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ADAM KINZINGER:

Trumps wants to be
NAPOLEON....

And he things nothing can stop him
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“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law”

– Donald Trump, February 15, 2025

- With a ten-word social media post, Donald Trump has explained the sweeping power grab he has pursued since taking office about a month ago.

To put it bluntly;
- he believes that as President of the United States, he can do anything and escape accountability by claiming he’s acting to save the nation.

Trump’s declaration explains why he felt he could simply ignore the law and fire roughly 17 independent government watchdogs (called inspectors general).

It explains why he believes he can summarily close the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an independent agency created by Congress. 2/
And it explains why he is, without cause, firing tens of thousands of federal workers.

All of Trump’s actions will be fought in court.

However,

- he seems confident he’ll prevail.
This is because he has packed the Supreme Court with his nominees, building a majority, which he believes supports an obscure philosophy of government called “the unitary executive.”

Under the unitary executive theory, a president has the authority to hire and fire anyone who works for the executive branch of the government (there are currently about 2 million of them).

Backers of this theory also believe that Congress cannot create independent agencies.

As he follows this idea, Trump is tipping the balance of power toward himself.

And the Republicans who run the House and Senate aren’t even uttering a peep of opposition.

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Exklusiv:

Worse than Germany's reparations in World War I: Telegraph publishes draft agreement that the US offered to Zelensky

The draft agreement that the United States offered to President Volodymyr Zelensky last week went far beyond Washington’s control of Ukraine’s critical minerals. It included access to ports, infrastructure, oil and gas, and our country’s broader resource base.

The Telegraph obtained a draft agreement dated February 7, 2025.

All of the above would be "reimbursement" by Ukraine for the costs of American assistance in countering Russian aggression. The United States would like to receive $500 billion from the extraction of minerals in our country.

It was envisaged that the US and Ukraine should form a joint investment fund to ensure that "hostile parties to the conflict do not benefit from the restoration of Ukraine."
obozrevatel.com/ukr/entity/red… 2/
This is reported by the British newspaper The Telegraph .
telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/…

The publication received a draft agreement dated February 7, 2025.

All of the above would be "reimbursement" by Ukraine for the costs of American assistance in countering Russian aggression. The United States would like to receive $500 billion from the extraction of minerals in our country.

It was envisaged that the US and Ukraine should form a joint investment fund to ensure that "hostile parties to the conflict do not benefit from the restoration of Ukraine."

Terms and conditions listed in the draft agreement:

– The United States has provided significant financial and material support to Ukraine since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022;

– the American people seek to invest together with Ukraine in a free and secure Ukraine;

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Hillbilly snake oil in Munich
Steve Schmidt
Feb 16

- JD Vance went for a walk about around Dachau, but he didn’t comprehend the experience.

His takeaway was to demand Germany move past memory, and embrace the far-right AFD, which is rooted in Nazi ideology and history as a legitimate part of Germany’s future.

There is a phrase that is as well-known and familiar as are apple pie, ice cream and baseball in the United States.

The word is “firewall,” and it is means that no extremist or nationalist political party will ever be permitted to form a government in Germany again with the aid of any other competing political party in a coalition.

Here is how the AFD is described
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/…
in a The Washington Post opinion essay by Lee Hockstader that does an excellent job fairly laying out the political dynamic in Germany ahead of the national elections on February 24th.
>> 2/
<<
"History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes, so goes the quip attributed to Mark Twain".

- The new German nationalists — an ascendant party called Alternative for Germany, or AfD — are not jackbooted thugs who dream of a thousand-year Reich that would subjugate Europe under Berlin’s diktat.

They sympathize with Russia, dislike European unity, and vehemently oppose immigration.

- Still, the rhyme is unmistakable.

- Today, a century after Hitler wrote “Mein Kampf,” prominent AfD leaders have minimized Nazi atrocities and repurposed Nazi tropes, symbols and slogans.

