Vincent van Gogh Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Café du Tambourin 1887
RFK NATO
RFK Jr: The war in Ukraine is a money laundering scheme for BlackRock.
"They're doing this right in front of us. They don't even care that we know anymore, because… they have a strategy."
"And that strategy is an old, old strategy, which is they keep us at war with each… pic.twitter.com/93air2X21K
— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) February 16, 2025
Kudlow
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 15, 2025
Speaker
What @ElonMusk is doing is truly revolutionary. As the DOGE algorithms find widespread fraud, waste, and abuse in the executive branch agencies that have been hidden from Congress for decades—it will allow us to restore the original intent of our Constitution: a leaner, more… pic.twitter.com/917mn60MCX
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) February 16, 2025
DOGE
Trump on DOGE: “We literally started off with 14 or 15 young geniuses. Now we have 100 young geniuses. And what’s happened…People are calling up from all over the country wanting to help Elon Musk.” pic.twitter.com/OMM89hoRn1
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) February 15, 2025
Mearsheimer
John Mearsheimer doesn't mince words:
America wields the real power, while Europe is little more than a puppet.
Washington dominates NATO, dictating terms because it bankrolls Europe's defense. Militarily, Europe is a joke, irrelevant in the eyes of Russia.
In the grand scheme,… pic.twitter.com/LwqINma4Jx— Richard (@ricwe123) February 16, 2025
1993-2025
Bill Clinton 1993: "The White House runs on Jimmy Carter's phone system, Lyndon Johnson's switchboard, and a procurement system that'd break Einstein's brain."
Elon Musk 2025: "Federal retirement is slowed down by moving manual paperwork down a 1950s limestone mine elevator."… pic.twitter.com/N8D5sqYfPu
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) February 16, 2025
The big word is out.
• Trump Says Russia Isn’t A Threat To NATO (RT)
US President Donald Trump has dismissed Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants a temporary pause in the conflict with Kiev to regroup and launch a full-scale war against NATO. Moscow has repeatedly ruled out any short-term truce, insisting on a permanent, legally binding agreement that addresses the root causes of the Ukraine conflict. However, Zelensky has insisted that he knows “for sure” that Putin wants a brief pause to “prepare, train, take off some sanctions” before launching an attack not only on Ukraine but also on NATO states. “It can happen in summer, maybe in the beginning, maybe in the end of summer. I don’t know when he prepares it, but it will happen,” Zelensky said in an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press on Saturday.
Trump, however, has brushed aside Zelensky’s warning, telling reporters on Sunday that he does not agree with the Ukrainian leader’s assessment at all. “No, I don’t agree. Not even a little bit,” Trump said, adding that he believes what Putin truly wants for his country is to “stop fighting.” “They’ve been fighting for a long time. They’ve done it before… They have a big, powerful machine. They defeated Hitler and they defeated Napoleon,” Trump added. “But I think he would like to stop fighting.” Trump also said he expects to meet Putin in person “very soon,” following their “long and hard” phone conversation last week, which was their first known direct interaction since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. He also called Zelensky to “inform” him of the discussion, during which the Ukrainian leader allegedly reaffirmed that Kiev is also prepared to seek a resolution to the conflict.
Russia will need to take Ukraine’s lack of independence into account in any future negotiations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday, recalling the failed 2014-2015 Minsk agreements. Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg, also pointed to the collapse of the two prior arrangements, stating, “We are not gonna go down that path.” NATO has long described Russia as a direct threat in order to justify the bloc’s existence after the fall of the Soviet Union, and Western officials have repeatedly claimed that if Moscow wins the Ukraine conflict, it could attack other European countries.
Putin has dismissed the idea of a Russian attack on NATO as “nonsense,” telling US journalist Tucker Carlson last February that the bloc’s leaders are trying to scare their people with an imaginary threat, but that “smart people understand perfectly well that this is a fake.” Moscow has consistently opposed Ukraine’s NATO aspirations, citing the bloc’s eastward expansion as a threat to national security and describing it as a key factor behind the ongoing conflict with Kiev. Zelensky claimed at the Munich Security Conference that “right now the most influential member of NATO seems to be Putin because he seems able to block NATO decisions.” Trump has indicated that Washington will not support Kiev’s accession as part of a potential peace deal with Moscow, while his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, described Ukraine’s NATO ambitions as “unrealistic.”
False flag time?
• Trump Wants Ukraine Ceasefire By Easter (RT)
The administration of US President Donald Trump is pushing for a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict by April 20, Bloomberg wrote on Sunday, citing anonymous sources. A US peace plan could be forthcoming within weeks or even days, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy on Russia and Ukraine, said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. ”The Trump administration has told European officials that it wants to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine by Easter,” Bloomberg said, citing sources briefed on the talks. According to the outlet, some European officials felt the pace of the negotiations was ambitious and possibly unrealistic. Talks are reportedly set to kick off with a meeting of Russian and US representatives in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
Europe will not be given a place in the negotiations, Kellogg told top European diplomats on Saturday. Despite this, UK and EU officials fear the US expects them to shoulder the burden of Ukraine’s post-war security, Financial Times wrote on Thursday. The envoy justified the exclusion of Europe, citing the legacy of the Minsk-2 agreement between Ukraine and now Russian Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics in 2015. Germany and France stood as guarantors to the failed accord, which then German chancellor Angela Merkel later admitted was just meant to buy Kiev time to strengthen itself. “When you looked at Minsk-2, there was a lot of people at the table that really had no ability to execute some type of peace process, and it failed miserably. So we are not gonna go down that path,” Kellogg said.
