Canada #71
Hang on! USAID Funneled MILLIONS to the Clinton Foundation?!?! | Redacted News
3 Feb 2025
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) which is a front for the CIA has been effectively shut down following an announcement by Elon Musk that President Donald Trump agreed to close the agency.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmAB_z316WM
Canada #71
Trump Demands Ukraine to Give Rare Earth Minerals to U.S. as Payment for Billions in Aid
by Jim Hᴏft Feb. 4, 2025
President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is demanding Ukraine provide the United States with access to its vast reserves of rare earth minerals in exchange for continued military and financial assistance.
“We’re telling Ukraine, they have very valuable rare Earth. We want what we put up to go in terms of a guarantee. We want a guarantee,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office.
“We’re handing them money hand over fist. We’re giving them equipment. [The] European [Union] is not keeping up with us. They should equalize.”
“Look, we have an ocean in between. They don’t. It’s more important for them than it is for us. But they’re way below us in terms of money, and they should be paying at least equal.
“They should really be paying much more than us, but let’s say equal to us. And they’re billions and billions of dollars below. So we’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare Earth and other things,” Trump said.
Trump’s demand signals a dramatic shift from the Biden regime’s blank-check approach, which has funneled almost $200 billion in military and economic assistance to Kyiv since Russia’s 2022 invasion—often with little oversight.
With Ukraine’s government continuing to rely heavily on U.S. aid, Trump is making it clear that there will be no more free rides under his leadership.
More:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/02/trump-demands-ukraine-give-rare-earth-minerals-u/
Canada #71
Joe Biden Signs Deal With Lucrative Hollywood Agency Weeks After Leaving Office
by Ben Kew Feb. 3, 2025
Joe Biden has been out of office for just over two weeks and he is already looking to cash in.
The former president has signed a deal with the Creative Arts Agency (CAA), a Hollywood agency that represents hundreds of celebrities and Hollywood stars.
“President Biden is one of America’s most respected and influential voices in national and global affairs,” Richard Lovett, co-chair of CAA, said in a statement.
“His lifelong commitment to public service is one of unity, optimism, dignity, and possibility,” he continued.
”We are profoundly honored to partner with him again.”
Also signed up to the agency are Barack and Michelle Obama, with whom they established the Higher Ground media company that podcasts, films and TV shows, including the Oscar winning documentary American Factory.
It is not the first time that Biden has been signed up with CAA.
The 82-year-old was registered with the agency between 2017 and 2020, with whom his memoir Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose about the death of his eldest son Beau from brain cancer.
The memoir, published in November 2017, became a New York Times bestseller and led to a book tour that set the stage for his 2020 presidential campaign.
Upon leaving the White House last month, Biden signalled he was not going to walk away from public life.
“We’re leaving office, we’re not leaving the fight,” he said at the time.
Having already made huge amounts through his son Hunter’s corrupt business dealings with Ukraine, Biden will likely pull millions in speaking fees if he so desires.
Yet given he is suffering from dementia as well as obvious physical decline, it remains to be seen whether he will even be able to deliver speeches or a public address to a satisfactory standard.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/02/joe-biden-signs-deal-lucrative-hollywood-agency-weeks/
Canada #71
Zelensky says he’s ready for talks with Putin
The Ukrainian leader has stated he considers the Russian president “an enemy” and believes the feeling is mutual
4 Feb, 2025
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has expressed readiness to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin if it is the only option to bring the Ukraine conflict to its end.
He made the remarks during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, with excerpts published on Tuesday. When asked if he was prepared to meet with the Russian president, Zelenskyy indicated his willingness to do so.
“If that is the only setup in which we can bring peace to the citizens of Ukraine and not lose people, definitely we will go for this setup, for this meeting,” he said. “What is my attitude to him [Putin]? I will not be kind to him and I… consider him an enemy. And to be honest, I believe he considers me an enemy as well,” he stated.
The remarks appear to reflect an apparent shift in Zelensky’s stance. He had repeatedly refused to negotiate with Putin in the past and even signed a decree explicitly banning any negotiations with Moscow and President Vladimir Putin specifically. Last month, Zelensky claimed the ban applied to all Ukrainian officials except himself, while the original 2022 decree only stated that such negotiations were “impossible” without specifying any individuals or entities prohibited from engaging in them.
Last week, Putin reiterated Moscow’s position that Zelensky lacks the legitimacy to sign any agreement, given that his presidential term expired in May 2024 and no constitutional mechanism exists to extend it. However, the Russian president stated that he was willing to send negotiators to talk to Zelensky if the latter was open to discussions.
“It’s possible to negotiate with anyone. However, due to his illegitimacy, [Zelensky] has no right to sign anything. If he wishes to participate in talks, I will deploy people who will conduct such negotiations,” Putin said.
