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Debt Rattle May 5 2025

May 052025
 
 May 5, 2025  Posted by at 9:51 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  40 Responses »


Felix Vallotton On the beach 1899

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

Ballroom

JD

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

FSD+

Sachs

GOP

Roosevelt

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

• Russia Standing Alone Against West – Putin (RT)

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

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

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

Putin

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Only reference to this meeting I have seen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Strong symbols.

• Trump Orders Reopening Of Notorious Alcatraz Prison (NYP)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Genes

Birth rate

Giga

Trump 1980

BR

Mess

Ali Baba

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Rattle April 6 2025

Apr 062025
 
 April 6, 2025  Posted by at 10:36 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  29 Responses »


Salvador Dali Remorse, or Sphinx Embedded In Sand 1931

 

• The First of Many – Vietnam Negotiates Zero Tariff Policy (CTH)
• Cambodian PM Offers To Reduce Tariffs, Negotiate With Trump (JTN)
• Here’s When Canada Will Cave on Trump’s Tariffs (Margolis)
• Mr. Wonderful Destroys CNN With Masterful Defense of Trump Tariffs (Margolis)
• China Delays Approval of TikTok’s US Asset Spin-Off Due to New Tariffs (Sp.)
• Vance Warns Of ‘Greatest Threat To Europe’ (RT)
• Marine Le Pen and Her Party Refuse to Back Down (Sp.)
• Clarity About Ukraine Peace ‘A Matter Of Weeks’ – Rubio (RT)
• Washington Calls Kiev: The Plan Has Changed (Pacini)
• IRS To Sack 25% Of Its Employees – WaPo (RT)
• Hundreds of Law Firms Oppose Trump Order Against Perkins Coie (DS)
• Judge Orders Trump Admin to Return Alleged MS-13 Gang Member to the US (Heine)
• The Clash Between Trump and Activist Judges Is About to Go Nuclear (Margolis)
• Obama Lashes Out At Trump (RT)
• Obama’s Masterclass in Gaslighting (Margolis)
• US Research Highlights RT’s Role In Media Landscape (RT)

 

 

 

 

Interesting talk with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Who, also interesting, is a hedge fund man, not a central banker.


https://twitter.com/MJTruthUltra/status/1908369961715704240

 

 

Full interview

 

 

Miller
https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1908234227474104648
https://twitter.com/DerrickEvans4WV/status/1908322429358788785

Obama Tesla

Ursula
https://twitter.com/JimFergusonUK/status/1908431783000993956

VDH
https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1908535796438610335

EU

 

 

 

 

“..poorer nations will be faster to lower import tariffs on USA goods because they have lower lobbying (bribe) income from corporations to govt. That’s what we should expect to see.”

• The First of Many – Vietnam Negotiates Zero Tariff Policy (CTH)

On March 27th, CTH shared the following: “Wealthy nations will attempt to maintain exports against President Trump tariffs by subsidizing their industries. Corporations have deeper pockets, and the politicians are used to the bribes, we call it “lobbying.” Therefore, the government responds by subsidizing the corporations [ie. the WEF business model]. How does the politics of opposition surface? …”Canada will subsidize their export industries, Germany will subsidize their auto industry, the EU will provide subsidies to their manufacturing powerhouses, and China will once again start subsidizing their manufacturing industry. Each of these nations will in turn, eventually, devalue their currency. However, poorer nations will be faster to lower import tariffs on USA goods because they have lower lobbying (bribe) income from corporations to govt. That’s what we should expect to see.” With the tariffs now triggered, it begins exactly as anticipated:

The economics of the thing is now colliding with the politics and the ideology, of the thing. Globalists are being confronted. The proverbial West will cleave according to their financial self-interest.The World Economic Forum (Build Back Better) model no longer views the USA as an ally. The MAGAnomic “Big Ugly” is underway. Countries will thrash and gnash their teeth; then surge in opposition, fail, then attempt to refoot and realign, then surge again and fail again. And so it will go… In 2019 Asia (ASEAN) was aligned as China was being confronted. The EU was the intended target for President Trump’s trade reset in term two as scheduled (2021-2025). However, COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting 2020 election threw a wrench in the plan. In 2025 the EU focus is now a priority. ASEAN nations quickly reassemble on the original terms of Trump T-1. For Trump T-2, China is quickly moved back into adversarial position and focus returns to the previously scheduled look at Europe.

Yes, the EU understand the agenda; they know what was planned then and put aside. In Trump T-2 there is no avoidance mechanism that can be deployed. The only play the EU has is defense. Europe is currently trying to arrange and coordinate a group of ideological allies to assist them. Those allies include Canada and to a lesser extent, Mexico. President Trump has shown a keen awareness of their best defense. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will not battle Donald J Trump. Factually, they all aligned their economic investment policy to gain from Trump confronting China. ASEAN countries will not battle President Trump; they will comply. Africa will try to walk a fine line between China and the USA. However, Africa will not confront President Trump directly and, if push comes to shove, they will likely not support China using their belt-and-road leverage to attempt transnational shipping as a tool for U.S tariff avoidance. [Insert a Trump-favorable Russia into this regional dynamic.]

It is the EU and the workaround relationships they created within Mexico and Canada who will fight the global trade reset with ferocity. Everything in the geopolitical world of economic opposition to President Trump will center around Europe. PARIS, April 3 (Reuters) – “French President Emmanuel Macron called on Thursday for European companies to suspend planned investment in the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs on American imports. “Investments to come or investments announced in recent weeks should be suspended until things are clarified with the United States,” Macron said during a meeting with French industry representatives. The comments come weeks after French shipping firm CMA CGM announced plans to invest $20 billion in the U.S. to build shipping logistics and terminals, a plan that was hailed by President Trump at the time and mentioned again in his Wednesday speech unveiling the tariffs. French electrical equipment supplier Schneider Electric (SCHN.PA) said late last month it would invest $700 million in the country to support U.S. energy infrastructure to power AI growth.”

The EU judicial and intelligence services hit Marine Le Pen for a reason. Canada – Mark Carney, France – Macron, Ukraine – Zelenskyy, the EU Commission and Ursula Von der Leyen, all the way through NATO and into the German/Romanian elections and beyond, it’s all connected to the geopolitical dynamics of money, power and globalist economics. Stay elevated. Keep watching. President Donald Trump is a master at the big picture stuff. [ps. President Trump assigned every single one of those country specific tariff rates personally. Few understand why.]

Zero tariff
https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1908212617036128400

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“Cambodia proposes to negotiate with Your Honorable’s administration at the earliest convenient time..”

• Cambodian PM Offers To Reduce Tariffs, Negotiate With Trump (JTN)

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet wrote to President Donald Trump offering to drop tariff levels certain U.S. imports and negotiate. “Cambodia proposes to negotiate with Your Honorable’s administration at the earliest convenient time and wishes to request that your esteemed government consider postponing the above-mentioned tariff implementation,” he wrote on Friday. “I would like to inform Your Honorable President that the existing practice of Cambodia’s maximum tariff rate tops at 35%. In expression of our good faith and in spirit of strengthening our bilateral trade relations, Cambodia is committed to promote U.S. based product imports with an immediate reduction of 19 product categories from our maximum 35% tariff bound rate to 5% applied tariff rate,” he added.

He wrote that Cambodia “remains fully committed to engaging in constructive and productive dialogue with the U.S. government to further deepen our bilateral trade, so that both nations and peoples can enjoy the tangible benefits from these significant trade relations.” Many shoe manufacturers have located in Cambodia.

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When the elections are over. That an unelected candidate will likely win.

• Here’s When Canada Will Cave on Trump’s Tariffs (Margolis)

I have no doubt that Canada will cave to Trump on tariffs. The question is: when? “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary expressed confidence that the ongoing trade tension between Canada and the U.S. would eventually lead to a resolution, and he even predicted when. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, O’Leary said he believes that while the current rhetoric surrounding tariffs might appear grim, there is a strong economic incentive for both nations to come to the negotiating table and reduce the barriers that have caused friction in recent years.

O’Leary emphasized the importance of distinguishing between the “noise” of political rhetoric and the underlying “signal” that points toward economic cooperation. While current tensions have made it seem nearly impossible for the two nations to agree on trade policies, O’Leary argued that a combined economic effort between the U.S. and Canada could pose a significant challenge to China. “If you combine those economies… it would be much stronger against China if there were no tariffs between Canada and the United States,” he said.

The logic behind this argument lies in the historical and economic interdependence of the two countries. According to O’Leary, Canada’s economy has been deeply tied to the U.S. for over a century, with 75% of Canada’s output sold to the U.S. for more than 120 years. Furthermore, 17 U.S. states consider Canada their top trading partner, while 28 states rank Canada as their second-largest partner. “It would be economic suicide not to work this out,” O’Leary stated, underscoring the critical importance of a favorable trade agreement for both nations. O’Leary predicted that Canada will wait until after Canada’s upcoming election, which is set to take place in about five weeks, before caving to Trump on tariffs. Until then, he sees no substantive progress taking place.

He speculated that the next leader of Canada will quickly prioritize resolving trade issues with the U.S. “That person will fly to Washington immediately and start negotiations, which I would call NAFTA III,” O’Leary remarked, referring to the possibility of a new trade deal similar to the USMCA (formerly NAFTA) that would replace the existing tariff policies. The potential resolution is also tied to Canada’s political dynamics. O’Leary pointed out that the current Canadian leadership has been distracted by the trade dispute and other domestic issues. He specifically criticized Mark Carney, the interim prime minister, for attempting to use the Trump trade issue as a means of deflecting attention away from Canada’s internal economic struggles. O’Leary implied that Carney’s leadership has only exacerbated Canada’s difficulties. “Maybe he’ll get elected; maybe he won’t. Nobody knows right now,” he said, adding that no meaningful changes will occur until after the election.

In conclusion, O’Leary’s outlook suggests that, while the current trade situation between Canada and the U.S. is fraught with challenges, both countries stand to benefit immensely from removing tariffs and working together. The next Canadian leader, O’Leary believes, will be compelled to seek a deal with the U.S. once the political dust settles, which means that a breakthrough will likely occur soon after the election.

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“Carney is basically saying, ‘I know I wiped out the economy… but don’t worry about that. Let’s just stay focused on the evil Trump south of the border.’”

• Mr. Wonderful Destroys CNN With Masterful Defense of Trump Tariffs (Margolis)

Businessman and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary — also known as Mr. Wonderful — delivered a pointed and unapologetic defense of President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on CNN Friday night, brushing aside media hysteria and market hand-wringing with characteristic bluntness. “You know, I try and focus on the signal, not the noise,” O’Leary said, cutting through the typical cable news panic. “Harris is not president. Trump is. And if you didn’t like him 12 years ago and don’t like him now, I get it. But that’s not the issue.” What is the issue, according to O’Leary, is trade fairness — something that has been ignored for far too long in favor of politically correct diplomacy that left the U.S. at a disadvantage. “Reciprocal tariffs… we’ve got 60 countries on the list,” he explained. “Already, you’ve heard from Thailand, Cambodia, the EU, and Sen. Kennedy in Louisiana calling for zero tariffs between Canada and the United States. The whole point is it’s a negotiation.”

The investor made it clear that Trump’s hard-nosed approach is how you get to free trade—by making it costly not to come to the table. “If you can get the zero tariffs, that’s the best outcome. That’s called free trade. That’s 50% of why these tariffs are put on.” Even when host Laura Coates challenged him over the economic pain some Americans feel from market instability, O’Leary didn’t flinch. “Yeah, I hate volatility,” he admitted. “But the market corrects all the time. It generally goes down 15 to 20%. It has proven over a hundred years plus — it’s a great buying opportunity.” Former White House official Anthony Scaramucci, now a regular Trump critic, tried to refute O’Leary’s stance by claiming that the tariffs weren’t actually reciprocal and calling the policy “arbitrary nonsense.” He argued that global trust in the Trump administration had eroded.

“The risk premium in the global markets has now gone up,” Scaramucci warned, adding that “they have no idea what they’re doing.” But O’Leary wasn’t buying it. Pressed on reports that big-name CEOs are preparing to freeze hiring or lay off workers due to tariff uncertainty, O’Leary said their concerns are overblown. “They shouldn’t be worried. At the end of the day, the opportunity is immense.” He also dismantled the idea that Trump’s trade stance is alienating allies, turning the focus back on Canada’s struggling leadership. “Carney in Canada… is not an elected official. He is a stop-gap measure. He has no mandate from the Canadian people,” O’Leary said. “His party wiped out the Canadian economy. It’s highly likely he won’t win the election.”

Calling Carney’s anti-Trump rhetoric a diversion tactic, O’Leary argued that Canadians are waking up. “Carney is basically saying, ‘I know I wiped out the economy… but don’t worry about that. Let’s just stay focused on the evil Trump south of the border.’” “Canadians aren’t that stupid,” O’Leary added. “They figured out that their biggest trading partner is the United States… this will, too, just like a marriage — sometimes there’s a tiff. And you kiss and make up.” While others hyperventilate over style, O’Leary focused on substance and came out swinging with a calm, reasoned, and deeply pragmatic case for Trump’s trade agenda.

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Once it’s banned: no value. Before that: a very valuable negotiating tool.

• China Delays Approval of TikTok’s US Asset Spin-Off Due to New Tariffs (Sp.)

Chinese authorities have not approved a deal to spin off TikTok’s US assets due to recently announced US tariffs on Chinese goods, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The report said the deal was largely finalized by April 2, and would have involved spinning off the social media’s US operations into a new US-based company with a majority stake in it held by US investors. ByteDance’s stake in the deal would have been 20%.
The report said the deal has already been approved by TikTok’s existing and new investors, ByteDance and the US authorities. On Friday, US President Donald Trump revealed that he would sign an executive order allowing TikTok to continue operating in the United States for another 75 days as negotiations regarding its acquisition progress.

Later in the day, ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, said that it has been in discussions with the US government on a potential way forward to resolve the ongoing issue concerning the video app company operation in the United States. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a 10% base tariff on all imports to the United States starting April 5, while higher, reciprocal tariffs on countries and territories with which the US has the largest trade deficits will take effect on April 9. NBC News reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the talks, that Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs disrupted a deal for TikTok’s US division that had already been approved by the Chinese government.

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“The rhetoric in Europe just doesn’t match the reality,” Vance said. “And they start trying to throw presidential candidates and political leaders off the ballot.”

““[She’s] leading in some polls and [this is] over an incredibly minor charge that implicates, by the way, her staff not even Marine Le Pen herself.”

• Vance Warns Of ‘Greatest Threat To Europe’ (RT)

US Vice President J.D. Vance has taken aim at the EU’s leadership, warning that the bloc faces its greatest threat not from external powers like Russia or China, but from internal policy failures. Speaking in an interview with Rob Schmitt of Newsmax on Thursday, Vance voiced concerns about Europe’s approaches to migration, defense spending, and treatment of political opposition. “We have to appreciate that the greatest threat to Europe is not China or Russia,” Vance said. “The greatest threat to Europe is from within. It’s migration policies that destroy the fundamental cultural bedrock of Europe. It’s economic policies that make them less competitive.” Vance criticized what he described as a contradiction between European rhetoric and action, particularly in relation to Russia.

“These guys on the one hand, their leadership I’m talking about, say that Russia is the biggest threat in the entire world,” he said. “Meanwhile, they buy billions and billions of dollars of Russian gas, and they spend 1% of their GDP on defense, while we’re spending three or four percent of our GDP.” He further argued that Europe’s political direction was straying from democratic norms, especially in how opposition figures are treated. “The rhetoric in Europe just doesn’t match the reality,” Vance said. “And they start trying to throw presidential candidates and political leaders off the ballot.” Referencing French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen, Vance suggested the EU establishment was targeting her unfairly.

“[She’s] leading in some polls and [this is] over an incredibly minor charge that implicates, by the way, her staff not even Marine Le Pen herself. They’re trying to throw her in prison and throw her off the ballot. Look, that’s not democracy.” While reaffirming the US alliance with Europe, Vance expressed concern that ongoing internal issues could undermine the transatlantic relationship. “We want our friends to share our values. And the Europeans, they are absolutely 100% our friends. But that relationship, we’re just saying it’s gonna get stressed and it’s gonna get tested if they keep on trying to throw opposition leaders in jail and they stop respecting their own borders.” Vance made similar remarks in February when he told the Munich Security Conference that while Washington would make every effort to achieve a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine, Europe has bigger problems.

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“The real battle is one of mobilization. Eleven million voters chose the National Rally in the last election. Their voices must be heard..”

• Marine Le Pen and Her Party Refuse to Back Down (Sp.)

The National Rally (RN) party will continue serving as the voice of millions of French citizens who support RN parliamentary faction leader Marine Le Pen by fighting for her return to the presidential race in 2027 despite her recent conviction, Thierry Mariani, an RN party member, told Sputnik. On Monday, a Parisian court convicted Marine Le Pen of embezzling European Parliament funds by employing fictitious assistants for party members. She was sentenced to a five-year ban from running for public office, effective immediately, as well as to four years in prison, including two years suspended and the other two to be served with an electronic bracelet outside of jail.

“We will keep running and defending the voice of millions of French citizens. Right now, the fight is to ensure Marine Le Pen’s right to run in the presidential election. She remains our candidate as long as there is even a glimmer of hope. She is a fighter, and she’s confident she will win this battle,” Mariani said. He argued that the ruling raised questions about the motivations behind the legal proceedings and the broader implications for democracy in France. “If Marine is barred from running, it will mean that France has crossed into an anti-democratic regime,” the lawmaker stressed. Mariani insisted that Le Pen’s case was weaponized by her political opponents to undermine her candidacy.

“This is a politically motivated conviction! Originating from an administrative disagreement with the European Parliament, this case has been weaponized by our political opponents, who accuse Marine Le Pen of employing parliamentary assistants to do political work… which is precisely what they are supposed to do!” Mariani said. According to him, the timing of the ruling could be seen as an effort to sideline Le Pen and her party at the next presidential election. “And after ten years of waiting to be judged, the conviction conveniently comes just ahead of a crucial presidential election for France in 2027,” he pointed out.

According to the RN lawmaker, Le Pen remains resolute in her commitment to “fight to the end” as legal avenues are still open, with an appeal expected in spring 2026. The National Rally recognizes that the battle has extended beyond the courtroom, Mariani said. He said the party needed to continue mobilizing its voter base and ensuring that their voices are heard. “The real battle is one of mobilization. Eleven million voters chose the National Rally in the last election. Their voices must be heard,” Mariani concluded. Le Pen said she would appeal the ban on public office with France’s Constitutional Council and the European Court of Human Rights. She said she hoped the sentence would be overturned in time for the election.

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Rubio need to talk to Lavrov.

• Clarity About Ukraine Peace ‘A Matter Of Weeks’ – Rubio (RT)

Russia’s stance regarding the potential peace settlement of the Ukraine conflict will be known in the near future, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has claimed. During a March 18 phone call, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to his US counterpart Donald Trump’s suggestion that both sides implement a 30-day halt on attacks on energy facilities. Since then, Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of violating the terms of the agreement. Speaking to journalists on Friday, Rubio reiterated that Trump wants to put an end to the Ukraine conflict. However, “you can’t end a war unless both sides agree,” Rubio stated. “We will know soon enough – in a matter of weeks, not months – whether Russia is serious about peace or not. I hope they are. It would be good for the world if that war ended, but obviously we have to test that proposition,” he said.

Rubio also claimed that the Ukrainian side had shown “a willingness to enter, for example, into a complete ceasefire to create space for negotiation.”However, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated on Saturday that starting from the morning of Friday, April 4, “the Kiev regime, contrary to all statements and commitments made by Zelensky to the American side regarding a 30-day cessation of strikes on Russian energy facilities, significantly increased the number of unilateral attacks using drones and artillery munitions against the energy infrastructure of Russian regions.”

Rubio stated that if Russia isn’t ready for peace, “we’ll have to re-evaluate where we stand and what we do moving forward about it, but we’ll be in no different a position than we are today or we were when he took office.” This week, Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev visited Washington for talks with White House officials. Commenting on the results of the negotiations, he said that some progress was made and highlighted the parties’ understanding of how they can move towards finalizing the conflict. Still, Dmitriev warned that third parties were trying to derail normalization efforts initiated by Trump in February.

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“..Trump is in no hurry to conclude what we will call “The Ukrainian Problem”, a sort of “quantum politics” puzzle, to add a touch of irony. The problem is simple to solve, but he keeps it complex because it suits him..”

• Washington Calls Kiev: The Plan Has Changed (Pacini)

Washington’s evolving position on Ukraine reflects a broader shift in U.S. foreign policy, particularly in its approach to security commitments. Trump’s story that he would end the conflict in 24 hours was fine for saying goodnight to the children, but for adults it never worked. However, the Kremlin has not underestimated this argument, and for some time now has been conducting parallel negotiations to agree on the resolution of some very delicate international issues (to which I will dedicate at least two of my next articles). Ukraine has been a thorn in the side of all of Europe, a move that was clear from the start, a move by the U.S. administration to destabilize the old continent, in particular to undermine the dominance of the United Kingdom and try to redefine the thalassocratic maps. But first things first.

Initially, after the 2014 Maidan revolution and Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the United States framed its support for Ukraine as a principled stand against so-called “Russian aggression”, supporting Kiev with military aid, specific training and diplomatic support. Even then, it resembled NATO’s broader deterrence framework, in which U.S. commitments, while not formal security guarantees, were seen as a demonstration of American resolve. This was later confirmed by the facts. Over time, and especially under the Trump and Biden administrations, Washington’s position has increasingly aligned with a model of transactional delegation: allies and partners are expected to bear a greater financial burden in exchange for protection. This echoes a neo-feudal logic in which the hegemon offers selective security assistance, subordinated to its own interests and to the contributions of the “vassal”. After all, NATO was born for this very reason… at the behest of London, but with delegation to Washington.

Aid as an investment, not as a guarantee Problems arose when Russia – and the truly free world in general – decided not to fall into the classic input/output trap. Although Washington has provided Ukraine with significant military and financial aid, this support lacks the binding security guarantees that NATO membership would entail. This is a condition that is always requested by European leaders, whose interests are certainly more direct and immediate than those of a power that is several thousand kilometers away. The United States carefully avoids direct military intervention en masse, emphasizing that its assistance is conditional rather than absolute. This is a fact. If the presence of American soldiers in Ukraine since the beginning of the year 2000 is a known fact and confirmed by several sources, it is equally true that America has not cleared its own soldiers from the front line, leaving this burden and honor to its European cousins.

A sort of protection mechanism was therefore set in motion, based on the balance of costs and benefits, as is normal in a low-profile international war. The Biden administration, despite public rhetoric of “standing with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” has not moved without prolonged and exhausting negotiations, reflecting an evolving strategy in which security assistance is designed not to guarantee victory, but to sustain a controlled conflict without overextending U.S. commitments. In fact, the interest in this extension is mainly European: In short, it allows Germany to save itself from banking collapse and to save the Euro, which is now worthless, it allows France to save its own banks, which without the income from the colonies no longer function as before, and it allows the UK to keep the pound high in the skies of Europe, even if Anglo-Saxon realpolitik is no longer as old fashioned as it once was.

In recent debates on aid packages, U.S. lawmakers, particularly Republicans, have pushed for assistance to be conditional on Europe sharing the burden or Ukraine self-financing through assets held abroad. This suggests that Washington does not see Ukraine as a dependent client, but as a party that should “pay” for protection, similar to the U.S. position towards NATO allies under Trump. Unlike Cold War-era alliances, in which Washington’s security commitments were relatively clear, the Ukrainian situation demonstrates a more fluid model in which support is subject to political calculations. The United States deliberately avoids clarifying the final scope of its support, using ambiguity as a tool both to dissuade Russia and to put pressure on Kiev to accept Washington’s conditions. It is therefore logical that Trump is in no hurry to conclude what we will call “The Ukrainian Problem”, a sort of “quantum politics” puzzle, to add a touch of irony. The problem is simple to solve, but he keeps it complex because it suits him. Elementary, my dear Watson.

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“..7,000 probationary workers were laid off in February but are being reinstated due to court orders..”

• IRS To Sack 25% Of Its Employees – WaPo (RT)

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to eliminate around 20,000 jobs, The Washington Post reported on Friday, citing internal records and people familiar with the matter. The downsizing of nearly a quarter of the agency’s workforce comes as part of a broader White House cost-cutting campaign. Shortly after assuming office on January 20, US President Donald Trump launched a program to eliminate “wasteful spending” and bureaucracy across federal agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established by Trump and led by Elon Musk, has been pressing ahead with efforts to streamline federal operations in an attempt to cut $2 trillion in spending by 2026.

The IRS will reportedly eliminate its Office of Civil Rights and Compliance, dismissing around 130 employees from a division responsible for protecting taxpayers from discrimination in the tax code, audits, and investigations. The remaining staff of the office is expected to be transferred to other departments. “This action is being taken to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the IRS,” an email sent to employees cited by the newspaper reads. Over 4,000 employees reportedly accepted deferred resignation offers earlier this year, while an additional 7,000 probationary workers were laid off in February but are being reinstated due to court orders. At least some of those employees have been told they could return to work on April 14, according to the Post.

It remains unclear if the current downsizing includes the staff already targeted earlier this year, the outlet noted, adding that the IRS employed around 100,000 people as of January. In March, employees at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) told the Post that the Department of State had fired up to half of the institute’s 600-person staff. Some employees were reportedly offered severance packages or extended health insurance in exchange for signing waivers of their right to sue. USIP was founded by Congress in the mid-1980s with the declared goal of promoting conflict resolution worldwide. At the same time, Reuters reported, citing an internal memo, that all remaining jobs at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) would be eliminated in July and September. USAID missions worldwide would reportedly be closed, and the agency’s remaining functions would be folded into the State Department.

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Do they have a legal right to conspire against politicians?

• Hundreds of Law Firms Oppose Trump Order Against Perkins Coie (DS)

More than 500 law firms led by former Barack Obama solicitor general Donald Beaton Verrilli Jr. came out on Friday against an executive order targeting the firm that represented Hilary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016. President Donald Trump issued an order targeting Perkins Coie’s access to government contracts, buildings and security clearances in early March, prompting the firm to sue the administration. “The Executive Order at issue in this case, and the others like it, take direct aim at several of the Nation’s leading law firms and seek to cow every other firm, large and small, into submission,” over 500 law firms argued in an amicus brief supporting Perkins Coie. Trump has issued several orders against major law firms with ties to Democrats that limited their ability to do business with the government.

Some, like Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, the firm that hired former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, have struck deals to provide pro bono services to the administration in exchange for Trump dropping the orders. Others like Perkins Coie have challenged the orders in court. “On the basis of almost-decade-old allegations, the Executive Order subjects an entire firm, as well as its clients and personnel, to draconian punishment—including the revocation of its attorneys’ security clearances, the potential loss of clients that contract with the United States, and denial of access to federal buildings and facilities,” the law firms’ brief continues. “Such disabilities would threaten the survival of any law firm.”

District Court Judge Beryl Howell temporarily blocked parts of the order involving the firm’s government contracts and access to government buildings in March. She denied the Trump administration’s effort to disqualify her from the case due to “partiality” against the president on March 26, writing their strategy was “designed to impugn the integrity of the federal judicial system.” Several legal advocacy groups with different ideological leanings, including left-wing groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and others like the Foundation For Individual Rights and Expression, also joined a brief in support of Perkins Coie on Thursday.

“If allowed to stand, these pressure tactics will have broad and lasting impacts on Americans’ ability to retain legal counsel in important matters, to arrange their business and personal affairs as they like, and to speak their minds,” the organizations wrote. The Department of Justice argued Wednesday that the order is “within the bounds of established executive authority.” “The Executive Order directs agencies to do what they should already be doing, declines to contract with entities who act inconsistently with valid social policies regarding discrimination, and calls for the lawful examination of security clearances and government access of employees of Plaintiff’s firm,” the DOJ stated in a filing.

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? You tell me.

• Judge Orders Trump Admin to Return Alleged MS-13 Gang Member to the US (Heine)

A federal judge ruled Friday the U.S. government acted illegally when it deported an MS-13 gang member to El Salvador and ordered that he must be returned to the United States.“This was an illegal act,” said U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland, an Obama appointee. She gave the administration until 11:59 p.m. Monday to free Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador, from the El Salvadoran prison where he is being held, and return him to the United States where he is not a citizen. Abrego Garcia, 29, was among the hundreds of illegal immigrants—a large percentage of them MS-13 and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang members —expelled from the U.S. to El Salvador last month.

Although the Trump administration acknowledged in court records earlier this week it made an “administrative error” when it deported Garcia without an interview, the fact remains that he has no legal status in the United States. Garcia crossed the border illegally in 2012 by his own admission, and claimed he had to flee El Salvador as a teenager to escape gang violence when he was detained in 2019. Both the original immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals found there was sufficient evidence that Garcia was a member of MS-13 and, as such, a danger to the public. According to USA Today, “Garcia was pulled over by federal immigration agents near his home in Beltsville, Maryland, on March 12 and arrested.” Three days later, he was expelled and sent back to El Salvador even though he had won a court order six years earlier barring his removal.

Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, and their 5-year-old son, who are both U.S. citizens, sued the government demanding his return. During a hearing on Friday, Xinis ripped into Justice Department lawyers over Abrego Garcia’s arrest and questioned the government’s claim it could not get him back. If federal authorities were able to strike terms and conditions for his placement in El Salvador, “then certainly they have the functional control to unwind the decision – the wrong decision,” she said. The judge questioned the government’s claim that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13. “In a court of law, when someone is accused in such a violent and predatory organization, it comes in the form of an indictment, complaint, a criminal proceeding that has then a robust process so that we can assess the facts,” she said. “I haven’t heard that from the government.”

In response to the ruling, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested on X that the judge take it up with the president of El Salvador. “We suggest the Judge contact President @nayibbukele because we are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador,” she wrote. Bukele, meanwhile, responded to the judge’s order on X with a gif of a confused bunny.

Department of Homeland Security Spokeswoman Tricia Ohio told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum Friday that Garcia was “involved in human trafficking.” “He’s actually a member of MS-13 and was involved in human trafficking,” Ohio insisted, arguing that he needed to be “locked up” either in the U.S. or in El Salvador. She added that MS-13 “is a gang that rapes, maims, and kills Americans for sport” who “should not be on U.S. soil.” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem also told Newsmax Friday that Garcia was a “gang member and violent criminal” who didn’t belong in the United States.

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“..radical judges” will “soon learn that denying” President Trump his “constitutionally granted authorities is a gross infringement of the law and will not stand on appeal.”

• The Clash Between Trump and Activist Judges Is About to Go Nuclear (Margolis)

As President Donald Trump attempts to enact the agenda that Americans elected him to do, a serious showdown is brewing with federal judges who have taken it upon themselves to challenge his directives. Officials close to the administration are signaling that activist judges who oppose Trump’s orders may soon face accountability for their rogue decisions after yet another activist judge blocked its efforts to remove intelligence agency employees connected to DEI programs. The administration warned that “radical judges” will “soon learn that denying” President Trump his “constitutionally granted authorities is a gross infringement of the law and will not stand on appeal.”

U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga, a President George W. Bush appointee in Virginia, issued the preliminary injunction on Monday ahead of a 5 p.m. deadline issued by CIA Director John Ratcliffe for the agents to resign or be fired, allowing them to appeal and stay on the federal payroll. The injunction was part of a lawsuit filed by more than a dozen intelligence agents from the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence who were found to be involved in, or working on, DEI programs in the department. “The plaintiffs face termination without any suggestion of wrongdoing or poor performance,” Trenga said after the ruling, according to Politico. “Simply requiring the government to follow its regulations is a minimal burden.”

The employees, who were abruptly placed on administrative leave in January, were facing termination as part of the Trump administration’s effort, supported by Elon Musk, to eliminate DEI-related programs and initiate a large-scale government overhaul. Musk also visited the CIA headquarters on Tuesday to discuss his government efficiency program. The 19 unnamed employees behind the lawsuit claimed last month that their involvement in DEI programs was part of “temporary assignments” and that they also carried out other duties as intelligence officers. They also insisted that “poor performance” had nothing to do with their termination. The Trump administration has repeatedly argued that federal district judges have overstepped their authority by issuing nationwide injunctions. These instances of judicial activism have sparked outrage among administration officials, who argue that the courts are abusing their power.

“These radical judges will soon learn that denying the Chief Executive his constitutionally granted authorities is a gross infringement of the law and will not stand on appeal,” Trump administration spokesperson Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital. Several U.S. District Court judges have issued nationwide injunctions against key Trump policies that were well within the authority of the president. More nationwide injunctions have been issued against the Trump administration than any other in history due to left-wing organizations forum-shopping for judges whom they know will rule how they want without any regard to the U.S. Constitution. “Ending the bigotry of DEI and ensuring the federal government runs efficiently might be a crime to Democrats, but it’s in line with the law,” Fields added.

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“..history zigs and zags and there are times of conflict and there are times of stupidity and there are times of danger.”

• Obama Lashes Out At Trump (RT)

Former US President Barack Obama has said that he is “deeply concerned” by the policies that the country’s current leader, Donald Trump, has pursued since the start of his second term in office. During his speech at Hamilton College in New York State on Thursday, Obama criticized the Trump administration’s protectionist economic policies, attempts to tackle federal spending, clampdown on immigration, and treatment of the media. He denounced the sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump earlier this week on the majority of US trading partners, saying: “I do not think what we just witnessed… is going to be good for America.”

However, the 63-year-old Democrat stressed that the tariffs are just one policy, and that he is “more deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don’t give up students who are exercising their right to free speech,” referring to actions taken against pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The Trump administration’s pressure on law firms and its decision to bar AP journalists from accessing the Oval Office reflect “a kind of behavior [that] is contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans,” the former president said.

“Imagine if I had pulled Fox News’ credentials from the White House press corps. It is unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me or a whole bunch of my predecessors,” he argued. The former president concluded his message by saying that “history zigs and zags and there are times of conflict and there are times of stupidity and there are times of danger.” Trump slammed Obama at the height of the race for the White House last year, calling the former president “a jerk” and saying that he “divides this country” by campaigning for then-Democratic contender Kamala Harris.

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“..how dare Obama imply that he was somehow held to a high standard that Trump is not..”

• Obama’s Masterclass in Gaslighting (Margolis)

Allegedly, Barack Obama was going to take a step back from meddling in politics after the 2024 election, but he spoke at Hamilton College this week, and, of course, he had to weigh in on the new Trump administration. His stunning display of historical revisionism and self-righteous indignation would be comedic if it weren’t so dangerous to our republic. “Uh, let… Imagine if I had done any of this,” Obama pontificated to his adoring audience, playing his favorite game of hypotheticals while conveniently ignoring his own track record. “Let, let, let me just… I, I, I just wanna be clear about this. I- i- i- ima- imagine that… Imagine if I had pulled Fox News’ credentials from the White House press corps.”

His lack of comfort talking about this is obvious from his stammering. “Ima- i- i- i- i- imagine if I had, had said to law firms that were representing parties that were upset with policies my administration had initiated, that you will not be allowed into government buildings. We will punish you economically for dissenting from the Affordable Care Act or the Iran deal. We will ferret out students who protest against my policies. It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me or a… whole bunch of my predecessors.” Just watch how uncomfortable Obama is pushing this nonsense. It’s like he knows he’s full of it:

Seriously, how dare Obama imply that he was somehow held to a high standard that Trump is not. We all remember his presidency, the scandals and corruption that the mainstream media ignored and his own party pretended didn’t happen. Let’s talk about what’s really “unimaginable.” The Obama administration was under a dark cloud of scandal from even before he took office. Obama was implicated in trying to sell his Senate seat. He had wanted Valerie Jarrett to take his place in the Senate and would have given Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich a cabinet position for doing so, but she ultimately declined the Senate seat to become Obama’s top White House advisor. Blagojevich went to prison for his role in the scandal. Obama did not.

And then there’s Obama’s Justice Department labeling Fox News reporter James Rosen as a criminal conspirator and potential spy. Or when it secretly seized phone records from Associated Press journalists. Apparently, those memories have conveniently slipped from the former president’s mind. The breathtaking hypocrisy doesn’t stop there. Obama’s sudden concern for press freedom and government overreach would be more convincing if his administration hadn’t been the most hostile to press freedom in modern history, weaponizing the Espionage Act against journalists and their sources with unprecedented aggression. Let’s not forget the IRS targeting scandal, where conservative groups were systematically harassed and delayed in their nonprofit applications. Or Operation Fast and Furious, which resulted in the death of a border patrol agent and was subsequently covered up. And who can overlook the massive NSA surveillance program that spied on countless American citizens?

But perhaps Obama’s most egregious abuse of power was his administration’s orchestration of the Russia collusion hoax against Donald Trump — a campaign of political persecution that makes Watergate look like a parking ticket. Secret meetings in the dying days of his presidency laid the groundwork for the DOJ’s continued harassment of Trump, all based on charges that have been thoroughly debunked. The cherry on top? When 47 inspectors general wrote to Congress about the Obama administration’s systematic obstruction of justice, in which the administration blocked their access to information needed for proper investigations. That’s not speculation or partisan rhetoric; that’s documented fact. So while Obama plays “what if” games at cushy college speaking engagements, the rest of us remember what actually happened during his eight years in office. His performance at Hamilton College wasn’t just tone-deaf; it was a masterclass in gaslighting the American public. The next time Obama wants to lecture anyone about governmental overreach or abuse of power, he should first take a long, hard look in the mirror. His administration wrote the book on it.

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“Since 2014, the New York Times has published more than five-hundred articles about RT alone..”

• US Research Highlights RT’s Role In Media Landscape (RT)

The New York Times published over 500 RT-related articles over the course of a decade, research published by Johns Hopkins University this week has claimed. The Russian multimedia organization RT has faced unparalleled levels of scrutiny and limitations imposed by Western nations in recent years. Actions directed against the broadcaster escalated between 2022 and 2024. According to the review, RT, as well as Chinese national broadcaster CCTV, “tend to dominate both popular and scholarly discourse about propaganda.” “Since 2014, the New York Times has published more than five-hundred articles about RT alone, while the vast majority of articles about propaganda published in top political science journals explore the effects of media run directly by the state,” the review stated.

Washington imposed new sanctions against RT in September, with then US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accusing it of engaging in “covert influence activities” and “functioning as a de facto arm of Russian intelligence.” The head of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), James Rubin, told reporters that the “broad scope and reach” of RT was one of the reasons many countries around the world did not support Ukraine. The GEC itself was closed in December 2024. Also in September 2024, RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan and three other senior RT employees were sanctioned by the US over alleged attempts to influence the 2024 presidential election. Moscow branded the crackdown on Russian media, including RT, “a declaration of war on free speech.”

In March, the former head of RT America, Ben Swann, called on US President Donald Trump to drop restrictions that his predecessor Joe Biden imposed against several Russian media outlets, including RT and Sputnik.

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https://twitter.com/Lauria1960/status/1908501373420777902

 

 

1996

 

 

Indivisible

 

 

CORLEO

 

 

TRee
https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1908475436113314274

 

 

Dragonfly

 

 

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Debt Rattle April 3 2025

Apr 032025
 
 April 3, 2025  Posted by at 10:00 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  64 Responses »


Pablo Picasso The rescue 1936

 

• Trump Rolls Out Sweeping New Tariffs (RT)
• Trump’s ‘Sledgehammer’ Approach May Cause Trade Wars –Analyst (RT)
• “This ‘Scoop’ Is Garbage’: White House Spox Denies Musk Is Stepping Back (ZH)
• Trump: “Very Bad Things are Going to Happen.” (Dennis Kucinich)
• DNC, Schumer Sue Trump Over Order Targeting Illegal Immigrant Voting (ET)
• Ukraine Conflict ‘On Precipice Of Ceasefire’ – Trump Envoy (RT)
• US Not Ready To Fight China – Trump’s Pick For Top General (RT)
• Unconquerable Yemen (Pepe Escobar)
• Who Pays For Whom In The European Union (SCF)
• France Launches New Probe Linked To Le Pen trial – AFP (RT)
• Le Pen’s 2027 Presidential Bid Derailed By von der Leyen and Macron (Jay)
• Von der Leyen Is Afraid Of The European Parliament (Pacini)
• Trump White House Bets on Outbidding Denmark for Greenland (Sp.)
• US ‘Seriously Considering’ Iran’s Indirect Nuclear Talks Idea (Sp.)
• Zakharova Skewers Baerbock’s ‘Nightmare’ Bid for UNGA Chair (Sp.)
• World Leaders Secretly Talking To Putin – Vucic (RT)
• Unearthed FBI Chat Logs Reveal ‘Gag Order’ On Biden Laptop Exposé (HUSA)
• Elon Musk Calls For Arrest Of ‘Fake NGO’ Leaders (NYP)
• Democrats Attack Musk and Everything that They Once Believed in (Turley)

 

 

 

 

Crooke
https://twitter.com/apocalypseos/status/1907188204530475152

Tesla
https://twitter.com/MAGAVoice/status/1907185675067367865

Karaganov

USAID

RFK


https://twitter.com/Holden_Culotta/status/1907090380811620641

Kyiv 2014

Unfettered

RFK SV40

Newt Gingrich Warns Of ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Due To Judges Blocking Trump Actions

 

 

 

 

Food for conversation. Lotsa. Go make the deal.

• Trump Rolls Out Sweeping New Tariffs (RT)

US President Donald Trump announced a sweeping new round of tariffs on Wednesday, as part of what he has branded his ‘Liberation Day’ plan, raising concerns about a potential global trade war. Washington is introducing customs duties on all countries based on the principle of reciprocity, Trump has announced, calling it a day of economic independence for the United States. The president confirmed that the 25% global tariffs on cars and trucks will take effect as scheduled on Thursday, while duties on imported automotive parts are set to take effect on May 3.

In his speech at the White House Rose Garden, Trump complained that “none of our companies are allowed to go into other countries.” “That’s why, effective at midnight, we will impose a 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles,” he declared.Trump claimed the reciprocal tariffs would usher in a “golden age” for the country, adding that “jobs and factories will come roaring back.” According to a chart presented by Trump during his speech, the new tariffs will range from 10% to 50%, depending on the country. Washington will impose a 20% tariff on the EU, 34% levies on China, and 24% duties on Japan, among others.

Trump said Washington would implement “kind” reciprocal tariffs on all countries amounting to “approximately half” of what those nations charge the US. “We will supercharge our domestic industrial base” and “break down” trade barriers abroad, he vowed, noting that ultimately this would entail lower prices for consumers. “Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years, but it is NOT going to happen anymore,” Trump concluded, adding “We are finally putting America first.”

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Possible. Let’s see.

• Trump’s ‘Sledgehammer’ Approach May Cause Trade Wars –Analyst (RT)

US President Donald Trump’s tactics in both political and economic matters are very similar and are tantamount to using a sledgehammer for a problem that requires nuance, financial analyst Henry Johnston has told RT. On Wednesday, Trump announced a new round of sweeping tariffs on scores of trading partners, part of what he has branded his ‘Liberation Day’ plan. “I think there’s a very interesting parallel between Trump’s approach to the Ukraine conflict and what he is doing economically. And that is that he is attempting to address very deep-seated, longstanding problems with rapid unilateral and aggressive measures,” the analyst told RT.

“And in both cases, I think he’s going to encounter more of what we’re already seeing: his very primitive tactics are not getting to the root of the issue. The economic problems that he’s attempting to address are very deep-seated. They’ve been in play for half a century and they will not be addressed by a bludgeoning with tariffs.” In his speech, Trump presented a detailed chart highlighting the reciprocal tariffs he is applying to different nations. “We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us,” Trump said of his reciprocal tariff plan. “So, the tariffs will be not a full reciprocal,” he added.

According to Johnston, there’s a perception in the White House that other nations take advantage of the US because American goods are not as welcome elsewhere, whereas the US has kept a relatively open market. “The trade balance certainly speaks for itself, but I think what’s important to understand here is that the US was a willing participant in this system. By using the dollar as the reserve currency and encouraging other countries to build up surpluses of dollars and then reinvest those in the US, in US Treasuries, it essentially allowed the US to finance domestic consumption without creating inflation,” the analyst explained to RT.

“I think it’s not entirely in good faith to claim that the US is being abused, even where US goods don’t have the same access to other markets, because the system itself has been very beneficial to the United States.” The plan has drawn swift backlash from US trading partners. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that the EU has “a strong plan” in response. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday, as cited by CCTV, that Beijing would “counterattack” if the US continues to engage in “blackmail.”

“And I think there’ll certainly be a lot of scrambling among American trade partners to respond to this,” Johnston told RT. “I think the European Union will see this as a hostile move, without question, I think it will be fairly painful for the EU. We could be seeing trade wars among allies.” Since returning to office in January, Trump has imposed a series of tariffs targeting a wide range of imports – from sweeping duties on Chinese goods to non-compliant products from the EU, Canada, and Mexico, and also steel, aluminum, and most recently, foreign cars and critical auto parts. Trump has particularly singled out the EU for what he calls unfair trade practices, including high tariffs on American goods and restrictive regulatory barriers that disadvantage US companies.

