NATO Chief Lobbies Trump Not To Pressure Ukraine Into Peace Deal

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte after meeting with President Donald Trump and Norway’s PM Jonas Gahr Støre on Thursday proclaimed that all Western leaders, including Trump, are on the same page viewing Russia as a "long-term threat" to NATO territory.

Rutte was optimistic about Trump helping to potentially end the Russia-Ukraine war, saying that "huge steps" have lately been made which put the onus on Russia to respond by displaying positive action or making concessions.

But it's clear there's a lot of tensions and discomfort in the Western military alliance given the optics of more US pressure being brought to bear against Ukraine and Zelensky in particular. This has been seen in the back-and-forth over the fate of Crimea.

Trump on Wednesday unleashed immense criticism on the Ukrainian President for his rejection of a US plan that would given recognition of Russian sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula. Trump had said on Truth Social in reference to Zelensky, "if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired"… and "He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country."

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/nato-chief-lobbies-trump-not-pressure-ukraine-peace-deal

Dutch King Says Country Must Prepare For War, Pushes For Drone Development

As EU leaders rally for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine and push the idea of a European military no longer dependent on America, the Netherlands’ monarch has joined the chorus.

“We may have taken it a bit too much for granted that we would always have freedom and peace,” King Willem-Alexander said at the Lieutenant General Best Barracks, writes De Telegraaf.

“Unfortunately, Ukraine and other conflicts prove that this is no longer the case. And that we really have to prepare ourselves to continue living in peace and security. If you are not prepared, then you are not doing well,” he said.

Such a rearmament means the Netherlands must rebuild its defense industry, the monarch continued, adding, “It really needs to be able to start producing for a conflict again.”

The country, he said, must “arm itself to the teeth” to remain safe.

Following talks with military personnel and weapons manufacturers, the country will focus on producing better drones to take on enemy drones, given their dominance on the battlefield. Of key concern is making drones capable of say, securing the upcoming June NATO summit at The Hague

King Willem-Alexander himself served in the military, and as a reservist for the Air Force held the title of air commodore.

He also was a commodore as a reservist in the navy and a brigadier general as a reservist in the army.

After testing out a Dutch-made drone Ukraine used to detect mines, the king explained: “The operator must also be able to do very complicated work,” like mapping a minefield.

Soldiers also demonstrated weapons capable of disrupting the operation of a drone to take it out of the air, including taking over its controls, although even the king was not told how this is done.

https://rmx.news/article/dutch-king-says-country-must-prepare-for-war-pushes-for-drone-development/

From Drain the Swamp to Drown in Debt: Dozens of MAGA Betrayals Just 4 Months In

Despite the partisan noise, Trump is walking the same authoritarian path as every president before him—just with different branding.

Three months into the Trump administration, and the new regime is repeatedly trampling MAGA’s most cherished values—to the praise and glee of much of his base. The fierce opposition MAGA correctly expressed toward Biden and the Democrats for years has morphed into mindless submission in a staggering show of cognitive dissonance and hypocrisy.

Across the board, MAGA is eating its principles and itself. From big government and economic suicide to civil liberties violations and MAHA betrayals, much of the MAGA base appears more interested in power than principle. The following is a sampling of this hypocrisy and authoritarianism, with some examples falling into multiple categories.

Government overreach and encroachment

-Deportations without due process based on the government’s accusations (egregious errors are already piling up)

-Suppression of speech through detention and attempts to deport legal immigrants over criticism of Israel

-A prevailing MAGA delusion that basic constitutional rights and the natural rights they’re rooted in only apply to “citizens”—in other words, people the government designates as worthy of rights (the government is harassing “citizens,” too)

-REAL ID enforcement, which increases federal authority over states and citizens and is paving the way for a biometric digital identification system

-ICE surveillance of social media for criticism of the department

-The deletion of a federal police misconduct database that Trump himself created, a move against transparency and accountability for government enforcers

Balanced budgets and economic freedom

-Both the Senate and House Republican budget proposals increase the deficit and debt ceiling and allow for major increases in military spending (lawmakers in both houses have shown repeated support for these measures, as has Trump)

-In February, numerous Republicans in the Senate voted down Senator Rand Paul’s amendment to make significant spending cuts

-Elon Musk’s DOGE operation and the White House claim massive savings, but so far, the only rescissions package they’ve sent to Congress to make the cuts permanent is for a paltry $9.3 billion

-On the question of tariffs, at least some of MAGA has gone from complaining about government intervention in the free market to insisting that paying higher prices is patriotic

-Farmers can’t survive with the new economic restrictions? The government may have to bail them out (as Trump did in his first term)

-No action on promises to “abolish the income tax” or “abolish the IRS”

Make America Healthy Again?

