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Trump picks Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general

Gaetz
© Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty ImagesRepublican Representative Matt Gaetz R-Fla.
President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida as U.S. attorney general.

Gaetz has submitted his resignation from Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson revealed at a news conference Wednesday evening. The resignation will not take effect until it is announced on the House floor.

Trump, in his Truth Social post announcing Gaetz's selection, wrote that the 42-year-old lawmaker "has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice."

Gaetz replied on X: "It will be an honor to serve as President Trump's Attorney General!"

The selection is the clearest example yet of how Trump, having sworn off many of his former staffers as "RINOs" — Republicans in Name Only — or enemies of him and his MAGA agenda, is making loyalty a key qualification for his second administration.

Nuke

Ukraine could have nuclear weapon in months - report

Nuketest
© Galerie Bilderwelt/Getty ImagesNuclear test explosion
A government research center has claimed that the country has enough plutonium to build hundreds of crude warheads.

Ukraine could feasibly raid the country's nuclear reactors to develop crude atomic weapons if the US cuts off military aid, a briefing paper prepared for the Ministry of Defense has advised.

The Times reported on Wednesday that its authors at the National Institute for Strategic Studies believe "creating a simple atomic bomb, as the United States did within the framework of the Manhattan Project, would not be a difficult task 80 years later." The report was published by the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies.

While Ukraine cannot enrich Uranium - a process vital for building modern nuclear weapons, its nine operating nuclear reactors contain an estimated seven tons of plutonium, its authors claimed. This could be used to build bombs similar to the 'Fat Man' device dropped on Nagasaki by the US in 1945.

Comment: So far, Kiev has denied the option:
"Creating a simple atomic bomb, as the United States did within the framework of the Manhattan Project, would not be a difficult task 80 years later", a document by Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies stated.

While the nuclear devices would not be particularly powerful, Ukraine has sufficient material "for hundreds of warheads with a tactical yield of several kilotons." That would be enough to "destroy an entire Russian airbase or concentrated military, industrial or logistics installations."

However, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgy Tikhiy has dismissed claims that the country could seek nuclear weapons. Referring to the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, he stressed in a statement Wednesday:
"Ukraine is committed to the NPT. We do not possess, develop, or intend to acquire nuclear weapons. Ukraine works closely with the IAEA and is fully transparent to its monitoring, which rules out the use of nuclear materials for military purposes."
Ukraine's strong suit has been 'whining and desperation' rather than logistics and military savvy. Nuclear capability would be a disaster's disaster in Zelensky's hands.


Attention

European lackeys in panic mode as Trump signals detente with Russia

TrumpEU
© strategic-culture.suWatchout! Trump is back!
It's early days yet. However, there are signs that President-elect Trump is moving toward a detente with Russia over Ukraine.

One good sign is that Trump will not invite Mike Pompeo or Nikki Haley to join his cabinet when he is inaugurated as the 47th U.S. president on January 20. Both of these figures were rabid anti-Russia hawks during Trump's previous administration. There were suggestions that Pompeo and Haley might return with senior posts in his second administration. But Trump has announced the pair will not be offered new positions.

Another positive sign is from people close to Trump's inner circle who are letting the Kiev regime know - rudely - that the U.S. military aid spigot is being turned off.

Donald Trump has yet to hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Kremlin. But both leaders have already expressed a willingness to negotiate a peaceful settlement over the Ukraine conflict.

Another promising sign of potential detente between the United States and Russia is the sheer panic among European leaders. The news of Trump's election last week has caused most European elites to scramble like scared children on hearing "boo!".

Comment: Wake up EU! You are currently a disaster. There are no 'do-overs'.


Calendar

Germany to hold snap election on 23 February

Bundestag
© UnknownThe Bundestag in Berlin, Germany
President approves date agreed by leading Social Democrats and opposition conservatives.

Germany will hold a snap election on 23 February after an agreement reached on Tuesday morning by parliamentary factions from the leading Social Democrats and the main conservative opposition CDU/CSU.