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They can’t wait.

• “This ‘Scoop’ Is Garbage’: White House Spox Denies Musk Is Stepping Back (ZH)

Shares of Tesla rose on Wednesday following an anonymously sourced Politico report (keeping in mind Musk just yanked millions in government ‘subscriptions’ from them) that President Trump has told his inner circle that Musk would be stepping back from his advisory role in the coming weeks. Musk, who Politico describes as “governing partner, ubiquitous cheerleader and Washington hatchet man” (totally not salty), claims that Trump “remains pleased with Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency initiative but both men have decided in recent days that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role.”

Then Politico gets extra nasty – writing that “Musk’s looming retreat comes as some Trump administration insiders and many outside allies have become frustrated with his unpredictability and increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability, a dynamic that was thrown into stark relief Tuesday when a conservative judge Musk vocally supported lost his bid for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat by 10 points.” One anonymous official allegedly told Politico that Musk is likely to retain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional face around the White House, while another said that anyone who thinks Musk is going to disappear entirely from Trump’s orbit is “fooling themselves.” [..] shares of Musk-owned Tesla rose more than 5% on the report.

***
Aaand here’s the denial. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt has called Politico’s scoop “garbage,” adding “lon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.” Though we would note that ‘stepping back’ (Politico) does not equal ‘departing’ (WH).

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“The U.S. Intelligence community, in its annual Global Threat Assessment, refuted Netanyahu’s oft-repeated claim about Iran building a nuclear weapon stating, “Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.”

• Trump: “Very Bad Things are Going to Happen.” (Dennis Kucinich)

In my article, “The High Price of War with Iran: $10 Gas and the Collapse of the U.S. Economy,” I reminded readers of how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been behind the push for America to destroy Iraq, Libya, Syria and now Iran. I reviewed the severe economic consequences for the U.S. if it attacks Iran. Today, I cite the human health and atmospheric effects of a U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear research facilities. The resulting nuclear fallout would bring a catastrophe unprecedented in human history. Last week, President Trump said “very bad things are going to happen” to Iran, if that nation’s leaders do not sign a new nuclear deal. The President is right. He can make very bad things can happen to Iran.

But Iran is not the only country to which “bad things” are going to happen if Iran’s nuclear research infrastructure is destroyed by the U.S., as is revealed by a careful study of the spread of radiation created by the promised bombings. America has been Netanyahu’s pawn for decades. Will the wealth, lives and security of our nation be sacrificed yet further to an agenda which brings only debt to our nation and death to innocents abroad? The return of Donald Trump to the White House for a second term has enabled Netanyahu’s right-wing party to accelerate the pulverization of Gaza, expand settlements and to repel the Houthis pro-Gaza attacks on Red Sea shipping. Netanyahu viewed Trump’s first election in 2016 as a new opportunity to topple Iran’s leadership. Trump, in partnership with Netanyahu, withdrew the U.S. from a multi-lateral agreement which limited Iran’s nuclear development in exchange for sanctions relief.

An attack by B-2 bombers on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure would destroy the targeted sites, and unleash radioactivity endangering the lives of tens of millions in Iran and hundreds of millions beyond. Due to radioactive drift, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, eastern Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan also would be severely impacted. In practical terms, given proximity to Iran, and the direction of the wind, high levels of radiation-induced illness, some fatal, and sharp increases in cancer and birth defects would occur. Radiation would contaminate and ruin food supplies, agricultural land, farm animals, and water resources hundreds and even thousands of miles from Iran.

The eastern regions of Turkey, northwestern India, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan would be exposed to moderate contamination. Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Egypt’s Sinai could be affected, depending on the wind. Israel has long fanned existential fears by conjuring the threat of a nuclear attack by Iran, while being indemnified by the U.S. for its self-styled “defensive” aggression in Gaza, where at least 50,000 Gazans have been killed and over a million Palestinians driven from their homes. While the widely publicized intent of President Trump to bomb Iran imperils Iran and neighboring countries, it also makes Israel vulnerable to a massive counterstrike from Iran and puts in the bullseye all U.S. troops in the region within 2,500 miles of Iran.

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”The Trump administration is standing up for free, fair, and honest elections and asking this basic question is essential to our Constitutional Republic.”

• DNC, Schumer Sue Trump Over Order Targeting Illegal Immigrant Voting (ET)

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and two top U.S. lawmakers on March 31 sued President Donald Trump over a recent executive order that aims to enforce the law against illegal immigrant voting and election dates. “The Executive Order seeks to impose radical changes on how Americans register to vote, cast a ballot, and participate in our democracy—all of which threaten to disenfranchise lawful voters and none of which is legal,” says the lawsuit, filed by Democratic Party attorney Marc Elias in federal court in Washington. Trump’s March 25 order has multiple sections. Several deal with laws that bar foreigners from registering to vote or from voting in federal elections. Trump directed the independent Election Assistance Commission to require proof of U.S. citizenship in its mail voter registration form, ordered U.S. officials to work with the Department of Government Efficiency to review voter rolls to identify noncitizens who are already registered, and told the U.S. attorney general to prosecute individuals who have illegally registered or voted.

Another prong takes aim at how some states in recent years have begun counting mailed ballots that arrive after Election Day, which the order says contravenes federal law. A third portion says the Election Assistance Commission shall stop providing federal funds to states that don’t comply with the laws on election dates and noncitizen voting and voter registration. The U.S. Constitution’s election clause says that states can set election dates, although Congress can alter them. “Outside of the Elections Clause, other provisions in the Constitution place certain requirements and limitations on the regulation of elections—but none allows the President to override the will of the States or Congress in this space,” the new suit states.

The legal challenge also says that the Election Assistance Commission is an independent agency over which the president, who appoints commissioners, has no control, and that federal law lets applicants who vote in federal elections attest to citizenship with a signature as opposed to requiring proof from documents such as a passport. In addition to the DNC, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, are plaintiffs in the suit.

The Democrats are asking the court to declare that the order violates the Constitution and federal law and block U.S. officials, such as the attorney general, from implementing it. “The Democrats continue to show their disdain for the Constitution and it continues to show in their insane objections to the President’s commonsense executive actions to require proof of U.S. citizenship in an effort to protect the integrity of American elections,“ Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman, told The Epoch Times in an email. ”The Trump administration is standing up for free, fair, and honest elections and asking this basic question is essential to our Constitutional Republic.”

Ahead of the 2016 election, Elias helped compile a dossier against Trump. He was named in a different order by Trump that directed officials to take action against lawyers who are violating laws and regulations. Earlier Monday, several organizations filed a separate suit in the same court over the election order, outlining similar arguments. “The president’s executive order is an unlawful action that threatens to uproot our tried-and-tested election systems and silence potentially millions of Americans,“ Danielle Lang, senior director of voting rights at the Campaign Legal Center, which is representing the groups, said in a statement. ”It is simply not within the president’s authority to set election rules by executive decree, especially when they would restrict access to voting in this way.”

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“Once you get there, it’s going to be really hard to restart the war,”

• Ukraine Conflict ‘On Precipice Of Ceasefire’ – Trump Envoy (RT)

The conflict between Kiev and Moscow is close to a ceasefire, US President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, has said. He stressed that both sides would need to make concessions. Speaking to Fox Business on Wednesday, Kellogg said that Trump has been “frustrated” with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. The diplomat, nevertheless, said that he remained optimistic that Trump’s team would negotiate an end to the conflict. “I really believe we are on the precipice of getting to a ceasefire,” he said. “Neither side is going to get everything they want.” “What we want to have is a comprehensive 30-day ceasefire. Once you get there, it’s going to be really hard to restart the war,” Kellogg said. “What we need is what I would call term sheets – this is what the Russians want, this is what the Ukrainians want – and bring them together.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that Kiev has been violating the US-brokered moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure on a daily basis. According to the MOD, Ukrainian troops have launched drone and missile attacks on fuel depots, gas facilities, and elements of Russia’s power grid. During his phone call with Trump on March 18, Putin said that in order for a comprehensive ceasefire to succeed, Ukraine must stop mobilization, while Western countries must stop providing military aid to Kiev. Moscow has stressed that any future settlement must address the “root causes” of the conflict, including the expansion of NATO eastward. Russia has demanded that Ukraine officially drop its plans to join the US-led alliance and renounce its claim to Crimea and four other regions that became part of Russia in 2022.

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Just don’t.

• US Not Ready To Fight China – Trump’s Pick For Top General (RT)

The US military would be unprepared for a protracted war with China due to shortcomings in the defense industrial base, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Joint Chiefs of Staff has said. In his written testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday – part of the confirmation process – retired Lieutenant General John Caine stressed that rivalry with China remains one of the most pressing issues facing the US. ”The threat posed by China to American interests in the Indo-Pacific is real and growing. The US needs to work with allies and partners to deter China’s aggression in this region,” he claimed. He warned, however, that the US is not currently in a position to respond to the perceived threat.

“Unfortunately, at this critical moment, the Joint Force is contending with an acquisition process and defense industrial base that are not optimized for protracted conflict. The US does not have the throughput, responsiveness, or agility needed to deter our adversaries,” Caine said. Identifying the Indo-Pacific as a key theater for the US, the general remarked that the Chinese military “has made significant military improvements to include adjusting its military structures, fielding modern indigenous systems,” adding that “numerically, China has the largest navy in the world.” He added, however, that Beijing “still has deficiencies in commander proficiency, long-distance logistics, urban warfare, and… modern warfare experience writ large.”

Caine also addressed the broader geopolitical landscape, arguing that while China, Russia, and North Korea are engaged in limited cooperation, “these countries are not acting as a bloc, nor are they trending toward a NATO-style alliance.” The US and China are at odds over a number of issues, with tensions especially high over the self-governed island of Taiwan. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said that while Beijing would prefer “a peaceful reunification” with what it considers a breakaway province, it has not ruled out the use of force to accomplish this. Beijing has accused Washington of being “obsessed with suppressing China,” warning that this will only hurt the US.

China

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“..under the cloak of the most powerful imperialist country in an unsacred coalition against the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula”

• Unconquerable Yemen (Pepe Escobar)

SANA’A, Yemen – No wonder the Roman Empire called it Arabia Felix.

It’s 3 pm in Al-Sabeen square in the Haddah neighborhood of Sana’a on Friday, March 28, Al Quds Day, at Ramadan, only two days before Eid al-Fikr, and the crowd of over one million Yemenis stretches to the horizon, gently surrounded by naked hills in the distance and with the grand Al-Saleh mosque framing the foreground. The foreign pilgrim climbs to a small stage and after all his pilgrimages across the world and the lands of Islam, he knows that in one fleeting minute he must essentially thank the crowd – and this nation – for being so noble, so upright, so fearless, bearers of so much moral clarity and purpose. They should know that the whole Global Majority instinctively gets it – and stands with them. This is not so much about support for Palestine, which they have been showcasing in this same vast square for 17 months, non-stop – as shown all over global social media – but most of all about the inner strength of Arabia Felix. Free Palestine rhymes – and echoes – in eternity with Freedom of Yemen. They can be heroes not just for one day – as Bowie the Western Chameleon immortalized it: they are heroes for posterity.

One week immersed in deep Yemen is untranslatable in mere words. I was privileged to be part of a small group – from East to West – that actually broke the blockade on Yemen, as our gracious hosts never ceased to remind us. We were primarily guests in a wide-ranging conference on Palestine titled, most appropriately, “You Are Not Alone”. What strikes us like lightning, right away, is the unbounded Yemeni generosity and their naturally aristocratic-cum-debonair allure. They are the epitome of chic not only sartorially but spiritually. Nearly every night last week I was trying to convey this magic across several podcasts. As much as the conversations with towering academics, diplomats and top members of the High Political Council, the real delight in Yemen is the famous – Xi Jinping-style – “people to people’s exchanges”, particularly at night time in the mesmerizing souks of Saada in the northwest and the Old City in Sana’a.

This is the true soul of Arabia, its secrets perfuming the air like the incense a Purifier dressed in white spreads around the al-Kabir mosque in the Old City, blind men crouching at the entrance chewing qat and absorbed in meditation. This magic is what Allah himself characterizes in the Holy Book in several verses and chapters – a generosity only bestowed to Yemenis. Amidst a cornucopia of meetings and cups of the best coffee on the planet, a convoy of decoy SUVs slicing the raw landscape from Sana’a to Saada, non-stop pledges of solidary with Palestine and instances of cowardly CENTCOM bombing – from several civilian, residential buildings to an in-progress cancer hospital in Saada – soon it becomes clear that Yemen is fighting yet another lethal chapter, now against the Trump 2.0-led CENTCOM, of what is a 10-year war, initiated in March 26, 2015.

That was the first war in History, as defined by the masterful Undeterred: Yemen In The Face of Decisive Storm, by Prof. Dr. Abdulaziz Saleh bin Habtoor – which I had the honor to meet in Sana’a – “in which all the rich Arab countries” (with the exception of Oman) stood “under the cloak of the most powerful imperialist country in an unsacred coalition against the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula”. A trademark “coalition” of willing vassals, led by Saudi Arabia and for a stretch also the UAE, with the U.S. under the Obama-Biden racket “leading from behind” and providing the weapons alongside the British, not only bombed Yemen indiscriminately but also imposed a devastating blockade of air, land and sea, preventing the arrival of medicine, fuel and food, and generating at least 2.4 million displaced people and a cholera epidemic.

It’s hardly an accident that the upstart, tawdry, bling bling Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia hate Yemen with a vengeance. War on Yemen, virtually for decades, as Prof. bin Habtoor noted in our meeting, has been the Enterprise Weapon of Choice for a family scam set up by the British Empire in the 1920s to extract the wealth of Arabia Obviously no one across the – now fractured – collective West remembers that Yemen later became “Crown Prince” MbS’s war. The existence of his regime – now a darling of Trump 2.0 – was leveraged from the start on winning this war, until MbS was forced to realize he could never make it: only in 2017 the war was costing him more than $300 billion. He had to accept an armistice.

No “victory”: not against these unconquerable heroes. The memory-impaired, fractured collective West also has no recollection that Britannia Rules the Waves was forced to surrender its self-imagined global dominatrix role to the Americans after it could not subdue extremely fierce resistance in – where else – South Yemen in the 1960s. That opened the way to Saudi-led dementia – even as the pattern remained the same: Yemenis simply won’t surrender their homeland’s fabulous natural wealth to subsidize the Empire of Chaos, Lies and Plunder’s chronic need for liquidity, collateral for new cash manipulations, and most of all the commodities that lie under Yemen’s rich soil.

Read more …

IOU

• Who Pays For Whom In The European Union (SCF)

Only nine out of twenty-seven EU member states are net contributors to the EU budget. This infographic shows how many euros on average an inhabitant of individual EU countries “pays” to, or “receives” from, the EU budget. This is quite a vague metric but still it is more informative than absolute figures on individual countries’ contributions and subsidies. Luxembourg and Belgium are two special cases as most of the subsidies they receive are used to cover the administrative costs of EU institutions based there.

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Threats against the judge.

• France Launches New Probe Linked To Le Pen trial – AFP (RT)

French prosecutors have launched an investigation into threats against the judge who presided over a case in which right-wing presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen was sentenced to prison and barred from running for office, AFP has reported, citing sources. On Monday, Le Pen, the former leader of the conservative National Rally party (RN), was sentenced to four years in prison – two of them suspended and two more to be served under electronic monitoring, a hefty fine, and a five-year ban on holding public office. The court found her guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds by allegedly diverting them from official duties to party activities in France. The verdict prevents her from running in the 2027 presidential election. Le Pen has denied wrongdoing and said she would appeal.

The conviction prompted outrage from supporters, with many expressing anger online. According to French media, Judge Benedicte de Perthuis, who presided over her case in Paris, received “a large number of messages containing clearly expressed personal threats.” The judge was placed under police protection shortly after the ruling, with patrols reportedly stationed outside her home. AFP reported on Tuesday that the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the threats, citing a source close to the case. The probe has been handed over to the Brigade for Repression of Crimes Against the Person, a special French police unit responsible for handling serious crimes. This is the second investigation concerning threats tied to Le Pen’s trial. An earlier case opened in January was over death threats posted to the far-right website Riposte Laique.

The posts, which have since been deleted, targeted Judge de Perthuis and prosecutors Louise Neyton and Nicolas Barret. Le Pen, a critic of NATO’s presence in Europe and EU sanctions on Russia, has run for president three times, finishing second in 2017 and 2022. Her party currently holds the most seats in the National Assembly, while her approval rating tops that of her nearest potential rival in the presidential race – former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe – by over ten points, according to a recent Ifop poll. She claims her conviction was politically motivated and has pledged to fight it. The Paris Court of Appeal said on Tuesday that it expects to rule on Le Pen’s case by summer 2026, which could allow her to run in 2027 if the verdict is overturned.

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“The one against @MLP_officiel is a declaration of war by Brussels, at a time when the warlike impulses of von der Leyen and Macron are frightening”

• Le Pen’s 2027 Presidential Bid Derailed By von der Leyen and Macron (Jay)

It’s been called Marine Le Pen’s ‘Trump’ moment but the court case which has condemned the far-right leader, excluding her from running for President in the republic’s next elections in 2027, might turn out to be the EU’s greatest existential error in its entire history. Nothing compares to it when we calibrate it against other anti-democratic stunts like getting France and Ireland to hold referendums for the second time as the first time round didn’t get the desired result, or even more recently cancelling Romania’s presidential elections when it transpired that an anti-establishment candidate was going to win at the ballot. The Le Pen stunt is almost certainly going to backfire and produce an outcome which was not at all what was intended for both by the elite in Paris and top officials in Brussels.

Le Pen is going to gain even more supporters bringing the political establishment to its knees when the Trumpian momentum in the U.S. which led to the Donald winning convincingly repeats itself in France. The case against her is a farce on many levels, but largely because of the hypocrisy of the EU. The European Parliament is a concentrated mass of corrupt MEPs who operate outside of the rules and in many cases abuse the expense system. However, the over ruling anti-fraud authority in Brussels called OLAF historically has a habit of investigating only far-right MEPs for expense irregularities but spectacularly fails to extend its probe into those who represent the establishment. Le Pen’s father fell victim to the same stunt and so history is repeating itself.

The ruling almost certainly ends her bid to replace Emmanuel Macron as France’s president at the 2027 election where she may well have been the victor given how close she came in the past presidential elections. According to report, the judge said Le Pen was “at the heart” of a scheme to embezzle EU funds to pay party staff. She’s likely to appeal the sentence, meaning the four-year jail term and fine will be put on hold, but the ban has been put into place immediately and it obviously raises a number of questions as to whether there is time for her to win an appeal and run for president. However, she may simply profit from the decision to promote herself even further politically, leading probably to civil strife in France.

The ruling is a massive own goal for Europe’s ruling elite as it will certainly boost Le Pen’s popularity even further which will present the establishment with more problems to resolve if they are to block her taking the political demographic. Almost immediately after the sentence was announced, a number of populist leaders in Europe saw through it and gave her their full support, notably Hungary and Italy. Matteo Salvini, Italy’s Deputy PM, has said the decision was a “declaration of war by Brussels” and “those who fear the judgement of the voters often find reassurance in the judgement of the courts”. “In Paris, they condemned Marine Le Pen and would like to exclude her from political life. A bad film that we are also seeing in other countries such as Romania” he added.

And the deputy Italian PM didn’t pull any punches against those who he believed were behind the ruse both in Paris and in Brussels. “The one against @MLP_officiel is a declaration of war by Brussels, at a time when the warlike impulses of von der Leyen and Macron are frightening”. Brussels once again shoots itself in the foot and advances as a totalitarian superpower determined to stay in power even at the expense of destroying itself and EU member states economy. Le Pen was angry on the day of the hearing and stormed out of court before the judge finished reading out the sentence but will be happier to see the reaction of French people when they trump the ruling.

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“Re-armament Ursula, a plan costing almost a thousand billion euros, will be Europe’s economic grave.”

• Von der Leyen Is Afraid Of The European Parliament (Pacini)

A snake-like gaze about to kill and a flawless perm. This is Ursula, the most hated woman in Europe, who knows all the devil’s tricks. The obsession of the month is that Russia is supposedly ready to invade Europe, therefore we must rearm, as already announced with ReArm Europe, to launch a pre-emptive attack. All this will take a few years, but the Russians will be patient and fair, waiting to have worthy opponents. A report by the German secret service (sic!) claims that the Russian Federation is preparing a large-scale invasion for 2030 and the Lithuanian secret service answers that the conflict in Ukraine must be prolonged to keep Russia busy. After the meeting in London on Ukraine, the war industry sector has seen a sharp rise. On the Milan Stock Exchange, the shares of Leonardo, an Italian company specializing in defense, aerospace and security, rose by 15%, reaching a new record of 45.50 euros.

In Germany, Rheinmetall – the largest German defense group – saw an increase of 18%, while in London the British giant BAE Systems, Europe’s largest arms manufacturer, gained 14%. The agreement among European leaders to strengthen military spending and defense capabilities has boosted war industry stocks on the continent. As of December 31, 2024, Leonardo had recorded a 16.2% increase in revenues, reaching 17.8 billion euros, with expansion in almost all its areas of activity. In short, European industrialists in the strategic sector are very interested in war. But there’s more. As Prof. Alessandro Volpi brilliantly observed, behind the maneuver are ETFs, financial products that replicate an index and are, to a large extent, created by large funds. Volpi writes that “In recent months, ETFs that have as their object indices directly linked to the arms industry have been having great success.

The mechanism is simple: the large fund – for example BlackRock – creates an ETF that is linked to an index created by the same fund and, now, the big trend is to create indexes with the stocks of the main arms manufacturers, from American to European ones, which are expected to benefit from the Von der Leyen mega Plan against any invasion”. It is no coincidence that this type of ETF is increasingly attracting the savings of Europeans, who are offered them by their managers after they have been purchased by large funds. The climate of war made the financing of rearmament “indispensable” and, to meet this need, financial instruments were created to channel collective savings, transforming everyone, more or less consciously, into financiers of the arms race. It should also be emphasized that these armaments are not exclusively destined for Europe: the main customers of the large European war industries are in fact located outside the continent, including Arab countries, Israel and other nations far from the borders of the Union.

So, European rearmament favors finance more than the European Union itself, considering that of the 457 billion euros already spent annually by the EU and the UK, more than half is used for the purchase of armaments produced in the United States. A significant detail: the Meloni government has proposed tax incentives for companies that decide to convert back to arms production. In practice, rearmament will not only burden the public accounts through increased interest on the debt, but also taxpayers, who will have to cover the costs of a further favor to Stellantis. On the other hand, with Europe under pressure, it seems almost inevitable that the Italians will have to make sacrifices to keep Elkann from getting upset and to prevent the big beneficiaries of the economic bubble from suffering too many losses. Re-armament Ursula, a plan costing almost a thousand billion euros, will be Europe’s economic grave.

There is money for everything, except for what is really needed.

The European plan “ReArm Europe”, presented by the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen and widely supported by the Member States, is based on a strongly militaristic vision. The initiative is based on the assumption that Europe is about to face a sort of Third World War against Russia and its allies, without being able to count on the support of the United States. This perspective seems more like a political fantasy that lacks concrete evidence. However, the rearmament strategy requires a narrative centered on defense against a possible Russian invasion, especially after the suspension of American aid to Ukraine. This implies a radical change, according to which Europeans should allocate most of their public spending and private capital to war production.

Peace demonstrations are quickly reinterpreted within a logic in which arming oneself becomes an obligation, almost a moral duty, considered as the only effective deterrent against war. This is a disastrous historical model, which has always led to devastating conflicts. Russia is described as an absolute enemy, with whom there can be no dealings until its final defeat. Consequently, any space for mediation or dialogue is eliminated, replaced by warmongering rhetoric that demonizes the adversary. This pragmatic attitude of the so-called “armed pacifists” ignores the fact that peace is built first and foremost by eliminating the “spirit of war” from international relations.

Read more …

The deal.

• Trump White House Bets on Outbidding Denmark for Greenland (Sp.)

Denmark has vocally rejected Donald Trump’s claims to its autonomous territory, but the US President remains determined to take control of the island. Behind-the-scenes planning suggests US President Donald Trump’s Greenland dream isn’t just talk – it’s creeping into actual government policy, The Washington Post reported. The Trump administration is feverishly number-crunching to figure out the price tag for controlling the autonomous territory of Denmark, insiders told the outlet. The White House is:
• Calculating the cost of running the island, along with providing government services for its 58,000 residents.
• Trying to figure out the potential windfall from its natural resources.

As for how to obtain Greenland, one option under analysis is to offer a sweeter deal to the government of Greenland than Denmark, which currently pumps about $600 million a year into the island. “The point is, ‘We’ll pay you more than Denmark does,’” one official reportedly said. Donald Trump has said repeatedly that the United States will “get” Greenland. “100 percent,” he told NBC News on Saturday. When asked whether a takeover might involve force, he quipped that there is a “good possibility that we could do it without military force” but that “I don’t take anything off the table.”

Read more …

‘..isn’t ruling out’ okaying the Iranian proposal of having Oman serve as mediator for indirect negotiations..”

• US ‘Seriously Considering’ Iran’s Indirect Nuclear Talks Idea (Sp.)

President Trump threatened to bomb Iran in a manner “the likes of which they have never seen before” over the weekend, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warning Monday that any aggression would be met with a “heavy blow in return.” The Trump administration considers direct talks like those proposed by the president in his letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to have ‘a higher chance of success’, but ‘isn’t ruling out’ okaying the Iranian proposal of having Oman serve as mediator for indirect negotiations, US officials informed on the deliberations said. “After the exchange of letters we are now exploring next steps in order to begin conversations and trust building with the Iranians,” an official told Axios.

Read more …

“How could someone with such a limited grasp of reality possibly lead the UN for an entire year?”

• Zakharova Skewers Baerbock’s ‘Nightmare’ Bid for UNGA Chair (Sp.)

The German government plans to nominate Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as its candidate for the chair of the UN General Assembly during the 2025-26 session, media reports indicated earlier.
Just envisioning Annalena Baerbock as chair of the UN General Assembly drew a snap response from Maria Zakharova.

“How could someone with such a limited grasp of reality possibly lead the UN for an entire year? The number of diplomatic disasters she’s provoked – thanks to her own ignorance of history, diplomacy, and well, facts – would be enough to make any sane person cringe,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. Amid reports that the German government plans to nominate Baerbock for the job it’s worth recalling that people labelled her the “world’s dumbest foreign minister” for her absurd claims, unprofessionalism expressed in harsh and meaningless statements, and constant mistakes.

Read more …

“After I left [Putin’s] office, I said publicly that I expected very difficult times… Nobody believed me..”

• World Leaders Secretly Talking To Putin – Vucic (RT)

Several global leaders have secretly maintained contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the Western campaign to isolate Moscow, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has claimed. In an interview with talk show host Mario Nawfal on Tuesday, Vucic said that he had not personally met his Russian counterpart since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. “When we agreed upon the fact that it was not done in adherence with international public law, I didn’t see Putin for three years,” he noted. However, many leaders maintained behind-the-scenes communication, Vucic alleged. “I know at least two big leaders that were speaking secretly to him – because, of course, I still have my friends in the Kremlin and in some other countries as well.”

While Vucic did not name the leaders who supposedly spoke with Putin behind the scenes, he stressed that it was not Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, or Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, all of whom have not concealed their communication with the Russian president. Vucic said that he would meet with Putin on May 9 during his visit to Moscow to attend the Victory Day parade marking the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II. The Serbian leader also reminisced about his last meeting with Putin in late 2021, mere weeks before hostilities erupted between Moscow and Kiev. “After I left [Putin’s] office, I said publicly that I expected very difficult times… Nobody believed me,” Vucic said. He explained that while the Russian leader usually speaks at length about events in the post-Soviet republics, this time the topic was exhausted in 45 seconds. “I knew he had made a decision,” Vucic said.

Nehammer held in-person talks with Putin over the Ukraine conflict in April 2022, later saying it was “not a friendly visit.” Orban came to Russia in July 2024 to further what he referred to as a “peace mission.” Meanwhile, the Putin-Fico talks in December focused on Ukraine’s refusal to extend the gas transit agreement with Russia. The issue had been a major concern for Slovakia, which is highly dependent on Russian energy. US President Donald Trump has also engaged with Putin in an effort to settle the Ukraine conflict. In addition, despite wide-ranging sanctions, Russia has continued to host major diplomatic and economic events, including the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in July and the BRICS Forum in Kazan in October.

Read more …

“One agent asked if another had “admonished” the colleague who nearly revealed the laptop’s authenticity to Big Tech companies. “yes but he wont [sic] shut up..”

• Unearthed FBI Chat Logs Reveal ‘Gag Order’ On Biden Laptop Exposé (HUSA)

Internal FBI chat logs revealed that the bureau imposed a “gag order” on agents regarding the New York Post bombshell story on the Hunter Biden laptop. Along with showing Hunter’s depravity, the laptop revealed Joe Biden’s involvement in his son’s foreign business dealings. The chat logs, published Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee on X, show that the gag order extended to an FBI analyst who attempted to alert social media companies that the laptop was authentic—before these companies moved to censor the story’s spread.

https://twitter.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/1907098412652052870?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1907098412652052870%7Ctwgr%5E3918bd76bfed706d44e012991e69f272741cbba0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Funearthed-fbi-chat-logs-reveal-gag-order-biden-laptop-expose

On Oct. 14, 2020, the New York Post released its first story on the laptop’s content. That same day, FBI officials instructed agents, “please do not discuss Biden matter.” Earlier chats show a group of agents—including Laura Dehmlow, Bradley Benavides and James Dennehy—debating the Post’s story. “You guys are tracking the coverage of the laptop right?” Dehmlow wrote. Both Benavides and Dennehy replied affirmatively. Later, agents whose names remain sealed sent messages stating, “right answer – nobody on call is is [sic] authorized to comment upon NY Post story” and “nobody [is] authorized to comment.” One agent asked if another had “admonished” the colleague who nearly revealed the laptop’s authenticity to Big Tech companies. “yes but he wont [sic] shut up,” one response read.

Hours later, agents reiterated that they were forbidden from commenting on the laptop story, with messages like “official response no commen [sic] and “we cannot comment.” A previous transcribed interview with Dehmlow revealed that during a Zoom meeting with Big Tech, an FBI agent was interrupted before he could confirm the laptop was real and already in the bureau’s possession. The FBI had verified the laptop in 2019 by cross-referencing its serial number with Hunter’s iCloud storage, FBI special agent Erika Jensen stated during Hunter’s criminal trial in 2024. Despite this verification, the bureau remained silent while social media companies debated whether the Post’s story was tied to a Russian disinformation campaign.

https://twitter.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/1907098420164043062?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1907098420164043062%7Ctwgr%5E3918bd76bfed706d44e012991e69f272741cbba0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Funearthed-fbi-chat-logs-reveal-gag-order-biden-laptop-expose

Notably, the FBI had warned them weeks earlier of an imminent “hack-and-leak” story about the 2020 election, leading many to mistakenly equate that warning with the laptop exposé. The laptop revealed that while Hunter failed to pay millions in taxes, he also consumed drugs, paid for prostitutes and launched what Republicans call an “influence-peddling scheme” aimed at selling access—or at least the appearance of access—to Joe Biden in exchange for payments. According to the laptop, 10% of these payments were earmarked for the “Big Guy,” a term confirmed by former Biden ally Devon Archer to refer to Joe Biden. Biden went on to win the 2020 election, and before leaving office in 2025, he issued sweeping pardons to his siblings and Hunter, covering offenses committed between 2014 and 2025.

Read more …

“NGO” and “money-laundering” are almost synonymous.”

• Elon Musk Calls For Arrest Of ‘Fake NGO’ Leaders (NYP)

Elon Musk on Tuesday called for the arrest of leaders of “fake” organizations that receive federal funds — saying they represent a politically connected “uniparty” that’s engaged in “money laundering” of taxpayer resources. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief’s call for legal action comes as he spearheads efforts to trim annual federal spending by $1 trillion to halve the deficit. “With respect to the non-governmental organizations, these sort of fake NGOs, I think there needs to be a number of arrests,” Musk said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Five.” “These are fake charities [run by] mostly Democrats … there’s sometimes a little bit of Republican in there, because they sometimes throw the Republicans a bone to say, ‘Hey, be quiet about this.’ So that’s where you start getting the uniparty thing going on,” Musk said.

“But it is overwhelmingly to Democrats, and they give these billions of dollars to NGOs run by Democrats that then go through a whole network of additional NGOs — it’s a giant money laundering scheme. Really at this point, I think the word NGO and money laundering are almost synonymous.” The term “uniparty” is commonly used by President Trump’s supporters to describe politicians of both major parties who hold similar opinions on government operations, spending and foreign policy — generally in opposition to Trump’s populist agenda. Musk does not have the power to order criminal investigations, but his immense influence could elevate the idea among Trump’s appointees at the Justice Department and in US attorneys’ offices. “The wheels of justice turn slowly, but surely,” Musk said. “I have a maniacal sense of urgency.”

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO and owner of X, who is leading DOGE as an unpaid government employee, did not mention any specific NGO or allegedly corrupt operator. Republicans recently have highlighted a $2 billion environmental grant awarded last year by the Biden administration to a consortium of organizations linked to former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who advised on the effort to win the funds. Abrams maintains she did not personally benefit financially, including because the money has not been disbursed and she has left her job at one of the partnering organizations.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin tweeted last week that “[t]he DOJ/FBI are investigating” that award. Musk also said on “The Five” that he believes authorities will arrest a person “hopefully this week” for allegedly stealing 400,000 Social Security numbers. He gave the interview to urge Wisconsin voters to turn out to vote in a state judicial election Tuesday that he says could dictate the fate of the House of Representatives following the midterm elections next year. If Democratic judges redraw congressional districts there and deliver a win for the party, “the House will then immediately take action to stop the president’s agenda,” he said. “There will be non-stop hearings and subpoenas.”

Read more …

“..what do Democrats like Fahy now stand for when everything they are is now defined by those they hate?”

• Democrats Attack Musk and Everything that They Once Believed in (Turley)

In this “Age of Rage, it is common for people to become the very thing that they despise in others, jettisoning their most cherished values to strike out at those they hate. Since the election, Democrats have shown that very self-destructive quality of rage in adopting anti-immigrant, anti-free speech, anti-labor, and even anti-environmental positions to get at Donald Trump or his supporters. It consumes every part of a person. It is addictive, and it is contagious. What these rage addicts will not admit, however, is that they like it; they need it. This time, they are targeting Elon Musk, whose dealerships, charging stations, and customers have been hit by political violence from the left. While other billionaires from George Soros to Mark Zuckerberg have spent big on elections for the left, Musk is somehow uniquely evil because he gives money to Republicans and supports the Trump Administration.

This scorched Earth campaign was evident this week in New York, where democratic legislators are again moving to weaponize state laws for political purposes — just like they did with Trump. New York state Sen. Pat Fahy (D-Albany) is pledging to bar Musk from direct sales in the state. Notably, Fahy has been a longtime advocate of electric vehicles. The move will make it more difficult not just for Musk but other EV dealers to survive, but climate change policies be damned. Fahy and her colleagues want to get at Musk in any way they can. Fahy explained, “No matter what we do, we’ve got to take this from Elon Musk. He’s part of an effort to go backwards.”

The move is not unique:
* The left decries political violence like January 6th but is largely silent as Teslas are set on fire and Cybertrucks are covered with graffiti. It promote boycotts and rallies with a wink at the vandals. As the violence increases around the country, the left has held protests featuring signs like “Burn a Tesla, Save Democracy.”
* Democrats have made the defense of immigration a core issue and have objected even to the use of the term “illegal” or “unlawful” to refer to those crossing the Southern border. Yet, they have attacked Musk due to his status as a naturalized citizen. He is denounced as a “foreigner” “meddling” in our government. Some questioned Musk’s loyalty because he is a naturalized American.
* Those who insist that they believe in free speech are supporting censorship and opposing Musk for restoring free speech protections on X.
* In California, labor advocates oppose expanded operations from SpaceX that would benefit workers in the state. California Coastal Commissioner Gretchen Newsom tried to block increased SpaceX launches despite their benefit for both the California economy and national security. Because he “aggressively injected himself into the presidential race,” it does not mater that this would cost money and labor opportunities. Retaliation for “hopping about the country, spewing and tweeting political falsehoods” was more important.

Still, the greatest hypocrisy may be found in the Democrats’ willingness to abandon environmental priorities for political revenge. It is a contest of virtue-signaling. Fighting for Mother Earth is fine on most days, but nothing compares to destroying Elon Musk. Lawmakers and advocates are also pressuring pension funds to divest from Tesla while trying to force Tesla showrooms to close — at the cost of New York jobs. Tesla is an American company making and selling cars in this country. It sells more electric vehicles in the US and New York than any other manufacturer. Yet it must now be destroyed because, unlike a Soros or a Zuckerberg, Musk’s political views are not acceptable to the left. Tesla was allowed to operate five locations to directly sell to consumers under a 2014 deal because it was viewed as good for New York jobs, the New York economy, and, most importantly, the environment.

None of that matters now. Fahy explained, “The bottom line is, Tesla has lost their right to promote these when they’re part of an administration that wants to go backwards. Elon Musk was handed a privilege here.” It also does not matter that companies like Rivian and Lucid (and their employees) will be caught in the crossfire. Nothing matters but revenge. Many Democrats seem to have lost a capacity for shame. They are disgusted only by the refusal of others to yield to their demands, not the use of any means to achieve political ends. The question is, what do Democrats like Fahy now stand for when everything they are is now defined by those they hate?

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Probably nothing

 

 

Happer
https://twitter.com/freedom_rsrch/status/1907415754976178577
https://twitter.com/freedom_rsrch/status/1906730657474101531

 

 

Play

 

 

Girls
https://twitter.com/TheFigen_/status/1907195411833516248

 

 

Coops
https://twitter.com/Farm_With_Art/status/1907394250716705135

 

 

iVM

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Rattle February 24 2025

Feb 242025
 
 February 24, 2025  Posted by at 11:08 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  44 Responses »


Pablo Picasso Crucifixion 1930

 

• FBI Freak Out As Dan Bongino Named Deputy Director (ZH)
• FBI Director Patel To Take Over ATF Too – Will He Burn It To The Ground? (ZH)
• Kash Patel Banishes 1,500 FBI Agents from Washington (Paul Craig Roberts)
• FBI, DoD, State Dept. Push Back On Musk’s Monday Email Deadline (ZH)
• Zelensky Says He Is Ready To Resign (RT)
• Zelensky Warns Ukraine Won’t Pay Debt To US (RT)
• Ukraine Will Be A ‘Buffer’ State – Orban (RT)
• No Peace Without A Price: The Story Behind Trump’s Ukraine Demands (Poletaev)
• Trump Admin Goes To War With Zelensky & Europe In UN (ZH)
• Ex-Zelensky Aide Threatens To Jail Him For Life (RT)
• The Collapse Of The Zelensky Cult (Carlson/Mahncke)
• Ukraine, Russia, and the West’s Fatal Miscalculation (Lukyanov)
• EU “Leaders” Want To Save The Multi-Million Dollar Military Jackpot (Dionísio)
• Loathsome Heirs of Fascism Will Face Inevitable Retribution (Medvedev)
• Starmer Tells Trump To Fight Russia The British Way (Helmer)
• Democrats Reject Decades of Policy As They Fight Hegseth’s Pentagon Cuts (JTN)
• Donald Trump Could Pull the Funniest, Most Evil Prank EVER on Canada! (Pinsker)

 

 

 

 

Forbes
https://twitter.com/i/status/1893581562882748910

O’Leary

Stephen Miller

Orban

Badass
https://twitter.com/i/status/1893469653617324371

Luongo

 

 

 

 

Even more than Patel, Bongino signals Trump is serious about gutting the FBI.

• FBI Freak Out As Dan Bongino Named Deputy Director (ZH)

On Sunday evening, President Donald Trump announced that former Secret Service agent and conservative talk show host Dan Bongino will become the new deputy director of the FBI – the agency that helped Obama and Hillary Clinton set Donald Trump us with the Russia Collusion hoax – which included leaks to the press, fabricating evidence, and die-hard deep state servants who vowed to destroy our president. And now – Bongino and newly minted FBI Director Kash Patel are in charge…

…which is not sitting well with current and former agency officials – or deep state journalists like NBC’s Ken Dilanian, who reports that the FBI Agents Association struck out against Bongino’s selection. Without naming Bongino directly, the Association lashed out over the fact that the Deputy Director has typically been an active Special Agent. “The FBI Deputy Director should continue to be an on-board, active Special Agent—as has been the case for 117 years for many compelling reasons, including operational expertise and experience, as well as the trust of our Special Agent population,” reads a memo obtained by WNBC’s Jonathan Dienst.

As the WSJ notes, The announcement sent shock waves through the FBI, whose new director Kash Patel had offered Republican senators private assurances that he would name a special agent with bureau experience to be his deputy, rather than a political outsider. Patel was sworn in at the White House on Friday. Leaders of the FBI Agents Association, who met with Patel in January, said the new director had agreed that the deputy should be a current special agent… Ken Dilanian echoed this sentiment, complaining on X that Bongino “has never spent a day working at the FBI, but he has spent many hours spouting baseless falsehoods about the bureau.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1893854114708156551

Read more …

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Bad rep.

• FBI Director Patel To Take Over ATF Too – Will He Burn It To The Ground? (ZH)

Leftists were already apoplectic that Donald Trump managed to install firebrand Kash Patel as FBI director. Now, upping the ante, Trump is about to turn the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) over to Patel too, according to sources cited by multiple news outlets on Saturday evening. The extraordinary move has some wondering if Trump might move to dissolve the ATF altogether. Gun Owners of America has lauded Patel as being “fiercely pro-gun.” However, during his confirmation hearings, Patel skirted direct questioning about whether civilians should be allowed to own machine guns, or whether background checks are constitutional, saying, “Whatever the courts rule in regards to the Second Amendment is what is protected by the Second Amendment.”

The ATF is already the focus of a Trump II overhaul. Last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the ATF’s top lawyer, Pamela Hicks. “These people were targeting gun owners. Not gonna happen under this administration,” Bondi told Fox News. The FBI and ATF both reside within the Department of Justice. Patel may be sworn in as acting director of the ATF this week, a Justice official told AP. The agency has roughly 5,500 employees — today, at least. With Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency looking to slash the federal employment rolls, the ATF should be a prime target for headcount reduction. The 1993 federal government massacre of innocents at Waco started with an ATF raid over dubious suspicions that the Branch Davidians were stockpiling prohibited weapons.


The 1993 federal government massacre of innocents at Waco started with an ATF raid over dubious suspicions that the Branch Davidians were stockpiling prohibited weapons.

Better yet, many are hoping — and others fearing — that putting the ATF in Patel’s portfolio could signal that the ultimate objective is to dismantle it. That would be a bold move for a president who comes into his second term with a decidedly spotty record where the right to armed self-defense is concerned. Trump embraced “red flag” laws that empower police to seize firearms from people they deem dangerous, without due process. In 2018, Trump infamously told reporters, “Take the firearms first, and then go to court…I like taking the guns early…Take the guns first, go through due process second.” Exceeding its authority, his first-term ATF imaginatively reinterpreted the definition of an automatic weapon to include bump stocks, banned their sale, and demanded that civilians turn them in the ones they already owned. Trump promised to push for increasing the legal age for purchasing firearms to 18.

That said, Trump’s second term is off to a strong start on the gun rights front. On Feb 7, Trump signed an executive order that sought to curtail federal infringements on rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment. Among other things, the multifaceted order directed Bondi to:

• Catalogue and address all actions of the Biden administration that infringed on gun rights
• Reverse the heavy-handed “zero tolerance” or “enhanced regulatory enforcement policy” by which enforcement actions against Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL’s) — many of them small businesses –skyrocketed nearly six-fold.
• Review how firearms and ammunition are categorized and thus regulated

Rightly resented by liberty-minded Americans, the ATF has played central roles in some of the most ghastly crimes committed by the federal government in recent decades, from the ATF entrapment of Randy Weaver that led to the killing of his 14-year-old son and his wife as she held their 10-month-old daughter, to the standoff in Waco that ended in the mass slaughter of 76 Branch Davidians, including 25 children. Like the vast majority of the federal government, there’s no constitutional authority for the ATF to exist in the first place. As the old joke goes, “Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency.” Here’s hoping that wry aspiration become reality.

Read more …

“Keep them locked up in Washington shuffling papers in bureaucratic tasks that go nowhere. When they retire or die, don’t replace them. Let the FBI dwindle away. We don’t need it.”

• Kash Patel Banishes 1,500 FBI Agents from Washington (Paul Craig Roberts)

Dear Kash,

I read that you are sending 1,500 FBI bad apples from DC into the states. Please keep them out of red states. Perhaps you are hoping they will resign. Otherwise it is a bad idea. The FBI are the Democrats’ secret police. They frame red state politicians, sheriffs, and attorneys general in order to advance Democrat power. The FBI even tried to frame President Trump and it seems to assassinate him. FBI agents have no integrity, Kash. If the FBI had any integrity, how could we have had eight years of the FBI’s efforts to destroy Donald Trump? Please don’t send any to Florida. If you have any in Florida, please take them out. We would prefer you keep them all in DC where you can keep an eye on them. Their presence in states and localities will pollute sheriff departments and local police with FBI corrupt practices.