-The very premise of MAHA relies on big government and widespread prohibition. ‘Ban this chemical or that additive,’ MAHA demands, unconcerned with how such expansions of power might be abused in the future

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/be-the-change/from-drain-the-swamp-to-drown-in-debt-dozens-of-maga-betrayals-just-4-months-in

>>22956690

-Trump appointed a seed oil industry insider to be the chief of staff of the USDA

-This agency has granted preliminary authorization for a poultry vaccine to stem bird flu outbreaks, while RFK Jr. betrays his MAHA base and past rhetoric by promoting the MMR vaccine

-Trump’s FDA has fast-tracked a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine

-Trump appointed a healthcare lobbyist to be the top health official at the Office of Management and Budget, and his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, previously worked at a lobbying firm that has served pharmaceutical clients and the sugar lobby

“Drain the swamp”

-Trump appointed Wall Street bankers with ties to the Federal Reserve (Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick) and George Soros (Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent)

-Trump bragged that Charles Schwab, who owns the deeply entrenched banking corporation, made $2.5 billion off tariff-induced market chaos

-Trump’s plan to ‘take back’ the Panama Canal led to Larry Fink and Blackrock's acquisition of significant control of the canal; Trump was reportedly aware of Blackrock’s play, and he intentionally omitted their name from his congressional address touting the acquisition (China may block the sale)

-No Epstein list despite repeated assurances from top officials

-Deep administration ties to Palantir, the CIA-backed corporation spearheading the rise of the technocratic police state

-A $500 billion deal with top tech behemoths (Sam Altman of OpenAI and Larry Ellison of Oracle)

-No apparent DOGE scrutiny of Elon Musk’s extensive military and intelligence contracts

“The Peace President”

-Continuing aid to Ukraine despite much bluster and posturing

-Unquestioning support for Israel as Trump facilitates billions of dollars in weapons sales and backs up whatever military force the war criminal regime uses on civilians

-Appointments of hardcore Zionists and pro-Israel shills in direct violation of “America First”

-Calls to annex Gaza, which would further entangle the US in foreign conflicts

-Threatening war with Iran

-Bombing Yemen and Somalia in a continuation of years-long unconstitutional incursions that have thus far failed to eliminate the targeted terror groups but have killed countless civilians

End central banking FFS not make deals with them!

World Bank President Urges Developing Nations to Sign Trade Deals With Trump

Developing countries should strike swift trade deals with the United States at the “earliest possible” opportunity, the president of the World Bank told AFP Friday, after a busy week with global financial leaders in Washington.

Ajay Banga was interviewed by AFP at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings, which have been held this year under a cloud of uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s stop-start tariff rollout.

The Bank has been advising developing countries to get a deal done quickly with the United States, and to then focus attention on cutting trade barriers and boosting regional flows of goods, Banga said.

“You need to negotiate trade systems with the US at the earliest possible (opportunity),” he said. “If you delay, it hurts everyone.”

Trump’s tariffs have roiled financial markets, sent volatility surging and spooked investors and consumers.

Since returning to office in January, the US leader has imposed a “baseline” 10 percent tariff on most countries, with much higher duties on China, and 25 percent sector-specific levies on areas including steel, aluminum, and automobiles not manufactured in the United States.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2025/04/26/world-bank-president-urges-developing-nations-to-sign-trade-deals-with-trump/

Hermes Handbags sues China after it exposes their $40,000 French Bags are made in China for $100

Y’all, Hermès is officially in panic mode. The luxury giant is now suing the very same Chinese manufacturers who just exposed their billion-dollar secret, and it’s sending shockwaves through the fashion world.

These factories aren’t just making knockoffs. They were the ones actually building the bags, the same Birkins and Kellys Hermès sells for $20K+, and now they’re telling the world what really goes down behind those “Made in France” labels. And let’s just say, it’s not what you think.

From shady production tricks to insider receipts and viral TikToks, this scandal is blowing the lid off the luxury illusion, and Hermès is scrambling to stop the bleeding. But the truth? It’s out now. And the damage? Already done. Let’s get into it.

https://youtu.be/mHkEBlz4GXw

https://citizenwatchreport.com/hermes-handbags-sues-china-after-it-exposes-their-40000-french-bags-are-made-in-china-for-100/

Trump may have to overcome obstacles in his own administration to avoid war with Iran

U.S. negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program continue to show signs of success. But Merav Ceren's appointment to the National Security Council shows the institutional power pro-Israel forces will have to sink a deal.

