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
Monday, February 16, 2026
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
Top British and German Military Chiefs Press ‘Moral’ Case for Rearmament
THE GUARDIAN: Defence chiefs write joint appeal urging public to prepare for threat of war with Russia with attendant costs
Britain and Germany’s highest ranking military chiefs have made an unprecedented joint appeal to the public to accept the “moral” case for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia.
The pair said they were making the plea not just as the military leaders of two of Europe’s largest military spenders, but “as voices for a Europe that must now confront uncomfortable truths about its security”.
Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, the UK’s chief of the defence staff, and Gen Carsten Breuer, Germany’s chief of defence, said Russia’s military stance had “shifted decisively westward” and a “step change” was needed in Europe’s defence and security.
In a joint article published in the Guardian and the German newspaper Die Welt, in the wake of the Munich Security Conference, the soldiers said they had a duty “to explain what is at stake so that the public could understand why the UK and Germany have committed to the biggest sustained increases in defence spending since the end of the cold war”.
“There is a moral dimension to this endeavour. Rearmament is not warmongering; it is the responsible action of nations determined to protect their people and preserve peace,” they write.
There is significant reluctance among voters in Britain and Germany to accept economic pain in return for rearmament, even while majorities in both countries believe the outbreak of a third world war is more likely than not in the next five years. » | Ben Quinn, Political correspondent | Sunday, February 15, 2026
Britain and Germany’s highest ranking military chiefs have made an unprecedented joint appeal to the public to accept the “moral” case for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia.
The pair said they were making the plea not just as the military leaders of two of Europe’s largest military spenders, but “as voices for a Europe that must now confront uncomfortable truths about its security”.
Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, the UK’s chief of the defence staff, and Gen Carsten Breuer, Germany’s chief of defence, said Russia’s military stance had “shifted decisively westward” and a “step change” was needed in Europe’s defence and security.
In a joint article published in the Guardian and the German newspaper Die Welt, in the wake of the Munich Security Conference, the soldiers said they had a duty “to explain what is at stake so that the public could understand why the UK and Germany have committed to the biggest sustained increases in defence spending since the end of the cold war”.
“There is a moral dimension to this endeavour. Rearmament is not warmongering; it is the responsible action of nations determined to protect their people and preserve peace,” they write.
There is significant reluctance among voters in Britain and Germany to accept economic pain in return for rearmament, even while majorities in both countries believe the outbreak of a third world war is more likely than not in the next five years. » | Ben Quinn, Political correspondent | Sunday, February 15, 2026
La princesse Maud de Galles et le donneur de sperme : la nouvelle ombre qui plane sur le royaume de Norvège
MADAME FIGARO : La famille royale de Norvège pourrait faire face à un nouveau scandale. Un livre qui devrait être publié prochainement, questionnerait la légitimité du règne des membres du clan.
Après les liens entre la princesse Mette-Marit et Jeffrey Epstein, et le procès de Marius Borg Høiby pour viol, la famille royale de Norvège pourrait bien faire face à de nouvelles polémiques. Selon le Daily Mail , au cours de l’année 2026, une biographie de la princesse Maud de Galles, écrite par l’historienne Arnhild Skre, qui questionne la légitimité du règne des membres du clan, devrait sortir. L’auteure aurait enquêté sur celle qui fut reine consort de Norvège de 1905 à 1938 en tant qu’épouse d’Haakon VII, grand-mère de l’actuel roi Harald V, et qui aurait eu recours à un donneur de sperme, en 1902, pour donner naissance à son fils, Olav V. Mais d’où vient cette histoire ? » | Par Leonie Dutrievoz | dimanche 15 février 2026
WIKIPEDIA : Maud of Wales »
Après les liens entre la princesse Mette-Marit et Jeffrey Epstein, et le procès de Marius Borg Høiby pour viol, la famille royale de Norvège pourrait bien faire face à de nouvelles polémiques. Selon le Daily Mail , au cours de l’année 2026, une biographie de la princesse Maud de Galles, écrite par l’historienne Arnhild Skre, qui questionne la légitimité du règne des membres du clan, devrait sortir. L’auteure aurait enquêté sur celle qui fut reine consort de Norvège de 1905 à 1938 en tant qu’épouse d’Haakon VII, grand-mère de l’actuel roi Harald V, et qui aurait eu recours à un donneur de sperme, en 1902, pour donner naissance à son fils, Olav V. Mais d’où vient cette histoire ? » | Par Leonie Dutrievoz | dimanche 15 février 2026
WIKIPEDIA : Maud of Wales »
EU's Kallas Refutes US Portrayal of Europe in Decline at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2026 | DW News
Feb 15, 2026 | With transatlantic ties strained, Saturday's keynote speech at the Munich Security Conference by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was highly-anticipated. He struck a conciliatory yet critical tone of Europe while Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenksyy also took to the stage, calling Russian President Putin a "slave to war."
But the EU's foreign policy chief is pushing back against the US's portrayal of Europe in decline - a day after Washington's top diplomat criticized the bloc's immigration and climate policies. Kaja Kallas said Europe is "not facing civilizational erasure" and that "Europe bashing had become fashionable in certain political circles." But she added that the much-anticipated speech by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the conference "reassured" transatlantic ties.
But the EU's foreign policy chief is pushing back against the US's portrayal of Europe in decline - a day after Washington's top diplomat criticized the bloc's immigration and climate policies. Kaja Kallas said Europe is "not facing civilizational erasure" and that "Europe bashing had become fashionable in certain political circles." But she added that the much-anticipated speech by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the conference "reassured" transatlantic ties.
