Badlands News Brief
Fake MAGA Break-ups and Based Accelerationism
(Editor’s Note: It was ’s birthday yesterday, which is kind of bullshit, to be honest, because it means I’m back on Brief duty! I also haven’t confirmed whether or not it’s a real birthday or kayfabe. Use your own discernment.) —
The news cycle is impossible to fully track these days. That’s where we come in. The Badlands News Brief is a uniquely curated selection of the stories dominating the info war — with context and commentary from Badlands hosts.
Now, onto the news from the Weekend that Was ...
500 Marines prepared to deploy to Los Angeles if needed amid protests
About 500 Marines are prepared to deploy if needed to help authorities in Los Angeles as protests continue around immigration enforcement raids.
In a statement from U.S. Northern Command, officials said about 2,000 California Army National Guard soldier were placed under federal command to help protect federal personnel and property in the greater Los Angeles area.
About 300 Guard members from the 78th Infantry Brigade Combat team were deployed at locations in the greater Los Angeles area: Los Angeles, Paramount and Compton.
The roughly 500 Marines are from Twentynine Palms and are "in a prepared to deploy status" in case they're needed to support the Department of Defense's protection of federal property and personnel efforts.
Governor Gavin Newsom said President Donald Trump was escalating the situation in Los Angeles by threatening the deployment of Marines into Los Angeles. — ABC 10
Our Take: How does one reconcile theories of patriot control with kinetic events like the one we’re seeing in California?
Game Theory.
When you understand the enemy’s playbook, you can provoke the reaction and map the counters.
Patriots aren’t telling us the future. They’re creating it.
The current state of the Info War has largely been defined by CHAOS.
And yet, this particular brand of chaos has a different feeling to it … and a decidedly orange tint.
We weren’t threatened with the storm. We were promised it. —
Colorado podcaster who originated 2020 election-rigging claim grilled about details, discrepancies
Jurors in Denver heard testimony on Thursday from the man whose uncorroborated allegations of 2020 election rigging spawned a series of defamation lawsuits against conservative political figures who publicly repeated that narrative.
Podcaster and businessman Joe Oltmann admitted in federal court that he misled a judge about his inability to sit for questioning, declined to reveal the identities of those who facilitated his alleged discovery of election manipulation, and accused unnamed individuals of having "wiped" relevant information from the Internet.
"You certainly started to get a lot more viewers after you started talking about Eric Coomer (on your podcast), didn’t you?" asked attorney Brad Kloewer.
"We had more listeners, yes," responded Oltmann.
The sometimes-tense examination, marked by frequent bench conferences called by U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang, was not only a crucial component of the defamation trial against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, but the core of numerous defamation suits Coomer is pursuing. The defendants include Oltmann, media figures, President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign and Trump's lawyers who amplified Oltmann's unproven accusations. — Colorado Politics
Our Take: The second week of Eric Coomer’s defamation trial against Mike Lindell, FrankSpeech, and MyPillow begins today in the U.S. District of Colorado. The jury is expected to hear testimony from Mike Lindell, Brannon Howse, and Dennis Montgomery. Montgomery’s testimony will come in through video clips from his deposition. The Clerk of the Court announced over the weekend that they would reopen the overflow room due to anticipated interest in this specific day of trial.
On Friday, things got weird when new evidence was introduced to show that there was a local activist/BLM/Antifa Zoom call in September 2020. I joined Jon Herold on The Daily Herold to discuss:
In that clip (and generally), I am not claiming that the call was the same call or that this new affidavit proves that Joe Oltmann’s story about Eric Coomer is true. In fact, the affidavit still disputes Oltmann’s story.
Still, the so-called “Antifa call” is the central dispute of fact for Coomer’s defamation claims — and the jury is the fact finder. Remember, the jury doesn’t have all (or any) of the years of context that the rest of us have on this story. They only have what was presented to them in trial — that the call was made up.