On Saturday, the United States and Iran will hold another round of talks in Muscat, the capital of Oman. The aim is to continue to advance talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

Thus far, the talks have gone well, but, as I have explained on several occasions recently, there are serious difficulties to overcome. These include the fact that Iran, having not pursued a nuclear weapons program to any degree since 2003, starts from a grudging position where it, justifiably, wonders why it should compromise over a non-issue. Meanwhile, the United States, which, along with Israel, has created a terrifying image of a nuclear-armed Iran, is pressing hard for unprecedented intrusiveness in monitoring Iran’s nuclear work.

That just scratches the surface. At this point, the U.S. is holding to its position that Iran will have to sacrifice all of its own nuclear enrichment, including for public use. That will put even its civilian program at risk if the U.S. decides in the future to once again abandon the agreement as Trump did in 2018.

Yet positive signs are emerging even now. On Tuesday, a prominent voice from Iran’s hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated in an interview with an Iranian news outlet that the IRGC supports the nuclear talks. This was a clear reflection that the Supreme Leader is putting some weight behind the negotiations and is pressing his aides to fall in line. Other Iranian hardliners have also expressed support.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is heading up the talks, made a tempting offer to Trump when he spoke of Iran’s long-term plan to build 19 civilian nuclear reactors, a project that would be wide open for foreign investment. Trump understands this language well, and he would like to reinvigorate the American nuclear sector.

Trump needs a win badly. He has been forced to back away from his beloved tariffs and the American economy hasn’t even begun to feel the worst effects of his economic ignorance. His early success in pressing Israel into a temporary and incomplete ceasefire is largely forgotten under the shadow of an Israeli blockade and onslaught that has brought the genocide in Gaza to a new level, and his promise to end the Russia-Ukraine war has been a dismal failure.

This is a win he can actually get. The path to a deal with Iran is there, but Trump needs to be willing to walk it.

That starts with the question of Iranian nuclear enrichment.

https://mondoweiss.net/2025/04/trump-may-have-to-overcome-obstacles-in-his-own-administration-to-avoid-war-with-iran/

How to Brainwash 7 Billion People

https://twitter.com/i/status/1915548277648629932

Dave Weldon, a former congressman, says that congressional efforts to investigate the link between vaccines and autism are being rapidly thwarted by the influence of the pharmaceutical industry.

In turn, lawmakers are being intimidated into silence by veiled personal threats against them.

@SharylAttkisson

https://twitter.com/i/status/1915893262927466936

CDC data and multiple peer-reviewed studies indicate that COVID-19 mRNA injections cause cancer.

They impair immune surveillance, hinder DNA repair, and accelerate tumor growth—fulfilling the Multi-Hit Hypothesis of Oncogenesis👇

https://twitter.com/i/status/1915882761849655348

When a former narcotics investigator blew the whistle on CIA drug trafficking 👇

https://twitter.com/i/status/1915764062564110495

Trump backs ban on congressional stock trades

Trump didn’t just toss out a comment. He fired a direct shot at Capitol privilege. “Absolutely,” he said, when asked if he’d sign a ban on congressional stock trading. That one word sliced through decades of polite dodging on an issue that reeks of ethical rot. And he didn’t stop there. He dragged Nancy Pelosi’s name back into the headlines, pointing squarely at her well-documented market moves that mirrored federal actions with suspicious timing.

This isn’t about party lines. It’s about the growing canyon between public service and private gain. The public sees it clearly. In a 2023 poll, 86% of Americans said they want it stopped. That’s 87% of Republicans. 87% of Democrats. Even 81% of independents nodded in agreement. In a country split on nearly everything, this issue found rare consensus.

The proposal gaining steam isn’t just symbolic. It would cut deep. No more trading for members of Congress, their spouses, or their kids. While the STOCK Act of 2012 was supposed to shine a light on trades, all it really did was create a paper trail. Late filings, no real enforcement, and zero penalties became the norm. The foxes were merely asked to wear name tags inside the henhouse.

Trump’s backing changes the equation. It gives the bill political muscle and media fuel. He’s not just endorsing a policy. He’s daring Congress to expose itself by opposing it. It’s a clever wedge. If lawmakers vote it down, they look guilty. If they pass it, they lose their backdoor portfolio edge.

Across the aisle, momentum is building. Both Republicans and Democrats have floated versions of the bill. A few high-profile senators, perhaps sensing the mood shift, now want in front of the parade. But there’s one problem. Legislators still control the calendar. And ethics reform moves slower than molasses in January.