Steve Schmidt & Jason Crow: Trump Doesn't See A Problem He Thinks He Can't Bomb His Way Out Of
Sturm aufs Kapitol: Der Preis, den er zahlte | Doku NZZ Format
Feb 13, 2026 | «NZZ Format» erzählt die Geschichte von drei Polizisten, die beim Sturm auf das US Capitol vor einem Jahr verletzt wurden. Einer von ihnen hat sich nur wenige Tage nach den gewaltsamen Protesten das Leben genommen. Die zwei anderen kämpfen noch heute mit physischen und psychischen Folgen. Zusammen mit Online-Rechercheuren machen sich die Polizisten und Angehörigen auf eine Spurensuche. Sie wollen herausfinden, was genau am 6. Januar 2021 passiert ist. Dabei stossen sie auf brisante Details: Einer der Polizisten wurde von Demonstranten mit einem Taser angegriffen, ein anderer von einer Metallstange getroffen. In den tausenden Videos findet das Team auch Spuren zu genau den Trump-Anhängern, die sie persönlich angegriffen haben. Zu erfahren, was an dem Tag genau passiert ist, ist für die Polizisten und Angehörigen eine Erlösung. Doch nicht alle Narben heilen.
Der Film stammt aus dem Jahr 2021.
Der Film stammt aus dem Jahr 2021.
Cacio e Pepe : How to Get This Classic Italian Recipe Right
Trump’s Relentless Self-Promotion Fosters an American Cult of Personality
THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Trump has engaged in a spree of self-aggrandizement unlike any of his predecessors, fostering a mythologized superhuman persona and making himself the inescapable force at home and around the world.
The racist online video that President Trump recently shared and then deleted generated a bipartisan furor because of its portrayal of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. What was little remarked on was how it presented Mr. Trump himself — as the “King of the Jungle.”
After a year back in the White House, Mr. Trump’s efforts to promote himself as the singularly dominant figure in the world have become so commonplace that they no longer seem surprising. He regularly depicts himself in a heroic, almost godly fashion, as a king, as a Superman, as a Jedi knight, as a military hero, even as a pope in a white cassock.
While Mr. Trump has spent a lifetime promoting his personal brand, slapping his name on hotels, casinos, airplanes, even steaks, neckties and bottled water, what he is doing in his second term as president comes closer to building a cult of personality the likes of which has never been seen in American history. Other presidents sought to cultivate their reputations, but none went as far as Mr. Trump has to create a mythologized, superhuman and omnipresent persona leading to idolatry.
His picture has been splashed all over the White House, on multistory banners on the side of federal buildings, on annual passes to national parks and maybe even soon on a one-dollar coin. His name has been etched on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, on the U.S. Institute of Peace, on federal investment accounts, special visas and a discount drug program and, if he has his way, on Washington Dulles International Airport and Penn Station in New York. » | Peter Baker | Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent, is covering his sixth presidency. He reported from Washington. }Sunday, February 15, 2026
The racist online video that President Trump recently shared and then deleted generated a bipartisan furor because of its portrayal of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. What was little remarked on was how it presented Mr. Trump himself — as the “King of the Jungle.”
After a year back in the White House, Mr. Trump’s efforts to promote himself as the singularly dominant figure in the world have become so commonplace that they no longer seem surprising. He regularly depicts himself in a heroic, almost godly fashion, as a king, as a Superman, as a Jedi knight, as a military hero, even as a pope in a white cassock.
While Mr. Trump has spent a lifetime promoting his personal brand, slapping his name on hotels, casinos, airplanes, even steaks, neckties and bottled water, what he is doing in his second term as president comes closer to building a cult of personality the likes of which has never been seen in American history. Other presidents sought to cultivate their reputations, but none went as far as Mr. Trump has to create a mythologized, superhuman and omnipresent persona leading to idolatry.
His picture has been splashed all over the White House, on multistory banners on the side of federal buildings, on annual passes to national parks and maybe even soon on a one-dollar coin. His name has been etched on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, on the U.S. Institute of Peace, on federal investment accounts, special visas and a discount drug program and, if he has his way, on Washington Dulles International Airport and Penn Station in New York. » | Peter Baker | Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent, is covering his sixth presidency. He reported from Washington. }Sunday, February 15, 2026
Trump’s Relationship with Allies in ‘Worst Place Ever’ | Former US Ambassador
Feb 14, 2026 | “A majority of Europeans now look at the US as a threat rather than a friend.”
The US is in the “worst place we’ve ever been in terms of standing with our allies”, says former US ambassador Matthew Bryza, as allies have “lost faith” in transatlantic unity.
Marco Rubio’s FULL SPEECH and MY COMMENT on it here.
The US is in the “worst place we’ve ever been in terms of standing with our allies”, says former US ambassador Matthew Bryza, as allies have “lost faith” in transatlantic unity.
Marco Rubio’s FULL SPEECH and MY COMMENT on it here.
Trump News at a Glance: Danish PM Believes US President Still Wants to Own Greenland
THE GUARDIAN: Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said the pressure on the island’s people was “unacceptable”. Key US politics stories from 14 February at a glance
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen has said she believes Donald Trump still wants to own Greenland, despite dialling back his recent threats to seize it by force.
Asked at the Munich Security Conference if the US president still wanted to own the Arctic island, Frederiksen said: “Unfortunately, I think the desire is the same.” » | Guardian staff | Sunday, February 15, 2026
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen has said she believes Donald Trump still wants to own Greenland, despite dialling back his recent threats to seize it by force.
Asked at the Munich Security Conference if the US president still wanted to own the Arctic island, Frederiksen said: “Unfortunately, I think the desire is the same.” » | Guardian staff | Sunday, February 15, 2026
Opioid Crisis in the US - Business & Addiction (1/2) | DW Documentary
Feb 7, 2026 | The United States has a huge drug problem: cheap opioids, thousands of deaths. President Trump blames Latin American cartels. But it all began 30 years ago, quite legally, in the United States.
The Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, brought the prescription painkiller OxyContin - containing the highly potent opioid oxycodone - onto the market, unleashing one of the greatest health disasters in the history of the United States. With hundreds of sales representatives, they pressured doctors in economically disadvantaged regions to prescribe the drug.
