22 Apr, 2025 16:44

Kremlin outlines conditions for talks with Kiev

Ukraine has not yet lifted its self-imposed ban on negotiating with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said

Kiev needs to scrap its own self-imposed ban on talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin if it hopes to facilitate future bilateral talks regarding the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

On Monday, Putin declared he was ready to discuss a potential unilateral halt on civilian infrastructure strikes in a bilateral format with Kiev. This came after Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky floated the idea of a halt on long-range strikes on non-military targets by both sides in a social media statement on Sunday.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, the Kremlin spokesman was asked if Ukraine’s ban on direct talks with Russia could be an obstacle to negotiations on the matter.

”If the Ukrainian side is willing and open, some steps should probably be taken to legally clear these obstacles on the path to such contacts, if there is such a willingness,” Peskov told journalists on Tuesday.

Putin’s statement was “yet another show of Moscow's readiness” to solve issues via diplomacy, he added.

”So far, we have a de facto/de jure situation, when the Ukrainians themselves have banned such contacts, and no action has been taken to lift this ban,”

Peskov said in a statement to Russia TV 1 journalist Pavel Zarubin.

In October of 2022, Zelensky signed a decree to ban all talks with Russia for as long as Putin was in charge. The Ukrainian leader has since repeatedly described his hatred of Russia’s president and his lack of trust in Moscow.

During Monday’s press conference, Putin noted that Zelensky’s initial reaction to the Russian offer of the recently-expired Easter ceasefire was that Moscow was playing “a game,” rather than being serious.

Kiev only agreed via a suggestion from “most likely foreign curators” that rejecting such a truce would be a bad media look, Putin said.

https://www.rt.com/russia/616114-kremlin-outlines-talks-conditions/

Mother of Karmelo Anthony Claims Family Hasn’t ‘Received a Single Dime’ From Donations, Despite Moving Into $900K Gated Community

by Gloriel Howard April 18, 2025

In a stunning twist, the parents of Karmelo Anthony — the Texas teen accused of fatally stabbing a fellow student— claim they have yet to receive a single dollar from a half-million-dollar fundraiser created to support their son’s legal defense and relocation.

The statement follows public scrutiny over the family’s move into a $900,000 rental home in a gated Frisco community.Anthony, 17, was released from jail earlier this week after a judge controversially reduced his bond. He is currently under house arrest and wears an ankle monitor as he awaits trial. Police say Anthony admitted to stabbing Memorial High School junior Austin Metcalf during an altercation at a track meet on April 2. His attorney is expected to argue self-defense.

Resist the Mainstream highlighted that Anthony and his family are now residing in a luxury home in the Richwoods neighborhood, an exclusive gated area located near Centennial High School, where Anthony previously attended and ran track. The house is reportedly being rented at around $3,500 per month, andneighbors noted several new vehicles parked in the driveway.

Despite the high-profile relocation,Anthony’s mother, Kala Hayes, told reporters at a Thursday press conference that her family has not accessed any of the roughly $500,000 raised through a GiveSendGo campaign. “We have not received a single dime from the GiveSendGo fundraiser,” she said, according to the Daily Mail. “We were just notified yesterday that we could begin to withdraw funds and it still takes several days to receive those funds once the request is made.”

The fundraiser notes thefunds are intended for legal fees, basic living costs, counseling, security, transportation and “the safe relocation of the Anthony family due to escalating threats.”In court, Anthony’s father, Andrew Anthony, testified he was unable to use the fundraiser to pay the original $1 million bond and said the money was earmarked for other expenses.

Dominique Alexander, president of the Next Generation Action Network (NGAN), which is assisting the Anthony family, addressed media on Thursday andpushed back on claims the family was misusing donations.

“The Anthony family has been subject to an unimaginable amount of hate, racism and threats to their safety,” he said.

Alexander also stated NGAN provided security for the family and denied reports that they had “splurged” on a new home.

Alexander, an ally of former “Squad” member Cori Bush and a known advocate of defunding the police, has been politically active in left-wing causes. His organization helped finance Bush’s campaigns.

