, as I call it, fact-checking a claim I made on the radio and my website about bike lanes in Portland? I provided photos and everything. The Politi”fact” reporter checked my claim and pronounced me a liar. When I called her out, the fake fact checker admitted that she checked when it was dark so she couldn’t see properly to verify my claim. She never removed her fake “fact check.”

And then, in October 2021, Newsweek tried to paper over Fourth Estate’s fake news about the Hollywood set in a clean-up piece entitled, “Why the White House Built a Fake Oval Office for Joe Biden.” There, the reporter pacified, “But there is a logical explanation as to why the White House has decided to construct a set version of the Oval Office.” This is the back story that Alina Habba referred to when she sent this video from the fake Oval Office this week. The fake Oval Office production set is in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex.

This map is from the White House tour office. Note how close the West Wing is to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Since it’s so close to the Oval Office (and probably accessible via tunnel or shortcut, but that’s classified), I propose liberating the rooms used by White House Correspondents in the West Wing and relocating the media to the auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where the fake Oval Office is. Move them all, offices and press room — the whole shebang. The West Wing is crammed full as it is, so why not move the fake news to the fake Oval Office?

Read more …

“Made in China 2025” is a plan from 2015.

Made in China 2025 – Revisited (Pepe Escobar)

Now let’s focus on China’s extremely complex domestic equation. At the opening of the Two Sessions, Premier Li Qiang came up with a rallying call for the whole nation to rise up to a series of “very challenging” goals, including growth of 5% in 2025 (it was 4.9% last year). Essentially, to revitalize the economy, Beijing will issue 1.3 trillion yuan (around US$182 billion) in ultra-long special treasury bonds. The deficit-to-GDP ratio was set at around 4%. The official policy of “opening up” will reach the internet, telecoms, healthcare and education industries – meaning more opportunities for foreign investors and possible partnerships up and down the industrial supply chain. All those moving parts of the ambitious Made in China 2025 tech project will be on overdrive: AI, smart terminals, the Internet of things, 5G, plus a new mechanism set up for “future industries” to support hi-tech domains,including biomaterials manufacturing, quantum technology, embodied intelligence and 6G.

Premier Li enthusiastically praised the role of regional growth drivers such as the Greater Bay Area – the super high-tech cluster in Guangdong province linked to Hong Kong. Predictably, he extolled the “one country, two systems” model and the further economic integration of both Hong Kong and Macau. Arguably this is the best analysis anywhere not only of why Hong Kong-based CK Hutchinson had to get rid of its port operations in the Panama Canal, but also because it offers a crisp Chinese evaluation of the “three powers” behind Trump 2.0: Wall Street, heavy industrial capital (energy, steel, mining) and Silicon Valley. CK Hutchison Holdings, founded in Hong Kong by notorious tycoon Li Ka-shing, essentially had to sell 80% of Hutchison Port Group, a subsidiary that owns 43 container ports in 23 countries, including a 90% stake in the Balboa and Cristobal docks at either end of the Panama Canal, because of hardcore geopolitics. Hutchison will continue to control its ports in China, including Hong Kong.

President Trump made a huge fuss about the BlackRock-led deal. The view in Hong Kong is more pragmatic. Hutchinson was not eager to engage in a furious court battle in US courts – not to mention potential sanctions. So they chose to opt for a “strategic exit”. Premier Li noted how consumption in China now is “sluggish” and, somewhat euphemistically, how there were “pressures on job creation and income growth”. Enter a promised “vigorous boost” to household demand, plus the creation of 12 million new urban jobs, with help focusing on fresh university graduates and migrant workers. In parallel, Beijing will expand its military budget by only 7.2% in 2025, reaching roughly 1.78 trillion yuan (US$ 245 billion). That’s not much compared to the Pentagon budget.

It’s quite enlightening to observe the proposals of the Two Sessions – and the tone-setting by Wang Yi – in relation to the analysis by a certified Asian star such as former Singaporean ambassador to the UN Kishore Mahbubani.
Kishore once again resorts to Sun Tzu, explaining how Chinese rulers always privilege the best way to win as not fighting kinetic wars. What matters is to coordinate expansion – epistemologically, educationally, economically, industrially, techno-scientifically, financially, diplomatically, militarily – under the aegis of deterrence. The bottom line is that Beijing will not be trapped by any possible, bombastic provocation coming from Trump 2.0. Once again, it’s all about “coordinated expansion”.

Example. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute, partly funded by the Australian military, and frankly Sinophobic – and Russophobic – at least did something useful by developing a Critical Technology Tracker of 64 current, critical technologies. This is their latest report, from August 2024. It shows that between 2003 and 2007, the US led in 60 of 64 technologies. China led in only 3. Cue to between 2019 and 2023: the US led in only 7, whereas China led in 57 – including semiconductor chipmaking, gravitational sensors, high-performance computing, quantum sensors, and space launch technology.

All that is inextricably linked to the successful planning – and achieved targets – of Made in China 2025. Talk about two five-year plans back to back (Made in China was conceived in 2015). So this is what China 2025 will be all about: serious investments coupled with lots of partnerships with the whole Global South. Once again, in a sort of Sun Tzu framework tweaked by Bruce Lee, China is bound to use Trump 2.0 and the coming mix of confrontation, competition and periodic negotiation as a trampoline to expand its global reach even further. That might be one of the unstated meanings of what Xi Jinping told Putin in Moscow nearly two years ago: “Changes unseen in a century.” Beijing will be sure to find shelter from the storm – any storm. And without having to fight a single kinetic war.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Mother and son

Humming rain
https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1899897177243312326

Puli
https://twitter.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status/1899758633291759933

https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1899746630837887170

 

 

Book of Enoch
https://twitter.com/JasperUnleashed/status/1899676260550545736

 

 

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Feb 272025
 
 February 27, 2025  Posted by at 10:57 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  45 Responses »


El Greco La Pietà c1575

 

US Relations With Russia Promise Rollback To Pre-Gorbachev Period (Krutikov)
America as Republic, not as Empire (Alastair Crooke)
US To Impose Blanket 25% Tariffs On EU – Trump (RT))
US Can No Longer Subsidize NATO – Rubio (RT)
Trump Says US Could Lift Russia Sanctions (RT)
EU Trying To Block Ukraine Peace – Lavrov (RT)
Lavrov Calls Out Europe’s Peacekeeper Plan As Ploy to Rearm Kiev (Sp.)
Russian, US Diplomats To Meet In Istanbul On February 27 (TASS)
Zelensky Now With Only The Dictatorship In London To Support Him (Jay)
Ukraine Can Forget About NATO, Says Trump (ZH)
Ukraine Should Get As Much Land ‘As Possible’ – Trump (RT)
Most Ukrainians Abroad Won’t Come Home – Unity Minister (RT)
Federal Government Can’t Comply With Judge’s Order To Unfreeze Funds (ET)
Rubio Cancels EU’s Kallas At Last Minute (RT)
NATO-Skeptic Romanian Presidential Candidate Arrested (RT)
Tulsi Gabbard Labels CNN ‘Propaganda Arm’ Of Spies (RT)
AG Pam Bondi Announces Thursday Release of Epstein Files (ZH)
Trump Gaza VIDEO With Bearded Belly Dancers Sparks Outcry (RT)

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1894796332206039412

Press

Paper ballot

Bongino

ComeyKash

Ron Paul

 

 

 

 

It’s been a busy first 5 weeks of the Trump team. But every single day it feels again like we are just beginning.

John Helmer posts a translation of a piece by Yevgeny Krutikov, which describes the US withdrawing its troops from Europe pretty much entirely, or at least from those parts added after 1997. Let Europe take care of Europe. Problem is, it can’t. It’s pretty much broke, and it’s hopelessly divided. It needs its own Trump and Musk, but none are in sight. I guess we must hope for Brusssels to implode sooner rather than later. But that might take pitchforks.

John Helmer: “An essay by Yevgeny Krutikov, published this week in Vzglyad, the Kremlin-funded security analysis platform, suggests senior officials at the Security Council believe in the possibility of arms withdrawal from the current battlefield and of military deconfliction with Russia – without attempting the impossible, the dismantling of the NATO membership to the 1997 cutoff. At its simplest, this would mean the withdrawal of American troops, long-range missiles and nuclear ordnance (bombs, missile warheads, targeting systems) to the lines of 1997. This would leave in place NATO security guarantees for the post-1997 member states and their territories, combined with Russian non-aggression guarantees.”

US Relations With Russia Promise Rollback To Pre-Gorbachev Period (Krutikov)

The United States is preparing to eliminate its military presence in Europe, including Poland, the Baltic states and Kosovo, in order to normalize relations with Russia. At first, the news about this in the European media has looked like fakes, but now it appears too logical to ignore them. Is this a bluff or a real prospect of “detente”? Citing an intelligence source in an Eastern European country, Bild claims that the United States is preparing to withdraw troops from Europe. More precisely, from those bases and positions which appeared there after the expansion of NATO to the east. “According to our information, we are talking about the Russian president’s demand for 2021, that is, the withdrawal of American troops from all NATO countries that joined the alliance after 1990,” the German magazine writes. And it wants to believe this.

The facilities from which the Americans are not discussing withdrawal are the bases in Ramstein, Germany, and the United Kingdom, which existed before the collapse of the USSR. But the largest American base in Europe after Ramstein, the Kosovo Bondsteel, is allegedly preparing for liquidation, and the Italian command of the peacekeeping forces in Kosovo (KFOR) inherits its infrastructure. Currently, American military personnel (just over 600 people) in Bondsteel are not part of KFOR, this is a purely American position. In the near-sensational Bild article, it’s not so much the detail that matters as the message. This is the first (!) attempt to link President Trump’s rhetoric and plans with the creation of a new security configuration in Europe that would take into account Russia’s interests.


Map of US forces and their bases in Europe, Jan 2022

Trump himself has been talking about reducing the American military presence in Europe all the time – this has been one of his narratives since his inauguration, interspersed with demands for Europeans to “defend themselves on their own” — for example, to increase their own military spending and bring their armies to a combat-ready state. For now, threats to withdraw the United States from NATO should be regarded as deceitful and frivolous. However, events are developing at such a pace that everything seems possible. This includes the rollback of the US military presence in Europe to the “basic settings” of the pre-Gorbachev period. If the White House is really ready to discuss this with Moscow as part of the process of restoring normal relations between Russia and the United States, this is a truly revolutionary event for American foreign policy. In the light of such normalization, any other pales by comparison, including Trump’s decree that the United States now recognizes only two genders – male and female.

The simultaneous withdrawal of all American troops from Eastern Europe is a “horror story” that can be used for a variety of purposes: from attempts to influence the election campaign in Germany to fueling anti–Russian sentiment. And this “horror story” is being launched against the background of unprecedentedly harsh statements by the US authorities regarding Europe, of which the most memorable is the cavalier speech by Vice President J. D. Vance at the Munich Security Conference. In this context, it is easy to believe the panicky rumours that the United States is abandoning Europe to its fate. For the last month, Europeans have been living uncomfortably under the “American umbrella.” But the fact is that the Italian military in Kosovo are indeed showing strange activity around Bondsteel.


Left: the US Bondsteel base in Kosovo; right, red dot marks the base location on the map.

Serbian sources also confirm the possible transfer of the base under the control of KFOR, which automatically means that the Americans will leave there. The Serbs, of course, are happy; when they are happy, the information coming from them should also be treated with reasonable skepticism. That is, something is definitely afoot in Kosovo, but it is not yet clear what exactly, and in what broader context this idea should be assessed. It is noteworthy that the Bild source referred to a certain demand of Vladimir Putin from 2021. Most likely, this refers to the famous declaration of the Russian Foreign Ministry dated December 2021. No one has canceled or disavowed this document, and in theory it can indeed be on the negotiating table between the Russian Federation and the United States as a certain opening of Moscow’s diplomatic position.

Smolenskaya Square [location of the Russian Foreign Ministry comparable to Foggy Bottom for the US State Department] unequivocally claims that negotiations in Riyadh are underway not only around the Ukrainian issue, but also about the normalization or, if you want, reformatting of bilateral relations. This is not a “conference on Ukraine,” but Russian-American talks about everything. Specifically, the Istanbul agreements may become the basis for negotiations on Ukraine, but in a broader context, we really need to talk about creating a configuration of continental security that would take into account Russia’s interests. The main thing here is to take into account the threats posed to the Russian Federation by the current security organization in Europe, which has developed after the uncontrolled expansion of NATO to the east.

The problem is not only attempts to draw Ukraine or Georgia into the alliance – Trump himself calls this “involvement” a mistake which has worsened the situation on the continent. In a broader context, other examples of NATO expansion have posed a threat to the Russian Federation. The current borders and configuration of the alliance cannot be the basis for lasting peace for many years. Roughly speaking, no one feels safe right now, and the source of these worries was and remains NATO as an outdated and decaying system. In the Smolenskaya Square declaration of December 2021, the first paragraph states that the Russian Federation and the United States should act on the basis of the principles of “indivisible and equal security, without prejudice to each other’s security.” Further, this basic principle is specified in slightly less general terms, but, in fact, this is a proposal to take into account the security threats to the Russian Federation that stem from the expansion of NATO to the east.

Read more …

“Europe’s “sound and fury” after jaw-dropping pivots in U.S. policy..”

“..the ‘blitzkrieg’ was “exceptionally well-planned” and had been discussed in Trump circles since late 2020..”

“That the U.S. would in essence leave Europe to their own delusions would be a calamitous event for the Brussels technocracy.”

America as Republic, not as Empire (Alastair Crooke)

The bits are falling into a distinct pattern – a pre-prepared pattern. Defence Secretary Hegseth at the Munich Security Conference gave us four ‘noes’: No to Ukraine in NATO; No to a return to pre-2014 borders; No to ‘Article 5’ peacekeeper backstops, and ‘No’ to U.S. troops in Ukraine. And in a final flourish, he added that U.S. troops in Europe are not ‘forever’ – and even placed a question mark over the continuity of NATO. Pretty plain speaking! The U.S. clearly is cutting away from Ukraine. And they intend to normalise relations with Russia. Then, Vice-President Vance threw his fire cracker amongst the gathered Euro-élites. He said that the élites had retreated from “shared” democratic values; they were overly reliant on repressing and censoring their peoples (prone to locking them up); and, above all, he excoriated the European Cordon Sanitaire (‘firewall’) by which European parties outside the Centre-Left are deemed non-grata politically: It’s a fake ‘threat’, he suggested.

Of what are you really so frightened? Have you so little confidence in your ‘democracy’? The U.S., he implied, will no longer support Europe if it continues to suppress political constituencies, arrest citizens for speech offenses, and particularly cancel elections as was done recently in Romania. “If you’re running in fear of your own voters”, Vance said, “there is nothing America can do for you”. Ouch! Vance had hit them where it hurts. It is difficult to say what specifically most triggered the catatonic European breakdown: Was it the fear of the U.S. and Russia joining together as a major power nexus – thus stripping Europe from ever again being able glide along on the back of American power, through the specious notion that any European state must have exceptional access to the Washington ‘ear’? Or was it the ending of the Ukraine/Zelensky cult which was so prized amongst the Euro-élite as the ‘glue’ around which a faux European unity and identity could be enforced? Both probably contributed to the fury.

That the U.S. would in essence leave Europe to their own delusions would be a calamitous event for the Brussels technocracy. Many may lazily assume that the U.S. double act at Munich was just another example of the well-known Trumpian fondness for dropping ‘wacky’ initiatives intended to both shock and kickover frozen paradigms. The Munich speeches did exactly that all right! Yet that does not make them accidental; but rather parts that fit into a bigger picture. It is clear now that the Trump blitzkrieg across the American Administrative State could not have been mounted unless carefully pre-planned and prepared over the last four years. Trump’s flurry of Presidential Executive Orders at the outset of his Presidency were not whimsical. Leading U.S. constitutional lawyer, Jonathan Turley, and other lawyers say that the Orders were well drafted legally and with the clear understanding that legal challenges would ensue. What’s more, that Trump Team welcome those challenges.

What is going on? The newly confirmed head of the Office of Budget Management (OBM), Russ Vought, says his Office will become the “on/off switch” for all Executive expenditure under the new Executive Orders. Vought calls the resulting whirlpool, the application of Constitutional radicalism. And Trump has now issued the Executive Order that reinstates the primacy of the Executive as the controlling mechanism of government. Vought, who was in OBM in Trump 01, is carefully selecting the ground for all-out financial war on the Deep State. It will be fought out firstly at the Supreme Court – which the Trump Team expect confidently to win (Trump has the 6-3 conservative majority). The new régime will then be applied across all agencies and departments of state. Expect shrieks of pain. The point here is that the Administrative State – aloof from executive control – has taken to itself prerogatives such as immunity to dismissal and the self-awarded authority to shape policy – creating a dual state system, run by unelected technocrats, which, when implanted in departments such as Justice and the Pentagon, have evolved into the American Deep State.

Article Two of the Constitution however, says very bluntly: Executive power shall be vested in the U.S. President (with no ifs or buts at all.) Trump intends for his Administration to recover that lost Executive power. It was, in fact, lost long ago. Trump is re-claiming too, the Executive’s right to dismiss ‘servants of the State’, and to ‘switch off’ wasteful expenditure at his discretion, as part of a unitary executive prerequisite. Of course, the Administrative State is fighting back. Turley’s article is headlined: They Are Taking Away Everything We Have: Democrats and Unions Launch Existential Fight. Their aim has been to cripple the Trump initiative through using politicised judges to issue restraint orders. Many mainstream lawyers believe Trump’s Unitary Executive claim to be illegal. The question is whether Congress can stand up Agencies designed to act independently of the President; and how does that square with the separation of powers and Article Two that vests unqualified executive power with one sole elected official – the U.S. President.

How did the Democrats not see this coming? Lawyer Robert Barnes essentially says that the ‘blitzkrieg’ was “exceptionally well-planned” and had been discussed in Trump circles since late 2020. The latter team had emerged from within a generational and cultural shift in the U.S.. This latter had given rise to a Libertarian/Populist wing with working class roots who often had served in the military, yet had come to despise the Neo-con lies (especially those of 9/11) that brought endless wars. They were animated more by the old John Adams adage that ‘America should not go abroad in search of monsters to slay’.

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“..asked [..] whether EU countries would retaliate in-kind to any US tariffs, Trump replied: “They can’t, I mean they can try, but they can’t.”

US To Impose Blanket 25% Tariffs On EU – Trump (RT))

US President Donald Trump has claimed that the EU was designed to weaken America and has issued new threats of 25% tariffs on all imports from the bloc. Trump made the remarks on Wednesday at the White House during his first Cabinet meeting of his second term as president. The trade row between the US and the EU has been escalating since Trump announced plans to introduce a wide range of import duties in an effort to tackle what he describes as a trade imbalance. “Look, let’s be honest, the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States, that’s the purpose of it,” Trump told the meeting. “And they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.” He reiterated that his administration plans to impose tariffs on EU imports “very soon.”

“It will be 25%, generally speaking, and that will be on cars and all other things,” Trump said, describing the EU as “a different case than Canada… they’ve really taken advantage of us in a different way.” The US and EU similarly found themselves locked in a trade dispute during Trump’s first term, when he introduced tariffs of 25% on European steel imports and 10% on aluminum, to which the EU responded with countermeasures. Trump also threatened tariffs on European cars, though those never came to pass. In total, the two sides exchanged duties on goods worth over $10 billion. As part of his current tariff push, Trump has imposed 25% duties on all steel and aluminum imports from the EU starting March 4, adding to existing tariffs. He has also directed Howard Lutnick, his nominee for US trade representative and commerce secretary, to propose new levies on a country-by-country basis by April 1 in a bid to rebalance trade.

Since taking office on January 20, Trump has slapped a 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% on Chinese goods, citing concerns over illegal immigration and drug trafficking. However, following talks with the Mexican and Canadian leaders, those tariffs have been postponed for 30 days after both nations agreed to bolster border security. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the latest US tariffs, expressing “deep regret” over the decision. She said earlier this month that the levies on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered.” Asked on Wednesday, whether EU countries would retaliate in-kind to any US tariffs, Trump replied: “They can’t, I mean they can try, but they can’t.”

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Neither can Europe.

US Can No Longer Subsidize NATO – Rubio (RT)

Washington can no longer allow its wealthy Western European NATO allies to take advantage of US taxpayers to fund their defense budgets, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News on Wednesday. The top US diplomat was responding to comments by Friedrich Merz, whose Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won last week’s elections in Germany. Merz claimed that the US-led military bloc is in “jeopardy” due to Washington’s “indifference” toward Europe’s security. “NATO is not in jeopardy,” Rubio said. “The only thing that puts NATO in jeopardy is the fact that we have NATO allies who barely have militaries or whose militaries are not very capable because they’ve spent 40 years not spending any money on it.” The current US administration considers it unfair that some wealthy Western European member states only spend 1% to 1.5% of their GDP on defense, Rubio added.

“We just can’t keep subsidizing that,” he stressed. “These are rich countries, especially in Western Europe. They have plenty of money. They should be investing that in their national security, and they’re not.” US President Donald Trump has argued that NATO’s current defense spending target of 2% of GDP per year – already a challenge for a number of member states – is too low and should be raised to 5%. During his reelection campaign, Trump said he would “absolutely” consider leaving the bloc if members do not “pay their bills.” The US allocates around 3.4% of GDP to military expenditures, according to a 2023 estimate by the World Bank. In contrast, European NATO members spend an average of 1.9%, less than 60% of the US’ spending, Reuters reported earlier this month, citing S&P Global.

Meeting Trump’s proposed 5% military spending goal would cause France and Germany’s budget deficits to rise to 4.6% and 8.9% in 2025, respectively, compared to the current projections of 1.7% and 6%, S&P estimated. Since 2022, the US and its allies have provided more than $258 billion in aid to Ukraine, including over $134 billion in military assistance, according to Germany’s Kiel Institute. Western nations have depleted their military stockpiles and struggled to increase arms production due to deindustrialization, offshore manufacturing, green policies, and sanctions on Russian energy.

Trump claims that Washington spent up to $350 billion on Ukraine under the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden, and has vowed to recover this money. Moscow has warned that NATO’s military aid to Ukraine effectively makes member states parties to the conflict. Trump is the first and only Western leader to acknowledge that one of the root causes of the Ukraine conflict was “the previous administration’s ‘pushy’ policy of dragging Ukraine into NATO,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week.

Read more …

As Europe adopts new sanctions…

Trump Says US Could Lift Russia Sanctions (RT)

The US could lift sanctions against Russia “at some point” during the Ukraine peace negotiations, President Donald Trump indicated on Tuesday. He noted, however, that no decision has been made so far. The US and other Western nations have placed an unprecedented number of economic restrictions on Russia since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. Moscow considers the sanctions illegal and has consistently demanded their removal. “No, we haven’t lifted any sanctions on anybody… I guess it will be at some point, but right now we haven’t agreed to lift sanctions on anybody,” Trump said at a press briefing, responding to a question on whether the issue has been part of Russia-US discussions so far.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently suggested that Western nations will have to consider lifting sanctions on Russia in order to find an “enduring, sustainable” solution to the Ukraine conflict. Speaking after high-level talks between Moscow and Washington in Saudi Arabia last week, he indicated that in order to bring an end to the conflict, “there has to be concessions made by all sides,” including letting go of sanctions policies. Rubio noted, however, that the EU will have to be “at the table” to discuss sanctions relief as well, as it has also imposed restrictive measures targeting Russia. Brussels has indicated it is prepared to pursue an independent sanctions policy regardless of Washington’s stance. EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said last week that the bloc has no plans to lift sanctions against Moscow even if the US decides to do so.

Earlier this week, the EU adopted its 16th package of restrictions, largely targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex and energy projects. It also introduced additional measures against alleged sanctions circumvention, including dual-use export restrictions. Moscow has often noted that sanctions have failed to destabilize or isolate it while backfiring on the countries that imposed them. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Western sanctions have inadvertently bolstered Russia’s development. Speaking at the Future Technologies Forum in Moscow, he stated that despite the challenges that Russia was forced to overcome due to the measures, they played a “stimulating role,” prompting closer collaboration between Russia’s domestic businesses and science and bolstering the country’s economic and technological sectors.

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“..Europe’s role in fomenting crises and its reputation in this area, which it has acquired over centuries, remains unchanged..”

EU Trying To Block Ukraine Peace – Lavrov (RT)

The EU is seeking to derail the Ukraine peace process by pushing the country to continue fighting against Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Speaking at a press conference in Qatar on Wednesday, Lavrov weighed in on a resolution drafted by the US calling for a “swift end” to the Ukraine conflict, which was approved by the UN Security Council on Monday. The document, which was supported by Russia and China, excluded strong language denouncing Moscow. The resolution also came after US President Donald Trump refused to condemn Russia over the Ukraine conflict while blaming Kiev for failing to prevent the hostilities. The Russian foreign minister said that as soon as the political landscape regarding the conflict began to shift, “Europe immediately tries to undermine this trend, announces new large packages of military aid to Kiev, incites it to continue military actions.”

Lavrov went on to state that “Europe’s role in fomenting crises and its reputation in this area, which it has acquired over centuries, remains unchanged,” adding that the EU’s approach to the conflict is “hopelessly outdated and failing.” Last week, Politico reported that the EU is preparing a military aid package worth at least €6 billion ($6.3 billion) for Ukraine, with the magazine’s sources claiming that it could potentially balloon to €10 billion as the bloc’s members “dig into their inventories to see what they can send.” Meanwhile, Trump said on Tuesday that the US is not currently supplying Ukraine with any defense assistance. Russia has condemned the Western arms shipments to Ukraine, warning that they only prolong the conflict without changing the outcome.

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Who’s going to volunteer to be a Russian target?

Lavrov Calls Out Europe’s Peacekeeper Plan As Ploy to Rearm Kiev (Sp.)

For Russia, any course of action involving the deployment of European peacekeepers to Ukraine is out of the question, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday. “No, we cannot consider any such options,” Lavrov told reporters after talks in Doha. The approach being imposed by the Europeans, namely France and the UK, is aimed at further fueling the conflict and “pumping Kiev with weapons again”, Russia’s diplomacy chief added. US President Donald Trump stated that he believes the presence of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine is necessary in one form or another, but the format of this mission must be acceptable to all parties. Russia is not blocking negotiations on Ukraine, Lavrov said, emphasizing that the best way to resolve the conflict is to understand its root causes.

“We are waiting for our European colleagues to stop spreading lies that Russia is blocking the negotiations. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly responded to these false claims, pointing out that the Ukrainian leadership, instigated by Europe, refuses to negotiate,” Lavrov told reporters after his visit to Qatar. Lavrov noted that European politicians assert the conflict in Ukraine should be resolved through military means rather than through negotiations. “We believe that the best help from those who sincerely want to help resolve the conflict is to understand its root causes, as [US] President Trump did recently,” Lavrov added. An upcoming Russian-US meeting that will focus on normalizing the operation of embassies will be held on February 27 in Istanbul, Lavrov said.

“We announced that our high-level diplomats and experts, will meet and consider the systemic problems that have accumulated as a result of the previous administration’s illicit activities to create artificial obstacles to the functions of the Russian embassy, to which we naturally reciprocated and also created uncomfortable conditions for the work of the US Embassy in Moscow. Such a meeting will take place tomorrow in Istanbul,” Lavrov told reporters. Based on the outcome of the talks, it will be clear how fast and efficiently both countries can move, the top diplomat added. Israel’s presence in the south of Lebanon and the south of Syria requires constructive solutions which will not violate security of any party, Lavrov said.

“At present, the Israeli armed forces have entered the south of Syria, just as they decided to stay in the south of Lebanon. All this creates a new situation, which demands not simply understanding, but working out some kind of constructive steps, which take into account the security and development interests of all the countries of the region, including, of course, Israel. But these security problems must not be solved by violating the security and development of other [countries],” Russia’s diplomacy chief said at a press conference. Lavrov also said that Russia is deeply concerned about the fact that day by day the Israeli armed forces take steps that are not envisaged in the Hamas-Israel deals and create situations which contradict the agreements and the resolutions of the UN Security Council.

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No more time to wait or waste. There are major problems to be solved..

Russian, US Diplomats To Meet In Istanbul On February 27 (TASS)

Russian and US diplomats will hold a meeting in Istanbul on February 27 to discuss issues related to the operation of the two countries’ embassies, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced. “Such a meeting will take place in Istanbul tomorrow,” the top Russian diplomat said at a press conference following his visit to Qatar. “We have announced that our diplomats and high-level experts will meet to address the systemic problems that have piled up as a result of the previous [US] administration’s illegitimate activities aimed at creating artificial obstacles for the work of the Russian embassy, to which we clearly responded in kind, also creating uncomfortable conditions for the operation of the US embassy in Moscow,” Lavrov noted.

According to him, the problem of Russia’s frozen assets “has nothing to do with the operation of embassies” because “the asset issue is a state-level one.” Lavrov expects that the Istanbul meeting “will make it clear how capable the parties are of moving forward quickly and effectively.” Earlier, the top Russian diplomat announced that Moscow and Washington had held two rounds of preliminary technical consultations on the issue. Russian and US delegations held talks in Riyadh on February 18, which lasted over four hours. Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev. The US delegation consisted of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

According to Ushakov, the delegations held a serious talk on all the issues they wanted to discuss, including ways to bring Russian and US positions closer to each other and future consultations on Ukraine. Lavrov described the meeting with Washington officials as very useful. According to him, Russia and the US agreed to make sure that ambassadors to both countries are appointed as soon as possible. Rubio, in turn, said after the talks that the US and Russia had agreed to reestablish embassy staffing. Embassy staff cuts began in both countries after 2014, when Washington adopted a policy aimed at “systemic containment” of Russia.

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“Who could forget Sean Penn giving him his own Oscar, or Ben Stiller chilling with the Ukrainian leader and making small talk? Angelina Jolie is even reported to have been paid 20 million dollars to meet with him..”

Zelensky Now With Only The Dictatorship In London To Support Him (Jay)

What is the definition of a ‘dictator’? In the days that followed Trump’s social media post calling President Zelensky one, British media seized upon the subject and ran with it for days. Various public figures were asked whether Trump was right to use the word and whether they believed Zelensky was actually one. Two figures from the right, Nigel Farage and Liz Truss both said they thought Trump was both wrong to call him one and that in fact he wasn’t one. This remarkable endearment for Zelensky is really the core of the problem in the west in particular the UK, where its leader Sir Keir Starmer declared that he would be ready to send British troops to Ukraine – a suggestion which was quickly shot down by the elites of Germany and France as preposterous. It’s rare that the giants of the EU put the British government in its place on world affairs but we are living in unprecedented times of sensational stupidity and perhaps ignorance from politicians which we have never seen before.

Farage’s views on the Middle East tell us he is both ignorant of what is happening there and doesn’t have any advisors covering the region. But his views on Ukraine are even more shockingly deranged. Zelensky is a leader who has shut down anything which resembles an ‘opposition’ both politically and media, he has conglomerated all TV stations into one state-owned entity so as to shut down even the slightest criticism or accountability of his own actions, he has had the few dissident voices arrested and thrown into prison, with some predicting that there are thousands of journalists and media workers. Add to that it is rapidly emerging that the level of corruption and embezzlement linked directly to Zelensky is on a scale that even hard line critics in the West could not have even imagined.

In my own investigation in October 2023, where a very angry Ben Wallace insulted me in a WhatsApp interview before blocking me, I outline how the original, more sensational claim that only about a third of all military equipment sent to Ukraine was actually making it to the battlefield was in fact realistic. This analogy was bandied about for some time and was dismissed by Wallace and others like Alecia Kearns MP as nonsense and yet turned out to be more than just realistic but likely. That is to say that 66 percent of what was being sent to Ukraine was being sold on the black market in Libya making Zelensky and his close circle billionaires.

In recent weeks now mainstream journalists and politicians are talking about the arms scandal and it is only a matter of time before we shall see the realities of this. The British government have always turned a blind eye to it, both in Ukraine and further afield. It would cost them nothing to do a study in the Sahel to evaluate how much of the equipment there funding terrorism is coming from the arms bazaars of Tripoli where all of this kit is ending up. I suggested to Wallace that his own government at the time should send some investigators there (Libya) to look at what’s available. I was more or less told to go there myself and do the job for them.

But Zelenksy support structure for so long has been that of a dictator, in particular media. The hundreds of media outlets in Ukraine which were receiving USAID funding is extensive, not to mention the hundreds of civil servants which support him being on the same payroll. If that doesn’t shock Farage and Truss, then consider the same slush fund which paid out around a 100 million dollars to movie stars to go and visit him and fake their adulation, all for the purposes of cheating the humble U.S. taxpayer by raising his profile.

Who could forget Sean Penn giving him his own Oscar, or Ben Stiller chilling with the Ukrainian leader and making small talk? Angelina Jolie is even reported to have been paid 20 million dollars to meet with him but didn’t even manage that and simply mooched about a but in the country before jetting back to the U.S. Of course, the celebrities all dismiss these claims, through the same left-wing woke press which is part of their extended political family. But the question we should be asking ourselves is simply this: if they were not paid, then why won’t they show up now and show support at the precise moment when Zelensky needs it the most? Given that these celebrities supported Biden and are Democrats, this would be the most logical thing for them to do. In reality, the wall of silence is what we see.

Dictators don’t stand over their hired killers and watch their victims in their final moments like Idi Amin did. In reality, they only indicate and hint to the thugs on their payroll what she should do to fix problems. Does Farage and Truss actually believe that dissidents are not rounded up and thrown into jail where they are tortured and in some cases murdered? Now that the vultures are circling over Zelensky and many are wondering how many days in office he has left, more reports are emerging with details of such cases. The story of Gonzalo Lira, the American Chilean blogger whose vlogs were often well-informed and threw a very poor spotlight on Zelensky is a very sad one as he was brutally tortured while in prison and finally died. If the Zelensky cabal can do this to an American citizen, perhaps Farage and Truss will not be too surprised when in the coming weeks we will have the same Damascus prison media moment where it transpires that there are certainly hundreds, possibly thousands of journalists, commentators and political rivals in Ukraine’s prisons.

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“The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States, that’s the purpose of it. And they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.”

Ukraine Can Forget About NATO, Says Trump (ZH)

Huge and unprecedented words issued by America’s Commander-in-Chief in a press briefing on Thursday… Trump says Ukraine can “forget about” joining NATO: “That is probably the reason why the whole thing started.” Of course, Vice President J.D. Vance earlier this month voiced this point of view of the administration while addressing a gathering of defense leaders in Brussels. But never before has a US president so forcefully voiced that a path to NATO membership simply won’t happen. This also marks the most directly Trump has ever said NATO expansion is a key reason for the tragic war, which has taken hundreds of thousands of lives, having started in the first place. Mainstream media fact-checkers have been out in force, decrying this perspective as ‘Russian propaganda’. But is this really the case?

The head of NATO itself in the recent past said the quiet part out loud and fully admitted that constant NATO expansion to Russia’s doorstep was a central driving factor: “From the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we’ve been told that the issue of NATO expansion is irrelevant to the war, and that anyone bringing it up is, at best, unwittingly parroting Kremlin propaganda, at worst, apologizing for or justifying the war. So it was curious to see NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier this month say explicitly that Russian president Vladimir Putin launched his criminal war as a reaction to the possibility of NATO expanding into Ukraine, and the alliance’s refusal to swear it off — not once or twice, but three separate times.

“President Putin declared in the autumn of 2021, and actually sent a draft treaty that they wanted NATO to sign, to promise no more NATO enlargement,” Stoltenberg told a joint committee meeting of the European Parliament on September 7. “That was what he sent us. And [that] was a pre-condition for not invade [sic] Ukraine. Of course we didn’t sign that.” “He went to war to prevent NATO, more NATO, close to his borders. He has got the exact opposite,” Stoltenberg reiterated, referring to the accession of Sweden and Finland into the alliance in response to Putin’s invasion. Their entry, he later insisted, “demonstrates that when President Putin invaded a European country to prevent more NATO, he’s getting the exact opposite.” How much clearer could the then NATO Secretary-General have said it (in the Sept. 2023 comments)?

https://twitter.com/i/status/1706173936025874767

How much clearer could the then NATO Secretary-General have said it (in the Sept. 2023 comments)?Trump also on Wednesday blasted the European Union… “The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States, that’s the purpose of it. And they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.” Among other things, Europe has lately been accused of seeking to thwart Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine, even offering a rival rare earth minerals deal. The Europeans and Ukrainians have been cut out of direct negotiations with Moscow under Rubio.

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Aka very little.

Ukraine Should Get As Much Land ‘As Possible’ – Trump (RT)

US President Donald Trump has said he wants Ukraine to regain as much territory “as possible” under a potential peace deal with Russia. He claimed that Moscow will have to make concessions, but that the agreement should ultimately represent the best possible outcome for both parties if finalized. Five formerly Ukrainian regions have voted to join Russia since 2014. While Kiev rejects the territorial changes, Moscow views them as final and non-negotiable. Following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump was asked if a peace deal that involved Russia maintaining control over Ukrainian-claimed land could send a message to China detrimental to American interests. ”We’re going to do the best we can to make the best deal we can for both sides,” Trump responded, adding that for Kiev that means “they can get as much back as possible.”

Although an agreement is not guaranteed, Trump expressed hope that it would materialize “for the sake of humanity.” If a resolution is reached, Trump stressed that Ukraine “can forget about” joining NATO as this aspiration lies at the heart of the ongoing conflict. He asserted that Russia will “have to” make concessions as well. Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated that Moscow would reject a truce that merely freezes the conflict along the current front line, leaving parts of Russian territory under Ukrainian jurisdiction. ”Some propose maintaining the line of engagement – this section is Russian, that one is Ukrainian… That won’t happen, as we have a Constitution reflecting the will of the people,” Lavrov said, referencing the referendums held in the five former Ukrainian regions.

Trump’s approach marks a departure from his predecessor Joe Biden’s strategy of isolating Russia, as he seeks to normalize bilateral relations. Both Moscow and Washington suggest that this shift provides hope for a swift resolution to the Ukraine conflict. Additionally, the Trump administration aims to recover taxpayer funds spent during Biden’s tenure through a forthcoming minerals deal with Kiev, expected to be signed on Friday. The new US administration has declined to offer security guarantees to Ukraine, arguing that the country holds minimal interest for American priorities and that European nations should address the issue instead.

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There’s nothing left to come home to but a crazed dictator and some neo-nazis in a barren landscape.

Most Ukrainians Abroad Won’t Come Home – Unity Minister (RT)

The majority of Ukrainians who left the country over the past three years will not return to their homeland even after the military conflict ends, Minister of National Unity Aleksey Chernyshov has said, according to local media reports. An estimated over 5 million Ukrainians are still living abroad, three years since the conflict escalated. Kiev wants them back as it seeks to address the country’s imploding demographics, boost conscription and generate human resources for the post-conflict reconstruction. The minister reportedly claimed on Tuesday that 30% of Ukrainians currently abroad are “seriously considering coming back” when the security situation stabilizes, according to Ekonomicheskaya Pravda. “We also clearly understand that a significant portion of Ukrainians will not return,” the national unity minister said. “They have decided to stay where they are. This is not a catastrophe, it must be acknowledged.”

Chernyshov said that Kiev is developing measures to encourage people to return and cited statistics indicating that Ukraine loses 300,000 people annually for reasons unrelated to the conflict. “For post-conflict recovery and doubling Ukraine’s GDP within 10 years, it will be necessary to attract between 3.1 to 4.2 million repatriates and immigrants,” he noted. A study by the Ukrainian think tank Center for Economic Strategy (CES) published last week found that around 5.2 million Ukrainian refugees remain abroad, of which 60% plan to settle outside their homeland. Meanwhile, the share of those considering returning home had dropped to 43% by the end of 2024, compared to 74% in December 2022. The exodus peaked in March 2022, when around 2.5 million people left the country within weeks. Since then, the outflow has slowed, with around 300,000 people departing Ukraine last year, the CES said.

The agency estimates that up to 2.7 million Ukrainians may choose to remain abroad permanently, even after the conflict ends. The majority of refugees are women and children, while Germany and Poland are the most popular destinations, a Eurostat report published earlier this month showed. The report also revealed that the share of adult men fleeing Ukraine has jumped by nearly 10% over the past year amid the massive mobilization campaign. This prolonged emigration could have devastating consequences for Ukraine’s economy. CES projects it could reduce the country’s annual GDP by 5.1% to 7.8%. According to the think tank, the primary reasons Ukrainians are not currently returning home include the ongoing security threats, destroyed housing, low living standards, and difficulties in securing employment in Ukraine.

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Remember Alastair Crooke: “..the Orders were well drafted legally and with the clear understanding that legal challenges would ensue..”

Federal Government Can’t Comply With Judge’s Order To Unfreeze Funds (ET)

Federal officials told a U.S. judge on Feb. 25 that they could not comply with his order requiring the release of frozen foreign aid within two days. U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali’s order, which gave a deadline of Feb. 26 at 11:59 p.m. ET, would mean paying at least $1.5 billion across some 2,000 outstanding and newly created requests for payment to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the official serving as deputy administrator for the agency said in a court filing. It would also require paying at least $400 million to resolve outstanding payment requests to the State Department, Pete Marocco, the official, said. “These payments cannot be accomplished in the time allotted by the Court and would instead take multiple weeks,” he wrote.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ali, in a hearing with government lawyers and attorneys representing the groups that sued over the freeze, was told that the groups had not yet been paid despite his multiple previous orders, including one on Feb. 13, mandating that the Trump administration unfreeze the foreign assistance. “I’m not sure why I can’t get a straight answer from you on this: Are you aware of an unfreezing of the disbursement of funds for those contracts and agreements that were frozen before Feb. 13,” the Washington-based judge asked Indraneel Sur, the lawyer for the government, during the hearing. “Are you aware of steps taken to actually release those funds?” “I’m not in a position to answer that,” Sur said. It’s the second time a judge has found the Trump administration did not follow a court order. U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island also found this month that the administration had not fully unfrozen federal grants and loans within the United States after he blocked sweeping plans for a pause on trillions of dollars in government spending.

In the Washington case, plaintiffs recently filed an emergency motion to enforce the judge’s temporary restraining order, saying they’re still owed millions of dollars and that their contracts terminated under Trump’s foreign assistance pause remain terminated. Ali granted the emergency motion during Tuesday’s hearing and ordered the government to comply by Thursday. Marocco’s declaration came with a motion from the government asking the judge to stay his order as a federal appeals court considers overturning it. “Defendants are likely to succeed on appeal from the Court’s order for several reasons,” government lawyers said in the filing. “To start, it is not possible for Defendants to comply,” they said, pointing to Marocco’s declaration. The government has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

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A subtle hint.

Rubio Cancels EU’s Kallas At Last Minute (RT)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cancelled a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas at the last minute “due to scheduling issues,” Euronews reported on Wednesday. Kallas, who is on an official visit to Washington to discuss the Ukraine conflict and new dynamics in transatlantic relations, intends to meet with representatives from the US Congress and Senate, according to her spokesperson cited by the EU’s news network. The bloc’s top diplomat had been scheduled to meet with Rubio on Wednesday, and news agencies had expected images from the bilateral talks, Euronews wrote. However, a spokesperson for the US official told the outlet that the meeting had been cancelled “due to scheduling issues,” adding that Kallas and Rubio “last met during the Munich Security Conference” earlier in February. According to the report, Rubio’s public calendar for February 26 did not list Kallas as an agenda item.