Moscow has similarly underscored that it will not accept a temporary freeze of hostilities, like the Minsk accords, and insists on a permanent solution that addresses the fundamental causes of the conflict. Just days prior, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump held a phone conversation in the first such interaction since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. The two leaders could meet in Saudi Arabia by the end of this month, Newsweek wrote on Sunday, citing reports. Putin has previously stressed that Moscow has never shied away from peace talks, but emphasized that they have to be based on terms previously agreed in Istanbul in 2022, modified for the territorial “realities on the ground.” Russia has demanded that Ukraine embrace neutrality, demilitarize, denazify and remain free of nuclear weapons, among other points.
I’m [from] a school of realism,” Kellogg said, regarding Europe having a seat at the table during negotiations. “I think that’s not going to happen.”
• Europe & Zelensky Throw Tantrum After US Sidelines Them From Russia Talks (ZH)
Europe will not be included in peace talks for Ukraine, President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy said on Feb. 15 after sending a questionnaire to European capitals asking what they could offer in security guarantees for Kyiv. As The Epoch Times’ Jacob Burg reports, on Sunday, France said it will host a summit of European leaders on Monday to discuss the Russia–Ukraine war and European security after retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, didn’t include Europe in negotiations over Ukraine’s future following years of war with Russia. France President Emmanuel Macron “will convene the main European countries to discuss European security,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio. Barrot described the meeting as a working session and emphasized it should not be “overdramatized.” The office of the French presidency has not yet announced the meeting.
Macron has invited at least Britain, Germany, Poland, Italy, and Denmark, representing the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, the European Union leadership, and the NATO secretary general, according to six European diplomats. They said the purpose of the meeting is to discuss what immediate help can be given to Ukraine and the role Europe can play in providing both security guarantees to Kyiv and Europe at large. Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin last week before consulting European or Ukrainian leaders, saying peace talks had begun. The Trump administration is pushing European allies in NATO to take a primary role in security guarantees for the region as the United States prioritizes border security and counters Chinese political and military influence.
At a global security conference in Munich, Kellogg said the United States would act as an intermediary in talks between Ukraine and Russia. “I’m [from] a school of realism,” Kellogg said, regarding Europe having a seat at the table during negotiations. “I think that’s not going to happen.” In trying to reassure Europeans, Kellogg said it doesn’t mean “their interests are not considered, used, or developed.” Some European leaders pushed back on being sidelined for talks. “There’s no way in which we can have discussions or negotiations about Ukraine, Ukraine’s future or European security structure, without Europeans,” Finland’s President Alexander Stubb told reporters in Munich. “But this means that Europe needs to get its act together. Europe needs to talk less and do more.”
The questionnaire Kellogg sent to Europeans “will force Europeans to think,” Stubb said. Kaja Kallas, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, was more explicit stating that “if somebody agrees something and I mean, everybody else says ‘okay fine!’ you have agreed, but we will not follow this!” She added that EU’s position is “our importance” trumps any peace! NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged Europeans to get involved.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891086302222618790
“And to my European friends, I would say, get into the debate, not by complaining that you might, yes or no, be at the table, but by coming up with concrete proposals, ideas, ramp up [defense] spending,” he said. Kellogg said that territorial concessions from Russia and targeting its oil revenues could be included in the talks over ending the war between it and Ukraine. “Russia is really a petro-state,” he said, adding that the West needs to do more in adequately enforcing sanctions against Russia. U.S. and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days for continued peace talks, according to Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). After meeting with Vice President JD Vance in Germany on Feb. 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his nation was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia and that Kyiv would consult with strategic partners before engaging with Russia.
“This is the war in Ukraine against us, and it is our human losses,” President Zelensky told Meet The Press this morning. “We are thankful for all the support, unity in the USA around Ukraine support, bipartisan unity, bipartisan support,” adding that “we are thankful for all of this, but there is no leader in the world who can really make a deal with Putin without us, about us.” “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never,” he exclaimed. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and White House Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia, McCaul said. The talks are meant to arrange a meeting between Trump, Putin, and Zelensky to “finally bring peace and end this conflict,” he said.
“I told Trump that Putin [is] afraid of him. Yes. And he heard me. And now Putin knows,” says President Zelensky. pic.twitter.com/K2VNmDgXPq
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) February 15, 2025
“Zelensky is probably trying to figure out an exit route, among other things..” [..] “I think he wouldn’t be elected, obviously.”
• Zelensky Is In A Very Bad Position – Tara Reade (RT)
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky is far from being in a winning position at the moment, RT contributor Tara Reade has said. The former aide to Joe Biden specified that Washington is no longer fighting a proxy war against Russia via Kiev, making the Ukrainian leader useless to both the EU and the US. The comment comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with his US counterpart Donald Trump on Wednesday, the first known contact between the heads of state of the two nations since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. “Zelensky is probably trying to figure out an exit route, among other things,” Reade said, adding that running for president again was not an option for the former comedian. “I think he wouldn’t be elected, obviously.”