The Ukrainian decree banning negotiations with Russia remains a major obstacle to any meaningful talks between Kiev and Moscow, Putin suggested. Additionally, he pledged to deploy a team of legal experts to assess the authority of any Ukrainian negotiating team and determine whether they had the proper legal standing to sign an agreement.
“If we start negotiations now, they will be illegitimate… Because when the current head of the regime – that’s the only way to call [Zelensky] today – signed this decree, he was a somewhat legitimate president. But now he can’t cancel it because he is illegitimate. That’s the trick, the catch, the trap,” Putin explained.
https://www.rt.com/russia/612181-zelensky-talks-putin-russia/
Canada #71
Record Number Of American CEOs Quit: Report
Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times Tuesday, Feb 04, 2025
More U.S. CEOs exited their companies in 2024 than in any year in more than two decades, with economic and technological factors contributing to the trend, according to a recent report from global outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Last year, 2,221 CEOs quit their jobs, according to the company’s Jan. 30 report. The number is 16 percent higher than the previous record, which was set in 2023 with 1,914 CEO exits. The company began tracking CEO changes in 2002.
Also in 2024, 143 founders left their CEO roles, far higher than the 29 in the previous year.
The government/nonprofit sector led 2024 in terms of CEO departures, with 493 executives leaving their posts. Health care and technology sectors saw more than 200 CEO exits each, followed by the entertainment/leisure, financial, and services industries sectors, each with more than 100 executives exiting.
“The environment of economic, political, and regulatory uncertainty that prevailed in 2024 certainly led to many CEO exits,” Senior Vice President Andrew Challenger said.
“With that as a backdrop, we also saw rapid technological advancement and boards that were laser focused on efficiency and productivity. If CEOs were perceived to be lacking, they were not tolerated.”
The rapid development and adoption of artificial intelligence and automation contributed to new leadership at many businesses, according to the report.
Some of the major reasons for CEO exits also include retirement, pursuing new opportunities, and resignations.
Major CEO Exits
The CEOs of several big name brands exited their companies last year. Prominent among them was Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, who stepped down following intense regulatory scrutiny over the quality of the aircraft manufacturer’s offerings. The door panel of a Boeing 737-9 Max blew off in January 2024, triggering safety concerns.
In December 2024, Pat Gelsinger retired from the post of Intel CEO. His exit came after the company’s revenues saw a steady decline.
Nike CEO John Donahoe stepped down last year after the company faced a turbulent 2024 that saw sales dipping and shares falling. At Starbucks, Laxman Narasimhan exited as CEO after just one year at his job.
Despite the highest CEO exits last year, most executives have an optimistic view of the U.S. economy, according to multiple surveys.
A Jan. 15 survey from executive coaching organization Vistage found that its CEO Confidence Index surged by more than 15 points, signaling an impending growth cycle.
The poll was conducted among 9,811 individuals who are part of chief executive and small business groups in the United States.
Among the respondents, 55 percent said they expect the economy to improve in the year ahead, up from 32 percent in the third quarter of 2024. “CEOs’ optimism about the new administration is key to this change,” the survey report stated.
More:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/record-number-american-ceos-quit-report
South African minister calls for halt to mineral exports to US
4 Feb, 2025
Gwede Mantashe has said the continent should not fear Washington’s threats
South Africa’s minister of mineral and petroleum resources, Gwede Mantashe, has called on African countries to withhold mineral exports to the US. The comments come after US President Donald Trump announced plans to cut aid to South Africa over its land expropriation policies.
Speaking on Monday at the Investing in African Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, Mantashe stated that African nations should not be afraid of US threats.
“Let us withhold minerals to the US,” the minister said. “If they don’t give us money, let’s not give them minerals… we are not just beggars, let us use that endowment for our benefit… If as a continent we are [paralysed] with fear, we are going to collapse, but with minerals at our doorstep.”
The call follows Trump’s announcement that the US would halt all future assistance to South Africa, citing concerns over land expropriation without compensation. On Sunday, the US president called the alleged mistreatment of “certain classes of people” in South Africa a “bad situation that the radical left media doesn’t want to so much as mention.”
In response, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa defended the country’s land reform policy, stating it is a “constitutionally mandated legal process” and that the government “has not confiscated any land.”
Last month, Ramaphosa enacted an expropriation bill into law, permitting the government to seize land without compensation when it deems such action “just and equitable and in the public interest.” The new law aims to address racial disparities in land ownership, a long-standing issue in Africa’s most advanced economy since Apartheid ended in 1994.
Mantashe stated that Africa is the richest mining region globally, holding at least 90% of the world’s chromium and platinum, 40% of its gold, and the largest reserves of cobalt, vanadium, manganese, and uranium.
According to US government statistics, Washington set aside nearly $440 million in assistance to South Africa in 2023.
https://www.rt.com/africa/612142-south-africa-halt-mineral-exports-us/