Do you remember some years ago when it came to light that the FBI crime lab concocted whatever “evidence” prosecutors needed to convict defendants regardless of innocence or guilt? Have you forgot all the fake “Muslim terrorist” cases the FBI created as proof that Muslim terrorism was loose in America? The FBI would seek out demented individuals and groups and entice them to participate in a FBI concocted terrorist act and then arrest them prior to committing the act. Some of these victims are still in prison. The orchestrated arrests produced the headlines that kept the “war on terror” — actually a war for Greater Israel — going in the Middle East. Please Kash, spare MAGA America from FBI agents. Keep them locked up in Washington shuffling papers in bureaucratic tasks that go nowhere. When they retire or die, don’t replace them. Let the FBI dwindle away. We don’t need it.

Read more …

Update to “What Did You Do Last Week?” in yesterday’s Debt Rattle. I think Musk welcomes all reactions. Plus, heads of agencies that say they will evaluate their own people, wlll be called upon to do just that.

• FBI, DoD, State Dept. Push Back On Musk’s Monday Email Deadline (ZH)

Following Elon Musk’s Saturday tweet instructing federal workers to list at least five accomplishments over the past week by Monday at midnight, or face termination – which was followed up by an actual email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), several agencies issued statements telling their employees to pump the brakes. So far the Pentagon, FBI, State Department, and various parts of the Intelligence Community have told their employees to hold off.”When and if required, the Department will coordinate responses to the email you have received from OPM. For now, please pause any response to the OPM email titled ‘What did you do last week,” said DoD Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Darin Selnick in a statement.That followed a similar statement by FBI Director Kash Patel, who told the bureau that they would conduct their own employee reviews that align with the agency’s procedures. The State Department told its employees; “The State Department will respond on behalf of the Department. No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command.”

While National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard told employees of agencies she oversees in the Intelligence Community (IC): “Given the inherently sensitive and classified nature of our work, I.C. employees should not respond to the OPM email,” according to The Hill. Meanwhile, Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), wrote a letter to Musk and OPM acting director Charles Ezell, directing its 800,000 members to defy the demand. “Federal employees report to their respective agencies through their established chains of command; they do not report to OPM,” said Kelly, adding that the demand was “irresponsible” and a “sophomoric attempt” to cause confusion and intimidate federal workers. “I am also requesting that OPM rescind the email and apologize to all federal employees,” he said.

Musk has defended the ‘accomplishments’ email, saying that it was designed to weed out “non-existent people or the identities of dead people” who are collecting government checks. He also agreed with commentator and author Mike Cernovich that this also helps to identify high-performing employees.

Read more …

Empty gestures.

“I can exchange this for NATO..” No, you can’t, Trump says no NATO for Ukraine.

“If peace for Ukraine..” C’mon, you blocked peace for three years.

• Zelensky Says He Is Ready To Resign (RT)

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has expressed his readiness to “exchange” his position for NATO membership and step down if it is necessary to achieve peace in Ukraine.Speaking at the ‘Ukraine. Year 2025’ forum in Kiev on Saturday, Zelensky claimed he didn’t intend to remain in power for many years. “If peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, then I’m ready. I can exchange this for NATO, if there are such conditions. I am focusing on the security of Ukraine today, not in 20 years, and I do not intend to be in power for decades,” Zelensky asserted. The Ukrainian leader also touched upon the ongoing row with the US regarding the proposed rare earths deal, in which Washington is seeking reimbursement for the military aid it has provided with earnings from Ukraine’s natural resources.

Zelensky confirmed having received the proposed deal, introduced by Washington after the first draft was shot down by Kiev, involves a sum of $500 billion. “It became clear that we are talking about a debt, that this is not an investment… If this money goes to the fund, and nothing comes from abroad, then we are paying off the debt,” Zelensky stated.“We had 100 [billion]. I am not ready to pay off 500 [billion]. And I am not even ready to fix it at the 100 [billion mark], because I will not recognize grants as debts. We should not pay off the debt,” he added. Paying off such sums would have put some 10 generations of Ukrainians in debt, thus indicating that such a deal was completely unacceptable, Zelensky stressed.

Zelensky’s presidential term expired in May 2024; critics have accused the Ukrainian leader of seeking to prolong the hostility in order to cling on power. Moscow has repeatedly signaled it does not regard him as a legitimate representative of the country and that he lacks the power to sign any comprehensive peace deal. This week, Trump pointed to Zelensky’s shaky legal position as well, branding him a “dictator without elections” and claiming that he currently has an extremely low approval rating in his country.

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Why does he seek so hard to antagonize Trump? Who tells him to?

• Zelensky Warns Ukraine Won’t Pay Debt To US (RT)

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has said his country will not repay the assistance it has received from the US since the start of the conflict with Russia. He also suggested that US President Donald Trump’s estimate that Kiev owes $350 billion is grossly exaggerated. In recent weeks, the US president has ramped up his demands that Kiev reimburse Washington for all the aid provided since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Trump has argued that if the country is short on cash, it should sign over the rights to its natural resources as a form of compensation. Zelensky however, has refused, apparently deeming the terms too unfavorable.

Speaking at the ‘Ukraine. Year – 2025’ forum in Kiev on Sunday, Zelensky stated that “Ukraine received $100 billion [in aid] from the US, not $350, not $500, not $700,” stressing that he was “not ready to recognize even $100 billion” as debt. He claimed that he had reached an agreement with former US President Joe Biden that the money was being provided as a grant, and that no repayment had been expected. Zelensky stressed that if the Trump administration is not ready to give Ukraine a blank check, Kiev is prepared to enter into a “new agreement,” and that it should be considered carefully, in order for the parties to “remain friends and partners.” “I think I’m justified in my desire for dialogue [with the US],” the Ukrainian leader said, emphasizing that “I do not sign something which ten generations of Ukrainians would have to repay.”

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The real voice of Europe.

• Ukraine Will Be A ‘Buffer’ State – Orban (RT)

Ukraine will not be granted NATO membership, but rather will serve as a “buffer” between the US-led military bloc and Russia, once the conflict with Moscow is over, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has predicted. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Budapest has consistently criticized the EU’s weapons deliveries to Ukraine. The Hungarian government has long advocated engaging Moscow in dialogue instead, with Orban repeatedly calling for sanctions imposed on Russia to be lifted. Delivering his annual state of the nation address in Budapest on Saturday, the prime minister said that the conflict, which “is on its way to its end,” is about “bringing the territory called Ukraine, which until then was a buffer zone, a buffer state between NATO and Russia, under NATO control.”

“Ukraine, or what remains of it, will once again be a buffer zone. It will not be a NATO member,” Orban predicted. “Why European and American liberals thought that the Russians would stand idly by is still a mystery,” the official remarked, claiming that the “experiment has failed.” Admitting Kiev into the EU will hinge on Budapest’s acquiescence, he added, hinting that Hungary would block Ukraine’s accession, should it deem it to be in its own national interests. Speaking in late December, Orban claimed that EU leaders “are living in a self-created bubble, refusing to acknowledge that this war cannot be won in the way they imagine.”

The official reiterated that the bloc’s sanctions, “instead of crippling Russia… have weakened Europe.” “Ukraine’s defeat is not just possible but increasingly likely,” the Hungarian prime minister warned at the time. Earlier that month, Orban pointed the finger at former US President Joe Biden for the escalation of hostilities in 2022. Russia has consistently cited Ukraine’s aspirations of joining NATO and the prospect of the bloc’s military infrastructure appearing in the neighboring nation as one of the main reasons behind the conflict. Moscow has also repeatedly described the conflict as a “proxy war” against Russia being waged by the West via Ukraine. US President Donald Trump has recently ruled out Kiev’s accession to NATO, acknowledging that Washington ignoring Moscow’s objections on the issue was among the things that caused the conflict to flare up.

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Why is it so hard to determine if Ukraine has rare earths? Bloomberg energy and commodities opinion columnist Javier Blas on Feb 19: “Surprisingly, many people — not least, US President Donald Trump — seem convinced the country has a rich mineral endowment. It’s a folly..”[..] “The US Geological Survey, an authority on the matter, doesn’t list the country as holding any [rare earth] reserves. Neither does any other database commonly used in the mining business.”

• No Peace Without A Price: The Story Behind Trump’s Ukraine Demands (Poletaev)

As Washington’s push to secure Ukraine’s mineral wealth intensifies, the latest tensions between Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky highlight a growing rift. The US president and his team are actively pressing Kiev to sign off on a deal that would grant America access to Ukraine’s rare-earth metals in exchange for continued military aid. But is such an agreement feasible? And how did Ukraine’s underground riches suddenly become a focal point in US-Ukrainian relations? Ukraine possesses significant reserves of valuable minerals, including lithium (2% of global reserves), graphite (4%), nickel (0.4%), manganese, uranium, and rare-earth metals. Of particular note is titanium, with estimates suggesting Ukraine holds up to 20% of the world’s reserves. However, nearly 40% of these deposits are either under Russian control or located in frontline areas, significantly complicating any Western attempts to exploit them.

Since gaining independence, Ukraine has struggled to attract foreign investment into its mining sector. The only notable success was ArcelorMittal’s privatization of the Krivoy Rog Metallurgical Plant in the mid-2000s. Beyond that, Western companies have largely refrained from new projects, partly due to Article 13 of Ukraine’s constitution, which explicitly prohibits the privatization of natural resources. The idea of leveraging Ukraine’s mineral wealth to secure US military support was first floated by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime advocate of deeper US-Ukraine ties. Graham has frequently traveled to Kiev during the war, delivering fiery speeches that, in essence, boil down to: You’re doing everything right, but Washington’s politicians are letting you down. With Trump looming on the horizon, Graham remarked that Trump isn’t particularly interested in values – he’s a businessman who thinks in terms of deals.

He suggested that Ukraine should propose something to Trump to convince him to invest in Ukraine’s defense. For example, why not offer him the country’s mineral resources? Zelensky’s inner circle latched onto this idea and eagerly pitched it to Trump when he took office. According to Ukrainian publications, Kiev believed that in return it would get weapons, investments, new mineral extraction technologies, a significant share of the mined resources, and perhaps even US troops in Ukraine. In essence, they imagined a scenario where everything would happen automatically, and they wouldn’t have to do anything. Trump, however, acted more like a mob boss from a Hollywood film. He dispatched an “accountant” to Kiev, who presented a document for Zelensky to sign and bluntly explained: what’s ours is ours; and what’s yours is also ours. Oh, and you owe us a kidney and an eye, while we owe you nothing at all. Here’s a pen — sign here.

According to Western media reports, Trump’s proposal stipulated that Ukraine would effectively hand over its mineral wealth as retroactive payment for the billions in US military aid already provided. In return, there would be no promise of future weapons shipments or security guarantees. Zelensky, who has spent the past three years desperately seeking such guarantees, was reportedly furious and refused to sign. The dispute came to a head at the Munich Security Conference, where Zelensky met with US Vice President J.D. Vance. The minerals issue dominated their discussion, and after Zelensky’s continued refusal to sign, the American side was openly frustrated. No surprises that it caused harsh reactions from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said he “was personally very upset” with the conversation top American officials had with Zelensky over the minerals deal, and suggesting that the Ukrainian leader had flip-flopped.

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“The clash pits the U.S. and Russia on one side against Ukraine and Europe on the other..”

• Trump Admin Goes To War With Zelensky & Europe In UN (ZH)

As the war of words between the Trump and Zelensky administrations has grown, so has a diplomatic war and rift at the United Nations in New York. It has resulted in a crisis which may result in deadlock over a planned statement commemorating the Ukraine war’s three-year mark. The United States is seeking to stymie a draft resolution Ukraine prepared to bring before the UN Security Council and General Assembly. The Ukraine resolution has support from European nations, which is intended to call out three years since the Russian invasion, and condemn Moscow. The Ukrainian proposed text blames Russia for starting the war and calls for its swift end. “In a note to capitals, seen by The Wall Street Journal, U.S. diplomats told European counterparts over the past day that Washington would oppose the Ukrainian resolution if it advances and pressed the Europeans to persuade Kyiv to withdraw its text,” WSJ writes.

A Saturday statement on X by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha blasted efforts to alter any resolution in a way that deflects blame from Russia. “The root causes of this war are Putin’s denial of Ukraine’s right to exist and his wish to destroy our nation,” he posted. “This is why Russia started this war, commits atrocities, and tries to change borders by force.” The chief complaint is that the US version makes no reference to who started it. The Trump administration is reportedly mulling a change proposed by Russia, which is a permanent member of the security council, and this has set off fierce diplomatic conflict, per Reuters: “The U.S. text mourns the loss of life during the “Russia-Ukraine conflict” and reiterates “that the principal purpose of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security and to peacefully settle disputes.” It also “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.”

Russia has proposed an amendment to that line – to be voted on by the General Assembly – so it reads “implores a swift end to the conflict, including by addressing its root causes, and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.” For Russia, key among the root causes is NATO expansion and Western efforts to militarize Ukraine, as well as Kiev’s anti-Russia actions in the predominantly speaking Donbass region. The WSJ underscores that in Trump playing nice with Russia, “The clash pits the U.S. and Russia on one side against Ukraine and Europe on the other, in the most dramatic display of trans-Atlantic tensions in years.” Apparently the US side isn’t budging even if the face of strong European push-back and pressure: The diplomats said the U.S. on Friday asked Ukrainian officials to withdraw their resolution. Ukraine refused. Meanwhile, British and French officials asked Washington to amend its draft. The U.S. said it wouldn’t, the diplomats said.

And the Trump administration is not going to back down, to be sure, as has been evident within only the first month of the Republican president returning to office. In siding with the Moscow-proposed change to the resolution, the US side is being accused by Europe and Ukraine as essentially caving to Russian demands. “We urge all U.N. member states to join the United States in this solemn pursuit,” Rubio has said of efforts to quickly negotiate peace. Ukraine’s FM Sybiha has meanwhile stated that in conversions with Rubio and American diplomats, “I stressed that Russian responsibility for the war cannot be put into question.”

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Below is a full statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that The UN Must Act to Bring Peace to Europe:

“President Trump is committed to ending the Russia-Ukraine war and to a resolution that leads to a lasting peace, not just a temporary pause. This Monday, February 24, will mark three years of the Russia-Ukraine war. This war has now dragged on for far too long, and at far too terrible a cost to Ukraine and Russia.The United States has proposed a simple, historic resolution in the United Nations that we urge all member states to support in order to chart a path to peace. This resolution is consistent with President Trump’s view that the UN must return to its founding purpose, as enshrined in the UN Charter, to maintain international peace and security, including through the peaceful settlement of disputes.

If the United Nations is truly committed to its original purpose, we must acknowledge that while challenges may arise, the goal of lasting peace remains achievable. Through support of this resolution, we affirm that this conflict is awful, that the UN can help end it, and that peace is possible. We strongly believe that this is the moment to commit to ending the war. This is our opportunity to build real momentum toward peace. We urge all UN member states to join the United States in this solemn pursuit.”

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“Arestovich said Ukraine has already “lost the war due to our own stupidity, pride, and stubbornness,” warning that Kiev’s denial of reality would ultimately exclude it from having a say in the conflict’s outcome altogether..”

• Ex-Zelensky Aide Threatens To Jail Him For Life (RT)

Former aide to Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky Aleksey Arestovich has pledged to jail the incumbent Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and the entirety of his “gang” in case he becomes the country’s new president. Arestovich, once Ukraine’s top spin doctor, made the remarks on Friday while speaking to journalist Aleksandr Shelest. Asked whether he would arrest Zelensky should he get elected, Arestovich pledged to detain the country’s incumbent leader and his whole “gang,” adding that it was up to a court to ultimately decide their fate.

“I will give the order to detain him. And no foreign power will save him and his gang. We will catch everyone, no matter where they are hiding, we will get them out from under the ground, bring them in and we will deliver the verdict live on air. No, not even a hair will fall from his head. He will get jailed – and I believe – for life,” Arestovich stated. The ex-aide accused his former boss of killing off Ukrainians “by the tens of thousands” just for the sake of keeping his “beloved” power, which he has been ultimately using to “kill and rob.” Arestovich also pledged to reshape the Ukrainian governing model and make the state “face the people,” adding he will use force if necessary to reach the goal.Arestovich was a long-time associate of Zelensky, with the ties between the two going back to their time in show business.

During Zelensky’s presidency, Arestovich became his informal adviser and a top propagandist, heralding a purportedly imminent victory in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He left the role in early 2023 after contradicting the official narrative around a deadly missile incident. Arestovich has grown increasingly critical of his former boss and has since moved to the US, claiming that Kiev wants him jailed on politically-motivated charges. Earlier this month, Arestovich said Ukraine has already “lost the war due to our own stupidity, pride, and stubbornness,” warning that Kiev’s denial of reality would ultimately exclude it from having a say in the conflict’s outcome altogether. “We have created a society of mutual hatred and intolerance, in which every individual is right and everyone collectively is to blame,” he said.

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“The charade is over. And unless Zelensky undergoes a complete and immediate transformation, the war will end without him. One way or another, it is coming to a close. The show is over.”

• The Collapse Of The Zelensky Cult (Carlson/Mahncke)

At long last, someone has said it. Trump has finally called it like it is—Zelensky is the emperor with no clothes. In fact, he’s the dictator with no clothes, propped up by Western elites who refused to see what was in plain sight. But the illusion is shattered. Trump didn’t just call him a dictator, he shut him out of peace talks and made it clear that if Zelensky wants to be taken seriously, he needs to hold elections, abandon his defiant posturing, and start behaving like a statesman rather than a petulant client. For years, wherever Zelensky went, Western elites and their media lapdogs treated him as untouchable—questioning him was practically a crime. The adulation didn’t even begin in 2022 when full-scale war erupted.

It started back in 2019, when Zelensky became the vehicle for Trump’s first impeachment, cast as the poor, beleaguered leader whom Trump had supposedly tried to extort. It was all a lie, but that didn’t matter. The media and political class needed him propped up, so they did—shielding him from scrutiny no matter how absurd his behavior became. The arrogance and defiance Zelensky has displayed didn’t emerge in a vacuum—it was merely the latest chapter in a pattern of reckless entitlement that defined Ukraine’s political class long before he took office. To understand it, we have to go back to 2016, when Ukrainian officials blatantly interfered in the U.S. election, attacking Trump in a way that was not just unprecedented but completely beyond the norms of international relations. It’s one thing for a foreign power to quietly prefer one candidate over another—but for a small, dependent country to openly wage political warfare against the leading contender in a U.S. presidential race was madness.

Their prime minister publicly denounced Trump, claiming he “challenged the very values of the free world.” Ukraine’s Interior Minister went even further, calling Trump a “dangerous misfit” who was “dangerous both for Ukraine and for the United States to the same extent.” Their ambassador to Washington launched a blistering op-ed—something virtually unheard of in international diplomacy—and Ukraine’s intelligence services leaked a fabricated ledger to sabotage Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, in an operation that led directly to Manafort’s ouster. Even Ukraine’s equivalent of a CIA director, Valentin Nalyvaichenko, later all but admitted to the interference, stating, “Of course, they all recognize that our [anti-corruption bureau] intervened in the presidential campaign.”

When Trump won anyway in 2016, he let it slide. He wasn’t going to punish Ukraine for backing the wrong horse. Instead, he sought peace—because, as the media and establishment so often overlook, the war in Ukraine didn’t begin in 2022 but in 2014, and it had long been Trump’s ambition to end it. But his hands were tied by the Russia collusion hoax, which effectively criminalized diplomacy with Moscow. Anytime he wanted to do anything, he was met by loud and hysterical screaming from the media, the establishment and Democrats. When the Russian ambassador visited the White House, as is totally customary, the media went apoplectic, accusing Trump of treason. When Trump met Putin in Helsinki in 2018, the hysteria reached off-the-charts proportions. Putin had given Trump a soccer ball from that year’s World Cup for Trump’s 12-year-old son, and the media claimed it may have been a listening device.

Trump was given no room to maneuver. Instead of pursuing peace, he was forced to arm Ukraine—a step even Obama had refused to take. Then came the impeachment hoax, with Zelensky at its center, making matters infinitely worse. Any attempt at serious negotiations—any engagement with Russia, any acknowledgment that peace requires concessions—would have been seized upon as proof that Trump was a traitor. The very idea of compromise was framed as “selling out” Ukraine, the same false charge leveled against Trump in the first place. Wounded by the impeachment hoax, Trump was hobbled, and then came Biden. With him, Zelensky got everything he wanted—billions in weapons and reckless escalations that led directly to war.

For years we were told that NATO entry had nothing to do with the outbreak of the wider war in 2022, but now even the NATO chief admits NATO expansion was key to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In fact, Biden and his team of inept and corrupt comrades had all but promised Ukraine NATO entry in the lead-up to the 2022 war. Biden held out NATO membership to Ukraine in December 2021, as did his secretary of state, Antony Blinken. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin went even further, saying the door was open to Ukraine for NATO membership during an October 2021 trip to Ukraine. And let’s not forget that Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, was one of the chief architects of the Russia collusion hoax, which directly impeded Trump from being able to do anything during his first term.

Yet even as Biden and his team recklessly escalated tensions, Zelensky remained oblivious to the risks, convinced that the West’s blank check would never bounce. When the war exploded into a full-scale conflict in 2022, the U.S. poured hundreds of billions into Ukraine, fueling the fight with no clear strategy or exit plan. Zelensky had one job: to prevent the war or, failing that, to end it as quickly as possible. Instead, he sold his country off—to Western cold warriors who saw Ukraine as a pawn, to proxy war zealots determined to prolong the fight, and to domestic grifters gorging on American largesse. When a real chance for peace emerged early in the war, he didn’t seize it. He threw it away at the command of Boris Johnson and Joe Biden, dragging Ukraine even deeper into a war that should never have happened.

As former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder—one of the last of the old-guard Western leaders—later revealed, he had been mediating the Istanbul peace talks in April 2022. Ukraine and Russia had largely reached an agreement—until Johnson and Biden stepped in and told Zelensky to walk away. He obeyed, choosing war over peace at the command of those who had their own agendas—agendas that had nothing to do with the lives or deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. Yet even as public support waned and the global political landscape shifted, Zelensky refused to adapt—convinced that the money, weapons, and political backing would never stop flowing.

In September 2024, Zelensky came to the United States, and campaigned in Pennsylvania for Kamala Harris, completely oblivious to the possibility that she might lose. While in the United States, he also gave an interview to The New Yorker, making his feelings about Trump and JD Vance clear. Dismissing Trump outright, he claimed, “My feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war, even if he might think he knows how.” He was just as condescending toward Vance, calling him “too radical” and adding, “I don’t take Vance’s words seriously.” He even suggested that Vance needed to be educated by Jewish Americans, claiming they were “a strong power base in the United States.”

Those are hardly the words of a leader capable of navigating peace talks, adapting to shifting political winds, or showing even a trace of gratitude toward the American taxpayers who bankrolled his war. Instead of adjusting, Zelensky doubled down on his arrogance, blind to the fact that the very people he mocked might soon be the ones calling the shots. Despite his endless missteps, poor political acumen, and habit of backing the wrong horse, Zelensky kept getting last chances.

Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited Kiev to discuss financial matters. Zelensky’s response was more arrogance, refusing to agree to an arrangement to at least partly repay America’s colossal expenditures on Ukraine. And let’s not forget: U.S. taxpayers weren’t just funding the war effort. They were covering 90% of Ukraine’s media, paying Ukrainian pensions, and subsidizing their civil service. It wasn’t just about weapons—it was about propping up an entire state. Zelensky had yet another chance to reset when he met Vance in Munich last week. He failed again. No humility, no recalibration—just the same tired routine. Munich was likely the moment Trump and Vance concluded that as long as Zelensky remained in power, a peace deal was impossible. And how did he respond? By lashing out. Within a day of Munich, he was claiming that Trump “lives in a disinformation space,” only further cementing his own irrelevance.

For years, Zelensky behaved like a spoiled child indulged by weak-willed caretakers. Under Biden, no demand was too excessive, no tantrum too outrageous. When Trump arrived, he never adjusted and never recalibrated. And now the indulgence is over. The adults are back. Trump made that unmistakable in a post yesterday on Truth Social, calling Zelensky what he is: a dictator. The media, Democrats, and European elites are in hysterics—but the truth is finally out. That which was once unsayable has now been said. For years, Zelensky wrapped himself in the language of democracy while shutting down opposition parties, silencing independent media, and, worst of all, canceling elections outright. That isn’t democracy—it’s dictatorship. The charade is over. And unless Zelensky undergoes a complete and immediate transformation, the war will end without him. One way or another, it is coming to a close. The show is over.

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“The land that is now Ukraine has always been a space where competing national myths collided. And historically, these clashes ended in bloodshed..”

• Ukraine, Russia, and the West’s Fatal Miscalculation (Lukyanov)

It’s always easy to feel prescient in hindsight. I recall conversations from 15 or 20 years ago with Western interlocutors – who are now from unfriendly nations – on NATO expansion. The discussions always began in a relatively solemn manner. From our side, we politely asked, why are you doing this? The bloc was creeping ever closer to Russia’s borders, despite assurances that it was not an anti-Russian project. Their response was equally polite: What are you talking about? This is not directed against Russia. You should welcome having stable, democratic neighbors under NATO’s watchful eye. After an hour, especially in informal settings, the real opinions began to surface. We warned, if you keep pushing, you’ll eventually reach Ukraine – and that is impossible. That is the red line. The response? Come on! You objected to Poland and Hungary, and then you accepted it.

You were angry about the Baltics, and nothing happened. What’s the difference with Ukraine? You’ll get used to it just like before. Our objections – “No, you don’t understand! Ukraine is entirely different! This will not be the same; this will end badly!” – were met with amused smiles and condescending nods. We understand your concerns, but don’t worry, we’ll handle it, their expressions seemed to say.We were right. They were wrong. But that fact does not make today’s reality any easier. The drive to pull Ukraine into NATO – an irresistible prize for the Atlantic bloc – was not some last-minute maneuver. US State Department documents from the 1990s show that Ukraine’s future membership in NATO was discussed even as the Soviet Union collapsed. It was not an immediate goal, but it was a logical consequence of the West’s Cold War victory. Any objections that contradicted this logic were dismissed outright.

The geostrategic miscalculations and arrogance that defined the so-called liberal world order are one thing. But what is more interesting is why Ukraine actually turned out to be very different. Why did those for whom Ukraine was just another chess piece in a grand geopolitical game fail to understand its unique position? Or did they understand but simply not care? One interpretation is that the Ukrainian question is inseparable from the Russian question. The two are intertwined in a web of history, geography, religion, culture, and mythology. The struggle between inextricable symbiosis and desperate separation is not a contradiction – it is a dialectic. Every attempt to define one without the other results in instability. And each time outsiders tried to manipulate this balance for their own ends, the result was disastrous.

Western strategists have long obsessed over the Russian question, always looking for ways to minimize Moscow’s influence. The collapse of the USSR presented a unique opportunity to contain Russia’s resurgence. What followed was an attempt to reshape Eastern Europe to the West’s advantage, with no regard for the consequences. All nation-building is a kind of fantasy – a process of self-invention. The land that is now Ukraine has always been a space where competing national myths collided. And historically, these clashes ended in bloodshed. Each time, the conflict resulted in a temporary balance, which lasted for a historical cycle before collapsing again.

What we are witnessing today is simply history repeating itself, but at an accelerated pace. Three decades after the emergence of modern Russia and Ukraine, we are reliving a condensed version of centuries of rivalry and realignment. For years after 2014, Russia tried to convince the West that its perception of Ukraine was not a product of propaganda but rather a fundamentally different cultural and historical experience. Ukraine was not just another country that could be absorbed into NATO without consequence. But those arguments were brushed aside. Western officials would nod sympathetically, but their expressions made it clear: this is just another case of Russian imperial nostalgia. You’ll get over it.

The real tragedy is that this conflict was always going to be fought in Ukraine. Many had hoped to avoid direct military confrontation. Perhaps that would have been possible if the entire global system had not fallen into disorder. This war is not simply about Ukraine or even about Russia – it is the result of the broader collapse of the liberal world order.

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“..huge increases in defense funding, reaching 326 billion in 2024, after a 31% increase compared to 2023, it is expected that by 2026, through the European defense coordination system, the annual amount will reach 614 billion euros, with a tendency to rise..”

• EU “Leaders” Want To Save The Multi-Million Dollar Military Jackpot (Dionísio)

It’s really like this: the children went to Eurodisney in Paris, and the adults went to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The comparison may seem exaggerated, but it’s not, because the big question that arises from this European “leaders’” attitude is this: to what extent is the resistance to the diplomatic process initiated between the U.S. and the Russian Federation merely a diversion, a circus, aimed at once again justifying the massive military investments announced, freezing the conflict situation and the underlying tension, as well as saving face for the European “leaders”? In the first meeting, Macron summoned the most important EU heavyweights. France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark (because of Greenland?), and the two appendages António Costa and Von Der Leyen.

The results, as we know, were classified in the national press as “disappointing,” as these people failed to reach a consensus. Not convinced, Macron, in a second meeting, summoned more secondary states, but, except Belgium, states with some proximity to the Russian Federation, whether geographical, cultural, or economic. The chosen ones were Norway, Canada, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic, Greece, Finland, Romania, Sweden, and Belgium. Portugal was left out and placed at the same level as Malta, Cyprus, Ireland, Slovenia, and Croatia. Slovakia and Hungary don’t count for these things. Macron would have returned with a third wave of third-tier “European” states if he had been successful. In my opinion, this was not an outright attempt to sabotage the peace process or the negotiations between two direct competitors, one of them a declared enemy, the other still the commander of this great Western ship.

It’s much more than that, in a web of objectives ranging from personal salvation to political salvation, as instruments to save an entire dynamic of interests associated with the Ukrainian conflict, which did not disappear with Trump’s election. For three years, these “leaders” sold the idea that everything was about a “brutal, large-scale, and unprovoked invasion” of Ukraine by the Russian Federation; the West, led by the U.S., had no responsibility or provocation in this “invasion”; the “invasion” was solely the responsibility of a “terrible dictator” named Vladimir Putin; an “isolated” and “cornered” Putin, who found a decisive, united, and determined response from the West. Even today, against all evidence, Zelensky says that Trump wants to remove Russia from “international isolation,” not realizing that, with such discourse, he himself alienates the international relations of the country he tyrannizes.

The Russian threat perpetuation logic, coupled with the inability to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needed, built, in the media space, the guillotine placed over our heads, justifying the increase in military spending, reflected, for example, in the European proposal to use Multiannual European funds to establish a true military-industrial complex, contradicting rules that were once considered stable and based on the idea that EU structural funds were intended for cohesion, development, and European construction. The jackpot resulting from this process of psychological escalation is in the trillions of euros and represents the largest increase in military investment since World War II, in an economic space in deep crisis, politically, culturally, and in terms of identity.

If a few months ago Von Der Leyen had already predicted huge increases in defense funding, reaching 326 billion in 2024, after a 31% increase compared to 2023, it is expected that by 2026, through the European defense coordination system, the annual amount will reach 614 billion euros, with a tendency to rise. We are only talking about the European Union, which allocates about one trillion euros to structural funds, that is, just over 30% of the amount expected to be spent annually on defense, but for 7 years. The EU intends to spend, each year, just on defense, almost the same as it spends on development and cohesion in 7 years, or 3 or 4 times more than it spends on the European Social Fund, which deals with inequality and combating poverty. This happens in the context of growing economic austerity, declining living conditions for people, and a drop in European development standards.

Having been pushed aside, Von Der Leyen, after the meeting with Peter Hegseth in Brussels, now appears to give proof of life by announcing a “massive increase in defense spending“, foreseeing changes in bureaucratic rules to facilitate blatant waste. As if shouting, “Mr. Trump, look at me, I’ll buy you lots of weapons.” No wonder the WSJ reports an increase in the value of shares linked to the European defense sector, following talks on increasing military spending within NATO. It is, therefore, easy to see what is behind all this emergency from Macron.

To understand the gravity of the situation, the madness that guides the thoughts and perceptions of these people, and the miserable role they play, Annalena Baerbock gave us a glimpse of what goes on in their sick minds by announcing “an unprecedented aid package” to Ukraine, worth 700 billion euros! To kill and die, they apply the same amount that these people approved for the entire European Union as a Covid-19 recovery instrument for 5 years!

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The west may have rewritten (WWII) history, Russia has not.

• Loathsome Heirs of Fascism Will Face Inevitable Retribution (Medvedev)

February 23 isn’t just another day – it symbolizes our collective memory, glory, and pride, and stands as a testament to our unwavering belief in ultimate victory. This year, its meaning deepens as we honor it during the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland. We will never forget the heroes of past generations. Their legacy guides us, inspiring us to live by their example. The stirring words of the great commander Alexander Suvorov – ”We will forever serve Russia with faith and truth, shaming our enemies” – beat in every heart. Our nation has learned the hard art of winning through trials that tested us beyond measure. As new challenges arise, our duty is clear: to confront every threat head-on, channeling all our strength in defense of our homeland.

Tomorrow marks three years since our special military operation began – a bold step taken after crossing a point of no return against what we now call the “collective West.” It was our only way to safeguard our country and its citizens, pushing our adversaries back from our borders. History has proven this tough decision was not only necessary, but the only path forward. The Russian people have united to stand against a ruthless enemy fueled by foreign weapons and money. Although the battle against neo-Nazism and its allies is not yet over, its end is near. The enemy will be defeated, and truth will prevail.

Eighty years ago, our nation triumphed over fascism. Today, its loathsome heirs will face inevitable retribution – not in a modern-day Nuremberg, but on the battlefield, where justice is swift, uncompromising, and true. Our foes, gripped by fear and panic, know this all too well. In their desperate rage, they are capable of anything. We cannot allow a global catastrophe. We must crush any revival of Nazism at its roots, preserve our historical legacy, and leave a worthy inheritance for future generations. Above all, our mission is to protect our boundless homeland and do everything possible to secure its prosperity – for our children, our grandchildren, and the brilliant future of Russia!

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“..Trump is publicly signalling that he is re-evaluating the evidence of Russian culpability in the run-up to the start of the Special Military Operation in the Ukraine..”

• Starmer Tells Trump To Fight Russia The British Way (Helmer)

When the British Government announced the fabrication that Russia had attacked on British soil with a chemical weapon called Novichok, Keir Starmer, then a Labour Party shadow minister, announced he was sure of the government’s evidence. The attack, Starmer said, “deserves to be condemned by all of us without reservation – without reservation”. The evidence presented in the House of Commons by then-Prime Minister Theresa May was — Starmer told the BBC on March 16, 2018 — “the right conclusion, and for that reason, I think it is very important that we support the action the Prime Minister laid out on Wednesday [March 14, 2018].” May had told parliament “there is no alternative conclusion other than that the Russian State was culpable for the attempted murder of Mr Skripal and his daughter – and for threatening the lives of other British citizens in Salisbury, including Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey.

This represents an unlawful use of force by the Russian State against the United Kingdom. And as I set out on Monday it has taken place against the backdrop of a well-established pattern of Russian State aggression across Europe and beyond. It must therefore be met with a full and robust response – beyond the actions we have already taken since the murder of Mr Litvinenko and to counter this pattern of Russian aggression elsewhere.” Starmer repeated what May said, word for word. The Russian attack on the Skripals, according to Starmer, was “not for the first time. As a lawyer I represented Marina Litvinenko and it was my privilege to bring a case on her behalf against Russia for that atrocious murder ten, eleven years ago now. This is not the first time. It needs to be called out with no ifs, no buts. And we need strong action as set out by the Prime Minister on Wednesday.”

The Marina Litvineko case in the High Court in 2014 had been to press May’s government to go beyond a coroner’s inquest into the cause of the polonium poisoning death of her husband, Alexander Litvinenko, in London in November 2006. Instead, the widow Litvinenko and British officials wanted to close the inquest and instead open a public inquiry so that the case against Russia could be fully publicized, but the MI6 evidence that Litvinenko had planned to buy the polonium from Moscow kept secret.* In fact, Starmer was not one of the lawyers representing Marina Litvinenko in the High Court review of January 21-22, 2014; the judgement was reported on February 11, 2014, here. Starmer’s name is also missing from the list of lawyers representing Mrs Litvinenko in the High Court proceeding six months earlier.

Starmer was more than big-noting himself on the BBC. The docket of Marina Litvinenko’s cases in the High Court reveals Starmer was a liar. Slight reservation! Two ifs!Donald Trump — in March 2018 president for the first time — was more reserved than Starmer. On March 14, Trump told reporters at the White House: “Well, it seems to me – I’m speaking to Theresa May today — it sounds to me like it would be Russia, based on all the evidence they have. I don’t know if they have come to a conclusion…But she’s calling me today…but Theresa May is going to be speaking to me today. It sounds to me like they believe it was Russia, and I would certainly take that finding as fact. As soon as we get the facts straight, if we agree with them, we will condemn Russia or whoever it may be.”

Now prime minister, Starmer will be meeting Trump at the White House later this week, as Trump is publicly signalling that he is re-evaluating the evidence of Russian culpability in the run-up to the start of the Special Military Operation in the Ukraine. The American ifs and buts have begun to count against the unreserved warfighting propaganda by the British. There is also a hint from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, following his talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh on February 18, that the British evidence of Novichok is also being reopened behind closed doors. Rubio was asked by a reporter whether his agreement to restore diplomatic operations with the Russians meant “that you consider the Skripal case or the Crimea annexation to be closed or no longer issues? Because I think – you mentioned Keir Starmer is going to be in Washington next week. I can imagine that the Brits won’t be particularly pleased by that.”

Rubio hesitated over how to answer. “Yeah, again, I’m not – yeah, I’m not going to negotiate or talk through every element of the disruptions that exists – or have existed in our diplomatic relations and the mechanics of it. Suffice to say that President Trump has pledged and intends to keep his promise to do everything he can to bring an end to this conflict. We cannot do that unless we have at least some normalcy in the way our diplomatic missions operate in Moscow and in Washington, D.C…we’re going to work with them to see what’s possible within that context.”

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The fact that I have to commit to an audit being done in four years is bad enough. The Pentagon should be able to pass a budget right now..”

• Democrats Reject Decades of Policy As They Fight Hegseth’s Pentagon Cuts (JTN)

Amid the war on terror and the many military conflicts of the past two decades, Democrats were often critics of foreign adventurism and military spending, pointing to the bloated Pentagon budget as an obvious target for cuts to balance the budget. Now that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a sweeping budget review and the implementation of those cuts, Democrats — determined to obstruct the Trump agenda — are suddenly livid and sound like Bush-era Republicans warning of national security failures should the Defense Department lose funding.The fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act approved $883.7 billion in funding for discretionary defense purposes. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, however, has reportedly ordered the Pentagon to plan for an 8% budget cut every year for five years, according to The Washington Post, which cited an internal memo and “officials familiar with the matter.”

“To achieve our mandate from President Trump, we are guided by his priorities including securing our borders, building the Iron Dome for America, and ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing,” acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses said Wednesday. Attempting to combat media narratives, Hegseth has insisted that he is merely moving money in the Pentagon’s budget to other internal priorities and that such a move did not constitute a cut at all. As the Pentagon plans to allocate funding to other projects, it is unlikely that the shifts would directly impact the national budget. In a public video statement, Hegseth on Thursday urged the public to take media stories with a “grain of salt,” insisting that the media has a “different agenda.”

Hegseth has sought to free up funds in the budget this year to instead invest in Trump-favored projects like an American Iron Dome. That money comes from the already-approved FY2026 budget and totals around $50 billion, roughly 8% of that budget. He did not directly address the reports of an 8% cut each year for five years, but merely the reallocation of the $50 billion within the existing budget. Hegseth confirmed that the Department of Government Efficiency was working with the Pentagon and that he had afforded their staff “broad access” to review the department, with a focus on “headquarters, and fat, and redundancies, and topline stuff.”“The media wants to call these exclusive cuts, but it’s completely the opposite,” he said. “It’s not a cut, it’s refocusing and reinvesting” existing funds toward Trump’s priorities and away from Biden-era social programs.

Prior to the announcement, Hegseth highlighted the Pentagon’s inability to pass an audit and its history of financial vagueness. “The fact that I have to commit to an audit being done in four years is bad enough. The Pentagon should be able to pass a budget right now,” he told Fox News earlier this month. “When we spend dollars, we need to know where they’re going and why. That’s simple accounting. Mainline Democrats did an about face from their decades long opposition to military spending, and were quick to criticize the prospect of a reduced defense budget and now warn of national security failures as they wage war against DOGE and its sweeping cuts to the federal headcount.

“These types of hasty, indiscriminate budget cuts would betray our military forces and their families and make America less safe. I’m all for cutting programs that don’t work, but this proposal is deeply misguided. Secretary Hegseth’s rushed, arbitrary strategy would have negative impacts on our security, economy, and industrial base,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. The cuts “will have a dramatic, deleterious & damaging effect on our readiness & preparedness for the threats that are only increasing around the world,” Sen. Dick Blumenthal, D-Conn., said on CNN. Blumenthal is notorious for having been accused of “stolen valor”: repeatedly claiming to have served in Vietnam. That story fell apart and in 2010 Blumenthal apologized for “misspeaking.” Retired Lt. Gen. and CNN analyst Mark Hertling fumed over the plans, calling them “exponentially worse than sequestration that crippled the military in 2011.”

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“If Trump wants to change the name of Canada in the U.S. Geographic Names System, Google will have NO CHOICE but to run with it!”

• Donald Trump Could Pull the Funniest, Most Evil Prank EVER on Canada! (Pinsker)

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” —William “Billy Boy” Shakespeare With all due respect to the Bard, Juliet was absolutely, completely wrong with the aforementioned quote. (But then again, she was a stupid 13-year-old child, which kind of ruins that “romantic” love story.) Turns out, names are incredibly important! Been that way since the Biblical age, when names and titles were Divinely bestowed: Jacob became Israel; Abram became Abraham. Last year, my home in Tampa Bay was flooded by hurricanes Helene and Milton, causing lots of damage (and ruining three of our cars). We would’ve evacuated WAY earlier if the hurricanes had been renamed Satan and Lucifer. I’m not afraid of a Helene or a Milton, but I ain’t sticking around for Hurricane Lucifer.

That’s the power of names. Donald Trump is probably the most adept politician in history at naming things. (Close runner-up is Alexander the Great, but he only named stuff after himself, which got repetitive. Although, one time, he named a city after his horse.) Trump named his movement “MAGA.” He renamed Hillary Clinton “Crooked Hillary.” Joe Biden became “Sleepy Joe.” Nikki Haley became “Birdbrain.” Adam Schiff is “Shifty Schiff.” And Elizabeth Warren, of course, will forever be known as “Pocahontas.” At first, the political press excoriated Trump for “lowering the public discourse” with his “unpresidential” name-calling. (And then they called him “literally Hitler” for the next eight years straight, demonstrating that their objection to name-calling was highly selective.)

But Trump was right. Names are part and parcel of a person’s brand identity, so if you can redefine their name, you can redefine their brand. It’s a clever PR tactic. And it’s worth noting that it took a non-politician like Trump — someone from outside the political establishment — to recognize its utility. As the old expression goes, “Whoever discovered water wasn’t a fish.” Disruptive new ideas almost always come from the outside. And the disruptions keep on coming: The Gulf of Mexico is now the Gulf of America. The Panama Canal may become the American Canal. (Which is an idea I think Trump stole from me, but that’s okay, because I stole the idea from Father Guido Sarducci.) The Gaza Strip will be the new French Riviera.

Then we come to Canada. You know the dealio: “Governor” Trudeau. Our 51st state. Not a real country. Well, a few days ago, the soon-to-be state of Canada beat the United States of America in a little-known sport called “hockey.” (It’s a weird, niche game with sticks, skates, and a puck. Apparently, people play it when it’s too damn icy to try a REAL sport, like football or baseball.) Flushed with a glorious Canuck victory, Governor Trudeau puffed out his chest and whipped out the ol’ Tweeting Machine:

I don’t know what that means. Kudos to Canada for winning one (exhibition?) game, but a Canadian team hasn’t won the Stanley Cup since 1993! That’s so long ago, I’m mocking you — and I’m a freaking Dallas Cowboys fan! (Hey, we last won the Super Bowl in 1996. We’re at least 2.5 years better than Canada.) Along with his knack at naming, the other thing we know (and love) about Donald Trump is that he’s one helluva counterpuncher. You come at him with a jab, and Trump will respond with an uppercut, a rabbit punch, brass knuckles, an eyeball gouge, and a swift kick to the family jewels. Trump doesn’t do “proportionate responses.” So we know he’ll be responding to Trudeau. We know he won’t let our northernmost governor get in the last word. The question, then, is how.

