5 Apr, 2025 13:31

Taliban welcomes Moscow’s steps to remove it from terrorist list – envoy

Afghanistan is interested in cooperating with Russia and other BRICS nations, Mohammad Suhail Shaheen has told RT

Both Afghanistan and Russia will benefit once Moscow removes the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations, Kabul’s ambassador to Qatar, Mohammad Suhail Shaheen, has told RT.

Earlier this week, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office filed a motion to lift the ban on the activities of the Taliban in the country, with the request to be considered by the Supreme Court on April 17.The Islamist group had been on Russia’s terrorist organization list since 2003.

Moscow increased diplomatic contactswith the Taliban after ittook power in Afghanistan in 2021, capitalizing on the withdrawal of US forcesafter their two-decade presence in the Central Asian country.

The Russian prosecutors’ request is “a positive step” becauseboth Kabul and Moscow “have interest to have cooperation in various fields,”Shaheen, the Taliban’s de facto international spokesman, said in an interview on Wednesday.

The ban on the group in Russia stood “in the way of that cooperation, so it was directly needed to remove it,” he added.

According to the envoy, theTaliban government, which is not recognized by the UN,would like Russia to take part in the reconstruction of Afghanistan after years of fighting. Thecountry offers “a lot of opportunity, and mineral resources, and agricultural fields, and other areas of interest,” he added.

“Russia is a very big country of the region, an important country. So that is our policy -we want to have relations with all countries, particularly with the regional countries,” Shaheen stressed.

Even the US could take part in rebuilding Afghanistan, despite its “destructive role during the occupation of the country,” he said.

“We do not want Afghanistan to become a ground for rivalry against another countries… We are open to Russian investment and cooperation in various fields,and our relations with the US will not harm that,” the envoy explained.

Last fall, the presence of the Taliban's delegation at the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan attracted a lot of attention. When asked if the Afghan authorities are looking to expand ties with the organization,Shaheen replied: “Yes, we want the cooperation; we want our delegation to be present in any international conference and present their case… themselves and with their words.”

(I’d rather have the U.S. help rebuild Afghanistan than Ukraine! It’s a terrible crime their country was destroyed and 100s of 1000s citizens died. Why did we ever go there, Bin Laden? When he wasn’t there and The fake 911 excuse.)

https://www.rt.com/news/615270-taliban-afghanistan-russia-brics/

5 Apr, 2025 13:16

Clarity about Ukraine peace ‘a matter of weeks’ – Rubio

Moscow has stated that Kiev is breaking the terms of the ceasefire agreed upon with the US

Russia’s stance regarding the potential peace settlementof the Ukraine conflict will be known in the near future, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has claimed.

During a March 18 phone call, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to his US counterpart Donald Trump’s suggestion that both sides implement a 30-day halt on attacks on energy facilities. Since then, Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of violating the terms of the agreement.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, Rubio reiterated that Trump wants to put an end to the Ukraine conflict. However, “you can’t end a war unless both sides agree,” Rubio stated. “We will know soon enough – in a matter of weeks, not months – whether Russia is serious about peace or not. I hope they are. It would be good for the world if that war ended, but obviously we have to test that proposition,” he said.

Rubio also claimed that theUkrainian side had shown “a willingness to enter, for example, into a complete ceasefire to create space for negotiation.”

However, the Russian Ministry of Defensestated on Saturday that starting from the morning of Friday, April 4, “the Kiev regime, contrary to all statements and commitmentsmade by Zelensky to the American side regarding a 30-day cessation of strikes on Russian energy facilities, significantly increased the number of unilateral attacks using drones and artillery munitions against the energy infrastructure of Russian regions.”

Rubio stated that if Russia isn’t ready for peace, “we’ll have to re-evaluate where we stand and what we do moving forward about it,but we’ll be in no different a position than we are today or we were when he took office.”

