Monday, February 16, 2026
Who Had the Most Contact with Jeffrey Epstein?
Friedrich Merz’s Powerful Full Speech at the Munich Security Council: Iran, UK, EU-US Relations & International Tensions
Zelenskyy Yet Again Launches Fiery Assault on 'Pro-Putin' Viktor Orbán at Munich Security Conference
”God Is With Us” — Extraordinary Art Exhibition in Moscow
Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines
Democracy Now! can be supported here.
It looks as if America will soon be doing again what it does best: wage war! – © Mark Alexander
IHIP Next: Trump Ramps Up Fascism as He Grows Weak; Expert Breaks Down Why He Will Fail! | Reupload
'Can't Go Alone': Germany Defence Minister Fires Back At Rubio, Shows Mirror to Trump over Greenland
Three American Speeches at Munich, and Plenty of Confusion
THE NEW YORK TIMES: As the U.S. message veered from shared heritage and values to shared interests and back again, Europeans wondered what kind of alliance they were left with.
In the space of just a year, European leaders have heard three descriptions of how the Trump administration is reimagining the American relationship with its allies. Each strikes a bit of a different tone, but all are intended to push them into a new era in which Washington’s commitment to defend them faces new limits.
One was delivered by Vice President JD Vance last year, a blistering condemnation of European-style democracy, arguing that waves of immigrants and Europe’s restrictions on its own far-right parties pose a greater threat to the continent than Russia’s aggression.
The second was a far easier-to-swallow version of a similar message from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday. He described a hazy and sometimes idealized cultural history shared by Europe and the United States and argued that each faced “civilizational erasure” unless it figured out a way to control its borders.
Then, at the same conference, the most senior defense official to attend, Elbridge Colby, the under secretary of defense for policy, offered a classic American national-security message about shared interests, not values, recommending that both sides focus on “nuts and bolts kind of stuff.”
If the Europeans emerged a bit confused, it’s understandable. » | Steven Erlanger and David E. Sanger | Steven Erlanger and David E. Sanger write about American and European diplomacy and security. They reported from the Munich Security Conference. | Sunday, February 15, 2026
In the space of just a year, European leaders have heard three descriptions of how the Trump administration is reimagining the American relationship with its allies. Each strikes a bit of a different tone, but all are intended to push them into a new era in which Washington’s commitment to defend them faces new limits.
One was delivered by Vice President JD Vance last year, a blistering condemnation of European-style democracy, arguing that waves of immigrants and Europe’s restrictions on its own far-right parties pose a greater threat to the continent than Russia’s aggression.
The second was a far easier-to-swallow version of a similar message from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday. He described a hazy and sometimes idealized cultural history shared by Europe and the United States and argued that each faced “civilizational erasure” unless it figured out a way to control its borders.
Then, at the same conference, the most senior defense official to attend, Elbridge Colby, the under secretary of defense for policy, offered a classic American national-security message about shared interests, not values, recommending that both sides focus on “nuts and bolts kind of stuff.”
If the Europeans emerged a bit confused, it’s understandable. » | Steven Erlanger and David E. Sanger | Steven Erlanger and David E. Sanger write about American and European diplomacy and security. They reported from the Munich Security Conference. | Sunday, February 15, 2026
Opioid Crisis in the US - Business & Addiction (2/2) | DW Documentary
Feb 14, 2026 | Purdue Pharma earned billions with OxyContin. The company also triggered a race, as dozens of pharmaceutical companies rushed into the market. One was Insys, which sold fentanyl, a drug fifty times stronger than heroin.
Profit was gained by any means necessary - from strippers seducing doctors to bribery, insurance fraud and massive dose increases without the consent of patients. Some did not survive.
In Florida, unscrupulous profiteers opened pain clinics that turned out to be "pill mills” - legal hubs for drugs. Chris George, head of the largest network, cynically reports on the system that made him rich before he spent 11 years in prison.
But by the end of the 2010s, the party was over: the justice system put a stop to the legal trade. Pharmacies stopped selling opioids. But the pills did not disappear. Mexican drug cartels took over the business. Members of the Sinaloa cartel explain in the documentary how they copied the methods of US pharmaceutical companies. To this day, they continue to flood the streets of America with fentanyl.
Part 1 of this documentary can be found here.
Profit was gained by any means necessary - from strippers seducing doctors to bribery, insurance fraud and massive dose increases without the consent of patients. Some did not survive.