And I think I’ve got another really good idea for Trump to steal: In the aftermath of the “Gulf of America,” we’ve learned the official policy of Google Maps: Whenever the U.S. government changes a name in its U.S. Geographic Names System, Google’s policy is to immediately use that name within that country. That’s why Google Maps complied so quickly, adopting the new name of “Gulf of America” for all U.S.-based users. You know what this means, right? If Trump wants to change the name of Canada in the U.S. Geographic Names System, Google will have NO CHOICE but to run with it! This is a target-rich opportunity for mischief! Trump could rename Canada “The 51st State.” Or “The No Stanley Cup Place.” Or “Where America Stores Our Zamboni Equipment.” But I’m kind of partial to Homer Simpson’s name for Canada:

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Kory
https://twitter.com/i/status/1893550581215883431

 

 

Trust

 

 

Paddy

 

 

Condor

 

 

Eagles

 

 

Tiger

 

 

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Debt Rattle February 23 2025

Feb 232025
 
 February 23, 2025  Posted by at 11:01 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  27 Responses »


Pablo Picasso Maison 1931

 

• White House Teases Ukraine Deal ‘This Week’ (RT)
• President Trump Criticizes Elon Musk (Margolis)
• What Did You Do Last Week? (ZH)
• Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Trump Government Layoffs (AmG)
• Trump Admin Serious About Combatting Global Censorship (Nelson)
• Finally, The Americans Are Listening (SCF)
• Elon Musk Says ‘Reuters Is Lying’ (RT)
• “We Created A Monster With Zelensky” (ZH)
• Finally, It Was Graft That Netted Zelensky (Jay)
• US-Ukraine Ties Falling Apart – Former Ukrainian Diplomat (RT)
• European Military Chiefs Propose Sending 30,000 Troops to Ukraine (Antiwar)
• Foreign Troops Deploying To Ukraine Not Realistic – Zelensky’s Top Aide (RT)
• Musk Renews Attack On Zelensky Over ‘Murder’ Of Gonzalo Lira (RT)
• Russian Business Should ‘Cooperate’ With Musk – Putin (RT)
• It All Comes Down to Accounting (Jeffrey Tucker)
• This Should Be on Kash Patel’s FBI Priority List (Victoria Taft)
• Mexico President Sheinbaum Warns Against US Military Strikes On Cartels (ZH)

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1893012073149337910

https://twitter.com/i/status/1892986345431142605

USPS

Maine
https://twitter.com/i/status/1893040723781648683

Ron Paul

Bret

 

 

 

 

Wonder what Zelensky and his crew think of that.

• White House Teases Ukraine Deal ‘This Week’ (RT)

US President Donald Trump is optimistic that a peace agreement to end the Ukraine conflict could be reached within days, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said.Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Leavitt stressed that the Trump administration remains committed to swiftly ending the conflict, which is about to enter its fourth year. “The president and his team are very much focused on continuing negotiations with both sides of this war to end the conflict, and the president is very confident [that] we can get it done this week,” Leavitt said, without providing further details. According to Leavitt, Trump “believes very strongly that Russia is willing to make a deal, and he’s fighting to make a deal.” She added that National Security Adviser Mike Waltz “is going to be working around the clock all weekend to get a deal and end this conflict in Ukraine.”

When asked whether a potential summit between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin could take place in Saudi Arabia or another location, Leavitt declined to provide specifics. “I don’t have anything to detail or to read out right now,” she said. Leavitt also noted that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is continuing talks on a potential deal granting the US access to Ukraine’s critical mineral resources. “It will recoup American tax dollars, and it also will be a great economic partnership between the United States of America and for the Ukrainian people as well, as they rebuild their country following this brutal war.” The Trump administration has been seeking a 50% stake in Ukraine’s rare earth mineral deposits, reportedly valued at approximately $500 billion, in exchange for continued US military and economic support.

However, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has rejected the initial offer, citing concerns over the lack of concrete security guarantees from the US. Leavitt’s comments also come after high-level talks between US and Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia, aimed at restoring bilateral ties and paving the way for a Trump-Putin summit and the settlement of the Ukraine conflict. The negotiations notably excluded Ukrainian and EU representatives. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, Trump said he believed that “we are pretty close” to a deal on Ukraine. Russia has ruled out the freezing of the conflict, insisting it wants a permanent settlement of the crisis. Moscow has said that this could be possible if Ukraine commits to neutrality, demilitarization, denazification and recognizes the territorial realities on the ground.

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The kind of headline that gets people going. But that criticism? ”ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE..”

• President Trump Criticizes Elon Musk (Margolis)

The mainstream media has been desperately trying to push any narrative that it can to undermine the new Trump administration, and, of course to drive a wedge between him and Elon Musk. Earlier this week, the Associated Press, apropos of nothing, questioned just how long there positive relationship would last. “It’s been a burning political question for weeks: How long will President Donald Trump — who doesn’t like sharing the spotlight — be able to do just that with Elon Musk, a billionaire also overly fond of attention?” the AP openly wondered this week. In a joint Fox News Channel interview that aired Tuesday, both insisted they like each other a lot and would stick with their arrangement despite what Trump said were attempts by the media to “drive us apart.”

At times, Trump sat back as Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity heaped praise on Musk in an attempt to counteract a Democratic narrative that he’s a callous and unelected force out to destroy the government and upend civil society through sweeping cuts being imposed by the Department of Government Efficiency.There were also moments when Trump and Musk were all but finishing each other’s sentences, as if they were part of a buddy comedy and not the president and his most powerful aide.

The article then went into detail explaining why their relationship “may not last.”Trump and Musk say they won’t turn on each other. But those closest to Trump often end up as his fiercest critics.His former vice president, Mike Pence, said Trump endangered his family in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol and attempted to bully him into violating the Constitution. His former attorney general, Bill Barr, refuted Trump’s falsehoods about widespread fraud in the 2020 election and has since said he “shouldn’t be anywhere near the Oval Office.”

Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime lawyer who testified against him in a hush money case, told a House committee in 2019, “People that follow Mr. Trump, as I did blindly, are going to suffer the same consequences that I’m suffering.”More recently, Trump shrugged off potential security risks while ending Secret Service protection for former top officials in his first administration, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former White House chief of staff John Kelly.Fair enough, I suppose. The article also noted that Trump has “shown repeatedly that he doesn’t like being overshadowed, even hinting at such where Musk is concerned.” Don’t you get the impression that the media is still trying desperately to drive a wedge between them? Something tells me it won’t stop, either.

And then on Saturday, Trump finally criticized Musk. It’s true. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he’d like to see Musk “get more aggressive.”ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE. REMEMBER, WE HAVE A COUNTRY TO SAVE, BUT ULTIMATELY, TO MAKE GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. MAGA! See that? He thinks Musk isn’t working hard enough! Liberal media, do your thing! Okay, so it’s not exactly the harshest criticism in the world. Nor was it when, earlier this week, Trump made a similarly backhanded criticism of Musk. “He’s a seriously high IQ individual,” Trump said in Miami. “He’s got his faults also, I’ll tell you that. But not too many of them.”

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So Elon gets more aggressive…

• What Did You Do Last Week? (ZH)

Panic has predictably ensued over Elon Musk’s requirement that all federal employees provide a five bullet point summary of what they accomplished last week, due by midnight on Monday (full details below).While newly minted FBI Director Kash Patel exempted agency employees from the requirement (with much of the intelligence community reportedly set to get the same pass), there’s a lot of upset feds out there. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) lashed out, posting to X, “This is the ultimate dick boss move from Musk – except he isn’t even the boss, he’s just a dick.” (she said on the heels of a coordinated campaign to brand him ‘Co-President Musk’) To which the White House Rapid Response team replied, “What did you accomplish this week, Tina? Five bullets, please,” and Musk replied with a fire and ‘crying while laughing’ emojis. The Rapid Response team, which posts daily information about the Trump agenda, was happy to oblige.

New FBI Director Kash Patel sent an email to all agency employees on Saturday night instructing them to “pause any responses” to Elon Musk’s request that all federal employees provide summaries of their accomplishments over the past week or face termination. “The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures,” reads the note from Patel. “When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses.”

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Eventually, he wins them all.

• Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Trump Government Layoffs (AmG)

On Thursday, a federal judge ruled that the Trump Administration can proceed with plans to carry out mass firings of federal employees. As reported by The Hill, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who was appointed by Barack Obama, ruled that the labor unions which filed the lawsuit against the government layoffs had to take their case before the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) rather than a federal court. “The first month of President Trump’s second administration has been defined by an onslaught of executive actions that have caused, some say by design, disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society,” said Judge Cooper.

“Affected citizens and their advocates have challenged many of these actions on an emergency basis in this Court and others across the country. Certain of the President’s actions have been temporarily halted; others have been permitted to proceed, at least for the time being. These mixed results should surprise no one.” Following through on another campaign promise, President Donald Trump has been firing thousands of federal workers, across all agencies, in an effort to shrink the size of the federal bureaucracy. To this end, President Trump also offered an unprecedented buyout offer, known as the “Fork in the Road” initiative, granting up to 8 months of paid vacation to all federal employees who submitted their immediate resignation. Over 75,000 employees accepted the offer before its expiration deadline. Several attempts to block the buyout offer ultimately failed in court.

The most recent case, which led to Judge Cooper’s ruling, was brought by a coalition of labor unions representing federal workers, including the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), and the United Auto Workers (UAW). Judge Cooper ultimately did not rule on the validity of the unions’ argument, which claimed that the executive branch’s actions are in violation of the separation of powers, but instead told the unions to make their case in a different setting. “The Court acknowledges that district court review of these sweeping executive actions may be more expedient,” the judge wrote. “But NTEU provides no reason why it could not seek relief from the FLRA on behalf of a class of plaintiffs and admits that it would ask other agencies to follow an administrative judge’s ruling in its favor.”

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“.. the Trump administration is fulfilling its promises early on. Vance’s Munich speech is the clearest demonstration yet that America will take the lead again in ensuring the protection of free speech for Americans and worldwide.”

• Trump Admin Serious About Combatting Global Censorship (Nelson)

President Donald Trump is well known for his America First agenda. Some have interpreted this as an isolationist stance of retreat from the world stage. If anything, the first few weeks have shown an energetic engagement on foreign policy. America First hasn’t meant disengagement with the world. Rather, it has meant taking seriously American foundational principles and believing those are core values that other nations will look up to when demonstrated proudly. One of those fundamental American principles is free speech, and the Trump administration is making sure that the world sees America vigorously fighting for it. This new posture of strongly proclaiming the American value of free speech on the global stage had its biggest demonstration yet for the new administration last week.

On Friday, Vice President J.D. Vance spoke at the Munich Security Conference. Rather than focusing on external global threats from Russia and China – as important and real as they are – Vance turned his attention to a major worrisome trend in Europe: the rise of aggressive censorship. Vance lamented the “retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” For Americans, censorship is itself an attack on democracy. As the Vice President stated, “Dismissing people, dismissing their concerns, or worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections, or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing. In fact, it is the most surefire way to destroy democracy.” Free speech is not supposed to just be an American value but a universally shared fundamental right, protected in international treaties and charters enthusiastically signed onto by European allies.

Vance highlighted one example in particular of the attack on freedom of expression, that of British Army veteran and ADF International client Adam Smith-Connor. Smith-Connor was charged in November 2022 for violating a “buffer zone” outside an abortion clinic in the UK when he had silently prayed outside of it. This past October, Smith-Connor was criminally convicted for his three minutes of silent prayer. Smith-Connor’s appeal will be heard in July. But that is just one example of what has become increasingly systematic attempts in Europe at ever larger scales to censor and control public discourse to exclude “wrong” opinions. Other cases abound, like that of Päivi Räsänen, the Finnish member of Parliament who has been hounded on “hate speech” criminal charges now for almost four years and investigations for even longer because she posted a picture of a Bible verse on then-Twitter.

But on a broader level, Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA) would make every European social media user subject to the censorship regime and potentially export that censorship throughout the world, including America. The DSA imposes enormous penalties on large social media companies that do not comply with orders to censor so-called “illegal content,” broadly defined as anything that is illegal under EU or national law. Notably, this can include vague and subjective terms like “hate speech,” “misinformation,” and “disinformation,” which are readily weaponized against disfavored religious views, as the stories above show. Because large social media companies are often American companies, that means that the DSA could harm not just American business but lead to the censorship of Americans. Nearly every major digital service provider in the United States, from Adobe to Zoom, and most social media platforms, maintains these kinds of harmful policies prohibiting “hate speech” or “misinformation,” as reported by ADF’s Viewpoint Diversity Index.

If you oppose the government’s position and voice that opinion on social media, there’s a very real chance that a European bureaucrat will try to silence your voice as “misinformation.” Just look at Smith-Connor’s and Räsänen’s cases. The concern that Europe’s mania for expanding and exporting censorship – as bad as that is by itself – will be felt on American shores was the animating principle for Vance’s push for free speech in his European trip last week and has become a major theme. Earlier in the week, during his speech on AI, Vance directly criticized the Digital Services Act and “the massive regulations it created about taking down content and policing so-called misinformation.” “America cannot and will not accept that,” he said.

Vance is not pursuing this free speech posture toward Europe alone. Congressman Jim Jordan, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent the European Commission a letter at the end of last month “express[ing] our serious concerns with how the DSA’s censorship provisions affect free speech in the United States.” Last week, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the “Censorship-Industrial Complex,” highlighting censorship efforts abroad. One of President Trump’s first actions was an executive order preventing any federal efforts to facilitate censorship against Americans, especially under the guise of combatting “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “malinformation.” This was a sharp turnabout from the Biden-Harris administration’s pressuring of social media companies to censor posts skeptical of government policies. Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed this up by announcing that he would terminate “any programs that in any way lead to censoring the American people.”

Vance and the Trump administration’s critics have tried over the weekend to make Vance’s position sound extreme, but instead have only confirmed how right he was to make a strong defense of free speech. No reaction was more egregious than CBS’s on Sunday, when Margaret Brennan absurdly blamed free speech for the Holocaust, while 60 Minutes promoted the German system of prosecuting thousands of cases of online “hate speech” and insults. Now that the weaponization of terms like “misinformation” and “disinformation” has been exposed, the rhetoric from opponents of free speech has become more direct. Vance’s speech has been a clarifying moment, laying down clearly the choice between free speech and censorship. When it comes to opposing global censorship, and especially when that censorship can affect Americans, the Trump administration is fulfilling its promises early on. Vance’s Munich speech is the clearest demonstration yet that America will take the lead again in ensuring the protection of free speech for Americans and worldwide.

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“The crucial paradigm shift has come about because of a fundamental, positive change in attitude on the American side for showing respect toward Russia..”

• Finally, The Americans Are Listening (SCF)

Trump, to his immense credit, has broken through the frozen relationship, delivering on his election campaign promise to re-engage with Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine and restore normal bilateral relations. For his part, Putin has consistently said he is willing to engage in diplomacy with a respectful American counterpart. Russia had offered a diplomatic way to avoid conflict back in December 2021, but that offer was rejected out of hand by the Biden administration and European NATO allies, as eloquently pointed out by Roger Waters in testimony to the UN Security Council this week. The same can be said for the Minsk Accords (tenth anniversary this week), the Istanbul agreement (March 2022), the INF Treaty (Trump unilaterally tore that up), the ABM Treaty (Bush Jr ditched in 2003), and the longer betrayal of post-Cold War detente (under Bush Sr and Clinton), and so on.

A lot of trust must, therefore, be restored because of the incorrigible history of American bad faith and treachery in its dealings with Russia and the Soviet Union. A historic summit is now on the cards for Trump and Putin, although no date or location has been finalized. In the meantime, the U.S. and Russian sides are to appoint envoys to deal with a wide range of issues in agreeing on a sustainable peace settlement. Foreign Minister Lavrov spoke favorably about the Riyadh encounter, saying that both sides not only listened but also understood each other.

That is a key point. For too long, the American side has not listened to nor understood Russia’s national security concerns. In particular, Russia’s repeated concern over the relentless and aggressive expansion of NATO toward its borders. Russia has made its terms crystal clear on what the end of the conflict in Ukraine entails. Among the terms, there can be no membership of NATO for Ukraine, and there must be a comprehensive security treaty for Europe.The considered and respectful response of the American negotiators this week indicates that the Trump administration is genuine about resolving the conflict with Russia and understands the deep historical background. In an editorial on January 31, we expressed doubt about Trump’s ability to do that. To his credit, however, he is proving our reservation to have been misplaced, at least so far.

It’s too early to get into the detailed terms of an agreement and how they can be implemented. At this stage, the essential achievement is the demonstration of diplomacy and politics working. A major part of the discussions in Riyadh involved restoring normal ambassadorial missions and diplomatic communications. That realm of normal functioning in inter-governmental communications was sabotaged under the Biden and Obama administrations over the past decade due to spurious claims made against Russia (the Russian election interference hoax, for example). All those obstacles have to be removed for diplomacy to proceed and succeed. At least, the American side is now realizing – and tacitly admitting – how destructive its policies had been.

It was significant too that Steven Witkoff – a career businessman – and the Russian economics chief Kirill Dmitriev were participants in the Riyadh discussions. Both sides talked about economic cooperation between the United States and Russia. That necessarily means the U.S. side revoking its illegitimate sanctions on Russia, including barriers to international banking.Trump and Putin are the central interlocutors. For his part, Trump has shown the basic decency to respect Putin as an equal and to bring the war in Ukraine to an end. Trump also wants to halt the wider geopolitical hostility toward Russia. The envoys he has appointed seem capable of implementing his aims. For Putin’s part, he has a depth of historical and intellectual understanding to ensure that the terms of the peace will be honorable and viable, not just with regard to Russia and Ukraine but on what the United States needs to do in order to re-engage with Russia and the rest of the world as a law-abiding power and not as an imperialist rogue state as it has been for decades.

To that end, the puppet regime in Kiev and the NATO vassals of Europe are irrelevant. Trump has rightfully shown contempt for the Kiev regime and the European lackeys. It was entirely appropriate that these non-entities were not involved at this early stage of peace diplomacy. Ukraine needs to elect a legitimate president, and at some later stage, the Europeans can be consulted about lifting their stupid sanctions on Russia. Next week, the British and French leaders are invited to Washington to hear more about Trump’s peace diplomacy.Russia has categorically ruled out any European NATO troops being deployed in Ukraine under the guise of peacekeepers. Trump needs to tell the European minions not to have any illusions about their importance and certainly to back off on any military adventures.

Russophobes like the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas and NATO’s Dutch courage clown Mark Rutte should also be ignored. Their contributions are wholly counterproductive and beneath contempt. If the direct and earnest talks this week in Saudi Arabia are sustained, then it bodes well for the U.S. and Russian sides to stay engaged for eventually achieving a grand bargain on Ukraine and for world peace. The crucial paradigm shift has come about because of a fundamental, positive change in attitude on the American side for showing respect toward Russia. Respect and listening are two paramount ingredients in diplomacy that have long been absent in American politicians. President Trump has surprisingly delivered – so far. But can he succeed against the nefarious deeper forces of U.S. imperialism, which surely do not want peace with Russia or the world?

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It sounded a bit weird, true. But if Reuters says it…

• Elon Musk Says ‘Reuters Is Lying’ (RT)

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has accused Reuters of “lying” in response to its report that he was planning to threaten to cut off Ukraine’s Starlink internet access in order to provide the White House with leverage in its ongoing bargaining over natural resources.The agency reported on the matter on Saturday, citing three US officials familiar with the plans. According to Reuters, the Ukrainians were threatened with an “imminent shutoff” of Musk’s Starlink satellite service during a meeting between Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg in Kiev this week, should they not sign the deal on rare earths with Washington.

Musk took to his social media platform X later in the day, denying the existence of such plans and accusing Reuters of having fabricated the story.“This is false. Reuters is lying. They are second only to AP (Associated Propaganda) as legacy news liars,” the billionaire wrote. SpaceX has provided the Ukrainian military with Starlink internet since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, delivering more than 40,000 terminals over the course of the hostilities. The terminals have promptly become a key command and control tool for Kiev’s military.

Musk’s systems have also seen direct combat use, with satellite terminals repeatedly seen rigged to aerial and sea drones used by the Ukrainian military to provide them with reliable and hard-to-jam control access. SpaceX reportedly secured a new Pentagon contract to expand Ukraine’s access to the Starlink satellite network late last year. According to a Bloomberg report, a total of 3,000 Starlink terminals in Ukraine were granted access to Starshield, a more secure and militarized version of the system, under the deal.

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And killed a million in the process.

• “We Created A Monster With Zelensky” (ZH)

Axios has released a devastating report full of quotes from Trump admin officials which strongly suggests the growing rift with Zelensky is only about to worsen. The Ukrainian leader is seen as having overstepped by the White House. A US administration official involved in peace negotiations with Russia bluntly told the publication that “Zelensky is an actor who committed a common mistake of theater kids: He started to think he’s the character he plays on TV.” “Yes, he has been brave and stood up to Russia. But he would be six feet under if it wasn’t for the millions we spent, and he needs to exit stage right with all the drama,” the unidentified official said. This strongly suggests that Trump is pursuing a full political transition in Ukraine at this point.

Another official, also involved in negotiations described that “We created a monster with Zelensky,” and that “these Trump-deranged Europeans who won’t send troops are giving him terrible advice.” Speaking of which, one Saturday headline has revealed the European Union is still seeking ways to seize part of Russa’s frozen $280 billion in assets held abroad. So while Washington under Trump is trying to strike peace and compromise, the Europeans look content to try and sabotage what they already see as a ‘bad deal’ to end the war. Yet another US official was quoted in Axios as reviewing that “In the course of a week, Zelensky rebuffed President Trump’s treasury secretary, his secretary of state and his vice president, all before moving on to personally insulting President Trump in the press.”

The unnamed official followed with, “What did Zelensky think was going to happen?” Meanwhile a mineral deal is said to be close, with some Friday night headlines claiming a final deal was ‘hours’ away – but Zelensky’s office has said it’s still mulling over the first draft. “President Trump is obviously very frustrated right now with President Zelensky,” National Security Advisor Mike Waltz underscored in Thursday comments. The same Axios report has summarized what it calls Zelensky’s five moves that set off Trump in the following… Six administration officials tell Axios that during the past nine days there were five incidents that angered Trump, Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Waltz. Taken together, one administration official said, Zelensky “showed how not to do the ‘Art of the Deal’ ” when it came to courting Trump’s support:

• Feb. 12: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met Zelensky in Kyiv to offer a proposal that would give the U.S. access to Ukrainian mineral rights in return for de facto U.S. protection. Trump later told reporters Zelensky was “rude” and delayed his meeting with Bessent because he slept in.
• Feb. 14: At the Munich Security Conference, Vance and Rubio met Zelensky to get his approval for the mineral rights deal. But, the officials said, Zelensky surprised the Americans by saying he didn’t have the authority to unilaterally approve it without parliament.
• Feb. 15: Zelensky publicly rejected the offer at the conference. White House sources noted that his remarks to reporters — that the deal was “not in the interests of a sovereign Ukraine” — were markedly different from more positive-sounding comments he’d made on X the day before.
• Feb. 18: As Rubio, Waltz and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff sat down with Russian negotiators in Saudi Arabia to talk peace, Zelensky criticized the meeting for occurring without Ukraine at the table. An angry Trump then lashed out at Zelensky at a Mar-a-Lago press conference, falsely suggesting Zelensky had started the war with Russia and had an approval rating of only 4%.
• Feb. 19: Zelensky fired back, saying the U.S. president “lives in a disinformation space.” Trump then ratcheted up the pressure by posting on Truth Social that Zelensky, a former actor, was a “modestly successful comedian” who has become a “dictator without elections.” Trump has refused to criticize Putin as a dictator.

* * *
The Washington Post is also asking on Saturday: Can Zelensky salvage his relationship with Trump and save Ukraine? This after Trump accused Zelensky of being a ‘dictator’ this week, given his refusal to hold new elections, citing martial law – and after banning multiple political parties seen as too ‘pro-Russian’… Given this week’s anti-Zelensky rhetoric coming out of the US administration, the European allies are worried Trump will ‘give away more’ amid ongoing strong diplomatic engagement with Moscow (after already declaring that Ukraine won’t become a NATO member). Of course, Kiev is fearful of this too, which is why Zelensky’s advisors are imploring him to stop the rhetorical tit-for-tat and be silent on answering every ‘provocation’ come from the White House. Next week will be interesting to see where all of this goes.

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“..this time it will be Trump and Putin who ensure that the new leader keeps his word on peace and doesn’t become a billionaire several times over..”

• Finally, It Was Graft That Netted Zelensky (Jay)

The last few days have been a hellride for Ukraine’s caretaker President as he starts to grasps some harsh realities. Zelensky doesn’t have much time left as President now that the Donald is in office. He had warnings but failed to see them. In early October of last year he visited the U.S. and met briefly with Trump. Readers will remember how I predicted that it would be him – Zelensky himself – who would soon be seen to be part of the problem, rather than the solution, if he didn’t play ball with Trump. I predicted that it would only be a question of time before Zelensky would be framed as the chief culprit holding back a peace deal, and so therefore would have to go. At the meeting back in October, the body language looked really bad as they both awkwardly faced the cameras and Trump muttered something about ‘taking two to tango’ hinting even then that Zelensky’s position was unreasonable.

It didn’t take long. After a few days of firstly resisting Trump’s offer involving Ukraine’s mineral reserves, which was followed by a flat refusal to accept any outcome of Russia and U.S. making a deal, it was as though the former comedian was briefly living in a haze of delusion and comedy. He was literally trying to dig himself out of a hole and before long, his head was no longer visible. Just read the first two lines of a tweet by Trump. “Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and “TRUMP,” will never be able to settle. The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back”.

The leaked minutes of the first talk between Trump and Putin were very short but clear. Ceasefire first, then elections for a new president, then peace deal. Clearly no deal can be made with Zelensky in office as both an illegitimate president and secondly as someone who can only see 300 billion dollars given to him as the solution in his latest childish rant. The quickest, simplest solution to advance peace in Ukraine is to accept now that Russia is the victor and the one party who gets the spoils of war. Every war ends like this. Trump forcing presidential elections in Ukraine seems a fatuous, if not obvious move. But it was actually genius as it gives the vote to the masses if they want to continue with war, or start to rebuild their country.

Most will certainly vote for a new U.S.-friendly candidate, who Russia can work with, who will play the role which is required of him. No NATO aspirations at all, present boundaries stay as they are and something done about Nazi brigades. Add to that an audit which will reveal that at least half of all the aid and military equipment given to Ukraine was embezzled and sold, which has to be accounted for and paid back to the U.S. It will mean that Ukraine is and will remain a poor country for at least one generation as it will be in so much debt that it won’t be able to have any ambitions, regionally. It will literally be a basket case economy dependent on EU aid for a few generations to come with no hopes of either EU/NATO membership.

Of course, it didn’t need to be this way. But delusional viewpoints of both Zelensky and the EU have brought us to this. For him to even fight his corner and believe that he has any edge at all in these negotiations is laughable – and a point which Trump wants to demonstrate. Even the EU itself doesn’t believe it can stand up and face Russia and America, and whimpers in the corner sulking like a puppy which has just been kicked by its new owner. All the EU can do after its pathetic Paris emergency meeting is agree to a new level of sanctions against Russia. Putin must be laughing so hard his sides must be hurting. The next circus now to watch is the implosion of Zelensky and his infrastructure and of course the exposure of the racket which he has been at the centre of since the war started.

Even those who support him will have to accept that he made poor choices and a number of critical errors which have led to this, namely the Istanbul deal which he rejected after Boris Johnson’s intervention but also just the sheer scale of the embezzlement and money laundering. How do you fight mighty Russia when at least half of the military kit that the west is sending you gets sent to Libya to be resold? How do you keep a functioning state when the same percentage is funnelled away and kept for yourself and your cabal? This is what Ukrainians are going to wake up to in the coming weeks when the lid is lifted on all this graft. Zelensky had his last chance back in October and he blew it. It is now time for a new President to be installed just as easily as he was and Poroshenko before him, but this time it will be Trump and Putin who ensure that the new leader keeps his word on peace and doesn’t become a billionaire several times over. Trump’s tweet, in a nutshell, was “you’re fired”.

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“He was backed up by the Deep State, Nulands, Clintons, Soros, whatsoever. USAID and the CIA. That’s why he thinks he has the power to go against the incumbent president..”

• US-Ukraine Ties Falling Apart – Former Ukrainian Diplomat (RT)

The relationship between the US and Ukraine is now undergoing “total destruction,” with Vladimir Zelensky trying to fight President Donald Trump on behalf of America’s ‘Deep State’, Andrey Telizhenko, former 3rd Secretary at the Ukrainian Embassy in the US, told RT. The ‘Deep State’ itself, however, appears to be falling apart as well, he warned. Washington and Kiev have recently engaged in a bitter spat, with Zelensky and Trump, as well as other top officials, publicly trading accusations. Among other things, Zelensky has claimed that the US president was “living in a disinformation bubble” allegedly created by Russia. The Ukrainian leader also rejected a proposed deal that would give the US access to his country’s rare-earth minerals to compensate for military aid.

In addition, he has refuted Trump’s estimates on the amount of aid Kiev has received, claiming it had not received even half of the quoted sum. Trump, for his part, has branded Zelensky a “dictator without elections,” claiming the Ukrainian leader had an extremely low approval rating in his country. The ongoing spat amounts to a “total destruction of all relationships” between Washington and Kiev, Telizhenko said, suggesting that Zelensky has already missed his chance to have any say in potential negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine hostilities. Zelensky has never had a particularly amicable relationship with the US president, the ex-diplomat noted, citing Kiev’s broken promises “to investigate the Biden crime family corruption“ in Ukraine back in 2019, during Trump’s first term.

“Unfortunately, they lied. They lied to President Trump then; they are lying to President Trump now. So now Zelensky has no credibility whatsoever. He’s an illegitimate president, and the relationship between Ukraine and the United States are falling apart,” Telizhenko stated. Zelensky’s behavior largely stems from his belief he still has the full backing of the US Deep State,” Telizhenko asserted, noting, however, that the elusive enigmatic force has been “falling apart” itself already. “First of all, Zelensky thinks he’s being backed by the globalists in the Deep State. That’s why he’s fighting Washington; that’s why he’s fighting the president of the US. He was never backed up by Biden. Biden was just a picture. He was backed up by the Deep State, Nulands, Clintons, Soros, whatsoever. USAID and the CIA. That’s why he thinks he has the power to go against the incumbent president,” Telizhenko explained.

The ex-diplomat also urged US leadership to purge any US operatives, whether intelligence and diplomatic, currently active in Ukraine, suggesting they have been effectively working for “Kiev regime” rather than Washington. “He needs to get them out of Ukraine, and then he can basically get a normal picture of what is happening in Kiev. Until then, the Trump administration will not understand and will be sabotaged on everything that is happening right now in Ukraine,” Telizhenko stressed.

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“Our military is so run down at the present moment, numerically and as far as capability and equipment is concerned, it would potentially be quite embarrassing..”

• European Military Chiefs Propose Sending 30,000 Troops to Ukraine (Antiwar)

The Times reported on Wednesday that European military chiefs have proposed a plan to deploy 30,000 troops to Ukraine to provide security guarantees as part of a potential future peace deal. The report said the UK and France are leading the discussions about deploying a “reassurance” force to Ukraine, an idea that’s been firmly rejected by Moscow. In response to the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Russia’s opposition to the deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine. Peskov pointed to recent comments from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said the “presence of armed forces from NATO countries [in Ukraine]… is completely unacceptable to us.”

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has also ruled out the idea of a NATO deployment to Ukraine, saying if a peacekeeping force is deployed, it must be a non-NATO mission. But the British and French plan envisions the US providing support for the European deployment. The Times report reads: “A US backstop, which is deemed essential for the plan, would likely be based on the ‘extraordinary strength in air power’ that NATO countries have. It could be in the form of US aircraft based in Poland and Romania, subject to the agreement of President Trump, an official suggested.”

The report comes after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was ready to send British troops to Ukraine. While Starmer is eager, others doubt the British military is really up for the deployment. Lord Danatt, head of the British Army from 2006 to 2009, has said the British military is too “run down” to lead the mission. “Our military is so run down at the present moment, numerically and as far as capability and equipment is concerned, it would potentially be quite embarrassing,” Danatt said. “If we were to deploy 10,000 troops each rotation for six months, that would effectively tie up 30,000 or 40,000 troops, and we just haven’t got that number available.”

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“..Brussels is preparing a military aid package of at least €6 billion ($6.2 billion) for Kiev, which would include 1.5 million artillery shells and air defense systems..”

This as Trump is trying to make peace.

• Foreign Troops Deploying To Ukraine Not Realistic – Zelensky’s Top Aide (RT)

Peacekeeping forces or soldiers from other countries being deployed to Ukraine is not a realistic prospect, Mikhail Podoliak, the top adviser to the country’s leader Vladimir Zelensky, said on Friday. Podoliak made the statement in an interview with Polish radio station RMF just days after a number of European top officials gathered for an emergency meeting in Paris. Ahead of the event, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “ready and willing” to put his nation’s troops on the ground in Ukraine to help secure a peace deal. Podoliak, however, stated that a deployment of foreign peacekeeping forces or soldiers “do not seem very realistic scenarios for now.” Instead, he suggested that Europe should increase its defense spending and together with Kiev “focus on the development of arms” and continue support “in this way.”

The comments come after Russian and American officials met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss future negotiations on settling the Ukraine crisis. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced his intent to bring the conflict to a quick resolution.Following the talks, Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, stated that Moscow firmly rejects NATO troops being deployed to Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry has consistently warned that Moscow views any European peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine as a provocative step that could further escalate the conflict.

Starmer is scheduled to visit Washington next week, where, according to The Telegraph, he will present Donald Trump with a plan to send 30,000 European troops to Ukraine and will try to secure American protection for the deployment. Zelensky claimed in January that Ukraine may need 200,000 European soldiers to guarantee a peace deal. Last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ruled out deploying American troops as part of potential security guarantees to Kiev. According to Politico, Brussels is preparing a military aid package of at least €6 billion ($6.2 billion) for Kiev, which would include 1.5 million artillery shells and air defense systems. The package would be one of the EU’s largest military aid injections since the start of Russia’s military operation in 2022. It could be announced ahead of a visit by EU commissioners to Kiev on February 24.

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“Zelensky should not have murdered an American journalist. He didn’t even understand why that was bad..”

• Musk Renews Attack On Zelensky Over ‘Murder’ Of Gonzalo Lira (RT)

Billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, renewed his attack on Vladimir Zelensky, claiming the Ukrainian leader did not even realize it was “bad” to “murder” American journalist Gonzalo Lira. The filmmaker and blogger of Chilean origin died in early 2024 while he was incarcerated in Ukraine, pending trial for allegedly “systematically justifying the Russian aggression.” The journalist, who had resided in the country since 2010, was highly critical of Zelensky’s government. “Zelensky should not have murdered an American journalist. He didn’t even understand why that was bad,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X on Saturday. Earlier in the week, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO had squarely accused the country’s leader of “killing” the blogger.

Lira got in trouble with Ukrainian authorities over his coverage of the conflict between Kiev and Moscow on his YouTube channel, and faced accusations of disseminating “Russian propaganda.” The journalist had been highly critical of Western media efforts to portray Ukraine as a “democracy,” pointing to widespread corruption and compiling a list of Zelensky’s opponents who had been allegedly “disappeared” by the authorities. The journalist was initially arrested by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in May 2023 and was released on bail three months later, claiming he was systematically subjected to torture while in prison. He ended up in custody again later that year after jumping bail and attempting to leave the country to seek asylum in Hungary. At the time, his father, Gonzalo Lira Sr., suggested that then-US authorities gave “at least tacit approval of Gonzalo’s arrest.” After the journalist died in prison, his family accused Kiev of being complicit in his death, yet the Ukrainian authorities denied any wrongdoing.

While Musk had been vocal about the Lira affair before, the renewed attack on Zelensky comes amid a bitter spat between Kiev and Washington. Zelensky and Trump, as well as other top officials, have been publicly trading accusations over the past few days. The Ukrainian leader, for instance, accused the US president of “living in a disinformation bubble” allegedly created by Russia, when he shot down a proposed deal to give the US access to Ukraine’s rare earths as compensation for the military aid it had been receiving. Trump has branded Zelensky a “dictator without elections,” pointing at the fact his presidential term expired back in May 2024 and claiming the Ukrainian leader had an extremely low approval rating in his country. Other top US officials berated Kiev for showing disrespect to Washington, and demanded that Ukraine sign the rare earths deal or face consequences.

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“[Musk] will finish reforming the administrative bodies in the US and then get back down to business – science. You should cooperate with him..”

Neuralink looks like a good fit. And a new space station.

• Russian Business Should ‘Cooperate’ With Musk – Putin (RT)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russian companies should cooperate with Elon Musk once the billionaire completes his role in reforming the US government and shifts his focus back to science. Speaking at the Forum of Future Technologies in Moscow on Friday, Putin spoke with Gazprombank deputy chairman Dmitry Zauers while reviewing new technological developments. The president was shown a soft biocompatible matrix that could be used to find and prevent damage to areas of the cerebral cortex, such as speech zones, during open tumor removal surgeries. Zauers described this new technology as Russia’s answer to Musk, whose Neuralink company is also working on developing brain implants.

Putin was also shown a new type of battery being developed in Russia which is intended to be used in robotics, space systems, diving equipment and for the construction of autonomous stationary objects. Zauers said this was Russia’s “second answer” to Musk. During the presentation, the President suggested that Musk’s future work in science could present opportunities for Russian enterprises. “[Musk] will finish reforming the administrative bodies in the US and then get back down to business – science. You should cooperate with him,” Putin told Zauers. “We have agreed to work together in space, and we can work here too,” he added.

The Gazprom official responded by suggesting that Russian batteries could be installed in SpaceX spacecraft, noting that the energy capacity of the batteries used in Musk’s rockets is 10% less than those designed in Russia. Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Neuralink, has been at the forefront of private space exploration and brain-computer interface research. SpaceX has been developing reusable rockets, while Neuralink has been working on implantable brain-machine interfaces intended to assist individuals with neurological conditions. Since Donald Trump’s return to office last month, Musk has taken on an advisory role in the White House, assisting its efforts in reducing federal spending. The Trump administration has recently clarified in legal filings that Musk does not actually hold a formal government position and serves as an external adviser.

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“..we can argue all day about what the government should and should not do, but until we know for certain what is actually going on, such debates mean nothing.”

• It All Comes Down to Accounting (Jeffrey Tucker)

There are two portals of money in every institution: money coming in and money going out. Keeping track of that in both directions is the key to operations. The final number can reveal profits or losses, surpluses or deficits. Regardless, the accounting books are the beating heart of every institution. Accounting means accountability, holding people to account for their work. This is why the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), formed by Elon Musk with a business-based mindset, sets its sights on two primary institutions in the federal government: the U.S. Treasury payment systems and the revenue agency. That is where the money goes out and where the money comes in. Tying these together and tracing the funds with normal accounting standards is the key to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.

This is all about verifying what is true. It’s not enough just to look at printouts of Congressional budgets or long spreadsheets published by some other agency. The only way to discern what is absolutely true is to go to the source. The penetration of both ends of this have generated astonishing results, among which that many millions of Social Security recipients are apparently not alive. Or maybe they are and this is just a recordkeeping error. They are going to find out one way or another. The most shocking revelation from the very limited look at the U.S. Treasury books that judges have permitted DOGE concerns proper tagging of expenditures. They have documented that $4.7 trillion in government spending is not tagged with what’s called a Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) that ties the spending to a Congressional authorization.

Those are huge numbers. Maybe all these expenditures are legitimate and authorized. Or maybe not. Without the TAS tag, there is no way to know. That change in the books has now been made mandatory so that at least we have the beginnings of a valid and verifiable system of accounting in government. One does wonder. Every year, Congress debates the budget and there is horse trading all around with every politician fighting for a share of the loot. They estimate revenues. They forecast deficits and debts. After a version is produced that includes both the House and Senate, the final result is sent to the President for a signature. From there, we’ve always just assumed that the deeper machinery of the bureaucracy takes it from there.

But what if there is no real and necessary relationship between what Congress authorizes and what the President approves and what actually happens on the expenditure and revenue side? This seems to be the situation. How long has this gone on? Five former Secretaries of the Treasury have said that it has been almost 80 years since elected officials and their appointees have had access to the payment systems. They have been controlled for all living memory by a small group of civil servants who have long walled themselves off from the electorate. This is a stunning realization, one of many that has been unearthed by the forensics being undertaken by DOGE. It remains entirely possible that once this group of appointed outsiders have completed their work, which is in two years, the budget will be balanced even with lower taxes. That might sound crazy but it is entirely possible.

[..] It truly boggles the mind that fully $4.7 trillion in federal expenditures have routinely taken place without any real obligation to attach that spending to an authorized source. It makes one wonder if all the debates about the budget and all the voting and signing ceremonies have been nothing but theater for generations. What also intrigues me about this line of thinking and work is how, in the end, this is not really about big ideological and philosophical debates about the purposes and scope of government. This is really about something very simple: how the nation goes about balancing its checkbook. Until we get that part right, all the rest of the debates are so much hot air.

No matter your political outlook, you should be grateful that DOGE seems finally to be setting things right in the operations of government. There absolutely must be a standard of compliance with accounting practices that every single business, nonprofit, or household has to use in order to maintain economic viability. After DOGE does its work, government should continue to practice the precedent established in these days, weeks, and months. The whole reason for accounting and careful audits is to verify what is true and thus enhance public trust in their own government. Again, we can argue all day about what the government should and should not do, but until we know for certain what is actually going on, such debates mean nothing.

Read more …

“..we revel in the fact that the former congressional investigator, former federal prosecutor, former Department of Defense chief of staff, former Deputy Assistant to the President for the National Security Council, and former federal public defender is now in charge of the men, women, lawyers, suits, and thugs who tried to frame Donald Trump at the FBI..”

• This Should Be on Kash Patel’s FBI Priority List (Victoria Taft)

Now-confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel — take a moment to cheer — jokes about closing the utterly ugly current J. Edgar Hoover FBI building on the first day he walks into the office and opening it up the next day as “museum of the deep state.” The thing is, we have questions about the “new” headquarters location. We all laugh at the comical idea of the “museum of the deep state.” But we revel in the fact that the former congressional investigator, former federal prosecutor, former Department of Defense chief of staff, former Deputy Assistant to the President for the National Security Council, and former federal public defender is now in charge of the men, women, lawyers, suits, and thugs who tried to frame Donald Trump at the FBI. Oh, do we ever.

Kash Patel and Devin Nunes took several scalps suitable for framing in that museum. Patel’s investigation caught them red-handed. Think about it: the guy who cracked the Russian collusion scam against President Trump 45 is now the Trump 47 FBI director. Sit back, take a breath, and enjoy the irony. The American-born son of immigrants who came to find the “dream” nabbed the people trying to steal the dream from citizens. And now he’s our huckleberry. Look up “poetic justice” in some online dictionary, and Kash’s photo is there. There’s no secret about why the FBI 7th-floor swells wanted a new building. Look at that thugly thing that for decades has been the castle of FBI kings, queens, consorts, and jokers.

But there’s a new sheriff in town, and the thing is, as ungainly and impersonal as the current FBI building is, there may be even bigger problems with the plans for the new “campus.” Indeed, what gives with the proposed FBI headquarters in Greenbelt, Md.? I heard some lady on the radio the other day question the wisdom of placing the new FBI HQ in Prince George’s County. Her comment went something like this: Why would we build America’s top law enforcement headquarters in a place that flouts the law by declaring itself a sanctuary area? Good question. My second question is, why did Trump 45 green-light this project for Chris Wray? That’s a subject for another day, but it’s a good question. I’ll bet you he wants a do-over on that one. Happily, Trump 47 and Patel have an opportunity to do just that.

The General Service Administration has taken point on the new FBI building and that means that DEI, green climate catastrophe ridiculousness, and the campus-like atmosphere are paramount considerations, not actual crime fighting. Obviously. Greenbelt, however, is in Prince George’s County, which is a declared sanctuary for illegal aliens. The county has straight-up said it will not work with federal officers to arrest, question, jail, or deport illegal aliens. They are some of the same illegal criminal aliens that our federal officers are right this minute trying to roll up and deport to wherever they came from. As a refresher, MS 13, now a declared terrorist organization, is an entrenched gang in Maryland. Indeed, it is centered in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, with Anne Arundel bringing up the rear.

The “cliques,” as they call themselves, “committed murders, attempted murders, stabbings, extortion and witness tampering,” in Greenbelt, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Considering that Patel has discussed devolving FBI activities to the 50 states, is this vast expanse of a headquarters really necessary? Furthermore, considering that the feds are reducing headcount and few federal workers want to go back to the office, there’s an awful lot of empty office space available in D.C. Does the FBI really need that new 2.1 million square feet of office space on 61 acres of land? Why reward a citizenry that doesn’t want to work with the feds? Give them their wish. Go somewhere else. Patel should put the ambitions of men and women with an edifice complex on pause, maybe a permanent one, until he sorts out his top priorities and reports back to the American people.

