Clearly They Don’t Like…’: Kallas Blasts Vance, Trump for ‘Profound Hostility’ to Europe

May 18, 2026 | EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas torched Trump and Vance for their ‘profound hostility’ toward Europe, warning that divisions between the US and EU only benefit Russia and China. Watch the explosive exchange on Ukraine, Orbán, and EU unity.

Xi Says World Is At Risk of ‘Law of the Jungle’ as He Hails China-Russia Links

THE GUARDIAN: Chinese president hosts Putin in Beijing and welcomes relationship as stabilising global force

Xi Jinping said the world was at risk of regressing into the “law of the jungle” and hailed the China-Russia relationship as a stabilising global force as he hosted Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, just days after hosting Donald Trump.

The Chinese leader welcomed the Russian president with pomp and pageantry as the pair began talks in the Great Hall of the People.

Chinese soldiers stood in position as a military band played the Russian and Chinese national anthems for the leaders in central Beijing. Children waved Russian and Chinese flags and cheered: “Welcome, welcome!” in Chinese before the pair entered the Great Hall.

The scene was reminiscent of Trump’s high-profile meeting with Xi in Beijing last week, when the leaders of the world’s two largest economies discussed issues from trade and investment, to the Iran conflict and Taiwan. » | Alastair McCready in Taipei | Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Face à l’Occident, Xi Jinping et Vladimir Poutine affichent un partenariat énergétique « sans limites »

LE FIGARO : DÉCRYPTAGE - Le président russe a promu un projet de gazoduc lors de sa visite à Pékin. Un atout pour échapper au blocage du détroit d’Ormuz, malgré les divergences d’intérêts entre les deux pays sur le conflit en Iran.

Visage poupon, un jeune Vladimir Poutine pose avec un garçonnet asiatique face aux eaux turbides du lac Beihai, lors de sa première visite en Chine, en 2000. Un quart de siècle plus tard, un président russe aux traits émaciés a retrouvé l’enfant devenu ingénieur joufflu, ce 20 mai, à Pékin, en marge de sa visite auprès de son « cher ami » Xi Jinping, sur les pas de Donald Trump. Des retrouvailles nostalgiques avec ce diplômé de l’université de Moscou, mises en avant par la presse russe pour souligner l’ancienneté des liens tissés entre Poutine et l’empire du Milieu, où le chef du Kremlin a effectué sa vingt-cinquième visite, quelques jours après celle du président américain.

Alors que le régime communiste orchestre une timide détente avec l’Amérique, la Russie est venue serrer les rangs auprès d’un géant asiatique plus indispensable que jamais à son effort de guerre face à l’Ukraine. Les relations russo-chinoises ont atteint des « hauteurs sans précédent », malgré des « facteurs extérieurs défavorables », s’est félicité Poutine, sous les ors staliniens du Grand Hall du peuple. Son ambition est d’approfondir entre les deux pays le « partenariat sans limites » sur le plan énergétique, alors que l’offensive américaine contre l’Iran perturbe les approvisionnements de l’usine du Monde. » | Par Sébastien Falletti, correspondant en Asie | mercredi 20 mai 2026

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Democracy Now! "Dictatorship in Action": David Cay Johnston on $1.8 Billion Slush Fund

May 20, 2026 | In a shocking and unprecedented move, the Justice Department issued a memo Tuesday saying the IRS is "forever barred" from investigating past tax returns of President Trump, his family, company and "related companies." It came just a day after the department announced the creation of a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund to "compensate" people prosecuted for supposedly political reasons by the Biden and Obama administrations — a move expected to benefit January 6 insurrectionists, other Trump allies and even Trump himself. It's all part of an agreement between the Department of Justice and President Trump's personal attorneys in exchange for Trump dropping a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over leaked tax returns. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — President Trump's former personal attorney — will appoint the commission overseeing the Justice Department's new fund.

"This is dictatorship in action," says reporter David Cay Johnston. He calls the "anti-weaponization" fund "a slush fund to pay a criminal enforcement arm, a violent arm of Trump supporters to intimidate people" and says the order to not investigate the Trump family's dealings "screams that Donald Trump is, in fact, a criminal-level tax cheat."


As I stated below: Trump’s presidency is nothing but a SHITSHOW! This slush fund underscores my point perfectly. — © Mark Alexander

Democracy Now! can be supported here.

Chris Hedges: Why You Should Hate the Rich Even More (w/ Rob Larson)

June 19, 2025 | The rich are severed from the rest of us — materially through gated communities and jets, and psychologically through the bubbles they exist within.

