Puppet MastersS


Oil Pipeline

US Treasury to allow resale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba to ease island's fuel crunch

Kimberly Hayek The Epoch Times
Zero Hedge
Thu, 26 Feb 2026 03:05 UTC
Oil refinery
© Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty ImagesThe refinery El Palito in Puerto Cabello, Carabobo state, Venezuela • January 22, 2026
The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday announced a new licensing policy to streamline the resale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, with the goal of supporting the island's private sector and bolstering humanitarian efforts amid ongoing fuel crises.

The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) will extend the new licensing policy to specific applications seeking authorization for the resale of Venezuelan oil for use in Cuba.

The move was done "in accordance with the United States' support and solidarity for the Cuban people," reads the new policy.

The policy does not cover entities or persons connected to the Cuban military, intelligence services, or other government institutions, including entities on the U.S. State Department's Cuba Restricted List.
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Target

Jack Smith's secret orders targeting Patel and Wiles should alarm us all

Jonathan Turley
jonathanturley.org
Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00 UTC
PatelWilesSmith
© Alex Brandon/AP/Evelyn Hockstein/Webpage/KJNFBI Director Kash Patel • Chief of Staff Susie Wiles • Former Special Counsel Jack Smith
Below is my column on Fox.com on the new disclosures of secret orders targeting now FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. It is only the latest example of the abuse of the investigatory powers by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Here is the column:

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith has long operated under Oscar Wilde's rule that "the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." Over the last few months, the public has learned of a wide array of secret orders targeting members of Congress, Trump allies, and others. Now, the Administration has learned that FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Susie Wiles were also targeted by Smith in 2022 and 2023 when they were private citizens.

Smith was a controversial choice as Special Counsel because of his history of excessive legal arguments and tactics, including his unanimous loss before the Supreme Court in tossing out the conviction of former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell.
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Star of David

Why are Americans killing and dying for Israel, again?

Tarik Cyril Amar
RT.com
Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:46 UTC
The US doesn't benefit from a war with Iran in any way, but you know who does?
Psychos
© Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Israel and its US auxiliaries have attacked Iran. In terms of international law and elementary justice, things are clear beyond the slightest doubt: the attack is a war of aggression - but to be fair, in Israel's case that hardly makes a difference anymore.

With 'highlights' including apartheid, ethnic cleansing, unlawful detention, torture, sexual violence, and genocide, Israel has such an extensive and constantly growing record of, literally, every crime under international law, including human-rights and humanitarian law (or the law of armed conflict), that one more or less hardly seems to matter anymore. This state is a monster, and monsters will monster as long as they can.

The US, of course, is no spring chicken either when it comes to treating international law - really, any law - as a doormat and brutally, gleefully violating the most basic ethics, the kind of simple rules normal people intuitively recognize, such as "don't murder, lie, or steal."

Indeed, while Israel can easily claim to be the single most criminal, indeed evil country in the world, the US wins the most-powerful-rogue-state prize hands down. There is - empirically, quantifiably - no other country that combines such ingrained and increasingly explicit scorn for law and morality with such brute power and perpetual violence. Before the current assault on Iran, the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was just the last proof of that fact, so glaringly obvious that it woke up even some Western commentators.

If some things are too obvious to merit further discussion, others are more intriguing. Let's start with the greatest mystery: Why is the US joining - really, obeying - Israel and its powerful American lobby once again in going to war in the Middle East? Was Iraq 2003 not enough of a disaster? Are the American elites really congenitally unable to learn?
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Bomb

Israel strikes Iran - West Jerusalem


RT.com
Sat, 28 Feb 2026 07:22 UTC
Defense Minister Katz has claimed the attack is intended to "remove threats" to the Jewish state.
Iran Strike
© RT
The IDF has launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran for national security reasons, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has announced, warning the population of an expected retaliatory attack.

In a statement cited by several local media outlets early on Saturday, Katz said that the attack sought "to remove threats against the State of Israel," adding that authorities are imposing a nationwide state of emergency due to expected missile and drone strikes on the country's population in the immediate future.