Former Estonian prime minister Kallas has been critical of the new US administration’s handling of the Ukraine conflict, denouncing President Donald Trump’s call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin earlier this month as a form of “appeasement.” She has accused Washington of adopting a “Russian narrative” and argued that Brussels should “support Ukraine right now more than ever.” Kallas also claimed that Moscow emerged as the winner in the recent US-Russia meeting in Saudi Arabia, stressing that any peace deal concerning Ukraine must involve both Europeans and Ukrainians to be effective. Following the Riyadh talks on February 18, Kallas held a phone call with Rubio, later warning, “Russia will try to divide us. Let’s not walk into their traps.” On Monday, while announcing the now-cancelled meeting with Rubio, Kallas stated “I have been very clear that no deal without us, without Ukraine or without Europe will work in practice – and that is for the US, which also needs to work with us.”

An unnamed EU diplomat commented on the canceled meeting for Politico, saying it “seems that the Trump administration doesn’t miss a chance to show that for them the EU is not a player.” On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the aggressive stance of Ukraine’s EU backers makes them unfit to participate in the peace process. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov further accused Brussels on Wednesday of attempting to derail peace efforts by encouraging Kiev to continue fighting against Russia. Kallas has recently suggested extending arms deliveries to Ukraine into 2025. The proposed package, worth €10 billion (over $10 billion), has faced resistance from some EU member states and is set for discussion at the March 6 summit of the bloc. Moscow has repeatedly warned against Western arms shipments to Ukraine, arguing that they only prolong the conflict without altering the outcome, while increasing the risk of a direct Russia-NATO confrontation.

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Europe is full of highly unpopular “leaders”. Who target the few that are actually loved.

NATO-Skeptic Romanian Presidential Candidate Arrested (RT)

Romanian police have arrested Calin Georgescu, the front-runner in last year’s annulled presidential election, and conducted dozens of raids on his supporters and people tied to his campaign, local media reported on Wednesday. A critic of NATO and the EU and an opponent of sending aid to Ukraine, Georgescu made headlines in November last year when he unexpectedly garnered 23% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election in Romania. However, the Constitutional Court annulled the results shortly before the second round, citing intelligence documents alleging ‘irregularities’ in his campaign. Georgescu’s communications team has said on Facebook that he was arrested just as he was about to submit his new candidacy for the presidency.

”The system stopped him in traffic and he was pulled over for questioning at the Prosecutor General’s Office! Where is democracy, where are the partners who must defend democracy,” his team wrote. Prior to his arrest, Georgescu condemned the raids on his supporters in a post on Facebook. “The communist-Bolshevik system continues its odious abuses,” he wrote, accusing the Romanian authorities of trying to “invent evidence to justify the theft of the elections and to do anything to block my new candidacy for the presidency.” The Romanian Prosecutor General’s Office is reportedly investigating Georgescu over allegations of involvement “in a fascist organization and the promotion of controversial ideologies and historical figures in the public space,” G4Media outlet reported, citing sources close to the investigation. According to media reports, police found “weapons, live ammunition, and more than a million dollars hidden in a safe” during the raids.

Following the reports of Georgescu’s arrest, dozens of people gathered in front of the Prosecutor General’s office, chanting his name. The president of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party, George Simion, said his MPs have also made their way to the Prosecutor General’s office to demand an explanation. Digi24 quoted Simion as saying that he maintains his support for Georgescu and that “until we see undeniable evidence, we suspect that this is political policing.” He added that so far, “not a single piece of evidence” has been presented. Georgescu’s surprise election victory last year and the subsequent annulment over unproven claims of Russian interference in the electoral process sparked controversy in the country. Both conservative and liberal parties have suggested that the establishment parties – the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL) – are trying to hold on to power by pulling strings within the Constitutional Court.

The canceled election over alleged ‘Russian meddling’ has also been criticized by US officials. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month, Vice President J.D. Vance suggested that “old entrenched interests” in Romania are “hiding behind ugly, Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation” and “don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might… win an election.” Throughout his election campaign, Georgescu repeatedly insisted on Romania’s geopolitical non-alignment and highlighted national sovereignty and self-sufficiency. While expressing skepticism towards Western influence over the country’s policies and criticizing both NATO and the EU, he stated that Romania would respect its commitments to these organizations, but only “to the extent that they will respect theirs” toward Bucharest. He also vowed to halt Romania’s military aid to Ukraine if elected.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1894722137941749825

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Dismissed/disgruntled/disloyal spies.

Tulsi Gabbard Labels CNN ‘Propaganda Arm’ Of Spies (RT)

Newly confirmed US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has accused CNN of acting as a “propaganda arm” for disloyal intelligence agents, calling the network’s report on potential retaliation by dismissed spies an “indirect threat” to President Donald Trump’s administration. As part of Trump’s broader effort to downsize and restructure the federal government, the Central Intelligence Agency has recently offered so-called buyouts to its agents. In a report published on Monday, CNN, citing unnamed sources, claimed that some senior CIA officers were “quietly discussing” how the dismissals “risk creating a group of disgruntled former employees who might be motivated to take what they know to a foreign intelligence service.” “I am curious about how they think this is a good tactic to keep their job,” Gabbard told Fox News on Tuesday.

“They are exposing themselves, essentially, by making this indirect threat – using their propaganda arm, CNN, that they’ve used over and over again – to reveal their hand,” she continued. “Their loyalty is not to America, not to the American people or the Constitution; it is to themselves.” She stressed that these disgruntled employees are “exactly the kinds of people we need to root out, get rid of, so that the patriots who do work in this area, who are committed to our core mission, can actually focus on that.” Gabbard also claimed that many within the intelligence community had reached out to her personally, expressing support for Trump’s efforts to “clean house” and refocus on the core mission of serving the American people.

A former US congresswoman from Hawaii, Gabbard rose to national prominence in 2016 when she resigned as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to endorse Bernie Sanders for president. She later ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, advocating against US military interventions abroad, which she argued are harmful to service members like herself and detrimental to national interests. As tensions with the Democratic Party escalated, Gabbard left the party in 2022. After two years as an independent, she joined the Republican Party and endorsed Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump’s nomination of Gabbard for the top intelligence role in November sparked criticism from establishment figures, who labeled her a security risk. Despite the backlash, she was confirmed earlier this month by a 52-48 Senate vote, with only one Republican, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, opposing her appointment. In January, the Senate also confirmed another Trump nominee, John Ratcliffe, as director of the CIA in a 74-25 vote. Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman and ex-director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, is known for his skepticism of intelligence agencies and his criticism of investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

CIA

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“..this will make you sick..”

We’ll see a lot of comments on redactions. Pam better be careful.

AG Pam Bondi Announces Thursday Release of Epstein Files (ZH)

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Wednesday evening that she’s going to release DOJ files on dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. “You said last week that you had the Epstein files on your desk. When can we see them?” asked Fox News’ Jesse Watters. “Jesse, there are well over – this will make you sick, 200 victims. Well over… over 250 actually. So we have to make sure that their identity is protected, and their personal information. But other than that, I think tomorrow Jesse – breaking news right now, you’re going to see some Epstein information being released by my office.” “What kind? Are we going to see who was on the flights? Are we going to see any evidence from what he recorded – because he had all of his homes wired with recording devices,” Watters asked. “What you’re going to see, hopefully tomorrow, is a lot of flight logs, a lot of names, a lot of information… it’s pretty sick what that man did,” Bondi continued.

Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender was found dead in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. While his death was rules a suicide, he was also good friends with the Clintons and several other high-profile figures such as Bill Gates, Britain’s Prince Andrew, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, former Barclays CEO and ‘Disney princess’ aficionado Jes Staley, Larry Summers, Harvey Weinstein, and former Victoria’s Secret boss Les Wexner. Watters’ question about recordings stems from earlier reporting that the deceased sex trafficker’s homes were wired with recording devices. In late 2019, Jeffrey Epstein victim Maria Farmer alleged that the deceased pedophile had a “media room” on the first floor where high-profile johns were allegedly recorded having sex with women and children.

“So if you’re facing the house, there’s a window on the right that’s barred – that’s the room, the ‘media room’ is what he called it,” Farmer said. “And so there was a door that looked like an invisible door with all this limestone and everything and you push it and you go in and I saw all the cameras.” Maria said: “What it was – was like old televisions basically, like stacked.” “They were monitors inside this cabinet and there were men sitting here and I looked on the cameras and I saw toilet, toilet, bed, bed, toilet, bed. “And I was like I’m never going to use the restroom here and I am never going to sleep here.” -The Sun

The claim was supported in a 2024 lawsuit by two women – Danielle Bensky and Jane Doe 3, who said Epstein employed a sophisticated system involving constant CCTV surveillance within his New York mansion. Bondi’s appearance came hours after the DOJ appeared to give Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) the brush-off, telling her in a Wednesday letter that they are “reviewing your requests and look forward to engaging further to accommodate your oversight and legislative needs.” On the campaign trail, Donald Trump suggested that he would be open to releasing the Epstein list, while Bondi said in November that anyone named in the documents who are “still fighting to keep their names private, Sean, they have no legal basis to do so unless they’re a child, a victim or a cooperating defendant.”

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Opens in new tab/window. No comment needed.Note: Trump did not make this.

Trump Gaza VIDEO With Bearded Belly Dancers Sparks Outcry (RT)

A video re-envisioning Gaza as a lavish resort complete with bearded belly dancers and dollar bills raining down posted on US President Donald Trump’s social media channel has elicited a backlash from users. The clip, which appears to be AI-generated and comes after the US leader recently suggested turning Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East,” appeared on Truth Social on Tuesday. The 30-second clip begins with what appear to be current scenes of destruction in Gaza, with barefoot children running between wrecked buildings. The wreckage then morphs into a futuristic-looking Gaza with skyscrapers reminiscent of Dubai, pristine beaches, casinos, and opulent hotels branded “Trump Gaza.” The video depicts an AI-rendered Trump enjoying the local attractions, including sunbathing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Elon Musk, also AI-rendered, is seen dining on the beach, surrounded by what appear to be bearded belly dancers. The video also features larger-than-life golden statues of Trump and kids frolicking under a shower of dollar bills.

The video is accompanied by a jingle with lyrics praising Trump’s supposed vision for Gaza:
“Donald is coming to set you free, bringing the light for all to see,
No more tunnels, no more fear, Trump Gaza is finally here.
Trump Gaza is shining bright, a golden future, a brand new light,
Feast and dance, the deed is done, Trump Gaza number one!”

Trump suggested earlier this month that the US was prepared to take control of Gaza and transform it into a resort. He has reiterated the idea several times since, claiming that because the enclave is unsafe to live in, it should be raised completely to the ground and rebuilt. While Israel applauded Trump’s initiative, other regional players and many global powers have strongly opposed it, particularly given that it would mean relocating Palestinians living in the enclave to neighboring countries. Trump’s video has so far drawn significant backlash over its tone and messaging, even from the US leader’s own supporters. Users on Truth Social described the clip as “horrible,” “creepy,” and “in poor taste.”

“I hate this. I love our president, but this is horrible,” one user wrote on Truth Social. “This feels all wrong and actually makes me sick,” another user stated. “I could not be a bigger supporter of President Trump but this particular video is in very poor taste!” another one wrote. Some suggested that the bearded belly dancers and golden statues were excessive, while others questioned whether the video had actually come from Trump’s team. “Something does not add up here??? Really does not feel that this is something Trump would post!! Wonder if someone is messing with his account??!! I surely hope so!! Very creepy!!” a user wrote. Several more suggested that Trump should “strongly re-evaluate” the communications team responsible for creating the video. Neither Trump nor his administration has commented on the video, nor was the clip accompanied by any explanation or caption.

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Catwalk
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894497772797141391

 

 

Owl

 

 

Donkey
https://twitter.com/i/status/1894819783696359446

 

 

Dachs

 

 

Trust

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 222025
 


Pablo Picasso Young girl throwing a rock 1931

 

Trump Allies Believe Zelensky Should Leave Ukraine ‘Immediately’ (RT)
Zelensky ‘Not Important’ For Meetings – Trump (RT)
US Has ‘Frozen’ Weapons Sales To Ukraine – MPs (RT)
US Threatens To Shut Down Starlink In Ukraine – Reuters (RT)
Marco Rubio Allows For Easing Sanctions Against Russia – NYT (TASS)
Rubio Explains Purpose of Russia-US Talks (RT)
Liz Truss Calls For ‘Elon & His Nerd Army’ To Investigate ‘UK Deep State’ (ZH)
Pete Hegseth’s Military (Victor Davis Hanson)
Trump Fires Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs of Staff (NYP)
NATO Leaders Back Zelensky Over Trump (RT)
Europe’s Leadership Continues To Fail Its Citizens (Mevissen)
Germany Issues Warning To US (RT)
Macron Calls For ‘Massive Defense Plan’ For EU (RT)
Trump Deputy Chief Of Staff Blasts Media Propagandists To Their Faces (MN)
Funny Money (Kunstler)
Kash Patel Is Already Making Huge Changes at the FBI (Margolis)
The Democrats Are Standing Against America (Paul Craig Roberts)
Millions of Long COVID Patients May Actually Be Vaccine Injured (Thacker)

 

 


© Alvaro Herrero/UPY2025 Radiant Bond

 

 

Bondi

Rubio
https://twitter.com/i/status/1892806427808522684

First 30 days

 

 

 

 

“..Zelensky “would lose a future election by 30% to 65% to Valery Zaluzhny,” if the latter ran for office..”

Trump Allies Believe Zelensky Should Leave Ukraine ‘Immediately’ (RT)

Vladimir Zelensky should leave Ukraine “immediately” and move to France so as not to impede peace talks with Russia, a source close to US President Donald Trump has said, according to the New York Post. The outlet reported that frustration with Zelensky is growing in the White House. Tensions between Washington and Kiev escalated this week after Zelensky criticized Trump for ending the period of diplomatic non-engagement with Russia. On Tuesday, US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia for high-level talks aimed at restoring ties and addressing the Ukraine conflict. Zelensky has demanded a seat at the negotiating table, although Trump has said he and other Ukrainian officials are in no position to complain. He further blamed Zelensky for failing to resolve the conflict with Russia despite having years to do so.

A source familiar with White House discussions told the New York Post that the developments are “nothing new,” adding “I heard months ago it’s time for an election [in Ukraine] and new leadership.” The source emphasized that opposition to Zelensky is widespread within the West Wing. According to another person close to Trump, “the best case for [Zelensky] and the world is that he leaves to France immediately.” Zelensky, whose presidential term expired in May 2024, has refused to hold a new election, citing martial law due to the ongoing conflict. On Tuesday, Trump suggested that Zelensky’s leadership lacks legitimacy and that “he’s down at a 4% approval rating.” Trump later posted on his Truth Social platform that Zelensky “refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls,” saying he “better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”

Zelensky responded by accusing Trump of repeating “Russian disinformation” and citing a presidential poll that has him at 57%. “If somebody wants to replace me right now, it will not happen,” he said. An internal poll cited by The Economist on Wednesday suggested that Zelensky would lose to his former commander-in-chief, Valery Zaluzhny, by a large margin if elections were held in Ukraine today. According to data cited in the report, Zelensky “would lose a future election by 30% to 65% to Valery Zaluzhny,” if the latter ran for office. Zaluzhny currently serves as Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK. Zelensky’s popularity skyrocketed to 90% during the first months of the conflict with Russia in 2022, but has since decreased due to mounting losses on the battlefield and problems with the economy. Russia has also said it considers Zelensky “illegitimate” and recognizes the Ukrainian parliament and its speaker as the only legitimate authority in the country.

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“He’s been at the meetings for three years and nothing got done. So I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings to be honest with you..”

Zelensky ‘Not Important’ For Meetings – Trump (RT)

Ukraine’s leader Vladimir Zelensky is actually “not very important” to have at meetings, US President Donald Trump has said, adding he only makes negotiations difficult. Trump ramped up his ongoing criticism of the Ukrainian leader in an interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeadeon on Friday, during which he suggested Zelensky was an obstacle to making any deal to end the conflict with Russia and suggested the it is “not very important” to have him at meetings at all. “He’s been at meetings for three years with a very, with a president who didn’t know what the hell he was doing,” Trump said, referring to his predecessor Joe Biden and dismissing Zelensky’s complaints about Ukraine not being represented during recent talks between Moscow and Washington in Saudi Arabia.

“He’s been at the meetings for three years and nothing got done. So I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings to be honest with you… He’s – he makes it very hard to make deals. But look what’s happened to his country, it’s been demolished,” Trump added.Earlier this week, the US president branded Zelensky a “dictator” for refusing to hold presidential elections, and claimed the Ukrainian leader had an extremely low approval rating in his country. When repeatedly pressed by the host about whether Russia was responsible for the ongoing conflict, Trump dodged the question, suggesting that other parties were at fault. The US president also reiterated his claim that the hostilities would never have started if he had been in office at the time.

”Every time I say, oh, it’s not Russia’s fault, I always get slammed by the fake news. But I’m telling you, Biden said the wrong things. Zelensky said the wrong things. They got attacked by somebody that’s much bigger and much stronger, which is a bad thing to do, and you don’t do that. But Russia could have been talked out of that so easily,” Trump asserted. Ties between Kiev and Washington appear to have rapidly deteriorated in a matter of a week, with Trump and Zelensky, as well as other senior officials from the two nations, trading various accusations.

Among other things, Zelensky has claimed that the US leader was “living in a disinformation bubble” allegedly created by Russia and has also rejected a proposed deal that would give the US access to Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals to compensate for military aid. He has also refuted Trump’s estimates on the amount of aid Kiev has received, claiming it had not got even half of the sum. On Wednesday, Trump branded Zelensky a “dictator without elections,” claimed that the Ukrainian leader has had an extremely low approval rating and warned that the Ukrainian leader would not “have a country left” should he continue with his policies. Top US officials, including National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, said Trump has grown frustrated with Kiev’s rhetoric, branding it “unfortunate” and “unacceptable.”

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Not frozen, I’d say. Arms makers simply demand to know who’s going to pay the bill.

US Has ‘Frozen’ Weapons Sales To Ukraine – MPs (RT)

The US has halted weapons sales to Ukraine, senior MP Roman Kostenko, who serves as secretary of the Verkhovnaya Rada’s Defense Committee, claimed on Thursday. Washington has been the biggest source of military aid to Ukraine since the escalation of its conflict with Russia in early 2022, including through weapons and equipment shipments and financial support. Part of the financial aid has been used to pay US arms makers to procure new weapons for Ukraine’s army or replace old ones previously provided. In an interview with journalist Natalia Moseychuk, Kostenko stated that “according to my information, the weapons that were going up for sale have stopped. Those companies that were ready to transfer these weapons are now waiting because there is no decision [from Washington].”

He claimed that the suspensions were linked to the budding rapprochement between Washington and Moscow, who held their first direct negotiations at senior level in three years in Saudi Arabia this week. According to Kostenko, the fact that Ukraine was not invited to the talks has prompted uncertainty among US arms manufacturers about deliveries to Kiev. Kostenko said Ukraine is attempting to resolve the issue and has offered to pay for the weapons directly instead of counting on their delivery as part of US aid. His remarks were confirmed by fellow MP Aleksey Goncharenko in a Telegram post on Friday. “The US has frozen arms sales to Ukraine. Roman Kostenko’s statement yesterday is absolutely true,” Goncharenko wrote, adding that “American companies confirmed this to me.”

Neither Washington nor US arms makers have commented on the reported pause in shipments. Ukrainian MP Alexandra Ustinova, who serves as an adviser to the defense minister, refuted the claims in a post on Facebook, stating that “the US has NOT stopped selling weapons to Ukraine” and advising fellow MPs not to “add fuel to the fire” by voicing unconfirmed information. The remarks come amid a growing spat between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, the US leader accused Zelensky of mismanaging the conflict with Russia and misusing American financial aid.

Trump earlier threatened to cut aid for Ukraine, and has insisted that Kiev must repay Washington for the funding it has received, which the US leader claimed was “more than $300 billion.” He demanded the “equivalent of $500 billion worth of rare earths” from Ukraine in return.Zelensky has accused the US leader of “living in a disinformation space” supposedly created by Russia. He rejected the proposal for Ukraine’s rare earths, saying last week that it was not “in the interests of sovereign Ukraine.” Zelensky previously refuted Trump’s estimates of the aid provided by Washington, insisting Ukraine had not received even half of that sum.

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There are still some who think the rare earths are there.

US Threatens To Shut Down Starlink In Ukraine – Reuters (RT)

US officials have warned that they could block Ukraine from using Elon Musk’s Starlink internet terminals if Kiev doesn’t grant access to its critical mineral reserves, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the matter. Musk, a major ally of US President Donald Trump, has donated more than 40,000 internet terminals since 2022, which have been widely used by Ukrainian troops on the battlefield. According to Reuters, during a meeting between Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and Trump’s envoy, Keith Kellogg, in Kiev on Thursday, the Ukrainians were told that they faced an “imminent shutoff” of Starlink’s satellite service if they did not sign a deal on critical minerals with the US.

“Ukraine runs on Starlink. They consider it their North Star,” a source told Reuters, adding that losing the service “would be a massive blow.” In an effort to ensure further military aid from the US, Zelensky has pitched Trump a preferential partnership in developing Ukraine’s resources, including rare-earth minerals. However, he refused to sign an agreement that would have granted the US ownership of 50% of the nation’s mineral wealth. “I cannot sell our country,” he said on Wednesday. Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said that Kiev’s reaction was “unacceptable” and advised Ukrainian officials to “tone it down” and sign the minerals deal.

Both Trump and Musk ramped up their criticism of Zelensky earlier this week, branding him “a dictator” and claiming that he is deeply unpopular at home. The US president argued that Ukraine was in no position to complain about his decision to restore direct talks with Russia that were suspended by his predecessor, Joe Biden. Zelensky acknowledged earlier this month that around half of its rare-earth deposits are “under Russian occupation.” Writing for Bloomberg this week, commodities expert Javier Blas argued that Trump’s expectations from a deal are grossly exaggerated because Ukraine “has no significant rare-earth deposits other than small scandium mines.”

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“..agreed to ensure the earliest possible appointment of ambassadors in both capitals..”

Marco Rubio Allows For Easing Sanctions Against Russia – NYT (TASS)

In a telephone conversation with a number of European diplomats after the US-Russian talks in Riyadh, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio kept open the option of easing some anti-Russian sanctions if Russia begins to take the steps that Washington is seeking, the New York Times reported, citing a summary of the conversation prepared by European officials. “No, he said, the administration would not lift U.S. sanctions on Russia absent a noticeable change in Moscow’s behavior, though he left the door open to easing some sanctions in limited ways if the Russians began taking steps that the administration was seeking,” the newspaper wrote. The publication did not specify the names of the participants in the conversation with Rubio, noting that among them were representatives of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy.

Overall, the newspaper writes, Rubio conveyed to his European colleagues “a more nuanced and conciliatory” message than the statements that were made publicly by representatives of the US administration. “The Secretary of State sought to reassure nervous European allies that the talks [in Riyadh] did not represent an abrupt departure from American policies, as many feared,” the newspaper wrote. The State Department did not respond to the newspaper’s request regarding Rubio’s talks with his European colleagues. Judging by the information provided by the publication, we are talking about a telephone conversation that took place on February 19 after the meeting in Riyadh. In particular, the conversation was reported at that time by Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani. In addition to Rubio and Tajani, ministers from Great Britain, France, Germany, as well as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas took part in the talks.

On February 18, Russia and the US held talks in Riyadh, which lasted 4.5 hours. Russia was represented at the meeting by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, presidential aide Yury Ushakov, and RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev. The US was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and the US leader’s special envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff. According to Ushakov, the delegations talked at length about everything on the agenda, including bringing the positions of Russia and the United States together and contacts on Ukraine. Lavrov called the conversation with US officials very constructive and reported that Russia and the United States had agreed to ensure the earliest possible appointment of ambassadors in both capitals. In turn, the State Department noted that Lavrov and Rubio agreed at the meeting to create negotiating groups on Ukraine, as well as on future cooperation on issues of common geopolitical interests.

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“..we can’t work on the things we might potentially agree on or deconflict on things that could lead to dangerous confrontations as long as this Ukraine impediment stands in the way.”

Rubio Explains Purpose of Russia-US Talks (RT)

The US and Russia sought to restore normal diplomatic relations during this week’s talks in Saudi Arabia because global nuclear powers must communicate to resolve conflicts such as the one in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said. Senior officials from both countries met in Riyadh on Tuesday in what Moscow and Washington both described as a productive dialogue. According to Rubio, who led the US delegation, the primary objective was to restore normal communication channels, which were almost completely severed under the previous administration of President Joe Biden. ”Even in the worst days of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union maintained communication,” Rubio said in an interview with journalist Catherine Herridge on Thursday.

He underscored that political disagreements should not impede statecraft, asserting that mature leaders must engage with nuclear-armed nations. ”Whether we like it or not, Russia is a power, a global power,” Rubio added. “We’re going to disagree on a lot, but we can’t work on the things we might potentially agree on or deconflict on things that could lead to dangerous confrontations as long as this Ukraine impediment stands in the way.” According to Rubio, Washington remains cautious about Moscow’s stated intentions to find a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict, but that future discussions would bring more clarity. No details about potential territorial concessions by Ukraine or the lifting of sanctions against Russia were debated in Riyadh, the US official added. Rubio rebuffed claims that the US was sidelining Kiev and its European allies, stressing that their involvement would be essential in any agreement with Russia.

He characterized such suggestions as exaggerated, driven by “hyperbole” and “hysteria,” and urged a recognition of US President Donald Trump’s peacemaking efforts, noting that previous Western strategies had not been successful. ”There was an effort in Istanbul a couple years ago, and it involved a number of European countries, and it failed,” he noted. In 2022, Türkiye facilitated Russian-Ukrainian peace talks, resulting in a preliminary agreement for a treaty that would have seen Ukraine become a neutral nation with a limited military, backed by security guarantees from major world powers, including Russia. However, Kiev later withdrew from the deal after then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged it to continue fighting.

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“We want Elon and his nerd army of muskrats examining the British Deep State!”

Liz Truss Calls For ‘Elon & His Nerd Army’ To Investigate ‘UK Deep State’ (ZH)

Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss told the audience at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that her country is “failing,” and needs a MAGA-type movement to save it. “We now have a major problem in Britain that judges are making decisions that should be made by politicians,” said Truss, speaking from National Harbor, Maryland, and adding that the British judiciary is “no longer accountable” due to reforms by her predecessor, Tony Blair, who handed power over to an “unelected bureaucracy.” “There’s no doubt in my mind that until those changes are reversed, we do not have a functioning country. The British state is now failing, is not working. The decisions are not being made by politicians,” Truss continued. Truss also said that UK voters have grown increasingly angry because they keep voting for change – only to be let down over and over, including by current PM Keir Starmer.

“The same people are still making the decisions. It’s the deep state, it’s the unelected bureaucrats, it’s the judiciary,” Truss said. “And I think what ultimately will happen, what I hope to see, is a movement like you have in the US with Maga [‘Make America great again’], with CPAC, with all these organisations, that ultimately pushes change we all want. We want to have a British CPAC.” Truss then said “We want Elon and his nerd army of muskrats examining the British Deep State!” Truss’s comments are emblematic of a growing right-wing movement across Europe – as voters in Germany, Austria, France and the Netherlands have been gravitating towards populism amid failed ‘green’ policies, unchecked immigration, and censorship policies that violate basic human rights.

According to the NY Times, which spoke with Europeans who voted for right-wing candidates, people cast their ballots “in fury, in frustration, in protest and perhaps most of all in a bid to bring change to a system they believe has failed to fulfill the contract between their democratically elected governments and the people.” They talked openly about nationalism, immigration, stagnant economies, the cost of living, housing shortages, anger at the elite and their countries’ perceived buckling to what many consider politically correct views. Their voices offer a window into the choices Europeans may make in the year ahead. The main event will be a Feb. 23 snap federal election after the collapse of the governing coalition in Germany, where the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has made tremendous gains. Voters in Italy, Poland, Norway, Ireland, Romania and the Czech Republic — all countries where populist movements are either well established or on the rise — are also expected to choose leaders on the local or national level.

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage’s Reform Party is on track to win the next election. Farage has notably slammed the impact of Net Zero on the British Economy, and says he’s on a mission to “reindustrialize” Britain and achieve a “180 shift” in the country’s policies. There’s reason for cheer at Reform HQ this morning: Nigel Farage’s party is leading Labour in a YouGov voting intention poll for the first time. According to the poll, Reform UK leads on 25 points with Labour in second place on 24 per cent and the Conservatives in third on 21 per cent. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats are on 14 per cent and the Greens on 9 per cent. While there have been a handful of polls to date putting Reform in the lead, they have so far been regarded as outliers. In response to the poll, Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform, said: ‘Much more to come as common sense policies welcomed to save Britain and make us better off’. -Spectator.co.uk.

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“..I think he’s gonna be very successful. He is gonna be very controversial. And that’s why the Left went after him more than anybody else..”

Pete Hegseth’s Military (Victor Davis Hanson)

Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. I’d like to speak a little bit today, very briefly, about the Pentagon under new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Did you notice that of all the controversial Trump nominees—Kash Patel, Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi, RFK, Tulsi Gabbard—the Left went after Pete Hegseth the most vehemently? And he required JD Vance to break that tie. There was a reason for that. He is proposing radical changes in the Pentagon. Remember where we are right now with the Pentagon. We spend $820 billion a year. It’s about 14% of the entire budget and it’s immune to criticism. It really is. And we are building $14 billion carriers. We’re building $85 million F-35s. We have built $140 million F-22s. And we’re watching, in Ukraine and the Middle East, the entire mode of 21st-century warfare being revolutionized.

It’s more of—not that we’re going to have bad quality, but it’s more quantity than quality. They’re flooding the zones with cheap drones—cheap drones on the ocean, in the air, and on land. And we’re not there yet. We’re not doing it. So, what Pete Hegseth wants to do is change the entire manner of procurement.What we have now is more or less a monopoly. We have Raytheon. We have the Boston military group. We have Northrop. We have General Dynamics. We have Lockheed. And the way it has worked is that four-star generals, who have very generous pensions, rotate out. They work for these consortia and then they use their contacts of subordinate officers to favor their procurement. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it but it’s an inherent conflict of interest. And Pete Hegseth is going to stop that. And he can stop it in a number of ways.

First is, he can just go back to what we used to do. We used to say that a military officer cannot be secretary of defense in the civilian role. But the last two were fine men. Gen. [Jim] Mattis, I know him, whom I like, and also Gen. [Lloyd] Austin. We waived that. I don’t think we should continue to do that. There was a reason we had a law. I wrote that we should waive it for Jim Mattis because I thought he was a superb [choice]. Looking back, I think it puts too much pressure on the military officers to distance themselves. So, it would be better to have that position as a civilian one. Another thing we’re going to do is, whether we like it or not, we’re going to get rid of diversity, equity, and inclusion. And he’s already doing it and he’s going to save, I think, billions of dollars. And that has already had a profound effect.

We have record number of recruitment, per day. It’s accelerating, at almost 10,000 a month. And we were down 40,000 or 50,000 recruits. And the military, instead of saying, “This is a crisis,” said, “We really didn’t need 40,000 or 50,000. So, we met our goals.” No, no, no. We were down and now we’re not down. And you can see that socially, culturally, Pete is trying to associate with the rank and file. Lift weights with him, jog. It’s going to be a people’s person defense secretary. He’s also not going to tolerate retired admirals and generals that come out of the woodwork during election season, use their rank—they’re still subject to Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is enforced against lower-ranking officers. The statute says that retired or serving flag officers shall not disparage major civilian officials in the executive branch; Cabinet officers, vice president, especially the president.

And yet we’ve seen in these recent news cycles, I won’t mention all of the generals’ names, but they’ve called their commander in chief a fascist, a Nazi-like, a Mussolini character, an architect of Auschwitz, a liar, a cheat, who should be removed sooner—just terrible things, with impunity.

We’re not going to see that anymore under Pete Hegseth. So, the procurement will be different. Recruitment will be different. Retired officers will adhere to the code. There’ll be no more—less conflict of interest. There’s a lot of fat in that budget with DEI. And he’s basically sending a message that we’re not going to look at the superficial color of one’s skin, or their religion, or their gender. We’re going to look at the content of their character, and more importantly, even than that, the ability to fight well for the United States. And I think he’s gonna be very successful. He is gonna be very controversial. And that’s why the Left went after him more than anybody else. And I think that the Pentagon budget will shrink and it will be more bang for the buck. And it’s just all welcome.

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Hegseth’s move?!

Trump Fires Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs of Staff (NYP)

President Trump on Friday night abruptly fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr., in a major shake-up of Pentagon leadership. And the president just as quickly named his pick to replace Brown – Air Force Lt. General Dan “Razin” Caine, who served as the associate director of military affairs for the CIA from 2021 to 2024. “I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family,” the president said. Just hours before his sudden dismissal, Brown was touring the southern border according to posts on social media.

Brown served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the last 16 months and was only the second black general to hold the vaunted post. The general was seen in mid-December at the Army-Navy football game seated next to then president-elect Trump. Trump named Caine, a former F-16 pilot, as his nominee to succeed Brown in the same Friday night Truth Social post. Caine will need to be confirmed by the Senate as is customary with all new military leaders. “General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a “warfighter” with significant interagency and special operations experience,” Trump wrote. The commander in chief also credited Caine with the “complete annihilation” of the ISIS caliphate which occurred during the president’s first term.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth celebrated the nomination of Caine as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “General Caine embodies the warfighter ethos and is exactly the leader we need to meet the moment. I look forward to working with him,” Hegseth said in a statement, which also honored Brown. However, Hegseth previously had harsh words for Brown. “First of all, you gotta fire, you know, you gotta fire the chairman of Joint Chiefs” Hegseth said in a podcast in November.

Hegseth also questioned how Brown got the job in one of his books, according to the Associated Press. “Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We’ll never know, but always doubt — which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter,” Hegseth wrote. Despite these criticisms, Hegseth gave Brown a nod of approval after a face to face meeting late last month, according to the Washington Examiner. Brown wasn’t the only senior military officer ousted on Friday night. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Jim Slife were also fired, Hegseth said in the statement.

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NATO has no leaders other than Trump. Scholz will be dumped in Sunday’s election, Macron and Starmer are in single digits. It’s one big vacuum.

NATO Leaders Back Zelensky Over Trump (RT)

European leaders, including those from the UK, Germany, and the Czech Republic, have rallied behind Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky after US President Donald Trump described him as a “dictator without elections.” In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, the Republican accused the Ukrainian leader of mismanaging the conflict with Russia and misusing American financial aid. Trump went on to claim that Zelensky “refuses to have elections” and “is very low in Ukrainian polls.” Trump’s post was apparently sparked by an accusation from Zelensky that the US president was in a “Russian information bubble.” Zelensky’s five-year presidential term expired in May 2024 and he has refused to hold elections since, citing martial law. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that he does not consider Zelensky to be the legitimate head of the Ukrainian state any longer.

Commenting on Trump’s remark, Czech President Petr Pavel wrote in a post on X on Wednesday that characterizing Zelensky as a dictator “requires a great deal of cynicism.” He also called into question the feasibility of holding elections in Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict with Russia. British Prime Minister Kier Starmer’s office reported he had phoned Zelensky and expressed support for “Ukraine’s democratically elected leader.” The official similarly argued that “it was perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war time,” citing Britain’s own practice during World War II. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz chimed in in a post on X on Wednesday, writing that “it is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelensky democratic legitimacy.”

Several prominent US Democrats have also sided with Zelensky. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that “it is disgusting to see an American president turn against one of our friends and openly side with a thug like Vladimir Putin.” He suggested that the Ukraine conflict directly affects the “security of the American people.” Senator Adam Schiff also accused Trump of betraying Kiev and appeasing Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted on Thursday that the “rhetoric of Zelensky and many representatives of the Kiev regime in general leaves a lot to be desired.” Officials in Kiev “often allow themselves to make statements directed toward other heads of state, completely unacceptable things,” Peskov concluded.

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“Europe needs to grow up, leave Disney world and come to terms with this new world..”

Europe’s Leadership Continues To Fail Its Citizens (Mevissen)

While Europe is still reeling from the Munich security conference last weekend, Putin probably couldn’t believe his luck when he saw Trump’s message accusing Ukraine of starting the war and calling president Zelensky a dictator. For the past four years, Europe knew very well that there was a chance that Trump could be re-elected. And during all these years, From a military perspective, European leaders did close to nothing to prepare themselves for a possible second Trump administration. Most notably German Chancellor Scholtz, who spoke of a zeitenwende just days after Russia’s invasion, failed to deliver any meaningful progress in rebuilding Germany’s army and its defence industry. And now the chickens have come home to roost.

While it is the new US administration that seems to shock the European elites the most right now, they should actually fear their own inaction, lack of urgency, can’t do mentality and in some cases the inability to overcome national interests. On top of that we see a lack of strategic thinking, apathy, panic and victimhood. All of this points towards a theme that we have often discussed. Europe continues to be plagued by a leadership crisis and does not do what is considered to be the core tasks of any government: protecting its citizens and their belongings. All this leads to one conclusion. Europe needs to grow up, leave Disney world and come to terms with this new world. Illustrative of this new world is the inability of G7 countries to agree on a common statement. The US has opposed the phrases that mention “Russian aggression,” which were included previously in statements of support released on 24 February. All this would have been unthinkable until recently.

But there is more for Europe to worry about. This weekend, Germany will hold elections and the far right AfD is polling to win about 20% of the votes, doing especially well in the Eastern part of the country. A complex formation of a new government could further delay much needed decision making within Europe on crucial areas like defense cooperation and complying to more ambitious and realistic NATO spending targets. Read more in our special covering the German elections. And Europe faces more than security challenges alone. Its manufacturing sector is still struggling with high energy prices and lots of red tape. This has led to a prolonged period were sentiment in the European manufacturing sector can only be described as pessimistic. That pessimism may now be bottoming out, but we don’t expect a rapid rebound. Today’s first estimate of the manufacturing PMI for Germany came in at 46.1. That’s slightly better than the 45.5 that was expected, some improvement from the 45.0 reading for January.

France also saw a some improvement of sentiment within the manufacturing sector with a figure of 45.5 compared to 45.3 expected and 45 for January. While sentiment in the manufacturing sector slightly improved, the French services sector came in at a very disappointing 44.5. The S&P report noted: “The services sector is a cause for concern, with a significant downturn in activity compared to the previous month.” The data present a weak picture of the sector at the start of 2025. Order intakes are shrinking at a rapid pace and future activity expectations remain well below the historical average. That’s weighing on French hiring, and we saw substantial layoffs in February. Earlier this morning there was more positive news coming in from the UK which showed that British consumers spent considerably more than was expected. However this was after very disappointing retail sales during the all-important holiday month of December. Furthermore consumer sentiment continues to remain weak.

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Everything that’s wrong, caught in just a few words:

“Europe should not hesitate to put pressure on the US if it fails to fall in line with “liberal democracies..”

Germany Issues Warning To US (RT)

Europe should not hesitate to put pressure on the US if it fails to fall in line with “liberal democracies,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Friday. The diplomat made the remark following talks between the US and Russia that excluded representatives from the EU and Ukraine.Speaking at a campaign rally in Potsdam on Friday, the Green politician stated, “We’re increasing pressure on the Americans [so they know] they have a lot to lose if they don’t stand on the side of Europe’s liberal democracies.”With respect to EU-US relations, Baerbock warned against drawing any precipitous conclusions, remarking that “nothing has been decided there.”“No one can decide about war and peace for the Ukrainians or us Europeans, and this is the clear German stance,” she insisted.

Baerbock also warned against forcing Kiev into a “phony peace” or “capitulation,” which she said would only invite further “war and violence.”A rift has opened up between Washington and Brussels since US President Donald Trump took office last month. Trump has taken a tougher stance on trade with the EU by threatening tariffs and demanded that its European-NATO partners boost spending on collective defense.Addressing Munich Security Conference attendees last Friday, US Vice President J.D. Vance delivered a sobering speech to Europe’s political elites, suggesting that the biggest threat the continent is facing is one coming from within – the erosion of democracy. ”In Britain and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat,” the official stated, concluding that “if you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you.”

The speech sent shockwaves across governments, with leaders, including Germany’s Olaf Scholz, scrambling to rebuke Vance’s assertions. The fallout was further highlighted when Washington and Moscow held high-level talks in Saudi Arabia this week without bothering to invite EU representatives. This perceived slight prompted an outpouring of anguish and indignation on the continent. Trump blasted Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky this week, branding him a dictator without elections, but a number of European leaders have rejected the US president’s assertion that he lacks legitimacy. In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump said he sees no point in having Zelensky involved in peace talks with Russia. He also insisted that French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer “haven’t done anything” to put an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine for the three years since it started.

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Macron’s on his way out, and Europe has no money.

Macron Calls For ‘Massive Defense Plan’ For EU (RT)

The EU needs to develop a “massive defense plan” and boost military investment due to rising tensions with Russia and US President Donald Trump’s stance on the Ukraine conflict, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. Speaking at a Q&A session on X on Thursday, the French leader stressed that EU members must reduce their reliance on the US over the next five to ten years.“We need innovative European spending to innovate together, maybe, in the first place to help Ukraine, but also for ourselves,” Macron said, arguing that significant investment in the military should come “in the coming weeks.” The French leader claimed that the world has entered a “new era” in which states have to increase defense spending while diminishing the population’s purchasing power.

He also addressed the shift in Washington’s strategy on the Ukraine conflict, which this week saw US officials hold their first high-level talks on resolving the crisis with their Russian counterparts since February 2022. “I’m going to tell him [US President Donald Trump]: ‘You can’t be weak with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. That’s not who you are, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest,” Macron said, noting that he is due to meet the US leader in Washington on Monday. Macron has for years championed the creation of a “European army,” initially floating the idea in 2018 during Trump’s first term. His remarks at the time did not result in any real action, with NATO officials voicing concerns that any new army would compete with the bloc rather than complement it.

Trump has consistently demanded that Washington’s European allies boost their defense spending, complaining that the US is bearing the main burden.Following the EU’s exclusion from the US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia this week, Macron called an emergency summit in a bid to drum up the bloc’s unity and discuss ways to ensure its role in the settlement of the Ukraine conflict. President Putin has dismissed claims that Russia plans to attack Western countries, describing the speculation as “nonsense.” He has also repeatedly said that one of the key causes of the Ukraine conflict was NATO’s expansion towards Russia’s borders.

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Stephen Miller is one of the early stand-outs.

Trump Deputy Chief Of Staff Blasts Media Propagandists To Their Faces (MN)

The White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller torched fake news reporters Thursday during a briefing for playing along with the charade for years that Joe Biden was mentally fit, before giving them a lecture about how government works. “Many of the people in this room for four years failed to cover the fact that Joe Biden was mentally incompetent and was not running the country,” Miller told leftist media correspondents. He then noted that to counter the ridiculous leftist talking point that Elon Musk is an unelected bureaucrat, the media was in need of “a brief civics lesson.” Miller then began his short but ever so sweet fact smackdown.

