Monthly Archives: May 2025

NPR: Vice President Vance says India-Pakistan fighting is ‘none of our business’

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Vice President Vance said that the current escalation between India and Pakistan was “fundamentally none of our business,” as they traded blows overnight Thursday and early Friday evening using drones and projectiles, reaching places that have not been targeted in decades on either side.

Vance spoke on Fox News late Thursday, in response to a question about if the Trump administration was worried about nuclear conflict. “We want this thing to de-escalate as quickly as possible,” and added: “We can’t control these countries though.”

“What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we’re not going to get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it.”

Useless apathetic worm! We have two nuclear friends coming to blows, and J.D. Dunce shrugs it off as “none of our business”. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.

Vice President Vance says India-Pakistan fighting is ‘none of our business’
Vice President Vance said the fighting between India and Pakistan was “fundamentally none of our business.” Experts say the U.S. used to work hard to de-escalate crises between the nuclear states.

https://www.npr.org/2025/05/09/nx-s1-5393719/vice-president-vance-india-pakistan-crisis

The Hill: What is Trump even doing any more?

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One of the most frustrating things about the Trump administration is that it offers too much nuttiness to process.

Not long ago, the discovery that the president doesn’t know what the Declaration of Independence is would have consumed the country for months. Today, it barely registers because the Trump White House pumps out similar stories two or three times a week. 

When you compare such stories to the trade war with China or President Trump’s claim that he doesn’t know whether he’s required to uphold the Constitution, it’s tempting to view Trump’s recent brainstorms on movie tariffs and reopening Alcatraz as mere distractions. That would be a mistake. They are evidence of something much darker than Steve Bannon’s call to “flood the zone with s—.”

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5289900-trump-tariffs-alcatraz-constitution-hollywood

Reason: The U.K. Trade Deal Screws American Consumers

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Residents of the United Kingdom will get lower tariffs, while Americans are stuck paying higher ones.

The White House is hailing a new trade deal with the United Kingdom as “a great deal for America.”

But is it a great deal for Americans? The specifics of the deal seem to suggest otherwise.

The agreement maintains the 10 percent universal tariff that President Donald Trump imposed on nearly all imports to the United States. But even the president admits this is a tariff hike on American consumers, rather than a reduction.

The point of comparison should be the average tariff rate on imports from the U.K. before Trump took office. In 2023, the most recent year for which full data are available, the average U.S. tariff on British goods was 3.3 percent.

That means this “deal” charges American consumers a 10 percent baseline tax on goods that were previously taxed at 3.3 percent. That’s not a win for free trade or lower prices.

Meanwhile, it is British consumers who will benefit from lower tariffs. According to the White House, the deal means that American exports to the U.K. will now face an average tariff rate of 1.8 percent, down from 5.1 percent before the deal.

So it’s a 6.7% increase for us and a 5.1% decrease for the Brits? Thank you ever so much for screwing us over, King Donald!

The U.K. trade deal screws American consumers
Residents of the United Kingdom will get lower tariffs, while Americans are stuck paying higher ones.

https://reason.com/2025/05/09/the-u-k-trade-deal-screws-american-consumers

Bloomberg: Global Shift to Bypass the Dollar Is Gaining Momentum in Asia

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Banks and brokers are seeing rising demand for currency derivatives that bypass the dollar, as trade tensions add a sense of urgency to a years-long shift away from the greenback.

Firms are receiving more requests for transactions including hedges that sidestep the dollar and involve currencies such as the yuan, the Hong Kong dollar, the Emirati dirham and the euro. There’s also demand for yuan-denominated loans, and a bank in Indonesia is setting up a desk for the Chinese currency.

The vast majority of foreign-exchange trades use the dollar even if they’re transferring money between two local currencies. For example, an Egyptian company wanting Philippine pesos will typically transfer its local currency into the greenback before buying pesos with the dollars it receives. But companies are increasingly looking at strategies that skip the dollar’s role as a go-between.