They include the party’s leader and candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, who has basked in the adoration of AfD crowds roaring

“Alice für Deutschland!,” an unsubtle play on

“Alles für Deutschland,”

a Nazi slogan banned under German law.

Even as other right-wing European parties have moderated their rhetoric and policies, seeking mainstream votes, the AfD has remained insistently radical.

After a prominent party official declined to label Nazi SS members as criminals, the AfD was expelled last year from a bloc of other right-wing parties in the European Parliament in Brussels

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How the EU can avoid being left out of the negotiations: the President of Finland proposed an idea

Finnish President Alexander Stubb
obozrevatel.com/ukr/person/ale…
has proposed an idea for the European Union to play a significant role in the peace process in Ukraine. He recalled the diplomatic approach that helped Serbia end its repression of Kosovo in 1998-1999 and helped it become a separate state. 2/
According to Stubb, Europe should appoint a special envoy similar to Martti Ahtisaari, who once dealt with the Kosovo issue.

The Finnish president said this at the Munich Security Conference, Reuters reports .
reuters.com/world/europe/e…

A deputy at the level of the US Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, is also needed so that the EU can directly influence the negotiation process.

"If I can just briefly express one idea, if there is a negotiating table, I think we need to do something similar to what was done in Kosovo.

Europe needs a special envoy like Martti Ahtisaari and then a deputy envoy who will be at the level of Kellogg, and in that sense we get some advantage in the game," Stubb said.

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Kenneth Gregg voulanteer in #Ukraine

15.02.2025 update.
Time: 19.00

- Many have asked me why we don't hear about new attacks on #Crimea.

"The answer is simple, there is not much left to attack there".

The Russians have withdrawn their Black Sea Fleet and evacuated their air force.

How could this have happened, many are now asking themselves.

The answer is precision strikes against headquarters, airfields, ports and RADAR INSTALLATIONS.

In principle, Crimea is open to invasion, which probably would have happened if we had prioritized it.

We have enough partisans and resistance groups reporting the situation there daily. 2/
Our priority instead became Kursk, which is currently proving to be very valuable, especially when negotiations on an armistice begin.

There are NO peace negotiations going on at the moment, what is going on are discussions.

Discussions and negotiations are completely different things and should not be confused.

The weather is expected to drop to -17 degrees next week on the Eastern Front, which will benefit our people.

The Ryzka have problems with their winter equipment and will huddle together or sit still.

Our drone scouts will have an easy task finding the clumps due to the heat radiation.

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US may deploy troops in Ukraine and impose sanctions against Russia: Vance says deal "shocks everyone"
obozrevatel.com/ukr/politics-n… 2/
US Vice President J.D. Vance has not ruled out sending American troops to Ukraine

and even greater sanctions pressure on Russia, >obozrevatel.com/ukr/entity/mir…

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Today's in Politics

By: Ron Filipkowski

250214

… Prosecutor Hagan Scotten wrote an epic resignation letter to Dep AG Emil Bove after refusing to dismiss the corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams:

“Any Asst US Attorney would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way.

If no lawyer within earshot of the president is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion.

But it was never going to be me. Please consider this my resignation.”

… Before Trump and MAGA start trashing Scotten as a radical left Marxist, I would point out that Scotten is a Republican, won two bronze stars in Iraq, and clerked for Supreme Court Justices Kavanaugh and Roberts.

… His resignation followed that of his co-counsel on the case Danielle Sassoon, who previously clerked for Justice Scalia. 2/
… MSNBC Barb McQuaid reported on what happened next this morning: “DOJ leadership has put all Public Integrity Section lawyers into a room with 1 hour to decide who will dismiss Adams indictment or else all will be fired. Sending them strength to stand by their oath, which is to support the Constitution, not the president’s political agenda.”

(Barb McQuaid)

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JD Vance Gets Brutal Reception After Disastrous International Speech

Ben Meiselas and MeidasTouch Network
Feb 14

MeidasMighty:

- I’m not going to sugar coat it. JD Vance just gave what may very well be the worst international speech by an American politician.