In Florida, unscrupulous profiteers opened pain clinics that turned out to be "pill mills” - legal hubs for drugs. Chris George, head of the largest network, cynically reports on the system that made him rich before he spent 11 years in prison.
But by the end of the 2010s, the party was over: the justice system put a stop to the legal trade. Pharmacies stopped selling opioids. But the pills did not disappear. Mexican drug cartels took over the business. Members of the Sinaloa cartel explain in the documentary how they copied the methods of US pharmaceutical companies. To this day, they continue to flood the streets of America with fentanyl.
Part 1 of this documentary can be found here.
Iran : les gardiens de la révolution entament des exercices dans le détroit d’Ormuz pour se préparer «aux menaces militaires potentielles»
LE FIGARO : L’Iran a plusieurs fois menacé de bloquer le détroit d’Ormuz, par lequel transite environ 20% de la production mondiale de pétrole.
Les gardiens de la révolution, l'armée idéologique de la République islamique d'Iran, ont débuté lundi des exercices militaires dans le stratégique détroit d'Ormuz, selon la télévision d'État iranienne, à la veille de pourparlers sur le nucléaire avec les États-Unis à Genève. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | lundi 16 février 2026
Les gardiens de la révolution, l'armée idéologique de la République islamique d'Iran, ont débuté lundi des exercices militaires dans le stratégique détroit d'Ormuz, selon la télévision d'État iranienne, à la veille de pourparlers sur le nucléaire avec les États-Unis à Genève. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | lundi 16 février 2026
Andrew Neil: Labour Together’s Smear Campaign Against Our Journalists Is ‘Totalitarian’
Feb 16, 2026 | “It was the kind of smear propaganda that totalitarian governments authoritarian governments use.”
The Cabinet Office used to be the Rolls Royce of the British civil service, says Andrew Neil. Now, it’s “barely a Trabant” that can’t be trusted to look into the smear campaign against Sunday Times journalists by Labour Together.
Keir Starmer is clueless! He loves his bans and restrictions. This social media ban for under-16s will probably turn out to be a disaster and his generational smoking ban most certainly will. In any case, these are parenting issues, not government-interference issues. — © Mark Alexander
The Cabinet Office used to be the Rolls Royce of the British civil service, says Andrew Neil. Now, it’s “barely a Trabant” that can’t be trusted to look into the smear campaign against Sunday Times journalists by Labour Together.
Keir Starmer is clueless! He loves his bans and restrictions. This social media ban for under-16s will probably turn out to be a disaster and his generational smoking ban most certainly will. In any case, these are parenting issues, not government-interference issues. — © Mark Alexander
‘Who Needs Saving from Whom?’ Kaja Kallas Publicly Insults Marco Rubio over Europe-bashing Speech
My comment on Marco Rubio’s speech in Munich is here.
Ryan Busse on the Cruelty of Republican Leadership That Will Hand Democrats a Win at the Midterms
ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.
‘Right about Everything’: Liz Truss Tweets Photo of Meeting with Trump
THE GUARDIAN: Unclear how encounter between Britain’s shortest-serving PM and US president was initiated and how long it lasted
After spending time and resources crisscrossing the Atlantic to cultivate the support of the Maga faithful, Liz Truss has finally got the prize she apparently craved: a photo with Donald Trump.
Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister tweeted a photo on Sunday showing her in the company of the US president at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
“Right about everything,” Truss posted, tagging the president on X.
Trump had yet to record the meeting on his own social media feeds, focusing instead on promoting the new documentary made by his wife, Melania. It is unclear how long the meeting between Truss and Trump lasted and how it was initiated. » | Ben Quinn | Political correspondent | Sunday, September 15, 2026
If Truss can conclude that Trump is “right about everything”, I can conclude that Truss is wrong about everything! 😊
Truss screwed up her premiership: she lasted in power for only 49 days, and even that short time in office enabled her to cock everything up! So I would counsel against placing too much importance to her warped and twisted viewpoints.
The woman’s politics were screwed up from the start. She was raised in a very left-leaning, socialist household, then she started to see the light and became a liberal and joined the Liberal Democrats whilst at university, before turning right.
Different from Margaret Thatcher, who famously stated that ‘this lady is not for turning’, this lady—Truss—definitely was and is for turning. In fact, she turns so much that she must surely be dizzy!
Now, she belongs to Trump’s fanatic superfans. For her, Trump can do no wrong. But in fairness to Lizzie, she is good for one thing: she’s good for a laugh! — © Mark Alexander
After spending time and resources crisscrossing the Atlantic to cultivate the support of the Maga faithful, Liz Truss has finally got the prize she apparently craved: a photo with Donald Trump.
Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister tweeted a photo on Sunday showing her in the company of the US president at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
“Right about everything,” Truss posted, tagging the president on X.
Trump had yet to record the meeting on his own social media feeds, focusing instead on promoting the new documentary made by his wife, Melania. It is unclear how long the meeting between Truss and Trump lasted and how it was initiated. » | Ben Quinn | Political correspondent | Sunday, September 15, 2026
If Truss can conclude that Trump is “right about everything”, I can conclude that Truss is wrong about everything! 😊
Truss screwed up her premiership: she lasted in power for only 49 days, and even that short time in office enabled her to cock everything up! So I would counsel against placing too much importance to her warped and twisted viewpoints.
The woman’s politics were screwed up from the start. She was raised in a very left-leaning, socialist household, then she started to see the light and became a liberal and joined the Liberal Democrats whilst at university, before turning right.
Different from Margaret Thatcher, who famously stated that ‘this lady is not for turning’, this lady—Truss—definitely was and is for turning. In fact, she turns so much that she must surely be dizzy!
Now, she belongs to Trump’s fanatic superfans. For her, Trump can do no wrong. But in fairness to Lizzie, she is good for one thing: she’s good for a laugh! — © Mark Alexander
White House Set to Accept Koran Burner as Refugee
THE TELEGRAPH: State department in talks to allow Turkish man to flee Britain if acquittal is overturned
The Trump administration is in talks to accept a man who burnt a Koran as a refugee from Britain.
State department officials are preparing to help Hamit Coskun flee the UK if he loses a “blasphemy case” this week.
The potential intervention is likely to escalate transatlantic tensions over free speech, which critics have claimed is being eroded under Sir Keir Starmer’s Government.
Mr Coskun overturned a conviction for a religiously aggravated public order offence after he burnt the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in London.
However, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is contesting that decision at a hearing in the High Court on Tuesday. A senior US administration official said his case was “one of several cases the administration has made note of”.
Mr Coskun sought asylum in the UK from his home country of Turkey, saying Islamic terrorists had destroyed his family’s life. He told The Telegraph that, if he did lose his case, he may be forced “to flee” and seek protection in the US.
“For me, as the victim of Islamic terrorism, I cannot remain silent. I may be forced to flee the UK and move to the USA, where President Trump has stood for free speech and against Islamic extremism,” he said.
“If I have to do so, then, to me, the UK will have effectively fallen to Islamism and the speech codes that it wishes to impose on the non-Muslim world.” » | Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter. Connor Stringer, Washington Correspondent. Will Bolton Crime correspondent | Sunday, Fenruary 15, 2026
The Trump administration is in talks to accept a man who burnt a Koran as a refugee from Britain.
State department officials are preparing to help Hamit Coskun flee the UK if he loses a “blasphemy case” this week.
The potential intervention is likely to escalate transatlantic tensions over free speech, which critics have claimed is being eroded under Sir Keir Starmer’s Government.
Mr Coskun overturned a conviction for a religiously aggravated public order offence after he burnt the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in London.
However, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is contesting that decision at a hearing in the High Court on Tuesday. A senior US administration official said his case was “one of several cases the administration has made note of”.
Mr Coskun sought asylum in the UK from his home country of Turkey, saying Islamic terrorists had destroyed his family’s life. He told The Telegraph that, if he did lose his case, he may be forced “to flee” and seek protection in the US.
“For me, as the victim of Islamic terrorism, I cannot remain silent. I may be forced to flee the UK and move to the USA, where President Trump has stood for free speech and against Islamic extremism,” he said.
“If I have to do so, then, to me, the UK will have effectively fallen to Islamism and the speech codes that it wishes to impose on the non-Muslim world.” » | Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter. Connor Stringer, Washington Correspondent. Will Bolton Crime correspondent | Sunday, Fenruary 15, 2026
Sunday, February 15, 2026
IHIP News: Trump Ally Speaks Out against Him on His Mental Decline! "He's Out of His Mind!"
'I Don't Like Him Because...': Hillary Clinton Absolutely Torches Trump at Munich Conference | World
Hillary Clinton's words are SOLID GOLD! As, indeed, are Radoslaw Sikorsky's. By the way, Ukrainians have been forced to fight not only for their own sovereignty, but they have been forced to fight and do the dirty work for the rest of Europe and the West, too. — © Mark Alexander
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