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Lew Anno Support#Israel #Ukraine 24/2-22

@anno1540

Apr 9

1/
Why Trump Immediately Surrendered to Putin and Xi

There is only one global conflict. Trump already chose the wrong side. Now it’s up to us to stop him.

2/
Many argue that the United States must pivot its attention to the looming conflict in the Pacific, preparing to counter China’s rise and assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

But this framing misses the point entirely.

There is not a China conflict, a Russia conflict, or a Middle East conflict.
There is only one conflict—a systemic, global confrontation between the liberal democratic order and a revisionist axis of autocratic powers.

This conflict spans multiple theaters:
Ukraine. Taiwan. The Arctic. The Red Sea. Sub-Saharan Africa. Latin America. These are not isolated events. These are fronts.

3/
Donald Trump and his advisors have failed to grasp this—or worse, they’ve accepted the terms of defeat.

Their approach signals not strategic realism, but strategic surrender. They envision a “tri-polar” world, one in which the United States, Russia, and China each dominate their own spheres of influence.

This framework assumes that the ambitions of Moscow and Beijing are limited, manageable, and static.
Oh… and moral.

It is a fantasy.

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Lew Anno Support#Israel #Ukraine 24/2-22

@anno1540

Apr 8

1/
Global Trade War Does Not Diminish Pressure on Russia to End Its War

By: Pavel K. Baev
----
Executive Summary:

• Russia faces significant economic strain due to declining oil and gas revenues, disrupted supply chains, and falling stock markets, which are exacerbated by global trade disruptions and internal demographic challenges that impact military recruitment.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin sent envoy Kirill Dmitriev to Washington to explore cooperation with the United States, but Moscow maintains its rigid ceasefire conditions, risking harsher sanctions and intensified international isolation despite short-term diplomatic engagements.

• Russia’s geopolitical position continues to weaken as much of Europe maintains unity in its support of Ukraine and in its view of Russia’s responsibility for delaying and breaking the peace talks.

2/
Russia is one of the few countries not directly affected by the new U.S. trade tariffs.

The effects on its economy, however, are still profound, while the political consequences are open to interpretation.

The revenues from oil and gas exports have been declining since the start of the year, and the current drop in oil prices is expected to lead to a further and deeper contraction (Kommersant, April 4).
kommersant.ru/doc/7638045

3/
Moscow’s stock market experienced a sharp plunge, and various supply chains, already warped and lengthened by sanctions, have been further disrupted (RBC, April 3;
rbc.ru/economics/03/0…

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Lew Anno Support#Israel #Ukraine 24/2-22

@anno1540

Apr 7

1/
The beatings will hurt: how the EU and Hungarians are trying to stifle Viktor Orban
obozrevatel.com/ukr/novosti-mi…

2/
Hungary's demonstrative withdrawal from the International Criminal Court is another gesture by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ,
obozrevatel.com/ukr/person/vik…
primarily aimed at the European Union, which recognizes the ICC and its policies and demands the same from its members.

This was preceded by repeated disruptions of voting on important EU decisions, an unauthorized visit by Russian dictator Putin, criticism of official Brussels beyond the bounds of common sense, and the gradual suppression of European democratic norms in Hungary.

3/
Viktor @PM_ViktorOrban has repeatedly flouted the rules that normally require all 27 EU countries to agree on a joint statement to be issued on behalf of the European Council.

The most pressing issue, as always, is support for Ukraine – the Hungarian prime minister has consistently opposed any attempts to increase military aid or advance the country’s bid for European Union membership.

- Another point of contention between the EU and the Hungarian government has been Orbán’s friendliness towards #Moscow, with #Budapest repeatedly using its veto power to block sanctions against Russian oligarchs

Today,

Orban has chosen isolation and friendship with Vladimir Putin, Donald @realDonaldTrump and Xi Jinping, against the clear interests of the EU and Hungary.

He was given many opportunities and rejected "outstretched hands", - they say in Brussels.

- Adding that the security of Europe is too serious a problem to negotiate with one person who sees things 180 degrees differently than everyone else, and therefore "the time has come to act

Read 14 tweets

Lew Anno Support#Israel #Ukraine 24/2-22

@anno1540

Apr 5

1/
Anti-Trump protests spread across European cities

Hundreds of protestors – including Americans living abroad – have taken to the streets across major European cities in a show of defiance against Donald Trump’s administration.

On Saturday, demonstrators rallied in Frankfurt as part of the “Hands Off” protest organized by Democrats Abroad, Reuters reports.

In Berlin, demonstrators stood in front of a Tesla showroom and the US embassy in protest against Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Some held signs calling for “an end to the chaos” in the US.

theguardian.com/world/live/202…

2/
In Paris, demonstrators, largely American, gathered around Place de la République to protest the US president, with many waving banners that read “Resist tyrant,” “Rule of law,” “Feminists for freedom not fascism” and “Save Democracy,” Reuters reports.

Crowds in London also gathered in Trafalgar Square earlier on Saturday with banners that read “No to Maga hate” and “Dump Trump.”

Protestors also gathered in Lisbon on Saturday with some holding signs that read “the Turd Reich.”