One of the film's protagonists is Dr Lou Ortenzio, who was himself part of this machinery: he brought the drug to his town of Clarksburg before becoming addicted himself. Former sales representatives, now whistle-blowers, report how they lied to doctors and claimed that Oxy was not addictive.
A perfectly oiled machine got millions of Americans hooked - and deceived an entire country. Prosecutors like Maura Healey describe their fight to stop Purdue and bring the Sacklers to justice. The investigations reveal a network of power and influence: Purdue secretly received support from McKinsey, consulting firm to the powerful, and from Publicis, a major advertising agency.
Through exclusive interviews, insider accounts and previously unpublished archive material, this two-part documentary reveals how the Sacklers bribed regulators, pushed Oxy and evaded justice despite overwhelming evidence. The two-part documentary tells the story of a crisis that continues to devastate parts of American society to this day.
The Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, brought the prescription painkiller OxyContin - containing the highly potent opioid oxycodone - onto the market, unleashing one of the greatest health disasters in the history of the United States. With hundreds of sales representatives, they pressured doctors in economically disadvantaged regions to prescribe the drug.
One of the film's protagonists is Dr Lou Ortenzio, who was himself part of this machinery: he brought the drug to his town of Clarksburg before becoming addicted himself. Former sales representatives, now whistle-blowers, report how they lied to doctors and claimed that Oxy was not addictive.
A perfectly oiled machine got millions of Americans hooked - and deceived an entire country. Prosecutors like Maura Healey describe their fight to stop Purdue and bring the Sacklers to justice. The investigations reveal a network of power and influence: Purdue secretly received support from McKinsey, consulting firm to the powerful, and from Publicis, a major advertising agency.
Through exclusive interviews, insider accounts and previously unpublished archive material, this two-part documentary reveals how the Sacklers bribed regulators, pushed Oxy and evaded justice despite overwhelming evidence. The two-part documentary tells the story of a crisis that continues to devastate parts of American society to this day.
How $40-a-Pack Cigarettes Pushed Australians to the Black Market
THE NEW YORK TIMES: ax hikes made cigarettes in Australia the most expensive in the world. They have also helped fuel a multibillion-dollar criminal enterprise in bootleg tobacco.
Screenshot taken from this article. | Matthew Abbott for the New York Times
A retired math teacher descended into an underground parking lot in search of her dealer, cash in hand.
Headlights flashed from the far end of the garage in a beachside, middle-class neighborhood in suburban Melbourne, Australia. She walked up to an unmarked van and soon was back above ground with the illicit goods.
A carton of cigarettes.
Australia has the most expensive cigarettes in the world, a pack of midmarket cigarettes costing on average about 55 Australian dollars, or almost $40, nearly double what it will set you back in New York City. A series of steep tax hikes — eight in 10 years — were put in place to reduce the rate of smoking, which has steadily declined. But the high prices have also given rise to a thriving black market now estimated to be a multibillion-dollar industry that accounts for as much as half of all tobacco sales in the country.
“It’s the injustice of the situation,” said the retired teacher, Pat Felvus, 75, who recounted in an interview her early experiences of buying illegal cigarettes, which cost as little as 10 Australian dollars a pack. “Why would you pay four times the amount?”
Bootleg cigarettes are readily available on every main street in Australia — at convenience stores, candy shops and tobacconists. Competition has driven the price of under-the-counter smokes lower and lower, at a time that the cost for staples is rising. Violence has erupted between organized crime groups jostling for a slice of the lucrative market, with a spate of firebombings, extortion, shootings and homicides.
The scale of the black market and the criminality has raised questions about how far governments can raise so-called sin taxes to curb undesirable behaviors. Australia is now facing the quandary: Are the high cigarette prices doing more harm than good? » | Victoria Kim | Reporting from Geelong and Melbourne, Australia | Sunday, February 15, 2026
Gaggles of stupid politicians in parliaments around the world make stupid political decisions and thus make for stupid governance! Alas, you can’t fix stupid! — © Mark Alexander
A retired math teacher descended into an underground parking lot in search of her dealer, cash in hand.
Headlights flashed from the far end of the garage in a beachside, middle-class neighborhood in suburban Melbourne, Australia. She walked up to an unmarked van and soon was back above ground with the illicit goods.
A carton of cigarettes.
Australia has the most expensive cigarettes in the world, a pack of midmarket cigarettes costing on average about 55 Australian dollars, or almost $40, nearly double what it will set you back in New York City. A series of steep tax hikes — eight in 10 years — were put in place to reduce the rate of smoking, which has steadily declined. But the high prices have also given rise to a thriving black market now estimated to be a multibillion-dollar industry that accounts for as much as half of all tobacco sales in the country.
“It’s the injustice of the situation,” said the retired teacher, Pat Felvus, 75, who recounted in an interview her early experiences of buying illegal cigarettes, which cost as little as 10 Australian dollars a pack. “Why would you pay four times the amount?”
Bootleg cigarettes are readily available on every main street in Australia — at convenience stores, candy shops and tobacconists. Competition has driven the price of under-the-counter smokes lower and lower, at a time that the cost for staples is rising. Violence has erupted between organized crime groups jostling for a slice of the lucrative market, with a spate of firebombings, extortion, shootings and homicides.
The scale of the black market and the criminality has raised questions about how far governments can raise so-called sin taxes to curb undesirable behaviors. Australia is now facing the quandary: Are the high cigarette prices doing more harm than good? » | Victoria Kim | Reporting from Geelong and Melbourne, Australia | Sunday, February 15, 2026
Gaggles of stupid politicians in parliaments around the world make stupid political decisions and thus make for stupid governance! Alas, you can’t fix stupid! — © Mark Alexander
No Fuel, No Tourists, No Cash – This Was the Week the Cuban Crisis Got Real
THE GUARDIAN: Diplomats in Havana are preparing for an alternative Trump tactic: the country being starved until people take to the streets and the US can step in
Among the verdant gardens of Havana’s diplomatic quarter, Siboney, ambassadors from countries traditionally allied to the United States are expressing increasing frustration with Washington’s attempt to unseat Cuba’s government, while simultaneously drawing up plans to draw down their missions.