Here in Colorado — outside the courtroom — the story we’ve always been told by local legacy media is that the call story was made up by Oltmann. “Antifa isn’t an org, they don’t have calls, this never happened.”
There was, until Friday, zero evidence that any Antifa call happened in September 2020 except Oltmann’s testimony and hand-written notes. His notes are confirmed on multiple points by this affidavit. (Side note: As I said in the video, it’s strange to me that this affidavit wouldn’t have been disclosed in discovery in THIS case since it’s directly relevant to the claims and it was filed by the same attorneys (Coomer’s) in this case.)
Bottom line on Friday's development: The story and set of facts that were presented to the jury on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (there was no call) were disputed by the testimony and evidence presented on Friday (okay, there was a call, but it was a different call). The jury is the finder of fact, and the facts about this call got muddier on Friday. From what I saw, the jury was very engaged for both days of Oltmann’s testimony. It was the most engaged I’ve seen them — leaned in, attentive, taking notes. The factual landscape surrounding the "Antifa call' is central to their decision on liability in this case.
Monday, we finally get to hear from Mike Lindell. (Side Note: Never attack the pillows.)
Mike mentions FedEx in that clip and, notably, he was served in the Colorado courtroom by FedEx on Friday. The process server asked Mike to be able to serve him privately outside the view of the media, but I was able to confirm that it was about FedEx from two sources familiar with the service. No details to report on the specific claims — Lindell’s litigation with FedEx has been going on for a while.
We will also hear from Mike’s former employee Brannon Howse on Monday, as well as Dennis Montgomery’s testimony about PCAPs and China and Hammer and Scorecard.
Another side note: With Dennis Montgomery and China coming into focus, it’s a good time to revisit Patel Patriot’s Devolution Series, Part 7 where he discusses the DNI minority report on election interference from 2020. China features prominently.
Tomorrow’s gonna be a banger. Stay tuned.
I’ll be in the courtroom, and you can follow the latest trial updates (on delay per court order) on my X Account. (Note: You don't need to have an X account to read X threads).
Tune into Monday’s Culture of Change for a run-down of the day’s highly anticipated testimony. —
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Trump says Elon Musk will face 'very serious consequences' if he funds Democratic candidates
President Donald Trump on Saturday said there would be “serious consequences” if tech mogul Elon Musk funds Democratic candidates to run against Republicans who vote in favor of the GOP’s sweeping budget bill.
“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview, but declined to share what those consequences would be.
“He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,” he added.
The president also said he has no desire to repair his relationship with Musk after a feud between the two men erupted into public view earlier this week.
“No,” Trump said when asked if he had any wish to do so.
Asked if he thought his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was over, Trump said, “I would assume so, yeah.”
Trump’s comments were the most extensive since he and Musk exchanged threats and attacks on X and Truth Social earlier this week. He added that he thought the Republican Party was more unified than ever after the two men fell out in front of the world.
Trump said he has no plans to speak with Musk anytime soon. “I’m too busy doing other things,” he said, adding, “I have no intention of speaking to him.”
Trump also accused Musk of being “disrespectful to the office of the President.”
“I think it’s a very bad thing, because he’s very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President,” he added. — NBC News
Our Take: Last year, I penned a follow-up to my series on Donald Trump and Elon Musk, asserting that the two were not only coordinating in terms of convergence, but also its opposite.
Nothing has disabused me of the notion in the interim.
Split, or phase shift?
"When you find yourself arguing from the opposition’s premise, you’re already losing. Donald Trump hasn’t just set the Battlespace … he IS the Battlespace, and the Deep State isn’t even trying to disabuse anyone in this nation—in this world—of that notion.
As for the original inspiration for this piece—that being the sit-down between Musk and Trump—what struck me first about it is the fact that both men managed to convince the vast majority of the American Mind that this was an organic event, even though those paying attention have been projecting the convergence of these Mind-Movers in the Moving Mind for some time.