Ever.

Vance was speaking at the Munich Security

ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NZ7… 2/
Munich Security Conference in Germany and, I’m not kidding, no one clapped during his entire speech except maybe three people who were part of Vance’s team.

In fact, none of the crowd did much at all except stare in stunned silence at the complete ineptitude and audacity of the American vice president

Vance tried to get away with lecturing Europe about how they run their own democracies, as if American democracy under the Trump administration is any sort of model to aspire to.

Vance tried to tell Europe that they should just get over it if Russia interferes in their elections, even telling Romanians that their democracy wasn’t strong because they had the courage to reset their elections after a massive disinformation campaign from Russia

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Today in Politics!
By:
Ron Filipkowski
Feb 14
-----

… Pete Hegseth continued to embarrass himself and the US at the NATO Summit in Brussels today.

- After his comments yesterday detailing how the US was willing to give up every bit of negotiating leverage with Russia, he tried to walk some of it back while generally looking like a bumbling drunken fool completely out of his depth. 2/
… Hegseth opened his remarks to the group of 32 Secretaries of Defense by ridiculously claiming that the US doesn’t have the naval firepower to deal with Russia’s fleet.

He told his counterparts with NATO that it will take at least 7 years to rebuild our Navy before it can catch up to Russia.

Incompetent, absurd lies, playing right into Putin’s hands and destroying our credibility on the world stage.

… Hegseth then further beclowned himself with this gem: “Make no mistake, President Trump will not allow anyone to turn Uncle Sam into Uncle Sucker.”

Breaking: Trump's Disastrous Press Conference Goes Off The Rails

I just witnessed Trump double down on tariffs, blame Biden for his own failures, and cozy up to Russia—again

By: BEN MEISELAS and MEIDASTOUCH NETWORK
-----
- I just watched Donald Trump’s latest press conference from the Oval Office, and folks, it was a disaster from start to finish. 2/
He was supposed to be announcing more tariffs—otherwise known as more taxes on working Americans—but instead, he went off the rails, contradicting himself, whining about the 2020 election (again) and the 2024 election, and lavishing praise on Vladimir Putin.

It was a spectacle of lies, economic ignorance, and pure delusion.

I’ll break it down quickly.

First,

- Trump actually admitted that his tariffs will raise prices for Americans—something he’s always denied in the past.

He tried to spin it as a short-term issue, but when pressed, he had no real answer.

- He even said, “Let’s see what happens. Nobody really knows.”

Well, we do know:

- it’s going to make things more expensive for working people, just like his last round of tariffs did

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Gifts to the dictator: five Trump initiatives that are already pleasing Putin and upsetting Ukraine

President Trump is ready to double US sanctions against Russia to end the "conflict" in Ukraine, says Keith Kellogg, the US president's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. However, for now, we have a different development - steps by the new administration that, on the contrary, benefit the dictator of the Russian Federation, Putin.

On February 11, Donald Trump thanked Vladimir Putin for the release of American teacher Mark Vogel, who had been serving a long term in a Russian prison on trumped-up charges.

The US president said that "the release could play a significant role in ending the war in Ukraine," and described the release as an "act of generosity" on the part of the dictator.

About how Donald Trump and his administration are taking steps that are welcomed by the Kremlin, see the material of OBOZ.UA. 2/
- At the same time, the 47th US president has already made several "gentle" concessions to Putin.

For example, he liquidated KleptoCapture, an American special unit for searching for the assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs who have close ties to the Kremlin.

The step to liquidate this group was positively received in the Kremlin and became one of the key moments in a series of measures of the new US administration that could play into Vladimir Putin's hands.

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Presidential weakness in the Oval Office

By: Steve Schmidt

- There are many things to be said about yesterday’s grotesque spectacle in the Oval Office, where Elon Musk held court, made accusations against federal employees without evidence, defenestrated Donald @realDonaldTrump, and exploited his child on global television. 2/
The first should be about the pathetic nature of the questions asked by the assembled White House reporters, who sensationalize trivia and play “gotcha” games at the expense of confrontation in one of the most serious moments in the nation’s history.