The Ukrainian leader’s presidential term expired in May 2024, but he has refused to hold elections, citing martial law. Trump has also acknowledged that Kiev will eventually have to hold elections and noted that Zelensky might not serve another term, saying his domestic poll numbers “aren’t particularly great, to put it mildly.” “He’s basically sacrificed a generation of men for what? To give rare earth minerals to the US? To give 22% of the lands to Russia?” Reade said, emphasizing that Zelensky was “in a very bad position.” The comment refers to recent statements made by Trump, who demanded the “equivalent of $500 billion worth of rare earths” from Kiev in exchange for what the president estimated to be “more than $300 billion” Washington had provided in aid since the escalation of the conflict with Moscow.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented Trump’s proposal to Zelensky during their meeting in Kiev earlier this week. According to multiple media reports, the deal outlines that Washington would receive a 50% stake in Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as compensation for the American aid. On Saturday, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the negotiations, that Ukraine had rejected the bid, citing the lack of security guarantees. According to Ukraine’s Institute of Geology, the country’s deposits include lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, erbium and yttrium. However, Zelensky recently admitted that a large chunk of Ukraine’s mineral-rich territories, some 20%, is currently under Russian control.
NBC reported on Saturday, citing unnamed officials, that the White House could send troops to guard Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. The deployment of military forces could reportedly come after Russia and Ukraine reached a deal to end the ongoing conflict. Reade said the reported troop deployment is unlikely. “There’s a will for there to be a different relationship with Russia.” She highlighted that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said definitively “that there would be no US troops in Ukraine” and “US involvement in providing money and weapons was going to end.”
❗️Zelensky: "Ok if the US has stopped giving us money at least give us $250 BILLION."
😂You just literally watched a 14 second video of a desperate junkie coming down off cocaine and asking for tick. Literally.
@AussieCossack pic.twitter.com/wfenFBUj7b
— Zlatti71 (@Zlatti_71) February 15, 2025
“..I’m not talking six months, I’m talking days and weeks..”
• Trump Envoy Sets Timeline For Ukraine Peace Plan (RT)
A US peace plan for Moscow and Kiev could come within days or weeks, President Donald Trump’s special envoy on Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. In January, the WSJ reported that Trump had tasked Kellogg with outlining a settlement to the Ukraine conflict within 100 days. At the same time, the US president warned of new sanctions if Moscow refused an unspecified plan, but emphasized that he was “not looking to hurt Russia.” “You got to give us a bit of breathing space and time, but when I say that, I’m not talking six months, I’m talking days and weeks,” Kellogg projected as cited by CNBC, adding that he was “on Trump time.” “He’ll ask you to do this job today and he’ll want to know tomorrow why it isn’t solved,” Kellogg emphasized.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with his US counterpart, marking their first known high-level direct contact between Moscow and Washington since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. According to the Kremlin, the US leader expressed support for the swift cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution, while Putin mentioned the necessity of addressing the root causes of the conflict, but that a long-term settlement could be achieved through negotiations. Following the conversation, Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social that Washington and Moscow were immediately beginning discussions to resolve the conflict. Trump also said that American and Russian officials might meet during the conference in Munich, adding that Ukraine was also invited to participate. However, no such meeting was reported by the conference organizers or news outlets.
This is beyond insane: Keith Kellog, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, confirms that Europe will NOT have a seat at the table in the negotiations to end the war.
When asked at the Munich Security Conference “Can you assure this audience that Ukrainians will be at the… pic.twitter.com/471t8tCQNM
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) February 16, 2025
Russia’s been very clear.
• Trump’s Envoy Signals Possible Ukraine Concessions (RT)
Territorial concessions may be part of future peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy on Russia and Ukraine has suggested. Speaking on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, Keith Kellogg emphasized that while some things are off the table, compromise could play a role in the negotiations.“Some of [the concessions] are unrealistic to expect where you’d want to go to, but it’s territorial. It could be the engagement of refusing to use force, renouncement of the use of force into the future,” Kellogg said. He added that both Russia and Ukraine might have to make concessions during talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously indicated that Moscow would be open to an immediate ceasefire and peace talks if Ukraine withdrew its troops from the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions, which formally joined Russia following referendums in 2022.
However, in August 2024, Putin dismissed negotiations, citing the Ukrainian military presence in Russia’s Kursk Region. Kellogg also mentioned the necessity of “breaking alliances” between Russia and North Korea, Iran, and China, which he claims have strengthened over the past four years. Earlier this week, Putin spoke by phone with Trump, marking the first known high-level direct contact between Moscow and Washington since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.
According to the Kremlin, Trump expressed support for the swift cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution, while Putin mentioned a need to address the root causes of the conflict, agreeing that a long-term settlement could be achieved through negotiations. Following the conversation, the US President wrote on his platform Truth Social that Washington and Moscow were immediately beginning discussions to end the fighting. Russia has yet to confirm any details, but according to multiple media reports, a US delegation – likely composed of national security officials – will travel to Saudi Arabia in the coming days for talks with their counterparts from Moscow. Trump also said that American and Russian officials might meet during the conference in Munich, adding that Ukraine was also invited to participate. However, no such meeting was reported by the conference organizers or news outlets.
Kellogg
🇺🇸🇷🇺 Kellogg reveals that they will attempt to pressure Putin into breaking alliances with North Korea, China, and Iran as part of a Ukraine deal. pic.twitter.com/weXkmHQIwu
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) February 15, 2025
“That country cannot really answer for its words..”
• Ukraine Lacks Sovereignty – Kremlin (RT)
Russia will need to take Ukraine’s lack of independence into account in any future negotiations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Given that in the past, Kiev backtracked on its promises at the behest of other countries, Moscow will need to consider this lack of autonomy in any upcoming talks, Peskov said in an interview published by Russia 1 TV journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday. “That country cannot really answer for its words,” the spokesman said. “Each time it is necessary to make a certain adjustment when negotiating with them, for their deficit of sovereignty and the deficit of trust in them. Which will not go anywhere,” Peskov added.