A senior defense official told Israeli Channel 13 that "this is a joint Israeli-American attack" which the sides had been planning "for months." An unnamed US official later confirmed to the WSJ that the American military was participating in the attack.

RT footage from Tehran showed two large plumes of smoke rising over the buildings in the Iranian capital.
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Snakes in Suits

Best of the Web: The Talented Mr. Newsom

Alex Berenson
Unreported Truths
Wed, 25 Feb 2026 22:15 UTC
gavin newsom
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom could be our next president. But does anyone - including him - know what he stands for? A detailed look at his life suggests the answer might be no.

California has every natural and economic advantage: a long, beautiful coast, great weather, a generations-long stranglehold on cultural production in Los Angeles and advanced technology in Silicon Valley.

Yet years of Democratic misrule have made the state so unlivable its taxpaying residents are fleeing en masse. Building houses, or high-speed rail, or anything else in California is nearly impossible. Meanwhile, the state has done all it can to make itself a home for unemployable illegal migrants, including offering them free medical care.

One might think this record would make Gavin Newsom, California's Democratic governor, an unattractive presidential candidate.

One would be wrong.
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Dominoes

It's that bad: UK PM Starmer stunned after Green Party nabs Labour's 'safest' seat

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Fri, 27 Feb 2026 21:19 UTC
Hannah Spencer of the Green Party britain win
© Ryan Jenkinsen/GettyHannah Spencer of the Green Party delivers a speech after winning the Gorton and Denton by-election in England on February 26, 2026
"Torn the roof off" British politics

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure to reinvent his ailing Labour government with a leftwards pivot after the Green Party captured one of its House of Commons seats via a special election.

The result underscores the recent fragmentation of UK politics and the disruption of long-held electoral certainties.

It has "torn the roof off" British politics, said Green Party Leader Zack Polanski.

Spencer's win marks the first-ever by-election victory for the Greens, as well as their first seat in northern England, highlighting the increasing reach of the left-wing party in a context where Labour voters are abandoning it in both directions.

Spencer's margin of victory was much more comfortable than commentators had expected, with polls consistently understating the Greens' appeal.

Comment: The Alexes discuss the fallout:


Starmer's government is in catastrophic meltdown, yet his biggest concern is funding Ukraine:

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Cell Phone

Meta's own internal research shows its platforms are addictive and harmful but it's still targeting teens

Steven Middendorp
The Highwire
Thu, 26 Feb 2026 20:18 UTC
zuckerberg meta social media addictive children
© Damian Dovarganes/APMeta CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaves after testifying in a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children on Wednesday, February 18, 2023.
Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has been questioned in a bellwether social media jury trial alleging that Meta's platforms (Facebook and Instagram) are designed to be addictive. There are dozens of internal studies conducted by Meta that show the company is aware of the harm caused to children and teens who spend countless hours on the platforms while feeling hopelessly addicted.

During the Los Angeles trial, Zuckerberg said that when something provides value, people tend to use it more. Plaintiff Attorney Mark Lanier responded that people who are addicted to something also tend to increase the amount they use it. Zuckerberg said he didn't know how to respond to the statement and didn't know whether it applied to this situation.

Bennett Sippel, Nikolaus Greb, Emma Park, Zach Rausch, and Jonathan Haidt at the Tech and Society Lab at NYU Stern have compiled the internal studies and documents that have been leaked by whistleblowers and through court cases over the years.

Comment:

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USA

Will the "Gaza Peace Council" save the influence of the United States?

Thierry Meyssan
Voltairenet.org
Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00 UTC
Trump board meet
President Trump convened his Peace Council for its first session in Washington. Some media outlets, published in states that did not participate, suggested that this Council would replace the UN. Not at all. This new body is an attempt to salvage what can be saved of US influence, much like the collapsing USSR created the Commonwealth of Independent States. Washington wants "peace through reconstruction" in Gaza so as not to leave the region in disarray when it completely separates from Israel.

President Donald Trump convened his "Gaza Peace Council" for the first time in Washington on February 19, 2026.

The choice of date corresponds to the 365th day of his second term; a way of highlighting how he wishes to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that is, with foreign support.