3/
In addition to large US cities, anti-Donald Trump protests are also taking place through the US’s smaller towns, including in red counties.

Here are some photos coming through BlueSky from St. Augustine, a small town in Florida of 14,000 people in a red county:

Read 7 tweets

Lew Anno Support#Israel #Ukraine 24/2-22

@anno1540

Apr 5

1/
Trump’s Hidden Agenda
Will tariffs be the president’s most costly con yet?

By: Dan Rather and Team Steady
Apr 4
----

The big story today is Donald Trump’s tariffs and their deleterious effects on the global economy.

Markets are tanking. Economists are reeling.

The head of the Federal Reserve is saying these tariffs are likely to raise inflation and slow economic growth.

Some big names on Wall Street are talking about our teetering on the front edge of a recession.

The rest of us are scratching our heads. What’s the end game?

(Traders on the NY Stock Exchange reacting as stocks plummet (credit: Getty Images).

2/
Trump claims the tariffs are simply a way to raise capital — and, he predicts, force goods to be made in the United States, which would make them tariff-free.

Economists will tell you that’s not how tariffs work.

Tariffs are a tax,
paid for by anyone buying anything from another country — everything from iPhones to avocados.

In other words, just about everything will cost more.

He’s implied that we will collectively share this prospective pile of cash.

History says we won’t.

Sometimes you don’t need “60 Minutes” or Woodward and Bernstein to tell you something isn’t right.

With a few years of reporting experience, I’ve learned not only to follow the facts, but also to listen to my gut.

- My gut is telling me we are being lied to.

Something’s very off with Donald Trump’s tariff pitch.

Wednesday, Day 1 of the Trump tariffs, was dubbed “Liberation Day” by the president.

In less than 48 hours, it has come to mean that millions of Americans are being “liberated” from their retirement funds.

Check your 401(k). Dread ‘em and weep. The S&P 500 lost 10% of its value in just two days.

Sure,
the markets aren’t buying Trump’s claims, and economists think what’s happening is insanity, but there seems to be something more insidious at play here.

3/
First, remember Congress, not the president, was given the power of the purse.

It should be Congress that enacts tariffs.

Historically,
Congress has given that power to the president only in cases of national emergency. Where’s the emergency now?

Senator Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, called this latest power grab by Trump a “five-alarm fire.”

“Congress made a decision some time ago that in an emergency situation, the president should have the power to enact a tariff in … a war or something like that.

But the problem is this president is defining emergency as whatever he thinks it is.

There’s no emergency.

What Congress needs to do is pull that power back,” King told The Washington Post.

But what if it isn’t just a plan (no matter how bonkers) to make America richer? What if it is actually about amassing more power?

Just as universities and law firms have recently done, this could be about Trump forcing private industry, key institutions, and foreign governments to bend the knee.

Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, has a theory, and it’s as frightening as it is plausible.
He says the tariffs aren’t economic policy. They are political weapons. - He explained his theory on social media.

Because he did such a good job of it, here is a lengthy excerpt.
facebook.com/share/p/196wwW…

“This week you will read many confused economists and political pundits who won’t understand how the tariffs make economic sense. That’s because they don’t.

They aren’t designed as economic policy. The tariffs are simply a new, super dangerous political tool.

“You see, our founders created a President with limited and checked powers.

They specifically put the power of spending and taxation in the hands of the legislature. Why?

Because they watched how kings and despots used spending and taxes to control their subjects. - British kings used taxation to reward loyalty and punish dissent.

Our own revolution was spurred by the King’s use of heavy taxation of the colonies to punish our push for self governance. The King’s message was simple:

stop protesting and I’ll stop taxing.

Read 5 tweets

Lew Anno Support#Israel #Ukraine 24/2-22

@anno1540

Apr 5

1/
"Article 5 remains relevant": it became known that Trump plans to attend the June NATO summit

Leaders of the Alliance's member countries will meet in The Hague, Netherlands, in June.

Trump assured NATO leaders that Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty remains in force. Recall:
- It stipulates that an attack on one member of the Alliance is considered an attack on all, and each country undertakes to provide assistance, including military assistance.

2/
This was announced by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław @sikorskiradek, Onet reports .
wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/radoslaw…

"From what we hear, he (Trump - Ed.) will be present at the NATO summit in The Hague," he said.

Also, according to the minister, Trump assured NATO leaders that Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty remains in force. Recall:
- it provides that an attack on one member of the Alliance is considered an attack on all, and each country undertakes to provide assistance, including military assistance.

Sikorsky recalled that this principle of collective defense was applied only once - after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the USA

3/
"It is good that the new US administration is discovering that allies are an asset, not a burden, just as it was
- and I recalled this in my speech
- when the Alliance invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty for the first and, thank God, the last time, and it was in favor of the United States.

After all, we, Poland, had no national interests in Afghanistan.

We did it out of friendship and allied solidarity with the United States," he noted

As a reminder, late last year, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof spoke by phone with newly elected US President Donald Trump and invited him to the NATO summit in The Hague .
news.obozrevatel.com/ukr/abroad/tra…

The US leader then "responded positively" to the offer

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Lew Anno Support#Israel #Ukraine 24/2-22

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