The Kremlin spokesman cited the ill-fated 2014-2015 Minsk Agreements and the failed negotiations Moscow and Kiev held in Istanbul in 2022, soon after the full-blown escalation of the Ukraine conflict. The Minsk ceasefire, which was ostensibly intended to freeze the conflict between Kiev and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, was in fact only “an attempt to give Ukraine time” to build strength, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted to Die Zeit in 2022. “Ukraine would have been whole,” if the Minsk agreements had been followed, “and there would have been no civil war, and Russian people in the Donbass would have had no desire to separate from Ukraine,” Peskov claimed. Similarly, Moscow and Kiev had already agreed on several points during the initial peace talks in Istanbul in 2022, the spokesman added.
“The [papers] were ready, they were ready to be signed. Then another side said, no, you can’t. And they were thrown out,” he said. According to Ukrainian MP David Arakhamia, who was Kiev’s chief negotiator at the talks, then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson came in person to demand that nothing be signed and that Ukraine continue fighting. Moscow has ruled out any temporary solution akin to the Minsk agreements, insisting on a permanent, legally binding solution that addresses the core causes of the conflict. Any such settlement would need to be based on the points previously agreed upon in Istanbul, adjusted for the territorial “realities on the ground,” Russia has stated.
“Democratic procedures in many EU countries have become window dressing. They have long been forgotten..”
• Russian Duma Speaker Predicts ‘Serious Changes’ For EU, Its Institutions (TASS)
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the Munich Security Conference suggested that the EU and its international institutions are in for serious changes. “Analyzing what happened in Munich, we can say with certainty: There are serious changes in store for the EU and its international institutions, including parliamentary ones,” he wrote on Telegram. “They will be difficult and painful.” According to Volodin, US Vice President JD Vance gave an accurate assessment of the situation in European countries at the conference. “He was not supported. Conference participants were not ready to hear the truth about themselves,” the lawmaker said.
The Duma speaker also said the institution of democracy in the EU was in a poor state. “Democratic procedures in many EU countries have become window dressing. They have long been forgotten and ignored in pan-European structures,” he said. “Therefore, the healthy forces that want to meet the public demand for the renewal of power will wage an uphill battle. They will face all kinds of hurdles meant to prevent them from going through the election procedure. Just like it happened in Romania during the presidential campaign. Or in France and Germany, when undesirable political parties won. But change is inevitable,” Volodin said.
“..the delivery of German tanks to Ukraine, which are now “being used against Russia for the first time since the Second World War,” shows that the German government has completely forgotten history.”
• AfD Candidate For German Chancellor Seeks End To Russia Sanctions (TASS)
Alice Weidel, a candidate for German chancellor from the Alternative for Germany, accused the government of stoking tensions with Russia over the recent three years with such moves as supplying arms to Ukraine, according to Bild. “What has the German government been doing with regard to Russia for the last three years? We have been intensifying the escalation spiral. We have opposed Russia verbally, financially and even with arms deliveries,” she said in an interview with the newspaper. According to the politician, the delivery of German tanks to Ukraine, which are now “being used against Russia for the first time since the Second World War,” shows that the German government has completely forgotten history.
Weidel also called for talks on the settlement of the Ukraine conflict to start swiftly and urged an end to the sanctions policy, which is crippling German economy. Germany is the second-largest arms supplier to Ukraine after the US. According to German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit, Germany has provided 44 billion euros in various assistance to Ukraine since the start of the conflict. In the 2025 budget proposal, the country allocated 4 billion euros for the support, half the amount it spent this year. However, the Bundestag has yet to greenlight the budget proposal.
For Scholz et el, that’s like meeting with the devil..
• Vance Meets Leader Of ‘Firewalled’ German AfD Party Backed By Musk (RT)
US Vice President J.D. Vance met with Alice Weidel, the leader of Germany’s ‘firewalled’ Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, on Friday. Vance was in the country to attend the annual Munich Security Conference. Their meeting reportedly lasted about half an hour and focused on the Ukraine conflict, German domestic policies, and freedom of speech, including the so-called ‘Brandmauer’, or “firewall against the right.” The term refers to a stance embraced by mainstream German parties that aims to prevent the right-wing powers from joining ruling coalitions in the country. News of the meeting came after Vance slammed European politicians for “fearing” their own voters by refusing to engage with right-wing parties in a speech on Friday. While he did not mention the AfD directly, he said European governments should drop “firewalls” and “embrace” public opinion or lose the right to be called democratic.
Vance referred to the recent endorsement of Weidel for German chancellor by Elon Musk, a close ally to US President Donald Trump, whose online presence at an AfD rally in Halle last month resulted in accusations of election interference from the German government. The vice president dismissed the allegations, painting Musk’s endorsement as an example of free speech, a core democratic value. He chided the European establishment for criticizing Musk, and said he feared free speech was “in retreat” across the continent.
The AfD denies being far-right, insisting that it promotes the interests of the German people with its anti-immigration stance. It has, however, been put under surveillance for suspected extremism by German intelligence. Despite the allegations, public support for the party has been growing, and it is currently polling in second place ahead of the German parliamentary election on February 23, with 21% of the public saying they support it. Weidel did not comment on her meeting with Vance, but praised his remarks in Munich in a post on X, saying they were “excellent” and applauding his comment regarding firewalls.