“A president is elected by the whole American people. He is the only official in the entire government that is elected by the entire nation. Judges are appointed, members are Congress are elected at the district or state level,” he noted. “The Constitution, Article II, has a clause known as ‘the vesting clause,’ and it says ‘the executive power shall be vested in ‘a’ president — singular. The whole will of democracy is imbued into the elected president. That president then appoints staff to impose that democratic will onto the government,” he continued. “The threat to democracy — the existential threat to democracy — is the unelected bureaucracy of lifetime, tenured civil servants who believe they answer to no one; who believe they can do whatever they want without consequence; who believe they can set their own agenda, no matter what Americans vote for,” Miller explained.

“So, Americans vote for radical FBI reform, and FBI agents say they don’t want to change. Or Americans vote for radical reform on our energy policies, and EPA bureaucrats say that they don’t want to change. Or Americans vote to end racist DEI policies, and lawyers at the DOJ say they son’t want to change,” Miller further outlined. “What President Trump is doing is he is removing federal bureaucrats who are defying democracy by failing to implement his lawful orders, which are the will of the whole American people,” Miller asserted. As we’ve previously highlighted, it seems shocking to the leftist media that Trump, given a mandate by the American people, would put into place people who are loyal to him and will implement his policies.

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“..the blob is getting methodically disassembled, one bureaucratic office at a time. Before much longer we are going to be a different country, and most probably a better one.”

Funny Money (Kunstler)

The key to understanding how the Democratic Party works is how it uses federal grants to redistribute taxpayer money into jobs programs for its rank-and-file. As seen in the recent USAID scandal, the action revolves around the creation of countless NGOs (non-governmental orgs). They are easily created, poorly supervised, and assembled into large networks of self-serving, inter-dependent organisms whose main mission is paying staffers — and secondarily pretending to do good works, as suggested by a given group’s name is. These staffers make up the matrix of Democratic Party activists, well-paid foot-soldiers in do-nothing jobs who can be called upon to cheer-lead for the party, organize street protests and, most critically, harvest ballots when the time comes. S

tacey Abrams became a kind of field marshal for setting up NGOs around her campaigns for office and then later turned them into money laundromats for the trillions of dollars fire-hosed out of the US Treasury during the Covid-19-darkened “Biden” years. Here are some of Stacy’s NGOs:· The New Georgia Project and its affiliated NGP Action Fund — set up for her 2018 run for governor. It was eventually fined $300,000 for failing to disclose millions in contributions, failing to register properly, and sixteen violations of campaign laws. Its main purpose was providing jobs for an army of activists. One question that might have been asked: how many of Stacey Abrams’ books were purchased by The New Georgia Project, juicing her royalties?

· The Southern Economic Advancement Project, founded in 2019 to “promote equity” in twelve southern states, paid Stacey a $700,000 annual salary.

· The Fair Fight Action group raised nearly $62 million in dark pool donations by 2022, with 96-percent from 252 large, unidentified donors.

· The Fair Count Project was created to lobby for counting illegal aliens in the 2020 US Census, in order to pad state congressional districts.

· The Third Sector Development group, created as an “incubator” for other groups (including the New Georgia Project).

· The Fair Fight 2020 group, created to “train voter protection teams” in twenty “battleground states.” That is, ballot harvesting.

Out of the $27-billion from “Joe Biden’s” Inflation Reduction Act sent to EPA in 2024, $2-billion from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) ended up in the Stacey-associated Rewiring America org and its offshoot the Power Forward Communities org. Stacey was listed as “senior counsel” to Rewiring America, which also happened to “partner” with her prior NGOs Fair Count and Southern Economic Advancement Project.What you might surmise from all this is that “Joe Biden’s” green energy agenda was used as a green smokescreen for a giant patronage racketeering operation. The billions allocated would go ostensibly to innumerable corporations set up to carry-out “green” good deeds, most of which would never actually happen, but would, along the way, pad thousands upon thousands of bank accounts for favored contractors.

Stacey’s Power Forward Communities NGO was incorporated in the state of Delaware where loose corporate governance requires such orgs to pay out only five percent of the org’s funds to its stated mission recipients each year. The rest of the $2-billion not allocated to staff salaries can be socked away in safe investments garnering, say, $50-million-a-year in returns, which can be rolled back into the org and used for spinning out new NGOs with more paid staff positions. . .grift upon grift. . . . That is what patronage is, and that, by the way, is how it became such an urgent national issue over a hundred years ago when it was openly known as the “spoils system” in electoral politics — to the victor go the spoils— which was resolved by the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. Alas, in our time patronage (that is, corruption) has reinvented itself as the blob, the runaway system that almost sank the country.

Do you see how all this works now? The ever-expanding matrix of NGOs creates an army of useful idiots working hand-in-hand with an ever-expanding rogue bureaucracy that has become effectively a fourth branch of government accountable to nobody. This is how your tax dollars disappear down a rat-hole and why the US government is insolvent. The difference now is that the Democratic Party no longer has its hands on the levers of power. Different managers are in place at the critical agencies, most particularly Pam Bondi at DOJ, Kash Patel at the FBI, Russell Vought at OMB, Lee Zeldin at EPA, and Elon Musk in the DOGE. In the past, nothing was done about these shenanigans. This time is different. The Democratic Party will lose its principal means for staying alive. That’s why senators like Chuck Schumer, Chris Coons, and Adam Schiff are out mewling and hollering in the streets. Meanwhile, the blob is getting methodically disassembled, one bureaucratic office at a time. Before much longer we are going to be a different country, and most probably a better one.

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He had his plans ready.

Kash Patel Is Already Making Huge Changes at the FBI (Margolis)

Newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel is on fire. After his swearing-in, he gave a not-so-subtle speech, showing that he’s ready to handle the media’s smears. “I know the media’s in here, and if you have a target, that target’s right here,” he said, pointing to himself. “It’s not the men and women at the FBI.” “You’ve written everything you possibly can about me that’s fake, malicious, slanderous, and defamatory,” he continued. “Keep it coming — bring it on. But leave the men and women, the FBI out of it. They deserve better.” He also promised that a new day at the FBI has started. “I promise you the following, there will be accountability within the FBI and outside of the FBI, and we will do it through rigorous constitutional oversight — starting this weekend.”

Kash continued, “I am living the American dream, and anyone that thinks the American dream is dead, just look right here. You’re talking to a first-generation Indian kid who’s about to lead the law enforcement community, the greatest nation on God’s green earth.” He wasted no time turning his bold rhetoric into action. Following his blistering speech on Friday, he ordered the transfer of 1,500 agents and staff from the bureau’s Washington, D.C., headquarters to field offices across the country. Roughly 1,000 will be sent to high-crime cities that the Trump administration designated, where they can focus on fighting crime instead of political games. Another 500 will be reassigned to Huntsville, Ala., which is widely seen as D.C.’s version of exile.

This is just Patel’s first move, and if any Democrats want to shed a bunch of tears over the move, they can, but they can’t claim they shouldn’t have expected it. As the Washington Post reported, Patel made this plan known during his confirmation hearings. Patel, in his 2023 book, vowed to shutter the Hoover headquarters building and turn it into a “museum to the Deep State.” He’s made similar recommendations at his confirmation hearing and in appearances on conservative TV news shows. “One of my biggest personal recommendations is … you send those 7,000 agents in the headquarters building down range to chase down rapists, to chase down murderers, to chase down drug traffickers and let the cops be cops on the streets across America,” Patel said during an August appearance on “Stinchfiled Tonight.”

During his confirmation hearing last month, Patel was asked about his previous comments suggesting he wanted the FBI’s headquarters emptied out and shuttered. His responses did not directly address whether he would actually shut the building down or seek to transform it into a museum, but suggested that he believes the FBI’s workforce in Washington should go out into the country. “A third of the workforce for the FBI works in Washington, D.C.,” Patel said. “I am fully committed to having that workforce go out into the interior of the country, where I live west of the Mississippi, and work with sheriff’s departments and local officers.”

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“Trump does not want war. War would put his domestic agenda on the back burner.”

The Democrats Are Standing Against America (Paul Craig Roberts)

This is my interview by Larry Sparano of a few days ago prior to my learning, as I posted yesterday, that the temporary injunctions that judges are issuing against Trump and Musk’s activities in rooting out corruption from the federal budget are only good for a few days and are not effective except in the sense of giving the corrupt elements in the federal departments and agencies a few days to hide, erase, destroy, and “lose” evidence before Musk can get his hands on it. To be effective in blocking Trump, the hearing on the temporary injunction must succeed in advancing to a preliminary injunction, which is a rare event.

If a temporary injunction becomes a preliminary injunction, that is when it enters the appeal process and becomes subject to the long delay of the judicial process. The hearings on the temporary injunctions against Trump and Musk are resulting in the dismissal of the injunctions and are not carrying forward to preliminary injunctions. At the time of the interview it did not occur to me that the judges’ injunctions were short-lived temporary measures. The whore media were presenting the injunctions as if they were defeats for Trump. Almost anyone can request one and it seems judges almost always have to grant them. What this means is that the concern I state in the interview about the judiciary’s ability to block Trump is overstated. I think overall the interview is a good stab at this time at a picture of the fight ahead.

Skeptics perhaps endeavoring to demoralize Trump supporters say it is all just an act. To see how unlikely this suggestion is, consider that the American Establishment has spent 8 years trying to destroy Trump. They tried to destroy him politically. They twice impeached him. They tried to imprison him. They tried to steal his property. They tried to assassinate him physically both with gun shots and with 8 years of heavy stress that would have killed most people of his age. Would Trump be inviting more such stress if he were not serious? Would he have appointed the people he did if he were not serious?

Trump has a beautiful wife and plenty of money. He doesn’t need the stress of the task he has undertaken. He is literally in a fight to the death for our country and for us. It is extraordinary that there can be Democrats and leftwing freaks who believe that DEI is more important than equality under law, that multicultural nirvana can exist when blacks are taught to hate whites, who are happy when perversity is elevated above normality, and who believe a Sodom and Gomorrah Tower of Babel is preferable to Western Civilization.

Trump is trying to save our country for us. The people who oppose him are traitors and our deadly enemies. The Democrats and the leftwing are standing against America. As Trump and Vance have said, America’s real enemies are at home, not in Russia, China, and Iran. Trump does not want war. War would put his domestic agenda on the back burner. War would produce demands for unity, which means stopping the attack on the domestic enemy. War is a way of defeating Trump’s agenda. We must keep our eyes open. A false flag attack that traps Trump into war is a real possibility.

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Millions of them… This will be a long storry.

Millions of Long COVID Patients May Actually Be Vaccine Injured (Thacker)

Yale researchers released a study today that posits millions of Americans thought to have Long COVID may have been misdiagnosed and actually have post-vaccination syndrome caused by exposure to the spike protein in COVID vaccines. Spike protein produced by the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines triggers the body’s immune response, and the FDA claimed in a 2023 Politifact fact check that vaccine spike protein is not toxic and does not linger in the body. However, Yale researchers report that some patients, who were never infected with COVID virus, were sick with post-vaccination syndrome (PVS) and had elevated levels of virus spike protein in their blood up to 709 days after vaccination.

“There is considerable overlap in self-reported symptoms between long COVID and PVS, as well as shared exposure to SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein in the context of inflammatory responses during infection or vaccination,” noted the study authors. NIH has poured $1.6 billion into Long COVID research, while ignoring patients harmed by COVID vaccines, causing some well-known patient advocates to hide vaccine injury. After a 13-month battle with Long COVID, Hollywood screenwriter Heidi Ferrer took her own life after deciding death was preferable to another minute in her own “personal hell.” Death of the Dawson’s Creek writer made headlines across the media including places such as People, the Guardian, Variety, CNN, Newsweek, and The Daily Mail—each recounting Ferrer’s struggle with Long COVID.

But in a private video circulating among patient groups and obtained by The DisInformation Chronicle, Ferrer’s husband Nick Guthe stated that Moderna’s COVID vaccine was the final straw, causing Heidi to develop tremors and then internal vibrations when she lay down for bed, so that even prescription sleeping pills would not allow her to sleep. “And that’s when things turned,” Guthe said in the video. Prominent patient advocate Beth Mazur also committed suicide after a COVID vaccine apparently worsened her struggles with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), a chronic illness with many similarities to Long COVID. Mazur co-founded #MEAction for patients with chronic illness. #MEAction reported in early 2021 that a significant number of ME/CFS patients experienced “both new symptoms and long-lasting exacerbations of their pre-existing ME/CFS symptoms” after a COVID vaccine.

“Beth was a compassionate advocate for ME/CFS and a fierce advocate for vaccine injury after she experienced this herself sometime before she took her own life,” said one of Mazur’s personal friends who did not wish to be identified. “Having people come after you for vaccine injury is worse than being sick itself. And people can’t handle that. It’s a shroud of shame.”

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Buster

 

 

Dino
https://twitter.com/i/status/1892960793282441308

 

 

Anaconda

 

 

Baby bear

 

 

Baby

 

 

Eagles

 

 

Lioness

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 072025
 
 February 7, 2025  Posted by at 11:00 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,  54 Responses »


René Magritte The conquerer 1926

 

USAID Media Payments Could Be ‘Biggest Scandal In History’ – Trump (RT)
Politico Pleads Innocent (ZH)
WikiLeaks: USAID Has Been Funding Over 6,000 Journalists Worldwide (ZH)
‘Leaked’ Plan: Trump To ‘Force’ Zelensky To Agree On Ceasefire By Easter (ZH)
Trump Envoy Responds To Zelensky’s Nuclear Weapons Demand (RT)
White House Softens Aspects Of Gaza ‘Takeover’ – No Boots On The Ground (ZH)
What is Trump Really Thinking About Gaza? (Larry Johnson)
The Greatest Showman’s “Inside Out” Political Solution (Alastair Crooke)
How the Democrats Became the Party of Puppets (Pinsker)
Investor Demand For X Debt Upsized, Musk Sees Revenue Improving Rapidly (ZH)
Rubio To Boycott G20 Meeting in South Africa (RT)
FBI Official Accused of Defying White House Reform Efforts (Turley)
EU Plays Trump Card To Advance Its Globalist Agenda (Villamor)
What Is Really Destroying Europe? The EU (Godefridi)
What to Know About US Withdrawal From the WHO (ET)
‘Gov’t Is the People’s Business’: A Tribute to Ronald Reagan (Salgado)

 

 

 

 

Evo
https://twitter.com/i/status/1887475768508252227

Mike Benz exposes USAID for 11 straight minutes

Sen. Kennedy

3rd temple

Alwaleed

 

 

 

 

Sounds like a bombastic headline. But is it? Do (re)check the Nicole Shanahan clip below that I opened with yesterday. She explains that DOGE has a super search engine for files (data mining research), that finds in seconds/minutes what would otherwise take days or weeks. The USAID “library” is vast and complex but “He did that over the weekend”. USAID is just the start.

USAID Media Payments Could Be ‘Biggest Scandal In History’ – Trump (RT)

Billions of dollars have been stolen at USAID and used to pay for positive media coverage of Democrats, US President Donald Trump has said. The claim comes in conjunction with a White House announcement that it will stop “subsidizing” Politico. In January, the Trump administration initiated significant changes to the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Trump ordered a near-total freeze on foreign aid, aiming to align assistance with his “America First” policy. Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday to warn that “the biggest scandal in history” was brewing, after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that American taxpayer money had been used to subsidize government subscriptions to Politico and other media outlets. Leavitt was referring to Politico Pro, a premium legislative and regulatory tracking service used by multiple government agencies.

Politico Pro subscriptions are reported to cost up to $10,000 annually. ”Looks like billions of dollars have been stollen [sic] at USAID, and other agencies, much of it going to the fake news media as a ‘payoff’ for creating good stories about the democrats. the left wing ‘rag,’ known as ‘Politico,’ seems to have received $8,000,000,” Trump wrote. He questioned whether The New York Times and other outlets were also receiving “payoffs.” Politico said it had “never been the beneficiary of government programs or subsidies” and that the “overwhelming majority” of subscriptions come from the private sector.

Some conservative commentators online claimed that Politico, The New York Times and the Associated Press were receiving “government funding” or “grants,” from USAID and other agencies. Kyle Becker, a former Fox News producer, dug into public records on USAspending.gov and discovered that the government paid Politico $8.2 million in the last 12 months. However, only about $24,000 of this total came from USAID, with the largest contributor being the Department of Health and Human Services. Elon Musk, who oversees the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), called the payments “a huge waste of taxpayer money.” “Many media outlets are going to experience a mysterious drop in revenue,” he warned on X on Wednesday.

The outlets in question denied receiving government subsidies, stating that agencies purchased subscriptions like any client, and insisted on their editorial independence. CNN went as far as to decry the accusations as “a false right-wing conspiracy theory,” and accused Leavitt of elevating a “bogus claim.” The freeze on USAID funding has led to the suspension of numerous senior officials, layoffs of contractors, and the halting of various international aid programs. Legal experts have questioned the legality of dismantling USAID without congressional approval. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was appointed as the acting administrator of USAID, with plans to merge it into the State Department. Elon Musk criticized the agency as a “criminal organization” that should “die.”

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What exactly is the role of German publisher Axel Springer?

Politico Pleads Innocent (ZH)

During Wednesday’s White House presser, spox Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Politico has been getting ‘more than $8 million taxpayer dollars,’ which has ‘gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions.’

* * *
On Tuesday, staffers at Politico were notified that a ‘technical error’ had prevented paychecks from going out. Many joked that this had something to do with the Trump administration putting a freeze on USAID funding. And while there’s no evidence the two are linked, the suggestion prompted internet sleuths to look into Politico’s sources of funding. What they found was absolutely shocking. According to government spending tracker website USASPENDING.gov, Politico – which laundered the Hunter Biden ’51 intel officials’ propaganda during the 2020 election – received up to $27 million (and by some counts $32 million) from various US agencies during the Biden years. In one instance, roughly $500,000 was spent on 37 Politico ‘pro’ subscriptions. Of note, Politico was sold to German media giant Axel Springer (which also owns Business Insider) for $1 billion in 2021, meaning US taxpayer dollars have been flowing to the German media giant to prop up their US propaganda rags.

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That’s a large chunk of the media.

WikiLeaks: USAID Has Been Funding Over 6,000 Journalists Worldwide (ZH)

Yesterday’s report that the US government has been funding outlets such as Politico, the Associated Press, the BBC, and others raised more questions than it answered – though the obvious implication is that the US government has effectively been propping up regime-friendly media, which then peddles regime-friendly coverage – and spent years attacking independent outlets such as ZeroHedge, The Federalist, and many unlucky ones who have since been starved out of business. And while funding for Politico and others has come from all over the federal government – WikiLeaks, citing a RSF report, highlighted that USAID was funding over 6,200 journalists across 707 media outlets and 279 “media” NGOs, which includes 90% of the reportage out of Ukraine.

According to RSF, the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid – roughly $268 million earmarked to fund “independent media and the free flow of information,” has ‘thrown journalism around the world into chaos.’ “Almost immediately after the freeze went into effect, journalistic organizations around the world that receive American aid funding started reaching out to RSF expressing confusion, chaos, and uncertainty. The affected organizations include large international NGOs that support independent media like the International Fund for Public Interest Media and smaller, individual media outlets serving audiences living under repressive conditions in countries like Iran and Russia.


USAID programs support independent media in more than 30 countries, but it is difficult to assess the full extent of the harm done to the global media. Many organizations are hesitant to draw attention for fear of risking long-term funding or coming under political attacks. According to a USAID fact sheet which has since been taken offline, in 2023, the agency funded training and support for 6,200 journalists, assisted 707 non-state news outlets, and supported 279 media-sector civil society organizations dedicated to strengthening independent media. The 2025 foreign aid budget included $268,376,000 allocated by Congress to support “independent media and the free flow of information.”

Note the recurring use of the term ‘independent media.’ Of course, the RSF report, and another from the Columbia Journalism Review are sounding the alarm over the ‘silencing of independent media’ around the world. The critical context they omit, however, is that USAID – despite the best of intentions when it was formed, has been corrupted into a deep-state slush-fund.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1886764407700472231

And so, no matter how ‘independent’ these USAID-funded media outlets are around the world, they’re all eating fruit from the same poisonous tree.

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“The EU will reportedly be asked to assist Ukraine in its reconstruction efforts, which may cost as much as $486 billion over the next decade..”

‘Leaked’ Plan: Trump To ‘Force’ Zelensky To Agree On Ceasefire By Easter (ZH)

As of the start of this week, the Kremlin said ‘no progress’ had been made in arranging peace talks on Ukraine between Moscow and Washington. Rumors and speculation abound, given that US diplomats under Trump are without doubt working behind-the-scenes to arrange something, with the possibility that talks could be hosted in a ‘neutral’ location like Saudi Arabia or the UAE. A Thursday Daily Mail report has just added immense fuel to the fire of speculation, presenting the allegedly leaked Trump ceasefire plan which he intends to present for Russia’s consideration. The report says Trump will try to ‘force’ Ukraine’s President Zelensky to agree to a ceasefire by Easter, which is on April 20 this year.

The Trump administration is seeking to end the war within 100 days. “The unconfirmed plans, reported by Ukrainian outlet Strana, have been doing the rounds in ‘political and diplomatic circles’ in Ukraine, and will include a ceasefire by April 20 that would freeze Russia’s steady advance, a ban on Ukraine from joining NATO, and a demand for Kyiv to accept Russian sovereignty on annexed land.” While still very much unconfirmed, the headline is having an immediate impact on oil prices. Zelensky’s office has vehemently denied the legitimacy of reports of the peace plans being reported and floated. On top of these alleged key aspects of a ban on NATO admission, freezing the front lines, and agreeing to Russian sovereignty over the four annexed territories in the east, the leaked report says the following is also included in the proposal:

• On top of this, Ukrainian troops will be made to leave Russia’s Kursk region, where it launched a counteroffensive in August, while a contingent of European soldiers, which could include British troops, would be asked to police a demilitarised zone. American troops will not be involved in this contingent.
• The EU will reportedly be asked to assist Ukraine in its reconstruction efforts, which may cost as much as $486 billion (£392 billion) over the next decade according to the German Marshall Fund thinktank.
• The plans will reportedly begin with a phone call between Zelensky and Vladimir Putin in early February, a meeting between the two warring leaders in late February to early March and an official ceasefire declaration of a ceasefire by April 20.
• A declaration on the agreed parameters for ending the war would then be released by May 9, after which Kyiv would be asked not to extend martial law or mobilize troops.

This essentially gives Moscow most everything it wants – particularly the ban on NATO admission – and so if true the plan is likely to be entertained positively by Putin. Zelensky has been complaining that talks about Ukraine between the US and Russia must never happen without Kiev’s representation and input, but Zelensky it seems is being left behind. He’ll likely reject the above ‘leaked’ plan, but for Moscow and Washington that probably won’t matter too much. [..]

* * *
Ceasefire by Easter:
• NATO Membership: Ukraine would be barred from joining NATO under the plan.
• Territorial Concessions: Kyiv would recognize Russian sovereignty over annexed lands and withdraw troops from Kursk.
• Demilitarized Zone: European, possibly British, troops would police it; no U.S. involvement.
• Reconstruction: EU assistance sought for Ukraine, estimated at $486 billion over a decade.

Timeline:
1) Early February: Zelensky-Putin phone call.
2) Late February to early March: Leaders’ meeting.
3) April 20: Ceasefire declaration.
4) By May 9: Agreement terms released, no further martial law or mobilization.
5) Additional Support: Continued U.S. military aid for Ukraine, with a pathway to EU membership by 2030.

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“Let’s be honest about it, we both know that’s not going to happen..”

Trump Envoy Responds To Zelensky’s Nuclear Weapons Demand (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, has brushed aside Kiev’s demand for nuclear weaponry, stating that it is “not going to happen.” Kellogg made the remarks on Thursday while speaking to Fox News Digital. He was asked about the latest call by Vladimir Zelensky for “nuclear weapons” and “missile systems” from Kiev’s Western backers. “The chance of them getting their nuclear weapons back is somewhere between slim and none. Let’s be honest about it, we both know that’s not going to happen,” Kellogg said.The idea of arming Ukraine with nukes goes against “common sense” and is not something the Trump administration would consider, Kellogg stated. “Remember, the president said we’re a government of common sense. When somebody says something like that, look at the outcome or the potential. That’s using your common sense,” he explained.

Zelensky, speaking to British journalist Piers Morgan earlier this week, said that Ukraine must either be fast-tracked into the US-led NATO bloc or given more weaponry to “stop Russia.” “Give us back nuclear weapons, give us missile systems. Partners, help us finance a one-million army, deploy your troops to the areas of our country where we want to stabilize the situation,” he stated. While the Ukrainian leader has raised the issue of nuclear weaponry before, including shortly ahead of the escalation of the conflict in February 2022, he has done so increasingly in recent months. Zelensky has expressed regret that his country surrendered its portion of the Soviet nuclear arsenal after the collapse of the USSR in exchange for security guarantees in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. In 1991, Ukraine possessed some 1,700 warheads, which however, remained under Moscow’s operational control.

Russia insists that Ukraine never possessed any nuclear weapons of its own, as the assets belonged to Moscow as the sole legal successor of the Soviet Union. The 1994 memorandum also envisioned Ukraine’s neutral status, which has been undermined by NATO’s eastward expansion and Kiev’s aspirations to join the US-led bloc, Russian officials maintain. In November, Russian President Vladimir Putin explicitly stated that the any procurement of nuclear weaponry by Kiev was non-starter and would compel Moscow to use all available means to destroy it. “What do you think – on the level of common sense – if the country with which we are essentially now engaged in military operations becomes a nuclear power, what should we do? In this case, use all – I want to emphasize this – precisely all the means of destruction at Russia’s disposal,” the president said.

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For Trump and Gaza, do watch this lady first:

White House Softens Aspects Of Gaza ‘Takeover’ – No Boots On The Ground (ZH)

Israel announced Thursday it has begun preparations for the departure of large numbers of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip following President Trump earlier this week publicly backing a controversial mass resettlement plan in neighboring Arab countries. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump’s plan for Gaza as “remarkable” in an interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity published Thursday. “The actual idea of allowing Gazans who want to leave to leave. I mean, what’s wrong with that? They can leave, they can then come back, they can relocate and come back. But you have to rebuild Gaza,” Netanyahu said.In the face of fierce condemnation and pushback from an assortment of countries like Saudi Arabia, China, Russia, Ireland, as well as the United Nations – Trump has still doubled down in a Thursday Truth Social post.

He explained that “the Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel” after the end of hostilities. He reiterated that Palestinians could be relocated to “far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region” and would “actually have a chance to be happy, safe, and free.” The president said the that the US would oversee development teams from across the world, which will “slowly and carefully” begin the construction of what would become “one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth.” That’s when he emphasized the following: “No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign,” Trump wrote. Given that it’s an active war zone, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad are still openly displaying their weapons in battalion-sized displays and deployments, it seems doubtful any of this could happen without serious military intervention.

Trump said all of this after on Tuesday he declared he wants to the US to “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip. Some aspects have been softened or walked back by the White House, however. When pressed for clarification on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “They need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza for the rebuilding.” Thus the plan has changed to a non-permanent resettlement, apparently, though it’s hard to see the logistics and politics of all of this actually playing out. Leavitt continued, “It’s been made very clear to the president that the United States needs to be involved in this rebuilding effort to ensure stability in the region for all people.” “That does not mean boots on the ground in Gaza. That does not mean American taxpayers will be funding this effort,” she added.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also sought to distance the administration from criticisms that this looks like a potential major foreign military intervention. He said the idea was of “temporary” relocation, and said the proposal “was not meant as hostile. It was meant as, I think, a very generous move — the offer to rebuild and to be in charge of the rebuilding.” And Trump’s envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, echoed something similar. He said the US doesn’t want to put any US troops on the ground, and that no US dollars should be spent. He acknowledged that Trump had been “gestating” on the idea for a while.

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“..while many interpreted his remarks as catering to the Zionists, the language he used was just the opposite. He did not say that Gaza was Israel’s.”

What is Trump Really Thinking About Gaza? (Larry Johnson)

I am not making excuses for Donald Trump. I fully understand why many have interpreted his scripted remarks yesterday during the joint-press conference with Bibi Netanyahu about relocating the Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza and the US taking control of Gaza as insane or heartless or both. I want you to entertain another possibility — maybe Trump is really trying to secure a deal that does not cater to the Zionist vision of occupying all territory from the river to the sea.

We are 16 days into the second Trump administration and the flurry of activity coming out of the Oval office is akin to a Category Five hurricane. It is clear that Trump did not spend the last four years in political exile moping and despairing of the lawfare tsunami unleashed by his political opponents. He tacitly conceded that he was totally unprepared to confront the monster of the Deep State when he entered office in January 2017. He did not make that mistake this time. The day after securing his election victory in November he began executing a plan for governing that has left his political opponents and the Washington establishment reeling. This is akin to a military blitzkrieg. He is attacking across a broad front.

With this in mind, let me suggest another way of looking at what he said about taking control of Gaza during the Tuesday press conference with Netanyahu. First, he was reading from a script. This means it was drafted and vetted in advance, most likely with Michael Waltz taking the lead. Second, while many interpreted his remarks as catering to the Zionists, the language he used was just the opposite. He did not say that Gaza was Israel’s. He said that the US should take control of Gaza and oversee the rebuilding. However, he did not propose a specific plan for doing so and made it clear that someone other than the US would foot the bill for the rebuilding. Would Trump entertain a Saudi offer to rebuild Gaza with its funds? I think so, but it would likely be part of a broader agreement to resurrect the Abraham accords.

It is true that Netanyahu has publicly embraced Trump’s plan, but in announcing this proposal, Trump has made it almost impossible for Netanyahu to abandon the ceasefire agreement, at least the second phase, which he reportedly promised finance minister Smotrich he would do. If the Zionists decide to launch a fresh offensive on the Palestinians in Gaza, this would be a direct slap in the face of Trump. Scott Ritter reminded me during the roundtable with Danny Haiphong of Trump’s crazed, insulting remarks about Kim Jong-Un that preceded his face-to-face negotiations with Kim. It is a classic Trump negotiating tactic — bombast and insult up front followed by diplomacy and deal making. Is this Trump’s plan with respect to re-framing the Palestinian issue? I think it is a possibility. I also could be wrong (and I’m sure many of you will let me know).

Trump’s heated rhetoric regarding Iran also appears to be another example of his bad-cop-good-cop routine. Steve Witkoff reportedly is negotiating with the Iranians on orders from Trump. I think it is highly likely that Iran, despite press reports to the contrary, is not pursuing a nuclear weapon, primarily because of the security treaty they signed with Russia on January 17. If Witkoff succeeds in crafting an agreement with Iran then Trump will be able to claim that his tough guy approach created the conditions that made a deal possible. Okay. You are now free to tell me why I am full of crap.

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“Netanyahu at this juncture is utterly dependent on Trump. The PM’s wiles will not be enough to get him off the hooks: Trump has him where he wants him.”

The Greatest Showman’s “Inside Out” Political Solution (Alastair Crooke)

Dissing Putin as a loser in Ukraine perhaps was more addressed to the U.S. Senate and its ongoing confirmation hearings. Trump made these comments days before Tulsi Gabbard faces Senate hearings. Gabbard already is criticised by U.S. ‘hawks’ for allegedly holding ‘pro-Putin’ sentiments, as well as being subjected to a media slur campaign by the deep state. Was Trump’s apparent disrespect toward Putin and Russia (which caused anger in Russia) said primarily for the ears of U.S. Senators? (The Senate is home to some of the most ardent ‘never-Trumpers’). And were Trump’s egregious comments about ‘cleansing’ Gaza’s Palestinians to Egypt or Jordan (co-ordinated with Netanyahu, according to an Israeli Minister) intended primarily for the ears of the Israeli Right? According to that Minister, the issue of encouraging voluntary Palestinian migration is now back on the agenda, just as the Right-wing parties have long wanted – and many in Netanyahu’s Likud had hoped. Music to their ears.

Was it then a Trumpian pre-emptive move, designed to save Netanyahu’s government from imminent collapse over the ceasefire’s second-stage, and the threat of a walk-out by his Right Wing contingent? Was Trump’s target audience in this case then Ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich? Trump pointedly confuses us – by never making it clear to which audience he is addressing his ruminations at any one time. Is there nonetheless some substance sedimented within Trump’s comment that any Palestinian state must be resolved ‘in some other way’ than the Two-State formula? Maybe. We should not discount Trump’s strong leanings towards Israel. Netanyahu faces harsh criticism for mis-handling both the Gaza and Lebanese ceasefires. He has been guilty of promising one thing to one party and the opposite to the other (an old vice):

He has promised the Right a return to war in Gaza, yet committed to the unequivocal end to war in the actual ceasefire agreement. In Lebanon, Israel was committed to withdrawal by 26 January on the one hand, yet its military is still there, provoking a human wave of Lebanese returning to the south, hoping to reclaim their homes. Consequently, Netanyahu at this juncture is utterly dependent on Trump. The PM’s wiles will not be enough to get him off the hooks: Trump has him where he wants him. Trump will get ceasefires, and will tell Netanyahu,no attack on Iran (at least until Trump has explored the possibility of a deal with Tehran). With Putin and with Russia, the opposite is the case. Trump there has no leverage (the favourite word in Washington). He has no leverage for four reasons:

Firstly, since Russia steadfastly refuses the idea of any compromise that “boils down to freezing the conflict along the line of engagement, that will give time to the U.S. and NATO to rearm the remnants of the Ukrainian army – and then start a new round of hostilities”. Secondly, because Moscow’s conditions for ending the war will prove to be unacceptable to Washington, as they would not be susceptible to being presented as an American ‘win’. Thirdly, because Russia holds the clear military advantage: Ukraine is about to lose this war. Major Ukrainian strongholds are now being taken by Russian forces without resistance. This ultimately will lead to a cascade effect. Ukraine may cease to exist if serious negotiations do not take place before summer, the head of the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov recently warned. But fourthly, because history is not reflected at all in the word leverage. When peoples who occupy the same geography have different and often irreconcilable versions of history, the western transactional ‘split the power spectrum’ simply doesn’t work. The opposed sides will not be moved – unless some solution recognises and takes account of their history.

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“..because they don’t know what the heck else to do, the Dems are kneejerk opposing EVERYTHING..”

“.. There’s more “breaking news” in one day of Trump than six months of Biden. Team MAGA is churning through news cycles faster than a jackrabbit on Red Bull.”

How the Democrats Became the Party of Puppets (Pinsker)

“There’s nothing new under the sun” is found in Ecclesiastes 1:9. But if the statement is correct, then the idea itself must be older than Ecclesiastes; otherwise, that would be something new under the sun. (Right? Or is my Vulcan-like grasp of logic experiencing carpal tunnel? Yeah, I think I’m right.) For the statement “There’s nothing new under the sun” to be truthful, by definition, someone else must’ve already made a similar observation. Which makes sense: Life gets tedious after a while. We all get into ruts of the same-old, same-old. Life is cyclical. If you live long enough, it’s pretty easy to identify all the different cycles. So maybe there really is nothing new under the sun. Heck, as one PJ Media reader pointed out, even my (seemingly original) idea to relocate the Palestinians to Greenland was a blatant rip-off of “The Golden Girls”: (My apologies to Ms. Rose Nylund and/or all the good people of Saint Olaf.)

Perhaps it’s the monotony of life that gives older folks a nagging, unavoidable sense of “been there, done that.” Like Jerry Seinfeld noted, once we realized we could make our own people, we lost interest in the rest of you: But political parties don’t have the luxury of avoiding the real world. Nor do they ever get to suspend operations for a few months and try a soft reboot. They’re always on, always engaged, always connected to current events. It’s less like a play — with actors, actresses, and a well-written script — and more like a never-ending conga line. New faces appear when old faces exit, but the choreography itself never changes. Too much institutional momentum. They’re not the only ones, of course. The GOP has its conga line as well; all political parties do. If politics can be analogized to a dance, then D.C. is a crowded, competitive, cutthroat dancehall.

But the difference today is, the Democrats want us to lead. This hasn’t happened since the early days of the George W. Bush administration, nearly 25 years ago. It’s a generational opportunity for the Republican Party. Usually, even when the Democrats are voted out of power, they shamelessly push their own agenda, manipulating the mainstream media to reframe every news cycle in pro-Democratic terms. They never interpret an electoral defeat as a repudiation of their ideas; instead, the culprit must be misinformation, or Russian interference, or the racist, sexist, homophobic voters. And so, they double down and keep on pushing forward. Not anymore. Not since Donald Trump walloped them in 2024, capturing an electoral landslide. They’re simply too shell-shocked.

It won’t last forever but right now, they’ve given up on their agenda. All they can do is follow Donald Trump’s lead: whatever he supports, they oppose. Which means, Donald Trump has a generational opportunity to rebrand the Democratic Party. Part of their rebranding is already underway. Because Trump is such a kinetic whirlwind of manic activity, he’s firing ideas and initiatives at a million miles a minute. (Those poor Democrats are drinking out of a firehose!) And because they don’t know what the heck else to do, the Dems are kneejerk opposing EVERYTHING. This might’ve worked if Trump moved as slowly as Biden, but Trump is still the Great Disruptor. There’s more “breaking news” in one day of Trump than six months of Biden. Team MAGA is churning through news cycles faster than a jackrabbit on Red Bull.

For the audience at home, the volume and content far exceed their bandwidth. They have lives of their own and can’t keep track of everything. So, from their perspective, Trump is constantly trying SOMETHING… and the Democrats are opposing EVERYTHING. And there’s a whole lot of “everything.” Which is why the Democrats are being rebranded as the party of pearl-clutching. WAH! They’re the party of crybabies.

Whatever Trump says or does, Democrats cry and scream and soil themselves. Every molehill is a mountain; every Republican is “literally Hitler” and “a threat to democracy.” There’s more Democratic “hysteria” than anything Def Leppard did in the 80s. Knowing this, Trump could do one helluva troll move: He can turn the Democratic Party into his puppets. By structuring his agenda specifically and methodically, he can pull their strings and walk them off the cliff. Trump can get ‘em to do whatever he wants — simply by doing the opposite. They can’t help themselves. They’re just too proud and stubborn to change. Once again, the Bible was eerily prescient: “Pride goeth before the fall” (Proverbs 16:18). So maybe there really isn’t anything new under the sun.

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He won.

Investor Demand For X Debt Upsized, Musk Sees Revenue Improving Rapidly (ZH)

Investors want a slice of X as Elon Musk’s social media platform becomes the epicenter of news distribution, while corporate leftist media outlets and their government-funded censorship cartel face a fiery demise (see: Politico). This follows a multi-year advertiser boycott led by mega-corporations and relentless lawfare by an army of leftist nonprofits in their attempt to destroy the platform. However, those efforts have failed, and Musk has gone on the offensive, positioning X for a year of success. In the latest report from The Wall Street Journal, top banks finished up a sale of debt backed by X. Sources familiar with the debt deal stated that the banks initially planned to sell around $3 billion in debt at 95 cents on the dollar. However, due to surging demand from large high-yield fund managers, the deal was upsized to $5.5 billion.

Buyers of the debt included Pimco and Citadel, who agreed to pay 97 cents on the dollar. The floating-rate debt carries an interest rate of 11%, with borrowing costs several percentage points higher than some of the riskiest loans on Wall Street. The upsized sale of X debt marks the end of the multi-year doom loop for Musk’s social media company. Since purchasing the platform in 2022, Musk has faced relentless advertiser boycotts and endless lawfare from shadowy leftist billionaire-funded nonprofit groups. However, X’s ability to circumvent the Biden-Harris regime’s censorship cartel and play a key role in the Trump-Vance presidential victory has placed Musk in Washington as a special government employee leading DOGE efforts. This, in return, has strengthened Wall Street’s confidence in X.

Additionally, Trump’s executive order on “restoring free speech and ending federal censorship” is expected to provide additional tailwinds for X and other alternative media platforms. This is yet another key driver of soaring optimism around X. Last Friday, X CEO Linda Yaccarino and Morgan Stanley bankers presented prospective investors with metrics showing the social media platform’s financial health was set to rebound in 2025.

“Revenue should improve rapidly this year, as the advertising boycott winds down,” Musk told one X user. WSJ noted: “Financial documents reviewed by investors showed that the artificial-intelligence company transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to the social-media company, the people said. That money has helped X pay its bills and stay current on its obligations, the people said. Growing advertising revenue at X should mean fewer transfers in the coming months and years, the people said.” The financial documents said X now holds a 10% stake in xAI, valued at around $5 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The AI company last year was valued at $50 billion. Musk had previously posted that X investors would own 25% of xAI.

X also reported to the investors 2024 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of about $1.25 billion and annual revenue of $2.7 billion. Investors said that was a better picture than they had expected and that X’s finances hit an inflection point a few months before the November election. In 2021, Twitter reported adjusted Ebitda of about $682 million and about $5 billion in revenue. That was the last full year before Musk took the company private.-WSJ . X’s debt sale is a big relief for banks…

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“South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote solidarity, equality, & sustainability. In other words: DEI and climate change..”

Rubio To Boycott G20 Meeting in South Africa (RT)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he will not attend a meeting of the G20 group in South Africa later this month because Pretoria is “doing very bad things.” The decision by the top American diplomat on Wednesday comes amid US President Donald Trump’s feud with the African country’s government over a new land ownership reform. South Africa will host the G20 foreign ministers’ summit in Johannesburg on February 20-21. Last December, Pretoria officially assumed the rotating presidency of the intergovernmental forum, which it will hand over to the US in November 2025. In a speech during the launch of Pretoria’s chairmanship in Cape Town, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the group of 20 major economies has enough “shock absorbers” in place against an ‘America First’ policy by the Trump administration.

Ramaphosa promised to advance Africa and the Global South’s development priorities, including addressing the impacts of climate change. However, Trump has repeatedly opposed international cooperation on climate issues. Ramaphosa also announced that he has invited Trump to South Africa for a state visit and to the G20 summit in late 2025, where the US leader will take on the chairmanship role. “I will not attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg. South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote solidarity, equality, & sustainability. In other words: DEI and climate change,” Rubio wrote on X. “My job is to advance America’s national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism,” he added.

In response, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said on Thursday that Pretoria’s “G20 Presidency, is not confined to just climate change but also equitable treatment for nations of the Global South, ensuring equal global system for all.” President Trump said on Sunday that he is halting funding to South Africa, accusing the country’s government of “confiscating” land and “treating certain classes of people very badly.” The US leader declared that Washington “won’t stand” for Pretoria’s “massive human rights violation.” The threat followed the passage of the Expropriation Act by Pretoria aimed at addressing racial disparities in land ownership, a long-standing issue in Africa’s most advanced economy since Apartheid ended in 1994.

The government has set a target of transferring 30% of farmland from white farmers, who still own the majority of it, to their black counterparts by 2030. President Ramaphosa has defended the reform, saying his government “has not confiscated any land.” Foreign Minister Lamola also denied the US allegations on Thursday, stating that “there is no arbitrary dispossession of land” or private property under the new legislation. “This law is similar to the eminent domain laws,” he said, referring to US legislation that authorizes the federal government to acquire property for public use. On Monday, Ramaphosa’s office said he spoke with Trump’s close ally, South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, to clarify “issues of misinformation and distortions” after he also accused Pretoria of having “openly racist ownership laws.”

