Scott Bessant 3 days ago, Press Conference quote:- “We will not be renewing the General Licence on Ru oil…” Last night, a Treasury Dept Official Notice extends that same General Licence (134B) from April 17th to May 16th So! Once again, it’s a lie. They are renewing it, just a month at a time…

Perfect…

Pope Leo on Trumps’ attack:- “I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel… We are not politicians. We don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”

Turkish President Erdogan ystdy:- "The war is Netanyahu’s war for political survival, but 8 billion people are suffering the consequences" True! Whether it’s Netanyahu in the M East, Putin in Ukr or Trump’s expeditionary attempts in the Americas & the M East None are interested in making Peace…

If Iran controlling & tolling Hormuz were allowed, what precedent does that set? Think of the other vital shipping bottlenecks like the Turkish Straits, the Bab el-Mandeb, Malacca, Sunda, even Gibraltar, the Danish Straits, the English Channel There are maritime laws here that must be adhered to…

1/3 Excerpt from US VP Vance speech today on the stump in Budapest alongside Victor Orban:- “Foreign election interference! The bureaucrats in Brussels have tried to destroy the economy of Hungary. They have tried to make Hungary less energy independent…” 1/3

Trump details the US weapons officer ‘rescue mission’ in Iran, which he says included 155 aircraft, including:- — 4 bombers — 64 fighters — 48 refueling tankers — 13 rescue aircraft Also there were 2 large military transport aircraft which were left destroyed on the ground Interesting…

There were always toll booths in Panama & Suez Canals, but now it looks like there’ll be one in Hormuz too The only differences are that US & Israeli ships & cargoes are banned & to pass, the $ is the only currency that will not be accepted The 40 countries negotiating right now seem OK with that…

Ukr President, Zelensky responded to Rheinmetall Co Dir Papperger’s derogatory comment about Ukr Drone technology being based on “Housewifes’ with 3D Printers” He said:- “If every Ukrainian housewife can produce drones, then every housewife can be the CEO of Rheinmetall,” Bravo Z 👏👏👏

Yesterday, Z put his position in simple clear terms for all Allies & foes to hear:- “All temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine will be de-occupied. This includes Crimea, it is our land and we will return it…” A straight forward objective, ALL territories, including Crimea, no compromise…

Trump is (apparently) sending Troops to the M East, but what happened to the Troops that were already there? Qatar: 8,000–10,000 Kuwait: 10,000–13,000 Bahrain: ~7,000 UAE: ~3,500 KSA: ~2,500–3,000 Iraq: ~2,500 Syria: ~900 Seems most of these bases are now unusable, so were they abandoned? & why?

If this WaPo reporting is true, then the US is, (under the PURL Contracts) effectively stealing money from Eu taxpayers… It’s theft! There’s not much Eu can do about it immediately, but it will not go unanswered & given time, it will turn out to be catastrophic for the US arms industry…

Direct quote from Ukr President, Volodymyr Zelensky:- “I don't want you to hang my portraits in your offices. Because a President is not an icon, an idol or a portrait. Hang pictures of your children instead. And before you make any decision, look into their eyes…”

CNN reports today that Iran has begun mining the Strait of Hormuz So far a few dozen mines have been laid, but they are expected to lay hundreds more in the coming days No insurance organisation could provide P&I insurance to vessels under these circumstances, irrespective of convoy protection…

Precise take by Turkish President Erdogan, speaking today on US/Irsael War with Iran:- “Every dead child in Tehran or Esfahan is also a calculated message to Erbil, Baghdad, and Ankara. Divide. Exhaust. Dominate. The oldest colonial playbook, dusted off and drenched in blood once more…”

US Secretary of Defence (War) Pete Hegseth, speaking from the podium in the Pentagon ystdy:- "Flying over Tehran, flying over Iran…. Iranians looking up seeing only US/Israeli air power…. Death & destruction from the sky all day long…”

Trump decrees Kristi Noem is out @ DHS & Markwayne Mullin is in The White House Clown Car screeches on, Bugle Honky Horn blaring as it rounds the corner… Ms Noem is going to “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas”, a new security initiative in the Western Hemisphere Whatever that is…

Reuters is now reporting that Iran is notifying vessels that it is closing the Straits of Hormuz. If officially closed, 20m b/d of the global supply of oil will be impacted, or 20% of supply, which will most likely double the price of oil This will impact every economy in the world