- Did any reporter think to ask about this?

There were no questions asked about Musk’s views about the Constitution or judicial supremacy when defining the limits of executive power.

He was not challenged, and neither was Trump.

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Putin Sticks With Goal to Roll Back NATO, Estonian Report Says

bloomberg.com/news/articles/… 2/
Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t abandoned his broader goal of redrawing the balance of power in Europe three years after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Estonia’s foreign intelligence service warned in a yearly report.

A temporary ceasefire in Ukraine risks giving Putin a chance to “catch his breath” before resuming his war on Ukraine in pursuit of that goal, said the report, published Wednesday.

His pre-invasion demand that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization roll back from eastern Europe still stands, it added.

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… Elon Musk was in the Oval Office today having a press conference while Trump had to sit there quietly on babysitting duty. 2/
… Trump did get one question about judges ruling against his Admin to block most of Musk’s moves: “It seems hard to believe that judges want to try and stop us from looking for corruption. So maybe we have to look at the judges, because I think it's a very serious violation.” Spoken like a true mob boss.

… But the real story was Trump sitting there looking very annoyed at the resolute desk while Elon’s kid picked his nose while his dad held court, laughing it up while gesticulating weirdly, taking question after question from the press.

Trump looked thrilled as Musk basked in the attention.

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" Trump threatening to Prosecute us"
By: Ben Meiselas

- We knew this would happen.

As Trump gets more desperate, we always thought he would try to use his Department of Justice and FBI to attack Meidas and try to shut us down.

Since MeidasTouch is not on terrestrial TV or cable TV, the FCC does not have regulatory authority over us. Since we don’t have investors, the SEC and DOJ do not have regulatory authority over us to approve mergers. So what is an authoritarian regime to do? 2/
This weekend, Elon Musk published a letter from the top Trump federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., stating he would be investigating “networks” that covered and exposed Elon Musk’s team for seizing control of government agencies and people’s private data.

- Then, Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary stated she would be going after networks that exposed ICE raids and protected migrants.

Trump is apparently livid at the coverage by us and others who have alerted migrants about ICE raids.

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250211
Time:
10.30

Kenneth Gregg voulanteer in #Ukraine

Ny friend Fabios update:

- During the last night, the Russian Federation carried out a combined strike with missiles of various types on gas production facilities in the Poltava region whith a total of up to 19 missiles.

Information on the types and results of combat operations are not yet known.

The Russians also attacked with 124 drones of various types, launched from the Russian regions of Millerovo, Orel, Bryansk, Kursk and Primorsko-Akhtarsk.

Various units of the Ukrainian Armed forces were involved in repelling the air attack. 2/
As of 10:00, local time, it was confirmed that 57 attack UAVs and other types of drones were shot down in the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Dnipro, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions.
64 inert drones were lost without consequences.

The Ukrainian regions of Poltava, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Cherkasy were the more affected by attack.

In the Ukrainian region of Dnipro, 4 people were injured due to a Russian attack, of which 2 were in Nikopol and 2 in Marganets.

A total of 35 residential buildings were damaged in other settlements.

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Kenneth Gregg voulanteer in

07.02.2025 update.

Fabio ( Ukrisn friend by Kenneth ) will come with his front update a little later.

I have received many pms about the situation in Kursk so let me analyze a little, remember that this is only my own thoughts.

I have said many times that we have a war of maneuver in the Kursk area. When you look at the deepstate map, for example, remember that it is we who have operations in the gray zone, not only the Ryz.

Now our military command saw a chance to attack successfully because the Ryzka military commanders did not consider it necessary to bring in new people, instead of the North Koreans who have taken a small operational break.