The German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, gave the go-ahead for the new election schedule at a meeting of representatives of the government and the leading opposition in Berlin on Tuesday evening. Steinmeier said in a statement issued by his office that "based on a current assessment" he "considered February 23 as a realistic date for new elections".

The statement followed a meeting between Steinmeier, who is head of state, the CDU leader Friedrich Merz and Rolf Mutzenich, parliamentary group leader of the SPD. Also present were two members of the Greens.

It is hoped it will bring clarity after days of infighting and speculation prompted by the collapse of Germany's three-way coalition government last week.

USA

Has America lost its mind or will Trump get it right this time?

trump 2024 campaign
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesU.S. President-elect Donald Trump
In one of the biggest comebacks since Lazarus, the 45th US president will also be the 47th

It seems that humanity has managed to turn back the clock to 2016. The sense of déjà vu that haunted me throughout November 6 was too strong: the US presidential election once again didn't go according to plan, sociologists are scratching their heads in bewilderment because all their predictions have failed, American liberals are crying, internet trolls are gloating, Western Europeans are tense, and Russians are jubilant. At the center of it all is Donald Trump, president-elect again, preparing to turn the world upside down. For real this time.

The election results clearly showed that Americans were fed up with the old establishment and the strange progressive ideas of which Kamala Harris was an ambassador. The false public image created by the Democratic Party's 'political technology' apparatus didn't help her either. While Kamala was buying up celebrities and giving scripted interviews to loyal journalists under the watchful eye of her PR team, Trump was standing behind the fryer at McDonald's, driving around Wisconsin in a garbage truck and chatting amicably with blogger Joe Rogan on his podcast. This eventually resonated with the nation, and for most, he was a more acceptable figure.

Comment: Since this was penned, Trump's picks have been released. It's a mixed bag, from Tusli Gabbard for Department of National Intelligence and Matt Gaetz for Attorney General (great), to Marco Rubio for Secretary of State (wtf?). No one is completely happy over it all, but it is important to remember that 1) overwhelming mandate aside, DC is still a horse-trading town and compromises are the name of the game when trying to accomplish your goals, and 2) his less stellar picks need to toe the MAGA line or they can be summarily fired.

We can only wait and see what happens


Star of David

What comes next for the Palestinians?

Trumpneti
© Susan Walsh/APUS President Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
White House East Room • January 28, 2020
The unveiling of 'Peace to Prosperity' vision for Israeli-Palestinian accord
Well, it's over...or is it? Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States backed by a GOP controlled Senate and possibly even a majority in the House of Representatives. And one should not discount the advantage derived from having a largely conservative Supreme Court, but much depends on who Trump appoints to key cabinet positions, a weakness in the first Trump presidency as he tended to select ideologues rather than candidates with relevant knowledge or experience. One hopes, for example, that neither the usual claque of neocons nor establishment characters like Mike Pompeo or Tom Cotton, who have been mentioned as possible candidates for Secretary of Defense, will appear on anyone's list for high office.

During the lead-up to the presidential campaign, Trump sometimes referred to himself as the most popular politician in Israel, including a conceit that if he were able to run for office in that country he would be able to get elected to the highest offices without any problem. That was, at least in Donald's mind, an expression of gratitude for how he had done so much for Israel in 2016-2020, including moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, accepting the annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights, providing political cover for Israeli actions, and a declaration that the US would not do anything to interfere with military and police actions connected to Israeli settlement expansion on the nominally Palestinian West Bank. Israel also appreciated Trump's appointment of his lawyer David Friedman as US Ambassador. Friedman proved to be a full time apologist for Israel, not representing or defending American interests. In the recent presidential campaign, Trump spoke frequently to Jewish Republican groups and declared himself to be Israel's best friend and supporter among US politicians.

Comment: We have to want a wake-up call to get one. Trump believes he is it.