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“.. the Administration is moving far more aggressively in this second term. If Trump wanted to defibrillate the federal system and shock the status quo, he is succeeding in doing so.”

FBI Official Accused of Defying White House Reform Efforts (Turley)

Last week, some of us discussed concerns over the demand of the Trump Administration for the names of all FBI agents involved in January 6th cases. While noting that we did not have all of the details, I wrote that this would be a critical test for the Administration between reform and revenge. Line FBI agents should not face punishment for carrying out the orders of their superiors or courts. Now, the Trump Administration has offered additional information, alleging an alarming defiance by a high-ranking official in sharing information. If true, the controversy involving Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll is reminiscent of the entirely improper conduct of former acting Attorney General Sally Yates. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove released a statement stating that FBI agents were never being rounded up or targeted for their work on the cases. A reported force of over 5,000 agents was assigned to these cases.

According to Bove, Driscoll refused to turn over the “core team” involved in Washington, D.C., in the cases as part of its review of the weaponization of the legal system under the Biden Administration. Bove’s memo stated that:“That insubordination necessitated, among other things, the directive in my January 31, 2025 memo to identify all agents assigned to investigations relating to January 6, 2021. In light of acting leadership’s refusal to comply with the narrower request, the written directive was intended to obtain a complete data set that the Justice Department can reliably pare down to the core team that will be the focus of the weaponization review pursuant to the Executive Order.”Bove dismissed allegations of a purging of the ranks:

“Let me be clear: No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner concerning January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties. The only individuals who should be concerned about the process initiated by my January 31, 2025 memo are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent, who blatantly defied orders from Department leadership, or who exercised discretion in weaponizing the FBI.” Again, we have not heard Driscoll’s side. Yet, I cannot understand the basis for an FBI official to refuse to share such information with his superiors in the Administration. One can raise concerns over the motivations or even the legality of measures taken against line agents. One can also object that there is no reason to collect the broader information after being allegedly denied the narrower request. However, the Administration has every right to such information, particularly as part of its long-promised review of the agency during the campaign.

The alleged defiance brought back memories from the start of the first Trump term. As previously discussed, Yates was lionized for her stance in the media. She was then selected as one of the featured speakers at the Democratic National Convention in 2020 and presented as the personification of a new Justice Department’s commitment to the rule of law. Yates declared: “I was fired for refusing to defend President Trump’s shameful and unlawful Muslim travel ban.” The problem is, she wasn’t. She was fired for telling an entire department not to defend a travel ban that ultimately was upheld as lawful. I was critical of the initial memorandum supporting the travel ban, particularly its failure to exempt lawful residents. However, I also said Trump’s underlying authority would likely be found constitutional. Despite revisions tweaking its scope and affected countries, opponents insisted it remained unlawful and discriminatory.

They continued to litigate on those same grounds all the way to the Supreme Court, where they lost two years ago. The Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. Hawaii that the president had the authority to suspend entry of noncitizens into the country based on nationality and had a “sufficient national security justification” for his order. It also held that, despite most of the banned countries being Muslim-majority, the ban “does not support an inference of religious hostility.” That is why Yates deserved to be fired. Yates issued her order shortly after learning of the travel ban and despite being told by Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel it was a lawful order. She never actually said it was unlawful, only that she was not sure and was not convinced it was “wise or just.”

Rather than working to address clear errors in the original ban, she issued her categorical order as she prepared to leave the department in a matter of days. Yates maintained afterward that she believed the ban might still be discriminatory, even with revisions. The courts rejected those claims. Yates was due to retire from Justice within days when she engineered her own firing. It made her an instant heroine and allowed her to denounce Trump at the convention for “trampl[ing] the rule of law, trying to weaponize our Justice Department.” But that’s precisely what she did when she ordered an entire department not to assist the recently elected president. It is not clear what transpired between Bove and Driscoll, but I cannot imagine a basis for refusing to share personnel information and records with the Trump Administration.

The initial coverage of the request clearly omitted this context and led to the usual media stampede declaring a purging of the ranks by political commissars. The irony is that, once again, the true story may be even more interesting in an alleged defiance of the Trump Administration within the FBI. We have seen recently the actual locking out of Trump officials from agencies like US AID, leading to a security official being placed on leave. As someone who covered the first Administration, this is a very different profile and approach. Trump learned in his first term how officials could stymie and delay reforms. That process has begun anew, including a plethora of lawsuits designed to slowdown such efforts. However, the Administration is moving far more aggressively in this second term. If Trump wanted to defibrillate the federal system and shock the status quo, he is succeeding in doing so.

I have no problem with officials raising concerns over possible personnel action against agents who were only carrying out their assigned tasks. These officials have a duty to advocate for their agents and insulate their institution from concerns over political retaliation. However, if the FBI refused to supply personnel information, it would move the matter from internal deliberation to outright defiance of a lawful order.

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Putin is no longer Brussels’ enemy no. 1. Trump is.

EU Plays Trump Card To Advance Its Globalist Agenda (Villamor)

The reappearance of Donald Trump on the international political scene has left Brussels in a state of panic. Considering the current international context, it could well signify a revolution within the European Union. However, the European Union, under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen, is using the American magnate’s return to power as a golden opportunity to strengthen its own supranational integration agenda, further weakening the sovereignty of member states and promoting a centralized vision of the European bloc. If the last term was an example of the ‘new Europe’ designed for us, the next four years will bring more of the same, but now tinged with a particular European patriotism in the face of the expansionism of the ‘Eagle Empire.’

During her speech at the Davos Forum in January this year, von der Leyen made the EU’s new approach clear: continuing climate policies and protecting “our European way of life” (whatever that means to EU leaders) against external threats, particularly those stemming from Donald Trump’s United States and China—after years of declaring that the main enemy was Vladimir Putin’s Russia. “The world is in a ‘race against time’ to tackle global challenges such as climate change and seize the opportunities of AI,” she stated during her speech at the World Economic Forum. Brussels’ stance is clear: continue decarbonizing at any cost. “Europe will continue to seek cooperation and is ‘open for business’ to those who wish to improve clean technology and expand digital infrastructure.”

It is no coincidence that this rhetoric aligns with Brussels’ attempts to reform the EU’s founding treaties, granting even more powers to European institutions at the expense of member states. Although the call on the Commission to initiate these reforms passed in the Parliament with only a paper-thin majority, there’s no doubt the efforts will continue in both institutions. Among the reforms under discussion is the elimination of the unanimity principle in the European Council, the only tool blocking Brussels from making key decisions without the consensus of all member states. There is also talk of creating new powers in taxation, defense, and energy policy, which would significantly curtail the autonomy of countries reluctant to follow the European Commission’s lead.

After Trump’s ascent, the U.S. is continuously being portrayed as an ‘imminent threat’ to European stability, enabling the EU to strengthen its control mechanisms and discipline countries that resist its directives. The European Commission is now promoting a narrative in which only a stronger and more united Europe can withstand the ‘winds’ of populism, protectionism, and the so-called far right. However, this strategy is not only aimed at consolidating power in Brussels. It also serves as a weapon to weaken patriotic and sovereignist movements that have gained strength across the continent. Growing public outrage over mass immigration, draconian climate policies, and the imposition of ideologies alien to national traditions has led to the rise of parties challenging the EU’s globalist consensus.

In response, the European establishment has intensified its offensive: any movement that questions Brussels’ agenda is immediately labeled as “far right”, “fascist”, or even “Nazi”. This phenomenon is not new but has become more aggressive in recent years. Censorship attempts, media persecution, and the systematic exclusion of dissenting voices from public debate have become normalized. Anyone opposing the EU’s policies is presented as a threat to democracy when, in reality, what is at stake is the ability of European peoples to decide their future—if such a possibility even exists today. The tactic is cheap but at least transparent: use the figure of Trump as a scarecrow to justify the centralization of power in Brussels and delegitimize political movements that challenge the EU’s ideological hegemony.

What we are witnessing is, in essence, a perfect excuse to push forward a project of forced integration that many Europeans have neither voted for nor approved. The supposed fight against populism is nothing more than a strategy to consolidate a political elite that refuses to accept that European societies are changing and that more and more citizens reject the progressive dogma imposed by Brussels. This is not the first time the EU has taken advantage of an external crisis to strengthen its control. It happened with the euro crisis when centralized austerity measures were implemented, with the COVID-19 pandemic, which facilitated the expansion of bureaucratic control, and with the war in Ukraine, which was used to justify energy and military policies without the necessary widespread consultation. Now, Trump is the new excuse. Will it also be an opportunity for change in the Old Continent?

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“The European Left, like the American Left, devotes unlimited antagonism to anything that does not think like it, talk like it, dream, eat or work like it.”

What Is Really Destroying Europe? The EU (Godefridi)

The founding idea of the European Union was to build, through shared prosperity, solidarity and a sense of shared destiny among the nations of Europe. That was why three communities were formed: the economy, coal and steel, and nuclear energy. Until around 2000, in terms of growth and innovation, the European economy, year in, year out, was on par with the American one. Of that initial — and fairly brilliant — gesture of “peace through prosperity,” literally nothing remains. None of the EU’s current leaders cares about the financial well-being of Europeans. Coal is regarded as the devil’s fuel, and nuclear energy is abhorred by Europe’s elites, who say they prefer the inefficient and erratic wind turbines. Since 2000, the European economy has been mired in stagnation, which has worsened since 2008 and threatens to reach its height in the coming years — ending in the destruction of Europe.

Green Deal
The EU is a web of institutions with which an American would find nothing familiar, so let us just say that this web is dominated by one institution: the European Commission. It is a kind of European “government'” with a monopoly on legislative initiatives. Nothing is voted on in the EU without the Commission’s assent. The Commission makes no secret of the fact that its absolute priority is the Green Deal: to turn Europe into a “Carbon Neutral Society” by 2050. This means achieving a balance between the greenhouse gas emissions produced and those absorbed by natural or technological carbon sinks. The EU’s key strategies to achieve this balance include reducing emissions by massively increasing the use of “renewable energy” sources such as solar, wind, hydro and biomass, improving the energy efficiency of buildings, vehicles and industries, and moving towards low- or zero-emission industrial processes, particularly in steel, cement and chemicals.

They also aim to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to absorb and store CO2 from combustion sources or from the air. Carbon dioxide captured is typically stored in geological formations such as depleted natural gas fields, or old coal mines. In Europe, the North Sea seabed serves as an ideal location for carbon storage. The problem is that these CCS technologies are extremely expensive. Imposing them in the gigantic way that zero-carbon requires implies additional costs that are impossible for any developed economy to digest. That is probably why these fantastical CCS technologies play such a marginal role in Europe. The truth is that the reduction in CO2 emissions in Europe is almost exclusively due to industry leaving Europe. That is the dirty little secret of the Green Deal: Europe is reducing its CO2 emissions to the extent and in proportion to the destruction of its industry.

[..] If there is one reality that leaders whose power is founded on myths abhor, it is transparency. Whereas in 2020, the power of the American legacy media still allowed it to make people believe that Hunter Biden’s laptop was a Russian disinformation operation, over the last few years, this power was been reduced to shreds. The same shift is happening in Europe, under the influence not of European social media networks, because they do not exist, but of American ones, such as X. The EU elite has lost control of the narrative. Europeans are turning away from the lies and myths of the Green Deal en masse. This is what the EU cannot tolerate. By adopting the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU wanted to give itself an instrument with which to subdue the American platforms, and are obliged to fund hordes of censors to hunt down content that disagrees with the European Queen-Commission. The EU has been requiring a fine of 6% of worldwide revenue from social media companies, which would inevitably kill off the platforms.

These faceless censor-hunters, who are accountable to no one, are supposed to remove all content that is hateful, discriminatory or transphobic. None of these vague terms can be rigorously defined. Given the absence of precise definitions, the censors do whatever they want. The arbitrariness is total. In practice, these censors massively quash so-called “right-wing” content, while leaving the abundant anti-Semitic, Islamist and Marxist literature untouched. That, apparently, is the whole point. The European Left, like the American Left, devotes unlimited antagonism to anything that does not think like it, talk like it, dream, eat or work like it. By introducing legislation such as the DSA, Europe is asserting itself as a major player in the censorship camp, following the example of China, Iran, Russia and Islamist countries, and contributing to the de-civilization of the European continent. After all, isn’t freedom the definition, the reason for being and the sole distinguishing criterion of Western civilization?

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Milei took Argentina out as well yesterday.

What to Know About US Withdrawal From the WHO (ET)

On the first day in office of his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO), making good on a project from his first administration. Trump’s Jan. 20 order halted U.S. funding to the United Nations body, citing the WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China,” as well as other global health concerns. Negotiations with the group about a pandemic agreement and the International Health Regulations will be suspended while the withdrawal is taking place.Because of the 1948 joint resolution by Congress, the United States has the right to withdraw from the WHO, but it must give a one-year notice. The resolution also requires the United States to fulfill “financial obligations” to the WHO for the current fiscal year.

The United States is currently the largest WHO funder, contributing about $1.28 billion during 2022–2023, the last reported year on the organization’s website. That equates to almost half of the WHO’s joint external evaluation missions for the last fiscal year. The 2024–2025 fiscal year is shaping up similarly, with the United States serving as the largest donor by far, contributing an estimated $988 million, or roughly 14 percent of the WHO’s $6.9 billion budget. Documents obtained by The Associated Press show that the United States covers about 95 percent of the WHO’s work on tuberculosis in Europe and about 60 percent in Africa and the Western Pacific, and that the WHO’s Europe office is more than 8 percent reliant on U.S. contributions. Additionally, U.S. funding provides “the backbone of many of WHO’s large-scale emergency operations,” covering up to 40 percent of that funding.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described relations with the United States as “a good model partnership” during a press briefing in Geneva in December 2024. “[We] have been partnering for many years, and we believe that will be the case. And I believe the U.S. leaders understand that the United States cannot be safe unless the rest of the world is safe,” he told reporters. Following the announcement of Trump’s decision to remove the United States from the organization, Ghebreyesus spoke out, asking world leaders to push the White House to reverse the decision. The WHO chief said during a closed-door meeting with diplomats that the United States would miss out on critical information about disease outbreaks, The Associated Press reported.

George Kyriacou, the agency’s finance director, said if the WHO’s spending continues at its current level without funding from the United States, the organization would be “very much in a hand-to-mouth type situation” regarding cash flow for at least portions of 2026. Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have ordered agency employees to stop working with the WHO, effective immediately. John Nkengasong, the CDC’s deputy director for global health, sent a memo to agency leadership on Jan. 26 calling on staff to cease collaborating with the WHO immediately and wait for further guidance. CDC staff also are not allowed to engage with the WHO, virtually or in person, and staff members are not allowed to visit the WHO offices.

Some public health experts, including Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of medicine and global health at UCLA who works with the WHO on sexually transmitted infections, have voiced concern about halting the collaboration.“Stopping communications and meetings with WHO is a big problem,” Klausner said. “People thought there would be a slow withdrawal. This has really caught everyone with their pants down.” The Trump administration said the WHO was not able to demonstrate independence from the “inappropriate political influence” of member states and had failed to “adopt urgently needed reforms.” The president’s executive order also cites “unfairly onerous payments” by the United States that Trump said are “far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments.” “China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO,” the order stated.

This is Trump’s second attempt to withdraw from the WHO. The president began the process in 2020 because of frustration over the WHO’s reaction to China’s coverup of details surrounding the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The House Oversight and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic released a report in December 2024 on the WHO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it “an abject failure.” According to the report, the WHO is accused of bending to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party and placing “China’s political interests ahead of its international duties.” As part of the alleged failure, the WHO reportedly ignored warnings by Taiwan on Dec. 31, 2019, about “atypical pneumonia cases” in Wuhan, which it asked the WHO to investigate. “The initial mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic not only potentially caused the further spread of the virus, but it created a situation where people lost trust in the global public health organization,” the report stated.

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“Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.”

‘Gov’t Is the People’s Business’: A Tribute to Ronald Reagan (Salgado)

On this day (Feb 6) in 1911, a boy was born who would go on to be one of the greatest American presidents: Ronald Reagan. “Government is the people’s business, and every man, woman and child becomes a shareholder with the first penny of tax paid,” Reagan said. It is unfortunate that some even in his own party no longer value his legacy much, framing him as a status quo president. He was not — he was a fighter, a reformer, and a great man hated by domestic leftists and foreign Communists alike but beloved by the Americans to whom he brought morning again in America.

Of course, he didn’t just bring America out of the horrible economic and political nightmare of the Jimmy Carter years; he also brought about the fall of the Soviet Union. Rejecting short-sighted pleas to drop the line, he stood fearlessly in front of the Berlin Wall, the physical divide between the free West and the authoritarian East, and cried, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” When the Berlin Wall came crashing down in 1989, in spite of the naysayers and petty dictators, in the same year Reagan had left office, it was Reagan’s victory as much as it was a victory for all the Germans and other Europeans who had defied Soviet tyranny.

There were leftists who sneered at Reagan because he had been an actor, and there were leftists who hated him because he was a Republican not afraid to challenge corrupt politicians. But not even a bullet could stop him. He was undoubtedly one of the greatest and most successful presidents in American history. And Americans knew it so well that in the 1984 election, he won 49 out of 50 states. Like those of so many other great men, Reagan‘s words are not only applicable to his own day but often applicable to ours. America will always be fighting authoritarians, both foreign and domestic; we will always have to struggle to preserve our constitutional republic. Or, as Reagan himself put it, even years before he became president:

Perhaps you and I have lived too long with this miracle to properly be appreciative. Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again. How true it is that freedom is a fragile thing! Many individuals and groups, most notably the Democrat party, have been trying to limit or destroy our freedom for centuries now in America. Think how great the contrast has been between the Biden-Harris administration and the first couple weeks of the Trump administration.

Reagan knew what so many other politicians deny, that the rulers of America are supposed to be its citizens. “With all the profound wording of our federal Constitution, probably the most meaningful words are the first three, ‘We, the People,’” he said, in his same gubernatorial inaugural address quoted above. “And those of us here today who have been elected to constitutional office and to the legislature are in that three-word phrase. We are of the people, we are chosen by the people to see that no permanent structure of government ever encroaches on the people’s freedom or assumes a power beyond that which has freely been granted to us by the people. We stand between the taxpayer and the tax spender.”

The Founding Fathers would approve, but not the bureaucrats and political hacks who get into government only for their own benefit. It seems somewhat ironic that this address was originally delivered in California, when Reagan was becoming governor there. How far woke California has come from those days. Reagan must also have made his opponents squirm as he added, “Now, it is inconceivable to me that anyone could accept this delegated authority without asking God’s help. And I pray that we of the legislature and the administration can be granted the wisdom and the strength beyond our own limited powers. That with divine guidance we can avoid easy expedience. That we can work to build a state where liberty under law and justice can triumph, where compassion can govern and wherein the people can participate and prosper because of their government and not in spite of it.”

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Dana

 

 

Sunglasses

 

 

Queen

 

 

Mariana
https://twitter.com/i/status/1887327855882735634

 

 

Chirodectes

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 042025
 
 February 4, 2025  Posted by at 11:11 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,  64 Responses »


Jean Metzinger The blue bird 1912-13

 

Panama Caves to Trump. Are You Tired of Winning Yet? (Margolis)
US Halts Tariffs On Mexican Goods After ‘Very Friendly’ Talk (RT)
Trudeau Announces Tariff Deal With Trump (RT)
China Retaliates Against Trump Tariffs (RT)
Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, Tyranny on America (Paul Craig Roberts)
Medvedev Warns That US Deep State Might Swallow Musk (ZH)
USAID Closes Headquarters (RT)
Musk: “USAID A Ball Of Worms, No Apple. Must Get Rid Of Whole Thing” (ZH)
USAID Absorbed Into State Department Under Rubio (ZH)
Ukraine Has Lost – Arestovich (RT)
NATO Plans To Oust Zelensky – Russian Intel (RT)
Ukraine Renews Efforts To Seize Russian Assets – WaPo (RT)
‘Shy Musk Voter’ Could Hand Victory to AfD (Sp.)
NYT Shock Poll Reveals the Complete Collapse of Democratic Party (Pinsker)
Pro-Russian Versus Anti-Russian Social Media (Helmer)
Last Rites (James Howard Kunstler)
Lawmakers Urge RFK Jr to Recuse Himself From All Vaccine-Related Decisions (ET)
What Tulsi Gabbard Should Have Said About Ed Snowden (Larry Johnson)

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1886487372583637368

Kash

Mike Benz knows USAID

Jennings

Bernie

USAID Power
https://twitter.com/i/status/1886327327497285779

FCC
https://twitter.com/i/status/1886210118892867706

 

 

 

 

The tariff stories keep on coming, and rapidly. I put them in chronological order:

Panama Caves to Trump. Are You Tired of Winning Yet? (Margolis)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Sunday, making it clear that the U.S. won’t tolerate China’s growing influence over the Panama Canal. “Secretary Rubio informed President Mulino and Minister Martínez-Acha that President Trump has made a preliminary determination that the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal,” the State Department said in a statement. “Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty.”

The Associated Press had an interesting take on the situation: “The statement was unusually blunt in diplomatic terms, but in keeping with the tenor and tone Trump has set for foreign policy. Trump has been increasing pressure on Washington’s neighbors and allies, including the canal demand and announcing Saturday that he was imposing major tariffs on Canada and Mexico. That launched a trade war by prompting retaliation from those close allies. Mulino, meanwhile, called his talks with Rubio “respectful” and “positive” and said he did not “feel like there’s a real threat against the treaty and its validity.” The news had barely settled before another bombshell dropped: Panama has backed down.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino announced that after his meeting Rubio, his government will not renew its 2017 memorandum with China on the “Belt and Road Initiative.” He also stated that Panama will seek to terminate its agreements with the Chinese government ahead of their scheduled end dates in 2027 and 2028. “One important thing, which is a decision I made and communicated to you, is that the 2017 MoU on the Silk Road, the Bell and Road Initiative, will not be renewed by my government. That is the case,” Mulino said according to a translation of his remarks. “We are going to study the possibility of whether it can be finished earlier or not, but I think it is due for renewal in one or two years, because it is every three years. So that initiative that was signed when it was signed, at the time it was signed, will not be renewed by my government. I think “that this visit opens a path to build a new stage of relations.”

He continued, “That’s how I see it, that’s how I felt from Secretary Marco Rubio, and at the same time, we’re trying as much as possible to increase U.S. investments in Panama. I explained to him a series of infrastructure projects that the government has in its portfolio, in the hope that they’ll be aware of them and that when the time comes, the bidding process that will begin very soon will be done, so that they can get involved.” They’re not just refusing to renew their 2017 deal with China; they’re scrambling to cut ties ahead of schedule. China’s influence over the canal is coming to an end.

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“..she agreed to deploy 10,000 Mexican soldiers to the northern border. The troops will be “specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our country..”

US Halts Tariffs On Mexican Goods After ‘Very Friendly’ Talk (RT)

US President Donald Trump has announced that he is pausing the planned tariffs on Mexican imports for one month following a “very friendly” talk with his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. The announcement on Monday came two days after Trump imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, citing concerns over illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Levies of 10% were also imposed on Chinese imports. Trump wrote on his Truth Social social media platform that he had held a “very friendly conversation” with Sheinbaum, during which she agreed to deploy 10,000 Mexican soldiers to the northern border. The troops will be “specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our country,” Trump stated.

He added that the nations will engage in high-level negotiations led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for commerce secretary, from the US side. Sheinbaum confirmed the troop deployment in a post on X, highlighting a US commitment to curbing the “trafficking of high-powered weapons” into Mexico. She described the exchange as a “good conversation.” Over the weekend, tensions escalated when Trump accused Sheinbaum’s administration of an “intolerable alliance” with Mexican crime groups. Sheinbaum rejected the claim as “slanderous” and, in response, threatened retaliatory tariffs on US imports along with other measures to protect Mexico’s national interests.

The US and Mexico have a strong trade relationship, anchored by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced NAFTA in 2020. The deal eliminated most tariffs and trade barriers among the three nations. Millions of cars sold in the US each year are assembled in Canada and Mexico, with 30-50% of their parts sourced from these countries. While the tariffs on Mexico have been put on hold, the US is proceeding with those on Canada and China. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau swiftly announced 25% retaliatory tariffs on American goods following Trump’s measures on Canadian imports. China has also vowed “corresponding countermeasures” and signaled plans to challenge Trump’s move at the WTO. The tariff pause helped stabilize Wall Street on Monday, with major indices paring earlier losses.

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Rapidly shrinking big words.

Trudeau Announces Tariff Deal With Trump (RT)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that the United States will postpone the imposition of 25% tariffs on Canadian imports for at least 30 days, following discussions with US President Donald Trump. The agreement was reached after a phone call between the two leaders on Monday, during which Canada committed to strengthening border security. The announcement follows President Donald Trump’s decision on Saturday to sign executive orders imposing tariffs—25% on imports from Mexico and Canada and 10% on imports from China—citing concerns over illegal immigration and drug trafficking. ”Proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while we work together,” Trudeau stated in a post on X.

“Canada is implementing our $1.3 billion border plan — reinforcing the border with new choppers, technology, and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl,” Trudeau added. As part of the deal, nearly 10,000 frontline personnel will be deployed to secure the border, according to the Canadian PM. Canada also announced new initiatives, including the appointment of a Fentanyl Czar, a government official responsible for coordinating efforts to combat the opioid crisis and prevent the trafficking of fentanyl. ”We will list cartels as terrorists, ensure 24/7 eyes on the border, and launch a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl, and money laundering,” Trudeau stated. “I have also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl, and we will be backing it with $200 million.”

President Donald Trump expressed his satisfaction with the initial outcome of the agreement with Canada in a recent post on Truth Social, stating, “I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30 day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured. FAIRNESS FOR ALL!” Earlier in the day, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reached a similar agreement with President Trump, agreeing to deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border to address fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration. In return, the US pledged to intensify efforts to stop weapon trafficking into Mexico. Markets experienced increased volatility with major stock indices and cryptocurrency valuations fluctuating, following in response to what has been described as a “Trump tariff tantrum” before recovering some of their losses after news broke of the deal with Mexico.

Trump has consistently emphasized tariffs as a key negotiation tool in trade discussions, both during his first term and following his re-election in 2024. Trump has not yet offered a 30-day delay for the new 10% tariffs on Chinese imports but told reporters on Monday that he anticipated discussions with China “probably over the next 24 hours.” On Sunday, Trump signaled that the European Union could be the next target for US tariffs, without specifying a timeline. In response, EU leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, emphasized their readiness to defend Europe’s interests and consider reciprocal measures if necessary.

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They’ll be talking imminently.

China Retaliates Against Trump Tariffs (RT)

China has announced new tariffs and trade restrictions, following a similar move by the administration of US President Donald Trump, which views competition against China as a key foreign policy point. Last week, Trump ordered additional 10% tariffs on all goods from China, saying he is using his emergency authority to fight a national emergency caused by drug trafficking and illegal immigration. In the same executive action, the president targeted Canada and Mexico. Both US neighbors have since offered concessions on border security to deflate the growing trade conflict. The Chinese government responded minutes after the new tariffs came into force on Tuesday. It included restrictions on certain American goods – a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas, and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and some vehicles.

Announcing its policy change, the Chinese Finance Ministry condemned Trump’s decision, saying it “seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO)” and “undermines the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the US.” Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry announced that China has filed a complaint over the US tariffs with the WTO. Beijing has also introduced a licensing regime for exports of products containing tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum, and indium. The measure will “safeguard national security and interests” the Commerce Ministry said, without specifically mentioning the US. The minerals are essential for advanced manufacturing.

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“The United States has become too disunited for Congress to perform its constitutional function..”[..] “The same thing happened to Rome when executive authority took precedence over the Roman Senate..”

Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, Tyranny on America (Paul Craig Roberts)

The US will impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and 10 percent on China, the Trump White House said. The purpose of tariffs is to protect domestic manufacturers and their work forces. What American manufacturers and workers are being protected by Trump’s tariffs? So much of US manufacturing is located offshore, what purpose are the tariffs serving? The “tariffs” in reality are taxes imposed on imports of foreign produced goods, including the offshored production of US corporations of goods and services sold in the US. If the tariffs are paid by the consumer rather than by the US corporations that offshore their production for the American market, the effect will be to reduce the quantity demanded because of the higher price. How much this harms the offshore producers depends on whether their products are price elastic or inelastic. Some are one and some are the other.

This approach to bringing offshored US jobs back to America is incorrect. It demonstrates the economic ignorance of Trump and his advisors. Consider, for example, if US auto assembly relies on parts made in Canada, a 25% rise in parts cost could shutdown auto assembly and result in US unemployment. As best as I can tell, few auto parts are any longer produced in the US, so there is no industry to protect or to supply the parts that tariffs keep out. Before you can protect industries, you first must have them. Instead of tariffs, the income tax should be used. US Corporations that produce domestically using American labor–not H-1B and L-1 imported labor– should have a lower tax rate. US corporations that produce abroad with foreign labor goods and services sold in the US should have a higher tax rate.

The tax rate should be high enough to more than offset the lower labor and regulatory cost of producing abroad for American markets. The higher after-tax profits from producing at home would bring manufacturing and jobs back to America where they belong. A country that divorces the consumers of products from the incomes associated with their production, as jobs offshoring does, is stupid and incompetent beyond belief. No such country can possibly be made great again. Some people believe, correctly or incorrectly, that this business model was imposed on America in an effort to destroy us, using threats to finance takeovers of the American firms that refused to abandon their American workforce and cities. In other words, offshoring America’s manufacturing sector was a step in turning America into third world country that makes nothing and imports its needs.

Is Trump overlooking one important element of making America Great Again? The moral element. It seems to be the case. Trump’s support for Israel is disturbing to Americans who still have a moral conscience and are shamed by Trumps support of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians and their country and their ethnic cleansing so that Trump’s son-in-law can become a multi-billionaire by developing Gaza as a resort. Another problem with Trump’s imposition of tariffs is that it is another encroachment of executive power on the authority of Congress. It used to be that tariffs were a legislative issue. For many years the South tried to prevent the North with the Missouri Compromise, and in other ways, from gaining a sufficient majority in Congress to impose a tariff on British goods that would require the South to finance in higher prices and lowered agricultural sales abroad the industrialization of the North.

The Morrill Tariff, a huge increase, was passed the day prior to Lincoln’s inauguration. The Northern congressmen also passed that day a resolution that if the South would stay in the Union and pay the tariff, a Constitutional Amendment would be passed institutionalizing slavery forever. Lincoln endorsed the federal government’s protection of slavery and declared that there would be no war against the South unless the South refused to pay the tariff. The agricultural South seeing ruin in the face succeeded from the Union. The tariff, not slavery was the issue. Lincoln called it insurrection and invaded. That is how the so-called “civil war” happened. Clearly it was no civil war. The South was not fighting for the control of the government, it had its own government. The South had to fight as it was invaded.

How did tariffs move from being an legislative issue to an issue of executive orders? We are witnessing in this transformation of power from the legislature to the executive the transformation of democracy into dictatorship. It has been going on for a long time: Lincoln, FDR, George W. Bush, Obama. The United States has become too disunited for Congress to perform its constitutional function. This is the real problem that America faces, and there is no awareness, no discussion. The same thing happened to Rome when executive authority took precedence over the Roman Senate. I look in vain for discussion of the real problem, and I cannot find it. In America despite Trump, or perhaps because of him, insouciance still rules.

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“Smart move by Elon Musk, trying to plug USAID’s Deep Throat. Let’s hope notorious Deep State doesn’t swallow him whole..”

Medvedev Warns That US Deep State Might Swallow Musk (ZH)

Having long witnessed the phenomenon of USAID-backed ‘color revolutions’ in neighboring and regional former Soviet satellite countries, Russia has been closely following the Trump administration’s efforts to fully dismantle the United States Agency for International Development. Head of the recently established US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, has been spearheading this, saying on Monday that “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could gone to some great parties. Did that instead.” And now Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has weighed in with a message and a warning.The former Russian president and top national security official expressed hope that the US deep state won’t consume Elon Musk after shutting down the long-running agency known for having funded regime change operations abroad for many decades.

“Smart move by Elon Musk, trying to plug USAID’s Deep Throat. Let’s hope notorious Deep State doesn’t swallow him whole,” Medvedev wrote on X.Ironically this came the same day that never-Trump neocon and intellectual architect behind Bush’s disastrous Iraq war issued a tweet declaring his preference for the deep state, and he was being quite literal. “The deep state is far preferable to the Trump state,” Kristol said, in a rare moment saying what many other career government operatives are thinking, or saying the quiet part out loud. Interestingly Medvedev also took the opportunity Monday to blast Ukraine and President Zelensky over alleged ‘missing’ USAID funds meant for Kiev. According to Russia’s RT:

“Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s recent claim that he is unaware of the whereabouts of more than $100 billion of Western aid funds allocated to Kiev is a “brazen and cynical lie,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has suggested. In a Telegram post on Monday, Medvedev, who now serves as the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, accused Zelensky and his associates of embezzling significant sums. “In a fit of candor, the Bandera regime’s boss admitted that he and his cronies had siphoned off $100 billion,” he stated.” Zelensky had told the Associated Press in an interview published the day prior that Ukraine received just over $75 billion in military and other types of assistance, despite $177 billion in military aid had been approved under Biden.

“When it is said that Ukraine received $200 billion to support the army during the war – that’s not true. I don’t know where all that money went. Perhaps it’s true on paper with hundreds of different programs – I won’t argue, and we’re immensely grateful for everything. But in reality, we received about $76 billion. It’s significant aid, but it’s not $200 billion,” Zelensky said, in remarks that have raised eyebrows. There may also be serious questions from the new Trump administration over the line about not knowing where all that money went. Time for a full stoppage at least until there is a thorough US-sponsored audit? Medvedev has alleged, “The hundred billion lined the pockets of all kinds of kleptocrats from Washington to Kiev.”

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A lot of USAID news, some of it overlapping. Pretty insane that it could exist the way it did. This alone was enough reason to suspend foreign aid for 90 days. They knew reactions to that were inevitable.

USAID Closes Headquarters (RT)

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has closed its main office in Washington DC, multiple US media outlets reported on Monday. Most personnel have reportedly been told to stay away from the building. The development comes after US President Donald Trump accused the agency’s leadership of being “radical lunatics” and proposed major changes to the organization. Established in 1961, USAID is responsible for administering foreign aid and development programs abroad to promote American interests. According to an email obtained and shared by CNN, USAID leadership directed that the “headquarters at the Ronald Reagan building in Washington, D.C. be closed to Agency personnel on Monday, February 3, 2025.”

“Agency personnel normally assigned to work at USAID headquarters will work remotely tomorrow, with the exception of personnel with essential on-site and building maintenance functions individually contacted by senior leadership,” the letter said. AP has confirmed the email, adding that more than 600 employees discovered overnight that they had been locked out of USAID’s computer systems. The development comes after Trump blasted the agency, arguing that “it’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics.” “We’re getting them out, and then we’ll make a decision,” he said. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and a close ally of the US president, has also been a fierce critic of USAID. He described it as a “criminal organization” which he believes was financing bioweapon research, including projects that allegedly led to the emergence of Covid-19.

“It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm in it. What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair,” Musk said. He also revealed that he had spoken with Trump, claiming that the president had “agreed” that USAID should be shut down. The crackdown on USAID comes after the Trump administration suspended foreign assistance, with a few exceptions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US would carry out a program-by-program review to determine which projects make “America safer, stronger or more prosperous.” He claimed that shutting down US-funded programs during the 90-day review had resulted in “a lot more cooperation” from recipients of various assistance.

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“..USAID is a front for the CIA. And together with NGO’s like the Open Society Foundation, they have been using US tax dollars & govt resources as their personal piggy bank..”

“..Musk’s involvement with DOGE suggests that the rapid counteroffensive against the Deep State is underway. What likely happened with USAID is a precision-guided strike aimed at severing the Deep State’s key funding source..”

Musk: “USAID A Ball Of Worms, No Apple. Must Get Rid Of Whole Thing” (ZH)

About one day after the US Agency for International Development’s website went dark and its official X account disappeared, President Donald Trump addressed reporters Sunday night, declaring, “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics. And we’re getting them out.” By midnight, Elon Musk—who oversees the government efficiency initiative “DOGE”—provided taxpayers with an update on USAID’s status during a live X Spaces session. Musk told the more than 682,000 listeners who tuned in that the president “agreed we should shut it [USAID] down.” This would be one of the largest planned cuts to date, and the fate of USAID is likely that it will lose its independence and be rolled into the State Department.

“As we dug into USAID it became apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm in it, but we have actually just a ball of worms. If you have an apple with a worm in it, you can take the worm out. If you have a whole ball of worms, it’s hopeless. USAID is a ball of worms. There is no apple. And when there is no apple you just need to get rid of the whole thing. That’s why it’s got to go. It’s beyond repair,” Musk explained. Musk wrote on X, “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.” The move to end USAID as a stand-alone agency comes as the DOGE creator revealed: “Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded bioweapon research, including COVID-19, that killed millions of people?”

AP noted: “Musk’s comments come after the administration placed two top security chiefs at USAID on leave after they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to Musk’s government-inspection teams, a current and a former US official told The Associated Press on Sunday. Members of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, eventually did gain access Saturday to the aid agency’s classified information, which includes intelligence reports, the former official said. Trump has already ordered a freeze on foreign aid as part of his “America First” foreign policy. As some note, USAID has effectively served as a laundering scheme for the Deep State. [..] “Like I said before, USAID is a front for the CIA. And together with NGO’s like the Open Society Foundation, they have been using US tax dollars & govt resources as their personal piggy bank. It has been infuriating to watch. Hopefully now the whole truth will come out,” journalist Lara Logan wrote on X.

Musk’s involvement with DOGE suggests that the rapid counteroffensive against the Deep State is underway. What likely happened with USAID is a precision-guided strike aimed at severing the Deep State’s key funding source. Always follow the money—neutralizing the Deep State’s ability to launder taxpayer funds is a good start. Musk was also joined by DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) on X Spaces. Ramaswamy noted: “If USAID is rolled into the State Department, Marco Rubio will ensure grant scrutiny, preventing taxpayer funds from being stuffed into the coffers of the Deep State. And this will ultimately mark a historic shift in America’s role in the world.”

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“If USAID is rolled into the State Department, Marco Rubio will ensure grant scrutiny, preventing taxpayer funds from being stuffed into the coffers of the Deep State. And this will ultimately mark a historic shift in America’s role in the world.”

USAID Absorbed Into State Department Under Rubio (ZH)

Update (1210ET) “USAID will be merged into the State Department with cuts in the workforce, but it will remain a humanitarian aid entity, sources told @saraecook and me. Trump admin expected to announce the moves in coming days. Discussions of reductions in funding were still fluid today,” CBS News senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs wrote on X. Over the last several days, the Trump administration’s move to strip USAID of its independence and be rolled into the State Department has been well-telegraphed with leaks and reports via media outlets. As we noted earlier: If USAID is rolled into the State Department, Marco Rubio will ensure grant scrutiny, preventing taxpayer funds from being stuffed into the coffers of the Deep State. And this will ultimately mark a historic shift in America’s role in the world.

All USAID lacked was grant distribution oversight, turning the agency into a Deep State slush fund. Not anymore, under Rubio at State.

* * *
About one day after the US Agency for International Development’s website went dark and its official X account disappeared, President Donald Trump addressed reporters Sunday night, declaring, “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics. And we’re getting them out.”

By midnight, Elon Musk—who oversees the government efficiency initiative “DOGE”—provided taxpayers with an update on USAID’s status during a live X Spaces session. Musk told the more than 682,000 listeners who tuned in that the president “agreed we should shut it [USAID] down.” This would be one of the largest planned cuts to date, and the fate of USAID is likely that it will lose its independence and be rolled into the State Department. “As we dug into USAID it became apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm in it, but we have actually just a ball of worms. If you have an apple with a worm in it, you can take the worm out. If you have a whole ball of worms, it’s hopeless. USAID is a ball of worms. There is no apple. And when there is no apple you just need to get rid of the whole thing. That’s why it’s got to go. It’s beyond repair,” Musk explained. Musk wrote on X, “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.”

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Arestovich is also still a candidate to succeed Zelensky.

“Trump will sort things out with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping “without consulting us, because engaging with those who deny reality is futile.”

Ukraine Has Lost – Arestovich (RT)

Ukraine has lost the armed conflict with Russia, primarily due to the inability of the Ukrainian people to take personal responsibility for their failures, Aleksey Arestovich, a former aide to Vladimir Zelensky, has argued. He expects the US, Russia, and China to decide on a resolution without consulting Kiev. Arestovich resigned from his government post in early 2023 after making claims about a missile incident that contradicted the official narrative. He is now a sharp critic of the Zelensky administration. In a Telegram post on Sunday, he argued that the changing tone of Western discourse about Ukraine signals a significant policy change. US President Donald Trump will sort things out with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping “without consulting us, because engaging with those who deny reality is futile,” he wrote.

“We have lost the war due to our own stupidity, pride and stubbornness. In truth, we have defeated ourselves,” Arestovich added. “We have created a society of mutual hatred and intolerance, in which every individual is right and everyone collectively is to blame.” He cited several recent news stories, calling them a wakeup call for Ukrainians to acknowledge defeat and their role in it. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for the Ukraine conflict, has called on Kiev to resume presidential and parliamentary elections, which Zelensky suspended under martial law. Conservative US political commentator Tucker Carlson branded the Ukrainian leader “a dictator” during a debate with British television host Piers Morgan. Additionally, Washington’s decision last month to suspend foreign aid programs has forced many Ukrainian NGOs and media outlets to solicit for private donations to avoid shutdown.

Public statements and media reports suggest that the Trump administration seeks a freeze of the Ukraine conflict along existing frontlines. Moscow has said that it won’t accept an outcome that would allow Kiev to rebuild its military and renew hostilities in the future. The core causes of the conflict, including NATO’s expansion in Europe, need to be addressed in order for a sustainable peace agreement to be reached, Russian officials have asserted. The Ukrainian military is reportedly plagued by large-scale desertion and poor morale, while Russia continues to advance. Zelensky, meanwhile, has called on Kiev’s Western backers to deploy at least 200,000 troops as “peacekeepers.” He has also urged Trump to adopt a “peace through strength” approach to pressure Moscow into accepting truce terms favorable to Kiev.

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“..the bloc is reportedly preparing a campaign to discredit Zelensky ahead of Ukraine’s next presidential elections..”

NATO Plans To Oust Zelensky – Russian Intel (RT)

NATO is considering trying to facilitate the removal of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky from power by discrediting him ahead of potential elections next fall, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed in a statement on Monday. The agency believes that Western officials see Zelensky as a key obstacle to peace talks with Moscow. Zelensky remains in office despite his term having officially expired last May. He has refused to step down and postponed presidential elections, citing the martial law imposed in 2022 following the escalation of the conflict with Russia. Western leaders are looking to “freeze” the conflict by pushing both Moscow and Kiev toward negotiations, but Zelensky is seen as a barrier, the SVR said.

“Washington and Brussels agree that the main obstacle to the implementation of such a scenario is Zelensky, who is referred to in Western circles as nothing more than ‘expendable material,’” the agency said in the statement, adding that “even NATO understands that Zelensky’s time is up.” To address this, the bloc is reportedly preparing a campaign to discredit Zelensky ahead of Ukraine’s next presidential elections, which the agency said could take place next fall. The SVR claimed that Western officials plan to release information linking Zelensky and his team to the embezzlement of over $1.5 billion in funds intended for purchasing military equipment.

