“As predicted, Republicans in Congress are going after a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that protects consumers from predatory overdraft fees that can cost hundreds of dollars a year. Lawmakers introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval on Wednesday that, if passed and signed by the president, will reverse the rule and hand a win to banks. Because CRA resolutions cannot by stopped by a filibuster, they represent some of the most likely legislative actions of the early Trump term. The rule under challenge places a $5 cap on the overdraft fees that banks can charge their customers, a major decrease from the typical $35 fee. In the rulemaking process, the CFPB found that some banks scheme and scam to maximize overdraft fees, setting new rules without notifying customers or even engineering the order of transactions to generate more fees.” (02/17/25)
“With Elon Musk acting as the de facto commander in chief, even holding high-level photo ops with foreign leaders like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the nominal president Donald Trump has a lot of time on his hands. Not surprisingly, since he is a second-term president, Trump has been turning his energy toward building a legacy. But with his real estate developer’s instincts for acquiring and refurbishing old properties, Trump has decided that rather than start from scratch there is a valuable brand he can easily take over and make his own: the fabled name of the Kennedy family. Over the last few weeks, Trump has gone out of his way to appropriate the Kennedy name as an offshoot of his own brand.” (02/14/25)
“Mouldy half-finished food on bunk beds, discarded military uniforms and abandoned weapons – these are the remnants of an abrupt retreat from this base that once belonged to Iran and its affiliated groups in Syria. The scene tells a story of panic. The forces stationed here fled with little warning, leaving behind a decade-long presence that unravelled in mere weeks. Iran was Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s most critical ally for more than 10 years. It deployed military advisers, mobilised foreign militias, and invested heavily in Syria’s war. Its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) built deep networks of underground bases, supplying arms and training to thousands of fighters. For Iran, this was also part of its ‘security belt’ against Israel.” (02/16/25)
“The Trump administration’s insistence that Europe be more responsible for its own defense – including Ukraine’s – has ignited a strong response. In a speech Friday, for example, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe ‘is now in another period of crisis which warrants a similar approach’ to that during the pandemic. In Germany, the person most likely to be the country’s next prime minister, Friedrich Merz, told The Economist that German troops could be used in Ukraine after a ceasefire and that Ukraine, once it’s enjoying peace, could be a NATO member. With renewed pressure from the United States, Europe needs ‘to stay collectively vigilant,’ French President Emmanuel Macron told the Financial Times. Whether Europe can shake a mindset of dependency on America’s military strength remains to be seen.” (02/14/25)
“The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is reportedly cutting thousands of probationary workers as tax season ramps up, according to The Associated Press. The announcement comes just days after the Trump administration instructed agencies to fire most probationary workers who have not secured civil service protection. The layoffs could potentially impact hundreds of thousands of people, although the exact number has not yet been confirmed, the AP reported. In addition to the probationary cuts, President Donald Trump announced on Jan. 29 that federal employees would be fired if they did not return to in-person work by early February. A buyout offer, which has been extended, has already been accepted by about 65,000 employees. The Associated Press reported IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season, which began on Jan. 27, are not eligible for the buyout until after the taxpayer filing deadline, according to a letter sent recently to IRS employees.” (02/15/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“The Murdoch-owned Daily Telegraph has been caught trying to orchestrate what can only be described as a mass media psyop to inflame public hysteria about antisemitism in Australia. In a project internally titled ‘UNDERCOVERJEW’ supposedly designed to show ‘what it’s like being Jewish in Sydney,’ a man wearing a Star of David hat and video glasses went around targeting Muslim and Arab businesses trying to instigate hostility from staff members trailed by a video producer and a Telegraph reporter. The man, who is reportedly associated with the Australian Jewish Association, entered an Egyptian cafe called Cairo Takeaway and postured with his Star of David hat without getting any reaction from anyone. He then started making comments to cafe staff, who caught on to what he was doing and started recording him. Police were then called and it caused a big scandal.” (02/15/25)
“A year after Alexei Navalny’s suspicious death in a Russian prison, his supporters have been helping choose a headstone for his grave in Moscow. ‘It will be a place of hope and strength for all those who dream of the wonderful Russia of the future,’ says the opposition politician’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, quoting one of his best-known phrases. Revealing her shortlist of designs in a video last week, she hoped the grave would become somewhere that those who oppose Vladimir Putin go ‘to remember they are not alone.’ Navalnaya now lives abroad, facing arrest if she were to return to Russia. Her words capture just how far ambitions have shrunk.” (02/16/25)
“Madmen Trump and Musk are moving with warp speed to illegally and dictatorially wreck America and enrich themselves in the process. Forget the use of the terms ‘autocracy’ and ‘constitutional crisis’. This is a savage dictatorship, getting worse by the day. Trump is attacking the courts, ignoring Congress run by a cowardly GOP, pushing to cut off critical assistance for tens of millions of Americans, devastating health, safety, food (Meals on Wheels), education (Head Start), and Medicaid insurance protections. The rabid, ravaging, unstable Musk and his Chief Musketeer Trump are shutting down whole agencies, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Agency for International Development (only Congress can do this).” [editor’s note: Dementia plus paranoia is such a cruel ending for you, Ralph – SAT] [additional editor’s note: Dementia plus paranoia also describe Trump, but an ending seems far off – TLK] (02/15/25)
“French President Emmanuel Macron has scheduled an ’emergency meeting’ for European leaders to discuss President Donald Trump, according to another European official. According to Politico, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski alluded to the meeting at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. Two EU officials told the outlet that the meeting would take place on Monday. ‘I’m very glad that President Macron has called our leaders to Paris,’ Sikorski was quoted as saying, noting that the event would involve talking about the implications of Trump’s actions ‘in a very serious fashion.’ ‘President Trump has a method of operating which the Russians call razvedka boyem – reconnaissance through battle. You push and you see what happens, and then you change your position. And we need to respond,’ the Polish official added.” (02/15/25)
“When New York Governor Kathy Hochul, whose state has banned natural gas pipelines because of ‘climate change’, goes all in for nuclear energy, you know the revolution is under way. For decades, the anti-nuclear movement moved from protesting nuclear weapons to oppose nuclear energy as well. But not today. Gov. Hochul, in an adjunct to her state of the state speech in January, said her administration supports a grant request by Constellation Energy for federal funding to build one or more small modular nuclear reactors at its Nine Mile Point site in Oswego. Constellation’s four New York State reactors provide about a fifth of the state’s electricity. Hochul’s announcement dovetailed the release of a state ‘Blueprint for Consideration of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technologies,’ crafted by the Brattle Group for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.” (02/15/25)