February 19th is also the start of Ramadan, at least for some Muslims, since Saudi Arabia had set it the day before. For believers, Ramadan is a sacred period of introspection and charity.

The venue for the meeting was equally symbolic: the US Institute of Peace (USIP), now renamed the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. Far from being just another example of President Trump's systemic arrogance, this name change illustrates the organization's shift in focus.
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Nuke

Rubio reveals US condition for global nuclear arms deal


RT
Fri, 20 Feb 2026 17:38 UTC
Rubio
© Janos Kummer/Getty ImagesUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio
No agreement will be made without China, the American secretary of state has said.

Any future nuclear arms control agreement must include China alongside the US and Russia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said. He stated that Washington will continue pressing for trilateral talks with Beijing and Moscow.

The New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear pact between Washington and Moscow, expired earlier this month. Rubio told reporters on Wednesday:
"We think ultimately, in the 21st century, for there to be a true arms control agreement it has to involve China. The president strongly believes that for any nuclear agreement in the 21st century to be legitimate, it has to involve these three countries."
Rubio acknowledged that Beijing's nuclear arsenal is far smaller than those of Russia and the US, but dismissed this as "irrelevant." He argued that China "certainly has the capacity to catch up and are well on their way to doing so."

When asked how Washington could compel Beijing to join, the secretary admitted that "we can't compel them," adding that if China refuses "then we may not have a deal."
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Warning

EU manipulating polls in bid to oust Orban - German opposition leader


RT
Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:02 UTC
Alice Weidel
© Soren Stache/Getty Images/PoolAlice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party
The EU is desperately attempting to engineer "regime change" against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in next month's parliamentary election, employing tactics such as poll manipulation and energy blackmail, German opposition leader Alice Weidel has claimed.

In a post on X on Wednesday, the co-chair of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party accused Brussels of using "their puppet," Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar, in a bid to remove Orban.

"They want Orban gone, and they are willing to use any means to achieve it," Weidel wrote, pointing to the ongoing "blockade of oil supplies" from Ukraine to Hungary through the Druzhba pipeline, and "manipulation of election polls."

Comment: Orban clarifies his position:
Hungary should fear the EU, not Russia, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned, arguing that the bloc poses a "direct threat" to his country's sovereignty. In his annual state-of-the-nation address on Saturday, he said Brussels' "oppressive machinery" is attempting to steer the upcoming parliamentary elections against his government.

Orban accused Magyar's party of acting under Brussels' influence, which he said employs "censorship, intervention, and manipulation".
"We must come to terms with the idea that those who love freedom should not be afraid of the East, but rather of Brussels. Fear-mongering about Putin is primitive and unserious. Brussels, however, is a palpable reality and a direct threat."
Orban was referring to claims from Kiev's backers that Russia could attack the bloc after the Ukraine conflict concludes - a scenario that Moscow has dismissed as "nonsense."

Orban accused Brussels of manipulating previous elections across the EU and pledged to push out "foreign influence that limits our sovereignty together with its agents" ahead of the April election, which he has framed as a choice between "war or peace."

Orban has been one of the most vocal critics of EU policies, particularly its continued support for Kiev. He has also opposed Ukrainian membership in the EU, warning that Brussels' policies risk dragging the bloc into a direct war with Russia.

His stance has angered Brussels, which is reportedly considering easing the accession criteria for Ukraine to bypass Hungary's opposition. Media reports suggest that EU officials see the upcoming election as an opportunity to neutralize Orban.

Orban's refusal to back Kiev has drawn repeated attacks from Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, who sees EU accession as a key post-conflict security guarantee.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Zelensky blasted Orban, saying thanks to Ukraine, he can "think about how to grow his belly, not how to grow his army" to counter the perceived 'Russian threat'. Orban responded on X that remarks like these are "precisely why [Ukraine] cannot become a member of the EU."

Orban has received steady backing from US President Donald Trump, who endorsed the Hungarian leader on Truth Social on Friday as a "truly strong and powerful leader with a proven track record of delivering phenomenal results." Trump's comments came ahead of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to Hungary on Sunday.


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