Additionally, the report alleged that Zelensky’s administration was involved in schemes to divert the salaries of 130,000 deceased Ukrainian soldiers who remain listed as active service members. The SVR also claimed that Zelensky was implicated in the illegal sale of Western-supplied weapons to armed groups in Africa. The SVR suggested that the return of Donald Trump to the White House has created uncertainty over future Western support for Ukraine, which could accelerate efforts to replace Zelensky. According to the agency, NATO’s broader goal is to maintain Ukraine as an anti-Russian foothold, regardless of the situation on the battlefield. Neither NATO nor Ukrainian officials have responded to the SVR’s claims so far.

In an interview with the Associated Press on Saturday, Zelensky accused Russia of avoiding peace talks and reiterated his calls for Western security guarantees as a precondition for negotiations. He argued that Ukraine’s membership in NATO would be the “cheapest” option for the West to ensure such guarantees. Moscow has repeatedly stated its willingness to engage in peace talks but has pointed out that it is unable to do so because of the prohibition on negotiations with Russia announced by Zelensky in 2022. The Russian leadership has also stated that freezing the conflict is unacceptable and that Ukraine’s accession to NATO cannot be allowed. Russian officials have maintained that Ukraine’s neutrality, its withdrawal from Russian territories, and legal protections for Russian-speaking populations are necessary conditions for any settlement.

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“Kiev reportedly hopes to persuade Washington to back the move by suggesting the money be used to pay for US weapons..”

Ukraine Renews Efforts To Seize Russian Assets – WaPo (RT)

Ukraine has renewed its push to confiscate frozen Russian assets following Donald Trump’s reelection as US president, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing anonymous officials. Kiev hopes Trump’s business acumen and influence over the EU could sway opponents of the move toward supporting it, the newspaper claimed. After the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022, Western states froze an estimated $300 billion belonging to the Russian central bank held in foreign depositories, a move Russia has branded as theft. While proceeds from the assets are already being used to back a $50 billion loan for Ukraine from the G7, most Western nations have stopped short of seizing the assets themselves. Opponents of the move, including Belgium, Germany, and France, fear it could set a legal precedent and undermine trust in the Western banking system.

According to the Washington Post, Ukrainian officials believe Trump could persuade skeptical countries if he sees the move as beneficial for the US. “We firmly believe that it’s President Trump who can be a change maker,” Irina Mudra, deputy head of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’ office, told the news outlet. “[Trump] has the power to change the stance of more-skeptical countries… they know he’s not joking, that his are not just hollow words. That’s exactly why we need his help convincing our partners that transferring Russian assets is a necessary tool to finish this war,” she added. Kiev plans to frame the seizure of Russian assets as an alternative source of funding for weapons and reconstruction. Zelensky claimed in an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman that he had “spoken to Trump” about using the money to buy US-made arms.

“I told him, take the $300 billion of frozen Russian assets… and we will buy all the weapons from the US… It will be very good for your industry,” Zelensky said, describing it as one of Ukraine’s key security guarantees for future peace talks with Moscow. Analysts suggest the proposal may appeal to Trump, given his ‘America First’ stance and calls to cut foreign aid. “That’s a very clear quid pro quo. And they would love for Trump to adopt that argument and basically say to the Europeans, ‘Look, if you want me to continue to supply Ukraine with weapons, well, let’s buy them with Russian assets,’” Jacob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics told the news outlet.

Former US President Joe Biden’s administration previously expressed cautious support for the idea, but Trump’s stance remains unclear. Some EU countries reportedly prefer to keep the assets frozen as potential leverage in future peace negotiations with Moscow. Russia has repeatedly condemned the freezing of its assets. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned in December that Moscow would pursue legal action against any attempts to channel the funds “stolen” from the country to Ukraine. Russian officials also warned Moscow could mirror the West’s actions by tapping income from frozen Western assets held in the country.

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“In a surprising twist, AfD co-chair Alice Weidel leads as the most popular choice for chancellor on 35%..”

‘Shy Musk Voter’ Could Hand Victory to AfD (Sp.)

A new survey by the Washington-based Democracy Institute has sent shockwaves through European politics. It suggests the Euroskeptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) is on the brink of winning the country’s snap elections—and Elon Musk might play a key role. The AfD is now the second-strongest party with 25% support, trailing the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) by just two points, the poll shows Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) are third place on 15% and the Greens fourth with 13%.

In a surprising twist, AfD co-chair Alice Weidel leads as the most popular choice for chancellor on 35%, leading CDU head Friedrich Merz by nine points. But the real shocker? A striking 28% of Germans say they are more likely to vote AfD due to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s endorsement, compared to 23% who say they are “less likely”. Democracy Institute director Patrick Basham dubbed the phenomenon the “shy Musk voter”. The German Bundestag elections are set for February 23.

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“..the Democrats are in a PR freefall. Keep an eye on the numbers: Should the Dems’ unfavorable rating hit the mid-60s, it will likely lead to a full-on liberal-on-liberal civil war for control of the party.”

NYT Shock Poll Reveals the Complete Collapse of Democratic Party (Pinsker)

It happens a lot: You’ll hear about a new movie or TV show with a really cool, totally original premise, but alas, the writers and actors fumbled the football in the execution. The first few minutes are promising, but you quickly realize that the script’s premise far exceeded the participants’ talents. It’s frustrating and annoying. An example of this is the 1995 supernatural thriller “The Prophecy,” starring Christopher Walken and Viggo Mortensen, where humans discover a “lost” chapter in the Book of Revelation:
Joseph: What is it?
Thomas Daggett: Twenty-third chapter of Saint John’s Revelations.
Joseph: And?
Thomas Daggett: There is no twenty-third chapter.
Joseph: Well, maybe this is the Teacher’s Edition.
Here’s the 78-second original trailer:

The film has its moments (and actually spawned a ridiculous number of straight-to-video sequels). But I can’t recommend it; way too much silliness and nonsensical writing. But there’s an absolutely brilliant line of dialogue in the very beginning: “Some people lose their faith because Heaven shows them too little. But how many people lose their faith because Heaven showed them too much?” I was thinking about that quote when I read today’s article in The New York Times, “Most Americans Say the Democratic Party Does Not Share Their Priorities.” As the article states:Many Americans say they do not believe the Democratic Party is focused on the economic issues that matter most to them and is instead placing too much emphasis on social issues that they consider less urgent.

Asked to identify the Democratic Party’s most important priorities, Americans most often listed abortion, L.G.B.T.Q. rights and climate change, according to a poll from The New York Times and Ipsos conducted from Jan. 2 to 10. The issues that people cited as most important to them personally were the economy and inflation, health care and immigration, the poll found. The kinds of social causes that progressive activists have championed in recent years ranked much lower. When it comes to publicity and brand-building, the GOP is often forced to go off-roading — hitting the podcasts or using alternative media — since the mainstream outlets are unwelcoming. At first, this greatly handicapped the GOP’s outreach, but as we say, “Necessity is the mother’s milk of invention.”

The Republican adapted and evolved: They learned how to streamline their message, master the social media game, and claim an ownership stake in emerging, nontraditional outlets. And now, we’re better at it. Meanwhile, the Democrats always had an embarrassment of riches: They didn’t have to streamline anything! They controlled broadcast television, the daily papers, and all the syndicated news services. There’s no need to streamline when you’ve been given unlimited real estate. And so, they didn’t: On issues likes gender, Hamas, late-term abortion, and radical climate change initiatives, they let their liberal freak flag fly. They kept circling further and further to the left. To echo “The Prophecy,” the Democrats didn’t lose in 2024 because they showed the voters too little. They lost because they showed the voters too much.

The article continued: “The country remains deeply divided over Mr. Trump’s leadership, with roughly equal shares of people saying that his second term is cause for celebration or concern. But the poll suggests that people do not view the Democratic Party as an appealing alternative. In a broad sense, the poll, which surveyed a representative sample of 2,128 adults nationwide, found that Americans think the Republican Party is more in sync with the mood of the country. The issues that people said mattered most to Republicans were also, for the most part, the issues that mattered to them: immigration, the economy, inflation and taxes. That’s the beauty of competing in a binary marketplace: You don’t have to be perfect. You can still make lots of mistakes. All that matters is that you’re better than the alternative. [..] The article continued:

“Overall, voters view the Democratic Party more negatively than the Republican Party, according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted the week after Mr. Trump took office. The 57 percent unfavorable rating for Democrats is the highest Quinnipiac has recorded for the party since it first started asking the question in 2008.” Right now, the Democrats are in a PR freefall. Keep an eye on the numbers: Should the Dems’ unfavorable rating hit the mid-60s, it will likely lead to a full-on liberal-on-liberal civil war for control of the party. Those numbers would threaten their ability to raise money or compete nationally, and simply aren’t sustainable. And if we know anything about today’s Democratic Party, we know how much it values money. Interestingly, The New York Times specifically labeled the LGBTQ plank as especially problematic to the Democrats’ public image:

“On lesbian, gay and transgender rights, people perceive the Democratic Party’s priorities as particularly misaligned with their own. Just 4 percent of Americans listed L.G.B.T.Q. issues as very important to them personally. But 31 percent said they were a Democratic Party priority.” Once again, the Democrats lost because they showed the voters too much. They were marketing to their activists instead of to the voters. I’ve never met Democratic strategist Adam Jentleson (I don’t believe), but he 100% nailed the problem: “Politics is about perception,” said Adam Jentleson, a Democratic strategist who has urged his party to rethink how much influence it allows activist groups to have over its agenda. “And people perceive Democrats as being focused on the demands of activists instead of kitchen table issues.”I suspect Jentleson’s advice will fall on deaf ears. The liberal activists aren’t going away; they’d rather destroy the Democratic Party internally than cede an inch of ideological turf. They’re (im)moral absolutists. And thus, the cycle will continue.

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“As a rule you couldn’t win over your enemies, but you could lose your friends.”

Pro-Russian Versus Anti-Russian Social Media (Helmer)

When Tulsi Gabbard, nominee to be the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), was asked by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence what she thought of Russia Today (RT), she replied: “RT News is a propaganda arm of the Russian state government and is not a reliable source of objective news reporting.” This was one of the few unequivocal responses Gabbard gave to the hostile questioning she faced from the Russia warfighters on the Intelligence Committee last week. She also implied – but stopped short of saying — that if a news medium, publication, tweet, or podcast is paid for by a government or one of its agencies – any government, any medium including the Voice of America and the British Broadcasting Corporation — it follows that whatever is reported is state propaganda, so its truth value is zero and should be dismissed. This is the 400-year old maxim that he who pays the piper calls the tune.

It’s not the rule for truth-telling which the Anglo-American courts observe – beyond reasonable doubt for capital crimes, balance of probabilities for civil offences. It is also not the rule of truth-telling in politics the world over. “It was worthwhile making sure of your potential friends,” the English science official and novelist C.P. Snow put into the mouth of an ambitious cabinet minister he knew in London a half-century ago. “As a rule you couldn’t win over your enemies, but you could lose your friends.” In the present information war accompanying the military and economic campaigns against Russia, Snow’s rule should be understood to mean that telling the truth isn’t going to win over the enemy. Gabbard’s condemnation of RT at the Senate is a proof of that. Snow’s rule is also a warning that truth-telling risks alienating your allies – particularly those allies competing for reward from the Pied Piper.

Throughout his career, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has accepted and followed the Snow rule: he always keeps his friends, the Russian ones. But Putin, his officials and friends have misunderstood the other half of the rule. Since 2000 their attempts to win over Russia’s enemies by persuasion have been a mistake they have been slow to acknowledge and learn from.

Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin were quicker learners. They understood it was impossible by means other than force against their enemies, so they didn’t put their trust in persuasion. They also shared an ideology explaining why the protracted combat which engaged them, including class war and war against imperialism, was relentless, permanent. Since Lenin and Stalin had few friends and ended up treating most of them as enemies, the second half of the rule, risking loss of friends, didn’t apply in Russia for the entire 20th century. Mikhail Gorbachev got both parts of the rule wrong. For different reasons, so did Boris Yeltsin. Their mistakes have cost Russia and the Russians severely, especially those who thought the permanent war between Russia and the US had ended with the collapse of Communist Party rule in 1991.

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“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could have gone to some great parties. Did that instead.” — Elon Musk

Last Rites (James Howard Kunstler)

“In private meetings and at public events, elected Democrats appear leaderless, rudderless and divided. They disagree over how often and how stridently to oppose Mr. Trump. They have no shared understanding of why they lost the election, never mind how they can win in the future.” — The New York Times.

Maybe that’s because the four years of “Joe Biden” was little more than a vaudeville show in front of the curtain, distracting you from what was going on backstage — the world’s biggest political racketeering operation as conducted by a vast bureaucracy gone wild and mad: the blob in florid, mature efflorescence, doing its blob-thing to the max, looting and punking the nation. Now it is all being uncovered, disclosed, unmasked.

Think of the Democratic Party as the entertainment arm of the overall operation. Its aim has basically been to induce you to doubt your sanity. You were asked to swallow one fabulous absurdity after another — lockdowns, vaccines that don’t prevent illness, mostly-peaceful arson, US soldiers in puppy masks, pronoun police, shoplifting-is-reparations, the wide-open border — an epic acting-out of manifold mental illness in living color. The climax was drag-queens in the primary schools, obese men in fright-wigs presenting nightmare varieties of Mom-as-monster, often with some exposure of their male junk as part of the act. Suburban mothers watched approvingly, insisting on video that this was all wholesome, edifying fun for the kiddies (while some of the more insane moms went even further at home, coaxing their little kids toward medical “transitioning”).

Can you grok how insane all this was? So, if you were a Democratic Party strategist, perhaps the first thing you’d consider these days is to stop being insane. Second, at this particular juncture, you might consider apologizing to the people of this land for your heinous antics of recent years — like an alcoholic parent who has acted very badly against the family — and promise to make the effort to get your shit together. This is obviously the part that Democrats are struggling with now, and it explains why they pretend to be at such a loss to make course corrections. Of course, any further failure to come to grips with all this will lead to the death of the Democratic Party. Never in history has a political faction gone out in such pathetic ignominy.

Yet it is not just this feckless party that needs to expiate its shame, it is also America’s thinking class as a whole, its “experts,” its managers, its educated elites, its doctors and lawyers, its curators of “news” and opinion, and most of the denizens of showbiz. For the moment, they are all cowering and shuddering before the juggernaut of Mr. Trump, who they so grievously underestimated.

They know — they can see in plain view — that he is coming for them, and many might find themselves called to account in a rebalanced justice system. Many of them committed crimes against the nation and its citizens. The raft of lawyers fired out of the DC federal district this weekend for cause —namely, for conducting overtly malicious prosecutions under dubious predication — are an early sign. Ditto, the warning issued to Chuck Schumer concerning his 2020 incitement of violence against Supreme Court justices. Imagine, too, how many officials in the public health agencies need to answer for their roles in Covid-19 — the creation of it in their labs, the worthless vaccines, and the deadly treatment protocols they insisted on.

Now, the fate of the blob itself is a thing somewhat apart from the fate of this evil vaudevillian Democratic Party fronting for it. A purge of the blob is pretty clearly underway. USAID was shot dead like a rabid dog over the weekend. The agency had gone completely rogue, serving (Mike Benz explains) as the pivot between every nefarious operation coming out of the CIA, the DOD, and the State Department’s many black box units. The billions of dollars laundered out of USAID went to support hundreds of NGOs, many of them dedicated to harming the life of this nation, such as the orgs that handed out money to illegal aliens and advice on evading detection in-country. And these many NGOs represented an employment racket for the “elite overproduction” of grads coming out of universities with useless degrees and Maoist political training. There was, of course, a giant revolving door between these NGOs and the activist ranks of the Democratic Party.

The country needs a functioning, sane, opposition party to whoever is in power, since power inevitably corrupts. Like any other powerful office-holder, Mr. Trump needs a governor and guard-rails on his actions. Something will have to take the Democratic Party’s place, maybe even a group that uses the same name for convenience and the sake of tradition. But it will have to jettison just about everything the party stands for in its current incarnation, its insane ideas and policies. It might also consider the value of not lying about everything it does.

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Kennedy’s role is a bit murky.

Lawmakers Urge RFK Jr to Recuse Himself From All Vaccine-Related Decisions (ET)

Several Democrat lawmakers said on Feb. 2 that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should commit to avoiding all decisions related to vaccines if he becomes the next U.S. health secretary. “Given the breadth of your involvement in vaccine litigation, such a recusal would help ensure that you and your family do not benefit financially from official government actions that you will oversee and control,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), wrote in a letter to Kennedy. President Donald Trump has selected Kennedy, a lawyer, to take over the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The department includes the Food and Drug Administration, which clears vaccines, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issues vaccine guidance that is widely adopted by states.

The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled this week to vote on Kennedy’s nomination. If a majority approves, the nomination will be sent to the full Senate. Kennedy said in an ethics agreement that, if he is confirmed, he would resign from a consulting arrangement with the Wisner Baum law firm that involves referring cases to the firm. “Pursuant to the referral agreement, I am entitled to receive 10% of fees awarded in contingency fee cases referred to the firm. I am not trying these cases, I am not an attorney of record for the cases, and I will not provide representational services in connection with the cases during my appointment to the position of Secretary,” Kennedy wrote. The Finance Committee identified at least five cases related to litigation over the Gardasil human papillomavirus vaccine in which Kennedy is still listed as the attorney of record.

“When questioned by the Committee, you did not directly acknowledge this omission or provide clarity about any financial compensation you might receive related to these cases,” Wyden and Warren said. While Kennedy agreed to divest from those cases, Kennedy declined to recuse himself from decisions related to Gardasil in written communication with the panel, the senators said. He also disclosed that he was divesting his interest in cases referred to Wisner Baum to his adult son, which would let an immediate family member benefit from Kennedy’s secretary role if Kennedy is confirmed, they added. Recusing from vaccine-related decisions and communications will “ensure vaccine-related policymaking and communications are not inappropriately skewed by your personal views at the expense of scientific evidence,” they wrote.

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A number of senators insisted Tulsi should call Snowden a traitor. Larry Johnson has the perfect riposte:

“..the answer to your question is quite simple — Edward Snowden has not been charged with treason and has not met the legal standards required to impose such charges. Therefore, Edward Snowden is not a traitor.”

What Tulsi Gabbard Should Have Said About Ed Snowden (Larry Johnson)

Democrat Senator Michael Bennet, who I think is a disgraceful representative of his Colorado constituents, played a silly and dishonest game of gotcha with Tulsi Gabbard during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Bennet demanded that Tulsi declare Ed Snowden, who exposed Top Secret US government programs that illegally spied on US citizens, as a traitor. Tulsi refused to take the bait. Tulsi is a very smart person and a woman of unimpeachable character. I hope she is confirmed. That said, she missed a golden opportunity to school Senator Bennet. Here is what I wish she had said:

“Senator, Edward Snowden has not been charged with treason. You’re asking me, as part of a political stunt, to cave to political pressure and give you the answer you want. Sir, that is not what you want for a Director of National Intelligence (DNI). I am here today to explain to you why I am qualified and competent to serve as a DNI. My first obligation is to present the President and his aides with the best intelligence and facts. Not my opinions. Here are the facts: The U.S. government charged Mr. Snowden with two counts of violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property after he leaked classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA). He violated his Non-Disclosure Agreement.

I would note that The Espionage Act of 1917 is a U.S. federal law that primarily addresses issues related to national security, such as the unauthorized gathering, possession, or transmission of defense-related information that could harm the United States or aid a foreign nation. That clearly applies to Mr. Snowden’s case. It covers a wide range of activities, including spying, sharing classified information, sabotage, and other acts that could undermine national security. In the case of Mr. Snowden, he stands accused of unlawfully divulging classified information. A violation of the Espionage Act does not necessarily require intent to betray the United States. It can involve negligence or recklessness in handling sensitive information. In Mr. Snowden’s case, we face a conundrum. Mr. Snowden also took a pledge to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Mr. Snowden claims that he only took the actions he did because of the consistent and demonstrated pattern of hostility by the US government towards whistleblowers. Mr. Snowden cited the precedent of the US government’s menacing actions towards previous NSA whistleblowers, such as Bill Binney, Ed Loomis, Kirk Wiebe and Thomas Drake. Drake was wrongly charged under the Espionage Act. You are demanding that I declare Edward Snowden a traitor, even thought the US government has declined to charge him with that count. Treason is explicitly defined in the U.S. Constitution (Article III, Section 3) as levying war against the United States or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. It is a much narrower offense and requires a direct act of betrayal against the United States, such as providing material support to an enemy during wartime.

While Mr. Snowden was granted asylum in Russia, we were not at war, in the legal sense of the word, with Russia at the time. If confirmed as the DNI, my primary responsibility is to present the President and his team with the best facts and intelligence available. There is no place for my opinion or personal beliefs in carrying out those duties. I will set politics aside and ensure the President is provided with the best intelligence available, regardless of whether it promotes or threaten the President’s political agenda. I leave the politics to you. So, Senator Bennet, the answer to your question is quite simple — Edward Snowden has not been charged with treason and has not met the legal standards required to impose such charges. Therefore, Edward Snowden is not a traitor.”

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Psaki

 

 

Leavitt

 

 

33

 

 

Real girls

 

 

Bears

 

 

Italy husky

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jan 252025
 


Rembrandt van Rijn The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp 1632

 

Trump Halts Ukraine Aid, State Dept “Totally Went Nuclear” On Foreign Aid (ZH)
West Should Push Kiev Into Talks With Moscow – Putin (RT)
Grenell to NATO: Ukraine Membership Push Would Face ‘Big Buzzsaw’ in US (ET)
Ukraine in NATO Would Mean Ruling Out Peace – Moscow (RT)
Putin: 2020 US Election Was Stolen (Sp.)
Trump Not Willing To Take Part In Ukraine’s Reconstruction (RT)
Trump To Put Steve Witkoff in Charge of Iran Negotiations (Antiwar)
De-Weaponizing The Federal Government (Mike McDaniel)
The Addicted, Petty, and Hysterical Left (Victor Davis Hanson)
Guffawing Over Trump’s Greenland Vision? Crack Open A History Book (Moore)
Trump’s Call With Danish PM Over Greenland Was ‘Cold Shower’ (Sp.)
Trump Lists Perks Should Canada Become 51st US State (RT)
Trump vs. The Establishment, Who Will Win? (Paul Craig Roberts)
The Great Sorting-Out Begins (James Howard Kunstler)
Trump Launches Cryptocurrency Working Group (RT)
A Pathetic Clown-World Alliance Signed By Two Moribund Partners (Karganovic)
Belarus: The “Dictatorship” Of Stability and Peace (Lucas Leiroz)
Which Genocide Are You On? (Mr. Fish)

 

 


Mr. Fish

 

 

Kiriakou
https://twitter.com/i/status/1882809288004895119

Mearsheimer

Bass


https://twitter.com/i/status/1882832808382705775

Chamath

 

 

 

 

“Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions,” Rubio wrote. The questions: Does the action make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous?”

Trump Halts Ukraine Aid, State Dept “Totally Went Nuclear” On Foreign Aid (ZH)

The Trump State Department on Friday halted spending on almost all foreign aid grants for 90 days, which also appears to apply to funding for military assistance to Ukraine, Politico reports. The guidance, issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was sent to all diplomatic and consular posts, and orders all department staffers to issue “stop-work orders” on nearly all “existing foreign assistance awards.” It appears to go further than President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, which instructed the department to pause foreign aid grants for 90 days pending review by the secretary. It had not been clear from the president’s order if it would affect already appropriated funds or Ukraine aid.

“The new guidance means no further actions will be taken to disperse aid funding to programs already approved by the U.S. government, according to three current and two former officials familiar with the new guidance.” -Politico. Rubio also outlined the Trump administration’s stance on spending, saying “Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions,” Rubio wrote. The questions: Does the action make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous? The new order reportedly shocked State Department officials.

“State just totally went nuclear on foreign assistance,” a State Department official told Politico. Rubio was confirmed unanimously by the Senate the day before and is the first of Trump’s Cabinet nominees on the job. Previously, he was a senior senator from Florida, and he served on the Foreign Relations Committee for more than a decade. He developed a reputation as a China Hawk and a fierce critic of the neoliberal foreign policy consensus that emerged after the Cold War. Shortly after taking the oath of office, he sent a lengthy cable to every US diplomatic and consular post worldwide letting them know that the Biden administration had mistakenly emphasized “ideology over common sense,” and “misread the world.”

You’ll Never Guess Who Still Gets Aid… The document specifies that Israel and Egypt will continue to receive that sweet, sweet US taxpayer money. It also allows emergency food assistance and “legitimate expenses incurred prior to the date of this” guidance “under existing awards,” and also that decisions need to be “consistent with the terms of the relevant award.” One State Department official as well as two former Biden admin officials told Politico that the pause appears to stop aid to Ukraine, Jordan and Taiwan, while the report suggests that the guidance could open the US government to civil liability from lawsuits over unfulfilled contracts if the terms are deemed to have been violated, said the current and former officials. That said, the note from Rubio clearly states that decision need to be “consistent with the terms of the relevant award.”

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“The “Kiev regime” is satisfied with the current situation since it gets “hundreds of billions [of dollars] from its sponsors” that it can “chomp down on..”

West Should Push Kiev Into Talks With Moscow – Putin (RT)

Ukraine’s Western backers should push the government in Kiev to lift its ban on talks with Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published by Russia 1 TV journalist Pavel Zarubin on Telegram on Friday. Any negotiations under the existing circumstances would be “illegitimate” from a purely legal point of view because of Vladimir Zelensky’s prohibition on any talks with Russia made back in autumn 2022, he explained. Kiev is “in no rush to follow the orders of its sponsors,” including when it comes to lifting the ban on talks with Russia, Putin said. The president added that he is aware of the West’s attempts to make Ukraine discard the prohibition. The “Kiev regime” is satisfied with the current situation since it gets “hundreds of billions [of dollars] from its sponsors” that it can “chomp down on,” the Russian leader believes.

“I believe that those, who provide [Kiev] with money, should ultimately make it [lift the ban on the talks],” Putin said, adding that Ukraine will eventually have no other way than to remove the restrictions. Russia is ready for peace talks, the president said; some “preliminary” contacts could be made right now. However, it is still “difficult to speak” about any “serious” steps that could follow until the prohibition is lifted, Putin believes. Russia and the US can still find “many points of contact” when it comes to the most pressing issues, including the Ukraine conflict, Putin pointed out, recalling “pragmatic” and “business-like” relations with US President Donald Trump during his first tenure in the White House. Trump was “trustworthy,” Putin recalled, adding that the Ukraine conflict could have possibly been averted had the Republican’s victory not been “stolen.”

“Russia has never forgone contact with the US administration,” the president said, pinning the blame for “giving up” on former US President Joe Biden. “We see the [current US] president’s statements about [America’s] readiness for joint work and are always open for it,” Putin stated. Trump has repeatedly stated he is seeking a swift end to the conflict. Following his inauguration earlier this week, the US president called on Moscow to strike a “deal” and put an end to the hostilities or face new sanctions. He maintained that he was “not looking to hurt Russia” and declared his love for the Russian people. The US president has also stated on several occasions that he would like to meet Putin “soon,” and would do so “immediately” if possible. Moscow has continually expressed a willingness to engage in talks with the US, adding that it expects an equal and respectful dialogue. According to the Kremlin, it has received no specific proposals from Washington so far.

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“I would say just give President Trump a little time,” Grenell said. “He’s the best negotiator.”

Grenell to NATO: Ukraine Membership Push Would Face ‘Big Buzzsaw’ in US (ET)

Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as envoy for special missions, warned that NATO leaders would face backlash from the United States if they pushed to extend alliance membership to Ukraine without first boosting their own support for the embattled eastern European nation. Amid the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war, NATO leaders have discussed steps to extend the alliance membership to Ukraine, but the alliance is still working out details of the ascension plan. Speaking at a Jan. 23 panel discussion on Ukraine on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance is committed to extending membership to Ukraine, but still has to work out the ascension process. “The question now of course is how this will exactly play out whenever hopefully as soon as possible,” said Rutte, a Dutch national.

Calling into the panel from California, Grenell pushed back on Rutte’s comments. “I think you’re going to run into a big buzzsaw in America if we have the NATO secretary general talking about adding Ukraine to NATO,” Grenell said. While Ukraine has sought NATO membership for years, the alliance’s ascension process requires the unanimous support of all current member nations. U.S. opposition alone could halt Ukraine’s membership. Trump and his allies have raised concerns that the United States has borne the brunt of the cost of arming and sustaining Ukraine throughout the ongoing war and that the other NATO members have lagged behind alliance military spending targets. “The American people are the ones that are paying for the defense,” Grenell said.

“You cannot ask the American people to expand the umbrella of NATO when the current members aren’t paying their fair share. And that includes the Dutch.” NATO set a target in 2014 for each of its member nations to commit at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product to military spending. In 2023, only 11 of the alliance’s 31 members had met that spending target. The Netherlands finally hit the 2 percent target in 2024, but eight other countries are still lagging behind. Responding to Grenell’s remarks, Rutte agreed that there is a problem with alliance members lagging behind their existing spending commitments. Rutte then said the alliance will need to set even higher military spending targets to adjust to growing international threats and boost its arms production capabilities.

Rutte said he’s hopeful to get all alliance members past the 2 percent spending target within the coming months. “Then we have, collectively, to move up. And we will decide on the exact number later this year, but it will be considerably more,” Rutte added. Beyond criticizing NATO allies for not bearing more of the burden of sustaining Ukraine, Trump has repeatedly indicated he would prefer to negotiate an end to the ongoing war. In his own virtual remarks before the World Economic Forum on Thursday, Trump said, “Our efforts to secure a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine are now, hopefully, underway.”

Trump said Ukraine is ready to make a deal, and now a peace deal will depend on Russia. This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump on his return to the White House and said Russia is open to begin talks “on an equal and mutually respectful basis.” Grenell told the WEF panel that Trump was “handed a terrible mess.” “There are not a lot of great choices, but President Trump … has already made clear that he’s going to pressure both sides to end this,” he said. At times on the campaign trail, Trump said he could negotiate a deal to end the fighting within 24 hours. His team has since softened that timeline for a deal. “I would say just give President Trump a little time,” Grenell said. “He’s the best negotiator.” Trump has threatened to impose new economic sanctions and tariffs on Russian goods if Moscow doesn’t quickly accept a deal.

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“NATO membership for Kiev “precludes achieving peace in Ukraine and, in a broader sense, the creation of any kind of security architecture.”

Ukraine in NATO Would Mean Ruling Out Peace – Moscow (RT)

Ukrainian accession to NATO would make achieving peace and establishing any kind of security architecture virtually impossible, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko has said in an interview published on Friday. Speaking to the Russia 24 news channel, Grushko pointed out that the issue of Ukraine’s neutrality is one of the root causes of the ongoing conflict and is a key element of any potential deal with Kiev. The diplomat emphasized that NATO membership for Kiev “precludes achieving peace in Ukraine and, in a broader sense, the creation of any kind of security architecture.” He stressed that Moscow will not only seek “ironclad legal guarantees that would exclude Ukraine’s membership in NATO in any form,” but will also demand that this becomes an actual policy of the US-led military bloc.

NATO’s efforts to spread itself all over the world are increasing the possibility of a global military conflict, the diplomat said, specifically pointing to bloc chief Mark Rutte’s call to raise defense spending to 3% of members’ GDP. “In fact, this has nothing to do with the real security situation,” Grushko explained. “This is over-armament, this is an attempt to achieve those geopolitical and military goals that they have recorded in their strategic documents, primarily American ones, to achieve military superiority in all operational environments, as they say, meaning land, air, space, cyberspace, and in all possible theaters of military operations, which now includes Asia.”

The diplomat accused NATO of pursuing a “very dangerous course that brings the threat of a global military clash closer,” while serving only to maintain the West’s hegemony that is “slipping out of their hands” amid the formation of a new multipolar world. However, Grushko pointed out that Russia has “sufficient technical and other means to ensure” its security “in any scenario,” which includes the Oreshnik hypersonic missile system, as well as its nuclear forces and new technologies that continue to be added to the arsenal of Russia’s armed forces.

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“.. if the victory had not been stolen from him in 2020, then the crisis that broke out in Ukraine in 2022 would have possibly never happened..”

Putin: 2020 US Election Was Stolen (Sp.)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he is ready to talk calmly with US President Donald Trump on all areas that are of interest to both countries. “We should meet, based on today’s realities, to talk calmly about all those areas that are of interest to both the US and Russia. We are ready, but, I repeat, this depends first of all on the decisions and choices of the current US administration,” Putin said during his visit to Moscow State University. Russia can have many points of contact with the US administration, including economic issues, Putin said, adding that Russia and the United States have a lot to talk about on economy and energy issues.

“What is typical for the Russian and American economies? We are not only one of the largest producers of energy resources, but we are also the largest consumers of them. This means that for both our economy and the US economy, too high prices are bad, because it is necessary to produce domestically. Using energy resources, it is necessary to produce other goods within the country. And too low prices are also very bad, because it undermines the investment opportunities of energy companies,” he said. Putin remarked that he has always had businesslike and pragmatic relations with Trump, noting that Moscow welcomes Trump’s statements about a willingness to work together and remains open to it.

“Even if we hear about the possibility of imposing additional sanctions on Russia, I doubt that he will make decisions that will harm the US economy itself,” Putin said. Trump is “not only an intelligent person, he is a pragmatic person,” Putin added. The previous administration of US President Joe Biden refused to contact with Russia, and it is not Moscow’s fault, Putin noted. Furthermore, Russia has never refused to use the US dollar in foreign trade transactions. “We did not abandon the dollar. It was the former US administration that made it impossible for us to use it as a currency for settlements. I think that decision has caused significant harm to the United States,” Putin said.

Russia is ready for talks on the Ukraine conflict, but there are issues that need attention, the Russian president added. The problem is that Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has banned himself from holding peace talks with Russia. “It is well-known that the current leader of the regime in Kiev, when he was still fairly legitimate, signed a decree banning negotiations. How can negotiations be resumed now if they are forbidden?” Putin said. Putin added that it was difficult to talk seriously about any dialogue with Kiev while this ban was still in place. “However, as long as this ban isn’t lifted, it is hard to say that these negotiations can be properly started and, the most importantly, concluded. Of course, it is possible to make some preliminary outlines, yet it is quite difficult to consider any serious negotiations under the conditions of the ban on the Ukrainian side,” Putin said.

Putin added that the authorities in Kiev receive hundreds of billions from their sponsors, and he believes the same sponsors of the Kiev regime should force Zelensky to lift the ban on talks. The Russian president also added he agreed with Trump that if he had been reelected US president in 2020 the crisis in Ukraine could have been avoided. “I cannot but agree with him on that if he were president, if the victory had not been stolen from him in 2020, then the crisis that broke out in Ukraine in 2022 would have possibly never happened,” Putin suggested.

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He wants to sell it to Blackrock and Monsanto.

Trump Not Willing To Take Part In Ukraine’s Reconstruction (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s administration is not interested in taking part in the reconstruction of Ukraine after the conflict is resolved, Bloomberg reported on Friday. Trump’s team has signaled that it doesn’t intend to engage directly in rebuilding the country, suggesting that this responsibility would be handled by the private sector, the outlet said, citing a senior diplomat. The stance marks a significant shift from the policies of Joe Biden’s administration, which has spent around $100 billion on financial aid and military assistance to Kiev since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, and pledged support with the post-conflict reconstruction. Kiev has ramped up its privatization efforts to draw in foreign capital as it seeks private investors to support the country’s reconstruction.

Aleksey Sobolev, Ukraine’s first deputy economy minister, outlined a $500 billion reconstruction initiative aimed at bringing both strategic and financial benefits to Western investors. “It’s the private sector that’s going to be doing these investments,” Sobolev said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, according to Reuters. “We’re looking at privatizing more. It’s the right time right now to open the bigger companies,” he added. The US president told participants of the forum in Davos on Thursday that he wanted to end the conflict, which he described as “an absolute killing field.” Trump also reiterated that he is willing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin “soon” to discuss the situation.

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly pledged to end the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours of returning to office. However, he later revised the timeline, expressing the hope that he could negotiate a peace agreement within six months. US media outlets have reported that Trump’s team is considering a peace plan for Ukraine. The proposal could include a ceasefire along the current front lines and the establishment of a 1,300-km (800-mile) demilitarized zone monitored by European troops. Additionally, Ukraine would reportedly agree to postpone its NATO membership ambitions for at least 20 years.

Moscow, however, has rejected the idea of freezing the conflict, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating that the Kremlin “is, of course, not satisfied” with proposals to delay Kiev’s NATO aspirations and deploy Western peacekeepers in Ukraine.Russia has maintained that hostilities will cease only after Kiev agrees to permanent neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification, emphasizing that Ukraine must acknowledge territorial “realities on the ground.” Moscow is now awaiting signals from the new US administration, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, stressing that the Russian president is ready to speak with his US counterpart.

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Is he going to take their next big war away?

Trump To Put Steve Witkoff in Charge of Iran Negotiations (Antiwar)

President Trump is expected to put his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, in charge of the Iran file, signaling the administration will try diplomacy with the Islamic Republic, Financial Times reported on Thursday. Sources told FT that Witkoff, who put pressure on Israel to clinch the Gaza ceasefire deal, will be tasked to pursue diplomacy with Iran as part of a broader push to “end the wars” in the Middle East. During the transition phase, Trump officials told the media that they were planning to return to the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran that Trump pursued in his first term, which involved pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, imposing crippling sanctions, and assassinating Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. But in a sign that Trump may take a different approach, he just fired Brian Hook, an Iran hawk who led the maximum pressure campaign in his previous administration.

Hook was tasked with filling out Trump’s State Department for this term but will now have no role in the administration. Trump officials have also said the new administration will consider strikes on Iran’s nuclear program to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, but there’s still no evidence that Tehran is seeking a bomb, something acknowledged by Biden’s CIA chief, William Burns, in a recent interview. The hype about Iran’s nuclear program is focused on the enrichment of some uranium at 60% purity, which is still below the 90% needed for weapons-grade. Iran took the step to enrich at 60% in response to an Israeli covert attack on its Natanz nuclear facility in 2021. Iran is also a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, unlike Israel, which never signed the NPT and has a covert nuclear stockpile that’s not officially acknowledged by the US.

The 2015 nuclear deal that Trump withdrew from in 2018 capped Iran’s nuclear enrichment at 3.67% in exchange for sanctions relief. Axios reported that Iran made clear to European diplomats in a recent meeting that they want to resume negotiations on a new nuclear deal that will be different from the 2015 agreement. Pursuing such an agreement would likely face significant resistance from the many Iran hawks in the new administration and among Republicans in Congress, who are already complaining about Witkoff. “He’s already lifting pressure on Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, and in the process abandoning American hostages and endangering Israel,” a senior Republican congressional staffer told FT.

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“..relentless follow up in cleaning out nests of subversion in the government will determine whether the republic survives.”

De-Weaponizing The Federal Government (Mike McDaniel)

We’re going to be seeing a lot more swamp creatures quickly exiting their positions at the DOJ and throughout our intelligence apparatus. Donald Trump, from his first day in office, has served notice he isn’t kidding. He’s taking names and he’s going to be kicking ass. His orders are going to be obeyed or he’ll find people who will obey them. From the relevant executive order: Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to identify and take appropriate action to correct past misconduct by the Federal Government related to the weaponization of law enforcement and the weaponization of the Intelligence Community.

Sec. 3. Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government. (a) The Attorney General, in consultation with the heads of all departments and agencies of the United States, shall take appropriate action to review the activities of all departments and agencies exercising civil or criminal enforcement authority of the United States, including, but not limited to, the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission, over the last 4 years and identify any instances where a department’s or agency’s conduct appears to have been contrary to the purposes and policies of this order, and prepare a report to be submitted to the President, through the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and the Counsel to the President, with recommendations for appropriate remedial actions to be taken to fulfill the purposes and policies of this order.

That’s going to be Pam Bondi, who is going to have to clear out a lot of people determined to keep the DOJ weaponized and who plan to sabotage Trump and Bondi. But oh, won’t such a report be something? (b) The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the heads of the appropriate departments and agencies within the Intelligence Community, shall take all appropriate action to review the activities of the Intelligence Community over the last 4 years and identify any instances where the Intelligence Community’s conduct appears to have been contrary to the purposes and policies of this order, and prepare a report to be submitted to the President, through the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and the National Security Advisor, with recommendations for appropriate remedial actions to be taken to fulfill the purposes and policies of this order.

The DNI would be Tulsi Gabbard, a convert to sanity and a long-serving military officer. This EO gives the DNI not only a new focus, but new power over the heads of every part of the Intelligence Community, and that report is also going to be explosive. We can expect remedial actions will not only involve reorganization, but large-scale firings and even prosecutions. That’s going to be a real problem for Pam Bondi. Some criminals and Biden dead-enders have already left the DOJ, but many remain behind, hoping to stay under the radar so they can stealthily sabotage everything Bondi hopes to accomplish. She’s going to have to spend a great deal of time getting rid of those enemies of liberty. At least some of them will have an inherent conflict of interest in investigating or prosecuting traitors, because they were conspiring with them. That being the case, they’re perfect blackmail targets.

The same is going to be true for Tulsi Gabbard and the heads of every government agency. They’ll need honest, patriotic subordinates who will relentlessly follow up to make sure Trump’s lawful orders are implemented and no one so much as thinks about sabotaging them. This isn’t merely a matter of resisting Donald Trump. It’s violating the Constitution and subverting the republic. We elect presidents and give them sole executive power to run the government and to see that the laws are faithfully executed. That’s what Joe Biden’s handlers—may we soon discover who they were—didn’t do. They stealthily ran the country instead, despite being unelected and unaccountable. Sabotaging any president’s lawful orders goes far beyond hampering him. It damages the country domestically and in the carrying out of foreign policy.

It strikes at the heart of our republic, which is no surprise as the primary goal of Democrats/socialists/communists (D/s/cs) is establishing and preserving “our democracy,” a tyranny of the majority. President Trump has made a good beginning to restoring the republic, but relentless follow up in cleaning out nests of subversion in the government will determine whether the republic survives.

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“..the exhausted public finally concluded that the hysterics increased in direct proportion to the poverty of the charges. So, what did ten years of such derangement achieve for the left?”

The Addicted, Petty, and Hysterical Left (Victor Davis Hanson)

Donald Trump won the 2024 election in part because the left’s hysterical style of attacking Trump no longer worked. After a decade of this unhinged furor, it proved worthless in winning public support—and for two simple reasons. One, after years of Russian collusion hoaxes, the laptop disinformation farce, and the warped lies about the “suckers” and “fine people on both sides”—the shrill left became predictable. So, the bored public began tuning them out, switching channels, hitting the mute button, and pulling the plug. Like the deleterious effects of inflation that eventually render a currency worthless, nonstop hectoring, hysterics, pontification, and distortion finally made all such criticisms of Trump mostly as valueless as 1930s German marks. Second, the wearied public never heard reasoned counterarguments from the likes of a Rachel Maddow. Instead, on spec, she kept mouthing, “The walls are closing in” on Trump.