And I can’t wait.

Read more …

Sheinbaum knows what to do. And that little time is left. Trump much prefers for Mexico to solve the issue, but there’s no progress to speak of.

• Mexico President Sheinbaum Warns Against US Military Strikes On Cartels (ZH)

In the wake of President Trump’s designation of several Latin American drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday warned the White House against military action inside her country. “This cannot be an opportunity for the U.S. to invade our sovereignty,” she told reporters. “With Mexico, it is collaboration and coordination, never subordination or interventionism, and even less invasion.” Her remarks followed Wednesday’s US State Department announcement that it had designated eight Latin American drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. In addition to the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua that has been raising hell inside the United States, the list included Mexico’s two principal drug traffickers: the Jalisco Nueva Generacion and Sinaloa cartels.

The move fulfilled a promise Trump made during his 2024 election campaign. While the most likely initial actions will center on the legal and financial fronts, the terrorist designation opens the door for military action against the cartels. In the wake of the announcement, Trump advisor Elon Musk tweeted, “That means they’re eligible for drone strikes.” Sheinbaum, however, warned against unilateral US military action: “The Mexican people will under no circumstances accept interventions, intrusions or any other action from abroad that is detrimental to the integrity, independence or sovereignty of the nation… [including] violations of Mexican territory, whether by land, sea or air.” Earlier, Sheinbaum said she had approved US surveillance drone flights over Mexico. That claim came after CNN reported that the administration tapped the CIA to use unarmed MQ-9 drones to monitor the cartels.

The secret missions were communicated to members of Congress, with the description of the undertaking making no mention of a partnership with the Mexican government. There have also been indications of US Air Force RC-135V aircraft performing signal intelligence (SIGINT) missions inside Mexican airspace. Meanwhile, the Mexican Senate Commission has given the green light for US Special Forces deployment inside Mexico for “training missions.” Sheinbaum has said she opposes a terrorist designation out of concern that US government actions under such a designation may violate Mexican sovereignty, arguing that the two countries should work in mutual consultation and collaboration. Last week, Sheinbaum threatened to retaliate for a terrorist-designation by expanding Mexico’s lawsuit against several American gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson, Barrett, Colt and Sturm, Ruger & Co:

“If they were to decree organized crime groups as terrorists, we would have to expand the lawsuit in the United States because — as the Department of Justice itself has already acknowledged that 74% of the arms of criminal groups come from the United States — then how are the arms manufacturers and distributors affected by the decree? The lawyers are looking at it, but they could be accomplices.” The move toward the US terror designation began with a Day One executive order from Trump tasking the State Department with evaluating that avenue. “The cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs,” Trump wrote.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Wired

 

 

Libs
https://twitter.com/i/status/1893037843615748533

 

 

MJ

 

 

Baby
https://twitter.com/i/status/1893186941983584347

 

 

Shepherd
https://twitter.com/i/status/1893294685021470759

 

 

River

 

 

Lions
https://twitter.com/i/status/1893260437229072542

 

 

Episode
https://twitter.com/i/status/1893195557524414744

 

 

2nd
https://twitter.com/i/status/1892959541983170840

 

 

Kind of

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Rattle February 19 2025

Feb 192025
 
 February 19, 2025  Posted by at 11:01 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  49 Responses »


Banksy Monkey Parliament 2009

 

• Trump Blasts Critics Of His Ukraine Peace Initiative (ZH)
• ‘Successful’ US-Russia Talks Conclude After 4+ Hours, No Ukraine Or EU (ZH)
• Polling Shows Trump And DOGE Have Public Backing Despite Critics (Whedon)
• Judge Rejects Request to Block DOGE From Accessing Government Data (ET)
• Judge Declines to Block DOGE’s Access to Student Financial Aid Data (ET)
• DOGE Finds $4.7 Trillion In Virtually Untraceable Treasury Payments (ZH)
• Trump Replaces Social Security Administration Head Amid DOGE Scrutiny (ET)
• 60 Million More Active Social Security Numbers than US Has Population (PCR)
• 20M in Social Security Database Over Age 100 – Listed But Get No Benefits (NYP)
• Zelensky Abruptly Cancels Planned Saudi Visit (ZH)
• Putin Ready To Talk To Zelensky – Kremlin (RT)
• EU ‘At Kid’s Table’ In Ukraine Talks – German Weapons Giant (RT)
• Zelensky Was A Draft Dodger – Poroshenko (RT)
• EU To Uphold Russia Sanctions Regardless Of US – Commissioner (RT)
• EU Mulling New Plan For Ukraine Military Aid (RT)
• Europe’s ‘Paper Army’ Can’t Ensure Security Without the US (Sp.)
• EU Suffers From “Foot In Mouth” Once Again Over Ukraine War (Jay)
• RFK Jr. Calls For New Age Of ‘Radical Transparency’ At HHS (NYP)
• Musk’s xAI Unveils “State Of The Art” Grok 3 AI Bot (ZH)

 

 

 

 

Ushakov
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891753063456592158

‘If Democrats ever had a clever thought, it died alone and afraid.’

‘Controlled by people who majored in online activism with a minor in puberty blockers.’

AI

Karp

NASA DOGE

Sachs

 

 

 

 

In the past three years, the world as presented to us by US and EU legacy media, has been black and white. Vladimir Putin played the bogeyman, Vladimir Zelensky the brave savior of mankind. Trump has shattered that artificial narrative in a matter of weeks. Because he doesn’t want to be held responsible for all the suffering it causes. This is everyone’s new reality now. The EU wants to “save the narrative”, but they will fail.

• Trump Blasts Critics Of His Ukraine Peace Initiative (ZH)

President Trump in an afternoon press Q&A from Mar-a-Lago went off on those attacking his Ukraine peace initiative, which saw Secretary of State Rubio and national security advisor Walz lead a delegation in 4+ hours of talks with FM Lavrov and the Russians in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia earlier in the day. “I want to see peace. Look, you know why I want it? Because I don’t want all these people killed anymore. I’m looking at people that are being killed — and they’re Russian and Ukrainian people, but they’re people,” Trump emphasized. His tone on Zelensky was decidedly negative, and he defended his administration’s stance on holding Kiev to new elections, saying this is necessary if the Ukrainians want a seat at the table. Watch:

On a similar theme, at one point he was asked what his message is to Ukrainians who feel betrayed by his administration, again as the US pursues negotiations with Russia while sidelining both Zelensky and EU officials. Trump responded bluntly: “I hear they’re upset about not having a seat. Well, they’ve had a seat for three years.” Trump was further asked about how he would prevent Russia from installing a puppet government in Ukraine. He remarked that none of this is about personalities, but about getting the job done, saying he likes Zelensky “personally” but that’s not what this is all about. “You have leadership now that’s allowed a war to go on that should’ve never ever happened, even without the United States,” Trump said, underscoring that the conflict and slaughter started under Biden.

“Look we had a president who was grossly incompetent, he had no idea what he was doing – he said some very stupid things, like going in for portions,” Trump continued. “This is something that would have never happened. And I used to discuss it with Putin. President Putin and I used to talk about Ukraine – it was the apple of his eye… I used to tell him ‘don’t go in’ – and he understand that, he understood it fully… I want to see if I can save maybe millions of lives.” You might “end up in World War 3,” Trump warned, if the conflict keeps escalating and with no efforts to make peace. Importantly, Trump also asked where the billions upon billions given to Ukraine went. “We gave them I think $350 BILLION… where is all the money that’s been given? Where is it going? I don’t see any accounting!”

“…so I want to see peace… I don’t want to see all these people killed anymore.” He noted that Europe has “only given a small percentage of that” – even though this most directly impacts the security of Europe. “I could have made a deal for Ukraine that would have given them almost all of the land and no people would have been killed and no cities would have been demolished… President Biden in all fairness doesn’t have a clue”.

Read more …

“We have agreed that a mechanism for a settlement of the Ukraine conflict will be formed in the near future, and ambassadors will be appointed ASAP to lead these efforts.”

• ‘Successful’ US-Russia Talks Conclude After 4+ Hours, No Ukraine Or EU (ZH)

The day of a high-level and much anticipated US-Russia meeting toward achieving the end of the war in Ukraine was held in Saudi Arabia, hailed by Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser, as “successful” after about four-hours-and-a-half hours of talks. However, Ukraine’s President Zelensky was sidelined as were the European allies. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led the Russian delegation meeting US officials, including Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. Both sides have said they are looking forward to the meeting paving a way for a near-future bilateral summit between Presidents Trump and Putin. Secretary Rubio issued a statement in the wake of the meeting, which most interestingly included an agreement for election to be held in Ukraine, which Zelensky certainly isn’t going to like (and probably won’t agree to), given also he just recently argued that martial law prevents this.

According to what was agreed to based on Rubio’s readout:
• Two sides agree to broadly to pursue three goals: allowing back staffing at their embassies in Washington and Moscow and to establish respective high-level teams to support Ukraine peace talks.
• And three: Explore closer restored relations and economic cooperation between the US and Russia
• Rubio stressed that any agreement must be “acceptable” to US, Russia, Ukraine and Europe.
• The plan has three stages: a ceasefire, elections in Ukraine and signing a final agreement, according to Fox reporter Jacqui Heinrich on X
• Lavrov has said: We have agreed that a mechanism for a settlement of the Ukraine conflict will be formed in the near future, and ambassadors will be appointed ASAP to lead these efforts.
Inside the room…

Pushing back against critics, Rubio emphasized that Ukraine has not been sidelined, though Zelensky nor any Kiev representative was invited to the talks in Riyadh. “He’s the only leader in the world that could have started this process here today,” he said. The State Department readout said Tuesday’s meeting puts the two sides “on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides.” More details via Bloomberg: They also agreed to “address irritants” in US-Russia relations to restore the work of their diplomatic missions, and to “lay the groundwork for future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest” once the war ends, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said they discussed a summit between Trump and Putin but it was unlikely to take place next week. “It’s hard to say yet that we’re getting closer, but there was a conversation,” Ushakov said of the US and Russian positions after the meeting, according to the state-run Tass news agency. Ushakov and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov represented the Kremlin at the talks that included White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan was also present. Trump is determined to “move very quickly” on securing a permanent settlement in Ukraine, Waltz said in a briefing by the US side. Rubio said he was convinced Russia’s willing to engage “in a serious process” on Ukraine, while Witkoff called the meeting a “very, very solid session.”

Complaining about lack of EU representation, Ursula von der Leyen has claimed Europe has contributed more “financially and militarily” to Ukraine than anyone else. Zelensky, who is currently visiting Ankara, said his country seeks “security guarantees from US, EU, Turkey” against Russia. It seems he may actually acquiesce to the US taking the option of NATO membership off the table permanently – as this was never a realistic path in the first place. Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko has emphasized that in reality the EU has canceled itself, and that’s why it’s not a trustworthy partner to negotiate peace, or be in the room. He pointed to the EU’s repeatedly stated desire to “inflict a strategic defeat on Russia,” stressing that “this rules out any role for the EU and European countries in the upcoming negotiations to resolve the conflict in and around Ukraine.”

Read more …

Despite the entire anti-Musk/Trump campaign.

• Polling Shows Trump And DOGE Have Public Backing Despite Critics (Whedon)

Elon Musk is bringing receipts to substantiate his claims of large-scale fraud in the American government, undermining claims from detractors as he rides a wave of popular support for President Donald Trump and a government overhaul. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Elon Musk has attracted its fair share of critics, though the agenda of dramatically downsizing government itself appears to have overshadowed the negative press and public suspicion of Musk. Over the first month of the Trump presidency, DOGE has torn through federal agencies seeking instances of fraud, waste, abuse and other non-necessary expenditures hoping to dramatically reduce the scope of the federal government. The department has yet to post a comprehensive list of savings, but its website currently promises “receipts coming over the weekend.”

So far, however, the department has already shown hard documentation of apparent fraud and waste via its X account. Thus far, the agency has largely taken aim at executive branch agencies and has yet to post any workforce data on Congress or the Judiciary. But the executive branch agencies make up a substantive part of the federal workforce and payroll, accounting for more than 2.2 million employees and an annual expenditure of just over $211 billion. Over the weekend, the department published its initial reports outlining the scope of federal agency expenditures and regulations, estimating that 18.5 federal regulations existed for each law Congress approved. Speaking on the “John Solomon Reports” podcast on Monday, Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah, highlighted that Musk had managed to undercover more information on wasteful spending than Congress because of flaws in the process of oversight hearings.

“So the thing that we’re hearing is Elon Musk is doing forensic accounting investigation into these programs. These programs can’t defend themselves from computer programs that will burrow into the financial transactions,” he said. “If Congress asked for a hearing, you know what? You and I both know. What happens is the bureaucrats show up with redacted information that is essentially not informational and or they don’t tell us the full story.” “And so we can ask for hearing after hearing, but when you have forensic accounting resources, and you go in and you find where these checks are going, where this money’s going, you can actually track these things down, gather the proof, and prove to the American people that their money is being wasted,” he contended.

The total amount of money DOGE has saved through slashing programs and payroll remains unclear as of press time, though reports are expected in the near future. A cursory glance at the agency’s X account, however, shows the figure to be well in the billions, with more than $1 billion alone coming from eliminated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. After initially tackling flak from legacy media over his claims of fraud at his initial press conference without providing paper evidence, Musk later posted screenshots of the Social Security database to substantiate his assertions that 150-year-olds were receiving Social Security. “According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE! Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security,” he posted.

One user, in response, highlighted that the total number of eligible recipients in the list neared 400 million, despite the U.S. having a population of roughly 60 million fewer people. “Yes, there are FAR more ‘eligible’ Social Security numbers than there are citizens in the USA. This might be the biggest fraud in history,” Musk replied. Easily the nation’s most prominent entitlement program, Social Security alone accounts for a sizeable portion of the nation’s budget and lawmakers estimate the weekly losses to be in staggering amounts. Notably, an Office of the Inspector General report from 2023 that the New York Post highlighted on Monday previously found 18.9 million numbers registered to persons born in 1920 or earlier, but noted that most were not currently receiving payments.

[..] CNN reported Monday that DOGE employee Gavin Kliger will soon secure access to taxpayer data at the IRS through its Integrated Data Retrieval System. “It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it. DOGE will continue to shine a light on the fraud they uncover as the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard earned tax dollars on,” White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields told the outlet. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., on Monday took aim at Musk for “rummaging through your personal sh*t” in response to DOGE’s access to IRS data. “Bruh, if I wanted to rummage through random personal shit, I could have done that at PAYPAL. Hello??? Having tens of millions of people marked in Social Security as “ALIVE” when they are definitely dead is a HUGE problem,” Musk retorted. “Obviously. Some of these people would have been alive before America existed as a country. Think about that for a second …”

Leftists in media, both traditional and social — particularly activist celebrities — have taken to attacking him for everything from his personal life to attempts to suppress the stock of Tesla. Those findings come as the public appears supportive of the Trump administration, thus far, with 55% of registered voters expressing approval in the latest Napolitan News Survey. A further 43% disapproved of the administration. Notably, voter priorities appear to be with Trump’s keynote campaign promises on the economy and immigration. Thirty-one percent said the economy was the most important issue while 22% chose immigration. The remainder were largely divided among other issues. An earlier CBS News survey, moreover, found Trump with a 53% approval rating, while 70% expressed the belief that he was keeping his campaign promises.

Read more …

The judges are waking up to the end of lawfare. Even U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.

• Judge Rejects Request to Block DOGE From Accessing Government Data (ET)

A federal judge on Feb. 18 turned down a request from a group of state attorneys general to block the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing data at seven government agencies, finding the states had not met the bar for relief. “The court is aware that DOGE’s unpredictable actions have resulted in considerable uncertainty and confusion for Plaintiffs and many of their agencies and residents,” U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote in a 10-page decision. “But the ‘possibility’ that defendants may take actions that irreparably harm plaintiffs ‘is not enough.’” New Mexico and other states had asked Chutkan to block DOGE and Elon Musk, a special government employee, from accessing data at the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Commerce.

They also requested that the judge block Musk, DOGE, and people acting in concert with them from terminating workers within those agencies or placing them on leave. The states said that Musk “is exercising unprecedented executive authority” in violation of the U.S. Constitution, “directing the agencies’ actions in ways that exceed even the authority of those agencies’ Senate confirmed leaders.” “Evidence suggests that he has, and continues to, cut billions of dollars from agency budgets, fired agency personnel, and, in his words, ‘delete[d]’ entire agencies,” they said in the motion. The states expressed concern that their residents’ data is at risk due to DOGE’s access to the data. Government officials said in response that Musk is not a DOGE employee and does not have decision-making authority. “Mr. Musk can only advise the President and communicate the President’s directives,” one told the court in a filing.

A party seeking a temporary restraining order must show they are likely to succeed on the merits in the case and would suffer irreparable harm absent relief, among other requirements. Chutkan said the states have not met the harm standard, highlighting statements entered by the plaintiffs that say if Musk and DOGE take certain actions, then the states will suffer harm. She said the states have put forth a serious claim that Musk’s moves violate the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, which requires Senate confirmation of top Executive Branch officials. However, she said that she was unable to act because she was not aware of any temporary restraining orders being based on an Appointments Clause violation.

Read more …

“..the plaintiffs had not shown sufficient irreparable harm to warrant emergency injunctive relief. “Because the Court concludes that UCSA has failed to clear that essential hurdle, the Court’s analysis also ends there..”

• Judge Declines to Block DOGE’s Access to Student Financial Aid Data (ET)

A federal judge declined to block the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the Department of Education’s student financial aid data on Feb. 17. The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by the University of California Students Association (USCA) against the Education Department and its acting secretary, Denise Carter. The suit alleged that DOGE, in seeking to access the Education Department’s records, will have access to the students’ personal information, including social security numbers, as well as detailed financial data of their parents. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that the plaintiffs had not shown sufficient irreparable harm to warrant emergency injunctive relief. “Because the Court concludes that UCSA has failed to clear that essential hurdle, the Court’s analysis also ends there,” the judge wrote.

“The Court leaves for another day consideration of whether USCA’s has standing to sue and has stated a claim upon which relief may be granted. Those questions are less clear cut and are better answered on a more complete record.” The USCA suit alleged that DOGE’s actions in accessing the department’s records would violate federal regulations, including the Privacy Act of 1974, which prohibits the department from sharing this data with a third party. “Plaintiff UCSA’s members are among the 42 million federal student loan borrowers who have provided sensitive personal information to [the Education Department] in order to obtain a federal student loan,” the plaintiffs’ complaint stated. “These are people who trusted [the department] with their sensitive personal information” when filing for student loans and grants, the complaint stated.

One UCSA student, remaining anonymous because of her family’s immigration status, submitted a supplemental declaration saying that DOGE accessing her records had given her anxiety and was causing her to reconsider her application for graduate school. The department responded that the lawsuit is without merit, and raises “separation of powers concerns by impermissibly intruding into the President’s superintendence of the Department of Education.” “There is no violation of the Privacy Act when employees of an agency, like the six individuals at issue here, access agency systems to perform their job duties,” the response stated. A declaration by the education department’s chief information officer Thomas Flagg says that the department “routinely shares information with other Executive departments and agencies as part of other, non-DOGE-related initiatives, which [he does] not understand to be at issue in the litigation for which I submit this declaration.”

Moss drilled into both sides of the case in a hearing on Feb. 14, seeking to understand if DOGE employees who had been assigned temporarily to work at the department could be considered employees of that agency. Moss highlighted what he saw as a “unique lack of transparency” in DOGE’s work. “We don’t know who these folks are or what they are doing,” he said at the hearing. The judge asked the plaintiffs if it was ever appropriate for government employees of an agency to conduct an audit. Attorneys for the plaintiffs responded that it “depends on the nature of the audit.” Likewise, the judge queried lawyers for the government about the broad scope of DOGE’s data acquisition. “What would happen if the political director of the White House obtained the tax records of every Democrat candidate?” he asked.

The judge was also concerned that the student’s data was being fed into an AI portal for processing and sought clarification on the actual number of DOGE employees assigned to audit the Education Department. Attorneys for the government estimated that number at six individuals. The plaintiffs alleged there were as many as 37. On Feb. 17, DOGE employee Adam Ramada submitted a declaration to the court testifying that he was aware of only six “who have been granted access to Department information technology and data systems or who have otherwise received any Department information protected by the Privacy Act or section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code.” Ramada also said that all employees, except one, had completed security and ethics training; the remaining employee is set to finish the training soon.

Read more …

“.. the TAS (Treasury Access Symbol) field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible..”

• DOGE Finds $4.7 Trillion In Virtually Untraceable Treasury Payments (ZH)

The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Monday revealed its finding that $4.7 trillion in disbursements by the US Treasury are “almost impossible” to trace, thanks to a rampant disregard for the basic accounting practice of using of tracking codes when dishing out money. Mind you, it’s not as if such a federal tracking system wasn’t already in place — it simply went casually unused for all sorts of payouts adding up to an almost unfathomable $4.7 trillion. Without Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) identification codes associated with those payouts, there’s little hope in figuring out where all that money went. “In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible,” DOGE announced via its X account. Thanks to DOGE, those “optional” days are over.

“As of Saturday, this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going,” DOGE added. Musk celebrated the move. “Major improvement in Treasury payment integrity going live!” he tweeted. “This was a combined effort of DOGE, USTreasury and FederalReserve. Nice work by all.” DOGE’s scrutiny of various government agencies is eliciting high-pitched shrieks from nearly every leftist in America, from establishment politicians who don’t want the curtain that hides their hijinks and grifting torn down, to your liberal sister-in-law who thinks the government has an endless supply of money and that it spends it all virtuously.

Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed back on portrayals of DOGE employees as reckless rogues. “These are highly trained professionals,” he told Bloomberg. “This is not some roving band going around doing things. This is methodical and it is going to yield big savings.” In the wake of the latest revelation that makes normal people glad that DOGE teams are scouring the federal government, Democrats desperately tried to find a way to make it sound bad that DOGE exposed trillions in untraceable payouts and promptly instituted tighter accounting discipline. Here’s Wisconsin Rep Mark Pocan’s lame attempt:

Meanwhile, leftists have also been foaming at the mouth over news that DOGE staffers are looking into the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) books, as if they were going to start rerouting funds to Tesla. Considering Social Security is careening toward mandatory benefit cuts as soon as 2033, everyone should welcome a team of financial professionals making sure the system isn’t being drained by improper payments. Of course, that appears to be exactly what’s been happening. On Sunday night, Musk said DOGE might be on the trail of “the biggest fraud in history,” as SSA data appears to show that 20.789 million Americans over the age of 100 are collecting Social Security retirement benefits. That includes 12 million who are purportedly over 120 years old.

Bent on derailing DOGE, Democrats have sued to prevent the organization from accessing federal data associated with the Office of Personnel Management, and the Health and Human Services, Education, Energy, Transportation, Labor and Commerce departments. On Monday, the federal judge handling the request for a restraining order expressed skepticism over Democrats’ challenge, noting that their “evidence” was largely media speculation about potential harms springing from DOGE’s activities: “The courts can’t act based on media reports. We can’t do that.” A ruling is expected Tuesday. Here’s looking forward to DOGE proceeding to uncover a relentless string of scandals for months and months to come.

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“The agency will be led by a career Social Security anti-fraud expert as the acting commissioner..”

• Trump Replaces Social Security Administration Head Amid DOGE Scrutiny (ET)

President Donald Trump has replaced the head of the Social Security Administration (SSA), the White House said on Feb. 18. “The agency will be led by a career Social Security anti-fraud expert as the acting commissioner,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields told The Epoch Times in an email. “President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified individuals who are dedicated to working on behalf of the American people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for far too long.” The acting commissioner has not been identified. A webpage for the commissioner on the SSA website was recently removed. It previously held a biography for Michelle King, who was named acting commissioner in January. The White House declined to say whether King resigned or was fired.

Trump nominated Fiserv CEO Frank Bisignano as SSA commissioner in December 2024. Fields said the White House expects Bisignano to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate in the coming weeks. “I am honored to have this once in a lifetime opportunity to serve my country,” Bisignano said previously. “I thank President-elect Trump and, if confirmed, look forward to applying my experience to transform our social security system.” Elon Musk said on Feb. 17 on social media platform X that the Department of Government Efficiency had found millions of people older than 120 listed in the agency’s database as eligible for Social Security. The oldest living person in the world is 116, according to Guinness World Records.

The SSA’s inspector general said in 2023 that it found that 18.9 million people aged 100 or older were still listed in the database despite the U.S. Census estimating that just 86,000 individuals in that age range live in the United States. “Taking action to include death information for the millions of numberholders omitted from the [database] would enhance Government-wide improper payment prevention and detection,” the watchdog said at the time. The inspector general made recommendations to improve the system, but the agency disagreed with the recommendations. People eligible for Social Security include children, spouses, and retired workers. More than 70 million people received benefits from SSA programs in 2022, according to the agency.

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“I still have my first Social Security card from 1957 needed for my first job in a Columbus, Georgia, cotton mill at $1.00 per hour. My take-home pay for a 40 hour week, 7am – 3pm, was $33.00. My Social Security Card says in large red letters, “NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES.”

• 60 Million More Active Social Security Numbers than US Has Population (PCR)

Dear Readers, If you are puzzled why Democrats and the US Civil Service are begging judges to prevent the Trump administration from having access to official US government data, the Social Security data alone explains it. The US population according to the CensusBureau is 334 million, but according to current Social Security records, there are 398 million people with active Social Security numbers. In other words, 64 million more people have US Social Security numbers than exist.According to the Social Security Administration’s official data, there are two active Social Security accounts of people who are older than the United States. According to the Social Security Administration, there are active Social Security numbers for 3.6 million Americans between the ages of 110 and 119 years of age; 3.4 million between the ages of 120-129 years of age; 3.9 million between the ages of 130-139; 3.5 million between the ages of 140-149, and to pass by these absurd active Social Security numbers, we have the Social Security Administration attesting to the fact that there are 1,039 active Social Security numbers for people aged 220-229 years old.

Who is receiving these benefit checks? This is what the corrupt judiciary is keeping secret by blocking DOGE, claiming it is a violation of privacy. It must be the privacy of dead people or zombies. [..] Trump and Musk are trying to restore the integrity of the US government and to stop the theft of government revenues and the intrusiveness of government into our lives. Over the course of my life government has become intrusive in ways that were impossible when I was young. For example, I still have my first Social Security card from 1957 needed for my first job in a Columbus, Georgia, cotton mill at $1.00 per hour. My take-home pay for a 40 hour week, 7am – 3pm, was $33.00. My Social Security Card says in large red letters, “NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES.”

In America today you cannot do anything without using your Social Security card or number for identification. Your Social Security number, not your name, has become your identity, an identity that the digital revolution makes it easy for criminals to steal. Did you read in the whore media about this extraordinary fact that Social Security accounts exceed the population? Of course not. The official narrative is that Trump is going to balance the budget by ending Social Security payments. This is more fake news from the whore media that told us Trump was a Russian agent. Instead of cutting Social Security payments, Trump wants to stop the fraud.

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The main takeaway is what an incredible mess the system is.

• 20M in Social Security Database Over Age 100 – Listed But Get No Benefits (NYP)

Tesla and X CEO-turned-special government employee Elon Musk claimed to have uncovered “the biggest fraud in history” when he stumbled across more than 20 million people listed in the Social Security database as over 100 years old. “According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!” Musk posted on X late Sunday, showing a chart of ages ranging from zero to 369 years old. “Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security,” he joked, adding that “there are FAR more ‘eligible’ social security [sic] numbers than there are citizens in the USA. This might be the biggest fraud in history.” However, Musk’s bombshell has long been known by the Social Security Administration (SSA) watchdog, which released an audit in July 2023 showing that 18.9 million people listed as 100 years or older — but not dead — were in the database.

Only 86,000 people living in the US at the time were actually centenarians, according to the Census Bureau. The same inspector general’s office found in a March 2015 audit that 6.5 million people with Social Security numbers but no death information were over 112 years old — despite just 35 people on the planet having reached that ripe old age. In both audits, the inspectors general concluded that “almost none” were actually cashing Social Security checks — despite the glaring accounting errors identifying people born in 1886 and 1893 as still living, in two extreme cases. Roughly 18.4 million uncovered in the 2023 audit had not received benefits or reported income for 50 years, meaning they were likely dead. “We believe it likely SSA did not receive or record most of the 18.9 million individuals’ death information primarily because the individuals died decades ago — before the use of electronic death reporting,” the report states.

Around 44,000 were actually receiving benefits, with 13 of those older than 112. The oldest living man in the world — Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez, a 112-year-old self-taught musician, coal miner and gin rummy aficionado from western New York — had died months after the first audit began. The audits, however, did reveal that around 531 million unique Social Security numbers are in circulation — and that “thousands” may be in use to commit identity fraud. The 2015 audit showed about $3.1 billion in earnings reported by employers or self-employed individuals who were not the actual Social Security number holder. Alex Nowrasteh, Cato Institute vice president for economic and social policy studies, replied to Musk’s tweet by noting that a lot of Social Security numbers for people older than age 100 were “illegal immigrants paying in, not fraudulent recipients taking out.”

“By all means, clean up SSA and mark those people as deceased. But the cost of doing so is less revenue going into Social Security,” Nowrasteh said. “Maybe that’s fine, SS should be shut down anyway, but that is a downside.” Nowrasteh explained to The Post in a Monday phone interview that migrants were “stealing identities of people who are deceased but not marked in the Social Security system.” Many make use of a “thriving” black market for both identity theft and identity loans — the latter of which can be obtained with just an ID and Social Security number — to be able to work in the US.

Nowrasteh and other observers believe that Musk was pulling from a Social Security list known as “Numident,” which includes every number handed out since the benefits program started in 1936. “Some people have more than one number, occasionally because they’re committing fraud, but more usually because they’ve had fraud committed against them and they were issued a new clean number,” a former SSA employee told journalist Jesse Singal. “[A]lso you have people who received a Social Security number and then left the US, like temporary immigrant workers,” the employee added. “But there’s a long term recognized problem with SSA’s databases not marking as dead people who have died.”

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“..Marco Rubio after the Riyadh meeting issued a statement revealing an agreement for election to be held in Ukraine, which Zelensky certainly isn’t going to like (and probably won’t agree to)..”

• Zelensky Abruptly Cancels Planned Saudi Visit (ZH)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Tuesday he is cancelling his scheduled state visit to Saudi Arabia following the conclusion of US-Russia talks there. He’s been on a Middle East diplomatic tour to gain support for his country now three years in to the Russia-Ukraine war, which took him to the UAE, Turkey, and Wednesday he was supposed to be in Saudi Arabia to meet with the kingdom’s leadership. The Saudi trip had been planned before it was known that the US-Russia talks would take place. “Zelensky CANCELLING trip to Saudi Arabia following US/Russia talks. Zelensky will now return to Kyiv from Ankara, Turkey,” Fox News has reported. He now says he plans to visit in March. Zelensky is clearly trying to lash out at Washington. Without doubt this is to signal his anger about being cut out of talks toward ending the Ukraine war.

The Kremlin hailed Tuesday’s four-and-half hour meeting in Riyadh, with Rubio leading the US side and Lavrov leading the Moscow delegation, as “successful”. European officials were also noticeably absent from the meeting, which was hosted and mediated by the Saudi government. Zelensky had issued a prior warning while in the UAE: “Ukraine will not accept. Ukraine knew nothing about this. And Ukraine regards any negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine as having no results,” he had said. “Ukraine will not take part in the negotiations. Ukraine did not know they were planned. And the visit to the region was planned long before the US decided to meet Russia there,” he continued.

The fact that a high-level peace meeting was taking place without Zelensky or any Ukrainian representation, at the very moment he was in the region, is being felt as adding insult to injury from the Trump administration. Top Russian diplomat Sergey Lavrov has explained the need for Zelensky’s absence from talks as follows: “I don’t know what they [Kiev officals] could do at the negotiating table. If their aim is to cunningly extract a deceptive truce while secretly preparing for continued war—true to their habits and nature—then why invite them at all?” according to TASS.

The US and Russian sides have vowed to continue the peace negotiations going, hopefully leading to a face-to-face meeting between Presidents Putin and Trump. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the Riyadh meeting issued a statement revealing an agreement for election to be held in Ukraine, which Zelensky certainly isn’t going to like (and probably won’t agree to), given also he just recently argued that martial law prevents this. But Putin has said negotiations with Ukraine remain a non-starter so long as Zelensky refuses to hold elections. The Russian leader has said this makes him ‘illegitimate’ and thus he can’t legally sign any peace terms.

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““Ukraine, in particular, has prohibited its involvement in peace talks. The Europeans have championed the continuation of war at any cost. The previous administration in Washington also supported waging it to the last Ukrainian,” Peskov stated..”

• Putin Ready To Talk To Zelensky – Kremlin (RT)

Russia remains committed to a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and is ready to hold direct talks between President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, despite having doubts about the latter’s legitimacy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Zelensky’s presidential term lapsed last year, prompting Russia to question his authority to sign international treaties on behalf of Ukraine. Nevertheless, Peskov emphasized that Putin is open to dialogue with Zelensky if it serves the goal of achieving peace. “Putin has repeatedly expressed his readiness to negotiate with Zelensky,” Peskov told reporters during a press briefing on Tuesday. On the same day, senior US and Russian officials convened in Saudi Arabia to explore ways to repair bilateral relations, which have been significantly strained by the Ukraine conflict.

The potential thaw was initiated by US President Donald Trump, who has acknowledged Moscow’s stance that NATO’s expansion in Europe is a major factor in the hostilities and has signaled a desire to swiftly resolve the crisis. Peskov underscored that Putin has consistently sought to fulfill Russia’s security objectives through diplomatic means, saying that other parties have not pursued the same approach. “Ukraine, in particular, has prohibited its involvement in peace talks. The Europeans have championed the continuation of war at any cost. The previous administration in Washington also supported waging it to the last Ukrainian,” Peskov stated.

Zelensky has preemptively dismissed any agreements reached between Washington and Moscow regarding Ukraine without Kiev’s input. This shift in US policy has created a rift between Washington and several European NATO allies, who have pledged unwavering support for Kiev. It has also intensified fissures within the EU, as dissenting countries like Hungary and Slovakia have endorsed the new US approach. On Monday, Moscow’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, reiterated Russia’s critical view of the EU’s and UK’s roles in the Ukraine conflict, accusing them of harboring “a manic desire to defeat Russia on the battlefield.” He argued that their stubbornness makes them “incapable of negotiation,” and that they are undesired participants in any future settlement.

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“The US is negotiating with Russia and no European is at the table – it has become very clear that the Europeans are the kids..”

• EU ‘At Kid’s Table’ In Ukraine Talks – German Weapons Giant (RT)

The EU should blame itself for being excluded from US-initiated Ukraine peace efforts, Armin Papperger, CEO of German arms giant Rheinmetall, one of the key Western firms supplying Kiev with military equipment, has said. In an interview with the Finacial Times published late on Monday, the executive indicated that the bloc’s under-investment in defense led the US to stop seeing it as an equal partner. Papperger’s remarks come amid growing outrage in the EU over its exclusion from the recent US-Russia rapprochement. Following a phone conversation with Russian president Vladimir Putin last week, US President Donald Trump declared an “immediate” start to negotiations on Ukraine, drawing criticism from EU states for failing to consult them.

The first round of bilateral Russia-US negotiations kicked off in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday. Led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the talks are expected to focus on restoring bilateral relations, preparing for negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement with Kiev and laying the groundwork for a direct meeting between Trump and Putin. The EU’s anger was intensified after Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, signaled that the bloc’s leaders may not be invited to take part in future peace talks. “If parents have dinner, the kids have to sit at another table… The US is negotiating with Russia and no European is at the table – it has become very clear that the Europeans are the kids,” Papperger told the news outlet.

The executive cited the bloc’s reluctance to boost defense spending within the NATO military bloc. “If you don’t invest, if you’re not strong, they handle you like kids,” he stated. NATO and the US have repeatedly demanded sharp increases in defense spending from the bloc’s European members to as high as 5% of GDP, while Trump has long bemoaned bearing the brunt of costs. Many EU states have demanded to be included in the Ukraine peace process over the past few days, with the Weimar+ group, which includes France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain and the UK, declaring that “Europe must be part of any negotiations” as they would affect the security of the entire continent. French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called an emergency summit of European leaders for talks on Ukraine, purportedly to counterbalance Russia-US peace efforts.

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“The former president replied that his son will “act differently than Zelensky, who was a draft dodger four times, running away from summonses.”

• Zelensky Was A Draft Dodger – Poroshenko (RT)

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky evaded conscription on four separate occasions, former President Pyotr Poroshenko has claimed in an interview with the Ukrainska Pravda published on Monday. In 2022, amid the escalating conflict with Russia, Zelensky enacted martial law and initiated a comprehensive mobilization effort. Despite this, Kiev has suffered from a manpower shortage, prompting the authorities to lower the draft age from 27 to 25 and significantly tighten the mobilization rules. In the Ukrainska Pravda interview, Poroshenko was asked if his son Mikhail, who will soon turn 25, intends to serve, given that all men in Ukraine of that age are subject to mandatory mobilization. The former president replied that his son will “act differently than Zelensky, who was a draft dodger four times, running away from summonses.”

During the Ukrainian presidential election in 2019, the Defense Ministry reported that Zelensky, who was running for office that year, was sent summonses to the military enlistment office four times from 2014 to 2015, but failed to show up. The 47-year old has no record of military service despite being registered since 2008 and being deemed fit for service. The rivalry between Poroshenko and Zelensky has heated up in recent months, as the former president has suggested that a new election could be held later this year. Last week, Zelensky imposed sanctions on Poroshenko, accusing him of high treason and assisting a terrorist organization. Poroshenko has vehemently denied the accusations and has accused the Ukrainian leader of repressing his political opponents.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s mobilization efforts have continued to face challenges, including public resistance and numerous instances of draft evasion. Reports indicate that a large number of conscription-age men have left or tried to leave the country to avoid service, while recruitment offices have been plagued with corruption scandals. The efforts come in the wake of significant personnel losses, with Moscow recently claiming that Ukraine has lost around 50,000 servicemen every month during the past half year. Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Kiev of throwing its people under the bus by deciding to “fight to the last Ukrainian.”

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They present it as a security issue.

• EU To Uphold Russia Sanctions Regardless Of US – Commissioner (RT)

The EU has no plans to lift sanctions against Russia even if the US decides to do so, and is working on the next raft of measures, EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has said. The bloc has proposed a 16th round of sanctions on Russia to be imposed next week for the third anniversary of the start of the Russian military operation against Ukraine on February 24. Along with the US, the EU has slapped numerous rounds of sanctions on Russia since 2022 in a bid to isolate the country, cutting it off from the Western financial system and freezing its foreign reserves. Asked if the EU would lift its sanctions on Russia if the US eases its restrictions in exchange for a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, Dombrovskis stated that Brussels would pursue an independent sanctions policy.

“It’s very clear with the moves of the current Trump administration that the EU will have to take issues related to the EU’s security more in its own hands. It also concerns the sanctions policy as you know the work continues on preparing the 16th package,” the commissioner said. Last month, the EU extended its existing sanctions against Russia until the end of July. The restrictions already target a broad range of sectors and include trade embargoes, travel bans, and individual sanctions against Russian businessmen and public officials. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with Franceinfo on Tuesday that the EU’s upcoming batch of measures will primarily target Russia’s energy sector.Barrot claimed the new package aims to “force [Russian President] Vladimir Putin to sit down at the negotiating table,” adding that the EU will continue to “raise the cost of the war” for Moscow.

The sanctions will also target countries that facilitate bypassing the restrictions, the minister said. Earlier this year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban renewed calls on the EU to lift its sanctions on Russia in order to align the bloc’s policies with the new US government. Budapest has long criticized Brussels’ approach to the Ukraine conflict as being incapable of ending hostilities and damaging to the bloc’s member states. Last week, Orban predicted that Russia will be “reintegrated” into the world economy and the European energy system once the Ukraine conflict ends. Moscow has condemned Western sanctions as illegal, repeatedly arguing that they have failed to destabilize Russia’s economy or isolate it from the global financial system.

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This is why the AfD should win on Feb 23.

• EU Mulling New Plan For Ukraine Military Aid (RT)

EU lawmakers are set to discuss the creation of a new fund aimed at raising money for more military aid to Ukraine, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported on Monday. The initiative would reportedly be funded in part by proceeds generated from frozen Russian assets. The report comes amid concerns in Brussels that US President Donald Trump will begin cutting financial and military support to Ukraine. The Trump administration has demanded that Kiev reimburse the US for aid provided since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Discussion of the new EU initiative is reportedly scheduled for Tuesday. The main goal of the potential fund is to address Ukraine’s most urgent military needs, including artillery ammunition, air defense systems and long-range missiles, according to a document obtained by PAP.

Broader support for Ukraine’s defense sector, including training and equipment, as well as joint EU-Ukraine industrial initiatives, are reportedly included in the plan. The news agency noted that funding for the initiative is expected to come from voluntary contributions by EU member states, proportional to their national income, as well as profits from frozen Russian assets, estimated to generate up to €900 million ($940 million) this year. Since 2022, Washington and Brussels have frozen an estimated $300 billion in Russian central bank reserves along with billions in private assets. Western officials have proposed redirecting some of the funds to Ukraine, but legal concerns have slowed such efforts. Proceeds from the assets are already being used to back a $50 billion loan for Ukraine from the G7.

The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that Western nations’ support for Kiev makes them direct participants in the conflict. Moscow has also condemned the asset freeze as “theft,” arguing that accessing the funds would be illegal and set a troubling precedent. The new EU funding mechanism has to obtain full bloc-wide support before being implemented, PAP noted. It noted, however, that participation could be voluntary to avoid a deadlock similar to the bloc’s standoff with Hungary, which blocked funding for Ukraine at various stages of the conflict.

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But they can talk a lot.

• Europe’s ‘Paper Army’ Can’t Ensure Security Without the US (Sp.)

Europe has relied on US defense and funding for nearly 70 years and is incapable of handling this burden alone, Mikael Valtersson, a former Swedish Armed Forces and Air Defense officer, tells Sputnik, commenting on French President Emmanuel Macron’s urgent security meeting. “Europe would have to spend 10 % for a couple of decades to reach the same level of defense that they have with US protection,” Valtersson says. He argues that Europe’s fears of a US military withdrawal from the continent are well-founded, as the Trump administration is expected to prioritize China and its own regional interests. “For the Trump administration, Europe is seen as just a burden,” he adds.

While European leaders applauded Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for a united European army, the continent’s military remains fragmented and lacks its own nuclear deterrent, Valtersson notes “Europe would want to create some kind of European NATO, but the countries are very split in their position, both towards Russia and the US,” he says, predicting that rising Euroskeptic parties will further widen internal divisions through regional elections.

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“There is a pattern to corruption within the EU elite. It always rewards its own people with absurdly well-paid jobs when no one else takes them seriously.”

• EU Suffers From “Foot In Mouth” Once Again Over Ukraine War (Jay)

The European Union has a problem. It so badly needs to project itself around the world and also to its own citizens as a major player on the world stage, with a solid ‘foreign policy’ and the means to act upon it, whereas in reality the superpowers of the world – U.S., Russia, China – don’t take it seriously. Leading up to the peace summit in Saudi Arabia which caretaker President of Ukraine Zelensky was not invited to, senior EU officials began to panic. They quickly set up their own meeting to show their own people and the EU fraternity that they are still relevant but it’s not really convincing anyone. At moments like this, the worry for EU folks is that humble people in Europe will realize that all the international foreign policy posturing is based on a piece of paper with some ideas, or dreams, written on it.

The very fact that Trump is able to set up peace talks with Putin and bypass the EU altogether shows how ineffective it is. It’s easy to spend EU taxpayers’ money, harder to develop policies to enact, especially when member states don’t have the confidence in Brussels to carry out its global aspirations. It was as though there was a scramble for EU senior figures, ladies, to outbid one another for the most stupid things to say about Ukraine. A failed Ukraine would weaken both Europe and the U.S.? Really? Then, not to be outdone in the “sounding like an idiot” stakes, Annalena Baerbock added to the mix how it would be impossible for a peace deal to go ahead with “us” (the Germans); but the best one surely has to go to Kaja Kallas, the EU’s so-called foreign policy chief who said that no Russian civilians were being killed in the Ukraine. The level of rank stupidity if not ignorance is quite astounding.

Kallas can’t be that stupid and that misinformed, right? Many will ask how does such a top EU official even arrive at such a conclusion when she has the resources to understand the statistics and other such data of the war? Perhaps she simply chooses to close her eyes and ignore the hundreds of children killed by shelling in the Donbas and Donetsk regions – both in recent war but also before in 2014. Or for that matter the civilians slaughtered like animals by Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk. And that’s without even tackling Russian civilians killed or maimed by the drone attacks within Russia. Unfortunately, these kind of statements only make the EU look even more stupid and ineffective with the major powers in the world. The total detachment from reality doesn’t help anyone strive for peace and prosperity, but this is not the objective of this elitist cabal in Brussels. They place their own highly paid jobs and lifestyle first and protecting one another.

