3 May, 2025 02:56

US clarifies stance on Ukraine peace talks

Washington has denied that it is walking away from negotiations

The US will not abandon its efforts to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday, after a State Department statement suggested that the US could pull out of the negotiations.Rubio warned, however, that if the talks remain stalled, the US might “move on.”

“If there is no progress between the two parties, we would step back as a mediator,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters earlier at a news briefing.

Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity later, Rubio said,“We’re not going to give up on it in the sense that we’re not going to be ready to help if we can.” He added that the final call is up to US President Donald Trump. “At some point in time, it either has to be something that can happen or we all need to move on. That’ll be a decision the president will have to make.”

Rubio stressed that the conflict, which escalated under the administration of former President Joe Biden in 2022, “is not our war,” and saidthe US now considers its confrontation with China and Iran’s nuclear program higher priorities.

Bruce later clarified to Fox News that “Right now, our posture is the same, but if there is no progress, it will change.” She denied that the administration is walking away from peace efforts.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has pushed both Moscow and Kiev toward a ceasefire but has recently voiced frustration over the lack of progress.

Moscow recently said it is ready for direct talks with Kiev “without preconditions.” President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian forces to observe a 72-hour ceasefire during next week’s Victory Day celebrations. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky rejected the offer, calling it “an attempt at manipulation.”

https://www.rt.com/news/616678-us-clarify-ukraine-conflict-mediation/

2 May, 2025 22:21

Germany ‘has rebuilt the Berlin Wall’ – Vance

The US vice president has slammed attempts to “destroy” the anti-immigration AfD party

US Vice President J.D. Vance has compared the German government’s treatment of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to rebuilding the Berlin Wall.

On Friday, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency,the BfV, classified the anti-immigration AfD as an “extremist” organization, citing “xenophobic, anti-minority, Islamophobic, and anti-Muslim statements made by leading party officials.” The label enables police to closely monitor the party’s activities.

“The AfD is the most popular party in Germany, and by far the most representative of East Germany. Now the bureaucrats try to destroy it,”Vance wrote on X.

“The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt – not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment,” he added.

The party’s co-leader, Alice Weidel, accused the government of attempting to quell dissent.“Since the AfD is the strongest party in polls now, they want to suppress the opposition & freedom of speech,” she wrote on X.

The AfD was founded in 2013 as a backlash to Germany’s handling of the eurozone debt crisis. It has since shifted focus to demanding tighter immigration and asylum laws and opposing the “woke agenda.” The party is also critical of NATO and has staged protests against sending weapons to Ukraine.

The AfD finished second in the federal elections in February, winning 152 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag. Last month, it topped opinion polls for the first time, with 26% support.

The party is especially popular in the economically underdeveloped regions of former East Germany. The AfD has also been embroiled in controversy, as some members have had links to far-right and neo-Nazi groups or used slogans associated with Nazi Germany.

Major German parties have refused to form coalitions and work with the AfD as part of the so-called ‘firewall against the far-right’. Vance criticized efforts to isolate the party during a speech at the Munich Security Conference in February. “Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters. There is no room for firewalls. You either uphold the principle or you don’t,” the US vice president said.

The Berlin Wall was built by East Germany in 1961 to stop its citizens from fleeing to West Berlin. It remained in place throughout the Cold War until it was torn down in 1989, leading to German reunification.

https://www.rt.com/news/616677-vance-germany-berlin-wall/

>>22987285

2 May, 2025 20:51

‘Don’t rush’ to ban AfD – Scholz(He went after them for years and years)

Germany’s domestic spy agency has classified the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party as “extremist”

Berlin should not rush into trying to ban the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, a lengthy report by Germany’sFederal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) classified the populist party as “extremist,” accusing it of being racist in its anti-migrant rhetoric, and of showing signs of acting against the country’s democracy. The classification opens the door to a potential ban, and for the domestic spy agency to increase surveillance of the AfD, as is the case with extremist groups such as the Islamic State.

“I think this is something that cannot be rushed into,” Scholzsaid when asked about banning the AfD outright.

He went on to point out that Germany’s “Federal Constitutional Court has rejected all recent applications for bans.”

He referred to Germany’s numerous unsuccessful past attempts to outlaw the former nationalist National Democratic Party (NDP) as an example of the legal troubles that could follow trying to ban the AfD.

The NDP weathered years of federal attempts to prohibit it, changing its name to The Homeland in 2023. The party did not run in the 2025 German elections.

The AfD, which has seen a surge in popularity in the polls in recent months, has condemned the BfV report as a “severe blow to the German democracy.”

“The AfD is the strongest party in current polls… Nevertheless, the AfD, as an opposition party, is now being publicly discredited and criminalized shortly before the change of government,” co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla said in a joint statement.

A Forsa poll from last month indicated thatAfD had overtaken incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union(CDU) as the most popular political party in the country.

https://www.rt.com/news/616675-dont-rush-ban-afd-scholz/

DOGE hits Trump country - POLITICO

“Our greatest export is young people – our future talent,” said Ashlea Krasnansky, a West Virginia native and AmeriCorps student director with High Rock’s First2 Network program that encourages STEM education in West Virginia. “I believe that the AmeriCorps program helps combat this issue.”