According to Reuters, citing Vance’s office, he met with leaders of all of Germany’s major political parties while in Munich, including Friedrich Merz, the head of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which is currently leading in the polls. After meeting with Vance, Merz said in a post on X that he and the vice president “reaffirmed the special importance of transatlantic relations.” However, he later described Vance’s speech in Munich as “little short of interference.” Other German politicians have also criticized Vance for his remarks targeting their policies, with incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz posting on X that “the extreme right should be out of political decision-making processes” in Germany and stating that Vance had no right to give the country advice on the issue.
“..we’re here 80 years after the rejection of the Morgenthau Plan and the German people, or the German leadership, have essentially updated it and inflicted it on themselves willingly..”
• Germany Is Self-Imploding (Victor Davis Hanson)
Hi, I’m Victor Davis Hanson, today I’d like to talk about the crisis facing Europe, specifically its self-implosion across the spectrum—energy, population, fertility, defense. Germany, for example, has been systematically shutting down its nuclear plants and, for a while, its natural gas electrical generation plants. It’s relying, believe it or not, more on oil and coal. But the net result of all of this deliberate turn to wind and solar, at the expense of fossil fuels and nuclear, is that it costs about four times more to use electricity in Germany than it does on average throughout the United States. That’s not the only problem. Germany is deindustrializing. And by that I mean it’s losing about 200,000 jobs in its auto industry due to these high energy prices and regulations. Its green mandates, especially electric vehicle mandates, have revolutionized the car industry, in the sense that they’re not selling abroad as they did in the past.
In addition to that, Germany’s disarmed. They only have about 125 attack aircraft. They have very few armored vehicles. Their active military is only about 180,000 soldiers. They have 84 million people in the country. The fertility rate is getting very close to 1.4. I know we have problems here in the United States at 1.6, but 1.4. And they don’t have borders. They have had a million to 2 million illegal aliens just prance into Germany, especially during the last years of the Merkel chancellorship. In terms of percentage of foreign-born, Germany has more foreign-born than does the United States, which doesn’t have a border in the south, at least until Donald Trump comes in. Twenty percent of the German population is foreign-born. Why am I mentioning all of this?
Because Germany represents the powerhouse, traditionally, of the European economy, and even culture, and it’s starting to implode. The euro, the benchmark of European financial health, is about, right now as I speak at the end of December, one dollar to one euro, and sometimes even less for the euro. That’s very strange because when I used to run a travel company to go to Europe—I remember in 2008, the euro was 1.6, almost 1.7 per the dollar. So what’s happening is that Germany is, I guess we would call it, undertaking a slow-motion suicide. But here’s the irony. In September 1944, at the height of World War II, the secretary of the treasury under the Roosevelt administration, Henry Morgenthau, had a plan for postwar Germany when it was defeated.
He didn’t want another war—the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, World War I, World War II. He said, “Enough.” So what did he do? He submitted a plan that was going to deindustrialize Germany, depopulate Germany, change its borders. It was almost as if he was trying to turn it into something like Tacitus’ description of first-century A.D. Germany, as a pastoral, agrarian society. In fact, he explicitly said that. When Joseph Goebbels heard about this, he said, “Oh my God, this is a gift. We’re losing the war. We’ll tell all of the German people they want us to be permanently pastoral. We’ll starve to death. And even if they don’t like the Nazis, as we’ve destroyed the country, you’re losing more, they’ll fight.”
Thankfully, George Marshall, chief of staff of the Army; ex-President Herbert Hoover; and others went to the Roosevelt administration and said, “If you institute this plan, they’re going to fight to the death. And we have bombed Germany. So when we get into Germany, you’ll see that it’s almost depopulated now.”The net result was they canceled the Morgenthau Plan that would have permanently made Germany depopulated, disarmed, deindustrialized. What’s my point in bringing up this historical example? We the victors of World War II thought imposing a plan of deliberate deindustrialization, depopulization, disarmament, open borders, destroyed borders would be too Carthaginian, and so we backed off. And now we’re here 80 years after the rejection of the Morgenthau Plan and the German people, or the German leadership, have essentially updated it and inflicted it on themselves willingly, not by coercion. That’s a tragic irony and it’s something we should all take a very close look at.
Trump has a much more acute sense of presidential time and how limited it is and how you need to use it quickly or you don’t maximize its value..”
• From Rockefeller to Musk: How CEOs and Presidents Shape America (Bluey)
One of America’s most successful businessmen is closely collaborating with the country’s commander-in-chief—with huge consequences for our government and economy. Elon Musk and President Donald Trump are the latest dynamic duo to showcase the role between private-sector CEO and America’s elected president. But they’re hardly alone in history. Presidential historian and former senior White House aide Tevi Troy writes about the complex relationships between corporate leaders and U.S. presidents in his latest book, “The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry.” Troy spoke with The Daily Signal about the historical examples he’s studied and more recent events.
Less than a month into Trump’s second term, Troy already sees notable differences from Trump’s first term. He said Trump’s previous presidential experience is clearly shaping his leadership style and use of executive time. “It really is a remarkable opening to a presidency and shows the contrast between someone who goes into the presidency not sure what they’re to do, which included Trump’s first term, but also Bill Clinton at the beginning of his administration, and then someone who comes in with experience who says, ‘I know exactly what I’m going to do and I’m going to do it,’” said Troy, who is a senior fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute. The presidential historian and author addressed the shifting dynamics between corporate America and the presidency, particularly with tech leaders like Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, and others who had front-row seats at Trump’s inauguration.