Cuba is in crisis. Already reeling from a four-year economic slump, worsened by hyper-inflation and the migration of nearly 20% of the population, the 67-year-old communist government is at its weakest. After Washington’s successful military operation against Cuba’s ally Venezuela at the beginning of January, the US administration is actively seeking regime change.
The Guardian spoke to more than five top-level officials from different countries, and heard complaints that the US charge d’affaires, Mike Hammer, has failed to share any sort of detailed plan beyond bringing the island to a standstill by starving it of oil. One said: “There’s talk of human rights, and that this is the year Cuba changes – but little talk of what happens afterwards.”
Some hope that rumoured high-level discussions in Mexico between the Cuban government – in the form of Gen Alejandro Castro Espín, son of Cuba’s 94-year-old former president Raúl Castro – and US officials might produce a deal, but as yet there are no signs of progress.
Instead, diplomats in Havana are preparing for an alternative tactic: the country being starved until people take to the streets and the US can step in. “We’re trying to keep a cool head,” said one ambassador. “Embassies are built on planning for the unexpected – hopefully before it becomes expected,” said another. » | Ruaridh Nicoll in Havana | Sunday, February 15, 2026 | Additional reporting by Eileen Sosin
Among the verdant gardens of Havana’s diplomatic quarter, Siboney, ambassadors from countries traditionally allied to the United States are expressing increasing frustration with Washington’s attempt to unseat Cuba’s government, while simultaneously drawing up plans to draw down their missions.
Cuba is in crisis. Already reeling from a four-year economic slump, worsened by hyper-inflation and the migration of nearly 20% of the population, the 67-year-old communist government is at its weakest. After Washington’s successful military operation against Cuba’s ally Venezuela at the beginning of January, the US administration is actively seeking regime change.
The Guardian spoke to more than five top-level officials from different countries, and heard complaints that the US charge d’affaires, Mike Hammer, has failed to share any sort of detailed plan beyond bringing the island to a standstill by starving it of oil. One said: “There’s talk of human rights, and that this is the year Cuba changes – but little talk of what happens afterwards.”
Some hope that rumoured high-level discussions in Mexico between the Cuban government – in the form of Gen Alejandro Castro Espín, son of Cuba’s 94-year-old former president Raúl Castro – and US officials might produce a deal, but as yet there are no signs of progress.
Instead, diplomats in Havana are preparing for an alternative tactic: the country being starved until people take to the streets and the US can step in. “We’re trying to keep a cool head,” said one ambassador. “Embassies are built on planning for the unexpected – hopefully before it becomes expected,” said another. » | Ruaridh Nicoll in Havana | Sunday, February 15, 2026 | Additional reporting by Eileen Sosin
Saturday, February 14, 2026
The Danger of Pam Bondi's Attack on Accountability During Epstein Hearing with Emily Galvin Almanza
Feb 14, 2026 | How does prosecutorial impunity threaten the foundation of American justice? Emily Galvin Almanza, author of The Price of Mercy, exposes the dangerous truth behind a legal system in crisis — where prosecutors often go unpunished for misconduct, and the rules meant to hold the powerful accountable are being ignored.
This eye-opening conversation reveals how the unchecked power of prosecutors and the politicization of justice jeopardize everything from high-profile hearings to everyday law enforcement, creating a justice system that favors impunity over fairness.
Author Emily Galvin Almanza is a public defender and legal expert dedicated to reforming the American justice system, known for her ground-breaking work on wrongful convictions and systemic abuse.
ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.
This eye-opening conversation reveals how the unchecked power of prosecutors and the politicization of justice jeopardize everything from high-profile hearings to everyday law enforcement, creating a justice system that favors impunity over fairness.
Author Emily Galvin Almanza is a public defender and legal expert dedicated to reforming the American justice system, known for her ground-breaking work on wrongful convictions and systemic abuse.
ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.
Russia Killed Alexei Navalny with Frog Toxin, UK and Four European Allies Say
THE GUARDIAN: Intelligence agencies say deadly toxin in skin of Ecuador dart frogs found in Navalny’s body and highly likely resulted in his death
Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, was killed by dart frog poison administered by the Russian state two years ago, a multi-intelligence agency inquiry has found, according to a statement released by five countries, the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.
The US was not one of the intelligence agencies making the claim.
Navalny died in a remote Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. Samples from his body were secured before his burial and sent to the laboratories of two countries. » | Patrick Wintour in Munich | Saturday, February 14, 2026
Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, was killed by dart frog poison administered by the Russian state two years ago, a multi-intelligence agency inquiry has found, according to a statement released by five countries, the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.
The US was not one of the intelligence agencies making the claim.
Navalny died in a remote Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. Samples from his body were secured before his burial and sent to the laboratories of two countries. » | Patrick Wintour in Munich | Saturday, February 14, 2026
US-Aussenminister Rubios Botschaft an Europa
Steve Schmidt & Jim Acosta: Pam Bondi's Jaw-dropping Performance
Why are there so many bimbos in US government circles? They are like clones of each other! Usually long-haired and blonde, always very right-wing, and almost always dumb! — © Mark Alexander
Full Speech: Marco Rubio Declares “Europe Must Survive” at Munich Security Conference
Feb 14, 2026 | US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivers his full address at the Munich Security Conference, stressing Western unity, cultural ties with Europe, reindustrialization, and strategic renewal under President Donald Trump’s vision.
Rubio warns against borderless globalism, urges stronger allies, and calls for rebuilding industries, defence strength, and shared Western identity.