The state’s support for the program has been overwhelmingly bipartisan. In 2022, West Virginia’s Republican-controlled legislature unanimously passed a bill providing tuition assistance to AmeriCorps volunteers, signed into law by then-Gov. Jim Justice, now a U.S. senator.

A spokesperson for DOGE did not respond to a request for comment.

Elsewhere, 650 volunteers for the agency’s National Civilian Community Corps on four campuses nationwide, including two in Iowa and Mississippi, were forced to leave their postings early after DOGE cut the program that gives young people the opportunity to volunteer in natural disaster assistance and community projects.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a longtime supporter of AmeriCorps, criticized the cuts on Musk’s platform, X, on Friday : “I support improving efficiency and eliminating waste, but I would have to object to cutting AmeriCorps grants like those that support Louisiana’s veterans and organizations that provide crucial support after hurricanes and natural disasters.”

More than 20 blue states filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing the Trump administration of illegally dismantling the agency without congressional authority.

On Capitol Hill, some moderate Republicans are looking for ways to stop the bleeding.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Don Bacon (R-Ne.) co-sponsored a bill to bar federal dollars from being used to dismantle the agency. “Congressman Fitzpatrick has long championed AmeriCorps as a vital pillar of national service,” Fitzpatrick spokesperson Casey-Lee Waldron said in a statement. “He’s fighting to protect AmeriCorps from cuts and will continue working across the aisle to ensure it remains a national priority.”

“No one can seem to figure out what the rhyme or reason is. It’s red states and blue states. It’s urban and rural,” said Hillary Kane, the director of the Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development. (fraud, waste and abuse is the reason and these Congress men get some of it.)

David Weinstein is the founder and executive director of Joyful Readers, another Philadelphia-based group that provides tutoring for K-12 students. “Our organization teaches kids to read,” Weinstein said. “Since when is that not a national priority?” (Why aren’t schools doing this?)

https://archive.is/yyGiO

johnny maga

@_johnnymaga

Deranged Liberal boomer threatens Trump White House officials:

“Where the hell does Stephen Miller live? Who’s his family?…”

“Elon Musk, I don’t give a sh*t about his security detail. Where’s his family? Where do they live… you get tens of thousands of civilians going into an area, you think you’re going to shut us down? No!”

@FBI

11:02 AM · May 2, 2025

·327K Views

https://x.com/_johnnymaga/status/1918320213566898295

Tucker CarlsonMatt Walsh: Dave Smith/Douglas Murray Debate, Transgenderism, and What It Really Means to Be a Man

Matt Walsh: Any country that can’t function without American aid has no right to exist.

2:07:24

https://youtu.be/BIsJaGivBkE

Showdown Looms as Tom Homan Explores Case Against AOC for Obstructing Immigration Enforcement

Lowell Cauffiel3 May 2025

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Friday dared border czar Tom Homan to arrest herfor what she claimed was legal advice she gave to migrants on how to avoid being deported.

Homan responded to the congresswoman’s taunt by saying he was already exploring her arrest with the U.S. Justice Department.

The dare came at a packed town hall in Queens after Homan previously suggested Ocasio-Cortez’s hosting of a “Know Your Rights” webinar in February impedes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from carrying out the Trump administration’s deportation of illegal aliens.

Ocasio-Cortez told a cheering audience, “Tom Homan said he was going to refer me to DOJ because I’m using my free speech rights in order to advise people of their constitutional protections. To that I say: ‘Come for me, do I look like I care?'”

She added, there was “nothing illegal about it and if they want to make it illegal, they can come take me.”

The webinar recommended illegal aliens ask for warrants and deploy phones to record ICE searches. It provided tips on how to differentiate between different warrants authorities are likely to carry.

Homan has repeatedly said thecongresswoman likely ventured into illegal territory with her advice.

After AOC’s town hall dare, Homan told Fox News, “I’m working with the Department of Justice and finding out, ‘Where is that line that they cross?’ So maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now.”

In an appearance in February on Sunday Morning Futures, Homan was more specific:

What she needs to do is read the statutes enacted by Congress… because it’s a crime to enter this country illegally. Not only that, but when you harbor and conceal and impede law enforcement, that’s a felony. What she’s doing, she says she’s educating everybody on their constitutional rights, and we all know they’ve got constitutional rights, but what she’s really doing… she’s trying to teach them how to evade law enforcement.

At the town hall, Ocasio-Cortez also took on one of the Trump administration’s most popular immigration policies.She called the removal of Venezuelan gang members “sanctioned kidnappings.”

She claimed that without a warrant, agents don’t have “carte blanche” to enter and arrest gang members.

President Trump’s highest approval ratings, polls consistently have shown, come from his tough crackdown on illegal crossings and removal of criminal illegal aliens and gang members.

https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/05/03/showdown-looms-as-tom-homan-explores-case-against-aoc-for-bstructing-immigration-enforcement/

Its about time

Tom Homan on Arresting Sanctuary City Leaders Harboring Illegals: ‘Wait ‘Til You See What’s Coming’

Hannah Knudsen2 May 2025

The Trump administration has plans for leaders of sanctuary cities who are harboring illegal aliens, Trump border czar Tom Homan previewed this week, cheekily telling reporters to wait and see what will happen.

