Simplicius | Meltdown in the Atlanticist sphere ensues. | Everyone appears to be [...] sent into swoons of bliss or outrage over the now “certain” war-ending peace talks set to take place. I beg to differ. In short: the talk was the perfunctory, basic exchange of pleasantries and customary political gestures, nothing more. If you read the actual quotes and soundbites from various Russian officials, it is clear that Russia is no closer to any real negotiations, and is merely indulging the US its moment in the limelight of ostensibly ‘leading the peace charge’. In fact, I believe Trump even said he offered Putin a temporary ceasefire, which was quickly swept under the rug after Putin declined. [...] In actuality, there’s virtually nothing to talk about. Not only has Putin clearly dictated that no legal document can be signed with an illegitimate president like Zelensky—which itself puts off any “negotiations” until Zelensky is long gone—but the truth is, it’s hard to imagine any legal document being signed with the West at all. Russia has long suffered the betrayals of not only the various Minsk agreements, but endless other reneged ones in the past, from the ‘not-an-inch-eastward’ NATO understanding to the various treaties US pulled out of, as in the ABM Treaty.

✅ Here’s What Comes Next After Putin & Trump Just Agreed To Start Peace Talks (Andrew Korybko)
✅ Russia has won a war against the West: What the Putin-Trump call really means (Tarik Cyril Amar)

■ Putin-Trump summit on the way – Kremlin (RT)
■ Watch Full Video of Sergey Lavrov's Interview with American Journalist Tucker Carlson (12/06/24)
■ Russia’s revised nuclear doctrine makes defeat over its army impossible (11/20/24)
■ Trump claims he threatened Putin with strike on Moscow (10/21/24)
■ Ukrainian governments since 2014 illegitimate – Kremlin (09/06/24)

Moon of Alabama | Today the Trump administration told the Ukraine war party that their game is finally up. Everything it had hoped for is out of reach | Just yesterday Zelenski claimed that Europe cannot guarantee Ukraine’s security without the US. He is right with that. Over the last years Russia's military power has tripled. No alliance of current European armies could withstand its power should a conflict over Ukraine reignite. There is only one party that can and is willing to give Ukraine real security guarantees. That is of course, as I have written 20 months ago, Russia.

With a Palestinian coloring book as proof of 'incitement,' Israeli police raided East Jerusalem's world-famous Educational Bookshop and arrested its owners. | If at any point over the past year and a half you might have thought the Israeli authorities had already crossed every possible threshold when it comes to curtailing Palestinians’ freedom of expression, you would have been mistaken. Because yesterday, Israeli police raided two branches of a world-famous Palestinian bookstore in occupied East Jerusalem, arrested the owner and his nephew, and seized a selection of books — including a children’s coloring book.

Court Rules Trump **CAN** Temporarily Freeze All Federal Funding Without Congress or Court Approval! | A federal judge just ruled that President Trump does have the authority to freeze and/or limit federal funding. This is a huge win for Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Federal judge John McConnell ruled on Wednesday that the executive branch under President Donald Trump retains authority to pause federal spending as long as it complies with existing statutes and regulations. The judge went on to say “The [court’s previous order] does not bar both the President and much of the Federal Government from exercising their own lawful authorities to withhold funding,” McConnell wrote. Numerous reports coming out of Washington DC say "Democrats are freaking out. Their cash cow is being slaughtered."