Troy explained that while these recent CEO moves toward Trump could be viewed as political opportunism, there’s more to the story. “The other side is how hostile the Biden administration was to these entities. Joe Biden even said, ‘I don’t like Mark Zuckerberg,’” Troy said. “Elon Musk had a whole bunch of regulatory actions targeting his companies.” Trump, meanwhile, appears to recognize that these corporate leaders—and their outsized role with artificial intelligence—will have far-reaching implications for American competitiveness. “We need to encourage AI so that America is the leader in AI going forward,” Troy said, suggesting that America’s free-market system provides an advantage over competitors like China, whose AI development is “handcuffed by the censorship of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Troy’s book, “The Power and the Money,” examines the relationships between 18 different CEOs and multiple presidents, offering insights into how these dynamics have shaped American policy and business over the past 150 years. For corporate leaders navigating today’s political landscape, Troy offered this advice: “CEOs need to increase their level of engagement in Washington, but decrease their level of partisanship. And that will allow them to be more influential over the course of multiple administrations.” As for Trump’s next four years, Troy has already observed a more strategic approach to staffing and time management in his second term. “Trump has a much more acute sense of presidential time and how limited it is and how you need to use it quickly or you don’t maximize its value,” Troy explained.
Troy praised Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for maintaining discipline within the White House. “The chief of staff role is hugely important. Susie Wiles … really brooked no nonsense during the campaign. You didn’t hear a lot of leaks. You didn’t hear a lot of infighting,” he said, contrasting this with Trump’s first term when he had four different chiefs of staff in four years. This might be most visible in Trump’s selection of staff, creating more cohesion at the White House and allowing him to move swiftly to implement his agenda.“The staff seem to be much more loyal to him. The first time there were a lot of people with a lot of different ideological perspectives,” Troy said, referencing his previous book “Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump.”
“They can’t do that, especially when they have a serious record of Democrat activism and being hardcore against President Trump..”
• House GOP Drafting Impeachment Articles Against Judges Blocking DOGE (ZH)
House Republicans are drafting articles of impeachment against Democrat judges that have blocked various actions by the Trump administration, including those who have halted efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to The Hill: “Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) said he is drafting articles of impeachment against Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York, who in a ruling last weekend temporarily restricted Musk and DOGE aides from accessing a Treasury Department payment system. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) is working on an impeachment resolution against Rhode Island District Judge John McConnell Jr. over his ruling halting the Trump administration’s freeze on federal funding.
And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), chair of the House Oversight Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee, pledged in a hearing this week while referencing Engelmayer that “We will hold this judge and others who try to stop the will of the people and their elected leaders accountable.” “Our case for impeaching Judge Engelmayer is basically that he’s an activist judge trying to stop the Trump administration from, you know, executing their, you know, Article 2 powers to make sure that the laws are faithfully executed,” Crane told former Rep. Matt Gaetz earlier this week. Greene, meanwhile, said that she would support Engelmayer’s impeachment – arguing that judges can’t simply take power away from Cabinet secretaries.
“They can’t do that, especially when they have a serious record of Democrat activism and being hardcore against President Trump,” said Greene, adding “So, yeah, judges like that, they definitely should be impeached.” On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that “district court judges in liberal districts across the country are abusing their power to unilaterally block President Trump’s basic executive authority.” Engelmayer initially blocked everyone at the Treasury Department – including Secretary Scott Bessent, from accessing the agency’s database, however another judge overseeing the case later said that the order would not apply to Bessent. Rep. Clyde announced that he was working on impeachment articles, saying in a post on X that Judge McConnell Jr. is “a partisan activist weaponizing our judicial system to stop President Trump’s funding freeze on woke and wasteful government spending.”
It would take near-unanimous support from House Republicans to impeach one of the judges assuming no Democrats support the measure, while Democrat support would definitely be required to clear the 2/3 threshold to convict in the Senate. So basically, this is going nowhere. “Up till last Congress, the Speaker of the House had never been fired before,” said Crane. “I’m not a wait-and-see kind of guy — look around, hope somebody’s going to do something. I’m going to take action. And like I said, If this isn’t how we get to the, you know, the place that we need to be, I’m fine with that. But I’m not going to sit around and just, you know, watch these individuals stop President Trump from doing exactly what he told the American people he was going to do.”
“..she chastised him for making everybody rush to a TRO when the matter could have been handled with a five-minute call with the Department of Justice..”
• Judge Declines to Halt Trump’s Firing of Inspectors General (ET)
A federal judge on Feb. 14 rejected an emergency bid by eight inspectors general fired by the Trump administration to have their jobs restored. District Judge of the District of Columbia Ana Reyes forced the attorney for the inspectors general to drop the request for a temporary restraining order during a virtual hearing, opting instead for an expedited schedule to hear their request for a preliminary injunction. Reyes expressed frustration that the plaintiff’s counsel, Seth Waxman, filed suit on Feb. 12 for the order requesting emergency same-day relief, which would have included backpay 21 days after the firings occurred, stating that her court’s staff was already overwhelmed with scores of other temporary restraining order requests. Demanding only yes or no answers, the judge asked several questions of Waxman.