From Trump’s long-ago sparring with Musk in the media to Musk’s pointed refusal to engage in the political space at that time, to the rapidly-evolving posture of Musk as an American business and technology leader to one of its key Culture-setters, now firmly entrenched in the Culture War that runs parallel to the Info War we’ve been fighting for the better part of a decade, to Trump’s recent endorsements of Musk’s companies, technologies and even his bravery … the signs have been there for some time that this seemingly-organic union in the zeitgeist wasn’t just inevitable as a force of nature, but planned, likely long ago.
In fact, I wrote almost two years ago about how these two great Mind-Movers were navigating opposite sides of the sociopolitical terrain in order to hem in the Deep State’s Narrative apparatus in order to prime the mass psychological pump for their eventual (public) alliance.
Observe some writing from December 2022 that I think has aged well:
'The Narrative Deployments of figures like Trump and Musk aren’t necessarily for this awake and awakening community; they are for our sleeping fellows, teaching them to pick up their intellectual picks and shovels for the first time while we shield our eyes from the sun, as we set ours down for the moment, gazing up out of the canyons of dark discovery to see others being prepped and primed to join us just as we seem set to delve into harder ground—perhaps even the bedrock that makes the System of Systems up.
These Narrative Deployments are not accidental. They are not correlated; they are coordinated.
And coordination leads to causation.
To me, the Narrative Pincer move we’re seeing develop between Trump and Musk is a thing of beauty, as it is not only resulting in predictable reactions from the Media Industrial Complex, but it’s creating incredible and effective tension within the reachable middle of the Collective Mind.
This reachable middle is getting hit from both sides, and now find themselves advocating for the very principles they would leave to the dustbin of western civilization.’"
SAME SAME! —
Israel detains Greta Thunberg aboard Gaza aid boat
Israeli naval forces have intercepted and detained the crew of the Gaza-bound civilian boat Madleen, which was attempting to deliver humanitarian aid. The vessel – dubbed a “selfie yacht” by Tel Aviv – carried climate activist Greta Thunberg, French MEP Rima Hassan and Irish actor Liam Cunningham, among others.
Operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the boat was intercepted early Monday in international waters and is now being towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod. Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the detention, stating that the group was “expected to return to their home countries.”
“All the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over,” the Foreign Ministry posted on X. — RT
Our Take: Not trying to be a smart ass, but let’s break down this Greta Thunberg Gaza Flotilla story.
Besieged population, allegedly starving to death in the midst of a protracted war.
Climate Change poster child, created by the Party of Davos (WEF), leads a maritime mission to smuggle food and supplies to besieged population.
She is joined by an actor (Liam Cunningham) who famously portrayed “Ser Davos Seaworth” on the show Game of Thrones. In the show, his character (a reformed smuggler) is widely known as the “Onion Knight,” because he once smuggled a ship full of onions into a besieged city full of starving people. (His character’s name is literally “Davos,” where the WEF holds its annual meeting for the world’s elites.)
This event is taking place on the 58th anniversary (today) of the USS Liberty, where the Israeli Defense Force attacked and nearly sank a US Navy ship floating off the coast of Israel/Gaza, in order to start a war between the US and Egypt.
Greta’s boat has purportedly been “sprayed” with a mysterious white substance by an IDF aircraft. Speculation amock that it is either a bioweapon or a marking/targeting substance to increase visibility for other IDF aircraft/ships at night.
Greta claims that the boat has been intercepted by the IDF navy and they are all being arrested.
The potential net effect is that a notoriously over-privileged blonde-haired, blue-eyed white Swedish girl (turned celebrity) may become an Islamic martyr for the Third World if she is harmed or killed while in IDF custody, along with all of her fellow European compatriots. (The inversion of woke.)
I don’t even care if this is a fake/manufactured psyop. This is some of the best writing we’ve seen out of Hollywood in years. And we need “reality” to get so absurd that it breaks the matrix.