This week, Putin’s investmentenvoy Kirill Dmitriev visited Washington for talkswith White House officials. Commenting on the results of the negotiations,he said that some progress was made and highlighted the parties’ understanding of how they can move towards finalizing the conflict. Still, Dmitriev warned that third parties were trying to derail normalization efforts initiated by Trump in February.

https://www.rt.com/news/615269-rubio-ukraine-peace-settlement-soon/

5 Apr, 2025 09:33

Russia surpasses Western Europe in defense output – UK report

The European members of NATO had no plan for military-industrial mobilization prior to the conflict, the study has found

Russia has been able to significantly ramp up its production of military hardware during the Ukraine conflict,while Western Europe’s defense-industrial base turned out to be “manifestly inadequate” in meeting the challenge, a leading British think tank has acknowledged.

While NATO’s European members, which have been supplying Kiev with weapons and ammunition during the fighting with Moscow, have made major investments into their military industries,these have largely proven to be “ineffective,” the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) acknowledged in a report which was published on Thursday.

“Russia had a well-developed plan for military-industrial mobilization which it implemented early in the war.Europe, meanwhile, lacked both a plan and the data with which to build one,” the report read.

Another of Moscow’s advantages was its defense industry’s “highly centralized level of coordination,” while the UK and EU nations “lacked control, and could only incentivize industry,” it said. The governments andarms manufacturers in Western Europe also “lacked an understanding of their own supply chains, leading to massive internal competition and uneven expansion,” the study added.

According to the think tank,Russia has not only boosted spending on its armed forces, but also “rerouted money from other budgets to expand military-industrial recapitalizationand has advanced credit to defense companies to enable rapid growth.”

The European members of NATO could not mobilize investment on a comparable level, while“the fragmentation of the European defense market has meant that money is spent very inefficiently,”it said.

Regulations in WesternEurope were also “often self-defeatingin raising the cost and slowing the production of equipment,” the report noted.

The authors of the paper suggested that “significant efforts,” including the better coordination of spending and regulatory reforms, are needed to be made by Britain and the EU for them to be able “to deter Russia with reduced US support.” (The analysis seems to conclude that the EU and even NATO do not really believe Russia is a threat, but they keep on pushing the lie.)

Russian President VladimirPutin saidin February that thecountry’s defense industry has “achieved a real breakthrough” and an actual “labor feat” during the Ukraine conflict. It is currentlyworking “at a colossal rate, in three shifts, so to speak, non-stop,” mastering the production of state-of-the-art equipment and constantly increasing output volumes, Putin stressed.

According to Russia’s Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, the level ofdefense spending in the country reached 6.3% of GDP and 32.5%of the state’s annual budget in 2024.

https://www.rt.com/news/615261-eu-uk-ukraine-nato/

Very little in EU press now. The funny thing is Europe was screaming about US tariffs the first and second day, now there is no news significantly on US tariffs. They are so dramatic, all the while tariffing the U.S. for 40+ years.

4 Apr, 2025 19:47

Vance warns of ‘greatest threat to Europe’ (VIDEO)

The US vice president has criticized EU policies on migration, defense, and democratic norms

US Vice President J.D. Vance has taken aim at the EU’s leadership,warning that the bloc faces its greatest threat not from external powers like Russia or China, but from internal policy failures.

Speaking in an interview with Rob Schmitt of Newsmax on Thursday, Vance voiced concerns about Europe’s approaches to migration, defense spending, and treatment of political opposition.

“We have to appreciate that the greatest threat to Europe is not China or Russia,” Vance said.“The greatest threat to Europe is from within. It’s migration policies that destroy the fundamental cultural bedrock of Europe. It’s economic policies that make them less competitive.”

Vance criticizedwhat he described as acontradiction between European rhetoric and action, particularly in relation to Russia. “These guyson the one hand, their leadership I’m talking about, say that Russia is the biggest threat in the entire world,” he said.“Meanwhile, they buy billions and billions of dollars of Russian gas, and they spend 1% of their GDP on defense, while we’re spending three or four percent of our GDP.”

