Source: The Realist Review
by Martin Sieff

“President Vladimir Putin of Russia was calm, confident, composed, and above all else, consistent when he spelled out Russia’s unchanging terms to end the Ukraine war when he spoke to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin on September 1st. Once again he made clear that Moscow rejected every ‘statesmanlike compromise’ that President Donald Trump and his spin doctors came up with in Washington, as well as those dreamt up by the leaders of NATO and the European Union who are eager to appease their real Master, Volodymyr Zelensky. … Most Western major media outlets, lying desperately as usual, described Putin’s speech and appearance at the SCO summit as an attempt to break the diplomatic isolation they imagine he has been in since the war started in February 2022. But, of course, Putin and Russia have never been isolated …” (09/04/25)

https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/putin-in-tianjin

Source: The Hill
by Keith Naughton

“Many Democrats recognize they have a problem, but they have diagnosed it as a mere messaging issue — the recurrent complaint of all losers in politics. They think it can be remedied by changes in language and more frequent podcast appearances. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) seems to think that out-trolling Trump is his path to the White House. Meanwhile, the energy in the Democratic Party remains totally focused on hating and opposing Trump — and what’s left of the mainstream news media is right with them.” (09/04/25)

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/5484761-democratic-party-identity-crisis/

Source: Semafor
by David Weigel

“Across the country, Democratic candidates with progressive and left-wing [sic] backers are distancing themselves from some of their own supporters’ ideas — and getting plenty of space to do it. New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, for one, has separated himself from some proposals endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, despite his status as a member, and despite the group’s full-throated championing of his campaign. Mamdani responded to attacks from the New York Post and rival Andrew Cuomo that referenced the 2021 DSA platform — which included an end to ‘all misdemeanor defenses’ and ‘abolition of the carceral state’ — by telling reporters that ‘my platform is not the same as national DSA.’ He got no blowback for doing so from the national or city chapters of the country’s largest democratic socialist organization, which condemned Cuomo for having no ideas ‘of his own.'” (09/04/25)

https://www.semafor.com/article/09/04/2025/the-left-gives-its-candidates-some-wiggle-room

Source: USA Today
by Nicole Russell

“Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota is one of the most liberal members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. She supports socialist policies like Medicare for All and student loan forgiveness. She has even endorsed a democratic socialist to become mayor of Minneapolis. Due no doubt to her ideological convictions, she has said that she lives modestly. In February, Omar told Business Insider that she was barely worth thousands of dollars, despite an annual congressional salary of $174,000. … Omar and her husband’s net worth skyrocketed in 2024 and now ranges between $6 million and $30 million. … I don’t have a problem with Omar benefiting from her husband’s savvy business decisions. But I do have a problem with Omar promoting ideas that discourage capitalism and individual wealth-building while raking in a six-figure income and sitting on millions of dollars in net worth.” (09/04/25)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/09/04/ilhan-omar-net-worth-mamdani-democrats-socialism/85940449007/