Global Shift to Bypass the Dollar Is Gaining Momentum in Asia
Banks and brokers are seeing rising demand for currency derivatives that bypass the dollar, as trade tensions add a sense of urgency to a years-long shift away from the greenback.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/ar-AA1EqTN6

NBC News: Kash Patel’s new way of leading the FBI: Fewer morning intel briefings, more pro sports events

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Supporters of the new director say he is bringing needed change. Some current and former FBI and DOJ officials worry he is not taking the job seriously enough.

Probably asleep at the helm or out clubbing!

For decades, the head of the FBI has attended a daily 8:30 a.m. “director’s brief,” where he is presented the most important intelligence and law enforcement information gleaned from thousands of agents and analysts across the country, current and former FBI officials say.

And on Wednesday afternoons, the FBI director or his deputy held a secure video teleconference with the leaders of field offices across the country to share information about bureau priorities.

But that schedule has changed under FBI Director Kash Patel. Unlike his recent predecessors, Patel is receiving the “director’s brief” two days a week, according to two current officials with direct knowledge and two former FBI and Justice Department officials familiar with the matter. Patel has also stopped holding the weekly Wednesday-afternoon video teleconference with FBI leaders, one current and one former FBI official said.

Patel’s approach to his new job has raised concerns that he is not taking the position seriously enough, a dozen current and former DOJ and FBI officials told NBC News.

Officials who worked on the morning director’s briefings were told that the schedule was changed because Patel sometimes failed to arrive on time, said two current and two former FBI and Justice Department officials familiar with the matter.

At the same time, Patel has drawn attention for regularly appearing with celebrities at professional sporting events around the country, according to flight logs and social media posts.

Kash Patel’s new way of leading the FBI: Fewer morning intel briefings, more pro sports events
Supporters of the new director say he is bringing needed change. Some current and former FBI and DOJ officials worry he is not taking the job seriously enough.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/rcna202865

Mediaite: WATCH: Furious Residents Surround ICE Agents Trying to Arrest Mom Clinging to Baby

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An ICE operation spiraled into chaos on a Worcester, Massachusetts, street Thursday morning after agents detained a woman clinging to her baby as neighbors surrounded them, demanding a warrant.

Dramatic footage circulating online shows about 25 residents swarming the ICE vehicle on Eureka Street, demanding agents identify themselves. Screaming can be heard in the video as agents attempt to control the crowd before police tackle one individual.

“We don’t have to show you anything,” one agent reportedly shot back when asked for ID or a warrant.

Worcester police were called to the scene and later confirmed that the woman had already been placed under arrest when the crowd tried to block the vehicle from leaving.

“The crowd was unruly,” police said in a statement, claiming several individuals “put their hands on federal agents and Worcester officers.”

The woman’s teen daughter was left holding the woman’s baby and stood in front of the car in an apparent attempt to stop it. After handing the child to another person, she allegedly kicked the car—and was also reportedly arrested on four charges, including child endangerment. Police have not disclosed what happened to the baby afterward.

Let’s hope this resistance is only the beginning!

WATCH: Furious Residents Surround ICE Agents Trying to Arrest Mom Clinging to Baby
An ICE operation spiraled into chaos in Worcester, Massachusetts street after agents detained a woman as she clung to her baby—without showing a warrant.
WATCH: Furious Residents Surround ICE Agents Trying to Arrest Mom Clinging to Baby

New York TImes: Trump Has Made Claims About Abrego Garcia’s Tattoos. Here’s a Closer Look…

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Gang experts say the tattoos on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s knuckles are unlikely to signify gang membership. The president says otherwise.

Mendacious King Donald used an altered photo in his claim that Kilmar Abrego Garcio had MS-13 tattoos:

President Trump has claimed that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, is a member of MS-13, the Salvadoran-American criminal gang, and that the tattoos on Mr. Abrego Garcia’s knuckles prove it.