He confirmed to her that the eight inspectors general were fired on Jan. 24 without Congress first being given a 30-day notice or “substantial rationale” for the termination and that they were able to retrieve all of their personal belongings. These former inspectors general were employed by the Defense, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, State, Education, Agriculture, and Labor departments and the Small Business Administration. The judge pointed out to Waxman that there was nothing stopping Trump from issuing that 30-day termination notice to Congress five minutes after a TRO (temporary restraining order) went through, this time with a written reason for their termination. Addressing the written complaint arguing the plaintiffs faced reputational damage, Reyes proposed that a 30-day return to the office with a written reason why they were unfit for their jobs could actually cause even more reputational harm than what was already given. All the public knows is that they were fired without cause, she said. There was no harm to their reputation because no cause, say of incompetence, was given, and such a termination could be seen as preferable.
She also criticized Waxman for referencing what he called a similar case in his written complaint, pointing out that the government employee who was fired in that instance was operating independently of the White House while his clients worked for agencies that took direction from the presidency. Reyes declined to even humor the merits of the temporary restraining order during the virtual hearing, which lasted less than 13 minutes, forcing the plaintiffs to drop it. When Waxman transitioned to an expedited briefing schedule, she chastised him for making everybody rush to a TRO when the matter could have been handled with a five-minute call with the Department of Justice. The defense counsel representing the heads of the various departments employing those inspectors general remained silent and opted not to weigh in on the matter.
“..the agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the agency’s current needs..”
• Trump Makes First Supreme Court Appeal In Test of Power To Fire Officials (BBC)
President Donald Trump’s attempts to shrink the federal bureaucracy are heading to the Supreme Court, according to US media.He has filed an emergency appeal to the country’s highest court to rule on whether he can fire the leader of an independent whistleblowing agency. Hampton Dellinger, head of the US Office of Special Counsel, sued the Trump administration after he was fired by email this month. Trump has also sacked more than a dozen inspectors general at various federal agencies along with the jobs of thousands of employees across the US government. Mr Dellinger, who was nominated by Joe Biden, the former president, argues that his removal broke a law that protects leaders of independent agencies from being fired by the president, “except in cases of neglect of duty, malfeasance or inefficiency”.
A federal judge in Washington DC issued a temporary order on Wednesday allowing Mr Dellinger to hold on to his position while the case is being considered. On Saturday, a divided US Court of Appeals in the nation’s capital rejected the Trump administration’s request to overrule the lower court. That has led to the justice department filing an emergency appeal to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court. It is the first case the president has taken to the justices since he took office last month. “This court should not allow lower courts to seize executive power by dictating to the president how long he must continue employing an agency head against his will,” Sarah M Harris, acting solicitor general, wrote in the filing provided by the Department of Justice to the Washington Post.
“Until now, as far as we are aware, no court in American history has wielded an injunction to force the president to retain an agency head,” the acting solicitor general wrote, according to the Associated Press news agency. The Republican president’s orders on immigration, transgender issues and government spending have also become bogged down in dozens of lawsuits in the lower courts. Those cases may ultimately wind up at the Supreme Court, too. Trump’s efforts to reduce and reshape the 2.3 million-strong civilian federal workforce continued over the weekend.Workers in various health agencies who are still within their probation periods received letters on Saturday evening informing them they would be terminated, sources told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
“Unfortunately, the agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the agency’s current needs, and your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment at the agency,” read the letters. At least 9,500 workers at the departments of Health and Human Services, Energy, Veterans Affairs, Interior and Agriculture have been fired by Trump, according to a tally from Reuters news agency. Another 75,000 workers have taken a buyout offered to get them to leave voluntarily, according to the White House. The cost-cutting initiative has been led by department of government efficiency, or Doge, a task force led by Elon Musk.
“..Musk is “taking away everything we have.” That is precisely what Americans asked for in reelecting Donald Trump…”
• Democrats and Unions Launch an Existential Fight Over Buyouts (Turley)
Thomas Paine once remarked, “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” With the approaching 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, much has clearly changed. President Donald Trump’s move to reduce government is now portrayed as evil in its own right. Elon Musk’s move to draw down various agencies was presented as a virtual return to the state of nature. Democratic members staged protests in front of various agencies to declare “war” and to accuse Trump of “destroying the government” by shrinking it. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D., Md.) Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Ma, declared “Every time you hear DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, you just remember it is the department of government evil.”
Americans say Trump is keeping his promises
The coordinated efforts of Democratic leaders and the mainstream media have once again not resonated with the public. Trump, according to polls, is now at higher popularity levels than during his first term. And a strong majority of Americans say Trump is keeping his promises, including in his efforts to reduce government spending and waste. Those efforts include a generous buyout offer for federal employees. The Trump administration offered federal workers the chance to stay home for months while receiving full pay if they would agree to resign from government employment.It was an extremely clever move. The best way to shrink the government is to get people to leave voluntarily. But Trump and Musk also have warned that layoffs will follow if not enough federal workers accepted the buyout.It is a type of self-deportation from government service. And it worked, with about 75,000 federal workers accepting Trump’s offer before the deal ended Wednesday. It worked so well, in fact, that Democrats rushed to stop the voluntary exodus by falsely suggesting that it was a scam. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., warned employees that Trump would “stiff you,” even though the offer comes with the authority of the federal government. His colleague, Mark Warner (D, Va.) added ominously for workers to “Think twice. Has this individual in his business world ever fulfilled his contracts or obligations to any workers in the past?” At the same time, unions (looking at a major reduction of force) have filed with Democratic groups to stop these employees from taking the offer. They found a favorable court with U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole who enjoined the program.
