Vladimir Putin’s finally starting to sweat; time for Trump to turn up the heat

Source: New York Post
by staff

“With Vladimir Putin’s war machine sputtering, it’s time to push the Kremlin even harder to force an end to his war on Ukraine. President Donald Trump’s moves such as seizing ‘shadow fleet’ tankers and piling on new tariffs on importers of Moscow’s oil are plainly hitting hard: You can tell because Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is whining that Washington won’t make Kyiv agree to de facto surrender (e.g., Russian control over Ukraine’s post-war government) as he claims President Donald Trump had agreed to do. Why does Russia need America’s intervention, if it’s winning on the battlefield? ‘The United States has effectively declared a goal of economic domination,’ Lavrov cries — a clear sign that Putin’s feeling squeezed.” (02/14/26)

https://nypost.com/2026/02/14/opinion/putins-finally-starting-to-sweat-time-for-trump-to-turn-up-the-heat/

UK, allied regimes say Russian political prisoner Navalny was murdered with dart frog poison

Source: Sky News [UK]

“Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison in Russia after being poisoned with a deadly toxin found in the skin of Ecuadorian dart frogs, the UK and other allies have [claimed]. The ‘barbaric’ act — using a neurotoxin that is classed as a chemical weapon — could only have been carried out by Vladimir Putin’s government, they said on Saturday. … Russian authorities have previously claimed the dissident’s death was not suspicious but had been caused as a result of ‘combined diseases,’ including an irregular heartbeat.” (02/14/26)

https://news.sky.com/story/navalny-died-after-being-poisoned-with-dart-frog-toxin-13507402

Planned US-funded baby vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau blasted by WHO

Source: BBC News [UK State Media]

“A now-halted plan to run a hepatitis B vaccine trial involving thousands of newborns in Guinea-Bissau has been criticised by the World Health Organization as ‘unethical.’ The US-funded study had sought to give one set of babies the vaccine at birth, while another would have had the shot delayed until six weeks of age. The WHO said it had ‘significant concerns’ about the plan, and described the birth-dose vaccine as ‘an effective and essential public health intervention, with a proven record.’ The US health department, headed by Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has questioned the effects of vaccines, had sought to use the trial to answer questions about the jab’s broader health effects. The WHO said on Friday that its concerns regarded the study’s scientific justification, ethical safeguards and consistency with established standards for research involving humans.” (02/14/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78j5k2gk02o

From Good Neighbor to Bad Cop

Source: Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland

“Donald Trump’s new national security strategy placed greater emphasis on the homeland (unneeded and even ominous for the health of the U.S. republic) and the Western Hemisphere (potentially beneficial) at the expense of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Since World War II — starting with the 40-plus-year, worldwide, grandiose Cold War instituted by Harry Truman and the subsequent war on terrorism — the U.S. superpower has worried more about threats to Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East than the countries in those regions. The tragic result was unneeded wars in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and two wars with Iraq. And those are just the largest quagmires the United States got itself into during that period; countless smaller military interventions were conducted in far-flung countries.” (02/14/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/02/14/good-neighbor-bad-cop/

Reviving a Revisionist: Clinton Hartley Grattan, Part 2

Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Wendy McElroy

“Grattan highlights the propagandistic tricks that were directed at those who were neutral or critical. A lack of transparency was one of the tricks that left people unsure of the facts and so unable to argue effectively against war. Closed-door negotiations epitomized this secrecy for Grattan. Why We Fought discusses in detail the secret agreements that pushed America in the direction of war and prevented effective pushback against it. For example, the American diplomat Edward Mandell (Colonel) House negotiated a covert deal with England and France by which America pledged to intervene on the side of the Allies, although the official line was neutrality. This deal became known as the Secret Treaty. Months before the agreement was finalized, however, Wilson had campaigned and won the 1916 presidential election based on the claim that he had kept America out of the war and the promise that he would continue to do so.” (02/13/26)

https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/reviving-a-revisionist-clinton-hartley-grattan-part-2/

How America Has Destroyed Its Democracy, Part One

Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis

“This is going to be a three-part series defining the following: One, what our Founders (and others of their time) thought about democracy; two, how and why they thought it would fail; three, the kind of government and society they really wanted; and four, the role that feminism has played in destroying American democracy. The Founders didn’t foresee the fourth point, but they weren’t prophets and couldn’t predict everything. They knew history, though, and women have never done to any society what feminists have done to America. There is really no historical parallel. I’ll discuss that later. I have a lot of quotes here, some rather lengthy, some not so long, but all very interesting to those who enjoy history and want to know what our Founding Fathers intended for America.” (02/14/26)

https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/02/14/how-america-has-destroyed-its-democracy-part-one-democracy-is-most-vile-n2671288

KS: Kelly vetos anti-trans bill

Source: Kansas City Star

“Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a bill Friday that aims to police the use of bathrooms and other private spaces in government buildings. It would also revoke driver’s licenses that reflect transgender Kansans’ identities. Kelly used her veto message to denounce SB 244 as ‘poorly drafted legislation’ that would have ‘numerous and significant consequences’ beyond limiting trans people’s ability to ‘use the appropriate bathroom.’ ‘Under this bill: if your grandfather is in a nursing home in a shared room, as a granddaughter, you would not be able to visit him,’ Kelly said. ‘If your wife is in a shared hospital room, as a husband, you would not be able to visit her,’ she continued, adding that college dorm rooms and government-owned sports facilities would also fall under the bill.” (02/14/26)

https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article314693745.html