He further argued that Europe’s political direction was straying from democratic norms, especially in how opposition figures are treated. “The rhetoric in Europe just doesn’t match the reality,” Vance said.“And they start trying to throw presidential candidates and political leaders off the ballot.”

Referencing French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen, Vance suggested the EU establishment wastargeting her unfairly. “[She’s] leading in some polls and [this is] over an incredibly minor charge that implicates, by the way, her staff not even Marine Le Pen herself.They’re trying to throw her in prison and throw her off the ballot. Look, that’s not democracy.”

While reaffirming the US alliance with Europe,Vance expressed concern that ongoing internal issues could undermine the transatlantic relationship. “We want our friends to share our values. And the Europeans, they are absolutely 100% our friends. But that relationship, we’re just saying it’s gonna get stressed andit’s gonna get tested if they keep on trying to throw opposition leaders in jail and they stop respecting their own borders.”

Vance made similar remarks in February when he told the Munich Security Conference that while Washington would make every effort to achieve a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine,Europe has bigger problems.

https://www.rt.com/news/615243-vance-greatest-threat-europe/

Rob Schmitt's Exclusive with JD Vance | The NEWSMAX Daily(04/04/25)

VANCE EXCLUSIVE: Vice President JD Vance joins "Rob Schmitt Tonight" to discuss his true take on a potential U.S. acquisition of Greenland, his thoughts on leadership in nations throughout Europe, President Trump winning over those who once espoused hate for him, and more.

https://youtu.be/SA6E0a3C7zU

Greg Kelly explains the genius in Trump's tariff move

On Friday's "Greg Kelly Reports," Greg explained how President Donald Trump's tariff agenda is working, talked about Vietnam vowing to cut tariffs, and more.

14:13

https://youtu.be/P_ySEs_i2Nw

The idea of reciprocity is hard to argue with: Sen. John Cornyn | America Right Now(surprising Cornyn is saying this)

On Saturday's "America Right Now," Texas Sen. John Cornyn discussed the impact of President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs on the economy, and the changes in border policy under the Trump administration.

6:44

https://youtu.be/ds5-OxL36QI

Carl Higbie: The left hates Trump so much they flipped their stance on tariffs

On Friday's "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE," Carl talked about the world's reaction to President Donald Trump's tariffs, exposed Democrats flipping their stance on tariffs, and more.

The lefties know if Trump makes Americans wealthy again then they will never win again. They can’t beat Trump helping Americans, that’s their problem

10:47

https://youtu.be/30FvuQqbK9I

Kash Patel is setting FBI straight, bringing it forward: Former investigator | American Agenda. Kash received 10,000 applications for new FBI agents in his first full month

3:58

https://youtu.be/DMVWmNzZSeI

‘Lost is an understatement’: Democrats must accept they ‘gaslight’ Americans, co-author

Fight’ co-author Amie Parnes details findings on the Democratic Party from her book on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’

11:09

https://youtu.be/n3siNFh7-lI

MAJOR WIN: Mike Davis On 5-4 SCOTUS Ruling Stops Activist Judge Halting DEI Cancellations

12:57

https://rumble.com/embed/v6ph3t7/?pub=4

Senate Whimping out

Rep. Andy Harris, MD

@RepAndyHarrisMD

If the Senate can deliver real deficit reduction in line with or greater than the House goals, I can support the Senate budget resolution.

However, by the Senate setting committee instructions so low at $4 billion compared to the House’s $1.5-2 trillion, I am unconvinced that will happen. The Senate is free to put pen to paper to draft its reconciliation bill, but I can’t support House passage of the Senate changes to our budget resolution until I see the actual spending and deficit reduction plans to enact President Trump’s America First agenda.

9:54 AM · Apr 5, 2025

16.7K

Views

https://x.com/RepAndyHarrisMD/status/1908518640317530615

Hundreds of law firms, former judges sign onto briefs in support of Perkins Coie

04/04/25 04:43 PM ET

Court Battles

Hundreds of law firms and former judges have signed onto friend-of-the-court briefs in support of Perkins Coie as the law firm challenges President Trump’s executive order targeting it.

