How Americans put up with this bloody corrupt and incompetent man is beyond my comprehension! — © Mark Alexander
The Shrewd Economist
Democracy is an illusion! It’s become a political system fostered by the élite, for the élite, in order to fool the people that they have a stake in the system. In actual fact, they have virtually none. The whole political system in the modern era, despite having noble beginnings, is now used to benefit the few at the expense of the many. – Mark Alexander, June 29, 2018
September 28, 2026
Donald Trump Has Cost Americans Too Much | Steve Schmidt
How Americans put up with this bloody corrupt and incompetent man is beyond my comprehension! — © Mark Alexander
Labels:
Donald Trump
Trump Brought Venezuelan Gold to the U.S., but Refiners Won’t Touch It
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The administration is brokering deals in a notoriously corrupt industry, including one with a company that the United States deems a security threat.
In early March, as President Trump basked in the success of a military intervention in Venezuela, he joined Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in the West Wing for a private celebration. A businessman also attended, and brought along a pile of gold.
The president looked approvingly at the 10 Venezuelan gold bars stacked in the Roosevelt Room, across from the Oval Office, White House officials recalled. Aides took photos and joked about keeping the gold.
Mr. Trump himself had once blacklisted Venezuelan gold, declaring that it destroyed the environment, poisoned people and financed gangsters and corrupt military officials. But after Mr. Trump toppled the Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, his view changed.
On the same day that the bars arrived at the White House, the Trump administration issued a new policy allowing traders to import Venezuelan gold from one of the world’s most violent and corrupt mining regions. The first supplies would come from a state-owned mining company that remained a designated U.S. national security threat. » | Anatoly Kurmanaev, Tyler Pager and Rebecca R. Ruiz | Anatoly Kurmanaev reported from Caracas and the mining town of El Callao; Tyler Pager from Washington; and Rebecca R. Ruiz from London and Geneva. | Monday, September 28, 2026
Dr Bandy Lee Assesses Trump’s Genocidal Address at the UN General Assembly and Chinese State Visit
Labels:
Donald Trump,
mental instability,
UN
Steve Rosenberg: Russian Paper: “The Election’s Over. It’s Time for Unpopular Measures.”
Labels:
Russia,
what the papers say
September 27, 2026
🇨🇦 Canada - Foreign Minister Addresses United Nations General Debate, 81st Session
Steve Rosenberg: "What Should I Do If I Need My Motherland, But She Doesn’t Need Me?”
Labels:
Russia,
what the papers say
September 26, 2026
I Know the Secret of Why Trump Truly Fears Putin | The Daily Beast Podcast
Sep 14, 2026 | Luke Harding, author of the new book Betrayal: Trump, Putin and The New Age of Conquest, speaks with Joanna Coles about the decades-long relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, and the Russian intelligence operation that Harding argues helped cultivate Trump as a potential target for influence.
Harding traces Trump’s early connections to Moscow, the murky financial dealings that followed, and the compromising information that may give Putin leverage over the president, including what could have been captured during Trump’s visits to Russia. He also explains why Russia viewed Trump’s 2016 victory as a historic intelligence triumph, how Trump’s approach to Ukraine has benefited Putin, and why Russia and China see an opportunity to reshape the global order.
Harding reveals what he experienced first-hand while reporting in Moscow, including the surveillance and intimidation campaign that ultimately led to his expulsion, before turning to the startling possibility that Russian state television has used Melania Trump as a warning to her husband.
Harding traces Trump’s early connections to Moscow, the murky financial dealings that followed, and the compromising information that may give Putin leverage over the president, including what could have been captured during Trump’s visits to Russia. He also explains why Russia viewed Trump’s 2016 victory as a historic intelligence triumph, how Trump’s approach to Ukraine has benefited Putin, and why Russia and China see an opportunity to reshape the global order.
Harding reveals what he experienced first-hand while reporting in Moscow, including the surveillance and intimidation campaign that ultimately led to his expulsion, before turning to the startling possibility that Russian state television has used Melania Trump as a warning to her husband.
Labels:
Donald Trump,
Russia,
USA,
Vladimir Putin
Anne Applebaum | Full Episode 9.25.26 | Firing Line with Margaret Hoover | PBS
Labels:
Anne Applebaum,
Trump regime
Should We Ban Benefits Being Spent on Booze, Cigarettes and Gambling? | BBC Question Time
The Conservatives really have lost their way. If you want to get young people into work, the system needs to present them with work opportunities which are simply too good for them to refuse. Almost all normal people want to get on in life. And most people are gregarious at a young age as well. Therefore, if there are plenty of well-paid job opportunities around, these people and their friends will stop wanting to sit around smoking and drinking and generally being lazy and wasting their time; instead, they will want to seize the opportunities which are being presented to them. The others, being gregarious and seeing their friends doing so well, will want to follow suit. But for this to happen, the economy needs growth. So it is growth which the government needs to concentrate on. Impressive economic growth should be the focus of the government’s attention. The rest will take care of itself. — © Mark Alexander
Labels:
welfare benefits
Bernie Sanders Delivers Blunt Trump Warning While Backing Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan | US NEWS
Sep 26, 2026 | Bernie Sanders delivers a fiery address focused on the Michigan Senate race, Donald Trump, billionaire influence in politics, healthcare, campaign finance, war, artificial intelligence and climate change.
Sanders backs Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and argues that the contest reflects a broader clash over the direction of American politics. El-Sayed also outlines his campaign priorities, including Medicare for All, healthcare access, campaign-finance reform, labour rights and action on corporate power.
