Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:
Crypto tax proposals weighed ahead of Tuesday House hearing
Hyperliquid Hit by UK FCA Warning as Crypto Perps Face Scrutiny
Coronavirus and Public Health:
Irish GP found guilty of misconduct over Covid-19 misinformation social media posts
Iran:
The U.S. and Iran have spent weeks struggling to forge a preliminary deal to end the war. One major reason why they are stuck: Tehran wants early access to cold, hard cash, and it is politically hazardous for President Trump to agree.
For Trump, a decision to free Iran’s assets upfront would inevitably generate comparisons to his own attacks on the Obama administration for flying cash into Tehran in the hours after the nuclear accord was implemented in January 2016. Trump vowed this spring to negotiate a ‘FAR BETTER’ deal than that one, which he spent years lambasting and later pulled out of, partly because it provided cash to Tehran.
Smart move by Iran. Trump needs to win; Iran just needs to not lose. The longer this drags on, the stronger Iran’s position gets. The rapid draw down of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is all that’s holding gas prices from exploding. Trump’s got no good options.
Politics:
Right-wing media melts down as Spencer Pratt sinks in vote count
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Russia Floods Armenia with Disinformation
Russia has unleashed what researchers are calling an unusually intense barrage of overt and covert influence operations before a parliamentary election on Sunday in Armenia, which has sought closer ties with Europe and the United States.
Groups linked to the Kremlin and Russian intelligence agencies have for months flooded the internet with attacks against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has publicly clashed with Moscow after a breakdown in security cooperation between the two countries, according to government and independent researchers who track Russian influence campaigns.
CIA officer who had millions in gold bars accused of creating fake spy program
Pentagon raised threat of Israeli spying on U.S. to highest level
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———— Stark. Raving. Mad. ————
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———— Screwworms ————
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———— Autocracy R Us ————
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Senate Republicans Chicken Out, Again
On Thursday, Republican senators had a chance to kill Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund for professed victims of ‘weaponization’ by the Department of Justice. They refused. A Democratic amendment to block the fund, as part of an immigration-enforcement spending bill, failed in the Senate. Subsequent attempts to limit or outlaw the fund failed as well.
Republicans seem to think they can walk away from this issue because Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, has said he won’t implement the fund. They’re wrong. Blanche’s corrupt deal with Trump, in which he agreed to set up the fund as part of a fake “settlement” of a Trump lawsuit against the IRS, remains intact. And it’s not just the slush fund that is very much alive. The deal also continues to guarantee—and Blanche has refused to withdraw—immunity for Trump and his family against any investigations by the IRS.
———— Blatant In-Your-Face Corruption ————
———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————
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Putin warned of a coup and mocked as he looks half dead with ‘old age’
Boris Johnson: Putin's defeat would be a wonderful moment - and, trust me, it will happen. We just need the guts to help Ukraine win faster
———— Hegseth on the Rocks ————
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———— Mors Imperii ————
Trump Planned to Mark 2.7 Million as Dead
The Trump administration had plans to classify 2.7 million living people — including some U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents — as dead as part of its immigration enforcement efforts.
The previously unreported plan, which the Social Security Administration said was not carried out, would have used one of the government’s most consequential identity databases to effectively erase people from the financial system, potentially cutting them off from wages, banking, government benefits and other services.
Judge Says Trump Officials Must Restart Asylum and Immigration Processing
The judge invalidated policies the Trump administration enacted last year that halted asylum grants, as well as the processing of immigration benefits for people from 39 countries.
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Serendipity:
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The problem with having power and wealth for so many years: Surrounded by sycophants, he's come to believe everyone and everything will bow to his will. Iran will not bow. It is exacting tribute. This so spoiled man would rather burn down the house (our house) than submit.
Notice how he has brought up the afterlife over the past year. I think he is realizing he will be entering a realm he cannot control. That's why he plays with his ballroom, arch and reflecting pool. These he can control. These give him a sense of security. For a man like Trump, it must be terrifying to be approaching 80 and have your body falling apart. No matter how many doctors he hires, he can't buy immortality.