More than 500 law firmsand 300 retired judges asked for leave to file two amicus briefs condemning Trump’s order stripping security clearances from and severing government ties with the major law firm, which previously did work for Democrats. (The DS of the Court shows how corrupt it’s always been)

“Although we do not take this step lightly, our abiding commitment to preserving the integrity of the American legal system leaves us no choice but to join together to oppose the (executive order) that is at issue in this litigation,” wrote Donald Verrilli, a former solicitor general under former President Obama, in the law firms’ brief.

The brief asks U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who is overseeing the Perkins Coie challenge, to decide the case in the law firm’s favor and indefinitely block Trump’s order.

Few Big Law firms signed the brief, though Covington & Burling, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block — others targeted by Trump in executive orders — did. The firms Arnold & Porter and Freshfields LLP also signed the brief.

Gupta Wessler LLP, whose founding principal, Deepak Gupta, is leading numerous challenges to Trump’s executive actions, signed the brief as well.

The amicus brief signed by the judges, whose “views on political and social issues vary,” argued that zealous legal representation is an “indispensable element of the rule of law.”

“Amici share an interest in ensuring both the substance and the appearance of justice in the adjudication of disputes,” their brief reads. “This requires — always — preserving the freedom of lawyers to advocate for their clients with candor and with zeal, thus providing judges with the complete legal and factual record needed for fair adjudication.”

Trump’s crackdown on major law firms has raised alarm across the legal industry, but Big Law has split on how to respond.

While Perkins Coie, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block, have each sued over Trump’s executive orders against them, the law firms Paul, Weiss; Skadden Arps; Willkie Farr & Gallagher; and Milbank have struck deals with Trump. The settlements commit to pro bono work for causes championed by the administration and other agreements.

In the Perkins Coie challenge, a federal judge has temporarily blocked parts of Trump’s executive order from being enforced. The administration may not prevent Perkins Coie personnel from entering federal government buildings nor require government contractors to disclose if they do business with the firm.

Howell, who issued the temporary restraining order, said at the time that Trump’s executive order against Perkins Coie likely violates the First Amendment for retaliating against protected speech and likely runs afoul of due process protections.

“The judiciary should act with resolve — now — to ensure that this abuse of executive power ceases,” Verrilli wrote on behalf of the law firms.

(The judiciary has shown and exposed how much they disregard and will disobey the Presidents Article II powers. What are the names on this petition?)

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5233200-law-firms-judges-trump-executive-order-perkins-coie/amp/

Freyja™

@FreyjaTarte

Victor Davis Hanson explains Trump’s tariffs like no one else can. #MAGA

6:10 PM · Apr 4, 2025

·

2M

Views

6:59

https://x.com/FreyjaTarte/status/1908281098141892883

‘Everyone is terrified’: Business and government officials are afraid to cross Trump on tariffs

While lobbyists, business leaders, and lawmakers are worried about Donald Trump’s tariffs, there’s a culture of fear in Washington preventing many from speaking out.

Caitlin Oprysko

Advocates for affected industries are scrambling to determine how durable the new tariffs will be, wary of coming out forcefully if the administration decides to quickly scale them back. They point to Trump’s swift reversal last month on tariffs targeting Canada and Mexico, which he largely paused amid an uproar from business leaders and even some Republicans. (In a Truth Social postFriday, Trump wrote, “MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE.”)

“I think a lot of business leaders are very frustratedthat the process of getting here was opaque, and that the decision points are so starkly black and white, and … that they’re not dealing with situations with more nuance,” one multi-client Republican lobbyist said, before adding: “I’m trying to say something profound without getting a call from the White House that, ‘You’re next.’”

“What’s the Japanese proverb? The nail sticking up gets hammered down,” the lobbyist added.“On K Street, there’s no value in being the nail sticking up right now.”

Another Republican lobbyist said they’ve been advising clients to “soften their tone if they want to work with this White House,” and that they can spar over policy differences behind the scenes as long as they don’t spill out into the public.