In a post nearly three weeks ago on Truth Social, Mr. Trump’s social media platform, he gave his version of a primer on those tattoos, showing a photo of Mr. Abrego Garcia’s hand, with one small tattoo on each finger: a marijuana leaf, a smiley face with X’s for eyes, a cross and a skull.

Above each of those black tattoos was a letter or a number — M, S, 1 and 3 — in a sans-serif font that clearly had been superimposed onto the photo. “He’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles,” the president wrote in his post.

In other photos, however, including ones shared by Mr. Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the letters and numbers do not appear on Mr. Abrego Garcia’s knuckles.

https://archive.is/FL4VB#selection-695.0-695.170

Newsweek: ‘We Currently Have No Container Ships,’ Seattle Port Says

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Another shipping port official voiced concern about the drastic decline in imports as a result of President Donald Trump‘s tariffs.

“I can see it right over my shoulder here, I’m looking out at the Port of Seattle right now, and we currently have no container ships at berth,” Seattle port commissioner Ryan Calkins told CNN on Wednesday.

…

Several port authorities have observed a similar drop in cargo volumes over the past few weeks, warning that such a decline could have significant and adverse effects on consumers—who may face rising prices and limited product availability—as well as the supply chain-linked sectors of the U.S. economy.

Calkins told CNN that the current situation would impact the job security of longshoremen and those dealing directly with the freight, as well as industries responsible for transporting imports nationwide.

“And that’s hundreds of jobs right here in our region and across the country,” he said, adding that his port had not witnessed such a significant downturn in activity since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘We Currently Have No Container Ships,’ Seattle Port Says
Seattle port commissioner Ryan Calkins described the decline in activity as “a stark reminder” of the impact of tariffs.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/we-currently-have-no-container-ships-seattle-port-says/ar-AA1EozjS

BBC: New Jersey mayor arrested for protesting at migrant centre

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The mayor of New Jersey’s largest city has been arrested after allegedly trying to force his way into a migrant detention facility.

Newark Mayor Ras Barak, who is running for New Jersey governor, “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings”, to leave Delaney Hall, a detention facility being run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to acting US attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba.

Barak was accompanied by three Democratic members of Congress, who were not arrested. They say they were there to conduct “oversight” to ensure that the facility is not violating any building safety ordinances.

It is unclear whether Barak faces criminal charges.

…

New Jersey’s Democratic Governor Phil Murphy said he was “outraged” by Baraka’s arrest and called for him to be immediately released.

New Jersey Democratic lawmakers Rob Menendez Jr, Bonnie Watson Coleman and LaMonica McIver were also present during the protest.

City officials allege the private firm that signed a contract with ICE did not obtain proper permits and blocked necessary inspections. The firm has told media they haver the proper permits.

Earlier on Friday, Congresswoman Watson Coleman posted on social media: “We’re at Delaney Hall, an ICE prison in Newark that opened without permission from the city & in violation of local ordinances.

New Jersey mayor arrested for protesting at migrant centre
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was part of a group of Democratic officials seeking to enter the facility housing detained migrants.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy904elvxj3o

Sacramento Bee: ‘Unprecedented’: Judge’s Anti-ICE Ruling Signals Major Shift

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A federal judge in Texas has ruled against the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants Julio Cesar Sanchez Puentes and Luddis Norelia Sanchez Garcia. District Judge David Briones ordered their release from a Texas detention facility, finding that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) failed to provide a lawful basis for their continued detention. The court has found that the allegations against the couple relied on hearsay without personal knowledge from the declarants involved.

The couple entered the U.S. in 2022 in El Paso and were initially detained by immigration officials. After being paroled the next day, the family lived in Washington, DC, with their three children under temporary protected status. Their status was terminated due to an alleged association with the Tren de Aragua gang.

‘Unprecedented’: Judge’s Anti-ICE Ruling Signals Major Shift
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/unprecedented-judge-s-anti-ice-ruling-signals-major-shift/ss-AA1ElSjI