Rubio criticises deindustrialisation. But ask yourselves who were instrumental in bringing it about? It was the titans of industry who are, by and large, profit-maximising right-wingers and in the Eighties by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. They did their level best to deindustrialise by deregulating and by reducing subsidies to heavy industries. These measures accelerated the decline of traditional manufacturing. Corporations, of course, always looking to maximise their profits, were helped to maximise their profits by globalisation, so started relocating and outsourcing manufacturing to countries with a ready supply of cheap labour.
Reindustrialising our economies, as Rubio suggests, is a tall order indeed, unless, of course, our politicians want to get the workforce used to working in sweatshops! For that is the only way we’d be able to compete with the much lower production costs in Asia.
Marco Rubio’s speech is more important for what it doesn’t tell you than for what it did! To really understand his sometimes-sweet rhetoric, one must read between the lines. He talked of wanting a strong Europe. Poppycock! He and his boss don’t want a strong Europe at all; rather they want a weaker, more fragmented one. The concept of the European Union is anathema to Trump. After all, a weaker, more fragmented Europe gives Trump’s America far more leverage. It is much easier for Trump to push around a European nation state than it is to push around a strong, united European Union!
Basically, these autocracy-leaning fascists want Europe on their own terms. Ooh! And something else must also be read between the lines. There was no reference to it in Rubio’s speech, but I can assure you that it was there. They want to purge America and Europe of the influence of Islam.
If Trump and his acolytes are really so fond of Europe as Rubio tries to convince us, then why is he talking of invading the territory of a European nation: Denmark?
Judging by the applause Marco Rubio received at the end of his speech, it is clear that many in the audience were flattered by his fine words and were, as a result, seemingly taken in by them. Personally, I would caution against taking his words on face value. I suggest that one would be wiser to read between the lines.
After all, we are talking about a man, here, who was behind the invasion of Venezuela, and the man who is itching to bring about the collapse of communism in Cuba. Trump, his boss, has talked incessantly about the annexation of Greenland, if not indeed the invasion of the country. It is also on record that Trump has spoken multiple times of Europe being “weak” and “decaying”. He is also known to want the break-up of the European Union. So Rubio’s fine words buttered no parsnips for me, I’m afraid.
I would there therefore suggest that we Europeans exercise extreme caution in dealing with Trump’s America. In German, there is an apt saying. It is as follows: Vorsicht ist die Mutter der Weisheit.. That means ‘caution is the mother of wisdom’. And it most surely is. — © Mark Alexander
Rubio warns against borderless globalism, urges stronger allies, and calls for rebuilding industries, defence strength, and shared Western identity.
Rubio criticises deindustrialisation. But ask yourselves who were instrumental in bringing it about? It was the titans of industry who are, by and large, profit-maximising right-wingers and in the Eighties by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. They did their level best to deindustrialise by deregulating and by reducing subsidies to heavy industries. These measures accelerated the decline of traditional manufacturing. Corporations, of course, always looking to maximise their profits, were helped to maximise their profits by globalisation, so started relocating and outsourcing manufacturing to countries with a ready supply of cheap labour.
Reindustrialising our economies, as Rubio suggests, is a tall order indeed, unless, of course, our politicians want to get the workforce used to working in sweatshops! For that is the only way we’d be able to compete with the much lower production costs in Asia.
Marco Rubio’s speech is more important for what it doesn’t tell you than for what it did! To really understand his sometimes-sweet rhetoric, one must read between the lines. He talked of wanting a strong Europe. Poppycock! He and his boss don’t want a strong Europe at all; rather they want a weaker, more fragmented one. The concept of the European Union is anathema to Trump. After all, a weaker, more fragmented Europe gives Trump’s America far more leverage. It is much easier for Trump to push around a European nation state than it is to push around a strong, united European Union!
Basically, these autocracy-leaning fascists want Europe on their own terms. Ooh! And something else must also be read between the lines. There was no reference to it in Rubio’s speech, but I can assure you that it was there. They want to purge America and Europe of the influence of Islam.
If Trump and his acolytes are really so fond of Europe as Rubio tries to convince us, then why is he talking of invading the territory of a European nation: Denmark?
Judging by the applause Marco Rubio received at the end of his speech, it is clear that many in the audience were flattered by his fine words and were, as a result, seemingly taken in by them. Personally, I would caution against taking his words on face value. I suggest that one would be wiser to read between the lines.
After all, we are talking about a man, here, who was behind the invasion of Venezuela, and the man who is itching to bring about the collapse of communism in Cuba. Trump, his boss, has talked incessantly about the annexation of Greenland, if not indeed the invasion of the country. It is also on record that Trump has spoken multiple times of Europe being “weak” and “decaying”. He is also known to want the break-up of the European Union. So Rubio’s fine words buttered no parsnips for me, I’m afraid.
I would there therefore suggest that we Europeans exercise extreme caution in dealing with Trump’s America. In German, there is an apt saying. It is as follows: Vorsicht ist die Mutter der Weisheit.. That means ‘caution is the mother of wisdom’. And it most surely is. — © Mark Alexander
The Drugs That Fuelled Nazi’s Blitzkrieg I Pure WW2
Feb 12, 2026 | In 1938, a powerful stimulant called Pervitin was developed in Nazi Germany. Mass-distributed to German troops, the drug became a hidden fuel of the Wehrmacht’s early campaigns. Adolf Hitler himself was not spared: under the care of his personal physician, Theodor Morell, he received frequent injections and drug cocktails. Drawing on archives and testimonies, this film investigates how widespread drug use shaped soldiers’ endurance, decision-making, and leadership, and asks a disturbing question: to what extent were the course of the war and Hitler’s behavior chemically influenced?