NB: I post this not because I agree with all viewpoints expressed therein; rather, I post this very interesting video for the insights it gives us all into the workings of the American élite. It should be noted well that Chris Hedges , despite being born into great wealth and privilege, is a socialist. I do not share his political and ideological bias in this matter, even though I have the greatest respect for his erudition and intellect.

My own political position is very moderate: I decide on each political issue based on its merits and demerits. That means to say that whether I am on the right or the left depends on what is being considered. So, in general, I am neither left nor right. As far as I am concerned. neither side has a monopoly on the truth.

In many ways, I despise this left-right divide in society, in the economy. The divide is very contentious and it is inclined to cripple the possibility of finding a sensible way forward.

The main thread in my political and economic thinking is that an economy should work for the good of all citizens, for the rich and poor alike. — © Mark Alexander

Jesse Dollemore: Trump Announces He’s Taking Orders from Saudi Arabia

May 20, 2026

TW: Very strong language alert!

The Trump presidency is nothing but a SHITSHOW! — © Mark Alexander

Steve Rosenberg: Putin in China - What the Russian Papers Are Saying

May 20, 2026 | “Beijing welcomes Putin as an ally and reliable partner. It hosted Trump as a rival…” What the Russian papers are saying about Vladimir Putin’s visit to China.

Brit in Germany: Why Young Europeans Are Moving Away from Cars

May 17, 2026 | Driving used to be a given. Now, for a growing number of young people in Europe, it’s starting to feel unnecessary and maybe even irrational.

Rising costs are part of the story. But so are deeper changes — in how cities are built, what’s being prioritised, and what everyday life is starting to look like.

This video breaks down what’s really changing and what that means going forward. I write more about what these shifts mean on an individual level. …

Elon Musk scheitert mit Klage gegen OpenAI und Sam Altman

BERLINER ZEITUNG: Eine Jury hat die Klage von Elon Musk gegen OpenAI und Firmenchef Sam Altman abgewiesen. Die Geschworenen kamen einstimmig zu dem Schluss, dass Musk zu lange mit seiner Klage gewartet hatte.

Dieses Bild stammt aus diesem Artikel. | Elon Musk kommt vor dem US-Bezirksgericht in Oakland an.| © Godofredo A. Vásquez/dpa
Im spektakulären Rechtsstreit um die Zukunft von OpenAI hat Tech-Milliardär Elon Musk eine deutliche Niederlage erlitten. Eine Jury vor einem Bundesgericht im kalifornischen Oakland entschied am Montag zugunsten von OpenAI, Sam Altman und Mitgründer Greg Brockman.

Die Geschworenen urteilten einstimmig, dass Musk die gesetzlichen Fristen für seine Klage überschritten habe. Richterin Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers erklärte anschließend, sie werde das Urteil übernehmen und Musks Ansprüche abweisen. » | Alexander Schmalz | Montag, 18. Mai 2026

Steve Rosenberg: Drone Attacks Adding to "Increased Anxiety" amongst Russians

May 19, 2026 | Today one Russian newspaper reports “increased anxiety” in Russian society. Another paper claims joint Russian-Belarusian nuclear drills “send a signal to Ukraine…to EU & NATO’s eastern flank”. Plus, stinging criticism of Donald Trump for his social media posts.

« Cette visite témoigne de la solidité de l’axe russo-chinois » : après la venue de Donald Trump, Vladimir Poutine vient resserrer les liens avec Xi Jinping

Cette image est extraite de cet article du Figaro. | Vladimir Poutine et Xi Jinping lors du sommet de coopération de Shanghai, le 1er septembre 2025. SUO TAKEKUMA / AFP
LE FIGARO : DÉCRYPTAGE - Le voyage du président russe vise à afficher la ténacité de son partenariat, mais trahit l’anxiété de Moscou face au récent rapprochement sino-américain.

À peine Air Force One envolé que la Chine déroule le tapis rouge pour l’Iliouchine de Vladimir Poutine, surnommé le « Kremlin volant », ce mardi 19 mai. Après avoir tenu tête à Donald Trump à Zhongnanhai la semaine dernière, Xi Jinping accueille dans la foulée son « vieil ami » russe, en position de force dans le triangle mouvant Washington-Moscou-Pékin, secoué par le Moyen-Orient.

Sur les pas du trublion de l’Amérique d’abord, cette visite d’État de deux jours vise à afficher la solidité du « partenariat sans limite » scellé face à l’Occident par les dirigeants en 2022, mais consacre aussi l’ascendant du géant chinois face à un Kremlin anxieux du pas de deux sino-américain.