PS - The ending was pretty amusing. The IDF took them into custody and fed them halal bread.
And the post they put out felt like a veiled commentary on certain American congresswomen. —
Riley Gaines pulls no punches with blunt response to Simone Biles’ insults in spat over trans athletes
She pulled no punches.
Conservative anti-trans activist Riley Gaines couldn’t resist going for the low blow in her ongoing online spat with gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles.
In her latest reply in the back-and-forth between the pair, Gaines referenced convicted sexual predator Larry Nassar — the former Team USA doctor who abused the Olympic legend and other females gymnasts.
“All the horrific sexual abuse @Simone_Biles witnessed and spoke out against caused by one man, yet [she] believes women should be forced to strip naked in front of men to validate the man’s feelings,” the former collegiate swimmer posted to X.
“You know how many gold medals you’d have if your ‘inclusive’ dream came true? Zero.”
Nassar is serving 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing hundreds of gymnasts, including Olympians Biles, Aly Raisman, and Gabby Douglas.
Biles blasted Gaines on X for criticizing a Minnesota softball team that included transgender player Marissa Rothenberger.
The pitcher threw a shutout and helped bring a state championship home to Champlin Park High School.
“To be expected when your star player is a boy,” Gaines wrote in response to a photo of the team celebrating the winning season. — NY Post
Our Take: This article is positioned as an influencer beef gone viral, but it would be better characterized as a digital, rhetorical homicide.
First, Biles:
“You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!”
What? So now women are responsible for accommodating mentally ill men in their spaces, at the expense of their own feelings of safety? Thats what Biles is saying. Gaines’ response is correct:
“It’s not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces. You can uplift men stealing championships in women’s sports with YOUR platform. Men don’t belong in women’s sports and I say that with my full chest.”
Women have zero obligation to make themselves unsafe so mentally ill men can feel better. They also have zero obligation to accept biological disadvantages in their elite (or otherwise) athletics.
Now add that Simone Biles doesn’t have to compete with transgender athletes. She lacks first hand experience on this issue and has no skin in the game.
That doesn’t stop her from running her mouth in support of female erasure. It actually makes her a perfect fit for a role as Democrat politician. I reckon that’s coming. —
Survivors Testify to Knesset About Childhood Sexual Abuse Network in Israeli Religious Ceremonies
During a special joint Knesset session on Tuesday, several women, mainly from the ultra-Orthodox and religious Zionist communities, came forward to testify about years of childhood abuse they suffered during "sadistic sexual rituals" performed in religious ceremonies in Israel. Their testimonies, which also indicate repeated neglect from authorities, are part of a disturbing pattern documented by journalists, trauma experts and NGO leaders.
"You have no idea what ritual abuse is," Yael Shitrit, one of the victims, told committee members. "The human brain cannot process it. You cannot imagine what it is like to program a 3-year-old girl through rape and sadism so that they can do whatever they want without anyone knowing."
As the MKs listened to the survivors' testimony, a number appeared visibly shaken. "This is horrifying," Likud MK Eli Dalal remarked. "The time has come to move from listening to action." He called for immediate action on the part of the police, relevant government ministries and the justice system. "There are helpless children here, and we need to take initiative now," Dalal said.
MK Naama Lazimi of the Democrats party, who also chairs the Youth Affairs Committee, said: "I couldn't breathe when I learned of a network of ritual abuse of girls, that there could be such a system and dangerous mechanism, and nothing is being done to stop it. — Haaretz
Our Take: Well, this is pretty dark.
The "ultra-Orthodox" community—the community that Netanyahu has turned to for political support, in his hour of desperation—has some real skeletons.
These women described the ritualistic rape and abuse of three-year-olds, among other things. This demonstrates that even in the most "pious" corners of the holy land, there can still be demons.