Joe Biden did not explain why his open border was a better idea than Trump’s closed one. He preferred mumbling about “semi-fascists!” and “ultra-MAGA!” The Never Trumpers did not critique the Trump deficits. Instead, they hammered away that Trump was Hitler, or Mussolini, or Putin—or just a dangerous dictator or autocrat. Angry retired generals never demonstrated why Trump was, in their view, an existential threat to democracy. Instead, they shouted nonstop in op-eds and interviews that he was a fascist, Nazi-like, no different from the guards at Auschwitz, a pathological liar, and should be summarily removed. Worn-out voters began to understand these psychodramas were substitutes for substantive criticism or occasions for legitimate debate. Indeed, the exhausted public finally concluded that the hysterics increased in direct proportion to the poverty of the charges. So, what did ten years of such derangement achieve for the left?

Trump now has control of the White House and both houses of Congress operate under Republican majorities. The Supreme Court is mostly conservative. Almost all of Trump’s issues—the border, immigration, the economy, foreign policy, and crime—poll well over 50 percent. No matter, the left is still hammering away at the trivial and irrelevant—and remains paralyzed in furor and hysterics. When Snoop Dogg performed for the Trump inauguration, Ann Navarro of The View, in racist fashion, called the African-American rapper “a trained seal.” When Pete Hegseth went before the Senate for confirmation as Secretary of Defense nominee, Democrats asked almost nothing about nuclear strategy, recruitment shortfalls, or a paucity of artillery shells. Instead, what followed were animated gotcha lectures about Hegseth’s prior adultery.

No sooner had Hegseth finished his successful audit than the left rounded up his former sister-in-law, now divorced from his brother. A hardcore Democrat, she confessed she wanted his nomination rejected. She further claimed—with no evidence—that she had “heard” from his ex-wife that Hegseth was a wife-beater. His former wife immediately denied the charges. She pointed to their prior divorce settlement that recorded neither had ever lodged such a complaint against the other. Next, the left went after Elon Musk. Recently, he had finished an address by touching his heart and then extending his arm out to the crowd. To the left, that greeting now became proof of a “Nazi salute.” Yet in no time, the internet cited photos of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Elizabeth Warren all extending their stiff arms out in identical fashion to Musk.

We were next told by critics that Donald Trump was not technically president because he did not place his left hand on the Bible as he swore his presidential oath. The Constitution, of course, demands no such act. But it does explicitly state that no religious test shall be required to hold public office. During a National Prayer Service for newly sworn-in President Trump, the Episcopal bishop of Washington D.C., Mariann Budde, hijacked the sermon. She rebuked Trump—sitting right in front of her—because he supposedly had portrayed illegal aliens and transgendered children “in the harshest of lights.” Budde later bragged that had she used the occasion to sandbag Trump with a “one-on-one conversation.”

She talked grandly of mercy, but not of the thousands of Americans who have been physically assaulted or attacked by illegal aliens, or tens of thousands of deaths due to illegally imported fentanyl, or the unfairness of open borders to legal immigrant applicants, or the suffering of our citizen poor when their social services are overwhelmed by some 12 million illegal entries of the last four years. In sum, the left wants no debate because they know voters have rejected what they saw and suffered during the last four years of the Biden administration. Forgetting nothing, learning nothing, like zombies, leftists keep screaming banalities. But like addicts and their feel-good fixes, their hysterics only further turn off the public as they destroy themselves.

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“..it is neither green nor land. It is a vast sheet of floating ice. Plant the American flag on that ice and suddenly it becomes a hot property.”

Guffawing Over Trump’s Greenland Vision? Crack Open A History Book (Moore)

The media and the intelligentsia are laughing at President Donald Trump’s idea of the United States acquiring Greenland from Denmark. At first hearing of what seemed to be an outlandish idea, I guffawed too. Trump’s argument is that Greenland is of strategic military and national security value to the United States. He is also betting this giant island has other rare and undiscovered assets. There is no question that it would serve as a strategic buffer between the United States and Russia and perhaps other hostile nations, including China. This would be a purchase, not a conquest. But does it make sense? Let’s turn back the clock. Anyone who paid attention to their U.S. history class in high school has heard of “Seward’s Folly.” This was the American acquisition of Alaska in 1867 by then-Secretary of State William Seward.

The price tag was $7 million. That would be the equivalent of less than $1 billion today — or less than what Washington spends every day. Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas, so Russia practically gave it away to us. The purchase of Alaska was showered with widespread criticism; it was an “icebox” that was viewed as uninhabitable and more suitable for polar bears than people. How wrong the skeptics were. Alaska was soon discovered to have vast quantities of gold in the Yukon and played a strategic role during World War II. Then, of course, the North Slope of Alaska was discovered to have massive deposits of oil and gas. No doubt, Putin would love today to have Alaska in his portfolio. Thank God for William Seward.

The idea of purchasing land in order to expand freedom and America’s manifest destiny predates the purchase of Alaska. In the first hundred years of our country’s history, we repeatedly acquired land to expand America’s reach. Most famously, was Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase — which roughly doubled America’s land area from the original 13 colonies/states. That purchase was criticized as a “land grab” as well. But it was the gateway to the development of the West. Florida came shortly thereafter — a virtual gift from Spain. The “Republic of Texas” was an independent territory and joined the U.S. voluntarily and we gladly and wisely brought the Lone Star state into the fold. Needless to say, none of these acquisitions or additions was “folly.”

Which brings us back to Greenland. Why does Denmark need it? It is hard to imagine anything that would add more income, wealth and security to the less than 100,000 people living in Greenland than to plant the American flag there and make it a U.S. territory. The residents of Greenland would be able to bequeath to their children one of the greatest assets on the planet — a U.S. passport. While we are on the topic of acquisitions, if Trump is really thinking big, he should also consider offering to buy from Mexico a 50-to-100 mile stretch of coastal land stretching from San Diego down the Pacific coast. If Mexico were to sell that land to us, this idyllic beachfront property might instantly become some of the most valuable land in the world — inflating in price by perhaps 10- to 20-fold.

Here is another thought experiment. Imagine how rich Cuba would be today, if it were an American territory. Cuba could and would be the Hong Kong of the western hemisphere if it detoured from its near seven-decade long excursion into communism. Trump is not an imperialist. He wants to spread freedom, prosperity and peace to much of the rest of the world. The old joke about Greenland is that it is neither green nor land. It is a vast sheet of floating ice. Plant the American flag on that ice and suddenly it becomes a hot property.

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“Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous..”

Trump’s Call With Danish PM Over Greenland Was ‘Cold Shower’ (Sp.)

Donald Trump’s call with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen over Greenland last week was “cold shower” for Europe and demonstrated the seriousness of the US’s intention of taking over the Arctic island, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing several European officials familiar with the call. On January 15, Frederiksen said she had a 45-minute phone call with then-incoming President Trump. She reiterated that it is up to Greenland to decide on independence but expressed openness to allowing the US to increase its military presence in Greenland. The “horrendous” call dashed Europe’s hopes that Trump’s claims were just a negotiating ploy to secure more influence over the island, a source told FT.

“He was very firm. It was a cold shower. Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous,” another source said. Trump also reiterated his threat of targeted tariffs against the NATO ally, a former Danish official was quoted as saying in the report. A person familiar with the contents of the call said that it left the Danes “in crisis mode” and “utterly freaked out.” The Danish prime minister’s office declined to comment on the “interpretation of the conversation given by anonymous sources,” the report said.

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Canada is not using its potential.

Trump Lists Perks Should Canada Become 51st US State (RT)

US President Donald Trump has once again stated that he would love to see Canada become America’s 51st state, promising a list of perks to its citizens. Trump made the remarks, echoing previous numerous suggestions that his his administration would somehow transform Canada into a part of the US, on Friday during a press briefing in North Carolina. ”The Canadian citizens, if that happened, would get a very big tax cut, a tremendous tax cut because they are currently very highly taxed,” he said. Trump went on to claim that the Canadians wouldn’t have to worry about their military or many other issues. “They’d also have better health coverage – much better health coverage, in fact,” he asserted, adding, “I think the people of Canada would like it if it’s explained [to them].”

During and after his election campaign, Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian goods, arguing that the measure would strengthen the US economy. He told reporters on Thursday that he still plans to hit Canada with 25% tariffs starting February 1. According to Trump, Canada joining the US would nullify any tariffs and create business opportunities. The US is “losing $200 billion a year” to its northern neighbor, Trump insisted during the press briefing, blaming “poor management, especially in the last four years,” that has allowed the situation to become “very imbalanced.” The US does not need Canadian cars, lumber, and food products “because we produce the same things right on the other side of the border,” he claimed.

Earlier this month, Trump shared two maps on social media showing Canada as an American territory, after Canada’s outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rebuffed his proposal to merge the countries. Trudeau, who then announced that he would step down as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party citing “internal battles”, said that Canada will never become a part of the United States. Trump in turn suggested that the US could use “economic force” to absorb its northern neighbor, whose goods he threatened to hit with harsh tariffs. On Thursday, Trudeau warned that Canada will respond with retaliatory tariffs and “prices for American consumers on just about everything will go up.” Some media have pointed out, citing the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, that in fact, the US goods and services trade deficit with Canada was slightly above $40 billion in 2023.

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“Democracy is the most effective system ever invented, not for bringing change, but for blocking it.”

Trump vs. The Establishment, Who Will Win? (Paul Craig Roberts)

What Trump and his Attorney General need to understand is that there is no one in the Department of Justice who has an ounce of integrity and who is not anti-American. The DOJ has not protected Americans’ constitutional rights for a quarter century and longer. Instead, the DOJ has been busy inventing rights for immigrant-invaders and criminals. For Trump to move forward, the entire Justice Department has to be replaced. Trump has issued executive orders making it easier to fire civil service obstructionists of the president’s orders and the will of the people. But the civil service union is already at work relying on federal judges to block Trump’s executive order. The law suits will continue forever. If Trump and his administration accept this prohibition on its ability to govern and keep its campaign promises, the corrupt American Establishment will have won.

Only Americans of my generation know that formerly, in those days when America was great, there were no public sector unions. There was no civil service union, no police union, no firefighters union, no teachers union. Public sector employees were employed to serve the public, not to extort the public by refusing to supply the services for which they were paid unless the public paid up more. Somewhere along the way federal, state, and local governments found votes and campaign contributions ample reward for selling out the American people to public sector unions. Now these unions are positioned to block Trump from making America great again. Thomas Jefferson, the most pure of our Founding Fathers, said that every 200 years a nation has to renew itself with the blood of tyrants and patriots. He was correct in every respect except the 200 years.

By 1860 when the US was not even 100 years old, the US Constitution was no longer respected by the Republicans in power. They wanted the tariff at all cost and sold out the US Constitution in order to get it by extraordinary violence and war crimes, all covered up by corrupt US historians who achieved approval and success by serving as court historians. We have been witnessing, that tiny percentage of us that pays any attention, the Ruling Establishment’s unrelenting attacks on Trump’s appointees. Tulsi Gabbard has been forced by the Establishment Senate to abandon her opposition to unlimited unconstitutional spying on American citizens by “security” and “intelligence” agencies in order “to protect” Americans by violating their Constitutional rights. Amazing, isn’t it, that Americans are protected by the government’s violation of their Constitutional rights. Pete Hegseth’s appointment as Secretary of Defense is in trouble based on allegations by a vindictive former wife.

In my opening sentence I wrote that Trump was in his first hours already in a life and death struggle with the American Establishment. Trump cannot win this war when the Justice (sic) Department, media, Federal judiciary, and US Congress are homes of America’s enemies. Americans having neglected Thomas Jefferson’s warning and that of President Dwight Eisenhower, the current Trump regime is America’s last chance. Trump is faced with a powerful and utterly corrupt American Establishment that has been in power since they got the income tax and the Federal Reserve passed in 1913. Effectively, 1913 was the last year of American liberty. An Establishment in power since 1913 is institutionalized and many times more powerful than a mere president.

Trump and his supporters need to understand that the Establishment is institutionalized in the bureaucracies of his own government. For decades Americans have been suffering violence from their government. It is way past time to send the violence back, in a double dose, to the criminal American Establishment. If Trump and his government cannot bring themselves to the real challenge, America is lost. Trump’s agenda will spend four years tied up in law courts. Democracy is the most effective system ever invented, not for bringing change, but for blocking it. The Establishment intends to block every Trump change.

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“The purpose of a pardon is to correct a miscarriage of justice, not to prevent future judicial action.” — Dr. Joseph Sansone

The Great Sorting-Out Begins (James Howard Kunstler)

This, as they say, is one of those weeks when decades happen. You realize that under the fiends fronted by “Joe Biden,” the US government became a demon-driven machine for wrecking lives, perverting the law, and demolishing all scaffolds of decent behavior. And now, it all has to be fixed, cleaned up, fumigated, rectified, rehabilitated. Scores of executive orders flew out of the Oval Office, rescinding four years of “Biden” regime lunacy in every direction: Censorship, dead. . . Gain of function research, killed. . . CBDCs banned. . . CBP-app for aiding illegal migrants, discontinued. . . border fortified. . . homicidal alien mutts deported. . . World Health Organization, no thanks. . . Paris Climate Accords, fuggeddabowdit. . . DEI, vacated through all of government. . . Green New Deal, scrapped. . . “pride” in mental illness, cancelled. . . Ukraine War, headed for the negotiating table. . . all in four days and so much more coming.

The DEI flimflam is particularly illustrative of the hazards still lurking. The DC blob is desperate to hide its chaos agents by switching their job titles and shuffling them around to hidey-holes in obscure precincts of this-or-that bureaucracy. Being federal employees, of course, they all have searchable names and payroll accounts, so you may be sure they’ll be discovered wherever they’re hiding-out and placed, as ordered, on “administrative leave.” Since DEI was essentially a program to promote incompetence, these employees represent a monumental cargo of dead-weight. So, the next task will be finding a way under the civil service codes to cashier them for good. For instance, reclassifying their job status to render them fire-able.

This is sure to be a major friction-point for the so-called “resistance,” the huge cadre of “activist” Wokesters embedded in the agencies. Cue the army of Democratic Party lawyers who will be filing suits to prevent the chief executive from coherently managing the departments of the executive branch. But there’s a catch: this time, the White House will not be funneling scads of money directly to the NGOs that pay for these blob-adjacent lawyers, nor will they be able to redirect money out of the DOJ, FBI, and CIA for that purpose. The president may also find a way to interrupt the flow of money from foundations financed by malign freelancers such as George Soros and Linked-in founder and billionaire Reid Hoffman (who financed the E. Jean Carroll “rape” trial hoax and many more Democratic Party pranks ).

Another friction point: release of the pardoned J-6 prisoners is being loudly opposed by DC District federal judges such as Tanya Chutkan and Amy Berman Jackson. They don’t enjoy any privilege or prerogative for voicing prejudicial opinions about vacated cases, nor for failing to comply with paperwork needed to discharge them. They can be impeached for that in the House of Representatives. Or, if they actively obstruct releases, the new-and-improved Department of Justice might consider 18 U.S.C. § 242 – Deprivation of rights under color of law.

Meanwhile, goons at the DC jail detained pardoned prisoners unlawfully this week after years of the grossest mistreatment, including solitary confinement in basement “holes” without beds, blankets, or water, and direct physical assault that could be described as “torture.” All of this was countenanced by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, despite plentiful public reports of abuse over the past four years. That is, she knew all about it. This is an argument for finally rescinding Washington DC’s “home rule” status and placing the city and all its departments back under federal management.

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“..advise on digital asset policy, work with Congress on crypto legislation, and study the feasibility of a national cryptocurrency stockpile..”

Trump Launches Cryptocurrency Working Group (RT)

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to explore the creation of a national cryptocurrency stockpile and establish a framework for digital asset policy, according to the White House. Trump had previously announced plans to make the US the world’s “crypto capital” and to be a “crypto president.” The executive order, titled “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology,” which he signed on Thursday, aims to “promote United States leadership in digital assets and financial technology while protecting economic liberty.” “The digital asset industry plays a crucial role in innovation and economic development in the United States, as well as our Nation’s international leadership,” the document states. It outlines Trump’s policy “to support the responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies across all sectors of the economy.”

The executive order has established a Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, chaired by a Special Advisor for AI and Crypto. In December, Trump tapped venture capitalist David Sacks as his crypto and artificial intelligence ‘czar’ who would guide the relevant policies. The billionaire investor joined Trump in the Oval Office for the signing of the order on Thursday. The working group will act as an advisory council, noted Reuters. It is expected to advise on digital asset policy, work with Congress on crypto legislation, and study the feasibility of a national cryptocurrency stockpile. While presidential advisory councils are not a new concept, there has never been one dedicated to cryptocurrencies, added the agency.

The digital asset stockpile could include cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by federal law enforcement, notes the executive order. In recent years, law enforcement agencies, such as the Department of Justice, have seized billions of dollars in cryptocurrencies linked to criminal activities, including cybercrime and drug trafficking. Previously, these seized cryptocurrencies were auctioned off by the government, with proceeds going to the Treasury. ”If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, United States of America, to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires in the future,” Trump said in July at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

The order also emphasizes promoting the sovereignty of the US dollar by supporting the growth of legitimate, dollar-backed stablecoins. Trump was a crypto critic during his first administration but changed his stance during the last campaign and attracted hefty contributions from the industry, noted CNBC. The administration of former President Joe Biden took a cautious position on cryptocurrencies, often emphasizing a desire for stricter regulations to prevent fraud and money laundering. The Biden White House had supported regulatory measures, including enhanced oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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UK and Ukraine 100-year deal.

“..its military is in tatters and its entire army would be too small to fill even an average sized soccer stadium.”

A Pathetic Clown-World Alliance Signed By Two Moribund Partners (Karganovic)

The recent news item that imploding Great Britain and rump Ukraine have concluded a hundred-year alliance has injected some much-needed humour into the otherwise unbearably sombre political situation in the world. The absurd length of the pact signed by Starmer and Zelensky illustrates the complete lack of realism that for some time has governed the conduct of both delusional chancelleries, in London as well as in Kiev. Neither of the contracting parties has any reasonable prospects of remaining in existence a century hence, by the time the term of the just concluded centennial alliance expires. Nor are there grounds to believe that their successor states, if there are any, will have an interest in maintaining this stillborn and utterly preposterous alliance once both contracting parties have departed from the world stage.

Though at first blush it may appear harsh, this prognosis is fully consistent with observable facts. The dysfunctionality on many levels of Great Britain, or United Kingdom, it hardly matters what one chooses to call it, is rapidly dawning on everyone with eyes to see. From the top down it is a country that is falling apart at the seams. At the very top, the Royal Family has lost its lustre in the time frame of a generation. Because of the irresponsible and unseemly conduct of its members it is no longer capable of performing its traditional symbolic and mediating duties. Precisely as William Butler Yeats anticipated, “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.” Nor are Britain’s political and social institutions in much better shape. In contemporary Britain, the meritocracy that but one or two generations ago still used to characterise the government elite and civil service is a figment of the past.

The highest offices in the land are now occupied by buffoons and incompetents, ably personified by Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, as well as a slew of other pathetic officials seemingly drawn from the cast of the political satire series “Yes Minister.” The Established Church, once a moral pillar of society, is now mired in doctrinal confusion, degeneracy, and irrelevance. The population replacement project that at great personal risk Enoch Powell, reviled by nincompoops but vindicated by subsequent developments, warned his compatriots against, is now a full-blown reality which critically undermines Great Britain’s viability and the coherence of British society. Once a global industrial powerhouse, Britain now scarcely produces anything that anyone desires or is of superior quality (with the exception of Rolls Royce engines, as Andrey Martyanov tirelessly points out), whilst its military is in tatters and its entire army would be too small to fill even an average sized soccer stadium.

It is that Britain, however, a country that many doubt will make it in recognisable shape or form to the year 2050 that has just signed a hundred-year alliance with Ukraine, a hollowed out entity that many are sceptical can make it to the end of this year, 2025. Concerning Ukraine’s prospects, it is unnecessary to elaborate in great detail because this topic has been covered extensively and with great expertise by serious political commentators. Suffice it to say that since the failure of the plan to use Ukraine as a battering ram against Russia became manifest, the Kiev regime’s most ardent supporters and generous financiers are now removing the props from under it. The war they cynically instigated and were prepared to finance “to the last Ukrainian,” after three years has cost at least a million Ukrainian lives and caused millions of refugees to scatter throughout the neighbouring countries, enormously depleting Ukraine’s human and material resources and making its viability entirely doubtful even in the short-term.

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We hear little about it. Is that because there are no negative stories?

Belarus: The “Dictatorship” Of Stability and Peace (Lucas Leiroz)

When discussing Belarus, it is impossible to ignore how the country has been described by the Western media. Many label the Belarusian government as a “dictatorship” – a hasty and, most of the time, unfounded label. But, upon closer assessment, the reality of Belarus is more complex and reveals a country that, far from being an authoritarian regime, is a “dictatorship” of stability, security, order, and above all, peace. In an increasingly unstable world, with foreign powers imposing their agendas on smaller nations, Belarus represents an upholder of justice and sovereignty, seeking to preserve peace and protect its citizens from the political and military turmoil threatening Eastern Europe.

The recent call for the presidential elections, scheduled for January 26, 2025, is a clear reflection of the political maturity of the Belarusian people. With five candidates competing for the position, including the current President Aleksandr Lukashenko, the elections represent a unique opportunity for the people to assess the country’s progress and challenges and choose the leader who best represents their national interests. In a tense geopolitical scenario, with the constant threat of instability at the borders and external pressure from Western powers, the citizens of Belarus understand the importance of maintaining peace and stability. The election campaign has been conducted in a way that prioritizes the well-being of the people, focusing on the issues that truly matter: internal security, economic growth, and the preservation of a sovereign state, free from the interference of eurocrats or foreign governments and their egoistic interests.

Contrary to what many claim, Belarus’ “dictatorship” is not an oppressive regime, but a truly democratic political structure that places justice and stability at the center of its governance. Politics in Belarus is guided by the idea that the country’s stability must be protected at all costs, and that internal order is crucial to ensure peace. This is especially relevant at a time when violence and conflicts in several regions of Europe have been escalating. In Belarus, citizens can live their lives in tranquility, away from the violence affecting neighboring countries like Ukraine, and without the constant threat of coups or insurgencies sponsored by external powers.

One of Belarus’ great achievements in recent years has been the strengthening of political culture and the increase in legal literacy among its population. The Central Election Commission, with new powers since the amendments to the Electoral Code in 2023, has actively worked to inform and educate citizens about their electoral rights and duties. This is reflected in the high participation rate in elections. Although voting is not mandatory, more than 65% of the Belarusian population regularly participates in elections, understanding that their vote is not only a right but a fundamental privilege in the preservation of their sovereignty and national stability.

Elections in Belarus, therefore, are much more than a simple contest for power. They represent a test of political maturity, in which Belarusians have the opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to a peaceful future, free from the influences of external forces seeking to destabilize the country. Unlike many Western nations, where politics is increasingly polarized and dominated by empty promises, the citizens of Belarus are familiar to the real needs of their nation, willing to choose a leader who can continue to guarantee their security and prosperity without submitting to external demands.

While Western powers, such as the United States and the European Union, continue to pressure Belarus and accuse its government of violating human rights and political freedoms, the Belarusian people remain committed to defending their sovereignty. The Belarusian government, in turn, keeps its doors open to international observation, though it refuses OSCE missions and other forums biased by the West, recognizing the destabilizing role these organizations play in many countries around the world. With over 450 international observers from 49 countries accredited for the upcoming elections, transparency and commitment to a fair electoral process are evident.

In the end, Belarus prepares for a crucial decision on January 26, when the people will choose the path the country will follow in the future. In times of growing global turmoil, Belarus continues to be an example of stability and resistance to external pressure, standing firm in preserving its independence and sovereignty. While Western powers engage in a series of geopolitical conflicts, Belarus’ “dictatorship” remains a defender of order, justice, and a safer future for its citizens.

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“..the 111-foot cheerleader megaphoning the accomplishment was a woman whose gender would not be granted the right to vote for another half-century..”

Which Genocide Are You On? (Mr. Fish)

It has so far been impossible for human beings en masse to recognize the intrinsic right of all people everywhere to live their lives unmolested by oppressive elements of the privileged class. And while this might ultimately be an insurmountable problem of how we think rather than what we think, there remains a great deal of evidence that given the glaring mistakes of past transgressions against the silenced majority, the marginalized, and the disposed segments of our global population we are indeed capable of doing better and preventing a great deal of extraneous misery if only we were more willing to act as active participants in determining our collective fate rather than mere spectators.

Take, for instance, the bureaucratic example of the Statue of Liberty, which was conceived by French abolitionist Edouard de Laboulaye for the singular purpose of celebrating the end of slavery in the United States, a radically humane gesture in 1865, despite the troubling irony that the 111-foot cheerleader megaphoning the accomplishment was a woman whose gender would not be granted the right to vote for another half-century. Regardless, when Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi who designed the structure shared the details of the monument’s architecture with the committee that was convened to oversee the artwork’s construction, dismantlement, and eventual re-mantlement in New York Harbor, details that included broken chains and shackles to be held in the statue’s left hand to symbolize the emancipation of black people from white supremacy, U.S. financiers threatened to pull their funding and cancel the project.

Why? Because when one attempts to broadcast to the rest of the world that equality and human dignity are principles that all of us should all wholeheartedly embrace, respect, defend, and advance above all others, especially those rendered in defense of inequality and conditional human dignity, one runs the risk of communicating the democratizing truism that rich people are actually no more important than anybody else and, in fact, they are just poor people with money and are therefore undeserving of a social status that affords them manipulative powers over others. Such generosity would surely undermine the whole point of capitalism, which is to discourage any perception of humanity charitable enough to suggest that life would most certainly be better if it weren’t regulated by a privately owned and operated faux-Darwinian system that insists on the strictest possible obedience to the most exploitative, alienating, and anti-democratic dictums and directives ever dreamt up by pitiless noblemen.

Consequently, in order to appease the principled racism and erudite bigotry of the financiers, the statue was redesigned to have the chains and shackles removed – though remnants still remain at Liberty’s feet – and replaced with a tablet bearing the date July 4, 1776, signifying America’s Declaration of Independence and the time when slavery was legal and only white men owning property had the rights and privileges of free people and the indigenous population was being eradicated by the millions – between 8 and 114 million to be inexact, the imprecision of the count explained by this simple question: how often are we encouraged to catalogue the number of masticated dandelions we invoke when we mow our lawns? Thus, the statue was erected the color of chocolate and soon turned the color of money, simultaneously becoming both a rousing beacon of contempt for black, brown, yellow, and red Americans and an electrifying declaration of praise and acceptance of plutocratic authoritarianism and the normalization of muted public discourse concerning how best to equalize our treatment of each other regardless of class, ethnicity, gender, politics, or religion.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Oil

 

 

Big tiger

 

 

Snake
https://twitter.com/i/status/1882708141701230676

 

 

Ice
https://twitter.com/i/status/1883064038265135537

 

 

Polar bear

 

 

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Nov 132024
 
 November 13, 2024  Posted by at 9:45 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  92 Responses »


Wilhelm Trübner A Gorgon‘s head 1891

 

Did US Deep State Allow Trump to Win? (Sp.)
Trump Builds No-Nonsense Team (JTN)
Musk And Vivek Ramaswamy To Head Department Of Government Efficiency (ZH)
Can Trump Succeed? (Paul Craig Roberts)
Gorka Urges Trump To Intervene In Senate Leader Race, Endorse Rick Scott (JTN)
Marco Rubio Emerges As Finalist For Trump’s Secretary Of State (JTN)
Trump Names John Ratcliffe As CIA Director (ZH)
Florida Surgeon General Ladapo Ready To Serve Trump Admin (Attkisson)
Judge Merchan Delays Decision On Trump Guilty Verdict In Hush Money Case (JTN)
MSNBC, CNN Ratings Collapse After Election While Fox News Flourishes (ZH)
Zelensky Tries to Woo Trump With Revised ‘Victory Plan’ (Sp.)
UK Could Send Troops To Ukraine – Boris Johnson (RT)
Trump Will Abandon Two Key Principles Of US Foreign Policy (Gevorg Mirzayan)
What Rough Beast? (Juan Cole)
A 1984 Conference Forged Israel’s Influence Over US Media (Klarenberg)

 

 

 

 

Senate
https://twitter.com/i/status/1856400926937846131

Bannon

Sachs

Kamala broke

Voter ID
https://twitter.com/i/status/1855955650687246392

 

 

 

 

“They [the US establishment] need a charismatic, populist firebrand to boost recruitment and spearhead the rush to war..”

Did US Deep State Allow Trump to Win? (Sp.)

On election day Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton suggested that the vote count might take days as in 2020, triggering election rigging suspicions among X users. However, Donald Trump was declared the winner the day after the election. Amid pre-election claims from conservative commentators that the US establishment would not allow Donald Trump to win, some American commentators have suggested that Trump voter enthusiasm was “too big to rig” while others speculated that the purported vote-rigging mechanisms in place had been stopped by the ruling elites. According to this argument, the elites reasoned that Trump could be maneuvered into pro-war positions and would be more successful in marshaling public support than Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and, as such, the deep state ‘allowed Trump to win.’

Some commentators presume that the US establishment sees Trump and his popularity as a convenient vehicle for new overseas campaigns as part of his efforts to “make America great again”. Patriots often think of greatness in terms of military dominance, they say. “They [the US establishment] need a charismatic, populist firebrand to boost recruitment and spearhead the rush to war. Harris can’t do that. Harris had trouble attracting even a hundred supporters to her rallies,” wrote US political commentator Mike Whitney, suggesting Iran could be the next target. The fact that Trump has appointed Elise Stefanik, a firebrand for Israel, as US ambassador to the UN lends credibility to Whitney’s suspicion. It would be easy to seduce Americans into a new military adventure if they are led by a popular leader, warned former Ronald Reagan official Dr. Paul Craig Roberts on his website.

“MAGA Americans are tired of losing wars,” wrote Dr. Roberts. “They want to win. The military/security complex will have Trump supporters in the streets waving the flag. They will wave the flag and expect Trump to win. It is all part of making America great again. It is a war recipe for disaster.” Transparency website OpenSecrets and financial tech startup Quiver Quantitative have shown that US defense contractors funded the Trump campaign generously. Similarly, during his first term, Trump supported what at the time was seen as the largest military budget in US history in 2018. In 2020, the US press called him one of the military-industrial complex’s “biggest boosters”. Likewise, the Big Three financial powers – Wall Street giants BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street – weren’t disturbed by Trump’s possible victory. Their post-election prognoses were largely positive, foreseeing a rise in the US market, growth for tech and crypto and the dollar strengthening under Trump.

“I’m tired of hearing this is the biggest election in your lifetime,” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stated at an October 21 conference, as quoted by The Financial Times. “The reality is, over time it doesn’t matter.” He stressed that the world’s largest asset management firm “work[s] with both administrations and are having conversations with both candidates”, signaling that Trump will be fine for Wall Street. Moreover, there appeared to be one instance in which Trump surpassed his contender Harris in the eyes of BlackRock. The firm has been making headlines this year for its aggressive accumulation of crypto-currency assets. It launched its iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) on January 11, whose trust quickly grew into the world’s largest fund. Trump appears to be on the same page as BlackRock concerning crypto-currency even though he was previously skeptical about it.

While on the campaign trail, Trump promised to turn the US into “the crypto capital of the world”. He also announced plans to change some areas of government about crypto and suggested creating a strategic Bitcoin stockpile. In contrast, his contender Harris sounded less enthusiastic about crypto and advocated a “regulatory framework” for it, much in the vein of Joe Biden’s financial oversight approach which placed certain limits on their use. It’s hardly surprising, then, that crypto-currencies, especially Bitcoin, shot up in value on the news that Trump won. Needless to say, BlackRock benefitted from the development. The deep state is entrenched and institutionalized and has many ways to maneuver Trump to its purpose or block his efforts altogether, according to Dr. Roberts. During Trump’s first term, dissent from the intelligence community, the military, the State Department and media disrupted his plans.

The American media is already working hand-in-glove with the ruling establishment to position Trump contrary to his intentions, both in his appointments and in foreign policy. Trump has had to deny that he is going to appoint former colleagues Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley to his administration in order to assure his supporters that the mistakes of his first term will not be repeated. However, other reports that Trump allies Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. are being pushed aside into advisory positions without executive authority lead some to wonder if the Trump administration is over before it begins. The deep state’s policy of revolving doors connects the government, intelligence agencies, academia, Wall Street and big industries. A majority of Republican members of Congress are themselves part of the establishment.

Meanwhile, Trump supporters, including General Michael Flynn and Infowars host Alex Jones, warn about a possible new attempt on the president-elect’s life. In some sense, one could say that the deep state is now holding a metaphorical gun to Trump’s head. Time will tell whether Trump will manage to outplay the establishment.

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“Trump has already filled early positions on his team with get-it-done leaders who are more interested in execution than limelight.”

Trump Builds No-Nonsense Team (JTN)

Donald Trump sent an unmistakable message with his first few personnel choices for his second term, dispatching to the halls of power players like Elise Stefanik, Tom Homan, Lee Zeldin and Stephen Miller who take a no-nonsense approach to their jobs and will focus on everyday Americans’ wants and needs rather than those of global elitists and Washington special interests. And if the president-elect’s new team can stay focused on making America affordable again by defeating inflation, making the country secure again by fixing the border and rounding up criminals and restoring common sense to public policies from energy to transgenderism, one of the nation’s top pollsters believes he can cement a lofty place in history. “Donald Trump now has the opportunity to become the most influential president since Ronald Reagan,” pollster Scott Rasmussen wrote Monday in a private report to clients of his Napolitan Institute.

“If over the next four years he and the Republican Congress can achieve the three main priorities established by the American people, he will have presided over a fundamental political realignment and paved the way for ongoing GOP success.” [..] Rasmussen cautioned, however, that Trump’s legacy of impact will be determined by how well he can align a Congress that often finds excuses not to act behind executing his agenda. “Trump’s lasting influence and the potential realignment are far from assured,” Rasmussen wrote. “They depend entirely upon whether or not the incoming administration can do what voters are hoping for: making the economy work, securing the border, and returning to common sense about gender identity. If they fail, voters will move on, and the Trump era will be just a blip in the nation’s history.”

The need for a GOP Congress to act in convincing ways in 2025 led one of Trump’s former advisers to urge the president-elect to intervene in Wednesday’s battle for Senate majority leader, which pits establishment Sens. John Thune and John Cornyn against Florida’s Rick Scott, who has increasingly become a MAGA favorite. “I would like to see President Trump full throatedly say who he wants,” former White House aide Seb Gorka told the Just the News, No Noise television show Monday night. “And I would like that to be Scott because otherwise the swamp has that magnetic, huge, sucking vacuum power, and they’ll do what they normally do. So a public, you know, pro Scott action from the president is what we’ve got to see. That’s my humble request, Mr. President.” No matter how the Senate leader race ends, Trump has already filled early positions on his team with get-it-done leaders who are more interested in execution than limelight.

Read more …

“75% headcount reduction across the board in the federal bureaucracy, send them home packing, shut down agencies that shouldn’t exist..”

Musk And Vivek Ramaswamy To Head Department Of Government Efficiency (ZH)

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been selected by President-elect Donald Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where they will “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” according to an official release from the Trump-Vance transition team, which called this “potentially, the “Manhattan Project” of our time.” According to the statement, “Their work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026” – the nation’s 250th anniversary. Musk previously predicted he could cut at least $2 trillion from the US federal budget, while Ramaswamy suggested firing federal workers based on their social security numbers. “Here’s how: if your [Social Security number] ends in an odd number, you’re fired,” he wrote on X.

In September, Ramaswamy told podcaster Lex Fridman: “Get in there on day one, say that anybody in the federal bureaucracy who is not elected, elected representatives obviously were elected by the people, but the people who are not elected, if your social security number ends in an odd number, you’re out, if it ends in an even number, you’re in. There’s a 50% cut right there. Of those who remain, if your social security number starts in an even number, you’re in and if it starts with an odd number, you’re out. Boom. That’s a 75% reduction done. Literally, stochastically, okay, one of the virtues of that, it’s a thought experiment, not a policy prescription, but one of the virtues of that thought experiment is that you don’t have a bunch of lawsuits you’re dealing with about gender discrimination or racial discrimination or political viewpoint discrimination.”

He also said: So the way I would do it, 75% headcount reduction across the board in the federal bureaucracy, send them home packing, shut down agencies that shouldn’t exist, rescind every unconstitutional regulation that Congress never passed. In a true self-governing democracy, it should be our elected representatives that make the laws and the rules not unelected bureaucrats. And that is the single greatest form of economic stimulus we could have in this country, but it is also the single most effective way to restore self-governance in our country as well. And it is the blueprint for, I think, how we save this country.[..] …most people who have run a company, especially larger companies know this, it’s 25% of the people who do 80 to 90% of the useful work, these government agencies are no different. And how many government workers do we have?

“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people,” Musk said on Tuesday in a statement provided by the Trump transition team. Earlier in the day, Trump said the new government efficiency effort would develop a plan to eliminate “fraud and improper payments,” conducting a “complete financial and performance audit” of the federal government. Trump also said that the panel would partner with the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. In the last fiscal year, the federal government spent more than $6.75 trillion – of which more than $5.3 trillion was spent on Social Security, health care, defense and veterans’ benefits.

Read more …

“A weak appointment as Attorney General and the Trump administration is finished before it begins..”

Can Trump Succeed? (Paul Craig Roberts)

I have been speaking with MAGA Americans and, as I suspected, there is little comprehension of the vast impediments to renewal. The swamp that Trump is to drain is entrenched and institutionalized, but Trump supporters think that with Trump elected and the Senate and House in Republican hands the job is done. Nothing could be further from the truth. The majority of Republicans in the Senate and House are RINOs, not Trump supporters. They are part of the establishment and comfortable in it. Mitch McConnell is forever as he is in the process of demonstrating. This Wednesday McConnell is holding the election of the Senate Majority Leader. His two candidates, chosen without any input from Trump, are John Thune and John Cornyn, neither being MAGAs. Senator Rick Scott, more likely to be helpful to Trump, is running against the establishment’s candidates.

If the establishment prevails, Trump’s strong appointments are likely to be blocked or to languish unconfirmed. The prospect of being blocked can discourage an appointee from accepting the appointment. The establishment can also hamstring Trump by rushing through many unfriendly judicial appointments. Trump Americans need to understand that the enemy has not folded its tents and left the field. Here is Trump himself warning: President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 10 publicly mentioned one condition for the next leader of the Senate Republican Conference: He or she must clear the way for recess appointments for Trump administration officials. “Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” Trump wrote on social media platform Truth Social on Nov. 10, addressing the upcoming Senate leadership vote.

He noted that such votes can take “two years or more,” which is “what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again.” “We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!” he wrote. Aside from the request, Trump also said that Republicans should not confirm any judges in the coming months before his inauguration “because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership,” adding, “THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.” I know from experience that there are many ways in which things can go wrong. [..] The euphoria that Trump and his supporters are experiencing can easily lead to deadly mistakes. Appointments that face confirmation challenges can be avoided in the interest of not having a defeat before the new administration is underway. Consequently, when the new administration is underway, it will lack the strength it needs to succeed.

The Biden regime can enter into Ukraine and Middle East agreements that lock-in the Trump administration. A weak appointment as Attorney General and the Trump administration is finished before it begins. In order to succeed, Trump will have to bring the power of the people against the establishment. This means he will have to fight. With the wrong appointments the fight will never begin. Compromise for the sake of unity will be the weapon of the establishment and the presstitutes. Trump said he was going to unify the country. How does one unify with enemies who tried to kill you and who are opposed to the Constitution of the United States? Perhaps Trump should have thought about this before he handed the unity weapon to his enemies. Trump and his supporters must not forget that Trump is leading an insurrection against the establishment.

Read more …

“Hours after Donald Trump wins the most conclusive mandate in 40 years, Mitch McConnell engineers a coup against his agenda by calling early leadership elections in the senate. Two of the three candidates hate Trump and what he ran on.”

Gorka Urges Trump To Intervene In Senate Leader Race, Endorse Rick Scott (JTN)

One of Donald Trump’s former first-term advisers urged the President-elect on Monday night to directly intervene in the race for the next Senate Majority Leader by endorsing Florida Sen. Rick Scott. Sebastian Gorka, who currently has a popular show on Salem Radio Network after serving as a deputy assistant to the president for security affairs in 2017, became the latest prominent conservative to throw his weight behind Scott’s bid. But Gorka went further by personally appeals for Trump to get involved in the race. “I would like to see President Trump full throatedly say who he wants,” Gorka told the Just the News, No Noise television show Monday night. “And I would like that to be Scott because otherwise the swamp has that magnetic, huge, sucking vacuum power, and they’ll do what they normally do. “So a public, you know, pro-Scott action from the president is what we got to see. That’s my humble request, Mr. President,” Gorka added.

The Senate GOP Leader’s job, which is being vacated at the end of the year by Sen. Mitch McConnell after two decades, is expected to be decided Wednesday by a secret ballot. The race pits establishment Sens. John Thune and John Cornyn against Scott, who has increasingly become a MAGA favorite and easily won re-election to his Florida seat last week. Leaked “whip” head counts of senators’ preferences have shown Thune in the lead, followed by Cornyn and Scott. That has kicked many Trump supporters into action in a bid to increase Scott’s chances. “I will be supporting Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wrote on X. “The status quo of $2 Trillion annual deficits is unsustainable.” Billionaire Elon Musk joined the chorus over the weekend, endorsing Scott. Many others have followed suit.

“The people who just gave Donald Trump a sweeping mandate do not want Thune or Cornyn to lead the US Senate,” Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and conservative grassroots leader who helped the Trump campaign win all seven swing states, wrote on X. “They want Rick Scott. It’s very clear.” Talk show host Tucker Carlson made a blisering attack on Thune and Cornyn. “What the hell is going on in the US Senate?” Carlson wrote on X. “Hours after Donald Trump wins the most conclusive mandate in 40 years, Mitch McConnell engineers a coup against his agenda by calling early leadership elections in the senate. Two of the three candidates hate Trump and what he ran on.

“One of them, John Cornyn, is an angry liberal whose politics are indistinguishable from Liz Cheney’s. The election is Wednesday, it’s by secret ballot, and it will determine whether or not the new administration succeeds. “Rick Scott of Florida is the only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump,” Carlson added. “Call your senator and demand a public endorsement of Rick Scott. Don’t let McConnell get away with it again.” Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lifelong Democrat who turned Trump supporter this election, also expressed support for Scott, who is viewed as more conservative than Cornyn and Thune. “Without Rick Scott, the entire Trump reform agenda wobbly,” Kennedy wrote on X.

Read more …

“Little Marco.”

Marco Rubio Emerges As Finalist For Trump’s Secretary Of State (JTN)

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a hawk on China and Iraq, has emerged as the finalist to be President-elect Donald Trump’s Secretary of State in his second term and his nomination could be announced as early as Tuesday, according directly familiar with the deliberations The New York Times, CNN and other legacy news outlets first reported Monday night that Trump had settled on Rubio. Just the News independently confirmed Trump had settled on the Florida senator. Rubio, a Cuban-American, would be the first Latino to serve as the nation’s top diplomat if nominated and confimed by the Senate. He has large experience on the foreign stage and ran unsuccessfully against Trump during the 2016 primaries, where his future boss humorously named him “Little Marco.”