“The president signed an executive order just this week threatening to defund sanctuary cities for their policies,” a reporter told Homan,asking why the administration does not just arrest the leaders of these sanctuary cities who are harboring illegal aliens from deportation.

“Wait ‘til you see what’s coming,” Homan said with a smile.

WATCH:

Homan’s warning coincides with the warning shot he delivered during a press conference this week, making it clear that officials or judges harboring illegal immigrants “will be prosecuted.”

“So I said from day one, you don’t have to support ICE’s [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] operations. You can support sanctuary cities if that’s what you desire to do,” Homan said during the press conference, expressing confusion as to why the leaders of these sanctuary areas would place illegal aliens over their duty to protect their communities.

“Any public official — your mayor, city councilman, or governor — their number one responsibility is protection of the communities,” he said, explaining that ICE is “targeting public safety threats and national security threats.”

“I can’t believe there’s any elected official — and especially a judge— that doesn’t believe we should be doing that, and they should be helping us,” he continued.

“But I said in day one. You can sit aside and watch again. You can argue against us… protest all you want, but when you cross that line —I’ve said this one thousand times — when you cross that line to impediment or knowingly harboring or concealing an illegal alien migrant, you will be prosecuted — judge or not,” Homan warned.

His warning follows his longtime vow to travel to sanctuary cities an bring “hell” with him, and he has done just that, overseeing 380 ICE arrests in the Boston area alone in March.

https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/05/02/tom-homan-on-arresting-sanctuary-city-leaders-harboring-illegals-wait-til-you-see-whats-coming/

Terrence Howard Recalls Ed Asner’s Jaw-Dropping Acting Advice

They are both stoned. But Bill admits Blow jobs are required in HW. No wonder how Bill turned out that way.

On this episode, Bill hangs out with actor Terrence Howard for a free-wheeling chat that bounces between Hollywood and big ideas. Terrence speaks about clashing with studios over money, why Empire was both a blessing and a headache, and how an early brush with Richard Dreyfus taught him to fight for every scene. He and Bill riff on environmental junk in our food and air, and Terrence’s belief that music tuned to 432 Hz could reshape everything from space travel to human longevity. Along the way they trade Hendrix trivia, swap stories about celebrity parties and canceled careers, and agree that nailing a close-up still feels like magic.

3:13

https://youtu.be/a5G_A-adTEo

'FREE SPEECH CRISIS': Former Mumford & Sons star outlines 'key' issue in Britain

Former Mumford & Sons banjoist Winston Marshall explains why he asked the White House about granting UK citizens political asylum in the US on 'The Will Cain Show

7:23

https://youtu.be/B5am3esUzsc

Neil Oliver and David Krayden Discuss Recent Canada Election and Future of Alberta Succession

May 3, 2025 | Sundance |

In this interview, British pundit Neil Oliver and Canadian David Krayden discuss how in the wake of the recent election Alberta separatism is gaining momentum. Elected Prime Minister Mark Carney’s net zero energy policies could push Canada towards economic crisis, with fears of higher taxes and a loss of national identity.

Krayden outlines why some Canadians believe Alberta could become the 51st US state and how Donald Trump’s surprising support for Carney is fueling debate in Candian conservative circles. Was there a plan behind Trump’s approach? WATCH:

51:10

https://youtu.be/5oYpvtvMKLM

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/05/03/neil-oliver-and-david-krayden-discuss-recent-canada-election-and-future-of-alberta-succession/

China Reroutes Targeted Goods to Friendly North American Partner to Avoid Tariffs

May 3, 2025 | Sundance |

As if on cue, a short article from the Chamber of Shipping notes that cargo from China is being rerouted to avoid tariffs.

The destination of the cargo is, wait for it,… CANADA!

USCoS – As U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods soar to as high as 145%, a growing number of companies are rerouting shipments to Canada and storing them in bonded warehouses in hopes of avoiding the duties and capitalising on a future rollback. This strategy has caused a sharp spike in Chinese shipments to Canada, with logistics firms and customs brokers reporting surging inquiries and storage demand from consumer goods, chemical, and auto parts sectors.However, experts caution that prolonged storage costs—estimated at $1,750 per container per week—and limited warehouse capacity could force sellers to offloaddiscounted goods into the Canadian market, potentially disrupting domestic manufacturing. Others warn the strategy is risky and unsustainable, especially if the trade conflict drags into next year’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement negotiations. (link)

This will not end well….

… For Canada.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/05/03/china-reroutes-targeted-goods-to-friendly-north-american-partner-to-avoid-tariffs/

Are they that stupid to think Trump and Team, didn’t think of every scenario?

Hegseth orders military overhaul to better counter China

Syracuse University professor and former U.S. Army officer Sean McFate joins ‘Fox News Live’ to discuss Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plans to modernize the U.S. military and enhance preparedness for future global threats.

6:25

https://youtu.be/tUBvQ0V2Mas