There's this:

Canada #71

The Bundeswehr Doesn’t Have a Single Combat-Ready Division, Leaving Germany Totally Dependent of Stationed US Troops for Defense and Deterrence

by Paul Serran Feb. 5, 2025

In the context of a ‘powder-keg Europe’ where all they’ve done for years now is worry and plan to fight the bogeyman Russians, it is shocking to see how German governments have allowed their armed forces to sink to such a sorry state.

It arises now that the Bundeswehr (German army) is currently in the process of equipping and training its 10th Armored Division to be the first division geared for full operational readiness.

You read it right: in Germany, right now, at most ‘part of a division’ would be ready for combat in the event of a military conflict.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported (translated from the German):

“Frank Haun, the then head of the armaments company KNDS, said in June 2024 about the current situation of the Bundeswehr in an interview with the F.A.Z.: ‘We can still defend Augsburg with it, but Munich and Berlin [we] cannot’. For the foreseeable future, Germany will therefore be dependent on friends and partners, especially on the units of the American army stationed in Germany’.”

“There are currently around 38,500 US Army soldiers in Germany, 14,000 of them on a rotational basis, according to the US European Command of the F.A.Z. In addition, there are another 10,000 soldiers of the American Air Force. The largest units are the aforementioned European Command in Wiesbaden, the 56th Artillery Command in Wiesbaden, the 12th Combat Aviation Division in Bavaria and Hesse, equipped with helicopters, the 10th Air and Missile Command in Rhineland-Palatinate and the training center in Bavaria.”

Ramstein is the largest American Air Force base outside the US. Landstuhl is home to the largest American hospital overseas, and there are other units distributed in barracks in southern Germany.

“As the European Command notes, every [US] unit that is sent to Germany is ‘combat ready’, i.e. immediately operational. In the Bundeswehr, it will be difficult to find a unit at the moment to which this applies. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 in violation of international law, the Inspector of the Army, Alfons Mais, commented on the state of his branch of the armed forces. This was ‘more or less bare’, he wrote at the time.”

After the Cold War, the German army shrank dramatically.

The Bundeswehr has a little more than 300 tanks – but only about 100 of them are operational. Compare this to 4,000 tanks back in 1992 and as many as 2,400 in 2004.

“However, Germany would have to rely on the United States not only in the event of a conflict, but also when it comes to preventing one, especially in terms of deterrence. After the Cold War, the United States withdrew all ground-based nuclear-capable missile systems with a range of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers from Germany. In July last year, however, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and then-American President Joe Biden agreed to bring such systems back to Germany.

As the announcement said, this stationing will include three systems: Tomahawk cruise missiles, which are to have a range of up to 2500 kilometers, the so-called Standard Missile, a ballistic missile with a range of up to 1600 kilometers, and the hypersonic missile called Dark Eagle, which is still under development, which is to fly up to 3000 kilometers. These are to be subordinated to the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force in Wiesbaden. Where exactly the missiles will be stationed has not yet been decided, the EU European Command told the F.A.Z.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/02/bundeswehr-doesnt-have-single-combat-ready-division-leaving/

>>22526489 (me)

Proceeded in 2023 by this

German military boost fails to spend single euro

March 14, 2023

A senior German MP has condemned the slow start of a drive to boost the country's military announced after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.

Eva Högl, parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, said "not a single euro" of a €100bn fund (£88bn; $107bn) approved by MPs had been spent.

The military has even less than it had before Russia's attack, she added.

The invasion of Ukraine led Germany to announce a massive increase in military spending, a major policy shift.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz received a standing ovation in parliament on 27 February last year, as he announced the radical departure from Germany's pacifist tradition.

The new policy included a commitment to Nato's spending target of 2% of GDP for defence, as well as the €100bn special fund.

More than a year later, Ms Högl, a Social Democrat like the chancellor, said: "Unfortunately I have to note that in 2022, not a single euro or cent of this special fund has been spent."

Presenting her annual report to fellow MPs, she said the armed forces had "too little of everything - even less since 24 February 2022", referring to the day of Russia's invasion.

She added that barracks were "pitiful", with some lacking "functioning toilets, clean showers… indoor sports facilities, troop kitchens, care facilities, ammunition depots and armouries".

Despite the lack of spending on its own forces, Germany has sent large amounts of military aid to Ukraine over the past year - from air defence systems to missiles. In January it promised to send state-of-the-art Leopard 2 tanks.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64955247

I wonder where those euros went?

>>22526526

here's the article

Before it was shuttered, USAID routed funds to Soros-aligned causes, terrorists and drag queens

The development agency for years also funneled money to several nonprofit groups that also received substantial backing from components of George Soros’ empire.