Target

Peter Thiel: From Gaza AI war criminal to White House puppet master

Theil
© MintPress NewsPeter Thiel
The screams of babies as buildings collapse in Gaza. Terrified parents carrying the remains of their children away in plastic carrier bags. These scenes - altogether too familiar today - come enabled by German-American tech billionaire Peter Thiel and his company, Palantir, whose software uses AI and big data to help the Israeli military surveil, target and slaughter hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. It is also used by ICE, the FBI and U.S. law enforcement to destroy privacy, to attack whistleblowers, and to turn the Orwellian concept of "pre-crime" (identifying and tracking potential subversives before they commit any offense) into a reality.

The Silicon Valley oligarch has deep ties to the CIA and the military-industrial complex and is one of the Republican Party's most powerful backers. Already one of the world's most influential individuals, if Donald Trump wins in November, Thiel has set himself up to become a "shadow president," wielding gigantic power over us all. This is his story.

Comment: Since this article was written, the Trump-Vance team captured the presidency...along with it 'the shadow president' and 'ultimate string puller': Mr. Thiel.


Padlock

SOTT Focus: The CDC Planned Quarantine Camps Nationwide

FenceCDC
© CDC/Shutterstock
No matter how bad you think Covid policies were, they were intended to be worse.

Consider the vaccine passports alone. Six cities were locked down to include only the vaccinated in public indoor places. They were New York City, Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and Seattle. The plan was to enforce this with a vaccine passport. It broke. Once the news leaked that the shot didn't stop infection or transmission, the planners lost public support and the scheme collapsed.

It was undoubtedly planned to be permanent and nationwide if not worldwide. Instead, the scheme had to be dialed back.

Features of the CDC's edicts did incredible damage. It imposed the rent moratorium. It decreed the ridiculous "six feet of distance" and mask mandates. It forced Plexiglas as the interface for commercial transactions. It implied that mail-in balloting must be the norm, which probably flipped the election. It delayed the reopening as long as possible. It was sadistic.

Even with all that, worse was planned. On July 26, 2020, with the George Floyd riots having finally settled down, the CDC issued a plan for establishing nationwide quarantine camps:
People were to be isolated, given only food and some cleaning supplies. They would be banned from participating in any religious services. The plan included contingencies for preventing suicide.
There were no provisions made for any legal appeals or even the right to legal counsel.

Comment: What didn't happen could have happened. The planning says it all. Next time?


Target

Polish president admits real purpose of US missile base was not about defending against Iran, but expanding NATO towards Russia

Andrzej Duda
© X / @prezydentpl
The missile defense facility at Redzikowo isn't about intercepting ballistic missiles from Iran, but about moving Poland into the US zone of influence and away from Russia, Polish President Andrzej Duda has revealed.

The Aegis Ashore facility on the Baltic Sea coast was proposed in the early 2000s, after the US repudiated the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) treaty. Washington assured Moscow at the time that the future bases in Romania and Poland were not aimed against Russia but against "rogue states" such as Iran or North Korea.

Speaking at the opening ceremony for the Redzikowo base on Wednesday, Duda quoted the words of the Polish president at the time, Lech Kaczynski, revealing the real purpose of the missile base.

"Andrzej, these missiles will not defend Poland," Duda said. "They will actually protect areas far, far away from Poland from missiles that could potentially be launched from Iran, for example. But this will be an American missile base, which will contain some of the greatest secrets of the United States and which the United States will guard."

Popcorn

Musk has powerful influence on Trump - media

musk dark maga
© Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images
Billionaire Elon Musk, who has been given a top position in the incoming Trump administration, has an outsized influence on the president-elect, multiple news outlets have reported.

After endorsing Donald Trump following the assassination attempt against the then-presidential candidate in Butler, Pennsylvania in July, Musk became a leading figure in the campaign. Since Trump's election victory last week, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has had an input on who the incoming administration is tapping for jobs, insider sources have told media outlets including ABC News, CNN and Axios.

Musk has reportedly visited Trump's residence in Florida almost every day since the election. He was present during at least two conversations that the politician had with foreign leaders, including Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, sources said. Trump allegedly handed the phone over to his key supporter during the call with Kiev.