Typically, the post of the “EU’s top diplomat” as it is often called is always given to a numpty. It’s as though member states and the EU circle had agreed beforehand that the main criteria for the job is that it must go to someone who is incapable of actually doing anything, someone can be guaranteed to not achieve anything on the world stage but simply able to talk. The thinking behind this is that EU member states are divided over how the EU could move forward with a bold, shiny foreign policy, so prefer that Brussels actually doesn’t do anything except talk the talk. And nothing else. And even this, they don’t want to have too much impact as this would create further problems. So, the best type to install into such a job is an idiot, someone who has failed in politics, isn’t very good at public speaking and who would be very grateful for the position, but who can also be guaranteed not to actually achieve anything.

Previous EU diplomatic chiefs all fitted this criteria, but the most stupid of all was Catherine Ashton who was such an underperforming junior minister under Blair that she had to be sent to Brussels. Poor Catherine was so inept at her job that she became a laughing stock even among her own people who still dine out on the hilarious anecdote of her visiting a foreign country and managing to get lost within one of its ministries. Someone had to be sent to get her out of the building as she struggled with the lifts and the various buttons.

Kallas isn’t much better. She comes from a corrupt political dynasty in Estonia whereby her father was PM before her, while he too was given a cosy job in Brussels as an EU commissioner. There is a pattern to corruption within the EU elite. It always rewards its own people with absurdly well-paid jobs when no one else takes them seriously. Kallas had to resign as PM in her own country after it became clear to the Estonians that she was just a tad useless. Even a poll showed that 70 percent of Estonians didn’t have the confidence in her to govern. Where do utterly useless EU politicians go after that? Brussels of course!

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“I’m going to keep asking questions but hold my preconceived answers lightly. I’m willing to be wrong..”

• RFK Jr. Calls For New Age Of ‘Radical Transparency’ At HHS (NYP)

During his first address to staff as Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called for a new era of “radical transparency” at the department while pursuing his “main mission” to “reverse the chronic disease epidemic in America.” Acknowledging some of the lingering concerns about him, Kennedy, 71, pleaded with staff at the Department of HHS to “let go” of their preconceived thoughts about him, while warning that “those who are unwilling to embrace” transparency and openness “can retire.” “I’m not going to come in here and impose my belief over any of yours,” Kennedy said. “My goal as secretary here at HHS will be to create a culture of competency, of ethics, of openness, of transparency, of caring, and of pride so that individuals who share these ideals can flourish and thrive.

“We will make our data and our policy process so transparent that people won’t even have to file a FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request.” Kennedy had faced a bruising confirmation process before ultimately clearing the Senate and being confirmed as HHS secretary last week. Senators had grilled him over his past vaccine skepticism and other health-related theories he flirted with in the past. During his address, the Kennedy scion reiterated his intention of departing from certain orthodoxies in health care while seeking to combat the dramatic spike in chronic ailments. “Some of the possible factors we will investigate were formerly taboo or insufficiently scrutinized,” Kennedy said before giving examples: “The childhood vaccine schedule, electromagnetic radiation, glyphosate, other pesticides, ultra-processed foods, artificial food additives, SSRI and other psychiatric drugs, PFAs, PFOAs, microplastics.”

“Nothing is going to be off limits,” Kennedy declared. “Whatever belief or suspicion I have expressed in the past I’m willing to subject them all to the scrutiny of unbiased science.” This had been a key point of consternation during his Senate confirmation when lawmakers seemed uneasy about Kennedy’s past views on vaccines. “I’m going to keep asking questions but hold my preconceived answers lightly. I’m willing to be wrong,” he added. President Trump, who forged an alliance with Kennedy last August, signed an executive order last week to establish a “Make America Healthy Again Commission” to probe the rise in chronic ailments. Kennedy vowed to “convene representatives from all viewpoints” to participate in that investigation.

He called for the agency to ensure scientists are “protocols that we all agree on in advance and not alter the outcomes of the studies” and to not let “political impediments” or “preconceptions” spoil critical research. The HHS secretary further pledged to “shut the revolving door” between the health industry and the government. Kennedy also said he’d work to “remove conflicts of interest from the committees and research partners whenever possible” or to “balance them.” “This is how the agencies under the HHS umbrella will recover their reputations as unimpeachable sources of scientific information to guide policy making, medical professionals, the public, and the whole world,” Kennedy stressed. HSS oversees a constellation of federal health agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration and more.

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“We’re continually improving the models every day, and literally within 24 hours, you’ll see improvements.”

• Musk’s xAI Unveils “State Of The Art” Grok 3 AI Bot (ZH)

On Monday night, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, unveiled its latest model, Grok3, with the billionaire touting it as the “smartest AI on Earth,” and in an AI evaluation, achieved a record-breaking score, outperforming models from OpenAI and China’s DeepSeek. Remember, Musk is simultaneously juggling DOGE and several ventures, including autonomous vehicles, space exploration, neurotechnology, robotics, tunneling, and his social media platform, X. Musk explained the mission of Grok: “The mission of xAI and Grok is to understand the universe. We want to answer the biggest questions: Where are the aliens? What’s the meaning of life? How does the universe end? To do that, we must rigorously pursue truth.”

The xAI team revealed that Grok3 outperformed Alphabet’s Google Gemini, DeepSeek’s V3 model, Anthropic’s Claude, and OpenAI’s GPT-4o across math, science, and coding benchmarks. Musk noted that Grok3 has “more than 10 times” the computing power of its predecessor and completed pre-training earlier this year. The LLM blind test by LMArena found Grok3 achieved a record milestone of 1400 score. “And it’s still climbing. So we have to keep updating it. It’s 1400 and climbing,” Musk said. Musk said, “We’re continually improving the models every day, and literally within 24 hours, you’ll see improvements.” “The new chatbot appears to put Grok ahead of OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT and ramps up an increasingly bitter rivalry between the two companies,” Bloomberg noted. Just last week, Musk offered to purchase OpenAI’s nonprofit arm for $97.4 billion. However, the offer was quickly rejected by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Andrej Karpathy, former Director of AI at Tesla, wrote a lengthy post on X about his experience with early access to Grok3. [..] Karpathy concluded that Grok 3, with its thinking capabilities, is around the state-of-the-art level, slightly outperforming models like DeepSeek-R1 and Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, considering xAI started from scratch about a year ago – an unprecedented achievement.

XAI has a “colossus supercomputer” powered by a cluster of 100,000 advanced Nvidia GPUs for AI training in Memphis, Tennessee.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Sex

 

 

Stork

 

 

Polar

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Rattle February 18 2025

Feb 182025
 
 February 18, 2025  Posted by at 11:25 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,  56 Responses »


René Magritte The muscles of the sky 1927

 

• “This Might Be The Biggest Fraud In History” (ZH)
• Musk’s DOGE Seeking Access To IRS Taxpayer Data (RT)
• DOGE Is Right To Defang the CFPB (RCW)
• The Genius of the DOGE Exposures (AmG)
• US, Russia Hold Peace Talks In Saudi Arabia Without Ukraine (ZH)
• US-Russia Meeting In Riyadh Will ‘Have No Results’ – Zelensky (RT)
• Ukraine Has No Bargaining Power in US-Russia Peace Talks (Sp.)
• Macron’s Ukraine Summit A Gathering of ‘Warmongers’ – Hungary FM (RT)
• Munich Conference ‘A Nightmare’ – Organizer (RT)
• US Imposing ‘Colonial’ Resource Deal On Ukraine (RT)
• Indian Strategy Puts Trump In Front of Putin (Helmer)
• Kiev Regime Attacks Chernobyl To Sabotage Peace Talks (SCF)
• J.D. Vance Delivers a Historic Defense of Free Speech (Turley)
• Vance Blasts ‘Orwellian’ German Laws (RT)
• Krakatoa Blows (James Howard Kunstler)
• The European Welfare State Is Collapsing (Lacalle)

 

 

 

 

TDS
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891677532056949195

Leavitt
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891685749398859982

Nerd army

Courts
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891244904191287350

Watters

Miller
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891576558462353742

poop

Nebenzia
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891586940870291605

 

 

 

 

334 million or 394 million.

• “This Might Be The Biggest Fraud In History” (ZH)

Elon Musk was expected to remain offline Sunday night into Monday morning as his xAI team prepared for the highly anticipated debut of “Grok 3,” scheduled for release Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST. However, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with streamlining the federal bureaucracy, returned very excited to his social media platform around midnight, unveiling what “might be the biggest fraud in history.” Musk posted a spreadsheet of Social Security Administration data showing “numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!” The data shows that 20.789 million Americans are collecting social security benefits over the age of 100. Drilling down into the age buckets, benefits are still being paid out to folks over 140!

One X user pointed out that 2023 data showed the US population at around 334.9 million. However, Musk’s data (likely from DOGE’s ‘Big Balls’ analyst) shows 394 million names in the Social Security Administration database. Musk responded: “Yes, there are FAR more “eligible” social security numbers than there are citizens in the USA. This might be the biggest fraud in history.” “Maybe we pause payments to everyone 120+ until they can authenticate they’re among the living, to start,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) wrote on X in response to Musk’s post. Collins is far too conservative. Lawmakers should freeze payments over the age bucket of 100 until a clear determination can be made where taxpayer funds are disappearing in this possible money pit that smells like fraud. “If DOGE’s numbers are right, $522B—1/3 of ALL spending on Social Security each year—is fraudulent,” X user Robert Sterling said.

At a DOGE press conference last week in the White House, Musk said: “If money is spent badly. If your taxpayer dollars are not spent in a sensible and frugal manner, then that’s not okay. Your tax dollars need to be spent wisely on the things that matter to the people,” Musk said. “It’s just common sense. It’s not Draconian or radical. I think it’s really just saying let’s look at each of the expenditures and say, is this actually in the best interest of the people, and if it is, it’s approved, if it’s not, we should think about it,” he added. “There’s crazy things, like, just a cursory examination of Social Security and we’ve got people in there that are about 150 years old,” Musk said. “Now, do you know anyone that’s 150? I don’t. OK. They should be on the Guinness Book of World Records, they’re missing out.”

“So, you know, that’s the case where, like, I think they’re probably dead is my guess, or they should be very famous. One of the two,” he added. It now appears DOGE’s Big Balls has been heard at work using AI to uncover possible fraud in federal entitlements. So far, we have not verified the data Musk shared on X, but confirmation could be just ahead.

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Protest! Protest!

• Musk’s DOGE Seeking Access To IRS Taxpayer Data (RT)

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is seeking access to a highly secured Internal Revenue Service (IRS) system that stores the personal tax records of millions of Americans, according to media reports. The examination of the IRS system, first reported by the Washington Post on Sunday, represents the latest move by Musk-led DOGE to overhaul US government agencies in a bid to eliminate wasteful state spending. The IRS systems house private financial data for taxpayers, including tax returns, Social Security numbers, addresses, banking details, and employment information. The Integrated Data Retrieval System, used by IRS employees, enables the review of tax information, issuance of notices, and updating of taxpayer records.

DOGE software engineer Gavin Kliger already worked at IRS headquarters on Thursday, the outlet reported, citing people familiar with the matter. He is set to serve as a senior adviser to the acting commissioner, though the tax agency is still finalizing the details of his role. According to the report, Kliger is expected to have broad access to IRS systems. However, as of Sunday, he had not yet gained access to sensitive tax agency data. “Waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long. It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields told The Post. DOGE remains committed to exposing fraud, ensuring that Americans are informed about how their “hard-earned” tax dollars are being spent by the government, he said.

Last week, Musk also alleged that federal workers were defrauding taxpayers. “We do find it rather odd that there are quite a few people in the bureaucracy who have ostensibly a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars, but somehow managed to accrue tens of millions of dollars in net worth while they are in that position,” Musk told reporters while in the Oval Office with US President Donald Trump. “We’re just curious as to where it came from.” The request has raised concerns within the government and among privacy experts, who warn that granting Musk access to Americans’ private taxpayer data could pose substantial risks.

The IRS is set to lay off thousands of probationary employees in the coming days, aligning with the Trump administration’s broader initiative to cut federal spending. The action is part of a series of workforce reductions ordered by Trump after he launched a campaign aimed at streamlining government operations. His administration has implemented measures such as a hiring freeze, offering buyouts to federal employees, and mandating agencies to collaborate with DOGE to identify and eliminate inefficiencies.

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not what it seems.

• DOGE Is Right To Defang the CFPB (RCW)

With a big tech-powered magnifying glass on federal websites, spending contracts, and government payment systems, Elon Musk’s band of DOGE system admins have been turning Washington inside out in their hunt for waste, fraud, and abuse. One of the most prized agencies on the chopping block is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, heralded by progressives as an indispensable force for helping consumers wronged by financial institutions, but derided by fintech investors and conservatives as little more than a government “shakedown agency.” Consumers will be better off without the CFPB breathing down the neck of American companies. Since the inauguration of President Trump, the CFPB’s temporary leadership put an immediate halt on all work, also informing the Federal Reserve, which directly funds the agency, that it would no longer seek new funding.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the intellectual force behind the agency’s founding, has been apoplectic. She’s argued that Trump is “firing the financial cop on the beat that makes sure your family doesn’t get scammed.” The origin of the CFPB goes back to the rubble of the 2008 financial crisis when legislators saw this proposed agency as a viable response to the populist backlash engulfing Washington and Wall Street. Instead of penalizing wrongdoers, Congress funded bank bailouts and launched a “watchdog” group. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act mandated new standards for lending, restricted capital that could be tapped for bank loans, and created the CFPB to police consumer finance. All functions performed by the five former federal banking supervisory agencies were rolled into the CFPB, granting it sole jurisdiction over non-depository firms and financial institutions with over $10 billion in assets.

This empowered the agency to issue regulatory guidance, demand information from financial institutions, and launch civil actions in federal court. Supporters of the CFPB point to an impressive record of close to $20 billion in consumer relief, as well as an additional $5 billion in civil penalties. Without the CFPB, fraudsters and scams would metastasize and consumer injustice would run wild, so they say. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. As a regulatory agency with civil litigation authority, the CFPB is emboldened to file high-dollar lawsuits against financial firms. An estimate of the CFPB’s database of enforcement actions reveals that roughly 85% of all cases are settled out of court before a final ruling. Companies often choose to settle, but this shouldn’t be mistaken for an admission of guilt. In a litigious society such as the United States where companies are routinely targeted in frivolous lawsuits, the court of public opinion matters just as much as the court of law.

Firms prefer settling cases over having their name dragged through the mud for months on end in the media, something tort lawyers call a “nuisance settlement.” These expected costs are baked into large firms’ financial projections and are sometimes factored into pricing their goods and services for consumers. The CFPB is more akin to a state-backed tort law firm that can tap the nation’s central bank for resources while exploiting its do-gooder reputation for easy PR victories. Rather than smart regulatory guidance to oversee a new generation of consumer finance firms, CFPB has relied on quick settlements out of court to squash innovative upstarts. While CFPB enforcement has been successful in penalizing banks and lenders for how loans are structured or advertised, it does not take much imagination to see how this has impacted the investing climate for new competitors. Since CFPB’s founding, there are now 35% fewer financial institutions remaining for consumers to choose from, down from 15,000 to just roughly 9,000 today.

While there is high consumer demand for fintech, payment apps, and account offerings, including Bitcoin and cryptocurrency banks, CFPB’s chilling actions have slowed that innovation, leading to the recent calls for the agency to be gutted. And they’re right. Most of CFPB’s functions are mirrored at the FTC on everything but finance. Regional Federal Reserve banks are also responsible for bank oversight and regulation, not to mention state banking regulators. Existing regulators have the reach, experience, and know-how to police would-be fraudsters and outright deceptive practices among banks. Why not let them? For consumers who want next-level services and financial products, there is no question that CFPB’s litigious approach has impacted their ability to access credit and financial services. There must be a better way to regulate our financial institutions and protect consumers than a tort law firm with government authority. Congress could fold elements of the CFPB into the FTC, OCC, or even FDIC, and bad actors will still be policed. Consumers deserve to be protected, and they will be, but they also deserve a regulatory structure that rewards innovation and brings financial products to market that they can choose between. The CFPB is due for defanging.

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“My advice to President Trump and Mr. Musk is: Keep highlighting the absurd spending. The American people will have your back.”

• The Genius of the DOGE Exposures (AmG)

The American people have rightly been appalled at the outrageous expenditures Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been exposing at USAID, which not only demonstrates the striking wastefulness of our government but also an ingenious public relations strategy by the Trump administration. When Americans learn that their tax dollars are going to fund egregious projects around the world, it lays a foundation for the public relations framework needed by the Trump administration to bring American public opinion along on the necessary journey of restructuring the government. It makes people’s blood boil. And it sets the tone for the effectiveness, and need for, the entire Trump efficiency program, even though the spending in absolute monetary terms on these insane USAID projects is fairly minor compared to the overall $6.9 trillion federal budget.

Let’s consider some of the USAID expenditures recently revealed:
$70,000 for the production of a “DEI musical” in Ireland
$47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia
$2,000,000 for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala
$32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru
Hundreds of millions to support “irrigation canals, farming equipment, and even fertilizer used to support the unprecedented poppy cultivation and heroin production in Afghanistan,” benefiting the Taliban
$40,000,000 to fund research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which gifted the world with the COVID virus

The creators of Monty Python could not have made this stuff up, although they came close in their “It’s every man’s right to have babies if he wants them!” sketch. It still makes me laugh. But that’s why Donald Trump and Elon Musk are highlighting these absurd expenditures. They are so ridiculous that they almost defy belief, and they serve to supercharge American anger and righteous indignation. Trump recognizes, as Ronald Reagan did, the importance of galvanizing American public opinion as an integral part of carrying out his agenda. By inflaming the public, he puts pressure on the craven Congress to go along with his efforts to enact sweeping changes that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to achieve.

No doubt when Musk sets his genius young elves to work applying their AI algorithms on the Department of Health and Human Services and the Defense Department’s budget data, they will find waste so massive that it dwarfs that of USAID’s $40 billion annual outlay. But it’s a bit harder for the public to grasp the wastefulness of the government paying many times the price that it should be paying for anti-aircraft missiles, say, or ineffective vaccines. From a public relations standpoint, it’s much easier to see the lunacy of the US taxpayer shelling out $2.5 million for an electric vehicle project in Vietnam or $1.5 million to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbian workplaces.

We live in amazing times, led by an extraordinary team being assembled in the White House. Who would have imagined just a few years ago that a Kennedy family member would (likely) be holding a cabinet position as the head of HHS in a Republican administration? Ot that a prominent Democratic congresswoman and former Democratic presidential candidate would (likely) be the next Director of National Intelligence in that same Republican administration? Or that long-time liberal Democrat-voting, richest man in the world, Elon Musk, would be leading the effort of that administration to completely transform the government of the United States into a lean, mean, efficiently operating machine?

It all came about because of the vision and incredible tenacity of one individual—another former Democrat named Donald Trump, who survived a baptism of legal fire—and actual gunfire—by his political opponents to regain the presidency after all the “smart people” in Washington had written him off politically. More to the point, however, Trump’s career as a builder and, more importantly for the present discussion, as an unparalleled master of branding and public relations, has made him ideally suited to take on the gargantuan task at hand: bringing to heel an out-of-control government bureaucracy that will surely lead to this country’s destruction if not reined in.

Trump’s highly successful television show, The Apprentice, ran for a remarkable 15 years and caused the phrase, “You’re fired!”, to gain such familiarity that it stood beside such catchphrases as “Got milk?” and “Where’s the beef?” among the iconic popular expressions seared into Americans’ collective consciousness. And what more fitting expression to address a massively bloated and overpopulated federal bureaucracy desperately in need of draconian personnel cuts?

No one wishes ill on American citizens in government service, but there comes a point where the American body politic needs to make hard choices if the United States is to continue as a viable concern. And I don’t recall Democrats being nearly so exercised when Bill Clinton let 377,000 federal employees go after he assumed the presidency, using a buy-out program not so dissimilar to that offered by President Trump, which Democrats are inveighing against. Oh, how quickly Democrats forget. Remember when Clinton said, in his 1996 State of the Union speech, that “the era of big government is over”? Those were the days when Democrats still possessed a semblance of sanity.

The federal budget deficit in 2025 will be $1.8 trillion on outlays of $6.7 trillion, according to Congressional Budget Office data. And these deficits are cumulative. Every year that mountain of debt grows and currently stands at over $36 trillion. That is unsustainable. Approximately 13 percent of our federal budget just goes toward servicing our debt, with $2.6 billion per day on interest payments alone. When a single federal government employee, the recently resigned head of the Tennessee Valley Authority, has a total federal government compensation package of $10.5 million per year, then Houston, we have a problem. My advice to President Trump and Mr. Musk is: Keep highlighting the absurd spending. The American people will have your back.

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Already started today.

• US, Russia Hold Peace Talks In Saudi Arabia Without Ukraine (ZH)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned on X that “Europe’s security is at a turning point.” She continued in the statement she wrote while arriving in Paris for “crucial talks” with European counterparts on the Russia-Ukraine war, “Yes, it is about Ukraine – but it is also about us.” “We need an urgency mindset. We need a surge in defense,” she wrote. “And we need both of them now.” The words come immediately on the heels of von der Leyen telling the Munich Security Conference, “I will propose to activate the escape clause for defense investments. This will allow member states to substantially increase their defense expenditure.” Europe is also deeply concerned that it is getting cut out of peace talks toward a negotiated settlement to end the Ukraine war. They are worried President Zelensky himself is getting sidelined, after last week’s 90-minute Trump call with Putin.

Several media outlets reported on Sunday that initial talks will be held in Saudi Arabia, expected to kick off Tuesday, between Russian and American diplomats. Both sides have confirmed the talks: Moscow has confirmed that Russian FM Sergey Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Putin, will take part in talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Washington has also confirmed the meeting, saying Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff will attend. Lavrov says Russia is not considering territorial concessions to be given to Ukraine at the planned negotiations to end the war. It appears final details ahead of the high-level talks were hammered out in a Saturday phone call between Secretary of State Rubio and top Russian diplomat and security official Sergey Lavrov.

“The Secretary re-affirmed President Trump’s commitment to finding an end to the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, they discussed the opportunity to potentially work together on a number of other bilateral issues,” a readout of that call indicated. Crucially, Ukrainian officials have revealed were not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia. Zelensky reiterated in a Sunday interview that he will “never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine” if Ukrainian officials aren’t at the table. As for a potential decision or concession amid the looming deal-making to end the war, European officials are saying President Trump will likely approve the withdrawal of US forces from Baltic states and possibly further to the West, in order to ease Russian fears of Washington encroachment, according to reporting in Al Jazeera.

As for the imminent US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia: Kyiv ‘knew nothing’ about US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia and won’t recognize their outcome if Ukraine is not part of them – Zelensky. Ukraine’s Kyiv Post is reporting the same: Ukraine was not informed about the negotiations in Saudi Arabia, will not participate in them, and will not recognize any agreements reached, — Zelensky Strangely, President Zelensky is actually currently in the Gulf region, visiting UAE, and he’s next traveling to Saudi Arabia—and yet he’s not going to be part of the the US-Russia talks. His office is stressing that his state visit to Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with the US talks, as it was planned in advance: Days before Svyrydenko’s announcement, Zelensky told reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that he intends to pay official visits to Saudia Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey, but has no plans to meet with any Russian or U.S. delegations in these countries.

“I will not meet with Russians, but then I will not meet with Americans there,” he said. That’s awkward, to say the least… Still, the Ukrainian leader has said these talks will “yield no results” without Ukraine’s direct representation and input. Many of his European backers agree, and have been urging Washington include Kiev in the negotiations. European leaders are meeting in Paris Monday, at President Macron’s invitation, for an urgent meeting assessing the Ukraine war and Europe’s defense readiness and security.

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From “Zelensky ‘refuses to recognize’” the talks, to “Zelensky demands Israel-style guarantees..”, to this, it all amounts to nothing. He’s done.

• US-Russia Meeting In Riyadh Will ‘Have No Results’ – Zelensky (RT)

Kiev will not take part in the US-Russia negotiations in Riyadh and considers them meaningless, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has said. Teams led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet on Tuesday in what will be the first high-level talks between the two countries over Ukraine since 2022. “Ukraine will not participate,” Zelensky told reporters on Monday, adding that Kiev “didn’t know anything” about the upcoming talks. “Ukraine views any negotiations about Ukraine that are being held without Ukraine as having no results,” he said. “We will not recognize such agreements.” Zelensky insisted that his own visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday has “no connection” to the meeting between US and Russian negotiators the same day. “The visit to the region was planned long before the US decided to meet Russia there,” he said, as quoted by Politico.

Putin’s top foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, confirmed on Monday that the negotiations with Americans will not involve third parties. Speaking to journalists on the tarmac in Riyadh, he said the talks aim to lay the groundwork for ending the Ukraine conflict and serve as a step toward “real normalization” of relations with the US. While the administration of former US President Joe Biden maintained unconditional military and financial support for Kiev, President Donald Trump has rejected his predecessor’s campaign to “isolate” Russia on the global stage and promised to end the conflict as soon as possible through a lasting ceasefire. Ukrainian and EU officials have said they were blindsided by Trump’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12. They also criticized Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for ruling out NATO membership for Kiev and refusing to commit to the restoration of Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference last week, Hegseth said the Pentagon will not commit troops as part of any security guarantees offered to Kiev. He added that if peacekeepers are deployed to Ukraine, they will not be protected by NATO’s collective defense mechanism. Moscow has insisted that a peace settlement must address the “root causes” of the conflict, including Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month that Zelensky, instead of “empty words,” must demonstrate willingness to hold good-faith negotiations. Putin reiterated last month that he does not consider Zelensky legitimate because his five-year presidential term expired in May 2024 and no new elections have been called due to martial law.

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None. Anyone feel sorry?

• Ukraine Has No Bargaining Power in US-Russia Peace Talks (Sp.)

Volodymyr Zelensky insists he won’t accept a US-Russia deal on Ukraine without Kiev’s input. But does his opinion matter?

• Ukraine today is a devastated country, deserted by much of its people and critically dependent on foreign aid.
• Over 6.1 million Ukrainian refugees had been registered in Europe by mid-2024, according to UN estimates. One can only guess how many Ukrainians opted not to register their refugee status out of fear of being deported and press-ganged into armed service.
• With the Ukrainian economy on its last legs, Kiev has received over $30 billion in US budget aid just to pay salaries to state employees.
• Foreign companies like Vanguard and BlackRock swept in to profit from this crisis, buying assets in Ukraine at bedrock prices. Much of Ukraine’s agricultural land is now Ukrainian in name only.
• Large proportions of Ukraine’s most valuable assets, such as natural resource deposits and industrial facilities, were located in the territories that chose to join Russia rather than submit to the rule of neo-Nazis in Kiev.
• Ukraine has been saddled with an enormous external debt due to all the credit it has been receiving from abroad. Now, Kiev faces the prospect of losing half of its natural resources to the US as repayment for the financing that turned out to be a loan.
• Foreign black market transplantologists have been operating in Ukraine for months now, harvesting organs from injured Ukrainian soldiers.
• US biowarfare experts treat Ukraine as their own playground where they can conduct dangerous research without the risk of a containment breach endangering American lives.
• US and British intelligence agencies took charge of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) since 2014, making it subservient to the West.
• And although no one has said anything about deciding Ukraine’s fate without Kiev’s input, the question remains: how much does Zelensky’s opinion matter in this context?

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Nobody cares about Europe.

• Macron’s Ukraine Summit A Gathering of ‘Warmongers’ – Hungary FM (RT)

The European leaders that answered French President Emmanuel Macon’s call for an ‘emergency summit’ to discuss how to respond to being sidelined by US President Donald Trump are “warmongers,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has warned. Moscow and Washington have announced the beginning of bilateral talks on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia ahead of a possible summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump in Riyadh. Macron called EU leaders for an emergency summit on the Ukraine conflict in Paris on Monday after Washington made it clear that the bloc would not be at the table when the US and Russia discuss peace. Speaking at a press conference in Kazakhstan on Monday Szijjarto said “We trust that the American-Russian negotiations will be successful, and we hope that this will lead to peace in Ukraine as soon as possible… However, we must also see that in Europe, those who do not want peace are organizing,” he added.

“Those who have been constantly adding fuel to the fire for the past three years are gathering in Paris today,” Szijjarto said, branding the participants “war-mongering countries that have followed a misguided strategy.” Since Trump’s reelection, his administration has signaled a shift in US foreign policy, focusing on minimizing American involvement in any potential armistice achieved in Ukraine. Washington is also aiming to shift the financial and logistical burden of supporting Kiev to its European allies, while demanding that the continent’s NATO members contribute more to collective defense. The US has circulated a document to gauge the willingness of its European allies to deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, among other points, according to Reuters.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stressed that he is ready to send British soldiers to provide security guarantees for Kiev, in the event of a ceasefire. Similarly, Macron has repeatedly brought up the possibility of putting Western boots on the ground, both as peacekeepers and combatants. Last year, the French leader suggested that sending troops was a possibility that could “legitimately” arise if Russian forces broke through the Ukrainian front line, and Kiev asked for help. Moscow has stressed that any Western forces deployed to Ukraine without a UN mandate would be considered as enemy combatants and legitimate targets.

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“..on Sunday, Heusgen became emotional, having to cut himself short. He was addressing the mounting pressures on the “rules-based order,” urging EU politicians to uphold it despite a visible rift with the US.”

• Munich Conference ‘A Nightmare’ – Organizer (RT)

Christoph Heusgen, chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), has described the results of last week’s gathering as a “nightmare” for Washington’s European allies. He claimed that the US under President Donald Trump “lives on another planet,” referencing comments made by American Vice President J.D. Vance at the Germany-hosted event. Vance criticized EU nations for increasingly mirroring the USSR in their suppression of dissent and the detachment of elites from voters. He cautioned that if the trend continues, the US could withdraw its support for its European allies.

During an interview with ZDF on Sunday — his final day as MSC chairman — Heusgen noted that, at the very least, Europeans now have clarity about the Trump administration’s stance. He added that while some Republican senators expressed commitment to “trans-Atlantic unity” in contrast to Vance, they were also cautious in their public statements. EU officials reaffirmed their pledges to support Kiev at the MSC, while Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky called for a united European army, asserting that Ukraine could play a significant role in such an initiative. Heusgen advised Europeans to “do what Zelensky says” and stand together. However, skepticism remains among certain EU member states, such as Poland, regarding the concept of a transnational military force to serve as a European counterpart to NATO.

The Trump administration has signaled no intention of involving either NATO or the US in any future security arrangements in Ukraine following a potential ceasefire with Russia. Additionally, Washington has expressed interest in recouping expenditures related to the Ukraine conflict through privileged access to mineral resources under Kiev’s control. Zelensky has previously advocated various forms of security for Ukraine that even his staunchest supporters deem exceedingly ambitious — from full NATO membership to deploying a 200,000-strong foreign military contingent, the mass placement of Western missiles, and even a Ukrainian nuclear capability. As he concluded his closing remarks at the MSC on Sunday, Heusgen became emotional, having to cut himself short. He was addressing the mounting pressures on the “rules-based order,” urging EU politicians to uphold it despite a visible rift with the US.

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“..an unnamed official from an unidentified country told AP that “it’s a colonial agreement, and Zelensky cannot sign it.”

• US Imposing ‘Colonial’ Resource Deal On Ukraine (RT)

The US is trying to steamroll Kiev into a lopsided resource deal that evokes memories of the West’s colonial past, several media outlets have reported, citing officials familiar with the matter. Last fall, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky suggested that his country could agree to allow its Western backers to participate in the joint exploitation of vast deposits of rare earth minerals, including lithium, titanium, and graphite. The administration of US President Donald Trump apparently took up Zelensky on his offer, reportedly suggesting to Kiev that the US be granted 50% ownership of the country’s rare earth minerals and that American troops be deployed to defend them. However, Zelensky is said to have “politely declined” to sign a document granting the US control of half of Ukraine’s mineral reserves, seeking a “better deal” and arguing that the agreement did not provide any US security guarantees.

Commenting on the back-and-forth between Washington and Kiev, an unnamed official from an unidentified country told AP that “it’s a colonial agreement, and Zelensky cannot sign it.” Echoing this assessment, two unnamed officials told Bloomberg that Washington “was trying to ram through a one-sided deal” regarding Ukraine’s resources. One agency source compared the US attitude to Belgium’s colonial policy in Africa in the 19th century, when King Leopold II controlled the Congo as his personal fiefdom. An unnamed senior Ukrainian adviser cited by the Washington Post noted that he was “taken aback by the scale” of what the Trump administration demanded, also recalling the history of European colonialism in Africa. He warned that the deal “could also lead to the right to develop Ukraine’s resources being signed away for decades with no guarantees that investors would actually develop them.”

Despite this, Ukrainian officials are working on a counterproposal that would provide Washington with access to the country’s resources while also bolstering US security guarantees for Ukraine, according to Washington Post sources. In this vein, one senior Ukrainian official reportedly joked that Kiev would consider “almost anything” to maintain US support, including shipping Ukrainian eggs to America. Michael Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, has defended the concept of a resource deal, arguing that the US “deserve[s] to have some type of payback for the billions they have invested in this war.” He suggested that Zelensky would be “very wise” to sign such an agreement. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that the US was simply taking advantage of the Ukrainian leadership’s desire to “sell the country by auction.” “What Trump told Zelensky doesn’t even resemble a deal. It’s more like a command ‘fetch!’ – which the Kiev regime has been well trained to obey.”

Read more …

The Quad.

• Indian Strategy Puts Trump In Front of Putin (Helmer)

Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, is the first of President Vladimir Putin’s strategic allies to leave him to make whatever exit from the Ukraine war he can negotiate with President Donald Trump. Modi did this by saying as little as he could about Russia last week in Washington while preparing his own military, energy supply, sea lane and land route agreements with the US; altogether, according to Indian sources in Moscow, they enlarge India’s role in the escalating US war against China across the globe, and diminish Russia’s role significantly. “I have been in constant contact with both Russia and Ukraine. I have also visited both countries,” Modi said beside Trump at the White House on February 13.

“And many people are mistaken and they feel that India is neutral. I would like to clarify: India is not neutral. We have taken a side, and we have taken the side of peace…Ultimately, you have to come to the negotiating table, and India has constantly made efforts that there are talks that take place where both parties are present. It is only then that we will find a solution. The efforts being made by President Trump — I support them, I welcome them, and I would like that President Trump is successful as soon as possible so that the world is on the path to peace once again.”

This isn’t a statement of India’s support for Russia, according to Russian sources. It is not even India’s acknowledgement of the wars which the US and its allies are waging against Russia simultaneously on its western and eastern, northern and southern fronts. It’s India’s declaration that it aims to be on the US side in the multi-front war India is waging against China from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean. It is also a proclamation by Modi against the Arab, Iranian and Muslim resistance to the US and Israel on the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf.

“The prime minister and I,” said Trump, “reaffirmed that strong cooperation among the United States, India, Australia, and Japan [the Quad], and it’s crucial really to maintaining peace and prosperity, tranquillity even, in the Indo-Pacific.”“We will work together to enhance peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” Modi replied, “The Quad will play a special role in this. During the Quad summit scheduled to be held in India this year, we will expand cooperation in new areas with our partner countries.”

A veteran Indian source in Moscow explains: “Indians are very pleased with the anti-China stand of the US. The last two years of relations with Russians have been bruising for Indians and a lot of top oil and gas managers are exasperated with the Russians. They would do anything to stop doing business with the Russians – this is not because of the sanctions, it is the Russians themselves! [From Modi’s visit to Washington] there is the general take that we cannot be throwing our lot with Russians because they are so unreliable now and are junior to the Chinese. Putin might have brokered the Ladakh moment, but all in all Indians prefer to deal with the US now. For now we know that the Americans call the shots.” Russia has been relegated. In Delhi now, Quad is major league; the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS are minor league.

“One thing that I deeply appreciate, and I learn from President Trump, is that he keeps the national interest supreme,” Modi said in his Oval Office remarks. “Like him, I also keep the national interest of India at the top of everything else.” The Indian media have interpreted this as more than compensating for the American put-downs Modi registered. “The President did not turn up to greet [Modi] when he arrived at the White House; Trump snubbed him by doubling down on reciprocal tariffs…Elon Musk insulted him by bringing his children to a business meeting… In the age of trivialisation through social media tattle and trolling, all of this is of little consequence… The broad consensus among more seasoned analysts and experts is that PM Modi disarmed a rampant US President…and advanced bilateral ties…The visit was actually a tour de force measured in terms of impact and outcomes.”

Read more …

“Once again, the neo-Nazi regime is simply doing everything possible to prevent the war from ending.”

• Kiev Regime Attacks Chernobyl To Sabotage Peace Talks (SCF)

In recent days, an incident involving a drone attack on the Chernobyl nuclear plant has generated controversy and debate. According to Ukrainian authorities, a Russian drone allegedly struck the facility, damaging the structure around the reactor. Ukraine’s illegitimate president, Vladimir Zelensky, was quick to blame Russia, stating that the situation reflected a Russian assault on Ukraine’s nuclear infrastructure. However, Russian authorities, including Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, denied these claims, labeling them as yet another provocation by Kiev. More than that, even some Ukrainians question the regime’s official narrative.

Peskov categorically rejected the idea that Russia had attacked any nuclear facility, especially Chernobyl, stating that such claims were unfounded. He argued that any accusation of Russia attacking nuclear power plants was fabricated, asserting that Russia would never target such sensitive locations due to the risks involved. He suggested that the attack was, in fact, an attempt at manipulation and disinformation orchestrated by the Ukrainian government. The Kremlin spokesperson also pointed out that there were interests in Kiev aiming to sabotage any negotiation efforts, indicating that certain factions within the Ukrainian regime would take any actions to prevent the progress of peace talks.

The Ukrainian narrative surrounding the attack is not new. Kiev authorities often accuse Russia of attacking civilian targets like nuclear power plants and energy centers, supposedly attempting to provoke accidents. This happens particularly intensely in the Zaporozhye region, where the largest nuclear power plant in Europe is located. As part of Russian reintegrated territory, the area is consistently attacked by Kiev. I have personally visited the Zaporozhye plant and witnessed with my own eyes the wreckage of Western missiles and drones used by neo-Nazi troops against Russian nuclear infrastructure. However, Kiev enjoys vital support from the Western media in spreading false information, making their own provocations appear to the world like “Russian actions.” In this regard, the current claim that Russia is responsible for the attack on Chernobyl does not seem to be an exception but rather another episode of cooperation between Ukrainian state terrorism and Western information warfare.

However, it is not only Russian authorities who contest the Ukrainian accusations. Some members of the Ukrainian parliament have also questioned the government’s official version. Exiled lawmaker Artyom Dmytruk, for example, suggested that the attack could have been a coordinated operation by Kiev’s own authorities. He raised the question of who was in command of the attack and whether Zelensky or his close allies, such as chief of staff Andrey Yermak, were responsible. This stance reflects a growing atmosphere of distrust within Ukrainian politics and the informational war surrounding the conflict.

In practice, the real Russian strategic interest in attacking Chernobyl remains unclear. Since the beginning, Moscow has spared critical areas from military action. It does not seem rational or strategic for Russia, at a time when it holds significant military advantages and territorial gains, to launch such attacks now. On the other hand, Ukraine has launched such incursions since 2022, always trying to place the blame on the enemy side.

The current moment, when negotiations are finally becoming a possibility, seems to be the perfect timing for Ukrainian actions in Chernobyl. While attacks on other nuclear facilities, such as in Zaporozhye, are frequent, only Chernobyl has the power to mobilize hearts and minds globally, being a symbol of the radioactive tragedy that occurred during the Cold War. With the support of the mainstream media, which immediately blamed Russia, Kiev is trying to use the Chernobyl’s nuclear symbol to sabotage the diplomatic process.

There is nothing new in the Chernobyl case. Once again, the neo-Nazi regime is simply doing everything possible to prevent the war from ending. The question remains whether Western public opinion will continue to believe in the mainstream media and the Ukrainian lies.

Read more …

“If you are running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you. Nor, for that matter, is there anything that you can do for the American people that elected me and elected President Trump.”

• J.D. Vance Delivers a Historic Defense of Free Speech (Turley)

In “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” J.D. Vance wrote, “I don’t believe in transformative moments, as transformation is harder than a moment.” Despite that profound point, on Feb. 14, Vance found that transformative moment. Speaking to European leaders at the Munich Security Conference, he shocked his audience by confronting them over their attacks on free speech in the West. For the free speech community, it was truly Churchillian — no less than the famous Iron Curtain speech in which Churchill dared the West to confront the existential dangers of communism. Roughly 80 years after Churchill’s speech, Vance called our allies to account not for the growing threat from countries like Russia or China, but from themselves.

To a clearly shocked audience, Vance declared that he was not worried about “external actors” but “the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” Vance then pulled back the curtain on the censorship and anti-free-speech policies of the European Union and close allies ranging from the United Kingdom to Sweden. He also chastised one of the most vehemently anti-free speech figures in Europe, Thierry Breton, who led the EU efforts to control speech with draconian measures under the infamous Digital Services Act. Vance called out the hypocrisy of these nations asking for greater and greater military assistance “in the name of our shared democratic values” even as they eviscerate free speech, the very right that once defined Western Civilization. The point was crushing.

Before we further commit to the defense of Europe, he argued, we should agree on what we are defending. These European nations are erasing the very distinctions between us and our adversaries. In my recent book, I discussed many of the examples cited by the vice president. One of the most telling came from Canada last year, when the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau temporarily blocked the citizenship of Russian dissident Maria Kartasheva. The reason was that she had a conviction (after a trial in absentia) in Russia for condemning the Ukrainian war. The Canadian government declared that Kartasheva’s conviction in Russia aligns with a Criminal Code offense relating to false information in Canada.

In other words, her use of free speech could be prosecuted in Canada under its abusive Section 372(1) of the Criminal Code, punishing speech deemed to be “convey[ing] false information with the intent to alarm or injure anyone.” Vance ran through just a fraction of the parade of horribles, from Britain arresting people for silent prayers near abortion clinics to Sweden prosecuting a religious protester who burned a Koran, with Judge Göran Lundahl insisting that freedom of expression does not constitute a “free pass to do or say anything.” Apparently, it does not include acts once called blasphemy or insulting religion. Vance also mocked the underlying premise for speech crackdowns to combat “disinformation,” pointing out that these measures constitute a far greater threat to citizens in the West than any external threat.

He had the courage to say what has long been verboten on the restriction of speech to combat foreign influence: “if your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with.” In perhaps the greatest single declaration uttered by an American leader since John F. Kennedy in Germany declared “Ich bin ein Berliner,” he added: “If you are running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you. Nor, for that matter, is there anything that you can do for the American people that elected me and elected President Trump.” The reaction of the European diplomats was one of astonishment. Few even offered the usual polite applause. Instead, rows of smug leaders looked straight ahead with the same level of disgust as if Vance were the second coming of the Visogoths threatening the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace.

In a single speech, Vance shattered the hypocrisy of our allies’ calling for a defense of the West while abandoning Western values. They did not like it, and many in the American press joined in dismissing his address. He was called a “wrecking ball” for bringing up the anti-free speech movement that has swept over Europe. One German official declared “This is all so insane and worrying.” This is a diplomat from a nation that shredded free speech for decades, to the point of arresting people over their ringtones. Of course, our own anti-free speech voices were in attendance, too. Politico quoted one “former House Democratic staffer” who bravely attacked Vance anonymously: “I was aghast … He was blaming the victim. What the f— was that? I had my mouth open in a room full of people with their mouth open. That was bad.” No, it was not bad. It was glorious.

After Elon Musk purchased Twitter with the pledge to dismantle the company’s censorship system, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton turned to the EU, calling on it to use its Digital Service Act to force the censorship of her fellow American citizens. That did not leave many people agape. But Vance’s defense of free speech is considered a breathtaking outrage. In “Hillbilly Elergy,” Vance explained his lack of faith in transformative moments. “I’ve seen far too many people awash in a genuine desire to change, only to lose their mettle when they realized just how difficult change actually is,” he wrote. And there is no “genuine desire to change” in Europe. The appetite for censorship is now insatiable, and free speech is in a free fall.

In the midst of this crackdown, Vance spoke with a quintessentially American voice. It was clear, honest and unafraid. There was no pretense or evasion. It was a speech about who we are as a nation and the values that still define us — and no longer define our allies. They saw him as a virtual hillbilly, an American hayseed who does not understand transnational values. For the rest of us, it was a true elegy — part lament and part liberating.

Bravo, Mr. Vice President, Bravo.

Read more …

Europe needs its own Trump.