What's so frightening is how tepid and timid the Republican Party seems to be when it comes to expressing any form of criticism of anything related to the government, or society, of Israel. That is the effect of idolatry, and it can have some very negative consequences.
Placing human beings on a pedestal and treating them as deities—which is precisely how the American Evangelical community treats the nation of Israel— will always lead to acts of evil, eventually, due to human nature.
One way or another, this spell must be broken. —
Trump Signs Orders On Deregulating Flying Cars, Supersonic Flight
President Donald Trump signed executive orders on June 6 to deregulate and open research and development into flying cars and supersonic aviation technology.
Trump signed the two orders alongside others on Friday that target American drone capabilities, technology, and regulations.
One order instructs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin testing flying cars, also known as electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), according to a senior White House official.
Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the order will establish a pilot program working in conjunction with both public and private stakeholders.
“Flying cars are not just for the Jetsons, they are also for the American people in the near term,” he said during a White House press call.
Kratsios said, “eVTOL promises to revolutionize transportation as well as cargo delivery and logistics ... blazing a trail to new frontiers as part of the golden age of American innovation.”
Regarding supersonic flight, Trump’s order repeals regulations that hindered the technology’s development while instructing the FAA to create a standard for supersonic aircraft noise certification, a senior White House official said.
The order also advances research coordination between the FAA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and promotes international engagement through the FAA and other agencies to “align global supersonic regulations and bilateral agreements for international operations.”
“Together, these executive orders will accelerate American innovation in drones, flying cars, and supersonic aircraft, and chart the future of America’s skies for years to come,” Kratsios said.
He said Trump is looking to revolutionize supersonic aviation in the United States after years of regulations that have prevented airlines from using the technology for commercial air travel.
“The reality is that Americans should be able to fly from New York to L.A. in under four hours,” Kratsios said, adding that recent advances in aerospace engineering, material science, and noise reduction have made domestic supersonic flight safe, sustainable, and commercially viable.
“But for the last 50 years, outdated and overly restricted regulations grounded supersonic passenger flight and weakened our global competitiveness in aviation,” he added.
“The market is here and the technology is here.” — The Epoch Times
Our Take: Lost in the noise of the latest Kayfabian Chaos, Trump today signed twin executive orders on ensuring American Airspace Sovereignty and renewing Supersonic Flight, originally banned in 1973.
As I've been arguing for some time, now ... we're in a Timeline War.
And we're winning. —
Wagner PMC announces withdrawal from African country
Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner Group announced the end of its mission in Mali on Thursday, saying its fighters have completed their objectives and are returning home.
Wagner operatives have reportedly been active there since 2021, when the West African country’s transitional authorities turned to the group for support following a coup and a surge in attacks by Tuareg rebels and al-Qaeda-linked militants.
“For three and a half years, the ‘musicians’ fought shoulder to shoulder with the people of Mali against terrorism,” Wagner said, using the informal name for its contractors. “We eliminated thousands of militants and their commanders, who had terrorized the civilian population for years.”
The group added that it had helped Malian patriots build “a strong and disciplined army capable of defending its land,” and claimed that all regional capitals had been returned to “the control of the legitimate authorities.” Wagner declared that “the mission is complete. Wagner PMC is returning home.”
Previously, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had confirmed that the Mali government had indeed asked Wagner for help back in 2021 and has since also been receiving official military support from Russia. — RT
And …
Netanyahu Arming ISIS-Aligned Jihadis In Gaza, Israeli Defense Sources Confirm
At the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the State of Israel is arming an ISIS-aligned Jihadist gang in Gaza, unnamed Israeli defense officials confirmed to the Times of Israel on Thursday. While refraining from validating that particular characterization of the weapon recipients, Netanyahu confirmed that Israel is "activating clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas." Significantly, the prime minister is accused of green-lighting the weapon handovers without securing his cabinet's permission.