Title: Blitzed: Nazis on Drugs
Director: Duncan Napier-Bell
Production: Forced march films limited, TCD (2018)
Title: Blitzed: Nazis on Drugs
Director: Duncan Napier-Bell
Production: Forced march films limited, TCD (2018)
"Nigel Farage Was MAGA Before Trump"
WIKIPEDIA: Christopher Harborne »
Trump's Plan to Rig Elections with ‘Save America Act’ That Limits Voting
ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.
China - Making a Nation (1/2) The Blue Sun | ARTE.tv Documentary
Feb 14, 2026 | After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, China faced a historic turning point: How could the country find its way in the modern world? This two-part documentary shows how for over a century, China has been building itself up to repel foreign influence and to create a strong nation.
China - Making a Nation (1/2) The Blue Sun | ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until: 12/08/2026
China - Making a Nation (1/2) The Blue Sun | ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until: 12/08/2026
US-Botschafter bei der Nato: China könnte Ukraine-Krieg mit einem Anruf beenden
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Der US-Botschafter bei der Nato, Matthew Whitaker, kritisiert chinesische Käufe von russischem Öl. China kündigt humanitäre Hilfe für die Ukraine an.
China könnte den Krieg in der Ukraine mit einem Anruf beenden, hat der US-Botschafter bei der Nato, Matthew Whitaker, auf einer Podiumsdiskussion bei der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz erklärt. „China könnte Wladimir Putin anrufen , diesen Krieg morgen beenden und die Lieferung seiner Dual-Use-Technologien einstellen“, sagte er einem Bloomberg-Bericht zufolge.
Er fügte hinzu: „Wissen Sie, dieser Krieg wird von China voll und ganz ermöglicht.“ Das Land könne den Kauf von russischem Öl und Gas stoppen, so Whitaker. China ist Bloomberg zufolge ein wichtiger Lieferant für russische Drohnen und andere Komponenten, die militärisch eingesetzt werden können, außerdem sei Peking derzeit der größte Abnehmer russischer Rohöllieferungen. » | Anika Schlünz | Samstag, 14. Februar 2026
China könnte den Krieg in der Ukraine mit einem Anruf beenden, hat der US-Botschafter bei der Nato, Matthew Whitaker, auf einer Podiumsdiskussion bei der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz erklärt. „China könnte Wladimir Putin anrufen , diesen Krieg morgen beenden und die Lieferung seiner Dual-Use-Technologien einstellen“, sagte er einem Bloomberg-Bericht zufolge.
Er fügte hinzu: „Wissen Sie, dieser Krieg wird von China voll und ganz ermöglicht.“ Das Land könne den Kauf von russischem Öl und Gas stoppen, so Whitaker. China ist Bloomberg zufolge ein wichtiger Lieferant für russische Drohnen und andere Komponenten, die militärisch eingesetzt werden können, außerdem sei Peking derzeit der größte Abnehmer russischer Rohöllieferungen. » | Anika Schlünz | Samstag, 14. Februar 2026
Rubio über Beziehung zu Europa: „Wir wollen nicht nur den Niedergang verwalten“
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Der US-Außenminister eröffnet den zweiten Tag der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz. Er betont die Nähe zu Europa und warnt vor Deindustrialisierung.
US-Außenminister Marco Rubio hat in seiner Rede bei der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz die Nähe zu Europa betont. „Wir gehören zusammen“, erklärte Rubio. Er verwies dabei auf gemeinsame kulturelle Verbindungen und eine gemeinsame Zusammenarbeit, insbesondere nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg.
Gleichzeitig warnte er, westliche Staaten hätten durch „Verlegung der Produktion in andere Länder“ einen Teil ihrer Souveränität gefährdet. Er plädierte für einen stärkeren Fokus auf nationale Interessen. „Wir können wieder die Herren über unsere Lieferketten werden, wir können erfolgreich sein“, erklärte Rubio. » | Anika Schlünz | Samstag, 14. Februar 2026
US-Außenminister Marco Rubio hat in seiner Rede bei der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz die Nähe zu Europa betont. „Wir gehören zusammen“, erklärte Rubio. Er verwies dabei auf gemeinsame kulturelle Verbindungen und eine gemeinsame Zusammenarbeit, insbesondere nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg.
Gleichzeitig warnte er, westliche Staaten hätten durch „Verlegung der Produktion in andere Länder“ einen Teil ihrer Souveränität gefährdet. Er plädierte für einen stärkeren Fokus auf nationale Interessen. „Wir können wieder die Herren über unsere Lieferketten werden, wir können erfolgreich sein“, erklärte Rubio. » | Anika Schlünz | Samstag, 14. Februar 2026
« L’Histoire vous placera aux côtés des plus grands héros du monde » : Reza Pahlavi appelle Trump à « aider » le peuple iranien
LE FIGARO : « Il faut en finir avec la République islamique », a déclaré le fils du chah d’Iran lors de la Conférence sur la sécurité à Munich, exhortant la population à poursuivre son opposition.
Le fils exilé du chah déchu, Reza Pahlavi, a appelé ce samedi Donald Trump à « aider » le peuple iranien, jugeant qu'il était « temps d'en finir avec la République islamique ». « Le peuple iranien vous a entendu dire que l'aide est en route , et il a foi en vous. Aidez-le, et l'Histoire vous placera aux côtés non seulement de la nation iranienne, mais aussi des plus grands héros du monde », a lancé Reza Pahlavi à l'adresse du président américain, dans une conférence de presse en marge de la Conférence sur la sécurité à Munich. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 14 février 2026
Le fils exilé du chah déchu, Reza Pahlavi, a appelé ce samedi Donald Trump à « aider » le peuple iranien, jugeant qu'il était « temps d'en finir avec la République islamique ». « Le peuple iranien vous a entendu dire que l'aide est en route , et il a foi en vous. Aidez-le, et l'Histoire vous placera aux côtés non seulement de la nation iranienne, mais aussi des plus grands héros du monde », a lancé Reza Pahlavi à l'adresse du président américain, dans une conférence de presse en marge de la Conférence sur la sécurité à Munich. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 14 février 2026
« Nous croyons que l’Europe peut survivre », lance Marco Rubio à Munich, un an après le virulent réquisitoire de JD Vance
LE FIGARO : Lors de la conférence sur la sécurité, le secrétaire d’État américain a affirmé ce samedi que les États-Unis « ne cherchaient pas à diviser, mais à revitaliser une vieille amitié et à renouveler la plus grande civilisation de l’histoire humaine ».