Il s’agit de la vingt-cinquième visite en Chine de Poutine, a rappelé la diplomatie chinoise, pointant un déplacement presque de routine sous le signe la connivence stratégique entre deux dirigeants qui se sont rencontrés à plus de quarante reprises. Alors que Trump était le premier président américain à fouler le sol de l’empire du Milieu depuis près d’une décennie, son homologue russe était aux premières loges sur la place Tiananmen, à la droite de Xi, le 3 septembre dernier, lors d’un spectaculaire défilé de l’armée populaire de libération (APL), aux avant-postes d’un front anti-occidental. » | Par Sébastien Falletti correspondant en Asie | mardi 19 mai 2026

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Germany's Multi-billion-euro Plan for Shelters, Hospital Beds and Emergency Vehicles | DW News

May 18, 2026 | Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Berlin has spent around €300 billion Euros on its military — but critics warn the country is still not ready to defend itself.

"Staggering Corruption": Rep. Raskin on Trump's $10B IRS Lawsuit, Stock Trades & Family Business

May 18, 2026 | Donald Trump on Monday dropped his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over a leak of his personal and business tax records, a bizarre case of a sitting president suing his own government and essentially acting as both plaintiff and defendant. This comes amid reports that Trump's Department of Justice was considering settling the case in exchange for the creation of a $1.7 billion fund to compensate victims of so-called weaponization of the DOJ under the Biden and Obama administrations. Trump allies who participated in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol could file claims and be compensated.

"They want a $1.7 billion slush fund, which comes to a million dollars a head in terms of Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, the insurrectionists, with $100 million left over of taxpayer money to spread around in different ways," says Congressmember Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, who spoke with Democracy Now! shortly before news broke of Trump dropping the IRS lawsuit.

Raskin last week introduced the Protecting Our Democracy Act, which is geared toward curbing the president's profiteering from public office. "Corruption is the whole purpose of the Trump administration," says Raskin. "It's not like some eccentric peripheral thing; it's a vast money-making operation."


Trump and his cronies are rotten to their core. It defies belief that the American people put up with this CRAP! — © Mark Alexander

Democracy Now! can be supported here.

"Adolf Hitler war ein Linker" - Alice Weidel im Gespräch mit Nikolaus Blome | ntv

Jan 9, 2025 | Nach ihrem Gespräch mit Elon Musk auf dessen Plattform X stellt sich AfD-Vorsitzende und -Kanzlerkandidatin Alice Weidel den Fragen von RTL/ntv-Politikchef Nikolaus Blome.

Hitler war doch kein „Linker“! Er hasste Leute, die links orientiert waren. Wo er es nur konnte, hat er sie umbringen lassen! Hitler war echter Rechtsextremist! Mit dieser Aussage versucht Alice Weidel, die Leute zu verwirren. — © Mark Alexander

In Closed-Door Talks, U.S. Demands a Major Role in Greenland

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Greenlandic officials worry about the direction of the negotiations aimed at defusing President Trump’s threats to seize their island. But they have little leverage.

Screenshot taken from this NYT article. | Ilulisaat, Greenland, a town where a Chinese state company nearly won a contract to build an airport in 2018. After U.S. officials pressured Denmark to step in, Greenland opted for a Danish company. | Ivor Prickett for The New York Times
With the conflict in Iran still smoldering, President Trump’s obsession with Greenland seems like a forgotten sideshow.

But for the past four months, negotiators from the United States, Greenland and Denmark, which controls Greenland’s foreign affairs, have been holding confidential talks in Washington about Greenland’s future.

The talks were meant to give Mr. Trump an offramp to his threats of a military takeover of Greenland and to scale back a crisis that risked breaking apart the NATO alliance. But Greenlandic leaders are worried about what is being proposed, which is a much larger U.S. role on the Arctic island. And they fear that if the conflict with Iran winds down, the president will swing his aggression back on them.

Some Greenlandic politicians say they have even circled a date on their calendars to be wary: June 14, Mr. Trump’s birthday. » | Jeffrey Gettleman, Maya Tekeli, Anton Troianovski and Eric Schmitt | Monday, May 18, 2026

Kim Jong-un: Grenze zu Südkorea soll zu „uneinnehmbarer Festung“ werden

BERLINER ZEITUNG: Nordkorea soll laut Kim Jong-un die Grenze zu Südkorea weiter verstärken. Bereits zuvor hatte er die Stationierung einer neuen selbstfahrenden Haubitze an der Grenze angeordnet.

Dieser Screenshot stammt aus diesem Artikel. | Kim Jong-un bei einem Treffen hochrangiger Militärvertreter | © KCNA via KNS/AFP
Der nordkoreanische Machthaber Kim Jong-un hat erklärt, dass Pläne zur Stärkung von Fronttruppen an der südlichen Grenze sowie anderer wichtige Einheiten für die „gründlichere Abschreckung vor Kriegen“ von zentraler Bedeutung seien. Die Grenze solle zu einer „uneinnehmbaren Festung“ werden, berichtete die staatliche Nachrichtenagentur KCNA.