News of Netanyahu's latest provision of aid to Sunni extremists in the Middle East first came via remarks made by opposition Knesset member and former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman in a Thursday morning interview with Kan Bet public radio. “The Israeli government is giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons, identified with Islamic State, at the direction of the prime minister...Ultimately, these weapons will be turned against us." — Zerohedge
Our Take: So Ukraine (the United States) is funding ISIS-affiliated terrorist groups in the Russia-aligned Sahel States (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger), and Netanyahu is arming ISIS-aligned groups in Gaza?
What's amazing is this quote in the Israel article from 2016 from former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy, when asked why Israel was providing medical treatment to an Al Qaeda fighter who was injured in Syria:
“We have a different account with Hezbollah. A totally different account. Al Qaeda, to the best of my recollection, has not attacked Israel.”
Interesting. Similar statements have been made by other Israeli officials regarding ISIS.
It's almost like ISIS and Al Qaeda were created by Mossad and the CIA.
Remind me, according to the official narrative, who perpetrated 9/11?
Do you see where this is going? This is the end of the establishment GOP, as well as Con Inc. —
Most Russians No Longer View United States As Their Top Enemy: Poll
A new public opinion poll shows that most Russians no longer consider the United States to be their number one global enemy, which suggests that Trump administration's stance on the Ukraine conflict has served to soften public opinion in Russia.
"The U.S. dropped from first to fourth on this list for the first time in 20 years of measurements," the independent pollster, Levada Center, said in a newly published survey.
The top three most hostile countries, according to the Russian respondents, were named as Germany (55%), the United Kingdom (49%) and Ukraine (43%).
This interestingly coincides with Trump's return to the White House and repeat pledges to deescalate and ultiamtely end the war in Ukraine. He has also thus far refrained from calls to slap new sanctions on Moscow in order to give peace negotiations a greater chance.
At the same time, both the UK and Germany have been urging a 'coalition of the willing' to boost defense spending and present a united front against Russia. Berlin and London have become more and more hawkish.
Among past Russian public opinion polls, past downturns in US favorability followed the 2008 Russo-Georgian war and the 2014 annexation of Crimea, and resulting Washington sanctions and pressure.
The Levada Center survey shows Russians view there closest allies to be Belarus (80%), China (64%), Kazakhstan (36%), India (32%), and North Korea (30%). — ZeroHedge
Our Take: Aside from the obvious marker that we've dropped from 1st to 4th on the Russian civilian threat meter since Trump took office, know what's really interesting, here?
Ukraine is third, far behind the governments of Germany and the UK.
The Russians know who the puppet masters are. —
BONUS ITEMS
Musk Hit Bessent 'Like A Rugby Player' In White House Fight, Bannon Claims
Long-simmering tensions between Elon Musk and other members of the Trump administration exploded into physical violence in mid-April, with Musk aggressively shouldering Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Bessent battling back, according to a second-hand account from Trump political advisor and Musk-despiser Steve Bannon. First reported by the Washington Post on Saturday, Bannon's tale comes amid a raging battle between Trump and Musk that's left Trump saying he has no desire to patch things up and assumes their relationship -- which by all accounts played a decisive role in Trump's return to power -- is over.
Citing what he'd been told by others, Bannon said the two rivals had been with Trump in the Oval Office to pitching their respective preferred picks for the role of acting IRS commissioner. According to earlier reporting by the New York Times, Bessent was irate that Musk had managed to go around him and install Gary Shapley in the role, despite the fact that the IRS reports to the Treasury Department. Bessent told Trump he wanted Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender in the slot -- and Trump agreed, capping a chaotic spectacle that saw the IRS overseen by three different acting commissioners in a single week.
As they left the office and headed down a West Wing hallway, Bessent and Musk started insulting each other, Bannon said, with Bessent ridiculing Musk for claiming he would identify over a trillion dollars in government waste, fraud and abuse, with Bessent apparently claiming Musk was coming nowhere close: "You’re a fraud. You’re a total fraud!"