Witkoff in interview with Lara Trump on Fox:- “I got attacked for going to meet Putin eight times... I needed to understand what his motivations were, his goals." He’s never visited Kiev or Ukr & never met with Z He has put 3 Ru Peace Plans on the negotiating table, he has never put one Ukr Plan…

Z on Putin having Vladimir Medinsky lead the Ru negotiating team in Geneva today in response to reports that he spent his time lapsing into philosophical musings about ‘Ru historical roots’:- "We don't have time for all this nonsense. We need to solve the problem and end the war…”

Bloomberg reveals the US secret Long Term $12tn Deal with Ru & it’s:- 1. US help in Ru air fleet & manufacturing modernisation 2. Joint oil & LNG ventures on/off shore 3. Preferential conditions for US companies in Ru consumer markets 4. Co-operation on nuclear energy for AI development (1/3)

Latest in Ukr; Z says Ukr intelligence believes that the US & RU are about to sign an economic co-operation deal (“Dmitriev package”) of ~$12tn, incl’ Ukr sovereignty & security terms Z says Ukr will not support any decisions or agreements concerning Ukr that are made without its participation…

In Nov, US Trade Deficit jumped by >94% (from $29.2bn to $56.6bn). EU deficit alone from $6.3bn to $14.5bn Tariffs were Trump’s policy to stop Trade Deficits, but it has not worked, US is less competitive & selling less, & dearer imports are increasing costs This is not a good indicator for 2026…

It appears Trump has agreed with Putin for Ru to stop bombing Ukr Cities for 1 week But! Nothing is formal or signed & Ukr only found out from the US MSM (when we all did). Ukr says it is NOT obligated to stop taking out Ru war assets (oil, ammo, tx) & will not stop It all sounds a bit unreal…

Bravo! EU Commissioner Kaja Kallas ystdy:- “Europe is no longer Washington’s primary center of gravity. The shift has been ongoing for a while. It is structural, not temporary No great power in history has ever outsourced its survival and survived…” (1/2)

From data summarised & made public by the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, total US gross federal debt rose from ~$35.7tn at the start of 2025 to ~$37.9tn by the end of 2025 That’s an increase of ~$2.2tn under Donald Trump’s first year as POTUS…

From Putin’s aid, Ushakov after mtng with Whitcoff and Kushner:- “it was again noted that without a resolution of the territorial issue according to the formula agreed in Anchorage” (meaning the withdrawal of Ukr troops from the Donetsk) “it's not worth hoping for a long-term settlement” No Peace!

US Treasury Sec Scott Bessent today on the food in Davos:- "After a couple days of the food here, I may switch to bugs and insects. I'm gonna bring some Pop-Tarts next year…” Perhaps he should try US Agri Sec Rollins recommended $3 piece of chicken, broccoli & tortilla & see how he gets on…

The countries who’ve declared they want to be on Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’:- 🇺🇸 United States (Chair) 🇦🇱 Albania 🇦🇷 Argentina 🇦🇲 Armenia 🇧🇾 Belarus 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇮🇱 Israel 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan 🇲🇦 Morocco 🇵🇾 Paraguay 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan 🇻🇳 Vietnam BTW… When Turkey said it might too, Israel withdrew!

Notes on Trumps “Board of Peace” It’s not about Gaza, he’s set it up to rival the UN with its own charter, peace making role and funding Trump decides membership (no China) Trump decides how votes are held Trump decides meaning, interpretation & application of Charter Trump can dissolve it anytime

Trump caricatures Eu as weak & divided, but over 2025, Eu shrewdly adapted to him, it bought time to diversify Now, Eu has the Mercasur Deal (700m pop), resolved Ch EV issue, Trade Agreements with Singapore, Vietnam & Indonesia, in all 44 Agreements with 76 countries Eu is not weak, it’s waiting…

Trump’s Healthcare Plan to replace the ACA. It’s just over 800 words, but this is it… You get $2k & you buy your own No Medicaid, no Medicare, no pre-existing conditions. You just go out there with your $2k & buy whatever you can

Moscow Times reports that Ru Urals oil is now @ <$40/b for the first time in 5 years In Dec, av’ price of Urals was $39.18 (13% lower than Nov & 41% lower than Jan) US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil is causing discounts on Urals & Brent (Black and Baltic Sea), now @ ~$26-28/b Ru is in trouble…

Exxon CEO today @ WH Meeting with Trump:- “If you look at the commercial constructs, frameworks in place in Venezuela today, it's uninvestable Significant changes have to be made to these frameworks, the legal system There has to be durable investment protections…” I guess that about says it!