Kim äußerte sich bei einem Treffen mit Befehlshabern der nordkoreanischen Armee. Er rief die Kommandeure dazu auf, wachsam gegenüber dem „Erzfeind“ zu bleiben – ein Begriff, den Pjöngjang laut Reuters für Südkorea verwendet. Er kündigte weiterhin an, das Ausbildungssystem zu reformieren und stärker auf Übungen auszurichten, die moderner Kriegführung entsprechen. Auch die militärische Organisationsstruktur solle überarbeitet werden. » | Anika Schlünz | Montag, 18. Mai 2026

Grèce : Alexis Tsipras, ex-premier ministre et figure de la gauche radicale, va lancer un nouveau parti

Cette capture d'écran provient de cet article du Figaro. | Alexis Tsipras, ancien premier ministre grec. AYHAN MEHMET / Anadolu via AFP
LE FIGARO : Alexis Tsipras a publié sur Facebook « Maintenant, c’est le moment », sans révéler le nom de sa nouvelle formation politique. Il avait été désigné premier ministre lors de la crise financière grecque en 2015. Après une défaite en 2023, Alexis Tsipras avait démissionné de la direction de son parti.

L'ancien premier ministre grec Alexis Tsipras, ex-figure de la gauche radicale et anti-austérité en Europe, a annoncé lundi 18 mai son retour en politique avec le lancement d'un nouveau parti le 26 mai, en vue des élections prévues l'an prochain. Alexis Tsipras, 51 ans, a publié sur Facebook une vidéo montrant le dos de deux garçons sur les gradins d'un stade de foot portant des maillots avec les numéros 26 et 5. « Maintenant, c'est le moment », a-t-il écrit sans révéler le nom de sa nouvelle formation politique. Alexis Tsipras avait été désigné premier ministre au pic de la crise financière grecque en janvier 2015, à l'issue d'élections législatives remportées par son parti, alors de gauche radicale, Syriza. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | lundi 18 mai 2026

Nobel Prize Recipient Dr Henry Abraham Warns of Donald Trump's Nuclear Risk to Humanity.

May 18, 2026 | Psychiatrist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient for the prevention of nuclear war, Dr Henry Abraham, joins Anthony Davis to warn of the risk of Donald Trump being in charge of America’s nuclear arsenal, and how his deteriorating mental health and penchant for violence is a grave risk to humanity - only on The Weekend Show.

ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.

Steve Rosenberg: Russian Papers React to Massive Ukrainian Drone Attack

May 18, 2026 | What the Russian papers are saying about this weekend's massive Ukrainian drone strike: one paper calls it “audacious”, another says it is: “one of Ukraine’s largest aerial attacks.” “It’s increasingly difficult to cut the flow of weaponry to the Ukrainian army,” concedes another.

The Iran War Is Crippling One of the World’s Wealthiest Nations

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Iranian attacks and the stoppage of seaborne transit have paralyzed Qatar’s vital gas exports, stalling the economic pivots intended to anchor the country’s growth.

Screenshot taken from this NYT article. | Qatar has tried to transform itself into a tourist destination and a hub for international business and finance. | Mahmud Hams/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
In Qatar, a desert peninsula protruding into the Persian Gulf, natural gas turned the country from a pearl-diving backwater into one of the world’s wealthiest nations.

Qatar spent three decades building supply lines, shipping tens of billions of dollars of liquefied natural gas each year through the Strait of Hormuz to ports across Asia and Europe.

The state, which derives more than 60 percent of its revenue from gas and gas-related exports, used that money to transform the peninsula into a gleaming metropolis. Unpaved desert roads were replaced by monolithic corporate skyscrapers, at the base of which irrigation systems water perennial blankets of grass and fuchsia flowers.

Gas wealth funded a metro system linking the capital, Doha, to Lusail, a northern city that is home to a Parisian-style mall and a theme park with artificial snow. The riches were also funneled into the world’s most expensive World Cup, and a $600 billion sovereign wealth fund with stakes in everything from Heathrow Airport in London to the Empire State Building in New York.

Then, in February, Qatar’s door to the world slammed shut.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz means virtually no gas has left Qatar’s shore for more than two months. The nation is also cut off from the sea routes through which it imports everything from vehicles to produce. Fears of regional instability have hurt tourism and eroded business sentiment. » | River Akira Davis | Reporting from Doha, Qatar | Sunday, May 17, 2026