By Steven Richards Published: February 5, 2025

Before the Trump administration closed USAID’s doors, the agency regularly routed funding to causes aligned with George Soros’ nonprofit empire, terrorists and drag queens.

The agency came under scrutiny from the new administration over failures to ensure transparency in its funding to organizations across the globe and concerns that the leadership was not responding to explicit policy directives from the State Department and the wider executive branch to align its programs with Trump policies and the U.S. national interest.

In recent days, the Trump administration identified USAID programs ranging from contraceptives for Afghanistan to LGBT diversity programs for European countries as clear evidence that foreign aid needed to be paused and reevaluated, a task that fell to the Rubio State Department.

The development agency for years also funneled money to several nonprofit groups that also received substantial backing from components of George Soros’ empire. Some previously came under scrutiny during the Obama administration for “democracy promotion” and judicial reform efforts in European countries that critics claimed promoted leftist politics.

For example, U.S. government spending records show that the East-West Management Institute, which is in part backed by Soros’ Open Society Foundations, received more than $260 million over the years in grants from USAID to, among other things, promote the rule of law in Georgia, strengthen civil society in Uganda, and advance Serbia’s accession talks with the European Union.

That same nonprofit group came under scrutiny during the Obama administration after Judicial Watch uncovered government records and communications showing that the East-West Management Institute’s “Justice for All” campaign in Albania received $9 million in funding from USAID.

The assistance concerned several GOP Senators, who sent a letter to the newly appointed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in 2017, alleging the campaign funded by the U.S. government helped craft an Albanian judicial reform proposal that may “give the Prime Minister and left-of-center government full control over the judiciary.”

Those same Senators also raised concerns about a similar Soros-backed program in neighboring Macedonia where they said a local affiliate called Foundation Open Society-Macedonia received backing from USAID through the Open Society Foundations and pushed “a progressive agenda.”

Other Soros-backed organizations that received funding from both his Open Society Foundations network and USAID include the Anti-Corruption Action Center in Ukraine and Transparency International.

According to the group's own records, the Anti-Corruption Action Center began receiving funding from USAID the same year the Maidan Revolution overthrew Ukraine’s elected, Russian-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych. The group, by its own admission, was heavily critical of Yanukovych’s government and ministers, which aligned with U.S. State Department policy at the time. During the 2014 Maidan Revolution, then-Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland visited Ukraine and was recorded on a leaked phone call discussing how the United States could influence the formation of a new government in Kyiv.

George Soros’ Open Society Foundations did not respond to a request for comment.

After temporarily shutting down USAID operation, the Trump administration defended the move, citing other left-wing causes that received funding grants from the agency. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt highlighted several when speaking with reporters on Monday, including $1.5 million for diversity measures in Serbia, $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru, and $70,000 for a DEI musical in Ireland.

More:

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/it-was-shuttered-usaid-routed-funds-soros-causes-terrorists-and

>>22526648

Needs bacon

>>22526465

So?

The training wheels came off years ago

>>22526709

From a cloud of smoke and the tunes of Bob Marley he comes

>>22526776

I have an alternate suggestion…

AGOA: The U.S.-Africa Trade Program

U.S. trade with sub-Saharan Africa has declined in recent years, prompting analysts to question the effectiveness of a preferential trade program for the region.

By Claire Klobucista Last updated March 18, 2022

Summary

Launched in 2000, AGOA is a preferential trade program that allows countries in sub-Saharan Africa to export products to the United States tariff-free.

Many experts say the program has failed to live up to expectations, and the region’s exports to the United States have dipped below what they were when AGOA began.

In 2022, the removal of several countries, including Ethiopia, from AGOA added to uncertainty about the program’s future.

Introduction

The cornerstone of U.S. economic relations with sub-Saharan Africa since 2000 has been the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA. The program offers more than three dozen participants preferential access to U.S. markets by eliminating import tariffs.

Policymakers hoped that AGOA, as the primary U.S. trade policy for the region, would foster economic and political development in Africa. However, the outsize roles of oil and apparel in African export growth have raised questions about whether AGOA can diversify the region’s economies and increase its competitiveness in global markets. Moreover, after peaking in 2008, U.S. trade with AGOA’s participants has dropped to near its pre-AGOA total. Meanwhile, African trade relationships with other countries, particularly China, have greatly expanded.

Why was AGOA created?

AGOA is a trade preference program established in 2000 as part of broader legislation President Bill Clinton enacted to strengthen U.S. trade ties with Africa and the Caribbean. The act is unilateral, meaning it does not require African countries to lower their own barriers to U.S. goods, though it encourages them to do so. President Clinton saw the policy as a way to boost growth and bolster democratic ideals across the continent. He also said it would strengthen the U.S. economy by opening markets with “hundreds of millions of potential consumers” to American producers.