The event also features a major youth-organizing effort, with campaign organizers urging students to register, volunteer and participate in the Michigan election.
This is the gentleman that Americans need badly to lead them! If the American electorate had the foresight and common sense to make this man their president, the world would witness a very different America emerge. America would arise like Phoenix from the ashes! Bernie Sanders is a moderate man who has good, honest, sound ideas on how to improve the lot of the many. — © Mark Alexander
Sanders backs Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and argues that the contest reflects a broader clash over the direction of American politics. El-Sayed also outlines his campaign priorities, including Medicare for All, healthcare access, campaign-finance reform, labour rights and action on corporate power.
The event also features a major youth-organizing effort, with campaign organizers urging students to register, volunteer and participate in the Michigan election.
This is the gentleman that Americans need badly to lead them! If the American electorate had the foresight and common sense to make this man their president, the world would witness a very different America emerge. America would arise like Phoenix from the ashes! Bernie Sanders is a moderate man who has good, honest, sound ideas on how to improve the lot of the many. — © Mark Alexander
Labels:
Bernie Sanders
Peter Thiel’s Blueprint for a World Without Democracy | Gil Duran
Labels:
democracy,
Peter Thiel
A Rejoin EU Pledge Wins Burnham the Next Election
Sep 26, 2026 | 628 of Britain's 632 constituencies now pick rejoining the European Union as their top choice. The only exceptions are Clacton, Boston and Skegness, Ashfield and Great Yarmouth: the seats of Farage, Tice, Anderson and Lowe, where the top answer was "don't know".
As Andy Burnham heads to Liverpool for his first Labour conference as Prime Minister, he's refusing to rule out a pledge to rejoin the EU, but he's still hiding behind Starmer's red lines.
In this video I make the case that a bold, honest stance on Europe could be exactly what wins Labour the next general election. I also look at why George Osborne thinks there's a "conspiracy of silence", and why Canada is getting closer to Europe than we are.
I agree. However, I think that the LibDems missed a golden opportunity by not offering a definite return to full membership when they had the chance to do so. That could have worked wonders for them. But Ed Davey was too timid to commit to such a strategy. Anyway, return to the fold we must, whoever is willing to take the necessary steps and whoever has the courage to grasp the nettle. — © Mark Alexander
As Andy Burnham heads to Liverpool for his first Labour conference as Prime Minister, he's refusing to rule out a pledge to rejoin the EU, but he's still hiding behind Starmer's red lines.
In this video I make the case that a bold, honest stance on Europe could be exactly what wins Labour the next general election. I also look at why George Osborne thinks there's a "conspiracy of silence", and why Canada is getting closer to Europe than we are.
I agree. However, I think that the LibDems missed a golden opportunity by not offering a definite return to full membership when they had the chance to do so. That could have worked wonders for them. But Ed Davey was too timid to commit to such a strategy. Anyway, return to the fold we must, whoever is willing to take the necessary steps and whoever has the courage to grasp the nettle. — © Mark Alexander
Labels:
European Union,
UK
September 25, 2026
Michael Lambert: “I Am Certain We Will Return to the EU and This Is Why”
Sep 25, 2026 | Brexit was the stupidest thing we have ever done as a nation, and it has cost us dearly. Official figures show we have lost between 4 and 8% of GDP - at least £100 billion a year in exports to the EU, leaving the Exchequer £40 billion a year worse off. Over six years, that is £240 billion lost.
In this video I explain why small and medium-sized businesses can no longer sell to the EU, why ministers are now beginning to blame Brexit for our economic difficulties, and why I believe the next general election manifesto will contain a route back to the EU.
I also address the argument that the EU wouldn't have us back, look at what European leaders have actually said about the door being open, why a significant majority now think Brexit was a mistake, and why Reform can be countered by linking them directly to the consequences of Brexit.
In this video I explain why small and medium-sized businesses can no longer sell to the EU, why ministers are now beginning to blame Brexit for our economic difficulties, and why I believe the next general election manifesto will contain a route back to the EU.
I also address the argument that the EU wouldn't have us back, look at what European leaders have actually said about the door being open, why a significant majority now think Brexit was a mistake, and why Reform can be countered by linking them directly to the consequences of Brexit.
Labels:
European Union,
UK
Steve Rosenberg: Ahead, Russia Has Not Peace, But War": Today's Russian Newspapers
Labels:
Russia,
what the papers say
The ‘Emphatic’ Insult from Xi that Trump May Have Missed | Peter Frankopan
Labels:
China,
David Trump,
USA,
Xi Jinping
Trump Meets Xi on Equal Terms in ‘Huge Geopolitical Shift’ | Richard Spencer
Sep 25, 2026 | “That’s a very significant shift from where we were a few years ago in America.”
In a marked shift from his first term, President Trump met Xi Jingping in the US “on equal terms”, says china correspondent for The Times Richard Spencer.
In a marked shift from his first term, President Trump met Xi Jingping in the US “on equal terms”, says china correspondent for The Times Richard Spencer.
Labels:
China,
Donald Trump,
USA,
Xi Jinping
Trump Meets Xi: The Moment America Looked Smaller Than China
ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here »
Labels:
China,
Donald Trump,
USA,
Xi Jinping
September 24, 2026
Steve Rosenberg: Russian Newspaper Warns of the "Deterioration of the Economic Situation" in Russia
Labels:
Russia,
what the papers say
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