• Vance Blasts ‘Orwellian’ German Laws (RT)

The criminalization of free speech in the EU could put a “strain” on relations between Washington and its allies there, US Vice President J.D. Vance said on Monday, calling on Western nations on both sides of the Atlantic to “reject” such policies. “This is Orwellian,” the vice president wrote in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). He was referring to an interview with three German state prosecutors released by the US broadcaster CBS on Sunday. Focused on Germany’s efforts to fight offensive content on the internet, the interview included the prosecutors saying that insulting anyone in public or online is a crime in their country. The interview was recorded against the background of a series of coordinated raids recently launched by German police against some 50 individuals suspected of spreading hate speech online.

People found guilty of such crimes in the federal republic could face fines or even jail time in the event of repeat offenses, according to the prosecutors. “They don’t think it was illegal. And they say, ‘No, that’s my free speech’,” one of the prosecutors, Dr. Matthaus Fink, told CBS. “And we say, ‘No, you have free speech as well, but it also has its limits’.” The courts can also order the confiscation of their electronic devices, the prosecutors said. People are usually “shocked” when it happens, another prosecutor, Frank-Michael Laue, said. “It’s a kind of punishment if you lose your smartphone. It’s even worse than the fine you have to pay.”

The German Criminal Code states that anyone who “attacks the human dignity of others by insulting, maliciously disparaging or slandering” them in a way that is “likely to disturb the public peace” can face up to five years behind bars. The legislation is primarily aimed against insults linked to one’s race, nationality, religion or ethnic background but is not limited to these. According to CBS, the German laws specifically prohibit the spread of malicious gossip, violent threats and fake quotes online. Reposting false information is punished as well, the broadcaster said, citing the prosecutors.

Vance responded to the interview by saying that “insulting someone is not a crime, and criminalizing speech is going to put real strain on European-US relationships.” He then called on “everyone in Europe and the US” to “reject this lunacy.” The statement came just days after the vice president sharply criticized Washington’s EU allies for abandoning their core values, including free speech, as well as fearing their own voters and failing to uphold democratic principles at the Munich Security Conference. His words were lauded by President Donald Trump, who called Vance’s speech “brilliant.” “In Europe they’re losing their wonderful right of freedom of speech,” Trump said on Friday.

Read more …

“Reality distortion is no longer working so well with Mr. Trump in the White House.”

• Krakatoa Blows (James Howard Kunstler)

You’ve got to wonder who at CBS-News thinks it’s a good idea to quadruple down on mendacious grandstanding when the network faces a $20-billion lawsuit from Donald Trump — for assisting Kamala Harris’s campaign (aka election interference) — while the FCC under new Commissioner Brendan Carr questions the network’s license to operate on the grounds of “news distortion” and violation of the broadcast news fairness doctrine.

So, on Sunday night February 16, CBS’s flagship news show, 60-Minutes, pitched a doubleheader of knowingly faked-up feature pieces intended to scramble American minds to benefit the Party of Chaos and its manager, the US Intel Blob. The first piece was a sob-story on how sad and unjust DOGE’s deconstruction of the USAID money-laundering operation is. Yeah, boo-hoo. They interviewed several part-timers and consultants pretending to be long-term employees of the outfit. Complete horse-shit, and they knew it. What really matters is that a whole lot of bureaucrat grifters (and politicians) won’t get paid anymore. . . and the Blob won’t be able to soften-up faraway nations for plunder with its color revolutions and other hijinks.

The second piece was a ringing endorsement of Germany’s current censorship campaign, arresting ordinary citizens for mean tweets. Their camera crew followed the German Gedankenpolizei entering apartments and seizing cell phones. The viewing audience was asked to shed tears for German Green Party politician, Renate Künast, who got dissed on “X” (“misogynist comments” and insults) — the same week that an Islamic immigrant maniac drove a car into a Munich crowd on-purpose, injuring 39 people, including two dead (one, a child). No mention of that incident on 60-Minutes, or, more generally, that illegal immigration is the big taboo subject behind all the censorship.

CBS actually preceded that gaslighting job with a bit of Sunday morning constructed Orwellian fake syllogistic idiocy by Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan, who said that free speech caused the Holocaust against the Jews. Her reasoning: free speech allowed the Nazis to gain power, therefore. . . Auschwitz . . . therefore, free speech is bad. Guest, Sec’y of State Marco Rubio, told her that he could not associate himself with her thesis. In fact, once in power, the Nazis totally controlled speech and news and did not permit other political parties to even exist. All of this, you understand, is just deliberate Gramscian distortion-and-perversion of language — black is white, up is down — to defeat any attempt at coherent public debate today.

The conclusion you might draw from all this is that CBS is terrified of free speech, and is trying desperately to hide the Blob’s long-running criminal racketeering activity — which they have aided and abetted for years and deserve to lose their license over, plus pay billions in penalties, and go out of business — a rather existential predicament.

Reality distortion is no longer working so well with Mr. Trump in the White House. Here is what’s behind the USAID brouhaha and why it matters. By 2016, the Blob had become a fullblown, independent, parasitical organism on US governance. It had several purposes: 1) to keep itself in perpetual power by paying off its voting blocs of “the poor and marginalized,” 2) to pay its corps of bureaucrat managers (of the “poor and marginalized”) handsome salaries to win their everlasting allegiance, and 3) to pay-off elected officials to keep voting the money flows for all that. All this created a massive class of Democratic Party activists dedicated to overthrowing the republic so as to usher-in their social equity nirvana. And all that was sheer hubris. More recently, nemesis arrived on the scene and all this institutional Blob power had to be diverted to a massive ass-covering operation, now in full, florid failure. And, worst of all for the Blobists, evidence of actual crime is accruing at a frightful, fast pace.

With the confirmation of Kash Patel later this week, Mr. Trump’s agency team will be complete. What follows will be a Krakatoa of revelation, drastically altering the climate of US politics for years to come. You should learn exactly how many FBI and CIA agents were moiling and roiling in the J-6 mob. You’ll find out what the J-6 DNC pipe bomb caper was all about. You’ll find out why RussiaGate was never properly investigated or adjudicated. . . how the Adam Schiff / Alexander Vindman / Eric Ciaramella impeachment op worked. . . how the Clinton Foundation made a zillion dollars . . . where all the money went that got poured into Ukraine. . . and much much more.

Read more …

“..a political class that would rather see high inflation and a weaker currency than reduce its grip on the economy.”

• The European Welfare State Is Collapsing (Lacalle)

Politicians in Europe are using the JD Vance and Trump external enemy excuse to disguise the existential problem of a system that is crumbling. The statist nightmare built around what politicians call “welfare state” has proven to be a subterfuge to multiply bureaucracy and create a dependent subclass. The welfare state was never sustainable but was created as an affordable luxury that rich economies could finance with strong economic growth and a solid productive sector. However, European governments overlooked the necessity of fostering economic growth and productivity to finance the welfare state. Furthermore, as left-wing populism permeated all segments of the European political landscape, politicians started to include more and more so-called “rights,” which became entitlement costs and subsidies, in a trend that led Europe to forget to create wealth and focus entirely on extractive and confiscatory policies.

We have seen a gradual destruction of the productive sector, asphyxiated by constantly raising taxes and bureaucratic and regulatory limitations, while government budgets expanded without control. The economy of the European Union operates on an inverted economic model. It puts entitlement spending as its pillar, instead of seeing that the welfare state is, at best, a consequence of wealth creation, not a cause. Without a thriving private sector, there is no welfare. Politicians should understand that you cannot provide citizens with social programs if the productive economy is weakened by political design. In the latest Eurostat estimates, the ratio of social insurance pension entitlements to GDP was between 200% and 400% in European economies. Unfunded financial commitments are so large they will only be paid in a massively weakened currency if the current economic policies continue.

France is the prime example of this “upside down” approach to the economy. Putting entitlement spending at the forefront of economic policies has led to decades of stagnation, high debt and deficit, and social discontent. Taxpayers are tired, and recipients of entitlements are relegated to a dependent subclass. The trick is the following: Government spending soars, and everything spent is justified under the banner of “social spending”. Deficit and debt rise, so the government increases taxes to balance the budget. If the economy grows, spending grows faster, and if the economy enters recession, the government spends even more to “protect” citizens. Thus, taxes rise even faster.

The constant process of expropriation of productive wealth becomes a burden on growth, investment, and productivity. Furthermore, more taxes generate lower incremental revenues and a demotivated business and workforce community that finds it impossible to thrive alongside the burden of bureaucracy and taxation. Macron says that Europe is “underleveraged.”. The statement is incorrect, of course, but it is even less believable when we look at all the unfunded commitments.

Europe needs to abandon the current high taxes and bureaucracy and cut unnecessary spending so the pension and healthcare systems remain viable. This means slashing budgets and eliminating political spending. However, no political party wants to do it because thousands of their members depend on government jobs. The situation is so desperate that European nations cannot even increase the much-needed defense budget despite acknowledging the urgency of improving investment in security.

Europe’s welfare state became the welfare of the state at the expense of its businesses and taxpayers. The European Union has human capital, great businesspeople, and entrepreneurs. However, it is being destroyed from the inside by a political class that would rather see high inflation and a weaker currency than reduce its grip on the economy.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Spike

 

 

Job cuts

 

 

Redfield
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891497832785535064

 

 

RFK
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891667385406587344

 

 

Pebble

 

 

Ray
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891554907410329863

 

 

O’Leary

 

 

Sopranos
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891295611552411923

 

 

Henry

 

 

Turtle
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891743199649001495

 

 

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Debt Rattle February 12 2025

Feb 122025
 
 February 12, 2025  Posted by at 10:40 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  68 Responses »


Leonardo da Vinci (?) La Joconde nue or Monna Vanna 1515

 

• Stubbornness, Divine Providence and Donald Trump (Miele)
• Trump Orders Federal Agencies To Comply With Musk’s DOGE Cuts (RT)
• Democrat Senator Accuses Trump And Musk Of ‘Billionaire Takeover’ (RT)
• Judge Blocks Federal Government From Cutting Medical Research Funding (ET)
• US Tax Dollars Fuel Ukrainian Elites’ Lavish Lifestyles – Tucker Carlson (RT)
• DOGE Investigating Feds Whose Net Worths Have Exploded (ZH)
• Zelensky’s 100 Days Might End In Florida As Trump Prepares Ukraine Plan (Jay)
• Musk Reacts To Zelensky’s ‘Ukrainians Don’t Want Elections’ Claim (RT)
• Trump’s Envoy To Shift Ukraine Burden Onto Europe (RT)
• Trump To Send Treasury Secretary To Kiev (RT)
• Europe Told To Brace For Flood Of Ukrainian Soldiers With PTSD (RT)
• Kiev Mayor Predicts ‘Painful Compromise’ To End Ukraine Conflict (RT)
• Kiev Plotting Provocations To Drag NATO Into War – Moscow (RT)
• Trump Nominees, COVID Dissenters Launch Science Journal (JTN)
• “Get Violent and Fight”: Tennessee Minister Calls for Violence (Turley)
• Clinton Probe to Expose Gates, Soros and Epstein Links (Sp.)
• Russia Treated US ‘Very Nicely’ – Trump (RT)

 

 

 

 

DOGE 2024
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889188421400154472

MAGA minute

Leavitt

Gutfeld
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889115655565091300

FEMA


https://twitter.com/i/status/1889081920560189890

Jennings

AI

Rogan nice man
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889195160044486728

Kayleigh

Judge Nap/Mearsheimer

 

 

 

 

What would the world be like if Trump had won a 2nd consecutive term? No Butler murder attampt, no Elon, no RFK, no JD Vance…

• Stubbornness, Divine Providence and Donald Trump (Miele)

Donald Trump has always been a complex character, but to fully understand him now, one must begin with the assassination attempt at Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. Listen to how Trump described that experience in his second inaugural address: “Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life. Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear. But I felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.” Even his harshest critics were hesitant to challenge Trump’s grandiose assertion because – at some level – they could put themselves in Trump’s shoes. And now, three months after the election and a mere three weeks after he was sworn in, the evidence is plain that Trump is a politician reborn, with a purpose renewed. If Making America Great Again started as an election slogan, it has been transformed into a divine mission.

Trump 2.0 is the Democrats’ worst nightmare. If he had won a second term in 2020, forcing him to govern with a Chuck Schumer-controlled Senate, he would have been virtually powerless. He would have limped through that second term with the usual bluster and name-calling, but without any new vision or agenda. His mandate would have been simple – keep the economy strong and don’t rock the boat too hard. Play golf whenever possible. There would have been no Elon Musk and no Department of Government Efficiency. There would have been no Bobby Kennedy Jr. or Make America Healthy Again. It is unlikely there would have even been a housecleaning at the FBI or CIA. Remember, there would not have been a raid at Mar-a-Lago, nor a “deranged” special counsel, nor a Jan. 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol. We would be living in an entirely different world, led for four years by an entirely different Trump on a glide path to retirement.

The 2024 election would have been a complete unknown. Republicans would have scrambled to find a worthy successor to Trump, but there would be no anointed one. Almost certainly not Mike Pence, but then who? Josh Hawley? Tom Cotton? Nikki Haley? Tim Scott? Not J.D. Vance, who would still be a mid-level literary author and never have been elected senator from Ohio. The Democrats would not have had to suffer through the embarrassment of a senescent President Joe Biden. They would have had a legitimate primary battle in 2024 between Govs. Newsom, Shapiro, Pritzker, and Hochul, and Sens. Klobuchar, Warren, Gillibrand, and maybe Sanders. Kamala Harris would have been an afterthought – or withdrawn before Iowa just as she did in 2020.

The likelihood of a Democratic victory after two consecutive Trump terms would have been high. MAGA itself might have fizzled out from attrition and eight years of mainstream media overkill. So it’s easy to theorize about the role of divine providence bringing us to this point, but one can’t discount the importance of Trump’s own character in asserting his will against the established order either. His ability to withstand the full court press of two impeachments, two special counsels, two assassination attempts, and multiple felony indictments and convictions to convince the American public to return him to the White House is nothing short of miraculous. If Trump was indeed “saved by God,” there must have been a reason – something that made Trump a perfect vessel for reshaping our times, even though not perfect himself. So what is it?

I’ve tried to think of analogs for Trump’s persona in life and literature and largely come up empty. As a politician, Trump is sui generis. You can scan the Bible for other examples of imperfect perfection such as King David and Cyrus the Great, but it’s best not to impute to a contemporary such as Trump the authority of the Old Testament. So where else do we turn? A few authors have noted the similarity of Trump to Napoleon Bonaparte, including for his ego, his exile, and his support from the common man. I myself have written twice about such a connection, including once in 2016 before he was elected and once in 2022 after he was banished to Mar-a-Lago. The columns stand the test of time, but there might be one avatar for The Donald drawn from literature that is even more appropriate.

I am thinking of the character known simply as the Mule in Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” trilogy. Book two of the science fiction series, “Foundation and Empire,” introduces the Mule as a character of such intense individuality that he has the power to break every expectation, exceed every limit, and avoid virtually every trap put in his way as he attempts to conquer the galaxy. As Asimov has another character explain, “He has no name other than that of the Mule, a name reportedly applied by himself to himself, and signifying, by popular explanation, his immense physical strength, and stubbornness of purpose.”

We need not worry about physical strength in our comparison, but “stubbornness of purpose” can be applied to Trump and to only a few others in U.S. history, including George Washington during his role as commander in chief of the Continental Army and Abraham Lincoln as commander in chief of the Union Army. Were it not for Trump’s extraordinary second term, his divine commission, we might never have even understood his stubbornness of purpose. Oh yes, he was considered mule-headed for his unwillingness to follow political conventions, but until his return from exile, he still tried to curry favor with the ruling class by trying to fit in with expectations rather than imposing his will through brute force.

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“..agencies may hire only one employee for every four who depart..”

• Trump Orders Federal Agencies To Comply With Musk’s DOGE Cuts (RT)

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order mandating US federal agencies to implement workforce reductions and efficiency measures outlined by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk. Signed on February 11, 2025, the order directs agencies to limit hiring to essential positions and collaborate with DOGE to identify areas for significant staff cuts and potential agency eliminations. Appearing alongside Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Musk defended the initiative, stating that the American “people voted for major government reform, and that’s what they’re going to get.” “It’s not optional for us to reduce federal expenses – it’s essential. It’s essential for America to remain solvent as a country,” Musk said.

“We have this unelected, unconstitutional fourth branch of government – the bureaucracy – which, in many ways, currently holds more power than any elected representative,” he added. “It does not reflect the will of the people. So it’s something we’ve got to fix.” “And we’ve also got to address the deficit – a $2 trillion deficit. If we don’t do something about this, the country is going bankrupt. I mean, it’s astounding that the interest payments alone on the national debt exceed the Defense Department’s budget,” Musk noted.

Trump’s executive order establishes a hiring ratio in which agencies may hire only one employee for every four who depart, with exemptions for roles related to public safety, immigration enforcement, and law enforcement. Agency heads must develop data-driven plans, in consultation with DOGE team leads, to ensure new hires are allocated to high-need areas. The order also requires agency heads to submit reports within 30 days, evaluating whether their departments or sub-agencies could be eliminated or consolidated. It does not apply to military personnel, and agency heads may exempt “any position they deem necessary to meet national security, homeland security, or public safety responsibilities.” Critics have raised concerns about the potential impact of these measures on public services and the concentration of power within DOGE, with reporters pressing Musk on potential conflicts of interest.

Trump’s latest push for large-scale federal workforce reductions follows previous efforts by his administration to streamline government operations, including a foreign aid and hiring freezes. The Department of Government Efficiency has been granted expanded authority to oversee these reductions, aiming to identify and eliminate wasteful spending within the federal government.

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Musk is a Chinese puppet.

• Democrat Senator Accuses Trump And Musk Of ‘Billionaire Takeover’ (RT)

US President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk are seizing power in Washington “for corrupt purposes,” according to Democratic Senator Chris Murphy. The lawmaker from Connecticut accused the president of punishing his enemies and rewarding his friends in what he called “the billionaire takeover of government.” Trump has repealed dozens of executive orders signed by his predecessor, Joe Biden, since returning to the Oval Office on January 20. Amid a broader push to cut government spending, the president has suspended all US foreign aid and halted numerous projects assigned to USAID, Washington’s main agency for administering funding to political projects abroad.

Trump also appointed Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, as a “special government employee” to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “This is the most serious constitutional crisis the country has faced, certainly, since Watergate,” Murphy said in an interview with ABC News aired on Sunday, accusing Trump of “attempting to seize control of power for corrupt purposes.” The lawmaker claimed that the president is planning to single-handedly address public financial issues in order “to reward his political friends” and “punish his political enemies,” branding the administration’s latest decisions, in particular disbanding USAID, an “evisceration of democracy.”

Murphy also said the agency was “a thorn in the side of the Chinese government,” claiming that Trump’s move to eliminate it will “make America much less safe around the world” but will benefit Beijing. The senator accused Musk, who has branded USAID a “criminal organization,” of pursuing his own ends by taking steps to shut down the agency. “Elon Musk has many major business interests at stake inside Beijing, and so making Beijing happy is going to accrue to the financial benefit of Elon Musk and many billionaires who outsource work to China,” the lawmaker stated. Last week, Trump accused USAID of funnelling billions of taxpayer dollars into media companies to promote positive media coverage of the Democrats. At the same time, Musk accused USAID of funding bioweapons research.

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Waiting for Jay Bhattacharya to be confirmed as NIH director.

• Judge Blocks Federal Government From Cutting Medical Research Funding (ET)

U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley entered a temporary restraining order on Feb. 10 preventing the federal government from cutting medical research funding in 22 states in response to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Massachusetts. The order is in place until further word from the court, Kelley said. Government lawyers were also ordered to, within 24 hours, and at biweekly intervals thereafter, confirm with the judge that they are regularly disbursing medical research funding in the states, which include Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Oregon. California, New York, and Massachusetts receive the most funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The legal challenge targets the U.S. National Institutes of Health directive that imposes a lower cap on indirect research costs for institutions receiving government funding after a quarter of $35 billion in NIH research funds went to indirect costs in 2024.

The new cap was set in the Feb. 7 directive at 15 percent, which is largely in line with private funding limits, and down from what the NIH said was an average of 27 percent to 28 percent. “The United States should have the best medical research in the world. It is accordingly vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead,” according to an NIH memorandum from the agency’s Office of the Director. Dr. Matthew Memoli is the acting NIH director while the Senate considers President Donald Trump’s nominee, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. In an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order, attorneys general representing the states alleged that institutions, if the change were allowed to go through, would lead to “catastrophic financial consequences, which could result in layoffs and furloughs, research program closures, financial defaults, and disruptions to clinical trials, potentially jeopardizing people’s lives and health.”

The states also said the change violates a law that prohibits the NIH from changing the cap on indirect research costs. “Even were NIH to have the authority it claims, a demanding regulatory process would be required; but NIH took none of the steps mandated by that process. In addition, the agency did not consider the detrimental effect of its decision on ongoing research that NIH itself has determined is integral to public health,” the motion stated. “Nor did NIH address the considerable reliance interests that are impaired when thousands of existing grants, totaling billions of dollars, are changed unilaterally over a weekend.” The government has not issued a response to the motion. After granting the request for a restraining order, Kelley set a hearing on the matter for Feb. 21.

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“All the visitors are Ukrainian, and they’re rolling into Hermes, and dropping a million dollars in an afternoon. It’s all through Europe you see this.”

• US Tax Dollars Fuel Ukrainian Elites’ Lavish Lifestyles – Tucker Carlson (RT)

Ukrainian elites have enriched themselves from embezzling US taxpayer money sent to fund the conflict with Russia, American journalist Tucker Carlson has claimed. He recounted his observations of affluent visitors at an elite ski resort, during an interview with retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis on Monday. Carlson, a former Fox News host and a vocal opponent of US support for Ukraine, described his visit to a pricey resort in the Alps, where he discovered that “the whole town is Ukrainian.” “All the visitors are Ukrainian, and they’re rolling into Hermes, and dropping a million dollars in an afternoon. It’s all through Europe you see this. The richest people are the Ukrainians,” he said, adding that the money they’re throwing around “belongs to me and you and every other American taxpayer.”

Carlson went on to say that Ukrainian corruption not only squanders American resources but also endangers US citizens. He cited allegations of Ukrainian military personnel selling weapons on the black market, which have reportedly reached the Mexican drug cartels. He claimed to know this for a fact, but did not provide evidence. He also criticized US funding for the Ukrainian special services, saying they have orchestrated “terrorist attacks” within Russia.”Everyone who wants to know what’s going on knows,” Carlson said, accusing the media and officials from the administration of former President Joe Biden of covering up for Kiev. The contrast between the amount of assistance for Ukraine and the affluence of some Ukrainians in the EU has fostered resentment in countries such as Poland, which has welcomed nearly a million Ukrainian refugees since the conflict escalated in 2022.

In an interview last October, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poles are appalled by “the sight of young men from Ukraine, driving the best cars, spending weekends in five-star hotels.” Opinion polls suggest a shift in public sentiment against Ukrainians.In recent remarks, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky claimed that his country has received substantially less US aid than reported, saying the total is $76 billion, rather than $200 billion, which is often cited. He added that around 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in the conflict so far. Carlson highlighted both of these claims, calling them examples of blatant lies that the Western media reports uncritically.

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Normal in DC.

• DOGE Investigating Feds Whose Net Worths Have Exploded (ZH)

DOGE head Elon Musk said on Tuesday that DOGE is going to investigate federal employees whose net worths have exploded despite their comparatively low pay. The announcement – which came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to work with DOGE, follows a bombshell report that Samantha Power, former head of USAID, saw her net worth explode to $30 million despite an annual salary under $250,000. “We don’t know why. Where did it come from? I think the reality is that they’re getting wealthy at the taxpayer expense,” Musk said on Tuesday. Power, a former ambassador to the United Nations under President Obama, and was sworn in as head of USAID in May of 2021, reported a net worth between $6.7 million-$16.5 million in January of 2021 on a disclosure form. Her net worth is now estimated as high as $30 million, according to the website Biden’s Basement.

According to various reports, Power’s sources of income have varied over the years. After serving as UN Ambassador, she reportedly made $471,000 per year as a Harvard professor, and made $351,000 from speaking engagements with major firmst such as Nestle, Google and UBS, along with $1 million in book royalties. Most notably, however, was an $11.73 million gain in her investment holdings. If we had to venture a guess, DOGE’s access to information from the Treasury, USAID, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), run through Palantir’s intelligence apparatus (including AI), will quickly unravel graft hidden through multiple layers of organizational fog.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1888581827285148067

Meanwhile, there’s the issue of lawmakers who have become unbelievably ‘lucky’ when it comes to growing their net worth via insider trading.

In July, a bipartisan group of senators including Josh Hawley (R-MO) came to an agreement on a renewed effort to ban members of Congress from trading stock. “Congress should not be here to make a buck,” Hawley said at the time. “There is no reason why members of Congress ought to be profiting off of the information that only they get.”

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“.. it is quite wrong of both Lammy and Zelensky who claim Putin doesn’t want to talk. This is coded talk which means simply “he’s not prepared to give us what we want”.

• Zelensky’s 100 Days Might End In Florida As Trump Prepares Ukraine Plan (Jay)

Are we witnessing the final days of caretaker President Zelensky? Two recent media events where he clearly stated, some would even say ‘begged’, for a deal with Donald Trump might indicate that he is now in panic mode. Zelensky’s recent offer to Trump for the U.S. to take Ukraine’s mineral reserves reveals a lot about the former comedian turned politician. In numerous speeches and various media events he has repeatedly talked about the Ukrainian people, Europe and the sanctity of democracy all being under threat when Russia wins the war. But now we can see all that was BS and that now, without Hollywood movie stars raising his profile of hundreds of media outlets pumping out the fake news to support him, we get to what really matters above all: mineral wealth.

The problem or dilemma Zelensky has is not unlike that of a dying old man who has millions in the bank. Does he hand over all his wealth to the best doctors to buy a few more years of life, based on their promises, or does he accept the end is near? His logic is not complicated. His chief focus is his own power and positon above all. But is a peace deal, with or without a mineral sweetner compatible with his presidential incumbency? Something, it would seem, has to give. What he is now doing is certainly panicking. There can be no other way to look at the recent media spots. With practically now all U.S. and UK media taking the line that the war is being lost now to Russia and further reports that Moscow could be planning a major push with one or two brigades, time is of the essence. He needs to think clearly.

Perhaps delusional western powers like the UK are preventing any lucid, realistic thinking, given that David Lammy, the British foreign secretary recently visited him and handed him a cheque for over 60 million USD and told him that Britain is prepared to replace the U.S. militarily. Yes, that’s 60, you read correctly. While it’s unclear what an army in defeat could do with this small change, given that U.S. experts are estimating that just for the Ukraine army to continue for one more year they would need between 50 and 100 BILLION dollars, the British should thank Zelensky for keeping a straight face at the farce. Zelensky’s problem is how to secure a peace deal and come out looking like a winner. Add to that almost mission impossible is his insistence on “western security” guaranties – read NATO membership – and you can see why things are not exactly moving forward very quickly.

Trump has announced a peace deal to be agreed in April. Like the 600-pound gorilla in the room, he is likely to make it happen, or at least a ceasefire of sorts, but will Zelensky still be president when it happens? Zelensky is rapidly realizing the trap and just how entangled he is in the centre of it. Give Trump a huge bribe? It might not cut it given that Trump must already be looking at who to replace Zelensky, who would probably offer more. Both Trump and Zelensky need to come out of it as victors and it was interesting how he used the word “victory” when explaining it to the Reuters journalists (do they actually ask questions or is it just their job to be his PR apparatus?). Yet the question of Putin being a victor has not been tackled, given that he’s already winning and holds all the cards. While it is true that the intensity of fighting is certainly the case on the Russian side, it is quite wrong of both Lammy and Zelensky who claim Putin doesn’t want to talk. This is coded talk which means simply “he’s not prepared to give us what we want”.

It’s unlikely Zelensky will be the broker to make the deal happen as we head towards Trump’s 100-day deadline and I predict, as I have been doing so for months, that both Putin and Trump will conclude that he needs to be removed for a deal to be made. NATO membership of Ukraine is a joke and cannot happen for any deal to be struck and it is telling that the West still clings to this fantasy, but explains why Zelensky is still harping on about it. At the time of writing Trump hinted to journalists that he was about to meet with Zelensky so we should estimate that this will be the ‘either piss or get off the pot’ moment where all diplomatic endearment will be put aside. Trump will tell him the plan and tell him there and then, you’re either with it or you’re out.

As easily as the Obama and Biden administrations ushered Zelensky and his predecessor into power, Trump will prove that he can counter the move. Watch very closely in the coming weeks for top aides of Zelensky to be fired, but who in reality have resigned. Trump’s specialty for years in NYC getting deals done was to threaten his competitors with seducing their wives. Many gave into this tactic. Almost certainly Trump’s people will be working on Zelensky’s entourage who might wipe him out financially with higher payoffs – if he chooses to stay. But will he stay?

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“..claimed that NATO is planning to oust Zelensky as it believes that he is one of the main obstacles to peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.”

• Musk Reacts To Zelensky’s ‘Ukrainians Don’t Want Elections’ Claim (RT)

Elon Musk has taken a jab at Vladimir Zelensky over his claim that Ukrainians are opposed to holding presidential elections while the conflict with Russia continues. Zelensky’s term officially expired in May 2024, but he has refused to hold presidential elections since, citing active martial law. While Kiev’s backers in the West continue to recognize Zelensky as Ukraine’s president, Russia deems him illegitimate, insisting that legal power in the country now lies with the parliament and its speaker. In an interview with ITV on Friday, Zelensky explained Kiev’s reluctance to hold the new vote by arguing that “during this war, our population is against elections, all people are against it.” He claimed that holding elections under such circumstances would undermine Ukraine’s defense posture, adding, “If we suspend martial law, we will lose the army.”

Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump and the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), offered a response full of irony, posting “Sure” on social media. In November, the billionaire mocked Zelensky’s claim that the “US cannot force us to ‘sit and listen’ at the negotiating table. We are an independent country.” “His sense of humor is amazing,” the tech entrepreneur wrote at the time. According to the Ukrainian outlet Telegraf, Zelensky has already decided to run in the potential next election, if it is held. While the report estimated that the Ukrainian leader – who has a trust rating of around 52% – has a reasonable chance of winning, the situation could drastically change if former top general Valery Zaluzhny, currently Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, enters the presidential race.

The Ukrainian outlet claimed that to suppress the candidacy of the popular general, Zelensky could press criminal charges against Zaluzhny, including a probe related to the fall of Kherson to Russian forces in 2022. According to RBK-Ukraine, Zelensky’s team is also hoping that military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov could counter Zaluzhny’s potential bid for the presidency. Meanwhile, the Trump administration appears to be pressuring Kiev to organize a new presidential election. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s top envoy for Ukraine, told Reuters earlier this month that Washington wants Kiev to hold the vote, potentially by the end of the year, especially if a ceasefire with Russia can be agreed upon in the coming months. “Most democratic nations have elections in their time of war. I think it is important they do so. I think it is good for democracy,” he said. Earlier this month, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed that NATO is planning to oust Zelensky as it believes that he is one of the main obstacles to peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.

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From Friday, at the Munich Security Conference, we’ll have Vance, Kellogg, Rubio … and Zelensky.

• Trump’s Envoy To Shift Ukraine Burden Onto Europe (RT)

Keith Kellogg, the US presidential envoy for the Ukraine conflict, will meet with European officials in the coming weeks to advance President Donald Trump’s objectives, according to Bloomberg and The Telegraph. The diplomatic campaign will reportedly kick off at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Friday, as the new US administration aims to recoup funds expended on the conflict in recent years. On Monday, the outlets cited insider sources outlining Kellogg’s plans to gather feedback from trans-Atlantic partners before finalizing a strategy for achieving a truce with Russia. He is interested in Europeans’ “willingness to take the lead on providing deterrent forces to ensure that any peace settlement holds,” a source reportedly told Bloomberg.

Kellogg is also expected to make it clear that the US has no intention of deploying troops to protect Ukraine and wants European NATO allies to increase their defense spending. The Telegraph claimed that Kellogg has reassured European officials of Trump’s commitment to maintaining some level of military assistance to Kiev. Concerns have been raised about the extent of Kellogg’s influence over Trump, after he reportedly said he was surprised by the president’s announcement of scheduled talks with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

Trump aims to recoup money expended for support for Ukraine allocated under his predecessor, Joe Biden, by seeking rights to the country’s natural resources. In an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, he said he had effectively secured $500 billion worth of rare-earth minerals as compensation, regardless of the outcome of negotiations with Russia. “They may make a deal, they may not make a deal, they may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday, but we’re gonna have all this money in there, and I say, I want it back.”

US Vice President J.D. Vance will lead the American delegation at the MSC, where he is expected to meet with Zelensky. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the conference is an opportunity for American officials to “lay out a broad path forward” on Ukraine. Zelensky has claimed that Trump can achieve “peace through strength” with continued military assistance. He has conceded that without US support, the Ukrainian army risks collapse. Russian officials have rejected the idea of freezing the conflict along the current front lines, insisting on a comprehensive resolution addressing the underlying causes of hostilities, which include NATO expansion in Europe and discriminatory policies against ethnic Russians in Ukraine.

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Got the money? Got the money?

• Trump To Send Treasury Secretary To Kiev (RT)

US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he will be sending Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Ukraine. The trip, which could take place as soon as this week, will include discussions of a potential deal for rare-earth minerals in exchange for aid to Kiev, according to various media reports. Trump recently demanded that Kiev must ensure a return on “America’s $300 billion” in aid by providing the US with critical minerals. He told Fox News on Tuesday that it would be “stupid” to keep funding Ukraine without tangible benefits. Rare-earth metals, which are essential for producing the magnets that convert power into motion in electric vehicles, smartphones, missile systems, and other advanced electronics, have no viable substitutes, and their demand is expected to rise significantly in the coming years. Bessent will be the first cabinet-level official in Trump’s administration to visit Kiev.

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump said he is sending Bessent to meet Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, stating that the conflict between Moscow and Kiev “must and will end soon.” Trump further claimed that the US had spent “billions of dollars globally, with little to show.” Though Trump did not specify Bessent’s travel date, Bloomberg and Reuters report it will happen this week for preliminary negotiations. Zelensky has signaled openness to such a deal but acknowledged that nearly half of what Kiev claims as its rare earths are located in areas controlled by Russia. He said Kiev’s supporters must help push Russian forces out of the mineral-rich areas before any investment can take place.

Before the 2022 escalation of the Ukraine conflict, the country held Europe’s largest titanium and lithium reserves, critical for military and energy industries. Around $7 trillion of Ukraine’s total mineral wealth of around $14.8 trillion is in its former Donbass regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, according to Forbes. However, these two regions declared independence from Ukraine in 2014 after the Western-backed Maidan coup in Kiev and later voted to join Russia. Trump’s demand has sparked strong criticism, including from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who argued that it “would be very selfish” to use Ukraine’s resources to finance defense support.

The US leader has been calling for a swift resolution to the conflict, signaling potential peace talks between Moscow and Kiev. He has reportedly tasked his special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, with negotiating a settlement within 100 days. However, no concrete details of a plan have been disclosed. Moscow has expressed openness to talks but insists that any negotiations must be based on equal and mutually acceptable terms, reflecting the realities on the ground and Russia’s national interests. According to Bloomberg, Kellogg plans to present Trump with potential strategies to end the conflict in the coming weeks.

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Lovely.

• Europe Told To Brace For Flood Of Ukrainian Soldiers With PTSD (RT)

Ukrainian soldiers returning from the front could pose a threat to civilians across Europe due to untreated mental health issues, Polish military psychiatrist Radoslaw Tworus has warned. In an interview with Wirtualna Polska published on Sunday, Tworus, who heads the department of psychiatry, combat stress, and psychotraumatology at the Military Medical Institute in Warsaw, said trauma from the battlefield may lead to serious psychological problems, potentially endangering society. His warnings come amid growing concerns in the region that Ukrainian soldiers will emigrate en masse to neighboring countries after the conflict. “These extreme experiences related to stress, threats to life, witnessing injuries, destruction, hunger, and exhaustion will have great significance not only for Poland but for Europe. Because these people are in Europe,” Tworus stated.

“We have to prepare,” he added. Tworus emphasized that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is among the major concerns, but is only part of the issue. “If we are talking about the battlefield, we are talking about a very stressful environment… a person can face a number of different problems: adaptation issues, psychosis, depression, addictions. The spectrum of these disorders is very wide.” He warned that the most problematic cases involve individuals who are unaware of their mental health issues and therefore do not seek help. “There may be depression, but there may also be euphoria, agitation, and aggressive states. There are many of these symptoms,” Tworus said, noting that any problems related to sleeping, eating, nervousness, quick mental fatigue, exhaustion or euphoric states “require consultation.”

He cautioned that soldiers with unresolved mental health issues might project their struggles onto family members or even the countries hosting them, potentially leading to unpredictable consequences. Tworus’ comments follow a recent report by Personnel Service, a Polish recruitment company, which claimed that up to one million Ukrainians could emigrate to Poland after the conflict ends. Based on a poll conducted in December, the report indicated that one in four Ukrainian men and one in five Ukrainian women are considering leaving Ukraine post-conflict. The primary reasons cited were Ukraine’s economic difficulties and lack of security.

Poland initially saw the largest influx of Ukrainian asylum seekers in the EU following the escalation of the conflict with Russia, with the number peaking at 1.36 million in 2022. Across the EU, as of November 2024 approximately 4.2 million Ukrainians had been granted temporary protection status under a bloc-wide initiative. The program, which offers access to housing, education, and employment, was recently extended to March 2026, though it has faced opposition from some member states.

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“I am very much afraid that it could lead to riots or worse – to an internal standoff and a civil strife..”

• Kiev Mayor Predicts ‘Painful Compromise’ To End Ukraine Conflict (RT)

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine could end “in a month or two,” Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko claimed on Tuesday, warning that a potential peace deal could be “very painful to every Ukrainian.” US President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to seek a swift end to the hostilities. He has not revealed his peace plan, but it reportedly involves freezing the conflict along the current front line, establishing a demilitarized zone patrolled by European soldiers, and suspending Kiev’s bid to join NATO. Russia has said it remains open to negotiations but insists that any agreement must include “reliable, legally binding agreements eliminating the root causes of the conflict” instead of just freezing it.

“I am sure that it would be difficult to call it a positive result,” Klitschko said, commenting on the peace prospects at a forum in Kiev. “The so-called compromise could turn out to be very painful for every Ukrainian.” The mayor believes that the end of the conflict could lead to social tensions and political strife that would lead to a “war of extermination” inside the country. Kiev is unlikely to be able to keep its wartime army after the conflict ends, he stated, adding that around a third of the current armed forces personnel would have to be discharged and reintegrated into civilian life. The end of the conflict would also mean the start of an election contest, the mayor said, adding that this could also spiral out of control.

“I am very much afraid that it could lead to riots or worse – to an internal standoff and a civil strife,” Klitschko warned. Elections are “traditionally accompanied by mutual accusations,” the Kiev mayor stated, adding that it could become “a difficult challenge” for Ukraine. The politician said he is “sure” that Ukraine is not ready to face this scenario and needs to seek a solution. Last week, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky stated that the nation cannot hold any votes under the present circumstances because it would supposedly “lose” its army. He also claimed that the whole election narrative was supposedly only peddled by Moscow, which would be the only one to benefit from a vote in Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy since his presidential term officially expired in May 2024. Russian President Valdimir Putin has said the parliament is the only legitimate governing body in Ukraine. According to Klitschko, “everyone is talking about elections” in Ukraine even as the hostilities continue. “Political electoral processes have already begun,” the Kiev mayor added. Klitschko, a former world heavyweight boxing champion, was one of the most prominent figures in the Western-backed Maidan coup in Kiev in 2014 and became the capital’s mayor the same year. He has long had strained relations with Zelensky. In 2023, he accused the Ukrainian leader of steering the nation towards authoritarianism. Last month, he also stated that Zelensky’s team was seeking to “usurp power” by undermining local authorities.

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“.. the Kiev regime will not only actively hinder peace settlement processes but is also prepared to extend hostilities far beyond Ukraine’s borders..”

• Kiev Plotting Provocations To Drag NATO Into War – Moscow (RT)

Ukrainian special services, with Western support, are preparing a series of high-profile provocations to implicate Moscow and draw NATO into a direct military confrontation, according to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). In a statement on Tuesday, the SVR claimed that Kiev plans to use Russian-made naval mines to orchestrate an explosion involving a foreign vessel in the Baltic Sea. The alleged goal is to blame Moscow and prompt NATO to restrict Russia’s access to the Baltic on the pretext of ensuring maritime security. NATO has been increasing its military activities along Eastern Europe’s borders in recent years, citing security concerns over Russia. Last month, it announced plans to expand its presence in the Baltic Sea, launching a new mission to safeguard undersea infrastructure following a series of disruptions and damage to cables between member states.

Russia, which perceives the Baltic Sea as a strategic area for its naval operations and energy exports, has vowed to do everything necessary to protect its interests. Last year, Nikolay Patrushev, the former head of the Russian Security Council who currently serves as an aide to President Vladimir Putin, warned that NATO is using its newest members, Sweden and Finland, to turn the Baltic into an “internal sea” under Western control.Moscow has stressed that it has no intention of attacking any NATO member states, but has criticized the military buildups on its border. It has also warned that direct confrontation between Russia and NATO could escalate into a nuclear conflict, adding that it will respond to any hostile moves.

In its statement, the SVR also alleged that Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), in collaboration with intelligence agencies from several European countries, is planning attacks on Russian “non-systemic opposition” figures and businessmen residing abroad. The plan reportedly involves recruiting perpetrators from Asian and Middle Eastern countries, offering up to $20,000 for participation, with instructions to blame the Russian intelligence services if apprehended. Russia has accused Ukraine of planning various provocations in order to blame Moscow. Ukraine has dismissed the claims as propaganda. In recent months, Russia’s security services have on numerous occasions arrested Ukrainian agents tasked with targeting prominent public figures. The SVR cited reports indicating that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and his associates are willing to resort to provocations to preserve their positions.

“To this end, the Kiev regime will not only actively hinder peace settlement processes but is also prepared to extend hostilities far beyond Ukraine’s borders,” it said. Zelensky remains in office despite his term expiring last May. He has refused to step down and postponed elections, citing martial law, which was imposed in 2022 following the escalation of the conflict with Russia.In a separate report this month, the SVR claimed that NATO is exploring ways to remove Zelensky from power by undermining his credibility before potential elections next year. It claimed that some Western officials see him as a roadblock to peace talks with Moscow. Moscow has expressed willingness to engage in peace talks, though Putin has insisted that negotiating with the current Ukrainian leadership will not have any legal meaning.

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Jay Bhattacharya, Marty Makary and Martin Kulldorff. One step away from crucifixion just a few years ago. Times change.

• Trump Nominees, COVID Dissenters Launch Science Journal (JTN)

Before President Trump nominated them to lead the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration, Jay Bhattacharya and Marty Makary, respectively, laid the groundwork for an academic journal on public health that would stand athwart the squelching of scientific dissent and narrative policing endemic to academic publishing around COVID-19. Now awaiting confirmation, the Stanford and Johns Hopkins medical school professors are handing the reins of the Journal of the Academy of Public Health to their collaborators, including founding editor-in-chief and epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff, who endured social media censorship for his COVID views and firing from Harvard Med for his medical choices.

The house organ of the newly formed Academy of Public Health, JAPH stands apart from similar journals not only in its enthusiasm to challenge COVID-19 dogmas and bite the federal hand that feeds researchers, as evident in its first crop of articles Jan. 30, but in its business model, peer-review process and transparency practices. APH is an international nonprofit organized under the RealClearFoundation, a sibling to RealClearPolitics and itself a donor-financed 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which announced the journal Wednesday and called Bhattacharya and Kulldorff its cofounders. While at least one author must be an APH member, received papers are published immediately and reviewers are each paid a $500 honorarium and publicly credited, and reviews are published alongside the papers – unusual practices in academic publishing.

JAPH will even publish “external article reviews” of influential papers published in journals without the “same philosophy of open peer-review and scientific discourse” – an unsolicited, public layer of peer review – and invite the authors to respond. More common: Its open-access model makes JAPH free to read, while authors pay $2,000 to publish research, “literature syntheses” and history articles and $500 for unreviewed “perspectives,” though the honorarium for reviewers may be applied to their own publications. Each APH member gets one free research, synthesis and history article, and an annual free perspective, while authors without research grants or institutional funds can also apply for waived publication fees on a case-by-case basis.

Kulldorff elaborated on the problems in science journals, which in “some ways” are now “hampering rather than enhancing open scientific discourse,” and called JAPH a “proof of concept” for proposed solutions in his opening perspective Jan. 30. Beneficiaries of the new model include funding agencies, which are “not allowed to see the reviews they paid for” but “will get an external evaluation of the research they fund” through JAPH’s model, he said. Other first-issue articles include a study that found no “significant” differences in COVID case rates or “incidence rate ratios” between neighboring K-12 school districts when one had a mask mandate or when neither had one, and Kulldorff and Bhattacharya’s analysis of the “fundamental design flaws in the Covid vaccine trials” contrasted with polio vaccine trials.