The press conference grew tense when Austin Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, unexpectedly appeared and had to be removed by police.

Authorities say the confrontation between Anthony and Metcalf began when Metcalf told Anthony — who did not attend Memorial High — to leave his school’s tent area. The argument escalated, and Anthony allegedly pulled a knife, stabbing Metcalf in the chest. Metcalf died in his twin brother’s arms at the scene.

Online rumors previously circulated that Metcalf had bullied Anthony, but the family’s spokesperson later clarified the two had never met before the incident, according to the Daily Mail. Frisco ISD has moved to expel Anthony, who was preparing to graduate with a 3.7 GPA.

Following backlash over her bond reduction ruling, Judge Angela Tucker has reportedly gone private on social media.

During the hearing, she remarked, “They’ve never had the security issues they’ve faced with this case.”

https://resistthemainstream.com/mother-of-karmelo-anthony-shocks-with-one-liner-that-raises-eyebrows-amid-growing-controversy/

Updated 20 hours ago -Politics & Policy

Scoop: Thousands of fired federal probationary workers have complaints rejected

As many as 2,000 fired federal probationary workers who filed complaints with the Office of Special Counsel have had their casesdismissed as lacking merit, a source familiar with the dismissals tells Axios.

Why it matters: These workers are among the tens of thousands caught in limbo after being fired — followed by a series of court rulings reinstating them, and then staying those reinstatements.

Catch up quick: Thousands of fired probationary workers filed complaints about their termination with the OSC, a federal office whose role includes investigating "prohibited personnel practices" in the federal workforce.

• They were a subset of the tens of thousands who were fired across the government. Those terminations are the subject of multiple lawsuits.

•OSC is, for now, being led by Jamieson Greer, who is also the Trump administration's U.S. Trade Representative. (The prior head, Hampton Delinger, was fired by Trump in February, and eventually lost a court challenge to his dismissal.)

What they're saying: "This is a devastating letdown to the civil service and to the principle that government should serve the public, not political interests," said Rob Shriver, managingdirector of Democracy Forward's Civil Service Strong initiative, in a statement.

• The group has been actively litigating against the various federal worker terminations since Trump took office.

What to watch: The workers whose cases were dismissed by OSC could still potentially bring their complaints before another federal agency, like the Merit Systems Protection Board. (That’s exactly what the DOJ, Mike Davis and many others saying they should apply to the Merit System, in the first place, their case was never supposed to be in a bogus court case. So they waste a month or two to do propaganda.)

•The White House has been re-making that panel as well.

https://www.axios.com/2025/04/21/probationary-workers-fired-doge

Updated 20 hours ago -Politics & Policy

56 mins ago -Politics & Policy Avery Lotz

State Department reorganization impacts bureaus with human rights focus

Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a new organizational chart for his department Tuesday in what he called an effort to "drain the bloated, bureaucratic swamp."

The big picture:The reorganization Rubio outlinedtargeted some bureaus with a focus on human rights.

• Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at Tuesday's briefing that the department is "reversing decades of bloat and bureaucracy."

• But she emphasized that " this is a reorganization plan —it is not something where people are being fired today."

Yes, but:"Redundant offices" will be eliminated, Rubio wrote in a State Department Substack post Tuesday. He said "non-statutory programs misaligned with America's core national interests will cease to exist."

• The New York Times reported that an internal fact sheet from the department stated thatpart of Rubio's plan is to reduce the agency's total offices from 734 to 602. (That includes Embassies around the world.)

Zoom in:Rubio said that the "expansive domain" of the former under secretary for civilian security, human rights, and democracy "provided a fertile environment for activists to redefine 'human rights' and 'democracy.'"

• Its bureaus and offices, he said, would be placed under a new coordinator "charged with returning them to their original mission of advancing human rights and religious freedom, not promoting radical causes at taxpayer expense."

• Asked Tuesday about the apparentdisappearance of the Office of Global Criminal Justicefrom the updated organizational chart, Bruce said that because a bureau is folded into another larger bureau, it "doesn't mean that it's gone or we don't care."