Even those close to Trump expected louder pushback after he implemented a baseline tariff of 10 percent on all imported goodsand slapped even higher “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of other countries that Trump believes are stiffing the U.S. in the global marketplace.

A White House ally(not an ally at all) close to the president’s inner circle noted that the tariffs the administration came up with were not true reciprocal tariffs — and that there is a question about whether they are even legal. The Trump ally said he and others in the administration expected business groups would challenge them in court.

“They’re gonna be sued off their asses for this as soon as it happens,” the person said, “by trade associations, companies, industry groups.”No major trade group has filed litigation as of Friday midday.

When asked for comment, White House spokesperson Kush Desai saidthe Trump administration is working “closely” with Congress.

“The American people resoundingly voted for America First policies in November, and President Trump is committed to delivering on this mandate as the leader of the Republican Party,” Desai said.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/04/trump-tariffs-fear-lobby-business-congress-00006608

Jesse Watters

@JesseBWatters

@realDonaldTrump's team says he's never felt more confident. He’s on a mission to right the Swamp’s wrongs before the end of his term. The vision?

Turn the country into a place with thriving main streets and hometowns, where American workers made American products sold to the American public.

Doesn’t that give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside? He wants to make it easier for people to start families, afford homes and go to college.

The President’s mentality is: if you want access to the greatest market in the world, the American market, you’re going to have to pay up.Tariffs are bringing oil prices down and mortgage rates just fell below 6%.

Trump’s trade war is high risk/ high reward but he’s not biting his fingernails, staring at the Dow. Tariffs are just one piece of the puzzle. Cheaper energy, lower tariffs, and tighter borders are going to make everyone’s salaries go up. Lower taxes, regulation and spending will ignite an economic BOOM.

We’ve been talking about doing this for over 50 years.People say, “Well, why now?” Because it’s never the wrong time to do the right thing.

https://x.com/JesseBWatters/status/1908339280038289519

9:23

Bill Gates’ Foundation in Danger of Losing Tax-Exempt Status for Alleged Discrimination Against White Americans

The news surrounding the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also involves two other organizations facing accusations of breaking the law when it comes to their scholarship and career programs, the Times of Indiareported on Thursday.

“The American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) has accused the Gates Foundation, the Lagrant Foundation, and the Creative Capital Foundation 0f ‘intentionally’ excluding white people, a claim detailed in letters sent to the IRS.The AAER argues that these alleged discriminatory practices may violate federal law and provide sufficient grounds for the IRS to revoke the organizations’ tax-exempt status,” the report said.

In a statement, AAER President Edward Blum stated, “These organizations are free to operate as they wish — but not with the public subsidy that tax-exempt status provides. Racial discrimination, whether in scholarships, professional development, or artistic grants, violates public policy and must not be underwritten by American taxpayers.”

“Organizations that discriminate based on race — whether their intentions are benevolent or not — are not eligible for public subsidies through the tax code. The IRS must act to uphold the law,” he added.

A Breitbart News article in 2021 detailed how many famous billionaires avoid paying taxes. Among those who reportedly paid very low taxes was Bill Gates.

“ProPublica says its reporting is based on ‘a vast trove of Internal Revenue Service Data’ revealing that billionaires, who often finance Democrat campaigns to raise taxes on working Americans, ‘paid a total of $13.6 billion in federal income taxes in those five years’ amounting ‘to a true tax rate of only 3.4%,'” the outlet said.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s administration has been working to modernize the IRS to provide better service to taxpayers, Breitbart News reported in March.

Per the article, a senior tech executive at the IRS said that “modernizing the IRS has been a decades-long project.”

Bill Gates has recently been in the news for predicting that artificial intelligence (AI) will advance so much over the coming decade that human specialists such as doctors and teachers will no longer be needed for most tasks.

In November, he suggested humanity will require a new religion to navigate the rise of AI, per Breitbart News.

Gates should lose it for killing millions around the world

https://12ft.io/proxy