The act is an extension of the Generalized System of Preferences, a U.S. trade preference system introduced in 1974 that allows more than one hundred countries, mostly low-income nations, to export many of their goods to the United States duty-free. AGOA goes even further, offering this access to more than six thousand products from its thirty-eight current participants. It also mandates the executive branch to increase U.S. development assistance to sub-Saharan African countries in areas including agriculture and HIV/AIDS prevention. It was set to expire in 2008 but has since been renewed four times.

Which countries take part in it?

Only sub-Saharan African countries are eligible to be beneficiaries of AGOA, and the legislation outlines requirements candidates must fulfill, such as upholding the rule of law and human rights and liberalizing their economies. However, U.S. presidents can disqualify countries at their discretion and have done so, citing reasons such as rights violations and protectionist policies. Participants graduate out of AGOA [PDF] if per capita gross national income reaches $12,535, the World Bank’s lower limit for high-income countries.

Of the forty-nine potential beneficiaries in the region, thirty-six countries currently take part. A dozen are currently suspended: Burundi, Cameroon, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. The Seychelles graduated out of the program in 2017.

What is the future of AGOA?

AGOA was last renewed in 2015 and is set to expire in 2025, though U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has so far signaled that her office will try to improve upon the existing program as Congress considers AGOA’s future.

In early 2022, the United States removed Ethiopia, Guinea, and Mali from AGOA, citing human rights abuses and military coups in violation of the program’s rules. While Guinea and Mali send less than 1 percent of their exports to the United States, Ethiopia relies heavily on AGOA’s benefits to support its textile industry. The Joe Biden administration has emphasized that the countries can be readmitted if they return to compliance, but experts say the expulsion could push the countries to strengthen trade ties with other powers; some Ethiopian business leaders, for instance, have argued in favor of moving closer to China, given Beijing’s no-strings-attached approach to investment.

More:

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/agoa-us-africa-trade-program

>>22526798

The Early Times, before the Dark Times, before the OSS and Crew

>>22526839

here's the article

Elon Musk's top DOGE staffer Marko Elez quits over racist social media posts

By BRITTANY CHAIN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: 17:09 EST, 6 February 2025 | Updated: 18:54 EST, 6 February 2025

One of Elon Musk's trusted DOGE staffers has resigned from his position after his links to racist social media posts promoting eugenics were unearthed.

Marko Elez was one of two employees at the Department of Government Efficiency granted access to $5trillion in the Treasury payment systems following an 11th hour court hearing on Thursday.

But by Thursday afternoon, the 25-year-old trusted Musk ally had resigned after The Wall Street Journal probed his links to the since-deleted social media account.

According to the publication, the X account 'advocated repealing the Civil Rights Act and backed a 'eugenic immigration policy'.'

Other posts allegedly read 'You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity', and 'normalize Indian hate.'

Another allegedly read: 'Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool.'

The account also weighed in on the Israel-Palestine crisis, with a post that read: 'I would not mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth.'

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that Elez had resigned from his role.

Elez graduated with a computer science degree from Rutgers University and went on to work for Musk's SpaceX, Starlink, and X, with a focus predominately in AI.

It comes after a last-ditch court request to limit DOGE's access to Treasury's $5trillion system - the first hiccup for the nascent agency after weeks of ruthlessly purging federal institutions to eliminate waste and overspending.

Over the coming days and weeks, the court's decision on privacy concerns about DOGE's access to the data will be a monumental test of their power to infiltrate and wipe out government spending.

Lawyers with the Justice Department agreed to a motion that allows only two people associated with Musk 'read-only' access to the system - including tax returns and social security numbers - on the condition that they do not share what they find with colleagues.

Those two employees are Musk disciples Tom Krause and Elez.

Virginia Congressman Don Beyer described Elez' resignation as 'a scandal.'

'Elon Musk gave a self-described 'racist' and eugenicist access to a system that controls all financial payments from the U.S. Treasury,' he said.

'That system also contains the personal information including Social Security info of every American.

'This is why we have a process to vet civil servants, and why we hire and promote them based on merit, not their personal relationship to some rich guy.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14370085/Elon-Musk-DOGE-Marko-Elez-quits-racist-social-media.html

That last line again:

'This is why we have a process to vet civil servants, and why we hire and promote them based on merit, not their personal relationship to some rich guy.

Oh really? do the letters DEI seem familiar?

>>22527220

Same playbook:

Attack Jim W if and when possible, when that fails

Attack BO, when that fails

Attack BVs, when that fails

Attack Bakers, when that fails

Attack anons in general, when that fails

Attack specific anon, when that fails

Back to top

around and around and around and around