• She later added,"If you don't see it on the chart, it may be moved."

Transferring remaining USAID functions"to such a monstrosity of bureaus would be to undo DOGE's work to build a more efficient and accountable government," Rubio said in his Tuesday post.

• He additionally said the ==Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and

Labor was used by "left-wing activists to wage vendettas against 'anti-woke' leaders in nations such as Poland, Hungary, and Brazil==" and to promote an arms embargo on Israel.

Context:While Rubio accused activists of redefining human rights, multiple outlets recently reported that the Trump administration would scale back the department's annual reports on international human rights to only what is required by law.

• Sections on LGBTQ+ rights, issues faced by women and challenges for people with disabilities will be trimmed, Politico reported.

• A Department official told Fox News the changes to the 2024 Country

Reports on Human Rights Practices are "critical for removing report redundancy, increasing readability, maintaining consistency to U.S. statutes, and returning focus to human rights issues rather than political bias."

Zoom out:What exactly some of the changes Rubio outlined mean for the Department remains murky.

https://www.axios.com/2025/04/22/state-department-reorganization-marco-rubio-human-rights

HARNWELL: Some are already calling “Pope Francis” the “Herod the Great of the 21st Century”

I was broadcasting live from the Vatican within a few hours of the announcement of the death of #NotMyPope VI.

No shock. No grief. No sadness. No nuns praying the rosary with tears streaming down their faces beneath the Apostolic Palace.

Just a beautiful April sunny day.

Bergoglio’s reign of terror is ended. Deo gratias.

***

Ben Harnwell and Bannon has despised this FAKE POPE, Ben saying there is not a lot mourning in Rome yesterday.

9:17

https://rumble.com/embed/v6q6w1j/?pub=4

22 Apr, 2025 17:34

Zelensky refuses to recognize Russia’s Crimea

The Crimean peninsula officially joined the Russian Federation after an overwhelmingly positive vote in 2014

Kiev will not discuss recognizing Crimea as Russian territory, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky told journalists on Tuesday, according to Ukrainian outlet Suspilne.

The US will propose officially accepting the peninsula as part of the Russian Federation at a meeting with Kiev and its European backers on Wednesday, as part of a broader peace deal to stop the conflict, the Washington Post wrote on Tuesday citing anonymous sources.

“[Crimea] is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine. We have nothing to talk about on this topic – it is outside our Constitution,”Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian leader claimed that discussing the issue of sovereignty over Crimea could only lead to additional fighting.

“As soon as we start talking about Crimea, about our sovereign territories, we enter the format of prolonging the war,” he said, adding that this is “what Russia wants.”

Last week, Zelensky lashed out over the subject in a press conference, saying that US special envoy Steve Witkoff had no authority to discuss such issues with Russia.

The US proposal on Crimea was already presented to Ukraine in Paris last week, and includes eventual sanctions relief for Moscow in exchange for a peace deal, the Post reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the deliberations.

Ukrainian officials interpreted the plan as Washington’s final offer before the US washes its hands of peace efforts, the newspaper wrote, citing anonymous sources.

US President Donald Trump is expected to present Washington’s “final offer” on a full ceasefire deal as early as next week, the New York Post wrote on Saturday, citing a senior administration official.

In 2014, the predominantly ethnically Russian population of Crimea voted to join Russia following a Western-backed armed coup in Kiev. Both Ukraine and its Western supporters continue to claim that the referendum was illegitimate.

https://www.rt.com/russia/616120-ukraine-crimea-recognition-zelensky/

It’s pretty clear Kiev and Zelensky has no intention of a peace deal, or negotiating, based on this Rubio stated that theTrump Team withdraws, takes all the weapons with them, including the funding of the government and just about everything in Ukraine, and lets Russia go for it. That’s the end of Ukraine and the fake leaders there.== They've cried, moaned, criticized, continued to bomb the people, and Russia, and have broken every option of peace and permanent ceasefire. They brought it on themselves. I hope Trump and the Treasury seizes the billions the leaders stole in socked away in foreign banks, including he US.