But Rubio was an ally as Trump began his remarkable comeback to win the presidency in 2024. Trump has been filling out his national security team, on Monday formally naming Rep. Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador and Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida as his national security adviser. Advisors told Just the News on Monday night that Trump also was closing in on naming Scott Bessent as his Treasury Secretary nominee. Bessent, a 62-year-old hedge fund manager who once worked with liberal philanthropist George Soros, emerged in recent years as a top Trump adviser on the economy.

Read more …

Can you spell hornet’s nest?

Kash Patel was supposed to get this.

Trump Names John Ratcliffe As CIA Director (ZH)

President-elect Donald Trump has announced he has selected John Ratcliffe as director of the CIA. “John Ratcliffe has always been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American Public,” Trump wrote in a message sent on the evening of Nov. 12, the latest in a flurry of Tuesday evening appointments. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation’s highest Intelligence positions. He will be a fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans, while ensuring the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Ratcliffe, an attorney, served as director of national intelligence during the first Trump term. As Nathan Worcester reports, via The Epoch Times, Ratcliffe was previously a Republican congressman from Texas and an anti-terrorism and national security chief for Eastern Texas.

Originally from Illinois, Ratcliffe earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame before obtaining a law degree from Southern Methodist University. He was later U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas and, from 2004 until 2012, mayor of Heath, Texas, a community in metro Dallas-Fort Worth. While in Congress, he was a member of the House Intelligence Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. During Trump’s first term, Ratcliffe made a name for himself as a staunch Trump loyalist. Trump dropped an early attempt to elevate Ratcliffe to the director of national intelligence position in 2019. But the following year, he renewed the effort, nominating him in May against the backdrop of the COVID-19 response.

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Kennedy, Malhotra, Bhattacharya, Ladapo. Not a bad start.

Florida Surgeon General Ladapo Ready To Serve Trump Admin (Attkisson)

The 2024 campaign is the first since the end of the COVID-19 emergency. And important figures who turned from mainstream to maverick as a result may play crucial roles in an effort to transform the medical establishment. One key player is Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who spoke with me a few weeks before the Nov. 5 election about what he’d like to do in the next Trump administration. “I actually would like to be secretary of HHS,” he said. “And the reason I would like to do that is because I’m in it for impact. Like, if I can’t have impact, I’m not in it.” Dr. Ladapo’s desire to have impact became clear during the pandemic. When Covid hit, he was a professor of medicine at the University of California, researching heart health. He became one of the mainstream figures to break away and speak out early against what they considered the disastrous shutdowns, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mandates and government misinformation.

“The pandemic was really just something remarkable,” he said, “because … somehow you got so many people with good intentions to engage and really enroll in things that are obviously very clearly immoral and badly intended. And so that’s a remarkable thing.” Born in Nigeria, Ladapo earned his medical degree and a doctorate in health policy at Harvard University. In September 2021, he was tapped by Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis to be his state’s surgeon general. “I felt very clearly that my objective, my role, was to reset the tone,” he said. “And the tone was ‘fear, fear, fear, fear, fear.’ You know, ‘Must do this, must do this, must do this. Everyone get in line, everyone get in line, everyone get in line,’ And I just wanted to rip that all apart and remind people that people and individuals are what matter, and their will matters and their preferences matter and good health matters.”

That includes, he says, safety of the controversial Covid vaccines. In January, he said the Food and Drug Administration had failed to examine unique risks, and he concluded that “these vaccines are not appropriate for use in human beings.” Dr. Ladapo isn’t the only esteemed medical figure who bucked the establishment over Covid and is now allied with now President -elect Donald Trump. Others who’ve been speaking with Trump officials about taking a role in the new administration include Stanford’s Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. He was among the first to formally organize opposition to the shutdowns. He also co-authored The Great Barrington Declaration, a petition that raised concerns about establishment Covid response strategies and was signed by over 63,000 scientists and medical practitioners.

Also, Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a top British cardiologist. He became an activist on Covid vaccine safety after he says his father, also a cardiologist, died from the vaccine. Another person who stands to factor in, in a big way, is attorney and children’s health advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He joined the Trump campaign with a “Make America Healthy Again” mantra. He may take on a new role to oversee an end to corruption in public health agencies.

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“.. the hush money trial was “tainted” by evidence that should be protected under presidential immunity…”

Judge Merchan Delays Decision On Trump Guilty Verdict In Hush Money Case (JTN)

Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday agreed to delay issuing a decision on whether to toss out President-elect Donald Trump’s guilty verdict on state charges of falsifying business records until Nov. 19. This pause in the proceedings to consider what effects Trump’s victory in the presidential election means for the case moving forward was requested by Trump’s legal team, which wants Merchan to dismiss the guilty verdict. Trump was found guilty in May after a six-week trial on 34 counts of falsifying business records during the 2016 presidential election to hide a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels so that she would stay quiet about an alleged sexual encounter. The former president pleaded not guilty to the charges. The chargers were brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg last year.

In July, after a landmark Supreme Court ruling outlining presidential immunity, Trump asked Judge Merchan to toss out the guilty verdict. The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 opinion earlier that month that presidents have presidential immunity for some “official acts,” but not unofficial ones. The high court did not specified what would constitute official versus unofficial acts, leaving Merchan to parse the evidence cited in the case. Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove argued that the hush money trial was “tainted” by evidence that should be protected under presidential immunity.

“Because of the implications for the institution of the Presidency, the use of official-acts evidence was a structural error under the federal Constitution that tainted [the District Attorney’s] grand jury proceedings as well as the trial,” the lawyers wrote. The lawyers argued specifically that testimony from former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks and former Special Assistant to the President Madeleine Westerhout as well as other testimony about the inner workings of the executive branch should not have been admitted under the high court’s ruling. Merchan was originally set to rule in September, but delayed the decision to “avoid any appearance” that he was attempting to influence the election.

Read more …

“Though the networks could try to manufacture another phony scandal, who would believe them?”

MSNBC, CNN Ratings Collapse After Election While Fox News Flourishes (ZH)

Mainstream propaganda outlets MSNBC and CNN have seen an absolute collapse in viewership following the 2024 presidential election. According to Neilsen data, last Thursday’s total views on Fox News came in at 2.6 million – of which 375,000 were in the coveted 25-54 age demographic, Mediaite reports. In comparison, MSNBC only had 596,000/71,000 25-54 viewers and CNN brought in 419,000 / 91,000 25-54. Fox News was up some 60 percent year over year for the day, while MSNBC and CNN were down 23 and 40 percent – respectively. In prime time the news was even more bleak for CNN and MSNBC as they shed 30 percent and 54 percent of their viewers, respectively, compared to the same day last year.

MSNBC host Alex Wagner had her lowest-rated show ever in terms of total viewers, while Chris Hayes’s show brought in its worst numbers since May of 2016. On Friday, seven MSNBC shows recorded their lowest Friday ratings for the year. While Fox averaged 4.4M viewers Wed-Fri in prime time and 701,000 in that key demographic, MSNBC had just 808,000 total viewers for the same period (90k in demo), and CNN had 611,000 total average prime time viewers (159k in demo). No wonder CNN’s Chris Wallace is about to explore podcasting. Fox’s Elizabeth MacDonald breaks down the carnage at MSNBC by time slot between Oct. 30 and Nov. 8:

Morning Joe 1st hour – down 39.6%
Morning Joe 2d hour – down 36.9%
Andrea Mitchell – down 39.7%
Ari Melber – down 49.6%
Joy Reid’s Reidout – down 54.6%
All-in w Chris Hayes – down 47.2%
Alex Wagner Tonight- down 53.6%
Lawrence O’Donnell – down 60.6%
Stephanie Ruhle – down 67%

Three weeks ago Axios, citing Gallup, pointed out that Americans’ trust in media has plummeted to a historic low… What’s interesting is that Democrats have the highest trust in mass media, yet their networks are ghost towns. As Outkick.com reports further; CNN and MSNBC’s futures are bleak. The two networks maintained relevancy during Trump’s first term by aggressively promoting the Russia hoax. Though the networks could try to manufacture another phony scandal, who would believe them? Trump’s decisive victory demonstrated that the left-wing cable news networks have lost their influence. CNN and MSNBC exhausted every resource at their disposal to stop Donald Trump from achieving victory, eventually stooping to a plot to depict him as the second coming of Adolf Hitler, the most ruthless dictator in modern world history. It didn’t work. The lies, the hysteria, and the besmirchment only made Trump more popular and sunk CNN and MSNBC deeper. Here is how race lady Joy Reid is handling the results:

Read more …

“..the Ukrainian leader proposes inviting Ukraine to NATO, lifting restrictions on strikes deep into Russian territory, and deploying a “comprehensive non-nuclear deterrence package” in Ukraine.”

Zelensky Tries to Woo Trump With Revised ‘Victory Plan’ (Sp.)

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky showed his “victory plan” to Donald Trump back in September, with two clauses designed specifically to spark the US president-elect’s interest in potential resource-related deals, Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing several European and Ukrainian sources. According to the newspaper, Ukraine is adjusting its “victory plan” for the future Trump administration, emphasizing potential business deals, access to raw materials and the deployment of troops in an attempt to secure his support. According to the sources, Ukraine’s allies in Europe and the US, including leading representatives of the Republican Party, gave advice on how best to formulate proposals that would stimulate close cooperation with Kiev, rather than stop critically important assistance to the country.

One of the two tailored clauses suggested replacing part of the US’s contingent in Europe with Ukrainian troops after the end of the conflict. The other, which was first developed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (listed in Russia as a terrorist and extremist), involves the sharing of Ukraine’s most important natural resources with Western partners. Zelensky unveiled his “victory plan” in mid-October, insisting that it could help end the conflict in Ukraine no later than 2025. The document includes five clauses and three secret addendums. In particular, the Ukrainian leader proposes inviting Ukraine to NATO, lifting restrictions on strikes deep into Russian territory, and deploying a “comprehensive non-nuclear deterrence package” in Ukraine.

Zelensky’s plan drew criticism in the EU and NATO for outlining in detail the multiple obligations of Ukraine’s Western allies but not assigning any to Kiev itself. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed it as a set of incoherent slogans that pushed NATO into a direct conflict with Russia, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the real peace plan for Kiev would be to realize the futility of the Ukrainian policy. He said that Kiev should “wake up” and understand the reasons that led it to the conflict.

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“Donald Trump has lots of different voices in his ears and there’s a front of the Republican Party, quite a lot of them actually, who take the wrong line on Ukraine..”

UK Could Send Troops To Ukraine – Boris Johnson (RT)

The UK cannot let Ukraine suffer a defeat in its ongoing conflict with Russia, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told GB News in an interview published on Tuesday. London could go as far as sending in troops if Kiev “goes down,” he warned. According to Johnson, Russia’s success in Ukraine would spark a security crisis for the US and its allies on a multitude of fronts. “It’ll be the Baltic states. It’ll be in Georgia. You’ll see the impact of a Ukrainian defeat in the Pacific theater. You’ll see it in the South China Sea,” the politician said, without specifying what exactly could happen in those regions. He also described military and financial assistance to Kiev as a “sensible investment” and a “good” way to spend public funds, arguing that the UK would supposedly have to pay much more otherwise because “our collective security will be really degraded by a resurgent Russia threatening all sorts of parts of Europe.”

The former prime minister also pointed to the prospect of the US cutting aid to Kiev as a potential risk, claiming some people with “wrong” views on the issue were in president-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle. “Donald Trump has lots of different voices in his ears and there’s a front of the Republican Party, quite a lot of them actually, who take the wrong line on Ukraine,” he said. If aid to Ukraine is reduced and Kiev starts losing, London could be forced to deploy troops to the region, Johnson claimed. “We will then have to pay to send British troops to help defend Ukraine,” the politician stated.

Russia has repeatedly stated that it had no plans to attack NATO or any of its members. At the same time, Moscow has also warned on multiple occasions that by providing military aid to Kiev, the bloc increases the risk of a direct clash, specifying that it would treat the provision of long-range missiles for Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russian territory as a direct assault by the countries which had supplied the weapons. Earlier, Putin ordered changes to the nation’s nuclear doctrine that listed attacks by a non-nuclear state supported by a nuclear power as a reason for a nuclear response on Russia’s part, among other things. Last week, The Telegraph reported that the UK, together with France, could push for further escalation of the Ukraine conflict by attempting to convince Washington to allow Kiev strike targets deep inside Russia with Western weapons, including Storm Shadow/Scalp cruise missiles.

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“First, the United States will refuse to export liberal democracy.”

Trump Will Abandon Two Key Principles Of US Foreign Policy (Gevorg Mirzayan)

The return of Donald Trump to the White House portends significant changes in American foreign policy. Experts name at least two US foreign policy features that Trump will be forced to abandon. Why from them and who personally in the immediate circle of the US president will embody this new approach? A two–month period of political fortune–telling begins in the United States before Trump takes office. American experts and journalists are trying to figure out who will join the new administration of the President-elect. And in particular, who will lead his foreign policy – who, that is, will take the posts of Secretary of State, National Security Adviser, and head of the Pentagon. Various candidates have been named, including former Defense Secretary Mike Pompeo and U.S. representative to the United Nations Nikki Haley. However, Trump has made it clear: he will not rely massively on his ex-officials, even those who served under him during his first term.

And this has its own logic – after all, the classic Washington establishment is unlikely to fit into Donald Trump’s new foreign policy strategy. A strategy that will not comply with a number of principles of classical American diplomacy. First, the United States will refuse to export liberal democracy. “We have built our foreign policy on intimidation, moralizing and lecturing countries that seek to avoid cooperation with us. In contrast, China’s foreign policy is focused on building roads and bridges, as well as providing food for the poor. And I think we should follow a foreign policy based on respect… and the national interests of the United States,” U.S. Vice President–elect J.D. Vance said a year and a half ago when he criticized the appointment of the “moralizing Stephanie Sullivan” as the American ambassador to the African Union.

And Trump fully shares this approach. “The new Trump administration will try to implement a realistic foreign policy course and abandon the liberal hegemonic traditions that were characteristic of American foreign policy throughout the period after the end of the Cold War. They will try to make American policy more pragmatic and more successfully counter American rivals,” Dmitry Suslov, the Deputy Director of the Higher School of Economics Center for Integrated European and International Studies, explains to Vzglyad. That is, to China, Russia and their global projects (like the BRICS). This approach has actually been overdue for a long time – after all, moralizing no longer works. Not only because the United States has ceased to be a moral beacon, but also because many countries (including a number of American allies) have begun to pay increasing attention to their own sovereignty; and, accordingly, to resist the imposition of any values destructive to their societies from the outside.

Under Trump, moralizing is generally impossible. After all, it implies demonstrative loyalty in exchange for the material benefits provided by America – in particular, access to the American market. And Trump is not going to hand out economic carrots. “The new administration will pursue a more protectionist and self-seeking foreign policy line. We strive to ensure that investments go to the United States, and not from the United States to third world countries,” Dmitry Suslov explains. Following moralizing, another important principle of Western globalist diplomacy will be thrown into the trash: “whoever is not with us is against us.”

Unlike Russia, which professed the principle of “we work with those who are not against us” (allowing states to pursue a multi-vector policy), the West has rigidly forced Third World countries to make a choice between it and its opponents. For example, the West has forced Ukraine to cooperate with either the EU or Russia in 2013. And then it forced Ukraine to turn into an anti-Russian springboard within the framework of “who is with us”. Perhaps eleven years ago, this strategy was effective – then the collective West was strong and had a reputation as a player who should not be messed with. However, the situation has changed now. And just in recent years the strategy “who is not with us is against us” has produced at least five misfires.

With Turkey, which, while remaining in NATO, has continued to cooperate with the Russian Federation. With India, which the United States unsuccessfully tried to force to stop working with Iran and Russia (in particular, to buy Russian hydrocarbons). With Saudi Arabia, which is establishing relations with China and has even transferred oil trade with it to the yuan. Washington’s attempts to train the Saudi leadership only led to a humiliating hours-long wait for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to have an audience with the head of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. With Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban has refused to follow the pan-European policy of isolating Russia. He is betting on national interests – and as part of this bet, he is blocking Brussels’ initiatives on new sanctions, He even flies to Moscow. And also, with Georgia where the local leadership has defiantly refused to open a second front against Russia, participate in anti–Russian sanctions, or accept Western LGBT values.

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“..Biden’s hardline policy toward Tehran ultimately harmed his major foreign policy initiative, of defeating Moscow..”

What Rough Beast? (Juan Cole)

President Joe Biden has now joined the ranks of Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush as a president whose Middle East policy crashed and burned spectacularly. Unlike Carter, who was stymied by the Iranian hostage crisis, or Bush, who faced a popular Iraqi resistance movement, Biden’s woes weren’t inflicted by an enemy. Quite the opposite, it was this country’s putative partner, the Israeli government, that implicated the president in its still ongoing genocide in Gaza, as well as its disproportionate attacks on Lebanon and Iran, for which Biden steadfastly declined to impose the slightest penalties. Instead, he’s continued to arm the Israelis to the teeth. Israel’s total war on Palestinian civilians, in turn, significantly reduced enthusiasm for Biden among youth and minorities at home, helping usher him out of office. It also created electoral obstacles for Kamala Harris’s presidential bid.

By his insistence on impunity for the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden has left the Middle East in flames and the U.S. and the world distinctly in peril. During his first three years in office, his administration wielded the tools of diplomacy in the Middle East. Donald Trump’s sanctions against the Houthis in Yemen had imperiled the civilian population there by denying them humanitarian aid and gasoline to drive to the market for food. Biden lifted those sanctions and sponsored continued negotiations between those in power in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and in the neighboring Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. Only relatively small contingents of American troops remained in Syria and Iraq to help with the mopping-up operations against the so-called Islamic State terrorist organization.

Danger signals nonetheless soon began flashing bright red among friend and foe alike in the region, as Biden’s team quickly squandered an opportunity to restore the 2015 “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” or JCPOA, between the U.N. Security Council and the Iranian regime in Tehran, which Trump had so tellingly trashed. Between 2015 and 2019, that deal had successfully kept Iran’s civilian nuclear enrichment program purely civilian, closing off the four most plausible pathways to a nuclear weapon. In those years, the Iranians had, in fact, mothballed 80% of their nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. While the U.N. Security Council lifted economic sanctions on that country, Republicans in Congress refused to halt unilateral American sanctions, which applied to third parties as well. European investors had to jump through hoops to invest in Iran while avoiding Treasury Department fines. As a result, a disappointed Iranian leadership went unrewarded for its careful compliance with the JCPOA.

Then, in May 2018, Trump stabbed the Iranians in the back, withdrawing the U.S. from the JCPOA and slapping the most severe economic sanctions ever applied by one country to another in peacetime on Iran. It essentially added up to an invisible blockade of the Iranian economy, even interfering with ordinary commerce like that country’s oil sales. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted of having convinced the gullible Trump to take such a step, which led Iran’s petroleum exports to plummet over the next three years. Trump even designated the Iranian National Bank a terrorist organization, again with potentially crippling consequences for the entire economy. In revenge, Iran went back to enriching uranium to high levels and building more centrifuges, though without actually producing weapons-grade material. To this day, its civilian nuclear program remains a form of “the Japan option,” an attempt at deterrence by making it clear that it does not want a bomb but that, if it feels sufficiently threatened, it can build a nuclear weapon relatively quickly.

As soon as Joe Biden defeated Trump in 2020, the centrist Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared that the JCPOA could be restored by the two leaders virtually by fiat. And Biden’s foreign policy team initially appeared to consider negotiations to reinstate the treaty, only to ultimately retain Trump’s outrageous sanctions as “leverage,” demanding that Iran return to compliance with the JCPOA before the two sides could talk. Perhaps the Iranian public got the message that Biden was determined to be as hostile as Trump. Certainly, in the next round of voting in the summer of 2021, they swung behind hardliner Ebrahim Raisi. And despite occasional modest diplomatic forays since then, relations have been in a dumpster for the remainder of Biden’s term, with most of Trump’s “maximum pressure” sanctions still in place. And once again, as in the Trump years, the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu has lobbied Biden hard to cease all negotiations with Tehran.

Iran, which might have been drawn into the Western camp, has instead become a hostage to Beijing. Starting in 2019, China accepted smuggled Iranian petroleum at a substantial price discount. Then, when the Ukraine War broke out and Biden imposed maximum sanctions on the Russian Federation, Moscow and Tehran found themselves pushed ever closer. Now, the two countries plan to sign a “strategic partnership agreement,” while, in July 2023, Iran joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, cementing the alliances with both China and Russia into which it had been so vigorously pushed by Washington. Iran also became a definite asset for Russia in its Ukraine War, providing Vladimir Putin with crucial weaponry. In short, Biden’s hardline policy toward Tehran ultimately harmed his major foreign policy initiative, of defeating Moscow.

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“What in the world is going on? Israel’s security problem, on its border, is 50 miles to the south. What’s an Israeli army doing here in Beirut?”

A 1984 Conference Forged Israel’s Influence Over US Media (Klarenberg)

The story of how Western media was transformed into Israel’s doting, servile propaganda appendage is not only a fascinating and sordid hidden chronicle. It is a deeply educational lesson in how imperial power can easily subordinate supposed arbiters of truth to its will. Comprehending how we got to this point equips us with the tools to assess, identify, and deconstruct lies large and small – and effectively challenge and counter not only Israel’s falsehoods but the entire settler colonial endeavor.

On June 6, 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon. The effort was ostensibly intended to drive Palestinian Liberation Organization freedom fighters away from their positions on Israel’s northern border. But, as the IDF savagely pushed ever-deeper into the country, including Beirut, it became clear that ethnic cleansing, massacres, and land theft were – as in Palestine – the true goal. Throughout the Lebanese capital, news crews from major networks and reporters from the West’s biggest newspapers were waiting. Israel’s rapacious bloodlust and casual contempt for Arab lives had hitherto been, by and large, successfully concealed from the outside world. Suddenly, though, scenes of deliberate IDF airstrikes on residential housing blocks, Tel Aviv’s trigger-happy soldiers running amok in Beirut’s streets, and hospitals overflowing with civilians suffering from grave injuries, including chemical burns due to Israel’s use of phosphorus shells, were broadcast the world over, to nigh-universal outcry.

As veteran NBC news anchor John Chancellor contemporarily explained to Western viewers: “What in the world is going on? Israel’s security problem, on its border, is 50 miles to the south. What’s an Israeli army doing here in Beirut? The answer is we are now dealing with an imperial Israel, which is solving its problems in someone else’s country, world opinion be damned.” Global shock and repulsion at Israel’s conduct would only ratchet during the IDF’s resultant illegal military occupation of swaths of Lebanon. In September 1982, an Israel-backed armed Christian militia, Phalange, entered Sabra, a Beirut neighborhood home to many Palestinians displaced by the 1948 Nakba. Over a two-day span, they slaughtered up to 3,500 people while mutilating and raping countless others. Again, unfortunately for Tel Aviv, mainstream journalists were on hand to document these heinous crimes first-hand.

To say the least, Israel had an international PR disaster of historic proportions on its blood-soaked hands. The risk that further exposure of its genocidal nature might decisively and permanently shift global opinion in favor of the Palestinians and the Arab world more generally was significant. The attack on Lebanon had already spurred Western news outlets to critically reassess other illegal annexations and occupations in which Israel was and remains engaged. As ABC News reporter Richard Threlkeld commented at the time: “Israel was always that gallant little underdog democracy fighting for survival against all the odds. Now, the Israelis have annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, settled down more or less permanently on the West Bank, and occupied close to half of Lebanon. In the interests of self-defense, that gallant little underdog, Israel, has suddenly started behaving like the neighborhood bully.”

So it was that in the summer of 1984, the American Jewish Congress – a major Zionist lobby organization – convened a conference in Jerusalem, Israel’s Public Image: Problems and Remedies. It was chaired by U.S. advertising supremo Carl Spielgovel, who a decade earlier provided pro bono advice to the Israeli government on strategies for publicly communicating why Tel Aviv refused to adhere to the terms of the Henry Kissinger-brokered 1973 Sinai Accords. Spielgovel later recalled: “It occurred to me then that the Israelis were doing a good job at training their military people, and they were doing a relatively good job at training their diplomatic corps. But they weren’t spending any time training information officers, people who could present Israel’s case to embassies and TV anchormen around the world. Over the years, I made this a personal cause celebre.”

The 1984 Jerusalem conference offered Spielgovel and a welter of Western advertising and public relations executives, media specialists, editors, journalists, and leaders of major Zionist advocacy groups an opportunity to achieve that malign objective. Together, they hammered out a dedicated strategy for ensuring the “crisis” caused by news reporting on the invasion of Lebanon two years earlier would never be repeated. Their antidote? Ceaseless, methodical, and wide-ranging “Hasbara” – Hebrew for propaganda – for “changing people’s minds [and] making them think differently.”

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Roman precision
https://twitter.com/i/status/1856294347643199665

 

 

Feed fish

 

 

Tesla Berlin

 

 

Madre

 

 

Tuck in horse

 

 

SOS

 

 

Dog

 

 

2 points

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jul 192024
 


Vincent van Gogh The red tree house 1890

 

Trump Vows To Fight For Unity In First Speech Since Assassination Attempt (RT)
‘A Different Donald Trump’ Beams As Rivals Become ‘Converts’ (RCP)
Providence And President Trump (Newt Gingrich)
Secret Service Whistleblowers Emerge Following Trump Assassination Attempt (ZH)
US Democrats Postpone Biden Nomination Process (RT)
US Republicans Urge Harris To Announce VP Choice (RT)
Marco Rubio Suggests Biden Resign as President if He Drops Out of Race (Sp.)
Obama Privately Saying Biden Should ‘Seriously Consider’ Quitting – WaPo (RT)
Pelosi Urges Biden to Pull Out From Presidential Race (Sp.)
Biden Accuses Musk Of Trying To ‘Buy The Election’ (RT)
Musk Trolls Biden Over Donations Plea (RT)
Von der Leyen Secures Second Term At EU Helm (RT)
Von der Leyen Commission Loses Covid Vaccine Case (RT)
Von der Leyen Commission Loses Covid Vaccine Case (RT)

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1814118673776316916
https://twitter.com/i/status/1814121692249067777

 

 

Gods hand

 

 

Rogan Trump
https://twitter.com/i/status/1813655504344015132

 

 

Tucker Trump
https://twitter.com/i/status/1814101953774792982

Tucker RNC
https://twitter.com/i/status/1814098702245515725

 

 

 

 

Tucker Boot
https://twitter.com/i/status/1814067146047078436

 

 

 

 

“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said, recalling the details of the assassination attempt, as the audience began chanting, “Yes you are!”

Trump Vows To Fight For Unity In First Speech Since Assassination Attempt (RT)

Former US President Donald Trump laid out the case to “Make America Great Once Again” in a speech accepting his nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.Thursday’s address was Trump’s first public appearance since last Saturday’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. The former president took the stage on the final day of the RNC to share his vision for the future of the United States, in a speech he completely rewrote following the shooting. “I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said, recalling the details of the assassination attempt, as the audience began chanting, “Yes you are!”

“I stand before you this evening with a message of confidence, strength and hope. Four months from now, we will have an incredible victory, and we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country,” Trump told his supporters.We rise together, or we fall apart. I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.Trump had initially prepared “an extremely tough speech… all about the corrupt” administration of President Joe Biden, but “threw it away” after the assassination attempt. The former president indeed went more than 40 minutes before first referring to “the current administration” in his RNC speech, and has not mentioned his Democratic opponent by name. Trump concluded his lengthy speech with a vow to “very quickly make America great again.”

“We will save this country. We will restore the Republic, and we will usher in the rich and wonderful tomorrows that our people so truly deserve,” he stated. Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, addressed the RNC the night before, officially accepting the vice-presidential nomination. During the half-hour speech, the lawmaker and Marine Corps veteran criticized Biden for backing trade deals that “destroyed” American manufacturing jobs and supporting the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, promising that a second Trump administration would only send American troops to war when absolutely necessary.

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“Remember the birdcage? Trump had one delivered to her hotel room the day after dubbing her “Birdbrain.”

‘A Different Donald Trump’ Beams As Rivals Become ‘Converts’ (RCP)

Republicans always seem to come home. Some sooner than others. Vivek Ramaswamy never really ran against him. Ron DeSantis threw his weight behind him within an hour of dropping out of the primary. But Nikki Haley, the last woman standing, she took her time. The endorsement took three full months to arrive. Donald Trump didn’t mind. The former president did not need her support to lock down a third consecutive nomination. He may not need it to return to the White House either. But as Haley walked onstage at the Republican National Convention Tuesday, Trump beamed. He listened with a bandaged ear from a box overlooking the arena to his last rival, the member of his cabinet who went astray, bending the knee in prime time. “If there is one thing Donald Trump loves more than a Day One supporter,” Hogan Gidley, who served as a Trump White House aide, told RealClearPolitics, “it is a convert.”

Yet, if there is one thing Trump has notably not done this week, it is gloat. He has said comparatively little since the attempt on his life Saturday, exuding a gracious silence – perhaps even a magnanimous stoicism. A source who spoke with the former president at length the day after he dodged an assassin’s bullet reported talking to “a different Donald Trump, but in the best way possible.” Granted anonymity to speak freely, this individual, who has worked closely with Trump for nearly a decade, described a “weirdly counterintuitive” phenomenon whereby “he almost dies, he miraculously survives, and it becomes even less about him.” Perhaps that explains the last-minute invitation to Nikki Haley. She was not originally slated to speak at the RNC, but after the assassination attempt, the Trump campaign asked her to come speak. It was simultaneously an attempt at party and national unity, an overture made more remarkable considering the sheer bitterness of their rivalry. Remember the birdcage? Trump had one delivered to her hotel room the day after dubbing her “Birdbrain.” It only got worse from that moment on.

Haley had been the rare member of the Trump administration to leave the White House on good terms with the former president – and with her reputation intact. Her decision to challenge him was, therefore, seen by Trump and his loyalists as nothing short of a betrayal. And Trump held nothing back. He ridiculed her looks, suggested that there was something awry in her marriage, and dispatched his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., to repeatedly call her “a warmonger.” Haley countered by calling him “unhinged,” calling for cognitive tests for all candidates while suggesting he had lost a step, and characterized a third Trump nomination as “suicide for our country.” But all now seems forgiven, or at least forgotten. At this convention, things just feel altered, said Republican pollster Frank Luntz. “And it feels different, which means people are hearing something different,” he told RCP. “That hasn’t happened for years.” What changed among the Republican faithful? “Their hero was almost taken away from them,” he replied, an occurrence that “humanized Trump and humbled his supporters.”

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“The concepts of divine intervention and providence have a long record in American history.”

Providence And President Trump (Newt Gingrich)

I have known President Donald Trump for 30 years. Callista and I consider him a dear friend. Watching him get shot at his rally in Butler, Pa. was stunning and horrifying. President Trump’s reaction to being shot was immediately iconic. He stood up with blood running down his face, raised his fist, and said “fight, fight, fight,” and then “USA.” It was a tremendous vision of courage and power. It struck home all around the world. Within minutes images began to circulate on the internet tying President Trump’s courage to the courage of other historic figures and moments. There is even a Japanese anime about President Trump’s heroic reaction. When it was clear the President was going to be alright, Callista and I were deeply relieved. For me, that emotion was then immediately replaced by fury.

This assassination attempt was the result of the left’s nine-year effort to demonize our friend, President Trump. I had to take some time to get my emotions under control before going on Fox with Sean Hannity to talk about the event. During that cooling off period, my old friend Ambassador Randy Evans called to say that his Pastor, Michael Youssef, had told him it was a providential event. President Trump had turned to look up at a big sign behind him. The shooter took aim at his head while he was looking to one side. When the President turned back to look at the audience the bullet missed his head by less than an inch and hit his ear. If President Trump had not turned at exactly the right moment, he would have almost certainly been killed. When I told Hannity that I really believed President Trump’s survival was providential, that term went around the world.

The concepts of divine intervention and providence have a long record in American history. When young George Washington went west with Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock’s British army in the French and Indian War, they were ambushed on July 9, 1755. Braddock was wounded when the battle began. The Army began to panic and fall apart. Washington, then-23 years old, took control and rallied the British troops saving them from annihilation. Washington wrote his brother, “by the All-powerful Dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four Bullets through my Coat, and two Horses shot under me; yet escaped unhurt, altho[ugh] Death was leveling my Companions on every side of me.”

Washington’s belief in providence was further expressed in his farewell address to the troops after the success of the Revolutionary War: “The singular interpositions of Providence in our feeble condition were such, as could scarcely escape the attention of the most unobserving.” When President Ronald Reagan met with Pope John Paul II to determine how to defeat the spread of communism, one of the unifying facts was that both had been shot in assassination attempts. Coming to grips with why God had spared them – and finding a common mission in defeating the Soviet Empire – were inextricably intertwined. Callista and I talked about this our documentaries “Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny” and “Nine Days that Changed the World.” President Trump now joins the list of historic figures who have been saved from almost certain death. When President Trump came to the Republican National Convention, I could tell that he was already calmer, more deliberative, and grateful to be alive.

There was a humility and gratitude in his attitude that showed the act of having been spared had a deep impact. Virtually anyone who had been within a half-inch of being killed would have a deep and sobering reaction. “But for God, I would have been dead,” is a legitimate sentiment. President Trump’s courage and determination after having been shot has created new level of affection – and a new intensity of support – among those who believe in him. He was always the champion of a movement rather than a traditional candidate. Now he has become a symbol of courage, defiance, and determination. Neither America – nor President Trump – will ever be the same after Saturday’s nights assassination attempt. We are on the edge of a new stage in American history. The combined sense of gratitude, awe, and historic challenge make this convention different from any of the nine others I have attended. The next few days will be remarkable.

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“What actions did the USSS take to remove or cover President Trump after a threat was known or detected?”

Secret Service Whistleblowers Emerge Following Trump Assassination Attempt (ZH)

US Secret Service whistleblowers have approached the House Judiciary Committee, claiming that there were limited resources to cover former President Donald Trump last weekend due to the North Atlantic Treato Organization (NATO) summit in Washington DC, as well as first lady Jill Biden’s campaign rally in Pittsburgh, PA. Chairman Jim Jordan has demanded answers FBI Director Christopher Wray, according to the Daily Caller. “Whistleblowers have disclosed to the Committee that the USSS led two briefings regarding the July 13 campaign rally on July 8, 2024, with the Western Pennsylvania Fusion Center (WPFC) and other stakeholders, to discuss the upcoming, unrelated visits by President Trump and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden,” reads a Thursday letter from Jordan to Wray.

“The USSS Special Agent in Charge Tim Burke reportedly told law enforcement partners that the USSS had limited resources that week because the agency was covering the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Washington, D.C. FBI personnel were present at those briefings. While the Committee recognizes that the FBI is one of many agencies represented in the WPFC, it is the lead federal investigative arm and a key source of intelligence on potential threats for special events in its area of responsibility,” he continued. “The Committee has several unanswered questions about the failures that led to the attempted assassination of a president—the first in over forty years—as well as the FBI’s ability to conduct a rapid, transparent, and thorough investigation in the wake of its recent scandals. Accordingly, to ensure that the Committee can effectively evaluate these matters during your testimony on July 24, 2024.”

Jordan seeks the following information from Wray:
• How many agents, analysts, and support personnel has the FBI dedicated to the investigation?
• Was there coordination between the FBI, USSS, and the WPFC prior to President Trump’s event on July 13?
• How many buildings had to be secured inside and outside of the security perimeter for President Trump’s event on July 13?
• Why was the roof of the AGR International building left unsecured?
• How much time elapsed between identifying the shooter as a potential threat and the attempted assassination?
• How much time elapsed between the local police officer encountering the shooter on the sloped roof and the attempted assassination?
• Has the FBI interviewed the local police officer who encountered the shooter?
• What does the FBI’s evaluation of the shooter’s phone and digital activity show about his actions and movements in the days and hours leading up to the attempted assassination?
• Was the security posture at President Trump’s event limited due to resource constraints with the NATO Summit and/or First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s event in Pittsburgh?
• Is the FBI’s investigation limited to the shooter and his motivations or does it include the security failures that led to the attempted assassination?
• How did communications breakdowns between various law enforcement entities affect the ability of local law enforcement and USSS to identify the shooter as a potential threat and mitigate the threat before he took action?
• What actions did the USSS take to remove or cover President Trump after a threat was known or detected?

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Indefinitely.

US Democrats Postpone Biden Nomination Process (RT)

The US Democratic Party has significantly delayed its candidate nomination process for the 2024 presidential election. A virtual roll call to nominate President Joe Biden as the Democrats’ 2024 candidate which was scheduled for the coming week will now happen sometime in August, the party has announced. The Democratic National Committee was supposed to meet on Friday and finalize the rules for the procedure, first proposed in May to ensure ballot access. In recent days, however, some party members have objected to “rushing” the process before the convention. “None of this will be rushed,” said Leah Daughtry and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, leaders of the DNC rules committee, in a letter seen by CBS News. Sent to 186 members of the committee on Wednesday, the letter confirms that “no voting will begin before August 1,” but notes that the virtual roll call will still happen before the in-person Democratic National Convention starts on August 19.

Meeting state ballot deadlines and avoiding potential lawsuits “is the driving reason for conducting a virtual voting process,” the letter added. The roll call is a traditional procedure by which state delegations deliver primary votes to the nominee at the convention. The Republicans did so on Monday, arranging for former President Donald Trump’s children to announce the Florida votes that officially made him the party’s pick in November. Dozens of House Democrats had circulated a draft letter earlier this week opposing the virtual vote, arguing that it would stifle debate, undermine morale and party unity, and foreclose any changes to the ticket “at the worst possible time.” At least 21 congressional Democrats have publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race, citing his abysmal performance in the June 27 debate with Trump, advanced age, and possible neurological issues.

Senior party figures like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have urged Biden to step down in private, according to the New York Times. About 70% of Democrats in a recent poll backed Biden’s exit. After the president retreated to his Delaware home with a Covid diagnosis, Axios reported he might drop out as early as this weekend. Campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo sought to dismiss the rumors on Thursday, however. “Joe Biden is his party’s nominee. He’s the President of the United States. He’s running for reelection. Baseless conjecture from anonymous sources isn’t a scoop,” Ducklo said on X (formerly Twitter). Most polls currently show Trump winning the election against Biden, but also against Vice President Kamala Harris, should she get bumped to the top of the ticket.

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“a group of Democrat megadonors were “dangling money to members of Congress” willing to publicly call on Biden to step aside..”

US Republicans Urge Harris To Announce VP Choice (RT)

There can be no vice presidential debate until the Democrats decide who will be on their ticket, the Republican campaign said on Wednesday, in a thinly veiled reference to calls for US President Joe Biden to step down. The Republican Party formally nominated former President Donald Trump on Monday, while he announced Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate. Vice President Kamala Harris reached out to Vance with an offer to debate, to be hosted by CBS News. “We don’t know who the Democrat nominee for Vice President is going to be, so we can’t lock in a date before their convention,” Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement on Wednesday evening. “To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate.”

The governors of California, Illinois, and Michigan, respectively, have been floated as possible replacements for Harris should Biden withdraw from the ticket. Many Democrats have been clamoring for the 81-year-old to do so since his disastrous showing in the June 27 debate against Trump. California Congressman Adam Schiff, formerly a key player in the House Intelligence Committee, was the latest to urge Biden to “pass the torch.” While Biden has refused to drop out of the race – or resign from the presidency – in a recorded interview aired on Wednesday, he revealed the circumstances under which he might do so. “If I had some medical condition that emerged,” this might make him reconsider, Biden told BET. He insisted he is still fit for the job, however.

Speculation about ousting Biden from the ticket was temporarily relegated from the headlines by the attempted assassination of Trump on Saturday. The Republican candidate narrowly escaped death at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The US Secret Service has yet to give a satisfactory explanation of how a shooter was able to get into position to open fire on the stage, killing one rallygoer and seriously injuring two more. However, efforts by some Democrats to oust the president have apparently continued, with the New York Times claiming on Wednesday that a group of Democrat megadonors were “dangling money to members of Congress” willing to publicly call on Biden to step aside. Harris has proposed three dates for the VP debates: July 23, August 12, and August 13. The Democrats are scheduled to hold their convention in Chicago on August 19, but want to nominate Biden via a ‘virtual roll call’ before then.

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“The question is, if he’s not going to be their nominee because he’s not up to it, how can he be our president for the next six months?”

Marco Rubio Suggests Biden Resign as President if He Drops Out of Race (Sp.)

US Senator Marco Rubio suggested that President Joe Biden should resign if he drops out of the 2024 election race amid mounting pressure on him to step down, Politico reported on Thursday. Rubio made the comment while talking to reporters at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee following the news that Biden had been diagnosed with COVID-19, the report said. “The question is, if he’s not going to be their nominee because he’s not up to it, how can he be our president for the next six months?” the report quoted Rubio as saying. “If there’s something wrong with you that doesn’t allow you to run for president, how can you still be there as president? If they’re going to remove him as a nominee, they’ve got to remove him as president, and that’s really bad for our country.” Rubio also noted that he is worried about who is actually running the United States if the Democrats knew about Biden’s cognitive decline and deliberately hid this fact from the public.

“They knew Joe Biden — I don’t mean this to be cruel, but they knew the condition that he was in, and they deliberately hid it from the world. And it makes you wonder who’s running our country. That’s what I worry about,” the senator said. At the same time, Rubio said he does not see how the Democratic Party could bypass Vice President Kamala Harris if Biden withdraws from the race. Numerous Democrats have called on Biden to end his campaign and step aside for an alternative nominee, following a dismal debate performance against Republican nominee Donald Trump last month. The Biden campaign has said that they are not planning for a scenario in which Biden is not the Democratic presidential candidate.

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Biden is now toxic.

Obama Privately Saying Biden Should ‘Seriously Consider’ Quitting – WaPo (RT)

Former US President Barack Obama is privately telling Democrats that President Joe Biden’s path to reelection has “greatly diminished,” and that the 81-year-old should “seriously consider” ending his campaign, the Washington Post has reported. Amid a party-wide effort to convince Biden to drop out of the race, Obama had largely stayed on the sidelines. Other than posting a message of support when the president flubbed his debate with Donald Trump last month, Obama has not weighed in on Biden’s apparent cognitive decline, even though he reportedly chose not to stop his friend, actor George Clooney, from penning an op-ed calling on Biden to quit earlier this month. In private, however, Obama “has been deeply engaged in conversations about the future of Biden’s campaign,” the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing “multiple people briefed on his thinking.”

These conversations have reportedly included former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Biden this weekend that he cannot hope to beat Trump in November, according to CNN and ABC News. “In some conversations, Obama… has told people he is concerned that the polls are moving away from Biden, that former president Donald Trump’s electoral path is expanding and that donors are abandoning the president,” the Washington Post claimed. Obama spoke to Biden in the days after last month’s debate, as Biden insisted he was “not going anywhere.” However, Biden continued to fumble during subsequent appearances – at one point calling Vice President Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump” – and “Obama’s concerns about Biden’s candidacy have only grown deeper,” the Post claimed.