In his speech today, President Trump revealed his drug price coercion of French President Macron, quote:- "I said, you're gonna do it, Emmanuel. Here's the story, Emmanuel. If on Monday you don't agree to every single thing we want, I put 25% tariff on everything coming out of France…” The Don!

Looks like that $500m ‘donation’ to Trump’s campaign was worth the bet. Looks like pocket change now…

Trump says today:- “We absolutely need Greenland; it is surrounded by Russian and Chinese vessels. Greenland is essential for our defense.” This is next in P25/Trump ‘We control the West’ strategy of N America, S America, Greenland, the Arctic Divide the World in 3 Sectors, East, Middle & West

Putin & Xi promised Maduro help, ‘enduring allies’ they said, same as they told Iran Now Iran is in uprising, Maduro is gone & the US has control of the World’s largest oil reserve Also, it appears Pokrovsk is NOT taken & Ru’s push on Hulyaipole has failed None of this bodes well for Ru in 2026

Trump just posts on ‘X’:- “… President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured & flown out of the Country”… “… There will be a news conference at 11 A.M., at Mara Lago…” So! Regime change it is!

By Ru’s own official obituary no’s >160,000 of its soldiers died in Ukr since 2022. UK MOD says over 1.0m Ru soldiers are either dead or seriously injured in that time It took a year for Ru to take Pokrovsk, but at the loss of Kupiansk 2026 will be THE endurance test & Eu/Ukr has the $ to endure…

Trump assured US soybean farmers that Ch would buy 12M tonne of soybean by the end of 2025 The end of the year is here (15 days away) & so far only about 300,000 tonne has been sold to Ch This is devastating for those farmers, who relied on this market & his promises…

When you think about the pressure Trump is putting on Ukr & Eu, we should note that the US Congress just passed a defence bill that locks US troops into Eu, funds Ukr for 2 years & strengthens NATO’s eastern flank So! The US Congress is saying Trump can’t dismantle the post WWII order on a whim

Finally confirmed…. Good!

The EU has invoked its Emergency Powers Act - Article 122 to permanently immobilize Russian assets held in the EU domain to assist in the reconstruction of Ukr This takes a major part of Trump’s carpetbagger ‘Plan’ off the table as well as ensuring ongoing independent Eu support for Ukr…

The latest from Lavrov:- “Russia is not planning to attack Europe and is ready to put this in writing… in a legally binding document… as part of collective security guarantees…” Sound familiar?

If Putin did go to war with Eu… Pol/Lith (under NATO) would instantly close the Suwalki Gap & NATO would blockade Kaliningrad, thus cutting Ru off from the Baltic With its air superiority, NATO would also make the Black Sea untenable for Ru shipping & drive out the Ru navy

So! Whilst it was focused on oil, we see a key reason for Putin’s trip to India was Ru’s labour shortage RU’s First Deputy PM, Denis Manturov, announced ystdy that Ru is ready to accept an unlimited number of Indian workers to work in Ru factories Mocking the US Peace Talks on live TV was a bonus…

The new US ‘National Security Strategy’ doc’ clearly pivots US away from Eu It says Eu is run contrary to US interests, even that Eu Governments are minorities, lacking legitimacy & should be ousted It also stops anyone joining NATO (incl Ukr, Moldova) It is basically proposing Eu fragmentation…

Putin at TV interview in India today:- Interviewer: “Can you talk about your meeting with Witkoff?” Putin: “I doubt it would interest you to hear about it, as it lasted 5 hours. Frankly, even I grew weary of it” So much for ‘Peace!’ He’s cheerfully taking the US for a ride & loving it…

After 5 hrs of talks with Witcoff & Kushner, Putin’s aide & spokesman Yuri Ushakov says:- “We are no closer, but also no further apart:” Putin doesn’t want to be seen as saying ‘No!’, but he IS saying no… Instead he’s spent today & ystdy blaming Eu & Ukr for being warmongers who don’t want Peace