Category: Trump

Thank You For Your Attention To This Matter

Fox News;

President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a total blockade of oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, declaring the Nicolás Maduro regime a foreign terrorist organization and accusing it of using stolen U.S. assets to finance terrorism, trafficking and other criminal activity.

“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump said on Truth Social. “It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before – Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.

“The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping,” he continued. “For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.

Who Cares?

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko freed 123 prisoners on Saturday, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and leading opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava, after two days of talks with an envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump, an American statement said.

In return, the United States agreed to lift sanctions on Belarusian potash. Potash is a key component in fertilizers, and the former Soviet state is a leading global producer.

Coulda Had A Pipeline

Oilprice;

Iraq’s Oil Ministry has revealed that it has sent out exclusive invitations to several major U.S. energy firms to develop the country’s huge West Qurna 2 oilfield following the withdrawal of Russian oil number two Lukoil after Washington ratcheted up sanctions on Moscow. “It’s a huge turnaround in the trajectory it [Iraq] had been headed with Russia and China, marking a massive win for us [the U.S.] and Europe,” a senior legal source who works closely with the U.S. Treasury Department exclusively told OilPrice.com last week. “Stay tuned – there’ll be more of this to come,” he added.

The significance of this sea-change in Iraq’s geopolitical leanings can barely be overstated. Following the increasing perception among the Iraqi people that the U.S. had overstayed its welcome after it removed Saddam Hussein as leader in 2003, Russia and China – in that order – looked to boost their influence across the country for three key reasons. First, it offers a huge repository of oil at the world’s joint lowest average lifting cost of $2-4 per barrel, together with large quantities of associated and non-associated gas. Second, it occupies the geographical heart of the region, lying west of Iran, north of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, east of Jordan and Syria (with its long Mediterranean coastline offering access to further critical sea routes), and south of Turkey (affording an entry into the European continent). And third, it is a key member of the ‘Shia Crescent of Power’ geopolitical arc that stretches from Iran through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, where Shia communities and Iran-backed groups exert significant influence over regional politics, economics, and security. In short, if you are a global superpower or wannabe, Iraq is where you need to be.

Indeed

Christopher Landau is the US Deputy Secretary of State.

Related: The money sent to Russia is in blue; the money sent to Ukraine is in orange.

Trump’s New National Security Strategy

Zerohedge;

The Trump administration’s just published new National Security Strategy has generated a lot of ‘shock’ and discussion since it appeared online early Friday. One of its more ‘controversial’ elements is the stark contrast in outlook on Europe in comparison with prior years’ national security strategy documents.

It warns that some of America’s oldest allies in Europe face “the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure” as a result of unchecked immigration, as well as the erosion of democratic principles. Alongside calling out irresponsible unchecked EU immigration policies, it further cites the curbing of free speech – also with the support for EU censorship excesses by transnational elite institutions, describing that “should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less.”

Matt Gurney and Jenn Gerson discuss implications for a similarly compromised northern free rider.

Some of what the document lays out is simply true, and Canadian and other allied politicians, especially on the left, have ignored those realities at their peril. Some of it is debatable, or at least worth taking seriously. And some of it is outright nuts, pulled straight from the conspiratorial anxieties of America’s far-right social media ecosystem. But whether reasonable, arguable, or deranged, it is now official White House policy — and the rest of us are going to have to learn to live with it.

From there, the conversation turns to how Canadians are, or aren’t, learning to live with it. There is still very little evidence that anyone here grasps the scale of the threat or the urgency involved. Jen introduces a new theory: Canada as a nation is increasingly resembling the federal New Democrats — and that’s not good news for anyone.

Then they get angry that the document treats us like a bitter underachiever, before going full CBC derangement.

How High, Senor Maduro?

Everything about Venezuela is explosve these days: Maduro’s Ex-Insider Turns Snitch, Sends Trump an Explosive Letter

Related.

Collateral Damage?

Needless prosecution of a victimless crime, or a case of “the law is the law“?

The administration’s sudden expansion of immigration arrests in Chicago meant Guzmán was in the government’s custody for about 34 hours. She was kept in a holding facility that was intended to house people for only a small fraction of that time… Even though she was still trying to produce breast milk for her daughter, Guzmán had limited access to food and water at the Broadview Processing Center and was never provided a breast pump. She said she was never assessed by a medical professional while in the government’s custody. Guzmán was left to manage the pain of her C-section recovery as well as her Type 1 diabetes with the supplies she had in her backpack at the time of her arrest.

 

Thank You For Your Attention To This Matter

Democrats’ll be wishing they’d just let him have that damned wall.

Reddit threads are popping up with people confused after receiving cancellation notices for their U.S. citizenship ceremonies.

Margin Of Fraud

Democrat torpedo marked “Return to Sender”

“So let me get this straight: Fani funnels $750k of taxpayer dollars to her paramour for a hopeless case against DJT. She gets caught and tossed off the case, but Democrat voters in Fulton County re-elect her anyway. And now the voters will likely get stuck with the bill for Trump’s legal fees spent defending against Fani’s hopeless case. Meanwhile, Fani pays nothing out of her own pocket, her paramour gets to keep the $750k, and Fani still has her job, salary, and benefits until at least 2028. (And let’s be honest: probably beyond 2028.). Gooder and harder, Atlanta.”

Down The Primrose Path

Maybe.

Based on recent reports, it’s unclear. ABC News states a US-proposed peace plan was revised from 28 to 19 points after talks, but Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says no final agreement yet and more work is needed. Other outlets like CBS and Moneycontrol cite US officials claiming Ukraine agreed to terms, with minor details pending. Further developments may clarify.


Oil slides on the optimistic headline that Ukraine has tentatively agreed to the Trump-backed deal..

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