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“..When Elon Musk forces his way into the United States Treasury, and threatens to steal your personal information and your social security check..”

• “Get Violent and Fight”: Tennessee Minister Calls for Violence (Turley)

Clearly, Dr. Steve Caudle of Greater Second Missionary Baptist Church in Chattanooga is not the “turn-the-other-cheek” type of minister. Caudle called upon his flock to choose violence in responding to the policy changes in progress in Washington with the new Administration. It is a further escalation of the rage rhetoric from Democratic politicians and pundits. In a sermon live streamed to YouTube on Sunday, Caudle denounced Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for threatening to “steal” Americans’ information and money, and said that a violent “conflict” will be coming:

“In this nation, I’m worried that we are on the verge of bloodshed. This is an attempt to take us back to a day that we do not want to go, and we will not go. Therefore, there will be conflict. I pray that the peace of God will win out and overcome the madness that is attempting to take over this nation.” “And I will say to you, beloved: no one likes violence, but sometimes violence is necessary. When Elon Musk forces his way into the United States Treasury, and threatens to steal your personal information and your social security check, there is a possibility of violence. Sometimes the devil will act so ugly, that there is no other choice but to get violent and fight!”

Invoking Matthew 11:12, he added: “… Why not talk this way? Because Jesus did… Jesus said in this key verse… ‘The kingdom of Heaven suffers — what — violence. And the who — the violent — take it by force. The kingdom of God is a warzone, it is a battlefield. You did know this, right?”

There is a normalization of such violent rhetoric with mainstream figures. The result can be a sense of license for some willing to turn to violent forms of expression, particularly when given the patina of moral justification. As I have previously written, rage rhetoric has long been a part of our political process. However, when religious figures rationalize violent action, we cross a dangerous Rubicon in the use of such rhetoric.

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“Hundreds of billions in grants could be returned to US and foreign governments if fraud is proven..”

• Clinton Probe to Expose Gates, Soros and Epstein Links (Sp.)

The fall of the House of Clinton would trigger a domino effect, upending globalist entities like Bilderberg, billionaires such as Bill Gates & George Soros, and their bought politicians worldwide, says Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel. Ortel calls CF the largest unprosecuted fraud. If true, its trustees, executives and donors – both US and foreign – could face IRS and legal probes at home and abroad. Hundreds of billions in grants could be returned to US and foreign governments if fraud is proven, according to the analyst.

Australia, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, the UK, Ukraine and others funded CF, public records show. The largest known donor is UNITAID (WHO), which has sent hundreds of millions more than CF has reported to the IRS since 2006. Other suspicious donors: DFID, AusAID, NORAD and aid agencies from Canada, Ireland and Sweden, Ortel says. Private foundations also funded Clinton frauds. The Gates Foundation has donated since 2005 – while convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein collaborated with Bill Clinton. George Soros is another key donor.

Harvard, Yale and Columbia University gave credibility to Clinton charity frauds, Ortel says. Legacy media & publishers boosted Clinton Global Initiative events, ignoring that none were legally registered charities. A full probe into CF and its offshoots is needed ASAP, Ortel says. A 2018 hearing revealed CF owes $2.5 billion to the US government for acting as a foreign agent instead of a nonprofit. But the scandal exceeds $2.5 billion – Bill Clinton used the charity as a front, with no honest accounting for AIDS, climate, or Haiti’s missing $10 billion, Ortel concludes.

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“..marijuana and hashish oil [..] ..carefully concealed in his personal belongings..”

• Russia Treated US ‘Very Nicely’ – Trump (RT)

President Donald Trump has said that Moscow agreed to release Marc Fogel, a former US embassy employee sentenced to 14 years in prison on drug trafficking charges, without asking “much” in return. Moscow has not yet commented on the development, but US officials have praised the move as a “show of good faith” after US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff’s private jet departed Russia with Fogel on board on Tuesday. “We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war and millions of people can stop being killed,” Trump told journalists at the White House later in the day.

Asked whether Washington had given Moscow “anything in return,” Trump paused briefly before responding: “Not much. No, they were very nice.” Fogel, a teacher at an Anglo-American school in Moscow, had previously worked at the US embassy in Russia. He lost his diplomatic immunity in May 2021. In August of the same year, he was detained at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow after authorities found marijuana and hashish oil in his possession. He was later sentenced to 14 years in prison after Russian officials accused him of attempting to establish a drug trafficking route, alleging that the banned substances were carefully concealed in his personal belongings.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Aluminum
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889332373222797385

 

 

Koala

 

 

Yelp

 

 

Welcome
https://twitter.com/i/status/1888946524182528022

 

 

Chauvet (read the whole thread)

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Rattle January 27 2025

Jan 272025
 
 January 27, 2025  Posted by at 10:35 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  76 Responses »


Vincent van Gogh Weaver 1884

 

• Trade War Ends In Less Than 10 Hours After Colombia Agrees To Trump’s Terms (ZH)
• Trump Suggests ‘Cleaning Out’ Gaza (RT)
• LA Will Reopen Pacific Palisades To Residents Starting Monday (ZH)
• Trump Floats Eliminating Federal Income Tax ‘If The Tariffs Work Out’ (JTN)
• Which Country Could Buy Greenland? (Sp.)
• Iran War Hawks Getting Wrecked In Trump Personnel Fight (Ryan Grim)
• Are Trump and His Supporters Ready for a Fight to the Death? (PCR)
• Trump Fires ‘Virtually Worthless’ Inspectors General, Warren Freaks Out (ZH)
• US Officials Pushing To Unfreeze Aid For Ukraine – FT (RT)
• How Ukraine Lost Trillions-Worth of West-Coveted Natural Wealth (Sp.)
• Unauthorized Peacekeepers In Ukraine Will Be Targeted – Russian Diplomat (RT)
• Belarusian Peacekeepers ‘Best Option’ For Ukraine – Lukashenko (RT)
• China Drops Powerful AI Model That’s Free, Fast and Better for Humanity (Sp.)
• America’s Fiscal Doomsday Machine Must Be Stopped (David Stockman)
• No Evidence Closing Schools Materially Reduced Covid Transmission (Turley)
• The Great American Show (Pacini)

 

 

 

 

Young

CNN

CIA

Mearsheimer

 

 

 

 

It was over when President Gustavo Petro sent his own plane to pick up the migrants.

• Trade War Ends In Less Than 10 Hours After Colombia Agrees To Trump’s Terms (ZH)

Update (10:26pm ET): Just after 10pm ET, and just under 10 hours after Trump lobbed the first shot in the first trade war of his second admin, the White House announced that Colombia had agreed to all of Trump’s terms, “including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay.” Based on this agreement, the White House notes, the hastily drafted tariffs and sanctions “will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement.” The visa sanctions issued by the State Department, and enhanced inspections from Customs and Border Protection, will remain in effect until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.

The statement concludes by noting that President Trump “will continue to fiercely protect our nation’s sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States.” And just like that, Trump wins, in a victory so complete even the president of Colombia reposted his own loss. The only problem: the next trade wars – and there will be many – won’t be nearly as easy to win…

* * *
Update (6:50pm ET): Despite appearing to cave earlier when he ordered the use of the presidential plane to repatriate illegal aliens from the US, late on Sunday Colombia President Gustavo Petro ordered an increase of import tariffs on goods from the United States in retaliation to President Trump’s tariffs and sanctions. Petro, in a post on the social platform X, said he ordered the “foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the U.S. by 25%.” “American products whose price will rise within the national economy must be replaced by national production, and the government will help in this regard,” the post continued. Then in a meandering post in Spanish, the president also issued several empty threats to Trump.

Meanwhile, as Bloomberg notes, Colombian assets are set for a rout after US President Donald Trump said he’d implement a spate of tariffs and sanctions on the South American nation. The announcement of an emergency 25% tariff on all Colombian goods coming into the US, made by Trump on social media on Sunday, caught traders off guard — most of the focus so far has been on levies on Mexico, Canada and China. The move will likely spark a slump that will reverberate across local bond, currency and equity markets when trading opens Monday. Daniel Velandia, chief economist at Credicorp Capital Colombia, said the peso will weaken against the dollar Monday morning, adding that the economy could inch toward a recession in an “extreme scenario.”

“This is completely unexpected and unpredictable,” Velandia said. “We need to see how far Trump goes and how Colombia’s government will respond, hoping that diplomacy will be used to prevent adverse effects.” And it’s not just Colombia: the Mexican peso is also tumbling more than 1% in late Sunday trading amid concerns that the southern US neighbor will be next to suffer Trump’s wrath.

Jennings
https://twitter.com/i/status/1883668666853593325

Read more …

Only for Israel to take it over? Be very careful.

• Trump Suggests ‘Cleaning Out’ Gaza (RT)

US President Donald Trump has suggested that neighboring Arab countries should take in Palestinian refugees and “clean out” the embattled Gaza. Speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said he spoke to King Abdullah II of Jordan about the war and was planning to speak with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday. “I’d like Egypt to take people, and I’d like Jordan to take people,” Trump said. “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, we just clean out that whole thing. It’s a real mess.” “It’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there,” he added. “So, I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change,” Trump told reporters.

Both Egypt and Jordan have rejected the idea of displacing Palestinians from Gaza. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi affirmed on Sunday that the kingdom’s position against displacing Palestinians remains “irreversible and unchanged.” On Sunday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry also stressed its commitment to defending the rights of the Palestinians and its opposition to uprooting Gaza’s population. The Palestinian Authority released a statement saying it would reject any plans of displacement. “We emphasize that the Palestinian people will never abandon their land or their holy sites,” it said. Around 1.9 million people – more than 90% of Gaza’s population – have been displaced since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October 2023, according to the UN.

Although the sides agreed to a ceasefire on January 15, Israel has since accused Hamas of violating a prisoner swap arrangement and halted the return of Gazans to their home in the northern part of the enclave. Both sides have also accused each other of ceasefire violations. On Saturday, Hamas handed over four female Israeli soldiers in exchange for the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli government said Hamas had initially promised to release a different hostage. Hamas took around 250 hostages and killed around 1,200 people in a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. More than 47,00 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, according to the local authorities.

Read more …

Mayor Karen Bass epitomizes everything that’s wrong with California. That round table with Trump was a cringe fest.

• LA Will Reopen Pacific Palisades To Residents Starting Monday (ZH)

Two days after President Trump scolded Los Angeles for refusing to allow residents affected by the recent fires to return to their homes, Mayor Karen Bass announced that Pacific Palisades will be completely reopened to residents during daylight hours, starting Monday, Jan. 27. During a Friday roundtable, Bass told Trump that it was unsafe for residents to return. After residents at the meeting decried the slow response, Bass compromised – saying they could return “within a week.” Trump replied: “That’s a long time, a week. I’ll be honest, to me, everyone standing in front of their house, they want to go to work and they’re not allowed to do it. … They’re safe. They’re safe. You know what? They’re not safe. They’re not safe now. They’re going to be much safer. A week, a week is actually a long time the way I look at it.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1882963981695955143

Residents of the Palisades began trying to their homes and lots on Saturday – some of whom were able to talk their way past police, according to Breitbart’s Joel Pollak, a Palisades resident whose house was spared. Pollak has been reporting from the ground since the fires began. The county’s decision to allow residents to return on Monday came with a caveat; weather permitting, and only until 5:00 p.m., which will allow people to sift through the rubble for belongings, or grieve and make peace with their loss.

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Confusing but interesting.

• Trump Floats Eliminating Federal Income Tax ‘If The Tariffs Work Out’ (JTN)

President Trump said the U.S. could possibly eliminate the federal income tax if his tariff plans work out as intended. “If the tariffs work out like I think, a thing like that could happen, if you want to know the truth,” he said. “Years ago, 1870 to 1913, we didn’t have an income tax. What we had is tariffs.” Trump also said the additional IRS agents the Biden administration hired could potentially move to the border. “I think we’re going to move them to the border. You know, they’re allowed to carry guns,” he said. Trump touted his decision to designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. “Biden didn’t want to do that,” he said. “Biden didn’t know he was alive. He didn’t want to do it.”

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UK.

• Which Country Could Buy Greenland? (Sp.)

Under the terms of an agreement made over a century ago, Denmark would have to give the UK the right of first refusal if it ever decided to sell Greenland, noted Tom Hoyem, former Danish minister for Greenland (1982-1987), as cited by The Sunday Times. “If Trump tried to buy Greenland, he would have to ask London first,” Hoyem explained, adding: “The United Kingdom demanded in 1917 that if Greenland were to be sold, the UK would have the first right to buy it.”

Why is this the case?
1.Canada, a British dominion at the time, is just a few miles from Greenland, across the Nares Strait, Hoyem explained. Since 2022, Canada has even shared a land border with Greenland on the tiny island of Hans.
2.The 1917 agreement stemmed from negotiations surrounding the purchase of the Danish West Indies (now the US Virgin Islands) by the United States.
3.The US bought the islands from Denmark for $25 million.
4.As part of the deal, Denmark required the US to sign a letter stating that Greenland “is and will forever be Danish.” President Woodrow Wilson agreed.

Then-incoming US President Donald Trump said on January 7 that Greenland should become part of the US and emphasized its strategic importance for national security and protecting the “free world,” including from China and Russia. Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede said the island was not for sale. At the same time, Trump declined to pledge not to use military force to establish control over Greenland.

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“Trump, on Truth Social, said that his Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration..”

• Iran War Hawks Getting Wrecked In Trump Personnel Fight (Ryan Grim)

A major whisper campaign is underway, led by neoconservatives in Washington panicked at President Donald Trump’s elevation of a string of foreign policy advisers who have spoken out against war with Iran. The first whack to the wounded war-hawk wing came when Mike Pompeo was blocked from a position in the White House, followed yesterday by the stripping of his security detail. That followed similar snubs to John Bolton and Iran hawk Brian Hook, both of which lost their security and have been kept out of the administration. Hook’s firing was a comical display of Trumpian humiliation. Trump, on Truth Social, said that his Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again.

Jose Andres from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars, and Keisha Lance Bottoms from the President’s Export Council—YOU’RE FIRED! What’s so amusing about Trump’s description of Hook as a member of the “previous Administration,” and his being lumped in with Democrats and a hated figure like Milley, is that Hook was named by Trump in November to chair the State Department transition. Anti-war Republicans vowed at the time to make sure he never got a job himself in the second Trump administration and sources tell me that Trump fired him after learning about his long record of criticizing Trump and his bellicose war rhetoric. Now he’s out, and is privately leading the rearguard fight against Trump’s nominees.

Much of that fight is leaking out into the pages of the magazine Jewish Insider. If you followed the effort by AIPAC to shape Democratic primaries in 2022 and 2024 by blocking critics of Israel, you already know that JI was the place to go to learn where AIPAC would be spending money. Articles warned that pro-Israel groups were “alarmed” at the rise of this or that candidate, often for entirely innocuous statements—or sometimes for just being related to somebody they didn’t like.

The same playbook is being rolled out against Trump’s nominees. In an article headlined, “Rumored for a Trump posting, Elbridge Colby’s dovish views on Iran stand out,” JI warned that Colby “has notably opposed direct military action against Iran.” He got the posting anyway, and is now one of the top officials at the Pentagon. This week, Trump rolled out more than a dozen more top appointments, without a single neocon in the list, raising the alarm in JI again. JI panicked about Michael DiMino, who previously worked for the CIA and the Pentagon, and was named to be deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East. “Last year, [DiMino] dismissed Iran’s second ballistic missile attack on Israel as a ‘fairly moderate’ response and urged against bombing the Houthis in Yemen, instead calling for U.S. pressure on Israel to tamp down regional conflict,” JI warned.

The paper also expressed concern that Dan Caldwell, another conservative veteran skeptical of war with Iran, seemed to be playing a role in getting like-minded people into the Pentagon: “A leading opponent of traditional Republican foreign policy who advocates for a vastly reduced U.S. presence in the Middle East has been quietly involved in the transition process at the Defense Department, according to four people familiar with the matter, underscoring a distinct ideological shift in the Pentagon as President Donald Trump builds his new administration.”

The fight over Trump’s nominees is directly connected to the potential strength of the “ceasefire” in Gaza. Trump is expected to tap his Mideast envoy and real estate buddy Steve Witkoff, who browbeat Netanyahu into agreeing to the ceasefire, to negotiate with Iran. In order to get Saudi-Israel normalization and a nuclear deal with Iran, Trump needs the genocide in Gaza to end, which connects the three issues, and is why Israel is deeply hostile to Witkoff’s expanding portfolio. Trump created confusion about Witkoff’s growing role in comments to the press that JI eagerly but inaccurately reported as a rebuke of Witkoff.

Meanwhile, 11 Americans on a medical mission are being blocked by Israel from leaving northern Gaza despite having completed their scheduled mission. “This is not just about us–it’s about accountability,” Shehzad Batliwala, an ophthalmologist based in Dallas, told me. “The principle at stake is whether the Israeli military can arbitrarily detain U.S. citizens engaged in humanitarian work without even as much as giving a legitimate reason.” Two senior Trump officials, including Witkoff, have raised the issue with the Israeli government, according to sources involved. The team is on a mission with Rahma Worldwide, Dr. Batliwala said. “Many of us have critical responsibilities back home, including U.S. patients awaiting urgent care. For example, I have over 40 cataract surgeries scheduled next week.”

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“..if Trump 2 fails, “the American experiment will come to an end: bureaucratic rule will devour the constitutional order.”

• Are Trump and His Supporters Ready for a Fight to the Death? (PCR)

In recent articles I have emphasized that President Trump and his supporters are in a life and death fight with cultural marxists who are dedicated to America’s destruction and who are institutionalized in every American institution—media, universities, law schools, Democrat Party, feminists, DEI contractors and corporations, Wall Street as epitomized by Blackrock, and the bureaucracies of every cabinet department and every federal agency. Essentially, it is President Trump and a few appointees at war with the entirety of the US government and educational and media establishments. Trump has arrived at the fight late in the game when the long march through the institutions is essentially complete.

In an article in the current issue of the City Journal, “Counterrevolution Blueprint,” Christopher F. Rufo, describes the extent to which the US government is in the hands of the enemy. In the 2020 presidential election employees of the Justice (sic) Department, gave 86 percent of their political contributions to Democrats. Labor Department employees gave 88 percent to Democrats. Health and Human Services 92 percent, and Education Department employees gave 97 percent. Rufo reports that these one-sided political donations are mirrored by tech companies and universities, bastions of left-wing ideologies and activism.

To give you an idea of just how bad the situation is, the Treasury Department, the task of which is economic policy, financing the debt and raising revenue, during the Obama regime added a new bureaucracy, “The office for Minority and Women Inclusion,” that is totally outside the Treasury’s responsibilities. This office continued under Trump’s first term, Rufo reports, and proselytized “critical race theory as an operating ideology, hiring consultants to conduct training programs teaching Treasury employees that America is a nation of systemic racism with a 400-year history of racial terrorism” that continues today.

During the Biden regime another activist left-wing bureaucracy was created in the Treasury, an Equity Hub with a Counselor for Racial Equity. Janet Yellen, the Jewish Secretary of the Treasury, and Kamala Harris, the black Vice President, quickly announced a $8.7 billion fund for lending only to minority-owned businesses, a blatantly discriminatory policy in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 14th Amendment. You can imagine how many “minority-owned” firms were quickly created so that “deserving” people could be made millionaires by the US taxpayers. And you can rest assured that neither Yellen nor Harris were held accountable for violating law and the Constitution.

Not even this was enough. The Treasury forced federal contractors to implement DEI and monitored tax returns to make sure that tax-exempt donations to charities were racially balanced. Rufo describes the efforts of Nixon, Reagan, and Trump 1 to get the bureaucracy in compliance with the President’s policy. All failed. Nevertheless, Rufo has hope for Trump 2, and he sets out the necessary elements for taking back the President’s and the people’s power from a hostile civil service that is united against American values and are substituting the values of cultural marxism in their place. Rufo makes it clear that if Trump 2 fails, “the American experiment will come to an end: bureaucratic rule will devour the constitutional order.”

I certainly agree, having made many of these points myself. The question is: How realistic is it that Trump and a few appointees can subdue millions of people whose far-left ideology is guiding the US government and who not only despise Trump’s view of America but also hate Trump personally. It is impossible for Trump to achieve unity with ideologues supported by the Democrat Party who are totally opposed to his view of America. The competence and objectivity of the civil service, long under liberal attack, was finished off when the Clinton regime pushed the white male senior civil service into early retirement in order to “make room” for blacks and females. It was part of “affirmative action.” The DEI legions have been growing for decades. They are firm in their belief that white heterosexuals are racist, and they intend to finish the process started with discriminatory “affirmative action” to make normal white Americans second class citizens in law and position.

Insouciant whites have enabled their own suppression by turning over positions of power to their enemies. It remains to be seen whether this was a fatal mistake that has doomed a merit-based color-blind society. Where among critical race theorists and denouncers of Western–which means white–Civilization is there good will to which Trump can appeal? Democrat judges and a number of insouciant Republican ones will act to block Trump’s efforts. Trump has to be prepared to ride roughshod over them, their rulings be damned, just as they have ridden roughshod over the American people for decades. Trump cannot accept the rulings as anything but weaponized judicial statements no different than the weaponized law used against him, the January 6 protesters, and the right-to-life protesters.

Karl Marx said that good will was not an operative principle because each class acted only in its own interest. So what mediates between classes? Marx said that violence was the only effective force in history. Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot relied on violence. Formerly I disputed this view of the efficacy of violence, but just as we did not deal with Hitler based on good will, we cannot rely on goodwill when dealing with internal enemies who intend to destroy America with open borders and legal privileges based on race, gender, and sexual preference. As I am convinced that good will has played a role in effecting reforms, today perhaps I would modify Marx’s claim. I would substitute “effective” in place of “only.” Violence is an effective force in history. It seems that real change is impossible without it as the American Revolution exemplifies.

Today the clash is no longer between economic classes based on material interest. The clash is ideological. The America-is-evil forces are intent on replacing a color-blind merit-based society with a society based on race, gender, and sexual preference privilege. It is an ideological struggle like the one Lenin and Mao launched on Russian and Chinese societies. It is truly a fight to the death. If Trump loses, America loses as Rufo said.

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Shake it up.

• Trump Fires ‘Virtually Worthless’ Inspectors General, Warren Freaks Out (ZH)

President Donald Trump fired at least a dozen ‘independent’ watchdogs known as inspectors general, who oversee government agencies – prompting immediate shrieking from the usual suspects who insist that the move is illegal. The ousters are likely to be one of Trump’s first major court battles since taking office – with at least one of the fired inspectors general, Cardell Richardson Sr. of the State Department – telling staff he’ll ignore Trump and show up to work on Monday, arguing that the firings are illegal, Politico reports, citing an anonymous source. Other fired inspectors general include those at State, Agriculture, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Labor and Defense, the Small Business Administration, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The inspectors general at the Department of Justice, Office of Personnel Management, the Federal Communications Commission, the Export-Import Bank and the Department of Homeland Security remain in place, according to the person. The inspectors general were dismissed via emails from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, with no notice sent to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who have pledged bipartisan support for the watchdogs, in advance of the firings, the person said. The emails gave no substantive explanation for the dismissals, with at least one citing “changing priorities” for the move, the person added. -Politico. Speaking Saturday night aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters that he didn’t know the inspectors general who were fired, but that “some people thought that some were unfair, or some were not doing the job,” and that the firings were “a very common thing to do.”

When he was asked if he planned to install loyalists in their place, Trump said he didn’t “know anybody that would do that,” adding “We’ll put people in there that will be very good.”As the Epoch Times notes further, Hannibal Ware, the inspector general for the Small Business Administration (SBA) and chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), said in a Jan. 24 letter sent to Sergio Gor, director of presidential personnel at the White House, objecting to a series of dismissal emails Gor had sent to a number of inspector generals—including to Ware. “I am writing in response to your email sent to me and other Inspectors General earlier this evening wherein you informed each of us that ‘due to changing priorities, your position as Inspector General … is terminated, effective immediately,’” Ware wrote in the letter to Gor.

“At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed Inspectors General,” Ware wrote. Ware said that the Inspector General Act of 1978 requires the president to notify Congress at least 30 days in advance of dismissal of an inspector general and that “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for such terminations must be provided. Ware was confirmed to his role by the Senate in 2018. In 2024, President Joe Biden appointed Ware to also lead the Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. Ware’s eligibility to serve in the latter acting role, sans Senate confirmation, expired on Jan. 24. It’s unclear which inspectors general were told by the White House they are being fired.

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“..USAID in Ukraine has generally chosen to defy Rubio’s decree to issue “stop work” orders until it receives more clarification from Washington..”

• US Officials Pushing To Unfreeze Aid For Ukraine – FT (RT)

Several US diplomats have urged the State Department to make an exception for Ukraine-related programs after President Donald Trump ordered a sweeping suspension on foreign aid, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. Trump’s order potentially jeopardizes support for Ukrainian schools, hospitals, and infrastructure development, although military aid remains intact, according to the newspaper. Acting on behalf of the US president, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued instructions on Friday to suspend any new foreign aid expenditure for 90 days. Contracting and grant officers from the State Department and USAID were directed to “immediately issue stop-work orders… until such time as the secretary shall determine, following a review,” according to a leaked cable cited by the FT.

The newspaper claimed that by Saturday evening, several organizations in Ukraine had received orders to stop their operations until further notice. However, USAID in Ukraine has generally chosen to defy Rubio’s decree to issue “stop work” orders until it receives more clarification from Washington, the FT claimed. American diplomats campaigning for aid to Kiev to be unfrozen reportedly hope that they will be able to win Rubio over. “We do not know at this time whether this request will be approved — in whole or in part — but there are positive signals thus far out of Washington,” an email sent to USAID staff in Ukraine on Saturday said, according to the newspaper. The outlet claims that Rubio’s order endangers support for the development of Ukrainian infrastructure, energy, and economy projects, while not affecting American military assistance. The FT quotes an unnamed Ukrainian government official as saying that “military aid to Ukraine is intact. At least as of now, and it is certainly not part of this 90-day freeze.”

The pause in US foreign development aid was announced by President Trump on Monday, just hours after his inauguration. The freeze aims to review the effectiveness and alignment of aid with US foreign policy objectives. The only exceptions are military financing for Israel and Egypt, as well as foreign emergency food aid. Ukraine was not part of the list of exceptions. Since February 2022, the US has provided over $65 billion in military aid to Kiev, according to the State Department. However, Trump has been skeptical of the assistance, saying Ukraine has “had enough” and that it is time for a peace agreement to be reached with Russia. His team is reportedly aiming to end the conflict between Kiev and Moscow in 100 days, threatening Russia with more sanctions if it does not agree to negotiate. While Moscow remains skeptical about the timeline, it has signaled a willingness to engage in talks.

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Quite the loot.

• How Ukraine Lost Trillions-Worth of West-Coveted Natural Wealth (Sp.)

Senator Lindsey Graham revealed the true purpose of NATO’s proxy war against Russia last year, stating that the US “cannot afford” to let Moscow win in Ukraine, a country that is “sitting on $10-12 trillion worth of critical minerals.” The West’s hopes of getting its hands on Ukraine’s stocks of natural resources are fast dwindling. Besides lithium (LINK) , the corrupt Kiev regime has lost control over reserves of coal, gas, oil, and rare earth metals worth a total of about $12 trillion.

Rare Earth Elements in Ukraine:
Lithium: Critical for batteries in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.
Gallium: Vital for semiconductors and photovoltaic cells in solar panels.
Zirconium: Used in nuclear reactors, ceramics, and electronics.
Beryllium: Essential for aerospace, defense, and telecommunications.
Titanium: Used in aircraft construction, medical devices, and military applications.
Manganese: Necessary for steel production and batteries.
Scandium: Found in lightweight aluminum alloys, particularly for aerospace.

Key Deposits & Lost Control
• Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR): Rich in beryllium, manganese, titanium, other rare metals. Ukraine was cut off from these resources when the DPR and LPR joined Russia in 2022 after status referendums.
• Crimea: The peninsula holds deposits of iron ore, scandium, zirconium, gallium, and titanium. Crimea rejoined Russia after a referendum in March 2014.
• Zaporozhye & Kherson Regions: Host deposits of lithium, titanium, beryllium, uranium, manganese and tantalum. Both regions joined Russia in 2022.

Coal/Gas/Oil
• Coal: Essential for power generation and industrial processes like steelmaking, Ukraine has lost 80% of its reserves, including all high-grade anthracite, a key resource now under Russian control in the DPR and LPR.
• Gas: Critical for powering industries and heating systems, 20% of Ukraine’s natural gas deposits are now controlled by
• Oil: Used to generate energy as well as produce gasoline and diesel fuel, 11% of rich oil reserves (DPR, LPR) are now on Russian soil.

Foreign Players Still In The Game In Ukraine
• Canada’s Black Iron Inc., engaged in iron ore mining at the Shymanovskoye deposit, is reportedly seeking a $1.1 billion investment agreement with Kiev.
• NEQSOL Holding, a global investment company with operations across 11 countries, acquired Ukraine’s United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC) in 2024.
• Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron have longstanding production-sharing agreements with Ukraine for shale gas exploration.

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“Any contingent entering the territory of Ukraine without the consent and permission of Russia is a military target..”

• Unauthorized Peacekeepers In Ukraine Will Be Targeted – Russian Diplomat (RT)

Any Western peacekeepers deployed to Ukraine without Moscow’s approval would become legitimate military targets, senior Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik has said. The statement was made in response to EU Military Committee Chairman Robert Brieger’s interview on Saturday with Die Welt, in which the general suggested that a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict could be enforced by EU and international peacekeepers under a UN mandate. “Any contingent entering the territory of Ukraine without the consent and permission of Russia is a military target with quite understandable consequences,” Miroshnik wrote on Telegram on Sunday. “Why pretend? The attempts to invent ‘peacekeepers’ are not at all for establishing peace, but only attempts to use pseudo-humane methods to save [Ukrainian leader Vladimir] Zelensky’s Kiev regime from defeat?!” he said.

Zelensky insists that at least 200,000 European soldiers would need to be deployed to enforce a ceasefire between Kiev and Moscow. “From all the Europeans? 200,000, it’s a minimum. It’s a minimum, otherwise it’s nothing,” he said last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos. In addition, Zelensky ruled out acquiescing to one of Moscow’s key demands, cutting the country’s military to a fifth of its current strength. The subject of a Western peacekeeping force in Ukraine has resurfaced in recent weeks, as US President Donald Trump has vowed to push for a swift end to the conflict. Earlier in January, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer both made statements about potentially putting boots on the ground in Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force.

In January, Zelensky said he discussed the possibility with French President Emmanuel Macron, who floated the possibility of sending Western troops almost a year ago, prompting an outcry from other leaders. Moscow has rejected the idea of Western peacekeepers in Ukraine. Russia is “not satisfied” with proposals to postpone Ukraine’s NATO accession or “to introduce a peacekeeping contingent of ‘British and European forces’ into Ukraine,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said late last month. While Moscow is ready to resume peace talks with Kiev, it has stated that it will not allow a temporary freeze to the conflict, which would only serve to provide Ukraine breathing room to rearm.Any peace deal would have to be backed by “strong, legally binding agreements” addressing the root causes of the conflict, with mechanisms preventing violations of the agreements, Lavrov said. Moscow has insisted that Kiev must give up its ambitions to join NATO, demilitarize, denazify, and abandon plans to obtain nuclear weapons.

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“..there are no other [options]. All the rest will tilt the [situation] towards the West or the East. That is why they can only agree to Belarusian peacekeepers.”

• Belarusian Peacekeepers ‘Best Option’ For Ukraine – Lukashenko (RT)

The Belarusian military is best suited for potential peacekeeping duties in Ukraine, President Alexander Lukashenko told journalists on Sunday. Other nations could attempt to use the mandate to their own advantage, he has said at a press conference in Minsk. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky stated earlier that at least 200,000 “European peacekeepers” would be needed to uphold a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. Lukashenko argued that Belarusians would be the best fit. “If [it comes to that] in the name of trust and fairness, they don’t have anyone except the Belarusian army,” the president said.

“It doesn’t mean that I would deploy my army – 70,000 men – as peacekeepers,” Lukashenko said. “But there are no other [options]. All the rest will tilt the [the situation] towards the West or the East. That is why they can only agree to Belarusian peacekeepers.” Only Belarusians are capable of “securing normal relations” between Russia and Ukraine, Lukashenko claimed. He stressed, however, that he has no immediate plans of donating troops for a peacekeeping mission. Lukashenko acknowledged that there would be “serious debates” about the composition of the force, and it would be unlikely that Ukraine and its Western backers would agree to the participation of Belarus.

According to media reports, France and the UK are considering sending peacekeepers if a ceasefire is reached. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said earlier this month that he had “no doubt” his country would donate troops. In December, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that a peacekeeping mission could be discussed if negotiations are resumed. Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service has warned that the West could use peacekeepers to “occupy” Ukraine and buy time for a new conflict with Russia. Lukashenko was reelected for his seventh term in office on Sunday, receiving more than 80% of the vote, according to the Electoral Commission.

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“..humanity could be saved from a privatized, weaponized, and monopolized AI wiping us out.”

• China Drops Powerful AI Model That’s Free, Fast and Better for Humanity (Sp.)

The US and China are in an all-important race for AI supremacy, with America’s outspending of the PRC multiple times over and restrictions on the Asian nation’s ability to obtain sophisticated computing hardware seemingly having little impact.Advanced large language model DeepSeek R1 is taking users by storm, wowing reviewers and earning praise from AI-phobes. The Hangzhou-based tech startup’s new model beats OpenAI’s o1 on math and reasoning benchmarks, and blows Meta’s* Llama 3.1 and OpenAI’s GPT-40 out of the water in coding and complex problem-solving.The model is free to run locally, with access to its API priced at a fraction of competitors’ rates.The setup reportedly cost $5.6 million to train (vs $78 million for GPT-40), and uses performance-capped chips due to US restrictions, which also saw the use ban the delivery of more powerful processers to China.

Instead, DeepSeek R1 harnesses its power from superior compute efficiency. “We should take the developments out of China very, very seriously,” Microsoft CEO Stya Nadella said at the WEF’s annual meeting in Davos this week, days after DeepSeek’s latest model dropped. Piquing users’ curiosity is the way in which the tool generates responses, in a process nature.com dubbed “analogous to human reasoning,” and thus “more adept than earlier language models at solving scientific problems.” That’s great news for scientists engaged in data analysis, pattern recognition and predictive modeling across a broad array of fields, from astronomy and medicine to the earth sciences.

Best of All? It’s Actually ‘Open’. Unlike other commercially available models, which experts have dubbed “essentially black boxes,” DeepSeek R1 is open source, allowing users fearful of AI turning into Skynet on them to study how it works and even build on it. DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng told Chinese media last year that “research and technological innovation,” not profit, was the company’s priority, and that his ultimate goal is artificial general intelligence. If the mission succeeds and an open-source AGI is born, humanity could be saved from a privatized, weaponized, and monopolized AI wiping us out.

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Dizzying numbers.

• America’s Fiscal Doomsday Machine Must Be Stopped (David Stockman)

The following is Chapter One of David Stockman’s latest book, How To Cut $2 Trillion: A Blueprint From Ronald Reagan’s Budget Cutter To Musk, Ramaswamy and The DOGE Team. We encourage you to buy copies for your Senators and members of Congress and to share the Amazon link with as many influential voices as you can.

The DOGE $2 trillion budget savings goal is crucial to the very future of constitutional democracy and capitalist prosperity in America. In fact, the soaring public debt is now so out of control that the Federal budget threatens to become a self-fueling financial doomsday machine. Recall this sequence. When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 on a call to bring the nation’s inflationary budget under control, the public debt was $930 billion and about 30% of GDP. By the time Donald Trump was elected the first time it had erupted to $20 trillion, which has now become $36 trillion and 125% of GDP. Moreover, by the end of this decade the Federal fiscal equation will be going supercritical without sweeping budget reductions at the level of the DOGE target. Thus, by FY 2034 the annual baseline deficit according to CBO will total $2.9 trillion and 7% of GDP.

Yet even these enormous figures are based on a Rosy Scenario fairy tale. Namely, that Congress will never again adopt another spending increase or tax cut, including the impending $5 trillion extension of the expiring 2017 Trump tax cuts. It also conveniently assumes there will be no recessions, no inflation recurrence, no interest rate flare-ups nor any other economic crises for the remainder of this decade and forever thereafter. Furthermore, it presumes that these surging red ink totals and soaring debt service expenses would be copacetic in the bond pits just the same. That is, CBO inexplicably projects that 7% of GDP deficits and annual interest expense of $1.7 trillion or 4.1% of GDP by 2034 would be compatible with a weighted average yield on nearly $60 trillion of public debt of just 3.4%.

Yes, and if dogs could whistle the world would be a chorus! Give the average yield just another 250 basis points, however, and now you have $3.1 trillion of annual debt service expense and a $4 trillion annual deficit by 2034. In short, there is a doom-loop building inside the Federal fiscal equation and nothing short of the DOGE target of $2 trillion of annual budget savings by the end of this decade can reverse its explosive materialization in the years beyond. If sweeping budget retrenchment does not occur soon, in fact, soaring interest expense will ignite a veritable fiscal wildfire. On paper, the public debt would power upward unabated to $150 trillion or 166% of GDP by mid-century (2054) under CBO’s current Rosy Scenario projections. Of course, long before the debt actually hits this staggering figure, the whole system would implode. Every remnant of America as we now know it would go down the tubes.

So we need to be clear that the DOGE team of Musk and Ramaswamy must focus on savings of $2 trillion per year commencing relatively soon. That’s because the nation’s fiscal doomsday machine will be accumulating interest expense so fast as to make $2 trillion of savings spread over a longer period–such as a decade–little more than a rounding error. To wit, Federal interest expense has already passed the $1 trillion per year mark, will exceed $2 trillion per year in the early 2030s and would top $7.5 trillion per year at minimum by our calculations by mid-century. Stated differently, if something drastic is not done now – like a $2 trillion annual budget savings by the end of Donald Trump’s second term – America will be paying more interest on the public debt within 25 years than the entirety of today’s Federal budget.

That’s right: Debt service will exceed current outlays for Social Security, defense, Medicare, education, highways, the national parks, Head Start, interest, and the Washington Monument, too.Obviously, the sprawling Federal government and its prodigious expanse of spending and debt literally defies easy comprehension and graspable solutions. After all, the current annual budget of $7 trillion amounts to Federal spending of nearly $20 billion per day and $830 million per hour. And when you talk about the 10-year budget outlook, comprehension literally fades away completely: The current CBO spending baseline for 2025-2034 amounts to $85 trillion or just shy of the annual GDP of the entirety of planet Earth this year.

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Start handing out compensations.

• No Evidence Closing Schools Materially Reduced Covid Transmission (Turley)

For years, scientists and commentators who questioned COVID policies were censored, blacklisted, and canceled across the country. Many of these dissenting views have since been vindicated from the lab origins theory to the lack of efficacy of surgical masks to the opposition to the closure of schools. Now, a new study in the Journal of Infection further undermines the once orthodox views of the pandemic, concluding that “reopening schools did not change the existing trajectory of COVID-19 rates.” In other words, we shut down our schools, without any demonstrable benefit to the country. We did, however, succeed in reducing free speech in the name of combating “disinformation.”

The report is based on one of the comprehensive studies to date on the pandemic: “Data were extracted from government websites. Cases and COVID-19 hospitalization and death incidence rates were calculated during the Delta and early Omicron periods in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland and the United Kingdom, for two weeks preceding and six weeks after schools reopened. We summarized stringency of public health measures (GRI), COVID-19 vaccination rates by age and SARS-CoV-2 testing rates.” In comparing these different countries, the scientists found no significant differences in reported cases: “No consistent patterns in cases, hospitalizations or deaths despite school re-openings or changes to public health measures,” The suppression of the lab theory and the targeting of dissenting scientists show the true cost of censorship and viewpoint intolerance.

The very figures claiming to battle “disinformation” were suppressing opposing views that have now been vindicated as credible. It was not only the lab theory. In my recent book, I discuss how signatories of the Great Barrington Declaration were fired or disciplined by their schools or associations for questioning COVID-19 policies. Some experts questioned the efficacy of surgical masks, the scientific support for the six-foot rule and the necessity of shutting down schools. The government has now admitted that many of these objections were valid and that it did not have hard science to support some of the policies. While other allies in the West did not shut down their schools, we never had any substantive debate due to the efforts of this alliance of academic, media and government figures.

Not only did millions die from the pandemic, but the United States is still struggling with the educational and mental health consequences of shutting down all our public schools. That is the true cost of censorship when the government works with the media to stifle scientific debate and public disclosures. Many still hope that Congress and the incoming Trump administration will conduct a long-needed investigation into the origins to allow for a more credible and open debate. That hope was increased by the nomination of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, one of the organizers of the Great Barrington Declaration, to be the next head of the National Institutes of Health. One of the most lasting costs was born by our children who have shown both educational and psychological harm from the shutting down of schools. The study confirms what dissenters said all along: there is no evidence that this was necessary or had any benefit to society:

“Our findings show that there were no consistent patterns to case, hospitalisation or death rates in each country or jurisdiction, irrespective of whether schools were open for onsite learning or changes to PHSM. School closures were adopted by many countries as part of a suite of PHSM but in the future should only be implemented where there is strong evidence of effectiveness. Predesigned and approved study protocols, along with scenario-based planning for schools are needed to prepare for the next pandemic. The negative consequences on child health and development are profound, so understanding the role of schools in SARS-CoV-2 transmission should be a priority for pandemic preparedness and response.”

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Not the biggest US fan.

• The Great American Show (Pacini)

We did it. The world has passed another American presidential inauguration. We are all still alive, protocol was carried out to perfection, and the people received their 12 hours of glory. Panem et circenses, as the ancient Latins teach, never fails. Only those who are necessary and useful are invited to Trump’s inauguration, while those who were not strictly necessary were left out.

There was the elite of the new Big Tech, those who have revamped American liberal-capitalism by taking it to a new level, trendier and more glamorous, but above all more popular, reshaping the cultural profiles of at least two generations; there were the tycoons of the big U.S. corporations and beyond, the most unrestrained tycoons, those who have no problem calling themselves “philanthropists” while giving starvation salaries to their employees whose jobs they cut with an AI while they are comfortably at the beach on their yacht; there were the leaders of the most bizarre religions (or something like that), who devoutly renewed their vote to the politician with the biggest wallet, except for the rabbis who are the only ones who received devotion from both outgoing Joe Biden and incoming Donald Trump; there were the women who paraded and released smiles to the press, those women who are considered great and important because they stand next to a powerful man; there were even guests from abroad, not to be missed.

A full day-long ceremony, just about as long as it takes to brainwash Americans four years. Everyone tries to understand the rationale for inviting people to the ceremony or, conversely, the lack thereof. And indeed there were curious presences and even more significant absences. There was no Paladin Zelensky, who pretends that he himself decided not to go, but will have to deal with Trump’s repeated statements about de-powering the war campaign in Ukraine. Also absent was German Chancellor Scholz, who said he thought it was normal not to be invited to the inauguration because the ambassadors were there anyway. The British Crown was not there, a signal we will have to remember very soon.

But at the same time, there were people like maid Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the Woman of the Year, awarded by the Atlantic Council directly from Elon Musk. She is in charge of guaranteeing the U.S. a new war economy, raising military spending to 2 percent of GDP, guaranteeing money and weapons to the Ukrainian front and, soon, men to be slaughtered in the trenches. She is in charge of securing access to the Mediterranean, for trade from the Middle East and Africa, as well as militarily controlling the expansion of Russia and China in the great southern continent. She is also the one who is to be the guarantor in the restructuring of Europe politically, ready to serve Washington as her predecessors taught her, from Giorgio Almirante onward. If she does her job well, she will stay where she is; if something goes wrong, her chair will jump.

There was also the insane Argentine President Javier Miley, who no doubt is in line with Trump both in terms of dastardly tax and labor policies and the Zionist struggle. That Miley who will be crucial to U.S. expansionist aims in South America, perhaps even more so than Lula, who, on the other hand, is too much of a free hitter for American tastes. Even the Chinese were there, from that China that Trump does not like but is comfortable doing business with and cannot be missed if the dollar is to survive, with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in attendance. Symbolically, the Ceo of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, was also present, because the U.S. knows how to use the infowarfare game, especially when elections in various countries are in sight. There were the FANG overlords – Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google – with all their boundless wealth of global control and manipulation, ready to change their corporate policies upon the arrival of the Potus. The logic of the whole process is simple: only those who are necessary and can be useful to the United States were invited.

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Wuhan

 

 

Seal

 

 

Cheetah

 

 

Prom
https://twitter.com/i/status/1883464234430087591

 

 

Rhino
https://twitter.com/i/status/1883420888210735152

 

 

Snake

 

 

Voila

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Rattle January 25 2025

Jan 252025
 
 January 25, 2025  Posted by at 11:00 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  65 Responses »


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.

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Oil

 

 

Big tiger

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

Polar bear

 

 

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