Still, with Trump leaning in, the pressure’s mounting. Nobody wants to be the name voters remember when Wall Street meets Washington again. And come campaign season, this bill—or its absence—might just write its own attack ad.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5267113-donald-trump-congressional-stock-trading-ban/

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-says-sign-bill-banning-114437548.html

https://truthout.org/articles/democrats-shift-towards-limiting-stock-trading-by-members-of-congress/

Israeli Strikes Destroy Machinery Used for Recovering Bodies Buried Under the Rubble in Gaza

One aid worker described conditions in Gaza as the "stuff of nightmares."

As Israel's blockade of aid into Gaza continues, misery in the enclave has been compounded after Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday destroyed several bulldozers used to clear streets and remove bodies from beneath rubble.

According to the United Nations, citing local officials, the destruction of the heavy machinery has brought rescue and recovery efforts to a halt, making it even more challenging to reach the thousands of bodies trapped under rubble.

A recent investigation from Sky Newshighlighted how Gazans trapped under debris and rubble die slow deaths as residents attempt to dig them out with inadequate equipment such as a trowel or hammer. The U.N., relying on local reports, estimates that 11,000 bodies are trapped under the rubble.

According to Gaza's Civil Defense, nine bulldozers were brought into the enclave during the six-week cease-fire that Israel upended on March 18. The general directorate of the Civil Defense called their destruction a "targeted attack" on the Jabalia al-Nazla Municipality headquarters in northern Gaza.

On Tuesday, the Center for Palestinian Human Rights, which is based in Gaza City, released a statement condemning the destruction of the bulldozers.

"Such equipment is essential for saving lives and facilitating the movement of ambulance and Civil Defense crews," said the group. These acts by Israeli security forces "reflect their policy of deliberately inflicting on Palestinians conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction, in whole or in part, constituting integral act of the crime of genocide ongoing for over 18 months."

In a statement on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it carried out attacks on "engineering vehicles" used for "terror purposes."

Meanwhile, Israel has imposed a complete blockade of aid into Gaza since early March and relaunched its military campaign on the strip on March 18, shattering the cease-fire that went into effect in mid-January.

One Oxfam aid worker described the conditions in Gaza as the "stuff of nightmares," according to a Tuesday statement from the global organization.

According to the group, Oxfam and its partners have not received any aid trucks, food parcels, hygiene kits, or other essential equipment since the siege began. Oxfam has a few water tanks remaining, otherwise its supplies is nearly exhausted.

The group also condemned repeated evacuation orders given by the Israeli military.

"It's hard to explain just how terrible things are in Gaza at the moment. Our staff and partners are witnessing scenes of carnage and despair every day," said Clemence Lagouardat, Oxfam's humanitarian response lead in Gaza. "People are in terror, fearing for their lives as displacement orders tell them, with little notice, to move with whatever they can carry."

The Guardiandescribed the siege as imposing conditions "unmatched in severity" since the start of the war, due to the new evacuation orders, strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, and dwindling food, fuel, and medical supplies.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/bulldozers-gaza-aid

🚨 How John Brennan Operates 🤯

“Oh, this source won’t cooperate with us? Let’s see if we can get him to commit suicide. Let’s see if we can entrap him with a child prostitute.”

CIA whistleblower, John Kiriakou, tells

@shellenberger

how John Brennan is one of Darkest Figures of our Generation, and was likely responsible for the Origin of RussiaGate

Kiriakou was charged with espionage for being a CIA whistleblower.

During the course of discovery to prove his innocence, he found memos between John Brennan and Eric Holder, where Brennan told Holder to charge him with espionage.

Eric Holder told Brennan they didn’t think John Kiriakou commited espionage.

John Brennan told Eric Holder to charge him anyway and make him defend himself.

They waited until John Kiriakou went bankrupt to drop the espionage charges.

EVIL EVIL PEOPLE.

Clip

https://rumble.com/v6skccv-lets-see-if-we-can-get-him-to-commit-suicide-or-entrap-him-with-a-child-pro.html

https://twitter.com/i/status/1915809192813699445

DOGE has uncovered $5 TRILLION dollars in UNTRACEABLE payments. There's no records of where it went. Just a gigantic whole in the budget that they were covering up. A $5 TRILLION dollar blank check.