However, after citywide celebrations over the injunction, the court then lifted the injunction on the buyout program, agreeing to allow the buyouts to go forward. Unions representing federal workers and liberal legal organizations are likely to now appeal O’Toole’s decision. The unions, which are facing a major reduction in dues-paying members, have a disturbing conflict of interest in trying to deny federal workers the benefits of an offer they chose to accept. The legal challenges to the buyout have relied on a plethora of arguments asserting that a president cannot allow employees to stay home and receive pay pending their departure from federal employment. Those arguments cited the Antideficiency Act, which bars agencies from spending beyond the money appropriated by Congress.
President has the authority to manage the executive branch
The counterargument is that money used for the buyouts was allocated to pay employees whose service normally continues year after year. Under Article II of the Constitution, the president is given ample discretion in running the executive branch, including the work status of federal employees. Congress clearly has a role in controlling use of the federal purse. For example, Congress can determine whether to allocate money to build certain Navy vessels. However, once the ships are built, it is the president who decides where to send them and who will serve on the crew. The commander in chief also can expand or shrink the size of the crew. Trump was well within his authority in offering to change employees’ duties while they look for new positions, and the employees had every right to agree to eight months of paid leave in exchange for their resignation from government service.The opposition from Democrats and labor unions is the ultimate form of paternalism. In the name of protecting employees, opponents fought to prevent workers from accepting offers they believe are best for themselves and their families. Federal employees are entitled to protections in their employment. But they’re not entitled to permanent employment. Congress is entitled to appropriate money for specific purposes. But it is not entitled to manage the executive branch. Trump is very willing to fight on this hill. He holds a strong constitutional position and an even stronger political position.
For those who proclaimed themselves as defenders of democracy throughout last year’s election cycle, this is what democracy looks like. Voters made clear that they want changes in the size and the focus of government. Those voters are unlikely to be convinced by the warning of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that Musk is “taking away everything we have.” That is precisely what Americans asked for in reelecting Donald Trump.
Bigger mystery than Kennedy’s murder.
• Rand Paul Supports Fort Knox Physical Audit (ZH)
One of the biggest questions over the past 50 years is whether the gold at Fort Knox, Kentucky is really there, or if it’s been plundered. What we do know is that the last ‘audit’ of America’s gold stash was conducted on Sept. 23, 1974, when the US Treasury opened just one of its 15 vaults at Fort Knox so politicians and reporters could swarm the site for a two-hour photo-op with roughly 6% of the alleged amount held. Adding to the complete farce, none of the bars being passed around for the cameras were matched to a serial number, assayed or tested for purity, or even verified as US holdings – as foreign countries have previously stored their gold at Fort Knox as well.
Since then there has been no independent verification of the roughly 4,580 metric tons supposedly held by the Treasury outside of bullshit annual ‘vault seal checks’ that don’t actually analyze the gold (oh, and they’ve ‘lost’ seven of those) – various efforts have been raised to audit Fort Knox – most recently in 2021, when Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) introduced (now-dead) legislation to audit America’s gold holdings with a full assay, inventory, and audit of all US gold – which would include a full account of gold transactions undertaken by the US government.
It would be great if @elonmusk could take a look inside Fort Knox just to make sure the 4,580 tons of US gold is there. Last time anyone looked was 50 years ago in 1974.
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 15, 2025
In 2010, former Libertarian Rep. Ron Paul called for an independent audit of Fort Knox. “It’d be nice for the American people to know whether or not the gold is there,” Paul said at the time.
Throwback to @RonPaul talking about the gold in Fort Knox: pic.twitter.com/5xiAQItOjk
— Natalie F Danelishen (@Chesschick01) February 16, 2025
With Elon Musk’s team at DOGE – including a gent who goes by the name “Big Balls” – investigating government-wide waste, fraud and abuse, we thought it might be helpful to point them towards Fort Knox… The suggestion immediately went viral on X, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) indicating he’s on board – replying to Musk with “Let’s do it.” Musk and team need to get to the bottom of just how deep the rot goes…
Biggest story of the day: Senator Rand Paul is calling for an audit on Fort Knox to ensure the 4,580 tons US gold is still there
Here’s what you were NEVER TOLD about the gold at Fort Knox
America’s Wealth, The largest fortune in the history of the world, was stolen. The Fort… pic.twitter.com/geYwfVBvvG
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) February 16, 2025
Arab jews
Sit with this fact.
There were hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Jews. In the 1950s, Mossad conducted false flag bomb attacks against Iraqi Jewish communities and blamed Arabs to compel Jews to leave Iraq and come to Israel.
Here is Jewish historian Prof. Avi Shlaim explaining: https://t.co/kjtbVxJjTK pic.twitter.com/xPFCnqYS7d
— Ousman Noor (@ousmannoor) February 16, 2025
Toys
https://twitter.com/i/status/1891110279649366275
Grok
ELON ON AI: I PLAY TO WIN, OR I DON'T PLAY AT ALL
"You've gotta have the most powerful training compute, and your rate of improvement of training compute has to be faster than everyone else's, or you will not win."
source: @lexfridman, @elonmusk https://t.co/A7rQxTheFZ pic.twitter.com/yq5fChXlKB
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 16, 2025
Hello
3 months old snow leopard says hello pic.twitter.com/3oH6bsw4tz
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) February 15, 2025
Thai cat
https://twitter.com/i/status/1890863657350783065
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