While a spokesperson for Obama declined to comment on the report, the article is being treated by pundits as a de-facto public statement by the former president. “This does not show up by accident,” Fox News commentator and former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Thursday. “He has green-lighted, in my opinion as someone who has worked in press, his aides to share this with the Washington Post.” Biden is currently in quarantine in his Delaware home, after testing positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday. With public events off the table for the coming days, Biden’s friends and allies believe that he will withdraw his candidacy as early as this weekend, Axios reported on Thursday.

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“..While she does not wish to call on Biden to resign, Pelosi will do everything she can to make this happen..”

Pelosi Urges Biden to Pull Out From Presidential Race (Sp.)

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has urged US President Joe Biden to make a decision to give up his bid for reelection, the Politico website reported, citing sources. Media previously reported that US Democratic House representatives are hoping that Pelosi will convince US President Joe Biden to withdraw as the Democratic presidential nominee. Pelosi reportedly talked with Biden last week, saying that some Democrat lawmakers will only become louder in their complaints about the president’s alleged political weakness, according to Politico. The former speaker also asked Biden to make a decision about stepping down in the near future. Per one of Pelosi’s allies, she could potentially go public with the demands for Biden to resign his candidacy. While she does not wish to call on Biden to resign, Pelosi will do everything she can to make this happen, this person said.

On June 27, Biden, 81, appeared confused and incoherent throughout his first debate with Trump, 78, reinforcing rather than alleviating ongoing concerns about his cognitive abilities. His poor performance has led some Democratic politicians and donors to call for his removal as a candidate. There have been growing calls among Democrats to nominate another candidate to replace Biden after his failure in the debate. Theoretically, the party will have such an opportunity at its convention in August, but in practice, it will be difficult to remove the primaries-winning candidate from the race if he does not refuse to participate. So far, Biden is saying he intends to stay in the race.

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“Fake Gnus”.

Biden Accuses Musk Of Trying To ‘Buy The Election’ (RT)

Joe Biden has accused Elon Musk “and his rich buddies” of trying to “buy” the US presidential election, following claims that the billionaire is planning to make major contributions to a group that supports Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. “I am sick,” a post on Biden’s personal social media account said on Wednesday, in an apparent reference to his positive Covid-19 test announced the same day. In a reply, the US president continued the sentence: “of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election.” The post called on Americans to pitch in to Biden’s campaign through ActBlue, the Democratic donation platform. The fundraising platform has been in the spotlight because Thomas Crooks, the man who tried to assassinate Trump at a rally on Saturday, made a small donation to it when he was 17.

Reacting to Biden’s pitch, Musk said: “I’m living rent-free in his head.” Biden has faced allegations that he secured his Democratic nomination in 2020 thanks to an “elite conspiracy.” Critics have claimed that powerful party operators, wealthy donors, and the media coalesced around his candidacy to undercut progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, who was leading in the primary race. As broad sections of the Democratic establishment pressure Biden to drop out of this year’s race, citing his mental state and concerns that he will be unable to beat Trump again, the president is posing as an anti-elite crusader.

“I’m getting so frustrated by the elites – now I’m not talking about you guys – the elites in the party, ‘Oh, they know so much more.’ Any of these guys that don’t think I should run, run against me. Announce for president, challenge me at the convention,” Biden told MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ program last week in an audio-only phone call. Biden came under increased scrutiny after a disastrous debate against Trump last month, in which he often appeared absent-minded and sounded incoherent, adding fuel to the perception that he is mentally incapable to hold office for four more years.

Musk is openly supportive of some conservative policies, such as increased border security and opposition to “wokism.” This week he declared that he would move his businesses from California to Texas, after a law prohibited teachers in the Golden State to inform parents if their children identify as transgender at schools. Media have reported that Musk plans to donate around $45 million a month to a new super political action committee (PAC) backing Trump. He reacted to the claim by posting a “fake gnus” meme on social media.

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Zuckerberg-funded group the Center for Tech and Civic Life gave out $420 million to election offices in 2020.

Musk Trolls Biden Over Donations Plea (RT)

Elon Musk has ridiculed US President Joe Biden for appealing to supporters for donations by casting the billionaire as part of a ballot-fixing elite. The plea published on Wednesday on Biden’s personal X (formerly Twitter) account said the president was “sick of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election.” When he was shown a screenshot of the post, the entrepreneur responded: “I’m living rent-free in his head,” adding some emojis. He also shared a meme praising him as a “f**king legend” for buying Twitter and backing Donald Trump “during the erosion of the republic.” Biden’s reelection bid was undermined in late July by his poor performance in a debate with Trump, the Republican nominee. The Democrat has blamed the debacle on tiredness and being “overprepared.” He has rejected calls from inside the party to drop out of the race.

”I’m getting so frustrated by the elites – now I’m not talking about you guys – the elites in the party, ‘Oh, they know so much more.’ Any of these guys that don’t think I should run, run against me. Announce for president, challenge me at the convention,” Biden told MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ program last week via telephone. The president has described ‘Morning Joe’ as his favorite show on American television. Co-host Joe Scarborough was among the Biden backers who urged him to end his reelection bid following the disastrous debate. But the media heavyweight later made another U-turn and now supports Biden’s candidacy again. Earlier this week, the US media claimed that Musk was going to donate $45 million a month to a new pro-Trump super political action committee (PAC). He declined to comment on the claim directly, but posted a “fake gnus” meme in response to the coverage.

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That will be expensive: “..turning the EU into a “defense union” with a “single defense market.”

Von der Leyen Secures Second Term At EU Helm (RT)

Ursula von der Leyen has been reelected for a second term as European Commission president, following a vote at the European Parliament on Thursday. The German politician secured a majority of the vote, with 401 out of 707 MEPs in favor of appointing her for another five years at the helm of the bloc. A total of 284 MEPs voted against the move, while 15 abstained. In her nearly hour-long speech at a plenary session ahead of the vote, von der Leyen pledged to fight for a democratic and “strong” Europe, promising to make housing, competitiveness, and defense the priorities for her new term. She also focused on plans to boost bloc-wide defense capabilities and outlined her aim of turning the EU into a “defense union” with a “single defense market.”

The climate agenda and environmental protection, which were at the heart of von der Leyen’s bid for a first term in 2019, will also be among the focal points, she said. The newly-reelected commissioner has also vowed that the bloc will continue “to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” and signaled that Kiev’s bid to join the bloc may be realized during her tenure. Regarding domestic EU policy, von der Leyen has pledged to overhaul the bloc’s common budget and make it more efficient, as well as supporting small and medium-sized businesses and protecting farmers across the bloc. In addition, she has proposed the creation of a ‘European Democracy Shield,’ while aiming to increase cooperation between member-states on tackling cyber threats and foreign interference.

Analysts say her address aimed to appeal to MPs across the political spectrum, as they reflected the suggestions expressed by the main parliamentary groups. “We are in a period of deep anxiety and uncertainty for Europeans [but] I am convinced that Europe, a strong Europe, can rise to the challenge… I am convinced that this version of Europe since the end of World War II, with all its imperfections and inequalities, is still the best version of Europe in history,” von der Leyen stated.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1813887120081035311

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To reward her MIC sponsors.

Von der Leyen Planning To Turn EU Into ‘Defense Union’ (RT)

Ursula von der Leyen has said she plans to turn the EU into a “defense union,” should she secure a second term as European Commission president. The German’s vision for the 27-nation bloc includes creating a single defense market. In a speech ahead of a vote on her position in the European Parliament on Thursday, von der Leyen stated that “Russia is still on the offensive in eastern Ukraine” and claimed that Moscow is “banking on Europe and the West going soft.” She pledged that “Europe will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” warning that “for the very first time our liberty is at stake.”

“We must do everything we can to protect our citizens, it is our duty. I do believe it is now time to build a veritable European union of defense,” von der Leyen added. Outlining her vision for the EU, the former German defense minister said the bloc must keep control of its security and armies within the hands of member states, while NATO will remain “the pillar of our collective defense architecture.” Her vision, however, entails a single market for defense, joint arms-related investment programs, and common defense projects such as an EU-wide air defense system. According to von der Leyen, the EU’s defense sector in its current form is too “dependent on foreign allies,” with “spending on defense too low and ineffective.”

Separately, she also pledged to boost cooperation on tackling cyber threats and foreign interference, and triple the number of European border and coast guards to 30,000. Von der Leyen further signaled that the EU under her leadership would welcome the addition of new members such as Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and countries in the West Balkans. Russia has accused the West of prolonging the Ukraine conflict by continuing to send weapons to Kiev. Moscow has also rejected allegations that it is planning to attack EU countries as “horror stories” and “nonsense.” The European Parliament will decide later on Thursday whether to appoint von der Leyen for another five years at the helm of the bloc. While she is the only candidate for the post, she must still win a majority, or 361 votes out of 720, to hold on to her seat.

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She very actively tried to hide it. Unforgivable.

Von der Leyen Commission Loses Covid Vaccine Case (RT)

The EU Commission concealed details of multibillion-euro Covid vaccine deals with pharma giants Pfizer and AstraZeneca without legitimate reason to do, the European Union’s second highest judicial body has found. The ruling by the bloc’s General Court covers purchase agreements struck by the EU Commission in 2020 and 2021, at the height of the pandemic, and worth “approximately €2.7 billion” ($2.95 billion), according to the court’s statement published on Wednesday. In 2021, MEPs requested access to the documents detailing the terms of the deals to make sure that the public interest was protected and the members of the EU negotiating team had no personal conflict of interest.

Brussels bosses only provided them with partial access to redacted documents and refused to reveal the identities of the negotiating team’s members. The Commission argued that was necessary to protect commercial interests and the decision-making process. The MEPs then brought the issue to the court. “The Commission did not give the public sufficiently wide access to the purchase agreements for COVID-19 vaccines,” the court said in its statement. “The Commission did not demonstrate that wider access to those clauses would actually undermine the commercial interests of those undertakings.”

The court also ruled that “the Commission did not take sufficient account of all the relevant circumstances in order to weigh up correctly the interests at issue, related to the absence of a conflict of interests and a risk that the right of privacy of the persons concerned might be infringed.” The ruling partly upheld two cases against Brussels and annulled the Commission’s decisions to withhold the data from the public, arguing that such decisions “contain irregularities.” Brussels promptly reacted to the judgement, which came just two days before a European Parliament vote on Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second term as the EU Commission head. She has controversially claimed she deleted key SMS messages between her and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, and will be the subject of a European Court of Justice ruling on the matter expected this year.

“In general, the Commission grants the widest possible public access to documents, in line with the principles of openness and transparency,” the court said in a statement, adding that it “only partially upheld the legal action on two points” and “confirmed that the Commission was entitled to provide only partial access.” Brussels also stated that it would “carefully study” the decision and that it “reserves its legal options.” The EU Commission can still appeal the decision to the European Court of Justice – the bloc’s highest judiciary body.

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Kids

 

 

Serval Ice

 

 

Dog hole
https://twitter.com/i/status/1814031597957709884

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jan 272023
 
 January 27, 2023  Posted by at 9:22 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  146 Responses »


Edward Hopper Office in a Small City 1953

 

Blinken Concedes War Is Lost – Offers Ukrainian Demilitarization (Helmer)
Blinken Ponders The Post-Ukraine-War Order (Ignatius)
American Abrams Tanks Vulnerable Even To Soviet-era Weapons (TASS)
Nobody Told Me We’re At War – Kroatian President (RT)
Involvement Of US, Collective West In Ukraine Conflict Grows – Kremlin (TASS)
France Denies The West Is At War With Russia (RT)
West Discussing Handover Of Fighter Jets To Kiev – Politico (TASS)
Kremlin Rules Out Any Talks Between Zelensky, Putin (TASS)
The Sect (Dionísio)
What Spurred Wave Of Resignations Among Senior Ukraine Officials? (Lavrenin)
Joining Russia Sanctions Would Be ‘Inappropriate’ – Serbia (RT)
Can You Smell What the Year of the Rabbit Is Cooking? (Escobar)
Russia’s Intentions Are Clarifying (Alasdair Macleod)
Pfizer Director Physically Assaults James O’Keefe and Veritas Staff (GP)
Marco Rubio Letter To Albert Bourla (rubio.senate.gov)

 

 

 

 

Trump Russia
https://twitter.com/i/status/1618620533675028487

 

 

 

 

Tucker Barr Epstein

 

 

Hunter email
https://twitter.com/i/status/1618272150007472129

 

 

Macgregor/Judge Nap

Macgregor A Huge Offensive

 

 

 

 

A take we haven’t seen before. But it’s Helmer…

“John Helmer is an Australian-born journalist and foreign correspondent based in Moscow, Russia since 1989. He has served as an adviser to government heads in Greece, the United States, and Asia, and has also worked as professor of political science, sociology, and journalism.”

“US is ready to ease sanctions against Russia for the sake of “serious negotiations on Ukraine and the withdrawal of troops from there.”- Victoria Nuland

Blinken Concedes War Is Lost – Offers Ukrainian Demilitarization (Helmer)

David Ignatius has been a career-long mouthpiece for the US State Department. He has just been called in by the current Secretary of State Antony Blinken to convey an urgent new message to President Vladimir Putin, the Security Council, and the General Staff in Moscow. For the first time since the special military operation began last year, the war party in Washington is offering terms of concession to Russia’s security objectives explicitly and directly, without the Ukrainians in the way. The terms Blinken has told Ignatius to print appeared in the January 25 edition of the Washington Post. The paywall can be avoided by reading on. The territorial concessions Blinken is tabling include Crimea, the Donbass, and the Zaporozhe, Kherson “land bridge that connects Crimea and Russia”.

West of the Dnieper River, north around Kharkov, and south around Odessa and Nikolaev, Blinken has tabled for the first time US acceptance of “a demilitarized status” for the Ukraine. Also, US agreement to restrict the deployment of HIMARS, US and NATO infantry fighting vehicles, and the Abrams and Leopard tanks to a point in western Ukraine from which they can “manoeuvre…as a deterrent against future Russian attacks.” This is an offer for a tradeoff – partition through a demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the east of the Ukraine in exchange for a halt to the planned Russian offensive destroying the fortifications, rail hubs, troop cantonments, and airfields in the west, between the Polish and Romanian borders, Kiev and Lvov, and an outcome Blinken proposes for both sides to call “a just and durable peace that upholds Ukraine’s territorial integrity”.

Also in the proposed Blinken deal there is the offer of a direct US-Russian agreement on “an eventual postwar military balance”; “no World War III”; and no Ukrainian membership of NATO with “security guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5.” Blinken has also told the Washington Post to announce the US will respect “Putin’s tripwire for nuclear escalation”, and accept the Russian “reserve force includ[ing] strategic bombers, certain precision-guided weapons and, of course, tactical and strategic nuclear weapons.” President Putin has offered a hint of the Russian reply he discussed with the Stavka and the Security Council last week.

Putin told a meeting with university students on Wednesday, hours after Blinken’s publication. “I think that people like you,” the president said, “most clearly and most accurately understand the need for what Russia is now doing to support our citizens in these territories, including Lugansk, Donetsk, the Donbass area as a whole, and Kherson and Zaporozhye. The goal, as I have explained many times, is primarily to protect the people and Russia from the threats that they are trying to create for us in our own historical territories that are adjacent to us. We cannot allow this. So, it is extremely important when young people like you defend the interests of their small and large Motherland with arms in their hands and do so consciously.”

Read on, very carefully, understanding that nothing a US official says, least of all through the mouths of Blinken, Ignatius, and the Washington Post is trusted by the Russians; and understanding that what Putin and the Stavka say they mean by Russia’s “adjacent historical territories” and the “small and large Motherland” has been quite clear. Follow what Blinken told Ignatius to print, before Putin issued his reply. The propaganda terms have been highlighted in bold to mean the opposite — the public positions from which Blinken is trying to retreat and keep face.

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The Ignatius article Helmer was talking about.

Blinken Ponders The Post-Ukraine-War Order (Ignatius)

The Biden administration, convinced that Vladimir Putin has failed in his attempt to erase Ukraine, has begun planning for an eventual postwar military balance that will help Kyiv deter any repetition of Russia’s brutal invasion. Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined his strategy for the Ukrainian endgame and postwar deterrence during an interview on Monday at the State Department. The conversation offered an unusual exploration of some of the trickiest issues surrounding resolution of a Ukraine conflict that has threatened the global order. Blinken explicitly commended Germany’s military backing for Ukraine at a time when Berlin is getting hammered by some other NATO allies for not providing Leopard tanks quickly to Kyiv.

“Nobody would have predicted the extent of Germany’s military support” when the war began, Blinken said. “This is a sea change we should recognize.” He also underlined President Biden’s determination to avoid direct military conflict with Russia, even as U.S. weapons help pulverize Putin’s invasion force. “Biden has always been emphatic that one of his requirements in Ukraine is that there be no World War III,” Blinken said. Russia’s colossal failure to achieve its military goals, Blinken believes, should now spur the United States and its allies to begin thinking about the shape of postwar Ukraine — and how to create a just and durable peace that upholds Ukraine’s territorial integrity and allows it to deter and, if necessary, defend against any future aggression. In other words, Russia should not be able to rest, regroup and reattack.

Blinken’s deterrence framework is somewhat different from last year’s discussions with Kyiv about security guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5. Rather than such a formal treaty pledge, some U.S. officials increasingly believe the key is to give Ukraine the tools it needs to defend itself. Security will be ensured by potent weapons systems — especially armor and air defense — along with a strong, noncorrupt economy and membership in the European Union. The Pentagon’s current stress on providing Kyiv with weapons and training for maneuver warfare reflects this long-term goal of deterrence. “The importance of maneuver weapons isn’t just to give Ukraine strength now to regain territory but as a deterrent against future Russian attacks,” explained a State Department official familiar with Blinken’s thinking. “Maneuver is the future.”

The conversation with Blinken offered some hints about the intense discussions that have gone on for months within the administration about how the war in Ukraine can be ended and future peace maintained. The administration’s standard formula is that all decisions must ultimately be made by Ukraine, and Blinken reiterated that line. He also backs Ukraine’s desire for significant battlefield gains this year. But the State Department, Pentagon and National Security Council are also thinking ahead. Crimea is a particular point of discussion. There is a widespread view in Washington and Kyiv that regaining Crimea by military force may be impossible. Any Ukrainian military advances this year in Zaporizhzhia oblast, the land bridge that connects Crimea and Russia, could threaten Russian control. But an all-out Ukrainian campaign to seize the Crimean Peninsula is unrealistic, many U.S. and Ukrainian officials believe. That’s partly because Putin has indicated that an assault on Crimea would be a tripwire for nuclear escalation.

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I know, a Russian source, but I get the feeling that the Abrams tanks are not as great as the US makes them out to be.

American Abrams Tanks Vulnerable Even To Soviet-era Weapons (TASS)

American M1 Abrams tanks that Washington has decided to hand over to Kiev as military aid have weaknesses that allowed wiping them out with Soviet weapons, including T-55 tanks, during the conflict in Iraq, armor expert, Candidate of Military Sciences, retired Colonel Sergey Suvorov told TASS on Thursday. M1 Abrams tanks can also be hardly repaired in field conditions and are weakly suited for operation on dusty terrain like in Ukraine, the expert added. US President Joe Biden announced on January 25 that Washington would hand over 31 M1 Abrams tanks to the Kiev regime. Earlier, Germany and Poland made the decisions to supply German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. It was also reported that the United Kingdom would transfer Challenger 2 tanks to Kiev.

Abrams tanks repeatedly demonstrated their vulnerability during the hostilities in Iraq, the expert pointed out. “As the Iraq combat experience shows, they went up in flames. The tank turret was pierced by a 100mm armor-piercing blunt nose projectile fired by a T-55 tank. There were instances when Abrams vehicles were struck by automatic guns of both Bradley and our BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles,” he said. Instances are also known when the American tank was destroyed by the first Soviet modifications of T-72 tanks firing old shells “that were withdrawn from operational use even before the Abrams concept was devised,” Suvorov said. The expert also pointed to the instances when Abrams tanks were wiped out by RPG-7 anti-tank grenade launchers. An extra powerplant installed in the rear part of the turret to power modern electronic systems is another weak point of later American tank modifications, the expert said.

“It was covered with the armor that can withstand assault rifle bullets but is vulnerable to a 12.7 mm DShK machine gun. It was hit by a DShK and its motor was smashed, oil and fuel went ablaze and spilled down to the main engine located below. The main engine went ablaze and then the tank itself went up in flames and burnt out,” he said. The American tank almost has no chances, if it engages in a duel with Russian tanks, the expert said. “If an Abrams emerges at a long distance, a T-72 or a T-90 crew will fire an anti-tank missile and we can say that the Abrams will even have no chance to fire a shot as its range of fire won’t allow it to do that,” he explained. sHowever, the US tank’s final efficiency depends on the commander’s skills to operate it and trained crews, the expert said.

Apart from the need to fill Abrams tanks with clean jet fuel, they also have more serious operational flaws. In particular, they cannot be repaired in field conditions, the expert said. “Repairs are a major problem. If something breaks down in the powerplant, it has to be pulled out of the tank, taken to a special repair workshop with skilled personnel, disconnected from the gear box and only then repaired,” Suvorov said. The air intake system of US-made Abrams tanks is yet another vulnerability, the expert pointed out. “They feature an air filter that operates similar to the equipment installed in motor vehicles: if it becomes clogged, it has to be taken out and cleaned. Meanwhile, all of our tanks are equipped with cyclone dust collectors that are quite smart devices,” the expert said, adding that an Abrams filter sufficed for just 15 minutes of the tank’s movement along dusty terrain during the Iraq campaign.

Civilian contractors

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A smart voice.

Nobody Told Me We’re At War – Kroatian President (RT)

Commenting on the German foreign minister’s declaration that Europe was “fighting a war against Russia,” Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said on Thursday that this was news to him, and wished Berlin better luck than in WWII. Croatia “should in no way help” Ukraine militarily, Milanovic said while visiting the port city of Split. “Do you want us to enter the war?” Framing the Ukraine conflict as one between Washington and Moscow, he reminded reporters that he was criticized for merely echoing the words of Kiev’s defense minister, about the current conflict being a “proxy war” between NATO and Russia. “Now the German foreign minister says we must be united, because I quote, we are at war with Russia. I didn’t know that,” Milanovic said.

“Maybe Germany is at war with Russia, but then, good luck, maybe this time it turns out better than 70-odd years ago.” The Croatian president was baffled to hear such a claim from the leader of the German Greens, which he said used to be a pacifist party equally against the US and the USSR, and not from Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “If we are at war with Russia, then let’s see what we need to do. But we won’t ask Germany for its opinion,” Milanovic added. “Let them figure out who is the actual chancellor over there. I’ve been in politics for a long time, and our country has been through a lot, but I’ve never seen this kind of madness before.”

When it comes to tanks, “Russian or American, they burn just the same,” Milanovic said, noting that deliveries of armor to Ukraine – announced by the US and Germany this week – will only prolong the fighting, “Those tanks may burn, or they may reach Crimea, but Croatia will have nothing to do with it,” he insisted. The social-democrat president has frequently clashed with the nationalist parliamentary majority over Croatia’s Ukraine policy. Just last month, Milanovic opposed Zagreb’s participation in the EU program to train Ukrainian troops, saying it clashed with Croatia’s constitution. Unless the US and Russia are holding some kind of talks, the world is “slowly sliding into World War Three,” Milanovic added. “Some people think it has already begun, but I have my reservations.”

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“Moscow perceives everything that both the alliance and the capitals I mentioned have been doing as direct involvement in the conflict..”

Involvement Of US, Collective West In Ukraine Conflict Grows – Kremlin (TASS)

The Kremlin sees that the involvement of the United States and the countries of the collective West in the conflict in Ukraine has been growing, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Thursday. “There have been repeated statements from the European capitals and from Washington that the sending of various weapons systems, including tanks, to Ukraine by no means signifies the involvement of these countries or the [North Atlantic] Alliance in the hostilities in Ukraine. We strongly disagree with this. Moscow perceives everything that both the alliance and the capitals I mentioned have been doing as direct involvement in the conflict. We see that it is growing,” Peskov said.


Earlier, US President Joe Biden claimed that Washington’s decision to supply tanks to Ukraine was not about a fight against Russia, but a fight for “freedom.” In addition, Biden alleged that the supply of tanks did not imply a threat to Russia. In response to an elaborative question whether the Kremlin believed in the sincerity of these words, Peskov replied: “Please, use what I’ve just said as a benchmark.” Earlier, it was reported that Germany and the United States decided to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 and Abrams tanks. According to various media resources, some European countries also intend to join these deliveries.

Baerbock
https://twitter.com/i/status/1618380112214519814

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This is pure semantics. Message to the home front. Don’t worry, we’re all innocent and in the clear…

France Denies The West Is At War With Russia (RT)

Just because the US, Germany and several other countries announced they would be supplying Ukraine with main battle tanks doesn’t mean NATO is at war with Moscow, the French Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The comments from Quai d’Orsay come after the controversial speech by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in the European Parliament earlier this week. “We are not at war with Russia and none of our partners are,” ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said on Thursday, according to AFP. “The delivery of military equipment… does not constitute co-belligerence.” The day before, Washington announced it would send more than 30 of its M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev, while Berlin said it would contribute over a dozen Leopard II panzers and not stand in the way of Poland and other EU and NATO members who wish to hand theirs over to Ukraine as well.

Seeking to drum up support for tank deliveries on Tuesday, Baerbock told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that the EU must move in lockstep “because we are fighting a war against Russia and not against each other.” Asked to clarify her comments, the German Foreign Ministry said that Russia had launched a “war of aggression” against Ukraine and that international law was “clear” that Berlin’s support for Kiev’s “individual right of self-defense, guaranteed by the UN Charter, does not make Germany a party to the conflict.”

On Wednesday, French PM Elisabeth Borne told the parliament in Paris that her government was “continuing our analysis” of the proposal to send Leclerc tanks to Ukraine. France has already promised Kiev a number of AMX-10 “light tanks,” earlier this month. Meanwhile, French FM Catherine Colonna visited Ukraine on Thursday, meeting with her counterpart Dmitry Kuleba in Odessa to “show France’s long-term support” and “assess Ukraine’s urgent needs in the humanitarian and military sectors in order to provide concrete responses,” according to a press release from Quai d’Orsay.

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Impossible until recently. What this tells you is that Ukraine is losing. Bigly.

West Discussing Handover Of Fighter Jets To Kiev – Politico (TASS)

The Western countries are in internal discussions about the possibility of supplying fighter jets to Ukraine, but many fear that such a decision could lead to an escalation of the conflict. As the newspaper Politico said on Thursday, according to a number of Western diplomats and representatives of military circles, Ukraine and the Baltic countries are in favor of this idea. “The next natural step would be fighters,” a diplomat from a northern European country said. For its part Washington has told Kiev that supplying aircraft is a “no-go, for the moment,” the diplomat quoted above said, but added: “There’s a red line there – but last summer we had a red line on the HIMARS [multiple rocket launchers], and that moved. Then it was battle tanks, and that’s moving.” A second diplomatic source from a European power told Politico that “fighters are completely unconceivable today,” but there might be a discussion “in two or three weeks.”


The newspaper says the debate will likely prove even more contentious than the row over supplying tanks. At the same time, in Europe, multiple officials and diplomats said their governments no longer consider the idea a non-starter, but “fears of escalation remain high.” Some officials believe that next month’s discussion at Ramstein will be more focused on thrashing out “a contingency plan, in case jet fighters are urgently needed at some future point, rather than on striking a deal on near-term deliveries.” European diplomats agree that the West will first want to exhaust all other options for air support, including more attack drones and possibly long-range missiles, Politico says. Besides, sending aircraft would be a serious logistical undertaking for Ukraine’s allies, the newspaper notes.

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“..he never solved the Donbass problem, he reneged on the Minsk Agreements, moreover, it turned out that he never planned to implement them, as he had been preparing for war,”

Kremlin Rules Out Any Talks Between Zelensky, Putin (TASS)

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky stopped being a possible interlocutor for Russian President Vladimir Putin long ago, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday as he commented on a remark by the Ukrainian leader which said he was `not interested’ in meeting Putin for peace talks. “We know what promises Zelensky made during his presidential campaign, and it is not difficult to remember them or refresh the memory of those voters who elected him in Ukraine: he never solved the Donbass problem, he reneged on the Minsk Agreements, moreover, it turned out that he never planned to implement them, as he had been preparing for war,” Peskov said.


“This is why, let’s put it this way, he himself has long ceased to be a potential interlocutor for President Putin,” he added. Earlier on Thursday, Zelensky told Great Britain’s Sky News TV channel that he was “not interested” in peace talks with Putin, saying Putin became “nobody” to him after he launched the special military operation. Zelensky previously decreed to ban negotiations with Russia. Peskov said later that no talks between Moscow and Kiev were currently possible, given there are no conditions for them, whether de facto or de jure.

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To join the sect you must give up your freedom.

The Sect (Dionísio)

As in all sects, there is their own jargon and a tendency toward self-absorption, caused by the closing of the circuit in which they operate. The greater the inability to establish bridges and lines of contact with other existences, the greater the radicalism and sectarianism of their positions, which is embodied precisely in a contradiction they cannot escape: the more they want to drag others along, the more others run away from them. If the reaction of most countries to the conflict in Eastern Europe demonstrates the disconnection between the official narrative propagated in the collective West and the understanding that most nations and the world population have of it, the identification of nations like the RPC, Russian Federation or Iran as aggressor and oppressor entities is something that only fits into the most sectarian minds of the sect, or its followers.

Take, for example, the meeting promoted by the White House for Africa (US-Africa Leaders Summit). At first glance, we could see it as a success; after all, more than 40 African nations attended. There was no shortage of funds either: $55 billion were promised upfront to “help” Africa development, to fight climate change, and to counter terrorism. However, there was a catch: to receive the “investment” one has to “decouple” from the PRC and FR. The usual jargon of “democracy” and “human rights” was well identified, mainly as a way to ensure the maintenance of dollarization through membership in the institutions that impose it (IMF and World Bank). The entire white house was optimistic. However, once again, the bulk of the African envoys cannot have failed to think, “but who does, this sect of Anglo-Saxon white people, think we are? Fools?” International articles rained down saying what we knew right away: “to convince Africa, talk is not enough!”

If ideologies with a connection to reality, it is reality itself that validates the respective theoretical assumptions (easier said than done), sects tend to work the other way around, opting for a more idealistic approach, in the sense that it is reality that has to mold itself to their ideas. The US has not listened to Africa, as it has not listened to others. The US has tried to drag Africa into its presumptuous ideas. When reality – this stubborn inexorable one – insists on not validating the theoretical assumptions that justify the existence of the sect, the sect chooses to wage war against it, identifying the main agents of its transformation and electing them as its enemies. In essence, the whole strategy of “containing China” is a fight against a reality embodied in 5000 years of history. Hence, as the sect that they are, the result is also predictable: either you are with me, or you are against me! The sectarianism of the sect leaves no room for compromise, cooperation or any kind of mutual understanding.

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NABU=National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. Lots of unrest.

What Spurred Wave Of Resignations Among Senior Ukraine Officials? (Lavrenin)

Against the background of Ukraine’s high-profile political scandals, staff changes in the government are being actively discussed. Among the officials considered next in line for dismissal are Minister of Energy German Galushchenko, Minister of Youth and Sports Vadim Gutzeit (who recently headed the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine), as well as Minister of Strategic Industries Pavel Ryabikin. However, none of these officials have been involved in corruption scandals, so these resignations, should they happen, would likely be for different reasons. All of this leads some journalists to ponder possible large-scale shifts in the government. Lozinsky and Shmigal worked together in the Department of Economic Development in the Lviv Regional State Administration. After Shmigal was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in February 2020, he appointed Lozinsky as his first deputy.

The Prime Minister’s resignation, which would entail the resignation of the entire government, would indeed look like a powerful Zelensky response to corruption scandals. However, this course of events carries serious risks for the authorities, and their are enough to ruin such an intention. For one, the resignation of the government amid corruption scandals creates risks of a political split in the Verkhovna Rada. Furthermore, if the government were to resign, Western countries could set strict conditions on coordinating candidates for the new government. This happened in 2014, when US citizen Natalia Yaresko was appointed Finance Minister to Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s government, and Lithuanian Aivaras Abromavicius was made Minister of Economic Development and Trade.

All this can shake up the system of power and lead to the President’s administration having much less influence over political processes. The current political system is clearly biased towards a single structure: the Office of the President of Ukraine. Following the early parliamentary elections in 2019 and the formation of a majority in the Verkhovna Rada, the entire vertical alignment of power was structured around Zelensky and Yermak, the influence of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine was eliminated, and the information space cleared. The combat operations in Ukraine merely accelerated these processes. In fact, only three powers can now speak out against the Zelensky-Yermak team— Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko and his cabinet, the army led by Valery Zaluzhny, and US-controlled structures such as NABU and media affiliated with them. At the same time, decisions regarding resignations are made exclusively by Zelensky and Yermak, who by all means wish to hush up the scandals.

Changes are imminent. The Ukrainian President is being pushed towards structural reform from several sides, including his own officials, the government, the power structures, and particularly, foreign benefactors. Major corruption scandals may lead to fall in the Western public’s support of Kiev. After all, Ukraine is a very expensive project, regardless of its geopolitical value. In addition to risky investments and painful costs, its financiers need clarity in terms of internal management control. The US government regularly says that it will finance Ukraine until its victory, but it also has to account for the money it’s splurging. Of course, the quality of work is evaluated by the employer, not the employee, and this case the Americans are the undoubted bosses.

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“Serbia’s position on Kosovo has received support from Russia, China and many other countries – including Ukraine..”

Joining Russia Sanctions Would Be ‘Inappropriate’ – Serbia (RT)

Serbia has not joined the US-EU sanctions against Russia for several reasons that remain valid, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Thursday, speaking in Ankara after meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.The European Parliament last week demanded from Belgrade “full alignment” with the bloc’s foreign and security policy – including the embargo against Moscow. Dacic noted that his government has not joined the anti-Russian embargo out of “national and state interests, economic cooperation, as well as problems Serbia has with Kosovo,” referring to the NATO-backed breakaway province. “It would be inappropriate for Serbia to sanction Russia now, and it would be harmful to our interests,” Dacic said.

“That doesn’t mean we won’t do everything to clearly say we don’t support the infringement of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and help as much as we can.” Dacic has sought the support of Türkiye in helping Serbia deal with US and EU pressure over Kosovo. He also indirectly reminded reporters that Ankara has not joined the sanctions against Russia either. “I think Serbia and Türkiye want to be constructive factors of peace and stability,” the Serbian FM said. “Our interest is not to be on anybody’s side in some conflict, we advocate the respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of every UN member state.” While insisting that Serbia must sanction Russia because of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the EU and the US also demand Belgrade recognize Kosovo, or face economic and political “consequences.”

Belgrade insists on the principle of territorial integrity because the US and the EU have been pressuring it to recognize Kosovo as an independent state since 2008. NATO troops took control of the province in 1999, after months of bombing Serbia on behalf of ethnic Albanian insurgents. Serbia’s position on Kosovo has received support from Russia, China and many other countries – including Ukraine – on grounds of international law. This is one of the reasons Serbia officially does not recognize Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporozhye, or even Crimea, as parts of Russia.

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Cooking BRICS+.

Can You Smell What the Year of the Rabbit Is Cooking? (Escobar)

Liu He studied economics at Renmin University in China and got a Master’s from Harvard. Since 2018, he’s one of China’s Vice Premiers – along with Han Zheng, Sun Chunlan, and Hu Chunhua. He’s a Director of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission and heads the China Financial Stability and Development Committee. Anyone around the world who wants to know what will drive China’s economy in the Year of the Rabbit must pay attention to Liu He. Davos 2023 has come and gone: an extended exercise in Demented Dystopia with peaks of paroxysm. At least a measure of reality was offered by Liu He’s address. A limited but competent analysis of what he said is infinitely more useful than torrents of barely disguised Sinophobic “research” vomited by U.S. Think Tankland.

Liu He pointed to some key numbers for the Chinese economy in 2022. Overall 3% growth may not be groundbreaking; but what matters is value-added for high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing going up by 7.4% and 5.6% respectively. What this means is that Chinese industrial capacity continues to move up the value chain. Trade, predictably, reigns supreme: the total value of imports and exports reached the equivalent of $6,215 trillion in 2022; that’s an increase of 7.7% over 2021. Liu He also made it clear that improving the wealth of Chinese citizens remains a key priority, as enounced in the 2022 Party Congress: the number of middle class Chinese, by 2035, should jump from the current 400 million to an astonishing 900 million.

Liu He pointedly explained that everything about Chinese reforms revolves around the notion of establishing “a socialist market economy”. This translates as “let the market play a decisive role in resources allocation, let the government play a better role.” That has absolutely nothing to do with Beijing privileging a planned economy. As Liu He detailed, “we will deepen SOE [State-Owned Enterprises] reform, support the private sector, and promote fair competition, anti-monopoly and entrepreneurship.” China is reaching the next level, economically: that translates as building, as fast as possible, an innovation-driven commercial base. Specific targets include finance, tech, and greater productivity in industry, as in applying more robotics.

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“.. drop earlier plans to design a new commodity-linked trade currency because it has been superseded..”

Russia’s Intentions Are Clarifying (Alasdair Macleod)

We have confirmation from the highest sources that Russia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) are considering using gold for pan-Asian trade settlements, fully replacing dollars and euros. In an article written for Vedomosti, a Moscow-based Russian newspaper published on 27 December, Sergey Glazyev, a prominent economic adviser to Vladimir Putin who is heading up the Eurasian Economic Union committee charged with devising a replacement for dollars in trade settlements sent a very clear signal to that effect. It appears he will drop earlier plans to design a new commodity-linked trade currency because it has been superseded. Furthermore, increasing numbers of nations have joined or have applied to join the SCO as dialog members, including Saudi Arabia and other important Gulf Cooperation Organisation members.


The economic benefits of discounted energy, China’s investment capital, and sound money are the ingredients for a new, Asia-wide industrial revolution, while the economies of the western alliance sink under rising prices, rising interest rates, collapsing financial markets, and collapsing currencies. While it will mark the end of the road for the western alliance and its fiat currencies, Putin must be careful not to take the blame. Now that the alliance is racking up tanks and other equipment for the Ukrainians, they are actively promoting a new battle, with NATO getting almost directly involved. It is that action which will drive up commodity prices, undermine western financial markets, undermine government finances, and ultimately collapse their currencies. Putin is likely to use NATO’s impetuous action in defence of Ukraine as cover for securing Russia’s future as an Asian superstate, which will be the west’s undoing.

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James O’Keeffe: In this video:
-I was locked in a restaurant (possible Unlawful imprisonment)
-I was Assaulted
-Had our IPad destroyed
-Pfizer director said “I’m literally a liar”
-He confirmed hes Boston Consulting and Pfizer
-He said he’s trying to “help the public”

Pfizer Director Physically Assaults James O’Keefe and Veritas Staff (GP)

Jordon Trishton Walker, Pfizer Director of Research and Development, physically assaulted James O’Keefe and Veritas staffers on Thursday. James O’Keefe confronted Walker at a restaurant and showed him the undercover recordings about Pfizer’s plans to potentially mutate the Covid virus. “You f*cked up!” Walker shouted before destroying the iPad showing the PV undercover recordings about the “mutating” Covid virus. Project Veritas on Wednesday night released explosive video of Jordon Trishton Walker, Pfizer Director of Research and Development, Strategic Operations, admitting the pharma giant is exploring ‘mutating’ Covid-19 via ‘directed evolution’ so the company can continue to profit off of vaccines.


“One of the things we’re exploring is like, why don’t we just mutate it [COVID] ourselves so we could create — preemptively develop new vaccines, right? So, we have to do that. If we’re gonna do that though, there’s a risk of like, as you could imagine — no one wants to be having a pharma company mutating f**king viruses,” Walker told the undercover Project Veritas journalist. “Don’t tell anyone. Promise you won’t tell anyone. The way it [the experiment] would work is that we put the virus in monkeys, and we successively cause them to keep infecting each other, and we collect serial samples from them,” he said in the undercover recordings. “I’m just someone who’s working in a company that’s trying to literally help the public,” Walker said during the confrontation. Walker insisted he was just ‘trying to impress his date.’ The NYPD responded to the assault.

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George Webb doesn’t buy the video’s. And he’s also still after Robert Malone…

 

 

And Marco Rubio asks questions about the video’s.

Marco Rubio Letter To Albert Bourla (rubio.senate.gov)

Dear Dr. Bourla: I write in response to troubling reports on Pfizer’s intention to mutate the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) virus through gain-of-function, or “directed evolution,” as detailed by Pfizer Director of Research and Development, Jordan Walker.i As has been proven time and time again, attempts to mutate a virus, particularly one as potent as COVID, are dangerous. If the claims detailed in the video are true, Pfizer has put its desire for profit over the concern of national and global health and must hold itself accountable. In a video released by Project Veritas on January 25, 2023, Mr. Walker laid out Pfizer’s plans to develop new vaccines for future variants of COVID by mutating the virus through directed evolution, a process that uses protein engineering to impose natural selection on a living organism or other biological materials, including viruses. Though he claimed the research is currently “exploratory,” he detailed how the research would proceed, such as how scientists would inject the mutated viruses into monkeys and collect serial samples from other monkeys who are infected.

Whether it’s gain of function research, or selected structure mutations through directed evolution, as Mr. Walker claimed would occur, any effort to make a virus more transmittable and deadlier is careless and dangerous. Further, Mr. Walker stated that Pfizer is willing to engage in this dangerous research because COVID and its variants are “a cash cow” for the company and regulators will go easy on their efforts because a significant percentage of government officials aim to work for Pfizer and other biopharmaceutical companies and do not want to compromise their future job prospects. As a company that claims to “innovate every day to make the world a healthier place,” these claims from your leadership charged with research and development are alarming. As the American people deserve to know, I request that you provide the following information:

1. What efforts is Pfizer currently, or planning to, engage in to mutate the SARS-CoV-2 virus?
2. Does Pfizer intend to continue mutating the SARS-CoV-2 virus through gain-offunction, or directed evolution research, with the purpose of creating new vaccines before the variant is present in the greater population?
3. Has Pfizer engaged with federal officials engaged regarding their plans to oversee this research? Please provide the names and agencies for these individuals.
4. What steps has Pfizer taken to ensure the mutated virus does not leak from the laboratory and infect the greater population?
5. Has Pfizer engaged with other biopharmaceutical companies to collaborate on this research effort? Please list the entities that you have been in contact with.
6. Will you commit to halting any future research that mutates the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine as substantial evidence has indicated that similar dangerous research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology very likely led to the initial emergence and global spread of the virus?

As a leader in global public health and development of the COVID vaccine, with American taxpayer dollars, it is critical that Pfizer is accountable for their actions and be transparent with the public on the substance and intent of their research. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your prompt response.

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Chicken conspiracy

 

 

SM-102

 

 

Yeadon

 

 

 

 


The Kailasa temple in the Ellora Caves, Maharashtra, India is a megalith carved out of one single rock and it is considered one of the most remarkable cave temples in India because of its size, architecture and sculptural treatment

 

 


David Edgar took this photo of an adolescent humpback whale in the South Pacific, several miles off the coast of Tongatapu, Tonga, capturing it as a split-shot with half the dome port submerged, and the other above the surface

 

 


The golden pheasant is possibily the most impressively colored bird of the family Phasianidae

 

 

Earth family

 

 

 

 

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