In addition, our military command probably wants the front a little further away from Sudzha, above all they do not want Ryzka FPV drones flying around the community. 2/
- The attack followed the usual pattern, first a swarm of drones followed by mine clearance vehicles and our mechanized infantry.

It was not a large group, but it was well organized and very mobile.
We don't know where it will lead yet, the information blockade is almost total.

- There is unconfirmed information that the line would be 20 km wide and 5 km deep, i.e. 100 km2.

Furthermore, there is information circulating that we would have attacked with 10 tanks, which means 1 tank per km.

- This is not impossible if we first had a drone swarm with thermobombs that made the Russians keep their heads down.

Kenneth Gregg volunteered in #Ukraine 

06.02.2025 update with information about the hottest front sections in the last 24 hours:

#ChasivYar : The tourists attacked our positions inside the city itself. Our defenders repelled the attack and eliminated 21 tourists and 2 tanks. Chasiv Yar was a small rural town that is not very large, despite this, urban battles have been going on for several months now.

The tourists have a 3:1 manpower advantage but have not yet captured the city.

#Toretsk: The tourists are trying to strengthen their grip on the city and move the fighting out of the city. They have gathered a lot of artillery here and are firing more than usual. Despite this, they successfully counterattack our positions and attacks on their support.

- Every meter they advance costs the tourists in manpower and equipment 2/
#Kurakhove: The tourists are strengthening their presence in the city and concentrating more infantry into the city. Ours are constantly attacking the various buildings where movement is detected with drones.

#Novopostynka: The tourists have taken the small community but suffered a number of losses. They are now trying to dig in and wait for a Ukrainian counterattack. Here too, the enemy used a lot of artillery.

#Konstantinyka: The tourists have attacked with a coordinated attack on our positions. Despite great pressure, ours have eliminated multiple Ryzka attack groups. In addition, we are using HIMARS and other precision weapons to knock out their convoys. Here too, the enemy has used a lot of artillery

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The Russian army is reducing the number of attacks and dropping KABs on its territory: Seleznev explained what this means
war.obozrevatel.com/ukr/armiya-rf-… 2/
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine daily records a decrease in the number of combat clashes on the front.

Does this mean that the Russian occupation army is preparing for a pause?

It is too early to draw such conclusions, since the front is quite "segmented" - in priority areas for the enemy, its activity is still high.
However, due to huge losses,
obozrevatel.com/ukr/topic/pote…
the enemy may really need a pause.

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#Kaliningrad will be cut off from the Russian energy system in a few days: how the EU is preparing for the Kremlin's revenge

The Russian exclave in Europe, the city of Kaliningrad, will be left without external access to electricity.

The Baltic countries will be disconnected from the Russian energy system in a few days, and therefore Kaliningrad will have to provide itself with electricity independently.

Fearing retaliation from the Kremlin, #Poland and #Lithuania have increased security measures.

According to Euractiv, this region is of strategic importance for Russia, as it is home to Iskander missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and a significant part of the Russian Baltic Fleet is based there.

After the synchronization of the Baltic countries' power systems with continental Europe, which is scheduled to take place on February 9, the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation will find itself in energy isolation, operating without external connections to other power grids.

"After the synchronization of the Baltic power system with continental Europe, the Kaliningrad region will operate in island mode," Lithuanian grid operator Litgrid said.

obozrevatel.com/ukr/ekonomika-… 2/
In response to the start of full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine, the European Union has begun restricting land access to the region.

And from February 7 to 9, the Baltic countries will disconnect from the Russian power grid and remove the nuclear exclave from the Russian power grid.

In the future, these lines are planned to be dismantled .

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Joakim von Braun
Swedish security/EastEurope Expert:

Russia's arms exports have collapsed
Moscow's arms exports have fallen by 92 percent, reveals the Jamestown Foundation (). jamestown.org/program/russia… 2/
Before Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, Russian arms exports had climbed from 5th place in the world rankings to number 2. Now the Russian arms industry can neither produce weapons for export nor for its own use.