À Munich, 2026 s’annonce un peu plus doux que 2025. Un an après le virulent réquisitoire du vice-président américain JD Vance à la « conférence sur la sécurité » (MSC) qui se tient annuellement dans la ville allemande, c’est au tour, cette année, du chef de la diplomatie, Marco Rubio, de représenter les États-Unis. « Nous voulons que l’Europe soit forte, nous croyons que l’Europe peut survivre », a déclaré ce samedi 14 février le secrétaire d’État américain, ajoutant que « nous ne voulons pas que nos alliés soient faibles, car cela nous affaiblit. Nous voulons des alliés capables de se défendre afin qu’aucun adversaire ne soit jamais tenté de tester notre force collective.»
De même, le diplomate a eu des mots plus rassurants que ceux que Donald Trump a pu récemment prononcer à propos de l’Otan : « Nous ne cherchons pas à diviser, mais à revitaliser une vieille amitié et à renouveler la plus grande civilisation de l’histoire humaine. Ce que nous voulons, c’est une alliance revigorée ». » | Par Alexis Feertchak avec l’AFP | samedi 14 février 2026
À Munich, 2026 s’annonce un peu plus doux que 2025. Un an après le virulent réquisitoire du vice-président américain JD Vance à la « conférence sur la sécurité » (MSC) qui se tient annuellement dans la ville allemande, c’est au tour, cette année, du chef de la diplomatie, Marco Rubio, de représenter les États-Unis. « Nous voulons que l’Europe soit forte, nous croyons que l’Europe peut survivre », a déclaré ce samedi 14 février le secrétaire d’État américain, ajoutant que « nous ne voulons pas que nos alliés soient faibles, car cela nous affaiblit. Nous voulons des alliés capables de se défendre afin qu’aucun adversaire ne soit jamais tenté de tester notre force collective.»
De même, le diplomate a eu des mots plus rassurants que ceux que Donald Trump a pu récemment prononcer à propos de l’Otan : « Nous ne cherchons pas à diviser, mais à revitaliser une vieille amitié et à renouveler la plus grande civilisation de l’histoire humaine. Ce que nous voulons, c’est une alliance revigorée ». » | Par Alexis Feertchak avec l’AFP | samedi 14 février 2026
‘The Time of Monsters’: Everyone Is Quoting Gramsci – But What Did He Actually Say?
THE GUARDIAN: Line handily sums up people’s bewilderment at state of world, but it isn’t quite what the Marxist thinker wrote
Screenshot taken from this article. | Antonio Gramsci filled notebooks with his thoughts on political theory and philosophy after being imprisoned by the Italian fascist government in 1926. Photograph: Fototeca Storica Nazionale/Getty Images
At a time when geopolitical certainties of old are crumbling away, it has become the go-to quote to make sense of the current moment in all its seeming senselessness. “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters” is a line attributed to the former Italian Communist party leader Antonio Gramsci.
Over the last two months alone, it has been quoted – and often mangled – by a rightwing Belgian prime minister, a leftwing British political leader, an Irish central banker and in the title of the most recent BBC Reith lecture, given by the author Rutger Bregman.
“We can’t let the monsters win,” influencers earnestly warn their followers on Instagram; on LinkedIn, business consultants post graphs that visualise the “Gramsci gap” and its relevance to corporate strategy.
The only problem is, Gramsci never said or wrote such a thing. Or at least not in the snappy wording that has made it go viral. » | Philip Oltermann | Saturday, February 14, 2026
At a time when geopolitical certainties of old are crumbling away, it has become the go-to quote to make sense of the current moment in all its seeming senselessness. “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters” is a line attributed to the former Italian Communist party leader Antonio Gramsci.
Over the last two months alone, it has been quoted – and often mangled – by a rightwing Belgian prime minister, a leftwing British political leader, an Irish central banker and in the title of the most recent BBC Reith lecture, given by the author Rutger Bregman.
“We can’t let the monsters win,” influencers earnestly warn their followers on Instagram; on LinkedIn, business consultants post graphs that visualise the “Gramsci gap” and its relevance to corporate strategy.
The only problem is, Gramsci never said or wrote such a thing. Or at least not in the snappy wording that has made it go viral. » | Philip Oltermann | Saturday, February 14, 2026
Truth To Power: The Transatlantic Machine Hyping Britain’s “Decline”
Champagne, Concierges and Emergency Sand: How the Ultra-Rich Travel
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Inside the arms race to satisfy travelers for whom exclusivity is everything and money is no object.
Today’s super-rich travelers want luxury. They want personalized attention. They want non-cookie-cutter hotels with impeccable service and private villas with personal butlers. They want to never, ever, have to wait, stand in line or be herded around with other people.
Most of all, said Carlo Nocella, head of global sales at Vavius Club, the loyalty program for a destination management company in Italy, they want “to feel that they have something that other people cannot achieve.”
What that looks like is the preoccupation of an ever expanding, ever more elaborate travel infrastructure — travel advisers, concierge services and members’ clubs — catering to the extravagant needs and money-is-no-object whims of ultra-high-net-worth clients.
Roughly defined as people who have investable assets of at least $30 million and are prepared to pay, say, thousands of dollars a night for a hotel room or tens of thousands of dollars for a villa, these clients are in turn fueling an arms race in the world of high-end leisure. The goal is to offer the most fabulous, the most opulent, the most individualized and the most singular properties, experiences and services imaginable. » | Sarah Lyall | Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Today’s super-rich travelers want luxury. They want personalized attention. They want non-cookie-cutter hotels with impeccable service and private villas with personal butlers. They want to never, ever, have to wait, stand in line or be herded around with other people.