That line of attack allegedly prompted Musk to slam his shoulder into Bessent's ribs, hitting him hard "like a rugby player," said Bannon. The Treasury secretary physically retaliated in some manner, before multiple bystanders outside the national security adviser's office intervened to break up the fight. Musk was then supposedly escorted from the West Wing. “President Trump heard about it and said, ‘This is too much’,” Bannon said. In the following days, Musk announced that he would start easing back from his role in the administration to give more attention to his many businesses. — ZeroHedge
Graham’s ‘bone crushing’ Russia sanctions bill could freeze US trade with the world’s largest economies
Sen. Lindsey Graham has pledged that his expansive sanctions bill would be “bone crushing” for the Russian economy.
But if enacted, the South Carolina Republican’s proposal to impose 500 percent tariffs on any country that buys Russian energy would effectively cut the U.S. off from some of the world’s largest economies — including allies in Europe.
“A 500 percent tariff is essentially a hard decoupling,” said Kevin Book, managing director of Clear View Energy Partners, an energy research firm.
Graham appeared to acknowledge as much on Wednesday, when he proposed a broad carve-out for countries that provide aid to Ukraine. This exemption would spare the European Union, which continues to import almost 20 percent of its gas from Russia.
But experts remain skeptical that the sky-high tariffs proposed in the Sanctioning Russia Act are in any way feasible.
India and China buy roughly 70 percent of Russian energy exports, but several other countries that buy any oil, gas or uranium from Moscow — and aren’t included in the carve-out — could also be exposed to tariffs under the bill.
The United States, which is still reliant on imports of enriched uranium from Russia to fuel its nuclear reactors, could also run afoul of the bill.
Edward Fishman, a senior researcher with the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, said countries in the crosshairs of the bill would struggle to halt their imports of Russian energy overnight.
Tariffs of 500 percent on imports of goods made in China would send prices soaring, disrupt supply chains and could drive up U.S. unemployment to recessionary levels.
Most likely, it would lead to a screeching halt in U.S. trade with China.
“It would hurt Americans quite a bit,” Fishman said.
The legislation’s goal, co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), is to starve Russia’s war economy, which continues to earn hundreds of billions of dollars from energy exports. There is widespread support for the overall objective, with 82 senators signing on to Graham’s bill so far, and growing support for a companion bill in the House. — Politico
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Some thoughts after reading of your fresh daily takes:
🇺🇲 Regarding "500 Marines are prepared to deploy if needed to help authorities in Los Angeles", I strongly wonder if it isn't some test of loyalty to the Constitution rather than to anything else (race, foreign culture, religion or faith, political party...) ??
"Semper fi!" Isn't that the motto and oath of the Marine Corps ?
🇮🇱 The facts displayed in front of The Knesset are absolutely disgusting and need powerful decisions by their representatives, but are [They] in anyway better than the perverted religious zealots who are accused of committing these horrors ?
I know / hope there are no link between the two writings, but it's very disturbing to read the Israel Knesset Members share the same initials as some infamous Kazarian Mafia or even some distant analogy with the MK Ultra abominations ! 😲🥺
🇺🇲 I hope I'm not the only one who thinks the Colorado trial Mike "My Pillow" Lindell vs Cooler is tending to become a marvelous stage for some very public discovery AND disclosure process starting from a B series script, for all to watch in full live ??
What an incredible time to live in !
Please pardon me for going straight to the most blatant evidence of the putridity that hides behind many forms of religion. @Ghost is right: this spell MUST BE BROKEN. But some 3500+ years of failing to do so is evidence that Mankind, on its own, does not possess the will and/or the strength to defeat the real enemy. Millstones and chains!! Full armor; the sword of the Spirit and prayer. I don't care what "hate laws" are added to states and governments - we should not, can not in good conscience, keep silent!
I could go on and on...but I think it best to take to my knees instead...God help the little ones and God help us help the little ones!!!
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼...