TRUMP TRYING TO COERCE UKRAINE INTO ACCEPTING HIS “PEACE” DEAL
Donald Trump took his bullheaded naiveté in foreign policy to a new level this month when he unveiled his 28 point “peace plan” which, as I covered last week, had all the earmarks that it was wholly or in part based on a Russian document, especially because it was completely one-sided in Russia’s favor such as rewarding Putin’s aggression by giving him all of Eastern Ukraine, removal of all sanctions, reintegration in the world economy and total amnesty for their war crimes and only gave Ukraine a week to accept it. Ukraine and the EU responded with a partial acceptance but modified the points to include greater security guarantees and rejecting all the issues that rewarded Putin as the aggressor. Trump allowed his “take it or leave it threat” to pass, and sat back as two more rounds of negotiation took place, one in Moscow with Putin, and one in Florida with Ukraine, but no solid movement took place because the Trump team was exclusively representing the Russian side. This week, Trump handed down another ultimatum against Ukraine demanding that they surrender to Trump’s demands or lose all US support. Trump is determined to celebrate his peace deal by Christmas no matter how dangerous to Ukraine’s sovereignty. to receive a free one-time sample of the brief, along with options on how to subscribe, click on Request a sample on the left.
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“The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping,” Trump said. “For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”
Following the shooting, there have been multiple dead-end leads involving so-called "persons of interest." Local police have released blurry footage of one individual, while one of the most heavily surveilled schools in the nation reportedly had no interior footage.
After spotting the aircraft, the rattled Falcon pilot informed the controller. "We just got that traffic. I don't know how we didn't get an RA for that," he said, referring to a Resolution Advisory, a command generated by an on-board Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). "They were really close -- and you turned us into them." The controller explained that the unidentified craft "keep[s] turning irregular."
Still, the land issue remains a front and central problem. "The Americans are trying to find a compromise," Zelensky said just ahead of visiting the Netherlands on Tuesday. "They are proposing a ‘free economic zone' (in the Donbas). And I want to stress once again: a ‘free economic zone' does not mean under the control of the Russian Federation."
One big breakthrough, from Kiev's point of view, is being reported, however. The NY Times writes that "The United States, Ukraine and Europe have agreed on a NATO-like guarantee for the future security of Ukraine, two U.S. officials said on Monday, as they tried to come up with a revised peace proposal that would deter future aggression and still satisfy Russia."
Jimmy Lai, a former newspaper publisher and one of Hong Kong’s most outspoken critics of China’s communist regime, has been convicted in a national security trial—a case that has drawn international scrutiny amid Hong Kong’s continued erosion of freedoms.
With over 95 percent of the votes counted, Kast, a member of the Republican Party of Chile, won more than 58 percent of the vote. His leading rival, Jeannette Jara, a member of the Communist Party of Chile, won 41 percent.
It sets the stage for Chile’s most conservative government in decades.
Brown University has roughly one surveillance camera for every nine undergraduate students. Yet, despite that high level of surveillance, local authorities have not released a single clear, front-facing image of the shooter, who yelled "something unique" before killing two and injuring nine in a classroom that focused on the intersection of economics and Jewish studies.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it used a new underwater drone to strike Russia’s Novorossiysk naval base, sinking a Russian submarine in the process.
Shooting during a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach
Two gunmen opened fire, discharging dozens of rounds
The two shooters are father and son
A bystander intervened and disarmed one attacker
16 people confirmed dead including a 10-year-old kid (New South Wales Minister says via AFP)
38 others wounded, several critically (via AP)
One suspect was killed; another is in critical condition
Police are examining a possible IED connection
Deadliest Australian shooting since 1996
24-year-old Naveed Akram was identified as one of the suspected gunmen
Dauda grew up in peace with Muslim friends and neighbors in the country’s fertile Middle Belt region. But everything began to change around 2001.