Most of all, said Carlo Nocella, head of global sales at Vavius Club, the loyalty program for a destination management company in Italy, they want “to feel that they have something that other people cannot achieve.”
What that looks like is the preoccupation of an ever expanding, ever more elaborate travel infrastructure — travel advisers, concierge services and members’ clubs — catering to the extravagant needs and money-is-no-object whims of ultra-high-net-worth clients.
Roughly defined as people who have investable assets of at least $30 million and are prepared to pay, say, thousands of dollars a night for a hotel room or tens of thousands of dollars for a villa, these clients are in turn fueling an arms race in the world of high-end leisure. The goal is to offer the most fabulous, the most opulent, the most individualized and the most singular properties, experiences and services imaginable. » | Sarah Lyall | Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Friday, February 13, 2026
Epstein, Donald Trump and Sexual Blackmail Networks (w/ Nick Bryant) | The Chris Hedges Report
IHIP News: 🚨 Rep. Drops Bomb on Trump after Seeing Unredacted Files! "The Famous Names Are Horrific"
Neue Epstein-Files: Die Verbrechen einer globalen Elite | Sandra Navidi
Ina Garten’s Top-rated Engagement Roast Chicken 💍 | Barefoot Contessa | Food Network
US ‘Not Powerful Enough to Go It Alone’, Merz Tells Munich Conference
THE GUARDIAN: German chancellor rebuts idea of American unilateralism and says ‘democracies have partners and allies’
The US acting alone has reached the limits of its power and may already have lost its role as global leader, Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, warned Donald Trump at the opening of the Munich Security Conference.
Merz also disclosed he had held initial talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, over the possibility of joining France’s nuclear umbrella, underlining his call for Europe to develop a stronger self-standing security strategy.
In a speech on Friday designed to set a firm yet conciliatory tone about the future of the transatlantic partnership, Merz argued the old order had ended and in this new age of superpowers even the US was reaching the limits of going it alone.
Referring to those that warned the international rules-based order was about to be destroyed, Merz said: “I fear we must put it even more bluntly. This order, however imperfect it was even at its best, no longer exists in that form.”
Switching to English to ram home his message, Merz said: “In the era of great power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone. Dear friends, being a part of Nato is not only Europe’s competitive advantage. It is also the United States’ competitive advantage.”
“So let’s repair and revive transatlantic trust together,” he added. » | Patrick Wintour in Munich | Friday, February 13, 2026
The US acting alone has reached the limits of its power and may already have lost its role as global leader, Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, warned Donald Trump at the opening of the Munich Security Conference.
Merz also disclosed he had held initial talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, over the possibility of joining France’s nuclear umbrella, underlining his call for Europe to develop a stronger self-standing security strategy.
In a speech on Friday designed to set a firm yet conciliatory tone about the future of the transatlantic partnership, Merz argued the old order had ended and in this new age of superpowers even the US was reaching the limits of going it alone.
Referring to those that warned the international rules-based order was about to be destroyed, Merz said: “I fear we must put it even more bluntly. This order, however imperfect it was even at its best, no longer exists in that form.”
Switching to English to ram home his message, Merz said: “In the era of great power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone. Dear friends, being a part of Nato is not only Europe’s competitive advantage. It is also the United States’ competitive advantage.”
“So let’s repair and revive transatlantic trust together,” he added. » | Patrick Wintour in Munich | Friday, February 13, 2026
Steve Schmidt: Trump’s Gestapo Will Answer America
One cannot help but fast come to the conclusion that America needs to be put out of its misery! The country must surely be in the throes of its demise, of its death. Maybe 250 years was its natural lifespan? — © Mark Alexander
Cuba's U.N. Ambassador Denounces U.S. Oil Blockade, Push to Topple Government
Democracy Now! can be supported here.
Trump is a wicked, evil man! As is Marco Rubio.
One doesn’t have to endorse communism for one’s heart to go out to the longsuffering people of Cuba. These are human beings who are suffering needlessly. All the while, Trump and his warped acolytes are living in the lap of luxury.
There is no conceivable reason why Cuba should be considered a threat to the USA. This ‘war on Cuba’ is based solely on ideology and prejudice. Further, the endgame for Trump must surely be the dollar signs he is able to visualize when he can build Trump towers and hotels on the beautiful island. He must surely be salivating even as I write this over the billions he and his crooked family will be able to make from monetizing the island! For he will surely sequestrate any assets available in Cuba for himself, his bent family, and for his warped little helpers.
Had the US authorities had the balls to incarcerate Trump when they had the chance to do so, Cuba, Venezuela, and the rest of the world would have been spared the nightmare of Trump. Alas, the spunk was wanting! Now, we all have to suffer. Some, of course, more than others. – © Mark Alexander
‘The Road to Hell Is Paved with…’: Cory Booker Shames Congress over ‘Failure to Stop’ Trump | US News
House Passes "Worst Voter Suppression Bill Ever" in Latest Push to Help Trump Take Over Elections
Feb 13, 2026 | The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to require proof of U.S. citizenship in the November midterm elections. If it becomes law, it would be the "worst voter suppression bill ever passed by Congress," according to Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones. "The bill really combines a lot of the worst things that Republicans want to do with regards to voting, and it comes at a time when Trump appears dead set to try to interfere in the midterm elections," he adds.
Wednesday's vote sends the legislation on to the Republican-led Senate, where it is expected to receive a vote but unlikely to garner the 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority needed for passage.
Democracy Now! can be supported here.
Wednesday's vote sends the legislation on to the Republican-led Senate, where it is expected to receive a vote but unlikely to garner the 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority needed for passage.
Democracy Now! can be supported here.
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