DOGE also uncovered that Social Security sent out $72 BILLION in bad checks. In other words, FRAUD. The head of the Social Security administration has quickly resigned to avoid being fired when she was called in to be canned.

https://signal.group/#CjQKIFpCmWTAnOUadKsEMd6awyDCOzky0lqsZGkvTK_O0U0pEhAlorpQ6m_qdua77pHMqQC-

https://twitter.com/i/status/1915799636570222776

DOJ Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon says California REFUSES to clean voter rolls

“I gave you one example of California's failure to abide by the NVRA and make its voter rolls clean, and that is 1,000,000 voters, quote, in Los Angeles County alone”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1915516601505632572

WOW 🚨 Take the time to listen to this

“Turns out the GMO seeds — The biggest concern is that some of these crops already have a pesticide in them

There's a certain crop called BT-Corn and it has a BT Gene. When the insects eat this corn, it makes their stomachs explode. What I think is really interesting about this is that what it's doing is it's creating holes in the stomach lining of the bugs

Something that Americans are dealing with right now at really high rates is something called leaky gut syndrome and that means that if we're getting holes in the lining of our intestines.

Why did we think that this would affect insects and not affect humans?“

https://twitter.com/i/status/1915438903806615928

Lawyers reveal they’ll claim Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was a ‘swinger,’ not a rapist – as he turns down plea deal from feds

Sean “Diddy” Combs was merely a “swinger,” not the depraved sex fiend the feds have made him out to be, his attorney plans to argue at his upcoming racketeering trial.

Combs’ defense lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, made the revelation Friday at a pre-trial hearing for the disgraced music mogul in Manhattan federal court.

“There’s a lifestyle, call it swingers or whatever you will, that he thought was appropriate because it was common,” Agnifilo told the court.

“Many people think it’s appropriate because it’s common.”

The defense will cite Combs’ purported “swinger” proclivities to argue he did not intend to commit crimes when he hired male escorts to have sex with his partners at drug-fueled, days-long “Freak-Off” sex marathons that prosecutors have said were “coercive.”

The “I’ll Be Missing You” rapper’s attorneys also noted they won’t argue that he was “targeted” by a “selective” prosecution because he’s a black man, or bring up prominent white people who have hired sex workers and not been charged with crimes.

Combs’ lawyers have previously claimed that “no white person” has been indicted on a similar “transportation to engage in prostitution” charge — one of five raps that the embattled hip-hop impresario faces — and even brought up ex-New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer’s infamous prostitution scandal in court papers.

Spitzer resigned from office in 2008 after revelations emerged that he’d hired escorts. But prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, which is now handling the Combs case, chose not to bring charges against him.

“Prosecutors always seem to conclude that the sex lives of black men are bad enough to deserve punishment. When someone like Eliot Spitzer uses prostitutes, federal prosecutors never find aggravating factors,” attorney Alexandra Shapiro wrote in a March court filing.

The 55-year-old Bad Boy Records founder faces up to life in prison on racketeering and sex trafficking charges, with prosecutors alleging he forced his ex-lovers into the “Freak-Offs,” and ran his company as a criminal enterprise.

Witnesses taking the stand at an 8-to-10-week-trial — set to begin with jury selection May 5 — will give “graphic testimony” about “years’ worth of beatings, drug-fueled coercive sex marathons, and multiple rapes,” prosecutors have said in court papers.

https://nypost.com/2025/04/25/us-news/lawyers-reveal-theyll-claim-sean-diddy-combs-was-a-swinger-not-a-rapist-as-he-turns-down-plea-deal-from-feds/

>>22956903

Prince Andrew’s ex has been slammed for sharing a “sick” response to Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s death.

Lady Victoria Hervey, 48, shared a link to an article which reported that Ms Roberts Giuffre died by suicide on Thursday.

She added a line to the post: “When lies catch up with you there’s no way out.”

Responses were quick to flood in online, slamming Ms Hervey as “sick” and saying she was “no lady”, The Sun reports.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/coldhearted-outrage-as-prince-andrews-ex-shares-sick-response-to-virginia-roberts-giuffres-death/news-story/3330265e1f692009b1db6518331d7caf

Anti-corruption watchdog boss Paul Brereton's defence links spark concerns

The federal anti-corruption commissioner's ongoing role in the Army Reserves has drawn a fresh round of criticism amid concerns he continues to regularly attend military functions in full uniform, including camouflage.

While the NACC investigates allegations of corruption in the Australian Defence Force, its head, Paul Brereton, holds the rank of major general in the Army Reserve and has attended at least seven functions in uniform since being appointed the inaugural commissioner of the federal watchdog.

A NACC spokesperson told the ABC Mr Brereton's decision to occasionally wear military dress "out of hours" is appropriate and "does not compromise" the commissioner's ability to expose misconduct in defence.

While there's no suggestion of wrongdoing on Mr Brereton's part, crossbench senators and members of parliament say details of his attendance at military functions have strengthened their concerns about his ability to manage perceptions of conflict-of-interest issues involving the ADF.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-27/paul-brereton-defence-links-spark-impartiality-concerns/105166930