“It was so strange to us, we never knew that, to see our people killed in a community where Muslims were a minority but well armed,” Dauda said of radicalized groups that began attacking Christians. “They drove us out.”
At the center of the scandal is a nonprofit-backed food program that prosecutors say was systematically exploited. One defendant alone billed the state for $47 million, claiming to have served 18 million meals at more than 30 locations - while failing to distribute a single meal, according to prosecutors.
Minns also did not explain how making guns even harder for law-abiding citizens to acquire for self-defense will enable law-abiding citizens to better defend themselves.
The U.S. Supreme Court today vacated a lower court decision against a group of Amish parents and school leaders who challenged the state of New York’s vaccine mandates for schools, ruling that the appeals court must reconsider the case. Today’s ruling could have implications for other states that don’t allow religious exemptions, attorneys said.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on social media that the attack occurred in the central Syrian town of Palmyra as U.S. forces were conducting a key leader engagement in support of ongoing counter-ISIS and counterterrorism operations.
An FBI whistleblower has come forward with perspectives that raise concerns that the bureau has charged an innocent person with planting bombs at Democratic and Republican headquarters on Jan 5, 2021, according to Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has realized that it is all about following the money. If the U.S. military posture in the Caribbean is one of "gunboat diplomacy" aimed at ushering in regime change in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, against the country's autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro, then one way to accelerate regime instability is to weaken Cuba materially.
President Trump is meanwhile pressing European leaders to force Zelensky to accept the US peace plan which hinges on major territorial concessions and a cap on Ukraine's armed forces. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the US president held a tense call with his German, French and British counterparts, where he conveyed his frustrations with Zelensky for not seriously engaging with the US proposal.
Two fertilizer plants were also targeted in the western Novgorod and Smolensk regions. Fire resulted at one of these, the Acron mineral fertilizer plant, among Russia's largest chemical producers.
Local reports have identified the Comoros Islands-flagged Dashan as being struck while sailing en route to the Russian port terminal of Novorossiysk. The Ukrainians were quick to release drone-perspective video confirming the attack, and the vessel appeared to be unladen at the time.
Airspace over Western Pacific waters near Japan continues to heat up at a moment of the highest tensions in decades between Beijing and Tokyo.
Tuesday saw Japan and South Korea dispatch fighter jets in response to a joint patrol by Russian and Chinese bombers over the Asia-Pacific region, the countries' militaries confirmed.
Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Ukrainian Energy Research Center, has in recent comments confirmed that resources for repairing damaged energy facilities have almost run out.
The Ukraine war has been a wakeup call to the world. Drones are going to be the focal point of future conflicts. When a $350 piece of equipment can take out a $4 million tank and 4 specialist soldiers, the game has changed.
Soon, tanks and artillery units will also be unmanned.
The rising tally is part of the Trump administration’s push to enforce English proficiency rules and curb safety risks from unqualified commercial drivers.
A new CNN investigation has unveiled one of the most sweeping military infrastructure expansions in modern history. Since 2020, China has dramatically increased construction at more than 60% of its 136 known facilities tied to missile production and the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF). Satellite analysis shows over 21 million square feet of new buildings — an area roughly the size of 400 football fields — signaling an unprecedented surge in Beijing’s missile manufacturing capacity.
A new CNN investigation has unveiled one of the most sweeping military infrastructure expansions in modern history. Since 2020, China has dramatically increased construction at more than 60% of its 136 known facilities tied to missile production and the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF). Satellite analysis shows over 21 million square feet of new buildings — an area roughly the size of 400 football fields — signaling an unprecedented surge in Beijing’s missile manufacturing capacity.
President Trump has really ramped up the pressure, in a fresh Politico interview signaling that the Ukrainian leader must begin to accept reality and make compromises, starting with holding elections. According to a fresh audio statement being circulated, Zelensky has newly responded by stating "I am ready for elections. I will be in Ukraine tomorrow and expect proposals from our partners and lawmakers on legal changes to allow elections during martial law," according to a translation.
